#I do not have the money for this thanks!!

[dcxdpdabbles]

Danny: WHERE AM I!?

Tim: My room.

Danny: HOW DID I GET HERE!?

Tim: I will admit that I may have kidnapped you, but it was for a really good reason

Danny: YOU WHAT?! YOU'RE LIKE SEVEN!

Tim: I'm actually nine, but I am small for my age, so I'll let that slide. I took you because I want to make a deal. You need a place to hide until you're eighteen, and I need someone who can protect Robin until he's eighteen. We can help each other out. I provide lodging, meals, and education should you like it, by day and you become my hero's bodyguard by night

Danny: WHAT?!

Tim: Do you always yell when talking or that your normal voice?

Danny: I...look kid I just need time to process. I mean the last thing I remember I was eating a free burrito that somone....handed to me....*gasp* You tampered my free food!?

Tim: Yes. It was quite easy, actually. I normally wouldn't have done it, but I need someone to protect Robin. Last night, he got hurt in the field, and Batman yelled at him. I'm worried they'll break apart soon if it happens again. I will not survive the Dynamic Duo falling out.

Danny: I wont survive being thier protector either! Do you know what will happen to me once word gets around that Danny Fenton resurfaced to fight crime?

Tim: I suspect the parents you're running from will find you but not to fear. You'll be in disguise by night and by day. I can make you my Dad's illegitimate son with fake papertrail. Daniel Drake will have no connection to Danny Fenton or Poltergeist, the friendly ghost protector.

Danny: Oh, and your folks will be okay with that, I'm so sure. Every couple wants to find out the husband has an illegitimate son.

Tim: Yes, they are totally fine with it! I asked for permission from them last night. Mom is excited to dramatically welcome you into the house after she publicly confronts Dad about it. He wants to say he had you with a maid who he proposed to only to find out she had been stealing from the company and used him for his body and money. He said he always wanted to have a romantic scandal.

Danny: ......

Danny: You're an odd family

Tim: Thank you! So will you do it?

Danny: What the hell, why not. I'm tired of the streets anyway. People handed out drugged burritos there. It ain't safe.

Tim: *Squeal* Thank you, big brother! You're the bestest brother in the whole world.

Danny: Don't do that. It's creepy.

[withwritersblock]

Calling After Me

~Calling After Me by Wallows~ Author's Note: requested! I have no idea what this is! Long time no see um here's this Lazar!reader fic that is um long. Summary: Luke pursues Curtis's younger sister Warnings: maybe implied smut? Word Count: 15,663 Luke Hughes x Lazar!fmreader

When his baby sister called him and asked for his help, Curtis instantly jumped on the opportunity. His baby sister, Y/N, was studying to be a teacher in New York and she was starting her student teaching. Which meant no income. Without any hesitation, he offered her to stay in his guest room for as long as she needed. He would also pay her to babysit so she would have some money. 

There was a nine year age gap between them and Curtis would do anything to make sure she was okay. He threw a welcome party for her, it was dramatic but he was excited for his baby sister to live with him. 

Since she was living in New Jersey, her school was able to give her placement there. She started her student teaching back in August and for the last two months, it’s been great.

Now that the regular season was right around the corner, Curtis was planning on having some of his teammates by to watch the football game that was on tonight. Curtis never really had to worry about his teammates liking his sister since she was nine years younger than him. 

Except now he has teammates that are nine years younger than him. It was his mission to make sure that his teammates keep their eyes and hands away from his baby sister.

She was sitting at the dining table with a handful of essays her students had written. Her mentor teacher let her grade the students’ work for the first time alone. Curtis climbed down the stairs to the house they were renting with his youngest son in his arms. 

“Y/N,” Curtis asked as he stepped into the dining room. She nodded as she lifted her gaze. “Can you take this upstairs? The boys are gonna be here soon,” he let out. She furrowed her eyebrows as she looked into her eldest brother’s eye.

“I can’t be down here when they come over?” she asked, a laugh climbing in her throat. 

“It’ll be–like–loud and stuff. Don’t you need to focus with–quiet,” he let out, trying to hide his other agenda. He failed. 

Y/N took a deep breath as she began to restack the papers in front of her. There was probably eighty essays that she still needed to finish. “Sure,” she drew out the word as she stood up from the dining table, pushing the glasses up on her face as she walked up to him. “You act like I haven’t met them before, but sure. I’ll stay hidden,” she teased as she poked the belly of her nephew before she walked past him towards the stairs.

Curtis paused as he took a deep breath spinning around, “Thank you,” he let out softly as the doorbell rang. His eyes widened as he walked quickly towards the front door. He glanced behind him to see his sister completely upstairs. He let out a long drawn out breath while he pulled the door open.

He smiled widely when he saw Dawson, John, and Tyler waiting outside of his door. “Hey guys,” he let out as he let the three of them inside. John waved excitedly towards Curtis’s youngest son. Curtis chuckled as he went to shut the door, only to see the Hughes brothers jogging up towards the door. “Hey!” he called out as they stepped inside.

“Holy shit, this place is nice,” Jack let out as his eyes instantly danced around the living room and the small view of the kitchen. 

“Thanks man,” Curtis offered as he glanced towards Luke, who was shyly shoving his hands into his hoodie pockets. “There is alcohol in the fridge, food is on it’s way and the game will be on in like forty minutes. Make yourself at home,” 

Dawson and John didn’t hesitate as they instantly started walking towards the kitchen. Jack and Luke hovered by the door for a few seconds before they followed after the other two. Tyler took a spot on the couch as Curtis followed towards him.

“Where’s your sister?” Tyler asked as he looked around the room. Curtis chuckled as he tossed his head back as he glanced down towards his son. 

“Upstairs, grading some stuff,” he said, a grin on his lips.

“Hiding her from the Hughes bros?” Tyler teased. Curtis tossed his head back for a second. He leaned down and placed his son into the swing. He pressed the button, allowing it to rock slowly back and forth.

“And Dawson, kid’s got charm,” Curtis let out while laughing. Tyler chuckled as he shook his head slightly. “She doesn’t need to be getting involved with any of them,” he expressed.

“They’re not bad, you know,” Tyler let out teasingly.

“She doesn’t need to know that,” Curtis shot back as there was another knock on the door. 

Another hour later and the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings game was in full swing. Half of the roster was in the house and scattered all over the living room. Reanne came home with his eldest son and the wings they ordered. There was a giant tray of wings and the pizza they ordered were all over the dining table.

Reanne was in the process of putting both of their young sons to sleep while Y/N was still grading papers in her newly appointed bedroom. The boys in the living room were not as loud as she initially thought. But from the amount of cars sitting outside of the house, she assumed it was a lot of the players. 

The Lions scored a touchdown and a few of the boys cheered before they took long sips of their drinks. “How’s that league looking, Jacky?” Curtis teased from across the way. Jack tossed his head back while rolling his eyes playfully.

Luke smacked his hand against Jack’s shoulder, “Told you not to take Monty off of your roster, man,” Luke teased.

“Shut up,” Jack let out as the entire room started laughing.

Y/N began climbing down the steps, causing a handful of the guys to look towards her. She kept to herself, fully aware of the majority of New Jersey Devils roster was in her living room. 

“Hey Y/N, thought you were staying upstairs tonight,” Curtis offered before he brought his beer towards his lips. 

She lifted her head up to see them glancing towards her. Curtis was staring towards her angrily. His cheeks flushed red from the alcohol in his body. Luke tried to keep his eye off of her. But it was impossible. It was as if she was walking in slow motion as he watched her climb down the steps. Her body was covered with a tight blue long sleeve top and a pair of grey sweats. 

Luke’s body ran hot as he continued to stare towards her; as subtly as he could. She was stunning, absolute no discussion about it. He forced his gaze towards his lap while clearing his throat.

“I’m not Harry Potter. I’m not gonna hide and pretend I don’t exist when guests come over,” she let out teasingly as she walked passed the crowded living room towards the back door. The entire room started laughing. 

Luke’s head shot up as he looked back towards her direction as she sauntered away from the living room. His heart quite literally jumped into his throat. He couldn’t breathe.

They heard the door slam shut in the back. Curtis glanced towards the handful of younger guys in the group, “Don’t get any ideas,” he let out as he pointed a finger towards each of them. His gaze lingered on Luke, who’s cheeks were bright red. Luke dropped his gaze towards his lap as he took a deep breath while adjusting his body. 

“Is that your sister?” Jack asked as he smacked his hand against Luke’s arm. Almost out of habit. “When did she move here?”

Curtis nodded, “My baby sister moved here in August. She was in New York for school,” he explained before he brought his beer towards his lips. “She’s staying with us for a while.” he explained as he forced his gaze towards the TV.

Quickly, the boys all let it go and their attention went back towards the game. They all had a running bet on which team was going to win. The room was pretty split on who was going to take the game. Which meant the losing side would have to pick up the bill for any dinner the team has for the entire team. Basically, the losing team would take turns on paying. 

“I’m going to get more food,” Luke said outloud to anyone who would listen. Curtis nodded and a few of the others did as well. Luke stood up from the couch as he manuvered through the crowd towards the kitchen. He ran his fingers through his hair and walked towards the dining table to see Curtis’s sister eating one of the slices as she was sitting at the table.

His eyes widened as she looked towards him. “Hey,” she mumbled while keeping her gaze low. Almost afraid to meet his eye.

“Thought you left,” Luke mumbled as he took another plate and began to put some pizza slices onto his plate. He clenched his jaw as he avoided her gaze, his heart was still pounding hard against his chest.

“I tried, there’s like four cars blocking me in,” she mumbled before she took another bite. He chuckled as he glanced behind him. For the first time their eyes met for only a brief second before she shyly dropped her gaze towards her plate in front of her.

“Yeah one of those is probably mine, sorry,” he mumbled. She shrugged before she awkwardly met his gaze. He watched as her eyes widened slightly as she pressed her lips together.

“It’s okay, thought I’d steal some food before you all eat it all,” she expressed while chuckling. 

“Now that you’ve been spotted, you could join us,” Luke offered as he stepped away from the table. She looked into his eyes, a soft smile formed to her lips. 

Luke felt his heart jump into his throat as he saw her smile. Seeing her smile was the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen. He’s never wanted to look at anything else. He took a shaky breath as he forced his gaze down.

“Rather not,” she mumbled.

“Why?” Luke asked, laughing softly. 

“Curtis may play for the Devils but not really the team I wanna be around,” she explained as she stood up from the chair taking her plate with her. She stepped towards him briefly while maintaining eye contact. Her stomach flipped slightly as she got closer to him.

“What team?” Luke asked solely out of curiosity. She pursed her lips forward as she fought off a grin.

“Let’s just say between you and your brothers, Quinn’s my favorite,” she offered teasingly before she walked back towards the living room. Luke dropped his head, laughing. He followed after her towards the living room to rejoin the team. 

Y/N didn’t stop as she walked straight towards the stairs. Curtis glared towards Luke as he sat back down. Instead of asking any questions Curtis let it slide. 

“Seriously Rusty, didn’t you eat an entire pizza already?” Dawson let out causing the room to start laughing. Luke chuckled to himself as his gaze lingered on the stairs where Y/N walked up. His heart started beating rapidly.

~~~

For some reason, she couldn’t get him out of her head. She barely saw him, barely spoke with him but that smile felt like a drug coursing through her veins. She was struggling to fall asleep since her mind kept replaying his smile. His grin that was ever so slightly lopsided. His eyes squinted slightly each time his lips curlced upward. 

The entire night she tossed and turned trying to fall asleep but her mind was so busy with his smile. She never paid attention to him before. All she knew was that he was the youngest Hughes brother and he was also supposed to be great. It wasn’t a lie that her favorite team was the Canucks, she loved hearing his laugh when she told him that. 

His laugh was like honey in her ears. It was everything and she knew she wanted to hear it more. She knew she needed to see him more. But she knew Curtis would be mad.

She sat in the parking lot of the school she was student teaching at and slowly scrolled through his Instagram. Specifically, looking through the photo collection he had posted back in July. She kept admiring each photo, craving to get to know him more. 

A sigh fell from her lips as she gone back to his main page, staring at the follow button. He probably wouldn’t even notice. She was a private account, it would seem like any random person was following him. She took a deep breath as she pressed follow. Quickly, she tossed her phone onto the passenger seat beside her with her entire body ran hot. 

Looking up at the time on her car radio, she realized she had to start heading inside or it would be too close to on time. Her mentor teacher preferred her to be early. Turning her car off, she reluctantly took a hold of her phone and shoved it into her bag. 

She was grateful that she didn’t have her phone on her because she would’ve been checking her phone nonstop to see if Luke requested to followed her back. Yet, she kept thinking about it throughout the lesson she was teaching throughout the morning. 

It was finally time for her to eat lunch since their free period started a few minutes back. She was in the teacher’s lounge, waiting for the other student teacher to join her. His name was Jacob and they were quickly becoming friends. 

“Girl, I swear to god, if I have to explain the difference between sin, cos, tan, one more time today, I may explode,” Jacob let out with a long drawn out sigh before he slammed his lunch bag down onto the table. Y/N smirked before she tossed some of the pretzels into her mouth.

“Are you sure you want to be a teacher?” Y/N asked softly, a smirk toying to her lips. She pulled her phone from her pocket. Instead of looking at it, she placed it down onto the table.

“I’ll let you know after we’re done with trig,” he let out before he zipped open his lunch bag. Y/N chuckled while rolling her eyes. “How are you surviving today?” he questioned.

“I am alive,” she let out as she took a deep breath, “Probably a little bit better than you,” she let out teasingly. 

“Clearly,” he let out chuckling before he opened up his salad. “How was your weekend?” he asked as he shoved salad into his mouth. She took a deep breath as her mind instantly went to Luke. Which didn’t make any sense, she spent only a few minutes with him last night. 

“My brother had a lot of his teammates over last night,” she explained as Jacob’s eyes widened with a smirk toying to his lips. 

“Oh my god was Nico there?” he asked excitedly. Y/N stifled a laugh, “–I mean how was that?” Jacob said while chuckling.

She rolled her eyes playfully, “I think he was there but I was shunned to my room,” she let out.

“What? That’s lame,” he let out. “I mean a bunch of hot professional athletes in your living room and you couldn’t say hi? Ridiculous.” 

“I did see them for like five minutes while I stole their food,” she chuckled softly. Her eyes widened as she took a hold of her phone and watched as her phone screen lit up. She swiped down and clicked notifications she missed with her phone on do not disturb. Slowly, she scrolled to see a notification from Instagram.

lhughes_06 requested to follow you. 2 hours ago

Her mouth fell open as she stared towards the notification. Her heart began to race while selecting it. Without hesistation she accepted the follow request with her hands shaking slightly.

“What just happened?” Jacob asked while chuckling nervously. Y/N lifted her gaze while she delicately placed her phone back onto the table. 

“N–nothing,” she mumbled, not so convincingly. Jacob’s eyes squinted as he looked over her frame for a moment. He hummed before he switched the conversation. 

Her phone buzzed on the table and flashed the home screen with another Instagram notification. Instantly, she took a hold of it and her FaceID showed her the DM from Luke. 

lhughes_06 : Thought Quinn was your favorite ;)

She bit her bottom lip as she stared at the message. Her cheeks flushed as she fought her grin. 

Was he being flirty? Was he just saying hello? Was it just an ice breaker? Instead of replying she placed her phone back down onto the table as she looked back towards Jacob.

“So I’m supposed to pretend that you’re not grinning at your phone, okay,” Jacob said teasingly. 

“Yes you are, and you’re failing miserably,” Y/N shot back as she began typing a reply. After she hit send, she placed the phone back on the table face down.

“Okay, so let’s talk about our plans this Friday,” Jacob offered, attempting to change the subject for her. 

“No plans, I’m babysitting,” she mumbled sadly. Jacob threw his head back.

“Oh come on! You’re always babysitting,” Jacob whined. Y/N laughed while rolling her eyes. 

“I’ll ask my brother if you can come hang out,” she offered while rolling her eyes playfully. 

~~~

Throughout the day, she was texting Luke when she could. It was basic small talk but every time she felt her phone buzz in her pocket she fought every urge to read it instantly. 

She was laying on the couch, staring towards her phone screen waiting for Luke to message her back. A sigh fell from her lips as she dropped her phone down onto her chest. Her eyes shut as she kept hearing her heart slam against her chest. It’s been overworking all day.

“Hey,” Curtis expressed as he flopped down onto the end of of couch. He shoved her feet off of the cushion. Her eyes jolted open as she saw her eldest brother sitting down. He took a hold of the remote and pulled up the Vancouver game that was on. Y/N glanced towards the screen for a second. 

“So um–” she began as she felt her phone buzz, she pulled it up to see another message from Luke.

lhughes_06 : can I get your number? I don’t get notifications on Instagram

She smirked; subtle, real subtle. She placed her phone back onto her chest as she looked towards Curtis. His gaze was solely on the game. 

“What’s the situation with Luke?” she asked nearly embarrassed to ask the question.

Curtis furrowed his eyebrows as he switched his gaze towards her. “Hughes?” he questioned harshly. She pursed her lips forward as she slowly nodded. “He’s my teammate, Y/N. You know teammates are off limits,” he let out while crossing his arms over his chest; pouting. 

“Are they?” she asked sarcastically, “I mean usually your teammates are like a decade older than me. Never really needed a rule like that before,” she let out jokingly. 

“Fine, making it a rule now. Do not get involved with my teammates. Especially a Hughes,” Curtis stated as he refused to look towards her.

“What is that supposed to mean?” she asked while laughing. 

“Just stay away from my teammates, alright?” he said as he watched the game switch to a commercial break. Y/N pursed her lips forward as she nodded slowly. “I’m not gonna let them break my baby sister’s heart,” he let out. 

She clenched her jaw while rolling her eyes. Curtis always had the overwhelming habit of being overly protected of her. All over her older siblings were protective over her. It’s what comes from being the youngest. Especially with the older three being closer in age. Curtis felt like it was his job to take care of her. She hated that. 

She was twenty years old. She wasn’t a baby anymore, at least in her eyes. She was graduating college early in Decemeber. Her life was beginning and she was tired of being treated like she was a kid. 

“Okay,” she mumbled as she pulled up her phone to read the DM from Luke. Her cheeks flushed as she stared towards the message. What’s the harm in giving him her number? There’s nothing wrong with being friends. Absolutely nothing wrong. Her mind kept weighing the pros and cons of giving it to him. 

More she stared at the message, the more it became easier to believe that there was no harm in sending it. She sent it over to him and instantly dropped her phone onto her chest again. 

“Can Jacob come over Friday?” she asked softly. 

Shrugging his shoulders, “I don’t care, you don’t have to ask. This is your home too, you know,” he expressed as he finally looked in her direction. 

Her eyes widened as she scoffed, “Oh, I didn’t know since you’re acting like Dad right now,” she offered while she stood up from the couch; holding her phone tightly in her hands. 

“Oh come on,” Curtis offered while laughing. 

“I’ve got papers to grade,” she mumbled as she walked towards the stairs. Her phone began to buzz in her hand. 

Her eyebrows furrowed slightly as she stared towards the unknown number. Hesitantly answering the call, she brought it towards her ear. 

“Uh–hey?”

“Uhm–hey it’s Luke,” he let out shyly. Her lips curled upward as she jogged up the stairs faster.

“Usually when you give a guy your number, he texts first instead of calling,” she teased as she turned the corner to her room. She shut the door and walked towards her desk where there were only about fifteen papers left for her to get done. 

“I don’t like texting,” he said simply. She let out a soft chuckle as she sat at the desk. Y/N took a hold of her airpods and put them into her ear.

“What if we don’t have anything to talk about?” she questioned as she rested her phone down beside her as she stared towards the essay in front of her. There was a reference sheet beside her to assist in the grading process. 

“There’s always something to talk about with the right person,” he let out teasingly.

“And you’re the right person?” she offered as she tapped the back of her pen against the paper. 

“Oh definitely, I’ve been told I never shut up,” he shot back. She rolled her eyes playfully.

“Me too actually,” she muttered while glancing down towards her watch. He chuckled. “You know, I’m not supposed to talk to you,” she offered as she began to read the essay in front of her. 

“Ah right, the whole teammate thing?” he offered to her. 

She fixed one of the grammar mistakes before replying. “I can’t even ask about you or he gets mad,” she offered to him as she continued to read through the page. 

“You asked about me?” he asked softly.

“Maybe,” she let out fighting a grin on her lips.

“What did you ask?” he asked, an obvious smirk toying to his lips.

“Don’t worry about it,” she said through her own grin.

“Aw come on,” 

“Didn’t get an answer, doesn’t matter,”

“Maybe I can give you an answer,”

“Don’t think so,”

“No?”

“Nope,” she drew out the word as she felt her body cascade with heat.

“Ask me another question then,” he offered through a small chuckle.

“Like what?” she asked teasingly.

“Uhm–you could be like, ‘Luke, do you have any plans tomorrow night?’ and I’ll be like no I don’t, we should hang out or something,” he let out sarcastically. She rolled her eyes playfully.

“Did you forget the part where I am not supposed to talk to you,” she let out as she leaned back into the chair. He laughed so genuinely that she felt her heart literally skip a beat in the process. 

“You know, we could hang out as friends. There’s no rule against that,”

“Yeah, right–right,” she let out with a wide grin, “But–uh–let’s stick to the phone for now, okay?” she expressed with a nervous laugh falling from her lips. “That way we can at least nod along when my brother asks questions, okay?”

Luke barked out a laugh. “I’m good with that. Curtis is having another team hangout before the back to back this weekend. So I’ll see you then,” he let out, a tone in his voice she couldn’t quite detect. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked teasingly. 

She could hear him snicker on his end of the phone as she kept rereading the same sentence on the essay in front of her. Her heart was slamming against her chest, she was convinced that she would pass out from how busy her heart has been all day.

“You live there, so I’ll see you then,” he mumbled teasingly.

“Oh,” she mumbled as she tilted her head back, “What if I am shunned to my room again?” she asked teasingly.

“You’ll find a way to see me,” he let out while smirking.

Her mouth fell open as a soft gasp fell from her lips. Her cheeks instantly ran warm as she clamped her mouth shut. “I’m gonna hang up now,” 

“Why?” he asked softly.

“I have a lot of work to do and you are very distracting. I can’t focus with you–talking, so I’ll be hanging up now, goodbye Luke,” she offered. He let out another soft laugh.

“Goodbye Y/N, I’ll talk to you later,” he offered. She tapped the phone screen, hitting the red button. A huff of air left her lips, a breath she didn’t realize she was holding.

Pressing her lips together, she stared straight ahead. Her mind picturing that beautiful smile on his lips. He had the most perfect smile, the most perfect lopsided smile. She pulled her phone back up to begin to play music in the background. Doing everything in her power to push him and his perfect face away from her mind.

She forced her gaze back to the essay her freshman student wrote. This time actually ready and comprehending what the student wrote. She kept breathing heavy trying to slow her heart down.

~~~

Something about today had her students off the walls bonkers. She was already exhausted from not being able to sleep last night. The entire night she tossed and turned while his voice replayed in her mind.

You’ll fine a way to see me.

What the hell did he mean by that? She couldn’t get his voice out of her mind. His voice was like silk against her skin, her body was overwhelmingly hot, thinking about it. 

She sat in the teacher’s lounge craving silence. Her head was pounding and the three Advils she took were not working. There was a slim second of sweet silence and it was instantly ruined by Jacob storming into the lounge.

“Best day ever! My students love me, Mrs. Bernard loves me and I love my job. Best day ever!” he expressed as he happily sat down beside her, slamming his lunch box onto the table. A huff of air left his lips as he shook his head slightly. “God, I love lunch!” he let out while he zipped his bag open.

“Why are you so loud?” she let out while shaking her head slowly.

“Are you hungover?” he asked in a hushed tone. 

“No, I am not. I am just tired,” 

“Is there a specific person–reason why you are tired?” he asked teasingly. Her mouth fell open while shaking her head slightly. 

“I am exhausted and all I have wanted all day was some quiet. You are not helping me,” she said with a soft dry laugh leaving her lips. Jacob  dramatically rolled his eyes before he took a bite of his sandwich.

“You didn’t deny that a person was keeping you up all night,” Jacob said with a mouth full. 

“If I tell you will you let me sit in silence for like ten minutes,” she offered. Jacob nodded encouragingly. 

She went in detail over the two minute long conversation she had with him. How he was stuck in her mind for the entire night. How intoxicating his gaze was and how his voice caused her heart to beat rapidly. How perfect his smile was and how it was impossible to push him from her mind. 

She talked about their texting they did all day yesterday. Y/N explained how Curtis was completely not on board with her even talking about him. She talked about how she gave Luke her number anyway. She explained how he was clearly flirting with her and Jacob was ecstatic hearing that. 

“Why not let him take you out!” Jacob asked while slamming his hands against the table. Her eyes widened while shaking her head slowly. “I mean he’s hot and he’s a professional athlete. He also seems charming and funny,” Jacob explained.

“There’s a bright red target on my forehead. There is no way I am getting involved with him,” she explained while glancing down towards her phone screen. A text from Luke waiting for her. 

“Oh but you want to, oh you want to so bad,” Jacob teased.

“Okay, I explained and now I deserve silence!” she offered before she took a hold of her phone to reply to Luke. Jacob’s mouth fell open before he began to fight off the grin. 

“You deserve silence, you’re right,” Jacob offered before he took a large bite of his food. “But you have to at least kiss him once–”

“Jacob, I swear to god stop!” she said while laughing. “We’re not going to be kissing, we’re not going to be doing anything other than texting.”

“Texting or–”

“If you finish that sentence, I will never talk to you again,” Y/N offered as she hit send on her message to him. She placed her phone face down onto the table before she met Jacob’s gaze. He chuckled as he pursed his lips forward while chuckling.

~~~

Over the last few days, she would spend at least an hour on the phone with Luke. Talking about anything and everything.  

He would talk about his life before he moved to New Jersey. How much he loved being at University of Michigan, his teammates. His life before the NHL, how sometimes he missed it. How he loved his new teammates and how welcoming they all have been. To her surprise, Curtis was one of the most welcoming. Despite being newer to the roster too.

She talked about her life at NYU. How she didn’t take a single semester off and focused solely on school. She’s graduating this fall since she took more credits than what was recommended for two years straight. She didn’t take a break. Student teaching was the closest thing to freedom to her. She was done spending every aspect of her life studying and attending classes. She was almost free and in her dream. 

Their conversations flowed so easily that it felt like they had been friends for years. There was a lot of flirting. A lot of flirting. It was easy. She’s craved something easy like that for years. 

She needed someone that was easy to get along with. Easy to think about, easy to want. Maybe even easy to need.

Yet he wasn’t supposed to be easy. Curtis made that perfectly clear. 

Except right now she was deciding what outfit to wear while the living room was getting crowded with more Devils players. She was staring between the two tops to go with the dark wash jeans. 

Tonight was yet another get together for the Devils roster and she was so nervous. Luke was right, she did find several reasons to see him. Meet his eye and occasionally talk to him. He loved teasing her about it over text, while he was still sitting in the living room. 

There was a loud knock on her door and she jumped back and instantly took a hold of the shirt on the left. Quickly, she pulled the shirt onto her body, adjusting it as she pulled the door open to see Reanne standing there. 

Reanne’s eyes widened as she scanned her sister-in-law’s frame. “You look hot,” she offered. Her mouth fell open as she pushed Y/N back into her bedroom. Reanne shut the door behind her. “Why do you look hot?” she let out quietly. 

“Oh my god, why do you look hot?” she said while bouncing slightly.

Y/N mouth fell open as she shook her head slightly, searching for words to explain. Feeling defensive out of nowhere. 

“I don’t look hot,” she offered. Reanne dramatically tossed her head back while rolling her eyes. “I look like I always do,” she defended.

“So this–” she pointed towards Y/N’s face covered in makeup, “And this–” as she waved her hand down her frame; over her outfit. “All of that has nothing to do with any of the boys down there,” she offered while pointing towards the carpet.

“Nope,” she replied while shaking her head side to side. She fought off a grin.

“Then why are you grinning?”

“I’m not grinning,”

“You so are!” 

“Okay fine! I’m trying not to grin because–you know what I’m not gonna tell you!” she expressed as she sat down onto the bed, crossing her legs. Reanne groaned as flopped down onto the bed beside her. 

“Why not?” she whined.

“Because you are going to make fun of me,” she offered as she squinted her eyes harshly. 

“Well obviously, but I’m your sister-in-law that’s what I do!” she teased as she happily smacked her hand against Y/N’s thigh. “You know I can figure it out right? I’ll start listing the roster and your face will just tell me!” she continued. 

Y/N rolled her eyes while shaking her head slightly.

“Nico Hischier? Dawson Mercer? John Marino? they’re older but I totally get it if–” Reanne teased.

“Will you stop! Oh my god!” Y/N let out awkwardly laughing.

“Jack Hughes?” she offered. Y/N’s eyes widened slightly as her smile widened. She shook her head slightly. “Oh my god it’s Luke isn’t it?!” Reanne teased as she happily smacked her hands against her leg.

“Shut up!” she said while laughing.

“Oh you so think he’s cute and you’re dressing all hot for him! You guys are gonna fall in love and it’s going to be so adorable!” Reanne spoke dreamlike. “I should’ve known, you love them a little–”

“Fine! Fine, fine, fine! I think he’s cute, okay?” Y/N let out while laughing.

“Curtis adores Luke, oh this amazing!” 

“I asked Curtis about Luke the other day and he shut me down instantly, are you sure?” Y/N asked while falling on her back. 

“You are his baby sister!” Reanne said while sitting up slightly. “And don’t you pull the whole I’m not a kid anymore blah blah blah. You will forever be his baby sister who he doesn’t want his slutty teammates around.” she explained while standing up from the bed. “But you know who’s not slutty? Who’s actually kind and sweet and cute and definitely so ready to fall in love with you!”

“We’re not going to fall in love!” she countered as she stood up from the bed, facing Reanne. 

“Oh you are so gonna fall in love with Luke Hughes,”

“I’ve known him for like a week!”

“That’s why I said gonna! You are so gonna fall in love with Luke Hughes!” Reanne teased while jumping up and down slightly. 

“I hate you,” Y/N let out as she took a hold of the door and pulled it open slightly. 

“Will you hate me less if I promise to keep this to myself,” Reanne whispered as she grinned widely. Y/N nodded before she began walking towards the stairs. Reanne giggled to herself as she walked towards her youngest son’s room. 

Y/N took a deep breath as she ran her fingers through her hair. It was loud in the living room as the entire roster was mingley in the living room. There was another hockey game on the screen but she couldn’t make out the teams since there were seven guys surrounding the TV.

Scanning the group, she was searching for him. Exactly like the last time the crowd was at the house. Her steps down the stairs turned a few heads. Notably, Luke was staring in her direction. As subtly as he could. His lips curled upward as she climbed down the steps. Meeting his eye, her smiled widened before she forced her gaze towards the ground.

“Y/N, food’s in the kitchen!” Curtis shouted towards her before he returned his gaze towards the screen in front of him. She nodded towards him before she manuvered through the crowd.

“I’ll be back,” Luke mumbled towards Jack and Dawson. Jack glanced towards the direction that Luke was staring towards. Noticing Curtis’s baby sister being Luke’s line of sight. 

“Careful Lukey,” Jack let out loudly. Luke waved his hand behind him towards Jack as he continued following after Y/N. 

Y/N stood near the table, staring towards the trays of food on the dining table. It was the same exact trays of food that Curtis always orders for every night he has the roster over. A sigh fell from her lips as she reluctantly took a hold of the paper plate. 

Instead of adding food to her plate, she put it back down onto the stack and spun around. Her eyes widened once she saw Luke standing on the other side of the kitchen. Taking a deep breath, she looked into his eyes. Her mouth fell open as she searched for something to say. 

A smirk formed to his lips as he glanced behind him. “Wanna get out of here?” he asked softly. Furrowing her eyebrows harshly, she shook her head slightly. “Do you want to go get out of here?” he asked again, taking a step towards her. He crossed his arms over his chest. Her heart was pounding hard against her chest. 

“What are you doing?” she asked softly. He took a deep breath as he pursed his lips foward.

“Curtis is busy watching my brother kick the Panther’s ass, do you want to go take a walk or go on a ride?” Luke offered as he took a few more steps towards her; closing the distance between them. 

A teasing smirk formed to her lips as she glanced towards the living room, “The Canucks are on? I’m sorta more interested in tha–” she offered as she slowly began to walk pass him. He chuckled as he took a delicate hold of her waist, pulling her towards him. Her eyes widened. “Bold move, do you know how many wandering eyes are here?” 

“Let them wander or let’s get out of here,” he whispered as he looked deeply into her eyes. 

“Bold move, we just met you know,” she whispered back. 

“We’ve talked on the phone for several hours every night this week, I feel like that excuse is out the window,” he expressed.

Her lips fell into a dramatic pout as she tilted her head to the side.

Looking behind him, he saw that everyone was preoccupied with themselves in the living room. He leaned down, “Let me get to know you then,” he whispered into her ear. Slowly, he pulled back; taking a few steps away. 

“What if they notice that you’re gone?” she teased as he walked towards the back door. She took a few steps after him. 

“Jack will cover for me,” he offered as he slowly pulled the glass door open. He stepped out of the door, maintaining eye contact. Taking in a deep breath, she followed after him. He stepped backwards, fighting a grin as she closed the glass door behind her. 

He pulled his keys from his pocket as he slowed his steps to walk beside her. “I was thinking we could go for a drive, grab some food or ice cream,” he offered as he looked down towards her. 

“Are you always this pushy and flirty with your teammates’ sisters?” she offered with a smirk toying to her lips. She crossed her arms over her chest as she met his gaze.

“Only the pretty ones,” he said while tilting his head to the side. She rolled her eyes playfully. “But I don’t usually go out of my way to talk to any girl, let alone a teammate’s sister,” he explained while he unlocked his car and pulled open the passenger door. 

She met his eye briefly before she climbed inside. She mumbled a thank you before she sat down. He smiled softly as he happily shut the door for her. He jogged around the front of the car and quickly climbed into the driver seat. He shifted his gaze towards her, smiling softy.

“You don’t go out of your way to talk to girls?” she questioned suspiciously. He nodded dramatically as he put his seatbelt on. “All you have to say is I’m Luke Hughes and I play for the Devils and girls will be all over you,” she offered while she put her own seatbelt on.

“Exactly,” he said as he began to click the dashboard, searching for a playlist to play. She chuckled awkwardly, “They see professional athletes and all the money that comes with it, The guys eat it up but I’d rather not,” he offered as he slowly began to pull away from the overwhelming amount of cars in front of the Lazar house. 

“Girls fawning all over you and you’d rather not?” she teased, a soft chuckle falling from her lips. 

“I would rather talk with you, are you fawning? I would rather you be fawning,” Luke teased as he kept his gaze straight ahead. 

“You are so ridiculous, you know that?” she teased while admiring the soft smile on his lips. He chuckled as he continued driving ahead. 

“You’re smiling,” he observed as he looked towards her. Their eyes met and she smirked.

“Just keep your eyes ahead,” she said while pointing her finger towards him. He pursed his lips forward as he stared in front of him.

“Ice cream or food?” he asked as he slowly turned the music up a few notches. 

“Isn’t ice cream a kind of fo–”

“Oh my god, will you just decide?” he asked while laughing. She tossed her head back while laughing.

“Ice cream, always ice cream,” she offered as he was already pulling into the local ice cream shop. He smirked as he tapped his fingers against the steering wheel to the beat of the song.

“Noted,” he let out as he pulled up towards the long drive thru line. He shifted his gaze towards her. Their eyes remained connected as his lips parted slightly. She squinted her eyes slightly as she scanned his features. “What?” he asked softly as his gaze lowered towards her lips. She shook her head slightly as she dropped her gaze towards her lap. 

“You make me nervous,” she let out softly as she began to twist the bracelet on her wrist. He bit his bottom lip as he fought of a grin as he looked over her side profile. “I don’t get nervous, usually I make other people nervous. But you make me nervous,” 

“Why?” he asked barely above a whisper as he slowly pulled ahead in the drive thru lane. 

She took a long dramatic deep breath as she pursed her lips forward. “You are very flirty,” she let out teasingly. He chuckled softly. “Very flirty and very pretty,”

“I can’t tell if that’s a good thing,” he offered as he waited for her to look towards him. Instead she kept her gaze on her lap.

“It would be a good thing if you weren’t you,” she expressed as she lifted her gaze up to meet his eye. His beautiful blue eyes that were so bright even in the dimly lit car.

“Ouch,” he let out with a dry chuckle. 

“I meant–I mean if you weren’t my brother’s teammate,” she said while laughing. 

“Curtis loves me, you know,” he let out as he raised his eyebrows slightly. “I think he would be happy to hear that I think his sister is incredibly beautiful.”

Her smile softened as she continued to look into his eyes. “Maybe,” she let out barely above a whisper. He smirked as he pulled up towards the menu, right before the window to order. He looked over it, keeping his head against the headrest so that she has a view of the menu as well. 

~one month later~

Over the last month, if Luke had a free evening they would go for a drive and just talk. It was easy with him. Everything was easy with him. Conversations, flirting, eye contact that would lead to her heart slamming hard against her chest. 

They have been hanging out behind Curtis’s back and she was starting to feel guilty. In all honesty, she had nothing to be guilty about. They haven’t even attempted to kiss or even hug. He drives and she sits in the passenger seat. They sing along to the radio, they flirt, and she was happy with that. 

Until she had a dream. He was laying on her bed with only a pair of sweatpants covering his frame. She was sitting in his lap, with her hands trailing over his muscles. Her fingertips grazed over the curve of his biceps before she rested her hands on the base of neck. His hair was messily laid across his forehead as his hands were glided along her thighs. He was kneading the skin of the side of her thighs as she leaned towards him; kissing him urgently.

She hasn’t stopped thinking about it all day. Every time she shut her eyes, an image of his hands roaming her body flashed in her mind. She explained the dream to Jacob in grave detail and all he could tell her was that she should make her dream a reality.

She was sitting in her classroom, her mentor teacher sitting beside her. The students were gone for the day. Y/N’s gaze kept looking towards the clock, waiting until it was time to see Luke. Her mind was full of thought surrounding him. She couldn’t get him out of her head because of a stupid dream. A stupid subconscious thought that she couldn’t get out of her mind.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket and she quickly pulled it out to see a text from Luke. She grinned widely as she saw that he was asking if their plans were still set in stone. Her thumb hovered over the message as she tried to think of a clever way to reply.

“Y/N?” Mrs. Hansen said while keeping her gaze on her laptop. Y/N lifted her gaze, her eyes widened. “Who’s making you grin like that?” she asked teasingly. 

“It’s stupid,” she offered while shaking her head slightly.

“You are smiling so wide that your cheeks look like they’re about to pop,” she observed while chuckling softly. 

“Okay, so um–his name is Luke,” she began while finally meeting Mrs. Hansen. Her eyes widened as a smile formed to her lips. “And that’s all I will share,” she offered as she dropped her gaze back down towards her phone again. 

“No fun, come on,” she begged. “My life is so boring, you’re young, tell me something exciting!”  

Y/N tossed her head back and laughed, “Okay, okay. He’s my brother’s teammate,” she offered. Mrs. Hansen’s mouth fell open as a gasp fell from her lips. “I am not supposed to talk to him but I love talking with him,” she explained as a sigh fell from her lips.

“Of course you do because forbidden fruit is the best kind of fruit,” she expressed as she closed her laptop, shifting her attention fully towards Y/N. “Have you tasted this forbidden fruit?” 

“Oh my god! You cannot ask me a question like that,” she expressed through laughter. “And no I haven’t,” she let out quietly. 

“So when are you going to taste the fruit?” she asked while smirking slightly. She began to put her belongings into her bag. Y/N rolled her eyes as she took a deep breath. 

“I am not going to taste anything,” Y/N said while tilting her head back. “My brother said no teammates so all we’re going to do is hang out and talk,”

“Right because that grin means you just want to talk,” she teased, “You’re going to kiss him tonight and you will tell me the whole story tomorrow morning,” she explained while standing up. She tossed her bag onto her shoulder while smirking. 

“There will be no story,” 

“Oh there will be a story, I’ll see you tomorrow morning,” she said while walking towards the exit, “Lock up when you leave,” her voice echoed from the hallway. Y/N leaned back in the chair as she shifted her gaze towards the ceiling. 

Her phone started vibrating and she looked down towards her phone screen to see Luke calling her. She chuckled dryly before pulling her phone towards her ear. 

“Instead of driving in a circle around Newark for hours, do you want to come over?” he questioned with an evident grin on his lips. Her heart started slamming hard against her chest. 

“Uh, sure? I can head over now if you want,”

“That would be absolutely perfect,”

“Okay, I need your address,” she let out while standing up and taking a hold of her laptop and placing it into her bag. A soft chuckle fell from her lips as he began to shuffle on his end of the phone. She could hear him shout on his end of the phone towards Jack.

“I’ll send it over in like three seconds, see you soon?”

She could hear the smile on his lips from his end of the phone. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll be there,” she offered before she hung up the phone with a grin on her lips.

The drive over to his apartment took only ten minutes from her job. Except it was the longest ten minutes of her life. Her mind was exhausted from all of the thoughts about him circling his mind. 

What was the apartment like? What was he like? What would he be like alone? Alone together in a room? In a room with a bed, of all places.

Her mind couldn’t stop thinking about what would Curtis think? He had to have an idea of what was happening. She was not exactly secretive. Y/N hasn’t deliberately stated who she was hanging out with but Curtis had to of had an idea. 

It was easier to just say, going out and not mentioning who she was going with. He wouldn’t ask questions, didn’t want to be called dad again. 

Here she was sitting in the guest parking spot, summoning all of the courage she had to go up to his apartment. She stared towards the text from her brother. Where are you? She pulled the phone towards her ear, listening to it ring slightly. She nodded as she waited for Curtis to answer.

“Did you crash or something?” he asked, instead of saying hello.

“I am going to Jacob’s, you don’t have to know my every movement,” she teased. He chuckled.

“Will you be back tonight?” he asked while laughing.

“Probably, I’ll be quiet to not wake the boys,” she offered. He let out a long dramatic sigh before ending the conversation briefly after that. She texted Luke that she was waiting in the parking garage, completely unsure of where she was supposed to go. 

Without any hesitation, Luke texted her that he was already waiting for her in the lobby. A wide grin formed to her lips as she stared towards the message. She took a deep breath while she collected her small purse and her keys from the ignition. 

There was a moment, she wanted to drive away. Right now she was playing a dangerous game. It was one thing when they were hanging out in his car. Limitations were there but now they were gone. She hated how much she liked him. It was something that she has been battling for the last few weeks but right now, she was excited. 

The walk towards the lobby was fast as she could see Luke pacing in the center of the large room. She chuckled to herself as she pulled open the glass doors. Lifting his head, he grinned widely once he saw her.

Nervously, he ran his hand across his jaw as he scanned her frame. “Hey!” he let out excitedly. She smiled as she took a deep breath.

“This place is nice,” she offered while meeting his eye. 

“Oh yeah, right?” he said while he pointed towards the elevator. She nodded while following after him. “How was work?” he asked softly while pushing the button several times. 

“My students were freaking out about this amazing goal this player had the other night,” she offered teasingly. His eyes widened as a soft smirk formed to his lips. The elevator doors swung open and he allowed her to step inside first. 

“What player?” he asked while pursing his lips forward. He side eyed her as he crossed his arms over his chest. She followed in pursuit as the doors shut and they began to climb to his floor.

“Oh this star rookie named Luke Hughes, have you ever heard of him?” she let out with a smirk. He dropped his head while laughing. 

“No I haven’t,” he mumbled as he tilted his head to the side to fully meet her gaze. “Star rookie, you say?” he offered. Y/N tossed her head back while laughing.

“That’s the word my students used,” she mumbled as the doors pulled up to the floor of his apartment.

“Right, right,” he teased while he began walking out of the elevator. Quickly, he spun around meeting her gaze with a smile on his lips. “C’mon,” he mumbled as he guided her towards his apartment which was several doors down. “Have you eaten?” he asked as he walked up towards the door and pushed it open. Luke leaned his body against the door allowing her to step inside.

Her eyes widened when she saw Jack sitting on the couch watching the TV screen. The small smile on her lips faltered slightly as she met Jack’s gaze.

“Oh my god, you were serious,” Jack let out while laughing. Y/N squinted her eyes slightly while meeting Luke’s gaze briefly. “You are so in trouble,” Jack muttered as he took a hold of the TV remote and shut it off. “Hi Y/N…Lazar,” he teased as he walked down towards his bedroom.

Y/N dropped her head while laughing. “Hey Jack,” she muttered.

“I’m sorry about him,” Luke said as he leaned against the countertop of the kitchen. She shook her head slightly, a teasing grin on her lips. “I can order food or I can make us some dinner,” he questioned as he met her gaze.

She took a cautious step towards him, “You can cook?” she asked suspiciously. He nodded while scanning her frame.

“I am a great cook,” he offered as he pulled open the fridge door and began searching for something to make for them.

She smirked as she shifted awkwardly as she watched him pull out a thawed out pair of steaks. She squinted her gaze. “Was this your plan all along?”

His eyes widened as he slowly placed the package onto the counter. He shook his head slowly as he walked up towards her; smirking. He carefully took a hold of the small bag she was carrying. Her eyes smirked as she watched him slowly walk towards the small bit of counter space next to the fridge.

“Maybe,” he let out teasingly before he returned to the fridge. He continued to rummage through it. “Sit down, gorgeous,” he said nonchalantly as he pointed towards the island with a handful of chairs.

“You can’t call me that,” she said while laughing. Slowly, she sat down in one of the barstool chairs. 

“Nope, you see I can actually,” he offered as he began to lay out everything he needed for his meal he was preparing. “Because I decided that I’m gonna stop pretending that we aren’t attracted to one another,” he offered, spinning away from her pulling out a comically large pan.

“You decided?” she said while crossing her arms over her chest. He hummed dramatically, “Oh so is this a date, then?” she offered.

He smirked as he leaned forward on the counter, he looked deeply into her eyes while he scanned her features. “Do you want it to be a date?” he asked as he tilted his head to the side. She shrugged as she fought off a grin. “What does that mean?” he asked as he took a handful steps around the countertop. He walked up towards her, maintaining eye contact. 

“Do you want this to be a date or not?” he asked again quietly, slowly. He rested his hand onto the counter, directly beside her. Tilting her head to the side, she met his gaze. Her lips curled upward as she fought off another grin. 

“Luke,” she mumbled. He hummed as he raised his eyebrows, his gaze lowering towards her lips. She shook her head slightly as she scanned his features. His cheeks were flushed red slightly as he continued to admire her lips. “Luke,” she muttered. He hummed again while leaning towards her. Her breathing caught in her throat as she tilted her head back. 

Her lips curled upward slightly as she lifted her gaze and met his eye. Delicately, he raised his hand up and brushed a few pieces of hair away from her face. Their eyes remained connected as breathing felt impossible. This was the first time they’ve been this close to one another. 

Her entire body erupted into tingles as she watched him pull back slightly. He pursed his lips forward while taking a deep breath. He began walking around the counter towards the food he had laid out on the counter. He began to take the steaks out of the packaging.

She took a shaky breath as her posture straightened. “You’re annoying, you know that?” she let out breathily. 

“How do you like your steak cooked?” he asked, meeting her eye. He had a wide teasing grin on his lips. 

“So you’re gonna pretend like you didn’t just–” she trailed off as his cheeks flushed red. He simply shrugged as he began to apply seasoning to the steaks. “Medium rare,” she muttered.

“Amazing,” he let out as he continued to season the steaks. “What made you want to become a teacher?”

For the next two hours, they would talk about anything and everything. The dinner that Luke made was exceptional. It was definitely surprising with how good everything tasted. He was proud of himself, especially since she thought it was amazing. Jack was jealous that Luke didn’t make enough for him and left the apartment to get his own meal.

“I’ve never had a guy cook for me before,” she let out as she stood up and took a hold of her plate. He smirked as he stood up with her, taking a hold of his own plate. He pointed towards the sink and she followed him towards that direction.

“And how was it?” he asked as he placed his plate into the sink, she followed in pursuit. He began to rinse the plates as he met her gaze. 

“Really good, I’m expecting it every time I come over now,” she teased as she rested her hand onto the counter as she looked over his side profile. A small smile formed to his lips as he turned the sink off as he shifted his gaze towards her.

“Oh, so you’ll be coming over more often?” he asked teasingly. 

“Only if you cook for me,” she shot back.

“Absolutely,” he mumbled as he scanned her features. He took a deep breath as he bit his bottom lip as he stepped back. “What time do you need to be home?” he asked softly. She shrugged.

“Whenever you get tired of me,” she offered. He rolled his eyes dramatically as he began walking backwards. He waved his hand for her to follow him. She chuckled softly as she allowed him to guide her towards his bedroom. Her entire body erupted into goosebumps as she took a deep breath.

“I could never get tired of you,” he muttered as he pushed the door open, pressing his back against it. She met his gaze as she slowly walked past him into his bedroom. He followed after her, shutting the door; twisting the lock in the process. “We could watch a movie or a show or not watch anything,” 

She stared towards him suspiciously. His mouth fell open as he barked out a laugh.

“I meant–I didn’t mean–um–” he stuttered as he crossed his arms over his chest. His cheeks were bright red as he fought off a grin. She took a small step towards him, tilting her head to the side.

“What are you thinking?” she asked softly as she continued to look into his eyes. He shyly dropped his gaze towards the floor for only a few seconds. He bit his bottom lip as he shrugged his shoulders. “Do you want to know what I’m thinking?” she asked softly, taking another step towards him. 

He nodded as he slowly let his arms hang at his side. His hands hovered around her frame for only a second before they hung beside him. “I’m thinking that you should kiss me,” she offered as she took another small step towards him. Their faces only a few inches apart.

“I should?” he asked softly. A wide smile formed to her lips as she stepped back away from him, towards his bed. Quickly, he followed after.

She chuckled as she rolled her eyes playfully. “Are you all talk, Lukey Boy?” she teased as the backs of her legs hit the mattress. He squinted his eyes as he took a hold of her waist. His hands slowly glided along her hips towards the small of her back. Her eyes widened while her hands rested on his chest as she glided her hands along his chest.

He scanned her features as his cold fingertips dipped beneath her shirt, feeling her skin. Her breath caught in her throat as her eyes dipped towards his lips. “All talk, huh?” he shot back as he tightened his grip along the small of her back. She hummed as her hands ran up his chest onto his neck. 

“I think so,” she said as she fought off a smirk. He nodded slowly as he slipped his hands away from her frame as he stepped back. His heart was slamming against his chest. He looked her body up and down as he took a deep breath. 

“Lay down,” he said simply as he pointed towards his bed. Squinted her eyes harshly, her mouth fell open. 

“What?” she let out softly, her cheeks ran hot as she stayed still.

“Lay down,” he said again as he stepped towards her. She fought off a grin as she slowly sat down onto the bed. She looked up towards him, her heart was beating urgently. She swallowed harshly as she kept looking up towards him. 

He smirked as he watched her slowly slide back on the bed. He ran his hands through his hair as he slowly walked towards the bed. Y/N leaned back on her elbows as she waited for him. 

“You think I am all talk, huh?” he muttered as he slowly climbed on top of her, resting both of his hands on either side of her head. She nodded teasingly as she smirked. He nodded as he stared towards her lips. 

“You’ve been so afraid of Curtis finding out that we even speak to one another. Let alone like this. I’ve been waiting for you to let this happen. But I’m all talk, huh?” he let out teasingly as he leaned towards her.

A soft smile on her lips formed as he delicately leaned closer and closer to her. Her eyes fluttered shut as he brushed his lips against her ear. “Let me show you,” he whispered. 

Delicately, he pressed his lips against her jawline, her cheek, teasingly pressing wet kisses along her skin. Slowly and purposely avoiding her lips; watching her squirm beneath him. His nose bumped against hers as he hovered his lips over hers. 

“Are you going to show me or not?” she forced out as her breathing was starting to get uneven. He chuckled as he pulled back slightly. Her hands took a hold of his neck, practically begging for him to kiss her. 

“Not very patient are you?” he teased with a smirk. She rolled her eyes playfully as her hands glided through his hair. 

Leaning towards her, he smirked as his lips brushed against hers. Her lips twitched upward into a soft smile. He pulled back, a smirk toying to his lips. “What are you doing?” she asked softly. He shook his head slowly as he pursed his lips forward slightly. “Are you trying to make me kiss you?” she asked softly as her hands continued running through his hair. 

“Trying to see if you really want it,” he whispered, fighting a smirk. 

She chuckled softly as she pulled him towards her, kissing him urgently. He smiled into the kiss as he giggled against her lips. Her hands tugged at his curls as she parted her lips. He deepened the kiss as he took a hold of her cheek as he ran his thumb along her cheek. 

“Does that work?” she mumbled against his lips, he chuckled as he pulled back away from her lips. Her eyes slowly opened as she ran her thumbs along his jawline. He smirked as he scanned her features. He hummed as he pressed his lips together. 

Slowly, he leaned down pressing his lips against hers softly as he continued to take a hold of her cheek. She’s dreamed about what it would be like to kiss him but nothing matches the actual feeling and desperation of his lips against hers. 

After a few seconds, he pulled his lips away from hers as he leaned back to take a hold of his shirt. He tossed it to the floor as he met her gaze again. He smiled before he climbed back on top of her, kissing her desperately. Arching her back into him, he took a loose hold of her t-shirt hiking it up her body. His hand took a hold of her waist, pinning her against the bed. 

Her hands glided along his chest and across his shoulders. Slowly, he pulled his lips away from hers, he watched her eyes slowly flicker open. Her hand glanded along his neck and into her hair. 

“What?” she asked softly. He pursed his lips forward as he scanned her features.

“You’re just–” he trailed off before he leaned closer to her, delicately pressing his lips against hers. A hum fell from her lips as her hands ran through his hair, tugging the curls every few seconds. 

~two weeks later~

She sat in the living room, a book for her class in her hand. She was reading it and highlighting important things to talk about with the students. Reanne and Y/N were watching the game against the Canucks. 

All day Luke was talking about how nervous he was about playing against Quinn. It was halfway through the second period and the goals had slowed down. The Devils were up by two goals and all of the boys were flying on the ice.

Reanne has noticed a change with Y/N over the last few weeks. Y/N hasn’t given Reanne any details but everything about her has changed. Curtis was not as observant as Reanne and had no clue.

“Suprised you’re not going to Jacob’s tonight,” Reanne said as she watched Luke on the screen. The broadcast was talking about his impact on the game, despite not being on the scoresheet. Y/N lifted her head from the book, meeting Reanne’s gaze. Y/N mouth fell open as she took a deep breath.

“He’s got a date tonight,” she let out. It wasn’t a lie, Jacob was out on a date with a guy he met the other night. Her time over the last few weeks was split between Jacob and Luke. When she didn’t have to babysit for the games she would be out in a bar with Jacob. But if it was a regular night, she would be at Luke’s. 

“Right,” she mumbled as she turned her gaze towards the TV, watching the camera follow after the puck. “Or is it because Luke is in Vancouver tonight,” she offered teasingly. Y/N’s eyes widened as her mouth fell open. 

“I’m not lying, Jacob really does have a date,” Y/N let out as she closed the book and placed it beside her on the couch. “But–uh–yeah maybe,” she whispered. Reanne shot up from the couch and immediately took fast steps towards Y/N. She took a deep breath as she tilted her head back against the couch.

“Details, now,” Reanne begged.

Y/N let out a long dramatic sigh as she looked into Reanne’s eyes. “What kind of details?” she asked softly. Reanne excitedly tapped her hands against Y/N”s thigh. “Okay, okay, okay!” she expressed while laughing.

“I went over to his place a couple weeks back and he cooked me dinner and then we–”

“He cooked for you!?” she asked with a wide smile. 

“He’s done it every time I’ve been over there since,” she offered as she twisted the silver charm bracelet. 

“That’s so sweet, Curtis still doesn’t know how to cook,” Reanne said while laughing. 

“He’s so sweet,” Y/N expressed while meeting Reanne’s gaze. 

“Are you guys together?” Reanne asked hopefully. 

Y/N took a deep breath while shaking her head slightly, “We’re just enjoying each other’s company,” she explained as a smirk began to form to her lips. Reanne’s eyes widened as she scooted closer to her. 

“We haven’t yet–if that’s what you’re thinking,” she trailed off as her gaze looked back towards the screen to see one of the Canucks players heading to the box with less than a minute left in the second period. “We’ve just been–”

“If you say enjoying each other’s company one more time,” Reanne teased, “Details! What’s the story?”

Y/N kept her gaze on the screen to see Luke wrist the puck towards the net and score. Her hands shot up in the air as a giggle fell from her lips. “This game is so awesome,” she mumbled quietly. Y/N watched the screen, her eyes widened as a soft smile formed to her lips as the camera followed after him.

Reanne watched her youngest sister-in-law stare so fondly towards the screen. The grin was soft yet wide. Her posture straightened as she tilted her head to the side. Reanne has seen Y/N fall in love at a young age but never like this. Never so soft and simple. Y/N’s eyes looked bright and soft at the same time. Luke disappeared from the screen and Y/N shifted her gaze towards Reanne. 

“What?” Y/N asked softly.

Reanne shook her head as she took a deep breath. “Just put your nose back into that book,” Reanne teased as she shifted her gaze back towards the TV screen watching the game head into the second intermission. Y/N chuckled softly as she took a hold of the small book and dropped the yellow highlighter into her lap.

The game ended in a beautiful win for the Devils and it was well past midnight as she was waiting for his call. Luke promised that he would call after the game ended; kept saying that he needed to hear her voice. 

Reanne was sitting on the other couch on the phone with Curtis, he was on speaker as he was trying to talk to Y/N too. But her mind was busy as she was trying to figure out why Luke hadn't called yet. She had finished the book she was supposed to read ahead of time since tomorrow they were starting it in the class she was student teaching in. 

She was waiting to tell Curtis and Reanne that they offered a full time position after her student teaching was done. Her mentor teacher had requested a second teacher and they found that Y/N would be perfect for the part.

“Y/N?” she heard Curtis say through the phone.

“Yeah?” she shouted towards it. 

“You’re normally out when we have away games, what are you doing at home?” he asked with a soft chuckle leaving his lips. Reanne’s eyes widened as she glanced down towards the phone in her hand; almost as if sending Curtis a warning. 

“Jacob has a date,” she let out simply, again since it was not a lie. Almost on cue, Luke started calling her. A wide grin formed to her lips as she shot up from the couch and jogged towards the stairs. “Hey,” she let out into the phone.

“Who’s she talking to?” he asked Reanne. 

“Not sure,” Reanne mumbled. She hated lying to Curtis but it wasn’t lying if she was pretending she didn’t know either. It was definitely lying but if he ever found out, he’ll get over it eventually. 

“Did you see my goal?” he asked shyly. She chuckled as she continued up the steps, slightly out of breath.

“It was amazing,” she let out as she shut the door and twisted the lock. 

“Yeah?” he asked. His voice was slightly muffled, like Curtis’s. She assumed they were all out at dinner. 

“It just so happened to be the only goal I actually saw without needing a replay,” she offered while laughing.

“That’s right, you had that book to read. Was it good?” he asked, quickly mumbling a thank you towards the restaurant staff; she assumed. 

“It wasn’t bad, what are you all up to?”

“Currently at dinner, just got our food,” he explained. 

Her eyes widened, suddenly aware of the fact that Curtis was definitely also there. “Oh wow, enjoy your night. I’ll call you tomorrow?” she offered.

“Can I call you when I get back to the hotel?” he questioned, his heart slamming against his chest. She took a deep breath, it was already late but she agreed. “Okay, perfect,” he mumbled before he hung up the phone; his cheeks were bright red. 

“Who was that, Rusty?” John asked teasingly as he nudged Luke’s shoulder. Luke’s eyes landed on Curtis who was only a few seats away from him. Curtis was looking towards him expectantly.

“Just–uhm–this girl I’ve been seeing,” he expressed before he quickly shoved a bite of food into his mouth. 

“Rusty’s got a girlfriend!” Curtis teased, causing the table to cheer along. They wanted to watch Luke’s cheeks go red and grin like an idiot. Which he was for more reasons than one. 

“Not my girlfriend,” he mumbled before he shoved more food into his mouth as he avoided Curtis’s gaze. 

“She’s been over at our place every night we didn’t have a game,” Jack offered before he shoved a bite of food into his mouth. Luke shifted his gaze towards Jack, his eyes widening as if it was a warning. Jack simply smirked as he met Curtis’s gaze.

“What’s her name then, Rusty?” John teased as he teasingly punched Luke’s arm. Luke raised his hand up and pretended to zip his lips shut as he smirked towards John. “Oh come on,” he teased. 

“A man doesn’t kiss and tell,” he let out with a teasing grin on his lips. The few teammates that heard him tossed their heads back and laughed. 

“You can say her name at least,” Jack teasaed as he met Luke’s gaze. Luke shook his head slightly before he shoved another bite of food into his mouth. “Her name is–”

“Jack, I swear to god,” Luke let out, causing the guys that were listening to laugh. 

“What’s so secretive, Rusty?” Curtis offered before he took a deep breath. Luke pursed his lips forward as he shook his head slowly. “Then what’s the name of the girl that’s got you all giddy,” he questioned again. 

Luke took a deep breath as he pressed his lips together, he kept his gaze on his food as he contemplated on lying. The longer he avoided the answer, the longer his teammates would question him about it. 

“It’s–uhm–Y/N, are you guys happy? Can we drop it?” he let out as confidently and as nonchalant as he could. 

Curtis froze as he lifted his gaze and looked towards Luke. Luke took another bite of food as he glanced towards Curtis; practically trying to pretend it wasn’t his sister. Jack looked towards Curtis expectantly, trying to see if he caught on. Jack had promised Luke to keep his mouth shut, but he didn’t promise to not tease Luke about it.

“My baby sister’s name is Y/N,” Curtis let out as he brought his water towards his lips, baiting Luke slightly.

“Yeah?” he let out, pretending not to know.

“Bit of a coincidence, huh?” Curtis offered as he kept the glass near his mouth. 

“Yeah definitely,” Luke countered as John sparked up a different conversation.

For the rest of the dinner, Luke kept to himself. His mind was circling on the best way to explain to Y/N that he may have let it slip that they were together but not fully together. He had a feeling she would be upset or scared. 

Luke knew that Curtis was all talk about his restrictions on the whole teammate thing. Curtis wanted Y/N to be happy and if Luke made her happy; he would get over it. Eventually.

Luke laid down onto the hotel bed with his phone in his hand. He took a deep breath as he began to FaceTime her. It took several rings before she answered. It was practically pitch black when she answered the call. He smiled once her saw the screen. He stood up from the bed and dramatically leaned against the light switch and turned off the light.

“Do you realize what time it is on the east coast?” she muttered out, her voice rasped slightly. He chuckled as he climbed under the covers, keeping his gaze on his phone despite the fact that he couldn’t even see her.

“You still answered,” he mumbled teasingly as he rolled onto his side. For a few seconds she didn’t say anything, Luke could still hear her steady breathing on her end of the phone. Almost as if she was asleep. He didn’t mind if she was, at least he got to hear her voice before he went to sleep.

“I’ve missed you,” she mumbled, her voice rasping slightly. His lips curled upward slightly as his eyelids started to get heavy. 

“Really?” he asked softly. She hummed. “I’ve missed you too,” he let out as he took a deep breath. “Do you have a busy day tomorrow?” he asked while pulling the blanket up to his chin as he stared towards the still blackout screen. She hummed. “I’ll let you go to sleep, I’ll call you tomorrow?” he let out.

“No, tell me about the game,” She mumbled, “I wanna hear your voice. Don’t be mad if I fall asleep, I’m really tired,” she said with a soft chuckle.

“Are you sure?” he asked quietly, she hummed as a reply. “Okay, so I was super nervous–”

~February~

She graduated college in December and started a full-time job at her school as a co-teacher with her mentor teacher. Mrs. Hansen had requested that Y/N be her co-teacher until the year finished out. Since it was her last year before retirement, Y/N would be taking Mrs. Hansen’s job. 

Luke and Y/N never put a label onto what they were doing yet it was mutually agreed upon that they were together. Boyfriend and girlfriend. Only four people knew about it. Jack, Jacob, Mrs. Hansen, and Reanne. 

Although Luke had a feeling that Curtis knew. Ever since that dinner where he told his teammates the name of the girl he was seeing; Curtis had to have known. But there is nothing different between them. 

This weekend was the All-Star game which meant that Curtis, Reanne, and their sons were on vacation in Flordia. They offered for Y/N to come with them but she wanted to stay back. More specifically, she wanted to stay back and be with Luke. 

She stood in the kitchen as she was preparing food for Luke. She was blasting music all throughout the house as she was stirring the sauce. She hummed along to the song as she waited for Luke to show up. 

This was the first time he was spending the night at her house. Usually, she would go over to his place to avoid Curtis finding out. But since he was out of town, it was time to finally let Luke stay the night. There was a loud knock against the door. A grin formed to her lips as she placed the spatula beside the pan. 

She took fast steps out of the kitchen towards the living room and the front door. After a few seconds she reached towards the front door and pulled it open to see Luke standing at the door waiting for her. He grinned as he tilted his head to the side. He awkwardly kept a hold of his bag with his clothes. 

“Hey beautiful,” he expressed softly. Y/N chuckled as she practically leaped into his arms. He wrapped his free hand around her, lifting her up from the ground. Slowly, he guided her into the house, letting the door shut behind them.

“Hey pretty boy,” she whispered as she pressed her lips against his jawline. Delicately, he placed her back down onto the ground. She pulled back, meeting his gaze as he tossed his bag onto the bottom step.

He smirked as he scanned her features, “Are you cooking for me?” he asked teasingly. She nodded slowly as she slowly walked backwards. “You didn’t have to do that,” he mumbled as he followed after her. Spinning around, she walked quickly back towards the kitchen. Singing along to the country song playing in the background. 

A soft chuckle fell from his lips as he followed after her. She swayed back and forth to the beat of the song and continued to sing. Luke leaned against the countertop as he watched her with so much admiration. 

She was the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen. It seemed like every moment, every passing second she was getting more and more beautiful. He never liked the idea of falling for someone, especially someone who was off limits. He never wanted to keep someone a secret. Luke was the type of guy that wanted to shout it from the rooftops that he was in love. Especially with a person who was as extraordinary as her.

“Dinner should be done in twenty minutes but–” she explained as she spun around to meet Luke’s gaze. Her eyes widened with the way his eyes were looking over her frame. “Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked teasingly as she stepped towards him. He shook his head slowly while he held his hands out towards her. 

Y/N stepped towards him, allowing him to loop his hands around her waist. She rested her hands onto his chest as he pulled her closer to him. “Jacob wants to know if you want to go on a double date with him and Ryan to this trivia night thing,”

He squinted his eyes slightly while fighting a laugh climbing in his throat. “Trivia night? Really?” he asked barely above a whisper. 

She chuckled as she wrapped her arms around the center of his back. Her head was pressed against his chest as he tightened his grip around her waist. “I know but Jacob wants to meet you and he wants me to meet Ryan–so Jacob’s wonderful idea was trivia night,” she explained as he glided his hand through her hair for a moment. Slowly, she lifted her head to meet his gaze.

He raised one of his hands up and took a hold of her cheek. He leaned towards her, kissing her delicately. She hummed against his lips as she glided her hands along his frame towards his neck. Her hands rested on the base of his neck as he continued to pull her towards him.

“I’m fantastic at trivia,” he mumbled against her lips. She pulled back, her eyes flickering open slightly. Her lips curled up into a smirk.

“Really?” she asked teasingly.

“Definitely,” he nodded encouragingly, “Are we teaming up with Jacob and Ryan or are we going to be on our own?”

She chuckled, “I don’t know,”

“Jacob and Ryan better hope we’re in one big group because we will destroy,” he quickly spun her around by her waist, forcing her to lean against the countertop. Her eyes widened as her body was pressed against the countertop. 

“I forgot how much of a nerd you are,” she teased. He rolled his eyes playfully as he leaned towards her, kissing her desperately. His hands glided down her frame, taking a hold of her thighs. She jumped slightly, allowing him to take a hold of her legs and delicately placed her down onto the countertop behind them. He pushed her legs apart as he stepped between her legs. 

“My dinner,” she mumbled against his lips. He smirked as he stepped back, walking directly towards the stove. Instantly, he turned it off.

“We’ll worry about that later, come here,” he mumbled as he walked directly towards her again, devouring her lips in the process. A soft giggle fell from her lips as she ran her fingers through his hair. 

His hands loosely wrapped around her waist as he tugged at the shirt covering her frame. Tilting her head back, slowly he began to trail his lips down her neck. He began to suck against the skin of her neck. “Luke,” she let out barely above a whisper. He hummed against her skin as he began to ride the shirt up her frame.

She wrapped her legs around his frame as he took a hold of her thighs. He lifted her up from the counter and began carrying her towards the living room as their lips connected again. He carried her towards the living room. Delicately, he placed her down onto the couch. 

He glanced toward the window to see headlights driving up the driveway. “Is that Curtis?” he asked as he rested his hands onto his hips. She shot up, twisting her body slightly to see the car driving up the driveway. Her eyes widened as her heart began to slam hard against her chest.

“No, no, no, no, you have to go!” she let out as she stood up from the couch, pushing him delicately. “Not like this, no! He cannot find out like this,” she mumbled as she panickedly ran her fingers through her hair. “He wasn’t supposed to be home until Saturday, oh my god! You need to sneak out the back–”

“Y/N,” Luke took a hold of her waist, spinning her around to face him. 

“He cannot find out like this!” she mumbled. 

“I’m pretty sure he already knows,” he spoke softly as he rested his hands onto her hips.

“Curtis–”

“He knows what my car looks like, Y/N, he knows,” he explained while looking deeply into her eyes, trying to make her understand. Her eyes widened as she took a shaky breath.

“He’s gonna kill me,” she mumbled.

“He’ll kill me, not you,” he mumbled before he stepped back, awkwardly shoving his hands into his pocket.

It seemed like almost instantaneously the door was pushed open and Curtis stormed inside. Y/N spun around to see Curtis walking towards them. Luke pressed his lips together as he took a deep breath. 

“You have got to be kidding me!” Curtis shouted as he stormed towards the pair. Y/N stood in between them.

“Curtis, wait!” Y/N mumbled as she held her hand out towards him.

“No! No! I told you–both of you–my baby sister, Luke seriously?!” Curtis shouted again as he looked between them. 

“I–I know,” Luke muttered out as he looked between Y/N and Curtis. 

“You know?! You know?! Seriously?! So you still decided to fuck my sister behind my back!” he shouted as he waved his hands dramatically.

“Curtis! Stop!” she let out as she pushed him back slightly. “It’s not like that–”

“What so that’s not what’s happening here?” he shouted while crossing his arms over his chest. “You have a hickey on your neck, for fuck sake!” he pointed towards the mark forming on the side of her neck. “Oh my god, my baby sister has a hickey on her neck–oh my god!” He walked around and began to pace.

“Curtis, will you shut up and listen!” Y/N shouted towards him.

“No, no because I told you that this is off limits! How long have you been fucking my sister?” He pointed his question directly towards Luke. Luke’s mouth fell open as he took a deep breath. He glanced towards Y/N for assistance. “How long have you been fucking my sister!”

“It’s not just sex, Curtis!” she let out while crossing her arms over her chest. She glanced behind Curtis to see Reanne walking inside with their youngest son in her arms. Their older son was climbing up the stairs towards his bedroom. 

“Then what is it?” Curtis asked, throwing his arms to the side.

“She’s my girlfriend,” Luke let out cautiously. Y/N whipped her head around, meeting Luke’s gaze. A soft smile on her lips for only a brief moment.

“Oh please,” Curtis let out dramatically as he tossed his head back.

“I’m falling in love with her, okay? I have been since the first time I saw her coming down those stairs! We didn’t tell you because you told her that I was not good for her because I am a Hughes or whatever! But I am good for her and I am falling in love with your sister so please be happy!” Luke expressed while taking a deep shaky breath.

Curtis shifted his gaze between Y/N and Luke for several seconds. Leaving Luke’s words up in the air. Luke looked towards Y/N and saw the smile on her lips.

“How long has this been going on?” Curtis asked as he pointed a finger between Luke and Y/N. Luke and Y/N awkwardly shifted closer to one another. They didn’t say anything at first while trying to decide the timeline.

“Since October!” Reanne shouted as she climbed down the steps, her youngest son still in her arms. Curtis spun around, looking towards his wife.

“You knew? You knew and didn’t tell me?” Curtis let out dramatically. 

“If you didn’t know you chose not to see this happening,” Reanne teased as she walked up towards Curtis. “I mean how often did he disappear when he was over for team bonding? How often did Luke drive Jack to our house and then suddenly needed a ride home? You chose not to see it,” She explained while handing her son towards Curtis. 

“I mean I practically told you but you didn’t listen,” Luke offered as he took a deep breath while he took a loose hold of her waist. Y/N grinned as she leaned her back against Luke’s chest. Reanne grinned as she rested her hands onto her hips. 

Curtis bounced his son on his side as he looked towards Luke holding his sister close to his body. “When?” Curtis questioned while letting out a long sigh.

“When Johnny teased me about talking to her on the phone in Vancouver,” he began. Curtis’s mouth fell open while his cheeks pinked up. “I literally told you,” Luke teased as he dramatically pressed his lips to the top of her head.

“Yeah, I guess you did,” Curtis mumbled as he looked towards Y/N. She was running her hand across the top of Luke’s hand that was looped around her waist. “Does this mean you’ll be here all the time?” Curtis asked, scrunching his features up in disgust.

“Probably,” Luke let out with a wide grin. 

“Wonderful,” Curtis let out teasingly.

“I’m going to go finish making what you were making,” Reanne offered as she began walking towards the kitchen. 

Curtis looked towards his sister while taking a deep breath, “Can you at least not leave those in my line of sight,” he muttered as he pointed towards the hickey on her neck. Y/N tilted her head back as she let out a chuckle.

“No promises,” Luke teased as he pressed his lips against Y/N’s cheek.

[beautifullilacsky]

He started off with jokingly saying that it'd be great if we were both earning money, since he doesn't have a whole bunch of money that he can spend on a car or something rn. After explaining that he was only kidding, he took a break after saying "if you haven't found something before the start of April....". Something in me got a bit nervous when he said that. Though, that something in me must've forgotten who we were taking to. He said it might be a nice idea to start studying here then. Make friends and study towards something that I truly want to do. To progress in life and build my own here, in a way that should be combinable with dondon. When I mentioned that I needed a job first in order to pay for that, he asked if we were talking about the +-300 per semester. He almost laughed and said he'd happily pay that for me.

He doesn't want to overflow me with talks about jobs, because he knows how much he disliked that when his mom did the same to him. He wants to treat me the way he would've liked to be treated. He also said later, that if I get too lonely, he'll get me a Steve. He isn't using his desk often now anyway, so that's where Steve could live.

His support man, auw, my heart my soul. He apologized for talking about it again, not wanting to pressure me at all. Though, I made clear that this did exactly the opposite. I felt held, understood and valued. I know I am having a tough time figuring it all out, but I am proud of myself for doing so and thankful for him and his support.

[dante-mightdie]

do you have any thoughts on youth counselor John and his wife adopting the baby of one of the troubled teens they work with, who knows she doesn't want to be a mom but the kid was an accident

the girl comes to you asking for resources to give her baby up and tells you over and over again that she doesn't want the thing and wishes she could change her mind but she can't and you agree that you'll find resources, but a long conversation with John that night circles back to your own infertility and instead of making the girl feel guilty for dumping the baby with strangers you and John propose adopting it at birth so she knows it's in a safe home 🥺

oh I adore this

I feel like it wasn’t even really a question when john bought it up. it was more like,

“should we?” “should we?” “we should.” “yes, we should.”

immediately moving her into your home so you can take better care of her, always making sure shes aware that this is solely her choice and whatever she chooses, you will support her and help her in anyway you possibly can

and it’s not even a “thanks for your baby, good luck now!” kind of bullshit situation either. you and john made sure she knew you would set her up with whatever she wanted and needed after giving birth. whether it’s shelter, money, travel, tuition. it’s not even a question for you both

[arc-misadventures]

A Pokémon Trainers Adventures

Today a group of Pokémon trainers in training were all meeting together at a diner catching up on their adventures throughout the lands of, Sinnoh on the way to becoming, Pokémon Masters

Ruby: Whoo! It's great to see you guys again!

Blake: It's great to see you too, Ruby.

Nora: It feels like it's been years since we last met.

Ren: It's only been five months.

Nora: Years...

Pyrrha: It's been years in, Nora's time.

Ren: ...

Weiss: That makes sense.

Ren: An uncomfortable amount of sense.

Yang: So, what crazy adventures did you guys go on while becoming Pokémon masters?

Nora: Oh, me first!

Yang: Alright, go ahead, Nora.

Nora: Okay... I was deep in the industrial zone, searching for, Pokémon to add to my party... When suddenly from out of the shadows appear a derange vacuum cleaner coming straight at me, with murderous intent in it's eyes! I call out my, Bronzor, Blingy ,and we engaged in a grueling duel to the death with this killer vacuum! It was a fierce duel, but we managed to defeat the vile vacuum cleaner! But, after we destroyed the evil vacuum, a Pokémon flew out of the machine, but before it could escape, I threw a Great Ball at it, and I caught, Rotoma!

RWBYP: Rotoma?

Ren: The vacuum cleaner was possessed by a, Rotom. When, Nora caught him, so she named it, Rotoma

RWBYP: Ohh!

Yang: Nice name!

Ruby: Okay, my turn! So, I recently defeated the gym leader of, Veilstone City, Gym Leader, Maylene!

Yang: Oh, nice job, Ruby!

Blake: Well done!

Ruby: Thanks! It was a tough to fight her, and her fighting type Pokémon gave my guys a run for their money. We barely managed to eke out a win. I've been doing some training to strengthen my, Pokémon so we're not stuck on the ropes again.

Pyrrha: Smart move, Ruby. That's what I did after I beat, the gym leader of, Calavane City, Byron. He may have mostly metal type, but my, Luxray was knocked out in the first round with ease!

Weiss: Yeah, gym leaders may specialize on one type of Pokémon, but that doesn't mean they're a pushover if you have a Pokémon that their pokemon is weak against. Like when I lost to, Gardenia with my, Glaceon.

Ruby: But, aren't water type, Pokemon, weak to grass types?

Weiss: Vaporeon is the water type eeveelution. Glaceon is the ice type eeveelution.

Ruby: Ohh! So she curb stomped your Pokémon then?

Weiss: She bullied poor, Mr. Snappy...

Yang: Mr. Snappy?

Blake: That's what, Weiss calls her, Sharpedo.

Yang: Oh that's cute!

Blake: So, what about you, Ren, anything interesting happen to you?

Ren: Oh, well... I found a Pokémon egg a while ago, and I was nursing it, and it recently hatched into a, Riolu.

Yang: Oh, a Riolu! That's a nice Pokémon to have!

Blake: Are you having a hard time training it?

Ren: No, she's a delight to have around, I'm enjoying training her with the rest of my other Pokémon. What about you, Yang, did you do anything interesting?

Yang: Oh, I've been entering some Pokémon beauty contest lately. I haven't won anything yet, but we've gotten pretty close to. So, we've been training for the next competition. What, about you, Blake?

Blake: Not much, bar getting my ass handed to me by the gym leader of, Hearthome City, Fantina. Her ghost type Pokémon do not play around...

Pyrrha: Yeah, I still haven't beaten her myself.

Weiss: Her Pokémon scare me...!

Nora: Me too!

Ruby: Well, I don't I think her Pokémon are really cool!

Yang: Of course you like ghosts.

Ruby: What, they're cool!

Pyrrha: Hahaha! So, what about you, Jaune?

Jaune: Hmm... what?

Pyrrha: You've been pretty quiet. Has something interesting happen lately?

Jaune: Well... kinda...

Yang: Ohh~! You got an interesting story to tell! Let's hear it!

Jaune: Well...

~~~

Unlike the rest of his friends, Jaune was just having an adventure, exploring the lands of, Sinnoh. Exploring the land, meeting new people, and Pokémon. Occasionally engaging in a battles with his fellow trainers, and when he decides he ready to, engage in a match with a gym leader.

He didn't have a lot of problems, or more accurately, challenges whenever he got into a Pokémon battle. He even had a fight against, Sinnoh's Pokémon champion, and honestly, he enjoyed the conversation the pair had afterwards more so than the battle itself. So, instead of worrying about Pokémon battles, gym badges, and what not, he just went on an adventure with his Pokémon, and meeting new Pokémon, and people.

And, one day while, Jaune was enjoying the beauty of a pound filled with lily pads, enjoying the elegant lotus blossoms upon the lily pads. A content sigh escaped his lips as he just enjoyed the moment. But as, Jaune was watchin the pound, he saw a dark shadow from the cave the pound fed into grow darker, and darker across the lily pads, as he eyes were drawn upward. His eyes widened in stunned awe, as he looked into the deep crimson eyes of the being on the other side of the void: Giratina.

Jaune: ...

Giratina: ...

Jaune: ...

Giratina: ...

Jaune: Hi.

Giratina: ZEHHAAA!!!

Jaune: ...

Jaune: Okay...

~~~

Jaune: ...

Pyrrha: Jaune? Jaune you okay...?

Jaune: I have a date with the, Sinnoh Pokémon Champion, Cynthia!

RWBYNPR: WHAT?!

Yang: You've got a date with who?!

Weiss: That's fucking bullshit!

~~~

Jaune: Oh gods...

: So because you thought your friends wouldn't believe the fact you saw the legendary banished Pokémon, Giratina. You instead said that you had a date with, Sinnoh's Pokémon champion?

Jaune: Honestly, I don't think they would believe me if I had a date in general, much less with who I said it was with.

: Honestly, I have a hard time believing it myself.

Jaune: Cynthia, we're on a date right now?

Cynthia: ...

Cynthia: Oh yeah...

[woops-its-horny-now]

I can simply state that

We literally have a 'rogue' defence force in Germany that literally -erases- people from existence if they get too far out of line in the right side

The "right sided" political 'rise up' is mostly just people being infuriated with young and stupid people from other countries stealing, or generally being rude in puplic-... [I am not saying they all are. There's always good and bad ones, that goes for Germany too] and the news focussing specifically on those kinds of things-... as a grocery worker, in a supermarket, can't even say that it's not 80-90% not the Germans stealing- but I mean

What are they supposed to do if they don't get money lol, and ppl here at least understand that

(unlike the Germans for example they only steal the necessities from our store, which are food, the Germans however walk out with 80€ bike lamps or shit like that)

Thing is, as soon as that right side -would- try pulling shit, trust me on this

They will get a forced eviction of their free trial of life by 70% of the German population, as well as most of our military

Also, do tell which town it is, I'll visit it in my next vacation and um

Practice mild arson

Heard sulfur makes a fun fire

Thanks :D

(I will neither say that my statement on arson was true or not, please consult my lawyer for further info- jk)

[4rticbolt]

Card DECLINED |Master-List|

Monster Trio+Law x !Fem!Reader, crack, fluff, modern-au, poor core (real), cashier is going THROUGH IT, !Early-relationship! , Ugh I thought this was so adorable, might be my favorite so far

They take you on a date and there card declines in-front of you...

Lemme know if I should do a fic for one of em' :)! (And spelling mistakes)

•-•-•-•-••-•-•-•-•-•-•-•-••-•-•-•-•

Luffy

100% bought it all on fast food, he holds a Guinness World Record for the most amount of food eaten, period.

Would be confused at first, and wouldn't get it till you finally told him somethings wrong with his card. He about shoved it in there 100x times...

"HAH!? Why's it not working!''

"Wait huh seriously? Aww man..."

He'd definitely apologize and laugh it off. But he'd silent judge his card for failing him now as he attempted to finally buy you something. He’d definitely go and text Nami to Venmo him some quick money for you--in which she'd automatically decline.

(Much like his card)

Your bf would grumble, but he'd be quick to mask it with his short attention span.

He ended up dragging you into another random store after finding a whopping 5 bucks on the ground, sopping wet and crumpled from the rain... But somehow the cashier accepted it out of pity and he'd managed to buy you a little doodad in exchange--coming up behind you with a surprise in hand.

He giddily spun you around gleaming with excitement as he pecked you on the cheek.

"Shisihi, look what I got youuu! It's awesome"

(It was a crooked hot-wheels, but you ended up putting it on your shelf to cherish it)

Zoro

Sake was his downfall. Alcohol as we all know is incredibly expensive so it wasn't even a surprise, you expected it to eventually happen with how much he loved his booze...

Moreover you'd think it was a turn off with all his bottles but he'd always been a responsible drinker, and he barely got drunk...maybe a few times if he'd finally eased up in your arms.

Though when he swiped his card, it hadn't gone through. He'd pause and play it off a first, trying again, but when the cashier finally told him their were insufficient funds he'd go beet red.

"I don't know what you're talking about, it's gotta be your stupid machine..."

Not slick, at. all.

He'd act dense abt it, though deep down he knew he royally fucked up, so much for a romantic date...

When you finally offered to pay, he stubbornly grumbled as you had placed some spare cash on the counter.

"Oi, You didn't have to do that..."

He wouldn't immediately say thank you, but he'd been quietly grateful you were smart to bring 'just in case' cash... which he'd also said wasn't necceasry... but look what happened.

You tended to be right in these scenarios.

A few days later he had begrudgingly said thank you and handed you some floppy but colorful flowers as he had randomly stopped by your house heading to work.

Coincidently getting lost, but he'd never admit it.

The offer was rather chaotic as you'd just gotten out of the shower, but it only made him more flustered.

"Didn't uh, mean to interrupt, just wanted to drop these off. And thank you for the other day."

Sanji

I physically cannot see this man's card declining, so he had probably used the wrong card...

But even if he did I could see him full on freaking out, like telling the cashier to run it again and crossing his arms as his fingers anxiously tapped on his arm. He almost went to call his bank until he realized it wasn't his main card and his embarrassed meter went through the roof.

He went pink, but as you offered to pay he immediately shut it down. Sanji would never let you pay for anything, he wanted to take care of you and spoil you like no other--so forget asking. Even if you weren't that far along in dating.

He'd rather search the floor for pennies than let you pay.

Though if you did somehow manage to pay, he'd pay you back beyonddd extra. Like I'm talking about full on flowers and little chocolates or anything romantic.

Even if you thought it was rude to accept, he'd quickly assure you it was okay and that 'he wanted to' so it didn't matter if it was 'payback' or not. He'd came over to hang out, and he'd gently grab your hand kissing it as he spoke with gentle words.

"My love, just take it please, it'd mean the world to me."

Law

Law's card wouldn't normally decline, but one of his transactions for his action figure(s) had finally come through and he didn't realized it till he'd taken you out for lunch.

The waiter had handed him back his card and he deadpanned for a moment--before telling them to try it again--but hopelessly it didn't make a difference. And to make things better the waiter outright said he was broke and needed a different form of payment.

Law would loathe the moment, feeling second-hand embarrassment for miles as he brooded wishing it happened anywhere else no mattering the time.

He'd be embarrassed, growing quiet with a darkened expression as he averted his gaze. Which it only intensified when you happily handed the waiter your card, assuring him it wasn't the end of the world... and that you were just happy to be here with him.

He had gone increasingly quiet, and you couldn't help but laugh as he covered his face with the tilt of his infamous hat.

"L-Let's just go."

This man would NEVER let it happen again, and he'd carefully watch his guilty spending habits with a sour expression. The thought of that moment practically kept him up at night.

Law didn't pay you back, but he'd taken a little time off work to spend more quality time with you as that seemed to make you happy. And your doctor-in-training wanted nothing more than to see your smile.

[wonderjanga]

Imagine Billy and Mary and Freddy say from the start that they're siblings.

And the three of them somehow are all homeless street kids. Chaotic little gremlins.

And one day Black Adam sees them transform and is like 'WHAT THE ACTUAL-'.

And you choose what happens next-

Teth didn’t even know how this happened. Or, well, he does, but he’s still having a hard time comprehending it. See, he was minding his business in an appropriate(suspicious) disguise while scouting Fawcett for the Champion. As for why he was looking for the champion, it was because the man was missing. The champion having disappeared was suspicious, considering the man washed over his city like a hawk. Anyways, he was walking around when all of a sudden he just spots this child with the bluest eyes he’s ever seen with a little girl who also has the bluest eyes he’s ever seen. The little boy unfortunately noticed him.

Billy: “Can I help you, mister?”

Ah. Adam was staring. Though, that was mostly because the young boy looked strikingly like Aman. Anyways, Adam didn’t even know how it happened, but one moment he was talking to the kid, the next he was giving him a bunch on Kahndaqi currency as if that’ll be useful to the boy. The kid still took it though.

Billy: *bright ahh smile* “Thanks, mister!”

Black Adam: “Yes…” *wondering if the kid used mind control for a moment* “I am now off to go torment Captain Marvel. Good day, stupid children.” *flies off*

Mary, Freddy, and Billy: *offended* “Hey!” *watch him go*

Billy: *still watching him fly off* “…Adam really sucks at disguising himself.”

Freddy: “No duh, he literally said he was gonna go torment you.”

Mary: *picks up one of the coins Adam gave them* “Do you guys think we could trade this with a fairy for money? They like shiny stuffs.”

Billy: “We probably could.”

Anyways, fast forward, three months and Teth, whenever he was in Fawcett, which was unfortunately becoming more and more frequent, kept feeding and giving money to these three little urchins that are somewhat (it’s actually more than somewhat, but he would never admit it) tolerable.

Then, the fateful day came. The children were standing at their usual spot, and Adam was flying over. Then, the blasted little old bald fool with the glasses, psoriasis or Savana or whatever his name was started attacking. The children ran into an alleyway, and because of the fact Adam could care less about Savannah he flew after them because the alleyway looked shady. He was then greeted with the three of them… transforming… into his worst enemies. Specifically, the one who looked like Aman, Billy, transformed into the Champion.

After the fight with Sivana…

Black Adam: “You…”

Marvel: *startles* “Black Adam! What’re you doing here?” *suspicious*

Black Adam: *ignores him and is kind of angry monologging* “I’ve… I’ve been giving you three money and food for months… You’ve been making a fool of me!”

Marvel, Junior, and Mary: *share looks with each other cause ‘uh oh, he knows*

Marvel: “Uh… well, no. We all actually eat all that and make good financial choices. All the money I get from my job goes to rent, and on top of that we all work odd jobs for food and utility money. You’ve been a great help.” *super duper sincere*

Junior and Mary: “You’ve helped us a lot, mister!”

Black Adam: “You’ve still been making a fool of me! Also, why do you three have the power of the Living Lightning?! You’re children!”

Junior: “So?”

Black Adam: “So, none of you should have anything to do with the Rock of Eternity or being the World’s Mightiest Mortal!”

Mary: “That’s more the Wizard’s fault, not ours. Or wait no, that’s Billy fault cause he’s the one who gave us our powers.”

*silence*

Black Adam: “…I can’t believe I’ve been fighting children the entire time.”

Junior: “I know, right? And you still lose.”

Black Adam: *wants to get angry at that but just can’t muster it* “I…” *in his mind says ‘f this’, turns around and flies off*

Adam basically stewed in anger while in Kahndaq before he came back after like a week and started feeding and giving money to the kids again. He now just ignores the fact that he knows Billy is Cap and just chooses to believe that they’re two different people and still fights him.

[kyunniebuns]

˗ˏˋ Entry : 059 - Lover! HSR Men x Fem! Reader: Period Cramps ♡ ˎˊ˗

꒰ Dan Heng, Aventurine, Caelus, Sunday ꒱

ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚ 𝔻𝕒𝕟 ℍ𝕖𝕟𝕘 ˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚ₓ

Dan Heng is actually a veteran in taking care of girls during their periods. Why? You have March 7th to thanks for that. His poor friend's cramps are hell so he stepped up to assist whenever he can if Himeko isn' present to soothe her.

So when it comes to you? It's no problem really, he even enjoys the fact that you're relying on him for this since it shows that you trust him entirely.

Does he track your period schedule? Definitely, he has a tracker installed in his phone that he always checks. Periods are tricky and he wants to know incase anything wrong comes your way.

A little overdevoted of him, but you're not complaining. Why would you?

He has everything prepared a week advanced before your period.

Heating pads? Check. Extra napkins? Check. Snacks? Check. Chocolates? Check. Medicine for cramps? Check. Plushies? Washed and ready.

"Is your stomach acting up? No?" Dan Heng asks as he secures the blanket over you after placing a heating pad on your belly.

"I hate being a girl..." You complain, curling up further beside him for comfort.

"I know, but just for a few more days, it'll be alright" He says, stroking your head lovingly. "How about a movie? There are a bunch of new movies I managed to download."

"Okay..."

You actually passed out halfways into the movie, which Dan heng of course predicted already since he had the lights in his room already turned off. He changed the heating pad on your stomach first before tucking himself back in.

"Goodnight," Dan heng mumbles, placing a peck on your forehead before pulling you in for a cuddle.

ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚ 𝔸𝕧𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕖 ˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚ₓ

"There we go" Aventurine gently settles you down on the bed after placing an extra towel on it. "Is that better, love?"

You nod, cuddling the teddy bear he bought you just because you're on your monthly hell.

Your period week is strictly a no-gambling and no-business-trips time for Aventurine. Even if his bosses and the other stonehearts decide to bug him into doing stuff.

He values your happiness and comfort above all else, even work. So to hell with them if the ipc blows up out of nowhere during your menstruation. Aventurine will just throw a middle finger at them and laugh at their misery.

Aventurine was so dedicated he spent hours reading books about periods and even goes so far to research good napkin brands that wont make you itch.

He wants nothing more than the highest of qualities for his beloved who is going through a lot just because a woman's body decided to evolve suffering like this. he even has some doctors on stand by just incase anything goes wrong.

Of course, we can't forget his philanthropic side— this peacock man needs to spend his money on you even for the littlest things. You'll be having brand new jewelry, cosmetics and perfumes coming in rapid succession for you as well as a barrage of kisses to go along with it.

"My poor princess, are you sure you don't need anything else?" He asks, kissing each and every one of your fingers. "Should I order some shortcakes for you? Or should I call the doctor to check on you?"

"Vasha... I'm not bedridden..." You say.

"I know, but I would rather not risk anything happening bad, so if anything hurts too much you must tell me" Aventurine simply smiles.

"Your kisses are more than enough"

"Who am I to say no to that?"

And with that, he dives in to pepper your precious and pretty face with pecks.

ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚ ℂ𝕒𝕖𝕝𝕦𝕤 ˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚ₓ

"Okay, everything is settled" Caelus nods to himself after making a makeshift pillow fort in his bed for you to snuggle in.

The plushies he had ordered just arrived in time with your menstrual cycle. He made sure to ask March 7th about this just to be sure too. He can't screw this up—

Yeah, he's acting like he's about to go through something major or something. What an idiot.

Your lovable idiot atleast.

"Cae? I'm back" You say, walking out of the bathroom after changing your napkin. "???"

"Ah... Well" Your boyfriend sheepishly scrtaches the back of his head as you glance at the makeshift fort he managed to make during your time in the bathroom. "I figured I should make a fort so we could snuggle up more?... I don't know"

"You're cute" You laugh, kissing his cheek before crawling into the fort he made. "I like the fort, maybe you should keep it"

"I'll order more pillows and a canopy for my bed then" He grins before going in after you. "I'm not really good at taking care of you, my bad"

"It's fine, just you being with me is more than enough and I'd much rather cuddle with you" You wrap your arms affectionately around his waist. "Just be you as usual, that's more than enough."

"I should be the one comforting you" Caelus pouts, rubbing your cheeks together just so he can elicit a sweet giggle from your lips. "If there is is anything I can do, please just tell me what you need and I'll do my best"

"You're really like a puppy" You muse, kissing his cheek lovingly.

ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚ 𝕊𝕦𝕟𝕕𝕒𝕪 ˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚ₓ

Just like Dan Heng, Sunday is a veteran at this. His mother died before his sister had her very first menstrual cycle. And although there were servants around to assist— he still took the initiative to help Robin himself because he was her brother.

The result of that? He's absolutely good at taking care of you during your period. Much like Dan Heng, he has a period tracker on his phone and prepares everything in advance the week before your period starts.

But of course, Sunday actually memorized your cycle dates, he just prefers to be more organized and to fouble(triple) check everything

It's much more important for him to be assured that eveything is ready.

"Not like that, you'll make your stomach hurt even more, dear" Sunday says, putting down the book he was reading and reaches out to rub firm but gentle circles around your tummy. "I know it's different for each woman, but this is the method I used on my sister when her cramps are bad. Is that better?"

"Yes..." You nod weakly, melting into his massages quickly. "You're really good at this"

"it's only because I took care of my baby sister a lot" Sunday replies, keeping his gentle pace to help ease your pain.

"Robin must miss you" You mumble.

"It's alright" He shook his head, smiling bitterly. "I miss her too, but one day we will reunite. But right now you're the main character. You need me since your cramps as especially bad during the first few days of your cycle."

"What did I even do to deserve you?" You whisper, slowly drifting off to sleep the further he massaged you.

Sunday wouldn't reply until you finally gave in to the call of sleep.

"I need you more than you need me" He finally says, replying to your unconcious state while pressing his lips on your forehead. "So let me do this, it's the least I can do since you never gave up on me"

꒰ 🪼 A/N: This one is a bad fic but I'm really deep in writer's block. I'll try to get it in my next one. For now please be patient with me qwq. I hope you guys understand huhu. I'll try to make more comprehensive and better fics:3 ꒱

ʚ(੭´͈ ᐜ `͈)੭ .｡✧: ~♡ —! stories written by kyunnie; translations, reposts, plagiarism are strictly forbidden.

[help-help-i-need-an-adult]

There are a lot of drivers who never had things explained to them in a way that makes sense either.

Like, I was teaching a friend to drive and I told them to claim the intersection and they asked what it was and how it was illegal because when they’d asked their mom, their mom said “idk, it just is.” So they were afraid to do it.

I CONSTANTLY am telling people to turn their lights on when it’s a cloudy day and they respond with “I can see.” I then go on to explain that my mom is legally allowed to drive in this weather. She is blind in one eye. I spent my childhood telling her when there were cars without their lights on in cloudy weather because she could not see them herself. She doesn’t always drive with a co-pilot, and few are as well trained as I was since I did this (and more) for her since I was single digit years old. You never know which car is being driven by my mom. Turn your lights on. They aren’t always for you.

I know SO many people who don’t know how highway lanes are supposed to work.

I spent YEARS telling my partner about why speeding and changing lanes to go around other cars during rush hour perpetuates the traffic jam problem, and it took him YEARS to grasp it well enough to listen to me.

I am helping a friend teach her 17 year old to drive and she told me about how other kids parents were taking the test to qualify for a driver’s permit FOR them so they could get the “learn to drive” process going faster. Thank the GODS my friend refused to do this, and so her kid is going to college in the fall, but still doesn’t have a license, but we aren’t letting them take short cuts.

The vast difference between me and my older sibling’s driving styles is massive based on who taught us. My mom taught my older brother, and he never back seat drove for mom when she became blind. My dad taught my older sister. She also never back seat drove for mom. I splurged and paid $400 of my own money at 15 to take a professional driver’s course because neither of my siblings are very good at the task, and I wanted more formal education on the matter.

I continue to grab the student driver manual at the BMV every time I’m in there so I can read it and make sure no laws have changed. I know 1 other guy who does this.

The education system around just knowing how to drive is failing miserably.

man I realize that changes in road design could make huge differences in the numbers of crashes & traffic fatalities and solely blaming people for driving badly shifts the focus away from changes that really need to be made to the way we approach driving as a society. but also. and I am not being hyperbolic at all. people are not at all conscious of how fucking dangerous driving a car is and I think if you get caught driving drunk, blowing through red lights, speeding in areas with pedestrians, you should get your license taken away for the rest of your life and never be allowed to drive again

[scam-alerts]

IMPORTANT - Art Commission Scam

I have updated the art commission scam post with critical and terrifyingly new information that has come to my attention. (Thank you @elrealelchunk!)

Scammers are now threatening to send your private information to law enforcement if you do not send them money.

This is 100% a scare tactic. You do not have to comply.

Your information is safe. Remember, they are scammers.

Just remember the golden rule:

You should never have to give money to get money.

Please make sure to share the updated version of the art commission scam post, and if you know artists, or even follow artists, ask them if they are aware of this scam, and if they're not, please make them aware of it by sharing this post:

This is just... so horribly disgusting. The fact that this can really mess with someone mentally and make them lose out on hundreds of dollars. How much of a deplorable excuse for a human being can you be to try and scam someone like this.

PayPal would never say something like this to someone, and the fact they're stooping this low just infuriates me.

Art tags are added and are relevant because as many artists as possible need to know about this as this would affect their livelihood.

[greengoblinswifey]

could you do a story where frontman is readers sugar daddy, please and thank you I ❤️ your writing.

Luxury & Lies— Hwang In-ho x Fem!Reader

summary— Being In-ho’s sugar baby came with luxuries beyond your wildest dreams. You never questioned where his wealth came from, only cared about what you could get out of him. But when you stumbled upon the truth, the Squid Game and the power he held as the Front Man, you knew exactly how to use it to your advantage. And In-ho? He’d do anything to keep you.

warnings— Sugar daddy!in-ho, manipulation, cunnilingus, body worship, praise kink, unprotected sex, creampie, fluff.

a/n— Thank you and enjoy <3

Youth and beauty on the outside was not eternal, that being said, you were always one to use it to your advantage.

It was by using those assets that caused you to stumble upon Hwang In-ho. He was an older yet very attractive man and obviously very wealthy. You knew how to play the game right and the night you had met In-ho, you were seated in the lounge area of an upscale restaurant that was famous for transactions like this.

He slipped into the seat next to you, decked in an expensive suit and as soon as you flipped your hair and tilted your head, he was sold.

You didn’t have to say much, especially when it came to older men, you let him do the talking, you were just there to look pretty and get what you want. And you got way more than you bargained for being Hwang In-ho’s sugar baby.

In-ho always gave you what you wanted. That was the foundation of your arrangement. You asked, and he delivered—no questions, no hesitations. It started with luxury handbags and designer clothes and shoes, then first class trips and five star hotels, and before you knew it, you had an entire apartment paid for in your name and a collection of jewelry that could make royalty jealous.

Being with In-ho meant being spoiled, but it also meant playing your role. You were his eye candy at every event, the one in his arm in dresses he picked out for you, flashing a smile that made investors and business partners envious. You liked the life you lived, liked the way people looked at you when you walked into a room together.

You never questioned how he could afford it all. What did it matter? You weren’t with him for his morality, you were with him for what he could give you.

But then you found out.

It had been an accident, really. You were in his office at the penthouse, bored and nosy, and you stumbled across a locked drawer in his desk. He always kept things private, but this was different, the secrecy intrigued you. So you looked until you found the key, expecting maybe some business documents or an old affair he never wanted you to know about.

You didn’t expect tapes.

Or the footage of people being slaughtered.

You sat frozen, watching clips from the so called Squid Game, men and women gunned down like animals, the screams piercing even through the speakers of his monitor. And there, in the midst of it all, was him—your sugar daddy, the man who paid for your lifestyle, standing over it all in that black mask.

The Front Man.

The truth settled like ice in your veins, but strangely, you weren’t horrified. You were curious.

For the first time since meeting In-ho, you had leverage.

So, you confronted him.

You remembered the way he looked at you when you brought it up. The sharp inhale. The slight flinch. He had tried to keep you in the dark for a reason, because, deep down, he feared this exact moment.

“You weren’t supposed to see that,” he said, voice carefully neutral.

“Yeah?” You folded your arms. “Well, I did.”

A pause. A long, heavy silence. And then, a confession. He admitted everything. How long he had been in charge. What the games really were. The money, the power, the control.

“I understand if you don’t want to be with me anymore,” he said eventually, looking down. “I won’t stop you.”

That was the moment you could have walked away. Should have, maybe. But you had no intention of leaving.

Instead, you put on a show, acted like you needed time, like you were shaken and unsure. Let him panic, let him compensate.

And, oh, did he compensate.

A brand new penthouse apartment, yours, fully paid for. A car, your dream model, delivered to your doorstep. Cash in your account, a credit card linked to his bank account. Jewelry, vacations, an all expenses paid trip with your homegirls on his private jet, all while he stayed behind, giving you space.

He only texted you once.

“Let me know when you're ready to talk.”

When you had everything you wanted, you decided it was time.

The night you returned, he was already waiting in your penthouse, standing by the windows with a glass of whiskey.

“You look beautiful,” he said, scanning your outfit like he hadn’t seen you in weeks, which he hadn’t. “Did you have a good trip?”

“It was perfect,” you said, slipping off your coat and letting it drop onto the couch. “Thanks to you.”

He exhaled softly, nodding. “And are you ready to talk?”

“I am,” you said as you walked toward him slowly, heels clicking against the floor.

He tensed. You could see it in the way his fingers curled slightly against the glass, like he was bracing himself for the worst.

“You kept a huge secret from me, In-ho,” you murmured, stopping just inches away. “That’s not something I can just forgive overnight.”

“I know,” he said quietly. “And I’m sorry. For all of it.”

“I bet you are.” You reached for his tie, giving it a gentle tug. “But sorry isn’t enough. You have to earn my trust again.”

His breathing hitched. “Anything,” he murmured, voice low. “Just tell me what I need to do.”

You smiled, slow and sultry. “Good,” you said, stepping backward toward the bedroom. “Then follow me.” And just like that, he did.

You led him across the penthouse, never looking back, because you didn’t need to, you could feel his presence behind you, could feel the heat of his stare. By the time you reached the bedroom, you stopped at the edge of the bed, tilting your head just slightly over your shoulder.

He was watching you with hungry, dark eyes, scanning every inch of you. And then, you let yourself fall back against the silk sheets, stretching out, parting your legs to make your point.

His breath came uneven. “You—”

“You said you’d do anything,” you murmured, hooking a leg around his waist and pulling him closer. “Show me.”

Something inside him snapped.

He was on you in seconds, his hands gripping you, lips crashing against yours with a desperation you had never felt from him before. He wasn’t just indulging you—he was proving himself.

For the rest of the night, he did exactly that.

Because at the end of the day, you always got what you wanted.

The second In-ho had you beneath him, it was like something inside him broke loose. His hands were at your clothes in an instant, fabric tearing under his grip as he stripped you naked. The sound of ripping seams filled the air, followed by a sharp gasp from you as cool air met your skin.

“In-ho—”

“Shh, baby,” he murmured, dark eyes flickering over you like he was soaking up every inch to memory.

His lips were on you before you could respond, trailing hot, open mouthed kisses down your neck, across your collarbone, over your breasts. His lips were everywhere, like he was trying to worship and make it up to you.

Then he was lower, his mouth pressing against your stomach, his hands holding you steady as you squirmed.

“Fuck,” you whimpered, breath catching.

“Look at you,” he groaned. “So perfect. Always so goddamn perfect for me.”

And then, he had you unraveling.

The first stroke of his tongue against your pussy had your back arching, fingers twisting into the sheets as pleasure shot through you like lightning. He moaned against you, gripping your thighs to hold you still, but you couldn’t—not when he was devouring you like this, like he had been starved for you.

“You taste so good,” he murmured against your pussy, pressing a kiss between every stroke of his tongue. “You have no idea what you do to me.”

You barely heard him past the pleasure that built and built with every expert movement of his mouth. He was relentless, slow at first, savoring you, but when he felt you tense, when he heard the way you gasped his name, he tightened his grip and ravished you with ferocity that had your legs shaking.

“That’s it,” he rasped. “Cum for me, baby. Let me hear you.”

And when you finally came, when you cried out so loud you swore the whole city could hear, he only held you through it, kissing your thighs, whispering praises against your heated skin.

“You’re a dream,” he breathed, pressing a lingering kiss just below your navel. “So beautiful. So good for me.”

In-ho didn’t stop. Even after you were left trembling beneath him, after your breath was still shaky and your body tingled from the aftershocks, he kept kissing you, soft presses of his lips against your skin.

“You're everything,” he murmured between kisses, trailing from your chest to your lips. “More than I deserve.”

The way you shivered when his fingers brushed your breasts, the way your breath hitched when he pressed a kiss just below your chest. He worshiped you, whispering apologies against your skin.

“Forgive me,” he said, forehead resting against yours. “For everything. For keeping things from you, for being selfish enough to want you despite it all.”

You cupped his face, brushing your thumbs over his cheekbones. “You're not losing me,” you promised softly, and the way his eyes darkened told you he believed you—but he needed to prove himself anyway.

His mouth found yours in a desperate kiss, hands gripping your hips as he pressed himself against you. You felt him—all of him, hard and heavy against your thigh.

Another thing about In-ho? He was the full package. The biggest you’d had, the biggest you probably ever would have, and he knew exactly how to use it.

He smirked at the way you swallowed hard, his hands skimming down your sides, teasing, making you wait.

“You always act like such a brat,” he murmured, pressing open mouthed kisses to your neck. “Like you don’t need me.” His hand wrapped around your thigh, pulling you flush against him. “But then I get you like this, and you melt for me.”

“In-ho,” you gasped, gripping his shoulders.

“Shh, baby,” he murmured, dragging it out, making you feel every inch of his cock as he slowly pressed against your folds. “Let me take care of you.”

And when he finally gave in, when he finally stopped teasing and claimed you, it was deep, slow, possessive. He worshiped you, murmuring praises against your lips, against your skin. He filled you inch by inch, your pussy quivering around him.

“You're perfect,” he groaned. “Such a good girl for me.”

Your nails dug into his back, legs tightening around him as he pulled you closer, right on his dick. Every slow, deep stroke unraveled you, and he felt everything, the way you clung to him, the way you gasped his name like a prayer.

“That’s it, baby,” he coaxed, pressing his forehead to yours. “Give it to me. Cum.”

And when you finally did, when you cried out and your body tensed beneath him, he held you through it, his own breath ragged, his grip tightening like he never wanted to let you go.

He didn’t pull away right away—just kissed you through it, pressing soft kisses to your cheeks, your forehead, your lips. Soon, you felt the rush of his cum filling you up and his soft moans in your ear.

“Mine,” he murmured against your skin. “You’re mine.”

In-ho never just left you after. That wasn’t who he was.

No matter how intense things got, no matter how desperate or needy, he always made sure to take care of you after.

Tonight was no different.

He pressed a kiss to your temple before slipping away, only to return moments later with a warm cloth. He handled you carefully, murmuring soft praises as he cleaned you up, whispering apologies when you flinched from sensitivity. His touch was steady, so unlike the man who ran the most brutal game in existence. With you, he was different.

“You okay, baby?” he asked, running a hand down your thigh as he finished.

You nodded sleepily, reaching for him. “Mhm.”

That was all he needed to hear. He tossed the cloth aside and pulled you into his arms, shifting until you were resting on his chest, his fingers tracing circles into your skin.

“I’ll prove myself to you every day,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to your forehead. “I’ll always be here for you.”

You hummed in response, half asleep against him, but he knew you heard him.

That was something about In-ho, you knew this arrangement was transactional, but there was something deeply intimate in the way he held you after, in the way he needed to keep you close, like he was afraid you’d slip away in the night.

Even now, his grip on you was firm.

“You’re so good to me,” you mumbled, fingertips skimming his jaw.

“You deserve it,” he murmured, eyes half lidded as he looked down at you. “And more.”

He held you like that for the rest of the night, whispering sweet nothings, pressing lazy kisses to your hair. You didn’t need to say it out loud, but you both knew, no matter how complicated things were, he wasn’t letting you go.

[artistic-arteries]

I think that I'm gonna start arguing about this the way that my brother got my most stubborn brother to change his mind about it and wanna share.

You can dislike abortion and still be prochoice

We can argue all day on whether or not an embryo is or is not alive and at what point should they be considered alive but the bigger thing here is whether or not the government should be able to make medical decisions for people

If a person whose pregnancy has gone wrong needs an abortion, they shouldn't need to ask the bureaucracy to make a quick decision for a go-ahead

If my SIL gets pregnant she needs to get an abortion, it's just not an option. She shouldn't need to get permission from the government for something that should be just between her and her doctor

Even if a person doesn't medically need one, the average cost of carrying to term in the US without insurance is $18,865, with insurance it's $2,854. Do you have that kind of money right now? That's just the medical payment part of it, as well, and doesn't account for the loss of work, the costs of getting new clothes when you can't fit into your old ones, the potential of losing your housing because you get kicked out of your parent's house, of losing your so-called support group when they disown you.

Even though it's currently illegal for your workplace to fire you for being pregnant, about 6,000 pregnancy discrimination suites are filed each year in the US. As with most crimes, the number of actual crimes committed is greatly underreported for a variety of reasons.

The government needs to get it's hands thoroughly away from people's medical decisions, thank you very much

I’m going to try to articulate this in a way that perhaps everyone will understand.

I don’t think it’s helpful to discuss who is “targeted” by any particular policy. I think it’s more helpful to discus who that policy affects.

Abortion bans affect everyone with a uterus.

In the USA, statistically, most people with a uterus are perisex cis women. This means that the majority of people affected by an abortion ban will be perisex cis women.

However

The largest group is not necessarily the demographic most at risk.

I do not say “perisex cis women as a collective” here because I’m an intersectional feminist and I know that no such collective actually exists. Perisex cis women experience a kaleidoscope of intersecting risk factors that can make them more or less vulnerable to reproductive harm.

And taking intersectionality into account, we have to acknowledge that trans and intersex people with uteruses face additional risks when accessing abortion compared to perisex cis women. This may mean certain trans and intersex individuals may have higher risks than some perisex cis women.

Acknowledging this increased risk isn’t ignoring perisex cis women or erasing them from the discussion. It’s just acknowledging the most vulnerable among us.

[night-market-if]

Hey everyone

Writing is going to be stalled, yet again. My grandfather is in a coma right now and is not going to make it through. I'll be having to travel to help my family out and attend his funeral.

This is the third family member that has passed since I posted my last chapter. It's made writing nearly impossible.

Thank you for the ones that are still supporting me through Patreon. It's meant the world to me and my family and has meant the difference between getting church boxes for food and actually buying what we need.

I am hopeful that this is going to be the end to a very long few months of trying to keep it all together. No, I am not okay. But hopefully, after this, I can get back to some sort of routine for sanity's sake.

I'll still be active on Patreon to try and keep money flowing in and I do miss engaging with the community, so still send in your asks. I'll keep you updated on the next chapter update when I can think properly.

Love,

Zinnia

[devixncy]

could you do a dae ho fic please? Like the reader was a barista he has a crush on but never had the courage to ask out previously to the games. And then once they get into the games he protects her and she reveals she always found him cute as well. Thanks :)

so, i may have gotten carried away while writing this one. pretty sure i typed out wayyy too many unnecessary details oops! (but i can't help it i'm sorry). anyways, i love dae-ho so so much like <3333 such a cutie

✧ pairing: kang dae-ho x fem!reader

✧ summary: dae-ho happened to be a regular at the cafe you worked at as a barista, and you had started to grow feelings for him over time. when you find yourself in the games, he ends up there as well and ultimately saves your life. fearing for your life and the fear of the unknown leads to late night confessions.

✧ content: typical squid game violence, mentions of death, i think that's it. literally just straight fluff

✧ word count: 4.8k

Your life was quiet, but you enjoyed it that way. Being a barista was the perfect job for you, it was relaxing and there was nothing you loved more than interacting with customers, especially the regulars. Unfortunately, while you loved your job, it wasn’t enough. You lived in a cramped apartment that was cozy, but your job just barely covered the rent. On top of that, you couldn’t cover your debt. You were swimming in debt, trying your hardest to help pay for your younger sister's medical bills. She was ill, and constant hospital trips and stays started building up fast. It was just the two of you, your parents having passed a few years prior. You would do anything for your sister, but having the loan sharks breathing down your neck constantly was beginning to drive you insane. You needed more money and fast.

Lost in thought, you absentmindedly drew shapes into the counter with your fingernail. The cafe was quite slow, but with the gloominess and light drizzle outside, it made sense. The bell above the door rang, signaling that someone had entered. Looking up, you immediately began to smile. One of your favorite regulars, Dae-ho, had stepped inside.

His eyes immediately met yours and he smiled at you, making your heart flutter. Dae-ho was the most kind, genuine soul you had ever met. He never failed to light up your day, even just by being in his presence. He truly was a gentleman, most likely thanks to growing up with four sisters.

“Just the usual?” You asked as he walked up to the counter.

“What, no ‘hello Dae-ho, how are you’?” He asked teasingly as you rolled your eyes.

“Hello Dae-ho, how are you?” You feigned annoyance, however you truly did want to know how he was doing. You’d be lying if you said you hadn’t developed a crush on the man in front of you. He was incredibly sweet to you (and incredibly handsome), so how could you not fall for him?

“I’m great, (Y/N). And yes, I’ll take my usual.” The grin on his face was contagious, and you smiled, nodding as you began to make his order. He was a man of simple taste, ordering an Americano every time he came in. While you made it (and grabbed him a free pastry), you could hear him ask how you were doing.

“Oh, you know. Same shit different day. Just trying to get by,” You replied as you snapped the lid on his drink. Turning around, you slid it across the counter along with the bagged pastry. Dae-ho furrowed his brows at the sight of the pastry, looking at you questioningly. You shook your head before he could say anything. “Just take it, Dae. It’s on me.”

His cheeks turned a little pink at the sound of the nickname, but he nodded gratefully. He placed his money for the coffee in your hand, your skin tingling as his fingers brushed yours. You took the money and put it in the register, handing him back his change. Of course, he took his change and put it in your tip jar.

Before he picked up his items, he looked at you as you leaned on the counter. Your eyes were so full of life, the smile on your lips making his heart thud. But he could see the exhaustion in your face, no matter how hard you tried to hide it. Without thinking, he leaned over and tucked a stray piece of hair behind your ear. His fingers brushed against your jaw gently. Eyes wide, you looked at him, cheeks starting to burn. He smiled softly, dropping his hand and picking up his coffee and pastry.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?” He asked, even though he knew your work schedule like the back of his hand. You nodded, still dazed, as he chuckled and walked off with a small wave.

Once outside the shop, he cursed to himself. Oh, how he wishes he were bold enough to ask you out. Every time he thought he could do it, he backed out, fearing rejection. He didn’t want to mess up the friendship the two of you had. One day, he promised himself.

— Once you had closed up shop for the day, you locked the doors to the café and headed towards the subway.

You sat down on a bench, placing your bag directly next to you. While you waited, you stared at the ground in front of you as you absentmindedly picked at your cuticles. When you weren’t working and keeping yourself distracted, the stress started to take over.

Your body tensed as someone sat next to you. Turning your head, you saw a man dressed in a nice suit, a briefcase by his side. Sighing, you scooted away a little bit more. “Whatever you’re selling, I’m definitely not interested.”

“I’m not selling anything. In fact, I would like to let you in on a great opportunity. Would you like to play a game with me?”

You frowned, confusion evident on your face. A game? Seriously? Turning towards him, you studied him for a moment. Something about this man was off putting. As you were about to open your mouth to decline his offer, he opened up a briefcase. The words died on your tongue as you saw the stacks of money.

“I’m sure you’ve played ddakji before, yes?” He asked as he picked up the red and blue squares. You nodded slowly. “Play a few games with me. And each time you win, I’ll pay you a 100,000 won.”

You stared at the money as you pondered. You needed this. A couple games of ddakji couldn’t hurt, right?

And you played. You had won most of the rounds, earning a couple of slaps in the face when you didn’t. By the time the game was over, you had accumulated a decent amount of money. Of course, not nearly enough to cover what you needed it for. As you sat there counting the money, the salesman began to speak.

“You know, miss. There are more games like this where you can win even more.”

You paused, looking up at him. It sounded too good to be true. As you were going to decline, he began to list all of your personal information. He knew your name, your occupation, the amount of debt you had accumulated. Your mouth dropped, unable to get a word out. He smiled smugly, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a card. He handed it to you, and you snatched it.

“We don’t have many spots left.”

Those words resonated with you as you sat in your apartment. Taking a deep breath, you called the number on the back of the card.

“Do you wish to participate in the game? If you wish to participate, please state your name and birthdate.”

Next thing you knew, you were standing on a street corner in the dark. You rocked back and forth on your heels anxiously as you waited. Soon enough, a car pulled up next to you, rolling down the window. A masked person donning a pink suit turned his head in your direction.

“Ms. (Full name)?”

You nodded, following up with the password they had given you over the phone. The back door slid open and you climbed in, noticing the other people in the seats who were seemingly asleep. You shook off the uneasiness, trying to get comfortable in the seat. Seconds later, steam began to fill the car, making you cough. And then the world went dark.

~

When you awoke, your brain felt fogged and you were incredibly groggy. You screwed your eyes shut as the overhead lights threatened to blind you. Classical music filled your ears, and you groaned as you sat up. Opening your eyes, you scanned your surroundings. Numerous people were getting out of their beds, all wearing the same green tracksuit with numbers plastered on the back. Quickly looking down, you saw that you wore the same thing. Then you noticed your number in bold white, 301. You got out of the bed, making your way down the stairs the same way everyone else was. As you were taking it all in, the doors at the front of the room underneath the screen opened. Multiple masked figures stepped out, walking forward. The one in the front began speaking.

“I would like to extend a hearty welcome to all of you. Everyone here will participate in six games over the course of six days. Those who win will receive a handsome cash prize.”

Players began to speak up. All made good points, and you agreed that you all being basically kidnapped and the masked guards were a little strange.

Then, you gasped as multiple players were shown on screen playing the game of ddakji, announcing their names and how much debt they were in. Thankfully, your name didn’t come up.

When it came time, you got in line and signed the consent form. You didn’t bother reading it, you were just here to play some games after all. You were sure it was just some dumb fine print that didn’t really mean anything.

Soon enough, yourself and all of the other players filed into a multi-colored room. There were stairs leading up, and as you looked around you noticed multiple guards stationed in different spots. Shaking off your unease, you stepped up to the photo booth and turned to face the camera. Upon hearing the ‘smile!’, you mustered up a small smile that didn’t quite reach your eyes.

“The first game will begin momentarily. After having your picture taken, follow the staff’s instructions and proceed to the game site.”

You followed behind the other players up the stairs, coming up to a large door where everyone was filing into.

“Welcome to the first game. All players, please wait a moment on the field.”

You entered the large clearing in front of you, squinting as the sunlight hit your eyes. As your eyes adjusted, you looked around at the four large walls and the comically large doll with the tree directly ahead. There were two guards standing on either side of it.

Suddenly, the three large doors slammed shut behind you with a loud clank. You gasped and turned around, as did many others.

“The first game is Red Light, Green Light. Cross the finish line without getting caught in five minutes. If you do, you pass.”

Suddenly, someone pushed past you to get to the front of the group. He seemed frantic, turning towards everyone.

“Everyone!” he shouted, waving his arms in the air. He had your full attention now. “Everyone listen up, pay attention!”

“This is not just a game! If you lose the game, you die!”

Your breath caught in your throat. There’s no way he was serious, right? How could you possibly die playing a children’s game? Others seemed to think the same thing, as someone asked him what the hell he was talking about. “We’re going to die playing Red Light, Green Light?” someone asked with a scoff.

“Yes, that’s right! If they catch you moving, they will kill you! They will shoot you from somewhere! Stay on your toes. That doll’s eyes are motion detectors!”

Murmurs rippled through the crowd, no one seeming to take his word for it. Many were voicing their thoughts that this was just some ploy to get all of the money for himself.

“You have to believe me!” His voice was laced with desperation. As he finished his sentence, the doll began to whir to life, turning to face the tree. Its arm raised up, placed against the tree. The man, player 456, whirled around, panic evident in his movements.

“Do not be alarmed or panic! No matter what happens, do not panic and start running!”

Your heart began to hammer in your chest. Something in your gut told you to believe him. He seemed way too genuine to be making this all up.

“Let the game begin.”

The timer across the room flickered to life, displaying a red five minute timer.

Mugunghwa Kkoch-i Pieossseubnida

You began to move forward, freezing as the doll whirled back around and player 456 held up his hands. “Freeze!” He yelled out. Everyone stayed as still as a statue.

“Well done! You just need to stay calm like this!”

Once the doll turned again, you started to run forward, freezing again moments later. The doll's head turned, its eyes calculating everyone’s movement. Player 456 continued to yell out instructions, and so far everyone seemed to be listening despite calling him crazy.

Mugunghwa Kkoch-i Pieossseubnida

You began to run forward again, stopping dead in your tracks along with everyone else. This continued successfully for a couple of cycles. For a moment though, while you were all paused, someone began to scream. Yourself and many others side eyed the girl in shock.

“Crap. I just moved.” And with that, moments later, a gunshot rang out. Your eyes widened, unmoving, but terrified.

“NOBODY MOVE!! You must not move!” Player 456 shouted frantically, not wanting panic to ensue. Unfortunately, it was far too late for that. Multiple gunshots began to follow the first, people dropping around you left and right. Blood began to cover the field. It seemed non-stop. Your body began to tremble, feeling nauseous as the chaos unfolded around you. Player 456 was screaming at this point, trying to save everyone that he could.

“Let me repeat. You can move forward while the tagger shouts ‘Green light, red light’. If your movement is detected afterward, you will be eliminated.”

After the announcement, the game resumed. This time, nobody dared to move from their spot. Once the green light was given again, the only person to move was player 456. And then again, he was the only one to move. Everybody was glued to their spot, too terrified to move. He began to shout instructions again, telling everyone to get behind someone bigger than you. That’s exactly what you did at the next cycle, getting behind players 120 and 124. You stayed close behind as they moved forward, trying to make sure your movement was minimal. This continued until you were almost at the finish line.

“LETS GO!” Player 456 screamed, everyone beginning to push forward as fast as they could. You did the exact same, until your foot slipped as you were trying to come to a stop. Fear coursed through your body as the ground got closer, the doll about to turn around. Everything was moving in slow motion. This was it, this was how you were going to die. Your eyes screwed shut, waiting for the impact from the ground and the bullet. Suddenly, though, you weren’t moving anymore. The back of your jacket was held tightly by somebody behind you, right as the doll said red light and turned. Your eyes flew open in shock, not daring to move a muscle. It was the longest moment of your entire life, praying whoever had their grip on your jacket didn’t lose it. As soon as the doll turned back around, whoever was behind you instantly pulled you back up. Your arm was grabbed and you were hastily pulled towards the red line, being shoved over it as the doll said red light. You stumbled and fell to your hands and knees, wheezing as you tried to catch your breath. Then you paused, whipping around to see who it was.

And there he was, standing mere inches from the finish line. You stared at him, mouth agape. Dae-ho was standing right in front of you, the number 388 plastered to his jacket. Your heart thudded in your chest, your ears ringing. You couldn’t even process it, that he was in this mess just like you were. Moments later, he crossed the line, running straight to you. He crouched down next to you, gripping your face in his hands like he was making sure you were real. Your lips parted, but words refused to come out. He had just saved your life and there you sat trembling like a leaf, not even able to muster a ‘thank you’. However, he didn’t say anything either. His eyes said it all. He was completely terrified.

“Dae-ho…” You whispered, your voice shaking. Before he could respond, everyone’s heads shot up towards the sky. A retractable roof was closing over the top of the arena, closing you all in like animals in a cage.

Before he could say anything, you were all being herded back to the main room. The guards gave you no time to process anything, forcing you to get moving. Dae-ho stayed right next to you, a gentle grip on your upper arm. The atmosphere entering back into the main room was dark, the obscene amount of death and bloodshed looming over everyone’s head like a dark cloud. You sat next to Dae-ho, silent as a mouse. Everyone was silent. What could possibly be said after what you had all just witnessed? Your gaze bore into the ground in front of you, knees tucked into your chest with your arms wrapped around them. Dae-ho was lost in thought, his side pressed up against yours. The touch kept you somewhat grounded, though just barely.

Suddenly, the bright overhead lights flickered to life and the door opened. Everyone's attention turned towards the guards that stepped into the room. Upon seeing them, everybody scrambled back further, clearly terrified. You were no exception, pushing yourself backwards up the stairs behind you. Dae-ho did the same, a protective grip around your body.

“Congratulations for making it through the first game. Here are the results from the first game.” The board above them began to change, the number 456 changing to 365.

More chaos began to ensue. People begging for their lives, the promise of a fair voting process. The voting process was anything but smooth, tensions beginning to rise between the players. You chose X with no hesitation. While you needed the money, you had to be there for your sister. You couldn’t help her, the only family she had left, if you were dead. Dae-ho had voted X as well, much to your relief. Unfortunately, your relief was short lived, as you lost the vote to leave by one. You were devastated, wanting nothing more than to curl up and cry. Showing weakness may not be the greatest idea, though. Not in a place like this.

Once it was meal time, you sat on the stairs with your tin of food in one hand and water bottle in the other. You had zero appetite. Dae-ho, who was sitting next to you, wasted no time in digging into his. You turned your head towards him and he paused.

“What?” He asked halfway through shoveling food into his mouth. You let out a humorless laugh, shaking your head. “You need to eat something too, (Y/N). You can’t let yourself go hungry, gotta retain your strength. Here,” He said, scooping some of his onto his spoon and putting it up to your mouth. Your lips tightened into a thin line, silently refusing. He frowned. “I’m serious-”

“What are you even doing here, Dae-ho?” You cut him off, turning towards him a little more. He swallowed, frown still on his face.

“I could ask you the same thing.” His tone was completely serious now, setting his tin down next to him. You set yours down as well, refusing to meet his eyes.

“It doesn’t matter. We’re both in this mess, and now we both have to somehow make it out alive.” You hoped you didn’t come off as hopeless as you felt. Dae-ho decided not to press any further. He nodded in agreement. There was nothing the two of you could do about it now.

“We’re going to get out of here, you and I. Together. I swear to you,” He grabbed your hands in his, running his thumb across your knuckles. That was his typical positive attitude coming out. You sighed, finally meeting his eyes. “Now come on. I was serious before, you need to at least try to eat.” He said, his usual grin returning to his face. You couldn’t help it, your lips twitched up into a smile. If it were possible, his smile got even wider, gently pinching your cheek with his fingers. “Aha! There’s that smile that I know and love.”

You rolled your eyes, giving him a light shove. He laughed, and you gave in, picking up your tin. You ate in small bites, finally realizing how hungry you truly were. Dae-ho resumed eating, scarfing his down before you were even a third of the way done with yours. He patiently waited until you were finished with yours, taking your tin from you and setting it aside.

After meal time, you and Dae-ho had begun conversing with player 456 and player 399 who were nearby. As it turns out, player 399 whose name you found out to be Jung-bae, was a former marine just like Dae-ho. They saluted each other, their interactions causing you to giggle, letting some of the tension leave your body. Dae-ho’s eyes lit up at the sound, warmth spreading through his body. The rest of the night went as smoothly as it could save for the scuffle that occurred between players 230, 124, 333 and 001.

Then, it was time for lights out. Most players were fast asleep, but you laid in your bed, staring up at the glowing piggy bank. Alone with your thoughts, your mind was racing. There was no way you could sleep. Your head was pounding and you sighed as you turned onto your side. Lucky for you, Dae-ho’s bed was right next to yours. Realistically, he had claimed it as soon as he saw it was empty, assuming the person who was there previously was eliminated. From what you could tell, he was fast asleep. However you really needed some company and reassurance at the moment.

“Dae,” You whispered. He didn’t budge. Of course, you thought as you rolled your eyes. He would be a heavy sleeper. “Dae-ho!” You whisper-shouted, hoping you didn’t have to say it again. Thankfully, you saw him starting to stir. His eyes fluttered open, opening completely as he realized it was you who had awoken him. Quickly, he sat up.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?” He whispered, concern gracing his features. You shook your head, starting to feel a little silly for waking him.

“No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have woken you up. You can go back to sleep.” You whispered back, realizing he was probably exhausted.

He shook his head, getting up from his bed and coming over to yours. He knelt down next to you, tucking your hair behind your ear. You felt pitiful.

“Will you lay with me?” Your voice came out as barely a whisper, but he heard you loud and clear. His heart skipped a beat, a soft smile spreading across his face.

“Of course, love. Scoot over.”

You blushed at the nickname but immediately moved over to make room for him. Without hesitation, he hopped into your bed, laying on his side so that he was facing you. He cupped your face gently, running his thumb over your cheekbone. You didn’t say anything, but he read you like a book. “What’s wrong?”

You could feel a lump forming at the back of your throat, and you stared into his eyes. Truth be told, you were so terrified. This was a fear you had never felt before in your life. If it wasn’t for the man next to you, you wouldn’t even be alive. How did you go from casually flirting with each other in the coffee shop, not a care in the world, to arriving at death’s door together? Tears burned at the back of your eyes, threatening to come to the surface.

“I’m scared, Dae-ho. I’m so scared,” Your voice cracked, tears spilling over your eyes slowly. Dae-ho was quick to wipe them away, his heart breaking. “I just wanted to save my sister. I thought that if I joined the games and won some money, I could take the stress off of both of us. I wouldn’t have to worry about the medical bills, or the loan sharks, or anything. I would be able to work without having the weight of the world on my shoulders, and it would just be us in the cafe, and nothing else would matter. You and my sister were the only things keeping me going, and now you and I are both here and one or both of us could die.” You cried quietly as Dae-ho looked at you sadly. He pulled you into his chest, shushing you as you wept into his shirt. He let you cry it out, not saying anything as he rubbed your back. Eventually, when you became silent, he pulled back so he could look at your face. Your eyes were red, cheeks tear streaked.

“(Y/N), listen to me. As long as we’re in here together, I won’t let anything happen to you. Truly, you’re the light of my life and if something happened to you I don’t think I could forgive myself. You’re my anchor, especially in a place like this. I have something here to keep me going, you know?” He murmured. You sniffled and nodded, but he kept going. “The moment I saw you in that cafe I knew I was in trouble. I thought you were the most perfect thing to grace this earth, and if I wasn’t so stupid, I would’ve asked you out a long time ago.”

Your eyes widened at that, looking at him as he smiled at you. “You really mean that?” Your pulse quickened at the confession.

“Every word,” He chuckled as he drew shapes into the fabric of your jacket. “This is gonna be awkward for me if you don’t feel the same.” At that, you gave him a light shove and he laughed.

“Of course I feel the same, you idiot. Why do you think you were getting so many free pastries?” You joked, then became serious. “Seriously though, Dae-ho. I couldn’t imagine my life without you in it. I wish you would’ve asked me out a long time ago, I’ve had a giant crush on you for a while now. I thought it was obvious.”

“It was obvious,” you rolled your eyes at that. “I was just too scared to do something about it. I didn’t wanna mess anything up between us. And now here we are, in the worst possible situation, and I’m finally confessing this to you.” He smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes as he thought about the circumstances. “How about when we get out of here, I take you out on a date, yeah? We’ll go somewhere nice with my share of the money.”

“It doesn’t have to be fancy, Dae-ho. As long as I’m with you it doesn’t matter,” You said sincerely, a small smile gracing your lips. “But I would love to.”

He grinned at that, his entire face lighting up. He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to your forehead. You grabbed one of his hands and he gave it a gentle squeeze. To his surprise, you craned your neck up and placed your lips directly onto his. Your eyes fluttered shut, and you could feel him smile against your lips as he moved his free hand to the back of your neck, deepening the kiss. He pulled away after a few moments, before leaning back down and placing another quick peck to your lips.

“You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for that.” He teased, excitement present in his voice. You giggled, feeling over the moon with happiness even if it was just for a moment. Dae-ho shifted to lay flat on his back, pulling you with him. Your head rested on his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart. He had his arm around you and you threw your leg over the top of his, making yourself comfortable

“Thank you for saving my life earlier.” You spoke quietly as you wrapped your arm around him, soothed by the rise and fall of his chest. He was quiet for a moment.

“I would do it all over again. I’m not leaving your side so long as we’re still playing these games.”

Those were the only words you needed to hear, shutting your eyes as you finally drifted off into a peaceful slumber as you could feel him pull the blanket over the two of you. For the first time in a while, your body felt at ease. You felt safe, like there was nothing in the world that could harm you. Even if it was just for the night.

[sphireath-wisp]

#Backstage Pass!

Synopsis -> What an electrifying performance, it was worth all that money and time waiting. It was so good that you wanted an encore - in private, with less talking and more action.

Warnings -> Not proofread, all aged up, suggestive, language, Rin is objectively sweeter than Sae and Kaiser, mean Sae and Kaiser

Featuring -> Michael Kaiser, Sae Itoshi, Rin Itoshi x F! Reader

"Oh, of course, you like MICHAEL KAISER, of all people," You force a sarcastic smirk, eyebrows creasing as if you eye her up and down as if you were judging her for some sort of malefaction. Honestly speaking, you should have foreseen this. You're the one who wants to go to the concert; you dragged your friend along so it wouldn't be a solo trip, but she's developed a liking for the blonde boy. He's the playboy type who goes on stage shirtless, flaunting the ink adorning his skin. Even when he makes the gracious decision to wear a solid-coloured tank top, it doesn't take away any attention from the prominent cerulean rose blooming on his throat. Her blase favouritism of Kaiser was nothing new.

Beneath the charisma - so lamentable, it was laudable, Kaiser had an ego that reached for the stars. But it was his solipsism that made him such a star, an unbreakable confidence that shined even brighter as he played. It's unusual for a bassist to get so much attention in a band, but everything was absurd about Kaiser in the first place. And the worst part is: he had the skill to back it up, every single shit-eating grin.

"An encore?" You watch Kaiser mouth out to the audience, and the crowd goes wild - especially the fans with the tips of their hair dyed a gaudy blue. Your friend shakes you back and forth, spilling a mix of 'thank yous' and 'ohmygosh' past her lips. His grin only grows wider as he hears the crowd cheer, almost expectantly, like the crowd was supposed to meet his expectations.

"You have a backstage pass, right? Do you think I could snatch his number?" Your friend nudges you, readily waiting for a supportive response. You hum - pretending to think so you wouldn't have to turn her down so flatly. "He's kissed fans before, so you'll need to try your luck, yeah?" You give your friend a comforting pat on the back, but you're the one who needs to reassure yourself, "Anyway, he's just eye candy, right?" She nods insouciantly: after all, it's not like they know each other.

When you see her soothing smile, for a split second, you wonder if you're being too critical of Kaiser. Your friend seems to enjoy the concert, maybe this has created common ground for you and her to bond. This smug bastard and his god-given charm may actually be a blessing in disguise.

"Don't you know how to swallow? You're drooling," You soon learn that you're a good judge of character when Kaiser forces his thumb into your mouth. You realize that your gut has always been right, and you can't decipher whether the uncomfortable churning in your stomach is due to butterflies or the sickening taste of nail polish on your tongue. Gosh, you feel like an idiot for doubting yourself and, most of all, doubting how much of a bastard he can be. Kaiser pulls you closer on his lap as if he couldn't get enough of your Carolina Herrera, and palms the swell of your ass when you scrape your teeth over his knuckle.

Your nails, freshly coated in a shade of rose that disgustingly reminds him more of that keyboardist than himself, scratch his forearm on their way up to his clavicle, leaving a trail of hot fire in their wake. Your raspberry-flushed skin matches his, especially when your fingers - more suited for loving than burning - wrap around the expanse of his neck and threaten to crush his airways. His fingers are out of your mouth, and his breath is already lost before anything has begun; you're starting to see the appeal in womanizers when his half-lidded eyes - glossy and lovestruck - stare with a shimmer that rivals stars.

"Didn't expect to find a beauty like you in the crowd, but you were giving me such a dirty look," His words are coated in honey, like flattering women is second nature for him. Your grip unconsciously loosens at his praise, and he uses his newfound leeway to capture your lips in his. He smells like Maison Margiela's Jazz Club, rum rubs off your sweat-slicked skin, and you swear you feel his teeth on your tongue when you press your chest against his.

His hands undo the clasp of your bra, and his tongue plays with the rest of your sanity. You swear to whoever's listening that you need another bottle of beer to wash this feeling of longing away because you're sure you're drunk on him. Kaiser's always been known to kiss his fans, but he kisses his haters even harder.

"SAE ITOSHI, apologize this instant!" Kaiser mimics their manager, arms crossed and voice in an ear-gratingly, squeaky high pitch. Almost condescendingly, he grabs the keyboardist by the hair and forces his gaze down - to the point where he's at a 90-degree bow. "How could you treat a young lady like that?!" He scoffs as Sae swats Kaiser's hand off of his hair, clicking his tongue, irritation crystalline clear.

"R-Really, it's okay...!" You try to get a word in, raising your hands awkwardly to try and ease the situation. Kaiser is dead set on humiliating Sae, though; he's planning to get a good laugh like the carefree narcissist he is. You have to visibly hold back your laughter, heaps of air gathering in your lungs, and it bubbles in your chest. Sae straightens himself out, clearing his throat as he looks down at you from on the stage. Hopping off the platform to get on your level, the only thing separating the both of you is the railing set up for crowd control (and the bodyguards), he lets out a deep sigh.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to get your shirt wet and... I hope I didn't ruin the performance for you," He scratches the back of his neck awkwardly and cranes his neck to look away, not out of shame, though. Rather, Sae isn't sure where he's supposed to look. Your see-through white shirt is drenched, and the lacy black bra you have under is clear as day (though it is partially your fault for wearing black under white - Sae's gone through enough girlfriends to know that women are aware of these things, but he'll admit his faults and apologize anyway.) To be frank, he finds the event a blessing in disguise; you're gorgeous in lace, but he wouldn't say that aloud lest he be considered a pervert.

It was already past midnight, and the concert had ended, fans still stuck around to snag a photo with their favourite member, though. Seeing you at the front of the crowd (and the obvious 'accident' with your shirt), Kaiser caught him staring and decided to be a bigmouth. Swooping in like the playboy he is, he acted all righteous when he heard what happened and well... Sae Itoshi has his head bowed like a little boy apologizing to their mother.

"I'll make it up for you, yeah?" he states firmly, and the air shifts when you agree oh-so-sweetly. Ladies first, he would say, to avoid staring at your chest, but you could feel eyes glued to the mound of your ass from under your miniskirt.

He's making it up to you, alright, with his knee between your thighs. Long, slender fingers slip up your skirt, and the lacy black panties you have under make his star-etched pupils morph into hearts right before your lovestruck eyes. He's patient, he's graceful, and he's deft with every kiss to the point it makes you feel hungry. Diet Pepsi by Addison Rae plays on the radio, and he cages you onto the cushioned seats.

Your legs wrap around his waist like poison ivy, and there's sweet venom every time your collar is stained royal purple. His tongue dances on your skin, and it's even more mind-numbing when his tongue traces yours. With a gasp, or a squeal, or maybe a mix of both, you wonder how long it's been and why he's torturing you like this, and your eagerness tastes like honey to Sae.

Sae swears he's never met a girl so noisy before, but hell if he cares. He wouldn't mind if he met you after every performance, or if he snuck you into the studio to have you right there and then whenever that bastard Kaiser opens his mouth. Bleary-eyed and half-lidded, he thinks you look cute like this and, damn, his eyes weren't lying when you looked good in lace. He almost feels bad. You swear your skin feels like it's on fire, and he's your fuel. You breathe him like oxygen and he's as starved as you, he never knew what air felt like before you.

Sae's fingers, the ones that used to be so rough from playing the guitar with his little brother, the ones that have grown long from years of playing the keyboard, slip under the waistband of your lacy panties. He whispers apologies that he doesn't mean, and he swears to buy you another set as soon as possible. You don't care about his apology, you knew he was a half-hearted bastard the moment he blatantly ogled at you earlier. What's more important is the new set and this perverted idiot better give you another stress-relieving night for the trouble he's put you through! You know Sae Itoshi always keeps his promises.

RIN ITOSHI, the exceptional newbie in the band. Introduced as the 2nd electric guitarist, he hid his prior connections with Sae Itoshi to avoid accusations of being a mere product of nepotism. People had already acknowledged his skills by the time the truth spread. He didn't really catch your eye in terms of personality. He was as reclusive as his older brother but more vocal with his thoughts. If his brother had an "enigmatic" appeal to him, he would be "unapproachable".

"He's cute, isn't he?" Your friend playfully hums by the shell of your ear, and you shrug indifferently in response. Your gaze trawls through his black leather jacket, which looks like it was inherited from someone older, with its sleeves folded to the middle of his forearms. His stringed necklace dangles down to his electric guitar when he slouches, calloused fingers hovering over the strings. "Pretty good for someone new..." Your friend continues, her own eyes the furthest thing from chaste. Yet, instead of chiding her, you'll be the one apologizing sooner or later - you couldn't catch anything she said when Rin happened to glance up in your direction, no less. Coincidence or not, his tongue peeks out of his mouth, the pink muscle running over his lips.

Slim teal eyes narrow at you sharply when you don't look away immediately. You stare back as if you haven't sensed his annoyance and sheer arrogance, and you're utterly shameless about it too. As if mocking the guitarist, you stick your tongue out before openly running it over the canvas of your teeth.

You pass it off as flirting with no goal in mind, especially when his face scrunches up in belying disgust. It was nothing more than passive teasing, the kind of thing you'll dream about when the boys you know act stupid and the tension you'll crave when life gets dull. It's something you'll romanticize for the rest of your life until Rin Itoshi is muddled in a scandal, and you can't see anything attractive in those piercing eyes.

Well, you were half-right.

"Isn't your friend looking for you?" he half-mocks with a tone that makes you want to slap him stupid until the apple of his cheeks is as swollen as your cherry red lips. His mouth is as dirty as it tastes, and he doesn't know how to treat a woman at all. There's nothing remotely sweet about Rin, but the naivety blinding him - convincing him silently that he doesn't want this as bad as you do - is caramel on your tongue.

He's too young and dumb, your voice of reason echoes in the expanse of your skull, and you're sure he hasn't locked the door, but he's already kissed you silly. The black dressing room table feels a little shaky whenever his tongue slips into your mouth, or perhaps your whole world is shaking because of him. Your back crams against the mirror, and the warmth of the LED strips make your brain fuzzy. Eagerness and embarrassment conflict when he holds your waist, rough fingertips shyly slipping under the hem of your shirt and tapping against your skin as if asking for permission. His hesitation is evident when you pull away and the thought of upsetting you strangely eats him whole.

Your chest heaves up and down, off-beat from the temperamental percussion of your heart. "You're asking that now?" you manage out whilst guiding his curious hands further under your shirt, "Sweetheart, don't act like you're worried someone will catch us." Catching your breath, you yearn to lose it again as you lean forward for another round, the white quartz of his stringed necklace cold against your skin once he flips your shirt up.

You can't tell if the lights are flickering or if the flash of a camera has caught you so vulnerable, like putty and moulded into Rin's embrace. But, you don't care, and Rin seems to care even less with the way he whispers sticky sugar promises to buy you another Dior lip gloss and a new bag to boot. It'll be his first scandal if the paparazzi have caught the both of you, but you'll celebrate it with a bottle of champagne in the walls of his apartment, for sure.

Taglist: @dewwberry, @mikmwehehe