#I didn't even really intend to drag him into my mess but oh well

[lee-laurent]

Together Again - Luke Hughes

Summary: Luke and Tori rekindle their relationship

content: angst, fighting, fluff, lots of fluff, oc x ex!john marino

wc: 3.3k

notes: PART 9! ONE MORE!!! i think the resolution between luke and john is kinda abrupt, but i didn't want to drag it on anymore and i think john would come to his senses. so... also this ends on a conversation that's gonna be the plot of the next part!!

Showing up at Luke's door made her feel like she was in a rom-com. Would've been even better if she was soaked in rain, but... she wasn't. Instead, she was awkwardly standing outside Luke and Jack's apartment, her hand raised to knock when it flew open, revealing a very put-together looking Jack.

"Tori?"

"Jack?"

"Yeah? I live here. What're you doing here? Luke doesn't want to see you."

"Oh, um, he doesn't?"

"No, he--"

"Who're you talking to?" A groggy Luke joined his brother at the door, his sweatpants hanging low on his hips, his hair a mess. "Tori?"

"I was just telling her to go. I--"

"No, no. It's fine, Jack. Come on in," Luke yawned, pushing his older brother out of the way.

"Whatever. I was just leaving anyway," Jack rolled his eyes, shutting the door loudly behind him.

"Where, um, where's he headed?" Tori asked, awkwardly rubbing her arm.

"Huh? Bar, probably. Not sure."

"You're not joining him?"

"Not really in the mood. More focused on the fact that the girl I'm supposed to be on a break from is standing in my apartment."

Tori let out a shaky breath. "I know I probably should've texted first. But... I wanted to tell you in person."

Luke sighed, leaning against the wall, his eyes studying her. "Wanted to tell me what?"

The words came out sharper than he'd intended, and he sighed again, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Sorry, I just... I don't know what you could possibly have to say to me, Tori."

She stepped closer, her voice barely audible. "Can I start with 'I'm sorry?' Because I am sorry, Luke. I thought that taking a step back, would help things. But I just pushed myself back to John. Which... which isn't where I belong. I belong with you. And I-"

"Yeah? Sleeping with your ex-boyfriend really did wonders for your self-discovery, didn't it?" he bit out, his voice dripping with hurt. "Not the fact that he's your ex for a reason?"

"Luke. Let me finish. I know what I did feels unforgivable. But it really did make me realize that John isn't who I want. He's not who I need. Not even close. And honestly, he never was, even when we were together. It's you, Luke. It's been you for a while now."

Luke looked down at her, his jaw clenched, his hands flexing at his sides as he processed her words. Finally, he murmured, "How am I supposed to believe that? You don't know what's it like... thinking that I wasn't good enough. Like I was just a... a place-holder."

"You were never that to me, Luke," she whispered. "I didn't leave because of you. I left because I was afraid of how much I felt for you and how it was going to affect my family. And I know how backwards that sounds. I know. But I didn't know what to do with it. I thought I'd figure it out and come back to us more... solid. More sure."

"Yeah, well, I didn't need you to be 'more sure,'" he replied, his voice thick. "I just needed you."

Tori's hand reached out, her fingers brushing his bicep. "Luke... I know I messed up. And I'm not asking you to just forget it all. But I'm asking you to hear me. Because walking away from us was the biggest mistake I could've made."

"I just... it made me feel..." He trailed off, struggling with his words, his fingers nervously brushing through his hair.

Tori stepped even closer, until there were only inches between them. "I know. I'm sorry. I thought I needed clarity, but I just need you. Luke, you're where I belong and I'm sorry it took me this long to realize."

He swallowed. "And what if I don't know if I can just... let it go, Tori? I refuse to go through that again."

"Again, I'm not asking you to let it go," her hand found his, removing it from his hair before he made himself go bald. "But I'm asking you to let me try. Let me show you that I want to be here. I know I made a royal mess of things, but I'm willing to put in whatever it takes to make things right. If you'll let me."

Luke's gaze softened as he looked down at their intertwined fingeres, and his thumb began to trace gentle circles on her knuckles. "I've missed you, you know that?"

Tori's heart leapt, but she kept herself steady. "I've missed you too. So much, Luke."

His lips quirked into a faint smile as he looked at her, the distance between them closing even more. "Alright. Maybe we can try again. But this time... no second-guessing, okay?"

She nodded, tears pricking her eyes as relief washed over her. "No second-guessing," she echoed. "I'm all in this time. For real."

And as he pulled her into a tight hug, Tori let the tears finally fall. They were finally starting over--together.

~~

"Are you sure you guys are going to be okay?" Tori asked Ally for the tenth time.

"We're gonna be fine, V. Relax. Go have fun with Luke. Ri-Ri and I are gonna have a blast," her best friend laughed, placing her hands on both of Tori's shoulders. "Breathe."

Tori let out a long breath, closing her eyes as she tried to relax. It wasn't the first time she was leaving Riley with a sitter, especially Ally, but the nerves of going on a date with Luke again were getting to her. Her instincts were kicking in and she felt the need to protect herself and her son.

She took one more deep breath, giving Ally a grateful smile. "Okay... okay. I'm fine. Thanks for helping out."

"You deserve this, Tori. You'll come home, and Ri will be fast asleep."

With one final hug to Riley, who was happily playing Paw Patrol in the corner, Tori headed to meet Luke. Why was she so nervous to see the man she loved? Maybe she was worried about ruining everything again.

When she arrived at the quaint pho restaurant, she spotted Luke right away. He looked more put together than when she'd showed up at his apartment, and he broke into a smile the moment he saw her.

"You made it," he stood up to greet her.

"Almost didn't, but Ally wouldn't let me dip on you."

Luke laughed. "Remind me to thank her." His voice softened as he looked down at her. "I'm glad you're here."

They settled into their seats and Luke gestured to the menu. "This place is a hidden gem."

"It's perfect. I haven't had pho in ages. Eating out with a toddler usually only consists of Chick-fil-A and pasta. So this is a treat."

Tori was worried that the conversation would be awkward, that they'd sit there in silence between topics, but it wasn't. It was just like it was before. The conversation stayed light, talking about Riley, hockey, and funny things they'd seen recently. But as the bowls grew emptier, the conversation grew deeper, more reflective.

"Luke, y'know that I don't take any of this for granted, right? Being here, with you... it's everything to me."

Luke reached across the table, his fingers brushing hers. "I'm glad you feel that way, Tori. Because I don't want half of you. I want all of this--all of you."

"You have all of me, Luke," she whispered. "I'm here."

Luke's smile grew, his eyes warm. "Tori, I don't think I can even put into words how much I missed you... and Riley."

"Riley will be thrilled to see you. He never shuts up about you and hockey."

"Future NHL player."

"Hmm... not sure about that one."

"I'll train him. He'll be skating in no time."

Tori shook her head, failing to hide her smile. "Whatever you say, Luke. Whatever you say."

~~

"Ri-Ri, look who's here," Tori grinned, pulling her son's attention away from his Duplo.

"'Uke!" he screeched, running to the door. He wrapped his arms around Luke's leg, hugging as tight as he could.

Luke chuckled, leaning down to ruffle Riley's curls. "What's up, buddy?" he asked, grinning as Riley clung to him like he'd never let go.

"'Uke! Play 'ego!" Riley said, tugging on Luke's hand, leading him eagerly to the pile of brightly coloured blocks on the carpet.

Luke shot Tori a smile over his shoulder, clearly happy to be back. She couldn't help the warm feeling that spread through her as they interacted. It was a different feeling than the one she got watching John and Riley. She wasn't sure how to explain it, but the feelings were too different to compare.

She settled onto the couch, watching as Luke dove into building towers and playing Bob the Builder with Riley. The two of them fell easily into their rhythm, Luke making exaggerated sound effects that had Riley giggling uncontrollably. Tori had never seen him so at ease with anyone except maybe his dad.

"You've got quite the builder here, Tori," Luke smiled, helping Riley to rebuild Scoop, the yellow digger. "Forget hockey. You've got a future architect."

Tori laughed, loving how natural it was having Luke there. She could picture their life together with Riley--a little family unit. He fit seamlessly into their lives. Why had she ever had doubts about him? Why had she let herself get in her head and sabotage something that clearly made Riley and her happy?

"Should we see how high of a tower we can build, Ri?" Luke whispered, earning a very enthusiastic nod.

"'uper tall!" Riley squeaked, handing Luke another brick. He balanced it easily, but then, with a grin, reached for Riley's nose.

"Boop! Oh no, the nose monster got you!" Luke declared, making Riley shriek. "We better protect our noses!"

Riley threw his hands over his face, giggling as Luke chased him around the room. When he finally caught him, he scooped him up, spinning him in the air as Riley erupted into laughter. Tori had never heard him laugh so hard in his life.

"'Gain! 'Gain!"

Luke raised his eyebrows, pretending to consider it. "Hmm... I don't know. I might be too tired. Unless..." He gave Tori a playful glance. "Unless Mama helps us with our super-duper high tower!"

"'Elp us, Mama! 'Elp us!"

Tori laughed, sliding down next to them, joining in the building with mock-seriousness. "Alright, team. Let's make the tallest tower ever."

They spent the next half-hour building, laughing, and toppling their creation over and over. Eventually Riley snuggled up to Luke, yawning with a sleeply smile, clearly ready for a nap.

"Nap time, Ri?" Tori asked, standing up and brushing off her jeans.

"No 'tank 'oo."

"Wasn't really a question, bubba. It's nap time."

"I don' know," he shrugged, snuggling closer to Luke.

Luke chuckled, looking up at Tori. "Someone's found a new nap spot."

Tori shook her head, smiling as she crouched back down beside them. "This is maybe the second ever time he's not wanted a nap," she teased.

Riley grinned sleepily, his eyeslids drooping. "Nap 'Uke," he mumbled, pressing his face into Luke's shoulder.

"Looks like you've become the favourite... again."

"What can I say? I build a mean tower," Luke said, gently adjusting Riley. "He's a special kid."

"He is," she whispered. "Thanks for being here... with us."

He reached out, giving her hand a loving squeeze. "Wouldn't have it any other way."

~~

Tori was on the phone with John, pacing around the living room while Luke and Riley happily played with his toys on the floor. Luke's laugh echoed through the room as Riley squealed, but her attention was on listening to John's request.

"Look, Tori, I know it's last minute, but I need to switch weekends with Riley. My brother can't come another time, but I'll take Ri next week to make up for it. I promise."

Tori bit her lip, looking at Luke who was obliviously helping Riley with his game. Next weekend was the first free weekend that Luke had and they were planning an outing to the aquarium. Riley hadn't been since he was one and Tori wanted to see if he'd still love it as much as he did then.

"John, next weekend's... kind of important," she said, hoping he'd understand without pushing. "We have plans."

"I get it, Tori, but I wanna spend time with my brother, it'd be hard with--"

"Maybe you should've thought of that before we had a child, John. I--"

"I'm asking you to switch one weekend, Tori. It's not that deep."

After a long pause, Tori sighed. "Fine. We'll work it out."

She ended the call and sat down, watching Riley climb into Luke's lap, his face lit up as he explained the latest addition to his Playmobil pirate-ship. Luke looked up, noticing Tori spacing-out.

"What's up?" he asked, setting Riley on the floor next to him, the toddler still babbling away.

"John needs to switch weekends," Tori said, trying to keep her tone neutral. "I... it would mean Riley would go to his next weekend instead of this one."

Luke's face fell, though he quickly masked it. "Ah, okay. I know you were looking forward to next weekend, but shit happens, V," he said with a small smile, though there was disappointment in his eyes. "It's gonna be fine. I mean, I can cancel shit with Z and Jack this w--"

"You're not cancelling on hanging out with your friend for us. We'll reschedule. I... I want you to be there with us. A little family outing, but you didn't sign up to cancel shit with Jack."

"Tori, I know what I signed up for. And I'm here for both of you. Z and Jack will understand."

"Nope. No way. You're not cancelling. John--"

Luke sighed.

"What?" Tori's brow furrowed.

"Just... sometimes it's hard knowing that because John's in Riley's life... he'll always be in yours too."

"I know it's not ideal, but... you're not a second choice. I promise."

"I know, V. I know. I--"

"Mama! 'Uke! Pirate! Arrr!!! 'Uke, 'oo play now?"

"One second, bud. Just let me finish talking to Mama."

"Everything is gonna be fine, Tori. We'll figure this out. Don't let it stress you out. I love you."

"I love you too, Luke."

"'Uke!"

"I'm coming, Ri! Let's see your pirates!"

Tori sighed, running a hand through her greasy hair. She had been looking forward to John's weekend. She was going to take a nice shower, clean the house, binge some TV and drink a few glasses of wine. Now... she was gonna have to take a babywipe shower and pray she didn't fall asleep in the middle of the day.

~~

Luke was packing up his gear when he noticed John lingering by his stall. It was unusual for them to end up alone together, but everyone else had already cleared out. Luke hesitated, but nodded in John's direction, signaling he was ready for whatever conversation John wanted to start.

John approached, hands tucked in his pockets. "Hey, Luke. Got a minute?"

"Sure," he replied, setting down his bag. He straightened, unsure of where this was going.

John shifted, looking uncomfortable but determined. "I just... I wanted to say that I appreciate how you've been with Riley. He talks about you a lot, and Tori said he's clearly happy when you're around. I can see it too."

"Thanks, John. Means a lot. Riley's a great kid, and I care a lot about him."

John nodded. "Look, I'll admit, it hasn't really been easy watching another guy take on such an important role in my son's life. But it's obvious Riley looks up to you. And I don't want him to feel like he has to choose between us, y'know?"

"Trust me, I don't want that either," Luke said sincerely. "You're his dad. I'm never gonna try to take your place. But I also want to be there... for both of them."

A silence hung between them, a final mutual understanding. Finally, John cleared his throat. "I think as long as we're both on the same page... for good, that's what matters. Riley deserves to have people that care about him. And I see that you really do."

"Absolutely. I'm here for both of them, but I respect your role in his life."

John extended his hand, and Luke firmly grasped it, both of them nodding. This was it. Peace at last. They finally had made peace. And Luke felt a renewed sense of purpose. Riley and Tori were his family. And he'd support and protect them, no matter what.

~~

Tori was scrolling through her phone, her half-eaten bowl of cereal forgotten in front of her. Riley was at John's and she was finally getting a moment to hereslf.

"Hey," Luke said, sliding in the room, looking... oddly calm.

Hey," she placed her phone down. "What's up?"

"I had a chat with John the other day," he began.

Tori swore her heart stopped beating for a second. "Oh?"

"Yeah. It was... it was good. We talked about Riley, about us. And we, uh, we finally seem to be on the same page."

"Wait? Really?" She couldn't believe that John had been so mature about it. "That's amazing, Luke! I'm so happy to hear that."

"I know. It feels good. Like the weight has been lifted off us."

Tori nodded, returning to her cereal. "Thanks for doing that, Lu. For all of us."

"Anytime, V. Anytime."

~~

Luke wasn't used to activities that involved lots and lots of excited children, so he couldn't help but feel a little out of place at the aquarium. He watched as kids ran around, their voices echoing through the dimly lit rooms, poiting at fish and pressing their faces against the glass.

Riley, who was practically vibrating with excitement, darted ahead, running as quickly as his little feet would take him. "'Ook! 'Uke, 'ishies!" he squealed, his face lighting up at the sight of a massive tank full of colourful, tropical fish.

Luke laughed, crouching down beside him. "Ya see that big one over there, Ri? I think it's giving you the stink-eye," he whispered conspiratorially, making Riley giggle. They stayed there, noses pressed to the glass, Riley's hand clutching Luke's while Tori trailed behind, smiling at how perfectly they fit together.

Riley pointed at an orange clownfish. "Nemo!" he declared proudly, looking up at Luke for confirmation.

"Yep, that's Nemo! And what about that one?" he pointed to a tiny, darting blue fish.

"Dowy!"

Tori joined them, her hand brushing Luke's shoulder as she knelt beside them. "Expert fish spotter Riley Marino. I like the sound of that. What about you, Ri-Ri?"

"Wiley Mawino!"

"Yes! That's you!"

They moved through the exhibits, Riley darting between tanks, his awe palpable. Luke and Tori held hands, exchanging smiles as they watched Riley live his best life.

"We should do this more often," Luke suggested, squeezing Tori's hand.

"You think?"

"Duh! This is so much better than sitting around and playing 'chel with Jack all day."

Tori cackled, "Luke!"

"Just telling the truth. Love you, V," he turned, pressing a kiss to the side of her head.

"Love you more, Lu."

~~

"You want me to meet your family?" Tori asked, trying to make sure she had heard Luke correctly.

"That's what I said."

"Luke..."

"I know, I know. It's a big step, but I know everyone would love you and Riley. It's a good chance for him to hang with new people."

"Meeting you family is... big. Like life-changing big."

"I know it's a big deal, but I wouldn't ask if I wasn't sure. Plus it's just a few days at the lake, nothing intense. My mom will eat up the time with a toddler. I think she's been secretly waiting for a grandchild."

Tori laughed, adjusting the sleeping toddler on her lap. "I... can I have some time to think about it? It'd be our first vacation together and my first time with your family. That's..."

"You've got all the time you need, Tori. Jack, Q, and I spend like most of the summer there, so any weekend that works for you... we'll make it happen."

"Deal."

[zizzy-rie]

Was thinking of the crack pairings of the rise bois with other characters outside of the fandom (Leo/Yuichi, Mikey/Miles, Raph/Knuckles) and it got me thinking about Donnie's.

The character that came to mind was red son from monkie kid and I of course, consulted my friend who knows both characters and their thoughts about it. But then I remembered red is a young adult in monkie kid so I look through other versions of him

So far, the 1996 version is a teen red boy (you can correct me about this, it's been awhile since I last watched it). My friend wasn't interested at first, but it got them intrigued in the end

Showed him pics of different versions of red boy who could be on the same age as dee

The doodle:

[ellecdc]

I’ve been thinking about a Remus (or ig any ship that includes him?) x metamorphmagus!reader who is always turning into other people in order to mess with people. despite them being very good at acting and visually/audibly indistinguishable from their target, once the moon comes close and his senses are heightened Remus is able to recognize them from scent alone. I also think he’s observant enough that even when his senses are as normal as they can be, he is able to notice little ticks and habits that break through the disguise. I don’t think he would ruin their fun, observing and if he isn’t in pain even helping with their mischief.

It’s just such a cute little concept to me, and I think it could be fun to play with, so I would love to see if you can come up with a little Drabble or something about it! Thank you mother ❤️ I love confident and mischievous readers with quiet but enabling characters

this was a cute concept! thanks for the request! also, I didn't intend for this to be Potter!reader, but with the way the story went it ended up feeling like it had to be potter reader hahaha

Remus Lupin x Potter!reader who is a metamorphmagus [800 words]

CW: fem!reader, 'your mama' insults, talking about students getting it on in a broom closet

“Never thought I’d find myself happier to see this Black than the other one.” Barty Crouch Junior drawled as he sauntered into the library looking innocent for all intents and purposes - but Remus knew better.

“Sod off, Junior.” Sirius sneered back as he glared at the Slytherin from behind his book. 

“Oh, someone’s getting off, I can assure you.” He jeered; a mischievous sparkle shining in his eye giving Remus not nearly enough time to prepare for the coming theatrics. 

“Oh? Could you hear me and your mum last night?” Sirius replied haughtily, turning a page of his book for show. “I’ll try to make sure we’re quieter next time, but she’s a screamer.” 

Barty simply hummed as he dragged a finger across the back of a chair; expression glowing like he was simply loving this. “Are family members not off limits then, Black? Because if that’s the case, someone really ought to tell Reg and Potter that there's no need to be rutting against each other in the third floor broom closet like a couple of ne’er-do-wells.”

Sirius was standing in record time; his chair grating across the floors before landing with a thunk and his book (prop) laying long forgotten.

“You’re not serious.” Sirius spat menacingly, a true testament to how riled up he got over his brother and best friend (even though the two had been publicly dating for almost two months now) that he didn’t even bother censoring himself against the verb form of his name.

“Deadly.” Barty smirked, and that was all it took for Sirius to go racing off into the castle to cause a bigger scene than either Regulus or James had been prior to the announcement of their secret tryst. 

The library returned to its prior volume as Remus watched 'Barty' simply stare after the last place Sirius could be seen. 

“That’s not nice, dove.” Remus chided gently, though he didn’t bother hiding his smirk as he stared back down at his book.

“Whatever do you mean, Lupin?” You sneered back, but you were wearing a beaming smile that told him clearly you knew the ruse was up. 

“James has been trying very hard to make sure he isn’t throwing his relationship with Regulus in Sirius’ face.” Remus explained tiredly, though it was all for show. 

“And James has been making it very hard for me to not want to stab myself with a quill during quidditch practices.” You pouted as you took the seat across from him.

“All this over quidditch drills?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.

You didn’t break his gaze nor the pout of your lips as you added “and he ate the last of my fizzing whizzbees.” 

Remus hummed in understanding. “An egregious crime, certainly.”

“Right? What would you have done if he’d eaten all your chocolate?”

“Nothing short of murder; he’d be out the dormitory window.”

“See, I knew you’d get it.” You replied with a smirk, though your eyes turned soft as you looked him over.

“Be nice to your brother.” He murmured quietly, earning a dramatic groan as you threw your head back in exasperation.

“I don’t have to be nice to him, he’s my brother.” 

“What would your mum say?” He asked as he leaned back in his chair and held his book against his lips to hide the smile on his face.

You groaned again and looked over at him nonplussed. “To be nice to my brother.” You offered back in monotone.

He lowered his book so you could see his beaming smile, causing you to launch forward in an attempt to swipe his book from him only for him to catch your wrist instead.

“How did you even know it was me? I thought I had the impression down pat.” You murmured quietly, face now inches from his.

“You certainly look like Junior.” Remus conceded as he gave you a once over. “But he would have never let that comment about his mum fly.”

You let out a bark of laughter that Remus knew to be only yours. “That’s true, I suppose. I’ll do better next time.”

Remus gave you a shake of his head in faux admonishment as he leaned closer to you. “I’ll always recognise my sweet girl.” He murmured, massaging the inside of your wrist that he was holding captive with his thumb. “I’d recognise you by smell alone.” 

Your gaze turned hungry as your eyes flit down to his lips and then back up again. 

But Remus pulled away before you could connect your lips to his.

“Do not kiss me as Barty Crouch Junior.” He deadpanned, causing you to let out raucous laughter that got you more than a few shush’s from surrounding tables before he watched you melt back into yourself.

Remus loved your mischief, but this was by far his favourite version of you.

[frogchiro]

im super curious on which of the men do you think would be more than overjoyed to be tied naked to their bed, legs and arms spread, as reader grinds on his cock through lace panties or as she teases and teases him by letting her wetness drip down his cock to his balls as she rubs her clit over him? or by only putting the tip of his tip inside of her before reader bucks up, leaving his cock high and dry? the man growling, pulling on his restraints and bucking his hips higher and stronger to just get at least the full tip wet to at least feel reader's soaking pussy all around him. so so close to cumming all over her pussy he just needs her touch. desperate and hard whilst reader giggles so sweetly, continuing to moan as she reaches her fifth orgasm on and over him

very VERY unsure if you're comfortable with writing for an ask like this (more dominant female reader, teasing, restraints) so ofc if you're not comfortable, there's absolutely no stress!! much love <333

Oh my jesus nonnie I love you for this ;; I love dominant reader!! Her domming the usually cocky and overly confident big 'n scary military men and bringing them down a peg is my bread and butter. Also putting this under the cut since it turned out to be much longer than I intended ;;

For this one particular scenario I have a few candidates:

König who is this huge, unhinged killer machine, used literally as a human battering ram due to his size and strength and whom people generally tend to avoid due to his 'strange' jittery behavior. His blue eyes crinkle through his mask with boyish joy when he kills, sometimes even letting out an eerily high pitched giggle which off-puts people even more, not to mention he can be a hug dick when it comes to interactions with others; he's either awkward as hell or downright condescending and degrading with his arrogance.

However when it comes to you? The cute new hackergirl KorTac found and dragged in? He's a mess :(( He decided then and there thst he wanted you and would woo you and judging by the awkward fidgeting and shy glances at the older men around you, you'd be easy prey for him...Well until it was him, König, who ended up tied to his bed, moaning and yowling in pain and frustration as you continued to tease him, torture him really as he saw it, with that cute perfect giggle of yours as you continued to slowly jerk his fat cock, cum spurting from his swollen tip and his balls squeezing painfully because they needed to be emptied in the pretty female in front of him :(( It's been so so long, he wanted to claim you but it turned out that it was you who claimed him.

He'd try growling, snarling and even begging for you to please just put the tip inside, please fucking sit down and let him make you feel good but you just giggle at him before moving up and slipping his aching tip from your wet pussy for what felt like the 100th time making poor König whine and buck pathetically up, searching your heat </3

Next one is Simon Riley, but particularly Sleazy Neighbour!Simon. When he finally whined and 'wooed' you enough for you to finally have sex with him for the first time he was over the moon, a nasty smirk on his lips, elated that he finally will get to fuck and claim you all for himself, the first step at making you his wife after all!

What he didn't expect was for you to tie him down with his bulky arms straining against the biding at the headboard, his lengthy cock hard as a rock and leaking on his tummy as you slide your wet cunt all over but not putting it inside :(( It's driving the large male wild!! He was supposed to fuck you into oblivion, make you all whiny and teary, begging him to slow down as he bred you and called you his bitch but as it turned out, it's him who's the bitch now :(

You're having the time of your life, moaning and giggling at the blonde's misery as you slide your pussy against his swollen dick, the copious amount of your slick making the slide much easier and you get first class seat to watch your awful sleazy neighbour get what he deserves for bullying you and not letting him slip inside you <3

The last one is Andrei Nolan and this is something I also discussed with @justadeadreaper on him edging himself and begging you for your permission to cum which I think about expanding on in a different post <3

He both loves and hates this; this feeling of helplessness ad slight humiliation of being such a big and strong man but getting tied down to your shared bed and letting his girl edge him :(( Sounds so pretty toom his normally smooth and deep voice gaining a certain edge to it, deep rumbling moans showing his pleasure and the occasional hitch in his voice and a higher moan indicating that he's close to cumming if the sudden larger amount of sperm leaking from his red dick like a faucet didn't betray him first.

Growls and bares his teeth, gnashing them at your sweet giggle that hides all the evil intentions in your voice, asking him dumb innocent questions like 'Are you close Dyushka? Do you want to cum~?' Of course he fucking wants to cum! He wants to sit you on his fucking cock, slam it deep inside you until he feels your poor cervix and wants to fill you up until you're whining at him and leaking his seed for days but no, instead he's stuck like this, at your mercy as you continue to jerk him off, occasionally in a gesture of cruel mercy you lift yourself up and tease his achy tip at your cunt, rubbing it from your clit down to your hole where you circle it a few times, threatening to slip it in for a few agonizing seconds before letting out a breathy giggle and pulling him out again only to return to edging him with that sweet smile of yours. You're a cruel, cruel woman </3

[munsonsmixtapes]

Begging for more Eddie Diaz smut, maybe some sort of one bed scenario somehow readers a paramedic on the team or something? Honestly I just want more of your writing

Oh my gosh, thank you so much! I personally love the one bed trope so I can absolutely deliver!

Edmundo “Eddie” Diaz x paramedic!fem!reader

summary: you and Eddie share a hotel room during a storm which forces the two of you to get closer

cw: MDNI (18+) smut (p in v) reader receives a hickey

The hotel room was cold when you entered it, the air from the vent blowing harder than it should have been, sending a chill down your spine. You wrapped your cardigan around you tighter to bring some warmth to your body.

You hadn't gotten to pick your room since the department was paying for it. There was a weather advisory and everyone was instructed to stay inside until it cleared. Because there was a limited amount of money, you were forced to share with Eddie, the man you had been crushing on for months.

Well, maybe "forced" wasn't the right word to use. When asked who wanted to pair up with you, Eddie practically leaped across the lobby and yanked the key out of Bobby's hand while saying that he would be happy to.

Sure, Eddie had flirted with you quite a bit, but you didn't think that he was actually interested in you like that. Especially not enough to share a hotel room with you indefinitely.

Eddie had been crushing on you bad. The second he saw you when both of your teams were responding to calls, he couldn't take his eyes off of you. He admired how quickly and efficiently you worked for far too long before Buck nudged him. Eddie turned to him and Buck looked at you for a brief second before nodding approval. He then dragged Eddie along so the two of them could actually get to work.

Over the past few months, the attraction between the two of you was so strong that it was becoming obvious to everyone in your departments. So obvious that everyone was teasing the two of you, asking when you were finally going to get together. That you would have loved to know the answer to. If he was flirting with you that much, surely he had feelings for you, right?

But Eddie wasn’t going to do anything about his attraction, because in his eyes, there definitely seemed to be something going on with you and Buck. He would always see the two of you joking around and laughing when calls were being finished up and he was feeling nothing but jealous. Kicking himself for not doing something sooner.

Why he was sharing a hotel room with his best friend’s girlfriend or fling or whatever, he didn’t know. But Buck didn’t seem to feel the need to stop him. He even seemed to encourage it, giving both of you a thumbs up with a smile as you got into the elevator. So, if anything, Eddie was just confused.

The hotel room door slammed behind you, causing you to jump. You turned to see Eddie who looked apologetic. He was dressed in a pair of sweatpants and an LAFD hoodie. His hair was all a mess from running his fingers through it because of the stress, which somehow made him even more attractive.

"Sorry," he apologized. "Didn't mean to scare you."

"Oh, you didn't," you shook your head. Really, you were just taken aback by how attractive he was. It was so fucking unfair sometimes.

"You okay?" He asked, resting his hand on your shoulder.

"Yeah," you nodded. "I'm good." You were perfect, actually. You were sharing a hotel room with the man you had been crushing on for months and there was nothing that could have ruined it.

"Me too. Oh, I could have sworn the room had two beds. I'll go see if we can get another room." Before he could get far enough, you grabbed him by the wrist, stopping him from leaving.

"No," you said. "It's okay. I mean, you don't mind sharing, do you?" You asked, your tone coming off more flirty than you intended, but you hardly minded. You were really trying to get the point across that you were interested in him, but he didn't seem to get any of the hints that you were dropping. The feeling was mutual, but Eddie thought you were just flirting with him because you could. He seemed to be a little oblivious when it came to people being interested in him. He didn’t know why he couldn’t figure it out. There could be a flashing neon sign above your head spelling out the words “I’m in love with you, idiot!” and the man still wouldn’t get the hint.

"Not if you don't. I can just sleep on the floor." Now you were going to have to spell it out for him.

"Eddie," you took him by the hands. "I want to share the bed with you." Share? As in…share?

"Oh," he nodded. "Are you sure?" How much clearer could you have been?

"Positive. In fact,” your hands moved to his waist and you wrapped your arms around it. “I want you to hold me while we fall asleep." That, he could definitely do. Now he was actually looking forward to going to sleep, hoping that being wrapped up in your arms would make all of the scary images of his traumatic memories fade away into silence.

“I-I could do that,” he replied as you rested your head on his chest. His hands hesitantly rested on your back, mindlessly rubbing up and down it gently with the pads of his fingers. You moved away before he was ready, pulling back to look him in the eye. You reached up and ran your hand through his hair, watching him close his eyes as you scratched at his scalp.

He had to hold back a moan and if he was that close to cumming just by you playing with his hair, what would he have done if you had actually fucked him? God, he really needed to get his mind out of the gutter. You weren’t going to sleep together. Well, you were, but not like that. He really needed to keep his urges to himself. Especially since you were taken. How many times was he going to have to remind himself of that before it stuck?

He was going to keep everything between the two of you strictly professional. And so were you. Maybe if you didn’t look into his honey brown eyes or his pretty pink lips, you wouldn’t want to do something that probably wouldn’t end well. You just had a feeling that if you slept together, it would have been a one night thing that had happened on a whim to never be spoken about again. And you didn’t want to risk that.

What you had with Eddie was good and you weren’t going to let your wanting to sleep with him ruin that. If nothing was going to happen between the two of you, you would have preferred it if it meant that you could keep Eddie in your life as long as fate would have allowed.

But the attraction was building up as you stared at each other. Nothing in sight but each other’s lips, the want building up inside as you both inched closer. So slowly, as if you were contemplating actually going for it. Your faces slowly inched towards each other as you stepped closer, closing the gap between your bodies.

Eddie’s eyes widened as he realized what he was doing. He was about to break his one rule, but he couldn’t get himself to stop. Not when you smelled so good and not when you looked so fucking beautiful standing in front him.

He pulled away reluctantly and turned to face the door, running his hands along his face. You turned your head towards the tv, trying to give him some privacy. Had he thought the kiss was a mistake? Clearly since he had pulled away. And you were blaming no one but yourself.

You should have just kept your thoughts to yourself and now you had made him uncomfortable, in turn, making the whole time you were going to be spending together during the storm uncomfortable. He was never going to want to speak to you again and it was all your fault. You supposed now that you were just going to have to sit in your own guilt for the remainder of your time together.

“I-I’m sorry,” he apologized, finally turning around to face you. “I can’t do this.”

“Oh,” you nodded. Your voice sounded so small, so disappointed and now he just felt like a dick. “Right, yeah. We shouldn’t.”

“No,” he shook his head, stepping closer to you. “I want to, like, you have no fucking idea, but you’re with Buck…right?” You laughed in response, maybe a bit too loudly, but it was funny. You and Buck? Since when? Buck was like a brother to you.

“Eddie,” you said once you had sobered up. “Buck and I aren’t together,” you took him by his hands, giving them a squeeze. “Like, not even close. I thought it was obvious that I liked you.”

“Clearly not. I mean, this whole time, I was kicking myself because I didn’t get to you first.”

“Well, now you don’t have to worry about it because you can have me, Eddie. You can have me any way you want.” Now all he could think about was pure filth, imagining bending you over and pounding into you over and over again until you screamed his name. But for now, he’d start slow, wanting to take his time making you feel good. He wanted your first time together to be special.

You leaned closer to each other, moving at a glacial pace as the gap finally closed between your bodies. Your bottom lip was captured by his two and they moved together as you tried to get used to each other. Your arms wrapped around his neck as you pulled him closer and he grabbed onto your neck, pushed down on your chin to give him more access.

He licked into your mouth as he backed you up towards the bed, the back of your legs hitting it. He slowly removed your cardigan then got rid of his hoodie before pressing his lips to yours once again as he laid you down on the mattress.

Eddie slowly lowered himself on top of you as his lips moved down to your neck, peppering the spot with kisses before mixing in his tongue. And just when you were getting used to it, he pressed a few open mouthed kisses to your skin before giving it a rough such, causing you to let out a loud gasp.

He just chuckled against your skin before continuing, licking and sucking on your neck and it felt so good that before you could stop it, you let out a loud moan.

“That was hot,” Eddie said. “Wanna make it again?”

“Yes,” you replied, your breathing already labored. Eddie continued to suck on your neck and you let out another moan, louder this time. But that didn’t seem to be doing it for him anymore. He wanted you to be even louder so he grazed your skin with his teeth, and you let out a scream, reaching your first orgasm.

“Eddie, fuck.” He pulled away from your neck, smiling to himself at the mark that was already forming then looked down at you, seeing that you were already blissed out.

Eddie got down on the floor and pulled off your shoes and socks before undoing your pants and pulling them down to reveal your cunt that wasn’t covered by any underwear. He looked up at you and you just shrugged.

“Didn’t have any clean underwear. I would have worn a thong or something sexy if I had known.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it. This is-this is hot. Especially since we can skip a step. Now let me get a look at you, hon.”

He spread your legs wide and brought his face right up to it, just to see just how much of your slick had been leaking out of it. There was so much that it had made a giant spot on the bed. He then looked up at you, his eyes glazing over with lust as his lips formed into a devilish grin.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone this wet and the fact that it was only from a hickey. Shit, I think that’s the highest compliment.” With that, he grabbed a condom from his wallet and handed it to you before he took off his jeans and boxers, revealing his giant cock.

“Well, if I’m super wet, then you’re super hard.”

“Right you are, angel,” he winked. “Wanna do the honors?”

“I can do that,” you nodded and ripped the packet open before rolling the condom onto Eddie’s waiting cock. He then laid you back down onto the bed, pressing kisses to your lips before he slowly slid inside you.

“So tight, hon. But don’t worry, you’re gonna be so loose by the time I’m done with you.”

He thrusted slowly in and out of you, moans escaping both of your mouths as he did so. He was eating up your sounds, knowing that they would live in his head rent free even after the night was over. You just sounded so heavenly that he wanted to hear your moans replay on a loop.

“Eddie, sh-shit, oh my god.” This was something that you had never felt before. You had slept with plenty of people, but with Eddie, it was different. It felt so good and he wanted to make sure that was all you felt. He was so sweet and caring.

“I know, honey. You feel so good. Already loosening you up. And look at you, taking me so well.” His pumps got a little faster and your moans were louder, almost sounding like screams. Eddie had just started and you were already close? He must have been better than he thought.

He continued to pump in and out, hearing your whines that sounded like music to his ears. He was just getting started, but could see you fading out. Your vision was getting hazy just as there was a pounding on the door, causing Eddie to cover your mouth to make sure your scream didn’t escape.

Eddie slowly pulled out and disposed of the condom before hurrying to put on his boxes before rushing to the door to open it. He pulled it open just enough to see who was on the other side but made sure that his underwear was hidden.

Buck was on the other side, rubbing sleep from his eyes and Eddie didn’t even need to hear what he had to say. His cheeks turned red as he realized that was going on.

“Look, man, I’m happy that you guys are together or whatever, but can you please keep it down? Some of us are trying to sleep.”

Eddie cleared his throat, trying to play it off, but he was actually so embarrassed. Especially because his best friend could hear him. How thin were the walls? Apparently very since it seemed like Buck had heard everything.

“Sorry, we’ll, uh, keep it down.”

“Thank god. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go Google how I can unhear something.” With that, Buck headed back to his room, Eddie shutting the door behind him.

There was no way Eddie could fuck you now. He was so embarrassed that his best friend had heard everything and now he was afraid he wasn’t going to be able to live it down.

He headed back over to you and you had put on a pair of sweatpants, already under the covers and the lamp was turned off. He got in and scooted over to you, pressing his body up against yours before draping an arm over your waist. You turned over to face him, giving him a warm smile while he returned an apologetic one.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” you assured him. “Believe me, as soon as we’re able to go home, you are more than welcome to have your way with me.”

“Oh, you always know just the right thing to say, huh?” He pressed a kiss to your lips and the two of you spent the rest of the night talking in hushed tones about everything and nothing until you both fell asleep in each other’s arms. Looking forward to waking up, your eyes boring into one another’s, feeling like the luckiest people on earth because you finally had each other.

[arxxq]

WERE YOU TRYING TO FLIRT WITH ME?

i just realized i have never wrote something about kaiser except for that one headcanon....

but anyways have a micheal kaiser x reader

lowercase intended. mistakes will be corrected soon. gender not specified. 

(also to the people who have sent request stay patient please...)

micheal kaiser, the person you have always loathe. 

lets just say that kaiser, the moment he laid eyes on you chose to get on your bad side that day. so yes every day and every moment you see him you would complain. 

everytime you would always bicker with him, doesn’t matter when and where. some people would think both of you as maniacs for starting a ridiculous fight in the middle of nowhere. 

you hated him so much...but did you really? did you really hate him? most of your friends would keep asking you these question all over again everytime you mention him which of course you would say you hate him but...do you? 

the questions your friends ask always confuse you, especially this one. usually your answers would always be so straightforward and you would always be so confident in answering them. but just a simple question about him leaves you in a stuttering mess. which not only confuse your friends but you as well. 

as for kaiser, no he doesn’t hate you. he just loves to annoy you and see that annoyed expression from your face. well that was what it was as first. as time goes by, he realized that everytime he comes across you he would always try to flirt with you which is incredibly weird. 

it is shocking to him that for a person who is known smart seems so oblivious to topics like flirting. so since you never found out, he decided to continue it. you could say kaiser was lovestruck. 

as each day go by, most people took notice that instead of trying to annoy you, kaiser has been flirting with you all this time. even your friends manage to crack the case but they were so dumbfounded to see that you have been so dense with his actions. until well one day, 

your friend decided to drag you somehwere and where was that? well it was where kaiser and his teammates were practicing. you know that your friend here has a boyfriend who plays as kaiser’s teammate but then again why did she have to drag you here? it seems so pointless. 

as you were reading your book, you notice a certain blonde boy with blue tips was approaching to you direction but of course you chose to ignore him. well what a wrong choice you have made. 

kaiser snatched the book away from you and due to your height difference it was pointless to get it back. “what do you want from me now huh kaiser?” you asked. kaiser gave you his usual cocky grin. “oh nothing, i just didn't think you’d missed me this much that you’d come here,”

you stood up from your seat and sighed. “just give me my book back kaiser..” “hmm what about no..” before you can say another word, kaiser continued his sentence. “well unless you would be nice enough to answer a question of mine,”

“yeah whatever as long as you give me my book back,” you agreed to answer his question but you absolutely did not like the smirk he was giving you. he then leaned down to your ear and whispered in a low but deep voice. “how do you know if you have a crush on someone...?” that questioned stunned you alot and it may made you feel something so odd, as if butterflies were literally in you. you pushed him away from you and you let out a breathe you didn’t notice you have been holding in. 

kaiser tilted his head but grin in amusement. “oh what’s wrong...you look a little flustered dear,” you were really a flustered mess, you covered your mouth trying to process what just happened. “were you trying to flirt with me or something?” you muttered hoping he wouldn’t hear you...but he did. “oh but i have been trying to do that for months now, and it seems like you finally noticed,” 

that was enough to leave you stunned and speechless. “oi kaiser c’mon we gotta get back to practicing remember,” ness which was well kaiser’s friend yelled at him. “here’s your book back, see you tomorrow meine liebe,” 

you stood there dumbfounded of what just happened., and what’s worst was that your friend saw the whole thing happen. you were definitely going to get so many questions. 

im alive people. 

reblogs are highly appreciated 

do not steal or repost on any other platforms w/o permit

[villainsblog97]

Xdinary Heroes When they get Jealous

Requested by @mirohlayo, thanks for the request!

Summary: What happens when our 6 Heroes get jealous?

Warnings: Mentions of arguing, Jealousy (Obvi), some mentions of harassment, Language, some PG-13 stuff.

Scenario: Boyfriend AU, Romance, Angst, fluff at the end

Also Happy New Year lovelies!!!!

Gunil:

You should probably just expect this exact face from him

Gun-il would be PISSED

He sees another person flirting with you

They're dead

He's gonna become super clingy to you

Calling you every pet name in the book

Just to let this person know

You are already spoken for

The person will eventually get the hint

But now he's slightly hurt by you

And it's making him mad all over again

You two will have to talk it out

"Come on Y/N that person was totally flirting with you!"

Its gonna end up in an argument

But then when you see how hurt he is

You realize that you were in the wrongs

And you gently wrap your arms around him

Gun-il wraps his arms around your waist tightly

Holding you like he's gonna lose you

But you won't let that happen

Jungsu:

Jungsu can be super petty when he wants to be

(For this scenario he is)

So when he sees someone talking to you

Making you laugh

He's gonna give you the silent treatment

He's gonna let you finish your interesting conversation with this person

But after that

No words come out of Jungsu

"Jungsu are you listening?"

...

Nothing

All the way home

He's as silent as the grave

He wants to you know just how angry he is

but I feel like the silent treatment is also his way of biting his tongue so he doesn't say something he'll regret later

Finally you ask him if he's mad about something

And he just shrugs his shoulder

"Is it about who I was talking to earlier?"

Another shoulder shrug

"Oh my god Kim Jungsu you're so ridiculous!"

Now he's slightly glaring

"That's my cousin you idiot!"

"Wait really!?"

It speaks...

"Yes!" You laugh

Well now he feels kind of stupid

Gaon:

Now I've said before that Jiseok looks like a really scary guy when he's pissed off

(I still stand by it)

And he was really pissed off

This person had been trying to make a move on you all night now

He was trying really hard to not let it bug him

But he finally had enough

He walked over and pulled you up from the chair and slid his arm around your waist

"Sorry friend... this one's taken" he smiled with a slight smirk

(oof)

He's feeling a lot of emotions right now

Anger

Sadness

Hurt even

Jiseok would be an emotional mess when you two got home

"I mean what were you thinking!?" he would snap

"I'm sorry Jiseok I thought they were just being nice, I told them over and over again that I was here with my boyfriend"

"Which is why you shouldn't have talked to them in the first place"

You gave Jiseok some time to cool off

You never intended to hurt him

Jiseok eventually accepts your thousand and one apologies

But he doesn't want people to take what's his

Ode:

With this picture alone you should know what's coming

I wouldn't want to mess with Oh Seungmin

I feel like it's the last thing you should do

Someone should tell that to the person who kept hitting on you

Seungmin had stepped outside for a second to take a phone call

and someone thought they could just come up and start hitting you up

You tried to ignore it

but then they tried to put a hand on your leg

Just as Seungmin came back inside

Boy is fuming

He's gonna grab the person's hand that's resting on your leg

and give him a piercing glare

"Didn't your mom ever tell you not to touch things that don't belong to you?"

(Whew... I need a moment....)

Now he's really mad

He drags you away to a spot where it's only you two

And you can't deny that you're finding his jealous side extremely attractive

Now there's tension

(Yes that kind of tension)

He's gonna kiss you like there's no tomorrow

To remind you who you belong to

(I'll leave the rest to your imagination ;) )

Junhan:

This wasn't supposed to happen

Hyeongjun introduced you to one of his friends

(Not any of the band members)

But he introduced you

and here was his best friend flirting with you

Hyeongjun doesn't know what to do

He's seriously conflicted

He doesn't want to show he's jealous

But he can't just sit here and let his friend flirt with his lover

You couldn't tell that your boyfriend's blood was boiling

in fact you couldn't really tell his friend was flirting

Finally Hyeongjun looks at his phone

"Ah Jagiya it's time to get back! The guys need me for practice"

He's giving you a look

One you don't think you've ever seen

Did he just call you Jagiya?

He takes your hand and pulls you away from the scene

Holding your hand tightly in his

Jun... are you okay?"

"I'm fine.."

You stop in your tracks and look at him

"Han Hyeongjun... are you jealous?"

"Well how could I not be!? My friend has always been a better flirt and he can get anyone he wants!"

You walked up to him and kissed his cheek

"True... but he can't get me... because I already belong to someone"

Jooyeon:

They say the first stage of grief is denial

Well it's also the first stage of jealousy

And boy was Jooyeon in it

You introduced him to an old friend of yours

Who also happened to be an ex boyfriend

But the break up was mutual

And you two decided to be friends

So why in the hell would an ex boyfriend be flirting with their ex lover?

These were the thoughts that were running through the maknae's head

You were his now

There's no way he's flirting with you

His mind was going all over the place

So bad he missed half the conversation

Including the question your ex boyf- I mean your friend, asked him

"Sorry what?" He asked

"I asked how long have you and Y/N been dating?"

"Ah... A couple of months now"

He starts mentioning how long you and him were together and all the stuff you guys did together and all the funny things that would happen on your countless amounts of dates

This was really starting to piss Jooyeon off

And it takes a lot to piss him off

You can tell Jooyeon is starting to get uncomfortable

Far from it

He's just getting irritated

So you say goodbye to your friend

And as soon as you two get home

Jooyeon captures your lips in his own

You melt into the kiss

"Sorry if that made you uncomfortable Joo, I didn't think he'd do that"

"Lets just forget about it" he whispers as he catches you in another kiss.

(My heart is beating so fast rn!!!)

Welp! That's it for that one! Feel free to leave in the comments or dm me if you have any requests for both group HCs or individual member's HCs! Happy New Year! Let's keep supporting our heroes and showing them our love! Fighting!

[anomaly-hivemind]

Sweater Holders || Tanjiro x Inosuke

Chapter Five, Chapter Seven

Warnings: Aged-Up Characters, Alternate Universe Angst, Bottom!Inosuke, Breeding, College!Au, Cuddles, Douma, Fluff, Gae, Himbos, MDNI, Mental Comfort, Mutual Pining, Potential Gore, Top!Tanjiro, Virgin, Biting, Body Worship, Bottom, Eventual Smut, Friends to Lovers, if you know you know, Inotan, Teacher!Muzan, Slowburn, Smut, Tanjiro'S BigAssForehead, Top

Chapter Six

Recommended Songs: Golden Hour(instrumental)- JVKE

Overcooked main menu music

Overcooked level music

Inosuke pov

A few months have passed and my mom is now recovering from having a baby. I've been keeping in touch with Tanjiro a lot since he took care of me when I got sick from being reckless and I've thanked him a few times over because of it. I've been trying to come up with something to make it up,for him taking care of me. Even if he said it was fine and that I didn't need to do anything as a form of apology or a thank you. I just feel like I should anyway.

So here I was coming up and planning something for Tanjiro as a thank you for taking care of me, feeding me, and going as far as letting me rest in his bed until I got better.

Should I make him something; what if he doesn't like it? I could take him somewhere, but where would we go? Restaurants feel too romantic and we were just friends. The movies might work but there isn’t really anything good out at the moment, plus I wouldn’t be able to talk too much during a movie. We could go on a walk to the nearby park… nope it's still cold outside and I feel like he would pester me on not getting sick again. Maybe we eat takeout while playing video games might be fun or maybe watch some anime.

Yeah, that could work; hanging out with my friend eating takeout, and playing some of my favorite games or watching my favorite shows. He also wouldn’t take it as me saying thank you or any kind of apology. So it would work. I just have to text him and ask him if he wants to hang out and when.

So that's what I do…

Inosuke: Hey! Tangipahoa I got a new game. Do you want to come over and play it with me.

Tanjiro: Sure! When should I come over? ^u^

Inosuke: I Don't know just whenever.

Tanjiro: okay. I'll be over in about half an hour, see you soon.

Inosuke: ok.

I cut my phone off and stared at my room, which looked like a pigsty in the making now that I was looking at it. Which needs to be fixed in the short time I have before Tanjiro gets here. I really should have cleaned up before I texted him. Sighing I look down at the mess of clothes that are…well everywhere.

I sluggishly clean up my things, throwing away empty water bottles and separating dirty clothes, and putting it in my bin. Before I could put away all the clean stuff a knock appeared downstairs.

I mutter a curse and decide to drag all my clean stuff into my closet to deal with later or possibly never again. Heading downstairs and opening the door to see Tanjiro dress casually.

“Sup” was all I could think of saying.

“Hello” Tanjiro gave me a smile and wave, I stared at him blankly; he looks like a golden retriever I thought.

“Come on” I let him in, closing the door behind him. Leading him up to my now clean room, I take a seat on the floor in front of my Tv. I looked over to Tanjiro and he was standing in the middle of my room like he had never been in here before.

“Why are you standing around like that? Sit down!” I raised an eyebrow to him. I go back to setting up the game that I have,

It's not actually a new game but I manage to never play it but he doesn't need to know that. I shrug off the thought and cut the game on. It's hard to play a multiplayer game by yourself anyway.

“You ready to play” I toss him one of my spare controllers and get off the floor to sit on the bed beside him.

“What's this game about?” he looks over to me, I might have sat a little closer than intended but oh well.

“It's a timed cooking game” I looked back at him to see that he looked rather surprised. “What” I glared at him slightly.

“Sorry that just wasn’t what I thought we would be playing” he shrugged and laughed a bit.

“What did you expect us to be playing… a dating sim? something with zombies? A dating sim with ZOmbIes?!” I blurted out the first thing I could think of while tilting my head.

“Definitely something with zombies… wait did you say, do you play dating sims?!” He questioned me and I felt my ears get hot.

“N-NO!” I internally curse myself for stuttering and look away from him.

“I mean that's cool if you do.” I could feel his eyes on my back but I'm not looking at his probably stupid-looking face and his definitely stupid expression when he’s trying to be supporting or something along those lines. My face feels hot…

“Let's just play the game…” I turned the game on and The title screen popped up.

The “overcooked” game screen, the chibi characters idle in a food truck. Connecting the controllers to the game the rules pop up. The music played loudly throughout my room.

I stare at the screen a mass of undead bread things were what we would be cooking and serving. Tanjiro’s and my character separated into parts of the area.

“I guess I got those zombies.” he joked while guttering ingredients to make food. The minute-thirty timer counted down for what felt faster than its actual set time.

“Yeah, but could you consider sentient bread as zombies.” I throw the foods he made into the conveyor belt giving him more ingredients. The timer clicked down its final seconds before the alarm went off and our time for the level was up.

Game level after level it gets harder to get things done correctly in a short time. Things were getting set on fire.

“It's on Fire!” I yelled while I was trying to serve the things that were already done. Tanjiro drops a sorry apology while putting out the fire with a small laugh.

Time ran out and we lost the level. Shit. I pause the game and look over to Tanjiiro. Looking at my window, the sun was setting which means we had been playing for a few hours.

“You know I’m starting to feel glad that Kotoha-San doesn’t let you cook,” Tajiro said beside me, a playful smirk on his face.

“Yea w-well at least I don’t underseason my food!” I said my face flushed with color. What the hell is wrong with me today? Why did I stutter?

“I’m sorry if I underseasoned my food and were not allowed to add any seasonings to the food at the hospital!” Tanjiro cried out. I knew I was right though. In the past four months, Tanjiro has interned at a hospital specializing for the elderly; I had stopped by once or twice to eat lunch with the Maroon-haired boy and he could attest to the quality of the food, it was very underseasoned.

“If getting old means my food can’t have any spice or umami then I'm fine with dying young.”

Tanjiro simply laughed at the statement, feelings fluttering around nervously in my stomach. I stared at Tanjiro holding his stomach as laughter rippled through him; his earrings jangled softly and his boyish laugh filled the room. So… pretty. Wait- fuck… guys don’t usually think of eachother as pretty.

But isn’t that just toxic masculinity?

My mind raced and I quickly caught eyes with Tanjiro, he was giving me a slightly confused and amused stare. I cleared my throat and looked away to hide the embarrassment on my face.

Arhgg! What the hell was wrong with me today! I’m confused…but I place the thought in the back of my mind to think about later or probably never.

“Your face is pretty red, you okay Inosuke?”

“WhaT? I’m fine Tapioka!” My voice cracked a little.

“I guess the hot weather is getting you then huh?”

“Yeah I guess so…” I clear my throat.

“So what do you want to do now.?” He looked over at me.

“I don't know… wanna watch a movie. I also have netflix if you want to watch something on there.” I look down at the small shelf of movies I have.

“Oh what about this, I used to watch this with my little sisters all the time!” Tanjiro said, holding up a copy of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella.

We started to watch the movie and I spent the first half of it nodding my head to the beat of songs or just outright singing them. I was keeping it tame for most of the songs and other parts of the movie until one of my favorite songs started, the prince is giving a ball.

I looked over at Tanjiro and he seemed slightly surprised by my theatrics. I closed my eyes for a moment, singing with a dramatic tone and my hands extended as I half shouted the words.

Tanjio soon joined in on the singing once the duo was really starting to get closer to its peak. Somehow we had inched closer to each other, leaning on each other's shoulders as we sang the last parts of the song together. After the song ended we paused for a moment, still against each other as the movie continued to play. I quickly shuffle back a few steps back with a small but manly chuckle.

It was a bit awkward by the end of the movie, with an odd tension in the air as Tanjiro made his way home. I lead him down the stairs but I pause before opening the door.

“Hold on a second, tangerine!”

Tanjiro turned around, his eyes wide with expectancy, ready for whatever I was going to say.

“Um, I have a showcase coming up, so you should come… lemon head too I guess. I’m telling you two months in advance so you better be there.” I kind of mumbled the words a bit but he still understood what I was trying to say.

“Of course I’ll be there, Inosuke,” he said, giving me the same dopey smile he always does. There was that odd twinge in my stomach again but I quickly brushed it off as potential upset bowls.

“Hah- whatever just go, you have class in the morning right so you need to leave so you don’t miss the train,” I said, nearly pushing him out the door.

“Wow Inosuke I didn’t know you cared so much,” His eyes closed as he smiled.

“Pffp as if I just don’t want you stuck here.” I rolled my shoulders back as I spoke in a chill yet joking tone, well I at least hoped he knew I was joking.

“Yeah okay Inosuke goodbye.” he smiled and opened my front door.

[pedgito]

rentals & records ✧ ˚ · . eddie munson x fem!reader.

summary: eddie can't hide the fact that he's sort of obsessed with you, but you can't deny that you might be secretly obsessed with him too.

cw: 18+ content (minors, shoo!), fem!reader, oral sex (f&m receiving), soft sex, virgin!eddie

word count: 11.4k. someone shut me up pls.

request are always open!

“I really need to know who rents this thing out so much that the entire cover is starting to fall apart.” Steve’s holding up a horrible worn out version of a Cheech & Chong movie you can’t decipher the title of. You squint, hard. It was pretty faded, pun absolutely intended. Reefer Rick was still in prison, so that counted him out immediately—there could be only one other culprit.

The familiar clang of the entrance bell startled you half to death, sending you whipping around to look behind you.

“Harrington! How’s it been?” Eddie Munson, of course.

“Eddie.” Steve nods in greeting, sounding exhausted already. You kick him in the shin, eyes sending him a look of warning when he yelps in pain. “What brings you in?”

You three already knew the answer to that question. It was you. Eddie had used every reason under the sun to find a way to come visit you while you were working. It was kind of endearing, you couldn’t lie. But, Eddie was a friend. He had always been just a friend.

“Just returning a rental.” Eddie replies, waving the VHS above his head.

“I’ve got it.” You assure Steve, who couldn’t be bothered to leave the mess of already disorganized rentals he had to sort through. You couldn’t tell if it was the girl trouble—or lack thereof, that Steve was having that was causing him to be in such a slump, or the general lack of disinterest in his job.

“Eddie.” Your voice is dripping with sweetness, fingertips dragging along the counter as you scoot in behind the front desk. “Just returning?”

“Might take a quick look around, if you don’t mind.” He tells you, hands shoved into his front pockets. “Unless you’ve got some suggestions, princess?”

You let out a soft ‘hmph’, shaking your head at the nickname he had come up with. It started sophomore year of high school, a shitty jab at how prissy you acted—a lot of that was part of hanging around with the wrong crowd. But, now you had Steve—you balanced each other out pretty well. The word felt different coming from his mouth now, a lot less bite behind it. You had always been friends, but never close enough that you spent time with him outside of school or sat with him at lunch, to busy with the swarm of girls that flocked around each other, you being suck right into the center of it all. That didn't stop the dizzying feeling you felt every time he set his eyes on you.

“I’m fresh out.” You assure him with a playful smirk, you hesitantly point in Steve’s direction. “But, we just got one of your favorites back in, if you wanna rent it out.”

“My favorite?” He teases, curling a stray strand of hand around his finger. It was almost criminal how beautiful his hair was, never a piece out of place, a true work of art. “You keepin’ tabs on me?”

“It’s in the system, Eddie.” It was his most frequented rental and always came back reeking of weed—something you didn’t even know to be possible. “You’ve rented it out sixteen times.”

“Oh.” He deflated slightly—he seemed a little ashamed, maybe? You didn’t find it weird, not really—there’s no way you could admit how many times you’ve watched The Breakfast Club, something you would carry with you to the grave.

“Steve!” You shout, grabbing his attention. Your head nods in the direction of Eddie—and like Steve was a mind reader, tosses the rental in your direction. You catch it with ease, tossing it on the counter. A stoner’s favorite, that was for sure.

“You rent these out to high school students?” Eddie asks from an obscure corner of the store—“Robocock. Huh, that’s fucking hilarious.”

Steve’s at a loss for words, glancing at you from his hiding spot, surfing through his ever growing pile. You stifle that laugh that comes out at the sight of his horrified face. You didn’t understand why Steve looked so scandalized when you knew he snuck out the adult film rentals on a regular basis. He just wasn’t as sneaky as he thought he was.

“You’re twenty, Eddie.” You remind him, “Not seventeen.”

He shrugs, tossing it back on the shelf. “Got any new releases?”

You think for a moment, “No, not for the past few weeks. I guess you’ll just have to suffer through a few more rewatches of those ridiculous little stoner movies you like.”

“Hey, not ridiculous.” His ringed finger is pointing in your direction, he’s slowly making his way back toward the cash register, glancing aimlessly down the aisle, eyes not really landing on anything in particular—except for you. “They’re a cinematic masterpiece.”

Entirely too unconvinced, you hold your hand out, waiting for him to slide over his ID. “You just gotta give ‘em a try, I swear.” He adds, setting the card in your hand gently.

He’s got the biggest grin on his face, which wasn’t out of the norm for him, but his eyes lingered on your for a little too long and that last thing you wanted to think was that it was meant entirely for you. Because no, absolutely not. You could not handle another boy wrecking your life, right now.

“No, Robocock?” You tease, the word sounds even more lewd than you had intended.

While you had never partaken in the content yourself, you were aware. You just couldn’t handle the cheesy lines and horrible faked situations that ended with someone getting pounded over an object that looked way too uncomfortable to be spread out over—they were a hard, hard no.

You clear your throat awkwardly, realizing how caught off guard Eddie looked—like you had insulted his all time favorite metal band and shit on his choice of music all in one go—you could never shit on Eddie’s music choice, not when you indulged in the same songs on a daily basis. But really, he was at a loss of words.

“Maybe next time.” He says slowly, trying to recover from whatever the fuck just happened.

“Sweet.” You drag out, attempting to input the rental information into the decrepit contraption in front of you, waiting for what felt like hours for it to finally rise from the dead. “And you’re good, here—“

“Are you busy this weekend?” Eddie asks suddenly, jarring you out of reality for a moment. His voice quieter, like he was hoping Steve wouldn’t be able to hear.

“Yeah, actually.” You tell him. It wasn’t an excuse, you were working a double shift to cover Steve’s ass because you were an amazing friend who cared about their well-being and ability to potentially help your friend get laid. “I have to work all weekend.”

“Oh—sounds like torture.” He jokes, tapping the VHS idly against the counter. He looks like he wants to say something, but he doesn’t, and you hate how disappointed that makes you feel. “I guess I’ll be seeing you again this weekend then, princess.”

“Can’t wait.” You reply teasingly, causing Eddie to chuckle quietly in response. “God knows I’ll be boring myself to death all weekend.”

“I’ll be your knight in shining armor, no worries.” He adds, adjusting the front of his jacket, displaying the infamous Hellfire Club tee he dawned underneath.

“I’ll hold you to that.” You wiggle a finger at him, watching intently as he made a show of swinging a fake sword, walking backwards toward the door, not realizing that he was about to run smack into another customer.

“Hey, fuckin’ watch it, kid.” A much older man shouts, shoving past Eddie. You can’t help but laugh.

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

Your shift at Family Video on Saturday is entirely too uneventful, aside from the two underage kids who tried to sneak in and steal some of the content from the adult section, which then promptly ended in them being embarrassed by half of the store during one of the busier hours of the day. You shooed them away quickly and suffered through the rest of that god forsaken shift—boy, was that a story for Steve.

Thankfully, Sunday comes quickly and you’re shuffling out of your house at the speed of light, trying to make it before opening time to set up the store in peace.

“Don’t forget, sweetheart—I need you to cover the store for a few hours while I’m gone tonight.” Your dad spoke, stopping you at the front door. You nod your head fervently, assuring him that he had nothing to worry about.

“Gotcha, I’ll make sure to lock up everything, don’t worry.”

He was definitely going to remind you about ten more times.

He owned a small record store on the corner of downtown, right across from the frequently visited supermarket that almost the entire town went to. It was great for business, amazing in fact, always bringing back the old customers, but happily welcoming in the new ones. It was his prized possession and probably the only reason you leaned so heavily into loving music.

You spend an hour setting up shop at Family Video—wiping down counters, checking on any new stock, and finally settling down into a spot to sort through rentals that either needed to be thrown out or re-shelved. It was monotonous, but enough to keep you busy—busy enough that the store had already been open for at least a half hour, you not even bothering to flip on the neon sign that hung from the front window of the store.

“This might help.” The familiar voice says,, nearly scaring the life out of you. You grasp your chest in horror, falling ass first onto the floor. “Shit—sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you like that.”

“Jesus, Eddie—the fuck is wrong with you?” You ask, standing at full height, the top of your head barely reaching his nose. “You cannot sneak up on people like that.”

“I figured you heard me come in—plus, the doors were unlocked.” Fair point. Still, you were annoyed. “Really, you okay?”

“Yeah.” You huff, smoothing the dust off of your pants and adjusting the horrible, itchy work vest you wore. “Just, please—never do that again.”

“Cross my heart.” Eddie replies endearingly, hand pressed against his chest. He leans forward, noticing the small button on your vest that read ‘Ask me about Science Fiction!’, he flicks it amusingly.

“So, any good suggestions for me today?” He asks, “maybe something science fiction-y?” Eddie’s fishing for something, you’re just not sure what. You steal the previous rental from his hands, placing it on the counter.

“I would suggest Star Wars, but I think that’s an obvious one—you’ve probably already seen it.” You travel down the row, Eddie not very far behind.

“I haven’t.”

Your mouth practically drops to the floor in shock—of course Eddie hadn’t seen it, this man knew of three things—weed, heavy rock music, and more weed.

“What? Is that bad?” His eyebrow is quirked up inquisitively, bracing both hands against the top of surrounding rows.

“It’s a fucking crime, Eddie.” You slap the rental into his chest, grabbing his hand to force it into his hold and out of yours.

He’s laughing, turning on his heels to follow you obediently. Truly, he just hadn’t found the time to actually sit down and enjoy it, it wasn’t entirely his fault.

“So, Star Wars—check.” He lists off, “Anything else?”

“You should probably start off slow.” You suggest coyly, patting his arm. “No need to over indulge, then you won’t be able to put them down.”

That was his problem exactly. He’d overindulged into you and now—he just couldn’t quit, he had to know everything. Likes, dislikes, why you always came to school with such a sour puss look on your face, or why you always ate lunch in your car instead of inside the cafeteria—why you always made sure to bump into him in the hallway just to find a reason to speak to him in front of his friends (okay, maybe you definitely went out of your way to talk to him as often as you could.) —not that he cared, but he wasn’t losing his mind when he noticed that his interest wasn’t completely one-sided.

And yeah, maybe Eddie was just what you needed, but boys—boys were off limits. School, work, home. That’s how your life worked and it worked well. Routine was the only thing that kept you on such a straight line. Aside from that freshman hook up with Jason, then Jay from Band class, and that one—very quick—time with Aaron from Physics, there was also the other Erin—in contrast, she’d been an absolute dream to experience, both as a friend and someone who you felt safe enough sharing some of your firsts with. So maybe you weren’t as focused as you should’ve been—but you were trying, that counted, right?

“Princess,” Eddie’s voice brings you back to the surface, his fingers snapping in your face to break you from the trance you had fallen in, “time to come back to the land of the living.”

“Sorry,” You smile sheepishly, “What were you saying?”

He has the nerve to look smug, the faintest trace of a smirk on his face. “I didn’t say anything. You just went blank and—“ He waves his hands wildly in your direction, as if that made any sense.

You try to calm your thoughts, your mind, focusing yourself with the task at hand—get Eddie Munson out of here as soon as possible.

“Got that spare copy of Robo—“ You pull the copy of the horrible named porno from under the desk where you had left. That section was a nightmare to sort through. “Oh, well there was supposed to be a joke there—but now I forgot.” He seemed caught off guard by the idea that you already knew exactly what he was gearing to say. “You hidin’ it for yourself or something?”

“God no.” You scoff, typing idly. “I never step foot in that area of the store—that’s all Harrington’s domain.”

Eddie extends his hand out, making a soft grabbing motion toward the object in your hand. You offer it up cautiously, watching as he saunters over to the section and plopped it right back into the spot it belonged.

Well, that was one way to make the job easier. Actually—

“Hey, are you busy right now?” It’s a shot in the dark, but it’s still worth it.

“Depends on why you’re asking.” Eddie says slowly, palms resting against the counter upon his return. He’s eyeing you carefully, you try not to look away.

“I could use the help sorting,” You start, pointing at the pile you hadn’t even made a dent in yet, “and I’ve gotta cover a shift at the record store in a few hours, so I’d really like to get this shit done, preferably today.”

“Record store? The one over by Bradley’s Big Buy?” Eddie perked up out of nowhere. “I go there all the time.”

“Yeah.” You reply is slow, methodical. “My dad owns it.”

“No fuckin’ way.” If Eddie was trying to hide the fact that you may have just become his favorite person ever, he was doing a terrible job. His eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas morning.

“You know what—you help me get through all of this before my shift ends and I’ll let you sift through the storage in the back of the record shop where we keep the real gems, let you take a few as a reward for your hard work. Deal?” You hold out your hand, waiting for the deal to be set in stone.

“Oh, hell yeah.” Eddie says, shaking your hand firmly.

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

The keys jingle as you fiddle with the lock on the door. Eddie’s feet doing a soft pitter-patter behind you. He was antsy as hell, more so than you had ever seen him. It was driving you insane—you turn abruptly to look at him.

“Eddie, seriously—I’m going to have to strap you to a chair if you don’t stop.” He didn’t think you were serious, but you were absolutely willing to do whatever was needed.

“Sorry.” He says softly, the shuffling coming to a stop a few moments after. You offer him a warm smile, finally managing to force the lock to turn, opening the back entrance to the shop.

The smell was something you could never forget. It was similar to the smell of old books, mixed with the sweet smell of cinnamon. The small area that encased the back of the store was for employees—a lounge area fit for a few people with a small kitchenette attached. You glance back at Eddie, who hadn’t moved from the spot he was in. You grab for his wrist, gently yanking him inside and shutting the door behind you.

“When I said stop I didn’t mean freeze.” You joke playfully, continuing to hold onto the sleeve of his jacket as you tug him through the rest of the way, turning another corner to reach the storage room. “A few rules—none of the boxes off the top shelf, mostly because I don’t want you hurting yourself and I have no idea how sturdy those things are and two, you don’t speak a word of this to anyone—not a single soul, Eddie Munson.”

“Heard, boss.” He nods eagerly.

“Voila.” Throwing your hand out to the side fancifully, allowing him a grand entrance into the only sacred part of this building.

If anyone found out about this, you were surely dead.

“There’s a few first editions in here, some misprints, a lot of represses and remasters—it’s a lot so just…have at it.” Eddie’s holding his hands close to his body, afraid that if he touches anything it was going to disintegrate into a pile of dust, which was very well possible.

“Personally, I’d go with a copy of Ozzy or Iron Maiden, these are almost impossible to get your hands on.” You pull out the two covers simultaneously, parading them out for show. His smile is genuine, but it doesn’t seem to be what he’s looking for.

He scans around for a minute before finally stopping on a box a few feet away. “Aha!” Eddie exclaims, holding the piece up in front of him. “Found you.”

Metallica. You should’ve known. It was a damn good album, even you could attest to that. “Good choice.” You nudge him gently, sifting through the box in front of him. If he wants to say something, he doesn’t. Eddie bites his tongue, for once. It was way too much to unpack in one evening—the idea of some popular priss of the school like you even recognizing how absolutely metal this album was.

“Actually, I think I’ll stick with this.” Eddie tells you, following your lead as you exited the storage room. He didn’t want to be greedy or take advantage of the situation and you were fine with that, it was nice, actually. You couldn’t remember the last time you had ever managed to have a conversation with a boy that didn’t end with him asking to shove a hand up your shirt, or worse.

Though, Eddie’s own bubble of bliss popped at the sound of a voice carrying through to the back of the store, eyes widening in fear. You panic, shoving him into a dark corner, down one of the rows, yanking him down to squat out of sight.

“I thought you said we didn’t have to worry about your dad showing up?!” Eddie says in a hushed whisper, eyes showing how desperate he was to escape this situation.

You silence him with the palm of your hand, pulling him lower, almost on top of you, to avoid being seen. You turn to peek from under the legs that held up the bins of records, watching as your father wandered around until he found what he was looking for—his wallet, of all fucking things. Eddie says something into your hand, but it’s muffled. You swat him gently, but it’s enough to warrant a warning—and the look you give him... he obeys almost immediately.

The moment you two are finally alone again, you both collapse with a loud sigh on the floor—hearts pounding out of your chest.

“Am I dead?” Eddie asks, staring up at the ceiling. You lean over him, popping into his line of sight.

“If you’re dead, I guess I’ll have to take back that copy of—“ You slowly reach for the record he still had a death grip on.

“No, no. Anything but that.” He begs, holding it closer to his chest. You chuckle softly, pushing yourself up. Eddie follows suit slowly, still reeling from the aftermath of what had just happened.

“Wanna listen for a bit?” You suggest, trying to ease some of his nerves. “I’ve got a few minutes until I have to open shop and that record player up front is top of the fuckin’ line. It sounds amazing.”

“You wanna listen? To Metallica?” He asks, confirming what he had suspected earlier, but it still didn’t help hide the bewilderment he was experiencing.

“The fact that I know you’re judging me so hard is kind of an asshole move, Munson.” You tease, grabbing the vinyl from his hand and setting it onto the record player.

It crackles to life, almost like magic, the song begins to play dimly in the background. You didn’t want to risk blowing the speakers out this early, so a manageable volume seemed appropriate.

“I’m not judging, I swear. I just—I had no idea, you know.” He’s leaning against the wall, hands crossed loosely over his chest. “Metal heads are a rare breed, they think we’re all fuckin’ nuts.”

“Aren’t we?” You joke, perched against the top of one of the leather chairs arranged near the entrance.

“There’s no way you’re real.” Eddie shakes his head with disbelief, running a twitchy hand through the back of his hair. It makes your heart twinge, the way he sounds so exasperated over the whole thing.

“I’m very real.” You remind him, poking gently at his arm. Eddie makes a small sound, a huff of laughter, though pained in the way it never actually leaves his mouth. “You okay, Eddie?”

“Yeah. Yeah, fine.”

Eddie was either impossible to read, or showing his emotions on his sleeve, there was no in-between. But right now, you were struggling to decipher why he seemed so off—switching from foot to foot nervously, fingers pulling at the loose thread on his jacket absently, chewing softly at his bottom lip like he’s trying desperately to stop himself from talking.

Screw always staying on the straight and narrow, you were taking the damn leap. You reach out for the hand that was tugging at a flimsy piece thread, fingers wrapping loosely around his own. His gaze is soft, looking up at you ever so slightly. “Eddie, you can talk to me.”

“Huh.” It’s a quiet sound, but you watch that way his chest bounces at the action. He’s eerily silent, like he can’t find the words to talk—but you could do enough of that for the both of you.

“Okay, don’t talk to me.” It comes out wrong, condescending. You scramble for a moment, “Not—I mean, I want you to feel like you can talk to me, but if you don’t want to, that’s fine too.” It’s a gentle reminder that no matter what, you respected his boundaries.

I’m kind of obsessed with you—is what he wants to say. But he can’t. He can’t even form the words. Any words. He takes a long, deep breath to calm himself.

“Please don’t hate me for this.”

“Why would I—“ Oh.

It felt…too good, too right, too entirely fuckin’ real. You can’t even find it in you to pull back, inhaling shakily against Eddie’s mouth, parting just enough to give you the space you needed to let your brain catch up with the rest of your body.

“Still don’t hate you.” You whisper into the air between you both, lips still close enough that they graze against his with every movement.

“Good.” He sighs, reaching forward to press one last sweet, lingering kiss against your lips. It was a lot less scandalous than you anticipated—not that you ever imagined kissing Eddie Munson...but still, definitely better than any expectation you might’ve had.

“Eddie, I really have to work.” You say with nothing but regret, feeling like cutting this short was a lousy attempt at escaping the situation, which was so far from what you wanted to do, but you couldn’t even process what was happening, not fully, at least. “We can talk later, if you want.”

“Uh, sure.” Eddie still sounds defeated, backing away slowly. He didn’t know what he was expecting, really. There was no way you would immediately fall head over heels, prepared with some sort of epic love confession. Still, he was disappointed with himself for not being able to express things differently.

You sigh, trying to find some way to reassure the poor boy standing before you. “We can shelf this,” You thought it was kinda cheesy, he did too. His smile is enough to make you feel a little bit better about cutting him off so quickly, “and you can call this number when you feel like talking to me.”

Reaching for the pen sitting on the clipboard on the table beside you, you scribble down a fury of numbers on a line of paper and shove it into his palm. You couldn’t do mixed signals, friends or not—if Eddie had something he wanted to say, you needed to hear it, he needed to hear himself say it. You needed it to be real.

“I’ll wait.”

As long as it would take.

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

A day passes, then two, three—nearly a week and Eddie still hasn’t bothered to call you, no matter how much time you spent sitting by the landline all evening, going so far as to study and eat dinner within arms reach of the phone, wondering why he still hadn’t called.

Maybe he had changed his mind, and that was fine, but it was still a kick in the ass—a reminder that you couldn’t let silly little crushes distract you like this. Eddie even avoided you in the hallway more often, taking a left toward his mandatory PE class, rather than taking the long way around to have a conversation with you. You felt ashamed, embarrassed that you had even allowed him to kiss you, it made you feel vulnerable.

After a week of silence and too many eerily quiet shifts at Family Video, enough is enough. And as luck would have it, you find him on a Friday night, digging through a discount bin at your dad’s record store—which, you should have known. But what was more astonishing, was how long he had managed to avoid you, here, of all places.

“We’re closing in ten, folks!” Your dad’s voice bellows through the place, warning the very few stragglers left that if they weren’t out within that time, it would be an issue. “Hiya, sweetheart.”

Eddie whips around at the speed of light, eyes landing on you immediately. You can’t help but look smug, arms crossed tightly over your chest. He tries to compose himself, turning back to the bin and continuing to browse through.

What an asshole, you think.

“Hey.” It’s simple, short, an easy way to start a conversation.

“Hi.” His voice doesn’t waver, but he sure as hell doesn’t look at you.

“If you’re not going to say anything, I will.” He’d done enough tiptoeing the past week, you just wanted an explanation.

He sighs, looking up at you slowly. “I know. I’m a dick for ignoring you.” He wasn’t wrong, you definitely felt it was a dick move that way he handled things. But, you hated holding grudges, especially against someone like Eddie, who you never hated to begin with.

“I get it, if you didn’t want to talk about what happened—it’s fine, but I still like talking to you, Eddie. You wouldn’t even look at me during lunch or any time I passed you in the halls—and don’t forget how late you are on returning that copy of ‘A New Hope’.” You point a feebly accusing finger in his direction, poking gently at his chest.

“I did.” He admits, “I gave it to Harrington and he handled it for me.”

Brows furrowed, your gaze ices over. “You went through me—to Steve?!” Now that, that stung. “You couldn’t even return a rental because I scared you off that much?”

“You didn’t scare me!”

You both freeze, not entirely sure where the outburst stunned from, luckily enough the store had emptied already. Still, that left a very clueless father of yours to watch the whole conversation unravel.

“I’ll give you two some privacy.” He says, but it’s mostly directed at you. He slips the store keys into your hand. “Lock up and don’t stay out too late.”

You’ve never been more thankful for having such relaxed parents.

“You didn’t scare me.” Eddie repeats himself, more relaxed but still tense around the edges.

“Then why are you avoiding me?” You push. “Was kidding me really that horrible?”

“No—god, no. I have—I don’t really,” He takes a breath, hand steady out in front of himself between the space you two held, “I’ve never talk to people that I like—everyone thinks I’m this freak that worships that devil when all I really do is—“

“Play D&D with underclassmen and listen to metal rock at ungodly volumes from the inside of your van?” You ask, seemingly shutting him up. “Eddie, I know—the only people that believe that shit are the ones that can’t even look at themselves in the mirror and face who they are.”

You pull him toward the seating nook near the front of the store, forcing him down on the old leather couch shoved against the wall, allowing him the time he needs before he speaks again. You didn’t glance over his admission at liking you, but it was so painfully obvious that bringing it up again might do more harm than good, teasing him was the last thing you wanted to do. It was better to let him find the words he needed to express how he felt, that’s what you’d been waiting for—nearly a week now.

“I kissed you and it screwed everything up. I was so caught up in this idea of what I thought you were that when I realized who you actually were—I didn’t know how to respond, so I kissed you.”

“I do have interests, Eddie. I’m not some robot. They may not be what you expected, but the person I am at school, that’s not me. It’s what I want people to see—outside of school, I don’t have to force that image that I throw on. It’s just me.” You kept the two things on different sides of the universe, not that you weren’t ashamed of the fake act you put on around everyone, but it was the least complicated thing that somehow made sense in your mind.

You continue talking, Eddie forced to do nothing but listen. “I like Kate Bush and Journey—fuckin’ Metallica. My dad taught me how to play D&D when I was twelve for fucks sake. I love nerdy shit and maybe I’m ashamed to tell people that, but I’m sure as hell not afraid to like it.”

Eddie could’ve sworn his brain short-circuited at your admission, not that it was something groundbreaking, but it was something he had failed to notice on his own, how easily he overlooked you and believed in the show you put on for everyone else.

“I always thought you looked at me as some weird freak that annoyed you all the time.” He laughs quietly, fingers rubbing against the side of his rings absently.

“Annoyed me, yes.” You giggle softly, “Looked at you like you were some weird freak? Never. That’s a little hypocritical, don’t you think?”

“Well, now I just feel like an asshole.” Eddie admits, smirking ever so slightly. “I should’ve noticed.”

“That was the whole point, Eddie.” You tell him, thumping his forehead gently. He gasps, rubbing the spot dramatically, as if you actually did any damage. “You think I didn’t know what you were doing these past few months? Visiting me at work, purposely saving the seat behind me in class just so you could bother me for answers—you could’ve just talked to me, Eddie. The idea that you think that I think I’m too good for you—it hurts.”

“Everything is fucked up now.” He says, it being the only conclusion he could come to. There was no rectifying what he had ruined, not in his mind.

“It’s not,” you remind him, slowly standing from your seat to pull from the stack of records by the record player, the beginnings of some random pop-ish song you’ve never heard of filling the room, “and since you want to be so self-deprecating, I’m going to make you sit through this god awful song until you realize that not only do I not hate you—I would let you kiss me again, and again, and ag—“

Eddie grips your head firmly, hand cradling the back of your head, fingers all wound up in your hair. He’s got his mouth on you, this time completely unashamed, all him and no impulse. It’s a little sloppy, the way his mouth meets yours. You weren’t ready for it, but to say that your mouth wasn’t a perfect fit against his own, that was a blatant lie. You two fit together well, his lips slotting against yours perfectly. He smells like weed and pine and nature, it’s your favorite smell in the world now.

“And again, and again.” Eddie mocks against your lips when you two finally come up for air. He couldn’t tell you where the sudden act of boldness came from, his body working purely on feeling and adrenaline.

“We gotta stop doing this.” You say, pulling back just enough to look at him.

“Kissing? Because I don’t know if I’m gonna be able to—“

“No, turning this record shop into our sacred make out spot.”

Eddie snorts at that, pulling back even more, head thrown back in a small fit of laughter. “I wouldn’t call that making out, would you?”

“You know what I mean.” You shove him lightly, nearly pushing him off you. But, he doesn’t let go.

Silence falls over you both, neither of you finding the words to break it. It didn’t feel wrong, crossing this line. Eddie wasn’t some forbidden fruit you couldn’t have a taste of—though he couldn’t say the same for you, but there were definitely some things that needed to be worked through.

“You’re not my boyfriend,” You tell him sternly and outright, “not yet. But, that doesn’t mean I’m not going to let you kiss me if you want to.”

“You’re not afraid of what people will say?” It’s the first genuine question that you can immediately answer, not an inkling of doubt behind it.

“I don’t give a shit what people think about who I associate myself with.” You reply honestly, eyes conveying an openness you only reserved for the people closest to you.

“Won’t it tank your reputation?” He laughs, fingers coming up to play with a stray piece of hair framing your face. “Can’t stay popular when you have a freak like me following you around.”

“Doubtful.” The students of Hawkins were so desperate for leadership, they would follow you without question. It was a gross thing to think about, but some people couldn’t be bothered to think for themselves and would rather have other people do it for them. “I think I scare a lot of people.”

Eddie nods, almost like he can relate. “You can be a little terrifying.”

“Good.” You say proudly, finally managing to separate yourself from Eddie, even if you really didn’t want to.

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

He kisses you that following Monday, square on the mouth, in front of not only his entire group of friends from Hellfire, but the entire senior class, including a few other underclassmen that lingered in the hallway for far too long. It’s puzzling at first, you’re confused, but you manage to fix your face quickly, smiling up at the boy standing in front of you.

“You really like drawing a crowd, Munson.” You tease, voice hushed so only he could hear.

“It’s a talent.” He remarks, gesturing wildly with his face, fingers pointed up to mimic devil horns, tongue stuck out for extra flair.

He was unapologetically himself and it was refreshing. You didn’t realize how hard everyone was staring until he’s left your side, and maybe you should feel ashamed, but the moment you attempt to lock eyes with any of them, they’re averting their eyes at the speed of light. Good—mind your damn business, you think.

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

He still pesters you at Family Video every other day, but not nearly as much as before. Fortunately for Steve, he was receiving most of the attention now—and even if he would never admit it, he was warming up to Eddie.

“He asked if I could sell him some weed.” Eddie tells you one day, unprovoked and out of the blue. Your eyes nearly pop out of your head in surprise.

“You know what, I don’t even wanna know.” You tell him, hands up in defense. “Just know, Steve has the tolerance of a mouse—beer, weed, whatever. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Oh what, and little miss perfect’s never smoked a joint before?”

“Never.” You assure him. You weren’t one to judge, to each their own, but you never found any interest in actually trying it.

“And somehow you’ve got a crush on the one dude who smokes weed on a daily basis.” Eddie teases, finger jabbing your cheek softly. You can’t help but smile.

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

The first time Eddie invites you to his trailer is rather uneventful. You meet his uncle, briefly. He doesn’t seem like much of a talker, but he’s still pleasantly surprised to see his nephew talking to someone, no matter who they were.

You two end up eating silently, talking about random and obscure things that only made sense between the four walls you both existed in.

“Favorite D&D class—go.” Eddie shoots a finger gun your way, grape shoved halfway into your mouth.

“Easy, rogue.” Stealth & trickery, that one was built for you. “Your turn.”

“Bard.” He says after a careful moment of thinking. “I don’t think that really needs much explaining.” Eddie says, flashing the beautiful guitar that hung on his wall, his most prized possession. “Plus, I’m super fuckin’ charming.”

“That you are.” You whisper softly, leaning forward to pull him in for a kiss. It’s cut entirely too short by Eddie pulling away, shoving another bit of food into his own mouth.

“Eat first, kiss later.” He orders.

And it’s not against your own human nature when you only receive so much as a few kisses before you’re leaving that night, wondering if maybe you were pushing too hard.

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

So, you dial things back. It was fine if Eddie was making an attempt at slowing things down on purpose—the problem was, you weren’t used to it. You blame that partially on the fact that you’ve never gotten involved in anything more than a quick hookup. It was a foreign concept.

But Eddie does seem to take notice that you’re trying to create more distance at his expense and that just won’t do. So he’ll slide his hand up the back of your shirt, over the curve of your ass, a gentle tug on your hair when he’s kissing the life out of you from the driver’s side of his van, parked in the makeshift driveway outside his trailer home.

But, it constantly leaves you wanting more. You want him to touch you everywhere, constantly thinking about how his hands would feel around your thighs, running up the plane of your breasts, around your neck—and maybe you can blame it on the late surge of teenage hormones running through your body at eighteen.

And when the words finally left your mouth a few weeks later, laid out underneath Eddie on his unmade bed, you weren’t really sure what to expect.

“Are you scared to have sex with me?” You ask, voice sounding entirely too small in this big room. “Did I do something wrong?”

He lifts his head from where it’s resting on your chest, “What?”

“Are you waiting until marriage? Because if you are—that’s fine, but I really didn’t see that coming from you—not that I’m judging, it’s a valid choice.” You spit out in one breath, trying to compensate for how shitty you felt after asking him that.

“I’m a virgin.” He blurts out at once.

“O-oh. Okay.” You say slowly, caught off-guard by the admission. “I’m sorry, I just assumed that—“

“I’ve made out with people before and done a few other things but,” He tells you, “I’ve just never..”

“No, it’s fine.” You assure him, sitting up in his bed to look at him clearly, “I feel like a total asshole now.”

“Believe me, I want to have sex with you.” He looks so damn earnest, his palm resting against your knee, thumb rubbing against the skin gently. “I just don’t want to disappoint—gotta live up to the reputation, you know?”

“You’ve never even come close?” You ask curiously. It seemed like a harmless enough question to ask.

“Yeah—a few times. I always cut things short, though. I’ve had people offer me sex and blowies in exchange for weed, but that just feels wrong on so many levels.”

You nod slowly, thoughtfully. “Well, I’m not gonna push you or anything. It doesn’t have to be some big, monumental thing we have to tiptoe around. We can just…figure it out as we go.”

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

The next couple months are easy, creeping up toward Christmas, impatiently awaiting a much needed break from school, work—even life. You wanted to lock yourself in your room and sleep for a week straight. Between your constant work shifts, covering Steve for dates because you’re way too nice of a friend, and still making sure to spend time with Eddie, you were worn out. Not that Eddie was a chore, but it felt like you couldn’t give him your full, undivided attention when your mind was constantly thinking of your schedule for the next day.

When you finally do manage to reward yourself with a few glorious days off, you spend them locked up in your room, just as you intended.

Tap. Tap. It was nearly eleven at night, who in the hell could possible be—

Eddie’s head pops into view, clearly struggling to keep himself upright. You scramble to the window, opening it up to pull him inside.

“Are you insane?” You ask, helping him step over the threshold without face planting on to the carpet. “My parents are asleep downstairs—if they find you up here this late, I’m dead. Dead, Eddie.���

“I’ll be quiet.” He smiles, fingers crossed over his heart in a way that told you he meant it.

“What did you want?” You ask, not really trying to sound like an asshole, but your exhaustion is making it seem that way.

“Wanted to see you.” He shrugs, plopping himself down on your bed. He’s holding his hands out too, hoping you would follow suit.

He nearly manhandles you over his lap, letting you rest against his thighs. “What’s gotten into you?” You ask, hands resting against his lower abdomen where his shirt had ridden up. “Is this a late night booty call?”

“A what—“ He looks genuinely confused, “nevermind.”

“Oh, so you just missed me?” You tease, hands crawling up the expanse of his chest, you reach forward to kiss teasingly against the bit of his chest that was exposed from his top, right above his tattoo. “That’s cute.”

“I had an idea.” Oh no, you think. It was either going to be something completely outlandish or—who the fuck were you kidding? This was Eddie. “Since you’ve been so stressed lately.”

“Yeah?” You reply eagerly, ready for any type of distraction to help take your mind off of everything.

“Let me go down on you.” And if there was a list of things that you never expected to hear Eddie Munson say, that was nearing the top.

“Eddie Munson.” You respond, sounding scandalized.

“Don’t tell me you’re turning down an orgasm.” He responds cockily, almost full of himself.

“I thought you said you-“

“I’m not that clueless, princess.” Well then. “Now, lay down.”

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

Definitely not clueless. Not in the slightest of ways.

Eddie’s mouth his way down the inside of your thigh, biting and licking at your skin in a way that has you squirming desperately.

“No fingers.” He tells you.

You nod. At a loss of words for the first time in your life.

“Just my mouth.” He says around a particularly sensitive spot, sucking lightly. “That’s all I need.”

He sounds entirely too sure of himself.

“We can make a deal, if you’re that confident.” You challenge, head craning down to look at him from in between your legs. He gives you a look that signals for you to keep talking, not bothering to stop the desperate attack on your skin that was surely going to leave marks the next morning.

“You make me come—I’ll blow you.” You say breathlessly, squirming again as the heat from his breath hits your bare cunt. “Deal?”

“Fuck yeah.”

He starts gentle, easy, separating your folds with his tongue and teasing at your clit. You sigh, admiring the sight of Eddie’s head tucked between your legs, face buried into the apex of your thighs. It seemed like a bold statement at first, the idea of Eddie making you come with nothing but his mouth—but you realize your own feeble mistake. Eddie turned you on enough that he didn’t need to use fingers, you could come with just his mouth—hell, just the sight of him between your legs had your thighs clenching around his head, caging him in place.

The hand that isn’t resting against your stomach pulls against the inside of your thigh, forcing your legs open wider, and wider. He’s practically drinking you in now, switching between licking and sucking at your sensitive clit in intervals that had your body arching in pleasure and agony—agony at the fact that this couldn’t continue on forever.

“You’re such a liar.” You force out through clenched teeth, his chuckle is apparent as it vibrates against your cunt, sending you reeling.

“Just because I haven’t had sex doesn’t mean I can’t compensate in other areas.” And then he’s back to work.

“Oh, oh fuck.” You’re desperately trying to keep your voice down, the only solution being for you to cover your mouth with your hand, muffling the moans that Eddie was pulling out of you. “This is cruel.”

“You’re really wet.” He observes, pulling back to allow you both a breather, “It’s all over your sheets.”

“Shit happens—I’ll wash them later—just keep going, please.” You rush out, using your hands to physically direct him back to your cunt, his nose brushing up against your clit as his tongue dipped inside of you.

You were passed caring at this point, desperate for the orgasm that was building in your lower abdomen. You’ve got the sheets in a knuckle white grip, gasping at every lick and nudge he made against your sensitive and swollen clit, face burning with the heat of how close you were, flushed a deep red.

“Gonna come, Eddie.” You warn, which only encourages him further. And god, the mouth on him. He’s licking desperately at your cunt, your juices and his spit mixing together to create a glorious slippery mess that created the perfect amount of friction.

And he feels it coming, the way your fingers grip the hair at the base of his head, he reaches up to cover your mouth, you clasp your own hand over his—and finally, you let go.

“Christ.” You say on an exhale, dizzy from what had to be the single most hardest orgasm you’ve ever felt. “Get the fuck up here, Eddie.”

“And just like that,” He snaps, “stress free.” His face is wet still, covered in you, and you can’t help but laugh. “What, something on my face?” You reach up and grab the collar of his shirt to wipe away the mess from his mouth.

“All good.” You assure him, patting his chest gently. It takes a while for you to finally gain your bearings, but eventually you do. “And like I said—a deal is a deal.” You turn to look at him, enjoying the way he’s spread out on your bed, smug and jovial. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

He nods, “With a gorgeous someone like you asking to suck my dick? Absolutely.”

Eddie sure had a way with words.

“Here, turn this way.” You tell him, tapping his thigh softly so he’d move.

“Why can’t I—“ You drop to your knees on the soft carpet of your floor, fitting perfectly between his legs. “Oh.”

You unbuckle his belt, fumbling a little with the loops, so you forgo trying to take the whole thing off and just focus on being able to unbutton his pants. He pushes them down, letting them pool around his ankles.

Eddie doesn't really know where to put his hands, first his thighs, then the sheets and back again. “Do I just—“

You place his hands on either side of him, wrapped around the edge of the mattress and—Jesus, was that more a turn on than having his head between your thighs, his rings shining prominently against the pale skin of his fingers.

“Just keep them there and flow with whatever works, Eddie. You tell me what feels good.” He nods softly.

He’s hard already, reeling off the high of going down on you, so instead of trying to tease him any longer—which you weren’t sure he could handle, you peel his underwear down, enough to where it drops on its own and you can finally admire his dick in full view, completely bare.

You didn’t realize you had your bottom lip pulled underneath your top row of teeth until Eddie was rubbing gently at your chin, staring down at you with gentle, loving eyes. It’s so sickeningly sweet that you want to burst into tears.

“No fingers?” You tease. “Just my mouth?”

“I think we can make an exception in this case.”

You waste no time in wrapping your hand around his shaft, Eddie swallowing audibly from above you. Still in one piece, that was good. You move slowly, a few long, languid strokes of his dick until you’re peering up at him asking, “Is this good?”

Contrary to whatever Eddie might be thinking, you’ve never actually had anyone’s anything in your mouth. Handjobs were easy, quick—but you’d never gone so far as to give a blowjob to any guy you’ve ever hooked up with. This was all new territory for you.

“Here.” Eddie has a firm grip around your hand, pushing you to squeeze a little tight, tug faster, enough to build a steady pace of both pressure and friction. “Shit—like that. That’s good.”

He sighs shakily, leaning more into the weight of his arm, praying to whatever god out there that it was enough to keep him upright.

You lean forward to lick at the tip carefully, he’s quiet and methodical, like he’s trying to focus on something. His eyes are shut right, hands now balled into fists.

Another lick this time, from the base of his dick to the tip before you’re swallowing him down, using your hands to follow what your mouth couldn’t. Unfortunately for you, gag reflexes were definitely still a thing and you weren’t going to force what wouldn’t fit—and there was a lot of Eddie that wasn’t going to fit. He was, without a doubt, bigger than any other person you’d been with—not so comical that it didn’t seem real, but it was more than enough.

“Fuck, this is gonna over way to quick.” He groans, “Slow-slow down.”

“Hands in my hair.” You tell him, guiding a hand toward the back of your head, he obeys easily, fingers twisted into the hair at the base of your neck. “Control the pace, I’ll follow.”

“You’re not real.” He breathes out in disbelief, rewarding him by swirling your tongue around the tip of his dick before your lips wrap around it, sucking lightly.

He moans louder than you initially expected, both of you pulling back in shock, your hand immediately darting toward his mouth.

“Don’t think I won’t shove something in your mouth if you want to keep that up.” You warned halfheartedly, but you were definitely more serious than playful.

“I can’t make any promises, sweetheart.” Well, you appreciated the honesty.

You suck him down again, as fully as possible, keeping a steady rhythm around his dick. He’s holding himself together better, but he’s still pretty noisy regardless. You reach aimlessly for something, anything, to shove in his mouth.

“Back pocket of my jeans,” He says, practically whining, “the—fuck, just grab it, you know what I’m talking about.”

You quickly yank at the black handkerchief in the pocket of his jeans, shoving it quickly into his mouth on the uptick of another groan, muffled perfectly by the fabric.

He bucks his hips on a particular downward motion of your mouth, the back of his dick hitting your throat and nearly causing you to gag, but you recover, bringing him closer and closer to his own orgasm. Eddie can’t even focus on his own thoughts at this point, he sounds insufferable. He’s gone from upright to sprawled across your sheets, gasping underneath the confines of the cloth.

“Gonna come,” Eddie forces out, quickly unstuffing his mouth, patting your shoulder gently as a warning, “you gotta pull off.”

You do and just in time for Eddie to spill over his stomach, his shirt having thankfully ridden up enough in his constant squirming that it narrowly managed to miss it. He’s clearly forcing himself to keep quiet, feeling himself coming down from the most mind blowing orgasm he’s ever received by another person. You try not to sit too long on the fact that no one has ever seen him the way you have, so blown out from an orgasm that you caused.

Eddie slowly pulls his underwear and jeans back over his hips, leaving them unbuttoned as he falls back on your bed, dragging you down with him.

“You really are the gift that keeps on giving.” He jokes, rubbing your back gently, hands finding their way underneath the fabric of your shirt, barely finger tipping past the point of your ass, playing absently with the hem of your underwear.

“And this gift needs some sleep.” You tell him.

And so what if you both ended up cuddled underneath the covers in your bedroom that night, neither of you bothering to ruin this tiny bit of bliss you had created. Eddie still managed to sneak out that morning without any evidence that he had ever been there.

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

Eddie can’t stop touching you since the night you two shared over the weekend, always finding any reason to have a hand on you—against your back, resting against the soft dip in your waist, or just dealing his arm around your shoulder in an effort to pull you closer.

“You sure you wanna try?” He asks, holding the joint in front of your face, waiting for you to grab it. “You really don’t have to.”

You wanted to, even if it was only this once. You had to live through the hype that everyone was talking about, even if you decided to never touch it after this moment, ever again.

“For the tenth time—yes.” You laugh, snatching the joint from his fingers and pulling it toward your lips. You remember what Eddie told you. Breathe in, not too deep, hold, then out through your nose.

But, you fuck up on the second step, taking in a little too much, lungs burning from the smoke you inhaled. You lean over, feeling like you’re going to cough yourself into a miserable death on the floor of Eddie’s trailer.

“We’ll work on it.” Eddie assures you, rubbing your back comfortingly.

It was the first and last time you ever touched a joint.

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

Christmas comes and goes, a flurry of family visits and gift giving to all of your friends, leading up to dinner at Eddie’s trailer the evening of the day after, enjoying a small dinner with himself and his uncle. There’s some small talk, but most of the dinner is spent with you watching the two of them debate over some band you aren’t even sure you’ve ever heard of.

“Thank you.” Eddie tells you when he’s finally parked in front of your house, rubbing the backside of your hand with his thumb, fingers curling around your palm. You squeeze his hand in return.

“It was nice.” You admit. “My family is really loud, so it was a lot more enjoyable than you’d think.”

He chuckles softly, not wanting to let go of your hand, and not really wanting to say goodbye, either. You check the driveway, reminding yourself that your parents had left for another party a few towns over, a family friend.

“Hey, why don’t you stay for a bit?” You suggest, nodding in the direction of your house. “My parents won’t be home until midnight, I’m guessing–so maybe I can finally give you a grand tour without my parents asking you a million questions.” And ask they would, which is exactly why he hadn’t officially met them yet. Plus, he hadn’t officially asked you to be his girlfriend in any sense of the word–so it didn’t feel right either way.

Eddie doesn’t even so much as hesitate, hopping out of his car to follow you to the front door. The house is a decent size–a few bedrooms and a couple bathrooms, kitchen, all the normal things you would expect from a house in the suburbs.

You both collapse on your bed the moment you enter your room, both exhausted and full from the ridiculous amount of food you consumed over dinner.

Eddie finds out that you talk in your sleep that night–which should be considered singing, but your voice is so off-key that not even he can sugarcoat it. He doesn’t say anything, though. He listens to you jam out into the quiet ambiance of your room, ceiling fan buzzing from above.

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

“Let’s have sex.” Eddie interjects bluntly, causing you to choke on the giant swig of water you had just attempted to swallow. It was New Years Eve and you both had planned to spend it together, even if you didn’t really have anything fun to do—spending time with Eddie was always eventful—case in point.

“Yeah,” you nod slowly, “Okay.” You never bothered to push Eddie on the topic, letting him come to that decision when he felt like it. Plus, his courage has probably been boosted from all the orgasms he’s given you, not that you were complaining—Eddie gave amazing head.

It doesn’t take much more coaxing to get you into his bed, naked from the waist up, Eddie’s mouth focused on nothing but the soft, plush valley of your breasts. He squeezed the one that wasn’t occupied by his mouth gently, tongue swirling around the bud of your nipple.It felt good, amazing, but you were way too horny to focus on the feeling of Eddie's mouth against your tits for this long.

“This is probably a terrible time to bring this up—“ He begins, but you silence him, tearing his mouth away from your tender breast and up to your mouth.

“Whatever it is, it can wait.” You laugh softly. Eddie’s looking up at you, his hair a wild mess. He looks innocent and naive, with no idea what he was getting himself into. “Do you have condoms?”

Bareback was a hard no—no matter who it was. Although, the idea of tiny little Eddie’s running around was adorable, just not enough to sacrifice everything you learned in Sex Ed. He nods eagerly, reaching over you to grab a thin box from the top of his bedside table. He shakes it, box still unopened.

“How long have you had those?” You ask, almost certain you’d never seen any in his place before.

“A few weeks.” He shrugs, pulling one of the small tin foil squares out of the box and tossing it on the floor. “Wasn’t sure when I should bring it up, you know?”

Like you wouldn’t jump his bones the second he asked, regardless if it had been two days ago or two weeks. You had waited patiently for Eddie to come to the decision on his own, and that’s all you could do. It wasn’t something you two always tiptoed around, you didn’t treat it like he had some ailment that kept him from pleasing you otherwise, it was just one step you hadn’t gotten to yet.

“Have you been planning this, Munson?” You tease, fingers dragging down his chest slowly, stopping just at the edge of his belt, your fingers curling around it.

“You can’t prove anything.” He replies, shoving his face into the crook of your neck to bite teasingly at the skin there. You yelp, squirming in the way it sends shivers down your spine.

“Beautiful, charming, and chivalrous—what did I do to deserve you?” You ask, a smile gracing your face. “Not to mention how downright dirty that mouth is.”

“Oh, I’m full of surprises, sweetheart.” His voice low and teasing, coming up to capture your lips in a filthy kiss, all tongue and eager enthusiasm.

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

Part of you was glad that the shyness between you both was long gone, having seen each other in enough intimate ways that now—it was normal. It took a lot of the edge off for Eddie, who seemed more and more relaxed as the night drew on. You’d both forgone clothing very early on, relishing in the sight of being able to see Eddie completely bare—tattoo and toned muscle on full display.

He’s pretty insistent about going down on you despite how you insisted he didn’t have to, but it was Eddie—always wanting to give more than he took.

“Just like that.” You sigh softly, hips hovering over his mouth, your cunt making a mess all over his face. “Fuck—don’t stop.”

His tongue works quickly, rubbing over the sensitive nub of your swollen clit, his hands coming behind you to pull you further against his face. He’s practically groaning underneath you, hips bucking up into nothing—you’re ready to put him out of his misery, but the crashing feeling of your orgasm creeps up on you out of nowhere, cunt riding it out against his face, which he ravished greedily.

He’s very adamant about not having you return the favor. “There’s no way I’ll last through you doing that and being inside you without blowing my load, at least once. And truthfully, I’d like this to last a little longer than thirty seconds.”

He’s painfully honest and it’s adorable.

“God, you’re so fucking beautiful.” He sighs, brows furrowed slightly.

“You want me on top?” You ask softly, hovering over his bare thighs.

“Are you actually asking me that?” He laughs, a little dumbfounded. He’s right, stupid question.

You grab his hand, guiding it toward your sensitive pussy, allowing him to dip a single digit inside of you. He breathes in sharply, his fingers barely moving. He wasn’t even inside you and he already looked like he could fall apart.

Eddie notices the way your eyes fall shut, basking in the feeling of being filled up, even if it wasn’t by him—not really. He’s slow, precise, curling his finger ever so often until you’re rocking against his own hand, then he’s adding another. “More.” You say, he listens one obediently, squeezing another finger into you, working steadily inside of you now. The stretch felt amazing, but it was still lacking what you needed. You reach between you both, wrapping your fingers around his shaft, pulling gently.

He’s quiet, eyes closed. You pull again, rubbing your thumb over the tip, spreading the small amount of precome that had leaked out. “Fuck, I wanna be inside you.” Eddie moans, mouth hung open slightly.

You decide to finally put him out of his misery.

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

Eddie’s silent as he slips on the condom, his tongue sticking out past his lips from focusing too hard. “Okay, I think we’re good.” He says finally, looking up at you. He squeezes at the side of your waist, pulling you over him.

You guide him inside of you, sinking down into him slowly. It had been far too long since you had been with anyone, the stretch making you wince slightly—it didn’t help that Eddie was a lot larger than what you were typically used to.

Eddie lets out a plethora of soft, random noises—watching intently as your cunt swallows him before finally it can’t take anymore, now pressed fully against one another.

“Move. Just move.” He urges you, hands gripping your waist tightly, you being the only thing anchoring him to reality.

You do, slowly, rocking against him until he’s finally able to focus—“You okay?” You say softly, and the look he gives is something you will never be able to get out of your mind—bottom lip sucked between his teeth, eyes locked on the place where you were both joined together, before glancing up to look at you. He nods jerkily, “Wanna switch?” You ask, giving him the chance to control the pace.

“Please—I already feel like I’m gonna come quickly, but having you on top is just—“ He didn’t feel the need to elaborate.

He flips you over easily, manhandling you against his sheets. Your hips rested high up onto his hips, his forearms barricading your head. He’s moving slowly, too slowly, a short thrust of his hips every couple seconds. Eddie wasn’t going to last long and you knew it.

“Hey, it’s fine.” You reassure him, “Stop thinking.”

“Okay,” He nods, moving his hips faster, “I’m not going to last long, I’m sorry.”

“Eddie,” You grab his chin, pulling attention toward your face, “stop apologizing and fuck me.”

And it’s all he needs to hear.

His mouth latches into the dip of your collarbone, sucking lightly, snapping his hips at a pace that had you moaning out in pleasure. “Feels so good, Eddie.” He bites at the skin of your shoulder and it really shouldn’t turn you on as much as it should. “Again,” you encourage him, “do that again.”

His teeth trail against the skin of your neck, up under your chin, before suck your bottom lip into his mouth, teeth digging in gently. “Say my name.” He breathes against your open mouth.

“Eddie.” You sigh, voice squeaking on a particularly hard snap of his hips. He moans outwardly, loud and strangled. Eddie could feel himself falling apart.

“Fuck—I can’t. I’m gonna come.” He groans out, grunting at the feeling of you squeezing down against his dick.

“It’s okay.” You shake your head, letting him bury his into your neck, his sounds muffled into the sheets.

Eddie’s loud when he comes, hands gripping your thighs so hard that you were definitely going to leave bruises, but you didn’t mind. “Fuck!” He shouts, riding himself through his orgasm before he’s collapsing on top of you. “Holy shit.”

“Well, that’s one way to ring in the New Year.” You comment, hand reaching to wipe that hair out of his face where it had been stuck with sweat. He huffs into your cheek, nose squished against your face. Eddie kisses your cheek, your nose, before capturing your mouth. He pulls out slowly, tying off the condom and tossing it into the trash bin beside his bed before returning back to his original position on top of you,

“Inside of my girlfriend?” He asks, pulling back to look at you. The word slips out accidentally.

“Girlfriend?” You ask, eyebrow raised in question.

“Well, that’s what I was trying to ask you early—but someone was just too horny they couldn’t wait for me to ask. I guess I probably shouldn’t assume you would say yes but—“

“Ask me again.” You tell him, finger coming up to trace his bottom lip. He smiles widely, biting the finger in retaliation.

“Fine.” He kisses the side of your hand. “Will you be my girlfriend?”

“Hmm.” You start, “Well-“

“Oh, no way—“ You immediately clasp your hand over his mouth.

“Yes.” You tell him, eyes boring into his own. “Of course I’ll be your girlfriend.”

[snippychicke]

For Sake of a Smile

Ohhhh changing jobs and depression is kicking my ass. Here after two weeks of delays is Chapter thirteen!

Title: For the Sake of a Smile-- Chapter Thirteen

Fandom: Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun!

Summary: Hell on earth was your motto for your job. Granted, you were pretty sure earth really was hell, considering the shit you had seen. And the fact your coworker was a child. Suzuki Iruma, in fact. A kid who’s life was decidedly worse than yours, but smiled despite everything.

And you’d do a lot for his smile. Including summoning a demon and signing your life away.

But as it turns out, hell (The Netherworld, actually) was a lot better than living on earth. Demons were more humane than a lot of humans you knew.

And Iruma’s smile wasn’t the only one that would change your life.

Masterlist | Ao3| mairimashitai! Simps Discord

Kalego arched a brow as Shichiro slumped into the chair in front of his desk, looking rather pitiful. The news had reached him about Shichiro finally having asked you to court - which had been a massive headache considering how unruly his students had been since. He presumed the demon would be elated; not look like one of the many 'subjects' had died or ran away.

"I just… what do you get as a courting offering?" Shichiro asked quietly. "Nothing seems good enough."

"We are talking about the demon who barged in because of one of your picture books, her tone so high it made Cerberion whine?"

Shichiro flushed slightly, sinking even lower and the memory. He had been completely oblivious of Kalego's - and Cerberion's - discomfort, instead enraptured as you praised his work.

"She's going to be happy no matter what," Kalego continued with a sigh. "Don't stress so much, the last thing you need is to trigger an evil cycle."

"True," Shichiro sighed, though his hands continued to be restless in his lap. "But… this should be special, right?"

"What did she give you?"

It had been the gossip of the faculty, discussing that while Shichiro reportedly was the one to ask you to court, you had been the one to give him an offering first. But no one had figured out what the offering had been.

While he would refuse to answer the others, Shichiro would surely tell him if he asked - especially if it was to help decide on his own offering (and not just for curiosity's sake.)

Except Shichiro was silent, looking more like a reluctant student than anything as he avoided Kalego's gaze. 

"Seriously?" He swore, arching his brow once more, causing the larger demon to squirm.

What would cause him not to…

Oh.

Kalego felt his own cheeks warm. "I honestly didn't think her to be so… forward."

There was a look of confusion on Shichiro’s face before it turned a deep red as he caught on to Kalego's train of thought.

"No! It's nothing like that! It's just, uh, well…."

Shichiro fumbled with his words, which only confused Kalego more. If it wasn't something more risqué in nature, then why was he being so secretive about it?

"She… gave me something very… valuable, and personable," Shichiro admitted after a moment. "And…  also something that might cause others to have… questions about how she acquired them."

That made absolutely no sense to Kalego. The mystery that surrounded you was only growing more perplexing, and it was starting to become irritating.

Especially if you were dragging Shichiro into the mess.

"She is a member of Babyls now," Kalego pointed out coldly. "Bound by the same oath we took. While we all have our personal lives and history, our duty to our students comes first." Balam finally met his gaze, tilting his head slightly. Kalego leaned forward, his eyes narrowed. "I appreciate that she is your intended, Shichiro. And while I trust Lord Sullivan, I do not do so complacently. If whatever she is hiding is a danger to the school, or to its students…"

"Absolutely not," Shichiro answered firmly. "Believe me, Kalego, she is no danger to anyone." He paused, contemplating something before admitting quietly. "If anyone is in danger, it's her."

It didn't lead him closer to any answers, but Kalego relaxed back into his chair. He didn't trust Lord Sullivan blindly, but he would Shichiro.

If he said you weren't a threat, then you weren't.

But if he said you were the one in danger… "She won't lead trouble to Babyls, will she?"

Shichiro shook his head without hesitation. "No. Her secrets aren't mine to tell, Kalego. So please, trust me when I say she is innocent, and won't cause any trouble."

Kalego sighed heavily. "Considering how troublesome her son is - along with how the rest of the Misfits seem to flock to her - I find that hard to believe. But, for your sake, I'll try."

Shichiro relaxed as well, a smile hiding behind his mask. "Thank you, Kalego."

The black-haired demon waved his thanks away, "I still say she'll be delighted with whatever you end up giving as an offering. Though, she is a bit of a bookwyrm. Almost as bad as Furcus, come to think of it..."

---

"...and then Purson started talking, and he didn't quit," Iruma explained in between bites of food. "He went from not saying a word to talking more with one breath than I thought was possible."

You recalled the lavender-haired child that you frequently saw tagging along with the rest of the Misfit class; he was quiet with a usual apathetic expression on his face. Yet every time you went to ask if he was okay, he'd disappear into literal thin air.

"And then it turns out he's the Pixie! You know, the mysterious trumpet player?"

You, Sullivan, and even Opera nodded heads. Everyone at Babyls knew about the trumpet player that announced the end of the school day with their vibrant and usually quick-tempo pieces.

"He has to be part of our musical! Not just because he and Elizabetta need to rank up two ranks, but because he deserves the recognition!" Iruma said firmly, his determined expression ruined by his cheeks puffed with food.

Well, not ruined. Just more adorable than anything else.

"Why don't you focus on eating now, and plan later," You offered while Opera pushed the tray laden full of desserts closer to him. Iruma eagerly accepted the idea and helped himself to some of his favorite pudding.

"What about you?" Sullivan asked, turning towards with too innocent a smile. "Anything interesting happen today?"

You stared at your food acutely aware of everyone's attention now focused on you, full of expectation. You knew that this confrontation was inevitable, but you had yet to figure out how to deal with it. Your instinct was to deny, deny, deny, but… you knew that wouldn't work.

Besides, Shichiro was nothing to be embarrassed about. In fact, just thinking about him filled you with a comforting warmth and happiness.

"Um, well," You started before taking a deep breath. "Shichiro and I have… come to an understanding."

Opera perked up, tail and ears betraying their excitement. "Shichiro?"

Oh. Oops.

Before you could react, Sullivan tackled you with a hug as he cried happily. "My baby girl is growing up so fast! Soon, I'll be able to hear the little click-clack of tiny clawed feet running around! And my beloved grandson will be a big brother!"

"Dad!" You protested, feeling yourself turn red at the thought, but also felt your stomach twist. You glanced over to Iruma, worried about his reaction to Sullivan's wild fantasy. After all, he finally had a family he deserved - and you could completely understand if the thought of having to share his family would cause some… issues.

Except the boy was grinning excitedly, obviously not at all bothered by the idea.

Still. "We just started courting! Literally yesterday!" You protested. "It's far too soon to think about… 'bout…" Children. Babies. With Shichiro.

Which meant....

"But, big brother?" Iruma asked, still obviously excited and thankfully derailing those thoughts. It wasn't the time nor the place, really.

"Look, Shichiro and I haven't had any kind of discussion about this and I really think it's too early to start daydreaming about it."

Iruma was persistent however, as he slowly made his way to your side. "But. If you do, eventually, I'll be their big brother?"

You gave him a slight frown. "Well, yeah? Of course."

You soon ended up being tackled by Iruma as well, and squished between him and Sullivan in a hug-pile. You squawked in an undignified manner, and then again when Opera draped themself over your shoulders; a picture in their hand.

It was a photo of a young boy, with white fluffy hair smiling at the camera while holding a small lizard creature towards the photographer. You could barely see long, large, too big for his body chick-feet; which made the picture even more adorable. It took you a moment to realize it was a very young Shichiro, before whatever caused his scar.

A squee escaped your throat despite your best efforts as your maternal instincts reared its head, temporarily overcoming your common sense.

He was so cute!!!

For a brief moment, you could easily see yourself mothering a few mini-Shichiros; those big feet and fluffy hair and that adorable smile, and then Iruma happily helping out and playing with his younger siblings - because he would be an amazing big brother. He'd be so kind and attentive as an older brother, showing interest in whatever they were playing with and carefully teaching them life lessons....

Oh. Devi. They had successfully corrupted you.

---

One moment you were lost in your thoughts as you walked towards Furcus's prep-room that she shared with Dali, arms laden with the books that you had convinced Sullivan--dad-- to find (which he hadn't even hesitated, wrapping you up in a hug as he promised to do his best). The next you were literally swept from your feet and being cradled gently but firmly to a familiar chest, shoulder-length white hair tickling your nose.

"Shichiro!" You laughed as you clutched to him, careless of the books that had been unceremoniously dumped on the ground.

"Good morning," Shichiro mumbled as he buried his face in the crook of your neck.

"Good morning," You agreed, whole body feeling warm and your heart light. This wasn't at all what you had expected, though you wondered why you hadn't considered it. After all - he was already affectionate, but now that you were courting? You could easily get used to this.  "How are you this morning?" You asked, raking your fingers through his hair, careless of the looks you were garnering.

"Good, you?"

You were about to say 'better' now that he had literally swept you off your feet - how could you not? But Kalego's heavy sigh interrupted you.

"Really, Shichiro?"

"You're just jealous," You teased, clinging to him as you looked down at the dark-haired professor.

"Disturbed is more-so the correct word," He shot back. "You're both making a scene in front of the students."

There was a rebellious part of you that wanted to make more of a scene, but that would mean removing Shichiro's mask and you weren't sure he would be happy with you doing that in public.

"Oh, right." Shichiro set you down before picking up the books you dropped. "Sorry."

"Don't be," You answered honestly as you accepted the books back. "You just made my day a hundred percent better."

He grinned behind his mask, cheeks a deep pink. "I'll see you at lunch then?"

There was no way you couldn't recall lunch the day before, when neither of you had anything to eat. You unconsciously bit and worried your lip, reliving those wonderful moments.

"I don't want to know," Kalego once more interrupted your daydreams. Your face felt as warm as Shichiro's dark-red cheeks looked, and the relatively-smaller demon tugged at his friend. "Come along Shichiro. I don't trust you two alone at this point."

----

It was no secret that the entirety of Babyls faculty and students knew about you and Shichiro courting by mid-morning. Looks and conspiratorial giggles followed you through the halls, and you found even more students attempting to watch you nonchalantly but failing utterly.

Though after the revelation of Iruma's classmate Purson, you wondered how many more were watching without you noticing.

But really, you couldn't care less at the moment. Your heart as well as your mind was happily drifting on cloud-nine as you went through the day, eagerly awaiting the noon hour.

"Ma'am?"

You looked up to see the half-dozen students that formed the small Library Battler; headed by Furcus and her love of knowledge, they had been a large part of helping organize the library.

Furcus had teased you were also stealing her students affections from her. (Well, you had assumed it was one of her dry teasings.)

Yet today, instead of vibrating from excitement about some new rare book their teacher had shared with them - or fuming with righteous anger of another student disrespecting a text - the six young demons looked unsure; most of them standing behind Mneme, the fifth-year student leader of the batra.

"Who did what?" You asked with a sigh. After all, they would only pull their noses from a book if it was something important.

"We heard you've... accepted Professor Balam's offer to court." Mneme continued, clutching her book tightly. "While we are not skilled fighters like many of our peers, we wish to offer our assistance."

You blinked owlishly at them, sure you misheard or misunderstood. "Assistance...?"

"Professor Balam, while one of the more powerful of demons, and skilled with the knowledge regarding biology of both flora and fauna of the Netherworld," Alim offered as he peeked around Mneme. "He also has... questionable hobbies."

You groaned, "Devi, not that stupid rumor again. Professor Balam does not experiment and torture students. Yes, he can be a bit handsy and enthusiastic at times..." Which weren't exactly negatives in your book by any means.

"We're aware of that, Ma'am," Ji-Su interrupted as you trailed off, your mind trying vainly to clamber back into a daydream of being wrapped up in Schichiro's arms, him mindlessly stroking your hair as you nestled in his lap, safe and happy. "But we mean his other hobbies."

Other...hobbies? "Huh?" You asked, mind turning to try to figure out what they were talking about that would warrant such a sneer in their voice.

"Well, the picture books," Ismene admitted with a whisper. "What kind of self-respecting demon - let alone a professor of Babyls - likes picture books."

"His picture books? Thats what's got you all up in arms?" If you weren't struggling before, you were now. A soft snicker escaped first, before you started laughing whole-heartedly, or maybe it was hysterically. Devi, they had issues because of that?!

"He is a teacher!" Mneme protested. "Ma'am, as powerful and intelligent as he may be, you have to admit its disconcerting."

"I wouldn't say disconcerting. I actually find it quite adorable."

"We are scholars," Wasi spoke. "Such things are beneath us! Professor Balam is one of the leading scholars when it comes to biology."

"And imaginary creatures!" You protested.

"Well, yes, but again thats hardly something a demon with his status should be focusing on! Theories that can never be proven, and books that dumb down knowledge are beneath him! Beneath Babyls!"

Ah. Now you could kinda see where they were coming from. "But, I believe it's a testament to his knowledge of subjects to be able to explain it in such simple terms. If we didn't have picture books, how hard would it be to capture the interest of small children? Also, while imaginary creatures are impossible to prove, I think its a great mental exercise. And plus, have you even seen his drawings? They are so cute!"

The group of young demons looked at each other, doubt and suspicion on their faces. "Perhaps she is just as mentally unstable as the professor after all."

"Hey! There is nothing wrong with enjoying picture books, let alone creating them!" You defended, humor slowly melting away. "There is literally nothing wrong with that! Cute pictures to entertain, funny little stories to help explain the intricacies of complicated subjects in a way others can understand. It's part of the reason that I fell in love with Shichiro! Those books helped Iruma --and myself-- so much on subjects we were struggling with!"

You realized you might have said a little too much in your passionate speech, judging by the looks the Literature Battler - as well as the other students - were giving you. How were you going to salvage this?

"Both me and Iruma... didn't have the greatest resources growing up," You explained awkwardly. "Especially before the Chairdemon found us. So, to be honest, our knowledge of some fundamentals were... spotty at best. Professor Balam's books helped a lot to fill in the gaps, bringing both joy as well as understanding."

Silence still reigned over the library, making your pulse seem even more deafening in your ears.

"Ma'am, did you just say you loved Professor Balam?"

If you weren't embarrassed before, you were now. You crossed your arms, however, and jutted out your chin defiantly. "And, what if I did...?"

"We concede," Mneme spoke, giving a slight nod. "You have always been an unorthodox teacher..."

"I'm a librarian, not a teacher."

"And as the librarian - with a love of knowledge that rivals Professor Furcus - we must admit we obviously have more to learn from you." Mneme answered. "Nor did we mean to insult your beloved."

You opened your mouth a few times to argue - or at least say something - but words escaped you until the bell screamed. "Just, uh, be more willing to think outside the box-- and apologize to Professor Balam, not me!"

The students gave varying noises of agreeing as they left. You wondered if admitting that you loved Shichiro was too soon, but you couldn't deny your feelings. You had been enamored by the giant demon for quite a while, and you had still had difficulty understanding why no one else had taken to him before your arrival to the Netherworld.

------ Thirteen Short----

"Hey Clara, what's it like having younger siblings?"

The green-haired demon blinked at Iruma's question before grinning.

"It's super-duper fun! Granted, when they're itty-bitty they like to cry a lot, but when they get older you get to play all sorts of games with them! And you can teach them all sorts of things! Like when I taught my brothers how to do the Char-Char dance!" She jumped up to show the other two the dance, though it wasn't anything like the choreography that Kerori was trying to teach them. It was wild and chaotic that would only befit a fast-pace tempo.

"What has you wondering about younger siblings, Master Iruma?" Asmodeus asked after politely applauding Valac's dance (though he would refrain from ever calling it that.)

The boy flushed as he scratched his neck. "Just, uh, the conversation the other day at home. I realized that someday, I might become a big brother. I've never had siblings before, and I haven't spent a lot of time around little kids either. So, as exciting as the idea is, I'm kinda nervous about it."

"Oh! Iruma-kins can come over to my house!" Clara eagerly offered. "You know my baby sibs! You can have plenty of practice there!"

"I-I have younger cousins that live with me," Asmodeus quickly interjected. "They would be great practice as well! Not that you would need much, Master Iruma! You've already proven that you'll be great with younger demons."

Iruma turned red as he fidgeted in his seat. "Do you think so?"

"Absolutely!" Both demons exclaimed at the same time.

"No matter what, any demon that has you for an older brother will be highly honored," Asmodeus continued.

"Yeah! And they'll also have me and Az-Az!" Clara clapped. "And we can be their big sister and brother too!"

The thought made Iruma relax into a grin. He wouldn't have to figure out what it meant to be a big brother by himself; he'd have his friends by his side. He'd have you too. After all - before you adopted him, he had seen you as a big sister. Along with Grandpa, Opera, and everyone else really. Both Sabnock and Kerori had younger siblings, while Jazz and Lied had older siblings. Surely - between them - he'd figure out how to be a good brother.

[sapphicwhxre]

your first time | HCs

what your first time having sex includes (for anon)

Г includes : hermione granger, draco malfoy, harry potter, ron weasley, ginny weasley, pansy parkinson, fred weasley, george weasley, luna lovegood, cho chang, fleur delacour, nymphadora tonks, bellatrix lestrange, and narcissa black

♡─

hermione granger

♡─

actually researches everything she can to make it good for you (which ends up working really well)

is such a nervous wreck about making it perfect that you have to remind her

"it's with you, it'll already be perfect"

uses terms like vagina until you straight up tell her you're comfortable with dirtier words

foreplay QUEEN

does absolutely everything in her power to get you as wet as possible before doing anything

to the point where you wonder if you'll cum before even fucking

is already asking you what kinks you wanna try at this point

doesn't shut up but she's complimenting you the whole time

gets really encouraged + turned on whenever you moan

clingy, grinning mess after

asks you immediately what you want her to do better next time

♡─

draco malfoy

♡─

cocky, cocky, cocky

secretly really nervous but still plays it up

will not let you top

returns anything you do

doesn't stand for you being quiet

he will do everything in his power to get you as loud as possible

also doesn't take his eyes off you at all ─ like he wants to memorise every second of it and every inch of your body

pretty rough but instantly softens if he thinks he hurt you or something

won't cum until you do

tells you how hot you were after

teases you for cumming for him like that wasn't the intended goal

acts non chalant instead of telling you how head over heels he is

♡─

harry potter

♡─

harry is CURIOUS and no one can tell me otherwise

you're the one that has to tell him it's ok to touch you and he goes all out once you do

wants to do everything, touch you everywhere

actually wouldn't be able to get over you or shift his focus from pleasing you

"these are so pretty", "i love this", "say my name again", etc.

you probably have to pull him away at some point if you want to actually touch him ─ or fuck

absolutely shook when do you touch him

tries to stay quiet until you tell him you wanna hear him

then he won't shut up with the babbling and the praises

wants a second round as soon as you finish

♡─

ron weasley

♡─

thanks to hbp, we know how inexperienced ron is

so don't expect him to get actually kinky the first time

sure, he wants to go all out with you but he's actually really gentle

accidentally tries something in the moment (like choking, degrading, basically any kink) and apologises

then can't believe the experience actually gets better when you roll with said kink (and enjoy it)

slows and asks if you're ok the whole time

and every time you say yes, he gets really encouraged

doesn't even want to pull away when you're done ─ basically never wants to take his hands off of you again

heavy breathing and huge grinning right on your skin when you're done

having a snack together after because it's cute and he's all worn out so

♡─

ginny weasley

♡─

effortlessly sexy

honestly gets you going without even knowing it (you're done for when she actually tries)

she's really casual but sweet

definitely confident

puts her hair in a ponytail so you can see her face but still grab her hair

can't stay serious for shit ─ she's so happy and makes sure you know it

absolutely teases you if you stare at her

"its like this is the first time you've seen me naked!"

voices how turned on she is and how hot she finds you

forces herself to keep her eyes open because she wants to see you come undone

gets as many orgasms out of you as she can

sits on your lap and plants all these little kisses on your face when you're finished

♡─

pansy parkinson

♡─

"y/n and i are going to fuck, you should all be jealous" "oh my gods pansy,"

only a little nervous ─ she's more excited than anything

starts to confidently tells you about her daydreams, fantasies, and wet dreams but ends up blushing really hard

gets to work immediately

assumes she's topping but is actually willing to let you if you'd like

cocky, teasing, and sweet the whole time

goes for dirty names right off the bat

doesn't miss a beat when you cum, "baby 'm gonna take you against the wall now"

keeps going even after she gets tired

finally stops once you're both mindblown and unable to walk

falls asleep naked with you, head in your hair, mumbling about how she has the best s/o

♡─

fred weasley

♡─

will pick you up/drag you/etc. to wherever you're doing this

excited as fuck but wants a safeword first and foremost

probably makes it something really stupid

you can barely get anything other than moans out once he starts touching you

gives you kisses, talks dirty, fucks you as hard as he can... he goes all out

just to make your first time the best you've ever had

focuses on giving unless you want more

softer during the second round but way kinkier ─ the boy likes trouble more than work but he's still a quick learner

slow, tired makeout when you're both worn out and him spooning you

♡─

george weasley

♡─

also really excited

has already figured out your kinks at this point through conversation cues and imagined making you cum with all of them

won't stop kissing you, saying stuff like, "ready to cum for me baby?"

SWOONING banter, "so long as you fill me up love"

confident + teasing about it

"fuck, how did you know i like that?" "a weasley is always prepared y/n," "didn't you forget to wear shoes to class last week?"

absolute gentleman

makes sure everything's ok with you

knows how to get you hot and bothered without being too rough

grunted i love yous

pulls out of you once you're all fucked out but keeps you close so he can give your forehead wet, praising kisses

♡─

luna lovegood

♡─

so ready to do this

tells you really non-chalantly how bad she wants you

also a queen of foreplay

undresses you so carefully and slowly, telling you how gorgeous you are

long kisses

open about her kinks, asks straight up what yours are

locking fingers while you fuck and agreeing to only let go if one of you wants to stop

spoiler, your hands may as well be fused together by the end of the night

coaxes you through her moans and checks on you

even though she knows ─ and trust me, she KNOWS ─ you're having the time of your life

wants you to lay on your back after you cum and plays with your hair + swirls her fingers on your skin from her comfy lil seat on your waist

♡─

cho chang

♡─

sweet over sexy first time

nervous at first that someone's going to walk in but once she starts touching you, the whole world disappears

lots of blushing and giggling

nothing too serious ─ your legs are tangled and you're just heart eyed

plants kisses all over you the whole time

actually loses herself with you

like eyes scrunched shut and looking like an angel

if she didn't want to see you all pretty and moaning so bad, she'd probably keep her eyes closed and just be happy with how good you feel

whispers the cutest but dirtiest shit

so smiley when you cum

gets pouty if you pull away or stand up after

wants to cuddle, skin to skin, and keep giving you kisses

♡─

fleur delacour

♡─

wants it to be perfect

wears the prettiest lingerie she owns

sets a romantic scene

physically and verbally

trust me when i say this girl is a romantic goddess when it comes to words

pulls out the french and tells you how beautiful she thinks you are

magic touch ─ her fingers are stroking and caressing you during everything and it feels magical

during this first time, actions > words

barely says anything

other than moaning your name

quietly praises you under her breath but says it louder if you tell her to

just really sensual and passionate

holds you in her arms and kisses all over your neck and shoulders when you finish

♡─

nymphadora tonks

♡─

"love, are you sure you want to do this together?"

the second she has your full comfort and consent?

she goes wild

fucks you a thousand different ways but is being so sweet with her words

respectful yet dirty, complimenting in the sexiest tone you've ever heard

wouldn't want to do anything too kinky the first time

only because she wants to leave you wanting more

(as if you won't already ─)

definitely loses control of her hair colour in the moment

it just feels so good that she can't help but go bright and vibrant

all bubbly and talkative when you finish + gets herself together and changes her hair back to your favourite colour

♡─

bellatrix lestrange

♡─

lays out all her kinks that first time

goes absolutely wild in bed

covers you in sloppy kisses and hickeys

moans shit like, "i have been thinking about this since the moment i laid eyes on you,"

loud the whole time

possessive pet names

my doll, my love, my pretty little thing

melts the first time your hands are in her hair

(whether they're pulling at it or running through it)

won't say anything about it but looks for cues that you're comfortable and enjoying it as much as she is

doesn't stop until you're completely worn out

lays on your chest when you're done

and falls asleep mumbling praises

♡─

narcissa black

♡─

tease

wants to stretch out your desire before you do anything for as long as she can

long kisses, hooked fingers, etc.

and when she does fuck you?

respectful queen, looks at you for consent before trying anything

stays serious but if you let out a little giggle, she indulges it because she's just as excited to finally be doing this with you

knows what she wants and expects it

she doesn't stop coming up to kiss you

tells you how good you're doing the whole time

makes you cum as many times as she possibly can before finally letting go

doesn't let go when you're done ─ she wants to stay close to you, hot breaths and juices mixing while she kisses the top of your head

─────

[needs-to-stop-looking-at-valves]

Camilo and dulce being all lovey dovey and a family member walks in and teases camilo about it

Oh this. We love this. Warning. It's grossly fluffy. And like 1% suggestive.

"Cami, you're being too much-"

"One, no such thing. Two, extra is my middle name. Actually, it's Castillo, but you get what I mean."

Camilo had the whole kitchen to himself and his totally awesome girlfriend, and he intended to make the most use of it. He pushed the boxes a bit closer to her, and rested his chin on her shoulder as she studied them, as if suspicious.

"If there's spiders in this one, like last time, I'm punching you in your dick."

"I promise, they're legit. Come on, mi vida, I tried on these!"

She opened one box, and chuckled upon seeing the bunny pattered bandanna. Nicely made, too.

"You made this one?"

"I commissioned it from Mira, actually. So, technically. I just thought since you liked bunnies and junk, you'd appreciate it."

"I do. It's cute."

She put it on her head, and honestly, it felt right. She couldn't help but chuckle at his dumb face as he looked at her.

"God you're cute. Like, so cute. You should let me take you out tonight. Whatever you want."

"Hey, you know Thursdays I have to be home by night. Mom's rules."

"You don't think she'd bend them? Just for us?"

She gave him a look that said 'not likely', and he shrugged.

"Fair enough. Open the other one!"

She picked up the box, and opened it. She raised a brow at the cakey, frosting covered mess.

"Woah. Did Casita make this one fall down the stairs?"

Casita's tiles rumbled and flipped in a response that no one really understood. Camilo chuckled.

"No, that's actually how it went in. Stuff happened, but I tried. Your face is EXACTLY how tía's was when she taught me how to make it. She said she wanted to re do it for me, but I REALLY wanted to try for you. I put like. Loads of carrots in it. Try it."

"Can you get me a spoon?"

"I'm spooning you right now, that should count."

She rolled her eyes at him, and decided to just use her hands. It was a bit messy, but she made it work. She tried not to cough upon getting just a faceful of aggressive spices.

"Oh my god dude-that is. A LOT."

"Is that bad? I can toss it if it is."

"...in a weird way I actually really like it? The frosting is REALLY well done, and that helps it."

"Could you eat it without the frosting?"

"Oh no it'd probably fucking kill me. But hey! You can make frosting, and the cake is a super nice texture. I like it."

He grinned, clearly full of pride. He always did like doing little things like this for her, just to make her happy.

"I'm glad you like it. Believe it or not, I didn't try ANY of it, even though I really wanted to."

"No wonder it's this aggressive-you're SUPPOSED to taste it, Cami."

"Last time I did that, you kicked me out of the kitchen!"

She gave him a look as she helped herself to another piece. Way better on the second bite.

"Honey, you ate HALF my cake. Then all of my frosting."

"You just can't ever be happy, can you?"

"You're being dramatic because you want some, don't you?"

"Maybe."

He was lucky he was as cute as he was, because he was equally as ridiculous. She was about to push the box towards him, when he grabbed her hand, and stuck her frosted thumb right in his mouth. This guy looked her right in her eyes as her thumb dragged along his tongue, smearing the frosting over it. She snorted loudly, pushing his face away with her free hand. They'd never done it before, but this dude used the idea of it to embarrass her plenty of times.

"You are so GROSS!"

"Shut up, you love it~"

He took the hand at his face, and started to kiss it, tenderly and slowly. So she liked him, just a little bit. She put her forehead against his, looking at him as his lips continued to pepper her skin in kisses.

"I love you."

"I love you too, pretty witty girl."

"Oh my god are we doing the nickname thing right now?"

"Bitch, maybe."

There was a moments hesitation, before they finally did her secret pleasure.

"My cutiepie."

"Cottontail."

"Stud muffin."

"Cuddle muffin."

"Pookie cookie."

"My little fluffy cuddle bunny creampuff."

"...ugh that's so overkill."

"Come on, you lose, prize me, baby!"

She almost didn't want to, that was a cheap win. But win he did. She held onto his cheek, and rubbed her nose against his in a little bunny kiss, before actually giving him a peck on his lips. She was going to consider destroying his whole face with her lipstick, when they heard a groan right across from them. Mirabel.

"Ew, gross- mom! Camilo is simping all over the kitchen!"

"I'm not SIMPING!"

Mirabel faked a lovey dovey face, and mocked Camilo's voice.

"'Oh my little cuddle bunny! I'm so gross and annoying and once she leaves I pout for like an hour!' That's you."

"It is NOT! I'm more than capable of being by myself! I don't POUT!"

"So I can go home?"

"No wait, I love you though."

Julieta and Agustín walked in, looking confused.

"I'm sorry- you said Camilo was WHAT all over the kitchen?"

"Simping."

"What is 'simping'?"

"It uh. Means he loves her. Yep."

"Oh. So like, I can say I simp for Agustín-why is Dulce laughing?"

She wasn't trying to, honestly, but she couldn't help it. Older people trying to use slang was just funny. She stood up, cake in one hand, the other holding Camilo's.

"You wanna just eat this up in your room?"

"Mom would be pissed if she knew I was sneaking a girl in, you know."

Not that it stopped him from walking out of the room with her, a huge smirk on his face.

"Simp."

"No, Luisa's boyfriend is a simp. I'M a helpless romantic. Huge difference."

"Uh huh, sure~"

[dragon-kazansky]

Made with love | Helmut Zemo

Chef Zemo AU! 👨‍🍳

Gender neutral reader

Collage by @realremyd

[Previous chapter] - [Next chapter]

Part 4

Helmut wiped down the last of the tables. It was just him and Bucky left at the moment. It was closing time. Bucky counted up the money in the till as Zemo made sure every aspect of his restaurant was clean and tidy for tomorrow.

Once everything was accounted for Bucky went home and Zemo locked up. He tugged his coat around him a little tighter and and began the small journey to his home. However, something caught his eye and he stopped to take it in.

Across the square there was a man standing there, looking in his direction. He couldn't quite tell who it was, but he could take a pretty good guess. There had been rumours of the infamous Tony Stark arriving in Sokovia.

Helmut watched him for a moment before turning and leaving. He had no reason to dwell on it right now.

Zemo went home.

When he opens shop again in the morning, he doesn't see the man again. However, he does see you and Wanda walking, arms interlinked, the pair of you laughing and chatting.

He can't stop himself from looking at you.

Yesterday when he brought up how well you would fit in with Sokovia, he was hoping to maybe spark a slight idea into your head. The fact you were only visiting his country made him feel rather sad. To see you every day, chat with you at the bar, to see you smile, he wanted more of that.

Never before had someone been on his mind this much before.

You and Wanda walk out of sight.

Sam and Bucky enter to start their work day. Zemo goes into the kitchen to prepare for the day.

Wanda takes you to her favourite place, surprised it was even still open. A bowling alley. You chuckle as she drags you through the door and over to the desk.

"Pietro and I would come here all the time," she told you.

"Sounds like you two had a lot of fun."

"Oh, we did. Pietro used to work at Escorpión Morado. I would meet him outside and we would come here."

"Pietro used to work at the restaurant?"

You both are given a pair of bowling shoes each and you go sit down to out them on.

"Yeah, he used to tend the bar. It was his first job. He loved it."

"That explains why he's so good with drinks," you chuckle. Pietro had his own bar back home, often he would make you, Wanda and Natasha drinks on your nights out.

"He learned from the best."

You both stand up and go to your designated alley, thanking the staff for guiding you. Wanda puts your names into the system.

Wing woman

Y/N Zemo

"Wanda!"

She laughs as she confirms the names and stands up. You glare up at the monitor and then glare at her.

"You can scold me all you like, but in going to have you fall in love with that man of it's the last thing I do."

"Wanda, please be realistic about this."

Wanda picks up her preferred ball and steps up to the lane.

"I am," she says, pulling her arm back and lining up her ball.

"No you're not. You want to set me up with a man who lives in a completely different country to me. This is mean."

Wanda throws her ball.

"It's not mean. It's helping. Ever since you came back, I know he has been on your mind. I can tell by the way you talk about him that you like him. I know because it's the same way I talk about Vision. I know love when I see it, Y/N."

She takes another turn.

You sit there, watching her second ball glide down the lane and take out a few more pins, three still standing. The lane resets the pins for you as you swap places with Wanda.

"It's just a silly crush. It will go away."

Wanda resists rolling her eyes at you.

"Do you really think the only reason I came here with you is because I wanted to see my home? Don't get me wrong, I am over the moon to see Sokovia again, but I cane here for you."

You throw the ball and watch it go.

"Why is this so important to you?" You look at her as you grab a second ball.

"Because you never show interest in anyone and suddenly you do. I've been telling you from the start, you'll marry this man one day and you'll be happy with him. You'll be running Escorpión Morado together, you'll see."

You throw your second ball and say nothing to her. You only take down four pins in total. You go sit back down.

"He likes you too, you know. I've seen the way he looks at you. He wants to spend time with you, talk to you, be around you. He likes having you in his restaurant."

Wands stands to take her next turn.

"I like being there," you say, softly.

"Good, we shall go there after we're done here."

You don't even argue with her. You want to go. You want to see him. Wands knows this. You can see the way she looks at you that she knows.

Wanda ends up winning in the end, which does not surprise you if she and her brother spent so much time here when they were younger.

You walk arm in arm to the restaurant. There's a few people about, but it's not crazy busy.

Sam sees you enter and smoothly glides into the kitchen. Zemo is finishing up a dish as he enters. He looks up when sees Sam come over.

"What is it?" He asks, assuming another order.

"Y/N is here with their friend. Thought you might like to take this one," Sam grins.

Normally Zemo would just tell Sam to go back to work and stop messing about, but he knows he wants to see you. He had been thinking of you all morning. He wipes his hands and presents the dish to Sam, who takes it and goes out to serve it.

For a brief moment Zemo pauses and quickly fixes his hair and straightens his shirt. He steps out of the kitchen. Wanda and yourself were sitting at a table near the window.

He smiles when his eyes land on you.

Helmut holds his head high and walks over to your table. Your eyes catch his and you smile softly at him. Wanda is looking at you with a grin on her lips, but he isn't really paying attention to her. He can only look at you.

"How are you today?" He asks, lips curled into a handsome smile, dark eyes glistening with happiness.

"We're good, how are you today?"

"Doing better now my favourite customer is here. What can I get for you both?"

"Coffee?" You ask, nibbling at your lower lip shyly.

His smile was making you feel things.

"Coming up."

He leaves the table and you bury your face in your hands. Wands laughs from across the table.

"You are so in love with him!"

"I am," you admit.

The fact you admitted it makes Wanda smile. She was proud of you for confessing how you felt.

"Maybe there is a life for you out here," she says, deep in thought.

"You really think I should just up and move to another country, leaving you all behind and starting over here?" You look at her.

"Yes. Back home, sure, you have all your friends and your job. Out here, there's him. This man you can't stop thinking about."

You glance over to the bar. Zemo has poured you each a cup of coffee and is coming over. He smiles when he sees you looking at him. You thank him softly when he places the coffee down in front of you.

Before he can say anything, a customer entering the restaurant cat has his attention. Both Wanda and yourself turn to see who had come in.

This man felt like he demanded attention. His suit looked expensive and tailored. There was a presence about him that made him stand out among the other people in the restaurant.

"Who is that?" You hear Wanda ask.

Helmut gives an apologetic smile and excuses himself from you, approaching the man.

You watch him curiously.

"He seems important," Wanda whispers.

"Yeah."

You watch as they shake hands and talk. The stranger gestures to a table and Zemo leads him over to it. They sit down and they chat.

There is something about Helmut's expression that concerns you.

The stranger looks around the room, his eyes hidden by his sunglasses, but you can see the way his lips a pulled into a thing grimace.

You feel offended by his distaste in the establishment. Poor Helmut.

They sit there and chat for several minutes before he gets up and leaves. Helmut looks a little defeated as he stands up and looks over at your table. Upon seeing you looking at him, he smiles and makes his way back over.

"I'm sorry about that."

"Don't be. Who was that?" You ask, too curious not to know.

"His name is Tony Stark. Remember that new restaurant I was telling you about?" You nod at his question. "Well, he owns it. He was checking out his competition in the area."

"I don't like him," you say, not really intending to say that out loud.

Helmut chuckles softly.

"Neither do I."

"What did he say?" Wanda asks.

"That he wasn't worried if this place is considered the best in Novi Grad. My restaurant isn't a threat to his business."

You unconsciously clench your fists.

"Your restaurant is the nicest place here. He has no idea what he's talking about. He didn't even try your food."

Helmut grins at your comments.

"No he didn't. Though he intends to come back. I need to cook up something magnificent for his return."

"You can do it. Everything you cook is amazing, Helmut. A lot of care goes into your cooking."

His smile makes you giddy.

"Food tastes best when it's made for enjoyment and not just to satisfy hunger," you tell him, meaning every word of that.

Zemo swears his heart would beat out of his chest if it could. If he wasn't already swooned by you, he would have been now. You had no idea what kind of power you had over him.

"I am always glad to hear it."

Wanda looks between the pair of you and smiles. She quietly excuses herself to go use the bathroom. Neither one of you glance at her as she slips away.

Helmut sits at the table.

"How long do we have?" He asks.

"Wanda and I have a few days left yet. We're not leaving too soon."

"Good," he nods his head. "I'd like to see more of you."

"Really?" You ask, shocked by his words.

"Yes, really."

You smile. Your smile makes him smile. Oh, what he would do to see it every single day of his life. This man was utterly in love with you, but he would be fool to just blurt that out.

Plus, you weren't staying. He would have to say goodbye to you again.

"Maybe Wanda and I could pop back every day. When the coffee is this good, we would be silly not to come back," you drink the last drop from your cup.

"Ah, so it's my coffee you like?"

"The owner isn't so bad either," you say, unable to hold eye contact much longer.

The chuckle that escapes past his lips makes you tingle all over. It's so deep, yet so joyful and pure. A sense of pride washes over you for making him laugh.

"Sokovia will feel so empty when you're gone," he says, softly.

"I will miss it. I have missed it."

"I missed you, you know," he admits.

Your heart stutters. You don't get a chance to say anything as Wanda returns. Zemo is quick to change the topic of conversation, smoothly too.

"Can you cook?"

"Uh, I can cook to feed myself. Wanda is more of a chef than I am, but even she can't compare to your culinary skills."

Wanda was caught off-guard by your statement and Zemo was full of pride again. The more you complimented his cooking, the bigger his ego was inflating.

"Would you like to assist me for Stark's visit tomorrow?"

You stare at him, lips parted, mind whirling in confusion.

"You want my help?"

"Yes. I could teach you."

You glance at Wanda. She nods enthusiastically at you, winking.

"Alright, but please don't let me get in the way. I'd hate to be the reason things go wrong."

He leans forward, lips tugged into a grin.

"I trust you."

You smile softly, finding the table suddenly more interesting than before.

Wanda chuckles softly.

"While you do that I'll go see if my old family home is still there," she says, smiling.

"Are you sure?" You ask her.

"Of course I am."

You smile and turn back to Helmut.

"Then it's settled. We'll show Stark what he's up against."

Zemo smiled brightly.

Just you and him in the kitchen tomorrow. He was going to make every moment count. This might be the most amount of time he will get to spend with you while you're here.

Zemo gets up from his seat and grabs the two empty cups from the table.

"Another?"

Both of you nod.

Zemo goes to get more coffee. While he's gone, Wanda leans across the table and takes your hands into hers.

"Woo that man!"

You laugh.

"I mean it! One day you'll marry him and be the happiest person alive. Maybe you should seriously consider moving out here. I could help you. Maybe I'll find some places for you tomorrow."

"You don't have to do that."

"You're not saying no, though," she grins.

"You're right, I'm not." You glance over to the bar. "I really like him Wanda."

"I know, so let's do something about it."

You nod softly.

Zemo returns, this time with an extra cup. He sits down with you both and asks you to be at the restaurant first thing in the morning. You agree.

From tomorrow onward, you knew things would take a turn. Your life would literally be flipped upside down.

And you were happy to let it happen.

@namethathasnotbeentaken @belle82devart @cathrin2405 @lieutenantn @wilder-fangirl @latenightartist-author @lucky-luck-lucky @hb8301 @charistory @thatoneartgalsstuff @thesuitkovian @malkaviangirl @zemosimp420 @realremyd @the-chaotic-cow @lostghostgirl94 @zafiro-draco @lazygurl05 @pinkcutiepiee @goddessofmischief03 @whovianayesha @myybebe @awesomesauce-abbie @that-stupid-head-tilt-thing @zemo-is-my-muse @nonamec0s @apparrio @scuttle-buttle @alex-the-nb

[cherryblossomtease]

Chapter 15

18+ only

warnings and summary - Masterlist

Because sometimes all you need is a simple reminder of who started this mess in the first damn place 💜

Warnings : as always 18+ only please- dom Zemo, sub Bucky, sub reader, punishment, m/m, m/m/f, light bondage

Authors Notes: Really didn't think I would be posting this weekend but it's a holiday in the states so why not! Still working on the rest by you know, neglecting everything that matters to create this fictional world. Anyhow, I can honestly say this is by far the most graphic story I've written so I'm a little nervous but it's already done, can't change it now, and I honestly don't want to! That said I hope you enjoy reading as much as I did writing!

~

Nothing lasts forever, especially when it’s this good. And this fabricated reality is about as good as it gets. Still, you know this boat will dock soon and goodbyes will be said. There’s really no way around it, try as you might to come up with a plan to talk Bucky into staying. Even now as you fight to stay asleep, your brain is working hard to create a solution while you refuse to give into your worries so early in the day.

You turn onto your stomach ignoring the dark thoughts, choosing instead to enjoy the feel of a strong arm across your back and a leg, hairy and heavy over both of yours.

Settling again with a content sigh, sleep starts to pull you back under. Thank the stars. You really aren’t in the mood— even if your dreams apparently are.

And what had you been dreaming about anyway?

A little house on a wide cliff overlooking water, and something else? The harder you try to remember the more you feel yourself slipping back into that dream space.

There was a small animal. What was it? A rabbit? Its fluffy body too close to the edge of the cliff. But in the dream you’d stayed standing in the doorway of the little house too indifferent to go and save it….

You feel bodies moving lazily, a stream of breath along your back that tickles; arms and legs and the men they belong to not fully awake and starting to stir like you, even as you quickly slip back into sleep until you’re standing in the doorway of that house again with the warm winds on your face and a view of the French sea below. The drop is dangerous. Deadly even.

Why haven’t you started talking Bucky into staying yet? Because you don’t like thinking about it too much. That's why. You start walking towards the edge of the cliff and you’re fully aware of your worlds crossing over —real thoughts present in your dream.

It’s probably bad luck to resent good deeds, after all that’s what he’s leaving you for. He wants to go off and live the life of the hero he never got to be. That and to keep Zemo’s location safe; but that’s besides the point. Hmm… Look at me, selfish even in my dreams. You smile when you shouldn’t.

Staring over the edge of the cliff it’s suddenly clear how unstable the ground is here and you gasp as it crumbles beneath your feet without warning.

Your eyes open with a start.

Well, that was a bit on the nose. Your subconscious does like to lay it on a thick sometimes, especially when you continue to ignore the things bothering you for too long and you've been setting these feelings aside since the text came through.

But just as quickly as you’re left to shake the shadow of the eerie dream, your frown fades replaced by a slow smile.

There is a very familiar poking at your ass that can sometimes be annoying-- this morning it’s welcome. You reach back and feel for the body that the greeting belongs too, comforted by the warmth and solid muscle of Bucky’s thigh under his tight boxers.

Mmmmm, the source of my distress and my desire, you think and grin into the pillows with a soft moan when his hand, hot and strong takes hold of your hip, massaging as he presses his erection into you.

You’ll talk to him about your dreams later.

Feeling a draft where there should be warmth, you open an eye to find breaks of sunlight in the space between Helmut’s arm and torso. When you turn your head you’re met with the sight of his bare chest, broad and covered in the softest dark hair. His necklace hangs off center, and you, as always, are helpless to it.

Your hand leaves Bucky’s thigh and your fingers slide over the delicate links in the chain and down into the soft chest hair as you turn your head to find he and Bucky locked in one hell of a kiss for so early in the day. It must have been their movement or the sound of their lips that woke you and pulled you from the doom of your fatal fall.

Dreams are so strange…

Your heart flutters when Helmut lays his hand over yours pressing it tight to his chest. “Good morning love birds.” You snicker and watch Bucky pull away from Zemo looking a little embarrassed. He does pause to kiss your cheek however before getting out of bed with a long stretch.

“So where the hell are we anyway?” He asks going to the balcony door, looking out at the passing waves. “Feels like nowhere.”

Zemo is looking down at you, stroking your profile, kissing your nose. “We should be well within the middle of it actually.” He answers, eyes still fixed on you.

“Perfect” You say softly letting him pull you so close that he blocks out the light as your lips meet.

“Breakfast is ready sir,” Oeznik calls from outside the bedroom door.

Zemo grumbles at the interruption but you’re starving. “What? I’m not going anywhere” You huff turning away, trying to escape. “You just said so yourself. I've got no place to go.”

“All by design” He smiles and lets you get up, giving your ass a smack as you go. Bucky is watching from the doorway and laughs at your yelp-hop-rub combination.

Swearing under your breath you go over to the closet, grab your silk robe and pull it on over your shorts and tank top, yawning as you drag your feet over to Bucky. You pat his stomach, kissing him quickly. “Hungry?”

“Famished.”

“Lets go up.” You say tugging at him as Zemo gets up and puts on his own robe across the room. It’s not the thick one you liked from before the raft, but silk like yours— Tom Ford if memory serves— god his influence is strong. How the hell do you remember this stuff?

You watch him scratch at the back of his messy nest of hair like he always does in the mornings, somehow looking both sexy and adorable, alternating between the two with the ease of flicking a light switch. You can only smile at the enigma that is Helmut Zemo and pull Bucky away from the doors.

The three of you leave the room shuffling along, making your way down the hall to the den. Zemo trails you and Bucky accepting a small espresso from Oeznik as he watches the way you and your Sergeant interact. Neither you nor Bucky are necessarily morning people and though it’s nearly ten, you’re both somewhat irritable now that you’re actually moving around and slightly hungover from yesterdays sangrias as you make your way up to the top deck where breakfast will be served.

The sun is so bright you huff about not being able to find your sunglasses and Bucky accuses you of being a diva. The only appropriate reaction is to give him a shove.

Zemo snorts a laugh at your near sibling like banter which you’d established after so many months together, but once you find your glasses on the bar counter and get a fresh cup of coffee and a bloody Mary chaser in your body you’re feeling like a new woman ready to conquer the day… a day spent doing nothing really.

It’s all so casually decadent that it’s nearly sinful. Whats the one? The sin that doesn’t sound as good as lust but feels better after all that fornicating you’ve been doing— Sloth? Yes, you think reaching for what’s left of your blood Mary from the lounge chair, the ultimate of all the sins. Thou shalt not be a lazy ass sloth all day on your yacht.

Cheers.

You read on the deck for a while, play a few rounds of shuffle board with Bucky by the pool and attempt to best Zemo at chess in the den.

Lunch is wonderful, and you think you will need to meet this mystery chef at some point before the trip is over followed by a nap on the bedroom balcony.

When you wake up in the very late afternoon you venture down the hall with your book and unexpectedly find the men in your life moaning on the floor of the den in a tangle of beautifully tanned arms and legs. So you very quietly slip past, feeling a flush rise up your neck to your cheeks highlighting your wide but tight lipped smile.

You stay above decks giving them privacy feeling only the slightest twinge of jealousy. Not because you think you’ve been excluded but because you could use another session like last night.

A shiver runs deep in your belly thinking of the way Helmut brought you to climax, but you’re still more than happy to give them time alone. After all, you’ve had the Baron to yourself for far longer than Bucky.

You sink down onto the upper deck sofa, the image of them entwined, the sounds of their heavy breathing and Bucky’s near innocent moans enough to make you consider touching yourself but you wait, letting the urge build, one of them if not both will take care of you later.

So when Bucky comes up and finds you with a funny look on his face you’re completely confused. “Whats wrong?” You ask putting your book down.

He’s poured a drink and sits down beside you on the couch.

“I don’t know if I can do it.” He says shaking his head tossing back the bourbon.

“Do what?” You have an idea but you thought for sure he’d be eager to try, at least it looked like they were well on their way to his first time.

“Letting him control me, I’ve never had someone tell me no. Not like this.”

“Oh” You smile. It’s the no sex. The lack of it is a cruel form of control but the end results are glorious, if he could just be patient enough. “He won’t let you come?” You ask a little more patronizing than you’d intended.

“No!” Bucky whines taking his cue from you and you stifle your laughter. He’s so cute, even in the throws of his sexual agony. “And it’s making me crazy. I mean I’m already crazy but this is different.” He looks around and leans closer to you. “If you were to so much as look at my cock right now, I’d be done.” He says under his breath.

You let go and laugh rolling your eyes. Dramatics seem to come as naturally as submission to him. “That’s against the rules.” You warn eyeing him sidelong and attempting to go back to your book.

“I can’t take it. Fuck the rules.” He says again pulling the paperback from your hand.

You wave your finger in his face. “James. You’re not allowed.” You say playfully.

“Please.” He begs running his finger down your cheek, brushing your neck and gliding along your clavicle where he knows you’re sensitive.

“I can’t!” You lean away a little surprised by his attempt.

“He won’t know!”

You shake your head “I know but…” You try not to smile.

“I can’t take it.” He insists leaning in to kiss you. “I promise; it won’t take long.”

You give in and laugh sensing his desperation as you kiss. He does feel tense. The muscles of his arm and shoulder are wound tight as a chord. You smile against his lips letting him ease you down onto the couch, your book dropping to the floor as he moans, sliding his hand down your thigh, pushing your knee up and his own hips forward letting you feel what you’re fairly certain is the most rock solid hard on you’ve ever had pressed to your body. You whisper his name as his lips find their way to your neck and his hand slides between you to free himself from those amazing shorts.

“Shame, I had every intention of making your patience worth the effort. But you do love to prolong your torment, don’t you soldat.”

You gasp and Bucky hangs his head as Zemo comes sauntering over. Your laughter is a mix of nerves and feeling like you’ve been caught sneaking around with a boy like a damn teenager. It’s been years since you’ve felt a rush like this. Leave it to the Baron to stir that old excitement again.

“Don’t move” Zemo orders, pointing a finger in your face. You freeze, legs open where Bucky was, your arms tight at your sides. “Sit” He growls at Bucky who obeys begrudgingly as he slides back onto the couch.

Very quickly Zemo shoves your legs closed and grabs you by the arm pulling you up to standing. You lean away as he shakes his head keeping you close, his hold so tight you wince “I thought you knew better by now” He scolds you sounding disappointed.

“I told him not too?” You try looking as innocent as possible. You truly had no intentions of fucking him, but maybe a quick hand job?

There is a flicker of excitement in Zemo’s eyes. It's been so long since you’ve given him a reason to really go for it and you hold in your smile because you’re meant to be sad and hang your head. “I’m sorry Baron.”

He ignores your attempts to apologize and pulls you over so that you’re standing in front of Bucky. He looks you both over for a moment thinking and then smiles. You don’t know if you love or hate to see him looking so pleased. Nothing “good” ever comes of that smile.

“Look James.” He says, waiting until Bucky raises his head. “I want you to see what listening to your eager cock and not my rules get gets you— and her.” He tells Bucky before giving you his undivided attention.

Zemo turns your back to Bucky and you feel his hand between your shoulder blades pushing just a little. You bend at the waist, not all the way, just enough to make sure Bucky knows where his attention should be.

This flouncy little designer sun dress you’ve changed into after your nap only helps direct his gaze as Zemo drags the fabric up slowly so that the reveal of your ass is yet another way to torment him all on its own and you give yourself over to the Baron and wonder how bad this will be.

“Pull them down.” He tells you, his hand smoothing over your simple lace panties. His voice is not so angry as it was when he found the two of you, but every bit as firm, and you glance up at him as you hook your thumbs into the waist band. He nods and you quickly obey, pulling your underwear over the curve of your hips and ass and swear you hear Bucky groan when you bend to pull them from your ankles letting him see the diamond shape of your pussy from behind for just a second, your smile hidden from view.

When you stand again, Zemo offers his forearm. You rest your stomach against him, your hand gripping his shirt, the other you will have to try very hard not to cover your backside with because you know that the breeze will be the last nice thing that you feel.

He tosses your dress back up holding you, adjusting the way he stands just a little so that you are safe but immobile.

“Count them off; to five.” He says leaning just a bit closer. The tone in his voice is confident. Zemo knows that you’re well aware of what this means.

“Yes Baron.” You say exhaling, trying to prepare, but five? Fuck. He does not intend on holding back. If he was being playful he would give you ten or more, but five? He knows you won’t be able to take more that that.

You dig your fingers into his forearm and hold your breath.

The first strike makes you cry out.

The way Zemo can raise his hand and bring it down on your ass is unrivaled. He doesn’t mess around. There is no teasing, no playing, no cute little taps to warm you up. Just instant punishment.

“One.”

Your voice shakes and the rousing heat of adrenaline spreads through your arms and legs.

Again he lifts his hand and brings it down quickly with a stinging force that sends shock waves through your body. Your cry is weaker this time, trailing longer.

“Two.”

You pull his shirt tighter into your fist, your cheeks are on fire already when you feel the air stir as his hand rises again. You wonder if Bucky is watching, you wonder if he see’s how your thighs flex and your flesh shakes when the Baron strikes you.

You close your eyes and draw in your bottom lip trying not to moan, but you arch your back and your hips begin to circle ever so slightly with the anticipation of the next smack. You’re practically whimpering as you offer up your backside for more.

Zemo can feel the light vibration of pleasure sounding in your chest and his laughter is a low, very amused rumble as he raises his hand just a little higher this time.

The next smack lands and you toss your head back with a gasp. You would have gone to your knees if he wasn’t strong enough to hold you up. “Three” You whisper but you don’t move. The air brushes your pussy, wet in spite of your reddening skin.

“Don’t look away.” Zemo says.

There is the answer to your previous question. Bucky likes it, but it’s not always easy for him to watch.

“James!” Zemo snaps and waits. Bucky must be looking again because you feel the Baron move.

The fourth strike comes and you steady yourself knowing you can take it, wanting it, loving it as much as your feel your legs shaking. “Four”

You’re breathing hard, as you anticipate the final blow, desperate for it to be over but sorry for it to end. You rest against him for just a second feeling both safe in his hold and powerless to his dominance.

When the last of your punishment lands you hang your head, rounding your spine unable to offer yourself anymore. You can not pretend and this is why he’s given you so few.

Letting your hips drop as your body shudders and a single tear falls, you whisper, “Five” And only Helmut hears you say it.

Very gently he pulls your dress down, the soft cotton is cool over your burning skin and he turns you around to face him.

He brushes the tear from your cheek, holding you in such a way that you can go limp in his arms. “It wasn’t that bad, you’re just out of practice.” He says smiling at you knowing it wasn’t kind either.

You’d love for him to know just once. Maybe let Bucky give him a slap across the ass to make it fair. But when you look at him the thought is all wrong if not hilarious and you just shrug a little and hang your head again, resting on his chest.

“No breaking rules.” He scolds affectionately, “Even if you’re only trying to help. Understood?”

“Yes Baron.” Your voice is very small.

He gives a nod, kisses your forehead and looks over his shoulder at James. “So, is this what you wanted?”

“No.”

“No… no I don’t think it is.” He agrees. “But I understand. She’s damn near impossible to resist still you must learn to control yourself. Apparently I’ve not made that clear. Perhaps a more direct approach.”

You both look at him wide eyed. What’s more direct than this you think not even close to recovered from your spanking.

“Both of you, go down to our bedroom.” He says as though nothing has ever been more obvious “Take off your clothes. Wait for me on the bed.”

You look at Bucky. He looks at you.

“You fucked up,” You mouth to him.

Bucky just gets up and pushes past you both.

*

“I suppose you could say I’ve had to get creative with my plans for you. I know that pain is something you can’t respond to in ways that she can.” Zemo says, smiling as he glances down at Bucky and then over his shoulder at you on your knees behind him. “Have you finished?”

You look up from what you’re doing, hoping it’s right. “Yes, I think so?”

He comes around to look at the rope binding Bucky’s wrists. It’s just for show to heighten the experience. Of course Bucky could break free if he wanted to— his strength is no match for a few rough fibers— but this is a training of the mind as well as the body. “You see, pleasure can be just as awful.” Zemo says, his voice making you shiver as he checks your work, tugging and tightening the rope a little more.

Leaning in close, he strokes Bucky’s jaw, his finger reaching to trace the spine of his ear and you smile when the hairs on Bucky’s right arm raise and Zemo loses the air of control for a second simply becoming the man who cares for the other deeply. “The irony of tying you to a chair to satisfy you is not lost on me, based on what I know of your past. But if you can endure it, I promise it will be nothing like the pain you’ve known. I could never hurt you in that way. Still, if at any time this is too much, if it triggers memories that change it from what it’s meant to be, please— James— say the word, your word and it stops.”

Bucky nods. “I will” He says softly.

“Nothing now?” Zemo asks genuinely wanting to know. Bucky shakes his head. “No, nothing.”

Zemo gives a confident nod and kisses the back of Bucky’s head patting his cheek a little harder than he needs too. “I only want to make you feel good— eventually.” He teases and Bucky rolls his eyes with a small laugh.

Pleased, Zemo pushes up and goes to sit in the soft chair across the room, notably more comfortable than the one Bucky has been placed in. Although the more obvious differences being, Zemo is not bound, Zemo is not naked, and Zemo has not been so gently stroked and toyed with that he’s been left with a perfectly vulnerable erection like Bucky has.

You’d had a hard time focusing on the ropes as the Baron made it happen. The way he’d taken Bucky in hand, winding down the length of his sex was in a word, mesmerizing. And when Bucky made that sound, that soft, pleading sound and Zemo stopped — his brow raised with such smug confidence— you wondered who would break first, you or Bucky. He’d quickly brought his hand up with one last tease, his fingers swirling around the curving head of Bucky’s member only to let go as though he’d lost interest.

Bucky’s groan was deep. He was beyond frustrated, but instead of breaking out of his restrains and fucking one of the two of you, he sat there just waiting to be punished for breaking rules in the first place.

He watches as you come and kneel before him, naked yourself as you’ve been told to be. He actually looks slightly scared but mostly curious. His erection is as always flawlessly pretty, arching up and back, smooth while perfectly veined and so inciting.

You only know what it is you’re meant to do to him because you’ve had it done to you before. You figure it’s very similar, only the mechanics are different because his is a man. If Zemo doesn’t approve, he’ll tell you.

The Baron in charge picks up his drink, the ice rattling as he takes a sip and lets the scene settle in his sights for a moment. He likes to see the two of you together, his two helpless things— his to play with and his to love.

“Begin.”

Bucky inhales, but you smile at him to show that it won’t hurt— it’ll just drive him mad.

First you take the little bottle of body oil from the floor and put some in your hands rubbing them together.

He raises his brow watching you and starts to relax thinking he might understand now. You take him in hand and start to stroke, you are after all very good at this. Over and over again, up and down his long, thick shaft, curving your hand over the head of his cock until he moans and rolls his eyes shut. When he opens them he does seem a bit confused by this sudden attention and he flashes a smile because it feels so good. If this is all that’s been planned, he could get used to this sort of punishment.

The room is quiet, there’s nothing but the soft hum of the ship, his breathing and the wonderfully obscene sound of the oil you’re using against his skin as you work faster…

It’s not long before you feel him stiffen and his breath grows quicker, his thighs flex, his hips raise an inch and he starts to moan softly, a staccato sound of pleasure that makes even your heart beat faster. He’s been waiting and suffering through so much you can feel the joy of release seeping into every inch of his body.

“You feel it happening?” Zemo asks softly. “The start, the pressure mounting? You see, she is very good. And she will get you there James, every time— right to the edge”

You yank your hand away and he jerks forward mouth open cock twitching with the start of an orgasm he will not have.

“To the edge” Zemo chuckles. “A cruel punishment for a greedy man who must learn to wait.”

Bucky quickly lifts his head, the realization flashing in his eyes as his chest rises and falls. He looks down at you.

You smile and reach for him again.

*

“Please” He begs breathless.

“Not yet” Zemo says leaning forward a bit in his seat, the drink in his hand all but forgotten. You notice the ice has long since melted as you wait for permission, watching over your shoulder.

He gives you a nod and you turn back to Bucky.

Wrapping your hand around him again, you feel him so solid he’s like stone. His thighs are flexed, his hips raise up in the chair as you begin to jerk your hand up and down and the light reflecting off the oil makes you both shine like gold.

He moans and you watch the muscles of his abs flex as he feels the orgasm coming on, helpless to it and your skilled hand.

“I’m going to come.” He groans sounding sorry for and drops his hips.

“No, you won’t. I did not say that you can” Zemo says like the villain behind you.

“I can’t it hold back” Bucky pants, his voice is thin he sounds like he very well might lose control and you feel him pulse in your palm. You twist your hand around sliding it down to the base thinking it might help hold him off if your focus is less near the collection of nerve endings.

Zemo stands and comes to you, tapping your shoulder. You let him go with a quick up and down and Bucky’s disappointment is the saddest thing you’ve ever heard.

When Zemo looks down at the wonderfully pitiful sight, Bucky shuts his eyes. “Yellow.” He whispers. “Please, yellow.”

“All right.” Zemo says kindly and gives his head a rub. “Rest”

“Thank you.” Bucky manages.

You stand not caring what Zemo says and kiss Bucky’s cheek.

“You okay?” You ask, your hand on his shoulder, lifting his chin to look at his face.

“Please… don’t, don’t touch me for a minute?” He asks and you give an embarrassed laugh understanding his request. You’re not exactly innocent in his torment.

“Of course I’m sorry I…” Your sentence is cut off.

Zemo has you by the back of your arms and pulls you tight against him. “You, not her.”

Bucky sighs dropping his head.

“I’m still confused. Is, this what you wanted?” He asks feigning ignorance though with you naked its clear what Zemo means.

Bucky won’t look.

“Answer me.”

“No, I mean— yes Baron.” He concedes.

You feel Zemo’s laugh along your neck. “You wouldn’t have been fast enough to finish before I found you. Well, maybe you, but not her. Tell me, how quickly can you make her come?”

“What?”

“How quickly?”

You shut your eyes as soon as you realize where this is going.

“I don’t know. I mean she always got there.” Bucky says sounding slightly self conscious.

Zemo smiles. “Two minutes. I can finish her off in just two.”

“Ha!” Bucky doesn’t believe him, who would.

Oh Bucky…

“Tell him it’s true.” Zemo leans towards you.

You nod glancing at them both. “He does this… thing.” You tell Bucky. “He works my spot and my clit at the same time and I come. Fast.” You say simply and totally helpless to it.

“It’s not always the most fun, rarely my first choice; but great when we’re in a hurry.” He shrugs and takes a knee before you even realize that he has. “Open your legs.” He says looking up at you.

Your eyes go wide, surprised to see him down and waiting with Bucky watching. Still, you part your thighs and wisely lay your hands on his shoulders knowing you won’t be able to stay upright without the support.

“This? Right James? This warm, tight, safe place? This is what you wanted?” Zemo asks, teasing Bucky with the way he slides his fingers between your velvet soft folds. You feel him turn his hand and his finger circles your entrance. He sighs and takes hold of your hip to keep you in place.

Two fingers slip inside and you hiss against the stretch, biting your lip as your head lolls to the side. You try to hold in the loudest of your noise but it’s hopeless.

The Baron starts to do his thing and you wonder if you might be able to deny him the pleasure of making you come in front of Bucky again, but just like always you end up gripping his shoulders to keep from falling as he does a perfect come hither with his two fingers as his thumb rubs with the perfect amount of pressure on your throbbing clitoris. He can’t resist and licks your peak for good measure until you hold your breath as he sucks sloppily and until you come on his hand and just as quickly as always. Your wild moaning is nearly feral but you could not care less. It makes you smile to hear him laugh softly so pleased with himself and you and your eyes shut as you pant, catching your breath.

Lowering your head, your eyes only half open, you both look over at Bucky who is glaring at the Baron.

“James.”

“Yes.”

“Stop breaking the rules.”

“Yes Baron.” He says giving in completely.

Zemo smiles and slowly pulls his fingers free from you, raising his hand just enough to show them so wet and sticky and glistening. He kisses your belly and looks up at you. “Go lie down.” He says rubbing your stomach, smoothing his hand over your soft tuft of hair. You’re still floating as you do, happy to go and rest and leave them to it.

“Would you like to come now?” You hear Zemo ask Bucky as he gets up and goes around the chair.

“Please.” Bucky whispers watching you sink down onto the bed on your side.

“I can finish you off just as quickly as I did her.”

“Yes. Please.” He begs through clenched teeth rising up again as if presenting himself to be relieved, the steady rush of blood to his lower half turning his cock a darker shade of desperate as it rises up like a tower ready to fall. “I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you.” He pants “I’m sorry I tried to fuck her. I’m sorry for breaking your rules. And I will do anything, please just… fuck. Please!”

Helmut leans down hushing him, pressing his face close to Bucky’s, grabbing him around the chest as his left hand comes reaching over his stomach promising an end to the day’s long torment.

He grips the soldiers gorgeous, endlessly taunted dick; your natural lubricant replacing the oil to help glide his fingers along.

When Zemo starts to work Bucky you can see through the look on his face that this is all he’s wanted to do for so long and you are reminded that this is as much the Baron’s discipline as it is yours— as it is Bucky’s.

Bucky makes a deep sound that gets your attention. His body flexes and you think he looks like a bomb ready to blow. A sexy, finely muscled, lightly tanned bomb with a look of pained excitement as his legs open and his jaw flexes.

“Are you mine James?” Zemo asks, his lips brushing his ear,

“Yes” He says pitifully raising his hips, thrusting once into the Baron’s hand just as Zemo lets go. A deep frown fixes between Bucky’s brows as he waits until Zemo grabs again and starts to perfectly stroke him.

Bucky’s mouth opens, his eyes fix on the incredibly hypnotic rhythm of Zemo’s hand.

“You’ve always been mine haven’t you?”

“Yes!” Bucky nearly shouts, his brows turned down with the exquisite anguish of the nearing release.

“Say it again,” Zemo demands, his right arm tight around Bucky, his eyes shut relishing in the control and the love, you listen to the wet rhythm as it gets faster.

“Yes.”

“Say it!”

“I’ve always been yours” Bucky moans loudly and glances over at you unable to keep your hand away from your pussy selfishly wanting to come again.

“Once more.” Helmut says opening his eyes. The muscle of his arm is flexed beautifully as he pounds.

Bucky moans so similarly to you that Helmut just smiles. He knows, he understands the hold he has over you both.

“I’m yours” Bucky manages and the Baron focuses his movement as if pulling the orgasm from Bucky’s body willing it to come forward. He jerks his hand up and away…but this time he’s finished the job.

He holds Bucky as the man cries out, his hips rising high this time, his cock pulsing with a tight up and down as he finally —god, finally— gives a high pitched groan with that first explosive release of come that shoots past his stomach and onto his own chest followed by equally satisfying spasms that send milky droplets flying free into the air and across his stomach onto Zemo’s arms; Bucky’s groaning and gasping near tears with the absolute exhaustion and relief of his well deserved climax, his moans and gasps of surprise so raw and unaffected.

By the time he lowers back down to the chair unable to do much more than sit there, limp and panting with his eyes closed, Helmut is holding him, caring nothing for the mess. He seems to love the sight of the pearlescent results of Bucky’s incredible orgasm as much as you do.

Smiling as he strokes Bucky’s hair, kissing his temple, he says with a tone only Helmut Zemo could manage at a moment like this, “You see. When you listen to me, I make it worth every second, every moment of torment. Yes?”

Bucky nods but it’s weak.

Zemo chuckles softly, kisses him again and reaches down easily undoing the ropes.

“Look at you both.” He says trying to sound angry, as if it’s not all his fault. “You can’t come to dinner like this. I’ll run a bath.”

He leaves Bucky and comes to the bed bending over you, his hand so sticky from the combination is heavy on your belly as he kisses your lips. “Hows your ass?” He asks.

“Still on fire.” You say and he winks as he rises.

“Good."

*

“You’re pretty quiet over there.” Bucky says splashing you from across the large tub. You’ve both been in for a while now after Zemo took a quick shower and left you alone letting you know he’d be up waiting at the dinner table.

Roused from your daydream but still not sure you want to talk about why you’re so quiet, you glance over and shrug.

“Whats wrong? You’re not mad about what happened are you?” Bucky asks sliding a little closer. The tub is surprisingly big in an already large bathroom and yet again you wonder how you’ll return to real life when this all ends.

“What happened?” You ask him.

“Getting you in trouble? He really put a shine on your backside.” Bucky says, a smile breaking through any attempt at being serious.

You sit up surprised to hear that’s what he thinks it could be. “Ha! No. Not at all. That was amazing… god” You tip your head back, the image of Bucky, naked and tired to a chair with Zemo holding him and whispering in his ear will be seared into your mind for life. “I didn’t know you could come that much.” You say, slowly looking back down at him,trying not to giggle.

“Neither did I.” He says practically blushing before he grins. “Same goes for you.” He tosses right back.

You laugh and roll your eyes. “Okay well we both know he’s capable of turning us into sex crazed idiots apparently.” You say with a cheeky grin and Bucky laughs shaking his head with a sigh.

“What is it? Some Sokovian spell or something, magic from the old world?” Bucky says with a thick accent wiggling his wet soapy fingers in the air.

Laughing you scrunch your nose. “Nah, that’s all him. Just wait until you’ve been around him long enough to get to the good stuff.”

“The good stuff!” He looks shocked “Well what the hell is all this!”

“This is amazing, but it not… well it’s not him. Theres so much more than sex. Watching tv. Eating dinner in bed. Naps— once he read to me.” You say with a sigh and the room goes silent as you both slip into a day dream laced with Helmuts beautiful voice surrounding you as he reads the classics on a warm summer night…

“You think he sits around daydreaming about us like this?” Bucky asks with a frown. “I worry sometimes.”

“Really?” You ask looking into his big blue eyes. Hundred years old and still so sweet. “Of course he does. Bucky, he wouldn’t have done any of this if he didn’t spend as much time thinking of us as we do him. Don’t be so naive”

He nods looking out the window and you know he’s just out of practice. He probably had a swarm of girls around him back when his life was normal. Maybe even a secret guy. But how long ago had that been. And since he’d been released from the words, his only real time spent with anyone has been with the two of you. For a moment you wonder if that’s fair. He should go out on dates or something, but then again you did try to get him on some apps. He hated them all. Women swiped right like it was their job of course, but he thought it was strange and wanted to meet them the old fashioned way but when he did he could only focus on what he didn’t like and just compared them to you— and Zemo.

“Hey.” You get his attention again. “I mean it, I’m really not upset about anything that happened earlier. Thanks for being such a rule breaker.” You say with a wink.

“No problem” He laughs as if that was his intention. Bucky’s expression softens as he sits back, the water rocking under the bubbles.

Bubbles. Talk about a diva, is anyone is on this big ass boat it’s him. Two adults having a bath drawn from them; why not throw in the bubbles. You roll your eyes ignoring the way your chest gets tight with the feel of being so adored and loving every second of his over the top ways and focus on Bucky who looks stunning in the bath— your heart sinking just a little.

“So what is it?” He asks unaware of your many distractions.

You look back to the window staring up at the sky for a while. “I’m just… sad.” You say giving in to the truth “I mean, I’m thrilled being here. But I’ve had this idea that I could talk you into staying with us. I keep imagining this life with you and Helmut and I know it can’t happen for so many reasons but I’m stubborn and spoiled. I truly hate not getting my way. So I keep thinking, maybe.”

He goes quiet now understanding, and then you feel his hand on your knee under the water. “I know. I’ve thought about it too. Maybe a little too much. Definitely enough that I’ve almost convinced myself it could work, but no. It just wouldn’t.”

You press your lips hesitant to say in case you might offend him but decide to just go for it. “And you’re sure it’s not just that you miss it? Saving the world and everything? I mean, I can see how it would be appealing— from controlled killer to stoic hero.” You tease gently, wiggling your brows up and down until he laughs a little, probably more annoyed than you’d like, and whatever facade you’d put on crumbles. The look of heartbreak turns your brows down, twisting your face with the agony of losing him. He looks surprised to see you so broken about it and finds your hand through the water.

“Hey hey hey.” He pulls but you’re not in the mood to be comforted. Bucky hates when you don’t let him coddle you, but he knows better than to fight it so he simply answers your question. “Yes.Well. No I mean, it’s nice. But honestly, if you really want to know, I could get used to being domesticated.” He shrugs letting go of your hand as he looks towards the shower where Zemo was and you swallow the tears that have been overpowered by your intrigue.

Managing a laugh at his expense you poke his arm on the rim of the tub. “Really? By me or Helmut?” You ask and swear you see him blush.

“You’ve already proven you can turn me into a homebody, and happy to be there, so —Maybe both?” He shrugs and there is such a tone of possibility in his statement that you’re instantly transported into a world in which the three of you are living happily. Maybe in this Mediterranean paradise, you’ve just come home from the market with ingredients for a dinner that Bucky has asked you to pick up and you help him cook while music blasts in your small but bright kitchen and you dance around until the house smells delicious and you set the table, flirting and toying with one another until everything looks beautiful before rushing to sit just as your Baron comes through the door…

Even here and now sitting in the tub with you, Bucky looks like the sweetest house husband glowing a soft gold in the light of the sun. What you wouldn’t give to be his forever. His his and hers, you think and your chin quivers with the threat of happy miserable tears.

Bucky isn’t oblivious to your hurting but he’s trying to keep strong, he can’t give in to you, not this time. “We’ll never know if I stick around.” He says and your little vision fades “I think I’ve got one visit, maybe two in me before someone notices an avenger hanging around their town and his cover is blown. You don’t want that. I don’t want that. I’d never forgive myself."

“I know.” You say and only realize that your head is down when his hand, which is covered in white bubbles reaches to lift your chin.

“Hey, come one. None of that. We’ve only got a little bit of time. I just want to make the most of it. Give me enough good memories to finally forget about whats left of the bad.”

You smile and nod, blowing the bubbles away before they go up your nose. “Fine.” You sigh and look back out the window hugging your knees. “Buck, can I ask you something?”

“Of course.” He says only cringing a little when you call him Buck.

“Do you think you might ever love him?”

Bucky freezes. He looks— odd. Uncomfortable. Exposed? You realize very quickly that he already does, even if he’s not aware of it and decide not to push him

“It’s okay. I was just curious.” You say and try to calm him with your smile “We come from very different worlds. Letting myself love a man like Helmut Zemo took little to no effort for me, for you— I know why it might come as a shock. But I think you’ll find, when you do admit it to yourself and to him, he might just surprise you with how quickly he says it back.”

[sapphire-dreamsky]

Sukuna, the Grumpy Cat

In celebration of 100+ followers🥳

Warnings: | Swear words | Sukuna and Author breaking down that fourth wall | Some commentary from the author (shameless self-insert commentary I know) and Sukuna's own comments because why not? |

When he woke up, he thought it was a fucking joke. Again?! Last time was a child version of but this time a cat? He was going to kill the person who instigated all this.

A/N: Sukuna please, don't 😅. I'm sorry if I use you for entertainment purposes.

Sukuna: At least make it good.

A/N: Meanie.

While as a child he could speak, every time he opens his mouth, he...meows. Worse of all. Since he retained his original conscience, he is now a grumpy Sukuna with claws that will hurt. Trust him. It will hurt once he hunts down the person who did this and thought it would be funny.

A/N: I'm going to hide from a...cat🤭

Sukuna: Winter!!!

A/N: *Yelp*

Upon further inspection, he decided that maybe it wasn't that bad. He could rest the whole day and no one could bother him since he is in the form of a cat. You can't expect him to kill curses like this can you? He could hide from the humiliation of being turned into a cat while waiting for the effects of the curse to dissipate.

It's not like the others really bothered with waking him up. They learnt their lesson when the group tried to prank him once in his sleep and were nearly sliced.

The man loves his sleep. Let him sleep. That's simple like that.

Wrong. He was so wrong.

He forgot that his s/o would look for him if he didn't show up for breakfast.

You came barging in his room with a platter of delicious food.

Sukuna was sleeping under his blanket, intending to sleep the curse away when the smell of the delicious breakfast that he missed woke him up.

Groggy from sleep he forgets that he is in cat form.

You let out a squeal and that's when he realises that he messed up.

Squeezed to death was not on his bucket list.

He tries to get out of your hold but to no avail. So he had to wait until you finish gushing all over him, telling him he is adorable and just rubbing behind his ears without asking for his permission.

'Damn human, taking liberties like that.'

Despite that he is purring. Very loudly too.

"Oh hey, Mister cute adorable cat. You wouldn't have happened to see a grumpy old man sleeping his day away would you? Where did you even come from? Did you come through the window? Sneaky little thing."

He continued purring because the scratches were way too good. 'Life as a cat is good...'

You decide to set down the tray of food, looking for signs of your boyfriend.

"Hmmm...his wallet is here...his phone is here...his uniform is here? Where could he go without his wallet? Is he hiding from training again? But that is unusual...he is normally waiting in his room for food if that was the case..."

All the while, Sukuna is devouring his well-deserved breakfast because he is starving.

As soon as he finished, he tries grabbing your attention by jumping over your shoulder as you investigate his room for his 'disappearance'.

"Ouf. Mister Cat, you are a bit heavy you know?"

The cat looks so offended that he reminds you of your grumpy boyfriend.

Then he starts meowing at you, as if to ask you to take back that statement.

"There, there. Calm down. I'm sorry. I was just joking. Will you help me find Sukuna? He is a tall guy who is either always frowning or smiling sadistically. He has pink hair and a lot of tattoos. The bad boy archetype."

The cat starts meowing even louder as if trying to argue with you.

"What? You don't believe me? It's true. He is the bad boy archetype that all high-school girls fall for. Don't tell him, but his attitude is actually more similar to that of an old man who hasn’t had enough sleep and is grumpy the next day."

The cat puts his paw on your mouth as if to ask you to stop talking. It was more of a demand really.

Then he turns away, as if you offended him, nose in the air, tail swishing around lazily. But Sukuna was annoyed. As soon as he reverts back to normal, he will take his revenge. And then we'll see who the old man is.

As the day drags on, however, with your new found companion sitting on your shoulder like pikachu, you start to worry.

"Where are you, Sukuna?"

Was he in danger? What if he got kidnapped? What if Sukuna is dying somewhere (Sukuna: Human, stop being dramatic will you?)? Or maybe he was mad? Or he ran away?

All the possibilities were starting to gnaw at you. It didn't help that neither your teacher nor your classmates knew where he ran off to. "He is the closest to you. Are you sure he didn't hint at something, (Y/N)?"

After the day turned into night, you fed the cat.

Surprisingly, he didn't run off while you were scouting the whole school's area and some places in the city looking for Sukuna.

After feeding him, you went off to Sukuna's room, hoping that he would be back.

However, only silence and emptiness greeted you.

You went and sat on his bed, the cat sitting on your lap facing you as if knowing that you were sad.

He tried pawing at you, rubbing himself all over you to try and cheer you up.

"Misted cat...I don't know what to do if he left. Even if he is an annoying grumpy guy, I still love him. He doesn't have many redeemable qualities but he is kind in his own peculiar way when he wants to. I know that he cares. More time than I can count, he saved me from danger. Even if he doesn't say that he loves me a lot, he lets me know by leaving some necessary things that he knows I need. One time he prepared me some homemade food from my town because I was feeling homesick. And when I have nightmares, he always somewhat knows and he sneaks into my bed despite it being forbidden and getting in trouble the next day. He always had my back. What if he is in danger somewhere? What if he needs help but I don't know? What if he...died?"

The last word was said so quietly that the Sukuna the Cat nearly missed it.

As droplets of tears started pouring over his head, he looked up, and tried to kiss your nose in affection, trying to reassure you that he was fine.

However, when leaning in, you unexpectedly fell down because of the sudden weight.

Sukuna was certain that he didn't weigh much in his cat form.

However, when he opens his eyes, he sees you crying beneath him. So he tries to wipe away the tears with his index finger...wait his finger? He is in his human form again!

You opened your eyes upon feeling a weight on you. The cat can't be that heavy.

However, as soon as your eyes lay on the very much naked man on top of you, you engulfed him in a tight hug.

"Sukuna you...you...stupid dumbass! How dare you make me worry so much! I was sick with worry, you know?! What if you died?!"

"Ouch. Where were your kind words from before? Was that all for the cat?"

Speaking of cats...

"Don't tell me you were the cat?!"

"Yep."

"How did you even turn into a freaking cat?!"

"In my sleep? Got no idea. But I'm back. It's so good to be in human form again."

He stretches his long limbs, uncaring of the fact that his butt was in the air.

A/N: As if you cared 🙄.

Sukuna: Clothes restrict my movements. It's a strategy.

A/N: Excuses are all I hear.

"Sukuna put some clothes on!"

"Uh? Why would I do that? It's my room, my rules. Meaning you are in my territory."

"Annoying bastard."

Still you hug him tightly from behind, afraid to let go.

"Feeling a little cuddly, I see."

"Shut up. You're ruining the mood."

"Technically that's the author's fault. But I'm not going anywhere else if that can reassure your pretty little head."

Tags:

@woman-of-culture

[m-aster-of-spinjitzu]

orange and gold

...I just need more Cole and Vania content, they seem like they'd be great friends.

Basically it's just 'Cole goes to visit her there, they almost burn down the kitchen, and make way too many puns', lol.

Set a few months after Master of the Mountain, but before Seabound or The Island.

Also yeah, I couldn't think of a better title, sue me- I just know that they wear one of the colours at some point, so... 🤦‍♀️😂

Trigger warnings: none I think? Huh-

Also, bingo!! I really need to learn better time management, dear freaking gosh- I hope I'm not too late though? I know it's like half a day late, eek- and I was supposed to post this earlier, but I ended up literally falling asleep while writing it😂

Thank you so much Fabro, for hosting such a cool event!:D Your comments on my fics literally never fail to make my day<3. And I'm so glad that I met so many awesome, really skilled people through this event too - it's been a lot of fun working alongside y'all:D, I wish I'd had more time to interact instead of posting stuff and vanishing lol, but exams be like:////

Prompt: cooking (does baking count as cooking? I realized too late lol-) from @ninjago-bingo 's warm board.

Word Count: 2497

---

Trying to escape from killer dire-bats hadn't been on Cole's to do list today - although the mountains were kind of beautiful.

It was a bit difficult to see them while he was being dragged to his death, but hey, didn't Jay always tell them to be more positive?

That was, until he made the mistake of looking down.

Miles of snowcapped mountains touched the pastel blue sky, but he was more focused on exactly how high he was from the ground.

Great.

Trying to swing back onto the Bounty, he didn't notice a golden-winged blur shoot past the bat, almost dropping their spear in haste.

"Let my friend go, or I'll-"

"Vania?"

She throws the spear at the bird, successfully knocking one of its wings.

Huh. She must've been practicing - throwing with accuracy while flying seemed kinda difficult.

"I'm so sorry!" she replies, grabbing his arm before he fell down too. She winces at the strain on her wings, almost dropping him onto the deck. "I was supposed to come earlier, but there was an issue with one of the mines, and it took forever to-"

"There ain't anything in this world that's managed to kill me yet," he replies jokingly, checking that the autopilot hadn't been damaged. "I doubt an angry bird is going to be the first."

"Didn't you mention that you became a ghost once? Pretty sure that means you were dead-"

"Shh, that's not an important detail," he jokes.

"If you say so," she replies with a grin. "Did I mention that Chompy's been tearing down the palace flower arrangements again?"

"Send my regards to the gardener-"

"Did you just make a pun?"

"Remind me why I decided to visit you again?"

"Because you love me?" she asks stepping onto the ground as the Bounty landed gently.

"I hereby crown you as my platonic soulmate," Cole deadpans, taking her hand. "Vania and Cole-"

"Destined to annoy each other for eternity," she giggles, swinging their hands up and down. "But seriously - thanks. I don't think I realized how much work being a queen was."

"What's it like?"

"I mean - I'm glad that people trust me, and they come to me if they have a problem, but the paperwork is a nightmare. I never get to go outside anymore, I swear."

"Paperwork? Also, you just invited me here for a week. I don't wanna disturb you?"

"Nah, I cleared my schedule, don't worry. And trust me, you don't want to know. Everything requires some sort of official written thing, and it's so boring-"

"Official? But you're the queen?"

"Well, yeah, but I don't really want to change something unless it benefits the people. Not after..."

Her smile dims, eyes straying to the palace walls.

Oh- oh.

"You're nothing like him," Cole says firmly, squeezing her hand. "I mean, if you need to take a break, or you can make your job a bit easier by cutting out something unnecessary, that's just gonna help you become a better queen. You've definitely got the interests of your people at heart, and that's the most important thing, you know? And well, uh, everything seems to be going great so far - you don't have to beat yourself up over someone else's mistakes."

"Thanks," she replies softly, her smile slowly returning. "Speaking of breaks, what do you think we should do this time?"

"You could show me around the city again?"

"You've already seen everything cool," Vania giggles, skipping ahead of him. "We don't renovate much - unlike you guys-"

"Hey, it's not our fault that our city gets destroyed every few months-"

"More like every few days," she teases, tying back her golden hair. "How about we find some dragons to adopt?"

"Tempting, but where would you keep them?"

"They could sleep in my room-"

She breaks off when she notices him laughing. "What?"

"N- nothing," Cole replies, in between laughs. "Jay and I just made a bet."

"On what?"

"How many dragons you've adopted. I bet at least six, he bet fifteen."

"Well, jokes on both of you - I'm pretty sure my advisor's going to throw a fit if I show up with another one," she starts, giggling. "We've got twenty living in the palace right now."

"Twenty dragons?"

"They're so cute! You just look into their adorable little eyes," Vania pauses for breath, continuing her animated gesturing, "and you can't help but wanna hug them!"

"Oh, Jay's going to be so mad."

"Aww, I'm sorry guys. They're just too adorable!"

"...Wanna hear a funny story?"

"Yeah, sure!"

"I actually used to be terrified of dragons-"

"No way!" Vania exclaims. "Y'all have been on a lot of adventures though, so-"

"Nah, we used to have our own dragons at first. They were pretty cool! I just- I'm a simple guy! Huge animals with wings are scary up close when you're barely a teenager."

"Or when you're really short-"

"We're the same height!" Cole exclaims, facepalming in a bit of a fondly exasperated way.

"I'm two years younger than you-"

---

"Ugh, whose idea was this?"

"Yours," Vania grins, sitting down on the kitchen counter.

"You were supposed to help me, not leave me high and dry!" Cole accuses jokingly, staring at all the appliances they'd found in the cupboards.

"'One must always be prepared for new adventures,'" she quotes seamlessly, waving one of- what was his name again? Mulch something? Oh! Clutch! Some explorer he was, leaving them to die in the pyramid - Clutch Powers' books in the air.

"Fine," he sighs, staring at the old recipe book she'd found in one of their back cupboards. "But you've gotta help me? I almost burned down-" "Woah, what? If you finish that sentence with 'kitchen'-" "In my defense, Kai was playing a prank on me-" "In my defense, I wouldn't like to explain how the queen of Shintaro burnt down the palace by teaching one of her friends to cook," she grins, flipping through the pages. "What do you wanna start with?" "Something simple?" "Have you ever tried baking bread before? It's a lot of fun!" "I haven't really had the time, but that sounds kinda interesting."

He skims the recipe, raising his eyebrows. "Wait, why does this take hours? I thought you said it was simple?"

"Trust me, it is," she laughs, adding, "besides, I still wanna hear about all your adventures!" "Uh... okay," Cole replies hesitantly, "but if this fails, I'm so sorry." "Give yourself some credit, you guys literally saved the world! Multiple times!" "Bold of y'all to assume we know how we did it," he laughs, only half-kidding. "Besides. I botched soup once."

"I've botched toast," she mock-sighs, smiling. "Pretty sure that makes us even."

"Lemme get this straight. You've messed up toasting bread, but you can bake it from scratch?"

"Trust me, I don't know either," she giggles, trying to open a brightly coloured packet of... something? Did flour come in packets that small?

"Uh, why are you opening something called 'feast'?" he asks, eyebrows creased in confusion.

"Feast," she echoes, trying to stifle her laughter. "Off to a... rocky start, aren't we?"

It took him a second.

"I already regret this," he jokes, facepalming. "But I'd say that your puns are, uh, gold."

"I've un- unleashed-" breaking off, she half-falls off the counter, laughing so hard her face starts to go red, "a monster."

---

"Uh, is it supposed to look like that?" Cole asks, frowning.

The mixture looked less like the dough he'd been expecting - more like one of Jay's inventions gone wrong.

Badly wrong, he thought, eyes widening at the goopy mess of foam that threatened to spill over the jug.

"The yeast?" Vania echoes, poking her head out of one of the cupboards. "Yeah, all good! It always looks a little gross, and you're gonna doubt ever eating bread again, but at least it doesn't taste like it's fermented-"

"It's what?"

"Yeah," she grimaces, exaggerating her disgust a bit. "If aliens ever fell from the sky, they'd think we were crazy for eating bread-"

"Aliens? I think we're a bit crazy!" Cole exclaims, trying not to laugh.

Vania smiles, then sighs, lugging a huge bag of flour onto the counter. "I can never open these bags properly," she starts, eyeing the the bag a bit warily, "and it always makes such a huge mess all over the kitchen. You'd think they'd make it easier for people to use, right? I swear-"

He jokingly puts his hands over his ears. "I can't hear you!" "But you know that I've sworn off swearing-" she replies, breaking off with a laugh. "Pun not intended - that actually made sense in my head. I swear!"

"No," Cole interjects with a grin, shaking his head. "You don't, remember?"

"See, this is why we're friends-"

"Friends? Is that all I am to you?"

"Oh, be quiet," she shoots back, exaggeratedly dragging a hand down her face. "I mean, sure, just because everyone thinks that we're dating doesn't mean that we-"

Wait. What?

"People think that we're dating?" he asks, clamping a hand over his mouth in a poor attempt to muffle his laughter. "I- I- really?"

"I know, right?"

"Even my friends thought so at first," he confesses, dragging a hand down his face. "I mean, as much as I love you-"

"I love you too," Vania replies, completely seriously. "Even if you'll always be more like an annoying-"

"Hey-"

"Sibling to me than anything else," she finishes, grabbing a pair of scissors. Cole watches, a little alarmed, as she stabs them into the flour bag over and over.

"Is it... supposed to be this difficult to just open the bag? Seems kinda stupid-"

"Well, er, they have this piece of paper with glue that you're supposed to pull away from the rest of the bag, but it never works properly and I-"

"Well, we could always make our own flour," Cole interjects, laughing. "I mean, I've got a scythe? Let's go!"

"Uh, but we don't have wheat growing here. I don't think it'd suit the climate very well?"

"Wheat a shame," Cole sighs jokingly, measuring out the flour (which had, finally, escaped the bag).

"Oh my gosh," Vania deadpans, "you did not just-"

"Yep, I did."

"You're horrible," she giggles, "then again, I was the one who started this whole debacle, so I think we'll share the blame."

"Debacle? Where'd you pick that one up from? Sounds kinda cool-"

"Oh, it's from a book someone wrote about you guys," Vania says casually, pouring a cup of water into the bowl.

"Hey, uh-" Cole starts hesitantly, twisting his fingers back and forth, then breaks off. "Why'd you read all that stuff about us, anyways? Adventure books don't really seem like something you read a lot, since we have similar favorite books. I mean..."

"Well, um..." Vania trails off, clearly uncomfortable. "Uh- I guess, well, it sounds kinda stupid, but I'd never really met anyone my age who wasn't a royal or something. I... er, I didn't want to be left out, you know?"

Cole thinks back to a scroll; a quest, a sacrifice. One that his friends never seemed to really notice, unless it was with horror or flinches. Not that he blamed them, but - joking about how he was much more useful to the team when he was freaking dead than he was before he'd stumbled and fell in the temple?

That had been a bit far, even for his best friend. Locks could always be picked or something, he didn't need to be a ghost to provide some sort of value-

Well, that's not completely true, is it? a small voice questions, and he can't keep his hands from shaking a little.

"Jay here thinks you're the least valuable ninja."

Not enough to be a performer. Now, not good enough to even be a ninja, apparently.

Well, he reminds himself firmly, you don't have to be the best - just stand up to those who are cruel and unjust.

Nothing but a scar that glowed warm orange occasionally left of the whole Cursed Realm ordeal, sometimes it was all too easy to forget - or pretend - that it had never even happened in the first place.

Other times, like when he'd dropped a glass of water on the floor and his hands hadn't stopped shaking for hours, or when he woke up screaming, expecting to fall through his bed again, it still felt like he was trapped as a ghost. Literally - and maybe a little figuratively as well.

Yeah. Yeah, I know.

"Thanks for trusting me with that," he replies softly. "And I'm sorry. That sounds... horrible, but, honestly, you're a pretty cool person, and I ain't just saying that because we're friends. People can be awful, and they can- they can leave, but you don't need to pretend to be someone you're not for people to accept you. I kinda know what it's like, and it's... just, uh, not great."

"No, thank you," Vania says, rubbing her eyes. "You're pretty cool, too. And I'm glad that we become friends, even if wasn't in the- the, er, greatest circumstances."

"Right back at ya. The fall was pretty terrifying, though," Cole says casually, as if memories of that nightmarish plunge into the depths of earth don't still send shivers down his spine.

"No, definitely! I was so sure we were gonna splat onto the ground or something, thank gosh we didn't."

"Yeah..." Cole trails off, reading the recipe they'd been following. "Oh- do we just leave the bowl somewhere for a few hours now?"

"Oh, yeah," Vania answers. "Other than clean up the kitchen, what else do you wanna do?"

"That's kind of you, but, ah, I don't mind. You can choose something."

"I don't mind either," she replies, covering the bowl with a dishcloth. "Seriously, I don't."

"Same here though."

"Really, I don't mind-" Vania breaks off with a laugh, adding, "Well, actually, there is something."

She doesn't elaborate, thoughtfully gazing out the window.

"Well, what is it? Don't keep me in the dark."

"Ugh, it's kinda stupid-"

"I'm sure that it's not- well, unless you want to try to jump off a flying ship with a homemade parachute to prove a bet to someone-"

"Do I even wanna know?"

"...uh, probably not. We're way too crazy sometimes, our Master has a hard time keeping us in check. Your thing, though?"

"Can I give you a hug?"

Cole blinks for a second, expecting some sort of punchline.

"That's your thing?"

"Well, yeah- I mean, I said it was kinda stupid-"

"No no, that's not what I meant. You're so sweet - that's all."

"Well, not more than you-"

"Nah, you're sweeter-"

"Let's just call it a tie," Vania says with a smile, reaching over to give her friend a hug. "Thank you so much, I swear- well, no, I don't, but you know, anyways-"

"Yeah," Cole replies, laughing softly. "I know."