#I don’t know that anyone else would give a shit but we’re thrilled

[beetlejuicesgraveyardrevue]

you know you’re a fuckin dweeb when you see the announcement that a renaissance fair performer you’ve followed on youtube/instagram for years is finally coming to your local renaissance fair and your first reaction is to audibly gasp and immediately text your sibling about it

[parkerslatte]

Songbird || TWENTY-THREE

Eddie Roundtree x Fem!Reader

Warnings: none

Word Count: 3.1k

Part Summary: Y/N makes a decision that effects her and Eddie’s relationship.

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•••

TRACK TWENTY-THREE;

KISS ME HARD BEFORE YOU GO

***

4:15pm

4 Hours Earlier

“Anyone have a guess where they might be?” Rod questions, “Anyone?”

No one answered. 

“For fuck’s sake, even Y/N isn’t here and she always is.” Rod says before walking away.

“Not like Billy to be missing soundcheck,” Warren comments, “Or Y/N for that matter.”

Warren takes a drag of his cigarette before turning to Eddie, “It’s a nice shiner you got there.”

Eddie doesn’t say anything, he simply focuses on his bass.

“Eddie,” Warren says, taking a seat, “What’d you say to him, man?”

“Nothing, just, uh…some shit that needed to be said, that’s all.” Eddie says.

“Eddie, look, I’m gonna say some stuff, all right, and you’re gonna promise that you’re not gonna hate me for it,” Warren says, “What the fuck is wrong with you? So what if Billy’s an asshole? So what if you’re not the guy? I mean, you are in the biggest band in the fucking world right now. You get to fly around on jet planes and sleep on one hundred dollar bills, and we get to play songs that millions of people listen to and they fucking love ‘em. They love ‘em Eddie.”

“And don’t get me started on Y/N,” Warren continues, “The one woman most men want and you’re with her, not anyone else. And all that is still not enough for you?”

“Warren-”

“No, no, man. I’m serious. Like, this shit does not happen. To anyone. We’re the luckiest motherfuckers in the world, bro.”

“Warren, all due respect, I think I may be looking for a little more out of life than you are.” Eddie says.

Warren looks down and chuckles, “Yeah, man, tell that to Y/N, I’m sure she’ll be thrilled to hear that.”

Eddie sighed, knowing that the comment he said wasn’t about Y/N but he didn’t argue, not wanting to cause any more of a stir. 

As Warren begins walking away, Eddie calls out to him, “Where are you going?”

“Me? I don’t know,” Warren says, “Maybe I’m gonna go smoke a joint, pop sound thousand dollar champagne. Or - you know what - maybe I’ll call my girlfriend, the movie star. See you tonight, bro!”

***

Present Time

On Stage

As Y/N stepped up to the microphone, the crowd cheered. It caused Y/N to smile, her final time performing this song was already off to a good start. The band began playing and Y/N began singing, losing herself in the music completely. 

At the beginning of the song, she closed her eyes as she sang, imagining what it would be like if this audience were here for her and only her. The banners would only have her name on them and they would all be singing along to the songs she wrote. The audience would be chanting her name, demanding an encore to which Y/N would come out and sing one final song - a different one every night so no two shows were the same. 

When Y/N finally opened her eyes, she was transported back to where she was originally - performing with the band. However, she strived to make this the best performance she could give. Taking the microphone from the stand, Y/N began to walk around the stage. 

…

KAREN SIRKO: That night Y/N’s voice was something else. I had never heard her sing like that before. 

WARREN ROJAS: Y/N was a powerhouse that night! I get chills just thinking about it.

DAISY JONES: That song was a duet, but I stepped back and let Y/N have the whole stage. With a voice like hers she deserved the spotlight, especially with that song.

…

Eddie watched Y/N walk around the stage, her voice echoing throughout the arena. From the hundreds of times he had heard her sing the song, he had never heard her sing it the way she was. There was an emotion to her voice that he could place but he knew that he was a part of the cause of that emotion. All he wanted to do was run up to her, take her into his arms and apologise as many times as it took for her to forgive him.

Y/N wouldn’t even look at Eddie for longer than a few seconds at most. Eddie obviously thought that it was because of what he had said earlier but it couldn’t be further from the truth.

…

Y/N L/N: I was angry with what Eddie said, but I got over it quickly. I couldn’t look at him that entire performance because I knew what I was going to do after the show. I couldn’t face him.

…

In the final chorus of the song, Y/N finally turned to face Eddie as she sang from the other side of the stage. Eddie looked at her as she sang, nothing but love in his eyes. He had always loved Y/N’s voice and he loved it even more with the way she was singing now. The only thing he hated was that he was the cause of some of the pain behind her voice. 

As Y/N finished her song, she turned away from Eddie, walking back to the front of the stage and the crowd erupted into cheers, chanting her name over and over again. Y/N smiled and bowed, soaking in the applause. 

When the crowd began to quiet down, and Y/N took her place next to Graham, Daisy stepped up to the microphone.

“Let’s hear it for Y/N L/N, everyone!” Daisy says and the crowd cheered again and Y/N smiled, “Now, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage my sister and my best friend, Simone Jackson!”

***

8:33pm

Y/N stood in the greenroom with Warren and Simone. Y/N had heard of Simone Jackson before Daisy ever mentioned her, she had listened to a few of her songs. Simone’s type of music wasn’t typically Y/N’s go to, but she definitely replayed a few of her songs when she first heard them. 

As the three of them conversed, Daisy walked into the room, causing their conversation to come to an abrupt halt.

“Oh wow.” Simone commented on the makeup on Daisy’s face.

“Finally, great! Gang’s all here.” Rod says.

“You look scared, Rod,” Daisy says, “And you should be.”

“Okay,” Rod says slowly, “All right, this time’s for real everybody.”

Y/N began to walk out of the greenroom, fully aware of Eddie walking just behind her. She wanted nothing more than to turn around, pull him away and talk to him but she knew that she needed to get through the show first. 

***

Present Time

On Stage

“So, we have to go soon,” Billy says into the microphone, “But we can’t leave without paying some dues. I’m gonna need your help. You with me!”

The crowd cheered.

“On drums, a man who keeps time like a Rolex and who cuts grooves like a knife,” Billy introduces, “It’s Mister Warren Rojas!”

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Billy says, taking the microphone from the stand, and begins to approach Eddie, though he swerves at the last second, instead focusing on Karen, “The classiest, coolest cucumber ever to play keys. It’s Miss Karen Sirko!”

Billy walks across the stage towards Y/N, “You know her and you love her, the woman that doesn’t shy away from the spotlight, it’s Miss Y/N L/N.”

“Up next, as good a man as you’ll ever meet. But sometimes I forget how lucky I am that he’s my brother. It’s Graham Dunne, everyone!”

Billy walks back to the front of the stage, “On bass, well that’s Eddie Roundtree,” Billy pauses, “All right, wait, wait, wait, let’s try that again, shall we? The master of the low end hammer, the man, the face that keeps pace on the bass, the groove layer, the four string slayer. It’s Eddie Demetrius Roundtree!”

Billy leans closer to Eddie and whispers into his ear, causing the smile that was on his face to drop.

“And finally, well, do I even need to say it?”

“Well, I want to hear you say it.” Daisy says.

“It’s Daisy Jones, everyone.”

“Billy Dunne, everybody!” Daisy announces.

As the band performed ‘Aurora’, Y/N looked at Eddie the whole time. He didn’t smile once and he didn’t even look anywhere but straight forward, much like Y/N had done at the beginning of the show. Finally when Eddie looked up, he made eye contact with Y/N and they didn’t break it the remainder of the song. 

“Y/N,” Eddie says as soon as the band exits the stage,  “Can I talk to you?”

Y/N sighed, “Eddie, there’s nothing to talk about.”

“Yes there is!” He says desperately, “What I said to Billy, I shouldn’t have said that, I panicked when he questioned me and I didn’t know what to say. I regret it, I really do. I love you and only you and I can't bare it if I caused you any pain.”

Y/N sighed, “Eddie, listen, I’m over that now. I’m not going to lie, it did hurt when you told me, but I’m the one who asked what you said and you told me the truth.”

“So why are you avoiding me?” Eddie asked, taking her hands in his, “Tell me.”

“Eddie-”

“No, I don’t want any more excuses, I need you to tell me,” Eddie says, “You used to tell me everything.”

“I’m leaving tonight.” Y/N said. 

Eddie paused, “Is that why you have a plane ticket in your bag?”

“How do you know about that?” Y/N questioned. 

“It fell out of your bag after you left earlier.” Eddie says.

Y/N sighs, “I wasn’t going to use it initially. I don’t really know why I bought it.”

“This isn’t all because of me, right?” Eddie asks, his hand cupping her cheek.

“No, of course not,” Y/N says, “It’s nothing to do with you at all.”

Eddie rested his forehead on hers and closed his eyes. The two didn’t need to say any words to know what the other was saying. I love you.

By the time the band went on stage, Y/N was heartbroken, knowing it was getting closer and closer to the part of the night she was dreading the most, she wished she could just skip it entirely. The crowd cheered as everyone walked back onto the stage and Y/N forced a smile onto her face. 

The crowd chanted ‘Look at Us Now’ over and over again as the band waited and listened.

“Let me hear it if you’re in love tonight!” Daisy yelled, “I’ve been in love. And it hurts, doesn’t it?”

Y/N spared a glance at Eddie and found that he was doing the same.

“But it doesn’t have to,” Daisy continued, “Love doesn’t have to be bombs and tears and blood. Love can be peace. And it can be beautiful. And if you’re lucky enough to find somebody who lifts you up, even when you don’t deserve it, that’s where the light is.”

Y/N continued to look at Eddie as a tear slipped down her cheek. She loved Eddie more than she loves anything else on the planet. But that was the problem, she loved him more than she loved herself. And before she could start loving him the way that was needed, she needed to love herself first.

“So my wish for you tonight, ladies and gentlemen, is find someone who helps you see the light.” Daisy says, “This is a love song.”

The band began playing Look At Us Now and the crowd cheered, probably the loudest they had the entire night. As it was Billy’s turn to start singing, he didn’t. He remained still at the microphone, tears threatening to spill. Holding the microphone out to the crowd, Daisy urged them to sing, to which they complied.

As Daisy began singing, she said one simple word to Billy which prompted him to leave the stage running. At that point Y/N knew that she wasn’t the only one leaving the band that night. 

Daisy sang to each member of the band, completely focusing on the people she was performing with rather than the audience, it was her goodbye. 

The song finished and the band slowly made their way to the front of the stage. Eddie stood next to her and intertwined their fingers together, giving her hand a squeeze. 

As Y/N bowed with the band, she knew it would be the final time; there was no salvaging what had been broken long ago. As she stepped off the stage, she fought back against her tears. Y/N wasn't sad that the band was over; she was sad because she would never have the opportunity to perform with her friends again. Rod tried to get her attention as she walked past, but Y/N just continued, knowing she would break down if she stopped for only a minute. 

Y/N was aware of Eddie walking behind her, the gentle hand on her lower back. It stayed there until they got into a taxi. No words were exchanged between the two; there didn't need to be. When they returned to the hotel and up to their room, Y/N hugged Eddie. 

The two stood there in the centre of the room, swaying gently. It was silent; there was no sound of people talking, and there was no sound of cars outside the window. It was as if the world stood still. 

"Eddie…" Y/N began but paused once she realised this would be the most challenging conversation ever. 

Eddie rested his forehead on hers, cupping her cheeks gently, "I know."

"You don't hate me?" Y/N questioned. 

"I could never hate you." Eddie says, brushing Y/N's hair out of her face. 

"I just need some time," Y/N says, "I don't know how long that'll be, but I think I just need to do things and be on my own for a while."

"I understand." Eddie says, his thumb gently rubbing across her cheek.

"I still love you, Eddie, so much, that's why-" Y/N began to tear up, "That's why this is so hard for me."

"Shhhh," Eddie says, wiping the tears away, "I love you too, Y/N. I adore you."

It was at that point that Y/N began to break down. She clung onto Eddie for dear life, clutching at his jacket. Her sobs echoed through the room, and they jabbed a dagger into Eddie's heart. 

The two remained on the hotel room floor until Y/N's sobs subsided. Her grip on the front of Eddie's jacket loosened a little as she tilted her head to look at him. 

"I hate that I'm doing this to you, Eddie." Y/N says, her voice barely above a whisper. 

"Hey," Eddie says, "You're not doing anything to me, okay? You need time and to be on your own for a while and I respect that," Eddie paused, "And I will wait for you. Whenever you decide to come back, I will be waiting."

"But I don't want you to do that," Y/N says, "I don't want you to wait around for me when there could be someone that you will love more than me."

"Impossible," Eddie whispered, "Because there is no one on this planet that I could possibly love more than you."

Y/N cupped Eddie's cheeks before pressing her lips against his. This kiss was different from the ones they had shared before, and this was a kiss that they both hoped they never had to experience and this was a goodbye kiss. 

Eddie gripped onto Y/N, holding her close. It was the last time he would hold her this way for a while, possibly forever. 

Eddie was the first to pull away, "I don't want to make this any more painful, Y/N."

Y/N looked down and nodded, "I know. I just don't want to leave."

"Y/N," Eddie says softly, "Go."

Y/N paused before nodding as she rose to her feet; her bag was already packed. She picked up her bag before she began the walk to the door. With each step, Y/N felt the door get further and further away. 

"Hey," Eddie called out. 

Y/N turned to him; he was still sitting on the floor. Something deep within her wanted him to beg her to stay and not leave him; there was hope in her heart. 

"I love you, Y/N L/N." Eddie says. 

Y/N, despite her tears, offered him a smile, "I love you too, Eddie Roundtree. More than you could possibly imagine."

Y/N turned around once again, her hand on the door handle. It was cold beneath her touch. Pushing it down, she pulled the door open. The hallway felt dark, and Y/N didn't want to step out into it; she was scared to do it without Eddie; she was afraid to do it without Warren, Karen, Graham, Camila, Daisy, and in a way, without Billy. 

With a sigh, Y/N stepped out alone, closing the door behind her. There was no one but Y/N in the hallway, which is how it would be from now on. Sparing one final glance at the door, Y/N walked down the hallway. 

…

Y/N L/N: I left Eddie because I needed to work on myself, and so did he. We were perfect for one another, but at that point in time, we couldn’t love each other at our full capacity; there were arguments and tears. I knew that night that I was the one who needed to leave because he wouldn't. That's not to say I didn't love him; I adored him, and he was my everything, but we needed to fix what was broken, and we couldn't do that together. I loved him so much that I let him go. 

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[blinkaftermidnight]

Leatin Falling Apart idk

Read on AO3.

Nothing happens on the island, but after the island, it kind of just makes sense that Leah and Fatin end up together. They’re all they have back home – well, as far as understanding, like, the insane amount of island-related trauma goes – so they text a lot and hang out a lot, and it doesn’t come as a total shock when Fatin kisses Leah out of nowhere (in the parking lot of the movie theater after they wasted two hours and over twenty bucks). But maybe it’s a bit of a shock when, after Fatin pulls back and quickly apologizes, Leah kisses her, too.

And they work. Everything goes smoothly, even when they return to school for their senior year, even when Fatin’s parents cut her off financially, even when Leah’s mental health steadily deteriorates as the trial inches closer and closer. They still work (as a couple, obviously, but also as, like, each other’s person or whatever) during the trial, which begins shortly after they graduate. They’re still going strong when Dot and Shelby arrive in Los Angeles. Everything is still fine when Dot teases Fatin over getting soft, and when Shelby quietly tells Leah that she’s so proud of all the progress she’s made.

And Leah doesn’t remember when she and Shelby became kind-of friends, but it was probably around the same time she and Rachel became kind-of friends. When Rachel arrives in Los Angeles – knowing that Leah and Fatin are together because of social media and because Leah texted it to her, like, almost right away – she immediately rolls her eyes at Leah – then hugs her – then says, “You could’ve had anyone and you chose Fatin?”

“I chose Leah, actually,” Fatin pipes up. “She just happened to choose me back.”

Leah rolls her eyes but can’t argue with that, and when she and Fatin grin at each other, Rachel shakes her head. (But when Fatin isn’t looking, Rachel smiles at Leah.)

Nora flies in separately, and though she stays in the same hotel in Los Angeles as everyone else, she books a room on a different floor. Dot accuses Rachel of telling Nora she couldn’t stay near them, but Rachel denies it, and Leah might be the only one who truly believes her.

Toni and Martha fly in a day later – the day before they’re set to start testifying – and they’re all there to witness Toni and Shelby’s awkward airport reunion. Like, Toni and Shelby hug, but even Leah and Rachel had a more intimate moment in the airport the day before, and there’s nothing but friendship between them, so it’s weird to see Toni and Shelby be so…distant. And after a few moments in the embrace, Toni clears her throat and steps back, jamming her hands into her pockets.

As Martha goes around to hug everyone, she admits to Fatin (but Leah overhears it), “I never would’ve guessed that you and Leah would get together, but I’m so happy for you.”

“Girl, if you’re worried that I’m not gonna help you find a man because I’m shacking up with a woman, then you’re –”

“No! I’m just – really surprised and really happy for you.”

Fatin waves her off, says, “We’re going out tonight before this shit show begins, and we’re gonna get you a man. You’re gonna be glowing more than usual in court tomorrow.”

Martha’s eyebrows raise, and Leah gives herself permission to keep eavesdropping, because Toni and Shelby are still being unbearably awkward, and Dot’s trying to, like, help things along, and it’s hard to watch.

“You’re going to take me…to find a man…but you’re with Leah?” Martha questions.

Fatin scoffs. “Leah knows I won’t stray.”

And Leah does know that. That doesn’t mean she’s thrilled about the idea of Fatin taking Martha clubbing – but at least Rachel and Dot make it known that they’re totally in, and Leah doesn’t feel compelled to go, even before Fatin whispers to her, while they’re heading back to the hotel with Toni and Martha in tow, “You don’t have to come with us, if you don’t want to. And if you really don’t want me to go, I’ll just tell Martha –”

“It’s fine,” Leah whispers back, because Martha’s sitting directly behind them, giggling with Shelby. “Go have fun. Just remember we have to leave bright and early tomorrow.”

And Fatin grins and presses her lips to Leah’s jaw and intertwines her fingers with Leah’s, and Rachel groans exaggeratedly and says, “Don’t do that gay shit when you’re sitting next to me!” and Leah feels herself relax as everyone busts out laughing. When the laughter dies down, Rachel assures them she’s just joking. (Even though they already know it’s just a joke, but the fact that Rachel felt the need to remind them that she’s messing around is something new.)

And everything is still fine – better than fine, still good – that day before the trial. Leah watches Fatin struggle to choose an appropriate outfit from her three (three) suitcases, and she humors Fatin and chooses her favorite out of literally ten different options. And Leah starts to think maybe she should just suck it up and go with them if Fatin’s going to put actual effort into her outfit and hair and makeup (and Leah knows that Fatin does it for herself and not for anyone else, but it still nags at her, just a little bit). But Fatin reminds Leah that she’ll be back before one, and Fatin doesn’t get changed immediately. She strips down and joins Leah on the bed and tells her she needs to be quiet if she doesn’t want Dot and Rachel to hear them through the wall.

So everything is okay. Fatin gets back to the room at 12:57 in the morning, ditches her dress and leaves it in the middle of the floor. She slips into bed behind Leah, whispers an apology for waking her, presses her lips to Leah’s neck.

“Did you find Martha a man?” Leah mumbles. And Fatin smells like alcohol and sweat and a strange mixture of cigarettes and weed, but Leah doesn’t tell her to go shower. Leah hums, finds herself leaning back into Fatin as Fatin’s arm settles around her waist.

Fatin chuckles, “Yeah. And we found Dot a man, too, which I wasn’t expecting at all. I’ll tell you everything later. Now go back to sleep. Big day tomorrow.”

Except the first day is only sort of a big day, because it isn’t the actual first day of the trial. No, the trial’s been going on, and none of the Unsinkable Eight have been allowed inside the courtroom yet (aren’t allowed until after they testify), and Martha’s up first. Maybe there’s no rhyme or reason to the order they testify in – or maybe there is – but Martha goes first. And they testify over the course of days, and the days blend together. Leah is selfishly glad that Fatin testifies before her, because that means Fatin’s allowed in the courtroom when Leah testifies. Leah can stare at Fatin the whole time instead of at Gretchen Klein. And the whole night after she testifies, she sobs in Fatin’s arms in their hotel room, and Fatin lies awake with her until the sun rises, and the two of them still just work.

But then the trial ends. (It’s a relief, but it’s fucking terrifying, because now what?) Everyone stays in Los Angeles at least until they hear the verdict, but the night before the verdict will be read, Leah hears Toni and Shelby fighting through the wall – the other wall, because Leah has never heard anything from Dot or Rachel. And maybe Toni and Shelby would hear Leah and Fatin arguing right about now, too, but it’s thirty minutes past the time Fatin said she’d be back to the room, and when she does get back (an hour and twelve minutes late), she’s drunk and she passes out on the other bed – the one Leah’s not in – almost immediately.

The guilty verdict feels hollow when Shelby and Toni use the rest of the girls as a buffer – same as Rachel and Nora have been doing. It feels hollow when Fatin’s hungover and doesn’t understand why Leah’s upset with her.

*

Later, while Fatin’s packing up all her shit and complaining about her headache, Leah registers for classes at UC Berkeley. She sits cross-legged on the hotel bed they’ve shared every night – except last night – for weeks, and she watches Fatin cram her belongings into her multiple suitcases. Leah watches Fatin grab her shit, toss it onto the bed next to Leah so she can pack it. As Fatin chugs a bottle of water, Leah sighs because – even if Fatin pees at the airport when they drop everyone else off – they’re going to have to stop somewhere during their drive back to the Bay. And for the first time ever – since the day they officially got together – Leah wonders if this is going to work.

And Leah shouldn’t be trying to psych herself out, but as she confirms that she’s fully registered for classes in the fall, she does the math. She’s eighteen. She survived a three month stint on an uninhabited island (and Linh’s death proves that, yeah, they really were in a life or death situation), so it’s not crazy to think that she could live for another, like, sixty to seventy years. And even taking into account their shared trauma and all the bonding that came with that – can Leah really see herself spending the next sixty-plus years with Fatin Jadmani?

Leah is eighteen. (And she might be in love with Fatin, but they haven’t talked about that, and after Jeff, Leah isn’t so sure she knows what love is, but this seems like it and it’s fucking terrifying, so that’s a question for later.) So the thing is: Leah doesn’t know much of anything. She knows she survived the island. She knows that she – at the very least – really likes Fatin (and maybe even loves her). And she knows she’s starting college soon. And Leah thinks that’s about all she should be expected to know. But it’s still going to bother her, not knowing if she can spend an entire lifetime with Fatin –

“Babe, you’re staring at a blank screen.”

Leah blinks, refocuses on her laptop, which has gone to sleep. So Leah’s staring at a black screen, and Fatin’s staring at her. And just like that, Fatin pushes Leah’s belongings she’d piled onto the bed out of the way, takes a seat next to Leah. Fatin has that look on her face. The look that she’d get on the island – that look she always gets when Leah withdraws too deep into her own mind.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Fatin asks. Her voice is as gentle as the hand that lands on Leah’s thigh, and Leah flinches.

“You came back late,” Leah mutters. (She tries to push the uncertainty about their future away. There’s no way she’ll be voicing that to Fatin. Definitely not right now, not after they’ve won in court.)

It takes Fatin a moment, but she explains, “Our first Uber never showed, so we wasted almost a half hour waiting on that, and the driver of the Uber that did show was slow as fuck.”

“You came back drunk,” Leah says.

“I came back drunk, and Dot came back drunk, and Rachel came back drunk. That’s why we had to wait on an Uber.”

“You should’ve texted.”

“I’m sorry.”

Leah nods. She closes her laptop, sets it aside, and brushes Fatin’s hand off her thigh. Fatin’s eyes won’t leave the side of her face. Leah exhales, rubs at her eyes, and when Fatin pulls her hand away from her eyebrow, Leah doesn’t resist.

“Something else is bothering you,” Fatin observes.

“Toni and Shelby fought all night.”

“Well, that’s shitty, but it’s not what’s bothering you.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

And Leah doesn’t remember the last time she said that to Fatin. They’re coming up on their one year anniversary, so it was probably, like, two or three months into this thing? And Fatin had rolled her eyes and told Leah to just lay it on her and they’d figure it out. And Leah laid it on her and they figured it out. But now, Fatin doesn’t say anything. She just links her fingers through Leah’s and holds both of their hands against her chest.

“We have to get going soon,” Fatin says after they sit in silence for at least five minutes. Leah nods, pulls her hand back, and gets all her things together. Fatin uses the bathroom before they leave the hotel. She uses the bathroom at the airport – before they say goodbye to all the other girls and right before they leave. And Leah still has to pull off the highway so Fatin can pee at a McDonald’s. As they’re pulling back onto the highway, Fatin complains that her headache’s coming back.

*

When they hit their one year anniversary, a few weeks after they hear the verdict (and a few days before Gretchen’s set to be sentenced), Fatin admits, “You know, this is the longest relationship I’ve ever been in. And I haven’t even completely fucked it up yet. Isn’t that insane?”

Leah was almost asleep (in Fatin’s bed, since Fatin’s family is in Italy), but her eyes pop open. And the only thing she can think to say is, “So what’s your second longest relationship?”

Fatin laughs, covers her face with her hands, then says, “Like, three months? I think.”

“You know I’m in no position to judge you for that.”

They haven’t talked about Jeff since they were on the island. And Leah doesn’t intend to say anything more than that. She knows Fatin will know exactly what she means.

“I need to hear you say it, though,” Fatin says softly. “I need to hear you say that I haven’t fucked it up. Unless you can’t –”

“You haven’t fucked it up.”

(Fatin has fucked up. Many times. And so has Leah. But she hasn’t fucked their entire relationship.)

Fatin exhales in relief, like maybe she was actually afraid Leah was about to tell her she’s a giant fuckup and their relationship is over.

[undinegeist]

I fly all the way to the hotel, on the bus, through the cow-riddled fields I can’t see in the dark, until I’m flying through the lobby, already all the way up in his room in my head…until the valet stops me, tells me I need to check the front desk.

It’s not my thing, but sometimes shit gets broken…I always enjoy dealing with that sort of stuff, insist they come to me personally.

“What’s broken this time?” I act the bored chaperone part to get us off, but inside I’m almost always thrilled.

“Nothing.” He looks spooked. “He just left the key. Said he needs you in his room.”

“Is the pool open?”

“The pool?” His eyes widen; his accent slips, revealing he’s a little American in little England.

“Yeah. Is it?”

“It’s…it’s very cold.”

“Isn’t it heated?”

“We…we could heat it.”

“Cool…please, will you?”

“Y-yes.”

“Thank you.” I give my sweetest smile, all poison viper.

- xx -

“Hey.”

“Hey.” He hugs me, dressed less like a rockstar in something like yoga pants, knit sweater. “What took so long?”

“Nothing.”

“Hmmm. What about the pool?”

“They should be heating it up as we speak. Why the change in scenery?”

“Come check out the balcony, it’s sick. What did you have to do to get it done?”

“Sweet talking.”

He scoffs. “What did you really have to do?”

“Drop my knickers.”

He laughs. “Really.”

“Just had to say I wanted it…didn’t even have to say it was for you.”

“That hurts.”

“I know…couldn’t argue with him though, I like being boss.”

“You are always boss.”

“In all but name, not that I mind.”

He throws open the door, and wow: it is sick.

The view is all countryside, which means except for a few pinpricks of light in our vicinity, there’s nothing for miles and miles…and then there’s the tub, tucked in one corner, filling with water, about halfway.

“What took you so long?” I’m only teasing him as I test the water…it’s warm.

He doesn’t answer, so I turn to face him, to find that he’s flushed, unusually.

“I had to make a call.”

“Bugging Elias again?”

“Almost. Although…we can talk about that later.”

“Cool…are we inviting anybody up?”

“No?”

“Are you asking?”

“I thought it could be just us…I really don’t wanna deal with anyone else right now. Oh, and, uh…I had to give over both our keys so we could have this room free of charge. Do you hate me yet?”

“I could never hate you…especially not for this.”

“I was worried for about two seconds. What’s up with the tour schedule?”

“They set tonight’s show to two days from now, and I called down to the label so they can fix the dates on the rest of the tour.”

“Cool. Tell me what they change it to when it comes through?”

“Always. Now, who’s going first?”

“Ladies?”

“Fuck you.”

He laughs, takes off his shirt, jumps right in…getting covered in goosebumps where he’s out of the water.

I take pity, slipping out of my shorts and going in just my shirt, reaching to hug him.

“How are you always so warm?” He wraps himself around me the rest of the way, and I don’t make him let go, though it feels strange.

“The heat’s in my blood?”

“I was born someplace warm too, and I haven’t got that.”

“Luck of the draw, baby. Maybe yours was a cold year.”

“Is that how you think it goes?”

“Could be…or maybe it’s just a matter of choice.”

“Hmm. What’s that thing around your neck?”

“Secrets.”

“Secrets come in silver now?”

“Haven’t they always?”

“Yeah…”

It’s actually the ring, though now isn’t the time the way I thought it would be…I look up, up at the sky, and then we’re quiet, until my phone rings in my shorts.

“Shit…”

“Could be the front desk.”

“Wanna bet on who broke what?”

“Nah…you always win. Taking me for all I’m worth.”

“I don’t need a bet to do that.”

“My point exactly.”

- xx -

She rolls her eyes and slips halfway off the tub, bending to reach her shorts…I’m sure she’s about to fall over, so I reach to hold her waist…her underwear’s black, watersheer…how the fuck am I gonna tell her?

“Hi?” She’s already sliding back in next to me, careless as fuck, always.

“Oh, cool. Thanks. Take the…yeah. Oh, yeah…that’d be great. There’s no need to…yeah, slide it in. Thank you.”

“Slide it in?” I cock an eyebrow.

“Dirty fucker.” But she’s distracted. “They’re bringing the keys to the pool…wasn’t sure they’d actually do it.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t think they heat it usually, and it’s up on the roof, maybe uncovered? They probably had to wake millions just to get it ready.”

“Or three people.”

“I’d hope for none.”

“You’re too nice.”

“You’re not too bad yourself.”

“Underneath everything else.”

“Yeah…”

“So…do you wanna go up now?”

“Yeah, might as well. Need to put on something else…don’t want to get a call about wet streaks in the hall.”

“I’d take it for you.”

But she’s gone, beelining for the closet, where I left her backpack…I stare at her as long as I can before making my way out of the water, closing the tub so we don’t have to start again, get undressed.

- xx -

She throws open the glass door, stripping immediately, jumping in before I can even get all the way out of my clothes.

“Is it cold?”

“No…stop being a pussy.”

“Fuck you.”

“Come over here and do it yourself.”

I give her what she wants, jumping into the water…it is warm, thank fuck.

She swims closer to me, reaches a hand out to play with my hair, laughing at the way it looks…I do the same to hers.

“Is it time for a cut?”

“Maybe…it’s getting a little long.” She slips her fingers around the edges, brushing my neck.

“What should I do next?”

“You know I’ll always say grow it long…but you should ask people again, it makes them feel like they’re part of the show.”

“I should grow it, just for you.”

Her eyes get distant, and that scares me so much, I start to slowly lose it, though I try not to show it.

“You’ll look great no matter what you do, J.”

“Maybe we should match.”

She laughs. “Last time I grew my hair long, I almost died.”

“Why?”

“It hurt…but the worst of it was that it became unbrushable.”

“I’d brush it if you let me…”

Her eyes are still drifting, distant, colder than the night air…until she stops, turning to look at me, swimming closer.

She stops inches away, and then wraps her arms around my shoulders, even as I get mine around her waist…

“I got you something…it’s…fuck, it’s so cheesy, I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“I’ve just said one of the cheesiest things of my life…that’s just us.”

She nods, slipping her fingers away; I hold her against me halfway, as she reaches behind her to unclasp the necklace she hadn’t been wearing earlier, taking it in her hand, before slipping something out of it.

“I know you’ve got tons of metal, so I wanted to get something different…the colors are boring, but still…”

She slips it into my hand, and I turn it over, accidentally pulling her closer, her fingers going across my back, along my neck…it’s a ring, black pink woven together, unlike anything I have.

“It’s…it’s great. Where…where did you get it?”

“Some country mall…I wove it myself. I used to have one of these a while back and because I was a hopeless useless romantic even when I didn’t want to be…I thought if I ever found someone I really liked, I’d make them one…and it couldn’t be metal, because that hurts, and it’s bad enough that you’re…that we’re doing whatever this is.”

“This isn’t bad.”

“Right now…but it has been. And I know I’m fucked, that I’m not easy.”

“I’m not, either. I don’t mind. This…no one’s ever given me anything like this…thank you, Y/N/N. I love it.”

It feels like barely a second, until we’re kissing, her breath mixing with mine, the two of us tangling together in the water…we stop, for barely a second, just long enough for her to slip the ring on my finger, and then I’m lying on my back on the pool steps, and she’s making her way over my chest, up and down until she’s down, just enough…I don’t know how, but she’s always ready, reaching into her shorts for a condom, sliding her tongue hard enough that I feel dizzy, lost…we don’t even talk, I couldn’t anyway; I only have to slip my fingers over her arm for her to slide up, slide in, legs around my waist, hair everywhere…I slip my fingers around her hips, sliding her underwear all the way down, slipping in slowly so I don’t hurt her…she pushes down, though, the rest of the way, and then we’re pressed chest to chest, and I’m kissing her.

“I love you so fucking much.”

She doesn’t answer, doesn’t need to…she bites my shoulder, and I come…finish her off, until we’re both on our backs on the steps, and I’m all the way under her, the only way to chase away the cold.

[freewayshark]

anyone wanna read the arsonist Lucy fic I abandoned

There’s a knock at Buck’s door at exactly ten a.m. His mind had been racing, going over his evidence again and again, looking for holes and finding none, but the second he hears the sharp rap at his door his mind clears, a stillness settling over it that he usually only feels in the middle of a demanding call.

He answers the door, and just as expected, Lucy is on the other side, smiling.

Lucy, his friend, his partner while Eddie was gone. The woman he’d felt a kinship with.

Lucy, the serial arsonist.

“Hey, thanks for coming,” he says, pasting on a smile.

“Yeah, can’t say I expected to get a random invite to your apartment at nine in the morning, but I’m here,” she replies, stepping past him and eying the place.

“Yeah, well, you seem as interested in the arsons as I do, so I thought maybe we’d put our heads together, see if we can notice any patterns,” he says, closing the door before perching on a bar stool. He watches as Lucy dumps her backpack on the dining table and then pulls herself up to sit right on his island, peering down her nose at him.

“I don’t know if I would say interested,” she says, picking up an index card on which he’d scrawled information about the dispatch fire. “Maybe just vaguely curious.”

He nods, easy smile still plastered on his face. 

“Well, I’ve been looking at the incident reports from the suspected arson cases from the last few months, and I’ve noticed a few things.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. All of the fires have one big thing in common–they’re set by someone who knows a thing or two about fire rescue protocol.”

If he wasn’t watching very closely for it, he would’ve missed the way Lucy’s spine goes rigid, because it’s a minute movement. But it’s there. “So, what, you think a firefighter is doing this?”

He shrugs. “Maybe. Wouldn’t be the first time. There’s a long history of firefighters starting fires.”

She nods, looking back down at the index card still held tightly in her hand. “What makes you think it’s someone in the know, anyway?”

“Because the fires rarely block escape routes. The accelerants are never found near doors, or windows that are viable as escape methods. When the fire does obstruct these areas it’s usually only because it had more time to spread before being contained. The arsonist doesn’t want to kill people, and the types of places burned don’t seem to have any kind of connection, so that rules out any kind of revenge based motive.”

She arches an eyebrow at him. “Which leaves?”

“Glory. The thrill of walking into danger and coming out a hero.”

She laughs. “Something you know a little about.”

He doesn’t rise to the bait. “Something a lot of firefighters know something about.”

“Well, in that case, how do you narrow it down? How do you figure out what firefighter is doing it?” she asks, her tone too level to be natural.

He looks her straight in the eye. “Did you know that in 2021 the 147 responded to more fires than any other station in the city, by a wide margin? About five months ago they started averaging about the same as everyone else though. But the 118’s average started climbing.”

She stares him down, and he expects her to start refuting his claim, saying it’s a coincidence, or that he’s making it all up. But she just sighs, and drops his notecard on the pile with the others.

“You couldn’t just take the glory I was bringing you, huh?”

He’d wanted to be wrong. He knew he wasn’t, but he’d wanted to be.

“I’m not in it for the glory.”

Lucy laughs at him. “Yeah fucking right. I’ve known you five months and the only times you’ve seemed alive are right after a big, dramatic save. You live for it, for the thrill.”

He shakes his head. “I love saving people, yeah, but I couldn’t give two shits about the glory.”

She looks at him almost pityingly. “We’re cut from the same cloth, Buck. I was right there next to you the other day talking to that reporter. I saw you smile when she called you a hero. Deep down you are just like me.”

“No,” he barks, standing abruptly, needing to put space between himself and Lucy. She just watches, practically lounging on his island. “I am nothing like you. I would never put innocent people in danger.”

“No you just want to throw yourself into danger and hope eventually the universe will take you out of the equation so you don’t have to.” He sucks in a breath, and she smirks. “Yeah, you know, you’re right, not cut from the same cloth, but two sides of the same coin. I want to live as a hero, you want to die one.”

“That’s not true,” he argues.

“Yeah, it is. I saw you, a couple of months ago, after that rescue that almost went south for you? I saw the disappointment, and I didn’t get it. Because you saved the victim! You had news reporters crawling all over you! But for just a split second, when you realized you survived, you were disappointed. Because you want to go out saving someone. You want to be remembered as Evan Buckley, the hero who gave his life to save the day.” She shakes her head. “At least I want to be around to enjoy people celebrating me.”

“Well, no one’s going to be celebrating you for much longer,” he says bitterly, and her eyes flash.

“What are you gonna do, Buck, turn me in? With all the mountains of evidence you have?” she asks, laughing as she flicks one of his note cards off the island.

He shrugs. “Maybe I don’t have real evidence, but I’m sure it won’t be hard for the investigators to find some. If I could put this together it won’t be hard for someone else to do the same.”

“Then why bring me here and confront me? Why not just turn me in and be done?”

“Because I wanted to be wrong. And I wanted to give you the chance to turn yourself in.”

“Why would I do that?”

“Because it’s the right thing to do. Because maybe you can get the help you need instead of just punishment if you admit you have a problem.”

She sighs, looking disappointed in him. “You know, you should be thanking me. I heard that Eddie’s coming back next week. Seems like the dispatch fire made him realize he’s meant to be a firefighter. I got you your boy back.”

It’s true that the dispatch fire spurred Eddie into returning to the 118, but she’s wrong about one thing. “I don’t have him back. I never lost him to begin with.”

She looks down at his index cards again, spreading them around. She points to one. “You’ve got this one wrong,” she says, and he steps forward to see what she’s talking about.

He doesn’t expect the booted foot that smashes into his temple.

—-

His lungs seizing on a hard cough brings him back to consciousness. His head feels like it’s split in two, but that’s not his most pressing issue, because every lungful of air he tries to take is hampered by thick smoke.

He pulls his shirt up over his nose and mouth, but it barely helps, and does nothing at all for the smoke already in his lungs. He’s on his back next to his dining table, and something’s on fire.

He lifts his head, the movement slow and painful. He wants to retch, but he forces the feeling down, knowing it will only make him inhale more smoke.

He manages to focus his eyes, consciousness a fraying thread, but everything clears a little with the sight that greets him.

His front door is engulfed in flames.

He pats his pocket for his phone, but it’s not there. He pats around on the floor before he remembers the Lucy of it all and realizes she must have taken his phone.

Groaning, he rolls over onto his stomach. Everything spins, and he has to fight to hold onto consciousness, the head trauma and the smoke inhalation warring to send him into unconsciousness. But he holds on, and gets his knees under him, doing some semblance of an army crawl towards the dresser stationed between his living room and kitchen. Every inch is hard won, but his movements are so slow, taking precious seconds he doesn’t have. But eventually he gets there, and he uses the drawer handles to pull himself up, grimacing as it pulls him up into thicker smoke. 

He gathers his waning strength and pulls one of the top drawers out so hard it yanks it out of the dresser to crash onto the floor next to him. He drops back down to the floor, where the smoke is thinner and digs blindly through the contents of the drawer until his fingers brush a familiar box. He pulls it out and with shaking fingers pries it open. He fumbles with the bracelet inside, dropping the box when he’s got a firm hold on it, feeling over it because the smoke has irritated his eyes so much he can’t really see through the tears.

But he finds what he’s looking for, and he presses the button that will call for help before losing consciousness once more.

[firecrackerhh]

Yknow when I really think about it I don’t really give a shit if someone doesn’t like Viv’s stuff.

Cuz ultimately they can cry and bitch and moan about her all day long, doesn’t change the fact she’s still gonna do what she’s gonna do yknow?

My problem lies where some criticals have this fucking superiority complex where they fucking think they’re better than us fans just because they look at something “critically.” Even though there’s more to critical thinking than constantly fucking bitching about how bad you think something is, something they have yet to figure out.

Frankly, they aren’t better than us, they’re just obnoxious.

All they do is cry about Viv and how terrible her writing is, or how the color palette is bad, or how this or that relationship is toxic, or sometimes they don’t even bother with the show, they just start shit-talking Viv as a person.

I feel like if you have so many complaints about a work to where you want it to be something else, Just write a fucking fanfic and move on, instead of wasting time with something you clearly dislike. Stop lying to yourself about how you want to see it improve when in reality you just want it done your way.

It’s fucking weird, like they expect us to just keep listening to their stupid bullshit with no complaints, yeah you have a right to free speech, so do we, you say something fucking stupid, don’t be surprised when people call you out on it. They act like they get fucking harassed by us when in reality we’re just responding to them normally? Yeah maybe some people in the fandom are passive aggressive or respond with memes or whatever but that’s only because so many antis and criticals are fucking blockheads and nothing we say matters to them anyway so why bother? Can’t argue with a brick wall.

If you think Viv’s writing is so fucking bad, and every episode just keeps reinforcing that opinion, then why keep watching it? Swear to God I legit think some criticals are fucking masochists or something.

I’m not saying you can’t criticize either show at all, but if your criticisms revolve around how her characters “all look the same.” Or how Vivzie portrays demons or angels in an inaccurate way (even though demons and angels don’t fucking exist) then perhaps, I’m sorry to repeat something you’ve heard a million times before, it just isn’t for you.

It isn’t like Viv ever SAID she was aiming for accuracy anyway, if you think that, that’s your fault my dude. You are the idiot here.

I know those aren’t the only examples of course but they’re the ones I thought of off the top of my head.

Look, I don’t think Viv is a fucking goddess among us mere mortals or any of that horseshit, she isn’t infallible, but she’s a fucking human being! She’s a human being who frankly I think does not deserve half of the constant fucking bullshit she probably is forced to bear witness to every time she goes on social media. She doesn’t deserve to get fucking doxxed or get patreon shit leaked or whatever because some of y’all are fucking douchebags who get some fucking thrill out of making shit harder for someone who hasn’t done anything to you. She isn’t the literal devil.

But, though I’m sure she would appreciate the sentiment, I don’t have the energy to waste on debunking obviously bullshit claims about Viv, other people do that shit online as is, I just…it’s exhausting man.

I just like it for what it is. Isn’t perfect, nothing is, but I’m not asking for perfection! What I’m looking for is a good time, and so far? I’ve been enjoying myself, irritated as I can get by hearing stupid people online. Isn’t my fault I’ve been hyperfixated on her shows since 2019.

It for whatever reason has brought me far more joy than I honestly expected. Like I made OCs, I’m almost on 40 chapters of my fanfic I’ve been writing since late 2019, maybe everything I’m writing is garbage but hey, I’m having a fun time, anyone who has a problem with that can suck it.

It isn’t like this is the only thing I’ve liked that gets nothing but constant bullshit online. Sometimes I honestly think it’s best if we just didn’t bother even speaking to critics and antis, it’s obvious they’re as set in their ways as we are, why bother? Unless they say something truly reprehensible in which case we bring the wrath of God (Satan?) upon them.

Well, there’s my 2 cents. Though I think I turned 2 cents into 20 dollars with how long my ramblings tend to go on for.

🔥🧨Firecracker out🔥🧨

[irishhills]

i don't want anybody else

so. the stuff after the cut does not even register on the old fandom citrus scale. they'd laugh me out of the room. it's incredibly tame but decidedly less tame than the material on motownfiction, so it's there.

Eliza is out of her mind.

Really, she must be, if this is what she thinks is a good idea. Luke is in college now, and even though he comes home just about every weekend, he no longer cares what happens at high school parties. He barely cared when he was in high school. He just went to them because St. Elizabeth’s unofficial motto is “Give me popularity, or give me death.” Even Blair knows that. She remembers being at the Egans’ house on the night Luke graduated, talking to anyone who would listen about how he was so thrilled not to go to parties anymore. Chris even made a joke about how most guys look forward to college parties.

“But Luke is not most guys,” Eliza says as she drives to a party at Bridget Latorre’s house. “He’s different, he’s better, he’s always been better.”

“Better’s not exactly how I’d put it,” Chris says from the backseat.

“Maybe not better,” Blair says. “But we do all agree that Luke has different priorities than other guys his age. Which, once again, leads me to say that he does not give a shit who you make out with at Bridget’s party!”

“Which we’re not even invited to, by the way,” Chris says.

“We’ll sneak in,” Eliza says. “And I just have to make sure the right people see me. And I have to choose the right guy to make out with to appropriately piss him off. Does Luke still hate Tall Steve? I don’t think Tall Steve is into me, but in the right lighting, maybe.”

“This is insane,” Blair says. “You’re channeling your mother.”

“Maybe, but I don’t know what else to do. Luke thinks he can just come around here with some older woman he met in college …”

“He literally can,” Chris says. “This is his home.”

“Well, he didn’t need to parade that he got everything he wanted!”

Eliza turns up the volume on the radio. It’s that stupid Divinyls song. Blair can’t help how much it makes her blush. Just the thought of Chris is enough to make her turn bright red these days, but hearing this song while he’s in the backseat … it’s not even on the nose. It’s more literal than that. She draws in a breath and turns around to look at him.

Damn.

Maybe Chris is only attractive to her, except for that flicker of a moment last year when Eliza confused her crush on Luke for a crush on Chris. But she’s pretty sure he’s just cute. His thick dark hair, his laughing brown eyes, the freckles on the bridge of his nose … those send her to a different planet. She wishes she could lean over and kiss him, like he kissed her once in the seventh grade (and again, a little deeper, two years later, and again, a little deeper still, three months ago). But she couldn’t. Chris always pretends like their most recent romantic gesture will be their last one. Tell that to this past Christmas, when he kissed her under the mistletoe in the Egans’ kitchen, just to say he did.

He smiles at her, and she wants to lose her mind.

“Hi,” Blair says.

“Hey,” Chris says. “You know I’m not gonna tell Luke about any of this, right?”

“Absolutely.”

“But we’re still going.”

Blair sighs. She looks over at Eliza, who appears to be speeding down the highway. Life suddenly feels a lot like one of those terrifying driver’s training videos.

“She’s determined,” she says. “You know how she gets.”

Chris laughs, and Blair’s stomach does cartwheels. She clenches her thighs together, too, just for good measure.

When they get to the party, no one notices they’ve snuck in. The hormones are too heavy in the air. No one is even breathing. It’s a room of people eating off each other’s faces. Even Amy’s in the corner with some guy Blair can’t quite focus on, but it’s enough to make Chris want to vomit. Eliza scans the room for anyone who’s available.

“There’s Tall Steve,” she says. “By the fridge. I’m gonna make my move and hope that the fridge light works for me.”

She locks her arms at her sides and marches to the kitchen. Chris laughs again, and Blair’s stomach continues to flip around and tie itself in impossible knots. She can’t believe he hasn’t noticed. Her knees wobble a little bit, and Chris steadies her without even knowing.

“I didn’t think this kind of thing was real,” he says. “I just thought Luke and Amy were making it up.”

“Guess not,” Blair says. “World’s most PG-13 orgy, where everyone is wearing clothes, and no one wants to insert themselves, all puns intended.”

“Yeah, no kidding. Think Caligula would be ashamed?”

“Oh, absolutely. Dionysus, too.”

“Get Bacchus while you’re there.”

“They’re the same.”

“Yes, but they don’t want you to know that. I haven’t decided who is whose imaginary friend, though.”

“Well, they’re both imaginary.”

“Again, that’s what they want you to think.”

Blair laughs. Chris has always been funny, but the more he reads, the cleverer he gets (and the harder to resist he becomes). She thinks about the few times the two of them have kissed. They’ve been nice kisses. Tender and sweet. But at seventeen, Blair is sick of tender and sweet. She needs something more, something better, something … like what she sees here. Her stomach ties itself into even more absurd knots.

“I think we should try making out,” she blurts.

Chris turns to her like she’s out of her mind.

“Like, when?” he asks.

“Right now.”

“With each other?”

“Well, there aren’t really too many available bodies around. Looks like you’re my first choice, and I’m yours.”

Chris sighs. He looks around the room and tries to find an open space. There are bodies all around them, and if they noticed Chris Egan and Blair Donnelly here, the whole room would turn cold.

“I mean, there’s no space,” Chris points out the obvious.

“There could be.”

Chris nods. His eyes flicker toward the stairs. He reaches for Blair’s hand, and his touch is so warm against her constantly frigid skin.

“Shit, Blair,” he says. “Are you dead? Why are you so cold?”

“I don’t know,” Blair says. “I feel hot.”

“Well, you’re not. Come on.”

“Where are we going?”

“Bridget Latorre humiliated me in front of our entire school by nominating me for sophomore homecoming prince last year.”

He leads Blair up the stairs, and her legs feel like jelly.

“So?” Blair asks.

“So, I think she can lend me her bed for a little while.”

Blair’s stomach jumps again. Her palms get sweaty, and she prays to God that Chris doesn’t notice or care. They get upstairs and look around for Bridget’s bedroom. Sure enough, there it is – door wide open, revealing discarded bottles of Pepsi, a pizza box she’d almost surely pretend not to recognize, and posters of Marky Mark and Luke Perry.

“Home sweet home, I guess,” Chris says.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Blair says, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. “It’s kind of nice if you’re into … anything Bridget appears to be into.”

Chris shrugs. He smacks his hands together like he’s getting started on a group project he knows he’ll have to do all the work for. Blair wonders why you can’t stop who you love.

“OK,” Chris says. “I guess I’ll get on top of you, right?”

He motions to grab her around the waist, but Blair throws up her hands to stop him.

“Are you insane?” she asks. “Not yet! Those things need to be … negotiated, you know? Figured out as time goes on.”

“I thought that’s what I was doing.”

“No, you were jumping the gun. You’re not even … look, we’re trying to figure this out, right? What makes this work for people?”

“Yeah.”

“And most people … you know … they might put on music.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“No.”

“We are in Bridget Latorre’s room. Do you think she has any music either of us would want to listen to? At any time?”

“She has music! And we just need something. It shouldn’t … look, if we do this right, the music shouldn’t be what we pay attention to, anyway.”

Chris raises his eyebrows at her, and her stomach drops again. She draws her knees to her chest and thinks about disappearing. But if she disappears, she won’t get to make out with Chris, and that’s … that’s the idea, isn’t it? For the experiment?

She’s even lying to herself.

“I’m starting to think maybe this isn’t an experiment,” Chris says.

“Well, tough, because it is,” Blair says. “It’s just one we want to get right. If that means we end up having a little bit of fun, then I think we’re successful. You know what I mean?”

Chris lets a slow smile spread out across his face. For a second, Blair thinks maybe it’s because he wants to kiss her, too. He walks over to Bridget’s stereo and searches for the right tape.

“About … 90% of this is terrible,” he says, thumbing through cassette after cassette. “OK. Here. This will be fine.”

“Do I get a say?” Blair asks.

“No, this one is a surprise. Gotta let a man surprise a woman every now and then. Write that down. Important, unsung part of the experiment.”

Blair giggles. She lies flat on her back and looks up at the ceiling, which Bridget has littered in plastic glow-in-the-dark stars. Must be a real treat for the guys she brings in here, and by a real treat, Blair means a nightmare.

But nothing is a nightmare so long as she is here with Chris, and he is so adorable.

She hears him messing around with the stereo for a little while before he gets to the song he wants. 

Well, I came by your house the other day / your mother said you went away …

Blair sits up to look at Chris, who is walking straight at her, almost like he wants to get this over with. She can’t help it. She throws her head back and laughs.

“What?” Chris asks.

“It’s just … ‘Bobby Jean?’”

“It’s a good song. You like this song, if I’m not mistaken.”

Blair blushes. Chris is not mistaken. She likes Springsteen in general, even though he’s not really cool with normal kids anymore. But she likes this song because it reminds her of Chris, and surely he knows that. Is that why he picked it? Is he sending her a message?

He would never do that.

“It’s fine,” Blair says. “Just … come here, would you?”

Chris meets her on the bed. He wraps his arms around her waist, and before his lips connect with hers, Blair can feel her knees go weak. She opens up to hold more of him, just a little more, just a little closer. She cannot believe he chose “Bobby Jean” for this moment.

But when he kisses her, her hypothesis turns out correct. She doesn’t care what’s on the radio. She only cares about him.

The first few kisses are normal. Closed mouths. Chaste. Blair’s heart starts to race. Do they have to talk about it? When they’re going to open their mouths and let each other in? Will it be difficult? Will she bite his tongue off? Will he bite off hers? She thinks about how Bridget’s bed would look like a massacre, how people would scream. They’d never stop talking about the time Blair Donnelly lost her virginity at a party she wasn’t even invited to. Worst of all, they wouldn’t even be right.

As it turns out, they didn’t have to say anything. She just opens her mouth, he opens his, and it’s easy.

Easy doesn’t even begin to cover it, actually. It’s good. Maybe neither of them has ever done this before, but it doesn’t seem to matter. Blair thinks she’d know if it was bad. Every part of her feels electric. She feels his hand on the small of her back, and she squeals.

“You OK?” Chris mutters against her chin.

“Yeah,” Blair says. “Just … kiss me a little more.”

He keeps kissing her, and she feels like she’s going to burst out of herself. She grabs a fistful of his shirt and wonders where the night will take them now. Feels way too good to stop here. He nips at her ear, and she laughs.

“Bad?” he asks.

“No,” she says. “Fun.”

“I can do it again.”

“Please.”

He does. And then he nips at her other ear, and her neck, and moves back to her lips again. They’re at it long enough for Blair’s back to get tired, so she flips around to straddle Chris’s lap. He grabs the small of her back and looks in her eye like he forgot something.

“Hey, Blair?”

“Yeah?”

“How long … how long are we supposed to do this?”

“Hmm … I think you’re supposed to let me know.”

“How the fuck would I know?”

Blair glances down at him to find … nothing.

She’s not sure if she’s pissed off or shocked. She just keeps asking herself how? They’ve been here so long, they’re already halfway through “Glory Days.” Speaking for herself, she’s beyond ready, and she’s the girl. She knows it doesn’t do any good to be mad at him. It’s not his fault. It’s not hers, either, but that’s how she’ll take it. Blair takes everything personally.

“So concludes the experiment,” she says, climbing off his lap.

“Why?” Chris asks. “That was fun. I was having fun.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah. Couldn’t you tell?”

Blair inhales. She’s not a crier, but nobody brings the tears out of her like Chris Egan does. She smooths out her skirt and swallows hard.

If only.

“I guess so, for a little while,” Blair says. “I was having fun, too.”

“I know,” Chris says. “So, maybe … I don’t know. Do you wanna talk?”

Blair shakes her head.

“Not right now.”

“Oh. OK. Uh … hey, uh … you still like me? I’m sorry. I know how that sounds. It’s just … this is what they warn you about when you’re straight and your best friend’s a girl.”

“Yes,” Blair says. “I still like you. I just … I have to go to the bathroom.”

“OK. I’m gonna try to find Eliza. See if she’s come to her senses.”

Blair snorts. She wishes Chris could hear himself. Come to her senses. That’s what she wanted to do, and she wanted to do it with him.

“You do that.”

Blair leaves the room and runs straight to the bathroom, so fast there’s no way anyone could ever see her. She locks herself in and stares at herself in the mirror. Lipstick smeared, hair matted up in the back, the faint outline of her best friend’s teeth on her neck. Apparently, he confused “Let’s try making out” for “Let’s try to summon the ghost of Bram Stoker.” She can’t help laughing to herself, right there, in the bathroom mirror.

Doesn’t take long for her to start crying, too.

Right there, in the bathroom mirror.

[thisonesforyoubestie]

Smut Is a Must: Smutty Adrian Chase Head cannons - Part 6

A/N: Welcome back besties! Sorry for no posts yesterday, works been crazy so I didn’t have time to prewrite anymore and I had so. much. homework. due. Was crying inside a little, not gonna lie. Anyway, enough about me we’re gonna have some fun today as an apology for not posting yesterday. 

Warnings: smut (as always), fingering, rough sex, gags and shit, dom!adrian, just some kinda yummy kinky shit tbh

Enjoy besties!!

-You and Adrian arrive back to headquarters before everyone else.

-Adrian had been out as Vigilante when you had found him. Something had been... off. 

-You were worried. 

-He was tense, his answers to you were clipped. Something had happened but it was obvious that he didn’t want to talk about it.

-When you arrived at homebase he didn’t say anything when he got out of the car and went inside.

-You followed him inside just for him to start pacing. You knew there was some internal conflict going on and you hated seeing him like this, so you asked if he was okay.

-His only response was a low chuckle, as he swept his eyes over you in a deliciously slow movement. 

-You called his name again before he acted.

-His lips collided with yours so fast it almost hurt.

-He swallowed the sweet sounds of you as you cried out, bringing your legs around his waist when his hands gabbed at your thighs urging you up.

-His was bruising, so hard it seemed like he was afraid i’d disappear if he let go.

-”You’re mine. No one else’s”

-You didn’t know where his fear came from but without a beat you answered him, telling him you’re his and only his.

-He started moving up the stairs and into one of the little rooms. I only understood why when I heard the front door of the office open while our door was swinging shut.

-He locks the door before setting you on an old desk.

-He doesn’t even bother to take off his suit all the way, simply sliding down his pants and his briefs, letting you see his dick in its entirety.

-He makes quick work of your pants as well as you brace your arms behind you, spreading your legs for him.

-you’re suprised when he rips your panties from you, inspecting them between his fingers.

-”Such a good little whore for me, look at your cunt so wet for me already.”

-He stuffs your soaked panties between his teeth, a muffled groan falling from his lips, before he pumps his fingers into you. 

-You try to stifle your moans, your head falling onto his shoulder as you bite down.

-”We don’t have a lot of time. Do you remember your safeword, princess?”

-You barely gasp out your safeword, honeydew, before he’s pounding into you, fast and unrelenting.

-You’re face stays barried in Adrian’s shoulder, if the suit wasn’t there to cover him you would probably have broken his skin with how hard you were holding on

-Even as he pounded into you, distorting your senses you could hear the rest of the team arriving downstairs, setting up shop. 

-You would never admit it to anyone but the thrill of getting caught... almost made you wetter, needier for Adrian.

-It was like your thoughts were coming true when you heard the footsteps coming up the stairs.

-You barely get out a rushed “Adrian-” before he’s shoving your panties, covered in you and adrian’s mouth, into your mouth.

-It was a sensation you never knew you needed until that very moment.

-Adrian pounding slowed only slightly as the door handle started to jiggle, the locked door unbudging.

-Leota called out your guys’ name as she tried to open the door again.

-”I’ll be out in a minute Leota.”

-It’s the fact that he’s able to answer her with little less than a stutter that makes you decide to reach around and cup his balls with you hand before giving a light stroke. He’s barely able to cover his moan as he glares at you.

-”Can you just grab the file on that butterfly on the way down? We need it for a team meeting.”

-His response is little more than a groan as we hear her walk down the stairs again. That’s when his pace becomes relentless.

-Every time he snapped his hips to yours, he filled you to the hilt. His unrelenting pace bringing blinding white pleasure to the surface as you finally, finally cum.

-It’s good that you’re still gagged by your panties, if you had been at home, you think your scream of pleasure would have carried for two blocks.

-He’s quick to follow, jerky thrusts taking over until he stops, taking the panties from your mouth.

-His breathing mixes with yours as he kisses you deeply, much more sweetly than before.

-”what happened?”

-It took him a second to respond but then he tells you that someone had seen you two together and said that they’d take you away from him. That they’d take of you better than he could, love them better. That no one could love him. That he’s a psychopath.

-You’re quite for a second before you kiss him again, soft, gentle, sweet... safe.

-“I could never love anyone the way I love you, Adrian. You’re my home.”

Bonus:

Leota: Adrian was upstairs, he sounded a little breathless. He said he’d bring down the file when he’s done.

Economos: What is he doing up there?

Harcourt: *Just walking in* Has anyone seen Y/N?

*Everyone share’s a look*

Chris: Oh, those little shits are so fucking up there.

*A bang comes from upstairs*

Murn: I need a new team.

[niqhtlord01]

Halo Kart!  Now with Red vs Blue audio lines! Sarge: We're in first place! Griff: We're in second idiot! Sarge: *Cocks shotgun* Not for long bucko! -------------- Grif: Why the hell are we going five miles an hour!? Simmons: Slow and steady wins the race. Grif: That is the exact opposite of what you should be doing! Grif: Do you know nothing of how racing works!?!? ------------------------ Doc: You know we would be winning if you didn’t keep crashing into people.   O’Malley: How else am I to feel their bones being crush beneath these wheels? O’Malley: Muahahahahaahahahah!  Doc: I’m going to sign us up for some more therapy sessions when we finish.  O’Malley: Ask for Brenda, I like the cookies she gives us afterwards.  -------------------------

Grif: Step on it Lopez! They’re right behind us! Lopez: *in Spanish* Don’t worry, I was a illegal part runner for the robot cartel between seasons.  Lopez: *In Spanish* Replacing bodies is not cheap. Grif: Damnit Lopez, now is not the time to want to pickup some tacos! Lopez: *Angrily flips the car*  ----------------------------- Caboose: Ah Sheila, I think we should be going faster. Sheila: *Main cannon fires at nearby racer*  Caboose: Also not exploding the other racers.  Sheila: Oh Caboose.  Sheila; If there are no other racers, then that means we win.  Caboose: You know I never thought about it like that.  Sheila: *Fires again*  Grif: *In distance* My leg! ------------------------ Church: Tucker I swear to god, if you hit another rock in the road I will come up there and break your legs! Tucker: It’s not my fault! Tucker: Who the hell thought it was a good idea to put a race track next to an active volcano?  Tucker: There’s fucking rocks and lava everywhere! Church: Wait, did you say la- *Pair hit another rock and are thrown into river of lava* -------------------------------- Carolina: Reminds me of the first mission we went on together.  Tex: I won that one as well.  Carolina: You didn’t win!  Carolina: You just came in at the end and stole the- Tex: *Passes Carolina at last second and wins race*  Carolina: Son of a bitch! ---------------------------- Felix: Learn to drive old man! Wyoming: I’m British!  Wyoming: We always drive on the left side of the road! Felix: Yeah, and right into oncoming traffic!  --------------------------- Caboose: My bug man.  Locus: Its Locus.  Caboose: Yeah, is there a reason why we are always in last place until the end? Locus: I love the thrill of the challenge to reach the front of the pack at the very end.  Caboose: Oh.  Caboose: *Whispers* It’s not because you don’t know how to drive, is it?” Locus: *silence*  Caboose: It’s okay, I don’t know how to either.  Locus: Tell anyone and I’ll throw you off a cliff. ---------------------------- Doyle: Huzzah!  Doyle: What a thrill it is to be driving for a change instead of driven!  Dr. Grey: *Clutching on for dear life* Speak for yourself! -------------------------- Simmons: Santa do something; we’re losing!  Santa: Activating tower of procreation.  Simmons: Not that! Simmons: Not that!!!! Simmons: NOT THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!! -------------------------- Grif: Nothing smells as good as victory. Tucker: Are you shitting me?  Tucker: We came in second to last place. Grif: But we still beat sarge, and that’s always a win in my book. ------------------------ Meta: *Grunts*  Washington: What’d you say?  Omega: He said it would be easier if we just ran the racers off the road.  Washington: How the hell did you get all of that out of a single grunt?! ----------------------- Simmons: Anyone seen Donut?  Simmons: I haven’t seen him since the second lap.  Sarge: He ran off the map and is being chased by an angry cloud god.  Simmons: How can you tell?  Sarge: If you listen closely you can still hear his cries of despair.  *In the distance* Donut: *High pitch screaming* 

[wint3r-h3art]

hey. uhm... ya girl is going through a very bad self esteem phase rn sooo you don't have to but if inspiration hits you and if you feel like it just anything with shang chi and a chubby reader would be nice. thanks.

Home for the Holiday | Shangqi x chubby!Reader

Summary: Holiday season can be tough, and you're not that thrill to go home for it. Shangqi is not here for your negative thoughts and he reassure you that he always there for you.

Warning: self deprecating thought, negative body image thought.

Word count: 562

A/N: I hope this do you justice. Again, this is a short but sweet drabble as i'm trying to get back into my writing groove. Your comments and reblogs are greatly appreciated.

The holiday season has always been hard.

Especially when you get to see people that are not–well so nice to be around. It’s the 1 day out of 364 days out of the year that you get to see your relatives that just can’t mind their own damn business. And this year is going to be a bit different because you’re bringing home your boyfriend to meet your parents and well your extended family for the first time.

On the way to your parents' house, you can already feel the anxiety bubbling up. You know that aunt and her husband are going to say something about it. They always do, especially with your weight and the way you look. The fact that your secretly Avenger boyfriend just happens to be breathtakingly gorgeous too, they are going to have a field day with you.

“You ok, babe?” Shangqi asks, squeezing your hand slightly with his free hand while the other is on the steering wheel. He briefly glances at you before his gaze diverts back to the road. He can sense your uneasiness as you sit there quietly on the passenger side of the car.

“Y-Yeah, fine. I’m just dreading seeing everyone.”

“Why?”

“Well, just look at me.”

Shangqi briefly looks at you. His expression is filled with confusion before he turns back to look at the road. “Yeah, and what about it?”

“Babe…”

“What?”

“Look at me and look at you. We’re not even—”

“Hold on is this what I think this is?” he asks before he signals the car to the breakdown lane and quickly parks the car. Shangqi is staring at you now with such an intense look in his eyes that you’re quite unsure if he’s mad or something else. “Are you trying to say what I think you’re trying to say to me right now?”

“Shangqi, I–”

“Sometimes it really frustrates me that you don’t see what I see in you. I’ve never met anyone as kind and as sweet and considerate as you, and it literally breaks my heart to watch you do and say the meanest thing about yourself. You’re literally so fucking gorgeous and I don’t understand why you can’t see it. Even that night that I asked for your number, I literally almost shit myself because I was so tongue-tied when I see you…”

His words seem to stir something in you that you cannot help but start to sob. Shangqi reaches out to you and gently wipes the tears away. “I know some people suck, and family is hard to ignore, but lemme tell you something, baby girl. I won’t let anything happen to you, I promise. I will always be here and love every inch of your skin. You hear me?”

You nod, clearly speechless and just a sobbing mess at his words.

“And honestly, if they wanna say something, they better fucking hope they have earplugs tonight,” he smirks slightly as he bites his bottom lip looking at you with a glint of mischief. “Gonna fuck you so good that the whole neighborhood knows my name.”

“Shangqi! Behave!” You smack his chest as you giggle in between your sobbing.

“If they are….but that ain’t gonna stop me,” he winks at you before giving your thigh a slight squeeze. “I love you,” he says before he leans in and kisses you.

[happytroopers]

crosshairs fic idea: reader is gossiping with coworkers (maybe medics idk) about who the most attractive clone is and reader mentions crosshair and he somehow finds out and teases her

Teasing // Crosshair x reader

“It’s definitely Captain Rex. ” Tula, a Rodian nurse from the 212th, stated decidedly. You giggled into the shitty GAR rationed caf.

“That’s just cause your into blondes.” You teased, content with the rounds of chuckles at the mess hall table as Tula’s teal cheeks blushed blue.

“I still don’t know why we’re having this conversation, they’re clones, they all look the same! Thats like the whole thing.” Rys groaned uncomfortably, the only man at the table of civilian enlistments. It was rare for some many of your friends to be in the same place at the same time- but medical staff and engineering alike, every six months after your first deployment civilian enlistments were shipped back to Coruscant for a week long training refresher.

“You can’t say that, it’s rude!” Tula slapped his arm, eyebrow ridges furrowing over her galaxy eyes. He held his hands up in surrender.

“Yeah Rys, we won’t assume you’re any less straight if you admit that Wolffe is clearly the most attractive.” Raina grinned, her peach colored lekku twitching at the thought of the commander. You considered the idea but shook your head as other names got thrown around.

Kix, Fives, Bly, Keeli, Cody, and a couple other names you didn’t quite recognize the names of were tossed around the table. Haircuts, scars, tattoos, personality all became deciding factors as you at your dinner, occasionally chiming in to tease your friends.

“Ok then, who do you think the hottest soldier is?” An engineer from some outer moon data post asked after you teased her for her choice- Tup, a younger soldier in the 501st that you hadn’t met since your transfer to Clone Force 99.

You held your hands up, ready to evade the question. But Raina interjected, a challenging look on her face. You’d gone through academy with the peachy colored twi-lek and her sharp tongue was almost faster than her flying. You knew that look, and it didn’t bode well.

“If you don’t answer, I’ll tell every trooper I see all week that you said it was them.” She threatened with a smirk that said she already knew she had won. The smirk grew to a grin when you let out a defeated sigh.

“Well, in my own personal opinion, that Crosshair is the most attractive man we work with.” You admitted quietly. An honest answer on your part, you did think he was attractive even if you’d never say it to his face. Immediately, several pairs of disbelieving eyes landed on you.

“What? He doesn’t even count!” Rys pointed an finger at you to emphasize his point, “he doesn’t even look like the other clones!”

You shrugged as Tula slapped the back of his head again, her voice scolding as she hissed, “You can’t say that either!”

Then she looked at you, “Really though? He’s meaner than a burned gundark.”

“He’s scary.” Raina nodded.

“He’s an ass.” Another one of the 212th enlistments echoed from down the table. You’d forgotten that a few of the units they were assigned to probably had worked with Clone Force 99 at some point. Nevertheless, suddenly, you felt a need to defend the sniper who had finally become what you’d consider a friend.

“Ok, so it takes a while to get to know him, but...” you started, thinking of all the amazing qualities no one else saw because they weren’t with him all the time, “he’s loyal to a fault, really funny, always pulls me out of sticky situations and usually manages to keep me out of them to begin with, once you get to know him and how he is, you see how much he cares about his-“

“Ok, sure,” Raina cut you off, clearly not believing the cold eyed sniper could care about anything or anyone. She paused to pitch her voice up, flutter her eyelashes, and clasp her hands beside her face like a cartoon princess, “we don’t know him like you do~”

She interrupted herself with a snicker before she continued in her normal voice, “and all that bantha crap, but this is about attractiveness. What makes him hot? And don’t give me any of this, personality is all I look at shit.”

“And if I tell you, you’ll leave me alone?” You asked, though it was more of a demand. Tula nodded, she had always been a little boy crazy, and was dying to hear the scoop. You sighed again, hoping your cheeks weren’t too flushed, “fine, He’s very unique looking, in all the best ways. He’s very tall and lean, but crazy built. I’m into the silver hair, and believe it or not, under the armor that man has the best ass you’ll ever see.”

Tula was leaning on the table, giggling wildly at the juicier bits of you description. Raina had leaned back in her seat, and rolled her eyes, “To each their own, I suppose.”

Fortunately for you, the conversation switched to complaining about to the soldiers that were in charge of your training. There was a rumor the Fox used “civilian training” as punishment for his men when they earned a reprimand. It made sense, all the Coruscant guardsmen that were tasked with running drills with you weren’t exactly thrilled to be there. As if any of you were either.

“Yeah, I definitely don’t understand that attitude. We get it, you don’t want to be here, neither do we, but we are so let’s just get it over with- with out the..... are you even listening?” You were in the middle of your tangent when it was clear none of your group was listening to you. Instead there were all staring over your head with varying looks of slight fear, curiosity, and overall disdain. Tula was the one who attempted to subtly point behind you. At first you feared it was one of the troopers in charge of your training, so you quickly turned around with a forced apologetic look on your face.

To your surprise, you found Crosshair. Helmet free, as usual he had a toothpick between his teeth as he gave your group an appraising sweep. He had the same look on his face that he did when he was sizing up ‘the regs’- until he got to you. It took a year for him to stop looking at you that way, but his slight sneer eased out to neutral-which when it came to the sniper, it might as well have been an ear to ear grin.

“Crosshair! What are you doing here?” You asked, turning around in your seat. In addition to his sudden appearance, just his president was slightly confusing. Typically, Hunter would come himself, or send Tech- all to avoid a potential fight. Your training mates looked slightly bewildered at the amicable exchange.

“Springing you. We’ve got an assignment.” He shrugged after plucking the toothpick from between his lips. Like a true creature of habit, he started twirling the stick between his fingers. You quirked an eyebrow motioning to the other civilians.

“You can’t ‘spring me’, it’s GAR regulation for me to do this training refresher.” You reminded him, he rolled his eyes- but you weren’t sure if his disdain was for your use of air quotes or just disdain for GAR regulation in general. With any member of the Bad Batch, it was usually general disrespect for the rules. You gave him a look before continuing, “I still have three more days.”

“Is it really training? You could run circles around anyone here, especially them.” He drawled as he nodded his head over his shoulders at the table of red painted troopers who were eyeing him in distrust. Your eyes went a little wide, was that a compliment? And then you ducked your head at the offended glares of your table. In an effort to prevent a fight, you stood quickly before letting him lead you off.

“They’re aren’t gonna let me leave, Crosshair.” You reminded him, looking up to meet his eyes. He smirked a bit, setting his eyes forward.

“How are they gonna stop us?” He challenged, dropping his smile to glare at a passing trooper.

“Well, ion cannons come to mind.” You mused before clearing your throat, “You guys could always go with me, you went on plenty of missions before you got stuck with me. It be like the good ole days.”

He didn’t laugh at your joking tone, but shook his head, “You’re one of us, you stay with us”

You were stunned to silence for a second, despite your friendship he’s never referred you you as ‘one of them’. Heat rose to your cheeks as you exited the corridor into a lift, so Crosshair diffused the tension.

“Mission takes precedence over regulations. When have we been know to follow the rules, anyways.” He mused, swiping his ID card so the lift would let you out in the hangar. He relaxed a bit when you snorted a laugh before he continued on, “Besides, how can pull you out of sticky situation if you’re on a different planet?”

You froze in your spot, stomach dropping and cheeks flaring with red hot embarrassment; you had forgotten the cardinal rule of working with Crosshair.

If you didn’t have eyes on Crosshair, Crosshair definitely had eyes on you. And in this case, apparently ears as well.

“Ok, look-“ you started, hoping to ease your embarrassment, but all of the excuses you could come up with fell flat before they made it out of your mouth. Fortunately, the lift door slid open, allowing you to escape before you could further your embarrassment.

Crosshair actually chuckled out loud, long legs easily traipsing past you as he headed towards the Havoc Marauder. Momentarily, he twisted around to walk backwards, pointing his toothpick towards you, “Don’t worry, your ass is almost as good as mine.”

[makeste]

but I just feel too tired to be fighting

this is a follow-up post to what I said in my recap the other day about this arc being the Deku Angst arc, as opposed to the Villain Hunt arc or the Deku SIXQUIRKS Exhibition arc. I feel like the fandom discussion tends to focus on the flashier parts of the chapters -- the sexy villains and the new quirk reveals and the Shindous -- each week, and so the quieter emotional beats sometimes get overlooked, especially since the character arc here is playing out in little bits and pieces over time rather than all at once.

this has always been a very reactionary fandom, and there’s a tendency to judge the chapters week to week without ever going back to look at how they all fit into the big picture. so I figured I would try to attempt that, and basically go chapter by chapter here to look at what exactly Horikoshi is setting up and how it all fits together.

so let’s start with the end of chapter 306, which is when the arc officially kicks off. specifically with the very last page:

this is imo one of the best pages Horikoshi has ever drawn. I got the sense that this was a scene he’d had in his mind’s eye for quite a long time, and that he was excited to finally get to this part of the story. it’s extremely effective as both a chapter-ender, and an arc-opener. like, look at this:

it establishes the initial premise of the new arc -- the world is in chaos, and Deku is now seemingly on his own

it leaves the readers with a number of questions. why did Deku leave U.A.?? is he really on his own now?? why does he look so beat-up and exhausted?? what is he up to?? what is the world like now that all these villains have been unleashed and the heroes have been decimated?? and most importantly of all, what the fuck is going to happen next??

it pays homage to some of Horikoshi’s comic book influences -- Batman in particular

it dramatically hits us with that “THE FINAL ACT BEGINS” and lets us know that shit is getting real now

that’s some good shit. so much so that I think people tended to overlook the other notable thing about this page amidst all of the initial excitement and discussion and speculation about where the series was headed. and that is the fact that the final panel in this chapter is NOT the panel of Deku standing above the city. the very last panel, the one that this chapter actually ends on, is instead the close-up of Deku’s face. his face, which is covered in shadow; and his eyes, which have dark circles under them and are prominently missing the usual flecks of light that give him his signature “sunny optimistic shounen protagonist” look.

not to mention this last line here, which is a call back to the very first time we saw the 14-year-old Deku way back in chapter one.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Horikoshi chose to throw this reference in. nor is it a coincidence that THIS is the scene he actually chose to end the chapter on. what this does is show us the drastic shift in Deku’s emotional state of mind, and his attitude towards being a hero. he’s gone from being thrilled and excited to being jaded and exhausted. he’s matured, but at a great cost. it’s always been his dream to be a hero, but “be careful what you wish for” is a popular adage for a reason. and right now he looks the furthest thing from happy.

and this is the emotional beat that Horikoshi chooses to end the chapter on. this is the panel that closes out the War arc, and begins the final act. to me the message could not be clearer -- this arc will be about the exploration of Deku’s character, and his struggle as he tries to live up to the expectations that have been placed on him as the Last Holder of OFA and quite possibly the World’s Only Hope.

it’s a character arc that builds on a lot of the things we’ve already learned about Deku over the course of the series, such as the fact that he is reckless, and that he focuses on others often at the expense of himself. but more importantly, it’s an arc that finally expands on the dark side of what has up until now been a net positive for Deku -- the power of OFA. up until this point, despite its ups and downs, it’s been a boon for Deku overall and has allowed him to pursue his dream. but now we’re finally reaching the point where the monkey’s paw part of the OFA blessing/curse finally starts to come into play. OFA gives Deku more power than he could have ever dreamed of, but it also comes with a built-in destiny that he can’t opt out of whether he likes it or not. AFO is on the loose and out there trying to destroy the world. and now everyone has pinned their hopes on this sixteen-year-old kid, and the question of whether or not the sixteen-year-old kid is ready is apparently not one that anyone feels inclined to ask (possibly because they’re afraid that the answer might be “no”).

he doesn’t have a choice in the matter. he has to do it, because there’s no one else who can. that’s the kind of pressure that is on Deku now.

and on that note, we begin the Deku Angst arc.

chapter 307

this in hindsight was mostly just a set-up chapter to better establish the current state of the BnHA world at large (spoilers: it’s not good), while also providing an answer for one of the big initial questions of the arc -- namely, “what happened to all of those villains that AFO released from Tartarus?” these are important things to touch on, but the pacing could definitely have been better, and the bulk of the chapter was dedicated to providing fanservice to all of the Shindou fans who spammed the most recent popularity poll (which, whatever lol). anyway, so this was the sole chapter thus far with absolutely no Deku development. thankfully the arc picks up from there.

chapter 308

on to the next one! this was the one and only chapter thus far which I think actually qualifies as an “exhibition fight.” this was definitely all about showing off Deku’s current powerset, as well as introducing us to another of the SIXQUIRKS. however, there was Deku development here as well, most notably in this scene:

this is the scene that got a lot of people speculating that this arc was going to focus on Deku hunting down all of the old villains. but I think people got so caught up in that speculation that they overlooked what this scene tells us about Deku’s mindset. and yes, there is new information being revealed here, and it’s not just a rehash of the stuff we already knew. like yes, we know that Deku was shaken up by the recent encounters with Dabi and Tomura, and we know that made him start questioning why villains become villains in the first place, and all that good stuff, and that’s great. however, there are two additional important things that this scene helps establish for us.

the upcoming battle with TomurAFO is weighing heavily on Deku’s mind. this is something that will become a recurring theme in this arc. Deku is thinking about this constantly. the question of what to do when he finally encounters TomurAFO again is knocking incessantly at the back of his mind, and this won’t be the last time it comes up.

Deku is using these villain encounters as test runs. can Tomura be redeemed?? is he just being stupid and naïve?? or is this really something worth attempting?? the interesting thing about this is that Deku’s resolve to save people is usually so strong and unwavering that it’s more than enough to overcome any doubts that he might have. but this time it seems like the repeated objections posed by the Vestiges and Gran Torino have really gotten to him. it’s possible I’m just reading way too much into things, but to me it really feels like Deku’s recent attempts at Talk no Jutsu were meant to do more than just show his growing awareness that the line between heroes and villains is thinner than he once imagined. they’re also serving as trial runs for the real test, when it finally comes. if he can “save” even a villain like Muscular, there’s hope for him being able to save Tomura as well. and so that moment when Muscular rejects him out of hand is all the more disappointing to him, even if it wasn’t really unexpected. basically it wasn’t the answer that he had been hoping for.

aside from those little notes though, like I said, this was unquestionably an exhibition fight first and foremost. which is fine; we needed to establish where Deku is currently in terms of strength, and it was also just fun to see him kick some ass, ngl. in terms of story purpose this chapter was similar to 219, which showed us how Shouto and Katsuki had powered up after getting their provisional licenses. people who don’t care about those characters might argue that these fights weren’t necessary, but as someone who stans all three characters hard, I would disagree! but anyways, moving on.

chapter 309

in contrast to the previous chapter, this chapter focuses more on establishing Deku’s current mental state, as opposed to his physical state. and this is what we learn:

(1) Deku is ~technically~ being shadowed/accompanied by All Might and the Hawksquad (but in practice he’s avoiding them).

(2) it was Deku’s own decision to leave U.A., and he did it because he didn’t want anyone else getting hurt in order to protect him.

and finally, (3) Deku’s game plan is to stop Tomura and All for One before they reach full power.

this last part is very important, because it means there’s a countdown in effect. as far as Deku is concerned, there’s only a finite amount of time before TomurAFO becomes unstoppable. which means that he’s not only under “gotta get stronger” pressure, but time pressure as well. he doesn’t have the luxury of taking his time and training in safety. he’s being rushed now; this is do-or-die.

this chapter is also the first in this arc in which we get to see Deku’s expressions without the hood covering up his face, and what we see is very telling. as previously stated, the light is gone from Deku’s eyes. he keeps his expressions very neutral, and the only time we even see a hint of a smile is when he hugs his mom in the flashback, and it’s clear from the dialogue (“it’s okay, I’ll come home to you”) that he’s doing it for her sake in order to comfort her.

but aside from that, this is very much not the Deku we’ve grown accustomed to. this is the chapter that really establishes his current mental state imo. above all else, he’s afraid that more people will get hurt because of him, and so he’s distancing himself from everyone around him. and he’s also morbidly preoccupied with the inevitability of having to face TomurAFO again, and soon. the chapter ends on the flashback of Gran giving him his cape, and telling Deku that “killing can be another way to save someone.” there’s a lot on this kid’s mind, to say the least.

chapter 310

this chapter opens with a gang of civilians who are trying to open fire on a nice fox lady whose only crime was walking around in the rain at night. Deku intervenes to save her, and it’s the first time in this arc that we see anything close to the “old” Deku, who just wanted to save people with a smile.

but it’s bittersweet, because all the lady can talk about is how scared she was, and how horrible everything is right now. and so Deku, who feels responsible in a lot of ways for everything that’s happened, just feels that much more pressure to somehow make things right again.

there’s also this extra throwaway line which is especially heartbreaking:

“I can’t afford to be around anyone.” fucking ouch. just reinforcing once more how incredibly isolated Deku is right now -- not by choice, but because he feels like it’s not safe to let anyone else get close to him. and so he’s out here running around this dystopian cityscape in the middle of the night in the pouring rain all on his own, and neglecting himself to the point where All Might practically has to force a bento on him.

but does he complain? of course not. because his focus is never on himself. instead, when he settles down to eat, his thoughts immediately drift back to, guess who...

it’s that time pressure once again. “unless I draw out One for All’s full power, I can’t stop any of this.” it’s just nonstop, I have to get stronger, I’m running out of time, I have to do better, and constantly thinking about that inevitable confrontation.

Deku is a thinker, you guys. and when left to his own devices he will overthink, every time. his mind will run in endless loops while he mentally works his way through all of the possibilities. and that’s one of his greatest strengths, don’t get me wrong, but at a time like this it’s also one of his greatest weaknesses. it’s just so fucking easy for him to get stuck in his own head, in his endless rambling thoughts and analyses. and without anyone else there to help distract him, or help him focus, he’s become fixated on his mission, and it’s slowly consuming him.

this, incidentally, is also the chapter in which we finally see Two and Three’s faces, and learn why Two in particular is so reluctant to lend his power to Deku. he appears to be the lone holdout at this point, so stay tuned on that, because I don’t doubt this will wind up being crucial to Deku’s future development, however it winds up playing out.

chapter 311

this chapter flips back to the Hawksquad for the first half, so we get a brief respite from the ongoing Dekuangst. right before we switch back though, we do get confirmation of something we had pretty much already guessed:

like, that much was already apparent based on what we’d seen (the bags under his eyes; the fact that he refused to sit still in any one place for very long even at night), but it’s always nice to get the official confirmation so that people can’t dispute it lol. so yeah, Deku isn’t sleeping much. and not eating much either, if all he’s getting is the occasional bento from Dadmight. so basically not taking care of himself at all, huge shocker there. but this is something that’s important enough to the story that Horikoshi took the time to point it out in the dialogue, in addition to all of the visual clues we’d already gotten.

and just in case we needed to drive that point in any further, this chapter ends with the appearance of Lady Nagant! like yeah, no shit Deku isn’t getting much sleep, what with him having to fend off racist civilians and hired assassins every five fucking minutes. smdh. can he live??

chapter 312

so this is the chapter that properly introduces Lady Nagant, who maaaay or may not be one of the primary antagonists of this arc?? like, it’s really unclear right now tbh, but she gets hyped up by Hawks and AFO, and has a flashback and a mysterious past and a weird trump card (where did you go, Overhaul) and all that good shit, so yeah? one can hope at any rate.

but anyway. so to his credit, Deku’s first thought is to retreat, but he quickly abandons that plan once he figures out Nagant’s location. this is played off like a logical strategic decision at first, but the subsequent chapter quickly makes it clear that Deku’s decision to take the fight to Nagant is less rational than he might have you think.

chapter 313

so yeah. last but not least, the most recent chapter, in which Deku’s real reason for targeting Lady soon becomes apparent:

what’s more, it quickly becomes clear that he miscalculated and probably would have been better off following Hawks’s advice, seeing as he promptly gets himself shot, and subsequently realizes that AFO gave Nagant an extra quirk, something he hadn’t taken into account. but instead of cutting his losses and running at this point, he doubles down instead and not only breaks out Smokescreen, but also the Third’s quirk which he has never even used before.

it’s worth noting that both En and the Third start telling him to chill at this point, and warn him that what he’s attempting is too dangerous. but tbh if they were expecting him to listen, they haven’t been reading the same arc I’ve been reading. once again, Horikoshi makes it clear that Deku has one thing and one thing only on his mind right now.

of course. once again it all comes back to this. hunt down AFO. it doesn’t matter that he’s exhausted. it doesn’t matter that he’s just been shot twice. it doesn’t matter that Hawks, despite knowing what Deku was capable of with his OFA abilities, specifically warned him away from this one person only. it doesn’t matter that even the Vestiges are trying to tell him you’re going too fast and you’re trying to do too much and it’s too dangerous.

he just doesn’t care. long story short, the only thing that matters to Deku right now is tracking down and defeating TomurAFO. and as the person who knows him best once so aptly put it, “he doesn’t take himself into account.” and therein lies the major challenge of this arc.

and so this is where we’re currently at now. and this has been a very long post, but if nothing else, I hope I was able to get this one point across: there is absolutely no way that Deku will be able to defeat TomurAFO as he is now. not a chance in hell. somehow he’s managed the uncommon feat of waging a war of attrition against himself, which is really quite an accomplishment. he’s not taking care of himself, and he’s refusing to listen to sound advice from the people surrounding him, and is trying to skip ahead to the final boss battle before he’s ready, because the guilt and pressure from feeling responsible for the current situation are eating him up. the only way that the world can go back to normal is if he can defeat AFO; therefore he has to do it as soon as possible, because time is running out and everyone is counting on him. this is who Deku is. and this is what inevitably happens when his saving mentality is taken to extremes, and left unchecked.

anyway so to wrap up this post now, I do think this arc is a lot more cohesive than it’s gotten credit for thus far, and Deku is the glue holding it all together. I for one am loving the exploration of his character and all the subtle little angsty touches as we build up to the big moment, whenever it finally comes. just keep in mind though that if his decisions right now seem reckless and short-sighted, it’s because they’re supposed to seem that way, because Deku is not in a good mental state right now. the cracks are finally showing in our perfect protagonist, just like everyone has been wanting this whole time. he is just a kid. he is doing his best. he is trying far too hard to do his best, and it is hurting him so badly, but he doesn’t even realize. this arc is not an endorsement of the Angsty Nomad Hero lifestyle, lol. it’s the exact fucking opposite, and I think it’s being wildly misinterpreted with all of the emphasis on “oh look at that, he mastered another quirk with no effort”, as opposed to “oh look at that, he is shutting down emotionally and is a few more missed nights of sleep away from a complete and total breakdown.”

tl;dr the overarching storyline of this arc is all about Deku slowly falling apart due to his trauma from Jakku, and the subsequent pressure that was put on him by the Vestiges with their whole “GUESS WHAT, YOU’RE THE LAST USER OF OFA, THAT’S RIGHT, IT’S ALL ON YOU BUDDY” pep talk. and mark my words, things are not going to go according to plan. something is going to go terribly wrong here. whether it’s something happening to All Might, or AFO setting up a trap for him, either way Deku is being set up to fail in a major way. unless of course, someone (or a group of someones) manages to intervene first, and possibly stage an intervention or something. it’s what he needs right now, but idk if Horikoshi is going to make it that easy.

anyway, but in other words, the point of this arc is not to show how much stronger Deku has gotten and how he doesn’t even need his friends anymore. it’s the exact opposite -- the point of this arc is to show that Deku needs his friends now more than ever. that in spite of OFA and all of its mystical trappings and fancy SIXQUIRKS, Deku can’t do this alone. he needs his friends. that’s the core message. and right now, we are at the “I can get by on my own” part of the story. and the part we are all waiting for, but which is coming -- I guarantee it is coming, you guys -- is “the thing is, you don’t have to.”

and that shit is going to slap hard you guys. and I for one can’t wait. but until then, enjoy the angst.

[nightowlfandom]

Rich! Bad Boy!Min Yoongi- Try Me

Just wanna say if you see your name used here, I don’t have beef with you okay? I had a random name generator in another tab and just used the first name I saw.

Once again someone doesn’t want me to be great so....this might be the only post today because I....dunno I can’t post when I’m not in a good mood and its been real shitty.

CHECK OUT MY MASTERLIST HERE!!

X RATED PROMPT LIST| NON X RATED PROMPT LIST

RUN IN HERE AND COME GET Y’ALL JUICE

Leggo!

...

You were practically glued to his side. His arm was tightly wrapped around your waist as he led you across the room. You had perched your designer sunglasses on top of your head to get a clearer look at your surroundings. Why were you wearing sunglasses at night? Because you could, of course.

Your wore a backless floor length gown in one of his favorite colors. He had insisted you wear your fur coat, but you convinced him to let you leave it in the car. You were on full display, not only for him but for anyone else who thought that they had bought the most gorgeous date for the night. That title was forever and always reserved for Min Yoongi’s girl and tonight only proved it more and more. 

He walked with his held held high as if everyone around him was beneath him. His attired screamed ‘try me, bitch’ From his black suit and tie to crisp white dress shirt and shoes that were worth more than someone’s rent for five months. His hair was slicked back and while he didn’t bother to raise his own pair of shades, everyone could see the glare very evident on his face.

You two were the epitome of a power couple, in the most literal sense and everyone respected that.

“Mr. Min! Welcome!” a nervous and frantic looking man rushed up to you. “This must be your beautiful companion for the night.” he bowed repeatedly. So many times that you lost count. He held his hand out for you to take, but you were left to stare awkwardly. You had no idea what to do in that moment. After a second or two you held your hand out, which he shook a bit too aggressively.

Yoongi calmly used his free hand to raise his sunglasses up. “You gettin’ paid to rip my girl’s arm out its socket?”

“Oh! my apologies Mr. Min!” he instantly let your hand go. “I wasn’t aware.”

“You never are.” he scoffed, allowing his shades sit on the top of his head. “Is our table ready or did they send you here to waste our time?”

“You’re fashionably early! Your comrades haven’t arrived yet.” the host stammered. “Follow me!” he practically disappeared through the sea of people. 

“What a tool.” you spoke for the first time since you left the car. “I’ve never seen a bigger kiss-ass in my life.”

“Hm, trust me I’ve met worse. He’s just a dick-rider for the men who really own this place.” He leaned down and spoke into your ear. “Those guys will literally shit on someone else’s table if I tell them to.”

“How riveting.” you rolled your eyes playfully as he led you through the crowd. It was easy for people to get out of your way. One look from your boyfriend and they were hugged the nearest wall or throwing themselves against the various tables set up all over the place. “Remind me again why we’re here?”

“Don’t make that face.” He smirked. “I told you, official business.”

“And we couldn’t do that somewhere less...sleazy?” you scoffed at the old man with five different women on his arm. “Yoongi-”

“It’s only for a few hours.” he assured. “Then after that, we can do whatever you want, okay?”

“You said that last time.” you hid the pout forming on your face.

“You have my word.”

“Or so you say.” you slipped out of his grip. “Until you have more trash take out.” you shook your head as you walked ahead. Yoongi watched you from behind as you walked ahead. Of course you didn’t need him by your side to be considered intimidating. He bit his lip at the idea of ripping that dress off your body when you got back to the hotel. Shit, he might not even manage to keep his hands to himself in the car.

Yoongi joined you at the table. “ You feel like Soju tonight?”

“Depends on if you want me to start fighting or not.” you raised an eyebrow at Yoongi.

“Hm, on second thought how about imported beer.”

“This isn’t date night at your place, dear.” you replied jokingly.

“Hm, you’re right. It’s been a while since we’ve splurged. We can do wine tonight!” he chuckled in reply as you both sat down. Just as you both got settled, you were met by a small crowd. Yoongi’s friends, of course. 

“Oi! Watch how you handle my fucking jacket! It’s worth more than your life.” Namjoon snapped at that host.

“My apologies sir!”

“Yoongi, Y/N. Good to see you.” Seokjin shook Yoongi’s hand firmly. “Sorry we’re late.”

“We just arrived ourselves.” you replied, relaxing as Yoongi wrapped his arm around your waist again. “Yoongi insisted.”

“Of course he did.” Jungkook sat down. “I saw the other women glaring at you.” he laughed. “You sure know how to make an entrance.” he raised your hand to his lips for a short kiss to your knuckles.

“Of course she does. She’s the best looking woman here.” he huffed as if it was obvious. The host quietly bought the selection for the night.

“Wine for the lady, the usual for the rest of us.” Yoongi spoke for the table.

“Yes sir!”

Before anyone else could speak, a woman in a red dress and white fur coat strode up. “Yoongi? Is that you?”

“Meredith....fancy seeing you here.” Yoongi looked less than thrilled.

“Very!” she seemed a little too happy to see him. It was funny because you had never seen nor heard of this woman in your life. “So...I tried to call you.”

She was completely oblivious of you sitting right there and you didn’t like it.

“What are you doing here?” Seokjin annoyedly spoke up as his drink was poured. “If you couldn’t tell, we’re all trying to enjoy ourselves.”

“I just wanted to catch up with an old friend!” she put her hands up in defense. Her eyes suddenly landed on you. “Whose this?” she fixed her face in disgust

“Y/N L/N, who the fuck are you?” you raised an eyebrow. Your posture straightened up as she glared at you. You threw your sunglasses on the table, crossing your arms as you perked up.

“Are you Yoongi’s pet or something?” she put a hand on her hip. “ Guess they’ll let anyone in!”

“Pet? Oh Honey...Even if that were true it would still mean I’m sitting here and your standing there looking stupid....”

“Oh yeah. He’s probably waiting for the perfect moment to get rid of you!”

You held up a single hand to up Yoongi to signify that you didn’t want him to speak. He looked livid, however you didn’t see the point in him wasting his time or energy on this woman. You slowly stood up. The host held your glass of wine with shaky hands, unsure of what to do.

“Thank you.” you grabbed the glass from him. “Run along now.”

“Yes mam!” the scared host scurried off, obviously not wanting any confrontation. 

“Y/N, what are you doing?” Yoongi asked, watching you with weary eyes. You weren’t confrontational so this was a huge surprise.

“Meredith. That is your name, right?” you smiled sweetly. You took a sip from your glass. “Hm...What a darling coat! I bet it goes with anything.”

“Of course it does! It pairs best with red. I bought it in Paris...” she put a hand on her hip as if she was a model. “As you can see.”

“Too bad beautiful gowns and expensive fur doesn’t make the wearer any less cheap than the next bitch.” you instantly shut down the false sense of security you built for the disrespectful woman. 

“EXCUSE ME?!?”

“Not done yet....” you cleared your throat before speaking again. “ Whore, Pet, Wife ,Girlfriend, whatever you want to call me, go ahead but best believe my place in Yoongi’s life will always hold rank over you, my dear. You weren’t even important enough for him to tell me about you and we’ve been together for four years going on five as of two months from now.” You put your free hand on your hip. “That’s number one.” you laughed gleefully.

“Damn Yoongi, your girl has guts.” Namjoon whispered.

“That’s my babe.” Yoongi sat back and watched you drag Meredith for filth.

“Number Two! Before you try to feed me shit and call it sugar, make sure you take off the tags on your clothes.” You pointed to the obvious department store tag. “Clearance...nice. I also know fake diamonds when I see them, don’t play yourself.”

Nothing was wrong with fake gems, or clearance items...but pretending you were better than everyone else while lying...that wasn’t gonna go down.

The girl had went completely quiet now.

“Three. Last but not least. Get over this whole convoluted ‘I’m better than you’ ideals you follow because the same people you turn your nose up at are the same people who you rely on on a day to day basis. Shiny hair, expensive clothes, and a posse of fake friends who tell you everything you want to hear does not guarantee happiness. Insulting me because it gives you short lived joy does not guarantee happiness. Pretending you actually have any sense of class when it’s obvious you faked your way to the top of social stardom does not guarantee happiness.” you put your wine glass on the table. “So before I proceed to tell you to go fuck yourself and to stay away from me and my BOYFRIEND...any questions?”

Not even five seconds passed and this woman walked off without another word. You didn’t feel bad, not by a long shot. Respect is something that’s earned any ANYONE who didn’t understand that could get a piece of you.

You sat back down next to Yoongi, grabbing your wine again. “Gentlemen, forgive me for that outburst.”

“Damn babe.” Yoongi wrapped his arm around you again. “That was hot.”

“Good because I’m highly fucking livid right now.” you calmly took a sip of your wine. “Who was that woman?” you turned to glare at Yoongi.

“She was an actress who was paid to portray my wife for a business thing I was forced to do.” he shook his head. “Y/N I promise she means nothing to me. It was before we even met.”

“Good. Let another girl talk crazy to me, I’ll kill you both.” you said with a straight face. “Her for thinking she can talk to me any way she wants, and you for keeping things from me. I will cut you deep, sir.”

“Damn I love you.” he bit his lip. He turned your head towards himself to give you a deep kiss. 

...

As he had promised, he could barely keep his hands off you in the car. The minute the doors had shut, Yoongi had the hem of your dress bunched up in his fist. His lips feverishly laid open mouth kisses along your exposed neck. 

“Yoongi, we shouldn’t do this here.” you whimpered, even though your actions said the completely opposite.

“Why? No one is gonna stop me. They damn sure won’t say shit about it.” Yoongi stopped for a split second to turn a glare to the limo driver, who was trying very hard not to look in the rear view mirror. “PUT THE FUCKING DIVIDER UP.” he barked.

“Yes sir!!”

Yoongi pushed you down onto the seats, causing you to let out a laugh. The divider was put up and you could hear the sound of fabric ripping.

He had tore a rip up your dress.

“Goodbye $3,000 dress.” you huffed.

“More where that came from.” he laughed, which was quickly replaced with a sadistic smile. “Spread your legs, baby.” he pouted. “Daddy wants to finger you”

“In the car-"

 “When we get back to the hotel, I want you naked on that bed.” he growled. “If not, I’ll fucking rip whatever you have left off.”

... (The Hotel)

He couldn’t even keep his hands to himself in the elevator, any part of you he could get his hands on, he touched. By the time you two had gotten back to the room, you were thrown on the bed. Your dress had a huge tear up the leg and the straps were holding up either. Yoongi had discarded every article of clothing except his pants which were hanging low on his hips at this point.

“How do you want me?” he flicked his tongue against his bottom lip, looking you up and down. “I’ll do whatever you want, babe.” He watched as your shy wall was quickly put up and he couldn’t help but laugh. “Baby doesn’t know?”

“Nuh uh.” you hid behind your hands with a shy smile.

“Hm...my hands?”

“hm....nuh uh.” you shook your head again.

“Hm...my mouth then?” he bit his lips, standing right in front of you. “Where was that fire, honey? Come on.” he grabbed your hands. “Want me to eat that pretty pussy, baby?” He gathered the rest of your dress in his fist. “Come here.”

He began kissing up your bare thighs. You shook your legs, biting your lip. You felt him pull your panties down.

“You were so brave for me, sexy girl. Where’s that fighting spirit? Do you want me to eat this sweet little- hmm.” he dragged his tongue up your slit, laying opened mouthed kisses along your pussy. “You’re brave for the outside world but you still need daddy to take care of you, huh?”

“Mhm!” you nodded desperately.

“Baby you taste so fucking good.” he laughed, lashing his tongue against your hot flesh. “You’re moving so much.” he cackled. “Hmm” he dug his nails into your thighs. “You like it when I eat this pussy?” 

“This is mine.” he mumbled against your heat. “This is all mine. Don’t think I’m done with you yet...”

[redpandaramblings]

Like Caramel For Chocolate- An Omega Bakugou x Alpha f!Reader fic. Part 3.

Part 1- Here

Previous part Here

Next Part Here

Content Warning: Negative headspace, omegaverse, self deprecation, depressive thoughts, pushy parental figures, ambiguous omegaverse reproduction, unhealthy relationships, relationship that could be easily fixed if idiots would use their words and communicate, Shinso/Denki side relationship

Where we left off-

You glanced up at the sound of the door. In came your parents, then the Yokomadas. You did a double take as the final person, the omega you were here to meet, entered the room. They looked equally as startled as your eyes locked.

“Y/N?”

“Denki?!”

You slowly walked through the teahouse garden, your electric blond friend oddly silent as he kept pace with you. Your parents and the Yokomadas had allowed the two of you a bit of privacy to talk. So far, neither of you had mustered the courage to break the awkward atmosphere. Neither your parents or the Yokomadas had seemed to pick up on Denki or your mood. If anything, they were thrilled you two already knew each other. With a sigh, you sat on a bench by the koi pond, not looking at the blond as to settled down next to you. After several minutes, he spoke.

“So. What are you doing here?”

You snorted, and gently dumped your shoulder against his.

“Right back at you, Pikachu.”

“I’ll tell you. After you tell me.”

You chuckled humorously, and tilted your head back to look at the sky.

“Would you believe me if I said I was just here to appease my mother?”

Denki considered for a moment before shaking his head.

“No. You’ve been saying no to her for years. So tell me, why are you here.”

You take a deep breath and let it out again slowly through your nose.

“I… I think I wanted to be here. Needed to.” You wrung your hands, throwing a sideways glance at Denki. “I… I want to be mated. Have a family. Have someone who needs me and lets me need them. I used to think Kat… I used to think Bakugou was my person. But I’m not sure anymore, Denks. You know what he’s like and so do I, but I’ve waited for years, and nothing, and I’m so tired, and I’m not even sure he even likes me anymore, and…” You’re stopped by Kaminari gently rubbing your back.

“Breath, Y/n. Come on. Deep breaths.”

You inhaled shakily. You hadn’t even noticed you’d been hyperventilating. Quiet settled again, aside from the sounds of nature and your slowly slowing breathing. After a few moments, you spoke again.

“I’m just so lonely, Denks. I see him every day, and I’m still so goddamn lonely. So I think… I think it’s time to let go.” Your lips twitched slightly upward as you tilt your head to look at him. “Am I terrible?”

Denki huffed out a breath and shook his head. “You? Never.” He sighed, removing his hand from you back as he began picking at the hem of his sleeve. “I wish I could say I didn’t understand. But I do. I’m kinda here for the same reason after all.”

You gave an encouraging hum and reached out, taking his hand in yours and running your thumb over his knuckles. He interlaced your fingers, giving a squeeze before continuing to speak.

“You know how I feel about Shinso, right?”

“I think everyone but Shinso knows how you feel about him.”

Denki snorted. “Yeah. Not surprised. But that’s the problem. I’ve liked him for years. Little bit of a crush but at UA, thought I could play it cool and it would go away; but then the agency paired us together and, well.” Denki gestured with the hand not holding yours. “It was so easy! I’d go boom! And then he’d go pow! Then shoom! It was amazing! He was amazing… And so I tried to get his attention. I tried so damn hard. And you know me.”

You snorted, giving his hand a squeeze. “You’re about as subtle as a brick through a living room window.”

“Exactly!” He shouted, pulling away to stand up and pace. “I flirted. I used all my best pick up lines. I asked him out to the club, and he said yes. But do you know what he said afterward? He said though it wasn’t his usual scene, it was really good being able to hang out with a friend. I… I asked him to spend my heat with me.”

You inhaled sharply. Kaminari looked at you with an expression you hardly recognized. He collapsed onto the bench, leaning heavily against you.

“He said ‘I’m glad you’re that comfortable with me, but it probably would be better for you to ask someone else.’” Denki whispered, sniffling.

“Oh.. Denki.” You wrapped your arms around the blond, squeezing him tightly. Half out of instinct, you tried to pump out soothing pheromones while you gently scented his hair. “He doesn’t know what he’s missing, sweetheart. You’re a wonderful omega!”

That was all it took for Denki to start sobbing heavily in your arms. You squeezed him tightly as tears filled your own eyes. The tears fell when Denki wrapped his arms around you, hugging you just as tightly as you held him. There in the tranquil garden you both huddled together as you finally allowed yourself to cry. Years of hurt and longing fell from your eyes one drop at a time.

You weren’t sure how long it had been when the two of you slowly pulled away from each other. You used your thumbs to wipe Denki’s cheeks. He gave you a halfhearted smile.

“So,” you asked tentatively, “what should we do? They’re going to expect an answer from us about this whole…” You waved a vague hand “Marriage date thing.”

Denki hummed, puffing up his cheeks as he blew out a breath. “God, I don’t know. Certainly wasn’t expecting it be you, you know? No offense.”

You drew back, gasping in mock anger. “Full offense!” You could only hold your expression a few seconds before you started snickering.

Denki grinned his first really grin of the day. “Well excuuuuse me for insulting your alpha sensibilities.”

“You’re excused. For now.”

You both chuckled. Looking out at the pond, you spoke again. “I just wish I had the right answers. And I really wish we had more time.”

Denki furrowed his brow. “Well… Technically, we could.”

“What do you mean?”

Denki bounced on his seat. “Okay. So. Hear me out. We both need time to process, clearly. Also clearly, our families are just not gonna give us that. So… Why don’t we do this?”

“Wait. Wait. We do this?” you asked, both curious and incredulous.

“Yeah! Think about it. One! They mainly want us in relationships they approved of. They set us up, so clearly, they approve. Two! If we say we’d like to try out this match, they obviously aren’t going to set up any more dates; therefore buying us time. And bonus of no annoying randos. Three! We can say we’re going to take the relationship slow because we’ve both been burned before and want to make sure. Four! Four…” Denki trailed off, looking at his feet.

“Four is maybe if we can’t find a love match at least we’re friends who work well together?” You murmured.

Denki nodded, glancing at you with a rueful smirk. “Yeah. Exactly. Vibe on the same wavelength. Hell, we even want similar shit in life.”

“Actual house, few pets, stability…”

Denki nodded again. “Sucks, but would make sense for us to consider it. As much as I fucking hate the ‘You’re not getting any younger’ speech, they are kind right. We can’t waste all our time waiting for things that aren’t gonna happen.”

You shook your head with a chuckle. “God, don’t you hate it when they’re right about shit like that?”

“You have no idea.”

You stood, stretching. “Well, I guess we go tell them, then.”

Denki groaned. “There isn’t enough saki in the world for that conversation.”

“And just so we’re clear, this stays between us for now, right? No one knows but us, our folks, and I guess your cousins.”

“Agreed. I don’t want to think about what anyone would say. Bakugou would kill me!”

You winced. “Unlikely. I doubt he’d care. But if Mina finds out, everyone will know.”

“You’re not kidding. No worries from me, I don't want this getting out any more than you do.”

“So… Engaged, I guess?”

Denki dusted himself off and stood. “Deal. Engaged.” Denki stuck his hand out, and you shook it.

You both turned and started making your way back to the teahouse, taking your time and going the long way to be sure to avoid and of the other patrons. This was fine. A good plan. Nothing could go wrong as long as no one found out.

And there you have part 3! Sorry the wait and thank you all for being patient! If anyone has any questions regarding the fic or how this particular omegaverse operates, please feel free to shoot me an ask. Also, please note that @snuggleyourredpandas is my main account, so it you see a message reply from them, that's me!

TAGLIST- @yzviea, @not-a-pushover, @thelilypieforever, @kumihayu, @aomi04, @ladybakugouu, @one-simp-more, @hakunamatatayqueen, @my-thoughts-are-weird, @left-alone-yuki, @officialtrashbusiness Just a reminder, if you want tagged make sure you have the ability to be tagged turned on; and I'd have to be informed if your blog name changes! Cheers, Darlings!

[smhalltheurlsaretaken]

Sorry but what exactly is up with the bad batch arc? I've heard people talk about the issues with echo's white skin but I haven't heard that many bad things about the arc itself? (ik you said you don't want to be negative on your blog so I would absolutely understand if you didn't answer this ask)

Oooooooooooh boy. Well I just had a long, long, LONG rant about it with someone, but I guess I’ve got an excuse to put all of my points onto a post and talk about it publicly now that I got an ask x) I’ll keep it under the cut so I don’t throw my salt in people’s face. I really don’t want to upset people who love that arc - it has redeeming qualities, but overall it pisses me off so much for so many reasons. So here:

The first issue is obviously two members of the Bad Batch (minus Echo) being being just about the furthest thing from maori no matter how much you're willing to stretch it. 

Like... yeah, nah. I wouldn’t even accept Crosshair and Tech (grey haired guy and goggles guy) as Jango’s natural biological sons, nevermind as his clones. 

The problem is that their different appearances are justified by them being described simply as clones with desirable mutations (i.e superpowers). But why the hell did the creators have to change their appearances for that to be a thing? How does that correlate? Sure, the concept of clones with different faces is interesting, except... no, no it’s not, and I’m gonna rant about it in a few secs. But basically it's like they thought giving them different faces would be a good substitute for having different personalities (another thing I’ll come back to). If they really wanted to have buff clones with super eyesight or whatnot they could have just done that, without making them lose what little melanin the lighting of the show had allowed the other Clones to keep. 

But the gigantic problem is... showing that the "regular" clones have VERY distinct identities despite their identical faces has been one of the themes of the show from episode 1. Literally, the first episode of TCW has Yoda taking time out of a mission with galactic stakes to tell the three clones he’s with (who tell him they’re all the same because they have the same faces) that they’re wrong, and that they’re very different in the Force, that their appearance doesn’t matter, that they’re all equally unique and important, and he lists all of their individual skills, strengths and weaknesses. 

And it’s not just me being bothered by that, here’s a post by @cacodaemonia​ saying the same thing. 

Introducing the Bad Batch as "unique" clones who are "different" and "not like their brothers" because they have different faces and skills completely breaks that theme of the show!! Because the entire point of the Clones in TCW is that their faces don't matter, they ARE unique! 

(Plus the Bad Batch’s character designs are so cliche and uninspired it’s just laughable to try and justify bleaching their freaking skin for the sake of visual diversity. 

This took like 10 seconds. I found the first guy by literally googling “soldier movies,” and the other two are Team Fortress characters that look a LOT like Wrecker and Crosshair. One is “Heavy” and one is “Sniper” lmao.

And behold:

The above picture is a Team Fortress reference that I found just by looking up “bad batch clone wars,” so I’m not the only person who sees it.) 

And the batchers don't even have personalities to justify calling them unique! They have no character traits beyond the most cliché american soldier tropes ever. We have a token loner sniper, a token "smart tech guy" who knows everything from xenoanthropology to biology to Separatist computers to sound waves to encryption, a token Badass Brooding Leader and a token “dumb muscle guy.”

I dare anyone to find more about their personalities than this: - Crosshair is the perpetually grumpy sniper who looks down on "regs,” - Wrecker likes to blow up stuff and doesn't like heights, - Hunter is the leader and is friends with Cody, - Tech is smart doesn't trust Echo. 

That’s it, that’s literally it. Four episodes about them and that's all we get. These character tropes are literally the least inventive ever. FFS, Hunter even has a freaking KNIFE! Not a vibroblade, mind you, like in kriffing Star Wars. A knife. Against metal droids. Why. They couldn’t make this more of an american-war-movies cliché fest if they tried. (And sure, he can feel electromagnetic waves so maybe it does make sense for him not to carry a vibroblade and maybe this is nitpicking, but he looks like a ripoff of a Predator character and it pisses me off).

Another thing is that when you introduce characters you have to make them likable - and them despising the normal Clones is a terrible way to do that! And they don't even grow from that because at the end of the 4 episodes arc they just see Rex as not bad "for a reg" and they see Echo as no longer a reg, and both of these things are infuriating! 

The worst thing imo is that Echo then becomes part of them (and irreparably loses his melanin in the process, uuuuuuuuugh) when there is nothing to justify this. 

The dialogue goes like this: 

ECHO: You coming? TECH: Not really our thing. CROSSHAIR: Accolades. WRECKER: Yeah, we're just in it for the thrill. Yo! HUNTER: You sure it's your thing? ECHO: What do you mean? HUNTER: Your path is different. Like ours. If you ever feel like you don't fit in with them, well, find us. (they leave) REX: Those are some of the finest troopers I've ever fought alongside. Echo. You and I go way back. If that's where you feel your place is, then that's where you belong.

Echo doesn't feel like he belongs anymore, okay, but why would he feel like he belongs with the assholes who up to the last five minutes of the mission thought he was probably a traitor, and also verbally expressed that he was not worth saving?? In all of the arc, Echo himself never voices that he feels he’s not ‘like the other Clones’ anymore and that he feels it’s a problem. His relationship with Rex immediately picks up where they left things off - the first thing he does upon being lucid again for the first in over a year is cracking a joke for Rex’s benefit. 

Why would Echo feel like he doesn’t belong in the 501st anymore, when we don't even see him interacting with anyone from his past life except for Rex and Anakin (who are both extremely very supportive of him)?? If there had been one scene of a “regular” Clone (ugh) looking at him with horror and disgust or something, or just Kix and Jesse cracking jokes with Echo awkwardly standing by the side not getting it, I could forgive the show trying to make it feel like he has an identity crisis, but this was so shallow!

The only thing that makes Echo and the Bad Batch’s experiences similar is that they *look* different. It’s so against the themes of the Clones I’m seething just from thinking about it. And what the hell? Echo ALREADY didn’t fit in. That was the WHOLE POINT of Domino Squad. They didn’t fit in because they thought they were better than anyone else because they had trouble getting along with their brothers, so obviously it had to be their brothers’ fault (ahem, Bad Batch?). And you know what happened? Domino Squad OVERCAME that. And Echo and Fives still didn’t “fit in” because their personalities were unique and creative, and they became ARC Troopers because Cody, Rex and the Jedi VALUED THEM FOR PRECISELY THAT. Echo having new and unique skills and a modified appearance is the most bs justification for him feeling like he doesn’t belong!! 

And that brings me to my biggest issue: Rex telling Echo the bad batch are some of the best troopers he's ever met. I'm sorry, based on WHAT? What Rex values above everything is loyalty and brotherhood, and the Bad Batch DOESN'T DISPLAY ANY OF THAT. We never see them even expressing concern for each other! Wrecker treats saving Cody’s life like a trivial issue, because it’s just ‘sO eAsY’ for him, and beyond that we never see them supporting each other or genuinely expressing affection for each other beyond boasting about each other’s skills... 

Sure they can destroy a lot of droids, but they're dismissive of Rex's brothers, and the entire Umbara arc and this arc showed what he thought of that. They keep saying things like "not bad for a reg,” don't show any trust in Rex's skills or experience (even though they can't have been fighting in the war for more than a year and a half when he’s been there from the beginning, and he outranks all of them), they are essentially guerilla fighters which has only minimal value in a galactic war, and they never grow beyond their views of what regs are, and can and can’t do. 

None of that should make them good troopers in Rex's book. Going back to Echo not fitting in, remember who taught the Domino Squad the importance of seeing all of your brothers as important and equally valuable? Shaak Ti, true, but more importantly? 99! The guy the Bad Batch are named after. He did have value and was important and was no less of a trooper than his brothers, even though his mutations made him LESS powerful, not more. (And btw, just from a writing standpoint, the batchers don’t have any weaknesses, which is shit.) Cody and Rex mourned 99 as a true soldier even though it wasn’t his sacrifice that brought them victory (which would have implied that he had value as a soldier and a brother because he saved them, as opposed to him having that value intrinsically), because that’s what a fine trooper is to them. A BROTHER first a foremost, someone altruistic, brave and loyal. The Bad Batch distort the meaning of 99's character with their behavior. They’re not altruistic, their bravery is mitigated by the fact that they’re freaking invincible, so of course they take risks (again, see Wrecker saving Cody without a care because it’s easy to him, as opposed to Rex being ready to run into a burning ship about to explode because his brother is in there, and having to be physically dragged away). The Bad Batch denigrate their brothers for being less skilled, thinking their own abilities make them unique somehow, when 99 could barely fight and was still the one who taught Hevy about being a good soldier. 

And again the batchers don't grow from that. Which is all the more frustrating because the original ending didn’t have Echo joining them, from what I remember of the unfinished episodes, and the arc actually ended with them receiving their medals in front of regular troopers who cheer for them, as opposed to them smugly ostracizing themselves and dismissing the ceremony as trivial and meaningless. (original ending vs s7 ending: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ab1eCfzKamw) 

It’s so annoying. Do you know what characters never had an entire arc dedicated to them and still have far more personality and more interesting designs and more symbolic weight?? 

Jesse, for starters. Kix. Dogma. Cut. Slick. Keeli. Ponds. Rys, Jek and Thire. Commander Doom. Commander Fox. Wolffe. Hevy. Hardcase. 

Cody was a more interesting character just in his RotS appearances. 

Waxer and Boil had one episode about them and then only two cameos plus Waxer’s death, and they’re still some of the most memorable, beloved Clones of the whole show. And Boil was grouchy and prejudiced like Crosshair, but he has so much growth that we could make a whole thread about it. 

I'd say the last problem with the Bad Batch is that it has cash grabbing money hungry vibes. Different faces are more marketable, cliché personalities are more toy-friendly, and it's basically a big ad for the Bad Batch series. And they throw Echo in the Batch at the end for bs reasons (again, it wasn’t in the original ep from what I remember) and they tease Cody in the show to make sure fans will still watch even if they notice the lack of soul. And less melanin sells more at Disney apparently. 

So that’s my whole pissed rant. 

[ptergwen]

Hey Val! I love ur writing so so much and ur amazing! My request is maybe like a Tom Holland x Reader where Y/N is a famous actress and Paddy’s celeb crush, and one day Tom brings Y/N home to meet his brothers and Paddy is vying for her attention and Tom and Paddy get jealous of each other? Thanks in advance if u decide to write this!💕

thank you so much love!! i took forever on this i’m sorry :( please enjoy

-

“you’re dating who?” paddy gawks, harry snickering at him from across the table. tom leans back in his chair. “y/n y/l/n. you’ve heard of her, haven’t you?” he clasps his hands behind his head. “i’ve seen all her movies at least twice. i… i love her!” his youngest brother beams. “so do i,” tom playfully challenges.

“darling, you should bring her by tomorrow. sam’s cooking us dinner,” nikki suggests with a supportive smile. hearing his name mentioned, sam peeks up from his phone. “since when?” “since your brother has a girlfriend he’s only just told us about!” she nudges tom’s shoulder. tom bites back the grin growing on his lips. “a girlfriend he loves, at that.”

“he’s not the only one,” harry comments and glances at paddy, whose whole face has gone red. “i guess i could whip something up. i’m visiting the shops later,” sam agrees with a nod at tom. he winks back. “thanks, mate.” turning to his mom, tom’s own face gets warm. “sorry i haven’t said anything, mum. we’ve been trying to keep our relationship on the low. dating in hollywood is…”

“a shit show,” nikki finishes for tom. her words make him chuckle. “exactly. we wanted to make sure we were ready before bringing in the rest of the world.” eager as ever, paddy speaks up again. “i think we’re the perfect people to start with, specifically me.” that earns a quirked eyebrow from tom. “easy there, padster man.” he looks him over, trying to figure out his motives. “if i didn’t know any better, i’d say you were trying to steal my girl.”

paddy points at him with a glint in his eyes tom has never seen. “you don’t know any better.”

the family gets back to their conversation, talking about what you’re like and how their dad’s gigs are going. tom is a bit distracted, though. he isn’t sure what paddy meant by that. realistically, he knows he won’t be stealing you away. there’s a huge age gap among other things. it seems to tom like paddy has a crush on you, a big one. he’s probably just excited to meet you. that’s good, right?

tom doesn’t think about it again until arriving back at his parents’ the next day. you’re with him this time, nervously clutching at your purse in one hand while your free one squeezes his. he frowns at your fidgeting.

“y/n… they’re gonna love you, sweetheart,” he assures you, his thumb stroking the back of your hand. “how do you know?” you wonder as you two walk up the steps. “because i love you, and i think paddy’s got a thing for you as well.” he’s smirking when he tells you this. scoffing, you curl into tom’s side. “i love you too, but what’s up with paddy?” you stand next to tom on the porch. he rings the doorbell before replying.

“he’s watched your whole filmography, all your interviews,” tom explains, shaking his head lightheartedly. “i’m sure there’s a poster or two of you in his room somewhere.” you pout your lower lip out. “aw, so he’s a fan?” “he’s my competition,” he jokes. your head falls onto tom’s shoulder with a sigh. “he’s a literal child, tom… and your brother.” you glance up at him wickedly. “maybe i can sign his posters. i think he’d like that.”

tom slips his arm around your waist, hearing footsteps come towards the door. “oh, paddy would be thrilled,” he confirms. your response is a hum as the front door swings open. “tom, darling. back so soon?” nikki teases her son, then gives you the warmest grin. “you must be y/n. we haven’t heard much about you, but we will.” you return the smile and let her take your hand to guide you inside.

after all the introductions, you gather outside to sit and talk. sam is in the kitchen cooking, nikki is helping him, and harry is setting the table. that leaves you with tom and paddy. they’re on either side of you, your head on tom’s shoulder and his arm around both of yours. paddy is talking about a school project while you nod along. he’s completely harmless, contrary to how tom described him.

“the deadline is next friday, but i’ve only just started,” paddy explains, you laughing softly. tom’s lips brush your ear. “i’m gonna look for something to drink. do you want anything?” he speaks in a whisper and trails his fingertips over your shoulder. “sure, tommy. whatever you’re having, thanks,” you reply with a kiss to the back of his hand. paddy clenches his jaw as he watches you two.

“what about you, pads? soda?” tom teases and earns a giggle from you. “i told you not to call me that,” paddy groans back. he scrunches his face up when tom reaches over you to ruffle his hair. “someone’s got to put you in your place. soda it is.” “don’t take too long.” you tilt your head back to look at tom. “i won’t.” he licks his lips before pressing them to yours, trying to deepen it form the angle.

“children are present,” you remind him, sitting back up promptly. “be a good boy and get our drinks.” “ok, fine. i’m going,” tom laughs out, pecking your cheek and standing from the couch. paddy rolls his eyes when his brother finally gets inside. he hates being thought of as a child by you, even if he is one. “so,” you start to fill the silence. “what else are you-“

“i think you’re an incredible actress,” paddy says instead with an innocent smile. “really? thank you so much.” you rest your head in your hand, grinning. “tom kinda told me already. he said you’ve seen all my movies.” “did he?” paddy repeats bitterly. he’d probably made him sound obsessed. you’re still grinning. “mhm, and that you might have posters of me.” his eyes widen, cheeks flushing a deep pink. he’ll never let tom in his room again.

“between you and me…” you look behind you to make sure tom isn’t coming. paddy scoots closer to you and nods. “i think tom is a little jealous.” “he should be,” paddy mumbles to himself. that doesn’t stop you from hearing. “what are you-“ “how about you help me with my project? i could use the extra hands,” he smoothly changes the subject. must be a holland thing.

“let’s wait until after dinner. tom is gonna be back soon, anyway,” you try to reason. you’re only fueling the fire by saying that. “i need to use all the time i have. come with me!” he’s grabbing your hands before you can protest again. you end up following paddy to his room, tom still sucked into a conversation with the rest of his family. harry sees you two pass by. he murmurs a div to paddy.

when tom gets back outside with two beers and a coke, you and paddy are gone. he frowns, heading to the kitchen once again.

“has anyone seen y/n?” he wonders and scans the room for you. “i think paddy stole her.” “they’re in his room. he just brought her up,” harry replies, his lips forming a line. a bit of anger bubbles in tom upon hearing this. “dinner is nearly done!” nikki gasps. “bring them back down,” sam requests. setting the drinks on the counter, tom sighs. “will do. give me a minute.”

tom’s annoyance only grows as he ascends the stairs. he can hear your giggling from behind the bedroom door, obviously caused by paddy. it’s silly that he’s so jealous of his baby brother, but he knows him well.

the door opens to reveal you laying stomach down on the floor and paddy on his bed. you’re autographing a picture of yourself while he gets books together for his assignment. tom isn’t sure what he was expecting, though he’s relieved this is all it is.

“oh, tom!” you notice him standing in the doorway and cap the pen. “you were right about the posters, babe.” “i see.” tom clicks his tongue. paddy scowls at his brother. “i can’t believe you told her,” he grumbles, you handing him the signed photograph. “no, it’s fine! i think it’s really sweet.” his face relaxes. “nevermind, then.” he’s now making heart eyes at you, tom inhaling a sharp breath.

“y/n/n, can i talk to you?” he asks quietly, eyes flitting over to paddy. “in private?” “um, yeah. i’ll be right back, okay?” you tell paddy with an apologetic smile. he shoots you a thumbs up, tom stepping aside so you can leave the room. “mum wants you for dinner in five, actually,” tom corrects. he’s quick to close the door behind him so he doesn’t have to hear complaints.

you’re leaning against the wall, arms crossed over your chest. tom walks up to you cautiously. “what the hell was that?” you squint at him. “i came back with the drinks, and you were gone,” he answers lowly, and not to your satisfaction. “which doesn’t answer my question.” “i… well…” tom huffs childishly. “paddy’s whisked you away! i wanted you to spend the night with my family, yeah?” he sets his hands on your hips.

putting your own hands on both his shoulders, you look at him knowingly. “babe, paddy is your family. there’s nothing wrong with some one on one time.” tom stares down at the floor while rubbing his thumb over your hip. he doesn’t say anything. “so what if he has a little crush on me? he’ll get over it.” you take a step closer to him. “what makes you think that?” tom chews his lower lip.

“he’s just starstruck. and, i’m his future sister in law,” you confidently respond, finally making tom perk up. he exhales a laugh and pulls your body against his, leaving a warm kiss on your forehead. “bonding isn’t such a bad idea after all.” “mm, i told you,” you bury your face in the crook of his neck. paddy leaves his room then, his face falling at the sight in front of him. this time, tom puts his pettiness aside.

“get in here, padster man. we’ve got room for one more.”