#I PROMISE I CAN BE LEFT UNSUPERVISED

[alexisberry413]

i ughh i lost it

[sarakielsbreath]

Hello

[lovelettersfromluna]

Welcome to the Party

Summary: what’s worse than your older brother?…..his extremely attractive best friend

an: this Ellie has been living rent fucking free in my head and I absolutely cannot carry on any longer without writing about her…..also my last Ellie fic was sickly sweet I need some mean!Ellie to soothe the burn 😌 (also credit to @absdoll for writing Ellie as someone who listens to PartyNextDoor?? That is a HUGE reason that inspired me to write this bc that is absolutely so very accurate)

Warnings: SMUT!!! MDNI!!! 18+ ONLY!!, angst!, toxic!Ellie, mean!Ellie, brothersbestfriend!Ellie, Ellie is just all around a piece of shit in this one idk, oral (r!receiving), mentions of alcohol, mentions of weed, Usage of the word slut, slight degradation, there’s a brief scene with reader and Jesse but they aren’t flirting I promise Ellie is just delusional, pls lmk if I missed anything!

“Please honeybee? It’ll only be for a little while. Your father and I will be back before you know it, just in time for you to go back with your friends” your mothers voice rang through the phone, her tone gentle and reassuring as she spoke to you.

You exhaled loudly in annoyance, toying with the hem of your sleep shorts as you laid in your bed, a soft pout on your face as you stayed silent for a moment, contemplating your mother’s wish.

“Baby? Are you there?” She tried. You can practically hear the way she bites her lip, chewing on the skin as she awaited your response.

“I….you do realize that Derek is the oldest sibling, right? Isn’t he supposed to be the one making sure I’m not getting in trouble?” You huff out, still holding out on giving her an answer to her request of you.

You hear her sigh over the line at the mention of your older brother. “I know sweetheart…but your father and I just need you to make sure he doesn’t burn the house down while we’re away. I’m sure it’ll only be him and Ellie there anyways” she tries assuring you.

But the mention of the girls name has your skin running cold.

It makes you pinch the bridge of your nose, inhaling deeply as you truly try to outweigh your options at hand.

Your brother was a fucking moron, and you knew that the minute he heard your parents were going away for the summer, he jumped at the opportunity to ‘house sit’. It was almost comedic how clueless he was, your parents knowing your older sibling far too well to know that he’d tear the house down brick by brick unsupervised, especially with his partner in crime there with him.

So it left your poor mother to ask her baby (you), to stay the summer at their house, just to make sure things didn’t get too out of hand.

The minute she called and asked you to go down there, your entire summer had changed. All of the plans you made with your friends at university, the trips you were to make with them, all suddenly fizzled out as you were faced with the task to spend the summer with your idiotic brother and his bully of a best friend.

As much as you wanted to say no, tell your parents to figure it out or simply tell your brother he couldn’t stay there for his break, you simply couldn’t find it in yourself to do that. Your parents were amazing to say the least, and the one time they actually chose to go away for the summer in one of the first times since you were born, you’d feel like an absolute villain to take that away from them.

You let out a low sigh before you finally spoke. “I’ll be there mom….you won’t have to worry about anything” you assured her, the sound of her sighing in relief putting a gentle smile on your face.

“Oh baby you are an angel. Your father and will come home as soon as we can, okay?” She assures you, to which you give a gentle chuckle before you nod.

“Have fun, okay? Tell daddy I said hi…I love you” you mumble out gently through the phone, bidding your goodbye to the woman before you hang up, letting out a loud sigh you’d seemingly been holding from the moment your mother asked you to go back home for the summer.

And as you stared up at your ceiling, you began to really think about it all. How bad could it possibly be?? It wasn’t like you were all kids still, there was no way Ellie and your brother would torment you the same way they used to when you were all younger, not when you were all adults in college, right?

Right?

You let out a soft sigh as you drove down the familiar road to your parents house, the street quiet as everyone there had similar situations to your mother and father, empty nesters who had time to get away for the summer.

Pulling into the driveway gives you a bit of relief, as you notice your brother hadn’t gotten there yet, which you could only chalk up to him and Ellie waking up entirely too late after a night of partying to get to the house at a decent time.

Some things just never changed do they?

Your brother and Ellie had been friends since elementary school, the two of them glued at the hip for almost as long as you could remember. While you really couldn’t stand the two of them, you had to say the perseverance of their friendship was kind of remarkable. You couldn’t take their bond away from them, no one could.

One day the house was only filled with your parents and your older sibling, the next there’s an extra person.

Ellie.

Things were fine in the beginning, the three of you would actually play all together for the most part. Sure, they would tease you and leave you out of certain things, but that’s what older siblings did. You were no stranger to the little sister treatment.

Things changed when they got to high school though.

The two of them started a year before you obviously, leaving you behind in middle school. You’d been through it with the transition from elementary to middle school, so you weren’t too worried. In fact, having the two of them enrolled before you was comforting in a way. It at least gave you a sense of belonging since you knew at least two people there.

But oh were you wrong.

Because in true teenage boy fashion, who the hell would want their little sister trailing behind them? No your brother and Ellie were far too cool for that, the two of them already the talk of the entire school, everyone wanting to be their friend. It was always like that, the dynamic duo absolutely stealing the hearts of everyone around them. They simply couldn’t have you asking for help on where your classes were, or even worse, having you eat lunch with them.

You weren’t even given the cold shoulder, they were just outright mean. Your brother wasn’t so bad, brushing you off and telling you to go somewhere else.

But Ellie? Oh she was vile.

She’d say the meanest things to get you to leave, laughing under her breath whenever you’d pass by, she’d even go out of her way to make her entire friend group ignore you for a week, pretending you didn’t exist at all.

Yeah, high school is when things got really bad.

You have up on keeping the familiar sibling bond you had with your brother rather quickly during your time in high school with him, ignoring the both of them when they were around, only really interacting with him whenever Ellie wasn’t with him, which was extremely rare.

Soon, you were going off to university, and you were able to live a life that wasn’t in your cool older brother’s shadow. You were able to be you, and thrive in a way that you really weren’t able to before.

You loved college for that.

But now you were back home where it all started, without the protection of mommy and daddy on top of that too.

You groaned softly as you finally brought the last of your things up to your room, sighing softly as you looked around at the familiar space, thinking about just how much time you’d be spending there for the next month and however many weeks.

You were almost done filling your empty drawers with your clothes when you heard the familiar roar of your brother’s black Jeep pull up the driveway outside, a familiar brunette sat in the passenger seat.

The plan was to steer clear of them entirely while you were all there. You were only there for your moms peace of mind, and you truthfully did not care what Ellie and your brother got up to for the summer, as long as it meant your parents house stayed in tact.

However once you’re finished packing and you decide to make your way downstairs to get a feel for things before they both arrive (or so you thought), you were only met with the sound of your brother and Ellie complaining very loudly as they walk in through the front door.

“I told you I don’t know! My dad said it was cool if we crashed here, they didn’t mention anything about her being here too.” Derek groans loudly, lugging his suitcase in behind him, unknowing of your presence stood in the very kitchen that he was walking in to.

You turn your head to catch the two of them walking in, your brother sighing in defeat as Ellie groans loudly behind him, throwing her head back in annoyance. “Do you know how much of a fuckin’ cock block she’s gonna be? I swear to god if she tries to so much as complain about the shit we’re having I’m gonna-“ you watch as your brother jabs his elbow into Ellie’s side, trying to get her to shut up once he spots you in the kitchen.

You roll your eyes as you close the fridge door shut. “It’s nice to see you too Ellie” you sigh out softly as you turn around, resting your forearms against the island counter top, leaning your hips against the edge as you watch the both of them eye you expectantly, your best guess being they wanted an explanation.

“What are you doing here?” Your brother mumbles out awkwardly, arms crossing over his chest as he gives neglects to even greet you properly.

You sigh softly before you shrug. “Mom called me and asked me to make sure you guys didn’t do anything stupid. Trust me, I’m just as upset as you are that I’m here” you mumble out, eyes casting downwards as your fingers trace along the pattern of the smooth counter top.

Ellie scoffs softly, mimicking your brother’s stance as her tattooed arms go to cross over her chest as well. “Is this some kind of sick joke? What are you even supposed to do anyways? Keep us in line or something?” Ellie barks out, obviously annoyed and wounded over the fact that your parents didn’t trust her.

You have to hold back a laugh, biting down on your bottom lip as you give her a shrug. “That’s something you gotta take up with the owner of the house, which unfortunately for you is not my brother” you hum out, your tone a tad playful as you give your brother a knowing look before rounding the table.

“Your summer is gonna be fine. In all honesty I couldn’t give a single fuck what you two do, just do it without breaking anything.” you explain, your tone softer as you eye Ellie for a moment.

You had to bite back a smirk when you caught a glimpse of their faces. Your brother was shocked with the way you were acting, his eyebrows raised and jaw slightly agape as you made your way upstairs.

Ellie on the other hand? She looked like she wanted to kill someone. Here you were, her best friends little sister, practically granting her entire summer a death sentence by your presence, at least that’s what it felt like. Her eyebrows were furrowed, nostrils flared, and you swore you could even catch her freckled cheeks growing pink with the anger that bubbled up inside of her.

And to be quite honest? It felt good.

Ellie was being ruthless

While you couldn’t say you didn’t expect it, you didn’t think it would be this bad. You of course knew that they’d be upset about you being there, but your brother’s reaction to the entire thing was much closer to what you prepared for than what Ellie was exhibiting. He was confused to say the least, but that didn’t mean he was rude to you. It was the same as any other time you and your brother were with each other, you weren’t close by any means, but you were his little sister.

Ellie on the other hand? She was like a bat out of hell.

You thought when they first got there, that would be the only time you’d get a taste of Ellie’s annoyance with your presence. You were adults after all, and there was no way she’d make your entire stay there a living hell, even when you weren’t the one that had the bright idea of staying there anyways.

Oh were you wrong.

That same night, you decided to make somewhat of a peace offering. You were honest in your words to them earlier, you didn’t have any interest in raining on their parade. Ruining their summer did little to nothing for you, even if they went out of their way to taunt and tease you when you were a kid, you didn’t dwell on any of that.

You prided yourself as somewhat of a good cook. You took over meals once you were old enough to stand at the stove without your parents doting over you, begging you to not burn yourself. Once you passed that hurdle, you all came to the realization that you were pretty good in the kitchen. You could even recall certain times where Ellie and your brother would ask you to make something for them, further proving your skills.

So while they were both in the front yard playing basketball, you knew they’d work up an appetite once they came inside. You took it upon yourself to start working on something with what your parents had in the fridge.

You were far too lost in thought once you got into it, humming softly to yourself as you stirred up what you were working on in a pan. You barely heard your brother and Ellie walk in together, chucking to each other at something Ellie was saying. The two were engulfed in the aroma of your yummy cooking the second they walked in, watching as you worked your way around the kitchen to cook something up for the two of them.

“You cooked?” Your brother asks curiously, moving to rest his forearms on the island as he watched you.

You hummed softly as you nodded, keeping your eyes on the various pots on the stove. “There wasn’t much in the fridge, so I’ll have to go food shopping tomorrow maybe…but I figured you’d both be hungry” you finally turn around, giving them both a half smile.

Your brother nodded, seemingly opening his mouth to thank you for the kind gesture, his stomach already grumbling for a taste of whatever it was that you were cooking, all of it smelling ten times better than anything he’d been eating for the past two years at college.

But Ellie was quick to cut him off, eyebrows furrowed as she gave you a death stare so intense, it was a miracle you hadn’t keeled over from it alone.

“We’re going out to eat” she deadpanned, her tone firm and harsh.

It makes you turn around fully after lowering all the spots on the stove, grabbing the kitchen towel you kept nearby and drying your hands off, your hips resting against the kitchen counter as you watched them.

Your brother frowned as he looked up at Ellie in confusion, the man clearly not have gotten the memo.

“We…are?….but you were just saying how tired-“ He mumbled out softly before Ellie landed a hard jab to his side with her elbow, making your brother quickly shut his mouth, getting her message loud and clear.

Ellie didn’t want anything from you.

You inhaled deeply, fighting back the urge to stoop down to her level, no matter how much it stung that she was doing this out of spite, simply over something that was asked of you.

“That’s…that’s fine. I hope you guys have fun” you gave them a nod and a soft smile before you turned around to continue working on the food that you’d be eating alone.

Ellie’s angry expression softened into a frown when you didn’t fight back, fully expecting you blow up and make her seem like the victim who’s getting her summer ruined by some fucking she-demon or something. But you didn’t, you simply bid them a good time and turned around to busy yourself with whatever you were doing.

Your brother frowned as he watched you turn around, already feeling bad for not only leaving you alone for the night, but making you eat alone felt even worse.

But Ellie was already scoffing, mumbling softly to your brother to come upstairs with her so they could get changed and leave so they could get something to eat, her eyes lingering on you angrily as she stomped upstairs like a child.

You spent that night alone, eating your dinner with a glass of wine, showering and watching a movie downstairs, silently hoping the pair would have a change of heart and walk through to spend the night with you, acting as a way to kick off the summer on a better note than it was already starting off on.

But they never did. You ended up doing all of that and more and they still didn’t get home. You decided to simply send your brother a quick text letting them know you’d leave the porch light on and to get home safe before you went to bed.

That wasn’t the end of Ellie’s little scheme of being terrible to you. No, that was honestly only the beginning.

The second time of her being mean was about a week later. You managed to stay clear of the both of them for a few days, busying yourself with getting the house situated for yours, Ellie and your brothers stay. You got a good amount of things done, groceries, laundry, getting your car through the car wash. You even picked up a dozen bagels from yours and your brother’s favorite bakery in the city nearby, knowing how much him and Ellie would appreciate them for breakfast, even if you knew she’d bitch once she knew you bought them.

But once all of those chores were done, you found that you’d started to run out of things to keep you occupied. There was no more laundry to do, no more groceries to buy, nothing more for you to tend to that would keep you away from the house.

You were bored out of your mind.

You sighed softly as you laid in your bed, staring up at your ceiling as you toyed with the hem of your denim shorts. You were contemplating what to do, how to entertain yourself in the confides of your bedroom. It was hard because Ellie and Derek spent almost all of their time in the living room, leaving you to either do things outside of the house, or stay in your room.

It made you sad, because you wouldn’t have this problem had you stayed at Uni. You would’ve been outside with your friends, at parties, restaurants, bars. Anything that there was to offer in the city, you’d be there.

Another huff passed through your lips, your arms moving down to rest against your pillow. You were beginning to get desperate, your mind void of any ideas to keep yourself occupied.

You sat up, looking towards your door for a moment before you looked back down at your hands in your lap, your mind falling deep in thought before you finally let out a sigh. You felt ridiculous, forcing yourself to be a prisoner in your own home for your own comfort. Ellie didn’t even fucking live here, this was your parents house and you deserved to walk around as you pleased!

So you finally tossed your legs over the edge of your bed, and opened your door to go downstairs.

The second your room door was open, you could hear Derek and Ellie downstairs, the two of them laughing and shouting at each other. As you walked down the stairs, you could hear the sounds of their video game playing through the speakers, paired with the sound of their fingers harshly clicking down on the buttons of their game controllers.

Video games sounded fun.

You hummed softly as you watched them from the bottom of the stairs for a moment before you walked into the living room, simply watching the two hunched over, completely locked in on their current match.

“Don’t fuckin’ push by yourself you’re gonna die. Lemme just heal really quick” you hear Ellie groan out to your brother.

“I’m good! I’m good I got this” your brothers words follow, a blanket of silence falls between the two of them, only to hear your brother and Ellie groan loudly in unison, followed by Ellie sucking her teeth in annoyance.

“I told you not to fucking-“ her words are cut short when she notices you in the corner of her eye, the girl deflating as she slouches back into the couch, her eyes back on the screen.

“Great…” she mumbles out, which you try your best to ignore before taking a spot on the opposite end of the couch, tucking your legs underneath yourself as you nod towards the tv.

“How many have you guys won so far?” You hum out softly.

Your brother’s eyes don’t leave the tv screen as he responds, fingers already clicking away at his controller the second Ellie managed to resurrect him in the game. “A good amount…especially when Ellie’s here to save my ass” he grins out, which earns an annoyed sigh from Ellie.

You hum softly as you nod, watching as their characters run around on the split screen, the two of them looting and taking out other players as the number of people in the game grows lower and lower, waiting until the game was almost over.

“Could you guys use a third?” You ask softly after clearing your throat, eyes still glued to the screen as you watch them play.

Derek licks his lips as he continues playing, his eyes quickly shifting over to Ellie for a moment to gauge her reaction to your question before he responds.

You and him would play video games all the time together, and there were even times where all three of you would play together. Sure, they’d do petty shit like leave your character in the storm to die when you needed help or made sure your controller was close to dying, but they’d at least let you play from time to time.

However, Ellie was quick to speak up and give you a response.

“No. You’re shit at this game” Ellie quickly responds, pink tongue sticking out of her mouth as she concentrates on the game.

While you can tell she’s not joking, her words make your brother chuckle softly as he gives her a gentle nudge. “I’m sure one game is fine? Watching her play will be kind of funny to be honest” he tried, yet Ellie wouldn’t budge.

She shook her head firmly. “Nah. She’s gonna fuck up our winning streak. Weren’t you upstairs anyway? Why did you even come down here….go back up” her eyes finally break away from the screen once the game was finished, looking over at you and nodding her head up towards the stairs.

And while Ellie would sometimes chase you away when she was over, it was always in good fun. Sure she was a dick to you but this?

This was so different.

It makes you choke up a bit, eyes widening at her words before you look at your brother, silently begging for him to defend you from the girls mean words.

But he doesn’t, he clears his throat, avoiding your eyes and grabbing his own phone to scroll through it so he wouldn’t have to be put into the awkward situation of getting between his sister and his best friend.

It makes you inhale deeply before you silently get up from the couch, slip past the two of them, and make your way back upstairs like Ellie told you to, your throat burning with hot tears as you tried your best to hide them from the pair on the couch.

Your brother finally looked up when you slipped passed the two of them, a soft sigh leaving his lips as he eyed Ellie. “I know she’s annoying but…that was kind of fucked up man” he mumbles out softly, his eyes lingering on Ellie for a moment only to watch her shrug, her eyes never leaving the screen.

“Shut up. She wouldn’t leave unless I was mean…” she mumbled out nonchalantly, which makes your brother sigh softly, turning his head back to the screen and starting another game.

You realized that this wasn’t a game. This was Ellie being awful to you for the sole fact that you were staying there and being a ‘cock block’, and in her book? That was more than enough of a reason to take her anger out on you.

It made you take one look at your bedroom when you finally got upstairs, tears in your eyes, when you realized that you had to get quite comfortable there, seeing as you’d be spending far more time locked up than you thought you would have.

You managed to avoid Ellie and your brother for the remainder of the week, for real this time. You had no interest in being around them or spending any time with them, not since Ellie made it very clear that she wanted nothing to do with you, and you were the bane of her very existence.

You decided that they could spend their summer like they wanted to, without you there.

Any time you needed something from downstairs, you’d either go and get it extremely early in the morning or late enough at night so that they wouldn’t be there, which was hard sometimes since they’d spend almost the entire night downstairs, drinking beers and eating snacks until they were too tired to go in anymore.

Tonight was different though.

Because tonight was the first Saturday of the summer, which meant anyone and everyone was looking towards your brother and Ellie for a party to kick things off. You knew they’d do it of course, but you knew it was actually happening once you could hear the faint noise of the two of them setting up downstairs, paired with the roaring sound of your brothers Jeep pulling in and out of the driveway, making multiple runs to the store for last minutes things for the party.

And your plan for the night? You were going to shower early to avoid any awkward drunk run-ins, take a melatonin, lock your room door, and fall asleep with your noise canceling headphones underneath a mountain of blankets. While it would be nice to let loose and party for a night, you wouldn’t dare even ask them if you could attend, already knowing Ellie would have quite the mean words in store if you tried that.

On the bright side, this all meant you were responsible for the clean up in the morning.

You let out a soft sigh as you tugged on a pair of sleep shorts and an oversized t shirt, moving to grab your bottle of melatonin gummies before you moved to sit on the bed, wanting to wind down a bit before bed.

Right as you were about to take your vitamin and lock your door though, you heard a gentle knock, making you frown as you looked over at it. Surly the party hadn’t started yet? Did you seriously have to put a note on your door to alert drunk idiots that your room was off limits for hook ups?

You frowned before calling out. “Go away! There are other rooms!” You called out loud enough, hoping that whoever was on the other side would get the memo.

Instead, you hear the knob turn, the door creaking open as your brother peaks his head in, making you sigh in relief.

“Oh…I thought you were some idiot party-goer” you explain as you scrunch your nose at the mere thought of it before you unscrew the top to your bottle. “What are you doing here? You have a party to host” you explain before you look up at him, only to find his eyes wandering your bedroom before he shrugs.

“Wanted to check on you…make sure you’re okay” he explains before he finally looks down at you, nodding towards the bottle of melatonin in your hand. “Going to bed already?” He asks, which you nod to.

“Yup…trying to get a heard start before the noise sets in” you hum out softly before you bring one of the gummies to your lips.

Your brother quickly speaks up before you can take it. “You should come down…for a little bit. It’ll be fun” he quickly gets out before you eat it. He knew the moment you took it, you’d be lulled away to sleep, and there was no chance in him reconciling with you tonight.

Because in all honesty, he felt horrible for the way Ellie had been treating you. Not only did he fear you’d tell your parents (he knew you wouldn’t), but he also felt like he was being a shit big brother for not standing up for you, even if he knew that you knew it was a tricky situation since Ellie was his best friend.

Your shoulders slump at his words, giving your brother an unamused look.

“Your friend wouldn’t even let me play video games with you. Do you seriously think she’d allow me to come down tonight l?” You groan out softly before you shake your head, bringing the gummy to your lips once again. “I’m gonna go to bed. I don’t have time for either of you” you sigh softly.

Your eyes widen when your brother steps forward and slaps the gummy from your hand. “What the hell Derek??” You shriek out, which only makes him groan in annoyance.

“It’ll be fun! And Ellie will be too drunk or high or both to even notice you’re there…” he whines out like a child, which makes you roll your eyes.

A blanket of silence falls between the both of you as you think about it, weighing out the pros and the cons of going downstairs and joining everyone, risking the chance of Ellie blowing up on you the second she sees you there, assuming you’re attending for the sole purpose of shutting down her fun.

Derek sighs softly as he moves to sit down next to you on your bed. “I’ve been a shitty older brother…and you deserve to have fun this summer too” he hums out softly before he leans over, nudging your shoulder gently with his.

“Come on…it’ll be fun” he urges once more, and it reminds you of when you were both kids, your brother slowly turning into the person that you recognized rather than the person he was whenever he was around Ellie or his other friends.

You finally sigh out softly before looking over at him, giving him a slight nod. “I’ll change and come down once I hear the music start playing…I’m sure that gives her enough time to get her drunk goggles on” you hum out playfully as you refer to Ellie.

Your brother smiles brightly, his mimicking your own before he nods. “You’re gonna have fun” he affirms once more before he gets up to leave your bedroom, closing the door behind him so he could get downstairs and finish setting up.

A soft sigh leaves your lips as you look down at your clothes, frowning at the faded band t shirt paired with the frayed ends of your old sleep shorts.

You needed to change.

It wasn’t long until you could hear the faint sound of the loud music booming through the house, paired with the various cars that slowly started piling up in your driveway and along the side of the ride in front of your house, the party guests making their way to your place like clockwork.

You had changed into a pair of baggy blue jeans that hung low on your waist, and a simple white tank top hugged your curves in a way that looked like you put in way more effort that you actually did, wanting to keep things comfortable enough that you could slip out of it the second you wanted to dessert the place for the safe haven that was your bedroom.

The party was in fully swing by the time you made your way downstairs, a person filling up everyone single space as music blasted loudly throughout the entire place. You inhaled deeply, slipping past the growing sea of people to get to the kitchen, and get a drink.

Your eyes scanned the space as you stayed leaned up against the counter, red solo cup pressed against your lips as you babysat the mixture of liquid and soda, people watching as everyone around you became acquainted with one another, your drink making you grow warmer and warmer with each passing second.

Like a stroke of luck, you catch an empty spot on the once full couch. It makes you sigh in relief, once again slipping past the bodies in your house to catch it before someone else does, which you thankfully do. You plop down onto it, bringing your cup to your lips as you rest your head against the back of the couch.

You didn’t even realize how drunk you were until Jesse, one of your brother’s old friends plops down next to you with a loud sigh. The second he was next to you, the strong smell of weed was filling up your lungs, you swore you felt the tiniest bit high from the smell alone.

“If I so much as smell a blunt, your tv is gonna grow legs and start walking away” he groaned out, making you stifle a laugh.

The sound catches his attention, the man turning his head to look at you, his hazy expression slowly tugging into a smile.

“Nooo way. I remember you! You’re Derek’s little sister” he gasps out, which makes you hold back a laugh before you nod.

“I am in fact his sister” you confirm.

To be frankly honest, you’d known Jesse since high school. He was pretty close with Ellie and Derek, he was actually the only one out of the group of gremlins that was actually kind to you whenever they were all around. However he was currently so far gone, he could barely remember that you two already knew each other.

“Maaan I haven’t seen you in so long! He didn’t tell me you’d be here” he chuckles softly, bringing his hands to his face as he groans softly.

“I’m…I’m sorry I’m so high right now. I can barely think” he apologizes, the man visibly melting into the couch as he lets his hands fall down beside him, staring off into space.

You giggle softly as you shake your head, bringing your cup to your lips as you take another sip of your drink. “You’re fine Jesse…the companies nice” you nod before you rest your head back against the back of the couch, allowing Jesse to carry on with his belligerent complaints.

You were so consumed with Jesse’s rather entertaining word vomit, that you barely noticed a certain someone eyeing you from the other side of the couch.

Ellie had been there the entire time, too high and too drunk (like your brother said she’d be) to even notice you had taken a spot at the end of the couch. It also didn’t help that she had her current summer fling splayed across her lap, her lips pressed to the girls mouth as they practically swallowed each other’s faces whole.

And she wouldn’t have noticed you either, had it not been for the familiar sound of your giggle ringing through her ear, barely audible over the sound of the loud music booming through the house.

At first she thought she was hearing things, ignoring the noise and carrying on with working her tongue against the girl’s against her. However the second time she heard it, it was paired with a low groan that she could only recognize as Jesse’s, and once she heard that? She had no choice but to break her lips away from the girls, instead allowing her to work her lips against her neck.

The image of your head resting against the back of the couch, looking up at Jesse as his face seemingly lays inches away from yours, your eyes twinkling in the dim light of the room, the edge of your solo cup resting against your pouty bottom lip as you listen intently at whatever Jesse is saying…

Makes Ellie want to punch a fucking hole in the wall.

Because what the fuck is Jesse doing talking to Derek’s little sister? Why the fuck does he think it’s okay to make you laugh that way when everyone knows you’re off limits? The unspoken rule being something everyone had to follow…

No matter how pretty you got as you grew up.

Ellie suddenly can’t pay any attention to the pretty girl on her lap, her grip on the girls hips tightening with anger as she watches you smile lazily at Jesse, the drink in your cup clearly making you far too soft and pliable to be talking to someone like Jesse.

There’s suddenly a fire burning in her, one that begs for you to look up and see what she’s doing, see that she has a girl on her lap that isn’t you. She wants you to see her kissing the girl, gripping her hips and positioning her however she pleases.

Ellie feels the need to make you jealous

But you never do. Ellie watches the both of you for what feels like an eternity, and you don’t once look up and lock eyes for her, not even for a second. She’s sure you’re obvious to the fact that she’s even there, far too consumed with whatever the fuck it was that Jesse was telling you, which couldn’t be anything good of course, it was Jesse of all people.

The girl on her lap is getting antsy, tugging at the bottom of Ellie’s shirt, slipping her hand underneath it to run along the skin of her hips, lips itching up her skin to get back to Ellie’s mouth, anything to have the attention that has suddenly been locked into something else.

Ellie doesn’t budge of course, her stone cold gaze stuck on you across the chair, a few feet away from her as Jesse chats you up,

She doesn’t even know why she’s staring. She can’t pin point why seeing you do something as simple as talk to someone else makes her blood boil to the point where she feels fucking light headed. All she knows is that she can’t take her eyes off of you, not when your attention is so dead set on someone else.

The girl on Ellie’s neck whines softly, her hand coming up to grip Ellie’s chin, pulling her down to finally lock lips with her. It makes Ellie groan, and to the girl it probably sounded like a groan of approval, a sign that Ellie liked that she was taking what she wanted from her. In reality, it was Ellie being fucking annoyed.

Ellie kisses her hard, trying her best to shut her up and keep her satisfied so she can break away and keep an eye on you.

You sigh softly, lifting your head a bit to turn and look down into your cup, noticing it had become empty in the span of talking to Jesse. While doing that, you realized how drunk you had gotten from the drink you made, a lazy giggle leaving your lips as you shook your head towards Jesse.

“I’m…way too drunk…I need to go to bed” you sigh out, resting your hand Jesse’s thigh as you give him a gentle pat. “Try to sober up before you go home if you do end up leaving….was nice seeing you Jesse” you smile at him, only receiving a soft groan of agony before he lazily waved you off, making you giggle softly before you got up off the couch, stumbling a bit before making your way around it to go upstairs.

As you round the corner, oblivious to Ellie’s presence, you don’t at all notice the way her eyes trail your path even as her lips work angrily against the girl in her lap.

Or the way she breaks the kiss once you’re out of view, pushing the girl off her lap as her legs begin carrying her up to follow you. “I’ll be right back…” she mumbles out to the girl, completely ignoring the way she scoffs once she realizes Ellie was following another girl.

She slips past the crowd of people as she trails close behind you, watching as you fail to even realize the way certain eyes follow your path, eyes that don’t belong to her, eyes that have filthy thoughts behind them, only fueling her anger further.

It’s like a shark stalking their prey. You’re a dumb, innocent little fish with not a care in the world, happily swimming around other little seat creatures as an apex predator slowly sticks onto your tail, following you to your demise. You’re bouncing around, giggling softly as you stumble over your own feet, so stupid from the liquor you had, you’d barely even noticed Ellie was following you.

Soon, you’re up the stairs and in front of your bedroom door. You reached up, standing on your toes to get to the little key you left on the top of your door after you locked it before going downstairs, ensuring no one would so much as think to use your bed as a hook up station.

You opened it up, sighing softly as you closed it behind you, moving over to your drawer to grab the pajamas you had folded earlier, wanting nothing more to change into them and get some much needed sleep now that the alcohol had settled in and warmed up your entire system.

Ellie hears you humming softly to yourself as she opens up your door. She isn’t even entirely sure what her motive is with this, why she felt the need to follow you all the way up to your room, and to on top of that walk in. It wasn’t like you were in any sort of danger, you weren’t out on the street late at night all alone, or even at a party at a strangers house. You were a smart girl, even going as far as to lock your door before and after leaving to go downstairs.

Not smart enough to lock it before Ellie could come in though.

You frown softly when you hear your door open, fully prepared to start screaming for your brother the second some creep tried to come in to your room.

You don’t have to though, because the second you realize that it’s Ellie standing at your door and not some fucking weirdo, you let out a small sigh of relief.

Which quickly turns into panic once you realize that it’s Ellie standing in your doorway.

“Ellie? What are you doing here?” You question the girl, your eyebrows furrowed in confusion as you let out a soft sigh.

You can hear it already, the way Ellie is gearing up to degrade and berate you for even thinking it was okay to come out of your room and down to the party. You mentally prepare yourself for the nasty things she’ll say, for the way she’ll go above and beyond to ensure you never even think to come down and attend another one of hers and your brothers parties ever again.

But she doesn’t speak, not immediately at least.

You watch as she crosses her arms over her chest, tattooed forearms making her look all the more intimidating. Her eyes roam your bedroom as she slowly steps in to take in more of the space after she closes your door behind her.

“It’s nice in here…you should’ve stayed put…would have worked out better for you” she hums out, her tone a bit too casual for the bite that her words manage to get out of you.

It makes you sigh softly, bringing your hand up to rub against your forehead before you speak up. “It was Derek’s idea, okay? And I was barely even down there. I didn’t even talk to anyone” you explain to the girl.

She raises her eyebrows, green eyes settling on you as she watches you in surprise.

“Didn’t talk to anyone hm? Then what the fuck were you doing with Jesse? Huh?” She barks out, the level of her voice making you flinch.

If you were confused before, this has you in shambles. Your frown deepens as your eyebrows furrow, watching the girl before you quickly speak up to defend yourself.

“With Jesse? Ellie I…we talked for maybe thirty minutes? And all he was telling me was how much he was greening out I…are you serious right now??” You shriek out, watching as the girl slowly made her way towards you.

She ignores your explanation. “Do you know how fucking desperate you look? Clinging on to mine and Derek’s friends?” She spits out, her tone growing angrier and more vile with each word she utters.

And she’s getting closer to you the more she speaks too.

“It’s fuckin’ pathetic. You’re fucking pathetic. Don’t you get tired of this? Isn’t this boring to you?” She questions, tone dripping with annoyance and anger as she keeps going, keeps pushing you.

You don’t think you’ve ever seen her like this. She’s fuming with something you don’t recognize and it makes your eyes widen, lips parting slightly as you try to find the words to say before they quickly close once she continues on with her nasty words.

That’s wide eyed look on your face lights a fire under Ellie that tells her to keep going.

She’s right in front of you now, her nose inches away from yours as she lets out an unamused chuckle, a soft smirk on her face.

“You’re such a fucking slut…you know that? Begging for attention from your brother’s friends….” She hums out softly, her pink tongue slipping out of her mouth to wet her lips slowly. You can barely stop yourself from your eyes shifting down to watch the way she does it, only earning a soft chuckle from the girl.

“Did you go to him because you saw I was busy baby? Is that it?” Her tone is still taunting you, but it’s softer, her voice barely above a whisper.

Suddenly you feel her strong hands snake their way around your waist, pulling you slowly but harshly against her body, making you gasp softly at the sudden and foreign feeling of her body pressed against yours, all of it consuming you too much to even register what it was she was accusing you of.

Her eyes are taking in your features. Your eyes, your nose, your lips, as if she were silently begging you for something you couldn’t completely give her, something more.

“If you wanted me, all you had to do was ask” she sighs out softly.

And it’s like you aren’t even there anymore, because once she says that, her lips are pressed against yours in a hot, needy kiss.

Your eyes widened at the feeling of her lips on yours. For a minute you even questioned if you were dreaming, because surly there was no world where this would be happening, one in which Ellie would be kissing you.

You gasped out softly, trying to break away from the girl to ask what exactly it was that she was doing, but she only takes this as an advantage to slip her tongue into your mouth.

The feeling of her wet tongue against yours has you melting, your eyes fluttering shut as suddenly any and all questions and concerns you previously had disappear from your head, the only thought present being how good it felt to have Ellie kissing you.

You finally get a moment to speak when you feel Ellie break the kiss so that her lips could trail down your throat, licking and sucking your skin as her hands grip your hips tightly, fingers rubbing against the exposed skin between the hem of your shirt and the top of your jeans.

“Ellie…what are you…” you manage to get out between moans, enjoying the feeling of the means girls lips against your throat far too much.

“Shut up…just shut the fuck up…” her words are muffled against your skin.

You can feel her walking you back towards your bed, allowing her to push you back onto it and crawl over your body once you’re both there. That’s when her lips attach themselves back onto yours, her hand coming down to skillfully unbutton your jeans, which gives her a chance to cup your pussy, feeling your arousal soaked panties.

She smirks against your lips, the pads of her fingers pressing against your clothed clit as she gives you a hum of approval.

“Wet already? Over one little kiss? God that’s pathetic…” she chuckles out softly as she degrades you for it, which somehow only sends more warmth shooting down your core.

“It’s alright baby…I’ll take care of you..” she hums softly against your lips before she starts kissing down your body.

Her lips swirl your nipples over the fabric of your tank top, the material growing wet with her saliva. It’s strange because the feeling is almost more erotic than if she were to do it with your top off. Maybe it’s how eager she is for it? For whatever it was she was planning on doing to you?

You had no idea. But you knew it felt good.

She does this until she’s settled between your legs, your denim jeans already long gone, her eyes zeroed in on the growing damp spot on your panties. You’re propped up on your elbows, watching closely as the girl who you were convinced hated you, stares down at your pussy like it’s her last fucking meal.

“You’re soaked baby…fuck…” she sighs out, her tattooed hand coming up to slowly run her index and middle fingers along your slit, the feeling alone making you gasp out before moaning for her.

That makes Ellie smirk, her stormy green eyes flickering up to catch your expressions as her fingers circle your clit slowly. “Yeah? You like that don’t you pretty girl…you want more?” She questions, her voice so soft and sweet, yet dripping with the urge to tease and humiliate you.

It was so confusing, because you didn’t know what it was that you wanted. You’d grown to view Ellie as someone who disliked you, deeply in fact. You always saw her as a figure of hate and annoyance towards you rather than someone who could ever in their wildest dreams be in this current situation with you.

But it felt so good, it felt so fucking right to have her settled between your legs, her fingers circling your clit slowly, making your head spin, making you feel so dizzy you felt like you’d cry if your aching pussy didn’t have some form of attention from her.

“Answer me…” she practically growls out when you take too long to respond, her dark eyes growing even darker as she awaits your confirmation.

Her tone along breaks you out of your thoughts, and before you can even think all of this through, consider the consequences that will follow a drunk hook up with Ellie?…

You’re nodding like a fucking bobble head.

“Want it so bad Ellie…please….please touch me” you practically beg, hips bucking for the attention you craved.

You didn’t even for a second stop to think what her motives were. Ellie was mean, and she could be really fucking mean when she wanted to. Who’s to say this wasn’t all a sick joke? One that she’d laugh at hysterically just to get you to say you wanted her, weaponizing the way you begged for her in any instance she could use to keep you in line.

“Good girl…relax baby…I’ll make you feel real good..” she hums out, her gentle words tugging you away from your intrusive thoughts.

Her fingers tug your panties to the side, an audible groan rumbling from her chest as she finally gets a glimpse as your soaked core.

“Fuckin’ look at that…pussy’s practically drooling for me baby…Jesus” she sighs out softly.

For a moment, you think she’s going to leave. Because in the dim light of your bedroom, you watch as she pushes her fingers into her mouth. You watch her with a confused frown as you hear a small click, paired with a gentle buzzing sound.

But once Ellie finally latches her mouth to your pussy, you can feel the foreign feeling of a tiny ball in the middle of her tongue vibrating against your clit.

You don’t even have time to fully register what the actual fuck is going on, a loud gasp leaving your mouth as your eyes go wide for a moment before they flutter shut.

Ellie had a vibrating fucking tongue ring

The feeling has you moaning loudly, your head falling back as your back arches, feeding more of your throbbing cunt into Ellie’s mouth, which only makes her moan loudly against your sensitive core.

“Fuck! Ellie oh my god! Feels…h-huh….feels s’good” you gasp out, words broken up with huffs and moans as you struggle to speak.

You want to kick yourself for not noticing it moment ago when she had her tongue playing against yours, the feeling of the smooth ball lapping against the inside of your mouth, only to begging vibrating once she settled her mouth on your pussy.

She’s just as fucked out as you are when you finally look down at her, her eyes fluttered shut in what could only be viewed as pure bliss as she licks and sucks your pussy like a woman starved. The image alone makes you reach out and tug a fistful of her hair into your hand, keeping her close as your hips began grinding against her face.

“Yeah..right…f-fuck…right there Ellie!” You moan out as her hands come up to hold onto your hips, guiding you, urging you to move harder and faster against her mouth.

Begging you to use her.

Your eyes flutter shut as the familiar feeling begins to settle into your lower half, your legs growing numb, hips getting sore as you chase the high that was growing deliciously close every second Ellie worked her skilled tongue on your pussy.

You aren’t sure you’ve ever felt anything like it. Between Ellie’s fantastic performance with her tongue, and the vibrating tongue ring, your head begins spinning as your orgasm grows closer in an embarrassingly quick amount of time.

“Ellie I…I can’t…you’re gonna…make me…” you warn her, your eyebrows furrowed as you stare down at the girl, only to see her giving you an encouraging nod as she suckles your pussy, making sure the little ball on her tongue is working your clit in the most perfect way so that the vibrations can drive you where you need to go.

That alone has you crying out, back arching almost painfully as you cum hard on the girls tongue.

Sensitivity chases soon after, a soft whine leaving your lips as the girl laps up your arousal, tongue ring still buzzing against your tired cunt, making you shy away from the warmth of her mouth.

She chuckles at that, giving your clit one final kiss before she pulls away and reaches into her mouth to click the tiny machine off.

“Did so good for me baby…took everything that I gave you” she praises you as she crawls up your body, humming softly as her hand comes up to gently hold your face before she kisses you, letting you taste your arousal that lingers on her tongue.

You moan softly into your mouth, head still swirling with a million questions you had for her, all of which she silences with the slow and sensual lapping of her tongue against yours.

She does this as she pushes you back onto your bed, letting you rest against your pillows before she tugs your blanket over both your bodies, her tongue lazily playing with yours as she practically lulls you to sleep with her kisses.

Or so you thought.

Because soon enough, she’s breaking the kiss, crawling off of your body as she tugs the blankets off of hers. You frown as you sit up a bit, watching as she adjusts her hair and her clothes in your mirror, crouching down a bit before she turns to leave your room without another word.

“I…you’re leaving?” You question softly, confusion and exhaustion laced within your words.

Ellie snorts once she turns around, the back of her hand coming up to wipe away anymore of your juices that might have still lingered on her lips.

“You thought I was gonna stay with you? Seriously?” She chuckles out softly before she slowly makes her way back to you, leaning down as she gives you a teasing pout.

“Maybe next time princess…I have someone waiting for me downstairs” she winks at you before she swiftly leaves your bedroom, leaving you there with a shocked look settled on your face.

[silentheiss]

It starts with Shang Qinghua, as many unpleasant things do.

“Come on, Cucumber-bro,” He whines, lying on Shen Qingqiu’s floor and eating Shen Qingqiu’s snacks. “Do you have to go? You promised you’d read my draft, remember?”

“I do.” Shen Qingqiu says. “And I will. Later. I promised I’d help Binghe with his hair before he has to leave for his trip today.”

“You gotta get all the way back to the demon realm just to do his hair before he leaves again?”

“Yes.”

“Aw, bro. I’m sorry.”

Shen Qingqiu snaps his fan shut. He doesn’t like his tone.

“Why?”

“What?” Shang Qinghua blinks up at him from his position on the floor.

“Why are you sorry?” Shen Qingqiu repeats, slowly.

“Well, because you have to interrupt your evening to placate my clingy son?”

Shen Qingqiu isn’t sure what exactly about Airplane’s wording bothers him so much, but he doesn’t let it stop his ire.

“You think I prefer your company to my husband’s?” He hisses. Shang Qinghua sits up abruptly.

“Oh, shit, bro.” He mumbles, sounding apologetic. “I didn’t mean it like that. I know you love him and all.”

Does he? Not that Shen Qingqiu cares, of course, but- does he?

“Do you?”

“Yeah, it was hard to miss with all the rage comments and well, uh. Suicides?” Shang Qinghua laughs awkwardly and Shen Qingqiu opens his fan once again. “It’s just that I get that it must be hard for you to put up with his quirks sometimes?”

What quirks! Shen Qingqiu grips his fan tighter. Sure, Binghe can get a bit sticky and is prone to crying, but what’s so quirky about it? And who’s talking! As if Mobei-jun is a completely normal choice of a partner. Shen Qingqiu scoffs and moves to stand up.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He snaps. “Binghe’s perfectly normal. I enjoy spending time with him.”

“Of course you do.” Shang Qinghua nods hurriedly, also scrambling up to his feet. “Don’t be mad, Cucumber-bro. I didn’t mean to offend you!”

Shen Qingqiu know that. He didn’t mean to offend him, no. He meant to commiserate. Because, apparently, he thinks Shen Qingqiu must be tired of Luo Binghe.

“I’m leaving.” He says and promptly turns around and walks out of his own house. Binghe wouldn’t like it that he left his martial uncle in bamboo house unsupervised, but it’s either that or beating Shang Qinghua and Shen Qingqiu hasn’t yet formulated a reason inside his buzzing and spluttering mind for why he needs to do that.

Shen Qingqiu is still trying to understand what exactly about the conversation with Shang Qinghua addles him so much as he walks towards the designated meeting spot. Luo Binghe should be there soon to pick him up and take them both to the underground palace. When they last talked – just that night, in a shared dream – Luo Binghe asked if he could visit Shen Qingqiu in their bamboo house as he has some free time before he has to continue on his business, but Shen Qingqiu wanted to be alone with his husband for the short time that they would have, and he’s rarely left alone while on Qing Jing Peak.

“Shizun!” He hears, as almost reaches the stairs. He slows down, allowing Ning YingYing to catch up to him, but doesn’t stop completely. Binghe might already be waiting.

“What is it, YinYing?” He asks, smiling indulgently at his disciple.

“Why is Shizun leaving?” Ning YingYing pouts. “Didn’t he say that he’ll stay for a few days more?”

“Your Shizun will be back shortly.” Shen Qingqiu rolls his eyes, but his smile is still present. See, Airplane-bro? All his disciples are sticky! Luo Binghe is not worse than anyone else. Well, if only just a little. “This Shizun just has a meeting with your shidi.”

“Ah, A-Luo is back? When will this one get to see him?”

“Luo Binghe is very busy, so he won’t be coming to Qing Jing Peak just yet.” Shen Qingqiu says, stopping at the top of the stairs and looking downward. Binghe isn’t there yet.

“So he’s stealing Shizun all to himself?” Ning YingYing pouts again, but this time her eyes are sparkling with amusement. “Isn’t A-Luo the sweetest?”

And then it dawns on Shen Qingqiu. He quickly sends Ning YingYing back and starts his trip down the stairs, lost in thought. He’s taking Shizun all to himself. You have to interrupt your evening to placate my clingy son. They say it as if it wasn’t Shen Qingqiu who insisted on meeting somewhere else, so they could be alone. As if he didn’t insist on being interrupted whenever Luo Binghe had a minute to spare during his trip.

Because even if they know that Shen Qingqiu cares for Luo Binghe, they are certain that Luo Binghe cares for him more. More to the point of being annoying, even?

Shen Qingqiu sees red. He’s furious with Airplane, of course, because he started it, but most of all he’s furious at himself. Sure, he isn’t as shameless as his husband to declare his love left and right, but did he really let his cold and aloof facade lead people to believe that he is not madly in love with his husband?

Did he lead Luo Binghe to believe that, too?

Shen Qingqiu doesn’t notice the stairs end and almost stumbles, when his foot meets the ground sooner than he anticipated. A strong arm catches him around the waist.

“Shizun.” His husband breathes out and draws him closer, hugging him as if they’ve been apart for months instead of days. Shen Qingqiu is frozen in his arms.

That’s it, isn’t it? Luo Binghe never hesitates to show his feelings. But Shen Qingqiu’s thin face is not an indicator that he loves his husband less! It’s just that-

“Shizun?” Luo Binghe leans away, arms still circling his waist. His brow is furrowed, just a bit. Starry eyes are already watering from Shen Qingqiu's lack of response. How on earth could someone not love this man with their whole heart?

“Binghe.” Shen Qingqiu says, unable to hold the question back a moment longer. “Do you think you love me more than I love you?”

Luo Binghe’s arms drop. He takes a stumbling step back. His perfect, beautiful face freezes completely, not showing a single emotion. A second later tears start rolling down his cheeks.

“Binghe?” Shen Qingqiu takes his husband’s hand and squeezes lightly. “Are you okay?”

“Shizun said-” Binghe chokes, still looking at him without as much as blinking. “He said he loves…?”

Then, the dam breaks and Luo Binghe starts sobbing in earnest. Shit. Has he ever said the L word before? Shen Qingqiu swears on his own grave – on all of his graves – to never let the shame overtake him again.

“So, you do?” He asks, heartbroken and ashamed. He truly is an abominable husband.

“I do!” Binghe cries. “Of course I do. How can there be a love greater than my love for Shizin?”

How? Shen Qingqiu would love for Luo Binghe to see his old room right now. That’d show him how.

“What about my love, huh?” He snaps, fighting an urge to stomp his foot. “Why can’t it be greater?”

Binghe must realize his mistake. He hastily wipes his face and shakes his head.

“Of course this one knows Shizun cares for him! Shizun’s shown this one so much kindness, has been so generous, and-”

“No!” Shen Qingqiu feels his cheeks grow hot. “I don’t just care for you. I love you. I love my husband.”

Luo Binghe stares at him and doesn’t say anything for a very long time.

“Shizun?” He says, finally. “Did you happen to come across any interesting plants recently?”

Oh for fuck’s sake!

“I’m not under any influence!” Shen Qingqiu huffs.

“Do you mind if I…?”

“Go for it.”

A second later Shen Qingqiu feels the blood parasites start fretting. It’s not the most pleasant feeling, but if it’ll make his husband stop humiliating him, he’ll take it happily.

“Shizun is healthy.” Luo Binghe says dumbly. “But then why would he say that?”

“Because it’s the truth!” Shen Qingqiu cries. “Why is it so hard to believe? Why do everybody, including my own husband, keep suggesting that I don’t feel as strongly about Binghe as Binghe does about me?”

“Did Liu Qingge say something?” Luo Binghe asks, eyes narrowing.

“No!” Shen Qingqiu rolls his eyes. “But I’m sure he would, if he had a chance. Because apparently, I don’t look in love!”

Luo Binghe’s face is quite red, Shen Qingqiu notices.

“But they’ll see.” He continues. “Ang you! You’ll see too, Binghe.”

“I’ll see?”

“Yes.” Shen Qingqiu nods decidedly. He knows how to fanboy, okay? Binghe’s cooking and fretting and gift lavishing won’t stand a chance against Shen Qingqiu’s skill. “Take me home this instant. I have posters to paint.”

“Posters?”

“Now, Binghe!”

Luo Binghe squeaks and reaches for Xin Mo. Shen Qingqiu jumps through the portal before it even fully opens.

[minihotdog]

Have You Seen My Boyfriend?

Summary: You see Simon in the mask for the first time

C/W: angst (?)

A/N: I've been wanting to write this fic for a while now and I didn't really know what to do with it BUT @celestialwhoree wrote this lovely fic right here and it lit a fire under my ass. I also don't think Simon would wear his mask outside of combat-active areas sooo I threw that out the window to make this work.

Word Count: 723

He didn’t even remember that he still had that damn balaclava on when they touched down on the runway. Months had gone by and eventually, as it always did, it began to feel like a second skin.

He never let you see him with it on either. Simon made sure to keep Ghost on the field and Simon at home. He’d watched countless men throughout his career take work home with them and the damage it left on everyone they touched. He wasn’t perfect. He had his own struggles in disconnecting from the adrenaline and danger, but he’d been meticulous so far.

Since you came into his life the balaclava stayed in his ready-to-go bag that you weren’t allowed to touch.

The bulk of the unit grabs their bags and heads towards the hangar as fast as they can, happy to be freed from the C-130 they’d been cramped into like sardines for hours. Their families wait for them, cheering as they get closer.

Simon knew you didn’t like crowds and messaged you to meet him at the compound instead, he’d instructed a private to let you inside the barrack’s common area to wait for him.

You were sitting on an ugly old brown couch fidgeting with your fingers. He’d been gone for months and your excitement to have him back home was mixing with the anxiety of being in this environment that didn’t feel right for you to be in. You wondered if he’d get in trouble for letting you be there.

At some point, you get on your feet and begin pacing away from the door in case they barge in to take you away for being in a restricted area unsupervised.

Simon detours to throw his bags in his office before heading towards the common area. His weapon and clips are long gone, turned into the armory waiting for his next embarkment. His vest is still snug on his frame, his skeleton-printed gloves still donned with months of sweat and grime soaked into the fabric, and his forgotten balaclava sticking to him absentmindedly.

You jump out of your skin in fear when the door swings open and spin around on your heels to meet your awaiting demise. Your nerves don’t subside when a giant man steps into the room. All the air suddenly gets sucked out.

He’s covered head to toe and the only thing your eyes can focus on is the skull print on his face. He closes the door behind him, his eyes not leaving yours.

You swallow harshly, trying to force words out. Or do anything to save yourself.

“Have you seen my boyfriend?” You squeak out. You watch the mask move over his features and you avoid his eyes at all costs. The overcast from the eyeholes makes them look like black holes.

“Y/n,” He breathes out while taking a step closer. You swear to yourself he almost sounds like your Simon but the alarm bells continue going off at the sight of him. You take a step back and in his exhausted state, it finally clicks. His eyes close and his eyebrows furrow in disbelief. He looks over you taking in your reluctance and the fear coursing through you.

Fuckin’ Hell

He reaches up slowly to not scare you. His fingers pull at the fabric at the top of his head slowly pulling the balaclava off to reveal his all-to-familiar face, his messy blond locs sticking out in every direction.

“Jesus, Simon!” You gasp, running to him and banging on his chest. “You scared the shit out of me! What the fuck!”

He wraps his arms around you, pinning you to his chest. You writhe in his arms trying to escape.

“I’m sorry, love. I didn’t mean to.”

You look up into his sad chocolate brown eyes now freed from the darkness that hid them before. “I never wanted you to see that, doll. That isn’t me, I promise.” His voice comes out soft and full of regret.

He yanks his gloves off letting them fall to the ground so he can lace his fingers in your hair. He holds you against his chest, occasionally brushing his lips against your forehead.

Cats out of the bag.

He doesn’t know what to do now. What if this is the start of something he can’t prevent?

[puppy-steve]

promise you forever

steddie ☆ 971 ☆ cw: none ☆ appalachian eddie ☆ao3

“phone for ya, eds,” wayne chuckles as he comes out of the house to the front porch where everyone’s sitting. “think your boy’s had one too many.”

eddie frowns and stamps down the worry bubbling inside him. steve rarely ever drinks anymore. doesn’t smoke anymore, either. not since starcourt. eddie slides off the porch swing where he’d been sitting with his aunt pep and goes inside to the wall phone in the kitchen, the receiver laying on the counter.

“steve?” he says, lifting the phone to his ear.

“country boy, i love youuuuuuuu!”

steve’s words are slurred, which doesn’t make eddie any less panicked. what happened? was he okay? eddie leaves to visit his family for one week and he can’t seem to escape the horrors that hawkins, indiana seems to breed every day.

“stevie? baby, you okay?” eddie tries to keep his voice from shaking.

there’s a laugh on the other line and steve flat out yells into the phone, “eddie! hi!” yep. he’s definitely drunk. eddie strains to hear any background noise that would give any hints as to where steve is at, but it’s silent.

eddie’s knuckles grip the phone. “where are you, sweetheart? are you safe?”

steve makes a grumbling noise, like he’s talking to someone else and eddie doesn’t know if that makes him feel better or worse.

“i’m fiiiiiine, eds,” steve says after another second of grumbling. “teds. teddy. teddy bear.” he starts listing ever iteration of eddie’s name, and eddie doesn’t want him to stop. if he keeps going, then eddie knows he’s not in immediate danger.

“dingus! stop hogging the phone!”

wait.

“robbie, i’m trying to talk to me boyfriend,” steve whines and there’s sounds of a scuffle and “no—hey—robin, it’s still my turn—!”

“hi, eddie!” robin’s voice is suddenly in his ear and sounding just as drunk as steve. jesus christ, eddie’s never leaving them unsupervised again.

eddie sighs and runs a hand down his face. “robin, where the hell are you? and why are you drunk?” these two are gonna finish what the bats started and put him in an early grave, he swears it.

on her end, robin groans. “dingus!” she scolds steve. “you didn’t remind him?”

“remind me of what, bobbie?” eddie asks. now that he’s sure the two of them are somewhat coherent and probably not in danger, he feels so fucking tired all of a sudden.

“it’s my birthday, doofus!”

well now eddie feels awful. steve reminded him before he and wayne left, but in all the excitement of seeing the rest of his family again, it slipped eddie’s mind.

robin continues, “and you, theodore munson!”

if eddie thought he was off the hook, he’s dead wrong. he’s never hearing the end of this now. it’s not likely, but maybe luck will be on his side for once and she’ll forget this conversation ever happened.

“you owe me a birthday breakfast, lunch, and dinner when you get back. and you have to buy me a present.”

eddie rests his forehead on the wall as a laugh bubbles up out of his chest at the ridiculousness of the situation. “alright, birdie,” he promises. “as soon as i get back, i’ll start right on it and get you the most expensive present i can afford.”

“it better break your bank account, munson!” she threatens, but eddie knows she’s bluffing.

“alright, birthday girl, can you put steve back on?”

robin yells out for steve. “you better not be doing any hanky panky on my birthday, dingus,” she warns before steve comes on the line.

“hi, baby.” he’s definitely still drunk, but he’s quieter, not yelling into the phone like he was a few minutes ago.

warmth fills eddie’s chest and he leans his shoulder on the wall, angling himself away from the door to give himself a sense of privacy in case anyone comes inside. “hey sweetheart,” he says just as softly. “you two having fun?”

he can practically see steve’s nod. “mhm,” he confirms. “miss you, though. wish you were here.”

eddie’s gonna marry this boy someday, just you wait.

“i miss you, too, sugar,” eddie tells him. “wayne said he thinks you’ve had a little too much to drink.”

“no i haven’t!” steve’s voice raises for a second before dropping back down again. “just had one… three… four beers, i promise.”

eddie hums, not bothering to hide the amused grin on his face. “uh-huh. s'at why you sound drunker than a skunk, right now, sweet thing?”

steve huffs and eddie wants so badly to kiss the pout off his boyfriends lips. “m'not drunk,” he says without any real argument.

“alright, i believe you,” eddie concedes. he can’t help but to let a little worry back in. he bites his lip. “can you promise me something, stevie?”

steve’s answer is immediate and almost shatters eddie’s heart. “i’ll promise you forever, teddy.”

eddie takes a breather to calm himself down so he doesn’t jump in wayne’s truck and make the five hour drive back to hawkins. “promise me you’ll call nancy if either of you start to feel weird?”

steve hums in his ear, like a purring cat. “i promise, baby. cross my heart ‘n everything.”

eddie grins and wishes he was there in front of him so he could touch him. “thank you. i won’t keep you any longer, then. i’m sure birdie’s getting impatient.”

“she’s always impatient,” steve huffs. “it’s her best quality.”

there’s no argument there.

“i love you, stevie. call me tomorrow when you wake up?”

steve sighs softly. “i love you, eddie.” he makes exaggerated kissing noises over the phone until he hangs up.

eddie hangs the receiver up. he’s here in his grandmother’s kitchen, surrounded by his family, but his heart has never felt as full as it does in this moment.

buy me a ☕?

[milkbobatyun]

oh cruel, heartless fate

pairing: jingyuan x reader

genre: angstober, events

summary: yanqing's curiosity gets the better of him, resulting in jingyuan to reveal a bit of his past

word count: 1.1k

a/n: father jingyuan occupies my thoughts like nothing else. fun fact! this was slightly inspired by this one hoyolab post that i saw, where they were pointing out that yanqing has a protection charm on his left shoulder !!

ever since he could remember, yanqing had followed behind jingyuan like a shadow, under his watchful gaze as he trained, ate, even when the general was writing his papers.

as a curious little boy aged ten, he did what any unsupervised child did, when they were left to their own devices for the first time ever.

yanqing’s eyes glowed as he imagined finding legendary sword scripts and long-lost manuals in the bookshelf of the famous dozing general. he started snooping through the vast collection of the general’s books, hoping that behind, or in one of them, he would find the answer to becoming the swordmaster of all of xianzhou.

instead, he found an old and frayed box, worn with age and nestled between two books, which clattered to the floor.

when jingyuan came back into the room, he had found yanqing, crouching on the floor, staring thoughtfully at a box lying on the floor. in his hands, he mercilessly tore at a flower, with every fall of the petal, some words from his mouth.

“i can open it.”

“i ask the general.”

“i can open it.”

“i ask the general.”

raising an eyebrow in amusement, jingyuan silently padded behind the boy, his presence staying unknown.

“yanqing,” his deep voice rumbled from behind, amusement colouring his tone. he crossed his arms against his chest, peering down with a knowing look. “what are you doing?” like a cat that had been startled, yanqing lept into the air, eyes wide with surprise and cheeks flushed with horror.

“general,” he stuttered, eyes dancing across the room, refusing to meet jingyuan’s, guilt painted on his face. “i just found a box…”

yanqing’s head drooped, his golden hair covering his face, making his expression unreadable.

“i was wondering what it was about.”

it had taken the young lieutenant 3 days of pleading, persuasion and promises of not spending his money carelessly on swords before the dozing general finally gave into yanqing’s puppy dog eyes.

gently picking out the delicate box, the general sauntered towards his seat, dropping into it with the lazy gait of a cat. across the table, yanqing sat perched on his designated armchair, eyes wide with curiosity and beaming with joy. if he had a tail, it would almost fall off with how excitedly he was wagging it.

jingyuan flipped open the box, taking out the contents with care. out of it fell a set of golden rings and a jiāsuǒ.

yanqing watched as his general, no, his father figure’s eyes softened with a far away look.

“yanqing,” jingyuan began, licking his lips tentatively. “today, i’ll introduce you to [name], or in other words, your other parent.”

he had been a young soldier then, fresh from the horrors of war. the sky was bright with the twinkle of stars, artificial light warming in interiors of houses.

as he was strolling down the arum alley, the calming scent of tea floated down with the wind. nearby, he spotted a newly opened teahouse. thankfully, there weren’t many customers inside, with the owner sitting by their counter, their nose buried in a book.

gently pushing open the door, jingyuan entered, sitting down at a nearby table. the owner started in their chair, surprised that a customer had come at such a time.

“what brings you here?” they questioned, tilting their head curiously, as they set down their book with care, picking up a menu and walking over to where jingyuan sat.

oh how funny fate could be, for it was there, when jingyuan crossed paths with the one he was destined to be with.

yanqing watched as jingyuan’s gaze seemed to look beyond him, thinking of warmer times, when his battle wounds were cafeully bandaged with loving hands and the flutter of kisses ghosting across his skin.

the corner of jingyuan’s lips twitched into a wry smile.

“it had taken me a good half a year of persuasion and courting before they finally agreed to go out with me.” jingyuan sighed, amusement evident in his voice.

“you would’ve loved them, yanqing,” jingyuan continued, eyes pooling with sadness. “they’re just like you, the most stubborn yet admirable person i have ever met.”

yanqing remained silent, entrapped in this beautiful love story that jingyuan had begun to weave.

the years passed by slowly. often times, jingyuan wondered how you two became a couple. you were dedicated to your work, while he took the chance to slack off when possible. and yet, your relationship blossomed like a flower in spring.

he had popped the big question during your anniversary dinner, stunning the waiters and customers in the restaurant, while you were left gaping like a fish out of water.

with a flourish, he had knelt down on one knee, presenting beautifully decorated jewel box in front of you, sincerity in his voice as he asked to marry you.

oh how cruel and heartless fate could be.

it gave jingyuan his whole world, yet in a moment, it ripped it away from him, leaving jingyuan alone in this desolate world.

you died in his arms, too young to be taken away. even in your death, you didn’t forget about your work, requesting that he take care of your teahouse.

“when i die,” you smiled up at him, radiance beaming from your face. even in death, you looked like an angel sent from heaven. “i hope you can give everything i hold dear to the one the aeons send in my place.”

from within your hanfu, you produced a protection charm.

“give this to them, when you feel the time is right.”

then, jingyuan had furrowed his brows in confusion.

“àirén,” he whispered, voice cracking with sorrow. “no one would ever be able to replace you. i only need you, please, keep your eyes open, for me!”

looking at yanqing who sat opposite him, jingyuan finally knew the meaning behind your words.

the aeons had sent yanqing in your place, to bring light to his world again.

with a bitter smile, jingyuan gathered up one of the rings into his hand, slipping it onto a chain.

jingyuan beckoned yanqing to hold out his hand, placing both the heavy jiāsuǒ into his. yanqing cradled the valuable accessories like they were an egg, eyes wide with surprise.

“what-,” he stuttered, confusion painted on his face. “why are you giving me this?”

jingyuan’s deep chuckle echoed around the room. 

“well,” jingyuan lamented, chuckling into his hand in amusement. “they were great friends with lady fuxuan after all, so she must’ve given them a hint.”

yanqing looked at the precious jiāsuǒ with wide eyes of delight. a gift, from his other parent, specially prepared beforehand for him. even though he would never get the chance to meet them in this life, he could feel the love and comfort the item radiated.

“you really are just like them.” jingyuan laughed, voice filled with mirth. “they would’ve wanted you to have it.”

footnotes:

1. jiāsuǒ (家锁) also called 百家锁 (bǎijiāsuǒ)— a traditional chinese talismanic item that relatives or parents would give to their children, believing it can protect the wearer from harm, misfortune and evil spirits. it is also believed that it can bless them with good luck, longevity and a high ranking.

2. àirén (爱人) — a gender neutral term that can be translated to 'lover'. in this scenario, it is used as a term of endearment.

∧,,,∧ ( ̳• · • ̳)  © curated with love by milkbobayun 2024 / づ ♡

[plussizefantasia]

CozyTober Day 7: Fresh Baked Goods

Bucky Barnes x wife!reader

wc: 0.9k

warnings: anxiety induced baking

an: this was one of my favorites and now I have a few more ideas of what I should bake this month hehe. Reblog if you enjoyed, I'll see you tomorrow for Day 8!

Since you were old enough to use the stove unsupervised baking has been your main way to get rid of stress. The way that it captured all your focus and kept your hands busy made it the prime choice for distraction in moments of chaos. 

When finals week would roll around you would be drowning in all sorts of breads, cookies, muffins, and pastries. You had resorted to donating them to a local soup kitchen whenever you could, or forcing them off on your friends, teachers whoever would take them really.

The habit had not broken in adulthood, though you were now more mindful about other ways to cope, when the stress got to be a little too much you resorted to finding a new recipe and firing up the oven. 

And your husband going on two week-long missions where he wasn’t allowed to contact you was a great example of the stress becoming too much. Currently, the little kitchen in the townhome the two of you had bought together last year was absolutely covered in all kinds of goodies. You had some pumpkin rolls, several batches of apple cinnamon muffins, caramel apple cookies, apple turnovers, and some pumpkin and chocolate chip loaf. 

You were rolling out the four sheets of pie dough you had prepared for the various flavors of filling that are currently cooling in your fridge. Suffice to say that you had overdone it but you really had nothing else to do. 

You had finished all the cleaning there was to do the first week he had been gone, and you didn’t want to mindlessly watch the shows on your list because you promised Bucky you wouldn’t watch them without him. You had gone through your entire closet and pulled out things you could donate, you had asked for more tasks from work and then promptly finished all of those too. 

You had nothing to distract yourself, so you resorted to baking. You knew the treats would get eaten, either by your husband’s team or the people at your own work if they were left in the breakroom. But you’re not really sure how much longer this can go on before it’s considered an actual problem.

Luckily and unbeknownst to you, you wouldn’t have anything to be worried about in a few hours, because your husband would walk through your front door. 

Bucky hated blackout missions, not only did he think the whole concept was paranoid and that was a lot coming from him, but he had people to miss now. He had ties to the real world, ones he didn’t feel entirely comfortable abandoning for two weeks even if you’d talked about it before he left.

He worked hard to get the job done as soon as possible and told Ross to shove it when the general had asked him to stick around for one more day so he could complete the mission debrief. That was Sam’s job anyway, the type of bureaucratic responsibility that came along with the stars and stripes plastered across his chest. 

So he shed himself off his mission gear, changed into his civvies, and hopped on his motorcycle. He didn't wait a second before revving it up and coming home to you. 

He did not expect however to open the door and be assaulted with the smell of cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove. He sighed and shook his head with a smile, mentally preparing himself for the sight of his kitchen being turned into a bakery.

You didn’t hear the door open, too busy humming along to the Fred Astaire record spinning on the table in the corner. You didn’t notice Bucky slipping off his boots or hanging up his jacket. You didn’t hear the padding of his feet as he made his way to the kitchen and you didn’t notice when he propped himself up against the door frame and took in the sight of your baking breakdown.

You did however hear his slightly teasing lilt of “Honey, I’m home.” 

You spin to face the voice and let out an undignified squeal. You spin around looking for a place where you can set the hot pan in your hand and give up, practically throwing it back into the oven before taking a running start and launching yourself at him

His deep chuckle blesses your ears and you dig your nose into his chest taking a big breath of something that can only be described as Bucky. 

“You’re home!” yelled muffled by his chest.

He ran a hand down the back of your head over his hand, “You baked.”

You pull back and look sheepishly at him, hoping that the kisses you scatter across his face will distract him from the abundance of carbs behind you.

It doesn’t work. The two of you eat muffins for breakfast every day for the next two weeks, Bucky takes some of the treats to the base with him and says the trainees are grateful but that the sugar makes them annoying. You bring some of what’s left to your own work and are met with a bunch of thank you e-mails and even a thank you coffee from the nice older woman who sits three desks away from you. The rest you bring to the children’s hospital the next time the two of you visit, sweets are always a hit there.

Bucky does ban you from the kitchen for three weeks after though, afraid you’ll get the urge again and he’ll have to add a few more hours of gym time to his routine to burn off all the carbs he’s been eating.

[werepuppy-steve]

promise you forever

steddie ☆ 971 ☆ cw: none ☆ appalachian eddie ☆ ao3

“phone for ya, eds,” wayne chuckles as he comes out of the house to the front porch where everyone’s sitting. “think your boy’s had one too many.”

eddie frowns and stamps down the worry bubbling inside him. steve rarely ever drinks anymore. doesn’t smoke anymore, either. not since starcourt. eddie slides off the porch swing where he’d been sitting with his aunt pep and goes inside to the wall phone in the kitchen, the receiver laying on the counter.

“steve?” he says, lifting the phone to his ear.

“country boy, i love youuuuuuuu!”

steve’s words are slurred, which doesn’t make eddie any less panicked. what happened? was he okay? eddie leaves to visit his family for one week and he can’t seem to escape the horrors that hawkins, indiana seems to breed every day.

“stevie? baby, you okay?” eddie tries to keep his voice from shaking.

there’s a laugh on the other line and steve flat out yells into the phone, “eddie! hi!” yep. he’s definitely drunk. eddie strains to hear any background noise that would give any hints as to where steve is at, but it’s silent.

eddie’s knuckles grip the phone. “where are you, sweetheart? are you safe?”

steve makes a grumbling noise, like he’s talking to someone else and eddie doesn’t know if that makes him feel better or worse.

“i’m fiiiiiine, eds,” steve says after another second of grumbling. “teds. teddy. teddy bear.” he starts listing ever iteration of eddie’s name, and eddie doesn’t want him to stop. if he keeps going, then eddie knows he’s not in immediate danger.

“dingus! stop hogging the phone!”

wait.

“robbie, i’m trying to talk to me boyfriend,” steve whines and there’s sounds of a scuffle and “no—hey—robin, it’s still my turn—!”

“hi, eddie!” robin’s voice is suddenly in his ear and sounding just as drunk as steve. jesus christ, eddie’s never leaving them unsupervised again.

eddie sighs and runs a hand down his face. “robin, where the hell are you? and why are you drunk?” these two are gonna finish what the bats started and put him in an early grave, he swears it.

on her end, robin groans. “dingus!” she scolds steve. “you didn’t remind him?”

“remind me of what, bobbie?” eddie asks. now that he’s sure the two of them are somewhat coherent and probably not in danger, he feels so fucking tired all of a sudden.

“it’s my birthday, doofus!”

well now eddie feels awful. steve reminded him before he and wayne left, but in all the excitement of seeing the rest of his family again, it slipped eddie’s mind.

robin continues, “and you, theodore munson!”

if eddie thought he was off the hook, he’s dead wrong. he’s never hearing the end of this now. it’s not likely, but maybe luck will be on his side for once and she’ll forget this conversation ever happened.

“you owe me a birthday breakfast, lunch, and dinner when you get back. and you have to buy me a present.”

eddie rests his forehead on the wall as a laugh bubbles up out of his chest at the ridiculousness of the situation. “alright, birdie,” he promises. “as soon as i get back, i’ll start right on it and get you the most expensive present i can afford.”

“it better break your bank account, munson!” she threatens, but eddie knows she’s bluffing.

“alright, birthday girl, can you put steve back on?”

robin yells out for steve. “you better not be doing any hanky panky on my birthday, dingus,” she warns before steve comes on the line.

“hi, baby.” he’s definitely still drunk, but he’s quieter, not yelling into the phone like he was a few minutes ago.

warmth fills eddie’s chest and he leans his shoulder on the wall, angling himself away from the door to give himself a sense of privacy in case anyone comes inside. “hey sweetheart,” he says just as softly. “you two having fun?”

he can practically see steve’s nod. “mhm,” he confirms. “miss you, though. wish you were here.”

eddie’s gonna marry this boy someday, just you wait.

“i miss you, too, sugar,” eddie tells him. “wayne said he thinks you’ve had a little too much to drink.”

“no i haven’t!” steve’s voice raises for a second before dropping back down again. “just had one… three… four beers, i promise.”

eddie hums, not bothering to hide the amused grin on his face. “uh-huh. s'at why you sound drunker than a skunk, right now, sweet thing?”

steve huffs and eddie wants so badly to kiss the pout off his boyfriends lips. “m'not drunk,” he says without any real argument.

“alright, i believe you,” eddie concedes. he can’t help but to let a little worry back in. he bites his lip. “can you promise me something, stevie?”

steve’s answer is immediate and almost shatters eddie’s heart. “i’ll promise you forever, teddy.”

eddie takes a breather to calm himself down so he doesn’t jump in wayne’s truck and make the five hour drive back to hawkins. “promise me you’ll call nancy if either of you start to feel weird?”

steve hums in his ear, like a purring cat. “i promise, baby. cross my heart ‘n everything.”

eddie grins and wishes he was there in front of him so he could touch him. “thank you. i won’t keep you any longer, then. i’m sure birdie’s getting impatient.”

“she’s always impatient,” steve huffs. “it’s her best quality.”

there’s no argument there.

“i love you, stevie. call me tomorrow when you wake up?”

steve sighs softly. “i love you, eddie.” he makes exaggerated kissing noises over the phone until he hangs up.

eddie hangs the receiver up. he’s here in his grandmother’s kitchen, surrounded by his family, but his heart has never felt as full as it does in this moment.

🥐☕💕 buy me a coffee? taglist: @yournowheregirl @steves-strapcollection @thefreakandthehair @stobinesque @vecnuthy @tboygareth @starrystevie @inairbinad @flowercrowngods @starryeyedjanai @matchingbatbites @corrodedbisexual @theheadlessphilosopher @sidekick-hero @patchworkgargoyle @sentient-trash @wormdebut @legitcookie @corrodedcoughin @steddieas-shegoes @wynnyfryd

[crusty-chronicles]

Hi can I request an angst to fluff scenario of having an argument with Kite? Just thought that'd be interesting. Really love your works btw Sun and Moon just💛😭🫶 So happy to find an active HxH blog too😭😭😭 thanks!

An: Bon Appetit. 😈

Kite isn't the type to get mad easily. He prefers seeing things with a clear level head. Usually managing to avoid confrontations all together. He's not very quick to anger when he's frustrated or irritated either. But when it comes to your safety, he can't help but snap a little.

Just what the hell had you been thinking!?!

You'd been contracted to study a rather large type of protected species. It was out of Kite's level of expertise, but the job promised a surprisingly decent pay. One neither of you could turn down. 

Everything started off fine at first. Watching the creature from a distance and gathering data. It was on the third day you noted it had a cub. You both promised to be extra careful from then out.

He should've known something would go wrong. Nothing ever went off without a hitch when you were involved.

The creature had left its cub unsupervised to look for food. And unfortunately for the small critter, it was being hunted by something much larger. It let out a screech seeing the predator and made a dash to the left. But it just wasn't fast enough.

There was always an unspoken rule between you two. You were observers. Whatever happened, you weren't supposed to interfere. Your job was to gather data and report back to your contractor. To let things play out the way they were intended.

However, it was something you struggled with. Kite didn't have the chance to react before you rushed forward. Picking up the cub and quickly subduing the other creature with your nen. He sent you a disapproving look when the shock had faded. Getting up from his place on the ground and making his way towards you. Your expression was pleading, preparing for the scolding that was about to come.

“It would've died.” You said before setting down the small creature.

It was always the same excuse with you. You liked to help, which inherently wasn't bad. But this was not the time nor place for that. You were just lucky this time the creature had been small. Still, he couldn't help but scold you for getting involved.

“It's not our place to meddle in-” But something had caught his eye before he could finish.

From your left came the mother of the small cub. Charging forward in an attempt to protect its baby. Instinctively, Kite summoned his ability and swung. He wasn't counting on you blocking his scythe with your own ability.

You were too naive. 

Wanting to protect the mother because you understood the animal's fury. It was only trying to keep its cub safe. It's that rational that has you forgetting another important rule. Any animal that attacks a human must be put down, or else it'll continue to do so to anyone that crosses its path.

Yet you ignored it. The beast had an unforgiving look in its eye, one that let him know it was about to attack. And as soon as your back had turned, the creature struck. Claws tearing through your back.

He was angry. Absolutely furious…But he was scared too. Scared he might've lost you. All due to your carelessness. Your way of thinking that somehow always led to you getting injured.

Which brings you two to where you are now. Kite chewing you out once you reached your hotel. Calling the mission off to take care of you.  

“If you'd have just waited instead of jumping in headfirst like you always do, we wouldn't have been set back weeks of research.” It was not at all what he meant, but he was too frustrated to choose his words carefully.

Unfortunately, it led to you becoming more defensive as well.

“What the hell's that supposed to mean!?! It's not like I go out actively seeking trouble. And you're one to talk. We would've been just fine if you hadn't attacked first!”

“If I hadn't attacked first, it would've gone for your throat! You wouldn't have moved out of the way in time.” He argued.

Steadily, both of your voices had risen. Bordering on yelling at each other.

“I'm not some amateur unable to avoid being hit. So stop treating me like it! I'm a pro hunter just like you, yet you're always underestimating me!” You pointed out.

“You're reckless. You can't take on a job without something going wrong. And you never learn from it either. You think just because you got out fine this time, you can keep repeating the same mistakes. It's hard to work with someone who just doesn't listen.”

“Then maybe I should just quit!” You shouted.

“Maybe you should!”

The silence was deafening. Your eyes widening in shock. Kite's expression quickly changing into one of regret. He shouldn't have said that. He doesn't know why he did in the first place. Trying to backtrack before it was too late.

“I didn't-” But you'd cut him off.

“Don't.”

There was nothing but ice in your tone. One that was reserved for when you were angry. When you hated something. He tried to approach you, but you backed away. 

“Just leave me alone.” You said before going into your room. Slamming the door closed and locking it.

You never locked the door.

He let out a drained sigh, mulling over what just happened.

Of course he didn't want you to quit being a hunter. You were good at your job, and he could never ask that of you. The same way you’d never ask that of him. You were just too risky for his liking. And taking as many chances as you did usually meant death…or worse. Especially in this line of work. 

You thought he was underestimating you. He never did. You were more than capable of taking care of yourself. He was just protective of you. Holding you back from doing the more dangerous things because he didn't like to see you hurt. He never wanted to risk your safety. It didn't occur to him that it looked like he thought you were inexperienced. That you were weak.

He just hoped you'd calm down soon so he could properly explain himself.

—--------------------------

You were angry. Pissed beyond belief. But more than that you were hurt.

Were you really that much of a liability he actually suggested you quit? Did Kite hate working with you that much? Thinking you were just getting in the way of completing jobs?

Did he really think that little of you?

Fine. You'd never take on another mission with him again. You two were used to working alone anyways. He wouldn't have to worry about you ‘screwing things up’ again.

You winced at a wave of pain washing over your back. Reaching behind you to soothe the ache. Your expression softening when your fingers skimmed the bandages covering your wound. 

The first thing Kite did when you got back was tend to your injuries. Putting all his focus into taking care of you. Making sure you were okay. 

He…always put you first.

The thought had you feeling guilty. He put up with your impulsiveness and here you were internally cursing him out. He even went as far as to cancel the mission when he could have continued on his own. 

Maybe you really were dragging him down.

At the very least, you were putting him in danger. Rushing in because of your own morals and making him go against his own. Adding yet another useless kill to his credit.

Perhaps you should quit. It'd be a lot less stressful that way.

—------------------------

A whole day. You ignored him for a whole day. He'd be lying if he said it didn't kill him a little inside. You were right there, and still he couldn't reach you. He understood that you needed your space, but he wanted to talk to you. To hear your voice.

He remembers why you started working together in the first place. You hated long distance. Planning and searching for the rare days your schedules would actually line up. He hated it too. Coming home to your shared apartment only to find out he just barely missed you.

When you two were working together, everything just fell into place. Neither of you wondering when you'd see the other. 

If you quit, it'd be back to square one. If you decided to stop working with him entirely, he doesn't know how he'd handle it. Knowing the chances of you coming back to him were slim. He thinks he hates both possibilities more than you ignoring him.

He was sorry for blowing up at you. For saying things he didn't really mean. But he wasn't sorry for being worried. He wasn't sorry for caring about your safety.

He went to knock on the door at the same time you opened it. Both of you stared in shock at the other. Neither of you knew what to say. Who should speak first. Yet despite that, both of you could tell the other wasn't angry anymore. Eyes regretful with a certain softness in them.

“I'm sorry.” You said at the same time, effectively baffling each other.

It was funny in a way. How both of you seemed to come to your senses at the same time. 

Kite spoke up first, effectively breaking the silence.

“What are you sorry for? You didn't-”

“I was reckless…and stupid.” You interrupted, failing to notice the subtle way his eyes softened.

“I shouldn't have interfered.” You should've stayed put.

“I just don't like to see animals suffer if I can help it. It's why I became a hunter in the first place. But maybe that bias is why I should quit. I don't wanna hold you back.” You explained.

You were expecting an ‘I told you so’ at the very least from him. Instead, he pulled you close. Wrapping his arms tightly around you. You realized you've been craving his touch. His warmth. Retuning his embrace and resting your head on his chest. 

“Don’t quit.” He said quietly, holding you just a little bit tighter.

You thought you were holding him back? If anything, he might've been the one holding you back. He wanted you to know that he trusted in your skills and abilities. He knew you were more than capable of handling what came your way. But he would always be scared of the slim chance you couldn't.

“I only said it for my own peace of mind,” he started.

“Our job is dangerous. It has all sorts of risks and trouble. Getting hurt is part of it… That doesn't mean I enjoy seeing you in pain.”

It hadn't occurred to you until a few moments ago how strenuous it must've been for him to see you hurt so often. How unfair it was. 

“I don't ever want to lose you because I didn't react fast enough. I know you don't need me to protect you, but I can't help it sometimes. You're one of the most important people in my life.”

The confession has you melting even further into his arms. How lucky you were to have such a wonderful partner. Unawares he was thinking the same about you. You pulled away just enough to look up at him.

“I'll be more careful.” You promised.

He met your eyes and leaned down. Resting his forehead on yours.

“I won't butt in unless you ask for my help.” He swore, sealing both promises with a kiss.

—------------

[alexa-fika]

I squeezed my brain so much and I hope it doesn't disappoint

Am rewatching Atla and I love toph so you wrote about her before with Smoker but can you write one with the straw hats ( Sanji 💕 ) or Mihawk or Law or anybody or you can write with all of them 🏃‍♀️

So I have two scenarios ( blind male ) age 12

1- getting captured in sabaody to be sold and getting rescued

2- almost drowning and getting saved ( sanji )

Because no one will get hurt 🙏

🐼💕~

Lost Sight ( Sanji x male!blind!child!reader)

A/N heyyy 🐼 💕 So I actually already wrote a story on the auction house on sabaody with Rayleigh so I decided to write the second one and let me tell you your age request was perfect because it fits perfectly with the canon time, because Sanji was eight when he left germa 66 and in this case if he took an infant Dokucha with him 12 years later Sanji would be 19, Aka the canon age when he made his debut BAM so smart 🐼 💕

Reader is replaced by Dokucha which means reader in Japanese

Dokucha Backround in this story: When Sanji Left Germa 66 he took along with him his then infant brother with him to protect him from their cruel family and to ensure he would not turn out like them, especially knowing what kind of fate would await a blind Vinsmoke

Dividers by @/saradika

“Dokucha, be careful; the waves are high, so the ship is not very steady right now,” Sanji called, taking another puff from his cigarette, feeling the nicotine enter his system

“Don’t Worry Sanji! I know the Going Merry like the back of my hand!” the blind boy exclaimed in return

"Even if you know the ship well, it's the ocean that's unstable” he quipped back as smoke exhaled from his lips with gusto, filling the surrounding air with a thick cloud as he spoke

“Just be careful.”

He smiles, slowly approaching Sanji and hugging him

“I will”

Dokucha’s embrace was sudden and unexpected but was well-received. As he took another drag, Dokusha's grip tightened around him.

“Hey, Hey Sanji, can you teach me another recipe later? I promise to be more careful this time.”

The chef smiled gently at the boy as he released himself from the hug, still clutching tightly onto his cigarette

“All right, sure. But you'll have to be careful, okay? No more burning the kitchen down. And remember the Cardinal rule in this kitchen.”

“Don’t let Uncle Luffy Unsupervised, I know!”

“Exactly.” Sanji grinned as he flicked the remnants of his cigarette, turning his gaze to the horizon

“Now, let's try to make this day less eventful, huh?”

Dokucha grinned, taking hold of the ship’s walls to guide their way along their adventure; however, despite how Dokucha had memorized the Ship’s ins and outs, even he could not keep up with the ever-going destruction and fixing that occurred with the ship after every adventure. As such, he had no way of knowing that that part of the wall had recently been amended poorly; after receiving a cannonball, the crew did the quickest repair they could, and that was not always the best repair.

With just a little bit of weight, the repaired wall fell under the boy’s weight, taking him off balance and causing him to fall along with the wooden boards that previously covered the hole

“Sanji!” They cry as they fall

With no foothold or support to rely on, not even his kenbunshoku could help him, leaving the boy truly blind as the waves mercilessly crashed against him, sputtering the water out. The only thing they could do was to stay afloat

With all his available senses overwhelmed by the current danger, they were unaware of the sound of a splash nearby and someone taking hold of them; they were unaware of the screams for his name coming from a familiar voice

The cold water dulled Dokusha's senses, and he was caught entirely by surprise when he was suddenly yanked out of the ocean. His first instinct was to cling to anything he could touch, but he couldn't feel anything except the person who had pulled him up and his body, now shivering from the cold.

The shouts in the distance gradually became clearer, getting louder as they seemed to come closer.

“Dokucha! Dokucha! Get Chopper here now!”

“Sanji?”

“Yeah, it’s me, it’s okay.”

“I'm sorry. Are you okay?”

“You idiot, you were the one that fell; why are you asking me?”

“You had to jump in after me, even after you warned me to be careful.”

“Well, I wasn’t just going to let you drown, you dunce.”

“So mean.”

“So reckless.”

“I guess I just ‘lost sight’ of my way.”

The chef sighed, shaking his head before responding

"You’re an idiot, you know that?."

They chuckle at his brother, adrenaline still flowing through his body from the previous events

The chef can't hold in his laughter, smiling as well

"Good thing you have me around to take care of you."

“Yeah, it is,” he said, leaning closet to him and embracing him

So is it a cook? What are we thinking? Is it okay 🐼 💕?

Taglist:

@imaginarydreams

@amethystviolin

@h0n3y-l3m0n05

[world-of-theories]

And now an average conversation between N, V, and Uzi

Uzi: oil is cool and all. but have you ever had someone care about you?

Uzi: me neither. Pass the arm

N & V: …are we a joke to you

————————————————————————-

Uzi: We’re gonna die

N: now Uzi, think positive

Cyn: hi ;3

Uzi: I’m positive we’re gonna die

————————————————————————-

N: here you go Uzi. Go set something on fire. *hands her a railgun*

Uzi: *runs off* I AM THE GOD OF DESTRUCTION!!!

————————————————————————-

Uzi: ok guys I have to show something. just promise not freak out.

V: listen we’ve been on crazy adventures

N: whatever it is we’ll understand

Cyn: hello [smile]

V & N: there is nothing about this we understand!

————————————————————————-

Uzi: congrats you just won a lifetime supply of oil

J: but you only gave me one can of oil

Uzi: *pulling out her railgun* yep

————————————————————————-

V: Uzi which one of us is your favorite

Uzi: I don’t have favorites you both annoy me equally

V:*walks away doubtful*

Uzi: *turns to N* its you, one hundred percent you

N: :D

————————————————————————-

Thad: Uzi I dare you—

N: Uzi isn’t allowed to except any dares.

Lizzy: what?! why?

Uzi: I have no regards for my own personal safety.

Lizzy: …ok then V I dare you to—

N: V also isn’t allowed to except dares.

V: I also have no regards for anyone else’s safety other then you idiots.

Uzi: I once dared her to bring me a head of a sentinel and she come back covered in oil with the head

————————————————————————-

Uzi: in my defense I was left unsupervised

N: wasn’t V with you

V: In my defense I was also left unsupervised

————————————————————————-

N: UZI WAKE UP THE SUN HAS RISEN!!!

Uzi:*clearly to tired to process the sentence* and what do you want me to do photosynthesis

V: NO YOU IDIOT RUN FOR LIFE!!!!

————————————————————————-

N & V:*watching tv and eating batteries*

Uzi:*walks into the room*…. The game

N:*drops his batteries*

V: OH YOU LITTLE—

————————————————————————-

Lizzy:*confused*

Thad: what you got there Uzi

Uzi:*cyn tail biting her arm* smoothie

————————————————————————-

V: I CANT BELIEVE YOU WOULD DO SOMETHING THAT STUPID!!!!

Uzi: and what part of that was out of character for me?

V: …touché

————————————————————————-

Uzi: So you’re essentially a ghost now

Doll: да [yes]

Uzi: and only me and the talking tail can see you

Cyn: hello

Doll: ну, похоже, меня видят только дроны, зараженные абсолютным решателем [well it seems like only drones infected with the absolute solver can see me]

N: *walks into the room* hey Uzi, hey cyn, hello shadowy figure with red eyes

Doll:…цто [what]

Uzi: you seriously didn’t consider that cyn infect them with the solver before she sent them here

Cyn: idiot

[justabigassnerd]

Playgrounds and Injuries

Pairing - Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell x daughter!reader

Word count - 2,187

Warnings - blood, little splash of angst, mostly fluff

Summary - you hurt yourself while your dad is busy, but a couple of people come to your rescue and your dad dotes on you

A/N - hey y'all I actually wrote a fic in a decent amount of time like what is this?? I loved writing this anon request because y'all already know I'm a sucker for MavDad. I won't ramble anymore but as per y'all, please send in requests, feedback, and enjoy!!!

“Alright squirt, we just need to go to my office so I can grab some stuff and then we can head home.” Maverick says to you as you cling to his hand, walking alongside him as you cross the Navy base to the building where Maverick’s office resides. As you approach the building, your eyes drift to the playpark that sits directly opposite the building and you tug at Maverick’s hand gently, pointing it out.

“Can I play in the park, daddy?” You ask already trying to walk towards the park, only being stopped when Maverick stays put, his grip tightening ever so slightly to ensure you don’t walk into the road. He stayed silent for a moment, eyes flicking between his office building and the park. They were close, and he knew he could see the park from his office window. He also knew he was only running in to grab something so you wouldn’t be unsupervised for a long period of time. Maverick knew it was probably against his better nature, but he let out a small sigh and walked you over to the park, opening the gate and letting you enter.

“y/n, I need to grab something from my office. Stay here in the park, okay? I’ll be right out.” Maverick says, crouching down to be at your level so he can get his instructions across clearly and thankfully you nod in understanding.

“Okay, daddy.” You say, smiling sweetly as Maverick pulls you into a quick hug, pressing a kiss to the top of your head.

“That’s my girl. I’ll be right back.” Maverick promises, straightening up and leaving the park after watching you dart over to the climbing frame. Maverick heads straight for his office, racking his brain for where he left the stuff, he needed so he doesn’t waste time. When he reaches his office, he glances out of his window and sees you happily entertaining yourself on the slide and a small smile graces his face seeing you playing so happily. After watching you for a minute he focuses himself on the task at hand and he tracks down the paperwork he needs to work on before next week rolls around. After gathering up what he needs, he begins to exit his office almost walking directly into Cyclone in the process.

“Maverick. What a pleasant surprise.” Beau says, hardly any enthusiasm in his voice as he looks down at Maverick.

“Cyclone. What brings you here?” Maverick replies, raising an eyebrow slightly as he looks at the Vice Admiral. Maverick was sure he had a family of his own, so why was he in the office?

“I could ask you the same question. Don’t get many people coming in on the weekend.” Beau then says as he folds his arms across his chest.

“Just needed to grab some paperwork but I really need to get go-”

“Actually, while I have you here, I have some things I need to go over with you.” Beau spoke over Maverick, already beginning to launch into a conversation Maverick did not have the time or the effort for.

Meanwhile, you were playing in the park, able to make fun for yourself as you waited for your dad to return from the building opposite. The base was practically empty, aside from a small handful of Navy personnel who wandered around.

As you went down the slide for at least the tenth time, you tripped as you climbed off the slide and landed rather harshly on your knees, cutting them open on the rough ground. At first, you remained on the floor, shocked at what had just happened before your knees began to sting and your eyes welled up. You sat back, inspecting your bloody knees through teary eyes before looking in the direction of Maverick’s office hoping your dad would emerge and come to your aid. Instead, aid came in the form of two other people.

“You keep saying shit like this and Mav is going to make the training harder you know?” Bradley says with a slight chuckle as he rolls his eyes at Jake’s latest tangent about how he feels he’s progressing beyond Maverick’s training.

“Can’t help it if it’s the truth, Bradshaw.” Jake retorts with a laugh as both of them cross the base. As they pass the park, Bradley glances over at Jake to say something else and pauses when he sees a child sitting on the floor in the park and no other adults in sight.

“Bradshaw what are you-?” Jake asks as Bradley crosses the road, approaching the park and picking up the pace when he realises it’s you.

“It’s y/n!” He calls over his shoulder which encourages Jake to follow after him, both men entering the park and crouching down in front of you.

“Hey, kid. What happened?” Jake says softly, noticing the cuts on your knees before straightening up slightly, looking around for Maverick as you sniffle, trying to compose yourself.

“I fell. I want daddy.” You whimper, hands pressing down on your knees harshly as more tears dribble down your cheeks.

“Where did Mav go, y/n/n?” Bradley asks softly, gently lifting your hands off your knees so he can inspect the injuries on your knees. You remove one of your hands from Bradley’s gentle grip and point in the direction of the building you had watched your dad head into not too long ago.

“I’ll go and find him. You stay with the kid.” Jake says, standing up after exchanging a look with Bradley. He knew Bradley was one of your favourite people aside from your dad and that Bradley was practically an older brother to you. At Jake’s words, Bradley nods and watches as Jake exits the park and makes his way into Maverick’s office building. The second Jake is out of sight, Bradley focuses his attention back on you and starts trying to calm you down and distract you from your injuries.

Inside, Maverick was just about ready to get up and leave after being carefully herded into Cyclone’s office to listen to him droning on about his new training ideas after shooting down Maverick’s own ideas. Then there was a knock on the door, halting Beau mid-sentence.

“Come in.” He called towards the door, his face displaying his displeasure at being disturbed. Maverick turned towards the door, curious to see who was knocking at the door and was somewhat surprised to see Jake on the other side.

“Sir, I need Maverick.” Jake says, still standing to attention despite neither man being in uniform, the action coming purely out of instinct.

“You can relax Hangman. Why do you need Maverick?” Beau asks, leaning back in his chair as the younger pilot visibly relaxes upon being given permission to do so.

“y/n fell over and hurt herself in the park. She wants her dad.” The moment the words left Jake’s mouth, Maverick was on his feet and leaving the office without so much as a goodbye and Jake was quick to follow after him.

“What happened?” Maverick asked as the two of them walked through the corridor.

“I don’t know exactly but me and Bradshaw found her in the park crying and her knees are bleeding, so my best guess is she tripped and fell.” Jake explains as best he can while following Maverick towards the door.

“Bradley’s here?” Maverick asks, briefly halting in his tracks to look at Jake.

“Yeah, he’s with y/n right now.” Jake says, quickly averting eye contact and continuing to walk to avoid Maverick potentially questioning why Bradley and Jake had been hanging out together. He wasn’t ready for any relationship stuff to come clean just yet.

“y/n!” Maverick called over the moment he exited the building, catching sight of you sitting on Bradley’s lap as he sat on the swing, swinging ever so slightly as he wiped the few remaining tears from your cheeks.

“Daddy!” You call out for your dad, reaching out towards him as Bradley stands up, keeping you in his arms as he brings you over to your dad.

“Oh, what happened, sweetheart?” Maverick says softly, inspecting your knees gently before Bradley transfers you from his arms to your dad’s.

“I fell.” You whisper, your voice still thick with tears as you talk.

“Well I’ve got you now y/n/n.” Maverick coos gently, pressing a kiss to the top of your head and glancing over at Bradley.

“I would’ve cleaned her up, but I didn’t have anything.” Bradley says apologetically watching Maverick hold you and pepper your head in kisses.

“It’s okay, Bradley. Thank you. Both of you. You looked after y/n, and you saved me from spending hours trapped in Cyclone’s office on a Saturday.” Maverick thanks the two men, each of them letting out a small chuckle at the thought of Maverick being banned from leaving Cyclone’s office.

“You don’t need to thank us. She wanted you so we got you. It’s the least we could do. She’s a good kid.” Jake says softly, extending a hand towards you for a high-five which you give to him with a small smile.

“Alright, I’m going to take her to get cleaned up, so I’ll let you two get on with the rest of your day.” Maverick says, bidding the two men goodbye with a friendly wink before heading back into his office building and successfully making it into his office without being found by Cyclone.

“Okay y/n/n, you sit right here while I find the first aid kit.” Maverick says, sitting down on his desk and placing his papers beside you before searching the room for the first aid kit, holding it up triumphantly when he found it and smiling at the little giggle that escaped you upon seeing your dad’s actions. Maverick places the first aid kit on the desk and opens it, quickly locating antibacterial wipes and some plasters to put on your knees.

“This is going to sting a little, but I promise I’ll be quick.” Maverick says gently, pressing a kiss atop your head as he removes the wipe from the packaging and works as quickly as possible on cleaning your knees.

“It hurts, daddy.” You whimper, tearing up when the stinging sensation spreads across your knees.

“I know sweetheart. I’m almost… done!” Maverick says, quickly withdrawing the wipe, tossing it aside and grabbing a couple of plasters, placing them over the cuts and pressing a kiss atop each one, promising you that his special kisses will help the plasters make you feel better. Once he’s finished, Maverick throws out all the rubbish, returns the first aid kit to where it was before and then scoops you up in his arms, making sure to grab his paperwork too.

“Let’s head home, how’s that sound?” Maverick asks as you nod, winding your arms around his neck and cuddling close. Maverick exits his office and carries you out to his car, strapping you into your car seat before getting behind the driver’s seat and making the journey home.

When you make it home, Maverick parks the car in the driveway and grabs his paperwork before heading to the backseats and moving you from your car seat to his arms and carrying you indoors. He sits you down on the sofa before putting his paperwork down on the table, so he knows to come back to it later and then heads into the kitchen to grab you a snack and a bottle of water before returning to you in the living room and sitting himself down on the sofa alongside you.

“Can I watch Paddington?” You ask quietly, already clambering onto your dad’s lap as he winds a protective arm around you to keep you close.

“You can watch Paddington.” Maverick replies softly, willing to do just about anything to make up for the fact he wasn’t there when you hurt yourself. He puts the film on and leans back on the sofa, letting you get comfortable before cuddling you close as the movie begins to play. Maverick holds you as the movie plays, smiling as you let out little giggles at the bear’s antics on tv.

Eventually, about halfway through the movie, the events of the day begin to catch up to you and you begin to drift off to sleep, placing your head on your dad’s chest, right where his heart was so his steady heartbeat could lull you to sleep.

It took Maverick a couple of minutes to notice that you had fallen asleep, only noticing when he felt your grip tighten on his shirt which prompted him to look down and see you curled up against him fast asleep which Maverick swore could’ve melted him down into a puddle right then and there.

“I love you, sweetheart.” Maverick mutters, running a hand through your hair and kissing the top of your head before settling back further into the sofa cushions.

Maverick’s own eyes soon started to drift shut and he didn’t fight them for a second. He had his little girl curled up against him and he didn’t need anything more or less.

[justagalwhowrites]

Yearling - Ch. 20: Healing

Joel recovers from his trip outside of Jackson. A continuation of Yearling ch. 1-19 found on Tumblr here.

Pairing: Joel Miller x Female Reader

Warnings: Smut :D. No use of Y/N. Minors DNI 18+ Only 

Length: 6.5k 

AO3 | Chapter One | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

“Sweetheart…” 

“Not gonna let you just hurt yourself,” you muttered, bringing Joel a cup of tea and setting it on the side table. 

“Baby.” 

You glared at him and he laughed. 

“Baby, if you saw the shit I’ve survived before,” he said. “Gettin’ shot in the leg is nothing. Really. You don’t need to worry this much.” 

You glared again. 

Even though you knew Joel was right. He was recovering well. You’d seen the scars on his body, he’d survived far worse than a bullet to the leg. 

But, for several torturous hours, you thought you might never see him again. When you’d gotten him back, he was injured and in pain. 

You knew he was trying to act like it wasn’t so bad. From the night he got back he was trying to pretend like it wasn’t that bad. Walking himself to the bathroom just after you got him home was proof that he was going to push himself until he got hurt. You weren’t about to just let him. 

“Hey,” he caught your arm as you passed, fingers closing around your wrist, voice gentle. “I’m OK. Go to the stables. I know it’s killing you, bein’ away from your horses this long. Ellie said she’d come by after school today, not gonna be unsupervised too long.” 

You sighed. Joel wasn’t wrong. You were anxious, having gone the better part of a week since you’d last seen your horses. Olivia came by in the evening and gave you a rundown but it wasn’t the same as being with them yourself. There were still a handful who weren’t well broke yet and you knew they must be backsliding in the days since you’d worked with them. They needed constant repetition at this stage and they weren’t getting it. 

But just the thought of being away from Joel made your stomach twist. The last time he’d been more than a room away from you he’d been shot. The last time he’d been more than a room away from you, he almost never came back. 

“They’ll be fine another day,” you said and Joel sighed before tugging you around in front of him. He lifted your shirt, his hands sliding up to your waist, and he pressed his face to your stomach, breathing you in before pressing his lips to the skin just below your belly button. Your breath hitched and your fingers trailed through his hair. 

“Baby,” he said, his lips brushing your skin. “I will be right here. Not goin’ anywhere. I’ll be fine.” 

“Joel…” 

“Ask Ellie to go by the stable,” he said, kissing you again. “Give you an update.” Another kiss. “Promise I’ll behave.” 

“Almost like you’re trying to get me to leave,” you teased a little and he looked up at you. 

“Baby, I’d love nothing more than to spend the rest of my life at least this close to you,” he pressed another kiss to your stomach. “But don’t want you doin’ it because you’re afraid.” 

You sighed, fingers tangling in his hair. 

“Fine,” you said. “But I swear to God if you try to take those stairs on your own…” 

He smiled against your skin. 

“I’ll be good,” he said. “Now go.” 

You sighed and stepped back from him enough that he let you go and your shirt fell down over your stomach again. You planted your hands on his shoulders and bent enough to look him in the eye. 

“You stay on this fucking couch,” you said, face stern. 

He smiled. 

“I’m stayin’ put,” he said. “Think I’m ready for more than just sitting around though, but we can talk about that more when you get back.” 

You kissed him, gently, trying to keep it from growing too hungry. But it did, Joel’s hand going to the back of your neck, fingers sinking into your hair, moaning into your mouth. You hadn’t expected to want him this much this badly this often. You’d gone years without sex before.  You’d missed it, sure, but it was nothing like this. Not something that left you aching and longing because it had been a week since you’d last had him and that was a week too long.

“Talk about that later, too,” he said pulling away from you, voice needy. “Go to the stables. I’ll be right where you left me.” 

You set your jaw and nodded once, going for the door and giving Joel a last, lingering look before walking through it. 

Olivia was surprised to see you at the stables when you got there, excited to have you back working with the horses that still needed the most help. 

“I’ve been trying to at least do the basics,” she said. “But I can’t stay on ‘em like you can and Pandora threw me yesterday…” 

“Are you OK?” You asked quickly, frowning. 

“Fine,” she waved you off. ���And I got right back on ‘er but she caught me off guard. I just can’t do what you can.” 

You nodded and sighed. 

“We really outta fix that,” you said, looking back toward Joel’s. “Can’t have me be the only person here who can reliably break horses.” 

You started with Pandora who was restless in her stall. You saddled her up as she pawed at the ground and huffed, tossing her head, her mane bouncing. 

“You are in rare form young lady,” you muttered, leading her into the paddock and offering her your hand one more time. She sniffed you and huffed before nudging you with her velvet nose. “I’m not goin’ down as easy as Olivia. Better if you just listen up front.” 

She huffed and you came alongside her, putting your boot in the stirrup and pulling yourself up into the saddle. 

Pandora almost immediately rebelled, bucking and making it so you had to grab the saddle to keep from getting thrown. But it was almost a comfort to feel something so out of control near you that you could still manage. That this wild thing was not going to somehow destroy you and all the work that you’d done. 

It took her some time to calm, even after she stopped bucking. You let her get it out of her system, let her thrash and fight and pretend that she was the one in charge, taking you all over the paddock, tossing her head to and fro. But then she stilled, coming to a stop in the middle of the fenced area. 

“You done fussin’?” You asked, brows raised even though you knew she couldn’t see them. “Ready to work? Because I’ve got all the time in the world, young lady. You’re just wasting your time and your energy, not mine.” 

She huffed and scratched at the dirt one more time but then was still. 

“Alright then,” you said. “Let’s go, baby girl.” 

You let your mind go and, for the first time since Joel had left, it didn’t drift to what happened to him out there. You just got lost in your work, in the animal you were training, on your connection to her and how to bring her to heel, how to build her into the best version of herself. 

She was responding well to commands when Ellie came by the stables and you realized, for the first time, just how much time had passed. 

“Hey Kid,” you called as she scaled the fence, perching on the top rail. “Just a second.” 

“Can I try?” She asked as you guided her toward Ellie. 

“Not on her,” you said as Pandora gave a small buck as if to prove your point. 

“I’m good with them, you know,” she said, defensive. 

“Yeah, remember how it felt getting thrown off Samson?” You said, coming to a stop next to her. “Gonna be the same when she throws you, too.” 

She rolled her eyes. 

“Hey,” you said, raising your brows at her. She looked at you. “I know you’re good with them. You’re just not equipped to deal with an unbroke horse. Not yet.” 

She sighed but nodded in that exasperated way teenaged girls do. It made you smile a little at how universal it was. 

“How’s the patient?” You asked 

“He’s good,” Ellie said. “Told me to tell you that he’s in the exact same spot on the couch. Think he’s getting restless, though.” 

“What?” You said, sarcastic. “Joel? Not wanting to sit still? I’m shocked.” 

Ellie laughed and shook her head. 

“Yeah,” she said. “Asshole’s predictable.” 

You smiled. 

“That he is.” 

“Hey, um…” she said after a second, gnawing on her lower lip and bouncing her leg on the fence. “Can I talk to you about something?” 

“Sure,” you frowned. “What’s going on?” 

“With…” she took a deep breath. “With what I told you. About Joel. About me… I know you said I should think about it. About what it would have been like for him and about… about what parents do for their kids and I am. I am trying I just…” She tilted her head back, looking up at the clear blue sky for a moment. “I don’t know how to do this. I don’t know that I’m doing it right and it’s hard. It’s hard to get back to where we were and to feel like anything is normal and…” 

“Hey,” you said gently as she started choking up. “It’s OK Ellie. It’ll take time. You have a lot of feelings about and that’s OK. Joel will wait for you.” 

She nodded, crying a little. 

“Yeah,” she said. “Yeah, I know… I am really happy he’s OK. I don’t want to think about what might’ve… I’m glad he’s back. And I’m glad he has you. But I just need… I dunno. I need something. I just don’t know what.” 

You weren’t entirely surprised. It’s not like you had a ton of insight into Joel and Ellie’s relationship before their falling out, you just knew how they both interacted with you. And it was very different than how they behaved toward each other. 

Dinner the night after Joel got back gave you a little insight, anyway. Ellie came over as promised and, at first, it was easy. The two hugged, Ellie tried to pretend like she wasn’t emotional, Joel teased her and called her kiddo. 

But it didn’t take long for things to shift. Joel tried to keep it up, the kind of conversation you have with someone you know well and loved deeply. But Ellie shut down after a bit, her jaw getting tight, her fingers rapping against the tabletop. 

Joel didn’t push her, though he did look over at you when she was distracted, seeking some kind of reassurance you weren’t sure you knew how to give. 

“I’ll see you later,” she said, hugging him good bye.

“Lookin’ forward to it,” he smiled and you could hear him trying to keep the emotion from his voice. She smiled a little stiffly and headed for the door but she paused with her hand on the knob, looking back at him. 

“I’m… um…” she paused. “I’m glad you’re back, Joel.” 

He smiled but sniffed as he did. 

“I am too, Kiddo.” 

You were surprised when she came by two days later to check in again, something that must have shown. 

“It’s not better yet,” she said. “But… I do still care about him. I want him to be OK.” 

Ellie hung out at the stable for a while and you sent Olivia home and put Ellie to work mucking stalls and feeding the horses before she haded to meet her friends for dinner at the mess hall. You were just checking one of the hooves on Sergeant, a horse who had been at Jackson a lot longer than you and was favoring one foot, when you heard a familiar sound behind you. 

“Ahem.” 

You sighed, setting Sergeant’s foot down and straightening up, eyes narrowed. 

“Hey, Baby.” 

“What are you doing here,” you glared at Joel who was leaning, with a triumphant grin, on the door to the stall. 

He laughed. 

“Got bored,” he said. “Didn’t like bein’ away from you. Besides, doc said I should be up and moving…” 

“I don’t think Palmer meant walking a mile to the stables.” 

“It’s not even half a mile round trip and you know it,” he shook his head. “Figured I could at least look at ya. Maybe talk you into goin’ to the mess hall for dinner.” 

Your glare deepened. 

“You’re lucky I love you,” you said after a moment. “Because I might strangle you out of frustration otherwise.”

Joel laughed and just watched you finish up your work day before going to dinner.  

Tommy and Maria were at the mess hall with William, Tommy looking pretty healthy all things considered. Maria gave you a tight, watery smile and you realized it was the first time you’d seen her since you’d run from her house in a mad dash for the clinic, desperate to see if your men had made it back alive. You felt a strange kinship with her now, one you hadn’t been entirely aware of before. 

“Good to see you,” she said, William squirming on her lap. 

“You too,” you smiled a little. 

Things felt almost normal by the time you started walking back to Joel’s, even as he tried to hide his grimace from the pain. 

“See why I didn’t think this was a good idea?” You said, almost smug, as Joel’s limp got more pronounced as you got closer to the house. 

“Don’t know what you’re talkin’ about Baby,” he said, a little breathless. “Doin’ just fine.” 

“Uh huh,” you said. “Can lean on me if you want.” 

“Nah,” he panted. “Don’t need it.” 

You rolled your eyes but stayed where he could reach you if he changed his mind. He waved off your help at the stairs at his porch, too, making it up on his own. 

“See?” He said as he sat on the couch, breaths still heavy but smirking proudly. “Told you I’d be fine.” 

“Joel.” 

“Bambi.” 

He smiled a little. You rolled your eyes. 

“You be OK if I get cleaned up?” You asked. “Need anything?” 

“Don’t need a damn thing,” he was still smiling. “Promise I’ll stay put. For real this time.” 

“You’d better.” 

He kept his word and he was stretched out on the couch reading when you got back, wearing one of Joel’s shirts that smelled pleasantly like him and a pair of his pajama pants. You crossed your arms, and leaned against the door to the hall, looking at him for a moment. He looked at you over the top of his book before he set it face down on his stomach. 

“You gonna just stand there?” 

“Thinking about it.”

He smiled.

“Why don’t you put a movie on,” he said. “Sit with me.” 

You picked something - you didn’t pay very close attention to what it was - before arranging yourself around Joel and pressing yourself close to him. 

The past week had felt a lot like when you’d first come to Jackson. You found yourself feeling overwhelmed a lot, hyper aware of the smallest things. Even now, everything outside of Joel was a dull roar, a jumble of sound and light that you had a hard time untangling. It had gotten better as you saw him improve and had the evidence that he was alive and mostly well right in front of you. You were able to focus when Ellie came by and your day at the stables had been surprisingly easy all things considered. But now that you were against him again, you couldn’t make sense of what existed outside of him. You put an arm over him and held him close, pressing yourself against him, your head against his chest where you could hear his heartbeat. You focused on it, the steady and strong rhythm of him in time with his breathing. You held onto it like a talisman, taking him into your lungs and letting him overwhelm you. You’d fallen into him so much, so focused on his small signs of life, that it took you a second to realize that he was talking to you. 

“What?” You frowned, pulling your face enough from his chest that you could see him. 

“Wondering if you’re OK,” he said gently. 

“I’m fine.” 

“Bambi.” 

You took a deep, shaky breath. 

“I meant when I said I couldn’t handle losing you,” you said. “And I know you’re OK and you’re here but… being away from you made me nervous. Just need a minute. Watch the movie.” 

He cupped your face gently, eyes searching yours. 

“Don’t need to watch the movie,” he said softly, his thumb stroking your cheek. “Just need to be close to you.” 

You just looked at him for a moment, memorizing the way the color of his irises shifted, the freckles on his skin, the pattern of grays and browns and blacks in his beard. Your hand curved over his bicep, the warmth of his skin seeping through the fabric of his shirt. 

You would have been happy to just be close to him, breathe the same air as him for a bit, but Joel closed the distance between the two of you, his nose brushing your own, mouth pressing against yours. 

It was the kind of kiss you’d shared with Joel before leaving the house that day, something hot and needy and longing behind his lips. The arm that was beneath you pressed your body tighter to him, his hand finding the small of your back and tilting your hips so you could feel the hardness of him through his jeans. 

“Joel,” you breathed, heart beating out a frantic rhythm against your ribs. “Is this…” 

“Told you I was ready for more than just sittin’ around,” he said, his voice needy. 

He kissed you again before you had a chance to protest and you let yourself be absorbed by him for a moment, by the feel of his body on yours, the way you craved him that you’d never craved anyone else. 

But you forced yourself to pull your mouth away from his but still close enough that your lips brushed against his when you spoke. 

“Don’t want to hurt you…” 

“Not gonna hurt me, Baby,” he said gently. “Lemme take you to bed.” 

You were already damn near drunk on him, on breathing the same air as him, on smelling his skin and tasting his tongue. You didn’t need much convincing. 

“OK.” 

You followed Joel up the stairs, him going slow but making it just fine. He pressed you against the wall on the top landing, his body tight to yours, his tongue sliding into your mouth as your arms went around his neck. 

“Should be proud of me for holding out this long,” he said, breathless, as he trailed his lips from your own to your throat. “Should really get an award, having you in my bed every night and not touchin’ you…” 

“Think you were just afraid of getting shot down,” you said, rocking your hips against his almost involuntarily. 

“I know when to push my limits,” he said, making his way down to your chest. “Besides, still showing plenty of restraint.” 

“This is restraint?” You asked, incredulous. 

He pulled away from you enough to look you in the eye. 

“Didn’t carry you to bed, now, did I?” He asked. “That’s called restraint, Baby.” 

He didn’t give you a chance to argue. Instead, he took your hand and led you to his bedroom. He tugged your shirt over your head and let out an almost pained sigh when he did. 

“Are you…” You began, reaching for him. But he caught your wrist in his large hand, his eyes on your chest. 

“I never want to go this long without undressing you again,” he said, tugging his own shirt over his head before pulling your body flush with his. You moaned at the feel of his skin on yours. You couldn’t help it, he was so firm but soft, his skin like silk stretched taut over his hardened muscle. He guided you back to the bed until you all but fell backwards on it and he bent to take off your pants and underwear. 

“Do gotta ask a favor,” he said, unbuttoning his jeans. You nodded. “Probably shouldn’t try to move you around myself so get in the middle of the bed for me?” 

You smiled a little but obeyed. 

“You can just ask me to move when you’re not injured too, you know.” 

He smirked as he shoved his pants and underwear down. The white bandage on his leg glaring at you even as he worked his thick, hard cock. 

“Now where’s the fun in that?” 

Joel maneuvered himself - far more carefully than usual though you were too needy now to try to stop him - so that his shoulders were below your thighs. You frowned as he planted a kiss below your belly button. 

“Joel…” 

“Think I still owe you an orgasm from the other night,” he cut you off. “Intend to make it worth the wait.” 

He trailed his mouth over your skin, brushing tenderly over your scars before his thumb brushed your clit, making your whole body shudder. He smiled a little. 

“Almost like you’ve been needing this as much as me,” his breath was hot against you and you just moaned and nodded, not entirely sure if he was even looking at you to see it. 

The tip of his tongue barely brushed your clit and your hips chased the sensation of it as he pulled back. 

“Oh you are needy,” he said, thumb pressing against your sensitive nub and working you in short, aching circles. “Don’t worry sweetheart. Take good care of you.” 

With that, he took your clit into his mouth with a wet, desperate suck, making you gasp and your back arch. He lapped at you, the warmth of him surrounding your bud while he worked you with his tongue. He ate at you, his fingers digging into the flesh of your thighs, opening you up to him before moving to your tight center, slipping two fingers into you. 

“Fuck, Joel!” Your fingers twisted in his blankets, your back arched, hips rocking against his face. 

He didn’t seem to mind. If anything it seemed to spur him on, licking you harder, fucking into you deeper, fingers curving into the soft spot of your insides and adding the most delicious pressure as they moved within you. 

Your orgasm was building fast, days of being untouched drawing all your want easily to the surface. It didn’t take long before you came with a strangled cry and he worked you through it, sucking you gently, fingers continuing to find their path inside you as your core fluttered and gushed around him. When your body went limp on the bed, he pressed a kiss to your dripping hole, dipping his tongue ever so slightly inside, before carefully moving up the bed so he was lying beside you. He reached an arm out to you, his hand splaying wide over your bare stomach as you turned your head to look at him, still panting for breath. 

“Trust me?” He asked, his grip on your skin tightening. You could only nod, body still limp from the force of your orgasm. He guided you onto your side so you were facing away from him and, before you had the chance to question it, he adjusted your top leg so your core was exposed to him. He pulled you back against him and you felt his hard length brush against your wet heat. He buried his face in your neck, his arms around you as he held you, tight and desperate. He rocked his hips so that the head of him slid along your slit and he whimpered against your skin as your hand flew back to take hold of his hip just to have part of him you could clutch onto. 

“Fuck Baby,” he groaned, voice muffled as he pressed himself closer to you. “Need inside you, please, please let me inside you…” 

“Don’t…” you took a shaky, shuddering breath, trying to steady yourself. You pressed back against him anyway. “Don’t want you to hurt yourself, Joel, and…” 

“Won’t get hurt Baby, promise I won’t,” he brushed his lips over the tender flesh of your throat. “Fuck, I need you…” 

“Need you, too,” you breathed, adjusting your hips so that the next slide of his cock caught at your entrance and he started to slide inside. He moaned in relief, his hand going to the base of your stomach and adjusting you as he sank further into you until his hips were flush against you. He stilled inside of you and you could feel him breathing, feel his heart beat through his skin. 

“Fuck!” He panted, holding himself deep inside. “Fuck, I missed you so much, Baby. So fucking much.” 

You could only moan in response, pressing your body back against his. His hand slipped down the front of you to the apex of your thighs, finding your sensitive clit there and brushing it gently, making your pussy tighten around him. 

“Don’t think I’m gonna last long,” he kissed your neck, sending a jolt of pleasure straight to your core. He moaned in response. “You feel too damn good, Baby.” 

You didn’t care. Your entire being was drawn achingly tight, desperate to find release, but Joel just kept winding you tighter and tighter. He fucked into you slow and hard, finishing each thrust with a forceful push that pressed his head against the most tender parts of you as he worked your swollen, overwrought bud. Your nails sank into the flesh of his hip, you couldn’t help it, and you turned your head to try to reach him. His mouth found yours, his lips desperate on yours as your orgasm drew closer and closer, until you could feel it in every nerve ending and you knew it couldn’t build anymore. 

It was like the band of pleasure snapped and it all went rushing in molten heat to the very core of you, your channel rippling and pulsing over him and you couldn’t help but pant and gasp for breath, not able to keep kissing him. 

Joel fucked you through it, pressing hard and deep with every stroke. 

“There we go, Baby,” he panted. “Fuck, coming so good for me, all over me, doing so good Baby, feel so good, oh fuck, fuck!” 

He pushed as deep has he could reach and his hand pressed you back against him so you could feel him everywhere as he came undone inside of you. You were so tight around him as your body throbbed that you felt every pulse of him, every pump of come into you. 

The two of you went slack at the same time, Joel’s lips in your hair as you lay in his loose grip, his body soft and pliant against your own. 

“Christ I missed you,” he said softly.

You laughed a little. 

“Didn’t hurt you?” You asked. 

He laughed a bit, too. 

“No, Sweetheart,” he said gently. “Didn’t hurt me.” 

You adjusted slightly, pressing yourself back against him, needing to be somehow closer even though he was still inside of you. But that didn’t seem to matter. You doubted there was anything that would ever make you close enough to Joel. Even as you fell asleep there, in his arms and his bed with his cock still inside of you. 

***

Joel really was not sure what you had in mind for him at the stables. 

At breakfast that morning, he’d tried to use the night before as justification for being ready to take on lighter duties around Jackson. Joel had sat still for long enough. He didn’t like feeling useless and he felt pretty damn useless right then. The fact that he was still able to make you come was about the only thing making him feel even halfway decent about his current activity level. 

“Don’t you think you’re pushing it?” You frowned at him over your morning cup of tea. 

“Think I’ll be pushin’ my sanity if I stay on the damn couch much longer,” he replied. 

You rolled your eyes at him in that exasperated way he had come to love - he was ready to find a way to make you roll your eyes like that at him every day for the rest of his life - but thought for a moment. 

“Make you a deal,” you said, setting your mug down. “I’ll shut the fuck up about you starting back working if you come by the stable this afternoon and help me out with something.” 

“Think I can make room in my incredibly busy schedule for that,” he smiled a little, taking a sip from his own mug. 

The walk to the stable was longer than he remembered it being, even just a day earlier. He probably had pushed it a bit the night before. But he’d been desperate for you, so fucking desperate. It felt damn near impossible to even consider not fucking you, it was a need in the absolute keenest sense. He couldn’t bear to be apart from you in that moment, even being separated by fabric and skin was too much. 

So he’d risked it. Hoping that you were at least half as needy for him as he was for you. He might be paying for it now but fuck if it wasn’t worth it. 

You were working with one of the new horses - Joel couldn’t remember this one’s name - when he got there. He leaned against the fence - happy to have something to take the weight off his aching leg - and just watched you for a moment. The horse was restless, fighting you all the way, and Joel watched you give her space to buck and thrash before soothing and calming her. You were completely absorbed, like you hadn’t even seen Joel come up. He was fine with that, though. Appreciated getting to see you in your most natural element, watching you in your power. 

“There now,” you said, voice gentle and soothing as the horse pawed at the earth. “See, you’re OK. Told you I’d take care of you.” 

You started guiding her around the pen and you spotted Joel as you came around, a broad smile breaking over your perfect face. 

“How’s that leg?” You asked, guiding the horse toward him. “Think you’re up for a little work?” 

“Fine,” he smiled. “Told you, I’m ready to get back to it.” 

“Good,” you said, smiling a little bigger as you looked over Joel’s shoulder. “Because I’ve got a job for the two of you.” 

Joel frowned, turning to see Ellie walking up, her hands stuffed in her jeans pockets. 

“What do you mean the two of us?” Ellie frowned. 

“Well,” you said. “When I was here yesterday, I saw one of the horses is damn near ready to throw a shoe. Others are due for a change. I gotta focus on the feral horses, they’ve backslid quite a bit…” the horse you were on bucked once, as if to prove your point, but you stayed on. Joel couldn’t help but smile at it. You were so damn good he’d have been happy to watch you work all day. “I need to get them to well broke and can’t afford to spend a day shoeing horses. But Ellie, you’ve been sayin’ you want to do more with the horses and Joel, I’m guessing you know well enough how to shoe a horse. You can show her and she can help you manage the horses while you’re hurt.”  

You looked at Joel, a small smile playing on your lips. 

He knew what you were trying to do and he wanted to kiss you for it. Making it so he and Ellie would spend time together, him teaching her like he’d done with so many other things, when she might actually be willing to spend the time with him. 

“C’mon,” you said. “I’ve got you set up in the stable. We’ll see what you can get done today.” 

You dismounted and led the way to inside, to a spot with stools and a stack of horseshoes, nails, tools and a pair of hammers. 

“Do I need to walk you through it?” You asked as you got the first horse and brought it over. 

“Think we’ll be OK,” Joel gave you a small smile. 

“Then I’ll leave you to it,” you gave the two of them a nod before starting back toward to the paddock. 

“Hold on,” Ellie called after you. Joel watched her run over and she lowered her voice but he still heard her. “Is this really what you need me doing? Because…” 

“You want to do more with the horses or not, Kid?” You asked, brows raised. “Not all fun and games. Horses need new shoes every six weeks or so, gotta learn it sometime if you’re serious. You serious? Or you just want to learn how to not get thrown off a bucking horse because it looks cool?” 

“I’m serious,” she muttered, rolling her eyes before going back toward Joel. 

He tried to not let the small hurt show. He didn’t want to push her, didn’t want to guilt her. The fact that she’d come by since he’d been back, that she’d seemed to be taking what you’d told her to heart, meant everything to Joel. As much as he wanted to wave a magic wand and have everything be OK, he knew it would take time. Ellie was hurting. He didn’t blame her for that. He was sure that he’d done the right thing but she was so desperate for her immunity to mean something, to be the panacea for all of humanity’s ills even beyond the infection, that he shouldn’t have been surprised at her rage. It would take her a while to get through it. He would be patient, he would wait for her. For as long as she needed, he would wait for her. 

She sighed stood near Joel, her arms crossed. 

“Hey Kiddo,” he smiled up at her. “Good to see ya.” 

She nodded for a second. 

“You too,” she said. “How… how’s the leg?” 

“Fine,” he shrugged. “Had worse.” 

“Yeah,” she laughed a little. “Yeah, I remember.” 

He laughed back. He never thought he’d be laughing about getting stabbed in the gut with a hunk of wood and almost dying of infection on the floor of an abandoned basement but the end of the world did weird things to you. 

“So,” she said after a moment. “Heard you can tell me how to shoe a fuckin’ horse.” 

“Yeah,” Joel nodded. “Think I can.” 

He lifted the horse’s hoof and rested it on his good leg. 

“Alright,” he said. “First thing we gotta do is take off the old shoe…” 

He walked her through it step by step, Ellie falling into learning the way she always had. Her gaze was bright and exacting, picking up everything he did. When he pulled out the hoof pick to clean up the foot, she crinkled her nose and pulled back. 

“Oh ugh,” she said. “Fucking gross, man…” 

Joel smiled a little. 

“Yeah, that’s why you clean it out before you put the new shoe on. It’s not healthy to put a shoe on with all that shit in there…” 

Once the first hoof had a new shoe, he moved on to the next, having Ellie tell him what to do. He’d done the same thing with her once, when teaching her how to dress an animal, back when it was just the two of them. Things had been simpler then, before the Fireflies had tried to kill her, before he had to understand what her loss would do to him. 

Ellie did the third hoof almost all on her own, needing a little help from Joel to remind her to do things like watching out for the frog when cleaning out the hoof or the importance of knowing where to stop when trimming the hoof. 

“OK,” Ellie said after she finished her second shoe. “This is pretty fucking cool.” 

“Make a cowgirl of you yet,” Joel teased a little but she smiled, proud. 

“Yeah,” she said. “Just might.” 

The two of them had fallen into the most comfortable cadence they had in years when you came in from the pen, taking the saddle off your horse and putting it away. 

“How’s it going in here?” You asked, taking the bit and bridle off the horse, too, before putting it in its stall. 

“Pretty fuckin’ cool,” Ellie said as she finished tapping a nail in on a shoe. “Look at this shit! I can shoe a horse!” 

“Yes you can,” you smiled a little. “Who knew, right?”

You watched Ellie finish up the last hoof on the horse they were working on before leading it back into its stall. You leaned against the wall next to them as they got the tools picked up, your arms crossed. 

“So,” you said. “Y’all hungry? Because I’m starving.” 

Joel looked over at Ellie, waiting or her response. 

“I could eat a… well, not a horse,” she said. “But a cow most definitely.” 

You laughed and the two of you looked at Joel, Ellie looking just as expectant as you were. He felt a pinch of tears behind his eyes that he tried not to give into. 

“Yeah, let’s…” he took a breath. “Let’s head to the mess hall.” 

Ellie was still Ellie during dinner, giving him shit and laughing with you, talking about school that week, saying her stupid puns. It felt so normal, like this was how it was supposed to be, just the three of you doing the most typical stuff in the world. Going to work, having dinner, walking home when it was done. The most natural thing in the world. Like it was always supposed to be the three of you like him and Ellie had just been waiting for you to show up, too. He loved it. 

“So how many horses did you get through?” You asked as the three of you walked back toward Joel’s. 

“Just four,” Ellie sighed. “Still got a lot more that need the work.” 

“Well, the two of you can just come by again tomorrow if you’re up for it,” you shrugged. “Keep chippin’ away at it.” 

Joel glanced at Ellie, waiting to see what she said. 

“Yeah,” she said. “Yeah, I can do that.” She looked to him. “Joel?” 

He cleared his throat to keep the fact that he was damn near ready to cry to himself. 

“Yeah,” he said. “Sounds good, Baby Girl.” 

She smiled. 

“Cool.” 

Next Chapter

A/N: So... y'all. I cannot stress enough to enjoy this while it lasts because things start to ramp up next chapter.

Because I'm not happy if I'm not fucking everything up for Joel Miller apparently (though seriously there are some legitimate character issues that need resolving before this can all play out and that's coming up real quick.)

I do have a an updates blog for those who want to be alerted when I publish. Just follow and subscribe here.

I hope you've enjoyed our little lull into cozy family time! Thank you for being here and for reading and interacting. It really does mean the world. Love you!!

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[ageingfangirl2]

You Drive Me Crazy! Buggy (OPLA)

You might be able to fight, but you have a knack for injuring yourself on stupid things around the ship much to the frustration of your captain who's had enough and decides to take you up on your offer...even if you were joking. Buggy x Reader Fluff

BUGGY

There had to be something wrong in y/n's head. They were the most skilled on the ship next to me and cut down many people without so much as getting a cut or scrape. However, interacting with everyday objects was a challenge for them because they kept hurting themselves. At first, it was endearing, thinking they would do anything to get my attention, but years had passed and it was no longer endearing but annoying.

As the captain, I had a responsibility to the crew, but some days I considered pushing y/n overboard and watching them either sink or swim.

'Where's y/n, I haven't seen them all day?' I ask Cabaji as we walk across the deck.

He shrugs his shoulders, 'Err the kitchen I think captain. The cook is ill and y/n promised to help out.'

My eyes widen at the thought of y/n alone in the kitchen with enough things to injure themselves, 'I'll check on them, they shouldn't be left unsupervised.'

Cabaji laughs, 'at least it's not dull with y/n around.'

I glare at him before stomping across the deck towards the kitchen which is below us, '...yeah fun for everyone but me,' I grumble.

When I entered the kitchen y/n was sat on a barrel peeling vegetables and humming to themselves. I approached cautiously since they looked okay, maybe I did need to stop overreacting.

y/n locks eyes with me and smiles, before waving with bandages on their fingers, 'Hey captain, what brings you down here?'

My eye twitches, they didn't have bandages on this morning, and the cuts must be fresh because blood seeped through the fabric, 'I can't leave you alone for a second without you hurting yourself, can I?'

I close the space between us and take their hand in mine which makes them flinch, 'I mean, I'm fine so it's okay--'

'No, it's not okay. Not when I feel like I'm going to go crazy thinking you've hurt yourself. You're more than just another crew member and I need you in tip-top shape y/n,' I growl, cutting them off, and keeping their hand firmly in mine.

y/n's eyes widen, 'since when did you care about me like that captain?'

y/n might be loyal and a good fighter but sometimes they could be a little slow. I inhale sharply and bring their bandaged fingers up to my lips and kiss them one by one, 'since forever you idiot.'

A faint blush creeps onto y/n's cheeks but they quickly compose themselves and smirk, 'What are you going to do about it, captain? Going to keep me locked in a cage and never out of your sight?'

'That's a brilliant idea y/n,' I mutter, feeling a smile stretch from ear to ear, 'I should have done something like this earlier.'

y/n goes to jump off the barrel but I catch them and throw them over my shoulder with ease, and walk out of the kitchen grinning to myself as y/n struggles against me. I ignore y/n's protests as I carry them towards my quarters, sending one of my hands ahead to get a cage ready. Normal people would find it odd to have so many human-size cages, but pirates liked to kidnap so it was always handy to have some around.

'We'll make it super comfortable y/n and safe so your pretty head can't injure yourselves,' I say, kind of giddy at the thought of having y/n locked in a cage and at my mercy.

y/n continues to kick and protest, 'It was a joke captain...please put me down...I'll be good...' y/n pleads.

Entering my quarters I cackle seeing the cage, 'Here we go y/n, welcome to your new home.'

I throw y/n in the cage and lock the door before they can actually comprehend I followed through, and wave the key at them while they glare and shoot me a rather colourful hand gesture. I tap the top of the cage, I'd start by padding the sides, this was going to be a fun time.

EXTRA

Y/N

Two weeks had passed since Buggy put you in the cage for your own good, only letting you out a couple of times a week to walk around and bathe under his strict supervision. He'd kept his word about making you comfy giving you whatever you needed, knowing full well that when he eventually freed you you were going to find a way to kill the smug clown.

[goodlucktai]

every high and every low

i wrote a tiny little something for @mangogreent, it isnt much but i hope you like ! happy birthday lake ! title borrowed from glad you exist by dan + shay (listen with your platonic nakamaship hat on and dissolve into seafoam with me)

read on ao3

x

Luffy’s body doesn’t scar easily. It’s one of the many facets of a frankly unhinged healing factor; his body shuffles micronutrients and vitamins around like a circus clown juggling pins, wounds healing so quickly and completely that there is rarely a trace left behind.

There are, of course, exceptions to every rule. The smiling pencil-mark curve beneath his eye is one of them. The cruel, gaping burn across his chest is another.

Sanji and Chopper have spent hours going over dietary needs and goals for everyone aboard Sunny, not just their captain. But it’s their captain whose food works like a miracle in his stomach.

If Sanji thinks too long and too hard about Totto Land—about Luffy’s trembling, emaciated limbs when he handed over a disgusting, ruined bento, the way his skin plumped up and shone with good health within minutes of a meal—there are very good odds that he’ll spiral into a fit of grief or guilt or panic no matter where he is or what he’s doing at the time. So he tries not to think about it, and instead loads his captain with carbs and protein and fiber at every opportunity instead.

Suffice to say, Luffy’s skin is largely whole and undamaged, only a few faint scars scattered here and there that you wouldn’t notice if you weren’t really looking. His rubber body is a marvel, but it burns like a starving furnace, and sometimes it does him a disservice no one could have possibly seen coming.

“You don’t feel that?” Usopp says with a frown.

“Nuh-uh,” Luffy confirms blithely, watching the feather move back and forth across his arm. “If you pinch me or poke me with something sharp I will, but if it’s soft it’s like it’s not there at all.”

For a moment, everyone sits there and absorbs that information. Sanji can feel it settling over his nakama like a blanket of snow; cold and promising to pack in and be a pain in the ass to shovel through. Sanji has to readjust his understanding of the world, too. It takes him a minute.

The only touches that Luffy feels easily are the ones that hurt. That’s true for everyone, in a sense—but just because a slap might register louder and faster than a gentle touch doesn’t mean the latter doesn’t carry a weight of its own.

Sanji wonders, abruptly, if the last thing Luffy felt from him was the fight they had on Whole Cake when Sanji was desperate to free his captain of his obligations to a pathetic, useless cook—when he did everything in his power to drive him away.

Nami and Brook have joined Usopp in the game of poking Luffy’s arms and legs and squishy sides in the name of proving him wrong, finding a spot where he isn’t so thick-skinned. Brook’s phalanges drumming against his ribs make him giggle a bit, but how much of that is real feeling and how much is simply delight at all the attention and affection pointed his way?

It should be cute, but Sanji can see—and feel—it cutting everyone to the quick. Robin has closed her book, watching the scene without a smile on her face. Franky’s hands are unmoving around the great feathered monstrosity he and Usopp have been building at the table together up until this point, as if he’s forgotten he’s holding tools in the first place.

Enough is enough, Sanji decides, and sets aside his pride along with his bowl of red velvet cupcake batter and maryse spatula, moving around the counter with purpose.

“Got an idea,” he says at length and Nami scoots gamely to the side. Sanji keeps moving before he can get in his own way and takes Luffy’s round face in one work-hardened hand.

Luffy, who has been known to use his actual skull as a battering ram, usually fights with his whole chest and carries most of his injuries there, too. His face, aside from an unfortunate unsupervised incident with a knife when he was little more than a toddler with a highly questionable and often day-drunk role model, is unscarred.

Sanji brushes his thumb against Luffy’s cheek, where the skin lays very thin over sensitive nerve endings. His captain blinks up at him, brown eyes wide and trusting, every bit as if he’s looking at someone who has never hurt him before.

The crew present is watching raptly, their disquiet transforming into absurd, single-minded scrutiny. There’s a reason they’re not only living in the New World but thriving there—they’re good at adapting, at assimilating new information, at smacking the curveballs right out of the park on their second swing.

“Feel that?” Sanji asks.

Luffy tips his head curiously, just enough not to dislodge Sanji’s hand. Perfectly willing to sit still and be held when it’s his cook doing the holding.

“Kinda,” the boy says, the barest hint of a furrow forming between his brows. It’s the beginning of an epic spoiled sulk that everyone who loves him is intimately familiar with—because his nakama belong to him, and so Sanji does, and so his hand on Luffy’s face does, and it is rapidly occurring to Luffy that it’s not fair for all of those things to be true and for him not to be able to feel it.

Sanji can’t help but smile, always equal parts charmed and exasperated by the future king in a pout. He leans in and presses his mouth to the same place his thumb was, kissing the soft cheek firmly. He can almost see it when Luffy zings to attention, his overwhelming focus zeroed into that singular point of contact.

By the time Sanji straightens, Luffy is already beaming ear-to-ear.

“I felt that!”

Sanji returns to his dessert prep, perfectly satisfied with the changed world he leaves in his wake. Chopper is already clambering over the top of the table, scattering the bits and bobs of the engineers' project into an irremediable mess in his haste to bury his favorite human in fuzzy reindeer kisses, and similarly everyone else’s eyes are gleaming with promise.

Luffy’s rubber body is both a wonder and a menace, much like the golden soul it houses. But where it falls short and fails him, his friends will pick up the slack. Luffy is probably going to get his cheeks and forehead pinched and poked a lot more when he’s whining or complaining or elsewise being his annoying, incorrigible self.

But he’s also going to get kissed a lot more there, too.