#I already got headaches by the end of the day because of everything else. I did not need it worse

[enemiestolovershoe]

Silent Tension

Matt Sturniolo x enemie!reader

Summary: Matt and Y/N were best friends until one argument turned them into enemies. Will they ever find a way back to each other?

Warnings: arguments, fighting, making out, lmk if you find anything else.

Words: 5.2k

The kindergarten days felt like a lifetime ago now. Back then, the four of you were inseparable. Matt, Nick, Chris, and you were a perfectly chaotic little crew, spending recess planning adventures and sticking together against anyone who dared mess with one of you. Matt had been your closest match back then—quick-witted, stubborn, and full of ideas. You thought that bond would never break.

But high school changed everything.

It started small, with arguments over who got shotgun during group rides. Then came the endless bickering about group projects and plans. By sophomore year, the fights had escalated into something sharper, something mean.

“You can’t just do everything yourself,” Matt said one night, frustration thick in his voice.

“It’s not my fault you can’t handle it!” you snapped back, shoving a notebook into your bag after another group study session gone wrong.

Nick, sprawled on the couch with a soda in hand, raised an eyebrow. “Uh-oh. Here we go again.”

“You’re such a control freak,” Matt muttered, crossing his arms.

“And you’re lazy,” you shot back without missing a beat.

Chris, ever the calm one, stepped in. “Alright, that’s enough. Can we focus? This isn’t helping anyone.”

But Matt wasn’t done. “You think you’re better than everyone else because you plan everything to death. Newsflash: it’s annoying.”

“At least I don’t sit around waiting for other people to pick up the slack!”

“Guys, please!” Chris sighed, rubbing his temples. “You’re giving me a headache.”

Nick grinned, throwing a pillow at Matt. “Yeah, cool it, bro. You’re scaring Chris.”

By junior year, the tension had spread beyond school. Group hangouts became a minefield.

One night at the mall, Matt and you ended up in yet another screaming match over something stupid.

“All I’m saying is, we didn’t need to spend an hour waiting for you to pick out a stupid hoodie,” Matt said, throwing up his hands as the group headed back to Nick’s car.

“It wasn’t just about the hoodie, Matt,” you snapped, glaring at him. “Maybe if you weren’t so impatient, we’d actually enjoy going out as a group.”

“Impatient? You’re the one who wasted everyone’s time.”

Nick piped up from the backseat, turning to grin at Chris. “Think we should start selling tickets? This is better than reality TV.”

Chris shot Nick a look. “Not helping.”

“Whatever,” Matt muttered. “Next time, just leave me out of it.”

“Gladly,” you said, slamming the car door behind you.

The ride home was silent, the air thick with unresolved anger.

Then there was the infamous beach trip during senior year. What should’ve been a relaxing day turned into yet another battlefield.

“Can you at least try to help with the setup?” you asked, struggling to hammer an umbrella into the sand while Matt sat under the shade of a nearby tree, scrolling on his phone.

“I’m supervising,” he said with a smirk, not even glancing up.

“You’re useless,” you muttered under your breath, loud enough for him to hear.

“Excuse me?” Matt stood up, his tone sharp.

“You heard me.”

Nick and Chris exchanged a look, already bracing for the explosion.

“Maybe if you weren’t so bossy, people would actually want to help you,” Matt shot back.

“Maybe if you weren’t so lazy, people wouldn’t have to pick up your slack,” you retorted, standing toe-to-toe with him now.

Nick broke the tension with an exaggerated sigh. “Okay, Mom and Dad, can we chill? Some of us are here to, like, enjoy the beach.”

Chris stepped between you two, his voice calm but firm. “Seriously, stop. This is getting old.”

You stormed off, muttering under your breath about how impossible Matt was. He didn’t try to follow.

By the time you were 21, things were worse than ever. Group events had become rare, mostly because no one wanted to deal with the inevitable clash between you and Matt.

At one game night, the tension boiled over again.

“Can you not cheat for once in your life?” Matt snapped as you reached for a card in a particularly heated game of Uno.

“I’m not cheating, you idiot. Maybe if you paid attention, you’d actually win for once.”

Chris sighed from his spot beside you, his patience clearly wearing thin. “It’s a card game. Can we not turn this into World War 3?”

Matt ignored him, leaning forward with a scowl. “You always do this. You can’t handle losing, so you find some way to bend the rules.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Mr. Perfect. I forgot you’re the expert on everything.”

Nick laughed, shaking his head. “Man, y’all really need couples therapy.”

“Nick, shut up,” you and Matt said in unison, which only made him laugh harder.

Chris stood up, clearly done. “Okay, game night’s over. You two can keep fighting, but I’m not babysitting anymore.”

As Chris walked out of the room, Nick looked between you and Matt with a smirk. “So, who’s gonna admit they’re in love first?”

You threw a pillow at him. “Nick, I swear—”

Matt scoffed, crossing his arms. “As if.”

“Exactly,” you snapped, glaring at him. “You’d be the last person I’d ever—”

“Good! Glad we’re on the same page,” Matt interrupted, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Nick laughed again. “Man, you two are exhausting. But, like, in a fun way.”

Chris peeked back in from the hallway, his calm voice cutting through the chaos. “You’re not fun. You’re a headache. Both of you.”

As the tension settled for the night, you couldn’t help but wonder how it had come to this. Somewhere along the way, the friendship you once had with Matt had turned into a battlefield, and neither of you seemed willing to wave the white flag.

It was a sweltering summer afternoon, the kind that made everyone irritable. You’d come over to hang out with Chris and Nick, hoping to escape the heat and distract yourself from a long week. Matt, as usual, was there too.

From the moment you walked in, you could feel the tension. It was always there with Matt—humming under the surface, waiting for one of you to ignite it.

“Alright, who’s down for a Mario Kart tournament? Loser buys slushies,” Nick said, grabbing controllers from the cabinet.

Chris nodded. “I’m in. But Nick, you’re buying either way.

Nick grinned. “Bold of you to assume.”

You grabbed a controller, feeling a flicker of competitiveness. “Hope you’re ready to lose, Nick.”

Matt, leaning against the counter, crossed his arms. “You should worry about yourself. You’ve never beaten me.”

You rolled your eyes. “There’s a first time for everything.”

The game started off fine—until you accidentally bumped Matt’s character off the track.

“Oh, come on!” Matt exclaimed, leaning forward. “You did that on purpose.”

“It’s called strategy,” you shot back, grinning.

Matt’s scowl deepened as the race continued. When the final lap ended, your character crossed the finish line ahead of his. You threw your hands up triumphantly. “Yes! Finally!”

Matt tossed his controller onto the couch, glaring at you. “You only won because you cheated.”

You blinked, the excitement draining from your face. “How did I cheat?”

“You bumped me off the track,” Matt said, his tone accusatory.

“That’s part of the game, Matt,” you said, trying to keep your voice steady.

“No, it’s not,” he snapped. “You’re always like this—always cutting corners to get ahead.”

“Cutting corners?” you repeated, standing up. “It’s a stupid game. Maybe if you weren’t such a sore loser, you’d actuallyhave fun.”

“Oh, I’m the sore loser?” Matt said, getting to his feet as well.

Nick, sensing the brewing storm, raised his hands. “Alright, time out. It’s just Mario Kart, guys.”

Chris sighed, already rubbing his temples. “Can we not?”

But the two of you were locked in now.

“You always do this,” Matt said, his voice rising. “You act like you’re better than everyone else, but you’re just as petty as the rest of us.”

Your jaw dropped. “Are you kidding me? You’re the one making a big deal out of this!”

“Oh, because you’re so perfect, right?” Matt shot back, sarcasm dripping from his voice. “You can’t handle being called out, so you turn it around on me.”

“Maybe I wouldn’t have to if you weren’t so impossible to deal with!”

Chris stood up, his calm demeanor cracking slightly. “Seriously, enough. This isn’t worth fighting over.”

“Stay out of it, Chris,” Matt said, not taking his eyes off you.

Chris frowned but didn’t argue.

“You know what your problem is?” Matt continued, stepping closer. “You’re so controlling. Everything has to be your way, and if it’s not, you freak out.”

“I’m not controlling,” you snapped. “I’m just tired of cleaning up after you all the time!”

Matt scoffed. “Cleaning up after me? You don’t even know what you’re talking about.”

Nick tried to step in again, his voice light but firm. “Guys, seriously, take a breath. Go outside or something.”

But it was too late. The fight was spiraling.

“Don’t I?” you said, crossing your arms. “You’re lazy, Matt. You never help with anything unless someone forces you to, and then you complain the whole time.”

“Oh, I’m lazy?” Matt shot back, his voice sharp. “At least I don’t bulldoze over everyone like you do. You think you’re so much better because you plan everything to death, but really, you’re just scared of messing up.”

Your chest tightened, his words cutting deeper than you expected. “Wow. Thanks for the insight, Dr. Matt. Maybe if you spent less time tearing me down, you’d actually accomplish something for once.”

Matt’s face darkened. “Tearing you down? You’re the one who’s always on my case. Every little thing I do, you have something to say about it.”

“Because you make it so easy!”

“You know what? I’m done,” Matt said, throwing his hands up. “You’re exhausting. No wonder people can’t stand being around you.”

“Excuse me?” you said, your voice trembling with anger. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

Matt didn’t back down. “It means maybe your ex had a point.”

The room went silent.

Chris and Nick both froze, their eyes snapping to Matt in disbelief.

“What did you just say?” you asked, your voice low and unsteady.

Chris stepped forward, his voice firm. “Matt, don’t.”

But Matt ignored him. “Maybe your ex wouldn’t have cheated on you if you weren’t so suffocating.”

Your stomach dropped. Tears pricked your eyes as his words sunk in. “You’re unbelievable.”

Chris immediately stepped in, standing between you and Matt. “That’s enough. You’ve crossed the line.”

Nick’s voice was louder now. “Matt, what the hell is wrong with you?”

But Matt wasn’t done. “I’m just saying what everyone else is too scared to say.”

Your hands shook as you struggled to hold back tears. “You’re such a coward,” you said, your voice breaking. “You can’t handle your own issues, so you take them out on me. Well, congrats, Matt. You finally broke me. Are you happy now?”

Tears streamed down your face as you turned away, unable to look at him anymore.

Chris stepped forward, his calm voice laced with anger. “Go to your room. Now.”

Matt hesitated, glaring at you one last time before storming off, slamming his door behind him.

As soon as he was gone, Chris turned to you, his expression softening. “Hey, come here.”

You let out a shaky breath as he pulled you into a hug.

“Why does he hate me so much?” you whispered, your voice cracking. “What did I do to make him like this?”

“He doesn’t hate you,” Chris said softly, rubbing your back. “He’s just… an idiot.”

Nick grabbed a glass of water and handed it to you. “Yeah, a massive idiot. Like, the biggest idiot I’ve ever met.”

You tried to laugh, but it came out as a sob. “I can’t keep doing this, Chris. Every time I come here, it’s like he’s waiting to tear me apart.”

Chris pulled back, cupping your face gently so you’d meet his eyes. “Listen to me. You didn’t do anything wrong. He’s just angry—at himself, at whatever—but it’s not about you.”

“Then why does it feel like it is?” you whispered, tears still streaming down your face.

Chris sighed, pulling you back into a hug. “I don’t know. But I’m going to fix it, okay? I promise.”

Nick sat beside you, patting your shoulder. “Yeah, and if he doesn’t apologize, I’ll pants him in public.”

You let out a weak laugh, wiping your eyes. “Thanks, Nick. That’s… oddly comforting.”

Chris stayed by your side, his calm presence steadying you as you tried to piece yourself back together. But no matter how much he reassured you, Matt’s words lingered, cutting deeper than you wanted to admit.

About an hour had passed since the fight, and the tension in the house still hung heavy in the air. You were curled up on the couch with Chris, his arm draped protectively over your shoulder. Nick sat on the floor in front of you, scrolling through his phone and cracking occasional jokes to try and lighten the mood.

You’d stopped crying, but your chest still felt tight, your breathing shallow. Every time you thought about what Matt had said, it was like the wound reopened.

Chris’s hand absentmindedly rubbed your arm. “You good?” he asked quietly.

You nodded, though you didn’t feel entirely okay. “Better. Thanks for… you know, being here.”

“Always,” he said softly.

Nick glanced over his shoulder with a faint grin. “If you need me to distract you, I can pull up Matt’s senior photo. That thing’s a crime against humanity.”

You let out a weak laugh. “Thanks, Nick. I think I’ll pass.”

Just then, footsteps sounded from the stairs. Matt was coming down, his movements hesitant but deliberate.

Your stomach immediately twisted into knots, and you stiffened against Chris.

He noticed immediately. “Relax,” Chris whispered. “You’re safe.”

Nick, sensing the shift, turned to Matt with a warning look. “If you’re coming down to start something again, you can turn right back around and go upstairs.”

Matt shook his head, shoving his hands into his pockets. “I’m not here to fight.”

You looked at him warily, unsure of what to expect.

“Actually,” Matt continued, his voice quieter than usual, “I wanted to talk to Y/N. Alone.”

You stiffened even more, your breath catching in your throat. “What for? So you can tear me apart again? Bring up my past and rub salt in the wound?” Your voice cracked, still raw from earlier.

Matt winced, his jaw tightening. “No. I’m not here to do that. I… I want to apologize. But I’d rather do it one-on-one.”

Chris’s grip on your shoulder tightened protectively. “I don’t think that’s a good idea right now,” he said, his calm tone carrying a slight edge.

“Yeah,” Nick chimed in, crossing his arms. “She’s been through enough today. Whatever you need to say, you can say it in front of us.”

Matt shook his head. “Look, I get it. I’ve been a total dick, okay? But I need to fix this, and I can’t do that with you two hovering.” He turned to you, his gaze earnest. “Please, Y/N. Just give me five minutes. I promise, no fighting. No bringing up the past.”

You stared at him, your heart pounding. You didn’t trust him—not after everything—but there was something different in his tone. He didn’t sound like the sharp, defensive Matt you’d been clashing with for years. He sounded… vulnerable.

Chris’s voice broke through your thoughts. “You don’t have to do this if you’re not ready.”

Nick nodded. “Seriously. You’ve got nothing to prove to him.”

You hesitated, your gaze flicking between Matt and his brothers. Part of you wanted to shut him down, to tell him to leave you alone. But another part—the part that was tired of the constant fighting—wanted to hear him out.

You let out a shaky breath. “What do you want to talk about?”

Matt glanced at the door, then back at you. “We still need to grab those slushies. We can talk on the way there. Neutral ground.”

Chris frowned. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“I’m not going to do anything,” Matt said, his voice firm but not aggressive. “I just… need to talk. Please.”

You looked at Chris and Nick, then back at Matt. Against your better judgment, you slowly nodded. “Fine. But if you say anything—anything—like what you said earlier, I’m leaving. Got it?”

Matt nodded immediately. “Got it. No low blows. I swear.”

Chris sighed, his hand lingering on your shoulder as you stood up. “You sure about this?”

“No,” you admitted, your voice still shaky. “But I’ll be fine.”

Nick raised an eyebrow. “Text me if you need a rescue mission.”

You gave him a faint smile. “I will.”

Matt grabbed his keys and held the door open for you, waiting as you slipped on your shoes. Your anxiety bubbled in your chest as you stepped outside, the warm summer air doing little to ease the tension in your body.

You glanced back at Chris and Nick, who were watching you like hawks from the couch. Chris gave you a small nod, his silent way of telling you that he had your back no matter what.

“Let’s go,” Matt said quietly, leading the way to his car.

As you got in, you couldn’t help but wonder what he was going to say—and if you’d regret giving him the chance.

You slid into the passenger seat, the car’s interior thick with unspoken tension. Matt climbed into the driver’s seat, closing the door with a quiet click. He rested his hands on the steering wheel but didn’t start the engine. Instead, he leaned back, staring straight ahead, his jaw tightening and loosening as if trying to find the right words.

Finally, he broke the silence.

“I am so fucking sorry, Y/N,” Matt said, his voice low but steady. “I don’t even know where to start. I—I don’t know what got into me earlier, but I regret it. Deeply. More than I can even put into words.”

You turned to look at him, studying his face. There was no trace of his usual anger or smugness. He looked… tired. Defeated.

He let out a long breath, running a hand through his hair. “I was out of line. Way out of line. What I said about your past, about your ex—it was cruel, and it wasn’t fair. You didn’t deserve that. Not then, not ever.”

You stayed quiet, unsure of what to say, but he continued.

“The truth is… I’ve been carrying around all this anger for so long. At first, I thought it was because you were always pushing my buttons or calling me out. But the more I think about it, the more I realize that it’s not about you at all. It’s about me. I’ve been projecting my own shit onto you, and that’s not okay.”

His hands tightened on the wheel as he glanced at you briefly, guilt etched into every line of his face. “You’ve been nothing but honest with me, and I’ve thrown that back in your face every chance I got. I don’t even know why. Maybe because it was easier to lash out at you than to deal with my own crap. But that’s not an excuse. I’ve hurt you, over and over again, and I hate myself for it.”

Your chest tightened at his words, the sincerity in his voice catching you off guard.

“I guess… I’ve been jealous of you,” Matt admitted, his voice quieter now. “You’ve always had this way of handling things—like, you’re so driven, so put-together. Even when things fall apart, you don’t let it stop you. And I hated that because it made me feel like a mess in comparison. Like I couldn’t measure up.”

“Matt…” you started, but he held up a hand.

“Please, let me finish,” he said, his voice almost pleading. “I know that doesn’t justify anything. I’ve been a shitty friend. Hell, I haven’t even treated you like a friend. I’ve treated you like someone I could take my frustrations out on, and I’m so, so sorry for that. I’m sorry for all the fights, all the insults, all the times I made you feel like you weren’t enough. Because you are enough, Y/N. More than enough.”

Tears welled up in your eyes, but you blinked them away, unsure if you were ready to forgive him yet.

Matt turned to face you fully now, his eyes earnest and a little glassy. “I don’t want to fight anymore. I’m tired of it. I don’t want you to feel like you can’t be around me, like you have to walk on eggshells every time we’re in the same room. You’ve always been there for my brothers, for all of us, and I’ve done nothing but push you away. I don’t want to do that anymore.”

He hesitated, swallowing hard before continuing. “I know I’ve got a long way to go to make things right. And I don’t expect you to forgive me right away. But I’m asking for a chance—a chance to show you that I can be better, that I want to be better. Not just for you, but for myself too.”

You felt your lip tremble as you tried to process everything he’d just said. The rawness of his apology, the vulnerability in his voice—it was so unlike the Matt you’d been clashing with for years.

Matt reached over hesitantly, his hand hovering near yours on the center console. “I mean it, Y/N. Every word. I’m sorry. And if there’s anything I can do to prove it to you, just tell me. I’ll do it.”

For a moment, you sat there in silence, his words hanging heavy in the air. Then, finally, you spoke, your voice soft but steady. “Why didn’t you just tell me all of this before? Instead of… everything else?”

He let out a bitter laugh, shaking his head. “Because I’m an idiot. And because it was easier to pretend it was your fault than to admit I was the one with the problem.”

You looked down at his hand, still hovering near yours, and after a moment of hesitation, you placed yours over it. His fingers curled around yours gently, as if he were afraid to scare you off.

“Matt…” you began, your voice trembling slightly. “I’m not saying everything’s magically okay now. But… I appreciate you saying all of this. I really do.”

A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “That’s all I can ask for.”

You looked down, your thumb brushing over the back of his hand. There was something vulnerable in the air between you two, a tension that was unfamiliar and heavy but not unwelcome. For once, Matt didn’t feel like your enemy. He felt like someone who was finally trying to understand you.

“Can I…” Matt hesitated, his voice unusually soft. “Can I hug you?”

You blinked at him, taken aback by the sudden question. But the sincerity in his eyes made you nod without thinking.

“Yeah,” you murmured.

He exhaled in relief and leaned over, wrapping his arms around you carefully, almost as if he were afraid you might pull away. His embrace was warm, solid, and it took you a moment to relax into it. But when you did, you felt a strange sense of comfort, the kind you hadn’t felt around him in years.

You rested your head against his chest, and his hand came up to gently cradle the back of your head. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered again, his voice muffled but still so close to your ear.

“I know,” you replied softly.

You weren’t sure how long you stayed like that, wrapped in the quiet, tentative warmth of his arms. It felt like the weight of all those years of tension was melting away, even if only for a moment.

Eventually, you shifted slightly to look up at him, and Matt looked down at you. His expression was open, more vulnerable than you’d ever seen him before. For a brief second, neither of you moved, and the world outside the car seemed to fade away.

You hadn’t realized how close you were until your eyes dropped to his lips. They parted slightly, and his breath hitched. His gaze flicked to your mouth, and suddenly, it felt like the air in the car had grown impossibly heavy.

“Y/N…” he whispered, his voice low and unsure, as if testing the waters.

You didn’t respond—not with words, at least. Your breath caught in your throat, your heart hammering as you both leaned in, hesitantly at first. There was a moment’s pause, so brief it was almost imperceptible, and then your lips met.

The kiss was soft, tender, and filled with a quiet kind of desperation. It wasn’t rushed or messy; it was careful, like neither of you wanted to break whatever fragile thing had just been built between you.

Matt’s hand slipped from your back to your waist, pulling you just a little closer as his lips moved against yours. The warmth of his touch sent a shiver down your spine, and you found yourself responding instinctively, your fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt.

The kiss deepened slightly, and Matt tilted his head to the side, his nose brushing against yours. It was intimate in a way that left your heart pounding, your mind spinning.

Without breaking the kiss, Matt reached down and adjusted the seat lever, pulling it back to give you more room. His hands settled on your waist, gently guiding you over the center console and into his lap.

You let out a soft gasp against his lips as you straddled him, your knees pressing into the seat on either side of him. His hands stayed firm on your hips, grounding you as his lips continued to move against yours, slow but deliberate.

It was new, unfamiliar, and completely overwhelming—but it didn’t feel wrong. For once, it felt like the two of you weren’t at war. You weren’t fighting or tearing each other down. You were just… there, together, in a moment that felt like it belonged to no one else but you.

You weren’t sure how long you’d been kissing Matt, but it felt like time had stopped. The warmth of his hands on your waist anchored you, and the way his lips moved against yours felt so natural, so unlike anything you’d ever expected from him.

Between kisses, Matt pulled back just slightly, his forehead resting against yours. “Y/N…” he murmured, his voice a little breathless. “I don’t think I’ve ever…” He trailed off, a rare flush creeping up his neck.

You blinked at him, your chest heaving as you tried to catch your breath. “You’ve never what?”

He let out a quiet laugh, his hand brushing a strand of hair from your face. “I’ve never thought this would happen. Us. Like this. And… I kind of hate myself for waiting so long.”

His honesty left you momentarily stunned. This was Matt—your rival, the person who could always get under your skin. And yet, sitting here, holding you like you were the most fragile thing in the world, he wasn’t that Matt at all.

“Well, it’s happening now,” you said softly, a small smile playing on your lips. “And I don’t know if I’m ready to forgive you completely, but… this feels different. You feel different.”

“I am,” he promised, his thumb grazing your cheek. “I swear, I am.”

You leaned back into the kiss, this time with less hesitation and more certainty. His hands tightened on your hips, pulling you closer as the tension melted into something softer, more electric.

“Y/N,” he whispered against your lips between kisses. “I don’t want this to stop. But… if you want me to slow down, justsay the word.”

You shook your head slightly, brushing your nose against his. “I don’t want you to stop.”

His lips curved into a faint smile before they captured yours again. It wasn’t rushed or chaotic; it was patient, deliberate like he wanted to savor every second.

But just as you started to lose yourself in the moment, there was a sharp knock on the passenger-side window.

You froze, your eyes widening in panic as you turned to see Nick and Chris standing outside the car, smirking like they’d just won the lottery.

Matt groaned, letting his head fall back against the headrest. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” he muttered, his hands reluctantly dropping from your waist.

“Guess we’re busted,” you whispered, unable to stop the embarrassed smile that tugged at your lips.

Sliding off Matt’s lap, you scrambled back into the passenger seat, smoothing out your shirt and running a hand through your hair. Matt rubbed the back of his neck, looking equally flustered but unable to hide the amused smirk tugging at his lips.

Rolling down the window, you were met with Nick and Chris’s grinning faces.

“We just wanted to make sure you didn’t kill each other,” Chris said, barely holding back laughter. “We didn’t see the car drive away, so, you know, better safe than sorry.”

Nick leaned down, his grin absolutely wicked. “But clearly, you two found a different way to sort things out.”

“Real mature, Nick,” you shot back, though your cheeks were burning.

Matt leaned over the console, his arm casually draped across the back of your seat as he looked at his brothers. “Do you guys not have better things to do than stalk me?”

“Stalk you?” Nick gasped in mock offense. “We were concerned. Imagine our relief when we came out here and saw you weren’t choking each other—though, to be fair, this is definitely the opposite of what we expected.”

Chris snickered. “Honestly, I’m just shocked Y/N didn’t punch you in the face. Progress, I guess.”

You glanced at Matt, and to your surprise, he was smiling—not the smug, teasing smile you were used to, but a genuine one that softened his whole face.

“You know,” Matt said, his voice calm, “for once, I’m kind of glad you two interrupted. Otherwise, we might’ve stayed in here all night.”

Your jaw dropped slightly, and you smacked his arm playfully. “Matt!”

“What?” he said, feigning innocence as he held up his hands. “Just being honest.”

Chris raised an eyebrow. “Well, as much as I hate to break up this little love fest, are you guys still getting the slushies? Or were you planning to sit here making out until the sun comes up?”

You groaned, covering your face with your hands. “I can’t deal with you two.”

“Hey, you chose this life,” Nick quipped, winking.

Matt laughed, and to your surprise, the sound was lighthearted, even happy. He reached for the keys and started the car, shooting a glance at his brothers. “Don’t wait up.”

“Oh, we’re definitely waiting up,” Chris said with a grin. “This is going straight into the group chat.”

“Nick,” you groaned, giving him a pointed look, “if you just type one word—”

“I make no promises,” Nick interrupted, stepping back from the car as Matt began reversing out of the garage.

As you drove away, you couldn’t help but glance at Matt, your chest still fluttering from everything that had just happened. He caught your gaze and smiled, his hand resting on the console between you.

“Still okay?” he asked softly, his voice low enough that only you could hear.

You nodded, a small smile tugging at your lips. “Yeah. I’m okay.”

And for the first time in years, you actually meant it.

[always-a-slut-4-ghouls]

I gotta stop saying "left eye" first whenever someone proposes a saw trap where they remove parts of your body. I could be getting free wisdom tooth surgery

[babyleostuff]

PHOTOGRAPH | JEON WONWOO

based on "photograph" by Ed Sheeran

SYNOPSIS | Wonwoo knew dating as an idol would be almost impossible, yet he was ready to take the risk. Unfortunately, you were the definition of "right person, wrong time". PAIRING | idol!wonwoo x fem!reader GENRE | angst WORD COUNT| 2.8k

natalia's note | this is wonwoo's pov from this fic, though it can be read as a stand alone

Wonwoo never cared about relationships - he thought goodmorning texts were overrated, planning dates seemed too tiresome, and he didn’t see the appeal of letting someone else wear his hoodies and sweaters. Besides, he was too busy with work and it was hard to focus on anything else than the neverending schedules. He couldn’t remember the last time he got more than five hours of sleep. 

At least that’s what he kept telling himself.

Dating in the industry was hell on earth, he knew that. Wonwoo had witnessed careers end and lifes get destroyed just because people fell in love. So, he made a promise to himself that that would never happen to him - he wouldn’t allow himself to fall for anyone, and spare himself the trouble of a broken heart and a ruined career. He didn’t care that he had no one to cuddle at night, no one to hug, no one to kiss, no one to call during tour. 

And then you came, and changed his entire world. You became his everything, his little ray of sunshine - you were the first person he looked for in the crowd during their concerts, the first person he ran to on the backstage, the first person he called after they won an award. For the first time in his life he felt complete. 

“I’m sorry. It wouldn’t have worked out either way.”

He didn't even want to imagine the look on your face when he said it. Through the fucking phone. 

Wonwoo was on the verge of throwing up, but he knew that if he didn’t end it now, he’d never do it. He spent the last week crying before falling asleep from exhaustion in the night, and quickly wiping the tears that rolled down his cheeks during the day - he knew what he had to do, or both of your lives would get destroyed, and that’s something he’d never be able to live with. 

“Wonwoo, can I talk to you?” He didn’t know what to expect when their manager approached him in the middle of their rehearsal, but he definitely didn’t expect to hear that he had to break up with you, or his work and your safety would be on the line.

Wonwoo pulled the phone back from his ear, and with a shaky finger pressed the red button. 

That would be the last time he’d ever talk to you. 

We keep this love in a photograph We made these memories for ourselves Where our eyes are never closing Hearts are never broken And time's forever frozen still

Wonwoo didn’t bother with picking up his suitcase from the trunk, he knew Mingyu would pick it up for him. It generally seemed that he couldn’t be bothered with anything other than drinking himself into oblivion and crying until he passed out from exhaustion ever since he broke up with you. All of that just so he'd try to erase every possible memory he had of you together. 

With heavy shoulders, and a headache, Wonwoo shut the door to his room behind him, enveloping himself in the darkness. Usually, you’d already be there, dressed in one of his hoodies, lying on his side of the bed because you fell asleep while waiting for him. He’d tuck you in, making sure you were warm and comfortable, before he’d take a quick shower and unpack some of his stuff, so he wouldn’t have to worry about it in the morning. 

The absence of you in his bed didn't hurt as much as what he saw on his bookshelves and desk, though - countless photos of you from trips, nights spent together in your apartment, photos from parties with the guys and their girlfriends, and pictures he took especially with you in mind. 

His favourite one had to be the one from Japan, when you and the rest of the seventeen girlfriends flew out to Tokyo and surprised them after they won the daesang. You were all huddled on the floor of the hotel room, trying to fit in the picture, as all of you had your arms wrapped around each other, smiles on your faces. Wonwoo could practically hear your laughter, as DK almost knocked the table down, because Seungkwan pushed him to be sure he’d be in the frame. 

“Move your ass, I want to be in the picture!” Seungwan yelled, digging his elbow into Seokmin's stomach. 

“You are, you idiot. Can’t you see that half of your face is in the frame? Stop hitting me!” DK yelled back, pushing Seungwan in return. 

Neither of you knew what was ahead of you at the time, and Wonwoo couldn’t stand the look of love in your eyes, he couldn’t stand the way he was shamelessly staring at you with nothing but adoration, like none of the other twenty people in the picture existed. 

“Fuck!” Wonwoo yelled, slamming the photo against the floor, breaking the glass. 

“Wonwoo, are you okay?” Mingyu knocked on his door a second later, making him wonder how long his friend had been standing there. “Just leave me alone,” Wonwoo said, his voice breaking, as the first tears started falling. He was surprised he was still able to cry, considering how much he was doing that for the past few days. 

“Leave me… alone.” 

So you can keep me Inside the pocket of your ripped jeans Holding me closer 'til our eyes meet You won't ever be alone

“I miss you.” 

Wonwoo couldn’t see your face, but he knew you were pouting. He giggled to himself, and nuzzled his face further into the pillow like a lovesick teenager, smashing his glasses against his face in the process.

“I miss you too, baby,” he said, picking up his phone from the bed, as if it would make him feel any closer to you. “But I’ll be home in a week.” A week too long. 

He could hear you sigh angrily, as you started your usual rant about why overseas schedules shouldn’t be longer than five days, giving him a recap of the list you have written down in your notes app. “You can laugh as much as you want, Jeon Wonwoo, but I’m suffering here.” 

There was nothing else for him but to laugh at your sulking tone, he loved how you didn’t have any limits when it came to him and dissing his schedules. “Do you have the book I gave you before I left?” Wonwoo asked, and immediately heard some shuffling, as if you were getting up from the bed. 

“Of course, but I’m not in the mood for reading,” you sighed. To be honest, you were rarely in the mood for reading - you preferred being read to. Specifically by Wonwoo. Definitely not because you were addicted to his deep and velvety voice, at least that's what you were telling him. 

Wonwoo knew better. 

“Go get it and open it,” Wonwoo said with a soft smile on his lips, laughing when he heard your annoyed groan.

He waited patiently for you to find the book and discover a photo booth picture you thought you had lost a while ago. You took it on one of your first dates, and Wonwoo knew how much you loved that photo, so he was over the moon when he found it laying under the bookshelf when he was cleaning your room. 

“How? What? Wonwoo?” you gasped, and he couldn’t help but laugh at your surprised reaction. 

“I found it some time ago, but forgot to tell you.”

He heard you sigh quietly, and from what he could judge it wasn’t a happy sigh. “Now I feel even more alone.” 

“Baby,” Wonwoo murmured, his tone matching your sad one. “We only have a week left, you won’t even notice when I’ll be back.” 

“You promise?” 

“I promise.” 

And if you hurt me That's okay, baby, only words bleed Inside these pages, you just hold me And I won't ever let you go

“You said you’d be home!” 

This wasn’t how the evening was supposed to go, not at all. You had been planning this date for a while now - it wasn’t anything big, just a homemade dinner and a movie, but any moment spent together was special for you, so it didn’t really matter what you did. And what could be better than to prepare a nice meal together and then eat it cuddled under fluffy blankets, while watching a bad movie you could both make fun of. 

If only Wonwoo’s practice didn’t run late. 

“I’m sorry, but I told you my phone ran out of battery," he said, pointing at his dead phone helplessly. “And we really were busy, baby. You know how the comeback season is,” he sighed, and ran a hand through his hair, tugging at the ends. 

“I know, but if you really cared about me you’d make sure to at least text me. I was waiting for four hours Wonwoo, it’s literally 1 am!” You said, your tone getting angrier and angrier. 

Wonwoo understood why you were angry, he wasn't surprised, but he thought that maybe you would be a little more understanding. On the other hand, he knew how much you were looking forward to this date, he was waiting for it himself, and the fact that he didn't even text you certainly didn't make the situation better. 

“Sweetheart, please,” he tried reaching for your hand, but the second his fingers touched yours you pulled away. 

“You're a bad boyfriend Wonwoo, you ditched me like I was nothing.” 

Your voice was full of venom and Wonwoo couldn't help the slight pain he felt in his chest. Your words when you were angry always hurt him like hell, but he didn't expect to hear something like that. He knew you didn't mean it, of course you didn't - you were angry, tired, hungry, and Wonwoo knew it was pointless to blame you for your words. He loved you too much to do it. 

But before he could say anything, he felt your arms around his neck. 

“I’m so sorry, Wonwoo. I didn’t mean it, I’m so stupid,” you mumbled into his neck. “I love you, I’m sorry,” you kept repeating. 

“Hey, it’s okay,” he ran his hand over your arm, cradling the back of your head with the other. “We both messed up a bit, but it’s okay, baby.” 

“I'm just afraid that one day I'll say something stupid enough to make you leave me,” you whispered, as if you were afraid that if you said it a little louder, your words would become true.

"Just hold me, baby, and I promise I'll never let you go."

Now Wonwoo would give anything to hear even the worst insults about him from you. He tilted the glass to his mouth, which turned out to be empty - just like the whiskey bottle he had taken from Mingyu, not that the younger minded. Or maybe he did, but Wonwoo didn't care much. He snorted and put the empty glass on the night table, from which he took a photo framed in a black frame instead.

Your faces were covered with a white face masks and your heads were adorned with pink cat headbands, and even though you were definitely too close to the camera, to the point where the photo was blurry and unclear, Wonwoo could still see your wide smile perfectly. 

It was from the date Wonwoo surprised you with a few days after your failed one. It was one of the best nights of his life.

Oh, you can fit me Inside the necklace you got when you were sixteen Next to your heartbeat where I should be Keep it deep within your soul

“You know my ex boyfriend got me this, right?” You raised an eyebrow at him, looking at him sceptically.

“Baby, you were sixteen then,” Wonwoo flicked your nose. "I will not be jealous of your great love at the age of sixteen."

You muttered something under your breath, frowning at him adorably. “If you want, I can buy you a new one,” he said, pointing to your necklace.

“No,” you muttered, not looking at him. Cute. "I like it."

"Exactly, so stop whining and let me put the picture in," he couldn't help but smile as he looked at the photo of himself in your necklace, resting right above your heart.

“You picked out the worst picture of me there is, I hate you,” you groaned, hitting your head against his chest.

“Well, I love it, and that’s what matters. Now,” Wonwoo grabbed your hand, kissing your knuckles. "I’ll always be with you."

When I'm away, I will remember how you kissed me Under the lamppost back on Sixth street Hearing you whisper through the phone "Wait for me to come home"

Wonwoo looked around his bedroom with droopy eyes (was it from crying, alcohol or tiredness he didn't know), which less than three weeks ago was full of life - full of you. 

The knowledge that he would never see you again weighed on him like a stone on his heart, but even so - Wonwoo didn’t want to forget you, no matter how much it hurt. He wasn't even sure he could even if he wanted to, you were present in every corner of this room - your pillow still smelled of your perfume, there were your skincare products on his desk, which you never kept in the bathroom for some reason, and your sweater was still lying on the back of the chair in the corner because you were too lazy to put it in the wardrobe. 

Wonwoo grabbed his phone with a trembling hand, its screen lighting up and displaying a wallpaper with a photo of you that he took right before he left for the tour. You were in bed, your hair messy and dishevelled, your eyes still closed and your lips in a sweet pout - you didn't even know he took the photo, but Wonwoo couldn't help himself. 

"Won, you said you'd wake me up," you mumbled, your voice muffled by the pillow and duvet that covered almost your entire head.

“But you're not sleeping,” he said quietly with a smile, brushing strands of hair from your face.

You murmured something, pulling the covers over your head. Wonwoo couldn't help but laugh at your silly antics - he loved how clingy you got whenever he had to leave early in the mornings, you were like a cuddly teddy bear that wanted all the hugs in the world. “You know what I mean. I wanted to help you get ready to leave,” you complained from under the covers.

"I love you, baby, and I love it when you help me, but right now I'd much rather have you get some sleep."

“But I'm going to miss you,” you groaned, poking your head out from under the covers.

“It's only a week and a half,” he said and kissed your forehead gently.

Unconsciously, Wonwoo raised his fingers to his lips. Was that really your last kiss?

"Fuck," he cursed under his breath, running a hand over his face. There was one more thing he had left of you - your voicemails. With a shaky finger he pressed on the last voicemail you sent him, a day before he broke up with you. The second he heard your voice it was like he magically sobered up - his mind was clear as day, and it immediately took him back in time to when the only thing he looked forward to was coming home to you. 

"Hi baby, I know you’re sleeping already, but I just wanted to record a little message, so you have something nice to wake up to. These first few days apart are so hard, I really miss you, especially at night. I got so used to our little bedtime routine that the house feels so quiet and empty without you, like something is missing, you know? You’re going to call me a hypocrite, but you know what else I’m missing right now? The light from your computer when you game late at night and I can’t sleep because of it. Or how I have to beg for you to come to bed for at least two hours, before you finally do. (laugh). I really do miss your bed hair, though. Now with them being so long too, you look so cute. (laugh)."

"But you know, last night, and don’t make fun of me, but I had to put on your hoodie to sleep because I missed your smell, I thought about the first time you left for tour since we got together. I remember how you walked me home after our date because it was late, and you were so adorably awkward. You still are. Anyways, we stood under that lamppost right by my house, and we were talking for a bit, and I remember how sad I was that you had to leave. I know you were too but didn’t want to show it, my strong baby. And then you kissed me. (pause) I will always remember how you kissed me under that lamppost. And how you said ���wait for me to come home”. "

"I’ll always wait for you, Wonwoo. No matter what."

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[youcouldmakealife]

SOTM: Erin/Julius; cosmic vertigo

For the prompt: More Erin and Julius understanding each other on a deep level

“Have you ever thought about the universe?” Julius says.

“I get a headache whenever I do, so I mostly try to avoid it,” Erin says, then, feeling Julius’ eyes on her, “Yeah, I guess. You’ve got to narrow it down a little from ‘literally everything in existence’ for me to figure out what you're getting at, though.”

“How things — change, I guess,” Julius says. “How if something went just a little differently, your life could be completely different too.”

“So like alternate universes,” Erin says, relieved. That’s much less likely to give her a headache. Not unlikely, but thinking about what, exactly, exists past forever? What a constantly expanding universe is expanding into? The last time Erin let herself think about it too long she ended up with a migraine. Possibly a coincidence, but she’s not risking it. That thing lasted two days.

“Yes,” Julius says. “If I was drafted one pick higher, or lower, I would never have come to Edmonton.”

“And you wouldn’t have met Jared, and therefore me, and neither of us would be lying in this bed right now talking about the universe,” Erin says. “Something like that?”

“Something like that,” Julius echoes, then gazes at her for a long moment, not speaking.

“Stop measuring how good a consolation prize I am,” Erin says. Doesn’t matter how great he thinks she is: nobody’s great enough to make up for the pain and suffering of playing for the Edmonton Oilers.

Julius’ mouth quirks, like she’s said it out loud.

“You’re alright,” he says.

“Thanks,” Erin says. “I do my best.”

“Worth coming here,” Julius says.

“Let’s not get too crazy here,” Erin says.

Under the covers, Julius finds where she’s laced her hands on her stomach and prises the nearest away so he can lace his own fingers through it, that hand thief. She likes to sleep like she’s in a coffin and he knows that. Still, she supposes she can lend it to him for a little while.

“Feeling philosophical tonight, are we?” Erin asks.

She doesn’t have to ask why: he’s going back to Finland in two days. Only for a month, before he flies back to Alberta to train with Jared and his buds in Calgary. She doesn’t have to ask why for that either. Dude isn’t going to train in a city he’s never even lived in, a city that hates his guts, just because he misses her brother, though she’s sure Jared would argue otherwise. She won’t make him say it.

“I can come,” Erin says. “If you want me to. I can come.”

Julius blows out a breath. “Next time,” he says.

“Sure,” Erin says. “It’s not — it doesn’t expire or anything. Standing offer. I mean, unless I have something else going on. Then you’re shit out of luck.”

“I will make sure your schedule is clear,” Julius says.

“Thanks,” Erin says. “Thoughtful of you.”

“Would you like your hand back?” Julius says. Erin doesn’t think she’s imagining the reluctance. A month’s not really a long time if the universe is your scale, but if it isn’t, well. It’s long enough.

“That’s okay,” Erin says. “You can have it a bit longer.”

*

So the thing is, when Erin told Julius she’d go to Finland with him, well — it isn’t that she didn’t mean it, because she did, it’s just that she sort of figured that at some point between her saying that and him taking her up on it, she might just spontaneously get past her fear of flying.

Except, fear is such a strong word, isn’t it? She’s fine. She’s been on planes without dying. She even hopped on a plane to see the Canucks host the Oilers — would someone with a lifelong fear of planes do that?

And yeah, sure, it was only ninety minutes, and by the time she quit telling herself that they probably weren't all going to die — but if they did, they better not fuck up and identify her as Bryce’s girlfriend in all the death announcements — they’d pretty much already begun the descent.

Then, once she was done a new recital of how they probably weren't to die — at least they’d better not, because Bryce would feel so guilty about inviting her — they were taxiing to the gate.

And while, like, statistically, that was one of the most dangerous times, like how parking lots and the kilometre around your house are the places you’re most likely to get into an accident, it’s hard to work up the same panic when you’re like, twenty feet in the air instead of twenty thousand.

The flight back wasn’t too bad either, and by the end of the trip, she thought she might have even gotten over that whole fear of flying thing.

She was incorrect.

The thing is, she actually did okay on the flight to Toronto. It helped that it was first thing in the morning, and apparently sleepiness beats out panic, a fact she’s going to be taking advantage of in the future. She genuinely thought she'd reached the other side of it, but the flight to Amsterdam has quickly proven her wrong.

Planes aren’t supposed to shake. And dip! She swears they started to drop out of the sky at one point. Julius said that it was a normal amount of turbulence, but frankly, no turbulence is normal, is it? Sure, it can be a typical amount of turbulence, but normal? They’re in a metal tube in the sky, being thrown around by wind. Erin does not consider any of that to be normal.

“You didn’t tell me you don’t like flying,” Julius says, so quietly Erin can hardly hear him over the almost deafening plane sound nobody else seems to be bothered by. Erin thinks that’s pretty big of him, considering she’s had his hand in a death grip since the turbulence began, and she hasn’t relinquished it even now that it’s finally stopped. In his shoes, she’d probably be going with ‘you know these hands make millions, right?’.

Money that means she’s flying in comfort, if not…comfort. For some reason, Erin thought it’d be easier to deal with things in business class. She doesn’t know why — in a plane crash, the front of the plane is the least likely to survive. But hey, at least Erin got free champagne.

The champagne didn’t help. She hadn’t really thought it would, but she’d been hoping.

“Oh, I don’t know if I’d say I don’t like it,” Erin says. It comes out in a voice she's never heard in her entire life, so perky it’s almost shrill.

“Something stronger?” Julius asks, looking about as disturbed by Stepford Erin as she is. She doesn’t know if he’s talking about the word she’d use or the next drink she should have, but either way the answer's probably yes.

“Do you want your hand back?” Erin asks. It’s not so much an offer as a genuine question, because she’s not sure her hand will unclench for long enough to release it, and she’d probably grab it again the next time the plane started rocking, though maybe she can figure something else out. Grab his thigh or something. It also makes him millions, but it can probably hold up to the abuse a little better.

“You can have it the entire flight if you need,” Julius says. “And for the others.”

Erin’s really, really been trying not to think about the fact there are more flights after this one. Plural.

“Might make it hard to eat,” Erin says. He has the window seat — no fucking way she wants to see just how high up they are, even though she already intellectually knows it — and she’s had custody of his right hand since take off.

“I can figure it out,” Julius says, stroking his thumb over her knuckles. It isn’t quite relaxing — nothing is, right now, not with that damn plane noise — but it’s, you know, not not relaxing, which makes it better than pretty much everything in the world at the moment. It makes Erin’s eyes prickle.

“I know it’s irrational,” Erin says. “I’m well aware of all the statistics, and that it’s safer than basically every kind of transportation. I know. It’s ridiculous. I'm being ridiculous.”

“We can drive,” Julius says. “When we get to Helsinki. We can drive instead. Or take the train.”

Erin tips her head back, trying to keep the tears from spilling. That still leaves Amsterdam to Helsinki, but one flight is better than two. “How long a drive is it?” Erin says.

“Does it matter?” Julius asks.

Erin shakes her head, and when they fall, she swipes at them with her free hand.

“We can drive,” Julius says, thumb tracing back and forth, and Erin focuses on it, the slow sweep of his skin against hers, until the flight attendant comes, asking if they’d like something to drink.

“Champagne,” Erin says. “Please.”

“Two,” Julius says, even though he didn’t even finish his first. “Please.”

“What are we celebrating?” the flight attendant chirps, and Erin stares up at her, unable to muster even a weak smile. Beside her, Julius must be pulling out the ‘dumb fucking question’ face he gives reporters, because the flight attendant says, bright and fake as Stepford Erin, “Two glasses of champagne,” then hurries on to the next seats.

“People,” Julius murmurs, and Erin slides down, twisting in her seat until she can put her head on his shoulder. Probably makes it harder than she needs to, since she refuses to give up Julius’ hand the entire time, but he doesn’t complain, just keeps up the slow sweep of his thumb, and when she finally makes herself comfortable — or, as comfortable as she can, considering the circumstances — he kisses her hair.

“Sorry about stealing your hand,” Erin says. She really hopes he doesn’t think it’s an offer to give it back, because he’ll be disappointed.

“That’s okay,” Julius says. “I don’t need it for my job or anything.”

Erin decides to hold on a little tighter, just for that.

[hwashotcheeto]

𝑩𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝑭𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅'𝒔 𝑴𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 (1)

Best Friend's Mother Masterlist

Chapter: One

Milf!Park Seonghwa X gn!reader

Summary: You finally meet Wooyoung's father, and he isn't who you were expecting at all.

WC: 3.3k

CW: Mostly more plot/character development, but suggestive at the end (teasing, flirting). Wooyoung is a brat (no one is surprised), Seonghwa uses pet names on the reader (darling, dear, (little) doll)

AN: Ahhh, here we go, first official chapter! There's no smut just yet BUT the next chapter will be, promise! I hope you enjoy!

Tag List: @hyunjinsjeans

You let out a huge sigh of relief as you submitted your final assignment for the semester. You flopped back onto your bed and laughed in relief, feeling your pulsing headache beginning to ebb away. 

The last day of the semester came way faster than you were prepared for. And you weren’t nearly as stressed as your normally would’ve been. 

Maybe because tonight, you and Wooyoung were leaving to go visit his dad. 

Wooyoung told you the next day after you asked that his father responded with an “enthusiastic yes,” and couldn’t wait to meet you. The last week of the semester flew by after that, and now you were here. 

You checked your phone, and you had thirty minutes before you had to meet up with Wooyoung before you started the drive back to his dad’s house. Thankfully, you’d packed most of your things the night before, so you spent your time double and triple checking everything, and collecting everything else you might need. 

And before you knew it, Wooyoung was texting you. 

Heyyyyy

I’m parked outside your dorm, I finished early

Did that essay kill you? 

Come onnnnn, we gotta go sooooooon

You ignored his texts until you were leaving the dorm. You got outside with your bags, being met with the early Winter weather. Cold air, a little bit of snow on the ground. Par for the course for northern November weather. 

Wooyoung got out of the car and helped you with your bags. “Did you bring your whole closet?” He asked as he put them into his trunk. 

“I had to, this is all I have.” 

“Oh, right. Well, you can borrow some of mine if you run out while we’re there.” 

You were going to be with Wooyoung and his dad, and maybe other family, until classes started again in January. A whole month away really was a small vacation, and you were ecstatic to be away from this building with your best friend. 

“Thanks, Wooyoung,” you said softly, hoping you wouldn’t have to bother him with borrowing his clothes. He smiled and motioned for you two to get in the car. 

And then you were off. It wasn’t a long trip, about a forty minute drive, but it felt way shorter to you. You were both incredibly relieved to be away from school, but also incredibly excited for what this Winter Break would hold. 

Your heart was pounding as Wooyoung entered his home town. He hadn’t told you much about where he grew up or where his dad lived, so when Wooyoung drove into a rich suburban neighborhood and pulled into the driveway of an extravagant house you were floored. 

The house was a minimalist, modern aesthetic. The colors were sharp and contrasted starkly, the windows were clear and clean, there wasn’t a speck of dirt anywhere.

“You didn’t tell me your dad was loaded,” you joked as Wooyoung turned off the car. But when you looked at him, he was nervous. You couldn’t really fathom why Wooyoung was nervous to be home, unless he himself didn’t want to see his father. 

But if Wooyoung didn’t want to see him, why did he bring you along? It didn’t make sense. 

“I need to tell you something about my dad before we go inside,” he started, looking down at his hands in his lap, fidgeting with them. You couldn’t help the numerous ridiculous thoughts that filled your head, trying to predict whatever Wooyoung was about to say. 

“My dad…” He was already hesitating and trailing off. Warning bells were going off inside your head. Wooyoung thought for a long while, before you could see him mentally make the decision to just rip the bandaid off. “My dad isn’t a masculine man. He prefers to dress like a woman.” 

And you sat stunned for a few seconds as to why your best friend thought this would be an issue for you. 

“Wooyoung, I’m sorry, but do you know me?” You asked. He looked up at you, and along with nervousness, guilt started creeping into his eyes. “I don’t care how your dad wants to dress or act, as long as he’s not an asshole.” 

You saw Wooyoung’s whole body relax, melting back into the car seat. He laughed softly. “Yeah, I don’t know why I was so nervous. I just didn’t want you to be surprised when we went inside to see him.” 

You nodded, and smiled encouragingly. He smiled back, and you both went to get out of the car. 

As you two were grabbing your respective bags, Wooyoung said “ah,” remembering something. “By the way, he prefers being called ‘mom’.”

“Are you sure your dad doesn’t have something to confess?” You said, half joking. Wooyoung laughed and shook his head. 

“No, no, it’s not like that. Believe me, I asked a couple years ago. He likes being a man, he just also likes looking feminine.” 

And then the nervous excitement bubbled up inside you as you both walked up the driveway, then the sidewalk, then the stairs to the front door. You could feel the mix of emotions clawing at your body from the inside out as Wooyoung struggled to grab the correct key. 

The excitement of meeting your best friend’s dad, along with the nervousness of wanting to impress him was making your stomach churn. But not in a way where you felt sick, your body just didn’t know how to calm down from everything. 

Wooyoung finally got the key out and unlocked the door. Your heart felt like it was going to burst out of your chest and run away. 

You walked inside and were greeted to the inside of the house reflecting the outside. Modern, stark, clean, but with tasteful decorations scattered throughout. Some paintings, statues, plants, decorative lights. 

But all of that was second to the gorgeous man in front of you. 

Wooyoung’s father-or, mother, as he preferred-was sitting on a large, plush couch to the left of the door, watching a movie. He looked over the couch and smiled at the two of you. You forgot to smile back, because you were staring in awe of how someone could be this beautiful. 

You didn’t hear what he was saying as he stood up to greet you two, because you got a full view of him and all the air left you. 

He was wearing a long sleeved sparkly sweater dress that stretched down to his knees, with sheer tights underneath. His black hair was fluffy and fell freely around his perfect face, reaching down to his jawline. 

Oh, his eyes and smile made your knees weak. You could feel nervous tremors run up and down your thighs. 

What might’ve surprised you the most was his hourglass figure. He had tits, hips, and a tiny waist. 

Oh, what a Winter Break this was about to be. 

“Hey!” Wooyoung called, and you suddenly remembered you weren’t in a dream. Both men were looking at you, Wooyoung slightly annoyed, and his mother amused. “Eomma, this is my friend. This is my mom, Seonghwa.” 

“It’s wonderful to meet you,” Seonghwa said, holding out his hand. You took his hand and tried to give the best handshake you could. His grip was firm, but delicate. Your eyes flicked down to look at his hands, and to your surprise, even his hands were feminine. 

“Thank you, it’s good to meet you too,” you babbled out, struggling to make sure your voice didn’t waver. Seonghwa smiled warmly as he pulled back, and he turned to Wooyoung to hug him tightly. Wooyoung struggled to return the hug with his bags on his arms, but he still managed to make it work. 

“Did you go out?” Wooyoung asked Seonghwa as he pulled back, looking over his mother’s outfit. “You’re all dressed up.” 

“No, but my son and his friend visiting me is reason enough to dress up.” 

You swear you could feel your head starting to get light. Wooyoung glanced at you, then back at his mother. 

“Okay, well, I’m gonna go unpack.” Wooyoung looked at you before continuing. “There’s a guest room close to mine, I’ll show you.” You nodded, and you two started for the stairs. 

“Don’t be too long!” Seonghwa called, “Dinner will be ready soon!” 

You felt your heart stutter at the mention of a home cooked meal for the first time since you couldn’t remember when. 

Wooyoung brought you down the hallway, turned to the right, and stopped at the end. “This room on the far end is the master room. Belongs to my mom, obviously.” Wooyoung waved his arms around to express his point, then motioned to the door on the left side of the hall, the one he was in front of. “This one is the guest room, and the one on the other side by the corner is mine.” He pointed to the door all the way down the hall. 

You nodded, your eyes betraying you and drifting to Seonghwa’s bedroom door. The forbidden room, your brain was telling you. You had no reason to go in there, but the idea of going beyond it- 

“Okay, dude, I can see that you were checking out my mom, okay?” Wooyoung blurts, making you whip your head back to him. You’d hoped you didn’t look as obvious as you felt, and your worst fear came true. 

If Wooyoung saw it, so did Seonghwa, and the mortification slowly took over your body as you felt your face burn hot. 

Your first instinct was to apologize, but you stopped yourself. All possible words left you, and you just stared at Wooyoung with fear and embarrassment all over your face. Wooyoung sighed and shook his head. 

“We’ll talk about this later, go unpack your stuff. Wait until I come get you.” And with that, he walked off to his room and disappeared into it. 

You didn’t even get to appreciate the gorgeous room you got to stay in, because you were too consumed with guilt to properly look over it. It was large, lavish, and comfortable, but you felt awful as you started unpacking. 

You were drooling all over your best friend’s mom the second you walked in the door. You couldn’t help yourself from feeling awful the entire time you put your luggage away. 

You jumped a whole foot in the air when you heard a knock on the door. The door creaked open and Wooyoung peeked inside. You were just finishing up as he came into the room, and you felt simultaneous relief and dread. 

Before you could stop it, words began tumbling out of your mouth. “Look Woo, I’m sorry, I know it was insanely disrespectful of me to act that way in front of your mom, I should’ve acted better and I-” 

“Woah, slow down,” Wooyoung said, holding his hands up. You stopped and swallowed back the rest of the words you thought of saying. You realized then that Wooyoung didn’t look upset anymore. In fact, he looked resigned. “I’m not mad. I think I was just protective.” He looked away for a second before he looked back at you. “I didn’t want you to think of my mom as some kind of porn character.”

“No, never!” You immediately blurted. 

“I know you’re not like that, and I’m sorry I snapped at you.” You could see in Wooyoung’s eyes, he felt remorseful. You found it a little weird, because he was justified in being upset. “People have done it in the past, he thinks he found a partner, and it turns out they liked the idea of having him as a personal porn star object, nothing more.”

The fact that such a revelation didn’t surprise you made you doubly upset. 

“So, I guess, what I’m saying is,” he started, and then sighed again. “I mean, if you fuck, just don’t tell me about it.” 

The bluntness of his request makes you choke, and you can feel your face instantly burn hot. Wooyoung finally breaks and laughs, and his laugh makes you laugh. 

You really were lucky to have an amazing friend. Not because he just gave you permission to fuck his mom, but that you could have proper conversations about issues and settle them like the adults you were. 

Then again, you both clearly still acted like teenagers, but it was like a wise man once said: There’s a time and place for everything. 

The three of you were sitting around the small dining table in the kitchen, enjoying the dinner Seonghwa had made for you all. Despite saying that it was a “small” table, there was still tons of space left over. You could fit much more food and people at this “small” dining table with how much space there was. 

The food was delicious. Half because Seonghwa was clearly a skilled cook, and half because you hadn’t eaten anything made with love in so long. The fact that it was made with love and care put into it made it taste stellar. 

“So,” Seonghwa started, looking over at you. “Why are you spending your break with us?” 

You expected this question. You’d rehearsed it a million times over. 

“I don’t talk to my parents, and the rest of my family already has plans this year.” It was the truth, but it didn’t give away too much information. Seonghwa gave you a sympathetic look with a slight pout. He must’ve realized you didn’t wanna talk about it more than that, because he didn’t push for you to explain more. 

“Well, I’m happy to have you.” You smiled and said a soft “thank you” before taking another bite of food. “You’re welcome.” 

You expected Wooyoung to be rolling his eyes with every look you gave Seonghwa, and to be annoyed with how permanently flushed your cheeks were. But to your surprise, he was giving you little smirks the entire meal, and giggling silently when your voice wavered as you spoke to Seonghwa. 

It’s like you two never really grew up. Two little kids giggling at each other from across the table, almost reminiscent of teasing your friends about their crush at lunch time. 

The big difference here is that your fucking crush is your best friend’s mom. 

And yet despite how obvious you two must’ve been, Seonghwa never commented on anything you two did. It was as if he hadn’t noticed a thing. 

You survived the rest of dinner, with light talk about how you and Wooyoung met, how school was going, your major, and more about you as a person. 

Seonghwa began to clean up when you all were done eating, but you grabbed your dishes and brought them to the sink. 

“What are you doing?” Seonghwa asked as you began to rinse off your utensils. He looked genuinely stunned, and you couldn’t understand why. 

“Cleaning?” 

“You don’t have to do that.” Seonghwa took the dishes from you. Not forcefully, but gently removing them from your hands. “I know, it’s polite to help, but I don’t mind cleaning. I actually like it.” 

“But you cooked. It’s the least I can do,” you argued. Seonghwa looked at you for a moment, then smiled. You felt your stomach flip over, and smiled back to cover it up. 

“Thank you, dear. That’s sweet of you.” 

The name shouldn’t have made you as flustered as it did. 

You spent the next few hours with Wooyoung and Seonghwa, continuing to talk, having some movies as background noise. As you sat with them, you observed their dynamic, and learned more about both of them in the process. 

Your irrational theories about Wooyoung being averse to Seonghwa couldn’t be more wrong. He was relaxed, comfortable, and he clearly loved his mom. Wooyoung was cuddled up to Seonghwa towards the end of your conversation, his head basically on Seonghwa’s chest and his arms around him. 

After the final movie, all three of you decided it was time to head to sleep. You said your good nights and went to your separate rooms. 

But despite the comfortable bed, the wonderful room, and the hospitality of Seonghwa, you couldn’t sleep. 

You looked at your phone, you shifted around, you tried walking around, but you didn’t feel tired. You were getting frustrated after a couple hours. 

You decided to go get a drink of water. Maybe it would calm you, or walking around would take your mind off trying to sleep. 

You quietly made your way out of your room and down the hallway, using the light from your phone to guide you. As you passed Wooyoung’s room, you heard him softly snoring. 

You got into the kitchen and carefully navigated to the cabinets. Seonghwa and Wooyoung both had shown you where to find cups in case a need like this arose during your visit. You didn’t expect to need it the night of, but here you were. 

You found a glass and got your water. It didn’t make you feel any better, but it did feel nice. 

“Can’t sleep, darling?” 

Your whole body jumped as you whirled around to look for the owner of the sound. You knew it was Seonghwa before you saw him, but you still weren’t prepared to see him in the archway, leaning against the wall, in a long black silk robe with flowers all over it. 

You shouldn’t have been fixated on the fact that his robe was open enough for you to see the line that ran down his chest, and the slight ridge of each side. 

He laughed softly before he spoke. “I’m sorry for startling you.” 

His voice was deeper than it was before. Smoother, almost. Like chocolate sauce. 

“It’s okay, I know you didn’t mean it,” you mumbled, trying to keep your eyes on his face. That ended up not working out as his eyes made you feel small, and you looked to focus on your glass instead of him. 

But what you didn’t know yet was that Seonghwa didn’t like to be ignored. You looked at him when he spoke to you. It was a rule like any other. The sky is blue, the grass is green, and you listen to Seonghwa. 

He walked over to you and grabbed your chin, turning your head to look up at him. Your mind went blank and your stomach churned inside you like a washing machine. A smirk pulled the corners of his mouth up as your cheeks turned red yet again. 

“There we are,” he cooed softly, his voice hardly more than a rumble in his throat. 

“Seonghwa, what are you doing?” You said, your voice wavering on every word. Amusement sparkled in his eyes as he moved even closer, his hand moving to the back of your neck. 

“Don’t tell me I was hallucinating the looks you gave me since you showed up. Did you really think I wouldn’t notice you checking me out the entire time?” 

Of course not, you knew there was a strong possibility he knew everything. He was at least over double your age, he was no stranger to all of this. 

“I just didn’t think you’d do anything.” You began to stutter more as you struggled to pick the right words. You could see it clearly, in his big dark eyes, that he was enjoying watching you fight to stay composed. 

“And why wouldn’t I? You’re a cute little doll, how could I resist?” 

Your heart gave one massive beat you could feel throughout your whole body. The air in your lungs was sucked out. Your head felt light. You didn’t feel like you remembered how to stand. 

Seonghwa laughed again, and his eyes shifted to something more hungry. More primal. “Come, little doll,” he said, pulling you even closer until you were pressed up against his chest. “Won’t you stay with me for the night?” 

How could you answer with anything besides “yes”?

Thank you for reading! Please reblog if you enjoyed! 💜

This is a work of fiction written by me. This does not represent the idol(s) in any way. Any re-upload is not allowed and will be reported.

[jewbeloved]

How would the guys confess to you on Valentine's Day 💌

Note: This is 3 days late I know, I was on a writers block and I was having a fever and I kept throwing up in the progress while my stomach hurted and I missed a day to go to school on Wednesday to do my test because of that. And now I got a massive headache, everything is just spinning at once I can't take it anymore. 😭

Warnings: Absolutely none.

Characters used: The main boys.

Gender: Neutral

💙 Stan Marsh 💠

Man wants to confess to you on Valentine's Day, he literally be eyeing his calendar and keeping track of the days leading up to Valentine's Day.

But when the day actually comes?

Oh sh!t, he's already in a panic. He doesn't know what to give to you or how to even approach you in general to confess.

He went to Kyle for advice and even practicing his confession for you with him. He knows Valentine's Day can be a really special day for your friends and s/os.

He doesn't want to mess up or make things awkward by vomiting all over you like how he did when he was with Wendy :(

He probably might go with basic presents such as: chocolate, teddy bear, etc.

He will confess to you behind the school just in case his confession goes up in flames and he doesn't want other people to see.

"Uhm, Hi..(Name)...I know it's Valentine's Day and all....and I was just wondering if you wanted to be my valentine...". 💙💙💙💙💙💙

💚 Kyle Broflovski ☘️

Jews aren't supposed to have valentines-

Just kidding.

But seriously though every time this boy has a love interest it always ends up in a complete dumpster fire for him. (Not Cartman being the man cause for it anyways).

You and him have been good friends for a good couple of months and Valentine's Day has finally arrived.

This is his moment to shine and he won't let anyone ruin it for him, not even the fatass-.

He already got a big 4ft sized teddy bear with a heart box that has your favorite candy or sweet inside it. He also got you both matching outfits to wear if you accept his confession.

He probably might want to confess to you in the park near a big tree. (Yeah, classic romance confessions)

Please accept this boy's confession, it will literally make him the happiest jew in south park.

"Hi (Name)! I hope nobody else has confessed to you...or maybe they have. But I just wanted to ask you if you could be my valentine for this holiday".

❤️ Eric Cartman 🔥

Cartman is mysteriously preping for something and not being an ass as his usual routine?

I wonder what's on his mind.........probably you.

He obviously doesn't know what to get you for Valentine's Day and he probably doesn't care so he will just get whatever he feels you might like. He forced his mom to buy the presents though! :3

He probably wants to confess to you because you're the only person besides his mom who puts with his psychotic behavior and rude nature.

And probably because you don't make fun of him for being fat😭

The confession will be in his room because he doesn't want the guys ripping on him for having a soft spot for you.

He will confess in the mostly lazily and cheesy way in the first half before actually being honest with his confession.

"So it's Valentine's Day huh? This makes me feel like I am gay if I was doing this for the guys, but since it's just only you (Name), I don't mind it. As anyone would tell their s/o, will you be my valentine?".

🧡 Kenny Mccormick 🧸

He's poor asf how do you think he can afford even a gift for you?

He feels so sad at the times you give him something and he can't gift you anything in return due to him being the poorest kid in south park.

So instead of buying something, he tries to make a homemade gift for you with whatever he can find (He cleans the material he's using if he finds something useful out of the trash).

Definitely sneaked around alleyways and stole some spare changes from homeless guys so he can use it to at least get you a candy or snack he can afford.

Same as Kyle, he will confess to you in the park while bringing the homemade gifts and snacks he got you.

He wanted this confession to be special like the holiday itself so he took a bath in the river (without soap) and fixed up in his hair a little, not a lot though.

He decided to wear his Princess Kenny outfit afterwards.

"Mmmmm...mmmphmmmmhmmphmmmmmmmmhmmp!" (Im sorry Name...I know this isn't much since I'm poor and I can't gift the same amount you do for me and my family, but it's the least I could to repay my gratitude! Will you be my valentine?).

A new banner for my new south park Masterlist that I will be making soon.

[weirdsht]

Disillusioned 18 . Heterogeneity (3)

a/n: my fav chapter is the one after this hehe, but y'all have to wait until wednesday (unless you're reading this after I already uploaded it lol)

tags: overprotective people around reader, sick reader, fluff overall

English isn’t my first language so there will be grammatical errors

Pls don't repost my work anywhere without my permission

Constructive criticisms and any kind of interaction are more than welcome

Requests are currently closed but my ask are still open (read pinned)

Buy Me Dessert

Navigation Masterlist prev . next

_____ thought their headaches and worry would end when Cale woke up after 15 days. The healer is used to the rigorous schedule the commander has whenever he wakes up after fainting. Understand that there’s a lot to catch up on, especially this time since Cale was gone for so long.

Everything had been smooth sailing. There are still a lot of things to do at Mogoru but Jack and the others can handle it. 

Finding the Mercenary King was also easy. In fact, he was the one who showed himself in their inn. Making a deal with him was even easier. As well as getting to the Wind Island. 

“Uhm so you’re telling me the owner of my ancient power is not supposed to talk to me and tell me the race of every single being I encounter?”

“...At least yours don’t have full-blown conversations about bread with you.”

Well, there’s a discovery that Cale and _____ are odd. Apparently, you’re not supposed to hear voices when you have an ancient power…

But aside from that everything else is smooth sailing.

Things started going south when Cale entered Wind Island alone.

Day 1:

Everyone is relaxed albeit a little worried for the young master. However, everyone trusts that he will be fine as he always has been.

Day 2:

Same as yesterday. Everyone is doing their own thing while waiting for the young master. However, _____ thinks that the group is doting on them more than they used to. They aren’t sure though.

Day 3:

Cale is supposed to go back, but there’s not a single sign of him yet. This made everyone in the group tense. Nonetheless, all they can do is wait.

Day 5:

The ambience in the boat has become scary. Not surprising as Cale is 2 days late now. Everyone is still sweet in front of _____. In fact, they have definitely become more doting and protective towards the healer. 

Like they can’t even take a single step forward without someone trying to assist them or asking what they need. At first, it confused _____, but they figured they were probably acting that way because of Cale’s absence.

However, that’s just towards _____.

They are so snappy with Bud. The poor man can’t even take a single breath without being told off. The only time he isn’t getting scolded is when _____ is talking to him.

So _____ took this chance to get acquainted with the Mercenary King. The healer explained to the man how everyone was just on edge because they were worried about the young master.

Day 7:

It’s been 4 days since Cale was supposed to come back. Everyone had decided that if he still didn’t come back in a few hours then they would go to the island.

“Not _____-nim. Please stay here in the boat where it is safe. I promise to come back and bring back Cale-nim”

At this point _____ is used to the group coddling them. They figured it’d either end or dwindle once Cale came back. So they just let everyone be.

Meanwhile, the healer and Bud got acquainted pretty well. It helps that their abilities are similar to each other. Talking to each other is also mutually beneficial to the two. Bud gets to talk to the only person who’s not inherently vicious in the boat. While _____ gets a distraction from the abundance of worry they are feeling.

“I have to ask Medicus-nim, what’s you’re relationship with Cale?”

Bud once tried calling the healer by their first name… never again. The looks he got from everyone were not worth it.

Names aside, the mercenary king is curious about the relationship of the two. In his opinion, _____ is the most protected after Cale. There’s gotta be a reason why that is.

“Me and the young master are friends. However, I am technically working under his orders right now.”

It doesn’t look like that to Bud but sure.

In addition to that, the blue-haired man doesn’t miss the way everyone else softens while _____ is speaking about their relationship. Something is going on that these two young masters don’t know.

However, Bud doesn’t pry. Instead, he lets the conversation die there and opts to wait for Cale silently.

Sure enough, the redhead prevails as he always does.

He came out just before the group was about to attack the island. As soon as he got out he purified the island before desperately eating apple pies like his life depended on it.

“...Cale, you do know that you’re still going to faint right?”

_____ is currently beside Cale thanks to Raon’s floating spell. 

The man in question just ignored the healer and continued gobbling the pie.

“If you don’t stop eating you’re gonna faint with a soggy apple pie in your mouth.”

Munch

Munch

Cale continued ignoring _____.

“Everyone, the young master is going to faint with an apple pie in

3…

2…

1”

True enough Cale fainted like a machinery out of mana after _____’s countdown.

Meanwhile, the healer who’s borderline making fun of Cale could be seen giggling.

Bud doesn’t know why and his afraid Ron and Eruhaben are going to kill him if he asks.

Their way back to Bud’s hometown was quiet. Everyone seemed accustomed to this and already knew what to do with Ron leading everyone.

All of them got to work as soon as Cale was resting on a bed. 

Well almost everyone.

When _____ tried to go out to help Beacrox, Eruhaben just used his mana to steer the healer back into the room. Once the healer was back in, Ron wrapped a blanket around them before guiding them to a comfy couch that had been moved beside Cale’s bed[1].

“Wait I want to help too–”

Ron ignored the healer as if they didn’t even say anything.

“A bed big enough to fit the two of you would be better but this couch would also suffice.”

“Why am I lying down too? I didn’t even use my powers–”

At that moment the children spoke up.

“Lemonade gramps, I think kind _____ forgot that their body is weak!”

“That’s true nya! It also looks like they forgot they’re still healing!”

“Go lie down nya.”

It took _____ a moment to realise what the three were talking about.

“Are you guys talking about what happened in the Caro Kingdom? That’s like a month ago. That wound is all healed up.”

“Yes it has been a month since then but your healing journey has been stunted since you used your powers while we were at the Empire. In addition to that the sea breeze is cold. It’s not good for your weak body.”

“But Eruhaben-nim I’m really okay–”

All it took was one exasperated stare from Eruhaben to make the healer clam up and lie down on the spacious couch. After they did the golden dragon sighed as if he had just dealt with a toddler throwing a tantrum.

True enough _____ developed a fever just a few hours after that. Their body couldn’t handle both the weather and the stress so it decided to break down the moment the healer got to relax. Good thing the group was already expecting this and has prepared everything a sick person would have needed.

At some point _____ tried to argue that maybe they’ll get the kids sick. So they should just let the healer recover in another room and maybe check on them from time to time. However, the children averaging 9 years old retaliated by putting on masks and casting a shield. (A bit overboard in _____’s opinion but when has not Raon been overboard.)

Just like that the two young masters slept for three days.

If on one of those days Cale’s hand twitched and placed itself on top of _____’s hand, then no one said a word.

And if they see Cale continue to hold _____’s hand after he woke up first? No, they didn’t.

[1] if you can't visualize it, just imagine a big couch that's the same height as the bed and then it's side-by-side so the couch kind of looks like an extension of the bed. basically the two + the children are all sleeping beside one another lol

[kivedreams]

CAN'T GET ENOUGH. knj.

pair. idol namjoon x f. reader. 

genre. established relationship, long distance, have never said I love you. 

warnings. +18, daddy kink, unprotected sex, power imbalance, rough sex, filthy sex, dirty talk, fingering, namjoon is really demanding, lil degradation.

synopsis; you’ve been waiting for me so patiently, I know, I’ll reward you, you little slut! or namjoon has 3 free days from the military service and he decides to enjoy them with you.

word count: 3.5k

A/N: I haven't write a fic in seven years, I hope this lives to the today's standards. kive

It was already sunset, everything felt quiet and lonely in the apartment, music had become a sad thing to play, so enjoying silence had become your main thing the last 3 months, since he had gone, as a foreigner you didn't fully comprehend the concept behind military service, in your country military had never been a big thing, consequences of being an small country that never seem to need it, so the moment that you realize that Namjoon actually had to enlist for around 2 years made a fissure in your heart, you really could not imagine how life was going to be for you, for both of you during that time, will your relationship be able to fight the distance? you had already been dating for over a year and everything felt like a fairytale, sneaking around, going to cafes in the countryside, hiding in your apartments, the sneaky kisses, grabbing hands under the table, and hiding your relationship from everyone else, because it was safer for both of you, it made things fun and exciting, but of course it was sad too, not being able to go around seoul’s streets holding hands, not being able to share pictures of you together, not being able to kiss him whenever you wanted and denying the obvious from everyone, that you were completely in love with Kim Nam Joon.

You knew that it was going to be the result after accepting that personal assistant job, but it was ok, the pay was amazing, the opportunities were amazing, you were going to be working side by side with someone you have already admired for years, so just keeping a lid in your feelings wasn't going to be a hard sacrifice, but two whole years being behind the smart, handsome, and talented men that namjoon was, proved to be way harder than you thought It'll be, of course you got drunk, of course you forgot with who you were with, and of course it ended up with you, namjoon, the empty hall in your building, and you shouting to the world that your boss was the most beautiful men that you have ever seen and of course that it would be a pleasure to have his children, you would have been honored to do so, and the last thing that you remember is namjoon’s laugh and then falling into the darkness.

Next morning, you woke up in your bed, completely tuck in, with you curls in a bonnet, not a single drop of makeup on and a dreadful headache, you felt so bad that you thought you might puke, water was a must, while you walked down to kitchen in your one bedroom studio apartment, that was perfect for you and your cats, nobody could've expected what your eyes saw.

Kim Nam Joon was sat in your living room reading one of the books that you picked up the last time you were in the bookstore, Kim Ji Young born 1982 by Choi Nam-Joo, the shock was visible in your eyes, you didn't know what to do or what to say, you wanted to just roll back to your room and hide there for the next 5 years, why was Namjoon in your living room reading on your brown chair one of your books and drinking coffee from that pretty pink mug you thrifted a while ago? he did not notice your presence until you cat, Komi walked over to you meowing and demanding to be feeded.

He lowered his gaze from the book to look at your completely shocked face. “Good morning Y/N, I knew you were going to sleep till late. I made coffee and breakfast, do you want some?” he said with a little smirk, that did not mean too much for you at the moment.

You were frozen by the idea of having Namjoon in your house, you've been dropped off with him a thousand times, but he had never come in. Once you realize you've been in complete silence for a minute since he asked, you remembered that you had to respond. “Y-yes, I do” you said with a low but strong voice. “Ok, sit down I'll get it for you” he said while standing up, you couldn't sit down without feeding your cats first, you used it as an excuse to go to the bathroom and see the state that you were, bonnet falling up to the side, your bare face that showed how much you drank last night, you quickly washed up your face and fixed the bonnet because it was going to be impossible to do more than that.

Walking with small steps to the kitchen, you said good morning as soon as you saw Namjoon, he smiled at you and said the same, offering you the same pink cup but full of fresh coffee. “How do you feel? Do you have any headaches? I ordered some hangover medicine for you” he said lifting a white bag with the nearest pharmacy logo printed all over it, you could feel the embarrassment in your whole body, grabbing the bag and looking thru its contents, you took the gold colored bottle that you new was going to get rid of any traces of the effect of alcohol in your system. He put a bowl full of rice next to you, making you realize the side dishes that were in the countertop, and while holding two bowls, one that looked it had kimchi on it and another  with salted veggies on it Kim NamJoon said,

“So, you'll be honored to have my children?” in a laughing tone, and you knew it was over.

========

That have been a whole year ago and it was still embarrassing for you, but somehow your feelings were not one sided, and thanks to that dumb slip off, you were there now in the apartment that you shared with the man of your dreams, it was lonely without him, but you were stress free and relaxed with your little demons, your cats, exactly what Namjoon wanted. When he suggested that it would be better for you to move in with him, the idea made you nervous but in the good way, moving together was an important step in your relationship. It made clear that Namjoon was taking the relationship as serious as you were, and honestly everything was better and easier.

You heard the door code and it spook you, because only you, Namjoon, the cleaning lady and maybe Jin had it, walking down the hallway to the door you were kind of scared, you knew it wasn't a thread because the security wouldn't let anybody come in, and the moment that the door opened you heart sank in surprised and happiness, there he was dressed in his military gear, carrying a small bag with his left hand, looking at you with those fiery eyes, you could not keep it to yourself so you left the scream out.

“Omg, omg omg! Nam!” you screamed while running close to him, he caught you up dropping his bag to the floor and lifting you closer, making it seem like there wasn't a height difference, and there it was that wood, forest scent that gave you peace, the scent of the man that had ingrained himself in your heart, it made you feel at home, you started kissing his whole face, while loading him with a million questions on the why and the how.

He let out a small laugh, walking with you on top to the entrance. 

“They gave us three rest days'' he said, kissing you back, you feel his warm soft lips on top of yours, redirecting the kiss, your body touching the wall, while he slowly lets you on the floor wrapping his big hands around your waist.

“I missed you so much Y/N, in a desperate type of way” kiss “You look so beautiful, I'm so happy to see you” he whispered in your ear, kiss “How have my baby been?” he asked in that low musky voice that drove you crazy, you wrapped your hands around his neck, asking him to lift you to his face, and he did, as always.

“I have been missing you since day one, sleeping on your side of the bed, even though it doesn't smell like you anymore” you replied kissing him back with the same amount of passion and intensity “how are you babe?” 

“Right now, I am marvelous, in front of heaven's doors you could say” he looked at you with those intense eyes, and that happy puppy face, letting you on the floor, moving to the bench at the entrance to remove the big black military boots that made him look even taller. 

“I genuinely cannot believe that you're here, in front of me” you said sitting next to him.

“I am baby, here in front of you” he replied, kissing your forehead. “ and if it were for me I'll never leave” 

========

And there you were lying down, cuddling on the sofa, watching a random entertainment show that was on, both of you way to happy after making dinner together. You were trying to get even closer to him, even when your whole body was already on top of him, and he had you wrapped in his arms, it was never enough. 

“Are you cold?” he asked, pulling you closer. You moved your body resting your face in his chest “No, I just want to be closer” you replied hugging him, he laughed, you feel the vibration of his body in yours. “It's never enough for you, is it?” he sat down carrying you up.

“You know it is not” you said sitting on top of him kissing his neck. He put his hands on your thighs, you know how much he loves them, you're sure that they are now bigger since you've put on some weight due to stress eating this few months, between being ‘jobless’ and without him, cooking had become your comfort zone; you feel the way he's grabbing you, more aggressively by the minute, you like it, like you always do.

He enjoys your body until you let a small moan slip next to his ears, you feel how his whole body tense up, Namjoon moves his mouth to your neck whispering “ You liked that?” in a deep voice, he was turned on, and you were too.

“Y-yes” you replied in a moan while he slid his hands through the short pajama pants that you should have not been wearing during winter.

His hands started to wander around your waist, pulling the white cardigan out of you, letting wet kisses all around your neck, one of his hands left you waist, grabbing one of your breast he started stroking it, making you let out another moan, he knew where all your bottoms where and he started pressing them on, you'll be lying if you don't admit how horny you have been this months without him, you wanted it so bad, so desperately, you need it. He stopped stroking your breast over the blouse that you had, to rip it from your body.

“I want to fuck you so hard  Y/N, you’ve been waiting for me so patiently, I know, I’ll reward you, you little slut! ” He said passing his hand through your chest, he let a wet kiss on your neck and moved his mouth to your left breast placing his tongue on your nipple playing with it.

You let a moan out and heard a chuckle coming from his mouth, and then he started sucking on you tit while keeping one of his hands on your neck, there he was, he loved taking control of you, you could feel how his hand was holding you tightly, reminding you who you were from. He loved to know that he owns you, and that you gladly agree. 

He freed your neck and started playing with your other tit, your head falling into his neck moaning his name, his thick long cock rising up in his joggers you could feel it brushing in your leg, it was making you lose your mind, Namjoon loved when you please him, and you loved to please him, your hand reached to the border of his pants, touching his hard erection through the fabric, he moaned.

“This is how happy I am to see you” he said standing up with you on top, his voice was deep and his eyes were filled with desire, he sat you down on the edge of the couch removing your shorts and panties together.

 “I love how wet you are, tell me how much you want it” he said taking a step back to look at you, dripping wet, shining with sweat “I want to always see you like this, desperately waiting for me to eat you up, tell me Y/N, do you want it? call for it”

“Y-yes, Nam I want it!” you beg through desperate breaths, trying to catch your breath, to breathe at a normal pace. 

“Wrong Y/N” he said loud and demanding “What's my name?” he walked up to you, taking both your hands, kneeling you down in front of the couch, resting you face in it, he put his big hand in the center of your back bending you down even more “I’m going to finger you until you remember what's my name, you whore!” 

He slapped your cheek making you moan, his hands were moving around your whole body, like if he was tasting you, his right hand moved just to the top of you venus mount, opening you up with his long fingers, Namjoon started to play with your clitoris, making you moan and beg for his dick, but he wasn't going to give it to you, until you give him what he wanted.

“Daddy please!” you moaned, exactly what he wanted to hear.

“That's my baby, tell daddy what you want, and he’ll give it to you” he said in your ears, kissing your neck, his kisses moving down to your back, while he put a finger inside of you. “Is this what you want baby, talk to me” he said putting another finger inside.

“I want-t you inside, inside of me daddy”

“Who am I to deny your wishes” he said in a chuckle “ Stand up for me baby” he demanded so you did, his clothes were already on the floor, and when you stood up, you could see his dick in full bloom, he sat down on the couch making you sat on top of him, your back in his chest, you could feel how the military training had pay its fruits, he took your breasts in his hands, caressing your nipples “Look down honey, look how wet your pussy is, begging to be fucked”

All you could see was his dick touching you. You grabbed it with both hands pumping it up, seeing his shiny tip, desperate for it to be inside of you, the action well received with his moans and hard breathes.

 “Damn baby, you never hesitate, c’mon put it inside of you! ” he teased.

You lifted up your body, him helping you with his hands now on your thighs, you used you hands to drive his long shiny cock to your entrance, feeling the tip inside of you, driving it slower, but of course Namjoon would not let you have that, he moved his hands making you whole body fall in his cock, it opening you up, the stretch hitting you up just where you need it, driving you crazy the way that you could feel it completely filling you up. He stayed there for a second waiting on you, making sure that you were ok.

“M-move, please move!” you beg in a whisper, he gave it to you.

Namjoon hugged your body, lifting you while moving himself up and down, you heard him moaning and panting, and that made you even more aroused, he was stretching you up, giving you what you wanted, his dick.

3 months without seeing him and getting his touch, how much you missed him

made you feel insane, but now he was here showing you that he was going insane too without your body close to him, it was joyful having you on top of him.

Namjoon started to touch your clit with two of his fingers, you were so wet for him, and he was enjoying it to the fullest, he could feel how close you were, he wasn't going to last longer either.

And suddenly he pulls out, making you moan in disbelief

“why?!” you screamed

“ I want to see your face when you come for me” 

He turned you around, like a rag doll, you forgot how strong Namjoon was, especially when he wanted you in a specific place.

“C’mon sit on it” he said grabbing his dick, you did not hesitate, and sat on it immediately

“D-daddy!” 

He kissed you, deeply,his tongue exploring your mouth, he grabbed your ass with both of his hands making the pace even more aggressive, you were about to cum, you felt it, breaking the kiss, feeling the lack of air and the heat in the room. Your moans louder by the second.

“Come for daddy baby, come” he whispered in your ears with his deep voice, and that was it his sucked your nipple while you came making you a mess of moans and deep breaths, orgasm hitted you high, and you could feel him still using your body to get to his own climax.

“I'm coming inside baby” his voice even deeper, and you wanted it.

“Yes daddy, cum inside of me” you moaned for him.

His thick load filling you up, the warmth of his cum heating you up from inside, his moans drive you crazy making you cum again with him, a mix of moans and hard breaths, inhale, exhale, fill the room, you fell on top of him trying to catch your breath. 

“That was intense, I am out of words” you whispered hugging him

“Indeed” he said, caressing your lower back. “ I love you Y/N” 

He stand up with on top, wearing a shocked expression on your face it was the first time he ever said it, it caught you by surprise, Namjoon trust issues were as clear as the day, so he never fully open up about his feelings, and you let him, you understood that it would take time, for him to be completely open to you, it was ok you were there for him and that was the best way to prove him that he could trust you with his feelings, him saying I love you market a new path in you relationship. 

Before you could realize it, you were already in the bathroom Namjoon, pulling out of you letting you slowly on the floor. The mess between your legs demanded to be cleaned, he kissed your shoulder and said “ Want to take a bath?” you nod, still in disbelief of what has happened. 

Namjoon prepared the bath for the both of you, using the bath salts that you loved, you were still there standing up in front of the mirror, seeing him move through it, making sure the water was warm enough lighting up the candles, he got close to you hugging you from the back “Lets rinse up first, ok?” you felt the doubt in his voice, the nervousness in his system, you could only nod. He moved you to the shower, tying up your hair in a bun, he knew wetting your hair at this time meant a test, you feel the water going in your skin, the warmth felt good.

“Ok, you're clean baby, come” he said, driving you out of the water to the bath.

You could see the stars through the windows of the bathroom, there you were resting on his chest, hearing his calm breath, feeling his hands on your ways, the bubbles covering your bodies,the burning smell of the candles, and the warmth embracing both of you.

“Nam” you said in a whisper.

“Yes babe” he said, taking your hand.

“I love you too” 

You heard him exhale deeply, meaning relief, “I was scared, though I said it too soon” he said, moving your body so you could face him.

“I wasn't expecting it so I got surprised, sorry”

“Nothing to be sorry for babe” he said, giving you a kiss, it was sweet and soft, he was telling you how much he loved you. You broke the kiss.

“Can you say it again? I want to hear it more” you said smiling, your body could not keep the amount of happiness going through your body.

“I love you Y/N” he whispered, grabbing your waist and pulling you closer for a kiss, and there you knew he was going to make love to you again, because it was never enough with you two. 

 ===============================================

with love kive <3

[flowerprincesscherryblossom]

hate

pairing: Jeon Jungkook x Female Reader word count: 1712 warnings: smut, explicit language, hate sex, rough sex, face-fucking, degradation, oral sex, vaginal fingering, clothed sex AO3 A/N: request - hi! i absolutely love your writing!! if it’s okay with you, do you think you can write a short smut where y/n and jungkook are enemies but he happened to have a Polaroid in his wallet of her nudes (this is a thing apparently? HAHA, perhaps a drunken night that they don’t speak of..) Hope you like it and that you have a wonderful day wherever you are💜

If anyone asked you if you had any regrets ever since going to college, and if you were to answer truthfully, you'd have only one - Jeon Jungkook.

A little backstory: you and Jungkook met through your mutual friend Namjoon, a childhood friend of yours and basically Jungkook's male crush, and you had a problem almost immediately with him because he acted like a spoiled brat, which he was.

He always had a different girl on his arm, if not two or more, always acting as if he was the king of the campus just because he was good at everything. And all of his hyungs, Namjoon included, always let him have his way. You just found him so annoying.

And he liked to tease you a lot as well, something that got worse one the night of the party.

Two months ago at BTS frat house during one of the many parties they would throw you had made the mistake of getting pissed drunk, waking up the next morning in Jungkook's bed, both of you naked as the day you were born - despite the massive headache it didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened.

Ever since then he started to annoy you even more. It was a miracle to have any time to yourself without him popping out out of nowhere. The most annoying part was that he kept teasing you about what had happened during that night which was something you didn't want to even remember. The only part that you willing force yourself to remember was both of you stumbling into the bedroom, full-on making out, and then waking up with one of his arms around you.

You didn't care about remembering the details - you fucked and that was something that you accepted and wanted to move on from.

Talking to your friends didn't help much, especially Namjoon. That bastard giant tree of a man, using his psychology minor to analyze the apparent feelings you had for Jungkook.

"Have you ever thought that maybe you're confusing hate with something else?" he asked while both of you were taking in the sunlight on the frat house's backyard after both of your classes had ended for the day.

"Of course I know it's hate. How dare you ask me if I'm aware of my feelings as if you'd know me better than I know myself!" you replied angrier than you probably should have but one look at your friend's face made you lean your head against his shoulder. "Still love you though."

"Aww thank you sweetheart, the feeling's mutual," Speak of the devil.

Just hearing the sound of his voice from behind you already had your blood boiling. "Didn't your mother ever taught you that eavesdropping is rude?"

"Didn't yours ever taught that you shouldn't lie to people?"

At Jungkook's comeback Namjoon sighed, already knowing what was about to happen and wondering why it was always him in the middle of this mess.

As you and Jungkook went back and forth with the bickering, mostly you, neither of you even noticed that Namjoon had gone back inside.

"Oh my God, why can't you just leave me alone?" you yelled, almost feeling the need to pull at your hair.

"Why can't you just admit that you liked what happened between us?"

You were quick to cover his mouth with your hand, hoping that nobody else had heard him. "That shouldn't ever happen in the first place, you hear me?"

Pulling your hand away from him Jungkook leaned closer to your ear. "You're that ashamed to admit that you liked being my dirty little slut?" your eyes widen at his words, embarrassed that they had an effect on you. "Want me to show you how much you loved it?"

Before you had a chance to respond he grabbed your wrist and dragged you to his room, closing the door once you were both inside.

Forcing you to take a seat on the bed Jungkook pulled a polaroid picture out of his wallet and showing it to you, the image making you want to jump out the window - it was you, full-blown naked on his bed, legs spread, hands cupping your breasts while giving the camera, and by extension Jungkook, your best fuck me eyes amidst licking your top lip.

"There's more where that came from," he said as you fixated on what was in front of your eyes. "They've helped me big time."

His implication pulled you out of the trance you were in. "You're a disgusting pig,"

"Maybe," he smirked widen. "But you didn't have a problem letting a disgusting pig fuck your brains out."

Falling into silence you and Jungkook simply stared at one another for what felt like hours before he made the move of smashing his lips against yours.

The shock you felt was quick to pass and you wasted no time reciprocating with the same force and hunger.

Pulling away from you Jungkook started fiddling with his belt. "On your knees slut."

You kneel before him, pulling his pants and underwear down, his hand moving to the back of your head as you stroked his length. Dragging your tongue from the base to his leaking tip, sucking on it before taking inch by inch from his thick girth.

His grip on your hair tightens as you bob your head up and down, your jaw and throat most likely sore from taking him so deeply. "Wonder what he'd think if he saw you on your knees for me?"

At his words, you pulled your mouth away and stared at him. "Mention Namjoon again and, I swear, I'll bite your fucking dick off."

With a scoff, Jungkook tighten the grip on your hair and forced his cock down your throat. As he thrusts into your mouth, practically impaling his cock, the tip repeatedly bumping against the back of your throat as tears stream down your face and saliva escaped out of the corners of your mouth, constantly gagging on his massive length.

"Such a good little cockslut," he grunts thrusting ferociously into your mouth and simultaneously guiding your head to meet his movements. "Letting me fuck her throat raw."

Hollowing your cheeks, as your tongue slides against the underside, you started rubbing your thighs and moaned around his length. "Pathetic whore, getting wet just from having me in your mouth," Jungkook's head falls back, eyes rolling as he loses himself in the sensation. "Oh fuck." A sudden hard thrust, making you gag and choke, he lets out a strained roar, spilling his cum inside you.

Pulling himself out he forces you to look at him. "Swallow." You visibly swallowed his load, sticking out your tongue to show him. "Good, now take off your panties and lay on the bed."

Doing as you are told, you throw your underwear in his face and then lay on the edge of the bed, spreading your legs.

"Fucking brat," he murmurs as he slides to his knees, spreading your thighs as wide as he could. "At least you were smart enough to wear a skirt."

"Go to hell," you said before a whimper escaped you as his fingers rubbed at your core before he licked a fat stripe from your hole to your clit.

"Funny of you to say that," Jungkook said before burying his face into your pussy, tongue swirling around your hole before moving up to your clit, making you arch your back.

As his lips wrap around your throbbing clit and start sucking on it, you gasp when he slides two fingers inside of you, pumping them with immense speed. "Fuck!" you moaned when he added a third finger, sending you over the edge.

Jungkook grunts as he feels your cunt squeeze around his fingers, his cock rock solid once again. "Shame I can't see your tits, the polaroids will have to do until next time,"

"Who said there was going to be a next time?" you said as you tried to catch your breath.

"That's exactly what you said last time," gripping the base of his length and giving himself a few pumps.

"Fuck you,"

"I'm getting to that," lining himself up, Jungkook slips inside you in one swift motion, burying himself to the hilt, you were so wet that he groaned out loud. "Holy shit."

Filling you up to the brim, stretching you beyond what you thought you could handle. "Just fuck me already."

"Needy slut," he tightly gripped your hips, pulling out until only the tip remained before slamming into you, thrusting into you without abandon. You whine and keen for him to continue, each snap of his hips bringing you closer and making your eyes roll back into your head.

"Look at yourself," one of his hands leaves its place to wrap around your throat, giving it a squeeze. "Begging for my cock like you weren't hating me not that long ago," the combination of his words and the squeeze on your throat causing your cunt to clench around his length. "Such a filthy fucking whore."

Continuing with his brutal pace Jungkook's hand descends from your neck to your clit, rubbing circles on the sensitive bundle.

"G-gonna cum," you cry feeling your body near the edge.

"Cum on my cock bitch." the unrelenting pace and the thumb rubbing your clit bring you to the end, a scream leaving your lips.

With how your cunt convulsed around his cock, coaxing and gripping him tight, it wasn't long before Jungkook released, splattering your walls with his cum.

Pulling out he lays down beside you, both of you working on catching your breaths.

Once you felt that your legs had stopped being jello you got up from your spot, put your panties back on, and made your way towards the door, just wanting to go home and take a nice, warm, and long shower.

"Until next time," Jungkook said still lying in bed and waving his hand.

"There's not going to be a next time,"

With a smirk on his lips and mischief in his eyes. "That's exactly what you said last time,"

"Go die!" you groaned slamming the door and quickly left the house, hoping your friend hadn't heard any of what transpired between you and Jungkook.

[blues824]

🌸💗 I am bacccc! I come to ask more the mistletoe prompt! With Jack and Sebek, I was hoping their gn!darling could be a Fae of the nightmares/ or what my roommate calls a sleep paralysis demon! 🥺😊

You requested: Mistletoe

Whenever I see Sebek’s name, I go feral

Jack Howl

You had met when he was strolling about in the forest behind the school. You tended to hang about in dark places, but you needed to be alone at the moment. He thought you were ethereal in a rather dark way. You were carrying a candle, walking gracefully and slowly, taking in the mystery of the woods.

Jack was trying to clear his mind as well. Ace and Deuce were horrible during class, and he had a headache that wouldn’t go away. However, it seemed to disappear the second he saw you. You were in your Diasomnia uniform, and you didn’t notice that he was there. Unfortunately for him, he stepped on a twig, and in seconds you were right next to him, asking who he was.

Anyway, you had joined the First Year group of unlikely friends, and you even entered a courtship with the wolf. Everyone, including him, was surprised that you accepted his confession, but he was happy that you did. It was right in time for the holidays as well, because you both got busy with getting ready for the dormitory Christmas parties.

However, the First Years headed to Ramshackle shortly after the celebrations ended, despite being exhausted. You were as graceful as the day he met you in the forest, despite fatigue being apparent on your face. Now, what you both didn’t know (you did know, as you had seen it in everyone’s dreams, but you weren’t going to stop it), was that they placed mistletoe in various locations so that you were bound to walk under it.

It didn’t take long, and Ace shouted and pointed to it. Jack’s ears fell, face glowing red as he looked at you. You grabbed the lapels of his leather jacket and pulled him into a rather passionate kiss, and you could hear his tail hitting Deuce from how hard it was wagging. Grim shouted a loud GET A ROOM, and it made Jack break away in embarrassment.

Sebek Zigvolt

You had visited his dream the first night you were in Diasomnia, and he did not appreciate how you took control of it just to introduce yourself. However, it was strange. You interrupted everything and just strolled in gracefully. Sebek found himself paralyzed, and not because of your appearance… You made it so that he actually could not move.

When he saw you in the dormitory the next morning, walking out of the gate, he had the sudden urge to talk to you. He could sense that you were a fae, and that already got his respect. You, however, had a bit of trouble concealing your smile as you denied his accusations of entering his dream with your magic. Your efforts were in vain, as you let out a giggle, blowing your cover.

Again, everyone was surprised when they found out that Sebek was courting you. Yuu was very supportive and even very excited, but everyone else thought it was a fake relationship. However, they created a plan that was sure to reveal the nature of your association with him. They were living for drama, but little did they know, they would not be getting it.

As you headed to Ramshackle, arm in arm, you were joined by your friends and the smell of more food in the dilapidated dormitory. However, it was different. You were surrounded by people who have helped defeat overblot after overblot. You noticed that your friends were whispering amongst each other, snickering as they looked at you both.

The mistletoe was hanging over the front door, and since you both entered together, you stood under it. Ace and Epel pointed it out, and you both looked up to confirm it. Sebek was so flustered and embarrassed, shouting at the two for pressuring someone as great as you to do something like this before marriage. But, he was further flustered when you pulled him in by the lapels of his jacket into a kiss.

[heartsforvin]

BROTHERLY LOVE

needed something fluffy but angsty , cus i feel like all ive been writing is smut recently 🥲 hope you guys enjoy !!

pairing: vinnie hacker x fem!sister!reader

warnings: cussing, bit of angst, mentions of anxiety / separation anxiety, use of nicknames (bubba, bug, etc), use of y/n, mentions of medication use, overall mainly fluffy sibling love

summary: the bond between you and your older brother is unmatched, attached at the hip, how will you react when he tells you he’s moving out?

the bond between you and your older brother was unlike most brother/sister relationships. most siblings bicker and fight, but you and vinnie always got along.

sure you had your moments, but at the end of the day, you don’t know what you’d do without him.

vinnie, you, and reggie were inseparable, always hanging out together. your and reggie’s relationship was very different from you and vinnie’s.

maybe it was because the two of you were close in age, only being eighteen months apart. you didn’t know why it was so different, you loved your younger brother endlessly.

the age gap between you and vinnie was two years, so you weren’t sure why you and your older brother didn’t but heads like you and your younger brother did.

◛⑅·˚ ༘ ♡

you woke up to the noise of your brothers shouting across the hallway, right next to your bedroom door. groaning, you kicked off your blankets and opened up the door.

neither of them noticed you were standing in the doorway, the loud argument continued to unfold in front of you.

you didn’t care what they were fighting about, it was probably some video game anyways. it was way too early to be up on a saturday.

“can you two please take your argument somewhere else?” you asked, pressing your palms into your eyes at the feeling of a headache already sprouting. 

both boys rolled their eyes and just walked away from your room. sighing, you walked back into your room to try and get at least a few more hours of sleep.

a few hours later the sun casting its way into your room had woken you up. checking your phone you saw it was a much reasonable hour to be awake other than earlier.

getting up, you had gotten dressed for the day before making your way downstairs to where you saw vinnie in the kitchen.

running up behind him, you jumped up onto his back and hugged him tightly.

“whatcha doin’, bug.” vinnie laughs as he feels the added weight on his body.

stopping what he’s doing, he cranes his head over his shoulder and looks at you as you smile at him.

“what are you doing today?” you ask, completely forgetting about his previous question.

vinnie thinks for a moment before responding. “nothin’ really, why what’s up?”

you untangle yourself from your older brother and land back on your feet, now being inches shorter than him.

“wanna do something with you is all.” you reply with a shrug to your shoulders.

vinnie chuckles as he nods his head, he turns around to finish up what he’s doing before turning his body around and facing you once more.

“how ‘bout this,” he starts, completely forgetting his manners and chewing his food while talking. “lemme finish this, shower and then we’ll get some ice cream and i’ll take you out to the skatepark, yeah?”

smiling wide, you hug your brother tightly before going up to your room to dress more comfortably for skateboarding.

vinnie took you to the skatepark every now and then, mainly when you weren’t busy with college classes.

since it was summer, classes were out and you were able to everything and anything you wanted.

you promised your parents you’d find a job during the summertime. you’ve had no luck yet but knew one would come eventually.

for now, you just hang out with your older brother. being in his streams, hanging out with him and his friends, and going to the skatepark together.

vinnie’s been teaching you how to skate since before you even learned how to ride a bike.

besides joining his streams with him from time to time, skating is your favorite thing to do with him.

you wished you bonded the way you do with vinnie towards reggie, but the two of you could never seem to get along for more than twenty minutes.

you hated how you bonded more with vinnie. you felt like a shitty sister for it. you’ve tried so many times to mend the bridge between you and your younger brother, but nothing seemed to work.

you stopped trying months ago, figuring this is how your relationship is going to be from now on.

◛⑅·˚ ༘ ♡

“one strawberry cone and one chocolate, please.” vinnie ordered as you stood next to him, subtly laughing as he ordered his ice cream.

the cashier took the money and gave change back before telling you both they’d be ready soon.

you and vinnie sat at a picnic table a few feet away, waiting for your ice cream.

“chocolate, really?” you laugh at your brother as he just playfully rolls his eyes at you.

“nothing wrong with chocolate,” he tells you. “what about you? who likes strawberry?” he asks.

you laugh and give him a sarcastic smile while flipping him off. moments later you hear your order being called out and you go to grab both ice cream cones.

once back at the table, you hand vinnie his ice cream. as the two of you start to eat the sweet treat, the topic of schooling comes up.

“how’s college goin’?” your older brother asks you.

you still lived at home while going to college, the whole dorm thing seemed interesting and fun, but you decided not to do it this year.

“good,” you reply before licking the side of the ice cream cone before it got all over your hand. “glad it’s over for now though, needed a break.”

vinnie smiles at you as the two of you continue to eat the ice cream. he’s so proud at how far you’ve come in life.

he remembers the anxious little girl who always clung to his side whenever the two of you went out together.

he was so happy and excited for you when you told him you were planning on going to college in the fall after your highschool graduation. he couldn’t have been more proud.

once the two of you are finished, vinnie grabs some napkins for the both of you to wipe your hands off with.

the two of you start heading back to the car in silence. as you glance at vinnie, you can obviously tell he’s got something on his mind but you don’t push the matter, not knowing if he wants to talk about it or not.

◛⑅·˚ ༘ ♡

“you’re doing a lot better than last time.” vinnie says as he ruffles your hair.

he took you to the skatepark and you couldn’t have been more happy, even if he had said hours ago he’d take you.

it’s been awhile since he had been able to take you, and you were glad you finally got this time together.

the thought of what vinnie is thinking of still hung in the back of your mind, but you tried to push past it and enjoy this time with him.

after awhile the two of you took a break and sat at the top of one of the ramps.

your head was on vinnie’s shoulder as he had his arm wrapped around your back.

“can i tell you somethin’?” the voice of your older brother broke the comfortable silence.

you lifted your head to look at him. “anything.” you said with a smile.

it took him a minute to reply. he wondered how you’d take this news he was about to share.

he knew for sure that you’d be so happy for him, but that it would also break you.

with a deep inhale, he quickly calmed his nerves and just said it out there in the open.

“i’m moving to LA.”

you looked at him wide eyed, not knowing if what he had just said was real. a million things started processing through your head.

vinnie saw your blank expression and pulled you back into him, your head on his shoulder as he rubbed your back.

it was silly, almost like you were overreacting. you couldn’t help it though.

“why.” is all you could say, too focused on trying not to cry over this.

vinnie sighed. “remember how i got into modeling but it never really got anywhere?” he asks.

you glance up at him and nod with a smile. “well,” he starts. “a modeling agency called me and said they’d love to hire me on, i’d just have to live out there.”

the world stopped for you. you’re happy for him, ecstatic even, but you don’t know what you’re gonna do without him.

you felt dumb for letting his life effect you like this. vinnie was his own person with his own life and responsibilities, of course he wasn’t going to be living with you forever.

maybe the fact he’s moving to a different state is what’s hitting you so hard. you didn’t know what for sure, all you knew was you’ll be okay again eventually.

“don’t cry bubba,” vinnie wipes your tear stained cheeks, kissing your forehead softly. “this is good, then you can visit me, and it’ll only be a few hours time difference.”

you smiled at how he was seeing the situation. you’re happy for him, but the separation anxiety you have towards him is what’s keeping you from wanting to say go for it.

“what am i gonna do without you?” you ask.

vinnie sighs, he knows he’s your number one supporter and he’d do anything for you. you just don’t know what you’d do when he’s not here.

“you have your college friends, right?” the blonde asks, you nod. “see, there you go. just found out what you’ll do while i’m gone.” he smiles.

you give him a small smile and his heart breaks. he hates seeing you so upset. he didn’t mean to upset you with this news, he thought you’d be happy for him.

“i’m happy for you, vinnie,” you say after moments of silence. “i’m just so worried how my anxiety will be, you’ve helped me through it the most.”

he nods. “i know, bug,” he hugs you tightly. “you’ve been doin’ good though. that doctor you see prescribed you meds right? you takin’ them?” he asks you.

you nod. “yeah they help. you help better though.” you reply.

vinnie smiles at you before hugging you again. he and you both knew this would be an adjustment for the both of you, but you’ll get through it.

as the sun starts to set, the two of you decide to pack up for the night and go home.

“hey you know what you can do now if someone in the house starts to piss you off?” vinnie asks as the two of you walk to his car.

you smile, already knowing what he’s about to say. “what’s that?” you ask.

“i’ll buy you a ticket out there so you can get away for awhile.” he says with a laugh.

you laugh with him and give him a hug. “i love you vin, thank you for everything you’ve done to help me.”

he smiles at you, expressing so much love for you. he knows you’ll be okay in the end, and he’s always one call away if you need anything.

“i love you more bubba. my number one supporter forever, right?”

you smile widely and nod, he ruffles your hair before the two of you get into the car.

you knew deep down you’d be okay, it just might take some time to get to that point.

hi hi hi !! i’m sorry i’ve been so inactive, i was super busy this past weekend and im just so mentally exhausted i think LMAO

but i hope you all liked this !! its a bit different from what i usually write but i had this idea and decided to try it out !!

tags: @anqeliclust , @cosmicanakin , @forevergirlposts , @bernelflo , @visualbutterflysworld , @slvthrs , @venusblakes , @leqonsluv3r , @louloulemons-blog , @lovingsturniolo , @pepsicolapussy333 , @hallecarey1 , @0strawberrysorbet0 , @laylasbunbunny , @kriissy4gov , @kayleighh , @defnotayonna , @violet0182 , @st4rswrld

[tigergirltail]

TIGER HRT CHAPTER 4 - MONTH 3 - GROWING PAINS

First - Prev - Next

Everything hurts.

I started noticing it about two weeks after my first dose. It felt like a dull headache at first, but over the next month it spread to pretty much my entire body.

I had to start working from home, and eventually it got bad enough that I could only put in a few hours of work each day. My boss is a reasonable enough guy, but he wasn't going to pay a full time salary for part time hours, so I had to take a salary cut.

Luckily, my partner is around to take care of daily errands, not to mention being there to reassure and comfort me when the pain gets bad. They've been thinking about seeing if Lindwurm HRT is a thing, but they don't want to get the process started until I'm in the clear and can take care of myself again.

Gods I love them.

The reason the pain is happening, as best I can tell, is that my skeletal structure is already changing. I've gotten at least an inch taller, and my face has been reshaping into a feline muzzle. My teeth are getting sharper, and I'm developing proper fangs. I also noticed a little while ago that my fingernails and toenails had receded into their respective digits, which sucks for two reasons - I can't paint fingernails I don't have, and they are sore as HELL when I put any amount of pressure on them. I have to be REALLY careful with how I type to not inflict agony on myself. I'm also feeling my tail growing in, and even if it hurts, it's euphoric as HELL. A tail was always the part I wanted most out of this.

It's weird, the skeletal changes weren't supposed to happen this early. I've been trying to reach Dr. Erian about it, but he's constantly busy, probably because of the sudden surge of people looking for Humanity Removal Therapy.

Other than that, I've been getting areas of white and black fur coming in - mostly on my arms and legs, but a little bit on my face and ears - ears that are gradually reshaping and migrating. Nothing to report on hearing sensitivity, but I think my night vision is getting better.

I did a little bit of looking around for anyone with similar pain experiences. I got my hopes up when I found a girl, Antonina, who had a painful experience with Cat HRT, but it turns out it's because she took the rumoured Fifteen Minute version. She described the pain as "like bathing in an active volcano".

It leaves me wondering whether I would have preferred a 15-minute lava bath over a months-long full-body headache.

I ended up reaching out to her anyway, just because I wanted to know what I was in for in the endgame and feline HRT is rarer than I thought it would be. Sounds like the prey drive is the real deal - she keeps feeling the urge to bite this one girl who's on mouse HRT.

We've been spending some time comparing notes and getting to know each other. It's nice to know someone else who's going through this thing, even if our experiences aren't exactly one-to-one.

I also talked to my mother for the first time in nearly a year. I went No Contact with her a while back because she was only getting more obnoxious and combative about me being trans, but I figured changing my species is a big enough deal that I should keep her in the loop.

Besides, my savings had nearly dried up and I needed to ask her for money.

It… did not go well. She hadn't heard of therian HRT before, and once I explained it, she started panicking about how I'm "mutilating my body" with "untested treatments". I think I also heard her cry something about how her "son" is "killing himself", which is just multiple layers of insensitive.

At least she sent me some money. Hopefully it'll be enough to last until my transformation stops being agonizing and I can go back to work, and then I can go right back to pretending my family doesn't exist.

At roughly the three-month mark, I have a check-in video call with Dr. Erian. From the moment his face appears on screen, though, I can tell something is wrong. He seems… older, somehow.

"Hello, Miss Alexis.", he offers. He sounds tired. Sorrowful, even.

"Hey, doc." I have to ask about it. "Everything okay? You seem a bit tired."

"Nothing to worry about Miss Alexis, just the ordinary stresses of daily life."

Liar. I know I'm not entitled to details of your personal life, much less your professional secrets, but I know when something is eating at someone.

"…Does the word 'crossroads' mean anything to you, Miss Alexis?"

Huh? That came a bit out of left field. "I've… heard some other therian HRT patients use the term, but I don't know much of the details. Something about a point of no return?"

"Something of the sort." He lowers his head and seems to go from sorrowful to downright grim. "There will come a time, Miss Alexis, when you will have to make a very important decision in your care, and I ask that you do so with great consideration for the consequences."

I recoil a little in my seat. "Yeah… Of course I will. Any decision I make, even reaching out to you in the first place, I don't take it lightly."

"Good… That's good." His demeanor shifts back to his stoic, clinical self. I don't know what just happened, but he went somewhere for a moment there.

"Now then, I did receive your messages, I apologize for not getting back to you. You mentioned you were experiencing persistent and debilitating whole-body soreness?"

"Yeah. I can't even leave the apartment most days, it hurts so much."

"Odd… You are taking the treatment as directed, yes?"

"Of course. One tablespoon a week, just like it says on the bottle."

I see his eyes twitch behind his glasses. Did I say something wrong?

"…Teaspoon."

I cock my head to the side. "Say again?"

"You mean one TEASPOON a week, yes?"

I feel my heart sink. The dark smear on the dosage information… I could have sworn it said '1 tbsp/week'.

"…Could you hold on a second please?" I mute the mic and call out to my partner to bring the bottle of tiger HRT over. When they do, I unmute and hold it up to the webcam. I hear Dr. Erian take a sharp intake of breath as he notices the obscured instructions.

I set the bottle aside and the two of us share an awkward silence.

"So…", I begin. "…How bad is it?"

"The good news", he offers slowly, "is that you have only been taking three times the prescribed dose. An increased dose imbalances the growth rate of the different parts of your body, hence your pain and persistent weakness, but it could have been much worse."

I think back to the so-called Fifteen Minute version, and Antonina's description of it - like bathing in an active volcano.

Dr. Erian continues. "Assuming you return to a CORRECT dose, your growth rates will gradually level out over the course of the next month or so. It is my medical opinion that you should maintain a low-activity lifestyle until then, but you will eventually be able to return to your typical activity level, and you will also find that the physical effects become more… consistent."

"That's… reassuring. Thank you, doctor." I pause. Something I noticed a little while ago has been weighing on my mind. "There's one thing, though - do the treatments have… I guess you'd call them restorative or regenerative effects? I've noticed some old wounds aren't there anymore."

The doctor clicks his pen and brings up his notepad. "Interesting. Do go on, Miss Alexis."

"Well… I used to get lower back pain from a car crash injury I got a little over a year ago, but I haven't noticed it at all lately. Pretty much the only part that DOESN'T hurt… There also used to be some marks on my arm from a cat biting me when I was little." I give a slight smile. "The cat's name was Tiger, go figure."

Dr. Erian is writing the whole time I'm talking. "Yes, that is to be expected. Minor persistent injuries will fade over time as your body re-forms itself to a new baseline, even severe chronic symptoms may fade. If there are no other concerns…"

"Just one… Most of the other therian HRT patients I've talked to have gotten their meds as pills, so what's with the potion bottle?"

Dr. Erian pauses, and adjusts his glasses nervously, as if he's been caught out on something he doesn't want to admit to. "Well… advances in the field are occurring rapidly, and you are one of the more recent patients, so a more… streamlined option was available to you. I took the liberty of choosing the most compatible option based on your medical records, and that bottle is it."

"Okay… But what's IN it?"

"The active ingredients are antihominidone, which is your humanity-blocker, and a specialized formula of felistrogen, infused with white tiger genetic material. The rest of the fluid is a suspension used to dilute the effects, without which you would be looking at a short, but excruciating and potentially lethal process."

The Fifteen Minute version, I think to myself. I'm taking diluted Fifteen Minute meds. There's no WAY this isn't experimental, and I'M the experiment. I despise saying it, but maybe my mother was right to worry.

"But I'm afraid I really do have to go, Miss Alexis, my next appointment is waiting."

"G-gotcha. See ya, doctor."

---

Special thanks to @paintedbytosia for letting me write her in, and shoutout to @megamoonerjenny for coming up with 'antihominidone'

[romanoffsbish]

Do I Know You?

Natasha Romanoff x Fem!R

Request: lil anon.

Natasha loved you, that much she knew, but the closer your binding nuptials came the more she felt a need to run. So, that’s exactly what she does, but when she returns a year later nothing was the same. You were made to forget her, and in turn your once blooming love that she’s desperate to reignite.

Warnings: Alluded to Violence/Brainwashing. Heartbreak. Feigned Amnesia. (Happy Ending)

Alluded to Smut | 18+ | Minors DNI

"Another one?" Natasha nodded with a wince, she could already feel a headache drawing on from the excess amount of liquor she's downed thus far, but she deemed it her underwhelming punishment for what she did to you today.

For breaking your heart, time and time again she chose the life of superhero over you, even when she didn't need to. It's not like you didn't understand the mission here or there, you too were an Avenger who understood that duty calls, a few missed dates caused little harm.

There's got to be a line drawn though, and you expected that she knew your wedding was one of those times, but she practically begged Fury to let her onto a mission, in front of your face like your feelings didn't matter; she refused to believe you when you said it was the last straw.

——

So, she very well placated you, lying with too much ease about turning it back down after all, and for a few short days it was back to bliss. Natasha held you so close, cherishing you because she knew she'd have to fight to get you back when she returned, but she needed time.

It all went swimmingly until you were standing alone at the altar, all your mutual friends were sat in shock at the sight of a gap where your blushing bride should've been, but wasn't. 

So now she's drowning her sorrows in a bottle of whiskey in some foreign country because she  likely ruined the one good thing she's ever had.

——

Natasha's foot tapped against the bottom of the Quinjet anxiously, it'd been a year since she left, every time she pleaded with Fury to stop extending the mission it's like he doubled it.

She had a plan: take the three months to fix herself while doing what she's best at, then come home and make it all right with you.

However plans never seem to work out in her favor, and she is drowning in self deprecating thoughts as she ponders if you've forgiven her.

Did you meet someone else? Are they taking up the right side of the bed in your shared room?

Natasha bit her lip at the painful thought.

Will she be able to undo the pain she caused? Can she convince you to forgive her just this additional time, and promise it'll be different?

She will beg down on her knees if she has to.

Will she be different? Or will she just pretend until she can't anymore, and fall back into running away whenever she began to feel like she couldn't possibly live without you.

She's never needed anyone before, it terrifies her to need you, but she can't fight it anymore.

No, that much she knew was over. Because in the year she was forced to be without you it became rather apparent that she was correct. Living without you was a miserable experience; not hearing your giggles in the middle of the night when you should both be sleeping, or to not have you tucked into her, safe and sound.

Natasha realized that everything she was running from was everything she ever wanted. Loving you wasn't a burdening thing like her past tried to convince her it was, she was not about to be tied down and have her will taken. No, she was just signing up for a life with you by her side, and she realizes now that she has to fix this because now she can't imagine her life any other way then with you as her wife.

As soon as the jet landed she was racing off to find you, and once she reached the kitchen her search was over. There you stood with a mug in hand talking to Wanda in your Stitch pajamas. Natasha moved on impulse, her body needed to feel yours, so she catapulted into you without a second thought on as to if she was allowed to.

"Y/N, I'm so sorry, please forgive me," she sobbed into your shirt, and you froze upon feeling her tears seep through to your chest.

"I'm sorry, but do I know you?" Natasha froze, entire body tensing as you spoke, because the tone you used was one of innocence, and not one full of malice or contempt. You were asking her an honest question, and it terrified her.

"I'm your fiancée?"

"Were," Wanda softly corrected with a glare fixated upon the absolute mess of a woman.

"I'm so confused..." you whispered, and the woman pulled away from your hold, the one you graciously allowed her to remain in with a deep frown, and eyes glistening with tears.

"You don't remember me?" Natasha shakily asked, her arms now wrapping around her body as she took tentative steps backwards.

"I know who you are," you admitted, "Just not how you're supposed to be important to me."

Natasha nodded, then before you could break her heart any further she was taking off to her old room so that she could be sick.

"Y/N?"

"Yes?"

"I thought all your memories came back?"

"They did," you replied with a saddened smile, "But I don't know if I want to remember her."

—

After crying herself into a restless nap Natasha woke up with a start, hand flying out to grasp you to pull you close but she was reminded for the umpteenth time that you weren't there.

Nothing made sense before without you, but after seeing you it makes even less sense, and in order to get answers Natasha jumped up and ran to Fury for them, and as she drove closer to Shields headquarters she fears her continued mission extensions were intermixed with why.

"Agent Romanoff, welcome home," the stoic man greets without even looking up, he didn't need to with the way she slammed his door into the wall without a shred of remorse.

"What happened to Y/N?"

"And here I thought you were here with completed mission reports, and detailed ones at that since I heard you sustained an injury."

"Stop giving me the fucking run around Nick."

"You broke her heart, and that trickled into a long winded year of saving the poor girl."

"From what?"

"Hydra."

Natasha's knees gave out, causing her body to fall into the mans couch with a tightness in her chest. "Nick, what are you saying? I-I don't understand, what happened? If she was in danger why didn't anyone tell me? Is this why my fucking mission was pointlessly extended?"

"I haven't the time to offer you explanations, I'm needed elsewhere, but to make a long story short—yes, we didn't need you in the way in a fit of remorseful hysteria as we found her," the man revealed as he dropped a huge file on the table then looked her straight in the eye, "Not to mention she told everyone before she was ever taken captive that if you were to ask about her no one was ever allowed to indulge you."

Fury left as soon as the words left him, and the redhead shakily reached for the thick files. Knots formed in the pit of her stomach the more she read, the papers were thorough, not a single bit of information was spared. Starting with your failed nuptials that led to you going on the honeymoon alone and being kidnapped.

Natasha left you in a vulnerable headspace, costing you six months of your life, she basically led Hydra right to you, and she felt sick to her stomach at the notion. Love isn't mean to cause pain, and yet that's all she's done to you; therefore your lost memories of her love was her burden to carry going forward.

——

It'd been a week since Natasha had been back, nobody would even spare her a glance, so she hid out on the unused floor of the compound. Until one morning when she was informed by Friday that the team had left the compound. Something about an impromptu mission that she was to sit out of due to her recent injury.

The same injury you heard about through the grapevine, and you honestly felt responsible. Had they let her come home on time she would have avoided her last forced sparring session. Then her torn calf wouldn't be on your conscience, and you wouldn't be watching the poor woman struggle to make her sandwich.

"Need some help?"

Natasha jumped, making the pain in her leg worse as it shot through her body and sent her tumbling backwards, but fortunately you were there to catch her, "Falling for me are we?"

Mentally you slapped yourself for saying that, her lip wobbled ever so slightly, most people would've missed it, but you never could. No matter what happened, you'd always be in tune with the woman who still held your heart captive after all this time and the heartbreak.

"I'm okay, thanks though," she politely declined, then with as much strength as she could muster she stood upright again, and shifted to face the counter to hide her tears.

"Natasha, I know what happened, Wanda told me," you told a partial truth, it was the witch that restored your memories months ago, but you wouldn't be letting Natasha know yet, if you were ever going to trust her again, she needed to prove to you she was really sorry.

"Oh," she whispered, the knife clattering on the counter drowning her voice out, "I'm sorry."

The tone of her voice wasn't something you'd grown used to, even after three years together she had yet to ever be this vulnerable with you.

"Hey, it's okay Nat, I'm sure you had a reason."

Natasha stilled when your hand settled on her lower back, she didn't deserve your sympathy.

"Y/N, please, you don't have to forgive me, if it wasn't for my cowardice you wouldn't be in the mess that you're in," Natasha shakily stated, her inability to reel her emotions in truly did shock you, and it was clear to you how broken up over the entire situation she is—as she should be, but it also pains you to see how she blames herself for what happened to you, even if the team agreed, you never once blamed her.

You've had a long time to think the whole situation over, and if you could go back in time you would, in a heartbeat. You'd have slowed down, caught on to her fight or flight response slowly building up and gave her the space she needed, hell you would've even postponed the wedding if she would have only asked. It was the secrets and blatant lying that did you in.

"That's the thing Natasha, I already did," you whispered as you pulled her in for a hug, one that you craved just as much as she did, but the desperation was only visualized from her end. Natasha clung to you like you were still her lifeline, because deep down you always will be.

"I'm sorry," you spoke, and she pulled away with a deep frown full of defiance, "No, you've got nothing to apologize for Y/N, not at all!"

"It's my fault you're hurt Natasha, they told me they wouldn't let you come home," your voice wavered with a concern she didn't expect,  but nonetheless she appreciated, "and now that you're back you've being unfairly isolated."

"Hey, hey," Natasha cupped your cheeks when she saw you losing hold of your composure, an all too familiar intimacy that you leaned into within an instant, making the redheads heart flicker with a bit of hope, "They had every right to keep me away, and to keep their distance. I didn't just steal Thor's poptarts krasivaya, I broke your heart, and that's worthy of all this."

You chuckled, "Thor does love his poptarts."

"Yeah, and the team, me included, love you."

An awkward silence fell over the both of you as you remained connected in a loose embrace. Only to be broken when Natasha gazed at your lips with a hunger you recognized as futile. Though you wanted to kiss her just as bad, you couldn't let her back in just yet, so you gently let her go, and nudged her out of your way.

"Sit, I'll make you a proper lunch."

Natasha went to refute your offer, but the way you looked at her made her back down, and at the sound of her relieved sigh as she settled on the stool you smiled in triumph. Natasha never let you take care of her like this before, most of the time she'd glare at you for even insinuating she wasn't capable of doing so; she'd cook eggs on the stove while bleeding out just to prove a point. Literally, once Bruce had to stitch her up as she passive-aggressively fixed dinner.

This wasn't much, but it was a start, and you were hopeful this wasn't a temporary thing. That her injury isn't the reason she's allowing you in like this, and that it's who she became while she was away. It made you think, that maybe, just maybe, there was still hope for you.

—

The mission the team went on ended up turning into quite the doozy. What was meant to be an overnight became a three month long undercover mission. So in that time you were left to either your solitude or Nat's company.

For the first month she herself kept a bit of distance between the two of you. After she was so close to pouncing on you in the kitchen she felt it was the best option. It wasn't fair for her to look at you like you belonged to her, when you didn't even know who she was anymore outside of the rumors, and the harsh truths.

It wasn't until you purposefully set your alarm for four in the morning so you could corner her in the kitchen that she was given no choice but to spend time with you. Neither of you said much, you gently nodded to the mugs on the counter and she graciously accepted the offer.

"Thank you," she hummed, her distinct rasp you'd grown to love in the mornings much smoother as the warm drink coated her throat.

"Don't thank me yet, you have yet to try my omelette," You watched in amusement as the redhead's eyes widened and her head instinctively shook in the negatory. "Um, I'm not hungry, but thank you, really it's kind."

You deadpanned, "Your stomach growled."

Natasha sighed in defeat, begrudgingly she accepted the extended plate, tentatively she cut off an edge, then she moaned at the flavor.

"No fucking way, Y/N, that's delicious!"

"You seem shocked," you gasped with a hand on your chest in feigned offense.

"It's just, my Y/N couldn't even crack an egg."

It's true, Natasha used to do all the cooking after she rescued you from Hydra the first time, but in her absence you had to learn.

"Well consider me the superior Y/N then."

You watched regretfully as your words struck the redhead far deeper than you'd intended.

"Natasha, I—," she cut you off with a warm, albeit hurt smile, "I'm actually in a rush, I have physical therapy today, I'll catch you later."

As the redhead ran away, again, you found your heart was aching at the distance you just reaffirmed with your careless attempt to joke. It wasn't a lie, ever since your failed attempt to wed you were forced to become a more well rounded person, but that didn't need to be a new point of guilt for the redhead to bare.

You finished off her omelette, then retreated back to your room, you'd try again tomorrow.

—

The following day you saw Natasha on the couch, her injured leg was on an ottoman, while the other was curled beneath her as she read a book: Girl in Pieces, it was one you got her for her birthday when she mentioned she needed more to read, it was also your not so subtle way of trying to get her to see your pain.

It warmed your heart to see her actually read it, but really what caught your eye was the hoodie she wore as she flipped the pages. The light grey that swallowed the petite woman was one of yours, it was rather new actually, and even if you were meant to be upset that she stole from a Y/N who didn't know her, you just weren't.

Knowing that on some level she still needed you kept that burning hope that never died alive. Natasha always looked beautiful wearing your clothes, whether it be your hoodie with sweats or an oversized tee paired with her lacy panties. There was nothing she couldn't pull off, but in most scenarios you did, discarding the fabrics on your bedroom floor to feel her.

It was easy to admire her really, the way the sun filled the nearly empty room and reflected off of her was nothing short of angelic. She wore a pensive expression, brows furrowed with lips pursed, and eyes focused as if the words were inspiring her to think critically.

"So, why is it you're not on the mission?"

Natasha giggled when you jumped, of course she knew you were there, she slipped her bookmark between the crisp pages, then gave all of her attention to you with a soft smile.

"Um, I am not exactly cleared to go out yet," you quietly replied as you sat on the couch across from hers, "Not since I got powers."

Natasha's face fell when your hand raised to show the materialization of blue sparks, you were never supposed to be in this situation. Natasha remembers the day she saved you from the fate you eventually still endured.

You'd been so scared when she stumbled upon you in a high tech cage with glass for walls. Hydra had only had you for a few weeks, it was enough time to start their trials, but they only succeeded in altering your physical strength. Now though, they'd given you the powers you never wanted, and now she wanted to cry.

"Oh Y/N," she couldn't bare to see you like this, knowing it was her fault only made it worse. The guilt swimming behind her eyes made you frown just the same, "It's not your fault Nat."

"It kinda is," she replies instantly, "If I wasn't a coward, had I not ran, you would've never been alone for them to take. We'd be truly happy, but more importantly you would be safe."

"Why did you?" Natasha's frown only deepened as you asked the looming question, "Why run?"

"I-It wasn't exactly a choice," she starts, her hands reflexively clenched, before she tightly clasped them together, "It was fight or flight."

The vague answer she gave honestly upset you, you know she was scared, but for her to have such a fearful biological response to you hurt.

"What did I do wrong?"

Natasha shook her head, her brimming tears falling as she did, "Nothing, you were perfect."

"I don't understand."

Natasha's knuckles cracked as she reflexively tightened her grasp, the idea of being this honest scared her, but you also deserved to know, even if you weren't truly you anymore.

"I'm not a good person Y/N," now it was your turn to clench your fists, this undeserved self loathing mantra of hers always infuriated you.

"That's simply not true Natasha, we've all made choices we weren't proud of, I know you're not a bad person, my heart knows that much."

"I broke that heart, it should despise me."

"Well it doesn't, so stop willing it to."

"Why?" her voice cracked, she looked unsure of what she was asking, but she asked anyway.

"I'm destined to love you, I don't have it in me to hate you Natasha, trust me, I already tried."

A wave of clarity washed over her, there was a storm behind her green eyes, and the way you could see her heart breaking devastated you.

"Natasha—"

"I can't believe you lied to me like this..."

Even with an injured leg she was still able to evade your grasp, and escape on the elevator.

"You left me at the altar, but I'm the bad guy?" You huffed to yourself like a petulant child, and  stormed off to your room via the many stairs.

—

A loud knock on your door woke you up, you groaned, all you wanted to do after earlier's fight was sleep the rest of the day away, but it appears the redhead wasn't done berating you.

With a scowl to rival her expected one you opened the door, but all you found was a box with your name on it signed from Natasha.

"I hope you find it in your heart to forgive me for earlier's blow out, you've got every right not to, but I hope you do understand I felt blindsided. If you don't, I hold no grudges, and I promise I will leave the compound as soon as possible so you can be comfortable. But if you do, please meet me in the training room at 8."

With the note read you untied the ribbon, then you opened the box to find a customized suit, it was primarily black, but there were these gorgeous waves of varying shades of blue going down the sides of the breathable latex material.

A soft smile graced your face as you ran your hands over the piece, it made you feel special, but more importantly it gave you a feeling of belonging again. For months now they've been too afraid to utilize you in combat, they were worried about the unknown capabilities of course, but you also knew they just didn't want to put you in danger, but that wasn't exactly their choice to keep making. Nat understood.

After less than a minute deliberating you were slipping into the suit you know she spent the last few hours making in Tony's lab for you. Then you made your way down to the gym just in time to find her perching herself atop of a miniature board in a carnival-esque dunk tank.

"Natasha, what is all of this?"

"Well, I see that you are either hesitant to use your powers, or the team is benching you, and in either scenario I want to help you undo it."

"You're injured, are you sure this is safe?"

Natasha rolled her eyes, "Y/N, it is a tiny pool of water, what could you possibly do to me?"

"I could drown you."

"Don't threaten me with a good time," she winked and smirked at you in that dopey way that usually has you crumbling to your knees.

Now it was you rolling your eyes, "Romanoff, what am I even expected to do with this?"

"Whatever your heart desires Y/N: use the water beneath me to pull me in, freeze the water as it exits your hands and throw the ice blocks at the target, or use a water stream."

All was going well, before you began to dunk Natasha in the tank you focused more on your breathing, and the overall serenity one needs to feel to remain under control. Once you felt at peace, something you knew deep down came when Natasha smiled at you, and encouraged you with praises, you began to formulate tiny balls of water, then you upped the ante and focused on chilling them until you had ice.

However, after you dunked her for the tenth time you could see something was wrong, she stayed under the water longer than normal, and judging by the influx of bubbles you knew she was screaming in pain. Something she felt she needed to keep from you as she rose out of the water with a tight lipped smile as she reset the seat and clambered back on with a struggle.

“Timeout,” you shouted while running over to the redhead who was failing to hide her pain, which meant it was likely a drastic feeling.

"Oh come on Y/N, we were just getting warmed up," the redhead frowned, "Or cooled down?"

“Nat, I saw you screaming in pain,” you admit, but she shrugged, “What is life if not painful?”

“I’m fine,” she tried again, but the truth was she was the furthest thing from it, but she didn’t want to present as incapable, or or weak, and she just didn’t want to let you down again.

"Natasha, please just be honest with me," you sighed, hand falling over hers as it sits over her calf, "If we're going to fix us, you have to be."

Natasha met your worried gaze with a tearful one of her very own, "W-we can fix this?"

It shocked you to see her so unsure, telling you that she was helping you without expectations. Letting you train with her because she knew you better than anyone else, and she knew you were scared of what you have become. It was endearing, and reminded you of the Natasha that you fell in love with all those years ago.

"It won't be the way it was overnight Natasha, but if you're here, as in no more running when scared, and you're honest, we can get us back."

"Okay," she timidly whispered with a nod, followed up by a shaky exhale, "The therapist said I need surgery, but I'm terrified Y/N/N."

"Oh love," you lifted her hand up to your lips to deposit a gentle kiss, "I am so sorry it's not getting better on its own, I know you hate the hospital, and being put under even more so."

"I can't do it, I don't want to—I won't."

You gently lifted her off the platform of the dunk tank so you could hold her in your arms, "Yes you will baby, because you are one of the strongest people I've ever known, and if it'll help you, I'll be right there the whole time."

"Really?" her hands gripped you over the suit in an attempt to garner a semblance of reason, and you smiled at the way she used you to ground herself like this, "Of course, you're not ever going to be alone if you don't want to be."

"Never again," she whispered the promise, "This is where I want to be for the rest of time."

"Funny," you smirked down at her, your right hand cupped her cheek, "I was thinking the same thing," you pulled her in for a kiss, her parted lips swallowed your sudden giggle as she eagerly moved to deepen the reunion kiss.

"However, the bed might be more comfortable, what do you think?" Natasha whimpered hotly as you bit into her lower lip, "Please detka..."

—

“I told you it’d work,” Tony boasts, and the little witch rolls her eyes while filling her duffle bag up with a discernible quickness, “No, you said ‘why does it matter’ and ‘this isn’t my problem’ when Clint and I suggested this.”

“Well, initially, yeah, but I changed my tune.”

“Yeah, like five minutes ago when Natasha fell into the water with a cry and Y/N ran to her,” Steve bemoaned while starting up the jet so they could ‘return a month and a half early because they were just so incredibly efficient.’

———

4,572 Words

[skyloftian-nutcase]

@skyward-floored Congratulations on your follower milestone! Your writing is incredible, you’re full of ideas, and you’re fun to be around! Please enjoy Power and Warriors in a sickfic :)

.

Link stared across the field, speckled in snow as it was, shivering a little. The cold settled through his skin, into his heart and his bones.

It was over.

Such a victory should bring some sort of cheer, he supposed. But all he felt was frozen over, dread and emptiness taking root and pushing away any cheer like ice spreading within a container, cracking it.

He could hear the cheers of troops in the distance. Cia was defeated, and that was the end of it. Although Link had entered this war later than the other heroes, he still felt as if he should probably be cheering alongside them.

Well… the last time a war had ended things hadn’t gone great. Perhaps this was just leftover from that.

Nevertheless, despite his own feelings, he knew someone else who truly ought to celebrate. Yet he saw the captain shivering in the distance, scarf pulled tightly around him.

Perhaps it was because the others had already left. The war had technically ended a week ago. They’d all said their goodbyes. Yet Link chose to linger - he’d fretted, worried, and hated himself over leaving Zelda while she was in labor, but he’d had to investigate the threat while she was vulnerable. After speaking with Lana, and being assured that she could return him roughly around the time he’d left, that had eased his worries a great deal, though not entirely. With that knowledge, then, he found himself… delaying the inevitable. So while Mask and Tune had already returned to their own teams after a fairly tearful farewell, Link remained.

Which meant he saw the aftermath of their departure.

Swallowing, Link moved towards the small figure in the distance, boots crunching through the thin layer of snow that froze the grass beneath it. He knew the captain would be sad when the younger heroes left, given they were like brothers to him, yet he still wondered what else could be bothering his friend. The pair had left two days ago, and Hyrule was still celebrating its victory, and the captain had his friends and his mother there to be happy with him.

Should Link get General Impa? He himself was hardly suitable company for helping people emotionally. He tried time and again to be helpful to the captain, but he sometimes wondered if it really made a difference.

“Link?” He called when he got close enough.

The captain shivered a little and jerked, looking at him, startled. His cheeks were rosy in the cold, and he sniffled a little, smiling. “I half wondered if you would just leave without telling anyone. But what are you doing out here?”

Wow. He really thought Link would just disappear like that? Link knew he’d been secretive about nearly everything of his own journey, but he didn’t think he was that distant. Pushing that thought aside, Link tossed his question back at him. “What are you doing out here?”

The captain’s gaze drifted to the snow. “I just needed a minute. But now I, uh… I don’ t know.”

He sniffled again, but Link saw no tears. Taking a small step towards him, he asked, “Are you feeling okay?”

“Ye—ACHOO!”

Both heroes jumped at the magnitude of the sneeze, and Link let out a breathy chuckle. He could handle a sickness. “Come on. Let’s get you back to camp.”

The other hero sighed heavily, sounding very obviously congested, and rose from the stump where he’d plopped down.

“I… I know you need time alone,” Link said carefully. “But it isn’t wise to be sitting out in the cold like this if you’re already sick.”

“Oh, believe me, I’ll hear all about how wrong this was when I get back to camp,” the captain huffed, exasperated but in good humor. Then he groaned, rubbing his head. “I could do without the headache, though.”

Link bit his cheek, glancing at the other teenager. When the captain could sense his scrutiny, he prompted, “What is it?”

A little sheepishly, Link chuckled and admitted, “Well, with you being half dragon and all, I expected more fire with that sneeze.”

The captain rolled his eyes. “It would hardly be a surprise to me that I’m half dragon if I breathe fire every time I sneeze, you know.”

“But it would be funny,” Link quipped, though he still had no idea how such a parentage physically worked. He’d only heard of this Volga… person? Creature? He’d heard that he’d been controlled by Cia and his friend had fought him as a result, but he’d never seen the dragon for himself. At least with the dark sorceress gone, the captains’ father would be… free now?

It still didn’t really make sense. Link’s own experiences with dragons hardly made him think they were sentient, and even if they were…

He certainly hoped Ganondorf hadn’t been mind controlling them. That felt far too much like murder, considering he’d killed the two that had beset Hyrule’s army and villages.

The two arrived back at camp just as the celebrations seemed to be dying down. They were nearly back to Castle Town, the point at which Link had told himself he’d finally leave this land. The captain groaned again, pausing and squeezing his eyes closed.

“What’s wrong?” Link asked, hovering over him worriedly.

“Nothing,” the hero mumbled. “Just need a minute.”

“You know, it hardly counts as lying when it’s so obvious,” Link grumbled. “You’re basically insulting my intelligence. Tell me what’s wrong.”

The captain sighed heavily, glancing at him. “It’s just this sickness. I’ve been nauseous on and off all day. It’s partly why I left camp. That, and just…”

The other two, Link supplied mentally.

“Come on,” Link said gently, guiding him towards his tent. His eyes caught sight of movement up ahead in the shadows, and it became obvious they were being watched.

Impa.

“Let’s get you to bed,” Link continued quietly, eyes never leaving the general’s. The two had come to an understanding after she’d given her reasons for handing her son off to a Hylian family. Having sacrificed his own relationships for the safety and betterment of others, Link had related a little too hard to her plight.

But still… he didn’t know. Would it truly have been so awful if she’d simply… stepped down? Or was she absolutely necessary in her role? Would her son have benefited more from being raised by her?

Link didn’t know. He’d never met a parental figure who hadn’t lied to him, mistreated him, or not trusted him. At this point he was half convinced good parents didn’t even exist.

Still, she did genuinely care about her son, and so Link motioned invitingly with his head to get her to follow them.

When they entered his tent, Link helped his friend sit on the cot, making some warm tea while the captain took off his shoes and armor and laid beneath the blankets. He heard the tent’s entrance rustle once more, and General Impa was there a moment later.

The captain stiffened, uneasy, though it was clear the general’s presence wasn’t unwelcome. Instead, he asked, “Is something wrong?”

“You’re sick,” General Impa noted, face and voice softening.

The captain sighed. Link handed the tea to both his guests, debating if he should leave. Impa motioned for him to sit as well, though, catching him off guard, and he plopped on the ground.

“Do you need food?” She asked, eyes scanning her son.

“I’m not hungry,” the captain replied. “Too nauseous.”

“Water, then, along with this tea,” she noted, voice heavy with an order.

“The tea has ginger in it, so that should help your stomach,” Link added helpfully.

General Impa glanced at him, lips pulling into a small, grateful smile. The captain, however, still had his eyes on his mother, gaze searching for something, seeming to bask in the attention but also not know how to handle it.

Link rose. He could gather supplies and help that way, but with the captain’s heavy heart and stomach, a mother’s touch seemed far better suited to this matter. He smiled. “I’ll get some broth and water for you. And don’t argue, captain - there’s no one to play to here. You can just let others help you.”

No need to be the older brother anymore.

It seemed bittersweet, maybe even mean to point that out, but it was simply true. And it wasn’t just because the two children were gone - the war was over. He didn’t have to be strong for anyone anymore. Certainly not in this moment.

The captain wilted, but General Impa put a hand on his shoulder, saying something soft to him, and, with as miserable as he felt, he finally gave in, leaning against her. Link felt some warmth bubble in his chest, pushing away the icy emptiness that had been gnawing at him.

The war was over. He hoped this time it would be a good thing for the Hero it had forged.

Heading outside, he moved to gather some more items to help his friend, ignoring how the scar on his cheek suddenly stung and leaked a hint of blood, ignoring the darkening of the sky, the whisper on the wind.

[emphasis-on-the-oopsie]

Embroidery of @herosplatling-replica's Intern wearing a sweater and surrounded by flowers (red rose, purple lilacs, and flax flowers) for artfight!

This took me 3 weeks (though I had a bit of a hiatus in between trying to make the design and the actual embroidery and another one day hiatus due to flooding, so I only actively worked on it for 11 days), 12 thread colors, and all of my sanity </3

Process under the cut and in progress pictures will be in a reblog :]

I started making different drafts of the design on July 13, though I already had plans for it earlier. I always liked embroidering flowers, and using chain stitches for sweaters was something that was in my mind for a while, so I got the idea of Inny in a sweater surrounded by flowers! I actually asked Jenn what an Inny sweater would look like + what flowers she associated with them trying to be Sneaky.

An old theme idea I had was 'gifts,' because I wanted the sweater to be similar to the one Inny receives from their future mom-in-law and for them to be holding two bouquets from their partners! Unfortunately I couldn't figure out how to find a good pose with inny holding two bouquets so i had to settle on this </3

I didn't work on it for a while since I worked on another embroidery attack and I had to wait for the thread to be delivered, so I continued on July 23. I settled on a design, drew it inside a 5 by 5 in box because I didn't want the design to be too big, polished and lined the sketch, and drew it on the fabric using carbon paper and blue ballpen for details I missed.

July 25 onwards, I worked on it whenever I had the free time and energy to do so. I worked on it even when I was incredibly sleep deprived and had a headache </3 (don't do this it will make you mess up more AND more likely to make you hate embroidery when you work until 2 am). I shared progress pictures to my friends (shout out to wally and mochii for watching me go insane).

The stitches I used were: back stitch (outlines and the heart shape), chain stitch (for the sweater), woven rose stitch (roses obviously), lazy daisy stitch (purple lilac), and satin stitch (everything else). Most of the thread colors I ordered online, with some of it coming from my stash (fun fact i actually ordered a different color for the sweater, but i ended up not liking it cause it didnt contrast well with the colors of Inny's monitor. I found the light purple and pink from my stash and decided to use both, and im very happy with the end result.)

I finished it on August 1 at around 11 pm, where I was both happy that it was done and absolutely EXHAUSTED. I lost my sanity throughout the process. I needed to hype myself up so I could get it done

I woke up at 7 am on August 2 to take better pictures of it with natural light cause my room lighting did NOT do the project justice. Glad to say it made it look even cuter

Ummmmm I don't know how to end this post, but as a bonus for anyone who reads to the end of this post have an alternate picture of this project <3

That's all, and thank you for reading!

[pocket-lad]

CH 1- Origin: Mystery Shack, Gravity Falls, Oregon (Gravity Falls g/t)

In which a borrower forms an unlikely alliance with Ford Pines.

~~~

Everything was fine until the new guy showed up.

Life wasn’t necessarily cozy beforehand - she still had to keep an eye out for the nosy humans that milled about (especially the boy) - but this guy took nosy to a whole new level.

One day, everything was normal. The next, gravity just stopped working in short bursts. The next, there was a new, mysterious man in her home that snooped around, studied the supernatural, and shared a face with the man that already lived here. Quinn’s life was certifiably weird.

Weird enough that one night, she found herself atop this guy’s journal, reading his musings. It was a bad idea. Quinn knew that well before she even climbed up the table. But she always had this yearning deep inside her, this need to know more. The town they lived in was full of strange, magical beings, and she wanted to know all about it. Maybe she’d finally find out where she came from or why she was so different. And it wasn’t fair that humans got to have all the answers, just because they were bigger. So a few moments of reading wouldn’t hurt.

At least, that’s what she thought. The more Quinn read, the more her mind strained, which gave her a massive headache. According to this guy, he came out of an interdimensional portal that he was stuck in for thirty years because his twin brother Stanley (the old man whose walls Quinn lived in) wanted to bring him back after accidentally pushing him in. There were mentions of a memory ray, the U.S. government, dimensional rifts…Oh boy.

The page ended with:

First, I must focus on the present and on the problems created by a man who is responsible for my latest twist of fate…

And that was it. That was all Quinn would get to read for now. She likely wouldn’t be able to turn the heavy page, and even if she could, the racket would definitely wake the sleeping human nearby.

Speaking of, the room was suspiciously quiet, outside the ever-present buzz of machinery. The man’s faint snoring had stopped while she was lost in the book.

As the reality of the situation set in, Quinn turned around just in time to be knocked off her feet by a solid wall longer than she was tall. It slammed into her with the force of a semi-truck, squeezed her tight, and swept her into the air. She then found herself freefalling, and at last collided with the ground.

Quinn thought she had a headache before, but the impact with the wall and the hard ground combined with the dizzying speed with which she was yanked around made it infinitely worse.

She blinked open her eyes, wondering what could possibly have happened. And the sight was so horrific that she retched, on the verge of throwing up. She was caught. She was caught by the human and was thrown into a jar and he had her right where he wanted her.

He studied her with squinted eyes, scanning her whole body up and down and up and down. He hummed to himself, then wrote some notes in his journal. The process repeated.

Quinn had to force herself to breathe. In and out. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from him. His face was so big, his demeanor so intense, his attitude so…detached. In and out. But all knowledge of how to breathe fell out the window when he addressed her.

“What are you? Can you speak?”

His voice echoed inside the jar, bouncing around and assaulting her ears. She cried out, covering them.

The man’s eyes widened. “Fascinating.” He wrote something down in the journal.

“Wh-What are you writing?” Quinn asked hesitantly. He couldn’t document her there. Nobody was supposed to know about her. She learned that lesson the hard way a long time ago.

The man’s head snapped back toward her at full attention. He looked at her expectantly, but Quinn didn’t know what he wanted her to do. “Say something else,” he prompted, his pen at the ready. So he heard her, he just didn’t listen to her.

“What are you writing?” she repeated, louder.

“Yes, yes, you said that already. Say something different.”

Oh, so he didn’t actually care what she had to say, too tickled by the notion that she could even speak at all. She could say anything in the world and it would have no impact. She watched as he thoughtfully tapped his pen to his chin. And that’s when she noticed perhaps the strangest thing she’d ever seen. “You have six fingers!” she blurted.

This seemed to delight the man, and yet again he wrote something down. “Observational skills…” he muttered under his breath.

Six fingers. As if she wasn’t already scared of a normal human hand. This one had one more digit just to knock her over with, to hold her captive, to obscure her from the world. “It’s like you were specifically designed to terrify me,” she laughed wryly.

“Tell me,” he said, ignoring her, “Were you a human that was shrunk? Did you find the crystals in the forest? Or are you some kind of wingless fairy?”

“What the heck is a fairy?”

“Hmmm.” With that, the man grabbed the jar with both hands, casting Quinn in a dark shadow. She eyed each of the twelve fingers coiling nearly all the way around the jar, the only barrier between her and the fingers, the only thing stopping the fingers from closing in. He picked it up and set it on a high shelf, then left the room.

“Wait! Wait, you can’t leave me in here! WAIT!” she cried. Once the rumbling footsteps faded, Quinn collapsed to a seat, defeated. So this was her life now. Some experiment of a mad scientist in a musky, old basement. Would he study her and poke and prod her all day? Would he take her through an ‘interdimensional portal’? Or would he forget about her and leave her here to die, distracted by some newer, more exciting creature? Whatever the case, it was completely out of her hands. Her life belonged to a crazy giant.

BANG !

The loud noise startled Quinn out of her pity party. Next to her, a large, green, slimy being with tentacles had thrown itself into the walls of its own jar. It had one menacing eye that told her all she needed to know. It wanted to eat her.

Quinn instinctively retreated to the other side of her prison, as far away from the monstrosity as she physically could. It seemed contained, but if it broke the glass, she was done for.

She sighed, watching it repeatedly ram into the walls. It was another one of the man’s specimens, just like her. She wondered if it had once been a normal, peaceful creature, but its time in the jar drove it mad. It was probably starving. She couldn’t say she blamed it.

Quinn looked around. She was done moping. She needed to work on an active solution. And she might have just found something that could work.

The lid of the jar was closed tight, but the man at least cared enough to use a lid with holes in it so that she could breathe. They were tiny, tiny holes, but there was only one way to find out if she could squeeze through them.

Quinn easily pulled out her hook, caught it on one of the holes, and climbed to the top. Just as she thought, the holes were indeed too small. She could fit her arm through, she could fit a leg through, but nothing would get her fat head through.

But she climbed all the way up here. She wasn’t going to let this man make her into some plaything. With all her might, Quinn shoved at the hole, trying to loosen the lid from the inside. Needing more leverage, she squeezed her climbing thread with her legs, balancing precariously as she used both hands to push.

The ground shook. Footsteps sounded in the distance, getting closer and closer with each second.

Come on! Push!

Quinn made the mistake of looking to see who it was. She locked eyes with the man. He had returned, and she was caught trying to escape.

“Holy molasses!”

The frighteningly loud exclamation startled Quinn right off her thread, and she fell to the bottom of the jar, letting out an unintentional exclamation. She shakily pushed herself to her feet and backed up, hands raised as if she could legitimately fight off the giant.

But when she really looked at him, she faltered, her balled fists dropping a hair. This wasn’t the man. It was his brother, Stan. And it was worth a shot.

“Please,” Quinn said, running to the side of the jar closest to him. “Please, you’ve gotta get me out of here. That man put me in here, and I can’t-”

“Woah, Ford put you in there? Yeah, I’m not surprised. What are you, some kind of fairy?”

“What? No, I’m not - I’m scared there’s not much time. Please!” By now, Quinn really wanted to know what a ‘fairy’ was, but there was a larger issue at hand.

Stan looked hesitant. “I don’t know…Who’s to say you’re not some supernatural being that’ll kill me as soon as I let you out?”

Quinn was baffled. “Look at me!” she cried. Her eyes started to well up, and she could feel the tears about to spill over any minute now. She sniffled.

Stan suddenly looked very uncomfortable, like he wanted to be anywhere but here. “Oh - oh, gross, it’s crying. Uh…If I let you out, will you stop doing that?” But he was already moving toward the jar. He slowly unscrewed the lid, set it to the side, and plucked the little creature out by its leg.

Quinn yelped as two massive fingers pinched her foot, hoisting her into the air. She dangled in front of his face, trying to catch her bearings while fighting the fingers that held her captive.

“Haha, you are small! Say, kid, you want a job?”

“Huh???” It was hard to think with the blood pooling in her brain.

“Yeah, yeah, come to the Mystery Shack to see the world’s smallest person!” His eyes lit up as he saw it all play out before him. Crowds, money, fame, more money…

If Quinn heard that right, it sounded like she would be put on display for all the world to see like those other strange things scattered throughout his weird mystery museum. That was not going to happen.

“Stanley! Put that down!”

Uh oh. The man was back. Ford, Stan had called him.

“C’mon? This thing? It’s harmless!” He gave Quinn’s leg a little shake for emphasis, and she grasped her stomach to keep from throwing up.

“You don’t know that!” Ford came rushing at them, and Quinn flinched away as best she could. She now dangled by the leg between two giants who were very close to an argument. Claustrophobia crept up on her.

Stan lifted her up further and held her out to Ford as if to show how non-threatening she was, and it felt like her ankle ripped out of its socket from the quick movement.

Now out in the open air, Ford took the opportunity to snatch her out of Stan’s hands. Quinn groaned, then remembered she was supposed to be fighting back. But once again, she was unceremoniously dropped back in the jar. Back to square one. This time though, she had two giants peering in at her, both wearing the same face. It was eerie.

Before Ford could screw the lid back on, she held up her hands placatingly. They shook so hard she was sure the humans could see it.

“Wait! Okay, hear me out. You’re curious about me. I get that. But I’m curious about me too. I - I don’t know why I’m smaller than every other person in the world, but I want to find out, and I could really use your help. I just - please don’t put me away in a jar. Please.”

Ford hummed again, deep in thought. Quinn’s fate was up to him. This one decision.

“Alright,” he shrugged. He turned the jar upside down and Quinn came tumbling out, head over heels, onto the desk. She took a moment to catch her breath. Her plan worked, but she didn’t feel much better.

***

Quinn’s time with Ford was rough, to say the least. He had no qualms about poking and prodding her. The only real advantages she gained from her negotiation were regular access to food (which she had to remind Ford of, as he was often blind to the passage of time) and freedom to move around. At least, to an extent.

Quinn was suddenly yanked back from her position on Ford’s desk, all six of his fingers closed tight around her, and she was deposited in the center, right under his nose.

“Don’t wander too far. I’ll need you,” Ford said, but his eyes didn’t leave the journal. He had this uncanny ability to never let Quinn out of his sight without even looking at her. He always had her right where he wanted her, and she’d hardly gotten a moment of privacy since the day he caught her.

Quinn threw her arms in the air, exasperated. It wasn’t like she would’ve gotten far. If Ford needed her, he could just say, “Hey Quinn, I need you,” and she could use her own two legs to walk the negligible distance. But he still never bothered to ask her name and he just grabbed her whenever he pleased. He didn’t see her as a person. It was humiliating.

Quinn thought about standing up to him, or even just asking him politely not to do any of the things on the laundry list of annoying things he did. While Ford seemed to have no ill intent and he never purposefully harmed her, she felt how strong he was in the way he handled her. The thick muscles flexing beneath the skin. It wasn’t uncommon for him to squeeze a little too tight, to push a little too hard. And so any time she thought about speaking up, images of what could happen flashed through her mind, and the words died in her throat.

Lost in thought, Quinn didn’t notice the intruding fingers until they touched her. They held some kind of wire and wedged themselves under her arms to wrap that wire around her middle. Even then, Quinn could feel the force with which her arms were shoved upward. It wouldn’t take much more effort to snap them off completely. This was why Quinn didn’t speak up.

But she did want to know why wires were being wrapped around her. She jumped when the cold casings touched her skin. She jumped again when a loud, rhythmic beeping started up behind and above her. It picked up pace, and she soon realized that it echoed in time with her heartbeat.

“Your heart’s going a mile a minute!”

At the sound of Ford’s booming voice, the speed of the beeping increased even more. More still when they made eye contact.

A realization struck him. “Oh, I see. There’s no need to fear. You’ll be fine,” he said matter-of-factly. On the word ‘fine’, the beeping got faster.

Ford frowned and hummed to himself. (That annoying hum. The one that showcased to the world that he was thinking. And he was never not thinking.) With much slower, restrained movements, he reached toward her. Quinn had been willing him to move slower ever since they met. Everything humans did always seemed to happen at a blinding speed, and for once, she wished they would just slow down. But now that he did, Quinn hated it. Sure, she also hated the whiplash from being whisked around at human speed, but as she sat there, feeling the seconds drag on, dread blossomed in her chest. It grew with each passing moment. Each moment was a moment closer to getting grabbed - each moment the hands grew and grew and grew as they got closer and closer and closer, towering over her, casting her in their shadow - and she found herself wanting him to get it over with already.

Quinn backed up, confusion and fear duking it out in her head. She was vaguely aware of the ever-accelerating beeping.

Ford snagged one of the wires wrapped around her chest, stopping her in her tracks and holding her in place. Quinn let out a shaky breath and watched as he carefully undid the contraption. His hands were so big that they blocked her whole field of view. All she could see was a mess of fingers working in front of her, jostling her this way and that, until they pulled away and let the wires fall to the surface of the desk.

“I can assure you that I am careful, precise, and intentional. These experiments will help me get a baseline understanding of what you are and how your body and brain function. I didn’t intend to scare you.”

He didn’t intend to scare her? He could’ve fooled Quinn.

Regardless, when she didn’t respond, he returned to his journal. After an awkward pause, he said, “You may go.”

That was it.

“I may go? You haven’t told me anything about what’s going on!”

Ford looked up, mildly surprised by the long sentence and the angry tone within it. He hadn’t seen anything like this from her yet. “There’s nothing to tell,” he said, disappointed. The slow pace with which new discoveries arose was disappointing.

“Yeah, but you grab me, you wrap me in wires, you take measurements, and I don’t even know what they’re for. You write little notes in your journal about me but don’t tell me what they say. I mean, I’m a person! You know I’m a person, right?”

“Of course you’re a person. The real question is whether or not you are human. My knee jerk reaction is to say no. But a person? I have no doubt-”

“Well I don’t feel like one when you’re around.”

Silence filled the air and Quinn wondered if she’d gone too far. She tried to read his face, but it was blank, as per usual. And somehow that was even more terrifying than anger.

Suddenly, Ford pushed his journal along the desk toward her. Quinn backed up in surprise, but the journal stopped a couple relative inches away from her feet. She glanced up at Ford again, who nodded at the book. He wanted her…to read it?

Tentatively, she climbed on top and took in the words on the page, as well as a drawing of her with measurements written alongside it. It looked exactly like her. It was no different than the other illustrations in the journal, she was just another strange anomaly of Gravity Falls. The notion left an uneasy feeling in her stomach, but she was too curious not to read what he thought about her.

The girl appears human in all regards except for size. Is this enough to categorize her as a separate species entirely? She insists that she did not meddle with the height-altering crystals hidden deep within the forest, but further testing is required. Could it be genetic? A curse passed on through the generations?

“Quinn,” Quinn said.

“Pardon?”

“My name is Quinn. Not, ‘the girl’.”

“Ah, yes, where are my manners? Stanford Pines.”

Quinn couldn’t help but laugh. It had already been a number of days spent together, but she wasn’t so sure Ford knew that. He hardly left the basement. In any case, it was more than enough time to learn his name. And it should have been more than enough time for him to learn hers. If he wasn’t over one hundred feet tall and holding her captive, this behavior would almost be endearing. Almost. “I know.”

“Well, Quinn, feel free to add any contributions you deem necessary. There’s scrap paper everywhere. Please try and write as large as possible.” Ford pushed himself to his feet and began gathering equipment.

“Where are you going?” Quinn asked.

“To collect a sample of crystal.”

“I want to come with you.”

Ford laughed. “No, no, it’s too dangerous for me. It’s much too dangerous for someone your size.” With that said, he left.

Quinn didn’t waste too much time sulking. Ford hardly listened to her to begin with, so there was almost no chance he would take her with him. It was for the best, though. That would be putting a lot of trust in a man who forgot to feed himself on more than one occasion.

So, instead, she busied herself with the journal. A particular passage stuck out to her.

She is very reactive to my every move. I would describe the behavior as anxious and fidgety, not so different from Dipper’s default state of being. Perhaps over time, I can gain her trust and she will calm down.

Yikes. Part of her was angry at the fact that he acknowledged her anxious behavior and still chose to act the way he did, but a larger part of her was just embarrassed. Next time, she’d insist on going outside with him. To show him that she wasn’t just some small, skittish animal. She could be a helpful resource. And to prove this, she filled in a spot in the journal, writing as large as possible but still falling short of the man’s big, curvy lettering.

Origin: ??? Mystery Shack, Gravity Falls, Oregon

The now familiar sound of footsteps tromping down the stairs made its way to her ears.

It was Stan, who Quinn hadn’t seen since that first day. Her defenses were instantly up, especially without Ford around to stop anything from escalating.

But Stan seemed to be in a good mood. “Hey, glad to see my brother didn’t kill you!” Before Quinn could ask for clarification, he continued. “Where is the loser, anyway?”

Quinn stammered, trying to find words. “Um, uh, he went…outside.”

“And left you down here? Yeesh.” As he spoke, Stan picked up a piece of paper (that looked like it had mostly been eaten away by some kind of acid) by the corner and regarded it with distaste. He let it fall to the floor and returned his attention to Quinn. “Come on. Let’s get you out of here.”

Without waiting for an answer, he scooped Quinn up and set her on his shoulder. She screamed. Even though she should have been plenty used to this by now, this was a virtual stranger who, last time they met, wanted to make her an exhibit in his wacky gift shop. His hands also felt distinctly different than Ford’s. Quinn didn’t like that she could tell the difference.

What wasn’t any different though, was the sheer strength in each hand, so whether it was Stan or Ford, she wasn’t getting out until they let her out.

And he let her out…right on his shoulder.

Quinn felt the cushioned fabric underneath her and wondered absently if the man wore shoulder pads. That thought vanished when he started to move, and she was left clinging on for dear life as he climbed up the stairs.

This was unlike anything she’d ever done before. To her left was a giant ear about as big as her. To her right: absolutely nothing. Open air. And underneath her, a living, breathing human, taking her…somewhere. Anywhere. Out of the basement.

A strong mix of excitement and anxiety filled each and every one of her bones to the point that they felt like they were vibrating. She was getting out of the basement! She would get fresh air! Sunlight! God, she missed sunlight.

But to leave the basement was to enter a whole new world. She’d seen the entire ‘Mystery Shack’ from her vantage points in the walls, but to be in the middle of it, out in the open among other humans milling about with only Stanley Pines as her protection, was not for the faint of heart. And Quinn’s heart was feeling pretty faint.

***

A high pitched shriek so ear piercing that it ruptured the sound barrier poured out of one of the small children. Well, small being relative. The girl regarded Quinn with a bit lip and sparkling eyes. “Oh my gosh!” she squealed. She immediately tried to jump up and snatch Quinn off Stan’s shoulder.

Stan angled his shoulder away, but if Quinn thought he was trying to protect her, she was dead wrong. “Woah, easy kid,” he laughed. The sensation of his voice rumbling underneath her at such an amplified volume made her jump. He wrapped his hand around her and set her on the table so the twins could get a better look. 

“Nonononono, hang on!” Quinn blurted, but it was useless. She was surrounded on all sides by humans, two of which were literal children. A strong force shoved at her back and she stumbled forward. Stan had nudged her.

The girl, Mabel, leaned in close and rested her chin on the table. “You’re adorable ! You’re like, so tiny I could put you away in my pocket and take you on adventures and we could solve crimes together! Quick question: Do you have any tiny hats?”

Quinn let out an uneasy laugh. “Uh…no.” She backed up a little, afraid that Mabel would just shove her in her pocket anyway, but the boy, Dipper, spoke up from behind her.

“Why are you so small?” His inquisitive eyes reminded her of Ford’s.

“I don’t know,” Quinn whispered. “That’s what your…grunkle,” She looked at Stan for confirmation on the strange word, who nodded, “Ford is trying to figure out.”

“Wait, that’s what he’s been doing? How long have you been down there?”

Quinn shrugged. Her neck was starting to itch uncomfortably under the scrutiny.

“Boring!” Mabel whined. “Let’s show her big people things.” Her eyes brightened. “Have you ever had popcorn?”

***

The twins found it incredibly amusing to watch her eat human sized food. Every time she hefted up a piece of popcorn, Mabel let out the same shrill noise that Quinn learned indicated joy. Dipper seemed to find it funny too, though his reaction was much more subdued. But she was just eating. She wasn’t sure what was so ‘adorable’ about it.

At one point, the kids tried to convince Quinn to ride Mabel’s pet pig like a knight on a horse going into battle, but she saw the way that pig chewed on everything. She would be lucky to make it out unscathed. The comments, she could put up with. The fawning over her interactions with food, she could more than put up with. (Food was food.) But this was where she drew the line.

The front door slammed and, before anyone could catch him, Ford stomped right past them and straight into the basement.

Quinn thought about calling out to him, but despite all odds, she was kind of having fun up here. They invaded her personal space without qualms all the same, and if she thought too much about the future (particularly whether Mabel would let her go), she got antsy and nervous. But they were having fun with her, not at her expense. Quinn got the feeling that, if she truly freaked out, they would ease up. That was not always the case with Ford.

They were in the middle of a game to see who could launch the most walnuts into Stan’s mouth (Quinn was losing horribly) when the basement door burst open. Quinn leapt what felt like twenty feet in the air and only relaxed slightly when she saw it was Ford.

“Ah, there you are,” he said when he located her on the table. “Come along.”

Everyone booed him.

“Ducktective will be on in a couple minutes, and Quinn said she’s never seen TV before. Can you believe it? TV!” Mabel said.

“I have a crystal waiting in the basement. It’s at its strongest when-”

“I don’t want to,” Quinn said firmly. Her voice sounded very quiet compared to his, but her stance was firm. Perhaps she was emboldened by the fellow giants around her, who all seemed to want her to stick around. Perhaps she was just sick of Ford’s ‘experiments’.

Ford didn’t waver. “Don’t be ridiculous.” He made a move toward her, like he was going to snatch her up. Quinn instinctively backed away, but as she did, Stan shot to his feet and placed himself between her and Ford. One second, Ford was coming at her, and the next, a solid wall blocked everything from sight. Stan moved so fast that Quinn wasn’t even sure what happened until he spoke.

“The lady said no.” His tone was impressively combative. Quinn stayed on guard. With so much tension in the air, she couldn’t be sure she was entirely safe in this situation. If a fight started, she wanted out.

Everyone held their breath.

“Fine,” Ford said shortly, though Quinn couldn’t get a read on his inflection and she couldn't see his face. As soon as he disappeared, Stan flopped back into his worn, yellow chair.

“Um…thank you?” she tried, still trying to shake off the stress.

“Ha! Don’t flatter yourself. I’ll take any opportunity I can to pick a fight with my smarty pants brother. And win.” He popped another walnut in his mouth and ruffled Quinn’s hair with his knuckle.  Her neck cracked and she nervously pulled away from the massive finger.

Mabel announced that the TV show was starting, so they all quieted down. Quinn tried to follow along. She really did. But there was a duck that definitely quacked like a duck, yet apparently all the characters in the show could understand it anyway, and there was mystery and murder and a twin duck and honestly she had a really hard time keeping everything straight.

It didn’t help that she could hear each breath the giants took, could hear them munching on food as big as her. They had been nothing but kind, albeit touchy, but it was hard to forget the way Ford and Stan easily plucked her up whenever they wanted her to be elsewhere. The anticipation of even the possibility that that would happen again was enough to keep her on edge and distracted.

And occasionally, her mind wandered to Ford. Did she do the right thing, standing up to him? Was he mad? Did she care if he was mad?

Cursing her inability to ‘stay out of it’, Quinn got to her feet, lodged her hook in the table, and began her descent.

“Do you need any help?

Quinn jumped, then compensated by clenching the string tighter with all four of her limbs to keep from falling. She slowly lifted her gaze to make eye contact with Dipper. His huge face rose before her, a kind smile on his lips.

“No…thanks. Just watch your step. Please.”

“Okay,” he said, then returned his attention to the TV. And that was it. No push back. No grabbing. He just let her go about her business. (Though she did notice the way he watched her descent. It was unnerving, but overall harmless. He was just curious.) Quinn relaxed a hair, then finished her long, arduous journey to the basement. The old door was easy to duck under, but each stair felt like it took a lifetime to navigate.

When she made it to the concrete floor, she took in the state of the lab around her. It was an absolute mess. Papers everywhere, drawers pulled out, boxes upended. If she didn’t know any better, she’d say that Ford tore the place apart trying to find her. And speaking of Ford…

He sat at the desk, his head once again buried in his journal. He absently twirled a crystal in his hand and muttered unintelligible phrases to himself.

Quinn cleared her throat. His head snapped up and it took him a couple seconds to locate her.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

Ford strained to hear her, but he was pretty sure he heard an apology. “Ah, no reason to be sorry. I am quite alright.”

Quinn kicked her feet at the ground. “Well, thank you for helping me figure this out. I want you to know I do appreciate it, but… I can’t continue to live like this. It’s demeaning.”

Ford glanced away, maybe in embarrassment, maybe disinterested, maybe just thinking, it was hard to say. His eye caught something in the journal. “You’re not from the Mystery Shack.”

“Wh-”

“I wrote ‘origin’ in reference to your species, where you began. Not where you specifically are literally from.”

He picked up his pen to cross it out, but Quinn stopped him. “My mom lived here her whole life. Her dad lived here his whole life. But even before this place was built, we’ve been here for as long as anyone can remember. Stories dating back from my great-great-great grandma passed down. We’ve always been in Gravity Falls.”

Ford’s face lit up. “Interesting.”

“And I can tell you all about it, if you’d like,” Quinn added sheepishly. “I can tell you anything about me or my past or my family…if you promise to ask before picking me up and you tell me what you’re doing before you do it and you let me go about my own life.” She took a deep breath before continuing. Down on the ground, looking up at him, even from across the room and even while he was seated, was daunting. “I’m not gonna run away. I like you guys. You’re just big, and I’m gonna need time to get used to that. I can’t stop you at this size, and I can’t imagine you’d like to get whisked away by a giant with no idea what its intentions were.”

“Ha, it’s funny you mention that! The nightmare realm had quite the-” He stopped after he saw that train of thought would not prove useful. Instead, Ford stood and approached the impossibly tiny girl on the floor.

To Quinn, each step was a small earthquake. She thought about making a break for it, but Ford moved slowly, an attempt to appear non threatening. She knew logically that he could see her - his eyes never left her - but they were so high up and his dirty boots so big, it was hard not to retreat a couple defensive steps. Ford bent down next to her and reached for her.

Quinn let out a surprised yelp and tucked into a crouch, covering her face. This served the dual purpose of blocking the imposing sight of six fingers barreling toward her while also keeping her arms from getting pinned to her sides. The seconds dragged out, but still nothing happened.

Tentatively, Quinn peeked between her fingers. What laid in front of her was a large hand, over twice her size…But all it did was lay there. Confused, she looked up at Ford, whose face was neutral. “I think I can abide by those terms,” he said.

Quinn glanced between his face and hand repeatedly, to the point where it felt comical.

A faint smile spread across Ford’s face and he elaborated. “You know, I happened to come across the most curious creature while I was out looking for the crystals. I could use a hand hunting it down.”

Quinn jerked away when he wiggled his six fingers in invitation. But was this not what she asked for? She asked to go outside with him, and she asked him not to grab her. This was it.

After one last hesitant glance at Ford’s expectant face, she slowly inched toward the waiting hand. And then, she took her first step on the waiting hand. As soon as both feet were firmly planted, the hand skyrocketed into the air and Quinn fell to her hands and knees. She didn’t even have time to catch her bearings before the world tilted sideways and she fell, hollering all the way until she landed softly in a dark, dank enclosure.

As she tried to fumble her way to a stand, the ground shifted unpredictably. Each step threatened to send her sprawling again, and the fabric contorted around her every move. She had no idea where she was, but the faint light that poured in told her she should be able to climb ‘up’, and so that’s what she did.

Only when her face made contact with the light did she realize Ford had dumped her in the breast pocket of his coat. Wind rushed at her as he walked and the steady thumping behind her made itself known as his heartbeat.

Quinn didn’t know how she was supposed to feel. It made sense logically - Ford would need his hands free and she would be in no danger of falling to the ground, but the overwhelming bigness of everything around her made her feel unbelievably small. Even the pen that was clipped to the lip of the pocket was larger than her. His heartbeat drowned out her own thoughts. She could completely disappear in this pocket.

But maybe it would just take time to get used to. After all, she had a front row seat to all the action. She was close in case anything went awry. And more important than anything, she had a real chance to discover the reason for her small size. A chance to finally find answers.

When the fresh, outside air met Quinn’s face as Ford opened the front door, she knew that everything would be alright, and her life had certifiably changed for the better.

.

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