Marshmallow World - Anders Harris x Reader (The Land of Steady Habits)
Holiday Fic Time! 🎅🎄
@wltz-bby @happyskywhale
GIF CREDIT: X
Author’s Note: I mean this is technically a Christmas movie anyway, right? 😉
Technically we don’t actually mention Christmas at all in this fic, but I mean... it is Festive Season related.
Honestly, this song is another google search for “songs involving Christmas candy” and like... yeah, this! Basically because my prompt from @sagitariusrising was ‘Do you really need all that candy?” (To which the answer is always yes, by the way.)
Thank you for requesting 💜💙
Disclaimer: TLoSH zip to do with me / not my gifs / not my lyrics
Premise: It’s time for the winter markets and annual light switch on in your little town, and you clearly are a homing beacon for sweet things...
Words: 2635
Warnings: sexual innuendo / sexual connotations / it’s clearly a Christmas market and stuff I just tried to take the Christmas element out of it.
_____
It's a marshmallow world in the winter,
When the snow comes to cover the ground.
It's the time for play, it's a whipped cream day,
I wait for it all year round!
Those are marshmallow clouds being friendly,
In the arms of the evergreen trees;
And the sun is red like a pumpkin's head,
It's shining so your nose won't freeze!
The world is your snowball, see how it grows,
That's how it goes, whenever it snows.
The world is your snowball just for a song,
Get out and roll it along!
It's a yum-yummy world made for sweethearts
Take a walk with your favorite girl
It's a sugar date, what if spring is late
In winter it's a marshmallow world
The world is your snowball, see how it grows,
That's how it goes, whenever it snows.
The world is your snowball just for a song,
Get out and roll it along!
---
Today was the big annual light switch on in town, and for once there were no cars on the roads. Although that mostly had to do with the fact that instead of the main streets being open, they were covered market stalls and were bustling with people. It was known to be traditionally busy, and you’d stayed the night at Anders’ place - as he was closer - in order to get here early. Not that you did much sleeping. And you still had to set off before the sun came up because it wasn’t just your town that turned up here, and he wasn’t within walking distance of town.
You had a nice secret weapon in Preston’s little apartment, which was situated centrally, near the main shopping street, and had spaces out the back. Not many in his block had cars, and he had enquired with his neighbours to secure one for the two of you. So you’d turned up to his place this morning and walked the rest of the way.
Despite the lack of sleep - and you would certainly blame your boyfriend for that - you were all in very high spirits. It was chilly, but you were bundled up, and there was something about the cold today… Due to the excitement surrounding the market it just hit a little different. You expected more snow; it had already fallen pretty steadily all week and the weather seemed to suggest it would stay that way.
Anders laced his fingers with yours, pulling you closer and drawing your hand into the pocket of his coat. You couldn’t help smiling, even though you weren’t looking at him, and you nudged into his arm playfully, causing him to chuckle.
Preston, who was walking in front of you, turned with a look of feigned disgust: “You two aren’t about to embarrass me again are you!?”
“Oh my god, we haven’t even had breakfast and he’s started.” Anders muttered, before rolling his eyes, “No! Could you walk any slower?!”
Preston scoffed, “I’m admiring the ambience. Taking in the silence before it gets too busy... Where do you wanna go for breakfast anyway? Geez, we coulda had some at mine. Woulda been cheaper.”
“As if you’re paying!”
You couldn’t help laughing at their bickering, some things never changed, and for that you were extremely grateful, “First off, it’s tradition-! And I’ll pay, let’s just get out of the cold for a minute…”
You’d all been doing this for years - the market was a tradition in town after all - and it was never less exciting than previous iterations. For the past few years, however, you’d had the addition of your boyfriend and his son. There were a few stalls that had become staples, but there were a lot of independent ones that just kept being added to, and you always loved looking at these. A lot of your gifts had started to become more local and to your friends around the world these had become like gold dust. Each year you received multiple texts asking what it was going to be this time, and you always teased them all about it.
Now you were with Anders this became even funnier - because stall hopping became a long string of gasps, before he shook his head at you, smiling, ‘Alright, who is this one perfect for!?’
Preston usually hung around with you both for about an hour or so before he graciously took his leave to wander alone. Sometimes you thought he was merely humouring you… sometimes you felt he actually wanted to hang out with you both.
So whilst at breakfast you discussed what you were most looking forward to seeing, and what route you were going to take. With the market spread out over most of town you could start and finish the circuit virtually anywhere; and you liked doing different variations of your walk each year - and then revisited stalls where you’d need a little more time to think.
***
Sometimes you thought Anders humoured you just as much as Preston did, because he didn’t ever do a lot of shopping here. Although you got the distinct feeling that he came down on another evening to do that - because occasionally you talked about things you liked and you ended up being gifted them. Sometimes you were surprised you hadn’t caught each other in the act, as this was something you did too.
But you knew Anders would tell you otherwise; you thought that in reality he just enjoyed your company here and getting in the holiday spirit. After all, of the two of you, who was the one decorating their house to the nines?
You always cackled when driving up, because you could literally see his house from blocks away; such a vibrant mass of colour down an otherwise dull street. No-one else made the effort that he did.
This year Anders had hauled you over to help him put them all up (well, Preston was supposed to help too, but he spent most of it sitting around with a beer directing you) and you were in fits of laughter for the whole day. So once the whole damn thing was finally lit up at night, you almost felt sick from how much you were laughing. His son was laughing too, but you felt for different reasons. Anders didn’t really care, he was just happy that you were both joyful, and that things were looking festive.
You’d helped him decorate the rest of the house too, and tried to reign him in to being at least a little tasteful about it.
“Inside or outside, not both.”
“Aw, c’mon Y/N, you gotta do it properly!”
“Good god, what are you planning!?”
Still, in the end you thought he’d managed it. In fact one of the main reasons that Anders’ house was a little more decorated than yours was the amount of time you were spending here. You’d invited him over for a date and he’d peered around, then looked at you with a frown that said you were insane.
“You call this decorating!? This is so SAD!”
You were almost tempted to agree with him…
As predicted, Preston eventually moved further and further away from the two of you. However, this year you didn’t just let him go, and you and Anders looked to each other with identical smirks.
“OI!”
Preston stopped, shoulders moving in a cringe before he twisted back to you, “...Yeah?”
“Not cool enough for you or something-!?” You had always prided yourself on being the cool one, so that tease was well landed when he practically grimaced.
“If you wanna leave just say something!” Anders was a little louder about it and Preston turned red.
“Oh my god - guys! What did I say!” He shuffled back over, trying to calm you both down.
“Just ask to go!”
“C’mon I’m not 12-! I’m not even 17! I have to ask!?”
You peered around him, spying a few of his friends kicking around just up the street. That’s probably where he was heading.
Anders folded his arms tilting his head, “You’re still my kid.”
Preston took a deep breath and sighed, “I know…”
That caused your partner to smile gently, “Go on, go enjoy yourself. Just don’t be a stranger okay?”
“Okay…” Preston was a little bashful, but gave Anders a hug anyway, “See ya later, dad.”
Anders blinked a couple of times but returned the hug gratefully, and you caught that smile of his you knew he’d likely be wearing all day.
Preston offered you a hug too, which you gratefully accepted, “Go enjoy yourself with your friends!”
“Yeah!” He laughed, “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do-!”
You gave him a look that might suggest you didn’t know what he was talking about, before Preston gave you a wink and waved you both off. You turned to Anders’ smile and couldn’t help beaming yourself:
“If you could see that look on your face.”
He laughed and as he looked to you, holding his hand out for yours again, that smile widened and Anders’ blue eyes glittered; “Oh… I know!”
***
If there was one theme in all your purchasing this year, it could only have been candy. The food stalls were out of this world and you’d strategically come to them all at lunchtime. Unfortunately you were both eating and buying, and your sweet tooth had taken over. You were glad this was still going to be a good walk-!
But the festive candy was just too cute to pass up - and it would be rude for you not to try some, especially when offered. Anders had resisted a little at first, but now was in full swing with you. And every time one of you commented that you were stuffed and probably couldn’t eat another bite, you came across yet another stall.
At this point - unsurprisingly - you were on a sugar rush and Anders was groaning and trailing you. You hadn’t made him carry anything, at least he could be grateful for that - but he was pretty sure he knew exactly what you’d be eating over the festive period.
“Do you really need all that candy?” At least he said it with a laugh.
You turned to him eyes wide, “Uh, yeaaah--!”
He looked amused and bit his lip like he was goading you into something but, standing and staring at you laden with bags full of nothing but candy, Anders couldn’t help it: “Oh my god, seriously, are you a child?”
You knew exactly what he was saying but, instead of agreeing, you folded your arms and gave him exactly what he wanted: “Says YOU!”
“Me?!” Anders placed a hand to his chest, and was smiling even though he was trying to look shocked, “Whatever could you mean-!?!”
“It’s the Holiday season Anders! Everyone is entitled to act like a child!”
He chuckled, walking towards you, “Exactly, so why are you complaining!?”
“I’m not complaining - you’re complaining!”
“Mmm…” He tipped his head gently with a squint, “I can complain about your candy consumption if you can complain about my decorating.”
You gasped, “Always with the decorating!”
“You started it!”
The two of you kept staring each other down for a minute, until you realised that you were standing in the middle of the street arguing like children. Upon which you fell into peals of laughter.
Eventually you both managed to calm down, and Anders wiped his eyes, taking deep breaths of cold air to stop his voice from wavering with laughter too much.
“So, uh, kiss and make up?”
You giggled, thinking you might have just graduated from children to teenagers: “I think…” You took a step forward to be nearly toe to toe with him, “that would be wise!”
He wound his arms around you as you leaned up into him, your lips to his as you closed your eyes. Suddenly you were glad of all that candy, because it made him taste even sweeter. An amalgamation of sugars and chocolate coated his own familiar taste and you couldn’t help but groan into the kiss. You were surprised Anders didn’t snort at you just for that; but he squeezed you to him a little tighter.
You pulled back, eyes closed for a moment just to savour him, opening them again and breathing; “I think there’s sugar still on your lips, should I kiss it off?”
Anders smirked as you clung on to his coat, “What, didn’t get enough of a sugar fix?”
“From you?” You leant back up into him, smiling, “Hell no!”
***
As the evening began to roll in, with renewed excitement in the air, the crowds were drawn further downtown to watch the lighting of the tree and the strings of lights running the length of main street and beyond. You of course had immediately spotted someone roasting marshmallows, and Anders only rolled his eyes. ‘Of course!’
Still at least they tasted good and were of the right consistency, as you pulled him through the crowds to get a good view.
“Only you would be able to find another place selling sugary treats!”
“I must be honed in!” You grinned.
“A sugar radar. Sounds about right-!”
You looked back to him with a smile, “I like sweet things. That’s why I’m with you. The radar didn’t lie-!”
He couldn’t help turn a shade of pink at that, “Okay, you’ve definitely had too much!”
Anders remained beside you and cuddled your body into his as you stood watching the MC do his best to warm up the crowd - for the most part everyone was in good spirits and it worked charmingly. In fact you didn’t think one person didn’t join in with yelling the count down. You’d both spotted Preston - still with his friends - and had waved over, but left him to hang with them.
There was a gasp through the crowd and then a cheer as all the lights went on. You couldn’t help but also light up, feeling like a child again. There was just too much wonder and joy about this time of year not to. It always made you excited.
Anders smirked, leaning into you, “Bet that’s not the only thing that gets turned on tonight…”
You knew that he knew you wouldn’t be able to resist bantering back to his cheekiness: “Well, you can turn me on later.”
There was a growl to his voice that proved his point: “Oh… I think I will.”
You walked slowly through the streets admiring all the different collections in vibrant colours; there had been some new strings added and the town had clearly got very creative. You thought suddenly about making the trip into NYC to see all the lights there… although somehow you felt this could be better. Especially with the context.
When the chill in the air began to settle in, you decided it was about time to call it a night. Finding Preston just to say goodnight and hug goodbye.
Although you weren’t exactly hurrying back, despite your joking. And eventually white flakes began to fill the air. Anders paused and blinked before continuing the walk a little slower, watching it begin to stick to the ground.
“Oh, what would you know, it’s snowing.” He commented, but realised you weren’t beside him anymore. You had stopped a little way down the street behind him, looking up in wonder at the sky as the flakes began to drift. He walked back to you, slipping his arms around your waist and rested his head on top of yours to watch them fall.
“Snow always looks so pretty. And so soft when it’s settled...”
“Not as pretty as you.” He mumbled, but smiled himself.
“Okay, Mr. Smooth.” You chuckled, “I suppose you want to get me home?”
He smirked, “Think that one is your prerogative. But I can certainly warm you up-”
“Uh huh!”
“-In the car on the way back.”
You scoffed, taking his hand back in yours, although neither of you moved, “Maybe we can watch for a few more minutes…”
“Then I’ll have to warm you up even more.” You could hear that smirk in his voice as you pushed your head back into his chest, and couldn’t help but smirk yourself.
“I mean I really hope you do. First you gotta turn me on... like a Christmas light.”
Anders scoffed, “Oh what, like that’s hard?”
You bit back your immediate reaction, ‘what’s hard?’, but couldn’t help but snort; “Oh no, I’ve seen you with your own. I think you got this.”
“Oh yeah.” He pulled away from you slightly to place a kiss to your neck that made you shiver, “I’m practically a pro.”
---
Thank you for requestingggg--!! Thank you for reading! 💕😘
Author’s Note: *Story Time* Ha-! I went on holiday in September and there were a bunch of DVDs at the holiday home and no word of a lie, this was one of them and my parents wanted to see it. So, I kinda wanted to continue things from ‘Veritas’... and watching it again got me inspired (and I got to notice a bunch more stuff!)
I was going to call this ‘What She Wants Tonight’ ... but then I decided to keep the Latin theme.
So you get Elias back-! 🎉
What She Wants Tonight - Luke Bryan
(Because of course it’s Luke Bryan)
Disclaimer: Trespass & associated characters not mine / gif not mine / lyrics not mine. / Call backs to Veritas / Kyle Sullivan (Guns for Hire) gets another name drop.
Premise: You hadn’t expected him to call you, of course. But then you didn’t think you’d expected to see him again either. On this mission you must work together. But it’s clear that that’s not your only objective...
Words: 7171
Warnings: Swearing / Sexual Pre-Amble / I really can’t write action scenes.
_____
She walks up, velvet rope unhooks
She snaps her fingers and a drink comes
She locks you down with just one look
She's got this whole club undone
If she's on the rebound, you ain't gonna know it
Coming off a heartbreak, she ain't gonna show it
She's eyes caught, red dot, locked on me, yeah
She wants my hands on her body
She wants to burn like she's made of fire
Said she ain't going home 'til we
Drink every drop of Kentucky dry
Don't even know what she'll do when she does it
Palm of her hand, I'm hers in the blink of an eye
She don't take no and I love
She gets what she wants
And I get to be what she wants tonight
I get to be what she wants tonight
I get to catch all her secrets
Sequins bouncing off flashing lights
If she wants it, then we're leaving
Get me home, park the truck, cut the tires
I get to be where she goes when she's lonely
The last door of the night she's closing
Oh, I know she could have anything, but
And I don't know how I got to be
The only thing she needs right now
---
To anyone who wasn’t aware, the building could have been a normal office block, the people going in and out certainly appeared to be normal office workers. A few of them were – in order to hide their organization, the first few levels of this building had been rented to businesses, but the rest of the block belonged to the Agency.
You stepped gently into the elevator and swiped your access card, pushing the elevator button for your floor you stood back against the mirrored walls and waited to ascend. Of course, by the time you were to the floor, Joel was already busy running around gathering papers and talking loudly on phones… it was clear that you wouldn’t be here long, they would have you out the door as quick as they had you in.
Joel was a little like a personal assistant. Although an ‘assassin’ in his own right he was more on the level of office worker casual, than your higher ranking. He was not your partner - although you did use him as such on occasion - and you were not his mentor, he had been taught the basics by others but that’s as far as he got. He was your go between, only top clients saw you face to face (and were always surprised that you was a woman) everyone else went through Joel, he arranged your payments and sent off your confirmation… sometimes he helped on intel, or clean up detail, but he also arranged transport and set things between your Superior and yourself. He managed to offer you a quick nod as he rushed around, which you gratefully returned… you ascended a flight of steps and knocked on the door.
“Come in.” You entered. “Y/N. Quick as ever to the call I see.”
“There isn’t often a time when I cannot get here. I’d like to keep my records intact.”
“And they are quite some records.” Your Superior indicated to the chair in front of him, “Please sit.” You did as was asked, crossing your legs one over the other. “…It’s a wonder to me why the Master has not called you up yet.”
“Because he knows that I’m good at ground work. If you pulled me up another level then, of course, I would have jurisdiction over several assassin’s as you do, but I would only get called to field work in times of dire need… and We haven’t had a real firefight in close to 100 years. I would do better out there. Plus aren’t you all men?” you managed to crack a little smile, “I’m not indicating sexism, but…”
He gave a small shrug, “They all think you’re male anyway. As we all go by codenames here.”
“Yes there is that.” You nodded to the window, “Joel appears to be working hard on the next big thing already,” your eyes flicked back to your Superior, “I assume I am needed right away?”
“Yes…” He handed you over a file “As you’re in the area, we thought that might take your fancy. It isn’t directly your job, but it does pay well.”
You opened the file and raised an eyebrow, “Nilo? Again?!”
“Several of these drug lords are untouchable. As you well know.”
“Eh, they give good business, some even pay well,” you flicked the page, “these just seem to be calls for several underlings…”
“Several big Russians are getting too big for their boots, too…”
“So there’s a lot going on?”
“I would only send my best to several jobs at once.”
You took the second file from the desk, they all looked to be linked, “These guys aren’t in situ yet, are they?”
“No. But we have it on good ear that they will be.”
“So Nilo calls for the blood of the Russians, and some” you squinted as you read the name, “…This sounds like drug wars?” It had been a while; they weren’t exactly to your taste. Nilo was a very old client indeed – back when you were just starting out on your own.
“You have connections.”
“Yes. Joel is useful in that respect too… Does he know?” Joel would know the when and where and exactly what you’d need. You doubted he’d be doing so much rushing if he knew what this was really for.
“You can brief him.”
“Hmm. Well, it’s a good thing we focus on the numbers and not the side…” You stood, collecting the folders together, “Consider it done.”
“Good. Your payment for yesterday has been wired. The man himself has been reported missing. I assume no body will turn up?”
“Not on my watch. Unless someone asks for it specifically.” You waved the folders, “Expect some good news within the next few days.”
“I always do with you, Y/N. Good luck.”
“Thank you Sir. But I won’t need it.”
As you exited the room and took the stairs you called to him: “Joel!”
He fell in step as you hit the floor; “Can get the car out front, I’ve sent intel up to Marty, meet in 10?”
“Sure, let me go see what our weapons tech has for me then… you ready?”
“Sounds like there’s a war brewing.”
“Drugs war. Hope you enjoy undercover.”
“Me? Oh Geez…” Joel’s face told the story you expected
“Well I’m not even supposed to be there am I? They don’t call me Ghost Shadow because they can see me, do they?”
“It’s actuall-”
“Don’t care, Joel, remember…” You looked to him with a smile, you’d never had much patience for whispered codenames, “Besides, you have the connections.”
He scoffed, “Don’t rope me in with the drugs guys, Nilo’s just used me before.”
“Yeah, but I want other side intel.” You tapped him in the chest with your folder, “Get it.”
“Yes Sir.”
“Funny.”
***
Your weapon’s technician looked as enamoured as ever to see you, his smile bright as you walked onto his floor: “Y/N!”
“Marty.”
“…Off already?”
“One day I’m taking the first fight out to Cozumel and NOONE is going to stop me.”
“If you ever get a break, considering what you do, I’m going to give you free range and let you clear out my weapons cache entirely.”
“Oh? You’d do that for me?” You fluttered your eyelashes teasingly “Marty!” you tapped your card in, and opened the doors, “What do you have in?”
“New? Since you were last in here?”
“Don’t give me that tone! Because if there’s one thing I know, you are a collector and second, I haven’t been using this particular weapons store in my work recently, so, yes, new!”
“Usually you carry your own pistol.”
“Usually?” You gave him a wry smile, “Always. And I do, but everything else-”
“What I like most about your pistol is its untraceable.”
“Well. That’s how he made it.”
“So it WAS his.”
“Yes. It the least I could do to honour him.”
“…Well, you are right, I do collect. I have several new rifles in, but you’re not such a fan. I also have a light weight sniper gun, and if you were ever interested in something smaller for close range-”
“A pocket gun?” You chucked, “Bring it, a lot less messy than a knife.”
“So they do work?”
“Execution style. Yeah – anything will work if you want it to. I mean, sometimes us Assassins have to improvise; that said its always hoped things will never get that messy.”
He slid the tiny gun across the table to you, “It’s not been road tested yet. But… I can think of no better person to try it out. Careful.”
“Will be,” you patted it as you slid it into your top coat pocket, “and for Joel?”
“What do you think he’ll need?”
“You’ve read the file, you tell me! Don’t forget rope; the most useful thing you could give me.”
“Kinda think a gun would be more useful.”
“Rope saves lives, guns take lives. Get my meaning. Besides, how else do you expect me to ascend or descend a building?!”
“Stairs!? A lift!? This is Nilo we’re talking about, it’s not exactly big budget. This isn’t Mission Impossible.”
“Well it could be-!” You cracked a smile as Marty muttered under his breath, collecting everything up – he handed the bag to you, “Have a good trip. See you in a few days.”
“Of course! Thanks!”
***
Joel complained the whole way; it was to be expected - you were used to getting into the middle of gang and mafia warfare. Taking out politicians and heads of state. Drugs sometimes, on a higher level – but drugs carried its own problems… This, in particular, was way below your pay grade.
“You’re too good for this.”
“He’s fronting the right amount of money and he wants me.”
“No, fact is you should have been off shit like this years back. You did some good jobs back then, but you’re above this now. And drugs?!? Y/N, you abhor drugs. It’s like your one thing.”
“Look, if He sends me then I can’t push back.”
“You have authority, surely?”
“Well it’s a little late now. Next time I’ll think on it.”
“Yeah well, you better.” His hard stare switched from you to the road. No doubt, Joel didn’t want to be mixed up in this any more than you. Perhaps it was about time you asked to politely be removed from anything related to them.
When you pulled into the parking lot he began grumbling even more. Of course Joel had most of the intel, maybe he’d need a little more research but, that’s what the first meeting was all about. Sometimes you thought he’d rather stay at HQ and feed you the info via a web link.
“I mean, a strip club. Could this be any more degrading for you?!” Joel was about to launch into how the Agency should think before sending their best female agent to places like this, to stop the tirade you gave a smile and a joke instead.
“As long as you’re not expecting me to get up and dance?” You nudged him, “Besides the girls all love you.”
“Not interested.” Was his blunt reply, reaching into the back seat for his case.
“Nothing will cheer you up today, huh?”
“No. It’ll get worse.”
You rolled your eyes, “Okay, so let’s get in, get it done, get out.”
***
To be honest when you’d left your card with Elias you never expected him to call it. Maybe hoped on it, but you’d been done with hoping after a few days; those had now bled into months - and you had plenty of kills under your belt since then (and a grovelled apology from Kyle Sullivan. He hadn’t called on you again since.)
But your day got a little better as you wandered into the club and very nearly snorted, hiding your face and smirk behind Joel for a moment.
“What?”
“Remember when I told you about that little bit of trouble at Mr.Sullivan’s place?”
“Yeah, I remember...”
“Guess we just stumbled on where they came from.”
If it had pleased you, Joel turned another shade of glum. “Brilliant.”
Indeed, though you looked pretty collected as you approached Nilo, Elias has turned sheet white.
The others wouldn’t have noticed, you’d taken them all out before they saw your face. Well, maybe except the big guy but he was eyeing you with a certain level of curiosity, instead of what was going through Elias’ mind. Clearly not so happy to see you. You didn’t even spare him a proper glance, nodding to Nilo instead.
“It’s been a minute.”
“Indeed it has, Y/N. Welcome. We’ll certainly be glad to use your services once more…”
“No use kicking around, I suggest we discuss the job.” You bowed your head gently, if only to say my pleasure - with a smirk. Because it would be your pleasure. Although, looking back to Elias you were sure that not everyone was glad.
***
Elias didn’t really speak much during the briefing; you already counted too many people involved – and Joel was getting antsy. You’d just have to deal with it, you could do this alone but Nilo wanted to make sure everything was done to his letter – and therefore was sending a group along with you. You didn’t particularly understand this; did he think you were still a kid who’d only just started out? Reckless and a little dumb? You thought it was more likely the group he wanted to send were the ones who would mess everything up.
Elias and Ty were amongst them. Elias, being the obvious one you knew – who did not like being under the weight of your stare – and Ty being the one you’d picked out as a potential problem back at Mr. Sullivan’s house. Elias’s brother, Noah, was also in on the meeting and a couple of guys who looked less tough than paper, who you would refuse to take when it came to your terms… but let Nilo think he’s in control, for now.
Joel and yourself were now sitting at the bar of the club, him facing it with his laptop, grumbling like there was no tomorrow. And you facing the pole dancers, back against the bar. You’d never had the inclination to get up there and do that, but you were 99% sure you could; maybe one day you’d give someone a run for their money.
Joel had ordered some cocktail that came with a lollipop and you wasted no time in stealing that. Your drink wasn’t alcohol, you didn’t drink on a job – Champagne was for afterwards. Joel was drinking to get himself through this one.
“So?”
“I can’t believe this.”
“You’ve said that 20 times.” You removed the candy from your mouth, “I need, you know, something useful.”
“I mean the complex itself is relatively easy to get into, you don’t even need the code, just fry everything. There’s multiple floors but there’s hardly anywhere that’s going to have cover…” He was staring hard at the schematic. “Why are we not going alone? The more bodies in a corridor the harder this is!”
“Joel.” You warned.
“Okay, you just need to get to the inner most point. It looks like one of those panic rooms.” You half turned to his screen as he tapped it, replacing the lolly with an agreeing hum. “Assured your guy, and whatever drugs or shit you gotta haul on back, is there.” He turned to you, looking more than a little disgruntled that he was having to do this, “I’ll make a couple of calls. It won’t be hard. And forgodsake, please do not drag this personal hell out for me.”
“I’ll try.” You gave a gently sarcastic smile and he sighed.
“And PLEASE stop doing that overtly sexual thing you do! Like, I don’t need it.”
“It’s not for you.”
“I think he’s a bad idea.” Joel eyes were back on his laptop, and you weren’t sure if his uncomfortable shift was just for show. You supposed he was only going to point back to his ‘degrading’ speech if you pressed further.
“I didn’t ask you.”
“No, and I can see why.”
Of course you were playing a game here. You knew Elias was watching you – there wasn’t much out there you weren’t aware of. That was all part of your training. But you’d noticed that try as he might he couldn’t keep his eyes off you, and you could busy yourself with being a seductress whilst also being teasing and paying him absolutely no mind.
What you’d also come to the dissatisfying conclusion of was that his girlfriend was also here; oh, and she was not impressed. You didn’t really care, it was fun to play them against each other, in fact maybe it was more satisfying to have her here, realising exactly what you were doing. Because she was all over him and that was not an exaggeration, but Elias was pushing her out of the way to keep on staring at you. So, if Joel really didn’t think you were going to sit on this stool with your chest pushed out and your shirt riding up, sucking on a lollipop… well he should know better. You didn’t need to show too much skin: the idea was to let his imagination do the work. From what you could tell, Elias’ imagination was working overtime.
Joel left you alone to make his series of phone calls outside, convinced that he needed air anyway. Which you’d laugh at of course, considering he’d probably kill his time outside smoking. At which point you turned back to the bar and gathered your thoughts – before you would begin to clear your head of everything but the mission. That was all that would matter for the next few days; that was all that had to matter.
As you were pondering this however, you were approached by someone else, and you didn’t really have to guess who had made his way across the club to you.
“Well, I see you can’t even call a number on a card, how do you expect me to think that you can pull this off?”
Elias slid onto the stool next to you, tipping his head, “It’s not that simple.”
You turned your eyes on him, “I get it, you have a girlfriend. Don’t tell me you’re not interested. And if you’re not, don’t come over here and talk to me, keep it strictly business.”
He rummaged in his jacket pocket and your calling card was placed back on the table, “I wanted to.”
You couldn’t help but smile as you stared at it, “Wanting is something you can say easily, the doing is the only thing I have use for.” Your fingers brushed his as you pushed the card back towards him,
“Keep it, if you ever decide to become useful to me.”
“Y/N…”
The bar tender placed a drink in front of him without Elias even asking and your look away from him was enough to be an eyeroll, with the way you stared straight at the back wall. He spent enough time here for that then.
He took a sip, eyeing yours. “You don’t drink?”
“Not on the job no.”
“Y/N, what are you doing here?”
“I’m an assassin, I told you that. It’s like you haven’t listened to a word I’ve said since I walked in.”
“Is that any surprise?” His voice was laced with sugar, which made you a little uncomfortable as you turned to him. Those blue eyes were watching your face intently, and if you thought that a man like him was capable of melting, that might be what you’d call it.
“Please, Elias. Go back to your girlfriend.”
There was a pause, before he leant into your space and you sighed in obvious frustration. “Why do you need two guns?” He indicated to the one on the counter that no one was paying any mind to, and then to your hip, partially concealed by your coat. “Assassin as good as you.”
“Will you do what I say, if I tell you?”
His smile became a grin that was more of a smirk, “Depends what you tell me to do.”
You couldn’t help but hum a laugh as you unholstered the one on your belt, “That,” you waved at the one on the counter, “that’s my own, it’s no big deal. It’s probably standard issue – due an upgrade, but it’s never let me down. Call me superstitious, but I’d quite like to keep it around. This baby…” You weighed the one in your hands up. “Belonged to my mentor.”
“The one that used to spew Latin before he killed people?” You couldn’t help but smile as you nodded: he remembered. “So why do you have it?”
You placed it with your own and leant into him, you became a little huddle and lowered your voice, “Because he died, Elias. It’s in honour and memory of him.”
There was a moment’s pause, and Elias wondered if you’d opt to continue the conversation, “…How? I mean your line of work is dangerous but-”
“The Agency killed him, made me watch.” The flicker across Elias’ face was both apologetic and a revelation; ‘that might explain a few things’ “He fell in love with a target, he couldn’t kill her. Eventually the Agency found out and executed him.” It was weird for you to just out and say it like that, it jarred you – you weren’t sure what you were thinking, saying something so personal. You were supposed to have better instincts than that. Did you trust him?
There was something cold about the way you were talking that didn’t fit with the look on your face, and Elias tipped his head – “But you’re working alone now, you have no mentee of your own?” He seemed to be asking if that process would be too painful for you. Instead you gave a shake of your head,
“No. I have no patience for that. I would be no good, not yet anyway. Not all of us make it through the process – hence why Joel is my assistant and not an assassin himself. He has all the skills, he didn’t pass all the tests.” You frowned momentarily, then shrugged, “I’ll probably die doing this, or see myself old enough to take my bosses job. Though, I’ve never been much of a girl for desk work.”
Elias would agree with that, “How long have you been doing this?”
“…That’s… a little too much of me to expose to you.” Oh, but you liked this didn’t you? Talking to him. To someone who was actually interested in you. “I never knew my parents. The Agency has a specific way of testing kids at orphanages and such. There’s no attachment, nowhere for the kids to run. Still, they take care of you better than some children get treated by their own parents so, I guess there’s a win somewhere.” Something twinged in Elias by the look on his face, making you realise you’d touched on something that was a little too much of him to expose to you. You left it alone.
“I guess you have a point there.”
“Uh huh.” You couldn’t help but smirk as you looked over his shoulder, this girlfriend of his had spotted the two of you talking and the livid look on her face was only making your ego swell a little. There was no way she didn’t know he was into you, and you were invested enough in the conversation to have some attachment to him.
You wondered if he’d told her about your kiss, if it was obvious to her by the way Elias looked at you. But he was still watching your face, even when you turned away, the way you were smirking and clearly enjoying yourself,
“What?” He was clearly amused, he hoped it was him.
“Your little girlfriend is about to blow a fuse.”
Elias’ face fell instantly as he looked over his shoulder, “Oh-”
“She a dancer here?” He didn’t need to nod, “You walking cliché.” You nudged him off his bar stool, “Go. Go on.”
“Try not to miss me.” He shot back, hands getting a little too friendly as his touch lingered on you.
Instead you scoffed, picking up your cup, “Trust me, I won’t.”
**
You kicked around for another day and a half, longer than you would have liked, but once Joel had his intel sorted the small group you assembled had to make the plan water tight. Which means they listened to you, no questions asked. Ty was about the only one you really trusted, he was built for this and he took an interest in you for reasons you thought were kind of unhealthy; not an assassin, you could tell he was probably going to enjoy this. You never took enjoyment from killing – it was just your job. Still, Ty was quiet and nodded along.
Elias didn’t. And to be honest, if you weren’t having so much fun playing him and Petal – you’d tried not to snort – off against each other, you’d be more pissed with him than you already were.
“She is NOT coming on this mission!”
“She always tags along.”
“You’re not running this mission Elias, I AM. And there’s only one thing I have a hard stop on, and that’s drugs.” Before he could protest the irony of what you were doing you continued, “She’ll fuck the whole thing up and I know you know that. I will not take drug dependants on this mission. Or we can take her, but I’ll put a bullet in her head the second I feel I have to and I won’t hesitate.”
“---You’re…. insane!”
“It’s my job. I don’t fail on my tasks; your little gang of tag-alongs are not going to change that.”
“Then I won’t come.”
“Well don’t. Explain to Nilo why, for all I care.”
Elias sighed, faltering on the fact you would give him up so fast, a little too easily for someone who wanted to labour a point, “Okay. Okay… I’ll tell her.”
“You better…” He turned away but you pulled him back by his jacket, “Woah, hey. Your brother’s not coming either.”
“Oh my god-”
“Because he’s the opposite problem. He’s not taking his medication and he’s erratic. You think I can’t read tells?”
“No, on this I might be inclined to agree you have the right idea.”
“So we’re agreed, on the same page.”
Elias didn’t meet your eyes as he nodded, “Yeah.”
“So we’re getting somewhere.” Your arms folded, confident little smile making him give you that same melted look. Scratch all previous thoughts, Elias was easier to play than a deck of cards. You wondered how long he’d spent looking at your calling card and desperately wishing to call the number. You wondered why Elias hadn’t already. What was his real reason? He could give you as many cocky smirks and sarcastically suggestive little quips as he wanted – you could see right through him.
“I thought we already were.”
***
You should have bet on how much complaining Joel was going to do, by the fact that he was muttering curses in more than one language under his breath. For the first part of the journey you thought it was funny, and responded in kind. Linguistics was a nice hobby, and Joel and yourself had a healthy competition on how many you could learn. Aside from that, it was good business practice.
For the second half of the journey you settled into silence, closing your eyes and taking yourself through all your focus meditation and breathing exercises – before checking and double checking your weaponry. Then triple checking it – obviously. All with Joel still grumbling on, and Elias and Ty asking each other if this was something they ought to be doing.
Joel slowed the van and parked up, the complex was in view, but you were out of sight. You had split yourself into two teams: Elias and yourself, and Joel and Ty. You would clear the first few floors together – without breaking a sweat – and then they would go on look out and you’d take out the name on your rap sheet. Obviously your assistant was as impressed with this arrangement as he was with everything else – but he was on side with you, and he understood it. He could make sure there were no screw ups. Joel also had a build like Ty did, so he wasn’t about to be taken out, or by surprise, by him. You all had communication links to each other so you could keep tabs, but you wanted radio silence unless absolutely necessary. The only good thing about this was that you didn’t really have to worry about how messy you were, Nilo didn’t have a preference for making someone disappear, he just wanted the man killed.
As predicted the four of you swept the first few floors silently, splitting the building nearly in half you came to the point where you’d be leaving Joel behind, turning to him you opted to continue your language game:
“You know where you’re going?”
“I know what I’m looking for.”
“Be careful. I don’t trust them.”
“The feeling is mutual.”
“Yell if you need anything.”
He shot Elias a look before turning to you, “I’d say the same, but I think you can handle yourself!”
You chuckled, “Thanks, Joel. Until later.” And, indicated for Elias to follow you, ascended the stairs.
***
Everything looked very different up here, but was equally as quiet. There’d be security every so often, you were sure of that, as there had been downstairs. Perhaps more, considering your target was their boss, but nothing you didn’t think yourself capable of handling.
“So, I don’t get it, is this a drugs complex, or a house!?”
You turned to Elias as he stared around the walls: very domestic from the bland grey concrete you’d seen downstairs. “Both.” It wasn’t a guess; you’d seen the schematic.
“A safe house?”
“Round about, we’re heading for a panic room.”
“You have that map stored in your head?”
You kept the pistol steady as you rounded the corner, it was clear and you beckoned him on, “Is that impressive?”
“Vaguely.”
You chuckled, “I’ll take it.”
You suddenly pulled back, slamming Elias against the wall as a bullet streaked passed you,
“Shit!”
You weren’t worried about that, immediate with your retaliation fire. You were trained for this, it was instinct. There was more than one of them and you had to bring them down quick less they raise the alarm, you had no time to think about cover: about the only thing Elias did think of.
“They’ll have heard bullets, I gotta go.” You turned back to him, “Your choice, go back to them or try to keep up!”
Trying to keep up was much easier said than done, and you had sprinted out of sight by the time Elias had run around the next corner.
“Ah, shit.” He ran a hand through his hair, “Well, I’ve followed her this far!”
You must have been quick, because Elias made it another couple of floors up before he found any signs that you might have had difficulty, what worried him was that it was your mentors’ gun that was lying on the ground – so out of the way it’d probably been kicked or thrown there. Carelessly; you hadn’t just decided to drop it. You certainly would have retrieved it. Whoever your mentor had been, however you tried to hide it, Elias knew he’d meant a lot to you.
Picking it up, the still loaded chamber and half empty magazine told a worse story to him. What the hell had happened to you?! Surely they hadn’t overpowered you? Not you!
***
Elias almost started to believe it as he continued walking, as suddenly there wasn’t a body, or blood or an empty casing anywhere in sight. Everything was still quiet. Not a sound, not even on the radio. He arrived on the next floor, and again everything was clear. It occurred to him to call the other two for help very nearly a little too late, as, more concerned with finding out where you were, Elias rounded the next corner without his pistol up. In fact, without a pistol at all, and he was faced with yours.
“You’re lucky that I check what I’m shooting at before I pull a trigger, Elias! Geez!” You flicked the safety on.
“ME!? You just gave me a heart attack! Where the hell did you go!?”
You shuffled on the spot with a little shrug, “Look, just, don’t go upstairs into the office, okay?”
“Office…? What? I thought you said he had a panic room.”
“He absolutely had a panic room – he wasn’t in it. It was not the cleanest kill I’ve ever made and…” You paused staring up at the ceiling, “At least it’s done.”
He followed your eyeline and grimaced, leaking through the ceiling already was a patch of blood, “That’s a lot of bodies or it’s a terribly built house-!”
“Bit of both…” You looked to him, “Hardly matters right now, don’t you think?”
“Who the hell are you, Y/N?”
Your head tipped, regarding him seriously in the eschewing silence to his question. “You really want to know that?”
He nodded firmly, “Yes.” Elias wasn’t sure he liked the smile you gave back, the way it made the heart leap in his chest, and a shudder run up his spine.
You grabbed him, shoving him up against a wall this time not to protect him – far from it. Your lips on his were rough, this wasn’t love… you weren’t even sure you could call it chemistry. But it was something. Elias pulled your body into his, your fingers running into his hair, he groaned into the kiss as you raked your nails across his scalp. But you continued to push his body as you made him breathless.
Oh… shit. Elias could barely think properly as he ran his hands under your coat and over your ass, pulling your shirt with him, the feel of your supple skin under his calloused hands drove him crazy. Until he found himself backed up against a door, breaking the kiss in confusion.
“Maybe you should try it.” You encouraged, voice at a whisper as you brought his lips back to yours, Elias wasn’t going to say no, and it swung open behind his push. This time when he broke the kiss it was only to smirk.
“Oh? A bedroom?”
“Uh huh.” He turned back to you, eyes raking your body as they had done before, but now significantly more hungry. You pushed a finger to his lips before he started getting clever: “…Stop talking… stop thinking… don’t make me wait any longer.”
Replacing your finger with your lips, Elias pulled back to nod, “Okay.”
He pulled you into his arms, relieving you of your coat immediately. It was almost like no time had passed at all, he tasted the same as you remembered, whisky and cigarette smoke. Elias pulled you closer, certainly not eager to break the kiss or let you go for even a moment. You pulled off his leather jacket, throwing it with your own; you revelled in the way that you were both so different, but you wanted the same thing so badly.
“Are you sure you’re ready for this?” He gave you a small smirk.
You let the look on your face answer for you, to which Elias grinned, hands under your shirt he pulled it over your head, allowing you to relieve him of his own. His fingers ghosted over your skin, and he paused momentarily: every so often there was a litter of scars. You weren’t about to count the number of times you’d been in real trouble, but you always got out of it.
You simply chuckled, “Yeah, no dancing on a stage in just my bra and panties for me.”
“That’s not why I’m here.”
You’d agree with that, kissing him gently again, your fingers grazed over his chest and Elias tensed;
“What? Scared?” You smirked against his lips.
“A little. It’s not like I don’t know what you’re capable of.”
“I don’t sleep with my targets.” You kissed him again, winking as you undid his belt, dragging him back to your lips with his belt loops; this time he bit your lip gently, making you groan against his kiss. Elias picked you up, undoing your pants and bra clasp, pushing you down onto the bed he nipped down your jawline and neck. You pulled him back, reciprocating Elias’ trail of kisses, whispering prayers into his skin in nearly every language you knew. He slid your pants down your legs with a sigh, and he shook under your touch. You were too much for him already, but you weren’t about to show Elias mercy. You smirked wickedly, claiming his lips with your own once more. This man was about to be all yours…
***
All of you were clearly sworn to silence. Elias was the more dazed of the three of you (Ty seemed none the wiser), and Joel kept throwing you dirty and disgusted looks. You couldn’t care less. You’d done your job, you were entitled to a little fun every once in a while, your assistant didn’t have to be a killjoy.
Overall though, you were disappointed in yourself, somewhere along the way – probably when you were dealing with everyone who was actually occupying the panic room – you’d lost your most important possession. You weren’t about to admit that out loud, but you hadn’t been able to find it as you had made your way back downstairs. You vowed you’d get it back, but you’d rather go back with Joel and do a real sweep without the other two around. There was too much going on here – and it was obvious Joel wanted out and away from here as soon as possible.
That was fine with you.
You dropped Elias and Ty back at the bar, and you were wondering if this time it might really be it. Were you both satisfied now?
It scared you that you might not be sure of the answer to that.
Joel went to deliver the news and package, and Ty wasn’t one to kick around, leaving you and Elias outside.
“Well, now you can get back to that girlfriend of yours.”
“Is that really any way to say goodbye?”
“I don’t want to get emotionally involved here.” Though your eyes strayed from his face a little too much for Elias to want to believe that.
“Does that make everything easier for you?”
“Yeah.” You folded your arms, no point in skirting around that.
Elias for once looked like he was seeing right through you, “Except there’s one thing that makes you show your cards.”
“What?” You narrowed your eyes at him, how dare he stand here acting like he had you all figured out. Elias rummaged in his jacket, and you nearly gasped as he presented you with your mentor’s pistol.
“He must have been one hell of a guy.”
“He… was.” You took it from him delicately, “You found it.”
“It’s important. Right?”
“…Thank you.” And there was emotion behind that, you both knew it.
“You’re welcome.” Although his hand took yours, thumb running over that tattoo on your wrist, and down to your fingers, Elias was so close to entwining them. He thought better of it, instead twisting the ring so that ‘Veritas’ very clearly faced him – you just about admit to yourself you were disappointed.
“My offer is still on the table, you know?” You gave a small smile, “If you ever want to be useful, you have my number.”
He chuckled, “Well. I’ll… think on it.” Then added, with a smile, “That’s the truth.”
“Don’t think.” You took a step back as Joel called you, walking briskly back to the car. Yes, he certainly wanted out. “I told you, the only thing worth it, is the doing!”
**
Amazingly Joel did not go ballistic at you – you thought he was just glad to be out. On top of that he knew you’d seen the looks he was shooting you, and you supposed he thought that said it all. To be honest it probably did, and you would both vow silently to never talk about this again.
You pulled your pistol apart to check it, as you always did and, satisfied, you pulled your mentor’s apart too. Pausing as you checked the magazine, sitting in the top was a rolled-up piece of paper. You smiled to yourself, only guessing what it said. You pieced the pistol back together and unravelled it. He’d watched you do this on the journey, so Elias could be certain that you’d check your gun pretty soon after he’d returned it.
Spera - Trust. ‘Someone is a show off’. You almost laughed as you read the number before rolling it up again and pocketing it.
Truth and Trust seemed almost ironic. And yet also seemed to be completely fitting.
You made sure to be safely home, to ensure that Joel wasn’t physically ill. And also to wait a few days, to keep Elias hanging. Which he was, because that man wasn’t like you. You could wait on him to call like it was no big deal – but he would be checking that mobile of his every ten minutes at the very least.
Predictably he picked up on the second ring:
“Y/N?”
“Hey, babe.” You would be directly flirty, you’d tell Elias what he wanted to hear, “I see my number must be saved in that phone of yours, you just never pressed the call button. See, even a busy girl like me can action something.”
“I… I’m just glad you did.”
You left a significant pause, enough to make him uncomfortable, “Are you asking me to trust you?”
“The truth is important to you, isn’t it? Don’t you trust me?”
Your voice became quiet, all too aware of the vulnerability of admittance: “I do. It scares me that I do.” You sighed, “But that hardly matters. I told you I like action. So, if I don’t want you to call me unless it’s for you to be useful, I figured that my calling you was only ever about offering you the opportunity to be so…”
“How?” Elias’ voice was eager, you could almost see his nails digging into the bar, the tension running through him, a slight dark tint to those blue eyes of his.
“You ever been to Boston?”
“…No?”
“Well, if you get yourself on a flight over… I can give you an address.”
“You live in Boston?”
“You asked me to trust you.”
“I did.” There was relief and understanding in that sentence. “When?”
“Whenever you want, babe. I’ll let you know if I get called anywhere though, wouldn’t want you to waste a trip.”
“Considerate of you.”
“Well, like for like.” You smiled, “Just one more small favour, Elias. An… assurance. Perhaps an insurance policy. Before you do come all the way out to me.”
“What’s that?” Really what he was saying was anything. I’ll do anything.
“I told you that my mentor died because he fell in love with a target…”
“You did.” Then he quickly added, “I won’t… tell anyone!”
You shook your head, Elias was jumping ahead of himself. As were you. But you weren’t sure where this was going, and yet you had to be certain. It wasn’t that you thought you were about to fall in love. You might, it wasn’t beyond you. It was that if you were asked to kill him… you weren’t your mentor. You weren’t scared that you’d be unable to pull the trigger, you were scared of the knowledge that you could.
“Yes, well. Just don’t do anything to piss anyone off, okay?”
Gerry + 42 & 84 - “stop being so cute” / “show me what’s behind your back”
Requested by Anon
Author’s Note: Oh man this is short, but I really like the premise - I just worry that it’s super close to the one I wrote for ‘Stay Here Tonight’.
Set Pre-Mississippi Grind
May I present ‘two idiots waiting for the other to make the first move!’ 😁
Dare Ya - Carly Pearce
Disclaimer: Mississippi Grind & characters not mine / lyrics not mine (Gerry and Andrew are basically the keepers of Carly Pearce now.) / Gifs not mine.
Premise: You’d been friends with Gerry a while, but you’d always wanted to be more than friends. Is this a confession either of you can navigate, without the added worry of messing it up?
Words: 2180
Warnings: mentions of drinking + gambling / swearing
_____
I took your coat, I wasn't that cold
Got a little too close, come on, don't you know?
Am I giving you enough to let you know that I want ya?
My heart’s beating out loud like thunder
Are you gonna kiss me? Are you gonna make me wonder?
These strung-up lights are staring right at us
It'd be the perfect time to mess my lipstick up
Tryna keep my cool, but you give me fire
I'm already high, but you could take me higher
Turn this sweet night into something wilder
It's your move, boy
I'll follow you, boy
And I ain't gonna lead, I'm a lady like that
So I'm gonna keep looking at you like
I, I, I dare ya
I, I, I'm gonna keep looking at you like
I, I, I dare ya
---
You stirred your drink gently with your straw as you listened to him talk about his win and loss tallies for the past week. It was strange that you could think of this as enjoyable, you knew how this would end – he’d certainly have lost more money than he made. But there was something about the way Gerry talked that meant you wouldn’t care. All you wanted was his voice in your head.
This wasn’t a crush you took lightly. You’d been friends with the man joyfully sitting across from you for many years. You were only a casual gambler yourself, but unlike Gerry you also knew when it was best for you to get out. You’d met him at a table, and then subsequently the bar afterwards, and ever since then you’d hung out with him. Just being friends with him developed swiftly into a crush – but by that time it was too late – and you weren’t about to ruin the friendship you had just to maybe get the opportunity to date him.
Even if you did, that could just as easily land you in big trouble. On occasion you’d helped Gerry settle a few of his debts; but you’d never been stupid enough to lend him money. You knew for a fact you’d never get that back.
“…So anyway, I managed to win the last one – so I’m actually up for once!” Euphoria crossed his face that didn’t match your surprise, obviously.
“Well why don’t you try to keep it in your pocket for more than a day this time, hmm?”
He gave a shrug, “I dunno… I – I’d like to buy your drink.”
You laughed softly, “Okay, you…” you were bashful as you looked away from him, shuffling in your seat, “You can buy me my drink.” He cheered, causing you to lean on your palm to hide your obvious blush; “J-Just don’t blow all your money on me okay?”
“It’d be worth it-!”
“Gerry-! You need to pay like the whole town! I think that’s a little more important!”
“Than you? Nah!” He waved away the suggestion and this time you did cover your face;
“Stop being so cute-!” You giggled again, “It’s not decent.”
He leant across the table, flashing a grin, “With you looking like that I don’t think I will!”
“Gerry-!”
Your general catch up talk continued, with him being the cutie that he always was – listening intently to all your musings and grumbles from the past week, before you caught sight of the time and, with you both working tomorrow, you left the bar and hit the parking lot.
You shivered, “Oh man, I thought it was supposed to get warmer!”
Immediately Gerry shrugged from his coat, and draped it around your shoulders. It was all you could do to look across to him – lips parted to say thank you, but never quite getting there at the sight of his gentle, sweet smile. You shook your head slowly at him – it wasn’t even that cold, you were joking; but Gerry would give his up for you anyway. And you wondered if he was oblivious; but how could he be? These days you weren’t even all that subtle about it, and you refused to believe that he thought it was just friendly banter. How can you not know… Gerry, how can you not?
This man spent his time reading people – he knew peoples tells. By now Gerry must have a good grasp of all yours… either he didn’t want to see it, or he was waiting. But for what?
He nudged your shoulder with his own; “You can keep it, if you need it.”
You attempted another flirt; “Well, I’ll return it… unless this is like one of those couple things where it just becomes an addition to my wardrobe?”
“That’s… your prerogative I guess.” He shrugged, smile still on his face and you very nearly rolled your eyes. If he wasn’t interested you kinda wished he’d just put you out of your misery. If Gerry was interested then you wished he’d give you a sign – one simple, obvious, flirt back was all you really wanted. Something to let you know exactly how what you said made him feel. If it was making him uncomfortable he’d let you know, wouldn’t he? You suspected even you could read that on him.
Gerry drove you home, accommodating his car to be as comfortable for you as possible. Perhaps you were thinking on it too much; but what if that was his tell. Gerry was perhaps not trying to tell you his feelings with words, but with his actions. The problem was that you couldn’t be sure; you didn’t want to assume this to be true. You couldn’t read people like Gerry could; before you believed it, he’d have to say it to your face…
It wasn’t the first time, or the last, that something like this would ever happen. And these journeys back from bars always seemed to provide the perfect backdrops to opportune moments. Sometimes in summer it was so nice outside that Gerry would simply walk you back home. When you could walk close to him so you always touched and lean in, pretending you couldn’t hear him and his soft, thoughtful voice. How sometimes you could use the excuse for hating the dark to hold his hand – even when there was a street lamp every 10 yards. Or when you’d reach your front porch and stand there saying goodbye for a little too long, embrace each other a little too tight, or stand in a comfortable silence staring at each other’s lips – so often sometimes you thought ‘this is it… this is the one where he’d going to kiss me.’
Maybe you were simply reading all the signs wrong, but there had to be something. He held you so close sometimes you could swear he’d hear your heartbeat and just know. You yearned for that moment, more than anything. Where you wouldn’t need to say anything – where it would just click, and Gerry would beam at you. That gorgeous smile of his that lit your world up.
“Oh… It’s you. You’ve always been right in front of me.”
Almost hung on forever though… and each and every time he simply said goodnight and slid his hand from yours your heart hurt a little more, yet your yearning for him grew stronger.
You’d long since stopped thinking that’d settle.
***
Your best friends at work of course knew everything about your little crush, and your office was small. So, whilst they had the most intimate detail of it – pretty much everyone knew about Gerry. At this point, Gerry might well have been the only one not to know you had a crush on him. From time to time, if you couldn’t meet in the evening, he’d swing by the office to take you somewhere for a lunchtime catch up. His car in the parking lot always accompanied by suggestive raised eyebrows by everyone in the office. Earning nothing more than a furious blush and SHUTUP!! from you.
As your meetings were a regular occurrence, and you clearly couldn’t keep a smile off your face the day of or the day after, the office was always buzzing with jokes. You could give as good as you got though, and always played this off as work banter. It didn’t matter too much to you, you kind of enjoyed the fact that everyone cared enough to ask questions. To their credit, most of the time they kept off the subject if Gerry wasn’t in the immediate vicinity.
Which is why, sitting at your desk and minding your own business, you found it odd that people started whistling in your general direction. You weren’t due to see him for another couple of days, why would they want to bother about it now? Raising your head, you looked around the office confused at the few stood up and ogling you with little smirks.
“What-!?” You were only met with chuckles, until your very best friend passed your desk, nonchalantly calling over her shoulder;
“Your boyfriend is in the parking lot.”
“He’s NOT my boyfr-” You turned suddenly, wait, Gerry-!? and sure enough he was standing against his car, looking like he was working up to something. “Oh. Shit-!”
“You better go out and get him, Y/N!”
“SHUT UP!” Although you could already feel yourself going red as you stood and headed towards the lobby. The building itself was glass fronted, so the moment he caught your movement Gerry smiled in relief and held up his hand in a wave, you waved back, still confused – walk turning into a jog as soon as you got outside.
“Gerry-!”
“Hey, Y/N! How are you doing?”
“I’m- I’m good yeah! What… what are you doing here?” You surveyed him, hands behind his back to straighten his stance.
“OH, I… just wanted to come and see my favourite person.”
Pink immediately painted your cheeks, and his smile couldn’t help but widen. Gerry knew you always called him cute, but he didn’t think you realised how utterly adorable you were.
“Me?”
“Mhm…” He beamed, “But I don’t think you needed to ask that question, right…?”
“Well I…” you bit your lip, “I guess I just wanted to check-!”
“Anyway, I got you something.”
Once again you couldn’t help but he surprised; “B-but Gerry! I told you not to spend your money on me.”
“Believe me, Y/N.” He sighed, “You’re more than worth it.”
You wondered where he could possibly have put wherever it was; until your registered his stance, and it hit you full in the face. Although you were smiling, you squinted suspiciously.
“Gerry…” You tipped your head, “Show me what's behind your back.”
He laughed, that little giggle of his; “Well, I thought you might like these.”
You gasped, hands flying to your mouth as Gerry presented you with a bunch of flowers – not just any flowers of course, but bright red roses. You were probably about the same colour right now.
“You got me roses?” Your voice was euphoric and you couldn’t help it; red roses were so romantic it was almost the best-known cliché. And right now you could be nothing but glad of that.
“Like I say, you’re worth it. NO, you… you deserve them!”
You were still red as you walked forward to receive them, “Oh… Gerry they’re so beautiful, thank you!”
Finally, finally there was a faint blush across his cheeks; “You’re welcome. I, uh…” that blush heightened, but he wasn’t looking at you, causing you to turn and very nearly cover your face again. In the time you’d been talking – and knowing your office - you’d gathered a small audience. Not only that, now they were all standing by the windows cheering. Several of them giving you a thumbs up.
You turned back to him, possibly the most embarrassed you’d ever been in your entire life, “I’m gonna kill ‘em!!”
Gerry scratched his head bashfully, but was still giggling; “No, you… you know that’s- Kinda helpful.”
“Helpful-!?”
“Yeah!” He grinned, “Y/N, you talk about me? That’s sweet!”
“I have never been more embarrassed that my entire team would sell me out like this!” You took a deep breath, shyly looking to the floor, “But, of course I talk about you Gerry. You- you just mean so much to me. I can’t really image my life without you now.”
He took a step forward and took your hand in his, immediately met with more cheering from your office, which made him flash a confident grin.
“I know how you feel. Not just because I’ve known for a little while now. Maybe more than just a little while but…” Gerry chewed his lip with a small shrug, “I understand because I feel the same about you.”
You could have heard a pin drop, part of you wanted to scream, part of you wanted to embrace him tighter than ever before and finally have those lips on yours, the rest of you wanted to run and hide – never to be found again!
Gerry nodded to your office, “But that… says a lot.” He grinned and turned back to you; and suddenly he wasn’t that shy, sweetheart that sat across from you nearly every week to tell you of everything that happened in his life – he was that confident gambler who was on a lucky streak, who could smirk and smooth talk himself all the way to a win. “So, I guess there’s just one thing to ask you, Y/N.”
Good God, was this happening? More importantly, was it happening in the middle of your work parking lot-!? But you just nodded, very nearly welling up but you couldn’t cry right now – besides, the teasing would be endless.
“Date? You and me, Saturday night?”
You couldn’t help but grin, and laugh, squeezing his hand a little tighter – and it was so obvious in your voice how much and for how long you’d wanted this. But you couldn’t care less; ”YES!”
---
12/16 - The four left are the big players. 👌👌 And one is Platonic! I’m so excited! We’re nearly there guys!
Dave + 27 - “No. Regrets.”
Requested by @sufferthesea
Author’s Note: Special mention to @crawlingmist for building on my plot.
It’s with great pleasure that I get to bring you this, with a song from my favourite musical! 😏😁
I barely needed to edit this one either. Sometimes, sometimes I get it just right...
The translated lyrics to the song are below, but really you need the song. No matter that it’s in French. It’s very Dave. The whole Aesthetic.
Le Bien Qui Fait Mal - Mozart L’Opera Rock
Disclaimer: MoR lyrics not mine / Lost River and all associated things not mine / gif not mine / some direct quoting from ‘Lost River’ used 😅
Premise: You’re the first singer that Dave has employed at his club, you also have a ‘je ne sais quoi’ that floods his thoughts. His curiosity can only be sated one way...
Words: 2530
Warnings: Sexual Connotations/Pre-Amble / Swearing
---
Where is this strange feeling coming from?
It fascinates me as much as it unsettles me
I shiver, pieced by beauty
It’s like a knife in my soul
The wound goes through my heart
And I take joy in the pain
Intoxicated by this poison
Until I lose my mind!
It’s so good it hurts
When you love, your hatred is perfectly normal
Take Pleasure
It’s so good to suffer
Succumb to the spell
Shed your tears
It’s so good it hurts (hurts me)
When you love, your sorrow is perfectly banal (it’s so good it hurts)
True delights
Come from torture
Lower your weapons
Shed your tears
I feel violent urges
It seems like I’m slipping into the depths
If I ignore the source of this curse
I love letting it under my skin
Bewitched by mad ideas
Suddenly my urges arise
Desire becomes my prison
Until I lose my mind!
---
The world was spinning. Like he was drunk, or maybe high. Or maybe he was something else...
Whatever he was, Dave was out of his head. He was going crazy; he was confused. Because he didn’t know why. You? The sound of your voice? What you were wearing? All of it? All of that in this setting?
He wanted so badly to look away but Dave couldn’t tear his eyes from you.
The pleasure was insane, but it almost hurt just as bad. Wasn’t that the point, after all. Wasn’t that why this club existed?
Dave didn’t have a singer at his club. He didn’t see himself as counting, he didn’t sing every night. It was a rarity; his treat and gift to everyone.
Until you. And Dave wasn’t here every night to listen to you sing - but right now he felt that was going to change.
He had heard you sing before - your voice sweet and pretty, gently melodic. One that - in his opinion - would sound good mixed with his (no matter what way that would be). But a short one song audition for him and a voice he liked wasn’t this.
This was a culmination of all of that. Yet your voice tonight?
Oooh... this was deeper, richer, sultry. With the music and lyrics too? Dave thought about loosening buttons.
He relaxed the way he was sitting and tried to take a calming deep breath. It helped nothing. He wondered if you’d been nervous before - a job you desperately needed? - now you were in your element; but it couldn’t have been him that had made you nervous. Because, as if feeling like this wasn’t enough, your eyes hadn’t moved from staring at him.
Usually Dave would love to have a gorgeous woman stare at him like this. He was a typical ‘love them and leave them.’ People didn’t steal his heart - the only relationship Dave was ever really after was physical.
And yes, yes, you were affecting him like that. He’d make sure you knew you didn’t get to give him such a stare without being pinned up against something, somewhere. Still, his heart. His pulse was running wild - Dave didn’t blush, but if he thought he was capable…
He didn’t know what was happening, but he felt sick. Dave shifted again, finally able to prize his eyes away from you. He squeezed them tightly shut, feeling lightheaded once more.
Rob leant over, “You okay?”
“Yeah...” Dave counted himself lucky that his voice managed to be that steady, then he nodded “Yeah.” Then waved towards the stage, “After she’s done. Send her to me.” He cleared his throat, eyes drawn back to you. “I think we need a little talk...”
**
The club was emptying by the time you got a chance to go to him. That was mostly because Rob, with his own duties, was delayed in getting the message to you, and you had a few things you had to attend to yourself before you heeded Dave’s call. By that time it was getting late anyway, so you preferred to wait until the club was quiet to go to him.
Dave found the waiting time more agony than he could possibly imagine. He was supposed to be enjoying everyone else’s performances, but he simply couldn’t. His mind stirred and always sent him back to you – the way it felt like those eyes of yours were reaching into his very soul and uncovering the darkest secrets he held, it was more than just seeing through him – you were undoing him, piece by piece. And sitting here waiting for you, Dave was forced to relive it. He closed his eyes trying to block you out, somehow, but you were already in his head. You weren’t about to let go. With realisation, Dave knew that he wouldn’t let you go either. Not until he had what you had him aching for.
When you walked smoothly back out onto the stage, Dave was still sitting at his top table. One leg crossed over the other he was tipping his chair back – taking long, slow drags from his cigarette. His blue eyes flicked to you as soon as he noticed your presence. Even without the lights and the ambiance, you were still striking standing up there. He couldn’t ignore that; it clearly wasn’t the club, it was just you – and you were setting him on fire.
Dave kept his eyes on you as he placed his cigarette to his lips once more and you swallowed hard, you weren’t sure that you could trust him. You weren’t sure about a lot of things, this job and the people that worked here. But you were sure that you wanted him, and nearly just as sure that he felt the same. Even from way up here, it wasn’t hard to see your effect on him considering you’d been watching him for your entire set.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t realise- Would you like me to come and sit with you?” You were gentle and polite, and moved towards the steps down onto the floor. Dave stilled you as he set his chair back on all four legs and rose, taking one last drag before he stubbed out his cigarette.
“Stay.” He walked across the room, not breaking your eye contact. Dangerous. Yet, you were attracted to that danger.
Dave joined you on stage, wasting no time; “Pick a song.”
“Sorry?”
“A song. Pick one.” It was more of a demand than anything, yet it still left you confused.
“May I ask why?”
He wasn’t sure if he was impressed with you or annoyed. Why would you not just do as he asked? And yet he admired that you weren’t shying away from him with a timid stammer.
“Sing with me.”
Your face flushed, but your nerve held; “You sing?” Then before he could respond, which meant Dave was reduced to nodding, “Why ask me to perform if you can sing?”
“Why wear out my talents every evening?” Dave turned his eyes to the empty room and flashed a smirk, “No. I’ll only sing on occasion, my dear – not everyone out there deserves to hear me.”
You dared to look away from him to find some kind of music player – the lack of one would mean he wanted to sing with you acapella. You regarded him again, wondering what his singing voice was like. What it might feel like to hear it for the first time – if he’d be able to harmonize with you. What if it was you that couldn’t harmonize with him?
He stared at you again, curiously, awaiting your answer. “What if you don’t know it?”
“You’d be surprised. What’s your choice?”
“There’s no music.”
“You best not be trying to get out of this…” He walked forward to the microphones, beckoning you with him – and you followed. Unnervingly eager to hear this for yourself. “With a voice as intoxicating as yours, you hardly need musical accompaniment.” Dave’s eyes flashed and your lips parted – but you realised he was daring you to retaliate to such a seemingly forbidden piece of information. “Now come on.” He placed his hand to the shell of his ear, “I still haven’t heard a name…”
You gave him one and for a moment you wondered if you had found something he didn’t know, as Dave stood in silence staring at the ceiling. You nearly jumped as the eerie silence was suddenly filled with a hummed melody at his recollection. The smirk returned as his gaze fell back to your face.
“Am I right?”
“…Yes…” You breathed, stepping to the mic. He took a step away and nodded, indicating that the floor was yours. Convinced that none of this could have been for a good reason, you took a deep breath and closed your eyes; imagining the opening notes in your head, imagining there was really a band behind you and crowd in front. All here for you, but also him.
You opened your eyes again and with your confidence, incredibly, sky-high you began singing.
Dave lost it almost immediately. You were still dressed as you had been when you’d performed; to be honest with the level of attraction he was still feeling towards you – whether that be purely lust, or something more, he didn’t know – it would have been enough. But when there was no music to focus on, when it was just your voice, it was almost worse. Beautiful and haunting, as you hit every note; Dave didn’t even think you’d have needed a microphone what with the way it echoed around the deserted building. You had no pressure here, no one was focusing on you, you didn’t have to be the source of entertainment – just to sing whatever you wanted.
Then he joined you, and were you not in the zone, you would have tripped on your notes – you certainly nearly lost key as he brought his up to yours. His voice was smooth and rich, a little different to that semi-raspy tone he usually talked with. And as you continued to sing together, playfully pushing him into high and low sections, between softer sequences and real power notes you couldn’t help but be shocked at the range he had. A voice that was persuasive, seductive, but, like him, not quite true and trustworthy. A voice that didn’t ask you to do something, but gently implied you should do it – until it was all you could think about. Until you wanted to do it for him. Not ‘will you?’; ‘You will.’. You weren’t sure what that thing was either, but it certainly had a hold of you – and you had a distinct feeling you were now looking at each other in exactly the same way.
You were both asking for trouble.
As the song and your voices faded out, and the room lapsed back into silence, your ears were ringing. The tension you felt in your body surrounded you, it was in the very air you were breathing – and Dave crossed the stage with purpose before grabbing you.
You expected it, the way he pulled you into him, and your fingers dug into his arms as his kiss engulfed you. It felt better than the sound of his voice insisted that it would, and you were sure you were going insane at the feel of him this close to you. His pull back was quick and violent – and although his blue eyes were dark and telling you exactly what he wanted, his glare was also hard.
But you were smirking; because you had Dave right where you wanted him.
“Who are you?”
“Too much for you to handle.” You stepped back into him, letting him know that you were hardly afraid of him – nor to admit what you wanted.
His intake of breath was sharp and he shook his head, eyes searching yours for a sign that you were teasing. You best not be – you best mean it. “Y/N. Let me tell you something, right now. I like to fuck and when I meet a bad bitch, it drives me crazy. But you drive me crazier than any other fucking woman I’ve ever known. And I want you NOW.”
He wasn’t sure what he would see in you as he gripped you a little tighter, but your smile was not it. It didn’t look like it belonged on your face, sinfully wicked, to accompany your small laugh. You very nearly took Dave’s breath away. Your eyes ran his body as you replied, drawing up slowly, the lip bite was teasing – but the kind he wanted to tolerate; “I’ve been here enough times to have seen you sitting on your little table. And you drive me crazy.” You pulled him closer to your body, wrapping your arms around his neck and locked your intense stare with his; “Coincidentally - you’re the only man in this club I’m here for, and the only one I’d let put his hands all over me.”
Dave bit his lip, this hum not of notes but of satisfaction. You meant business. You craved him as much as he did you. With your arms around his neck the decision was already made, he hoisted you off the floor and walked you from the stage to the first table he saw. Though the patrons had vacated the premises, drinks glasses and bottles still adorned nearly all the tables. But with your body pressed up against his, and the feel of your heart beat – erratic in anticipation – Dave couldn’t care less about that.
Holding you strong in one arm he cleared the table with one sweep of his other, before laying you back on it. The crash of breaking glass deterred neither one of you. But he paused for just a second as his hands found either side of your waist.
“Promise me something.”
You tilted your head to the side, wondering what exactly Dave – of all people – would want you to promise now. Why he’d want you to promise anything. You weren’t exactly sure you cared if this was a one-time thing.
“What is it you want me to promise?”
“That you won’t regret this.”
You raised an eyebrow, wondering if that was something he should be saying. Did women often regret sleeping with him? Instead you simply smiled, pulling him down to kiss you. “No. Regrets.”
His eyes fluttered closed for a moment as he accepted your kiss, and then he straightened.
Hooking your legs around himself Dave held you there, gaze locking with yours again. It was clear he wanted you to know exactly what you were doing to him with the way he pushed himself against you.
You didn’t see the point in holding back your groan – Dave already knew you craved him. His fingertips grazing along your skin, taking your dress with them, was something else altogether – and as he rolled his hips over yours, your eyes fluttered closed.
“Oh… Dave…” Your voice was soft, whispered just for him. His fingers brushed down your thighs as your dress climbed higher up your body.
Dave paused again, with a delicious little smirk before he bent to kiss you once more – liking the feel of your fingers running through his hair to mess it up. He figured he’d quite like you to be pulling it, but Dave would save that for later.
“You are so fucking beautiful.” He placed his hands on your hips, and had the audacity to wink at you. He got the feeling you’d be feisty. He liked that.
Dave hooked his fingers under your lingerie, and pushing them to one side. His blue eyes flashed once more, darkening as they flicked back to your face. All he wished to know then was if your sex was as torturous as your presence. What that gorgeous voice of yours would sound like now. So good it hurts…
You bit your lip, moving your hips eagerly in anticipation. You got the feeling by the look on his face, that regret wasn’t even going to remotely factor into this.
George VI + 5, 18 & 31 - “I’m not here to make friends.” / “What’s the matter, sweetie?” / “I haven’t slept in ages.”
Requested by @purebloodwitch
Author’s Note: This makes it 30 Mendos with readers anyway. Is that crazy-!? It feels crazy!
The girl who started this way on back with Danny in January 2019 had no idea she’d end up here... no idea what she was in for! 😁 And now she has all of you, too!
Reasons it’s not “x” reader? Simple, I feel kinda uncomfortable doing that because he was a real person - and Y’know, being from the UK myself he’s the father of the Queen - it wouldn’t have felt right.
But I did want to write this one, so here’s some platonic George! 😊
How Did You Love - Shinedown
Disclaimer: ...Uh. Well I guess I didn’t make up History / Darkest Hour has nothing to do with me / Lyrics not mine / gifs not mine - the usual stuff!
For fact, I did some research about Royal Assistants, and some of them have been female...
Premise: It’s getting late in the evening, and the King is still working. You have just been given the unenviable task of trying to get him to retire to bed.
Words: 2099
Warnings: N/A
____
You can have a sound of the thousand voices calling your name
You can have the light of the world blind you, bath you in grace
But I don't see so easily what you hold in your hands
'Cause castles crumble, kingdoms fall and turn into sand
You can be an angel of mercy or give in to hate
You can try to buy it just like it every other careless mistake
How do you justify I'm mystified by the ways of your heart
With a million lies the truth will rise to tear you apart
This ain't no cross to bury
We are the judge and jury, we are the judge and jury
No one gets out alive, every day is do or die
The one thing you leave behind
Is how did you love, how did you love?
It's not what you believe those prayers will make you bleed
But while you're on your knees
How did you love, how did you love?
---
It was getting pretty late when Elizabeth sent you to him. You had just about finished up your own work for the day, but you were more than happy to oblige her request; she couldn’t have seen so much of her husband these days. Especially not these days.
You made your way through the Palace swiftly to find the King sitting at his desk tapping his pen against paper, deep in thought.
You knocked politely on the door, rousing him, and when his eyes locked on you he narrowed them;
“Yes?”
“Sir, I have been sent by your wife to remind you that it’s getting late, and perhaps you aught to think about getting some rest.”
He sighed, “Of course you have.” Then looked around himself wearily; “Would that I could, I have much to attend to.”
You crossed the room, “Well, I don’t have to go home quite yet, is there anything I can help with?” Anything to do what you’d actually been asked to (You were slightly more scared of Elizabeth than you were him, too). You were the assistant secretary to the Sovereign, and you had never loved a job more than this one – it was just never a job you’d expected to have. For obvious reasons. George was never meant to be King.
He pushed out his chair, and rifled through his desk before handing you a stack of papers; “I’m going to have to send a lot of notices out first thing tomorrow. Would you make sure these are all sorted and filed correctly.”
“Yes Sir.”
He glanced to the window, “I suppose we should be closing all the curtains at this late hour also… It shouldn’t be long before we’re issued a black out warning, I would think.”
George motioned to stand, “No, it’s okay, I can do it… I shall need to collect envelopes from my office for these anyway…” You stacked the paper on a second table and turned back to him, “…Would you like anything else, Sir?”
“I’m sure I can find more for you to do if need be.” He gave a nod, to dismiss you for now, and you backed out of the room.
Making your way quickly to your usual office, you realised you wouldn’t be leaving any time soon – gathering a collection of envelopes you made your way back to him, checking your watch. You could write quick and still be neat, so you could have all of this done before midnight.
Placing them down you drew the curtains, lingering for a second to stare at the moon. You would never get tired of the view from here either…
Crossing back, he held out another paper to you. “Addresses…” he explained “You’ll need them.”
You took it gently from him, “…Thank you.”
You were about half way through before George made another sound; “Y/N?”
“Yes Sir?”
“Just how long have you been in my service?”
You looked across to your King, head tipped – he was still concentrating hard on the paper in front of him. “Uh…” You only gave the illusion of having to think hard about it, “Eight years?”
“Eight years.” He blew out a breath, “Fancy still having to address all my letters after eight years.”
“I do enjoy my job, Sir.” You smiled gently, glad to see that he did also, before turning to you, eyebrow raised,
“Is that so?”
“Yes Sir. But, I’m not here to make friends.”
He couldn’t help but laugh, “Friends? I’m simply passing the time of day.”
“Evening.” You reminded him, “Late evening. Elizabeth is possibly not best pleased with me helping you and not forcing you to bed.”
“You needn’t worry about her; I shall certainly take the blame.” Although you were only half joking about being friends with him – there was a certainly level of friendship to be gained from being in someone’s service for the best part of eight years.
“I certainly must worry about her!” You possibly did more for the Queen than you did him these days, and reminding yourself that she did keep him in check meant a lot could be said about what you would face should you fail here. Still, you knew how much Elizabeth worried for him, and you worried for him too. The King would run himself into the ground if he kept going the way he had been – and his health wasn’t the best as it was. You didn’t want to fail here.
He continued to watch you fold and seal letters, and you thought that getting distracted may well have been half the problem; “I suppose really you should like to return home.”
“Not necessarily, Sir. If I have work to do – that is certainly paramount.”
“You have someone to return to, yes?”
You bit your lips together, raising your gaze to him again and blinked a few times, shaking your head; “No, Sir.”
“Oh?”
“He, uh…” Although even in the low lighting, George could see the tears smarting your eyes;
“Oh. I see, I’m… I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault.” You rubbed your eyes, “I’m sorry, Sir.”
“You needn’t apologise to me. I have upset you.” He sighed gently, “May I ask, your opinion on our Prime Minister?”
You thought it was a strange jump, but logical. The thread of war ran through most conversations now. “You didn’t…” you hummed before answering his question, “I believe, perhaps if anyone will get us through this he will.”
George nodded thoughtfully, “Do you believe that is the opinion of the country?”
“I do, Sir. I certainly do.”
“Thank you.” He gave a firm nod of agreement, and turned back to his paper – conversation over. But suddenly his deep thought became frantic scribbling – and it left you wondering exactly what you might have said, but you were grateful for it.
Once you had finished your task, you thought he might let you go and accompany you out of the room. No such luck.
“Ah, one more thing before you go – would you distribute the letters accordingly, make sure they are all ready for the morning?”
“Of course.” You nodded, and then kicked yourself for not being stronger but wondered what exactly you were supposed to do. You may be able to gently coax him, but you couldn’t force the King to stop working and go to bed. After you’d placed them in all the correct pigeon holes for mail distribution, you were making your way back to him to say goodnight and froze.
Coming down the stairs, wondering exactly where her husband was, was the Queen herself.
“Elizabeth-!” Your voice was at least a little timid and you bowed your head, “My apologies – I tried but, he just won’t…”
But she smiled gently, “I thought as much. I’ve come to collect him, thank you for trying. Oh dear, I hope he hasn’t had you working?”
“Oh. I... enjoy it!”
She tsked you, “Must I apologise on behalf of my husband now-!?”
“No, he- I was happy to help – I thought it might get him to you sooner.”
“Nonsense, you should be on the way home.” She touched your cheek gently, “Look what he’s doing to you! Don’t you worry, darling, I’ll handle this.”
You couldn’t help but grimace a little as you watched her stalk towards his drawing room; you were going to get him in trouble, you could already tell. You followed close behind, ready to come to his aid if needs must.
Elizabeth didn’t even need to knock, and as soon as she entered the room she sighed deeply;
“What’s the matter, sweetie?”
“Oh. Nothing more than usual.” He blustered, as she made her way to him, sitting on his desk.
“Darling, come to bed. You cannot rule a Kingdom on as little sleep as you’ve been getting…”
“Sleep? I haven’t slept in ages.”
She ran a hand through his hair, “Well, shouldn’t that say it all? Come along. Come to bed.”
“But I just need to-”
She stopped him, taking his pen from his hand, “You don’t need to just anything… Besides, you’re running our staff into the ground as much as you are yourself. And you need them at their best, as much as the country need you at your best.” She smiled, “You need to set an example, my darling.”
You felt embarrassed, and although you wanted to cover your face, you couldn’t look away from this. Watching the Queen be sweet but stern with George was a sight that was possibly a rarity to get to witness. And all of a sudden you found yourself overcome with a range of emotion; you placed your hand to your heart for a moment with a smile, and realised how much you were yearning - All I can wish for now is a love like this…
George stood, and let her take his arm, “I suppose you are right.”
“I am right.” She laughed gently, and leant up to kiss his cheek. And even your King couldn’t help but beam at that.
You backed from the room again as they walked through and stood politely to one side as they continued their conversation. The way that they looked at each other like they couldn’t possibly have been more in love. From how she was holding his arm, to the way that he was smiling at her…
You loved this family so much – eight years’ service may have been a long time, but it wouldn’t be enough. You hoped you got to be here for the rest of his reign. And you hoped to witness many more moments like this.
Elizabeth paused their chatter, and turned to you with a brilliant smile and a slight bow of her head, making you bow yours politely in turn.
“Thank you, Y/N. For attempting to get this stubborn man to bed. And for helping him, when he needs it the most.”
“It’s my pleasure. Any time…”
George was smiling too, though, “Extremely good work, Ms.L/N... but I want you here bright and early to finish up!”
He was joking, of course and you could tell that by his amusement, but the Queen swatted his arm; “Leave the poor girl alone and let’s get to bed-!!! It’ll be tomorrow before you let her get home!”
“In fact,” the King glanced at the first clock he could find, “She’s probably missed the last train. Y/N, perhaps you would like to stay in a guest room tonight?”
Your heart caught in your chest for a moment, you were certainly honoured to even be asked such a thing “Oh, I-”
“Yes.” Elizabeth agreed, “Stay. But don’t let him have you up too early now! I’ll keep an eye on him!”
George chuckled, and you blushed again at their kindness, “I… I would like to accept your offer, that’s extremely generous of you.”
“Ah, nonsense.” He smiled, “You’ve stayed with us before, no?”
“Yes, but not here.”
Elizabeth turned to him, “Don’t get any ideas that she will stay and work ridiculous hours for you now!”
“Perish the thought!” The King smiled and then nodded to you, “Goodnight, Ms.Y/N. I shall see you tomorrow.”
“Goodnight, Sir. Goodnight, Elizabeth.”
She let go of his arm and embraced you, “Thank you. I know you’ll look after him well.”
“Oh, you did the work…” You hugged her back, “…It is me who should be thanking you for letting me stay.”
She shook her head to let you know you didn’t have to thank her, “Please, it’s our pleasure, and quite honestly-” Elizabeth looked back to her husband, “-my relief!”
George coughed but didn’t offer retaliation, “You know you way to the guest wing?”
You nodded, “I do, Sir.”
“Good, see yourself to bed. And make sure you are well rested.”
“I will, I promise!” You bowed before waving them off and watched them ascend the stairs together, the way she was quite clearly still chiding him for being up so late – but his gentle responses, and the way that they laughed together.
You couldn’t help but stare after them and yearn once more for a relationship just like that, and eventually a marriage like they had. It was clear how much love and respect they had for each other – and right then, now more so than ever you were happy that they were the heads of your Monarchy.
You watched them until they were out of sight, and couldn’t help but beam as you turned up the corridor to the guest rooms. They were both right of course – it was about time you got some sleep, after all, it sounded like you had another busy day in store.
But it wasn’t something you would miss for the world.
“Linzi!” I hear you cry “I just don’t know where to start!”
Well, I mean, I don’t know if you DO look at my Masterlist and think that - but, on the off chance you do, or you’re new around here, or perhaps simply curious about what my 10 favourite fics (that I’ve written) are.
Because I admit, nearly 150 fics across 27 Mendos (+ 4 to be added) is a lot to work through.
LOOK NO FURTHER! I’ve put together a definative list of my 10 favourites for you!
Happy reading 😘❤
1. Sway - Part 1 (Danny Rayburn x Reader)
No list would be complete without ‘Sway’. Without this fic we wouldn’t be here, and you wouldn’t be reading this right now. It’s the first one, but I’m still so proud of it. I’m proud of the whole series, and it’s still one of my favourite relationships I’ve ever written.
Sway set the bar. I still struggle writing Danny without her.
2. Halfway Home (Ralph Anderson x Shifter!Reader)
Mostly I love this for the unusual premise. I just wanted to do something really out there!
By giving him a Cryptid reader there’s so much to explore with Ralph - particularly after all he’s been through at this stage. It’s also a ‘I read my work back and was super proud of it’ moment.
3. Champagne (Orson Krennic x OC)
12 months and 25K in the making. If you’re going to read it, there’s fair warning that it’s the long haul! But I LOVE this fic so much.
If I thought I wouldn’t bail on these two I would write their story. Lorena and Krennic are honestly my self-made OTP and the reason I didn’t write for him for a long while. Lorena is also The Original™ Mendo Girl, she holds a very special place in my heart.
All this fic really needs now is some feedback...
4. Sugar (Nolan Sorrento x Reader)
Sugar makes me insanely happy every time I get a note on it. It’s re-readability is high and every time I do, it makes me smile.
It’s the “fun” fic on this list; a feel good one! I got to showcase ‘my’ Nolan as well as giving him the edge I see in so many fics...
(It also has a never published sequel... But more on that anon.)
5. Science & Faith - Part 1 (Talos/Keller x OC)
I wrote this one before I saw the movie and if I’m honest, if I hadn’t have panic-published it anyway this would have been all Keller’s.
It was nice to finally do something with an OC I’ve had since 2015. Parts of this will probably make it into her OG story, too.
6. Somewhere on a Beach (Ned Kendall x Reader)
I read a Ned Kendall fic just before I started this - and it was honestly one of the best fan works I’d ever read. It immediately had me thinking there was no way I could ever write for him, because I’d never match it.
In reality what happened was it pushed me to write my very best for the Write-r, and I ended up with another fic that has me saying ‘I really wrote this-!?’
7. Moderation (Gerry x Reader)
Some people might be surprised to see this one make the list. While it’s true I can’t read this fic beginning to end, that reason is also the reason it has to be on here. This fic is very personal to me.
It’s one of my more popular ones, so I guess the scenario resonates with you guys too-!
8. Young God (Sheriff of Nottingham x Reader)
I have had this described to me as my best work. I wouldn’t disagree with that.
I don’t know what lightning bolt struck my pen (to paraphrase Luke Bryan’s ‘Land of a Million Songs’), I don’t know what writing Gods possessed me and helped me write this. But something was on my side.
It deserves more notes than it has. I honestly believe that.
9. I Think He Knows (Orson Krennic x Reader)
I’ll be honest, it’s probably a tie between this and ‘I Do Now’ - but the reason this one wins out is because it’s a request series. I haven’t finished the fourth and final part, but it’s nice for a request to just keep giving in such a way.
This is also one of my more popular Krennic works, despite the fact it’s a relationship I never thought I’d write for him. So this one is another little blessing in disguise! I’m glad so many people like it!
10. Last Habit (Andrew ‘Pope’ Cody x Reader)
Getting Ben’s version of Andrew right is extremely hard for me. I’ve also watched the show so, most of the time Andrew ends up a mix of both.
This makes the list because it’s probably the first time I was successful. Also it’s proof that if you point out something about a Ben Mendelsohn character off-handedly to me, I WILL write a fic about it.
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There you have it! As I continue to write these will change, but for now, this is how things stand 😊
