#+the fact that mike had to have will rubbing his back and calling him pet names so he could “confess” his love to el

[kdkdnfuiahuag]

maturing is realising that mike and will are the cringiest mfs in the show and loving them for it

[briamichellewrites]

98

George demanded that Bria take a break. He would take her to the doctor to have her leg examined if the pain continued. He searched for the manufacturer's information while she went upstairs in her wheelchair. It was in his office, somewhere. He kept it in case they needed to be replaced or repaired. With the twins napping in the afternoon and her taking a bath, the house was peaceful. To get through to bedtime, they needed to reenergize. It took him a while to discover that they were not fitted correctly.

One side is shorter than the other. One of the screws came loose because it was not tightened. After adjusting the height, he tightened the screw with a screwdriver he got from the garage. That would explain why they felt uncomfortable. They were taken to her upstairs by him. He discovered her getting a change of clothes in her closet.

As he described what he had discovered, he asked her to try them out. She got out of her wheelchair and took ahold of her crutches.

"They are more comfortable. Thank you ” She jokingly said, "I might have to keep you around."

"You are welcome. Remember how we said we would not ever get divorced?”

"No, but I would have agreed to that if I had heard it. In any case, I doubt that I could handle it. You are far too attractive.”

That made him laugh, and then he thanked her. She carried her change of clothes to the bathroom and then dropped them on the floor. He went to see how the kids were doing. They both had their favourite stuffed animals and were sound asleep. He went downstairs after shutting the door behind him. Buddy and Max needed to go to the restroom. He made the decision to take them outdoors. They did not require leashes because the property was fenced in.

Both of them enjoyed wandering around and sniffing everywhere. Before entering the alcove bathtub, Bria placed her crutches on the floor. Then she added the adult bubble bath and turned on the water. It had a lavender scent, which was very calming. She could sit on the edge of the bathtub to dry off and get dressed before getting into her wheelchair or crutches, which was really useful.

She shut off the faucet after filling it with water. She enjoyed the sensation of the warm water on her legs. She sensed their gratitude. George returned with Buddy and Max. They were thirsty and went to their water bowls. He went upstairs to check on the situation. When he checked on Ella, she had woken up from her nap and was playing quietly. She was no longer able to sleep. That was a good thing, he told her, because it meant her body was getting some rest.

She gave a nod. She did not want to wake her brother because he was still asleep. When he was woken, he became irritable, similar to their mother. But at least he refrained from swearing and threatening to kick their ass. When she threatened to do that to the boys, Mike and the others always found it amusing. They never took it seriously, even though she could if she really wanted to.

Alexander woke up shortly after that as well. He rubbed his eyes and joined them in playing. Ella wanted to know where Bria was. George clarified that her legs were hurting, so she was taking a bath. Buddy and Max approached the children's room by going up the ramp. When he noticed they were awake, Max gave a joyful grunt. Before petting them, they all greeted them. They both gave a tail-wagging motion. Alexander called them twins because they were always together, similar to him and Ella.

The fact that they were different animals made no difference. Bria used the handheld faucet to rinse herself after she had finished soaking. She picked up a towel and wrapped it around her body after the water had drained. She was helped up by grab bars and an anti-slip mat in the bathtub. Before putting on her clothes, she dried herself off while sitting on the bathtub's edge.

Then she set out to locate everyone. She assumed the twins would be awake because it had been an hour. Indeed, they were.

“Hey! You’re back”, George said.

Alexander said, "Do you feel better, mommy?"

"I do. Thank you.”

Ella said, "Mommy, you are not using your wheelchair."

“I know. These were fixed for me by Daddy.”

“Yay, daddy!”

He chuckled. The fact that young children had no filter was one of the best things about having them. They occasionally said things that were not appropriate. They also said the most surprising and hilarious things. Until it was time to prepare dinner and feed the animals, they kept playing. Before going outside, the kids put on their shoes because they wanted to assist her with that.

Life was worth living because of Bria and the kids. He was grateful that he received treatment for his depression. She really was the most ideal wife he could have hoped for. To avoid a relapse, he continued to take antidepressants, but at a reduced dosage. He was prescribed a different medication as a result of the side effects. It was very beneficial to him. He was attracted to his wife once more. Even before her stroke, she was determined to keep going for him.

It was worth getting out of bed every morning to see his family's faces. He cherished his roles as a father and a husband. More than he might have imagined. Ella and Alexander were lively, inquisitive, and kind kids. Every day he was proud of them. He was eager to see who they would become when they grew up. Though, he also wanted to take time to enjoy them while they were still young.

@zoeykaytesmom @feelingsofaithless @alina-dixon

[angryschnauzer]

Old Friends New Memories

Summary: A chance meeting means you run into a very old friend and reconnect, but with you both having considerable emotional baggage, can you re-ignite what you had left burning all those years ago. A last minute Christmas Eve fic based on this post

Fandom: Henry Cavill, Hellraiser Hellworld

Pairing: Mike (Hellraiser) x Female Reader

Word count: 2565

Warnings: Angst, NSFW, 18+, Happy Ending. Talk of past abuse, gaslighting, male domestic violence survivor, gaslighting, drugs, drug addiction, rehab and therapy, impotence, therapy, mild references to assault, rebuilding relationships, mild sexual acts, nudity, oral sex (female recieving)

A/N: This is very much a ‘fix it’ fic to bring Mike’s character on from Hellraiser events, explaining that what happened in the movie was in fact a very bad drug fuelled trip. And somehow i am also writing angst again. But it has a happy ending. 

I do not operate a tag list but if you follow @angryschnauzerwrites and put that blog onto notifications you’ll get an alert every time i post something new, plus be able to find all my past works. Everything can also be found on my AO3

Henry Cavill Masterlist

You had  run into the local school to collect your nephew up from soccer practice as your Sister was stuck at work. He came out of practice super excited by the new coach ‘Michael’, chatting all the way back home about how awesome he was. It was only when you were dropping your nephew off did he realise he’d left his backpack there. You offered to drive back and grab it as your sister had arrived home with takeout for their dinner.

The soccer pitch was empty when you got there but the gate still unlocked, so you started to search the bleachers for the bag before someone called out;

"Ma'am? Can i help you?"

Not looking up you answered;

"My nephew left his backpack…"

You stood and turned, the air being sucked from your lungs as a sudden blast from the past stood in front of you;

"Mikey…"

He laughed, rubbing the back of his neck;

"Yeah, its been a while…"

"Yeah…"

"The last time i saw you..." he trailed off

"Yup. Same bleachers, only then we were under them…"

He visibly blushed as the memory of that night came back;

"I should really take you out to dinner... to apologise…"

Laughing you nodded;

"That'd be nice. Though you'll let me finish before you do this time, yeah?"

Mikey grinned;

"I can assure you the 19 year old Mikey S i was is a million miles away from 30 year old Michael Syverson i am now"

“I’m glad to hear that”

“So, tomorrow night?”

“Sounds good”

You both faltered for a moment, bodies jerking slightly before you laughed and hugged. Enveloped in his arms you were surprised by a number of things; how familiar it seemed and yet how different. Mikey had always given the best hugs, probably due to how freaking long his arms were, but before it was like getting a hug from a barely padded fence post. Now however he was solid and huge. Your arms no longer fitted around his torso, there was a deep valley in the centre of his chest that you could rest your head in, he had filled out and you felt completely surrounded by his presence. 

Reluctantly you eventually pulled apart, Mikey pulling his phone from his pocket;

“So, can i get your number?”

-

Mikey had invited you out for dinner the following night, Christmas Eve, and had picked you up at 7pm. You weren’t sure what you were expecting, perhaps a dive bar or a greasy diner, but he’d pulled his Toyota into the parking lot of a small family run Italian restaurant, one you’d been meaning to try but had never gotten around to. It turned out the meal had been fantastic, the dishes you’d picked laced with garlic and lemon, flavours hitting your taste buds like tiny fireworks. You’d chatted about old times, he’d been attentive and asked what you’d been up to since the end of high school which you happily filled him in on; college and onto animal care, working with kennels and pet parlours before last year you’d moved back to town to open your own pet salon. 

When Mikey wasn’t asking you questions you found yourself getting distracted as you couldn’t help but to simply stare at him. He’d blossomed into a truly handsome man, gone was the boisterous teenager, instead what you found was a quiet and contemplative adult who considered his words. The same crooked smile was there, as was the expressive eyebrows, but there was something dulling the spark, you didn’t want to pry, but you hoped whatever it was was only temporary.

But throughout the whole meal the atmosphere was relaxed and friendly, a comfortable aura between the two of you. When the check came you split it, there was no discussion or argument, and the drive back to your place was fun as you sang along to the radio playing Christmas songs. As he pulled onto your driveway you smiled and turned to him;

“Would you like to come in for a coffee?”

“A co…coffee?”

You took a deep breath;

“Whatever happens happens, i’m as nervous as you are, but i’d also really like to continue the evening with you. Plus you can meet Pandora and Doof”

“Pandora and Doof?”

“My cat and dog”

Laughing Mikey turned the key and killed the engine;

“Yes, i definitely want to meet Pandora and Doof”

Once you stepped in the door Pandora did what she did best, a quiet ‘miaow’ from the darkness, just her eyes visible in the low light;

“Oh you have a void!” Mikey laughed softly, before patting his thigh and your big black cat strolled from the living room into the hallway. Before you could say anything else a low growl came from the kitchen, and you turned and called out;

“Doof, its ok. He’s a friend”

You turned and grabbed a dog biscuit from the jar on top of the hallway shelves and handed it to Mikey;

“Give him a moment, he’s protective of me around men”

You slipped into the kitchen and turned the light on, and Mikey could hear you talking to your dog;

“Doof, you be nice to Mikey, he’s a good friend. Good. Nice person. All good. OK?”

“Woof”

A moment later you appeared in the doorway, holding the black labrador’s collar as you slowly walked along the hallway to where Mikey was still standing, before he crouched down and patted his leg;

“S’ok boy, i’m good”

Doof started to wag his tail as he approached, before he sat in front of Mikey and let out a quiet ‘woof’, to which Mikey handed him the dog biscuit;

“Can i pat your head Doof?”

“Rowwwwwww”

You watched as they bonded a little, before Doof sat on his foot and you smiled;

“Hey, i need to let Doof run around in the garden and do his business, did you want to have hot cocoa on the back porch?”

“Yeah sure, that’d be nice”

Ten minutes later you were both sat on chairs, watching as Doof did zoomies in the grass before randomly stopping to investigate scents. Sipping on the minty hot cocoa Mikey finally spoke;

“I got a question… well, a coupla’ questions…”

“Sure”

“You said we were both nervous. What are you nervous about, and how could you tell i was nervous?”

You took a deep breath;

“Full honesty, right? We’ve known each other too long for any lies or hiding things, right?”

“Right”

“What i’m nervous about is getting my heart broken again. And i don’t just mean that when i left for college and we parted ways, that hurt… god that hurt like hell, but i’ve had my heart broken time and time again since then. I’m nervous you haven’t changed, even though it seems like you have. I would rather reignite an old friendship than have a night together for the sake of old lovers” you paused; “Was that too honest?”

Mikey shook his head, staring down at his mug;

“No, its refreshing to hear…”

“And i can tell you’re nervous, you have the same tick you had when we were in grade school, you rub your thumb of your right hand on the back of your left hand. So…”

Mikey was silent, looking out into the darkness of the fields behind your property;

“I’m nervous… because i’m scared to try dating again”

“With me?”

“In general”

“What happened Mikey?”

He turned to look at you properly;

“Can you call me Mike?”

“Of course”

He took a deep breath;

“I’m divorced”

“Oh, i didn’t even know you’d married”

“It left me with some issues. Financial. Emotional. Physical and mental” he let out a low single laugh; “This is the first date i’ve been on in 5 years…”

“No way…”

“I just found it easier to not date. Too much to try and hide” he looked at you; “But with you… i feel i can be open and you won’t judge me”

“Of course i won’t” Just then Doof padded softly onto the porch, climbing onto your lap before settling his large body over your legs and his chin on the arm rest.

“She fucked me up. We met when i was 20, i was big into the party scene, bouncing from dead end job to dead end job, literally just partying away each weeks wage on drink and drugs. We ended up in Atlantic City and when we sobered up i found out we’d gotten married. After that she changed. I was young, she was older. The gaslighting started at that point, now i can see it for what it was, but then i thought it was simply the affect of the drugs. And when we were both high she got addicted to…” he trailed off, leaning back and pulling his shirt up. You could see the silvery scars across his torso; cigarette burns. 

You sucked in a sharp breath, but stayed quiet, giving Mike the time he needed;

“The final straw was when she got her hands on a cocktail of drugs. I have no idea what was in it, LSD, Ketamine, Coke, jesus christ it was awful. She thought she’d killed me, so instead of calling the cops she buried me in a wooden box. I woke up24 hours later and had to claw myself out. Thankfully she was lazy, or high, and hadn’t covered the box with dirt. The EMT’s said that was what probably saved my life so i didn’t suffocate”

You stayed silent, tears welling and threatening to spill, before Doof quietly moved and got off your lap, crossing the distance between you and Mike and climbed onto his lap, settling his snout on his shoulder against his neck. There was a moment of quiet and calm as Mike closed his eyes and rubbed your dog’s back;

“Thanks Buddy” he cleared his throat; “So anyway… at that point i stepped away. My time in hospital helped me start to get clean. Through the rehab i found some free legal aid and after i managed to get a job the next step was a divorce. I moved back home and tried to get my life restarted. My Mom helped me go to community college, i flunked most of high school so i managed to get my diploma and then found i really enjoyed sports studies. That led to a job coaching soccer, to the point i now have a job at the high school. Assistant coach and i run private sports lessons like your nephew attends”

“Mike, i don’t know what to say. I’m so sorry you had to go through all that, but i’m glad you have found a path to carve out a way for yourself”

“Yeah, but it’s lonely. Anyone with any sense left town and got away to college, few ever returned. Those without any sense are now in jail or dead”

“And dating hasn’t…”

“That’s the emotional and mental part. Its hard to hold down a relationship when you can’t… ya’know… stay hard…”

You watched as he rubbed Doof’s ears, giving him time as you stayed silent.

“And yeah i went to therapy, i went to a doctor. My girlfriend at the time was understanding. But she was also desperate to be a Mom, and it wasn’t something i could do. The doctors confirm there’s nothing wrong with me physically, fuck, i can get hard by myself and wack one out, but the moment… well therapy helped but it didn’t help”

You both sat there in silence, before you finally cleared your throat;

“Stay the night”

Mike’s eyes snapped up to you;

“You heard what i just said, right?”

“Yes. And i’m not saying ‘fuck me’, i’m not saying ‘i can cure you with my magic pussy’. Just stay the night. I’ve missed you, more than you can imagine. Going off to college seemed like the greatest idea, but my dating life has been a disaster”

“It can’t be worse than mine…”

You smiled softly;

“This isn’t about who’s was worse, but there’s a reason why Doof doesn’t trust men in my house. I had to make a choice, and I chose Doof and moved back home. My wounds didn’t leave scars, but that doesn’t mean i don’t remember them. I started afresh”

Mike let out a slow breath;

“Sure, i’d love to stay” he looked out to the back yard and smiled; “Plus its started to snow. My Toyota will never get home in this”

Standing you held out your hand as you patted Doof’s behind;

“C’mon Doof, bedtime” the dog lazily stretched and slid off Mike’s lap, before you took Mike’s hand and pulled him up; “Bedtime for you too”

“Why do you call him Doof?”

At that moment the dog turned to look back just as he got to the screen door, walking straight into it;

“Because he’s a giant doofus”

-

As the daylight streamed into the room you opened one eye and was greeted by a pair of dark eyes and a wet nose;

“Hey Doof”

“Woof”

“Okay, lets let you out to go potty”

A groan sounded behind you;

“Nooooo”

Laughing you turned, and couldn’t help but to take in how gorgeous Mike was as he lay next to you, his hair messy and his stubble longer, but those bright blue eyes as welcoming as ever;

“Ok we need to teach Doof to unlock doors so he can take himself out for potty”

You laughed and playfully patted Mike’s side;

“Don’t worry, you need to get up too… we both have a garlic issue. There’s a spare toothbrush in the cabinet”

-

As you watched Doof scoot around in the snow you waited for the coffee machine to warm up, slowly letting the dark liquid drip through. A thick pair of arms circled your waist and a bristly kiss was pressed to your cheek;

“Has he peed yet?”

“Not yet. I’ll hook the screen door open and unlock the doggy door, he can let himself back in”

“Good”

Turning in Mike’s arms you pressed a soft kiss to his lips which he repeated seconds later, then again, before eventually you both deepened your connection as lips parted and his tongue danced delicately over your own. When the need for oxygen finally took over and you parted, he hooked his finger into the vneck of your tshirt, not so subtly peering in;

“C’mon, i may not be able to do stuff, but i can do other stuff, and i wanna see how those titties have grown”

“Oh…”

“And ya’know, taste that pussy”

As the pair of you made your way back to your bedroom you grinned;

“Oh that’s a thing now? I recall you not wanting to do that last time…”

“Yeah, i was the Doofus then”

On cue Mike turned and walked straight into the doorframe, thankfully not hard but enough to make him bounce off of it;

“Yeah, completely different now” you teased

With a grin he grabbed you and walked you backwards to the bed, pulling your t-shirt off and grinning when he saw your breasts;

“Perfect, excellent shape. 10 out of 10”

He slowly got to his knees as he pulled your panties down, never breaking eye contact before he pushed you back and set you softly on the bed;

“Now, let me give you a Christmas present”

[navalcriminalimagines]

Hi!! It's me again 🤭❤️ May I request for fluff #18 "I wish we could live together already." with Mike Dodds. I need some fluff content for Mike 😩🥺

Mike Dodds x Reader. Mike deserves the world. ❤️

TW: Mention of a rape case.

Undercover

When his father offered him to join Manhattan’s SVU, Mike Dodds wasn’t a fan of that idea for two reasons: he knew how hard it was to work at this Unit, and being assigned to the team, because he’s the Chief’s son, that’s not great. But William Dodds wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer, so Mike caved in and joined SVU, eight months ago.

And to his surprise, he was so glad he did. Quickly, he became best friends with Sonny Carisi, but most importantly, he met you. He never believed in love at first sight or any of that crap, but he should’ve. Cause it’s true. It exists and you were the proof.

Two months after he started, you and he went on your first date. Mike has been on cloud nine ever since and hopefully, you were too.

As this job is extremely hard, mentally, you were Mike’s escape and he was yours. You made a pact; no shop talk at home. So, when you two meet after work, you completely forget about your day, your case, your week. You talk about anything and everything. The most amazing part is that you and Mike always have something to talk about, but sometimes, you stay silent with each other and there’s no awkwardness. You just enjoy each other’s presence.

Is this what heaven looks like? Is this the perfect relationship?

Mike is deeply in love and already knows he wants to spend the rest of his life with you. But it’s just been six months, he doesn’t want to scare you away.

As you two were on date night, you unfortunately got a call at work. A woman had been raped in front of her boyfriend, as he was attached to a chair.

During the following week, there was absolutely no progress. No evidence, nothing. The whole team was frustrated, and when you thought it couldn’t get any worse; a new case came in. Same M.O. Same area.

Except for the fact that the couples lived close to one another, there was only one common point between them: the weekend before the attack, they went to the same club. The rapist must have followed them to their houses and took a week to prepare the attacks.

It made sense to Sonny Carisi. “Two of us should go undercover. If he sticks to his M.O, all we have to do is to go to the club, rent an apartment in the area for a week and the following Saturday, we catch him.”

It was the only way. That was how you and Mike got to live together. Even if it was undercover and that there were cameras in the living room and bedroom, and that you had to be careful - nobody knew about you two yet - it was something.

On Saturday, you went to the club the couples went to. “Act like a real couple. Make out if you have to.” Liv told you. If she only knew.

It was no trouble for you and Mike. You were naturals. Besides the fact that Liv and Amanda were talking in your ears - Sonny and Fin were inside too - it felt like you and Mike were just having a night out. He enjoyed softly kissing your neck, rubbing your naked thighs with his fingertips. At some point, his hand got really close to your wet center, you almost forgot why you were here.

“Damn Dodds, what are you doing to L/N?” you heard Fin in your ear piece and immediately jolted.

He couldn’t say things in your ears because of the mics, so he grabbed a napkin and a pen to write something. “So wet for me already. Can’t wait to go home.” He dragged the napkin to you and you almost, feeling yourself getting even wetter at the thought of what would happen later.

“Kitchen or bathroom?” he asked as you got into the apartment.

“What?”

“Only rooms where there aren’t any cameras. And choose fast cause it’s killing me not to kiss you right now.”

You didn’t answer, just grabbed his hand and took him to the kitchen. Luckily there are no mics installed in the apartment, so you could be as loud as you wanted. And you were. Both of you.

During the day, you and Mike had check ups with the team. You took a laptop to work for the apartment, since you couldn’t go to the precinct, in case the perp was still following you or Mike.

On the third day, you and Mike had completely forgotten about the camera in the bedroom. You were laying on the bed, a book in hand when Mike joined you under the covers. He forced his way under your arm like a puppy in need of petting. You chuckled and kissed his freshly washed hair.

“Want me to read to you?” he asked.

Mike never enjoyed reading. Whenever he had to read a book for class, it was torture. He still doesn’t like reading but he does love reading to you. You handed him your book - a gift from him - and changed positions. He laid on his back and you curled up against him, your head resting on his chest. You listened to his heartbeat as he read.

When he stopped reading to turn a page, you took a look at him and softly kissed his lips. “I wish we could live together already.” You said and immediately hid your face in his neck. “Gosh, I’m sorry. We’ve only been--”

“I want that too.” He cut you off, threw the book away in order to grab your chin. He made you look in his eyes. “I love you, Y/N.” he whispered, before kissing you.

“I love you too, Mike.” You rested your forehead against his. “But if you throw one of my books ever again, I’m breaking up with you.”

“Oh, crap!”

He spent the following five minutes looking for the page you were on. Damn you and your +800 pages books.

[vennilavee]

love lockdown (7)

pairing: levi x reader summary: an anniversary spent together, and an old memory. warnings: wine, cursing, suggestive content, feelings of insecurity, smut (levi gets pegged)- 18+!!! word count: 4.3k a/n: based off of several asks you guys sent me hehe (the ones about the sweater curse, and tbah couple being the winery couple) tbah masterlist

Levi has been knitting for a long time, for years now, since a little before his mother had gotten sick. His mother had been the one to teach him- she had tried to even as a young boy, but he hadn’t really paid attention to it until he was older. He remembers how happy she had been when he had woven his first wool scarf. It’s been several years since his mother passed away, but he still keeps his knack for knitting alive and well.

Besides, it’s a way for him to feel close to his mother.

Levi has his favorite techniques tucked away in his brain and his favorite types of fabrics tucked away in a royal blue box in the corner of his linen closet. His trusty knitting needles also sit in the same box. It’s been a while since he had taken them out.

But he has decided that he’s going to knit you a thick blanket. Who better than to knit a blanket for anyway?

Once you and Levi begin to rack up anniversaries, Levi feels the need to do something different. Neither of you had celebrated monthly anniversaries because you felt no reason to (other than a nice candlelit dinner for your six month anniversary), but this specific moment in time feels different. Mainly because he’s come to the calming realization that you are it for him. And really, it’s a realization that has been brewing warmly for the last few months.

He’ll make it out of sunflower yellow yarn. The color that reminds him of you.

The idea is planted in his head about two months before and he sleeps on it. Before deciding that he wants to do it. It’ll take some time to finish, and he thinks he can have it done in a month or so.

Levi’s favorite way to knit is with a glass of whiskey and with the television turned on for background noise. With every stitch, he finds himself thinking of you- will you like it? He hopes you will- it’s not much, but it’s him.

But he has nothing to worry about, because he knows you’ll appreciate it. It’s part of why he keeps you around, after all.

“Dude, you’re knitting her a blanket? Have you never heard of the sweater curse?” Mike asks incredulously, “I would think you, as a well seasoned member in the knitting community, would know what the sweater curse is…”

“The what,” Levi says flatly. 

“The sweater curse,” Mike repeats with a raise of an eyebrow.

“You repeating it doesn’t tell me what it means. Spit it out.”

“It’s when someone who knits makes a sweater, or anything really, for their significant other. And then the couple inevitably breaks up, because one of them realizes that they put in way more effort than the other,” Mike says. He says it so knowingly, as if it’s fact.

Levi scoffs with a slow roll of his eyes. But still, something uneasy settles in his chest. He tries to quell it before it sprouts and blossoms, and he does a mostly good job of it.

But Mike’s words stay with him for the rest of the day. Even when you had called him to say goodnight from your apartment, it had lingered in the back of his mind.

You could tell something was off- after all, you like to think you could read him like a book. Despite him giving you his full attention, you could tell he was distracted-

“Levi? Is everything okay?” You ask softly, “You seem... preoccupied.”

“Yes,” He says instantly.

With that, you don’t push him. But still you frown a little at him, wondering what could be bothering him. You decide to change the subject. It’s taken a while, but these days, if something was bothering him then he would tell you.

After letting it fester for a bit and after he tried to work through his feelings on his own.

“Hey, can I come over this weekend? I have something for you… And also your bed is comfier than mine.”

“Just say you wanna sleep on my bed. No need for false pretenses.”

“Well, it is a well known fact that your bed is superior to mine…”

You don’t push him and Levi is grateful for that. Maybe he’ll voice his concerns when you come over.

The blanket that Levi is preparing for you still needs about a week of work, but they are coming along nicely if he says so himself. The material is soft- he’s particular about what he works with and for you, he’s even more picky.

With each weave and stitch, he grows a tiny bit unsure about the stupid sweater curse. He curses Mike for putting such a stupid idea in his head. But what if it holds some truth to it? After all, he can vividly remember the instances of breakdowns in communication in the beginning- how many times he was so quick to jump to conclusions rather than talk things out with you.

He’s come a long way since then, but what if the stupid curse holds some truth to it?

His slight spiral takes a backseat when his phone vibrates, a text from you letting him know that you’ve just parked your car and you’ll be inside in a few minutes.

Levi makes his way to the lobby to greet you. Almost every time he does this, you protest, telling him that you can just meet him in his apartment. But every time, he greets you in the lobby whenever you visit him.

It’s small, but it makes your heart sing happily for your chivalrous man.

Levi takes your bags and touches your elbow lightly as you both wait for the elevator to ding. In the privacy of the elevator, you kiss him hello quickly. 

“How was the drive?” Levi asks, rubbing your wrist.

“Felt longer than usual,” You admit, stifling a yawn. Levi hums in acknowledgement and keeps a hovering touch over your elbow as you both walk side by side to his apartment. You allow yourself the luxury of resting your head against his shoulder as he unlocks the front door.

“I would’ve come to pick you up if you were tired,” Levi scolds gently.

You shrug, “I don’t mind the drive, baby.”

Pet names slip easily from your lips when you’re in each other’s privacy and comfort.

“Go change and wash up,” Levi murmurs, patting your ass fondly, “I have dinner ready. I’ll pour you a glass of wine, shiraz good?”

You hum wordlessly and squeeze his arm with a grin. As you fumble through your small duffel bag that you specifically use for whenever you stay over Levi’s place, nerves begin to fizz up in your veins.

You sincerely hope Levi enjoys the small gift you had for him. Pulling on one of Levi’s looser shirts, your favorite purple hoodie and cozy leggings, you pull the gift tucked away in the side of the duffle bag and hide it behind your back.

“Hi,” You mumble softly, molding yourself to his side in the kitchen where he is setting plates for you both, “I have something for you, baby.”

“And what’s that?” Levi asks, bringing you in front of him and pressing your back against the kitchen countertop.

“Sit with me on the couch,” You murmur, tugging his hand in yours gently. Levi sees a small package in your hands as you not discreetly try to hide it from him.

You seem a little nervous, picking at the hem of your hoodie before finally raising your eyes to meet his.

You hope he likes it.

“It’s not much,” You mumble, “But…”

Levi unwraps the blue wrapping paper dotted with little cartoon stars on it with a raised eyebrow. His lips are pursed together in a thin line, wondering what it could possibly be and how he didn’t know you were planning to gift him something.

He thinks about the nearly completed blanket hidden in his bottom dresser drawer.

“It’s getting cold, and I know you don’t like how cold your neck gets in the winter,” You say, watching with wide eyes as he pulls out a rich navy sweater from the wrapping paper. It’s warm to the touch, the material thick and of good quality.

It doesn’t feel store bought.

“Did you- did you make this?” Levi says, almost incredulously, “You made this for me? Since when do you knit?”

“I don’t,” You say sheepishly, “You like knitting and I wanted to make something that you like. Or try to make something at least. If it’s shorter on one arm than the other, mind your business.”

Levi rolls his eyes and pats your head fondly. It had taken you months and hours to figure out what you were doing, with the help of videos and the elderly lady that you bought your fruits from on Saturdays.

He can’t believe you had done this right under his nose. But should he be so surprised, considering he is doing the same?

He wants to tell you about the blanket sitting at the bottom of his drawer, but he refrains. The sweater is a rich, blue that brings out his eyes (at least, according to you).

Levi instantly takes his shirt off to pull the sweater over his torso as you watch with hearts in your eyes. 

“I know it’s not much… Do you-mmph-”

Your sentence is cut off by the abrupt press of his lips on yours. Levi leans over, laying his weight on top of you and kisses you soundly- his tongue slipping in your mouth with the tilt of his head. The material of the sweater tickles your chin and your cheeks. You’re surrounded by him- his kiss, his touch, his distinct love.

Levi knew he was worrying for no reason. The sweater curse might exist for other couples, but not for you both. 

“Thank you,” He mumbles into your neck, his cheeks heating up, “It’s really warm.”

You only beam at him, adoration clear in the edges of your smile. Levi looks handsome, infinitely more handsome than usual since he’s wearing something that you made for him.

Your love looks good on him. 

The memory of the sweater curse is amusing now, when Levi looks back on it. Now, five years later, he’s with you at a winery in celebration of your anniversary. You’re spending the night at a nearby hotel- you had picked the winery and Levi had picked the hotel.

If Levi was a painter, he thinks this would be the perfect picture to paint. You, in a sea of green vines and a clear sky beaming down on you. You, with your glowing skin and mischievous eyes. You, with love sitting in every crevice of your smile that you give him.

Maybe someday he’ll paint it. You, his sunshine personified.

“Mmm, Levi darling. Don’t you think this red wine contains a note of blueberry? Perhaps some...how do you say...raspberry?” You giggle behind your wine glass, the liquid swirling around carelessly.

“It’s a pomegranate wine sweetheart,” Levi says in amusement. You always do this at wine tastings, pretend like you’re an actual sommelier when in reality you and Levi mostly believe that all wine tastes the same. 

“Close enough. It’s in the same family,” You huff.

“Oh is it? Blueberries taste like pomegranates now? What kind of berries have you been eating?”

“It’s called wine. You should try it sometime.”

That earns you a subtle swat of your ass and you giggle happily.

“It’s gorgeous out,” You sigh.

“Yes, it’s almost as gorgeous as you,” Levi says flatly and you nearly throw a slab of cheese at his chest, “Don’t look at me like that.”

“Tell me you think I’m pretty.”

“You already know I do.”

“Tell me anyway. It’s my birthday, remember?”

“Your birthday just passed.”

“Okay, and? It’s still my birthday season.”

“You know you’re gorgeous. You know I think you’re gorgeous,” Levi rolls his eyes and then smirks, “But you’re prettiest when your mouth is stuffed full of-“

“I’ll blow you right here in these vines, don’t test me.”

“Stop making empty promises that were both too classy for and finish your damn wine.”

You beam at him and clink your glass noisily. It nearly slips from your grip but you catch it in time.

“We have about an hour until the wine tour. Think we can finish this bottle by then?” Levi murmurs, tugging on your hand for you to settle in his lap. 

The vines you’re seated in are far, far away from the main entrance of the winery. Away from prying eyes. Which is why you both allow for a little touching, a little kissing and a lot of flirting. 

“Who do you take us for?” You mumble and turn your head to kiss him lightly, “We’re wine connoisseurs. Sommeliers, if you will-“

You laugh wildly when Levi playfully nips your neck and steals a sip of your fruity wine. He wraps an arm around your waist, holding you tightly. His long, lithe fingers brush against your bare thigh. It’s funny, even after all these years, he still manages to touch you in a way that feels like magic. 

You both finish your glasses of wine and eagerly fill them both up to finish off the bottle.

Your lips are stained a pretty red, matching Levi’s own lips. You touch his lips with your fingers and he doesn’t even swat your grabby hands away.

“There’s some cheese at the corner of your mouth,” You say flatly, “I’ll just get it off-“

You kiss him and he expects it, already used to your antics. He doesn’t let you get very far, only allowing you to slip your tongue into his mouth and only allowing himself a plentiful grab of your ass.

“Wow, Levi, keep your hands to yourself. We’re in public,” You laugh to yourself, shooting him a pretend glare.

Levi only sighs and pops a cracker and cheese into his mouth, his hands never leaving the curve of your ass. Your giggles are higher pitched than usual, your limbs and your lips a little looser. 

Tipsiness colors your dark eyes when Levi pulls your sunglasses off. “You’re not fooling anybody, sweetheart,” Levi jeers, “You're drunk off your ass.”

“No! I’ve only had like… two glasses!” You protest, grabbing your sunglasses back from him.

Levi looks at you in disbelief but says nothing. He indulges you in taking selfies with him and deciding to change your lockscreen to a new photo of both of you.

He can’t resist kissing your cheek after another half a glass of wine. “Mmm, you’re pretty,” Levi murmurs into your neck, his face warm, “You wore this dress for me?”

It’s one of his favorite dresses and his favorite color on you, and yes, maybe you did wear it because you’re very well acquainted with this information. 

“No,” You roll your eyes and ignore the pinch to your waist as he tightens his arm around you, “I wore it for the wine tour guide. She’s really pretty, I might ask for her number-”

You swat his shoulder when he has the audacity to bite your neck in response. “I’d call you a vampire but you’re looking more golden than usual, my love,” You poke him, “That’s what happens when you get more than two minutes of sun per day-”

“You’ve got a mouth on you today, huh?”

“Gonna fuck the attitude outta me or what?”

“Tempting, but I’ve got wines to taste.”

Once the wine tour starts and you both get progressively more and more tipsy, blaming it on both of your affinities for wine, you make grabby hands for Levi’s cheese and crackers. He glares at you, close to pushing your hand away, but you stick your tongue out at him and swipe them anyway.

“God, fuck, you know what would taste good with this wine,” You whisper (but really it’s more of a low groan).

“What?”

“Fuckin’ Thai food,” You moan, cracker crumbs sticking to the side of your mouth, “Fuck, babe, I could go for some pad see ew…”

You huff, a dreamy sort of look in your eyes at the thought of it.

“You’re interrupting the wine guide,” Levi scolds, swatting your thigh. Though his eyes are starting to unfocus as the heat of your thigh feels so nice in his palm. He thinks he’ll leave his hand there for a bit.

“This tastes like I just dunked my head into a crisp apple and sucked the juice out of it,” You murmur, giving him a mild cider.

“Like in a good way?” Levi whispers.

“Duh.”

The wine tour consists of a few other couples and groups, but you and Levi keep to yourselves at a corner table as you give each wine you taste a rating. They all begin to blend in with each other after each taste, and pretty soon, you’re heavily leaning against Levi. The scent of his warm, spicy cologne curls around you and envelopes you in a hazy daydream filled with shades of grey.

“What?” Levi whispers when he sees you staring (a little dopily, he might add).

“Nothin’,” You grin, “Wanna nap at the hotel after this?”

“Can’t believe we’re getting drunk just to nap together,” Levi scoffs but he squeezes your hand.

“We have reservations later,” You remind him, “We both need to rally before dinner, honey.”

“Are you ready, baby?” You purr, stroking Levi’s hair back and leaning over to kiss his forehead. A pretty peachy pink blush colors his cheeks and creeps down to his neck. You tug his bottom lip out from the grip of his teeth.

A thin sheen of sweat coats his skin. You grin salaciously with hungry eyes and lick a stripe up his neck. His breath hitches, tilting his neck to the side a bit and you kiss his neck even over his pretty necklace with a green pendant hanging on the gold chain.

It’s pretty because it’s your necklace.

The softness of your lips over his skin- his chiseled chest, his lower abs- is a nice compliment to your fingers gently skimming his sides. You sit back, looking down at him from above. You lick your lips to moisten your suddenly dry mouth.

You’ve seen Levi like this, pliant and glistening for you too many times to count. But still, the sight of him flusters you and sends an instant rush of wetness flooding your pussy.

You adjust the straps of the black harness around your hips, tugging at the pretty purple silicone cock that hangs heavy between your legs. Levi tracks your movement with blown out eyes and a hand wrapped around his own thick, dripping cock.

“Did you like my fingers, baby,” You murmur, letting your hands travel up the expanse of his chest. His muscles tense with your touch, goosebumps arising instantly.

Levi hums, reaching for your hands and rubbing your knuckles. 

“Mmm, words, my love,” You mumble, pressing a thumb to his plump bottom lip. His hot breath warms your finger when he opens his mouth to reply with a soft ‘yes, sweetheart’, his voice heady and low. Broken and slow with desire for you.

You pull away from his lips, ignoring the way arousal swirls in your belly and your clit throbs with how needy he looks already. You reach forward and stroke his cock languidly and gather his wetness over your thumb and press your thumb to his bottom lip again.

“Open, baby,” You say, your own voice sounding a little raspy, “Open up.”

Levi parts his lips and allows your thumb into his mouth and he swirls his tongue over it, tasting himself on his lips. You groan at the sight with hooded eyes, wishing for some friction over your clit.

You look like a vision hovering over him- your legs tanned and glowing, eyes zeroed in on him, looking at him like you want to absolutely ruin him. You are a goddess, and he’ll follow you wherever you might take him.

Especially when you slide into him slowly, deliciously, as he savors the slight burn as it dissipates into pleasure. Your grip is tight over his hips, warmth and electricity spreading from your fingertips to his belly.

You’ll ruin him, ruin the silky navy sheets below him, steal his soul from his cock. All of the above. Anything you give him, he’ll take. He’ll take it with open lips and open legs.

It doesn’t take much for you to find a rhythm with your palms flat on the sheets on either side of Levi. Arousal licks your insides at every gaze of his heated cheeks and his murky, grey eyes. He’s openly vocal with you, panting and mewling into the sheets, alternating between fisting them and holding your hips with a searing grip.

“God, baby, look at you,” You whine, leaving open mouthed kisses to his chest while still rocking your hips into him, “Is this okay, baby? I love you-”

Levi groans and nods, wrapping his legs around your waist for a deeper grind of your cock. He palms your tits, squeezing in his large hands and moans into the space between you both.

“Are you wet,” Levi asks in a strangled voice.

“Fuck yeah,” You grin, thrusting your hips in a slow grind into him. His cock is throbbing, standing tall and pretty for you. You stroke him slowly, matching your thrusts with your strokes.

It takes coordination, but you’re used to it.

“Wanna sit on my face?” Levi murmurs, squeezing your thighs with his heavy hands. He’s close, so close, and you both know it- his thighs begin to quake slightly. And he has the familiar look in his face when he’s about to cum, his eyes go dark, lips parted and his eyebrows are furrowed into a tight line. 

“Mmm, maybe later,” You reply instantly, wanting to see him come undone by your hands and by your cock. By you, by the steadfast beat of love that surrounds you both and envelopes you on this silky sweet cotton candy cloud.

Or maybe it’s just the sheets.

“Is my baby close?” You purr, dark eyes swirling, “My baby’s gonna cum?”

“Fuck,” Levi groans, throwing his head back onto the bed when you thrust into him particularly harshly. The column of his pretty throat is exposed to you and you lean forward, his cock still in one hand. Sucking a mark on his clavicle, you nip his earlobe and his breath hitches as you make your way down his chest.

“Your cock is so big in my hands,” You marvel softly, looking down, “You’re so big, baby…So good to me. My big, strong, sexy man.”

And apparently, that’s what he needs to finally cum, a long, drawn out groan of your name slipping out of his mouth as he shakes in your hold. Ribbons of cum paint your hand and his lower abs, some of it even spraying on your harness.

“You’re messy,” You tease and Levi only hums in acknowledgement, “Are you okay? I’ll go get you water and clean you up, sweetheart.”

Levi doesn’t move, only shifting on his side tiredly. You make your way to the fancy, marbled bathroom to unclasp the harness and clean yourself up. Your pussy still throbs, achingly so, but that’s the last thing on your mind.

He calls your name gruffly, voice a little hoarse. You return to him with a glass of water and wrap your arms around him from behind, kissing the back of his neck gently. Your fingers thread over his sore muscles, his abdomen and his thighs and you rub his scalp soothingly with a deft touch.

“Are you okay?” You murmur, hugging him close to your chest.

“Yes,” Levi says instantly, “More than okay.” He turns in your arms and pushes his head into your bare chest, inhaling deeply and innocently grabs your ass. Just to hold you close- his touch is mostly unassuming. He likes being close to you, touching you, just breathing with you after times like this when you steal his soul with your cock.

You glance down at him and smile, pushing his dark hair away from his forehead and press a kiss to his sweaty skin. Levi nuzzles his cheek further into your chest, a content hum rumbling in his chest. His thigh brushes against your aching core and you force yourself to stifle a groan. But he catches it, because he always does.

Your attentive man.

“You didn’t cum,” Levi states, letting his hand drift downwards to palm your sensitive pussy. 

“We have later for that,” You mumble, swatting his hand away but he doesn’t listen. He presses himself closer to you, sinking his lips into your neck and rubbing your clit lazily.

His long, lithe fingers slide into your wetness easily and you huff into his ear. “We have now for that,” Levi murmurs, nipping your jaw as presses his finger into your dripping core, “Slow with me, baby.”

It doesn’t take much for you to cum, just a few strokes of his fingers in you and a few slow circles of his thumb on your clit. It hits you slowly, crawling up your toes before curling in your belly in a warm stroke of flames. It’s unhurried as it blooms in your belly, allowing you to savor every second of it.

“Sit on my face later,” Levi says, pulling you closer into his side. You throw a leg up around his hip and hum in agreement. You press a kiss to his clavicle, the slow of his heartbeat in tandem with the gentleness of your fingertips rolling through his hair.

“Happy anniversary, my love,” You mumble, kissing the corner of his mouth.

“Our anniversary was on Friday,” Levi says with a turn of his lips, earning himself a swat to his chest, “Happy anniversary, pretty girl.” 

Levi kisses your forehead, his knuckles brushing your cheek before dipping down for another kiss. 

“Cheers to many more,” You say, smiling into his kiss. He replies by deepening the kiss and pressing your back to the bed, allowing himself to drop on top of you. 

Levi’s touch has always made you feel infinite, and this time is no different.

tags: @simpingmaize​ @captainchrisstan​ @kentobean​ @alrightberries​ @melancholicmonologue​ @regalillegal​ @castellandiangelo​ 

[ghostnebula]

thinkin bout the werewolf au, and the thing about real wolves is that they lick the insides of each others mouths as a greeting & if they're acclimated to humans (like in a wolf sanctuary) they will do their best to greet people the same way. it occurred to me that it could be super funny if one of the losers ran into the toziers in wolf form and realized they were friendly, but in a way that's weird for a wild animal. and from there they basically conspiracy theory their way into realizing(1/2)

that werewolves exist. only THEN do they realize, oh hey. the toziers sure have a lot of dog toys for people who don't own dogs or dogsit and realize that maybe the toziers are werewolves. I don't know if it's funnier for whichever kid ran into wolf!toziers to drag the ENTIRE losers club into investigating and richie's panicking internally the whole time or for them to thoughtfully drag everyone EXCEPT richie bc he's afraid of werewolves and he has no clue until they show up at his house. (2/2)

I really thought this ask was going somewhere else dhjdhhjf thanks for making me think about Richie literally licking Eddie’s mouth (wolf or human form honestly lol)

But ALSO!!!! I love this concept because I imagine Ben just walking through the Barrens and holy fuck there are wolves. And he’s like, bracing for death, because what the fuck else are you supposed to do when you run into wolves while you’re alone in the fucking woods? But then one of them bounds up to him and starts sniffing at his hands while he’s standing stock-still, trying not to piss his pants. The wolf doesn’t attack, though, just wags its tail and starts licking his hands and nosing at them, trying to encourage him to pet it, so he does, ‘cause fuck it, y’know?

This wolf is like weirdly excited about getting some pats, and then a belly rub, and keeps trying to nudge the other two over, as they sit nearby and observe with nigh-parental disapproval on their faces -- something almost human about it, and that makes Ben laugh, because all parents are the same, apparently. (Meanwhile Maggie and Went are like... “Richie we are not supposed to interact with the humans. We know he is your friend. He is still not supposed to know about us. Develop some impulse control please”)

Ben’s crouching down giving this very good boy some ear scritches when the wolf starts trying to lick his mouth, which is kinda gross but also adorable, and Ben’s not positive, because he’s no wildlife expert, but he thinks he read somewhere that that’s like a greeting between pack members or something, and he’s almost flattered that this wolf likes him that much, but also... this wolf should not like him that much? It’s a wild animal??

Unless.... it isn't a normal wolf? After all, things are never normal in Derry. So he wonders if, just maybe, It could have something to do with this, if there isn't a perfectly normal explanation like "pets escaped from rich asshole" or "ran away from a circus." Some kind of weird Derry influence isn't entirely out of the question, right?

But that’s crazy. In fact, it’s so crazy that Ben goes to the library about it, as one does, and spends his whole afternoon researching wolf behaviour and habitats, and only ends up more confused. Until, of course, one of the books he’s reading contains some offhand comment about some culture or another’s legends about werewolves influencing blah blah blah and the lightbulb goes on and like... really... if interdimensional child-eating alien spider sewer clowns can exist, why not werewolves? Can't werewolves also exist as separate entities that have nothing to do with the aforementioned interdimensional child-eating alien spider sewer clown?

The first person he runs into after an absurd amount of research on werewolves is Stan, and he’s like bursting with all this info, so he interrupts his bird-watching to unload all his conspiracy theories on him. But Stan, bless him, is like, “Yeah I don’t see why werewolves wouldn’t exist. Wouldn’t be the strangest thing we’ve ever dealt with.”

They tell Bill, obviously, because Big Bill is their leader, technically, and they want to hear his thoughts on the matter. Bill 100% is on board with Ben’s werewolf theory, and excited to prove it, and maybe meet the wolves Ben ran into, and now they’re all like “who could it be???? a resident of Derry? some hermits in the woods? a werewolf family just passing through?? what a mystery!!”

Cue these three musketeers running back to Bill’s house to make phone calls to the other Losers, inviting them to meet at the clubhouse after dinner to share this important discovery, and when Bill starts dialing Richie’s number Stan goes, “What are you doing? Don’t do that,” and hangs up.

“Why not?” Bill asks, because he is Bill and a himbo and he is not smart but he is very pretty, so that’s fine, and Stan smacks him (lovingly) on the back of the head and is like, “William. Richie is literally terrified of werewolves. Roping him into this would probably traumatize him, and I think you already did plenty of that with the clown fiasco. How did you even manage to forget Richie’s afraid of werewolves? You should know that better than anyone.”

And anyway they don’t tell Richie, to protect him, so the rest of the Losers’ Club has regular meetings to discuss Derry’s resident werewolves, who at some point are also spotted by Mike and Bev, and interacted with by Eddie (who thought he was going to get fucking eaten when this massive black wolf came bounding out of the woods to pounce on him and almost had a heart attack on the spot, but instead got lots of very slobbery kisses and a reason to brush his teeth 10 times when he got home). None of them consider that it might be Richie for at LEAST the first 3 months.

[poloraflorene]

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[sw124]

[Lamia-Bitty Daily life!9]

/entitled parents/

Hello my Lamia lovers how are all of you, good I hope. Welp its that time again, a fair warning to everyone who has something that entitled people want. Yes thats right everyone another story about how low humans can sink for things they want.

And this....involves not just my boys but my friend Casey and her boi Zipper, a few others.....and a woman who will do ‘anything’ for her (more spoiled then two month old milk) daughter...even attempt to steal.

Ok folks on with the story:

So Casey had invited me an my boys out to eat with her, Zippy and boyfriend Roy. Now normally I don’t like going out with people but...Casey is a friend and she took the time to invite me. An given the fact I was stuck at home most of the time, an it wouldn’t hurt for my boys to go out too. So I agreed, she said wear something warm like a hoodie (or sweater depending) an to have something for my boys to keep warm with.

Now this was my first time meeting her boyfriend, she told me he’s an Exotic dancer. Yeah, yeah I know get those Magic Mike thoughts going, first time I met him....phew now I see why she likes him so much. He’s got a slender built body, abs you can grate cheese on and-...sorry that’s not important anyway he’s hot we’ll leave it at that. She introduces us and we move to the back, apparently Roy is friends with the owner and other workers here. He secured us a private venue in the back for us and the Lamia’s.

[this is before the lockdown and distancing]

Turns out the whole idea here was the beginning stages of a ‘Lamia party’. Sort of a way for Lamia owners to come together or a way for new people to meet who share a common love of snake like creatures. Right now it was in the planning stages an Casey wanted to start with just us an another individual. The restaurant is a sushi/hibachi place called Ryo Coast, very pretty place. Anyway our server and private hibachi chef is a friend of both Casey and Roy, his name is Juan an he brought his Lamia too, a beautiful Krait, full sized too.

{Lots of full-sizes around I noticed in my neck of the woods}

Juan an I really hit it off when he introduced our Lamias, turns out his Krait is named Virgil! I laughed when I told him Dante’s name, turns out he loves the Divine comedy as much as I do. It wasn’t just us who hit it off but Virgil, Dante and Chip REALLY hit it off well.

I had just ordered a lovely seaweed salad and was sharing it with my boys, everything was going great.....when we heard it...

“LAMIAS!!!”

We turn to see a girl, about 10 by the fence [the venue was outside] an was jumping all with joy seeing our kiddos. Now normally this wouldn’t be a bother for us, one of the things of owning a Lamia ya know? We give her a little wave an so do our boi’s before going back to our appetizers. I was about to feed more of my appetizer to Chip when the girl started yelling.

10yr: Come here!

I look to see Zipper slithering towards the girl but stopping half way when she yelled again, Casey didn’t notice so I get up and walk over and pick Zipper up before he got too upset.

10yr: Hey put him down I was gonna pet him!

Me: I’m sorry sweetie but he needs to eat-

10yr: GIVE HIM TO ME!

Yeah at this point the girl starts throwing a nasty tantrum, Casey had come over an taken Zipper back. [He got scared by the kid]

I roll my eyes and turn to walk back, we ignore the kids nasty behavior and tried to enjoy our food. I looked to see the girl had stomped off, though my gut told me this wasn’t the end of it. I turn to Juan and asked if there was someone watching the entrance outside, he assured me we were fine an the only way to the outside venue is through the owner. I was relieved somewhat, but my past two experiences with these people always leaves me edgy.

Dante was doing his best to calm me down by trying to get me to eat more of my appetizer, it worked and I was feeding him and Chip some avocado. It was a little too distracting cause I didn’t hear the ‘Ahem’ coming from the fence.

“AHEM!”

I heard it that time, I looked an there was the little girl again and now she had her mother. She was standing there with arms crossed, nose up in the air and smelling of the nastiest odor we all call ‘smug’. I look at her an already she was glaring daggers at me, Chip was tightening his grip on my arm.

[His way of telling me to ignore her, but once you make eye contact there’s no going back.]

I turn to Casey an let her know I’d be right back, now I should let you know I tend to forget things an I absentmindedly took my water with me while holding Chip in the other. I walk over but I keep my distance, you never know.

Me: Can I-

EM: Why didn’t you let my daughter pet your snake?

[Here we go...]

Me: Ma’am, we’re not comfortable with strangers petting our Lamias without permission an-

EM: I don’t care if your uncomfortable with it, your snake wasn’t!

Me: Ma’am the ‘Lamia’ your daughter wanted to pet isn’t mine, he belongs to my friend and she doesn’t want him approaching strangers without her-

EM: You were with him.

[Stop cutting me off woman....]

Me: {loosing patience} As I said, he’s not mine he belongs to my friend-

EM: Well your holding this one let my daughter pet him then.

Me: {well of patience has now dried up} No, we’re eating right now an I’m going back to eat please leave us alone.

At this point I was turning to go back when...I’m not joking the woman reached over and grabbed Chip by his arm and tried to yank him out of my hold. I panicked I admit an dropped my water breaking the glass, I pulled Chip into a bear hug as the woman tried to pull him out. I was about to yell when who should come to our rescue then the hero’s of the Divine Comedy.

Dante slithered up in front of me and ‘flared up’ at the woman before Virgil let out a loud ‘HISS’ for good measure. It worked an the woman let go, backing up with her daughter behind her. I sorta fall back on my butt when the woman let go, the others heard the commotion and ran up to help.

Chip was shaken up but alright, his arm was okay an so was his shoulder. Juan yelled he was gonna call the cops if she didn’t leave, the woman shouted back she was gonna do the same thing on us for ‘attacking’ her. But she turned tail when Juan mentioned the cameras.

Meanwhile I was shaking like a leaf, Chip was trying his best to calm me down with Dante. He was rubbing my back while Chip was rubbing my face with his hands, heck even Virgil was trying to calm me down too by rubbing my head. Once I settled down we all went back to our table, Juan had radioed his boss and let him know what happened. The owner came out to check on us an he said our meal was on the house tonight for the trouble, I politely refused it but he insisted.

After a little while we all were going back to eating, I asked Juan about Virgil, I noticed how he was quick to come to my aid. Now I’m not an expert but I do know Kraits tend to be more on the shy side. He told me that Virgil will only hiss he’ll never bite an he only does that when someone is in danger like I was in...or he perceives as danger. It was something the two of them worked on together, I thought it was sweet.

We finally started eating, I got sushi and grilled fish. Things were uneventful after that, dessert was ice cream mochi. We’d have to be careful about people like this from now on if we’re gonna do “Lamia parties” in the future. We’d need to reserve more private venues inside or something.

On a slightly higher note Juan gave me his number so we could schedule meetings for our Lamias, Virgil doesn’t get out much and he really seemed to like my boys and he likes hanging out with me, he also knows his boyfriend would love to hang out with me too so its a win-win for all of us.

Thats it for this story, to Lamia owners out there be very careful when going out you never know when someone might do something...also wear a mask and be safe.

[For adoptions please speak to @vex-bittys]

[notquitecanon]

Christmas Vacation // Spencer Reid x Reader

a little blurb about the reality of big family Christmas that was heavily inspired by National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. 

TW: drug mention

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

____________

You pressed your back against the bedroom door, closing your eyes and taking a calming breath as you prayed to anything out there that your mother would give it a rest. Leaning against the door, you savored the few moments of relative quiet (you could still hear the loud political discussion your uncles were having- both extreme conservatives with all their facts from facebook, your mother and siblings in the kitchen gossiping, and your younger cousins loudly playing edgy music to cover up the Christmas music from downstairs.) You were really beginning to regret coming home for “big, old fashioned, family Christmas”.

“You’re hiding to you?” You heard a familiar voice ask, startling you. Yelping a bit, your eyes shot open to find your boyfriend, Dr. Spencer Reid lurking in your childhood bedroom by your bookcase. “Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you.”

You smiled, crossing the room and collapsing on your old twin sized mattress that you two were sharing for the weekend. The good doctor copied you, flopping down beside you as you sighed, “Yep. My grandmother is convinced that I’m pregnant, and won’t stop giving me advice on a shotgun wedding.”

“W-wait... are..?” Spencer stuttered, leaning upon his elbow to gape at you. Chuckling, you shook your head no, watching his sigh of relief. You were certain you wanted to spend your life with him- but children weren’t on the schedule just yet. 

“Why are you hiding?” You asked, lacing your fingers through his. He squeezed your hand. 

“The Christmas sweater your great-aunt knitted was giving me a heat rash. And your uncle was asking me how much information the FBI had on him- and was asking me to delete it.” He admitted, smiling as he watched you laugh. 

“And a very Merry Christmas from the (Y/L/N) family.” You joked, sitting up. “I’m sorry I dragged you out here for this.”

Spencer followed your movements, “No! I wanted to come. This is your family, this is you! Besides, I very excited for your Aunt’s banana pineapple surprise that seemed to be defying gravity.”

“We’re going to need a vacation from this vacation.” You complained, ignoring his joke about the disgusting casserole waiting downstairs, leaning in so your head tucked onto his shoulder. He chuckled, kissing the top of your head. 

“Besides, tomorrow we fly out to see my mom. So we’ll have a little more alone time.” He promised, rubbing your back. You smiled, pulling back so Spencer could see the mischevious glint in your eyes before getting up and locking the door. 

“Alone time sounds perfect right now.” You winked, crawling back onto the twin bed, it was so small that it didn’t take much effort to be on top of him. He was nodding, already a blushing mess as you leaned down to kiss him. Just as your lips brushed his, something beat against your window. 

“You two better not be making grandkids in there! I’m too young to be a grandfather!” 

In horror, you looked up to see your dad perched on a ladder, a string of Christmas lights in hand. Now your cheeks matched Spence’s (who looked like he wanted to wither away in embarrassment), as you stumbled off your boyfriend. 

“Dad! I’m a grown woman! Besides what are you doing out there!” You hissed, Spencer quickly getting off your bed as well to fix his clothes, and slip the sweltering Christmas sweater on- effectively killing any mood that hadn’t already been killed by your father. 

“Dave across the road put up those reindeer. I will not be outdone by a man who doesn’t even own a leaf blower.” He vowed, shimmying down the latter the angrily staple Christmas lights. You shook your head and threw another hopeless look at your boyfriend, who was already sweating in his knitted apparel. With a forced smile, you tried to be optimistic.

“Well, we haven’t set anything on fire yet, so this is still a success.” 

Later that night, after the tree had been completely put out (it had been a rather unfortunate situation involving hairspray and a cigarette), at Christmas dinner, it was you who wanted to crawl into a hole and die. 

Your father has just cut into a turkey that looked drier than the Sahara, your aunt was a bottle of wine in and scooping a generous helping of Banana Pineapple Surprise onto Spencer’s plate, your mother was quietly scolding you about the neckline of your shirt, and your uncles were complaining about the players that had kneeled at the Superbowl. You had a tight hold on Spencer’s hand under the table, hoping that he would be your lifeline to sanity as your cousin’s rambled in. 

The group of teenagers smelled heavily of pot as they slumped into their chair, all chuckling about something. You decided to ignore this, as you felt you needed some sort of drink or drug to get through the night as well. When your great aunt blessed the food with a startling rendition of God Save the Queen, you thought that would be the worst of it. 

You were wrong. 

So much was happening at once. Your uncles had moved onto to “the gender crisis” and “the war on Christmas”. Your mother was complaining about you not spending Christmas day with them. The weed-ridden cousins were laughing at a video on one of their phones while your drunk aunt loudly announced the latest in her divorce lawsuit. It was when your grandmother asked Spencer about his virility that you decided to put an end to it. 

“Alright, that’s enough!” You began loudly, drawing everyone’s attention, “Uncle Mike, Uncle Hank- stop talking politics until you actually start watching the news. Aunt Tanya, your husband was cheating on you- get a better lawyer. Mom, we already have plane tickets and we’re going to go see Spencer’s mother tomorrow, end of discussion. Grandma, I love you, but I’m not pregnant and don’t plan to be a long time.” You paused before pointing to the teenagers who were wide-eyed at your display (one of them was holding up a camera and you swore if you saw your mental breakdown on tik tok you’d kill one of them), “And you three! Are you serious? Could you not wait for the ACTUAL FBI AGENT to leave before you went out and rolled a blunt? For the love of God and Christmas, can we act like we’ve got some sense in this household? I’d rather my family not scare off my boyfriend.” 

You paused to take a breath and a sip of the wine by your plate, “Hallelujah, Holy Shit!” 

Already leaving your place at the table, you pinched the bridge of your nose, “Where’s the Tylenol?” 

As you left the dining room you could hear their murmurs, and you already felt guilty for unloading all of that- but also fairly relieved. After a quick breather in your bathroom (and two Tylenol swallowed), you decided it was time to rejoin your family. Knowing them, they’ll probably act like nothing even happened. You thought as you shook your head, Poor Spence, I left him down there to fend for himself. 

To your surprise, Spencer was just outside the bathroom door hand held up like he was just about to knock and your glass of wine in the other, “Hey, sweetheart, you ok?”

You suppressed a laugh, he only called you pet names when he thought you were really upset. You leaned up and kissed his cheek, “I’m fine. Really. It’s not Christmas if at least one family member has a come apart at the table.”

He sighed in relief, “It was pretty awkward for a second. Then your cousins all gave me ridiculous excuses about the pot smell. And then it was back to normal.”

“Sounds about right, but we still haven’t had to call an emergency service yet, so I’m still counting it as a win. My crazy family hasn’t scared you off yet, has it?” You asked, wrapping your arms around his waist after gratefully taking the red wine out of his hand. Feeling his head shake as his arms wrapped around you, you listened to his words as they vibrated his chest. 

“I spent Christmas with Derek and his family one year, and in the same year spent New Years with Garcia. Your family doesn’t even top my list.” Spencer assured you, “Also did you know that emergency calls spike by 47% in the period between December 23 and Jan 2- within that 47%, 1/2 are alcohol-related, 1/4 are house fires caused by holiday decorations, and 1/4 are domestic disputes between family members.”

You laughed aloud that time, it’s not a Spencer Reid Christmas without some random inane fact. You thought as you looked up to him. “Maybe we won’t be in that 47% this ye-”

You were interrupted by a sharp scream, a lot of yelling, and the easily identified voice of your aunt screaming, “Quick, someone call 911!”

“And nevermind.” You sighed, already moving to run downstairs, but pausing at the doorway, “Hey, Spence...”

He was right behind you, staring at you quizzically as the noise of chaos floated up from downstairs. Your family was hectic, but you wouldn’t have it any other way- and Spencer was in the middle of it all, taking it in stride. 

“Merry Christmas, I love you.”

__________________

This is bad but honestly, this is how 90% of my holiday goes. I wish Spencer was around to witness the chaos. 

[tirednotflirting]

couch cuddles - l.h.

school is kicking my ass and I miss my friends like mad so yes, I projected all of that here at around 2am after yelling about this sweet pic of Luke with @castaway-cashton​. 

hope everyone is finding ways to manage all of the time indoors these days. I’ve been thankful for the community on here during all of this. much love and happy reading (and pls send me thoughts, I’m still new to this and horrible at editing).

wc: ~1.6k

They were nearing the end of their third week in quarantine. Three weeks of being locked up inside (aside from a brief gloved trip to the grocery at the beginning of week two). 21 days of zoom meetings with her graduate advisor and radio interviews on facetime, of creative pasta dishes (the one thing had randomly stocked up on even before this all happened), of afternoons in the backyard watching Petunia run in circles until she stopped in front of their chairs, her sad eyes practically begging to be taken to a dog park that was unfortunately closed until this was all over.

They had settled into a routine pretty quickly. She wouldn’t start her work before 9 and unless he had some international interview he had to take part in, Luke would do the same. She would plug in her laptop and stick her phone on do not disturb at 6pm sharp. Luke would keep his stuck in the deep pockets of his sweats, always eager for a sporadic facetime from a tipsy Calum asking to let the dogs say hello or Ash calling for him to listen to a new melody he had thought up or Mike sending him another twitter meme. They switched back and forth on who made dinner, Luke had been enjoying trying things from the beginner’s cookbooks his mom had sent him sometime during the last year. They watched a lot of movies. She read a lot of books, he spent a good deal of time playing around with different songs they had been trying in the studio during February. With everything going on, she figured there were worse ways she could be living than doing what she could for her research and TAing from the comfort of her sweet boy’s kitchen table.

She had started to pick up on his cabin fever when their day began at around 5am with Luke shifting around in the bed so much it almost felt like he was doing something choreographed. After 15 minutes of his dance, she sat up on her elbow and reached for her phone to check the time. She didn’t remember exactly what the bright digits displayed across a picture of Luke and Petunia with flowers tucked behind their ears she had snapped a couple months prior were other than too early.

‘Honey, are you feeling alright?’ she asked quietly, her throat dry from sleep, as she leaned back from the bedside table. Her hand moved back to cross his chest as his own wrapped around her waist.

‘Yeah, just can’t get comfy,’ he huffed, obviously frustrated by the random early morning energy. ‘Gonna go let Miss P out for a minute. Go back to sleep, angel, you need your rest.’

While she wanted to further investigate what was up with her tired eyed boy, she immediately felt herself yawning. She lifted her head from his chest and pressed her lips to his jaw before letting her head fall back to the pillows as she felt his weight lift from the mattress.

When she woke up next, it was to the sound of her alarm and an empty bed. She padded out to the kitchen and was greeted with a kiss to the top of her cheek and her coffee. (‘I think I got the sugar to cream ratio right this time but please give me feedback, lovie.’) She shrugged off the morning, brushing off his odd early jitters with the fact that they had both been getting a lot more sleep than normal given the new situation.  

She had been busy throughout the day. It was a Thursday, her busy day, even with the quarantine. In the morning, she zoom called her advisor to check in with her more personally but also to update her on where she had gotten that week with the data she had been sifting through (being stuck outside of the lab made for good reason to finally do some data work). She did a meeting after lunch for the undergrad course she was TAing this semester. Though that discussion section had basically turned into everyone just talking about their pets and families more than talking about evolutionary theory (they needed to see faces though so she didn’t mind the chatter). She held virtual office hours after that for a couple hours (more chattering with a little bit of explaining how that equilibrium equation worked again).

So by the time her 6pm switch to do not disturb rolled around, she was more than looking forward to spending a few hours on the couch with a glass of wine and the new book she had ordered that arrived that morning.

She’d been settled on the couch for about 15 minutes and was raising a stemless glass of pinot grigio to her lips, when she looked through the big window in the living room that gave a nice view of the yard only to see Petunia wandering around but no sign of her golden boy. She looked to check what page she’d reached, mentally marking her place before getting up to look for where Luke had wandered off to, when she heard socked feet shuffling into the living room behind her. She turned her head to find the sweet face she hadn’t seen hardly at all since she was handed her morning coffee so many hours earlier. His normally bright eyes looked worried and his dimples hidden by a pouted frown.

‘Sweet pea, what’s the matter?’ she questioned, the hand not holding her novel reaching for his once he’d wandered close enough to where she sat on the couch, her left leg still folded up while her right rested against the floor, ready to get up to hug the droopy boy. She doesn’t get a chance to though as he moved to sit beside her, his fingers playing with hers almost nervously.

‘Miss the guys,’ came a quiet voice that sounded like it was coming from a tight throat. ‘And like, we’re so lucky here. And the album is doing well and the fans have pushed so much on this release. And we’re healthy and everyone we love is healthy but,’ he blinked really hard before continuing, ‘I just wanna see them. Like actually see them.’

She leaned forward to leave her book on the coffee table before moving her hand to rub at the back of his neck, her fingers working through the knots in his curls there, trying to get him to release some of the tension in his shoulders. ‘And I love being here with you and we would never normally get this much time together during an album release and I know I shouldn’t be whining and-‘

He stopped short when she pulled her hand from his and placed it against his cheek to turn his face towards her. ‘Babe, you don’t have to apologize for feeling right now,’ her thumb stroked against the top of his normally rosy cheek. ‘You’re allowed to be upset and you’re allowed to miss your boys. You’re never gone from them for this long, it makes sense.’

He opened his mouth to respond but then just nuzzled against her palm when she shushed him. ‘And I love being here with you too but that doesn’t mean I’m not bummed that my sister canceled her trip out here and that I don’t miss seeing my students every week.’

Across the room, the clatter of Petunia’s paws against the tile in the kitchen sounded out as she trotted towards the couch. Luke sniffled a little bit, and the girl he’s practically sitting on top of felt a tear against the thumb still running across his cheekbone. Petunia must have sensed the sadness coming from the couch as she jumped up and pushed herself against Luke’s legs, looking up at him for pets.

Luke blinked back tears again, his head leaning back to face the ceiling and the hand at the back of his neck moved to scratch between his shoulders. ‘I know it can’t make it go away but how about cuddles for a bit and then we can facetime everyone after dinner? See what they’re up to maybe?’ she whispered, suddenly aware of the stillness of the room.

His lips pouted a bit as he nodded and turned to her. ‘Can I lay in your lap so Petunia can get cuddles too?’

She let herself giggle softly at his request, not being able to help herself as she leaned forward to brush her lips against his pout. ‘Of course, sweet pea.’

He maneuvered his long limbs so Petunia was tucked against him (easiest access for tummy rubs) and laid his sleepy head in his girl’s lap. As one hand returned to the glass of wine beside her, the other combed through the bleached curls, softer than usual from the hair mask she convinced him to do with her earlier in the week. Though her heart ached that she couldn’t give any better of a solution to the way her sweet boy was feeling, she knew something was right by the way he quickly fell asleep, his lips pouted against her leg as he rested. She returned the glass to the side table and carefully picked up her book again, moving slowly so she didn’t disturb the sleeping boy in her lap. However, one hand did stay tucked into his hair as even in his sleep he would start fidgeting some if he couldn’t feel the lazy patterns she drew through the curls.

Later that night, as she finished rinsing their wine glasses from a late dinner, she heard his loud, bright laughter followed by ‘Baby, you gotta come see the costumes Mike and Cal got for the dogs! And bring your laptop, we need to find a pink Power Ranger costume for Petunia!’

She chuckled as she set the last glass down on the drying rack. Yeah, they were gonna be alright.

//

[thewordsleep]

Thought I Could Never (Feel This Way) - part 1/3

Richie finds out that when they were kids, Eddie thought they were dating. Also Stan's alive, and the letters are canon. AO3 link!

---

"Fuck, that letter--why did I ever let you read it?"

"You wanted me to check your grammar, I think?" Stan chuckles and pats Eddie on the back. "Shit, you wanted to be married to Pamela Anderson, remember?"

"Yeah, how'd that work out for ya?" Richie asks dryly, and everyone laughs.

"But it was so sweet!" Stan grins, glancing between them.

Eddie covers his face, laughing in embarrassment. "God, stop reminding me. It's worse than the time I thought I was dating Richie, remember?"

Bill, Ben, and Beverly gasp. Richie chokes on his drink, the glass dropping heavily onto the table. Eddie swallows hard.

"What?" Richie sputters out.

"Oh, I remember that!" Mike laughs, and passes Bill a beer when he gestures for one.

Bev gapes at Eddie. "I don't remember that!"

"Me neither," Bill says after taking a swig, concentrating like it might come back to him.

"Neither do I! When did this happen?" Ben says, leaning forward on his elbows.

"Yeah Eddie, man," Mike says with a grin, "you've gotta tell 'em the story."

"Oh, God it's all coming back to me," Eddie says, leaning away from the table and laughing awkwardly. "I dunno, it's so fucking embarrassing, guys."

"Aw come on!" Bev says, reaching over to shove at his shoulder.

"Yeah, we have to know now, c'mon man," says Bill, and a chorus of yeahs and tell us! follows.

"Alright, alright," Eddie says, a little buzzed on his second beer, "but let me preface this with the fact that I was only fourteen!"

They all murmur their understanding and everyone at the table goes quiet, rapt.

"Look, we'd just killed a fucking demonic monster clown," Eddie begins, "and after that we were all pretty freaked out, I think is fair to say," everyone nods at that, some taking a gulp of their drinks. "So Richie spent a lot of time… with me, at my house." He pauses and thinks of what to say, how much to give away since this is supposed to be about how silly Eddie was back then, and not how completely lovestruck.

He makes sure not to look over at Richie as he speaks, though he can feel him staring at him.

"Right so, hah, okay," Eddie rubs at his neck, uncomfortable, "he'd sneak in usually on school nights, and he always had to sneak in since my mom wasn't his biggest fan," he pauses again, expecting Richie to make a joke there, but he doesn't.

Eddie goes on, the details becoming clearer as he speaks, "We'd have sleepovers and share my bed, and talk all night--and when he wasn't there we'd talk on the phone for, like, hours on end." He doesn't go into specifics, like how serious and honest Richie was those nights and over the phone, how their foreheads would touch or his hand would find Eddie's in the dark.

He clears his throat. "And Rich always called me pet-names, y'know? Christ, this is so… okay, but like, you guys know, right? He was always so touchy and fake-flirty back then, but even more after It. And I felt so special," he clasps his hands together and flutters his eyelashes, "'cause I just thought, at the time, I thought he was only doing that with me."

Eddie gets a few odd looks at that, but he goes on, "And then one night, he couldn't stay over," he looks down at the table, fighting a blush, "I don't remember why. But so, anyway he, um, kissed me on the cheek and said "bye baby" really like, softly, and left. So I was like, oh we're definitely dating then, he just called me baby and kissed me, it's official," he finishes with a laugh, but no one else does.

Bev is the first to break the silence, resting her chin on her palm and frowning.

"How did you find out you weren't?"

"Oh, that's how Stan and Mike know," Eddie says, smiling at them all, "I was kind of ecstatic and petrified about having a boyfriend of all things, so one day I went to the barrens early, saw Stan and I just--blurted everything out. And then I cried, like so much."

Stan nods, slowly remembering more. "Oh yeah, you were bawling your eyes out and saying you hoped I wouldn't hate you--as if we ever would," he says, and then his mouth pulls down at the memory, "then you mentioned it was Richie."

"Yeah," Eddie says ruefully, his voice cracking just a little, "that's when Mike barged in and told us he saw Richie making out with Brenda Arrowsmith outside of the Aladdin, and then I cried even harder, haha."

Everyone goes silent for a minute.

"That story's a lot less funny than I remember it being," Mike says awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck.

Eddie waves his hand at him and shrugs. "It's funny now, I mean, if you think about it," he grins, "for two whole months I really thought Richie Tozier was my first fucking boyfriend. That's nuts."

It's strange to remember things like this, an odd mix of old and fresh bittersweetness to it. Eddie feels the sting of that moment, how his heart dropped when he found out Richie was cheating on him.

And then that slow like molasses realization, that there was really nothing to cheat on.

He thinks, and almost convinces himself that he finds it funny too. It's a memory so distant he only just remembered it, it barely registers as a memory of his own. So that must mean it barely hurts at all. Eddie thinks hard about this until he sees Richie's face.

Richie, who has gone pale and stayed silent and still this whole time, his hands flat on the table, staring at Eddie with big eyes.

Richie opens his mouth to say something.

And then the fortune cookies begin to tremble.

[stansbooty]

the line between love and hate // reddie

summary: soulmate au where you feel intense emotions with your soulmate & their name appears on your body the first time you touch warnings: underage drinking words: 2945

ao3 link

Everybody knew about soulmates. In fact, it was one of the first things you learned about when you went to school and one of the first things most children wished for on the birthday after. Everybody wanted to find their soulmate. It sounded magical. A person whom the universe created just for you, a perfect match sent to be with you until you died, complimenting you in every way as you did for them.

Richie Tozier came home from school they day he learned about them, blabbing nonstop about the new magic he became aware of.

“And Mrs. Johnson said that everything is better with them! That you feel a lot more. Like if you’re happy, then you’re really happy!” Richie told his mom from the backseat of the car.

“Yes, that’s right.” Mrs. Tozier laughed.

“And we get a special tattoo of their name!”

“When you touch for the first time, yes. And then you’ll fall in love. Or maybe even before.”

Richie paused for a moment. “When’s that?”

“Love?”

“Yeah.”

Mrs. Tozier sighed, trying to find the words to describe it to her 5-year-old son. “When you fall in love, you’ll know.”

“But, Mom, how?” He whined.

“Love is when you like the person so much that is almost hurts you.”

Richie grumbled. “I don’t want it to hurt.”

“Not really in a bad way, sweetie. You love them so much that you feel so full. You always want the best for them. You always want them to be happy.”

“Like with my friends?”

“Kinda, yeah.” She smiled and looked briefly back at him. “Except just so much more. It’s like being friends times a hundred.”

“What about times infinity?” Richie giggled.

Mrs. Tozier chuckled as well. “Yes, times infinity works, too.”

From that moment on, Richie knew that he wanted to find his soulmate as soon as he possibly could. He couldn’t imagine a world in which he didn’t have someone like that by his side. A friend times infinity? It sounded magical.

Richie soon found out that it wasn’t all magic. When he turned 9, his teacher told them that a lot of people don’t find their soulmates. Or sometimes their soulmates die. Or even worse, sometimes they don’t like their soulmate and their soulmate doesn’t like them.

“How does that happen? Aren’t they perfect for you?” Someone asked her.

“Well you already know that everything feels better with them.” His teacher, Mrs. Robin, explained. They all nodded. “Well everything bad also feels worse. If you’re happy, you’re more happy. But if you’re sad, you’re more sad.”

Richie pouted and that afternoon in the car on the way home, he asked his mom another question.

“Are you and Dad soulmates?”

Mrs. Tozier was a bit taken aback. “Of course we are. Why wouldn’t you think that?”

“Mrs. Robin said not everyone ends up with theirs.”

“That’s true.” She sighed. “But your dad and I are, don’t worry.”

“What if I don’t end up with mine?” Richie exclaimed, suddenly very nervous.

“Richie, there’s no need to worry. I am certain you’ll find your soulmate and be very happy.”

“Mrs. Robin also said not everyone likes their soulmate. What if I’m not happy?”

She sighed again, bringing one hand away from the steering wheel to rub at his forehead. “Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll be very happy.”

“But -”

“This is nothing to worry about right now. You’re 9, you have plenty of time to find them and be happy.”

“Okay.” He muttered, leaning his head against the car window and resuming his pouting.

--

“I hate him!” Richie Tozier, now 18 years old, slammed a hand on the table in front of him.

“What’d he do now?” Stan, Richie’s best friend, asked without looking up from his book. Bev, on the other hand, took it as an opportunity to push her textbook away.

“He’s just so infuriating! I’m just as smart as him, you know?” Richie sat down.

“I know.” Stan muttered.

“But fucking Kaspbrak thinks he’s all that just because he’s a teacher’s pet.”

“And captain of the track team.” Bev pointed out with a smirk.

“Who the fuck gives a shit?” Richie put his head down on the table.

“He’s not even that bad, Richie.” Stan finally pushed away his book. “He’s actually -”

“Don’t you dare say it.”

“Pretty nice.” Stan finished.

“He thinks he’s better than everyone. More specifically, me.”

Stan sighed and looked over at Bev, who had the same exasperated look on her face. This had been going on for the entirety of high school, since Richie had met Eddie Kaspbrak in his freshman English class. Richie had originally had a huge crush on Eddie, calling him the “cutest boy he’d ever seen”, but as they began to talk in their class, Richie realized the sheer rage he felt around the boy.

“You know, Ben is friends with him.” Bev mentioned.

“I know.” Richie rolled his eyes. “I don’t know how someone as sweet as Haystack could be friends with someone like him.”

“He says he’s a really good friend.”

“I really think you guys got off on the wrong foot.” Stan interjected hesitantly.

“You always do this. Just accept that I hate the guy and move on. You guys are my friends, you’re supposed to support me!” Richie groaned.

“I’m not going to support your childish hate of someone without reason.”

“So if I give you a legitimate reason, you’ll support me?”

Stan and Bev shared a look of confusion, but nodded nonetheless.

“I guess if you can find one, but he’s a good guy, Richie.” Bev answered.

“We’ll see about that.”

--

“So, Haystack, any parties this weekend with your other friends?” Richie asked Ben at lunch, resting his chin in his hands as he smiled faux sweetly.

“Yeah, Bev and I are going to Mike Hanlon’s party this weekend.” Ben smiled back, unaware of Richie ulterior motives.

“Can I tag along?”

Ben’s smile expanded to a grin. “Of course! That’d be great. You can bring Stan, too, it’ll be fun!”

“Benny boy, you’re so sweet to me.” Richie reached over and ruffled Ben’s hair.

“Why do you want to go?” Bev spoke up, having watched the exchange.

“Just some fun.”

Beverly squinted her eyes at him in suspicion, then turned to Ben. “Will Eddie Kaspbrak happen to be there?”

Ben shrugged. “Maybe. I haven’t asked him but I’m sure he will.”

Bev turned back to Richie and glared at him, but didn’t say anything.

When lunch ended, Bev grabbed a hold of Richie’s arm and dragged him into an empty classroom. Her grip on his arm caused him to curse as he was being pulled away.

“Shit, Bev, chill out.”

“You leave Eddie alone.” She pointed her finger at him accusingly.

“What ever do you mean?” He feigned innocence.

“If you and Stan go to that party this weekend, I want you to leave Eddie alone. This whole situation is getting so ridiculous and I honestly can’t handle it. We’re graduating soon, grow the fuck up!” She exclaimed.

“I will when he does!”

“Just shut up, Richie. This is childish and stupid and you need to forget about this.”

“Fine.” He snatched his arm out of her grip. “I’ll go and be civil to the demon.”

“Thank you for your sacrifice.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m sure it’ll be so difficult.”

“It will, Marsh.”

--

In fact, Richie actually was having a hard time being civil. From the minute he walked into the party, he had locked eyes with Eddie and felt a surge of emotions flow through his body. He immediately had torn his eyes away and walked to get himself and Stan a drink, his own being particularly strong.

He sat himself on a couch alone, Stan having gone to talk to the host (Richie was pretty sure he had a crush on Mike Hanlon), sipping his drink that would hopefully make him a more well behaved human being.

Then the couch cushion dipped.

“Surprised you haven’t sought me out.” Eddie’s voice filled Richie’s ears as he refused to look his direction.

“I made a promise.”

“A promise to what? Actually be a decent human being?”

“To be civil.” Richie spat out.

“Oh.” Eddie sunk back into the cushion, relaxing. “How’s that going for you?”

“Pretty good.” Richie tried to keep his answers short and curt, trying his best to keep his mouth from running.

“Well, thank you.”

Richie finally looked at Eddie, turning his head quickly with a confused look on his face.

Eddie took a sip of his drink. “I figured you, and me to an extent, could start being civil.”

“To an extent?” Richie barked a laugh. “Kaspbrak, don’t make me laugh.”

“That’s the last sound I want to hear, Tozier.” He mocked the venom Richie had put into his name but had a small smile barely on his lips. “I was just thinking, our friend groups have melded and we only have a few months until graduation….”

“You’re waving the white flag?” Richie’s lips quirked upward into a smirk, his eyes glinting.

“Far from it. I’m proposing a truce.”

“And after we graduate you’ll go back to being a dick who thinks he’s better than me?”

“Me?” Eddie let out a bark of laughter. “You’re the one that started hating me out of nowhere!” Even with his voice raising, it did little against the loud sound of the music.

“You’re infuriating and are constantly putting me down, but sure, I’m the bad guy.” Richie stood up from the couch.

“You make fun of me, you insult me, you go out of your way to make my day miserable, I just want you to leave me alone, because from where I stand it seems like you’re a 5 year old with a crush and you don’t know how to handle it.”

“A crush?! I wouldn’t have a crush on you if someone put a gun to my head.”

Eddie stood up as well, gripping his drink tight in his hand. He glanced down at it for a moment before tossing it towards Richie, effectively soaking the other boy’s shirt in the sugary alcohol.

“Grow up.” He spat.

Richie stood there, sticky shirt and all, as people stared, suddenly feeling more embarrassed than he had in his entire life.

A hand grabbed his and dragged him through the crowd, he glanced away from where Eddie had stomped off to see a mess of red hair and a head of brown curls in front of him.

“You’re ridiculous, I swear.” He heard Bev saying as they started up the stairs. “How immature can you two be?”

“Not to mention you cock blocked me.” Stan grumbled, causing Bev to let out a short chuckle. He shot a look at her before turning to face Richie. “This has officially gone too far and I’m sick of it.”

“I’m sorry.” Richie said, still feeling embarrassed, and now slightly sick.

“Too late.” Stan grabbed a fistful of his shirt and yanked him through a doorway, Bev following them. Mike was standing there with an equally annoyed looked on his face, his hand on a doorknob to what seemed to be a closet.

“You folks gonna murder me?” Richie looked around at all their faces.

“Maybe indirectly.” Mike shrugged and opened the door.

Using his grip still on Richie, Stan shoved him into the closet. He heard the door slam and lock behind him before he saw two glowing eyes in the darkness. He screamed and the other person screamed as well, and Richie scrambled to turn on a light.

Eddie Kaspbrak sat there with red, puffy eyes and wet cheeks.

“Kaspbrak? What -”

He quickly wiped his face with his sleeves, sniffling. “Shut the fuck up, leave me alone.”

“We’re leaving now.” Bev screamed from outside the door. “We’re not letting you out ‘til you grow up. Don’t care if it’s days from now!”

“Fuck.” Richie let out a deep sigh and slid down to the floor.

“I know, I know, you’d rather die of starvation than speak to me.” Eddie said quickly.

Richie swallowed hard and took in the other boy’s appearance. “Are you okay?”

“Okay? No! I just embarrassed myself in front of half the school and realized I’m so stupid that I didn’t figure out you actually hated me until this moment.”

“Only because you hate me.”

Eddie let out a deep sigh and rolled his eyes. “Do you really believe that?” His voice came out weaker than Richie had ever heard him speak.

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“Richie,” Their first names hadn’t been said by each other in years. “I had a total massive crush on you freshman year and you treated me like dirt.”

Both boys’ hearts silently skipped a beat at the confession.

Richie swallowed hard. “Shit, Kaspbrak….Eddie, I liked you too.”

He felt a strange feeling in his stomach unlike anything he’d ever felt before. It was as if he was going to be sick, but he knew he hadn’t drank that much. It made it difficult for him to speak, his throat closing and he voice coming out scratchy.

“So, what happened?” Eddie sounded small.

Richie racked through his brain, trying to recall the first moment that he started this rivalry, so to say, with Eddie Kaspbrak. The first time he walked into school, saw his face, and the words coming out of his mouth were cruel, not gentle.

“I don’t know.” He answered honestly.

All he could remember was the feeling of anger bubbling up in his chest, he didn’t even know if it was something Eddie did.

“Our personalities clash.” Richie finally said.

“So does everyone’s. Hell, you and Stan are pretty different.” Eddie managed to let out a small laugh.

“I don’t know what it is about you.” Richie moved his body closer to Eddie’s, so they only had to speak barely above a whisper. “You always just – ugh – managed to get under my skin and I couldn’t think.” He felt a lightness to him he’d never felt with anyone else, it was bubbling inside of him and spreading across his body and made him speak without any reservations. “I couldn’t think of anything but you, and every move I made was to frustrate you, or to get you to look my way so I could say something I thought was witty, and, damn, Kaspbrak, I don’t know how you did it, but you got a tight grip on me.”

“Like a compulsion you couldn’t control.” Eddie added on.

“Yeah.”

“You’re saying I was your drug, Tozier.” He smiled.

Richie let out a small chuckle and felt a hysterical wave of laughter wash over him, forcing him to cover his face with his hands as his cheeks became red with glee. Eddie couldn’t help but join in, the two boys laughing until their stomachs hurt and they couldn’t anymore.

“I think we’re idiots, Eds.” Richie said when he caught his breath.

“Eds?”

Richie’s mouth worked quicker than his brain. “Yeah, I figured, it’s short and cute, like you.” His eyes widened when he realized what he said. “Um, I’m…sorry.”

Eddie gave him a lopsided grin. “So about that truce?”

“You got it.” Richie stuck out his hand.

Eddie reached out and they shook, but they both quickly recoiled, a sharp pain running through their each of their bodies. Eddie clutched his wrist tight, waiting for the pain to subside, while Richie slapped his ribcage.

When it had passed, Eddie looked beneath his hand to see the name “Richard” scrawled across his skin. His felt his breathing quicken and he looked up to see Richie already staring at him with a hanging jaw.

“I – um – I don’t – how -” Richie tried to speak but Eddie reached forward, pulling up the shirt still soaked in alcohol to where Richie had gripped in pain earlier.

“Let me see your chest!” He screamed.

Richie scrambled to pull off his shirt and Eddie lightly touched his bottom rib, “Edward” printed there.

“Oh my god.” He covered his mouth with his hands and tried not to scream again.

Richie looked down at the writing on his own skin. “Holy fuck!”

“Are we…does this mean?”

“We’re fucking soulmates!” Richie yelled out in glee. “I found my soulmate!” He stood up from the ground, reaching down to grab Eddie’s hand and pull him up too, a huge grin spreading across the smaller boy’s features. He turned around, banging on the door repeatedly. “Hey, let us out, we’re more than civil!

The door opened and the boys scrambled out, Richie still holding on to Eddie’s hand.

“You’re missing a shirt.” Mike pointed out, Bev and Stan with him as well, taking in the scene.

“Look!” Eddie said excitedly, turning Richie and pointing to the name on his side, then lifting his own arm up to show his.

“Well, shit.” Stan exclaimed.

Bev looked hesitant to speak. “And you guys are okay with this?”

“I can’t tell you why, but I’ve never been more ecstatic in my life.” Richie answered.

Eddie glanced at Richie, biting the inside of his cheeks to stop himself from smiling anymore, his face was starting to hurt.

Stan let out an exasperated laugh. “All these years? The unexplained anger? Should’ve realized you were fucking soulmates.”

The two new found soulmates looked at each other, smiling in a way they hadn’t seen since they met each other years ago in their English class.

Richie couldn’t remember what caused his anger to start, he could only remember seeing Eddie’s bright face for the first time that morning and thinking “This boy better be my soulmate”.

-------------

hello everyone i am back from the dead to post a secret santa that i was supposed to post in december (obviously for christmas) but then i fell off the face of the earth and never did it!! so here it is...and enemies to lovers soulmate au it was for

[ryansfabray]

Mine Again | Myan

Who: Ryan Fabray-Lynn & Mike Chang ( @dommikechangjr )

Where: Mike’s Suite

When: Monday night 9.7.20

What: Bingo - Switching Roles + Pegging

Of all of the scenes Ryan had planned for this event, this was the one she was looking forward to the most. She didn't think she would get the opportunity to top Mike again, especially where she get to fuck him like this. Ryan couldn't stop thinking about it as she picked out her favorite strap-on and wore it under her dress as she made her way over to his place. She had to remind herself not to be too eager when he opened the door and greeted him much like she always did these days, with a hungry kiss to his lips. This time, however, she made sure he felt the bulge of her toy against his leg. "I'm excited for this. I've been thinking about fucking you all day." She pushed her way into the apartment and dropped her bag on the couch. "Shall I fuck you here in the living room, or bent over your bed in the bedroom? I'll let you choose."

The kiss to his lips was a welcomed one and he moaned at the press of the toy against his leg. He had been thinking about this scene for days, couldn't help himself really. His eyebrow quirked when Ryan said that she was going to let him choose where he was fucked. That wasn't something that he had been expecting, but he was happy for the chance. "The bedroom please....Miss." He uttered, feeling like he needed to work his way into that mindset if this scene was going to work for the both of them. Ryan had really been the only one he felt comfortable asking for with this thanks to their history and he knew she would do it properly.

Ryan tried not to get too lost in the moment when he called her Miss. It had such a nice ring to it when it was uttered in his voice. She smiled and pressed her hand to the side of his face. "The bedroom it is." She pressed a small kiss to the corner of his mouth then picked up her bag again before leading him into the bedroom, her hand in his. Once they were there, she dropped the bag once more and pulled the bottle of lube from it. She then rid herself of the dress that was covering her get up. Black lingerie, paired with thigh high stockings and black heels. Then bringing it all together, a flesh colored strap on that bounced as she walked. "I'm thinking I want you to wet my cock for me before we get started, hm? Down on your knees, pet."

He happily followed the other into the bedroom, watching as she moved about like she owned the place. She slipped into the Dominant role so very easily, something that he remembered from being hers for a week the year before. She looked so gorgeous in the outfit that she had chosen and even more gorgeous when the dress was off of her. "Fuck." Hearing her suggestion, he eased himself down onto his knees. It was always odd to get into this mindset, especially because he hadn't needed to since the last time he had done something like this with Ryan, but he could handle it. He took a few deep breaths and then focused on simply the idea that it was a scene with Ryan and that helped ease the lingering nerves.

Ryan could do other scenes haphazardly, but she knew with Mike she needed to be firm and consistent to help with his headspace. Plus he deserved her all when it came to something like this. She took her time with him, letting him ease down onto his knees and touching the side of his face gently. She then pushed her fingers back into his hair, massaging his scalp a bit. "That's a good boy." Ryan wasn't going to rush him. She was going to let him ease into it at his pace.

She was someone that he knew would keep him safe and care about how well he was doing. His eyes fell shut for a moment as fingers massaged at his scalp, the feeling helping him relax even further. He smiled slightly when she called him a good boy, just letting himself breathe for the moment. "Thank you, Miss." After a few moments, he felt a bit better and opened his eyes once again in order to look at the other once again.

Ryan Stood patiently, letting Mike prepare himself for what was to come. She intended on pushing him pretty hard during this scene so he needed to be absolutely ready for it. She continued to play with his hair and when he finally opened his eyes, she was looking at him and offering him a small smile. "Of course, my good boy." Those words held a fair amount of weight, but there wasn't anyone else who shared this particular dynamic with her, so she felt comfortable saying it. "Now be a good boy and get my cock wet."

It would feel odd to be called that by anyone else. But with Ryan it didn't feel that way. And he owed that to the way that he trusted her and the way that they had gone through something like this on a grander scale before this. His mouth opened and he wrapped it around the head of her cock, getting used to the feeling of plastic in his mouth before then beginning to bob his head.

Of course Ryan couldn't feel anything. But the aesthetic was certainly a welcomed one and she was sure she wouldn't get this imagine out of her head for weeks to come. How he was able to trust her so much made her feel so good. She couldn't express it. Threading her fingers through his hair, she egged him on that way without words. When she was finally satisfied, she pulled him back and smiled down at him. "You've earned yourself a reward," she cooed. "Get up on the bed and bend over. Then you'll get your surprise."

He quirked an eyebrow when she said that he had earned a reward. It was so different being on this side and he loved every moment of it. Though he knew that it wasn't the act of submitting that was really getting to him, so much as the look on Ryan's face. "Thank you, Miss." He eased up from the floor and then moved to the bed. The position felt awkward, almost unnatural for him, but he breathed against the weirdness, knowing that everything would be fine.

Ryan relished in the ease that Mike seemed to listen to her requests. She knew a thing or two about having a prominent Dom headspace and switching over to one that's more submissive. So she appreciated him more and more with each moment he gave in. "You're very welcome." As soon as he was in position, Ryan leaned down, spreading his ass cheeks with her hands and moving to run her tongue around his ass, rewarding him with a rim job that wasn't planned.

He gasped at the feeling of her tongue moving along his ass. This definitely wasn't what he had been expecting and he was sure that the gasp told that tale very well. "Oh, fuck. Ry...Miss. Thank you." He breathed out, hands gripping at the bed spread to stop him from doing anything that would stop this prematurely. "You feel so good all the time." He mused, those words being nothing but the complete truth. There was never a time when he left a situation with Ryan feeling unsatisfied.

Ryan just smirked. He was doing something for her that he normally didn't do, so she decided to do something for him that she never did for anyone else as well. His reaction was better than anything she could have asked for, which made her dive her tongue down even deeper into his ass, really prepping him for what was to come. "Stroke your cock for me," she ordered. Moving her mouth away and putting lube onto her fingers. This time using her fingers to penetrate and probe and stretch him.

Her mouth was always so good at everything that she did and so it was no surprise to him that her mouth was good for this as well. One of his hands slipped down towards his cock, giving it the attention that it had been waiting and begging for since he had started sucking on Ryan's cock. He moaned at the combined feeling of Ryan's fingers and his hand on his cock. He could feel himself stretching around her fingers, even as his hole clenched down around them, both fighting against the touch and accepting it all at once.

Ryan wasn't a patient person, but for this she was going to give Mike all the time he needed. She was slow and gentle with her stretching, scissoring her fingers inside of him in a way that would feel good for him as well as stretch him and readied him for her. So she went slow, increasing the diameter with each pass of her fingers, timing her movements with the movement of his hand up and down his cock. "How does that feel?" She asked, using her free hand to rub lube on the toy between her legs.

The time that Ryan spent opening him up felt like both the longest and shortest time possible as she focused on the pleasure that he was experiencing. She was talented. Knew exactly what he needed. "Feels good, Miss. Really good." He was aching, in a way that he hadn't ached since the last time she had fucked him with a strap on and he was eager to experience the feeling again. "I'm ready for you, Miss. Ready for you to fuck me." He assured her, his thumb sweeping over the head of his cock before he began to pump his cock again.

Those were the exact words Ryan was waiting for. She had been patient, but her patience was wearing thin the more he pumped his cock. He looked so fucking good with his ass in the air, just open and ready for her. So she couldn't possibly make him wait for the sole fact that she couldn't wait. As soon as he gave the go ahead, she pulled her fingers back and pressed both hands into his hips. Holding him still as she pressed the head of the strap on into his puckered hole. "Is this what you wanted?" She asked as she slowly pushed her way inside of him.

He froze, tightening up just slightly as the cock pressed against his hole, but he breathed through it, reminding himself of who was behind him. That thought helped and the cock was able to slide in a bit easier, despite the tightness surrounding it. He was about to just agree that it was what he wanted, but he paused. "Wanted what you wanted, Miss." He responded instead, letting those words hang in the air between them.

"That's a good boy. Breath through it." Ryan's mouth hovered by his ear, warm air breathing on his neck and relax him while she pushed the entire length of her cock inside of him. She only wanted this first part to be uncomfortable so she pushed him to the brink, but held still until he told her he was ready for her to move. "Wanted what I wanted, hm? I want you to tell me when you're ready for me to fuck you like the little cock slut you are."

Those words sparked something deep within him and he moaned, utterly entranced by Ryan and how she was making him feel. "Your cock slut." He muttered, not rushing to tell her that was ready. He waited until he was certain and then nodded for her. "Ready to be fucked however you want, Miss." He assured her, his hand still moving along his cock since he hadn't been ordered to stop.

Ryan couldn't describe the pride in him when he agreed with her words so quickly. She could hear him say that again and again. "Yes, that's right, MY cock slut." Ryan didn't know what was making her so possessive over him, but it always happened when they were in this situation. And she was lucky enough that it happened for them more than once. She wondered how many more opportunities she would get to call him hers. So when he told her he was finally ready, Ryan wasted no time lodging her fingers into his hips and fucking him furiously with every intention to make him hers.

He could feel her fingers digging into his hips and he moaned at the feeling, the moan being cut off with a short gasp as her hips began to move. There was no softness to it, no slowness. It was fierce, it was firm, and it was perfect. His body moved with every motion of her hips, as she fucked into him, leaving him a breathless mess. His hand was moving along his cock still, but the movements were faltered as it was hard to focus on anything but the feeling of the toy moving within him and pressing against spots that lit him up with pleasure.

Of course there was a part of Ryan that was worried she was doing too much, that she was going too hard or too fast. But she also knew that in this moment, he was going to give her whatever she wanted and that made her go drunk with power. One hand stayed on his hip while the other moved up to pull at the hair on the back of his head, pulling him up so that his back was flush against her front. He was significantly taller than her, but that didn't stop her from reaching around and moving his hand so she could pump his cock herself.

As she began to pump his cock instead of himself, he moaned loudly. She was making him feel so good and his cock was weeping with the need that he felt. It was odd, to be the one holding back his climax, but he wanted Ryan to be satisfied before he even let himself ask her if he could cum; unless that was something that she ordered him of herself. "So-so good." He breathed out, struggling to find words but needing to let her know that he was okay and feeling good.

Mike looked so damn good at Ryan's mercy. She couldn't get a clear view of his face because he was so much taller, but she still was able to catch small glimpses of his furrowed brow and scrunched up face. She kept the hand on his cock steady, but the pace at which she was fucking him gradually grew with each thrust. "Yeah? Well, you look good. I can feel your cock pulsing in my hand. Does that mean you're close to cumming, hm?"

He moaned. "So close, Miss. So close to cumming for you." He expressed, his cock twitching in response to the words. He felt like he was going to burst, but he didn't want to do so until he was told he could. His head tipped back slightly, clearing his throat slightly as he let out a moan. His head felt a little floaty, but not in a bad way, it was much better than it had been the time before.

Ryan was prepared for the worst. The worst being the same thing that happened last time. But things were going way better this time and Ryan couldn't have been happier about it. Of course it was one scene, not a whole week, but it still felt like a success to Ryan. She pumped her hand fast, this time focusing more on his cock as her hand matched the ferocity of her thrusts into him. This wasn't a practice of denial or control, but of him surrendering himself to her, which he already did. She bit his ear and growled. "Cum for me."

When he was told to cum, he felt his body tense before he was cumming all over the bed spread in front of him. It was definitely going to need to be cleaned, but that was something to worry about later. He pressed his ass back against her, moaning loudly. "Wanna make you cum too, Miss." He uttered, letting her know it was okay to keep fucking him there if it would help her fall over the edge as well.

Ryan moaned out with him, unable to peel her eyes away from him when he came all over her hand and the bed. She continued to stroke his cock until she was sure he rode out his orgasm, and even a little longer than that. She stopped fucking him, nipping at his ear as he went on to tell her he wanted to make her cum as well. "Oh, I have every intention of cumming. But I want to do so all over that pretty face of yours." She wanted to take advantage of whatever subspace his mind was in. She pulled out of him slowly, then stood up so she could pull the harness off. She pushed him onto his back and moved to straddle his face. "Mouth open and tongue flat."

He didn't fight as she pushed him onto the bed, rolling onto his back and looking up at the other. She was so pretty and she was so impressive when she was in this mindset. It was one of those reasons that made him very surprised she was now a claimed submissive. But she had said she was happy and he wasn't going to be someone that denied her what made her happy. His mouth fell open and his tongue flattened, moaning as the scent of her filled his senses. He could focus on nothing else but the chance to bring her to her climax.

Mike got right into position and Ryan wasted no time before lowering herself onto his waiting tongue. She was already so close, watching him as he took her full cock and came undone under her care. She pushed one hand into his hair and immediately started riding his face to her satisfaction.  It wasn't much longer before she was cumming right into his mouth and screaming out his name, her body shaking above him. "Fuck yes," she moaned before rolling off of him and pressing a kiss to his lips, tasting herself on his tongue. "Mmm, that was good. How are you feeling?" She asked as she curled against his side, looking for any sign of him dropping.

He loved that it didn't take long for her to cum on his tongue, happily cleaning her off as best as he could to get as much of her essence within his mouth before she pulled away from him. He smiled into the kiss, his arms wrapping around her body to keep her close to him when she curled against her side. "I feel good. Satisfied." He glanced down at her. "Nothing like the first time we tried this. I'm good. Promise." He assured her, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

[ironwoman18]

The Worst Third Date Ever part 8

Chapter 8: Almost Christmas.

The B.A.U had a case in New York. JJ was not there because she left to New Orleans to spend the Christmas with Will's family.

Spencer and some other members of the team asked, after finished the case, to stay in the city for a few hours.

Emily allowed it and said they must be at the hotel in an hour to take the bus to the airport.

Spencer walked around with Luke and Matt while Rossi y Emily stayed at the hotel.

"Are you going to buy a present for Lisa?" asked Matt.

Luke looked down "No, she will be working and we aren't good"

"Oh man, that sucks" said Matt.

"Yeah. I got the feeling she might broke up with me"

Matt patted his shoulder "if that happened you have us, right Spencer?"

He nodded "of course, we are a family" he smiled at him "how is Rosemary going?"

"She's amazing, so different from her siblings" said Matt "she sleeps more" he laughs "and how are things with Max?"

"Great, she asked me to spend Christmas with her family"

"That's important man" Luke said "when a woman wants you to spend a holiday with her family it's because she sees a future with you"

"I remember when I met Kristy's family. It was really awkward cuz he was part of the marines and he was a huge man. And with his gun ready to shoot me"

Both men laughed softly "you are here which means he didn't kill you. Unless you are a ghost" commented Luke.

"At the end of the night we were drunk and singing country songs" they both laugh and reached a Macy's and walked in.

Matt went to the children department, Luke went to the pets department and Spencer to the art supplement department.

He wanted to buy her an art kit, she mentioned she wanted one for her work at the Smithsonian but the one perfect for her was too expensive. So he thought he could buy it for her. He was well paid because of his three Ph.Ds.

He remembered her saying the name of the kit so he looked for it. When he found it he got it then buy a present for his mother and thought to buy something for Sammy but then remembered Max asked to buy presents together for her family.

Before Spencer knew they have a case, Max called to see him at the coffee shop to talk and she wanted to show him some changes she made for her program for blind kids.

"It's perfect, so don't worry. The only problem with them is that they don't know how look green. Especially the kids that were born blind. Because if hey could see before and after an accident they ended up blind could be different"

"Ok, I understand" she took notes "Oh, by the way... um... my dad wanted me to invite you to our Christmas' party" she said biting her lip "it's a tradition, he likes to invite us and our boyfriends or in Michelle's case her husband and child. You don't have to go if you don't want to... we can spend New Year. I know you maybe want to be with your mom and..."

He smiled softly "Max?"

"Yes?"

"I would like to go" her face was of release "in fact I would prefer to meet your dad and sister at Christmas than after a kidnap" she nodded.

"G...good... um... can we go buy them presents together? We exchange presents at 12 after dinner" she looked at him.

"Sure. Maybe on Christmas day we can go to my mom's hospital. I want you to meet her" she smiled and kissed him gently.

Then he got a call that they have a case. They said their goodbyes and he leaves.

But he decided to buy Sammy a present since he was so nice to him and he was the reason he and Max are dating.

He bought him a magic set. It was the one he once used to leard magic tricks.

After he played texted Luke and Matt to let them know he will go to check other stores.

He wanted to give Max something else, so he decided to check the Metropolitan museum and buy two tickets valid for a month.

He then checked his phone and realized it was almost time to go back to the hotel so he called a taxi and tell him the address of his hotel.

When he arrived he went up and got his suitcase. Then he went down and there were Rossi and Emily.

"Wow Spence I'm surprised to got a lot of things"

"Actually I just have 3 presents here. A dress for my mother, an art kit for Max and a magic set for Sammy, her nephew"

"That's so sweet of you" said Emily.

"Also got two tickets for the Metropolitan museum for us. We can come any day for a month"

"A very nice gift too. I got Krystall her favorite martini liquor and a pair of earrings"

"I bought Andrew a new helmet for his bike and his favorite after lotion, which is also my favorite" she smiled.

"Love is in the air" said Luke teasing them.

"What did you got for your girl?" Asked Emily.

"A box of her favorite snacks and a new toy" Rossi and Emily looked confused "Roxy needs her treats too" they roll their eyes but they could tell that something was not right because him and his girlfriend so they did not continue the questions.

Then they focused on Matt "what did you get?"

"I bought clothes for Rosemary and my other four kids. They needed something new for Christmas so I got them something. The toys are their mother's duty" he laughed softly "I got Kristy a new pair of earrings and a matching necklace"

"That's amazing" said Emily as their official cars arrived. They went to the airport where the jet was waiting and before they took off each text their couple to let them know they are on their way home.

The next day the bureau announced the vacations period and they leave for two weeks.

Emily left to Denver, Luke went to Florida to be with his family. Matt and his family stayed in Washington as well as Spencer.

A day before Christmas Max was helping him decorate his house. She wanted him to have some Christmas spirit.

"So after this we should go to buy our presents" she said while decorate the Christmas tree "I think I saw a nice present for you"

"I already got you present" he announced while he walked towards her holding two cups of coffee and some cookies she bought from Michelle.

"Oh really? Where?"

"New York. I saw something that reminds me to you and I brought it"

"Well, well, well... Doctor Reid is full of surprises huh?" She smiled "now I'm very curious what you got me"

"I'm pretty sure you will love it" he smiled "also I got something for Sammy. I know we promised to but your family's presents together but he made it possible we met so it's the less I can do for him" he ate a cookie after that.

"You are so sweet and kind with him" she stood up and kissed him gently "what did you get him?" She asked rubbing his cheek.

"A magic set" he smiled looking into her eyes. They faces were close.

"I thought you would buy it to him" she laughed "I'm sure he will love it" she ran her hand into his hair gently "we better finish this" she moved away and he looked at her.

He just walked to help her finishes to put the decorations and when the tree was done they connected it and the lights were on.

"It looks great. Thank you Max" he hugs her from behind and kisses her cheek.

"You are welcome" she smiled turning around to wrapped her arms around his neck "Spencer... I know we are just starting and I know I asked to take things slowly but honestly I never felt this happy in a long time. You are a proper gentleman, you respect me and you treat me great, you protect me... even from your own demons and I wish you could have the confidence to tell me, honey... you won't push me away" she played with his hair.

"I know and I'm sure the deeper we went into our relationship, I will feel more comfortable"

"You can trust me" she kissed him softly while he wrapped his arms around her moving her closer.

They kissed some more until they broke it to catch their breath.

She sighed looking in his eyes. She wanted to go further but was not sure yet. She tried to move away but he stopped her.

"What happened to you that you want to take things slowly?" He looked at her "because my reasons are the things I had to see at work. I don't want to tell you all the details because, I still have nightmares. But you... what happened?" He asked again.

"Mike Davis... I really wanted it to work. We dated for two years and we went fast. We had a few dates, we kissed almost immediately, we had sex shortly after that. We even moved in together. But then the magic stopped. He stopped being nice and treated me bad. He cheated with everyone. My dad was right. Beside him I always picked good boyfriends. Mike hurted me and I'm afraid that happened because we did things to fast"

"Max... baby" it was almost a whisper and the first time he called her that. She liked it "I would never do that to you. I'm respecting your choices and I won't hurt you the way he did. You deserve happiness and when you are ready to take all those steps. I will take them with you"

She had some tears in her eyes and smiled at him "Thank you Spencer. I'm so happy we met and to be with you" she hugs him placing her head on his chest.

He rubbed her back gently "you are so important to me and I don't want to lose you" he looked down at her. After some more minutes she stopped to cry but did not break their hug "we should go to buy the presents. Tomorrow I can't because Michelle got Eloise and me a reservation to an exclusive beauty saloon and I don't think we will see each other until the night when we have to leave for my dad's house"

"Ok then let's go. It's getting late" he said as she, reluctantly, broke the hug then went to get her jacket and put it on. Spencer also put on his jacket and holds her hand walking out his apartment "so where to?"

"We could go to a new mall center. They have lot of stores and we will find just exactly what we want for them"

"Awesome, you tell me where is it" she nodded then they both got into the car and Spencer followed her instructions and arrived to the mall.

He parked his car. It was full of cars. They both got out of the car, he held her hand as they walked in the mall.

"Ok I think ladies first. Theres this store Michelle and Eloise love. It's on the second floor. They have clothes and accessories for that clothes. I would like something for them"

"Sure no problem. Let's go there" they both walked to the store she wanted to go. There she checked some clothes for her sisters. At the end she picked a cute light green dress for Michelle and a striped blouse.

Then she wanted to go to get something for her dad and Michelle's husband.

"They like sports" she looked around thinking.

"Sports are out of my experience, Max" he looked at her.

"Could be a jersey but I'm not sure their teams. My dad was born and raised in Virginia and Phill is from here so maybe the Nationals?"

"It's up to you... but I think it could be better if we bought them a ball of some kind of sport. For example if they prefer football over baseball, we can brought them a football" he suggested.

"I like it... ok... um... Phill loves football so I will get him a ball and my dad loves basketball so I can buy him one of those" she looked up and him "you are a truly genius" she teased.

He made a sarcastic laugh "very funny... Maxine" he smirked "ouch!" She hit him playfully and he faked being hurt.

"Let's go Spencie. I want to buy a present for Sammy as well... and for you" she said the last part under her breath.

He listened but decided not to speak. They walked in the store and they got a football and a basketball for those two men and after pay Max looked at him "ok Spencer. Now I will go to get your present and Sammy's"

"Why I can't be there to get his present?"

"Because I will go to the same store to buy both and if you are there, you will find out" she said "so stay here. I will be here soon. Drink something. Check out other stores I don't know"

"Ok just because you asked"

"Good" she smiled and left him. She walked to the store she wanted to go.

She had been thinking about what to give to him. He is a genius so she cannot give him books. He has the classics, he has all the psychology, sociology, philosophy books ever made, he has everything his mind can use. He even has books in other languages. He has El Quijote in Spanish, he has books in Russian, Korean.

So intellectually she cannot give him something new. She decided to give him something that will be better for him.

Something she made. Max found in the mall a place to design your own t-shirts. You bought a white one, and threw paint on it until you are satisfied. Then they kept it to let the paint dry and then they gave it an special treatment to protect the design.

It is something special because she made it but also something they both can enjoy. She loved his dress shirts, ties and suits they looked perfect on him and made him look really handsome but she want him to relax with her so when they have a relax date she will ask him to were this.

She paid for it and got it wrapped up then walked to buy Sammy her gift. She wanted her nephew to improve his abilities to paint so she bought him a little paint kit and color books specials for a twelve years old.

After that she left to walked back to where she left Spencer. When she arrived she saw him talking to an old man.

She smiled and walked towards them "hey Spence"

"Oh hey Max. This is Daniel Collins. A former FBI agent. He was part of the negotiations team"

"Nice to meet you sir" she smiled "I'm Max, Spencer's girlfriend"

"Nice to meet you young lady. Well I will let you both enjoy the rest of the day. See you around Spencer" he stood up and left them.

Then Max took the seat he was using "ok I bought the two presents"

"Perfect I ordered a coffee for you but I told the guy there I will get it later because you weren't here yet"

"Thank you" she kisses his cheek and walked to told the guy how she wanted her coffee then returned to their table.

They talked some about the FBI agent she just met. How he started to talk to him.

Then they both returned to his apartment "so I was thinking if I left my family's presents here and I will just take with me your present. Because I also think it's better to just go in your car"

"I'm agree. I will left then under my tree and you will call me when you are ready?"

"Yes. I will be almost all the morning in the saloon and then I will go to my apartment and get dressed"

"Ok perfect see you tomorrow" they kissed and she got out the car and he did the same. Then his eyes followed her until she got in hers and until she did not leave he did not move.

When her car was out of sight he got the presents and went upstairs to his apartment.

He put them under his tree and went to change and laid in bed. He waited for her text saying she arrived to fall asleep.

OOooOOooOO

I wanted to just have a Christmas chapter but the next will be the actual Christmas eve and Christmas day.

This one was more focused in developing their relationship with that conversation. Hope you liked and we will read in the next chapter.

[onewhoturns]

fictober.16.: silence and sound

#Fictober19 Prompt: 16. Listen. No, really listen. Fandom: Oxenfree Pairing: Alex/Jonas [post-Island, stepcest] Rating: T (no warnings apply) Tags: Insomnia, literal sleeping together Word Count: 3390

The first night was hell. She couldn’t say anything about it. Sleep was elusive at best, but more like impossible. Tossing and turning all night, every few minutes imagining a hum or a click or the steady static of dead tape. Alex tried listening to music and that worked for a bit, helped clear her mind, but actual sleep wasn’t so easy. Being alone in silence tended to welcome thoughts - sights, sounds, memories - that didn’t exist. Or at least, not here. Not anymore. Or maybe never… Time feels off.

Living half-zombified is passable on a Sunday, but she’s nearing 61 hours without sleep. 61 hours to everyone else, anyway, maybe longer. She’s never entirely sure how long they were on the island. Or if they’ve left at all. A day of zoning out on the couch, eyes glazed over and breath shallow, didn’t go unnoticed. Her mother felt her forehead concernedly, prepared to keep her out of school come Monday, and Alex couldn’t do more than shrug an excuse. Her lack of sleep was blamed on some kind of illness picked up at the ‘sleepover’ she’d attended Friday night.

Illness. That was one way of putting it.

Alex had caught Jonas’s eyes while her mother worried, and he had that guarded look about him that he’d had on the island. That forcibly calm exterior, with whatever panic might be happening pushed down deep. The heavy smudges under his eyes are just as informative as his distant hollow gaze to tell her that he’s been struggling, too. They haven’t talked about it. Alex isn’t sure she wants to, either.

She kept herself upright through dinner, but by the time 8 o’clock has come and passed and she can reasonably call it a night, Alex drags herself up to her bedroom.

She tries. She really tries.

Her room is dark, her pjs are comfortable, but she just can’t sleep. A moment of drifting and then she jerks awake again, imagining noises that don’t exist. Radio chimes, empty recordings, the click and whirr of tape— none of it ever leaves. Any silence and it comes back to haunt her.

She isn’t— Alex doesn’t cry because she’s sad (though God, she probably should be). She’s not sure she’s really feeling much of anything, just unadulterated frustration. Helplessness and hopelessness that she just can’t do it, and she needs to - she’s exhausted, she feels her whole body trembling, the pulse of blood in her eyelids - she has to sleep, please god let her sleep—

Her eyes sting and burn, like all her tears have been sucked up to power the ever-running engine that is Alex and whatever’s welling up in them has been painstakingly wrung out of whatever’s left of her. Her mouth is dry but her nose is stuffy and she just can’t breathe, it’s utterly miserable, and let it end please let it end, she just needs rest for once in her life.

Alex rolls over onto her side, but that doesn’t help. She still has to pant through her mouth to get any air. Sitting up helps, but she doesn’t have the energy for it, and as soon as she props herself against the headboard and lets her eyes drift shut she’s hearing sounds again, choking on a frustrated noise that’s hardly human.

Too much. It’s all too much, and there’s not enough of her left.

…Fuck it, she can’t exactly try anything else. If there’s a chance of it working, she’ll try it. And she’d rather start with him than with her mother. At least he knows.

Alex is wrapped in a light blanket, carrying a pillow in one hand, stepping as quietly as possible as she heads up to the attic.

Michael’s door is closed, but there’s light coming from underneath. Makes sense. No teen in their right mind would be asleep before 10pm let alone 9. Then again, were either of them in their right mind at the moment? Probably not.

She doesn’t knock. She probably should. Instead, she just enters, closes the door behind her, and goes immediately to the foot of the bed, setting down her pillow and curling up on the floor.

“…Alex?” It’s the first time he’s really addressed her since they got off the ferry. Neither of them have been particularly chatty. A smattering of affirmative or negative responses for questions from their parents, rarely full words. She thinks she heard Jonas mumble something to his dad earlier in the day, but she might have just imagined it.

Alex doesn’t respond. This is how she used to fight off whatever was keeping her from sleep. Crash in Michael’s room, listen to him doing whatever it was he did before bed. His mouse clicking at his computer, or a pencil scratching away at homework. Noises of steady, reassuring life. Any unexplained sounds were given context with someone else in the room.

She lets out a breath, and her eyes are still burning, thankful to be closed once more.

There’s a pause, and then a soft creak in the mattress as Jonas lays back down. He doesn’t ask again. There’s just the gentle noises of shifting fabric, pages flipping, soft breath.

Light filters through her eyelids and it’s red like the light pouring from his mouth when they spoke through him.

Alex doesn’t have the energy to fear it, just buries her head in folded arms and focuses on the sound. He’s okay. They’re all okay. No hum of radio frequencies, no click, no whirr, no static. Sounds of life, not ghosts.

For the first time in 62 hours, Alex sleeps.

-

Jonas nudges her awake nearly nine hours later.

She doesn’t have the energy to groan, just rolls onto her back and looks up at him from heavily lidded eyes.

“Your mom’s prob’ly gonna check on you in a sec.” His voice sounds out of practice; hoarse and rocky and too deep. Still half-asleep.

Alex just stares for a second, eyelids gradually falling closed as her brain slowly processes his words. He nudges her again with his foot, and she wonders why she should care about what he’s saying.

Oh right.

They just met.

Probably weird to be sleeping on his floor like she would with Michael.

She cracks an eye open as she rubs at the other, sniffing, scrubbing at her face.

Jonas just watches her for a second, shifts into an absentminded stretch until some joint makes a little cracking noise, and then shrugs. “Whatever,” he mumbles, heading for his dresser; “Suit yourself.”

Alex stumbles down to her room while he’s getting ready for school. She lays awake with her eyes closed until her mom comes to check.

-

They both end up staying home from class. Alex isn’t sure what the official reason is - her mom seems to think they both have mono or something. She blames the supposed sleepover, and Alex thinks she might have called Ren’s parents to warn them, but Alex doesn’t have the energy to worry over their story falling through. Either way, since no one’s been throwing up, they’re left to take care of each other while she and Jonas’s dad have work.

Alex still feels exhausted. She tries to sleep, and kind of does. Except then she’s not sure, because things start to sound weird and distorted and-

“Alex.”

Her eyes drag open, but her sight is blurry, blinking haze away until she recognizes Jonas sitting on the edge of her bed, a hand on her arm. That registers a solid second before the rest of him, and her gaze drifts downward, perplexed. “…Why…” Facts click together as her eyes finally reach the material wrapped around his hips. Towel. Okay. That explains the whole toplessness part. Her brow is furrowed as she looks back to his face again, to hair rumpled from a haphazard drying.

“You were, uh…” Jonas blinks for a second, and Alex watches with a distant detached interest as his skin starts to go pink as he lets go of her arm. “I was in the— getting out of the shower- you, uh— There were noises,” he finally manages.

Her eyes slide closed again, letting out a throaty hum of confirmation. Sounds right. Noises. She rolls over under her covers, curling until her knees bump against him. He’s comfortingly solid and warm through the sheets, and she bundles up even more until she’s curled in a C-shape around him. Her breathing starts to even out, slowing down, until-

“Um.”

“…Hm?”

A hand pushes at her shoulder and she rolls back, looking up at him again through one half-open eye. He watches her for a second, brow furrowed, before his lips twitch a bit. “I kinda need to get dressed.”

“Hmmmmm.” The groan is disappointed, and a little irritated, almost a pout as she curls toward him again.

There’s a pause while he lets her settle around him. He sounds mildly amused under the weariness. “I’d carry you upstairs, but I’d probably drop you.”

“Hm?” All of her speech is inarticulate humming.

A hand combs through her hair, scratching at her scalp idly like he’s petting a dog. Alex might feel annoyed about that if it didn’t feel nice. “I mean, I’m assuming you wanna nap. And that you’d be better off in-” there’s a fraction of a second of hesitation, “-my room.” He was gonna say Mike. She knows he was, but she doesn’t have the energy to think about it.

“Mm.” He has a point. Still, she doesn’t move. The whole petting thing actually feels pretty good. Relaxing.

“Alex.” He stops her from falling asleep again. Her eyes pull open slowly only to shoot an irritated look at him. Jonas’s lips twitch into a crooked smile. “Look, this is a limited time offer, I’m the one selflessly offering my bed right now.”

Alex shrugs. “You could stay here,” she mumbles, turning to nuzzle her head into the mattress, shifting against his hand like some kind of cat on a scratching post.

“I’m literally in a towel,” he observes, drily.

“So?” Her eyes are well and truly closed again, maneuvering to get his hand in just the right spot as she lets out a little sigh before her breath settles to a slow, even pace once more.

Jonas’s hand stills. There’s a second of silence, then he pulls away, standing up.

“Jonas,” Alex whines, reaching out for him sleepily, eyes still closed, “C’mon, come back.”

With a soft huff of laughter, she hears the floor of the hall creak slightly. His voice is raised, jarringly awake. “I’m gonna change. Bed’s free for like ten minutes, then you’re on your own.”

She hears him pad back toward the bathroom, then the recognizable sound of the door closing, the vent inside still humming, clearing out steam from his shower earlier. Nice. Nice steamy shower, nice hot water, not too scalding, just-

Alex’s eyes open as she frowns.

Yeah, maybe don’t think about the new stepbrother showering. Maybe not that.

At least it’s enough to push her out of bed with a low groan. Grudgingly, she has to admit that he’s right. She’ll sleep better in Mike’s room, she always has. There were a few months after his death that she slept there every night. She’d considered just moving into that room, but… it felt wrong. So she’d stayed in hers, and then a year passed, and then Jonas was moving in. Still feels a little weird.

When she heads up to the attic again, she doesn’t bother bringing her blanket and pillow. He’d offered the bed, so she’s gonna take it. Alex slips between the sheets, instantly overwhelmed by the smell of boy. Whatever deodorant he uses he uses too much of it, but it’s not bad. Better than the alternative, she supposes. It’s kinda nice, actually, something strong enough to distract her from whatever her sleep-deprived senses want to throw at her.

She’s finally relaxed into the bed again, toes peeking out the edge of the covers, when Jonas wanders back upstairs once more. Alex takes in a breath that’s swimming with whatever dude-smell scents are packed into that aerosol spray, lets out a short sigh and murmurs, “Hasn’t been ten minutes.”

Jonas snorts lightly. “Well, you weren’t in your room, so.” There’s the soft shp sound of fabric thrown onto fabric. “Also; don’t complain.” A finger flicks at her exposed foot and Alex whines and curls up safe under the covers. “Just go to sleep.”

He settles down at the desk, and Alex listens to the fan whirring to life in his computer, his long breath out as the laptop boots up.

She falls asleep to clicks and sighs and the steady thump of his heel swinging against the chair leg.

-

It becomes habit. At least for a few days.

Around 9pm or a little later Alex climbs up to the attic and settles herself on the floor and listens to Jonas do whatever he’s up to until she falls asleep. One night, he’s working at his desk and she steals the bed. She’s not entirely sure where he slept that night, ‘cause he’s always the one to wake her.

Whatever they’re doing, they must know it’s Wrong in some way, because it’s always a secret. She goes to him once their parents have stopped checking in on them at night, he gets her up and back to her room before they come to check in the morning. So they must know something’s off about it.

The weekend comes, and there’s an unspoken agreement that neither of them really wants to leave the house. They’re still… recovering might be the right word. The only people Alex might feel comfortable hanging out with are Ren, maybe Nona… and maybe Clarissa. Maybe. Anyone else and she’s not sure she could take faking it.

Friday night, it’s been one week since they got on the ferry.

They don’t talk about it. Instead they sprawl over the sectional in the living room, staring at the TV and watching reality show marathons, idly snacking on popcorn and m&ms, time ticking away. At some point Alex falls asleep, the murmur of television chatter in the background.

She jerks awake however many hours later, heart pounding. The room is dark and silent, but she feels watched. Jonas must have already gone up to bed, because she’s alone. Logically she knows the red lights blinking in the darkness are just idle power on the TV, the cable box, the stereo - but they still raise goosebumps on her skin. Alex fumbles for her phone, flicking on the flashlight long enough to get a lamp on.

The light helps. At least, it helps with the whole imagining ghosts part. But the quiet is too quiet, and she can sense the click and whirr and static creeping in, can imagine the hum and steady thinning of the pitch as the radio frequency shifts. She rolls her shoulders back, shaking out her limbs, tuts her tongue against her teeth to break the silence as she walks back up to her room.

She tries to settle into bed. Really tries. Hums a little to herself, but it’s no good. The dark, the quiet; it’s too full of things that don’t exist.

So up she goes to the attic.

For the first time, his light is off. It’s past 3am. Alex hesitates for a moment, then knocks softly.

No answer. (Which makes sense.)

After a brief moment of consideration, a second waiting on the landing, Alex feels that creeping dread echoing up the stairs and makes the executive decision to just go in. Even then, she pauses in the doorway. “…Jonas?”

Again, no answer. But this time she’s paranoid. She flicks her phone to flashlight once more, just to make sure he’s there. He is. And shifting a little, a low groan as he turns away from the light.

“Jonas,” she repeats, softly.

He stretches out for a second, waves a hand weakly. “‘s all good,” he mumbles. Which feels like the okay for her to crash. Which— well, she probably would have done it anyway, but it’s better to get the go-ahead.

She closes the door behind her, then makes her way to her usual spot and curls up on the floor. Tries to fall asleep.

…It’s too quiet.

Without his usual nighttime activity, it’s dead silent. He doesn’t snore like Michael did. (A weird thing to miss, but it was comforting in its way.)

She thinks she can see red lights in the dark. The distant sound - little blips - that may or may not exist, reaches her ears. Static creeps at the edges of her imagination, and Alex once more turns on her light, setting it to shine onto the ceiling. Her breath is heavy, heart racing.

“…Go to sleep,” is murmured from the bed.

“Can’t,” Alex whispers.

Jonas sighs. There’s a moment of quiet, then a shifting on the mattress. When he speaks again, it’s a little clearer. “Why not.” It’s a question, but his tone is flat. Not exactly annoyed, but close.

“Hearing things.”

Another pause. “Like what.” Again, a flat question, but this time there’s an edge of wariness to it.

“Stupid shit,” she shakes her head, staring at the ceiling. “Island stuff. Tapes and radios.”

He sighs a little, but it’s not like he’s angry. More like resigned. “…So that’s why… the sleep thing?”

“Mmhmm.”

The pauses are less empty now, knowing he’s awake. “So why isn’t it working now?” She can tell he’s being patient with her, the way his words have slipped back to questions, tone softer, almost coaxing.

“Too quiet,” Alex breathes. “I think— the sounds, I think. Helped.” 

She’s not quite speaking in full sentences. It’s closer, though, so that’s… probably good. Better than freezing up and only getting a word or two out.

“I’m not gonna get up just to make noise for you.” There’s a wryly humorous edge to his voice, even with that touch of apology.

“I know.” She lets out a breath. It’s fine. She’ll be fine.

He sighs, goes quiet.

Too quiet. “Jonas.”

He groans. “Christ Alex, just come here.”

What? “…What?”

“C’mere.” When she makes no move, he sighs again. Half of the covers are folded back and he sleepily slaps at the mattress. “Bed.”

She’s a little awkward as she rises, fumbling with her phone.

“If you shine that fucking light in my eyes, I swear to god-” he mumbles, tiredly.

Alex lets out a weak laugh at that, and as soon as she’s untangled from her own blanket and at his bedside she turns the thing off, setting it on his nightstand before sliding into bed. He flings an arm back to put the covers back over her, letting his arm stay draped across her, hand resting but not curled around the side of her waist.

She hasn’t actually shared a bed with a guy before. Well, she’s been sleeping bag to sleeping bag with Ren, but not actually in the same bed. Not that she can remember. Not when it counted. Definitely not with a shirtless guy who’s naked shoulder was inches from her face.

Yeah. Okay, yes, this is why this is Wrong. This is why they keep this a secret.

Jonas breathes out. When Alex fidgets, his hand fumbles until he gets a loose hold on her forearm, and pulls it around him. “Listen.”

Alex hesitates. His bare skin is putting off heat like a furnace.

There’s a second, and then he sighs. He tugs her closer, pointedly arching his back toward her, until her cheek brushes against his spine. “No, really listen.” His deep breath in is exaggerated, and the long exhale.

Oh. Oh.

It helps that he’s not looking at her. And that she’s really fucking tired. It takes a moment, but finally Alex tightens her arm around him, turning to press her ear to his back.

It’s a little odd, not gonna lie. But his breath is even, and the steady thud of his heartbeat is… nice. She’s not sure if he’s trying to pace his breathing, but she finds herself matching his and it definitely serves to calm her down.

It works, weirdly enough, listening to him, instead of the silence.

No static, no whine of the radio tuning: just pulse, and breath.

[source for AO3]

[captainhotch]

Lowest of Lows | Steve Harrington

Steve Harrington x Henderson!Reader

Summary; Steve Harrington is a sweetheart (as per usual) after the events in Season 2. Minor spoilers.

masterlist

The fact that your cat, Mews died, didn’t really set in until a week following the events in the Upsidedown. You were still on edge, constantly in fear that things weren’t actually over. That Will wasn’t actually okay, and that he, or any of you really, could be taken at any second.

In your head there were much more important things to worry about.

When your mom got the cat a few years back you were sceptical to say the least. She got him as a coping mechanism for your dad leaving, at least that’s what you thought.

You weren’t big on animals, cats especially. You contemplated pretending that you were allergic, but your mom needed it.

Eventually the little fur ball wormed his way into your heart. You did have one, afterall, and he was freaking adorable. Your only complaint was the ample amounts of orange fur that you would always find all over your black clothes.

The loss of your feline friend didn’t even really take its toll on you, until all of a sudden on Friday night you were struggling to breathe from sobbing so hard.

Your nose was raw from rubbing it, and your eyes were practically swollen shut. To conclude; you were an utter mess.

Luckily for you, you were home alone. Dustin was sleeping over at Mike’s with the boys, and your mother was off doing who knows what. The fact that you didn’t have Mews to cuddle up to when you got lonely really took its tole.

Steve knew you were home alone, and from experience he knew how lonely it got. He wanted to provide company for you, even if it was just in the form of a phone call.

You, however, were too busy sobbing to pick up the phone. And that worried Steve. His mind couldn’t help but go back to the previous weeks and the danger that everyone was in. You especially.

So he did what any concerned friend would do, at least that’s what Steve told his self, and drove over to your house.

By the time he got there it was past 10 and pitch black out side. You were probably just asleep. He tried to reassure himself. Yet he hopped out of his BMW anyways and knocked on your door.

When you didn’t respond after a few seconds Steve decided to knock again, putting his ear against the door to listen in. He could hear your sobs and hiccups. Relief filled the man. At least he knew you were alive now, granted you were crying which still wasn’t the ideal circumstance.

“Y/N/N? Is everything okay in there?” He questioned from the other side of the door, his hand gripping the brass doornob tightly.

“Steve?” You questioned softly, not believing your ears. You were probably dehydrated from all of the crying. There was no way in hell Steve would drive all the way to your house just ‘cause you didn’t pick up the phone.

“Yeah, it’s me. Could you let me in?”

“Just go home, Steve. I’m okay. I’ll be okay.” You responded, pulling the fluffy blanket tighter under your chin.

“Now that doesn’t sound like a very good idea at all. I can’t leave when my best girl is down.” Steve grinned.

Even though you couldn’t see Steve’s face, you could imagine his expression. His eyes were probably soft as he watched the door for movement, a sympathetic smile painted on his lips.

“If you don’t answer the door I’ll find another way in. I’m a ninja, remember? I could do it.” He warned, taking a few steps back from the door.

“Have it your way.” He mumbled softly to himself, ready to kick the door down if necessary.

You stood up slowly, a small smile finding its way onto your lips at the theatric boy’s antics. Leave it to Steve Harrington to cheer you up in less then 200 words. Even in your lowest state.

You wiped your raw nose with a discarded tissue and threw it into the trash can, dragging the blanket behind you like a cape. Hesitantly you placed your hand on the door nob, unlocking the door slowly.

You pulled the door wide open to reveal Steve Harrington, looking a bit disheveled but of course still handsome. Even after his face was bashed in by Billy Hargrove he managed to look handsome.

“Were you about to try and kick down the door?” You questioned in disbelief, staring at the sheepish boy with wide eyes.

“I-I wanted to make sure you were okay.” He replied with a light blush. “And obviously you aren’t. What the hell happened to you?”

You scoffed. “Way to kick a girl when she’s down.” You walked back into the livingroom, plopping yourself back down onto the brown loveseat.

Steve followed closely behind, taking the seat by your side. “You know that’s not what I meant. You could have two black eyes and be missing your front teeth and I’d still find you fucking gorgeous.” Steve reassured, linking your hand with his.

“You’re gonna think it’s stupid.” You pouted, disconnecting your hands.

“Nothing that has you this worked up is stupid.” He reassured, placing a gentle hand on your cheek.

“Mews is dead.” Your eyes watered just thinking about it so you closed them, hoping to stop anymore tears from falling.

“Hey, hey, hey.” Steve whispered, pulling you into his chest.

You gripped his blue shirt tightly between your fists, trying to hold your sobs in. “I miss him so much.” You cried shakily.

“I know you do.” Steve ran his fingers through your messy hair. “It’ll get better. I promise.”

The next morning you were even more exhausted. Steve had left a few hours after your miniature breakdown. Your eyes were practically swollen shut, and your voice was almost gone.

When you left your bedroom you were greeted by the smell of pancakes, which admittedly made your stomach turn a bit. Your mother was an awful chef.

“Woah, you look like shit.” Dustin yelled, scaring you slightly. You hadn’t even known he was home yet. How late was it?

“Gee thanks.” You smiled sarcastically, flipping the boy off and walking in the other direction.

“I’m just being honest.” He shrugged as if he didn’t do anything wrong.

“Screw you, asshat.” You yelled back in response, slamming the bathroom door shut. You could use a hot shower for sure.

You were snapped out of your hot-water induced haze by your mom screaming your name. “Y/N/N! You have a visitor!”

“I’ll be right out mom!”

When you imerged from your bedroom, fully dressed in the most comfy pajamas you owned, you were met with your mother and brother crowded around Steve Harrington on the couch.

“I thought you said I had a visitor.” You questioned, raising an eyebrow.

“Don’t be jealous sweet cheeks, Dustin and your mom were just keeping me company while I waited.

You grinned at the brunette boy, ignoring your brothers groan in disgust. “Gross.”

“Oh, this one is a keeper, Y/N/N.” Your mom declared dreamily. You know that she knew you weren’t dating.

“I keep trying the tell her that.” Steve winked at your mom.

“For Christs sake, I’m sitting right here!” Dusting gagged, “Screw this.” He sighed, hoping up from his spot on the couch and running off to his bedroom.

You rolled your eyes at the boys antics. Your mother followed behind him except she went off back into the kitchen. Something about meatloaf (which you hated).

“Why don’t you come take a seat.” Steve grinned, patting the seat next to him softly.

You didn’t trust it at all. “What the hell is going on?”

You noticed that Steve was blocking something from your view as you sat down. He looked up at you with soft eyes and an even softer smile. One thing was for sure. He looked proud as hell of himself (though what was new).

“Close your eyes.”

You hesitantly agreed, tensing when you felt something light being placed into your lap.

“Okay, open them.”

Your gaze was met with that of the cutest kitten you had ever seen in your entire life. He was small enough to hold in one hand and had a soft black coat.

Yours began to water as you looked up at Steve. He had a pink blush on his cheeks and was watching you wide wide eyes.

“You-you did this for me?” You questioned shakily, a tear falling from your eye onto your cheek.

Steve nodded, reaching over to pet the kitten on his little head. “His name is Dart.” Steve winked.

“Dark.” You laughed, petting the tiny animal’s cheek.

“Do you-do you like him?” Steve asked you in a small voice.

“I love him Steve. Seriously. This is the sweetest thing anybody has ever done for me. Thank you.” You smiled, leaning over to embrace the man. He held you tight against his chest, neither of you wanting to let go.

You placed a soft peck of thanks on his cheek once you pulled away. You smiled at how warm the skin was from all of his blushing.

“I think you missed.” Was all Steve said as he leaned in again, this time tilting his head so he could properly lay his lips over yours.