Resurfaced

Resurfaced

(Kevin Atwater x Original Female Character)

*Not my gif*

Kevin finds it hard to protect what's his when the past comes back to haunt him and his wife.

Moonlight & ambient noise from the city streets several stories below filled the room. Both of you barely dressed, Kevin’s large muscular frame rested comfortably on top of you in the bed. Having just made love for the first time in weeks, neither one of you wanted to move from this space. He kissed you right above your collarbone, which still managed to make you quiver in all the right places. You gently traced circles along his back and finally decided it was time to break the silence.

“What’s wrong?”

He shifted to place his lips slightly lower on your chest as a distraction. While leaving gentle kisses.. “Everything’s...fine..Bianca..”

Finding it difficult to concentrate and not cave in to another round of passion, you immediately put his head in your hands to get his attention. Motioning for him to move so you could sit up straight, readjusting the sheets over your bare chest as he rolls on to his back, clearly annoyed. Play time was over.

“Kevin, I’m serious. I know something happened. You've been distracted, almost nervous, all week. Then tonight..you were different. I can’t describe it but you know I’m right.”

Kissing your hand, he realized in this moment that honesty with you was the only way. You were his wife after all, the person he loved more than anyone and would do anything to protect. He finally sat up, back towards you, facing the wall. You waited anxiously for words to come out of his mouth.

“It’s Damien. He’s back in Chicago.”

This sentence instantly shot chills down your spine. Kevin turned around to take you in, evaluating your mental state after hearing this news. Tears welling up in your eyes.

“Bianca.”

“How is that possible? I thought...what??”

“He popped up last week. We were working the case. Burgess was under with Upton at this little hole in the wall in Pilsen and he showed up at their meet.

“Did he see her? Is she ok?”

“She’s fine babe. Kim thought she might get made so she dipped out really quickly & let Hailey finish the deal. Voight & I have had a security detail on you ever since.”

You were now panicked and obviously upset that this news was kept from you. “You’ve what?! Don’t you think that’s something I should’ve known?! Oh my God.”

You jump out of bed sheet in tow, now pacing the floor. Kevin, knowing the bombshell he’d just dropped gives you another minute to process before he’s up and off the bed behind you.

Taking your face in his hands, the deepest sincerity in his heart, “B, look at me. I will NEVER let that piece of shit touch you again. Do you hear me? I know I should’ve told you, but I didn’t want you worried, especially without me being here for so long. I gotchu... You’re safe with me.” Kissing your forehead & wiping away your tears.

“I know. I know I am. I just thought this was all over. I don’t want my mess affecting Intelligence. If anything happened to Kim or you because of my past…”

Now sobbing, Kevin wraps you in his reassuring arms, with a steely look of determination to protect his world on his face.

Morning came, and you were startled awake by the sound of Kevin’s phone ringing. You heard the shower running in the next room so you reached to answer it with a groggy hello.

“Hi Hank.”

“Bianca, how you holdin’ up kiddo?”

Hank had become like family to you rather quickly. Your case was special. Damien was a long time predator he and Al had been trying to capture for years. When Hank found you 6 years ago, beaten, bloodied and half conscious, he made it his duty to look after you, especially seeing that you had no relatives in a new city. You were there with him through it all...Justin’s disappearing acts, Al’s passing, which eventually led to you meeting and falling in love with Atwater.

“I thought he was dead. How is he back? Why is he back?”

“I’m doing everything in my power to figure that out, Bianca. Don’t you worry about this ok? We’re gonna get this prick.”

Nothing anyone said could completely reassure you in this moment, but you nodded in agreement anyway.

“Yeah...Kev’s in the shower. I’ll have him call you back.”

You hang up the phone and get out of bed, looking for something to throw on. You find an oversized hoodie of your husbands and a pair of shorts.

You exit the bedroom just as Kevin emerges from the bathroom, towel around his waist.

“Hey...I was gonna wear that today.”

Completely deadpan, “It looks better on me.”

As he walks towards the kitchen to greet you, “You’re right about that. Good morning.”

Attempting to plant a kiss on your cheek, you show zero emotion & continue to prep your cup of tea.

He shakes his head but decides to give you your space and heads to the bedroom to get dressed.

Standing at the threshold of your bedroom door, tea in hand you boldly say, “I want you to put me under.”

Kevin stops in his tracks, as if he’s spotted Bigfoot buying a Venture card on the green line. Pulling his shirt the rest of the way over his head.

“Put you under what??!”

“You know what I mean. Undercover, Kevin. You know I’m part of the reason he’s back in Chicago. He didn’t get what he wanted from me before Voight found me that night. His usual pattern was completely thrown off. I want to help. I need to help catch him.”

Kevin storms passed you in to the living room. You follow.

“HELL NO. Are you joking?! You want us to damn near put you in the hands of the man who almost took you from me, before I got a chance to have you?! Absolutely not.”

You walk towards him softly. Knowing this will be a hard battle to win, you sit in front of him on a chair as he leans against the wall.

“Baby...it’s taken years for me to feel safe in my own skin again. You did that for me. Hank looking after me, leading me to you. This life that we’ve built is the greatest gift I could’ve ever gotten. And now you’re telling me that someone is threatening what we’ve worked to create? I can’t just stand and watch while you guys, my family, puts themselves in harms way for me. I have to do something.

………

A few weeks had gone by and Intelligence still had no leads in their investigation. It was almost as if Damien Charles had never resurfaced...until the team got an alert that a young woman was found dead in an abandoned warehouse, brutally assaulted. They had no real proof, as Damien was very careful, but it was definitely his MO. Kevin was on edge and pissed at you, somehow believing that shutting you out would stop you from getting your way. Knowing your husband wouldn’t budge, you decided to go to Hank to convince him to use you as bait to catch Damien. He reluctantly obliged.

Night fell on the 21st. Upton and Burgess were prepping your phone with a tracking device while Ruzek and Halstead checked weapons and started to vest up. You were nervous, but Kim kept reminding you to take deep breaths. “We’ll be with you the whole time.”

“I know, I just wish Kevin…”

Hailey chimed in, handing you your phone, “Trust me, he’ll come around Bianca. It’s in their nature to want to protect us, but sometimes it’s up to us to take that power back ourselves.”

Kevin was upstairs in the locker room wreaking havoc on anything that wasn’t pinned down. Hank, hearing the commotion from down the hall, rushed in to see who had lost their mind.

“Kevin! Kevin!”

“How could you let her do this man?! I’m her husband! You don’t get to make that kind of decision for her.”

“Neither do you, Kev. This was her choice, do you understand? No matter how much either of us wants to catch this scumbag, she wants him gone a whole lot more. She’s stronger than you think. Now you have a choice. You either hang back, mad at the world or you gear up and back Bianca...back this team.”

Back downstairs, having settled in on the choice you’d made, “Ok, let’s do this.”

As the three of you were headed out of the room to join the others, Kevin walked in. Kim touched his shoulder in an attempt to reassure him as she walked away. You wanted to find solace in his familiar embrace, but you knew it was pointless. The walls were up. He walked towards you and you immediately noticed the tears in his eyes. “Kev…” Grabbing your hand and leaving a kiss on your frontal lobe, he quickly wiped his face and walked out to join the others.

It was a typical undercover mission, except this time, the stakes were much higher. You and Upton walked into the crowded club, dressed as if you were ready to party. The intel the team gathered tracked Damien at this same location several days in a row looking for his next victim. The rest of the team were scattered throughout the room or on surveillance outside the main entrance. This was one of those cases where justice was decided by Voight and his team, no judge or jury necessary.

You spot him almost immediately. Tapping Hailey on the arm, she reports back to the group, “We have eyes on Damien. He’s at the bar talking to a young woman.”

Hailey turns to you and for a moment, you can’t even remember your own name.

“Bianca, you ready? You good?”

“Yes. I’m ready.”

Morphing into a drunken party goer ready to have more fun, you make your way to the bar.

Halstead distracts the woman Damien is speaking to, saving her from imminent danger.

As Damien walks away, pissed that he had to ‘let that one go’ he spots you. A beautiful & familiar face. You’ve changed over the years, but a vulture never forgets its uneaten prey. You’re nervous as hell. More thoughts run through your mind than you can handle at once, but for now, you must push them aside.

No sooner than you spotted him, Damien disappeared into the crowd. You called Kim as a cover while you began to look around. “Hey girlie! I thought you were supposed to meet me tonight? I don’t see you!”

Kim responds on the other line…”Keep talking, Jay is checking the bathroom. He couldn’t have gone far.”

You spot Kevin on the stairwell on the other side of the club. Everything will be fine….

The fire alarm sounds.

Suddenly you feel a sharp pain in your neck.

A look of panic on Kevin’s face in the distance is the last thing you see as the cell phone slips from your hands.

Everything goes BLACK.

Chaos has ensued in the club. The alarm continues to blare, sprinklers shooting out water, and people running in every direction. Voight radios in as he and Ruzek are covering the perimeter, trying to calm down the frantic crowd. “Hailey, talk to me! Is everyone ok in there?!”

Kevin has bolted down the stairs, pushing his way through the crowd as he sees Damien pick you up and drag you out a backdoor. “B!! Bianca!!” It’s as if he’s trying to run in quicksand. As Kevin finally makes it to the back door, Burgess, who isn’t far behind spots your phone on the floor. She blots out after Kevin who is racing to his car. They get in, Kevin, not saying a word, speeding down the block trying not to lose you. Kim radios the team.

“Sarge, Damien has Bianca! We’re headed the wrong way down Parkside Ave in pursuit of a late model gray pick up truck. Tags are Indiana custom DG ...L16. We’re making a right on to George St. now!”

“We’re coming!! Don’t lose them!”

The high speed chase through the streets of Chicago continues as the rest of the team joins Atwater and Burgess. Atwater loses sight of the truck for what seems like an eternity. Ruzek radios Kim… “I just pulled up at the warehouse. I see the truck.”

Kevin picks up speed, gripping the wheel even tighter, “Copy that. Tell him we’re 5 mins out.”

…………………

You begin to come out of your fog. The dark room Damien has you in smells like mildew and death, yet in weird contrast, you’re lying on a mattress with fresh white sheets. Damien, not realizing that you’ve woken up, is in the corner at a table pouring wine and gathering instruments. You scan the room looking for anything to use as a weapon. Fear takes over as he walks towards the bed. You pretend to still be in a daze.

Scanning your body, then touching your face… “Wow. You’re more beautiful than I remember, darling. I’ve been waiting for this chance to be with you again.” He sits you up, started to touch you more, now looking down your shirt.

“Please, don’t…” Before you can get the words out of your mouth, his hand is around your neck. Gasping for air, tears start to stream down your face.

“DON’T act like you don’t want this! Hank Voight stole our chance at happiness years ago. And he thought he had me, but now is our time.”

As Damien leans in to connect his lips with yours, the sound of metal hitting pavement resounds in another area of the warehouse stopping him. He loosens his grip on you allowing just enough time for you to lunge for the bottle of wine and swing it hard against his skull.

“KEVIN!!!!!!” You scream, as you quickly scramble out of Damien’s grip. Racing towards the door, your realize that it’s locked from within. As you begin to pound on the door, Damien slowly starts to move closer to you. “KEVIN!!!! HANK!!! Please...down here!!”

Had the noise you heard a few minutes prior been a false alarm? Did you make a mistake? Damien’s disorientation and head gushing with blood give you time to look around the room for another way out, but nothing. With a newfound burst of energy, he lunges towards you like the madman that he is now pinning you against the wall. You fight him off with every ounce of strength you have.

BOOM!!!!!!

Moments later in true Atwater fashion, the door to your current prison swings open. Without any hesitation, Kevin grabs Damien and tosses him yards across the room. He stands over his exhausted body and begins to pummel his face like a boxing bag. Ruzek rushes in to stop him.

“Kev! Kev! We got him man! We got him.”

Snapping back to reality, Kevin turns his attention back towards you, crouched down near the door crying. Voight and the rest of Intelligence are now in the room. They stand in utter disbelief that this madness has finally come to an end.

Without saying a word, Kevin comes down to your level and begins to gently kiss every inch of your tear-filled face as if there’s healing in his touch….you’ve always known that there is.

You wrap your arms around him as he carefully lifts you up off the floor. You’ve never felt more relieved in all your life.

Voight, clearly broken up at seeing you in this state, puts a hand on Kevins shoulder. “Make sure you get her over to Med. We’ll clean up here.”

Fully leaning on your husband for support, the two of you exit the room.

………………………

Kevin hadn’t left your side since being admitted into the hospital two days ago. He was planted in the chair beside you.

“Do you need anything babe?”

Touching his cheek to reassure him, despite the IV in your arm. “I’m ok, thank you.”

Dr. Halstead walks into the room to check in. “Bianca, we got all of the test results back. The syringe he used to sedate you wasn’t contaminated, and everything else is cleared. You’ll be able to go home today.”

Kevin gets up to shake his hand. “Thank you man. Seriously, thank you.”

“Of course. Bianca take it easy ok? Try to hold off on being a hero for a while.”

With a smile, “I’ll try. Thanks Will”

Will walks out. Voight walks in.

He and Kevin hug.

“Hey Sarge.”

“How’s our patient doing?”

“I get to leave today.”

“Ok! That’s great. Oh look at those balloons.”

Kevin chuckles, “Yeah, everyone stopped by yesterday.”

Voight walks closer to the bed like a proud father and takes your hand. “I’m really proud of your kiddo.” You squeeze his hand in acknowledgement, knowing that for Voight that sentence translated into ‘I love you and I couldn’t bear it if we lost you.’

Voight starts to walk out of the room and Kevin follows.

“Yo Sarge, are we good? You know.”

“He’s gone. Forever this time. Ruzek and I took care of it for you.” With a pat on Kevin’s chest, Voight looks back at you one more time and leaves.

Kevin makes his way back into the room. You sit up a bit, still weak and reach for him.

“Everything ok?”

“Everything’s perfect, B. Everything’s perfect.”

He kisses you as if there’s no one else in the world besides the two of you. His world has been set right once again.

“Let’s get you home.”

THIS

Do You Remember (Erik Killmonger x Reader)

“Do you remember, do you remember, do you remember

All of the times we had

Do you remember, do you remember, do you remember

All of the times we had

Let’s bring it back” - Jay Sean feat. Sean Paul and Lil Jon

A/N: I wrote this as a bday gift to @nerd-lovely . Happy birthday love! And I hope the rest of you enjoy it as well! ️ **********************

Keep reading

That part.

if a black woman is being vocal about her experiences with and thoughts on combatting racism and your immediate response is to criticize her tone and request that she deliver it in a way that is “less agreessive” and makes you more comfortable, then you were never really listening. otherwise you’d understand why we’re so passionate in the first place. periodt.

A Better Man

Pairings: Erik Stevens X Black Reader

Warnings: Fluff, Angst, Implied smut, cursing

Word Count: 3241

“Sssshhh...Erik you have to stop yelling.” You pleaded with your husband as you struggled to get his oversized drunken frame through the front door.

Slurring every word, “Y/N, I DON’T CARE! These colonizers know who’s buildin’ this is!”

You shook your head and couldn’t help but smirk as Erik kicked his boots off and planted himself on the floor in the hallway like a toddler. It was LATE and you were exhausted, but you gave him a pass on this f**k boi behavior because his 35th birthday was in a few days and even though he’d never admit it, that number was messing with his head. So when the owner of the lounge called you personally to come pick him up at 1:45AM, you threw on a sweater, grabbed your keys and ran out the door.

Erik looked up from his stooper just in time to catch you undoing your bra in annoyance. “YES!!! My girls need to be free!”

“Wow…..goodnight Mr. Stevens.” Shaking your head as you walked away, he seemed to find his sea legs long enough to scurry after you, wrapping his arms around your middle and slowly creeping his hands up to ‘the girls’.

“Come on ma, let me hit. You know I sleep better after.”

His touch in this moment was making you weak, but as you turned your head to permit him a kiss, you were hit with a heavy dose of reality. Erik hadn’t drunk this heavily in a while, and the evidence of it was seeping through his pores and breath in the worst way. You turned to face him, now keeping him at arm's length.

“UGH...nigga let you hit?! I love you, but the last time we tried to have sex when you were this drunk, you fell asleep in me, during said process. Uh huh...nope, not tonight. The girls will be all yours tomorrow.”

The next morning you awoke to find Erik still fully clothed, knocked and snoring on the chaise lounge in your walk-in closet. He still smelled, but you were grateful for the fact that he wasn’t too drunk to remember how you felt about outside clothes on the bed. You kissed him on his forehead, got dressed and started making calls. You were throwing him a birthday party that night at the house. You had to confirm food drop offs with the caterers, pick up some balloons and grab one final gift to surprise him with the next day. His training made him really hard to surprise, but you knew he wouldn’t be expecting this.

You heard the shower turn off as you walked back into the house from your excursion. “Erik!” You hollered putting bags and what seemed like 100 balloons in a corner, making your way upstairs to the bedroom.  “Kia and Shuri will be here in a few hours to help me set up. I’m gonna need you out of here soo…”

Your words trailed off as your ebony Adonis emerged from the bathroom, towel low on his hips, scars glistening on his chest. He knew his power over you and now you were the one intoxicated. He raised an eyebrow as he slinked over to you ever so slowly, you, still frozen, allowing him access to begin undressing you without much of a fight.

“You were sayin’ somethin’?”

“Baby...I have so much to get done for the party.”

“I remember you saying that these right here were all...mine...today.” He started to pepper kisses across your chest and conveniently dropped his towel to the floor. Every task on your list quickly faded into the background. He was the soon to be birthday boy afterall. Who were you to deny him this gift?

-------

The house was filled with laughter and music. You sat on Erik’s lap with his arm wrapped snug around your waist as he and some of his boys laughed about stories from their days at MIT. You knew the majority of the people there, Erik always kept a tight circle. But there was one guy, Malik, from his days in foster care that he recently reconnected with that hadn’t made your acquaintance. He was mostly quiet throughout the night, sometimes too quiet, but you chalked that up to how he was raised. Knowing what your husband went through, bouncing from house to house, no one really caring if he lived or died, you always had a soft spot for the people he bonded with during those years, and Malik was one of them.

T’Challa walked over to the rowdy bunch in his usual stoic way, hiding something behind his back. Nakia stood next to him, beaming from ear to ear.

“Pardon me Y/N, gentlemen, but N’Jadaka, I have something that might interest you.” He revealed a black velvet cigar box with the word “Daka” embroidered on the top in gold. It was rare to shock this man, it was even more rare for T’Challa to pull a reaction from Erik that wasn’t sarcastic or flippant.

“Yooooo, T! You wild out man!”

Turning to you as Erik stood up, “Is that a good thing?”

Before you could reply, Shuri belted out a laugh from across the room and said, “Oh brotha! That’s a VERY good thing!”

Erik hugged T’Challa, which was enough to bring a tear to your eye, as the men clamoured for access to a cigar as they walked out on the balcony to light one and commemorate the occasion.

You and Nakia locked arms and laughed at the group as they ran outside as if hiding a porno tape from their mothers.

Turning to her, “Should I ask where you got those?”

“Let’s just say, they once belonged to a very bad man with many items that needed to be confiscated for...archiving. And now they have been gifted to a better man to celebrate his life and the passage of time.”

“Riiight. Well thank you, for everything. I really appreciate you guys. He’s been so down lately. I couldn’t have done this without your help. I’m gonna go get the cake ready while they’re out there.”

Walking towards the kitchen, you noticed Shuri trying to hide behind a few other guests that were deep in conversation in the dining room. Pausing, you didn’t even have to walk her way to know what she was up to.

“Shuri! Put that drink down right now!”

“Awww, Y/N come on! I thought we were cool. I just want a taste of this good American stuff.”

“Girl, your mother will kill me! Put it down and go find the candles for the cake.”

She stomped over to you and you grabbed her in a tight hug.

“You’re no fun, Y/N.”

“I love you too.”

You walked into the kitchen dancing and singing to yourself. “Tell Me” by Groove Theory was now playing through the speakers Erik insisted you guys have installed when you first brought the place. A few of the guests trickled out of the room as Erik’s friend Malik followed you in.

“Tell me if you want me to, give you all my time. I wanna make it GOOD FOR YOUUU!!!!”

You grabbed some plates and napkins from the cabinet and turned mid groove to find Malik standing a little too close. He was taller than your husband but his facial features were no comparison. Let’s be real, not many faces could compare.

“Oh my bad. I didn’t mean to scare you...I was just lookin’ for a garbage. Y’all recycle?”

“Yep, uuh, right there by the door.”

“Cool cool.” Walking over to discard his beer bottle, he turned back around and extended a hand to you. “Malik.”

Switching the plates to your left hand, you extended yours to shake his. “I know. Erik told me about you. He said you guys were like brothers growing up.”

“Yeah, that’s my dawg.” Licking his lips and taking you in a little too intensely, he continued his thought. “We always liked to share things when we were comin’ up.”

You snatched your hand back as Shuri walked in with the candles in hand, dancing to herself.

“Y/N, you have to make me a playlist of these songs for the lab!”

“I will, I promise.”

You walked towards her, grateful to your God and Bast that Shuri’s timing was so impeccable. As you handed her the other items and took the cake from the counter, Malik touched your butt and quickly left the kitchen.

Did he just grab my ASS?!

No, no, he didn’t, he couldn’t!

That nigga just grabbed by ASS!!

You stormed out of the kitchen ready to raise hell, but as soon as you did, a smiling Erik black man jogged towards you and greeted you with a kiss on the cheek.

“You good babe?”

Hands on his chest, gazing in to his bright eyes full of happiness and peace for the first time in a while, there was no way you could ruin this night.

“Yeah, yeah sweetie I’m ok. I was just looking for the candles that’s all. You ready for your cake?”

Nestling his face in your neck as he replied, leaving a wet kiss. “As long as I can have the rest of my dessert later.”

You giggled as his facial hair grazed your skin and planted a passionate kiss on his lips. You hoped that Malik was somewhere watching, being reminded of who the hell your man was and the imminent danger his life was in if he EVER decided to touch you again.

-------

“Aight aight, enough of this terrible singing...blow out the candles man!” One of Erik’s college friends yelled, causing everyone to erupt in laughter. Erik obliged and everyone cheered. He found his way right back to you, engulfing you in his embrace from behind.

“I wanna thank y’all for coming tonight, for real. To have everyone I care about in the same room celebrating me, it’s just, yeah…...I especially wanna thank my princess, my QUEEN who pulled this off without breaking a sweat. I love you, Y/N.”

Turning to face your man, you couldn’t stop cheesing, caressing his dimpled cheeks as he pecked your lips repeatedly.

“Damn, I guess this is what happens when a nigga gets old. Got me all emotional and shit! Shuri, turn that music back up!”

-------

The house had finally cleared of most guests, finally allowing you to put your fuzzy slippers on. You were saying your final goodbyes to T’Challa, Nakia, Shuri.

“Are you sure you don’t need Shuri to help you stay and clean up?” T joked as they walked towards the door.

“Haha! No it’s ok, really. There’s not much more to do. Thank you again. You really made his night.”

“It was our pleasure, Y/N.”

“Make sure you stop by before you head back to Wakanda.”

You closed the door and the newfound silence of your apartment caused you to immediately flash back to that moment in the kitchen with Malik. You had to make sure it got dealt with, but not tonight.

You walked out on the balcony to take in the night air. The life of a hostess was not easy and fatigue was hitting you like a ton of bricks. Out of nowhere, a massive hand smacked you on the butt, scaring the crap out of you. You turned to see it was Erik and not the filth who had violated your space earlier.

“Why you so jumpy girl?”

Attempting to gather yourself quickly and avoid his gaze, you brushed past him and went back into the living room. But as always, he was hot on your heels.

“I’m not E, damn! You just...I thought you were upstairs.”

“You only call me E when you’re annoyed at something or pissed at me, so what’s up?”

“Nothing ERIK, nothing. You’re just always on your sleath shit moving around this house and I wasn’t ready. I’m just tired, baby, that’s all.” Walking towards the steps, you prayed that was enough to hold him off for a bit.

“I’m gonna go change clothes. I left the cake on the counter if you want another slice. Cuz I know you want another slice.”

Whew! Home free, at least for now. You knew your nightly routine would at least give you some time away from him to think. Of course you’d tell him, eventually, but you knew Erik’s past too well to pretend that you weren’t fearful of what he’d do. You’d never be able to erase the sound of the guy's jaw breaking because he put his hands on you at the club when you first started dating. Or the time he threatened your old boss's life and family for overworking his ‘princess’ when you started having panic attacks because of your job. You weren’t at all scared of him, but you were scared of how this news would set him back.

You emerged from the bathroom, fresh faced and wearing Erik’s shirt, to find him perched on the corner of your enormous bed, cake in hand and staring at you. You playfully walked towards him planting yourself in between his legs.

“Can I have a piece?”

“Not until you tell me what’s wrong.”

“I’ll just go get my own.”

“I ate it all before I came upstairs.”

“You better be lying.”

He wasn’t budging and you could tell his patience was starting to wane.

“Fine! Since you refuse to drop this.” You hesitated, backing away from him, bracing yourself for impact, but quickly decided to go another route. You walked to the closet and grabbed a small gift wrapped box from where you kept your extra tampons. He joked with you once that he’d be willing to buy them for you, but after that, you were on your own.

“I made us reservations for tomorrow night. I was going to give this to you then, but you’re so impatient.”

You handed over the box with a huge smile on your face, the giddiness now starting to set in.

Erik looked down at the box and back towards you, rubbing your thigh slowly.

“Well, open, open!”

He chuckled, finding your sudden excitement amusing. “Oh I’m the impatient one?”

He finally opened the box and pulled out a black dog tag necklace with the word ‘Baba’ inscribed on one side and a fingerprint on the other. Erik stared at the necklace in awe. When he finally looked up, he had tears in his eyes, which always made you full on cry.

“Happy Birthday! I’m pregnant. This is your father's fingerprint. I had Nakia do some digging to…”

Before you could get another word out, Erik’s lips were attached to yours. He lifted you off your feet bridal style and placed you on the bed as if moving too fast would break you. Erik made love to you as if it were the first time. Covering every inch of your body with attention to make sure you knew how appreciative he was of the best gift he could have ever asked for.

-------

You laid on your husband's chest, tracing his scars while his fingers made lazy circles along your stomach.

“How long have you known?”

“A few weeks.”

“Damn, I must’ve really been out of it.”

You smiled because him admitting it meant he was finally back.

“E…” You sat up, gathering the sheet around yourself to face him.

“What’s up?”

“Is it hot in here? Wow, i’m sweating.” You jumped up suddenly wrapped in the sheet to go open the window. Now pacing…Erik sat up fully and gave you a minute to process whatever the hell you refused to spit out from earlier.

“Y/N, talk to me.”

“Ok, Erik, listen. Before I tell you anything, I want you to remember that you’re about to be a father. And before I needed you but now it’s your family that needs you. You hear the difference there? We’re a family. And I have a doctors appointment tomorrow afternoon so now that you know I want you to come so you can meet the doctor and get used to…”

In his usual sleath-like manor, Erik had hoped out of bed to stop you from pacing. Once you finally turned around, you were face to chest with him. He lightly grabbed your chin and raised an inquisitive brow. You took a deep breath and finally blurted it out! By the time you finished recounting the story, Erik’s jaw was locked and his body frozen. At this point, you were sitting on the edge of the bed because, exhaustion.

“....I didn’t say anything earlier because you were so happy. Baby I hadn’t heard your laugh in such a long time. I also know how close the two of you used to be. I’m so sorry.”

Hearing that brought your husband back out of his daze. He knelt in front of you making sure your eyes were locked with his.

“Y/N, listen to me. You have nothing to be sorry for, do you hear me? You’re my whole world..” Touching your stomach, “Tonight you’ve managed to make that world even better. That nigga violated my trust and made you feel less than in your own body, in our house...f**k no.”

Erik was eerily calm. The man you knew would’ve been dressed at the part of the story with the handshake and in front of Malik’s house with you on speaker by the time you said, “...touched by ass.”

Instead, with a kiss to your forehead, he made the choice to lay back down. “It’s all good baby, let’s get some sleep.”

-------

The next day you awoke to an empty bed. You got dressed quickly and headed downstairs to find Erik in the kitchen making breakfast.

“Good morning beautiful.”

This was always one of your favorite sights. You stood behind him, wrapping him in a hug while he plated the cheese eggs and breathed him in.

“It’s your birthday Erik. I should be cooking for you.”

“Please...besides your doctor called and had to push your appointment up by an hour so eat up quick! I don’t wanna be late.”

You watched him run upstairs, still wondering who the hell this new guy was and what he did with Erik “the colonizers can kiss mine” Stevens.

He came back down, keys in hand, dog tag on next to his father's ring, sneakers and glasses on. Damn you loved when he wore those glasses. That’s probably how you got pregnant in the first place.

“You ready?”

“Yeah…” You put your plate in the dishwasher and grabbed your bag, walking towards the hallway with him.

“Baby? About our conversation last night. You’re not gonna do anything crazy are you?”

“Oh, you mean Malk?”

“Yes, Erik, that’s what I'm talking about”

“It’s already handled.”

“Erik...what did you do?! Didn’t we discuss this? FAMILY. BABY. Us NEEDING you to not get locked up or worse.”

“Relax, Y/N. I didn’t do anything personally.”

You breathed a small sigh of relief, but he wasn’t quite done. “...let’s just say no one will see him anywhere, EVER...AGAIN.”

“E! You can’t just go offing people at every whim, even if you do hire someone else to take care of it for you. That’s not what I meant.”

“Baby steps, ma. Baby steps.”

Masterlist

Kevin Atwater

Resurfaced 

Happy Birthday

Black and Blue

Smooth(ie)

Stay

Erik Stevens

Lights Out

A Better Man