just me

"You really like this movie don't you?"

You jumped, not expecting someone to talk to you. Your heartbeat fasten like crazy before you realised who it was.

"What are you doing here? Are you not supposed to be on a date today?"

"I thought I would take some time off dating. People expect too much of this Valentines Day."

"What? You can't bear to bring flowers or a gift for one of your friend?"

You never judged the tall mischievous God. He was living his life fully and that was good for him. You also knew that he didn't have a girlfriend but a lot of one night stand. You wondered if it was his choice or theirs.

"If I start to do that, they will think that it’s more than what it is."

"I see. So you are here alone tonight."

"It seems that it was the best plan. If not, you would have been alone."

"You want to keep me company?"

Loki and you were teammates. It arrived from time to time that you would do things together like reading or with the team but you never watched a movie alone with him. You weren’t sure he would actually like this one.

"If you want me too."

"Sure. The more the merrier. I am just not sure you will like it. It’s kind of very girly."

“Let’s try it.”

He saw a little bit of the movie while he was making tea. He wasn’t sure he would actually like it but it would probably not hurt him to much to try. He knew that he needed to make some efforts to be more part of the team. He thought that it would be the perfect moment to try. You were always nice to him even after what he did and never tried to blame him. He knew that it didn’t mean that you were forgiving his acts but he was trying and it was good enough for you. You told him once and he believed you. He just needed to not screw up again. You took back your place, giving a piece of your blanket to Loki.  

You explained a bit the movie before putting play again. After a while, you saw Julia Roberts coming back to Hugh Grant in his strange Londonian house. You didn’t like the roommate of his character but with time, you were use to it. You saw them kiss and your body was filling with envy.

"I miss that."

"Miss what?"

"I miss having someone to kiss."

Loki looked at you. You were still facing the screen.

"You must kiss a lot of people."

You were taken aback by his statement. You looked at him.

"What make you thing that?"

"Because you are a wonderful mortal and very pretty."

Your cheeks pinked at the compliment.

"Thank you but no, I don't kiss a lot of people."

The God found it strange. He didn’t really know if you were dating or not. You were always quiet and often unseen at night. He supposed that you had your fair share of lovers or people to sleep with.

He wanted to make you happy at this moment. He couldn’t help himself.

"Do you want us to kiss?"

You looked at him big eyes. You were really surprised by his question. Seeing how you were looking at him, Loki was afraid that he made a mistake, taking back his question.

"I didn’t want to offend you, we don't have to."

"It's just... I was not saying that for you to ask me to kiss you."

"I know darling. I am asking you because we are both alone tonight and it seems like you need a little something."

You looked at him a bit suspicious. When you see that he is not lying, your heartbeat comes back to normal

"Alright, but just for tonight."

"Just for tonight."

He brings you closer to him. You look at his lips, which seems really soft before looking at him in his eyes. You grip his shirt before leaning to kiss him. In the beginning, you were a bit shy. Even if it is a one-time thing, you don't want him to regret asking you to kiss him. His lips were soft, so soft. You got lost in the kiss. He deepened it, taking control of the situation. Carefully, he lies you down on the sofa. You found the bottom of his shirt. You caress him. He shivers at your contact but doesn't stop you. Your legs circle him. You don't want him to stop kissing you. You make out for more than half an hour. It was supposed to be only kissing right but you didn’t want it to end. You could feel your panties damped in your wetness. Nobody had ever kissed you like him. At the beginning, it was slow but now, it felt like the passion was off chart, fighting for the control, moaning in each other mouth. He started to rock his hips against yours. You gripped his shoulders before he broke the kiss.

"Do you more darling?"

"Please, yes, please."

He magically transported both of you into his bedroom. He didn't wait a second more before removing your clothes by magic.

“You don’t have to leave.”

You turn to look at Loki bringing back a cloth to clean you. You thought he went to the bathroom to clean himself and that it was a clue for you to leave.

“In general, I see your friends leave as soon as it’s over.”

“That’s true but this is not the same thing.”

“Loki, I thought we said”

“Yes, we did Darling but Valentine’s Day is not over yet so if you want to stay, you can, if you don’t, you don’t have to.”

“Can we cuddle?”

“You don’t have to ask.”

You go back to bed giggling. You let him clean you before taking you in his arms. It felt good, really good. You felt protected and loved. It was just for the night but it felt really nice to have someone to spend the night with.

After that night; you saw Loki more and more at the team events. It might have been just a movie, game nights or diner nights that often finished in stories time. It was nice to see him trying his best to integrate the team. His demeanour was changing slowly but surely. You liked to see him like this, accessible and kinder. You became closer and after you suggested one time to have another night together, it became something regular. You both were clear that it was only to release some tensions and for you to have nice intercourse with someone that was here for you. It was actually the perfect friendship. He was making sure that you learned new technics to not get hurt and you were making sure that he was not offending someone with his comments. He couldn’t help himself to sometimes be a bit too much of a God and not be careful enough with his sayings. The team was used to it but you still thought that helping him might be a good thing if he had to one day speak to the public.

It wasn’t until a few nights ago that you realised that it wasn’t enough for you. That night, you saw a woman leaving Loki’s bedroom. You felt jealous. You thought that things were good between you and didn’t actually expected for your friend to have someone else over. It made you feel insecure. Weren’t you good enough for him? Did he actually prefer her? Was he doing this just for you and wasn’t satisfied? After all, he was a God and you were a simple mortal, not as pretty as the woman leaving the building. You looked at yourself. Of course, he would prefer this other woman. How could he like a small, plus size woman with too much weight on her?

In the beginning, you thought that it was actually nothing. You weren’t really jealous and it will pass away. The problem is, it wasn’t just a thought that came that night. Now, when you were seeing him, you felt your heart beat faster and butterflies waking up when his eyes found yours, his smile widening when he realised that you were in the same room as him. You didn’t thought anything more that the fact that he was still seeing you as a friend when it was now clear that you felt more for him. How could you not? He was the person that you grew the closest to in the last five months. He was always here for you but now, everything felt different. It was just a friends with benefit relationship for him when you wanted more. So you decided that you needed to change that. You decided that it was time to find a boyfriend. Your relationship with Loki was a safety net. You didn’t need more until now.

After you told Loki that you had a boyfriend and couldn’t continue the agreement that you had with him, the God got confused. He didn’t understand why everything changed so suddenly. You didn’t tell him that you were looking for someone else. He tried to found answers from Natasha. You were close to her and he hoped she could help him but she didn’t know more than him. He tried to not show how much your decision affected him. He thought that you were happy with him and the way the things were between you. He never thought that you would stop everything without talking to him. You really did see him just as a friend that you slept with.

It has been four months since you started to date Stefan. Tonight was your anniversary. You told him that you had a surprise for him and to not plan anything. You brought him to Tony's party. You knew he was a big fan of him and all the Avengers in general. It was the occasion for Stefan to meet all of them. You told him to put a nice suit and to follow you.

Once you arrived at the party, you tried to find your friends. You could see some of them. You presented your boyfriend and they start to talk. After a while, you needed to fill your drink. You saw Loki at the bar, your heart stopped. You wouldn't get used to him being this magnificent. He was wearing a black suit with a green shirt. His eyes found yours and he smiled at you. He took his drink to meet you. You started to talk. It has been a while since you were just in his company. You missed him, you miss the way it was easy to talk to him about everything. You talked for a long time, laughing at what he was saying. Your boyfriend came to find you.

"Hey, I thought you abandoned me."

"No, sorry, I was just talking to Loki. Stefan, this is Loki, Loki, this is Stefan, my boyfriend."

"Nice to meet you."

“You too.”

After the three of you talked for a while, Loki would have never thought that you would fall for someone so small and so ordinary. You needed someone that was putting you first, that could make you see things, everything that you wanted. Your boyfriend seemed the opposite of what you told him that you wanted in a man. He could feel that something was off even if Stefan seemed nice. He was so confused of what could have made this happen. You deserved better. You deserved the world and all the galaxies. You deserved to be treated as a queen.

The night with your boyfriend went well. He finally met his heroes and everybody seemed to like him. Once he left for work, you decided to go back in the compound for an early training. You enter the kitchen happy of this new day.

"Hi everybody."

"Good morning."

You took a mug in the cupboard. You could feel the tension in the room. It was really strange. You turned to look back at your teammates.

"What's going on?"

"We don't want to intrude or anything."

"What are you talking about?"

Nobody really wanted to say. It wasn't really their place, but at the same time, you were their friend. Tony couldn't help himself. He knew that even if you lashed on him, you would forgive him on day. You didn’t always see eye to eye but you knew he had your back.

"Something with your boyfriend is wrong."

"What are you talking about?"

"He seemed false like he was hiding something."

"You don't even know him. He was just anxious to meet you."

"No, it felt like something else."

You looked at all of them. They seem to agree. You started to get mad. You knew he wasn't the perfect man, but nothing was wrong with him. You knew he wouldn't hurt you or anybody else. Like if the last nail needed to be put, Loki entered the room smiling.

"Good morning."

"Yeah yeah, good morning."

You left the room, too angry to talk. They saw him only once and they thought they knew what was happening. They didn't. How could they say things like? It seemed like things went very well and now, they talked about your boyfriend behind your back. You went to the gym to train yourself and relieve some tension. You couldn’t believe that they told you that. You shook your head. No, nothing was wrong with him.

You were back in the Quinjet walking with difficulties. A grenade with picks blew up in front of you and almost killed you. Loki threw himself in front of you to block the deadly picks coming toward you. You helped each other to leave the building and coming back alive. You didn’t expect the base to be full of traps. It seemed like Hydra was putting more efforts on trying to kill you.

Once everybody was on board, Steve went to talk to you.

“Y/N, what happened? You need to be more careful. If Loki hadn’t been here, you would probably be dead by now.”

“Mistakes happen Cap or did you never do one?”

Your tone was harsh, very different of what he was use to.

“Hey hey, I am just saying”

You interrupted him.

“Saying what? That I screw up? Yes, I did and this why we have teammates to help us. Not that I wanted to endanger anybody in the first place.”

Steve looked at you surprised. You never talked to him like this before. He knew that something was wrong put couldn’t say what.

“Do you want to talk about what’s bothering you?”

“Why do something has to bother me? Drop it Cap. It was a simple mistake.”

You didn’t want to lash on him. He was always the sweetest and he always tried his best to be a good captain. You just didn’t have it in you to talk. The picks were still hurting you. You started to remove them one by one, clenching your teeth.

It’s been two days since you came back from the mission. You were still on hinge, and you needed time for yourself. You weren’t still heal and you could still feel where the picks found their way inside your body. After your shower, you went to bed to read a little bit but stumble your toe in the foot of your desk. You started to curse and throw yourself on the bed, tears dripping.  

Loki was passing by when he heard sniffles coming from your room. He hadn't really talked to you since the morning in the kitchen which was three months ago, but he wasn't about to let you be sad. He knocked at your door. You tried your hardest not to respond.

"Darling, it's me. Please let me know what is disturbing you. Would you open the door for me?"

You didn't want to. You knew that if you saw him, you would just want to hug him and feel his warmth. This is what you were longing for. He called your name another time, telling you that he would let himself in if he had to. You moved from your bed.

"Yes?"

"What is going on?"

"Nothing."

"You have been crying. I know that you don't want to talk to me anymore but I am here for you."

You touch his shirt, removing the hair that felt on it before looking at him. Your eyes fill with tears again.

"Y/N, I don't know what happened and what I did to you but please just let me apologize.”

“It’s nothing really, I just hurt my toe.”

“What else?”

“I can’t tell you.”

“Why not?”

Tears fall again on your cheeks. Talking was harder and harder.

“Can I see?”

You nodded. You knew that he wouldn’t leave you without having the full story. He touches your forehead softly. When he entered your memory, it seemed recent, like less than a week recent. He follows the images. He can see you in a leaving room.

“What are you talking about? Why do you want to break up? I thought we were happy.”

“I found someone better than you. Someone that take care of themselves, that isn’t fat like you and that isn’t always away. I never see you because you are always somewhere else.”

“Who is she?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“It does to me. Who is she? You at least owe me that.”

“I don’t owe you anything but if you really want to know, it’s Alecia.”

“Apartment 54 Alecia?”

“Yes.”

Your shoulders fall. You had your suspicions but he told you that he wasn’t interested by her and that he only wanted you.

“You just used me to get what you wanted.”

You turned your back on him before looking him in the eyes again.

“Everybody told me that something was off with you. I thought they were wrong because they couldn’t say what it was. It appears that I was a fool to not trust them. You just wanted to meet Tony because you are a big fan, you wanted to meet the Avengers. You never cared about me. I am surprised that it took you so long to break up with me.”

You couldn’t get yourself to be angry, you felt like none of this really matter. Everybody was right, you were wrong. However, you needed to know one last thing.

“When I told you that she wanted to make a move on you, she already did, didn’t she? You were already sleeping with her?”

He couldn’t look at you. You took his head in your hands to make him look into your eyes.

“Yes, I was.”

You slapped him. You told him that you were coming back the next day to take your things and that it would be better if you didn’t saw him or her.

The memory faded. Loki was back in front of you, rage cursing into his veins. He hurt you. He hurt the sweet little thing that you are and he couldn’t accept it. He knew something wasn’t right with your boyfriend but he never knew what it was.

"I am going to kill him"

"You can’t, he is an innocent."

"He isn't innocent. He cheated on you and he lied to you."

You turned your back on the Prince.

“It doesn’t matter. It wasn’t like I thought I would spend the rest of my life with him anyway.”

“What do you mean?”

Loki touched your shoulder for you to finally look at him.

"There is one thing that you need to know. I can’t continue like this. It's not your fault. It’s not you, it's me."

Loki was anxious now.

"I heard that in Misgard, that means that it's actually my fault."

"Well, in general, yes, but not this time."

You took an inspiration.

"I started to date him because I knew that I couldn’t never be with you. I love you Loki, more than a friend should, and I know that I am not good enough for you. I am not as tall as you and not as slim. My thighs, my belly and my boobs are ten the size of the supermodels that you date and my life has been so boring that you couldn't find me interesting. I can’t pretend that I only want to be your friend or your teammate. I need to let you go and this is time. I was a fool to pretend that being with someone else will help me."

"And who decided that you weren’t what I wanted?"

You looked at him confused.

"You can't tell me that you don't want a supermodel like the one was with you at Tony’s Party.”

"Who decided?"

"I did, I guess."

"This is what I thought."

He took his time to look at you, all of you. He couldn’t believe what you told him before. He wasn’t mad that you liked him more than a friend or thought that you to shouldn’t see each other until you were over him. No, he was mad because you depreciated yourself. He was mad because you decided who he should like and be with.

"See, there is one thing that you don't understand Darling. It's that appearances are often a game. The supermodel she plays her part perfectly. She plays the sexy card that this world wants her to play, but you? You play the sexy and hot card that I love you to play. You are shorter than me? Great, I can kiss your head when you are angry, sad, or just because I want to. You have big tights, a big stomach and a big derriere? Good, that means that I have more to love, to look at, to admire, and to die into."

He brings you closer to him.

"You find your life boring when I find it fascinating. When I was thirty years old, I didn't do as many thing as you did. You live fast because you have a shorter amount of time to live but it doesn't mean that your life isn't interesting."

He kisses you softly, and you let yourself melt in his arms.

"I love you so much, and you didn't even realise it. You thought that was just something meaningless to me. In the beginning, it was, but I fell in love with you. I fell in love with your smile and with you laugh. I fell in love with the way you are moving and tackling things. I fell in love with the way your body responds to me. I fell in love with all of you. And if you let me, I will spend the rest of my life loving you and your beautiful body. I never want to hear you say that you are too big again. This man fat shamed you and made you doubt yourself. I want you to believe my words when I tell you that you are the most beautiful woman I ever saw and that I want to be every second with you. I love you like I never imagine I could."

"I love you so much Loki."

He kissed you again, pushing you into your bed. He caressed your face and your full body, telling you how beautiful you are and how long he has been waited for you to be his. He cuddle you until you fell asleep in his arms against his wet tee-shirt. You couldn’t stop crying between happy tears, sad tears and exhaustion.  

He promised himself to go scare your ex boyfriend with the help of the other Avengers, making him pay for what he said and did to you. You might be his now but he needed to avenge you. If you weren’t ready to do it yourself, he will. He did not care that he would be seen as dangerous or cruel.

you sat patiently beside him as the meeting came to a close

you were a silent as a mouse, taking notes whenever need be

eyeing him whenever there was a particularly important issue that needed to be addressed

you would not say your job was fairly important to those on the outside

but in reality you were the secretary to one of the world’s most powerful mob bosses

your job may be rudimentory in some sorts

what with only taking notes and being at your boss’ beckoning call

you attend every business meeting, took every phone call, checked off every list

you’re trusted more than some of his finest enforcers and associates

certainly smarter than them that was for sure

the meeting was soon adjourned

roman seemed bored out of his mind, simply dismissing them with a wave of his hand

you gathered your notepad and other belongings, adjusting yourself and getting ready to leave when he stopped you

“y/n. stay” a demand rather than a plea

you looked at him perplexed for a moment, resuming your seat as the final of his associates filed out of his office

“did you get everything?” he questioned, not making eye contact

rather insisting to staring at the wall

you furrowed your eyebrows for a moment

perhaps it was your choice of attire that put him off

a simple black pencils skirt with matching stiletto heels

a blazer and blouse with far more cleavage than any respecible secretary would dare show.

then again…this was your attire for most if not every day

“ah…yes sir!” you stammered over your words for a moment

placing your notepad infront of him on the desk

you began to ramble on with the summary report of the meeting

your words fell on deaf ears however

as roman fell intrigued with you for a moment

he was watching you speak but could hear no words

his eyes fell to your cleavage, feeling himself grow hard in his suit pants

“you’re such a smart woman y/n”

he cut you off absentmindedly, only for you to cock an eyebrow in confusion

“sir?”

“y’know…i often wonder what it would be like…”

he stood up, hovering over you, menecingly

you gulped thickly, noticing the sizable bulge in his pants

“to see you act like a little cockwhore…for me to make you a dumb little slut”

his face was centimetres from yours

your cheeks heated, flushed with arousal

“sir, a workplace relationship is highly inappropriate, especially that of the sexual kind…”

you gripped your clipboard, having retrieved it from his desk

nails digging into the thin wood

he chuckled heartily at your words

“slow down y/n…a little girl like you should not be using such big words”

he tilted your chin up, making you look at him

“i’m not asking you for a relationship, although the offer is tempting…”

his hand fell from your chin, tracing down the valley of your breasts

“think of it more as an employee benefit. in the end we both get what we want”

“s-sir..?”

you repeated, stammering over your words this time round

“look at you playing dumb already. y/n, i know you don’t come dressed like that for my enforcers”

he mentioned the mini pencil skirt and the unbuttoned blouse you adorned

you gulped, avoiding his gaze for a moment

“if you wanted my cock that bad, all you had to do was ask, babygirl”

you felt your proverbial shield come crashing down at the use of that pet name

normally you would not be so brash into giving into such temptation

but this was roman we were talking about

and the man is persistent if anything

quickly you dropped to your knees before him

an act of instinct, staring up at his large frame as he hovered over you

“good girl…”

he resumed his seat, unzipping his pants

his cock thrashed free against his stomach

far larger than you origionally anticipated

you took him in both hands, stroking the base of his cock while giving kitten licks to his tip

you took him in your mouth, already feeling the stretch of your lips around his size

“such a greedy little cockwhore already? i didn’t expect this from you, y/n”

you took him deeper, taking him as much as your throat could bear

“i’ll make a dumb slut out of you in no time”

you gagged around his cock, feeling the push of his tip in the back of your throat

he held your head down, bucking his hips upward to the rhythm of your moans

his groans echoes through his office, ringing through your ears

he came down your throat, white hot cum filling your cheeks

“thats it, drink all my cum, you dumb little whore”

he pulled out of your mouth, his cum dripping from your lips as you swallowed

showing him your tongue to prove yourself

he pet your head softly, motioning for you to bend over the desk

you did as told, ass wiggling in the air, waiting to recieve his cock

“it’s only been fifteen minutes and you’re already begging”

he lined his cock up with your entrance, teasing you for a moment

“please sir…please just fuck me…make me your dumb little slut”

“that’s more like it”

he thrusted deep into you, rough and relentless

he held your hips close to his, pushing your head down into his desk

“tell daddy what you’re job is, babygirl…”

you whined, already feeling completely full of him

“m-my job is to make daddy feel good. to be his little dumb, obedient slut”

“good…good girl”

your eyes rolled into the back of your skull as his deep voice made your skin crawl with arousal

“has daddy fucked you stupid, babygirl?”

you could only mumble and whine, mindlessly throwing your hips back against his

spit seeping from the corners of your mouth onto his desk

tongue hanging out past your lips

“y-yes daddy…” you blinked absentmidnedly up at him, through the slight reflection of the one way windows

thankfully he could see out but his enforcers could not see in

he came inside you without much of a warning

only a small grunt to signal his release

he pulled out of you, watching his seed drip onto his desk, followed by the flood of your orgasm

pretty cunt clenching aournd air as you came down from your high

“dumb slut, look at the mess you made” he remarked rather condescendingly

“don’t worry, daddy will get you cleaned up”

James sees a couple of two girls dancing and two man kissing on a table.

He feel safe here, nobody will judge him and his lover.

You and James began to dance, James puts his hand on your shoulder and you put your on the long haired man's waist.

You look at eachother, smile on your face.

"I love you" You said while making James spin.

"I love you too" James said and place a kiss on your lips.

You were on the balcony, admiring the sky and thinking about the only person that stole your heart years ago, a knock on the door brings you back to reality.

"(y/n)? It's time to go." Your brother calls you, you only nod and go with your brother.

You arrive at the church, sadness in your face, you admire the inside of the great structure while you wait for your bride.

She finally arrives, everyone stands up and looks at her, stunning as always, she wears a beautiful dress, her dad is walking her to the isle.

You start to feel tears on your eyes, now she is sitting by your side, those kind eyes looking at you, you try your best not to break down, she knows what it's going on your head, you been best friends since childhood, she knows that your hearth belong to someone else.

She loves you as a brother, it breaks her heart knowing that you couldn't be with the one you love.

"Do you (y/n) accept Tanya as your wife?"The priest said looking at you.

You looks at her, she leans closer with a smile.

"Go"

You nod happy and ran away from the church, the bride is smiling while everyone is gasping and insulting you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It has been a couple of months since Wendy and her brothers got back from Neverland she goes to a library with her brother Michael, she sees a man.

"Welcome to "Paper and ink" I'm (y/n) (l/n) a pleasure to meet you, what book do you need?". The librarian said to the kids.

Wendy knew that name, it's the man Captain Hook told her about once.

She didn't pay attention to Michael, she just matches James description to the man Infront of her.

"There you go, lad, you have a month to return that book, if not you will have to pay for it, get it?" The man said to Michael, Wendy grab his brother's hand and got out of the shop.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wendy was looking from her window when she saw a familiar ship flying in the sky, she gasped, the ship landed on the docks.

"Mom? Can I go to Alice's house tomorrow after school?" She asked her mother still looking through the window.

"Only if you clean your room, honey" the woman said to her child.

The next day Wendy woke up and cleaned her room before school, after the bell ring she go to the docks she was going to se her friend, but later, now she had to tell the Captain about her discovery.

She finally spot him, Captain Hook.

He was with Mr.Smee talking while Hook smoked a cigarette, she got closer to the pirates.

"Hello" the little girl said nervous, the two man looked at her with confusion.

"Well Miss Darling what are you doing here?" Hook asked.

"I find somebody" Wendy winked at Hook, he pull her to the side so nobody knew what they were about to talk.

"Who did you find?" Hook voice was low.

"The man! (y/n) (l/n) The one with the (e/c) eyes and the (h/c) hair!" She says excited to the pirate.

"What? Wh-Where?" Hook was nervous, really nervous and excited.

"On a library! It's called "paper and ink"! It's not far from here actually" the little girl said to the man while jumping from the emotion.

"Thank you for the information, Miss Darling" Hook said with a smile.

"Your welcome, now I have to go" the red haired girl said returning the smile then going out of the docks.

Hook knew exactly where that library is, you had been a librarian since your 20's that's how you meet him, James was looking for some books at your library when he was studying at Oxford.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hook looked at the library from the other side of the street, he didn't now what he was going to say, he saw the door opened.

It was you.

You didn't looked exactly the same well neither did Hook but he knew it was you, you were closing the book shop.

Hook decided to let you go, he returned to his ship ashamed, he wasn't a man that give up easily, but he was sure that you wouldn't like him anymore, his head was messing with him again.

A couple of hours passed by and Hook was on his cabin, drinking some wine.

"I saw him" Hook looked at the older man.

"Did you talk to him?" The man with the red beanie said to his captain.

"No" was the only thing Hook said, Mr.Smee just looked at him with pity.

Meanwhile, you was going to the docks you did that once a month, the last time you saw James was when the blue eyed pirate was going to go explore the seas once more.

"When are you going to go back?" You asked the pirate, you were on his cabin, sitting on his lap.

"three months, probably a bit more, you know how this is, love" James told you, he give you a kiss on the lips.

"I am going to miss you so much" you told him and locked lips with him once more.

You got back to the docks and wave to your lover before the ship starts to move.

It's been ten painful years.

You thinks your lover is know gone.

So every month you go back to the docks to see the sea and remember your lover and friends.

You entered the docks and began to walk to where the ship was the last time you saw it, the moon was going up.

You stopped and blink in surprise, it was the Jolly Roger in all of her glory, there where you saw her ten years ago.

You run to the ship, one of the men who wasn't aboard saw you.

"(Y/N)!? IT'S THA' 'EALLY YEH?" The man with the strong accent said, you run to the men and hugged him.

"OH LORD, I THOUGHT THAT I- I-" your eyes started to get full with tears.

"C'mon, le's go up, everyone is going to be so happy" the pirate said.

You and the pirate began to walk to the deck.

Everyone was silent, they looked at you.

"OH LORD WE MISSED YOU SO MUCH"

"AHHHH"

the crew went completely crackers, some of them rushed to hug you, it was a relief seeing almost everyone again.

The men below deck went up to see what's going on.

"GOOD HEAVENS ITS THAT OUR LOVELY BOOK BOY MY EYES ARE SEEING."

The captain was confused, he go out of his cabin to see why his crew was a mess.

He couldn't see anything because whatever it was the crew was around it.

"EVERYONE SHUT UP" the captain scream, the crew men that blocked his vision move out of the way.

There you were, you turned around and jumped.

"James?" You said.

"Yes, my love" the captain run towards you and hugged you.

"I thought you were dead" you said with a shaky voice, then you notice the hook your lover had, you didn't care, there will be time for explanations, the only thing you care about right now was that James was alive and that you were together again.

Hook looked at you, he inspected you then he kiss you on the lips.

You also took a better look at your lover, you raised you eyebrow with a smirk.

"you sir, has aged like fine wine" you said to the captain, the crew laugh and the captain relaxed a bit but got a little frustrated.

You and James got into his cabin.

"wow it looks exactly the same" you said while looking on the inside, Mr.Smee gasps and goes to hug you.

"Ohhhhh (y/n) it's been an awfully long time" the older man said, Smee breaks the hug and sees his captain.

"Well I think I am going to let you two alone" Mr.Smee said, he got out and closed the cabin door.

You looked at the captain with a warm smile, Hook hugged you and began to cry.

"I missed you so much, I was in a horrible place, I lost the sense of time, sometimes I thought I was already dead and on hell, I didn't recognize myself in that place" Hook said between sobs.

"I- I-" James tried to talk.

"Shhhh it's alright, we have a lot of time to talk about what has happened in our lifes" you told the captain with a soft tone, the pirate couldn't stand up properly and you ended on the floor.

You stayed there the rest of the night until hook fall asleep in your lap, he told you how he losed his hand and a couple of things more, you tried your best to remind him that he was with you again.

You fell asleep against the wood wall of the cabin, your hand in James's head.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You woke up, and so did James, you look at him and kissed his forehead.

"Good morning, my love" you said with a raspy voice.

"Good morning" Hook answers with a smile on his face, he slept like a baby, even though he slept on the cold wooden floor, it was the first time he actually sleep in a long time.

You got up and walked to where the captain has his records, he grabbed the disc and put it on the gramophone.

The blue eyed man just look at you with curiosity, you got closer to him and extended your hand.

"May I have this dance, sir?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: THIS IS VERY SHORT I KNOW

Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require my sheep at their hand and put a stop to their feeding the sheep. No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them.

Ezekiel 34:10

They’ve never liked me, none of them. They never say so, of course, but it’s there in the way they pinch their lips to force a smile in my direction.

“Lovely to see you, Grace” or “Blessed day, Miss Johnson” or my favorite “Always a pleasure to speak to you.” They file past me every week and I swear every time it gets more and more difficult for them to hold it together. Alan says I’m being ridiculous but of course he can’t see it. They adore him. He can’t see anything but love coming from them. Even as they grow poorer and hungrier, they listen to his words about the beauty of sacrifice and they believe. Perhaps they dislike me because they feel that God has abandoned them and they can’t bring themselves to dislike Alan.

Or it’s possible that I am simply easy to dislike, a bitter spinster who has none of her brother’s warmth or generosity of spirit. Because I’m quiet, that makes me haughty. Because I don’t laugh easily, that makes me ill-tempered. Alan has always been the charming one. Without him, I’d have been burned at the stake years ago.

Lucky for me, I’ve never had to be without him. The way that he protects me from the judgments of the townspeople here is the same way that he protected me from other children who disliked my peculiarity on sight, or the way he would protect me from our parents.

“Poor man could have himself a wife and family if he weren’t caring for that hard-looking thing,” one of the young women at the previous parish had said without even bothering to lower her voice.

Compared to that place, this one isn’t too bad. We’ve been here nearly three years. They’ve been hard years for all of us, with business everywhere being so bad, and even the farmers struggling to coax food from the earth, but Alan does whatever he can to give them hope and to reassure them that God loves them. And mostly, he’s been able to prevail. Mostly.

There’s a superstitious habit everyone, myself included, has developed when it comes to the shantytown down by the river. The good, god-fearing people who live here will go some distance to avoid passing through it, losing hours of time because it feels like something far more precious might be lost by venturing too close to Malakai Black and his flock.

Malakai had appeared only a few months after Alan and I had arrived here. Supposedly, he came from another town nearby that had been abandoned when the ironworks closed. At first, it was just him and two or three others who he referred to as his family. Soon, more had started to arrive, always accepted as family, often the kind of people who raised eyebrows and questions. But then the defections started, people who had been struggling for various reasons choosing to move down to the dilapidated collection of shacks and tents that had become a permanent feature on the other side of the river.

It’s always worse in the summers, when people are moving through the countryside in search of any kind of work. Malakai seems happy to have them camp there. And it’s when the townsfolk, especially the younger ones, get more curious and therefore more likely to listen to the lies and blasphemy he plies them with. With the heat, his message finds passage into people’s souls.

Every time one of our people starts spending their time near the river, I can feel the added weight on Alan’s shoulders. The people look at him and wonder how a man of God can seem so powerless before a man who gives the impression of a true demon. What is it that Malakai Black offers that Alan Johnson and God cannot? He won’t do what I want him to do, which is to say, even to the families of the defectors, that the people who leave are weak and easily led astray. The failing is not with him and his church but with the moral core of those who leave.

Perhaps that’s another reason they don’t like me: I will not sugarcoat the truth to make them feel better about their fallen family. My brother can show them the glory of God but he cannot make them do the work necessary to reach His Kingdom. He believes he has failed his people but I don’t. Some people have that fatal weakness in them.

As I do every week, I shake the hands of each parishioner on their way out of church. There’s a steady trickle of sweat rolling from the base of my skull all the way down my back and it makes something that’s already uncomfortable nearly unbearable.

“God be with you, Grace,” puffs Mr. Houlihan, the shopkeeper.

“And with you.”

I eye his teenage son, Toby, who turns his face to avoid me. I know he and his friends have been seen fraternizing with Black brood. They choose a spot near the river to fish and then end up making their way back along the far bank, allowing them to encounter the people there as if by accident. There are a few young women, damaged women, who live there and you know it’s what the boys go there seeking. No harm in defiling what’s already spoiled, they think.

“I hope you and your friends will be available to help us take baskets to some of the needy families next week, Toby,” I tell him. The boy and his parents flinch, hearing the tone of rebuke in my voice. Nevertheless, they assure me that he’ll be there.

By the time the congregation has filed out and returned home for whatever Sunday dinner they can manage, it feels like every fiber of my cotton dress is pasted to my skin. I retreat to the office to count the collection while Alan finishes up with one or two of the flock who require special help and counsel.

“You’re flushed,” he sighs when he finally comes to join me, smoothing my damp hair back from my forehead. “You should go home and rest.”

“Not much this week,” I inform him, motioning to the collection plate.

“It’ll be enough.”

“Maybe, but we’ll need to ask the Keatings to accept a little less for the corn this week or we’re not going to have enough to feed everyone.”

“I wish they knew how hard you worked to take care of them,” he responds mournfully. He knows they don’t much like me and he always takes it as a failing on his part that they don’t see my value.

“Toby Houlihan and the two Gregson brothers were hanging around the river again a few nights ago. You should really have a word with the boys and their families before they get themselves in real trouble.”

“They’re boys, they’re going to get in trouble anyway.”

“Alan, those people get bolder all the time. They used to all be in tents but every year there are houses- bricks and boards- getting built. Miss Darling said a few of them asked about getting children enrolled in the school this fall.”

“Is getting children into school a sin now?”

“Oh don’t you start too. If they want to teach their children then they can start by letting them come to church, so they can find out what a proper, godly family is.”

Alan just gives me a lazy sort of smile and runs a hand over his reddened cheeks.

“He’s been bartering with some of the farmers to get provisions for that brood. Imagine what he might be offering as trade. God tests his most dedicated in strange ways and I believe that’s what He’s doing by throwing Malakai Black in your path.”

He laughs again, although his eyes are glazed with admiration. “Well since you seem to be a little more aware of what’s happening, please tell God that I welcome His challenge and that I will be careful not to allow any sheep to be separated from the flock with promises of salacious favors.”

“You shouldn’t make fun of me.”

“I’m just teasing a little. Just trying to make you smile because God wants his people to be joyous. And because you worry too much about everything.”

He grabs my hand and stares directly into my eyes, the way that he’s always done to show that he wants me to take him seriously.

“You’ve done everything you can here for now. The money is what it is. You’ve been up since before dawn. I want you to go home and take a nap before it’s time to make dinner.”

“Are you coming?”

“I’ll be along in a little while. I have a final lamb to attend to. Laetitia Connolly came crying to me that she needs my guidance on some matter of great importance to her.”

“Laetitia Connolly is a silly girl who’s infatuated with you and wants to find a way to spend time with you.”

“Well, better she spend her time mooning over her minister who’ll help her pray and tell her about God’s plan than she get seduced by the likes of Malakai Black.”

He grins and I feel my features pinch reflexively.

“You shouldn’t joke about that.”

Eventually, though, he prevails and I head back to our apartment. The truth is that I do need a nap. I’ve been unable to sleep well with the heat and all of the goings-on on the periphery of the town has made me even more anxious than usual.

Rather than head straight home, though, I take the long way, feeling compelled to be outside for a reason I can’t understand. For all that is wrong in the world, the scent of the trees and grains in the torrid heat relaxes my mind a little. I especially love the scent near the edge of the apple orchard, as well as the sound of the insect orchestra that envelopes it. I let myself stand next to the broken down gate for several minutes, pleased at the way it stimulates my senses, until I realize I am not entirely alone.

I can feel his presence before I see him standing a few yards off, the full force of both his eyes, the living one and the dead, bearing down on me. He’s impeccably dressed as always, entirely in black, as always, his clothing not quite hiding the ink that covers every part of his skin that I’ve seen, which is more than I should have, since neither he nor the other men in his flock think anything of bathing and working in all states of undress at virtually any time of day, no matter who might be passing.

A smile devoid of warmth or kindness flashes over his face when he sees that I’ve noticed him. He always looks at me this way and it never fails to make my insides feel hollow, like there is nothing to me but my awkward body, like he can see the absence where my soul should be.