THE MULLET LIVESSSSSS

background

connie had been your inseparable companion since childhood. the two of you were only 15 when you left for (your state). you never anticipated your family's sudden move, and weren't given the chance to a proper goodbye.

years later, you returned to new york, scraping up enough money for a modest apartment in the bronx.

by pure coincidence, you stumbled into mrs. corleone at a sicilian bakery in manhattan. more than delighted to see you again, she invited you to connie's upcoming wedding as a surprise.

the journey to vito corleone's long island mansion was strenuous; you didn't own a car, and biked most of the distance

the guards promptly opened the gates for you after getting the 'okay' from mama corleone

as you struggled to lug your beaten yellow bike up the crowded gravel driveway in heels you felt a presence at your side, "you need a hand honey?"

his voice was coarse yet smoother than honey

his eyes studied your side profile as you kept your gaze to the gravel, not daring to face him

"that who i think it is?" he asked, the edges of his mouth curling into a sly grin

you knew connie's eldest brother, sonny, as nothing more than a hot-headed nuisance that teased you mercilessly as a teen - which made your feelings for him all the more confusing

finally, you rolled back your shoulders and looked up to face him, trying hard not to smile back at the grinning bastard

"there she is!" he laughed, pinching your soft cheek

you swatted his hand away, turning your head in an attempt to mask your embarrassment. "stop that, sonny!"

eventually, he carried your bike into the front entrance, insulting your beloved vehicle the entire way.

"you still cruisin' around on this piece of shit?"

"hey, it has sentimental value!"

he insisted that he would buy you one brand new, but you declined

the ceremony went smoothly, and connie was overjoyed to see you again

you sat with a glass of wine rested in the palm of your hand, perpetually exhausted from the non-stop drinking and dancing of the wedding reception

a drunken fredo took it upon himself to join you at your empty table, getting uncomfortably up-close and personal with you

"hey, how ya been y-y/n?" he burped

it wasnt long before sonny came to your aid

"aye- freddy, get a move on, will ya?"

fredo stared blankly at his brother, completely dumbfounded

"what are ya waiting for, a kiss on the cheek? get lost," sonny ordered

fredo scurried away to michael's table without another word

you masked your chuckle with a slender hand, "thanks, sonny."

"anytime, toots. what'd'ya say we head inside, huh? i got somethin to show ya."

you shrugged why not and allowed him to lead you into the mansion by hand

you pinched the edges of your satin dress with your free hand, lifting it to keep from tripping

"slow down, sonny!"

"better learn to keep up, y/n."

the two of you arrived in what you remembered to be his old bedroom. you were never allowed into it, of course, but it appeared to be untouched since the last time you saw it

"alright now, close those big eyes'a yours"

you hesitantly closed your eyes one by one, smiling like an idiot

"hold out your hand."

"if you pull something sonny, i swear to god."

when you opened your eyes, you found a gold-plated gemstone bracelet resting comfortably in your hand. it was a sacred family heirloom and the only tangible piece of your mother you had left

"no fuckin' way. sonny!"

he had his hands fixed in his pockets, smiling humbly

"i found it after you left, and i knew what it meant to you so uh, i kept it for a little bit; in case you came back."

in that moment you wanted to hug him with every fiber of your being; to kiss him on his soft pink lips; to lay with him on that very bed, and never let go

"i can't believe it. you don't know how much this means to me."

the sonny that stood before you was a version of him not many had the pleasure of knowing. he was kind, gentle, considerate

tom hagen entered the room, alerting sonny that the family photos were ready to be taken

you slipped the bracelet onto your wrist and coyly exited the room, returning to the reception

you watched as the corleone's prepared for the family portrait, waving shyly at sonny with a soft smile

"c'mere," he beckoned, as the cameraman readied his device

connie encouraged you to join him, waving you over

(forgot to mention! sonny's wife and kids don't exist in this au)

sonny snaked a strong arm around your satin covered waist, and reeled you into his chest

afterwards, the cameraman insisted to take a picture with the two of you alone

you planted a kiss on sonny's deep dimple as the camera flashed

you smiled into his light stubble and felt yourself melt beneath him

you danced with him for the remainder of the night, and just as you were about to leave he offered to drive you home, but not without taking you out to eat first

the two of you spent the evening sharing milkshakes and laughing loudly at a nearby diner

sonny played your favorite song on the jukebox and it was a miracle to you that he even remembered it

he dropped you home with a slow, tender kiss

"pick you up tomorrow?"

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kse22chili

1 year ago

HENRY WINTER X READER

LOVING AND SELFLESS WERE NOT TWO WORDS EVER USED TO DESCRIBE A MAN SUCH AS HENRY WINTER. When you entered Julian Morrow’s office, Henry looked at you with an amused look upon his face. Richard had only just recently joined the class, now you? Julian was feeling generous.

His cold gaze followed you to your seat before returning to whatever he was writing in his notebook. With little acknowledgment, Henry only lifted his head with Julian entered; a man he idolised and admired greatly.

Henry straightened his posture, closed his notebook and adjusted his already neat tie. He merely glanced at you.

As the class went on, Henry began to read out a passage from the Iliad.

"Early in the morning the gods of Olympus sent down the breezes, to fill the sails of our ships.” Henry recites, the words imprinted in his mind.

“It symbolises the human spirit.” He says, a knowing grin fighting to grace his lips.

“I disagree.” You speak up, almost regretting doing so as all heads turn towards you; Henry’s much slower than the rest. “It symbolises the life and death. They’re being led to death.”

Henry let’s out a stiff chuckle, completely insincere.

“You’re overlooking the larger symbolic value of the passage, which is the idea of the human spirit overcoming obstacles and adversity. The breezes represent their collective effort and resilience in the face of challenges, not death.”

You furrow your brows and notice Bunny’s eyes widen a little. “You're just trying to force your own interpretation on the passage to fit your narrative. Death and being led to it is a much more nuanced and accurate theme to the passage and it's the very essence of the human condition. It represents the truth about existence.”

Henry shakes his head and his jaw tightens once more. “The passage is a reminder that our collective effort and determination can overcome even the most difficult challenges and that is the core of the human spirit.”

You tear your eyes away from Henry’s for a moment before looking back and continuing to argue. “You see, that's exactly the problem. You keep glossing over death and try to replace it with some positive rhetoric but you can't escape the truth. Death is inevitable, inherent in life and the human spirit must confront it.”

Julian looks impressed, only leading to Henry’s blood boiling more. A hatred began to stir inside of him. Luckily for you it was the end of the class and Julian knew Henry could argue over this for hours.

“I believe both inferences are correct.” Julian attempts to disperse the flame yet there was no shaking Henry’s cold glare.

Henry is the first to leave the office after you’re all dismissed, his strides strong and determined. He pulled out the pack of Lucky Strikes from his breast pocket, dig for his lighter from his coat pocket and lit a cigarette up. He took a deep inhale.

You walked after him, attempting to keep up with Henry’s pace. Despite his leg he moved briskly.“Henry.” You called and his pace slowed before he came to a complete stop, exhaling the smoke from his cigarette. Henry turned around, his height towering over you. It was much easier when you were sat down; you would’ve never thought to speak up earlier if he was standing. “I didn’t mean to aggravate you before, I was just expressing my inference.” You manage to tell him.

“You didn’t aggravate me, your opinion wasn’t vital.” Henry responds simply in a selfish manner.

You couldn’t help but scoff a little. “Well neither was yours.” You say, your sudden distaste for Henry getting the better of you and making your words come out harsh.

Henry’s jaw tightened; a common occurrence that happened whenever your mouth opened you began to realise. “At least mine made sense.” Henry replies brutally before turning around once more and taking another deep drag of his cigarette.

Since then a rivalry blossomed — Henry’s mind challenging yours as you challenged Henry’s.

Despite Henry’s spewing hatred for you, Francis Abernathy, another peer, had taken a likeness to you. He invited you over to his aunt’s countryside estate, the group’s last visit before winter break yet your first visit.

It was grand and large, easy to get lost in the winding far hallways. You spent evenings in the living room, lay across the couches and indulging in the rich wine from the cellar.

Tonight was no different.

Your minds were fairly numbed and you gazed up at the ceiling as the others talked — unaware of Henry’s gaze upon you from the armchair close to the fireplace. It looked almost playful. Almost.

Bunny was bringing up a moment from the class in the previous term and you laughed, shaking your head. “Nope, that’s not how I remember it.” You say your laughter dying down. You then heard a faint stiff chuckle from Henry and all heads looked to him. He hadn’t spoken much all night.

“What?” You ask, a faint laugh in your voice. It was a nervous laugh, you never knew what Henry was going to say.

“Even when we aren’t in Julian’s office you still manage to argue with anything anyone says, it’s predictable.” Henry tells you, taking another sip of wine.

“Henry knock it off. It’s all in good fun.” Charles said with a scowl, pouring more wine into his glass.

“I’m just stating the obvious, you always have to know better than anyone. Come on, give it a rest for one night.” Henry tells you, his gaze more challenging than ever as he wore a satisfied grin at how your face dropped.

In Henry’s mind he was only being playful — to you he was nothing but cruel. The room suddenly felt warmer and you needed to leave the living area before smoke came out your fucking ears.

You left the estate and stood outside for a while, crossing your arms; a poor attempt to warm you from the cold.

A few moments later you heard footsteps wondering towards the front door; those familiar heavy footsteps.

You glanced over your shoulder and saw Henry, lighting up a lucky strike. Quickly, you looked away and kept your jaw tight in a similar fashion to how Henry’s usually had his whenever you were near.

Henry glanced to you, his eyes roving you up and down for a moment as he exhaled the smoke. His eyelids were droopy and he cleared his throat before glancing away, intoxication taking hold.

“I was only trying to joke, it was a joke.” Henry informs you. You laugh falsely and look over to him.

“Jokes are funny.” You tell him and he grins, perching the cigarette between his lips as he got his Lucky Strike packet from his coat pocket. “Touché.” He murmured and held out the packet to you.

You looked at it for a moment before shaking your head and looking forward to the field. He put the packet back in his coat pocket and looked out to the field with you that was covered by darkness.

“I envy your perseverance. At first I hated it, then I began to love the challenge, the thrill of proving you wrong.” Henry tells you.

Your eyes remained forward yet you could see Henry in the corner of your eye, drawing closer. His hand reached up to caress your face, his hand large enough to cup your cheek and ear with his fingers not once calloused by work but by the scribbling away of his pen over the years.

As his fingertips grazed your cheek you grabbed his hand and shoved it away before making your way back inside.

“You intrigue me.” You hear Henry’s voice slur as you continue to walk. He wanted you to stay out there with him, yet drunken words, or any word at all from Henry didn’t matter.

You left to your room after that encounter and didn’t come down for the rest of the night.

The next morning, you saw Henry in the kitchen, up first as usual. You wished he was hungover, enough to stay in his room for the rest of the day.

His usual slick back hair was messier and his eyes were more remorseful. His top blouse button was undone and he lacked a belt. For a moment Henry looked human.

As you put the kettle on he looked you up and down once more, taking a sip of his own lukewarm coffee.

You didn’t look his way and looked out the kitchen window that faced the fields.

“Whatever I said last night I apologise.” Henry told you with a soft tone you were unfamiliar with.

“It doesn’t matter.” You mutter dismissively and keep your eyes out the window. You hear Henry sigh and he removes his glasses and rubs his temple in annoyance.

“It does, it does. What I said was true. I am intrigued by you.” Henry admits.

You scoff and shake your head. “You have a funny way of showing it.” You tell him bitterly, still believing he was fucking with you.

“It intrigues me that you challenge me. I’m not used to it.” Henry tells you. Your shoulders relax a little as the sincerity of his words dripped from his lips.

“I regret how I’ve treated you, please. May we be friends?” Henry asks, standing up from his seat. You glance over to him and he extended his hand to you as if you were creating a pact.

Slowly and uncertainly, you shook his hand and watched his face relax. It was new, something other than a clenched jaw.

Henry was a man of is word, his attitude and behaviour towards you dissipating from anger to a fondness of you. Little did you know it ran much deeper, that fondness soon submerging into desire.

When you worked together, to study or work on assignments it was like clockwork and everything fell into place. Your minds worked as one and Henry felt immensely foolish for creating your rivalry in the first place.

You returned to Francis’ aunt’s countryside estate in the spring where the fields were flooded with vibrant green and the odd clumps of flowers sat across it.

Everyone was outside, Camilla walking by the stream with Richard while Charles, Francis, Bunny and Henry played tennis. You were settled under a tree, shading from the sun and reading while seated on a picnic blanket.

You only look up from your book you were annotating upon hearing the approach of heavy breathing and look up to see Henry, his blouse unkept and untucked from his pants, a few strands of hair falling over his forehead.

“Was tennis really that intense?” You ask with a slight grin. Henry chuckles and lays down on the picnic blanket beside you. He rubs his forehead.

“Bunny can be very competitive.” Henry replies and you roll your eyes in a playful manner.

“What are you annotating?” Henry inquired, sitting up. You held the book out to him. Henry took it from your grasp and suddenly much more aware of how close Henry was seated beside you.

He flicked through the pages, his eyes concentrated as he focused on every word you wrote on each page and marvelled at it.

“Ingenious as always.” He tells you with a subtle smile, holding the book back out to you. You’re still reeling from the proximity. Why was this so overwhelming?

Henry looked back to you upon noticing your gaze and slowly lowered the book onto your lap. His eyes flickered to your lips for a moment before back to your eyes, a silent ask for permission.

When your lips part a little, he takes the indication and cups your chin with his fingers, bringing his lips to your own in a deep tender kiss. Closing your eyes, your body relaxes and you let your lips get taken by his, attempting to kiss back with as much affection as he did. His arm slipped around your waist and pulled you closer to him if it was even humanly possible.

Henry wanted every part of you.

His tongue slipped over yours and nothing felt better before the grating sound of a whistle was heard from Bunny mouth.

“Hey! We’re starting another game!” He yelled, unable to see entirely what was happening as the sun caused his eyes to squint, disorienting his vision.

Henry’s lips grazed yours now and he sighed in annoyance. He looked over to Bunny. “I’ll be over in a moment!” Henry yells.

He leaves one last desired kiss upon your lips before returning to Charles, Francis and Bunny, acting as though nothing had happened despite his lingering glances to you throughout the next game.

195 notes View Post

kse22chili

8 months ago