#Hat n clogs

[schnuffel-danny]

Say all you want about the Dream SMP, but to me seeing hundreds of thousands of teenagers treating Urahara Kisuke as a Minecraft OC was one of the funniest things to ever happen on the internet.

[subjectitute]

@adsevel replied to your post “… the scientists are fighting …”:

now kurosaki-san! if you call this a fight, you really have not seen anything at all!

you're telling me that this isn't a fight, urahara-san? he twisted your nose; are you saying you wanted him to do that?

[revasserium]

can i have one were zoro realises she does things bc of truama (like doesnt speak much etc)

hold me (still)

opla!zoro; 6,680 words; slow!!!!burn, fem!reader, ex-assassin!reader, straw hat!reader, general tragic backstory/trauma, fluff, hurt/comfort, bit of angst, emotionally constipated zoro, communication? what's that?, nami playing therapist bc she's the only one with 1 iota of emotional intelligence

summary: sometimes, stillness is a virtue, and others -- a tragedy. or, in which the straw hats pick up a new member and zoro is equally intrigued and weirded out by you.

a/n: well. you guys asked for slow burn and... the burn is so slow u gotta squint to see the smoke yall. but trust. the burn does get there! pls be patient!! and i tried to combine 2 dif reqs in this one fic :)

You are of the quiet sort. Just a shadow dancing in the periphery of their vision, and when they first met you, you’d told them it was your superpower, a soft, still smile slipping across your lips. Luffy had bought into it immediately, and the invitation was out his mouth before anyone could stop him.

“Come with us!”

“Oh…” your lips pressed into a thin line of consideration.

Zoro’s fingers itched towards his swords because something about you makes the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. But something else — something uncomfortable and strange, something very much like curiosity — seizes his chest and twists his stomach. Strange, he thinks, too strange.

“C’mon! It’ll be fun!”

And then, you’d smiled wider, and nodded, and that had been that.

It’s been three months since then, and you are still of the quiet sort, though it had receded a bit with time. What with Sanji’s gentle flirting and Usopp’s not-so-gentle stories and Nami’s bright, dry-humored companionship, you’d begun to “open up a bit”, so Luffy observed.

Zoro, for his part, has kept his distance. Because sometimes he still catches you at the bow of the ship, staring out across the midnight waters, still as a stone-carved statue. Still as a wooden beam — stiller, even.

“What’s with that?” he asks one day, strolling up to Nami as she traces a fine line over a new map she’s working on.

“Hm?” is her very eloquent response.

Zoro ticks his tongue against his teeth and casts his eyes about the ship, finding them drawn to the shape of you, up at the bow again, reading in the shade of the tangerine trees. Nothing moves except for the wind as it whisps through your hair and the slow scanning of your eyes as it skates across the page.

“New girl,” Zoro says, crossing his arms as Nami finally looks up at him and then off towards you.

“Why don’t you ask her yourself?”

Zoro lets out a puff of breath, unfolding his arms to glare at Nami. He finds her grinning a lopsided grin as she clicks shut her compass and puts down her pen. She leans a hip on the barrel she’d been drawing on and folds her own arms.

“Oh, you like her.”

“I’m weirded out by her. ‘S not the same thing,” Zoro snaps, but when he tries to leave, Nami blocks him with an arm and pins him with a sharp, leveling look.

“No, no, no — we’re gonna work this through.”

“No thanks, I’m good.”

“Uh-uh, you still owe me after that round of drinks the other night — remember when you bet you could drink more than me?”

Zoro narrows his eyes, “I did drink more than you.”

Nami’s grin is gleeful, “No, you didn’t. You had to be dragged back to your room after clogging up the toilet. Or do I need to show you the evidence —”

“Alright — fuck, fine. But really? This is what you’re gonna waste your favor on? You could’ve asked me to —” Zoro gestures around vaguely, “clean the bilge or something.”

Nami shrugs, looking almost too pleased, “Nope! This is what I wanna use my favor for. And, really, you think a bit of bilge water is gonna gross me out? C’mon.”

Zoro heaves a sigh and leans back against the main mast, closing his eyes.

“Fine then. Go.”

Nami sits back on the edge of the barrel.

“No, you go. Admit that you like the new girl.”

“I don’t.” He doesn’t open his eyes.

“I’ve seen you staring at her. We’ve all seen you staring at her.”

“What, that a crime now?”

Nami fights the urge to roll her eyes, “No, but I’ve never seen you try so hard to avoid someone before.”

Zoro lets out a bark of laughter, hard and mirthless, “Yeah, so that must mean I like her.”

Nami cocks her head, “It means you feel something towards her. And I’d suggest you figure it out.”

“And how’d you propose I do that?”

Nami once again waves in your direction, “Go. Talk. To her.”

Zoro lets out another breath, eyes scanning across the ship, anywhere but towards where you’re still sitting and reading, finger flipping a page in a perfect, smooth, singular motion.

And Zoro’s not blind. Blunt though he may be at times and careless as he is about most material things, he can still appreciate beauty when he sees it. And you — there’s no denying that you’re beautiful. Your strange stillness aside, when you do move, it’s with a dancer’s lissome grace, fluid lines, not a single movement wasted. When you smile, it seems to light you up from the inside, and your words, though soft, carries the well-worn weight of river stones, glittering beneath the clear, spring stream of your voice.

There’s a sharpness in your eyes, a straightness to your spine, a way of carrying yourself as if you’re afraid that one wrong move might shatter you and the entire world around you.

Sometimes when he sees you, he wonders at the hands that had sculpted you this way. He wonders at your life before they’d picked you up in Loguetown, when you’d oh-so-silently slipped up the execution platform and helped Luffy down, all the while staying free of Smoker’s watchful gaze.

The few times he’s seen you fight, he can’t help wondering if you’ve eaten some kind of devil fruit as well. No human could be so fast as that. Or be so quiet. But then again, he’d fought Kuro, and they’d seen stranger things. Still, he marvels at the way you flicker in and out of sight, slipping around the edges of battle like a dark, haunting thing, and men would drop like flies beneath your quick, quiet hands. With nary a sound or shout before their eyes roll back and their breathing is no more.

On the instances when Sanji had asked about your past, your eyes had gone misty and dark, unfocused. You’d gone still, freezing for so long that Usopp would cough just to fill the silence. And then slowly, ever so slowly, you’d turn back towards them with a small, sad smile and say:

“There’s… not much to talk about. I grew up somewhere far away, where if you didn’t keep quiet and still, bad things would happen to you. And then when those bad things happened, if you weren’t quick — the quickest of all, you’d die.”

Bad things, huh? Zoro thinks as he makes his way towards you, a hand resting on the hilt of his swords. He comes to a stop next to you and leans against one of the white planters, casually peering over your shoulder at the book in your hands.

For a long moment, neither of you move. Then, Zoro clears his throat and forces himself to speak.

“Is it good?”

It takes you a second, but eventually, you turn towards him.

“The book? Yeah, I suppose.”

“Not exactly a glowing review.”

You laugh, a soft, breathy little thing as you look back down at the page.

“It's about a girl who falls into an enchanted sleep, and a prince who wakes her up with a kiss.”

“Must’ve been one hell of a kiss.”

“Yes, and one hell of a prince.”

Zoro finds himself chuckling, his shoulders loosening as he takes another breath.

“And then what?” he asks.

“And then… he asks her to marry him.”

You run your fingers along the page, smoothing your palm over the ink and parchment. Zoro watches you, wondering, always wondering.

“What’s she say?” and it’s then that he notices his own voice, hushed and low, barely a whisper.

You look back up at him and smile a smile a sphynx would have been proud of.

“I don’t know. I haven’t gotten there yet.”

Zoro takes a breath, and the breath tastes distinctly different than all the breaths he’d taken before it. As if the world takes the breath with him, and some fundamental truth had shifted on the exhale.

The moment breaks, as moments are wont to do, when Sanji calls out for lunch and Zoro jerks out of his almost-reverie. You slowly close your book and rise to your feet, turning back to smile at him.

“C’mon, it’s lunchtime.”

Zoro nods and follows you into the kitchen, where Luffy and Usopp are already digging in, and Nami is pouring herself a drink. She spots the pair of you and catches Zoro’s eyes. A grin ticks at the edge of her lips but before she can say anything, you’re accosted by Sanji sweeping into a deep, flourishing bow, and ushering you towards the table, where he’d set your place in a manner fit for a princess.

“Where’s my setup?” Zoro asks as he drops into the seat next to you, cocking an eyebrow. Sanji shoots him an unimpressed look.

“I’m surprised you can use a fork and knife, moss-head. Just be grateful and eat up.”

Zoro scoffs but digs in nonetheless.

When next they dock, it’s on a rare, peaceful island — an island of light and books and learning, where the air smells of salt and ink and drying parchment, of unwritten words and untold stories. But it smells of a stillness too, and Zoro knows without having to ask that you’d like it here.

And you do.

He’s never seen you smile so much, never seen you so vibrant and full of life. You chat and laugh and read with a voracious hunger, and he finds himself drawn to this new, warm, moving side of you. He finds himself, more often than not, by your side, even when neither of you speak. And he basks in the comfort of the quiet that permeates the air when it’s just the two of you — him hanging in the hammock on deck, you reading by his side.

But now, there’s the soft tapping of your foot, the shuffle of pages when you flip forward to see what’s coming next, and of course the ever-present shush of the ocean as it washes against the Merry’s side.

The Log Pose needs two weeks to properly calibrate to the next island, so they’ve got time to kill.

On the fifth night, over dinner and drinks, Luffy asks the question that everyone’s been thinking since the day they’d all met you —

“So. Why’re you so still all the time? Not that it’s weird or anything — well, actually — it kind of is, but it doesn’t bother me. I’m just asking cause I'm curious!”

You look up from your half-finished wine but Zoro feels it happening, like the hush of a fan blade slicing through air, the gasp before a porcelain vase tips over and shatters. You stop. You stare. You’re frozen in every sense of the word. And he’s known you for long enough to know that you only go still as a reflex, only reach for it as a shield. Against what? He doesn’t quite know.

“It’s… something of a long story,” you say, your voice low and hoarse.

Luffy grins, smacking his lips as he sucks the meat off a chicken leg, “We’ve got tons of time! Right?” he looks around as if for validation, but everyone’s eyes are caught on you and your unnatural stillness.

Zoro shifts slightly in the seat next to you, opening his stance and turning towards you.

“Could do with a good story.”

Your eyes flash in his direction and he offers you the barest hint of a smile.

You relax, ever so slightly, drifting back in your seat, your glass cupped in the palms of your hands. And then, you begin to speak, your voice smooth and lilting, your words washing over them like the faint lull of the tides.

“When I was three, my father sold me for a barrel of beer.”

A dull clack echoes around the room and everyone turns to see Sanji hurriedly righting the thick stein he’s knocked over. Thankfully, it’d been empty.

“Sorry — I just — what?” he sounds furious but Usopp lays a hand across his arm and shakes his head.

You take a deep breath and continue, your voice oddly emotionless as you say, “The man who bought me took me to an island. It was… a dark place. A quiet place. I only learned its name after I escaped — an island called Elysium.”

Nami gasps before clapping her hands over her mouth.

“I’ve just — I’ve heard of that place before, but I thought… I thought it was just a made-up place.”

Luffy swallows hard, frowning, “What’s it like?”

Nami’s eyes flicker between you and Luffy, “Supposedly… it’s the home island for�� for the most feared group of assassins in all the seas combined.”

Usopp’s eyebrows jerk up, “The most feared?”

A faint smile seeps across your lips like blood.

“Yes. The Shadows that Live.”

Everyone turns to look at you. Luffy picks up another drumstick.

“Whoa… cool name!”

Zoro hums, “I’ve heard of them before — but mostly, it was just an old wive’s tale about… shadow assassins who hunt in the dark. Mercenaries for hire. But… no one’s ever seen one before.”

“Because… once you see one, you’ll never live to tell the tale,” you say, your eyes now downcast and fixed on the glass in your hands.

“Then…” Usopp’s voice is soft, “What about… you?”

“I… I ran away.”

Silence greets you. But after a moment, Luffy spits out a bit of bone and uses it to pick at the space between his teeth, his eyes round.

“Wow! You must be pretty good to run away from an island full of shadow assassins!”

You almost laugh, his boundless trust hitting you like a punch to the stomach.

“So…” Sanji lets out a puff of silvery smoke, “the staying still thing… that’s just part of your training, yeah?”

You nod, “Something like that.”

Someday, you think, you’ll tell them about the hellscape that was Elysium island, of the long echoing halls, dark and still and silent. Of the mechanical beasts that hunted by sound and movement alone. Someday, you’ll let them know about the poisoned pomegranate seeds that they feed all the “recruits” to keep them hazy, of how you’d kept six of them suspended in your mouth and spat them all out when you’d finally made it far enough from the island to allow yourself to breathe.

“And… are these shadow assassins gonna come after us?” Nami asks, her voice careful and light.

You purse your lips, “I… I don’t know.”

Nami sighs, but a moment later, she moves to refill her drink with a slight shrug, “Well, just one more enemy to add to our growing list. Soon, we’re gonna have to post a sign-up sheet.”

At this, everyone laughs, and the tension snaps like a wounded spring.

Luffy burps loudly, patting his stomach, “I’m not worried — I mean, if you were able to run away from them once, that means you’re stronger than them, right?”

You pause, your hand hovering over the wine bottle. Zoro gently reaches over and refills your glass for you. You shift back into movement, casting him a small smile and taking a sip. The wine is cool and tangy as it hits the back of your throat. You breathe, and the world keeps spinning.

“I… I’m not sure — I’ve never fought… any of… them… before.”

���Guess we’ll find out if they try to come for you then — but you’ve got us now!” Luffy says, reaching for an apple and chomping into it, “ — Sho… you duon gotta wourry —” he licks his lips as he takes another huge bite before tossing the core towards the waste bin, “We’ve got your back!”

Nami makes a disgusted face, “Don’t talk with your mouth full, ugh.”

Sanji chuckles, tapping out his cigarette, “Yeah Luffy, mind your manners.” But his voice is full of laughter and you find yourself relaxing into the sway of the night, the swing of conversation. Beside you, Zoro refills his own glass and leans over to clink it against yours.

You turn, but he only raises his glass before taking a sip.

You mirror his movement, cradling the cup to your chest when you finish.

Later, he finds you by the tangerine trees, ghosting your fingers over their lush green leaves, dark enough to look black in the evening light.

“Hey.”

You turn, “Hi.”

Zoro sighs and looks out over the darkened waves, the moonlight refracted into a million shattered bits of sky.

“Luffy’s right, y’know.”

“What about?” you ask, joining him by the railings. The night air is cool and crisp. Behind you both, the island oozes with lamplight and laughter. Even from here, you can hear the joy, the peace that permeates the air here. It wouldn’t be a bad thing, you think, to stay here forever.

“If they come for you,” Zoro says, “we’ll have your back.”

You let out a small chuckle, looking down at your hands, “I know.”

“So,” he turns towards you, his earrings glinting in beneath the scimitar moon, “you don’t have to be afraid anymore.”

You lick your lips, and instinctively, you reach for the stillness. All the days and weeks and months with the people around you have softened you, and for that, you know you should be thankful. Still, old habits die hard, and you have to clench your fists and dig your nails into your own palms to keep from freezing completely.

You take a shivering breath and force it out again.

“Fear’s a hard habit to break.”

At this, Zoro grunts, though it sounds something like consent. The moment stretches, long and soft and taffy-sweet.

He turns back towards the sea, “Yeah,” he says, and then —

“But we can take it slow.”

You swallow hard, passed the broken shards of forgotten words lodged in your throat (you find that they all somehow taste like thank you), and you nod. Warmth tickles your cheeks and you wonder why he’s said we instead of you — and later, lying in your bed at night, staring at the moon-slatted ceiling, you wonder if he was really talking about fear or if it was something else entirely.

You don’t get a lick of sleep that night.

The next few days pass in a light, repetitive blur. You and Zoro are sent on a few short shopping trips in the city, and you’re glad for something to do that involves movement. Shocking how quickly the body adapts once the weight it’d been holding on to is lifted.

You are still quiet, and he, the same; but the silence has shifted around you, and whereas before it’d been solid and steady, it’s now thrumming and charged with some unspoken energy.

Neither of you are blind to it; nor, it seems, is the rest of the crew.

Sanji’s taken to openly teasing Zoro about being with you all the time, complaining loudly that he can’t get a word in edgewise because Zoro refuses to leave you alone. Nami keeps on trying to drag you out for “girl's day” shopping trips, hinting at all the cute clothes you could get and how “green really suits your skin tone, y’know?”

Luffy and Usopp for their part, both just grin whenever they see you together — Luffy stoked at the fact that you seem more happy and talkative, Usopp gleeful at the way Zoro always seems so much softer when he’s next to you.

You’ve taken to watching him when he trains, sitting in the shade of the tangerine trees, a cold drink in your hand as Zoro runs through his katas. You content yourself with watching him flow through the movements, one and then another, and then another after that. He contents himself with your presence, knowing that you’re here, feeling your eyes as they skate down the length of his back or the width of his shoulders.

It’s a peaceful sort of companionship, even if it is living on borrowed time.

When you all wave the little island goodbye, it’s with heavy hearts and tearful smiles. It had treated you well, and you think you’d miss it. But adventure is as adventure does — it calls, beckoning to those with wandering hearts to listen.

The first week back at sea is a strange one, full of a ringing nostalgia. As if you’re simultaneously coming home and leaving one at the same time. Everyone is a bit quiet, except for Luffy, of course, who literally bounces off the freshly waxed planks, humming to himself as he sits on top of the great ram’s figurehead.

“Is he ever still?” you ask one day, sometime in the second week.

To which Zoro makes a sound between a scoff and a laugh, “You’ve been here a while. What’d you think?”

You sigh softly and tear your eyes away from the bright, shivering ball of energy that is your captain towards the far horizon. A sliver of uncertainty twines through you and your breath slows. Zoro glances at you, now long since attuned to your subtle shifts in movement and stillness. He narrows his eyes.

“What is it?”

You shake yourself back into the moment, forcing a smile.

“Nothing. I think…” your words fade as the feeling twists in you again, knife-sharp and stinging. You clear your throat and reach up to brush away a strand of hair. Skin grazes skin as Zoro’s hand meets yours in the same gesture and you both freeze — hands held up, his finger caught against the bend of your cheekbone, your fingers curling over his.

Time slows, slackens around the pair of you, and the moment stays, suspended in space — garnet dark and perfect.

Neither of you dare to breathe. It’s then that you realize how close Zoro is — close enough for you to see the entire ocean reflected in his eyes: big and dark and so endless it nearly unmoors you. Close enough for you to feel the warmth of his skin; his body, emanating heat. You’d often wondered, in the long hours of watching him train, at the glistening copper of his skin and the light-kissed quality, if the sun himself favored Zoro as well.

Like this, it’s easy to believe that beneath his skin, there pulsed something like sunlight.

“Look! It’s an island! It’s an island!”

And just like that, the moment shatters. Time slips back into motion and you pull away from each other, breathless, with warm cheeks and thundering hearts, feeling somehow lightning-touched and static-ridden.

You take half a step back, reaching up to press a hand to your mouth as if to stop something from tumbling through. But what? You can’t really say.

Zoro tips back as well, whipping around to help Usopp and Sanji with the sails as Luffy continues to holler, waving his hat. On the horizon, you see it looming — the silhouette of an island. You lower your palm from your lips to your heart and wonder what kind of island it will be.

Deserted — seems to be the answer when you all make landfall. The island is quiet, but the occasional chirp and cricket staves off your nerves as you all wander cautiously about the beach, squinting into the dense forest that seems to encompass the whole of the island.

“Looks like a good place to camp for the night!” Luffy says, grinning as he plops down on the sand.

Sanji nods, dusting off his hands, “We’ll need some wood for a fire, but I reckon I can whip up some grilled fish from the fresh catch.”

You wrap your arms around yourself and look around, glancing back at the darkening horizon.

“Something the matter?” Zoro’s voice is soft as he helps you carry some of the camping supplies from the ship.

“No… yes… I —” you look up at him, pursing your lips, “I don’t know. I’ve just… this island is…”

Zoro looks around, his dark eyes scanning the thick swath of forest just beyond the beach, “Too quiet?”

You let out a tiny laugh, “Yeah, something like that.”

He nods, “Don’t worry, I’m — we’re here.”

And he leaves it at that, hoisting a stack of wood over his shoulders and going to help Nami with the fire. You watch him with a smile, wondering what on earth you’d done to deserve this level of caring, this magnitude of kindness. Soon, dinner is had and drinks are shared and laughter is spilled like so many silver coins over the white sand beach. The lull of the evening takes over you all, and before long, Luffy and Usopp are slumped over each other, snoring loudly.

You stare into the depths of the fire and try to tamp down the growing dread festering inside your bones. All those years of holding still, of breathing and listening and feeling — you shake yourself — no, not all stillness is a bad thing. Not all silences are made the same.

“You’re doing it again,” Zoro’s voice almost makes you jump. Instead, you turn, finding him next to you as he nurses a half-drunk bottle of wine in his hands. He doesn’t look at you, but there’s a loose grin hinged across his lips.

“Sorry,” you say, ducking your head, feeling a now familiar heat creep into your cheeks that has nothing to do with the dwindling bonfire.

“Don’t be,” Zoro takes another drink, “But I told you… you don’t have to be afraid anymore.”

“I know… and I’ve said before —”

“Fear’s a hard habit to break,” Zoro echoes back at you, finally glancing over and catching your eye.

You breathe out, looking down at your own hands, “Yeah… but I’m trying.”

You both fall silent, and for a while, the only sounds are the crackle of the dying flames, the shush of the ocean waves, and the occasional snores from the rest of your crew. It’s late — later than you realized.

“Do you… want me to grab a book for you?”

You smile, “No, I don’t think it’s bright enough.”

“I could restoke the fire.”

“No, it’s — it’s okay.”

“Alright.”

A bird coos the distance.

“Why don’t you tell me a story?” you ask, turning to look at Zoro proper, shifting till your body is facing him.

In the faint light, you can see the edge of his adam’s apple bobbing as he swallows.

“You’re asking the wrong guy — you should wait till the Great Captain Usopp’s awake.”

“Yeah, but I want to hear one from you.”

Zoro sighs, his eyes fixed on the last of the flickering flames. He takes another swig of wine before he starts to speak, his voice low and a bit stilted, but he pushes on. He tells you about his childhood, the village he’d trained in, the doujou in the middle of the wood, his friend who he’d never beat — not even once.

He tells you about he early mornings and the late nights, and how the world had seemed large enough to conquer.

“… And then… there came a morning when she didn’t show up… and sensei came and told me that there’d been an accident.”

His voice almost breaks then, and your eyes catch on the shining white hilt of the Wadou Ichimonji — his thumb pressing against the guard, running along it’s hard metal edge.

“Oh… I’m sorry.”

Zoro shrugs, “Don’t be.”

You nod, “Still.”

Zoro slates you a lopsided smirk, “So. Now you know my tragic backstory too.”

You laugh, leaning back to cast your eyes up towards the sky, “And you know mine — it’s almost like we’re friends or something.”

Zoro lets out a long breath, “Yeah… or something.”

There’s a tightness to his voice that makes your skin tingle and it takes everything you have not to look over at him, to try and see if he’s looking at you, watching you the way you’d imagined him to be. You fancy you can feel his gaze on your face, but you close your eyes instead.

You let yourself fall into the warm haze of sleep, and for a while you drift there, your mind sifting through shards of memories and slivers of sound, casting them against the backs of your eyelids as you slowly slide into the darkness of dreams.

You wake up to a gasping stillness — the silence pressing in on your eardrums like thumbs, the darkness around you so complete it’s almost a solid thing. You freeze, your breath hissing to a halt inside you. Then distantly, ever so distantly, you hear the sounds of battle — metal clashing against metal, the hard thud of boots against flesh. You shake your head and reach up to clap your hands over your ears and only then do your senses return to you, snapping back as if you’d been abruptly shunted back into your earthly body.

“Gum Gum — Pistol!”

“Seize her!”

You whip into movement, fast as a flash, dashing away, hoping against hope that it would draw your attackers far enough from your crewmates.

“No one… ever… leaves us…”

The voice is serpentine and susurrus, sinking into your skin like sharpened teeth, but before it can reach you, it’s cut short by a bright flash of silver.

You gasp, whirling around, reaching for the nearest pulse, instinct taking over as you sink your fingers into muscle and flesh. The rush of blood thrumming beneath your fingertips comes too easy, even as a familiar scent accosts you. A moment later, your hands are being pinned above you, and thick, rough bark is digging into your wrists as Zoro stands before you, a sword in one hand, the other holding you still.

His eyes are a little wild and a lot worried. There’s a ring of red rawness around his neck, thin trickles of blood trailing along his jugular, disappearing into the wide scoop neck of his shirt.

“Hey, look at me.”

You nearly whimper, struggling against him, fear still coursing through you like a drug but Zoro is strong enough to keep you held. Behind him, you can see the rest of the crew fending off several shadowy figures, Usopp waving a torch, screaming at the top of his lungs, Luffy whooping as he whacks another figure with his fist.

“Z-Zoro?”

“Yeah, it’s me — eyes up here.”

You swallow in a breath, and then another, and you feel the bright thrum of urgency leave you as your body slowly falls slack. And then you’re slipping, and he’s looping an arm around you to keep you upright.

“Th-they’re here — they —”

“They’re gone — we got rid of them — hey.”

Zoro takes you by the shoulders and gives you a gentle shake. Finally, your eyes catch on his and your gaze holds. You see yourself reflected in them, stark and terrified, but alive — somehow alive.

“They’re gone,” he says, his voice soft and low by your ear, his arm still wrapped around your middle. Shivers wrack your body as you bury your face in his shoulder. He smells of steel and skin and the metallic tang of blood. It’s then that you remember — the wounds on the sides of his neck. The marks in the shape of your hands —

You jerk back and feel a sticky wetness against your cheek.

“Zoro, I hurt you!”

At this, he scoffs, pulling back far enough to flash you a look.

“This is nothing. C’mon.”

He offers you a hand, and after a second you take it, letting him pull you to your feet. Wordlessly, he presses his palm to the small of your back, his arm extended to keep you steady as you both make your way back towards camp.

“Phew! That was a workout!” Luffy is saying just as you both reach the outskirts of the now-darkened bonfire. Sanji is pulling out a cigarette, striking a match, and first lighting the end before tossing it into the remains of the firewood, fanning it up into a slow flame.

Nami and Usopp both look a bit shaken, but none worse for the wear.

They all pivot to look at you.

You go still against Zoro’s side, uncertainty flooding through you. Faintly, you feel Zoro’s fingers as they press into the bend of your waist, solid and steady.

Then, Usopp coughs, “C’mon y’all — the Shadows that Live? Psh! More like — the Shadows that Fled, am I right? Yeah? Didya see the way I sent ‘em runnin’ with my brand new fire-powered explosion rounds?”

Nami chuckles and Sanji follows suit, shaking his head and letting out a thin wisp of smoke. Luffy’s grins at you, pumping a fist in the air, clapping his right shoulder.

“See? Told you we’d have your back! We are your crew, after all!”

Weakness seeps into your limbs as you nod, hot pin-pricks of tears itching at your lower lashes. You lower your head and rub at your eyes before looking back up again with a smile. Sanji grimaces as he looks over Zoro.

“Got something on your neck, mate.”

Zoro glares but you glance over and feel your stomach twist with guilt.

“Sorry… I can clean that up for you. They’re not deep but they do need to be bandaged up.”

Zoro wipes down his sword before sheathing it and motioning towards the ship. Behind you, you can hear Nami yawning and saying something about catching up on some more sleep and Sanji reassuring her about having the last watch anyway.

The kitchen is still dark, but the dusty dawn sweeps against the far horizon and neither of you bother to turn the lights on. You carefully set the first aid kit on the kitchen counter and collect the supplies as Zoro leans back against the edge and folds his arms. You work in near silence, reaching up to first wipe the thin threads of drying blood before tending to the tiny, crescent-shaped puncture wounds.

You press an alcohol-soaked cotton ball against one of them and feel Zoro wince.

“Sorry.”

“I’m fine.”

You bite your lips, “If this had been a bit deeper or a few inches over —”

“But it wasn’t. So it’s fine.”

You don’t look up at him but you can feel his eyes on you. Your movements are fluid and sure; you’d clearly done this before.

“Hey, look at me.”

You freeze, eyes slowly gliding up the planes and divots of his neck, slipping up the line of his jaw, so sharp it might’ve been turned on a diamond cutter’s lathe. Your breath hitches as you finally meet his eyes, and there’s a dark, knowing glint behind them that makes your stomach flip.

“I’m fine.”

And for the second time in a handful of hours, you’re caught by the realization of your closeness — only a breath of space between you. There’s a crimp at the corner of his mouth that looks dangerously like a smile and then you’re tipping forward, a thumb reaching up to trace the line of his bottom lip once —

The movement acts like a trigger, and suddenly, he is leaning in and the breath of space disappears.

For all your life of stillness, you thought you’d learned to appreciate the depths and widths of movement. But nothing could’ve prepared you for this — for the push and pull of lips on lips, for the force and friction of skin against skin. For the gasp and hiss, for the breath and kiss.

For the feeling of his large palm as it settles along the swallow’s-nest bend of your neck, the way his thumb runs along your jaw like tracing the guard of his beloved sword, tilting your mouth towards him. For the way your heart might flutter like a tiny, caged bird, or the way you might feel his heart thumping like a fist from his chest to yours.

For the way his voice rolls over your name like a ship at sea; for the way it would shake your body from your bones and leave you more liquid than solid in his arms. For how you never used to think your story would be a love story, but then you realize that every story is a love story if caught in the right moment, in the right light.

And here, breaking apart from Zoro, with a thick, stolen streak of lemon-yellow sunlight leaking in from the kitchen window — that’s exactly what it feels like.

“Oh,” is all you have the strength to say.

Zoro, in all his solid brilliance and quiet audacity, laughs.

You taste the smile on your own lips before you realize you’re smiling. But when you try to bury your face in his neck, he winces slightly as you brush his still-fresh wounds.

“Crap, I forgot about these.”

Zoro chuckles as you hurry to press a few small bandages to the wounds.

“It’s okay. So did I.”

You finish dressing his wounds in silence, though this silence is markedly different from every other silence that had ever existed between you. There’s ease and tension, both, and when you’re finally finished, Zoro takes both your hands in his.

“So…” you say, unsure suddenly of where to look.

Zoro’s laugh is just as soft, just as uncertain.

“So.”

You try to look out the window, but by now, the dawning sun is so bright that it temporarily blinds you and you jerk back. Zoro smiles, reaching up to run his thumbs along your closed eyelids before dropping them to hook around your wrists again.

“Do you… wanna talk about it?” he asks, quiet as always.

You purse your lips and let your lashes flutter open. You find him watching you. Heat crests up your shoulders and into your cheeks, and suddenly, the exhaustion of the night before saps at your limbs. You sigh.

“Right now? Not really.”

“Yeah, neither do I,” he says, sounding as relieved as you feel.

You bite your lips and cast your gaze shyly across his face, your bird-wing heartbeat still flapping in your chest. You fight the urge to go still, to reach for that shield that has always protected you before. Faintly, you feel Zoro’s thumbs tracing circles along the insides of your wrists.

“Can I ask for something else, though?”

“What is it?”

You reach up a finger, nudging one of his golden earrings. You don’t miss the way he shivers, or the way his breath quickens in his chest.

“Kiss me again.”

Zoro grins, tugging you towards him, leaning into the curve of your palm as he does.

And does.

And does again.

reqs are: temporarily closed

but feedback is much loved and appreciated!!!

[lex-the-flex]

Fantasize

Old Man!Logan x reader

Warning(s): None, just adding more to the pile of Logan Howlett smut because it’s my only way to cope sometimes. 18+ – SMUT: Unprotected sex, (srsly wrap it before you tap it) skin and body appreciation, Logan talks you through it, basically the slow life. Reader is in their 30’s. SMUT BELOW THE LINE. NOT PROOFREAD!!

The fresh scent of hot coffee lingers through the air of the small kitchen whilst the early morning sunshine peeks in from the garden. The soft cooing of the occasional mourning dove broke the grand silence of the woods beyond the small cabin that you and Logan called home.

Tearing the white Henley from his chest, Logan tosses his hat and gloves to the other side of the living room. The sight of his broad, yet scarred muscles still made your heart swoon for the man you called your husband. Unzipping the button of his worn out jeans, Logan walks backwards, and into his favorite armchair.

Pulling you closer, you sit on Logan’s lap, moving the fabric of your nightdress out of the way. Running your fingers through Logan’s salt and pepper hair, his hazel eyes watch you intensely, overcome by your shared intimacy. Gripping his shoulders, a quick glance of doubt crosses over your face.

“You’ve got this, darlin’.” He says, reassuring you.

Carefully positioning yourself over Logan, he guides your hips over his own, allowing you to feel the weight of his manhood. Teasing your throbbing folds with his erect tip, a gasp escapes your lips. Slowly sinking into him, Logan sits up and bites your lip, releasing an intimate moan into the room. Thrusting your hips deeper into Logan, he buries his face into your neck. Collapsing your hands around his neck, his unkempt scruff tickles the sensitive skin of your collarbones.

Moaning at the different sensations happening simultaneously, Logan’s lips find the bottom of your earlobe, and he playfully bites it. Knowing how to set you off, a strong and fiery heat begins to rise up in your stomach.

“I’m here, bub. Let it out.” Logan whispers in your ear.

Leaning further into Logan, you practically hug him tighter than you ever have before. Pulling him closer into your neck, his hands wander over the smooth skin of your back. Your core starts to light up upon your own release and the airways of your lungs become clogged with ecstasy.

Soaking in the remnants of your orgasm, Logan leans his head back to observe how beautiful you are in the sun.

“Do you know how long I’ve fantasized about this? A fucking long time.” He admits.

“Don’t dwell on the past, Logan. I’m here now, and that’s all that matters.” You reply, leaning your forehead against his.

“And I love every second of it, Y/N.” Logan confesses.

Running his fingers through your hair, he touches the tip of your nose with his own, earning him the peaceful sound of your laughter to echo throughout the house.

wolverine taglist ~

@dreamliners

@chronicallybubbly

@dontfeedthebigbadwolf

@the-resident-vampire

@ovaryacted

@yellow-eyed-sams-wife

@lost-in-horrorland

@peterparkernotfound

@pcrushinnerd

@quillycrow

@till-hes-90

@the-moth-archives

@stilllivindue2spite

@wolviesgf

[saberlight1]

lovefool — billy the kid

pairing: billy bonney x fem!reader

warnings: mentions of violence, fluff, Y/N usage, reader is a cowgirl and gunslinger, hints towards murder, one bed trope, standard billy the kid warnings.

authors note: hii!!! i’m so happy to be writing about billy, thank you anon for sending in this request that this is based off of. i loved the show and slowly am getting more obsessed with tom blyth everyday i swearrr. i hope you enjoy!

masterlist

You and the boys damn near fell through the doors of some random boarding house you came across— the lot of you attempting to run away from a rival gang that caught you stealing cattle.

Jesse threw 10 dollars down on the counter, more than enough to get rooms for you all. You had been running around all day— but the smell of gunpowder and crimson blood still clogged your nose hairs and adrenaline still pumped through your veins. You simply wanted a bath and to go the hell to bed.

But, who would you be to turn down Jesse’s smiling face, holding out a shot of whiskey for you.

You sighed, your hat tipping down with your head as you shook it, your hands rested neatly on your gun-belt, cowboy boot tapping softly on the floor as you pretended to weigh your options.

“Oh, c’mon, Y/N.” He held it out for you. “Drink with us!”

You chuckled. “Why not,” You went to sit down at the bar next to them.

“Hell yeah!” Jesse and the rest of the boys who were scattered around the bar cheered— you normally weren’t one for their after hour shenanigans.

“Only for a little bit, though. I’m tired as hell.” You said, downing the whiskey shot.

“Sure,” Jesse waved you off with a knowing look, ordering a couple more rounds for you all. You laughed, going along with his antics as always. You had known Jesse since you were young— he was the one who had vouched for you in this group, who had helped you gain the respect that you had today.

You let out a hiss at the burning feeling of that whiskey going down your throat, slamming the shot glass back onto the table.

“I’ll have what they’re havin’.” You heard that familiar husky voice from next to you. Billy Bonney stood with a small smirk toying on his lips as he sat down on the stool next to you. He nodded at the bartender when he slid him said shot, the outlaw throwing it back without hesitation.

“Where you been, cowboy?” You asked, slightly tipsy.

“Been at the Saloon playin’ Poker.” He responded.

“You win?”

His smirk only grew. “Sure did. It was a big pot too,”

“Good for you, Billy.” You smiled, turning back to grab you and him another shot. “To your winnings.” You cheered, the pair of you clinking your glasses together before downing them.

“Aye, y’all get that cattle?” He asked, leaning closer to you with a quieter voice. “Y’all stink of gunpowder.”

“Nah,” You shook your head. “Their boys came out— the shots scared the cattle away, and we ain’t have enough ammo to fight ‘em off so we had to cut and run. Shot a couple of them, though.”

He hummed. “We’ll get ‘em next time, Y/N, don’t worry.”

“I hope so. Jesse here is runnin’ up his tab right now and we barely got enough cash to buy food.” You shook your head with a bitter smile. “Aye, at least we got liquor.”

“We’ll figure it out— we always do.” Billy reminded with a comforting smile.

“Yeah.” You sighed, trying to push the worries away. You downed one last shot before pushing yourself off the bar stool. “Alright, boys, that bath is callin’ my name. See y’all tomorrow.” You turned, heading to the stairs as you heard a string of good nights.

After washing up, you put on a comfortable nightgown, heading to the room that matched the key Jesse had given you.

You carelessly threw the door open, the towel in your hands still wringing out your wet hair. But said towel almost fell from your grip once you saw a shirtless Billy standing in the middle of your room.

“Oh, shit, I’m sorry,” You apologized as soon as his confused gaze landed on yours, backing out of the room. “Thought this was my room,”

He sighed, throwing on the shirt he was changing into before you walked in. “You’re good. Jesse told me downstairs that he ain’t have enough cash to get me a room— Hope you don’t mind, but I’d rather bunk with you than the one of the boys.”

“Oh, yeah, no, you can sleep in here. I don’t mind,” You nodded, walking in and shutting the door, placing your gun-belt down on the nightstand. Your eyes drifted to the small twin bed before you, your gaze going back up to Billy’s nervously.

“I can sleep on the floor, it’s alright.” He immediately tried to come up with a solution, already knowing what you were thinking of.

“Billy, I’m sure your back hurts just as bad as mine— if not more.” You waved him off. “I don’t want you to wake up even more sore tomorrow. It’s fine.. I ain’t scared of sleepin’ in the same bed as you. Unless you’re scared of sharin’ with me,” You lightly teased, laying down onto the bed, opening the covers for him.

A soft smile crept onto his lips. “Now, why would I be afraid of such a pretty lil’ thing like you?” He poked back, his words sending a blush to your cheeks as he got into bed, taking you up on your offer. The bed was quite small, and to ensure Billy wouldn’t fall off you were kinda hanging off the side.

A giggle left your lips. “There’s no way I’m not gon’ roll off this bed in my sleep and face plant onto the floor.”

He laid on his back, one arm thrown behind his head so he could look down at you. His gaze lingered onto yours for a moment— and you could see the gears turning in his brain. “Here,” He flipped onto his side, his hands slowly tugging you into him so your back was to his chest, his arm loosely hung around your waist. “I won’t let you fall,” He whispered into your ear, sending shivers down your spine.

“Thank you,” You leaned up to blow out the candle lit next to you before snuggling back into his arms, smiling. “G’night, Billy.”

His arms tightened around you, and you could hear a faint chuckle from behind you, the man placing a soft kiss to your head. “G’night, darlin’.”

[iobartach]

The hatted stranger had parted with the perfect word; he required something, an as-yet unacted upon need that carefully teetered between satiating his crippling hunger, and seeking medical attention. From the looks of his surroundings, it seemed as if this so called young man was more liable to momentary stem his desire to eat and consume, rather than treat the cause of the debilitating curse thrust upon him.

"I'm not sure." Ever the accomplished actor, even without the helpful aid of his mask to disguise his identity, Miguel turned slowly to glance in the other's direction, crimson eyes failing to match the other's gaze in the shadows concealing his face. "Do you sell anything more substantial than... candy?"

@iobartach

❝Welcome to the shop, young man, is there anything you need?❞ What an interesting soul that's walked into his shop today!

[mutedstarss]

2 Years Too Long

Summary: Luffy and the crew reunites and he's happy to see you

tw: none, all fuff

———

As soon as Luffy’s feet hit the deck, he was bombarded with millions of questions and tons of hugs. He laughed and stretched his arms, making sure he was hugging every last one of his crew members. “Did you guys miss me?” He smiled, waiting for their responses. Of course everyone missed their captain, especially after not being there with him at the ‘Greatest War Of All Time.’ Their captain needed them and they couldn’t do anything about it, so the only thing they could do was love on him and get stronger for him.

Luffy pulled away and his eyes wandered the ship, looking for you. He tried his best to answer the questions his crew had asked, but he couldn’t help but look for you. Something that was never said but was evident, he had taken a special liking towards you. Though he didn’t know it, everyone else did. Just something about the way you made his heart race, the way thoughts of you filled his head, the way he would only share his food with you with a smile on his face. He thought of you as a regular crewmate, just felt something different with you, that’s all. Or at least that’s what he thought.

Not being able to hold his confusion in any longer, he backed away from the crew with furrowed brows and looked around the ship. “Where’s Y/n?” He walked to the front of the ship, hands on the railings, eyes squinted as he looked in the distance of the forest to see if you’re anywhere in sight. When you were nowhere to be found, he turned around with a huff and folded his arms.

“I don’t know. Maybe she’s got caught up in something?” Nami said, trying to reassure her captain, placing a hand on his shoulder and rubbing it gently.

“Maybe she’s not coming.” Brook muttered, his fingers gently tugging at the strings on his guitar.

Luffy felt a pit in his stomach at the possibility of you not showing up, of you leaving the crew, leaving him. He swallowed the lump that was clogged in his throat and turned around, trying his best to ignore Brook’s comment. “She’s coming. I’m sure of it.” He said with certainty in his voice. He was sure you wouldn’t leave.

Just as the crew started to doubt whether you were coming or not, Luffy jumped up, a huge grin plastered across his face and a light rosy color coating his cheeks. His heart was beating against his ribcage, it was beating so loudly, he heard it in his ears. He knew you were here, he felt you, your presence through his observation haki. “Y/n!” He yelled, his smile broadening when you came into view. 

You placed a hand on top of your white sun hat, holding it down as you looked back and kept running, the marines hot on your tail. A huge smile spread across your face as you looked back at the Sunny and saw that your crew was waiting for you. Reaching the ship, Luffy already had his hand stretched out towards you, ready to grab you away from the marines. You reached for his hand, only to be met with them wrapping around your waist. Warmth spread throughout your cheeks when you felt his hands squeeze your waist. You landed on the ship, releasing a deep breath as Luffy steadied you when you were about to tip over. 

“Sorry, guys. I got held up by the marines.” You laughed out, looking around at your friends. You felt tears well up in your eyes from how much you missed them. 

“Oh, come here!” Nami smiled, tears sticking to her low eyelids as she held out open arms for you. You immediately ran into her arms, engulfing her in a tight hug. Not too long after, the rest of the crew joined, finally having everyone on board.

Just as you’re all basking in each other’s presence, a cannon ball hits the boat, making everyone topple over from the force. Usopp pulls his slingshot out and aims it towards the marine ship. Letting the rubber go, it snaps back just as fast and the ball of plants hits the boat, making it crumble apart. Your eyes sparkle in amazement and you run over to Usopp, opening your arms and pulling him into a hug. “That was so awesome!” He rubs his nose and lets out a proud scoff, chuckling as he starts to flex.

Luffy sees how excited you are with Usopp and his newly found skills and he wants to join in on the fun, too, so you’ll notice him as well. Luffy holds onto his bicep, ready to launch his arm for his attack, that is, until Nami grabs onto him to stop him.

“Luffy, we don’t have time. Let’s go!” Nami yells before running up to the helm, turning it all the way to the right. Luffy pouts as he looks over to you and Usopp, a weird feeling erupting like a volcano in his chest. He wants a hug, too!

The boat shakes and rocks in the water as the Sunny turns away from the marines. You guys get far enough away from them, finally getting to relax and talk about your training. 

You’re resting your arms on the railing of the Sunny, staring out at the sea with a smile on your face. 

“We really haven’t gotten the chance to talk.” Luffy pulls you from your trance. You turn around and your smile grows bigger, staring at the change of your captain. He’s gotten taller and his voice has also gotten deep. Blush coated your cheeks as you stared up at him.

“We really haven’t.” You gave him a soft smile before turning around and looking back at the sea. Hands are on your shoulders and you’re turned back around and engulfed in a hug. You gasp and your eyes widen in surprise. “Luffy?”

He sighs and his hold on you tightens. “I missed you. A whole lot.” He mumbles in your neck. The blush made its way back to your face as you took his words in. The only thoughts that filled your head was Luffy, and you didn’t try to stop it. You’ve had a crush on him for the longest time and now he's holding you and telling you that he missed you? That’s a bonus. You reciprocate the hug and bury your head in his shoulder. Luffy felt on cloud 9, no, cloud 10,000 when he felt your arms around him. He had felt like he won the One Piece, especially after he got the hug you gave to Usopp just moments before. “I missed you, too.” You replied truthfully.

Luffy’s heart speeds up hearing you say that and an uncontrolled smile makes its way to his face. He pulls away and lets out a giggle, “Come on! I have so much to tell you.” Luffy’s hand interlock with yours and he leads you away from the rest of the crew.

[tastesousweet]

⭒ the other woman

christopher sturniolo x poc!reader

summary: an angsty story of regret and selfishness told through different moments in time

warnings: alternate universe (takes place in the early 2000s bcs i’m obsessed), angst, implied sex, cigarettes, cheating (with, not on y/n)

a/n: hiiii srry for ghosting u guys again :/ i finally have motivation to write again!!! send in blurb or one shot ideas pls. unfortunately im putting tgwtt on hold for right now bc i feel writing that series takes so much out of me and i end up not enjoying anything i write. i hope u understand & im sorry to those who enjoy it! anyways i hope this is well received since it’s a bit different than my other works — lowkey tuned into my inner sally rooney bc her angst HITS . luv u baiiii

★ march 2004

there’s a vile and shameful look to you that you’re not so sure you’ve hidden well enough.

your stomach feels overweight and heavy with an extreme amount of pain bubbling and stabbing your insides whenever they decide to pop.

you clutch at the edge of the bathroom sink, staring at your figure and aching eyes (you added some dark eyeliner into your routine hoping to distract from your disdainful mood but you’re starting to think you may have drawn more attention with the dramatic look).

you suck your stained bottom lip into your mouth out of comfort or maybe a need for something to hold as you move to dig for the pack of slightly crumpled cigarettes in your small, wine-red purse.

the door handle begins to rattle unnervingly just as you spark the slim stick to life.

you comically still yourself in your exact position (bent over odd and cupping your hand around the cig as if there was any sudden wind to blow out your flame in your friend's classy bathroom).

"y/n? you in here?!"

your eyes widen first, before they eventually roll. you wave your hands around to cut through the plumes of clogged smoke in the quaint room.

“y/n!”

“someone’s in here!” you reply, taking another puff of smoke and adjusting your hair a bit in the mirror.

“you gonna open up for me?”

“ummm,” you sputter through the cigarette held in your mouth as you adjust your strapless dress with both hands in the mirror.

“y/n.”

you let out a soft groan and quickly smash the cigarette a few times against the french vanilla ceramic sink bowl, throwing what's left of it in the trash. you practically shove yourself against the tiny wall space to the side of the door as you inch it open enough for the two of you to gain a full view of each other.

you smile, “chris.”

★ december 2003

they say the holidays are worst when spent alone.

and despite having three siblings and parents who’d want nothing more than to spend their christmas eve with their son, chris has always preferred to spend the holidays with a beautiful girl — in hopes that she’d gift him the intoxicating feeling of her thighs tightly trapping his face by the end of the night.

so it’s shocking that he’s at your door step, dressed in a suave, ribbed white long sleeve, dark blue jeans, and somehow caught without one of his usual hats slouched on top of his head of fawn hair.

and it’s real fucking odd that you answer the door wearing a dress that fits you extremely well, paired with a cardigan to keep some modesty.

it’s so very weird given that chris has his girlfriend of over a year texting him another apology for abandoning their plans together to visit her family in wisconsin as you both share an intimate hug on your porch.

you try not to think it’s so unnatural for you and chris to go out for dinner, despite the fact that everyone in your small town knows he has a girlfriend who’s notably quite the opposite of you.

thank goodness chris keeps some casualty — leaving you to open your own door when climbing into his beloved truck.

★ february 2004

“okay, um, this is something you can eat and there’s, like, a million types- you like granny smith!”

“oo, apples!”

chris nods excitedly and flips to the next card, “it’s my favorite meal of the day.”

“breakfast!”

“yes, you’re perfect. alright this is casper the friendly-”

“ghost!”

“amazing! ��kay, i’m always complaining that mine isn’t stiff enough.”

“your dick?” josh jokes.

“fuck off, josh! i’m more than capable…” chris laughs.

“gross! chris?!”

“what?! don’t make it a biggie. now hurry ‘n gimme that answer baby, please?”

“well i’m guessing it’s your mattress?!”

“you have 7 seconds!” nick says while intensely staring at the tiny hourglass.

chris gives an encouraging hand motion for her to continue on that path.

“ummm… your bed?!”

“yes! that’s what i’m talking about!” chris shoots up from his position, on the ground in front of the coffee table, and immediately picks liv up from the couch in celebration.

the group let out plenty of laughs and giggles at the fear in her eyes as she’s lifted up and down excitedly.

cassie yells out, “aw yay mom and dad!” when chris sets her down and kisses her lips.

you try to control your face. your eyes flicker over and see them smiling with their faces so close together. and it drives you a little mad that whatever chris whispered to make her burst into laughter can’t be heard from your spot across the couch, especially not when there are so many conversations going on at once.

it’s just a game. you have no right to be jealous. it’s fucking taboo.

you clear your throat and uncross your legs as you begin to leave from the leather couch, “matt and josh, you can go before me- i’m just gonna grab some water.”

★ march 2004

“smoking cigs again?” chris asks as he steps into the bathroom.

“no,” you lie, resting your hip against the edge of the counter.

he knows you’re lying but doesn’t bother to pressure the truth out of you, he’s not your father. or your boyfriend at that.

“are you doing okay?” he pauses and waits for you to acknowledge him.

you don’t.

he clears his throat, “you look beautiful in this,” he tugs your dress down showing off the cleavage you’d just got done hiding.

“‘m all good,” you answer his initial question while exaggerating a smile.

chris mindlessly nods his head and somehow gets even closer to you, to the point where you have to tilt your head just the slightest bit to make eye contact.

“can i kiss you?” he asks with a genuine glimmer of generosity in his eyes and tone; as if he wanted you to want it more than he wants it himself.

you’re silent. he holds your neck gently and raises his other hand to drag your large bottom lip downward, cooing a tease, “hmmm..?”

you whine a little to yourself — this can’t happen again.

“yes?” chris mocks a little, giving a squeeze to your neck, “say it.”

your eyes droop and suddenly the ache of pain and guilt melts down to a slush of excitement and warmth both inside and evidently outside, if the stickiness of your lace underwear says anything. you nod your head.

chris is so obsessed with your mouth, his thumb doesn't move from your bottom lip as you peek your tongue out to wet it, "yes, please." your words echo off of his lips that now practically hover yours.

even though you've used your manners you manage to deliver it as a command. and it doesn't help that you paired the sentence with your hands running up the hot skin underneath his dark shirt. his mouth hangs slightly ajar as his head nods softly once more and his eyes flicker over your pretty face.

you wait for his response before your eyes lock onto his and you pout, "i thought you wanted to kiss me, chris?"

★ december 2003

“that’s hot,” chris mumbles as he kicks his legs over eachother and stretches out on the longest part of your L - shaped, funky-green couch.

“what is?” you ask as you return to the living room, popcorn cradled in an oversized bowl against your waist.

“pamala anderson,” chris jokingly moans out, biting his bottom lip and covering his lower half with one of your fuzzy throw pillows.

“gross, you perv!” you throw a handful of popcorn at his face — that’s stretched into an adorable smile — and take a seat next to him.

“baywatch reruns are all that nbc play anymore,” you squint with a sigh, taking a swig of the cool bottle of beer chris requested before handing it to him.

“they lost the best thing to ever happen to ‘em, i’d milk that shit too.” he then takes a sip, smirking when a desperate pamala anderson begins to run in slow motion on your fuzzy box television.

“what would liv think of you drooling over some baywatch tits?”

“what would liv think of me replacing her with you for my christmas eve dinner?”

you can’t help but think that ‘replacing’ is possibly the meanest word he could have used.

he smiles and gives a soft laugh when your face doesn’t respond, “joking- don’t spaz on me now…” he rolls his eyes from you back to the screen in front of you.

you swallow and adjust your legs to sit underneath you, trying to get comfortable while remaining in your small red dress.

★ march 2004

“never again,” you remind chris and yourself as you step into your once discarded underwear.

chris nods his head a few times, replying when he finally catches his breath, “right.”

“okay,” you slip your dress back on and chris redresses himself away from you.

chris slowly comes up behind you, kissing your shoulder once and hugging you gently. you want to cry — because in any other circumstance you’d embrace this feeling. but you can’t help but feel dirty.

he whispers with his head buried in the side of your crowded neck, “you know your my best friend, right? i love you.”

and you can’t help the shivers and sobs that decide to escape from your sad, used body.

“shhhh,” he apologizes, “i’m sorry.”

★ december 2003

chris imagined having sex with you plenty of times before — figuring most guys have thought of it with all of their girl friends, at least his friends made it seem true.

though his imagination could never ever live up to your whines and the way your body effortlessly takes him as you bounce yourself on top of him.

you both knew this was a bad idea, it was bad before you ended up back at your place after dinner. chris is an admittedly horny drunk and you’re no better so sharing a few beers while sitting so close to each other was bound to backfire.

only in the morning would some ounce of guilt and regret wash over him, when he’d listen to the cheerful voicemail his unknowing girlfriend left him while he was busy with his fingers in your mouth.

★ november 2004

chris hasn’t spoken to you since you came clean to liv about your disloyalty, six months ago.

he yelled and cried at your doorstep. he told you that you ruined his entire life, that he never wants to see you again.

you convince yourself you never want to see him again, but you tend to miss him in the loneliest times. when you’re sat awake in your dark bedroom.

you still miss his voice and his face.

[theemissuniverse]

KUNG LAO INTROS X ANTIHERO!READER MK 11

SUMMARY : MK 11 intros with Shang Tsung’s daughter. Flirting with Kung Lao

A/N : I’ve had this in my drafts for 3 weeks and I need to post it bc my drafts are clogging up so this is ass

WARNINGS : slightly suggestive

MASTERLIST

(Y/N) VS (Y/N)

#1 (Y/N) : Are you also fond of the man with the hat?

#2 (Y/N) : Who? Erron Black?

#1 (Y/N) : Definitely not who I was talking about

#2 (Y/N) : Kung Lao is worthy of us

#1 (Y/N) : That has yet to be proven

#2 (Y/N) : Then you are not worthy of him

#1 (Y/N) : Do I really date Kung Lao in the other timeline?

#2 (Y/N) : Date? You’re married to him

#1 (Y/N) : Oh boy…

KUNG LAO VS KUNG LAO

#2 KUNG LAO : You like (Y/N)?

#1 KUNG LAO : You don’t?

#2 KUNG LAO : She’s scary

#2 KUNG LAO : In my timeline, Liu Kang ends up with (Y/N)

#1 KUNG LAO : That won’t happen this time

#2 KUNG LAO : So you say..

#1 KUNG LAO : I already called dibs!

#2 KUNG LAO : You’re not the man of her dreams

#1 KUNG LAO : You know we’re the same person right?

KUNG LAO VS (Y/N)

KUNG LAO : Double date with Liu Kang and Kitana?

(Y/N) : You could not handle a woman like me

KUNG LAO : I think it is you that cannot handle a man like me

KUNG LAO : So, you’re really Shang Tsung’s daughter?

(Y/N) : Unfortunately, yes

KUNG LAO : Let me put you out of your misery

KUNG LAO : Why can’t you admit you like me?

(Y/N) : A sorcerer has no feelings

KUNG LAO : Who are you? Noob Saibot?

KUNG LAO : What are you doing here, (Y/N)?

(Y/N) : I came to suck the soul out of you

KUNG LAO : I always knew you wanted to do it

(Y/N) : Your body would make for an excellent experiment

KUNG LAO : So, you like my body?

(Y/N) : Ugh. Never mind, you

KUNG LAO : Liu Kang says that you’re interested in me

(Y/N) : I will burn him to the ground

KUNG LAO : Don’t be mad just because your secrets out

KUNG LAO : You’re with the good guys, remember?

(Y/N) : I choose my own destiny

KUNG LAO : This is not the mistake you want to make

(Y/N) : I prefer you to Liu Kang

KUNG LAO : An incredible choice

(Y/N) : I hate excessively humble people

KUNG LAO : You always look so stressed out

(Y/N) : I am ruler of the Netherrealm. I am

KUNG LAO : Let’s relive some stress than

KUNG LAO : So what was all that talk about not being able to handle you?

(Y/N) : Ugh. Just because you are good does not mean I like you

KUNG LAO : So why did we go for ten rounds then?

KUNG LAO : Why on Earth are you entertaining Johnny’s advances?

(Y/N) : Because I know that makes you mad

KUNG LAO : Oh, you’re good

KUNG LAO : You know we get married in another timeline?

(Y/N) : What about it?

KUNG LAO : How bout we speed up the process and I put a ring on that finger now?

LIU KANG VS (Y/N)

(Y/N) : You told Kung Lao that I was interested in him?

LIU KANG : Did I lie?

(Y/N) : I do not want him to know that

LIU KANG : I also see the good in you as Kung Lao sees

(Y/N) : I am not good, Liu Kang

LIU KANG : Your actions prove otherwise

LIU KANG VS KUNG LAO

LIU KANG : I did not know your type would be, (Y/N)

KUNG LAO : You’re telling me

LIU KANG : I guess there’s a first for everything

KUNG LAO : (Y/N), does not believe I like her

LIU KANG : She’s the daughter of Shang Tsung. She’s skeptical of everything

KUNG LAO : Yeah, true

LIU KANG : I am not childish like you

KUNG LAO : Good. So you won’t sing the song?

LIU KANG : *sings* (Y/N) and Kung Lao sitting in the tree

JOHNNY CAGE VS (Y/N)

JOHNNY CAGE : Let’s say you and me take a little spin

(Y/N) : You are not my type, Cage

JOHNNY CAGE : So, I gotta own a bladed hat for you to give me a chance?

JOHNNY CAGE VS KUNG LAO

JOHNNY CAGE : Fifty bucks says that I can get (Y/N)

KUNG LAO : You really want to go broke?

JOHNNY CAGE : I - you - Oh you know what -

KUNG LAO : Stop flirting with (Y/N), Johnny

JOHNNY CAGE : Aw, jealous?

KUNG LAO : No. It’s just annoying

NOOB SAIBOT VS (Y/N)

NOOB SAIBOT : The darkness yearns for your touch

(Y/N) : I am not interested

NOOB SAIBOT : Kung Lao is not worthy of you

NOOB SAIBOT VS KUNG LAO

NOOB SAIBOT : You are not worthy of (Y/N)

KUNG LAO : And you are?

NOOB SAIBOT : Precisely

[finelinevogue]

parisian love

summary - you are a little self conscious of your feelings in the city of love

word count: ~1.5k

pairing: boyfriend!harry x reader

a/n: harry had been looking too good lately so i had to write a little blurb about him again <3

“Quit it, will you.” Harry interrupted your scary glare towards your waitress.

You humphed and crossed your arms over your chest, leaning back against the little garden chair in the quaint Parisian cafe.

It was a gorgeous day in Paris and you and Harry were enjoying it together on his day off. Touring was always u such a hectic schedule, but Harry always made sure there was time for you.

Today he has suggested going to a cafe for brunch, seeing as all you’d been showing him were the infamous hot chocolates they serve here along with buttery croissants. You’d been waiting for the opportunity to have one, so Harry was treating you.

Only, the waitress was slightly ruining the experience by flirting with your, clearly, boyfriend.

“So you be the bigger person and be the one to quit it.” He replied calmly.

“So you be the bigger person and be the one to quit it.” He replied calmly.

His sunglasses and his hat shielded much of him away from the public, but clearly not enough for the waitress not to be all over him.

She kept making subtle touches to his shoulder, obvious glances towards his open chest where his linen shirt was unbuttoned and you could’ve sworn some buttons on her shirt had been undone since you arrived.

You picked up your hot chocolate and tried to let the smooth and sweet drink override your jealousy.

It wasn’t often that you were a jealous girlfriend, since you had to deal with it day in and day out, but sometimes it all got a little too overwhelming.

Especially in Paris.

All this trip you’d had this deep and unsettling anxiety in your chest. It made your chest feel hollow and your throat really clogged up. Your stomach was constantly full of anxious butterflies and you couldn’t bring yourself to confront as to why.

Harry was reading a tourist booklet about Paris, whilst you sat and people watched.

When you feel his hand cup your exposed knee, due to you wearing a pretty pink summers dress, you turn your head away from the people and focus on him.

“Hm?” You ask.

“I said, do you want to go on a walk after this?” Harry asked again, the first time having gone amiss to you.

“Oh, um, sure.” You gave him a small smile.

“I think there might be a garden around here that we can wander around.” He pointed to a page in the small book he was holding, but you get lost in thought again.

Harry returns to his book and before long the waitress comes back over.

You watched her put her hand on your boyfriends shoulder and look away just as quickly, in case you say something that will get you in trouble.

“Can I get you anything else today?” She asked Harry.

You sip your hot chocolate until it’s gone, having had enough of this.

You stand up abruptly, rattling the table a little. You turn to face the woman and notice that her hand is no longer on Harry’s body, but she is still stood rather close to him.

“I think I’m going to go somewhere where I don’t have to see another girl flirting with my boyfriend.” You say to her and watch her face void of emotions.

You look down at Harry, who looks up at the two of you with the same blank expression. You can’t tell whether he’s angry or annoyed, but you have a feeling it’s somewhere in between.

After gulping down the stone at the back of your throat that threatens the tears, you get up and walk off slowly so not to draw any more attention to yourself.

You sniffle your way out of the café and start heading down the road back to the hotel.

After an argument with Harry, sometimes you would walk off, similar to this, but what always happened is that Harry would follow you. Always a few meters behind, but he could never leave you fully alone after an argument and he would always find the fastest way to make it up to you.

A spare bench was located on the crest of a hill, where the rest of the city could be seen below.

You sat down and held your bag in your lap, opening the zip to find a pack of tissues with shaky hands. You took one out and dabbed at the corner of your eyes lightly, so not to smudge your eye makeup.

The view was gorgeous, but it was easily forgotten about when Harry sat down next to you.

He sat with a couple feet of space between you and as much as he hated it, he respected you want for space.

“M’sorry.” You spoke first, after a couple minutes of silence.

“You don’t have anything to apologise for, baby.” Harry comforted you by reaching one his arms along the back of the bench and stroking one of his fingers, gently, over the back of your neck. It was a reminder that he was really here for you.

At the subtle gesture, you sniffled and dived over to his side of the bench to snuggle up against the side of his body. Your head found home against his shoulder and his head rested atop of yours, after he left a little kiss there. His arm snaked around the back of your body and rested his hand on your outside hip.

You sniffled again and tried to control your watery eyes.

“What’s got you so sad, hm?” He asked.

“I hate being jealous.”

“Why?”

“Makes me look childish and insecure.”

“I don’t think it does, babe. I think it shows me how much you love me. You’re willing to get upset when someone else shows interest in me. It’s weird to say, but I find it comforting that you don’t want me for anyone else. The same as I don’t want you belonging to anyone else. I like you as mine.” His arm squeezes you a bit in reassurance.

“It’s nice when you put it that way.” You smiled, even though he can’t see.

“It’s okay for you to get jealous, Y/N/N. I just don’t like the idea of you getting proper upset over me.”

“You mean so much to me, Harry, i’m just scared it’s to good to be true being with you.”

“Well, how about we take each other for each day we have together and let what feelings we have for each override any fears or insecurities. Hey?”

“That sounds good.”

You both fall silent for a little bit, people watching as the sun sets over the city of love. It’s gorgeous how the sky burns a palette of oranges and yellows, you’ll probably never get over its beauty.

When you start giggling to yourself Harry perks up conversation again.

“What?” He asked with a slight giggle himself.

“Just thinking about how if you weren’t a musician you would make a good therapist.” You relay your thoughts to him.

“Oh definitely. I’d be good at any job.” You can’t see it, but Harry smiled down at you because he is happy now that you are.

“Oh really?” You laughed.

“Yeah. Try me.”

“Umm? A chef?”

“Oui oui. I have watched Ratatouille before.”

“Why are you a French chef?” You asked, giggling away the tears.

“Because we’re in the city of love, mon ami.” He laid on a thick English accent to answer your question, making you prod him in his tummy for being so annoying.

“Okay Chef.” This time Harry tickled you in your side instead. “Stop! Okay, um, what about… A firefighter?”

“You just want to see me in my suspenders again.” Harry laughed so loud that people turned to see what was so funny. You buried your head further into his body until your blushed cheeks passed over.

“Do not.” You counter argued.

“Do too. I know you do, because Lambert showed me his texts with you the other day of you demanding he bring the suspenders back to tour.”

“Ugh. He’s such a snitch.”

“Big Brother is watching you.” He referenced.

“Don’t refer to yourself as Big Brother again, you weirdo.” You laughed at him. You go to hit him playfully on his tummy again, but instead Harry caught your hand in his and brought it to his lips to play. He didn’t let it go afterwards, instead he chose to hold it tight.

Both of you go back to silence again, going back to people watching individually.

The sun had gotten lower now and there were more people coming into the city for a night out. You and Harry were going to be cuddled up in bed watching a Disney movie by the time these people enter their first club. The life of an introvert, you, loving and extrovert, Harry, meant you did very introverted activities together.

“Harry?” You asked quietly.

“Yes, m’love.”

“Can I ask you a question? And before you answer, I don’t mean for this question to start an argument between us but I am just genuinely curious.”

“You’ve got me a little worried now, babe, but go on. I trust you.” He replied and you shift a little in your position to gauge his facial expression.

“When you’re in Paris, o-or France for that matter, do you ever think about Camille? Like, do you get sad about her or feel anything?” You breathed out, but continue just as quickly, “Again, I’m not asking to provoke you, but I’m just thinking that someone of her importance in your life must have left an impression on you. Maybe, in turn, making you think about her at times like this?”

As soon as you’d asked your question, a wave of relief rolled off your shoulders. You couldn’t explain how freeing it was to have asked that. It was like that unexplained anxiety from the past few days had come from that question alone.

“Thank you for asking for politely, baby, first of all.” Harry kissed your forehead. “And since you were honest with me, I’ll be honest with you.”

“Okay.” You nodded a bit nervously.

“I do think of her.” He answered the way you were least hoping him to, but let him continue anyways, “But not in the way you think. When I think about her now I am always thinking of you, too. I rarely do think about her, because why would I need to, but sometimes certain moments will take me back and you’ll be there to get rid of those thoughts again.”

“I-I don’t think I understand.” You say.

“It’s like when we went for a coffee run the other morning and you happened to choose the same coffee shop that I’d been to previously with Camille. In that coffee shop, in that moment, all I could think about was how much happier I was to be standing there with you than I had ever been with her ever. I thought about, and still do, how lucky I am to have found someone that loves me just as equally as I love them.” He paused briefly, “So, do I think about her? Yes, but only because I’m reminded of how much more happiness and love and life I have gained from choosing you.”

You stared at him throughout his tiny speech and a little bit afterwards too. His eyes watered at the sight of yours watering - which you could tell even through his sunglasses.

“I need another tissue.” You laughed out through a couple of tears.

Before you could go diving in your bag, Harry cupped your chin with his fingers and drew your mouth close to his. He kissed you so feverishly that you would think it was your last one ever.

He pulled away with a pout, “I love you. I’ll always choose you. It’s you, forever, baby.” He kissed you once more with force. “Always. It’s a promise.

[cattlemons]

hi :)) a bit of a personal request but could i get wanderer comfort for a fem or g/n reader? (your choice) i have a...difficult relationship with my father. when he's sad/angry/upset he usually takes his frustration out on me by yelling at me and calling me names and other hurtful things. then when i cry he tells me that I'm pretending to be a victim, and blames me entirely for his feelings. i just had a sitution like this earlier tonight so its on my mind :) anyway, could i get wanderer comfort for a situation like this? or if this is too specific maybe where reader just doesn't get along with their father? thanks sm <33333

A Salve For Unhealed Wounds

TW: Toxic dad, name calling by a parental figure, emotional distress and familial conflict, crying in public, there's a swear word in there, 1,5k words

a.n. Nonnie, sorry for the wait :( I had an exam and couldn't be on here at all (also left you a short message at the bottom)

It happened again. 

The man you were supposed to trust with your life yelled at you again. Your heart aches at the implication that the weight of his love for you changes depending on the emotion reigning his mind and heart. Your mind crumbles when it recollects the words he spat out so easily when red paints his iris. 

It wouldn’t have hurt as much if he’s always this way. It hurts because you’ve seen the smile that escapes his guarded heart on rare occasions. You’ve also heard him say good things and do good deeds the way an honorable man would–when he’s not mad that is.

It’s unfair that he can’t always be that way with you.

You took off towards the Puspa Cafe, hoping the bustle of Sumeru evening would be the cooling salve you need to soothe your battered mood. 

Yeah, that’s a good idea.

Entering the establishment, scents of coffee and spice filled your nostrils as ease settled between the spaces of your bones. The balmy yellow and brown hues greeted your weary state as the inviting warmth of the cinders burning in the oven beckons you to rest. You made the right call to come here tonight.

Or, so you thought.

Despite being on good terms with the otherwise lonesome man, you did not want to see the infamous hat guy; not tonight. It’s less about his presence and more about yours. The dynamic between the two of you is akin to that of a flying serpent and a scorpion. You’d take frequent jabs at each other, flinging teasing remarks and poking fun at one another but somehow, in a very weird roundabout way, there’s always a sincere sort of care behind it all. 

Right now, however, you don’t think you have it in you to take what you know he can dish. You did get lucky and got a secluded seat, you just hope he does not notice you here. 

“What are you doing here, prickly bush,” he called out to you just as your train of thought chugged away to somewhere beyond the oak doors of the cafe.

Right, so much for peace of mind.

You turn towards him, the frown that began dissipating moments ago returning in full force. Grumbling before speaking, you let out, “Not today, please, I’m not in the mood.”

“Oh yeah, someone’s definitely a prickle bush right now.”

You were at a crossroads between telling him to leave and bursting into tired tears when he asked, “What’s wrong?”

Your eyebrows scrunched as he sat across you. You looked at him but his eyes were trained away from you, staring at some other patron sitting at the wooden bar just a bit away from the both of you. 

Since when was he a caring man?

Your thoughts and confusion settle into a prolonged silence. You half expected him to grumble out an insult along the lines of “Are your ears clogged” or “Need help finding a hearing aid” but he, surprisingly, sat still; eyes now hopping over to a woman by the door having a conversation with a balding man. 

Is he patient now? What kind of patron-saint bullshit is he pulling?

Not that you’re complaining, though. You much prefer this despite the weirdness of it all; or rather the newness. 

“I’m fine–”

“Don’t lie, if you can’t lie,” he interrupts as he points at your fingers curling in on each other. 

He sure is perceptive when you don’t want him to be.

Silent gathers the both of you in its arms once more as you think of a response to give to him. He’s being kind right now but you don’t feel like divulging everything to him. Your friendship is just beginning to stand on two feet. It’s taking baby steps at best. You don’t want to scare him away by dumping all your shit on him. By the abyssal name, he probably carries more baggage than you and you don’t see him throwing them around.

“You don’t have to tell me, don’t get all constipated just because I asked,” he said before continuing even softer, “You seemed down, just thought it’d be helpful to ask.”

Though you did not notice it at the time, your heart slowly began to lay down the walls you raised from the events that transpired earlier under the roof of your father’s house. 

Perhaps, he can help.

The wanderer was about to take his leave when you whispered with a certain weariness he found familiar, “My father isn’t always a nice man.”

He sat back down as quickly as he could. He probably sat on one of the ornate hanging detailings of his hat or on that long sleeve of his but he couldn’t be bothered by it. Though his eyes look past you, you know his focus is solely on what you have to say.

So, you told him. At first, you tried to be as close to the baseline as possible, choosing to speak of the basic details but soon you choked up and told him everything. Your thoughts, your fears, even your longing for a better version of the father you wanted to look up to, bubbled out of your tired heart. As the night sky grows darker outside, you find yourself slightly teary-eyed as your long story comes towards its end. 

Your eyes were still on your hands that laid on your lap, palms now sweaty from excessive nervous rubbing. You stole a glance at him and, just like you, he barely moved from his previous position. He’s still not looking at you, almost like he’s not listening at all but you know he is. 

It took a beat or two, almost like he was waiting to see if you had more to say before he opened his mouth to speak. 

“You’re kind, you know?”

What?

“I don’t get it. What do you mean ‘I’m kind’?”

“Just that. You’re kind, maybe even too kind.”

You fully looked up at him now to see that his eyes were already on you. 

“I listened to you tell me about the horrible things that man says to you and, yet, you still call him by a title he doesn’t deserve,” before you can question him, he answers, “A dad.”

You’re silent as he continues, “This cruel world decides to give him something so precious and he decides to lie and say all these shitty things. He’s not a good man but he’s dumb too if he’s got something so precious and decides that the best course of action is to call it untrue names. Does he not realize the power a name holds?”

Wet droplets stain your hands and lap as tears fall from your eyelids, lungs heavy, and muscles sagging. 

Taking a look at his surroundings he sighs before taking his hat off and placing it on you.

“I’m sure you don’t want anyone seeing you like this and speaking about it tomorrow, here.”

The tenderness of his voice and action winds your heart up as more choked sobs gurgle out of your throat.

Your neck tightens in protest as you try to speak but you fight the pain of your contracting muscles as you force out, “On a good day I… I know that he's lying… but sometimes I can’t help but think he’s right,” you sniffled and let a wave of uncontrollable sobs pass you by before continuing, “I mean there’s only so much… so much… I can deny before something false starts feeling real.”

Your admission broke the puppet's imaginary heart as he wills himself to hold back his instinct to swing insults and fists at your father. Instead, he chose to let what he supposes are comforting words drown your sorrow. It’s rigid and almost primal the way he tries to soothe your sadness but it's tender and warm in its own way, just as he is. 

“Are you… are you sure he’s wrong? How can you… you be so sure?”

The staccato of your unsure question is met with unwavering eyes as he nods. 

“I’m sure. I wouldn’t have said what I said otherwise.”

You hid your face with your hands as your back slumped forward. The wanderer could see the heaving of your shoulders and he could only comfort you by repeating his praise for you. Much like a devotee chanting his faith, he whispered kind words in hopes that by repeating it, you will believe this too. He hopes he’s done enough to override the names your father engraved into you with angered frowns, at least temporarily. The road to recovery winds away and is far from linear but he's ready to accompany you if you want him to.

As you continue to let out the emotions you thought dried up years ago, you hear him say, “Even if you forget again, just tell me and I’ll remind you that you’re nice, you’re smart and you’re so, so kind.”

Nice, smart, and kind huh? 

You don’t think you can believe it right now but slowly, you hope you will.  

Part two (not really that intertwined but I made it with the same characters in mind) To Nonnie, I'm sorry you have to go through this. I hope this little piece of fiction brings you some comfort, even if it might not fully capture what you're feeling. If there's anything more I can do to help or if you just need someone to talk to, please let me know.

[tohisprettyc00l]

hii can I request hunter x witch!reader where the reader catches human cold like when luz catched Demon Realm mold(?) and hunter takes care of them^^

ty♡

A/n: I have a cold while writing this-

Luz had asked you to go to the human realm for a bit. And you said yes without hesitation. But she had warned you of how cold it was. No matter. You brought a heavy jacket before going. You also grabbed a hat to cover your ears.

But once you got there the hat served more of a purpose than covering your ears. Well, it did cover your ears, but now from the cold and not just from others' eyes. A thin layer of snow covered the ground. The cold air bit at your nose and ankles, causing you to run to Luz's house,

When you finally got there you didn't bother to knock and just ran in. "Y/n there you are!" You heard Luz say, "You were the last one here and we were worried!" We? You looked around to see Amity, Gus, Willow, and Hunter. The gangs all here.

"I'm sorry if I had known that you were worried I would have come faster." That was a lie. You were going as fast as you could but your ankles felt numb. "It's fine just sit down. I'll get you a blanket." You nodded and sat down by where Hunter was sitting.

Despite Luz getting you a blanket you decided to cuddle into him to gain some warmth. Also because it was nice to just cuddle with him sometimes. "Holy- Are you okay!?" Hunter said once your skin made full contact with him

"Yeah, I'm just really cold-" Suddenly a blanket was thrown on you and him. You let out a pleased hum. A smile spread across your face. The rest of the night went relatively fine. But right before you left Luz asked if all of you wanted a sleepover, which everyone agreed to.

You fell asleep relatively quickly. Feeling pretty comfy. Once you woke up however your nose was super stuffed and your throat hurt. You coughed which irritated your throat more. You groaned and you suddenly heard a voice.

"Oh, you're up!" Luz said from behind you, "What's wrong?" "I have a stuffy nose and my throat really hurts." You cringed at the sound of your voice. Luz thought for a moment. "You probably caught a cold nothing serious... hopefully." "What do you mean hopefully!?" You accidentally yelled

She shushed you, gesturing to the others. "It's called the common cold, but I'm not sure how it witches." She walked closer to you, "It's kinda like the common mold back on the Isles. Excluding the mushrooms... And the deliriousness. Okay, there's nothing that similar besides the name, but if I was able to survive a demon realm sickness, you should be able to survive a human realm sickness."

"I'm just going to go home can you tell the others." She nodded. You got up, put on your hat and jacket, and went to the door. Just as your hand reached the handle you turned around. "What's the likelihood of someone seeing me teleport to the portal?" You asked Luz. "Not likely, nobody besides us really goes there."

You waved and wrapped yourself in abomination goop. But when you teleported you didn't arrive in front of the portal. Instead, you arrived almost falling into into the water. You backed up and groaned slightly. The teleport took more out of you than you anticipated.

You slugged your way towards your house. Despite this being normal for humans it was taking a toll on your body. You eventually got to your house and immediately flopped on your couch. You were on your right side and snot clogged your right nostril. You cringed and closed your body into itself. Even though you woke up a few moments earlier you slowly fell back asleep.

You woke back up to a fluffy blanket placed on you. Out of panic of suddenly having a blanket on you, you threw it off of you. Suddenly you saw your boyfriend's face by you. "Are you okay?" He asked concern lacing his voice. "Are you the one who placed the blanket on me?" He nodded. "Okay sorry, I just panicked. "It's fine you don't need to apologize."

You sniffled. "Do you have a tissue?" "One sconed." He left and then came back with a tissue. You blow your nose. "Ugh." You said looking at the wet tissue. You went over to a nearby trash can and almost fell over after a few steps. The only reason you didn't is that Hunter caught you. He picked you up and placed you down on your bed.

"Can you make soup?" You asked. Hunter inhaled through his teeth. "You know I'm not the best at cooking." "I don't care I just need something warm." Hunter nodded then leaned down and kissed you. You swatted him away. "Please don't. I don't want to make you sick." Hunter let out I light chuckle. "It would be worth it to make you feel loved." He said with pride. You grumble. He smiled sweetly, "I'll make sure you're better in no time! Trust me."

[jae-bummer]

Fake Boyfriends & Melted Ice Cream

Request: I’m super excited that you have requests open! 🥰 May I have either Yoongi or Bang Chan pretending to be your boyfriend to help you out of a tight spot, and if a second prompt is allowed, include the quote about needing to stop meeting like that. If only one, then just the pretending to be your boyfriend. Please, thank you, and wishing you all the best life has to offer! 😽

Prompt:

7) "We really need to stop meeting like this."

13) Your bias pretends to be your partner to get you out of a sticky situation.

Pairing: Stray Kids Bang Chan x Reader

Genre: Fluff

.

If there was a tenth circle of Hell, it would be the grocery store.

Your shoulders were bunched up nearly to your ears as you navigated your cart down one of the endless aisles in search of laundry detergent. Things were too expensive and there were entirely too many people clogging up the areas where you needed to be. Suddenly your clothes were too tight and the sounds were much too loud. This whole experience was a sensory disaster.

Finally eying your usual brand, you reached up on your tiptoes to grab it. Struggling for a moment, you heaved a sigh before giving a helpless little jump.

"Need some help?" an oddly familiar voice asked.

Turning around, you narrowed your eyes at the man dressed completely in black. He kept his hat pulled low over his face, causing you to pause for a moment and wrack your brain over where you had heard him before.

"Ah!" you gasped, the familiarity clicking. "Chris, how are you?"

He smirked before pushing his hat up a bit. "Good, good, just here grabbing ice cream for the kids."

You chuckled to yourself. If anyone else had been eavesdropping, they would have thought he meant his actual children, but you knew better. You had met Chan nearly a year ago when you had moved to Korea. Doing a few English tutoring stints with his company, you had bumped into him a dozen times. Of course he had never really needed your help with the language, but he was always one for kindness and small talk.

"Such a noble father," you grinned. Looking back up to your original task, you turned back toward him, and furrowed your brows. "No offense or anything, but-"

"Y/N," he said simply, placing his hand in a stop motion between you. "I may not be tall, but I am tall enough."

Smothering a giggle, you nodded as the man walked forward and concentrated on the laundry detergent in question. Looking around to make sure there were no store attendants to chastise him, he hopped up on the lowest shelf and leveraged the extra height. Reaching as far as he could, he finally snagged the container you needed and hopped down.

"Thank you," you hummed, plopping it into your shopping basket.

"No worries," he smiled easily. "We really need to stop meeting like this, yeah? We should go to a proper lunch some time."

"Oh," you squeaked, a bit dazed. In all of the one-off conversations you had with Chan, you never thought he would want to go anywhere beyond that. "Yeah, sure. That would be great."

"Cool," he said with a nod. "We'll sort that out then. I'll let you get back to it."

"Thanks again," you nodded, your brain in a bit of a fog. Bang Chan really just asked you for a lunch date. No, not a date, your brain halted. He asked you as a colleague to go to lunch with him in a totally platonic way because he apparently enjoyed your presence.

"That's still a pretty big win," you muttered to yourself, trying not to dive head first into delusions. Chan was objectively one of the most handsome people you had ever encountered. Disregarding the whole idol part, even without the makeup and hair, he was adorable. More importantly though, his personality was gold star. You had never met someone more open and caring to those he hardly even knew.

Enjoying the momentary high that came along with a positive interaction, you swerved toward the next aisle only to crash into someone doing the same.

"Hey!" a woman gasped, taking a step back. Shaking your head a bit, you did the same.

"I am so sorry, I wasn't paying atten-" you began, but finally made eye contact with the collision. Maybe it wasn't too late to commit a hit and run...

"Y/N," she purred, her voice turning sickeningly sweet. "It's been so long!"

"It has," you cringed, looking the girl up and down. Lynn had been one of your best friends when you had first moved to Korea ("had" being the key word in that sentence.) Just as you thought the two of you couldn't have grown any closer, she had decided it would be an appropriate time to start dating your boyfriend.

In and of itself, it was something that wasn't a huge deal. Or at least it wouldn't have been if she had waited for you to actually break up with him first. Nothing like a gut punch to your heart by two people you thought you had trusted to really make you feel alive.

"How have you been?" she asked. You took a deep breath before responding. You could humor her, it wouldn't kill you.

"I've been great," you hummed. "What about you?"

"Oh, amazing," she grinned disingenuously. You nodded, counting down the seconds until you could gracefully step away from the conversation.

"Oh, good," you said, trying not to to frown. "It was great seeing-"

"We just got engaged!" she gasped, throwing her hand in the air. "Isn't that great?"

"Of course you did," you grimaced. "That was quick. Congratulations, really."

"Jae's around here somewhere. I'm sure he would love to see you!" she smiled, glancing over her shoulder. The dread quickly began to pool in your stomach. You simply could not do this.

"Baby!" Lynn gasped, signaling over to a tall frame you were much too acquainted with. "Baby, Y/N is here!"

Snapping his head around immediately, his eyes locked on yours. Now would be a great time for the ground to open up and swallow you whole.

As he came closer, you could have sworn the temperature had changed.

"Y/N," Jae smiled. "How are you?"

"She's good!" Lynn said, wrapping nearly her whole body around his. It was very anaconda-esque and weirdly impressive. "I just told her we got engaged!"

Jae looked pained as he glanced from his new fiance to you. As he searched your face for any sort of reaction, you could almost see an embarrassed expression peak through.

"Y/N!" Lynn said, snapping you back to the conversation. "We should get dinner and catch up, don't you think?"

"Oh," Jae said, shaking his head immediately. "I'm sure Y/N is very busy."

"You would make time, wouldn't you?" Lynn asked innocently. "It could be a double date! Unless you don't have someone.."

Bitch.

You took a deep breath and tried to fortify your patience. You could get through this.

"Actually, I-"

"Lovie," a voice sounded from around the corner. Without looking, you felt an arm snake around your waist and tuck you into it's side. Trying to tap down the panic, you glanced to Chan who had suddenly appeared. Ice cream in hand, he sat it gingerly in your basket. "I told you to stay close!

Let me take this, it must be heavy," he hummed, taking the basket and placing it in the hand that wasn't preoccupied with holding you.

Glancing up in mock surprise, he looked back and forth between Jae and Lynn. "Who's this?"

"Oh, uh..." you trailed, your brain trying to catch up with the situation. Was Chan really taking the time to bail you out? "This is Lynn, and her fiance, Jae."

You could see Jae swallow hard after your explanation. He deserved to feel uncomfortable. Plus, how would you ever introduce him as your ex boyfriend?

"Nice to meet you both!" Chan grinned.

"Y/N," Lynn said, the smile slipping from her face as she sized up your "boyfriend." "Who's this?"

"Oh, sorry," you said quickly. "This is Chan."

"Channie," Lynn said, keeping her tone cool as she swallowed him with her eyes. "Is it okay if I call you that?"

"I would prefer if you wouldn't," Chan said, towing the line between a smile and a cringe.

Lynn immediately fell into silence, causing Jae to perk up. "I didn't know Y/N had started seeing someone new. How'd you two meet?"

Of course he wouldn't. It's not like the two of you were actually talking.

"Work," Chris chimed. "Y/N teaches English at the company I work for."

"What company is that?" Jae asked, quirking a brow.

"I work in the music industry," Chan said patiently. "Producing and a few other things."

Understatement of the year.

"Y/N and I used to be close!" Lynn pouted. "We definitely need to meet up now!"

Chan looked at you knowingly before pulling you closer. You were basically melted into his side at this point. You couldn't lie to yourself though, the contact felt good, especially coming from him. Your head swam as you attempted to grapple with the situation while simultaneously trying to calm your speeding heart rate. He tended to have that effect on you on a normal day, let alone when you were pretending to be together.

"I dunno," Chan said finally. "Y/N would you feel comfortable with that?'

You glanced up at him through your lashes. Popping your mouth open to answer, you weren't exactly sure what to say.

Chan chuckled before pressing a kiss into your hair. A KISS. INTO YOUR HAIR. You tried to quiet the mental screaming so you could hear him speak.

"My Y/N is pretty overwhelmed with their schedule these days," he said quietly. "I'm not sure if they would be able to shift things around for us to all meet."

"You would make time!" Lynn insisted. "There's so much we need to hear about you two! This is a total surprise."

"Lynn," Jae said sternly. It was interesting to see him issue the brat a warning.

"What!" she gasped. "I'm just terribly surprised! You never seemed like one to go out with someone like him!"

She appraised Chan again with greedy eyes. Apparently she didn't think you could pull someone successful or good looking...but then...

Jae looked down at Lynn in dismay. "She went out with me."

You looked to Chan who was eating up the scene in front of him. He gave a squeeze to your hip and attempted to choke off his laughter.

"I know, baby," Lynn whined. "Don't get defensive. I just meant-"

"Well, our ice cream seems to be melting," Chan hummed as he looked forlornly at the basket. "We better get going. It was nice meeting you!"

"Y/N! I'll text you!" Lynn insisted.

"I really hope you already have her blocked," Chan whispered into your ear as he steered you away.

"Everywhere," you nodded. "Even the Facebook she uses to recruit people into her multi-level marketing scheme."

"She seems like the type," he muttered, glancing over his shoulder at the couple now behind you. You could still hear them quietly bickering. "I really hope you don't mind me stepping in. I was coming by again to ask you something and may have accidentally eavesdropped a bit."

"Accidentally?"

"Alright, full on eavesdropped because I have never heard someone so..."

"So?"

"Absolutely fucking foul."

"Chris!" you gasped, trying not to laugh too loudly. Even though the two of you had gone toward the front of the grocery, he still had his arm protectively around you.

"Seriously!" he said, his eyes wide. "They're miserable!"

"I don't mind you stepping in at all," you laughed, allowing this moment to wash over you. It was nice to know that someone actually cared enough to save you in a less than ideal situation. Let alone that person being Bang Chan.

And had you daydreamed too close to the sun or did he actually kiss your head at one point?

"Okay," Chan nodded. "I never want to do anything that would make you feel uncomfortable, but at that point, I think I was the lesser of two evils."

You nodded as the two of you finally reached the register. "No, no evil at all. I very much appreciated it."

Chan smiled before pulling away from you. The sudden absence of contact immediately plunged you into reality. "What was your question by the way? That you were coming back to ask?"

"Oh," Chan hummed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I wasn't sure if it was too forward...but...how do you feel about caramel swirl ice cream?"

"I mean, not negatively," you laughed.

"I've got two spoons," he said, tilting his head to the side. "One of them could be yours."

If it were physically possible to have a sentence stop your heart, that one would be it.

"Sure," you nodded, not actually sure at all if you had even heard him correctly. "That sounds like fun."

"Great," Chan grinned. "Maybe if you ask nicely we can see where it tastes better, from the carton or my lips?"

Your eyes grew wide as you openly gaped at him. "What?"

"Kidding!" he laughed, throwing his hands into the air. "Unless you aren't in which case I'm totally serious."

You opened your mouth and immediately closed it. Giving the barest nod, you could see the tension relax from his shoulders.

"Good, good," he nodded, focusing more intently on getting his items on the conveyor belt. You could see the tips of his ears blazing bright red. "If I'm going to be your fake boyfriend, I just need some experience, that's all."

You continued to stare at him, only croaking out a laugh after a moment of silence.

"Good talk," he grinned sheepishly. "Remind me to bring it up again later."

[overtaken-stream]

Drunk Deeds

Dracule "Hawk-Eye" Mihawk x F!Reader

Notes 1: I wanted (Y/N) to have met Zoro at some point in the pre-time skip as a foe (She lost) and since Zoro is an exceptional swordsman in her eyes, she (forcefully) choose him as her teacher after their brawl, unfortunately for Zoro, Kuma repelled you to the same place as our fav moss head. Note 2: I completely forgot about ages, but reader is older than Zoro, bc I find it funny for a grown woman to beg 19 y/o boy to teach her his swordsman ways. Note 3: It isn't specified if she is a straw hat, I left that open. Note 4: All this does not matter because I never mention it anyway.

Warnings: Oral(female receiving), wine involvement in a sexual activity.

The taste of grapes remains on your tongue, the calm, an almost invisible buzz of alcohol was underlining your headache that's been long forgotten now that the causes are thrown outside, out of your domain of expertise.

Your eyes wander over to the World Economy Newspaper, the major source of information covered in sweet propaganda and untruthful words regarding the newest attraction, the aftermath of the Summit War of Marineford. The monochrome pictures are scattered on the page and long paragraphs cry out for attention. Truly a tragedy to have greed decor and cover the crimes against humanity committed by the Marines.

Whether it's the gruesome pictures or the liquor you drank to rid of your thirst, the dry feeling on your tongue stays unnerved, it returns every few minutes you take in the wine.

It should be a familiar feeling, you think as you, yet again, grab the wine glass by the base of the stem, the clear rim is tinged with the soft color of your lipstick and there is a small amount of fluid remaining in the bowl, which you gulp down quickly, putting the empty glass back on the red tablecloth, you take a moment to swallow the last of the rich liquid. Then spinning the glass stem in between your fingers, you can feel your ears clog as the drunkenness heats your cheeks, though the wine does little to quench your thirst, the pleasant aftertaste left in your throat spreads throughout your consciousness, warm cozy fondness soon turns you drowsy and gasping for air.

Swift slamming of a cup in front of you makes you snap open your eyes (when did you close them?), and before the panic sets in an unknown voice interrupts the alarms going on in your head.

``You should know your limits.`` As soon as it came, the dread you felt quickly disappeared, and familiarity settled.

``S-Sir Mihawk!`` your flustered self is met with piercing Hawk eyes, thanking away whatever excuse that was quickly dancing on your tongue. ``Y-you have an extravagant taste in... Uh, wine Sir!``

The thought of when he had returned, or how you didn't notice his footsteps get lost in your clouded mind as his judgemental eyes wash over you, they settle under your skin, and for a moment you think pouring ice-filled water over yourself in snow would be better than the predatory gaze he sets upon you.

It isn't like he forbade drinking the wine he has hidden in every corner of the castle. Still, a drop of nervous sweat travels down your neck.

You swiftly turn away from his stare, eyes landing on the cold water-filled cup that he rudely slammed against the table, apparently for you to drink. Without words, you pour the water down your gutter, cool liquid satisfies the overheated core within, to the point that your worn-out teeth hurt from the cold sensation. By the time you set the partly empty cup down, Mihawk had already sat at the head of the table, away from you.

``Thanks for the water...``

For an unknown reason, his choice of seat made your heartache.

``Hm.``

Looking at the man, without his signature coat and the hat, felt surprisingly intimate, despite knowing each other for two weeks, all four residents, including yourself fell into a fresh routine quite easily. A routine that Mihawk adapted quickly and religiously maintained.

The hawk's eyes look up from the morning newspaper that he grabbed without your permission, and if it was anybody else, you might have said a snarky remark.

``Hand me the wine bottle.`` You have no issue being bossed around, you are more confident when following the orders of others, as annoying and humiliating as it is for somebody else, it doesn't bother you, especially when it comes to the warlord in the room, his orders are minimal, rare, and you don't feel any control from him, unlike Zoro who seems to get annoyed on your behalf whenever the older man 'dictates' your actions, leading to pointless remarks sent in your way.

Don't you feel lesser?

You stretch out your arm, sluggishly grabbing the exquisite bottle, and gently placing it in the rough hands of the swordsman.

You watch with heavy-lidded eyes as he pours himself the said wine, grabbing the glass and before he drinks, the man tilts his head down in a thankful gesture toward you.

No, I don't feel any lesser. Why? Because Mihawk does not mean demean.

It isn't until he puts his lips onto the rim that you finally recognize the stained glass. Your eyes widened.

``Wha-Hey! Don't drink it!`` you flung up your arms in the air, however, no amount of blushing could stop him in time.

``That's my glass!`` You watch as his eyes open, the wine and glass still resting on his mouth, his incorrigible face is misplaced as you mumble embarrassed whispers his way while hiding behind your hands.

A second passes, ten seconds pass. The silence suffocates your flustered face hidden behind your arms away from the prying eyes of no man.

``Huh.`` The sound escapes his (probably) lipstick-stained lips, it shatters the awkward pause between you two. ``I... apologize.`` A faint blush on his heated cheeks is swept under the rug.

It takes you a bit to let your hands down, even longer to look at him in his static eyes.

Only after he grabs himself a clean wine glass, do you stop hiding your flaming cheeks away from him, sneaking glances at the open ruffled neck his white button-up shirt includes. The residue from earlier sits beautifully on his chapped lips, giving a faint shine from the lack of proper appliance. The color stains the transparent rim, laughing and teasing you, spreading countless unknown emotions that make you shy away and maintain eye contact with a tablecloth.

``Is there something on my face, (Y/N)?`` His double-ringed eyes land on your form, which you realize is too open for sneaky glimpses you've been giving him. Unaffected by your embarrassment.

You don't know if it's a drunken haze that gave you the confidence out of thin air, but you're sure at some point you've lost yourself in the slow hum of alcohol.

``Mm. Yeah actually.`` He raised an eyebrow at your response.

The feeling spreads like a lit steel wool, the fire following your lines of sanity as it leaves only boldness exposed to a hawk. You bet everything, and by everything you mean your life, the only thing you seem to carry that has any meaning in this meaningless world, on this action.

A chair falls onto the ground. Next, you're bending ninety degrees in angle, right arm rests on your knees as you're standing in the face of a gentleman, left hand travels to the man's lips, pale in comparison to the ghostly skin, rough and torn by the sea, the frown adorns his complexion as your pointer finger pad gently smoothes the color that pops off of him. It sticks to your skin, lipstick revealing your fingerprints.

It sticks like the smell of sake clinging onto the man. The scent that only now you've picked up, due to the proximity. He must have had a great time with Zoro outside.

His eyes watch, stern and unrecognizable as you pull your digit away from his mouth, in slow-mo you let him realize what the subtle, teasing smile on your face was about. He tries to gather what decency remains within, tries to not look down as your shirt reveals soft flesh underneath, concealed in the shadows.

By now you must have caught onto the distant smell of sake clinging to his button up, however, it does not seem relevant to either of you.

Sweat dribbles down from his temple, yet his hand moves up to grab your hip, and his body follows after it. Standing upright.

In your slowly widening eyes, he sees your confidence crumble like the boulders he used for training back in his youth, so effortless to demolish under his eye.

He looked down at the roses that bloomed under your eyes, wide and shaken for an unknown reason.

``Are you flustered?`` There are no words that meet him, his question causes your hands, resting on his chest, to tighten. He already knows the answer.

He drags your body closer, feeling your heat under his skin. His thigh drags your nether region unintentionally rubbing the cloth between your bodies. A hiss escapes your lips, his eyes narrow. ``Y-you're so...!`` You say between your clenched teeth, face heated.

Mihawk's arm tightens around your torso, shoving his knee further until he makes your buttocks meet the edge of the table. The wine bottle rocks back and forth.

``So?``

You are trapped.

``...So... Frustrating...`` Your eyes shut tightly as his lips meet yours. The strong aftertaste of Sake hits your wet muscle since the wine was not enough to cover it. His tongue eagerly entangles with yours, leaving you breathless. Through the clothes, you can feel his hand on your waist trail up your ribs and rest across your chest. It grabs at buttons and frees your body to his eyes.

Your heart thunders in your ear. Embarrassed you grab at his shoulders as he grabs at your thighs, kneading it before dragging you up and on top of the table. With great vigor, his hand removes whatever restriction was between your private parts, dragging and tossing it away. His lips never leave you, even when you struggle for breath, he leans over you, caging your body beneath. The lust drowns everything else, the sight, smell, and sense, for a blissful moment.

It ends unwillingly. The golden eyes watch, and yours stare back, both breathe heavily. The connection is broken when he goes down, leaving you leaning on your elbows to watch as he gazes at your folds with dark desire swirling in his ringed iris.

It's too much. Too blush-making for you. Lying flat on the table as your wrists desperately shelter your eyes. The moment goes on for what feels like forever.

And then the sensation hits you like a truck. 

The cold, wet, bright red liquor drips onto your opening, blazing your face in complete blush as the loud sound of wine meeting ground fills the air.

Your hand flies down to hold yourself stable, letting the uncomfortable feeling overwhelm you.

Turning red, you could only gaze into his eyes that stared at your entrance, hungry for something. After a pregnant pause, he put the wine bottle on the floor, leaving your bottom half shining with red tints.

``Are... Are you insane?!`` your eyebrows turned up, voice shook. ``What are you doing?!`` flailing around you try to move away from his grip, inner thighs soiled in alcohol.

``I apologize for startling you.`` a sly glint lights up in his pupil, proving his apology otherwise. His hot breath disappears as he puts his mouth on your labia and quickly presses his tongue inside you without waiting for your response.

His grasp does not falter, instead strengthens and brings your bottom half closer until his nose finally meets your clit, lips gently travel over your folds, pressing sweet kisses on them that sprinkle over to your inner thighs. Tasting the alcohol with no shame in his actions. Tiny whimpers slip by as butterflies flutter in your stomach, pleasure makes your knees weak as he flicks at your opening. His tongue sneaking around your clit, sucking, circling, discovering with determinded precision what would shatter you to pieces the quickest. The wet sounds escape from his pressings, no doubt tasting and smelling the liquor as his tongue gets closer and closer to that one spot.

He sends shivers up your spine and uses his thumb to harshly rub against your clit, but once Mihawk finally found his desired destination inside of you, there was nothing that would get him to look at something but your pleasure-filled face finally unleash and listen to your cry that he compares to a siren's call, designed to enchant a lone pirate such as himself. He nestles and nuzzles his way through your meager whimpers, enthusiasticlly licking your addicting taste.

It's a shame your time together does not last forever.

[outermaybanks]

Out of the Woods - ch 4

a/n: tw for violence, but nothing worse than what they show in outer banks so

prev ☆ next

When John B returned, the five of us got on the H.M.S. Pogue, with Pope steering, but once we got out into the Marsh, Kie noticed the tanks were almost completely empty, only enough for one person. But none of us knew how to dive.

“You put the thing in your mouth and breath. How hard could it be?” JJ asked. “Well, if you come up too fast, nitrogen gets into your blood, and you get the bends,” Pope explained. “Bends like… bend over and-” JJ joked, bending over. “The bends kill you,” Pope corrected, making JJ awkwardly stand back up. “I can dive,” John B volunteered. “You can dive. I’m cool with that,” JJ replied. “Since when can you dive?” Kie questioned. “I’ll do it, it’s fine.” “Let me do some calculations real quick,” Pope said.

I took the opportunity to hit JJ’s arm. “Bend over? Really? Are you 12?” “Been bending girls over since I was 12, gimme some-” JJ said, holding his hand out to Pope who just shook his head.

“That boat’s about 30 feet down. So it’ll take 25 minutes at that depth, which means you need to make your safety stop at about… ten feet. Alright? For two minutes, got it?” “Two minutes, got it,” John B said, then without a word, Kie took her shirt off and dove into the water. “What was that about?” Pope asked. “I don’t know, but I liked it. A lot,” JJ answered. I rolled my eyes. “Are all teenage boys like this?” “I can assure you, we’re not.” Pope spoke up, making me laugh. JJ rolled his eyes and explained how the key worked, and what John B needed to look for, Kie resurfaced and explained she had tied her shirt around the anchor where John B would need to do his stop. 

“If we get caught in the marsh, we’re basically screwed so… better get a move on,” Pope reminded him. “Copy that,” John B replied. “Please don’t die, Jeeb, that would seriously suck,” I spoke up, making John B chuckle. “I’ll try not to.”

Kie stepped forward and kissed John B’s cheek, which I think took all of us by surprise. “Diver down?” “Diver down.”

John B went under, and each passing second was anxiety ridden, and it only got  worse when we heard the sirens of a police boat. The deputy, Shoupe, came aboard to tell us the Marsh was closed, and we all feigned ignorance. He asked us where John B was, and Kie told him he’s working. Then he decided to check our boat out. I sat beside Kie to stay out of the officer’s way. He inspected our gear, checked to make sure we had life jackets, but then he just stood on the edge, staring down. I looked to JJ nervously before bringing my thumbnail up to my mouth to bite. But then, the deputy just left. And immediately after, John B resurfaced, bringing a bag on board.

But before we could catch our breath, Kie spotted a bogey headed our way. Like they were coming towards us, John B drove us further into the marsh but they followed us. JJ told him to speed it up, and then we heard a gunshot. We all hit the deck, minus John B who couldn’t duck and steer. After the second gunshot I leaned up to try and pull John B down more, but JJ pulled me back down to the deck.

“Stay down!” JJ whispered, his grip on my arm tightened, like he was scared to let me go.Kie stood up, ignoring our shouts to get down, and she untangled a net before throwing it into the water behind us, clogging up their motor.

I let out a chuckle in disbelief as I got up. “Kie, you’re a genius!” I cheered. The boys let out cheers and howls in celebration. We were safe, we got the stash.

We drove the boat back to John B’s, and couldn’t even make it to his house. He dug into the bag, pulling out a sealed container that held a compass. “Yeah that’s about right. Good job, everyone, we found a compass.” Pope said sarcastically. JJ took his hat off and ran a hand through his hair in frustration. But John B wouldn’t take his eyes off it.

“This was my father’s…” He said softly.

It was practically unbelievable. But he wasn’t lying, it was his father’s compass. But for now, the compass was all we had, and it was getting dark soon. “You spending the night?” JJ asked me as we all walked off the dock. “No, gotta soak in the Theodore-free time while I can.” JJ stopped suddenly. “Is he still messing with you?” I sighed, not wanting to make a big deal about it. “JJ, I’m a big girl.” “Is he still messing with you, yes or no?” “Why does it matter?” I shot back. “Because if he is, I’ll handle it.” “You’ll handle it?” I questioned and without a word, JJ pulled the gun from his waistband. “Yeah. I’ll handle it.”

Suddenly the conversation felt much heavier. “I said don’t worry about it.” I mumbled, walking past him. 

JJ was the only one who knew about my tumultuous relationship with my stepfather, just like I was the only one who really knew how bad JJ’s dad was. Neither of us liked to talk about it too much, but both of us found a sort of twisted comfort in the other.

-

When I got back to the Chateau the next morning, it was empty, no sign of John B or anyone else. Power still wasn’t on. Not much to do, so I decided to take a nap on the couch in the mudroom, it felt like no time had passed at all when I was startled awake by the door slamming shut. Kie and Pope followed in after John B and JJ, who seemed to be talking a mile a minute. 

“JJ calm down!” I said, running a hand through my hair, trying to wake up.  “You say that Junie, but you weren’t there!” I stood up and walked over to him, but he kept pacing. “JJ- just- tell us what happened.” “We were right outside Ms. Lana’s house, like this-” JJ leaned against the brick chimney. “-and all we hear is just, bam bam bam! Knocking paint off the wall, G, from the inside, alright, and I’m just looking at him like- and look at this!” JJ began shaking his hair like a dog, running his fingers through it as white things fell from his hair.

“That’s dandruff…” Kie teased. “That’s paint. And at that point, I was just, like, I’m waiting for death,” JJ finished, finally taking a breath. “Okay, okay, come sit down,” I said pulling his arm to sit on the couch with me, hoping that sitting would help him calm down.

“Okay, so, you saw the guys that shot at us, right?” Pope questioned.  “Yeah.” “Did you get a good description of them? What they look like? Anything we can bring to a police report?” JJ struggled to find words. “Burly.” “Burly?” “Yeah.” “That’s not very helpful,” Kie spoke up. “Okay, well, no, like the type of guy at my dad’s garage. I mean, you guys know he made cargo hides for drug smugglers. So I can tell you with full confidence, these boys, these killers-” JJ paused to take a hit of his cart. “-they’re square groupers.” “Square groupers, like narco square grouper? Like Pablo Escobar square grouper?” “Yeah man!” JJ replied, before handing me the cart. I took a hit and looked to Kie. “You guys, not everything is a kingpin movie,” Kie spoke up. “Okay, so what does this  square grouper look like specifically? Because-” “You weren’t there bro!” JJ interrupted “Apparently, you don’t know what to look for!” Pope shouted.

 JJ shot back to his feet. “I wasn’t taking little mental polaroids the entire time, I was under duress, okay?” JJ shouted, his voice breaking. “But I can tell you… I can tell you by the way that Ms. Lana was screaming that these guys are serious, serious hombres, man,” JJ calmed a bit, catching his breath.

JJ walked back over to sit beside me. He looked at me, like he was desperate for me to believe him. I handed him back the cart. “If JJ says these guys are dangerous, it’s safer to assume they’re dangerous than to assume they’re not. So… Square groupers.” “Thank you, Junie,” JJ said, his hand coming down to pat my knee. “Why do they want the compass?” Kie asked. “It’s a piece of shit. You couldn’t pawn it off for five bucks if you wanted to, no offense John B, I know it’s in your family,” Pope quickly saved.

I ran a hand through my hair, my brain felt like it was still playing catch up, so I got up and went into the house to go to the bathroom and splash some water on my face. I looked in the mirror and saw my face was pink, and my mind flashed back to JJ putting his hand on my knee. I turned the water cold before putting more on my face. 

When I came out of the bathroom, I could here clammoring and followed it to Big John’s office, where everyone was listening to John B point to a corkboard. I walked over and looked over his shoulder, it was a bunch of pictures of family members who the compass belonged to, all died while owning it, which didn’t exactly track well for JB. Then he remembered what his dad told him, there was a secret compartment, and he opened it to see the word ‘Redfield’ engraved in the back.

Pope immediately got to work on anagrams, and we helped him, until John B shouted to get our attention. Someone was here. John B asked JJ about the gun, but he said he left it on the porch and ran out the door, only to return seconds later.

“They’re on the front porch.” JJ whispered.

JJ and Pope got to work trying to open windows, but I was frozen, staring at John B with his back against the door as we could hear the men shouting, throwing things. Suddenly I understood JJ’s panic from earlier. 

John B ran from the door as the man starting kicking it in. I covered my mouth to hold in any sounds. The second Kie got the window unstuck, we were all rushing out, but we didn’t have a lot of time and the five of us scrambled into the chicken coop.

We watched silently as the men stole Big John’s documents. The rooster kept making noise and when the men were packing up, one paused.

“Do something Pope, shut him up!” JJ whispered. “What do you want me to do?” Pope countered. “Pet it, or talk to it. I don’t know.” Kie whispered, but when Pope reached for him, he flew at his face and squawked loudly.

Without a word, JJ got up and tried to grab the rooster. Tried to hold him still, but he broke his neck. I brought my hands up to my mouth again to stifle a gasp, JJ looked at me, horrified.

The second the men were gone, we all ran to get into the van, in case they came back. I was sitting in the back with JJ and Pope, chewing at my lip while I tried to wrap my mind around what was happening. But John B had an idea.

“I mean, it’s obvious, right? A family heirloom. What better place to hide a message? He had to know it was gonna get back to me, right?” John B asked. “Yeah, it’s possible,” Kie said, wanting to support him without giving him false hope. “It could also be possible that you’re concocting wild theories to help, you know, deal with your sad feels,” Pope suggested, ever the realist. I looked up to JJ and he looked at me and softly shook his head to tell me what he thought.

“Bro, you know how I process my sad feels. Dank nugs and the stickiest of ickies, that’s how I do it,” JJ spoke up, and I nodded in agreement.

“I’m not concocting, okay? My dad’s trying to give me a message.” “If it helps you believe, John B,” Kie spoke up. “Look, I-I don’t need a therapy session, okay? Look, I’m not tripping out.” “It’s okay to trip, bro-” JJ tried. “Look, my-my dad is missing, okay? Missing. You don’t know what it’s like to have the person closest to you vanish, and then have no idea what happened, just wake up every morning wondering.”

I looked up to JJ, who was already looking at me. I tried to imagine what I would do if one day he was just gone, without a trace. I probably wouldn’t believe he was dead either.

“It’s been almost a year,” Kie mumbled. “I don’t know… Knowing Big John… even if his boat sank, he’d probably be down there looking for the city of Atlantis,” I said, which made John B chuckle. “Junie’s right, he could have been kidnapped, that’s definitely a possibility,” JJ said. “Yeah, could be in a Soviet sub, getting interrogated by the KGB somewhere,” Pope added “Look, what do you think the message is?” Kie asked. “Redfield. Redfield Lighthouse, that’s my dad’s favorite place,” John B explained just as we pulled in.

“Right, here’s what’s gonna happen. You three are gonna post up and look out for bogeys, okay? “Wait, why me?” JJ asked. “Because you’re not coming,” Pope explained. “Why?” “Look JJ, there are independent and dependent variables and you’re and independent variable. We don’t know what you’re gonna do!” “Shut up, just shut up!” JJ shouted over him. “Listen to me for a second. Junie and Pope, you stand look out with JJ, okay? If we get split up, we meet back at JJ’s house,” John B said, putting an end to the arguing.

JJ rolled his eyes, and pulled his hacky sack from his pocket, starting to kick it around.

“I’m gonna work on my merit scholarship essay. I'm trying to keep felonies down to a minimum” Pope spoke up, getting back into the van.  “Alright, would you just shut up already?” JJ shot back, his focus on his hacky sack. I sighed and sat on a rock, looking out at the horizon. What the fuck happened? How had this all snowballed into John B’s missing dad? And why were people trying to kill us over it. The sound of JJ kicking his hackey sack stopped, but I was too focused on where the sun was going down to notice, until he spoke up.

“You know I didn’t mean to, right?” JJ asked, causing me to turn and look at him.  “What?” “I didn’t mean to kill the rooster… damn thing wouldn’t stop-” “JJ, I know you didn’t kill the rooster on purpose.” I reassured him, standing up. “I just-” JJ moved from leaning on the Twinkie to walk closer to me. “I saw the way you looked at me after.” “I was scared, JJ.” “But not… not scared of me? Right?”

My eyebrows furrowed together. I reached down to grab his hand, “Hey. I’d never be scared of you, J. Never.” I reassured him and he nodded, but he didn’t look convinced. I took a step closer and wrapped my arms around him. I could feel JJ’s tense body relax, and he hugged me back, tightly, but neither of us were very good at being serious for long.

“But I do think you should steer clear from PETA for a while. They might not be as forgiving.” I mumbled into JJ’s shoulder, making him chuckle.

The nice moment was cut short by the sound of sirens.

“Shit- go go go” JJ said, pulling away and practically pushing me into the Twinkie. Pope was climbing into the driver’s side. “Guys, what about-” I tried. “John B said meet up at my house, that’s what we’ll do.” JJ interrupted. “Pope, drive!” In an instant I was thrashed back as Pope swerved to get on the road and drive us out of there. I frantically ran a hand through my hair as I tried to think. “Wait… wait- take me home.” “What? Why?” Pope asked. “Will you please just take me home?” I said again, louder. “Jesus- okay.” Pope said, allowing me to relax.

When Pope parked the car in the gravel leading up to my trailer, I immediately hopped out, JJ climbing up to sit shotgun. 

“Bring Jeeb his van back, I’ll meet up with you guys later.” I said tapping the ledge of the open window to say goodbye. I didn’t wait for a response before I ran up to the screen door. 

But I was met with the sight of Theodore, home early, sitting in his recliner with a can of beer. 

“There she is.” He announced. I quickly broke my surprised trance to get to my bedroom in the back, but my room was half packed into boxes. “What the hell is this? Mom?” I called, before turning to find her but Theodore was right behind me. “Cody needs to get out of our room. Figured you wouldn’t mind since you practically live with those boys. What are you doing with those boys anyway?” My mom was behind him, looking a mix of apologetic and scared.

I tried to move past him but he shoved me back. 

“Teddy, stop!” My mom said, but he just turned to her. “What? She’s disrespecting me! This wouldn’t be a problem if you hadn’t raised her to be such a whore!”

I wasn’t thinking clearly. I was just so tired of it all. So I forced myself up to push him away from her, but he was fast, grabbed my arm and shoved me to the ground before he kicked my side, knocking the wind out of me. All I could hear was crying, it was all I could focus on. 

“You gonna try that again?” Theodore’s voice boomed. 

I tried taking deep breaths, tried using the table to pull myself up but then he was right back in my place. I never learned how to back down, and sometimes that was a good thing. But sometimes-

“Yeah, whores like you just need to be pushed around a little. Ain’t that right?”

I spat in his face. I saw the anger in his face as he wiped it before that hand formed a fist and connected with my face. More crying, some screaming. My vision was blurred, but I saw my mom grab a knife and hold it out, like she had done every time one of Theodore and I’s fights got out of hand. I knew this play well.

She screamed that she’d call the cops if he didn’t get out, but he was in no hurry. He knew this play well too. He’d go to a bar for a few hours until my mom calmed down, and then it’ll be like it never happened. When she got him out the door, she was suddenly in my eyesight, still blurry. Her face covered in tears as she held me and whispered “I’m sorry” over and over. I had half a mind to tell her she can’t say sorry if it’ll happen again. But sometimes it’s just nice for your mom to hold you.  

She brought me an ice pack as I caught my breath, and then moved to calm Cody down. That’s where the crying had come from. 

Once I caught my breath, I held the ice pack to my eye, and used the table to help me stand. I had come in here with a mission, one I especially couldn’t forget about now. 

“What are you doing?” My mom asked, Cody still whimpering in her arms.

“I’m doing you a favor. I’m leaving. For good,” I said as I walked through the trailer. There was a bedroom on each side, my mom and Teddy’s room, and mine on the other. I grabbed a backpack and filled it with as much clothes as I could. Then I took my knapsack off my back and stuffed as much as I could.

“What? No, no, sweetie. He’s just upset because he had to come home early, he’ll calm down.”

I ignored her, walking past her to get to the kitchen. I bent down to grab a container from underneath and shoved it into my bag before closing it.

“Junie, wait, okay, just wait. It’ll get better. I know it will. Please-”

“You’ve been saying that since I was 8, mom. He won’t get better. You want to live like this? Fine. I’m done. I can’t spend my life only coming home when that asshole is gone.” I walked to her and Teddy’s room, she had no objections since she was too busy blubbering, begging me to stay. Teddy kept a gun in his dresser, and I figured I needed it more than he did right now.

“I’ll come back for my stuff if you don’t throw it out.” I said before putting the gun in the top of my knapsack. “You two were just going to share a room, he’s not kicking you out, I’d never let him do that to you.” Now I was mad. “Yeah?” I asked before walking closer to her. “You let him do this to me.” I spat, pointing to where his fist hit. That just made her cry more.  “Junie, please…Cody needs you.” That was always her last resort, because it always worked. I looked at the six year old in her arms, still wiping his eyes.  “I’m more useful to him alive.” I said, before opening the screen door and slamming it shut behind me. 

She wouldn’t chase me, she never did when I left. But I couldn’t go to JJ’s now. I couldn’t face any of them. Not until the mark faded. It wouldn’t be the first time I went MIA. The good thing about growing up in the Cut, there were plenty of abandoned houses. It’s been a while since I had to utilize one. Even before Big John disappeared and left John B alone in the Chateau, if I needed somewhere to go he always let me stay. But with the square groupers on our tail, I couldn’t risk going there alone, even with a gun. 

©outermaybanks 2024

[deleteddewewted]

Single Dad! Aizawa Headcanon

Aizawa x Gn! Reader

W/n: This is an Au where divorced Aizawa raises his daughter Eri all on his own till he meets the reader. He is not originally 1-A's homeroom teacher.

W: Single Parent Aizawa, Doctor! Reader, Parent Au, Eri is Aizawa's Biological Child, Angst, Fluff, Mentions of Cheating, Hurt/Comfort

If you'd like to support my work (Check my Ko-fi and Throne!)

He's cautious with everyone especially people who interact with his daughter Eri.

She's his everything, his reason for waking up and doing his job. He'd be damned if he allowed someone to come into her life and hurt her.

That's why he was weary to date ever again.

His divorce with his ex-wife was messy. She wanted nothing to do with their daughter and it made it harder on him because he now had to explain to his daughter why "mommy" wasn't coming to see her.

He loathed his ex. She not only destroyed their marriage but she also left her own daughter in pieces.

Because of that, he vowed to never date or remarry ever again.

Love for himself was something he put on the back burner so he could dedicate his time to Eri and her healing since she needed to be put in therapy after the divorce.

He continued teaching and eventually found himself being transferred to the 1-A classroom as their homeroom teacher.

It came with a hefty bonus and greater responsibilities but it allowed him to have greater security.

He moved himself and his daughter to a more secure and safer part of the city that was closer to the school.

He got his daughter new toys and even got her a cat to keep her company while he graded papers at home.

He wanted to give her the safety she felt she lacked.

So when he met you, he struggled to keep you at arm's length.

His daughter was the only person he wanted to focus on but you kept worming into his heart and eventually invaded every thought.

You were a doctor who he started seeing after Mic recommended you.

You were good at your job, always managing to get your patients the best recovery plans and treatment so they could go back to duty.

You've reset his shoulder one time and on another just drawn blood to see if he's caught anything he should be working on.

According to you, his blood pressure is too high and he had to start limiting his caffeine intake.

You were perfect.

He felt the back of his neck and ears run hot whenever you were close by.

Your laugh was infectious and your presence was overwhelming.

You were perfect.

And you were great with children.

You made sure to always ask him about Eri.

You even made him lunch with the addition of a to-go box because you made extra for Eri.

You were a godsend and you didn't even know it.

He invited you to his apartment to meet his daughter.

Eri was weary of you at first, you were a stranger after all and she was still processing the separation.

She slowly started coming out of her shell as you started complimenting her clothes.

She was wearing a cat hoodie with a fur lining. Her slippers were matching but held the addition of little hat ears.

It was absolutely adorable.

As the night went on, Aizawa began relaxing as Eri seemed to like you and the conversation.

He's never seen his daughter smile too much around a stranger.

He kept inviting you over under the gauze of hanging out and that Eri misses you.

And he wasn't completely lying. Eri did adore you.

You were the only other thing she talked about. She begged her dad to keep inviting you just so you could show her more pictures of your cats which she had grown fond of.

You were a positive change and it was a little overwhelming to him because he never thought that someone could make his heart skip a beat ever again after his separation.

He asked you out when he was visiting your clinic for a check-up on an injury.

His nose had been broken and he needed you to reset it back into place and drain the blood out that clogged his sinus.

Through gritted teeth and bloody lips, he asked you out to dinner at his since he couldn't leave Eri alone.

"I'd love to go out with you. Why don't we make it a family-friendly date so Eri can spend time with us?" You were happy to include Eri and you were happy to have dinner with him.

He spent the time leading up to your arrival at his home stressing.

You were nothing like his ex-wife and he knew that.

But his fears still crept in as he made sure to clean up so his home looked presentable.

You arrived at his apartment in your regular clothing and brought with you treats for him, Eri, and their cat.

The night was a success and soon enough you found yourself helping Aizawa get Eri to her bed and tucking her in.

"Thank you for.... being understanding." He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand while avoiding eye contact with you.

He'd understand if you found him to be too much baggage with his child and his career.

You were so nice to him and to his kid that he felt almost embarrassed that you were so kind.

"No problem, Shota. I hope we could do this again sometime soon. I love spending time with you and Eri." You kissed him goodbye as you left for your own apartment.

Since then, his mood has improved. His students notice it and so do his friends.

He gets injured less and his blood pressure is regulated.

He felt refreshed, new, and free.

You were nothing like his ex.

You were someone who he could rely on to have his back.

You were there when Eri needed help

You were a parent to her that she adored with all of her little heart.

You were the person who he saw himself spending the rest of his life with.