#I hope that work calms down for you for a bit!

[softjeekies]

Waiting After The Rain - 9

Pairing: ot8!stray kids x pregnant omega!reader

Synopsis: An omega pregnant and alone after being kicked out by their alpha stumbles upon a pack willing to take them in and care for both the omega and their pup as if they were their own, because now they are.

Genre: strangers to lovers, angsty but lots of fluff to even it out.

Warnings: a/b/o, past abuse physical and verbal, past sexual abuse(mentions of past non-con), mentions of past violence, trauma, self esteem issues, pregnancy, aftermath of abuse, panic attacks, anxiety, pack dynamics, angst but it will be okay, polyamory

A/N: I got a little stumped with this chapter but I hope it’s still enjoyable, I’ve got a few ideas for the coming chapters so we should be good :)

previous chapter // next chapter(coming soon)

When you woke up this morning the events of the day before hit you like a train, It didn’t help that after bringing you breakfast in bed Hyunjin had to leave for the day, to do some work at his art studio. You let him go with no pleas or cries but as you sit alone in his bed, your heart aches. Most of your life was spent pushing down your needs, especially the need for comfort and love. Now that you’d found this pack and your walls had started to crack it was hard, a sense of yearning sat deep in your chest. Hyunjin had let you know Seungmin would be home today so you could easily seek him out if you needed anything, and that’s exactly what you would do. It took a minute to find his scent but when the strong smell of freshly cleaned laundry hit your nose you knew you did it. The beta is sitting on the living room couch curled up looking a bit disassociated but once you enter the room he immediately perks up, his full attention on you while you take a seat next to him.

“Y/N! Are you okay? Do you need something?”

“I’ll be okay. Are you okay? You look, I don’t know, not Seungmin-like.” The beta lets out a lazy chuckle at your observation and you can’t help but laugh as well.

“I’m fine. I just get a little thrown off when my packmates are down. It hurts.” He looks away from you, embarrassed to be showing this kind of vulnerability.

“Oh! God, I’m sorry I’m causing you pain. Here lie down.” You pat your lap for him to lie his head down. He happily obliges, choosing to lie facing your bump as you run a hesitant hand through his hair. Seungmin feels a strong instinct to fix things, he wants his pack happy, and he wants you happy.

“Do you want to talk about what happened?”

“Hmm, that’s probably a good idea… It’s hard to explain though. I grew up very sheltered and in a more conservative household, raised to believe that alphas were gods amongst men who could use me however they pleased. Seeing my old alpha and hearing him talk about me like that made me feel like I was back at our first meeting, and he got in my head. Seeing him again, it made me feel like maybe things can’t be good for me, so coming home and seeing everyone here I got scared. It sounds horrible but you and Hyunjin are fine because all I know about betas is what I’ve learned from school and the K-dramas I would sneakily watch when I was younger. I feel safer with you.” You don’t realize how shaky your voice is until Seungmin pushes out his calming scent.

“I can’t explain how amazing it is to hear you feel safe with me. I hope that you can feel safe with the whole pack soon. I’m sorry your life so far has been so horrible but you’re here now, right? We’re here for you.”

“It sucks because I do feel drastically safer with you guys, I have never felt this safe in my life. But it’s just like my head won’t let me settle, I’m so on edge, I’m stuck in a permanent fight or flight it’s exhausting.” Your hands run over your face in frustration. All you want to do is give in and accept this good thing but it’s like you can’t be sure it’s a good thing at all.

“We’re not going to give up on you. We want you, all of you.” Silence falls over the living room, there’s no tension or fear, just calm between two almost pack mates. Seungmin stares at your belly intently with a soft smile before he speaks up again.

“Can you feel him?”

“Him?”

“I don’t really care either way, but I think he’s a boy.”

“Hmm, I guess I haven’t thought about what I think they are. But yes I can feel them. You won’t be able to for probably the next month but soon.”

“Can I touch him?” You nod and Seungmin takes a gentle hand and rubs it across your bump, but his hand doesn’t linger.

“Hi puppy.” He speaks mere inches away from your bump, his voice is soft but projected.

“Yeah they’re moving, I guess they are saying hi back.” You let out a giggle and the beta continues to mumble nonsense to your belly, that was until another presence entered the room causing Seungmin to growl at the doorway. When you look up your eyes meet Chan’s and you immediately tense, which only makes the beta growl more at his alpha. Chan raises his hands in surrender and doesn’t make any move towards the couch.

“Hey, you know me, I won't hurt anybody. I just got home early and smelled Y/N down here and wanted to talk.” It takes a moment but you force yourself to relax, a mantra replays in your head reminding you how much Chan has done for you this past month, he’s not a threat.

“It’s okay Seungmin, we should probably talk.” Seungmin is immediately satisfied by your words and stands down, placing his head back in your lap waiting for more pets. Subconsciously you return to running your hand through the beta’s hair, more for your own comfort than his. Chan makes his way towards the couch and sits on the floor in front of you, Your mind short-circuits for a moment at the realization, he’s showing submission to you. By sitting below you making himself a literal sitting duck he is making sure you know he’s not a threat.

“Is Changbin okay?” Your mind lingers on the image of that punch. The cracking sound replays in your head on loop. You know alphas are incredibly resilient and as wolves, you’ll always heal well if you do get hurt but the shock of someone hurting and getting hurt for you rattles your brain.

“He’s in great shape, Minho looked over his hand and everything looks good, he’s a little bruised but he said it doesn’t even hurt.”

“That’s good.” You trail off, unsure how to start this conversation. Luckily the alpha does that for you.

“Y/N I never want yesterday to happen again. We were all so on edge, wanting nothing more than to comfort and protect you. When Changbin called me and told me what happened my instincts went insane, I called everyone and made sure we all got home to you. You shut us out and I felt like the worst alpha in the world. Your feelings are totally valid though, This is all still new and I know you don’t trust us yet but we want to be there for you.” There’s no posturing, there’s no overwhelming pheromones meant to manipulate you, all you saw was a big puppy sitting on the floor in front of you nervously playing with his fingers.

“I know. And that’s the part of this that scares me the most, deep down I want to give in I want to let myself have this and be your omega. This past month has been the best month of my life, but I can’t shake the life I had before all of this.”

“So we work through it together, we’ll help you work out your new normal and we’ll show you so much love and comfort along the way. We do want to court you, and as far as we’re concerned you are already part of the pack, we just have to get you acclimated.” A stray tear rolls down your face, a happy tear. Seungmin sits up and playfully rolls his eyes.

“Alright you sappy alpha, come hug your pack mates and make it all better.” He scoots away from you, giving ample room for Chan to make himself comfortable between you two. He takes a seat and immediately pulls Seungmin into his side but hesitates touching you so you take the initiative and curl into the alpha’s side, he absolutely melts at your touch. He would make it all better, if it’s the last thing he does.

The rest of the pack came home as normal throughout the day, no questions or awkwardness, they were just so happy you were feeling better and willing to let them exist in your bubble again. The last person to come home is Jeongin who you find sitting outside your door, you assume similar to how he was last night. The alpha looks up at you shocked as you exit the bathroom.

“Y/N? I thought you were still in your room.” You can’t help but let out a giggle.

“If you had talked to the pack before coming to sit at my door you’d know we worked things out, I talked to Chan and we’re going to be as okay as we can be for now. Now get off the floor.” A smile graces Jeongin’s face, and he looks at you as if you’ve hung the stars for him. He obeys and stands up, and he tries to approach you before you stop him.

“Nuh-uh, you have outside smells on you, go change.” You scrunch up your nose at the smell of other wolves all over Jeongin but he doesn’t fight back; he simply nods eagerly and heads to his room.

You lie in your nest with a protective hand over your bump when a knock steals your attention.

“Hey, I showered and changed. Is it okay if I join you now? You know, in your nest?” Jeongin’s scent is stormy, it’s clear that he’s nervous about what you might say.

“Yeah, you can join us.” Jeongin smiles at the use of the word us. He doesn’t know if he’s thinking too much into it but it makes him feel you’re reminding him the pup is there too and he can include the pup in the love he’s ready to give. The alpha climbs into the nest gently taking you in his arms.

“May I touch?” The request catches you off guard, you understand why Seungmin asked, he’s never touched your bump before. But Jeongin had done it twice now, so why would he feel the need to ask?

“Of course you can.” As he rubs gentle circles on your bump you stall for a moment thinking of how you want to word your thoughts.

“You know, I didn’t know people were supposed to ask to enter my nest, Jisung had to tell me that. People asking me for consent is really foreign to me, but I really appreciate how you guys always ask.” Jeongin smiles.

“I know firsthand how good it can feel to have people respect your boundaries, I’m not obsessed with skinship-“ You don’t mean to but you cut him off.

“But the pack? And you? You touch me though?”

“This pack has shown me how beautiful touch can be. I learned I was never against touch, I was against my boundaries being broken. I’m still no Felix but I feel safe with you guys.” You felt uncharacteristically warm, the more you learned about these guys the more you felt the knot in your chest settle.

“I was a really clingy kid, I know omegas are meant to be clingy and that was probably my instincts forming from a young age but it was so bad. All i wanted to do was cuddle with my parents all the time, they hated it though. When they began to hurt me as punishments, I learned to fear touch. It only got worse from there.” You let out a sigh, a pit forming in your stomach out of fear that you ruined the mood.

“It’s a good thing there will be no lack of cuddles for you in this house. The only touch you’ll ever receive from us will be out of pure love for you.”

You think you believe him. Nobody had ever shown you this much kindness or said these things to you, so maybe this really was different.

[elliesfreckle]

over & out | radio au

▶• ılıılıılılıılıılı. 0

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📟 : record three 𖣠 wild horses couldn't drag me away

⏯ synopsis : you’re a voice on the other side of the radio. she’s your wrong frequency — a mistake. a fortune, maybe, at the edge of a devastated world. you never told her your name. she never asked what you looked like. but when the nights get colder, in a world full of silence, you keep talking.

⏯ pairing : ellie williams & fem!reader

⏯ content warning : swearing; canon tlou after outbreak world; a bit of farm-coded ellie just bc its summer; ellie, dina and jesse are just friends there; dina aka unbothered queen cause i love her too. mdni.

⏯ word count : 5.7k

⏯ a/n : loved writing this part! couldn't give you anything spicy, so im giving you country ellie fixing a fence. trust. sorry if there are still many mistakes, i proofread till i cried. also i hope i didnt miss anything. flirty reminder that your reblogs and comments feed my soul. leave a comment if you wanna be tagged or removed from the taglist. enjoy ♡︎

⏯ taglist ♡︎ @angelaut0matec @valeisaslut @bluminescent-moon @marleeeen111 @oneinameliann @500daysofpoppy @isabelckl @elliescoquettegirl @mars4hellokitty (im so sorry if something went wrong with tags, tumblr hates me tonight)

After a day of unrelenting rage, the weather finally showed mercy.

Ellie had slept through the morning, wrapped in the hush of rain. The storm softened into a lullaby against the roof. Wind curled at the corners of the house like a tired animal settling down beside her.

When she woke, her neck aching from the unmoving posture, the light was dull and silver-gray, the kind downpours tend to leave behind. An old blanket lay over her—coarse, familiar. She hadn’t put it there. Joel must’ve come by. He probably noticed the shoes by the door, her jacket on the floor. Said nothing, as usual. Just saw her, made sure she was back, and left.

Now, a day later, it’s all behind her. Passed with the last traces of the haze.

Though the ground still carries the memory of it. Soft beneath Ellie’s boots, damp and dark like tilled soil. The field stretches wide and open in front of her, the grass flattened in places by wind, but already lifting its head again. There are wild flowers whose names Ellie doesn’t know. Just the colours among the meadow—spilling puddles of blue and white, dots of yellow and purple.

Sunlight bathes everything—soft and cool, not burning, but drying her sleeves as she works, and leaving warmth on Ellie’s collarbones. There’s a breeze, light and steady, fresh enough to keep her awake, brushing strands of bangs across her face, but not unpleasantly so—just a reminder that summer isn’t over yet.

Ellie stands at the edge of the pasture; her sleeves are rolled up to her elbows, plaid fabric bunched at the crooks of her arms, hands on her hips. The sky above Jackson is so clear it almost hurts to look at. Pale blue, scrubbed clean of cloud, like someone rinsed it out and hung it to dry.

A section of the old fence is down—the storm took its time here. Not surprising, really. It had always been half-crooked, thrown together from uneven cuts of timber and rusted nails, more suggestion than structure. Now the boards lie in the grass like fallen ribs. Ellie spent the better part of the morning prying out bent nails and measuring new planks. She rests a boot on one of the fallen boards, brow furrowed, fingers tight around a hammer.

At her back, horses shuffle lazily through the field. Yesterday all of them stood idle at the stables—horses can’t eat wet grass—so now they’re just soaking up the sunshine and wandering around.

Shimmer’s the closest—her tawny coat is glossy in places, ears flicking toward every noise. She lets out a low snort when Ellie shifts, as if checking she’s still there. Ellie doesn’t answer—she knows this sound like her own breath. She knows the calm rhythm of hooves against the ground as Shimmer paces the fence line, patient and unbothered.

Ellie reaches down and sets a new plank in place. She grips one nail between her fingers, steady, while the rest are clamped between her teeth—three silver slivers catching the light when she turns her head to flick one into her palm. She lifts the hammer. The veins shift beneath her skin as she drives it down, wrists flexing with the clean precision of someone who’s done it a hundred times before.

The tattoo on her forearm ripples with movements—black fern leaves breathing with the stretch of tendons, the moth’s wings fluttering each time her grip tightens around the handle. It’s almost hypnotic, the way ink and muscle and skin become one living thing.

She doesn’t pause between strikes. Just inhales slowly, lips parted, eyes narrowed in focus, strands of hair falling forward to brush her cheek before she tosses them back with a sharp shake of her head. Sunlight glints off her jaw line, off the small sheen of sweat gathering in the collarbone hollow—right where a knife’s tip might rest if someone got close enough. She wipes it away with the back of her hand, smearing dirt and sunshine together.

The gloves on her hands are too big—someone else’s, borrowed from the shed this morning. They bunch at the wrists, stiff with grime. The hammer fits better: heavy and solid. It makes a satisfying crack as Ellie drives a nail into the wood. The sound echoes, and then disappears into the field.

The final blow lands with a dull, certain thud. She exhales, long and quiet, thumb brushing over the finished nail before she shifts to the next plank, arm flexing again, and for a moment it’s unbearable—how effortless she looks, how holy and unholy all at once.

Ellie glances over her shoulder, adjusting the hair out of her eyes, and keeps going; pearls of sweat on her temples.

Earlier today, she stirred up some kind of commotion. Nobody knew where she had gone, and that she was back, nobody would let her forget it. Not in a rude way—only concerned.

Dina looked up from brushing one of the colts and froze, a hand still tangled in its mane. Then her shoulders dropped, and her mouth moved before the words came.

“You’re back,” she whispered as if it wasn’t obvious.

She crossed the room in three quick steps and pulled Ellie into a quick hug, barely a second long, just enough to feel she was real before letting go.

“You okay?” she asked, eyes scanning Ellie’s face for any cracks in her armour.

Ellie snorted, shaking her head a little. “Takes more than that to kill me.”

Dina huffed, rolling her eyes before giving Ellie a light smack on the shoulder. “Don’t be an asshole.”

Ellie’s mouth twitched, almost a smile. Almost an apology, except for Ellie never apologizing. “Yeah,” she said finally, quieter. “I’m okay.”

That was it. No details. No revealing secrets.

Maria had tried to talk her into taking the day off, but Ellie had already grabbed the toolbox. She needs this. Something to fix with her hands. The rhythm of it; the effort. The way it shuts everything else up—even if for a little while.

Ellie scratches her scarred brow with her wrist, gaze drifting over the field. Horses stolidly flick their ears at flies. Wind sighs through the grass. Ellie blinks at the dragonfly near her face. And then it comes.

A flash behind her eyes, quick and uninvited.

The headset that left dusty patches on her head; the numbers she doesn’t even know why she remembers. Three. Nine. Four. Seven. Her own kind of Morse code. And a name burning her tongue. Or burned on it.

They flood her mind like a traumatic memory, although there was no trauma, no big deal at all. She talked to a girl, yeah, whatever?

In some way, it matters. It won’t leave her mess of a head for two days.

The image flickers, bright and gone in the same breath as she opens her eyes. It’s gone like a glare of sunlight on a blade; flies away like the startled dragonfly. Ellie exhales, blinking two more times, and puts the hammer back in the box. As if by moving fast enough she can keep her mind empty.

She slips down to sit with her back against the newly fixed fence. The wood is rough and smells of resin and old rain. Ellie tips her head back against it, legs stretched out and crossed before her, boots streaked with sawdust.

The sky above her head is wide open. The same sky you probably look at. It’s wide enough for you to see the same clouds.

Shit.

Ellie pulls a long stalk of grass from the earth beside her and twirls it between her fingers before slipping it into her mouth. The taste is sweet and clean, melting.

Beside her sits her backpack, half-zipped. She drags it closer and pulls out her journal, its cover scuffed and peeling at the corners. The pencil is worn down to a stub. Ellie has to pour it all out on paper; ease the tension of this itch that keeps twirling at the edge of her mind. She doesn’t think and doesn’t plan.

Just presses the lead to the paper and lets her hand move, sketching jagged lines that rise and fall like radio static. Waves and frequencies, the shapes of invisible sound. The spoken words linger between those lines. She shades them darker, pressing harder until the page almost tears. The pencil lead breaks with a crack.

The blade of grass in her mouth tastes bitter now. Ellie spits it out.

A warm shadow falls over her. She looks up to see Shimmer standing close, Ellie’s convex reflection in her big doe eyes. The horse’s breath curls out in small waves of warmth. She lowers her head and nudges Ellie’s shoulder with her soft muzzle, insistent and curious.

Ellie laughs quietly, knowing her struggles mean nothing to a horse. Shimmer smells of sweet hay and dust and late summer evening. Her coat shimmers—huh—with campfire flames.

Ellie presses her palm to the horse’s cheek, feeling strength beneath the velvet skin, the calm heartbeat that doesn’t care about storms or voices or broken fences.

For a while, they stay like this. The girl and the horse, resting under the inverted dome of the sky. The broken pencil is lost in the tangled grass, and the page on Ellie’s lap is filled with silent signals, stretched across the paper like heartbeat monitors. She wonders if you could catch them. Like you did the first time.

Ellie doesn’t hear the footsteps behind her at first. She only notices when a shadow falls across her again, broader this time, blocking out the sun. She shuts her journal out of old instinct, and glances up.

Jesse’s there, leaning his arms over the top rail of the fence, wood creaking softly under his weight. He squints down at her with that lazy grin of his.

“Damn,” he says, eyes sweeping over the nailed planks. “You’re really making the rest of us look bad.”

Ellie grins, grabbing her pencil stub and flicking it at him like a spear.

“Then maybe the rest of y’all should do your fucking jobs.”

Jesse catches the pencil before it hits his chest, rolling it between his fingers as a trophy.

“Harsh words for someone sittin’ on their ass chewing grass.”

Ellie looks away with a smirk, slipping another stalk into her mouth just to spite him. Jesse props his chin on his folded arms.

“Came to check on you,” he says, quieter this time. “Dina said you were out here since dawn.”

Ellie shrugs.

“Needed to finish it.”

“Yeah.”

For a moment he watches her with that unreadable look he gets sometimes, like he’s seeing something she doesn’t know she’s showing. Then he sighs and swings himself over the fence in one easy motion, boots thumping softly on the other side.

He lowers himself into the grass beside her with a grunt, long legs crossing awkwardly. For a while he just sits there, elbows resting on his knees, looking out across the pasture. A hawk circles far above them.

“Well,” Jesse says, leaning back on his palms. “If you’re gonna waste time out here, I might join you.”

Ellie snorts again but doesn’t argue.

Jesse shifts to pick up a small stone near his boot and tosses it aside with a muted clink.

“Too bad,” he mutters, almost to himself. “Wish we could radio Dina. Tell her to quit whatever she’s doin’ and come be useless with us.”

Ellie sighs out a quiet laugh through her nose, though she gives Jesse a quick side eye, with a weird instinctive reaction to the word ‘radio’. She’s crazy.

Ellie chews on the inside of her cheek and clears her throat awkwardly. When she speaks, her voice is careful, too casual. He started it first. He did. Ellie just keeps the conversation alive. Sure.

“You think…anyone can just…I dunno. Get on the radio like that? Talk to whoever they want.”

She scrapes her cheekbone, her eyebrows lifting, gaze fixed on anything but him. Jesse watches her, unimpressed. When Ellie tries to play it cool, she’s about as subtle as a brick through glass. Still, he plays along.

“Depends what you’re using. Patrol radios are locked channels. Shortwaves are different, though. You get the frequency, you can talk to whoever’s listening. Why?”

Ellie scratches at the worn edge of her journal cover with her thumbnail, suddenly super-aware of the smudge of dirt on it.

“No reason. I dunno. Just…wondering.”

Jesse watches her for a second longer, narrows his eyes a little, then lets out a nonchalant laugh.

“Yeah, sure. Next thing I know, you’ll be running some late-night talk show. Ellie’s Hour of Depressing Shit.”

“Fuck off.”

She points a finger at him. Not the pointing finger, though. But her lips curl almost into a smile.

“Hey, I’d tune in,” Jesse says, grinning and leaning back on his hands again. “Long as there’s music breaks.”

A groan in response.

But a faint idea—more just a premonition of the coming idea—is vibrating somewhere beneath her ribs. Undefined and restless. Like a signal she can’t quite tune into yet.

She doesn’t think properly when she speaks to Jesse again. It’s bigger than her. It’s crawling.

“Uhm—in theory,” she begins, so Jesse squints at her with one eye open. His head lies on his arms, the sky above is blinding. “In a city like Jackson—not in Jackson, but. Like, you know...”

Jesse’s gaze says that he doesn’t.

The corner of his mouth twitches upwards like he’s trying not to smile.

Maybe it isn’t too late to just shut the fuck up and say something about the weather. Yeah, like how hot it was the first time she heard you. Or how fresh the morning felt when she came back, wrapped in mist. Or how furious the predicted storm was, the one that broke this very fence pressing into her back. So many topics, yet somehow all about you. White threads of your timbre are stitched through Ellie’s days. They’re tying her wrists, pulling tighter with every thought.

You’re the one tying them.

She rubs her nose with the side of her finger, smudging her freckles with the sun at its zenith, and releases a small sigh, like she’s bracing herself before diving underwater.

“If someone in that city would like to get—let’s say, a walkie-talkie…?” Ellie purses her lips, tongue pressing against her canine in thought. Her eyes scan the horizon, deliberately anywhere but him. “For personal purposes, hypothetically, how and where could they get it?”

Jesse rolls onto his side, propping himself up on an elbow to get a better look at her face. He’s silent for a good couple of beats. He looks at Ellie, Ellie doesn’t look at him. Dumb show.

“Do I wanna know the details?” he finally asks, voice low and cautious, but the smirk is already tugging at his lips.

“No way. You don’t.”

“Nah, I think I do…” He draws out the words with fake seriousness, eyes narrowing with mischief. “We really have to call out for Dina.”

“No way, we don’t.”

“Bro, is your record broken? Though, yeah—let’s not mention records. Bad topic.”

Jesse says it slowly, with all his fake concern, dragging out each word with deliberate emphasis. He wants to savour the way it’ll piss her off.

Ellie groans, rubbing the heel of her hand over her eyebrow—it was a low blow.

“You’re not fucking helpin’. Mockin’ me here…” she mutters, flicking a stray ant off her knee with unnecessary force.

“I know,” Jesse says, grin widening as he flops back down into the grass. “That’s the funniest part.”

Ellie stares at him, jaw shifting, and exhales through her nose in half a laugh, half defeat.

 “What did I expect?”

The sun crawls, pressing heat into their backs as minutes slip by. Ellie picks at a loose thread on her knee, while Jesse listens in silence, only nodding sometimes, looking thoughtful. She doesn’t tell him everything—just enough. Enough for his mouth to thin out into a line and his fingers to tap restless rhythms on his thigh.

At some point, the conversation dies off. The wind rustles through the tall grass, carrying faint scents of cooking fires from town. Maybe Ellie needs to simply speak it out loud more than to get a reaction. But spoken words have a tendency to grow deeper the second they fall from the lips.

Jesse lies back down with a sigh. “You gonna tell Dina any of that?”

Ellie scoffs, flicking a pebble at his boot. “Maybe. Over lunch.”

“Good,” he mutters. “She worries.”

Almost as if her name conjures her, Dina appears at the edge of the field, waving one arm to catch their attention. A folded cloth bundle is tucked under her other arm. Her silhouette cuts bright against the pastel background, hair pulled back messily, stray strands catching the wild wind.

“Speak of the devil,” Jesse murmurs, sitting up with a grin.

Dina stops a few steps away, mock glaring down at them both. “I knew I’d find you there too,” she says, pointing her chin at Jesse. “Thought you might want food before you die of starvation.”

She tosses the bundle down between them. Bread, jerky, two bruised apples.

Ellie huffs a quiet laugh and reaches for a piece of bread.

“Thanks,” she mumbles, and for a moment, with Jesse’s lazy smile beside her and Dina rolling her eyes at both of them, everything feels almost normal.

“Also,” Dina adds as she sits beside them, brushing crumbs from her fingers. “I brought Ellie a sandwich.”

Jesse makes a wounded noise from where he’s sprawled in the grass. “And for me?”

“What did you bring to her?”

She crosses her arms and tilts her head, unbothered.

“My company.”

“That’s why we broke up.” Dina shoots back without missing a beat. It’s done for Jesse.

Ellie whistles with her mouth full of food. “‘Cause of me?”

“Yeah, keep dreaming.” Dina smirks, brushing a stray hair from her cheek.

“Harsh.” Both Jesse and Ellie mutter, defeated.

Dina suddenly frowns at them, hands on her hips, eyebrows raised. “You two look… weird. And suspicious. Like you’ve been trading weed behind the barn.” She pauses, shaking her head with mock offence. “Without inviting me? Assholes.”

Ellie snorts, tearing the package of her sandwich. Jesse points at her with the calmest expression on his face.

“Ellie’s just got herself another situationship over the radio with some girl from Montana quarantine zone, and now she’s awkward after her first old-fashioned sexting.”

It takes him less than thirty seconds to spill the whole thing on Dina with the most casual and careless manner, without even stopping to chew his apple. Ellie immediately starts choking on bread, fighting for her life with crumbs and flaxseeds. She’s losing. Ellie-ate-but-left-crumbs-Williams. Dina slaps her on the back with confusion.

“What the—?” she hisses at Jesse over Ellie’s hunched back. He doesn’t hear the words but can perfectly read the message with her whispering lips and questioning look. And then, as if remembering something, she speaks to him again, in full voice now. “Sexting is when there’s texting, Jesse.”

“There was no sex anyway!!!” Ellie blurts, rising from the dead, still coughing with her voice cracking halfway through. Both of them stare at her.

“So the other part is correct?” Dina inquires, leaning forward, her eyebrows raised. “How the hell did that happen?”

Ellie groans, scrubbing a hand down her face. “Long story.”

She rips a bite from her sandwich, chewing hard, refusing to meet either of their eyes. Then she explodes, a bit late.

“Can’t believe out of the whole fucking town, I chose to tell you,” she grunts, glaring at Jesse. She waves her hand at him, and a piece of tomato flies out of the sandwich she’s clutching. “Go tell Joel now, won’t you?”

“C’mon, it’s Dina,” Jesse protests, waving a dismissive hand. He kicks the tomato out of his jeans. “She’s smart. She can keep secrets. Hell, I’d bet my lunch she’s the only person who can actually help you.”

Dina lifts her chin, smirking. “Can’t believe I say that, but he’s right. I am the smart one in this trio.”

“At least I’m the handsome one.” Jesse shoots back instantly, flashing her a grin. It doesn’t work.

Dina and Ellie exchange a look. There’s a pause. Then:

“Actually…” Dina starts, tilting her head thoughtfully.

Ellie swallows her mouthful and nods solemnly. “No, you’re not.”

“Far from it, to be honest,” Dina adds.

“Fuck you two,” Jesse mutters, flopping backwards again with a dramatic groan. “Then I’m the funniest.”

Ellie chuckles. “Unlikely.”

Jesse brushes Ellie off, lips curling in a smug smile. “Can’t hear what a girl with a radio girlfriend says. Bad signal.”

Ellie shoves the last bite of sandwich into her mouth and glares down at him one more time. “I hate you, Jesse. Watch your back. I’ll poison your next apple.”

A girlfriend, yeah? Such nonsense.

The ride out is quiet, sun slanting low and gentle through thin veils of woods. Ellie leans forward in the saddle, one hand wrapped around the reins, the other resting lightly on Shimmer’s warm neck. The horse’s ears flick back at her touch, listening.

“Don’t give me that look,” Ellie mutters under her breath, voice swallowed by the breeze. “It’s not like I’m doing anything stupid. Well… not that stupid.”

Shimmer snorts, as if in argument, hooves drumming a steady rhythm against the path. Birds scatter from the grass in small brown flutters. The world smells like warm earth and old pine sap, dust kicked up behind them like pale ghosts following.

Measured rocking in the saddle clears the mind.

At first, it was an accident. The second time will be a huge mistake.

Ellie knows it isn't worth so much effort. The risk, the uncomprehending looks Ellie met as she said she needed to get back there. They were right. But she’s got a bad habit of walking down the wrong path. Today, it’s leading her to the long-abandoned school.

As an excuse, Ellie said that she had forgotten something important there. Maybe her common sense.

Earlier this day, Dina pulled her aside behind the canteen, glancing over her shoulder before slipping something small and black into Ellie’s palm. Cold metal and rough plastic. A two-way radio. Dina Woodward, the woman she is.

Ellie blinked at her. “How the hell did you—”

Dina just shrugged, a sly smile playing on her lips. “Don’t ask questions you don’t want honest answers to.”

“You stole it?!” Ellie stared at her, unbelieving.

“No! Not a crime.”

Now, as the old school looms into view, rooflines jagged against the pale evening sky, Ellie breathes out slowly. Careless birds far above know her worries. And they don’t care.

The same hallway waits for her beyond broken doors, the same peeling posters of letters and cartoon animals. The same you? And something new, settling heavy in Ellie’s chest, somewhere below the heart.

If nothing happens, if there’s nothing to hear tonight… she’ll drop it. Drop the whole idea, let it rot here like everything else. She’s not desperate enough to keep trying when there’s no one on the other end. Right?

She slides off Shimmer’s back, soles crunching over gravel. Pavement is hot. The horse whinnies softly, pawing the ground.

“Stay here,” Ellie tells her, giving her flank a gentle pat. “Don’t go wanderin’ off, alright? Not planning to drag your stubborn ass back to Jackson in the dark.”

She steps into the silent, echoing halls. The air tastes faintly of mildew and forgotten childhoods. Her fingers tighten around the backpack strap as she makes her way back to the broadcast room, the floor littered with soggy worksheets and broken crayons. The same window she sat beneath last time gapes open to the field, letting in the dying gold light. This room itself is like a jar of honey.

Ellie sinks down in the chair, remembering its creaks under her weight. The radio console is in front of her, all scratched panels and blinking dead lights, as if winking at her. Her gaze lingers above the knobs for a second before she exhales and slides the headphones over her ears. The cups swallow the world, leaving only the faint hiss in her pulsating head. She draws in a breath that tastes of rust and summer dust, thumb over the button.

She twists one dial, then another, eyes narrowing in focus. Numbers flicker past—frequencies she doesn’t understand, scattered noises—lives and stories just like hers, maybe—dissolving in crackle. Finally, she finds it. The familiar empty buzz, vibrating against her eardrums like a pulse.

She wants to drop it right now.

Rip the headset off, recoil from the table, set this damned room on fire and gallop back, urging the horse on. Hide in the quiet of her house, become deaf for a while, until she stops  hearing codes and faint laugh, ‘Jackson’ instead of her real name. But she sits there, frozen. Her soft breath near the mic.

Ellie’s mouth feels dry as she leans in, her heart hammering; her hand lightly beating over the button. She has no idea what she’s supposed to say. There’s a protocol for this shit, right? But she’s never been good with rules, and it’s not like she’d care to follow them anyway.

She clears her throat, voice low and cautious.

“Uh—Montana, you there? It’s… it’s me.” She cringes at herself immediately. ‘Me’? Really? Comprehensive.

A part of her starts hoping for no answer. Ellie releases the button. Silence hums back at her, stretching long and thin. Another part of her starts to curl away, embarrassed at herself for even trying, already preparing to cut the connection and leave this place and this stupid idea behind.

She imagines all the people who could be listening on the other end. Scavengers. Raiders. Strangers with guns. She repeats herself one more time that it’s not worth so much effort and risk. But despite that, there’s a strange lightness, tingling in her fingertips—expectation. The delicious, awful tension of waiting. It sits warm and electric in her belly. That’s probably how you felt, waiting for a response.

Then there is a familiar click, becoming a reflex sound for Ellie. She identifies the hiss, but not from the static.

“What the fuck are you doing here—?” you finally burst out, more shocked than harsh. That’s it—instead of any greetings. Ellie’s lips curve quickly into a smirk. Montana.

“Hi to you too,” she drawls, leaning back in the chair, her shoes scuffing softly against the linoleum floor.

“That’s not funny.”

Your tone tightens, serious, but there’s an undertone of something else—relief, maybe, or disbelief.

“No, it is.” Ellie insists, grin widening as she taps her fingers restlessly against her thigh. The headset feels hot around her ears.

You need a couple of heartbeats to live through the depth of her teasing voice.

“Can you talk?” There’s a change in Ellie’s tone. It’s serious and almost hesitant.

“Yes,” you reply after a beat. There’s a rustle on your end, like you’re shifting the mic closer. “Just didn’t expect you here.”

“Good.”

What's good? Ellie doesn’t know herself.

“Are you lost again?” you ask, dropping a little lower, amused despite your obvious confusion. “This time you definitely need help, hm?”

“I’m not lost,” Ellie shoots back, her smile fading just enough to leave her mouth slack with honesty. She exhales, rubbing the heel of her palm against her forehead. “I—fuck. It’s just… seems like I can't stop thinking ‘bout you.”

A brick through glass, remember? Subtle as a rifle shot. You’re shot. Another two or ten heartbeats to proceed what she said. You have a feeling that this is too much for your ordinary late shift. Not complaining or anything, but you haven’t got used to random girls with—let’s admit—hot as hell voices, telling you they think about you day and night. Did she say day and night?

There’s a brief silence, broken only by the steady hiss of the frequency. Then your sigh crackles through the line.

“Can’t stop thinking about the girl you’ve never met in person and had, what, a twenty minute long conversation with?”

“Yeah.”

Ellie breathes out. It’s quiet, her voice catching a little at the end, almost like a laugh but not quite. Her restless fingers roll the pen without ink across the table.

“Desperate,” you whisper. But there’s no bite in it, only weary amusement, like you’re shaking your head at yourself as much as at her.

Ellie admits:

“Maybe.”

She holds her breath, eyes fixed on the darkened window, as if she could see you there. Her fingers release the pen, tighten around the edge of the table, nail brushing over a flaking chip of green paint. The sound of you is curling warm and ragged in her ears.

“Listen,” Ellie starts, rougher than she intends. She clears her throat and tries again, softer this time. “I got…hell, sounds stupid.”

“Wow, now I’m curious.”

“A walkie talkie,” she finally exhales.

There’s a pause on your end. She imagines you frowning slightly, head tilted like you do when thinking. Or you don’t. She has no idea how you look when you think. Or when you chuckle faintly at her comments. But does it matter? Ellie’s here because of a whole different reason. You yourself.

“A walkie talkie,” you echo finally, scepticism covering your tone. And a smile, but you won’t let her know about it. “And for what?”

Ellie looks down at her palms. Even through the headset she can hear Shimmer wandering under the broadcast room’s window. Really, why all this? She bites her lips.

“I dunno just—figured… maybe you’d wanna talk. Over the radio. When you’re bored or… whatever. Sometimes.”

Ellie just knows if Jesse was here, he’d explode.

She hates how small her voice sounds, how unsure. But there’s no taking it back now. The words are out there, floating in the stale air and across broken miles to wherever you are.

Another pause, shorter this time. She hears you breathe in, slow and considering. Something’s shifting on your side, then a dull crash. Ellie starts thinking you’re about to quit your post and leave her dying from embarrassment alone.

“It’d be nice. Sometimes,” you say. The best things are simple, just like your reply. You’re quiet, unreadable. “But not too often. And my shifts are at nights. So, no day calls. No ‘it’s me’ before six. I’m serious. And—”

“Another ‘and’, and I might give up.” Ellie interrupts.

“The biggest ‘and’: it might not work at all,” you cut in, and this phrase is screaming that you’re rolling your eyes hard.

“Why?” Ellie asks, frowning, thumb absently scraping a fleck of dirt off her jeans.

“How to explain…” You trail off, and she can almost hear you chewing on your lip, thinking.

“I’m not dumb, okay?”

“Right,” you rush to add, voice a little softer. “Well… my radio’s kinda powerful. It reaches pretty far out. That’s how I picked you up last time. It was late, or close to it. At night, radio signals go further ‘cause they bounce off the ionosphere better.”

Ellie blinks, staring at the scuffed floor, her mouth curling down. “Forget it. Now I feel dumb.”

A small laugh crackles through the line. “Don’t. Basically—regular radios reach further at night. Walkie-talkies, though… they only work short-range no matter what.”

A smile creeping across Ellie’s face. She picks at a splinter on the table edge.

“So. You’re a nerd.”

“That’s what you got from all that?” you hiss at her with this fake indignation that falls apart as soon as an uninvited laugh comes.

Ellie grins, leaning back in her chair until it tips onto two legs. “Brain and brawn,” her eyes half-lidded as she gazes at the peeling ceiling tiles above her.

“You’re the brawn part, right?”

“Who knows, Montana, who knows…” she drawls, openly teasing. Then Ellie returns the chair to its normal position, remembering. “But what’s with that damn walkie talkie? Useless?”

“We can try. You know how to set it up?” your tone becomes slightly guiding, the banter smoldering somewhere behind the line.

“That’s kinda why I’m asking. Figured you’d know. Thought… maybe you could walk me through it.”

Ellie scratches the back of her neck, glancing at the battered device in her bag. She is the brawn. Silence hums between you for a moment, long enough that Ellie wonders if you’re thinking about hanging up.

“Maybe,” you say, and she hears the faint smile in your words. “Depends how desperate you really are.”

Ellie’s mouth quirks up at one corner.

“Desperate enough.”

Seems like you both savour the moment, and then your voice shifts, gaining that crisp edge of focus Ellie’s heard only once before—when you called your lost patrol. Clear. Confident. Professional. Hot.

“Okay. Check the channel knob—yeah, that one on the left. Turn it until you hit a blank frequency. We’ll set up a direct call line.”

Ellie obeys without thinking, her fingers moving quickly over the battered plastic controls. Your instructions come steady and calm, breaking only when you pause to breathe or correct her.

“Now adjust the squelch. Just enough to kill the static but not lose signal.”

“Done,” she says in response, adjusting the dial slowly.

“You did better than I expected,” you say, half-kidding, and despite the fuzz of the line, Ellie can hear the quiet approval warming your tone. It makes her snort.

For the next few minutes, neither of you speaks beyond clipped instructions and short confirmations. Ellie’s world narrows to the feeling of the weight in her hands and the sound of your voice guiding her through shadows and signal noise.

Finally, you exhale, and the line crackles softly.

“There. That should do it. Try calling me later tonight, around two or three. If it works… well, I guess we’ll find out.”

Ellie leans back, staring at the dusty ceiling. Relief floods through her bones, heavy and warm.

“Yeah,” she breathes out. “Yeah, okay.”

Outside, the sun is already sinking, laying long shadows across the floor. Ellie can almost feel home calling her back—the quiet roads, Shimmer’s steady steps, the smell of old wood and the faint echo of Joel’s guitar drifting through the house.

But for now, she lingers a moment longer, headset still cupping her ears, as if hoping to catch the fading warmth of your frequency before she goes.

“I told my friends about you.”

“Bold.”

“Did you report me?”

“...No.”

“That’s really bold.”

“You better thank me, Jackson.”

[enchantedbarnes]

AHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

You stepped inside and smiled at Alpine who had run to the hallway to see what was happening.

“Hello my pretty princess!” you cooed, crouching down so that you could pet her. She purred, bumping her head against your hand before she closed her eyes while you ran your fingers through her soft fur.

“I still cannot believe she lets you pet her.”

Sweet baby angel princess 🥰😍

He shook his head. “I don’t if you’re the one asking me.”

😏

“Let’s say you woke up tomorrow,” you said. “And everything is perfect. What’s the first thing you’d want to see?”

You.

“Come on,” you taunted him. “Say it.”

😈

His blue eyes searched your face, his smile fading as he swallowed thickly, then took a deep breath.

“You,” he said. “Next to me.”

Bucky liked you back.

…Oh God, he liked you back.

Yet another interruption 🫠😵🫨☠️

“Bucky, I already like your—no no no, Alpine, I come in peace!” Caleb’s voice reached the kitchen -

😂

You let out a giggle and dropped your hands, your cheeks almost hurting with how wide you were smiling while you bounced on the balls of your feet, your heart still slamming against your chest.

“Bucky,” you whispered. “He…he likes me.”

Kelsey blinked a couple of times. “You guys didn’t even kiss yet?”

With what time, Kelsey??? Help themmmmm!

“No Birdie, once we all leave you guys will hold hands and recite poetry. The fuck do you think?!”

😂

“Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you,” he said, clearing his throat like he was trying to gather up courage while Bucky’s eyes found yours, awakening the butterflies in your stomach, a fire sweeping over your face. “Do you want to grab coffee sometime when you’re—”

“I’ll talk to you later, I just remembered an email I’m supposed to send Gray,” you said without so much as hearing what he was saying before you made your way back into the house so that you could calm down a little.

Oh Tim. Timmy Timmy Timmy. Timbooo. Not happening buddy.

They both nodded and sat down, and as if on cue, Alpine jumped from the couch to curl up next to you.

“Hi,” you said with a smile as you ran your fingers through her fur. “Alpine wants to listen to music too, I guess.”

😍🥰🥹😭

“Uncle Bucky, she looks like a princess,” You heard Cass’s very loud whisper and you bit back a smile.

“She really does, buddy.” Bucky whispered back, making your cheeks burn and AJ rolled his eyes.

😭🥹🥲 my heartttttt

“You think—” you cut him off. “Wait, Bucky…You—you think today is the first time I’ve thought about this?”

Looooooooooooool

Until his lips found yours.

✨F I N A L L Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y ! ! ! ! 🎆🎇🤸‍♀️🎆🎇

“What if—” you stammered, “what if while we’re not looking the world catches fire?”

A small smile pulled at the corners of his mouth as he leaned in again. “Good. Let it burn.”

It had to be because of the fire that you didn’t even realize the words coming out of your mouth until you actually heard them:

“I love you.”

“Sorry, I—sorry, I’m just—I’m gonna—” You couldn’t even finish your sentence as you rushed past him to get to the hallway, leaving him in the kitchen completely frozen.

“Until you came along,” he said, his voice a mere whisper. “And brought the warmth with you.”

You didn’t even notice the tears were back until Bucky wiped under your eye with a knuckle, trailing your cheekbone.

“I’m not gonna say it’s too much,” he told you. “I can’t. I love you too.”

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

“I don’t—I don’t know how to do things slow. I think.”

You could see that fond light glimmering in his blue eyes even in the dimly lit room.

“That’s okay,” he murmured, his vibranium fingertips running up and down your leg, waking goosebumps on your skin. “I’ll teach you how.”

🧎‍♀️ 😏 😈

“Birdie,” he murmured and dipped his head to kiss your neck, his hand pushing the hem of your dress up your legs, making your eyes flutter close. “I cannot even begin to tell you how much we won’t work tonight.”

I hope you have an amazing break and vacation! 🩷Not sure how I'm going to survive till August, that feels like 3 lifetimes away from now!

Declassified [13] - Barbecue

A.N: Thank you so much for your wonderful support my loves, you are so amazing🩷

Friendly reminder that I will be on vacation in July, so I won't have access to my laptop🩷 We will have the next chapter around August 1-2 but my headcanons and asks and everything else is open as usual! 🩷 So please let me know what you think, and I hope you like this chapter! 🩷

Pairing: Congressman!Bucky x Female!Reader

Summary: Anything can happen at a barbecue.

Warnings: Explicit language, adult themes, MDNI.

Word Count: 6.6k

Series Masterlist

A short white sundress wasn’t exactly professional but then again, everyone else in the team was going to show up in casual clothes anyway.

Even you had to admit, this was a good PR move. Having a barbecue party at his place surrounded by his team and his family –Wilsons— not only sounded fun but also would show the rest of the world that he wasn’t affected by his breakup, and business was as usual.

So technically, the sundress was purely because of PR reasons and not because you wanted him to think you were pretty.

 Technically being the key word.

You fixed your hair and your dress as much as you could with one hand while holding a stack of files and a box of cookies in the other, then knocked on his door and stepped back. Excitement was rushing through your system already, and you took a deep breath to calm yourself down, then looked up as the door opened.

“So I know I came a little early and brought work but the alternative was for me to work in the middle of the barbecue which is like not ideal in terms of PR, so I also brought cookies.”

Bucky looked frozen as he eyed you up and down, his mouth slightly open and you tilted your head in confusion.

“Bucky?”

His eyes whipped to yours and he shook his head as if trying to snap out of the daze he was in, then immediately got the files and the box of cookies from your hands.

“Hey,” he said. “Uh—come in!”

You stepped inside and smiled at Alpine who had run to the hallway to see what was happening.

“Hello my pretty princess!” you cooed, crouching down so that you could pet her. She purred, bumping her head against your hand before she closed her eyes while you ran your fingers through her soft fur.

“I still cannot believe she lets you pet her.”

“She likes me,” you said. “Don’t you Alpine?”

Her answer was rubbing her face against your hand and you scratched at her head, then stood up again to look around. This was bigger than his earlier place which you figured was normal for a Congressman, but it still had Bucky’s characteristics scattered around. His old pictures with The Howling Commandos as well as with Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson were framed on the walls, and as you passed by the living room, you could see his records and phonogram at the corner. You followed him to the kitchen, eyeing his muscular body hungrily, biting at your lip.

How did this man look good both in a suit and casual clothes?

“So.” He pulled you out of your daze as he placed the files and cookies on the kitchen island. “You shouldn’t have.”

“I mean.” You plopped down the stool. “It’s not like I baked them. I don’t want to poison you or the rest of the team.”

He let out a chuckle. “Really?”

“I don’t know how to bake,” you said. “And also I needed bribery so that you’d take a look at the files I brought.”

He eyed them wearily. “That’s a lot of pages.”

“But hey, the cookies are delicious.” You opened the box to turn it in his direction, wiggling your brows. “Try one.”

He heaved a sigh and grabbed one, then bit into it and raised his brows.

“Wow.”

“Right?”

“I’m not sure I know this flavor.”

“Blueberry coffee.”

“Blueberry coffee?” he repeated and you grinned.

“Yeah well, I happen to know you don’t like it too sweet,” you said. “The guy at the register said this one is pretty good—I still refuse to believe you don’t like dessert.”

“It’s not that I don’t like it,” he said. “I just don’t like too much sugar.”

“I could eat dessert for breakfast, lunch and dinner.” You clasped your hands under your chin. “Did you always dislike it?”

“Well,” he trailed off and shrugged his shoulders. “I mean sugar was rationed, so I didn’t grow up with too much of it. We had it better than most folk but we still didn’t use much. And then the war and then HYDRA...It took me a while to get used to food when I got back, and desserts weren’t the priority.”

You pursed your lips, your heart clenching with compassion. “Sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”

“Don’t be, I don’t mind.”

“You hate it when people ask you about your past though.”

He shook his head. “I don’t if you’re the one asking me.”

You could feel a smile warming your face, and you bit down on your lip.

“Well then, I’m making it my personal challenge to find desserts that you’ll like,” you said as he took another bite of the cookie. “And I’m warning you, I’m very ambitious.”

“Oh really?” he teased you, smiling back. “I haven’t noticed.”

“So I will succeed,” you said and reached out to grab the file at the top, then opened it. “Speaking of succeeding, I need you to take a look at these.”

He took a look at the multiple files, then turned to you.

“Coffee?”

“Oh my God, yes please.”

                                               *

The problem with you and Bucky working alone was that you got along way too well. When you were around other people you could work efficiently but when it you were alone, you got way too distracted.

Like you were right now.

“That’s not a valid answer!” he insisted and you gasped.

“It is!”

“It’s not, it goes against the game.”

“There’s only one logical answer to the 3 things you should take to a deserted island. Powerboat, satellite phone, water filter.”

“Nope.”

“The goal is to get the fuck out of the island!” you insisted, moving your hands to emphasize your point and he shook his head.

“That’s cheating.”

“Fine, what am I supposed to take with me, genius?”

“Knife to hunt for food so you don’t starve, water to not die of dehydration, blanket to not freeze to death at night.” He counted with his fingers. “The goal is survival.”

“I wouldn’t survive a day in nature,” you said. “Like, if I’m ever in the nature, I’ll just let it kill me.”

“That’s not…”

“Also,” you added. “What if the animal I need to kill is a cute deer? What am I gonna do, kill Bambi?”

“Again, you have to survive somehow.”

You gasped. “Not at the expense of Bambi!”

“Sorry about Bambi,” he deadpanned and you made a face.

“Like I said,” you muttered. “I’m not hunting, I’m getting the hell out of the island. You have fun playing Survivor there.”

“See you’re saying this now but if we were both on the island, you’d be eating Bambi.”

“Bucky!”

“I’d just lie to you about where it came from.”

Your jaw dropped and you pushed at his arm, making him let out a laugh.

 “Bambi is in a farm,” he said, trying to keep a straight face, “where she can run all she wants and be happy—”

“Keep talking like that and I’ll get on my powerboat and leave you behind,” you insisted, pointing a finger at him. “I’m just not built for survival, okay? I can barely survive seasonal change, you think I’ll survive a goddamn island? Nope.”

“I’d keep you alive,” he said nonchalantly, reaching out into the box to get another cookie while you turned your phone in your hand.

“Okay, my turn.” You sat up straighter. “We talked about this the other day with Kels and Caleb.”

“I’m listening.”

“Let’s say you woke up tomorrow,” you said. “And everything is perfect. What’s the first thing you’d want to see?”

He raised his brows, a small smile playing on his lips and you took a sip of your coffee.

“Nothing is off limits,” you said. “And no judging, because Caleb said he’d wake up to a bank account of seven figures and had to deal with Kelsey asking him ‘what about world peace you heartless ass?’ for like days whenever he opened his mouth.”

Bucky let out a chuckle, humming as if he couldn’t decide whether he wanted to tell you or not. You narrowed your eyes at him, resting your elbows on the kitchen island and leaning in.

“Come on,” you taunted him. “Say it.”

“In a perfect world?”

“Yeah,” you said. “You can be totally selfish. What do you wake up to?”

His blue eyes searched your face, his smile fading as he swallowed thickly, then took a deep breath.

“You,” he said. “Next to me.”

Your gaze snapped up to his, the gears in your mind screeching to a halt, your breath hitching in your throat. You could feel your heart hammering in your chest, warmth rushing through your system so fast that it made you lightheaded while you tried your hardest to think through the haze.

Bucky liked you back.

…Oh God, he liked you back.

You could swear your whole body was shaking as you took a trembling breath in a desperate attempt to find your voice but before you could say anything, several voices carried out into the kitchen from the front door; Sam, Cass and AJ, and Sarah.

“Buck?”

“Uncle Bucky!”

“Boys, don’t run!”

Hurried footsteps approached and Bucky had to force himself to tear his gaze from yours, then turned to catch AJ and Cass who flung themselves to him mid-air.

“Whoa, did you guys get bigger since I last saw you?” he asked, making them giggle and you tried to pull yourself together, then waved at them.

“Hi guys.”

“Hi!”

“Oh hey there!” Sarah only hesitated for a moment by the doorframe before she went to kiss Bucky’s cheek, then turned to you. “It’s been so long, how have you been?”

“Good,” you managed to squeak out and then cleared your throat. “Great, and you?”

 “I left the door open because there are more people—” Sam paused when he saw you, his eyes going from you to Bucky and to you again. “Uh…more people coming. Hey.”

“Hi Sam, it’s great to see you.”

“Bucky, I already like your—no no no, Alpine, I come in peace!” Caleb’s voice reached the kitchen and Bucky put the boys down, then made his way to the hallway as if nothing was out of the ordinary, as if you weren’t about to pass out in the middle of the kitchen in front of Sam and Sarah.

“And I thought we were here early,” Sam commented, earning a not-so-subtle jab to his ribs from Sarah and you licked your lips, then nodded your head.

“Yeah I…we—we were working.” You vaguely motioned at the files on the kitchen island, your hands still shaky, and you cleared your throat again. “Um—excuse me.”

You made your way out of the kitchen to the hallway and grabbed Kelsey’s arm while Bucky was distracted by the rest of the team asking him where to put the things they brought before you pulled her into the bathroom and slammed the door behind you.

“What’s going on?” she asked and you covered your mouth, jumping up and down with a squeal.

“Kels…”

“What?”

“He likes me.”

Kelsey pulled her brows together. “What?”

You let out a giggle and dropped your hands, your cheeks almost hurting with how wide you were smiling while you bounced on the balls of your feet, your heart still slamming against your chest.

“Bucky,” you whispered. “He…he likes me.”

“Oh my God!” Kelsey pulled you into a tight hug, then pulled back to look at you better. “He said it?”

“Well he—you know, I asked him that question we were talking about the other day, the perfect world one. And he said he’d wake up next to me.”

“Holy shit!” Kelsey whispered and grabbed at your hand. “See? I told you!”

“I can’t believe it,” you said and let out a teary laugh, then fanned at your face with your other hand. “I’m gonna cry I think—”

“Nope you’re not, because the team will start asking questions,” Kelsey said and you took a deep breath, sniffling. “Then?”

“Then Sarah and Sam showed up, and then you guys.”

Kelsey blinked a couple of times. “You guys didn’t even kiss yet?”

“I couldn’t even tell him I like him back yet!” you whispered. “And I—how am I gonna get him alone without the whole team noticing?”

“Yeah, that’s too dangerous right now,” Kelsey said, then shrugged her shoulders. “You’ll have to wait until we all leave.”

Your eyes widened. “That’s hours away!”

“You two waited this long, you can wait a couple of hours,” she said while you let out a whine.

“But I want to kiss him!”

“You will do all that and more, just get through this barbecue nonsense.”

You threw your head back, stomping on your foot like a spoiled kid and Kelsey let out a laugh.

“You’ll be fine,” she said. “Want me to tell Caleb?”

“When you get home, yes,” you said. “I can’t risk anyone hearing it, and the place is full of people.”

“Yeah, good call.”

“And assuming I won’t explode until everyone leaves…”

Kelsey grinned. “To repeat. You could handle seven years of bad sex, you can handle like seven hours until mindblowing sex.”

Your head shot up.

“Wait wait wait,” you said, your heart doing an excited flip. “Do you think he wants to sleep with me? Like, tonight? Because I’m like so so ready but would he want to?”

“No Birdie, once we all leave you guys will hold hands and recite poetry. The fuck do you think?!”

You started fanning your face again.

“I mean I—obviously I really really really like him but also I—I want to jump on him,” you stammered. “Like, both emotional and physical.”

“Shocking,” Kelsey stated. “The sky is blue. Water is wet. You want to fuck Bucky.”

“I mean if he does want to talk about his feelings I can—”

“I don’t think any man would want to talk about his feelings when you’re in that dress and ready to jump in his bed,” Kelsey motioned at you and you beamed at her.

“Aw thank you! I got it from—”

“You can send me the link later,” she said. “We should go before they realize we’re hiding in the bathroom.”

You nodded your head while she opened the door to check the hallway, then stepped outside with you following her suit.

“Remember,” she said. “You’re not doing anything while we’re here. Too risky.”

You nodded again and fixed your hair, letting out a breath.

“Yeah,” you said as you walked with her to the kitchen. “Yeah, of course. Shouldn’t be that hard.”

                                            *

Correction.

It was, in fact, that hard.

You couldn’t focus on a goddamn thing.

You were pretty sure that Bucky had told Sam because they were having a discussion in whispers at the corner of the garden while everyone drank and ate, and the only thing that pulled them out of it was Caleb when he wanted to take pictures with the whole team and Wilsons. You had taken a step in Bucky’s direction for the picture but Kelsey had pulled you to the other side of the crowd, muttering something about PR.

And throughout all that, it was as if you were in a haze.

Bucky’s eyes barely left you the whole day, though he hadn’t come closer to you like he wanted to give you your space to think about it. It was laughable to think he was under the impression that you wouldn’t throw yourself at him after months of pining after him, but Bucky could be very oblivious sometimes so you figured it was normal.

And you were still burning under his gaze, no matter how much you tried to act normal.

“So yeah, apparently Bucky winning gave Paul a huge leverage, just like the rest of us,” Tim said while you stole a look at Bucky who was chuckling at something Caleb said and Sarah let out a laugh, then said something while motioning at Bucky, making Caleb’s jaw drop as Bucky shook his head fervently like he was trying to convince him. “He got like a six figure deal for Senator Holloway’s next campaign. Anyways, I can barely talk to you during work nowadays.”

“Yeah, I’m like swamped with work,” you said, barely paying attention to Tim. “It’s fun but also very busy.”

“Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you,” he said, clearing his throat like he was trying to gather up courage while Bucky’s eyes found yours, awakening the butterflies in your stomach, a fire sweeping over your face. “Do you want to grab coffee sometime when you’re—”

“I’ll talk to you later, I just remembered an email I’m supposed to send Gray,” you said without so much as hearing what he was saying before you made your way back into the house so that you could calm down a little. You let out a breath and went into the kitchen to fill yourself a glass of water in hopes of helping the fire burning at the pit of your stomach. You took a huge gulp, then turned your head when you heard Cass saying your name from the doorframe.

“Hey,” you said with a small smile. “What’s up?”

“Um, can you help us with something?”

“Sure thing,” you said, following him to the living room and AJ gave you a shy smile, then pointed at the phonograph.

“Do you know if it works?”

“I think so.”

“Can we play it? I would ask uncle Bucky but he’s talking to mom and the other guests.”

“I don’t think Bucky would mind,” you said with a shrug of your shoulders, then stepped closer to the phonograph. “Sure you can. Want me to help?”

“Yes please,” they both said, making you press a hand over your chest.

“You guys are like the sweetest kids in the world,” you said and sat down in front of the phonograph, tucked your legs under you, then pulled a couple of vinyl records from the shelf underneath it. “Do you have a favorite?”

AJ thought for a moment. “We don’t know any old singers.”

“That’s totally fine,” you said gently. “We can pick together then, and it’ll be a surprise to all of us. Exciting, isn’t it?”

They both nodded and sat down, and as if on cue, Alpine jumped from the couch to curl up next to you.

“Hi,” you said with a smile as you ran your fingers through her fur. “Alpine wants to listen to music too, I guess.”

Cass reached out to pet her while you put some of the records on the floor.

“Which one?” you asked them and they both turned their attention on the covers of the records with such serious expressions that one would think they were trying to decide on something incredibly important.

“Do you have a favorite?” Cass asked and you pretended to zip your mouth shut.

“I trust your judgment.”

They exchanged glances and Cass whispered something into AJ’s ear, making him frown before he nodded.

“Um,” he said and pointed at one of the records. “This one?”

“Whoa!” you said. “How did you guys know it’s my favorite?!”

Well, no.

Sinatra wasn’t your favorite, not by a long shot but they didn’t need to know that.

Their eyes shone with excitement and AJ grinned.

“Really?”

“Oh I’m like a huge fan of him,” you said. “Okay, let’s play him then. Who wants to do it?”

“We don’t know how to play it.”

“I’ll tell you. It’s very easy.”

Cass grabbed the record, then looked at you. “What if I break it or something?”

You shrugged your shoulders and dropped your voice like you were giving them a secret.

“I have the exact same record at home,” you whispered. “If you break it, I’ll replace it with mine, and Bucky won’t even notice.”

Cass giggled and pulled out the record out of the sleeve and you turned the phonograph on.

“Okay, you have to move the needle. AJ, can you do it?”

AJ nodded and moved the needle.

“And Cass, can you place the record over there?”

Cass did as you asked.

“And now, let’s put the needle here,” you muttered, reaching out to put the needle on the record, and the melody filled the room, making them gasp. The look of excitement on their faces was so sweet that you couldn’t help but laugh, then clasped your hands together.

“There you go!” you said. “Told you it was easy.”

“Um, how does it work?” AJ asked and you pointed at the record spinning on the player.

“So there are grooves on it,” you said. “On the vinyl. The needle follows—”

“Uncle Bucky!” Cass ran to the door and your heart skipped a beat, and you looked over your shoulder to see Bucky leaning to the doorframe, watching you with a soft light in his eyes. You tried to pull yourself together and cleared your throat, then motioned at the phonograph.

“I’m teaching them how to use it.”

“We picked her favorite record!”

“They’re way too smart,” you told Bucky as if giving him a secret and Bucky chuckled.

“Oh yeah, they are.”

“And then?” AJ insisted. “How does it turn into music?”

“So yeah, the needle!” You turned to the phonograph. “Okay, the needle follows those grooves. You see those?”

“Mm hm.”

“So the needle follows those to make the sound, and there are magnets in the phonograph,” you said. “Those magnets turn it into soundwaves, and then—”

“Uncle Bucky, she looks like a princess,” You heard Cass’s very loud whisper and you bit back a smile.

“She really does, buddy.” Bucky whispered back, making your cheeks burn and AJ rolled his eyes.

“Don’t mind him,” he told you in exasperation like this was a daily occurrence and you repressed a laugh.

“And then those soundwaves follow here, and tada! Music.”

“Because of magnets?”

“Magnets and soundwaves, yeah.”

“Whoa,” AJ said and turned to Bucky. “But Uncle Bucky, you do know you can listen to music on your phone now?”

“He’s old,” you told AJ, shooting a grin at Bucky. “Give him time, he doesn’t know half of the artists we listen to nowadays.”

“I’ll show you my favorite, come on!” AJ ran to him to pull him by the hand. “You’ll love it!”

“Buddy, can you give me a minute?” he asked without pulling his gaze off you and you shook your head and stood up, making Alpine let out a noise of discontent.

“No, come on!” AJ insisted. “It’s really good music!”

“That sounds important,” you said, while Cass nodded fervently. “Go.”

He looked like he wanted to argue but ended up letting AJ pull him out of the living room to the garden, Cass running after them. You looked down at Alpine who was blinking up at you, then leaned down to scratch at her head.

“It’s fine,” you muttered while she purred. “Patience is a virtue and all that.”

                                            *

You could swear time had decided to move extra slow today.

But it had done nothing to soothe the excitement pulsing through your system, if anything it heightened it.

Thankfully, people were leaving. Everyone was in a good mood, and it was Saturday evening, so you could hear the plans they were trying to decide on as they walked from the garden to the kitchen. You pushed up the sleeves of zip up hoodie Bucky had given you earlier today when you got cold and sat down on the stool, trying to act like your heart wasn’t beating in your throat.

“Bucky, are you sure?”

“Very sure.”

“Sam, you should join us!”

“I appreciate that Kelsey, but I am too old to go bar hopping with you guys.”

“That’s not even true! We only changed like four clubs the last time.”

“Exactly.”

“Miss Wilson?”

“Thank you Caleb, but what Sam said. And I gotta put the boys to bed.”

“Mom, can we go?”

“Nope.”

“Tim?”

“I’m down.”

“Lisa?”

“Oh for sure. Wouldn’t miss it.”

“Birdie?”

 You lifted your eyes from the file in front of you.

“Bucky and I will work until late I think,” you said calmly, motioning at the rest of the files. “I’ll take an Uber. See you at home.”

You could see Bucky’s head snapping up like he wasn’t expecting you to stay, Sam and Sarah exchanging glances before they both smirked and Caleb frowned while Tim looked almost sad that you weren’t joining.

“Seriously?” Caleb asked. “It’s Saturday night.”

“And just because you don’t work doesn’t mean no one else can,” Kelsey said, grabbing him by the arm, and Caleb gasped.

“I have been working all day today, if you haven’t noticed—”

“See you guys!” Kelsey said as she dragged him out of the kitchen, Lisa, Tim, Sarah, Sam and the boys following them. Bucky walked them to the door, the chatter in the hallway continuing in full speed until the door opened, and then closed again.

Then, silence.

As silent as it could be with your heart pounding in your ears.

You slipped from the stool to lean your back against the kitchen island, trying to keep your breathing under control, squeezing the phone in your hand as you heard his footsteps coming closer until he appeared at the doorframe.

God, he was way too handsome.

You tried to swallow the nervousness tightening your throat as he took a step closer, putting his hands in his pockets.

“You didn’t leave.”

“Didn’t want to.”

His blue eyes searched your face as if he was trying to read your mind, making your heartbeat even faster.

“How long?” you managed to ask and he huffed out a curt laugh.

“For…” he trailed off. “Since I first saw you. Since you waltzed into the office with that huge folder and put it on my desk and said ‘Hi, you don’t know me yet but I figured out how to win this thing.”

A giggle bloomed in your mouth.

“But why wouldn’t you tell me?” you whispered, taking a step to him and he shook his head.

“You’ve been thinking about this just for a day, I’ve been thinking about this for a very…”

The rest of his sentence got lost somewhere as shock muffled your ears before realization crashed down on you.

…Oh.

Oh, Bucky actually thought—

He had no idea you stayed because you returned his feelings, he was under the impression that you stayed because you wanted him to explain. He actually thought today was the first time you thought about the possibility of you and him.

The idea was so absurd that you couldn’t help the exhale of disbelief leaving you.

“You think—” you cut him off. “Wait, Bucky…You—you think today is the first time I’ve thought about this?”

He looked like he didn’t know how to answer your question and a laugh climbed up your throat.

“Oh my God,” you whispered. “And I thought I was very obvious.”

He frowned slightly as you licked your lips, your stomach still fluttering.

“Ask me what my answer was.”

“To what?”

“The perfect world question,” you said with whatever courage you could pull from somewhere within you. “I know your answer but you don’t know mine. Ask.”

Bucky swallowed thickly, his voice low; “What was your answer?”

You could swear you were shaking, but by some miracle, when you spoke, your voice didn’t crack.

“The same as yours.”

The look of hope that dawned on his handsome face was so foreign that it took you by surprise. You hadn’t even seen it the night he won the election; he was happy then but this was something else. He took a step to close the distance between you, his flesh hand lifting a little so that he could cup your cheek, making your breath catch in your throat. His gaze slipped to your lips, then back at your eyes as if he was asking for your permission and you looked up at him, breathless with anticipation before you nodded. You could almost hear the crackling in the air, something electric between you coming to life, getting more and more intense—

Until his lips found yours.

This was different.

From all the times Max kissed you, or all the times you kissed guys before Max, none of it had ever been like this.

This was pure, unadulterated desire.

You could feel yourself melting in his arms as you lost yourself in his kiss, your fingers curling in his shirt just so that you could have an anchor, but a small whine escaping you when he pulled back to rest his forehead against yours, his breath caressing your lips. Your eyes fluttered open as he pulled down the zipper of the hoodie you were wearing over your sundress, his movements agonizingly slow like he was opening up a fragile present before he let it fall on the floor, desire making you dizzy. He dragged his fingertips down your arm, and gently pulled your phone out of your hand to put it aside just out of your reach, your head following the movement.

“Wait, I…” You tried to think through the haze. “I need that.”

“No.” Bucky’s voice was soft as he shook his head. “You don’t.”

You blinked up at him.

“What if—” you stammered, “what if while we’re not looking the world catches fire?”

A small smile pulled at the corners of his mouth as he leaned in again. “Good. Let it burn.”

You were beginning to think no matter how close he was, it would never be enough with the way your body ached for him. He took your breath away when he kissed you again, his heart drumming under your hand, and he wrapped his arm around your waist to press your body closer to his, only pulling back to trail his thumb over your burning cheekbone.

“God…” he whispered in awe. “Do you have any idea what you’re doing to me?”

The room was spinning.

You were on fire.

It had to be because of the fire that you didn’t even realize the words coming out of your mouth until you actually heard them:

“I love you.”

And everything went still.

Including him.

It was as if someone had just poured a bucket of ice water over you, your whole body stiffening the moment you realized what you had actually said. Your eyes snapped open, your breath catching in your throat as tears of frustration rushed to your eyes, and Bucky pulled back to see you better, a look of surprise etched on his handsome face.

Of course you had to ruin it.

“Sorry, I—sorry, I’m just—I’m gonna—” You couldn’t even finish your sentence as you rushed past him to get to the hallway, leaving him in the kitchen completely frozen.

You were an idiot.

You just had to open your stupid mouth and ruin it.

You couldn’t even blame Bucky or anyone else. Hazel had a point, you were the starry-eyed idiot with a schoolgirl crush who couldn’t keep her fucking mouth shut just because he had kissed you.

You all but ran down the hallway to get to the front door but the minute you pulled it to yourself, you felt his presence behind you before he slammed the door close with enough force to shake it in its hinges, making you gasp in surprise.

This must’ve been how he was on missions.

No one heard him coming until it was too late.

If this were someone else—anyone else, you would’ve been petrified but even now, through the frustration and shock, your mind somehow knew that Bucky would rather cut off his own hand than hurt you. No part of him touched you, and for a moment he just stood there behind you, the warmth of his body nearly intoxicating until he broke the silence, his voice a low murmur.

“Did you mean it?”

“What does it matter?” You managed to rasp out. “I ruined it.”

“Birdie…”

“Listen, you’ll say it’s too much, I—I know, it’s fine.” You stumbled over your words. “You’ll have my resignation letter tonight, and Kelsey will pick up my things from the office. We don’t have to talk about any of this, just…” You wiped your eye with the back of your hand. “I ruined it, it’s fine, I’m just gonna go, okay?”

“You didn’t—” Bucky let out an impatient breath. “Sweetheart, can you just look at me please?”

You were pretty sure that if you saw the look of disappointment in his eyes, you were going to collapse on the floor and start sobbing but you sniffled, then turned around to look up at him.

That didn’t look like disappointment.

He lifted his hand to wipe at the tear under your eye with a soft smile.

“I’m not gonna say it’s too much.”

For some reason that remained a mystery to you, you jumped at the opportunity to convince him; “No you should say it’s too much because it is too much, because like I’d totally understand—”

You were cut off when he brushed his lips against yours, but this time it was way too gentle like he feared you would break if he so much as held you wrong. He pulled back to let you breathe since your nose was clogged because of the tears that kept coming, and your eyes fluttered open, confusion settling over your mind like a fog, engulfing all your thoughts in it.

What was happening?

Bucky’s eyes darted over your face, and he took a deep breath like he was nervous.

“I’m not good at this,” he muttered. “But I need you to listen to me, okay?”

You pulled your brows together and sniffled, then nodded.

“I…” he trailed off. “For the last what, 80 years now? Everything with HYDRA, and those missions and cryo, over and over again, it was all ice. That was the only permanent thing. Bone-chilling cold. And when I first came back, when I got my mind back, I kept wondering why I still felt so cold, like a part of me never really left there.”

You blinked back the tears, wiping at your nose.

“And eventually, I figured it would be like that for the rest of my life. No matter what I did, what I tried, it was yet another thing that I would never get back, something that HYDRA carved into me. I got all of it out of my mind but I couldn’t get that…that chill out of my chest.” He paused for a moment and breathed out a curt laugh like he was lost in the memory, his brows furrowing.

“Until you came along,” he said, his voice a mere whisper. “And brought the warmth with you.”

You didn’t even notice the tears were back until Bucky wiped under your eye with a knuckle, trailing your cheekbone.

“I’m not gonna say it’s too much,” he told you. “I can’t. I love you too.”

…Oh.

Bucky—

Bucky loved you.

He actually loved you.

You stared up at him in complete silence as Bucky reached behind you, and you heard the unmistakable sound of the door opening before he stepped back, a shadow playing in his eyes like he was preparing for the pain, like he expected you to somehow reach into his chest to rip out his heart and walk out, leaving him with ice in his chest again.

“I’m not gonna do anything you don’t want me to,” he said. “Including keeping you here. I just needed you to know, that’s it.”

This had to be the third time he gave you a way out today, and each time it felt more and more insane to even think you would walk away.

A small sob climbed your throat, disbelief making you let out a teary laugh before you grabbed the door handle, pushed the door close, then flung yourself into his arms to pull him into a kiss. Your head was spinning, you were breathless, your heart felt like it was trying to climb out of your ribcage but none of that was enough to make you stop kissing him. He leaned down to snake his vibranium arm behind your thighs to lift you up like you weighed nothing, making you let out a squeal that soon turned into a giggle as you wrapped your legs around his waist. He carried you to the room at the other end of the hallway which turned out to be his bedroom, not pulling back from your kiss as if it would somehow break the spell until he carefully laid you down on the bed, settling between your legs. You tugged at his shirt with shaky hands and he pulled it off his head to throw it somewhere in the room, and you had only a couple of seconds to drink in the sight of his muscular torso before his lips found yours again. You trailed your fingertips down his chest to his abs and tried to unbuckle his belt but he pulled back, making you chase his lips with an impatient whine.

“Birdie—hey,” he whispered, his warm hand cupping your cheek as your eyes fluttered open, your heart beating in your ears. “Slow, okay darling?”

You tried to catch your breath, confusion pinching your brows together. No one had ever asked you to be slower about anything in your entire life; on the contrary, you were either pushed or convinced to be faster, to rush, to get it over with, whatever it was.

In or outside the bed.

“I, um…” You tried to find your voice through the fog of desire, looking up at him as he stroked your burning cheek while you played with his dog tags. “I don’t—I don’t know how to do things slow. I think.”

You could see that fond light glimmering in his blue eyes even in the dimly lit room.

“That’s okay,” he murmured, his vibranium fingertips running up and down your leg, waking goosebumps on your skin. “I’ll teach you how.”

This was new.

And way too unfamiliar.

And for once, your brain couldn’t think, not when he was looking at you like that, touching you like that.

“And you don’t—” You paused, but somehow Bucky didn’t seem annoyed by you trying to wrap your mind around the idea. Instead he waited patiently like he had all the time in the world, like there was nothing more important than what you were about to say. “You sure you don’t want to be fast to…”

For fuck’s sake, it was so hard to produce a single thought when he was half naked on top of you.

“To do what, beautiful?” he asked softly, nudging your nose with his, coaxing a giggle out of you while you trailed your fingertips over his muscular back.

“To do something else?” you said, what Max would always say when you were in bed flashing through your mind. “To—to work?”

He looked almost at a loss for words at the mere suggestion but he seemed to pull himself together much faster than you, a chuckle rumbling in his chest.

“Birdie,” he murmured and dipped his head to kiss your neck, his hand pushing the hem of your dress up your legs, making your eyes flutter close. “I cannot even begin to tell you how much we won’t work tonight.”

[vettelsvee]

OK SO teacher!seb and teacher!reader where the kids ask them if they are dating everytime they interact (which they arent), then one day seb takes the opportunity and actually asks her out on a date :)

ofc do your magic🙂‍↕️ this is just a basic idea !!

MR. VETTEL WANTED TO ASK YOU ON A DATE! | Sebastian Vettel

⋆ PAIRING: Primary School Teacher!Sebastian Vettel x Primary School Teacher!Reader ↳ Teacher AU ⋆ Part of CLASSROOM GOSSIPS ⋆ SUMMARY: You had a parent-teacher meeting and you end up overthinking if you're good enough to be a teacher. Lucky you, Seb is there to help you calming down ↳ REQUESTED: Yes! Hope you like it 💖 ⋆ WORD COUNT: 2640 ⋆ WARNING: None of it! Shy and insecure Seb maybe... ⋆ VEE'S NOTES: Second fic of the Seb birthday event! Hope you like it and, if so, reblogs and comments are truly appreciated! Thank you so much for reading <3 ↳ TALK TO ME / REQUESTS! | FORMULA 1 MASTERLIST

The bell sounding was the signal to let your students go to the playground. Quickly, and before going with the, you decided to tidy a little bit your classroom, which was quite a mess.

The end of the school year was approaching, and the students’ chaos and the general disorder were proof of that. You decided to hurry so the children wouldn’t miss your presence for too long. With your coffee in hand, and taking tiny sips of it, you began making small piles to organize the animal drawings they had been working on throughout the week and the rather poorly written essays about their upcoming “sumer vacashin.”

You were so absorbed in your task that you didn’t even hear the stampede of little shoes in the hallway, as well as you didn’t notice the three pairs of eyes silently peeking through the classroom door.

“Miss Y/L/N?”

You looked up and saw three second-grade students, one year younger than your class. You recognized them immediately: Max, with his arms covered in markers; Amelia, her face full of glitter; and Oliver, who always asked too many questions about everything.

And, of course, the three of them were in Sebastian’s class.

“Well, what a nice surprise to see you, kids,” you smiled, placing a shark drawing on its corresponding pile with the rest of the artwork, and walked over to them. “Aren’t you supposed to be outside with Mr. Vettel? Did something happen?”

Amelia stepped forward confidently, hands behind her back, rocking on her heels as if trying to seem casual.

That already told you they were there for a specific reason.

“It’s just… we have a question for you, Miss Y/L/N.”

“It’s suuuuper important,” Max added.

“We even took notes about it!” Oliver said, showing you a notebook full of illegible scribbles.

You nodded as if you understood what they meant while your confusion only grew more with that.

Amelia looked around the classroom, curious, as if checking to make sure no one else was around you. Then, she stepped closer and made you kneel down to whisper something in your ear:

“Are you dating Mr. Vettel? Because Mr. Vettel wanted to ask you on a date!”

“What?”

“She means… do you like him? Like, really like him?” Max clarified.

If the girl’s question had left you speechless, Max’s clarification rendered you even more so.

“But we don’t mean just kind of like him… we mean really really like him!” Max continued. “We know the difference.”

“Yes, I can see that…”

You carefully placed your coffee cup on the desk. Then, you leaned against it and crossed your arms, giving the children all your attention.

“And what exactly makes you think that?” you asked, genuinely curious.

Oliver flipped through his notebook and focused on the scribbles. His friends did the same, giggling as if this were the most exciting thing in the world.

“You smiled at him in the hallway on Tuesday while we were going to class in the morning,” he read seriously.

“And with your teeth!” added Amelia. “Miss Y/L/N, you don’t smile at anyone with your teeth unless you really like them!”

“Also, Mr. Vettel lent you his suuuuper cool blue whiteboard marker. And he never lends it to anyone,” Max explained, waving his arms excitedly. “Seriously, Miss Y/L/N, that marker is super cool and Mr. Vettel doesn’t lend it to anyone. Sometimes he doesn’t even use it himself because he says it’s so awesome and he only wants to use it on special occasions!”

“So, the cool blue one, huh?” you stifled a laugh.

“There’s another clue!” Oliver interrupted before you could respond. “The other day, when he was reading us poems about the weather, Mr. Vettel said, and I quote,” he made air quotes with his fingers, “‘if I had a girlfriend, I’d convince her us to stay home cuddled under a blanket while drinking hot chocolate and eating gummies.’”

“And what does that have to do with me?” you asked, amused, knowing these kids were imaginative enough to come up with anything to make their fantasies feel real. “That could mean anything, kids.”

“But he meant you!” Max suddenly exclaimed.

You laughed again.

“I see you’ve done some very thorough investigating.”

“So… are you dating Mr. Vettel or not?” Amelia insisted, getting even closer to you.

You paused, thinking about what to say. You searched for the right words, ones that couldn’t be twisted into further fantasy.

“Let’s just say… we’re good friends,” you finally replied.

“That means you are boyfriend and girlfriend!” Oliver shouted, scribbling more into his notebook.

“All right, that’s enough, kids!” you laughed, standing upright and walking toward them. “No more investigations for today. Let’s go outside. Mr. Vettel is probably wondering where you are.”

“Can we go to your wedding, Miss Y/L/N?” Amelia asked cheerfully as you walked together.

“There’s no wedding coming! Now go on, go play!” you said, laughing as they ran off.

However, just before disappearing around the corner that led to the lower primary playground, Max turned back with a mischievous grin:

“Tell Mr. Vettel we’ve been with Miss Vettel and that we say hi to him!”

You shook your head, still amused by how surreal the situation felt.

When you stepped into the playground, it was already full. The noisy laughter of the children, their games, and loud chatter made you smile.

You spotted Sebastian leaning against a wall, holding a soccer ball in one hand, the other tucked into his pocket.

You made brief eye contact with him. Maybe the kids were partly right: just the sight of him smiling back and waving made butterflies flutter in your stomach and curved your lips into a shy, silly smile, making you feel more like a teenager than a teacher.

You decided not to overthink it. After all, you were just coworkers, and it was impossible for it to be anything more than a few coffees or lunches shared during evaluation meetings.

And above all, they were… kids. If they still believed in Santa Claus, they had every right to believe that Seb and you were together, even if it was… just a fantasy.

Sebastian, meanwhile, was stealing glances at you while listening to the trio who had just visited you, now strategically standing far too close to him:

“I really think we’re close to discovering the truth!” Amelia said, bouncing with excitement. “I saw him smile at her this morning and it was with teeth! Just like hers!”

“Yes,” Max agreed. “And I also heard him humming when we passed Miss Y/L/N’s classroom. People in love hum. My daddy does it when my mommy is around.”

“I’ve got everything written down here!” Oliver added, drawing more scribbles next to the ones he already had in his notebook. “Every time they talk, when they smile at each other, when they give gifts to the other…”

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. He knew exactly what the kids were talking about, but… gifts? As far as he remembered, he hadn’t given you anything yet, out of sheer embarrassment… or, at least, not the ones he wanted to give you. Because yeah, he had many details with you… but that was it.

“Do you remember that time Miss Y/L/N made hot chocolate with whipped cream for Mr. Vettel during the Christmas party?!” Amelia shouted.

“And she also gave him a little bag of M&Ms! The ones he really likes!” Max added.

Sebastian had to cover his mouth to stop himself from bursting out laughing on the spot. For now, he didn’t want to ruin their “mission,” if only to hear what these kids had to say about the two of you so adorably, and with far too much detail for their age.

However, what he couldn’t hide was the big smile slowly spreading across his face. The kind of smile that only grows wider the more you hear something you like.

Because the truth was that they weren’t wrong at all. Sebastian, contrary to what you thought, knew those kids could see beyond simple gestures, because they were absolutely right.

Recess came and went pretty fast, so did school time. That afternoon, you decided to stay a bit longer at school to start working on evaluations and to clean up the chaos your classroom had become over the course of the year.

You tried to organize your thoughts. While pretending to review hours of exercises without much enthusiasm, what you were really doing was replaying everything Seb’s students had said to you that morning, all while reorganizing your desk as a distraction. 

You couldn’t lie to yourself anymore: you were daydreaming about the smile Sebastian had given you during the break. And the ones he carefully sent your way during staff meetings. And how he always left you post-its with kind messages at the beginning and end of the day. And how all of those little details, however small, had started to get to you.

You hated how Sebastian treated you. Specifically, you hated not knowing the real reason why he acted the way he did with you and, even more if possible, you hated not being able to do anything about it other than return those sweet gestures.

A soft knock at your classroom door pulled you from your spiral of thoughts.

You looked up and there he was, as if you had summoned him.

Leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, muscles tense and, truthfully, very attention-grabbing, was Sebastian. That familiar smile you liked so much rested on his face.

"Hey," he said quietly as he stepped inside the classroom.

You blinked in surprise at his unexpected visit. You hadn’t been expecting him and, maybe, that was why your cheeks were burning bright red.

"Is something wrong? Do you need to steal another worksheet from me?" you asked, half-jokingly, trying to keep it light.

"Not this time… though I wouldn’t say no since you offered."

"Then… what brings you to my classroom today?"

Sebastian hesitated when you asked him that. He sighed and reminded himself that, for now, the worst-case scenario was a “no.” But for you, just to take a step forward in whatever was growing between you two, it was worth the risk.

"I heard a rumor," he finally said, with determination.

You crossed your arms and leaned back on your desk, already knowing what he was referring to.

"Oh, really?"

"Apparently… I’ve heard that my golden trio snuck away from me this morning not long after recess started."

So yes, you were right. He was talking about that.

You groaned softly, burying your face in your hands, clearly embarrassed.

"So Amelia, Max and Oliver…"

"Yeah. The version I have of Harry, Ron and Hermione in my class," Seb chuckled softly.

"I was just tidying up a few things, and suddenly they showed up here…" you began explaining. "Then they started asking me way too many questions about my personal life and, well… maybe they’ve gotten some ideas about something that hasn’t happened and probably won’t. You know… kids," you added.

"They’ve been collecting evidence for weeks and, also, they’ve been telling me all about it," Sebastian confessed, just as embarrassed as you were, nervously rubbing his neck. "Apparently, and no matter how many times I denied it, they believe we got married in secret at the library, and now I have to ask you on dates because you’re my wife."

He laughed nervously at his own revelation. You couldn’t think of anything more adorable even though, truthfully, you felt exactly the same way as he did.

"Well, I just hope you told them that Mrs. Weber didn’t scold us for making noise. We have to set a good example for the kids, you know," you said, smiling more now.

The two of you fell quiet for a few moments, simply looking at each other. The silence, interrupted only by your almost synchronized breathing, didn’t bother you at all.

Seb began looking at you more intently, his expression turning soft and calm. Yet he seemed thoughtful, like he was trying to build up the courage to say something...

"You know, the kids aren’t… completely wrong," he finally said.

You tried to stay composed, silently repeating to yourself not to get your hopes up about whatever he was about to say.

"What do you mean?" you asked, nervously, but keeping a calm tone.

Seb let out his breath slowly. It made you realize that, just like you, he’d probably been mentally rehearsing how to say something for a while. The only difference was, he had finally found the courage to actually say it. Or maybe he had simply given himself permission to try.

"Well… I do like you. And I have for a while now," he admitted softly but firmly. "The thing is… I’ve been waiting for the right moment to tell you. And also to make sure you were comfortable with me, and that I wouldn’t make things awkward… but yeah, the kids kind of beat me to it before I could tell you."

You could feel your heart racing more and more with every word he spoke. As he explained why he’d been doing all those little things for you, the reason he’d been so kind, why he hadn’t confessed anything sooner, it all began to make sense somehow. He genuinely liked you and didn’t want to ruin the good relationship you already had.

You couldn’t stop looking at him. And you couldn’t stop thinking that… maybe there was real hope in all of this.

"Are you serious?"

Seb nodded, stepping a little closer to you. Gently, and with a silent look asking for permission, he took your hand.

"I was going to ask you out next week. I had it all planned for when the school year ended and we had a bit more free time. I was going to do it, you know… subtly. But apparently, a few seven-year-olds had other plans."

You couldn’t help but laugh, and he didn’t hold back from joining in.

"I think they do have a lot of plans for us. I bet if they were here right now, they’d be making plans for us this summer too."

Seb didn’t answer. You focused on him again: on the sweetness in his eyes, the calm and ease that radiated from him, and especially the way he looked at you… like he had already decided you were going to be one of his favorite people in the world.

That was the moment you realized you needed to calm down and, most importantly, give yourself the chance you deserved to be happy with someone who, without a doubt, had made your school days much, much more enjoyable… and happier.

Even more than your students.

"Then…"

"I’d love to," you interrupted, your voice a little shaky. "If you want, I can finish up here and… just if you want, really... we can go grab a coffee… Just us."

"That sounds perfect," he smiled, giving you a small hug before quickly pulling back, realizing maybe it was a bit too much and instantly second-guessing himself. "A coffee, lots of your favorite cake and no tiny spies trying to set us up."

You nodded, laughing again, one of those warm, full laughs that gave Sebastian life.

"But you have to promise me one thing: if any member of your golden trio keeps up their spying methods for the rest of the school year, or even during the next one, you’re the one who has to break the news to them.""Deal," he said. "Although I have a feeling there’s a high chance them figuring out on their own this summer… because, if you let me, I plan on taking you out on a lot of dates, Miss Y/L/N."

© VETTELSVEE (2025). Please, do not steal, copy, translate and share my works in other platforms. Thanks for reading!

[mari-starz-writing]

sorry for asking so much.. but.. Eternal Sugar Cookie killer reader forsaken.. LIKE👅👅👅👅👅 BADDIE!! POSE FOR ME!!.. mafioso x Eternal Sugar Cookie killer reader👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅👅

SHES SO PRETTY GAHHHH

I love when people request from me, so you don't have to feel sorry.

Reader may be OOC since I wrote this when sleepy.

Mafioso x Eternal Sugar Cookie!killer!reader

・With you being quite powerful, manipulation skills and the ability to fulfill anyone's dreams within your domain, even Mafioso had been scared of you at first. You met him when him and his minions had accidentally entered, and you greeted him with a sweet, slightly sleepy smile on your face. He didn't ask for much, which surprised you, and left immediately. You thought about it almost all the time after that. Why didn't you stop him? Why did he leave so easily? Why didn't he ask for anything? You weren't feeling negative about it, unlike when most people left... After all, you had a feeling that you would meet him again one day.

・And that feeling you had was correct. You had been transported to the killer's cabin. When he saw you, he attempted to try and talk to you, wondering how the one who put him in that realm was inside of the purgatory as well. You didn't reveal much, but you certainly intrigued him. Your sleepy, calm voice with a hint of seduction... That elegant, fancy outfit in contrast to the place where you are currently... Your mysterious, sweet way of hiding your true self... He wanted to know the real you. Whether that gentle, flirty person he knew was or wasn't the same as they appear.

・How he confessed... Moreso how you confessed. Your head was in his lap as you took a nap, tired from the round of killing survivors before smiling and looking up at him. You chuckled softly, holding one of his hands to your chest as you spoke. "You, my dear, are quite the enticing man. I'd like to be by your side... As a lover." A pink tint had went over his nose and cheeks, but he cleared his throat before nodding, pulling your head up to give you a gentle kiss. You had tried to continue that nap once you were in an actual bed, but... How could you sleep after that?

・Mafioso most likely knew that you were feeling slightly embarrassed, despite your work of a personality. At that point, he knew you didn't get out much, and didn't have a lot of romantic experience, only giving it to others. But he did show you that he cared, even when busy, whether it be buying you fancy gifts, maybe spending some time with you on the porch or holding you close when cuddling (or vice versa by your decision), he'll always try his best to make sure it's give and take for you, not just give.

・After that stage of your relationship with Mafioso, you became the more dominant one in the relationship. When he came back to the cabin, you'd gently go behind him and put your hand on his cheek, praising his work. You'd start being the big spoon during cuddle sessions more often, with Mafioso getting to be so every week or two. While he still does a lot of things for you, he knows you enjoy spoiling him and making him happy... Despite the fact he can do it to both you and himself.

・Mafioso finds you absolutely gorgeous and beautiful. He'll spectate you as a killer, admiring your work. Luring the survivors, giving them both healing and a false sense of hope... All to kill them. Mafioso admires the gracefulness of your attacks, and how you turn something seen as horrifying and brutal (Which it is.) into an elegant work of art. At least in his eyes.

・(ANGST-COMFORT) When Mafioso had complimented how you gave those survivors a false sense of hope and how it was a wise idea, you were confused. When he explained how manipulating the survivors was a good move, the conversation had escalated into a bit of an argument. After a few hours, he finally tried to go talk to you, and knocked on your door. When he sat down, trying to understand your anger, you had explained how you just want those survivors to be happy, and killing them is a way for them to not feel anymore pain. He hugged you, rubbing your head as you sobbed, until you tell asleep.

・Dates between the two of you are always sweet. A bit expensive, but sweet. He'll take you out to a nice dinner, or go clothes shopping for the two of you. But if the date doesn't have money spent, then he'll take a long walk in the forest with you, occasionally picking a flower to put in your hair. But if you're the one planning the date, then you'll take him to the living room, laying his head on your chest and turning on a movie. You don't know many places due to being cooped up in your realm for so long. But, it's always quite comforting.

・Since you can get quite obsessive at times, Mafioso will have to remind you he wouldn't leave you for the world. Even with that, you can get quite jealous. Seeing him talk with Chance, maybe Guest 1337... It angers you. Whenever you get jealous, he'll take you to his room, letting you decide to be either the big or little spoon, and gently reassuring you, rubbing small circles on your arm and smiling softly.

・If you two were killing together, rest assured, all the survivors are most likely dead. You'd lull them to lose their guard (The admins and Guest 1337 are pretty hard to convince, though.) and Mafioso would come in and easily kill them. If either of you were stunned, the other would protect. When the survivors see that you and Mafioso are the current killers, they'll know they're probably dead.

I made this while having a cold. And also... Another new crackship. Eternal Mafia?

[c00ki3sandcr3am]

Lumiran Season

Rafayel x MC (Unnamed) | Smut +18

A/n: Heyy lads fans! My friend and I were talking about how in one of the cards it depicts Rafayel going trough some kind of heat. It got me thinking about a lot of different things so I made this one shot! Please don’t read if you are under 18, and I hope you enjoy as I don’t usually write smut.

Tags: Heat!Rafayel, (semi) submissive Rafayel, (slightly) teasing bottom MC, afab MC, female + male genitalia, multiple penises, dual penetration

Word Count: 3.5k

The night had fallen not too long ago, the breeze by the water cool as it wafts from the open balcony doors, pushing the thin curtains, though the cool air stung as it blew onto Rafayel’s skin. His cheeks were flushed, uncharacteristically dark, and the heat across his body was agony, like a fever but over every orifice of his skin. It was his time of the month, the dreaded day when he could barely contain himself, an unquenchable thirst filling him, his mouth salivating with need, and his body stiff in anticipation. He only envied humans for one reason: their ability to keep in control, never to have to feel as though stimulation alone is not enough. 

Rafayel couldn’t do much; he couldn’t paint while his angry members pressed against his tight jeans, he could barely even walk without the slight friction of his clothes making his members leak. He spent all day in bed, the side of his face pressed against his plush pillows, body completely naked, yet dripping with sweat, and his hands working simultaneously on his members. It didn’t matter how many times, how long, if he used his hands or toys, or even how he jerked off, every release only made him harder. By night, he was desperate, practically crying into his pillows as he orgasms once more, his members still hard and standing tall. He’s an absolute mess, his lower stomach, pelvis, and the top of his thighs are covered in his cum, dried and wet. It was unsightly to him, but he couldn’t help himself. What was he supposed to do?

MC arrived at a terrible time, forced to pull Rafayel from his mansion to the art show he was supposed to be at. She thought that maybe he didn’t care enough, which is expected from him, but as she opened the front door with the house key he gave her, and she saw that all the lights in the house were off, she was confused. A bit of anxiety rose from her stomach to her chest, worried that something might have happened to him. Though the two aren’t exactly together, they are close enough that she worries about his well-being. She carefully closes the front door behind her and walks further into the house, her shoes discarded at the door, her light and calm voice calls out for him.

“Rafayel?”

Her voice echoed throughout the halls, but no answer. 

Rafayel shot up slightly at the sound of her voice, though quiet beyond the door, it reached his ears. His hands stop, the warmth burning up his body once more as he stops the stimulation. Rafayel gulps, teeth gnawing at his bottom lip as he thinks for a moment, Why is she here? What do I do? I can’t let her see me like this. At a time, perhaps long ago, he would feel comfortable to let her see him like this, he would invite it actually, and she could help him. But this her is different; they aren’t as close as they once were, he couldn’t allow her to see him like this. Though he told himself to move, go into the bathroom so she couldn’t just bust in, his body was taut, practically a statue in bed. It wasn’t only because his heat has warped his brain temporarily, but deep inside himself he wants her to see him. Needs her to, actually. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could stand yearning for her. His senses were clouded by his own lust, unable to exactly gauge where she was in the house, but the anticipation thumped in his chest and tingled down to his toes, drool sliding down to his jaw from his open mouth, further presenting his thirst.

MC approached the door with apprehension. She had checked all the regular areas Rafayel would usually be at, yet he was nowhere to be found. She stood outside of his bedroom door for just a moment, trying to listen to see if he was in a compromising position, like getting changed, but all she could hear was his breathing. MC rolled her eyes, of course, he’s asleep. She thought. He didn’t really care about anything but himself most of the time it seemed like. With an exasperated expression and a deep sigh, she opens the door, ready to give him a scolding. She didn’t really react at first, still so convinced that he’s just sleeping, that when she saw his sweaty, messy, body completely spread on top of the strewn sheets, and members standing tall and leaking from the head, she stopped. MC stares at him for a second, her expression still holding frustration, but flattens slightly, shocked for a moment, before quickly changing to intrigue.

“Rafayel…”

Her mouth was open as she tried to say something else. It wasn’t that the scene was so obscene that she was shocked, it’s actually a rather pleasant sight, it’s the fact of what is there to say? Why speak at all when you can just act?

The sound of his own name spoken in her light tone, falling from the parting of those beautiful lips, nearly sent him to another orgasm alone. Rafayel’s purple eyes stared at MC, eyes dilated from the pleasure that the pink in the center was barely visible, his naked chest rose and fell with each heavy breath. He snaps to his senses for a moment, his head turns to the side, looking towards the open balcony as he lets a shaky breath escape him.

“MC…You-you shouldn’t be here…”

He spoke with a light, timid tone. It didn’t catch MC off guard at all, that timid, pouty tone is all too familiar to her, she notices that his fallen walls were building back up right in front of her. She steps into the dark room, the moon giving all the lighting needed, the shadows just as sensual as the atmosphere around them. She closes the door behind her, eyes watching Rafayel continue his timid act, as if it’ll make her go away. She slowly approaches him, her feet quietly padding against the hard floor, a small smirk on her full lips as she feels herself become hotter in her lower stomach.

“You are the one who shouldn’t be here…You know you have somewhere to be.”

Her tone is teasing, yet holds a matter-of-fact edge. She stops at the foot of the bed, tilting her head as Rafayel continues to deny her his gaze. She crawls onto the bed, the mattress dipping under her weight, causing Rafayel to blush and gulp, which doesn't go unnoticed by MC, a wider smile stretching across her lips. She sits on her knees, leaning down her hands lightly trailing up Rafayel’s bare legs, and her head hovers just over his left leg, ready to kiss across the skin. Rafayel’s shaved legs twitched, a gasp escaping him as just the mere touch of her cool hands brought him more pleasure than what he felt all day. Rafayel looks back towards her, eyes looking down, seeing her head press against his leg, lips kissing up from his ankle to his calf. His breath was taken from his as their eyes lock, MC’s tongue dragging up from his knee to the start of his thigh, her body moving in closer towards him.

“Is this why you didn’t come to the event?...Because you were being naughty? That’s pretty shameful of you.”

MC’s voice held a dominianting tone, one that is unlike her usual sassiness, it catches Rafayel off guard, a mix between another gasp and a moan vibrating in his throat and passing his parted lips. MC gives him a teasing look, her eyes dark and lusty as her body inches up further, her face now right next to his members. This is not the first time she’s come face to face with his…unique feature, even the first time it didn’t disgust her, it made her more excited. She had spent countless nights wondering what it would be like to have both inside her at once, the thought as tantalizing as it actually happening. MC could tell the Rafayel was a little gone, his body trembling against the mattress, one hand gripping the sheets as the other was over his head, gripping his pillow, mouth parted as he panted, and his purple eyes full of anticipation. He is abnormally quiet; by now, he would have made some sassy remark or would have found a way to make her go away, but not tonight. MC could tell that there was something special going on tonight.

If he doesn’t want to talk, then she won’t talk either. After all, there isn’t really much room for words anyway, only actions. She reaches a hand out, her head resting against his thigh, her fingers curling around both of his members. Though her fingers could barely hold onto both, it makes the two appendages press tightly together, and as her hand jerks up and down slowly, it makes the members rub together as well. Rafayel moans, high and desperate, as the feel of her hand on him, her fingers tickling the skin of his shafts, precum dribbling from the head down to her fingers. Rafayel’s body is pulled taut, his bucking up into her hand before buckling back down, the action repeating. Hot breaths escape him, his stomach tightening, as a few tears prickle in the corners of his eyes, brows arched up in pleasure, his sweaty hair sticking to his forehead, and his half-lidded eyes stare at MC as she works.

The pleasure that fills Rafayel is too great, toe-curling, as MC only works her hand faster at his response. Yet, it’s not enough. Why would it be? His thirst was so great, too great, that simply jerking off was not going to help him. He needed more. He needed to feel the warmth of being inside a woman, this woman in particular. Rafayel could feel something inside of him snap, while his body felt as heavy as an anvil previously, a surge of animalistic desire shot through him, a feeling he hadn’t felt in a long time. Rafayel sits up from his spot, the pillow dented from where he lay for hours, his hands reaching to grip MC’s wrist, pausing her ministrations on his members, his purple eyes looking down at her as she looks up at him, confused.

“What’s wrong? You’re obviously desperate enough for this.”

MC states. She holds her confused expression as she rises up to her knees, staring at him, face to face. She can see Rafayel huffing, his fingers holding her wrist tightly as his eyes look down to his lap. She notices that he’s trying to hold back, probably because they’ve never gone all the way before. She wonders how he can be so out of control, yet in control at the same time. Rafayel can feel his desire heating up faster than he can control, heating up his entire body once more, burning him, but he didn’t want to do anything without her consent. Taking what he wanted, regardless if she feels good, without making sure it’s okay first, didn’t feel right, especially since he will completely ravage her with no regard. He gulps deeply, his purple eyes looking back up into MC’s obvious lust in his gaze, his intentions not at all hidden.

“MC…I need help…Please, help me…”

MC can feel a smirk stretch upon her full lips for just a moment, before she puts on a fake sympathetic look, her lips pursing out ever so slightly. She pulls her hands from his grip and moves to lie back onto the bed, against the soft pillows, her hands grabbing his biceps and pulling him down on top of her. Her hands trail up from the lean, yet muscular, arms to his back, finger trailing down his spine, causing him to shiver ever so slightly.

“Oh, you poor thing…Of course I’ll help you…What do you want me to do?”

She spoke to him like you would to a hurt child, pretending to coddle him as her fingers continued to caress him. Rafayel lets out a shaky breath, his arms on either side of her head as he lifts himself up, his body hovering over hers. He looks down at her, his mouth still open as he lets out quick puffs, a yearning expression on his face.

“Just…Just let me have you…”

Rafayle’s voice is low, barely raised above a whisper. His purple eyes search MC’s, a silent plea as his hands curl up into fists against the sheets. MC let out a soft breath, her hands pressing fully against his back, her nails pressing ever so slightly into his pale skin, leaving small marks from under them.

“Of course. When did you think you couldn’t have me?”

At her words, Rafayel lowers himself closer, their noses touching as his head tilts to the side, taking her full lips against his. A soft, wet sound reaches their ears as their lips connect, Rafayel breathing into MC’s mouth as her lips part for him, his hot tongue sliding into her mouth. A soft moan vibrates in Rafayel’s throat as their tongues touch, the taste of her mouth across his taste buds. His tongue glides across every surface of her own, sliding and pressing the muscles together as heavy breaths fan across both of their skin, MC’s fingers digging a bit deeper into his back.

Rafayel, fully prepared to stay in that kiss forever, pulls away to allow her to catch her breath. MC’s cheeks slightly flushed, she breathes heavily, her chest rising and falling as her lust-filled eyes stare up and Rafayel as they open. She can feel her arousal growing, a heat spreading from her lower stomach to her between her legs, a familiar wetness slicking up the sensitive area. MC removes her hands from Rafayel’s back, her fingers gently pulling down the strap of her dress off her shoulder. Rafayel notices and quickly helps with the removal of her dress, one hand pulling down the other sleeve as his other hand holds his body up. 

He pulls the dress down from her chest to her waist, her breasts covered by her bra, though a peek of her hardened nipples from under the thick fabric can be seen. Rafayel’s long fingers trail down her sides, continuing to pull the dress down past her waist and to her legs, where MC kicks the dress off her legs, the light fabric falling to the ground. 

Rafayel gulps at the sight of her body, an image tantalizing to him as her supple skin waits for the touch of his hands and lips. Rafayel leans back down, eyes closing as their lips connect once more, the kiss full of hunger and desperation, the heat from his body flaying him, great enough for MC to feel. MC wraps her arms around him once more, fingering holding onto his skin tightly, causing the flesh to stretch under her strong grip.

One of Rafayel’s hands trails down her stomach, causing it to clench as his skin runs over the sensitive navel, to her panties. He had no patiences left to fully remove the thin fabric, instead moving it to the side, wedging it in the crease between her thigh and pelvis. He pulls his lips away, head looking down between them, trying to catch a glimpse of her wetness, though his position denies him the gaze, only furthering his desperateness.

Swallowing thickly, his hand grips one of his members, the head glistening with his precum, a small bead escaping the slit. He lets out a shaky breath, as he lines himself up, his hips snapping forwards with vigor, bottoming out completely inside of her. MC hisses in pain, her slick enough to allow him to go in so quickly, yet not quite prepared. Her thighs spread a bit wider, allowing his pelvis to press fully against her’s and giving his waist some room. Her heels press against his lower back, toes  curling as she huffs, little moans escaping her parted lips as she looks up at him with half-lidded eyes.

“Can…I can move, right?’

Rafayel questions, his voice deep and breathy. The feeling of her heat and her wetness coating his cock was enough to cause his own toes to curl, his brows arched up in pleasure as his eyes search her’s. MC huffs, feeling herself get used to his size, her tight insides stretching around his, becoming more comfortable, her hot core slobbering on his cock coaxing his member to dive deeper inside. MC nods lazily, her eyes clouding over as she feels him start to thrust, his head hitting far inside her, soft squelching sounds filling the quiet noise, along with their moans. Rafayel moans desperately, his voice higher in octave as his moans pass him, his head hanging above MC’s, eyes closed. The pleasure he is feeling is good, by only half good, his other cock uncomfortably hitting against her skin, the air leaving a slight, unpleasant, tingling sensation begging to be put inside her wet core.

Rafayel pauses his hips, the squelching silencing as he huffs, his cocks twitching slightly in anticipation. He opens his eyes, looking down at MC, who looked like she could barely hold a thought, her face red with a deep blush and her full lips slightly wet with saliva.

“C-Can two fit?”

He questions, his voice slightly hoarse as he takes a deep breath. He knows they can, she’s been on the receiving end of his dual cocks and has taken them happily. But she’s not exactly the same person she was. What if it’s too tight? It feels too tight for him. Her walls are clamping down on his member, enough to squish it, and it’s only the one.

MC looks shocked at his question, flustered even, all of her air getting caught in her throat at the question. Of course, she has played with them both before, with her hands, but they’ve never been both inside her, anywhere. How was she supposed to know the answer?

“Mhm, yes, just put them in and…keep going.”

She answered, of course not confident at all in her decree, yet she was desperate enough that she would allow anything at this point. Rafayel nods as a huff of air escapes him, cheeks and ears red with a deep blush, somehow embarrassed of what he is about to do. His hand reaches down once more, other arm holding him steady, his fingers wrapping around his other cock, all the sensations on this one are heightened, more sensitive than the other one already buried deep into her,

Rafayel lets out a gentle whine, fingers trembling at the pleasurable sensitivity. He lines his other cock up, the appendage being slightly skinnier in girth, and wedges it between his other cock and the opening of her core. He uses his hand to keep either of them from slipping out, his hips pushing forward, MC’s opening stretching a bit more. MC takes a sharp breath, a mix between a cry and a moan leaving her lips a the stretch feeling slightly unnatural. Her nails dig into his back, clawing down the middle of his shoulder, her eyes slightly tearing up. Yet there is ecstasy on her face, a trail of drool sliding down from the corner of her mouth.

Rafayel moves his hips, snapping them forward and back, his movement becoming less sloppy once he insures both of his cocks will stay in, the appendages buried far into her. Rafayel’s hands clench at the sheets, his head leaning down to rest against her shoulder, whines escaping his lips as his hips continue to rock.

The headboard of the bed taps against the wall, the squelching noise filling up the sound once more, only a little louder. Rafayel moans along with MC, her wet insides clenching against him with each thrust, the dual penetration stretching her all the way through, and her g-spot rubbed against twice as frequent.

Rafayel kisses against her hot shoulder, his teen gently nibbling at the skin. He breathes heavily against her, hands pushing deeper into the bed as he snaps his hips faster, feeling his climax come quickly. Too quickly for his liking, yet he’s ready to let go. MC urges him to continue, the uncomfortable stretch now feeling better as if she molded herself for him, her hips pushing back against him, trying to get him as deep as possible. Her stomach clenches at the feeling of her heat rising under her navel, giving way for the oragams to come.

Rafayel works into her deeper, quicker, the king bed slightly trembling under the movements, his breathing only getting heavier as he feels the suffocating heat melt off of him. He lets out one last long whine as he releases, feeling MC clench against him squirting out her orgasm, coating his cocks and his pelvis. Rafayel completely lowers himself onto MC, his cocks staying nice and warm inside of her core, cheek pressed against her shoulder, feeling her chest rise and fall quickly.

“I can’t believe you saw me like this…”

He pouts softly, cheeks and ears bright red once more. MC was supposed to stay his Miss Bodyguard until the time was right…   

[trashy-reaper]

HIHIHI!!! do you mind writing chance and/or elliot (forsaken!!) with a reader that is like minori hanasato from project sekai? ^^

FEEL FREE TO DENY!!! especially if you dont know the character!! thank you, have a nice day!! 🙇

I am very familiar with Minori actually, as I’m an ex-pjsk player hehe. Just encase though as it has been a bit, I hope I didn't get anything wrong.

Characters may be OOC + not fully proof read.

Reader is an adult, can be viewed as romantic or platonic

Chance

They've seen you before, before this whole mess you were now both in. He's seen and heard a few of the songs you've sang and honestly, you were fantastic. He wouldn't call himself a full time fan but a few of your songs were in his playlists and your name would be brought up if others asked them to suggest singers to listen too. He didn't want to gush over you though, besides it was better for you to know what was happening then anything else.

The first few rounds you started in you were scared, who wouldn't be? You didn't know how to use your abilities all that much and getting chased by someone who's sole purpose is to kill you? Yeah, anyone would be scared, they've come in a few times with their gun and managed to stun the killer before leading you away. With time he saw how you grew more confident in your abilities, how hard you worked to help others. Of course the fear and panic didn't leave you as quickly but he doesn't mind sticking by your side until you grow more confident on your own.

He's impressed honestly, despite your fear and loosing composure if you hear the killer nearby, you pull through. The feeling never left you but your determination to get away and win the round seems to always overcome that. Methinks your abilities would be supportive, increasing allies stamina and speed, allowing nearby allies to effectively get away from killers. But it has it's risks, you weren't like Elliot who could at least have a pizza on the ground to be later picked up, you needed to be near the survivor. Which is why he's impressed, you always fear getting near the killer but you're willing to do so to help the others. It warms his heart in all honesty.

He may ask you to sing some of your songs outside of rounds, calls it a way to make all survivors feel at least, a bit at ease. The situation they're in will never be fun but there's no harm in doing something positive, right? Gotta keep your spirits up and he knows you'll be able to do it. God they love your voice, sometimes during rounds, as a joke they may ask you to sing to them as if they aren't teetering on the verge of death. Cut them some slack! They want to hear your voice before they 'die'.

Elliot

Similar to Chance he also has heard your singing, it's played before during work on the speakers and he'd be lying if he said he didn't catch himself singing along to at least one of them. Especially that one song that seems to be your groups main song? It's a song he has in his playlist. He didn't recognize you as quickly as Chance did as he only listened to you before, never saw a performance or anything. It wasn't till you spoke did he know, and god he's a bit worried for you.

He tries to help you get the hang of your abilities, running to your side to try and distract the killer away from you (to only have to be saved by Guest 1337 or Shedleskey if he isn't fast enough to run away from the killer) The thing making you all play definitely didn't care who they picked to play the game, so long as they provided as entertainment to which Elliot hates so he tries his best to make you a bit more comfortable at the game you play, he knows it'll take a while but he'll try his best to help you calm down when a killer is near.

His trust in you grows as he sees you willing to put your fears aside to aid survivors running from killers, it may mean the killer could lock on you then but you were still willing. He didn't expect it at first, seeing how scared and worried you were when everything first started but within the first few rounds you were already shoving all that aside to save others, getting the hang of your abilities. He helps you train with it more if you can, or however you can really and tries to get the others to give tips on evading the killing if they lock in on you.

He always listens to your singing when Chance asks you to, it's one of the positives they have to this situation, it'll never truly be enough sure, but it's the little things that count, he claps for you after every performance and has even asked you to teach him some of the moves to your previous performances. God you do so much dancing, how did you keep up...he likes being around you though so he'll stick around longer if you'll have him.

Wasn't too sure at first how to or what to write for this despite the fact I do know how Minori is like, but that may be because she also wasn't my fav of MMJ (I still love her)

Also thought, while I didn't include Sekais as I couldn't think of a way to input it for survivors, imagine a Killer who's from PJSK/had a Sekai and the Spectre made them think the survivors were invading it, a place they called their comfort and was made to throw them out (they don't know they're killing them)

[literallypyro]

Mercs with an s/o whos love language is biting 👀 ik its gonna take a while, ill wait. ❤️‍🔥

I like this one! I also want to bite any partners I get, but I never do cuz anxiety 😔💔

Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

Chew toy

Scout:

-He was a bit startled at first. It took him a little while to get used to it, but he eventually just accepted you like to show affection that way

-He might bite you back in scenarios where your arm is near his face (i.e. cuddling, hugging, etc.)

-He finds it a little funny, and he doesn't really know why. I guess he just likes how out of the ordinary it is

-Just don't bite his neck

Soldier:

-Wasn't really fazed by it... Like... At all

-He honestly knows he's a bit weird himself, and you certainly don't outmatch him in that aspect. He kinda understands he doesn't have room to judge

-He could chill while you're literally gnawing on his arm

-He acts like it's as normal as a hug or a kiss

-If he's wound up and energetic like he tends to get, he honestly might get cuteness aggression simply because he knows its the way you show affection

Pyro:

-They kinda get excited. They just automatically understand somehow

-Just a strange "yippee! They love me enough to bite me!" vibe. I guess they see it sorta like how cats bite to show affection

-They get all giddy whenever you bite them. They'll hug you and probably press their mask against your face and leave a mark. You're gonna have to deal with it cuz that's as close as they can get to a kiss

Demoman:

-Probably stays near you at first cuz they want you to bite them, sorta like how some people will cling to their partner after their first kiss

-He was extremely surprised and confused at first, but after he understands it's just a way you give affection, he chills

Heavy:

-As long as you aren't biting him like you're trying to chew a jawbreaker, he just lets you and doesn't say much. Might make a joke about vampirism or something, but that's about it

-He doesn't really care one way or another about the biting, he's just happy you're giving him affection

-Gives you forehead kisses or something after you bite him because he doesn't want to sit there and not reciprocate affection

-Raises an eyebrow at first but doesn't really acknowledge it. He assumes that it wasn't supposed to be anything weird because of how casual you were about it and it didn't really hurt

Engineer:

-He has a high pain tolerance, so he's one of the ones you could bite harder if you wanted to

-Once he knows its a love language for you, he smiles to himself whenever you bite him

-We know how spirited he can get during battle, so if you bite him while he's still riding that high, expect to receive big bear hugs

-Probably a little weirded out at first, but once you tell him you just like to show affection that way, he calms down

Medic:

-Would quickly tell you when it hurts, but I think he would have a decent pain tolerance because of all the times he's gotten hurt working on his machines

-It takes a bit, but he gets to a point where he doesn't even really think about it when you bite him. He just automatically gives you a kiss so.ewhere on your face or rubs your back or arm. Just something generally small and sweet

-Have you met this man? He probably fucking giggles the first time you bite him. He's weird as shit, biting would look like a normal love language to him

Sniper:

-Thinks it's the cutest fucking thing ever

-Would hug you or pepper your face with kisses whenever you bite him

-He loves it tbh. Bite him as much as you want. Make him bleed, even

-His love for you just intensifies every single time you bite him. Be careful with that power

-Mildly surprised. More like a "huh, interesting" kind of surprised

Spy:

-Doesn't mind if you bite him

-He would also smile to himself when you bite him

-He really doesn't mind pain, but there is a certain point where he'd stop you

-50/50 chance he hugs you after you bite him, or he'll just chuckle to himself

-Dafuq why are you biting him

-It would take him a LONG time to get used to the idea of it being a form of affection

-He doesn't really like it, but if you're patient enough, he'll get to the point where he allows it

-Would much prefer kisses or hugs or something like that, but if biting makes you happy, he's just gonna have to allow it at some point

-Just because he's uptight doesn't mean he's gonna deny your favorite forms of affection

[the-daughter-of-a-wolf]

Some more 2 Old 2 Guard thoughts, having calmed down a little (but not a lot)

Spoilers galore, obviously!

Okay so I'm gonna sort this vaguely by character in hope of some semblance of cohesion. It's probably not gonna be that cohesive anyway because my thoughts bounce around a lot but ah well!

Andy & Quynh

Charlize Theron continues to be incredible, I really loved her performance in this movie.

Also the lesbian mullet. Woooweeee. That was hot.

I really liked the dynamic between Andy and Quynh. I had been really worried about how they would handle that, because obviously Quynh was going to be really angry, and possibly a li'l bit insane after what she's been through, and I wanted that to be explored but also obviously I was rooting for a reunion and forgiveness in the end. Their arc more or less gave me what I wanted. I feel like they could've gone deeper into Andy's experiences after losing Quynh and why she eventually stopped looking, because that can't have been easy, and if I were Quynh I would not have been satisfied with the explanations that were offered for that.

I do wish they hadn't returned Andy's immortality before Quynh even got a chance to learn about her mortality. I think it would've been juicier for Quynh to injure Andy and realise oh shit she's not healing, and have to grapple with losing the person that meant the most to her but also who she was really angry with, and also with having limited time to fix things between them. Either make them both mortal or leave it as just Andy, if you ask me.

The toxic yuri fight moments did give me life, though. And the beginnings of reconciliation towards the end! Those were lovely!! Honestly for the most part this plotline was a huge positive to me!

BUT on the flipside the return of Andy's immortality was a HUGE MISTAKE in my opinion. Really took the bottom out from under everything that was discussed at the end of the last movie and in the first half of this one. Having her grapple with losing her immortality means nothing if it can just be handed back to her! AND okay fine if they end up doing that like they did, THEN HAVE HER AND BOOKER DEAL WITH IT AND NOT JUST (presumably) KILL HIM RIGHT AWAY! Have Andy say "hey Booker, you're doing that thing again where you presume to know what I want with my life and immortality! Did we not talk about this last time! And actually maybe I didn't want my immortality back, which you would have known if you'd ASKED ME!" It steps on her agency so hard to do this, and that at least merits a fucking discussion!! Now they just never did anything with it. Because the movie didn't have an ending. Sigh.

Booker

I really really liked how they added Booker back into the squad. I think it was inevitable, and I very much like that Joe was the one to break first and reunite with him. I also think his conversations with Andy were really good, those were some of my favourite moments in the movie.

I also think the way Booker acted after learning about Nile's "destroyer" ability was very in line with his character, and incredibly well acted.

The scene where he sparred with Nile was also one of my favourites in this movie. It was incredibly juicy. Aside from the fact that I LOATHE the whole concept of "newest immortal can take away immortality and then you can pass it on to anyone you fucking like without their consent", Booker was the correct character to put in that situation.

But crucially I DON'T THINK IT SHOULD HAVE WORKED. I think Booker should've done all he did, fight Nile and then send Andy out to fight thinking she was immortal and himself out to die and THEN REALISE IT DIDN'T WORK. AND THEN THEY WOULD'VE HAD TO DEAL WITH THAT. How does Nile feel about Booker using her essentially to self-harm/kill himself? I would've liked to see that explored! How would Andy feel about the fact that Booker's trying to decide for her again and that despite everything they went through, he's still willing to hurt the others to end his own immortality? I WOULD'VE LIKED TO SEE THAT EXPLORED. (OR, and this would've made less sense for his character, but HAVE HIM NOT BE ABLE TO GO THROUGH WITH IT AFTER ALL! Like, he's like oh hell yeah gonna give up my immortality and give it to Andy and then realise he can't get himself to do it! That would've been interesting!) Instead he just martyrs himself like an idiot, and if we're to assume he's actually dead (well, either way because that third movie is NOT happening), these things will NEVER be explored! I'm truly so mad at the wasted potential here.

Joe & Nicky

I would've like to see more of them! Obviously! I'm biased! But I feel like they set up a lot of interesting things for them that never got explored. (Like most things. Because this movie was MISSING THE LAST QUARTER TO THIRD OF IT. AAUUGHHHHHHH.)

I liked some of their lighter, goofier moments, some not so much. The car chase felt a bit dumb and I didn't like the cartoony thumb and ankle gore, it was silly and gross. I did like their drunk antics, that was cute. I like that they get to be funny and weird sometimes! But I would've liked a bit more dimensions to them beyond that.

For example! I was honestly SO ON BOARD with the "oh I want to spend some time by myself" situation and the following Booker conflict! That shit was juicy! I want to explore their differences and disagreements as well as all the happy lovey stuff! But that didn't really go anywhere after the first discussion, which was a bummer. Obviously I don't want anything permanently detrimental to happen to my boys, but I want them to have complex inner lives of their own! I feel like they conveyed that so concisely and well in the first movie, with just few key moments of dialogue and acting, and here they were mostly relegated to the background and I was bummed about that.

The love declaration speech vol 2 was adorable and very touching, but because there was no follow-up to any of it (BECAUSE THE LAST ACT WAS MISSING), it ended up feeling a little tacked on. Like, okay foreboding sense that their time is coming to an end! Where's that going!! I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THAT!

Also not enough cuddling and no kissing. What's up with that!!

Nile

I am so frustrated about how little Nile got to do in this movie! Because it basically should've been her movie. And would've been, HAD THEY BOTHERED TO FINISH IT. I can't believe that in a movie mostly centered around Nile's role in the group and abilities, SHE NEVER GOT TO LEARN ABOUT HER ABILITIES. What a clown show.

First of all she shouldn't have that power to begin with, the whole concept was a load of crap. But if she had to have it, MAKE HER GRAPPLE WITH IT. How the dynamic between the group would immediately change. Are they gonna be careful around her and scared of her? Are they gonna want to use her powers to end their immortality? Does she get a choice? What about her own immortality? Is this not what the movie should have been about, if that element had to be introduced????

Also I'm annoyed that they brushed off that whole "hey, are you suddenly okay with all this excessive violence" thing. I'm glad it was brought up, but the fact that she was like "nah it's for the greater good, it's fine" did not feel in line with her character, or at least felt like something that should've been explored further. Like yes, I remember that in the last movie she came to the conclusion that the work they do is important enough to justify the violence, but honestly I feel like in this movie it really wasn't. Like okay, arm dealer bad, gotta kill him, fair enough. Gotta kill DOZENS AND DOZENS OF HIS STAFF AS WELL? How does that sit with the soul, I wonder. It felt gratuitous to me so I think it might've felt gratuitous to Nile as well. But nah who cares.

I would've liked more discussions about how Nile is settling into the immortal life in general.

But anyway Kiki Layne is hot as fuck and Nile is so cool and I love her <3

Tuah

idk it's really weird that he exists

I liked him fine as a character, but you can't just be adding random immortals willy-nilly like this! That really stepped on everything we thought we knew about how the immortals worked and who they were but okay then.

He should've just been a cool librarian dude, I wish they weren't all warriors!

He was cute and I liked his interactions with the main crew well enough. But again, the character existing is a big problem for the lore, so that kinda got in the way of my enjoyment.

Discord

Literally the biggest problem of this whole movie to me (aside from all the other stupid lore shit they changed).

There should not be an older immortal than Andy. And if there was, THEY SHOULD ALL KNOW ABOUT IT, WAS THAT NOT HOW THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO WORK?!? And since Tuah is suddenly someone Andy also knows, would this woman's existence not have come up?? Somewhere in the past several hunderd/thousand years??

NO, see what I think they should've done is either A) just make her a mortal?? Maybe a mortal who's conned everyone into thinking she's an immortal and is playing the rest of the team against each other in hopes of gaining immortality! That could be juicy! But a greedy mortal all the same! or B) make her someone who's gotten her immortality more recently! Like idk, if she knows about this stupid-ass ✨LEGEND✨ that's so convenient, she should've gotten her immortality by somehow having someone else lose theirs! Make her a mortal who knows about the immortals and this fuck-ass legend and have her manipulate Nile into injuring Booker or Quynh or something idfk and have her gain immortality that way!

Then the movie would've been about the old immortals who are So So Tired and Andy - who is the oldest - having lost her immortality, and these newbies/mortals being like OOH IMMORTALITY GIMME IT. Wouldn't that have been something to build a movie around?? (idk. like. the first movie. which explored this theme with great success and thematic cohesion...)

I do think there's thematic potential in a super ancient immortal who's NOT tired of life as opposed to the main squad, many of whom really are, but I don't think the way they approached it here made sense. Partly because adding her to the canon as the oldest was so stupid and bad to begin with. Also if they wanted to explore an immortal wanting to keep their immortality... make it Nicky and Joe? Like, when confronted with the Magic Immortality Cure Stabby, have Booker be like YEEHAW, have Nile and Andy grapple with it, and have Joe and Nicky say actually no thanks we want to keep going? Wouldn't that have been interesting??? Idk man, they could've gone so many ways with this, but I am not a fan of what they went with.

Uma Thurman is cool though, not gonna lie.

Anyway I guess that's most of it for now! There were individual moments I liked, the acting was excellent across the board, and I was so happy to see my blorbos again. But they retconned WAY TOO MUCH of the lore that made the first movie so interesting and impactful, and there's just no getting around the fact that THIS MOVIE WAS NOT FINISHED. It wasn't even sequel bait, it was an unfinished movie. That's such a shitty move, especially after such a long wait, and I'm very pissed off about it.

I doubt I'll watch this movie again, but I hope that at least the first one will remain untarnished in my heart and mind even with all this clownery 💔

[ratmillkk]

Hi jade, I love your work!!

Would you be comfortable writing about reader being chased and what might follow once they're caught 😼 the circumstances are entirely up to you!

I'd love to see Tim and/or Brian, or EJ 🖤

Thank you you're great!!

she a runner she a trackstar 🤩 here u go bb! im a lil insecure abt this one cus i randomly got writers block in the middle? it was so odd but i wanted to finish it so bad so i did. i hope u enjoyyy

Runner (Eyeless Jack X F! Reader)

✶⋆.˚꩜ .ᐟ˙⋆✶ ✶⋆.˚꩜ .ᐟ˙⋆✶ ✶⋆.˚꩜ .ᐟ˙⋆✶ ✶⋆.˚꩜

𝐂𝐖: 𝐒𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐦, 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲, 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 ((𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠)) 𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐫

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 𝟑.𝟐𝐤

𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐰 𝐦𝐝𝐧𝐢

✶⋆.˚꩜ .ᐟ˙⋆✶ ✶⋆.˚꩜ .ᐟ˙⋆✶ ✶⋆.˚꩜ .ᐟ˙⋆✶ ✶⋆.˚꩜

The moon hung overhead on the treetops. Its rays shone down on you like a gentle night light in a cozy room. You always took walks at midnight out in the forest every single night, it provided you a moment of silence in the chaos that was your life at the mansion. The relentless fights, screaming and sometimes full blown brawls would break out at random. It was rare to see everyone getting along, and you just needed a break from it. You needed the quiet serenity of the woods. The way the breeze gently grazed your face and your hair flowed along with it, the rustling of the greenery around you, animal steps and slight squeaks of squirrels or birds around you provided the comfort you needed.

The one person who you didn't mind, was Jack. He didn’t bother you, did not stir up any trouble. He was the one to break up the fights if anything, and for some reason you felt some sort of respect for him. The two of you never spoke, never interacted but he knew of you, and you knew of him. Though, despite never having talked, he was always around.. Always lurking around a corner, any time you turned your head he would be there, just silently watching. You didn't mind.. Not one bit. It kept you feeling safe in a way..

Your feet crunched atop the leaves and branches as you kept yourself steady on the path, but you couldn’t help that this time, you felt a pair of eyes on you. It was too often of an occurrence to alarm you though, so you trekked on silently as if you hadn't noticed anything at all. Your focus turned to the sounds around you, trying to distract your growing paranoia that seemed to stubbornly lodge itself in your throat.

That feeling was rare, the paranoia, the impending feeling of danger. You were always vigilant and observant, always scanning for potential signs of trouble, but this time everywhere you looked was completely clear of any indications. It didn't do anything to curb your sense of fear that rose in you with every step.

You came upon a small creek, one you frequently visited for the calming nature of it. You huffed a sigh as you sat with your back against a tree, it helped you feel less vulnerable, less exposed. You adjusted your shoes to fasten against a rock, allowing you to slightly curl into yourself for a little extra false sense of security. You thought about him, he never left your mind entirely, despite every time you would move on, he always came circling back. Jack..

You had memorized his favorite spots to stand, in corners, behind doors, anywhere that it wasn't blatantly obvious he was watching, but you still noticed anyway. How could you not? His tall.. muscular body leaned against a wooden doorframe.. Biceps visible when he would adjust his position. You shook yourself out of daydreaming.

The water trickled next to you on your right, just close enough for you to stick your hand in it, wading absentmindedly now while minnows and moss tickled your fingers. It's cold feeling made you shiver slightly, but it was nothing compared to how your bones nearly leapt out of your skin when you heard a branch crack beside you. It knocked you fully back into reality.

You froze entirely, hand still in the water while your head snapped in the direction of the crack. You analyzed what you remembered of it, its sound was not too far but close enough to raise an alarm that wailed in your brain. It told you to get up, to get out and run back to the mansion, but you were still. You were entirely a statue as your ears scanned once more for any sort of sign. The water, the leaves rustling with the slight wind, but nothing else for a slight moment.

Then, out of your peripheral, a dark figure moved across the treeline. It was fast, so fast it was almost inhumane. You were quick to scramble to your feet while using the tree as a crutch to keep your shaking legs stable. The figure was gone, only for a moment before you noticed it again swiping through, only closer. The size of it was gargantuan, you couldn't give an accurate estimate due to the sheer speed of it, but it scared you enough to immediately start bolting.

The sighting was to your left, so you had no other choice but to cut through the river. Your feet were heavy as they crashed through the waves, shoes filling with water as the splashing wettened your pants and trickled upon your shirt. Your hands were fully waving and thrashing as you had to keep your balance against the strength of the current that threatened to sweep you off your feet.

What happened next fully formed your fear into full blown panic, your feet were swept out from under you, a slippery rock caused your fall plus the currents relentless pressure on your shoes sent you crashing into the river. With a yelp you were head under. The waters deafening splash and jolting chill had your body aching for warmth, you scrambled to hold onto a branch, a rock or something to keep you from further being pulled down the shore but the only thing you could feel was moss covered rocks that slipped from your grasp faster than you could grip.

Your head broke the surface, your back scraped along the sharp rocks below you as you sucked in through your teeth in pain. From afar, you could see a large tree branch sticking out from the side of the shore, you were far away enough to prepare yourself and when you got there, you grabbed it. While hoisting yourself up you swore you saw it again… The figure that loomed from afar. You could see it better this time. It was tall, dark, but no defining features that led you to identifying the person. Nonetheless you started running against the shoreline.

Your body was just too heavy to be able to run properly due to the weight of your drenched clothing, so you shed your jacket, shirt and shoes and kept running towards the direction of the mansion. A pair of footsteps pounded behind you, causing your breath to hitch as you pushed past branches and bushes to hopefully lose it by obstructing your body with the shrubbery.

It was no use, you heard the cracks and rips of the wood and leaves behind you. Whatever this thing was, it was strong, so strong it could tear the thick branches off with a single swipe, all while running as fast as you were. You could only push them aside.

Your lungs burned for air, you were so frightened tears stung your eyes and pooled at the bottom of your lash line. You could feel your feet aching with every stride and your face was now adorned with scratches and bruises from the branches you missed with your haphazard swipes. Your jeans chafed against every part of your legs in a painful rash that started forming, but you had to keep going. There was no room for rest now.

And this thing was gaining on you, fast. You could feel the looming doom hanging over your head, thick and inescapable. You thought surely that this was it. This was the end of everything, and you would never see the light of day again.

It was a mistake to look over your shoulder, because when you did you saw it. Him. A blue mask with black tar like liquid seeping from the eye holes, entirely black outfit with thick boots meant for trekking the wilderness on his feet. He had to have been out here intentionally, whether he was seeking you out, or seeking out some other person. You knew he was actively looking for prey.

You knew who it was now though, at least that much calmed the inner storm of nausea about to take action. Though it still made absolutely no sense as to why he was after you and you specifically. Was he hunting..? Was he in a state of mind where he was so consumed with primal hunger he didn't care who it was that he caught? Or did he just want you..?

Your questions were short lived, unable to be asked once you felt a sudden tug on your hair. He yanked your neck back and your body followed with a thud to the ground. Jack was now above you, silent, brooding, straddling you loosely with his gaze piercing. Even though he had no eyes, it was nonetheless obvious where his attention was, those black sockets held deepness, and intimidating energy that consumed you once you made eye contact.

He knelt above you, and harshly took hold of your hair. He was still so eerily silent you couldn't tell what his intentions were for a moment, but then you remembered when you overheard the others whispering just before you left the mansion to come here, that it was his mating season. Your heart dropped into your stomach, now knowing what was coming.

“Jack- why-“

He just slowly, yet firmly placed a hand over your mouth, a soft, deep “Shhh” filled your ears as he leaned down closer to you. His back arched inward, hovering over you like a beast about to devour its prey. His left hand fisting your hair, his right on the side of your head, and his legs on either side of your knees. Jack was so big he could cover you entirely if someone were to look from above. You felt like a bunny in the clutches of a lion.

The smell of your flesh is what he was consumed by right now, he raised his mask over his nose to where you could see his sharp teeth and chiseled face scarily close to you. A black mass emerged from his mouth, you didn't know what it was until you felt the slick warmth of it lathering saliva over your face while he deeply smelled you. Your spine shivered as a low growl rumbled from his chest, vibrating your ears and making your breath pick up in anticipation.

Your hands shook as they clawed at the ground. The smell of your fear filled his nostrils in a thick cloud that was so dense it could be cut with a knife, that made his hunger ravenous, but he didnt break, not yet.

“You’re frightened” He rumbled.

You just swallowed, the sound of his voice like a bass boosted speaker in your ear as you felt his teeth nibbling on the lobe. “I won't hurt you unless you ask for it, I’ve been watching you closely, and I need— I need to have you. If you don't want it I’ll walk away right now but tell me. Do you want this”

You had known about his slight obsession with you, the way he always seemed to lurk around and observe you. You liked it.. You never spoke to him about it or confronted him for one simple fact. You wanted him as well. You knew though, that he wouldn't be the same as a one night stand with random men like you were used to. You knew this was a feat much larger than you could anticipate, but alas, you couldn't say no to the opportunity ahead. You just nodded in response

“No” He barked “Say it out loud”

“Yes,”

“Why”

You swallowed “I know you’ve been stalking me. I know you’ve been following me for weeks now, you think I can't notice you hovering nearby whenever I’m out of my room back home? You’re always close.”

“Yeah? And what do you think of that?” He kept tracing the outline of your ear with his tongue when he wasn’t speaking.

“I- I like it”

He rumbled, pressing himself against you with a low growl

“Just stay still,” He said. His voice was entirely flat, entirely void of any emotion, any kind of fluctuation or infliction. You froze exactly where you were as he grew rougher with how he touched you. His tongue now slithered its way into your mouth, it was so thick you might as well have had a full cock in your mouth, you could feel your jaw muscles straining with every pump of it.

He growled at the taste of you, his ravenous stature intensified and he took his claws to rip your bra clean off of you. You gasped when the pop of the fabric sounded in your ears, and the cool air against your damp tits made you shiver. A sharp sting filled your senses when you felt a hand slightly slice open your inner thigh. You almost regretted your decision to let him, but the scent of your blood in the open air hit his nose and you now had no time to react.

You found yourself hoisted up by the legs so fast you couldn’t comprehend what exactly happened. You barely were able to process it before his tongue shoved into your cunt, stretching it wide open. You let out a wail as you threw your head against the soil and arched your back. You looked up at him, your legs were over his shoulders and he had taken his mask off completely. Your mouth agape with full blown screams escaping while you saw from ahead of you, four other tongues that slithered their way out of his mouth.

Your eyes widened, only to be met with one tongue on your clit, one inside you and one licking up the blood he had drawn from the scratch. You were reeling with overstimulation already and you hadn't even cum yet, your body shook and convulsed with the pain and pleasure tearing through your core as he pumped, and licked you up like a feast.

The branches and rocks under you cracked as you instinctively tried to push away a little from his aggressive manner, but he yanked you back where you were. You were noisy, and painfully pathetic under him as he devoured you.

Your blood was fuel to the fire, it wasn't enough to just taste your gummy walls, he had to taste all of you. He shoved his tongue in so far into you, his teeth were now resting on your puffed lips. You could see he was resisting somehow, you hated it. The way his hands were digging holes into your ass as he held you up, the way his eyebrows knitted together in restraint.

“Jack— please—please—” You couldn't even talk, you couldn't get out what you wanted to say in the slightest but somehow he knew, and that's when he broke.

He chomped down on your cunt, teeth piercing just the lips as you let out a wailing cry, his tongue was still in you, vigorously pumping in and out but when the blood hit his tongue, he ripped himself off of you, and flipped you onto your stomach. He took a claw and pierced your shoulder, pulling you back up to where your back met his chest, and without warning, or even noticing that he had taken his cock out of his pants, you felt an unexpected thrust of pure thick muscle tear your pussy open.

“Yeah.. Ohh- oh- god-“ He let his head roll back, taking your soft insides all encasing his dick in slick.

You gasped so loud it was basically a shriek, and you exhaled with a loud scream as he held you in place and started thrusting into you. It was so much, too much to handle, but you couldn't help but feel euphoric all the same with his absolutely monstrous dick literally ripping your body in half.

You didn't know it but blood was dripping out of you, lathering his cock in a way that acted almost like lube as his thrusts grew harder. The tongues were absolutely nothing in comparison to this, you could handle the tongues but this. This was something entirely out of your realm of expectations.

The sting of your shoulder intensified when he ripped his claw out of it and held your jaw in his hands. Your knees were hovering over the ground as his thrust knocked the air out of you, knocking involuntarily cries, screams and pained moans out of you. They weren't fast, but oh so incredibly hard. You felt your clit throbbing while his thrusts never faltered, slowened or softened. He was in a pure vitriolic state of predatory hunger.

“Fuck—“ He rumbled into your ear before licking down your neck, and piercing his teeth through your shoulder. You gasped when he began tearing a small piece of your flesh off, swallowing it whole. You heard him groan your name, and pick up his thrusting pace while sticking his teeth back in you after he savored that bite. Your little whimpers and cries made him so feral he was now fully biting your skin, jaw digging his teeth into your flesh with thrusts gently knocking them out and back in over and over.

He looked absolutely animalistic, you could see his ruffled brown hair in your peripheral, his eyebrows raised and sockets wide. It made you melt, seeing him need you so badly like this. You were clawing at his arms, one wrapped around your waist and one holding your jaw like he was afraid of you running. Your nails dug into him so hard you worried you were the one who was injuring him, but to him it was nothing more than a bee sting.

You heard his growls grow into errading snarling, he pulled his teeth out and whispered to you “Look at you, I knew you could take it” He licked your ear, leaning to bite it and sink his teeth in, he took a chunk and swallowed. The pain was overwhelming you, but before you could ask him for any sort of relief, you found yourself shoved to the ground again. Your stomach hit the soil, and you yelped with the air that knocked out of you.

The sting of his claws running down your back was all you could feel aside from his cock ramming into your pussy. You could feel your vision fading in and out from the bombardment of your senses.

“J-Jack”

He smacked your ass, other hand lodged into your back “Shut up” He barked as you suddenly felt your core tighten. “Oh god-“ he said “You’re so fucking tight- Ohh fuck” he smacked your ass again and out of nowhere, you came. A sudden rush of fiery pleasure ripped through your abdomen so intense you were whining, convulsing under him, and pussy squeezing around his cock.

You could hear his growls and groans rapidly growing louder. He almost laughed from how good you felt, almost like he was in disbelief entirely. “What the fuck—“ he growled through gritted teeth as pushed into you one final time, you felt your cunt become filled up by hot, thick cum that made your chilled skin feel just a bit warm. You were shaking, still coming down from your orgasm when you felt him pull out. Your hole was gaping, and you felt the air circling inside you when your cunt had been emptied.

He was heaving for air like a dog in the heat, he circled you after putting his dick back in his pants, and knelt in front of your face, “Worth it..?”

You couldn't speak, you could only let out a weak squeak as your brainless body tried to help itself up.

“I take that as a yes”

[bellrxy]

An Accidental Connection (Part 2)

Joel Miller x Reader

Summary: After a long time surviving the outbreak, a traumatic experience leaves you waking up in Jackson and being given a new home by Tommy Miller, where you also take a job at a supply shop. Little did you know, a new but oddly familiar face would show up and a new chapter in your life starts to unravel.

Warnings (!little bit of a spoiler!): Reader has brown hair down to their ribs and slight curves, blue eyes, also wears subtle makeup, POV swaps ( Joel and reader), reader is in mid 20’s, switching between past and present, use of Y/N, swearing, blood, talk about traumatic past events, drinking, drug usage, PTSD, lots of flirting, reader and Joel have a 20 ish age gap, and LOTS of romance ;) (some of these are included in part 2)

A/N: I’m so excited to be posting the final part. I’ve been reading over it for days and days and I feel like I have improved already like I said in my last post. Also a quick disclaimer that this part is only in the readers POV. It is also a bit shorter than the last since no introductions were needed (around 200 words less). But either way I hope you enjoy!!

Word count: 1.9K

@lonely-ey3s Thankyou sm for the title header, hope you like this last part!!

ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤ

Readers POV

It had been awhile without any more interactions with Joel, and if anything, not being around him made you think about him more. He was an intruder in your mind, distracting you from the littlest things like doing your hair, or even pouring your morning coffee.

Other than how goddamn handsome he was, you were left thinking about how much you thought you recognised him. Like a faint memory you couldn’t seem to grab ahold of.

You took into consideration what he said, you probably had walked past him a couple times. But you also thought that if a man that good looking walked past you, you wouldn’t just forget it.

Around a week had gone past and still nothing, it honestly made you start to wonder if he was purposely trying not to see you. If he worked in construction, wouldn’t he have had to come into the store anyway?

Like you always did, you attempted to brush the thought away and then started to close the Supply store up. You were excited because a regular came in that day and invited you to a little drink they were having at the bar.

When you got home, you rushed into the shower to get ready quickly. When you got out, you put on a tight fitting summer dress that showed just a little of everything, not enough to give too much attention of course. You decided to leave your hair down with some slight waves, then touched your mascara up, and slipped on a pair of converse.

Once you were satisfied with how you looked, you grabbed your bag and left. Just like anywhere you went, it was no longer than a 5 minute walk before you stumbled upon an old looking, shaggy bar. ‘This is it,’ you thought to yourself. Music was already shouting at you through the bar doors, swinging open from the wind. You took a long, deep breath, and walked through.

You were met by this hot, sweaty heat and almost felt a sense of comfort from it. It showed you what life could’ve been with no outbreak. No worrying thoughts, just a drink and dance shared with your closest friends.

The once sweet moment was instantly turned bittersweet when the loud atmosphere of the bar started to make your ears ring. You had never been around so many people in such a small place, and when you tried to calm yourself down, you were met with an instant flashback.

The store, Brock, shots missed, blood pooling from his head, and those eyes. It was like looking at someone, someone you had shared so much with, but there was nothing.. no thoughts, no emotion, just a void of emptiness. Their horrified face stuck, unmoving.

You couldn’t look away from him no matter how hard you fought it. It felt so real, like you were transported back into the memory, left to relive it. After what felt like hours you started to hyperventilate, fighting back tears because you didn’t think you were ever getting out of this.

When the memory started to dissipate, you stumbled back a step and noticed you were still standing at the entrance, and the tears started to well up. You quickly rushed out, leaning your back against the cold brick wall outside. You took deep breaths, in and out.. in and out, and before you knew it, you were interrupted by heavy footsteps coming your way.

You quickly looked up and wiped your tears, just for your eyes to meet with no other, than Joel’s.

He looked at you with such concern- not judgment, just pure empathy. You attempted to force a small smile and he smiled back. Fuck this man could just ruin you, and not even in that way, but just emotionally. How could such a serious and intimidating guy look at you in such a kind manner? After a long time of just staring, he finally broke the silence.

“Are you okay? I saw you run out here and I couldn't stop myself from following,” He went to step closer, but trying not to break any unknown boundaries, he stepped back.

You wiped your eyes again, looking down and fiddling with your hands from embarrassment. You didn't answer for a few moments, contemplating on what to say. You couldn’t tell him what actually happened, I mean- you had only talked once. You looked back up to find him still looking at you, patiently, not trying to force an answer out of you.

“Look you don't have to tell me, but do you wanna come inside? Drinks on me,” He smiled, holding out a hand for you to take.

You paused for a second, but put your hand in his and followed him inside, taking a deep breath through your nose. You were again met by the music, causing that anxiety to creep its way back up. You approached the bar and he asked for two drinks that you didn't quite catch since you were still zoned out. He turned back to you, leaning up on his elbows against the bar.

“I was hoping I would see you here, I can't lie I haven’t stopped thinking about ya since we talked at the shop,” Joel then turned around and grabbed the drinks from the bartender, nodding a thanks and looking back at you. He pointed to a table somewhere along the back and you followed just a few steps behind. When you sat down, you grabbed your drink and looked up at him.

“I was hoping to see you too Joel, I still can't pinpoint where I know you from though,” You took a long sip from your glass to try and distract yourself from your knee bouncing under the table, the familiar burn in your throat helping to put you at ease.

Joel swirled his drink and you watched his adam apple bob up and down as he swallowed hard, and just as he put his drink down and went to speak, you were interrupted with two people coming to sit down with you. Tommy Miller and Maria. Who both met you with a warm smile.

“Surprised to see you two here!” Tommy grinned, “I’m sure you’ve filled her in on your past together by now Brother.”

A pause.

Joel looked at you wide eyed, praying you didn’t catch on to what he said.

“You two are brothers?” You looked between Tommy and Joel and instantly realized how alike they were, giving a nod to them both.

Given a second from the silence of the table, you processed what he said, “Wait, what do you mean ‘past together?’” Your eyebrows furrowed as you flicked your head towards Tommy, who was obviously intoxicated and going to regret what he said in the morning.

He let out an almost laugh, a chuckle, “What, he hasn't told you yet? I thought by the way he ran to you before that you guys were already close,” Joel slapped his forehead and let out an annoyed sigh.

Tommy grinned, “Anyway, I'll leave you to it! Have a good night you two,” He then gave Joel a slap on the shoulder and winked. Leaving you two to sit in a thick tension.

All you could do was stare at Joel with confusion, ‘Past together?’ ‘Hasn’t told me yet?’. What could he possibly be talking about?

Then it hit you. That ‘someone’ you ran into, wasn't just someone. That was Joel fucking miller.

“Oh my god- that was you that brought me here? Why didn't you say something?” You raised your voice, just enough so he could tell you were annoyed, but not loud enough to cause a scene.

“Look I know I should’ve told ya sooner, I knew that” He finally looked up at you, taking a deep breath, hands gripping his glass tight, “I just didn't want to hurt you by bringing it up.”

“Joel, if anything, it hurts me more not to be told,” You said, interrupting the next thing he was going to say. You looked up at him and given the fact he was staring at you so intensely, you gestured to him to keep talking.

“I knew you lived here,” He continued to talk, “But my daughter Ellie told me you worked at the Supply store and that was the day I came in.. by then I thought it was too late so I used this damn small town as an excuse,” He took a deep breath and put his hand on yours, “I’m sorry darlin’, I really am.”

You took a deep breath as well, and honestly started to feel bad for raising your voice. His apology felt genuine, and that meant alot to you. You gave him a reassuring smile, still unaware of what to say next, and he smiled back, but you took the short moment of silence to look at him, like really look at him.

The way his eyes were different in that overhead lighting, like pools of bronzed, worn gold. The way his face wrinkled, showing the years of so many different emotions. Even the way some of his curls fell over his forehead, the grey streaks reflecting white off the fluorescent lights.

“You’re staring,” Joel smirked, but you didn’t care, not one bit, you were falling for this man and at this point, there was no undoing it now.

“More like admiring,” You locked eyes with him again and took a pause, “I’m sorry for getting mad before, I guess I just didn't expect it to be you.”

“I-”

Joel quickly cut you off, holding one hand up to your cheek, so softly like he was scared you could have broken from the smallest touch. Once you lent into his hand, he leaned forward, enough for you to feel his breath on your lips. You looked up into his eyes, and fuck, you couldnt get enough of them if you tried, he then whispered just quiet enough for you to hear,

“Don’t you dare apologize darlin’,” And just like that, his lips were on yours, slow and sweet, like he was testing the waters. But you didn't hold back, you tilted your head just slightly, showing him that this was completely mutual. Once you both pulled back, you couldn’t stop from smiling at eachother like two teenagers.

ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤꨄ︎ ㅤ

The rest of the night was a blur, and you couldn't tell if it was because of the drinks or sneaky joints in the bathroom you shared, or if you were just drunk off of Joel alone.

Even the way he hovered his hand over the middle of your back when you led him somewhere, or the way he held you like it was something he had done for years. You left together at around 12 am, interlocking your hands and so happy you were practically skipping out. You took the fresh air in and looked at him.

“Care to walk me home since you’re such a gentleman?” You gave Joel a flirty smile, and he then pulled your hand up to his face and softly kissed your knuckles, bending a knee behind him.

“Of course my lady,” He jokingly said, motioning toward the path in front, winning him a chuckle from you as you linked arms.

The walk home was silent, but it felt normal. When you approached your front door, you turned around and looked at him.

“Thankyou for tonight, I think I really needed this,”

“I think I needed this too darlin’,” Joel gave you a peck on the lips, smiled ever so sweetly, then waved and began to walk away.

As you stood at your front door smiling, you couldn't help but notice how much you had already fallen for none other, than Joel Miller.

[oceannote]

Seventeen's Reaction—Him saying 'I love you' for the first time. (Maknae Line)

Note from author: Heavily request part two is here, my loves. Hope you will enjoy🤍🤍 Summary: OT13's saying I love you for the first time in their relationship. Warnings: Established relationship

1️⃣ DK:

His schedule had been absolutely insane lately, not just with the usual dance practices and vocal lessons, but meetings, fittings, recordings, and back-to-back commitments that made his days look like a game of Tetris gone wrong. He was so busy he’d actually scheduled blocks in his calendar just to eat. You’d seen it with your own eyes: “Lunch–11 mins,” written between two overlapping events.

So it wasn’t exactly a surprise when you opened the door to his apartment and were met with silence. Not the warm kind of silence either, no music playing, no comforting hum of the TV in the background. Just the hollow tick of the wall clock filling the space with each passing second.

You stepped out of your shoes quietly, even though no one was home to disturb. Tonight was supposed to be your Lego date night, not just any set, either. It was the massive Hogwarts castle you’d been talking about for weeks. You’d reminded him three separate times, marked it on the little magnetic calendar on his fridge, and even texted him this morning. But now, nearly forty minutes past your scheduled time, the unopened Lego box sat by the door like an awkward guest who’d shown up alone.

You didn’t feel angry, honestly, you’d half expected this. You’d been dating for a few months now, and while his schedule had always been unpredictable, you never doubted his heart. You knew how deeply DK cared. His affection wasn’t loud declarations or elaborate gestures, it was showing up to your late-night calls even when he could barely keep his eyes open. It was remembering your coffee order when you didn’t even ask. It was sincerity in every little thing.

So instead of sulking, you rolled up your sleeves and got to work. His apartment looked like it had been hit by a creative tornado, clothes tossed across the floor, empty water bottles on the coffee table, and the kitchen sink overflowing with cups and spoons that you were sure multiplied on their own.

You played your usual playlist as you worked, humming quietly to yourself. The cleaning wasn’t out of resentment, it was love in motion, a silent kind of care. You knew he'd feel better walking into a calm space, even if he didn’t realize it.

Nearly an hour later, you were curled up on the couch, scrolling through your phone when you heard the door unlock. The click echoed across the apartment, and you turned your head just in time to see DK step in, his body slouched with fatigue, hair damp with sweat.

His gaze landed on the unopened Lego box by the entrance. He froze. You could practically see the realization hit him like a physical blow.

“Oh my god,” he muttered, dropping his bag to the floor with a thud. His sneakers were half off his feet as he scrambled down the hallway.

“Baby?!” he called, rushing into the living room like someone had pressed fast-forward on his body. “Baby, I’m so sorry. I was at practice and I…I completely forgot we had date night. I swear, I had it in my head, but then I stayed late to run through the choreography again and….”

You sat up as he dropped to his knees in front of you, grabbing your hands like he was anchoring himself.

“Babe, it’s okay,” you said gently, squeezing his arms. “I know you’re drowning in schedules right now. I really don’t mind.”

“But… you cleaned?” he asked, looking around the room like it had magically reset itself. His eyes lingered on the freshly fluffed pillows, the shining kitchen counter, and the now-visible floor.

You shrugged. “Just tidied up a bit.”

He blinked. “But why?”

You gave him a soft smile, brushing a strand of hair from his forehead. “Because I figured coming home to a clean space might help you breathe a little. I know everything’s overwhelming right now. I thought maybe… this would make it a bit easier for you to rest.”

He stared at you, lips parting like he wanted to say something but couldn’t quite get the words to cooperate. His eyes glossed over, and he looked away for a moment, like he needed to gather himself.

Then he looked back up — and this time, everything in his face shifted.

“I don’t think words can really explain how I feel,” he said, voice low and quiet. “But… I love you.”

The air shifted. You blinked. Your heart stuttered in your chest.

It wasn’t planned. It wasn’t dressed up in some perfect romantic moment. He looked exhausted and messy and still half out of breath, and yet, in that exact moment, it was the most genuine thing you’d ever heard.

You smiled, heart melting as you leaned down to press your forehead to his.

“I love you too,” you whispered, letting your hands run through his hair. “Even when you forget date night. Even when the sink is full of spoons.”

He laughed, that bright, sunshine laugh that only DK could pull off even while nearly crying, and wrapped his arms around your waist tightly.

“Next time,” he said against your shoulder, “I’m building that castle and making dinner too. Just wait.”

2️⃣ Mingyu:

“Oh my god, you are so overthinking this.” Seungkwan sighs dramatically, arms crossed, as he watches Mingyu pace a hole into the floor just in front of the apartment door.

Mingyu is clearly spiraling, his hand is halfway to his mouth, his eyes darting like he's about to face a firing squad rather than his girlfriend.

“But what if I make it, like… too big of a thing?” Mingyu mutters, nibbling at his nail again. “What if she gets awkward? What if she doesn’t say it back? What if…”

Seungkwan lets out a loud groan and throws his head back. “She’s your girlfriend, Mingyu. You’ve been dating for months. You like her, she clearly likes you back. You’re supposed to love her. That’s, like, the literal job description.”

Mingyu pauses his pacing only to start circling in the opposite direction, muttering under his breath. “Yeah, but I don’t want it to sound like… pressure. Like it’s this huge, dramatic moment that’ll scare her.”

Seungkwan kneels down to put on his shoes, rolling his eyes. “You’re insane. Just say it when it feels right. Stop trying to write a K-drama scene in your head.” He stands, brushing himself off. “Just tell her like it's a truth, not a performance.”

And then, right on cue, the front door opens with a soft click.

You step into the apartment, tote bag slipping off your shoulder, grocery bag in one hand. You freeze at the sight in front of you, Mingyu mid-spiral, biting at his fingers like his life depends on it, and Seungkwan standing there like he’s been babysitting a toddler all afternoon.

“…Um. Hello?” you say, blinking, eyebrows slightly furrowed. The room feels thick with unspoken tension.

Mingyu jolts like he’s been struck by lightning. “Hey, baby!” he says, voice cracking slightly as he rushes forward and grabs your bags like they’re on fire. “Here, let me get those. You must be tired, how was work? Was traffic okay?”

You raise an eyebrow, suspicious but amused. “Hey, Y/n,” Seungkwan says with a too-sweet smile, walking past you and giving your arm a warm squeeze. “I’m just heading out. Someone’s clearly got a lot on his mind.” He throws a meaningful look over his shoulder at Mingyu.

You catch it. It’s the kind of look only Seungkwan can give, half scolding, half “get it together, you idiot.”

He mouths something quick, you think it might’ve been “just say it”, before pulling the door closed behind him.

The apartment falls into silence.

You slip off your shoes and coat, giving Mingyu another look. “Everything okay?” you ask gently.

“What? Yeah, yeah! Everything’s fine!” he says a little too fast, voice pitching high again.

Your eyes narrow a little. “Mingyu… babe. Your finger is bleeding.” You point at the pinky he's still absently gnawing on, and he looks down at it like it belongs to someone else. Sure enough, there’s a tiny drop of blood on the nail bed.

“Oh. Shit,” he mutters, finally letting go of it.

You walk over, pulling his hand toward you with both concern and amusement. “You’ve got to stop doing this. You’re gonna chew your entire hand off one day.”

He doesn’t respond right away. Instead, he watches the way your fingers carefully inspect his, the way your expression softens as you reach for a tissue.

You’re so gentle with him. So real. And somehow, all the nerves in his chest shift into something quieter. Clearer.

“Y/n?” he says, voice steadier now.

You look up. “Hm?”

He swallows. “I love you.”

Your hands freeze, just for a second, still holding his. Your eyes widen a little, surprised, but not shocked. Then your lips part in the smallest smile.

“You do?”

He nods, and this time, it’s calm. “Yeah. I really do.”

You let out a small breath, like you’ve been holding it in all day. “…Good,” you whisper. “Because I love you too.”

His shoulders relax for the first time in hours. He pulls you into a soft hug, not dramatic, not over-the-top. Just real.

On the other side of the apartment door, Seungkwan grins to himself and walks away with a satisfied, “Finally.”

3️⃣ Minghao:

You were in your favourite place in the world, curled up in Minghao’s arms, his chin resting lightly on your shoulder, the two of you half-watching a YouTube video that had been popping up on your feed for days. It featured a group of ballerinas during an early morning practice, their delicate movements syncing effortlessly with the soft piano in the background.

The faint hum of the laptop filled the quiet apartment, and so did the comfort of his warmth behind you. Your back was pressed into his chest, your legs tangled underneath a shared blanket, the scent of his shampoo still lingering from his evening shower.

You and Minghao had been officially dating for two months now, though it never quite felt new. There was a familiarity in your connection that went beyond the label. After all, you’d known each other for two years, ever since he started frequenting the salon you worked at. You’d shared quiet smiles, snarky banter over hair dye choices, and eventually… one fateful late-night colour correction appointment turned into three hours of ramen, spilled secrets, and an unexpected confession.

He had looked at you, cheeks tinted pink from the steam, and told you, awkwardly, honestly, that he liked you. And to his relief, you’d liked him too.

You shifted slightly now as the ballerinas floated across the screen, lean bodies flickering across the soft studio light. Without missing a beat, Minghao mumbled against your ear, “They look so tiny.”

You tilted your head, still watching the screen. “Yeah,” you said softly, “I can imagine they’re on pretty intense diets. The kind that rewires how you even think about food. I mean, they have to maintain a certain body type to move like that, right?”

Minghao hummed in agreement, his fingers slowly tracing over the back of your hand before lacing with yours. His touch was always gentle, like he was always checking if you were okay with it, even after two months of being this close.

“Isn’t it weird, though?” he said after a pause. “How far people go just to look good in other people’s eyes?”

You turned your head slightly toward him, your voice thoughtful. “Yeah… I guess it’s a little messed up. I don’t feel that pressure the way you do, but I can imagine it becomes like… second nature for you. Always needing to look polished, flawless, even when you don’t feel like it.”

Minghao let out a soft laugh, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “It just comes with the job. The image. The branding. People don’t always see you as a person. Just a version of you that they like.”

You looked at him then, really looked at him, his profile illuminated by the screen’s soft glow. He looked relaxed, but you could feel that small weight in his voice. The part of him that didn’t always feel seen.

“I know,” you said gently. “But I think what people don’t realize is how much discipline it takes. It’s not just talent that gets someone where you are. It’s the hours, the control, and the consistency. It’s… kind of brutal.”

He didn’t respond right away. His thumb ran over your knuckles, back and forth. Then he said it. Quietly, almost like he didn’t mean for it to slip out:

“I love you. Every part of you.”

You blinked. Slowly. Your breath caught, not because you were shocked, but because something about the way he said it made your chest tighten in the best way.

He didn’t rush to fill the silence. He let it hang there, delicate, but steady.

“I didn’t plan to say that,” he admitted, his voice a little lower now. “But I meant it. I love how you speak your mind and how you try to understand things. How you always see the real side of me, even when I don’t show it.”

You turned fully in his arms now, resting your forehead against his. Your lips curled into a soft smile as your hands slid up to cup his face.

“I love you too,” you whispered, finally.

4️⃣ Seungkwan:

“Yah, double standards are fucking insane!” Mingyu explodes, flinging an empty paper coffee cup straight at Seungkwan’s head.

Seungkwan ducks just in time, the cup bouncing harmlessly off the mirror behind him. “It’s not! Your situation is totally different!” he huffs, glaring like Mingyu just insulted his entire bloodline.

“How is it different?!” Mingyu fires back, flailing his arms like he’s trying to swat away his frustration. “You gave me endless shit for stressing over how to say it, what words to use, what tone, and now look at you! You’re spiralling over literally the same thing.”

“Yeah, but…!” Seungkwan stutters, hands gesturing uselessly in the air before he gives up. “It’s you, Gyu. You could sneeze and make it sound poetic. Me? I say ‘I love you’ and suddenly I feel like I’m gonna faint and throw up at the same time.”

Mingyu snorts. “You're overthinking it more than you even realize. Just say it. Say it like you’re saying anything else. You already love her, what’s the difference?”

Seungkwan crosses his arms tightly over his chest. “The day I take romantic advice from you is the day I throw myself off this practice room balcony.”

“There is no balcony…”

“Exactly,” he deadpans, flipping him off.

There’s a beat of silence before Seungkwan exhales dramatically and starts pulling at his hairline. “I’m so stressed I think I’m growing a white hair. Right here. Look.”

Mingyu squints. “That’s just the lighting.”

“Lighting my ass. I’m dying.”

“When is she coming?”

Seungkwan glances at the clock on the wall. “Like… 30 seconds.”

As if summoned by fate, the door swings open.

There you are, gym bag slung over your shoulder, hair a little messy from the wind, wearing that warm, effortless smile that Seungkwan swears could end all wars. He straightens up like he wasn’t having a meltdown two seconds ago, arms instinctively opening.

“Hey baby,” you greet, walking into his hold like it’s the most natural thing in the world.

“Hey, my love,” he murmurs, hugging you tight and pressing a kiss to the crown of your head. His voice softens instinctively in your presence. “How are you?”

“Good! I brought you guys sticky mango rice.” You open your bag, pulling out two neatly packed containers. You hand one to Seungkwan with a gentle smile and then toss the other to Mingyu, who catches it with too much excitement.

“Y/n! You’re the real MVP. I loveeeeee sticky rice!” Mingyu exclaims, dragging the word out dramatically. He gives you an exaggerated bow that makes you chuckle. “Right, Seungkwan?”

You turn to look at your boyfriend, eyebrow slightly raised at Mingyu’s sudden sticky-rice enthusiasm. “What’s going on?”

Seungkwan is frozen.

Totally stiff.

Like a deer caught in headlights, looking from the box of sticky rice to you, then to Mingyu, who is giving him the most obvious say it, now face.

Your eyes flicker between the two. “Babe?”

He swallows. Loudly. His face turns a deep shade of red, and for a second, you wonder if he’s about to sneeze or pass out.

“I…” he stammers, eyes locked on yours now, wide and nervous. “I love you, okay?! There. I said it!”

The words come out fast, like he’s releasing a tightly held breath he didn’t know he was holding in.

You blink. The room goes quiet.

Then your lips slowly curl into a smile. One of those real ones. The kind that starts in your eyes before it even reaches your mouth.

You step closer, cradling the side of his face gently. “You’re ridiculous,” you whisper, leaning in to kiss him softly. “But I love you too.”

5️⃣ Vernon:

You were curled up on the couch, your body tucked comfortably against Vernon’s side, his arm draped loosely around your shoulders. The TV flickered in front of you, playing what had to be the fifth episode of Friends in a row, though neither of you were really watching.

Vernon absentmindedly played with your fingers, tracing the lines of your palm, occasionally lacing your fingers with his. His warmth, the low hum of the TV, and the quiet rhythm of rain tapping against the windows wrapped around you like a blanket.

You glanced up at him with a small smile. “Isn’t it nice? You finally have two whole days off without a schedule.”

He let out a deep sigh, shoulders rising and falling slowly. “Yeah…” he murmured. Then, after a beat, he added, voice quieter: “I kind of feel bad, though. That you’re spending your weekend like this, inside. With me.”

You turned your head slightly, sensing the weight behind his words. “What do you mean?”

He gave a half-laugh, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I don’t know. I guess I feel like I’m not that fun to be around when I’m like this. Just… staying in. No plans. No energy. Not exactly weekend material, you know?”

You sat up a little, just enough to face him properly, your hand still resting in his. “Hey,” you said softly, brushing his hair back from his face. “Don’t say that.”

His eyes met yours, uncertain and a little tired.

“I wouldn’t want to spend my weekend any other way than being here with you. Seriously. I don’t need fireworks or plans or parties.” You leaned forward, pressing your forehead to his for a moment. “This? Just this? It’s perfect.”

His features relaxed, his shoulders losing some of that quiet tension he carried around. A small, grateful smile pulled at his lips.

“Okay then,” he said, voice lighter. “How about this, you pick the movie, I’ll order us something good, and later we can battle it out in Uno. The loser has to do all the dishes for the next date nights.”

You laughed, already nestling back into his side as he pulled you in. “Deal. I was thinking maybe we could watch Harry Potter or something moodier. It kind of matches the rainy weather, right?”

He hummed in agreement, his chin resting on the top of your head. You felt his chest rise and fall beneath you, but then he stilled.

A pause stretched between you, comfortable but charged.

Then he shifted slightly, just enough to look at you again, his voice quieter this time. Steady, but laced with something deeper.

“Hey…” he said, his thumb brushing over your knuckles. “I love you.”

He said it like it had been sitting on the tip of his tongue for a while now, like he’d finally let go of a thought he’d been turning over quietly in his mind.

“Just thought you should know.”

You blinked, surprised but not startled, because somehow, it felt like the words had been there between you for a while. Waiting. Soft, inevitable.

Your heart thudded a little louder in your chest as you looked at him, seeing the vulnerability behind his relaxed expression, the unspoken I mean it in his gaze.

You smiled, eyes warm. “I know.” You paused, leaning in close enough that your forehead nearly touched his again. “And I love you too.”

Vernon exhaled slowly, the corners of his lips curving up into a smile that was all relief and quiet joy. He pulled you closer, holding you like the words had just made something even more solid between you.

6️⃣ Dino:

Your Saturday night wasn’t going the way you had hoped. Instead of being on a cozy dinner date with Chan, wrapped up in conversation, you were curled up on your couch, watching a painfully bad reality TV show, picking at sushi that had long since lost your interest. The silence of your apartment only made everything feel worse.

Last night was supposed to be the beginning of a weekend just for the two of you, no work, no distractions, no scheduling around Chan’s back-to-back commitments. Just time. Real, uninterrupted time together. But things went south. Fast.

You had made a lighthearted comment, a small joke, about what it might be like if you ever moved in together. You thought it would make him smile. Instead, it was like a switch flipped. His shoulders tensed. His smile faded.

The joke snowballed into a full-blown argument: you accusing him of running from commitment, him snapping back that you were pushing things too hard, too fast. You hadn’t spoken since you stormed out of his apartment last night, tears of frustration in your eyes.

And you definitely weren’t going to be the first to break the silence.

Not until the doorbell rang.

The sound jolted you out of your daze, sushi container in hand. You blinked, registering it with mild confusion. A package? This late? You walked over, still half on autopilot, unlocking the door and cracking it open.

Only to find Chan standing there.

He looked tired. Disheveled. Hair a mess, hoodie thrown on like he didn’t think much about it, eyes heavy like he hadn’t slept much, or at all. His hands were in his pockets, but he looked like he’d been pacing outside your door for a while.

Your fingers tightened slightly around the edge of the door. “…What are you doing here?” you asked quietly, not stepping aside.

“Can I come in?” he asked, voice low, eyes searching yours as he tried to nudge the door gently.

You didn’t move.

“I said, what are you doing here, Chan?”

He sighed, clearly fighting the instinct to say something defensive. Instead, he rubbed the back of his neck and dropped his gaze briefly. “Y/n,” he said softly, glancing around the hallway, “Please don’t be like this.”

“I’m not being like anything,” you replied. “I just don’t get why you’re here.”

He exhaled, slow and deliberate, then leaned against the wall beside your doorframe and looked straight at you. His voice was lower now, sincere. “I came to apologize.”

You raised an eyebrow. “Apologize for what?”

“For last night,” he said, his jaw tightening like he was trying to hold everything else back. “I shouldn't have lashed out at you like that. It was… it was a dick move. I was projecting, and I knew it even when I did it.”

You blinked at him, the words not quite settling in. “…Projecting what?”

Chan looked down for a second, his hand dragging across his face in frustration, not with you, but with himself. “I’ve been feeling like crap lately, Y/n. Like a bad boyfriend. I’ve been everywhere but here with you, physically, mentally… I’ve been distracted, buried in work, and I know you’ve been picking up on that.”

He met your eyes again. You saw the guilt swimming there. “So when you made that joke about moving in together, it hit me harder than I expected. Because I realized how unfair it’d be. You’d be alone in a place that’s supposed to feel like ours, and I wouldn’t be around to help make it feel like home. It scared me. Not because I don’t want that future, but because I do, and I’m terrified I’ll mess it up.”

You felt the tension in your fingers soften as your grip on the door loosened. “…You should’ve just said that.”

“I know.” He let out a breath, stepping forward slightly. “I was overwhelmed, and I pushed you away instead of letting you in. I hate that I made you feel like what you wanted, what we want, is too much. It’s not. Not with you.”

There was a long pause. One where you felt your chest loosen just a bit.

“I mean it when I say…” he took another step closer, eyes locking onto yours, “I love you. I really do. Not just when it’s easy or convenient. Even when we argue. Even when I’m scared. I love you.”

Your heart fluttered, but not in that giddy, new-love way. It was deeper than that now, heavier, grounded in everything you’d already seen of each other.

You opened the door wider. Just a little. “…I love you too, Chan.”

He let out a breath that sounded like relief. His shoulders dropped. “Can I come in now?” he asked, this time with the hint of a smile.

[thornilee013]

Happy Wednesday!! First of all, how was your convention? Also, I LOVE the fellowship of the ring! I hope that your applications are going well! My week has been busy, I’ve been working basically nonstop! I hope that you’re having a great week!

Could I please get some baby Jean? Congrats on your new writing account!!🤍🤍🤍

prev | Baby Jean

"Of course," his grandmother said, her voice giving away that she knew Jean's emotions at the moment were like a lake in winter, where the ice he had to walk on was freshly formed, incredibly thin, and filled with hairline cracks that hadn't healed yet. "I can't let anyone think I don't spoil my grandchildren," she said with a little huff.

"What's the plan for today, grandmother?" Camille asked, already having obediently placed a napkin over her lap.

"Could we go to the aquarium?" Jean blurted, needing that element of childish innocence to return to himself and his sisters like the lungs needed air.

ALL PROJECT MASTERPOST

[painom]

Hello! Can I just say that I really appreciate you doing this? I've always been a big fan of your analyses and your ability to get to the root of the characters. Thank you for continuing to let us read your wonderful thoughts and stories.

On your old blog, you discussed your headcannons for Lyney, one being his tendency to forget things like where he put his wallet because him and his mind are very busy. Unfortunately, I didn't save the post (my biggest regret ahhhhh!) and I would love to read your analysis once more. If it's okay with you, could you go over your headcannons for Lyney again? The old, the new, whatever's on your mind and whatever you're willing to share. Thank you so much!

Thank you for the kind ask, anon! Here you go!

New Lyney Headcanons

Self-focused - Though he never seems like it, those that know Lyney well know that he’s often running low on sleep. And really, he has no one to blame but himself. During the day he’s often distracted with magic shows, helping people, little tasks around the hotel, running missions for Father, and much more. And at night? He can often be found alone in his room planning new tricks, arranging missions for his siblings, studying to become the next “king” of the House, and things of the sort. If Lynette and Freminet didn’t keep an eye on him, no doubt he would stay up the whole night if given the chance! Those two welcome all the help they can get. 

Relationship-focused - When it comes to his relationship with you, Lyney never lies. You know he would never do that to you. And sometimes, the knowledge almost lulls you into a false sense of security. Yet you know better. You’re smarter than that. Where Lyney doesn’t lie, he omits. Half-truths so easily fall from his mouth as drops of rain from the sky. Your comments of concern are often brushed off and your questions redirected. As much as you try, you know the truth. He doesn’t want you to know. He doesn’t want you to shoulder his burdens with him. 

old lyney headcanons below!

Would Lyney be honest with you?

With his outgoing and fun personality, it oftentimes is easy to get caught within his flow. Lyney is the charming sort, after all, that one may very well forget that he is subject to the same struggles as the rest. Get to know him well enough, though, and you will quickly realize that this is not a fact he wishes others to know. More than a desire, he needs to be seen as someone in control, as someone without weakness. That’s his role as the big brother. And if that means lying, avoiding, and omitting the truth to accomplish it, then an accomplished performer like himself will do what he must. 

Does Lyney prefer to pursue or be pursued?

With a penchant for flair and dramatics, it’s clear to see Lyney prefers to pursue the people he’s interested in. Really, it’s one of the things he goes all out. With a trick up his sleeve, he won’t hesitate to dazzle you with flowers pulled from nowhere and fireworks from his tophat. He wants you to be enchanted. He wants you to be impressed! You are, aren’t you? You like it, don’t you? So focused on charming you that he often loses sight of much else. Fun fact, should you attempt to turn the tables, however, you can expect his mask of self-confidence to fall to reveal a rather flustered expression beneath. 

Headcanons

Self-focused - If there’s one thing that’s true about Lyney, it is that he is a very busy person. As a person with multiple masks and roles, his thoughts are often preoccupied with House missions, performances, new tricks, and things of the like. So, much to the dismay of others, it’s easy for things to become buried under the multitude of other tasks he needs to take care of. How often the simple things become forgotten—where he last left his wallet, tea time with his siblings, the sale on storybooks at the bookstore. During those times, he really can’t help but appreciate his siblings and their ability to keep him on track. Really, he doesn’t know what he’d do without them!

Relationship-focused - It doesn’t hit you at first, but it doesn’t take you very long to notice how hard Lyney tries for your relationship. Normally this would be a good thing, but it is different with Lyney. Every day he tries to charm you. Every day he attempts to enchant you. You tell him he doesn’t need to try so hard, but that only seems to light a fire beneath him to do even more. You see it in his eyes. He needs to know you are still in awe of him, that you like him as much as he does you. And then it sinks in, doesn’t it? He doesn’t trust you. He doesn’t trust your feelings for him. He’ll never show his true face to you.

old tags for this post: #okay let’s talk lyney for a bit i think the biggest thing to know about lyney is that at his core he is an insecure person insecure and anxious #imo he’s extremely attached to his title of ‘big brother’ that he needs to fulfill the duties if such he needs to protect his siblings and be a person others can rely on #this belief is so strong that he refuses to rely on arlecchino for help and snaps at freminet for trying to get him to open up #he really cares about the way he’s perceived #remember when the traveler found out he’s part of the fatui and he spends his time bending over backwards to try to get them to trust him ‘like me! like me! please. i’m trustworthy i’ll never lie to you please!!’ #honestly imo that’s just one if his faults like lyney is unstable #idk what possessed arlecchino to make him her successor like he’d crack under pressure #lynette is a way better option #but anyway bc of these things he would not trust his partner in a relationship #he wouldn’t rely on them he’d never feel secure which would prompt him to keep trying too hard to ensure he’s still the person he thinks you fell in love with #the most important thing to remember with lyney is that he is a performer and the face he shows to the world is essentially a mask

What’s Lyney’s breaking point in a relationship?

It’s hard to imagine, really. With how much Lyney may seem in love, the idea there’s a point a relationship would be too much for him is hard to believe. But when you really think about it, his breaking point is simple. As strong as his feelings may be for you, his devotion to his family and its cause outweighs everything else. Should your relationship with him ever reach a time where it encroaches upon that which is the most precious to him, then there’s nothing more he can do than let you go.

old tags for this post: #i think the key thing to take in here is that lyney cannot function without his family he is extremely reliant upon them to the extent that he will become unstable without them #just look at the archon quest when wriothesley captured his siblings any and all logic completely went out the window #lyney is an anxious insecure mess and the only thing that holds him together is playing the role he has to as big brother #if your relationship with him ever reaches the point that you transcend into being counted as his family.... he will have no breaking point #the breaking point will be his mind or body. whichever breaks first

[pmd-etu]

[asvidema]

i'm a fraud actually, the little plant i tried bringing home from a hike wasn't chamomile. but i found it at a shop i go to often. turns out all i had to do to classify it properly was smelling it.

so anyway, i got chamomile now. and i placed it next to the marigold. if you know you know. they're together now