#I made like five of these in 3 hours in a row

[opossumking69]

another shitpost dump

[scionshtola]

i went to sleep early and didn’t even get any rest bc i was having college stress dreams

[lynxgirlpaws]

>:(

[hyuny-bunny]

｡⋆˚under the stars ｡⋆˚｡⋆. LK + HH

pairing: hyunho x fem!reader, hyunjin x reader, lee know x reader,

synopsis: camping with 9 people, 4 tents leaves you stuck with sharing a tent and bed with minho + hyunjin who fight for your attention

MNDI 18+: somnophilia, implied consent, thigh riding, kissing, groping, masturbation, fem!reader

part ii

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you can't recall to anyone raising questions at the wise idea it was to plan a trip with nine people without any consideration for the sleeping arrangements. of course there was gonna be some sacrifices made considering their couldn't possibly be 9 tents available for you each to have your own space and yet you were still shocked to find only 4 tents.

minho had the made the suggestion to organize a camping trip now that you all had an upcoming week of a completely free schedule. it wasn't often you had this so who were any of you to object ? it would start as early as 4am, rounding everyone into the rental van, an ungodly amount of luggage, and 8 unruly passengers who would be bouncing off the walls once 6am rolled around. the first few hours were quite, chan was driving and minho as the designated passenger princess offering directions and company as the only other person awake at 4am.

i'm the rows of seats behind were jisung who had already found the perfect angle to his pillow pressed against the window with drool slipping past his lips. felix also laid against changbins shoulder in a similar manner, opting to use his bicep as a make shift pillow. seungmin had his head tilted back against the seat and every so often waking up like a puppy fighting sleep. jeongin stayed leaned against the window watching the passing trees and rain droplets shower the window, once he was woken up he found it hard to sleep.

then there was you, directly behind the drivers seat with your own princess sleeping on your lap. hyunjin complained that if he slept on your shoulder, it'd cramp his neck too badly to sleep. so he spread himself out across 3 seats (yours included. it was only a matter of minutes it took for him to fall asleep aided by your hands running through his hair.

minho would glance back at every so often before giving you his cat-like grin then gesturing you hit hyunjin awake, forcing you to stifle a laugh. finally arriving to the camp grounds, you were fortunate enough to find minho had found a camp ground with luxury style tenting. all the tents had been set up perfectly, cutting out the labor of setting it up yourself. along with the tents were a plethora of chairs, a man made pit for fire, along with any other necessary camping amenities for cooking and survival. it was tucked away from the roads and next to a gorgeous lake with a breath taking view.

as everyone is unloading the bags from the car, it becomes apparent that the next standing conflict is the sleeping situation. you all stand in the center, surrounded by the 4 tents while everyone argues about who has first dibs and who has to sleep with who. eventually chan is directing seungmin and jeongin to one tent, felix and changbin to another, then the dilemma. the five you stand there staring at one another.

".... i think maybe we should give her own tent?" chan is the first to speak.

"hyung you want us to dog pile in one tent with 4 of us on one bed?" jisung turns to him with his arms crossed.

"i really don't mind sharing it's just-" you begin to say but end up cut off by two voices.

"i'll do it" "i'll do it"

your turn to find hyunjin and minho staring each other down, both surprised to hear the other offer to bunk with you.

"i think she can decide for herself who she wants to sleep with- i mean ! not sleep with but share SHARE i mean share." chan speaks up flustered as jisung laughs with a shaking head.

you feel your face growing warm with the way minho and hyunjin stare down at you, ironic given how the cold wind nips at your face.

"i uh... let me see how big the room is first." you say making a bee line for the tent furthest from. you can hear hyunjin and minho muttering something to each other when you brush past them.

you take a peak inside noting the bed size, the makeshift air mattress couch. you could sleep on that right ? they can have the bed and you could have the couch. you put your bag down on the outside portion, adjusting your scarf as you approach them. jisung had already taken his bag to the other tent, deciding his input was no longer needed by whatever decision you made.

"there's a blow up couch inside, i can sleep on that and they can take the bed so..."

"you're not sleeping on the couch? minho can sleep on the couch." hyunjin slaps minho's shoulder as he says while the person in question shoots him a death glare.

"are you sure you want those two in your tent? i'm sure one of them wouldn't mind sleeping in the tent with ji and me-"

"i'll sleep on the couch! really it's no problem." you interrupt chan's objection.

you couldn't say refuse either minho or hyunjin sharing the tent. part of you wanted to bunk with both of them, another part of you took comfort in not sleeping alone. you waived chan off saying it would be okay and watched hyunjin grab his bag bolting for the tent. chan reassured that if you wanted to kick one of them out, he'd gladly help.

minho looked at you asking you if you were really sure but you reassured him that it would be alright.

"you're still not sleeping on that couch, i'll drag hyunjin out by his hair if i have to make you sleep on the bed."

"i really don't think that'll be necessary."

"i beg to differ."

the two of you walked towards the tent to find hyunjin splayed out across the bed in a starfish position staring back gleefully. he leans off the bed to grab your wrist when you approach the night stand to plug in a charger.

"you'll keep me warm tonight?" hyunjin ask's in a flirty tone but is only met with a pillow minho has swatted at him.

--

the lake was too cold to swim in but you and felix rolled up the ankles of your pants to dip just your feet in the water. the two of you collected pretty rocks before venturing off to find some twigs and branches to help start the fire for later tonight. minho being the vetted camper, had assembled and prepped everything for the barbecue. hyunjin sat perched on a rock enjoying the view of the lake and mountains surrounding. he had brought a retro camera, capturing some pictures and videos of you and felix sword fighting with twigs before seungmin killed the fun deciding to chase you with a muddy stick.

as night time approached, felix and you felt it would be best to step away from the lake, bundle up as the wind blew colder then before. for as isolated as the camp grounds was, this truly was more luxurious then most hotels. after a quick and very cold shower out door, you headed back to the tent to retrieve any and all heat that had left your body. layered in clothes sitting on the couch trying to warm up just the slightest before making the 10 ft journey to sit by the fire. minho came in taking in your shivering appearance.

"just a little cold?" he half laughs while looking in concern, you were already wearing sweats, a tank top, a long sleeve thermal, thick fluffy socks, a beanie, and the warmest/thickest sherpa jacket you owned.

"why does it look like it?" you ask through shivers. he's rummaging through a bag, he stops and pulls out a black knit sweater, extending his arm out to you.

"here, put this on." he says waiting for you to take it.

"i'm fine, ill warm up in a bit."

"please, just put it on. you're making me cold just by watching you shiver."

"but what about you? aren't you gonna be cold-" you're cut off by him walking over to you and kneeling in front. without missing a beat he pushes your jacket off the shoulders and is already bringing the open down on your head. he helps you put your arms through before pulling your hair out from the opening to readjust it.

your flustered at the gesture and truly speechless. minho had always been caring and really shows it in his actions so why should this be any less of surprise? he'd given you his jackets before when you were cold but this gesture felt more personal, romantic even. whatever it was, it made your heart swoon and your cheeks pink with blush. even as he fixes the loose hairs flying your face all you can focus on his the feel of his finger tips brushing against your face.

"better?" he asks, his eyes bore into yours before flickering down to your lips.

"yes. a lot better, thank you." you don't miss the way his ears are turning red, you can feel his breath fanning against you. fighting the urge to lean in and kiss him on the lips just for being so sweet. his hair falls over his eyes bit, you push a strand back with a feather touch that his him leaning into your hand. your hand stops momentarily on his cheek.

"what is taking so long ? i'm hungr-" the sound of hyunjin's voice cause you both to jump back a bit.

minho scrambling to his feet to grab his other jacket and head towards the entrance hyunjin stands at. you head feels dizzy at what happened, thinking about how you should've just kissed him. it's when hyunjin walks into your line of vision pull you both literally and metaphorically out of your thoughts.

"jagi sit with me! jeongin won't let me hug him so you're going to."

you don't have time to object before hyunjin has already pulled you down with him into the rocking chair loveseat. to anyone who didn't know you're friendship with hyunjin, you would've looked like a couple with the way his arm is thrown around you and pulling your legs to rest on top of his giving the ability to rock you both back and forth under the blanket. for as long as you had known hyunjin, he'd always been like this. he loved to hug, cuddle, and hold you but i guess there was no alarm bells to be rung when you noticed he didn't hold any of his other friends that were girls like this. it was clearly platonic and he felt comfortable, right?

minho and chan were grilling, you basked in the warmth of sitting next to hyunjin in the blanket. every once in a while you were reminded by the the fact that you were wearing minho's sweater since his cologne seemed to seep into the threads of the sweater. it smelled heavenly, his cologne was vanilla mixed with sweet tobacco but mixed with his own musk had your chest feeling like butterflies swarming where your heart should be. hyunjin so close to you didn't help either since he always smelled of florals and now the breeze of pine wrapped you in comfort, a state of melancholy. your nose twitched at the smell of the bbq, hyunjin clocked it giggling saying you looked like a bunny.

he retrieves a plate for you to both share and demands you feed him. his arms wrapped around your waist under the blanket, you take notice of the way minho stares down hyunjin with every bite you feed the drama queen, he only offers a smug smirk to minho. you spend some time around the fire talking, laughing, that is until seungmin decides now is the best time to start telling scary stories. unfortunately, as tough as you are about scary stories, you can't help the growing paranoia at every branch snap or twig snap. you're so engulfed in seungmins story you don't notice jisung has disappeared and is now currently crouched behind the love seat waiting to scare you.

you scream louder then you could've possibly anticipated when jisung grabs your shoulders from behind growling. hyunjin screams too pulling you closer, everyone else folds over in laughter. it only takes a moment for you to move out of hyunjins grip to chase jisung around the fire with a shoe in hand. you're only stopped by minho lifting you off your feet to keep you from further charging at jisung.

--

as the fire burns lowly, everyone begins to make their way to the beds for the night. hyunjin and minho stand outside the tent to give you privacy while you change your clothes to sleep. you shed the layers keeping a tank top, minhos sweater and boxer briefs on. no matter how cold it was you could never sleep in pants or too many layers. they both make their way back into the tent noticing you attempted to make a bed out of the couch.

"....at least let hyunjin take the couch." minho says as you turn to find them both standing in shorts and t shirts.

"i promise ill be fine to sleep on the couch."

"just sleep in the bed with us?" hyunjin says, you both turn to him. he has a look on his face that says 'isn't this the obvious option?'.

"w-wouldn't it just be uncomfortable for you two ?" you ask. the thought crossed your mind but didn't want to be too forward, you had slept next to hyunjin like this before but it would be a new thing to sleep like this with minho let alone with the both of them.

"ahh its fine. besides minho can sleep in the middle." this earns hyunjin another death glare. so it was settled. no one was sleeping on the couch and you'd be sleeping between them ? it's fine it was only gonna be for a few nights. what could possibly happen?

you slept on your side, back towards hyunjin and facing minho who laid face up. it was a bit of stirring before you felt yourself drift. hyunjin had threw his arm around your waist and minho eventually turned to his side, you were too deep in sleep to have even noticed how close you had all been squished to gather. you hadn't even noticed that minhos thigh had pushed up against you between your legs and your own between his.

the room was peacefully quite with the only sound coming from the nearby lake and crickets tucked away in the grass. minho was a light sleeper so when he heard soft whimpers coming from you, he barely peeked his eyes open. your face was a bit scrunched but nothing to worry. he took a moment to take in how beautiful you looked with moon light barely peaking in, he could just make out the features of face in the darkness. he did notice hyunjins hand on you waist had made its way under your (his) sweater just laid atop over the curve your waist on top of the tank top.

as minho begins to reach over to remove hyunjin's hand, you stir a bit letting a louder whimper fall past your lips. he's afraid he's woken you up in his attempt to pry the hands of the other off you but when he feels movement below, he realizes that your legs are interlocked. minho is about to shift when he feels your hips moving around again but this time he feels it on his thigh.

minho looks down to find that you're practicing straddling his thigh at this point. he knows if he wakes you up, you'd just feel embarrassed. he should stop you but how can he when all he can do is focus on the way your hips are subtly shifting for friction against his thigh. the same thighs he caught you drooling over on far too many occasions for him not have fantasized what dirty things must've run through your head, surely enough this very moment of you grinding your cunt against his thigh was one of them.

your whimpers are becoming more erratic with every move, he feels himself growing harder with every brush of your own thigh pressing up against his strained cock. he tried to close his eyes like he was sleeping convinced this had to be a dream. his eyes shoot open when he hears a grunt that clearly isn't yours. he finds hyunjin now pressed closer to you then before and his hand have moved from the curve of your waist to groping your tit.

hyunjin was not the heaviest sleeper so enough movement could wake him up. he tried not to lay so closely to your back as the way you slept made it nearly impossible for his own hard on to stay at bay. as he fell into a wonderful sleep, he dreamt of you. of laying closely pressed to your backside and rutting himself against while you cried out his name. when he woke to hear your actual whimpers, it turned out that his dream state began to seep into reality as he had been grinding himself into you from behind with his hand groping your covered chest. this was wrong he should stop while he still can but clearly his dreamlike state hadn't left him just yet as he kept grinding his hard cock into your bottom pulling himself closer to be flush against you.

your boob felt so soft and warm under his hand even on top of the knit sweater. hyunjin's eyes shot open when he heard your gasp. he couldn't see it but your eyes were shot open wide at the realization you had been grinding against minho's thigh, he was already staring back at you with a pained expression. your hand was clutching the fabric of minhos shirt as your movements had stopped but there was no denying the reality of the situation. the fact that you had been grinding so hard against minho's thigh, his shorts had risen up and your owner brief shorts did nothing to hide the seeping wet spot.

"minho, i-"

now wasn't the time for explainations or apologies as minho quickly decided that would be a conversation for later, stopping your sentence to kiss you. his lips were soft against yours but his kiss was anything but. unlike you, hyunjin hadn't stopped his own movements. he continued to grind against you, moving his hands under the sweater, warm soft skin against his hand as he made his way back up to your chest and pressing his forehead against your shoulder. minho held your hips in place while scooting himself closer without breaking the kiss. your hand stayed clutching the fabric of his shirt as he pressed his thigh firm against your drenched cunt and ruined panties. he slipped his tongue past your lips rewarding himself with your moans and soft cries.

as you pull back from the kiss momentarily, the reality that hyunjin had been egging this moment on hits you as you realize his hand his fondling your chest. the moment you pull back from your kiss with minho, you take in how red his lips look even in the darkness, eyes twinkling with need. its only split second before you feel hyunjin's hand pushing you back into him and his own face coming into view, lips crashing down against yours. he's quick to pinch your nipple that has you gasping, he takes the opportunity to slip his own tongue against yours and drinking in your whimpers. minho is locked into the feeling of your continued movements down below, he almost doesn't notice your hand traveling down his abdomen to his crotch. his cock is straining hard against his shorts, helping you he guides your hand to lay just on top of the fabric outlined cock where you take no time to begin stroking him over the fabric.

hyunjin pulls back from the kiss, leaving a string of saliva connecting your lips still, his attaches his lips to your neck sucking a hickey right below your ear as he feels desperate to for relief. he's picking up his pace rutting against your ass while minho goes back to guiding your hips. your cries are becoming louder as you feel the familiar knot in your stomach, your orgasm feels like wave about to crash down. you reach behind to hyunjin who his more than happy to slide your hand into his shorts guiding you to stroke him. you return the favor to minho sliding your hands down the front of his shorts earning a groan from the two of them.

blissed out on the feeling of your hand wrapped around their lengths, stroking them to their own orgasm. it only take a few strokes before their both spilling into the their shorts and painting your hands white with their cum. they both work quick to pushing you onto your back. hyunjin pulling your thighs apart and minho pushing your sweater up and over your chest. hyunjin makes good use of his fingers skidding them into the briefs gathering your slick on his fingers giving your clit a few circles before plunging one into your hole. your so warm and tight, it's everything he has ever dreamed of. his fingers are long, perfectly reaching the wet spongey spot inside that has your toes curling and crying out for more. minho on the other hand has one of your tits firmly in his grasps, massaging the warm flesh in his hand while his mouth latches on the other. he's not satisfied until your nipple has pebbled in his mouth before moving onto the next. once satisfied with their state he blows air onto them making you shiver and arch back in pleasure. he leaves a few hickeys across the top's of your breasts as to leave his mark behind, of course hyunjin shouldn't be the only one allowed to leave his mark. your orgasm is quickly approaching as hyunjin moves the heel of his palm against your clit and thrusting his finger even faster against your g spot. minho moves quick to kiss you again, capturing all your cries and moans against him as to save the rest of you from being caught by the others. your orgasm hits your hard as your legs stretch and toes curl against the mattress, body twitching as you cum down from the feeling and hyunjin's fingers ride you out through the orgasm almost leaving you too sensitive to touch.

so there the three of you laid out tired, wet, and messy. your briefs are ruined with your wetness, the other's shorts spoiled by their own cum. no one loves just laying in the silence, soft panting and small groans. minho looks over at you to find you've already drifted off to sleep, hyunjin picks up his head from the other side of you. he makes sure minho watches him bring his fingers up to his mouth before sucking and dragging them out with a quite sucking noise.

minho taking the high ground decides to ignore it to the best of his abilities getting up to change his soiled shorts, hyunjin follows suit to do the same. right as their slipping back into the bed with you centered. minho swiftly scoops the blanket and you to lay against him once more before shooting hyunjin a cocky grin.

this would only be the first mark of a very long weekend sharing a tent and bed with these two...

------

part ii

[despressoslatte]

not the zoey you wanted (four)

pairing: zach maclaren x female reader!

summary: you waited all weekend for your boyfriend, Zach, to call or text, anything, to explain why he had just went and ghosted you when you were supposed to go with him on a family ski trip to meet his parents, his sister Avery, and his cousin, Miles.

content warnings: angst; victims of catfishing; miscommunication trope

a/n: a big big BIG thank you to everyone who has been enjoying this fic! I love seeing everyone’s comments and inbox messages dissecting the story and making predictions! I wrote for OBX back in 2020 when the show first came out under a different blog (in case anyone here remembers a blog called jjmaybankx, HI! Though that’s just a generic username, it might be hard to remember that specific iteration ahaha), but i had just created this blog the same day i put out this fic… and i am in awe of how well received and how much you guys are actually invested in this little world i have conjured up whilst dreaming of bf!drew. I am very honored <3

Masterlist | < part three | add yourself to the taglist

ᯓ⟢

How you were supposed to just get up and go to your afternoon classes after what had just happened was beyond you, but you had an important peer workshop in one of your writing courses and then straight to the tutoring center for you. 

Day one was hard, as you navigated the complexities of whatever the hell had just happened. You were angry: angry at the car for hitting Zach, angry that he had even for a second thought that Zoey Miller had been you, angry that she let him think that knowing it was wrong, angry that she did any of what she did at all. And most of all, angry that you were even angry with Zach for it.

Tuesday rolled around and you had to go to the class you had with Zoey Miller, with anger seething in your veins but the inability to cause a scene. You hadn’t told anyone, not even your roommate Bree, what had happened. You felt like if you made a big deal and spoke about it, then you would likely never get over it. 

You felt her eyes on you as you typed your notes during the lecture, having sat a few rows and seats to the left in front of you. Could she like… not? Face forward and pay attention to the class, stop staring at the girl whose boyfriend you tried to steal after trying to steal his cousin, thanks. 

Your next shift at the tutoring center was on Wednesday. Instead of having assigned tutees for the day, you had a five hour shift in the tutoring center where you mainly did your own homework, helped student athletes figure out why the printers wanted to act up and not print their assignments, and help the few random people who would come up to the reception desk to ask you for help on a writing assignment or to proofread their essays.

You paused as you set your coffee up and laptop down on the desk, looking across the tutoring center to see Zach hunched over his own computer in one of the middle tables, typing away. He was one of the few athletes who wasn’t assigned to mandatory study hall hours after he had gotten his grade up, thanks to your one-on-one tutoring sessions and then, once his girlfriend, study dates together in his dorm or yours. He normally wouldn’t be caught dead in the tutoring center if he wasn’t required to be there, preferring to do his homework on his own anyways.

But there he was, regardless. 

A week passed and Zach didn’t try to talk to you at all, just like you had asked. You also never saw him walking around with Zoey Miller, a recurring minor nightmare you kept on having. Thank God, you thought every time you’d see one of them around campus without the other. Zoey Miller came to class looking miserable every time, and each time you worked a shift at the tutoring center, whether it be study hall monitoring or a few hours of one-on-one tutoring, Zach was there, during his homework by himself at one of the tables. 

“Hey.”

You looked up from the book you were engrossed in, taking off one airpods to see Zach in front of you, his laptop in his arms.

“Zach…” you sighed softly.

“I’m not here to bother you, I swear,” he reassured you, sliding his laptop to face you. “I just… actually need your help with this one, promise.”

You looked down at his screen to see an essay typed out. You glance up at him again.

“It’s a big part of my grade, so I was wondering if you could proofread it,” he said sheepishly, putting his hands in his pockets.

You exhale and nod, motioning with your head to the seat next to yours. A smile beamed across his face, and he rounded the desk to sit down next to you, both of you half facing each other as he watched you go over his essay in suggesting mode, making comments and edit recommendations. 

“I like the color you painted your nails,” he said softly.

“Zach,” you warned.

He shut up.

You got to page five of the essay, having only had to make a few small grammatical suggestions, a small smile building on your face for how well written the essay had been. When he wanted to apply himself, and knew how to, Zach would always be extremely smart. Sometimes, when it came to subjects he didn’t quite care for, he just didn’t care to put in the effort. But he was very smart, he had to be a student athlete. 

Plus, you knew he had little moments of crises when he thought about his future. He didn’t think he’d make it pro, but he also wasn’t passionate for other things the way he was for soccer. He felt aimless sometimes. The ironic part of it all was that he chose English Literature as his major, the classes he struggled with the most and hence how you two met.

You had given him the idea before that if he really didn’t think he could go pro, he could keep playing soccer or being involved with it through coaching at high schools or even middle schools. But you also always told him that you thought he had it in him to go pro. He was the school’s soccer star, you weren’t sure why he always sold himself short.

“You okay?” his voice pulled you out of your thoughts.

You had been stuck on page five for longer than it would have taken to read the page over twice, Zach just sitting there in anticipation of what you thought he needed to fix before he looked over at your face and noticed you were zoned out.

“Yeah, yeah,” you shook yourself out of it, continuing to scroll down through his essay.

Another excruciating fifteen minutes until you were finished reading over every line intricately and leaving any commentary needed, you slid the laptop back closer to Zach.

“Just those edits, and it’s all good,” you told him, trying to avoid looking at him.

He tapped the desk, nodding. “Thanks,” he said, and you pursed your lips and nodded.

You bit your lip to try and prevent yourself from asking the question that has been hot on your mind, but the words vomit out before you can stop it, “How come you’ve been doing your homework here?”

You finally look into his striking blue eyes, seeing them widen before his cheeks turned a light shade of pink.

“It’s the student athlete tutoring center,” he pointed out, then pointed at himself. “Student athlete.”

You titled your head to the side, giving him “the look” as you said, “Zach…”

“Fine, fine,” he sighed with a small laugh, closing his laptop closed. “It’s the only time I ever get to see you, okay?”

You had an inkling feeling that was it, and you just nod in response.

“I can stop if seeing me bothers you,” he whispered.

“Seeing you would never bother me,” you said back.

The hopeful smile that erupted on his face made your heart sting.

The moment you two were having was interrupted when another student athlete walked up, asking for help since the printers weren’t working. You offered Zach a small smile, and he gave you a wave, before you got up to go to the opposite side of the tutoring center to figure out the printer.

ᯓ⟢

On your way to class the next day, you paused in front of the class you had with Zoey to see she was standing a little bit to the side of the pathway talking to Zach. You slowed your steps down a bit as you stared at them. You couldn’t see his face, but you could tell from the back of his head, jacket, and backpack that it was him.

That same guilty look was on Zoey’s face, and she was shaking her head. 

You could tell from Zach’s body language that he was upset, the way his shoulders lifted and his arms moved about as he talked, the way he did when he was trying to drive a point. 

You didn’t feel like watching them talk, putting your head down and heading into the building to go to class.

ᯓ⟢

“So, she broke up with you?” Zoey asked as she stood there staring up at Zach. She had asked him if they could talk when she saw him walking by on her way to class, and with an irritated huff, he agreed.

“She did not break up with me,” Zach said back sternly, shoving his hands into his pocket, kicking a rock on the floor. “She is just taking time to… process… what happened between you and I on the ski trip…”

“I didn’t mean for any of that stuff to happen… I—”

“I don’t really care what you meant to have happened,” Zach said back with a shrug. “You knew you weren’t my girlfriend, pretended to be anyways, and now she won’t talk to me.”

“Well, I don’t get why she’s upset with you when I’m to blame,” Zoey quipped back, earning a look from Zach.

“Don’t,” he shook his head at her. “Don’t try to make her out to be the bad guy here.”

“I’m not,” Zoey shook her head. “I’m just saying—”

“I don’t care what you’re saying, Zoey…” he sighed. He wiped his face with the palm of his hands and huffed frustratedly. “Look. It’s just a lot for her. First, she thought I ghosted her all weekend. Then, it looks to her like I had cheated on her, and then when she found out the truth, she hears that I was starting to feel things for you, and—”

“You were starting to feel things for me?”

He gave her an irritated glare when that was all she had heard from that.

“I love Y/N, okay?” he said to her sternly, using his hands to point to himself and then off to the side for emphasis. “Not you, not anyone else, just Y/N. Whatever fake relationship you and I had when I didn’t have my memories, that’s all it was, fake. You are not the Zoey I wanted.”

Zach looked away from her, and that was when he saw the back of your head, face pointed to the floor, as you sped-walked away into the building. He couldn’t tell if you had seen him and Zoey talking, but from the way you were walking so damn fast, maybe. Damn it. 

He turned back to Zoey, who had tears in her eyes. And he felt bad, because he didn’t enjoy making girls cry.

“Just…” for the umpteenth time, he sighed. “Just stay away from me and my girlfriend, I’m begging you.”

ᯓ⟢

part five>

taglist: @faephoria @maybankslover @ursogorgeous13 @khiatonsx @enchantedstarfish @starsmoonn @zulema222 @10ava01 @ietss @rafegf-real @leather-n-velvet t @avengersgirllorianna @chalahyung01 @thaissette @emberaurora @isabellaxlilah @matchieee @purplerose291 @wtfdudesblog @mattyskies @onlyrealjoy @sabrina6272827 @probablyreadingsmutlol @loupiotesworld @tqd4455 @persefone200 @dreamygirli3 @tobucina @h1ghw4y-blog @k-k0129 @harrys-housewife @pillowprincess4him

hoping all of these tags worked, some of them weren't popping up when i typed them! i've retyped them all by hand like 3 times, but each time i save it, it comes up as half of the list not actually tagged, so pls let me know if it tagged you!

[lanadelspray02]

HOLD ME ANYWAY: CHAPTER 1

paige x azzi

Hi guys, this is the first fic I have ever posted. I hope you enjoy :)

I have also posted 6 chapters on ao3, as I pre-wrote. So if you'd like to read them all right now before I slowly post them here on tumblr, feel free to. Also, the chapters are a little short, but they'll get longer as the series progresses. Let me know what yall think!

crossposted ao3 here

materlist here

wc: 1451

--------------------

The overhead lights buzzed softly as the team filtered into the gym, sneakers squeaking against polished wood. Normally, first preseason meetings at UConn were loud, filled with half-hearted complaints, inside jokes, and players sneaking last sips of coffee before warmups.

Today was different. Today, the air felt thick. Expectant.

Word had spread over the past twenty-four hours like wildfire: Azzi Fudd, the once-crowned number one high school recruit, was officially joining the team. No warning. No build-up. Just a single email from Coach sent at 6:03 a.m.

Paige Bueckers leaned against the wall near the baseline, twirling a basketball lazily in one hand, her body language casual but her eyes sharp.

Across from her, Nika and KK leaned in, whispering conspiratorially.

“That’s her?” Nika muttered under her breath, eyeing the closed gym doors. “Thought she’d be taller.”

KK snickered. “Bet she’s still faster than you, slowpoke.”

“Bet you both still can’t guard her,” Paige said smoothly, lips curving into a lazy grin.

Nika bumped her with an elbow. “Don’t get any ideas, Bueckers.”

Paige lifted a shoulder, tossing the ball up again. “What? I can’t be curious?”

Before Nika could retort, the heavy gym doors creaked open.

A hush fell over the team.

Azzi Fudd stepped inside.

She wore a simple UConn hoodie, sleeves pushed up to her elbows, black leggings, and sneakers that looked scuffed from real life, not court drills. Her hair was pulled into a messy bun, no earrings, no jewelry, just the smallest gold cross tucked under the collar of her hoodie.

She paused a second, like she wasn’t sure she belonged here, then squared her shoulders and crossed the gym floor. Her strides were measured, deliberate, almost too calm.

“Circle up!” Coach bellowed.

Paige pushed off the wall and fell into step with Nika and KK as the team formed a loose huddle at center court.

When Azzi joined the group, she didn’t jostle for space or offer a smile like the new kids usually did. She just stood slightly apart, hands tucked in her hoodie pocket, chin lifted like she didn’t need anyone’s approval.

“This is Azzi Fudd,” Coach said. “Joining us this season. She’s got catching up to do, but I don’t think I need to tell you the kind of talent standing here.”

A few polite nods rippled through the group.

When it was her turn, Azzi simply said, “Azzi. Hi.”

No extra words. No apology.

The awkwardness hung in the air for a beat too long before Coach clapped his hands and barked for warmups to start.

 --------------------

 The first few drills were rough.

Azzi’s footwork was messy. Her passes lacked crispness. She missed two free throws in a row, shots she could have made blindfolded two years ago.

Paige noticed it all. So did everyone else.

The younger players traded small glances, the kind that said this is the girl everyone freaked out about?

But then....

During a 3-on-3 drill, Azzi caught a pass, split a double-team with one quick step, and hit a midrange jumper so clean the net barely moved. Pure muscle memory.

The sideline fell silent for half a second.

Paige whistled low under her breath. “She’s still got it,” she murmured to Nika.

Nika shrugged, unimpressed. “When she feels like it.”

Paige smiled slightly. There was a fire buried under that quiet exterior. She could see it, even if Azzi was doing everything she could to hide it.

--------------------

Practice wrapped with tired high-fives and water bottle tosses.

Players clumped into familiar groups instinctively.

Paige, Nika, and KK lounged near the baseline, joking and replaying the funniest screw-ups of the day.

Across the gym, Ice, Aubrey, and Aaliyah sat on the bleachers, laughing softly among themselves.

Near the benches, Caroline, Bettencourt, and Amari swapped stories, tossing scrunchies and rolling their eyes in that effortless roommate shorthand.

Azzi stayed apart, crouched near the sidelines, retightening her shoelaces, methodical and silent.

Paige noticed, of course she did. The way Azzi moved — careful, almost invisible, was too deliberate to be natural.

“You think she’s allergic to fun?” KK asked, half-joking, wiping sweat from her forehead with her shirt.

Nika smirked. “Maybe she thinks she’s better than us.”

Paige shook her head. “Nah. She looks more like someone who’s been through it.”

Nika gave her a look. “You’re already writing poems about her?”

Paige laughed, shoving Nika lightly. But her eyes never left Azzi.

She watched carefully as Caroline knelt down next to Azzi, offering a hand with an easy smile. Ines hovered close by, chatting animatedly in accented English, trying to coax a real smile from the newcomer.

And, slowly, barely noticeably, Azzi relaxed. Not fully. Not enough. But enough to take the offered help without flinching.

Nika noticed too. “Looks like the new kid picked her favorites already.”

Paige’s mouth quirked. “She’s got good taste.”

--------------------

As everyone packed up, Paige spotted her chance.

She sauntered over to Azzi, tossing a ball lazily between her hands.

When she got close enough, she said, voice light, teasing, “You always this mysterious, or just trying to keep us guessing?”

Azzi finished tying her shoe, stood up smoothly, and didn’t answer. Instead, she caught Paige’s gaze for the first time all afternoon.

Those dark eyes held something sharp and unreadable.

And then, a tiny, almost imperceptible smirk.

No words. Just that one look, infuriatingly confident, impossibly calm, before Azzi grabbed her duffel bag and walked off toward the locker room without another glance back.

Paige blinked, caught somewhere between laughing and cursing.

She turned and jogged back toward Nika and KK, who were watching with obvious amusement.

“How’d it go, Romeo?” KK called.

Paige just grinned. “Game on,” she said under her breath.

--------------------

Later that night, the UConn campus had fallen into its usual off-season rhythm: dorm windows glowing soft yellow, lazy chatter drifting across the quad, the occasional slap of a basketball against pavement somewhere in the distance.

Inside the gym, the lights over Court 3 were still on.

Paige pulled the door open and stepped inside, tossing her duffel onto the bleachers with a thud.

She hadn’t meant to come back. Really. She could have stayed in the dorm with Nika and KK, trading jokes and trash talk about who would crash hardest at conditioning tomorrow.

But something about Azzi’s smirk, that effortless, unreadable challenge, stuck in her brain like a splinter.

Paige had always hated unfinished games.

She twirled a ball between her hands as she crossed the court, and froze.

Azzi was already there.

Alone.

Headphones in, hoodie sleeves shoved up, shooting free throws like she had something to prove.

The ball hit the backboard, dropped through the net with a soft swish, and bounced back into her hands automatically.

She hadn’t noticed Paige yet. Or if she had, she was pretending not to.

Paige grinned to herself. Figures.

She walked to the free throw line and waited until Azzi pulled up for another shot.

Just before Azzi released it, Paige called out casually, “You miss that one, you owe me a Gatorade.”

Azzi shot anyway, swish, and arched an unimpressed eyebrow as she lowered her arms.

Slowly, deliberately, she tugged one headphone out. “What if I don’t miss?”

Paige shrugged, trying to play it cool. “Then I owe you one.”

Azzi considered that for half a second, then tossed the ball lazily toward Paige. “Better start saving up,” she said, voice low and even.

Paige caught it and let out a short laugh. “Alright, alright. Big talk, mystery girl.”

Azzi just gave a ghost of a smile, barely there, and motioned toward the three-point line. Challenge issued. No words needed.

--------------------

They played until their arms ached and their laughter echoed off the empty gym walls.

No scoreboard. No coaches barking orders.

Just sneakers squeaking, balls thudding against backboards, and two girls orbiting each other without quite touching.

Eventually, Paige flopped dramatically onto the court, arms spread wide.

“I concede,” she groaned. “You win. Queen of late-night shooting sessions.”

Azzi dropped the ball with a soft thud beside her, standing over her like a silent, unimpressed statue.

“Finally something you’re good at,” Paige added, shooting her a lazy grin.

For the first time all day, Azzi actually laughed, quiet, soft, real.

Paige closed her eyes for a second, soaking in the sound.

When she opened them again, Azzi was gathering her stuff, already slipping back into that careful, guarded calm.

Paige sat up slowly, watching her.

She told herself it was curiosity. Maybe respect. Nothing else. Definitely nothing else.

But when Azzi glanced over her shoulder and caught Paige staring, when her mouth quirked into that small, devastating half-smile again,

Paige knew she was lying to herself.

Big time.

[buckyshoneybunny]

Spooky Secrets & Sweet Treats

College!Quarterback!Bucky Barnes + Curvy!College!Reader 

Summary- You and the gang decorate for Halloween and host a Halloween party. During which a heated argument starts up between you and Bucky, revealing some hidden truths. Will these new truths lead to a new relationship and a fresh start between you two, or will it become worse than before? 

W.C.- 3653 

Warnings- Smut, unprotected sex, poorly written smut

A/N- Hi! I really hope you guys like this, I honestly don’t know how to feel about this, like I love it but I also hate it lol. The picture above is roughly what the living room looks like, I designed it myself on a designing website. The other pictures aren’t mine. This will be part one of a series. Part two will be for Thanksgiving and part 3 Christmas, and so on. Not proof read. The back story I used is my own sooo yeah. Anyway, hope you enjoy! Oh and happy Halloween!!  

Masterlist  Series Masterlist

Having not eaten all day, your stomach rumbled in protest. You sat in the middle row of the lecture hall, Nat on one side, Yelena on the other. This was the last class of the day, your ADHD medicine wearing off causing you to be even more impatient. Your right leg bounced mindlessly under the table; Natasha placed her hand on your knee with a warning glance. You stop and mumble out an apology.   

You couldn’t help it honestly, today was Halloween, not your favorite holiday but still. You were sizzling with excitement. You, Natasha and Yelena (your roommate's), Nat’s boyfriend Steve and his two friends Sam and Bucky, were coming over after class. The guys would be making the food while you girls set out the decorations and got everything ready. That’s right, you were having a Halloween party!  

You were never one for parties, not that you didn’t like them you just weren’t ever invited in high school. No one wanted the shy girl at their party. But since meeting Nat and Lena you’ve grown more confident, you were still shy, that was just who you are, but you’re a little more outgoing than you once were.  

There was just one tiny problem, Bucky. You loathed that man, and according to him the feeling was mutual. Every little thing he did annoyed you, he made sure he went out of his way just to piss you off. With his stupid, cocky smirk, sparkling white teeth, gorgeous shoulder length, chocolate brown locks that he let grow out since meeting you. Even those shirts that seem three sizes too small, showing off his delicious abs that you just wanted to li- 

Stop that! 

You mentally climbed out of that rabbit hole, not wanting to go too deep. No matter how much you wanted to get a taste of the star quarterback, you hated each other and that was all it was ever going to be. 

After what you’re sure is another 20 minutes, the professor finally dismisses everyone. You quickly gather your things and dart out the lecture hall, Natasha and Yelena hot on your heels.   

Shivering as you stepped outside, you wrapped your jacket tighter around you, the cool autumn breeze blew about. Fall colored leaves littered the sidewalk, crunching under your feet. 

You smiled. You loved fall and winter, everything just seemed happier. Holidays back-to-back, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. You loved Christmas. The sparkle of Christmas lights, curling up on the couch wrapped in a blanket watching Christmas movies, you just loved it.   

The party started at nine, so you had roughly five and a half hours to get the supplies, set everything up, and get ready yourselves.  

“You excited?” Nat asks, drawing you away from your thoughts. You three walking to your house on the far end of the campus. It was a two story, three bedrooms, two bath house. Nat and Lena’s parents were rich, having some sort of high-end job in the government.  

“Duh,” you laugh.  

“Even though he’s going to be there?” Yelena pipes up. You sigh. 

“I’m determined to not let him get to me; I am going to have a good time tonight.” 

“You say that every time,” Nat snickers.  

“Yeah well, I mean it this time, he’s not ruining this party for me,” you defend.  

“You say that too,” Yelena giggles. 

“Say what?” The annoying voice you know too well asks before you can say anything. Turning around you find Bucky, Steve, and Sam following you guys. Steve wraps an arm around Nat, kissing her forehead. Sam ruffles Yelena’s hair.   

Clad in his signature black leather jacket, the six-foot something wall of muscle wore blue jeans, red henley under the jacket, and his combat boots. This isn’t fair, why does he have to look so hot? His hair pulled into a small bun at the base of his neck. 

“Nothing James,” you roll your eyes. You could see the tick in his jaw, he hated being called by his first name. 

 “Come on, princess,” he spits bitterly. “Keeping secrets from me now?” You just huff and keep walking in the direction of your house.  

Princess. That name made your blood boil, you despised it, and he knew it too. It wasn’t the name that bothered you really, just the way he said it, like you were some spoiled brat. You most definitely weren’t. You didn’t even know why he called you that, but that was the name he’d given you the night you first met. 

You weaved your way through the mass of people, trying to reach the kitchen. Natasha had dragged you to this party, claiming it was way past due to meet the gang. Yelena wasn’t any help, going right along with Nat’s plans. When one sister had her mind set to something, the other backed her up and to say they were a force to be reconned with was an understatement. 

Before you could reach the kitchen, you smacked right into a wall, or what you thought was a wall until two strong, veiny hands shot out to steady you before you could fall. Looking up you see a pair of steel blue eyes boring into yours. The man had a sharp, clean shaved jaw, his brown hair short and fluffy, and stuck up in all different directions. His full, pink lips moved, saying something you didn’t quite catch. You realized you had been staring for too long. 

“What?” You ask loud enough over the music.  

He chuckles. “I said, are you alright, ...?”  

“Oh! I’m Y/N, and yes, I’m fine. Thanks for catching me,” you smile. “And you are?” 

His smile falls. “Bucky,” he says gruffly. “Watch where you’re going next time, princess,” he spits out bitterly before expertly weaving through the crowd.  

You stood there confused for a moment, wondering what the hell happened. Natasha told you to give him some time and he’d warm up to you. To everyone’s surprise, he never did. 

Your shoulders relaxed as you breathed a contented sigh as you stepped inside your shared home. A fireplace with shelves lined on either side. When you moved in Nat and Yelena let you decorate, you had taken interior design in high school so you knew how to make certain things work. A light grey couch sat in the center, with a coffee table in front of it, and a TV mounted on the wall above the fireplace.  

Nat let you take the lead, directing everyone. She knew how your OCD and ADHD could get, especially when it comes to planning things like this, everything had to be a certain way. Bucky rolled his eyes and mumbled some smart remark under his breath. Once everyone was assigned a job you all got to work.  

Steve and Sam went to the store, Bucky started to chop firewood to help keep the house warm-you liked using that rather than the heater, made it cozier, plus it saved money. Nat and Yelena worked on getting the Halloween decorates out of the shed. You did a quick clean, making room for the foldable tables Steve and Sam were getting. You scolded Bucky when he tracked mud through the house, to which he flipped you off.  

Once the boys got back and the decorations were all set up and tables put up, everyone got ready. Natasha and Steve dressed up as superheroes, Sam as a Falcon, ever the nerd he is. Yelena dressed up as a vampire, Bucky was, well you didn’t know what he was. All you knew was he’s half naked and making your panties sticky.  

And last but not least, you dressed up as a bunny, well sort of. You wore a soft pink short cotton skirt with a bunny tail, a matching cotton crop, and bunny ears. Steve painted on a bunny nose. You were very unsure of the outfit at first, but Nat and Yelena, both assured you that your curves look delicious in that outfit.  

Once everyone was dressed Steve and Sam fired up the grill to start cooking, Nat and Yelena setting out the condiments and other various food items. Bucky got the fire going, having paused to help Steve and Sam set the tables up when they got back. You added a few finishing touches to the decorations, moving a few things, stuff like that. You idly wondered why Bucky was so quiet, usually he’d have you clawing your eyes out by now.  

But Bucky was in his own little world. He leaned back on his haunches once the fire was set. He glanced over at you, taking in your outfit. His tight ripped jeans did nothing to hide the effect it had on him. He'd seen you glance at his bare chest multiple times by now, he didn’t have a costume in mind. He just threw on some old, tight, ripped black jeans, if anyone asked what he was he’d think of something.  

He watched as you moved a few decorations, a pout on your soft pink lips. Your brows were furrowed in a frown, he wanted to reach out and smooth it with his thumb. He shook his head to try and clear those thoughts, looking away before you could catch him.  

Yes, he hated you, but that didn’t mean that your curves didn’t make his cock throb and his head fuzzy. The way you looked in those heels, how they made you sexy legs look long and soft. But you were this self-entitled princess who always had to have her way, it pissed him off, everyone loved you. Even your creative writing professor you guys had seemed to adore you, it made his blood boil that you were the teacher's pet. 

If only he knew. 

He remembers how you had him all figured out before you guys even met.  

Bucky scanned through the crowd of people in his house. He, Steve, and Sam threw a celebration party for winning last night's game. Steve had invited his girlfriend, which she invited her sister and their roommate.  

He was quite excited to meet this gorgeous angel Natasha always talked about. He spotted Natasha and Yelena; the third girl had her back to him. He could only assume the third girl was you, your soft Y/H/C pulled into a braid. The blue jeans you wore hugged your thighs, your tank top hugging your chest and curves. 

He smirked, you really were gorgeous. As he walked closer, he could hear your honeyed voice. He frowned when he heard what you were saying. 

“I don’t see how I could like someone like him,” you tell Nat. “He’s probably some fuckboy like every other football player. Some jerk with a high ego.”  

Your tone sounded disgusted; he huffed a breath. Any excitement he had for meeting you was long gone. He was so fucking tired of people associating him with the stereotypical quarterback. He wasn’t a fuckboy, far from it.  

He'd only been with a few women, contrary to what everyone believed. He didn’t fuck them and leave, no, his ma raised him better than that. He took them out, treated them right, the perfect gentlemen. He was dedicated to any and all his relationships, they just never seemed to work out.  

So, when he ran into you later that night, literally, he put up the wall that he hides behind and brushed you off.  

A couple of hours later the party is in full swing, people dancing, music blaring. You step out on the back patio, needing a break from the noise and people. You sit in one of the outside chairs, looking at the stars. You mentally scold yourself for not bringing a jacket as you shiver. You feel fuzzy as the whiskey you’d been drinking takes effect. 

A few minutes later a sweaty Bucky opens the sliding glass door. He pauses when he sees you. He huffs and closes the door, taking a deep breath of fresh air. You turn away from him, ignoring his presence. You hear the door open a couple of times before you feel a warm leather jacket being set over your shoulders.   

The jacket smells of leather and pine, mixed with something else, Bucky. You turn your head to see the man himself standing behind you.  

“I don’t need your stupid jacket, James,” you huff and move to slide said jacket off. He places his big hands on your shoulders, keeping the jacket in place.  

“Can you for once stop being a fucking brat and just take the goddamn jacket?” He snaps, feed up with your constant attitude.  

You shove his hands off you and stand up. “What the hell is your problem?!” You yell, finally at your breaking point.  

“My problem?!” He yells back. “My problem is you’re a self-entitled brat who always gets what she wants. Who thinks she knows everyone, well news flash princess, you don’t.”  

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”  

“You making assumptions about me before you even get to know me.” You give him a confused look so he continues. “That night at the party you told Nat how you couldn’t ever like someone like me, how I’m an egoistic fuckboy. I'm so fucking tired of people making assumptions.”  

Guilt settles into bones; you hadn’t realized he heard you. “Oh, Bucky I’m so-”  

“No, you know what?” He continues, cutting you off. “You’re the one with the high ego, everything just has to be your way, doesn’t it? This has to go there, that over there. Everything has to be perfect for little miss sunshine.”  

“Wh-” 

“No, you’re gonna shut the fuck up for once and listen to me. And it’s not just that, you always get what you want, everyone fucking babies you and adores you. Even the fucking professors love you. I mean it’s pretty obvious you’re a teacher’s pet-” 

“Enough!” You yell, your voice breaking. He goes quiet, panting from his rant.  

“I’m not the teacher’s pet, she checks up on me to make sure I’m okay. After she read my memoir for our memoir assignments, she started to check up on me. Making sure I was safe where I’m at, if I had a trusted adult to talk too.” 

“Awe, did the princess have a few bad memories that she wrote about? Hmm? Well news flash princess everyone has bad memories, that doesn’t excuse that you always get what you want.”  

“You know what, fine! You wanna know why I am the way I am?” You yell. “Growing up I didn’t have a fucking say in anything! I was treated like a piece of property; my own father called me his property! I did everything for them, I was 14! 14 and if I didn’t cook or clean no one would.” Your voice breaks. 

Bucky goes to say something but you keep going. “My own grandmother got my entire family to hate me and I was only 3, it took years for them to finally figure the truth out. My father would guilt trip me, manipulate me. I took care of my mother at her lowest, watched her on the verge of death and she still favors my brother. Nothing I ever did was good enough! I could go on forever about how fucked up everything was, James.” 

Bucky stands there in shock. “Wow...I um...” He doesn’t know what to say. 

“I’m sorry for judging you before I got to know you, I really am. But do not call me a brat and say I always get what I want.”  

You take a deep breath to calm your racing heart. Both of you stand there in silence, filled with guilt at how you’ve both been acting.  

“I’m sorry,” he whispers. You nod. 

“Me too,” you whisper back. 

Neither one of you knows who moves first, but one moment you’re looking each other in the eye and the next Bucky has his tongue tangled with yours. He tastes of beer and cake, you moan softly, Bucky swallows the sound like it’s the sweetest thing he’s ever had. 

His hands, both metal and flesh, grip your ass and pull you closer. His hard bulge grinds against your naval, he groans. When the need for air gets too great, Bucky pulls back and starts to litter your neck with sloppy wet kisses.  

“My room,” you shudder. “Now.” 

“So fucking bossy,” he grumbles. He throws you over his shoulder and goes back inside. No body pays any attention to either of you, too busy dancing or too drunk to care. He takes the stair two at a time.  

You get bold and slide your hands into his jeans, groping his bare ass, he had gone commando. He slaps your ass in retaliation, causing you to yelp. He finally reaches your bedroom, kicking the door shut and tossing you on the bed. You slide up the bed, shoving the pile of stuffed animals onto the floor as you go. Bucky kicks his boots off and climbs on top of you.  

Bucky attaches his lips to your neck, sucking and biting. You moan and pull the hairband out of his hair, tangling your fingers in the soft strands of hair. You tug and he groans, you tug harder and he bites down hard.  

He kisses down your collar bone to your chest, yanking the crop top off you and groaning when he sees you aren’t wearing a bra. He takes one nipple in his mouth, sucking and nipping as it hardens. You let out a high-pitched whine, the pain mixing with pleasure. His metal hand kneads the other, causing you to shiver at the temperature difference. He switches, giving them both the same treatment.  

Once he’s had his fill, he starts to kiss down your stomach, hands groping your thighs.  

“These fucking thighs,” he grumbles. “You have any idea how many times I thought of these gorgeous, thick thighs. Fuck.” He’s thought of you? 

He pulls your skirt down your legs, tossing it somewhere behind him. He gently undoes the straps on your heels and slides them off. He slides his hands up your thighs, one hot and one cold, he spreads them and groans. He leans forward and licks at your clit through the fabric of your panties, moaning at the taste of your juices.  

“Bucky!” You gasp and grip his hair.  

“So fucking good,” he mumbles, mouthing at your pussy. He grips your ass, holding you up and shoving his face into your pussy even more. The fabric gets wetter, a combination of your juices and his saliva.  

You whine his name and tug his hair, pulling him back up to kiss him, moaning at the taste of your juices on his tongue.  

It’s a mess of messy kisses and fumbled movements as Bucky kicks off his jeans and socks, pausing to grind his cock against your panties. Your eyes widen when you see him, he chuckles and tells you not to worry, he’ll fit.  

“Bucky please,” you whine.  

“I know, baby, I know,” he presses a kiss to your cheek. “I gotta prep you first.” 

He rips your panties off, flinging the ruined fabric to the other side of the room. He reaches down with his flesh hand, spreading you slick over your clit before carefully inserting one finger.  

You moan and wiggle your hips, impatient. He flicks your thigh and tells you to be patient. He adds a second finger, then a third. He slowly opens you up, teasing and torturing you, rubbing that spot that makes you see stars.  

Two can play this game.  

You reach down and grab his aching cock, thumbing the slit and spreading the precum that’s gathered there. Bucky moans and bucks his hips, cursing.  

“Bucky please, I’m ready. Just fuck me already.”  

He grunts and pulls his fingers out, sucking them clean. “I’m clean but I have a condom in my wallet.” 

You shake your head. “I’m clean and on birth control.”  

“Fuck yes,” he groans. He flips you over, making you face down, ass up. “This fucking juicy ass.” He slaps your ass a couple of time, groping the juicy flesh hard.  

“Please,” you whine and push back against him.  

Finally, he takes pity on you and lines himself up. He slides all the way in on one thrust, both of you moaning. He gives you a moment to adjust before setting a brutal pace. 

He angles his thrusts just right and you don’t think you’ve ever been fucked this good in your whole life. He leans down, plastering his sweat slicked chest to your back and kisses your shoulder and neck.  

You make little noises with every thrust, fueling Bucky, his own groans and grunts right next to your ear.  

“So fucking tight, shit,” he moans into your shoulder. He reaches down and starts to rub tight circles over your clit and you cry out.  

“Fuck! Bucky please!” 

“Can feel you squeezing me, baby. You gonna cum? Hmm?”  

“Yes! Please! I’m so close!” You moan. 

“Cum.” His thrusts turn even more punishing, if possible, focusing on that spot. Your thighs start to shake. His perfect thrusts and the pressure on your clit push you over the edge. Your eyes roll back, hands griping the sheets so tight they could rip.  

Bucky's pace stutters, you clenching his so tight he cums seconds after you do. He collapses on top of you, both of you trembling and panting.  

He rolls off you to the side, pulling the sheets over you both and spooning you from behind. You both succumb to sleep minutes later, too exhausted to talk about what just happened. 

______ 

The morning sun shines through your blinds, the birds chirp outside your window. You groan and roll over, not wanting to get up just yet. You reach out for Bucky, only to find cold sheets.  

Bucky was gone. 

[katsukistofu]

pls write more megumi!!!! i love how you wrote your recent fic ugh hes so perfecttttt

your wish is my command <3 tysm for enjoying sweetheart i’m glad you liked it ! :)

here comes the sun

contents ౨ৎ ⋆ m. fushiguro x fem reader. fluff. ★ car rides are more bearable when they’re with you.

It’s barely five minutes into the drive and Megumi’s already thinking that Itadori needs to have his license revoked. For life.

His hand darts over to cup the side of your head with a gentle yet firm grip, almost reflexively at this point, stopping you from hurling into the sidedoor after a particularly nasty jostle, for the third curse-forsaken time in a row.

“I think you missed running over a curb back there.” Megumi says dryly in the direction of the front seat.

A cool, summer breeze ruffles his hair as he carefully readjusts your head so instead of lolling to the side, it’s resting on his shoulder. There. That should be much more comfortable for you.

“Hey!” Itadori protests, hands a bit shaky on the wheel. He’s wearing pajama pants with little Spider-mans on them. “I’ve never been in a fancy car without a roof. I’m just getting used to her, that's all.”

“Her?”

“Yeah. Donna.”

Megumi arches a brow. “You named the car.”

“I mean that’s what sensei called her.”

“…Of course he did.”

“Can you two shut up?” Nobara hisses. She’s clad in her own Powerpuff Girl pajamas and Her eyes are still covered by the pink sleep mask that came as a matching set with your pants but you gave it to her instead . “We’re trying to sleep.”

“You are. She’s been knocked out.” Itadori points at you, who’s clinging onto Megumi’s arm like a koala.

“Only because I made sure you wouldn’t wake her up with your shitty driving.” Megumi scowls, curling a protective arm around your waist as the car swerves a little too far left for his liking. His Batman pajama pants brush against your Hello Kitty ones as his thigh bumps against yours, and if you were awake he knew you’d make a joke about them kissing.

“Eyes on the road, idiot.”

Itadori huffs and turns back around to face the wheel. Thankfully you’re still snoozing away, although the way you’re nuzzling into his neck is starting to make him feel a little warm.

Maybe he should have taken his jacket off and put it on top of your blanket.

They pass a herd of cows and Megumi can’t help the upward tug of his lips, remembering your excited squeals when they passed one earlier just an hour ago, chanting ‘Gumi look, Gumi look!’

“I see them,” he had said, more focused on readjusting your seat belt that had somehow unbuckled itself.

With a grin you pointed to a pair that was grazing near a patch of berry bushes. “Those two kind of look like us.”

He finally looks up after making sure you’re safely fastened, hand still softly resting on your waist.

“You’re right, one looks like it doesn’t even know it’s eating grass.”

The pleasant memory of your giggles are drowned out and he narrows his eyes as of course, Itadori and Nobara choose that moment to crank up the radio. It’s a band he never cared for, but remembers the name of along with the lyrics to a few songs because he knows they’re your favorite.

“Turn. It. Down.” Megumi mouths at them, but it’s too late and you’re already starting to blearily open your eyes. The boy that has you tucked beside him sighs in defeat.

On your side of the car, the sun is starting to set and it casts a soft, golden glow like a blanketed halo on your cheekbones down to the tip of your nose, to your cute lips. The rays caress your face in a way he only does in the privacy of his room, with you gently pinned underneath him.

“Hey, sleepyhead.” Itadori grins, handing his phone to you. “Can you check if I’m going the right way real quick?”

You lean forward and blink against Megumi’s strong arm that’s suddenly in front of you, still half-asleep.

“Don’t tell her to do it, dipshit, she just woke up.” He glares at Itadori, taking the phone from him instead and taps the screen a few times. With his head leaning to the other side once he rests back into his seat, he wordlessly makes space for you to rest yours on his shoulder again and you do so happily.

“You were supposed to make a U-turn ten minutes ago.” Megumi deadpans as you yawn, still drowsy from your nap.

“Oh fuck.”

The four of you are finally at the picnic site, after what seems like driving for hours.

“Megumi!” You bound up to him like an overexcited puppy, and he bites back a laugh at your eagerness to show him whatever you found. “Close your eyes.”

If it was Itadori or Nobara, he would have definitely asked “Why?” before they pulled another one of their endless pranks on him but since it's you, he shuts them.

There’s a cool sensation that glides against his ear, and he realizes it’s a petal. You’re tucking a flower into his hair, you must’ve found it under the tree where they parked. His eyes flutter open and he’s met with your familiar, adoring stare that never fails to twist his stomach into knots.

“It’s a peach blossom. Pretty, um, like you.” You mumble, suddenly shy as he gazes down at you with the barest hint of a teasing smile tugging at his lips.

No one’s around, Itadori and Nobara have long gone to find the perfect spot to set down the blanket, and Megumi brushes a quick kiss to your temple.

“Thank you.”

The peace of the afternoon is short lived when he walks with you to meet up with Nobara and Itadori, who have somehow attracted a group of ducks from the nearby pond. One nips at Itadori’s butt, who narrowly manages to dodge it while Nobara is holding her Balenciaga purse high out of the feathered menaces reaches. “Stop that, this was almost two hundred thousand yen!”

Megumi rolls his eyes and barely manages to stifle a snort. He holds your own purse that he’s been carrying this whole time steady for you as you dig into it and whip a paper grocery bag out.

“I have lettuce, don't worry guys!”

His midnight blue eyes glint with fondness as they follow your figure when you bend down to feed the ducks and kindly lead them away from the food that’s sprawled out on the picnic blanket, talking to them like you would with a baby kitten.

Oh he’s going to kiss you breathless later.

Nobara and Itadori nearly fall to your feet. “Our savior!” They cry in unison and you laugh, patting them both on the back. Your best friend then gets up and smacks Itadori with the side of her bag.

“I told you we should have left the chips in the car! Those ducks could have choked to death and it’d all be your fault.”

Your other best friend pouts. “But they were pizza flavored, I wanted to savor them under the flowers!”

“Ew.” Nobara says, already shoving one of them in her mouth, and she holds another chip up to your lips for you to try. “They taste gross, right?”

You chew thoughtfully, and sneak your hand into the open bag to get a few to feed Megumi. “Hm. Could be better.”

“Yeah it's kind of lacking,” Megumi says, his soft lips brushing against your fingers as he takes his another cautious bite.

“Don’t you three say that with your mouth full!”

─────────

So the car got towed.

Gojo’s fuming and Megumi’s pretty sure he’s going to try grounding the four of you, but with a simple bribe of his favorite zunda and cream kikufuku courtesy of your culinary skills his forgiveness is easily attainable.

He absentmindedly wonders if you knead the delicious dough you make from scratch the same way you randomly pinch his cheeks.

The glow of the passing streetlights behind him reflects in your eyes like a thousand tiny, shooting stars and when he looks into them he swears he can see the Milky Way. They’re fighting to stay open after you tiredly slump onto the train’s last empty seat, sandwiched between Nobara and Itadori’s already dozing forms who were scrolling through nail art ideas with you just moments before as he occasionally made comments when you prompted him to, “Would look cute on you” and “That color’s nice” falling from his lips. His eyes soften as he looks at you.

“Gumi…” You softly murmur and his head perks up.

“Yeah?” He leans in closer to hear you, and bites back a chuckle as you mumble something unintelligible. “It’s okay, go to sleep. I’ll stand here and watch you guys.”

“M’kay. ‘Night ‘night, love you.” Is all you whisper before passing out.

“I love you too,” Megumi mutters under his breath, low enough so that it falls on no one else’s ears in the car. You can’t hear him because you fell asleep before you could, but he doesn’t care, he says it anyway and hopes that as his words linger in the air it brings you sweet dreams.

He notices the faint goosebumps on your thighs and takes off his jacket in one swift motion to cover your lap. You’re wearing a shorter skirt than usual today, and like hell he’d let you freeze because of the train’s air conditioning.

His burning eyes flick up from your unaware, adorably blissful face to shoot a scathing glare at the man who’s been glancing your way since you got on the train, and steps closer to shield you entirely from his view. The intimidated stranger looks away quickly, and a small, victorious smirk makes it way across his lips.

That’s right you were his girl, and he’s going to make damn sure everyone knows that.

[quandledlngle69]

greetings its the anon with whipped cream, a cherry ontop and rainbow sprinkles again (●’◡’●)ﾉ

i have made my appearance here today to ask for another kasier x reader where reader protects kaiser against some weirdo even tho he didnt really need it but its still super cute bc yk halahakahalahssnhsjdjdjd ♥︎♥︎♥︎

・. ★ omg omg hi again anon.ᐟ I made this one extra juicy 4 u >:3 I hope this finds you well! And if you want you could give yourself an emoji so i can associate it w you <3

☆ CONTENT: Your drinking at the bar for the teams post-match celebration. Kaiser tries to leave when he notices your drunk asf and bumps into a drunk guy who starts getting aggressive. You basically put this guy in his place to Kaisers surprise. ☆ GENRE/THEMES/WARNING: Drinking, alcohol, aggressiveness, kaiser almost fighting this guy, swearing, protectiveness, reader throwing a drink in the drunk guys face, mention of violence, reader not tolerating any bullshit, reader is mentioned to be wearing a dress and heels. Mein schatz - 'My Sweetheart.'  Mein liebling - 'My darling.' ☆ W.C. 1.0K

It’s not uncommon for Bastard München to have a post–match celebration at a club.

Usually you spent the night at the bar, preferring it over the cramped and stuffy booths. Drinks came way more quicker when you were closer to the source, your strawberry daiquiri always ended up being slid to you no more than five minutes after being requested. It was also a must that your face made a fake disgusted look when Kaiser's choice of drink–which was a pint of beer–was set in front of him. He sent you an amused smirk as you asked him why he gets beer–knowing your tongue forever tainted for tasting the nasty liquid. 

“It’s in my blood, mein schatz.” he drawled, his fingertip following the rim of his glass, his crowned hand splayed out over your flexing knee. “Plus, it's a manly drink.”

Psh, whatever that means. 

The next hour and a half is spent babbling his ear off as more strawberry daiquiris found its way in your hands. After about four drinks in a row, your flushed cheek was smushed against his bicep, giggling at whatever small thing he did. He knew it was time to leave when your words started to slur, coupled with hiccups and flushed cheeks. Your feet swinging back and forth slightly from where you sat, nuzzling into him like a cat who had too much affection to give for its own good. 

He said his goodbyes to his hammered teammates, the gesture added on with your enthusiastic waving as Kaiser paid the tab, leading you away from the bar by the small of your back. 

It took roughly thirty seconds leaving the bar before trouble already began to bloom. 

The club wasn’t packed, but it was still bursting with life, neon flashing lights lit up all corners of the dance floor, the music in the background drumming and vibrating in the floor like a second heartbeat. He was cautious and focused, weaving you and himself out of people's way as they passed. Kaiser could see the exit a few feet away, and with the way your heels were barley cooperating with the floor, he knew he had a limited time before you got to your drunken whiny stage–

BAM.

A stumbling figure collided straight into him, slamming into his shoulder hard enough to make him shift his stance. The bump was hard enough to make Kaiser stop, gently grabbing the front of your waist to stop you from continuing on walking. The man wasn’t small by any means–he was almost as tall as Kaiser, and with enough weight and muscle that would be dangerous if thrown around with a purpose. The smell of tequila immediately hit his nose, and he could see the guy barely managing to catch himself from falling. The drunk man turned around, his eyes faltering for a second before pinpointing on Kaiser.

“Whass—what’s your problem, man?” The drunk slurred, frowning like he was the one offended, his voice barely heard over the deafening music. 

Kaiser exhaled through his nose. He really didn’t have the time or patience to deal with lowlife drunk idiots–and that description was being nice. Kaiser knew from the other man's stance, he wouldn’t let it go. “You walked into me,” His deep voice calm but firm, his grip on your dress tightening. 

“So–so…you think you're some…tough guy, huh?” The man's words are slowed and drawn out, a sense of aggressive edge wedged in them that Kaiser instantly picked up on. His jaw tightened, his eyes sharpening tenfold, foul words quickly forming in the base of his throat. Yet it quickly dissipates when he hears you mumble something about wanting to go home, glancing at you before releasing the tension in his jaw. He doesn’t have time for this. 

“Move out of my way. Now.”

It seems like your boyfriend's threatening words finally make you pay attention to the brewing confrontation, forcing yourself to sober up as much as you can to focus on his tension–filled words and the situation in front of you. And his response only seemed to piss the drunk man off more, his face twisting into a nasty scowl, side stepping to stand in front of your boyfriend, sizing him up. 

“Nah, you...you don’t just get to walk away, bitch –” 

The man puts a rough hand on Kaiser’s shoulder, gripping it in a hostile manner. By some miracle, he hasn’t just completely socked this man in the face. He’s eerily calm, his fist already balling, thinking about how he was going to break this guy's wrist if he didn’t let go in the next three seconds –

But before he could even move, you had snatched the man's wrist, twisting it off harshly with precision, making the man gasp. Kaiser didn’t even have time to process what you had just done before your heel came into hard contact with the man’s foot, making him yelp, loudly. But it was short–lived as it was quickly cut off by a drink to the face, a cup you must have snatched in the moment from someone’s hands on the dance floor. 

The surrounding area had paused its flow, dozens of eyes looking on at the scene of this aggressive man who was soaked in sticky alcohol, the drunk girl responsible protectively standing in front of her boyfriend. 

Kaiser was still surprised at your actions, but so entertained, letting you cuss this man out with a causal hand resting on your hip, as if consciously holding you back from doing anything else. The mean energy and adrenaline rush was still with you even as the man was escorted out the club by a bouncer. It was after the man had left you felt yourself being pulled gently through the crowd and out into the cool night of Berlin, before being hoisted up effortlessly off the ground and onto your boyfriend's back. Kaiser smirked to himself, still hearing you mumbling insults to yourself by his ear as he brought you back to his sports car. He didn’t bother ushering you into the passenger seat, letting you stay comfortably perked in his lap in the driver's instead. 

“You know, I could’ve handled him by myself, mein liebling.” He muttered in your ear as he brushed some stray hair from your face, his cerulean eyes looking down at your drunken form. You mumbled something unintelligible to his ears, earning a soft chuckle from him, shaking his head at your adorableness before smoothly turning his keys in the ignition, the engine roaring to life. 

If you were this much of a troublemaker drunk, his mind already raced with how lethal sober you could’ve been.

Quandaledlngle69 © 2025

[wlwsoccerfics]

Baby Number 3(KatrinaGorryXReader)

Summary: you and Mini are on a little getaway Trip with some of the Matilda Girls and Harper accidentally spills a Secret.

You sat on the Bus with Charli, Ellie, Kyra, Steph, Caitlin, Teagan, Emily, Lani & Macca. Koby and Harper were also with you. Your son was currently asleep on your chest while Harper was playing something on Kyras Phone with her. Kyra was basically your Bonus Kid. So was Charli. The entire Team called you 'Kyras & Charlis Matilda moms' which was valid. They often Had sleepovers at your place. Cause both of them loved spending time with Mini and with you. And mostly with Harper and Koby. You were on a way to a Weekend getaway to a little cabin right now. Your wife noticed how tired you.weete and gently squeezed your hand.

"Babe want me to take Koby so you can get some rest. You look tired." She told you.

"wow thanks Love, you know exactly what i want to hear." You said playfully but your voice was laced with exhaustion.

"you know what i mean, beautiful." She stated and playfully rolled her eyes. You smiled tiredly.

"i do know. And thanks, yes please." You answered and carefully handed over your almost one year old son to your wife.

Around like five minutes after that you were asleep. Head against Minis shoulder. She smiled to herself. Holding Koby who was asleep as well. At the same time Lani, Kyra, Macca, Charli and Harper started doing Karaoke in the Front of the Bus. Singing Disney Songs. Especially Moana,Frozen & The Lion King.

Caitlin was talking to your wife. She sat in the same row as you and Mini did. Next to her was Emily. Emily was also half asleep.

"My sister looks exhausted. What the hell did you do Last night?" Caitlin asked your wife with a soft chuckle.

"nothing. That's what happens when you have kids." Mini stated and laughed a bit. Trying Not to wake you up.

"okay valid! One day Katie and i are gonna get the full experience!" Caitlin answered. Smiling softly from ear to ear.

"you will and both of you gonna be amazing moms because the two of you are already amazing aunties!" Your wife replied. Smiling at your sister.

"thank you for saying that!" Caitlin stated.

"it's the truth!" Mini answered. Holding your son close gently rubbing his back while he made some happy noises.

Half an hour later the Karaoke buddies have moved on from Disney-Songs to Justin Bieber and Shawn Mendes. Macca started singing Baby when Harper spoke up.

"you know Mommy has a Baby in her Belly?" She said. Macca stopped singing. The entire Bus was suddenly filled with silence even Mini and Caitlin stopped talking before Caitlin spoke up again.

"you are having a third Baby?!" Caitlin said and smiled softly.

"y/n is pregnant!" Macca yelled out which woke you up. Looking around confused.

"what happened?" You asked.

"we just found out we gonna be aunties again!" Emily stated.

" a new Baby sibling!" Kyra happily said.

"so exciting!" Charli replied. Smiling from ear to ear.

"thank you. But how did you found out?" You asked.

"Harps let it Slip when Macca was singing Baby as a Karaoke Song!" Steph explained.

"oh wow! That's not how we planned on telling you but i am glad you all know now and that you are Happy for us!" You admitted and smiled from ear to ear.

"sorry for telling everyone." Harper said softly. Smiling sheepishly.

"it's okay Love Bug!" You told her and hugged her softly, when she climbed into your lap.

You and the other girls talked some more before the Bus made it to the cabin and you all carried your bags and suitcases inside. This weekend was filled with lots of Love and Baby Name Talks.

[azrielstherapist]

No One Like You [Ch. 1]

𝙎𝙮𝙣𝙤𝙥𝙨𝙞𝙨: He saved the world. But the cost? A part of himself that he can never get back.

Rhysand returned to Velaris as the hero of Prythian, but the shadows of his past cling to him, leaving him distant, haunted. The world has moved on, but he hasn't.

You, an apothecary in Velaris, isn’t interested in saving anyone—least of all him. You have your own secrets and scars to carry. When your paths cross, something shifts. Something neither of you is ready for.

No one warned you that some connections are inevitable, no matter how much you resist.

In a city where the past is never truly gone, both of you may have more in common than you realize—whether you’re ready to face it or not.

Inspired by: "A Girl Like You" by Edwyn Collins Pairing: Rhysand x Y/N

Note: I was listening to this song and I was inspired, so why not. I still don't understand how Tumblr works, so work in progress I guess. This is a draft of the first chapter, Rhysand is introduced in the second chapter, if you guys like it. I'll publish it! Dividers by @aquazero

Chapter 2, Chapter 3

The wind that rolled down from the Sidra had a bite to it that morning. Not cruel, not winter’s wrath, but sharp enough to slip beneath cloaks and find skin. The kind of wind that reminded you the world moved on, with or without you. The kind that asked whether you’d move with it.

I walked with my hood up and my hands tucked into the sleeves of my coat, eyes on the slick stones of the narrow alleyways that cradled my little shop like a secret. People passed me by with baskets of bread and paper-wrapped flowers. Some nodded, most didn’t. That suited me just fine.

The apothecary sat where it always had, halfway between the river and the square, tucked into a weathered stone building that leaned like it was tired. A faded wooden sign above the door read “The Apothecary”, how original, but most people just called it the shop with the blue door.

I liked it that way.

The bell above the door gave a single, soft chime when I pushed it open. That sound was mine, I’d chosen it, tuned it, hung it with trembling fingers years ago. Not just to hear when someone entered. But to remind me that this space was real. That I existed, here.

Inside, the warmth was waiting. Not from a fire, I hadn’t lit one yet, but from the walls themselves, from the worn wood shelves and their neat rows of amber bottles, herb bundles hanging from the ceiling, soft powders and dried petals in glass. The scent of bergamot, ash bark, and clove curled in the air like memory.

My fingers moved automatically, unlocking the storeroom, checking the fresh jars from the night before, brushing dust from the counter. It was still early. Velaris hadn’t woken fully yet. That was the way I preferred it: the hush before sound, the stillness before demands.

The city was beautiful, a dream for poets, all marble and starlight, but I had no interest in its art galleries or its floating lanterns, not anymore at least. Beauty like that had always seemed a little cruel to me. Too fragile. Too easy to break.

I liked the ugly things. Bitter roots. Cracked vials. The stubborn fight of plants that grow in poor soil.

By the second hour, the shop was humming in the soft way it always did. The bell rang, and I didn’t have to look up to know it was Aeluin.

He came every week, a retired cloth-dyer who still carried the scent of ink and wool on his hands.

“Morning, girl,” he said, with a nod and a wheeze. “Same as usual.”

“You sleeping?” I asked, already reaching for the tin with the lavender blend I made just for him. “Or just pretending you are?”

Aeluin gave a dry laugh. “If I was sleeping proper, I wouldn’t be here beggin’ for leaves.”

“You’re not begging. You’re paying,” I said, and wrapped the tin with a strip of linen. “This time, don’t steep it more than five minutes. You overbrew it again, it won’t knock out a field mouse.”

He left a few coppers on the counter, more than I charged, and didn’t wait for change. He never did.

“You should come by the square,” he said before the door closed behind him. “They’ve set up a market for the solstice. Music, food, that sort of thing.”

“I don’t do crowds.”

He gave me a look. Not pity, not judgment. Just… recognition. Then he nodded once and left.

Alone again.

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

The second bell of the morning came with the scent of wet stone and steel. An Illyrian, tall, broad-shouldered, wings tucked neatly beneath his cloak. Draxen, I remembered. We’d only spoken a few times before.

"You’re up early," he said, pulling his hood back and ruffling damp hair.

I gave a small nod, already reaching for the tincture I guessed he’d come for, something for sore muscles or a bruised rib. "Trouble flying?"

"Trouble sparring," he replied with a grin, eyeing the shelf like he was looking for something else entirely. “Your stuff works better than whatever my partner stashes in his desk.”

“You’re still using it wrong.”

Draxen gave a mock-wounded look. “Can’t I just appreciate your brewing skills without the lecture?”

I let the faintest smile curl the corner of my mouth. “That would be new.”

He leaned against the counter, casual, like someone who didn’t quite know what to do with stillness. “You always this cheery in the morning?”

“You always this nosy for no reason?”

He barked a laugh, genuinely amused. I handed him the small dark-glass bottle, carefully labeled.

"Thanks," he said, slipping it into his jacket. But instead of leaving, he looked around, really looked. At the half-lit corners, the shelves, the care in every label and placement. His gaze was warm, but sharp. The kind that sees more than it should. “You ever think of moving closer to the city center? You’d have more customers.”

I arched a brow. “You want more people to know where I live?”

“Fair enough,” he said, that smirk of his deepening with approval. “Still. You’ve got a talent.”

“I’ve got quiet. That’s enough.”

He lingered, like he wanted to say more, but finally just gave a nod and turned toward the door. The bell jingled behind him, the wind tugging at his cloak as he vanished into the street.

The shop was quite again.

I leaned against the counter and listened to the silence. Not empty, not lonely. Just quiet. And in that quiet, I breathed.

This was my space. My rhythm. My peace.

So when the bell chimed again, softer this time, like a fingertip on glass, I knew before I turned that something was different.

She stepped inside, cloak damp at the edges, the color of the deepest red, a shade that would’ve blended into shadows if not for the sheen of rain on the velvet. Her hair, golden and impossibly bright, fell in a braid over one shoulder, and her expression was open in that diplomatic sort of way, welcoming, unreadable, disarming.

She seems like someone used to being watched.

Not in a vain way, not the kind that demanded attention, but the way people moved when they were accustomed to it. Like she was always bracing for something. Praise or attack, I couldn’t tell.

I didn’t need more than a second to place her. I saw her in the city, everyone knows her.

The Morrigan.

A member of the Night Court.

he High Lord’s third in command.

She didn’t introduce herself, but I didn’t expect her to. Instead, she stepped forward and said, “I was passing by,” voice warm but measured, “and your shop looked… inviting.”

My hands didn’t still over the bundles I was sorting. “It’s open.”

Her eyes moved over the room with genuine interest, not feigned for politeness. “What do you prepare here? Herbs? Brews? Tinctures?”

“All of the above,” I said. “Oils, powders, teas. Salves. Tonics for the body. Others for the mind.”

She nodded, stepping closer, not into my space, but toward a low shelf lined with small dark vials, all unlabeled.

“You work alone?”

I gave her a look. She didn’t press.

After a quiet moment, she turned back to me. “Do you make truth serums?”

The question was clear, but her tone was carefully neutral, too practiced to be idle curiosity. She didn’t say who they wanted the truth from, or why.

“Yes.”

“Subtle ones?”

“Yes.”

Something flickered behind her gaze. Not surprise, but something adjacent. Approval, maybe.

“I need one that doesn’t taste like anything,” she said. “One that doesn’t slow the tongue or dull the mind. One that won’t be noticed until it’s too late.”

I tied off the sprig of dried anise root I was wrapping and finally met her eyes. “How long do you want it to last?”

“A few minutes. Long enough for answers.”

I nodded once, then turned to the back shelves without another word. I didn’t ask who it was for. I didn’t ask why. She didn’t offer.

And that, oddly, felt like an understanding.

I took down two jars, one filled with crushed veritas blossoms, another with pale green thistle seeds. From a third tin, I pulled a small folded parchment containing a fine white powder that shimmered faintly in the light.

I began measuring in silence.

Behind me, the woman wandered, careful not to touch anything. Her gaze moved to the bone charm hanging above the archway, one of the old ones. A ward against liars. She didn’t comment on it.

When I turned back, she was already watching me.

“This won’t compel truth,” I said. “It’ll only lower the resistance to speaking it. The mind will want to keep secrets, but the tongue won’t quite cooperate.”

“That’s all we need.”

I folded the blend into a black wax paper and tied it with string. No label. No instructions. If she needed this, she’d know how to use it.

“Four silvers,” I said.

She paid in silence. Then, without reaching for the bundle yet, she studied me a moment longer. Not rudely. Not with suspicion. Just with… interest.

“Most apothecaries wouldn’t hand this over without a dozen questions.”

“Then most apothecaries waste breath.”

That made her smile, small, almost private.

“I’m Morrigan,” she offered then, with a slight bow of her head.

“I know.”

She paused, not offended, just curious. “And you are?”

“Y/N”

A flicker of recognition, maybe in the name. Maybe not. But she said nothing else. Just tucked the packet into her cloak, nodded once, and turned for the door.

“It suits you.”, then she vanished.

I didn’t answer.

The bell chimed as she left, and the silence folded around me again, but not quite the same silence as before.

Something had shifted.

Chapter 2, Chapter 3

[ceyanabbiolo]

PHOTOGRAPH // M.S [12]

Summary: Daphne Denoire, a 21-year-old, returns to Boston after 3 years—but working for her brother’s best friend, Matthew Sturniolo, wasn’t part of the plan. He’s a 26-year-old multimillionaire. She’s the girl he was never supposed to feel this way about. With secrets between them and boundaries set, how far will they go for a love they never saw coming?

Warnings: mentions of r@pe & SA, pure angst

wc: 5288

Chapter 12: We Hug Now

The last week in LA dragged more than I thought it would.

Daphne and I barely talked. Not like before. Not like when things were good. We spoke when we had to—work stuff, schedule updates, quick comments during shoots—but that was it. Every other moment was filled with silence that felt too loud.

I kept telling myself to be patient. Maybe she just needed space. But every time she avoided eye contact or sat on the other side of the room during meetings, it chipped at something in me.

Now, we are back in Boston.

The plane had just landed, the seatbelt light dinged off, and everyone started shuffling for their bags. I didn’t look back to see where she was. I knew where she was—three rows behind me, middle seat. Quiet. Like she’d been all week.

I grabbed my carry-on and headed out into the terminal. The cold Boston air hit differently after two weeks of California sun, but honestly, it just matched the way everything felt now. Colder.

She was behind me, walking silently as we made our way to the exit.

And I hated it. I hated how familiar she had become, and how foreign it felt now just being near her. 

“That car will take you home,” I said, turning to her. “I got a separate Uber.”

She looked up at me, her eyes tired and unreadable, but something about the way she nodded tugged at me.

“That’s fine,” she said quietly.

I nodded back and slipped into my car, but I didn’t let my driver pull off until I saw her Uber pull away first. My gaze lingered on the disappearing tail lights for a moment longer than I’d admit.

The ride to my place was quiet—too quiet. The city passed by outside the window, all movement and noise, but inside the car, my head was full of only one thing.

Her.

That night had been a mess. And I wasn’t even angry—just... confused. Hurt, even. Daphne wasn’t cruel. That wasn’t her. So the way she snapped, the way she recoiled from me like I was dangerous... It shook me. I’ve never seen her like that. Never seen her eyes so full of fear—or pain.

I knew I must’ve triggered something deeper, something she hadn’t told me. But how the hell was I supposed to help her if she wouldn’t let me in?

She was shutting me out completely. Walls up. Lock and key.

Even though I told myself I’d give her time, the ache in my chest wasn’t letting up. I just wanted to understand. To fix it, but maybe this wasn’t something I could fix. Maybe this time... I wasn’t what she needed. 

It was laughable, really—Daphne and I were “together” for, what, five hours? Talk about the shortest relationship in history. World record-worthy.

By the time I got to my apartment, I was barely holding my eyes open. The door was already unlocked, and I could hear voices coming from the kitchen.

I wasn’t alarmed. I already knew which hooligans had made themselves at home.

“Here he comes,” I heard Nick’s voice call out as I dropped my luggage near the front door with a heavy thud.

“Yup,” I said blankly. “I’m back.”

I stepped into the kitchen and found Chris perched on the island, a soda in hand, looking far too relaxed for someone who was dealing with thirty different things right now. 

“Why do you sound sad?” Nick asked, eyebrows raised as he leaned against the fridge. “You tired or... what?”

I just nodded, brushing past them. “Yeah. Long flight. Long two weeks.”

Chris narrowed his eyes a bit like he could already smell something off. Thankfully, neither of them pressed further. At least not yet. 

I opened the fridge, more for a distraction than anything else, pretending to search for something when really I just needed a second to breathe. To shake off the tightness in my chest.

Nick walked around the counter, grabbing a bag of chips. “So, how was LA?” he asked with a mouth half-full.

“Busy,” I said. “A lot of running around.”

I shut the fridge without grabbing anything and turned to Chris, arms crossing lazily over my chest.

“When are you leaving for Milan?” I asked, mostly to change the subject.

Chris looked up from his phone. “Probably in a few days,” he said casually. “Got a couple of meetings lined up, and I need to check on the new office.”

Right. The empire never sleeps.

Chris ran a few businesses out there—luxury goods, fashion consulting, something in tech I didn’t fully understand. Milan was basically his second home. Sometimes his first.

“You going for long?” I asked.

He shrugged. “A couple of weeks, maybe more. Depends on how things go.”

I nodded slowly, my eyes drifting back toward the kitchen counter where I leaned. The conversation was light, but everything in my body still felt heavy. I knew I should probably say something—anything—to distract myself, to act normal. But all I could think about was her.

Chris must’ve picked up on it, because he tilted his head. “You good?”

I deflected, throwing it back at him. “I’m good. You good? Those accounts still leaking?”

Chris let out a tired huff, glancing at his drink like it might have answers. “Yeah. Michael’s getting smarter, I guess.”

Michael—our uncle. Blood, technically. However, lately, more of a parasite. He’d been quietly draining money out of the business for months now. Millions gone. Every time we got close to tracking him down, he slipped through another crack.

It’s the whole reason Chris is getting married. A fine, well-dressed man with a problem, shaking hands with another rich man, offering his daughter like some kind of trade. Marriage was in exchange for saving the empire. 

Cliché, I know.

Corporate survival with a bow on top.

And Chris? He’s playing the part. Always does.

Chris leaned back on the counter, his eyes scanning me like he could read between the lines. “So… what are you doing now?”

I shrugged, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge and cracking it open. “Not much. Catching up on emails, maybe hitting the gym later.”

Chris raised a brow. “That’s not what I meant.”

I looked over at him. “What’d you mean, then?”

He tilted his head. “I mean, with Daphne. I know you don’t just look like that after a work trip. You look like you came back broken or whatever.”

Chris was cold, sure—but not oblivious.

I exhaled sharply. “You were right. We got close, but… I don’t think it’s gonna work out.”

Chris tilted his head, eyes narrowing slightly. “Close how?”

I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck. “Like, close close.”

He raised an eyebrow, finally connecting the dots. “You and Daphne?”

I didn’t answer right away, just gave a small nod and looked down at the floor.

Nick let out another dramatic sigh and leaned against the counter, arms crossed. “You’re a dumbass, Matt.”

I shot him a look, sarcasm thick in my voice. “Oh really?”

Chris stood from the barstool, brushing off his slacks with a sigh of his own. “I don’t have time for this shit. I’ve got a meeting and a dozen other things to handle.” He clapped a firm hand on my shoulder as he passed. “Figure it out,” he said simply before heading to the door and disappearing down the hall.

That left me with Nick.

He stared at me for a long moment, then rubbed the back of his neck. “Look, Matt. I’m not gonna pretend I understand everything going on with you and Daphne—but I know you, and I know when you care, you care hard.”

I stayed quiet.

Nick’s tone dropped slightly. “I know she’s Noah’s sister, but don’t walk away from it just ‘cause it’s not simple”

I looked down, chewing the inside of my cheek.

Nick grabbed his keys off the counter. “Just… don’t make her feel like she has to be perfect for you to stay. She probably already thinks she isn’t.”

I glanced at him, caught off guard. “When did you get so insightful?”

He shrugged, smirking. “I’ve been through some shit too, y’know.” Then he headed toward the door. “Anyway, I’ve got to bounce—but seriously, stop being a dumbass. At least try.”

With that, I was alone.

Again.

I finished off whatever scraps Chris and Nick had left in my pantry, not really tasting any of it, then hit the shower to clear my head. Still restless, I grabbed my gym bag and headed out. When I train, I don’t hold back—it’s the one place I let everything go. No thinking, just movement. Sweat, reps, noise. It helps.

Afterward, I picked up some takeout on the way home, but I barely registered the flavor as I sat slumped on the couch, eating in silence. My apartment felt too quiet, too clean.

I reached for the remote, flipped through channels without watching.

Every once in a while, my eyes would flick to my phone. No notifications.

I didn’t expect one from her, but I wanted one anyway. 

My phone buzzed just as I tossed the empty takeout container onto the coffee table. I glanced down at the screen.

FaceTime from Noah.

I stared at it for a second before answering.

“Yo,” I said, leaning back into the couch.

“Hey,” his voice came through casually, but I could tell he wasn’t just calling to chat. “You back in Boston?”

“Yeah. Got in earlier today.”

There was a brief silence on the line.

“She seemed off when I called her earlier,” Noah said. “Sounded upset. Something happened?”

My chest tightened, but I kept my tone even. “No?” I replied casually. “Did she say something happened?”

“No,” he said, a bit uncertain. “But she wasn’t herself. Moodier than usual.”

“Maybe she’s just tired,” I offered quickly. “The trip was long. Jet lag probably hit her harder.”

I hated how easily the lie slipped out.

Noah hummed on the other end, not entirely convinced but not pressing either. “Yeah…maybe.”

I swallowed hard. I wasn’t about to tell him that his little sister had confessed in my arms last week, the kisses, or that she shuts me out when I touch her. Or that I walked out on her when she needed me the most because I didn’t understand.

“Anyway,” Noah continued, “I was thinking of coming back around Christmas. We need to hang, man.”

Christmas was in like a month. We spoke about random things for like half an hour before we hung up. 

“Cool. Later, man.”

“Later.”

The call ended, but my mind didn’t. I stared at the dark screen, guilt crawling up my spine like a shadow that wouldn’t let go. Daphne had said nothing to him. 

I knew she probably wasn’t the type to go crying to her brother about boys. 

It had been weighing on me all day. The silence. The way she wouldn’t talk to me. The way I let my own pride keep me from reaching out first. But I wasn’t in the wrong… was I? I wanted to help. I tried to understand. I just… couldn’t if she didn’t tell me.

The hours dragged on, quiet and dull. I went through portfolios, answered a few work emails, barely touched dinner, showered, and got into bed.

It was nearing 11 PM. I turned off the lamp on my nightstand and leaned back against the pillows, letting the dim street light bleed through the blinds.

My phone lit up with a buzz. One message. Daphne.

I sat up without thinking, heart already pounding as I unlocked the screen.

Daphne: Are you awake? I replied instantly. Matt: Yeah, I’m up.

The typing bubbles appeared, disappeared, then came back again. She was hesitating.

Daphne: Can I come over?

A wave of worry hit me hard. I didn’t even stop to think. Matt: No, don’t Matt: I’ll come to you. It’s late.

A pause. Then her response came quietly. Daphne: Okay.

I left my house almost immediately, because if she needed someone, I'd always be there first.

DAPHNE

I hadn’t planned on texting Matt. I stared at my phone for what felt like hours. My fingers hovered, typing and erasing the same message again and again.

It was eating me alive. I had hurt him.

The one person who had slowed down long enough to actually care, to stop and look at me and ask if I was okay when no one else ever really did. And I’d pushed him away. Again.

My chest ached with guilt. I hated how things ended. I hated how it happened at all.

The silence between us had stretched for too long. I couldn’t take it anymore.

So I sent the text. Are you awake? When he said he’d come to me instead, I felt something crack open in my chest. Something soft. Something scary.

I got up from my bed, nerves twisting in my stomach as I pulled on a hoodie and made my way to the living room to wait.

I didn’t know what I was going to say. I just knew I had to say something.

I thought I’d be able to wait calmly, but the quiet in the apartment felt too loud, too sharp. My nerves were buzzing beneath my skin, and my chest wouldn’t stop tightening.

Maybe I shouldn’t have texted him.

Maybe this was a mistake.

I sat down on the couch, curling into the corner, knees to my chest. I didn’t even realize my eyes had fluttered shut.

Just for a moment.

Just to breathe.

I rubbed my palms down my thighs, trying to steady my breath when—knock knock.

I froze.

The sound was gentle, almost hesitant. It felt like thunder in the quiet apartment.

He was here. 

Only took him fifteen minutes. 

Everything in me screamed to retreat, to hide, to pretend I had never sent that message. But my legs were already moving toward the door. My hand rested on the knob, and I closed my eyes for a second—just one second—to find some sort of courage.

Then, slowly, I turned the handle.

I opened the door.

There he stood—Matt.

Hair slightly messy from the wind, hoodie thrown over a white t-shirt, and those eyes… They were soft tonight. Searching mine like he already knew I was falling apart inside.

“Hey,” he said quietly, almost like he was scared to speak too loudly.

“Hi,” I whispered.

We just stood there for a second. I was gripping the door, and he was standing in the hallway like he wasn’t sure if he should step in.

“You gonna let me in?” he asked gently, a small tilt to his head, voice laced with concern but not pushing.

I stepped back. “Yeah…sorry.”

Matt walked in, slow and cautious, like he knew I was a live wire. He stopped in the middle of my living room, not touching anything. Just waiting.

The air was thick. My throat felt dry.

“You okay?” he finally asked, breaking the silence.

I nodded too fast, like always.

Matt didn’t say anything. Just looked at me, really looked at me, the way no one else ever had.

“I didn’t know if you’d come,” I said.

“I told you,” he said, voice low, “I’m here when you need me.”

We sat in silence.

The kind of silence that felt thick in the air, like fog you couldn’t see through. I didn’t know what else to say—everything in me felt used up, wrung out from the truth I had just admitted. I stared at my hands. My fingers were laced in my lap so tightly I felt the bones press.

Matt sat next to me, close but not too close, giving me room to breathe. His hand was still resting near mine, open, waiting. His knee bounced a little—nervous energy, maybe.

Then he sighed. Soft but heavy.

“Why’d you call me, Daphne?” he asked quietly.

His voice wasn’t cold, but it held something tired. Hurt, maybe.

My throat tightened again.

I opened my mouth to answer, but nothing came out.

“I’m not mad,” he said after a moment. “I just… I need to understand.”

I blinked fast, trying to hold it together. “I don’t know,” I finally whispered.

Matt looked at me, but I couldn’t bring myself to meet his eyes.

“I didn’t know who else to call,” I added, voice barely audible. “I didn’t want to be alone tonight. I—I didn’t want you to leave like that. Not when you didn’t know the whole story.”

He nodded slowly, eyes still fixed on me. “But you didn’t say anything when I left.”

“I’m sorry, Matt,” I whispered, voice shaking. “I’m sorry I let you down.”

His expression softened, his voice quiet but steady. “You didn’t let me down, Daphne. I’m just... confused. I don’t know what I did.”

I looked down, fingers twisting in my lap as I shook my head. “You didn’t do anything, Matt.”

I hesitated, the words catching in my throat before I finally let them out.

“I’m just… really, really sad,” I said, barely holding it together, voice shaky, “I’m not okay.”

There it was, the first confession said out loud. 

I watched Matt’s face shift—his usual ease replaced with raw concern. His brows furrowed, his mouth parted slightly like he wasn’t sure what to say first.

“Sweetheart,” he said gently, his voice barely above a whisper. “Why are you sad? What happened?”

It wasn’t just a question. It was the kind that came from someone who really wanted to know. Someone aching to help carry the weight.

But I couldn’t say it. I couldn’t even bring myself to open my mouth. The word, the memory—it was thick in my throat, threatening to choke me. I haven't said the word out loud once. Not to anyone, not even to Noah. 

“I–I can’t say it out loud, Matt.” My voice cracked as a sob crept up my chest. “I’ve never told anyone. Not once.”

Matt didn’t move right away. He just stared at me, something shifting in his eyes. Then, without a word, he stood up. My heart dropped—was he leaving?

But he only crossed the room. I heard the drawer slide open, the faint scrap of wood. When he came back, he held a sticky note and a pencil.

He sat in front of me, not crowding, just close enough.

“Then write it,” he said softly, holding them out in his palm. “You don’t have to say anything.”

Matt didn’t push. He didn’t ask again. He just stayed there, still and quiet, holding out the pencil and note like it was the most important thing in the world. Like I was.

But he looked away, eyes turning toward the floor like he was giving me privacy even here, in this unspoken moment. Maybe he sensed I needed the space. Maybe he didn’t want me to feel watched. Either way, I was grateful.

My hand shook as I took the pencil.

It felt heavier than it should’ve.

The sticky note trembled slightly between my fingers as I held it in my lap.

My mind screamed not to do it, but I knew I had to. I needed to. For him to understand. For me to breathe again.

I lowered the pencil.

My fingers hovered for a second. I wrote down the words ‘I was’ then continued. 

R My heart clenched. Just one letter, but it already felt like a crack through glass.

A

My throat tightened. My chest burned. It’s okay. You’re okay.

P I hesitated. My breathing was shallow now. You’ve never written this down. You’ve never even said it.

E

The line was shaky. I couldn’t see clearly—my eyes were clouding, tears blurring the edges of everything.

D

I put the pencil down the second the last letter was done. It burned me. Like it might scream the word out loud.

For a second, I didn’t breathe. I just stared at the paper.

Five letters.

Five letters that changed me.

Matt hadn’t looked yet. He still faced the other way. And all I could do now was wait for the moment I’d never thought I’d reach.

I folded the paper slowly, carefully, like it was something fragile, because it was.

The letters on the page felt heavier now that they were written. They stared back at me even as I closed them between the folds. Five small letters that had lived in the shadows of my body for years. 

I reached out, my fingers brushing his shoulder gently.

Matt turned at the touch, his eyes already soft with concern. I didn’t say anything—I couldn’t. I just held the folded note out to him with trembling hands.

He took it, gaze flicking between my face and the paper. 

It was out there. My secret was in his hands. 

He unfolded the paper slowly. When his eyes landed on the word, I saw the exact moment everything in him shifted.

His face fell.

His jaw tightened. His brows furrowed sharply, and his head snapped toward me like he was trying to piece something together—searching my face, my body, like he might still find signs of what had happened. Like he was too late to stop it.

Matt’s hands stiffened around the note, the paper crumpling slightly in his grip. His chest rose and fell once—sharply—like he’d been punched and was struggling to get the air back in his lungs.

He didn’t speak. Didn’t move. His gaze stayed fixed on the word like it physically hurt to look at, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away.

Then, finally, he looked up.

His eyes were wide, glassy, red-rimmed. His mouth opened slightly, like he wanted to say something, but nothing came out. He blinked once. Twice.

“Daphne…” he breathed. My name barely made it past his lips, hoarse and shaky, like it was caught in his throat.

I couldn’t answer. I just shook my head and curled into myself, arms wrapping tight around my body like they might hold me together.

He looked wrecked—like the weight of the word was too much. His lips parted again, but no real sentence followed.

“I—” he started, then stopped. His hand raked through his hair. “I didn’t… I didn’t know. what are you saying? Fuck, Daphne… ”

The curse slipped out like a reflex. Not at me. Never at me. It was painful. Anger. Helplessness.

He looked at me again, his voice raw, almost broken. “Who…when—no. I’m sorry. I’m not—I shouldn’t be asking that. Shit, I don’t even know what to say—”

He looked like he was drowning.

My chest caved in as the silence wrapped around us. 

I tried to hold it in—I did—but it broke through anyway.

The first sob hit so hard, it startled even me. Then I couldn’t stop. 

My shoulders trembled, hands clutched around my knees as I curled tighter into the corner of the couch, like I could hide from everything.

Matt lurched forward. “Shit—Daphne,” he said quickly, reaching out but not touching me. “Sweetheart, no—no, I didn’t mean to upset you.”

I heard the panic rising in his voice, the guilt laced through every word. 

“I didn’t mean to scare you—fuck—I’m sorry. I just… I reacted wrong, okay? Are you alright? Are you hurt? Do we need to go see someone? A doctor, or someone? Have you gone? You should’ve told someone, you should’ve—” 

“I have,” I whispered through the sobs, my voice cracked and raw. “I did… I’ve been.”

He stopped rambling immediately. Just stared at me.

“It was four years ago,” I said quietly. “It’s not recent.”

Matt blinked, like the breath had been knocked right out of him again. Just stunned silence.

“Four… four years?” he repeated, voice low, disbelieving.

I nodded slowly. 

“Noah knows,” I added, barely above a whisper.

Matt’s eyes flicked away from me like he needed something to focus on, his jaw tense, repeating under his breath, “Noah knows…”

There was something about the way he said it—almost like it grounded him. 

“Noah knows,” he said again, firmer this time, like it settled something inside of him. “Okay. Okay…”

But I could still see it in him—the anger simmering beneath the surface, at the invisible person in the past who had hurt me..

He finally looked back at me, his voice softer now. “Did he… was he the only one who knew?”

I nodded again, my throat tightening. “And now you.”

A heavy silence filled the space between us.

I didn’t dare look at him—I didn’t want to see the pity or the rage, or whatever was swirling in his eyes now. My own gaze stayed fixed on the floor.

Then, after what felt like forever, his voice broke through.

“Who was it?” he asked, quiet—but laced with something sharp. Not cold, not cruel. Just... restrained.

I didn’t respond right away. I felt my hands tighten over the edge of the blanket draped across my lap.

Matt leaned forward slightly, voice lower now, but steadier. “Daphne, please. I just… I need to know. You don’t have to tell me everything. Just—was it someone I know?”

I finally looked at him. His brows were knit, his eyes searching mine with more emotion than I could take.

“Y-you won’t believe me,” I whispered.

“Sweetheart–what?” he said immediately. “Just tell his name.” 

“Carter White”

 I said quietly. The name felt sharp in my throat, like glass.

I hesitated, then added barely above a whisper, “He had a dragon tattoo…on his forearm.”

That’s when Matt’s eyes widened. Recognition flickered, then quickly turned to something darker, colder. His grip on the paper tightened until it crinkled in his hand.

“I remember him,” he muttered, voice low and dangerous. “Tall…lacrosse team, right? Graduated a year before me.”

I nodded, and Matt’s jaw locked.

“I’m going to kill him,” he said under his breath, like it wasn’t a threat, but a matter of fact—an inevitable consequence. His entire demeanor had shifted into something barely contained, as though a switch had flipped.

I reached out, gently grabbing Matt’s wrist. “Matt—he’s in jail.”

He froze, blinking like he hadn’t heard me right. “What?”

“He’s in jail,” I repeated, slower this time. “Noah… Noah took it to court. He handled it. Everything. It went through.”

Matt’s chest rose and fell, like he was trying to catch up with what I was saying. His clenched jaw loosened slightly, but the fire in his eyes hadn’t gone out.

“He’s locked up?” Matt asked again, just to make sure.

I nodded.

Matt exhaled hard, the tension in his shoulders beginning to ease. He sank back down onto the couch beside me, still visibly shaken but quieter now.

“I didn’t know,” he said under his breath, guilt washing into his tone. “I had no idea.”

“You weren’t supposed to,” I said softly. “Nobody knows. Just Noah. And the court. It’s over now. I mean… legally.”

Matt looked at me then, eyes full of something that made my chest tighten—care, protectiveness, sorrow.

“But not for you,” he murmured.

I didn’t answer. I didn’t need to. The silence said enough. 

Matt's hand dragged down his face slowly, like he was trying to wipe away the weight of everything he had just learned. His eyes stayed fixed on the floor, jaw tense, breathing uneven.

“You were just a child…” he said, voice barely above a whisper, shaky, like it hurt to even say it.

I didn’t say anything.

Matt finally looked up at me again, and the expression on his face shattered me. He looked devastated. Speechless.

His lips parted like he wanted to say more, but nothing came out. He shook his head slowly, eyes glassy. “I—” he paused, trying again. “I don’t even have the words.”

He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and held his head in his hands.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered, his voice breaking. “You should have told me sooner, sweetheart.”

There was a pause again. 

“I get it now,” he said, running a hand through his hair. “You pulling away. I understand it all.”

The moment the words left his mouth, something inside me cracked open.

“I don’t want to be like this, Matt,” I choked out, my voice barely stable. “I don’t want to keep shutting you out.”

Tears burned my eyes faster than I could stop them. 

“I want to feel normal—I do. I want to forget. I try to move on, I swear I do, but no matter how hard I try, it just—” My voice cracked again. “It always comes back. The memories. The panic. It doesn’t go away.”

My breathing turned uneven as the sobs came faster. I felt broken. Pathetic. Small. 

A wave of shock shot through me as Matt’s own eyes started to water, no tears, but they were red. His throat bobbed as he swallowed hard. He moved forward without hesitation, gently pulling me into him. His arms wrapped around me tightly, like he was holding something fragile. 

“Let it out, sweetheart” he whispered against my hair, voice hoarse. “Don’t hold it in.”

I buried my face in his chest, sobbing against the fabric of his shirt. He didn’t flinch. He didn’t pull away. He just held me, rocking us gently back and forth, like he could protect me from the entire world with just his arms. His hand cradled the back of my head, thumb stroking softly.

I had wanted to cry to someone for so long. Really cry—to be held, to be heard. Not even Noah knew how deep it went. He only knew the surface-level truth: that it happened. He never asked for details. Maybe he couldn’t. Maybe he didn’t want to know.

But Matt… Matt was listening. And because of that, I couldn’t stop myself.

“It was that night,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “The night of your and Noah’s college graduation party.”

I felt his arms tense slightly around me, but he didn’t move. He didn’t speak.

My throat burned, the words barely able to form. “Everyone was downstairs…drinking, loud. He said he was looking for a bathroom… but he came into my room.”

My voice broke entirely, and I had to pause to breathe through the rising sob in my chest. “He locked the door. I remember freezing. I didn’t know what to do, I just kept thinking maybe if I didn’t move, he’d go away.”

Matt’s breath was shaky against my temple. I felt one of his hands curl slightly into the fabric of my sweatshirt, like he was holding back everything inside him.

I continued, my voice fragile. “I didn’t scream. I wanted to. But I couldn’t move. My body just—shut down.”

Tears streamed down my face, landing on his shirt, dampening the cotton. 

“I bleed so much.” 

Matt's arms tightened around me. 

“I hated myself for it,” I whispered. “For freezing. For not fighting back. I hated that he got to walk out of my room like nothing happened.”

“Don’t say that, sweetheart. Don’t blame or hate yourself. No one should have touched you.” 

Matt pulled me closer, as if that were even possible, burying his face in my hair.

“I hate him so much” I cried, my cry a bit softer. “I hate what he did to me. I can’t feel anything good.” 

His hands combed through my locks, as he held me, his lips occasionally pecking my scalp. 

“I swear to you,” he murmured, voice shaking, “If he wasn’t already in jail, I would’ve killed him with my bare hands.”

I clung to him tighter because in that moment, his words were the only thing keeping me together. He was the only person who understood me. 

READ ALL RELEASED CHAPTERS NOW!

[a/n: that was so emotional to write. Justice for my girl. three chapters in three days! like & reblog! mwah] –ceyana

Tags: @oopsiedaisydeer @ribbonlovergirl @mattsfrenchtoast @lm-a-mirrorball @urlocallera @kingofeverythingmb @idkwhatimdoinghereeeeeee @malox12 @sturnslux3 @carrielovesmatt @vanillakissesxx @sagesturns @enviedparty101 @kiarasmaybank @mattscore @fmg05 @mattsdiva @kenah-sturniolo @tropicfessed @courta13 @meatballlover10 @ellssturn @idkwhatthisis2009 @mattspillowprincess @chrissturniolodailysluts @babyt0matoes @angelxsturns @mattsbabyangel @mattysmrwrinkleton @beardedbernard

[kjiscrawlingbackformore]

Peace - Act III : Chapter five

Lottie Matthews x fem!reader

Masterlist | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Summary: Reader comes back to her hometown and transfers to Wiskayok High School after getting expelled from her previous high school. Follows Junior year into Senior year, all the way up to the crash. (Eventual NSFW mdni)

Warnings: None

A/N: Short one, but don't worry guys. Next one makes up for it.

The sun turned everything to glare: the bleachers, the turf, the glint of sweat on the team’s backs. You squinted, dragging your camera bag higher on your shoulder, heat already pooling at the base of your spine.

You hadn’t planned on being here today, not with a flight to catch in a few hours and a stomach full of nerves. But the yearbook advisor had called in a favor, and you were the sports photographer, technically. No one else could get the shot in time.

Coach Martinez waved you toward the field. “Five minutes, Y/L/N! I want them back in drills by the second whistle.”

You gave him a nod, adjusting the focus ring on your lens as the team began shuffling into place, messy rows of ponytails and grass-stained cleats. You found Lottie immediately, standing in the second row, her expression unreadable under the glare of the sun. She gave you the smallest nod, like a secret handshake.

But it was Jackie who walked over first.

You registered her like a punch of sunlight, tan lines at her collarbone, damp hair pulled into a high ponytail, eyes sharp as ever. Her smile was slower this time, not the usual performance.

“I didn’t know you were taking the team photo,” Jackie said, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. She eyes your outfit, looking you over in a way that made you flush. “You heading somewhere after?” She asked

You looked over your own outfit, you were wearing a baby tee that said I <3 paris, that Lottie had bought you. You had a blue flannel wrapped around your hips and jeans that were definitely too big on you held together by a belt you found in your aunt’s dresser.

Nothing special, nothing that warranted her eyeing like that. You hesitated, keeping your camera half-raised. “Yeah. North Carolina. Visiting my grandparents.”

Jackie blinked, and something shifted. Her posture relaxed by half a degree. “How long?”

“Just a few days,” You said, wary.

Jackie bit her lip like she might say something else, and then, softer—“Are you okay with that? I mean… being back there?”

It wasn’t just the words. It was the way she said there. Like she remembered. Like she cared.

Your breath caught. Your grip on the camera strap tightened. You paused, dropping your camera slightly. To catch Jackie’s eyes, they were furrowed in concern. You recognized that look anywhere. She was trying to be protective.

It felt so familiar. You swallowed hard, and felt your guard drop. With it an ache shot in your chest. You open your mouth to say something but before you could Shauna appeared, walking up like she'd been listening from ten feet away.

“Oh, right,” Shauna said brightly, slipping between them with practiced ease. “North Carolina. That’s where your brother’s at, right? How’s Max doing?”

You looked at her gratefully. “Getting big. Like, alarmingly big.”

Jackie stepped back a little, smile thinning, folding her arms like armor. Shauna, master of the pivot, continued chatting about summer humidity and delayed flights while you found your balance again.

You raised the camera. “Okay, guys. Everyone in three rows. Lottie, can you shift left a little?”

Click. Click. Click.

When it was over, you lingered on the sidelines for a beat. Jackie had drifted back to her teammates. Lottie hadn’t moved, eyes still following you.

“I’ve gotta head out,” you announce loudly, slinging the camera over your shoulder. “Flight’s soon.”

“Send pictures of Max,” Shauna said, giving her a quick, tight squeeze.

Jackie just looked at you for a second too long, eyes glassy in the sun, unreadable again. You turned last to Lottie. Your eyes met. That flicker of something familiar passing between you two. Softness shared for just the both of you. Your heart warmed.

“See you,” You said softly.

“See you,” Lottie echoed, her voice low.

You didn’t glance back. You didn’t have to. Even if the urge to sneak a glance at Lottie ate at you with every step. The desire to kiss her in front of everyone a dull throb in the forefront of your mind. The heat pressed down like memory, and somewhere behind you, Jackie was still standing there, not smiling this time, just watching you go.

When you walk almost past the gym entrance, you hear the soft pads of steps. You turn your head to the noise, half expecting Lottie. You raise your eyebrows in surprise when you see Natalie.

“Hey!” She says breathlessly.

You smile in surprise, “Hey.”

She swallows hard, eyes shifting. In an awkward beat of silence she opens her mouth, “So…this is probably stupid but I just-“

She stops herself like abruptly. In a way that throws you off. Her eyebrows furrow and she shakes her head. “Actually never mind it’s so stupid it’s like not even a question.”

You frown, “…You sure? You can…you can ask me if you want.”

Natalie studies your face, before shaking her head no, face flushed. “No…yeah no. It’s- Forget I brought it up.” She doubles down, you reach out your hand to touch her arm softly.

“Natalie I don’t bite you know.” You offer with a smile.

She scoffs, not meeting your eyes. “No, I know. I just-wanted to say thanks about the picture you gave me. Made me look badass.” She said with a shrug.

You nod, “Oh. You’re welcome, it’s easy to make someone look badass when they just are a badass…you know?” That makes Natalie roll her eyes.

“Well, thanks. Uh gotta go before Coach kills me.” She says it quick and is running back to the field.

You have a feeling that isn’t what she actually wanted to say. But you shrug and walk away. Maybe this year you’d get to connect with the other Yellowjackets. Not just Van, and Shauna.

You sneak a glance over your shoulder to see the shadow of her jog away and chuckle under your breath. Slightly curious about what she was going to ask. And the entire flight you’re thankful that all you can think about is Natalie’s mysterious almost question. Instead of Jackie’s sudden burst of concern.

[hcsiqs]

Hi! Could you do a Kate x Reader where we travel with her and the rest of the Aces to an away game?

| life’s better on saturn

• pairing: kate martin x fem!reader

• summary: you and kate travel to minnesota for an aces game happening the next day.

• warnings: none!

• hope you like this! <3

You and Kate boarded the plane together, her carrying your luggage along with hers.

“I can’t believe you convinced them to let me come,” you whispered, walking closely behind her as you two made your way to your seats.

“I wasn’t gonna let you fly alone,” the blonde laughed, turning her head to look at you for a moment before coming to your assigned seats. You slid down the row of seats to the window seat as Kate flung y’all’s bags into the overhead bins. She then plopped down in the seat beside you, laying her legs out as she comfortably found herself leaning on your shoulder.

“You know there's a whole middle seat that you could use to lay down on, right?” you asked, looking down at her on your shoulder.

“But you’re much more comfortable,” she replied, her voice already laced with tiredness. You just giggled in response as she took your hand in hers. You placed a soft kiss on the hood of her hoodie before A’ja walked by the two of y’all.

“Damn she is whipped,” she laughed while shaking her head and throwing her stuff into her overhead bin as well. You just smiled at her in response.

The flight wasn’t very long and soon enough you found yourself attempting to wake Kate out of her deep slumber.

“Baby we landed,” you spoke quietly to her while rubbing her arm attempting to wake her up.

“Mmm, five more minutes,” she whined, snuggling closer to you.

“You can sleep when we get to the room,” you told her, which immediately made her get up just from the thought of being able to fully cuddle with you in a comfy bed. You then got up shortly after her and helped her get the bags from the bins before exiting the plane.

Once off the plane, the entire Aces team headed into the bus that would be responsible for taking them everywhere. Kate and you found seats to sit in for the short ride to the hotel and once y’all got your room key she dragged you to your room not allowing you to stop at any of the amenities it offered.

When she finally had you in the room she wrapped her hands around your waist and pulled you into the bed with her.

You rested your chin on her chest, looking into her beautiful blue eyes, “You have that team dinner in a little.”

“We can miss it,” she smiled, placing a kiss on your nose.

“Kate,” you looked at her sternly, “If we miss dinner, I’m never gonna be allowed to come with you again.”

“I just wanna hang out with you though,” the blonde’s lips formed into a playful frown, her hands running under your shirt and up your back.

“After dinner, kay?” you smiled at her and she just nodded. She then closed her eyes and let her nap for around an hour before sadly having to wake her from her peaceful sleep, so she could head to the dinner for her team. You obviously couldn’t get her out the door without her complaining about having to leave your side for like two hours. She had tried getting you into the dinner, but the reservations had been made weeks in advance and they wouldn’t be able to add another person. You weren’t upset though because that meant you could go swim in the pool for a little bit while waiting for her to finish up.

That’s exactly what you did too. You found yourself swimming in the dimly lit atmosphere of the pool waiting for Kate to finish her dinner and then come join you in the pool.

As you were swimming you heard the door open and turned around to see the blonde standing there in an oversized tee-shirt with a goofy smile on her face.

“Hi,” you giggled, swimming over to the edge of the pool to meet Kate. She removed her shirt to reveal her swimsuit underneath before sitting on the edge, letting her legs hang in the heated water. “How was dinner?”

“It would’ve been better if you were there,” she smiled looking down at you.

“Whatever,” you turned your head, trying to cover up the blush that took over your face. Her hand then found your jaw, turning you back to face her, she then pulled your face up to her’s. She gently placed her lips to yours, her hands placed at the nape of your neck.

“I’m so happy you're here,” she whispered, holding your face close to her’s.

“Me too,” you smiled, placing a quick kiss against her lips before pulling her inside the pool with you.

allie’s corner

ok so i lowkey forget i had this in the drafts…

very sorry😭 but start requesting more one shots 😋😋

[love-hold]

20 moments to recap AO25

(all singles moments i’m sorry)

1. carlos alcaraz (or rather buzzcutcaraz) debuted his new victorbarber haircut and was tomatoed for lack of a better word, causing his fans to crash out two weeks into the new season.

2. danielle collins made herself an enemy of australia (or at least of the crowd at her R2 match against hometown hero destanee aiava)

3. AO’s YouTube channel premiered AO Animated, a free livestream that cartoon animated RLA matches and captured moments like this.

4. laura siegemund knocked out AO24 finalist zheng qinwen R2, which doesn’t help how much people dislike her already after her match against coco gauff at USO23

5. 18 year old, ATP next gen champion joao fonseca battled through qualifying and knocked out 9th seed andrey rublev R1. for 24H he was praised as the next hot thing, claimed as part of the next big 3 along with alcaraz/sinner (rip holger rune). unfortunately, he was knocked out R2 by lorenzo sonego, teaching an important lesson on how we shouldn’t make these comparisons so hastily because that kind of expectation is anything but beneficial. leave the guy alone! (btw no hate to joao, i’m excited to see his career flourish!)

6. sunflowered naomi osaka—after being handed quite a draw—took revenge on the last two players that kicked her out of 2024’s hard court slams: the c/k-aros, caroline garcia and karolina muchova

7. lucky loser eva lys reached R4 and achieved her career best performance at a grand slam. the craziest part? she was notified 10 mins before her R1 match that she would be playing. i love a fairytale run!

8. 19 year old, next gen ATP finals runner up learner tien beat the 5 set, 2 AM chaos match specialist himself, daniil medvedev. one of the best matches of the tournament, learner kicked out AO24’s finalist in R2 with a dramatic fifth set tiebreak. he continued to rally himself to R4, the youngest player since 2005 nadal to do so.

shoutout to alex michelsen who defeated AO23 finalist stefanos tsitsipas and karen khachanov, and jakub mensik who defeated casper ruud. next gen!

9. jacob fearnley shut nick kyrgios up

10. novak djokovic refused to do the typical on-court post-match interview with jim courier in an act of protect against the comments of channel 9 host tony jones who heckled his fans and called him overrated.

11. oh AO kits. you were pretty underwhelming. nike hit another low—i can’t believe that tank top dress made it to the women’s final. in both colors. but there were positives. once again, coco and naomi: gorgeous. esp naomi’s sunflowers! ON finally changed their gradient colors. purple BOSS shirt! (unfortunately, didn’t see much of it) and i really loved destanee aiava’s story behind her kits. but jannik’s denim custom fox...this is what you give to the world number 1?

12. iga’s bakery opened again, dishing out a scary number of bagels and breadsticks. in fact, while the ATP had its ugly five setters like usual (jack draper playing 3 in a row), countless players from the WTA gave out 6-0’s and 6-1’s this tournament

13. kei nishikori lived up to his reputation as the five set king, defeating thiago monteiro R1 from two-love down

14. janholger delivered the chaos we expected. alpine-boy, sickly victorian child, jannik sinner practically melted on RLA, taking an 11 min MTO. holger then decided to take his own MTO, 5-3 on jannik’s serve. if that wasn’t enough, jannik decided to break the net, delaying the match another 20 mins. also, there was this point.

15. more “surprise players” (draw wise) reached the second week: nastia pavlyuchenkova (QF) belinda bencic (R4), olga danilovic (R4), paula badosa (SF), lorenzo sonego (QF), gael monfils (R4), elina svitolina (QF), ben shelton (SF), and madison keys (more on her later).

ALSO ben became the first active american man to reach the semis of different 2 grand slams.

16. elina and gael were true tennis power couple goals, knocking out #4 seeds jasmine paolini and taylor fritz R3, hours after the other and reaching the second week (shoutout to gael at 38 years old, still delivering entertaining five setters)

17. the projected novak djokovic and carlos alcaraz QF did happen to the joy of most tennis fanatics and to the horror of carlos’ fan base. the end result? carlos’ dream of the career GS slam was crushed once again, and novak’s thigh became equally injured, leading him to retire in his SEMIFINAL MATCH against zverev. he was boo-ed off the court. jfc.

18. world #1 jannik Winner defended his AO title in straights without giving up any break points, extending his match streak to 37-1 from oct. he only dropped two sets: the king of hardcourt, completely untouchable.

19. adding even more humiliation to the loss, zverev’s history of domestic violence (given the fact that said history has been blatantly ignored by the ATP) was publicly called out during his losers speech

20. and last but certainly not least MADISON KEYS DETHRONED 2X DEFENDING CHAMPION ARYNA SABALENKA, FINALLY EARNING HER WELL-DESERVED GRAND SLAM AT 29 (AT THE TOURNAMENT WHERE SHE MADE HER FIRST SLAM SEMI AS A TEEN), BATTLING THROUGH SABALENKA (1) SWIATEK (2) SVITOLINA (28) RYBAKINA (6) COLLINS (11). absolutely insane.

————

I 100% missed many other moments, tag below for your top picks ;)

honorable mentions (that I can think of)

-adm reaching the QFs!

-taylor donating his R1 match earnings to help the LA fires

-keys v swiatek SEMI (including the shadow hitting/serve clock drama)

-novandy

[puckinghischier]

i come to you with a blurb thats been in my head because i desperately need it rn 😭

like,,, idk if its been said before BUT imagine nico helping you study!! youre taking your master's or maybe you're finishing up a long degree! regardless, he's ready to help you with your flashcards and notes and books and he gives you a lil smooch and a chocolate when you get one right! but he's very serious about it being just one kiss!! you have to study after all!! but.....maybeeee....sometimes...he'll add in another and another and another just because you look so cute when youre focused <3 and when he feels you getting tired or burnt out after it all, he obviously gives the best cuddles!

“baby, just one more question, and then you get 10 minutes of couch cuddles until we start the next unit,” nico would encourage you, knowing how frustrated and tired you’re becoming.

“nico i don’t want to do anymore tonight, we’ve been at it for three hours already. can’t we just called it quits after this last question?” you’d whine, ready to just drop out altogether, tired of spending every free moment you have doing homework.

he knows he shouldn’t have caved earlier, letting himself get too carried away when he decided to give you three kisses instead of one when you managed to get ten questions right in a row. the result was a thirty minute make out session that neither of you wanted to cut short, but he fought tooth and nail to get you back on track.

he mulls the thought over, knowing you’re getting antsy and ready to pack everything up for the night, but also knowing how much you’ve been stressing over this test and wanting to help you go into it as confident as you can.

“give me five more questions and we’ll call it a night, deal?” he tries to compromise with you, knowing you’ll complain all day tomorrow if you quit right now.

you roll your eyes and groan at him, throwing a silent fit with the look on your face.

“okay, five more questions then we put everything away and i’ll lay with you on the couch and rub your back while we watch dancing with the stars reruns,” he offers, using your current fixation show against you.

you perk up at the offer, always having to beg and plead for him to even watch one episode with you because ‘why would i want to watch a bunch of washed up celebrities do ballroom dances poorly?’

“deal,” you decide to agree to his terms, readying yourself for a night of cuddles and ripped men with no shirts on.

chuckling, nico picks your flash cards back up and goes through the next five questions with you, smiling proudly when you get all five right.

“eeek! okay, now hurry up and help me clean the couch off, we have a rumba to watch!!” you’d cheer, excited to finally relax with your study buddy.

once the materials are all out of sight and you’re pressed against nico on the couch, you find yourself drifting off to sleep sooner than you wanted, your brain tired after all of thinking you made it do.

“what if i wake up tomorrow and forget everything we just went over,” you mumble into nico’s chest, feeling the rumbles of laughter that erupt at your question.

“baby, i don’t think you’re gonna forget everything. you’ll remember why bruno only gave derek and his partner an 8 instead of a 10,” he jokes, upset that he’s actually managed to get partially invested in this show.

“maybe if they converted the material into judges speeches delivered by bruno tonioli, then i wouldn’t even have to study. the initial delivery would be enough to stick in my brain for forever,” you groggily replied, nuzzling your head further into nico’s chest.

he shook his head and rolled his eyes at you, even though you couldn’t see him because yours were already closed. he knows you’re the smartest person he’s ever met, and you’ll do fine on this test and all of the future ones you have to take.

but he won’t ever let you forget that he helped, claiming he should get his own form of rewards for doing half of the work with you.