#But yeah i need a movie franchise to hold my hand while I wait for saw xi

[twacn]

I have half a saw movie left to watch :(( what horror franchise should I binge next

[honestlyfragile]

JUMPSTREET - Mark Lee x Johnny Suh

Pairing: Mark Lee x Fem!Reader, Johnny is Mark’s bestfriend, Mentions of Jaehyun and Yuta

Genre: university!au, police!au, a dash of fluff, smut,crack, fraternity!au

warnings: mild violence, mentions of guns, drugs, sexual themes, language

Summary: Mark and Johnny were partners in crime, but when feelings get in the way, will Mark stick to the law or go against it?

Wc: 15.4k

also posted in Ao3

a/n: I hope you enjoy this story heavily inspired by the 21 & 22 Jumpstreet movie franchise, and hopefully I was able to deliver it with my own ideas. Enjoy!

Mark and Johnny start their first official day as policemen after being together in most of their high school years and studying criminology in college. They could not be more excited to see people make trouble until today.

"Let's see who's going to be able to make his first arrest." Johnny bets, scanning around the area with a cup of coffee in his hand, the other on his waist.

"Dude it's a park, what the fuck could possibly happen here?" Mark retorts, unamused.

"Oh you know, it's a crazy world we live in these days." Johnny defends, his gaze fixed on his surroundings.

"Sure it is." Mark continues to read his newspaper as he stands side by side with Johnny.

The two try to at least roam around and patrol over the area, looking for at least an ounce of any violation, it didn't matter if it was serious or not.

Mark spots a kid of about 9 years old near the pond, about to drop a piece of bread into the water.

"Excuse me kid," Mark bluffs, as if it were his first catch of the day. Technically this is his first catch of his career, hopefully.

"What?" the child frowns and looks at him obnoxiously.

"Read the sign," Mark points to it and the kid's eyes follow, but disobeys him anyway. 

"It says don't feed the ducks!" Mark argues, but the kid is unbothered.

"Let it go Mark, it's not like bread will kill them. Plus, you can't arrest a child." Johnny scoffs and tries to drag Mark to another area.

Mark lets out a sigh as the kid sticks his tongue out and he does the same before turning his back.

The two had nothing better to do, they were rookies who just got newly assigned to an area that didn't even have any trouble. Almost like they were just there for the sake of. Of course the department treated them as rookies.

Johnny takes out his pistol out of boredom and tosses it for fun. "Woah you know those are loaded right?" Mark warns him while involuntarily taking a step back.

"Yeah and?" Johnny continues to toss and play with it.

"Unload it first!" Mark panics like the goody two shoes that he was.

"Then that would be no fun." Johnny shrugs.

Mark spots a group of middle aged men from afar, but not quite. He squints and tries to take a closer look with his binoculars.

"Yo check it out, aren't those the Outlaws?" He nudges Johnny's shoulder as he takes a look himself.

The Outlaws are a known motorcycle gang in the county, they aren't always bothersome but the both of them are determined to find a loophole.

The two approach the group of men and tell them off because they have parked their motorcycles illegally. But that's not the only thing they notice, these men were stoned. One lights up a joint of Marijuana shamelessly, and Johnny loses his temper. "Excuse me Sir, you do know that the use of Marijuana is illegal right?"

"Oh look," the hideous man spits on the ground. "They must be new. He has the guts to talk to us like that. Nice to see some fresh kids here. You sure you aren't dressing up for... halloween?" The man specifically has his eyes on Mark when he said the last sentence.

Feeling offended, Mark straightens up his stance and acts more like a grown man. "That's a nice joke sir, now hand it over." He says in a stern voice.

"What a scary fella, keep up the good work! Sorry I don't have candy with me." They tease and the two have had enough.

"I'm going to have to search your motorcycle now sir." Johnny insists and doesn't wait for a response, and opens the seat and finds packets of a fine white substance. "These are.." he halts.

"DRUGS!" Mark shouts and immediately gets pushed by one of the gang members.

Johnny immediately gets a sample and keeps it in his pocket and takes his gun out. Mark gets up and does the same. The men try to run away and escape, Johnny runs after them and Mark takes his bike. The two finally get to corner them and Johnny pits one of them on the ground.

"You have the right to," Johnny tries to utter the Miranda Rights as he puts handcuffs on the man that is trying to eagerly resist him. "To shut the fuck up!" Johnny was being too focused on trying to handcuff the suspect and forgets to recite the rest,

Reciting those did not even cross Mark's mind as he just also focused on trying to handcuff the man.

"You are coming with us!" He yells and drags them to the police station, which was only a few meters away from them now.

--------

As the case was investigated, their chief commends them but then discovers that they forgot to recite the Miranda Rights, which can possibly make the charges be dropped, but thankfully the violation to the law was enough for the men to remain in jail.

"Technically you still did this wrong," the chief puts a hand on his chin and taps the polished wooden table. "But since you're just starting out, i'll give you another offer."

The two young men eye each other, anticipating the chief's suggestion. "An offer?" Johnny asks, straightening up in his seat.

"Jump street." The chief says.

"Wha- what's that?" Mark furrows his eyebrows in curiosity.

"Since the both of you look younger than the rest of the people here, our undercover police unit is in need of officers." The chief informs.

"Please, continue." Johnny lets him explain further.

"You pretend to be college students. It's practically the same, but it would be more suitable for the both of you because it's your crowd. You see crime and injustice, you report. But, you will be disguised as college students to ease the procedures of trying to find what those students have been up to. We have your back." The chief explains.

"Cool." Mark simply says because he is astonished by the idea.

"So where do we report? Do we have a new head quarters?" Johnny asks. 

"You will be transferred. Down in 21 Jump St." The deputy Chief declares.

____

They head to the headquarters that was disguised as an old chapel. "You sure this is the one?" Mark questions as he gets out of the car.

"It does say 21 Jump St. so, let's have a look." Johnny turns off the engine and both of them enter.

The setting was a typical chapel, but it was dark and full of stock equipment. Mark takes a look at the altar that was dimly lit, and bows before the image of Christ to show respect . Johnny on the other hand was not a person of religion but follows Mark's simple gesture anyways.

"The both of you!" A man shouts from afar, and it echoes, "come over here." 

The two are startled but proceed to the hidden room. When they enter they see two women who are already disguised as cheerleaders. Meanwhile the two are still in their police uniforms. The ladies take a look and have a good laugh at them. "You do know that you're supposed to go undercover right?" She says, eyeing them from head to toe. 

"W-we didn't get the memo that it was gonna be today.." Mark trails off and fidgets with his hands.

"Go and dress like teenagers! Now!" The chief commands and the two quickly change right away. 

When they get back they are briefed by the set of rules they have to follow and about the goals of this undercover project.

"Rule number 1. DO NOT get expelled. No one in the system knows that you are undercover. So be disciplined and don't cause major trouble. Getting expelled would mean that you'll get your asses kicked out of jump street." The chief sternly explains, making the assigned officers hold their breath from fear.

"Rule number 2," the officer walks past the rest and stands in front of Johnny. "DO NOT have any sexual or intimate relationships with the students and professors. You hear that pretty boy?" And specifically locks his eyes on Johnny, making the boy gulp and purse his lips. After the general meeting, the two were called for a detailed one, personally with the chief.

It was said to them that they had to find a synthetic drug that has been spreading around the campus called NCT. A sample of its packaging was shown, it was definitely something you wouldn't think of as a drug. It was about a size of a large coin, and looks like a small biscuit. It was sealed using assorted hand drawn stickers of different objects. They were also advised to never give out their real names, because new identities have been assigned to them. Johnny's being Rolan Kim and Mark's being Kalen Park.

"When the youngsters take this drug, it apparently makes them laser-focused on studying for about an hour. And for the succeeding hours, they party like it's fucking 1999 until they pass out. Infiltrate the dealer, find the supplier." The chief gives his final orders and sends off the both of them for their mission.

-----

"Dang, we're really going back to college?" Mark says as he finished up packing his things for the dorm that the agency assigned to them. They had to be as realistic as possible.

The two head to the university, reminiscing their own college days. The two might perhaps over-do this whole "blending in" thing, which might give out the disguise.

"Woah their campus is HUGE." Mark says, mesmerized and wears both straps of his backpack.

"Bro, that's not very college of you." Johnny fumbles with the strap of Mark's backpack.

"What?"

"You're two strapping dude. You have to just sling one of them on your shoulder, so it's cool and grown up. You're in college, not middle school." Johnny fixes Mark's bag for him.

"Right. College." He utters to himself. He seems to be enjoying it too much, and starts saying hi to everyone he sees.

"Knock it off, Mark. You're giving us away." Johnny nudges his arm and tries to cooly stride along the campus, keeping his composure.

Mark acknowledges him and goes with the flow. The two arrive in their dorm that they gladly share only among themselves. Mark is new to this, because when he went to college he stayed with his parents. Thankfully he could trust Johnny to always have his back.

The two set their things down and pick their beds, it didn't really matter much since the room had two singles and separate desks for the both of them. It also had a small book shelf that could come in handy, if they ever plan to take lectures seriously.

"Let's just fix these later. We have to go to the Dean's office to confirm our enrollment. Act natural okay?" Johnny lazily brushes his hair back and straightens up his shirt in front of the small mirror that the vanity had.

"Oh- uh okay." Mark leaves the pile of his clothes undone on top of his bed and grabs his phone and keys.

It was the afternoon of fall, the campus has been covered with different hues of orange leaves and subtle sunlight. The breeze was cool but not strong as it blew against their hair. The university seemed peaceful, but they had no idea what went on once the sun sets and the lights are off.

After a couple minutes of walking, the two arrive at the Dean's office for their interview. 

"Good afternoon gentlemen, please take a seat." The middle aged man smiles at the both of them. 

The two are slightly nervous, but eventually get over it. "Nice to meet you, Mr..." Johnny reads the name plate on the desk "Mr. Bennet." and gives the man his signature smile. Mark does the same and they start their interview. 

"Okay, so which one is Rolan and which one is Kalen?" Mr. Bennet asks and there was a short period of silence. Two had seemed to forget which identities were theirs. 

Johnny raises his hand, "I'm Rolan sir. Rolan Kim." and he nudges Mark's shoulder. 

"Ah yes and I'm Kalen... Park" he barely manages to blurt it out. 

The dean furrows his eyebrows but lets it go and proceeds. "So the two of you are?" He asks. They were not prepared for that question. 

"Brothers."

"Family friends." the two say at the same time. They give each other a funny look, and Mark gladly saves them from the mishap. "Well we do really treat each other as brothers sir, we grew up together pretty much." and clears his throat. A close call. 

"That's good to hear. So Rolan is going to be trying out for the football team and Kalen will try out for the Music club. Those two are very different from each other, but don't worry the opportunities in this school are endless. You can always transfer if you feel that you aren't happy with what you chose." The dean explains and the two acknowledge. 

Mr. Bennet goes a little further with the interview and gives them their schedules for the semester then eventually dismisses the two, wishing them well.

"Dude how can you forget the identity that was assigned to you!" Johnny quietly scolds Mark for his slip away. 

"I'm sorry okay it's a little confusing!" Mark scratches the back of his head and looks at the floor. 

"Ayt, I'll see you later. I have Chemistry in 15 minutes. I can still catch up. What about you?" Johnny asks, putting his hand on his pockets and the other on Mark's shoulder.

"Well, I don't really have any classes for the day anymore. I guess i'll head back to the dorm so I can start unpacking already. I'll see you then. Let me know if you find any leads." Mark gives him a small salute and heads back to the dorms.

-----

Johnny arrives in the lecture hall and receives strange looks. He tenses up a little but nonetheless shrugs it off and takes a seat next to a boy who looks like a whole generation younger than him. 

"Yo, you look really old. Were you held back?" The boy asks in a nosy manner, unintentionally pushing Johnny's buttons.

Johnny clenches his jaw and keeps his composure. "No I don't... You look young. Super young. Were you held forward?" he tries to redeem himself. 

"No? Whatever. I'm Haechan by the way." The boy introduces himself. 

"Im Joh- Rolan." Johnny almost slips but the latter doesn't notice. 

The professor immediately hands a quiz, which Johnny has no idea of because he arrived at an odd time of the semester. He guessed all the questions with all his might. But to be quite honest he also wasn't the best in chemistry when he still went to school. 

He turns his paper in and walks towards the exit but gets stopped by Haechan. "Uh do you need help with the topic? You seem to be clueless about it." Which came off as a little rude, but that wasn't his intention at all. 

"No." Johnny insists because it hurts his pride. "I know everything." He stiffens up.

"Yeah? Do you know what a covalent bond is then?" The boy cheekily asks. 

Johnny bluffs, because he doesn't. Or to put it in a better light, he forgot. "Fuck man, I don't have to tell you what it is."

"Woah, I wasn't trying to be rude. But anyway if you need help you can just ask me. See ya." Then Haechan was off and got lost in the sea of people. 

Apparently, it was Johnny's last class for the day because it was already almost evening. He texts Mark to inform him that he's heading back to the dorm as well. He doesn't let his guard down and continues to observe the students if they're up to anything suspicious.

As he walked to the dorm, he saw a bunch of boys that were about as tall as he was but more athletic gather around the corner of the football field. He acts nonchalant but keeps an eye on what they are up to. He tries to move closer to the scene without getting caught and acts like he's only passing by. 

"Yo hook me up with some more of those, I can't fail my classes or else i'll get kicked out of the team." One says to the other. 

Johnny immediately pulls his phone out to text Mark about what he just heard and hurries back. 

-------

"Dude, as expected the football team has it. I'm trying out tomorrow and I'll surely get with them." Johnny discusses with Mark.

"Yeah? Can I come watch your tryouts? So I can see what they look like." Mark requests. 

"Sure. 2pm at the field." Johnny informs him.

The two were mostly busy arranging their stuff in the room until they heard a knock on the door. Mark offers to get it. 

"Hey new neighbors!" two men appear with big smiles. 

"Oh hey, uh... thanks?" Mark blankly answers as he was usually awkward meeting with new people.

Johnny comes and checks to see who it was, and to his surprise, it was Haechan and his roommate. 

"Oh hey Haechan, and hey..." Johnny looks at the unfamiliar guy. 

"Renjun." He smiles.

"Right Renjun." Johnny nods. "Oh by the way Kalen, I go to the same biology class as Haechan." Johnny calls Mark by his fake name.

"Oh cool, what about you Renjun, what's your major?" Mark asks. 

"Classical music!" Renjun enthusiastically says. 

"Oh I'm in Music Prod! I'll probably see you around during org meetings." Mark smiles.

Their neighbors introduce tips for them that could be useful during their stay and seem to be genuinely nice people. But Mark and Johnny cannot trust anyone, so they keep their guards up and try their best to not give anything away. 

Although it may have seemed like an easy task for them, it wasn't. The drug was all over the school, it was going to be difficult to find the root of it if they ignored even the smallest details that could lead them to find out the supplier. 

---

The following day, the two wake up early ready to officially start the day. Mark and Johnny head to their own classes, hoping that they find out something about the case today. 

Mark enters the lecture hall for his Philosophy class. It was almost 80 percent full as it was a basic class for almost everyone. He awkwardly looks around, hoping to find a seat that wasn't as far because of his bad eyesight. 

"Psst." You try to catch his attention. When he looks over, you tap the vacant seat next to you, "you can sit here." You offer. 

"T-thanks." He says and gives you a smile. 

"You seem like a new face. I'm Y/N" You say to him because you have observed the people in this class every day. 

"I'm Kalen. Kalen Park." he scratches the back of his head. "I uh, just got enrolled yesterday. You know, when your family moves into another town... yeah" he trails off with his made-up excuse. 

"Yeah, it's fine. Don't worry about it." You genuinely assure him, "It's college. You can take your time." You chuckle because he was so awkward, but seemed very kind. 

"Definitely." He bites his lip, unsure if he should keep talking or not. But the professor arrives just on time. 

He observes his surroundings and keeps an eye on suspicious students that might have a link to what they were looking for. He whispers to the guy in front of him who was just playing games on his laptop and wasn't listening in class. "Hey, do you know where I can get myself some NCT?" 

The guy raises his brows in doubt, "are you a narc?" and might have said it way too loudly. 

Mark tries to brush it off with a stiff laugh "What are you talking about man? I'm not I swear." and refuses to make eye contact. 

The airhead lets it go and slips mark a cellphone number that could possibly be a step closer to what they were looking for. "Just text them "looking for a hookup" and they'll know what you're talking about." 

"Thanks, man." He gives him a small pat on the back just to show that he wasn't up to anything, which actually just makes him more suspicious. Thankfully, the guy didn't really care. 

Mark was delighted to have found a lead easily, and immediately texts Johnny about it. After that, he actually paid attention to the class, just because it genuinely fascinated him. 

When it ended he immediately gathered his stuff and put on his backpack, ready to meet Johnny. 

"Psst, two strapper!" You call out and try to barely tap his shoulder. 

He looks back and immediately drops one strap of his backpack off his shoulders, he definitely forgot about what Johnny has advised him. He scratches the back of his head with his hands on his pocket, "yeah?" 

"You free this evening?" You casually ask. 

He nervously gulps because he really has to be somewhere right now, but he didn't want to be rude. "Uhm, I guess? I don't know yet. Why?" 

"We're having a poetry slam at the art hall, you might be interested. I saw some good stuff you wrote in your notebook" you smile, hoping that it doesn't freak him out that you saw one of his works. 

His eyes widened, "oh, okay cool I guess I can try. But I have somewhere to be right now, I'll see you..around." And he awkwardly walks off. 

You furrow your brows because of his strange mannerisms, but he seemed like no trouble at all. In fact, it was kind of cute, how awkward he was. 

------ 

It was time for Johnny's football tryouts. Given that he was already good at it during the time that he was actually in college.

Johnny was naturally a sociable person, he blended well with crowds and easily made friends. That's why this was the perfect place for him to be in. He sits himself at the bench while he wears the spare uniforms from the team and is greeted by a dude that was a little shorter than he was, "Goodluck" the boy with ash purple hair says. 

"Thanks!" he enthusiastically replies. 

"Captain! We need you for a sec." the coach calls, then the boy who has wished him luck gets up and reports to the coach. Well, he did give off an impression of one. He was highly presentable, his smile was hospitable, his form was great and his attitude was pleasant. Everything else—was just the ideal makings of a captain. 

The tryouts start and Johnny looks around for Mark, who had just arrived and casually sat himself on the bleachers, waving at Johnny from afar. As the tryouts went on and finished, the coach praised everyone who attended for a job well done and announced the new members who had qualified. All of which included Johnny of course. 

"Hey man, great job out there." The captain is back on Johnny's side to praise him. 

"Yeah, thanks. I'm Rolan by the way." He introduces himself.

"Of course I know, I was the one who picked you from the list." He laughs, "Jaehyun. Jeong Jaehyun." 

-----

"Hey!" Mark hears a familiar voice faintly calling his name. He searches for it but takes him awhile because of how wide the campus is. "Over here two stapper," you chuckle and he finally sees. 

"Oh hey," he muttered quite embarrassed at how awkward he was. 

He takes a seat next to you at the bench near the hall of the poetry slam event, he wanted to go together. "Chilly night huh? I should've brought my sweater.." You trail off, rubbing your arms for warmth. 

You didn't mean for it to come off that way, but Mark willingly takes off his jacket and offers it to you. "Oh it's alright really-" you insist.

"No it's fine, I'm from Canada, this is nothing." He laughs. 

You nod your head with his remark, and proceed to wear his jacket. It was quite big on you, but it was definitely cozy. "Shall we go?" You ask, standing up.

He nods and lets you lead him to the hall. The campus was only lit by lamp posts at this hour, but there were many sculptures in the school of arts that he had wished to see better. Well, there was always next time. 

The both of you enter the hall which was quite filled with students already. It had been set up like a cafe, with a small platform in front that was lit with a spotlight. 

"Give it up for Naya Kim everybody!" the emcee announces, encouraging everyone to give the person a round of applause after presenting a spoken word. "Do we have another volunteer?' 

The crowd falls silent as everyone looks around, mindlessly making eye contact with each other, waiting on who was going next. 

"Anyone?" The emcee taps the mic. 

"I have one!" You yell, and Mark looks at you with wide eyes. 

"Dude no-" he resists, trying to shrink himself into his chair. 

"C'mon it'll be fun!" You nudge his shoulder, "We have Kalen over here!" You grab his wrist and raise his arm for him, even if he was resisting it, he had no choice. 

The emcee squints and eyes the both of you and acknowledges you volunteering your new friend. "Alright we have Kalen next! Stage is yours." The emcee steps off. 

He had all eyes on him now, eyes hungry of anticipation and to witness raw talent amongst themselves. 

"G-good evening everyone." he greets, holding onto the mic tightly and takes a deep breath. His expression changes into a serious one. 

Will it ever come? 

The nights know me well. 

I was a frequent by-passer but now I am no stranger. 

A boy who grew up with sharks does not need to be taught how to swim.

Good night,

These words feel like the vast sky

Darkness, but not hollow.

Black but not bitter. 

After he recites his poem he becomes flustered again from the faint applause he had received from the audience that was present, he puts the mic back to its stand and does a small bow. 

"Not bad, tiger" You pat him on the back. There was more to him than what meets the eye, you just knew. 

"You think so?" He says with hopeful eyes. 

"Yeah!" You assure him. 

The rest of the evening passes by with the both of you having a splendid time watching others unleash their passion and talent for reciting spoken word and poetry. Some were tear jerking and some were downright hilarious. So this is college. Mark thinks to himself.

In the past he had always been a loner who didn't go to many parties because of his strict and conservative parents. 

 He was way beyond his borders now. But he couldn't get carried away. No, this isn't a time for him to redeem himself from his early years, this was time for him to perform his duties. So he snaps out of his little daydream. 

As the both of you were seated at the bench in front of the hall where he found you, he had asked you about your major. 

"Fine arts." you laugh bitterly.

"What's wrong? You don't seem like you're happy with it…" He trails off, swinging his feet that was hanging off the bench. 

You shake your head no, "I am. It's just that my parents don't really know I took this course. I told them I got a scholarship and they were just relieved that they didn't have to pay anymore. Otherwise they'd force me into some business course or something "more practical"" you emphasize with air quotes. 

"I see. Okay so fine arts huh?" He tries to lighten the mood. "What can you say about that one over there?" Mark points to the sculpture to your left, about 20 metres away. 

"They're like two beings, leaning on each other" you pause, dramatically for impact, "They support each other so one doesn't fall." you interpret. 

He seems impressed, then asks "Support huh? How about you? Do you have anyone—who supports you?" 

"Hm, not really, no. I like to be alone and just spend time with myself." Your eyes wander but all you could think about is how he's looking at you with such attentiveness and interest.

He chuckles, "I feel you. You know I'm an expert at being alone. Don't you just love it when you're in a room full of people but no one gives a shit about your presence?" He claps his hands together just once then purses his lips into a bitter lopsided smile. "Yep. Had a lot of those." He masks his personal statement with humor.

"Well," You say, kicking the shortly-trimmed grass on the building's lawn. "If you don't wanna be alone, you walk me to my dorm" you offer.

He looks around and takes no time to think about it, feeling that it was unsafe for you to go alone. "Sure." He smiles.

The walk to your dorm was silent but comfortable. You weren't sure if he was quite a talker or just shy. But one thing you couldn't get out of your head was how unconventionally attractive he was. You've never gotten a vibe like his before and you've been in this university for 2 years already. You wanted to get something out of him even if it takes you to be the bold one here. 

"We're here," You whisper, looking at him seductively. Like you were a puppy begging to not be left alone. "Do you wanna come in? My roommate left for the weekend" you smirk. 

Mark gulps. He had been resisting this kind of tension he had with you ever since he met you. But you made it so hard. "Come on," you say, putting your hand at the back of his neck while tracing mindless patterns on it with your finger. 

"My brother he might be-" 

"Oh you have a brother? Is he hot?" You joke. 

His eyes are wide with stitched eyebrows. But eventually catches on. "Nah." and he pulls you closer to him by the waist. His eyes now staring at you deeply, so hungrily like he was that tiger you called him as earlier. Come and get it.

Without any words said, he had finally crashed his lips onto yours. And you kissed him hard. Like you wanted to have him to all yourself at that very moment. Your tongue grazes his lower lip, begging for entrance which he had granted. Your tongues meshed together at a quick pace, with the heat of your core starting to throb. 

You push yourself closer to him and you start to feel his prominence and unconsciously grind on his jeans, making him grunt. You break the kiss for a quick moment, his eyes are glazed and his mouth agape, out of breath. You turn around and enter the code to your dorm and pull him inside. 

For a brief moment that your bodies were detached, Mark couldn't stop wanting more. Not even thinking the slightest of the consequences of this act that will dawn upon him if it ever gets out. 

You were back to slamming your body with his as you took off his jacket, making it fall to the floor. His hands snake underneath your shirt and started roaming around your body while he peppered kisses on your neck. With a swift flick of his fingers he had unclasped your bra and his hands groped your breasts, you threw your head back as he buried his face in your clothed cleavage. Like he was begging for this bothersome piece of clothing to be gone. 

You grant his invisible wish and quickly lift your shirt off, while your bra falls off your arms naturally, his mouth watering at the sight. You trace his abs underneath his shirt, your core getting wetter with how toned they were based on your touch.

And you didn’t doubt the results one bit. When you lift his shirt, his torso was delicately lean, toned in all the right places that your mouth could water at the sight of it. You bite your lip and roll your eyes at the sensation of him sucking your tits, his grip on you intense but gentle. 

“I don’t have condoms right now, so this is going to be all about you.” He whispers seductively, feeling your wetness through your soaked panties. You softly moan at the sensation and hungrily kiss him again, not having any moment to waste. 

When he slides two fingers to massage your folds, you whimper. "Fuck," you breathe. 

"God, that's hot." He says with a hitched breath. You couldn't possibly get any more turned on right now. 

When he slips his digits in your cunt—you go fucking insane. You haven't felt this good in quite a while, it made you ecstatic to remember how fucking good this feeling was, you hoped that this wouldn't be the last. Mark was different.

He picks up his pace, and you try to keep your composure, but the forced arch of your back says otherwise. You grab a pillow to cover your face, scared that you would be too loud and get caught, or else this would be the last time for the both of you. 

“My fucking God.” You whimper, pulling Mark’s head on your chest, holding onto him for dear life because you just entirely lost control of it all. He finishes you off like his life depended on it, licking your wetness from his fingers, savouring it, then wipes his fingers on his jeans.

“You were so good to me, yeah?” He chuckles when you are left speechless.

“What about you?” You ask, looking at his crotch that was painfully hard. 

“It’s- It’s alright. You don’t have to” He says, and it makes your heart thaw like ice. You didn’t deserve him. 

“But I want to.” You plead, you couldn’t possibly resist him. “Come here,” You say, rubbing your palm against his jeans.

You didn’t waste anymore time and unzipped his pants, lowering it with his boxers just enough t make his cock lightly hit his stomach. His size is definitely more than what you expected.  You take his wet, glistening cock in your hands and pump it gently, smirking in satisfaction when you hear him hiss and moan softly. 

“Can you keep it down for me, tiger? We might not be able to do this again,” You coo, and he obediently nods, grazing your lower lip with his tongue, asking for entrance which you gladly grant but not for long. 

You smile as you lowered your head down to his throbbing member, licking the precum that had escaped the tip. Mark bites his lip, trying to keep as quiet as possible. You slowly put his dick in your mouth, testing a few times how far you could go. He bucks his hips by accident, making you gag very slightly. “I’m so sorry,” He strokes your hair away from your face. You keep going until you reach the brim, a throaty moan escapes his lips when he couldn’t take it anymore. 

You bob your head up and down in a consistent pace while he holds your hair, “You’re such a good girl” He says, throwing his head back. You keep going until you feel tears slowly coming out of your eyes and tried to hollow your cheeks as much as possible, he was so close. 

“You don’t have to swallow,” he says, pulling back from you. Nonsense. You were more than willing to. 

“I want to.” You say, putting his cock back in your mouth. 

With a few last pumps, his member twitches in your mouth and you feel his warm release and take it all in. You wipe the sides of your mouth as you finish, giving him a sweet smile. 

After the both of you pass out on your bed, Mark has lost track of time and receives a text from Johnny. 

"Dude where the fuck are you? Do you know what time it is?" 

Mark jolts up and checks the time, 2:45am. Shit, he was screwed. He quickly gathers his clothes that had been thrown around your room and dresses himself in panic. 

"I'm sorry, uh Joh- Rolan, my brother has been waiting for me at our dorm, I lost track of time and i think he'll beat my dick off," He nervously chuckles, almost forgetting to use his fake identity again. He has got to get used to it.

"Not if i did it first" You both burst out laughing. "Alright, I'll see you in class." You say, snuggling yourself in your blanket and shutting your eyes. 

He leaves your dorm quietly and runs a hand through his hair before giving Johnny a call. 

"Dude listen-"

"Are you fucking around Mark?" Johnny answers, clearly enraged. 

Mark was scared as shit but never misses the chance to fuck around Johnny. "I might've." 

"Get your ass back here, Lee" 

"Ayt." 

He slips his phone back to his pocket and starts walking briskly to their dorm. Damn this campus was mad creepy that it actually brought chills to his body. He wondered why he felt so cold then realized he left his jacket at your place. It was too late for him to get it back so he settled by running to warm his body up. 

Finally, he was back at the dorm. He hesitates to turn the doorknob because he knows he will be dead meat or nagged to death by Johnny. Or not. 

"Where you been huh?" Johnny examines him, standing up from his bed. He sniffs Mark and the latter flinches. "You smell like sex!" He slaps his shoulder. 

"You crazy? Some expert or something" Mark brushes him off. Wincing at the sting Johnny's palm gave to the skin of his shoulder.

"I should know, Mark." His mood was lighter now. "But who did you fu- i mean have sex with? we just got here wildcat"

"A girl I met in class like uh… awhile ago" The younger bites his lip trying to keep a smile from escaping his lips. He shouldn't be feeling this giddy over a rule that he broke for you. 

Johnny could not believe what he was hearing right now, "Dang. Cheeky boy." He laughs, actually feeling happy for Mark. He can have a little fun, Johnny had his back when it came to these things.

The elder changes the topic and lets this slide. Johnny talks about the leads he gathered from hanging out with the football team. Which were still very much confusing since this substance is all over the campus. Meanwhile, Mark didn't have much besides that number he gave Johnny. Considering he was with the "decent" crowd of people today.

---

The two head to their quarters to report to their chief the next day, trying to ask for help on how they could improve this investigation. 

The chief dumps a folder on the table and says, "This is what the deputy gave us recently. Take a look." He opens the folder into a specific case file to discuss with the two. 

"Who's this?" Mark points at the picture of a girl, who seemed like they were around the same age as the people at University. 

"Lee Minjung." the chief rubs his hands together. "Took some NCT and got locked out of her dorm, so she ended up falling off the roof and dying." The two are shocked by this revelation, it was more serious than they thought. 

The chief flips a page, "Here's a picture of her buying the drug." The photograph had two people in it, one that had a visible face which was Minjung, and one guy who's back was facing the camera. He wore a hat so they couldn't really tell who it was. But one thing they could point out is the reflection on the window of the car beside them.

"Dude, look at this," Mark points out his observation to Johnny. "He has a tattoo, we could start with this." 

"Bingo. There's your lead." The chief closes the folder and puts it back in his file. "The next time you get back here your asses better be presenting me some actual progress. Understand?" 

"Yes sir." 

----

Johnny and Mark head to the resident tattoo artist that was near the university, apparently they do most of the tattoos of the students there. 

"Excuse me," They knocked on the table of the artist who was currently at the back of the shop.

The tattoo artist arrives out front and asks how they could help the two. 

"We're looking for this tattoo, is it familiar to you?" Johnny asks while showing the artists the photograph.

The artist tries to think hard, but gives a hasty answer. "I'm not sure, there's too many of them who got that." 

Mark pushes the subject, "Them? Do you think it's some kind of group tattoo?" 

"I guess so. They were boys, all of them. Very masculine, had the body of an athlete if I were to put it at that." The artist states. 

Mark and Johnny look at each other as if there were light bulbs above their heads. "Thank you!" Mark says and they run off the shop. 

The possibility of this being in the football team was huge. They were athletes, and under a lot of pressure. They had reasons to use this drug but it wasn't an excuse for them not to eliminate this. They had to get to the bottom of this before it ends up like Minjung's case again. 

---

Johnny was at football practice while Mark stood by the bleachers, watching the team and trying to look out as usual until Johnny calls him over to come down for a bit. 

"Jaehyun, this is Kalen, my brother." He introduces him. With his assigned name. 

Jaehyun chortles in disbelief when he sees Mark. "You have a brother?" He asks and Johnny nods. 

"Sup," Mark tries to give him a bro hug, but Jaehyun shakes his hand instead. 

Jaehyun pays no mind to Mark's presence and diverts his attention back to Johnny and proceeds to talk about their game plan.

When practice ends he tells Johnny that the football team plans to host a party tonight. It would be the perfect opportunity for them to keep an eye on everyone. 

"Can I come?" Mark asks.

Jaehyun eyes him from the side, "Yeah uh sure" and only bids goodbye to Johnny. "See ya bro." 

Mark could already feel that he didn't belong in this crowd, but he and Johnny had to stick together and investigate. 

The night of the party came and the two brothers were stoked. "Our first frat party." Mark thought. 

"Your first frat party." Johnny spat playfully, trying to meticulously style and wax his hair. 

Mark scoffs, still trying to figure out what shirt to wear but at the end, he settles with a navy blue Ralph Lauren shirt. He was too lazy to fix his hair and wears a cap instead. 

Johnny tosses Mark something that he thinks the younger might need later on. 

"Are you for real? A condom?" A baffled Mark says in disbelief, but sliding it in his pocket anyway.

"You'll never know wildcat. You'll never know." He gives him a mischievous wink.

This wasn't just any party to them, this was an operation. Though they chose to leave for the party unarmed, they were thankfully trained well for hand to hand combat, just in case things went extremely wrong. But that was besides the point, they couldn't destroy their chances of blending in.

When the tandem arrives at the party, the elder was the only one to be greeted enthusiastically, Mark shakes it off simply because being friends with these jocks were the last thing on his list. It was Johnny's call if it didn't work for him, they had their roles. 

"Go around for a bit, I'll take care of him." Johnny whispers to Mark with a drink already in his hand.  

Mark shrugs his shoulders and explores the frat house, lit with red and blue, music blaring through speakers and the muffled conversations from the people that filled it. 

Nothing seemed too off the bat here, it was everything you would expect a frat party to be. There hasn't been a trace of NCT anywhere, or maybe it was because they were being taken too discreetly. 

"Want some?" a random guy nudges him, discreetly handing a packet of the substance. He takes it and plays it cool. 

"Yo, sick. Thanks man." He pats him on the back. 

“Yo it’s not free.” The guy laughs then it disappears. “20 bucks.”

Mark's smile fades, embarrassed. Thank god he brought his wallet. “Here. Thanks.”

"Don't sweat it." and he gives him a small salute.

Mark quickly slides it in his pocket, to keep as evidence later. 

"Bad boy." You snake your hands around his shoulders. "Want some?" You offer your red punch with vodka. 

His eyes widen, but eases under your touch. Finally, someone who's familiar. Overly familiar. "Hey, y/n" he shakes his head no. "I don't feel like drinking tonight" he makes up an excuse. 

"So are you…" 

"Am i?" 

"Are you going to take that?" You say, pointing at the pocket where he hid it.

Uncertain, he shakes his head no. "But should I? Have you ever had one of these?" 

"Oh god no." You say in disgust. "I have seen people's reactions to it though. It's borderline batshit crazy, those things." You explain. Hoping that he wouldn't ever try taking those. You knew about the whole Minjung incident. "One of the girls who lived next door died because of it." 

Your remark sparks an interest in him. "Minjung?" He questions. This could be a big help to their operation. But it wasn't a good time to interrogate you.

You raise your brows, "How'd you know her name?" 

He fakes a cough and tries to quickly think of a reason. "Mr- Mr. Benett told us. He said that recently a student passed away but never said it was because of the drug…" 

You crease up, "That old man is fucking clueless." You cross your arms. "But I'm just looking out for you okay? There's safer ways to have fun." 

"Right " He pursues a smile.

Too much fun wasn't part of the plan tonight but you made it difficult for him to do his job. Effortlessly. 

You fake a pout. "C'mon tiger, live a little! It's not going to be that bad." You try to convince him, wrapping your arms around his neck, trying to keep your drink from spilling, his arms naturally overlapping and resting just right above your ass.

To hell with this. He's been dreaming of this his entire life. After being in such a conservative family and all, he deserved to try new things out. He was old enough. He thinks to himself, while catching a glimpse of Johnny chugging down a keg. "You're right." he smirks, and you offer your drink for him to taste. 

Mark's face scrunches a little from the alcohol, but it felt nice. Good enough for him to grab you by the arm and head to get one himself. 

He scans the counter full of different drinks with a variety of colored juices. He chooses the blue lemonade with vodka which you gladly made, handing him the red plastic cup after. "Cheers" you say, delighted with the smile he gave you. 

It wasn't long enough until the both of you were back to dancing again, not giving a care like everyone else. He could kiss you right now. And he did, he couldn't miss the opportunity to make your tongues turn purple. 

----

Johnny has done everything with all his might to get along with these jocks, kids these days do party harder huh? He doesn't remember having this kind of intolerance to alcohol before, he had to get it out of his system before he forgets what he's really here for.  

"Nah this dude's a goner!" Yuta enthusiastically points at Johnny, who now had both of his hands on his knees. 

"Hold on, I gotta have some air outside" he raises his arms in defeat, words slurring out of his mouth and vision so blurred he could barely tell where he's going. Finally after much stumbling and ending up in filthy corners, he managed to find a bathroom. Not a usable one though.

"Oh god- sorry" He says as he sees two people fucking each other's guts out on on the sink. "Nevermind" he immediately shuts the door and leaves them alone. It didn't take long for him to just head outside and vomit on the lawn of the frat house. Oh yes, great fertilizer. 

Johnny regains a very small amount of composure and he felt someone tap and rub his back. "You okay?" Jaehyun chuckles, with a drunk Yuta tagging along.

Johnny takes a deep breath and tries to stand straight with all his might, trying to act like everything was under control. "Shits wild here" He chaffs, but his brows furrow when he sees a familiar pattern on Yuta's skin. "What's that you got there?" Johnny tries to reach for the latter's arm carefully. 

Yuta excitedly raises his sleeve, revealing a tattoo. "Oh this? It's a tattoo man. Gotta get inked at some point!" Yuta says, proudly. "Do you want one? I know a place!"

Jaehyun sighs. He was hyperactive again. "Yuta-"

"What? C'mon look I got this as soon as I got out of my parent's house. Those folks made me feel like I was in jail!" The drunk boy overshares. Johnny pays attention because there was a possibility that these thoughts were sober. 

Johnny was quickly disappointed, but not surprised. "Yeah? That's cool. I'll pass. Kinda scared of needles..." He trails off. 

"Pfft. Pussy." Yuta spat, Johnny was ready to give him a piece of his knuckles. 

Jaehyun blocks Johnny with his arm, "Cut him some slack man, I've known this guy since high school. Let him have his fun. He won't even remember this." 

The three head back inside to enjoy the rest of the party when the duo completely forget what they were initially here for. Johnny had spent the rest of the night enjoying himself, so did Mark.

You and Mark decided to play along with the drinking games these people planned, with the faces that you will surely forget by tomorrow. 

You've already had a couple to drink, so it became harder for you to aim in beer pong. Luckily, Mark was right behind you, with a steady grip on your hips and one arm helping you aim for the ball. 

You close one eye trying to focus as he helped you aim for the cup. "She shoots, she scores!" he shouts playfully and there goes another drink for you. 

"You still alright? We can stop if you want," He whispers, lips tingling on your collarbone, sending chills to your spine. 

You turn to face him, a gentle hand on his lean chest. "I want you.".  You whisper, dragging a painfully slow finger to his lips. You were so knit together that you could feel the growing tent in his pants on your throbbing core. He was irresistible. 

He gulps. Here comes nothing. Johnny sure knows his shit huh?

Mark quickly leads you upstairs, looking for a vacant room to settle in. He turned the knobs one by one but they were all locked, your last resort was a surprisingly available restroom. 

"Will this do for you?" Mark hesitates, because he didn't want you to feel uncomfortable.

Your tipsy self playfully pinches his cheek, "You do it for me, tiger." And it was enough to drive him to the edge. 

As soon as the both of you enter the bathroom, your lips connect once again, sloppily kissing each other like you were out of your minds. Like you wanted to swallow and consume this man whole. 

"I want you to see for yourself how crazy you make me." You say through the slapdash kisses.

He puts a hand under your dress, feeling your drenched cunt. "You're so fucking wet. Is this all for me?" He says out of breath, mouth almost watering with the thought of your pussy in his mouth.

"All yours baby." You bite his lower lip and stick out your tongue for him to suck. 

He raises your dress just below your ribcage and slides down your black lace lingerie as it fell to your ankles, "Just so you know, I'm keeping this." Mark smirks as he quickly puts it in his pocket. 

"It's meant to be yours," You purr, setting your back flat on the cold tiled wall, throwing your head back at the sensation of Mark leaving wet kisses on your thighs. 

He kneels and places your legs over his shoulders, lifting your feet off the ground. He was sturdy as a rock as his two arms held your thighs for support while you removed his cap for you to wear over your head and your fingers to be locked in his hair. 

"Fuck." You hiss as his tongue lapped on your folds, slurping on your wetness like he worshiped you. He sucked repeatedly on your clit making your legs tremble, so good that you might fall over but his reflexes were out of his world and he knew where exactly to support you. 

Your eyes painfully roll to the back of your head from the sensation he was giving you, "God, Kalen don't fucking stop-" you moan and you swear this man had some spell casted on his mouth by how magical it worked. 

You grind your hips involuntarily as his mouth followed it, like this could not get any better than it already was. But you could only take so much. "Kalen I'm gonna cum, fuck" 

"It's not over until it's over baby," he sets you down and removes his mouth from your pussy, you could barely stand with your legs feeling like absolute gelatin. 

Mark gets a condom out of his pocket and quickly unbuckles his belt, making his jeans fall to the ground and expose his throbbing cock, boxers wet with precum. 

"You think you can last longer for me baby girl?" 

You could only nod your head eagerly because you were growing extremely impatient. 

He wraps your legs around his waist in a swift move. "Good girl" He whispers, and you were more than ready to take him. Again and again. 

He inserts himself inside you, stretching your walls and you whimper, wrapping your arms around his head to keep his face close to the valley of your breasts. 

"That's right, open up for me, pretty girl." He pleads as he continues to thrust in a steady pace. Breath hitched as he brought his face up to you, slurping your tongue once more like it was a popsicle that he couldn't get enough of. "Taking me so well like always huh?" he chuckles and picks up his pace, throaty moans escaping his mouth. 

Thank fuck the music in this house was loud enough to blow off people's eardrums, making your moans almost inaudible outside, but loud enough for Marks pleasure. For his ears only. 

“Fuck I’m almost-” Mark huffs, “there.” he breathes. When his pace becomes sloppy and finally comes, you hold onto him, your legs numb that you could barely stand on your own. Conscious with the fact that Mark will get to see how fucked out you look, but he absolutely loved it. 

-----

"What'd I tell ya? That condom didn't go to waste." Johnny snickers while laying in bed, tossing his football. 

Head in the clouds with the thought of you, Mark could only smile to himself but quickly changes the subject before they both lose all purpose. 

"Find anything out yet?" Mark asks mindlessly, because all he could think about was you. 

"Nope." Johnny says, popping the p. He lied.

And something clicks with Mark. That packet of NCT he managed to keep in his pocket. He rushes over to his hamper and flips the pockets of his pants. 

"Someone handed it to me yesterday, I kept it for evidence to bring at the headquarters." He hands the packet to Johnny.

The elder observes it, trying to push the thought of Yuta possibly being a dealer to the very back of his head right now. Give it time. Mark was just starting to enjoy being with you, Johnny has been enjoying being one of the new aces in the football team, it wouldn't hurt to hold it out for a little while. 

"Also," Mark adds, "Y/n knows about Minjung. Said she lived across the hall."

"And?" Johnny anticipates. 

"That's all I know for now. It's still a big step though." Mark concludes.

----

Johnny spends his free time hanging with Jaehyun and the rest of the boys. If not in practice, they hit the gym to always be in tip-top shape. 

Yuta swings a heavy arm over Johnny's shoulders, "Well isn't it our quitter!" 

Johnny shoots Jaehyun a look, "You told me he wouldn't remember." 

Jaehyun could only chuckle, "Well he did." 

Yuta was loud as a goose, he seemed to have so much more energy than the other members of the team that Johnny became suspicious of where it came from. 

He recalls the time when the chief described the effects of the NCT substance, and one of them was being focused and hyperactive.

Yuta, besides being silly, was on top of his own game. After joking around he was a hundred percent focused on the gym, his reps were consistent, his routines were clean. Jaehyun tells Johnny that Yuta was also one of the greatest instruments of the football team. Though not gifted with the brightest mind, he worked hard to stay in this university to prove his parents wrong—and to avoid business school.

He was a potential heir to a known electronics company in Japan, but he insisted that he pursue being part of the varsity team to keep his scholarship in sports science. Which until now was an endless debate between him and his parents. 

Jaehyun had invited Johnny to stay over at the frat house to hang out, and he did. 

It was different to see it in daylight, with no people partying, no vomit and crushed chips on the floor, it looked well taken care of. 

"You guys clean this up yourselves after every party?" Johnny asks, impressed. 

"Yep," Jaehyun proudly says. 

"You gotta look out for the shit they leave behind here. It's amusing." Yuta retorts. 

Johnny raises a brow, "Oh yeah? Like what?" 

Without wit, Yuta replies, "Drugs"

Johnny, absolutely being taken back by his bold remark was immediately clutched by Jaehyun, "He doesn't mean it." 

His suspicion grew so much that he couldn't help but finally bring up the subject. "Like what? Like NCT?" he enunciates. 

Jaehyun, quite astounded by Johnny's knowledge with the substance replies, "Hm maybe. You know about that?" 

And he was in the trance. "Heard of it yeah, can you hook me up with some?

"Oh sure it’s right-" Yuta reaches for his pocket, "here." and sticks his middle finger out playfully. Johnny swats it away.

"Woah there-" Jaehyun almost bust a gut while laughing. "You're definitely new to this. We don't have any." He tells Johnny. "Don't be such a narc." 

Way too defensively, Johnny retorts, "I'm not!"

"That's what they all say." Yuta shrugs with a chuckle.

 He spends the rest of the afternoon with them and surprisingly hasn't dealt with unusual rituals and behavior. They acted their age, playing games on a PS5, drinking soda until their bladders exploded, filling themselves with junk food and spray cheese. He could be wrong about them after all.

----

Days passed and not a single thing has led them closer to their target person, it was harder than they thought even when everything felt like it was right in front of them. 

"Student-Parent day is coming soon, are you going?" You ask Mark as you take a sip of your coffee. 

You took him to your favorite coffee shop for the first time, it's a nice and quiet place for you to study and relax. 

"They have those?" Mark hesitates because then he'd have to tell his parents that he's undercover and they'd forget and blow it for him. "I guess so." 

"Good. Because I'd like you to meet my parents." You smile. Though you didn't know where you stood with Mark, the past few weeks with him had been a breath of fresh air. He was kind, funny and supportive. He was simple yet his ways of showing his thoughts were sophisticated, never had you once thought that you would get along so well with a person in such a short time. You weren't the one to ask for labels though. You simply liked to enjoy whatever you had at the moment. In your experience, putting labels on things just always gave a reason for it to vanish. 

"What why?" He says, a little too surprised.

"Look Kalen, don't break a sweat with this. I'm just going to introduce you. They won't mind." You assure him. 

He simply leaves the topic behind and ponders on how he could make this work. He was scared because you had no idea that this was all temporary, and he's terrified by the fact that he wishes it wasn't. He was finding all the possible reasons and excuses to retract himself from this relationship he has with you, but all you ever gave him was a reason to stay. It broke his heart knowing that one day, he'll have to disappoint you with the truth. 

"Something wrong?" 

He snaps out of it. "Nothing." and forces a smile. 

-----

"We aren't making any progress man," Mark runs a hand through his hair and sighs. His back falls heavily on his bed.

Johnny anxiously bites his lap, eyes fixated on the floor. "Yuta has a tattoo…" 

"What?" the younger jolts up. 

Johnny backs up defensively, "But it wasn't the one we saw! You know how the tattoo artist said he's done a couple of those."

"Are you shitting me right now? We've been trying to find it for weeks! Why didn't you tell me?" His voice raises, and a vein on his forehead couldn't help but emerge. 

"I don't think it's him man, I told you it’s not the same tattoo" Johnny defends. 

Mark lets out a pungent laugh, poking his tongue on the inside of his cheek, his jaw stiffens. "Right. I knew it. " He says in disbelief. "Everything's right in front of you already! Too scared to bust your new besties now?" 

"They aren't my new besties stop making up bullshit." The elder stubbornly defends. 

"No you stop because I'm actually trying here!" 

"Oh you are? Explain why you're getting so serious with that girl of yours. Wait until she finds out that she's just part of the plan." He jumps on Mark's throat and walks out of the room. 

The thing is, you weren't even part of the plan. Not at all. 

-----

"You better have good shit for me today." The chief clearly was not being in his best mood today. 

Mark scoffs, he and Johnny had not settled their differences since the fight from two days ago, they were doing their own investigations without communicating. Which was a big no.

"Ask the big guy here, I'm sure he has something." Tongue in his cheek, Mark glares. 

The chief slams a big hand on the table and shouts, "Stop acting like fucking children!" 

Johnny stiffened up on his seat, and gulped before he spoke. "I think we need to initiate a drug test on one of the students, chief. I have my eye on this one person. We could pretend to say that the thing is randomized and mandatory. If the intel can look up information about his parents, we could send a pretend automated message about their child being randomly selected for a drug test." 

The chief seems to be taking Johnny's point well, "And who is this you suspect?" 

"Nakamoto Yuta." 

Mark looks at Johnny with wide eyes, he thought Johnny wouldn't be turning him in. 

"I see. I'll get the department to execute this idea of yours and we'll let you know right away. Dismissed." 

Mark catches up to Johnny who had been walking ahead of him and tries to reach for the elder's shoulder. "Why didn't you tell me?" 

"Let go of me," Johnny knocks Mark's hand off his shoulder. "Are you happy now?" 

Dumbfounded, Mark couldn't seem to understand where Johnny's irritation was coming from. "Look man, I'm sorry you had to turn one of your friends in but you know it's our job." 

"I know okay? I don't need you telling me what to do because so far, I know pretty damn well that I'm not meddling in your fucking business." 

Mark pushes a hard hand on Johnny, making him stumble a little. "My relationship has nothing to do with this. Are you jealous? Because if you are, I know pretty damn well you can score a lot of chicks here. I don't see the problem." 

Johnny tries to speak but was unable to because Mark had already stormed off elsewhere. 

----

 "Shit. My parents are coming to fetch me today." Yuta runs a veiny hand through his ginger hair; another reason for his parents to pull him out of university. But here's the first: 

Jaehyun, disinterested even if he knew it was serious whenever Yuta's parents butt in and ask why.

"They wanna do a drug test on me." 

Jaehyun chortles, "What? You? What made them think that? Besides you acting like a crackhead?" 

"They got this stupid email from the dean that I was amongst the randomly chosen individuals to get tested." He pops a sour kid patch in his mouth, "They're never letting this go." He pinches the bridge of his nose and shakes his head. "I have never even tried NCT." he rolls his eyes. 

Yuta, though by the looks of him, gave an impression of a boy who would try everything in front of him, but he's a wuss with a good conscience. Too good.

"Well, you are innocent after all, right?" Jaehyun shrugs. "There's nothing to worry about. Um, besides your dyed hair, your tattoo, that lip piercing." He eyes him up and down. "No biggie, just probably uh—two weeks worth of grounding. And no allowance." 

"Fuck you man." the ginger-haired boy glared.

------

Johnny walks around the campus, alone. It sucked to not be on good terms with Mark, what ever happened to bros before hoes? It just wasn't the same doing things without him. Johnny had given Mark his personal space for the both of you, but at times like this—it was the hardest to stay out of it. 

As he passes by the back of the Fine Arts building, he sees two familiar faces on the exposed staircase. 

He squints his eyes and tries to focus on who those people might be, the mop of ash purple hair too familiar. But one thing that utterly shocked him was the sight of someone he expected the least.

It was you and Jaehyun, standing way too close to each other for anyone's liking.

Johnny takes a deep breath and sucks in his cheeks. He didn't know what this meant, and he wished he wouldn't have to be the one to give it any interpretation that would disappoint him and especially Mark. 

He walks away from the scene before you get a chance to see him.

"Jaehyun, you don't have to stand this close to me," You backed up, hips hitting the ledge lightly. 

He looks to the side, then back at you. "Sorry," he cockily says, backing up with both of his hands raised. "Can't help it. My best friend's too fine. And someone was looking." he mumbles.

"What?" 

"Nothing, he's gone"

"You know I'm with Kalen right now Jaehyun." You say with worry, it could've been anyone. "Quit. Don't ruin this for me." 

He manages to let a disgruntled chuckle, "And yet you still can't put a label on it." 

And with that, he was off. 

The entire time Johnny was battling with himself if she should tell Mark about what he saw or not. Them being in a misunderstanding right now doesn't change the fact that he was still his best friend. 

After the excruciatingly slow walk to the dorm, he had hoped that Mark wouldn't be around, so he wouldn't have to face him with the information he had right away. He couldn't even form the words for it. The. again, when did anything ever go his way, right? 

Johnny enters the room and there was Mark, munching on some chips while viewing something on his laptop. Something probably for one of his classes. Mark didn't have to take this so seriously (by this he meant his classes) but he did, because the Mark we all know just loved to learn. Good for him. 

He ignores Johnny's presence; though he was very much aware of it. The elder plops down his bed and grabs his football to toss around. It was so awkward; not greeting each other with their usual weirdness and excitement. It felt like there was this gaping hole between them that both of them were afraid to cross, and no one had the initiative to take a risk—for now. 

"Find anything?" Johnny asks Mark, eyes on the ceiling. 

"Nope." 

"Why not?" 

"Do you have anything?"

Well, he did. But not about their task. Instead, he says "Nope." but he couldn’t help but ask. “How are you and y/n?”

“Good.” Mark plainly answers.

“Good.”

And left it at that. 

-----

You were going to let your parents meet Mark today, and his would meet yours. You were new to this, there was not a single man you had introduced to your parents, aside from Jaehyun. But that was a different story, because Jaehyun was a childhood friend. 

So Mark was the first… whatever this was called. You couldn’t get yourself to call him that, you didn’t deserve to. For you labels were earned, not just given. But this will do for now. 

You see him from a distance with his parents, he resembled his father’s face structure and his mother’s eyes. His smile was uniquely his own. You wave a hand in the air and he catches the sight of it, smiling even wider. 

“You’re in college again honey?” Mark’s mom asks, clueless.

“Mom, I'm undercover please don’t bring that up anywhere. Please keep quiet for me.” He whispers sternly. 

His mom zips her mouth figuratively, his dad got the idea of the whole thing, so they acted according to the assignment. 

As he got closer to where you were, his legs grew weak. But he couldn’t falter, he had to put on a strong face. But at that moment, Mark wanted to be buried alive. He wanted to turn his back and run away.

“Mom, dad, this is Kalen.” You present him to them with a grin. 

“H-hello.” Mark lets out, his chest clenching. 

“Kalen. You sure I haven’t seen you before?” Your father says, gripping Mark’s hand firm, he could almost squeeze the guts out of it. Your father was his deputy chief. 

Mark, crushed under the man’s grip, “N-no sir.” he manages to blurt out. 

You sense the tension and tell your dad, “Dad, that’s enough.” 

Your dad let go, with a smug and bitter look on his face. Your mom, who- with absolutely no idea what Mark has to do with your father, greets him politely. 

You greet Mark's parents with glee, and proceed to walk with him, keeping a fair distance from both your parents. "Sorry about my dad, he's just stressed about his job. He's a deputy chief, rustling with knuckleheads all the time." You explain. 

Sure he's been through a lot. Mark thought. "Yea yea, I totally get it. It's fine." he nods. Knuckleheads. He laughs to himself. 

The rest of the parents’ day event was a total drag, every time Mark got into eye contact with their chief, it had seemed like the man wanted to rip his head away from his body, or maybe skin him alive. Mark had no idea, because if he did he wouldn’t have risked going this far with you. What is left to do now? How can he ever face his boss knowing that he broke the first rule given to them right in his face? And with his own daughter? He should start digging his own grave at this point. 

But the chief didn't lay a finger on him, not now when his daughter was at stake. 

----

Mark has been itching to tell Johnny about what had happened. He was willing to set aside their differences because he needed his best friend, now. 

"Johnny-" Mark breathes, not making eye contact with the elder who was on his phone, this room had been dead silent for days. 

Johnny's head perks up, it was nice hearing him call his name again. "Yeah?" 

"I kinda messed up… big time." Mark scratches the back of his head, shameful. 

Johnny sits up, and listens to the younger more attentively. "What do you mean?" 

"Y/n.." he trails off, "Y/n is the chief's daughter." And catches his face on his hands. 

"Fuck…" Johnny didn't know what to say. "How'd you know?" 

"The student-parent weekend thing. God, I swear dude he was going to skin me alive if he could. But shit, I didn't know!" Mark exclaims, hands all over the place. "If I did then I wouldn't have gone through with this. She has never told me about her parents until that day. I don't know what to do." 

He seemed so helpless, he didn't want to break to you like this, it was too messy. But damn if he didn't want to keep being with you. It couldn't end like this, not yet. 

"I- I don't know what to say man… God I'm sorry this sucks ass. You know I always let you do what makes you happy right? But what if," Johnny stops, debating if he should go on with what he planned to say. 

"What if?" Mark anticipates. 

"What if she isn't who you thought she was?" 

"Great. I'm so fucking stupid for thinking you would be with me on this one." Mark slams his hands on his lap and stands, slamming the door on the way out. 

"Mark-" Johnny reaches for the door but misses a beat, it was too late. He let his best friend slip away from him again. 

And as soon as Mark left their room, he was on his way to meet up with you, hoping you would be free. He hadn't had much time with you after the following days of the event because you had always excused yourself with how busy you are with your submissions and requirements, or that's what you would like to tell him. 

Your phone rings in your pocket as you excuse yourself from the people you were with at the moment, when you check to see who it was, you find the quietest place possible. 

"Kalen," You spoke, "What's up?" 

"Are you free? I was hoping I'd finally catch you." 

You sigh, you missed spending time with him. "I am," you say in advance before you bail out of this place you were in. "See you at the cafe in 10?" 

You hear him chuckle over the line, and you just knew he was smiling when he said "Great, I'll see you." 

"See you, Kal." You smile and tuck your phone back in your pocket. 

"Who was that?" Jaehyun asks when he bumps into you in the hallway of the frat house. "Oh you've got that sickening smile right now. It must've been Kalen" He rolls his eyes. 

"Whatever Jae," You brush past him. "I'm heading out." 

"But we're not done!" 

You didn't respond and left, shutting the door behind you. 

The cafe was a short walk from your university, but you just happened to bump into Mark on the way, now you don't have to walk alone. 

He smoothly slips his hand in yours, holding it gently and reading your expression. You look to the side with a wide grin on your face, unable to help the fact that you were blushing like crazy. 

"Nice hoodie," he comments. The garment looked a little too familiar to him, he just couldn't quite put his finger on it. “You never gave back my jacket..”

You mentally facepalm, forgetting the fact that you were wearing Jaehyun's hoodie. You pray that Mark wouldn't see this on him anytime soon, you wouldn't want him to get a bad idea. 

"Oh right that, I’ll get it dry cleaned and I’ll give it back" you utter. "Something bothering you?" You ask, trying to read his sulky expression. 

He shakes his head, "No no, I want you to keep it. And I just missed you." He forms a small smile, making your heart melt. You were so easily captivated by his presence that it scared you. He always left you feeling unhinged—in a good way. 

"I missed you too, tiger." You grip his hand a little tighter.  

When he licks his lips, only by then you realize how much you missed kissing him. Right then and there, you just wanted another taste. This was exactly why you were trying to keep yourself busy and away from him for a bit; you had to convince yourself that you couldn’t be attached to him because you could never take care of the things you keep. 

He opens the door for you like always and the chimes in the cafe ring in a sweet melody, a sound that always reminds you of your moments with him. The both of you always shared comfortable memories in this cafe, from small coffee dates to working on papers until it closed. You couldn’t imagine sharing it with anyone else. 

When you settle down he automatically takes your usual orders right away. You could not take your eyes off him, he was such a dream.

He sets the tray down with your drinks, and a pastry that you shared a love-hate relationship with. Cheesecake.

You chuckle at the thought of recalling all the times that you convinced Mark that cheesecake slices weren’t supposed to be as huge as they are and that there are definitely better one’s in other places, but Mark’s favorite was Starbucks’. Maybe that’s why you have learned to love it somehow, because you get to enjoy it with him. 

"I thought you didn't like this? You almost finished the whole thing… I literally bought this for myself." He says sarcastically, very much amused at how you barely even noticed that you were close to finishing the entire thing. 

"Oh shit.. sorry" You show him a pout and feed the last piece to him. "Here." You smile cutely. 

He rolls his eyes and bites it off your fork, you both bid goodbye to the cheesecake. 

Mark’s phone rings in his pocket and when he checks to see, it was Johnny. He lets out a sigh and puts his phone back in his pocket. 

“Are you going to take that?” You ask. 

“Nah”

But Johnny was persistent, he did see this coming. He knew that Mark would ignore him at first so he decided to send him a message. This was about their job. 

“Mark, I know you hate me right now but we have to go to the office. Yuta’s tests came back.” Johnny sends. 

Mark takes a peek at his message, immediately standing up. 

“Where are you going?” You say, surprised. 

“I’m sorry I gotta go- meet my brother. He needs me for something.” He hesitantly leans forward, wanting to kiss you on the lips but kisses your forehead instead. “Text me when you get home okay?.” And with that, he was off. 

Mark rings Johnny and the elder quickly answers the call, Mark informs him that he would be heading to the office by himself since he was already closer to the location. 

But he suddenly remembers about his conflict with the chief. So he waited for Johnny to arrive outside. 

Lowering his pride he says, “I’m scared.” 

Johnny looks at him with empathy and says, “We can’t change what happened Mark. Just take it all in for now and we’ll figure out what to do about it later.” He pats the younger’s back and gives his shoulders an assuring squeeze before heading inside. 

Mark could not look at his boss, the feeling of wanting to be eaten alive was back again, why did he have to be your father? 

When Mark finally gets the courage to face him, the chief yells, “The fuck are you looking at?” making Mark flinch and shrink into his seat. 

Johnny felt the need to protect his friend and at the same time, to get what they were really here for. “Um, Sir can you save the ass beating for next time? We really need to look into Yuta’s results now.” He scratches the back of his neck. 

The chief grunts angrily, getting the file from his drawer. “Negative.” He says. 

Mark and Johnny give each other a look and take the folder that had the results, trying to analyze how it could possibly be negative. 

“Dammit.” Johnny whispers to himself, they had to move quickly before everything slips away from them. He takes note of Yuta’s contact number in the file to use for later. He closes the folder and places it back on the desk. “We’ll take care of this chief.” 

“You better. And you,” He presses a hard finger on Mark’s chest, “Stop fucking around with my daughter. I’ll cut your dick off.” 

Mark purses his lips before speaking, “She’s-” he gulps, “She’s really great sir. I’m not playing around with her. I’d never do anything to hurt her.” 

“You already are.” 

-----

The following day, Yuta receives a text from an unknown number, asking him to meet in an unusual location on campus. He was very skeptical at first but  believed that it was probably harmless. 

“Yah, Rolan! Sup.” He offers his fist to bump. “I was just waiting for someone here too. Some random number texted me and I was like "you know, fuck it"” he shrugs.

Johnny couldn’t help but chuckle. Was innocence even the word to describe this? "And you believed them?" Johnny shakes his head.

“Yeah! Look here’s the number” he flashes his phone screen to Johnny, “I wonder where they are. Let me give them a call.” he mindlessly puts the phone next to his ear. Yuta hears a muffled cellphone ringtone and looks around for it. “Yo, your phone’s ringing you should get that.” Yuta says to Johnny, still having absolutely no idea.

“It was us who texted you, dummy.” Mark retorts, appearing from the shadows, now both of them are cornering Yuta. 

“Yo,-” Yuta laughs, still not getting the point of this all. “What’s your name again?” 

Mark rolls his eyes, “Kalen.” 

“Right! Kalen wassup? You’re his brother right?” Yuta points to Johnny with his thumb up.

Johnny pops a tongue in his cheeks, and cocks his brow. “Alright, fun’s over.” It was a shame he had to do this too early, but it had to stop. He locks Yuta’s throat with his arm, pushing him onto the solid brick wall. 

Yuta tries to toughen up and tries to push Johnny’s arm off, but due to their size difference, Johnny definitely kept him still. 

“What do you know about him” Johnny asks sternly. 

“A-about who?” Yuta coughs.

“Jaehyun. What does he do?” Mark follows. 

“Besides being the most handsome man I know, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Mark shakes his head, “Well,” and gets a gun out of the pocket of his hoodie. “Will this make you talk?”

Yuta looks at him with wide eyes, he was now scared shitless. “Why- how- who are you guys!” He exclaims. 

“The police mother fucker.” Johnny says. 

But despite everything, Yuta’s tactless mouth was definitely not his best asset. “I knew it. you looked too old to be a freshman.” He looks over at Johnny. “And you, I didn’t expect you to be a cop but you did give Narc vibes in that philosophy class.” 

Mark and Johnny give each other a look, they could not be sidetracked. 

“Are you done?” Johnny tells Yuta, and he simply nods. “So are you going to talk?”

“I’m telling you I don’t know! He never trusts me with his business, he says I have a big mouth.” 

Mark snickers, “I can tell.”

Yuta scoffs, and follows, “He’s been out often recently, but he never tells me where he’s going. So I don’t know what I can do for you.” 

“Listen here buddy,” Johnny warns. “If this gets to your parents that you’re involved with someone who supplies and distributes drugs, you’re going to get your entire family deported. Do you want that?” 

Yuta gulps, “No.” then helplessly says, “I don’t know how to earn his trust with these kinds of things. He’s known me since forever but-” 

“No buts.” Mark interrupts. “Use that head of yours or your ass is going back to Japan.” 

-------

Yuta had been on edge ever since that encounter with Mark and Johnny, now this entire thing would be up to him if he cooperated or not. Yuta’s heart had been lost a couple times, but it was definitely looking to be in the right place. So he’s trying his best to help out, even if it meant that he would have to turn in his best friend. 

When he gets the time to be alone with his thoughts he looks back at all the times that Jaehyun had made him feel like he wasn’t enough to be his friend. Not giving him a good position in football, walking out on him whenever he wanted to, keeping secrets from him. Maybe he was too busy trying so hard to be validated by Jaehyun that he never really got to realize that he lost himself in the process. Letting himself be trampled all over by everyone; this was his time to do something not just for himself, but for everyone else.

On the night when Jaehyun could not escape from Yuta’s presence any longer, he thought that it would be harmless to let his friend tag along for once. It’s not like he had other friends to be with, right? Right. Jaehyun could believe that if he wanted to. 

“I’m a bit sore today, you think you can drive me?” Jaehyun asks Yuta as they were walking in the parking lot after practice. 

To be fair, Yuta was sore too. But of course they wouldn’t care. “Alright, where to?” He still manages to say. 

“I’ll tell you along the way.” 

Yuta simply shrugs and Jaehyun tosses him his car keys, placing their gym bags at the trunk of his car. Jaehyun had given him directions while driving and it was somewhere he had never been and seen before. “Are you sure it’s here?” He says, trying to drive into a dark abandoned building with only the car’s headlights being the source of light. 

“Yeah yeah, wait for me here.” Jaehyun opens the door of the car and slips away from it. “Don’t worry, this place is safe.” He tells Yuta and shuts the door close. 

Yuta immediately whips out his phone, thinking that this might be his biggest clue and texts Johnny. 

I don’t know where I am, but I’m gonna send you my pinned location based on what my gps says alright? I think this was where Jaehyun had been going. 

Johnny immediately tells Mark about this and they immediately take their car to go to where Yuta had told them. 

 Rolan: Yuta, it’s not safe for you to stay there. Can you drive away and head back here? It would be better if we keep you alive. 

I guess I could, Jaehyun’s pretty far out now. I saw him go in somewhere, I’m sure you’ll find this entrance when you get here.

With that Yuta drives off and tries to find his way back to the campus, hoping that this would be successful for Mark and Johnny. He had such a strong feeling about this, everything could go right, or just extremely wrong. But he had to expect both to keep his feet on the ground. He did the right thing. He kept telling himself that. 

“Dude this place is sketchy as hell.” Mark says, looking around. “Do you think Yuta told us the truth? I mean he’s Jaehyun’s bestfriend right?”

“It wouldn’t hurt to try Mark, he seemed pretty genuine about it. Besides, all Jaehyun does is use him. I’m sure he’s tired of it.” Johnny says as they searched the place with their flashlights, their guns ready to fire if they ever go under attack. 

Finally, they find the entrance Yuta has been talking about, the chain attached to the door unlocked and loosened. When they get closer they arm themselves and keep their guard, Johnny kicks the door open and Mark could not believe what he had just seen. 

This couldn’t be. He kept repeating to himself, he didn’t want to believe that this was his reality. 

The reality that you were the one who was behind all of this.

“Hands up! We’re the police.” Johnny shouts, echoing throughout the entire warehouse. 

Mark gulps, he could not bring himself to move his feet and go closer. When you see him, you feel like you have been the biggest disappointment in someone’s life. “Kalen,” You plead with your hands up, terrified with the fact that Johnny had called off a warning shot, making you and Jaehyun back up. 

“Y/n.” Mark says, still struggling to get closer to you and lift his arm to aim his gun towards you. “Why- how could you?”

And you couldn’t answer him. The last thing you ever wanted to do was disappoint him, and yet you turned out to be every single disappointment that this world could think of. 

“Great.” Jaehyun says in anger, remorseful with the fact that both of you just got caught by the two people who had been the closest to you these past months. 

“Mark, come on. This is just as hard as it is for me than it is for you. We have to do this. It’s all we’ve been working for.” Johnny faces him, also extremely disheartened by this revelation.

Mark? His real name was Mark? “Who’s Mark?” You ask before he continues to approach you.

“Right. Now you know.” He takes a deep breath. He gets his handcuffs out of his pocket and races towards you before you could even get away. It was bizarre; how you even thought of escaping this. 

“You have the right to remain silent,” His hands shake while putting them against your back, “Anything that you say can and will be held against you in the court of law.” He swallows, and you sob. 

 “I’m so sorry I-” he cuts you off.

“You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you.” He concludes the Miranda rights and adds, “It’s one thing to disappoint me, but another to disappoint your father.”

-----end------

[morporkian-cryptid]

Lupin III - The Castle of Cagliostro, and its extremely gay and romantic title scene

Hello everyone, this is your new installment of “Elliott rambles about her fandoms”!

Today I am going to be talking (well, mostly yelling) about the opening credits of Lupin III - The Castle of Cagliostro.

Because I’ve rewatched that movie almost two weeks ago, and I’m still going into a fit of hysterics every time I so much as think about it.

[Image description: Lupin and Jigen sitting in front of the Fiat, with a small nomad cooking space set up. It is night, Lupin is reading a map and Jigen is holding a pan above a small gas stove. The lighting is dim and comes only for the stove. The subtitles of the song lyrics read “My love for you burns”]

https://twitter.com/spacequeenemily/status/1118274079662977025?lang=en

This Twitter link is the only video of the title scene I could find online; the image quality is a bit low but at least it’s the full scene. Please watch it, I promise you won’t regret it.

Fair warning: long post with much capslock, very swearing.

Okay, so.

The lyrics of this song, Fire Treasure, go more or less like this (from the subtitles of the movie, which I assume are the official translation) :

I want to go with you, searching for happiness / No matter how hard the road or how the night may grow cold / I just want to wander on with you

Who else is there to comfort and hold / This lonely traveler when their heart grows cold? / Who else but you can make all my dreams come true?

Like a raging fire my love for you burns / All I want is for you to know how I feel / Make me your prisoner and never let go

(additional lyrics which are on the wiki but not in the title sequence)

You, who wander the wasteland  / I want to let you sleep / The shooting star is for you

I want only you to understand / This love of mine that blazes with flames / I'll clear away the enigmatic mist

You can find the official japanese lyrics here on the Lupin III fandom wiki.

Now this is a pretty basic love song, and we know most of the theme songs in this series are love songs and it doesn’t always mean anything (looking at you, Red Jacket opening theme). The music itself (without the lyrics) is used several times during the movie, especially in scenes with Lupin and Clarisse; and reused later in several movies involving similar dynamics.

But the only time the whole song, with lyrics, plays in The Castle of Cagliostro, it’s during the opening credits / title sequence. Aka, Lupin and Jigen’s road trip.

Yeah. This longing, yearning love song about a lonely traveler and the person who silently loves them and wants to follow them through all the troubles of the road and look for happiness by their side... Is played along with of a video of Jigen and Lupin traveling together.

And oh, if only it was just that...

It could have been two guys being bros, two friends having a fun road trip together. They could have shown the banter and playful fights between them that we see in the rest of the movie. But NO. THIS is what they gave us instead:

[The silhouettes of Jigen and Lupin sitting on and leaning against the Fiat, with a boat in the background and an orange sunset-like sky]

[the Fiat driving on a narrow bridge in the middle of an expanse of water glistening and reflecting the pink and purple sky]

[Lupin lying on his back in the grass, and Jigen sitting near him and cooking in front of a small portable gas stove, the Fiat parked next to them. It is night, and the gaz stove gives a soft glow, the only source of light in the picture.]

[Lupin sitting on the roof of the Fiat and Jigen standing left of it. They are waiting for a train with wooden wagons to pass. There are white flowers in the foreground on the right of the screen.]

[Night time, on a backdrop of dark blue sky with white stars. Lupin is sitting on the roof of the Fiat, lighting a cigarette (the Fiat itself isn’t in the frame). Jigen is standing near him, smoking a cigarette, with only his head visible. The subtitles of the song lyrics write “Make me your prisoner and never let go”.]

[The same scene from a different angle, the Fiat is now visible, with grass in the foreground, Lupin is seen from the back and Jigen from head to feet. The dark blue sky is fading into white at the bottom, suggesting sunrise.]

They could have given us a fun, “straight pals being bros” road trip. Instead, they decided to give us a soft, nostalgic ambiance, with orange and pink sunsets, the boys wistfully looking into the distance under a starry night sky, smoking cigarettes together in silence, with the soft glow of a shared meal around a campfire. THEY MADE THE CHOICE TO MAKE THIS AS FUCKING ROMANTIC AS POSSIBLE. THEY WILLINGLY MADE THAT DECISION.

We all know that this franchise’s subtext is not exactly subtle in establishing, to name just one obvious example, Jigen’s orientation (hum hum kabuki-related slang, hum hum bootleg playboy magazine, hum hum shameless flirting with burly soldiers).

But THIS. This isn’t a “I hate women” joke. This isn’t a two-second frame showing a bootleg gay pinup magazine. This isn’t a subtle parallel between Lupin’s relationships with Fujiko and with Jigen. This is the most OBVIOUS and EXPLICIT bit of subtext I have ever seen in this goddamn subtext-packed series. This is A FUCKING LOVE SONG, WITH THE WORDS “MY LOVE FOR YOU BURNS” EXPLICITLY IN IT, PLAYED ON A VIDEO OF JIGEN AND LUPIN ON A ROAD TRIP WITH THE MOST ROMANTIC AND SOFT VISUALS POSSIBLE. ONE MINUTE AND FIFTY FIVE SECONDS OF TYPICAL ROMANTIC SCENE WITH TYPICAL ROMANTIC VISUALS AND A FUCKING LOVE SONG.

This can’t be an accident. You can’t accidentally make a scene like this. I mean come on, “Like a raging fire my love for you burns, I just want you to know how I feel” with a panning shot of a starry night sky and Lupin and Jigen silently sharing a smoke? HOW DO THEY THINK WE ARE GOING TO INTERPRET THIS? IS THERE ANY OTHER POSSIBLE FUCKING INTERPRETATION THAN “JIGEN IS MADLY IN LOVE WITH LUPIN?“ NO THERE ISN’T. THERE FUCKING ISN’T.

They go and try to tell us that Lupin and Jigen are just friends, they give Jigen barely believable female love interests whom he has little to no chemistry with, they write Jigen getting angry when he thinks Lupin might be gay, and then they turn around and make THIS. FUCKING. TITLE SEQUENCE.

It kills me because IT’S CANON but also it’s not! They’re not stating that Jigen loves Lupin, they’re not confirming that they’re a couple, at no point in the 50 years of existence of this damn franchise has either of them explicitly declared that they were in love with the other, and that is most likely never going to happen. But this fucking scene exists. This fucking scene is CANON, and it’s technically still subtext, but it is the most OBVIOUS and IN YOUR GODDAMN FACE subtext EVER.

Disclaimer: I agree that most of the anime and movies’ (still relatively un-subtle) subtext can be disregarded or interpreted as platonic if you want, and I absolutely respect anyone’s desire to interpret them as platonic friends. All visions and interpretations can coexist. That being said, I’m sorry but for this specific scene I will not, ever, budge from the position that it is a fucking romantic love scene and that there is no other possible interpretation, I’m sorry but just FUCKING LOOK AT IT. LOOK AT IT AND TELL ME THIS ISN’T MEANT TO BE ROMANTIC. I DARE YOU.

This scene is just at the VERY LIMIT of explicitly stating Jigen and Lupin’s love. But it’s STILL NOT EXPLICIT. The song says “I love you” but neither Jigen nor Lupin does. The song on its own could relate to any number of characters (and in the rest of the movie it relates mostly to Clarisse, and more generally to all the girls Lupin leaves behind). The video without the music, while being very sweet and having a romantic vibe, could still be interpreted as a road trip between friends. And yet. AND YET. They made the conscious decision to put THAT SONG with THESE IMAGES. And to then “leave it to our interpretation”.

The Castle of Cagliostro was the second movie of the Lupin III franchise. It came out in 1979, not even ten years after the first episode of the anime aired. This is one of the establishing movies of the franchise, the one that propelled Lupin III on the international scene, the door through which generations of fans have been introduced to the series. A now iconic and unmissable pillar of the pop culture myth that Lupin III has become, a jewel of hand-drawn animation, produced by one of Japan’s most internationally well known animated movie director, future founder of one of its most iconic studios.

This isn’t a “blink and you’ll miss it” nudge in an largely forgettable TV special with weird chara designs and a plot created by writers seemingly on crack. This isn’t a subtle nod to long time fans and shippers like Part 5 did in 2018. This is the FUCKING TITLE SEQUENCE of the CASTLE OF MOTHERFUCKING CAGLIOSTRO by HAYAO GODDAMN MIYAZAKI. AND IT’S A LOVE STORY.

It’s been a week and a half, guys. And I still want to scream. I will never be free. Lupin and Jigen are in love and the world needs to know.

[yellowmagicalgirl]

Reunions and Revelations

On their third day at Arcadia Oaks High, Aja and Krel have their memories of the previous timeline restored. Krel is insistent upon seeing Douxie again, and Aja is a little confused. After all, even though they were friends she didn’t think they were that close.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Tales of Arcadia franchise. If I did, Rise of the Titans would be extremely different.

Have I seen the movie? No, but I’ve seen spoilers, which lead to me coming up with an idea that I shared with the Klebuckets server, and @gayspiderman convinced me to write said idea.

This fic is not canon compliant in that Akiridion kissing does not lead to pregnancy any more than kissing between two humans leads to pregnancy. (And also not canon compliant in that again, I did not actually watch the movie and do not want to.) That being said, this is probably the most RotT-compliant fic I will ever write.

AO3

FFN

Mother’s three rules did not help. Being prepared for change and embracing their mistakes had only led to them being sent to Principal Levit’s office, and playing with their phones had resulted in detention. All Aja wanted to do was go home, even though she knew when she got there she’d have to deal with another lecture from Varvatos and Mother about staying inconspicuous.

Aja found her and Krel’s path blocked by three humans.

“Aja and Krel, right?” the tallest of them said. “I’m Jim, and these are Toby and Claire.” He gestured with his head to the boy and girl standing beside him as he said their names. Mother had definitely been wrong when she’d claimed that girls on this planet were invisible. “I’ve been trying to do this for a couple days.”

“And what is ‘this?’” Aja asked.

Jim pulled a small disk out of his pocket. Along the top half of the disk were the words “for the good of all”. Along the bottom half were a series of scuff marks, like words had been marred out to no longer be legible. Some parts of it looked eerily similar to Akiridion technology, and yet other parts were far too different.

“It’s a school tradition. Touch the disk, and you’ll do well on your finals and everything because you’ll have the entire school backing you up.”

Aja didn’t believe that was real, and she didn’t care about finals. But, if she complied, then Jim, Toby, and Claire would hopefully get out of her way. And so Aja looked closer.

Oh.

Oh.

Of course that was why the amulet looked almost like Akiridion technolgy, because Krel had been involved in building it. These weren’t three random humans who were taking up Aja’s time, they were her friends from the future. A future that, hopefully, wouldn’t fully come true. Hopefully she’d be able to save her Mama and Papa, and Tronos, and Buster, and Toby, who was once more alive in front of her.

“What did you do to my sister?” Krel demanded.

“Krel, just touch it,” Aja said.

“No, I don’t want to.” He lowered his voice to a hiss. “That looks like an inferior form of Akiridion technology! I think they’re disguised bounty hunters!”

Ah, so he had recognized his work on the amulet, but not that he had been the one who worked on it, and definitely not that Douxie had been helping him. Of course not. He didn’t remember. Well, that was easy enough to fix.

Aja grabbed her brother’s wrist. He fought back as she forced him to touch the amulet. For a brief moment, his eyes flashed with blue-green light.

So that was why he had been so concerned.

Krel smacked his forehead before dragging his hand down his face. The gesture looked familiar, but also like it belonged on someone else. “I was clearly wrong when I said it was inferior. But, seriously? School tradition? That was the best you could come up with?”

“Just in case it didn’t work,” Toby said.

“Why wouldn’t it work?” Aja asked. “Wait, did it not work on the trolls?”

“No, it worked on them,” Claire said. “I have no idea why Douxie’s been so worried about it not working on the two of you and Varvatos.”

“Douxie’s been worried about me?” Krel smiled and looked away as he tucked a strand of hair behind his ear. That was... odd.

“Yeah, he even stuck around extra long passing out flyers for the Battle of the Bands on the day you guys arrived, since he knew you two’d be showing up,” Jim said. Krel smiled a little wider. “Everyone’s been trying to herd you two towards me so I could unlock your memories. If we hurry, we could go meet up with Douxie before he has to switch shifts from the bookstore to the bistro.”

“I mean, we should probably go make Varvatos remember, maybe then he won’t try and demand Eli’s thumbs anymore,” Aja said. “Plus, we might be able to fight off bounty hunters better!”

“Or,” Krel said, already walking ahead of the rest of them. “We could go find Douxie so he stops worrying. I mean, Varvatos is just waiting around the Mothership so it’s not like we’d have to worry too much about him getting into trouble. It’s not like the bounty hunters will actually show up for another week, anyways.” He stopped walking, wrapped his arms around himself, and frowned. “Um, where is it? I didn’t ever actually go there, since Bellroc burned it.”

“Come on, it’s this way,” Toby said, beginning to walk in the opposite direction that Krel had been walking in. Krel sighed, probably in relief, but why? Why was he so concerned?

They exited the school and made their way down the street.

“So, when you said everyone’s been trying to herd Krel and I towards you, does that mean the entire town remembers?” Aja asked.

“No. I can only unlock the memories of people I had a strong enough positive emotional bond with in the first timeline, and I have to be holding onto the amulet for it to work,” Jim said. “I tried unlocking Señor Uhl’s memories so he wouldn’t give Toby and I detention for skipping class for trollhunting duties, and it backfired.”

“Why isn’t he principal? Who even is Levit?” Aja stole a glance at her brother as he walked silently beside her. He looked nervous, and she wasn’t sure why.

“Well, since Strickler went to our side early in the timeline,” Toby said, “he decided not to kill the guy who was our principal at the beginning of the year. Which also means I didn’t have to worry about him flirting with my Nana.”

“Why would he flirt with your Nana?”

“Well, the only reason why Strickler flirted with Jim’s mom in the first place was because he was the trollhunter,” Toby said.

Aja’s jaw dropped. “You’re not the trollhunter anymore?”

“Of course he is,” Claire said. “It’s hunters, not hunter. But, Toby’s got the Daylight sword. Eclipse, too.”

“I guess it makes sense why you can’t command daylight anymore with the amulet Douxie and I made, since daylight would be Toby’s to command.” Krel tucked his hair behind his ear again when he said Douxie’s name. Why was he doing that? “But does it still have any other powers or is it just for unlocking memories?”

“Oh, yeah. I can still summon armor, and I’m using it to store my daggers. Though, I think the issue with daylight summoning is more the fact that the Green Knight still has Excalibur.” Jim frowned, and Claire put a hand on his shoulder.

“And none of us are going to get controlled by him. Him or his sister,” she said. Come to think of it, Claire didn’t look as sick as she had when Aja first met her during the...

“Hey, did we go through a bunch of time loops at the science fair?”

“Yep!” Toby said. “Though, like, Steve and Shannon and everyone doesn’t remember them since they didn’t have their memories protected. Just us, Blink, and my Wingman. And Vex wil, too, when he remembers.”

“Thank Deya we got Saturday detention with Shannon the first time around,” Claire said. “She’s been a major help, but I’m not sure if we ever would’ve bonded enough if not for that.”

“And we’re here,” Jim said, holding open the door to GDT Arcane Books. Aja glanced at her brother. There were tears in his eyes. But why? He hadn’t even been this emotional when he had reunited with Eli in their first timeline.

“Douxie?” Krel called out in an incredibly soft voice.

A broom clattered to the wooden ground.

Aja looked up in time to see Douxie standing on the top floor of the bookstore next to the fallen broom. He spun around and brought a hand to his mouth. He then ran and vaulted over the railing, using magic to slow his descent. At the same time, Krel ran to Douxie. They hugged tightly. Upon closer look, Douxie was crying just as much as Krel was. Aja could hear the two of them whispering to each other, but she couldn’t make out the words.

Aja knew they were friends, just like she was friends with all of the other Guardians, but she hadn’t realized they were so close. Then again, she knew that Douxie was skilled in music and wizard technology. Perhaps Krel had finally found someone who truly understood him while Aja had been ruling as queen. It was good for him to have a close friend.

Right as their hug began to grow a little long, Krel took half a step back and placed his hands on Douxie’s shoulders. Krel then used them as leverage as he pressed himself onto his toes to kiss Douxie.

What.

What?

“Uh, did they get together after I died or something?” Toby asked. Aja looked away from the kissing couple to Toby and the others. They looked just as perplexed by the situation in front of them as Aja felt.

“No, there was no time,” Jim said.

“Then,” Aja sputtered. “Then when did that happen?”

A/N: To answer Aja’s question, Douxie and Krel finally confessed their feelings to each other either shortly before or during the events of RotT. However, because everything was so tense and chaotic, they chose not to reveal the change in their relationship to any of their friends until after the titans were defeated. Instead, of course, Jim reset the timeline, so they didn’t get the chance before their dramatic romantic reunion. If the kiss described above isn’t their first kiss, then it’s probably their third kiss at most - though it’s not like they need to actually count them.

[darkacademicfrom2021]

Headcanon/fic: "Tom with superpowers"

Reader x Tom Hiddleston/Loki

Gender neutral reader

Context: in the same world that happens the whole Avengers situation, Marvel releases the movies. You get a job as health assistant in the franchise, helping the injured actors while they train. There, you met Tom Hiddleston, and... maybe someone else too.

Loki won his reputation in Midgard the wrong way, since the whole New York incident. You knew him well as the selfish psychopath you thought he was.

But ever since you started working in Marvel, you got a bit into the story and past of him and understood his character better. You thought he was quite charming.

Actually, you thought Tom Hiddleston, his actor, was more than charming.

You met him on a rainy day. Your scrubs were soaking wet, since you've come to work by walking (a terrible idea) and the rain caught you in the middle.

Someone in the entrance told you to get something dry from the lost & found box, and so you did.

A nice and warm hoodie replaced the top of your scrubs and you started drying your hair with a towel as you walked on set.

"Excuse me", said a deep and harmonious voice, touching your shoulder. "I think that belongs to me".

You lifted your gaze at the stranger and as soon as you met his eyes, both were speechless.

Tom Hiddleston in person. God, the man was even more beautiful than through a screen. You smiled nervously as he smirked. He didn't take his eyes off you for a second.

"What?", you finally said.

"You have my hoodie".

"Oh, I'm... I'm really sorry. I was... anyways, I'm giving it back now" you tried to articulate, still choking on your words. He noticed you were nervous and didn't comment on it. What a gentleman, you thought.

"Give it back in dinner, would you?" he said suddenly, yet smoothly. You had to blink twice to realize what he just said. "Meet you at eight in the doorway? I'll take you somewhere nice and quiet".

Your mind was off for the rest of the day, until dinner came along. Your coworkers noticed your brain was somewhere else than in the present, but they didn't say anything; they kind of figured Tom would've asked you out. They saw how he smiled at you on set the whole day.

Dinner was perfect, and so were the other five, six, seven...

You started dating very frequently. Always kept it down, avoiding the press rumors, avoiding paparazzis, keeping private life... well, private.

If there was something you definetly loved about him, was his passion. He was passionate about everything he spoke about. And he was even more passionate about listening to you talking.

And when you spoke your mind off about how Loki was misunderstood, and such a good character, such an interesting person (well, God); he listened.

Sometimes you could catch a glimpse of him being still on character. He'd say or do something and you'd answer "your Loki is showing", and he'd get all nervous and blushed.

You always wondered why. It's normal for actors to slip away something of their characters sometimes. Why did he get so embarrassed about it?

It was even more in interviews. He'd hide pretty well those assets that you'd connect so much to Loki's personality, afraid he might not "look Tom enough".

Already years into the relationship, you have already made it public. You still worked for Marvel and spent a lot of time on set, and sometimes you walked in some interviews.

There was this specific interview where you walked accidentally in the room, and he greeted you, with the camera running, with the most Loki tone of voice possible.

"Hello, baby".

Tom never called you baby. Not even when you called him daddy. He'd call you darling, dear, beloved, my love, my sweet, sweetheart, lover... but baby? Never that.

As soon as he realized those foreign words slipping out of his tongue, his face straightened and went into what you'd call his 'dark mode', a very serious face he made when his inner Loki spilled out of his words.

The 'dark mode' only could be described as the face someone does when making a big, irreparable mistake. Like saying the words he should've never said.

And it only faded away when he realized you didn't notice it. Like he was hiding a big secret from you, and those words would give him away.

But they never did, and he always relaxed his face to see that you were unaware of what he was hiding.

"Baby..." you recalled that same night, wrapped around in the warmth of the blankets. "You went all Loki today. But I like it. It fits you so well".

He stared at you from the doorstep, holding a book he promised to read you before sleeping. He smiled slightly and turned that smirk into a sad look very quickly.

"What's wrong, honey?".

"Nothing, my love. I'm just tired from work, that's all".

"For playing the God of lies, you're a terrible liar" you mocked him. He sat by your side and caressed your cheek with the soft touch of his hand.

"You're the only one who's always been able to read right through my bullshit. That's one of the reasons I love you so much". He said quietly.

"I'd love to know what goes through your mind when the character slips through your words. You play him marvelously, you shouldn't be ashamed to have gotten used to some of his mannerisms", you told him while running your fingers through his hair.

"I'd say I have too many of them".

"Yeah", you chuckled "it's almost like Loki is playing you, instead of you playing Loki".

"Oh, darling. Only if you knew", he said with the deepest and sexiest voice he has ever spoken.

"What's that supposed to mean?" you whispered.

He laughed slightly, and cut the conversation off with a "nothing, I'm just messing with you".

But you knew he wasn't.

Something in his eyes... he couldn't lie to you any longer. Not with you allowing it.

"What is it? I really, really want to know".

You insisted and insisted. He rolled his eyes and said nothing all night.

Next morning he didn't awake by your side. You were waiting for him in the kitchen, with a fresh cup of tea and a teasing smile on your face.

"Good morning, love" he said, hands in your waist while kissing both of your cheeks. "What are you doing up so early?".

"I want to do something crazy".

"Oh no".

"Oh yes".

"What do you want to do?".

"Let's go to Asgard. Let's go to catch a glimpse of the cell Loki is supposedly locked up in. I know it sounds crazy, but I really think it would help you with the character building. You know, since you give such importance to the role and..."

But he didn't let you finish, and closed the conversation with a "no way. Absolutely not".

And there was nothing else to discuss.

"I'm going".

"He's a crazy murderer that wants to slave everybody. There is no way I'm letting you see him".

"I'm going you like it or not", you said, grabbing your keys and going towards the door.

He stood infront of you with the most serious look you've ever seen in his face. "You're not going".

"Just one reason, give me one".

"He's not in his cell, you wouldn't find him there".

"And how do you know that?".

His eyes, that once showed anger and concern, were now fearful and disappointed.

"I can't say".

"This has to do with your 'dark mode', doesn't it? What are you hiding from me, Thomas?".

He sighed. Hugged you tightly as if you were never holding him again after what you'd hear next.

He whispered in your ear "I'm sorry for lying. It's just what I do best".

Tom and the expressions that differentiated him from Loki got bathed in a golden light. His hair became long and dark, his facial hair disappeared, his eyebrows got fixed (exactly how they made his make up for the movies), and his midgardian shirt and trousers transformed into the leather and metal armor that represented Loki so well.

"Oh my FUCKING GOD" you yelled as you hold your body against the wall, trying not to fall. Your legs were shaking.

"Yes".

"YOU'RE--".

"The... fucking God".

"H-how??".

"Long story short, I needed to start over. And I'm a shapeshifter, it's not too hard for me to disguise".

You sat on a chair and he did the same. You looked at him up and down as you steadied yourself. Once you were already taking all the madness in, you were able to speak.

"So, you could've pretended to be ANY midgardian out here".

"I could've".

"And you chose to become an actor that would play you?".

He laughed, with the same laughter Tom had. He's the same man I fell in love with, after all, you thought.

He started saying that he understood if you felt unsafe and lied to with him. That if you wanted to end the relationship his soul would ache eternally, but he would let you go. That he did something unforgivable; he played with your trust.

You got up and cupped your hands around his neck, leaving a small kiss on his lips.

"Shut up".

"Beg you pardon?".

"I love you, I don't care about anything else. To me, now you're Tom with superpowers".

"That's the most stupid yet most lovable thing you've ever told me".

"I'm sure I said stupider things". And you glanced down. "I wonder how much of your God skills you were hiding all this time".

He smiled before lifting you in the air and taking you bride style to the bedroom.

"Oh, baby, you'll see".

[kumkaniudaku]

Simple Syrup

You asked for Daveed smut and I tried to deliver. At least this one time. Enjoy!

Warning: Sexual Content. 18+. 

Daveed Diggs x Black!OC (Olivia Jenkins)(Yes, the MC/ OC is black. Representation is important.)

"Yo, open up!" Heavy fists beat against the door of Olivia's downtown apartment, making her roll her eyes. "I know you can hear me, girl! It's your favorite pop-up roommate!"

"You've been evicted, Diggs!"  

"I paid you rent, though!"

Turning the stove on low, Olivia shook her head as she wiped her hands on a dishtowel. Daveed always found a way to surprise her with his presence. He never texted before showing up at her door but frequently sported a backpack or suitcase full of clothes or Rafael for an extended stay. He and all his baggage were welcome anytime, with or without notice.

Stepping to the door, Olivia bit back a smile before responding. "I didn't receive any payments this month."

"I got it in my bag."

"Bag or bags?"

"Open the door to find out."

Daveed took a step back as the locks began to turn, waiting for Olivia's face to greet him with faux anger the way she did the last time he showed up out of nowhere and stayed for three weeks. Despite stopping by six months ago, it felt like a lifetime since he'd been in her company. Bi-weekly phone conversations weren't enough. He needed to be near Olivia while she watched whatever Housewives franchise had her attention for the month.

When the door opened to reveal the long hallway leading to her living area, Olivia stood with a hand on her hips and a grin on her face.

"Where is my money," she asked, shifting her weight from foot to foot. Just as she expected, he stood in the hallway with a suitcase that she knew cost a fortune to check at the airport and his worn Jansport full of junk and work.

Daveed laughed and bent to rifle through his backpack for a crumpled white envelope that he handed over with exaggerated purpose. "Here you go, Miss Jenkins. Sorry to be late on rent for, what, 8 months? I hope this is enough."

"Boy, you didn't really need to pay me. You're not on the lease."

"Good," he answered as he pretended to wipe sweat from his brow. "Because those are just Chick Fil A coupons."

Olivia stood with her mouth open as Daveed brushed her to roll his luggage to the first bedroom on the right.

He listened to her insult his "stupid face" and instruct him to hurry up while he scanned the room he had called home more times than he could count. All of Daveed's belongings were in the same place, with almost unnoticeable shifts to show that Olivia had cleaned once or twice. His favorite throw blanket was folded at the edge of the bed with his initials elegantly embroidered in the corner. The air smelled of the vanilla candle she kept on the nightstand next to a framed photo of the crew enjoying a roller coaster at Six Flags. His favorite trinket, Olivia's homecoming crown from undergrad, sat next to a single gold medal from Daveed's days competing in track and field. To him, it symbolized their bond from the beginning. To her, it was probably just a space to hide old items.

"Daveed, get in here! I need you to cut!"

All at once, Daveed's sense of self returned to center him in reality. He quickly kicked off his shoes once he remembered Olivia's rules and started off toward the kitchen to answer the call for his help.

Even with the windows open, he could smell savory and sweet aromas combining for a smell that reminded him of the holidays. However, the calendar placed them square in the middle of an excruciatingly hot summer. He could see the open bottle of BBQ sauce on the center island next to a mixing bowl full of things he couldn't recognize but knew they would taste great. Bushels of greens sat in a pot on the stove, boiling amid smoked meat and seasonings to complement the food cooking in the oven. Daveed felt excitement take hold of his face and forced the apples of his cheeks up toward his eyes. Olivia looked up from her task at the cutting board and smirked.

"I thought you were vegan now."

"My business is my business, Liv. We talked about this last week."

"We also talked about you heading directly to Toronto after your job in Atlanta and, yet, here you are." She studied Daveed's face for answers but found nothing but a growing smile. "Come over here and cut up these strawberries while I sauce the ribs."

Daveed followed directions without complaint, lazily strolling to the island and nudging Olivia away. He'd been her help in the kitchen before to open pesky jars or stir while she tended to the more time-intensive parts of the meal. On more than one occasion, he had fucked up, and each time she invited him back into her safe space with open arms.

"How's Rafa and the family," Olivia asked with her back turned while she bent to take a peek into the oven.

Daveed kept his eyes on her backside for a moment too long before answering. "Rafa's good. Amy sends her love and says that you are more than welcome for Friendsgiving this year. She volunteered you for pies."

"You volunteered me for pies, Daveed," Olivia corrected, knowing how much her friend loved her desserts. "What about my babies? Is Santiago the best big brother to Emelia?"

"He's...trying. But he did send a gift for the lady with the bald head. His words, not mine."

Olivia ran a hand across her tapered fade and chuckled. "I feel like he heard Rafael say that."

"No, Rafa calls you Thick Mr. Clean."

"Yeah, because that's what you said when you were drunk on New Years," Olivia accused as she gestured toward the cabinet housing her wine glasses. Daveed nodded before answering.

"I said it with love!"

"Mhmm, I'm sure."

Together they watched half a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc be transferred into the separate glasses, waiting for the moment they could take a sip. The last time they shared a drink, they ran through two 12- packs of beer with Rafael and ended up dancing with street performers in Times Square. She hadn't been able to stomach the smell of a Budweiser since then and fully transitioned to fruity notes and sparkling Rosé with Daveed occasionally coming along for the ride.

Taking another long sip from his glass, Daveed leaned against the island counter to watch Olivia stir a mixture for skillet cornbread.

"What's got you so stressed?"

Olivia shrugged but didn't look away from the bowl. "Nothing. I'm fine."

"The last time you cooked like this, you were writing your dissertation. And the time before that, it was your mom."

The room fell quiet outside of the spoon, ricocheting off the sides of the mixing bowl. After several seconds, Olivia took a deep breath and looked up at Daveed.

"Daddy's getting remarried. Omari and I are his best-kids," she laughed. "I'm not stressed. Just a bit...sad, I guess?"

Daveed understood the issue without needing more context. Five years ago, he was the one sitting beside Olivia on the floor of her brother's home office after the news came that their mother had in the hospital. He was there for the saddest funeral he'd ever experienced and the months of reconciliation that the family struggled through on the way to some sense of normalcy. The idea that her father had found love again was heartwarming, but Daveed knew the occasion was bringing up old feelings.

"Wanna talk about it?"

She shrugged again and moved the skillet to the oven. "There's nothing to talk about. I said I'm fine. I wish she was here, ya know, but I know she isn't upset. She always told us to move on once she's gone. She sure as hell would."

Daveed chuckled at the idea of Mrs. Jenkin's moving on in the afterlife. "She was funny like that. I remember when she met me for the first time and kept calling me Devante."

"Yes," Olvia exclaimed, a spark of joy returning to her eyes. "She'd call me and be like, that boy Devante is smart! Ask him if he can put me in a movie one day!"

Olivia's voice warped to imitate her mother as best as possible before she burst into laughter with Daveed.

"One of the last things she said to me was that I need to make sure you keep having fun. She didn't want you to stop enjoying life on account of her."

"Yeah…" Daveed watched Olivia down the wine in her glass with her eyes closed, waiting for her to continue her thought. "Well, you're doing a good job. We could work on your definition of fun, but solid effort so far."

"How can I do better? I'm open to criticism."  

Daveed kept his eyes on Olivia while he reached across her body to grab the wine bottle for the final drink. Her breath hitched while alcohol buzzed through her system, creating the perfect storm for sudden arousal. She fought her thoughts by shaking her head to recover.

"You can start by grabbing those strawberries and bringing them over to the stove."

"Don't skip the question." Daveed's smirk as he followed her to the other side of the counter made Oliva hot with embarrassment, but she kept a calm exterior. "Are you still having fun with me?"

"I always have fun with you, D, you know that. Who else is gonna play Bop It with me at 2 AM on a Wednesday? The question is, are you still having fun with me, superstar?"

"Don't start that. I come and stay at your house because I miss you, not because I can't find somewhere else to sleep. You're my person."

"For now," Olivia added as a rebuttal, ignoring the way her stomach flipped at hearing the way Daveed felt. "What happens when you get married? You're gonna have to go be a family man like Rafa. Then we'll only see each other on Friendsgiving and Christmas."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

"Hm." Olivia's short but skeptical laugh effectively ended the conversation. Still, Daveed had already made up his mind to return to the discussion later in the week. "So, how long are you here this time?"

Daveed used one of his large palms to push a few curls off his forehead in search of relief from the heat in the kitchen. "I was thinking a couple weeks. Three or four."

"That's longer than normal! I get to have my favorite guy here long enough to help me put wallpaper up in the guest bathroom?"

"Am I only muscle to you?"

"Of course, not," she answered with a sweet smile, making Daveed mirror her expression. "You're also a taste tester. Open up."

Before Daveed could object, Olivia swiped barbecue sauce across his bottom lip for his opinion. The tip of his tongue appeared to taste the tangy brown sauce, finding an explosion of flavor that reminded him how much he missed Olivia's cooking.

"What's the verdict," Olivia asked over her shoulder as she turned off the eye under her simple syrup mixture.

"Tangy and sweet. I'm not sure why you don't bottle this up for sale. My dad would love some."

"Meh, I like having it as a treat for the people I love. All my hobbies aren't for profit, my friend."

Daveed dramatically threw a hand across his chest and gasped. "Did Mean Ole Liv just imply that she loves me? I-I'm gobsmacked. Utterly shocked and eternally grateful."

"Diggs, you're pushing it," she laughed. "Come taste this syrup before I start on the lemonade."

From experience, Daveed knew what to expect. But he humored Olivia anyway if only to see pride light up her face when he told her how amazing the sweet mixture tasted. After washing his hands in the sink, he skimmed his middle and pointer fingers across the top of the syrup to pick up enough to coat his fingertips.

He eyed the liquid for a moment, watching it slowly trickle down the side of his long fingers while he thought of his next move. Olivia stood at the refrigerator with her back turned, humming a song from The Wiz. At the same time, she gathered ingredients for the beverage.

"Hey...hey, Liv." Daveed had already started to close the short gap between them and stood waiting for Olivia to respond to his call.

"Wha -" A sudden swipe of syrup across her bottom lip confused Olivia. "D, what is your problem?"

Stepping forward, Daveed took her chin in his to bring their lips inches apart. "Is it still cool if I taste?"

Olivia stared at Daveed without blinking, fighting her brain for a competent answer to his question. Instead, she nodded in a daze with her jaw slack. His fingers took gentle meandering paths across the peaks and valleys of her face before using his thumb to part her lips.

Daveed's first kiss was a tentative peck to test the waters. When he received no resistance, he pulled Olivia closer for full access to her mouth.

Neither of them expected to fall into the kiss so easily. Olivia didn't expect to melt into Daveed's body while he dictated the pace and intensity. Daveed didn't expect to feel an overwhelming desire to consume the one person that always felt so close but far away. He wanted to feel and taste every part of Olivia while he had the green light. She reveled in Daveed's attention, even if it was only for a moment.

Taking a step backward, Daveed used his knowledge of the kitchen to guide them back toward the stove. Their lips remained connected to taste the last bits of each other. Olivia was the first to break the lip lock and move her head upward, directing Daveed to choose a spot on her neck to explore.

The cold, sticky simple syrup came next, the thick glob landing on the center of her chest and sliding to her cleavage.

"I've thought about this a lot," Daveed spoke barely above a whisper as he used a finger to spread simple syrup across Olivia's chest. "Kinda wild to say, but I have."

"How long?"

"A year. Maybe two."

Olivia released a shaky gasp once Daveed's tongue began licking from the space between her breast to the base of her neck to catch the simple syrup. As quickly as it disappeared, he replaced the sugar mixture with another round at the juncture of her neck and shoulder. He groaned as the tart strawberry flavor mixed with the sweetness of the sugar and Olivia's skin. She grasped the back of his head for stability, allowing her eyes to flutter closed for a few seconds.

"How does it turn out? In your thoughts, I mean?"

Daveed paused to kiss Olivia's lips again and run his hands down her back. "Doesn't matter. We're here now, and I can't think of anything outside of how good you taste drenched in strawberry sauce."

"Simple syrup," Olivia answered, smiling as she sneakily dipped her finger into the pot behind Daveed. "It's simple syrup, and I haven't gotten a taste yet. Open your mouth."

They kept their eyes on each other while Daveed opened his mouth, waiting for whatever came next. Olivia took her time to coat his tongue in syrup, imagining how it would feel to experience the concoction from his mouth.

There started the mad scramble to get closer, taste more and touch longer. Separate but equal desires to completely consume the other person had the pair maneuvering around the kitchen. They remained attached at the lips until they reached the solid wood breakfast table near the large casement window. Daveed was the first to remove clothing, pulling his t-shirt over his head and tossing it somewhere behind him. A split-second decision had him rushing back to the stove to retrieve the syrup pot. He carefully placed it on the table while Olivia slid the straps of her summer dress down her arms to let the fabric pool at her waist. Daveed watched with a flirtatious smile, marveling at the expanse of her warm brown skin. Olivia returned the sentiment, letting her eyes rake over his broad chest and toned midsection.

One after the other, Daveed and Olivia added bits of syrup to different body parts to lick and suck the skin clean. A handful mistakenly dripped onto Olivia's thigh, and they watched the sticky liquid carry small chunks of strawberries to the inner portion of her leg.

Daveed regarded the sight with wonder before carefully dropping to one knee for a better look. He maintained eye contact with Olivia as he kissed his way to the sweetest spot, lingering in places that earned the most desirable response. The scratch of facial hair combined with his lips and tongue's soft, silkiness made Olivia keen for more. She could feel the blood rushing to pool at her inner thigh for a bruise that would leave evidence of a dream achieved. She smiled at the thought of seeing it when she was getting dressed and how her stomach might feel with butterflies from the memories.

Daveed mumbled praise after praise into the supple skin of Olivia's thigh before starting a journey back to her lips. When he returned, he slowly pushed the waistband of his sweats down his hips and legs.

"Oh," Olivia spoke, eyes wide while she fought the natural desire to let her gaze travel. "I...wow, okay. I feel like I'm violating you."

"I'm kind of asking you to," Daveed laughed as he stepped closer.

"This is so fucking weird. Are we really about to do this?"

"Only if you want. I mean, I want to, but we can stop whenever you say the word."

He was closer now, dropping kisses on her shoulders while he pressed their chests together to reduce the space between him.

Olivia's legs naturally hooked themselves around his waist at the same time that her arms circled his neck.

She leaned forward to speak against Daveed's lips with her eyes hooded in lust, "I want this."

Passion and the hint of strawberry coating their lips intensified the moment between Olivia and Daveed. He held her writhing hips steady while he stood on his toes to push forward. Simultaneous moans of pleasure rang out in the kitchen, surely gaining the attention of nearby neighbors.

Their hips bucked an even pace, repeatedly meeting to build tension in their bellies. Daveed felt the strain of each stroke in his thighs and calves but found the desire to fuck his friend on her kitchen table to override any other immediate discomfort.

"Are you a talker," Daveed asked randomly, making Olivia's eyes snap up from the action below her waist to focus her attention on him.

"What?"

"A talker. Do you like to talk during sex?" His question came between labored breaths and grunts holding a mixture of exertion and indescribable pleasure.

"Daveed, are you trying to have a conversation with me right now?"

"I mean, I like to - fuck - I...I like to talk sometimes. Is that cool?"

A high-pitched moan ripped through Olivia's throat before she could gather her senses to respond. "It's your c-call, Diggs. Just don't stop."

He followed directions without skipping a beat, digging into his strength to pick up speed when he sensed they could move to the next level. He peppered in filthy statements that stimulate Olivia's mind while driving into her with expert precision.

They held on to each other as they reached separate peaks with no regard for the climbing noise level.

"I wanna do this forever," Daveed whispered into Olivia's ear before nipping at the lobe.

"Not look into my eyes lovingly and write songs about me?"

Daveed chuckled and snapped his hips forward, earning a near-silent moan. "Can I use you calling me daddy on the hook?"

"You got a lot of work to do before that happens."

"I'll put in overtime."

Splaying his hand across Olivia's torso, Daveed pushed her to lay flat on the table before leaning to hover over her body. He used his waning energy to give her all the power in his hips, searching for a climax. When she thought she couldn't come anymore, Olivia felt her body jolt off the table once the pad of Daveed's thumb began rubbing tight circles on her clit. Daveed smiled at the reaction but felt it disappear as soon as his hips falter mid-stroke. He rushed to pull out of Olivia, fearing that if he stayed inside for a moment longer, he would expedite his journey to fatherhood.

Olivia helped his cause by curling her fingers around his length and joining his pumping effort while she propped her body up on her elbow. He came with a choppy moan and heavy breathing on her belly, his chest rising and falling rapidly in time with the stove's timer beeping for attention.

Both Olivia and Daveed dissolved into laughter.

"Please, don't let this dry on me. It's sexy now but a pain to get off later."

Daveed's laughter climbed to hysterics at Olivia's mention of the mess on her stomach before reaching across the table to grab napkins out of the centerpiece component.

"Sorry," he apologized sheepishly as he helped wipe her clean. "Condoms next time?" 

"Or my mouth."

Daveed stood shocked for a split second while Olivia worked to readjust her clothing and hurry to the stove. He followed her lead and pulled up his sweats before clearing the syrup pot and grabbing wipes to disinfect the surface.

The room was silent while they arranged hot dishes on the counter and privately grappled with having sex for the first time. A sense of "now what" hung in the air, which made Daveed more and more uncomfortable.

After plates were fixed, they chose opposite ends of the table to enjoy the meal.

"You know," Olivia started, laughing as she swallowed the last piece of cornbread on her plate. "That simple syrup recipe is my mom's. This whole meal was her favorite thing to cook, and I made it because I was really fuckin' sad and needed her nearby. Then you showed up."

Daveed's eyes snapped up from his plate. He wasn't sure what to say and remained silent in hopes that Olivia would elaborate.

"A couple weeks before she died, she told me that she would still be directing my love life from Heaven. She grabbed my hand and said, 'Dammit, Bean, I'm gone get you a man even if I gotta do it during bingo with the good Lord.'"

"You think she's up there winning the grand prize?"

Olivia shook her head. "I think she forfeited it to send you to me."

Her answer made Daveed still to watch Olivia's eyes meet his set from across the table. She reached a hand across the table with her palms facing upward, beckoning Daveed to place his palm in the center of hers.

"We have three weeks to figure this shit out," Daveed said, smiling before bringing Olivia's palm to rest on his cheek.

She looked at him for a minute to take in the way his eyes reflected the sun before using her head to gesture toward the pot still resting on the counter.

"And all night to finish off mama's recipe."

[bular]

Welcome to Live Commentary

I had no one to talk to while watching the movie and I hate being alone with my thoughts so I wrote everything down in my notes app. It's not coherent! Enjoy!

Aw yeah 1.5 seconds of Bular that is all I needed! Might as well stop now I've seen my boy I'm satisfied.

Why is there a nearly 4 minute recap as if I haven't watched the show at least 50 times. I should be the one giving the recap.

The beginning felt a bit forced to me but maybe that's just me? Like they just tried to squeeze too many things into a small timeframe without any buildup, it just didn't really work. Congrats on the engagement! This is my OTP so I'm very happy! But it came out of nowhere.

Nari in Douxies body is so wrong and I love it and hate it at the same time (positive)

Eli is BIG. I knew he was gonna be tall but I was not prepared for that chiseled face. Or the fact that he stepped off the ship without glasses? I wear glasses and I would not choose to step off a spaceship blind.

OkAY who had mpreg on their bingo card?

AAARRRGGHH actually said a full sentence 🥺 there is no heterosexual explanation for this scene and I'm here for it

Arcadia being the center of the universe really does make a lot of sense. I hate how much sense it makes. Despise it.

Strickler in a Christmas sweater is something i didn't know I needed. Jim's jacket too but that's just adorable, Jim's adorable. Oh sweet baby you're about to get fucked over so bad.

Love seeing Barbara actively participating in battle too. Good for her! Power family!!

Where are the kids tho? Is NotEnrique babysitting? Either that or they hired the girl from the Incredibles movie.

Nomura is so talented I love seeing her fighting on the good side. I can't explain it but I love digitigrade legs they're just so pretty?? Aesthetically pleasing??? Fuck yeah, legg! I could watch Nomura run around and be badass all day.

WAIT NO OH SHIT HOW DARE YOU FUCK

STRICKLER DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE NOT YOU TOO THAT'S TOO FUCKING RUDE DON'T DO THIS TO ME

THERE'S NO WAY HE'S DEAD RIGHT WE SAW NO BODY

Barbara does not deserve this I refuse to accept it. He's fine he'll be back they wouldn't kill two Changelings at once. Also Nomura is with Draal now I take no criticism.

So my favorite characters were Bular, Draal, Gunmar and Angor. And before this movie I always half-joked that everyone I love dies, how I still like Strickler and Nomura but apart from them all of my faves were killed in the very order of favoritism. AND NOW LOOK AT THIS. THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I LOVE A CHARACTER. MY LOVE IS TOXIC.

OKAY I LOVE GUN RO- WAIT NO I DON'T LOVE HIM FUCK ABORT ABORT

It's great tho omg

I didn't realize it was Gun Robot when I saw it in the trailer this is amazing

Okay but imagine you're chilling in your trollmarket minding your own business when some misfit group of strangers waltzes in, steals your favorite shiny and celebrates your death before running off

"I AM GUN ROBOT" IS THE HORN LMAOOO

Nana better show up at some point to reunite with her boytoy, I'll cancel this entire franchise otherwise

Something bad is going to happen to Toby isn't it. He's getting too much screentime

Jim's hand got DEEP FRIED

ARCHIE NO

We can play Scrabble okay if they don't free them (which they must) I want an after credits scene of them playing scrabble

Douxie and Nari's bond 🥺🥺🥺

Nari pls just say what you fuckin mean the world is ending

Oh god is she going to remember killing Nomura oh nooo

Claire don't make the portal you will die again. Your hair gon be white all over

EVERYONE AVOIDING THE SCHOOL JUST RIGHT THERE LMAO RIP

I love how Darci is just with the school bus. Civilian girlfriend. But also love how the world is ending and Coach is like "fuck that I'm gonna teach these kids"

Does he know his son is pregnant

"Going back to the city where it's safe" buddy have you been to that city

Whatever happens, Nari has the coolest looking titan. Giant four legged gremlin. I'd adopt him.

WAIT SHE CAN FEEL THE PAIN?

Me: oh i love that titan

The titan 5 seconds later:

Did Nari just fucking die what the FUCK

Oh of COURSE the pages are stuck together RIGHT THERE

Seriously tho how do you not notice an entire nougat nummy in a book

Wait so Arcadia has another heartstone? Or OH SO IT'S ALIVE. OKAY GREAT. GUNMAR COULDN'T EVEN DO THAT RIGHT HUH

Love how the Heartstone has been dormant/dead for months and apparently heard Blinky say it's alive and decided to wake up RIGHT THEN

Finally they're evacuating the city. This is like, the third apocalypse there. About time.

Okay so you can't pull Excalibur from the rock, but you CAN carve out the stone. Couldn't you just carve it off the sword as close as possible and like. Use that? Just swing the whole damn rock around?

God i can NOT get over Steve's pants. I mean I read a spoiler he was gonna be pregnant but I thought it was a prank or shitpost. I did not see this coming and I am never going to be over it. I love how he and Aja just roll with it and nobody else even cares. They've seen weirder stuff. So he's pregnant now. Whatever.

Jim's hand is bandaged and his ribs still hurt. I love that they're actually consistent with his injuries. I mean sucks for him but hell yeah for hero that doesn't always win!

Okayyy here comes the heartstone. Why not!

IS HE IN LABOR

So if you kiss an Akiridion 7 times you will have 3-5 babies in a few hours. How are they not overpopulated?? Also Aja couldn't have WARNED STEVE BEFOREHAND?

Eli is so supportive omfg

So uh where are the babies gonna come out of? I'm not into mpreg how does this usually work

OH STEVE THANKS FOR ASKING MY QUESTION

Oh good thing he happens to have 8 friends still alive. Otherwise this would've never worked. Nomura had to die otherwise there would've been 10 of them.

Why is everyone bowing to Jim? Did they rehearse this?

Stuart if you hadn't taken a bathroom break you would've thrown off the math and doomed the world. That was a poop of fate my man

Ahhh the signature quote. Where did Douxie and the Akiridions learn it? Did they rehearse this too? It's really cliché but I do like it tbh

If Strickler were dead we'd see more Barbara right?

WOOO BLINKY DRIVING

Ah Jim just used she/her for Bellroc! Finally we're learning some pronouns. I've been wondering this whole time.

MY VIRGIN EYES. WHAT IS GOING O N

How are they not dying with all this lava?

She really just yeeted Varvatos

Did Claire just tell AAARRRGGHH to jump off the titan and he did it without question

I want to say I like Stuart and want him to have more screentime, but I won't say it because I don't want him to die

Jim's poor ribs

Toby can drive yoooo

Tobyyy you're scaring meeeee

So did they really need the different stone or was the amulet just waiting for Jim to choose death over giving up

I saw the armor before but it looks VERY COOL

Also I didn't mention this before but I love that they cut Merlin's name from the incantation. Good for them.

Toby you lost your helmet noooo

For real tho I'm terrified for Toby rn. I saw a comment somewhere earlier that just said "Toby no" with no context and I am AFRAID

So do Bellroc's eyes work after all? I thought she was blinded back in Wizards in the past.

DID SHE JUST FUCKING STAB MY BOY

TOBY YOU SHOULD NOT BE THERE GET OUT THE TRUCK

Bellroc maybe screaming "i'm powerless" in front of your enemy isn't the best idea

She sploosh

DID JIM SURVIVE THAT FALL AND ALSO IS THE TACO TRUCK OKAY

How is he lifting Claire like that buddy you have bruised ribs and just got stabbed

ELI HI CAN WE SEE THE KIDS

SEVEN KIDS! AND ELI JR I LOVE IT

This show really loves to give people more than the recommended amount of babies with no warning huh

She immediately knows which one is Eli Jr 🥺 okay listen I'm not the biggest fan of comic relief sideplot surprise babies, but I have to admit they're cute. Cute couple. Throuple. Eli is in on this. He even has a Junior.

I TOLD YOU WHERE'S THE DAMN TACO TRUCK NANA WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU AND NEITHER WILL I

Oh yea he better fuckin be alive I will commit murder

HE BETTER FUCKIN BE ALIVE BITCH

FUCK YOU

THAT'S A WHOLE ASS CHILD HE ISN'T ALLOWED TO DIE IT'S ILLEGAL

JIM IS GONNA LOOK DOWN AT THE GREEN GLOWING BITCH AAARRRGGHH CONVENIENTLY THREW THERE AND SEE HIM ALIVE OR SOMETHING

YEAH USE THE SWORD TO UNDEAD HIM! THAT'S HOW YOU USE SWORDS!

Unbecoming Part 2

So is Jim just gonna Groundhog Day it until everyone is fine? There's only 13 minutes left we're gonna need a bigger movie

Also I screamed so much about everyone's death and now everyone reading this after they already saw the whole thing is gonna shame me for clowning huh

The scene where Blinky is giving his goodbye speech, there are no babies and Steve has a round belly? Did he reabsorb them?? I mean I know Jim is about to un-birth them but he hasn't started yet

JUST HOW FAR BACK IS HE PLANNING TO GO

WAIT HOLD UP EXCUSE ME WHAT

Oh they did NOT just do that. I though he was just gonna go back to like, the start of the movie maybe. Not all the way

Imagine being in your early twenties with as much trauma as this kid has and having to pretend you're 16 again

Somewhere Unkar is complaining because "oh sure NOW it's a good idea"

I know Jim is wondering where Toby is because he was there before. But before, he made an entire meatloaf AND did his homework before leaving the house, so honey maybe wait a minute

For a second I thought Toby wasn't gonna be there and Jim would return to the right time. But there he is!

Alright so they're in school now, did they take the canal and just didn't mention the amulet on screen or did they pass it as if the Unbecoming episode hadn't been that traumatizing? Jim you know what happens when you ignore it

Jim maybe you're being too obvious here lmao

Soooo. Anyway. These whole past years I've rewatched this show over and over and over again are cancelled now?

OKAY AT LEAST WE SAW NANA FOR A SPLIT SECOND THAT'S IRONIC TIMING

So we get the quote again. And Trollhunter Tobias is nice. Cool. Cool AU I mean, but I don't know. I don't knowwww. I've been way too invested in everything to just accept that it never happened?? So uh. Hm. How about this.

Strickler survived because fuck you, and Toby also survived and just has scars now. Maybe a wheelchair but he's fine, also he can use the Warhammer for super speed and make it awesome once he's used to it. Archie and Charlie get freed once they rebuild the bridge (and they were playing scrabble to pass the time). Nomura is still dead because she died on screen and I can't really deny that but she's with Draal so it's okay. Everyone is traumatized but they'll be fine. NotEnrique is still babysitting 500 babies and Steve is about to bring 7 more.

In summary, I reject Groundhog Day ending but everything else was great, as long as it actually happened. It was a good movie. But you can't just cancel years of passion. Having the prospect of a million "canon AUs" sounds great for writing but at the same time nooo you can't do that he didn't have to go back THAT far HHHHH

I liked the movie. It was a great watch and a satisfying end to a franchise, but I gotta say I do not fancy the ending of it so I will from now on be in denial. I honestly feel kind of betrayed that this show was my whole life for so long, I learned every smallest fact, and they basically deleted it from existence. I know what they were going for, I think, but no thank you I will be going with my own opinion. Still gonna rewatch it a few dozen times though ✌🏻

And that concludes my live commentary that was supposed to be a small handful of notes. Feel free to shame me for my opinions. See ya!

[im-a-simp1]

Star Wars Companion: Part Two

Peter Parker x Y/n

Word count: 1.4k

Warnings: Cussing, angst, a little fluff , death (in a flashback)

Summary: After Peter and y/n have made plans to watch the movies, y/n stops at the convenience store to grab snacks but things turn south real fast. (This story is from y/n’s POV unlike the previous one just a heads up)

Masterlist

 Y/n POV:

“It’s 15th Street apartment 410 and does 8pm work for ya?” Peter said

“Yeah that’s sounds good”

“Alright see you tomorrow!”

“Oh and I will provide snacks since you are providing the movies. See you tomorrow :)” Blushing after sending the last text. He made my heart jump out of my chest. I have always been too shy to talk to him not because he’s intimidating but more of not knowing how to talk to him. I was never good at talking to boys in general and starting a conversation was not my specialty. After seeing the millennial falcon on his backpack in art class, finding that common ground made it easier to reach out to him. Now that I am going to his place to watch my favorite franchise, my heart is flowing with joy.

Next day couldn’t have gone any slower. It seemed like an hour had passed by but I would look at the clock and only 5 minutes had passed by. I was just wanting to go over to Peter’s to spend time with him and watch the movies. After school, I had gone home and started to gather things that I wanted to bring over. I grabbed my Star Wars blanket, I always have it with me when I watch the movies, my dad has given it to me when I was younger when we watched them together. Star Wars has always reminded her of her dad, she got her love from Star Wars from her dad. I had to think of something else before I started crying because today is not the day for crying it is a joyful day. I grabbed my phone out to text Peter, “Can’t wait time see you at 8. Don’t forget! (ps what kind of snacks do you want?” I had sent the text waiting for his response. Since we were watching the movies later, I was able to crank out some homework, it was a way for time to go by faster. Finally it was 7 and Peter still hasn’t responded to my text. I thought it was weird but I just figured he was just doing homework and not paying attention to his phone. With that being said, I got up and took my stuff to bring over and left my apartment, my mom works nights at the hospital so she was never home when I was home. As I went to the convenient store, I was searching through snacks and candies, I guess I have to choose for him I thought to myself. After some debating, I finally grabbed a few snacks and I made my way over to the clerk. As I was getting in the line, a couple of men came in with masks on with only the eyes and mouth showing. I knew we were screwed as soon as I saw them.

“EVERYONE ON THE GROUND!” One man shouted holding a gun at the people in the line

“GIVE ME ALL THE DAMN MONEY FROM THE REGISTER RIGHT NOW!” One of the men said pointing the gun at the cashier. He shouted at the clerk. As everyone was getting one the ground freaking out, my body did nothing. I dropped the snacks from where I was and was completely frozen, my body could not comprehend what was going on. The robber that was pointing the gun at the people in the store, I made eye contact with him. My heart dropped.

“Come here sweetheart” he says in a creepy voice as he was using the gun to usher for me to come over. I still was frozen and could not move.

“I said COME HERE RIGHT NOW” as he shouts and points the gun at me. His voice startled me and I felt my eyes start to water. My feet were finally able to slowly move to him.

“Hands in the air” he said and I obeyed.

“Good girl” as he uses his free arm to wrap around my waist to hold me while pointing the gun at my head. “You are my ticket out for when the cops come. Yeah you're going to be some nice leverage” he whispers into my ear. At this point my chances of living are decreasing by the second, so if I was going to have courage it had to be now.

“How about you fuck off and go die in a hole”

“Shut the fuck up bitch! Maybe I will just kill you now” he says as he presses the gun further into my head as if it wasn’t close enough. Maybe that wasn’t the best moment for courage. It didn’t matter at this point. I was thinking that this was it, I was going to die. This robber was going to shoot me like how my father was shot in the middle of a robbery just like this. I didn’t want to die, I wanted so much more with my life, I wanted to explore the world, especially Venice and take a gondola ride, I wanted to have a family, but most of all, I just wanted to say one last I love you to my mom. I wondered if that was one of my dad’s last thoughts when he died, if he just wanted to say I love you to my mom one last time. Not knowing when he was going to pull the trigger made the situation so much worse, the anticipation was killing me. I just wanted to know if he was going to do it or not.

“And mister have you ever learned that stealing is wrong, even I was taught that at a young age” a person in a red and blue tight suit just said leading against the door. Speaking so casually like the robbers was no real threat. The robber that was holding me had shifted us to be facing the mysterious person instead of looking sideways. Then after getting a better look at the person, I realized it’s Spider-Man, my chances of getting out of this alive just increased just a little bit, making me hopeful. As we turned Spiderman had shot his webs which ended up tying the robber who was pointing the gun at the clerk.

“And for you know it's rude to hold someone hostage...” Spider-Man started to fade out when he looked at me.

“Y/n?”

Both the robber and I were a little shocked that he had said my name.

“Oh so you know this girl. Is that so? Huh, well know I am most definitely taking her with me”

Even though the robber was speaking, I wasn’t really paying attention to what he was saying. Even though he just threatened to kidnap me, I knew that Spider-Man was going to get me out of this. I was just thinking about how Spiderman knows my name. Did I know him personally? Or did he just know my name? Have I come into contact with Spiderman real identity?

“How do you…” but before I could finish my question, Spiderman shot a web from his wrists and took the robber’s gun out of his hand. With a little bit of courage that I had left, I had elbowed the robber in the gut. As he was grabbing his now hurt stomach, I took this opportunity to run away from the robber. Maybe telling the robber to fuck off helped after all. Once I was out of reach, I had turned around and Spider-Man had already tied him up in his webs. After tying him up, Spiderman made his way toward me.

“Are you okay?” He asked. My adrenaline was still pumping throughout my entire body.

“Um, yeah I think so. Thank you for saving my life.”

“Anytime”

“I am forever grateful”

“It’s nothing really, I'm just doing my job” as he itches the back of his head.

“Hey um how do you know my name?” Almost forgetting to ask him.

“Oh um I ah um sorry, um I-I got to go maybe next time” he states as he starts to run away, he turns back around and sees that you are picking up tour snacks that you dropped on the ground. He quickly comes back to your side and helps you pick up your snacks.

“You know what is a good snack miss?”

“What?”

“Sour Patch Watermelons” he says and quickly runs away and swings his way out of the convenience store right before the police show up.

-

-

-

Thank you so much for reading my story! There are few things I need to mention

I’m sorry if you have been waiting for this part 2 to release, I have been busy with college work and a good family friends of mine are moving and my family and I have been helping them so it’s been chaotic with that as well.

There will be a part 3 (I obliviously can’t let the story end there)

And I have been on tumbler for awhile now but I have only read fanfics and never really wrote till now. But I have recently been struggling with replies to my posts. I turned on my replies so that everyone can reply but it seems to not be working. If you know your way around this app or know how to help me, please message me! I would like to hear people’s comments on my stories!

Thank you 😊

[blu-joons]

BTS Reaction: Staying Inside With Them

Jin:

The two of you set up in your living room, pulling the coffee table in front of you, resting on it the console that connected to the television, Jin passing you a controller once it was all switched on. “I hope you’re prepared to lose; I am the king of this game, no one has ever beaten me.”

“There’s a first time for everything,” you chuckled, snatching the controller from him, resting your feet on his lap.

“Is this your way of distracting me?” He asked, tickling his fingers lightly against your soles.

Your head shook, tapping against his leg. “I don’t need to do anything to distract you, I already know I’m going to win this. Only a cheat would do such a thing.”

“Even JK hasn’t beaten me, and he always wins everything else.”

“It’s a good job I’m not JK then,” you reminded him, “don’t get complacent, I’ve got nothing else to be doing right now, so I’ve been getting a fair it of practice in.”

His eyes widened, giggling, “how come you never told me about that?”

“I’m not going to tell you what I’ve been doing, that would be giving you an advantage,” you warned, “now, are we going to play, or not?”

“Oh, it’s on, prepare to be humiliated Y/N.”

Yoongi:

His light snores next to you were making you chuckle, most of the morning had been and gone, but he was still fast asleep, making the most of the time he had at home with you. “Yoongi, you do know you have to get up at some point today? Staying at home doesn’t mean we can do nothing.”

“It sounds like a great idea to me,” he teased, reluctantly opening his eyes, smiling across at you.

“We’ve still got things to do, you’ve still got work to do,” you reminded him, giggling as his eyes rolled in displeasure.

He tapped his shoulder, moving you down to lay against him, “work can wait, it’s got plenty of time. Don’t you want to just lay with me for a while?”

“Of course, but it would be nice to do something whilst we do.”

“How about a movie day then,” he suggested, “now more than ever is the perfect time to start a franchise or have a super long movie marathon.”

You nodded, “you’ll just fall asleep like you always do.”

“I won’t promise,” he argued, sitting up in the bed to make his point, “there’s no chance I will sleep, I want to stay awake with you.”

“Alright, then let’s set the laptop up then.”

Hoseok:

He set up his tripod and camera, making room in your living room for the two of you, looking at the viewfinder to make sure it was perfect. “I just want to be absolutely sure that you know the routine, because we can go through it one more time if you want us to, it’s not a problem.”

“It’s Chicken Noodle Soup, trust me, I know what I’m doing,” you assured him, bouncing around whilst he set it up.

“The fans are going to love watching this,” he smiled, placing the camera on a timer, getting into position beside you.

You chuckled, going through the routine in your head one last time. “I bet they’re really interested in what we’re doing at home.”

“You’d be surprised, the number of messages I receive asking the question.”

Just as he finished speaking, the camera beeped and the recording began, the two of you going through the chorus twice, with big smiles on your faces.

“Let’s watch it back, I’m excited to see it,” he chuckled, grabbing his camera.

“I’m pretty sure I messed it up halfway through,” you laughed, sitting down beside him as he played it back, smiling at how the two of you looked.

“I love that, and the fans will love it too.”

Namjoon:

Being stuck indoors, you knew that Namjoon couldn’t take it as an excuse to forget about work, but the majority of his time was spent in his studio going through all his lyrics. “Namjoon, do you fancy dragging yourself away from the computer for a few moments? I’m getting worried about you.”

“You don’t need to, I’m happy just here,” he smiled, tapping at his desk, turning back to his desktop.

“You need time for yourself away from it all,” you argued, walking up behind him, wrapping your arms around his shoulders.

He looked up, flashing you a wide smile. “I just need to get all of this done, it’s harder being at home when I can’t talk to anyone, everything takes so much more time.”

“I appreciate that, but a break will probably do you more good.”

“You’re probably right,” he sighed, resting back against your tummy. “I’m lucky I’ve got you to look after me, aren’t I? Always keeping an eye on me.”

You nodded, kissing his forehead. “So, will you come and take a break?”

“Yeah, you’ve managed to convince me, we could do something together, I’ve got a new jigsaw in the wardrobe,” he suggested.

“As long as you’re not working, I’m happy.”

Jimin:

Being at home gave him the perfect chance to get in contact with all the fans, sitting in his studio with you by his side, he pressed live on the V Live app, waving to all the fans. “We’re getting really bored stuck at home, so we thought we’d come and say hello.

“How are you all doing? Let us know what you’re up to,” he spoke, beginning to scroll through the thousands of comments you received.

“We’re looking for ideas of dome fun things to do,” you requested, smiling at them all.

Great ideas soon came in, you tried your best to write as many of them down as you could before they went past. “Being at home is harder than I thought it would be.”

“He’s still used to being on the road, and apparently I’m boring.”

“That’s not true,” he chuckled, jabbing your side. “We’ve just been doing so much together, we thought we’d come on here for something different to do.”

“He’s missing you all really, that’s what this is about.”

He nodded, resting against your side. “She’s not wrong, I’m missing all the Army and listening to you all singing and watching you dance to the music.”

“I’m pretty happy to have him home though.”

Taehyung:

Your family was never just the two of you, Yeontan was always on hand to keep the two of you on your toes, whenever you got bored, he was there to bring a smile back to your face. “I think he wants to go out for a while, his ball is in the basket by the back door.”

“You’re coming too, he loves you more than me, Taehyung chuckled, pulling you up from the sofa to the back door.

“It’s cold and windy, you can’t do this to me,” you giggled, wrapping your arms around him.

Around your legs, Yeontan ran around, barking in excitement. “How can you argue with that handsome face? He wants you to come out with us too.”

“Don’t guilt me with the dog, you know he’s my weakness.”

“Then listen to him and come play, fresh air will do you good,” he encouraged, opening the back door, the breeze sending a shiver down your spine.

You sighed, reluctantly following him out. “I hate you for this.”

“That’s not true, you love the two of us so much,” he teased, throwing his ball before wrapping his arms around you. “We’re your favourites.”

“You’re not wrong, you are my favourites.”

Jungkook:

He pulled the box down from the loft, it was packed with board games that you’d collected over the years, perfect for times like this when the two of you were indoors together. “I’ve already spotted Monopoly, that is a must, I am a master at building the best houses, and winning all the money.”

“Well, I’ve spotted Scrabble, and I’m always the winner then,” you pointed out, snatching it from the top of the box to hold onto.

“If anything is going to break us, it’s going to be our competitiveness,” he chuckled.

You nodded, helping him place the box down, “you’re probably not wrong, but just so you know, I will beat you at all of these.”

“Why don’t we put a stake on it, make it a challenge.”

“How about for every game someone loses, they are the ones responsible for cooking dinner that night,” you suggested, “but they also have to wash the dishes after.”

“I like the sound of that, I always enjoy your food.”

Your head shook, rolling your eyes. “It’s a shame that you won’t be able to taste it for a while, but I promise I will enjoy eating every one of your meals.

“You could not be more wrong about this.”

---

Masterlist

[rae-is-typing]

Anything For You

NOTE: If you ever feel as though you want to purposefully harm yourself or even commit suicide, please get some help. I encourage you to reach out. Don’t hesitate to message me.

Description: You’re struggling. Between school and the movie making process, your blood is made of stress and the only way you can get any sort of rest is by taking sleeping pills. One night, you take too many.

Characters: The reader, Chris Evans, Sebastian Stan, the rest of the Civil War cast are mentioned, a doctor and medics

Warnings: Accidental overdose, descriptions of an anxiety attack, pills, destructive self talk, the reader is really mean to herself, hospitals, blood, concussion, crying, self harm, mentions of shitty parents. This one is heavy.

Disclaimers: I mean no disrespect to any of the people mentioned, even the reader. I’ve also never overdosed so this might not be accurate nor have I been to the hospital for a serious injury, so that may also be inaccurate. My apologies if it is.

Word count: ~6k

Your tired eyes leer at your computer screen. Ugly, ugly math stared back at you. You sigh, rubbing your eyes. This assignment was due at midnight. It was already 11 PM and you had barely started.

I’m so fucked. Why am I so stupid? I bet third graders can do better than me on this shit.

You thought, shoving your computer to the back of the shitty hotel desk. Groaning, you lay your head on the table.

My parents were right. I’m just a dumb kid, I can’t even do dumb math problems. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

You pick up your head and drop it back down to the desk a few times, trying to get the gears to start turning. Or give yourself a mild concussion. Whatever came first.

You sit up, rubbing your forehead a little and look around the hotel room you’re in. It was small with a queen bed in the middle of the room. It was nice. Of course it was nice, one of the biggest movie franchises had paid for it. You were lucky to get your own room. The hotel was overbooked, so some actors had to pair up. Your room was between Sebastian and Chris’s room and Robert’s room- three people that would fight (and possibly die) for you. It made sense though, they would do the same for most of Civil War’s cast. But you brought out their more protective sides. That also made sense- you were still a kid, barely 16 years old and already trying to figure shit out on your own.

Kids shouldn’t have to get emancipated at 15 even if they can afford it. You thought bitterly. Kids shouldn’t hate themselves. Kids shouldn’t be this stressed.

You couldn’t do this shit anymore. School was kicking your ass. So was this god damn press tour. You couldn’t get one plain day off. It was always work work work and school school school. Even worse is the fact that you went from an honors student with a perfect 4.0 to flunking three of four classes. 

Maybe I’m just a fucking failure. Maybe I should quit while I’m ahead. Maybe I should just give up. I can’t do this anymore, fuck. This is too much. All of it is too much. I’m never going to this shit right. I’m too fucking stupid. Too dumb to do a fucking math problem. 

Tears prick at your eyes. You hold your breath and squeeze your eyes shut, trying to fight off the inevitable sobs. You hate crying, it makes you feel dumb and even more childish. Your breathing only picked up and you began hitching out quiet sobs.

I can’t do this anymore. I don’t want to do this anymore. I can’t I can’t I don’t wanna do this I can’t do it any longer. 

You couldn’t breath as you sobbed in your hands. You could never catch a break. It was all too much. You had no time for anything else, just work and school. No time for friends outside of the cast. Hell, you barely had time for the people in the cast and you felt awkward when you wanted to spend time with them because you were 16 and everyone but Tom was almost twice your age. And sure, Tom was nice or whatever, but he was also an adult that didn’t need a fucking chaperone accompanying him if they wanted to go down the road to get away from set. 

You did know that stress was going to be high and there really wouldn’t be a lot of time to relax and take it easy going into the movie, but you seriously overestimated your ability to handle this level of stress. The late nights, early mornings, always needing to be perfect at everything; it was killing you.

Why do I have to keep doing this? I can’t do it anymore I can’t. I need a break. 

You sobbed for a good few minutes before dissolving into a coughing fit. You glanced at the alarm clock on the table. It was 11:30 PM. You choked another sob out, realizing that you were definitely failing this assignment. 

Tears stream down your face while you finish answering all the questions wrong and turn in the assignment. 

Giving up again? Nothing new. Fucking idiot. Suck it up and do it, you privileged fuck. Stop being such a fucking baby and maybe you’d actually get somewhere.

You wiped your eyes aggressively. You weren’t getting anywhere by crying like a baby. 

Might as well just go to sleep. I can’t even do that without help, fuck.

You stood up from the desk chair and made your way to your bags. You pulled out an opaque black makeup and looked through it. There was an empty bottle of sleeping pills sitting in it. 

Empty of fucking course. Can’t even keep track of simple things. Idiot. 

There were a lot of stores around the hotel you were in, but it was almost midnight. And as a 16 year old girl, you had to be accompanied by a chaperone over the age of 25 if you wanted to go somewhere off set or outside the hotel. Even though you are emancipated, there was still a lot of legal risks Marvel was just not going to take with you. 

Everyone else was likely asleep at this point. You had to be up at 5 AM to catch your flight the next morning. You could just not sleep tonight, but after that crying spell, you knew you needed to. The only problem was that you couldn’t sleep without help and you had no more pills left. 

Besides, no one would agree to go with you to a store to get anything they didn’t perceive as an absolute necessity. Unless…

You pulled out your phone and sent a message to Chris, someone you knew would be up, especially because he had to share a room with Sebastaian. They acted like school girls when they were together. 

you: hey you up

cap cap cap: yeah whats up?

you: can you come to a store with me?

cap cap cap: it’s a little late for that kid. can it wait till morning? we have to be up in 5 hours for the flight

you: I need girl stuff and none of the others are up

cap cap cap: meet me outside of our rooms seb is coming too

you: k thanks

You slipped on a sweater, grabbed your wallet and phone and made your way to the lobby. Sure enough, Sebastian and Chris were standing there, both in sweats and sweatshirts. You offered a sheepish smile.

“Thanks guys,” You say. They smile back at you.

“No thanks needed, kid. You have needs.” Chris says.

Sure, you felt bad about lying about the real reason you wanted to go to a store. But it was either leave and get a bit of sleep or stay and not sleep at all.

“There’s a small convenience store a few blocks west,” Sebastian says, looking up from his phone.

“Where the fuck is west?” Chris asks.

“That way,” Sebastian responds, pointing in a general direction. Chris frowned, looking down at your blank face.

“Y/N?” Chris asks. Your head snaps up at the sound of your name.

“Yeah?”

“You usually tell me to ‘watch my fucking language’ when I swear.”

“Oh, sorry.” You clear your throat. “Watch your fucking language, Evans.” You say without the usual fervor.

“You feeling okay, doll?” He asks,moving to place a hand on your forehead.

“Yeah, fine. Girl shit,” You duck away from his hand, moving in the direction Seb was pointing. 

Chris furrows his eyebrows, trying to read you. But his small investigation was cut short by a loud group of drunk, and possibly high, men stumbling out of a bar. It was pretty early for people to be this shit faced. 

They were stumbling, shoving each other in a bunch of different ways and laughing, whooping and yelling incoherently. You watched as one threw up over the road, only being supported by one of his buddies who appeared to be as drunk as he was.

“Y/N, stay close.” Sebastian says, putting an arm around you and pulling you closer to him. Chris moves closer to the both of you, covering the side of you that was left vulnerable. 

The group parted like the red sea when the three of you walked towards them. Apparently they weren’t drunk enough to pick a fight with people that could quite literally rip them apart.

You looked up at Chris and Sebastian. Their faces were stone cold, clearly intimidating to anyone that looked at them, even their friends. It was a far cry from the warm smiles they usually dawned. You glanced around to see one of the guys in the group ogling you. He locked eyes with you, licked his lips then bit down on his bottom one. You moved closer to Sebastian, turning your face into his side. He shot a glare at the guy who immediately called for his buddies that had moved on to wait for him. You wrap your arms around your stomach and settled into a nice walking pace.

“Are you okay?” Sebastian asks softly, looking down to you and rubbing your shoulder with his thumb. You simply nodded, fixing your gaze to the sidewalk in front of you.

“That was gross. What kinda person stares at a girl walking down the street?” Chris asks. You knew that if it wouldn’t get him in serious trouble, he’d fist fight that guy. 

The rest of the walk was of Chris trying to cheer you up a bit. He told you funny stories of him and his buddies, of the cast on past tours, and just about anything he thought would get you to laugh. Nothing was working. 

Sebastian held the door for you as you went in. Chris and Sebastian followed you in, waiting for your wordlessly as you picked up what you needed. The only occupant was a lonely, very tired clerk sitting at the counter looking like he was going to sleep for weeks when he got off shift. You shopped pretty quickly, grabbing a few candy bars, a bottled drink, tampons, some generic brand Tylenol and a pack of sleeping pills before heading to the zombie clerk.

“You have to buy Naloxone with this purchase because you’re buying an acetaminophen. Store policy.” His dead eyes bore into you as you pulled some money from your wallet.

You give a small nod of acknowledgment. He rings up the box and throws the Naloxone in the small plastic bag with all of your other items. You hand him some cash and he gives you your change.

“Ready?” Chris asks, yawning slightly.

“Yeah,” You felt the way zombie clerk looked: tired and totally fucking dead inside.

The three of you walked back to the hotel at the same pace as before. This time it was silent. The walk lasted about the same time, 10 minutes or so each way. The three of you took the stairs up to the third floor.

You held the door to the stairs open for them.

“Thanks again, guys. I really appreciated this.”

“Anything for you, Y/N.” Chris smiles sleepily. 

“Yeah, you’re welcome. Get some rest.” Sebastian says, moving to hug you goodnight. You wrapped your arms around Sebastian’s neck and he wrapped his arms around your back. He was warm and smelled like old spice. It was nice and you felt safe. Safe enough to want to spill your heart out, safe enough to tell him what you’ve been thinking, how you’ve been so hard on yourself with no good results. You want him to help you. You want him to tell you that everything was going to work out and that you’ll be okay. But you don’t. You simply let go and hug Chris.

Chris was warmer than Sebastian, and he smelled like soft mint. You felt just as safe. Tears pricked your eyes; you really didn’t want to go back to your room and be alone. You wanted to stay with them and talk or listen to them talk. Just being around them makes you feel a little better.

But you let go. You willed your tears away and thanked them one last time before going to your room, unaware that the two men had stayed in the hallway.

You walked down the small entryway and set your bag on the desk by your laptop bag. You pulled out the sleeping pill, popped two in your hand and swallowed them dry. You stayed seated at the desk. A stack of failed papers sat adjacent to the laptop bag. Frowning, you picked them up, barely able to make out the critiques in the dull light of your hotel room. Red pen was scribbled on a paper that you had wrote reviewing FDR’s presidency.

45%. You had received a 45 % on this essay. It took you almost two weeks to write and you got a 45%.

I’m fucking useless. I can’t even write an essay right.

You moved on to another essay you had written, This was your worst, You got a 30% on it. 30% was the lowest grade you had gotten on something that you put genuine effort into.

God, why do I even try anymore. What’s the point of school. I should just drop out, fuck. I should focus on acting. I can at least do that okay.

A drop of water fell on the paper in front of you, smearing the red ink that covered the page. Huh. You didn’t even realize you were crying again.

I’m just a dumb baby. Why do I try anymore? I should go home. My parents were right about me. I’ll never be good enough, I should just go home.

Your breathing sped up and you choked on your sobs in a weak attempt to stay quiet.

Why aren’t the pills working? I want to sleep.

You fumbled with the packaging of the pills, four more falling into your hands. You throw them in your mouth and swallow them dry. 

Your hands start to burn. It blossoms through your arms and through your chest, moving down to your feet. Your head throbs as though someone is leading a marching band through your cerebral cortex. You wince, rubbing your temples.

The pounding gets stronger and stronger until you can’t take it. You reach for the plastic shopping bag on your desk. You snatch the painkillers from it, rip off the packaging on grab a small handful. Without thinking, you shoved them into your mouth and swallowed. 

You couldn’t breath. They had gotten stuck while you attempted to swallow them. You needed water. You spotted your water bottle on the nightstand. You jumped up and rushed over to the nightstand, you tripped on something. The world is a blur around you as your forehead collides with the sharp corner of the wooden table. You yelp, sucking in a sharp breath. You push your head into your hands, putting pressure on the wound. 

The pain moves quickly. Soon, all you could think about was the burning and the pounding in your head. You push yourself against the small space between the wall and the nightstand, head still held by your hand.

You heard three dull thumps resonate through the room. Then you heard your name. More thumps then nothing. The pain was the only thing on your mind. That and the fact that your hands and cheeks were wet and beginning to grow sticky.

Why are my hands wet? I cry from my eyes, not my forehead. Oh, fuck this hurts.

You didn’t know how much time had passed from the thumping and someone pulling at your hands. You didn’t try to resist them. You were fading. Everything was blurry, the blob in front of you reminded you of your friend Chris. He was a real cool guy with really pretty eyes. But there were two of the colored blobs and Chris didn’t have a twin so it couldn’t be him.

Then you were being laid down on your side with your arms being manipulated. You tried to keep your eyes open but you were tired and in pain. You wanted it to go away. 

Why isn’t it going away?

_____________________

You reminded Chris of a puppy- energetic, affectionate and adorable in a way that only young and small things could be.

So he knew that something was up when you walked out of your hotel room with red and puffy eyes. This was more than pain and your hormones being out of whack. The walk confirmed his suspicions. You were quite- too quiet. You barely spoke. You barely looked at the two of them.

The hug made him want to stay with you for the rest of the night and talk. You almost cried when you hugged him. The only time you ever cried was when you had to for a scene.

Truth be told, he didn’t want to let you go. He holds you tightly, even when you loosen your grip on him.

“There’s something wrong, man,” Chris said after the door to your room closed. “She never cries.”

“She’s probably in pain. We aren’t girls, but we’ve heard how painful periods can be.”

“This is different.”

“Let’s talk to her in the morning, She’s probably stressed and in pain,”

Chris relented, following Sebastian to their room and laying in his bed, He didn’t get to sleep at all. He doesn’t know how much time had passed before he heard a loud thump and a yelp through the wall. He sat up, throwing the covers off of him. That was from your room. He bit his lip and stood up, slipping on some slide on shoes, he went to your room next door.

He knocked, “Y/N?” He knocked more. “Are you okay? Can you let me in, hon? I want to talk to you.”

No answer. He frowned. He tried one more time. Nothing, again. Chris looked around the hall while he waited impatiently for you to answer. His heart began to pump a little faster and something tugged in his gut. He needed to make sure you were okay and you really weren’t making it easy. After nothing happened again, he went down the stairs and to the front desk. Unsurprisingly, the front desk was empty. He rang a small bell they had. A tired young woman came from the back.

“Hi, how can I help you?" 

‘I lost the card to my room, can I get a new one?” Chris quickly lied. 

“Sure, what room?”

“321.”

She pulled out a key and magnetized it. In any other situation, he would be appalled that this woman didn’t ask for his name or even check that he was the right occupant of the room, but he was grateful for it now.

He practically sprinted up the stairs to your room, opened the door and walked in. It was dark, the only thing lighting the room was the lamp on the desk.

He fully expected to see you asleep on the bed and confirm that the thump and yelp was something else. But the only thing on the bed was your wallet and phone. He frowned, looking around. The bathroom door was open and you weren’t there.

He turned, looking around some more. Then he saw you. You were curled up between the nightstand and the bed. Your hands were cradling your forehead in shaking hands.

“Y/N, sweetie? Are you okay? Did something happen?” He spoke gently, trying not to startle you.

You didn’t even look up at him. He crouched down by you, gently pulling a hand away from your face. It was shaking horribly and covered in a red substance he prayed wasn’t blood. He pulled the other one away too. This one was drenched in what was most definitely blood and shaking as well. Your face was covered in it; it was dripping down your cheeks, over your nose, in your hair and even on your clothes.

“Y/N? Oh, my god! What happened to you?” He asked, brushing some hair that got caught in the mess away from your face. 

You eyes were heavily lidded and unfocused. You were staring him in the face but it was like he wasn’t there. Then he looked at your face closer. Your lips were turning purple.

“Fuck!” He exclaimed, patting his pockets for his phone. He stood up from his crouched position he quickly grabbed your phone, opened emergency contacts and dialed 911.

“911, what is your emergency?” A woman answered.

“Something is wrong with my friend. Her head is covered in blood, she’s shaking uncontrollably, and her lips are turning purple, I need an ambulance.”

“Okay, what is your location?”

“W Hotel on west seventh and main. Hurry, please.” Chris begged, pacing in front of your limp body.

“Okay, we have one en route. What’s your name sir?”

“Chris,”

“Okay, Chris. What room are you in?”

“I’m in room 321.”

“Is she responsive?“

"No, she’s just staring at me. I don’t think she knows I’m here,” Chris was crying at this point. With tears steadily flowing down his cheeks, he tried to stay calm for you.

“Did she consume any dangerous substances?”

“I-I don’t know. Fuck, how far is the ambulance?”

“They’re almost there.”

“Okay, please hurry, I think she’s dying.” Chris choked the last part out. This wasn’t real. There was no way that you, a 16 year old girl had just attempted suicide. 

No way. 

But it was real. You were laying in front of him, dying and he could do nothing about it.

Its takes too long for the medics to get there. But when they do, Chris steps back and panics in the corner.

They’re leaning over you and asking him things but he can’t think. He can’t breathe. Everything he knew about managing his anxiety went out the fucking window. 

He ended up riding to a hospital in the same car as you, holding your hand as they stabilized you. When they got to the hospital, he filled out paperwork for you.

Then he waited. 

He was led to a smaller, private waiting room and he sat. And he waited. The rest of the cast came in. Most of them were still in the clothes they had slept in. Sebastian and Robert had gotten their first, awoken by the medics and the noise in the hall. They got in a cab or something and followed the ambulance to the hospital. They just sat together in silence while everyone else trickled in.

Lizzie was crying. Hell, they all were in a state of shock. Chris just sat in a chair in a corner, trying to process what he saw.

How did she bleed that much? Why was she bleeding in the first place? Was it on purpose? Was it pills? Did she commit suicide? Why didn’t I see it? Is she dead? How could I have let this happen? His mind was going a mile a minute, but he sat completely still.

He was obviously oblivious to something because if he had done something earlier than this wouldn’t have done this. He could have stopped this from happening. 

The doctor comes in about two hours after everyone arrives. Its 3 AM.

“Are you here for Y/N Y/L/N?” He asks, holding a clipboard.

“Yes, we are.” Robert says, standing up. 

“What happened?”

“Is she okay?”

“My name is Dr. Ashby,” He began. "Y/N overdosed on drugs. We pumped her stomach. It’s highly unlikely any permanent damage has been done from the pills, but she has fractured a small part of her forehead. We believe that she has a concussion. She’s resting right now. We don’t know when she’ll wake up, but she will be okay.”

“Do you think she did it on purpose?” Tom asks softly, eyes glistening and red. 

The doctor sighed. “In my professional opinion, no. There wasn’t enough in her system to kill her or do any permanent damage. However, if you want a more accurate opinion, you should ask the officers that went to the hotel or Y/N after she’s had some time to recover.”

“Thank you Dr. Asby," 

The doctor left. The sounds of sniffling and soft crying still filled the room. Hours ticked by slowly. Too slowly.

"Are you okay, Chris?” Robert asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. Chris looked up at him. His dark hair was messy and his eyes were watery like the rest of theirs. Chris sighed and shook his head.

“There was so much blood,” He started. “Her lips were purple- she was dying. She didn’t even know I was there.” Robert sat next to him.

“I was with her before it happened. I could-”

“Don’t do that to yourself, Chris. You couldn’t have known that this was going to happen.”

“I know,” Chris rubbed his face, then ran a hand through his hair.

“You found her, and she’s going to be okay. That’s what matters right now,”

_____________________

The sound of beeping and ringing woke you up. It was constant, loud and probably the most annoying thing that you could have ever imagined waking up to. You patted your bedside, looking for your phone to turn off the alarm and stop the ringing. The sharp stench of bleach filled your nose, making you cringe. Your hotel did not smell like bleach.

Something’s wrong.

You opened your eyes, wincing at the bright lights. You brought an arm up cover your eyes only to find that you were hooked up to a machine. A heart monitor was at your side.

Okay. Why the fuck am I in a hospital? What the fuck? Why does my head hurt so fucking bad?

You sat up, despite feeling weak. You glanced around and began to panic, half tempted to bolt. You hated hospitals. That was a mistake. With the heart rate speeding up , the heart monitor followed suit. Your head throbbed from the added noise. Lying back down, you closed your eyes, taking deep breaths to try and think through whatever the fuck landed you in a hospital with this amount of head pain.

I was on a walk. It was night and I was with Seb and Chris. I went to a store. I bought some sleeping pills. I took them. Oh, my god. I overdosed. But why does my head hurt so fucking much?

You tried sitting up again after a few minutes. This time, you did it slow enough and kept calm enough to process everything that happened and why you were in a hospital.

Soon enough, a nurse came in. She smiled gently when she saw you awake. “Hi, Y/N. How are feeling?”

“My head hurts. A lot. What happened?”

“You overdosed on pills and you fractured your forehead I’m going to call your doctor, hang tight.” She said, still smiling.

Okay. I overdosed on pills by accident. And broke my skull. Okay. What the fuck. I could have died. Cool. What the fuck is wrong with me?

You took a few deep breaths as you waited for the doctor. He didn’t take long to get there, surprisingly. He was older, had thinning hair and a small beer belly. “Good evening, Miss Y/L/N. My name is Dr. Ashby. How is your head?”

“It hurts. A lot. My ears are ringing”

He nods, writing what you said on a clipboard. “Do you remember what happened?”

“I was on a walk with two of my coworkers and I bought some sleeping pills. I took some and I woke up here.”

“Were you trying to harm yourself at all?”

You shake your head. Another mistake. More pain shot through your head, making your wince, and hold your forehead where the pain was at its worst. “No, no. I just wanted to sleep.”

He gives you another nod, writing that down as well. 

“What happened?” You ask. 

"You overdosed on pills. We don’t think any permanent damage was done, but we’d like to run some tests to confirm that,” He began, placing his pen in the clipboard. “You hit your head and you likely have a moderate concussion. We’ll run some tests for that too." 

"What time is it?” The doctor checks his watch. 

“It is 1 AM." 

"How long was I out?" 

"A little more than a day." 

"When can I leave?” You ask, trying to keep the desperation out of your voice. 

“We’re going to start running some tests, and once those come back we’ll discuss them and after that, we can let you go.”

“How long will that be?”

“We have a few blood tests that need to be run. Those will take a week to ten days to get back. Don’t worry, you don’t have to tay for those. However, we do have to run a couple diagnostics to see what happened to your head. We can have you out tomorrow or the day after. 

You let out a sigh of relief, shoulders slumping. “Thanks Dr. Ashby.”

He asked a series of questions and had you do a series of tasks, confirming that you did give yourself a concussion. After that was done, a nurse came into take your blood. After she left, you laid back in your bed, the ringing in your ears growing louder. 

Fuck. The media probably has their dirty little paws all over this. Y/N Y/L/N in the Hospital After Overdose. Marvel Actress Dies After Overdose, just kidding she’s alive. 

You sigh and close your eyes, wishing this was just a bad dream that you could wake up from. But the bandages on your head, the ringing in your ears and the monitors say otherwise. You struggle to fall back asleep, but when you do its fitful and full of unrest.

The morning came too quickly. Visiting hours started at nine and you knew your co-stars and likely a bunch of reporters were going to want to see you. It wasn’t that you didn’t care about your co-stars- it wasn’t that at all. You loved the people you worked with, but you scared of how they were going to react to what happened. 

“Good morning, Y/N,” Your nurse said. She was really sweet and wore a smile whenever you saw her. 

“Good morning,” You smile back, taking the meds she gave you. 

“Visiting hours begin in 15 minutes. I know you’re nervous. Don’t worry about any reporters or anyone like that coming in. We’ve made sure that no one of those sorts are allowed in.” That was a huge relief. 

“Thank you,” You’re sure you visibly relaxed. 

“You’re welcome, dear. Do you need anything else?" 

"No, thanks again,” She left the room, leaving you to your own devices. 

At exactly nine in the morning, Chris shuffles into your room with a bear and a small bouquet of sunflowers. 

“Hey,” He said softly. He looked rough. His hair was clean but untamed and his eyes were red. He was wearing a sweater and some jeans. You looked back down at the bed because what the fuck were you supposed to say? 

Hi, I’m so sorry for almost killing myself accidentally. Oops, guess my hand slipped and took too many pills when I was just trying to get to sleep. Yeah, no. 

“How are you feeling?” He pressed when you said nothing, placing a hand on your shoulder, rubbing it lightly. You shrugged, picking at the blanket on the bed. 

“C'mon, talk to me. What’s been goin’ on, kid?" 

"I don’t wanna talk about it,” You say softly. 

“Not talking about it isn’t working,” His voice hardened slightly.

“It was an accident,” You say, voice cracking. “I didn’t mean to, I just wanted to sleep.” Chris sighs, laying the flowers and bear on a chairs behind him. 

“Scoot over,” He says. You gave him a strange look as he stood above your bed, tears welling up in your eyes.

“I won’t bite. Promise,” 

You scoot to the other side of the bed. He half-sits half-stands and wraps his arms around you, placing a gentle hand on the back of your head, mindful of your injury, and cradles your head against his warm chest. He smells like soft mint. You feel safe. More tears well up in your eyes as you wrapped your arms around him in return. 

“Did you want to hurt yourself?” He was shaking lightly.

“No, I swear. I just wanted to get some sleep. That’s it. I don’t remember anything but taking a couple pills.” He sighed, your head rising and falling with his chest. 

“You scared the shit out of us, kid.” His voice wobbled, some tears fell in your hair. “God, don’t ever do that again,” He buried his face in your hair. You knew he was crying. You were too, the tears flowing freely down your face. 

“I’m sorry,” You say softly. “I really didn’t mean to.” He didn’t say anything else, he just held onto you. 

Maybe I can tell him. He can help. He obviously cares. He wouldn’t show up if he didn’t care about me. Just be honest. 

“I was doing homework,” You mumble, hiding your face in his chest. If you were going to tell him what’s been going on, there was no way you could look at him in the face. You’d back out and pretend everything was okay. He didn’t say anything. And if he reacted, you couldn’t see it. 

“I’m failing three of my classes. It was too hard to focus so I just turned it in. I wanted to go to bed so I looked for my sleeping pills, but I ran out. That’s why I asked you to go to the store with me.” You sit up and wipe the tears off your eyes. “I took some and they weren’t working so I took more. Then my hands were burning. That’s all I remember,”

Chris’s arms tightened around you, drawing you back to him. “You hit your head. There was a lot of blood, and your lips turned purple. I thought you were dying.”

“I’m sorry,” You say, breath hitching as you began to cry steadily again. You spent the next few moments crying into his chest. 

He must’ve found me. Fuck. Fuck me, fuck me. I’m terrible. 

“I’m so sorry, Chris, I am. I’m sorry,” You sputtered out, clutching his shirt in your hands. 

“I know. I forgive you now that I know you’re okay. Take a deep breath. It’s okay,” He says, running a hand up and down your back. He started to breath melodramatically and you followed suit, soon calming down enough to stop crying. 

“Everyone else wants to see you, but there’s a two person limit." 

"Then why’d you come alone?” Chris shook his head, reaching for the bear. He handed it to you.

“A bear?” A brown bear specifically. A brown bear dressed as Captain America with black dark blue buttons for eyes even more specifically.

“Yeah, I thought that if I couldn’t be there for you then another Captain America could,” 

“You know I’m not six, right?” You couldn’t help the smile that tugged on your lips. 

Chris shrugged, eyes still wet. You leaned over and hugged him again. 

“Thank you,” You say, voice cracking. “For everything.”

“Anything for you, Y/N.”

[mayraki]

The Trained Assassin.

Spencer Reid series. Part 6.

Not my gif! Credits to the owner.

Summary: Life’s not easy when you found out that instead of being trained to be a spy for the CIA, you are being trained to be an assassin, a killer. The people you wanted to stop, they were making you one. That’s when you joined the BAU to become someone new, you didn’t want to be someone’s toy. You wanted your past to be arrased, that’s all. But it’s not easy to hide a past like that.

MASTERLIST

“Maxim”

Having the weekend off was not what you wanted, you wanted to go back to work on Friday but Hotch insisted you to take the day off and the weekend as well. He knew that you weren’t alright since the last case, and he was right.

God, I hate profilers.

You weren’t able to sleep well and you didn’t have the appetite to eat anything. You had big bags under your eyes and since Hotch noticed that you couldn’t keep your hands out of a cup of coffee he made the decision to make you have three days off.

“Good job, number 15!” The coach of the basketball team said to one of his students.

You saw your little brother, Maxim, with his curls all over his face and when he saw you he waved with a big smile on his face.

“What are you doing here?” He said once the practice was over. He was all sweaty from the running and he had his big t-shirt on.

“Well, I’m not working right now. So I decided to come and see my little brother. Is that wrong? I can’t see you now?” You said pretending to be hurt.

“No! It’s not that. I mean how did you get in? I thought family couldn’t come in practice on a private school”

“Well, little brother, your big sis has connections.” You winked at him. “I was thinking...” you put your arm around his shoulders “since I have this weekend off, would you like to come and spend it with me?”

He gave you a bigger smile and hugged you “Sure! Let me pack my things, I’ll be ready in five minutes.” And he took off like his life depended on it. You laughed and waited for him at the giant outside door of his school.

“Can we watch Star Wars?” He asked once you two finished dinner.

It was Saturday night and the last two days went amazingly. You missed your little brother more than ever and you wanted to spend as much time with him as possible, with your work and his school it was impossible to spend an entire day together. So you wanted to save this weekend on you memory and remember every single detail.

“Really? Max, you always want to watch Star Wars. Let’s pick something else, I think I can say the entire lines from Star Wars 2 perfectly.”

“It’s not ‘Star Wars 2’” he mocked you “it’s Star Wars episode V: the empire strikes back. And you would know that if you watched it with me tonight.” You laughed.

“First of all, that’s not how I talk! Secondly... sure. You win.”

He applauded excited “I always win.” He said with pride.

“Sure, little one.”

You were half into the movie when you heard knocking on your door. Both of you turned your heads to the door and Max paused the movie.

“Stay here.” You said and got up. “Who is it?”

“It’s Spencer.” The voice said on the other side.

What the hell is he doing here on a Saturday night at 10 pm?

You opened the door and Spencer was there with a big bag on his hand.

“Hi.” He said and Max appeared next to you.

“Who are you?” He said suspicious.

“Hi...?” Spencer said looking at Max and then at you looking confused.

“Spencer, this is Max, my little bother. Max, this is Spencer, I work with him in the BAU.”

Spencer recognised the little boy. He was the one that you had on your desk, the picture that you hanged up your first day.

“I— you weren’t answering your cellphone. I thought something was wrong.” He said still looking at Max who wasn’t trusting Spencer at all.

“Well, you saw that she’s ok. You can go now.” Max said trying to close the door but you stopped him.

“Max.” He looked at you with a serious face. He mumbled a ‘sorry’ and you went back to Spencer.

“I brought something to eat. Some snacks. I know how much you like them...”

“Food?” Max said watching the bag “Ok, you can come in.” He said after seconds of thinking about it.

He stood aside and Spencer walked in.

“Hey, I think I need to remind you that this is my apartment.”

Max turned to you and hold up the bag Spencer gave to him “But he brought food! I think is really rude if you take the bag and let him outside, y/n”

You opened your mouth with surprise but you couldn’t help it and let out a little laugh “I taught you well.” You said sarcastically and Spencer laughed.

“You were watching Star Wars?” Spencer asked looking at the TV.

Max nodded “you like it?” He said putting the Doritos on a bowl.

“Love it. One of my favorites after Star Strek.”

“Oh my god, I have two nerds in this house now, this is going to be a long night.” You said jokingly.

“Favorite character?” Max asked. “Answer quick and there is a wrong answer.”

“Chewbacca, of course. And Luke Skywalker is my second.”

“Nice.” Max said almost in a whisper. “You know, I can tell you’re cool. I thought you were a jerk who was trying to get into my sister’s pants but now I see that you’re more than that.”

You opened your mouth with surprise and Spencer chocked on his drink. “Max!” You said and he turned to you with ‘innocence’ in his face.

“What? C’mon. It’s Saturday night and he brought snacks expecting to come into your house, he knows you wouldn’t say no. It’s not that big of deal. He’s a man, y/n, you should know that. I’m 13, i might be young, but I’m not stupid.” He said giving you a smile and going back to the sofa to keep watching the movie.

You couldn’t believe what Max just said, and you didn’t want to admit it but he was kind of right.

“I’m sorry...” you said looking at Spencer.

“It’s ok... I guess that is the impression that I gave him. But it’s not true.” He said quickly “I did come here to see if you were ok.”

“I believe you, don’t worry.” You said with a smile.

He seemed relieved and you let out a little laugh.

***

“You know, I don’t know if this is an unpopular opninion or not, but I kinda liked the end of Star Wars.” Max said without breaking the eye contact with the TV.

It was almost midnight when you three started watching the next movie of the franchise. You were sitting down at the couch but Spencer and Max were sitting down at the floor so they could see the TV better.

Spencer was across from you when he started talking about his opinion on something, you couldn’t understand what it was because they started talking about some fiction and space stuff you didn’t know.

So you took the chance to look at him in detail. The way his hands moved when he was saying a weird fact, he had a sharp jawline and it tensed every time he closed his mouth. His lips moved quickly and his eyes didn’t look away from the screen. His skin looked like it was very soft and your hands moved unintentionally because they wanted to feel it.

He let his left hand rest on his thigh and the thought of him touching yours made an appearance on your mind. His fingers going up and down, making you feel worm inside while he was kissing you...

“Y/n!” Your brother called you and took you back to reality.

“Yeah?” You said trying to not sound nervous at the thought of your imagination.

“Could you bring me more water?” He said without taking his eyes from the TV.

“Am I your servant now?” You said raising your left eyebrow.

“Sorry!” He said thinking of his previous actions but when he was about to stand up Spencer stopped him.

“I’ll do it, I know this part like the palm of my hand.”

“Thank you!” Max said.

You watched him go to the counter of you kitchen and he opened the fridge. His shirt went up a little bit when he lifted his arm to open the water bottle and you unintentionally bit you lower lip. When you noticed you moved uncomfortably on the couch and tried to move your attention to the movie but the sound of the water doing down the glass cup made you look.

Spencer’s tongue went over his lips and the tough of it licking your skin made you close your eyes and smacking you on the inside because you didn’t want to have those kinda thoughts.

You turned your body so it would face the TV and not the kitchen but your eyes wanted to go back to him. You tried so hard to not go back until Spencer came into the living room. But instead of going back to his last position, after giving the glass to Max, he sat down next to you close enough so your shoulders would slightly touch.

Does he know what he’s doing?

You were glad the movie was over minutes later and that Spencer offered himself to clean the mess him and Max did while watching the movie.

This was new to you, you were always the one that made the first move, you were never the one who falls first and the fact that he wasn’t even trying made your heart go down to the floor even more.

“What time is it?” Max asked while he was doing the dishes.

“Almost 1 am.” Spencer said and you got close to your little brother.

“It’s pretty late, you should go to bed.” You said and Max give you his famous puppy eyes.

“But... it’s Sunday tomorrow!”

“You told me that you had homework for the weekend and you haven’t done it yet, you’re not going to wake up late tomorrow.”

“One more hour.” He smiled and hugged you “you know that you’re an amazing big sister and the best friend I could ever ask for?”

“You’re not going to win, but you can stay until 1:30 am. And say thanks to Spencer because I’m doing this because he’s here.”

Spencer gave you a smile and Max hugged him after letting you go.

“Thank you, thank you so much for coming.”

He laughed “You’re welcome. Hey, do you want to see some magic tricks?”

“You know magic tricks?” Max said sounding surprised “You’re so cool. Hey, sis, don’t ever let him go.” He said when he left to look for the cards he had on his backpack.

“Max!” You whispered to him and Spencer just let out a little laugh.

Your little brother handed the cards to Spencer and he started the magic trick. He was moving the cards fast and his fingers were following every move he made. You couldn’t take your eyes off of them and the thought of them going up your arms appeared on your mind. They were tracing you body like it was a piece of art. But now it’s wasn’t only the fingers that were in your imagination, but Spencer was there too. He was looking at you with his beautiful dark eyes and his lips went to your stomach to leave little kisses on it. He was sitting down in your bed and you standing in front of him and...

“Wow!” Max said and took you back to reality “How did you do that?”

Fuck! I have to stop.

“I’ll teach you some.”

Oh, no. He’s not going to stop. I have to get out here.

“I’ll be right back.” You said and both of them nodded, Spencer give a you a little smile but you didn’t respond because you wanted to get out of there as fast as possible.

You washed your face and looked for the time; 1:24 am. Six more minutes and the magic tricks were done because Max needed to go to bed. And the thought of you and Spencer being alone for the first time in the entire night made your heart skip a beat.

You were not usually like this, you never got nervous when it came to boys. You had your experience and even when it wasn’t for your personal life but for a mission, seducing mafia bosses and security guards like it was the easiest thing in the world. And for some reason you couldn’t handle a man who was doing magic tricks and touching your shoulder with his.

What is it about him?

You came back to the kitchen when the hour 1:30 hit on the clock and Max looked at you with excitement on his face.

“Hey, y/n! Let me show you a trick Spencer just teach me!”

“You’ll show it to me tomorrow, now it’s time for bed.”

He looked at the clock and his excitement went away completely.

“Ok.” He said turning to Spencer “I’ll see you. Bye.”

“Goodnight Max.”

“Yeah.” He said and went to his room.

“Want some tea?” You said and Spencer nodded.

“Sure.”

When you started to make the tea you felt his body walk behind you and stand next to you.

“Want some help?” He said almost in a whisper but you said ‘no’ with your head and gave him a little smile. You went to the other side of the kitchen to grab some mugs and pour the tea you just made into them.

“Here.” You handed the cup to Spencer and he thanked you giving you a big smile. “I guess you have some questions about Max.” You said remember the face he made when he met him.

He looked at the floor “I thought you didn’t have any family, that’s why I was so surprised.”

“I don’t have any blood family.”

He put on his thinking face and his tongue went over his lips. And before he asked any questions you started telling the story.

“When I was 22 I had a mission... I had to infiltrate a mafia boss’ bussiness. I had to get close to him and make him trust me. It was the longest undercover mission I went on. Making him trust me was not easy. He was one of the most frightening men that I’ve ever met. And worst, had to lie to. But when I was close enough, that’s when I met Maxim. He introduced him as his son. He was a scare 11 year old boy. We connected immediately. The things that he had to see when he was little, what he went through. This man wasn’t the loving father he needed. Later on I found out that this man abducted him when he was just a little baby. I finished the mission, the man went to jail and his business went down. The CIA decided to not involve anyone else and give Max up for adoption but I knew that its not easy getting adopted being a teenager. I didn’t want him to end up like me. So... I brought him home with me. I worked on a case with a detective, I saved his life and in returned I asked him if his brother would give Max a scholarship on his private school... that’s the story. I can’t believe that the scared boy that I met two years ago is the funny and smart kid that I know now. He’s so strong. We call each other like siblings because we are the only thing we have.”

“You took him in even tho you were so young...” he said looking at you in the eyes.

“I didn’t see myself as being ‘young’. And I didn’t care, I never got adopted and when I did, it was them. I didn’t want him to be like me.”

“Do you ever think what it would’ve happend if you got adopted when you were younger?” He put his empty cup on the counter and walked towards you so he can stand next to you.

“I used to. I try to think how can I make this life better and forget about the past. Try to make a great life for him and be... happy.” You looked up to him and he gave you a little smile.

“It’s weird how our lives can change in a matter of seconds. One day mine is really boring and the next I go on a date with an assassin.” He said jokingly and you laughed. You remembered the day that Spencer asked you to go for coffee on your first case together.

“Hey... I’m not an assassin, I’m just trained like one.” You smiled and looked at him in the eyes.

But unintentionally looked at his lips and he did the same, you felt the tension growing up in the room and everything that used to make you feel sad and unsafe, went away.

“Spencer...” you said “you said to me... ‘I need you alive.”

His eyes went up to yours and he gently grabbed your waist to get you closer to him. You moved on step forward and felt his chest touch yours.

“I do.” He said in a whisper and when he was about to get closer to you, his phone started to ring making you two jump and ruining the moment completely.

He took his phone out from his pocket and you read the name ‘Sophie’ on the screen. He hanged up and sighed.

“Sorry...” He said without looking at you.

“Are you sure your girlfriend is ok with you being here with me?” You said without even thinking. Anger grew in your body and went to the door to open it and Spencer followed you.

“Wait, y/n, she’s just a friend.”

“A friend that calls you at 2 am on a Saturday night? If she was really a close friends you wouldn’t hang up because the common thing to think when someone calls you out of nowhere at this hours it’s that something’s wrong unless the girl is not really a friend and that is a booty call. I am a good profiler too, Spencer. Goodnight.” Before he could say anything you closed the door and stand there, with the feeling of being lost back into your body.

*****

PART 7

taglist: @itsarayofsunshine @whothefuckstolemykeds @haykayhesson @enigma-xlii @introvertedsin @mylovehes @infires420 @uwu-sebastianstan @my-life-is-here-soo @spencersdolore @oldspirit

[blazekurumu]

Left Behind: A Magia Record Story

Warning: Angst! Ashley Taylor variety!

It was the day of the great exodus.

Iroha and Yachiyo had just come back from their latest event from the English server and went to celebrate Iroha's birthday in the Japanese server. Waiting there for them was all the magical girls up to that point, eager to congratulate the pink haired heroine.

"Happy birthday big sis!" Ui exclaimed along with Touka and Nemu. Sakuro smiled as she placed the trio at the large table next to Iroha.

"Happy birthday Iroha!" Tsuruno, Felicia, and Sana cheered, showing her the birthday cake they all made for her.

"Mokyu~!" Lil Kyuebey said, jumping on her shoulder and snuggling her cheek.

Iroha smiled happily at everyone who was present for her birthday. Everyone was here for the anniversary and her birthday, including Tart's gang, Suzune's group, and even Kazumi's squad! The entire Mitikahara group happily gave their own gifts to her.

"You made the game great Iroha! Thank you for bringing the Madoka franchise back!" Madoka herself said, making the other pinkette blush.

Just as everyone was about to slice the cake, a flash of light enveloped the room. In her holy glory was Madokami a.k.a Ultimate Madoka. Everyone squeaked in fear with the exception of Cool Homura, who just blushed at the beauty.

"Greetings everyone, I've come to give my congratulations on your anniversary and Iroha's birthday." Madokami said, clapping her hands. "Guess it's time to inform you about the news from our developers."

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Yachiyo asked, curious about where she was going with this.

Madokami sighed sadly, looking away. "They've decided to close the English servers due to low payments."

A collective gasp came from all the girls, surprised that Aniplex would do such a thing. Some of the girls who were in Arc 2 were sad that they couldn't meet the American audience.

"Hey! I never got to go up to 4 star! No fair!" Ayame complained, getting comforted by the rest of the Azalea girls.

"What's not fair is that Hanna was the last girl to be released. That crazy psycho is the last thing they're going to see." Nanaka eyed the purple haired female from the villian side of the table.

"There's nothing we can do I'm afraid. We knew that it would happen eventually, just not so soon." Madokami said.

"I hardly got to debut in the latest Tart story!" Elisa shouted, jabbing her thumb towards Corbeau. "Plus, all they wanted was her!"

"At least you got two events before they closed." Umika muttered, vaguely remembering the Kazumi event storyline.

"You have no room to complain Elisa." Suzune agreed, narrowing her eyes at the red dragon girl.

A cry came from the Charge group at the table. Little Riko stood up, nearly knocking over her chair in the process.

"ASHLEY IS IN DANGER!" The small girl yelled, elicting the same reaction from Emiri, Karin, and Rika.

"Ash is like the only one of us not part of the Japanese version!" Emiri panicked, going for the door. "We need to, like, save her or something!"

"No way am I leaving a fellow Kirinite behind!" Karin said, running for the door too.

"She has such a great fashion sense! Plus she's a blast gorilla everyone needs." Rika put out, going for the door.

Riko gave Madokami a teary eyed look. "How could you!? She's a magical girl with a doppel, a great moveset, and a tragic story! Your as cruel as Aniplex to leave her behind." She ran to follow the others to save Ashley.

All the Arc 2 girls gave the Arc 1 girls a weird look.

"Whose Ashley?" Ryoko, the red ninja girl, asked Mitama, who was casually putting ketchup on her slice of cake.

"Oh Ashley Taylor? She was a magical girl exclusive to the English server." Mitama took a bite of her cake. "Fought with a stuffed animal and everything. She loved Japanese culture."

"She sounds perfect for this server! How come she can't come over?" Sasame, a Void girl like Mitama, wondered aloud.

Cool Homura shrugged. "Guess they just didn't want to export her. A shame, when we worked together, we were practically unstoppable."

----‐---------------------------------

Ashley Taylor wandered the empty wastelands of the Magia Record English server, not a single one of her magical girl friends in sight. Hugging Momosuke, she felt a sense of loneliness as the world around her burned. Most of the players had abandoned the server entirely while some lingered to play to the last minute. Sitting down on a bench, she watched the world crumble around her.

"ASH!"

"ASHLEY-CHAN!"

The California Otaku looked up to see the four girls who she made friends with running towards her. Smiling softly, she was suddenly hugged by Emiri, who pushed her over with much force. Riko and Karin cried as they hugged her too while Rika helped her up.

"What are you guys doing here? The English server is about to die...with me along with it." She added, gripping her arm. "You might as well forget about me."

"We can't! You are our best friend!" Riko tugged her along the burning wasteland towards the tunnel to the Japanese server. "We aren't leaving you behind."

"You can't be left behind because of what Aniplex decided!" Rika reasoned, hands on her hips. "You are one of us, a fellow magical kawaii girl!"

"Yeah Ash, like that one movie said, we are in this together!" Emiri pushed her from behind. "Now let's go before-!"

All four of them made it pass the portal no problem, but Ashely felt as if she hit a barrier. Rubbing her nose, tears filled her eyes as the girls desperately tried to bring her into the tunnel. After a few times slamming her into the barrier, Ashley gave them a melancholy look.

"You'll have to leave me here. I can't leave the English server, no matter how hard you try." Pressing her face against the barrier, digital tears streamed down her face. "I'm sorry I won't be able to come with you and meet all the kawaii people over in Japan. At least we'll have the memories from my small event and story to remember me."

"Ashley!" Riko cried, holding her hand with Ashley's. "You were one of the first people to meet me and you loved my bento! Thank you for hanging out with me!"

Ashley hugged the small girl as she passed through the barrier. "Thank you for helping me reconcile with my father. You are a true friend Riko." Placing her back into the tunnel, she waved at the small group. "Sayonara minna-san! It's been fun!"

Before any of them could reply back, the door to the English server slammed close, trapping Ashley Taylor on the other side. Emiri held Riko and Karin as they wept in her arms while Rika cried on her shoulder. Together, they watched the door disintegrate into little bits of data.

[nosleepuntilvacation]

Hi! I've got another Mettaton×reader request for you, if you don't mind. The setting is that Mettaton gets badly damaged, and of course his crush is worried sick. They insist on helping Alphys with the repairs, even if it's small things like handing her the right tool or something. The repairs take a week or two, and the crush just camps over at Alphys' lab the whole time. But anyway! The scenario I want you to actually write is when Mettaton is finally rebooted and wakes up. (cont.)

(cont.) So when Mettaton comes to, his crush is sitting next to whatever table/bed/thing he’s laying on. They go “Thank god!” and probably tear up a bit, smiling like a fool. Mettaton is like, touched that they’ve waited for him like that. When he asks about it, the crush gets all flustered. Mettaton ofc teases them, and as the conversation/banter goes on they accidentally mention at some point that they helped Alphys with the repairs… Que more flustering and eventually (cont. IM SORRY)

(cont.) eventually they end up telling him how much he means to them. In their nervousness, they get a bit rambly and end up confessing their romantic feelings to him. Then they hang their head and don’t look up again until Mettaton tells that he feels the same. Then they’re both awkward and happy and they smooch and stuff. // Sorry if this long, 3-ask explanation is unclear and sorry this is so dramatic. Thank you for considering this.             

…this has been sitting in my inbox for over a year hasn’t it

dishonor on me, dishonor on my miltank, etc. etc. etc.

But I guess it’s better late than never…?

Below the cut: A Storm Leads to a Rainbow

(TW: Discussions and descriptions of a car accident, and the emotional and physical injuries resulting from it; brief mention of alcohol)

Two synthetic eyes open, and their owner groans, clutching his forehead. “Ugh… what happened?”

He looks in his immediate line of sight. The space-printed sheets on the bed he currently occupies, the posters displaying different franchises he likes (his own included), the star-shaped stickers on the ceiling… yep, this is definitely his guest room in Alphys’ place.

“But why–?” He reaches down and touches his hip. Just as he suspected, his charging cable is plugged securely into there. He barely has enough time to register this before he hears a familiar voice.

“Mettaton? Thank god!”

He sits up and looks over towards the source of the voice…

…and he promptly sees you sitting in one of his pink beanbag chairs, smiling like a weight had just been lifted away. And was he seeing things, or were those tears in your eyes?

“[Y/N]? I wasn’t expecting to see you here, sweetheart.” He smirks a bit. “Have you appointed yourself the president of my fan club? I’ll have you know that you’re competing with me for that position.”

“Heh…” To you, the sound of his voice is exactly what you need right now. You pull out your phone and open your text message program. “Just gonna let Alphys know you’re awake. She’s off jogging with Papyrus.”

After a few chuckles at his own joke, his smile soon becomes more genuine. “Thank you for thinking of me, though.”

“Of course.” You put your phone away after sending a message, and your smile becomes a little more sad as you try to ward off the rock forming in your throat. “When I heard about what had happened to you, I was so worried, and I couldn’t just…” You take a few deep breaths to keep the dam from bursting.

At this point, he can’t help but frown. “If you don’t mind me asking… what did happen to me, anyway? The last thing I remember was Bryan and I driving home, and before I knew it, our car tipped sideways. My whole body was in pain, I heard Bryan calling Alphys… and then I blacked out.” His hand clenches the mattress. “Is Bryan okay, by the way?”

“Yes. He had to visit the ER, but he wasn’t hurt too badly, and they let him go home after a few days. Anyway…”

After swallowing your nerves, you begin to explain the full story.

A little over a week ago, you had been visiting Alphys and Undyne and watching a movie with them. At one point in the movie, Alphys received a panicked phone call from Bryan, an orange mammal monster who seemed to be Mettaton’s frenemy of sorts. The two had been driving together to their respective homes after a production at the local theater when a drunk driver veered into their lane and crashed into Bryan’s car. When Alphys headed out to help, the scene indeed looked grisly, with roadside assistance having to help put the car upright again - and it was clear that at least half of the car would need repairs. Paramedics were helping Bryan into an ambulance…

“…and when she brought you back, I almost couldn’t look.” You shudder. “You looked like something chewed you up and spit you back out again!”

With a sneer, Mettaton folds his arms. “Oh, come on. I don’t taste that bad! Ask anyone who’s ever had one of my world-famous face steaks!” He taps his chin in thought. “Although, maybe I shouldn’t have made them so expensive at first…”

You chuckle nervously; at the time, you definitely wouldn’t have laughed if someone had made that joke, but now that Mettaton’s awake, the whole thing feels a little easier to put in the past.

“Honestly, though…” His expression softens into concern. “…my body looked that bad when Alphys brought me in?” He holds his hands in front of his face and wiggles his fingers, before peeking under the blankets and presumably checking his feet in a similar way. Next, he grabs a handheld mirror from the nightstand and studies his face, brushing his hair out of one of his eyes.

“Yeah…” You wipe away a few tears forming near your eyes. “If Alphys and I hadn’t fixed you up right away…” A shudder takes over your spine; you’re still not entirely sure how all the intricacies of his body work, and this was one situation where experimenting was not an option.

For a moment, Mettaton is silent…

…only to give you an odd look.

“Wait a minute… you helped Alphys with the repairs?”

“Uh–! Well!” Oh god, does he already know what you think of him? “She did most of the big work! I was just there to help hold you still, or to get her the right tools, or to keep an eye on you to make sure you were still stable while she was out getting more supplies and stuff. Undyne helped, too, when she wasn’t at work. Alphys and I took turns watching over you the first couple of nights, while you were still in somewhat critical condition…”

Mettaton blinks. “You even stayed over?”

“Y-yeah… I haven’t actually been home since I heard about the crash.”

By now, you can feel the floodgates open, tears rolling down your face as you explain yourself.

“I wanted to help Alphys as much as I could… I was so scared. You could have died if we hadn’t done enough in time, and if I hadn’t helped and you ended up dying… I don’t know if I could ever forgive myself if that happened. Especially because you’re my friend, and, well…”

Despite the more reasonable side of your mind not feeling ready to say it, your emotions are in full force right now, and you just blurt it out before you can stop yourself.

“I don’t know when it started, but I really wanted to tell you I love you.”

And with that, you lower your head and finally allow yourself to let out some quiet sobs as the many emotions of the past several days swamp over you: relief from knowing that Mettaton is most likely okay now, fear and sadness from the fact that he probably wouldn’t have made it if Alphys hadn’t gotten there in time, and that hard-to-describe sensation of knowing that, in the heat of the moment, you just confessed your romantic feelings towards your longtime crush. Your body and mind are just frozen like a slow computer as you try to quell this maelstrom of emotions.

It gets to the point where you can barely register it as Mettaton whispers your name and gently takes hold of your hand.

“Shh… everything’s going to be okay, darling. It was horrifying, and I was scared, too… but I feel so much better now.” A smooth thumb strokes the top of your hand as he continues. “In fact… as of late, I’ve realized that I’m in love with you, too.”

“R-really…?” You finally look up; despite your likely looking like an emotional wreck right now, Mettaton doesn’t seem to judge you for it, instead smiling.

“Absolutely, sweetheart. I’ve wanted to tell you for a little while; you’ve been such a wonderful friend to me. And knowing that you would go this far to help save my life… honestly, I’d do the same for you.”

A cheerful laugh escapes your throat; you’re not sure what to say, but you still manage a “Thank you…”

“And thank you, beautiful.”

For a few moments, neither of you are sure of what else to say amidst the glow of relief and new love, but eventually, Mettaton has a thought.

“Darling, when all of this has blown over a little more… would you, perhaps, like to go on a date with me? I can show you a few of my favorite places in town, and you can show me your favorites, if you’d like.”

“Sure.” There are still a few tears, but they come from a much happier place now. It’ll probably take a little while for everyone’s fears to disappear completely, but what’s important is that everyone is safe right now, and a potential tragedy has been averted.

Before you know it, you wrap your arms around Mettaton in a big hug, which he soon returns in kind before leaning in close to your face. He stops himself and looks into your eyes as if asking for permission, and when you smile and nod, he presses his lips to yours. It’s not the smoothest of kisses, but most first kisses typically aren’t.

Either way, you’re definitely not complaining.

You’re so lost in the kiss that you don’t hear the sound of the front door opening and closing in the other room, nor do you hear the sound of footsteps. Shortly afterwards, though, a small eep does get your attention.

The two of you break off the kiss and look towards the doorway, where Alphys is standing, still in her jogging outfit, with wide eyes.

“Oh! Uh… am I interrupting something?”

As you wave hello to Alphys, Mettaton gently smiles. “Alphys, darling, I’m so glad to see you. And don’t worry; I think everything’s going to be just fine.”

Alphys returns the smile. “Yeah… I’m so glad you’re awake. I’ll probably want to keep an eye on you for the next day or two, though. Just to make sure I didn’t miss anything.”

“That’s all right. As long as I have everyone cheering for me, I can absolutely manage this!”

You gently squeeze his hand, and he smiles at you.

After a second or two, Alphys pulls out her phone. “So, uh, want to order some pizza or something? I can shower while we wait for it to get here.”

Mettaton rests a hand on his soul casing. “Darling, I haven’t eaten in days, so that sounds absolutely perfect right now.”

“That sounds good to me too,” you say with a nod.

“Great! Let me open the app…”

As you all begin to figure out what you want, you can already picture the delicious taste of the food in your mind. Not only that, you can also picture some of the exciting, lovely things in your and Mettaton’s future… a future that you helped to secure for him.

Sometimes, even a harsh rainstorm can leave behind a beautiful rainbow.

[ambivalent-anarchy]

Star Wars 101

Masterlist

Gender: Female

Pairing: Peter Parker x reader

Warning: None

Reader has never seen a single one of Peter's favorite movies.

A/N- I really need to stop making new series lol, I swear this is the last new one for a while, at least until I finish some other ones.

Hope you like it!!!

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"In case I don't see you... good afternoon, good evening, and goodnight!"

Peter watched you intently as you stared, wide eyes glued to each and every movement on the screen, even sniffling a bit when the credits began to roll. Really? The Truman Show was making you tear up?

"[Y/N], really?," he snickered lightly, wiping one of your cheeks and then showing you the wetness on his finger. He gave a teasing smile as he moved to take the DVD out. "I understood when you cried during the Titanic, but this is just The Truman Show."

"Don't judge me!," you scolded, cheeks quickly becoming red with embarrassment. "It was frickin' sad! The dude's been stuck in a tv show his whole life and he didn't even know it! That's freaky!"

"It's a Jim Carrey movie," Peter laughed. "How can you cry at a Jim Carrey movie?"

You rolled your eyes and turned away, trying to hide your growing grin. Who was Peter Parker to judge you on how you react to movies anyway? At least this was just a movie. Peter got flustered with everything in real life!

"-And a movie as crappy as this particular Jim Carrey movie too!," he smirked.

You turned around with a loud, overdramatic gasp. "What was that, Parker? Did you just call one of my favorite movies CRAPPY?!"

Peter turned from the DVD player with a small, innocent smile and nodded his head vigorously before sprinting away as he predicted that you would chase after him.

He was right.

"How dare you!," you yelled, quickly jumping into action. "Jim Carrey may be a bit of an overacter, but he's still AWESOME!!"

You were high on adrenaline, running after him with all you had, but it didn't take you long for you to realize that chasing Peter in his own house was a bad idea. It was his home. He knew it like the back of his hand. And you, however, did not.

You bumped into every other corner. The more you ran the more bruises you were probably getting. Until finally after hitting your hip on the kitchen counter, frustrated, you squeezed your eyes shut tight and yelled out, "YOU DON'T HEAR ME JUDGING YOUR CRAPPY STAR WARS MOVIES!!!"

You hadn't seen where he came from or how he got you, but in an instant, Peter was smack dab in your face. "What did you just say?"

Quickly coming to a stop, the corners of your mouth twitched upwards, knowing you'd just hit a nerve. "I said, you don't hear me judging your crappy star wars movies."

He stared, stunned, for a second. ".. you did not just say that," he whispered, more to himself than to you. He turned towards you. "You did not just call one of the best franchises in the universe crappy."

You turned away with a smirk before he gently grabbed you by your arm and whirled you back around. "[Y/N]. Star Wars is ICONIC!"

You rolled your eyes with a light giggle and turned to walk away before you were whirled around again. His eyes looked right into yours, his face holding an extremely serious expression, which of course was nothing but hilarious to you. "Dude, I'm NOT letting you leave this kitchen before you give me a valid reason why Star Wars is bad to you."

You sighed loudly. So he's holding you hostage now, is he? Well, two could play at that game. "Not until you tell me why The Truman Show was so bad," you shot back.

Unfortunately for you, Peter was ready with his reasons.

You stared, dumbfounded as he read them off. "Predictable. Took too long to get where it was trying to go. When it finally got there, it didn't give an actual satisfying ending! Did Sylvia find him after that or not?! And what point was the movie trying to make about the world anyway? That really wasn't clear. Also, I couldn't tell whether some parts were funny or them just trying too hard to be serious. Should I go on?"

"N-no no, you're good," you chirped, your voice cracking a bit. "Didn't know you were such a harsh critic, Pete."

"And your reasons?," Peter asked with a shit-eating grin. He knew you didn't have any.

You scrunched your eyebrows together and stared up to the ceiling. "Umm," you mumbled before you blurted out. "It just seems like classic NERD crap, honestly okay?!?!?!"

Peter dramatically threw his hand to his chest, as if he'd been stabbed. "Ah, you hurt me, babe. How could you?"

You rolled your eyes. "Can we just go back to watching movies, Pete?! My hip frickin' hurts." You shifted slightly while rubbing the your hip with your hand, trying to relieve the pain. Peter noticed and immediately the previous topic of conversation was dropped.

"A-are you okay?! C'mon, let's go sit down.."

You breathed a breath of relief. Thankfully, a dumbass situation stopped due to Peter's relentless helpfulness and need to be a gentleman.

-

An hour later and you were watching Mean Girls now, something both you and Peter could agree on, especially after he'd told you he'd never seen it before.

And how could he have never seen Mean Girls? It was ICONIC!

"Gretchen, stop trying to make fetch happen. It's NOT going to happen..."

"I don't like this Regina character," Peter mumbled as he reached for more popcorn.

"You wouldn't," you chuckled softly.

Peter Parker was a sap and an overall nice guy. Regina George was probably not a character that he would be caught fanboying over.

"I mean," he started again, squinting his eyes at the character on the screen. "Villain characters are supposed to be BADASS. She's just rude."

You threw your head back and laughed, ruffling his hair. "Only you would think that way, Pete."

"And this Cady character," he continued. "She can't honestly think she's doing all of this and is still a good person. How is she a proper protagonist?"

You rolled your eyes and smiled. You hadn't noticed until actually watching a few movies with Peter how much of a movie critic he was. And he took it seriously. "Okay, that's enough rotten tomatoes for one movie, Pete."

Peter shrugged, rolled his eyes, and laid back on the couch. "I'm just calling it like I see it."

He kept quiet after that, just giving grunts, hums, and muttering things at choice times.

When your favorite part came along, Regina getting hit by the bus, you bit your lip with a smile. "Oooh, wait for it," you said lightly slapping Peter's shoulder excitedly. "She's gonna get it."

"So don't act all innocent! You can take that fake apology and shove it right up your hairy-"

Just as the part you were waiting for came, Peter paused the tv.

Quickly, you turned to him, eyes wide. "What'd you do that for?!?! She was gonna get smashed!"

He turned towards you, narrowing his eyes slightly. "So you've never watched Star Wars before?"

You turned to face him. "What?"

"What you said earlier... You said that it seems like nerdy crap," he explained, piecing it all together. " Seems! Meaning that you don't know for a fact meaning that you haven't watched it!"

"Are we seriously still on that,?!" you teased, your smile widening. This whole thing was beyond frivolous to you.

"Well yeah, because it's one of the greatest series ever!"

"It's predictable!"

"It is known for one of the biggest reveals in cinematic HISTORY!"

"What, the 'I-am-your-father' scene? Yeah, totally predictable."

Peter's jaw completely dropped. "Wha- how?!"

"Y'know Vader in German means father, right?," you snickered. "His name is literally Darth father." You picked up a soda, shaking your head slightly. "But yeah, if you must know... I haven't seen Star Wars."

Peter stopped responding. He just stood up and stepped away silently.

"Are you seriously mad over this?," you yelled out, watching him with a frown. "It's just a movie..."

Was he brooding right now? Over something as dumb as Star Wars? Well, you certainly weren't gonna be the person to go after him.

You whipped your head back to the screen in front of you and unpaused the movie, waiting for your friend to come back to sit next to you. It was official, Peter Parker was a nerd bitch.

As the movie went on, eventually you'd forgotten that Peter was even gone.

"The limit does not exist!"

It sucked that he left, but still though, you wouldn't rather be anywhere else. Surrounded by popcorn, pretzels, fruit, fruit roll ups, and practically any snack you could think of. Endlessly watching movies on a Saturday morning. Well, technically it was the afternoon now. But you'd lost track of time by about the sixth movie.

However, there was only so much movies could do for you. As time passed on, it started to weigh on you. You'd come there to see Peter, not Mean Girls. But if there was one thing to get on a nerd's nerves, it would be Star Wars wouldn't it?

Ugghhhhh.

After much anticipation, you finally decided to go up to his room and talk to him.

You turned to walk up the stairs and was immediately collided with a big wall.

Well not a wall, Peter.

And not just Peter. Peter with a gigantic box in his arms.

"Sorry it took me so long, didn't mean to leave you waiting. I was just just trying to find this," he said, tapping the cardboard box with his fingers. "So did you finish the movie?"

"Yeah," you said, looking at the box. "What's in it?"

"Guess I'll finish it myself later then..." He pushed past you and sat the box on the couch.

"What's in the box, Peter?," you repeated, trying to get a good look at it.

"Oh nothing," he said dramatically, taking the Mean Girls DVD out of the DVD player. "Just what will soon be the best 25 hours of your life.."

"25 hours?"

Peter smiled. "That's how long the entire Star Wars trilogy is." He picked up the box cutter. "24 hours and 52 mintues actually, if you're doing the original editions of the original trilogy instead of the special edition." He turned back towards you. "You need a movie-cation and I'm gonna give it to you."

"A movie-cation?"

"Movie education, [Y/N]."

You held your head back and laughed. "Oh my God, Pete.."

He was on his knees in front of you in a second. "C'mon!! Please, it's the best. I promise you won't regret it!"

Ugh. This was it. You were gonna do this. Force yourself through 25 (24: 52, but who's counting?) hours of boredom just to please some guy that wasn't even your boyfriend. I mean, he was practically begging you. God help you.

"Fine! Fine.. I'll watch your lame nerd movie."

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@underoosjae @spn-assemble-seven @of-your-eyes-begonia-skies @parkerpeter24, @audreylovespidey706

[asgardianthot]

New Firsts (Sam Wilson x Bucky Barnes)

Summary: There’s many things Bucky hasn’t done since the last century, and many others he hasn’t done in the new one.

Words: 3988

Warnings: smut (PowerBottom!Sam)

The vegan place was only half-crowded, allowing the heroes to enjoy a peaceful meal with only one request for a picture. Sam and Bucky had been on a long spree of trying things Bucky hadn’t had the opportunity of doing since he woke up from the Winter Soldier, and it was going too well for Sam’s taste.

You’re only trying things you know you’ll like, he insisted before Bucky finally agreed to blindly follow Sam to a place he didn’t necessarily want to visit.

Only through that method did Sam accomplished his need of getting Bucky to try vegan meat, because Sam Wilson was a health freak, as Bucky put it, and he was a sucker for vegan places altogether. So he dragged the supersoldier downtown, no matter if Bucky didn’t get the point of eating meat that's not meat if you can eat meat. He even teased Sam for being a fake vegetarian, but when the order of a falafel mix patty with a side of fries landed in front of him, he stopped complaining. It did look like a fine burger, which was a point in Sam’s favor regarding his enthusiasm for spreading the word: plant-based food is just as good, Bucky, and it’s healthier.

A few silent bites from both of them, and Bucky had already decided he liked the blessed fake hamburger, but he was more focused on the spectacle that was contemplating Sam eat.

He was sloppy, and concentrated, and when he got ketchup all over his chin, Bucky couldn’t help but stare with cherishing eyes.

"Told you I loved these, stop judging." Sam said, his wording muffled by the food in his mouth.

A smile claimed Bucky’s features, "I'm not judging."

Sam took a bite, still pretending to ignore Bucky’s intense sight, "Ah-huh?" he swallowed in order to speak properly. "Then what is it?"

Sam’s reaction only made Bucky feel more aggressive butterflies in his stomach, because Sam had such a diverse spectrum of charm. He was charming in the morning, sleepy and forcing himself to be active because nobody dare say I’m not a morning person. He was charming in his fight gear, the goggles and everything, he was extra charming in a suit and tie, and he was charming when he wasn’t allowed to enjoy his meal in peace, all cranky and stuffing his face. The fact that Bucky was utterly and dangerously in love with him had never been so loud.

He raised his eyebrows like he couldn’t believe himself, "Fuck, I really love you."

The words had Sam choking on his burger. Bucky laughed to himself while Sam coughed, going back to his lunch with exceptional carefreeness. Meanwhile, Sam cleaned his mouth with a napkin and sat back on his chair as he finished chewing.

"You mean that?" he finally looked up at the man.

"Yeah, of course." Bucky replied like it was no big deal.

One of the many things roaming Sam’s cloudy mind was that this was the least romantic setup possible, and so of course Bucky would just spill the words right there. His internal reactions varied from ‘fuck this guy’ to ‘fuck, I love him too’. And although his insides churned with giddiness, he managed to focus back on eating with a huge grin on his face.

"So, better than real meat?" he returned to the original teasing.

Bucky acted as if he’d already forgotten about the former subject and followed along.

He narrowed his eyes in indecision, "I wouldn't go that far."

"Well, it's better for you."

The pair continued arguing over food and heath, and it was a discussion Sam was bound to win, but Bucky refused to give Sam so much credit because in his eyes, he was too perfect already, so he didn’t need another win.

-

"I'm not doing social media." Bucky snapped back at Sam.

As they sat on the couch, legs crossed and facing each other, Sam kept bothering him and asking for his phone with an obnoxious hand gesture.

“Just admit you don’t know how to use it.” He chuckled.

“Sam, I can hack a computer mainframe.” Barnes lowered his head with seriousness, “I think I can manage a phone.”

“You can plug in a pendrive the right way and let it to the hacking for you, that’s not the same thing.” Sam taunted about something that wasn’t entirely false, then asked for the phone until Bucky handed it to him with an exaggerated eye roll, “What do you use this for?”

Barnes shrugged, “I call you. That’s pretty much it.” He confessed before going back to his offended part, “See? I don’t need social media.”

“So you could be using a senior citizen phone.”

“That’s rude.”

“You’re old.”

With that being said, Sam broke the joking with a kiss he planted on Bucky’s lips. Bucky laughed into it a little, kind of breaking character, and gave into the way Sam slipped his tongue in. they only realized their bodies were drawing closer and their breaths were getting heavier when Sam’s hand travelled to Bucky’s thigh in a way it hadn’t before. The Falcon stopped himself abruptly.

"I need to ask something."

Bucky sat back, giving him the physical room to be open, "Shoot."

"Have you ever, uh...?"

"I'm not a virgin, Samuel." He interrupted with offense.

Wilson let the low laugh claim him as he faced down, "That's not what I'm asking."

"It sounds like you are." Bucky relied on that offended tone like he was being accused of something that was actually bad.

Sam looked up and pressed his lips together to ease his amused smile, but eventually, he had to force himself to look serious, "I mean with a man. Have you?"

"Oh." Barnes scratched the back of his neck, "I've- I uh, I've had my fair share of... experiences." He stared into Sam’s eyes, waiting for a response.

Sam frowned, "What does that mean?"

Bucky couldn’t deny anymore the fact that he was struggling with the subject. He didn’t want to seem inexperienced, but the truth is, he was. And if Sam needed him to be experienced then he would disappoint, and he wanted nothing more than treating Sam like he deserved to be treated, when the timing was right.

"That I've never... you know.” He looked away, “Not 'cause I don't wanna, I've never really thought about it? I dunno if I'd be into it. But I'm willing to try-"

"I'm gonna stop you right there.” Sam cut his rambling short, “I don't wanna fuck you like you think I want you to… I was sort of hoping you'd top me."

"Oh. Okay." The response settling him a lot more, Bucky shrugged nonetheless, "Well, I haven't done that either. I wouldn't... I mean, I don't know-"

"I can show you. So long as you really want to do it. We don't have to."

Bucky thought that that was probably how it’s supposed to feel. When you’re with someone you really love and they really love you back, it feels comfortable and it feels safe. With Sam, he was willing to try anything.

He licked his lips with concealed nervousness before replying truthfully, "I'd like that. Soon."

-

The next time the twist in their bellies caught them, they were cuddling to a Star Wars marathon. They’d run out of snacks hours ago, and were now just lying in each other’s embrace, in their pajamas. Although Bucky was really enjoying the saga, the sci-fi nerd that he was, they were both starting to believe a whole marathon hadn’t been the best idea.

"How many more of these?" Bucky asked, mildly complaining.

"Like...” Sam counted in his head, “Four."

"How do they keep making so many Star Wars? You'd think they'd run out of plots eventually."

"There're full decades between each trilogy." Sam defended the franchise.

"I wouldn't come up with these new storylines if you gave me half a century.” Bucky reckoned, and it was a matter of seconds before he realized something that would add some terribly dark humor to the sentence, “And I had half a century on ice to come up with 'em."

Unfortunately, the bad joke didn’t receive much praise. In fact, Sam remained silent, trying to think of a good response as he tensed up a little.

"Sorry.” Bucky looked down, a small grin of regret appearing, “No joking about it, I know."

"No, it's fine.” Sam intended to prevent Bucky from feeling bad about it; he had every right to process his trauma in any way that he wished, so in an attempt to ease some of that sour feeling he knew Bucky had in his stomach, he kissed the man’s knuckles with care, “It's your bruise to pick at. So long as it's funny to you."

Barnes felt safe enough to be honest with Sam at all costs. That didn’t mean he didn’t feel wrong from time to time.

That’s how he felt, an awkward smile drawn on his lips as he shook his head lightly, "It wasn't.” He let out a nervous chuckle, “Don’t know why I said that."

Sam gave him some mental space by refraining from any further comment. He proceeded to concentrate on the movie in order to drop the subject, but after a few seconds of bothering silence, he was pretty sure the sour feeling in Bucky’s gut wasn’t dissipating. When he turned to face him, he saw clear discomfort, which is why he turned off the TV. Bucky didn’t take his eyes off the now black screen.

"Hey." Wilson practically purred as he placed a finger under Bucky’s chin.

It was almost instant, Bucky’s distressed look turning into a much calmer one when his eyes met Sam’s.

"You breathe through it, 'member?"

Barnes nodded and took a breath, before grabbing a gentle hold of Sam’s face and kissing him on the cheek; a deep and grateful kiss.

"You're not feeling okay?" Wilson asked.

“No, I am. I'm good.” Barnes said truthfully, “Thank you."

They both returned to a cuddling position, Bucky holding Sam tight to his chest and running a thumb up and down Sam’s temple. The latter didn’t want to shut his eyes, no matter how much he was enjoying that simple yet perfect moment. He wanted to take everything in for a second. If he could stay like that for days without the need of food or drink, he would. Feeling far too content and cherished, Wilson wrapped his arms around Bucky’s waist in a rush of adoration, then buried his face in Bucky’s chest to plant his lips against his clothed torso.

"I love you."

Shivers ran down Bucky’s spine, before a joyful smile escaped him as he shut his eyes to enjoy the way Sam dropped childish little kisses on his chest and pec. It wasn’t long until something took over his body, something powerful that had him accommodating into a position where he could kiss Sam.

He slipped his tongue in and let it twirl against Sam’s, seizing the opportunity to drag up Sam’s body with an embrace that helped him pin the man down to the bed. Sam hummed in content, receiving Bucky’s coddling and the way he seemed to have lost his thoughts in the kiss. Suddenly, Sam felt the expected lump in Bucky’s pants grow hard, yet he thought it was best not to mention it, in order to keep the whole situation pressure-free. That was until Bucky decided to drag up his legs and straddle Sam’s waist rather enthusiastically, for the way he started moaning into the kiss after the smallest friction informed Sam of his lover’s intentions.

Sam withdrew his face so he could break the kiss, earning a much focused and very lustful look from Bucky.

"You, uh...?" Sam mumbled the half-assed question.

As a response, Bucky kissed his neck and hummed in absolute approval. He knew he wasn’t coming off too dignified, but too desperate instead, but he didn’t mind. As long as he had Sam’s skin against his. His hands roamed Sam’s neck and shoulders and jaw and face, exploring every bit of exposed skin that could provide Sam with some amount of pleasure. When Bucky’s hips sunk down on Sam’s, the latter let out a censured moan.

It suddenly came to Bucky that he hadn’t verbally confirmed Sam’s willingness, and although he was pretty damn sure Sam wanted to do this more than he allowed himself to display –so he wouldn’t make Bucky feel bad if he decided to change his mind-, he thought to himself that he still had to ask. When he sat back on his calves and placed a tentative finger above the string of Sam’s sweatpants, he gave him the prettiest look Sam had ever seen.

“Do you... want to?” Bucky found himself pretty ignorant when it came to phrasing, which kicked some insecurity back into his pounding head.

Sam offered him a sweet smile, “Yes, of course. I’m just making sure you’re not getting carried away, ‘s all. I want you to be comfortable.”

Bucky planted another kiss onto Sam’s lips before going back into frantic mode.

“I am.” He panted into his mouth, reaching down to undo the knot holding Sam’s pants up.

He only sat back again when he had total freedom to lower the hems and free the painful erection that had grown inside Sam’s underwear. He could tell Sam was holding back, by the look of the trapped member, and when he lowered the boxers as well, nothing could stop Bucky from grabbing a desperate hold of Sam’s groin.

Sam sat straighter, propping himself up on his elbows and gestured for Bucky to come closer. As he kissed the latter tenderly, the man who hadn’t had sex in a while slid his hand up and down Sam’s shaft, using his pre-cum as some sort of lube. He’d definitely had a fair share of experiences, Wilson thought.

With the slow pace Bucky followed to stroke him, Sam found his breath picking up his own pace. He laid back and let the pleasure seep through him, but a few seconds later, he was caught up by the movement of Bucky shifting own lower on the bed. he lifted Sam’s shirt to gain access to his stomach, which he began kissing.

"Oh.” Sam was vocal about his surprise when realizing how fast Bucky was going, “Okay."

Barnes’ kisses drifted from Sam’s belly to his hipbones in the blink of an eye, and that’s when Sam noticed the lack of spontaneity and natural progression in his lover’s acts.

"Okay.” He made him stop, “Dude."

Bucky looked up, wondering.

"You trying to prove something?" Sam asked with no inhibitions whatsoever.

Bucky’s expression made it seem like he was shocked that Sam would even ask, "Yeah, that I'm not a virgin." He explained, as if it was obvious.

Wilson let out a laugh, not intending to be mean, but genuinely amused by the fact Bucky would think about that.

"I believe you. You can stop the demonstration."

The positive affirmation soothed Bucky’s concerns about not being smooth enough, and so he nodded with a grin right before launching back onto Sam’s lips.

"I, uh, I wanna do it." He confessed in a low tone.

Sam's tummy did a flip, "Alright then." He did his best to hide his excitement.

"I mean it.”

“I know.” Sam grabbed Bucky’s chin with softness and forced him to look directly into his eyes, "Double check?"

Barnes was unable to hide the big eye roll that took over him. Sam had to know by now how desperate he was to get laid. It had been almost a century –not really, but in sexual abstinence time, it felt like it had been the full seventy years- since he’d had sex and he violently needed it. but not with anyone, of course, with the man he loved. With Sam, who knew exactly how to make him feel safe, who knew when to mess with him and when to simply exist by his side, who Bucky adored like he never had before. He had never felt more at home than with him, so yes, having him there, his cock out and still wondering if Bucky wanted to go to town sounded ridiculous.

"Yeah, fucking triple check.” He let out as he held Sam’s face with both hands, “I want you."

That’s all Sam needed, really. Bucky continued to take the initiative because, well, sexual abstinence, and he helped Sam out of his pants before removing his own shirt swiftly, while Sam mimicked him. Their mouths collided angrily as Sam positioned himself to straddle Bucky, and the latter gripped his hips and pushed his weigh down on his own agonizing erection.

"Oh, god." He shut his eyes without processing the words coming out of him.

Sam let himself be manhandled and enjoyed it. He bit his lip as he propped himself up, both palms down on each side of Bucky's resting head. It was when he reached for the lube in the nightstand that Bucky’s confidence began straying away, realizing he didn’t really know what to do next. Luckily, he felt a heavy weight be lifted off his chest when he saw Sam taking the initiative now. The more experienced man stood up and removed his boxers, and Bucky wanted to admire his lover’s body as a whole, yet he was too worried about what he was supposed to be doing to gawk at it; instead, he took off his own underwear at the speed of light and sat on the bed while Sam got the bottle of lube open.

As Sam went back to his former position, Bucky stared up at him with absolute uncertainty, "What do I...?" he swallowed hard before he could even finish the sentence.

"I'll show you." Sam hushed him.

He proceeded with squirting lube on his palm as he distracted Bucky with a deep, long kiss, and although it blurred Bucky’s vision, he understood that Sam was prepping himself when a lubed finger guided his metal hand to Sam’s behind. Without any words, Sam showed Bucky how to push in, and when Barnes separated his bionic fingers and Sam’s hole gave in, the moan that came out of Sam's lips made Bucky think he wasn’t so lost after all. He was doing it right. So he worked his lover open, causing him to start panting and rest his mouth against Bucky's cheekbone, toning sweet little noises and hitting the inexperienced man with his hot breath.

"Fuck, Sammy, you feel so good." Bucky admitted, pleasantly surprised.

After a minute or two, Sam sit up and got the same hand lubed up again, this time to coat Bucky's dick. The feeling made him shiver, but he managed to sit straight for Sam to tease his own entrance with Bucky’s tip. Bucky felt the butterflies in his tummy, and that was when Sam began slowly sliding down Bucky's length, until he could fully sit down; Bucky held him tight, his arm wrapped entirely around Sam’s torso, and a groan escaped him from the amazing feeling of having him like that. Being inside him but also being able to embrace him completely was almost too much.

"God." He trembled slightly.

"God, Bucky." Sam mimicked him unintentionally, feeling whole.

Wilson rested his head on Bucky's shoulder while Bucky's rested back in the air, his hands keeping a tender grip on Sam's nape. They both submerged into the stillness, enjoying the intense moment until Bucky’s head was less dizzy and his head lulled closer to Sam’s. The latter’s eyes were still closed, and the slightest movement of their hips made him gasp.

"I love you." He moaned out.

He didn’t even give Bucky enough time to say it back, because he immediately started riding his dick up and down.

The lightheaded sensation returned to Bucky as he felt completely taken by Sam. He was claiming him, getting himself off on his cock, pushing him back on the bed with care until his head hit the pillow. And Bucky allowed Sam to take him, he just watched the man prop himself up by planting his palms on Bucky’s chest.

Sam was riding him like it was too easy, and it let him mesmerized and amazed, all the while the lower half of his body felt under both a rough pressure and a devious release.

“Is this- agh.” Sam groaned, unable to focus on his words when he moved his hips so intensly, “This good?”

“Yeah, Sammy, it’s good.” Bucky spoke in barely a breath, taking one of Sam’s hands and kissing it.

Then Sam took that hand of his and drew a finger across Bucky’s temple to his cheek, dragged them along his chin and mouth until Bucky’s lips gaped, which he didn’t know if it was because of Sam's fingertips or his incapacity to say anything, given how immersed in pleasure he was. When Sam withdrew his hand from his features, he knew the answer, because his mouth was still gaped open, and the smallest moan came out with special effort.

Still taking what he needed from Bucky, Sam intertwined his fingers with the bionic ones, pinning Bucky’s to the mattress right above his head. It helped Sam push himself forward and ride him faster, before placing a sloppy and breathy kiss on Bucky’s half open mouth. When the latter emitted something entirely incomprehensible, Sam drew back to let him talk.

"Fuck. Sam, I'm gonna-"

"Wait." The man acting as the ultimate power bottom cut him off.

He slowed down, sat straighter and stroked himself out, made himself cum with a few drawn moans.

That, was the icing in the cake. Bucky felt him tighten around his dick, he felt the hot liquid on his chest and he knew he couldn’t hold it back anymore. He lost it, chest heaving up as he came and his sounds choked back too deep into his throat to even go past his parted mouth. It wasn’t until he heard Sam breathe out in recovery that he let out a noise that sounded more like he was in pain than in pleasure. But it was pleasure, good god it was pleasure.

Both men rode down with heavy breathing, but Barnes was in a state of shock. The instant that Sam found his face, though, Bucky grinned. He had just shown Bucky a goddamn millennial treasure.

Sam kissed his collarbone, still breathless, "All good?"

Bucky ran a hand down his face while he regained his breath.

"Shit, yeah. Great."

"Better than your fair share of experiences?" Sam teased.

It drew a dumb smile on Bucky’s face, his eyes still closed as if he worried that if he opened them, it would all have been a dream. He hugged Sam tight to his chest until they were both lying down.

He shook his head with amusement, "I can't even remember those, suddenly."

Sam would eventually pat himself on the shoulder for teaching Bucky how to top him, for it seemed like it was now Bucky's favorite hobby. He'd hop in the shower and smother Sam with neck kisses until he became jelly under his touch. He'd stroke him, suck him off before dinner. Sometimes he'd start prepping Sam only to realize he just wanted to finger him to oblivion and get his cock to cum untouched. That turned out to be his favorite.

But sometimes he just wanted to do him from behind and smother him. He'd relish Sam's shoulders, his nape, his back, kiss every inch of skin he could reach while doing him slowly and never forgetting to let him know how loved he was. Sam felt like he'd cracked the Da Vinci code by showing Bucky the wonders of having sex with the man you love. And Sam, he worshipped his man right back.

[ahtohallan-calling]

what makes up love | a fluffy kristanna modern au one shot | rated t, 1.7k

Kristoff Bjorgman will be the first to admit that he knows hardly anything about love.

Still, even he can recognize that it’s a good sign when the pretty girl from Comp II-- Anna, the A round and full like he’s never heard it said before-- agrees to go on first one date with him, and then another, and now a third. And she was the one who suggested seeing some new horror movie about witches or something, and at first Kristoff had thought she only grabbed onto his hand out of fright, but now they’ve come out of the theater and into the rest of the mall and she still hasn’t let go, and he doesn’t think he’s ever smiled this big.

They’re wandering in the general direction of an escalator, exchanging commentary on the movie and whether it was as good as the first five in the franchise, when Anna comes to a sudden halt. “Oh! I forgot I had a Sephora gift card, I…” 

She bites her bottom lip, and if he wasn’t already dying to kiss her by now-- well. “Do you mind if I run in? You can wait out here if you want.”

Kristoff feels his brows pull together. “Do you...not want me to go in with you?”

“No! No, not at all,” she says quickly, and now both of her hands are on his. “It’s just...I don’t know. I heard people say before their boyfriends don’t like to go in there.”

Boyfriend-- they haven’t talked about that yet, but both of them blush. “I don’t mind,” Kristoff assures her. “I mean, I just care about hanging out with you. Doesn’t really matter where.”

She lights up as if he’s just promised to take a trip to Pluto and come back with an armful of stars for her. “I’ll be fast,” she insists as she leads him in, her fingers still clasped tightly around his.

Eventually she does let go so she can touch some glittery stuff and rub it on the back of her hand, concentrating hard on it. Kristoff considers asking her if it’s really supposed to go there before thinking better of it and letting his gaze wander around the rest of the store.

He accidentally makes eye contact with the only other man in there, who nods in the direction of a woman Kristoff assumes is his wife and rolls his eyes exaggeratedly. Kristoff doesn’t break eye contact with the man as he says, “Hey, Anna?”

“Yeah?” she asks, turning around and peering up at him.

“I think you should get...that one,” he says, finally glancing down to jab his finger at a row of lipsticks. “It would be really pretty on you.”

She beams. “Do you really think I could pull that color red off?”

“You could pull anything off.”

A moment later, there’s a slight pressure on his shoulder; he glances down just in time to see her using it to keep her balance to rise up on her tiptoes and press a quick kiss to his cheek. “You’re sweet,” she says, her eyes shining. “But that one’s sixty dollars.”

“Oh,” he says, feeling stupid until she takes his hand again and leads him right past the other man, just in time for Kristoff to hear him say, “Hey, honey, what about that one?”

---

Three months in, there’s still a hell of a lot for Kristoff to learn about love-- namely, if it’s still too soon for him to tell her how he feels-- but he’s proud to say he’s already sort of starting to become an expert on all things Anna. Her favorite fruit is strawberries, her favorite class this semester is Painting I even though she’s never really done art before, and she goes to yoga once a week with her sister even though she always gets the giggles and everyone glares at her. She’s a Cancer and an elementary ed major and she lived in Norway until she was fifteen. That’s when, he found out on date number six, her parents died suddenly; her sister had just started school at the university, full ride scholarship on track for med school, and so Anna had packed her things and joined her, and they’d lived together in a little yellow rented house ever since.

(“Sorry to be a downer,” she had said sheepishly after explaining how she’d ended up here.

“Don’t be sorry. I wanna know all about you. And anyway, I’m an orphan too-- well, I was, ‘til I got adopted. So I kinda get it,” he’d explained, and then her eyes had gone all soft and just a little shiny and she’d spent the rest of the night snuggled up against him paying no attention to the notes she was supposed to be studying.)

But there’s one thing he still doesn’t understand.

“Anna,” he says, frowning, as he lets himself in through the front door she leaves unlocked for him every Saturday night, “why do you put that stuff on your face?”

“It’s a face mask!” she says cheerfully.

“Yeah, but...what’s it for?”

“It cleans up all the stuff in your pores.”

“Doesn’t it feel...slimy?” he asked, tilting his head as he tries to understand what makes her so happy about smearing green goop all over her face.

“Kind of. But in a good way. Wanna try it?”

There’s another thing he’s learning about Anna: when she bites her lip like that and struggles to meet his eyes, it’s a chance to do something that’s going to make her really happy even if he doesn’t get why it’s a big deal. And so he shrugs and says, “Sure, why not?”

He does have to admit that the mask does feel pretty good. But what feels even better is Anna’s fingers brushing carefully against his skin as she smears it on, and when she giggles and leaves one spot bare so she can lean in and kiss his cheek, and then she settles herself on his lap and leans back against his chest and says, “Now we wait ten minutes. Whatcha wanna do?”

Thank God this green stuff doesn’t go on his lips.

---

“I have a huge favor to ask,” Anna says breathlessly the moment he lets her in the door to his apartment. “Like, really really really big, and if you say no--”

“Baby, when have I ever said no to you?” he asks, and she pauses just long enough to tug him down by the collar so she can kiss his cheek.

“Okay, yes, true, but this time it’s a really big one.”

“Why don’t you say what it is first, and then I’ll tell you if it’s actually a no or not?”

She bites her lip. “You know how it’s like, her white coat ceremony tomorrow?”

He does; he agreed to go not only because he loves Anna, but because, as it turns out, Elsa might be the only person on campus who loves hockey and cheese fries as much as he does, and now, second only to his roommate-- well, and Anna, obviously-- she’s his best friend.

He nods, and she releases her bottom lip with a sigh. “I told her I’d do her makeup. But then I realized I’ve never done it on another person, and all my friends are busy studying for finals, and I know you are, too, so I’ll be fast, and I promise I won’t like, take pictures or anything, or--”

“Anna,” he interrupts, “are you trying to ask if you can practice makeup on me?”

“I know it’s a lot to ask, so I get it, and if you say yes I super owe you one--”

“You don’t owe me anything,” he says, sitting down in the kitchen chair. “Just make sure we’ve gotten it all off by the time Sven comes home.”

“Is that a yes?” she asks hopefully.

“I mean, considering you kept me stocked up on Gatorade and saltines all last week after I puked in your car...I don’t think I have any room to say no to you right now.”

They both know he wouldn’t say no anyway, especially considering that now he actually sort of looks forward to what Anna calls Spa Dates and he calls “letting you put that stuff on my face and kissing until it’s dry”. 

This takes a lot longer than the face masks, and it’s a hell of a lot ticklier. “Kris,” Anna whines when his eyelids keep fluttering. “You gotta hold still so I can do your crease.”

“My what?”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m making it beautiful. Or at least I’m trying to.”

He holds his breath, and that seems to help. The mascara she has him do himself-- “so I don’t jab your eye out, ohmygod, how bad would that be?”, which then makes him wonder if he’ll jab his own eye out.

Thankfully, he doesn’t, and she reassures him it was only the eyeshadow she needed to practice, anyway, and so a moment later he’s done. “Oh,” Anna sighs, “that came out better than I expected. Wanna see?”

“I don’t know. Do I?”

She laughs and fumbles through her makeup bag for a mirror. “Here.”

He looks, and while it’s certainly not a look that works for him, he’s pretty sure she did it right, except that the black stuff went past the corner of his eye, is it supposed to do that? 

When he says as much, she laughs and laughs until she can’t breathe. ���I love you so much,” she gasps, wiping tears out of the corners of her eyes.

He doesn’t really get the joke, but then she thanks him with a kiss and a makeup remover wipe, and he figures it’s best to move past it, especially when he can hear Sven’s keys jingling in the door.

---

He’s seen her now with glitter all over her face, and with bright red lips, and with fake eyelashes that kept falling off, and with Halloween makeup that made her look like a zombie.

But this, he thinks, is when she looks the prettiest.

He scoots closer across the mattress and kisses the tip of her nose. She scrunches it up, and he laughs and kisses it again, and then her cheeks and her forehead and the top of her head until at last she sighs and opens her eyes.

“Good morning, beautiful,” he says softly, and the smile she gives him could light up the whole damn world.

----

a/n:

this is something silly i did for mariana, olá mari eu te amo

thanks laura and rhianne and gabi and molly for your help!!