#(and that's WITH the draft “final” and the tags decided and ready to paste in)

[waterme-stories]

Ninja editing my beloved!

I've never added an entire scene, that's inspirational! I definitely restructure sentences and tweak words pretty much every time I re-read (which is often in the days after I post). I love when the solution for something that was bothering me finally clicks! If that only happens once it's up for two days, so be it.

There's something about seeing it published that lets you look through a fresh lens :)

Does anyone else do this? I think it was @waterme-stories who used the term 'ninja editing'. After posting a chapter is usually when I end up getting some quick inspiration and sometimes I'll even add entire scenes

[folkwhoredoll]

soothing touch - rafe cameron x fem!reader

pairing: rafe cameron x fem!reader

synopsis: after a tiresome week, your boyfriend knows just how to help

word count: 2.1k

warnings/tags: smut! (f oral, unprotected sex, nipple play), soft bf!rafe

a/n: hi everyone! i don't think i can ever say this enough but thank you for your support! however i might be inactive for the next days or weeks because easter break is over :< but i promise to keep writing whenever i can <3 i hope you'll like this one. happy reading!

masterlist

+*:ꔫ:*﹤

“Baby, come lay with me.” You heard your boyfriend whine from the bed.

“Just a few more minutes, Rafey. I need to finish this essay, or I’ll lose my train of thought.” You replied without looking at him, eyes steady between your laptop screen and keyboard.

Rafe groaned, growing impatient after hearing you use the same excuse for the third time.

It had been over two hours since he laid on the bed and over two hours that you refused to join him. The past weeks have made you busy, considering you were a graduating student. There were deadlines here and there, you have experienced sleepless nights for the past few days, and coffee is probably the only liquid cursing through your veins.

Rafe knew it was coming and made sure to help in any way possible, but it doesn’t mean he was okay with it. He missed taking you out on dates and golfing sessions, but it has been almost a month since he was able to do so.

He came to your house a few hours ago and brought you snacks you felt incredibly grateful for. You welcomed and greeted him, then returned to your room to sit in front of your laptop.

“I’m sorry, babe. I promise I’ll just finish this essay, and then we can cuddle, okay?” You offered to him softly, feeling bad that you’d ignored him.

Rafe, who has a stern exterior towards other people, is always soft towards you. His eyes softened upon hearing your offer, wanting nothing more than for you two to spend the night together.

“Okay. I’ll wait for you.”

You flashed him a smile, your fingers desperately working to finish your essay.

Around half an hour later, you were typing out the last sentence for your draft. You inhaled deeply and stretched your back before shutting down the computer, deciding that you would just do your revisions in the morning.

“Finally.” You heard Rafe’s voice, making you chuckle, and excitedly made your way to the bed where your boyfriend was adorably tucked in the covers. “Hi, baby.”

You crawled in his arms, feeling extremely relaxed now that you were out of your stiff chair. “Hi, Rafey.”

“What do you want to do now?” He asked you sweetly, letting you decide depending on how you were feeling.

You thought momentarily, looking at the time and realizing it was almost midnight. Yet, surprisingly, you didn’t feel an ounce of sleepiness.

“Hmm, I don’t know. I’m not sleepy yet. You?”

 “Nah. I’m not sleepy, too.” Rafe shook his head before an idea popped into his mind. “You want me to give you a massage?”

Without hesitation, you agreed, nodding your head quickly. “Yes, please. My back hurts so much.”

Rafe gave you a pitied look. “Aw, baby. I got you; go get ready.”

You positioned yourself on the bed, grabbing a pillow where you can rest your head on. You sat up for a while to remove the thin sweater that hugged your torso. Your bra followed after you skillfully removed the clasps on your back. The amount of times that Rafe had seen you naked has made you shameless in making such gestures in front of him.

Meanwhile, Rafe watched your actions as he positioned himself behind you, hungrily eyeing your bare back before reminding himself that he was supposed to help you relax.

“Lay down on your stomach, pretty girl.” He spoke.

You did as he asked, sighing relief when your front side made contact with your sheets.

Knowing your room like the back of his hand, Rafe grabbed a bottle of lavender oil from your bedside drawer. He squeezed out a small amount, only enough to cover your back. Once satisfied, he warmed up the oil by rubbing it between his palms before putting it on your skin.

You let out a soft moan at the contact; the minty feeling from the oil and the feeling of your boyfriend’s large hands on your back made you instantly relax.

Rafe continued to give you a massage until his hands were dry from the oil, giving your back continuous strokes while you were on the verge of sleeping.

Little do you know, your breathy sighs have awakened something in Rafe.

He cleared his throat after several minutes, leaning down to check if you were sleeping. After seeing your opened eyes, Rafe relaxed and gave you a smile. “You feeling better?”

You mumbled a ‘yes,’ groaning as you slowly turned around on your back. “Thank you, Rafe.”

Rafe replied nothing, instead just lowering his face to yours in order to press a kiss on your lips. You smiled into the kiss, making Rafe go crazy. He wanted nothing more than to go further but hesitated as he thought of your tired body.

Unexpectedly, you were the one who deepened the kiss, your hands subtly moving up to his hair.

“Baby…” Rafe gasped, pulling away slightly. “Are you not tired?”

“Not really.” You said honestly as you looked into his eyes. “Feels good, Rafe. Please.”

Your words were confirmation for Rafe, making him press his lips back to yours. You let out a gasp when your boyfriend’s lips went from your mouth to your neck, kissing and sucking your skin softly.

“Hey, no marks.” You reminded him, remembering the time that your parents almost fainted when they saw Rafe’s love marks on your neck and chest.

“Yes, ma’am.” He cheekily smiled.

Rafe’s attention was suddenly on your breasts. He already had easy access to them after you removed your top. You moaned in surprise when his lips wrapped around your left nipple, your back arching as you tried to catch your breath.

“Rafe.” You heaved when his mouth attached to your other nipple, his fingers now working simultaneously as he toyed with the other one. When he was satisfied with the attention that he gave to your breasts, he straightened up his posture, and you took the opportunity to start removing his shirt.

You quickly get rid of his shirt, throwing it sideways as you focus on his shorts.

“Someone’s excited.” He chuckled.

“It’s been a while.” You pouted.

“I know, sweetheart. We have a lot of time.” Rafe replied softly. He pecked your lips once before crouching down. “Lift your hips slightly, baby. Let me take this off of you.”

You obeyed, pushing yourself up from the bed to allow Rafe to pull down your shorts and underwear. You took a deep breath at the realization that you were fully exposed but paid no attention when you caught Rafe eyeing your pussy while licking his lips.

“Well, what do we have here?” He smirked, his right-hand landing gently on your thigh.

“Rafe…” You whined lowly, feeling frustrated as his fingers teased you by drawing random circles along your skin.

“What do you want, Y/n?” He asked innocently.

You groaned. “Stop teasing me.”

He smirked. Rafe loves nothing more than seeing you surrender to his touches. And right now, he’s enjoying the growing smell and wetness of your arousal.

Removing his hand from your thigh, he pressed a finger against your clit. You jolted forward; the pressure alone is enough to stimulate pleasure to your core. “Fuck.”

Rafe’s finger gently circled your clit, both his cock and smile becoming more prominent at the sight of you. He surprised you by pressing two fingers in, his thumb taking over your clit. He began pumping, enjoying your moans mixed with the sound of your wet folds.

“Fucking hell, Rafe. More.” You demanded through deep breaths, your chest rising and falling.

He didn’t respond, pulling out his fingers after a few moments. Your brows pinched together in confusion, looking at him as he brought his fingers to his mouth.

“You taste amazing, darling.” He smirked and watched as you stared at his lips. After licking his two fingers clean, he lifted his hands and brought his thumb to your face. “Open.”

Without hesitation, you opened your mouth and took his thumb in. You sucked, tasting yourself and letting out a moan while maintaining eye contact.

“Fuck.” Rafe spoke, feeling his cock straining. “I was planning to go soft on you. But you seem more eager than I do.”

After you’re done licking his finger, he pulls down his trousers and underwear. Despite seeing him naked multiple times, you still can’t help but be amazed at his size, your thoughts growing wild with desire.

You watched as Rafe kneeled before you, his eyes on the same level as your folds. He pulled you nearer to him, your lower half almost hanging off the edge of the table as he wrapped your legs around his shoulder.

“You gotta keep quiet, baby. We don’t want to get caught by your parents, do we?”

Without any warning, Rafe pressed his face to your pussy, his tongue expertly slipping inside and sucking on your clit.

“Fuck!” You moaned aloud, instantly forgetting his words as you pressed your weight against the bookshelf behind you.

He slapped your thigh softly. “What did I just say?”

You ignored him, too focused on the pleasure that you’re feeling to control the sounds from your mouth. You squirmed against his lips, grinding your hips upwards to get more. Your boyfriend smiled proudly.

“Yes, yes, Rafe…. Shit.”

He pulled one of his hands away from you, lowering it to pump his manhood. His occasional moans caused vibrations throughout your body, your toes curling and your eyes shutting.

Rafe felt your legs shake, and he started to pull away. He needed you to cum, but not yet.

“W-what?” You asked desperately, almost whining at the loss of contact.

He gently shushed you, pushing himself up and lining his cock directly at your slits. “Don’t worry, baby. I’ll finish you right here.”

He pushed himself into you inch by inch, your warm folds wrapping around him perfectly. Rafe groaned at the damp and tight feeling surrounding him, head falling back in pleasure as he settled perfectly within you.

You moaned once more, loudly this time as he started thrusting, his rhythm steady yet forceful. You repeatedly called his name, hands gripping the sheets around you as you shook in pleasure. Rafe looked down to watch himself disappear inside you, eyes filled with lust and pride every time his hips meet yours. He grabbed your thighs and pushed your legs forward, almost keeping them against your chest.

“That’s right, darling. Moan my name.” Sweat started to form on his forehead, his thrusts becoming harsher and quicker in desperate need. “C’mon, Y/n. Let me see you cum.”

“Rafe…” You cried, your cunt clenching and throbbing. The bed was creaking slowly, and you could only hope that your parents were currently deep in slumber.

The pleasure was overwhelming as Rafe focused on every part of you as much as possible. Both of you panting and covered in sweat, his hands working wonders on your clit and nipple while he perfectly filled your cunt.

“R-Rafe, I’m…”

“I know, baby. Cum with me. Come on, pretty girl.” He whispered closely in your ear, maintaining the speed of his thrusts as he rubbed your clit faster.

Your heart rate was increasing, and your body was shaking. But it was Rafe’s direct eye contact and sudden pinch on your clit that pushed you over the edge, eyes rolling at the back of your head as you released.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

Rafe moaned at the sight, loving the feeling of your tight walls and warm release around his cock.

It wasn’t long until he pumped several more times before he gave in, releasing his juices inside of you with heavy breaths.

Neither of you moved for a while, still breathless and shaking.

Rafe pulled out of you slowly, making you whine. He cooed at you, pressing kisses on both of your cheeks. “Are you feeling better, baby?”

Unable to form words because you were still catching your breath, you just grinned and nodded, your hand rising to cup and stroke his cheek.

“Let’s get you ready for bed now, sweetheart.”

The rest of the night, you didn’t break any sweat. Rafe took charge of changing your clothes and sheets, even giving you a quick bath to refresh you.

On times like these, you thank the heavens for giving you a boyfriend like Rafe Cameron.

[hugheswritetr]

D-Day

MASTERLIST

Heartbeat | Jack Hughes

Author’s note: the longest chapters so far, hope you enjoy it;)

Song: Daylight- Taylor Swift

♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡

The bathroom counter in my room is overflowing with make-up. As always, I decided to lay a little bit longer than necessary in bed as I should, and this is the result of it. I cannot even navigate through the stuff, making my frustration rise more.

My palms are sweaty, my arms are aching and the goddamn eyeliner is getting crooked more and more each time I try to fix it. This is not my day. I am hoping that it at least looks presentable, the last thing I want is to look horrendous on national television.

Don’t even get me started on my outfit, the new bought heels I put on to stretch already digging into my feet. Sure, the heels are Jimmy Choo’s ( I would never buy anything else ), but even the price tag can’t fix the already forming blister.

,,Thalia! Stop hogging the bathroom!” my brother screams from outside, banging on the door for the millionth time.

Did I mention it was the day of the draft?

The day Mattheo had been working towards his entire life, the past week of his life incredibly stressful, the combine and interviews going with being the fourth projected pick.

We had flown to Dallas two days later than him, residing in the Mariott hotel in downtown Dallas. The whole family is here for this once in a lifetime event. Whole family but one person.

I can see that it’s troubling him, dad was one of his biggest supporters, paying for various trainers and private ice time with them. Despite all that, he is not here. I am sad for him, remembering the special father and son bond between them.

,,Give me a second” I shout back at him, even though knowing that the second would be a lot longer. How much more can my arms ache?

,,Thalia!” my brothers annoyed tone making me screw up more ,,Come on!”

,,Oh my god Theo stop! You’re making me nervous!” I report back in annoyed sneer. “You?!Nervous ?!” I don’t know how he manages to be louder each time. “Are you forgetting it’s my draft day?!”

,,Oh my god! Fine!” I reply, trying to swiftly gather my things into my make-up bag. Luke’s bathroom will have to do. I open the door, revealing my annoyed brother standing there.

,,Finally” he says as he enters the bathroom. “Asshat,, I retort my last comment before leaving the room.

The trip down the hallway is short, five steps and I am already knocking on his door.

But the boy opening the door is not the brother I am expecting . ,,Thalia?” Jack is raising his eyebrow at me making me squirm under his gaze. ,,Um, Could I finish getting ready in your room? Mattheo needs to get ready and he can’t when I’m in the bathroom” the blush to my cheeks rising as I ask the question.

,,Sure, but Luke is not here” the newfound information making me almost wish I hadn’t come here. I enter the room and swiftly aim for the bathroom, hoping to get away from the awkward silence that fell between me and the boy who stole my heart and doesn’t even know it.

What I didn’t expect is him following me and sitting on the bathtub beside me. “So, what are we doing?” he asks, catching me off guard. “We?,, I nervously laugh. “Sure, Lils, I’m not going to sit there when I can keep you company,, he nonchalantly replies.

I pray he doesn’t see the effect he has on me and that the foundation tint is covering my red cheeks. If it hadn’t been for my mind replaying the sentence over and over again, I wouldn’t even notice the name he said.

“You know my name is Thalia, right?” I ask and he laughs like it is the greatest joke he heard for a while. “You think I’m dumb? Lils is my new nickname for you, you have lillies on your dress” he voices the detail of my dress.

,,Oh” it was as I forgotten all of the english vocabulary and the only response I can muster is this.

,,Let me help you, sit” he says, noticing me still not drawing the eyeliner right. “Jack, please, like you know how to do it” I reply, rolling my eyes. “And you do?,, he jokingly answers.

He puts his hand around my biceps and sits me down on the bathtub, standing up and taking the make-up tool from my hand.

I gaze up to him, admiring the focused look in his eyes, but most importantly admiring him. The small freckles covering the bridge of his nose, the pink hue on his cheeks from spending time in the sun. The lines of focus between his eyebrows reminding me that he is human, and not some carefully carved sculpture. Jack Hughes is perfection.

,,Here, done” he finishes drawing the eyeliner. I stand up, expecting the disaster on my eyes, but when I gaze into the mirror, the eyeliner is drew on, good? It honestly makes me surprised.

I voice my thoughts with surprised laugh ,,Where did you learn this?”. Jack looks at me “I often watch my girlfriend do make-up, I’m kind of a pro right now” the world girlfriend silencing my next words. I just stand there gaping at him, the awkward silence sweeping over the room. The sentence is a dig to my heart, reminding me that I can admire him all I want, but I can never have him.

I think that my guardian angels decided to help me, and thank god they did, because Luke enters the room.

,,Come on Jack, we have to go - Thalia?” he asks surprised. “Oh Hi Luke, I was just here to finish my make-up, Mattheo occupied the bathroom” I answer his confusion.

Quickly cleaning up the stuff, I gather it to my hands leaving the room ,,I should go see if mom and Theo are ready, see you” I leave without waiting for the answer.

♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡

I am in a state of awe for the last 5 minutes, and the cause for a first time in a while is not Jack. As I am sitting in my seat, the NHL level stadium makes the situation feel ten times more real than back in the hotel, signalling the significance of the event.

Our seats are in the higher part of the arena, right before the Hughes family. Luke is shaking his leg notoriously, he seems even more nervous than Quinn and Theo, the actual people being drafted.

There is a limit on the amount my nerves can handle, and before I know , I am complaining to him ,,Luke! I swear to god, if you’re going to shake that leg one more time, I’m going to slice it” I say to him, making him widen his eyes. “Geez Thalia, never took you as the psycho type” Jack inserts himself into the conversation. Once again, reminding me of his unforgettable presence in my life.

My mother knowingly smiles at me, knowing the real reason for my snapping. I feel sad for Mattheo, one of the most important events of his life is here, and dad is missing. I can see it’s troubling him, so I put my hand around his leg.

,, He is looking, you know it right?” I say to him, trying to calm him. He offers me a bittersweet smile in response ,,I know”.

The ceremony soon begins, anticipation filling my entire body. The reports saying Mattheo is going to be one of the first first rounders - making it known that the fate of his draft is going to be revealed soon.

First pick belonged to Buffalo Sabres, and the smile on the lucky hockey protégé picked for them making me excited for Theo’s moment.

I am thinking, not even noticing that the next team is picking. Selfishly, I hope that he would be going to the Detroit Red Wings to be close, but I know he is going to be picked sooner.

Then the Montreál Canadiens appear on stage. Making the usual speech.

The second Mattheo's name is called by the Montreal Canadiens, we jump from our seats and scream in joy. First mom hugs him, her eyes are shining with tears making my own spill in reponse. I hug him too, being the proudest sister there is on planet earth in this moment, my heart soaring with happiness. He made it, and I couldn’t be more proud. He leaps a few steps up to the Hughes family to hug Quinn, his now former teammate. And then the journey to his new team begins.

My heart skips a beat as I watch him make his way to the stage, a mix of emotions swirling within me. Pride, excitement, and pure happiness radiating off him and in return, off me.

After the moment ends, we sit back down. I can basically feel the anxiety radiating from Quinn by not being picked yet. All I can do is plead with god and my dad to bring the moment sooner.

It is as they hear my prayers, because as soon as the Vancouver Canucks call the name of their next new player, my ears reach the sound of a name of the boy I had grown to care about so much over the span of past three and a half years. I jump from my seat for a second time, expierencing the happiness once again.

The proud feeling coursing through my body from both of the boys successful drafts is beautiful. Me and Luke hug, feeling proud of our eldest brothers and wanting to share the moment together. The two bestfriends made it onto the international stage, an accomplishment we will be celebrating for a long time.

♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡

The draft had been a rollercoaster of emotions, but seeing Quinn and Mattheo's dreams come true was an incredible moment.

We meet with them after the draft, the smile is permanently etched on their faces for the rest of the evening, making the whole group feel good.

The only thing that doesn’t feel good are my feet. Who suggested these painful heels? I know the answer, making me frustrated at myself. My ,,silent” huffing is unnoticed, until I see the middle Hughes boy stopping and waiting for me.

,,Come on, jump” He says, catching me off guard. “What?,, I reply, the confusing train of thoughts surging through me until he crouches . ,,Jump” he says, waiting for me to jump on him.

My proud mind is screaming at me not to, wanting to prove my mother I can wear heels for the whole evening even if she insisted I couldn’t.

But as I try to take another step, the pain spreading through my feet is too much for me to bear, making me jump on him.

Despite being dark, I can see daylight. Personified in the presence of him.

I don’t even notice the knowing look on the elder women faces as they watch us. As if secretly knowing what the future holds for us. We will soon find out.

[lovestruckkkk]

A Puppet, An Ally, A Lover — The Emperor x Tav

Tags: basically just a draft but i decided to share, not proof read much, pretty fluffy and vanilla (sometimes garlic), tried to make the emperor as non ooc as possible, he/him pronouns for the Emperor, gender neutral tav, empy sends you a letter <3

Tav is either partially illithid or not illithid at all.

wordcount: 1297

also available on ao3!

"What was the true nature of your relationship with the Emperor?

Was he as manipulative as he could possibly be?

Or did he have at least some genuine feelings towards you?

Well. Time to reflect a little."

enjoy, loves 💓

The Emperor treasured your alliance, and your relationship, well. The two of you worked wonders in multiple ways - your human form, although still sometimes seen flawed by the Emperor, has been a great help when he, as a mind flayer, couldn't possibly accomplish the things that you can. That especially included working with people - his previous alliance with Stelmane led him to believe that being so open with his actions was dangerous. And when some people needed proper persuasion you came into the picture. Ever eloquent, ever successful. It felt as if, given enough time, the two of you could conquer the city. His city.

But while that was important, it wasn't the main thing.

You two enjoyed each other.

You weren't too quiet about your affection towards him, not like you could be anyway - he's a mind flayer, after all, - but it was much harder to sense his. He was ever-alert, wary of jumping to conclusions, but not blind to his own genuine caring for you. But yes of course, admitting it took a lot of time from his side. You were ready for that - it, well, comes with the package.

It took time, but the Emperor finally made peace with the fact that you didn't want a full-blown ceremorphosis. After all, there was no guarantee that you would remain your present self.

Yet it's hard to deny one's nature. You weren't exactly the prey, and he wasn't exactly the predator, but it was somewhere in the air. A distant thought, a tiny hint of something alarming in the back of your mind.

And maybe you were smitten, but you weren't stupid, you weren't naive. The Emperor could sense your light anxiety on the matter, he even brought it up in conversation, but you both knew no matter how honeyed his words are - the nature of your relationship is just... Is what it is.

Until you just trusted. For when you cannot know - you trust, right?

So you did. It took effort. It took strength. Forgiving him his past half-truths, discounting his manipulative nature. Believing that something within him actually feels something.

And yes, it's hard to deny one's nature. But possible.

At least to an extent. While The Emperor valued your presence, he couldn't stop being a creature that longs for finding new ways to hold the reigns. That's why you staying in your humanoid form took less time for him to make peace with. He knows an opportunity when he sees one.

But he was thankful for your trust. And he always showed you how he was feeling - except for those times when it was already obvious. He thanked you, he commented on your worries, he comforted you, he tried being more honest about what troubles him, too. Not as a part of manipulation, but as a part of securing an alliance.

But of course it all was deeper than just a stupid alliance.

You were lovers. You did your best to understand each other - it was easier for him to do, and harder for you. But you tried. You wanted to understand so bad. And what is it to love - if not to want to understand?

He saw it. All of it. And he was thankful. He repayed you for your efforts and always helped in indulging your curiosity. And he couldn't fight his rising affection towards you for long, - your genuine care swayed him easily, but gently - like autumn leaves carressed by gentle blow of the wind.

It was odd, to see how easy and effortless things became once you actually trusted each other. Odd because - how can two creatures that are so different turn out to be so alike? But all the pieces were falling into place. It felt natural, albeit actually being extravagantly unnatural.

You embraced it, both of you. And it didn't take long for your relationship to bloom into something invaluable. Something treasured. It was discreet, it wasn't loud, your care for each other felt like a sacred secret, yet when there were people around they always sensed it. Your affection had its own gravity field.

Well, of course it was different when someone wanted something from you. Or especially when someone went out of their way to hurt you.

As respectful and as aware of your talents as he were, the Emperor grew very impatient by the minute when someone wanted to harm you. It was happening more often as your relationship became deeper. He would unlikely ever admit it out loud, but he was possessive. You knew it. And... It felt nice.

And you were protective of him, too. You never let anyone, except those he trusted, find out his true identity. And never let anyone disrespect him for who he is. It was always that same feeling of building up rage that your Emperor had later always calmed down. He would say:

They don't understand. It's fine. Let them.

After all, no matter what they say about him, it could never undo all the precious moments you get to have together. Your conversations have always been interesting, you enjoyed how complex and deep his knowledge of things was. He enjoyed how open-minded and unorthodox your opinions and approaches were. You complimented each other perfectly. It's exactly why he is assured that the two of you are indestructible together.

The mental connection that you shared was also something absolutely remarkable. It feels like nothing would ever be able to sever it. You just knew each other. Inside and out.

And there's physical connection too, of course. It felt like an extension of how your minds connected - you touched each other in desperation, trying to find new ways to connect even more, to become one.

Few of your former companions understood your relationship with the Emperor. But, in his own words, you let them misunderstand. It was fine. They didn't have to get it.

At the reunion party that was so thoughtfully arranged by Withers, you were alone. But it did take about a tenday to get to the place, so your Emperor sent you a letter to greet you when you arrive. For you to read at the party. He knew you would miss him. And he was right of course. He missed you too.

"My beloved,

I hope this letter finds you well, and you've successfully reacquainted yourself with your former friends. Send them my regards. I am writing this letter about a few days since your departure - I hope the pigeons delivered it in one piece, knowing how troublesome they can be.

I do not particularly enjoy written form of communication, but given the distance between us, I will allow it. I must admit your absence is something I cannot shake off lightly - so I decided to write you this letter to remind you that I am patiently awaiting your return.

Things over here are in order. I am continuing my search for allies who could potentially help us restore The Knights of the Shield. I hope I will have better news and actual results to share upon your return.

Enjoy your time celebrating. You deserve it. And please remember I will always be waiting for you.

Unwaveringly yours,

The Emperor"

Oh, how you wished that he was here. He deserved it just as much. After everything he did for the lot of you, even if it was mainly because your interests simply aligned, he deserved to be here. But your companions could disagree.

Yet no matter how much you wished for him to be here, he's somewhere else. Right now you get to enjoy your time with your friends - and you're not going to miss out on the opportunity.

But you already count the days until the two of you reunite once again.

[uceyliyahh]

SOMETHING BOUT’ US

Summary: "I want you more than anything in my life." After being in a difficult relationship with Carmelo Yasmine decided to move on from him and become the next big thing while getting drafted on the smackdown roster she always thought she would never find love again due to her commitment issues until she met him.

This fanfic is 18+! NO MINORS ALLOWED

word count: 3792

smut warning; it’ll come in the story randomly so PLEASE PLEASE look out for it I’m not really good at writing ✍🏽 smuts but I’m improving at the moment.

Jey Uso x Yasmine

AWFUL GRAMMAR IM GETTING BETTER I SWEAR LOL.

comments, likes, repost are appreciated I would love the constructive feedback in what area I need to approve in. 🤍

ALSO! I don’t not want nobody stealing my fanfics or take it as theirs that will be an issue fasho so keep it cute respectfully.

I only own my OC along with the make up scenarios

But I’ll be writing along the way since this story is in my drafts on Wattpad right now so yuh. 💁🏽‍♀️

TAGS ⬇️ lmk if you wanna be tag 🏷️@pinkwithhearts @420days @jstarr86 @empressdede @angiedawn02 @biancasreign

@bebesobrielo @skyesthebomb @aikosilo @papireigns-05 @punksyeet @paigereeder @magnificentbouquetmusic

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8.

OMNISCIENT Yasmine was using the ropes to practice some new movements on the mat that was set up in the ring at the performance facility. When she noticed that he and Liv were talking to one other once more, she distanced herself from everyone, which caused her and Jey's relationship to deteriorate once more. She heard Liv laughing behind her as she saw her approach Yasmine just as she was ready to jump off the ropes.

"Well, well, if it ain't Miss little Yasmine," Liv remarked while Yasmine folded her arms across her chest and perched on the ropes.

Yasmine rolled her eyes at her while sighing, "What'chu want?" Her eyes watched Liv skipping around the ring.

"Oh, nothing, just putting it out there that Jey is my man now and not yours since you can't keep a man from putting their hands on you; I mean, what does Jey want with a broken girl like yourself?" Liv's words instantly broke her as she landed her feet on the ground after climbing down the ropes.

Liv winced in agony as she approached her and grabbed her by the hair.

As she left the performance area, Yasmine said, "Look here bitch, you don't know anything about my past with Melo, so I would advise you to keep your fucking mouth shut," and then violently pushed Liv to the ground.

She walked out the door, got into her car, and drove to the arena for tonight's smackdown with tears streaming down her cheeks. Going through the same pattern—the same pattern she had when she was with Carmelo—she felt like a moron once more, expecting that Jey wouldn't be like him, but she was mistaken once more.

The night he "confessed" his love for her after she did, when they were done making love to each other, Jey was in the shower, forgetting that his phone was right there. She heard his phone vibrate.

When she picked it up, she saw that Liv had texted him some freaky messages and some attachments, and she knew that she had made a mistake at some point and had forgiven him so easily.

That's when she had put his phone back to where it was putting on her clothes while heading back towards her hotel room, not even speaking to Jey about the matter.

Because she knew that he wasn't going to tell the truth.

✧˚° YASMINE I finally made it to the arena, turning off my car while opening the door and grabbing my bags before heading in. Ever since I saw those messages again on his phone, I have felt like a dummy, and I have flashbacks of when Carmelo did this to me.

My brother would've probably been pissed off if he had found out about what Jey had that did, even though they were homies; Jonathan could've warned me about Jey, honestly.

I guess that's what brothers are for, right? As I was walking towards my locker room, I saw him talking with his brother, probably about the segment they had for tonight.

I didn't look his way as I walked past them and toward my locker room, but I overheard something before I could open the door.

"Dawg, you need to stop hurting Yasmine. Do you know what Montez would do to you if he found out?"

"I'm not hurting her; she knows that we are only friends with benefits—"

"Stop denying the fact that you are in love with her, Jey; Liv doesn't have enough aura like she does as your big brother. I'm saying you need to fucking choose and grow a pair,"

I smirked while snickering a little bit before heading inside of my locker room and placing my bag on the couch while sitting down.

I was glad that his big brother Jonathan had more common sense than Jey, and I was happy that he was sticking up for me, knowing how dumb his brother was.

As I glanced up at the TV, Cole and Graves were discussing what had transpired at Crown Jewel and my victory in the final. I had to get ready for my speech on the subject tonight because I did have a part in the ring. In the meantime, I decided to prepare for my interview with Cathy about winning the championship.

After I finished getting ready, I walked out of my locker room with my belt over my waist as I went towards Cathy, seeing the cameraman over there.

Her eyes followed my direction as she smiled at me while giving me a hug in the process.

"Girl, you look honestly amazing tonight. So, how do you feel about doing that segment knowing Liv might be there to ruin it?" Cathy asked as I shrugged my shoulders.

"If I'm being honest with you, Cat, it's going to be difficult to keep things professional because she'll try to dig up something from my past that only I and my family know about," I said as she rubbed my arms.

"I think you'll handle it well out there, okay?" I nodded my head, feeling that sense of relief.

The cameras started to roll as me and Cathy got into our position for my interview.

✧˚° I was in the gorilla waiting for my music to cue while holding the women's championship over my shoulders when I saw Jonathan coming in.

"How are you holding up?" He asked.

"Mentally, I'm lost right now, but I'm pushing through it, you know," I replied.

"Yeah, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Jey. He's so fucking stupid sometimes I question his character, but I know you're a great person, Minks," that made me smile at him knowing how supportive Jonathan was along with Trin.

That's when my music began playing. I got back into character as I walked out, the gorilla, hearing the crowd cheering for me singing my song.

I blew kisses at them, signed their custom signs, and slapped their hands as I skipped down toward the ring. When I finally made it down to the ring, I got on top of the ropes, sitting on them.

I flipped over the ropes while grabbing my title and a mic that one of the workers gave me as my music went off.

I heard the crowd say I deserved it, which made my heart flutter, knowing how much I loved them dearly.

"Yes, I did. I did deserve it." I said.

"But honestly, though, I feel like there are some things that I need to get off my chest." Before I could finish my sentence, Liv's music started playing, and I sighed while rolling my eyes.

"Yasmine...honey... please, girl. The only thing you need to worry about is your mental health deteriorating, Hon," Liv said as she continued on.

"You see, everyone only likes you because you came from NXT without knowing your past, but I know your past, so I'm going to spill it out for everyone to hear in the arena." I felt a lump in my throat, praying in my head that I wouldn't get out of character about what she was going to say.

"Minks? Is that what they call you? Well, you're nothing but a broken girl who was in an abusive relationship with a man who didn't want anything to do with you, and now you're drafted here doing the same thing, trying to "find love" for a man who doesn't want you but wants me instead," She said while doing her annoying laughter.

"Especially what happened in that locker room and what he did to you,"

"Nobody back there shouldn't feel bad for you because you've honestly deserved it; no man wants to deal with a girl that can't even have a commitment or trust issues in the relationship just seems unlikely if you ask me," I kept myself together not wanting to bawl my eyes out in front of everyone.

"Jey doesn't even want you; you may be a pretty girl, but he's only using you for what he wants, and he always comes back to me," Liv said as she with a cocky smile on her face.

That's when I got up in her face along with the mic in my hand before speaking, "You're honestly a bitch digging up somebody's past when you can't keep a man yo' damn self. Whatever happened to Dom, huh? Did he leave you for Tiffany? So now you're trying to get a train run on you?" I remarked, catching her bluff.

"Next time you wanna speak on my past, how about you worry about yours instead bitch, instead of worrying about what I got going on with myself," that's she pushed me harshly, causing me to stumble back a bit as she tried to come up on me.

But I immediately dropped down to the floor as I gave her a spear, hearing a groan escape her lips.

"SPEAR! SPEAR! Yasmine just gave Liv Morgan a Spear!"

"Where did she learn that from?"

"USO!!!"

That's when I heard his music popping off, and I saw him running down the ramp, sliding inside the ring. Checking on Liv, forgetting about me, that's when I knew that he made his decision, knowing that this was all an act, but by the time this was over, he'd probably still be with her.

I just chuckled while rolling out from the ring, heading towards the gorilla. I felt this overwhelming emotion, seeing Jonathan still there watching the whole thing unfold. He saw me coming in the gorilla, so I ran up to him, giving him a tight hug, as my tears began to flow down my cheeks.

"It's okay Minks we are here for you, she had no right; no fucking right to expose that to the world," Jonathan reassured me as he kept patting me on the back.

I couldn't believe that everyone knows about what happened between me and Carmelo. It just really hurt, and what hurt the most was seeing him comfort her instead of me.

I pulled away from Jonathan, wiping the rest of my tears from my face, as he kept reassuring me.

I began to walk towards my locker until I felt Carmelo pull me by the wrist, slapping me across the face, which I held.

"You telling people about what happened in our relationship?! Now people are looking at me weirdly!" He lashed out at me.

"You're a horrible person, Melo! You literally fucking RAPED ME IN MY LOCKER ROOM AND EXPECT ME TO FORGET ABOUT THAT?!" I shouted back at him as I saw Jonathan and everyone else coming to see what was happening.

"MAYBE IF YOU DIDN'T ACT LIKE A FUCKING BRAT, I WOULDN'T HAVE DONE THAT TO YOU, BUT HEY, MAYBE YOU NEEDED THAT LESSON...." I had enough of hearing this shit I was going to walk up on him until I felt two pair of strong arms around my waist stopping me in my tracks.

When I turned around, I saw Jey behind me shaking his head, telling me it was not worth it to lose my job over Carmelo. I pushed him off of me, giving him a stern look.

"I-I don't need you to tell me that! I-I..." I was going to lose my mind as I began to run away to my locker room hearing Jey calling for me but I just ignored him.

I panicked and locked the door, packing my belongings and placing my title in the bag. As I exited my locker room, I zipped it up and put it over my shoulders.

When that happened, I heard him calling for me again. I heard his footsteps as I began to walk towards the exit. He grabbed me by the arm, stopping me.

"Mamas, please wait..." He begged as I yanked my arm away from him.

My voice cracked as I cried out, "No, no, Josh, I will not wait for you to manipulate me and then leave me for her again. I have had enough." I said.

As I began to depart from him, I sensed him grasping me by the waist and placing his lips upon mine. I was reluctant to kiss him back, but I had no control over my own body as I kissed him back.

His tongue swirled around within my mouth while I moaned softly, sensing him grasping me by the thighs and leading me towards my vehicle.

He positioned me on top of my trunk, firmly ensnaring me with his hands, assuring that I would remain stationary. Subsequently, I regained my composure and disengaged from him.

"I'm not falling for this anymore, Josh; you don't know who you want..."

"But I do, though, baby...it's you; you the only person that I want—" I scoffed in disbelief, folding my arms in the process.

"You don't, Josh. You're just using me as a rebound. Maybe Liv was right. Maybe I don't deserve you...since I'm not well put together." I got up from my trunk, opened the door, and threw my bags in the backseat.

"Minks...that's not true..."

"Oh, but it is Josh..." I said nonchalantly as I got inside my car, started the ignition switch, and looked at him one last time before driving off.

I had tears flowing down my cheeks, as I couldn't even see the road anymore. I felt hopeless, wondering if I was good enough for anybody at this point.

I have never felt so embarrassed in my life. Is life worth living anymore? Do I mean something to anybody anymore?

While crying my heart out, I didn't even pay attention for a split second, seeing that I had almost hit a tree, causing me to swerve and feeling the car spinning around as I couldn't control the wheel.

The car had flipped over multiple times, and I felt that sense of relief, knowing that I could finally be at peace, feeling blood coming from my head and lips.

I have wanted this ever since that situation happened to me in my locker room. I heard a lot of people coming, trying to see what was happening.

That's when everything went black.

✧˚° JONATHAN I texted Yasmine, trying to see where she was at and hoping that she was okay because I could tell that her energy was off. That's when I saw Trinity running up to me, panicking. I could see tears coming down her face, which had me worried.

"Trin, baby, calm down. Talk to me. What happened?" I asked.

"I-it's..Y-Yasmine...S-she..." She was stumbling on her words, which I tried to make out.

"Baby, breathe in and out for me, okay? What happened to Yasmine?"

She calmed herself down before speaking, "She's in the hospital right now. She got into a bad accident Jon...I'm so fucking worried about her..." What she said badly spooked me as I grabbed my keys and told her to come on so that we could head to the hospital.

I managed to grab our things before heading out the door, and that's when I saw Jey walking up on us.

"Where is ya'll heading?" He asked.

I was hesitant to tell him about Yasmine and her current situation, knowing that she probably didn't want to see him anyways.

"We gotta go; it's an emergency, Uce. I'll text you later," I said as I held Trinity's hand as I walked towards our car.

I knew lying to him would be bad, given their history together, but that didn't matter. I'm only doing this for Yasmine's sake. If she wants to see him, she'll give me the word, but for right now, we have to make sure that she's alright.

We finally made it to the hospital, and I went up to the nurse and asked about Yasmine. She told us that she was in room 168. We thanked her as Trin, and I went toward her room.

When we opened the door we seen her all bandage up with stitches on her lips, she looked towards our way smiling weakly.

"Oh my fucking God, Yasmine!" Trinity shouted.

"I was...hoping that I didn't make it...Trin...I don't know how much I can take...." She said weakly.

"Hey...don't say that, Minks...we are here for you throughout all of it..." Trinity Hugged her gently as I saw tears coming down her face.

I felt so bad for her. She's going through so much, wanting to and hoping that her life was taken away by that car accident just broke me as her friend.

She was going through it mentally. I wanted to punch my brother so severely upside his head, but I shook that feeling off, going towards Yasmine and comforting her along with my wife.

Yasmine was speaking negatively about herself: "I don't wanna be here anymore guys; I can't, especially things happening with Jey and Liv him playing in my face, including me getting raped...I don't know what more I can take." It broke me and Trin's hearts hearing that from her. I wanted to blame Jey so badly, but initially, it was Melo's fault for doing what he did; Jey just added more fuel to the situation.

"Stop it...Minks, don't say that, please. We want you here, including your brother and Bianca. We care about you," I said as she smiled at us.

I knew Montez probably heard what happened to his sister and was going to be pissed off to the max, including at Jey, since he thought he could trust him with her.

That's when I felt my phone vibrating, seeing that Jey had texted me.

TwinJey🩸 sent two messages.

IMESSAGE 💬 TwinJey🩸: I heard what happened to Yasmine where is yall at? Jonathan: Now it's not a great time to come Uce TwinJey🩸: Tf you mean by that? Jonathan: she's going through it right now Uce and ion think she wants to see you at the moment TwinJey🩸: Did she say that? Or are you refusing me to come see her Jonathan: No she didn't say it but the way she is speaking negatively about herself saids a lot and Yes I'm refusing you to see her TwinJey🩸: Fuck that I'm coming to see her idc what yo' ass is talking about Jonathan: I'm not letting you see her Jey what can you do? TwinJey🩸: I'm the only person that can calm her down she said herself that I'm her peacemaker Jonathan: well you aren't anymore Uce I told yo' stupid ass not to play in her face with that whore Liv when you know Minks have commitment issues and trust issues due to her situation but ig you forgot about that after fucking her for months. 😒 TwinJey🩸: Minks? When did you start calling her that? That's not important I'm coming either way I have every right. Jonathan: I will have them throw yo' ass out if you show up. TwinJey🩸: Mane fuck you

I left him on read feeling frustrated because I didn't want her to see my brother at all after what he did. Trinity came up to me to see if I was alright. I showed her the message between Me and Jey as she looked over at Yasmine.

"W-what?" Yasmine questioned.

"Jey is trying to come see you since he heard that you were in here. I don't know if you want to see him," I said, seeing her look down.

"I don't want to see him until I'm ready, Jon. Please keep him away until I'm ready." I nodded my head, responding to his text message.

Jonathan: Look Uce Yasmine said she doesn't want to see you until shes ready that's coming from her TwinJey🩸: I'm already otw to see her Jonathan: Turn tf back around like now I'm not finna get out of character because of yo' ass I already want to punch you in yo' fucking head for toying with her like do you not understand what Montez would do to you if he heard that his best friend used his little sister? TwinJey🩸: I TOLD YOU THAT I LOVE HER I LOVE YASMINE TO DEATH Jonathan: lose that fucking tone of yours and if you did she wouldn't be in this position right now...but I don't blame you; you're partially responsible for this it's honestly Melo's fault for doing what he did to her. TwinJey🩸: wym? Jonathan: you didn't hear what yo' girlfriend said tonight in that ring? How Carmelo raped Yasmine in her locker room before getting drafted onto the blue brand? Or was you to worried about getting some pussy? TwinJey🩸: Fuck you and no I didn't know that happened to her... Jonathan: Go home Jey honestly...I'm not finna argue with you tonight Me and Trin have to worry about Yasmine right now

I sighed, going back to check up on Yasmine. Seeing that she was sleeping, I told Trin to go home for the night and that I'd watch her until Montez came.

She kissed me on the lips before heading out. I turned on the TV next to the table and began watching a movie.

I looked over at my friend, sleeping soundly as the monitor was beeping. I prayed to God that he wouldn't show up because it would just cause issues.

But all my thoughts were interrupted when I heard banging on the door. I know that bang. I cursed under my breath, getting up from the couch while looking through the peephole and seeing Jey standing there.

'Fuck bro, I told his ass not to come, especially when she said she didn't want to see him.'

I opened the door slightly, seeing him standing there, trying to push through. I managed to slip through the crack, shutting the door behind me while giving him a stern look.

I pushed him harshly, getting up in his face.

"What the fuck are you doing here? I told yo' ass bro I fucking told you," I rasped.

I saw him clenching his teeth before cranking his neck, "And I told you that I was coming, either way, to see her now move out of the way," I refused as I pushed him harshly, causing him to stumble back a bit, which nurses took notice of that.

He ran up to me, grabbing me up by the hem of my shirt, feeling all of his anger coming onto me. I picked him up and slammed her down on the ground while getting on top of him and punching his head in.

We switched places as he did the same with me I end up shielding myself from his hits as I pushed him off of me giving him a right hook to the cheek.

That's when we saw the cops coming to break us up, and I saw blood dripping down his face.

"Yo,' ass never listen. She said she didn't want to see you until she was ready!" I shouted at him.

"Fuck you!" he shouted back as the cops dragged him out of the hospital.

I went back inside the room, still seeing Yasmine sleeping. I felt myself Yawning and getting tired as I turned off the TV and the lights.

I got comfortable with an extra blanket that was nearby, reclined the chair back, and drifted off to sleep.

SOMETHING BOUT' US

A/n: I hate how Yasmine is going through this...and Liv had no right to speak on her situation, but will that effect that Yasmine have on Jey change him?

But I hope yall enjoy this double update lmk in the comments below.

STAY UCEY.

[the-ace-with-spades]

List of Works-In-Progress I'm still intending to write/actively writing 📃✨

or my accountability list to look at in a few months...

last updated: 09/04/24

Fandoms: 🚒 9-1-1 [5-7 works], ✈️ Top Gun (movies) [9 works], 🔪CoD (reboot only for now) [4 works]

Already posted on AO3, ongoing works:

✈️ Top Gun, hangster — (sometimes I feel) like a monkey pilot, trans!Rooster fic with a hangster confrontation (and getting back together), 6 years after Rooster's transition. When recalled to Top Gun. #(sif) lamp tag

✈️ Top Gun, hangster, slow down (you're doing fine) — Rooster-centric/character study fic with Getting Back Together trope and past-hangster flashbacks and icemav as parents #slow down tag

✈️ Top Gun, hangster — just hold my hand, outsider Mav POV, kind TG:M retelling AU

Bradley and Jake are married and have four kids and Mav didn't know about any of it until the special detachment because he and Bradley haven't talked in years. Things happen and Mav gets to be a grandpa. (vague, unspecified kind of mpreg is in this story)

*

Planned out and started sequels/bonuses, not posted yet:

✈️ Top Gun, icemav — bonus for slow down (you're doing fine)

It is the 5+1 icemav prequel from the slow down universe I talked about, I just don't seem to finish it (it's really hard to write Ice POV...)

The 5 times Ice waited for Mav to be ready and 1 time Mav realized he'd been ready for a while.

✈️ Top Gun, hangster — sequel for slow down (you're doing fine)

The weeks after Bradley and Jake decide to try being together again, mostly trying to figure out how to be together in a way that is healthier and more honest. Including meeting the parents (icemav), meeting the sister (Jake's), and Nat's judgment.

✈️ Top Gun, hangster — sparks (working title), sequel/bonus for ignition, the firefighter! Bradley AU #ignition tag

Done in snippets/drabbles. The adventures of firefighter!Bradley and still a naval aviator!Jake, which would include the world cockblocking them from finally going on their first date (5 times they had to cancel their date, and 1 time didn't), the awkward first times, as well as Bradley lecturing Jake on safety a little bit too often (and Jake finding it hot...)

*

Started writing, but haven't posted yet and don't know if I'll ever finish it even if I want to:

🔪 CoD, ghostsoap — exhumation, different first meeting and (kinda) secret identity AU — overview here, a snippet here

Written in a flashback/present sequence. Soap and Ghost met when they were just Johnny and Simon, starting in the Army. From dates, to sharing a Manchester flat, ending with Simon being MIA in Mexico for months, they'd been together through a lot. But the Christmas Eve Simon's family, bar Johnny, is killed, he chooses to die with them and never put anyone in danger. Years pass, and Soap joins TF-141.

🔪 CoD, ghostsoap — don't shoot me, santa, first Christmas Ghost spends with the MacTavish family (and first Christmas he spends with anyone in almost 10 years) and all its troubleshooting — overview here

Johnny takes Ghost to Scotland to spend their first Christmas together. Johnny's family is not too thrilled about Ghost — about the mask he wears, about the job he has, about the family he doesn't have, about how faceless he is, even to Johnny. Ghost decides that Johnny is worth taking the mask off and starting living as Simon again.

🚒 9-1-1, buddie — brand new information, the 5+1 jealous!Eddie fic — a snippet here

5 times Eddie found something new about Buck's taste in men (and was ridiculous about it) and 1 time he found out Buck's type (Eddie)

Used to titled in my drafts 'eddie trying to prove he matches bucks taste in men'

🚒 9-1-1, buddie — the cure series, a canon-divergence au after Wrapped in Red with a side of trans!Buck

Part 1, 'cause boys don't cry, a snippet here — Buck decides to leave the 118 after Wrapped In Red in order to stop defining himself by the people he loves and learn to live alone and both succeeds and fails at it. Includes Buck long-distance parenting Chris, Eddie feeling like a long-distance spouse whose husband refuses to stop taking long-distance jobs, jealous!Eddie, Maddie&Eddie bestism, and people all over the States assuming Buck is divorced. Longest part of the series and the most angsty one.

Part 2, like I'm home again, a snippet here [coming soon??] — future fic, Buck is back at 118, he and Eddie are married, Chris is choosing colleges, and Bobby is trying to get Buck into leadership training so he can retire. And then, Eddie enters what Buck and Chris think is a mid-life crisis, but is in reality a baby fever.

Part 3, untitled, a snippet here — future fic, outsider POV from a new probie at the 118. Captain Diaz and Lieutenant Diaz are running the firehouse, but their family, including kids, Buck's not-dad and retired captain Bobby, keep on popping up and confusing the new probie. Buck also pulls a Bobby and 'adopts' the new probie.

Parts probably won't be posted in order.

🚒 9-1-1, buddie — accidental trans pregnancy, a short one-shot based on a meme post.

Buck is nauseous, Chim makes a joke (not knowing Buck is trans and have been dating Eddie for a few months now), and Eddie has a metaphorical heart attack at the table.

🚒 9-1-1, buddie — Buck wants to be a parent and thanks to Connor, he realizes he can be a parent without finding a partner first — overview here

The most ridiculous fic idea I've had the desire to write. Involves trans Buck, sperm donor arc in reverse, Eddie doing mental summersaults to be said sperm donor.

🚒 9-1-1, buddie — AU for the post-lawsuit arc, with buddie already being a couple before the lawsuit — snippet here [coming soon??]

Buck takes the settlement and becomes a (maybe temporary) househusband/stay-at-home-dad. This would be centred on Buck, but would not have the crew bashing, but rather a realistic view on how everyone feels and how the lawsuit and settlement deal would affect the team, etc.

✈️ Top Gun, hangster — with arms wide open, omegaverse mpreg that follows the TG:M storyline (kinda) — overview here

(in my head, this fic is very soap opera-like, but I like it this way so...) Bradley and Jake had been together 7 years with no mating, no marriage, and or no even just meeting Jake's family, and Bradley was okay with it. Until he found out he was pregnant. So when Jake doesn't want anything to change, Bradley leaves and seeks help from the only person he can think of — Ice. Cue the wayward son getting reconciled, a few months passing, and by the time Bradley meets Jake again, he's six months pregnant.

*

Drafted only but I still want to write it sometime:

✈️ Top Gun, hangster — Pacific Rim AU — a tag for this fic is #hangster pacific rim au

History repeats itself — Mav loses his drift partner and raises his kid and years later, Bradley loses his drift partner and raises her kid (with a twist). Mav doesn't leave PPDC, but Bradley does — at least until Ice shows up telling him the world is ending, this time for good. Featuring Jake being both Bradley's fanboy and a tsundere (ala Chuck about Raleigh) and weirdly good with kids and the typical mortifying ordeal of being seen during the drift.

✈️ Top Gun, hangster — sequel for (sometimes I feel), like a monkey pilot, that would dive into the idea of Jake and Bradley starting a family

I'll make a post about this at some point because there are so many ways this could be written. I do think that they're the type that would have an accidental pregnancy, but there are so many ways this could happen (on deployment, right before deployment, cryptic pregnancy, with some miscommunication involved - I think they're dumb enough any of it seems feasible)

🔪 CoD, ghostsoap, possible side gazprice?? — blindsided, tattoo artist/florist au but not really, with a misunderstanding twist

Where Ghost and Soap are both ex-military, Ghost and Price have a tattoo shop, and a street away what they think is a florist shop opens. Totally self-indulgent because I wanted to give Ghost a full-body skeleton tattoo, skull-face tattoo included. I have absolutely no other details besides this, this is slightly recycled from another fandom...

🔪 CoD, ghostsoap — with lights off, a longer one-shot about Simon and Johnny still being badass even if retired from the military

Retried, Simon and Johnny move to Glasgow and start a family. While Johnny still craves the adrenaline and works with the Glasgow Organised Crime and Counter Terrorist Unit, Simon rides among the streets as a paramedic in the Motorcycle Response Unit and only shows up when the guns and stabs are done. That is, until the day when Johnny and his team are taken hostage in a terrorist attack and he's the first responder on scene and The Ghost is needed again.

There are probably a few more in this category and in the kinda-abandoned-but-not-really category, I never fully abandon my works but I'll leave it at that for now

[stuckytoyoulikeglue]

Fun fact; once I'm done with the first draft of a fic, I leave myself a little note at the top of the file with a list of stuff I still need to do in order to get it ready to publish.

This list always starts with 'redraft' and is usually followed by things like 'pick a title', 'write the synopsis', 'compile a tag list', 'check the continuity of X thing that I decided to change halfway through writing', 'make sure the bit that's supposed to be canon-compliant is actually canon-compliant and not just some-fic-I-read-that-I've-now-mixed-up-with-canon-compliant' etc. etc..

It's generally very useful, because I have a terrible memory and way too many WIPs, so I have no chance of keeping it all straight in my head (and no one wants to get to the point where they're ready to publish only to discover they've forgotten to think of a title).

On top of that, when a fic begins to approach final draft status, I try and leave a fair amount of time between each rework so I can re-read what I've done with relatively fresh eyes, which means I'm even less likely to remember what I still need to do (and it really is very annoying when you think you're pretty much done and then realise you have to name the thing. Naming things is hard).

Anyway, at that point of the process my to do list is usually just 'proof read' and 'make sure that one paragraph I've already rewritten three thousand times isn't too clunky', but today I found a note on a fic I've been working on for literal years (and which I actually thought was done) that simply said:

Stop stressing. It's fine.

Fine.

Fine.

So, yeah, I would really like to thank my past self for that ringing endorsement.

Guess I'll be reworking that one again, then...

[acerathia]

pink camellias || Chapter 4: sweet william

Chapter Summary:

sweet william: gallantry

Wordcount: 2.4k

Read on AO3 || Masterlist

Pairing:

Bakugou Katsuki / Reader

Tags/CW:

royalty au, inspired by Mulan, war and its consequences, violence, childhood friends to strangers to companions to lovers (i am sorry), Angst, Acts of Service, Character Death (Major, and Minor), swordfights, misogyny, f!reader, kidnapping, implied torture, let me know if I missed anything lol

Note:

this has been sitting in my drafts for way too long. so im gonna post the chapters i have o7

The next day, the actual training started. And you honestly didn’t expect the Captain to wake everyone at the crack of dawn, which was too early, even for you. But you prepared yourself for the training with no complaints, you were too tired to voice any of them anyway. So you washed your face and put some fresh clothes on, before heading to the training space.

The masses of people were filled with complaints and remarks. Denki had made his way to stand beside you, too groggy to say something just yet.

The Captain immediately raised his voice to get the attention of everyone, telling them to start the rounds, the same amount as the day before, and the last ones have to run a good amount more. Instantly everyone took their legs in their hands and hurried along the track. And you knew you could just start running and overtake them all, but you’d rather not end up too exhausted for the later exercises because there were surely other things you would have to absolve. So you stayed in the middle, with no risk of ending up last, but also not exerting yourself more than you usually would have.

After completing these rounds, and walking yourself down, you began to stretch before the rest of the group was done. Surprisingly the Captain even waited for the losers to finish their extra rounds, before he started the next portion: intense physical training.

Following the shouted instructions, you got into the positions, stretching, pulling, stemming. And for some reason the Captain always seemed to find something wrong with your form, often taking your arms between his and correcting the way you’re holding stuff. His hands were warm and you could even feel the callouses through the fabric you’re wearing. The worst thing about his help was the way he seems to trample on your dignity, a scoff ready on his face every time he walked past you, and just for that, you were barely affected with the way his breath felt on your neck, or how big the size difference between you both was.

At some point, it almost felt like his hand was fixed to your back, with the amount of correction he seems to be doing. And it was starting to grate on you, because he made you look incompetent with every push of his, with every remark. But you persevered, you put more effort into everything, fully aware that nothing would truly satisfy him, yet you challenged that boundary, pushed against it every day, with every task, with every straining muscle.

So once he announced that the first phase of training had been successfully carried out, you stood tall amongst the survivors, as many have given up during the borderline torture the Captain called training. Now the rest of you had the true honor of finally starting phase two, the phase where everyone would be sharpening their skill.

Days after days everyone honed their skill in hand-to-hand combat, preparing you for the last desperate attempt to save your life. And gradually the Captain allowed you to use weapons, one by one. Daggers with poison on their blade, swords, claymores, and even archery. Everyone found the right weapon for themselves, despite having the basic amount of training for each mastery.

You stayed loyal to the sword, always on the high ground in terms of skill due to your years of training. At first, being better in that skill gave you the feeling of superiority, but after a while it turned into dull boredom. So, you decided to finally try something new, to achieve a new skill with a new weapon. That was how you choose your new weapon, purely out of spite, as the others suggested you take up archery, and you couldn’t help but notice the condescension in their tone. Still, you thanked them for their suggestion, only to grab an ax, letting the weight sink into your palm before you simply walked past the group of trainees.

And at first it was difficult. The center of gravity differed from the one of a sword, impacting your accuracy, while the weight pulling down on one side made the lifting of the weapon much more difficult. But you prevailed. You continued to hone your skills with the ax, to strengthen your muscles, to get used to the balance of it, and you learned how to throw the ax, so that the blade always hit the target with proper might, how to swing it against a bigger opponent, how to use the knowledge of weak points to the advantage of this different blade. And of course, you trained to be able to switch between the two weapons without a break to adjust.

As much as you wanted to claim this achievement as your own, you had to admit that the Captain's advice did help you occasionally. He had helped you at the beginning with your stance, standing behind you, his palms barely touching the back of your hands as he showed you how to hold the ax to stabilize it as much as possible, and how to have the best grip. His breath fanned over your face as he slowly told you how to swing. Suddenly you were too aware of his presence, but you guided your focus back to your swing, taking a couple of them to get a handle of the motion, before the Captain stepped back and you finally threw the weapon towards the target. Whirling through the air in a smooth motion, it didn’t actually hit dead center, but close enough, so you couldn’t help the little celebratory jump at achieving this hit. But then you made eye contact with the blond, and you immediately stiffened up, trying to regain your appearance by simply thanking him and turning away to get your ax.

“Hold on, princess, let’s cross swords,” he calls out to you, and for once this didn’t seem like a command and more like a request.

And at first you ruminated the thought of straight-up refusing him, but you couldn’t let the opportunity to duel with another skilled swordfighter slip between your fingers. So, still not wanting to give him the satisfaction of outright agreeing with something he said, you just shrug and change your direction to grab your sword. With your sword in hand you returned to him, his own weapon ready in his hand, in a fighting stance before you even arrived close enough for any of you to attack.

For a moment you both just stared at each other, measuring the opponent, their stance. His footwork was solid, heavy yet light, ready to dodge, attack whenever needed. You doubted you could throw him off-balance with any of your swift tricks.

Your gaze shifted, grazing his slim waist to focus on his broad shoulders and his trained arms. He was used to applying force, yet seemed to know how to manage it. A flicker at the back of your mind wondered what else he could use that strength for, and you quenched it before it even had the possibility to ignite into something more fierce.

And then you looked at his face, his tense jaw, and his sparkling red eyes, resembling the depth of the fire, of explosions wracking the enemy line. Making eye contact a smirk formed on his face, plush lips stretching to flash his canines. Then he swung.

Only your reflexes saved you from being cut, shallow, yet a sign-off to your victory. His blade clashed with yours and he pushed. The sword scarred each other, enticing sparks, and you dug your heels into the ground.

His breath fanned over your face, barely avoiding the blades in front of you, and you scowled, staring right into his eyes full of fire and crunching autumn leaves. Honey seemed to outline them in daring lines, dripping down his forehead only to get brushed aside by the slight breeze.

And you were well aware of the grin resting on his face, despite the swords hiding the lower half of his face, despite your own scowl mirrored by the blade, fitting itself over his features. He was so sure of this victory, so sure of your loss, the glee is filling his eyes. The glee about finally putting you to your place, about showing you how you don’t belong to this place. And this glee pumped steam through your veins, melting your muscles, but reinforcing them the same.

And you returned his push with one of your own, noticing the furrow of his brows, the smirk sliding into a scowl. But now your own grin forms, showing you a warped picture of him smiling at you.

With a sudden movement he thrusted you away from him and you stumbled. Before you had regained your balance, he already hooked his sword with yours, like a knot, pulling it tight and away from you.

So you couldn’t do anything but raise your hands in surrender as the tip of his blade pointed towards your throat.

No matter how much you despised him, you acknowledged his mastery in swordsmanship. The way he swung his sword with precision and almost seemed able to predict the movement of his opponents just entranced you. Not that you would ever admit that outloud.

That was why you snarled at him, pushing the blade away, carefully only touching the flat side. And yet he suddenly jerked it away.

“Don’t be foolish, have you no knowledge about swords, or is your head filled with straw?” he barked, acting as if you just put your fingers around the sword without reason or rhyme.

But you were well aware of how swords work, and his words only aggravated you. With a grumble you waited until he put his sword away to jump at him, grabbing his hair between your fingers.

You wanted to kick your knee into his stomach, but he managed to block that hit with one of his palms, grabbing your leg and yanking, taking your balance away.

You simply tightened your grip on his head and swung your other leg to hit his right side, where it was supposed to hurt the most. This time he wasn’t fast enough to block that hit, and a groan escaped him, trying not to twist with pain, not to give you more leverage. But no matter how much he had tried, he lost his balance and toppled over.

In this fall, he saw the opportunity to grab your wrists, as your grasp on his hair had weakened with your surprise. Twisting your fall he managed to pin you under him, but with a twist of your body you easily threw him off.

This time you were the one pinning him to the ground, but due to the difference in strength he overpowers you once again. And you both continued to tumble through the dirt, your nimbleness winning over his strength, but his strength overpowering yours.

At some point you both just flopped onto the ground beside each other, tiredness winning this contest. Didn’t mean you stopped yourself from sending a light kick his way, as a way to still claim victory if anyone asks. And he didn’t kick you back, rather he drove his elbow into yours with purpose, hitting the funny bone.

A groan escaped you and you held your arm close to your chest, glaring at his satisfied smirk.

“Looks like I still won, princess,” he declared and sat up with a swing.

“You only won because you fought dirty.” You acted as if you weren’t the one who had initiated this whole brawl to begin with, as if you weren’t the one playing dirty in the first place.

“Tch, keep thinking that, you’re just mad you didn’t win,” he shot back. He stood up and had started doing stretches to cool down, and you couldn’t help but to watch the way his back bends, the way his muscles shift smoothly underneath his linen shirt, grime plastered all over it. “And, there is no dirty fight in a war, m’lady.”

You scoffed because despite the form of address, he was making fun of you for being naive, in his opinion. You were aware of that, yet there was nothing you could do to convince him otherwise, because for some people your skills didn’t matter, no matter how much you tried. Everything ran the same course, the same way. To them you were nothing but a pretty face, an asset to keep. Even if you had hoped it would be different once you proved yourself. But alas, the situation didn’t change, so you had to act like always.

Standing up, you began to go through your cool-down routine too, your back turned to him, because you didn’t know if you could school your facial expressions if he said anything again. Once you made sure your body had cooled down, you bowed down to pick up your sword, which was stuck in the mud a couple of meters away. Taking the weapon into your hand you quickly assessed the blade, considering cleaning it later before sheathing it. So with your sword in hand you walked the rest of the distance to the target to also pick up the ax you had thrown before the fight had broken out. This one you had to return.

Turning around to return it to its rightful place, you made eye contact with the Captain, whose face for once wasn’t etched in a scowl, but more calm, and you couldn’t help but frown at this rare sight. Your reaction seemed to break him out whatever stupor he had put himself into, and the used scowl returned, even if there was something different about it. But if you were going to be honest, you had no desire to discover what might have elicited that change in him, so you simply walked past him to the little hut where the weapons were stored, putting your ax back where you found it.

After you emerged from the storage, the Captain was gone already, you couldn’t help but look for him the moment you stepped out. You simply sighed at the disappearance, not understanding why it mattered that much, letting your gaze wander to the sky, to the evening blooming across the sky. And the red reminded you of a certain sparkle, of a certain intensity. Your heart shook inside your rib cage. You frowned, was your cool-down insufficient? With that you tried to distract yourself from the blazing fire, from the honey dripping.

[thornofthelily]

@pinksparkl tagged me in this, what, like a week ago? But I wasn't able to sit down to organize my thoughts because I've been busy with life lol

So here it goes! My 5 + 1 headcanons! 5 Redactedverse headcanons I hold and 1 I'm still working on!

(Sorry if these are supposed to be like, fics, because I don't really have many posted fics or wips right now lmao)

1. Will is basically our silly old grandpa vampire now, but he carefully cultivated that reputation after centuries of brutality. There's a reason the gentle-voiced, teasing, Bob Ross-loving vampire survived to become an old blood king, and it wasn't always through kindness. There's a reason he wants to be a good maker, and also, why he's reluctant to turn people (and no, it's not Alexis's fault for being a "hellion")

2. Lovely was in college when they met Vincent. They had moved to Dahlia for regular human school, and it was the first time they'd been away from home. They were trying to balance school and work and maintain their friendships from back home, but it wasn't going well. They were feeling pretty lonely and not adjusting to life in Dahlia well, and that's why they went to Wonderworld for the first time. They thought it would be a good story for their friends at home, or impress someone from their classes there. They felt like they had something to prove. (When their core was awoken and they switched to DAMN, they finally started making friends and fitting in in a way they never felt like they had among humans. They still had some human friends but DAMN was the first place they felt like they belonged.)

3. Not an original but a goodie I think, but I am ten thousand percent in camp "Angel and Guy are siblings." And honestly, I've come to accept "Angel" as being their actual name. Like, their real names from birth are Guy, and Angel. Their parents liked those oddly specific, literal names. Their boy child is a Guy, their sweet (as a baby) child is an Angel.

4. "Dear" (Lasko's listener) first really fell for him during the Inversion. They were stuck outside with everyone else, and though they didn't have anyone they were especially close to inside, they were still scared sick for their coworkers and students. They had always been passively aware of and attracted to Lasko, and normally they'd never risk the discomfort of flirting with or asking out a coworker, but after Inversion, they had so much respect and admiration for him for how he stood up and got people organized and inspired them and everyone else to rush in to take down shades and find survivors, they finally decided to be brave and ask him out, long after the dust finally settled.

5. Asher is actually incredible well-read and loves literature. Before becoming the goofy gamer loud mouth can't cook beta we all know and love, his mom being a writer meant he grew up surrounded by books all the time. He gained most of his emotional intelligence through reading, and if things ever got tense in the pack, he tended to retreat to a book, read the whole thing in one night, and come back rejuvenated and refreshed and ready to help resolve whatever issues people had the day before.

And for the one I'm still working on...

With all the discussion going around, it made me want to revamp my race/ethnicity headcanons. Full disclosure, I know I'm not the best at writing diversely, it's an issue I'm aware of and I am trying to work on. It requires a few drafts of my ocs to get past the same pale template I default to. So, in examining my hcs for the various speaker and listener characters, while I already had a few, I was looking for other characters I could spice up past the same template, and I am working on the idea of having a Philippino Guy (and by extension, Angel). I haven't done much to expand this idea or flesh it out with any greater detail, but it fits pretty well in my head so far!

[madricat]

He was a boy, and She was a girl

A song fic from the song "Sk8ter boy" that i made because everytime i think of this song i think of Carlos. It's been sitting in my drafts forever so i decided to finally finish it because i got stuck on the ending forever. hope you enjoy

He was a boy, and She was a girl. Can I make it any more obvious of how this story ends? Carlos Madrigal was a was a punk though and she did ballet instead…What more can I say about these opposite attract?

Well He wanted her but She'd never tell him that secretly she wanted him as well. However she was known as the most popular girl in Encanto and Carlos was the famous trouble maker Madrigal. But all of her friends stuck up their nose when she said she liked him, because they had a problem with his baggy clothes since he was a skater boy.

One day Carlos tried to approach her, but when he did immediately she said, "See you later, boy"…He wasn't good enough for her…She had a pretty face, but her head was up in space and she needed to come back down to earth and reality. 

Now, Five years from now she sits at home feeding the baby, she's all alone now since her boyfriend left her when she got pregnant at 17. While she was feeding the baby she turns on TV andyou’ll never guess who she sees! It was “Skater boy” rockin' up MTV! She calls up her friends to tell them immediately what she is seeing but when she did they told her that they already know, And they've all got tickets to see his show as well.

The day of Carlos’s concert had come. All her friends were getting ready to go and she tags along with him to go to his concert. The time for the concert to start had came and (she) stands in the crowd. While he was performing she Looks up at the man that she turned down back when she was 16.

Back then He was a skater boy and when he tried to confess to her she said, "See you later, boy" since she thought he wasn't good enough for her. But five years later now he's a superstar and Slammin' on his guitar on stage performing for a crowd of thousands. While he was performing and looking into the crowd he noticed the girl who left him heartbroken years ago and thought to himself, ‘Does your pretty face see what he's worth now?’

Since back then he was a skater boy so she said, "See you later, boy"

Because He wasn't good enough for her. But a few years later now he's a superstar and he was Slammin' on his guitar up on stage.

“Does your pretty face see what he's worth?” His current girlfriend thought while she looked at the girl how broke Carlos’ heart 5 years ago. 

After the show she had tried to go backstage to see him now after all these years. As she made her way backstage she finally saw Carlos as he was talking to a group of producers. She was about to approach him, making sure she looked her best, to try and catch his attention. But before she could she was stopped by his girlfriend.

“Sorry, girl, but you missed out. Well, tough, luck that boy's mine now” y/n said with her arms crossed to the girl. The girl then scoffed at them and looked at her with her eyebrows raised.

“Oh please, your just his friend trying to protect him” the girl says, trying to get past them so she could go see Carlos

“Ummm We are more than just ‘good friends’ ” y/n says, trying to implant the idea in the girl’s head that Carlos was already taken by her.

And This is how the story ends for real. You see, after Carlos had his heart broken when he got regretted by his crush back when he was 16, his eyes actually got opened. It was only then he had realized his friend y/n. He saw how they were always there for him, they shared some come interest, they gotta along despite their playful banter they would have. It wasn’t until a year later around the beginning of their senior year that the two had confessed to each other that they saw one another as more than “good friends”. So ever since then the two have been a couple and been with each other. 

“Too bad that you couldn't see, see the man that boy could be. There is more that meets the eye” y/n tells the girl with a slight annoyed voice as she stands up to the generalizations people made of Carlos

Back then “I see the soul that is inside” they say what they truly saw of Carlos and who he was as a person, not just what people saw. 

The girl stood there a bit shocked and frozen from hearing this, as she wasn’t used to people talking back to her like this.

“He's just a boy, And I'm just a girl. Can I make it any more obvious?” Y/n says sarcastically to the girl to help pound it into her head that Carlos and they were dating.

“We are in love, haven’t you heard the chisme? About how we ‘rock each other's world’?” They ask them curiously on how they were so oblivious to everything.

“I'm with the ‘skater boy’“ they say to them before they finally walked away from the girl and headed over to where Carlos was, tuning his guitar before the show.

They walked up behind him and wrapped their arms around his neck to hug him from behind. They kissed the side of his cheek and said, "See you later, boy, I'll be back stage after the show.” This kiss caused Carlos to blush a bit and give a faint smile as he felt some of his nerves leave before he headed on stage to preform.

Now time skip to about two weeks later. Right now y/n and Carlos are at the studio and are recording the song they both worked on together after Carlos was told about the interaction y/n had with the girl. Using some of the dialogue from their conversation Carlos was able to make it into a song and put a guitar rhythm to it. At first it was originally meant to be Carlos who sung the song but at the last minute after thinking Carlos adjusted some of the lyrics and decided y/n should be the one to sing it. This was the first song they had ever sung or recorded, but Carlos was being supportive of them and was there with them to help guide on what to do. He had sure to help calm their nerves like they had helped calm his in the past.

…

“I’ll be at a studio

Singing the song we wrote

About a girl you used to know

I'm with the skater boy

I said, "See you later, boy"

I'll be back stage after the show

I'll be at a studio

Singing the song we wrote

About a girl you used to know” y/n sang the chorus of the song with a smile while looking at Carlos, feeling less nervous about it all.

This is how the story was always meant to end, Carlos ending up with the one person who always understood him deep down. His best friend, his lover, his rock. 

[charcuteriecrab]

what are you willing to sacrifice for peace? (Part 4)

a Resident Evil fanfiction

For @aussiepineapple1st

Rating: M

Contains: blood, strong language, description of injuries, gore (?)

Tags: pre-relationship chreon, post-vendetta, major character injury

Word Count: 2092

Part 4/7 Part 1 <- Previous | Next ->

Leon was stuck in the hospital for another month, getting more surgeries, swapping his cast for a splint (against doctor’s suggestion), and finally healing. He was told he was very lucky to not need any organ transplants after the injuries he sustained. The only reason they even let him go home to recover the rest of the time was because Chris said he would be there with him. But didn’t he have missions? As far as he knew, the BSAA was almost nearly as unforgiving about vacation time as the DSO.

Speaking of the DSO, they had approved medical leave for him, but only for the additional month he needed. After that, he would be back on active duty, much to Chris’ frustration. At least Leon could make up for his screwed vacation, even if he would have to spend much of it recovering. But at least he had Chris.

“You ready to finally leave this place, Leon?” Claire asked cheerfully, bringing a large, creaky wheelchair into his hospital room.

Leon gave her an unamused look, putting down the clipboard with his just-signed release papers. “Not in that I’m not.”

“It’s only until we get to the front,” Chris tried to persuade, walking in front of him and kissing him, Leon closing his eyes in response with a soft sigh of contentment. “Otherwise they won’t let you leave.”

Leon looked up at him, grumbling without any real heat. “...fine.”

“Ew guys, get a room,” Claire chuckled, scrunching her nose. “It’s about time you two got your shit together. I was beginning to think you’d never tell each other.”

Leon scoffed, and Chris shook his head fondly.

~o~

They decided that they would go to Chris’ apartment since it was closest, despite Leon’s attempts to claim it would be rude. They dropped Claire off at the airport before heading off, Leon giving her a gentle hug before she left. 

It was nice to see her. He wished he kept in touch more, but every time he drafted a text, he would tell himself she didn’t want to see him after the whole Mad Dogs cover up. They had seen each other a few times a year but other than that, it felt like years since they actually interacted as friends. Leon would have to try to rekindle that friendship again, especially since she came to see him in the hospital.

Chris turned to him, pulling Leon from his thoughts. “You ready?”

“Sure.” he shook his head, chuckling. "You sure it's okay I stay at your house?"

"Stop asking me that. You're coming with me and that's that."

"Mother hen," Leon snickered.

"I just got you. I'm not letting you go so easily."

Leon found himself smiling at the words, an unexpected warmth spreading throughout his body. He wasn't used to people actually wanting him. This past month in the hospital would have normally been agony, but Chris visited every chance he could get, often staying multiple days in a row when able. Leon waited for the days he would come, missing the man's presence, his warmth, and his adorable smile and laugh when he was away. Part of him worried that Chris would leave and never come back, that he would decide that Leon wasn't worth the trouble anymore, and as he would watch the door, waiting, telling himself it would be okay, it would open and Chris would come walking through, a smile on his face.

Chris always came back.

They returned to Chris' car, a black Jeep with red-orange rust lining the bottom ridge all the way around. It appeared to be well-used, but also loved. Leon wondered if Chris did his own car maintenance. He knew that the man taught his sister how to ride motorcycles, Leon had a feeling Chris knew his way around cars. He would have to ask him about it sometime.

Leon gingerly slid into the passenger seat, his sling making it harder than it should have been. If he was alone, he would have abandoned the sling all together.

"How far away is your apartment again?" he asked.

Chris sat in the car, pulling out his keys. "About five hours."

Leon nodded, resting the back of his head against the seat with a sigh. 

He had fallen asleep sometime in the first hour despite his attempts at staying awake. The sound of the tires against the freeway coupled with the soft vibrations lulled him to sleep faster than he thought possible, the alternative rock Chris had playing on the radio fading alongside all other sensations as Leon finally slept.

~o~

Leon blinked his eyes open blearily as the engine cut off, the sun having fallen and the car doused in darkness. He gave a sleepy groan, sniffing in sharply. “W’there?” he slurred, exhaustion dragging his words as he looked around.

“Yup. Do you need any help getting inside?”

Leon shook his head, becoming more aware. He could do it himself. Opening the car door, he stepped outside, getting his feet under him successfully. “I’m good.”

Chris narrowed his eyes, clearly not quite believing him, grabbing at the bag Claire packed for Leon from the backseat. “You sure? I could always carry you.”

Leon’s face grew hot, imagining being swept off his feet by Chris. As much as he wanted to be carried by the man, he wanted to prove that he could get into the building by himself. He had been stuck in the hospital for a month, he wanted to do something on his own. “I can do it,” he said, more sure of himself.

He inhaled slowly, the slightly chilled July air lining his lungs and waking him up further. Finally looking around, he saw that there were still illuminated windows, which made him think it wasn’t too late in the night, but the temperature had dropped further than he thought it would have. Leon gestured for Chris to lead the way, and the man nodded in response, moving ahead. He could tell that Chris was setting a slower pace than usual and Leon rolled his eyes fondly.

“We’ll take the elevator,” Chris said once they got inside, Leon taking in the speckled tan-colored carpeted flooring and numbered wooden doors. 

A slight musty carpet smell surrounded him, reminding Leon more of an old house than an apartment building. He thought the BSAA would have spared no expense for their favorite captain. Maybe he picked it out himself. “Don’t think I can handle the stairs?” 

Chris smiled, turning toward the lift and pressing the button to call it down. “If y’want to climb five flights of stairs be my guest but I’m taking the elevator.”

Leon scoffed, crossing his arms the best he could with the sling before following him silently as the doors opened with a ding. He leaned against the metal walls, left arm touching Chris’ right, and Leon fought to keep his body from reacting to the warmth radiating from the man’s skin. Leon had gotten used to Chris’ touch while stuck in the hospital, but somehow this felt different. They waited for the lift to take them to the fifth floor, each staring down the elevator doors, Leon hyper-aware of each minuscule movement of Chris’ arm. He held his breath as the elevator finally dinged its arrival. As they left the lift, Chris placed an arm at the back of Leon’s back, and Leon swallowed at the touch. He felt his gaze on him, his warm breath brushing against his skin as they walked towards Chris’ apartment.

“This is it,” he said, pulling out his jingling keyring and unlocking the door, before stepping in. 

The apartment was simple, a small modern kitchenette next to a four-chaired wooden table sat near the front door, leading to the living room. There was a shiny leather sectional across from the TV and Leon could see a hallway with three doors. The space was modestly sized and cozy, but Leon could tell it wasn’t lived in very often. It lacked some of Chris’ particular warmth; the only thing he could spot that screamed ‘Chris’ was the pictures hanging in the hallway, images of the man with his STARS team, a few of him and Claire when they were younger, and Leon surprisingly spotted one with him in it from one of Claire’s backyard parties he used to go to.

“The bathroom is the first door on the left, the guest room following it, and my room across from them,” Chris said somewhat awkwardly, placing Leon’s duffel bag on the couch. “Sorry for how empty it is. I only stay here when my missions bring me to the States and if Claire’s busy.”

“That’s fine,” Leon quickly said. He didn’t mind. He was surprised Chris even had a place to stay in the States at all, since the BSAA was based in Europe and he was almost always over there. “I’m not picky. My apartment only has the bare essentials.”

Chris looked at him with an emotion he couldn’t decipher, looking almost upset, before shaking his head slightly. “If you want, you can shower while I pull together something for us to eat.”

Suddenly, Leon was reminded that he hadn’t had a shower outside of the hospital in a long time. Using the cheap shampoo was hell for his hair, drying it out more than he wanted, but he loathed letting it go unwashed. He was excited to finally use quality products again. “Did Claire—”

“Yeah, she packed you some shower stuff. It’s somewhere in the bag.”

He nodded his thanks before searching the duffel bag, quickly finding what he was looking for. Seeing his favorite shampoo, he refrained from making a noise of excitement. Fuck yeah. He would have to thank Claire the next time they spoke.

He turned back to Chris, seeing him still in the same spot as before, watching him. Leon had to pass by him to reach the bathroom, the man’s tight shirt concealing nothing of the contents underneath and sending a twinge down his abdomen.

“Yell if you need anything,” he said, and Leon nodded, swallowing. 

He went to the bathroom, opened the door with his left arm, and stepped inside. It was small but well-kept. There was a shower in the corner, a toilet, and a modestly-sized sink. He saw space on the shower shelves for his things and placed his products next to Chris’, noticing that Chris also used some high-end products. For some reason, Leon pictured the man using 3-in-1 shampoo like most of the other men he knew. But, Leon mused, Chris isn’t like other men.

Leon stepped in front of the mirror, eyes widening when he caught a glimpse of himself. His dark hair, while back to its usual length due to Claire cutting it for him while he was in the hospital, was dull, his lighter brown roots growing in and forming an obvious line where the dye stopped. There were deep bags under his eyes, contrasting grossly against his skinnier face, a side effect of poor sleeping and recovering from his wounds, he assumed. It probably didn’t help that he was stuck in bed either. His muscle mass was horribly depleted. Once he was able to, he would have to start working out again if he wanted to get it back. He was already skinny from the year after the C-virus incident, but now he was even more so.

Undressing, he removed the sling and exposed his naked body, seeing more signs of his lost weight in the form of visible ribs, and spotting bruises along his skin, some having faded, others in the process, yellow and green, and some still dark and painful to the touch, mostly around his right abdomen and back. 

The doctors told him that he wouldn’t be able to have alcohol for a while because of the damage dealt to his liver, the trauma still visible even a month later. Leon wasn’t addicted to alcohol, like many thought, but it was a crutch, something he turned to when the nightmares got too bad or he just needed to forget for a while. Sleep didn’t come to him easily and alcohol helped him relax. Leon knew it wasn’t a good habit, he hated that he depended on it to cope, but couldn’t see any other way.

Feeling nauseous, he avoided looking at his skinny, battered body, not wanting to see what he had become, and gingerly stepped into the shower, turning the water on as hot as he could stand.

| Next-> |

[spice-honey]

The Fanfic Editing Process

Hello everyone! Today I've decided to share a few tips on editing your chapters, for anyone who is new to writing or would like to improve their writing. Editing is a skill in itself. For me, it takes longer than writing the actual damn chapter. I think good editing takes stories to the next level and it's worth taking a moment to do it, instead of just eagerly hit the 'Post' button

First, what is editing? You assess the text for grammar, spelling, sentence and detail clarity along with plot development. Editing is often rewriting, moving paragraphs around, switching scene orders, adding or deleting characters, and changing POVs (if applicable). It requires a lot of "rounds" before it's ready. Each step below is a round in itself. Remember: you cannot edit a blank page. If you hate your writing, remind yourself this is your first draft - you will edit it later to make it better or different. But you have to write it first.

I use google docs. You can easily share it with your betas/friends, and keep track of suggestions and modifications they make. They can leave comments on specific passages and words, to which you can also reply. Google docs also has a chat function to edit and discuss live.

Google docs has spelling and grammar check (it's under Tools) that will scan the document below where your cursor is. So if you just want to spell check past chapter 7, go to chapter 7 and use the tool. It will skip anything before it. If you want to do the entire document, start up top.

Crtl + F and look for the specific words that are commonly overused such as that, really, very, just, then, literally, thing and dialogue tags. You don't have to write them out entirely, but if you used 'that' 7 times in a paragraph, you might want to rework some sentences to 5 take out. Readers get tired of repetitive words. You also don't have to banish every single dialogue tag, but when it's a conversation between 2 people you should use them to indicate tone or action. 'Said' is not necessarily dead, but you can omit it 95% of the time

Avoid long sentences. Run-on sentences are okay if grammatically correct, but stick to one idea per sentence otherwise it can be tiring to read.

Adverbs ending in -ly. 'She runs quickly' can be 'she sprints'. 'He walks quietly' can be ' He creeps'. Choose descriptive verbs if you can.

Pay attention to verb tenses. If you are writing in the present tense make sure you don't slip into past tense when it is not appropriate and vice versa.

In your own notes write scene summaries explaining to yourself why this scene is necessary (I use bullet points in the comments). What information or situation is being presented in each passage that is important to the plot in the long run. It helps you to keep tabs on your outline (if you have one). It's okay to just have scenes that don't actually add anything to the story other than the joy of reading them whatever they may be. But if you are struggling with your plot, make sure your story doesn't have a lot of those.

Italics. Depends on your formatting, of course, but if it is to bring emphasis on a single word, my personal rule is to do it once per page. When I copy and paste my chapters into Ffnet/Ao3 it comes without any formatting (bold, italic) so I have to add them back in manually on my final read-through. Surprisingly, I end up adding a lot fewer italics in the final edit than in the original script

The Final Read-through: it is done in your browser, at the document editor of ffnet/ao3. You will catch a lot more errors/weird sentences there despite having it read 100 times on google docs. Your brain just gets used to - visually - to the text and it will skip words as you re-read without you noticing. Having a different font and background will make your brain read it as if it's the first time. I tried tricking myself on google docs by changing font and colour but I didn't find it super effective (it may work for you, I don't know). Grammarly is also good to use here. I disable it on google docs because it slows down my browser. I like it mostly for punctuation.

Read it out loud. Yes, you'll have to disable the cringe factor but you will catch so many clunky sentences and missing words. Make sure narration sounds like narration and dialogue sounds like dialogue. I usually do Step 10 and 11 at the same time.

Any questions, my Asks are open! And if you have tips you'd like to share I'd LOVE to hear it.

Happy editing!

[jasperygrace]

January 2023 Mid Monthly Report

Hello hello, everyone!

It’s been a while—how have you all been? Life’s been pretty busy for me recently. I’m in my third year of college now and I’m starting to feel the pressure. It’s a bit scary if I’m being honest. Time has never been on my side, an experience I’m sure many creatives can relate to, and these last few years have flown by. Some days it feels as if I’m being dragged along behind it, hitting every rock and piece of debris in my path.

Perhaps I’m being existential, but it’s something I came to realize during my hiatus. Life is short, and there is so much I want to do with my existence. So I have the same resolution this year as I did last: to do something bigger and better. What that something is, I don’t know yet. But I hope you’ll join me in seeing it realized.

Anyway, I’ve expositioned long enough. You’re probably curious as to what I’ve been up to since I’ve been gone. Well—you’re in for a treat!

If you’re interested in my work, consider checking out the Masterlist or my Artstation.

So without further ado let’s begin!

~~Project Progress~~

Sharing the Tale

On the Tumblr side of things, I’ve decided that I want to be more open and share my writing more this year. In the past, I would only share snippets I’ve written if I had been tagged in something. Otherwise, the only time I shared progress was through my Mid Monthly Reports.

This year, I want to break out of my shell and put myself out there as best I can. My first plan of action is to share weekly snippets—with how much I’ve written, it’s a shame not to share it with you all, so I hope this will create more interest in Project : Desert.

Secondly, I’ve developed the bad habit of hiding my art behind my MMRs—despite being an artblr, you’d think I’d never make art! So now, unless I’m unveiling something big (like you shall see in a bit ;^)), I’ll be posting my art more freely. So expect sketches! Expect doodles! Expect the ramblings of a madman!

Thirdly, I want to do more with the Youtube channel I created last year. Since I’ve been busy with moving and school, it was hard to create content for it. But now that I’ve lightened my workload, I hope I can start posting there again. So I hope you’ll look forward to that :^)

Art Nouveau Series

Those who may follow my Artstation might know I got a little bit of art done during my hiatus.

So it is with great pleasure to finally show you the finished Art Nouveau series for Project : Desert. Enjoy!

A heart so full of love that you’ll bleed for the dregs. You know how your story ends, but you won’t stop to rewrite it.

So small was the pup born from soot and mud. Time will move on without you, but it is finally time to forgive yourself.

Remember what you’ve seen here, my dear. Though you walk with them as support, you may be the last who will remember them.

You’ve done all you can to protect your liege, now let him grow without you. And take heed, you still have your part to play.

Draft 2

If you remember from my Hiatus post back in September, I was working on Draft 2 of Project : Desert as part of a semester project for one of my classes. Well, I have made huge progress so far! Before the end of 2022, I was able to finish the Pre-Log and Act 1; now I am currently working on Act 2!

So with this in mind, here’s the general schedule I’ll be working with for the remainder of Draft 2:

By the end of February, I hope to have Act 2 completed and some of the accompanying storyboards done.

By end of April, Act 3 should be completed with most of the book’s storyboards done.

During the month of May, I plan on editing and finishing the remaining storyboards. I will also start looking for beta readers during this time.

By June, I hope to have Draft 2 ready for betas to read.

With Pro:Des being at its halfway mark now, I suppose I should discuss what the plans are for the project. As of writing this, I plan to release Pro:Des late 2024, and should my university allow it, publish it as my Honors Capstone. This hard deadline gives the project the urgency I need to get it completed. For now, I just have to make sure I reach my current goals before I start thinking too far into the future.

So in the meantime, I’ll keep doing my thing, and I hope you’ll continue supporting me in the process.

.

.

.

Oh, I nearly forgot!

I wrote all of this still referring to the project as Project : Desert. I’m excited to tell you all that I’ve finally come up with an actual name for it!

I’ve decided to call it:

An Immortal Laid to Rest

~~Goals~~

January Goals:

Complete up to Chapter 22 by February 18th (16/25 total)

Work on new storyboards for Chpt 3, 5, & 7 by February 15th

Create concept art for Clotho and Lachesis (must complete Clotho before Chpt 7 storyboard)

Create a new video for Youtube Channel before next MMR

Post weekly snippets every Friday

Make a WIP intro post (not urgent)

That’s all I have this month—it feels good to be back writing this. I really missed the MMRs.

Thank you for all the support you guys have given me these last few years. I know I’m just a small blog on this side of the internet, but it’s really thanks to y’all that I even have the motivation to keep going with this.

So as always, thanks for reading and I hope you’ll support me in my future endeavors!

[talesofadragon]

Oh my god, Val! It’s 7 am here, just woke up to get ready for work, but I’m definitely gonna bombard you with asks whenever I get the chance because these WIPs!!! Thanks for including me @crazyunsexycool!!

RULES: post the names of all the files in your WIP list, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it. And then tag as many people as you have WIPS.

STARRING STEVE ROGERS

The Mysterious House on Easton Avenue | Longshot Halloween Special ft. Female Civilian Reader

Halloweeen takes a morbid turn when Steve and Y/N decide to investigate the mysterious house that seems to know everything about them when they know nothing about it.

—> ESTABLISHED RELATIONSHIP

Varicolored Schemes - Part 4 | Series ft. Female Designer Reader

We’re kicking it up a notch. Y/N is faced with the last news she wants to hear; the cherry on top of her stale and bitter two-week cake. But luckily, our favorite hero is here to save the day.

—> MAFIA AU

It’s Always Forever | Long Series ft. Original Sorceress Female Character - Currently Mid-Book One

When Nick Fury asks for Steve’s help in restraining Loki and locating the Tesseract, the last thing Cap expects is to meet rambunctious, sassy, and cunning Ember—who, might Steve add, no one knows a thing about except for her name. For some reason, Fury trusts that twenty-something-year-old beyond reason, but where Fury sees an ally and Natasha sees a sweetheart, all Steve sees is a little girl who’s more trouble than she’s worth.

—> ENEMIES TO LOVERS

STARRING BUCKY BARNES

These Forsaken Truths - Part 2 | Short Series ft. Avenger Reader

As the Avengers prepare to raid the latest Hydra base, Bucky has no choice but to face the music, and much to his dismay, Y/N is being forced in the middle of the sound wave.

—> ESTABLISHED RELATIONSHIP

Between the Broken Past and Scarred Future - Part 3 | Series ft. Female Therapist Reader

As Bucky reluctantly returns for his second therapy session, reader is diligent in proving to him that the monster inside him is not what he makes him out to be.

—> PATIENT X THERAPIST

STARRING DRACO MALFOY

Gold and Silver Universe | Long Series ft. Original Gryffindor Female Character - Currently on Final Book

Gryffindors are an insignificant nuisance. They have a hero complex, are too stupid to tell the difference between bold and suicidal, and are most definitely a waste of space. But while Draco can figure out all the Gryffindors in the vicinity, Godric’s descendant, Odile Lucia Everett, remains a mystery. A Slytherin at heart, who spends far too much time with his friends, it’s only a matter of time before she draws him in despite them being on the opposite side of love and war.

—> STAR-CROSSED LOVERS

The Essence of Belonging - Part 2 | Series ft. Female Student Reader

College Professor Draco Malfoy is shocked to find the girl from the park, whom he’s shared some of his insecurities with, sitting at the back of his literature class. She’s going to be trouble—a repeat of the past. He knows. And that’s why he tries to stay away from her.

—> FORBIDDEN ROMANCE

STARRING THEODORE NOTT

The Unforgivable | Oneshot ft. Female Reader

Trigger Warning: Sexual Assault, Attempted Rape

After the fall of Dumbledore, pandemonium reigned over Hogwarts. With Y/N and Theodore forced away due to their blood status, it becomes harder and harder to find solace in the chaos. And it seems the world tilts further on its axis when Amycus Carrow decides to do the unforgivable.

—> ESTABLISHED RELATIONSHIP

STARRING ALEC LIGHTWOOD

Between the Light and the Shadows | Long Series ft. Original Shadowhunter Female Reader - Rough Draft

With Valentine’s unexpected return, the Clave assigns Elite Shadowhunter Amethyst Rivera to the NY institute to bring the enemy down. Maybe it’s because he was never considered for the Elite Shadow Group, or maybe it’s his natural cold demeanor, but Alec Lightwood is pissed at having to deal with a “conceited brat” who thinks she’s above everyone else. But Amethyst proves that she’s more than meets the eye. Especially because of the secrets she hides, which Valentine seems to be the only one capable of manipulating.

—> GRUMPY X SUNSHINE

There’s something so therapeutic about writing down my WIPs🥹🩵 I’m tagging @cassiopeiasdaughter @freedomfireflies @extremelyblackandwhite @avalynlestrange and anyone who’d like to share their WIPs!

Thank you for the tag, @megamindsecretlair

RULES: post the names of all the files in your WIP list, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it. And then tag as many people as you have WIPS.

okay so there’s like 10 and i try not to let it get this high but i’ll start writing one then another idea will come to my head and i’ll start on that one and it just keeps going😂 and these titles might change not sure yet

Sunflower Fields - Sam Wilson

Pumpkin Patch - Bucky Barnes

Shh! - Sam Wilson

Off Limits - Steve Rogers

Long Stares - Natasha Romanoff

That’s My Girl - Steve Rogers smut

Spencer - Spencer Reid (I promise I’ll come up with a better title)

The Proposal - Colby Brock

Wishful Thinking - Derek Morgan

My Bully - Sam Golbach (this was an ask i got a while back and ive been trying to write it)

No pressure tags: @nicoline1998enilocin @nickfowlerrr @navybrat817 @bubbarnes @buckys-wintersoldier and anyone else who would like to do this🥰

[loveshotzz]

Eddie Munson x Fem! Reader

Summary: Your first day at Family Video goes better then expected and when Eddie invites you on a late night drive you can’t say no.

Series Masterlist

Word count: 4.6k

Warnings: Still pretty SFW. Two idiots being vulnerable and flirting. TW : mentions of sexual assault in the past (no details just alluded to).

I won’t need a community label just yet for this series but I will soon so if you haven’t changed your settings please make sure you do. I had one of my fics flagged today.

Authors Note: This is the biggest story concept I’ve ever tried doing so thank you to everyone who’s been reading so far. I’ve never taken on a story with so many characters and moving parts so comments, feedback, likes, and reblogs are all greatly appreciated. A special thank you to my wife @myobmaya and @sweetsweetjellybean for reading my rough drafts and helping me get out of my head.

Tag list: @emotionaldreamer @eddiesprincess86 @bimbobaggins69 @rach5ive @luckyysstarr @h-ness1944 @stolen-in-moonlight @bohemianrhapsody86 @maximizedrhythms @ms1oftheboys @b-irock @amethyst1258 @princesseddie @munsonology

Despite Eddie promising that the two of you would be inseparable you didn’t see him again after that. Even going as far as peaking out your window hoping to catch a glimpse of that wild mane of his shamelessly trying to orchestrate an ‘accidental’ run in. Convincing yourself it was because you were bored not because you wanted to see his dimples again. His van never seemed to be there between normal working hours, of course he must’ve had a full time job he was 20.

So when Friday rolled around and your Chevy Nova pulled into the parking lot of your new job with a loud squeal, you were ready for some solid human interaction. Reaching over to pop open your glovebox, your eyes lock with the rolled joint courtesy of Eddie’s Munson’s free weed. After work joints were a favorite past time of yours deciding tonight would be a good time to continue the tradition.

Your driver door opens with it’s usual loud creak, the cringe on your face never going away no matter how many times it happens. Wiping your sweaty nervous palms on the dark denim of your jeans, the converse on your feet bring you to the entrance.

Bells chime loudly when you walk in, standing in the front you glance around the store thats filled wall to wall with any kind of movie any one in this small town could ever want. There’s a faint smell of popcorn which you find odd considering it wasn’t an actual movie theater, with American Werewolf in London playing quietly in the background you don’t think you’ll hate it here. Racking your brain you desperately try to remember the name of the guy you were suppose to be asking for. The magic of being surrounded by movies finally fading with reality kicking in. You knew it started with an ‘S’ was it Stan? Stu?

“Is there some kind of beauty pageant in Hawkins I wasn’t aware of Robin?” The smooth voice of the boy resting on the counter in front of you catches your attention. He’s got the kind of hair a model would kill for and a smile that’s worth a million bucks. Resisting the urge to roll your eyes, your smart enough to catch the green family video vest wrapped around his broad shoulders.

The striped polo underneath it definitely does the boy favors, with pants so tight they are almost enough to make your cheeks turn hot. Eye’s flickering down you catch the ‘Steve’ on his name tag. Holding back an internal groan you remember exactly who you were suppose to ask for.

“Steve Harrington?”

The smile on his face only widens with a flirtatious twinkle in his eyes as he pushes himself off the counter “And she knows my name already, this must be my lucky day.”

The girl he referred to as Robin catches on before he does, with a loud laugh her honey colored waves bounce as she throws her head back.

“Way to hit on the new girl dingus.”

Steve’s cheeks flush deep red when he realizes his mistake, hazel eyes going wide when they meet yours drowning with embarrassment.

“Oh man, this is awkward. Look that was super inappropriate. I’m so sorry, please don’t quit.” The confident demeanor he was putting on suddenly gone, leaving nothing but a nervous rambling boy in his place.

“Do you always hit on the customers?” Cocking a brow you cross your arms over your chest, the corner of your lips turning up. Just like Eddie you were enjoying watching him squirm. Something about humiliating boys bringing you joy, especially cocky boys like Steve Harrington.

“No-“

“Absolutely he does, you’ll get used to it.” The girl behind the counter cuts him off before making her way around. Her tuxedo top, rolled up to her elbows makes her look like an 80’s dream. With a black tie wrapped tightly around the neck of her button up tucked into her high waisted slacks she’s the epitome of cool even with the green vest.

“I’m Robin by the way.” Extending her hand she gives you a sweet smile showing her perfect white teeth.

“I’m y/n.” Wrapping your hand around hers, you glance back at Steve. “I’ll forgive you just this once, but only because it clearly hasn’t been working for you.”

Robin’s laugh echos again when she drops your hand, pinching the bridge of his nose Steve makes his way passed both of you going back behind the counter mumbling under his breath about grabbing you a vest.

“Look, if this is going to be a new dynamic here. The kind where you two gang up on me, I’m not going to be okay with that.” He doesn’t look at either one of you while he’s talking, rummaging through the drawers underneath the registers until he finds a slightly used looking vest.

“Aww calm down Stevie, we’re just having fun. It’s not like I haven’t made fun of your poor attempts at picking up unsuspecting women at work before.” Robin grins eating up Steve’s irritation.

The day is spent watching cheesy training videos in the small back room that looks like it hadn’t been cleaned in years, both of them taking turns checking in on you. When you make it on the sales floor after a few hours of mindless torture you realize Robin was right. Not only did you get used to Steve’s over the top pick up lines, but against your better judgment you couldn’t help but find yourself entertained by the relentless-ness of his determination. Watching Steve get turned down more times then you could count you were shocked at how fast your first day went. Laughing and falling into easy banter with the two of them, there was a small part of you that wasn’t ready for your shift to end.

—-

The night air has a sharp chill to it when the three of you close up, looking up at the clear sky you still couldn’t get over how many stars you could see out here. Losing yourself for a second it’s only when Robin grabs the back of your arm you remember where you are.

“Everything good?” Her eyes are soft on you.

“Oh- um yeah. We just didn’t have stars like this in the city. It’s beautiful out here.” Giving her a reassuring smile Steve snorts at your words.

“Hawkins? Beautiful? You absolutely just moved here.” Shrugging on his grey jacket he tosses his keys in the air before catching them with a wink.

“You love to show off don’t you?” Teasing Steve was becoming one of your favorite things. You couldn’t help but feel excited about the prospect of making friends with the two of them. Your new mysterious one missing in action.

“No need to show off sweetheart, I’m just that good.” Steve’s cockiness makes Robin give him a hard shove as the three of you make your way to your cars.

“A Chevy Nova? Niiiiice.” Steve heckles with a grin when he sees your car parked adjacent to his. Yours rusted and old, his shiny and new.

“Not all of us can drive BMW’s Steve.” Rolling your eyes, your fingers dig through your purse for your keys.

“Last I checked she actually has her own place. Aren’t you two the same age?” Robin smirks opening the passenger side door of Steve’s car.

Of course he was taking Robin home, the closeness of the two obvious best friends makes your heart swell with a mixture of admiration and jealousy.

“Yeah, yeah keep it up or you’re walking home.” Opening the driver side Steve leans forward arms resting over the door and the roof. “All jokes aside I’m glad Keith didn’t hire someone lame. Remember Tammy Thompson?” Looking towards his friend she makes an exaggerated show of rolling her eyes nodding her head.

“You did great!” Robin gives you a double thumbs up enthusiastically. The gesture making a small smile spread over your face.

You mimic Steve’s stance on your own car “Yeah, I didn’t hate it as much as I thought I was going too. Even if Steve did hit on me when I first walked in.”

Robin throws her head back loving having someone else who’s not charmed by his slick tongue and pseudo confidence.

“Look can we just forget that happened okay?” Pinching the bridge of his nose for the millionth time that day, you were figuring out this was a signature stance.

“Never, I’m never going to let you forget it Harrington.” Throwing him a wink you give Robin a small wave before getting into your car. Eager hands already reaching for what you’d been looking forward to all day.

Steve’s headlights flood the inside of your dark car, when he doesn’t make any moves to pull out it takes you a minute to realize that he’s waiting for you to leave first. He was making sure you were safe.

Maybe the city had hardened your heart but you weren’t used to strangers having your best interests in mind like this. The simple gesture is enough to make your chest tighten.

—

With the windows rolled down the bitter night air feels good running through your hair. Inhaling deeply you blow the smoke out into the darkness of the back roads, Bat Out of Hell playing so loud it makes your speakers shake. Your mind can’t help but wander to Eddie, the nickname Wayne gave him few nights prior seemed nothing short of fitting. The thought of the two men makes your lips twitch up despite your best efforts. The fleeting beginnings of happiness settling deep in your chest as your tires speed down the pavement, doing the unthinkable you let yourself feel it.

The hope you had felt after you met your new neighbors grows ten fold when you think about your first day with Steve and Robin. The new feeling of excitement radiates through your finger tips as they tap against the steering wheel. Singing loudly and off tune, you finally let yourself take the breath you had been holding onto for the past few years. You finally made the right choice, the first time in your whole life.

Hitting the entrance of the trailer park, you turn the music down not wanting to be on the receiving end of Wayne’s annoyance. When your headlights hit their trailer the boy you’d been trying to catch a glimpse of the past few days is right in front of you. A group of kids who couldn’t be any older then 15 surround him, with arms flailing animatedly all of them seemed to be getting into some kind of heated argument. Brows furrowing, you notice all of their matching baseball tee’s. Hellfire Club.

By the time you pull into your drive way you’ve caught Eddie’s attention. Chocolate eyes on you, the dimples you definitely weren’t thinking about show themselves when his lips pull up into a smile. Ignoring the arguing boys in front of him, he shoves passed them making long strides towards your car as you start getting out.

“There’s my new best friend!” Arms spread wide his smile only grows bigger showing his teeth.

His loud outburst makes the kids stop fighting, one with particularly curly hair covered in a baseball cap quirks his head at you.

“Who’s that?” His voice has a slight lisp to it and you can’t help but think it’s cute. The one he spoke to had long black hair that looked eerily similar to the metal head’s that was walking towards you.

“I didn’t know he knew any girls.” The only one without a Hellfire shirt speaks up, wearing the same letterman jacket as the guys from the other night piecing together that they must be in high school. The three boys watch both of you with curious eyes.

“Well, well if it isn’t Mr. disturb the peace himself.” A teasing smirk pulls at the corner of your lips. Crossing your arms over your chest you lean back against your car, the heat of the drive keeping the metal and your body warm.

“I’ll have you know, I don’t resent that title at all.” The wink he gives you makes your stomach flutter and you do your best to ignore it.

The smile on Eddie’s face only widens when he reaches you, standing in front of him makes you realize just how tall he actually is. Craning your neck up to meet his doe eyes, you can’t help but match his excited energy. Your own cheeks hurting from how hard he was making you grin.

“Care to tell me why your hanging out with children on a Friday night? And also why you’re all in matching shirts?”

“Why? You jealous? You want one?” Rocking back on his heels he clasps his hands behind his head making his shirt ride up, your proud of the self control you maintain when your eyes don’t flicker down.

“As metal looking as they are, I have no idea what Hellfire club is. Is it that satanic cult you were trying to get me to join the other night?” Arching your brow with a teasing smirk it was far too easy to slip in your usual banter with him.

Glancing over his shoulder you see the kids are watching you with baited breath.

“That’s a hefty invite to get, I don’t think we’re there yet. It’s the DND club I run.” You can’t help but take notice in the prideful look in his eyes when he says it.

“Don’t tell me that the Eddie Munson is a Dungeon Master. ” Batting your eyelashes at him you play into his ego just a little bit.

When his cheeks flush pink your own ego grows slightly.

“Yes M’lady you are in the presence greatness. I’m not just any Dungeon Master, I’m the Dungeon Master sweetheart. Just ask those destroyed little sheep over there.” Turning around he points at the three boys who quickly try to act like they weren’t opening staring at whatever was unfolding right in front of them.

Giving them a little wave you chuckle to yourself at how awkward they get before clambering into Eddie’s van arguing in hushed voices.

“Are you their baby sitter or something?” Eddie’s eyes widen at your question when he turns back to you.

“Uhh not exactly.” Fidgeting with his rings he stops making eye contact, the ground suddenly becoming interesting.

“What do you-“

“What are you doing right now?” Eddie cuts you off before you can press further bringing his attention back to you, excitement dancing in his brown pools like he just got a brilliant idea.

“Like right now, right now?” Pushing yourself off the car you look down at your watch. Red numbers reading 9:45pm flash back at you.

“Well not right this second but like 40 minutes from now? I just got to take these little idiots home but after that I gotta make some runs. I could use a co pilot...” Raising his eyebrows at you he watches the wheels in your head turn. “Besides I know my Uncle offered up my tour guide services free of charge to you.”

“You’re gonna give me a tour in the middle of the night?” Giving him a hard time, you already know you’re going to say yes.

“That’s the perfect time, all the assholes are inside.” Flashing you a toothy grin he starts backwards towards his van. “Be outside in 30.”

“You just said 40!” The butterflies can’t be ignored this time at the thought of spending the entire evening with him.

“I drive fast, bring whatever music you want. I’ll even let you set the mood that’s how nice I am.” Throwing a wink your way he turns around jogging the rest of the way to his van. The curly haired boy’s head sticks out the driver side window, a knowing smirk spread wide over his face.

“Oh okay buddy, I see you.” His eyes squint when his cheeks push up, a look of pure joy.

“Can it Henderson, get in your seat.” You can’t help but laugh at Eddie’s sharp tone with the kid, the sweet sound makes him turn his head one last time flashing you a quick smile before jumping in.

Starting his van with a loud rumble, you watch him peel out with Metallica back at the volume that got him flicked between the eyes. Completely ignoring his Uncle’s warning, something tells you it won’t be the last time you see that argument happen.

—-

“Are you seriously going to make me listen to Meatloaf?” Eddie scoffs grabbing the cassette from your hand.

“First of all you said I could pick the music, and I told you the other night that I loved him. Specifically mentioned Meatloaf while addressing your question about Metallica.” Crossing your arms your staring up at him again only this time next to the passenger door of his van.

Rolling his eyes his wiggles the tape in his hand “Yeah, yeah, yeah I guess I did say that.”

“I could just go have the relaxing night alone I had planned if you’d rather not listen to my music choice.” Arching your brow you pretend not to be hyper aware of his reaction.

“Whoa, whoa whoa sweetheart, lets not get crazy here.” Opening the door for you it creaks loudly just like yours. Eddie’s face turning into your familiar cringe.

The warmth of his calloused hand makes you jump when it comes in contact with your skin. Fingers wrapping gently around yours he helps you take the giant step into his van. Heat prickling at your cheeks too shy to meet his eyes you climb into the passenger seat. When he lets go and shuts the door you pretend like you don’t miss the feeling of his touch.

The smell of cigarettes and weed hit your nose first, there’s an underlining hint of drug store cologne that lingers faintly behind it. It was Eddie’s smell trapped and encapsulated inside the metal confines of his van. Inhaling deeply it’s oddly comforting to you, closing your eyes you let yourself enjoy it before he’s opening the drivers side door. Still not ready to meet his gaze you begin snooping around. Turning around in your seat you can’t stop grin that spreads over your face. With the back seats removed the empty space was filled with giant blankets and fluffy pillows. Warn in and well loved you could already picture him lounged out with a joint dangling from his lips lost in his music thats always being played too loud.

“Admiring my office?” You don’t realize how close his face is to yours till you turn around ready to respond.

Eddie Munson’s giant brown eyes are only inches from yours and it’s almost enough to make you forget how to breath for a second. The self control you were so proud to have doesn’t exist in the close quarters of his van, eyes dropping down to his lips it’s hard for you to look away. When his tongue licks over his bottom lip, you realize he’s doing the same thing.

“You call this an office?” Snorting your the one that breaks the tension. The breath he’d been holding fans hot across your cheeks. “This looks like Cheech and Chongs hang out spot.”

“I am a pot dealer if you don’t remember?” Shaking his head with grin he finally pulls out of your personal space. “Besides it weirdly makes the first time buyers comfortable, gotta keep them coming back sweetheart.”

Turning the key in the ignition the van shakes with the start of the engine, settling into your seat you reach over clicking your seat belt into place ignoring the feeling of Eddie’s burning stare.

“Yes?” Meeting his eyes you try to read the expression on his face.

“I’m just going to give you the agenda for the evening, you know as a good tour guide should.”Raising his eye brows he waits for you to nod encouraging him to continue.

“First, we’re gonna drive to my buddy Rick’s house so I can pick up some new supply. Then there’s just a few people I gotta drop off too, it’ll be super quick.” He waves his hand as he continues like the boring stuff was done. “But after that, I thought I could show you some of my favorite smoking spots. Places I like to go to clear my head.”

“I don’t know Munson, sounds like you’re trying to get me high in the back of your van.” corners of your eyes wrinkling you can’t seem to get enough of giving him a hard time. Others would call it flirting, but that’s not what you’re telling yourself this is.

“What? Me? You’re the perv that suggested it. I never said anything about going to the back of the van.” Eyes lighting up he nudges your shoulder with his own before putting the van in drive. “Put on your dad rock and light this joint, so far you’re a lousy co-pilot I have to say.”

You can’t stop that laugh from bubbling out of your chest, throwing your head back you haven’t felt this carefree around a person in awhile. There’s a part of you that wants to fight it but just like in your car on the way home, you’re going to let yourself feel it even if just for tonight.

——

The ride to Rick’s house was shorter then you thought it would be, but still long enough for you and Eddie to kill your first joint. With finger tips grazing each time you passed it back and fourth, your touches become more and more prominent as your inhibitions lower. Stolen glances lingering longer then they should, laughing probably a little too hard at each other’s bad jokes. The pure bliss of it all consuming you. So when you pulled up to the house that sat right at the edge of the lake, you were embarrassed of how much of you didn’t want him to leave even if it was just going to be for a few minutes.

“He’s super weird about people he doesn’t know, I’ll just be like five minutes I swear.” Leaving his keys in the ignition he gives your knee a reassuring squeeze. Rings hitting the lights on the dashboard the glint catching your eye when he pulls away.

“Putting a lot of trust in me not to steal you van.” You tease desperate to get him to stay even just for a few moments longer.

“Look, I know where you live okay? You wouldn’t get very far.” Eddie’s grinning from ear to ear when he hops out.

The smile never leaves your face when the wild haired boy runs up to the front door of the house. Taking advantage of being alone you start to really look around the inside of his van, empty packs of Marlboro Reds are littered all over the floors, there’s a half drank big gulp sitting in his cup holder, some kind of red liquid mixed with old ash from a mixture of cigarettes and joints. A guitar pick that’s similar to the one that hangs around his neck dangles from the rearview mirror. His dashboard is covered in band stickers, ranging from Iron Maiden to Wasp it was collage of all of his favorites. Running your fingers over the edges of each one you can tell they were strategically placed with the utmost care. This was Eddie’s safe space, and here he was inviting you to join him in it.

True to his word, he’s only gone for a few minutes before the loud creak of his door brings you out of your thoughts, clambering in with his toothy grin still intact.

“One stop down, two more to go.” Reaching over he puts the brown paper sack at your feet fingers brushing against your leg when he sits back up. Cheeks tingling when they linger for just a second.

There’s a brief moment of comfortable silence that falls between the two of you on your drive to his next destination. Eyeing his pack of cigarettes that sit on top of his radio you decide to be bold and help yourself. Besides, it was his fault you smoked your last one anyway.

Without missing a beat Eddie starts digging through his jean pockets for a lighter. Handing it over to you with a wink clearly not caring about your sticky fingers.

“Gimmie one too?” His eyes are soft when they look at you. Fishing out the two smokes you plop one in your mouth before reaching over waiting for him to grab his from your palm. Lighting your cigarette you look over confused when he never takes his own. His grip never leaving the steering wheel, he leans across the console with an open mouth. It takes you a minute to realize what Eddie want you to do. Unwilling to meet his gaze, with your best poker face on you slot it between his full lips. Ignoring the way they feel when they brush across your finger tips as they close around the butt. Shaky hands light his cigarette. The flame dances across his face in the darkness of the van casting shadows along his cheek bones and jawline.

Eddie Munson was handsome.

Inhaling deeply hollowing out his cheeks his eyes flicker between the road and you. Exhaling through your nose you focus on ignoring the way he’s staring at you until it’s obvious he wants your attention.

“I’m starting to realize you have a real staring problem.” You tease deciding that the only way you’ll keep your composure is by giving him a hard time.

Ignoring your remark he takes another drag of his cigarette before rolling his window down to ash.

“So what’s your damage?” It’s a loaded question when it leaves his mouth, even he knows that.

“Well you just jump straight to the point huh?” Averting your gaze you busy yourself with another hit ignoring the way you palms start to sweat at the thought of sharing with him. Too scared that once he finds out he’ll decide it’s too much.

“Come on, you’re 21 and you live on your own. You left the city to move to Hawkins of all places, there’s a reason for that.” Inhaling the last of his cigarette he flicks it out the window before rolling it back up. “Look, you tell me yours I’ll tell you mine?”

You don’t know if it’s the weed or if it’s the boy next to you, maybe even a combination of both that lets the well crafted wall you had built crumble just a little. Taking another hard drag you let the smoke sit in your lungs, the nicotine giving your brain the fuzzy feeling you were craving.

You exhale loudly before finally sharing something you’d kept close to you for so long.

“Things happened back home - consent wasn’t something that was respected at a shitty high school party. It’s been a few years but you know, it’s almost like you can’t ever fully come back from something like that. ” Refusing to meet his eyes you suck your bottom lip between your teeth nervously, despite your better judgment you keep going. Maybe it was the way he was actually listening.

“Somehow my genetics sparred me from being an alcoholic but my parents weren’t so lucky. It was all so much that I felt like I couldn’t think. Like I couldn’t breathe. I guess I just needed to get away from it all.”

Taking the last drag of your cigarette you finally let yourself glance in his direction. His face is set in a hard line, eyes staring daggers at the road, the whites of his knuckles show with the intensity of his grip on the steering wheel. Anger radiating off of him, you could practically see the smoke coming out of his ears.

Unclenching his jaw he finally responds to you. “I’m not their baby sitter.”

“What?” Voice laced with confusion you have no idea why the conversation is even taking this turn but your thankful that he doesn’t press you any further.

“The kids, I’m uhh I’m not their babysitter. I’m still in high school. You’re looking at Hawkins High’s very own super senior two years in the running.” Eddie pauses for a minute before he continues “You know with a Dad that’s in jail and a mom that died before I had the chance to really remember her what else would you expect from someone like me?” His tone is self deprecating, fingers twitching in your lap all you want to do is reach out and take his.

“Well, I didn’t stay long enough to graduate if that makes you feel any better. I dropped out, got my GED, packed whatever I could in my shitty car and drove to one of the smallest towns I could find. If anything, I’m impressed you still have the will power to go back.”

Eddie almost can’t believe the words that come out of your mouth. With not a single trace of judgment on your face, you were accepting him like he wasn’t the giant fuck up he always thought he was. Like the whole town thought he was and on occasion his Uncle. He can feel his emotions get caught in his throat. He doesn’t know why you picked Hawkins or how you even stumbled upon his shitty little trailer park, but he was thanking whatever gods brought you to him determined to get closer to you.

“Yeah?” He hates that he needs you to say it again.

“Absolutely, high school fucking sucks.” Stretching in your seat you look at him with an easy smile.

Neither one of you push each other further, having shared enough for a lifetime between the two of you in just a few short minutes. The heaviness of the secrets you both kept become a little lighter on your shoulders.

—

By the time you reach Eddie’s last stop you’re three joints deep when he leaves you in the van again. The sound of Paradise by the Dashboard light spills out of his speakers, turning the volume up you can’t help but get lost in it, this had always been one of your favorite songs growing up. Despite the complicated lyrics it reminded you of happier times. Trying your best to be Ellen Foley you don’t even realize Eddie’s walking back up.

“Jesus- you know it’s like 1am right? I could hear Meatloaf from Byer’s front door.” The annoyance disappears off his face when he sees you dancing like a stoned lunatic in his passenger seat.

Completely unaware of his presence, your arms flail around so uncoordinated he thinks you have to be trying to move like this, eyes pinched closed you’re belting out every line completely off key. There’s a part of him that wishes there was some way to record this to use it against you in future arguments and another part of him that wants it for himself, because the sight of you like this makes his heart skip a beat.

“STOP RIGHT THE- oh fuck!”

Eddie’s got a Cheshire smile when he watches the embarrassment of being caught sink onto your face.

“You done?” Biting his bottom lip hard enough to leave a mark, the corners of his mouth twitch up and you can tell he’s desperately trying to hold back a laugh.

“Oh my god, this is -fuck -this is embarrassing.” Reaching forward you go to lower the volume but Eddie slaps your hand away.

“No, no, please don’t stop on my or the neighborhood’s behalf. Keep going.” Nodding his head for you to continue his smile grows so much the corners of his eyes crease. With a roll of yours, you go for the knob again.

“Ha ha ha, very funny Munson that’s en- hey!” Another tap to your hand he bats you away again, sighing loudly you look up at him annoyed. “Eddie, what are you doing?”

Both of you stare at each other silently battling for dominance. Raising an eye brow at you he has no plans of backing down from this.

Let me sleep on it. (Will you love me forever?) Let me sleep on it. (Will love me forever?)

Eddie’s theatrics makes you jump and it takes you a minute to realize what he’s doing, it’s only when you hear how badly he’s singing that you realize he’s doing his best impression of Meatloaf’s voice. His dramatic flare has him jumping all around the empty street, gripping at his chest as he points at you.

“Eddie!!” Your hushed yell is broken by the cackle that bubbles from your chest, taking advantage of the fact that he wasn’t in the van anymore, you’re finally able to bring the music down to a normal volume.

“Hey! I was clearly in the middle of giving you the performance of a life time. Not. fucking. cool.” Pointing at you from the other side of the street he pretends to glare but the smile that pulls across his face ruins his performance.

“Get in the car before someone calls the cops, they might think someone was killing their cat out in the street.” Your grin is menacing when you wait for him to realize the insult hidden in your words.

“Last I checked, you’re the one who chose tonight’s music. Not my fault if I get a little carried away, if anything you should be happy.” Winking as he climbs back in, there’s a new kind of electricity in the air between you two.

A line you both crossed with out even trying tonight, it was just too easy to be yourselves around each other. So used to having to be ashamed of your short comings you both openly accepted them with out a second thought. The muscles in your face turning sore from the constant pull in his presence. You already know that you’ll wonder if tonight was a dream when you wake up in the morning.

“It was definitely a performance. A performance of a life time though? Jury’s still out on that.” The sound of Eddie’s laugh fills you with the kind of happiness that you thought you wouldn’t ever feel again. You wish there was a way you could save it.

“That’s fine, I have plenty more where that came from sweetheart.” The nickname sounds different this time. Less casual.

When your eyes dart to the clock on his dashboard your heart sinks a little. Despite not wanting the night to end the thought of having to wake up for work in the morning hangs over you like a giant rain cloud ready to ruin the birthday party. You wanted to live in this little bubble forever.

Eddie’s eyes follow yours to the clock and he knows exactly how you feel because he feels it too.

“Probably time we reel it in huh?” Chuckling awkwardly he waits for you to answer before he starts the engine. Part of him hoping you’ll just throw caution to the wind and want to keep the night going somehow.

“Yeah, unfortunately I started a job today, well I mean technically yesterday.” You knew you were rambling but the way his eyes kept darting towards your lips was making you lose your train of thought.

“She’s got bills to pay! No need to explain pretty girl, there’s always next time.” Eddie tries to keep it simple. Scared to come off too strong, he needed you to know he wanted this to happen again.

Biting your lip at the new endearment, you settle back in your seat too shy to meet his eyes. The low rumble of the engine brings you both back to reality as his van lurches forward.

“Thanks for tonight Eddie.” Your voice comes out quieter than you intend it to, clearing your throat you speak up a little louder. “This was more fun then I’ve had in awhile, so thank you.”

“What are best friends for?” Eddie wants to kick himself in the teeth when the words leave his mouth.

But when your hand reaches for his, small fingers slotting between his big ones it’s almost like you saw the internal battle written all over his face.

“Yeah, best friends.” You agree with a hum.

It’s a good place to start.

Chapter three

[yinses]

he reminds your ex who you belong to

gojo satoru ft. f! reader + exhibition ( technically phone sex ¿) + some hair pulling + unprotected sex  wc: 2.3k

a/n: trying to get better with my tagging. i realize the community has it’s own sensitivities and i often fall short on that thought. i still owe some prompts and a few other asks but this has been siting in my drafts for a few weeks and i finally finished it up. 

it never fails to come as an interruption in your life, the shrill call of your phone blaring at inopportune times. each one conveniently impeding on time with gojo.  

your boyfriend of four months would give you that tight smile, blue eyes swimming with annoyance, but never concern. because not once did you pick up the call, always reaching out blindly to silence it without even acknowledging the accompanying messages. 

the number changes, but you learned not to accept any call from one you didn’t recognize. important communications were typically followed by voicemail and that was how you dealt with that. but the duration was becoming more tedious than either of you imagined, reaching above the white noise decibel it had been reduced to. 

“maybe i should just change my number, “ you suggest forlornly. it would ensure that he had no way to contact you freely, but it would also force you to reestablish connections with all your friends and family. it seemed like an extreme measure but when push came to shove. 

only a few moments pass before the phone picks up again, hammering down the final nail in your resolve. 

“i think you should answer.”

gojo’s unexpected intervention comes from the edge of the bed where he flips the said phone carefully from one palm to the next. his fingers brush past the two blinking options just short of selecting. 

you shift from foot to foot, not sure how to accept that response. gojo was as irritated as you were but you didn’t expect him to cave first. 

frowning, you shake your head. “i’m not so sure that’s a good idea.”

“why not?” his gaze sweeps over your face, somewhat amused by your discomfort. there is a swirl of mischief alight in those bright blue eyes.  “apparently he needs a little more than a simple no.”

he holds out the device, voice taunting but firm.

“if you don’t answer you’ll miss the call.”

as if there wouldn't be a dozen more to follow. 

your mouth feels dry, hand heavy with the weight of decision. it wasn’t as though you couldn't deal with the situation, so much as if you were prepared to. ignoring had been the more appealing option over confrontation but perhaps it had been your hesitation that had been the problem all along. ultimately your thumb taps to accept the call. 

“hello?”

‘baby, i’ve been trying to reach you for ages.’

the bed creaks but you’re too focused breathing evenly to notice. you weren’t familiar with the etiquette of many break ups, which was why this one was the hardest. it had been a long love that had followed you into the early years of adulthood before spark began to fizzle out. 

“i just answered to tell you to stop calling. i’ve already blocked your number once.”

the attempt to revive the romance before it all fell apart had been one-sided. he’d been quicker to discover other fish in the sea before you had. it seemed as though in your patience, you’d found something better while he spent his time chasing minnows without satisfaction. 

‘yes, but you didn’t give me the chance to explain. we don’t have to be over.’

you should have seen it coming. 

your shoulders tense at the press of his lips at your neck. gojo had a propensity for creating opportunities out of every little divot in life. he lived the role of a jester but held the mind of a genius. gojo had been kind in biting his lip to bare down on the jealousy simmering down beneath.

he gives you a brief grace period as his slender fingers tap the mute button then his lips return to your ear. “if you want this, get onto the bed and place the phone above your head with the speaker on.”

an immediate protest flies to your lips but doesn’t quite make it to fruition. what he’s suggestion goes beyond sexual barriers you’d set up thus far. gojo had a knack for pushing them and helping you discover new fantasies and hidden pleasures. 

at the first hint of a pout against your throat, you cave. 

so weak for him.

your ex seems none the wiser to the hitch in your voice as you press one knee to the bed, then the other before carefully rolling onto your back. swallowing the waning confidence before it leaks from your body, you seal the deal by placing the phone just above your head after activating the speaker. 

“good girl.” the words come whispered for your benefit as gojo crawls onto the bed. as if his intentions weren’t already clear enough, the prominent hardness in his pants as he slots between your legs is. you can’t help but grow dizzy at the thought of your premeditated actions, all while your thighs tighten around his form. 

his hands warm the shivers from your sides as he slides up your shirt and kisses down your navel. gojo delivers a sharp nip just before muttering a brisk,” unmute.” in reminder. 

the command comes just in time for your expected response though you’re no more prepared to deliver when gojo unbuttons your pants and works them over your hips. 

‘maybe if we could just meet somewhere?’

the sincerity coupled with your actions makes it all feel more one-sided with you playing the role of the villain. he’d been an ass, yes, but surely he didn’t deserve this. 

right?

“it doesn’t matter, were-mmph.” no part of you expected gojo to play this fairly. you choke on the response when his tongue licks a firm swipe against the fabric of your panties. 

‘what does not matter? speak to me. lets talk this out.”

funny how he chose now of all times to acknowledge the issues you had and attempted to resolve in the past. 

gojo words feel condescending as he mimics what’s heard against your cunt. there was no doubt in your mind that he’d completely written off your ex from the beginning. the same confidence from your first date dripped from his touch as he worked down the fabric from your hips. 

not once did he promise to watch his volume as he sloppily wets his fingers. he’s is ruthless as he plunged in two in on the first thrust, palm curling up to rub friction against your clit. any other time you would have revealed in his ability to make you come apart so easily, now you were more embarrassed by how much easier you felt. 

‘is this a bad time? you seem distracted.’

every time was a bad time. that was the point. 

gojo’s tongue wet the inside of your thigh, “don’t let him hang up. you want this to be his last call, remember.”

at this rate he was going to make this your last waking moment. 

somewhere between a squeak and a whimper, you managed to form words against the friction of gojo’s touch sliding in and out. “no, let’s just-i- yeah, no, we should talk it out now. i’m tired of going back and forth.”

the line pauses briefly. and you almost hope for a second he reaches clarity and saves you from the embarrassment. ‘alright then. are you really not willing to give it another shot?’

your groan of arousal is disguised by disappointment but the opposite warms gojo’s breath against your damp skin. “i didn’t realize you were dating such an idiot. how can he be so dense.” his lips smack, shiny with your stimulation.” you must just really have a thing for pretty faces, willing to look past so much.”

you were willing to look past his deviousness right now, ready to let him desecrate you over the phone like this.

“you’re pretty, toru.” you try to jab but are countered with the addition of a third finger as he starts a relently pace. the sounds are so dirty, reckless suckling sounds that had to carry. gojo made sure of it as he twisted his wrist in retaliation over every shift of your hips. 

“i am much prettier than they guy. much better at a lot,” he enunciates sharp smack to your thigh. 

then he curls just right and you turn for face into the phone and keen.

‘seriously what is going on you sound- strained.’

gojo’s chuckle vibrates within you. “poor guys don't even know what you sound like on the verge of an orgasm.”

your voice is impossibly hoarse and not very convincing as you choke out,” i’m fine. n-no look … i only answered because i wanted us to-fuck-no sorry.” gojo wasn’t making this easy. “- wanted us to reach some closure and move on.”

gojo pulls out just short of your building orgasm and you gasp breathy at the loss. 

‘we were together for two years. surely that amounts to more than just moving on.’

it did. way back when the unexpected break up had torn your hearts to shreds. the misunderstanding and lost connections had eaten you out from the inside. left you failing in the unknowns of what you did wrong and why he wanted to slow down your progress.

now it all seems insignificant in comparison the sight of your current boyfriend slowly fisting his cock. 

‘you wanted to use the break to decide if you were ready for a future together and i think we both realized that we weren't-”

gojo had chosen the right moment to intervene in your life and the moment at the head of his cock pushes through the first ring. he follows through in one motion, filling you to hilt as his hand reaches up to fist the short of your hair. 

‘baby, no one knows you like i do.’

the sharp sting of his fist clenching as he hips rock back is the last warning you get before he slams back in. there was more to the familiar precision as he ruts into you. gojo was the better man, but even he felt short to the green-eyed-monster. 

he was relentless with his pace, fucking into you harder with each new whimper you give up. your consciousness is a fleeting cloud, wafting high out of your reach as your mouth opens up to sharp cries. 

‘are you working out right now? your words sound broken.’

gojo’s hand presses into the curve of your back as he leaves over you. “fuck, you should just tell him. get this over with. let him know that you belong to someone else now. someone who is currently fucking you better than he ever could.”

your protests mirror your resolve and you can already feel your lips forming those exact words before you catch yourself. “i-i cant.” that was too much, right?

gojo didn’t seem to think so. he suddenly pulled out just enough to turn you over, hand still holding your hair hostage as he pushed your face into the mattress effectively ruining your ability to speak properly. 

“tell him, or i will. and i’ll add in every dirty little thing we’ve done leading up to this moment. you don’t belong to him anymore and he should know it. properly.”

‘hey, should i just come over?’ comes that voice again, a constant glutton for punishment.

“no!” you cry out. “i-we can’t- i’m.”

gojo decides to help you out. no longer willing to be a spectator as if he could be called such. “fuck, baby. make those pretty noises for me.”

‘is that someone else? are you with someone right now.’

gojo snatches up the opportunity, hand curling around the phone to place it against the tacky sweat accumulating against the skin between your shoulder blades. you can feel it teetering with each jerk of your body. 

“yeah, she is. apparently she needs help getting her point across. if she wants to contact you  she will do so on her terms. “ he huffs peevishly,“ until then fuck off or you can listen to me fuck her doesn’t matter to me.”

his commanding tone shouldn’t sound so hot. you can’t help but moan as he hits that spot just right. 

a high pitched ‘what the fuck’ grates unpleasantly against the mood you’re so desperate to build to its peak. 

“i take it back, hearing you screech is going to make me go soft. don’t call again.”

‘wait don’t-’ his protest comes a moment too late for gojo’s waning patient as he abruptly cuts off the call and flings the phone somewhere above your head. 

“I imagined that going much smoother in my head,” grunts as he picks up the pace.

your mouth falls open but nothing comes out. you’re unable to blink past the flood of light as you melt into the roll of his hips. there is nothing left for you to do but squeeze around him as you absorb each thrust. 

“i don’t know what i was expecting thinking you could form coherent sentences when i fuck you stupid like this.” his voice is markedly softer now, still agitated but gentler in his touch as he loosens his grip. your head turns without instruction, eagerly catching his mouth in a sloppy kiss. 

the tell tale tremble shudders from one end to the next as you dig your knees into the mattress and gyrate your hips. the angle rewards you with an opportunity to ride his cock straight into nirvana. gojo comes to shatter the already broken cry of release by manipulating speed and precision while you chant his name all the way over the edge. 

his breath comes in short rasps as he follows you over, body drawn up taut as his orgasm washes over.  

gojo’s weight is unforgiving, but thankfully brief when he collapses on top of you before rolling onto his side. he gathers you into his arms and rolls you in against his chest. his fingers chase yours and he brings them to his lips to kiss each one. 

“maybe you should have just gone with your idea and changed numbers.”

somehow you find the air to laugh as your head falls back against his sweaty shoulder. he shares your humor, smile sharp with a new prospect.

“or perhaps we can try again? maybe repeated exposure will do the trick.”