#-knowing damn well it isn't and yet feeling the need to shout it anyway for funsies

[quackle]

SIGHHHHHHH i miss judgmental nichaxel ☹️ guys ☹️ i miss them ☹️ nichaxel ☹️☹️☹️

[we-out-here-simping]

Ch 3: expanding horizons.

(s.h. x gn!reader)

from the river to the sea. (get in your daily clicks, read about it, donate if you can.)

Summary: you want to talk to Steve, but between your fights with hopper and looking after el and max, you just can't seem to get the time out but it's okay! you'll make the time to talk later... right?

Warnings: use of (y/n); no pronouns used (gn!reader); sad; arguments; flashbacks; injuries; a wild Eddie Munson appears; high school bullies

Word count: 8k

A/n: changed the chapter title but still feel like nothing fits for this one :{

also this was supposed to be out atleast a week or two ago but shit keeps coming up and I get very sleepy very early soz guys ;(

i know i asked for lil soft happy blurb ideas earlier unforch nothing got my creative juices flowing... well- there is one Nancy fic I've been wanting to write for a while now but I feel like I'm already working on so many different fics I don't wanna add another one but just know I'm thinking of Nancy wheeler and soon sapphic energy will strike upon me on a random weekday and I'll write her down

Masterlist

It was hard to breathe. Steve's vision is blurry as he walks through the woods towards his car. He feels ridiculous-- absolutely ridiculous, walking through woods in a stupid sailor uniform after being caught doing the deed with the person he is dating by said person's father. 

Walk of shame is an understatement.

But that isn't all that makes it all so ridiculous, so damn stupid. Steve knew he shouldn't have been eavesdropping on you two, it was a matter between you and Hopper, but he just couldn't help it– he was the topic of the argument after all.

He didn't know what to do when Hopper's voice got louder, when he started shouting. He wanted to barge in, to act as your shield. 

"No, you listen", Hopper’s voice comes loud even through the door, "You are fucking grounded. You can live your stupid paranoid fantasy and stay safe and stuck in this cabin”

“Hop–”

"And that means no tv–", the man interrupts you and Steve hates how much this whole thing reminds him of his own dad. 

"Dad–", he hears you whimper and it breaks his heart. Because you don't call Hopper ‘dad’, not yet anyway. You had once confided in the boy that the title felt too big. Too scary. You’d told him that Hopper didn’t mind. That he’d told you to take as long as you need, to say it if and when it feels right. But with the way he is shouting, it makes him wonder if gentle words like that could ever leave his mouth. 

Boots shuffle on the other side of the door, "No radio or cassettes, no more phone, no more tv– ", Steve hears the clatter and something falling on the floor. "What else are you hiding from me, huh?”

"Nothing, Hopper–", his feet stomp once again, "Hopper, stop–"

"No more fucking dating", his voice booms, followed by the sound of something tearing up.

Your voice cracks when you exclaim, "NO!!--" 

"And NO MORE FUCKING STEVE HARRINGTON", Steve can’t help but flinch a little at the large thump that follows. "D'YOU FUCKING UNDERSTAND?" He barely even heard the sniffle you let out. “Asked you a fucking question.”

This is it, Steve thinks, enough of this. He is stepping in, Hopper, respect and his dad be damned, he will not let the man shout at you like that and not do anything.

Just when Steve was about to swing open the door, he heard you speak up, "No."

"What'd you say?"

"I said, no."

"Why? You love that stupid idiot or something?"

The air is thick with tension, Hopper’s question lingers in it for a while. You don't say a word. Seconds pass and your voice finally comes out, all shaky and rough. “He’s my friend. He’s my only friend, Jim.”

Steve’s knuckles turn white around the door knob. He cant help the pit that starts forming in his stomach, the disappointment that settles in it.

Friend. Friend? That's it? 

Sure, you both had just been dating only for two weeks but they were one of the best two weeks of his life and you don't feel the same? 

His grip tightens. was Steve being irrational? Maybe. But he cant help that pit in his stomach to spread wider– not because you don't love him but because he realises that he does. The realisation hits him like a bag of bricks, sure to bruise.

He thinks back to the night at your old trailer, the night he realised he liked you. All those months spent sneaking in just to see your face and your smile, tell you stupid jokes, hear your laugh, and to just be around you— it meant nothing to you? 

And now, he loves you. He loves you and you don't. 

"Cut the bullshit, y/n", he hears Hopper mutter from the other side.

his jaw tightens, molars grinding. Steve felt like history was repeating itself but this time he won't let it kick him down. He won't let it happen.

He won't let it happen to him again— he couldn't. So he puts his shirt back on, blinks back the moisture in his eyes and leaves the cabin. 

Now, walking to his car, he dared not to look back where he had just left, he wished to not even think of what had just happened. This was stupid, he was stupid. And as he drives through Hawkins towards starcourt mall, all he could think of was how much he felt about you and how much you didn't.

Hopper was right, this was all just a bunch of bullshit.

Bullshit. He laughs to himself at it without finding any humour in it. its funny how much that one word has ruined things in his life. The two syllables, a running motif in his life that he just can't seem to escape.

When Steve walks into work, Robin Buckley notices the air around him is thick and stale, his shoulders slumped. He was missing his scoops ahoy hat, his hair in disarray which is an uncommon occurrence considering he always had it styled as it is his self proclaimed best feature. His eyes have a glazed look to them, Robin notices– not that she was going to investigate as to why. she doesn't care about him, they aren't friends, they are far from it.

Something else she notices, Steve was trying to hit on every girl that came to the counter. So much so that the girl had conjured up a tally scoreboard– five lines marked below the 'you suck' and zero below the 'you rule'.

Robin listens to Steve trying to flirt with another girl and doing so badly. She fights back a snicker as the curly haired girl rejects the boy. As the girl and her friend walk away giggling, she hears, ".... It's my first day here...", Steve's voice trails off before letting out a heavy sigh, his head hanging low.

"And another one bites the dust!" Robin announces, sliding the whiteboard so Steve could see it– marking another tally under the 'you suck' title. "You are O for six, Popeye"

He crosses his arms, turning around, "Yeah, I can count"

"You know that means you suck."

"Yep, I can read too."

"Since when?", She retorts quizzically, putting the board back where it had been before continuing, "Why exactly are you suddenly trying to flirt with every girl in Hawkins?"

His brows knit together before he looks away, shaking his head a little, "I'm not trying to... flirt with anyone”

"Yeah, you are. I thought you were already spoken for"

"I have no clue what you're talking about"

she squints her eyes, "Oh, really? what about--"

“I don't even want to talk to you right now”, he interrupts her, turning around, his eyes not meeting hers.

“Not too keen about it either”, she is quick to say it-- they arent friends after all. "i mean– Y'know", she rests her crossed arms on the counter, "it's a crazy idea but have you ever considered telling them the truth?" she shrugs towards where the two girls had just been.

"Oh, that I'm so stupid that I couldn't even get into tech and now my douchebag dad's trying to teach me a lesson? That I make three bucks an hour and that I– that I have no future?", That the one person I love never seems to love me back? "That truth?"

“Wow Harrington. A joy to be around, aren't you?”, she shakes her head, trying to rid her head of thoughts and questions about Steve Harrington's love life. “And where’s your hat? You’re supposed to have it on at all times, y’know, company policy”

“I– um, I forgot it at home”

“‘Course you did”, Robin sighs. Before she could say anything else, Robin's eyes land on a group of girls walking towards the ice cream store, "Hey, twelve o' clock", she tells him, gesturing towards the group.

Steve let out a breath, he goes to fix his hair, quirking a brow towards Robin as if to ask if he looked good.

“And he says he isnt flirting”

“I’m just trying to look presentable”, he defends, running his fingers through his hair one last time.

"oh my god you're a whole new man", she says all dry and sarcastic.

"I know right ooh–", the brown eyed boy shimmies his shoulders then quickly turns towards the counter, "ahoy there, ladies! Didn't see you there! Would you like to set sail on this ocean of flavour with me? I'll be your captain….", The sailor uniform clad boy announces rather loudly, "I'm Steve Harrington."

The group of girls look at the boy with wide eyes, holding in their giggles. Steve is still babbling about the many flavours they offered, his gaze flitting from one girl to another. Robin grimaces and turns to put another tally under 'you suck'.

…

There is a knock on your bedroom door, followed by a voice. "(Y/n)?", Jim calls out from the other side.

Your door is locked. Still hiding under your blankets, you'd spent the entire night tossing and turning, barely getting any sleep. Your back hurt from lying in the same position for so long, your eyelids droopy. And Hopper knocking on your door every ten minutes ever since he woke up wasn't helping.

"(Y/n)?", The man hollers again, "just... open the door, okay– I have breakfast", He is greeted with silence, once again.

"Listen," he sighs, "I just want to talk...", he pauses and after it was indicative that he wasn't getting a response, he bangs his balled-up fist against the door.

"Go away", he finally hears your voice out loud. You did not want to see him, you couldn't. Yesterday's fight still fresh in your mind, you couldn't bear to look at him or the things he'd broken during said fight. the aftermath of his lash-out lied shoved in a lonesome corner of your cramped room. You wanted him to leave you alone, to go to work like he always does so you could call Steve and maybe apologise for all that Hopper might've said to the boy. so that things could go back to the way they were.

There is silence and for a minute you think he actually listened to you. But then the muffled sound of his sigh reaches your ears. "Hey, I know that…", he breaths in, "yesterday– I might have said too much… and I– I just wanna talk it out and maybe–"

Suddenly, the door flies open and he is met with your face. Your red rimmed eyes filled with anger, nostrils flared and hair a mess. "I told you to go away. So, just leave me alone", you say through gritted teeth, voice cold before slamming the door on Jim's face.

"HEY, don't you fucking slam doors!", His palm went for the knob, locked. "Open this door, (y/n)."

"No", he barely hears you over the blood rushing in his ears.

"Where the hell have you gotten this attitude from lately, huh? From your little friend? You think you're being real cool? being a rebel?"

"Oh, you think you're being real father-like?"

it only makes him angrier, he clenches his jaw, "(Y/n)... open this door", he says it almost like a warning.

"No."

"Fine!", he throws his hands up before holding up a angry finger at the door like an angry father does, "Just know that I tried to have an adult and mature conversation with you, but since you're such a reckless, immature child, I'll let you fucking be!", He turns away from the door, stomping his feet rather purposely.

The door swings open behind him. he turns around and you're there all furious and mad.

"Ah, look who it is!", The man exclaims, sarcasm evident in his tone, "Finally gracing us peasants!"

"You're the one who broke all my stuff and acted like a man-child", You hiss, pointing an accusatory finger towards the man, "And I'm the reckless and immature one?"

"Not only are you that but you're also stupid and irresponsible– breaking a rule, with that jackass Steve Harrington, no less!”

“Don't say that about him, he’s my–”

“Your friend? Yeah, I heard that, I saw it all too. I'm sure you guys are great friends!" Jim speaks with mockery in his words, "D'you kiss and fornicate with all your friends?"

With a scowl he continues, “you are immature and irresponsible, sneaking him in past my alarms like that–"

“They’re shit anyway!” you shout to interrupt him but he keeps talking, voice only getting louder.

"Not only did you put yourself in danger but El as well."

"How the hell did that put us in danger? you know Steve he–"

"Don't you talk back to me!” there's that tone again, the one that makes you scared, “you put us all at risk for this stupid boy. So yeah, you are irresponsible"

"God, why do you hate me so much??", You blurt out– its frustrated, tired and angry. You don't realise what you'd said until it was already out. Tears line your red eyes, and you look so tired, you want to go back to sleep.

all his irritation and rage are gone, his face falls, "What–", Hopper starts but gets interrupted by a familiar voice.

"(Y/n)? Hopper? What's happening?", El, who had been presumably waiting for Mike outside inquires with furrowed brows as she comes back in, concern etched into her features.

Both you and hooper say that it was, "nothing". You turn your face away so the girl couldn't see your distraught state and unfallen tears, trying to discreetly wipe them away. Jim rubs his palms over his face to collect himself, himself also not meeting the young girl's eyes.

She looks between the two of you before moving towards the phone, “is everything okay?” Hopper asks after clearing his throat. you glare at him.

“Yes.” she answers. You and Hopper stand silently as she asks for Mike on the phone. She then goes to her room to continue the conversation with the boy.

He clears his throat once again, and when you catch him looking at you, you cast him a glare full of indignation that makes him avert his gaze away. "I'm– I should get going...", Jim mumbles more to himself before taking his hat, wallet and keys and then heading out while you turn to usher yourself into your room, wallowing in self pity, once again.

Your room was dark, none of the lights on and somehow it was colder in there. Within moments you hid yourself under the blankets, ignoring the ever-present headache you'd had for a few days now.

1980.

You got detention, again.

You are used to it at this point. It is the same old– you wouldn't know how to react in a social situation, a classmate would make fun of you, and you'd get mad. Anger would boil in your blood as you would walk up to the person and punch them square in the face. Their parents would complain, you'd get detention and then a lecture in the principal's office with Hopper. The same old.

This time it is Tony Reed who was graced with a split lip and a bruised cheek. The blonde boy had decided it was very cool and funny to trip you in the lunch cafeteria and then proceed to spill his chocolate milk over you, calling you something that you didn't know the meaning of but assumed it was bad considering how his group was laughing and sneering. Your limbs had worked faster than your brain and here you are sitting outside the principal's office, picking your nails and waiting for Hopper to come out.

It has been almost close to a year since you escaped the lab. Almost a year of hiding. Almost a year of running. Almost a year of trying to fit in and failing ever so graciously at it. Almost a year since you'd met Jim Hopper.

Seldom do you two talk now, the man is always busy with his work. You also had your own job, school and the overall goal to not be caught by the lab again. The man doesn't know about your past. He is unaware of all of the secrets the small town of Hawkins holds, so does everyone else.

The creak of the door alerts you that it is Hopper coming out of the office. He picks up the hat he'd placed on the seat next to you, a silent gesture to tell you that he is ready to leave. You follow him out the doors, quick steps catching up to him. You sit in his car, slamming the doors behind you.

There is a silence, your gaze fixed on hands resting in your lap. Jim reaches for the cigarette pack in his pocket, he lights it up, blowing out a puff of smoke– making the car smell like strong tobacco.

He lets out a long, heavy sigh, "(y/n), we've talked about this", he continues once he notices you aren't going to interrupt him, "you can't keep doing this. This is the second time this month"

"(Y/n)", he says tenderly when you don't answer, "Hey... look at me when I'm talking to you" You look up from your lap, gaze connecting with his. "You cant keep doing this. If someone says something, we've discussed how to deal with it– you talk to your friends, teachers, or me"

"I don't have friends, teachers don't believe, and you are busy….. always", when Hopper doesn't say anything you continue, "I have not seen you since the last time I got in trouble. you are never there at the PTAs or–"

"Yeah, that's because I am not your damn parent, (y/n)", Jim interrupts you.

Your gaze is back to your hands in your lap, picking at the skin near the nails. The man beside you lets out a soft sigh, rubbing his temple. "Hey, hey", he whispers, "How about you promise and try not to kill another kid, I'll get you a new shirt and treat you with some Benny's, hmm? How's that sound?"

…

You heard a knock at your door, a softer and quieter one as compared to Hopper's, "(Y/n)? Can I come in?" El asks.

"Yeah, sure". The door opens, the hinges creaking slightly– light pooling into the dark room. Eleven lets herself in, sitting by the foot of your bed.

"What happened with Hopper?"

"You heard it all didn't you?" The girl nods. "I'm sorry…" that I shouted? That he shouted? That you heard it?

"So, Hopper knows about Steve?" Eleven inquires.

"Yeah, he does", you sigh before asking, "Hopper's gone right?"

You sister nods. You get up from your place, feet padding towards the phone hung by the kitchen wall– dialing up Steve's house number. When the line goes to the voicemail, you opt to try for his workplace number. You were greeted with the raspy voice of a girl.

You immediately hang up. El looks at you quizzically, “it wasn't him" Its always Steve who picks up the phone. Normally, at this time, Steve would always be there to pick up your calls. And Steve never ignores your calls.

You let out a forlorn sigh, putting the phone back on the receiver. Eleven standing by your side ready with a bowl of cereal for you and herself. You thank the girl before going to take a seat on the couch– she follows you closely then sits beside you. The girl twiddles her thumbs, clearly wishing to say something, "I wanted to ask you something", she speaks up after a while of eating silently.

"Yeah?"

"Mike... is being strange.. he is lying, I think" The girl explains to you all the details of everything that occurred between her and Mike. The way the girl explained everything, it seemed like your sister was asking for advice but considering you know jack shit about relationships, you were stumped.

After you both were done breakfast, she suddenly grabs your wrist and pulls you off the couch only stopping for you to put on your shoes and then pulling you through the door.

"El, what– where are you going?"

"To get advice."

"From who?"

Eleven tells you she was taking you to Max's home. You aren't sure that roaming in the neighbourhood was a good idea yet you let her lead you. The houses almost all look the same, surrounded by well mowed lawns and next to no one. Except for one person with bright red hair. Max is practising skateboarding and in the process the board slips from under her feet, rolling towards you and your sister.

The short haired girl beside you stops the board with her feet, picks it up and walks towards the redhead.

"Hi", Eleven greets.

"...Hi?" Max echoes in confusion, glancing between you and Eleven. You gave a wave of your hand towards the girl.

"Can we... talk?"

....

"... And then he said, he missed me", your sister explains to Max who is pacing around her room, furrows of lines on her forehead. You are leaning against the wall by the door, eyes following the redhead's movement. "And then he just... hung up"

"He's a piece of shit", Max says matter-of-factly.

“That seems... harsh?” you speak up a little unsure.

“Are you seriously defending Mike right now?” Max looks at you pointedly.

“You know what? You’re right", you hold your hands up in surrender, "my bad.”

"What?" El says, looking between you two and suddenly it makes you feel bad about shitting on her boyfriend so openly.

"El think about it", Max says, now stopping infront of the girl to get her full attention, "Mike doesn't have jack shit to do today– his Nana obviously isn't sick. I guarantee you, him and Lucas are playing Atari right now."

"But friends don't lie", El states naively.

"Yeah, but boyfriends lie." She said it like it was the obvious thing, "All. The. Time."

Huh.

"What do I do?" Eleven queries.

"Listen, you're going to stop calling him– you're going to ignore his calls. As far as you're concerned, he doesn't exist"

"Doesn't exist?" Both you and El say at the same time, words pour out of your mouth before you even realise-- clearly more invested in Max's advice that you might have wanted. Max and El look at you, you clear your throat awkwardly before murmuring a little "sorry".

"Yeah," Max turns back to face El, "he treated you like garbage! You're gonna treat him like garbage– give him a taste of his own medicine"

"Give him the... medicine", El repeats the phrase a little wrong yet Max doesn't correct her and instead hums in acknowledgement.

"And if he doesn't fix this and explain himself– dump his ass", both your and your sister's eyes widened.

"C'mon", Max said, pulling Eleven off of the bed.

"Where are we going exactly?" You spoke up.

“We? You're coming too?” Max asks, the question directed towards El more so than you.

“Yes, (y/n) is coming”, she answers immediately, nodding.

"Okay we are going to have some fun, there's more to life than stupid boys, y'know."

....

You aren't sure why you are here. In a crowded bus— way too many strangers, you think– headed towards the talk of the town, the starcourt mall. You know you are breaking a rule, but you keep reminding yourself that you are there to take care of El.

When the three of you step out of the bus you are hit across the face with the fact that there are even more people. Way too many strangers. The short haired girl beside you says, almost as if voicing your concerns, "too many people… against the rules."

"Seriously? You have superpowers! What's the worst that could happen?"

…

It has been almost a month since you punched Tony Reed.

You haven't seen Hopper ever since that lunch at Benny's. Despite him having promised you to meet you more as long as you avoided fights. That was the verdict.

So far, you'd still managed to stay out of it for a month despite the bullying and sneers having increased tenfold.

It is a Wednesday morning in the middle of July, it had rained the previous night so the air is immensely humid– you are sweating your ass off. There are sweat spots on your gym t-shirt. Your shoes slip on the wet grass, you fall with a thud against the ground. A boisterous echo of laughs sounds behind you and as you turn, you see Tony Reed, with his group of friends which included Tommy Hagan, Carol Perkins, and many more who you haven't bothered to memorise the name of— Hawkins was full of bullies.

"Hey, you okay?"

You turn around and are met with a mop of frizzy black hair and an extended hand to help you up.

"Yeah. Fine", you mutter under your breath, not taking his helping hand.

"Hey, Munson!! That your co-freak?" Tommy shouts from across the field.

"Match made in hell!!", Tony added, and the rest of the group bursts out into an obnoxious fit of laughter. Before you know it, your hands that were just hanging by your side curl up into fists and almost involuntarily, you start walking forward towards the group of bullies.

Ever since that last fight, they have been on your ass. from spilling stuff on you to locking you in empty classrooms so you miss classes. the entire group reminds you of your brothers and sisters back at the lab. Your Papa-- Martin. Martin would make them fight you, despite knowing full well you'd lose. the lab infirmary had always been your second room more so than the rainbow room.

There is a fight. somehow, you aren't sure how though, Eddie gets involved as well.

By the time some teacher stopped it, you had bruised knuckles and a split lip, Eddie had one too and a bruise spread across his cheek. Tony had a black eye and a broken elbow. Maybe you and Eddie made a good team.

You are then called to the principal's office and are ordered to call Hopper once. The threat of being suspended from school hanging in front of you like a sword.

You call Hopper. He doesn't pick up. You call the station. Flo, the lady at the desk, tells you that he was busy but that she would convey the message as soon as she could.

You wait five hours. And then some more. The sun has already set. The sky is filled with clouds of different shades and hues of lilacs and oranges and pinks. The road is close to barren.

The principal has suspended you and Eddie for a week. His uncle had talked to the principal– the old man had offered to drop you off, the two of you did live in the same trailer park afterall. you had refused but now you wholeheartedly regret it as you look at your watch and realise how long you had been sitting on the dirty, concrete pavement. The gravel was uncomfortable, the air still humid.

But you and your stubborn ass are here waiting for Jim Hopper. At this point, you aren't even sure if he was coming. Your rusty bike stands abandoned in the stands.

As the sky was starting to get darker, you realised that you should probably get going, you shouldn't sit out in the open like this all alone. Then there was the stubborn part of you. You didn't want to move; everything was too much yet nothing at all.

Several Minutes pass. That's when you hear the sound of tires against gravel and engine revving. You look up to see the all too familiar Blazer along with the all too familiar face.

The car stops in front of you, "Hey, kid–", he tries starting while cranking the window down.

"You are six hours late", you interrupt him.

he lets out, "I'm sorry.." his fingers rub over the steering wheel, "C'mon I'll drop you off", he says with a jerk of his head towards the passenger seat.

You walk around the car to get in the passengers side, slumping down in the seat. Jim shifts the gear, driving through the streets of hawkins.

"You got in another fight?" Jim finally breaks the silence of the car, "What happened this time?" He asks before you could tell him. You almost want to be mad at him for being so oblivious to the details but you are tired and your injuries hurt– the school nurse was awful at her job. You are exhausted so you settle on explaining.

"I got suspended…", Jim's eyes flit to your face before quickly turning back onto the road, "...for a week."

The man lets out a deep sigh, "You promised that wouldn't happen"

"And you promised that you'd visit me", you can't help but add a little venom to your words.

"...ah, thats what this is about", he says, almost a mumble to himself. 

Jim doesn't say anything for the rest of the car ride. Neither do you. The air is thick with tension and you don't want to be the first one to cut it. You don't say anything when Hopper doesn't turn at the intersection he is supposed to. After a few minutes, the car stops in front of the video store and Jim finally speaks up .

"Alright kid, What's your favourite movie?" You look at him, confused, before shrugging. "What about your favourite snack?" You shrug again.

You wonder why his features soften for a second, "Okay, we need to fix that", he says turning the car off, "You need to develop some taste, kid. Expand your horizons. That make sense?"

You nod before he mutters a 'c'mon' while getting out of the car. You follow suit. You and Hopper pick out a random movie and some snacks and popcorn. Then he drives you to your trailer where you watch the movie and enjoy the sweet and salty snacks to your heart's delight.

Somewhere near the halfway mark of the movie, you fell asleep– the exhaustion of the day finally taking over. When Hopper looks back from the screen to look at you to see how much you were enjoying the movie, he notices your closed eyes, the steady rise and fall of your chest as your head was lolled to the side.

Jim immediately pauses the movie. When he looks at the time, the clock reads 9:30 p.m., he decides it was pretty late. The man moves to pick you up and carry you to your bedroom, the movement wakes you up. It isn't until he finally put you on the mattress, that you speak up.

"Hopper?" Jim hums in acknowledgement. "Is the movie over?"

"No but you need to sleep, it's getting late", he smoothens your blanket over you. "We will finish it... later?"

"Later", you echo. Jim was getting up to leave when you call out again, "Are you... leaving?"

"Yeah, kid. I'm sorry"

"You can stay", you try to bargain.

"I can't. But you'll see me later this week I promise", he turns to leave again before he notices the teddy bear sitting by the shelves. "You still got this bear?"

"Mr. Arnold", you correct him through a yawn.

"Right, right. Mr. Arnold Bearenbearer– I remember." He chuckles to himself, a smile creeping onto his face at the name he made up when he gave it to a younger scared you. the toy is old, the blue ribbon around its neck is fraying, tattered-- well-loved. it was one of Sarah's favourites, "You take good care of him?" You nod in response.

"Good, because if you take care of him..."

"he will take good care of me."

".. yeah, its like a superpower– I’ve said this all before, haven't I?”

You nod with a sleepy shy smile.

“Yeah, well I'm an old man, kid. Can't keep up.” Jim smiles and you mirror it before your features contort into another yawn. "Good night kid. Sleep tight"

"Good night."

…

You have a headache, similar to the one you'd have back when you had powers, it had subsided earlier in the day but increased again when you got to the mall. There are too many people, you ascertain as you walk behind Max and El, weaving through the crowd. Max takes El and inadvertently you, to various shops in the mall. Giggles from the two girls fill the air as they try the various things from dresses to hats and even shoes. Trying to find the super-powered girl her style, something she could call her own.

El had a grin pasted on her face and so did Max and you knew that this was going to be the start of an amazing friendship.

You are glad El was starting to find who she is– finding out what she loves and what she doesn't. and Max is the perfect person to encourage and empower her without being patronising to the girl.

In the shoe store, El is trying on a pair of high heels. Her legs wobble as she tries to strut in the shoes, losing her balance almost immediately, the girl falls to the ground. You and Max are quick to help her get up. When you look up, you see a group of girls, with a judgemental look painted upon their faces.

Your nostrils flare, fists clench and you are about to say something to the strangers. But before you can do so, the girls beside you do something that you would never have expected— they laugh. They brush it off and unapologetically laugh.

Max leads El and you towards the food court. Your ears perk at the mention of scoops ahoy. You know that Steve would probably be there, maybe you could apologise for whatever Jim had said to him. Maybe get an answer for why you couldn't get ahold of him earlier.

As you walk through the herd of people with a slight pep in your step, you try your best to follow the two girls to the ice cream parlour.

Suddenly, your shoulders knock against someone, when you turn to see who it was, you are met with a man in a security uniform.

For the split second you both look at each other, annoyance and irritation flashes on his features along with a hint of what seems to be recognition; but you don't recognise the man, you are sure of it.

Confusion in your mind is quickly swept under the rug as the two girls quickly lead you towards scoops ahoy. Thoughts of the stranger long gone.

There on the counter is Steve Harrington, who had just finished serving two young boys.

"Hey, Harrington", Max greets.

"Hey", you mouth, shyly waving towards him from behind the two girls.

"What do you guys want?", The boy gestures towards the ice cream tubs, completely ignoring your greeting and skipping all pleasantries.

The girls gave in their orders, the boy starts to scoop the strawberry and vanilla ice cream, not even sparing a glance towards you.

"What about you (y/n)?" Eleven questions.

you blink a little dumbly, "Huh?"

"Which one d'you want?", Max asks.

"I…", your voice trails off when your gaze finally met Steve's– his jaw clenches and he had an unreadable expression on his face, "I don't know... I'll take any"

Suddenly, the window slides open behind Steve, revealing a girl with short blonde hair, headphones around her neck. She whispers something to Steve and the boy says something back. The girl smiles, and she looks pretty and you couldn't help but feel a tinge of jealousy.

He goes scooping one for you too– the same flavour which he'd gotten for you the day before. The boy turns around with two cones of ice cream in his hands, handing them to the girls and giving you yours without even looking at you. Your fingers brush together, the boy quickly retracts his hands and turns back towards the two girls. The girls mutter a "thanks" before starting to eat the sweet goodness.

"Wait a second," for a split second his gaze flicks towards you before going back to El, "are you even allowed to be here?" He knows the answer to his own question, you aren't allowed. You know the question is directed towards you, despite him saying it to El. Yet he dares not to look at you.

Your sister and Max fall into a fit of giggles before turning to leave. Your eyes are still locked onto Steve's, the expression on his face that you couldn't decode, one you'd never seen on his face– you didn't know what it meant and oh, did you want to stay and find out. But the two girls were already almost out of the store and you were supposed to look after them.

You mutter a little "bye" before turning to leave too– almost sprinting towards the girls. The boy doesn't return your salutation and instead just looks at the direction from where you'd left.

"Hey, dingus"

"Jesus, Christ. What?" Steve flinches at the sudden appearance of Robin beside him

"I would appreciate if you tried not to burn holes into our customers", Robin says leaning against the counter, "Also I got the second sentence"

"Great."

"Okay, you know what? I'm done with this"

"With what?"

"You! You've been acting this way for two days now. What the hell is happening?"

"Nothing is happening"

"Oh, really? 'cause you look like a kicked puppy right now"

"No I don't."

"Who was that?", she quirks her brow, jerking her chin towards where you had just been, "The person you just served?"

"They were Dustin's friends", he answers as nonchalantly as he could, shrugging,

"No, dingus, the older one."

"Also, Dustin's friend"

"So why the hell did you look at 'Dustin's friend' with such a dejected look?"

"That's just how my face looks and why do you care anyway?"

His coworker sighs before turning towards the backroom once again, mumbling a raspy "whatever". She does know now that Steve's demeanour had something to do with you. She could probably discern if she investigated a bit more. But at that moment she had bigger things to decipher like a super-secret Russian code.

…

"Why did Steve look like he was mad at you?" Eleven whispers to you– ever observant.

"I don't know", you whisper back to her.

"Oh, you've gotta be shitting me", the redhead who is walking ahead of you spoke up. Your gaze follows her eyeline and you see the boy's of the party by the bike stands. "Isn't this a nice surprise!" Max exclaims sarcastically.

Mike drops his bike, stunned, "What're you doing here?" He interrogates, pointing towards El.

"Shopping." Your sister states.

"This is her new style.. what d'you think?"

"What's wrong with you? You know she's not supposed to be here", he then turns to you and points an accusatory finger towards you, "You know she's not supposed to be here"

"What is she, your pet?"

"Yeah, am I your pet?"

"What? No!"

"Why do you treat me like garbage?"

"What?"

"You said Nana was sick"

"She is!"

"Yeah, she's so sick", Lucas speaks up from behind mike.

"Which is why we're here– to shop for Nana and also we're here to get something for you but it's hard 'cause I only have three dollars and fifty cents"

"It's Super hard", Lucas backs Mike up.

You notice Will, who stands behind them, not participating in the interaction. The young boy's gaze jumping from one person to another before it finally lands on Mike.

"You lie..", Eleven starts, "Why do you lie?"

When she gets no response from Mike, she walks closer to the boy. she looks at him for a second before her head turns at the sound of the bus arriving.

"I dump your ass."

Max's, Will's and lucas' eyes go wide at your sister's declaration. Max's mouth hangs open before Eleven grabs her and you by your wrists and pulls you to the bus.

Good for her, you think.

…

It is a Saturday. It is about to be seven days since Hopper promised to finish the movie with you. You stopped wondering when his later would come.

Since you are suspended from school you offered to do more shifts at the gift shop.

Every now and then teenagers from Hawkins high and middle school come in through the doors of the shop and they give you wary looks. Of course, word travels in a small town like Hawkins like wildfire.

The day the fight happened, everyone and their mother came to know that (Y/n), who doesn't seem to have a last name, and Eddie Munson had gotten in a fight with Tony Reed.

Tony Reed was a bully, not the harmless kind either. The older boy is the type to torment someone for days on end just for his entertainment but still never face the consequences for any of his actions.

Word started travelling around: Tony Reed was moving out of Hawkins.

Maybe you should've broken his elbow sooner.

You, your coworker and your boss close up the store at around 8 in the night. The older lady offered to give you a drive home, but you, however, refused. Despite how sweet the lady seemed, you still couldn't trust anyone. So you bicycle through the empty streets under the yellow streetlights– back to the trailer-van that you call home.

When you enter the trailer park, passing the Munson's trailer, you see a very familiar vehicle standing infront of your home. Your feet peddle faster, when you finally reach the car, you leave your bicycle behind and go to the slightly open driver's window. The person's face covered with the familiar hat.

You knock on the window, the man jolts awake– a groan audible through the cracked window. He removes his hat and as soon as he meets your eyes, his face softens– a smile appearing on his face.

You step back as he opens the door. Before Jim could shut the door behind him, you run to tackle his torso.

"You came!" You hug Jim, your arms barely reaching around and touching around his frame. The man lets out an oomf at the impact.

"Of course I did. I promised, didn't I?" he says while holding the back of your head, gently patting your hair– it has grown out a lot since he first met you.

You nod against his chest, not letting go of the grasp you had on him.

"Okay, kid. I think that's enough affection for the day. How bout we get inside, finish that movie huh? I bought some of those snacks you liked", you only hug him tighter in response. Hopper chuckles, continuing to hold and caress the back of your head.

…

There is the rev of an engine, the telltale sign of the arrival of Jim Hopper.

The door flings open, then closes harshly behind the tall man. You watch him from the couch as you were browsing through channels on the TV. Jim looks at you but immediately averts his gaze, he walks a little further in the house, his movements loopy and rocky. He is drunk, extremely so– the mostly empty bottle in his hand backing up your conclusion.

Jim stops in his tracks again. "Hey!" He shouts with a little gravel in his voice, "Hey!" He repeats again, walking towards El's room where your sister and her friend are. "When I say three inches, three–"

When the door flings open, he expects to be met with the sight of El and Mike but instead he is met with her and Max reading comic books on the bedroom floor.

"Do you knock? jeez"

"Yeah, jeez!" Eleven repeats.

"Oh, hey", Jim, who seemed to be unable to respond, slurs out, "I'm sorry… I thought that you–"

"Mike's not here", Max interrupts his rambling as if reading his mind.

"Max wanted to have a… sleepover. Is that okay?"

"Yeah." Hopper nods while repeatedly saying, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah", he awkwardly looks between the two girls and then asks the redhead, "Your parents know about this?"

"Yup."

"Yeah, that's cool. That– that's really cool." The man just keeps looking at the two girls, almost spacing out in his drunken state.

"Did you need something?"

"No, no", he shakes his head, his palm reaching for the door knob. "I'll let you– I'll leave"

He stands outside the now closed door. His drunken features morph into a smirk as he grabs yet another beer can and settled himself on the armchair in front of the tv.

"'sup." You sit down on the couch beside him with a plop.

He looks over at you. "You're talking to me now?"

"Don't worry, I'm still pissed off at you but", you say, not looking at him. "I think we need to discuss some things. Have a talk"

"Great", he takes a big gulp of the beer in his hand.

"So let's start easy", you say stretching your arms. "How was work? I mean... that's where you were, right?", you say, eyes gesturing towards the most colorful shirt you'd ever seen on Hopper.

"Yeah", he slurs out.

"I'm a human lie detector, remember? I can tell when you're lying. It was the one thing I was good at, So, try and give me the truth", you assert dryly, "Were you at work?"

You barely hear it when he says, "...no"

"Where were you?"

"At a friend's…"

"Friend's what? Birthday?"

"Ye– no"

"Who was this friend?" you interrogate with narrow eyes.

"They never came"

"That wasn't my question but okay", you pause, eyes trained on him, trying to read his expression, "Even though they didn't come, who was it you were expecting?"

He takes another big swig from the can before he says all hesitant, "...Powell and... Callaghan?"

"Lie."

"Godamnit, Joyce– it was Joyce,'' he finally admits, frustrated.

"So, you were just going on a dinner with your friend Joyce"

"Like I said, she never came"

"Yeah but you were going to go on dinner with Joyce, if she'd come"

"But she didn't"

"But you wanted her to", you pause before asking, "Was this a date?"

"No!"

You both know it is lie, you don't even need to state that it is a lie, so you just look at the drunk man beside you while he takes a swig of the beer can in his hand.

"Next question", you state, folding your legs onto the sofa, "What did you say to Steve?"

"What–" Jim almost seems startled by the sudden subject change.

"Yesterday. What did you tell Steve"

"I didn't tell him anything", you look at him a little more, but this wasn't a lie. You can tell he is telling the truth. "I mean, that the boy wasn't there when I left", he further clarifies, when you don't say anything.

"Oh." is all that comes out.

"Where did you get that shirt?" The man beside you suddenly asks while you're in your thoughts.

"I've always had this", you lie. Max and El had convinced you to buy some clothes back at the mall as well.

"No– it's brand new", Hopper insists.

"So is yours Hopper–", you once again gesture towards his bright coloured shirt, "but I guess you wanted to look good for your friend Joyce, right?"

its tense, he takes another sip from his beer. after a few seconds, you sigh before getting up, "anyway, think I'm gonna teach El a new word later– hypocrite. She needs to be familiar. how does that sound?"

You don't wait for his answer to come, you get up, walk away and slam the door behind you.

...

[joels-shitty-puns]

The Key To Your Heart - Track 6

Pairing: Pedro Pascal x Musician!Reader

Series Summary: After writing your feelings for Pedro into a song, it gains a lot more popularity than expected. Ultimately it brings both criticism and support, with new possibilities around the corner.

Series Warnings: 18+ only (MDNI). Mentions of food, weight loss, weight gain, dieting, weighing, potential eating disorder, food guilt. Potential for puns/dad jokes (name of my blog, and the fic) should give that away. This is my first fic which should be its own warning, lol. Also some cursing. Mentions of masturbation (f) maybe more smut later idk. Sadness, reader is pretty depressed. Poor body image. Rude people. Bullying-ish and just lack of support? Anxiety. Age gap! Reader is in her mid 20's, Pedro is current age (48).

Other stuff: Reader is plus sized. AFAB. Inexperienced. Also has a dog, but you can pretend it is another creature probably. Further, in case it isn't clear, italics almost always are the reader's inner thoughts!

Word Count: 4K

Series List: Here!

Miss last chapter? Here!

This one's a little longer than the last few, but it's one I was really excited to get to for a while. I hope you guys like it! We're starting to get into the nitty gritty! Once again please let me know what you think of it! Thank you all for your support :)

__________

After your emotional conversation with Pedro, you were worried he'd stop talking to you. At least, it seems that's how it usually works. Whenever you try to have a conversation about emotions with someone, it gets shut down. But surprisingly.. it didn't push Pedro away at all. The two of you talk nearly every day on the phone, and when you don't, it's made up for with plenty of text messages. You don't even have to be the first to communicate, either. It just feels natural. It doesn't need to be over-thought.

You keep telling yourself not to get your hopes up, but at the same time, you feel like maybe it's turning into something. Something more than friends. You couldn't help but wonder if Pedro felt the same way, or if maybe he's just a really nice guy.

Despite these feelings, you're still hesitant to tell him you love him. Although he put many of your fears to rest, you continued to be nervous. You were inexperienced. You were significantly younger than him. You led two very different lives. And even though he reassured you about your appearances, it doesn't mean you'd be his type once he actually saw you. Shoot, you don't even know if he's interested in pursuing a relationship.

Plus, now there's the risk of messing up a new friendship. Why ruin it?

How does anyone ever get into a relationship? Others make it look so easy, jumping from relationship to relationship like their heart isn't at stake.

Maybe someday you'd tell him. Maybe someday you'd share these other fears as well. But not yet. You weren't ready.

_____

About a week had gone by since you first talked on the phone, and it was around 1 PM when he called you.

"Hey Pedro!"

"Hey there, songbird," he replied cheerily.

"Songbird?" You giggled.

"If you hate it-"

"No, I love it. It's sweet," you blushed.

"Okay good. But the reason I'm calling is because I saw something on Instagram…"

"Oh yeah? What of?"

"About you. When were you going to tell me?"

Oh fuck. Oh shit. Oh what? What is he referring to?

You nervously laughed "I… what? Tell you what now?"

"Your album is coming out in a WEEK!??!" He practically yelled with excitement.

Seriously… this guy. Giving me a damn heart attack.

"OH" you replied sheepishly. "You scared me, thinking you heard… I dunno"

"Oh! I'm sorry. No. I haven't heard any information that you haven't told me yourself, nor would I believe it anyway. Other than.. this album!!!" Pedro announced like a gameshow host.

You laughed before replying "yes, yes, the album comes out next week! They just announced it I guess."

Pedro clapped and shouted. "CONGRATULATIONS!!!! I'm so happy and proud of you!!!!!!!!"

You weren't looking in a mirror, and he couldn't see you either, but you could bet money that your cheeks were a bright shade of pink. "Thank you, Pedro!" You giggled, your face beginning to hurt from the large smile he caused.

"How are you celebrating? Is the studio doing anything for you?"

"Well they mentioned an album release party, but being that nobody really knows me I don't know who I would even invite. Plus I'm not sure that a large thing like that is how I'd like to show myself to the world. A little too ceremonious for my liking." You grimaced.

"Well, I happen to think you deserve something ceremonious, even if you don't think you do. And I think we should celebrate."

"We - you - you do? You mean…?" You stuttered in disbelief.

"You and me," he said matter-of-factly.

"You.. and… What did you have in mind?" 

Frankly you didn't know what to think.

"Well. I was thinking… Maybe we could listen to the album together? We could talk on the phone and listen, and it would be like our own little album release party. You wouldn't have to show yourself or meet people. It would just be like our normal conversations. Except I'd get to hear your new music and talk about it with you. If you want," he said, sounding slightly nervous.

Your heart swelled at the gesture and you agreed happily. The two of you made a plan to "meet" at 7PM and listen together the night of your album release. And he promised he wouldn't listen without you.

_____

It wasn't until after you were off the phone with him that you began to overthink the songs on your album. Not unlike your first single, these were also rather vulnerable at times. Sure, he knew a lot, and he'd listen to the album anyway. Probably. But still. To hear it… together? You were starting to feel like you were in over your head.

Nevertheless, the week continued on like normal. Work, talking to Pedro, hanging with Skipper. You agreed to a few more interviews in article or voice format after the release, and signed a few last minute things.

As the album date approached closer, Pedro texted you one day.

"Okay I'm going to ask you something and I want you to trust me okay. I'm not going to do anything that I know you would hate."

"Okay…" what does this man have up his sleeve?

"Can I have your address?"

Why does he want my address???? The panic settled in. But, you did like him; and he hadn't crossed any boundaries yet. In fact, he's been one of the most understanding of your qualms.

So. You sent him your address.

"Thank you ❤️" Pedro replied.

A heart !?! A red one!? 

"You're welcome. Also… I was planning to tell you anyway, but if you're looking for my address I may as well tell you…" you told him your real name. Not your stage name. Not a nickname. But your name. First, Last. All of it.

"Thank you for trusting me. I promise I'll keep it safe," reassured Pedro.

"Thank you, P."

"Of course. You have a beautiful name, by the way."

Your heart did a somersault.

_____

The album release date was finally here and you aren't sure you slept a wink. You were a bundle of nerves and excitement. You loved him and always enjoyed chatting together. This was exciting. But also these songs are so personal. This is a big moment. This was a big plan. And why did he want your address anyway?

~~~~~

Meanwhile at Pedro's place, he was just as nervous. He had started out excited, but then he got into his head. His plans for the evening started feeling too romantic. He didn't want you to get the wrong idea. He liked you, but he didn't want to push it. Maybe he was showing too many feelings towards you. You love someone else, and him not respecting that is rude. All you want is a friend and he's just going to seem like another one of those creepy guys trying to get into your pants.

But it was too late now, the plans were in motion, and maybe you'd enjoy it. Who knows. Either way, he loved your friendship, and friends could do this kind of thing for each other… right??

~~~~~

Throughout the day, you paced your house before finally leaving with Skipper in tow. "We gotta get some air, buddy. I'm losing it over here," you said while clipping his leash.

Stepping out of the house, you two went for a long walk, circled back toward home, and plopped down on your lawn. The house still felt too small in preparation for this evening, whatever it was. Why does it feel different anyway? It's just another phone call..? Unless….

Truth be told, while Pedro had his secret plans, you also had some of your own. Whether you followed through with them or not was up to your nerves.

After some sunbathing with your pup, you both head inside. The sun was starting to set, and you realized it was getting closer to the meetup time you chose with Pedro.

_____

6 PM.

You stared at the TV, not really absorbing anything on the screen, but needing a distraction. This afternoon you opted for a show that Pedro was not in. For once, you needed to not see his handsome face. You needed something else. Half paying attention while picking at a hangnail, you jump out of your skin at the sight of your phone lighting up. Pedro texted.

"Picking out my outfit for tonight! Always important to look nice for celebration."

Shit… he's not coming over is he?! That's why he wanted my address?!

"Wait…" you pondered how to phrase your question without sounding like a panicked asshole, when all you wanted to say was "what the fuck do you MEAN!?!"

I'm not dressed. I'm in sweats and covered in dog hair. I don't have makeup on. Oh no.

"Wait… is that why you wanted my address?"

"Oh. Nooo, no no. No, sweet girl, don't worry. I'm not coming over unexpectedly and interrupting your hiding place. I just think it's still important to dress nice."

"Oh..Okay.."

It was around 6:15 when he texted a picture of himself wearing a white button up with a dark blue suit and matching tie. He wore dark-frame glasses and his hair was slightly tamed, but still showed his messy curls. He looked gorgeous.

But as you scanned his body you noticed that instead of dress shoes, he wore a pair of polka dot socks. He had a goofy grin and his one eyebrow was cocked. You grinned.

"All dressed up and nowhere to go," he said.

"You're a goof, P. But I appreciate the effort."

A pause.

"Also, you look really handsome" you nervously hit send before you had a chance to chicken out.

Bold. Probably shouldn't have said that. But hey, friends compliment each other.

"Why thank you. A big accomplishment like this requires all the stops."

He timed this message right to the minute. As you read his text, your doorbell rang.

You opened the door to find two boxes. One large, one small. A delivery boy was getting into his car. 

"Delivery from your biggest fan. 

-❤️, P"

He… he sent me some kind of care package?? And put a heart? And said he's my biggest fan?

You squealed and carried the boxes into the house. "What's this!?" You texted Pedro.

"Open them and see!"

You immediately open them. Inside the larger box was a variety of items. The first thing you noticed was a small vase holding a bouquet of your favorite flowers. To the right of that was a bag, which you opened and found your favorite meal, from your favorite restaurant. 

Wow, this is elaborate. 

Below the food was another small bag holding your favorite dessert, and finally to the left, your favorite drink.

I can't believe he remembered all of my favorite things.. This is so thoughtful.

When you moved the flower vase, you noticed one more small item. Is that a… corsage?? You texted Pedro the question.

"Yep!" He sent, with a photo of a matching flower on his lapel.

Remembering you still had the small box, you opened the box flaps, wondering what could possibly be left for him to give you. On top of it was another note.

"For a handsome boy.

- ❤️, your mom's friend, Pedro"

Under the note was a jar of peanut butter, a squeaky anchor toy, and…? What's this?

You unwrap a small paper wrapping to find a dog-sized black bowtie. Shut up.

"SKIPPER!!! Look what Pedro gave you, buddy!"

He padded over to you and let you hook the dressy accessory around his neck. With the clip adjusted, he sat back, looking proud of his new fashion. You quickly snapped a picture and texted it to Pedro.

"I can't believe you did all this, Pedro. Not only did you send all this, but you remembered my favorite things? You remembered all the details from when I first met Skipper. My favorite food, dessert, drink, and flower? That's so sweet, this is all too much Pedro..  Nobody has ever done anything like this for me. I.. I don't even know what to say."

You're amazing and I love you. Is what I want to say.

"You're welcome." He texted back. "Like I said, you deserve a celebration. Plus…"

Pedro sent a photo of his table, set up with the same food and drink, with the caption "now it's like we're having a dinner party."

It was nearing the time to meet, but you still had to do one more thing. You had pondered it earlier in the day, but fully decided it when Pedro sent the photo of himself dressed up. It's now or never.

_____

6:45 PM.

Pedro sat waiting for a reply after he sent his dinner photo. It had only been a couple minutes, but his hands were sweaty and his leg was shaking under the table. Finally, his phone went off. You sent… a video?

He opened it and pressed play. There, he saw you rotating your wrist with the corsage on it. The first time he's ever seen your wrist, hand, or arm before. The first time he's even seen your skin tone.

Geez you act like you're in the Victorian ages, pull yourself together, he rolled his eyes at himself for being so overjoyed.

Next, the video panned to Skipper in his bowtie, looking handsome as ever. The camera zoomed in on him and he looked up into the view with his big brown eyes. 

And then…

The camera panned to the side, and showed a mirror. A full length mirror, where you stood. He scanned your body from your perfectly done up hair and makeup, down your body to your dress. You wore your favorite dress, (in your favorite color, he noted) which showed off your body in the best ways. He looked down to the floor and noticed that you too were wearing fun socks instead of shoes. You wore a pair of striped socks and wrote in your caption "all dressed up and nowhere to go."

His heart picked up and he could feel himself breathing unevenly. He finally saw you. And you were gorgeous. He couldn't help the smile that enveloped his face.

Fuck. She's beautiful… I'm screwed. 

She loves someone else. She loves someone else. She loves someone else. Forget your feelings.

Despite his struggle, he knew he wanted, and needed, to tell you how beautiful he thought you looked. This was a big step to show yourself, and he also knew how self-conscious you felt about your body.

"Wow, you're so beautiful."

You blushed, replying with a quick thank you with a heart, then sending a second message asking if he was ready to listen. The video wasn't the only trick you had planned up your sleeve tonight.

______

The clock turned to 7 PM and Pedro hit the dial for your number. You answered the phone and said a quick "hang on" to set up the shared listening party link for your album. Once sent, you took a deep breath and steadied your nerves. Then, you took the plunge.

"Okay I got the link! I'm so exci - what - wait, is this an accident?" Pedro's hand fumbled as he received your incoming video chat request, his heart picking up to a galloping pace.

"Nope! You can answer it. If you want.."

He quickly swiped the accept button and there you were. Clad in your favorite dress, sitting at a table with the meal he sent in front of you. He could see himself in the corner square, dressed in his suit, with nearly the identical table setup and food.

He couldn't help but notice on his own video screen that his cheeks were turning rosy and his mouth curled into a large smile. But he was too happy to be shy about his blush.

"So this is you," he said.

"This is me," you replied shyly, but still with a huge smile and blush plastered on your face, matching Pedro's.

"You look.." he sighed shakily "..wow.."

"You look pretty wow yourself there," you said with a shy giggle.

Both of you let out gentle laughs, feeling a warm glow as your stomachs felt matching butterflies of nerves, excitement, and… maybe something else.

"So should we listen, I guess?" You asked nervously.

He didn't answer. He was looking at the screen, eyes scanning the video. 

Is he blushing? You wondered. But why would he be? He doesn't like me back… right?

He still hadn't answered you when you finally said "Pedro?? Did you hear me?"

He snapped out of it, somehow turning more crimson. "Oh! Sorry… yeah! Let's listen."

Your nerves were off the charts. Some of these songs were so vulnerable. The ones at the end of the album were the most telling of all.

But as the two of you ate your dinners while listening to your new album, you began to relax. The night was filled with him giving praise and you giving background information on the meanings and production of the songs. 

"Are all the different instruments and harmonies played by you?"

"They are! The studio offered studio musicians but I had originally played them all when I wrote it and wanted to keep it a one woman show."

"You're incredible," Pedro said, shaking his head.

You blushed, for the billionth time today.

When it came to "Imaginary Love" Pedro grinned. "Hey I know this one! The one that started it all." 

"Yep!" You agreed and he began lip syncing to the lyrics dramatically. Little did he know, those lyrics were actually about him. You giggled as he acted out a soulful rendition of the chorus.

"You know, this whole journey has been a real rollercoaster and there have been times I've wished I hadn't posted that song..."

Pedro looked at you with that puppy dog look of his and you continued "but then I remember… that if I never posted it, I would've never started talking to you, and it makes it all worth it."

Pedro placed his hand on his heart and pouted his lip. "I agree. I'm glad to have met you. If I didn't love this song already, that alone would be enough reason for me to consider it one of my favorites.

You grinned and looked down at the table, suddenly feeling shy. The two of you continued to listen, having long finished your dinner. Conversation flowed easily, and you couldn't help but feel like you were on a date. Not that you had much experience with that, but from what you'd seen in movies and shows, this felt very date-like. And you didn't want it to end.

But as the album went on, you approached the last two songs. The ones you were scared of most. The most vulnerable of the album. 

The second to last began to play.

'It's hard to imagine craving something that I've never had.

Dumb to be so desperate for something I've gone without.

But when I'm alone and thinking to myself, I need it so bad.

I crave it like a drug, but one I know nothing about.

Your kiss on my lips, or any kiss at all.

It hasn't happened yet, no matter how hard I fall.

The years keep passing, but still no love.

The years go by, but still no kisses.

I keep wondering and praying up above,

I guess I'm unkissable, despite my wishes.'

Pedro furrowed his brow, looking at you, searching for something. He read the title of the song, "Unkissable," and looked up again, opening and closing his mouth to find the right words.

"Do-" he stopped himself and pondered his wording again. "Is- are all these songs true?"

You stared at the table, picking your nail against the wood. "Yes."

"You really believe that?"

"... I mean… I don't know… maybe… I guess…" you avoided his gaze, but could feel it.

"And you've never-"

"Kissed anyone before? No. I haven't."

"But you've wanted to?"

"Yes," you whispered, starting to feel tears prick at your eyes.

Pedro shifted his lips to the side in thought before finally saying "well… you're still young. It'll happen."

"I'm 26, Pedro. Most people have kissed by the time they've graduated high school. I just… missed the boat I guess. It's okay. I'm just being silly. I don't want it that bad. We can maybe listen to something else now."

"Hey, hey. Don't shut down on me," he asked pleadingly. "26 is still very young, and don't worry about whenever everyone else has done things. Everyone does things at their own pace. I'm sorry you haven't experienced it yet, especially when you want it so badly, but I know that when it does happen, it'll probably be better than any kiss you would've had with some 15 year old boy you would've had in high school."

You laughed, breaking your tears for a minute. "Thanks Pedro."

"Of course. And hey, don't think of yourself as unkissable. Any guy should be so lucky to be with you. Maybe the guy you wrote about in your song will be your first."

"Maybe… I hope so. Thank you."

While your heart bloomed at the kind words and prospect of maybe kissing Pedro in the future, Pedro's heart began to ache. Not only was he sad for you when you wanted love so desperately, but he also couldn't help but feel sad hearing you want to kiss another man. He wants to be that guy for you. He wasn't joking when he said any man would be lucky. But especially knowing now your true age, 22 years younger than him, he knew for sure your crush couldn't be him. You were way too young to be interested in a 48 year old man. He was silly for even entertaining the idea.

But at least he had a new friend. And as he thought longer, he thought about his best friend Sarah, and her relationship. They have a huge age gap, 32 years, but they're happy. And he's happy for her. It doesn't feel weird with them. Could he have that with you? Or is he in over his head?

The last song on the album began to play. This one was less vulnerable, but if he decided to look at the lyrics and notice patterns, he'd see it in the chorus. 

'People have a lot to say

Everyone loves or hates me

Don't know what I did today

Right now you're all I can see

Only want to be with you.

Please, love me too.'

You're sure the obsessive listeners will figure out the acrostic, and if Pedro looks up the lyrics, he might too. But either way, it's out there. All you can do is hope for the best and eventually you're sure it'll come out anyway.

 This wasn't one you were sure about putting on the album, but when the studio read through your personal songbook, they went insane over it. They figured it out quickly, and they promised they'd keep it to themselves. Luckily they have so far, but if money came calling, you think they'd sell your heart faster than you could say no.

The song, and album, came to a close and Pedro looked up at the screen once again, staring into your eyes. "Once again your music has blown me away."

Whether he put together the end or not, he wasn't letting on.

"Thank you Pedro. I really appreciate it. And thank you for tonight. It was truly special and I mean it when I say it's the most thoughtful thing anyone has ever done for me. You didn't have to go through all that trouble," you said thoughtfully.

"It was no trouble. You deserve congratulations for your album," Pedro replied with a smile.

Right.. it's just a congratulations. Nothing else. You sighed.

"Thank you. I'm really glad we did this. Talk again soon?" You asked.

"Absolutely. It was wonderful to meet you finally," Pedro said, finishing the sentence with your real name and smiling.

"It was great to meet you too, Pedro."

__________

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thank you for reading.

Looking for more? Next chapter!

Taglist: (Want in? Let me know!)

@pedrotonin @starcrossed02 @lightupsketchersperson @cartoon-garbage04 @tyferbebe @maryfanson @gwendibleywrites @faithfullyyours2000 @brilliantopposite187 @hc-geralt-23 @jenniferpendragon @winchestergypsy90 @red-red-rogue @theendwhereibegin @lottieellz101 @oliversaurus @kyga01 @milly-louise @titabel @taz-97

[elianamarie-blog]

The Things You Give Part 33

Whooooooweeee it's be a very long time! I'm so sorry it took so long to write this! I've been having a hard time feeling motivated but it's past the New Years and I decided that I need to end this story shortly. Story isn't done quite yet, but there are only a few more chapters! I hope you all had a beautiful holiday season and New Years! I know I did. Enjoy the chapter!

Quick note: Danny Masterson has been imprisoned and now Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher are under fire and now being cancelled apparently. Not a good start of the year for anyone.

June 1, 1979

Point Place, Wisconsin

Forman/Hyde Residence

Eric Forman’s Kitchen

“Hey, you two, how was your doctor’s appointment?” Kitty asked as she was stirring a hot pot of chili on the stove.

“Ugh,” Y/n groaned and plopped down on the chair at the table.

“The doctor says she can pop any day now,” Hyde answered for her and opened the fridge for a drink.

“Awe, sweetheart, you must be so uncomfortable,” Kitty said.

“I am. I’m so sick of being pregnant,” she whined. “I’m tired, my ankles are fat, my back hurts and—Steven! Will you please stop breathing down my neck?!”

“Uh,” he replied from the counter, no where close to her. “I’m over here.”

Y/n whined again. “I’m so sick of being pregnant.”

“The doctor said there are a couple things we can do to induce labor,” Steven said and pulled out a list. “She said we can try spicy foods, long walks, castor oil—”

“Don’t forget what she said could be more effective,” Y/n cut in.

Steven gave her a stoney look and put his hand on his hip. “I’m not saying that.”

“Why not? She’s a nurse she hears this stuff all the time! Besides, she’s gone through this as well!”

“What? Tell me what?” Kitty asked.

“No, I’m not saying it!”

“Steven!”

“Oh, for Pete’s sake, tell me what?!” Kitty cried out.

“The doctor said sex can be the most effective to induce labor,” Y/n blurted out.

“Y/n, what the hell?!” Steven said, embarrassed.

“Oh,” Kitty said lowly and dropped her gaze back to the chili, almost uninterested. “Okay.”

“Okay? That’s all you got to say?” Y/n asked.

“Honey, it’s pretty clear that you wouldn’t be pregnant if you and Steven hadn’t…you know…”

“Okay!” Steven interrupted. “As nice as this conversation is, I gotta get to work.”

“Okay, fine, but—Mom, cover your ears—we’re doing it later!” Y/n shouted after him as he slammed the door shut, hoping to drown out that last part.

“Well, isn’t that lovely,” Kitty mumbled and poured herself a cup of chili. “Y/n, on a more appropriate topic, do you want some chili?”

“Hey, guys,” Eric introduced himself as he entered the kitchen. “Great news! I’m on my way to becoming a teacher. I filled out all my college application with red pen.” He giggled to himself. “That’s a teacher joke.”

“Well, now look at him!” Red announced as he walked through the kitchen door. “Out of bed and productive before three o’ clock.”

“Honey, you’re like a marine!” Kitty said cheerfully.

“A marine?” Y/n asked. “The only time I ever saw him storm a beach was when he was running away from a jellyfish!”

“Damn, what did you have for breakfast this morning? Carnation Instant Bitch?” Eric quipped.

“If I could get up, I’d kick your ass for saying that,” Y/n threatened, sighing, and shifted uncomfortably in her seat, the pain in lower back starting to intensify.

“Yeah, anyway,” Eric said and turned back to Red. “Hey, dad, all I need from you now is a financial statement so the school can see where I'm getting the old moola.”

“Oh, well, you see about that…” Red mumbled, nervous. “I, uh...I spent your college money to keep the muffler shop going.”  

“What?!” the twins shouted.

“You spent our college fund?!” Y/n continued.

“Why do you care?” Eric asked her. “It’s not like you’re going to college anytime soon. You don’t even know what you want to study.”

“Who says I don’t?” she asked. “I decided that I’m going to study biomedical engineering. Beat that, teach.”

“You’re going to study biomedical engineering?!” Kitty asked excitedly. “I knew you were going to take after me in the medical field!”

“Except the difference is she’ll be helping advance technology in the medical field instead of having to wipe people’s butts and administer them their IV’s,” Red said.

“Is that what you think I do all day?” Kitty asked, offended.

“Uh…” he whipped back to Y/n who was looking up at him with an amused smile. “Good job, kitten. I’m proud of you.”

“Thank you,” she responded. “It would mean more if we had our college money!”

“Dad, how are we supposed to pay for college?” Eric asked.

“Look, with this damn mild winter, nobody's muffler rusted,” Red said. “I tried to rust them. I even went out at night and sprinkled salt all over the streets!”

Kitty squinted at her husband. “Not my good kosher salt!”

Red looked at his wife with a deadpanned look and rolled his eyes. “Yes, Kitty, I sprinkled the streets of Point Place with your half-pound bag of salt.”

“Wait. Mom, you knew about this?” Eric asked. “And you just said, ‘Please, go ahead. Take my son's college money and use it on a muffler shop?’”

“No,” she responded. “I think your father asked me if I thought you two would amount to anything, and I said, ‘I really, really hope so.’ And then he said, ‘I'm spending the twins’ college money on my muffler shop.’ And then I made the best blueberry cobbler I have ever made."

“Man, that was good,” Y/n reminisced. “I remember that cobbler. I always wondered why, when I said it was so good, you said, ‘At least I can give you this,’ and started to cry.”

“So, the upshot is, I have absolutely no money for college,” Eric said and puckered his lips in deep thought. “Looks like I’m going to have to use that football scholarship that was offered to me.”

“Oh, Eric, we should go talk to Mr. Bray!” Y/n suggested.

“Our old guidance counselor?” he asked.

“Finding money for college is what high school guidance counselors do.”

“I don't know about Mr. Bray. I don't think he really liked me,” Eric said. “One time I told him I was being bullied, and he just said, ‘What'd you expect?’"

“I’ll go with you,” Y/n said. “Mr. Bray loved me…in almost entirely appropriate ways.”

“Yeah…we’ll go,” Eric said, a little concerned.

“Okay, now that we got all that settled, we should celebrate!” Kitty announced.

Y/n scoffed. “Sure. With what?”

                                             --Later that day—

“Hey, don’t forget about the Led Zepplin concert next Friday,” Eric reminded his friends as they all sat in the basement.

“How could I forget?” Hyde asked. “It was the greatest bribery I’ve ever had.”

Y/n rolled her eyes at them.

It didn’t go unnoticed by Hyde. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing," she sighed, eyeing the TV and rubbed her belly.

“No, no you don’t get to do that just because you’re pregnant,” he pushed. “I know you, what’s wrong?”

“Awe, Steven, that’s really sweet,” Jackie said and turned to Markus. “When he and I were together, he wouldn’t even be bothered to ask me what was wrong. It didn’t even faze him.”

“To be fair, you’re always bothered by something,” Hyde quipped. “It was something new every day. I stopped keeping up after a while.”

“I am not!” she argued and turned to Markus who gave her a look. “Okay, maybe I was, but I’ve changed! The other day, I walked by a shoe sale and wasn’t upset that they didn’t have this beautiful shoe in my size. See? Growth.”

“Sure,” Hyde mindlessly and turned back to his wife. “C’mon, what’s wrong?”

“I’d rather not talk about it in front of our friends,” she responded.

“So, you guys can make out in front of us, even get caught doing it, but expressing why you’re upset is where you draw the line?” Donna pointed out.

“Yeah, spill it!” Fez demanded.

Y/n paused before sighing through her nose. “I don’t think you should go.”

“What?!” Eric shouted.

“Why?!” Hyde asked, appalled. “Why don’t you want me to go?”

“Well, I could go into labor any day now and I’d hate for you to miss the birth of your children for a concert,” she explained calmly.

“Y/n, your due date is on Monday. The kids will be here a full five days before the concert. I think it’ll be okay.”

“What if they’re not here by then? They can be late, you know,” Y/n pointed out.

“Come on, don’t do this,” Hyde said. “Don’t make me choose.”

“I shouldn’t have to make you!” she burst out. “You should know what comes first! Not some stupid concert!”

That made the group audibly gasp.

“What?! What I say?!” she asked them.

“You take that back!” Eric said, his voice wobbly.

“Blasphemous!” Kelso shouted.

“How dare you?” Fez asked under his breath.

“Oh, come on you guys, you can’t be serious,” she said. “Are you telling me my giving birth isn’t as important as some band?”

Everyone was quiet for a minute, filling Y/n with rage.

“It’s Led Zepplin,” Fez said quietly.

“Seriously?!” Y/n screeched and stood up. “You’re all going to leave me here all alone?!”

“I’m not going to the concert,” Markus piped up. “I’ll be here for you.”

She turned to everyone else. “Thank you, Markus. Maybe if I have boys I can name one of them after you!”

This made Jackie gasp. “How dare you?! I thought we agreed on Jack or Jackie!”

“I agreed to nothing!” Y/n argued. “You just assume because you think everyone caters to you, but you can’t be bothered to return the favor! The person who helps me deserves the credit.”

“What--?! That is not true!” Jackie shouted.

Everyone around her scoffed.

“C’mon, Jackie,” Donna said, side-eyeing her.

Jackie spun around to her boyfriend. “Markus! Aren’t you going to say something?”

He shrugged. “Sorry, babe, I have to agree with Y/n on this one.”

“Oh, you are in so much trouble!” she screeched.

Y/n clapped her hands and stomped her foot, gaining their attention. “Guys! Really? I thought that after we’ve all been through, you would want to be there for the birth of your nieces or nephews.” She turned to Hyde. “Or your children.” When no one responded, Y/n scoffed, hurt. “You know, what? I don’t care what you guys do. Go to the concert. Have fun.”

She didn’t let them get another single word out before she quietly walked upstairs to her room.

Once the door slammed, Donna turned to the group. “You guys, I feel really bad.”

“Yeah…I’d be pissed too if I couldn’t go to the concert,” Kelso said casually, opening a popsicle.

“No, you moron! That’s not why she’s upset!” Hyde said, irritated.

“Well, what does she expect us to do?” Eric asked. “Those tickets were a lot and it’s not our fault that the concert falls around the same time of her due date.” When he caught Donna glaring at him, he shrugged his shoulders. “What?!”

“You’re an ass,” Donna said. “I don’t think I want to go anymore.”

“Oh, come on! You have to go,” her boyfriend said. “She may not even have the kids on the day of the concert. It would be such a waste if we didn’t go.”

“Wow, Eric,” Donna said bitterly. “You’re being incredibly insensitive.”

“Okay, let’s say the babies come before the concert. No harm, no foul, amiright?” Eric asked.

“That’s if Hyde wants to go,” Markus responded. “When my sister and her husband had my niece, they were up pretty much three days straight and the last thing they wanted to do was go to a noisy concert.”

“Well, I think she’s being a little dramatic and honestly—quite selfish,” Kelso said. Everyone turned to look at him, finding himself cringing when Hyde gave him a death glare. “What?! She is!”

“She has a point, Michael!” Jackie defended. “No matter how mean and unfair she was to me.”

“You’re telling me that we might miss her birth is an overreaction?” Donna questioned him.

Kelso nodded and shrugged. “Well…yeah!”

“Unbelievable,” Donna said curtly as Hyde slugged Kelso in the arm.

“Ow, Hyde! What the hell?!”

“Keep talking crap about my wife Kelso and you’re going home with more than a bruised arm,” he threatened.

“Damn, sorry I said anything,” Kelso whined while rubbing his sore shoulder.

“You should be,” Hyde said and made his way towards the stairs. “I’m going to go talk to her.”

He took two steps at a time as he followed his bride.

Y/n laid there in bed, glaring at the ceiling. Scenarios of possibilities wouldn’t stop dancing in her head about the day she would give birth while her supposed loving husband was at a concert.

She felt a very wet sensation run down her leg. As she looked down, she noticed that her water had broken, and it wasn’t long until the pain of contractions came along.

“Steven!” she cried out in pain. “Steven, the babies are coming!”

“Oh, really?” he asked, barley looking up from putting his jacket on. “This is inconvenient. Can you wait until I get back from the concert?”

“What?!”

“Look, the babies are important, but…Led Zepplin,” he replied, stepping backwards towards the door. “Just hold those kids in for me! Love you, bye!”

Y/n sneered at the thought, but her mind continued to race.

Smoke, heavy bass, and body sweat filled the air as the group, minus Y/n, head banged their way through each song of Led Zepplin.

“Hey, Hyde, isn’t Y/n giving birth right now?” Donna shouted through the noise, wide smile on her face.

“Yeah, but this is more important!” he shouted back.

“Yeah, to hell with her!” Eric shouted. “Led Zepplin is way more important!”

“Yeah, she’ll be fine,” Steven said. “We can always have more kids that I’ll probably end up being there for the birth!”

Tears started to well in her eyes. “Jerks.”

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts.

“Y/n?” Steven asked as he poked his head through their shared bedroom door.

She quickly grabbed for her pregnancy book on the nightstand and pretended to be reading.

“Doll, can we talk?”

“About what?” she mumbled.

“You know what.”

“I think you made up your mind, so there’s no point,” she said, staring at the page.

“No, no that’s why I wanted to come up here,” he replied. “Look, I’m sorry, okay?”

“Don’t be.”

“Y/n, can you please look at me?” he asked her and took the book from her, only to see tear streaks down her face. “Awe, Doll…”

She couldn’t stifle her sobs anymore as she broke down. “You love Led Zepplin more than me!” She shoved her face into a pillow.

He didn’t know if he should laugh or groan. “Y/n, come on, you know that’s not true.”

“No, it is!” she continued to wail. “I’m going to go into labor and you’re not going to care!”

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, counting to ten. “You know that’s not true.”

“You won’t even help me go into labor!” she whined.

“I’m not going to sleep with you just so you can go into labor,” he deadpanned.

Y/n sat up and wiped at her face. “C’mon, Steven, I’m miserable here! The babies will be fine. It’s doctor recommended!”

“We haven’t even tried the others yet,” he said calmly.

Her face contorted again, fat tears rolling down her face. “You don’t find me attractive anymore!”

“I never said that!” Steven couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Then why won’t you make love to me?!”

“First, don’t say it like that ever again. And second: it has nothing to do with my finding you attractive.”

“Then what is it?” she wept.

“It’s…it’s nothing.”

This made her stop crying immediately and glare at him instead. He almost missed her crying. “What a load of crap!”

“C’mon, Y/n, don’t make me say it.”

“No, you’re gonna!” she demanded. “I want to know why you won’t have sex with your wife to help her go into labor!”

Steven tilted his head back at and stared at the ceiling. Closing his eyes, he groaned before looking back at her. “It’s weird, okay? I’m going to be doing you knowing that the babies are…right there. Knowing what’s going on.”

Y/n scrunched her eyebrows at him. “The babies are in my uterus, not in my, you know, hoo-ha.”

Steven found himself chucking at her euphonism. “What if I hurt them?”

“Like I just said, they’re farther up there than you can reach.”

“Ouch.”

She laughed and placed her hand on his arm. “Trust me, that’s something to be proud of.”

He laughed with her and kissed her.

“Let’s make a deal,” she said, catching his attention. “If I go into labor before the concert, by all means, go. But if I don’t by Friday—you don’t. What do you think?”

He tilted his head to the side, thinking before nodding. “Okay, let’s do it.”

“Okay, good,” she smiled at him as he leaned down to kiss her.

“How bout we try now?”

“Now you want to? Because of a concert?!”

“No, more so now I know I won’t hurt them or make it as weird.”

Y/n rolled her eyes. “You’re lucky I love you.”

He laid her down onto her back, hovering above her and gently smiled. “That I am.”

                                             That Following Monday…

“That’s right, still no babies!” Y/n announced as she and Steven walked into the kitchen after their doctor appointment. Everyone sat in the kitchen, hanging out and snacking. Kitty, Donna, and Jackie sat at the table while Eric, Fez, and Kelso sat at the counter munching on some pop-tarts. “Today’s my due date and I am nowhere near in labor! Gah! This sucks!”

She plopped down at the table, causing it to shift.

“Oh, honey, I know how you feel,” Kitty comforted. “When I was pregnant with Laurie, I wanted her out so bad I almost reached a hand up there and yanked her out myself!”

“That’s a great story, Mom. Can you tell that to me while you’re getting me some iced tea?” Y/n snapped.

Kitty glared at her daughter as she reluctantly got up and grabbed for the pitcher in the fridge.

“Damn, pregnancy doesn’t agree with you,” Jackie said. “The bitch hormone is being released.”

“You try carrying twins who won’t stop kicking me—and each other!” she responded as the glass was placed in front of her. “Thanks, Mom.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Kitty grumbled as she sat back down.

“Seriously, I’ll wake up in the middle of the night to one or both of the babies moving and kicking me. Have you ever had feet stuck in your ribcage? It’s a rude awakening. Literally.”

“Yeah, I feel your pain,” Hyde said. “Whenever you’re up, I’m up.”

“Oh, shove it!” Y/n spit. “You sleep like a damn log every night! You can be getting attacked while you’re dead asleep and barley stir!”

“No, I hear you. I just choose to stay still.”

“So, while I’m over here in uncomfortable, you’re snuggling your pillow just to avoid me?!”

Fez, Kelso, and Eric shifted their gazes to Hyde with amused smirks on their faces.

“You cuddle your pillow, Hyde?” Eric taunted.

“Shut up, Forman or I will suffocate you with said pillow.”

“But if you do, you won’t have a pillow to cuddle at night,” Fez continued.

“Shut up, Fez!”

“Y/n, have you tried any of the doctor’s suggestions?” Kitty asked.

“Yeah! Steven and I have done it like a dozen times since then,” she answered.

Kitty closed her eyes and rubbed her head. “Honey…have you tried anything else besides that?”

“No, not yet.”

“Well, why don’t you start with food? Let’s go out tonight.”

Y/n shrugged. “Yeah, let’s try that.”

“And the weather is supposed to be cooler tonight, we can go on that long walk,” Hyde said.

She sighed and rubbed her aching neck. “Yeah, that works.”

“There’s a good Indian restaurant that serves the spiciest curry downtown,” Kitty said. “Let’s go there.”

“Uh, do I have to go?” Eric piped up. “Last time I had anything spicy, I sat on the toilet for three days.”

“Ew,” Hyde said and turned to his wife. “Look, I’m going to go look for those specific teas the doc told me about. Do you want anything else?”

“Yeah, just about everything on that list,” she responded. “Get the castor oil, some hot peppers, pineapples—”

“Should I just get the whole store?” Hyde asked.

“Yes please.”

Hyde nodded and kissed her head. “I’ll be back.”

As soon as he walked out the door, Y/n stood. “Well, I’ve got to pee again. I swear these damn kids think that my bladder is a squeeze toy.”

“She’s got to have those kids any day now,” Donna said once Y/n had waddled out the kitchen.

“Yeah, it’s not like they’re trying,” said Kelso. “Hyde told me yesterday that she promised him that if she can give birth before Friday then he can go to the concert. Man, that must suck. Having an ol’ ball and chain telling you what to do.”

“Well, you’d never know since you’re too busy cheating on every girl you’ve ever dated,” Jackie snarked.

“Well, what do you say we make this interesting?” Kelso asked, ignoring Jackie’s comment.

“What do you mean?” Eric asked, tossing a Styrofoam football in the air. 

“I’ll bet you ten bucks she has the babies tomorrow,” he responded with a wide smirk.

“You’re on!” Jackie said excitedly and reached for her purse.

“Guys, I don’t feel right about this,” Donna said. “It’s not cool to bet on when our friend will go into labor.”

“Ugh, Donna,” Y/n called as she waddled down the stairs. “That candle you gave me smells horrible. Next time, maybe try getting me a candle that doesn’t smell like nature took a dump and forgot to flush.”

“It’s the smell of a forest!” she defended.

“Have you ever been to the forest?” Y/n said. “It doesn’t smell like that.”

Before she could let Donna respond, she waddled back upstairs. Once the door closed, Donna turned back to the group, annoyance written all over her face. “Make it twenty.”

                                                    --Later—

“Guys, I got some great news from the guidance counselor!” Eric announced as he ran into the living room where his family and Donna were sitting, watching TV.

“Yeah? What is it?” Red asked, turning down the volume on the TV.

“There's this program where you go and teach in an impoverished area for a year, and then they pay for your college. So, I signed up.”

“Eric, that’s wonderful!” Kitty cheered.

“That’s awesome!” Y/n joined in.

“See? I knew spending your college money would work out for the best,” Red said, smugly. “You're welcome.”

“So, where’s this impoverished place that you’re going to?” Steven asked.

“Is it east Milwaukee? You know I made a wrong turn there once and I ended up in this awful neighborhood,” Kitty said and lowered her voice as if anyone outside the living room could hear her. “They were playing radios on street corners!”

Eric shook his head. “No, I’m not going to east Milwaukee.”

“So, where then?” Donna asked.

Eric laid his hands out, palms up in excitement. “Its Africa.”

“Africa?!” Everyone said in shock.

“Africa, Wisconsin?” Kitty asked hopefully.

“No, Kitty, the country,” Red answered.

“You’re going to teach in Africa?” Y/n asked, her heart breaking. “So, does that mean you’re not going to be here when the babies are born?”

“No, no, I’ll still be here,” Eric said. “I’ll be leaving in August.”

“Oh,” she responded. “H-how long will you be gone?”

“About a year.”

“A YEAR?!” All three women shouted.

“What’s the big deal?” Eric asked, eyebrows knitting in confusion.

“The big deal is you made this big decision without coming to me at all!” Donna shouted and stood from the couch and stormed out.

“See? Donna understands,” Kitty said while Eric sighed in defeat.

This isn’t how he was planning this go at all.

                                         --Later that evening--

“Joey?” Y/n asked her husband as they sat at the kitchen table, eating dinner.

Hyde shook his head. “Have a cousin named Joey. Last I heard he was being treated for VD and on his way to a halfway house.”

“Oookay,” Y/n said, going down the list of names in her book. “Victoria?”

“No.”

“Why not?!”

“Because my mom had a best friend named Victoria.” He paused to take a bite of his spicy food before going into deep thought. “Pretty sure at one point she was more than that.”

Y/n gave him a blank stared smile. “I’ll never be able to erase that image out of my mind.”

“How bout Jimmy?”

Y/n put down the book. “Why Jimmy?”

He shrugged and wiped his mouth with his napkin. “I’ve just always liked that name.”

She squinted her eyes at him. “Since when?”

“I don’t know, a few years maybe.”

“Or maybe because it’s the name of the guitarist in Led Zepplin?”

Hyde pretended to be shocked. “Is that where that’s from? Wow, what are the odds?”

Y/n rolled her eyes at him. “Keep thinking, genius.”

“Eleanor?” he suggested.

“I’m sorry, am I giving birth to a seventy-five-year-old?” 

“What’s wrong with Eleanor?”

“I feel like I’d be giving birth to a Roosevelt. No, thank you.”

“We can call her Ellie for short,” he argued.

“Ellie Hyde?” she questioned.

“Let’s keep brainstorming,” he agreed and looked at her plate which she barely touched. “Why aren’t you eating your spicy curry? I added extra peppers for you.”

Y/n let out a sigh and put down her book. “It’s not working. Nothing is going to get these kids out.”

“You’ve barley taken a bite out of your food. Maybe if you eat half of it, you’ll actually go into labor.”

“If I eat anymore, I’ll be breathing out fire,” she deadpanned.

“Come on, it’s good. Try it,” he encouraged before taking a bite of her curry. It didn’t take long for the spices to set his mouth aflame. He started panting like a dog before desperately grabbing her glass of water and downing it like a man who hasn’t had water in days.

“Oh, my God,” he panted once the water was down. “How are you eating this?”

Y/n gave him an amused smile. “I’m about to push two human beings out of me, I think a hot mouth is the least of my worries.”

“Speaking of hot mouth, why don’t you and I go upstairs and try to get these babies here?” Hyde suggested, wiggling his eyebrows.

“C’mon, we’ve done it like a hundred times; clearly the babies aren’t coming,” she replied, defeated.

“You don’t know that,” he replied gently.

Y/n shook her head, defeated. “I guess these babies will come when they decide to.”

Steven looked at her before standing to his feet. “Come on. We’re going for a walk.”

                                            45 Minutes Later...

“I told you the walk wouldn’t work!” Y/n complained as they walked through the sliding door, picking out leaves and twigs from her hair.

“Well, it would’ve if you hadn’t tried to jump on me in the park!” Hyde argued as he looked down at the mud stains on his pants and shirt.

“I was trying to be romantic!”

“You’re trying to get these kids out of you so fast, you’re willing to knock us both over in a big puddle just for a quickie behind a bush!”

“How the hell was I supposed to know there was a deep mud puddle there?!” she yelled, prying her wet and muddy dress away from her thighs.

“Gee, I don’t know, maybe the fact that it RAINED earlier?” he yelled back.

“Ugh, you know what, I’m going to go shower. Don’t follow me!”

“What is going on?” Eric asked as he entered the kitchen with Donna. He took one look at the couple and started laughing. “What happened to you two?”

“Y/n thought it would be the perfect time to get romantic on a walk in the park to try to go into labor,” Steven replied, glaring at his wife who wasn’t even looking at him.

Eric scrunched up his nose at them. “Sorry I asked.”

“I’m going to go shower because the mud is started seal my butt cheeks together,” Y/n announced before waddling out the kitchen.

“Didn’t need to know that!” Eric cried out and turned back to Hyde. “So, are you guys going to keep trying?”

Hyde sighed frustratingly. “At this point, I don’t know. We’ve tried spicy foods, canola oil, sex…nothing is working. The long walk may have worked if she hadn’t cut it short.”

“Well, you know, maybe the babies will come tomorrow…or in a couple days…” Donna suggested and nonchalantly grabbed a soda from the fridge.

“I don’t know. I’m starting to think these kids are going to come closer to the concert and I just got to accept the fact that I’m not going to be able to make it.”

“What?! No, Hyde don’t say that,” Eric said. “You’re going to be able to have those babies and still go to the concert.”

“You know, Hyde, maybe you’re not doing this right,” Donna said and sat at the table. “Maybe, the babies will come tomorrow or Wednesday…”

Hyde squinted his eyes at her. “Why? Why tomorrow or Wednesday?”

She shook her head. “No reason!”

Hyde rolled his eyes. “Fine, whatever. I’m going to shower as well. We’ll try again tomorrow.”

Once he was out of earshot, Eric turned to Donna.

“Way to almost blow our cover!”

                                                         ---

Tuesday came and go with Y/n getting more miserable by the minute.

“It’s Tuesday night, she can still have the baby tonight!” Jackie argued.

“You had until 8pm. You can’t bend the rules now. Now pay up!” Donna chortled and held out her hand.

“Fine!” Jackie screeched and reached into her purse. “Here’s your stupid twenty bucks!”

“Thank you,” Donna said smugly and fanned her face with the two tens.

“Okay, double or nothing she has them by tomorrow,” Jackie said.

“I bet she’ll have them by Thursday,” Kelso said.

“I bet you’re all wrong,” Eric said. “I want to say she’ll have them by Sunday.”

“And I bet she’s losing six friends,” Markus piped up, disgusted at their behavior.

“Five,” Eric corrected. “She can’t lose me. I’m her brother after all.”

“I don’t think that’s going to make a difference,” Markus said.

“Markus, baby, shush,” Jackie said, tapping his leg. “We’re just having a little fun.”

“Fun?” he questioned. “You’re betting on your friend’s pain and misery! I don’t think she would classify this as fun.”

“She would if it was any one of us,” Eric pointed out.

“Only with you,” Donna chuckled. “She’s fine with the rest of us.” She looked up to Kelso who was mindlessly sucking on a popsicle. “Well, maybe Kelso too.”

He looked down at her, frowning, pausing with the popsicle still in his mouth. “Why me?”

“Because it’s so easy,” Fez added in, laughing. “Like you.”

                                                        ---

“That’s it, I give up!” Y/n said, exasperated three days later as she and her husband sat in the basement. “I’m done trying to get these kids to come out. They’ll come when they come.”

“No, don’t give up yet,” Eric said, faux-sympathetic.

“You just want them to be born so you can go to the concert,” she grumbled.

Eric’s gaze flicked to the rest of the group; Hyde staring at him suspiciously.

“Y-you can keep trying…even if it takes you to Sunday,” he said.

“Or Monday!” Jackie piped up. “I think you’ll go into labor then.”

“Nah, I’m saying Tuesday,” Fez said.

Y/n squinted her eyes at her friends. “Okay, what’s going on?”

“Nothing,” Fez squeaked.

“Uh huh, and I’m calling bologna,” she said, eyes never leaving Fez’s nervous ones.

“Nothing you’ll be interested in,” Jackie said.

“Yeah? Try me.”

Everyone was silent, not daring to speak up, until—

“We’ve all been making a bet to see when you’ll go into labor!” Fez blurted out.

“FEZ!” Everyone shouted.

“What the hell?!” Eric shouted.

“Unbelievable!” Donna cried out.

“Big mouth!” Jackie chimed in.

“Traitor!” Kelso added.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t lie to her!” Fez said.

“But you can bet money on me?!” Y/n shouted. “I can’t believe you guys!”

“Yeah! How could you do this and not let me in on it?!” Hyde shouted.

Y/n snapped her head to him. “WHAT?!”

“C’mon, we’re both so miserable here, at least let’s make some money out of it,” he defended.

“Oh, yeah I’m sure all that sex has helped ease the pain,” Fez grumbled bitterly.

“Shut up, Fez,” Hyde demanded, making Fez pout and turn away.

“You know the worst part is you guys didn’t include me on this,” Y/n continued.

“What?” the group asked in unison.

“Well, like Steven said, if I’m going to be miserable, I might as well make some money!”

“Hey, you’re cooler about this than I thought you would,” Markus said.

“If I wasn’t pregnant and desperate to get these kids out, I wouldn’t be,” she said. “Now, tell me, how high is the bet?”

“Forty,” he responded casually.

“Forty?!” Y/n screeched. “C’mon I’m worth more than that!”

“It’s all I’ve got in my purse,” Jackie responded bitterly. “Unless you have more money.”

“I know Hyde does,” Kelso smirked.

Hyde glared at him. “Drop it before I drop you.”

                                          The Next Day…

“C’mon, babies, just stay in there until after tonight,” Eric encouraged, talking to his sister’s belly.

“You know that’s not how that works,” she responded, laughing at him.

“They can still hear right? Maybe they will listen.”

“Yeah, in your dreams, Forman,” Hyde said as he sat next to his wife on the couch.

“Come on, babies, if you wait to come out and let Daddy go to the concert with Uncle Eric, I promise I’ll give you whatever you want.”

Y/n couldn’t help but chuckle. “I don’t think they’re coming out anytime soon. You guys can go to the concert tonight, it’s fine.”

“YES!” Eric cheered.

“You sure?” Hyde asked genuinely and turned to her. “What if you go into labor while I’m gone?”

“I still have my parents here and Markus said he’ll be a phone call away if I need him,” she reassured him.

Hyde made a face at her. “I don’t know how I feel about this new guy helping you.”

“Would you rather it be Fez or Kelso?”

He smacked his lips in thought. “Good point.”

“Besides, I think it’ll be nice to just be me tonight,” she continued. “I can finally start that book I’ve wanting to read.”

“Vogue Magazine isn’t a book,” Eric reminded.

“Neither are comics,” she snapped back.

“Then why are they called comic books?” he shot back.

Y/n sighed. “Either way, I’m looking forward to finally getting some alone time.”

“As long you’re okay with it. And I won’t be out long,” Hyde promised.

“Okay,” Y/n said, smiling at him and kissed him. “I’m going to go take a nap. Wake me up before you leave.”

Hyde nodded as he helped her off the couch. Just as she did, she clutched her stomach, hissing sharply.

“Oh!” she yelped, bending over.

“Oh, my God! Y/n!” Hyde reacted quickly, reaching for her so she didn’t stumble forward.

“Y/n, are you okay?!” Eric asked her with wide eyes.

“Yeah, just kidding,” she giggled and walked upstairs.

The two young men let out a breath of relief and glared at her as she walked up the stairs.

“Sometimes, I really, really don’t like her,” Eric griped.

                                             --Time Skip—

“Y/n, I’m leaving!” Steven said as he gathered his wallet, keys, and tickets together.

“I’m coming,” she called out as she waddled down the stairs.

He met her at the bottom of the stairs and placed his hands on her hips, leaning down to kiss her. “You sure you’re okay with this?”

“More than,” she said, grinning. “You go and have a great time, okay?”

“I will. I left the number for you on the counter to the venue in case anything happens.”

“Look at you, being all worried and responsible,” she teased.

He chuckled and kissed her gently. “I love you. I’m serious—call.”

“I will,” she said and hugged him. “I love you. Have fun.”

“Will you stop making out with my sister and get in the car?” Eric asked impatiently. “Led Zepplin isn’t going to wait for us.”

“Shut up, Forman,” Hyde said and turned to Y/n once more. “Try to not have those babies until I get back.”

“I will definitely try,” she replied sweetly before giving him one more kiss. “Now, go. Enjoy the concert. Oh! Wait there for a moment.” She ran back to the kitchen before returning to the front door with a camera in her hand. “Take some pictures for me.”

Hyde held the large polaroid camera in his hand and looked at his wife. “You want me to take pictures the whole time?”

She nodded innocently. “Yeah!”

“No,” he deadpanned and set the camera on the couch.

“What? Why?!”

“I’m going to be busy rocking and rolling, not taking pictures of the band.”

“Steven, please! Just because I can’t be there doesn’t mean I don’t want pictures!”

“Yeah, that’s a lot of pictures that I don’t want to take and have to keep track of. No, thanks.”

“Why’re you being so stubborn?”

“Hey, if you wanted to see Led Zepplin, you should be going,” Eric piped up from behind them.

“You literally bought tickets for everyone but me,” she snipped.

“Correction: I bought them for me, you, Hyde, and Donna. Kelso bought tickets for him and Hyde,”

“But…Jackie’s not going, what're you doing with that extra ticket?” Y/n inquired.

“Yeah…he thought he was going to be able to score with her, but then she met Markus and quite frankly, I think Kelso is afraid of him. So, he’s bringing Fez,” Eric answered.

“I’m not even going to question that,” she said and turned back to her husband. “You be careful and have fun. But not too much fun!”

“Alright, cool, let’s go!” Eric pushed and shoved Hyde out the door.

“What the hell, man?” Hyde asked outside the door.

“We still have to pick up Kelso and Fez and I’d rather not be later because you couldn’t stop being mushy with my sister,” Eric responded and closed the door before Y/n could hear what Hyde had to say.

Y/n looked down to her stomach and held it between her hands. “Well, guys, it looks like it’s just us. What do you guys want to do? We can watch TV, read a book…eat a tub of ice cream?” A kick to the stomach confirmed her question. “Ice cream it is!”

                                         Later that night…

Y/n sat on the couch in the living room watching a rerun of Three’s Company when the doorbell rang. When she answered the door, Jackie and Markus stood there.

“What’re you guys doing here?” Y/n asked them.

“Well, we know you’re by yourself tonight so we figured you’d like some company,” Markus said with a bright smile and held up a Fatso Burger bag. “We also brought food.”

“Well, I wouldn’t put it that nicely, but yeah same,” Jackie said and welcomed herself in.

“Oh, uh, well thanks,” Y/n said and closed the door. “You guys don’t have to be here. My parents are home and if anything happens, they’ll be here.”

“Nonsense. We’re your friends,” Markus said and sat down on the couch. “Besides, we figured you were hungry.”

“Always,” Y/n said and waddled over to the couch. “This was really nice of you. Thank you.”

“Not a problem,” Markus said, smiling and handing her a wrapped burger. “What’re we watching?”

“Three’s Company. It’s the one where Chrissy takes a freelance job as an X-rated writer for a fictional diary,” Y/n responded, watching the screen.

“Oh, that’s a good one,” Jackie said, digging into her fries.

After they had finished their meals and the episode ended, another one was starting soon as they all had settled back into the couch.

“No, no, no that’s ridiculous,” Markus argued. “Why would Doc Ock be Spider-Man’s greatest enemy? It’s always been Green Goblin!”

“The Green Goblin is Peter’s most famous enemy, but it makes sense that his greatest enemy is Doc Ock because think about it: Your mentor and friend turning bad? Can you imagine the betrayal?” Y/n countered.

“But Green Goblin was his best friend’s dad! That also has to mean something! Then, once his dad died, his best friend became the Green Goblin!”

“Yeah, that would mean something if Harry hadn’t tried to kill Peter first!”

“To be fair, Harry didn’t know about Spider-Man’s identity until later.”

“And to be fair, this conversation is killing me,” Jackie piped up, bored.

“Yeah, but—” Y/n was cut off by an abrupt sharp pain down in her lower abdomen. Her hands flew to her stomach and held her breath as the pain radiated and quickly subsided. She let out a sigh of relief.

Markus and Jackie sat up straight as Markus’s hands hovered over Y/n. “A-are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Y/n responded, breathlessly. “That was weird. Anyway, as I was saying—OH!”

Another sharp pain reared its ugly head, radiating through her pelvis to her back and down her legs. “Oh, my God!” Her grip on the couch tightened, knuckles turning white. She could feel her abdomen tighten rock-hard as she felt the pain become more intense.

“Y/n, what’s wrong?” Jackie asked.

Y/n couldn’t respond and could only whimper.

“Oh, my God,” Markus said, panicking and jumped from the couch. “Oh, my God! Not now!”

All Y/n could do was shake her head as the pain was starting to subside to the point where she could get some words out. “No, no, it can’t be. It can take a while for the babies to get here. It could just be the beginning stages.”

“The beginning stages of what?” Jackie asked.

Markus looked at her with a panicked and wild look in his eyes. “Are you serious?!”

“What?!” she asked, matching his energy.

“She’s in labor, Jackie!”

“Oh,” Jackie said calmly, but then it hit her. “OH!”

“We need to get you to the hospital,” Markus said, rushing to get her up from the couch.

“That’s not necessary,” Y/n said, another sharp pressure coming on as she stood. “The book said contractions need to be five to ten minutes apart before going to the hospital. Labor can take a while.”

Markus sighed a small breath of relief before looking down and his eyes widening. “And what does the book say about that?”

Y/n looked down on the floor at her feet as she felt some wetness.

                                          Her water had broke.

Taglist: @not-shy-nanya @taysirene @maddieschampagneproblems @mdittyz123 @undead-sierra @random-thoughts-004 @lieswithoutfairytales @chloem4a1 @srhxpc @zhonglibxitch @leothesquishy

[beescomet]

V E L O C I T Y || PART 1

A/N: WOOP WOOP, finally part 1 is DONE, I've been writing it for so long now lmao. Anyway, I, once again, ask everyone to go and thank @crackedpumpkin for giving me the courage to write this (and also go read their fics, it's literally a masterpiece like 💖). There might be errors as I haven't proof read this yet, so if you find anything lmk please !! Enjoy!! (Also it's 2 am here, and I got a lecture in the morning, so I'm genuinely warning yall, there might be some odd mistakes)

TAGLIST: N/A

The smoke hangs thick in the air, twisting and billowing like ghostly tendrils as it mingles with the sharp tang of burnt rubber and the pungent scent of gasoline. From the haze, You watch as the familiar wave of energy flows all around you and the people present. Gray mist, speckled with red, similar to the mist after a night of rain in your street, the red from the lights illuminating the road. You feel a smile threatening to form as you absorb this energy.

You nearly jump in surprise when a familiar voice speaks through the earpiece you're wearing—a reminder of why I'm here in the first place. "These damn kids and their cars," the voice says, frustration evident. "Can't tell a damn difference between a wrench and a screwdriver even if it slapped them on the face", You let out a breath of amusement from your nose at the complaints . You slowly turn the steering wheel, guiding the car to it's dedicated position for the race. "Behave now D, that's not why we're here. You got eyes on me?"

The atmosphere is electric, charged with anticipation and excitement, sending a shiver down your spine as you drive into the dimly lit space. Around you, the cavernous expanse is alive with activity. Sleek, customized vehicles gleam under the low lighting, their polished surfaces catching the colorful splashes of graffiti art that adorn the walls.

"You know I do, I even got the cameras set up on the track and possible escape routes."

The crowd buzzes with energy, a lively mix of spectators and racers moving in a chaotic dance. Mechanics hustle around, their tools clinking and clanking as they tinker with engines, striving for that perfect performance. Drivers, their faces set in determined expressions, huddle in small groups, discussing tactics and strategies in hushed tones. Onlookers lean against the walls, their eyes wide with anticipation, eagerly awaiting the start of the races.

You watch them all from the safety of your car, the music and shouts muffled by the glass. You recognise a few of the people around, your nerves now on edge. You start to speak, your voice lowered to a whisper, following the group with careful eyes. "They're here"

A crash sounds from the earpiece, followed by a string of curse words. "Wait really? Fuck, you really hit the nail on the head with that one. How many can you see? Ah wait never mind, I got eyes on 'em. Damn that's a lot of screens to look at-"

You tune him out, deciding to focus on the group ahead instead, counting the members. 1, 2, 3. An annoyed sigh escapes past your lip as you rest your head on the steering wheel, muttering a curse. "Three, I was counting on at least four to get enough cash.."

The sound of laughter grabs your attention, slowly lifting your head as your eyes narrow at the sound. "Well about that, you don't need to have more than one person against you in that race.."

You immediately grab your phone, looking at your bank account and checking the balance. You choke on air once you see the number, sitting up straight and nearly hitting your head on the car roof. "Daisuke what the hell did you do! This better not be Amelie's college funds or I swear-"

Another laugh, interrupts your rant, this one louder than the last, your eyes going to glare right at one of the camera's set in the location. "Relax, this isn't my kid's college fund.. it's some of my retirement money my wife and I saved up back when she was alive. It's no use to me right now, so I thought it would help."

You could feel your heart drop, the anger in your eyes quickly replaced by one of guilt. "Daisuke I ca-" You start, closing your mouth as he interrupts you once more. "Don't even try to send it back Y/N, you went through hell for Amelie and I, this is just how I'm saying thank you. Now focus, you need to kick ass and bring the winning money back home!"

A pained laugh leaves you because of his words, bringing your hand up to rub your nose as you sniff. You could feel the tears threatening to fall, but you gather yourself together before you start breaking down.

You step out of the car, reaching for the duffle bag next to you before you do, and start heading to the middle of the room.

Every sound, every sight, adds to the cacophony of excitement that fills the air, creating a palpable tension that crackles like electricity. It's a world unto itself, this underground car meet, where the rules are few and the stakes are high. You get caught up in the whirlwind of activity, feeling the pulse of adrenaline coursing through my veins. You can feel it, all of it —the energy, the anticipation—it's all here, waiting to be unleashed. Your eyes flicker to the metal bracelet on your wrist that had started beeping, a number flashing on it.

17%

A confident smile now on your face, the night is only just beginning. Oh how fun this is going to be.

⋆｡ ﾟ ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ ☾ ﾟ ｡ ⋆

The duffle bag hits the table with a loud thud, silencing the group of people in the area as their attention shifts to you. But you keep your eyes on one man, the gray mist around him thicker than the others around him.

Kaji.

He tilts his head to the side, his smile growing once he sets his eyes on you as he adjusts his stance, leaning on the hood of his car. His grey eyes holds your E/C ones. He tilts his head back for a moment, chuckling. "Well then, look who we have here, the Red Devil has finally graced us with her presence. Come to race against me then?"

An annoyed huff leaves you, crossing your arms over your chest as you glare at the man, raising one brow. He stares back, grinning, a golden tooth glistening under the neon lights. You couldn't help but smile at the sight of the tooth, how can you not? You were the reason he had to get it done in the first place.

"I was planning to, unless you give me the money that I'm going to win anyway, would make this whole ordeal go so much faster" You state, shrugging your shoulders as you hear some people laugh. Kaji growls, standing up and going to the table standing between you two, opening the duffle bag and peering inside. He looks back at you, the scowl quickly replaced by his infamous grin. "That's a lot of money, are you confident you'll win?"

"That damn bastad, why I outta-"

You ignore Daisuke's words, keeping your attention on Kaji as he waves two fingers to the other two goons with him, they bring in three duffle bags, placing them next to the one placed earlier. You glance at them, unfolding your arms from over your chest and reaching to the duffle bags. You open the first and quickly check the cash placed inside to make sure none were fake, repeating the same process with the other bag.

You nod, stepping back as you watch someone (who you assumed would be this race's starter) shove the duffle bags into a locked box, placing the key on a chain around their neck. You turn around and begin heading back to your car, raising both hands as you yell over the crowd who began to gather around the both of you.

"Be at the track in 10, I got more important places to be at later, and I'd hate to be late because of you"

The bracelet beeps once more. Your focus shifts to it.

32%

⋆｡ ﾟ ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ ☾ ﾟ ｡ ⋆

"You sure you want to do this Y/N?"

You snap out of your thoughts once you hear Daisuke's voice from your earpiece, nodding your head for a moment and letting out an affirmative hum. You could hear the sigh from the ear piece, and you can just imagine him in your head shaking his head and rubbing his temple.

"Just stay safe out there would ya? God knows none of us needs anymore loss"

A grin forms on your face, a soft laugh as you nod once more. "You got it captain" You look ahead as the cars pull up next to yours, people starting to gather around the track and the screens mounted on the wal starts to broadcast the race.

Your heart hammers against your chest, causing your breath to come out staggering. This was it, the moment you and Daisuke have been planning for the past year. You close your eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath before opening them again, your hands on the driving wheel as you stare right ahead.

You have to win.

Losing was not an option.

A quick glance to the metal bracelet on your wrist, checking the number.

45%

"Ready!"

The starter started counting down, the sound of engines rumbling, adding onto the excitement that filled the air. You could see the red specks in the mist growing, showing that what happens after would be utter and pure chaos. That was exactly what you needed.

"Set!"

Beside you, Kaji, revved his engine, glaring at you from his car. You roll your eyes, any other time you'd have given him the middle finger, but right now you needed to focus.

"Go!"

Kaji shot forward like a bullet, his car a sleek silhouette cutting through the darkness. The gleam of determination in his eyes was unmistakable, a silent promise of fierce competition to come. You weren't far behind, both your engines growling with power as you both jostled for the first position in the opening moments of the race.

Behind you, two other competitors fought tooth and nail for their place in the pack, their cars weaving and swerving in a frantic dance of speed and skill. The air crackled with tension as the four of you raced, Kaji at the lead, you second, and the kther twi battling it out for third.

You let out a curse, glancing at the rearview mirror as you watch the others separate from behind you. You look at the side-view mirrors, seeing them going to either side of you.

"Watch out, 3 o'clock. He's speeding up, seems like he's gonna try and crash into you."

"Gotcha"

You look to your right, and sure enough, hes speeding your way, eyes on your vehicle as he tries to have you crash into the other one on your left. His eyes meet yours, and you couldnt help the smile on your face as you move your hand, raising the middle finger to him. You see the anger in his eyes as he swerves to your direction, and you quickly hit the brakes, your car slowing down and creating space between you and him faster than he could react. You watch as he barely misses your car, a fleeting moment of eye contact before he crashes into the other car.

A laugh escapes your lips as your foot quickly went back to the gas pedal, your car revving back up to life and going to catch up with Kaji.

Two down, one to go.

"Holy FUCK-! Y/N are you okay?"

"Just perfect! Cant say the same for the other two though" You snicker, glancing at your rear-view mirror to look at the crash site, the two guys getting out of their busted cars and telling at each other. "What's the power at??" You ask, turning your attention back to the road ahead, taking a sharp right and finally Kaji's car is back into your line of sight.

"75% and counting, did you purposely make them crash to suck the energy?”

You didn't answer, so he took your silence as confirmation.

As you hurtled down the straightaway, the neon lights of the underground tunnel flashed by in a blur of color, casting strange shadows upon the sleek surfaces of the racing machines. The pounding of your heart echoed in your ears, a steady rhythm that drove you forward, pushing you to new heights of speed.

"Two laps left"

A curse leaves your lips, your eyes glancing at your bracelet as you watched the number slowly increases. The space between you and Kaji was so small, yet to you it was almost oceans apart. Your teeth grits together as you think, shaking your head after a moment.

"D, What's the nearest shortcut to the front?"

The man at the other end sighs, you can hear him move around from his desk and the sound of him pressing buttons on his keyboard. "Take a left in a minute, you'll be in the market area, after 5 minutes with the speed you're at take a right, you should be ahead of Kaji by then."

You nod, quickly turning the steering wheel as the sound of the tires skidding reaches your ears, you can imagine the confusion on Kaji's face as he watches you disappear from behind him, the thought making you laugh a bit as you continue to drive.

Daisuke was right, you found yourself driving near the marketplace, swerving left and right through trucks and wagons filled with food. You glance at the clock, 2 minutes before the turn.

⋆｡ ﾟ ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ ☾ ﾟ ｡ ⋆

Kaji looks at the rear-view mirror slowing down as he sees you disappear. He looks around him, trying to find any signs you were going to appear but...nothing. He started laughing, pressing harder on the gas pedal, he could feel it, the sweet taste of victory, his victory against the infamous Red Devil.

The finish line was close, it was right there. He couldn't believe it, not only did he just guarantee a win, but he had won thousands from this race alone. He started cheering, hitting the car horn as people started to circle around the finish line.

But just then, he could see something coming out of an alleyway from the corner of his eyes, causing him to swerve as he saw the familiar grey car appear from the shadows. "What the fuck! Where did she come from!?"

You grin at him, giving him a quick salute as you turn the car, you had just stolen first place from him! You laugh, your head thrown back. Kaji never thought he could despise you more than he already did, but clearly he was wrong.

You glance at your bracelet, seeing the familiar number beeping, 100%. "Let's fucking go"

You look at your hands, watching as the energy mist you had been absorbing starts to leave you, your veins glowing gray and some sparks of red. The energy transfers from your arms to your car, you close your eyes, the familiar feeling of your element around you. Pure chaos.

You open your eyes, glancing at your reflection in the mirror, and sure enough, the familiar waves of energy come out of you like waves of an ocean during a storm, feeding more power to your car as it increases in speed.

This was one of the very few perks of being able to control the element of chaos. And arguably, your only favorite.

Cracks had started to form on the ground beneath the car, but it didnt matter, the finish line was right there. And with one final burst of power from you, your car reaches almost unnatural speed, finishing the final lap in a matter of seconds.

You drift your car, shutting your eyes tight as you press on the brakes to get it to stop before hitting the forming crowd, the sound of your wheels screeching against the road before it halts. There was a moment of silence, the only thing you can hear was your heartbeat. Then loud cheers erupt from around you, people running up to your car and shouting your title.

"Holy fucking shit we actually did it. WE WON! Y/N YOURE GETTING OUT OF HERE-"

You flinch at the screaming in your ear, your hand reaching up and muting the earpiece as your eyes looks for the man holding your prize money. You step out of the car, taking deep breaths as you try to ignore the hundreds of eyes on you.

You feel a hand on your shoulder and you jump in surprise, quickly turning and seeing who it was. You visibly relax, seeing the man carrying the three duffle bags and handing it to you.

"Good race there Red, I have to ask though, why did you take that shortcut? It could have cost you the race" He asks, watching you as you throw the duffle bags into the backseat. You shrug, glancing at him from the corner of your eyes.

"I got lucky... Now, if you'll excuse me, i need to be somewhere"

You get back into your car, the crowd parting as you quickly make your way out from the underground parking. You sit in your car in silence as you make your way back to Daisuke's location, every nerve in your body on edge. This was it. You were finally going to leave.

The mechanic shop wasn't that far, so you managed to get there in time. Quickly getting your car into the garage, Daisuke runs up and closes the garage entrance after you. "Holy fuck, we did it, for a second there I thought that was it!" Daisuke yells, running up to you and opening your car door. You step out, handing him your car keys then you grab the duffle bag, setting it on the nearest workbench.

"It's not over yet, I still need to sneak past Kaji's people and reach the city." You remind him, opening the bags as you started to count the money to be able to split them. "Did you get the other car ready? I can't leave with mine. It'll stand out" You ask, glancing at him for a moment before pausing and seeing a familiar set of keys in your face. Your eyes wide and you grin, quickly snatching the keys.

"Daisuke you did not-" The words leave your mouth faster than you can think things through, looking at the otherside of the garage and seeing the car you were meant to take. "You said it would take you months to fix it up!!"

You look at the car, a 1957 Cadillac series 62 painted navy blue. You walk around it, your fingers running over the smooth surface of the car. If it was possible to marry a car, you would have done so already. You pause, realising that he was actually giving you the cat, you look back at Daisuke and you see him smile at you. You move your hand, trying to hand back the keys. "I can't accept this, the money, the car-"

He raises his hand, and you close your mouth, your brows furrowed together in annoyance. He takes a few steps towards you and places his hand on your shoulder, giving you a small smile. "Y/N, you listen to what I say and listen well.."

"I want to give these to you. You've done so much for me and my daughter already, and you still continue to do so when you didn't have to in the first place.” You turn your face away from his gaze, biting the inside of your cheek as you fight away the tears threatening to spill. “Hey, hey look at me-" He gently grabs your chin, turning your face back to him, similar to what he would do with his daughter when he has something important to tell her.

"I'm so grateful for you, Amelie as well. You've come a long way to get to where you are now. Your father would have been proud of the person you became" He states carefully, pulling you into a tight embrace. You wrap your arms around him, burying your face into his shirt as you hold him tight.

"I'll come back for you, all of you, I promise"

He laughs, wrapping his arms around you and patting your hair in a calming manner. "I know you will kid, you're too kind for your own good" he muttered, his voice wavering. You both pull away from each other, looking at each other before you give him a sad smile.

"I'm serious, I'll come back and help you leave, then we'll open up a car repairs shop together and restore beauties like this one" You push, pointing at the cadillac nearby.

Daisuke laughs dryly, shaking his head for a moment before crossing his arms. "Alright alright, I trust you, now you better get going, you need to be out of this goddamn hell hole before sunrise, chop chop!" He urges you back to your new car, opening the door for you and you get in. "I already put your bags in the trunk, Amelie left you some snacks in a lunchbox, but i'm pretty sure it's some form of clay" You laugh at the comment, shaking your head as you think of the little brown haired girl you had grown to love.

"Thank you.. for everything" You state softly, looking at him with a soft smile. Daisuke smiles back, giving you a curt nod as he steps back, opening the garage door once more.

"Don't mention it kid, now go, I'll hide the other car later tonight" You nod, backing out of the garage and into the night, the Cadillac perfectly blending into the darkness of the town.

⋆｡ ﾟ ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ ﾟ ☾ ﾟ ｡ ⋆

A figure watches from afar, his hand going up to run over his beard. Wu watches as the young girl drives away, a heavy sigh leaving him as he turns to leave. He reaches up and runs his hands over his dragon, carefully mounting it as it soars up into the sky.

"She gets stronger everyday, I fear we may not have enough time to prepare”

[ewanmitchellcrumbs]

I know you are tired of being reminded of the whole mess that’s been going on. I had no idea what was going on until foxyanon told me cause I asked. The shock that went through me when I was reading ems post. I was decent friends with bel and interacted a lot with her. Had no idea how vile those bloggers are, just damn right disgusting and rude. But I told em as well that I have nothing to do with what’s her face. I’m always here for you! This fandom needs some serious work done and rethinking. I’m screaming the biggest f you to her! I love your content even though I don’t say anything much. You’re wonderful and deserve better! 💗💗

Thank you for reaching out, and treating me like a human being. It is more than I currently deserve. I will place the rest of my response beneath a cut, as it will be quite long and I'd like to give people the option to scroll past, as they are doubtless tired of all of this, and rightly so.

Yes, the behaviour of that group is despicable, but I cannot downplay the gravity of my own in that.

I had a longstanding block with two users (I am not going to use their online nicknames, I do not deserve to), arcielee and sylasthegrim, I said disgusting things about both of them - the screenshots of my messages regarding them both on the post you have doubtless all seen are real (so is the final screenshot where I mention an anon I had received telling me to die in my sleep, the rest of the screenshots in that post have been falsified, doctored or snipped heavily out of context to make them appear hateful - the doctoring has been confirmed by two individuals well versed in Photoshop)

I hold my hands up and apologise to both those people, and the people that have seen those messages and been harmed by them. They are inexcusable, indefensible and were guided by a false belief that those two people were being hateful in turn about me, and actively going out of their way to harm and spite me. I am unsure what Bel thought she had to gain by exacerbating the animosity between me and Em and those two women, regardless, we should have done the mature thing and reached out directly to them. I will say, that I have never once sent anonymous hatred to either person. The extent of my vitriol was confined to that group chat.

Bel also used slurs in the group chat (I would like to point out that myself, Em and Fae did not). I won't repeat what these were. I do not want those ugly words on my page. They made me uncomfortable and I called her out any time she used one in particular, but she always laughed off my discomfort and carried on anyway. She is mixed race, I am white, in my mind it is not my place as a white person to tell an ethnic minority what is racism and what isn't. There are enough white voices shouting down others in online spaces. I know better now. I should not let my own discomfort silence me. I will call out hatred, bigotry and discrimination in every instance that I see it. My past inaction is embarrassing, it's offensive and I am devastated by the hurt I have caused to others. I am so deeply sorry.

I didn't speak up for a long time, because I have seen what these people are like when they have a grudge against someone. It's frightening, I was a coward. Yet despite staying silent on all of it, I have been doxxed just the same. I suppose perhaps that's karmic retribution?

I appreciate that people have felt my response has been lacking, however, I was out of the country, away from home, from the 14th until the 22nd, with only my phone at my disposal and with the expectation from my husband that I would enjoy the vacation we were on, and not be online dealing with all of this.

I would like the opportunity to atone for my behaviour, to make amends. Currently, I feel I am not going to be given the opportunity to do that, and understandably so. Emotions are high, people are raw from what they have learned and they do not feel comfortable being around me.

Seeing the screenshots of the people in their group passing around my personal photos and saying incredibly vile things about my appearance triggered a lapse with the eating disorder that I am in active recovery for. I then had another a few days later. I need to take some time away to get myself well, as the fear and anxiety of all of this is taking its toll. I also need the space to deal with the legal action I will be exploring with regards to Chris having doxxed me. I am not running away. I simply need to get myself into a space where I am stable enough to handle all of this, be accountable, and take responsibility without my own emotions diminishing other people's.

I know people hate me right now, but it pales in comparison to how much I hate myself. I am so very sorry for allowing this to happen.

[hel-phoenyx]

Domhildr belongs to @soupedepates, Oli to @thal-ent and Meili to @azeler, Kaizarz (mentioned) belongs to @corneille-but-not-the-author

Okay.

Maybe almost fainting in front of Domhildr as she was getting out of her shift was a bad idea.

For my defense, I didn't expect my body to react so strongly to just the amount of energy needed for digestion. Like I know I haven't slept in a week, but still, feeeling that dizzy right after eating ? Did I really not take care of my body properly ?

Point is she didn't let that slide. Like, at all. As soon as I was on the ground she called Meili. She never calls Meili, usually. And then while waiting on him she warned Oli she wouldn't be back tonight, for what ? I asled myself in the middle of my dizziness.

The result is we're currently at my home. It's morning after. And I've never heard that much noise in my kitchen before, even when Kaizarz was there and hellbent on finding my sugar and sweets stash to make us hot chocolates.

When I woke up, it was noon. I am so late on the thesis. Yet, I can't get out of bed. Why ? Because Meili is right next to me looking at me with those military officer eyes. The kind that say "obey orders or I'll kill you".

Not gonna lie, I've never done well with orders. I wanna get up and come back to my desk just to see how he will react. But my body isn't answering to me anymore. I can't even lift my head.

Meili squints seeing me awake.

"Don't you dare move."

I smile. Gods, the amount of energy needed is astounding. What the fuck is this sudden weakness ?!

"Or what... you're gonna pin me to bed ? Go ahead... I'm still stronger that you..."

"Clearly not in that state, and don't make me tie you up to the bedframe."

"Didn't know you were into that..."

His grimace is awful. I probably should have closed my big ass mouth. Why is it than when I'm tired I don't have any filter anymore. I almost told Kaizarz I loved him last time, goddamnit !

Anyway, I better shut up before I say something I regret. Meili looks pissed enough.

"Don't you dare start that gay shit with me, Tyr. You're fucking exhausted, you need to rest. Domhildr is whipping something in the kitchen for you, and Oli is trying to choose a movie we would all like."

"Damn... Since how much time are they trying ?"

"Three hours. We almost reached a consensus, so be a dear and don't ruin this for us."

When do I ever. But I'm too tired for this. And if I move a muscle, Meili is getting out the whip, anyway, I see in in his eyes. You can take a man out of army, but never army out of man...

Bed is too comfortable anyway, and my limbs too heavy. I wouldn't be able to move even if I really, really wanted to.

The second reason is that I won't have time. Domhildr just stormed in the room, a tray covered in food in hand. She made hamburgers with double steak and eggs, and fries on the side. Mine is covered in curry sauce, my favorite.

"Still think you're an heretic for what you made me do to those poor hamburgers, she shouts while putting the tray on my nightstand. But you needed meat, and red, bloody one."

"How I like it, huh..."

"Yeah, you fucking cannibal. How you like it, just for you. I'm letting you wake up while Oli chooses the movie, but after that, you're eating, and you're not moving out of bed for the day even if I have to climb you."

I smile again.

"This is the second weirdly erotic threat I've gotten today. You know you can tell me if you guys have an orgy planned later, I won't mind..."

"Oh, shut up, you bonehead, don't you dare joke in that state. Do you know how much I was worried about you ?"

Oh. She looks genuinely upset. Did I say something bad ? Did I do something bad, maybe ? I don't know. I just feel bad, all of a sudden.

".... Sorry."

"You better be. Hiding how little you sleep, how much coffee you drink, and when I go in your room I find a whole stash of beers clearly not here for partying ? What the fuck are you doing to yourself, Tyr ?!"

She's teary-eyed now. Oh. Did my current physical state affected them that much ?

"Sorry, really. I didn't want to worry you."

"Then start by not doing worrying things ! I thought I had to call Kaizarz to bring you to the hospital, AGAIN !"

Well. I guess that's why she's upset. Last time they had to do that, last time Kaizarz had to bring me to the hospital, it was the time of the accident. I still remember his eyes full of tears when i woke up from coma, his attempt to make me promise I won't ever put myself in danger like that, ever again.

I guess some things never change.

I lift my hand. Pinches her cheek. Shit, she's crying now. What did I do ? Why can't I do things rights ?

"I'm fine, Domhildr. Just lacking sleep. I promise."

"None of us believe you, Tyr, and that's coming from me."

That was Oli. They finally entered the room, with a movie case in hand, while Meili turns on the television on the wall. She doesn't look as angry as Domhildr does, or as judgemental as Meili's, but her eyes are full of worry, and unexplainable sadness.

Weirdly, those are the ones that hurt me the most.

".... I'm sorry."

"Stop saying that. Please. Just recover."

He sighs. Sits down next to me, gives the case to Meili.

"A Ghibli, is that okay with you ? We settled on Spirited Away."

"Fine by me. Sorry for making you worry."

They take my face between their hands, look at me long and hard.

"Tyr. We are your friends. Of course we will worry."

"Now just eat, and don't mind if I eat burgers in your bed, says Domhildr while climbing next to me. I really don't wanna make you move or be away from you for the next ten hours. And I don't have a shift today so I'm ready to be there a long time."

Oli takes my other side, and Meili brings closer my desk chair to sit next to us. All of us now have plates on their lap, and the heat of their bodies is relaxing my muscles.

I didn't want to worry them. They shouldn't have to worry about me.

But I can still enjoy this, right ?

[silverfox66]

As an American can I just say how fucking shameful it is how right you are that you can't depend on the USA

Like our leaders are making us into fucking fools who no one can trust cause oh... looks like we only honor commitments when we feel like it. The speaker can single handedly hold up aid for months by just not putting it to a vote, and the house can't even get it's shit together enough to sign the discharge petition to get it on the floor

It's just a disgrace, it's horrific and vile, and if all that weren't enough it's just plain stupid. America gets... fuck it gets so much out of sending military aid to Ukraine

It gets to fight a strategic rival without risking a single troop, it gets to dump old inventory where a lot of it was probably going to have to be decommissioned, we don't even send most of the money cause what that money actually mostly goes towards is restocking our own arsenal with new equipment which pays Americans wages we get to tax... the list of selfish reasons to help is almost endless and yet these pricks still fight tooth and nail to do the wrong thing

And once again, it makes us look like undependable allies cause we're fucking being undependable, and that weakens us so much strategically. Like even if you don't care about russia, it makes our allies in the Pacific question if they can actually depend on our support

Sorry, this stuff's just on my mind a whole lot, and would you believe that it's hard to find other Americans you can actually have this conversation with? So many smart people I know who in spite of that act like they don't have a brain in their head and just don't care

Meanwhile johnson is complaining that we need aid to Israel... well if that's what you want prick, isn't it nice that you have that sitting on your desk, already passed in the senate, and all you have to do it put it to a vote? Lightning speed legislation if you ignore the months you've stalled with it (and he's gonna send them on vacation yet again to stall more)

The fact one man can hold up the whole system, and the fact like 5 far right maga members can take the whole house hostage and the gop can't even muster the guts to sign a discharge petition... it's just sick, it makes the US into a fucking laughing stock and it's deserved

Can't even imagine if trump wins, mr wants to encourage russia to attack NATO allies. The fact that... that so few other Americans seem to care he said that, the fact that any one even considers voting for him as he sets all out political alliances on fire for his own gains... the hell is wrong with people?

Again, sorry. I just... this stuff eats at me sometimes. Just how fucking bad America is doing not just at being decent, but at serving our own interests

We could have put China and Iran in their place (something maga people claim to want) if when this invasion started we'd just dumped all out old inventory straight away, made clear we were loading up the pipeline with everything Ukraine needed, and basically said you don't fuck with the US industrial base

Might have even stopped the war, a lot harder to want to continue when you know the valve on the military aid was fully opened and then smashed so the artillery shells and fighters won't stop coming

Instead we rolled over and trickled things in, made ourselves look weak

Just can't stand it, just can't fucking stand how this country is run. Again, even if you don't care about the civilians killed in drone strikes, we should at least care about our own strategic interests

But we don't, far to many selfish scumbags, and russian stooges, and people who buy russian propaganda hook line and sinker

Anyway... hope you have a good day. Like I said, just know hardly anyone I can say this stuff to. No one seems to listen... and even if they did, I can shout all day and it's not like I can force johnson to act like an actual human being instead of toxic sludge in a suit

Just pass the damn aid, every last person with half a brain is begging you to including our generals

It makes me so frustrated and it's so damn shameful, a real stain on this country

It's such a shame that America has become an unreliable ally, I so much wish it was different. And it's bizarre to me how one speaker has so much power to block the voting of a bill. It's seems highly undemocratic to me.

Aiding Ukraine is the cheapest way to defeat America's number 1 enemy: russia. But decades of pro-russian propaganda has been so effective, it has infected American politicians and made them unwilling to stand up for freedom and democracy.

And I talk about the USA now, but here in Western Europe, we have the same problem. High on cheap gas, we have funded the russian war-machine for decades. That money has been turned into weapons and is now killing Ukrainians on a daily basis. And now we are too much of a coward to switch to a war economy.

Sorry, this stuff's just on my mind a whole lot, and would you believe that it's hard to find other Americans you can actually have this conversation with? So many smart people I know who in spite of that act like they don't have a brain in their head and just don't care

Oh same here. I can talk about this dire situation in Ukraine with only a handful of other people. Other people support Ukraine overall, but passively. And we need people to support Ukraine actively, we need more people to sound the alarm bells. But it feels like we're shouting into the void right now. Simply not enough people care.

I hope you have a nice day as well and thank you for standing with Ukraine.

[knowlessman]

bnha prepare to cry edition (s2e10-12), with Todoroki: Origins

huh, new OP. bit of a different vibe, but I'm not complaining; sounds familiar tho - …oh. I clicked on the previous episode by mistake, this is the outro

ahem, yes, complexes n abuse n stuffs

still same old OP. the animation is nice tho, I'll say that much

oh shit here we go

"with your arms like that, you can't fight any more" the human body has four limbs, zuko. granted, deku has already committed a lot of healing to what's essentially an overvalued pissing match

…eh? why'd that one work? -- he can cash in each finger twice now??? 'XD at the rate he's going, he's going to cash in all the potential he had and have nothing to put on his resume just to have a resume -- "there's a limit to how much cold your body can take" yeah, and it's a lot fucking higher than your limits; zuko doesn't need a new arm every fight -- "you haven't put a single scratch on me yet" says the guy who's only been keeping himself in the game by sacrificing lands every turn and who doesn't even seem to have a wincon

"endeavor is shouting encouragement now, such a doting father" get. the fuck. off. the mic.

endeavor's gonna be unwatchable after this, I think. he's gonna think all his dreams came true. imo, deku shoulda let todoroki limit himself. there are worse responses to being born with power/privilege than "I refuse to use it."

ooh, iida's up next

(todoroki to endeavor) "for a moment, I forgot about you." damn straight.

oh, who invited mineta? fuck off.

wonder if they ever call back to this "your arm will never be the same" stuff later. I guess I couldn't blame them too much if they don't, but they are making a big deal out of how much deku keeps sacrificing for momentary advantages in fights that ultimately don't really matter. heck, even when he doesn't damage a limb more than usual, he's ostensibly using up his body's lifetime capacity for healing (I think they implied that last season anyway).

(iida showing plant girl the door) 'XD only the most gentlemanly of ring-outs. typical of iida; old-fashioned, but exceedingly polite while somehow not sacrificing effectiveness.

meanwhile, back in the world…

I love the metapod bros, they're great 'XD

iida did good tho; gotta admit, the jobbers are jobbing (including all the girl characters bc patriarchy -_-), but they are at least getting to have A Plan that Could Have Worked, they're not just showing up and getting shutout

(iida's brother got got) hm. shame. -- …like. I mean this isn't being overdone or anything, it doesn't feel cliche or out-of-nowhere or whatnot, but part of me still wants to joke about iida going edgy and going on a revenge quest and getting a sword and shit. I don't know if I hope that actually happens; mostly I'm thinking "it's gonna be a helluva moment when he finds out." : / the show has managed to avoid killing off any named characters so far, but we didn't know ingenium (?) that well

(bakugo vs tokoyami) dangit. I hate it when dickheads figure things out

"do you have a moment to hear about our lord and savior Facepalm-sama?"

there are 25 daggone episodes in this season, it's a good thing they're such bangers

(flashback to last season) "I'm gonna beat you, deku, and I'll do it wearing my two-sizes-too-big delinquent-style baggy pants!"

"I AM… KICKING THE DOOR IN LIKE A DICKHEAD WITH A CHIP ON MY SHOULDER THAT CAN BE SEEN FROM OUTER SPACE!!!" -- "you knew midoriya when you were kids. has he always given a shit about other people?" 'XD

bakugo and endeavor are literally the same person except endeavor acts like he can read

…this annoying butt-60's-superhero music thing just said "be a fuck*ng superstar." they bleeped out the i in -ing. …anyway

(muffled explosions) mineta: "w-what's that sound?" leave this show mineta, every single frame you are in could be edited out with no other changes and the show would be improved for it

"the stronger the quirk, the more imprecise the attacks" says the guy who definitely didn't watch todoroki's fight with iida

no, bakugo, as a matter of fact you don't deserve the world and everything in it just because your mother told you so -- good timing with the knockout gas. seriously, if bakugo even got hired he'd be a massive liability to anybody who tried to either manage or team up with him. guy needs several tons of high-impact character development before he'll be anything else.

give bakugo a golden dunce cap because they only paired him against people who had type disadvantages to him and one person who would have hated having to look at the trophy anyway. …oh yeah he did fight kirishima; I guess that one was decided more through stamina than by anything else

'XDDD holy fuck bakugo looks like the Ram from Dead Island -- …no yeah there's just no talking to bakugo for awhile I think. I mean, hell, there usually isn't anyway

weirdo bakugo still has the medal in his mouth

(ingenium died I think?) harsh

(todoroki visits his mom) hm

eh, seems like a good stopping point for now I think

[puddlejumper38]

The Lost Metal notes

I like to keep notes while I'm reading Branderson books, mostly its just me yelling about things. With so many spoilers. Also its a long post and possibly not coherent...

I read the pre-released chapters, so this starts round abouts chapter 19. Again this is just all spoilers. -Trell = Autonomy was actually a spoiler I'd seen. But it makes sense what with Bleeder/Paalm/Lessie shouting about freedom every 5 sec - Return of Duralumin, fantastic: genuinely fantastic, not sarcasm. I like it, it fucks shit up in predictable but dramatic ways. BOOM super allomancy. - of course the evil guys have it, but oh well. - AHHHHHHHHHHH - Death himself !!! - It is MARSH :D - This is earlier than expected - Ah. - Of course Branderson has nerfed him. I knew it. I knew it. He's too powerful otherwise. GOd fucking damn it. - 'its difficult to compound with hemalurgy' says Marsh, compounding with hemalurgy. Well, he'd know I guess. - Listen. Branderson. If you kill Marsh for the third (3rd) time. We will have to have a talk. It won't be polite. - God fucking damn it part 2: we are now losing both Marsh AND VenDell in the same breath. Really? - (just give him atium sazed. hey sazed. give him the atium) - I have more comments but this is supposed to be for the Whole Book..... and I need room left in case Marsh comes back (joking, joking) - I'm fine. - (He still swears using the Lord Ruler's name. Marsh, I love you) - I feel like Moonlight might be Shai, but I'm not sure. I could be missing something really obvious. - I Sincerely hope that the 'three left of the crew' is SAZED, Kelsier and Marsh. I don't like Spook "lets kill the old people with Hemalurgy" Lestibournes. But he did live to be over 100. - Sazed is going to be Discord by the end of this book, isn't he? - To save the world. And everyone's pissed off with his inaction. - 'He will be Discord and they will love him' or similar from HoA has stuck with me. I am waiting. Sooooon. - Damn I forgot I did not like the Ghostbloods. They all have their noses in the air, and not in a fun way like VenDell - Its TenSoon!! Hello there!! - Yeah I figured the set were framing the Senators. - Okaaaay, that thing with the Bands is concerning. What Were They Used For? - Ah yes, Shai. - What was even the point of the Ghostbloods here. They didn't do anything. -Oh Wax just used Hemalurgy. I'm sure of it. Duralumin spike. Don't like that. -Yup. As much as I like Duralumin.... just. Hemalurgy. Y'know? Don't fucking spike yourself. I don't even like the earrings. - They Have Lerasium So Where Is The Atium? How Much Is A Small Amount Anyway? - I'm gearing up to get cranky. I'll put it on hold for now. - Alas, I did not like Wayne and don't care about this development. - I'm so glad Marasi didn't join the Ghostbloods. It suits her better. Its the secrets thing, and I'm glad that was her reason. - Well. At least Sazed said. Not like last time, when it was left a mystery like Branderson had forgotten to mention him. (I don't have to get cranky) - OH! He's baaack. - Hey Marsh what the fuck did that mean? - Hm. So why can he walk around in broad daylight and not get noticed? Would love to find out sometime. - Wax is a mistborn. Does this mean we'll see him again? That epilogue implied we won't. - And, finally, unfortunately Sazed is not Discord. Yet. I'm waiting....

[o-kaythislooksbad]

ailesswhumptober day 24: deconditioning / relapse / "it's normal that you need more time"

chapter 3 / 7 of i'm too close to breaking | rated t, chose not to warn

herschel scuttles up and down the walls, leaving massive webs in his wake. dorothy's room is all but his now, but she can't care about that, not with manny being dead and it all being her fault. papa has yet to offer his condolences, spending his time instead with baby doll while she mourns katy. 

"it's not fair!" dorothy yells at flying robert, because he doesn't do anything but fly around while babbling. he can't scold her like darling-come-home or beat her and shout nonsense like damn all, so she can yell all she wants as long as they're not around. "baby doll is the one who got katy killed! she shouldn't have tried setting manny on fire; of course he would fight back!"

"hey, kid?" cliff peeks his head into the room. the spiderwebs unfortunately can't tickle his nose or make his skin itch, and are absolutely useless at preventing him from going where he doesn't belong. "you doing okay?"

cliff may have a robot's body, but he still has a man's brain. he should know better than to ask such an obvious question. 

"no," she replies shortly. "and i have no interest in hearing you lecture me about the consequences of playing where we shouldn't have been."

"lecture you?" cliff asks, his eyes shuttering and creaking as he blinks in confusion. "i don't do that shit, kid. the moralizing is your dad's department, the game plans are vic's; i talk a hell of a lot but in case you haven't noticed, i don't say much worth listening to."

dorothy actually laughs a bit at his self-awareness, then stops herself. she doesn't want to be happy! manny, the last thing connecting her to mum, is dead. papa has abandoned her in favor of the stupid baby. everything hurts and nothing is worth laughing about.

"then stop talking!" dorothy yells, but it isn't her own voice that she hears. it's like the candlemaker is speaking through her, closer than ever to finally freeing himself. 

cliff's body whirs and clicks as he brushes the webs out of the doorway. "i can't pretend to know how you're feeling, but it's normal that you need more time to process all of this shit."

dorothy has had nothing but time for most of her short, long, life, and it hasn't been much of an advantage. "i don't care about time."

"well, okay then. how'd you feel about space?"

---

cliff hadn't been lying. one of the garages does have two spaceships parked in it, with the keys and space suits on a shelf behind them. she's about to ask if he's sure that they're allowed to use them, but stops herself. who would they ask, anyway? papa would most likely tell them off, and she's sick of hearing from him about all the things she can't do. she hadn't been allowed to see where all the butterflies returned to, or stay at danny's party, or even play with baby doll any more. 

"do you know how to fly?" she asks instead, and finds it thrilling that cliff merely shrugs in response. 

"how hard can it be?"

much to dorothy's surprise, cliff's question hadn't been rhetorical. the ship is simple, with controls similar to some of the computer games vic had hauled up from one of the basements. they settle on a course for the moon, with the reasoning that of all the planets, it's the only one they know of that humans can actually walk on, and then a silence builds and all there is around them is time. 

"stupid time," dorothy mutters. 

"yeah, turns out we can't just teleport there." cliff shrugs, and dorothy, for the lack of other conversation topics, asks him how that works. "what? i don't know, kid, it's like breathing. or it would be, if i could do that. it's like walking and talking; my brain tells my body what to do, and that's what happens."

dorothy turns her attention to the stars. cliff can't compete with the view, and for once, he lets the quiet wash over them.

….

"cliff?" she asks, after they've taken a few leaps from the ship's landing site. this spot is as good as any for manny's grave.

"yeah?"

"why would baby doll say that my father hurt her? that he hurt you and everyone else in the house?"

cliff stops trying to build… whatever it is he was trying to build out of the moon rocks. robot fingers aren't very nimble, even without earth's gravity. he stares at dorothy, sighs, then sits on the edge of a crater. "baby doll can be a bit much."

"it's all right, cliff. i know you want to call her a bitch. i want to call her that, too," dorothy says, surprising herself.

"go for it," cliff encourages her. "personally, i wouldn't say that about a little kid, but we're on the freakin' moon. we can say or do whatever we want to up here. who's gonna stop us?"

the candlemaker insists that they should use cliff's words as an invitation to really let loose, but the candlemaker can shove off for now. 

"she is a bitch," dorothy declares, feeling not a single ounce of shame. it's a cruel thing to say about someone, but she can't help how she feels. "what do you mean, a bit much?"

"better start keeping track. you're gonna hit twenty soon, then boom! game over," he grumbles. "look, you're a kid, right, but you've been a kid forever. that hasn't stopped you from learning about the world and how life works. baby doll… she doesn't know as much as you do about that shit. she's little and emotional and damn, is she just full to the brim with emotions."

dorothy frowns, pausing her construction. cliff may have a point; dorothy is eleven and has lived at that age for a very long time. baby doll is five, but dorothy has no idea how many years she's actually experienced. 

"i was being mean," she admits, "but so was she! she lied about papa, and she killed manny!"

"she really didn't. you asked me earlier how i could talk? your dad had a recording of my voice and used it to recreate something resembling a dictionary. he also had a whole bunch of other nerdy neural things, but that recording…" cliff stands up and starts punching a rock. it doesn't even give off any dust as his metal knuckles slam into it. "he got that message and my brain after causing a whole series of fuck-ups, which, i admit, i did play a part in. and manny's not any deader than katy."

"if katy's not dead, then why is baby doll so upset?"

"if manny's not dead, then why are you?" cliff counters. 

"stop it! i saw them burn, i -"

"kid. dorothy," cliff corrects himself, and that's how she knows he's serious. "your friends, like jane's… they're imaginary, but also real. i'm really not supposed to talk about jane's, so i won't, but all you need to know is they're whatever you picture them to be. you guys got scared, which is totally normal, and katy and manny tried to help you." he turns to face her, as if what he's saying makes any sense. "what i'm trying to say is that you saw them fight and destroy each other, because it felt like they did, right? they stopped you and baby doll from hurting each other, and left once it was clear you wouldn't do that."

the candlemaker urges dorothy to hurt cliff, to punish him for his lies. the rest of her friends aren't there to balance out his voice; they seem to have remained in the manor, which means… "he only went away for a while?"

"yeah. kinda like what we're doing now, just taking a bit of a break from it all."

that shocks dorothy almost as much as the news about manny. "no! i'm staying up here. i'm a horrible person and i can't be in the world when all i do is hurt people and cause trouble."

cliff sighs and moves to sit beside her. "that helmet really isn't meant for a forever kinda thing. and the truth is, we're all a bit horrible. we all hurt each other, sometimes by accident and sometimes on purpose. sometimes we hurt so much that it feels like everyone else has to be in on it, so we end up hurting them before they can hurt us. mostly we're all just trying to be less alone without actually knowing how to do that. you're not alone, dorothy, even though you want to be alone. it's gonna be hard to prove that to you if you insist on staying up here."

dorothy sniffles. she doesn't mean to cry, especially from anything cliff says, but he doesn't tease her. he only holds out his hands and suggests they go on a scavenger hunt before going home, "because holy fuck, we're on the fucking moon!" and soon she's smiling again. 

"thank you, cliff."

"don't mention it, kid."

[existslikepristin]

Yexercise

This was the vote story immediately after Movie Night. Note: image has all three members from the beginning, but it ended up being all Yeri.

Tags: TheLounge, Red Velvet, Yeri, male reader insert, blowjob, titfucking, anal, va--nilla sex, workout sex, exhaustion, kink talk, appearances from Wendy/Seulgi/Irene but JoY hAs A bOyFrIeNd

~~~~~

"Hey, thanks. You don't need to give me the discount though," you say. You put your wallet back in your pocket, pick up the bag of muffins, and take the coffee from the guy across the counter.

"Nonsense! The Lounge wouldn't be so successful without your help. Besides, the profit margin on that stuff is insane."

The two of you chuckle with each other for a moment, and you smell the coffee he practically gave you free. Fresh roasted and ground on location, not too much sugar, and slightly more cream than usual. "Damn, man. This stuff smells like heaven."

"Heaven? Haha! More like Brazil! But speaking of heaven, who's the lucky lady today? You never get more than one muffin on your own."

You shrug. The man knows you, that's for sure. "Well, not a date this time. Wendy asked me to meet her here,"

"Oh, Red Velvet?"

"Yup. I think it's a business thing. I was asking her about song composing but I'm not supposed to tell you she's getting into that."

"Of course." He raises his eyebrows and flattens his mouth. "You know how Mr. SM can be about these things."

That's exactly what SinB and Eunha said and did a couple days ago, and nobody ever explained what they meant. "Actually, I--"

"Ah, there she is! And Seulgi and Yeri too!"

You turn around to see that he is definitely correct. Holding the door open is Wendy, dressed in a blue-and-white-striped sweater that sags off one of her shoulders, baggy blue jeans, and white sneakers. Her light brown hair is draped over one shoulder. Her casual outfit is contrasted by her exceptional, yet minimal make up.

Yeri has already passed her and entered the building. Unlike Wendy, her make up consists of some lazy eyeliner and not much else. Your heart skips a beat when you see her light gray yoga pants are as tight as a second skin, though her pink hoodie hangs just low enough to see any of her ass. She's cut her hair into a short bob again, and dyed it dirty blonde.

Seulgi follows Yeri, and certainly looks the most put-together overall. Her jet black hair is pulled into a ponytail so you can see her glamorous earrings and bright red lips. She's wearing a nearly wrinkleless white dress shirt barely see through enough to show her bra, black business pants, and short black heels.

A shiver crashes down your spine, nearly making you drop your coffee. You're not sure you'll ever get used to seeing all these gorgeous idols in person, and especially not when they're approaching you.

"Hey, sorry we're late," Wendy opens the conversation, "We got held up for a minute."

Yeri smirks. It looks like she's paying more attention to the menu overhead than to any one person. "Held up by some Canadian grandma driving."

Wendy frowns. "It's called a speed limit."

Seulgi gives you a short bow. You do the same back. Finally, a regular greeting. Then again, it makes sense since she's the one you've spent the least amount of time with. That's not saying much though, since you haven't had much opportunity to get to know any member of Red Velvet. "Good to see you again," she says formally.

"Oh shut up Sluggo, you know why we're here." Yeri points up at the menu. "I'll take the mocha--"

"What she means is... Well, can we talk?" Wendy asks, looking more than a little flustered.

"Yeah, totally. I got some muffins for us to share, but I thought it was just going to be the two of--"

"Fuck yeah, bro! Thanks!" Yeri snatches the muffin bag out of your hand and has one halfway in her mouth before you can protest.

Wendy sighs. "Let's sit down, shall we?"

Getting a table with room for four is a simple matter. Seulgi sits opposite from you, Yeri next to her, and Wendy next to you.

Yeri's busy eating both of the muffins you bought, which may be the only reason Wendy is able to finish her thoughts. "So, we don't have a whole lot of time. We're actually-- well, two of us are going to a gig in like fifteen minutes, but you know we're really busy. I mean, of course, you know us, and we've got a thing in fifteen-- Ugh. I'm sorry, I'm so bad at this. How's your day been?"

Normally in all of your previous conversations, short as they have been, you've noticed that Wendy is generally much more confident than this. "Um, pretty good. It's still early though. Just got here myself, so I haven't had time to do much today."

"Oh geez, that's right. I'm sorry, the last few weeks have really just been blending together, you know? So like, you know Yerin right? I mean, of course you know Yerin. So Yerin has been talking to Joy, and you've been brought up in that, and so we know a little bit about you."

You chuckle and scratch the back of your neck. "Ah, crap. If Yerin's been talking about me, I can only imagine the kinds of things she's said." Obviously, your history with Yerin and her perverted attitude can mean one thing.

Seulgi blushes. "Y-yeah. Is it okay that we're talking to you about this?"

"I mean, we haven't really talked about anything specific yet."

"They mean sex." Yeri blurts out, slightly muffled by muffin.

You laugh. Thinking back on Wendy's texts and her vague word choices, you figured she had a serious question for you, but you still can't figure out what it is she wanted to talk to you about. It's a little awkward that she brought two of her group members with her if she's looking for advice, too. "I kind of figured that's what it was about. But hell yeah, I'm an open book. What's on your mind?"

Wendy lets out a relieved sigh. "Oh my gosh, thank you. I thought I was going to die from my own awkwardness there."

She pauses as a barista walks over with Yeri's drink. You make note of the way, out of the corner of her eye, Yeri watches the barista's ass as she walks away.

Wendy continues with a bright smile that you're a little more used to seeing, "So uh, the three of us are currently looking for something, and wanted to know what your rates are."

You hesitate, piecing together what Wendy just said with the fact that the conversation has been defined as one about sex. "Has Yerin been... saying I'm a prostitute?"

Suddenly, it feels like you're in a pressure cooker. Silence grips the table as the tension rises. Wendy stares at you like a deer in the headlights, her eyes widening slowly and her smile fading.

The sound of the steamer behind the store's counter sets off a chain reaction of noise.

"OH MY GOD," Wendy shouts, "I AM SO SORRY!"

Yeri slaps the table and bursts into laughter, sending crumbs of muffin everywhere. Seulgi is glowing red, shaking all over, and looking frantically between you, Wendy, and the mess Yeri is making.

"I DIDN'T MEAN-- OH GOD--" Wendy grabs your arm with both hands, crushing down as if she's afraid you're about to leave. She lowers her voice to a hushed tone, but speaks at the speed of a runaway train, "I'm so sorry I didn't mean anything by it I supp-- We all support the sex work industry and I'm sorry I didn't me--"

The other two have effectively disappeared. Seulgi, with her arms covering her face and crouched low in her chair. Yeri has fallen to the floor, truly making the scene worse with how hard she's laughing and gasping for air.

For as mildly insulted as you feel, you aren't very surprised, considering Yerin's habit of using insults and crude words as terms of endearment. You smirk and put a hand on Wendy's shoulder. You try to calm her down, but are slightly afraid she won't hear you through her rambling, "Hey, hey. You're good. I'm not a prostitute, but it's fine."

Wendy slows down, but appears to be on the verge of hyperventilation. "I can't believe this. I shouldn't have assumed. Oh god. I am such a dumbass."

You get out of your chair and wrap your arms around her. She immediately shuts up, face melting into your chest. "You're good, Wendy. Honestly, that's hilarious more than anything."

Yeri is calming down a little as well, with the aid of Seulgi furiously brushing away the streaks of black makeup running off of her eyes. Even so, she can barely manage to get back into her chair, still having giggle fits and clutching at her stomach.

"I might not be one, but I think I can help you out anyway. What exactly are you looking for?" You let go of Wendy and watch her dab at a few tears that started with a napkin.

"No, no. I don't think I can say after all that. I am... so embarrassed right now."

Still fighting to catch her breath, Yeri chimes in, "We're too busy to find dick so she tried to find a way to schedule it. Holy shit, 'Sup? How's your day? How much do you charge for a good time, ho?' Right? Wow, Wendy."

"Yeri! That's not what she said!" Seulgi slaps at Yeri's arm and nervously looks around for anyone who might still be watching.

"Might as well have been! This is the best!"

You can't help but chuckle along with Yeri. You stare in her direction, hoping to get her attention with your next sentence, "You don't have to pay to fuck me."

That shuts Yeri up. She stares back. "Woah, you serious?"

You sit back down and glance at Wendy and Seulgi. They're staring too.

"Yeah, why not? Sounds like fun. Hell, I'd go for it right now, but you've got a gig to get to, right?"

Seulgi shakily raises a hand as if she's asking permission to speak. "O-only two of us are going to that."

Underneath the table, you feel someone's foot sliding up and down your leg. You have no doubt it's Yeri's, as she speaks up again, "Why don't you guess which one of us isn't busy today?"

Yeah. Why don't you?

Options for Part 1 [IMPORTANT (duh)]: 1. (Picked:) Is it Yeri? It seems too obvious, given how eager she obviously is. But she could be straight up trolling you. That seems like something she'd do. If it's her, you imagine you'll end up exhausted soon. She seems to have a LOT of energy to burn.

2. Is it Wendy? She's the one who organized this meetup after all. Maybe she'll ask you to come along as she drops the other members off at their gig. If she's the one, you can guess you'll have a very nice, sweet time. She's got those wifey vibes.

3. Is it Seulgi? She's been very quiet this whole time. She definitely took the time to dress to impress today. Maybe it's you she means to impress. If you're spending the day with her, you have no clue what to expect. You've got to watch out for the quiet ones...

~~~~~

You look underneath the table and see it is, in fact, Yeri who is stroking your leg with her foot. Her running shoes aren't exactly making it comfortable or sexy.

"I'm going to guess it's you."

"Sure is, babe." Yeri winks. Wendy and Seulgi both groan in unison. Yeri doesn't seem to mind them at all.

"So," Wendy says slowly, "you really meant that about having sex with us? I don't want to pressure you."

You look across the table and see Seulgi biting her lip, not in an intentionally sexy way, but maybe nervously?

"Yup. I'm not free literally all the time, so we might have to actually schedule it, which definitely feels weird, but I'm up for it."

Wendy grins. "Awesome! Thanks! Thanks? Thanks."

"But hey, to be totally clear, why me? You guys know you can have sex with each other, right?"

Seulgi pops in, "We have. It's just... we all want different things that others aren't comfortable with."

"Yeah, getting fucked softly by strapons is boooring," Yeri says. She glares at Wendy.

"H-hey! You know my hip--"

You're about to ask what they all want to do that's so radically different, or why they assume you're okay with all of it, but Wendy's phone alarm goes off.

"Crap. So, can we talk about this later? We have to get to our shoot."

"Totally, sure. Text me when you're off?"

Wendy and Seulgi are already starting to walk away. Yeri has made herself quite comfortable where she is though.

"I'll text you, yeah! Um, are you okay with babysitting that one for a bit?"

Yeri scrunches up her nose. "The fuck, bitch?!"

You laugh. "Yeah, why not?"

Wendy smiles and rushes out the door. Seulgi follows, but only after giving you a polite bow. "See you again soon!"

The busy life of a big three idol, you muse to yourself.

"Hmmm, seems we've got some time to kill, huh?" Yeri leans forward on the table, squeezing her tits through her bulky sweatshirt.

"Guess we do. I have one formal request to have sex with you and another to babysit you. Bit unusual."

Yeri groans. "Yeah fuck that. You realize I'm well into my twenties right? I want your cock, not a bedtime story."

You decide against telling her about the stories you swapped with SinB just a couple nights ago. "Couldn't put you to bed if I wanted to with that extra large mocha you've got there," you say instead.

“You could put me in a bed.”

“Snappy one. I like it.”

Yeri smirks and takes a sip of her coffee. “I don’t mean right now though. I’ve got something in mind already.”

“You mean what you were going to pay me to do?”

“Sure was, ho. Why? You still want the money?”

You sigh. “Well I’m really not in the business. So if you really want to spend something on me, maybe get me some breakfast? You ate mine.”

“You can eat me.”

After you give her a brief, unamused look, she relents. “Okay. Okay. What do you want? You can eat it on the way.”

“I see you like to make assumptions. And I’ll take a smoked salmon bagel.”

“I’m used to my assumptions being met. And I didn’t know they made those here.”

“Do you assume you’re going to get your way today? And they’re delicious.”

“Maybe I do assume that. I guess we’ll see. And I’ll have one too.”

Yeri hops off of her seat and goes back to the counter to put in your order. Thanks to the lack of a line or crowd, the bagels are ready by the time you’ve followed her. You open the bag.

“Four? Feeling hungry this morning?”

“Oh I’m starving for dick, but only one of those is for me. The others are for you. You’ll need the energy.”

“Question.” You stop, The Lounge’s front door half open in your hand. “Do you always speak so boldly and then follow it up immediately with something vague?”

She smirks and you watch as one of her hands slides around your waist and traces your butt before giving it a tight squeeze. She reaches past you with her other hand and pulls the door open the rest of the way so she can step outside, slowly twirling around you. “No,” she says, “Sometimes, I don’t speak.”

Smooth, you think.

The walk to wherever Yeri is taking you is a pleasant one. She takes your hand, intertwining your fingers with hers. She walks in sync with you. She makes easy conversation about work, food, and ideal local vacation spots. She nibbles on her bagel slowly enough that she finishes right about when you finish all three of yours. You almost forget that less than an hour ago she was making lewd comments about hiring you for sex, and that she is currently taking you to a location where she intends to fuck you.

It’s not long before you reach a building that she pulls you into, swiping a key card to open the door. The inside isn’t particularly remarkable, and you don’t see any signs anywhere that would reveal the building’s purpose. Three flights of stairs going up and one more key card swipe through a door, and you find yourself in a small gym.

One wall is effectively a single giant mirror like a dance studio would have, and there’s a variety of equipment you recognize as being for pilates as well as weight training and a treadmill. The floor is ever so slightly spongy-soft, it’s well lit when she flips on the lights, there’s a large potted fern in one corner with a small stereo next to it, and it’s otherwise undecorated. It smells like sweat.

“Personal, private gym?” you ask.

“Personal, private gym,” Yeri says. She drops her purse and kicks off her shoes next to the door, motioning for you to do the same.

“Not that I’m complaining, but couldn’t we have used a room at The Lounge, or your place, or mine?”

“Maybe. But I’m comfortable here. And there aren’t any company bitches here to get on my case for getting our freak on.”

Yeri walks into the middle of the room and pulls her hoodie over her head. It turns out she was only wearing a purple sports bra underneath.

Although she is still fully dressed as far as modern societal standards are concerned, you find yourself staring at her incredibly sexy body as if it’s totally exposed. Her leggings are exactly as skin-tight as you were hoping, practically revealing her firm ass. If she’s even wearing anything underneath them, you can’t tell. But as she lifts her arms above her head to toss her hoodie behind her and to stretch, it’s her mostly bare back and the toned muscle running up and down either side of her spine that catches you off guard. You can’t take your eyes away. She looks at you in the mirror and catches you staring.

“I’m glad you like,” she says, putting one finger between her teeth in the corner of her mouth and giving you a sultry look you didn’t think she was capable of. She twists to look at you over her shoulder. “Your turn.”

You remove your jacket and pull your shirt off. While it’s over your eyes, you hear padding footsteps coming your way, followed by a body being pressed up against yours. By the time your shirt is totally off, her hands are sliding up your back. This is one seriously forward idol you’re dealing with.

“So here we are. I picked the location. What’s next?” Yeri asks, “I’ve got a naughty thought or two, but maybe you have an idea you want to surprise me with.”

Options for Part 2:

1. No surprise, nothing fancy. Just get naked and get started. 2. There must be a shower in this building if it contains gyms. Ask her to take you there and you can get her wet all over. 3. (Picked:) Yeri was literally going to hire you for this, and “naughty thoughts” sound fun. Ask her what those are all about.

~~~~~

“Naughty thoughts huh? Why don’t you tell me about those?”

Yeri grimaces and looks off to the side. “Uh...”

“Uh…” You look down at her, confused. “What? What.”

“I was, you know.”

You hesitate…

“No! I don’t know! What?!”

“Like, I was expecting you to just rip off my bra or pants and go to town, you know?”

“But you said you have naughty thoughts. Why wouldn’t I ask about those?”

“I don’t know! I was counting on you not asking about them!”

You rub your eyes. You’re about to ask why she would bother bringing up the option if she was going to make such a big deal out of it, but she speaks first.

“I want to get fucked while I’m working out.”

“That’s it?” you ask after a moment of hesitation.

“It’s not all I want to do.”

“Well, care to share with the rest of the class? Or are you too embarrassed about having really normal-sounding kinks?”

Yeri shoves you back and takes a few steps toward the pilates equipment. “Are we doing this or not?”

“I’m all for it.”

She grabs the sides of her bra and with no small amount of difficulty pulls it off over her head. You easily forget about the awkwardness as you watch her breasts squeeze out slowly and eventually drop the rest of the way.

Yeri's breasts live up to the hype. When she beckons you over to her (in the same way you would beckon for a dog, annoyingly), you realize your opportunity to touch them for yourself is at hand. Literally.

You grab her by the shoulders first though, spinning her around so she's facing the pilates bench and the mirror. You wrap your arms under hers to feel her tits from behind. They're more than your hands can take in a single grasp. But you're not in this for speed. You bend down to kiss her neck, which gets a satisfied growl from her.

"Bite me," she says. It's not a softly spoken statement, and it's right next to your ear thanks to your positioning, so you're stunned for about half a second.

You do as she demands, taking a small bit of her neck between your teeth and sucking. If she wants hickeys you won't argue.

You're rewarded with a smack on the top of the head. Confused with her behavior again, you pull away.

"I didn't say nibble. I said bite."

"Oh. Uh, sure."

"Like, draw blood."

"Excuse me?"

"Yeah! Like, if you're gonna bite, it's gotta be hard! Really get your canine teeth in there, right? Just fucking give it to me."

You stare at her for a moment. "Let's, um, start with the exercise thing first, yeah?"

Seeming suddenly confident again, Yeri hops onto the pilates bench and flips herself upside-down using the bars. She stretches herself out into a position you imagine can't be easy to hold for long. "Sure, if you can reach me."

You squint at her for just a second. She's switching between embarrassment and confidence so fast you can't figure out what's really going on. But at least right now, she seems fine.

Standing up on the bench, you find you’re at nearly the perfect height to put your face between her legs. And that’s exactly what you’re going to do. You grab the waistband of her leggings and pull them down to her knees. Underneath, absolutely nothing. No underwear, no hair. Just a completely bare pussy and smooth ass tensed with the effort of holding her body weight in an upward arch.

It’s a tight fit getting your head between her legs, given that she doesn’t have a lot of space to spread them apart. The reward is worth the trouble.

You flatten your tongue against her pussy to give it a full, long lick. She responds with a long, breathy moan. And since she gives you no reason to stop, you do it again, and again, and again. Each time, Yeri shivers just a little bit, making it obvious how much she’s enjoying herself.

Hands on either side of her hips, just touching for the sake of touching and not holding her up, you close your eyes and focus on your work. Not work. You’re not getting paid for this. Stop thinking about that.

She’s got a mellow taste as far as you can tell. It’s got the tang you would expect, but it’s maybe a little musky. You don’t try to distract yourself, but trying to figure out how Yeri tastes the same way men’s cologne smells is really messing with your head.

It’s when her hips suddenly drop away from your hands that you realize she has been holding herself in place for several minutes. She’s breathing heavily and she doesn’t fall only because her leggings are caught on your shoulders. She doesn’t seem seriously exhausted or anything though. Maybe this was just the first rep.

“Tired?” you ask anyway.

“I also want to try pet play.”

You stare down at Yeri. You’re sure you heard the words that came out of her mouth correctly, but they weren’t the answer to your question. “So… hang on. Back up. What?”

“You know. Meow.” Holding herself up with one hand, she uses the other to make the classic neko paw.

You tilt your head and rub your temples. “Alright. Um, I think we should probably work out what’s really happening here. You gave me a lot to work with.”

Yeri hoists her legs back over your head and stands on the bench again, kicking her leggings off the rest of the way. “Yeah! What do you think? Those are my ideas!”

“They are varied.”

“Is that good or bad?” Suddenly Yeri looks embarrassed again.

“No! They’re good! I’m not here to kink shame you. I don’t know if I’m really into all of that, or if they can all be incorporated into a single session, but I’m totally up for some of it.”

Session? This isn’t an appointment, and this isn’t my job! you think, furiously. You’re suddenly worried if every minor reference to work or professionalism is going to sound like it’s connected to sex from now on.

Yeri smirks, “Oh, okay. That’s fair. Anything sounds good! What do you want to do… with me?” She punctuates the last two words by grabbing her tits and winking at you.

Deadline for this vote is 12/20 at 12:00 UTC! No guarantees on how fast Part 4 will come out, but work should slow down soon, and it’s not like I’ll be going anywhere for a holiday because of this virus, so you can probably expect Part 5 and maybe also another short over that weekend! Options for Part 3: 1. (Picked:) Workout sex sounds like it will wear you out, but getting sweaty with a partner has never been a problem before! 2. Pet play? What was that meow about?! Maybe you want her to play a cat, or you can convince her she'd be something else? 3. Oh fuck, right. Yeri likes vampires. Bite her. [Warning for blood stuff, though not super gory or anything Red Flavor joke]

~~~~~

“Tell me more about this workout sex,” you say. To avoid letting the mood die down any more than your confusion already might have you inch forward, one hand on Yeri’s breast, the other wrapping around the small of her back. You pull her in closer toward you and put your mouth to hers.

Yeri hums into your kiss. She takes a moment to enjoy it before she pulls back. “It’s exactly what it sounds like, like what I said.” She comes in for a couple more small kisses and continues, “I work out. While I do that, you fuck me.”

You bring her back into the kiss, keeping it chaste for now. At least, as chaste as you can get while you’re more than half naked and she’s completely naked and you’re discussing exactly how you’re about to bang.

“I can start over there and bench while I suck your cock.”

You moan your agreement into another kiss.

“Then I can do my squats on it while you take your turn benching.”

You moan your “Huh?” into another kiss.

“Then you can do your squats by pile driving me into the floor.”

So it seems she plans on you working out too.

“So? Are we going to do this?” Yeri holds you back.

You take a deep breath. Whatever higher power you believe in has brought you this far. You’re not going to let it down.

“Why don’t you get down there and find out?”

Yeri practically jumps across the room. She grabs a couple of dumbbells and immediately gets into bench press position.

When you walk over, ditching the rest of your clothes on the way, Yeri looks up at you and smirks. She wiggles the weights around and, in a sing-song voice, says, “Dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb dumb.”

You stand above her, unsure how to respond.

“Get it? Dumb Dumb? Dumbbells? The weights?”

“Uh, no?”

“What?! That’s like, a classic!”

“Is that one of yours?”

“Yes! You haven’t heard it?!”

“You just called your own song a classic.”

Yeri rolls her eyes. “Not classic as in old. As in-- I’m about to suck your dick, so laugh at my jokes.”

That makes you actually snort back a laugh. “Okay, I guess I get it now.”

She smiles and hangs her head off the edge of the bench. You make your way next to her head and she licks her lip at the sight of your dick at nearly her eye level.

“Just don’t go too hard okay? I’ve got a gag reflex.”

You crouch just enough so that your dick touches her lips, which she happily opens. The moment her tongue reaches out and touches you, you feel a bit weak in the knees. How you’re going to keep this up and also do real exercise, you have no idea.

Yeri cautiously starts pumping her weights up and down at her sides. You take the same slow pace with moving back and forth. After the mention of her gag reflex you don’t dare thrust for real, keeping it to an inch or so at a time. Yeri more than makes up for the lack of depth with her tongue though, twirling and curling it around randomly.

Thankfully there’s a bar across the bench that you can lean on to prevent a total collapse. Just beneath your head, you watch as Yeri’s chest and arms flex to push the weights up, then relax and spread out as she lowers them. The steady motion, the subtle definition of her body, and her heavy tits are a sight to behold, and so behold it all you do.

Yeri’s tongue sweeps across the bottom of your dick, and you feel a burning desire to be deeper inside of her. You decide to try your luck and push forward a bit farther. She doesn’t so much as lose the tempo in her lifting, so you go farther. Too much more and you’re sure you’re going to hurt her, but her legs are spread to either side of the bench, leaving something else open that you could probably get much deeper in.

You’re suddenly jolted back to awareness by the sound of weights slamming to the floor. Yeri grabs your hips and holds you tightly in place. You think she may have forgotten about the exercise after all with how intensely she’s sucking. But then, she pushes you away and gasps for air.

“That’s one set down!” She grins up at you and strokes your dick.

“Isn’t it bad etiquette to drop your weights like that?”

“Personal, private gym, remember? My gym, my rules.”

“Well not to break your rules, but I want to try something else in your next set.”

“Why? Didn’t you like that?”

“Oh I did, but that’s just the problem. You’ve got me worked up now, and I’m having a hard time holding back.”

Yeri gulps, and you see her whole body shiver. “I-I mean, I’ll try.” She picks her dumbbells off the floor and lays back again, sticking her tongue out and opening her mouth wide.

“I didn’t mean deepthroat! I just meant I wanted to fuck your pussy.”

You aren’t sure if Yeri’s sigh is one of disappointment or relief. “Ah, I see. Well by all means go for it!”

She scoots herself down the bench so her head isn’t hanging off and starts her next set. You walk around her slowly, just taking in the sight, admiring her again. She’s clearly used to the exercise, because her skin is just barely starting to show a few dots of sweat.

Once you’re between her legs, it’s a simple matter to crouch again just a little to maintain the correct height. You couldn’t see it from your previous angle, but Yeri is soaking wet. It’s only been a few minutes really, but already there’s a puddle underneath her. You mentally give yourself a pat on the back for contributing to that.

Yeri’s entrance is tight, but pushing into her is smooth sailing with how much natural lube she’s producing. Every time she lifts her weights, her muscles tense and she subtly clenches down around you. You might have thought this was a weird concept to begin with, but you’re definitely on board now. Not quite in time with her lifts, you thrust in and out. Looking down, you can see her toes curling. She’s clearly putting in a lot of effort not to squirm out of position.

“Seems like you’re having fun, huh?”

You don’t get an answer. You’re slightly annoyed that she seems to be ignoring you, but you realize she’s probably trying to count reps. But it would be fun if you could make her lose track…

You put your hands on either side of the bench and get a good grip, preparing to turn into a fucking machine.

Unfortunately, you’re the one who gets a surprise when Yeri drops her weights again. Her head shoots up to yours for a needy, open-mouthed kiss. Her damp body presses against yours.

“This is...” she says between the moments she has her tongue in your mouth, “so much better… than trying it… with a dildo!”

You try to push Yeri away so you can get a word in, but her arms and legs are both clamped around you. You give in and lower her down so she’s on her back again, putting you right where you need to be so you can roll your hips.

Yeri squeals and her grip on you gets even tighter. “More!” she shouts when she pulls away for a half a second.

You strain to get your hands under her arms and break out of her grasp. Her nails rake across your back quite painfully as you do, but you manage to pin her arms to her sides. She glares up at you, biting her lip and giggling.

“More?” she asks this time.

“Don’t you have one more set to do? Isn’t three sets a thing?”

Yeri scowls. “I changed my mind. It’s your turn to bench. I need to do my squats right now.”

You roll your hips again. You watch, amused, as Yeri’s fingers clench at the air over and over again. You’re a little worried about what might happen when you let her go, considering she seemed to have some kind of blood fetish. But then again, she might just not be trying all that hard to get away. She’s the one with a fairly athletic career and a workout plan after all.

Even so, you can’t help but tease her with another roll of your hips. You have difficulty finding your own words with how good she feels, tight around your cock. “It was your idea to get fucked while you worked out. I’m just holding you to your word, you know.”

A sly smile curls across Yeri’s face, though it trembles when you grind into her again. “I’m keeping my word! I normally only do two sets at a time!”

“I’m not so sure I believe that.” Her legs let up a bit, so you use the leeway to get in a short thrust.

“You calling me a liar?”

“Of course not. Why would I do that?”

“Because if you don’t call me a liar you get to pick what hole I fuck you with while you’re benching.”

She makes a valid argument.

Deadline for this vote will be 12/26 at 6:00 UTC (just in case some of you will be too busy the day before with holiday stuff) Options for Part 4: 1. No complaints from you if she continues with her pussy! 2. Then again, you’ve got a thing for anal, and she’s offering. 3. She could give you a blowjob. It seems like she wants the practice. 4. (Picked:) But also… Yeri is the first person in one of these stories with big enough boobs for a titfuck.

~~~~~

“Well since you’re definitely done with your sets, and since you’re not lying, you wouldn’t mind titfucking me?”

A few quiet moments go by. Yeri puts a hand on her chin, looking down between your bodies, then to her boobs, then at the dumbells on either side of her. She reaches down to grab the weights again.

“There’s lube in my bag. Grab that first.”

You smile and pull out of her pussy, which makes both of you take a sharp breath at the same time. “Doing more benches huh?”

“Well obviously. This is workout sex. I can’t give you a tit job while I’m squatting, so the best solution is for me to focus extra hard on my arms - which is definitely more than I normally do - so you can stand over me.”

Her bluff is pretty obvious, but it’s amusing, and you’re still getting what you asked for so you’re not going to push your luck by calling her out. This is something you’ve been trying to convince Yerin to try for a while, but she’s brushed it off every time. So if you aren’t getting a boob job here, you’re not sure when or even if you’ll have the chance again.

The lube you find in Yeri’s bag is vanilla scented. While you take a moment to enjoy the smell, Yeri lies down and starts another set with her six kilo weights.

You move to stand over her chest and enjoy watching her muscles work again from a different angle. This time you watch her breasts in particular, putting a hand down to lightly cup one and brush your thumb over her nipple. Much like before, Yeri’s focus on her workout is uncanny. You can’t get her to break, so you decide to help yourself.

You pour a generous amount of the lube into Yeri’s cleavage, smearing it all over. Your dick is still wet from her pussy, but this stuff will certainly last longer. The pleasant smell and the sight of her wet breasts turn on your instincts again. You lower yourself until your dick is resting on her, and you squeeze her tits together.

It’s not nearly as tight as anything else you’ve experienced today, of course, but it’s no less of an incredible feeling. When you start to move back and forth is when you realize how heavenly it is, even if it involves some extra effort. As you slide through Yeri’s cleavage, you notice the tiniest glance down from her. Is she losing her focus?

You smirk and reposition your hands a bit so you can casually rub her nipples between your fingers. Again, a small glance down. This time, it’s accompanied by the corners of her lips moving up.

“If you’re enjoying this already, wait until your hands are free to help out.”

“Ssshut up.”

Her arms tremble for a second. It would make sense if she’s getting distracted by the fact that she’s working out. But she hasn’t done that much, has she? Six kilos isn’t too crazy for an athletic idol like herself. You take a look over to the side again when her arms come all the way up.

There’s a mostly worn off line right before the six. She’s lifting nearly triple what you thought she was. Suddenly, you find yourself concerned with where they might land if she drops them again, given where your feet are, and you resolve to not distract her anymore.

That doesn’t mean you’re going to stop the titfucking of course.

You shift your feet back a little and have to lean forward, but you manage to get back into rhythm quickly. You slide in time with her lifting. The next time you look at her face, Yeri’s eyes are screwed shut and she’s biting her lip.

You aren’t able to contain a groan, and her eyes snap open and look into yours. She gives you a smile and after one last pump of her weights, she tosses them (thankfully) to the sides. Her hands clasp over the top of yours. Her breaths are labored, but she speaks through them just fine.

“I’m helping now. What am I waiting for?”

You pull one of your hands from under hers. It takes you no time at all to find her clit. Her knees come up to trap your arm there, as if you needed the additional encouragement. You circle it slowly with your fingers.

“Oh, I see now.” Yeri’s voice is quiet and her mouth quivers. She looks down at your cockhead poking out of her cleavage with hunger in her eyes.

You take your other hand away from hers, but only so you can put it back on top, where you guide her into kneading her breasts around your dick. She quickly picks up on the hint and squeezes down. She even takes the initiative and lifts her head to try to lick you as you thrust.

Unfortunately, she can’t quite reach, but you’re not going to let her effort go to waste. You hover your now free hand next to her pouty lips. You quickly go back in your mind to when she was very interested in biting, but you’ve already sealed your fate, and her mouth is wrapped around two of your fingers.

Something about watching her dutifully crushing her tits against your thrusting dick and sweetly sucking on your fingers with her eyes closed sets you off. You barely have the time to say, “I’m cumming.”

In that moment, Yeri’s eyes reopen and catch yours. She makes no move to change what she’s doing. So with one last thrust, you groan in ecstasy and orgasm.

Your cum first hits the bottom of her chin, then lands on her neck, then seeps out onto her chest, directed into different directions by her collarbone. She hardly reacts where you can see it, keeping her eyes locked onto yours and wrapping her tongue around your middle finger.

On the other hand, literally, her legs wrap around your arm and roughly pull your hand until it’s fully connected with her pussy. Your brain is still in a mid-orgasm haze, but it’s easy enough to realize what you’re supposed to be doing. You oblige, dipping two fingers inside her. That gets a happy hum out of Yeri, which you feel directly vibrating up your hand.

After you blink the stars out of your eyes, you look down and see that Yeri is scooping at your cum to bring it to her mouth. She sucks it in without letting go of your fingers. You would protest at the awkwardness of feeling your semen being swirled around your knuckles, but the greediness she displays is way too sexually charged for you to care about things like that anymore.

Eventually, she vacuums all of it down and off your hand, swallows, and releases you. She gives you an expectant look, eyebrows raised and mischievous smile plastered across her face.

You continue to finger her, but her eyes don’t move from yours. “Um. Wow, damn,” you say, not sure what else she wants.

Yeri’s eyebrows go higher. “You’re not going to mention…”

“Your amazing body? Or how hot it is when you’re sweating like that?”

Her smile turns into an absolute shit-eating grin. “Protein shakes are good after exercise!”

You bite your cheek to keep from… laughing? An exasperated sigh? You’re not sure, with how terrible and cliché of a line that would have been.

“Yup. Definitely something like that.”

Yeri giggles and pushes you back so she can sit up. She takes the hand you were fingering her with now. “So you still up for more? Joy says Yerin says you can usually go more than once.”

She starts to lick her juices off of your hand. You can’t help but admire her weird pervertedness.

Deadline for the Part 5 vote will be 1/1 at 12:00 UTC (because I am guaranteed not to work that day!) Options for Part 5: 1. Of course you’re still up for more, as long as you don’t have to deal with more of this workout bullshit! 2. (Picked:) You’ll do more, but only after she does the squats she said she was going to do. She doesn’t get to half ass her workout just because you’re here! 3. Nope. You’re out of here. See you around, sloot! 4. Maybe. But you'd actually like to maybe get to know Yeri a little first? You kind of jumped into this real fast.

~~~~~

“What? You’re already done with your workout? You’ve barely done anything though.”

Yeri gives you a dirty look. “I’d normally do more, duh. But you’re here right now.”

“Yeah, to fuck you while you work out.”

“Yeah, which you did.”

“Did you cum?”

“No, but that’s fine. I got what I wanted.”

“Do you want to?”

Yeri looks over at the squatting rack, chewing her lip. “I wouldn’t mind, but it’s hard to make me cum. And it would be dangerous while I’ve got something really heavy on top of me.”

“Challenge accepted then.”

She raises her eyebrows at you.

“You go hard on the rest of your workout and I’ll do the best I can to make you cum once you’re done.”

Yeri doesn’t say anything. She walks over to the rack though, and leans back against it. She looks you up and down, straight-faced.

“If you don’t cum, it’s not like you’re not getting your money’s worth.”

She still says nothing, her eyes landing on your dick.

“Because you’re not paying me for this. Because I’m not a prostitute…” You shrug, unsure of how to proceed when you’re being stared down naked.

“Let’s do it. I want to see if you can do it.”

“If I can? Well, what is it that makes it so hard to make you cum?”

Yeri bends over to grab some weights to put on the bar. “I dunno. If I knew, I wouldn’t have the problem.”

“You nervous?”

“It’s not like I haven’t had sex before.”

“Uncomfortable maybe?”

“No, I’m fine. A bit restless, but who isn’t?” Yeri stands under the bar, adjusting herself so her back is comfortably in the curve.

“I know a couple other people like that. We’ll do a little bit of experimenting. Maybe it will work, maybe it won’t.”

“Good enough for me.”

“Good enough huh?”

“Yup.”

“Sounds unenthusiastic. You sure you’re up for it?”

“I asked you for another round, remember? I just don’t want you getting your hopes up.”

You laugh. “Everything I could have hoped for is standing in front of me nude and about to do squats.”

Yeri chuckles and picks the bar off the rack. “Greasy.”

You just smile and watch as she does the first squat. It looks effortless. You don’t know enough about form to judge it, but it seems like it’s been practiced for quite some time. It’s smooth on the way down, and smooth on the way up. Graceful, even.

The grace of the action is slightly undercut by the fact that she is of course still naked, a little sweaty, and her chest is completely covered in lube. But that makes it no less attractive to you.

As she does more, you walk around, getting a good view from every angle. The mirror wall ensures that if she wants to, she can see you as well. But she seems focused again, staring herself in the eye.

Her breaths are labored. She inhales deeply as she goes down and exhales loudly as she comes up. Her skin starts to glisten all over as her effort comes out in her sweat. You reach out to touch her, but you suddenly get an idea and step back. Shortly after, she sets the bar back on the rack with a heavy sigh.

“What’s up? You can touch. It’s encouraged.”

You go back to her purse and pull out a water bottle you had seen earlier. “I’m going to hold off on touching you for a minute. I like this. I’m changing the plan. I’m not touching you until I can see how much effort you’re putting into this.”

A smirk creeps up one side of Yeri’s mouth. “You’re on,” she says. She catches the water bottle when you toss to her and takes a swig from it. Then she puts another five kilogram weight on either side of the bar.

As she gets into the next set, you move next to her and sit down on the floor. “Look at these hard-working legs,” you say. She didn’t respond the last time you talked to her, but she can still hear you… you assume. This is mostly just you saying your thoughts out loud, but you hope she’s paying attention.

“Taking on all of this to maintain the look of a perfect idol, but healthy. Damn, I would kill for your dedication.”

Glancing at the mirror you see another tiny smile on Yeri’s face.

“What would you say the ratio is? Your effort and practice versus your natural talent. What amount of each is it that makes your performances look so easy? Because watching you right now it has to be at least sixty percent or more in favor of the exercise.”

You reach out again like you’re going to touch her as she comes down, but you keep your hand just far enough away.

“And not just what you do, but the way this body of yours looks. If I wasn’t watching you sculpt it right now, I’d have figured it was sculpted by some Greek god. Belongs in a fucking art museum if you ask me.”

Your hand hovers extremely close to Yeri’s leg. You can actually feel the heat of her body, way above what you’d normally feel coming off a person. It’s like she’s a human furnace. And the amount of sweat on her is very noticeable now.

The bar catches on the rack again and Yeri bends over to grab the water again, drinking a few more swallows of it this time. “Museum my ass,” she says through a breathy laugh.

“That’s what I’m saying! One more set, right?”

Yeri stretches her arms, prompting you to wonder why she didn’t stretch before the workout. Your narrator says you shouldn’t think about it because it’s really hard to remember all of those kinds of details, and that’s not the point of word porn. But yes, you should be careful and stretch before working out.

“That’s right. I hope you’re ready to go again because I’m seriously wanting more.”

“Absolutely,” you say. You stand up and run a hand over Yeri’s butt and up her back, pressing roughly. “I don’t think I’ve even gone soft once since I had this scene in front of me.”

Yeri groans and rolls her shoulders as you touch them. “I can stop now, you know. I could go for the fucking right now.”

“I know, I know. But you’re not done yet. And I can’t believe how much I’m enjoying watching this.” You take your hand away and look Yeri in the eye via the mirror wall. “Hell, I might just have to convince you to do more.”

Without another word, Yeri gets underneath the bar again and picks it up. “If you’re so eager to see more, then…” She cuts herself off and dips into another squat.

Your eyes trace her from the floor up as you circle around. Yeri's thighs tremble from the weight. Her ass spreads from the movement. Her chest heaves from her breaths. Her lips part in just a way that you consider telling her to drop the bar so you can kiss her, but you're committed to watching her finish.

Rather than tempt yourself with the sight of her lips, you look up at her eyes. But you quickly regret it, as she looks back at yours. Her normally bright, mischievous eyes turn into black holes that you can't escape from. You feel a drop of your own sweat curl its way down your cheek.

“Holy shit, Yeri. I can’t wait to fuck you again, but at the same time, seeing this is too incredible to stop.”

Yeri is the one who breaks the gaze first, scrunching up her eyes. You look down again to see the trembling in her legs has gotten pretty bad.

"This is more weight than you usually use, huh?"

"Y-yup."

"How many left?"

"Three."

"Five."

"What the fu--"

You interrupt her with a kiss, since she's fully upright. The heat of the fire inside her drafts into your mouth. You don't want to stop, but you manage to pull away. "Just do five."

She looks up at you, her mouth gaped open. "Kay,"

As Yeri dips down, you walk around her again. Behind her, you put your hands out over her shoulders to spot her when she's back at your height. "Four more."

Yeri glances at you in the mirror, but quickly shuts her eyes again and goes down. You follow to make sure she's safe, but keep your hands off the bar.

Back at the top again, you continue the countdown. "Three."

Yeri doesn’t open her eyes this time. You just follow her down again, lightly resting your wrists against her shoulders to make sure she knows you're there. Her whole body is quivering as she rises again.

She gasps loudly when she's upright. "Keep breathing," you remind her, "Only two more."

"Shit," is the one word she gets out before she goes again. There's a moment when she reaches the bottom that she hesitates, and you fear she's going to drop the bar. You brace your arms, but Yeri clearly isn't one to disappoint. She rises again, shaking like a leaf.

You feel a little bad when she's all the way up again, as she is clearly already beyond what she's comfortable with. Even so, you're confident you can keep her from hurting herself, so you lean forward next to her ear and say very softly, "Just one more."

It seems she's got nothing more to say, because she immediately goes down for the last squat. You nearly lose your balance following her this time.

She squirms as she starts to lift herself up for the last time. The sweat practically pours off of her.

Her form must be a little off too, because the bar knocks against one of the middle rungs on the rack. She jerks back. A struggled croak comes out of her throat, and you can see her face screwed up in the mirror, with the tiniest bit of black eyeliner running down one side of her face. You're just about to grab the bar and push it up the rest of the way, but you barely have the time to make the move when she huffs and practically jumps up the rest of the way.

The bar lands on the rack safely, but Yeri's knees buckle and she starts to collapse forward. Thankfully with how close you are, you're able to catch her almost immediately, and avoid smacking your head on the bar too.

Her skin, even through her sweat, is practically hot enough to burn your hands. You help her lay down on her back and grab her water bottle, opening it and holding it ready.

Despite your concern, you're feeling extremely turned on. Her beautiful chest rises and falls rapidly. Her whole body absolutely shines. And on her face, closed eyes and a satisfied smile.

You put the water bottle to her lips and tilt so just a little trickles into her mouth. "Stay hydrated," you say simply. Yeri complies and gulps down the stream of water.

When you take away the half empty bottle, Yeri groans and uses her arm to roll herself onto her stomach. "Fuck me already."

That's a request you're happy to fulfill. You position yourself over her and spread her ass apart with your thumbs. Your dick is still covered in lube from earlier, and she's pretty slippery right now too…

A pleased hum from Yeri is the last encouragement you need, and you slide into her ass much more easily than you would have expected. Yeri's moan is muffled by the floor.

"So I keep going, eh?"

"Mmmfffmm."

You lift her pelvis up a bit so you can get a hand underneath and on her clit like before. You rub slowly, to match the slow thrusting into her ass. She doesn't move at all, but her moans keep coming. Much like earlier, her pussy is absolutely drenching your hand, so you assume you're doing something right.

Now that you're in full contact with her body, you can feel her heat again. It's hot enough to be uncomfortable, but considering what you just convinced her to do, you don't think your comfort is worth stopping for.

"How do you feel?" you ask.

Yeri lifts her head enough to respond coherently. "My legs fucking hurt."

You chuckle. "Yeah, sorry about that. You just looked so good doing that. Do you need some time to cool do--"

"Don't you dare get off of me."

"Woah! Noted. Nice."

Yeri rests her head on her arms. "The burn is worth it."

"Good to hear. I enjoyed it too."

"Oh? You didn't do much though. After this," she takes an extra deep breath. Whether it's because of something you did or her exhaustion you're not sure. "After this, you can do an actual workout you know. I think it's only fair if you take a turn, right?"

Ummm… is it fair?

Literally only even putting this in because this part was starting to get too long and I need to try to keep them short for my own sanity LOL *dies inside*. So the deadline for Part 6 will be Jan. 4th at 12:00 UTC. Options for Part 6: 1. (Picked:) Of course! You’ve been looking forward to your chance this whole time. You’ll happily get your lift on! Save you a trip to your gym! 2. Sure, if you have to. But maybe it’s something you can discuss when you’re not in the middle of this? 3. You don’t want to work out. That wasn’t exactly what you had planned when you came in, but you’re not going to say that now. 4. No way. You’re here to fuck Yeri. If you’re going to work out, you’ll do it on your own time!

~~~~~

In the time it takes you to pull almost all of the way out and slide all the way back in, you’ve made a decision. “Yeah, fuck it. Maybe you can give me a solid tip or two. I could probably use the exercise anyway.”

“I don’t know. Feels like you’re fine to me, but I’m happy to help if I can.”

“Aw, how flattering. And to think I considered saying no.”

Yeri fidgets a little bit. “That would have been okay. Either way, I don’t want you to stop what you’re doing now.”

“That’s good. Because I don’t want to.”

“But don’t forget. It’s okay if I don’t cum.”

“You know, that’s alright. I’m just going to make this as pleasurable for you as I can while I have you underneath me. Let’s not worry about the orgasm right now.”

Yeri holds her head up long enough to look at you in the mirror and say, “Oh my, you caught on. Thank you. But about the orgasm… I do like the idea of your cum in my ass.”

You’re not going to bother arguing against that. If that’s what she wants, you’re happy to provide.

You give Yeri’s ass a few more long, slow, languid thrusts. All the while, you keep a steady pace on her clit.

For as tired as she must be, Yeri doesn’t leave all of the work to you. She grinds her hips in tiny circles and clenches down on her pelvis. She must be doing some kind of exercise for that too, because you know for a fact both Eunha and Yerin have never been able to do that quite as effectively as Yeri is now (though you do feel a sense of deja vu and the name Seungyeon briefly pops into your head). You have to pause each time she does it, and you’re not sure if you’re annoyed by it or if it’s the most amazing thing you’ve ever experienced.

At the end of an extra long stroke, Yeri reaches behind herself and lays her wrist on the back of your neck, pulling you down so your mouth is next to her ear. You take it as a hint, so you nibble and kiss around the outer edge.

Yeri giggles in a low tone. Her fingers stretch their way into your hair and lightly scratch back and forth.

The sensual tone of the moment overtakes your sensibilities for just a second. Just long enough for you to back up and drive in with one powerful thrust. You hear Yeri’s breath catch in her mouth and you bite down where her shoulder meets her neck, just above and behind her collarbone.

It wasn’t your intention to bite especially hard, but you were a little caught up. Yeri’s caught breath turns into the very first bit of a scream before it catches once again. Her fingers spasm on the back of your head, and every other part of her body that’s in contact with yours tenses up.

You also don’t intend to stop. You don’t quite pound into her the same way, but you do move faster than you were moving before. You change your angle to be more vertical, and you manage to get a couple of fingers around Yeri’s clit.

“Oh god,” Yeri manages to say.

Her ass clenches down on your cock painfully hard. Her whole body freezes up, and the hand on your head feels like it’s stuck. You’re just able to keep thrusting. It seems that’s exactly what you needed to do, too.

Yeri screams out incoherently. You’re a little thankful that she’s facing away from you and into the floor, because you feel like you might have lost your eardrums otherwise. Even as it is, your ears hurt.

Her hand falls away and pats the floor. Her voice is much weaker now. “I came… I came,” she mutters.

You cock an eyebrow up. It wasn’t as hard to make that happen as you were led to believe, especially for anal sex. Fully hilted in, you grind your hips around. “That was easy.”

“Shut uuup,” her voice sounds hoarse. You look to the side to make sure the water didn’t get knocked over at any point, because you get the feeling she’ll need it. “It doesn’t usually happen… like that.”

“What do you think was different?”

“I don’t know… the clit stuff maybe?”

“You don’t get your clit played with often?”

“No, I… I said shut up! Can you… let me up?”

You hold back a laugh and do as she asks. Untangling yourself is slightly difficult with her dead weight on your arm, but you help out by pulling her over onto her back and handing her the water bottle.

Looking down at your hand now that it’s free, you see it’s completely soaked. You must not have noticed how wet she was getting with all of the heat and being distracted by the intense fucking. And right where she was just lying down, there’s practically a lake. You’re not sure where her sweat ends and where her sexual fluid begins (but you have a pretty good idea).

Yeri drags herself up into a sitting position against the squatting rack and finishes off the rest of the water. “Well now my legs and my ass are going to be sore for days. Good thing I’m only MCing stuff I can sit down for.”

“Are you going to be okay with that? After that scream, your voice is a little bit…”

“Yeah, I’ll just tell them I’ve got a little cold. They’ll buy anything.”

The two of you smirk at each other.

“God damn though, that was good. Is it weird to say thanks for that?”

You chuckle. “Nah. And you’re welcome. Will you need more water?”

“I’m dehydrated as fuck now, so yes. But there’s a vending machine right down the hall. But this was enough to hold me over for a minute. What are you looking to do?”

Yeri gestures around the room. There’s quite a bit of equipment you could try out.

This will be another short vote period! Voting will close on 1/6 at 12:00 UTC. Options for Part 7: 1. The bench is free. That’s pretty basic stuff, and probably where you’re most confident in showing off. 2. She’s got a leg press machine so you can destroy your legs like Yeri just did. Actually that would have been very convenient earlier… 3. (Picked:) Try your hand (and the rest of your body) at pilates! You don’t know what to do, but you’re sure to get a laugh! 4. You lied! You’re out of here! HA!

~~~~~

You point up at the pilates setup and Yeri laughs.

"Yeah! This will be great! You're totally the graceful type."

You're not sure if that's sarcasm you detect in her voice, but you shrug it off. Her laugh is what you wanted to hear and you're already successful in that.

"Oh of course," you say with a very false confidence, "You know they call me the pilates master? Because they do."

You step over and lift yourself onto the device. You grab a hold of it the same way Yeri did before. At least, you’re close. You're not exactly sure.

Very carefully, you step your way up the bars and find yourself horizontal. Then you go further and completely lose your sense of direction, though you think you might be upside down. The blood rushes to your ears but you still hear the sound of Yeri giggling across the room.

“You weren’t kidding. That’s a super advanced move.”

“Yup. I invented it,” you say, pretending to be sure of yourself despite the disorientation, “I call this move the Reverse Crab with Lion Splash. It’s really good for your kneecaps.”

Looking up, or down, or sideways, one of those directions, you see an upside down Yeri covering her mouth to attempt to hold in her snickering.

You complete your sort-of backflip, so that you’re facing the padded table below you, your knees caught on the middle bar. You can feel your hamstrings, back, and shoulders straining to keep from falling right then and there.

Yeri’s barely contained laughter bursts out. You didn’t think it was that funny, but she’s an odd person, so you’re not surprised. Until, that is, she says, “You’re just freeballing up there with those gymnastics huh?”

It hits you that the sight of your lubed up and mostly softened dick flopping around as you awkwardly twist your way around the bars probably is fairly humorous. And a bit embarrassing to match. You suddenly feel a little bit self-conscious. And yet, you manage one last retort, “Uh yeah. Haven’t you heard of penilates?”

Yeri snorts and pats the floor. “You’re funny, you know that? I like it. Get back down here and I’ll show you how to do some basics if you really want to do pilates.”

Well, as long as she claims you’re funny.

You maneuver yourself out of the bars and drop off the rack. “Alright coach! What do I do?”

“First, come over here and lay down on your stomach. Put your hands to the sides like you’re going to do a pushup, but like, right under your shoulders.”

The lightly padded floor makes the action relatively comfortable. Yeri rolls on her hips so that she’s able to put a hand on the small of your back. A strangely comfortable chill runs up your spine at the feeling.

“Now push yourself up with your arms, but make sure your legs stay attached to the floor.”

You easily follow her instructions.

“Good!” she says cheerfully. She lifts your chin up, putting more of a stretching sensation on your chest. “Make sure you’re looking straight forward. This is called a Swan. It’s not a big deal, but it helps you with stretching out your core.”

“Yeah, I feel that for sure. I was expecting something a little more intense.”

“Most people are. Pilates is pretty easy though. Mostly.”

“Oh yeah? What’s the hard stuff?”

“Calm it down! We’ll get there. Probably not today though.”

“Aw, why not?”

“Because I’d like to do this with you and I can barely feel my legs.”

“Wow, I’m that good of a fuck?”

Yeri runs her hand over your butt. “Yup. It was all you and your sexual prowess and had nothing to do with anything else that happened since we got here.”

The two of you share a chuckle.

“So how long do I hold this?”

“About now would be good. For you, I’d say… do that for about thirty seconds at a time. And three times of course.”

“What if I normally only do two sets?” you ask as you lay yourself back on the floor.

She lightly smacks your ass. “Hey! What did we agree on about not calling me a liar!”

“Oh, sorry. I would never call you out for lying.”

“That’s… pretty much right. Now, up up!”

Once in your second Swan, you have a thought. “Hey, old reference at this point, but I’ve got a question about what you were talking about in The Lounge.”

“Shoot.”

“I asked why the three of you don’t just have sex with each other, and Seulgi said it was about wanting different things and being uncomfortable with it. So uh, have you tried to bite them before?”

“Oh god. Yeah, I tried that once or twice. Real good reactions out of all four of them.”

“Four?”

“Yup. Well, five. All five of us have tried having sex with each other. Still do sometimes, if we’re feeling desperate.”

“But you’re not into it?”

“Basically. Seulgi is in mad love with Wendy but she’s scared to admit it. Wendy is obsessed with Joy, but Joy is trying to convince herself that she’s straight. Irene and Wendy are both only interested in soft, nice sex, but they both want to be penetrated and can’t seem to get their act together with a double ended dildo. Seulgi wants to be a domme, but ever since Wendy was nearly murdered, she has to go easy on her hips. I’m totally into being dommed, but Seulgi is a wimp and when I talk back to her she gets all nervous and shit.”

You assume thirty seconds have passed, so you lower yourself to the floor again. You knew you would get some kind of explanation when you asked, but you weren’t expecting so much information. You think you may have already forgotten some of it.

Yeri keeps rambling, “Irene used to fuck Seulgi all the time, but during their sub unit promotions they got really busy with each other and I think they just kind of lost the mood, you know? Plus, now that Seulgi wants to explore her rougher side, Irene’s just not into it. Joy used to be the perfect fuck buddy for everybody because she was so good at accommodating everyone and enjoying it. Oh actually, she even did the pet play thing with me once! No clue what we were thinking though. I tried to be a puppy, but then I made a joke about Haetnim and that totally shut the whole thing down. And I’m pretty sure that it isn’t a healthy thing for Wendy, because of how hard she’s crushing for a quote unquote straight girl. But yeah, that’s the point with Joy. She’s claiming that she’s totally straight and started dating Cheungae, but I don’t know how long that’s going to-- Oh no, stay on your stomach.”

You had started to roll over after finishing your third Swan, but Yeri holds you back by your shoulder. “Next I’ll have you do a T.”

“A T? Like the letter T?”

“Exactly.”

“Is it like this?” You stick your arms straight out to either side and point your feet straight down, keeping your face on the floor.

Yeri laughs. “Basically, yes, but now pick your head, chest, arms, and legs up as far as you can, looking forward. Hold that for five seconds, five times.”

This move in particular is actually a bit harder, as it sounds like the only part of you meant to stay on the floor is your stomach.

“Sorry by the way. I rant on like a gossipy bitch sometimes. Was that too much information?”

The voting deadline for Part 8 will be 1/13 at 12:00 UTC! Options for Part 8 [IMPORTANT]: 1. “Well, it was maybe a bit much.” You can’t blame her for oversharing, but it’s no big deal. She seemed extremely eager to bring all that up, after all. 2. (Picked:) “Nope! In fact, tell me more!” Should you know all of this? No. Do you want to know more? Absolutely yes. 3. “Yeah, you really shouldn’t say so much.” It was pretty rude of her to say all of that stuff about her members’ personal relationships. Your question was much simpler than that.

~~~~~

"Nope! In fact, tell me more!"

Yeri chuckles. "Just as long as you don't spill any of what I tell you, alright? We could both get in some real trouble."

That's how secrets always work, right? You can keep the secrets and the non-secrets separate and never tell anyone anything that would be a problem, right? Yeah, no problem.

Right?

"Well, I don't think Joy's relationship is going to last much longer. She is trying really hard, but the strain is going to get to her. And one of our members is absolutely going to fuck her soon and restore the balance."

You snort, forcing you to put your hands and legs down. "Restore the balance? What is this, an epic fantasy novel?"

"You know what I mean! She's the perfect fucker or fuck toy for every member, and in the past, she's loved that. She told us so herself. But we've been together for years, so we know when she's not alright. About a month after she started dating Cheungae, she said she couldn't have sex anymore. And it's just been downhill from there. They're fucking each other, but she has said more than once that she misses fucking other people too."

"The things people do for the sake of relationships."

"Yeah, it's cute, but…" Yeri grips your ass cheek as you come out of your last T. "You know how freeing it is to not be in one."

You sigh, thinking for a second about something SinB told you. "Yup… but hey, has Joy talked to this guy about an open relationship? Or like some other kind of arrangement? Just taking a wild guess here, but I'd imagine any guy would die for a threesome with Joy and you."

"I offered. I heard from Wheein that Cheungae's got a dick the size of the DMZ, so I'm all for giving that a spin. Joy rejected the idea though."

"Damn, why?"

"Well Cheungae isn't the problem. Joy is. I don't know if it's selfishness or if she is just trying way too hard to make a normal relationship work, but she doesn't want to share, herself or her man."

"That sucks. I'm sorry."

"Ah, it's okay. Like I said, I don't think it'll last much longer. And as far as I'm concerned, I've got myself a solid replacement!"

"I'm not a commodity!"

"Sure, ho, sure." Yeri giggles and slaps your butt.

You reach between her legs and push a couple of fingers into her pussy. "Sounds like you're trying to get me mad."

"Why would I do that? You… degenerate sack of shit who can't even fuck the right hole?"

Suddenly, you hear the sound of Yeri's phone going off. It's Wendy's voice. "Are you ready for this? Zimzalabim!"

Yeri scowls. "Hurry up and pound my twat into the core of the planet."

You hold in a laugh and push Yeri onto her back and climb on top of her. Your sweat mixes with hers as you press your bodies together. She’s not burning hot like before, but she’s still pretty warm, and there’s certainly fire in her eyes as she pulls you to her lips--

“Are you ready for this? Zimzalabim!”

Yeri’s tongue invades your mouth forcefully. Your practiced cock finds its way into her with no trouble at all. There’s no hesitation from either one of you. She pulls you into her, and you--

“Are you ready for this? Zimzala-- Yeri! I’m calling you on the important line! Why aren’t you picking up?”

That doesn’t sound like a ringtone anymore. You pull away from Yeri’s kiss, but she suddenly sticks a finger against your cheek. “Don’t you dare stop. I don’t want to feel my legs.”

“Didn’t that already happen?” you ask, with no small amount of snark.

“Yeri? Are you still? Oh god. I’m sorry--” Static crackles through the speaker for a moment. “This must be really awkward for you.”

“Oh don’t mind me,” you say, “I’m just doing my job, apparently.” You back up just a bit and start thrusting hard and fast. Yeri’s breath gets pushed out of her with the force of the first one, but she quickly adjusts and matches your rhythm.

There’s a pause from Wendy. “O-okay. That’s good. I mean, wait! No! Yeri! Irene is on her way to pick you up to take you to the studio!”

“God- dammit- Wendy-” Yeri is having difficulty speaking, only managing to get a word or so out for each time you slam into her. “He’s so- fucking- good- Tell- her- to- wait!”

You could swear that you can hear Wendy blushing through the phone. “We can’t! You’ve got to record…”

“He doesn’t- care- about- spoilers!”

“I mean, I kind of do… How did the call start if we’re over here?”

“I had to install an app on her phone to automatically answer the call-- I mean, you’ve got to hurry and pack up! Irene is going to be there any second!”

Yeri whines in staccato, and is about to say something but is interrupted. And you’re suddenly forced to stop fucking her by a voice that chills your spine like being lost in a blizzard.

“Wendy’s right, Yeri. We’ve got to go.”

Looking to the side, you and Yeri both see Irene standing in the wide-open doorway. The lack of expression on her face is unnerving in a way you can’t accurately describe.

“Come on Irene, please! We can just record later! Just give us five more minutes!”

You feel like you could comment on the fact that Yeri sounds like she’s complaining to her mother to stay in bed, but Irene lifts her eyebrows a few millimeters and your motivation to make a joke is suddenly gone.

“Uuugh!” Yeri reluctantly, slowly, pushes you to the side.

Well, seems like that’s over with. But maybe you can convince Irene to let it not be over with… Or not. Hard to say.

The voting deadline for Part 9 will be 1/17 at 12:00 UTC! Options for Part 9: 1. Irene doesn’t scare you! Tell her you’re not done with Yeri yet! SM can wait for her! 2. Okay, Irene scares you. You should apologize and see yourself out of here. 3. (Picked:) Eh. No big deal. Yeri said that Irene is basically just the same as the other RV members.

~~~~~

You lean back against one of the vertical bars of the squat rack. The metal is very cold, making you flinch. But you play it cooler than the metal, propping your chin up on your wrist by putting your elbow on your knee.

“Hey Irene,” you say casually, as if you weren’t naked in front of one of the most powerful idols in the business, “How’s your morning so far?”

“It’s fine.” Irene is just as casual as you are. She seems more interested in watching as Yeri crawls around the gym on her arms, gathering clothes.

“So you have a new comeback soon, huh?”

Her eyes seem unfocused for a moment, as if she’d just spaced out.

“Oh. Yes,” she eventually says.

Irene’s not especially talkative, you surmise.

“Well, if the recording isn’t too urgent, you can hang out with us for a bit longer. I bet Yeri would be willing to share, assuming you were also wanting in on this situation.”

“Oooh, hey yeah. You want some Irene?” Yeri asks. A cheesy grin spreads across her face. “I got him all warmed up for you.”

Irene gestures softly at Yeri’s bra in the middle of the floor. Yeri rolls her eyes and reaches out for it.

“I appreciate the thought.”

You shrug and move to grab your own clothes. Putting them on feels gross considering the sweat and cum all over you. You resolve to take a shower as soon as you get home. “It was worth a shot.”

Yeri gets her sports bra back on and lets out a long sigh. “You sure though? My voice is a little fucked up right now. We could say I’m sick and that you’re just taking care of me like a good leader.”

“Yes. Let’s go.”

A woman of few words, this one.

With your legs fully functional, you’re able to finish dressing much quicker than Yeri, and approach Irene, giving her a standard bow. “Good to meet you, by the way. Sounds like you’ve already heard about me.”

“From Joy, yes.” Irene bows back to you. “Is it okay if I get your contact from Wendy?”

You blink in shock. That was easy enough. “Yeah, sure. Sounds good to me.”

Irene nods, expression still inscrutable. “Do you prefer calls or texts?”

“Either works for me.”

Yeri pops in. “He’s not actually a prostitute you know.”

For the first time, Irene makes a face you can decipher. It seems to be a bit of minor, subtle shock. “Oh, so this…” She points back and forth between you and Yeri. “Was for…”

You finish for her after she pauses. “The hell of it, yeah.”

“I paid you in salmon bagels,” Yeri says.

“Well that and a free pilates lesson, sure.”

The tiniest smile curls up the corners of Irene’s lips. “How fun.”

It gets silent again, besides the sounds of Yeri huffing as she works to get her pants back on.  You nod quietly, unsure of how to respond.

Thankfully, Irene looks you in the eye and motions for you to come closer, which you do. While Yeri is occupied with pulling her hoodie back over her head, Irene leans in close to you and whispers into your ear, so quietly it takes you a moment to process what she’s saying.

“I heard you earlier. Stay away from Joy.”

You back off again, a little struck by what sounded like a very calm threat.

“I’m parked downstairs Yeri. No more than five minutes, okay?”

“Oh come on, you tell me that now?!”

Without another word, Irene turns and walks back out the door. You’re still a little stunned, watching the back of her head, when she looks back over her shoulder and gives you a coy smile and a wink. Your head swims with questions.

You’re not sure how long you’ve been staring at the now-closed door, but you’re snapped out of it by a loud smack on the back of your jeans, just below your ass. Yeri’s next to you, keeping herself upright with her hand on the wall. “A little help here?”

You look down and see her legs are shaking like leaves. “Oh shit, yeah, I’ve got you.”

Scooping your arm under hers, you support as much of her weight as you can on your shoulder. It feels like she’s mostly able to stay on her feet on her own, but she definitely wobbles a bit.

“You going to be okay?” you ask once you’re in the hallway.

“Oh totally! I’ll be able to walk... mostly normally once we’ve reached the studio. But you know how it is. Squat until your legs give out and then immediately get ass-fucked to an unexpected orgasm, and that’ll give you a few minutes worth of trouble.”

“That’s not actually a sensation I’m familiar with.”

“Who knows? Maybe Seulgi will get her domme act together and then you will be!”

You’re not so sure how you feel about that.

“Hey by the way. Irene was asking about getting your number, right? Can I get it now? Faster than getting it from Wendy since she’ll probably be out all day.”

This will be the last vote for Yexercise! *Wipes away tears* The deadline for this vote will be 1/23 at 12:00 UTC, at which point we’ll be talking on the Discord server about what’s next! Options for Part 10: 1. (Picked:) Of course she can have your number right away! You had fun, she had fun, you should have more fun! 2. Don’t let this crazy have your contact info. In fact, you should let Wendy know to give her a fake number…

~~~~~

You don’t even need to say anything. You pull out your phone, open your contacts, and hand it to Yeri. She puts her info in and sends herself some random gibberish in a text.

“Awesome!” she says, slipping the phone back into your pocket expertly as you make your way down the hall together, “No requests for sleazy pictures though. Can’t have anything getting out if something happens to your phone. Or mine.”

“Of course. I wouldn’t dream-- well, I would dream of it. But I won’t ask.”

Yeri giggles. “Ah, hey. The water’s right there. Wanna stop for just a second?”

At the machine, Yeri swipes her key card just like she did at the door to the gym. It only contains what you recognize as the cheap water brands, unsweetened tea, some dried fruit snacks in plain packaging, and a variety of protein bars. There’s no indicator for payment anywhere though.

“Perks of the personal, private gym?” you ask.

“Perks of the personal, private gym,” Yeri says.

A couple of water bottles are pushed out at arm’s height. Yeri hands one to you, takes the other for herself, and you both gulp down about half before continuing.

“I’ve got to say, I was expecting this to be one of those expensive waters. Blessed by monks, imported from Egypt, shit like that.”

Yeri smirks. “You know what they say. SM water tastes like water. No reason to spend wastefully.”

She finishes her water off, and you get to the stairwell. You think that three flights of stairs might be a little difficult at the moment, but fortunately there’s an elevator nearby you hadn’t noticed when you were following Yeri up earlier.

As you’re gradually taken to the ground floor, Yeri nudges your side. “If I ever share something juicy with you by the way, I expect at least five words in response. None of that ‘LOL’ followed by silence stuff.”

You laugh. “What if I can’t think of anything to say?”

“You can just bullshit an answer. No biggie.”

“What if my life is threatened because I know your gossip?”

“Your life, huh?”

“Well, not specifically. I just assume Irene will break every bone in my body. I guess I can live through that, right?”

“God, she better not be doing that again.”

You stare at Yeri. “Doing that again?”

“Making people uneasy. Point is, don’t worry about her. She’s just got a… uh, an unusual way of communicating, we’ll say.”

“Something like that, sure.”

Yeri puts her free hand on your chest. “She’ll warm up to you, I promise. I’ll put in a good word for you! As long as you do me one more favor.”

Anything to get a good word in to Irene so you don’t end up murdered. “What’s that?”

“Just give me one more, real good kiss in front of her. Right up next to the car window!”

You wrap your arms around her waist and shift Yeri so she’s in front of you. “Like this?” you ask, and half-lift her to your height. The moment your lips touch, you feel the elevator jerk to a stop and the door opens.

“Maybe a bit more than that, but I like where your head’s at.”

“It could be between your legs,” you say, mimicking Yeri’s seductive tone from earlier at The Lounge.

“Don’t tempt me like that!”

All smiles, you help Yeri feebly get outside. You spot a car with dark windows, where you can barely see Irene’s silhouette inside. It also happens to be the only car on the street, and Yeri easily confirms that it’s the correct one.

Yeri is thankfully able to stand on her own once you get to the passenger side. You open the door for her, but before she gets in, you spin her to face you and dive in for a real kiss. She moans and her arms wrap up under your shirt instantly, so you respond by sliding one hand down the back of her yoga pants. It should be right where Irene can see your fingers outlined through the fabric.

Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be a reaction from Irene. You wonder what it will take to crack her neutral act.

“Mmm, even more than that next time, okay?” Yeri pulls away from you and turns to get into the car.

“Of course. I might charge you one extra water bottle next time though.”

“Uh-oh. I’ll be sure to save up for it.”

You laugh together before she sits down. You lean over to pop your head in after her. “See you next time then. And good to finally meet you Irene!”

Irene looks up at you from the book she was reading. “Hm? Oh yes, a pleasure.”

Yeri catches your gaze again. You can see the moment of sudden, unbridled thrill in her eyes, so you wait for her to say…“No Irene! The pleasure was mine!”

Her hand shoots up, and you meet it for an excellent, but questionably deserved high-five. Irene sighs heavily.

You laugh and back up again. “Nice one, Yeri. See you later.”

“See ya, ho!” Yeri shouts before closing the door. As is the case with Yerin, you’re pretty sure you’re stuck with nicknames like that from now on.

You wave the car goodbye and turn back around to make your way back home. You could use a shower.

THE END

~~~~~

Post-story notes:

Hey everybody! Thank you again for joining me for one of these crazy vote stories. I’ve really appreciated the participation, and I think we’ll be getting even more next time!

We’ll be discussing the subject and characters for the next story on the Discord. Suggestions so far include (forgive me if the capitalization is incorrect on these)… Dreamcatcher, WJSN, Mamamoo, Momoland, CLC, Oh My Girl, Lovelyz, more Gfriend, and Fromis_9! But nothing’s set in stone yet! Fill out the form in #announcements if you have even more suggestions to add to the hat.

As for when the next story starts, I’m going to say probably the first week of February. As you may have seen me mention, I’ll be writing some shorts just to spill some of my creative juices. On top of that, I quit my day job! Because I’m starting school! So exciting and nerve wracking! Given how stupidly stressful my day job was, I’m hoping I should be able to pump out stories a little more frequently moving forward.

The storyline unlocks from Yexercise are going to look pretty obvious: [Yeri - Workout buddy] [Yeri - Gossip girl]

And just like with Movie Night, here are some fun facts about unpicked options! At least one of you read these last time, and made a very astute observation about Sowon, so you’ll be getting your wish for that fairly soon.

Part 1. Picking Wendy or Seulgi would have (obviously) resulted in a different name for the story altogether! The names I had in mind weren’t finalized, but the top contenders were “Snow Day” for Wendy and “Dom-Flavored Pringles” for Seulgi.

Part 3. Yeri had two animals in mind for the pet-play: She could have been a cat or a cow. The option to be a puppy would have also been there, but she would have been skeptical about it given her history trying that with Joy.

Part 4. At first, I wasn’t planning on there being any anal in Part 6, but because the vote for Part 4 was SO close, I went back and changed my plans, just so y’all could get what you wanted. :P

Part 5. Again, just mentioning how close the vote was. I was very interested to see that for most of the voting period, the options to keep Yeri working out and to stop and just talk to her were neck and neck. I’m still feeling out what the best balance is between fluff and smut, and you guys are surprisingly wholesome!

Part 7. If you had chosen the leg workout, you’d have been too exhausted to help Yeri out of the gym, resulting in Irene rescheduling the recording session. She’d have stayed to hang out, and that would have blocked off the [Yeri - Gossip girl] storyline (which does have some smaller impact on the relationship with Irene moving forward as well, btw).

[unkownknowledge]

This post is a sort of collaboration with @golden-wingseos who is kindly letting me use their toxic traits post as a base for writing some Fluff! Check 'em out! Hope you enjoy.

Warnings: Albedo might be a OOC. This is my first attempt at more serious writing. And of course you should always remember that problems in a relationship might need more than a short talk.

Edit: request are open, if anyone reading this likes it feel free to request. Rules are pinned.

Now onto my post:

_____________________

Albedo: your heart is real

_____________________________

-you knew Albedo's secret, you knew his feelings, you knew enough to know he didn't want to love you.

-yet he did.

-you also believed he shouldn't be chained to someone else's wishes, especially when it wouldn't bring him happiness.

You were sitting in Albedo's lap, your head on his shoulder as you gently played with his hair.

"I'm going to destroy monstadt you know," he said, like he always does in an attempt to push you away, "that includes the people"

"Then I'll just stop you." You reply calmly.

"Then I'll have to kill you."

"So then you won't destroy monstadt."

Albedo was confused, you usually told him you would stop him but you've never said he wouldn't do it to begin with.

Albedo grabbed your shoulders and made you look at him, "what does that mean? Why wouldn't I destroy monstadt?"

"Because you would have to kill me." You said smiling.

'That damn smile' he thought, "why would I not destroy monstadt, not fulfill my master's wish, just because you would need to die?"

"Because you love me."

Albedo pushed you off and got on top of you, holding a knife to your throat, "would someone who loved you so this?"

"Yes" you never stopped smiling at him.

"Exa-wait what?" Albedo was dumbfounded, not comprehending what you meant.

"You're trying to push me away," you grabbed his shaking hands and pushed them down, causing him to release the knife, "because you don't want to feel any remorse, because you don't want to hurt me."

"Who says-"

"And I know you don't want to destroy monstadt," you grabbed his head and brought him closer, "because you love it there."

"I'm not real, I'm just a tool my master made to carry out their dreams. Stop treating me like a person."

"But you are a person, and as a person you can choose what you want."

"Well I want monstadt destroyed!"

"Even if that meant killing me?"

Albedo was shocked, he never felt conflicted before. Not in following his master's wishes, but now? At your words? He doubted every desire he's had.

You placed his hand on his heart, "feel that?"

"That's my heart..."

"So your heart is real. Now tell me, what does a tool need with a heart?"

Albedo didn't answer.

"Your master might want to destroy monstadt, but who says they want you to? Why give a weapon a heart?"

You didn't give Albedo time to respond before you kissed him.

"Your heart is real. Just like your love for me."

Albedo sat up and pulled you back into his lap, "you're an anomaly you know that? No one else can make me feel this way." He looked into your eyes and put his hands on your cheeks, "I guess I can hold off on destroying monstadt, atleast until I conclude my research on you."

"Well, let's start experimenting."

_____________________________

Hope that didn't suck.

_____________________________

Diluc: you'll get hurt if you love me

_____________________________

-Diluc has been avoiding you for a month now, he hasn't even gone out to do his darkknight hero duties.

-he's just locked himself away in his manor, ordering his servants to not let you in.

-Diluc, however, forgets that you met because you tried stealing from his house.

You were fed up with Diluc, he kept pushing you away and now he has CROSSED THE LINE! You're going to break into his room and make him explain why he's been avoiding you, it's been a year since you and him went on a date and now this? Something is seriously wrong.

You climbed up to the window sill and lock picked your way in, you walked over to Diluc's bed and sat down, waiting for him to return.

Diluc entered the door and, without looking, fell on his bed right next to you.

"You look tired, almost like you took the long way home just to avoid the route I take."

Diluc shot up and looked at you in shock.

You crossed you arms over your chest, "I want an explanation."

"(Y/n) what do you m-"

"You know full well! And don't call me (y/n)! You always call me 'dearest' or 'honey's, in fact you do a lot of things you seem to have forgotten about, like dinners, and tea times, and DATES!"

"Please I-"

"No! No running away, no excuses!" You grabbed his shoulders and turned him to you, "why the hell are you avoiding me!?"

Diluc looked up and saw you were crying. This isn't what he wanted, this is the opposite of what he wanted!

Diluc looked away, unable to face you, "Because I want you to hate me."

Your eyes widened, "w-what?"

"I want you to leave me, in a way that won't make you sad to leave me."

"Why!?"

"BECAUSE YOU'LL GET HURT IF YOU LOVE ME!"

You jumped at him and held him close, and yourself closer, "idiot."

"What?"

"I said," you managed between sobs, "your an idiot, Diluc. I knew full well what I was doing when I fell in love with you, and I did it anyway. What-what gi-gives you the right t-to abandon me now?"

Diluc was shocked to say the least, he didn't know what to say.

"I know how dangerous being near you is, how many enemies you have, how likely I am to die, but Diluc," you look up at him with tear stained eyes, "I won't be able to live another day, not without you in it."

Diluc pulled you onto his lap and held you, enveloping as much as he could.

"(Y/n)- honey, I'm sorry," he cried in your hair, "I'm so sorry, so very very sorry. I just wanted to protect you, I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you got hurt because of me."

"But you did hurt me, you hurt my heart."

"I know.. but please," he tilted you head so your eyes would meet his, "let me heal it."

_____________________________

Kaeya: no more secrets

_____________________________

I wrote this perfectly but the draft didn't save. If it's bad blame my rage.

_____________________________

Another day without you.

Another day spent drinking.

Kaeya remembered that day clearly, more clearly than he wanted.

Kaeya was happily walking home to you.

He was always happy on the way home, but he was happiest when he saw your smile. Lately though you've been acting strangely, he was going to talk to you about it today.

"Honey I'm home-" he stopped, it was quiet.

You were never quiet.

He decided you were just out, so he waited.

And waited.

And wait-

"Where are you?"

Kaeya reached for his drink, but he couldn't find it.

"Eh Dilc, wers meh ferkin dernk!?"

Diluc sighed, "sober up."

Kaeya slammed his hands on the bar and grabbed Diluc by the collar, "WAH SHELD AH BEH SURBER!? WAHTS DA FEKEN PEINT IB TAY AIN ERE WID MEH!?"

Kaeya fell backwards and cried, "wad tay lev meh Dilc?"

Diluc sighed and walked around the bar to his brother, "sober up," he picked Kaeya up, "and I'll tell you."

Diluc carried Kaeya to the winery.

Next day

Kaeya woke up with a scream, "(Y/N) WAIT!"

He looked around and saw he was in an unfamiliar bedroom.

Diluc walked in with water and breakfast, "are you sober?"

Kaeya held his head, "I wish I wasn't."

"Well you'll want to be," Diluc set his brother's breakfast down on the nightstand, "I'm going to tell you how to get (y/n) back."

Kaeya jumped at his brother, knocking them both to the ground as he held the red head's throat, "WHERE ARE THEY?!"

Diluc calmly pushed Kaeya off, who was weak as hell right now, "calm down, you need you to understand why they left or they'll just leave you again."

Kaeya just laid there.

"Good. Now listen because this is something it took me a long time to realize too: communication is key to a relationship."

"What?"

"Did you ever tell (y/n) anything about your work? About your dealings in the dark? About your 'off the clock projects'?"

Kaeay didn't speak.

"I thought so. Kaeya you need to talk to them about your life, if you don't you'll just drive them away."

"BUT I ALREADY DID!" Kaeya shouted as he slammed his fist on the ground.

"True, but I can bring you to them. But you have to swear you'll tell them EVERYTHING."

Kaeya nodded.

Diluc and Kaeya took a trip to Liyue, to a remote village you were living in.

"They're in here. Remember Kaeya, no secrets."

You opened the door at Kaeya's knocking, before immediate closing it.

"Go away Kaeya."

"(Y/n) please, I want to make amends."

"How? Batting your eyelashes? A kiss on the cheek? Sex? Well? What have you come up with as a substitute to trust this time?"

"No. No substitute, no lies, none of that. I'm here to tell you the truth (y/n)."

You opened the door, "no more secrets?"

"No, darling, no more secrets."

_____________________________

Childe: you give me strength

_____________________________

Childe met you when you first joined the fatui, and from the first day he was smitten. You always strived to get better, never once did your lack if vision keep you from being powerful nor keep you from getting more powerful. You were his ideal person for him.

But you didn't feel like it.

You always worried, 'what if I lost? What if I can't get stronger? What if I'm weak?' Were constant thoughts going through your head. You knew Childe was greedy for power, how he wanted nothing but power, how he would do anything for it, and as far as you were aware he cut off anything that held him back.

Even you.

You pushed yourself to far everytime you trained, to the point you were getting weaker by how little time you took to recuperate. But you never realized nor did you let anyone know out fear for what Childe would do if he saw you being so insecure in yourself.

You realized you were getting weaker and weaker, and that scared you, scared you to the point you decided to take drastic measures.

You decided you would prove how strong you are.

With Childe

Childe sighed as he wrote yet another debt collection warrant, he was tired from the month long mission he just got back from and now he had to do this. He decided he would indulge himself and pamper you when he got home, after all nothing pleased him more than seeing your constantly stern face blush and smile as he showered you in gifts and affection. And while he wasn't exactly good at reading people in an emotional sense, even he could tell you were insecure about something so he wanted to talk to you about it, maybe even introduce you to his family.

He wad actually getting lost in happy thoughts when a collector ran in, "HARBINGER! I HAVE URGENT NEWS!"

Childe glared at him, "what is it, I was thinking about my snow flower!"

"IT'S ABOUT THEM SIR!"

Childe snapped the pen between his fingers and stoop, "what happened."

"Sir they-"

"WHAT HAPPENED!"

"SIR! (Y/N) HAS GONE OFF TO TRY AND SLAY A GEO REGISVINE!"

Childe immediately bolted over his desk and sped through the bank, out of the harbor, and across the country of Liyue at speeds lost would think belonged to Baal themself.

He got to the regisvine just in time to block an attack that would have killed you.

It took him mere seconds to completely demolish it.

Childe approached your crumpled form, you could barely move and your bones were probably all broken.

"Ch-chi-lde..." you got out before blacking out from pain.

Next day

You woke up, everything below your chin was in a caste and you felt about as bad as you looked.

"Let me through!" You heard the one voice you didn't want to hear right now.

"Sir please they have to r-"

"DID I FUCKING STUTTER!"

A doctor was flung through the door and Childe charges right at you.

'This is it,' you thought, closing your eyes, 'he's going to cast me away, like I always knew-'

Your thoughts were interrupted by the feeling of lips against your own, and a wet feeling against your cheeks.

You opened your eyes in time to see Childe pull away from you, "what were you thinking you idiot?"

You looked at Childe, dumbfounded.

"WHY DID YOU DO SOMETHING THAT STUPID!?"

"W-what?"

"Why did you try and kill a regisvine on your own?!"

You looked away.

"WHY (Y/N)!? WHY!?"

"Because I don't want you to leave me..."

Childe recoiled at that, what did you mean you didn't want him to leave you?

"Why in the world would I want to leave you? Your my snow flower."

"Yes but..." you didn't want to say it.

"Come on, snow flower," Childe put his fingers under your chin and gently made you meet his gaze, "you can tell me anything."

"You...you only care for power...and I could tell I was only getting weaker no matter how much I tried, I was....I was afraid....afraid you would leave me...."

"(Y/n)," Childe said lovingly, yet with obvious sadness, "please, I dont want power just for power's sake.... I'm so sorry that I seemed that way to you."

"But you always seem so...dedicated to getting power..."

"Yes, but power is simply a means to an end," Childe chuckles, "I have a family, with a lot of siblings, and I care about all of them. I do so much for them, and every bit of power: be it with more, status, or pure power they are what drives me to get it. I'll admit though that it has developed into a bit of a....addiction, I guess you could call it, to battle and by extension to getting stronger. I-I didn't realize how much I let that take over-"

"No!" You shout, "no! Don't apologize for that. That's why I love you: your drive for power, your willingness to never settle, everything you do you do for power. I don't care if it's because you like battle or you like your family, because I love it. I love you. And I don't want to hold you back, and because of that I didn't want to be so weak that you had to....dispose of me..."

Childe kneeled besides you, "(y/n). You never have to worry about holding me back. Remember what you said? Even if I do, granted in a much smaller part than I originally stated, want power to protect my family, it is also very true that I want power for nothing more than to have it. But you could never hold me back from that, in fact you give me strength, (y/n)."

You chuckled, "that's so cheesey Childe."

"Well it's true, and the only thing more true is this:" Childe leans towards you, "I. Love. You."

[kimhargreeves]

The Devil And I part 2-Satan x Reader

Summary: After realizing that Satan has captured you, you find yourself trying to find a way out when he rarely gets to spend time with you and you grow jealous of the princess.

I exited my room once I saw no one in my room, "Odd I could've sworn I felt someone." I closed the door behind me and went to my living room realizing my parents still weren't home. Glancing over to the tall clock I realized the hands weren't moving, does it need a change of batteries so soon?

Paying no attention to it I continued doing whatever needed to be cleaned in the house but weirdly enough most of it were clean. My parents had invited the Hercules family earlier and this entire place was a mess and I highly doubt to parents would've cleaned it all up.

They usually leave all the cleaning to me and always spend their time outside of the house onto arriving when necessary.

I walked over to the window and noticed the Hercules house a few houses down. Weird normally there would be shouting from them, maybe I should make sure they are okay.

Slowly I began walking out of the house until I opened my eyes and found myself back inside my house. Panicked i looked at my surroundings then back at myself in a mirror nearby.

Is the house playing games with me?

Angrily I started taking steps outside of the house again and re-appeared at the same spot I previously was. "This isn't the house playing games with me it's him.."

Satan surely must be having his fun with me. I angrily looked around me growing annoyed that this wasn't a part of the deal.

"Hey, Satan! We didn't agree on this!" I shout at no one in particular. If this were another situation people would think I'm insane.

"Damn, I should've been more specific. Satan you coward come and face me-" I let out a scream when I turned around and saw him sitting on the couch, that familiar grin plastered on his face.

"Yes?"

I shook some thoughts aside and stared at him with angry eyes, he didn't seem to mind my look. "This isn't what we agreed."

He shrugged his shoulders and boredly stared at his gloves. "I did my part of the deal, I brought you home! Now it's your turn."

Satan jumped up on his feet and towered over me raiding his gloved hand back for me to shake his hand. "Once you do it you'll come whenever you like and roam even outside!…though would your family truly miss you?"

I could tell he was still teasing me yet there was a tint of sadness, he knows that my parents don't really care for me. No one really had anyways, I hate to admit it but Satan is the only one who's shown interest wether it's good or bad.

Not to mention this is the longest I've held s conversation with anyone since the people my parents hang out are weirder than the ones living in the sixth dimension.

"Can I think about it alone for a while."

I could tell I was already annoying him by not wanting to agree. I watched Satan wave his hand towards the clock and the hands on it began to move normally, "I'll give you one hour to think things through. If not my dear I'll be having your head."

Satan sang the last bit close close to my ear and disappeared only leaving a bit of smoke. I waved it off and felt a shiver down my spine, "Would he really? No he wouldn't."

My hand made it up to my neck, well, he is the devil and thought he may seem playful he isn't someone to mess around with. I aimlessly began to wander around the house, replaying the same events that would happened everyday.

I would wake up, shower, prepare myself something to eat, clean the house, and remain alone till the day would end, sometimes and only sometime would I get surprised by him parents. They would always travel around the country and their hobby was always bidding things they'd own.

Would Hell be better than this life?

I sighed to myself and threw myself onto my bed and stared up at the chipping ceiling, it feels so lonely without talking to anyone, not that it didn't bother me but lately I've been having some awful thoughts because of it.

My mind began to wander now on Hell and Satan himself, something drew me to him. I was now thinking about him, I guess those cartoons and shows were right on him being the playful yet menacing type of man.

Though unlike those two mentioned he is an attractive individual, well, he was an angel after all. His suit also seems to fit so perfectly to him, I should probably stop. I shook those thoughts aside once more and slowly I began to close my eyes.

I found myself still in my house eerily silent except for the sound of whimpering? I opened my eyes and found myself holding back my whimpers and moans when I felt hands on my neck slowly wandering down to my stomach. It wasn't just any hands, white gloved ones which belongs to Satan himself.

His mouth began to leave trails of kisses and bite marks down on my neck until I felt his hot tongue also licking me making me shiver on my spot of the bed.

This made him chuckle darkly when he knew hid actions had an effect on me, I tried to push him away he held me down with both hands and smiled evilly down at me and shook his head, "You belong to me now, (Y/N)."

I stared up at him surprised, scared yet felt excitement. I felt his hands let go of my wrists until I felt him beginning to get rid of my skirt playing with the only article left on on lower part. "We're going to be having plenty of fun."

Right when he was about to finish what he was starting I quickly rose up on my bed and looked around him bed.

I began to pant and I rubbed my eyes to find myself alone in my room. "Right..I fell asleep." I whisper to myself and felt embarrassed at the sudden dream I was having.

Ugh did I really have that type of dream?

I rubbed my eyes again now and hated myself for dreaming that since all I wanted was to sleep peacefully. I moved my hair aside and slowly rested my head back on the pillow.

Suddenly the clock in the living room began to ring throughout the house. My time is up?! I sat up in bed when I felt the room grow cold and I noticed Satan yet again my house, now in my room with his arms crossed standing by the door.

"What is your answer my dear?"

"I accept your deal." I said without a hint of fear of what would come after.

Satan seemed surprised for a second until he quickly smiled and appeared right next to me on the bed and held my shoulders planting a quickly kiss on my cheek.

That and his presence made me blush due to the dream I had only a few minutes ago. "Excellent! Though part of me would've loved to have your head."

I scoffed and glanced over at him, "What for?"

"That's for you to never know."

I packed my things and off we were to Hell. His minions weren't to harm me or anyone else in the sixth dimension, that was his one strict rule, everyone of course obeyed him since they were too afraid to anger him.

I made sure to make a note to avoid any of the off people here who gave me the creeps, though if I stay here next to Satan I know he'll protect me.

We were inside the room I was assigned to, Satan said he fixed it just for me. So, he knew I would agree then…

The room was fairly decent considering that this is Hell and most of it isn't very nice. "Are you sure nothing bad will happen to me?" I asked again after throwing my belongings on a table close to the bed.

"If you don't interfere in my work, then you'll be fine! Leave it to Mr. S and the Big D."

"Big D? As in Devil?" I furrow my eyebrows together seeing him smirk to himself.

"That's not the only thing that's big you know?" He was having way too much fun with me. I looked away feeling too flustered to look at him.

My hands started fidgeting with the bottom of my clothes, "A-Anyways do you often wander around Earth when you aren't ruling over Hell?"

Satan hummed and nodded his head, "I disguise myself as human and do wander around when there's no work or when I need inspiration for my music."

"I would love to listen another song soon."

"Would you?! Your presence would be delightful to watch. Me being the center of attention with my minions doing as I say."

He's way too prideful and full of himself sometimes. I keep a smile on my face and looked down at my lap, "Tomorrow you and I can catch up on things my dear. Sweet nightmares then!"

Satan said and left me alone in my new home.

Days went by and I began to grow tired of being stuck in my room, I felt like a real prisoner here, i wouldn't be able to leave since some of his minions told me Satan was busy with work or needed some silence to finish on his work.

Truth is I left my room for a few times and heard him talking so fondly about the princess and wanting her for himself.

I grew jealous of the attention she was receiving. So that he means he wanted to bring me all the way down here for nothing.

I huffed staring up at the ceiling and slowly got up and opened the door to my room, I peeked my head out and saw Satan and his minions..band? Playing a familiar tune I had been listening for a couple of days. I noticed Satan up front guiding the band.

Quietly I snuck out and hid behind a dead tree and noticed other of his minions bringing in someone with a rope around their neck. I recognized the man as my very odd neighbor, Squeezit.

"Pssh!" I tried to call for him but the loud music was impossible for him to hear. The minions were synchronized playing their saxophone and other instruments.

Squeezit was being held captive for some reason. He knelt down on the floor and we both looked at Satan's minions performing their song. I remained still wanting to not draw attention when Satan turned around and looked down at my neighbor.

Satan looked down at a frightened Squeezit as be began to sing.

"Well son let me tell you I'm so pleased to meet you The boys and I've expectin' to greet you, As guest of honor in the house of the dead Just relax lay yourself down say goodbye to your head"

"Hi de hi he hi (Hi de hi he hi) Ho de ho de ho (Ho de ho de ho) Wha de wha de whey de (Wha de wha de whey de) Hi de hi de ho (Hi de hi de ho)"

Squeezit trembling began to plead for his own life and for his sister and friend.

"Please Mr Devil it's not for me I'm pleading, If you help Renee and Frenchy I'll give ya what you needin."

"If you want to bargain Then produce something real Deliver me the princess boy and you've got a deal."

"Deliver him the princess boy and you've got a deal" his minions sang back. Squeezit quickly got up and left to retrieve the princess.

"Oh skip dat dip dad diddy doo (Oh skip dat dip dad diddy doo) Skibby dip de dedopdodoo (Skippy dip de dedopdodoo) Oh dat dat dat daddy o (Oh dat dat dat daddy o) Hi de hi de ho! (Hi de hi de ho!)"

Squeezit brought the princess who didn't even out up much of a fight which surprised me, is she really that dumb to get captured?

"Congratulations that you really deliver, This little gal makes me shake and a shiver. Don't think I've forgotten all the things that I've said, Don't worry about your friends relax now off with his head!"

Satan grinned when Squeezit got pulled closer to decapitate him. That isn't fair! I remained silent but was surprised no one had yet seen me.

"Hi de hi de hi de hi (Hi de hi de hi de hi) Ho de ho de ho (Ho de ho de ho) Oh de oh de dee dat de dey! (Oh de oh de dee dat de dey) Hi de hi de hi de ho (Hi de hi de hi de ho)"

I watched as the executioner decapitated my neighbor leaving his singing head there with Satan doing the same movements.

For once the princess who for some off reason doesn't own any clothes seemed to be frightened by the people here in Hell.

"Be nice to me babe or you'll regret it You are my hostage and don't you forget it The night is early and there's lots to be done Let's boogie now come on we're gonna have some fun."

Satan offered her her hand which she took and began to sing alongside him and the rest.

"Oh oh oh de oh de oh (Oh oh oh de oh de oh) Hi de hi de hi (Hi de hi de hi) Wowowowoooo (woawoawoawoooa) Hi de hi de ho (Hi de hi de ho)"

I frowned and felt uncomfortable when I saw him hugging her and touching her inappropriately. I looked away and felt a pang in my chest, a horrible sensation.

I didn't look much on what else they were doing, but by the looks of if the princess must've fainted and she was being taken to someplace else. Satan finished his song on the piano and grinned to himself.

I can't take it anymore. I managed to crawl out and began to wander aimlessly across the sixth dimension in hope to befriend someone else or again, leave this place.

This is ridiculous I shouldn't be falling for someone like Satan anyways.

Not knowing where to exactly go I found myself in another part of the sixth dimension. It had been about half an hour of me just walking, and stumbling upon weird ass people.

I looked forward and found myself again where the king once was searching for Frenchy. The queen was obviously angered.

"(Y/N)! What are you doing here again? K thought you had left." The queen demanded while the king paid no attention to her.

"I can't seem to find a way out, maybe you being a great queen can help me out." I just need to be on her good side and I should be fine.

The tall woman hummed and seemed to not mind me or think of me as a threat since she knows her husband has a thing for women, and really really loves them.

"Do you have any idea on where my daughter might be?" She asked not really caring about her either but wanting the woman to stay. I smirked internally and nodded my head.

If I tell her where she is then the princess will be out of Hell.

The woman laughed and petted my head, "You could be of great use to me. You will tell me where she is and I'll go searching for her myself."

I felt someone grab my skirt and I knelt down when I realized it wad the king. "Do you by any chance know where the French girl is?"

I quickly nodded my head. Both of them don't seem to get along much so I'll do as they ask me. "Last time I saw her she was being held captive at a cell." I told the truth.

The three of us stood up straight once we heard footsteps approaching us, it must be the minions!

"If you hide me I promise to help you both." I pleaded and noticed the king and queen nodding their heads.

The queen grabbed my shoulder and hid my below the table inside a large toy box they seemed to have. I covered my mouth and indeed was right, the familiar tune from earlier stopped once they reached this place.

"Ugh what do you want now?" The queen bitterly asked not wanting to waste her time.

"We are looking for a girl. She isn't in her room and seems to have escaped."

The queen laughed and continued to be her weird bitchy self. "I don't blame the poor child then. Satan doesn't seem to know how to entertain his guests anymore."

I tiredly rested my head against my arm as I continued to hear both sides talking about where I was and other unimportant things, i found myself slowly closing my eyes until I feel asleep with a few set of tears hitting my clothes.

[sweetpxxches]

To tame a beast.

MAG!Hank x AFAB Reader

Reader uses gender neutral pronouns

This fanfic contains the following:

Smut

Gore

You guys asked, and even held me at gunpoint, therefore HERE IT IS, FOLKS! I hope you guys enjoy this shot. Because honestly why wouldn’t you.

The sounds of steel being scratched by heavy claws was one of the first things you heard down the halls of the AAHW building, you were looking all over for Hank in hopes that he hasn’t went too far ahead of himself again. You paced down the hall as the sounds of screams and splattered blood grew louder, knowing that Hank would be the one responsible for it. As soon as you slid into a stop at the broken sliding door, you saw Hank in the corner, ripping an agent by his throat with his metal jaw and canine teeth. To most people, this would of been a horrific sight to see, but for you, this is nothing new. Instead of a shriek in fear, you only shouted out at Hank. “Dammit, Hank! This isn’t where we’re suppose to be right now!” You stomped your way at him, and as you approached he slowly held his head up, dropping the meat of the agent out of his maw. He snarled at you, speaking up to you. "Who gives a shit? I'll do what I want and right now I want to fuck shit up." You squinted, grabbing the scruff of his jacket. "No, we need to go and look for Sanford and Deimos!" Hank shoved you off, towering over you. "Fuck off, I want to do what I want to do, and it's not that! They're probably still alive for all I know." Hank stepped away from you, and you got yourself up, dusting yourself off. "Hank, you usually act like this when something is bothering you." You started.

Hank paused, his head turning to you. "What do you mean by that?"

You crossed your arms. "You want something out of me." Hank faced you completely, unsure of where you were going for. "Where are you going with this..."

You stood your ground, looking up at the monster before you. "Hank, be honest. Have you been rebellious with your attitude because you want my attention?" As you asked, you knew the awkward silence will fill in. Hank made a frustrated hum, and you only squinted further. "Hank..." You spoke up, and Hank grunted. "Fine, fine! Fuck! I just got frustrated because you've been ignoring me too much!" He barked back at you, and you raised a brow. "What in the world are you going on about? I'd never ignore you on purpose!" You walked up to him, tugging on his arm. "Come on, Hank. We don't have time for this-" You huffed, seeing his isn't budging. Sometimes you hate it when he's stubborn, because it wouldn't be easy to convince him to do what you want him to. The MAG side of his mind has turned him more demanding, somewhat selfish to himself since now he desires to 'work' more often, so you have to try and think ahead so you can figure what you can do to have him satisfied. You sighed, looking around the room to see what you could use to lire him out. But with not much you could offer, the last thing you had at the back of your mind was...

Ah, no. You'll regret it if you do it, just look at him. He's a ruthless brute who would destroy you in seconds. And yet... it's not like you wouldn't like that. Hank was already making his move down to the next room, but as soon as he stepped away, you grabbed his arm again. "Wait! I think I know what will convince you to listen to me."

He turned his head to you, staring. "And what do you think will make me take orders from you like some dog?" You blinked, and grew awkward, humming in place of thought as you gulped. "Do you want to just use me? For today? Maybe that will give you something good to feel?" That was an even more awkward approach. He didn't even know what to say at that request, other than a simple head tilt. But he seemed curious, and even faced you completely as he stepped up towards you, towering over you. "You're seriously asking that? Of all places?" He questioned, and you began to step back from the plan, embarrassed and thinking you made a mistake, but the moment you attempted to, Hank's large claws gripped onto your hips and held you into place. You held your breath, assuming Hank was getting annoyed with you, but you saw him lean close to level his face with yours, you can see the glint in his eye.

Yes, yes he does want to. And now you'll have to endure his strength. "You know, I'll make it worth while. Let's just hope your legs last." He teased, as he picked you up and placed you by the wall, bending you over which had your upper body against it as he gave you a lift up on your hips. It seems he didn't want to waste time, seeing how he practically ripped away what was on your pants and undergarments. You cursed under your breath knowing you'll have to walk around with your ass out now, if you'll even be able to walk after this, that is. Though, the feeling of being exposed like this hit a certain need within you, and his snarling only grew louder as he had a tight grip on your ass, spreading you open to have a taste of you. You tried to have a grip on the brick wall against you, but it wasn't as easy as it seems, especially with the fact that Hank was eating you out. Though, it wasn't a long session to your dismay, for all he was attempting was to lube you up for what's coming. You looked over from behind, puffing your cheeks at him. "Oh, come on, not even going to do it more on me?" With that statement, he curled his fingers around in your hair, and pushed you back against the wall, shutting you up. "This is my choice and I'll do whatever the fuck I want to do here, understand?" He snarled into your ear, and just with that alone made you drip with anticipation. Hank didn't want to keep wasting time, with how you are now, and his hard on only growing he needed you now. You bit your lip as you heard the pants zipping, and it wasn't long until you felt a familiar thing making it's way against your slit. Eyes widened however, as the moment he slid inside your cunt, it felt as though he was stretching you out. You made a moan that ended with a yell, realizing that his size was far more challenging than his original. Though you can tell this bastard was smirking from behind, knowing you were having a bit of a hassle trying to have it all fit inside you.

"Th-This isn't going to fit..." You shuttered, hands against the wall.

Hank could only chuckle, his hands sliding down back to your hips to hold you. "Then I'll make it fit." As Hank stated that, he slammed his whole length of his cock within you, reaching at your limits against you. At this point the Agents from the twelfth floor probably heard you, because as that moment his cock hit you against your cervix, you felt your mind break, almost as though Hank has turned something on within you. Your eyes lifted up, tongue hanging out as you felt Hank thrust into you, your walls already clenching at his efforts. But you knew he wasn't gonna stop until you get your fill. Hank could feel a bulge forming every time his shaft hit against your edge, knowing you're enjoying every single second of it. You couldn't help but move your hips with him, and he laughed lowly as he sees you helplessly ask for more. "Whatever happened to you being the one to order others around, huh? It didn't take long until I made you my bitch." He leaned over and bit your shoulder, making you smile through the pain and pleasure that waved through. "Remember your damn place next time, and maybe I won't break you." He lifted you up by under your thighs, you gasped as he had you in the air. He leaned against the wall, and continues to thrust inside you. Your cunt began to reach it's climax, coating his cock with your own cum. He growled at the feeling, your scent alluring him. "You couldn't even last long... pathetic." He huffed, though he didn't stop, and he wouldn't stop for something as minimal as that.

You felt his cock throbbing eventually from what felt like days, you noticed he was picking up the pace. His growls only to ene it with a roar, slamming you down on his cock balls deep inside you, filling you to the brim. His warm cum forming a bulge inside you, and as soon as he lifted you up off his cock, his seed poured out of you. You couldn't even mutter a word, you were dazed. He could tell that you had enough, as well. It was a moment of silence, and he placed you onto the floor, seeing that you were trying to keep up with your heart racing.

"Hah, maybe you'll need help out of here now, huh? Wait-" It clicked.

You just tricked him into being convinced to get you out of this place. And he squinted down at you seeing you had a smirk under that mess of hair covering your face. "You bitch. Fine! We'll leave! But only because you have to anyway." He muttered and cursed under his breath, lifting you over his shoulder as he stormed out the building.

In the distance however, two agents were standing there with plate sized eyes after witnessing whatever the hell happened there.

"... So how are we gonna explain this to the Boss without it sounding like a porno?"

[katsukikitten]

Part 5

For once in your life, your eyes slowly open, only having been disturbed by warm morning sunlight. The soft comforter trapping your body heat and essentially you, as it pinned you to the soft mattress. You snuggle deeper into the sheets, breathing in the smell of clean linen and caramel.

Wait. Caramel?

With a jolt you jump from the bed, eyes wide as you look for the source of the scent. Patting down your jeans and shirt for at least one knife. You hardly remember what happened after dinner with his family. You remember booze, light conversation while feeling warm and floaty. Oh shit what was that passive that activated again? Rest assured?

"Info on rest assured." You grumble, voice soft from disuse. Your quirk happily pulls up a little informational box that you can see. Too sleepy to make the box private as it reads aloud to you.

"PASSIVE BUFF REST ASSURED. A newly unlocked buff that increases sleep quality and can only be activated around trusted individuals and safe places. Would you like a list?"

You stare at the question box with a flashing yes or no before you point with the tip of your knife to yes.

"Currently there is only one thing listed. Type : Individual Name: Bakugou Ka…."

"Oi." Someone calls from the front door of the apartment as you dismiss the information with a wave of your hand. He discards his boots at the door before making his way to his bedroom.

"You talking to yourself dumbass?" He says, blocking your only exit by leaning on the door jamb. He holds an iced coffee towards you, his eyes sharp as he adds.

"We need to talk about your file."

Crossing his arms you ignore his offer of iced appeasement, he sets it on the low dresser as you speak.

"It's not up for discussion."

"I'm your boss, I deserve to know."

"What you deserve to know is what's in that file. My whole life doesn't fit into a manila fucking folder. Quit asking questions."

"I'll ask what I want." He growls, "Because it's suspicious that you have this unbelievably complex quirk and yet I'm sure your top skills have nothing to do with stealing."

"If you're that concerned then ask the director of the program. I'm not the only secret 'reform'." You throw your hands into the air is exasperation

"He showed up dead shortly after you were inducted. Plus no one has any real record of what you've done. Not a single thing listed on what you've stolen."

"Talk to Deku then, he's next in line for that program, he ain't dead."

"He said he doesn't remember approving your file." He bites back and before you can retort strong fingers wrap around your wrist. His calloused pads brush over the cool metal of your bracelet.

"RECOGNIZED, BAKUGOU KATSUKI : NEW LIMITED ACCESS GRANTED. 1. Health and Condition status, upon request 2. Top five skills 3. Buffs that would benefit Bakugou Katuski. 4. Pending buffs to be activated by host. Please state a number."

"Two." "Cancel!" You try to shout over him but he beats you to it. The bracelet opens up a little box displaying your top five skills as of late.

"Stab resistance, poison resistance, what would a thief need those for? Stealth is number three and slight of hand is number five. Shit don't add up Princess." He glares while your nostrils flare, ripping your wrist away from his grip.

"You're really fucking pushing it…" He takes a step towards you while you step back as if it were part of a dance as you try so hard to keep your wrath in check.

"Am I? Like I said, shit ain't adding up. You have this bracelet that still has limited information to your quirk, support knows nothing of the recordings or god damn blocks you've placed on it and lastly…" Your knees hit the back of the back of the bed causing you to sit on the mattress. His rough palms come to lie flat against the fabric next to your thighs as he leans in. You fight to shrink back.

"Lastly, I deserve to know how an unnamed woman, who obviously knew you, turns up dead moments after I arrive on scene and then her body is gone in a matter of minutes. She poisoned you with a complex concoction that the lab in the agency has yet to figure out the formula to it and yet you knew the fucking antidote? What did you really do?"

Rage boils in your blood as you stare into his vermilion eyes. Like flipping a switch you turn ice cold, your breath mingles with his.

PASSIVE BUFF SHARP TONGUE ACTIVATED INSULTS DEALT WILL HAVE 39% MORE STING.

"You know what's funny? You don't see me asking how you became a manager with your shitty attitude. Nor do you see me asking how you manipulated and gaslit your way to the number one spot." You press your cheek against his as your lips graze his ear, "And you sure as hell don't see me asking how you're considered a hero at all after you told Izuku to kill himself in middle school."

The scars in his chest and stomach roar to life, demanding attention as his shirt scrapes against the sensitive skin. He takes a step back as if struck while the room begins to smell of smokey spiced caramel. His bones groan as his knuckles bloom white.

You smile as you stand, collecting your bag and the jacket he lent. Even grabbing the iced coffee he got you. Because why let it go to waste?

Cruelty slips onto your shoulders as nicely as his borrowed jacket while you pause at his bedroom door wanting nothing more than to leave him with terrible thoughts.

"Did you ever even apologize for that?"

Silence is your answer as you chuckle to yourself.

"Didn't think so."

You leave him with those nasty thoughts. Long gone as he still pants, pain shooting through his gut and lungs as it did all those fucking years ago.

As he moved without a second thought and placed himself in front of a stupid, dopey mop top boy who tried to hold up the weight of the world by himself.

With a guttural growl he looks over his destroyed room, as if a bomb went off.

He reaches for his phone dialing the number he never bothered to save.

"Meet me at our usual when you get off your stupid fucking shift. I know you've forgotten to eat you useless hero." The other line chimes in with a deep laugh as he adds.

"Okay Kaachan. I'll be there."

Izuku doesn't get invited out often and especially not by Bakugou. So the emerald haired boy decides to keep an eye on his oldest friend. Silently watching and not glancing too long as hot head huffs and puffs, taking another shot. The ash blonde's favorite spicy ramen goes untouched as the large man across from him slurps up his fourth bowl, covered in sweat and dirt from the day's work.

"You better get my fucking money's worth of this endless ramen bowl shit." He bites, slamming down another shot, fingers subconsciously finding the old scar on his chest. The action does not go unnoticed by his more docile friend. Izuku thanks the waiter as he starts on his fifth bowl.

"I'm starting to think you're mad about more than the endless ramen you ordered me." Bright emerald meet dark garnet eyes that glare, Bakugou's cheeks burn in his buzz.

"Fuck you. Nothin's wrong." Another deadly shot.

"That's your seventh. Kaachan you can't fool me. Your body language gives it away." Bakugou follows Izuku's eyes to his fingers. Quickly he removes his calloused pads from the divot. Angrily staring at the wall like a child who's been caught.

"Fuck you." He murmurs, silence settles over the pair in the far back corner of the restaurant. Bakugou's eyes glance over to Izuku who continues to eat, crimson bore into the scars on his arms from where the dumbass had broken them time and time again. His scars burn with your words, with the memory of what he's said in the past.

Too cruel and for what?

"You know I'm-" Bakugou starts but Izuku holds up a hand, wanting to spare his friend.

"I know, you've shown me everyday, even before you jumped in front of me, Kaachan. I've always known." He leaves it at that, in his heart he knows that Bakugou is sorry. He's seen it in every action since their first year at UA, he doesn't need to hear him say it.

What good are words when actions spoke louder?

"So what's bothering you? Worried over someone? You're dating Rogue now right?" Izuku asks, holding his chopsticks at a point while Bakugou takes another shot.

"Her file is what's bothering me. Deku, she doesn't have a fucking thing of her past. Not to mention you don't even remember signing off on her. Real responsible." Bakugou watches with a dull snarl as Izuku goes back to slurping his noodles.

"Ka...Kaachan." Izuku chokes, "Not fair. They put a lot of your desk too and I bet you don't remember half of it."

"I'd remember something like that. Just makes it that much more suspicious. Probably foraged by someone but the question is who…." Katsuki sets his head in his hand, staring at his orange broth.

"Well, did you ask her yourself?" Bakugou scoffs in response.

"Yea, and it didn't fucking turn out well." His finger finds his stomach this time, the ghastly white crater suddenly irritated by the fabric of his shirt. Izuku stops eating, he isn't stupid and easily connects the dots. The soft man thinks back a decade of his friend is the worst condition but more worried about him.

"Kaachan…" Deep jade eyes water a bit but Bakugou puts up a hand

"Don't." He barks, sighing.

"So you must really care about her if whatever she said affected you that much. You weren't even bothered when they were trying to 'cancel' you." Izuku taps Bakugou's bowl with his chopsticks, silently begging the blonde to eat. Hopping he'll take at least a bite to soak up some of that alcohol. Reluctantly deadly fingers pick up the sticks, gathering ramen between them but still undecided if he should eat.

His silence is answer enough for Izuku.

"I know my agency started the program. I'll look into it some more tomorrow. I'll be mostly office duty since I have so much paperwork anyway. But even if her past is dark Katsuki, what are you going to do? She may not have had any say in the matter, she doesn't give me that evil vibe."

Bakugou thinks back to you. How you fight, how you hold yourself.

How cute you were sleeping on his shoulder before he eased you onto his lap. How softly you snored in his bed. His stomach twists, Izuku's words and yours floating around his head.

"I guess I'll decide once I have more answers." With that the blonde decides to bring the spicy noodles to his lips.