#Eleven would get so high he would start talking with walls

[cheekytv]

time and place - chrismd // after seeing chris play in the charity match there truly isn't anything else you can do but fuck him in the bathroom once it's over.

genre: smut (MDNI!!)

pairing: chrismd x f!reader

wc: 1.3k

smut warnings: semi-public sex, fingering, slight dirty talk, p in v sex, unprotected sex, creampie

your high school teacher mrs. rogers always used to say that there was a time and place for everything. that the right etiquette during your day to day lives would surely bring you far. 

you wonder what she would think of her star student right now, if she’d hold her wrinkly hands with the many rings on each finger over her eyes and scream or if she’d simply yell at you, once again, time and place!

not that you cared much about her opinion now, almost a decade after finishing high school. not to mention that she just wouldn’t get it. she hadn’t been the one to see her boyfriend score the sexiest goal of the sidemen charity match, she hadn’t witnessed her boyfriend being the absolute best player out there. no, that had all been you. 

chris was magnificent on the field. in the starting eleven as expected, playing like a small but powerful god. and, fuck, when he scored that free kick goal, you knew right then and there it was over for you. chris knew you liked watching him play football, that you enjoyed his videos and were his biggest supporter. but you hadn’t dated when he was in the charity match the last time, so you had never truly seen him play in an actual match before. not in front of ninety thousand people at least and definitely not scoring such a clean, perfect goal. 

so, while you watched him assist theo on his goals and watched him defend and dribble - you felt yourself grow more and more hungry for your absolute beast of a boyfriend. and when they won 90 minutes later, when they got their medals and got celebrated on the field, you slowly made your way down the rows of seats, your hands itching to touch him. 

you and the other partners of the players were allowed on the pitch and you ran over to chris, him beaming when he spotted you. he caught you in his arms, wrapping them around you as yours found their familiar spot around his neck. he laughed into your ear and you pressed yourself against him, fingers in his hair.

“you were incredible out there,” you whispered into his ear, moving slightly back to look into his eyes. chris felt his breath getting stuck in his throat. he knew that look in your eyes. knew the way you held him, the way your body melted against his. fuck. he looked around the field, making sure no one was close by to hear.

“you liked it?” he asked breathlessly and you nodded, biting down on your lip.

“so fucking much.” your eyes were sparkling in the afternoon sun and chris held back a groan. you were going to be the death of him. 

which finally lead to why mrs. rogers would surely be disappointed in you. 

your back hits the wall of the bathroom stall, your legs wrapped around chris’ waist as his hands hold you up, his lips pressing against yours. god, it feels so good to kiss him. to have him this close. 

“you were so fucking sexy, scoring that goal, babe.” you moan against his lips and he chuckles, lips moving down to your neck. you whimper when he sucks on your skin.

“yeah? if i had known you get this horny from me playing football with my mates i’d have started a charity match myself ages ago.” he moves his hands underneath your skirt, shoving down your thighs and panties in one go, letting your feet touch the floor for only a moment before getting you back up.

“fuck, chris, you don’t even know, i need you so bad.” you pout down at him, chest heaving and chris’ smirks cockily. 

“i think i’ll find out soon enough.” and that he does. his fingers glide to your core, feeling your drenched folds and he groans, pressing another kiss to your neck.

“god, fuck, you are fucking dripping for me, baby.” he pushes two fingers inside you with little to no resistance and his cock twitches in his shorts. he needs to get out of these and take you the way you need him to. 

“chris!” you cry out his name when he begins to finger fuck you against the wall, your head falling backwards. every second of that game you had fantasised about him and you and about what you’d do after the game. how terribly pathetic of you to not even make it home.

“so, so wet, so ready for me.” chris mumbles, bringing his lips back to yours and kissing you with so much vigour it makes you drip down his fingers. his tongue runs over your lips and you gladly let him in, your hands now moving to his cheeks. oh, how much you love this man. 

“fuck me, chris, please, i need you so bad.” the words are a whisper against his lips and chris feels himself falling impatient too. so, he does as asked. shoving his shorts and underwear down, he stands hard and proud, skilfully positioning himself with your entrance, fingers pulled out and back to grabbing your ass. he licks over his lips as he watches your face, his cock slowly but surely skining into you.

every inch feels like heaven and when he bottoms out, you can’t help but moan his name, fingers digging into his scalp. 

and then he begins to fuck you. fucks you like he knows you want it, like he knows you need it. his hips move in quick pace, his cock getting hugged by your walls like an old friend and, shit, he won’t ever grow tired of it.

“feel so good.” you whimper, kissing him again and chris squeezes your ass as he thrusts harder into you. there is an after-party he definitely needs to attend - that both of you need to attend, and just the fact you have suddenly disappeared from the activities is going to be suspicious. 

“you’re driving me crazy, god, you’re perfect.” chris feels himself nearing climax and so he brings one of his hands to your core, thumb now pressing down on your clit. you let out another cry, head bumping against the wall as your eyes roll back and your body begins to near the sweet release you’ve been craving.

“fuck, chris, i’m gonna cum!” you feel every single one of his veins inside you, feel him dragging along your walls, feel how he twitches, how he is about to claim you. and chris feels you in return, the way you clench, the way you seem to vibrate around his length. 

“yes, baby, come for me, show me how much it turned you on to see me play.” he picks up the pace once more, chasing your and his own release and you let out a high-pitched moan when the orgasm finally hits you, rushing over and consuming you, pussy squeezing around chris over and over again - finally bringing him over the edge too.

he finishes inside of you, hot white spurts of his essence landing inside your throbbing cunt and he kisses you hard while fucking you through it. 

when you land back on your feet, chris has to grab your hips so you don’t fall over.

“that was amazing.” he grins, making sure you’re okay so he can slip back into his clothes. you nod, still slightly lightheaded. once back in your own clothes, you smile up at him.

“if you score again next year, i can’t promise you that i won’t jump on the filed and drag you off of it.”

chris laughs, opening the bathroom stall door and letting you leave first, closely behind you.

“you might be mental, love, but i wouldn’t have it any other way.”

[theoldsports]

In an alternate universe where art wasn’t involved in such a toxic situation, what would college art be like as a boyfriend? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

I feel like he’d be open to just about anyone as long as they had a good personality and a good heart. It wouldn’t matter if they played tennis or not; he’d love them for them and hope they’d love him just the same. Idk just some thoughts 💭 😚

Art is the boy that has had a broken heart one too many times and too much shit talked about him for him to run around hurting someone directly on purpose. He is, as far as college athlete relationships go, an exceptional boyfriend.

Art’s major is also Physics. It’s Physics. No arguments.

His girl parties? He’ll show out if it doesn’t ruin his game/practice schedule that weekend. His girl hates parties? They’ll stay in.

As a matter of fact, Art’s probably gonna swing for a girl that’s not a tennis player, but kindly tennis-curious. He likes having someone to teach about the game. And to mutually learn about her world and interests.

He’s probably gonna pull a talker. Art is a talker when he’s with another talker, but he has a hard time with other more reserved folks day in and day out.

Once he starts talking though, Art’s going to keep talking.

The kid knows he has a difficult schedule, but he’s going to want to spend time with his girl. Just the walking between places, having lunch, going to Target, studying, catching a cigarette behind the athletics complex kind of time. Those are the best moments of his day.

Art is going to ask to move into an off-campus apartment with his girl way sooner than is rational. Dealing with thin walls, squeaky lofted beds and roommates doesn’t yield a healthy relationship necessarily.

He loves staying in bed all day with her. Just laying there and chatting.

Unfortunately, he’s a really early riser. Art was conditioned to be. On school days, he’s very oh, yeah, I go up at six, ran a mile and had some toast. You want coffee? There’s some on the counter. Like that’s a normal way to be.

His media comprehension for plots in movies isn’t high. Movie nights are kind of wait, I don’t get why it’s call Ocean’s Eleven. So Art gets a lot of that explained to him and he… likes having the little things explained to him like he’s stupid. It’s funny, because he’s so fucking smart that his girl always wondered if he was faking it for attention…

Art’s dreadful when he’s sick. He’s not gonna try and push through it. He’s going to lay there and be useless when he’s ill. He wants to be taken care of.

Fundamentally supportive. There is nothing Art will not do to help his girl. Nothing.

He’s helpful with STEM-based homework.

Hand-holder. Art likes leading his girl from place to place. Or maybe being led is more apt.

He’s a lost puppy. His biggest flaw is being too loyal. This could result in brash, clinginess. Not all too bad or traumatic.

Art is a realist. So when he fantasizes with his girl about the future, that is what he wants. This relationship isn’t a joke or some game of chase.

This relationship is the thing that gets him fired up. He will stop at nothing to keep it nice through the good and bad times.

(He also understands that not every time is a good time. He will stay through the shitty moments too)

Art is dreamy. He really, truly is.

[missmarveledsblog]

I Think I love you a little bit more everyday ( Steve Harrington x Reader)

summary : being in love is never easy and it most definitely not easy when the person you love is one of you best friends .

warning : steve is an insecure boy , angst and fluffy

Steve harrington was known for many things , the great head of hair on his head, most popular guy in hawking high for a long period of time , many jobs he had despite his family being rich . He was also widely known for his failed love life , from nancy and his up and down romance to all the failed dates afterwards . Another thing that was well known was when she was a round steve puppy dog brown eye would light up and follow her around  or an inkling of trouble and he was ready to come to her rescue not that she needed it given she was one of the kids from the lab one that help eleven escape after something so horrible nether spoke about it . when those two showed up it was like a nuclear bomb went off exposing so many things. One of those things that most people of hawkings forgot was chief hoppers first fleeting marriage and his first daughter , back when he was young cop he and claudia henderson’s sister maggie had one night stand that would lead to a pregnancy and marriage to do the right thing, then one night when the girl was four years old  maggie took off and sent papers of divorce . What Hopper didn’t know was the girl's ability or the lab approaching the mother paying her a large sum of money . For years and years even before she returned he never stopped even though mentally he was done , he’d never stop looking  .  in all that time she was so close and yet so so far away it wasn’t til he noticed the birthmark on her arm  and a  under wraps blood test to find out who the  now almost young woman was . unlike eleven she was able to be out in public the towns people talked for long time but soon with everything else it became old news. 

The odd nature of it all skipped over but for steve harrington it was more skipping from a crush to full blown feelings . Everytime he tried pulling his mind to something else she would be around and everything would flood back , convince he was undesiring of love or convinced that he was cursed and destined to never get the girl some form of karma for his stupid asshole behaviour . so it was safe to say he was afraid to get that close to her in a way where he could get hurt even thought realistically  this was killing him . 

Even though many times their lives had been put in situation were if a love confession should arise it would be now on the tip of his tongue but he chose to ignore it  a decision he nearly regretted when he say eddie carrying her weakly while dustin henderson was chewing him out for being an idiot for not sticking to the plan  mainly because he was scared , because he watching people he loved being taking  from his life . steve heart fell into his stomach , the blood in his veins cold looking at the lifeless limp pale body in his arms  rushing to their side all at once asking what happened what was wrong . all bickering til the reached the byer place one where they all spent many of times at not wanting to leave her side as she lay , least the colour was starting to come back into her cheeks and he did turn so nancy and robin could clean the blood and fresh clothes on her. Then when it was last straw , it was end battle one of good and evil wayne munson promised to the stay by her side . when it felt like everything was hitting the wall , when it felt like a loss was on the brink the bright headlight of a pick up truck and added effect of metallica blasting through the  speaker like some knights on four wheeled beat up stallion . 

“ As metal as this is what the hell your suppose to be watching over her” eddie hissed although slightly impressed at the entrance he couldn’t lie .  

“ she was going to go whether i let her or not so i got her here safely … shit kid i was kinda hoping this wasn’t actually real “ wayne’s eyes looking at monstrous creatures . 

“ can you use one of these” hopper asked holding the shot gun like nothing  . 

“ yes sir .. legal hunting “ he was made sure to clarify . 

“ i don’t care just aim and shoot  these fuckers legalities don’t come into play here” dustin yelled as  y/n stood out of truck eyes locked on the enemy before turning to see steve both happy she was up and pissed she was there something she could ask about once it was over .  hand in hand they stood watching her and eleven get the better hand holding Venca in the air almost tearing him apart . the anticipation and fear all over everyone's faces.   Like a sick joke the two thrown apart the cruel laugh that spilled from its grotesque mouth as their friend watched trying to get to the girls  then when the beast turn his sights on the people they loved it was like every life lost due to this creatures being channeling through giving them the strength to rip him apart and this time for good . that should of been that moment for steve but again he missed it by just hugging her so tightly til hopper had to clear his throat all in the midst of it all the feelings of it finally being over , the seemly curse of hawkings finally broken as eddie munson screamed his victorious yell and few obscenities that prompted wayne to slap him back of his head . 

“ ladie present” he’d gruffed . 

“ shit sorry … shit “ the boy cursed . 

A year after that day , the town of hawkings rebuilding people still coming in droves to the so called cursed town as it and the people in it are some sort of spectacle .  oddly at first it help getting so much aid but it came with a price  , media circus and droves of people coming to town . steve stood in family video because of course  that could be rebuilt fast not that he could complain and in hindsight his parent stayed longer this time before heading off again . something else that linger in the air , tension of a sort with him and y/n. He tried once more burying the feeling deep down  which seemed harder to do every time he would try close his eyes he could see her lifeless in eddies arms or thrown by Vecna  to point he was losing sleep  , ignoring robin and co pleading with him just to talk to her which he would if it wasn’t for kyle , he first came to help the town wit others and seemly took an interest in y/n and before steve knew it he was watching yet another girl he was in love with in the hands of another like a knife constantly plunged into his heart and it was his own fault or was it just future proof of his own curse.  Yet it did nothing to quell the feeling the weeks almost months of distance did nothing to stop the strong coursing feelings that building up and up he felt it was going to rip him apart . everything he face nothing scared him more than this  , no matter what fear he had  he needed to tell her maybe if he got it all of his chest he could move on , closer in it own bitter way . flowers in hand and man on a mission he drove like bat out of hell not caring if he blew a red light of if the cops would try pull him over because in this very moment nothing was more important than freeing himself of all this . he needed a release from  it and he needed to do it now , right now . pulling the car to a stop and walking to the door muttering to himself , psyching himself up . 

“ rip the band aid off look she gonna reject you , you might have to fight kyle but we need to do this “ he muttering unaware of eddie and wayne sitting on their porch ready to witness  it all . pumping himself up and knocking at the door watching it fly open  and her voice filled with surprise of course it was he actively avoided her for months because he couldn’t fess up or bare the thought of her with another man . 

“ look no talking , listening yet shitty of me to say so but i need to get this out because if i don’t i will throw up and make this a hundred times worse , i know i have been a dickhead… “ 

“ putting it lightly “ 

“ ok deserved that but look hush … i couldn’t be around you it was killing me … i mean not you but you and kyle it was killing me watching another doing what i should be doing but i know would never happen because let face it henderson and the rest of shitheads will get married before i can find a girl that doesn’t leave me for someone else and that in itself is why i’m afraid .. was ..no actually still scared to tell you i’ve been in love with you since i met you , every time i try think of way tell you end of the world happens or that voice in my head tells me to shut up because you one of my best friends and now i need to tell you get some closure and also be made at you for almost dying twice  and even then my coward ass couldn’t tell you i think i love you a little more every day and it killing me , i can’t eat or sleep because it’s tearing me apart holding on and i know ….”  his whole body seized up at the feeling of her lips and his , the fact of her lips on his sending him into a short circuit and that fear melting away  , what felt like ice that was thawing away a warmth was coming into his body for first time .  pulling her close even if kyle was there and  not that he care he pulled her closer almost like  their bodies were welding together in iron clasp hold . suddenly the alarms in his brain ringing off she felt the same, she feels the same . as much as he didn’t wanted to pull away he needed to breathe and he was pretty sure the nerves of it all still had him ready to throw up still . 

“ kyle? “ he gasped .

“ we broke up couple months ago “ 

“ why didn’t you tell me ?” 

“ because you kept avoiding me “ she glared still feeling pissed at him. 

“ why didn’t anyone else tell me ?” he asked .

“ BECAUSE YOU NEVER LISTEN BIG BOY “ eddie yelling making him aware of the audience . 

“I wanna hit you for ignoring and avoiding me “ she glared. “ but i also want you to kiss me again ,  you idiot i’ve been in love with you since we met too “ her face softened. 

“ what if you find someone better” that broken vulnerable voice spilling from his lips made her own heart clench . 

“ there is no one better than you steve , in my eyes your the best of the best, everyone knew it  i was like a little school girl all heart eyes at you that when you dated i was secretly wishing they sucked and you would like me back honestly i owe buckley and all of friends therapy for all times i’ve pretty much blabbed about how much i’ve been and still am in love with you “ all her own pent up feelings finally breaking like a dam  gushing out of her mouth before she could even think to stop them . 

“ so this whole time “ 

“ you both been dumber than a box of rocks  … yeah “ eddie called. 

“ maybe we should take this inside “ she laughed as both their faces flushed . 

“ and make up for lost time i’m way ahead of you sweetheart “ he chuckled lifting her up and rushing in, the voice in the back of his head was telling him this was going to hurt but the voice in his heart told him he was going to be ok because this time he got the girl who was going to want him and only him .

[fiapartridge]

late night talking | jack hughes

summary: jack’s having a terrible day and decides to call you late at night…

warning(s): swearing

kinda not in love with this one but what can ya do!

Jack hated calling when it was late at night because he knew you'd answer every single time— even if it meant sacrificing precious hours of sleep and living like a sleep-deprived zombie by the time the sun comes up. 

But tonight, he just couldn't resist it. 

His day was absolutely terrible. It all started with waking up an hour later than his alarm was set, then missing breakfast with the team because he couldn't find his tan T-shirt anywhere which resulted in him tearing apart his entire hotel room searching for the missing piece of clothing that was simply rolled up at the bottom of his suitcase, then getting a piece of gum stuck to the bottom of his new AF1s on his way to the arena, and as the stupid cherry on top, the Devils lost their last road game of the—almost clean sweep—West Coast roadie to the fucking Seattle Kraken. 

And he knew you were tired. You spent all day texting him about all of the essays and projects your professors were assigning you. You were awake until 2AM (New Jersey time), hacking away at all of the assignments. You couldn't wait to go to sleep. 

You finally put your writing utensils away and stored your laptop in the drawer of your desk where it would be waiting to be opened tomorrow for more work. Your hair was in a messy bun and your pajamas were strapped against your body. You were so ready for bed. You pulled back the covers and shimmied yourself in, careful not to move the pink blanket resting at the foot of the bed. 

Skimming through your emails one last time, making sure there wasn't any last-minute work assigned by your professors, you turned off your phone and placed it on the bedside table. Your arm stretched a little farther to click the button on your lamp, but when you saw Jack's caller ID and the photo of him giving you a piggy-back around the Prudential Center, all systems were on high alert. 

You sat back up, pulling the phone to your ear. You were terrified. You knew Jack hated calling you late at night— even though you told him loads of times that you didn't mind. So if he was calling you now, knowing it was 2AM where you were, he must've really needed something. 

The line was silent when you answered. Nothing else other than a faint static could be heard between the two of you.

"Jack?" you called. "Are you okay?"

You could hear his breathing. It wasn't calm, but it wasn't rapidly fast either. It sounded like a boy with something on his mind.

"Hey, Y/N/N," he said. He was so quiet, it felt like you had to lean into the phone to hear him better. 

"It's eleven in Seattle. Why aren't you asleep?" you asked.

"I wanted to, I just," he paused. Static. Calmer breaths. "I just missed you so fucking much, Y/N."

"I miss you, too, but it's only two more days. I'll see you on Sunday. What's going on?"

You couldn't see him, but his head was shaking back and forth on the other side of the line and he was rubbing his forehead like a middle-aged man after seeing his kids scribbling all over the walls. He was stressed and tired and all he wanted was to come home and see you, to sleep in your bed tonight, and to be with you.

"My day was just... terrible. It was unbelievably terrible. It was like one bad thing would happen and then ten minutes later, another bad thing happened. It was like God was just shitting over my entire day. So much fucking shit."

You laughed softly, a slight yawn mixed in between. "I don't think God was resting at the toilet, shitting all over your day, but it sounds like it was pretty bad. What happened?"

He sighed. "No, I should let you go to sleep. It's what? Two o'clock over there?"

"You called, and I answered. Tell me."

He took a moment, like he was actually debating whether to tell you or not. He knew you would go to extreme lengths to get it out of him, and he didn't want to tire you out even more. "We lost."

That was all he said.

Two words.

We lost.

You were confused to say the least. You knew he lost. You kept up with every single one of his games. They won every single road game before that: the Hurricanes, the Ducks, the Kings, the Sharks. So what, they lost to the Kraken? It's not like they won't have another chance to win again on Sunday against the Penguins, or Tuesday against the Golden Knights. There were so many more games to play. What was the big deal?

"Okay... is that it?" you asked. You dipped your toe in, scared that he might blow up and tell you something dramatic like 'it's more than a game, it's my life.'

But the line went quiet again. Nothing more than a bit of static and breathing. But then he talked and you wanted to do nothing more than book a flight out to Seattle and run to him with your arms out. You wanted to be there for Jack— you always did. 

He sighed. "It's just— we were losing for so long and when we were winning again, it felt so good, like we were finally back. Like we were a team again. But then we lost and, I don't know, it felt as if we were back on that losing streak, like it was yesterday. Like none of the road games even happened. We were just— losers again."

You rolled your eyes, and laughed. Yes, you laughed. Jack was confused, too. He wondered why you were laughing. He just poured out his entire thought process, all of his feelings, and you were laughing. Why were you laughing?

He frowned. "It's not funny, Y/N/N."

"I know, I know," you wiped your eyes. You didn't know if you were tearing up because you were deliriously tired or you were just laughing too hard. "It's just— you lost in overtime. You were close. It wasn't an 8 - 1 loss, or a complete shutout. You almost won, Jack. It was one goal that separated you and the other team. So what, you lost one game? This one game won't cost you your chances at playoffs and it won't make me love you any less. No one thinks that you are a loser. I'd rather be with you than a guy that's won every single one of his games. I love you, Jack. Win or lose, it's always you."

"So you don't want to be with Pastrnak?"

You rolled your eyes and giggled. "Not into beards."

He laughed. "Really? Because I think I'm starting to grow something here, Y/N/N."

You scoffed. "In your wildest dreams, Hughes."

"Speaking of dreams, I should probably let you get back to that."

"Alright, just— know that I love you, okay? Win or lose; I'm always gonna come home to you, and I'm always gonna love you."

You could hear the sound of a light switch on the other side of the line. Jack was getting ready for bed, too. He crawled underneath the covers, knowing his teammates were probably out getting drunk somewhere at a bar nearby. But he didn't care about grabbing a beer and throwing all of his feelings into Taylor Swift karaoke with Nico Hischier (that was more of a 'you and Nico' thing). All he wanted was to hear your voice, to tell you goodnight, that he loves you, and that he'll call you again when the sun comes up.

Because to him, you were worth more than a lifetime of wins.

[catmaraudersfan]

Dib's rant:

Zim and Dib are in High School/Hi Skool and friends by now. They are very protective of each other:

Dib has a TERRIBLE day. Zim notices and brings his friend to the roof, activating a sound and vision barrier so that neither the cameras nor the Humans see or hear the two of them.

Zim prompts his friend to get his feelings out and that it's not good to hold them in and also reminds Dib that he helped Zim with his emotions concerning the Tallest's betrayal. Zim is returning the favor.

Dib hesitated, so Zim assures him that he won't mock him or use it against him.

Dib then let out a banshee-like scream in frustration, making Zim flinch from both the noise and sympathy. Zim himself felt like that and even SCREAMED like that after learning about his mission.

Dib then collapsed against the wall with a sob, Zim sitting next to him and placing a comforting hand on his back.

"I used to tell myself they would one day wake up and believe me. But they're never gonna believe me," Dib confessed in a wavering voice.

"You remember that one Halloween back when I was eleven or twelve?" He asked, getting a nod from Zim. "I think those monsters that chased us were our classmates."

Zim both WAS and WASN'T surprised to learn that.

Seeing Zim's curious look, Dib explained that the bullying didn't start with him calling Zim an alien. It started YEARS before, when Dib and his classmates were TODDLERS.

By the time Dib realized that he had worked himself into a tantrum, he was stomping around on the roof, crying and screaming at his classmates and Humanity as a whole at the TOP of his lungs.

Suddenly, Zim is in front of him and pulling him into a hug.

A couple of hours pass and Dib is resting his head on Zim's shoulder. Exhausted by the breakdown.

"Your vanity will eventually lead to your demise," Dib mumbled tiredly into Zim's shoulder, too tired to be mad anymore.

"Zim agrees," the Irken replied, knowing the Dib was talking to the brainless Humans and not him.

[sailorstar9]

After Being Cheated, I Changed My Groom Into A Man Who Shocked Everyone

Figured I might as well start on the Mikage Reo fic Himasgod (https://www.tumblr.com/himasgod) requested.

Trigger warning: Cheating

A/N: Reo is a simp for F/N

As the wedding approached, F/N's boyfriend went to accompany his mistress and scolded F/N for being petty. He told her that if she didn't want to lose him, then she should postpone the wedding.

F/N dialled her rival's number and said, “Today's wedding is missing a groom at eleven o'clock; Mr. Mikage, do you want to get married?”

“Mieko is really sick this time with a high fever. Every time she falls ill, I am by her side, unable to rest easy.” Takeshi's voice came through the phone, but it no longer pierced F/N's heart.

On F/N's birthday when Mieko had a minor accident while filming, he left F/N to rush to take care of her. On their anniversary, when a crazy fan sent her a dead rat and scared her, Takeshi left F/N to go comfort her all night. Even on the night before their wedding, when Mieko claimed to have a fever, Takeshi immediately abandoned F/N and secretly bought a plane ticket to fly and be with her all night.

“Takeshi, I'll ask you one last time. Can you make it back for the eleven o'clock wedding today?”

Takeshi let out a sigh and sounding helpless, said, “F/N, I'm on their set right now and it would take over three hours to get to the airport. I won't make it in time. How about we postpone the wedding for a day?”

“Postpone the wedding?” F/N snorted incredulously. “All our friends and family are either here or on their way to the hotel and you're telling me to postpone the wedding? On what grounds?”

“F/N...”

“Is it because Mieko is your mistress?”

“F/N, it's not what you think between Meiko and me.” Takeshi protested. “Don't be so petty.”

“Am I being petty?” F/N scowled. “I think you and Meiko should get married on the spot. Why bring calamity upon me for so many years?”

Four years; F/N had watched the two of them act for four whole years and she's tired.

“If you can't make it back today, then we're done.” F/N sneered, giving Takeshi an ultimatum.

“F/N, I understand you're jealous and saying things out of anger.” Takeshi pacified. “But as I've said, I simply can't make it back. If you don't want to lose me, then you'll postpone the wedding.” with those words, he angrily hung up the phone.

It was as if, from start to finish, F/N had been the one at fault.

Never again. F/N swore. Turning around, she grabbed a chair next to her and viciously hurled it towards the large wedding photo hanging on the wall.

Upon hearing the loud crash, people rushed in, shocked to see the smashed photo frames.

“F/N, what's wrong? What did Takeshi say?” Rie, F/N's best friend, rushed over and grabbed F/N's hand as F/N prepared to lift the chair again. “Don't hurt yourself. Let me do it for you.”

F/N's mother came to her side, patting her shoulder, “Forget it. It's better not to have this wedding. I'll talk to your father and grandfather later.”

F/N looked at her mother, a forced smile on her lips, but determination in her eyes, “Who said I'm not getting married?”

Ignoring everyone's surprised looks, F/N dialled her rival, Reo's, number. The phone rang several times, but no one answered.

Just as F/N was about to hang up, the voice of a man came through, “Hello, F/N?”

“Yes, it's me.” F/N responded. “Today's wedding is missing a groom at eleven o'clock; Mr. Mikage, do you want to get married?”

There was silence on the other end.

“F/N, are you kidding?” Reo's voice came through after three seconds. “I'm willing. But, just so we're clear, I'm not going to be a tool. When I get married, I want a real wife. At the very least, someone who can lie next to me and make me feel the warmth of flesh and blood. You understand?”

“Deal.” F/N's answered without hesitation.

“What do I do now?” Reo asked.

“Be at the hotel before noon as my groom and we need a bridal suite.” F/N replied.

“Leave it to me.” Reo assured. “I guarantee you'll be pleased.”

“Mikage Reo who's also your rival in business?” F/N's mother choked. “But how is it possible? Isn't he your business rival? Is he going to take advantage of the situation? Will he deceive you?”

“What's wrong with that, Auntie?” Rie interjected. “I think it's great; Reo is handsome, the heir to the Mikage Corporation and is a better business genius then his father. I think he's much better than that unreliable Takeshi.”

Takeshi's parents called F/N, acting as mediators for Takeshi, saying he really couldn't make it back and persuading her to postpone the wedding until the next day. They warned that if F/N had insisted on not delaying the wedding, then she'd be the one embarrassed in front of everyone and there will be no groom as his family, the Kanemaru family, wouldn't show up. She simply told them the wedding would not be delayed. The Kanemaru family thought F/N was throwing a tantrum, saying things out of spite and scolded her for being immature and inconsiderate. Takeshi's mother even went as far as to say, “Our daughter-in-laws are all very obedient and well-behaved. F/N, if you want to marry into our family, then you, with your competitive and strong-willed nature, should learn to be more submissive and change a bit.”

F/N merely hung up the phone directly, too lazy to listen to their nagging. Me and Takeshi getting married? They're living in a dream. The Miyazaki have only one daughter, and out of love for F/N, thought the house Takeshi was allocated as a university professor was not spacious enough. So, they brought another townhouse in the Minato Ward to be their bridal suite. After the wedding, the property would be transferred to the married couple and the Kanemaru family accepted willingly.

After smashing the photos, F/N returned home and had the makeup artist start working on her makeup. She began getting ready at seven-thirty in the morning and was in her wedding gown by nine-thirty.

But what F/N never expected was that Reo showed up; another one of F/N's bridemaids rushed into her room, smiling. “F/N, Mikage Reo has arrived. There's a long caravan of limousines outside.”

The Miyazaki relatives at home had already received the groom and his entourage.

Not knowing what Reo was planning, F/N put on her heels and went downstairs.

In the lobby, Ba-Ya, in a formal kimono, stood behind a middle-aged man in a tidy suit with a crew cut and a dignified appearance who was staring intently at the Miyazaki patriarch.

F/N instantly recognized him as the head of the Mikage Corporation; Reo's father and she had crossed paths with him a couple of times in business. It was also the first time she had seen the Mikage matriarch; she was elegant and beautiful.

Reo, who was standing on the side, took bold strides towards F/N.

F/N extended her hand and pulled him over, walking into an empty room on the first floor. She turned her head to look at the line of luxurious cars outside the window., feeling a bit amused and mildly annoyed. “In just two hours, how did you manage to do so much?”

Reo's purple eyes stared at F/N for a few seconds, before a faint smile tugged at his lips. “Compared to you, this is nothing difficult. Should we go out now?” he looked at his wristwatch. “We're running a little late. Should we hurry?”

“Okay.” F/N nodded, flushing slightly.

Without a word, Reo effortlessly lifted his new bride in a bridal carry and headed towards to the wedding car.

The banquet started at 11am.

After the bride and groom went on stage, it caused quite a stir.

“Isn't this groom wrong?”

“Wasn't the groom supposed to be Kanemaru Takeshi?”

“This guy is much taller and more handsome than Takeshi.”

“Did F/N change grooms at the last minute?”

Just as F/N was about to take the microphone to explain, Reo stepped in, “Hello, everyone.” he greeted the wedding guests. “Let me introduce myself. I'm Reo, F/N's husband. Today, I'm thankful that you could come to our wedding and witness our love that had weathered many storms and finally emerged into the sunshine.”

After the san san ku do ritual, it came the part of the ring exchange and Reo insisted on putting the ring on his finger. However, when the ring was presented, F/N froze, realizing it was not the initial ring box. “You...” she turned to Reo, who opened the velvet box to reveal a dazzling large diamond ring.

“Such a big diamond ring!”

“Must be at least 10 carats.”

After the banquet, an envious female guest suggested going to see the wedding room.

F/N was about to politely decline when Reo spoke up, “Welcome everyone; join the wedding caravan. Don't worry.” he assured F/N.

When the wedding caravana arrived at the location, F/N realized Reo had already arranged everything.

The vast mansion was adorned with lights and flowers; a red carpet laid out and a wedding arch made entirely of red roses.

“The decorators just left.” Reo whispered into his new wife's ear.

From the entrance into the mansion: all the way to the wedding room, it was arranged perfectly. The most surprising thing was that there were even wedding photos.

After a tiring day at the wedding, F/N took a shower, put on a nightgown and climbed up to the three-meter wide wedding bed.

After a while, Reo came out after his shower and F/N had to avert her gaze when she spotted him only in pyjamas pants.

Just then, F/N's phone rang and she reached over for the phone on the bedside table. It was a call from Takeshi.

“Takeshi?” Reo immediately guessed why F/N hesitated to take the call.

As soon as F/N pressed the accept call button, Takeshi's voice came through with the familiar gentleness. “F/N, I'm boarding now. Can you pick me up at the airport in two hours?”

F/N chuckled in exasperation, “Takeshi, are you out of your mind?”

“F/N, I apologize for leaving you.” Takeshi admitted. “I shouldn't have done that. I brought a gift for you.”

“Takeshi.” F/N retorted. “I got married today.”

On the other end, Takeshi chuckled, “Sweetheart, stop being mad. Neither I nor my family showed up, so why did you go ahead and get married?”

“Indeed,” F/N drawled. “Neither you nor your family showed up. I managed the wedding all by myself. Even though you couldn't attend, your family didn't bother to try and explain to the guests or the situation when I had to postpone the wedding. A simple phone call asking to postpone it was all it took. But, Takeshi, there is more than one man in this world.”

“What do you mean?” Takeshi's voice turned serious as he demanded. “F/N, what are you implying.”

At that moment, Reo reached out his hand and F/N handed the phone to him.

“F/N, say something.” Takeshi barked.

Reo put the call on speaker and his magnetic voice answered, “It's late at night. You can find someone else to pick you up but you have no right to order my wife around.”

“Mikage Reo” Takeshi instantly recognized the voice and immediately got agitated. “Who is your wife? Why are you holding F/N's phone?”

“Kanemaru, my wife is F/N, of course.” Reo replied. “Stop pretending you don't know what's going on. You should know your place. Don't disturb my wife anymore or the consequences will be on you.” with that, Reo hung up the phone.

But soon after, F/N's phone rang again. Upon seeing Takeshi's name as the caller ID, F/N added the number to the block list.

The next morning, F/N awoke to the morning sunlight seeping through the curtains. She reached for her phone by the bedside table and saw it was past nine in the morning.

As she freshened up, she left the room and went downstairs where she saw Reo reading the financial news on his laptop.

The purple-haired man turned when he felt F/N's presence, stood up and walked over. Holding her hand, he teased, “Looking so put together. Are you going to work?”

“Not quite.” F/N replied. “Don't you remember? We're supposed to go home today. Besides, Grandfather didn't say anything at the wedding yesterday, but I can sense his unspoken discontent and anger. We'll have to explain things after we go back.”

“Young master, you forgot, didn't you?” Ba-Ya rebuked her young master as she brought out two sets of prepared breakfast.

F/N took a sip of the kabocha miso soup and found it really warming.

Just as Reo and F/N were about to leave, F/N's mother called; she informed them that the Kanemaru family were causing a commotion at home.

Entering the Miyazaki household, F/N overhead the Kanemaru matriarch accusing F/N of being shameless and getting involved with other men.

“The Kanemaru family.” Reo retorted and causing everyone's gaze to turned towards the newly wedded couple.

Takeshi's mother stood up, her face turning livid. “You two vile people!”

“Shut up!” F/N's grandfather slammed the floor with his walking cane, looking around the room with authority. “Do you think I'm dead? How dare you! Leave!”

Takeshi's father, looking grim, said, “I didn't expect you two to show up without apologizing.”

F/N's mother, who usually had a gentle demeanour, couldn't stand it anymore and came forward. Grabbing Takeshi, she said, “We had an agreement that after F/N got married, the villa could be registered under the two of them. But our son-in-law is not Takeshi; my son-in-law is Reo.”

The Kanemaru family left in bewilderment and with a rusty expression that hinted of lingering consequences. As they departed, Reo's phone rang.

After ending the call, he turned to F/N, “I'm going out now.”

F/N's eyes watched as Reo's assistant handed a sealed document folder to Reo, who then passed the folder to the Kanemaru family through the iron gates. Takeshi's father hesitated for a moment before accepting it and left.

Reo then returned to his car for a moment and brought out a rectangular box, along with two smaller boxes from the backseat.

“What's all this?” F/N's mother asked, entering with a fruit platter.

Reo with to F/N's grandfather, holding the rectangular box and said causually, “My grandfather instructed me to bring this gift for you, Grandfather.”

“We're all family members.” F/N's grandfather looked coldly at the completely unfamiliar grandson-in-law; not really knowing him and not having any good feelings for him. “What gift to give?”

“It isn't a valuable gift; I just heard Grandfather like collecting decorative plates and that you're missing a 'Wind God and Thunder God' piece.” Reo's answer was quite straightforward. “Grandfather, please take a look.” he opened the box. The decorative plate was in a board white frame, the images of the Wind and Thunder Gods were embossed in a golden-dusted background.

“This is undoubtedly Grandmaster Sakai's work.” F/N grandfather was impressed.

And in the other two boxes; a tea set and flower vase from Bizen.

When they were about to leave in the evening, F/N's grandfather specifically instructed, “F/N, Reo is a good boy. You two should live well together in the future; this marriage is already a regret once; don't make it into a laughingstock. You two, go get the marriage certificate tomorrow.”

On the drive home, F/N suddenly blurted out, “Why did you agree to marry me?”

“Why wouldn't I agree?” Reo chuckled. “You're beautiful, intelligent, kind and a perfect match for me. Marrying you means one less strong opponent for me. Besides, Mom already likes you.”

The following night, a strange number called F/N five times before bed.

“Why didn't you call me?” F/N asked Reo, seeing the last 'Missed Call' notification was just three minutes earlier.

“Out there.” Reo simply pointed outside.

F/N peered out of the window, phone in hand, and noticed a car parked outside the villa and a standing figure illuminated by the entrance lights.

“How does he know where we live?” F/N recognized the figure as Takeshi.

“On the wedding day, with so many people, there are always a couple of people who don't mind stirring up trouble.” Reo racked his fingers through his hair. “Takeshi must have caught wind of it through someone.”

F/N's phone rang again and F/N noticed it was a text message from the unknown number: F/N, I am right outside your bridal suite. I know you're looking at me. Come down. I have something to tell you.

“Have you made up your mind?” Reo asked cautiously.

“For the last time.” F/N nodded. “Reo, come with me.”

“Okay.” Reo replied.

As soon as F/N opened the front door and stepped outside, Takeshi rushed over. “F/N, you finally acknowledge my presence.” however, he then saw Reo standing beside F/N and his expression changed. “F/N, I have something to tell you; he can't be here.”

F/N simply smiled and looked at the woman standing at the front of the car, “Mieko, if an outsider like you can be here, why can't my husband be present?”

“Husband?” Takeshi looked incredulously at F/N. “So, you two have been having an affair behind my back? F/N, you truly are a despicable person.”

F/N slapped Takeshi hard across the face, “This is the last time.” she snarled. “Takeshi, stop pretending. When you were with Mieko, you should have known it would come to this.”

“You know?” still holding his burning cheek, Takeshi's eyes widened.

“Ask her.” F/N nodded at Meiko. “She sent me those photos of you two to my email.”

Takeshi stared wide-eyed and turned to Mieko. “You promised me you wouldn't let her know.”

Meiko remained silent but gave a faint, wistful smile.

“Save some face for yourself.” F/N gave Takeshi her parting words. “From now on, we go our separate ways.”

As the dejected Takeshi drove away with the simpering Meiko, F/N planted a kiss on the corner of Reo's lips. “Reo, let's get our marriage certificate first thing tomorrow.”

[moonsgemini]

american heartbreak - i

summary: all June Summers wants is to be Rafe Cameron’s date to the county fair dance. Everyone from town would be there and she was tired of going alone. She was tired of watching him dance with other women, tired of waiting around for him.

warnings: cowboy!rafe x oc (minimal to no oc description, mutual pining, angst, fluff

wc: 2.7k

an: I hope you guys enjoy! I love cowboy rafe. I also just love writing au’s there’s so much more room for creative freedom. I basically just use rafe as a face claim bc drew starkey is a literal greek god.

series masterlist

The sound of June’s boots as she paced back and forth behind the counter were beginning to drive Amber crazy. She was trimming tulips to make a new bouquet but she could barely concentrate when the her coworker was an anxious mess. The soft sound of music wasn’t enough to drown out the clacking of boots against wood. June bit her fingernails anxiously, her stare not leaving the floor as she was lost in thought.

“June I swear I’m going to kill you if you don’t relax,” She scolded the girl who stopped abruptly.

She smiled sheepishly, “I’m sorry, I just am really nervous. What if he like laughs at me or something?”

Amber rolled her eyes, “That boy would never laugh at you.”

“You never know. What if he like thinks I’m crazy or worse never speaks to me again after he rejects me because he feels so bad!” She exclaimed dramatically.

“How do you even sleep at night with all this worrying?”

“I don’t get much of it.”

All week June had been practicing over and over in her head how she would ask her lifelong crush, Rafe, to the county fair. At the end of the night there would be a dance that the whole town went to. It was a big deal around here, and going with a date was a big deal. Every year there would be some new surprising couple that would be the talk of the town for the next few weeks before some new gossip spread. June had been pining over Rafe Cameron like a love sick puppy since they were eleven years old when boys started becoming cute and not gross anymore.

She had planned on asking him when he came in this afternoon. Rafe always came in on thursday evenings after practice to buy a fresh bouquet of flowers to take to his mom’s grave. A tradition he started in high school, the day before the rodeo, he’d go visit his mom. To this day he swore she was his goodluck charm. When June started working at the flower shop at sixteen she was ecstatic to have another excuse to see Rafe.

She glanced at the clock on the wall and her palms started sweating, it was six now which meant he was out of practice by now. June decided to make herself busy in the mean time to occupy her jittery fingers.

Rafe parked outside the small flower shop and let out a sigh of relief. Being at the flower shop on meant it was the end of his practice week and now he just had to worry about riding. It also meant he got to visit his favorite girl, and he wasn’t talking about his mom.

He looked into his rearview mirror of his old pick up truck and adjusted his hat. Checking himself to make sure he didn’t have any dirt or muck on his face. He got out of his truck making long strides towards the door. As he entered that all too familiar bell jingled alerting June and Amber or his presence. The smell of fresh flowers over took his senses, as well as the presence of his favorite flower girl.

June looked up from where she was picking the leaves off of the carnation stems. Her eyes widening for a second, her face beginning to feel hot as she smiled shyly at him. Suddenly any ounce of confidence she had to ask him about the dance left her body. That smirk he always wore turning her into a pile of mush. She’s surprised her legs were still holding her up as he walked over to the counter.

“Hi Rafe,” She said softly. Amber smiled to herself as she watched them interact. She sneakily walked into the back room to give them some privacy. It was a little routine she did whenever Rafe came in.

“Hi sweetheart, whatcha got today for me?” He asked resting his palms against the counter supporting his weight as he leaned towards her.

He was such a natural flirt. She could barely look him in the eyes most of the time, “we just got a bunch of beautiful tulips in so I made you a bouquet of purple ones with some baby’s breath,” June walked over to the one of the bucked holding an abundance of bouquets, “I also put a few daisy’s to add a bit more to it.”

She showed him the bouquet proudly. A wide smile spreading across his face, “That is beautiful. You’re so good. Mom will love them.”

June knew Rafe’s mom. She cared for everyone in town like they were all her family. Whenever June would be over at their house hanging out with Sarah she would make them food, always let them ride horses. When they were really young she’d let them play in the rain and get all muddy, when other mom’s in town would scold her for letting the kids look like a mess. She was the sweetest woman.

“Always the best for her,” She fidgeted with her hands nervously. If he knew the effect he had on her he’d be too powerful.

He pulled out his wallet and handed her a twenty. Since he was their best customer she never charged him more than that. Clueless Rafe just thought that was how much each bouquet was, “Am I seeing you tomorrow at the rodeo?”

She nodded, “Of course. I might help out Mrs.Mayfield sell raffle tickets.”

“Always the helpful one. I better see you at the Rooster after,” He pointed at her scolding playfully. Roosters was one of the local bars everyone went out to.

June laughed softly, “Maybe, I doubt you’d even notice if I wasn’t there.”

“Darlin I always notice when you’re not around,” He smirked, “I better get going to see mom.”

“Goodluck tomorrow Rafe,” She smiled with a small wave as he began walking out.

He tipped his hat at her with that cute lopsided smile on his lips, “I’ll see you tomorrow Ms.Summers.”

June watched him walk out to his truck, a dumb love struck smile on her face. That crush she’s had on him since second grade was never going away.

“You chicken.”

She jumped and reached to clutch her chest, “Oh my god you scared me.” She scolded her friend.

Amber had her arms crossed leaning against the doorway to the back, “You didn’t ask him!”

“I couldn’t! My brain got all blurry. I-I just can’t handle the thought of rejection. Especially not from him.”

“Did you not hear everything he said to you?” She walked over standing in front of June, “He practically was begging you to go tomorrow. Verbatim said ‘I always notice when you’re not around’ um hello?”

June shrugged, “He’s just being nice, that’s just Rafe.”

Amber stared at her with a deadpan expression, “I wish I could put you in a choke hold right now.”

She rolled her eyes, “I’ll try to ask him tomorrow after the rodeo.”

“I’m sure you will. But we’re definitely going out after,” She smiled.

-

June and Amber had been friends since they were in diapers. Their moms being best friends themselves it was almost a given that their two daughters would be just as close. After they graduated high school they took all the money they had saved up and rented a cute little house in town. Now they were working on buying out Mr.Robertson for his flower shop. They had been working in it since they were fifteen and they wanted it to be their’s. Mr.Roberston kindly offered to sell it to them since he was getting too old to take care of it himself and once he sold it he’d move to Florida with his daughter.

The girls were close to buying it, needing a few more months to get the rest of the money. Most people wanted to move out of the small town they were born in but that wasn’t June or Amber. June liked it there, she liked the familiarity and the comfort it brought. She liked her life here, she liked living with her best friend and working with her too. She liked being five minutes away from her parents. June felt lucky to be where she was and have the people she had in her life.

After closing they had stopped by the grocery store to pick up stuff for dinner. Now headed home in June’s dad’s old mustang they enjoyed the cool summer afternoon breeze and listened to their favorite artist, Taylor Swift. June felt like she had the perfect life. The only thing she longed for was someone to be by her side. Of course she had Amber but she wanted a romantic relationship. She wanted someone who could hold her at night and take her out on dates.

It’s not like she hadn’t tried to get a boyfriend. June had gone on a few dates but they never ended well. She was seeing Liam, a local mechanic, for a month but then she saw him flirting and kiss another girl at Rooster’s. After that she went on a date with a local bull rider, one of Rafe’s teammates, but he never called her after the night was over. June thought it was because she didn’t put out on the first date. She doesn’t know that it was because Rafe cornered the guy and threatened him. Told him if he ever went out with you again he’d tie him to his truck and drag him across town.

Amber had her own boyfriend, James, who was friends with Rafe. They worked together on the Cameron farm and occasionally helped coach Rafe. June has refused his attempts to set her up with Rafe more times than she could count. James moved to town a few years ago after he heard that the Cameron’s were looking for another ranch hand.

“Wanna invite Sarah for dinner?” Amber asked as they carried the groceries into the house.

June shrugged, “Sure, we haven’t seen her since she left for Charleston.”

“I’ll call her, can you get started on the potatoes please,” Amber said as she started dialing Sarah.

“yeah yeah,” June rolled her eyes playfully as she unpacked the grocery bags.

The three girls were all friends in school and Sarah ended up moving to North Carolina for college once they graduated. They managed to stay as close as possible with the distance. Sarah is Rafe’s sister and of course she knew of June’s infatuation with her older brother. Sarah wanted them to end up together, always talked about how perfect it would be to have her as a sister in law.

When they were younger and June would go to Sarah’s house she always prayed she’d run into Rafe. Occasionally she would but he was the same old Rafe back then. Would make slightly flirty comments towards her making her flustered and making her crush on him grow.

-

The girls sat around the dining table laughing at old stories from their childhood. Every time they got together it felt like they were fifteen again sneaking alcohol from Ward’s liquor cabinet and turning into a fit of tipsy giggles.

“And then Rafe came out from the barn and June practically jumped on him she was so excited to see him,” Sarah laughed tilting her head back.

June covered her embarrassed face at the memory, “Oh god! I forgot about that.”

“That was the closest you’ve gotten to him like ever,” Amber added, “You need to drink tequila again.”

“That will probably be the closest I get to him ever,” She said a hint of sadness in her voice.

“June you should just ask him out yourself. Forget all that old fashioned stuff. My brother would never be mean to you.”

June took a sip of her wine, “I know he wouldn’t be mean but it’s the rejection that turns me away. He could have anyone why would he want me. He also is always out with some other girl. She’s usually a lot prettier than me.”

“June Summers you know I don’t tolerate that negative talk in our house,” Amber scolded, “You are beautiful and he would be lucky to have someone like you. I also highly doubt he’d reject you.”

She smiled at her, “And how do you know that?”

Sarah rolled her eyes, “Because he’s like practically in love with you! He doesn’t great other girls the way he treats you. He also looks at you different.”

“Then why has he never asked me out! It just doesn’t make sense. I’d rather keep him as a friend than lose him completely.”

“I wish he didn’t have such a thick skull then maybe he’d have some sense,” Sarah stood grabbing the girls empty plates to take to the sink.

“Fallin off too many bulls in his life,” Amber giggled.

June stood to grab the bottle or wine to refill their glasses, “Oh I’m gonna head out soon. Rafe is picking me up on his way home from James’ and he texted me he’s on his way,” Sarah said beginning to wash the dishes.

“Come on so early?” Amber gave her puppy eyes.

She laughed, “Yes, I have an exam online in the morning I still need to study for. That masters won’t get itself ladies.”

“Speaking of James has Amber told you that she thinks he’s going to propose soon,” June smirked trying to forget about the fact that Rafe was coming to her house soon.

“Shut up!” Sarah exclaimed.

“I know! He’s been so suspicious lately! He’s been working a lot and he’s not so subtly asked me for my ring size last month. Then he went to the city last week but he didn’t want me to come because he said he was doing some boring errands for Ward,” Amber’s cheeks began hurting from smiling so much at the thought of her boyfriend, “But I don’t believe that for a second. I think he went to buy a ring.”

“Oh please get married soon! I want to be a bridesmaid,” Sarah said excitedly as she dried her hands. There was a knock on the door as she finished, “That’s me, go get the door June while I get my things together.” She smirked at her friend.

“I hate you guys,” She whisper shouted in case he could hear them. Amber practically pushed June to the door.

She took a deep breath fixing her hair a bit before opening the door. He stood looking the same as he did earlier that day, still just as handsome as before. He smiled as soon as he saw her, he was really hoping it’d be June answering the door.

“Hi Rafe,” She said softly. Her timid demeanor returning whenever she was around him, he made all her confidence vanish always.

“Hi sweetheart, how are you tonight?” He asked with that cute smile he always wore around her. For a second she pretended he was picking her up for their first date.

“I’m good, and you?” She asked politely still stuck in her daydream.

“Better now, is Sarah ready?” He asked breaking her from her fantasy. Truthfully Rafe didn’t want the conversation to end but he knew he was there for a reason.

“Uh yeah she’s just getting her things,” As if on cue Sarah showed up next to June.

“I’m ready,” She hugged June tightly, “I’ll see you tomorrow Juney.”

“Does that mean you’re going out tomorrow with everyone?” Rafe asked with a smirk, a hopeful glint in his eyes.

“I guess so, can’t say no to this one,” She smiled nodding her head towards Sarah.

“I’m her favorite what can I say,” Sarah shrugged smirking, “Come on Rafe I gotta study.” She walked towards the truck leaving Rafe behind.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then June bug,” He tipped his hat at her like he always did before walking down the porch steps.

“Bye Rafe,” She waved and waved towards Sarah who was smiling at the pair from inside the truck.

June spent the night praying that the words Sarah said earlier that night were true. That Rafe somehow was in love with her. But she couldn’t help that voice that was always in the back of her head telling her how that could never be possible.

Maybe tomorrow she’d have some tequila.

[sitp-recs]

heyo!! been loving the super specific rec lists youve been making lately :)

do you have favorite fics that include riding! as in. riding cock. bonus points if there’s good dirty talk about it. don’t care who’s on who as long as it is HOT! but obv i love drarry most. hope this is fun!

An ask after my own heart 🥹 thank you for the delicious request anon, here are some fics with memorable riding scenes imho. This reminded me of my fave Starker PWP but that’s neither here nor there so I’ll keep this short & Drarry. I hope you enjoy! 🔥

Move by @shealwaysreads (829 words)

“Come on, fuck yourself on it. I won’t make it move until you do.”

You Either Fuck or You Get Fucked by @fw00shy (2k)

"That's not how fucking works. Fucking's…" Draco waved a hand in the air. "You either fuck or you get fucked." "Sure," Harry said. He took out a Sickle. "Toss for it?"

in charge by @bonesliketambourines (2.4k)

Draco's bossy. Turns out that extends to the bedroom, too. Harry likes it—a lot.

Mens Rea by @lqtraintracks (E, 3k)

Mens Rea: the mental element of a person's intention to commit a crime; or knowledge that one's action or lack of action would cause a crime to be committed. “Draco Malfoy, how do you plead?” I’m super fucking guilty.

Like Gold by @the-sinking-ship (4k)

Draco runs away from home on the back of his boyfriend’s motorbike.

Catch the Snitch (No, Catch My Heart) by prolix (4.5k)

Draco secretly loved when Harry lost a match.

A Delicate Arrangement by mindabbles (E, 6k)

Harry's learned over time that a delicate touch is sometimes superior to a harsh grip. If he can remember that with Draco, he might solve the case, protect a dozen children, and he may, he may just get what he wants most.

Sexplanations (Of the Horrible Sort) by @bixgirl1 (7k)

Harry's willing to put up with a certain amount of injury, as long as he and Malfoy can keep doing... whatever it is they're doing. Maybe. Mostly. Especially if there might be more to it than sex.

Team Building for Dummies by InnerLilith (E, 7k)

Tensions run high when Harry and Draco are both drafted (as starting Seeker and substitute, respectively) for the English national team ahead of the 2002 World Cup. An impulsive bet on the outcome of a practice game resolves the tension in ways Harry wasn’t expecting.

The Page Eleven Wars by fireflavored (E, 8.5k)

In a gossip-hungry post-war Wizarding World, Rita Skeeter has a wildly successful column in the Daily Prophet known as Page Eleven. Naturally, her favourite targets are the poster boys of the two sides of the war: Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter. Bored and annoyed, the two take up tabloid baiting for sport and pleasure.

like a scratch on the roof of your mouth by eleadore (E, 9k)

Two weeks into the new year, Draco Malfoy saves Ron's life in a spectacular fashion.

It's the Love of the Chase (That Created the Ride) by @lqtraintracks (14k)

Draco and Harry are new Auror partners. It's a bit dull. Until they finally see some spell action and things get a lot more interesting (in Draco's pants).

An Act of Kindness for One Harry Potter by a Sympathetic Draco Malfoy by 0idontknow0 (15k)

As Draco leaned on the wall to wait for them to get dressed, he could not help feeling like he had done a very kind thing by disrupting them. Someone should give Potter a better rogering than that sorry sod had. The man had saved the bloody world—okay, mostly Europe—the least someone could do was give him a proper shag.

you look so fine by michi_thekiller (E, 16k)

In which Draco is a Veela and Harry is his mate. Dark!Humor or Crack!Horror, you decide.

Buy A Heart by xErised (E, 17k)

Draco's cock hardens as he looks at the invitation to the charity auction; his golden ticket to one wild night of desperate sex with Potter to get rid of this inexplicable obsession. His heart whispers that one night will never be enough, but Draco is beyond caring. All he knows is that he will pay any price to have Potter over and over again.

White as Snow by @bixgirl1 (19k)

After a quick escape from danger, Harry and Draco find themselves trapped in a blizzard, a small cabin their only refuge from the storm. It's the perfect place to recover and regroup — and to have a long-overdue conversation or two.

Five Weddings and a Potions Accident by lauren3210 (20k)

In which Harry thinks he’s a playboy, everyone else knows better, and Hermione will kill Seamus if Ron tries to collect on that bet.

Waking Up Slow by @sweet-s0rr0w and @ihopeyoubothstaysafefromharm (22k)

'Twas the night before Christmas, although it’s July / Draco’s a shopkeeper, no-one knows why / There’s hiking and witch caves, freak snowfalls and more / Bad Christmas jumpers, nosy neighbours galore / Narcissa’s here too, but… something’s amiss / And what’s in those chocolates that’s making them kiss?

Touch Me Fall by @lqtraintracks (23k)

Malfoy was such a ponce. And he was a complete snob. And he was so fucking fit Harry wanted to jump him where he sat. It would be too easy to forget his objective tonight: to really, really, really get Malfoy out of his system.

In Your Arms, Rests My World by @l0vegl0wsinthedark (24k)

Harry presses his mouth to Malfoy's forehead; he wants to tell him that he’ll never leave, that he wouldn’t dream of it. “You make me feel safe, Potter” Malfoy whispers. “You keep me safe.”

Embers by @shiftylinguini (41k)

Werewolf Alphas aren't meant to be alone, or to suppress their ruts indefinitely like Draco has been since he was bitten eight years ago. He needs company, companionship, to knot ― he needs an Omega Heat Companion. At least, that’s what the Healers say, and even Draco can admit contacting the person they’ve referred him to might be nice.

[bthump]

The new chapter is out! Seeing the ending maybe we’ll finally have Casca’s pov? I would love her to actually not being in need of saving and just be treaten as a guest and admiring Falconia while having mix feelings about it of course, after all it was the dream she used to fight for before all of that happened I could see a bittersweet feeling from her at this sight

Well we did get that one chapter from Casca's point of view, chapter 372 where she was just like, a personality-less nonentity again, this time in a new way lol.

It would be nice to see her awake and active at some point again before the end. I would absolutely love to see some complicated feelings about Falconia from her, there's so much interesting character stuff you could theoretically delve into with her being in Falconia right now. Unfortunately I don't have very high hopes that we'll be seeing a whole lot of interesting complicated character stuff with Casca now, but you never know. At the very least maybe Schierke's astral projection will wake her up and we'll get a chapter from her awake and active point of view.

Anyway thanks for reminding me about the new chapter! Idk if I have anything interesting to say about it, it was kind of... not very good imo lol. There was an attempt at some heavy emotional stuff but it just didn't land for me, and of course Miura was great at action scenes so these feel very lacklustre in comparison 💔

I kinda laughed when Silat got upset that Guts was suicidal lol, like how do you even know he's suicidal? He's chained to the wall, what was he supposed to do to defend himself anyway? Why do you care?

Theoretically though I do like that Guts is currently suicidal, it's potentially interesting as a change from his usual pseudo-suicidal tendencies where he'll throw himself into mortal danger but then fight his way out, a la the wolves when he was eleven. This feels more like when he let Casca or the zombie kid stab him, though rather than being because of guilt it's because he feels worthless.

The whole sword thing is still really melodramatic and awkward lol but maybe it'll go somewhere interesting?

Idk, based on the vibes of the manga lately I'm starting to genuinely feel like Guts is gonna recover after someone gives him a pep talk and join the coalition against Griffith yadda yadda yadda and I might just stay bored forever. But hey, maybe he'll take his suicidal ideation all the way to Griffith and let Griff kill him? Or fail to attack and force a non violent confrontation because Griff won't kill him?

Or maybe Silat cares because he wants to use Guts against Griffith and I'll still get someone manipulating/magicking Guts into losing himself to the armour and going full Beast mode.

Idk, there's not much new to speculate on really. Oh, also it's tragic if Raksas really is dead now, very anti climatic. Gonna hope he keeps coming back at inopportune moments now lol.

[cozmowrites]

Wistoragic: Eleven

Chapter Eleven - 867 words

"We'll leave in a week instead of a few days, to give (Y/n) enough time to know basics and a plan can form properly." Aizawa grumbled to the group as the boys came back from looking out for supplies, only coming back with few cans of food.

Everyone seemed to begrudgingly agree.

The following days pass in a blur of exhaustion, training, and careful planning. You still train with Aizawa, pushing yourself harder, but as time goes on, you start to focus on something else just as important—your group.

Surviving alone is one thing, but you aren’t alone anymore. If you’re going to make it through this, you need to trust them completely. And that means getting to know them beyond just their fighting skills.

+++

Kirishima is easy to bond with. He’s loud but friendly, and always seems to have a joke or a reassuring grin ready. You find yourself talking to him often, about everything and nothing. He’s a good distraction from the nightmares that still creep in when you close your eyes.

Midoriya is different—intense in a way you didn’t expect. He spends hours scribbling notes in his tattered notebook, analyzing strategies, trying to make sense of this new world. When you ask about it, his eyes light up with excitement as he explains different survival techniques, combat styles, and theories on how people are adapting. You don’t always understand everything he says, but you admire his determination.

Ashido is a ball of energy despite everything. She’s the one who insists on keeping spirits high, telling ridiculous stories and finding ways to make you all laugh. She’s the reason there’s even a small semblance of normalcy in this hellish world. It's nice to have another girl to talk to. Too much testosterone.

But then there’s Bakugou.

He’s a challenge. You’ve been around him long enough now to understand that he’s not just angry for the sake of it—his frustration runs deeper. It’s not just the world he’s mad at. It’s himself. The way he keeps his distance, the way his hands clench into fists when someone mentions Kaminari as if he was part of a longer friendship, the way he stays up later than everyone else, staring at the door like he’s waiting for something.... or someone.

You were curious more about Kaminari, but that would be an ask for another day. Maybe asking Kirishima or Ashido since they seem to reassure Bakugou the most about the situation.

You start to notice the little things though. The way he shoves food at you when you’ve forgotten to eat, grumbling under his breath about how “it’s a pain in the ass dragging around weaklings.” The way he stands slightly in front of the group when you’re moving through dangerous areas during supply runs, shoulders tense, always ready to fight. The way he watches you train with Aizawa in the doorway, eyes narrowed, as if silently judging your every move.

You don’t know why, but you find yourself drawn to him.

Maybe it’s because he reminds you of yourself—someone who doesn’t know how to ask for help, someone who thinks survival means standing alone.

So you start trying.

At first, it’s subtle—choosing to sit next to him when the group eats, making casual conversation, occasionally throwing a sarcastic remark his way just to see how he reacts. He scoffs, rolls his eyes, but he doesn’t push you away.

One night, when you find him still awake, staring at the boarded-up window, you take a risk.

“You know,” you say, leaning against the wall beside him. “For someone who acts like they don’t care, you sure as hell seem to care a lot.”

Bakugou tenses, shooting you a glare. “The hell are you talking about?”

“You. Obviously. Staying up all night. Keeping watch even when it’s not your turn. Making sure everyone eats even though you act like it’s a chore.” You tilt your head. “You could’ve left us behind, but you didn’t.”

He scoffs, turning his gaze back to the window. “You think I give a shit?”

“I think you give more of a shit than you want to admit.”

Silence stretches between you. For a moment, you think he’s going to ignore you entirely. But then, he speaks, voice lower than usual.

“You’re wasting your time,” he mutters.

You cross your arms. “That’s my decision to make, isn’t it?”

Bakugou clicks his tongue but doesn’t argue. You take that as a win.

+++

Over time, Bakugou starts letting you in—just a little.

He still snaps at you, still acts like he couldn’t care less, but there are moments when his walls slip. Moments when his shoulders relax around you, when his insults sound less like anger and more like habit.

One night, when you’re both sitting outside the safehouse, keeping watch, he surprises you.

“You ever lose someone?” He asks, voice gruff.

You hesitate before nodding. “Yeah, my parents.”

He doesn't say anything, knowing all too well he doesn't even know where his parents are and the last thing he remembers was how his parents and him had a fight. Silence stretched between the two of you, the weight of unspoken things settling in.

Something shifts. Some understanding.

Bakugou isn’t exactly nice to you, but he starts trusting you more. He stops questioning your presence, stops acting like you’re just another liability. In his own way, he accepts you.

=====

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[alwaysshallow]

— coffee at midnight, part 3

John "Soap" MacTavish x f!reader

Sometimes things are just too rough. He's here to make everything easier. (3,9 k)

1 | 2

AO3 version

Having something stable in your life was rare – you learned that at very young age, when you were tossed from one family to another. Trying so desperately to find a right home, to fit somewhere because after five foster families, you had your hope low.

Well, at least that was until a sweet couple of two women started to be interested in adopting you. First, you were hesitant. Like, no one could blame you, right? The amount of families that you've talked with and nothing came out of it, it was pretty sad for a child to be fooled like that. Yet, when everything was finalized, and Kate presented you the room with full pride, walls painted on your favorite color (she asked!) you cried.

Genuinely cried because you never thought you'd find a family like that. Two moms, who loved every version of you, wanted the best for you. Adopted by the best people in the world, eleven year old, you were on the cloud nine.

You finally had your people.

That "stable" thing also applied to relationships of every sort – friendships, boyfriends you had. Hell, boyfriend-girlfriends type of status scared the shit out of you, considering how many times you ended up crying over something, someone. If you would think about it, nothing really survived through time – maybe that's why you build a wall between you and everyone. Except your moms.

And, except Addison. She was your dearest best friend from high school days and you could trust her with everything at this point. The amount of times she was by your side in your darkest moments or saddest, like when Jake dumped you for some blond chick from cheerleader squad. You remembered vividly how she encouraged you to throw eggs at his car.

The two of you were the equivalent of all these memes about best friends. Dumb ones; the ones where you knew so many shit about each other, so if your friendship somehow would end, you'd have to kill the other person. What was more funny, it was literally like that, even if you were in military and automatically had less time.

When you were on leave? Hell, you reserved at least two days straight just for her, to tell all the tea (the tea wasn't classified at least) or to listen to it. You loved her too much.

Those walls were up until Task Force 141 came in – and specifically that one goddamn person, but you didn't need to bring him up in your mind to know that. Even if it was military thingy, you were like a found family, which was ironic, considering you thought it's gonna be 'job only' relationships.

Yet, that found family bond was so strong that when you were on leave, it was impossible not to contact each other. Not only groupchats were alive (on every platform possible), but also you met with them if there was a slight chance for that. Most of you were going home, and almost everyone before taking that "vacation" wanted to meet again. In normal circumstances, without that big "we're military" thing, so you had a few bars to swing in.

Where no one knew who the hell the six of you were, where you played pool with strangers, being experienced after late night sessions in military. Or, darts, where you once lost and almost scratched guy's eyes out when he bragged about it, and you were completely done since you loved darts.

Well, that was where boys came to conclusion that they won't even try to participate in Monopoly with you, or Ludo. Just because you were "violent" or something like this; you didn't pay attention to that because you had a plan to convince them anyway. They would always fold, especially when some money was on the table to win.

All in all, you loved them, honestly. Their humor, even if you rolled your eyes multiple times, being the only woman, except the moments when Farah or Kate helped you in field. Hell, they were irritating on purpose, only to get a reaction out of you, especially with jokes about women. But, they slowly learned that they could have other things to joke about.

Yet, they were still respectful, even if they were men.

You also loved the way you could count of them. Every situation, every little bump on the road, they were here. Maybe it was shared experience, but you knew it was not only that – empathy counted in this one too, as well as care.

Because here, everyone cared. Even on leave, maybe especially then since inner demons never slept. It wasn't something you all talked about openly, but one glance at someone could be enough to tell if someone was bothered.

Either by the past, the present, or the future. Soldiers had way too many things on their minds on all times, buried deep, so it wouldn't be a problem on the field, when they needed to focus. There were more important things, like killing the enemy, getting intel, protecting the civilians. No time for being emotional, no?

Everyone knew that eventually, it will spill all over.

And when it would, it was sure as hell it's not gonna be pretty.

Probably your moment came right after getting back to base. One day, Price told you – one day to "reset", and the next day, 2 P.M. sharp, all of the team was needed to be back in the field. You wish he wouldn't say that; you needed anything but to rest. Not after a bad day. Not after failing one part of the mission. Not after your uniform was covered in so much dirt and blood you couldn't even see your face properly or hands.

You looked nothing like your previous version, not to mention the mimics and the blank stare in the mirror. Trying to ignore it? Impossible, especially when your hands shook, as you tried to take off your clothes and wash yourself in shared bathrooms. You knew that no one will bother you at almost midnight, they were probably asleep, or playing poker.

With a sigh, you adjusted the water to your liking; it was warm, but not too warm, just perfect for a quick shower. Or, you thought it was gonna be a quick one – you needed a one scrub of your body, and one look at blood coming down the drain, to sit on the floor of the cabine. Unable to make another move, because for the first time in the while, you couldn't even wash properly.

"For fuck's sake" you cursed under your breath, mad at yourself; you were a soldier. You should be able to get yourself clean, to not make a big of the deal of something that happened many times your career.

You saw those situations multiple times, and right back then, under the shower, you were like a broken piece. Broken piece, who suddenly had all of images right in front of her eyes. Images of blood, dirt, broken bones, dead bodies. Voices in your head, people screaming, trying to get you to help them, but you couldn't do shit without orders.

With a loud sigh, you bent your legs, pulling them closer to you, your forehead pressed to knees. Involuntary tears streamed down your face. It was hard not to cry every once in a while to wind off, to let all out of the emotions go away, before they will buckle up once again. Hard was scrubbing your body, while you thought the worst of yourself, but you had to brush everything off. No matter how long it would take, it was necessary.

It was aggravating how badly you wanted to close your eyes, but couldn't since too many images were playing in your head. That's why you were staring blankly at your dirty skin, trying to actually pull yourself together, to make yourself stand again, to scrub your body reminding you of everything. For the first time in a while, you felt like you're losing yourself again, like you don't know what to do, genuinely.

Am I too much? Am I a monster? Of course I am a monster. With a blood at my hands – you thought, clearing your throat, when it started burning. You felt like in any moment, you would burst out crying.

You punched the white tiles right in front of you out of frustration; it was supposed to help in a way, but it didn't, considering that your knuckles came out scratched. And, what's more to it, a little bloody.

That was also the moment when you realized Soap was looking at you, in shock – before, you didn't even notice his presence in community showers. He looked like he wanted to say something, but out of respect, he looked away for a moment, coughing awkwardly.

You couldn't care less at that moment in which state he sees you in.

"I just walked in. I'm... 'm not some kind of creep" he started, stumbling on his own words. He wasn't the best with them in moments like these, you knew that, but appreciated still. "Couldn't find ya, no one knew, and... I was lookin'..."

"I get it, okay" you sighed, clearing your throat.

Maybe you should care that he saw you practically naked – practically because curled like this, he couldn't see your intimate parts or anything, but you didn't. You just were... staring in the wall, again.

"What do you want? Something happened?" you finally looked at him, and he raised his eyebrow, confused that you're even saying something like this, implying that he wants something from you.

"What? No, everything's alright, I just... 'st saw your face when you got out of the jeep. And, there's something wrong with ya, lass, every time you don't say goodnight."

You raised an eyebrow too.

"Fuck. You know what I mean, hen. Don't act clueless."

Of course you knew.

"Yeah, I just..." you bit your cheek from inside.

It was a hard call for you – to share what was on your mind or not. Right, as best friends to the grave (that's what Soap called your relationship multiple times), in theory it was a must. In theory only though, because practice was... a little different.

A lot to take, that's for sure, and everyone had their own problems to deal with – you knew it too well – and as his best friend, you knew his shit that he had to live through. He had enough of his bullshit, to hear about yours, but it was clear that Soap MacTavish wasn't the one who gives up easily.

If anything, he could get more curious about the problem and be more nagging, trying to help because "that's what he does best". It wouldn't probably even be another talk, but small gestures, and as much as you loved these types of things, you wanted to forget what bothered you. So, the easiest way was just to tell him.

"I see their faces. Everyone. Everyone from today, but also from the past. That pregnant lady that I killed right before I met you" you eventually said; quietly, like it was something ignominious to even think of.

It was something ironic to think, considering that you always cared about mental health and told everyone around you how feelings matter, how they are validated to feel everything. Kate taught you that, making a strong point about it when you usually were very closed about telling her your difficulties. She wanted to make you feel heard if you'd be willing to share anything, even something so little, even if you thought it was stupid.

Yet, you still felt bad.

"Terrorist." he corrected you, keeping the low tone. It seemed like the most important thing to him – to correct you that was a terrorist first, pregnant lady second. "It was you or her."

"It's not important, Johnny. My point is, we fucked up. I fucked up, pretty badly. Not only blew our plan, but someone had to pay the price. And I fucking can't even look at myself!" you laughed, feeling bitter and even weaker than before.

It was a tragedy that he had to see you like this.

"I can't even fucking wash myself because I see all of this blood, shallow wounds, and I just..." you shook your head, trying not to break more.

Especially right in front of him, when he was looking at you with... pity?

When you covered eyes with your hand, trying to separate yourself from that feeling, you could hear his footsteps coming closer. Next thing he did was dropping to his knees, at least that what it sounded like, considering that your view wasn't on him.

"I have nightmares lately. Bad ones. And from that dehydration today, from having to see the executions for getting fucking intel... it's just becomes worse. And worse. And worse."

"It's your job. You're good at it. Your job." his voice is steady and quiet, such a contrast to yours; breaking, shaky.

"I'm fucking disgusting, that's what I am." it came out snarky, sudden. You know he doesn't deserve that; he meant the best for you, he always did. Putting you before him, which irritated the shit out of you.

Many times you thought he deserved a better friend.

"I'm supposed to kill bad guys and protect good ones, not to let kill good guys for an intel. It's another fuck up mission, it's getting to my head. If we're doing any good."

"We are doing good. I... I think."

Hearing those words was something like a breaking point for you; you looked at Soap kneeling beside you, the corner of lips twitching before you broke into uncontrollable laughter. It quickly became maniac, something that you had no control over, just to transform into involuntary crying because it was enough. He thought team was doing good?

Thought wasn't enough. You needed a proof, something visible, something on paper that not even everything, but most of your work is needed and does good. Words weren't enough, and his hesitance was just a nail to a coffin you already were in because you chose this work for a reason. Helping people, make them feel safe.

As you looked at Soap, his presence was just melting the walls you had – as always, next to him, you were unable to lie or pretend like with everyone else. You felt you could just throw everything out of your system without wondering if it's appropriate. And you were crying, and laughing, and just making yourself crazy in front of him, yet he wasn't saying anything about it.

You didn't know what was happening in this moment as you were shaking; you just registered that his hands are slowly coming to you, and before he could hug you or anything, you decided to push him away a bit.

"I'm a fucking mess, Johnny." you babbled, trying to get your voice steady again. "Go, I have to... shower. It's pathetic."

A beat of silence passed between you two, before Scot decided to come even closer, pushing you deeper into the cabin. From that moment, he was getting wet too from shower stream.

"Let me."

You blinked.

"What?" you raised an eyebrow, confused what he means by "let me." Let him what? Let him tell you another story how you are brave for the work you're doing, or...

"I'm gonna help you in washing. That's what I mean."

"You're insane. I'm not going to use you like that." you stated, clearing your throat.

A certain wave of embarrassment went through you, like you just realized how bare you were; even if he couldn't see your front properly, you brought your legs closer to your chest, defense mechanism or some sort.

It was another thing that hit you, when you thought about it – how he was always there if you needed him, even if you didn't want him around for his own sake. No matter what it was, he was there, to help you. To make things better, even if it seemed like the shittiest situation in the world.

"It's not like I would take advantage of you, you know that. You're in a bad state" he whispered. "Let me do it. Please. You're gonna do the front, I'm gonna do the back."

"MacTavish-" "-please." he spoke quietly, tenderly – you heard him like this for a first time.

It was a silent agreement to his proposition when you gave him the second sponge; you didn't think that you could say "yes" to it out loud. It seemed embarrassing, it seemed like another overcrossing of a boundary.

Johnny's movements were slow and silky, like he was afraid to hurt you deeper than you were already since you closed your eyes, taking a deep, shaky breaths to ease yourself. Blood and dirt were coming down the drain, making you sick even more with a thought of people that had to be left behind.

Thinking it was some kind of encouragement seeing how all of it comes off, so you won't see "memories" of the mission, you decided to finally scrub your front, giving the whole attention to it. Because you couldn't miss a single piece, you just... needed to separate your body from the events that happened.

Move on to another, to another mission the next day. Time wasn't on your side when it was coming to processing everything on your own, lying in your bed without purpose, trying to tell yourself you weren't a bad person.

No.

You were a soldier. Safety of the world was before anything, even before you, your mental health, anything.

Twenty long minutes, and the next thing Soap did was washing your long hair with certain softness to it, massaging your scalp. If conditions were different, you'd probably joke and laugh about it, teasing him how good he does it and maybe he needs to think about changing careers.

Instead, you were just silent, eyes closed.

You always insisted on doing things alone – you learned it was the best way to not be disappointed; if you don't expect shit from people, you're not gonna be sad after, right? The perfect prevention from possible heartbreak. Not exactly how Kate raised you considering that she always reminded you about making friends to make life easier, but... life verified a lot of things actually. However, lessons from your mom were still appreciated, of course, even if you didn't quite apply them to life out of... fear? Yeah. Fear of being disappointed again.

Better to build walls around you than letting people in.

Version of you before Task Force 141 would hate you for allowing Johnny to help you like this, but the version after, the version of you that lied in bed with him, the version that trained with him, the version that was his partner in the missions?

You couldn't help but appreciate all of it. You wouldn't allow it for anyone else but him, your rock, your person, someone that you trusted to the end of the line. Someone that seen you in your worst right now, and still was there.

"Everything will be alright" Soap cooed, which made you open your eyes to look back at him; his eyes locked in moment with yours. "I'm here, yes? I'm not gonna leave you."

He was soaked, you realized; just because he sat with you under that shower, still in his shirt and cargo pants that he was on a mission with, his boots kicked to the side. You wondered if he was even comfortable enough. Probably not, and yet, he was still by your side.

"Everyone leaves anyway." you said quietly, looking away from him, as soon as you said that, feeling how he tensed. "Not me, hen. Not me." he replied in soft tone – yet again, different than he used usually, and different totally from the one he used out in the field.

Amusing to think that man was shouting few hours ago to you to get down and with ease killed a man hand to hand with his pocket knife; such a contrast to his softness. Such a contrast to hands that held a gun, such a contrast to his voice, now sweet and dripping with honey, easing your nerves, such a contrast to his image in the field.

"You have your own demons, Johnny. You don't need here to sit with me and try to fight with mine, when you have problems. It's..."

"I do have them, yeah." he interrupted you. "I fight 'em when I'm with you – selfishly, in order to fight with them, I just need ya around, healthy and recovered. I can't do that when you're injured like that. Shattered to pieces."

He got up then and tossed you a towel to catch, while you still were bamboozled by his words; you caught it though, wrapping yourself around it quickly. Johnny saw your bare back, but he didn't need to see front.

"I'll meet you in your room, hen. Gotta wash myself" he hummed. "Or, you want to help me?" Soap raised his eyebrow, smiling with the corner of his lips – clearly, he wanted to cheer you up a bit.

"You wish, MacTavish." you replied, collecting your dirty clothes swiftly. You nudged him with your hip. "You want some coffee? I think I need one."

"Yeah! Give me ten minutes."

You spent with him two hours when he came from the shower – it was disappointing considering you wanted to talk with him more, but you had to wake up early to move onto next installment of the mission. The other thing that was different than normal? If you'd have another day off, your little chat would have alcohol involved, but in these conditions you had to be good, so you just talked with him, a mug of coffee in your hands.

Coffee at midnight, as always.

Mission wasn't one of the hardest – getting intel you needed in Mexico, asking civilians about some things, so you were pretty calm when you arrived at the place. Small village; Alejandro said something about "being cautious" with people here since they were sneaky and who knew better than him? That's why you were on high alert, even if Soap was making jokes of you having "stick up your ass".

Mostly he was joking, though, you knew that he appreciated that you had your eyes everywhere.

It was the dynamic between you two – him goofing around with you rolling your eyes at him or goofing with him which usually irritated the shit out of Ghost that tried to do his job.

Back then, you were in mood number two, considering what happened yesterday at night. Your mind was still partially in that moment, with his hands being all over your back and his fingers gently massaging your scalp with all of his attention. It felt so vivid, like he would be doing it in the moment you were wandering around small village, not the night before. You already missed his gentleness, his soothing words, and...

And you were far from admitting it fully, since you shook your head, scolding yourself in your mind to focus, not daydream.

It was nothing, he'd probably do it for everyone.

At least you thought.

[nerdthatsiriuslylovesteaxx]

Helpless part 35

"Close your eyes."

"Why?"

"I- if you look now it's going to make you want to do it more, also you don't need anything more on your mind." Nico shut his eyes as Will started to unwrap the bandages, cleaning them before stitching them up. He tried to not think about what he was doing but he couldn't, he needed to see what he'd done, and why it wasn't enough. He wasn't worth all this effort, he wasn't worth keeping alive. Any hope he'd had died years ago, it died that day when he was nine. "Take a deep breath Neeks." Will whispered in his ear when he saw his expression, how tense he was. He placed a hand on the Ghost king's one and intertwined the fingers with his own. Then he softly started to sing the hymn, it hadn't worked since he healed Nico's rib but he sang it more for the calming effect it could have if he focused. He watched as his faced relaxed, and the tension in his body faded. The familiar warmth of the magic coursed through his veins, his skin started to glow as he ran a hand over Nico's arm, watching as the harsh cuts were replaced with scars and subsequently a stinging pain appeared in his own. By this point Nico's eyes were open, Will placed a hand on his chest, letting those cuts heal. Fuck, he would need more painkillers, the amount of injuries that had piled up in the last few weeks he'd practically been high on them. The lack of sleep had started to catch up to him, he'd gotten one half proper night of sleep in the last eleven-ish days but he couldn't let that stop him, people needed his help. "You okay?"

"Yeah... hey Will, what does it feel like after you heal someone? Like how much does it effect you?"

"It feels like a sort of warmness running through your veins, and then after you feel bit tired but it doesn't actually drain you that much, don't start getting out of breath until it's five different injuries, we'll for me now. When I started I would fait after each patient for a few minutes." He left out the part about feelings everyone elses injuries until they would have healed normally, there was no point in him knowing anyways. "Nico, try to get some sleep, your body needs rest." Nico muttered an okay under his breath before getting out of the chair and walking to the bed half dragging himself before quickly falling asleep. Will paced the infirmary, he wasn't sure what to do. The son of Hades hadn't been difficult but he wasn't sure how to get him to actually improve, running someone through a set of actions is easy, making sure they listen, that's almost impossible. Even if they want to get better so many people can't because of how much it had happened, he wanted to get him to talk to someone but he knew Nico didn't like opening up in that way to strangers, and the whole demigod thing would be a nightmare to work around with most professionals. Will quickly packed up everything he'd brought with him to the room remembering he wasn't allowed to keep any sort of mildly sharp object or medication in there. The room didn't have much in it, it had a bookshelf, bed and a wooden desk with a blue chair as well as a set of drawers and another table for anything people needed to bring in. Most people never came, only one person had come asking for help, the rest were concerned friends that wanted to keep someone safe from themselves. The one person who'd come willing was Annabeth, after that night on the bridge, it was only for a week and a half but he'd hoped it had helped. No one else knew about that, Annabeth has a tendency of disappearing for weeks on end so this was nothing. The son of Apollo took two painkillers and swallowed them with a glass of water, hoping they would kick in soon enough. Will walked out the infirmary and took out a pack from his short pocket, hiding behind a wall around the back of the infirmary where he knew no one would find him. He lit one a breathed in letting the smoke fill his lungs, he thought about what would have happened if he lost Nico. He thought back to everyone he'd lost, the children that died on their way to camp that he couldn't help, children whose names hadn't even been known when they were announced dead at the infirmary. Everyone he'd failed to heal, he let the rush of nicotine absorbe him, at least he tried with those ones. It was worse when he was left with a dead body and a note, seeing how he couldn't help because he never noticed. He burnt it out on the side of his leg before walking back inside, acting like nothing had ever happened.

***

[badteavee]

Happy birthday , by the way.

Tws / Cws : Suicidal Thoughts / Suicidal Ideation , just shitty mental health in general

Genre : Angst + Fluff

Word count : 1,074

Parings : Jeremy Heere x Michael Mell

Note : This is outside of my usual content but I love bmc and it’s super easy to project onto Michael Mell

11:30pm.

Most knew that Michael wasn’t the most stable individual , not by choice , it was just obvious. Almost weekly if not daily counselor visits , zoning out in class , starting to grey at 15 , barely functioning if he wasn’t high out of his mind. No one was more aware of it than Michael himself. Now he sat in his bedroom , staring at the wall because he couldn’t bring himself to look at his phone. He didn’t want to look at the time again , even if Jeremy texted , he couldn’t handle seeing how close it was to midnight. It’s too close to his birthday.

Ding.

Jeremy’s probably confirming that he’s on his way or he’s here. If he was , one of Michael’s moms could let him in.

11:42pm.

Jeremy slowly opened Michael’s door , a small plastic bag in one hand and a shitty blueberry muffin from Seven Eleven in the other. He knows Michael hasn’t been big on his birthday for a couple of years now but he didn’t like the thought of not getting him anything so he always got something small.

He met the taller’s eye as he set the goods on the side table , he obviously hadn’t slept the night before , his nails were halfway peeled , hang nails torn off. He won’t mention any of it , Michael barely was in a condition to talk , let alone about this.

11:44pm.

Jeremy saw how Michael turned away when he checked his phone , that was his mistake , he should be used to not checking until it was at least 1 am. He took his and Michael’s phones and put them in a drawer , grabbing the wii remotes. He handed one to Michael and sat back down , setting the tv up to play Super Mario Bros.

Michael considered declining , he didn’t feel like he could distract himself this year , he knew this was his best bet to not feel the existentialism however.

11:56pm.

Michael found himself pleasantly distracted , he should’ve known. Jeremy has known how to distract him since diapers. Every time loading takes a little too long or he has to wait for Jeremy to win for them , he can feel it clawing at the back of his mind. <i>It’s getting close to midnight.</i> he thinks. The game starts again and he feels it fade , being replaced by the competitive nature he definitely got from one of his moms.

It was game , wait , dread , game , repeat. It was a distressing cycle but distracting enough for him not to spiral. That’s all that mattered to the both of them.

11:59pm.

Jeremy quickly checked his watch while Michael was distracted , looking back up at the boy yelling at the game for something that was entirely his fault. He smiled , knowing he did his job correctly. He rolled his hoodie sleeve back up. “You know that was totally your fault , right ?”

“It was the controller ! It’s old and the buttons don’t work !”

“Excuses.”

Michael sighed , exasperated , while Jeremy laughed at his dramatics.

12:03am.

Jeremy spotted one of Michael’s moms , Rosemary , cracking open the door to quietly check in. He gave her a smile and subtle thumbs up that Michael was too busy singing along to the AC/DC vinyl he’d put on when he decided it was too quiet to notice. Rosemary grinned , slinking in to hand the boys the bowls of mac and cheese she usually made when they stayed up late.

“You boys don’t stay up too late now.” She ruffled Michael’s hair on her way back to the door , to which Michael groaned , trying to get his hair back to normal while still dancing in his seat.

“I’ll make sure he goes to sleep soon , Mrs. Mell.”

“Thank you , Jeremy.”

1:02am.

The boys had winded down by now , Michael putting on some documentary about dolphins , knowing that Jeremy had no say in the matter of what they watched. The shorter rolled his eyes , choosing to check his watch again.

In years passed , this would usually be the time he’d retrieve their phones and wish Michael a happy birthday but he knew better than to do that this year. Michael never actually thought he’d make it to 17 , something he’d only admitted once to Jeremy but explained a lot about his attitude towards birthday celebration. Every other year since he turned 13 was a possible last year but this one , now , was proof that he did make it. It’s something he should be proud of , it’s definitely something Jeremy and his moms were , but it felt weird.

Living passed what you were supposed to was an interesting experience , it felt numbing knowing you now had to plan your life , but it also was a relief. It’s nice to know you can prove yourself wrong.

Michael’s not thinking about any of that though , thanks to Jeremy , who grabbed the muffin and bag before cuddling into his best friend’s side. He held them just in case Michael didn’t want to take them just yet but he surprisingly took the small bag from him.

There were just a few new pins and patches for his jacket in there , some retro patches Jeremy found off eBay and Bob Marley pins. Michael smiled , hugging the other closer. “Thank you , Jerem..”

Jeremy returned the smile , pecking his cheek. “Of course , Micha.” He held up the muffin. “Wanna split it ?” The taller nodded , both of them trying to split the pastry best they could. It kept breaking off in smaller pieces or just crumbling all together so they gave up after about thirty seconds , resigning to just eating the pieces and taking bites from their halves.

1:53am.

Rosemary came by to check in once more before she joined her wife in bed , slowly opening the door to see them slumped against each other , fast asleep with Michael snoring into Jeremy’s hair. She softly crept in to turn off the record player and restart the documentary that autoplayed.

She paused to look through the drawer , taking the boy’s phones out. She caught a glimpse of Michael’s notifications as she did , multiple messages from him and Jeremy’s new friends all wishing him a happy birthday with stupid and excessive emoji combinations. She smiled and left the phones on the bedside table , leaning over the bed to kiss Michael’s forehead. “Happy birthday , baby..” She whispered before leaving the boys to sleep , she’ll give Michael his gifts in the morning.

[sergeant-angels-trashcan]

Thinking abt the YA getting stranded in the DCU (interdimensional fugitives? The mother parasite part 2?) and the Batfam keeping tabs on them because where the FUCK did they come from

Anyway one of the Batboys tailing Kate (she doesn't notice obvs they are PROFESSIONALS) only to wind up face first against a brick wall or with a sword at their throat.

And at first I thought "not Damian obviously she'd have the sword too high" before I realized how absolutely hilarious this would be. They've been parkouring on the roofs of Gotham and Damian knows if he turns right up ahead he'll be able to cut her off--

Before skidding to a stop right before a sword touches his neck. He's mad, and impressed, and also pouting.

"Why are you following me?"

Damian blinks wide innocent eyes at her. "I thought we were playing the game tag. Why would you draw a weapon on me, a sweet innocent child? What harm could I possibly do to you?"

Damian is not scared btw he has five different ways to disarm her and take control of the situation and he hasn't even really started thinking about it. So he's mostly just seeing what she does.

"You're full of shit," she says, sheathing her sword. Damian's a little disappointed, he kind of wanted to take a closer look at it after disarming her. "I know murderous eleven year olds, and you are a murderous eleven year old."

"I'm ten, actually."

"My bad."

She smirks at him. Smirks! Age related flattery, done on purpose. Perhaps she's smarter than he initially thought.

"Why are you carrying a sword?"

"Why are you doing parkour on rooftops?" She shoots back.

"Why are you?"

"I asked you first."

"I asked you second."

They glare at one another. An impasse.

"Why'd the other ones send you?"

"Other ones?"

"Yeah. The tank, the pretty boy, and the coffee one. They're all older than you."

"I don't know who you're talking about."

"Mmm-hmm." The sound buzzes through her lips, disbelieving. "The fact that you surveil in what are basically shifts is just a coincidence. Naturally."

anyway Damian might actually disarm her at some point. they may rescue some kittens. By the time Bruce gets to the emergency vet, Kate has taught Damian what "ride or die" is and they're besties for life

[eddysocs]

The Tie That Binds Us — Chapter Eleven (The Weight Of Words)

Summary: Harper and Olivia take the first steps in building a case against Liberty High. However, an act of cruelty threatens to unravel Harper’s composure, forcing her to confront both her emotions and the challenges ahead.

Word Count: 1,735

Warnings: Angst, panic attack

It was the following week that a plan started shifting into motion. Harper and Olivia had talked about the photos Olivia had taken in the bathroom. If she was able to dig any more up, it may just be enough for a case against the school for bullying and neglect of a student's wellbeing. Andy had mentioned doing something of the sort right after Hannah's death, but with everything that came after, and the separation, well, after he’d moved out that was pretty much the last Olivia heard of that idea, but with Harper now in her corner she was ready to move forward with it again.

Harper made it her mission to get her hands on another copy of the Hot or Not list to help further their case, after the last one they’d thrown away hastily. Turned out to be easy enough, as one still remained taped up in the boys locker room that Harper had snuck into and checked out before doing her daily gym class requirement. They really shouldn’t make it this easy, she’d thought, but hey, 'boys will be boys' right? Harper folded up the paper and slipped it in her bag while making a face of disgust.

The only person she’d told about the impending lawsuit was Tony. Tony had recommended that she tell Clay, but with Clay still as vulnerable and raw as he was about dealing with Hannah's death, she decided against it for the time being. He’d know soon enough.

Armed with her extra evidence, Harper went and grabbed a few things from the grocery store and then headed home to Olivia. She still loved the sound of those two things in the same sentence; home and Olivia. It just felt so absolutely right to her that it always put a smile on her face.

"Happy December," Olivia greeted, though with less of her usual lightness. It was clear she’d been focusing on building their case against the school and had likely hardly taken her eyes away from her laptop all day. "I found a lawyer willing to represent our side of the case."

"I found more evidence. Dug up another copy of that Hot or Not list. Figured it could probably help. It was tacked up on the locker room wall, unsurprisingly. God, I hate boys."

That got Olivia to crack a smile, but she went right back to looking at the computer, adjusting her glasses to read something. "You should rest," Harper advised. Olivia sighed as Harper rifled around in the kitchen behind her. She knew she was right. "I’ll cook tonight if that’s okay," Harper suggested.

"Uh, yeah, that’ll be fine." As Harper got out what she needed, Olivia fell quiet. Then a few minutes later she came out with, "Wait, you cook?"

"I’ve been self sufficient since I was eleven, so yeah. I’m no gourmet, but I can handle a decent meal."

"I learn something new about you every day."

Harper smiled at that and went back to work, settling on something that would be quick to prepare. Anything to pry Olivia away from that computer screen faster. She settled on a cheesy chicken casserole dish she’d found in an old recipe book at the library some years back. To her it was one of the ultimate comfort foods, and with what she picked up at the store, she had everything she needed to make it.

"My god, this looks amazing, Harper," Olivia declared, finally wandering away from the laptop and into the kitchen just as Harper was getting the casserole out of the oven.

"Go. Sit. I’ll bring you a plate." Harper dished the meal up, and was happy to see Olivia already looking a little more relaxed at the thought of a home cooked meal.

They both ate like they were starved, with Harper even going back for seconds. "You really are a good cook," Olivia told her when she came back. "I can’t remember the last time I had something this good."

"Thank you. It’s one of my favorites."

"I can see why."

As Olivia helped Harper clean up and put the leftovers in the fridge once they’d cooled, Harper was again struck with the feeling of home. Is this really how it should have felt for all those years living with her mother? Had Hannah had it this good at home? If so, she couldn’t imagine how she could have— No. She knew better than that. Just because part of your life is fine doesn’t mean that everything is. Harper knew that better than anyone. School may have been fine enough for her, but she’d always wanted an escape from her home life. For Hannah, it had been the opposite.

Harper ended up turning in early that night, not wanting to take down the mood of the evening after her thoughts had turned to Hannah. She knew Olivia would listen, even comfort her, but there would be days to come in which they would need each other's comfort, and today she could manage on her own.

The rest of the week flew by. Whispered excitement of winter break rippled through Liberty High and Harper couldn’t help but feel it too. When break came, her time at Liberty would be done. Her gym requirement would be met and she could be free to spend her holidays unburdened. And most importantly, with Olivia. She just had another two weeks to go.

But whatever hopes Harper had for her last two weeks to go by without incident, were shattered the moment she walked in. She had been going on autopilot, hardly even noticing her surroundings anymore. She was just going through the motions, but as she approached her locker, she saw red on what should have been blue grey. Someone had vandalized her locker.

It takes a moment for it to sink in. The red spray painted word comes slowly into focus and then it’s all Harper can see. Motherfucker. What anyone else would consider a vulgar, if essentially harmless cuss word, Harper knew its meaning in relation to her. It had been that group she’d seen at the restaurant with Olivia. They’d started talking, and word had probably gotten to Bryce, if she had to guess, or one of his other jock friends who still worshipped him like a god. They’d done this, hitting at the one place they knew could really hurt Harper. Olivia.

The snickers and titters of laughter from the students bearing witness to Harper's reaction to this display faded very quickly into the background as the edges of her vision blurred and her blood boiled with…rage, embarrassment? She wasn’t sure she was able to differentiate the two at the moment. She almost thought she might pass out.

"Harper? Shit! Harper?!?" Tony's voice only subtly registered above the roaring in her ears. "Get the hell to class," Tony yelled at the watchful audience, and most had scattered away as he went to Harper. He could tell she was moments from a breakdown. He’d seen it with Clay a few times now, and the best thing he could do was to sit her down and help her breathe her way through it.

As he helped Harper lower herself to the floor, he grabbed Harper's phone out of her bag and called Olivia. There was no way Harper was staying here a moment longer than she had to. When Olivia promised she was on her way, Tony thanked her and hung up. "Breathe, Harper. Deep breaths. Olivia is coming to pick you up. It’ll only be a few minutes."

Whether she’d heard all of that or not, he couldn’t be certain. At the mention of Olivia's name, she’d burst into tears. Finally, Tony decided it was best to just sit next to her and let her cry it out and stop anyone from interfering. He wished he could beat the crap out of whoever did this. He was sick of his friends getting hurt.

At last Olivia came through the doors, spotting them halfway down the long hallway. "Harper? Oh my god, what happened?" As Harper still cried, Tony nodded his head across the hall to Harper's graffitied locker. Seeing it brought out Olivia's protective instincts in full force, and she came to sit down beside Harper immediately.

Tony watched as Harper clung to Olivia like a lifeline, sobbing tears into her shirt. "You should get her out of here," Tony advised. Olivia nodded and whispered something into Harper's ear that Tony couldn’t quite make out, but whatever she had said, it had Harper on her feet in mere moments. Still a bit unsteady, Olivia put an arm around her and began walking her out. "I got it from here. Thank you for calling me, Tony. And thank you for being with her."

Olivia took Harper out to her car, the ride home nothing but silence and the occasional sniffle as Harper began to calm herself down. Once inside, they sat down to have a conversation.

"Do you know who did that to your locker," Olivia asked.

"No, but I know why." Her voice sounded small, not at all like the sunny girl Olivia had gotten to know over the past two months.

"Why, what?"

"I know why they used that word. Harper sniffed again, though her tears had dried up by now. "When we were out at that burger place, some of my classmates were there as well. They saw us, and I think someone started rumors about how you and I—" Harper stopped there, hoping she wouldn’t have to say it outright.

"You and I…oh. You mean—"

"Yes," Harper interrupted. "Everyone must know I’ve moved in here and they just ran with it, I guess. And I don’t want to talk about it, not now."

"We don’t have to. Only when you’re ready."

Olivia was so kind, so thoughtful, and Harper almost broke down crying again. This time she caught herself, bit the impulse back. She’d had enough tears today. This wasn’t at all how she wanted to tell Olivia about her feelings for her, but if they were going to pursue this lawsuit together and live together, Harper was going to have to find a way to say it sometime. She had to know how Olivia felt, one way or the other, but this wasn’t the way to do it. She still needed time.

🩶🩶🩶🩶🩶🩶🩶🩶🩶🩶🩶🩶

Chapter Ten <- 🩶 -> Chapter Twelve

Forever Tag: @baubeautyandthegeek, @kmc1989, @curious-kittens-ocs, @fanficanatic-tw, @gcthvile, @immyowndefender

Harper Cassidy: @megandaisy9, @boobear729, @ghostsunderstoodmysoul, @freshmoneyalmondathlete