#-Though a road trip is most enjoyed in company with your partner or a friend anyways... So citytrips for the time being are just fine!

[lunasilvis]

Uhhm... Plane tickets Amsterdam -> San Francisco -> Philadelphia -> Amsterdam for €750,- 15 March until 30 March. That’s a bargain. What is stopping me???

[stickthroughthephases]

"Un"-Happy Meal

C(S). Reptile/Syzoth x Reader | WC. 1588 | G. Fluff |

Syzoth had still been adjusting to life in Earthrealm and amongst humans who were not the other Earthrealm defenders. Fortunately enough you lived away from big cities and towns, opting to reside in the quiet countryside of your village. Though he was always on alert whenever the two of you went into town for food or to explore, his fascination with the bright lights and greasy smell of fast food wafting throughout was increasing each time he crossed passed with the fast food joints in town. 

The town centre was located about an hour and a half from the village you lived in and a half hour more from the secluded area out of the village where you and Syzoth lived now. You usually saved the long trek for Saturday mornings every couple of weeks, making the visit even more exciting. 

This particular trip into town was different than most. Your longtime friend had asked you to babysit her five-year-old daughter Aria, who had become the unlikeliest of friends with your partner, in turn, was happy to entertain the little one. Having babysat her since she was born, and the other countless times since you and Syzoth became a couple, what was the worst that could happen? 

The toddler was dropped off early in the morning as you and Syzoth prepared to head into town. After securing any additional supplies to keep the toddler entertained and fed, the three of you were now ready to make the trek into town. As roads were still scarce in your village, and most of the 21st-century advancements pertained to the town centre, you had set up a cozy ensemble for Syzoth and Aria, in the back of your horse-driven carriage. Sure it was a little old-fashioned but it was a reliable form of transportation.

Arriving at the town centre, Syzoth and Aria waved to all the street vendors and passersby, all of whom waved back with the same enthusiasm. Sharing their own little jokes and giggling at funny sights, you couldn’t help the smile grace your lips hearing the two in their own world, enjoying each other’s company. 

The day had gone virtually stress-free, Aria and Syzoth entertained each other as you ran your errands, Syzoth carried any and all of your bags of course despite your protests and somehow also managed to carry Aria on his shoulders.  

As far as little kids go, Aria was unfazed by other temptations of candy and other toys displayed during your errand run, but there was always one indulgent activity she wanted to do—visit McDonalds.

Your friend often told you how she could bargain her way out of other requests if she promised to take Aria to McDonald's at the end of their trip into town and it worked like a charm for you as well, additionally, Syzoth had always looked doe-eyed whenever walking passed the elaborate establishment that you figured it was time he try it too.

The step inside the McDonald's transported Syzoth into an out-of-body experience. His nose detected a variety of smells unfamiliar to his previous knowledge and his eyes, a vast hue of colours displayed inside. You found an empty booth near the Play Place so Aria could enjoy playing as you all waited for some food. Since Syzoth could not enjoy human food, he settled for exploring the huge menu and watching Aria. 

The play area was an oasis for the little one who quickly made friends with other kids and immersed herself in the made-up games.

The place was fairly packed so you opted to go back to your table instead of just standing near the order station whilst Syzoth was whisked away by Aria and her newly made friends to act as the bad guy for one of their games.

All was well until to “catch” the children, he had to follow them up the intricate slide area, it didn’t occur to him, until too late, that the space was made for kids and it was fairly high up. He made it up to the highest tunnel slide until the enclosed space shot the memory of Shang Tsung’s lab across his mind. Frozen, the voices of Aria and other children fell to deaf ears as panic settled. Breathing became hard and the tight space seemly began to further compress leaving Syzoth with no room to move. 

Confused, Aria ran over to you distressed.

“Syzoth won’t come down, we called his name and everything but he won’t respond!” she shrieked, worry etched in her brow and voice.

“Aria, it’s ok don’t worry, I’ll go get him down ok?.” Your attempt at consoling Aria works a smidge as she nods along to your words, still clearly not convinced.

You quicken your steps and attempt to navigate through the maze of ladders, slides and tunnels, calling out to Syzoth to locate him.

“He’s in the purple tunnel!” yells out one of the children, who are all gathered at the end of the slide connected to the tunnel in which Syzoth is stuck, trying their own to coax him down the slide.

You locate the quickest ladder and begin your climb, almost slipping due to the lack of grip on your socks but catch yourself before tumbling down. Bending down, you get on your knees to climb into the tunnel, moving slowly until you reach a frozen Syzoth.

His eyes closed shut, sweat beading down the side of his face which was flushed red, arms outstretched with an iron grip on the raised bars inside the tunnel so tight his hands turned white.

“..Syzoth…love…can you hear my voice?” you begin, slowly crawling towards him.

There is a pause, and the only sound is from the children down below, muttering amongst themselves.

“Syzoth,” you try again. “Sweetie is everything ok?”. You stop moving until you’re a mere few inches apart, unsure if the space is enough to avoid making him feel suffocated.

Before you can even register it, your hand moves by its own accord to cup the side of his face, slightly shaking as if it was unsure of it’s intentions, and lightly swipe your thumb across his cheek. You wait for Syzoth’s reaction and when you sense a welcome to your touch, you press your hand further into his cheek and feel as he leans into your palm.

You try once more.

“Syzoth, my love, can you open your eyes? Its just me, I can help you,” you assert but quickly follow it up with, “-if you need it.”

Long lashes lift gently from his cheek until his downcasted eyes turn slightly to face you, panic and anxiety bouncing behind his irises begin to dwindle down from the assurance of your touch and your face that reminds him he is no longer stuck in his past.

The breath he didn’t realize he was holding comes out in a small huff,  you demonstrate the breathing techniques you both have grown used to utilizing whenever the familiar panic rises up from the depth of Syzoth’s conscience, stabilizing him into the present.

“I’m sor–”

“Ssshhhh,” you reply before he can even finish his apology. 

You move closer to press your forehead against his, a silent gesture, one you know he would understand as a reminder that you hated when he apologized for panic attacks such as this and chose to spend a few more moments in your intimacy, forgetting the crowd that had gathered below.

“IS.HE.OK??” shouts the gathering of children, who escaped your mind, equally worried about their newly made friend who was stuck in the tube.

You pull back and instruct Syzoth to sit at the entrance of the slide.

“Do you need a few more minutes?”

“No need, I feel much better,” he gleams readying himself for the much too small slide.

You wrap your legs around his waist and use the bars on either side to push the two of you down the slide.

After a short twist and turn, the two of your arrive at the bottom of the slide with a loud “BOO”.

Scared faces suddenly rejoice to see the two of you, quickly hounding Syzoth to ask if he is ok, to which he assures that he just got a little bit scared. 

As the kids busied themselves of sharing their own stories of bravery, a choral of parents beckoned their children, some to eat and others that their playtime was now over. You, Aria and Syzoth waved goodbye to the kids and went to enjoy to your own meal.

Aria attached herself onto Syzoth and refused to let go which prompted him to carry her back to table as you collected their food. Her attachment was short-lived at the enticement of her happy meal toy, busying herself in the colouring book and consuming her apple slices. 

Similarly your hand found itself on top of Syzoths for the entirety of meal as both a reassurance for him and yourself. 

The day was now at its end, a sleepy Aria tuckered from exploring and playing so you laid her to rest in the little cocoon in your buggy and Syzoth opted to sit beside you as you started your trek back to the village. 

The sun was starting to set and the air felt a little chillier than before, you feel Syzoth hand snake around your waist and his head finding solace on your shoulder. 

“Maybe next time we eat our meal at an outdoor playground without any tunnels,” whispers Syzoth, snuggling closer to you.

*Author's Note*

I've seen enough Syzoth smut for life and I think we need more fluff and soft stories for the MK characters, their life is already so hard, thus I just had to write this for Syzoth when my best friend sent me an idea several months ago about babysitting and getting stuck in the McDonalds Play Place.

[dramamelon]

For Polyship Week 2023! 💖

Completing the Connection

Day 1: Road Trip Rating: E (overall, but not until day 5) Chararcters: Drift, Ratchet, Rodimus, Thunderclash Pairing: thunderdratchrod XD Fandom: Transformers (IDW1) Tags: Minimal Editing, Romantic Fluff, Sticky Sexual Interfacing, Polyamory, Flirting Fic Summary: As a still newly-minted foursome, they've come closer to one another, but one connection hasn't quite fully cemented itself just yet. A surprise retirement announcement from Thunderclash has Rodimus suggesting one last tour on the Exitus for all of them. Really, it's a chance to for a bit of vacation time with his partners on Cybertron's shanix. And maybe it might spur on a little more action between Thunderclash and Drift.

AO3 link in reblog! Sequel to Closest of Friends. :)

When Thunderclash casually mentioned over dinner at the country house that was now home to all of them that he felt it was time to retire, let someone else explore the deep reaches of the galaxy, even Rodimus met the proclamation with silence. Only for a short moment, though. Before Drift or Ratchet could summon words, Rodimus jumped on Thunderclash, battering him with questions about why and when and how…. He ended with a simple suggestion: "How about a last tour? We'll bring everyone," he nodded to include Drift and Ratchet, "and make a thing of it. Maybe invite a few extra friends along, too?"

"Like a reunion?" Ratchet asked from across the table where he sat beside Drift.

"A reunion," Drift repeated, swirling his fingertip around the rim of his glass. "That's a lot of people, Roddy. Especially considering the ship's already got a full crew."

"Okay, maybe not everyone," Rodimus revised, setting his elbows on the edge of the table and reaching over to snag a calcite stick from Drift's plate. "Maybe… just us. How long has it been since you two sailed the stars, huh?"

"It sounds like a fine idea," Thunderclash added, setting a hand on Rodimus' shoulder and giving Ratchet and Drift a cajoling look. "My cabin has plenty of room. Captain's quarters are immense on this particular class of ship. And, I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd certainly enjoy the extra company."

And that had been that. The announcement turned into a planning, turned into the journey itself, reaching a point where the walls of the ship were driving even Ratchet spare. As luck would have it, the last excursion of Thunderclash's career found them a new and exciting planet to explore, the natives very welcoming toward a visit from robotic aliens. Rodimus had been shocked to find they'd never heard of Cybertron or Cybertronians. He stood by, nodding, as Thunderclash impressed upon the crew they were emissaries and should put forth the effort to not create the havoc they as a people were so very good at.

So it went that the Exitus settled into orbit and all the paperwork was completed by the competent hand of Thunderclash's Second. A long needed and well-deserved shore leave awaited the crew on the organic world of tall mountains, shimmering seas, and so much more below. Most particularly, it awaited Rodimus and his three favorite people.

"C'mon, guys!" Rodimus shouted across the shuttle bay, leaning out the open hatch of the Rodpod to catch their attention. "Time's wasting!"

The collection of looks sent his direction ranged from annoyed (Ratchet) to indulgent (Thunderclash). While the first made him laugh and the second sent happy bubbles through his fuel tank, it was the third expression that pushed him onto further obnoxiousness. Unfortunately, Ratchet noticed this and gave Drift a quick knock upside the helm. "Get that damn grin off your face," he grouched before reaching down for two of the bags they'd packed for the trip. "You're fragging encouraging him and he's already insufferable enough as it is."

Rodimus didn't miss the way the corners of his mouth quirked upward, though. Neither did Drift, judging from his bark of laughter as he rubbed at the side of his helm. "You heard him, Ratty," Drift said with a smirk on his face, snagging some luggage from Ratchet's hand. "Time's wasting."

"Shut up, kid," Ratchet muttered. There was no denying the humor in those three words.

As the two straightened, Rodimus watched Thunderclash make his way between them, slinging an arm over each set of shoulders. "Now let's not be like this, everyone," he said in that most genial fashion of his. It didn't go unnoticed that Ratchet leaned deeper into the embrace than Drift did, though this was not unexpected—theirs was the newest connection in the foursome. Rodimus still smiled to see it as it had been a long time coming. With a small nudge to both, Thunderclash urged them toward the Rodpod. "Get on that absurd little ship already. We've got a well-deserved break just waiting for us to get there and you're arguing instead."

"You shut it, too, Thunders," Ratchet said, throwing an elbow at Thunderclash's side, the casual air of longtime friendship and deeper love soft on his face.

Rodimus stepped back and allowed them through the open with the grand sweep of one arm in a welcoming gesture. He fluttered his spoiler wings with excitement—the trip had been his plan. He couldn't wait to get them down to the surface of this new alien world and show them exactly what he had in mind. They were going to love it. Once they were in and finding places to store luggage, Rodimus popped the button to close the hatch and bounded to the front.

The Rodpod was small by shuttle standards, but there was plenty of room for the four of them. Even taking into consideration the size of Thunderclash. Scooting around the big mech, Rodimus had a moment of shock as he watched Drift move toward the pilot's seat. Rodimus leaned into a short run, sliding into the seat with all the flair he could manage. He hissed through a grin as he banged one spoiler wing in the landing process, more than happy to curl his hands around Drift's trim waist, though, as the gorgeous mech ended up in his lap.

Meeting the surprised look Drift shot at him with a wink, Rodimus offered his most salacious grin. "Hey, babe," he said as his engine purred, rubbing his thumbs over the small of Drift's back. "Seat's taken, but you're welcome to stay right where you are. Might make piloting a little weird, though."

"Are you being a pest again, Rodimus?" The friendly boom of Thunderclash's voice from right behind the pilot's seat had Rodimus lifting his chin to look directly up to find an amused smile turned down on him. "What am I saying? I should only be worried when you're not being a pest."

While Drift laughed at the comment, Rodimus put on the playfully affronted frown, giving Drift's hips a little squeeze. "I'll have you know, my dear Thunders, that I am entirely capable—"

He was silenced as Thunderclash's mouth descended on his and engaged him in a kiss that sent all thought tumbling from his brain module. Drift shifted in his lap, Rodimus' fingers slipping along smooth armor. The hands curled around Rodimus' cheeks, fanning over the edges of his helm, very obviously belonged to the mech on his lap. Rodimus hummed softly as Thunderclash eventually pulled away, optics dim and smiling as Drift urged him to angle his helm for a kiss of his own. Rodimus happily obliged.

"Not that I have anything against kissing," Ratchet interrupted, his tone drier than ever, "but if we don't get off the Exitus before panels start popping, we're never going to get anywhere."

As much as it hurt him to break off the liplock with Drift, Rodimus sighed as he moved his mouth away from those sweet lips. "Ratchet," he started, turning the facetious look of solicitous understanding on the medic, "I know you're jealous that these two got me first. Just come on over and I'll lay a big one on you, too." He'd have added a beckoning finger or two, as well, were they not still playing across Drift's hips.

When Ratchet snorted and rolled his optics before going back to stowing the last of their luggage, Rodimus laughed and lifted Drift to his pedes. Which, by pure happenstance, put him directly in front of Thunderclash. Rodimus was nothing if not encouraging when it came to the two of them exploring whatever might blossom between them. And he really just liked the way both flushed like a couple of newsparks with their first crush. His grin widened and he turned to the control panel, flicking the switches in preparation for takeoff.

It was Ratchet that ended up in the navigator's seat beside him. A glance proved him just as pleased with the lingering rise of energon pink in the cheeks of Drift and Thunderclash, approval of the way they hadn't yet put any distance between themselves.

"All right, it's time for all passengers to take their seats," Rodimus announced, grabbing hold of the flight controls. "We're about to get this show on the road."

[paigesmaze]

hi!! could i please request an illinois x reader with 65 and 83, semi-fluffy where the reader and illy are looking for something in a supposedly haunted old building and illinois keeps making fun of them for latching onto him and jumping at every little sound? thank you so much for your time, have an excellent day :]

Ghost Hunters

AO3

Summary: (Gender-Neutral Reader): Illinois is always busy trying to find his next adventure. When he decides to try out ghost hunting, he invites you, his best friend, along. And it seems as if Illinois knows exactly how to reveal your feelings.

A/N: Thank you for the request, Anon! I had so much fun writing this, it is so fluffy. If there are any other requests, please don't hesitate to submit them. Enjoy, Loves! :)<3

Word Count: 4,204

Why you had ever agreed to tag along on the trips Illinois would often take was a mystery to you. The adventurer seemed to have absolutely no fears and would travel anywhere if it meant that he could potentially discover some new treasure, even if that meant throwing himself into near-death situations daily.

Maybe you went with him so he wouldn’t get himself killed, or maybe it was because you cherished him more than you cared to admit. Over the years, the man had come to hold a special place in your heart. And even if he didn’t want to admit it, you were his closest companion. Sure, he’d had partners in the past who he looked after, but he never felt as close with someone as he had with you. He would jump at any opportunity to have you nearby when he went exploring, wanting to share every little detail with you. You found it adorable, especially when he would go on and on about the history of his treasures. It was like his words were coming out faster than his brain could even process what he was saying, and though most people would say he was hard to keep up with, you always understood everything he was saying. You hung onto every word he spoke as if it was the most fascinating information you’d ever hear. Though, you’d never actually let it show that you felt that way, as it would surely cause a rift in your already existing friendship.

But there was nothing like seeing him excited about going on another trip, which is why you didn’t hesitate when he asked if you wanted to go on a road trip to Kentucky to visit some haunted hospital he had come across.

In an attempt to “broaden his horizons,” as he put it, he wanted to attempt ghost hunting. And what better place to hunt ghosts than an old hospital where thousands of people had died a hundred years ago. So, he gathered all of his gadgets into the back of his truck, along with all of the supplies that the two of you would need for the next few days, and you were on the road. The two of you had planned to stay at a motel nearby while you spent a few days going through the hospital. The location that you were going to was called the Waverly Hills Sanatorium, a place that you’d heard close to nothing about.

The radio softly played some vaguely familiar tune as you peered out the window of the car door with your chin propped up on the palm of your hand. You let out a content sigh and shut your eyes as the breeze kissed your skin. Though the wind created a bit of a chill on your face, the shining sun left a warm glow on your face. Suddenly feeling a pair of eyes on you, you glanced towards Illinois and saw that his gaze was glued to you, an unfamiliar look on his face.

“Keep your eyes on the road, dingus,” You playfully spoke as you flicked the man in the arm softly. His eyebrows lifted a bit as he concealed a surprising look, seemingly unknowing of the fact that he had been staring at you for a fair amount of time. He laughed softly under his breath.

“God, you always have to be so mean to me, don’t you?” He joked. “You forget who you’re with. I will gladly leave you to the company of those ghosts if you keep it up, honey.”

Your cheeks felt warm at the affectionate nickname as you let out a breathy laugh. Even with the stupid insult he’d thrown your way, he still seemed to fluster you. The way that he shamelessly threw out those little pet names or the way that he would stare at you with that god-forsaken look on his face always left your mind racing. It had always been this way, you two were the best of friends and did nearly everything together. You always told yourself that Illinois was a natural flirt. He was charming and extremely handsome. Anyone could see that.

You never thought that those comments were sincere, though. You told yourself that he was just comfortable with you. You were best friends, co-adventurers, roommates, and nothing more.

You snapped out of your trance when you realized that Illinois was waiting for any kind of response from you. You shook yourself out of it and asked, “So, ghosts? What happened to finding undiscovered treasures in creepy ass caves?”

“Well, I thought that I’d branch out a little, you know? Communicate with the dead a bit, make some ghost friends,” He joked. “Plus, I spent way too much money on that equipment back there and I have got to put it to good use before I lose my mind,” He said, gesturing towards the odd contraptions in the trunk.

You chuckled as you glanced at said items in the back of the vehicle. Seeing the bright lights of the motel coming up, you were anticipating being able to finally stretch after your long six-hour journey. The few rest stops that you had taken hadn’t done much to help with the soreness you felt in your body from sitting in the same position for such a long period.

Illinois pulled into the driveway of the small building, hopping out of the truck almost immediately before hoisting as many bags as he could over his shoulder. You peered at him from your spot behind the truck, letting out a false scoff as you saw that Illinois had not only taken the equipment and his things, but he had taken your bags as well.

“Show off…” You muttered as you closed the doors and locked the vehicle. Illinois looked at you, a wide grin on his face as he waited for you to join him in traveling up to your shared room. You gathered your keys from the front desk and made your way towards the hallway of doors.

When you and Illinois arrived at your room, you quickly unlocked and opened the door, ready to sprawl out on a bed and fall asleep. Before you could even think to do so, you stopped abruptly, glancing at the arrangement of the room.

“You have got to be kidding me,” You let out a frustrated sigh. Looking at Illinois, who stood behind you, you spoke, “You booked a two-bed room, didn’t you?”

He furrowed his eyebrows and brushed past you, a hand on your arm as he walked by to view the room for himself. There he saw that there was only one bed in the room that he had booked. Looking around once more, he noticed a couch on the other side of the room and dropped the bags down in the empty space next to it.

“As much as I know how much you’d probably love to cuddle up to me all night, I can take the couch,” He smirked at you. You looked at the man, mouth agape as you desperately tried to find the words to make a comeback.

Illinois walked up to you, his face inches away as his fingers brushed your jaw. Your eyes widened, wondering what he could possibly be doing. “Close your mouth, you’ll catch flies,” He said before winking and turning away, leaving you in even more of a mess than before.

“Asshole,” You muttered as your face burned.

The two of you had finally settled down a bit for the night, and as Illinois sat writing down notes in his journal, you were on your computer researching what history the Waverly Hills Sanatorium Held. According to the things you had seen, it was an establishment created in the early 1900s as a place to treat tuberculosis, or the “White Plague,” as some had called it. The hospital was only meant to hold up to 50 people at a time, but as the plague spread, the number of patients held at a time increased. It is said that over 6,000 people died in the sanatorium. Surely, you and Illinois would have an interesting experience attempting to communicate with these people.

After a bit more research into the topic, you began to get yourself ready for bed, and Illinois doing the same. After a brief goodnight, you two finally fell asleep, anticipating what the next day would hold in the haunted hospital. You had never really believed in supernatural occurrences all that much, but it did freak you out a little that you might come into contact with something of the sort, not that you would ever admit that to Illinois. He would surely never let you live that down.

As you sat in the passenger seat again the next day, awaiting your arrival at the hospital, you pestered Illinois with questions about where the two of you would be exploring when you got there.

“So, I looked a bit more into it,” You spoke. “The sanatorium has what’s called the Death Tunnel, basically a 525-foot-long concrete tunnel where they went to dump all of the deceased bodies after people had passed. And according to all of the websites I looked at, none of those dead bodies ever came back from that tunnel. They were all burned or buried underneath the end of the structure,”

Illinois glanced at you, a bit surprised for a moment. “You really cared enough to do that much research?” He asked. You looked at him, a confused expression on your face.

“Yeah, of course,” You smiled. “You’re only like, my favorite person, of course, I care about what you’re interested in.”

He turned away from you with a small smile, his cheeks turning pink as he cleared his throat before speaking up again. “Well I’m glad you looked into it because we will be visiting the Death Tunnel, I have a ghost box that we can use to try and talk to some of the deceased that were buried or burned in that very place,”

“Is that not creepy to you in the slightest bit?” You questioned.

“That’s beside the point, we’re here,” He uttered as he parked the truck in front of the abandoned hospital. Clouds hung in the sky, a dark contrast compared to the previously bright and sunny day. You craved that type of weather now as you shivered thinking about entering the building.

You and Illinois each grabbed a bag out of the backseat and made your way up to the entrance of the sanatorium. Its doors were etched with tiny swirls and intricate lines hidden by the decaying wood of its frame. It seemed like most, if not all, of the windows had been broken, as well. Surely a product of the vacancy and break-ins that had happened on the property over the years that it had been abandoned.

Illinois turned the doorknob and swung the frame open. Small splinters of wood fell from the door as it made a loud creaking noise. You and Illinois spared a glance at each other before you spoke, “Well, I’m not going in first, there has to be so much dust in that place,” your mouth fell into a flat line as you tried to hide your panic with a lie.

After Illinois didn’t make a move to walk into the building, you spoke up again. “Are you scared?” You asked, your voice cracking a bit at the end. You cursed yourself in your head. Your plan to appear as fearless as possible might have been a bit flawed. You hadn’t even walked into the hospital yet, and you had goosebumps littering your skin just at the thought of entering.

Illinois broke the silence. “I’m not scared, but if you are, you can hold my hand,” he smiled smugly at you.

“Stop being a fucking prick,” You murmured, grabbing his larger hand in your own quickly before stepping into the building with him. Illinois was awestruck at your boldness. Sure, you two weren’t uncomfortable with touching one another, but it’s not like either of you had gone out of your way to do something so forward.

He pursed his lips together and gripped your hand a bit tighter as he felt it shaking a bit. He liked to poke fun at you sometimes, and being in a haunted building was a great opportunity to do so. But something about the situation made it feel wrong. It seemed like you were truly terrified about what would happen if you stayed in the area. And he hated the way that you nervously glanced around and the way that you tried to hide how shaky your breathing was becoming.

“Hey,” he began. When you didn’t acknowledge him, he started again, “Hey, look at me, honey,” You snapped out of it, jumping a little bit before meeting his gentle gaze. “We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to, I mean it. I know I made all of those jokes about how you’d be too scared to go through with this, but that’s all they were, jokes. If you don’t feel comfortable here, we don’t have to stay.”

His sincerity made you want to cry. You laughed at your silliness and the predicament you were in. You didn’t even believe in ghosts, it was so stupid that you were getting so worked up about the whole situation.

“No. No, I’m okay. It’s so dumb, we can just get on with it. I know how much you were looking forward to this,” you replied. You met his eyes and nodded, further proving your statement.

“If you’re sure, then we’ll go on with it. But the second you feel like it’s too much, just tell me. And I won’t let anything bad happen to you, you know that” He smiled at you. You gave him a sheepish smile back and the both of you made further steps into the building, turning your flashlights on in the dim rooms.

“So, I was thinking we can try to take some pictures in a few rooms, scope the place out a bit. And then we can go see the Death Tunnel and try to contact some of those ghosts I was talking about,” You nodded your head at his plan. He looked at you once more, affirming that you were okay with everything as his thumb brushed against the hand that he was holding.

You felt butterflies in your stomach, a welcome sensation compared to the fear you were feeling only moments ago. Something about the way that Illinois looked at you and the way that he wanted to make sure that you were absolutely okay with the trip made you fall even further in love with him if that was even possible. You don’t even remember when you started to feel that way for the adventurer. It was like you had always known that you’d be able to trust him with everything, that he’d always be there for you and you’d always be there for him.

After taking several pictures inside of the building with the specially made cameras that Illinois had purchased, the two of you sat outside in the truck, viewing the photos that were taken.

”What exactly are we looking for in these?” You asked.

“Bright flashes or little white circles, I think they’re called orbs,” He answered, flipping through a few more pictures.

“There!” You exclaimed, pointing to a small ball of light in the corner of one of the pictures taken in one of the hospital rooms. Though you were still absolutely terrified at everything that was the Waverly Hills Sanatorium, you had to admit that it was exciting being introduced to all of these new and exciting ghost gadgets and facts. Maybe they were real, or maybe you were just finding things that didn’t mean anything. Either way, the experience was becoming much more fun than you had expected.

“It’s kind of pretty,” You said as you looked at the orb in the picture. It had a soft glow around it and it sat underneath the window in the decaying room. None the wiser to you, Illinois was staring at you as you gushed over how cool the picture was. Of course, he was passionate about his work and the things he discovered, but something about the way that you looked so happy felt so much more fascinating and enjoyable to focus on at that moment.

After you ranted for a moment about the picture, you looked up at Illinois, only to find that he was already staring at you with an endearing smile on his face. That same look he had given you on the drive to the motel.

“What?” You asked. “Is there something on my face? A cobweb? I swear, it is so insanely gross in there I wouldn’t be surprised if I had a nest of spiders on me right now.”

“No, no, there’s nothing on your face, you’re fine,” He chuckled. “We should head down the Death Tunnel. I want to try out the ghost box,”

So, you and Illinois began to travel down the short path that led to the tunnel. You had already clarified with the man how far into the tunnel you’d actually be traveling and agreed that going halfway would be far enough. You turned your flashlights on and made your way about 200 feet into the tunnel before stopping in the darkness.

Your hand still gripped Illinois’s tightly, providing a sense of comfort to both of you. Even though being in the dark tunnel proved to be extremely terrifying, knowing that your best friend was there with you helped ease the fear a bit.

He set up the ghost box quickly as the two of you made yourselves comfortable, sitting side by side against one of the walls of the tunnel. You jumped as the static of the ghost box echoed in the tunnel and filled the air.

“What I said still stands, you know. We can leave at any point, we don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” Illinois reassured you.

You looked at him appreciatively and shook your head. “No, I can do this. We’re good,”

He nodded and switched the box to another setting before placing it in the center of the tunnel. A few noises were coming from the static, but you couldn’t make out any words. Your breathing picked up as you wondered what those noises really were. Were they truly ghosts? Was the machine broken? What if the machine was built to make noises on its own? Questions raced through your mind as the two of you finally heard one word.

“Out,” It spoke quietly but firmly. You two looked at each other, confirming that the two of you had heard the same thing. You both stood up, feeling a bit anxious. It spoke the word again. Then again. And again. Illinois picked up the box, fiddling with the settings a bit before you both heard a loud crash at the end of the tunnel. Both of your eyes shot open as wide as possible before the two of you bolted out of the concrete structure as fast as your legs could carry you. Adrenaline pumped through your veins and your feet pounded against the hard ground, echoing on the walls along with Illinois’s tracks behind you. You could still hear the metallic crashing sound at the end of the tunnel as the word, “Out,” echoed over and over again against the walls.

After the longest twenty seconds of your life, you and Illinois finally made it out of the tunnel, pausing shortly before you realized what had just happened.

”The truck, get to the truck,” You breathed out heavily as you began running again. Getting to the truck quickly, you two jumped in and pulled out of the driveway of the sanatorium swiftly. You and Illinois shared panicked glances as you both fought to catch your breath.

“Holy shit, what was that?” You spoke up after a minute.

“I have absolutely no idea,” Illinois replied. He seemed to be almost as freaked out as you as he had the same questions racing through his mind. Few words were spoken between the two of you as you finally made your way back to the motel, the sun setting in the distance. One more night in this place and you’d finally be able to go home. At least you wouldn’t have to visit that terrifying place again.

When you entered your shared room, you anxiously stood in front of the couch that Illinois had thrown himself down on.

“So, let me get this straight,” You started. “I’m going to pretend like we didn’t get verbally assaulted by a ghost, and I’m going to pretend that I didn’t hear metal slamming against the wall of a pitch black tunnel at a haunted hospital. That did not happen,” You paced around the room.

Illinois watched you carefully and stood up slowly, to not scare you any further.

“Honey, hey, stop,” He placed his hands on your shoulders to stop you from pacing around the room anymore. “You’re okay, we’re not there anymore. Nothing is going to happen, trust me,”

You calmed down a bit as you looked at him. You let out a deep sigh as you pressed your forehead to his chest, relaxing in his embrace. He wrapped his arms more comfortable around you and pulled you closer.

“I should have had us leave the second that I saw how nervous you were when we got into that building,” Illinois whispered, feeling like part of this was his fault for dragging you along.

“It’s not your fault, Illinois, I promise. I told you I was okay with it. You didn’t do anything wrong. Let’s just stick to finding treasure. No more ghosts, or supernatural shit, alright? I think we find ourselves in near-death situations enough already, there’s no need to mix ghosts in with that,”

Both of you chuckled as he pulled away from you, nodding. “You’re right, I think ending up in monkey heaven is much better than dying at the hands of an angry ghost,”

“Who knew that ghost hunting could be so tiring?” You groaned as you planted yourself face down on the bed. Illinois chuckled at you quietly before making his way towards the bathroom to get himself ready for bed.

You two made yourselves comfortable. You laid on the bed while Illinois remained on the couch. You tossed and turned for nearly an hour. The room was dark, and all of the lights were off, save for the dim lamp that Illinois had opted to keep on near the entrance of the room. Every creak you heard from the walls, and every noise that the neighboring guests made caused a surge of panic to rise in you each time.

“Illinois, are you awake?” You whispered. Nothing but silence filled the room for a moment, leading you to believe that Illinois was already asleep. You turned once more to try and find a new position that would hopefully help you fall asleep before you heard a reply.

“Yeah, I’m up. You can’t sleep either?” Illinois asked groggily. You heard some shuffling around before you replied with a quiet, “No.”

Just as you were about to turn to face him on the couch, you felt a dip in the bed before his arms snaked around your waist, pulling you towards him. You froze up for a moment before relaxing in his arms and letting out a content sigh.

You turned around in his arms, meeting his gaze. You waited for a moment, wondering if you should say anything. Before you could even think, you started speaking.

“You know what’s stupid?” You asked Illinois. He hummed, urging you to continue. “The only time that I felt like everything was really okay today was when you were holding my hand. I don’t know. It was strangely comforting.” You looked away from him as you anticipated his reply. His arms tightened around your waist comfortingly.

“That’s not stupid,” He began. “You know, that was all you. The hand holding. I’ve got to say, I was a bit shocked when you did that. Blatant flirting is usually my thing,” He chuckled.

“What? I, I was not flirting, I was just-” You started, sputtering out nonsense. You were cut off by his lips meeting yours in a gentle kiss, his lips brushing yours gently. Once you realized what was happening, you quickly kissed him back, eagerly sealing your lips to his as you wrapped your arms around his neck, one hand tangled in his hair. Illinois chuckled into the kiss before the two of you hesitantly pulled away from each other with grins on your faces.

“You’re cute when you ramble, did you know that?” He mumbled.

You groaned at him while he laughed at your antics and pulled you closer to him, tucking you gently underneath his chin before pressing a kiss to the crown of your head.

Maybe joining him on these trips wasn’t so bad after all.

[lovesanmotion]

ateez reacts: in a serious arguement with s/o

💌 This is: requested

Hongjoong: 

When you met Hongjoong, it was the happiest day of your life. Everytime you get sad, your brain takes a trip down memory lane and reminds you of the day when you met him. Of course it brings a smile on your face. However, a happy memory can no longer bring happiness to you. 

Arguement after arguement, nothing seems to be coming to peace between you and Hongjoong. One heated night, tensions arose once more between the two of you, arguing how Hongjoong so desperately wants a child but you say you still weren’t ready. 

“We’ve been married for three fucking years! If only I knew our marriage is going into a shithole, I shouldn’t have married you or should have opted for a second marriage!” Hongjoong slams his fist onto the wooden table that broke and slid down on the floor. Tears brimmed your eyes at the impact and weight of his words. You felt guilty and to blame for. 

“Y-Y/N- I didn’t mean that..” Hongjoong spoke, his features softening as he tries to approach you. But you looked up to him, your visions blurry at the tears ooling in your eyes. 

“No it’s okay. It’s really okay. It looks like you’ve made up your mind and why should I get in the way? I hope you’re happy with the choice you’ve made.” You smiled at him, despite the pain and emotional stress you’ve pent up for weeks, you let it all out by crying yourself to sleep, And when the morning comes, you quietly slip out of the shared apartment and Hongjoong’s life. 

Seonghwa: 

Days spent with Seonghwa always felt like walking into a flowery road that would lead you two into happiness. And the road is endless, you were sure that he’s the one for you. But you spoke too soon. 

Now, throwing plates are being thrown at one another, dodging those plates as they hit on the walls and picture frames. As Seonghwa throws a plate, it narrowly misses you and smashes into the picture frame that you took on your first date. And suddenly, the world made you two stop and stare and take in everything that happened for the past few minutes. Neither of you two could speak, let alone look at each other in the eye. What happened, happened. And now the silence spoke for the two of you. 

Yunho: 

Your parents were against you dating Yunho. Why? They know for a fact that relationships between an idol and non idol partner were uncommon and would never work due to the fact that the idol’s schedules are hectic and almost has no room for them to breathe into their personal lives. But you still wanted to be with Yunho. At the same time, Yunho’s parents were aginst him dating you as well. Why? To put it simply, you are non idol. They want someone for him who walks down the runways or sings in sold out arenas, but you didn’t fit in any category. 

And lately, it seemed to you that Yunho was slowly giving in to his parents’ wishes. The photos he uploads on his Instagram stories includes different women every night, all of them are not like you. It pains you that this silent arguement kept on going between you two. And one day, while on a walk with Yunho, you stopped walking. You were somehow hoping that he would stop from his tracks and look back at you, if you were catching up to. But to see him continue walking without even going back to look at you is already enough to know where you two are heading. 

Yeosang: 

Yeosang coming into your life was the best thing that has ever happened to your existence up to day. Though you two have different worlds, you solely depended your life and happiness to him. And the world seemed to be in favor of you, after a year of dating, he got down on one knee and married you in front of hundreds of people. You were the happiest, nothing in this world could ever make you sad, as long as Yeosang’s beside you. 

But what if your world’s the one that decides to hurt you? Weeks after the marriage, Yeosang had a complete change of heart. He stopped coming home to you and was always spotted with a certain someone whenever he is outside. Whenever you confronted to him about it, he tells you not to worry. But you knew it was a lie and without knowing, you unconsciously raised your hand and swung it across his face. 

Was it enough to make him feel the pain you feel? Maybe not. But was worth it? Yes. You hated yourself for being not good enough, but most importantly, you hated yourself for depending your happines to a person. 

San: 

They say “nothing lasts forever, nothing stays the same”, but you love to disagree with that saying. What about the elderly couples who found love and comfort in each other and are growing old together? What about those couples who, after so many lifetimes, still find each other in different life times? 

Being young and naive has its cons, but you believe in the idea of love and all its forms. And that is what brought yout to believe that San is the one for you. Talking about your plans together, what you two would want to be in the long run, how many children he wants to have. You are young and naive but believe in the idea of love and all its forms. 

But when everything comes spiraling down, a false rumour spreading against you and San chooses to believe whoever spreaded the rumour and never listened to any word you say made you think about the saying. You never confronted San anymore as you let the relationship that you so love and dear fall apart before you. 

Mingi: 

When you got into a relationship with Mingi, you never suspected anything. Nothing was suspiscious and out of the place at all. But after a year of dating did it only made you realize why you were somehow suspiscious: not once did you two fight each other. You couldn’t believe how a year of dating Mingi and is the most healthiest relationship you have ever been. This is exactly what you wanted that others want too, and you were lucky and thankful at the same time. 

But you never got along with his friends, and so did your friends with him too. Whenever they would go out and drink, they would often talk about you and often make up lies about you. This went unnoticed to you, how toxic his friend group. Until one day, Mingi confronted you with all the things his friends have said about you. You argued back by saying how could he believe them instead of listening to what you have to say. THe night went on you two cursing at each other until it was inevitable to fix whatever you two had build together. 

Wooyoung: 

After being married to Wooyoung, you thought everything would fall into place. However, three months into the marriage, not one day did he initiate any itimacy with you. It was always the “good morningy/n” and “i’m going to work now”. He was never like that before when you two were dating, you wondered what caused him to be so cold towards you. 

“When can we expect a grandchild?” Your mother in law asks. 

“Having a child is too early. Y/N and I are still enjoying each other’s company, that’s what matters, mother.” Wooyoung smoothly answers for you. You felt small in the eyes of your in laws, unable to tell them the truth. 

“Do you really think its too soon for us to have a child?” You ask as you cleaned the dishes once his parents left. 

“Having a child is too much right now. My parents even want you to stop working.” 

And that’s when your soft facade cracked. First, Wooyoung has been so cold towards you, second, his family belittled you earlier and now they want to take away the career you’ve worked hard to get. You couldn’t help but let out a dramatic, long sigh and ranted everything that you’ve been feeling. 

“And do you think I have it nicely for me? That you think everything is going well for me? Maybe marrying you was a mistake.” 

Jongho: 

Jongho was never almost always home. He was always outside, impressing his bosses by taking them out to restaurants, treating them to lavish parties and women while you were left at home, having to take care of your eleventh month baby and worried sick if he’ll ever come home. As a good wife, you’ve made everything for him - cook his food, iron his home and work clothes, kept the side of this bed warm and always makes sure he still has hot water to use in the shower. But then, those things that you do for him tires you out now, and you no longer continue to do them for him. 

When he complains how he comes home with no food and a cold shower to use, you kept yourself quiet and moved around like a ghost. Jongho walks up to you and takes a hold on the back of your head, motioning you to turn around to him.

“If I ask you something, you should respond. I’m your husband.” He spat, but you looked at him with hate and pushed yourself off his hold.  

“Husband? You’re always and never home, if only your son could talk right now, he would always ask for you. It’s always me who runs around this house! And I got tired of waiting for you! You don’t how it feels, because you’re too busy kissing other people’s asses!” 

Jongho’s pushes you away from him, maybe a little too agrressive when you landed on the floor with a loud thud. That night, Jongho slept on the couch, and you on the little bedding inside the baby room. Maybe a divorce doesn’t sound so bad after all. 

[noirapocalypto]

For the ask meme, could I get 'describe the perfect weekend' for your OCs? :3

Thank you so much! 💕💕@smilepal

From this interview game.

‘ describe the perfect weekend. ’

Renato: "My perfect weekend is spent with my family--whether it's with my uncles and aunts, or with the twins and Embry. If it's the latter, I'll invite them over to my place and just hang and shoot the shit with one another. I like cooking, so I'll probably make some sort of big dinner for all of us. It's not uncommon for them to spend the entire weekend over, so we all basically just live together for those two or three days. It's actually pretty fun. It never fails for one of the twins to come up with some dumbass idea for us to do. Even though I'm the more boring one...I still go along with it, and it's always really fun. Even if it lands us in trouble."

Embry: "I know I sound like a broken record at this point, but as long as I'm hanging out with the people I love, then the weekend is already perfect to me. It can be my friends or my partner, or both if they're okay with that! I like exploring the Badlands with them, if they're into adventuring, I'll drive them around to all sorts of places, maybe end the day with watching the sunset together, having a little bonfire going. Just enjoying each other's company, even if we're having a moment of peace and quiet, something we can't really get inside Night City."

Paolo: "I never really plan out my weekends, really. It's always very spontaneous, so I can't pinpoint the exact things I would wanna do because I'm pretty much down to clown at the drop of a hat. It can range from stuff like heading out clubbing, spending the day shopping, or even just hanging out at home with my chooms. But I guess, for me, the perfect weekend would be spending it with someone I really like, just the two of us. We can do literally anything, or nothing except lounge around in bed all day. Spending my weekend with someone I'm very fond of seems like my perfect weekend."

Paola: "If it's not hanging out with my crew, I like spending the weekend with my bestie or my partner (if I'm lucky, it's usually the same person). Shopping trips, grabbing lunch, exploring those secret places in Night City, stuff like that. I like going out for rides on my bike with them, or if they ride a bike too, we can drive off on little road trips together. Maybe have a weekend getaway together."

Judah: "I always take a little get away on the weekends and distance myself away from work. My weekends start on Friday and end on Monday, because why not? Gives me plenty of time to either fly out back home to France or one of my other vacation homes scattered around. I'll spend the entire weekend lounging around, shopping, being pampered at spas, visiting my favorite cafes and dining at the finest restaurants."

Salem: "Weekends are usually the most busiest for me since my shows are booked throughout. I don't really mind though, I like performing. My perfect weekends include sold out shows, a heavy and intense atmosphere at Totentanz and a rowdy crowd that really enjoys the songs I put out. If I give people there money's worth, then I'm content. After the shows, I like to decompress either alone or with someone I like to hang out with. That usually involves grabbing some late night burgers at a 24 hour joint, maybe head home and watch some movies or TV or something."

[thebmatt]

FFXIV Write 2021 Prompt #16: Crane

Crane - stretch out one's body or neck in order to see something.

Kugane tended to get very warm this time of year, and Ranaa Mhigo was grateful that the casual attire she wore was so breathable. It did an excellent job of keeping the sun from her bronzed skin, but let those all-too rare cool breezes grant the full measure of their cooling relief when they did show up.  

One was arriving now, and she let out an enjoyable sigh as it passed through. Unfortunately she also raised her her ever so slightly, and the movement sent a small stab of pain through her neck muscles. With a small exclamation of pain, she reached up to rub the pain away.

Makoto, who was sitting at the table of one of Kugane's smaller teahouses with her, looked over to her with concern in her eyes. "Are you well, my....friend?"

The small hesitation told Ranaa that she'd almost finished that sentence with "heart" as she often called Ranaa in private, but that she'd stopped herself from doing so. Public displays of affection were somewhat frowned on within Hingan culture, and relationships with foreigners or people of the same gender were even more so. Makoto occupied a somewhat prominent position within Kugane as captain of the Sekiseigumi, and so she had to keep their relationship private. Sometimes she went a little overboard on the caution, but Ranaa couldn't be too mad about it. After all she was very affectionate in private.

"I'm fine, just a little neck cramp." she replied. She leaned in and whispered "Between all his training we've been doing for our next performance and all the times we have to crane our neck to look up at Fearless, I think maybe it's gotten more sore than the rest of me!"

Makoto giggled quietly, smiling even as she cast her eyes around, confirming that no one else was within earshot. "You might jest, but honestly mine has been hurting me more than usual lately as well! But I don't think I can ever really complain about it. Seeing her look down back at me with all of that love in her gaze....it is very much a worthwhile trade."

Ranaa smiled back at her. "It really does. Hey, I'm curious, actually. What was your reaction the first time you ever saw her?"

She thought back to those days when she had traveled to Eorzea, seeking the legendary samurai Musosai, hoping he might be willing to rejoin them in bringing the insurgent who wanted to burn the city they all now called home to the ground.

"I will honestly never forget the sight. I was right outside the tavern known as the 'Quicksand' in Ul'dah, hoping to catch sight of Musosai, when this absolutely massive woman approaches me. I remember being equally terrified and entranced, my very breath taken away by how beautiful she was, to the point where it took me a few moments to realize that she was both wearing a katana at her hip and addressing me by name. I remember keeping my eyes absolutely fixed on her own, but my mind was practically begging me to allow myself to admire just how well her armor fit her!"

She looks down at her teacup. "Of course, it was then that I had learned that the man I had pinned my hopes on was no longer among the living, so that did put somewhat of a damper on my traitorous mind."

Makoto shook her head and looked back to Ranaa, smiling. "No. I'm not getting lost back there because it has led me here, and here, in my greatest happiness, is where I wish to be. So, now you must tell me, my dearest Ranaa. What was your own reaction to meeting "our girl" as you are fond of calling her?

Ranaa laughs. "Well, I'll be honest, I don't quite remember the first real time I laid eyes upon her. She was just another member of my first audience in Eorzea. Said audience was quite large, as a Thavnairian dancing troupe performing is hardly a common occurrence in Limsa Lominsa and there was no shortage of beautiful girls watching, both Roegadyn and otherwise. I make it a habit of catching as many eyes as possible when I dance, if only for a brief few seconds. I remember seeing her in the crowd, mostly cause of her axe. She was carrying a real big one"

"But then afterwards, Mistress Nashmeira brought her over to the Troupe and introduced her as her new protege and my new dance partner." Ranaa blushed a little. "I tried so hard to come off all smooth and confident when I talked to her, but inside, I had two conflicting thoughts going through my head. The first was 'How is this mountain  of muscles and tits ever going to have the grade needed to learn the Kriegstanz?' The other was 'Oh, Twelve, I'm going to get to look up at this gorgeous mountain of muscles in a dancer's costume...a lot...'"

Both of them erupted in laughter. Makoto managed to regain control of herself first. "We should make our way home, dearest. Perhaps we can convince our 'gorgeous mountain of muscles' to put them to good use in giving us a shoulder massage"

Ranaa smiled coyly at her. "I love you and your brilliant mind. Let's go!"

A short walk to the ferry and a ride across the river later, the pair arrived in their neighborhood, walking hand in hand. Unlike Kugane, Shirogane was reserved exclusively for foreign inhabitants, as well as any citizens who were invited to live with them. The pair were known to a few of their neighbors, but no one else even bothered the pair. Makoto thoroughly enjoyed being able to let her guard down at the end of the day. No one here knew she was a part of the Sekiseigumi, and unlike most Hingashi natives, the residents were not bothered in the least by "less traditional" romantic arrangements.

Ranaa had stopped to speak with a Lalafell neighbor of theirs, a man employed by the East Aldenard Trading Company in the city, and was just catching back up to Makoto when she noticed a familiar person walking up the road. "Wait....why is Franks here?"

Sure enough, the "Old Man" as he preferred to be called, was  indeed walking up the road, away from their home. He was carrying a large satchel which Makoto could see held all manner of tools. "Franks, is that you?" Makoto called. "What brings you here?"

Franks waved. "Ah, ladies! Well met. You're just in time, I just finished the addition!"

Ranaa and Makoto exchanged glances. "Addition? What addition?" Ranaa inquired.

He smirked "Ooooh, she didn't tell you! Well, I'll say nothing more, lest I let the rest of the metaphorical couerl out of the bag! Enjoy it!" With that, he gave them a wave goodbye and sauntered onward,

"What in the star was THAT about?" Ranaa wondered as they watched Franks head for the ferry.

Makoto took her hand again. "I suspect we shall find out when we get home, love."

A few less eventful minutes later, they arrived at the home they shared with Fearless to find her waiting for them at the gate. "Oh, good, you're home!" she said, kneeling down to embrace the pair, one under each arm. "I have a surprise for you, come on!"

Fearless stood and  spun around, grabbing one of their hands each as she did, and quickly walked around to the house, Both Ranaa and Makoto stumbled as Fearless almost dragged them behind her, but they quickly adjusted their pace and caught up to her.

Around the back of the house, up against a small rocky cliff that gave them some privacy, Makoto spotted a feature that had not been there that morning. It was a large rectangular wooden structure built onto a series of carefully sculpted rocks that gave an illusion of being naturally shaped. On the far end, a taller wooden structure rose, topped by a black tiled roof. Steam rose from the structure.

Ranaa gasped. "Is...is that a personal hot spring? Do we have a HOT SPRING in our backyard??"

Fearless smiled at her. "We do! I've wanted to take you both to one for so long, but the only ones I know of are in Eorzea, and we haven't had time for an extended sojourn there. I haven't been able to find one in Doma, and I know going to any of the ones in Kugane would be too risky. I mentioned it to the others, and Franks came up with this wonderful idea. He crafted it entirely himself. Fire crystals keep it heated, water crystals continuously replenish the supply and keep it clean. Now we can enjoy it whenever we like!

Ranaa lept up into her fellow dancer's arms. "And I'm sure getting to see us in swimwear a lot didn't factor into your decision at all" she teased.

Fearless kissed her. "Well, I see you in minimal clothing a lot as it is, sweetling. Makoto on the other hand? Yeah, totally did all this just to see her wear swimsuits more often

Makoto blushed and smacked her on the arm. "Do you want to tease, or shall we go inside and change and see how nice it is?"

A few minutes later, Makoto found herself loving the addition to their home as she leaned back against Fearless' legs while strong but gentle hands massaged all the aches out of her neck and shoulders as Ranaa sat next to her, awaiting her turn with her usual amount of patience. Which was to say, none at all. She continuously tried to distract her with kisses and teasing touches, waiting for the moment she could slip into her spot and begin receiving Fearless' ministrations.

Though it had not ended as she hoped, Makoto was very glad she'd made that first trip to Eorzea. It had changed her life in ways she never could have imagined, all for the better.  

[themadauthorshatter]

Henry Stickmin Headcanons Part 2, to "celebrate" the finale of the Toppat!Charles AU(Press F to pay respects). I'll be going in and oit of the AU as well, but that will be seperate from the other headcanons

In Triple Threat, and in order, the tallest is Ellie, standing at 5'9" and Henry is the shortest at 5'4". Charles sits comfortably between them at 5'7". Neither use their powers for evil, even though it's tempting to literally something over his head sometimes.

Each member of Triple Threat has their reactions toward horror in general.

Charles is pretty unfazed by games like FNAF or anything with heavy jumpscares. He will not watch a movie with bad jumpscares(jumpscares used poorly.) He was a baby watching Sinister, The VVitch, and Lighthouse.

Ellie gets scared by just about anything, but breaks whenever she sees evil clowns specifically.

Nothing really scares Henry. Or at least he tells himself that. He's less open by getting scared, but don't tell Ellie or Charles.

Ellie and Heney, because they were in a mischief mood, tried scaring Charles. He punched Henry in the face on accident.

Charles sings really well, but only when he thinks there's no one around.

Ellie is the smartest of the trio. That doesn't mean Charles and Henry are idiots, even though they've done things that have warranted them a spot in the dumbass hall of fame.

When Rupert first joined, he'd literally never been more annoyed than when he met Charles, who, in his opinion, talked too much and didn't take anything seriously. It didn't really help that Galeforce always partnered the two, as to keep Charles safe on the ground when he couldn't directly see him. Rupert was mad at the fact he'd gone through a lot of training and was promoted to government babysitter, and it boiled out of him when Charles asked if he was okay. Rupert snapped at him, shouting at the pilot to just shut up for five minutes and actually do his part in missions, which was have Rupert's back or keep him informed of anything around them. He also yelled that Charles is incompetent and shouldn't even be in the military, as all he does is talk. He had brought this up with Galeforce, when the two got back and Charles excused himself to allow Rupert to give the report on their mission, but got a very proper scolding. He apologized to Charles when the YOUNGEST PILOT EVER got them both out of a sticky situation using some incredibly evasive maneuvers that Rupert was sure would get them killed.

After the deaths and funeral of Mr. And Mrs. Calvin, Galeforce adopted Charles, something that was in the couple's will. Charles did not talk to him for a long time, not until a rainy day that prevented any work that needed to be done. Galeforce noticed Charles sitting near either a patio door or by a window staring up at the clouds. He carefully sat next to him and admitted that he missed Charles's parents, too, saying they were very good friends of his and were always good to turn to for a smile or just to take a breather. He couldn't imagine how Charles felt, but he still missed them and was sorry all the same. That's when Galeforce noticed a card Charles was holding to his chest; a birthday card, one that read, "Charlie, if you're reading this, know that your father and I love you very much. No matter what, always remember that. We couldn't have asked for a better son, one as silly, smart, and ambitious as you. We will always love you. I'm sorry. Love, Mom," from Charles's mother and, "Hey, hawk. If you're reading this, it means something really bad happened to us both. Sorry we won't make it back for your birthday, more specifically that I broke my promise to you. You deserve to be happy, and I hope you can do that again someday. Charles, you can miss us, you can be sad, you can cry, it's more than okay to. I just hope one day you can smile and be happy again for us. I'm sorry. Your mother loves you, Charlie. I love you so much, son. Love, Dad," from Charles's father. There smugdes on some parts of the card, some old and some new, and it especially struck Galeforce that the two extremely sad messages shouldn't have been on a nine year old's birthday card. Galeforce apologized for not being Charles's parents, though told him that he'd try to be what they were, maybe more. He didn't talk, but Charles did huddle closer to his side and Galeforce put an arm around him as they continued watching the rain.

Do not challenge Charles to a foot race. He will outrun you.

Do not challenge Ellie to an arm wrestling match. She will always win.

Do not challenge Henry to an underwater how-long-can-I-hold-my-breathe challenge. You will most likely drown.

Triple Threat beat each other in their respective challenges/contests by cheating/sabotaging each other; Henry will try tackling Charles while Ellie will try to trip him, Charles will try kicking Ellie's chair to push it away while Henry teams up with him to try and push her arm down, and Ellie will throw little pool torpedoes at Henry, which is more passive than Charles shouting, "This is the greatest PLAAAAAAN!" and cannonballing in before wrestling Henry back above water.

Charles wakes up Ellie and Henry in various methods, since he's usually up first: He'll usually use an alarm, but sometimes, when he's really energetic, he bangs pots and pans together, gets a teakettle singing, uses and airhorn, and, the most extreme he's ever gone, taped a brown lunch bag to a leaf blower and brought a really bright light into both their rooms, rigging the devices to a light switch. With a snicker, he began to play that army/military wake up song on a trumpet with a megaphone taped to it and flipped the switch.

Both of them were ready to kill him.

Henry was initially left at an orphanage, but he was adopted at the age of seven. He was brought up well enough, until one of his parents started noticing that he was acting "weird," as in his 'ability' to see his choices and fails. This parent started ignoring him and told him to start acting normal or he'd be sent back to the orphanage. The other parent, the one that also noticed but didn't want to talk about it, still loved him, though started to get a little irritated when their partner left out of spite; "Either I go or the crazy brat goes." The other parent re-married and this new step-parent was nicer, but happened to wirk as a janitor for the CCC, and warned Henry to be careful with his 'powers' because the people the step-parent worked for weren't nice and would do bad things to him. The step-parent meant well, but Henry, having the memories of the parent that left fresh in his mind, took it as a threat to behave, which made him a very anxious kid. Anxious enough to become a kleptomaniac and pickpocket to relieve stress.

Ellie had the most normal life, having two parents and a brother, but turned to a life of thieving because the pressure of being a good person and her family's view of a black and white world drove her crazy.

You would have to be crazy to try and take on all three members of Triple Threat at once.

The trio sometimes share a room and bed, because of nightmares and they don't want to be alone.

Yeah. Triple Threat is basically a found family.

Ellie is the father and Henry and Charles are her two, wonderful, dumbass children, even though there are times the two take turns being the mother.

Now, ONTO SOME POST TOPPAT!CHARLES AU STUFF! This is kind of like an Epilogue, so buckle in.

Triple Threat gets two weeks off to fully recover. (Thank goodness)

They return to their apartment and go straight to bed, though they actually just camp out in the living room.

They still sleep like the dead; they wake up LATE the next day, at 4 in the afternoon.

Breakfast for dinner.

Even when they know they should go back to sleep around 10 pm, they stay up and watch movies. They let Charles pick, and he chooses a collection of Looney Tunes, Merry Melodies, and even the Looney Tunes Show.

Henry and Ellie notice him giggling whenever Daffy's on screen, and can't help but wonder why, though they don't ask when he also gets tears in his eyes. He explains later that he used to watch the old version of Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies with his parents and even Galeforce, sometimes, even though it was something that happened less frequently as Charles grew and became a more solid part of the military.

They stay up all night, taking turns watching movies, making small talk, and just enjoying each other's company.

Charles does have an episode when they're making lunch the next day when he accidentally drops a glass and has a flashback of Right killing the pilot of a destroyer sent to rescue him. It is a nerve wracking memory and it leads him to breaking down on the floor. Henry and Ellie do help him out of it, but he refuses to share what he saw with them. They don't push it and tell him to feel free to share whenever he's ready.

They keep an eye on him when he takes his ADD medicine, just to be safe.

They often go outside to do workouts, because they don't want to break anything in the apartment. Charles keeps up with them, and they simply enjoy the breeze and the outside when they're done.

Henry and Ellie do talk about what she told Henry back in Part 6, and she apologizes for not telling Henry sooner, also admitting that she was scared he would abandon her, if she told him. Needless to say, Henry's just glad the three of them are together.

Charles is welcomed back much more warmly when they return from their break.

First daybback and it's out of the frying pan and into the flame, because they have another group of thieves to deal with, smaller than the Toppat Clan, but still noticable: a biker gang that's here to steal stuff by any means necessary and be an insane headache for police and people on the road.

They don't know much now, but they will when the gang is followed in the air.

Galeforce offers Charles to fly and get some possible intell, though says that if he isn't comfortable with it he can back out.

Charles agrees, and says with an excited, nervous smile that he's missed being in the air.

Galeforce makes sure Henry and Ellie keep an eye on him, which they promise to do, before everyone sets out, Charles taking a seat in his fixed up helicopter with Henry and Ellie behind him.

With a deep breath, they head out, ready to do some government recon, which they're successful in.

At The Wall, Dmitri is grumbly and still a little pissed at how Henry got away AGAIN, but has to admit it's good to not have to worry about the Toppat Clan anymore, most of whom being in maximum security cells.

Right is bored as hell, but is glad that his cellmate is Reginald; Right's missing his cybernetic arm from the elbow down, his legs have been downgraded to be normal legs, and he is no longer OP.

Reg apologizes for letting this happen to the clan, but Right assures him it's not his fault, self deprecatingly admitting that he may have been stupid for MAYBE crossing the line. Reg can't help but softly chide him for it.

Right promises that they'll get out, though Reginald only snuggles into him more, saying it can happen in good time, but right now he just wants to be close to Right a little longer.

The CCC hasn't gotten a single major chaos reading since the orbital station was destroyed and the clan was arrested. Bill Bullet chuckles a simple, "Not bad, kid," as he leaves his readers to their work.

Terrence is kicking back in his new room, lying in a bed as he reads a book. He's enjoyed having regular, warm showers, access to a razor to shave, and, mostly, a sky that didn't have the orbital station in it; it leaves a bad taste in his mouth that Reginald actually outdid him, sending the clan in space for a short time.

He chuckles at the fact that Henry would've been a damned good leader, mostly because he could see overthrowing HIM to be easy. "Too bad he joined the government instead," Terrence sighs with a shrug before he burts into laughter, mad, hysterical laughter. It really would've been fun to see Henry as the leader of the Toppat Clan.😉

Back with Triple Threat, after their mission as they sit on a hill that would've held Charles grave, if this was Valiant Hero. They're quiet, enjoying the sunset and the sound of the waves below, not ready to go home yet.

Even though they're all quiet, Charles tips his head back and takes a deep breath, taking in the sun, the air, everything, before returning his gaze to the sunset.

"Man," he breathes, "I've... really missed this."

Ellie replies that she has as well, Henry nodding in agreement.

They all watch the remainder of the sunset, though, quite nicely, all three are holding each other's hands and smiling to themselves

[dearest-bucky]

Put your head on my shoulder (One Shot)

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: The team goes away on a weekend vacation. Things happen in the car ride and later. 

Words: 3.5K

Warnings: only tooth rooting fluff!!

A/n: Hello! Please read this! I know there are people who have read this fic before, it is because I have posted it before, but my old blogs are both deleted now permanently so I had to start (once again, sigh..) from the beginning. Please, if you want, like and reblog this even though you might have done it when I posted it the first time. I would be infinitely grateful.

Because of some privacy issues I’m not writing my old blogs’ urls here, but I’m sure a lot of people will recognize the fics I will start reposting here every day and will know who I am. Thank you so much for your kindness and support on my old blogs, I am hoping to receive the same here, <3

Originally posted: October 21, 2019

It was one of those very rare occasions where being an Avenger wasn’t taking your whole time, so most of the team decided to do something about it. Going on weekend trips with your team members wasn’t something new for you, but what made this time special though, was the presence of a certain blue eyed ex assassin who decided to take the chance for the first time and join the rest of you.

As per usual, you being yourself and always late, but as Tony Stark would put it “fashionably so”, you were running out of the elevator to meet the rest of your friends in the car so you could finally leave the compound.

Sam was leaning from the passenger’s seat to the steering wheel, pushing the horn non-stop, succeeding this way to only piss off Bucky who was sitting behind with Natasha and Wanda.

“Stop that asshole. I’m here.” You yelled at Sam, putting the bag of your clothes in the trunk of the car and moving to get inside.

“Freaking finally!” Came the annoyed reply of Sam who apparently was tired of waiting.

It was only 10 minutes, you could argue with him if he said something again, but luckily Steve got in the driver’s seat so The Falcon decided to shut up for the moment.

You took a look at the behind seat of the car, spotting Nat, Wanda and Bucky all sitting there, not very comfortable but you supposed it was okay. However, there was no place for you to sit.

“Get in y/n.”

“Yeah, we don’t have all day.” Came another complaining from the bird of the team and you could just give him the middle finger, but you were preoccupied thinking of where to actually sit.

“Guys I don’t think there’s space for me here.” You talked calmly, almost not the same person who came running and cursing just a moment before.

Usually there wouldn’t be any inconvenience of this kind, because usually, there was not a huge mass of solid muscle and breathtaking smile taking almost half of the back seat of the car.

“Hop on Barnes.” Sam replied, matter-of-factly.

“Why me? I-I mean, it would be better if Wanda did, I weigh more than her and Bucky would be uncomfortable and..” you were blushing hard and stumbling upon your words, but this time Bucky cut you off just by taking your hand in his and tugging at it, suggesting you get in the car.

“It’s okay doll, I really don’t mind. You can sit on my lap.” He said quietly, almost shy, but he was sporting an easy smile on his face as if this situation was making him happy.

Maybe it was, you didn’t know.

You gave him a look, as if silently asking “Are you sure?” and when he nodded his head and kept his smile on his lips, you decided it was okay to actually sit on his lap.

While the thought made you blush, you and Bucky weren’t strangers to each other, so you contemplated there was nothing wrong about the situation, given the circumstances.

You hopped easily in the car and sat on his lap a little awkwardly to say the least, while Wanda was trying but miserably failing to hide a smile spreading from her face and Nat was not even bothering to conceal the knowing smirk from hers.

“Everyone ready?” Steve asked and only after a round of nods and ‘yes’-es, he finally started the car.

You had one of your hands glued behind Sam’s head trying to weigh as little as possible on Bucky’s lap and you were trying so badly to keep the composure in front of your teammates.

You weren’t necessarily uncomfortable being this close to Bucky, but what made it bad was the presence of your other friends, especially Natasha and Sam.

When Steve brought Bucky to the compound almost two years ago, he was as closed off in himself as he could be. Of course no one blamed him, he came from 70 years of horror and honestly only the fact that he was still alive was a miracle.

To say you were captivated by him as soon as you laid eyes on him, it’s an understatement. Being friends with Steve before and having him share all the stories from “back in the days” did not help your case at all. Only what you heard from Steve was almost enough to make you fall for The Bucky Barnes, the Sargent of the 107th. And then when the man himself showed up, you were definitely in love with him.

Despite everything he had been through, despite all the hard exterior, the history and all the killings he had in his back, there was something about him you couldn’t place. Maybe his eyes, blue like the ocean and deep and… kind? There was a kindness you could spot in them that not even decades of brainwashing couldn’t take it away.

The first few months Bucky would only talk to Steve, never join the common areas and stay in the confines of his own room. You never saw him and sometimes wondered if he was even there.

It was almost 5 months later when you literally ran into him well past midnight in one after your “quests for good food” in the kitchen that you had your first conversation with him.

It had been only one sleepless night for you after a grueling mission and of course another sleepless night for him (as all of them were) when you were walking around the kitchen in darkness to reach the cupboards trying to find any of the cookies Sam stashed away from the team when you ran into a solid mass.

You yelped in fear but calmed as soon as he spoke. It was somehow soothing to hear his voice.

You finally found what you were looking for and decided to share the cookies with him, along with two hot cocoas and a very pleasant conversation that continued until dawn, when Bucky asked for permission to leave for his morning run with Steve.

After that night, you had many more repeats of it. Sometimes both of you would talk over cookies and cocoa, sometimes you would watch a movie and other times you would just stay silent in the company of each other, only listening to your calm breaths until you would fall asleep and Bucky would put a blanket on you and continue to look at you for the rest of the night.

At first it was a little odd, but as time went on your friendship evolved. It wasn’t only the nocturnal rendez-vouz anymore, but you started spending more time with each other, training together too until Steve decided to finally let Bucky go on a mission with you and making you partners for most of them.

It was actually very pleasing to see Bucky become better and better everyday. Meanwhile your friendship was becoming stronger and your feelings getting deeper. Seeing more and more of the Bucky that Steve used to describe in his stories was the best thing you could hope for. However, the fact that Bucky was always touching you, hugging you, snuggling with you in his room while reading or watching movies and even sometimes cuddling when you fell asleep together wasn’t helping you at all. You welcomed all these things but you never said anything about what you felt, scared to ruin your friendship.

Now here you were, perched on his lap, as if sitting in a bed of nails, while feeling the eyes of Black Widow, staring at you with her peripheral vision while she was whispering something to Wanda.

You had been driving for almost half an hour, only listening to Sam commentary about every song that came on the radio and the whispering of Natasha and Wanda on your left.

Bucky was stiff beneath you but he was silent, having rested his head on the windshield and his eyes closed, but it was obvious he wasn’t sleeping. He let a long sigh escape his lips and only then you turned your head to look at him.

“I’m sorry, I know you’re uncomfortable and…” you began but he cut you off, explaining that he was just tired but it wasn’t because of you at all.

You gave him a sympathetic look. “Couldn’t get any sleep last night, could you?”

He only shook his head no.

“You can put your head on my shoulder and try to sleep a little now.” You suggested without thinking twice. He gave you a sweet smile and did as you said.

His head came to rest on your shoulder, his face hidden in the crook of your neck and you could feel his breath tickling the skin it hit softly.

He let out another sigh and closed his eyes.

The others were just looking at you two, not saying anything at all, until Sam decided to turn off the radio and play a song from his phone.

Put your head on my shoulder

Hold me in your arms, baby

Squeeze me, oh so tight

Show me

That you love me too

Natasha let out a chuckle at the choice of the song and you rolled your eyes, flipping Sam off. He just winked at you and let the song play in a relatively low volume.

A few minutes had passed, the song had changed and you were all enjoying the ride in silence.

You were silently mouthing the lyrics of “Every breath you take” when suddenly the car came to a halt, causing you to stumble forward and you were gonna get hurt if it wasn’t for Bucky’s hands gripping your waist and holding you in place.

“What the hell, punk?”

“Sorry Buck, guys.” Came the apologetic reply from Steve. “There was a dog crossing the road and I didn’t want to hurt him.”

You sighed and grabbed a hold of the seat behind Bucky’s head, the other hand on your lap. Bucky’s hands were still gripping your waist, but a little more loosely now, as Steve started the car once again.

Bucky resumed to his previous position, nuzzling his face in your neck once again. Your hand that was behind his head slowly found the way to his hair and you began to play with his hair, an action he welcomed with a smile spreading on his lips that you felt in your neck.

You rested your head on top of his, but your hand didn’t stop caressing his hair, playing with the long chocolate locks and twirling them between your fingers.

You closed your eyes and decided you were finally comfortable enough to at least let yourself enjoy the rest of the drive. It was going to be a long one for that matter, so you decided spending the whole thing as if you were sitting on glass wasn’t the best thing you could do.

After only a few moments you felt Bucky’s metal hand touch your hand that was resting on your lap and silently taking it to join your other hand in his hair. You smiled to yourself but obliged, putting now both of your hands in work and giving him this way double the pleasure.

It wasn’t long after that you felt his heavy breathing against your neck and realised he was finally asleep. You were glad he could finally get some rest so you made the best you could to not move, trying to maintain the comfort you gave him. So with nothing else to do you closed your eyes too and decided you could take a nap too. You could hear your friends whispering with each other but you couldn’t care less about them right now. Within a few minutes you let yourself succumb in a peaceful sleep wrapped up around Bucky.

“Y/n.. hey, wake up doll.” You heard Bucky’s voice call but you were so sleepy you couldn’t find it in yourself to open your eyes.

You let out a soft groan of displeasure and only snuggled closer to his chest.

“We’re at the cabin sweetheart.” He tried again. “Why don’t you get up and we’ll get you inside, hm?”

“Mm, but I’m so comfy here..” you mumbled sleepily and heard Bucky chuckle at your words.

“So warm Buck.”

“I know, but you’ll be more comfy in a bed and warmer for sure.” He continued but you could already feel the smile that was threatening to break from his face.

Finally giving up on sleep you opened your eyes and groaned in annoyance.

You had no idea how it had happened but unlike when you fell asleep, this time you were resting your head in Bucky’s chest and he had his arms around your shoulders.

“Come on doll, let’s get you inside.” He nudged you and helped you out of the car and inside the cabin.

You found Steve, Sam, Natasha and Wanda already inside, each of them sitting in a chair, talking to each other animatedly.

“Ohh, look who finally decided to join the world of the awake.” Sam teased as soon as he noticed you and Bucky enter the place. “You slept for the whole 4 hours of the trip, you’re unbelievable.”

You just shrugged but remained close to Bucky.

“So what’s up now?” You asked.

“Okay so now we have to deal with the 'space’ situation here.” Steve took the turn to speak, his 'captain voice’ activated, as if he was briefing a mission report.

You all looked at him, waiting for him to continue, so he did.

“There are only 3 rooms here, and 6 of us. We all have to share a room with someon-”

Before he could finish his word Wanda cut him off. “I’m with Nat.” She announced excitedly.

“Wanda!” You gave her a look.

“There’s no way in hell I’m sharing the room with Tin Man.” Came without a delay Sam’s comment.

Bucky glared at him, but said nothing as you took his hand in yours and your bag in the other hand and not waiting for any other comment or reply from the others started walking in the direction of the rooms.

“We’re going to have the room with the bathroom inside.” You said, not leaving any place for arguments, and walked to the room with Bucky. You got in and closed the door behind you with a loud thud.

You weren’t upset that you had to share a room and a bed with Bucky, after all it wasn’t the first time. What annoyed you though was the fact that your friends were doing all these things on purpose, first making you sit on Bucky’s lap during the car drive (not that you were complaining) and now this, leaving you to share the room with him.

“I don’t know about you but I wouldn’t say no to another nap Buck.” You talked first and opened your duffle bag to fish out some other clothes.

Not paying any attention to the fact that Bucky was standing in front of you, you popped open the button of your jeans and slipped out of them, getting inside a pair of cotton shorts you used as pajamas. Next to go was your shirt which you replaced with a very large grey sweatshirt you had borrowed from Bucky a few months ago.

After changing your clothes you got in bed and covered with a soft blanket without a word, while Bucky kept staring at you, like you had grown a second head.

Sure enough, he had seen you in your pajamas before, also you had changed in front of him when you were all getting dressed in your uniforms for a mission, but seeing you get changed in front of him and put on his shirt, that did stirr something inside of him he couldn’t really place.

He was glued in place and wasn’t planning to move anytime soon if it wasn’t for your voice pulling him out of the trance.

“Will you join me?” You asked simply and instead of answering verbally he too got rid of his clothes but unlike you, he didn’t get in pajamas, but headed to bed only in his black boxers and got under the blanket.

You could get used to this, you thought to yourself as he moved slightly to make himself more comfortable in bed.

“C'mere.” He offered shyly and opened his arms for you to cuddle him. You didn’t hesitate one second to do so.

You rested your head on his chest and his hands were wrapped around your shoulders, while yours were resting on his torso, tracing absent-minded patterns on his toned stomach. It was a familiar situation, you both felt safe like this.

After a few moments in total silence only enjoying the soft touches and calm breaths of each other, you finally decided to speak.

“You realise they did this on purpose, right?” You asked and turned your head to meet his eyes.

He let out a breathy laugh and nodded his head. “Yeah, they’re not very subtle you know.”

“Mhmm..”

He looked at you with adoration but you could also notice the shadow of conflict in his face. You were too afraid to ask if your friends were right to do this, or what was his opinion about it all, so you settled on approaching him differently, trying not to “corner” him with your doubts and fear of dejection.

“What is it?” You asked timidly. “What are you thinking about?”

He looked down at your face again, gave you another smile and his hand came to rest on your cheek, tracing the soft skin there.

“I’m thinking about you.” He stated simply, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Thinking about how happy I am to be here with you.” He continued and you gave him a smile of your own after hearing his words. You were more than happy to be there or anywhere else, as long as you were with him.

“Thinking about how lucky I am to have you in my life, and now in my arms. So beautiful.”

His voice was almost a whisper as he carried on.

“I’m thinking I was so stupid to make you wait all this time and to make myself wait when you have been always in front of me. It’s like you were always the answer to my every question and I have been a fool to not realize it before. I’m thinking I should have never waited for anyone to 'set us up together’ because I have been falling in love with you from the very first moment I laid my eyes on you and I shouldn’t have wasted all this time by not telling you.”

You could only listen to him and not quite believing the words leaving his mouth. It was like you were frozen in place by his confession. And because you did nothing to stop him or interrupt him, Bucky continued pouring his heart to you.

“I’m thinking how lucky I am to have you in my life and how much you have helped me become a better man. And I’m thinking how much in love I am with you and how I have been for a very long time now.”

You gasped when he said the last words and your eyes filled with happy tears in an instant.

“And I am thinking how much I want to kiss you.” He added finally and reached out for your lips slowly, afraid to not startle you.

You stared into his ocean eyes and when your eyes flickered to his lips for a second, you started leaning closer to kiss him too, but the magic of the moment was interrupted by a loud knock on your door.

“Dinner’s ready!” You heard Wanda’s voice on the other side and Bucky groaned in annoyance.

“We’ll eat later.” He spoke up for her to listen and only when he heard the answer of agreement from her he focused on your lips again, this time closing the gap between the two of you.

His metal hand found home in the back of your head and the other one was still around your shoulders, holding you close to him. His lips were soft and sweet and everything you had wished for and his kiss was breathtaking. You poured all you had in the kiss and only when it was hard to breathe you broke it off.

He had a sweet smile on his face while you were feeling drugged on his taste and staring at his now swollen lips you pecked him once again before speaking.

“I’m thinking I’m very much in love with you too.” You talked slowly.

He laughed heartily and attacked your lips once again with the sweetest assault possible.

It was going to be a great weekend.

[moonlit-imagines]

Headcanons for being Friends to Lovers with Tony Stark

Tony Stark x reader

warnings:

a/n: i make bad decisions and then write immediately after, hope this didn’t absolutely suck

prompt: anonymous: “Headcanons going from best friends to lovers with Tony Stark”

meeting one another way back in the day, children on wildly weathly businessmen

actually forced to play together while your parents were in business meetings

you ended up resenting each other

mostly because every time you had to see each other, it got boring really fast

and your parents shit talked his parents constantly so you accepted that it should just be that way

YEARS later you and him reconnected when you attended MIT

“son of a bitch, what are the odds? tony goddamn stark”

“the odds aren’t in our favor, i guess”

not only were the two of you in assigned seats for the semester, you were also lab partners

but then you realized that you two were feuding for no reason and you actually enjoyed each others company

in this setting, your friendship thrived

“dude, i cant believe that we spent our entire childhood despising each other”

“yeah, y/n, you really missed out. i’m a motherfucking pleasure”

“oh, shut up, tony!”

pulling all nighters because the two of you get distracted by each others presence often

“y/n, try and catch the popcorn in your mouth. say ‘aaaahh’”

“oh, shit. wait, okay. ahhhhh” *throws popcorn and hits your eye* “wait, one more time!”

some wild nights on the town, occasionally stumbling back to your dorms after a few too many drinks

sometimes tony goes out on his own and calls you when he can’t make it home

“hh-ey se—” *burps* “sexy. could you maybeee, i dunno, i need some. some help getting home”

“same place as last time?”

“yeahh, that’s the place.” *hic* “im gonna throw up”

“i have the bucket in my backseat”

and yeah, he calls you sexy when he’s drunk, you just deal with it

he also forgets his keys a lot so thats a whole other mission for you

being bored as hell on school breaks because you have to go back to your families and hear them complain about one another (and ofc report back and make fun of your dramatic ass parents)

but one day you got a call from tony over winter holiday and you were excited to hear his voice until it seemed a little shaky

“hey? everything alright?”

“not...not really. i’ve got some bad news. really bad news...”

he could barely get his words out after that, but he told you his parents had been in an accident

you immediately left your house and drove hours to go see tony, this was his moment of need

mysteriously not long after that, your parents suffered a similar fate

the two of you took over your companies and had much more reasonable meetings, a wonderful partnership, indeed

but you were still two childish idiots at times

you’d bring each other to parties and shit

“you guys have met y/n, right? my date?”

“yep, this is tony, my date”

ongoing joke

ofc you two have done some shit on dares

i firmly believe tons of ppl have dared you guys to make out and who are y/n l/n and tony stark to turn down a good dare?

“what’s he taste like?”

“those goddamn blueberries he’s always eating”

he always has snacks always

several headlines have been speculation on whether or not you two are dating

tony drives you around tons

wants to “show you a good time”

blasting music while speeding down the road

honestly? sharing hotel rooms just bc you feel safer together

especially after he disappeared for so long

“oh my god, tony, i was worried sick abouy you”

“have you written my obituary yet? i gotta read it before i do anything else. how will i be remembered?”

“shut up and give me a hug, you asshole”

playfully making fun of each other

him showing you his “greatest creation” which was a battle suit (which was actually pretty badass)

“i want one”

“no way, this is my baby. you cant have my baby. unless you wanna have my baby” *wink wink*

ah, pepper likes when you’re around bc you distract tony from her and get him back on his work

and happy likes you because tony’s less paranoid around you

you’re like his second bodyguard but you dont get paid

CANT forget rhodey he cant stand you only bc you remind him of tony

but overall you’re alright

you CANNOT HELP but laugh at tony when he does something unfathomably stupid!!!!

even if hes in immediate danger you sometimes cant stop laughing (but that might just be panic.)

as the avengers came up, you weren’t invited on that “business trip” >:(

instead you got to accompany pepper on some stark/l/n business and ended up seeing tony nearly die on live tv

the second you saw him again, you couldn’t tell if you were happy or furious to see him

“you son of a bitch, stark! you had me so worried that you weren’t gonna make it, i might as well kill you myself! don’t ever do something so stup—”

tony kissed you

but like, for real

not as a joke

it seemed right, so you kissed back

“yeah, i missed you, too. can we go get some dinner and catch up?”

“wait, that was..?”

“long overdue, i know”

wasn’t long before the tabloids got ahold of some more “tony x y/n” content

and the lovely rumor was confirmed at a press conference!

“mr. stark, is it true that you and y/n l/n have an official relationship?”

“hell yeah, it’s true! you heard here first, folks! y/n and i are an item! and i fuckin’ love them!”

you made the cover of 5 different magazines 😌

you supported tony on his adventures but you wanted in

“really, after what happened in new york? well, i guess you saving my life on the battlefield would be kind of hot...sure. we’ll give it a shot”

“nuh-uh, tony. i’m in whether you like it or not!”

“that’s why i love you, you do it all. even when i don’t want you to”

engineering your own tech for yourself and others to help on missions

you did surprisingly well

tony had some issues that needed resolving though...like flirting during fights

“wow, y/n, you look great from this angle” *gets hit by some projectile*

“hah! serves you right!”

seriously, you guys were an iconic couple

and it helped that you guys were already so comfortable with each other, the two of you knew exactly what the other was thinking, it was baffling that you guys didn’t actually have powers

but tony was still tony and he had a problem putting you in danger, he was most comfortable with his arm around you

avengers parties and other dealings kept you busy busy busy

but you always made time for one another

and had tons of fun wherever you could

one might even say you and tony were...endgame (im so sorry)

taglist: @alwaysananglophile // @rorybutnotgilmore // @locke-writes // @sweetheartliz07 // @queen-destenie // @natasha-danvers // @allthecreativeonesaretaken // @frostedgiant // @praellee // @emygirl // @lotsoffandomrecs //

[risingsouls]

Recruited: Chapter 22

[This one’s shorter than they have been, but I’ve been craving this interaction for WEEKS (along with so many others that are MILES down the road but you know. Once again, moral of the story is that Vegeta’s a shit.

As always, head over here to read the rest!]

Vegeta

The ebbing excitement of Frieza's defeat and how he would soon possess the key to becoming a Super Saiyan himself was all that kept the monotony of Earth from driving him insane. He had only a few prospects for entertainment: tormenting the help with his attitude or making ridiculous demands, taking a chance on a stroll through the halls or around the grounds of Capsule Corp. (which he typically avoided since it typically warranted unwanted attention or somehow suggested he wanted company), or taking off and exploring the planet. But none of it kept his interest for long, and his Saiyan instincts begged him for a fight before too long. A more physical one than whatever verbal altercation he managed to pick with the heiress (her parents didn't quite have her temper, making it difficult to try the same with them when they popped in) or the help. However, potential sparring partners were perhaps more scarce than anything of true entertainment value the backwater planet could offer. Which meant the 130 days before Namek's dragonballs reanimated would drag mercilessly.

The Namekian and Kakarot's brat would refuse him no matter the reason. He considered causing trouble that would force them to engage him, but he tamped down such desires, knowing Kakarot would be less willing to comply if he hurt any more of his friends. Which left Nabooru.

Throughout their time on Earth, the Gerudo barely left her room. Once every few days or so she would fly off for a few hours and return, but otherwise, she stuck to the confines of the borrowed bedroom. He kept tabs on her through sensing her energy, listening to her footfalls when she moved about--to the balcony jutting from side of her room, the bathroom, idly pacing here and there--her occasional sobs in the night, and listening to her conversations with the woman, her parents, or the servants that brought her meals or checked up on her. Some of the help even gossiped to him about her, revealing their concern about how little she ate or spoke, how she remained so secluded in her room with little interest in company or seeking out entertainment, and the occasional irritability. It was the only time he indulged their prattling; he dismissed them promptly when they started asking too many questions about either of them, but especially when they tried to pry into his business.

Within a week, his boredom convinced him to seek her out and prod her into a spar. He argued with her twice and lost his patience when she spurned him both times. But he finally pushed the right buttons the third time, stoking her temper and giving her more reason to want to fight him. An improvement in his eyes; it irked him to see her moping around, lacking the fire he could almost say he was once fond of. It burned out too quickly, though, and her lack of spirit only made the gap that had grown in their power all the more obvious. It wasn't enough to sate his hunger for battle, but it was better than nothing at all.

Outside of leaving on her own, the only time she left for an extended period was when the Earth woman talked her into shopping for clothes that fit her properly since nothing the heiress or her mother owned fit the taller, curvier, more muscular warrior. Before, in the few times he bothered physically seeking her out, he found her dressed in ill-fitting clothes in both size and style or simply wrapped in a sheet. From his eavesdropping, he heard they procured a few outfits. One less after she foolishly wore one of them to spar with him. They returned via her balcony, the clothes not intended for combat in tatters and hanging on by literal threads. It was then he ventured to ask her why she didn't simply wear her armor like he did despite its damage, why she bothered with the asinine shopping trip she hadn't enjoyed in the slightest. She answered him shortly and honestly, holding the last shreds of her top and undergarment to her chest in a sorry attempt to maintain coverage: she couldn't stand to wear it any more. He didn't need to ask her why.

From then on, however, she wore her armor for the few spars he got out of her.

Time inched ever closer to the 130 day mark, and Vegeta found himself more impatient by the day which exacerbated his need for combat. Solo training sessions in the far north or barren deserts weren't enough, no matter how he tried to make them suffice, and most days he didn't have the patience to fight Nabooru for the piss poor excuse of a spar she offered in her state. But he needed his itch scratched. Perhaps if he could really get under her skin, she might put up a better fight. And, with the notion that Kakarot would return in a few more days, the key to unlocking his own transformation nearly in his grasp, his stir-craziness only intensified. He didn't even care about the late hour as he sprang from his bed and strode to his door. He ignored the help that attempted to accost him on the short jaunt to Nabooru's room. He didn't bother knocking and simply let himself in.

His brow furrowed for a moment when he found the room void of its occupant, certain he hadn’t sensed her leave or heard anyone convince her to leave for some inane reason. The lamp on the bedside table was all that illuminated the room. A tray with an untouched plate and a glass of water rested on the desk. With the curtains to the balcony open, he could see the city skyline and light polluted night sky. But, more importantly, he found the woman he was searching for, seated at the table with her back to him.

With his intent in mind, Vegeta grabbed the tray and marched outside. He threw the sliding glass door open and pushed it closed behind him with his foot. If she noted his arrival, he missed any indication of it in those few seconds. Her gaze remained locked beyond the balcony’s railing, faraway and unseeing. For a moment, he was transported back to Namek. He heard the crack of her neck, the thud of her body as it was tossed next to his with little more care than a bag of garbage. Her fiery gold eyes dulled, cold and lifeless, staring but without seeing his shocked, despairing visage. The same chill raced up his spine, and if he still had a tail, the hair on it would certainly be standing on end.

Back in the present, back to the still figure seated in front of him and her distant stare, her lack of any reaction or remark to his sudden entrance, how not even a spar could reinvigorate her, one thought pervaded his thoughts: she hadn't been revived. Just reanimated.

A growl rumbled in his throat and he dropped the tray in front of her. “Eat. You’re going to need your strength. I want to spar.”

The clatter of the plate and silverware on the tray and the glass of water nearly tipping over caught her attention. She swept her hair--let down instead of in its usual ponytail--away from her face with her hand and stared up at him. Expressionless save for the blink of her eyes.

“It’s late. And I’m not hungry.”

Vegeta folded his arms, gloved fingers tapping on his bicep. “Perceptive tonight, aren’t we?”

Her eyebrow twitched the barest hint and she looked away. She picked up the fork and prodded a piece of fruit around the plate. "Are you going to watch me until I do?"

"If it gets results." He lifted himself up on the railing, one boot perched atop it and his knee bent while his other leg hung over the side. "I'm sick of you running out of energy so quickly. You're abysmally behind me in power. The least you can do is last a little longer."

Nabooru pursed her lips but said nothing, her posture slumping a fraction more and causing her hair to slip back into her face. She didn't bother to remedy it, despite strands of it pooling on her plate. The tines of the fork scraped against the ceramic, grating on his sensitive ears. He considered blasting the damned thing from her hand.

Finally, she speared a cubed piece of fruit onto her fork. Her nose crinkled at the bridge and she shoved it into her mouth. She chewed in such a way that made him wonder if she was going to be sick, her expression a combination of disgust and anguish as she swallowed. Considering the variety of food on the plate, he guessed it wasn't the taste that particularly made her nauseous.

Minutes passed and she went for another. "Ugh, stop." Fruit halfway to her lips, she stared, confused. He answered the unspoken question: "If it's half as painful for you to eat as it is to watch, spare us both the agony."

Nabooru hummed and, with a steadying breath, ate the second cube before shoving the tray away from her. Arms wrapped around her middle and she found interest in the opposite corner of the balcony. Typically by now her discomfort with his presence, with him witnessing her in such a vulnerable state, would have channeled into irritation. An order to leave her alone. An attempt at an insult. Some excuse or another for why she didn't want to spar with him. She usually offered plenty of footholds for his own tactics toward getting a rise out of her and the spar he desired. But her silence stretched on further than usual, and he wondered if she had caught on to his strategy and now devised her own to oppose it.

At last, her attention returned to him, her arms falling limply at her sides again. He raised an eyebrow slightly when her spine straightened. She had something to say. He could see it in the furrow of her brow, the periodic nibbling on her dried out lips, and the flexing and curling of her fingers. His own irritation spiked the longer she kept quiet and, just as he neared his breaking point and snapped, she spoke, her voice hollow and near inaudible:

“You really had no idea?”

It took an embarrassingly long few moments to understand her meaning. So vague a question could cover any array of topics, and with how little lasting attention he paid to anyone the last few months only widened the pool of possibilities. Thus, when it did click, when he reached back to Namek again, to the source of Nabooru’s drastic metamorphosis since their resurrection, the meaning behind it was obvious. She had one thing on her mind. Though, considering she had yet to outright bring the demise of her people up to him, least of all his involvement in it, he had quietly assumed she wouldn’t. That it was too painful to discuss. Or that she wasn’t comfortable talking about it with him. Which was all well and good for him; despite his experience, he had little he wanted to say on the matter. Words of sympathy meant little in the long run, apologies over her loss did nothing to bring back her home or people. Coddling her with promises of good fortune to come or using the nonsensical adages of everything happens for a reason, that perhaps things are better this way for some stupid, cosmic reason, was a worthless waste of time. He didn’t appreciate them and he knew she wouldn’t either.

“I didn’t know it was your planet he had me destroy.” Vegeta turned his gaze in the direction of incessant honking somewhere off in the city. He tapped his fingers on his knee. “I imagine it was when he sent you, Nappa, and Raditz off to deal with Shikoo and his crew and forced me to endure taking care of those few planets with him. He never mentioned their names. The only reasoning he gave for one planet was a more vague version of the story he told you.”

After some quiet contemplation, Nabooru offered little more than a nod in reply. Unwittingly testing his patience. “What does that matter?” he snapped. “Knowing that I didn’t know it was your planet I destroyed doesn’t change anything. Your race is still dead and your planet is gone whether you blame me or Frieza for it.”

“I know...I know,” she said, the repetition muttered with far less conviction.

“Then why bother wasting our time?”

She glanced down at the table and tucked her hair behind her ear. She shifted in her seat. “I don’t know. I suppose it’s because I hate everything else right now. This building and everything in it. These clothes. The food. Anyone that tries to talk to me. Myself. I don’t want a real reason to hate the only person familiar to me.” She peered up at him through her lashes. “Even if you make it easy with how obnoxious you've been.”

Vegeta snorted, eyes rolling to the sky. At least she made an attempt at humor, even if it was at his expense. "You're one to talk. All your moping is just as annoying and incredibly unbecoming. Pointless as well."

"And here I thought misery became me."

"Are you ready to spar now or what?" he growled, losing his patience with the back and forth. It suggested progress in her state of mind, but he wasn't in the mood to waste his time exchanging banter with her. It wasn't as fun when she was so self-deprecating about it. "Maybe getting the tar beat out of you will do you some good."

"At least I would feel something."

The prince hopped down from his perch and crossed the balcony to the door. "I'm taking that as a yes, so I expect you to meet me at our usual spot once you change."

When she didn't move, he considered yanking her to her feet, shoving her into her room, and swapping out her clothes for her armor himself. He would carry her to their sparring spot if he had to. But he refrained and wrenched the door open, mumbling under his breath.

"And don't you dare keep me waiting too long." He stepped a foot inside and paused, gloved grip tight on the handle. A memory from her early days on his team resurfaced. The first time they had a proper conversation that wasn't exclusively about work or interrupted by Nappa, Raditz, or some other outsider. New to her plight, of being away from her people and in a position where she was led to believe their fate hinged on her performing a job she morally abhorred, she sought advice from him, someone who had dealt with the reality of never reuniting with his people again for decades. While back then she had a glimmer of hope to return to her home and admitting his own coping mechanism likely transformed her eventual homecoming into her own goal to keep her sane and moving forward. Though one she could not use now, he still supposed his advice might still be pertinent even if she had already come to the conclusion herself.

"If you hate yourself so much, maybe you should remember the advice I gave you by the lake. As a start."

Before she could reply, he stepped into her room and closed the door behind him. Only when he crossed the room to the exit did he glance over his shoulder. Nabooru had turned in her seat. Her head was tilted slightly, and though she stared after him, her gaze soared beyond him, to that moment that felt like the distant past, he imagined.

Still, he chose not to linger and see if his words had any particular effect on her. If she remembered that day at all. If he would see a spark ignite in her eyes again as she found something, anything, to coax her back toward normal. He said what he felt was necessary. What she did with his advice was up to her. He had far more important tasks to worry about, the top of his list becoming a Super Saiyan.

[eleanorbloom]

When You’re Ready Ch. 08

Pairing: Bryce Lahela x f! MC (Eleanor Bloom) x Ethan Ramsey.

Word Count: 4.5k

Warning: Angst, cursing.

Summary: Bryce has decided to let go Eleanor because she’s in love with Ethan Ramsey. But a turn in her relationship with the attending might change Bryce’s plans.

A/N: To the people who still is reading this story, thank you! Things are going to get juicy from now on, so I hope you are all prepared! (And I hope things in the book get really juicy too. I’m still recovering from last week’s chapter omg. My heart will never be the same after what Ethan told to MC :( (And I don’t even want to think about Bryce. My babyyyyyyyyyyyyy is so precious!)

Well, well, well. Hope you enjoy today’s chapter!

Taglist @utterlyinevitable  @shanzay44 @choicesficwriterscreations @laiba-the-person @starrystarrytrouble @lahellacute @lucy-268 @aylamreads @binny1985 @romewritingshop

Let me know if you wanna be added to my taglist!

________

Chapter 8: Me cuesta tanto olvidarte.

Y aunque fui yo quien decidió que ya no más (And even though it was me who decided we were through)

Y no me canse de jurarte que no habrá segunda parte (And I didn't tire of swearing to you that there wouldn't be a second chance)

Me cuesta tanto olvidarte (It's so hard for me to forget you)

 As much as he tried to avoid that moment, there he was, both feet on the grounds of Boston Logan International Airport.  After two months in the Amazon, he was back at the place he wanted so much to escape, only to return with empty hands, with his personal mission failed.  

His heart was feeling like there were never eight weeks since he left Boston, and was aching as much as the night they said goodbye. He had left for nothing. He wanted a reset, but he wasn't sure if that's what he got there.

Even if he tried every day to get her off his head, the most nonsensical things would remind him of her. 

The sparkling eyes of the children seemed attached to the memories of her giving him the shiniest smiles he had ever seen.

The carefree nature of a young woman would remind him of her youthful spirit, a trait he had grown to appreciate since the moment he knew her, but that he had failed to preserve in the last months, due to his erratic attitude towards her.

And if there was nothing that reminded him of her during the day, there would always be a sparkle at the end of the day, just about to sleep, that would explode in his mind like a firework. Whether it be the feeling of her hands touching his face, his hair, his bare chest; or the feeling of her soft lips giving him life after a searing kiss.

Whether it be her amber eyes illuminating the darkness of his mind and waking him up to a trance of vivid memories and feelings of happiness and joy. Vivid memories of something that were long gone and that couldn’t be back; or her laugh invading his ears and making him jolt as if it was the painful hallucination of a schizophrenic mind, and swear she was just laughing by her side when the truth was they were thousands of miles away.

Some nights he would toss and turn in bed, wondering what would she be doing; if he had broken her more than he was aware; if what he had done was right; if all this was really about her or about his fears and the ablaze belief that he would never be worthy of her because he could never give her everything she deserved. Wondering if all this was always about the fact that since he was a child, he never felt worthy of love.

He honestly couldn’t know.

He didn’t know how to face a truth that had been carrying his whole adult life, and he wasn’t sure it was now the time to explore those feelings. It didn’t make sense now. 

Some other nights he would lay remembering her, but the tiredness would be like morphine to his mind, sending him to sleep just as his head would touch the pillow. The memories of her wouldn’t haunt him like a ghost all night, the guilt wouldn’t eat him alive, there would only be a full night’s sleep, with physical recovery but with the same burden on his mind.

After three weeks, however, he had convinced himself that he had done the right thing. That she would eventually move on, that she would let him in the past and all this bad road would be over soon. But the hollowness somewhere inside him reminded him every time, that it wasn’t what he wanted, that he didn’t want it that way.

There was another way, but he was a coward.

Deep inside, he was hoping that the distance between them wouldn't make an effect like he intended to. He wanted it to fail. That her love was stronger than that. That that strongness was the proof he needed to push himself towards her, to fight for her, to hold her and never let her go again.

But then he would remember that all that he had been doing the last months, was for her, and only to protect her. That this self-sabotage would only damage her career. He couldn’t let that happen.

*

Ethan was having dinner at the ranch in the company of the owner, a Colombian elder woman who had spent her entire life receiving tourists that came to the rainforest from all places, and that had taught her the basics in various languages to communicate with them, English above all.

She had observed him for weeks. He noticed he was taciturn, thoughtful, that would never involve in small talk, so she had decided to respect his privacy and his love for silent meals. But he looked too troubled that night to ignore it.

“Are you in love, doctor?”—The woman asked, interrupting the dissection of his own thoughts.

“I beg your pardon?”—He replied, a bit startled for the intromission.

“I have lived long enough to know, by the look in your eyes, that you are in love. And that you would do anything to deny it, but it’s a stupid try, mi niño.”

He remained silent.

“I know you the yankees only care about work and money. You as a doctor are more human than others because you are here,”—She splayed her arms in the air, trying to sum up in a single gesture the greatness of the Amazon— “but for the same reason, you deprive yourself of the more important things in life as family and love.”

“Saving lives is the more important thing to me.”

“I know that. You have no family, no partner because your job goes first. But you are in love and I bet you are keeping the person you love away from you. Maybe that’s the reason why you are here, in the first place.”

“I didn’t know people in the Amazon were diviners.”

“We are not, but I have lived enough to see too many people coming here to forget, and that had failed.”

Ethan stared at her, thoughtful, not even sure if he would address her accusations.

“So, I am right?”

There was no point in denying. He would be gone in three weeks and then he wouldn’t see her again. He wasn’t risking anything.

“Yes, you are.”—He finally admitted.

“And Medicine has not taught you anything, doctor?”

“What do you mean?”

“You see life and death every day. You know the value of life and how easy it goes. Being a doctor is a tough job, but as someone who knows about the meaning of life and death more than any other person, you don’t seem to put into practice everything you have learned: To live and love ”

“It’s not that simple”

“It is simple. You have no idea how simple it is. I only hope you don’t learn it the hard way, when you lose your chance. I have seen it so many times, you wouldn’t believe me.”

The friendly silence joined the tabled again, leaving Ethan more pensive than before.

Maybe the elder woman was right, but Ethan was never a man of sentimentalism, of searching the meaning in things. He only wanted to seek the truth in life, how things were based only on facts. And the truth in this situation was that he had to stay away from Eleanor to protect her reputation and her career. There was no point in trying to find an alternative answer to that. The truth about them was absolute.

Still, he couldn’t stop thinking of her words.

*

Ethan force himself to come back to reality as entered in the baggage reclaim area of the airport. Once it was all collected, he took a cab to his apartment. 

Once he was there, he took a shower, unpacked his luggage, and drop off his clothes from the trip at the laundry service on his way to the hospital.

 The sun was already set when he met Naveen at his office.

“Ethan, my boy, I’m so happy you’re back safe”—He greeted giving him a hug that Ethan replied coyly.

“Good to see you, Naveen. How have you been?”

“Incredibly well, the weather has been so nice. And my position as Chief gives me more time to enjoy the sun, so I’m incredibly well with the amount of vitamin D I have absorbed these past weeks.”

“I can see it. You’re more joyful than usual.”

“Not just because of the sun, but because you’re back. I sincerely missed you, my friend”

Ethan nodded in a way that Naveen interpreted as he felt the same.

“How was Manaus, well, and the rainforest in general?”

Ethan updated him about his trip, describing the streets and highlights of the city in detail, and after that, he followed up with his labor with the WHO, and how things were when he left.

The origin of the epidemic had been found in a river that rises in Colombia and flows to the Amazon River, in the middle of Brazil. The Amazon River was the biggest in South America and its size was the reason it had caused nothing less than an outbreak just in a few weeks.

Just before Ethan left, the development of a vaccine had started, as a variant from the Malaria’s; therefore, in the next three months it was expected to be tested and by the end of the year, it was expected to be produced. He wasn’t sure if the WHO would call him for another Mission, but Naveen would be fully aware of that in case they would.

*

The hospital was quiet when both mentor and protégé left the office. They parted ways in the parking lot. Naveen, to go to his car, and Ethan, to walk down the street towards Donahue’s to say hi to Reggie.

He needed a drink to feel he was really back in Boston. At Edenbrook. But deep down, he wanted to go there because he hoped she would be at the bar. There was no way she wouldn’t be with her friends celebrating their last day as interns and welcoming the first day as second-year residents.

His pace was slower than usual for multiple reasons. First, because he wanted to enjoy the warm night Boston was welcoming him with; second, because he wasn’t going there to kill the tension of a day’s work, just to enjoy the night. And third, because some part of him was afraid of what he would find there. If she was there. If his face would betray him even if he had mastered the stoicism long before he met her.

“Don’t teaser her, Jackie! I still have nightmares about that Ethics Hearing!”—He heard just when he was about to turn to the entry. “If Eleanor had left Edenbrook, I don’t know what we’d done.”

He had no doubt that that sweet and soft voice belonged to Sienna Trihn.

“Stolen her spot in the diagnostics team?”

And that snarky retort was from Jackie Varma.

“Oh. My God”—The tiny resident said once her eyes caught him at the entry.—“He looks so different.”

She didn’t even lower her voice as she acknowledged him. And he didn’t care. As soon as he realized where Sienna and her friends were, his eyes couldn’t help but search for her eyes.

“What are you talkin-“—Eleanor turned and her mumbling stopped right away as their eyes met. Her confused amber eyes went stunned in an instant.

“Rookie”—Was all he could say to not let his feelings betray him. The sole sight of her was painful enough to try something else.

“It's good to have you back, Dr. Ramsey”—She murmured, her voice distant. Like she wasn’t even conscious of her words, like she wasn’t saying them, and an automat had taken hostage of her body.

Even though she knew he would be back tomorrow, it was clear she didn’t expect to see him tonight.

“Yeah… Good to be back”—He tried to remain serene, but for a second his eyes faltered on her with a torn expression.

He hesitated for a moment before keep walking towards the main bar.

 ***

She felt like someone was turning the volume up in her head. The chatting of her friends, the clinking glasses, the laugh of people, the cars passing by, the music on the jukebox inside. All was too fucking loud on her head. 

The bubble that had alienated her from the outside had popped just the moment she met eyes with Ethan. Every sound was irritating to her. Every laugh, every word, every passing car.  Her heart beating fast, her agitated breath. All the noises were multiplying.

Still, she didn’t even know how she found the strength to reply to him. It didn’t sound like her at all. It was like she was observing herself outside his body,  the obvious first-hand and only witness of her own autoscopy.

“Relax”—Bryce said in a jokingly tone when Ethan was out of sight—Ramsey might not be my type, but damn, I felt things too.”

All her friends burst out in laughs, trying to alleviate the tension.

“No one can deny that the man's his appeal, and with that makeover, oof. Total heartbreaker”—Conceded Jackie.

But she was barely conscious of what their friends were saying. Just as he entered the bar, she felt disoriented. Lost. The volume in her head started to turn down, silencing her from the noises around her. Like the earth had stopped rotating and she was caught in the middle of her own thoughts.

She didn’t expect that. She had come to terms with the fact that she would see him tomorrow, at Edenbrook, but she absolutely wasn’t prepared to see him tonight. At the bar. She should have known.

Then, she heard her name somewhere. Somewhere very, very far. And after that, a warm caress in her back shook her out of her stupor.

“Elle, are you okay?”

She looked up. All her friends were trying to catch her attention, and Sienna was staring at her with her brows furrowed in concern.

“Ellie…”

“Yeah, sorry, guys, I think the beer went to my head.”

Eleanor felt a warm caress against her back again.

“Babe, are you okay? D’you need a moment?”—He whispered, leaning carefully towards her.

“No, no, I’ll be fine.”

Bryce didn’t look so convinced.

She looked at him in the eyes, knowing that it would ease her mind. She smiled. It had worked. But she knew she couldn’t spend her life being wrapped to Bryce to feel calm, that she couldn’t run to his arms every time she felt something for Ethan. She had to face the pain, the fear, she needed to confront him to really be over Ethan. She had to do it alone with all the pain it was involved in.

“I’m okay, really”—She reassured, his lips quirking a bit to resemble a smile.

He nodded.

She wanted to be okay, because the last thing she had on her mind, was to make a scene, just as the last time she saw Ethan. No, she had to grow up. The days where she would drown in sadness and ‘what ifs’ were over. She had to handle the situation like the adult she was.

But it wasn’t that easy. Even though she rejoined the conversation with her friends, after an hour she really felt the need to have a moment.

“Sienna, care to join me?”

“Of course, Ellie”—She replied getting up from the bench.

The walked carelessly towards the bar, Eleanor trying to ignore completely the presence of Ethan sitting on his usual spot.

“Are you okay?”—She asked once she closed the door behind her.

“I… I’ve been better.”—She confessed, leaning against the wall.—It’s just… I wasn’t expecting to see him today, tonight, here. I made my mind I would see him tomorrow. But well, that’s how things went.”

“It was so shocking, for all of us. Mostly because of that makeover. I swear I thought I was confusing him with another person”

“Like a extremely hot twin brother of him?”

“Kinda, yeah”

They both laughed.

“That’s torture. How can he appear here like that and expect me to stay away?”

“Eleanor…”

“Sienna, I’m teasing”

“I wouldn’t be so sure.”

“But I am. And I can’t even think about doing something with Bryce here.”

Eleanor shook her head.

“Ah, poor Bryce. He’s all in the comforting mood but I know it hurts him.”

“Maybe, but he’s actually worried about you.”

“Why he has to be so selfless? I don’t deserve it.”—She protested —He has been an angel with me this whole time. And this stupid asshole appears, and I fell to the ground like a whiny stupid.”

“Ellie, he knows what he’s dealing with. And I know he’ll be wise enough to leave when his time is over. I just hope that doesn’t happen, and that he gets his happy ending with you.”

“You don’t think I want the same? I want it. But it doesn’t matter what I want when the person I’m in love with it’s not him.”

There was silence. Sienna looked at Eleanor. She was pissed off, but not defeated like before. That was progress.

“Okay. Let’s focus.—Sienna exclaimed with renewed energy, trying to comfort her friend—"The things are this way: You’re still not over Ethan, but if you want to, you will. And you’ll do it by stop having hopes. You’ll focus on the good. On Bryce. On the beautiful moments you two have had. And as long as Ethan doesn’t say ‘Eleanor, I love you, let’s be together’, your situation with him is the same as it was when he left. It’s done. Terminated. Over. Okay?”

“Okay, yes. Yes. Crystal clear.”

“Pinky promise?”

“Pinky promise”—She replied as her pinky locked Sienna’s.

A few moments later they returned to the table. Jackie had brought a new round of beers. Eleanor took her seat next to Bryce, and without a moment’s hesitation, she brought her lips to his cheek and kissed him softly.

He stared at her a bit confused. That day, at the beach, they agreed to be more discreet with their relationship now that Ramsey was back. Somehow, she wouldn’t feel comfortable that he could know about them when nothing was settled, and she didn’t want to provoke a response in him by jealousy or make him doubt her feelings for him. That way, they would return to their habitual friendly interaction in public spaces, but their relationship remained the same. Therefore, that show of affection in public was against their agreement.

“What was that for?”

“You just deserve a kiss for being so cute with me.”

He smiled.

“In that case, I deserve more than a kiss on my cheek, don’t you think?”

She shook her head and brushed her lips into his.

“Better?”

“Much better”

They continued their chatting through the night until Reggie announced he was about to close. Eleanor and her friends collected their used jars and went to the bar to give them to Reggie. Ethan was still by the bar and apparently, he had no intention to leave soon.

“What? Last call doesn't apply to you?”—She asked, her words coming out of her mouth incautiously. Like nothing had happened. Like the two months they didn’t see each other never existed.

“Reggie and I go way back. We have an arrangement.”

“An arrangement?”—She snorted— “Is that what you call friendship?”

“I don’t have friends, but I wouldn’t mind you joining me if you were so inclined.”

“Say it. You want me to join you?”—She defied.

He stared at her seriously for a few seconds.

“I do.”

Eleanor turned to her friends

“I’ll stay for a while to check in about tomorrow with Dr. Ramsey.”

“Okay”—Sienna replied—"Just don’t stay out too late... Aurora's dropping off the rest of her stuff before work tomorrow.”

Eleanor nodded and her eyes directed to Bryce. He winked at her before turning to the door, but she could have sworn his smile fainted the very moment he turned.

“Well, we've got ourselves a brand new Ethan Ramsey.”—She stated, approaching him at the bar.—"You took the reset thing seriously.”

He gave him a painful look and scratched the back of his neck.

“Why don’t we move outside?”—He suggested, trying to diffuse his tension—"It'll be winter before we know it. Might as well enjoy the weather while we can.”

Ethan took a half-drunk bottle of nice scotch and head out to the empty beer garden, taking a seat beside a small fire pit.

“So… how have you been?”

“As good as it can be, given the circumstances there.”

“Yeah, I figure. I’m sure you went through a lot there.”

Ethan nodded.  Thinking that he indeed went through a lot there, but maybe not the kind she had in mind.

“What about you?”—He inquired after a brief reflection.

“I’m doing great. Excited that intern year has finished. And tomorrow is my first day on the big leagues”

“Yeah. You start with the DT. Time has passed so fast”

“Certainly.”

Then, the silence made its presence. They stayed still to study each other subtly. Ethan couldn't decipher what, but there was something different in her that had nothing to do with the passing of time. It wasn’t the hair, her summerly outfit, or something physical. It was something in the way she was looking at him, in the way she was speaking, and even in her gestures, that made him realize she wasn't the same he had left eight weeks ago. There was something familiar about her manners, but he wasn't sure what it was.

And after an eternity of silence and endless questions inside his head, she finally spoke.

“Why you didn’t reply or call back… or said anything?”

All Ethan could think was if she was interested in asking that, it meant there was something still there. That maybe she still cared for him.

“Eleanor…”

“I had to ask Banerji to know me if you were okay. Don’t you think it isn’t unfair?”

“I know, he told me.”

“It was a fucking message, Ethan. Just ‘I’m okay’, just that, I wasn’t expecting a report. Just a fucking reply.”

“I know. I’m so…”

She raised her hand, stopping him midsentence.

“Please, don’t. If you were truly sorry, you wouldn’t have done it in the first place. It was so simple.”

“I needed to walk away…”

“Yes, I know, but this has nothing to do with that. With your so-called self-control. Cause I don’t know how much self-control you can compromise by sending a couple of words. It’s not like you can lose it being thousands of miles away from me. But, of course, the fault is always mine for expecting some decency from you.”

“You were worried?”

“How can you ask something like that? Of course I was worried! Epidemics are unpredictable and much riskier to doctors.”

She shook her head.

“I really hoped our conversation would’ve made sense to you. But no. Nothing’s changed. You can’t even be a decent friend or colleague.”

He remained silent.

Eleanor took a sip of the scotch, and then breathed heavily with her eyes closed. After a few moments, she opened them with renewed energy.

“Well, no point in dwelling in the past. Let’s talk about tomorrow.”

Her words caught him by surprise. The way she just shook off of his mistake was new. He expected she would give him hell for at least fifteen minutes, but apparently she had more important things to discuss.

“Okay, what do you want to know”—He said, finally.

“What should I know?”

“Well, once the meeting with all the other residents is done, you have to go to the Diagnostics Team office, to join us for the daily meeting. We’ll be discussing a new case too. A few hours ago, the hospital informed me that we are receiving a patient from Manhattan Presbyterian, so that will be your first case as Fellow Member.”

“Excellent. Anything I need to know about the other members?”

“I leave it to you, so you don’t meet them biased from what I tell you”—There was some strange tint in his sight, something mischievous Eleanor couldn’t decipher.

“I think you’re being tricky with the answer.”

Ethan chuckled.

“I’m not. Tomorrow you’ll have your first impressions on the members. It’ll be fine.”

“I suppose”—She sounded tense.

“You’ll do it great, Rookie. You had an excellent performance in your first year, and you made a diagnosis neither your boss nor your boss’s boss couldn’t make, so, that’s quite impressive. You deserve the spot.”

“That’s because I learned from the best.”

And there it was again, the silent longing in their eyes. The intense looks, the pain, the restraint. The alternated gaze between lips and eyes. It seemed like the dynamics from past months were about repeat again. Eleanor succumbing to her feelings, asking for a chance, breaking their boundaries just to have one more kiss, and lose herself in the same old lie with the same old ending. And just like before, Ethan would fall too. As if eight weeks hadn’t passed. As if the time and distance hadn't done their part.

But things had changed. He had no idea how much things had changed.

Because after what it felt an eternity, she just smiled at him shyly and then looked away from him at slow-motion speed. Or that’s how Ethan saw things in his disappointed mind.

Then she took her glass, her hand almost imperceptibly shaky, and drank the remained scotch on it.

Ethan froze for a moment, completely surprised at her reaction, and then turned to the table, sipping his drink too. His mind still was wondering why it was being so easy for her to just look away and don’t dare to kiss him. He was back after two months out and she didn’t even want to kiss him. 

“Good thing you’re back just when summer is beginning, so you don’t end up freezing for changing temperatures.”

Ethan couldn’t repress the astonishment when he noticed Eleanor was using the small-talk card. They had never had small talks before. She always had something to comment, some insight to share, even something to recriminate him with. But now there was nothing of it.

Maybe it was her last resource to avoid something utterly stupid or senseless like kissing him. He couldn’t really blame her.

“Yes, glad I can catch some sun. Vitamin D has worked wonders in Naveen. But he’s too cheerful for my liking.”

“Ethan, Dr. Banerji has always been too cheerful for your liking.”

“Well, yeah, but he is annoyingly cheerful now, and summer is just beginning”

“May the Force be with you”—Eleanor joked,  getting up from the bench.—“Well, I’m going home now. Tomorrow’s my first day and I have to come up as fresh as a daisy.”

Ethan smiled faintly at her.

“Goodnight Rookie, I see you tomorrow”

“Night Ethan, see ya”

[withabackpackandcamera]

July 5th, 2021

Day 10: Meeting Up With A Friend Before A Sprint To The Finish Line

This morning, because my parents had an earlier flight home than we did, we woke up to drop them off at the airport before coming back home to finish some last minute laundry, packing, and cleaning up. The only real thing on our last day’s schedule was a meet-up with Kristin Julia Erlingsdottir (pronounced “Christine” in Iceland), a pediatric resident in Iceland who I met 4.5 years ago when we were both medical students doing rotations at Landspitali. Even though we didn’t rotate together at Landspitali, we met each other in the cafeteria through other students who went to school in Slovakia with Kristin and since then, we have kept in touch via Instagram. So the plan this morning was to grab a quick breakfast with Kristin before flying home. 

Because Minh didn’t want to join for breakfast, he ended up doing his own thing for an hour or two while Cynthia and I went out to meet with Kristin at a cafe nearby. Along the way to the cafe, because we wanted to load up on yummy pastries to take home from Sandholt, I dropped Cynthia off to buy them while I went on ahead to Grai Kotturinn, a cafe down the street, to meet with Kristin first. But before I left, we learned that Sandholt wasn’t selling any almond croissants today. So sad. But I did get a chance to take a look at and pick out the pastries I was interested in trying, with Cynthia eventually settling for a cranberry scone, two cinnamon rolls, a brown sugar roll with cream cheese, and a pain au raisin. That’ll probably do the trick. 

So after I left Cynthia, I walked over to Grai Kotturinn, a cafe that Kristin had suggested nearby, to meet up with her after her night shift at the hospital. I was very grateful to Kristin for making time to meet up with us despite her busy residency schedule, and I was glad that I could actually fit her into my tight schedule as well. Anyhow, once I approached the cafe, I recognized her standing outside in her stylish all-black outfit and greeted her. It was so nice to see her again after all these years, even though we weren’t best buds but just quick friends from a brief time together. 

Because there was a line at Grai Kotturinn, we stood outside for a bit and started catching up about our individual lives in medicine in our respective countries while waiting for Cynthia to join up. Before long, Cynthia had arrived but the line hadn’t really budged. Because of how tight we were on time and how I didn’t want to make Kristin take too much time out of her morning waiting in line for food, we pivoted and changed course with regards to where to eat. Because both Grai Kotturinn and Sandholt had waits due to the recent influx of tourists, Kristin suggested that we drive over to a spot further from downtown called Kaffihús Vesturbæjar to skip the lines. We agreed, and she drove us over to Kaffihús Vesturbæjar for breakfast. 

We arrived at Kaffihús Vesturbæjar pretty early so their lunch menu wasn’t yet available. So, despite all the great suggestions that Kristin had on food options, we ended up having to choose some breakfast items from their simple breakfast menu, with me and Cynthia ordering a ham and cheese croissant to go with our pain au raisin we bought from Sandholt earlier. The cafe meet-up wasn’t really about eating so much as it was about finding a comfy place to catch up and share stories. And even though the food at Kaffihús Vesturbæjar was OK, the cafe was the perfect place to sit and chat for a little less than two hours. And Cynthia and I had a terrific time chatting with Kristin and learning more about her life before and during residency (like how she grew up briefly in Oklahoma, how she was sort of out of place as a returning Icelander once she was back in Reykjavik, about her doctor boo, how her pediatric residency has been, and about traveling, education, Icelanders, real estate, tourism). We also enjoyed sharing our stories with her too and I could tell that she really enjoyed the company. It was really great to find yet another opportunity to catch up with a local friend. Trips are always so much better when you can do something like that. Thank you again Kristin for making time after a busy night shift to meet up with us! 

Before we knew it, we were running tight on time because of how much fun we were having with Kristin at Kaffihús Vesturbæjar . Luckily, we saved some time when Kristin offered to drop us off at home. Once we were home, we thanked her and said our goodbyes. With Minh already home and relatively ready to go, Cynthia and I quickly finished packing our stuff before loading all of it into the car. After one last sweep of the flat, we left for one more quick visit to downtown for last minute souvenirs. Cynthia and I ran through downtown looking for things we thought we might want to buy but eventually decided not to buy anything at all. So we hurried back to the car where Minh was waiting and headed for the airport. It was nice to get a last jog in through Reykjavik before flying out! 

Once we were close to the airport, we made a pit stop at the grocery store where we had previously stopped on the first day to buy some chocolates for friends. Then we stopped by Subway to buy some subs for the long trip home before driving to Blue Car Rental to drop off our rental. Funny enough, we ran into Will and Mary again at Blue Car Rental and shared stories about our respective trips while walking over together to the departures terminal. Once we were in line (it was a very long check-in line at Icelandair because of all the Americans heading home after the long weekend), we had this awkward “see-you-every-few-minutes” situation with Will and Mary because of where we were positioned relative to them in line. So we didn’t get to catch up much after that. After chowing down on our food and getting through the line, security, and passport control, we finally made it to our gate, where we waited longer than expected to finally board our long flight home. 

Iceland, it was great seeing you again. And it was great finally introducing you to my parents and Cynthia. I’m not sure when I’ll get to see you, your beautiful landscapes, and your nice people again but when the time comes, I’ll be excited to come back for my fourth visit. Till then! Takk takk! 

5 Things I Learned/Observed Today:

1. It takes a lot of years to finish a pediatric residency in Iceland. Per Kristin, you can only do two years of training in Iceland (after one required internship year) before having to apply to pediatric programs outside of the country to complete your five years of pediatrics training (six years including the one internship year). The reason why pediatrics residents have to leave Iceland for their last three years is because the program is small and because the hospitals in Iceland see such small volumes of kids that residents don’t get enough exposure to be properly trained. Therefore, they have to get more exposure in other countries in other programs. For example, most people, if good enough, will go to Sweden to continue their training or they can go to a different Nordic country. Surprisingly, the Iceland peds program has a partnership with a Connecticut pediatrics program and they send one or two students a year there. 

2. In the Icelandic pediatric program, when you’re working nights, as Kristin was doing, you work the pediatric wards as well as the NICU (there is no PICU at Landspitali). Luckily, the ED has their own resident so they don’t have to cover that at the same time. Very fortunate. 

3. Interestingly enough, pediatric illness in Iceland came about very late this year as a result of the COVID pandemic and restrictions that came with it. For example, from what Kristin saw, RSV cases peaked in June instead of way earlier in the year in winter. And they had zero cases of the flu (though I’m not sure if that was just among kids or among both kids and adults). And pediatric gastroenteritis was only starting to appear in early July, which is a bit delayed as well. I’m sure public health and epidemiology data from this COVID period will be fascinating to look back at and study in every country.

4. Here in Iceland, people are primarily vaccinated with AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and Janssen vaccines. And unlike the case in America, most people in Iceland are itching to get their vaccinations and are ready to run up when their name is randomly drawn. Additionally, it sounds like Icelanders have vaccine envy of others. That’s crazy and so good! And the great thing about all of this is that around 80% of the country is at least partially vaccinated against COVID, which is the best percentage among all EU related countries. Good for you, Iceland! Keep up the great work! 

5. At this time in Iceland, the government is pushing Icelanders to buy homes instead of renting. To incentivize people to buy, banks and other financial institutions are offering ridiculously low interest rates for home loans with rates at a historic low. And people have been able to borrow significant amounts of money for their home. For example, Kristin was able to get a loan with a really low interest rate that covers 95% of the cost of the home. Her flat is a 2-bedroom apartment located in downtown Reykjavik (close to where Sveinn lives). Cost: 53 million Icelandic krona (around $420k). That’s insane! Especially compared to the hellish housing market in Los Angeles. I wish it was that cheap in Los Angeles...

[seoulwhat]

Cabin (#7)

Summary: Lay becomes your partner on a vacation organized by your best friend. 

Pairings: Lay x reader

Genre: SMUT

Warnings: slight choking, being pinned down, no condom, creampie, some aftercare 

Word Count: 8.7k

Renting a cabin during the winter is something you did every year with friends. You and your friends would gather together and pair up with each other. Whoever was your partner, you had to do winter activities with them. This year, was exactly the same as the rest of the years. 

"So a few guys are coming and I am inviting just enough guys so each of us has a partner. Is that okay with you?" Sooah asked over the phone. 

"Yeah, that's fine. We never have guys over anyway. It might be more fun with us plus a few guys," you said, liking the idea. 

The day came quicker than you thought and before you knew it, you were packing a luggage bag with your clothes for a week stay away from home. You drove to Sooah's house, the plan being eight people will take four cars, considering everyone was supposed to have a partner. 

"Yay! You made it!" Sooah opened her front door for you. "Okay, so when everyone gets here, I will pair everyone up and then we will leave after that, okay?"

You nodded and smiled, matching her large grin on her face. The two of you enjoyed each other's company, patiently waiting for everyone to come. 

"Okay," Sooah said sitting on her couch. "So I have a few things to say about these guys."

You rolled your eyes and laughed. Sooah was practically guy crazy so you had a feeling you knew what she was going to say. 

"The four guys coming are super cute and apparently they're all childhood friends. They're not my friends, but they're Mirae's friends. She showed me pictures of them and I instantly said yes to inviting them. Maybe we can find a cute one for you," Sooah winked and elbowed you. 

"Sooah, you know I have a boyfriend already. There will be nothing more than a friendship between me and whoever my partner is. Okay?"

Sooah rolled her eyes and slouched. "No one even likes Woosung. He's a jerk to everyone, even you. I don't know why you're with him."

"I'm with him because he's different behind closed doors."

Sooah stared at you with one brow raised. "How long did you have to beg him to let you come?"

You didn't answer her. She knew he wouldn't instantly let you. He'd probably have your head if he knew guys were coming. But since the trip has always been girls, he has no idea guys were included in the trip. 

"It's ridiculous that you need his permission to go somewhere. You're twenty-four years old! He acts like he's your parent and you're a child."

Sooah was right. She was always right. Even though she never had a boyfriend, she wasn't stupid. She always had the best advice but you never listened to her. You couldn't break up with Woosung, though. You had been with him for such a long time. It wouldn't feel right if you two broke up. 

Finally, the door bell rang and Sooah jumped up with energy from the couch. "It's about time!"

First, your two friends showed up. Mirae and Yoorim. Everyone was excited and you hugged both girls. It's been a while since you last saw them considering how jealous Woosung got every time you hung out with them. Just a few minutes later and the guys all showed up together. Everyone was in Sooah's house and she began introductions. 

"Okay so let's do some intros! I'm Sooah!" She said with a large smile. 

"Everyone knows I'm Mirae."

"I'm Yoorim," she said with a shy smile. 

It was your turn and everyone was looking at you. "I'm Y/n," you said with an awkward wave. 

All the girls, including yourself, looked to the men standing side by side. For the first time, you were able to get a good look at all four of them. The tallest one looked quite intimidating. He had light brown hair and was staring at Yoorim pretty hungrily. The shortest one was handsome and he stood like if he knew it. It was kind of attractive and you were curious about who would be his partner. The third guy had silver hair. He stood out the most to you. You had never seen a guy with silver hair and this guy wore it well. The last guy was beyond handsome. He smiled slightly and a dimple formed on one of his cheeks. You instantly fell in love, but you made sure not to stare too long. 

"Okay well I'm Sehun," the tallest one said. 

"I'm Suho," the short one said. 

"I'm Baekhyun," the silver haired guy spoke with a large smile. 

"And I'm Yixing, but you can call me Lay," the last one said with a shy smile. You found him adorable and couldn't help but stare at him. 

"Okay so I have everyone's names written down on pieces of paper," Sooah began. "I'll randomly give the guys a girls name and whoever they have will be their partner."

Sooah passed pieces of paper to all four men. There was some little excitement as to who would be your partner. You actually didn't mind who it was considering they all seemed very friendly.

The four men all opened their pieces of paper  Sehun instantly stared at Yoorim and smiled. "You're my partner," he said and walked over to her. 

"I have," Suho said, opening his paper. "Mirae."

Mirae laughed. "I had a feeling you'd get me."

"I got Sooah," Baekhyun said with a little smile. Sooah walked over to him and stood beside him. The three couples looked at who was left, which was you and Lay. 

"I guess we're partners?" You said with a smile. 

"I guess so," Lay said with a grin. "Should I check the paper just in case?"

You laughed. "I think we're good. But now we have to find out who's car we are taking."

Everyone decided to speak to their partners and you turned to Lay. "Do you have a nice and big car? We need enough room to fit our blankets and luggage."

"Well, I wouldn't say my car is big. But it is large enough. Do you have a car?" Lay raised his brows in question and his eyes widened a bit. 

You nodded in response. "I do. It's the old punch buggy out there. There's no way my car would make it up the mountains. So thank goodness for your car."

Lay looked a little confused. "What's a punch buggy?"

You stared at him in shock, wanting to believe that everyone knew the rules of the Volkswagen Beetle. "It's a game that people usually play. If you see a Beetle car, you punch someone and say 'punch buggy'. It's a stupid game people play but it sometimes kills time."

"Do you play that?" He asked with curiosity in his voice. 

"Not often. Only when I'm bored. Don't worry though. I promise I won't punch you," you laughed. Lay smiled at you and nodded. 

Once everyone decided whose car to take and all the luggage was put into the cars, it was time to take off. It was about an hour ride from Sooah's house to the cabin that everyone was staying in. At first, things were quite hectic with choosing who to follow on the road up to the cabin, but once things calmed down, an awkward silence began to grow in the car between you and Lay. 

"Should we get to know each other while we wait for this car ride to be over?" Lay suggested. One of his hands was on the steering wheel and his other was gently caressing his center console. It was an attractive site to witness. It was completely non-sexual but you always loved seeing an attractive man drive. 

"Is that a yes?" Lay asked, laughing. His question took you out of your daze and you felt a little embarrassed. 

"Uh yeah. You go first."

"Okay," he began. "Do you have a boyfriend?"

You laughed. "Woah, getting to the juicy details already, huh?"

This made Lay laughed out loud and his head tilted back slightly. "I'm sorry if I'm so straightforward."

You shooed him off with your hand. "It's fine. Yes, I do have a boyfriend."

Lay raised his eyebrows. "Nice. What's his name and how old is he?"

"His name is Woosung and he's twenty-seven. He's a singer, have you ever heard of him?"

Lay was quiet. You looked to him and he was gripping his wheel aggressively. "Is everything okay?"

Lay looked to you and took a deep breath. "Was this Woosung in a band called The Rose?"

You looked away and nodded, wondering how he knew that detail. It's been four years since Woosung was last in The Rose. 

"He was. Why what happened? How do you know him?" You're curiosity got the best of you. You knew the news that was about to leave Lay's mouth was not good but it was killing you to know.

"About five years ago I had this friend. She was beautiful and kind and everything you could possibly love about a woman. The three of us used to be super close friends. I had a growing crush on her and I told Woosung about this. The next day, I caught them in bed together. I was furious because Woosung knew about my crush. He practically broke guy code."

Lay's words hit you like a truck. "But, I've been with Woosung for six years. Does this mean he cheated on me?"

The car grew quiet and the last six years of being with Woosung ran through your mind. How could you be so oblivious? All his friends probably knew about this and you continued to be at his side like a moron. Your heart began to shatter and you felt sick to your stomach. The Woosung that you thought loved you, cheated on you and never told you.

You could see Lay staring at you from your peripheral. He reached for your hand to comfort you, but you instantly retracted your hand. "I'm so sorry, Y/n. I had no idea."

You shook your head in response. Your throat was tight with tears that wanted to spill and you knew that if you spoke, you'd break down. Your eyes watered to the brim, heart completely broken, but you never allowed a tear to fall down your cheeks. 

The rest of the ride to the cabin was silent. You couldn't think of anything else but the fact that the man you thought loved you had cheated on you one year into your relationship. You always knew Woosung was a player but you always thought he'd be loyal to you. 

The cabin slowly came into sight. You felt suffocated in the car and you just wanted to get out and be alone for a while. Once everyone got to the cabin and parked their cars, everyone stepped out and admired the cabin and its beauty. It was different than what Sooah usually rented. Normally, it was just the four of you girls but since the guys were there too, she had to rent a larger cabin. It looked much better than the other cabins on the site. 

You managed to keep Woosung out of your head for a bit. It came back into your mind when you saw the way that Sehun was staring at Yoorim. It was years ago when you and Woosung were still friends. He would stare at you like if you were the most beautiful girl to him. It used to make your heart flutter and your stomach filled with butterflies, but now, the thought of him made you sick to your stomach. Leaving the group, you walked to the back of the house, admiring the mountains and how the mountains cradled the city. It was nice. Evening was approaching and the city's lights began to glow. You took in a deep breath of fresh air, not knowing how you were going to approach Woosung with this newfound information. 

"Hey, are you okay?"

You turned around and saw Sooah with a concerned look on her face. She instantly saw your expression and knew something was up.

"Y/n, what happened? Did Lay do something to you?"

You shook your head and looked down to your feet. Your eyes began to water again, no matter how hard you tried to hold it in. You looked up at Sooah, confident that you actually did look okay, and she instantly hugged you. You couldn't hold it in anymore and her hug just brought out more tears. Before you knew it, you were bawling your eyes out and leaving tear stains on her sweater. 

You began to hiccup from all the crying, feeling like you couldn't breathe properly. "Woosung cheated on me."

Sooah gasped and pulled away from the hug to look at you. "How do you know? What happened?"

"I was talking with Lay in the car and they used to be friends a few years ago. He told me that Woosung had sex with a mutual friend of theirs."

Sooah reached for your hands and held them in her own. "Maybe it was before you two were together."

Even though Sooah hated Woosung, she wanted to believe that he didn't cheat on you. You shook your head. "No. Lay told me this happened five years ago. Woosung and I have been together for six."

Sooah opened her mouth in disbelief. "What are you going to do?"

You wiped a tear with your sleeve. "I guess break up with him. I have zero tolerance for cheating."

"I'll help you drop him if you need help, okay?"

You nodded and smiled through your pain and Sooah returned the smile. She hugged you once more, squeezing just a little for emphasis, and then letting go. The two of you walked together inside of the cabin where everyone was. Everyone had brought in their luggage and you suddenly remembered you never brought yours in. You searched for Lay and found him in the room you two were going to share.

"Hey, can I borrow your keys to get my bags and blankets? I forgot to get them in the car."

Lay gave you a soft smile and pointed to the bed behind you. All your luggage and blankets were already brought inside.

"I thought I'd help you bring them in. I know you're in a rough spot right now and I didn't want to make thing harder."

Your heart almost melted at how sweet he was being. "Thank you so much Lay. I really appreciate it."

Lay nodded and walked out of the room. You searched through your bags for your cell phone and took it out. You saw you had several unread messages from Woosung and a few missed calls from him. You rolled your eyes and could feel the love you once had for him slowly fade away. You hit the redial button and waited for him to answer. 

"Hey, baby! Why didn't you answer my calls? Are you cheating on me?" He asked and then laughed. The question made you feel so bitter towards him and you wanted to lash out. But you knew if you weren't calm about this situation, he'd try to turn this on you. 

"That's funny you ask," you say. "I should be asking you that, don't you think?"

The other line was quiet for a bit until he answered. "Baby, what are you talking about?"

You scoffed and rolled your eyes. He was acting completely oblivious. "I'm going to ask you this once and I expect you to tell me the truth. Okay?"

Woosung was quiet and you could hear his breathing increase. "Okay? I don't know what you're talking about. You know I don't lie to you."

"Have you ever cheated on me while we were dating?"

He didn't answer. Several seconds passed and you waited. "Your silence is all I really need."

"Wait! No, I never cheated on you!"

This time, you laughed because you gave him one chance to be truthful and he lied. "So you never cheated on me? A year into our relationship, and you never cheated on me with a girl that you wanted to sleep with because your friend liked her?"

Woosung gasped. "Are you with Yixing?! How do you know him? I dropped him after that situation and stopped being friends with him."

You internally laughed at how idiotic this man was. He just confessed about cheating and you bet he didn't even notice. 

"Well," you began to say with venom in your words. "I didn't tell you but Sooah invited guys for our girl trip and guess who happened to be my partner? Lay! And guess what else? We're sleeping in the same room and sleeping on the same bed."

That last part was definitely not true but you couldn't stand there and tell him the truth. You wanted to hurt him and make him feel just as bad as you did. "And want to know something else? We're going to fuck. He's a big guy and I know he can fuck me so good. Nothing compared to what you give me with your micro. I'm going to let Lay fuck me until I forget your name."

You could imagine how red and angry Woosung was getting, but you didn't care. You felt satisfaction through your words and it was making you feel so much better. "Also, I want you out of my house by the time I'm back from my trip. And if you wreck anything in my house, I'll take you to court just like your parents did."

Woosung's parents kicked him out of their house for being drunk all the time and when he was leaving, he took a bat to all of their expensive things. They took him to court and he's still trying to pay back the several thousands of dollars of property that he damaged. 

You waited a few seconds to allow him to say something, whether it was a lie or not. Finally, he did. "I did cheat on you. Her name was Nari and she was a good fuck. I definitely don't regret fucking her and I definitely don't regret losing my friendship with Zhang Yixing over it. He's a prick anyway and I hope you have fun with him."

And then the line went dead. You didn't think your heart could hurt any more than it did. But you were wrong. His last few words will remain in your memory. You were livid. You were seeing red and quickly opened up your messaging app. 

Fuck you, Woosung. She probably couldn't even enjoy her fuck because your micro didn't even reach her g-spot. But keep thinking you got it. It makes you look like a completely dumbass. In case you didn't already know, this is me breaking up with you. And while you pack your shit and leave my house, picture Lay fucking my brains out while I drown out the terrible memory of you. 

You exited out of the messaging app and immediately blocked his number. You went straight to your gallery and deleted every picture that left you a memory of him. It was almost most of your gallery but you didn't care. You set a reminder on your phone to set all of his gifts on fire when you get back home.  You threw your phone on the bed and sat in silence for a while. You heart was racing with adrenaline and you were still sick to your stomach. Just the fact of knowing that he cheated on you and never told you was really gnawing at your brain.

There was a knock on the door that caught your attention. It was Lay. 

"Can I come in?"

You smiled at Lay and nodded. You saw him walk in and his cheeks were a light shade of red. "Are you okay?"

He looked at you with wide eyes like if you caught him off guard. He nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay. Why?"

"You look feverish. Are you getting sick?"

Lay shook his head and laughed. "No, but this turtleneck is making me a little hot. Do you mind if I change?"

You nodded in understanding. "Yeah, I’ll let you change."

You got up from the bed and left the room, closing the door behind you. You walked down the hallway and into the living room where everyone else was sitting. There was a debate going on about where everyone should go for an evening stroll since apparently it was on the list of things for partners to do. You sat down next to Sooah who looked at you and smiled softly. You reached for her hand and gently squeezed it, sending back a smile to her. 

"Did you talk to him?" She whispered. 

You nodded. "I broke up with him and told him to leave my house."

She raised her eyebrows and widened her eyes. "Wow. Did he admit it?"

You frowned and looked down. You nodded. She placed her free hand on top of your hand that was squeezing hers, and caressed it for comfort.

"It's okay. We will do something that will get your mind off things. Okay?"

You nodded and looked up. Everyone was still deciding on where to go. 

"Why don't we just talk a walk around the city?" You suggested. 

"I don't like walking," Suho pouted. 

"I do!" Mirae shouted in excitement. "That's a good idea! Let's go!"

"But what if the rest of us don't like the idea?" Baekhyun butted in. 

"Okay how about this. If Lay says so, then we will go. He missed this whole debate anyway," Sooah said. 

Everyone nodded and agreed and finally Lay made his way back to everyone. He was wearing the same turtleneck he had on earlier and took a seat next to you. 

"Hey I thought you were changing?" You asked him. 

He shook his head. "No, I was able to cool myself down so I kept the shirt on. But what is everyone talking about here?"

"Okay we need an answer from you. Sooah swears we need to do partner activities and she wants us to do something this evening," Sehun said. "So we thought it'd be a good idea to get your voice on things."

Lay laughed. "Why me? What if I choose wrong?"

Everyone laughed at his answer. "I'm sure you won't choose wrong," you told him. 

"Okay, should we take a walk around the city or stay inside the nice and warm cabin?" Baekhyun asked. 

Lay smiled and looked at me. "What did you choose?"

You pointed to yourself in question. "Me? I said we should walk around the city."

Lay nodded. "I choose the walk around the city."

The other three men groaned and rolled their eyes. 

"Why? What's the big deal?" Mirae asked. 

"We thought this was a vacation," Suho said. 

"You guys are so dramatic," Yoorim laughed. 

Everyone got ready and made sure to wear warm clothes before everyone got inside the cars and made it to the city. You had never toured the city that you vacationed in and you were excited to see new things. Lay shut the car off after he found parking on the street. 

"Okay partner, are we ready?" He asked. 

You smiled at him and nodded. The two of you hopped out of the car and immediately you looked up at the large clock tower that he parked in front of.

"Wow, this thing is huge!" You craned your neck to look up. You admired the building before you looked at Lay who you caught staring at you. 

"Why are you staring at me?" You laughed. 

Lay smiled, his deep dimple forming. "You just look so amazed."

"Well yeah! Look at this building!"

He finally gave in and looked at it. Beautiful Christmas lights covered the building and you could see the lights shining from his eyes. It definitely made him look more attractive and you had to control yourself and look away. 

"Alright, so I looked up what's around here and just down the street, they have an outlet filled with stores that don't close until like 1AM for the tourists that come here," Sooah said. 

She began walking with Baekhyun, their arms intertwined with each other's. It was cute to see. She hadn't had a crush since freshman year in high school. It was nice to see her comfortable around a guy. 

Everyone began to follow her and you and Lay were the last ones to follow. He offered his arm to you and you smiled and took it.

"So, about earlier," he began. 

You brought your hand up to cut him off. "It's fine. Really. I think I should actually thank you for even telling me. Otherwise I would've stood with a man that cheated on me and I would've looked stupid not knowing."

"And you kicked him out of your house?" He asked. 

You slowed down and looked up at him. "How did you know he lived with me?"

"Oh," he began. "I think I heard you tell Sooah you were kicking him out. When we were on the couch."

You hummed in confusion. "That's weird. I don't remember you being there when I was talking to her about it.”

Lay nodded. "Yeah, I was there. I was actually behind the couch standing when I heard but then I went back to the room because I didn't want to eavesdrop any more than I already had."

"Why didn't anyone notice you standing there then?" You asked, kind of suspicious of his actions. 

"Because everyone was too busy discussing about where to go that no one noticed I was in the living room."

You nodded, adding everything up. You guessed that it did make a little sense. You didn't want to read too much into something that was so little. 

You all finally reached the outlets and you saw it was filled with name brand stores from brands like Nike to brands like Coach.

"Oh my goodness! I have to buy things from here. Baekhyun, do you care?" Sooah asked him. He looked down at her and smiled. 

"You're the best partner ever!" Sooah squeaked and dragged Baekhyun with her to the Louis Vuitton store. 

"So what are we supposed to do? I don't supposed you all like shopping as well?" Mirae asked everyone, but everyone shook their heads. 

"Well I guess we can just split up and do our own things. Find whatever we can to keep ourselves busy," Suho suggested. 

"I'm a junk food person so me and my partner are going to find a candy place to eat," Mirae said and left with Suho. Yoorim and Sehun shrugged and looked confused, but walked away together anyway. 

"What do we do?" You looked up at Lay. 

"Hmm," he said, bringing his lips together. "Well it's really cold out here and we haven't had dinner yet. Want to get something to eat together?"

You nodded your head, stomach instantly growling. "But what are we going to eat? I haven't seen any restaurants in this place."

"Do you like Thai? I saw a Thai restaurant when we walked into this place."

"Yes! I love Thai food!"

Lay laughed and grabbed your hand and the two of you walked hand in hand to the restaurant at the entrance of the outlets. The two of you approached the food courts to find that every restaurant was already closed for the day. You looked around and pouted. 

“What do we do now?” You asked, looking up at Lay. 

He bit his lip in thought and hummed. “How about we go to the store, buy a few things, and then head back to the cabin and we could cook some dinner for the two of us?”

You smiled brightly at his idea. You weren’t that much of great cook but you liked the idea of being able to cook with someone else who’s company you actually enjoyed. You nodded, your smile never leaving your face. 

You and Lay left the outlets and walked back to the car, your hand never leaving his until he opened the passenger door for you. You used your GPS on your phone to find a store and Lay made his way there. You always hated grocery shopping but for some reason, the tedious action didn’t seem so bad knowing you were doing it with Lay. 

“So what should we eat? Do you like meat? Noodles? Kimchi?” He asked looking around the store. 

You nodded and licked your lips. “I like all of those.”

Lay smiled. “So do I. Let’s get them all.”

You and Lay found all the ingredients together and although you had just had a breakup a few hours before, you felt happy. It was just odd how you felt that a simple action like grocery shopping was making you feel better. 

The both of you took the groceries back to the cabin, humming in pleasure when the heat hit your bodies. You removed your sweater and helped Lay out of his as he held all of the groceries. You took a few from his hands and placed them on the counter in the kitchen. 

“Okay, just a heads up. I’m not a great chef but I don’t exactly suck. I’m willing to help with anything,” you told Lay as you washed your hands. He approached you from behind and went up against you, wrapping his arms around you to wash his hands as well. Your face and ears grew hot at his action and you didn’t know how to react. 

“It’s okay. I’ll teach you how to cook,” he said simply. He finished washing his hands and moved away from you. You took a deep breath, gathering your thoughts before turning around to him. He looked completely clueless to what he just did. It’s like his action was completely normal to him. 

“Here, take these noodles and boil them. Once they reach a good boil, pour the seasoning in them and let it boil for an extra five minutes. I’ll get the meat ready.”

You nodded and grabbed the noodles from his hand. You got the pot ready and poured enough water inside and started the stove. Lay on the other hand took out a frying pan and began cooking, looking like a chef with every swift move in the kitchen. 

“Do you always cook? How are you so good at cooking?” You asked. 

“Growing up, it was always me, my mom and my grandma. My grandma was really old so the only person cooking for us was my mom. Sometimes my mom had to work very late at night and I had to learn how to cook for myself and my grandma, so I made sure to watch my mom’s cooking very closely so I can make us all dinner and give my mom a break.”

You nodded your head. “That’s really good that you took the initiative to help out your mom. Not many guys do that.”

Lay laughed and you looked at him confused. “What’s so funny?”

“I’m not like most guys,” he said. 

It was your turn to laugh but it came out a bit louder than his. “Okay, sure. That’s what every guy says.”

He went serious, his smile leaving his face. “I’m being serious. I don’t really see myself like other guys.”

You crossed your arms and stared at him. You tried to study him to see what made him so different. “What makes you think you’re so different?”

“Well for one, didn’t you just say not many guys would take initiative to help out their mom? I’d like to think I’m more caring than most men. I listen and pay attention to small details. I bet you didn’t even know this but this whole time we’ve been partners, I noticed that your eyes smile when your lips do. Or like how you bite your lip when you’re nervous. I haven’t even known you very long and I’ve noticed these things about you.”

You rolled your eyes and placed the noodles inside the boiling water. “Okay but anyone can say that if they’ve been with me longer than two hours.”

Lay continued to cook the meat and he laughed. As he began sautéing the meat, he looked at you and smiled. 

“What? Why do you keep smiling and laughing during the most random times?”

He grinned and laughed again. “Because you don’t believe that I’m different.”

It went quiet between the both of you, you not knowing what to say. There was no point in discussing something that was so open ended. 

You finished the noodles and Lay finished the meat. He reached inside the store bag and took out a jar of pre-made kimchi that he bought at the store. You set the table and he brought the food over. The two of you sat down and you closed your eyes and enjoyed the smell of the food. Your stomach growled loud and that made Lay chuckle.

“Okay, let’s eat!”

Lay allowed you to get your pieces of meat first and noodles and then he served himself. As you two began to eat, he spoke up. 

“Tell me something, yeah? How am I not different than other guys?”

You laughed with noodles hanging out of your mouth. “You’re still on that?”

Lay shrugged and ate a piece of meat. “What? I want to know. I couldn’t convince you that I’m different so I’m kind of interested in hearing from you about how I’m not.”

You finished chewing your food and had the best idea. “Okay, if you’re not like most men,” you said with a sly smile and crossed arms, “then what would you say if I asked you to fuck me?”

Lay’s eyes widened and he nearly choked on his meat. His face turned a deep red and he reached for his water and took several large gulps. You laughed and tossed your head back, knowing exactly the reaction you’d get from him. He stared at you and you continued to smile at him. 

“Is that a serious question?” He asked. 

You nodded. “Yeah. Your answer to my question will convince me on whether or not I think you’re like most men.”

He nodded and took another drink from his water. “Okay, well, um, we don’t know each other well. So I’d say it would be best if we came to know each other first and then decide from there what we both would want to do.”

You continued to laugh, not entirely convinced by his bullshit answer. You knew he was making this up. 

“Uh-huh. Now what if I made a move on you? You’d tell me to stop?”

“I don’t see how this could help-“

“Stop trying to change the topic, Lay,” you said sitting forward in your seat. You were messing with his head and you kind of thought it was funny. It was sort of obvious that he thought you were attractive so there was no harm done. And if he wasn’t attracted to you, well there’s still no harm done. 

Voices could be heard outside the cabin and the two of you looked to the front door. Lay looked back at you and you gave him a resigned expression. The door opened and everyone walked inside. 

“Wow! You two left us to have dinner! What kind of friends are you?” Mirae said instantly going to the food that was made. 

“Everyone had the option to do something in town. Y/n and I decided to go grocery shopping and make dinner together for the both of us. It’s not our fault you all decided to shop and eat candy,” Lay said cleaning up the dishes. You quickly gathered the rest of the dishes and put them into the sink, slowly reaching Lay’s ear with your mouth. 

“The conversation will continue later on. Don’t think you’re off the hook, sir.” You pulled back and saw him tense up. You found it funny the reaction he had and continues to have. 

Everyone sat down in the living room looking completely exhausted. It was now 12AM and you could actually feel the exhaustion taking over your body as well.

“I think it’s time to sleep,” Sooah said while she closed her eyes on the couch and cuddled into Baekhyun’s arms. He looked down and smiled.

“I think I’ll take my partner and I to bed. Goodnight!” And with that, he carried her bridal style into their room and closed the door. 

“Can you carry me like that to our room?” Mirae asked Suho. He laughed and got up. 

“Last one to the room gets the bigger bed!” He said and began to run with Mirae running after him. 

“I don’t understand how they have the energy to run. I barely have the energy to walk,” Sehun said. “Want to go to bed? I’ll give you the bigger bed if you want.”

Yoorim yawned and nodded and the both of them left to their room, leaving you and Lay alone once again. You quickly turned around to face him but he didn’t want to make eye contact with you as he continued to wash the dirty dishes. 

“Are you going to be a while?” You asked him. 

Lay shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe another ten minutes.”

You nodded and yawned. “Okay, well I’m going to shower. I’ll come back out and let you know when I’m done.”

You left and walked down the hallway into your room. You opened your bags and got out a towel and your clothes and brought them with you into the bathroom that was connected to the room. You started the water and quickly got into the hot shower. It was relaxing and you could fall asleep standing if it was possible. Once you were finished, you lotioned up and threw on your pajamas which consisted of an oversized t-shirt and pajama pants that once had a matching shirt. You combed out your wet hair and left the bathroom. You put your dirty clothes into a plastic bag and into your luggage and began to make your way towards the kitchen. You noticed all the lights were off and you were confused. You had no idea where Lay was. 

Walking back into the hallway towards the room, you heard shuffling behind a nearby door. This door didn’t lead to any of the bedrooms and you didn’t exactly tour the cabin to see what it consisted of. You opened the door and it was completely pitch black and your anxiety went up because you couldn’t see what was inside. Before you could close the door, you were dragged into the room aggressively, but before you could scream, a large hand covered your mouth, your hands instantly reaching for theirs as a reaction. 

“Do not make a noise otherwise everyone in this cabin will wake up.”

“Lay?” You whispered once the hand was removed. “What are you doing? What room is this?”

“It’s the laundry room and I actually wanted to scare you to see how you’d react. Considering how you kept messing with me to see how I’d react to your words.”

You were up against the wall and his body was pressed up against yours. Although you couldn’t see, you could feel his body towering over you. 

“You smell so good,” Lay said. He bent down near your neck and took a deep breath in, sending shivers down your spine to your legs. He pushed a few wet strands of hair behind your ear before his hand went to the back of your neck. 

“Lay, what are you doing?”

“Don’t you want me to fuck you?” He whispered into your ear. You gulped hard and you were sure that even Lay was able to hear it. 

“What do you mean? I was just joking.” You said, not exactly knowing what to say. 

“Were you, sweetheart? So you didn’t tell your ex-boyfriend that I was going to fuck you hard until you forgot his name?”

You gasped. “How do you know that?”

Lay pressed a gently kiss to your neck and your hands instantly reached to push at his chest, but he didn’t budge. 

“One thing you should know about me is that I’m a huge eavesdropper. I don’t mean to be. I just happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time and I overhear information that I’m never meant to hear. I heard all the things you told your ex-boyfriend. I even read your text message from your phone. Yeah, you forgot to lock your phone when you left the room after breaking up with Woosung.”

“I didn’t mean those things, honestly. I just said it to get him mad.” Your breath became ragged and your heart rate was increasing with every second.

“Mm-hm, so then you don’t wonder what it would be like if I did fuck you? I am much bigger than you and I’m sure I could dominate you and fuck your brains out, just like you wanted me to.”

Lay placed another kiss right underneath your ear and you let out a whispered moan, hoping he didn’t hear. 

“What was that? Was that a moan I just heard.  Let me hear it again,” he said and he kissed again in the same spot. Your knees were weak and shaking and adrenaline was running throughout your whole body. He gave several kisses on the same spot and then gave a gentle suck, making you moan slightly louder. 

“Good girl. Keep moaning for me,” he whispered into your ear. You began to want more and you couldn’t help yourself. You reached up and grabbed his face and smashed his lips onto yours. His lips were soft and you wondered how his lips would feel everywhere else. 

“Do you want me to fuck you?” He asked once more. You nodded, forgetting he couldn’t see you in the dark. 

“Sweetheart, you’re going to have to answer me out loud.”

“Yes,” you breathed out. “Please fuck me.”

With your verbal permission, Lay wrapped your arms around his neck and he picked you up by your thighs and walked both of you out of the laundry room. He made his way to the bedroom the two of you were sharing and he placed you on your bed. 

“You don’t mind if we do this on your bed, right? You have the bigger bed,” he said out of air. You shook your head in response and he dipped his head in between your neck and shoulder and continued to place kisses on your skin. Goosebumps began to rise on ever surface of your body and your heart was beating rapidly. Lay gave you a little bite to your neck, which caused you to jump and moan simultaneously. 

“Fuck, you’re so sexy. I want you out of these clothes,” he said while bringing down your pants.

He threw your pants to the floor and lifted up your shirt. He dipped down and placed kisses on your stomach from your underwear line and made his way up slowly. You weren’t wearing a bra and this made him chuckle as he rose your shirt all the way and saw your breasts. He placed gentle kisses around the mound and then slowly made his way to one of your nipples. He sucked on it, making you want to squeeze your legs but because his body was in between your legs, you couldn’t. Heat began to rise in your core and you wanted some relief. You rose your hips up to meet his but he pulled back slightly, your nipple still in his mouth. You threw you head back, the feeling of your nipple being played with his tongue running through your body. He placed your hardened nipple in between his teeth and gently bit down, making you jump and squeak. He smiled and then pulled away with a pop. Lay pulled your shirt off over your head and then removed all of his clothes. 

“I want you to suck my cock while I eat your pussy,” he said as he took of his boxers. His member sprang up once his boxers let it loose. It instantly hit his toned abs and you couldn’t help but to stare. He was definitely large and it made you excited that finally you were going to get some good dick.

You quickly took your underwear off and threw them to the floor as he laid down and took your place on the bed. You climbed on top of him and placed your throbbing pussy over his face, the anticipation rising your adrenaline. 

“Put that pussy over my face, just like that,” he said in a low voice. He wrapped his arms around your thighs and he put his whole mouth on your pussy. Your hands balled into fists, during he process leaving scratches on his abdomen. Wanting to return the favor, you leaned down and put his long member into your hands. You needed two hands to stroke him. Your hands were small and your fingers couldn’t fully wrap around him. You gave a short lick to his head, making his hips to rise up in demand for more. You slowly put the tip of his cock inside your mouth, receiving a loud moan from him, underneath your pussy. That sent vibrations straight to your clit which caused you to want to go down lower on his cock. 

You began to bob your head up and down and made the blowjob sloppy. Spit was dripping down his cock and it was shiny as you pulled back with a pop. Underneath you, Lay paid more attention to your clit and you were thankful he even knew where it was. He wrapped his lips around the swollen bud and began to suck. Your legs began to shake, a climax coming quick. 

“Lay, I’m going to come,” you breathed out. Your body involuntarily hunched forward and he never ceased his actions. 

“Come on my tongue, baby,” he said. He placed his tongue inside your pussy as his fingers began to rub your clit furiously. The quick movements made you convulse and tense, sending your climax throughout your whole body. Lay gave your clit one last suck before helping you turn around on him. 

“I want to see you ride my cock,” he said, helping you position your thighs on top of his. You lined up his cock with your pussy and slid down on him. 

“Ah, fuck,” he moaned. “Your pussy is so tight.”

The stretch of him inside you burned. You slowly made your way up and down his cock. The burn was soon replaced by pleasure and you began to go quicker. You placed your hands on his chest and bounced your ass on his cock. You threw your head back as his cock hit your g-spot with every bounce. 

“Tell me how much you like my cock,” he said to you. He placed his arms underneath his head as he watched you ride him with your pussy. 

“I...love...it so much,” you managed to say. 

“Fuck,” he began. “You ride me so well. I can feel your pussy tighten with every bounce. Are you going to come again?”

You nodded, not being able to speak any words. Your second climax was approaching quickly and you tried to ride it out. Your actions were deterred, so Lay grabbed you by your ass and began pounding up into you.

“Oh my god, I’m coming,” you whispered, worried that the others might hear you. Your pussy tightened around him and your body tensed up for the second time. 

Lay spun you both around so now you were below him. “Have you ever come three times in a row?”

Your eyes were closed and you could feel the energy being drained from your body. The second climax was much stronger than the first and you weren’t sure you could even have a third one.

You shook your head in reply to his question. 

“Well, tonight will be your first night.”

He rammed his cock back into your pussy and leaned over to look at you. Your eyes stayed closed, wanting to relish in this feeling forever. 

“Look at me,” Lay demanded. “I want to see you up close when I make you come for a third time.”

He was pounding your pussy and making your eyes roll back, it was hard to stare back at him. He placed a sloppy kiss against your lips and you were moaning into his mouth. Your hands reached up to his back but he grabbed both of your wrists and pinned them above your head. 

“Fuck, you look so fucking sexy pinned underneath me as you take my cock. You’re such a good girl for me,” he groaned. He had your wrists pinned with one of his hands and with his other, he reached to grab your neck. 

“Do you like to be choked?” He asked. You nodded. 

He gently squeezed the sides of your neck and you could feel your third orgasm approaching. It was coming strong and you could feel it. 

“I’m going to come,” you said in small breaths. 

“Me too,” Lay said. “I want you to come with me. I’ll count down from three.”

“3,” he said. Your orgasm was quickly on its way and you weren’t sure you could control when it happens. 

“2.”

“1.”

At 1, he squeezed your neck slightly harder and you instantly came. Your pussy squeezed his cock and he groaned loud into your neck. His cock pulsed inside your pussy as the both of you came. He let go of your wrists and neck and hovered above you, placing gently kisses on your lips. 

“That was the best fuck of my life,” he said and placed one more kiss on your lips before pulling out of you. “Come on, let’s go clean up before you leak onto your bed.”

He helped you get up onto your shaky legs and led you to the restroom. He found several rags on a rack and got one and ran it under warm water.

“Open your legs. I’m going to clean you,” he said. “Put your hands on my shoulders.”

You put your hands on his shoulders as he leaned down and wiped you. The rag slightly touched your clit and your body jumped, making you lean on his shoulders. 

“Are you okay?” He asked looking up at you.

You nodded. “Just a little sensitive.”

You smiled at you and continued to clean you up, making sure to be careful of your sensitive spot. He cleaned off the rag and continued until he thought you were fully clean and then cleaned up himself. 

“Okay well we’re both cleaned up. Don’t forget to pee, sweetheart,” he said leaving a kiss on your forehead before leaving and closing the bathroom door. You used the toilet and walked out and saw that he wasn’t in the room anymore. You put your clothes back on, fixed your bed sheets and laid down on your bed, feeling ever more exhausted. You heard the room door open slowly and you knew it was Lay. You heard his footsteps approached your bed and he tapped you. You turned around and saw his shadow standing over you. 

“Do you want to lay with me?” You asked him. Without letting him answer, you made enough room for him in your bed. He picked up your covers and got under with you, instantly wrapping an arm around your waist. 

“So how was it?” He whispered into your ear. His voice was soothing and you closed your eyes. 

“It was really good. Better than what I expected,” you told him. He gave you a gently squeeze on your waist. 

“I’m glad you enjoyed it. Now let’s sleep, sweetheart.”

With that, you placed your arm on top of his and interlaced both of your fingers. You could smell the soft cologne he was wearing and that was the last thing you remembered before sleep took over your body. 

[samwritesforyou]

ARMY ZIP drabbles

JOURNEY

you and joon have been pretty close friends since you first came to this new highschool. your family has been moving around a lot, so you never stayed long in any schools, until this one.

your mom eventually got to know namjoon’s mother and they became friends as well.

there were always some activities for your class, and one day it was a trip for the whole day, where teachers took all of you to the place that was very similar to some kind of jungle.

it was no surprise to find this type of  surroundings in australia, so nobody was really super stoked by it.

but the exciting part was, that your main partner for the day was joon, and together you’d get lost, just enjoying each other’s company.

to avoid punishment, joon took the situation under his control and called the teacher in charge, bluntly lying about the fact that you two have gone home already. you two didn’t mind spending more time together, especially in this beautiful scenery.

after all you’d find your way out of there and joon would walk you home from the bus station, because it already got dark, and he would give you his grey jacket, because you said under your breath a silent, “how much colder can it be..”

your mom was waiting for you on the porch already - pretty mad - and joon took all the blame on himself, apologising and saying that you two got lost because of him.. she actually forgave the both of you and even invited joon to stay for a cup of tea.

the whole time beside the dinner table you couldn’t take your eyes off him, and he did the same, captivating your eyes with his..

in the hall you were just simply talking about how much fun the whole day was and you both ended up in a warm hug towards the end of your conversation.

since you’re both still underage, your mom makes a firm statement that she will drive namjoon to his own home and as you waved him goodbye you were smiling, because.. damn, he forgot to take his jacket back from you. and you couldn’t help yourself but realise that it smelled just exactly like him.. like home.

PERFECT

yoongi was this perfect friend. you didn’t know him for too long, but it didn’t matter. your personalities clicked and you started to spend a lot of time together.

he was the best baseball player in the whole school and you were fortunate enough to always be by his side, whenever some victory happened.

but what you missed on - in the early stages of your friendship - were the losses, the bad things that happened.

one day you were just passing by the slightly opened door of the changing rooms, when you heard a slight whimper.

you immediately stopped and carefully peeked through the crack, trying to inspect who’s inside.

you saw light hair and a small posture, crouched on the floor near the lockers, shuddering their shoulders, with arms wrapped around their knees, as they desperately tried to hide the sounds that sometimes escaped their lips.

it didn’t take you long to realise who it was..

“yoongi?..” you called, softly, opening the door further and making your way inside.

“i fucked it up.. i fucked it all up,” was all he said, burying his head even tighter to his knees.

so he wasn’t perfect, after all, huh? everyone kept painting yoongi as this cold and professional kid, but they just never got to see the more emotional and vulnerable side of him.

perhaps he didn’t let them see it.

didn’t want them to see it.

but he let you. and when you dropped down on the floor next to him, consoling him and patting his hair, he let you.

when you leaned towards him, he started to cry even harder, letting his emotions out, and finally felt how it was to be truly supported by someone.

that’s what true friends do, right? being here for each other in good and bad times.

ZOMBIE

it was the end of it all. the world has gone insane since last week, when a massive zombie virus broke out... somehow.. to the whole world.

Nobody knows exactly what or how it happened, but even though everyone was fairly “educated” on the apocalypse matter from all the movies and books, loads of people were still getting turned on a daily basis.

in other words, it was terrifying, and not as adventurous as in the fiction.

you were fortunate enough to find yourself, after days on the road, in the abandoned house, still filled with some leftover foods around.

you just did your evening routine and came back to your “room”, where you stood by a small window, looking out and trying to concentrate your attention on the lightest of sounds.

and you finally heard it. a zombie was approaching from the hallway, their grunting clear as day for your careful hearing.

you had no weapon, no help around..

you didn’t know exactly what was your plan, but.. something will have to do.

you grabbed the nearest brick into your palm and squeezed hard, getting nervous.

the undead person already came into the view, feeling your presence and moving in your direction.

when there were only a few meters between the two of you, the gunshot blazed through the air.

the body fell to the floor and you saw a man standing in the hallway, rifle in his strong hands.

“hey.. you okay?” a man said, fixing his freshly dyed purple hair.

“yeah..”

“good. i think you could use a friend in this apocalypse,” a man smirked and gave you a bag with some food, by this making a peace pact between you.

STREET

hoseok was an international student from korea, who was studying art and dancing majors.

you were friends for some time already, but both of you never had time to actually hang out outside of the school grounds.

you were into filmmaking and your study hours were crazy, to say the least.

but finally, summer holidays were approaching. you didn’t make any plans, because most of your friends went travelling, and your buddies from the dorms were supposed to leave to go back to their lovely families.. you just didn’t have that.

one of the final days of the semester before the big break, you were just wandering around the campus, finally having nothing to do, after months of hard work..

and suddenly your phone rang. it startled you, on the screen showing “hoseok” with his number underneath it.

you picked it up, of course.

“hey, are you in town?” you heard an exciting tone on the other end.

“yes, actually..”

“wanna hang out? come to that park near the school, in 20 minutes?”

and it was settled. when you dragged your ass over there, you came perfectly on time and hoseok was already waiting for you, sitting on top of the many big cans that were laying around here.

he simply handed you the graffiti colour. you couldn’t help yourself but to make a surprised expression, but took the paint anyways.

“let’s create something!” he exclaimed, jumping to his feet and started to dance around, filling the walls with some slogans and pictures of all sorts.

he noticed you hesitating at first, and gently put his elegant hand on your back.

“heyy,  don’t be afraid, it’s my first time with this kind of medium too! i just figured we could do something for the first time together and not worry about the result that much, most important thing is just having fun, isnt it?” he smiled at you warmly, and you just couldn’t help it and put your arm towards the wall, spraying his name on it.

YOUNG

it was one of those days, when everything seems quiet, slow and kind of lazy.. it was just another weekend in your small city, far far away from all the excitement of the bigger metropolis.

you were fortunate enough to meet one of the closest people in your life here, though.

you came over to jimin’s place, as you have previously agreed on.

he made you some tea. kettle boiled in the silence of his apartment and you smiled at each other, when he picked your favourite kind.

you knew each other well. and jimin knew even better about your current struggles, as of the problem that you’re trying to become a tattoo artist, but it wasn’t quite working out yet.

he was always trying to help and make things better.

so when you ended up in his room, he took out a marker from his pencil-case and showed it to you, excitedly.

“what should i do with it?” you chuckled, but sadness still prevailed on your face.

“draw on me,” he simply said and put the tool firmly into your hand, “imagine i’m the canvas and you’re about to ink my skin.”

“okay..” it seemed a little weird and embarrassing at first, but after a while you both got fully into it and your passion literally blossomed in front of his eyes and reflected there as beautiful sparkles.

“youth?..” he asked, looking at his arm, with a genuine warm smile.

“youth. let’s never forget about this. when we’re still young, you know?” you smiled and then jimin started laughing with his angelic voice.

“i like it! write more, please..”

you ended up writing things like “i  me”, “happy song :)” and a big “nevermind” in some really rough, but pretty font on his ribs.

“i really like this one..” jimin said, truly amazed.

and a few years later, after you’ve finally made it out of the small town and owned your own tattoo studio, jimin came with a request of nevermind on his ribs.

MAFIA

it was really risky to try and accomplish this mission and you knew it.

there were literally myths and stories going around this mafia, especially their leader.

nobody never described how he looked, just that he was ruthless and never spared their enemies.

all the other heads of gangs had exceptions for some people, but not him.

and when you were caught, illegally transporting some dangerous.. “items” by one of his people, you were immediately captured. this wasn’t supposed to happen and now you knew your fate.

you were held hostage for some days, but now you’re finally on the way to meet the master head behind all of this.

you were pushed into this luxurious room, doors closing loudly behind you. but it was empty..

after the uncomfortable silence the backdoor of this strange place opened and you saw him come in.

his expression was grim and intimidating, but changed in a heartbeat when your eyes met.

“taehyung?..” your voice cracked in between the pronunciation of his name and you were just.. astounded.

you were close friends until last two years, because you suddenly lost contact with each other.

“are you okay?” he immediately rushed to you, uncuffed your hands and wrapped you in a warm hug, dropping his stern facade this instant. in that second all your memories from when you were younger and just having fun together popped up in your head and you couldn’t help but only hug him tighter.

when you pulled away after a while, you cupped his cheeks with your hands and stared into his eyes, “how the fuck did you get into all of this mess?”

you just wanted him to stay this innocent and pure boy you always knew..

“i should ask you the same thing then,” he frowned his brows and pouted.

“i guess we’ll have to figure it out somehow..” you turned your head towards the doors, that slowly clicked as someone was clearly ears dropping you.

“now it’s only you and me, partner.”

MESSENGER

you were just an ice cream truck worker, giving out yet another frozen treat to a happy family in front of your face. ugh. you didn’t like your job one bit. but what can you do in summer, when you don’t have enough money from your usual income like drawing or writing articles, right? next second you look up from your phone and another customer is standing there. “can i get some ice, please? just ice,” he says firmly and tries to keep up a smile, but it breaks a few times, because the man looks genuinely injured on the side of his head. “are you sure? you should call a doctor for that-“ you can’t even finish your sentence when he just pulls his hand into the ice-cubes container himself and pushes it against his temple, part of the ice melting and some of it falling down. suddenly he’s checking his phone and then frantically looks around, not loosing his cool image. then his eyes dart back at you and he says, “do you think i can hide behind the truck? you’d still stand there so its not suspicious that the truck is here by itself?” he really seemed to be in a hurry, so you just nodded your head yes and he was already crouching next to you, in a still position. soon a group of bulky men appeared, coming to you and asking if you havent seen a younger guy with longer brown hair, tattoos and piercings. you have, and he has been hiding just next to your legs. “no, i’m sorry,” you said with an innocent smile and eventually they went away. when the air was clear, the man finally stepped away and most adorable smile appeared on his face. he was holding a small transparent package, full of white crystals. from all the happiness he kissed the package and then patted you a little awkwardly on the shoulder. “thank you so much for covering me. i’m jeongguk, by the way,” he stretched his tattooed arm towards you and you shook hands. “can i get an ice cream now?” he said, a little bit embarrassed, as he stood in front of the truck now, like a normal customer.

[sellyoursoulforagoodfic]

The “Rescue”

Slade Wilson x reader

Summary: Arkham Knight era, the boy needs a hand after he gets caught

Word Count: 1830

If someone had asked that morning how he thought this whole “attack Gotham on Halloween” thing was going to go, Slade probably would have said literally anything other than the way it actually had gone. Months of careful planning somehow ended with him sitting in a cell at the police station with every crazed idiot that plagued the cesspool they called a city. The man poorly singing opera in the middle of said cell especially grated on his already frayed nerves.

It hadn’t helped that all of those irritating criminals had gotten especially antsy about ten minutes prior when damn near every cop in the precinct rushed out with whispers of something happening at Wayne Manor on their lips. Slade could only hope the Knight made it out okay. But it didn’t matter, not much he could do to help the kid until after he got himself out of here. An annoying task in and of itself considering that his gear had been confiscated upon arrival; he was lucky no one had had the balls to try and take his mask. So he chose to bide his time, head leaned back against the bars as he sat on the ground and tried to ignore the other prisoners around him.

The phrase ‘Time is an illusion’ came to mind while Slade sat waiting for something to happen, something that would give him the chance to escape. Cops weren’t back yet, so it hadn’t been too long. Still, he was getting antsy, eager to leave the company of Gotham’s Craziest. Though, he wasn’t so eager that he was happy when the power suddenly cut out. Predictably, there was a sudden hush among the prisoners before the chatter returned twofold.

This can’t be good.

“You look like shit, Wilson.”

His eyes slid closed and he sighed, automatically recognizing that voice. He’d better after all the times and contexts in which he’d heard it.

“He’s wearing a mask!” Cobblepot argued. “How the hell can she know that?”

“Shut up!” Dent snarled. “You fucking idiot. Do you not recognize her mask? She’s almost as bad as him!”

Ignoring them, Slade turned to look at her. Sure enough, her mask (one much like the Knight’s) was blocking whatever facial expression she had, but her body language spoke volumes about her attitude. The outfit she was wearing fit poorly; something she’d stolen from a militia member to blend in most likely. “Why are you here?”

You crossed your arms, weight falling to one hip. There was a little time to spare before the skeleton police crew came to check on this particular group of criminals. “A mutual friend of ours asked me to make sure you made it out of town.”

“I don’t need your help, Y/N.”

“Like it or not, you’ve got it. The Bat’s dead; his manor blew sky high with him in it.”

That sent a wave of murmurs through everyone that was openly listening to the two of them argue.

The crowd was loud enough to cover the quiet, “Allegedly,” that was for Slade’s ears only. “So, do you want out of here or not?”

“Suppose I shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth,” he grumbled, rising to his feet slowly.

“Who are you callin’ a horse, Wilson?” you challenged even as you pried the door open.

None of his cellmates were stupid enough to challenge Deathstroke as he exited the cell and closed the door behind him. “The woman that felt the need to break her ex-husband out of jail without even getting paid for it, Ms. Wilson.” It was always amusing to him, the fact that you never bothered to change your name back to what it was before. Well, it amused him about as much as it hurt him.

“Well, everybody always says I have shit judgement, so I figured I’d say ‘fuck it’ and lean into it this time.”

It was only once both of them were in one of the militia’s armored transports that Slade started to relax the slightest bit, and even then it was in no small part due to the fact that you’d handed him a duffel full of his gear. Apparently you’d made a pit-stop by the evidence lockup before grabbing him.

“So the Knight sent you?” he asked as she drove, the vehicle headed out of the city. He wasn’t leaving your presence anytime soon as far as he could tell, so he might as well make nice in the meantime.

You nodded, eyes remaining carefully trained on the road. Looking at him . . . well, it was never a good idea for you. “He messaged me as soon as things went sideways with the Bat. Took me a few hours to get here.”

“Little shit had no faith that I’d get the job done?”

A smirk tugged at your lips. “You don’t exactly have a winning track record going against Batman alone, and your thugs--trained or not--stood no chance. Don’t get mad at him though; he was worried about you.”

“And you’d do anything for him.”

You nodded, and out of the corner of your eye you saw him echo the gesture. It was against your better judgement, but you couldn’t stop the admission from sliding from your lips as easily as curses normally did. “And for you.”

Every muscle in Slade’s body froze at that; for once he had no idea what to say. “Y/N. . .” 

You just sighed.

There was a reason for your relationship in the first place, after all, as well as your divorce. The love you two had was a dangerous one; there were no lengths one of you wouldn’t go to if it meant saving the other. The only people that could claim something similar from Slade were his children, and that was only after you helped them reconcile. And the love you shared had never faded. In fact, the problem was the exact opposite. You two had hated to be apart, hated that your separate contracts often made you go weeks without seeing the other, and more importantly each of your enemies started going after the other in an endless search for weaknesses. For Slade it was no problem. For you . . . Let’s just say it was a shame that you didn’t have his enhancements.

So the two of you staged a massive fight and ended it between you. That was ten years ago, and not a day went by that you didn’t wish things were different.

When you glanced over, you saw that he’d removed his mask, and yeah looking at him was never a great idea for you. Confirmed. It only reminded you how much you loved him. And the fact that he was still handsome even years after all the years since he was the young brunet mercenary you met so long ago.

Slade found himself in a similar situation over in the passenger seat. As much as his first wife taught him he was bad at the whole feelings thing, you taught him that he could be more than that. His cold heart gave a solid thud at the sight of you removing your own mask with the smooth familiarity of someone who’d done it a thousand times and carelessly tossing the marvel of mechanical headwear into the back seat. You’d gained some wrinkles over the years you’d spent away from him as well as some grey hairs, but you were still stunning. Maybe it was a good thing you never took it off around him while the two of you were working with the militia down in Venezuela . . . 

“I thought we agreed . . .” he muttered, normal confidence put aside for honesty just like it always was when talking to you.

“Do you remember what it was like back then?”

“When?”

“That trip when we stayed in that backwater beach house in South America.”

A smile tugged at his lips. “Second honeymoon. Rose wanted to kill us for getting her to dogsit.”

You nodded, fingers flexing on the steering wheel as you fought the urge to reach over and touch him. “She agreed, and I paid her.”

“It was a wolfhound you trained to help you on jobs; it was a beast.”

“Rover was a good boy, and you loved him.”

“You knew she couldn’t say no to you.”

“Okay, that I can’t argue.”

There was a moment of amused silence where Slade simply enjoyed your company for a moment. But all good things in his life had to end, so, “Why do you bring it up?”

You hesitated, face nervous, a rare thing when you were talking to him even after the divorce. “I miss it.” Even someone as emotionally stunted as Slade Wilson could hear the unsaid, “I miss you,” in your tone.

“Did something happen?”

You shook your head. “Been thinking about it for a while, actually. Ever since we started helping the Knight.”

It really had been a while, then, since Jason Todd hired both of you over a year ago to help gather and train his army. You buying and programming the drones and equipment as well as building the Knight’s mask in a style similar to your own, Slade training the people how to actually fight. Crossing paths had been both inevitable and painful.

“What you’re thinking . . . Y/N, it isn’t a good idea.”

Abruptly, you slammed on the brakes. Slade absolutely would have hit the windshield if his reflexes had been any slower and he hadn’t been able to brace himself in time. Your eyes were practically blazing when you turned to glare at him. “Slade Wilson, if you can look me in the eye right now and convince me that you don’t want the same thing, I’ll drop it and you’ll never see me again.”

The thing was he couldn’t do that. You knew how to hit him where it mattered, that was sure. Mentioning his kids (both of which still loved and looked up to you), that trip . . . Yeah . . . He wanted you around just as much as you wanted him around. God only knows why she wants me.

He sighed heavily. “If we do this, we’ll have to be partners. None of that working separately shit that got us in trouble before.”

“Lucky for us, we already know how each other works.”

Slade rolled his eyes, relaxing into his seat once more as you started driving again. “Why do I feel like the kid set this up?”

“Because he’s a manipulative little shit just like the rest of our kids except he has the Bat’s subtlety?” you offered ‘helpfully.’

Meaning that he has none? Slade chose to focus on that instead of the way a little thrum of pleasure passed through him at the way you talked about his children like they were your own; though, he supposed you were right to address Jason as one of them. Despite himself, he’d grown pretty damn fond of the little bird. “Yeah, that sounds about right.”