#I think victoria took this a little bit too seriously

[thejudeduarte]

GUYS, THEY WERE ROOMMATES ‼️‼️‼️

[worseforwords]

The Arrangement

(Alessia Russo x Reader)

Chapter I of Marshmallow

“Sweetheart? Can you hear me?” your mom’s voice cackled through the phone. “Take your phone off your ear, mum, you’ve facetimed me,” you chuckled. “Oh, right. Hi, darling, lovely to SEE you,” she giggled at her own joke. “How are you, love? And where are you? I don’t recognise that wall behind you,” she inquired. “I’m in the changing room at Arsenal, you know, my job.” “Right, ‘course. Everything alright? How’s your g-” “Yeah, everything’s good,” you quickly interrupted her, hoping no one in the changing room caught on to what she was about to say. “I have to head to training soon, mum. Did you want anything from me?” “Right, busy woman, no time for chit-chat with her mum. Your dad and I were just wondering if we could come visit you anytime soon. We haven’t seen you since Christmas, and we would both really love to meet your girlfriend!” She said that last part with a bit too much excitement, and you were sure you saw some heads snap your way from the corner of your eye. “Ehh, yeah, I’m just a little busy at the moment with football, so I’m not sure when I’ll be free,” you said as you quickly turned down the volume of your phone. “I know, darling, but I noticed there’s no match scheduled the weekend after the next one, so you’ll be free then, right?” Another disadvantage of being a professional athlete: usually having a very public schedule. “Right, yeah, I think so. I’ll call you after training, mum.”

You hung up after both of you exchanged goodbyes and you immediately noticed a few eyes on you. One pair belonged to a smirking Katie, who quickly plumped herself down next to you. “What was that I heard? Does somebody have a new girlfriend?” “What the hell, why haven’t I heard about this?” Leah joined in. “Lotte, did you know?” Your roommate Lotte shook her head. “Haven’t seen or heard anyone at our house.” “How is that even possible?” Victoria wondered out loud. “Is it a long-distance thing?” Caitlin joined in on the conversation. By this point, you were surrounded by your teammates, gazing at you, awaiting answers, and your head was spinning, trying to come up with anything to explain your situation.

Ultimately you decided on just telling them the truth, knowing full well a lie wasn’t getting you out of this situation. “There is no girlfriend,” you said quietly. Clearly, your answer wasn’t satisfactory as everyone kept staring at you frantically. “My parents kept asking me when I would finally bring someone home because my brother and sister are both happily married or engaged homeowners starting their own families. They keep telling me not to wait until it’s too late. At Christmas, when they started again, I finally snapped. I lied and told them I have a girlfriend.” You took a quick breath before you continued. “Only it backfired because now they won’t stop asking me about her, and apparently, I have to find a girlfriend within the next week or so.” You let your head fall into your hands dramatically. There was a short silence as everyone around you processed what you had just told them. Then a loud shriek as Katie burst out laughing. “Oh boy, you’ve gotten yourself into some trouble, mate!” she shouted. “Good luck with that.”

The next few minutes were filled with everyone either light-heartedly teasing your situation or attempting to play matchmaker and find you a girlfriend, which you knew was futile with only 10 days to go. This was precisely why you avoided going on dates. All the unwarranted attention and people meddling in your life, you didn't need it. You’d rather concentrate on the love of your life that you did have some control over: football. Fortunately, Kim took her captaincy very seriously and summoned everyone out of the changing room for training to begin, but not before sending you a sympathetic smile as you mouthed a quick “thank you” to her.

Training went by swiftly, and afterward, some of the girls gathered at Beth and Viv’s for dinner. You sat on the sofa with Laura and Viv as Alessia was directing Vic in the kitchen, and Beth was setting the table. “So, Y/N, are you going to tell your parents the truth about your girlfriend... or lack thereof?” Laura asked. “I don’t know; it’ll be so embarrassing. And I definitely won’t be able to hold off on them trying to set me up with their neighbour’s son, who is studying to be a doctor, or my mum’s colleague’s daughter who’s in law school.” You imitated your mom as you talked about the people your parent wanted to set you up with before dramatically making a barf gesture. “But what else can you do?” Viv asked. “Let’s see... Fake my own death and start a new life elsewhere? Start studying robotics and learn to design my own robot girlfriend? Pretend I’ve got short-term memory loss and have forgotten who my own girlfriend is?”

“Okay, I need to join in on this, scoot,” Beth waved her hands, gesturing for you to move over. “The fact that you thought of building a robot girlfriend before considering finding an actual girlfriend is insane,” she said, almost like she was scolding you. “I get it,” mumbled Viv as Beth immediately sent her a stern glare to which she responded with by blowing her a quick kiss. “I don’t want a relationship right now. Besides, 10 days is way too little time to find someone,” you said, ignoring their antics. “Fine, have it your way, go with the robot. Vic can help you; she’s studied maths,” she joked as she got up again. “Excuse me,” Vic got involved from the kitchen. “Which of my subjects do you think is about robot girlfriends?” She giggled. “I say go with the Dory thing.”

“Vic, stir this sauce for a bit, please,” Alessia spoke sternly as she turned towards all of you. “Okay, I can’t believe no one has thought of this, but the solution is very simple. You just find someone who can pretend to be your girlfriend for the weekend your parents visit,” she explained as all of you listened. “Yes! Less, that’s a perfect plan,” Beth exclaimed. “But who should it be? Maybe you can hire an actor!” She added as you seriously considered this option for a moment. “Hm, I don’t know, seems kind of risky if they don’t really know me,” you said. 

“Yeah, you should probably pick a friend, someone you’ve known for a while and who knows what you’re up to these days,” Laura stated. “Sooo, maybe a teammate?” Vic suggested. “Yes!” Beth shouted again. “A teammate. But who? Obviously not someone who is openly dating someone else already, so me and Viv are out,” she then stated more calmly. “Laura and I can’t make it either, we’re going out with the Aussies, remember?” Vic asked as Laura nodded.

A silence fell as everyone sort of stared at Alessia, who was too focused on her cooking to notice. “Less?” Beth caught her attention, making her jump a little when she noticed everyone’s hopeful gazes fixated on her. “Are you available?” she asked. “Oh yeah sure, I’ll do it.” Alessia sent you a quick smile before continuing to make dinner. “That settles it then,” Beth said, giving you no say in the matter whatsoever. If you were being honest, though, you were just glad you had found somewhat of a solution to your problem. Besides, you didn’t know Alessia that well, the two of you usually being in different friend groups within the team and you had been intrigued to get to know her better for a while now.

The next few days in training everyone was mostly focussed on the game ahead. Some new pieces of gossip flooded the changing room and much to your delight, you and your love life were left unspoken of. It almost seemed a bit too good to be true, and you were now starting to worry it had all been a joke that you took too seriously. After all, the whole plan was a bit insane, definitely unlike anything you had ever done before. Were you just too desperate to notice that it was all banter?

"Everything alright, Y/N?” Alessia's voice jolted you from your mental spirals. “You seem a bit distracted.” “Yeah, all good. My mind just wandered for a second.” You feigned a smile. “Okay.” She returned the smile. “Hey, Alessia,” you began before she could exit the changing room. “Can I talk to you for a second?” “Yeah, of course. What’s up?” She settled herself beside you.

“So, you know about our crazy fake girlfriend plan, and—” “Correction, it’s my crazy plan, not ‘our’. My idea.” She interjected with a satisfied expression. “Right, your crazy plan. Anyhow, I realise you were put on the spot when Beth asked if you were available. I just wanted to say you don’t have to do it; I can find someone else,” you spoke hesitantly. “Oh no, I want to do it. Unless you’d prefer someone else, of course.”

“No, I didn’t mean it like that,” you quickly clarified. “Alright then, let’s do it.” You offered a shy smile. “Ehh, I hope that’s not how you planned on asking me,” she giggled. You shot her an ‘are you serious?’ look. She responded with what you assumed was her best ‘yes, I’m serious, how dare you even question that’ expression. “Give me one second.”

You darted around the corner, returning a few seconds later with a ring made from bright blue kinesiology tape. “Alessia Russo, will you do me the honour of being my fake girlfriend for the weekend?” you proposed, getting down on one knee before her. “Yes, YES, a thousand times yes!” She dramatically pretended to swoon as you slid the makeshift ring onto her finger.

“Right, so my parents will be visiting from Friday night until Sunday, most likely,” you swiftly changed the subject, attempting to avoid any blush creeping onto your cheeks. “But you don’t have to be there for the entire duration, of course. If you could just pop in for a bit on Saturday, that would be great,” you suggested. “Oh, well I don’t really have any other plans because I assumed this would be an all-weekend kind of thing,” she replied softly, and you felt the warmth in your cheeks intensify. “And Dan is out of town anyway.”

Right, Dan. Her boyfriend. You were aware of him, you had met him – this wasn’t new information. So why did you suddenly feel a knot tightening in your stomach at Alessia mentioning him? “So, what do you want me to be like?” She brought you back from your thoughts. “What do you mean?” You asked. “I mean, how do you want me to be around your parents? We’ve got to impress them, right?” She explained. “Oh, just be yourself. They’ll love you. I know they will,” you assured her as she got up from the bench, ready to go warm up.

“Whatever happened in here?” Leah asked as she entered the changing room, followed by some other girls, right after Alessia had left. “What do you mean?” You inquired. “Well, Less just almost walked into me; she was all flustered and smiley, and now here you are, looking all flustered and upset,” she explained. “Nothing happened. I’m not upset. Just a bit nervous about my parents visiting and everything,” you lied. Either Leah didn’t notice or she decided to let you off the hook, but either way, she didn’t ask any further questions about it. As one of your best friends, Leah knew you very well, and she also knew that questioning you in a room full of people was the worst thing she could do to you. 

“So is Less still coming?” Beth inquired. “Yes,” you mumbled, not wanting everyone to get involved again, but with no success. “Less?” Katie jumped in. “Why would she come?” Luckily, Beth came to your aid and explained the whole situation to everyone there so you didn’t have to.

“That’s a great plan,” Katie finally spoke. “But how will we make it believable?” “I’m sorry, we?” You tried to interrupt. “We should quiz them!” Beth suggested loudly, ignoring you entirely. “What is happening?” You mumbled to Leah who just laughed at you in response. “Yes! Lotte, can you come up with some questions about Less, and Leah, you can do the same for Y/N.” 

Somehow, everyone had agreed on the quiz idea, and once again, you had no say in it. On Wednesday night, a few of the girls gathered at Lotte and your place to prepare you and Alessia for the weekend. The anticipation in the air was as thick as the excitement before a big match. Tables were set up, and a stack of papers with questions lay in the centre. Lotte, with her mischievous smile, and Leah, ever ready for a good laugh, were the architects of this grand interrogation.

You, Alessia, and the rest of the team settled in around the living room. The atmosphere was a mix of nerves and amusement, everyone eager to see how this plan would unfold. Beth, who put on an oversized blazer and a bright red Arsenal bowtie for the occasion, took charge, announcing the rules with a theatrical flourish.

“Alright, everyone! Welcome to the Ultimate Fake Girlfriend Quiz Night!” She exclaimed, earning a round of laughter. “We’ve got questions about Y/N for Alessia and questions about Alessia for Y/N. Let’s see how well our fake couple knows each other.” The room erupted into cheers. Lotte, holding a list of questions about Alessia, winked at you. Leah, armed with questions about you, looked equally mischievous.

The first round began, and Leah fired off questions about you. Alessia, to everyone’s surprise, answered with remarkable accuracy. “Alright, Alessia,” Leah said with a smirk, “what’s Y/N’s guilty pleasure snack?”

Alessia pondered for a moment, a playful glint in her eyes. “Chocolate-covered pretzels. She hides them in the back of a cabinet, but I always find them.” Laughter filled the room. You couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at Alessia, impressed and slightly amused that she had picked up on your secret indulgence. Apparently her close friendship with your roommate had given her quite an advantage.

Lotte, taking her turn, quizzed you about Alessia’s life. “What’s Alessia’s weirdest talent?” she asked with a sly grin. You thought for a moment, realising Alessia had shared a few quirky skills in the changing room. “She can do this weird thing with her tongue, like roll it into a clover shape. It’s bizarrely impressive.”

Alessia blushed, seemingly surprised that you remembered such a minor detail. The room erupted into cheers again. As the quiz progressed, Alessia consistently demonstrated an uncanny knowledge of your habits and likes. It seemed like she had been paying much more attention than you thought.

The highlight came when Leah, with a devious smile, presented the final question: “What’s Y/N’s weirdest habit in the morning?” Alessia, grinning confidently, answered, “She talks to herself in the mirror while doing her hair. Full-on conversations with her own reflection.” Your face turned crimson, and a chorus of laughter echoed through the room. You shot Alessia a playful glare.

The quiz ended and the consensus was clear — Alessia and you knew each other surprisingly well, considering this was supposed to be a fake relationship. However, Katie, ever the provocateur, couldn’t resist stirring the pot.

She leaned forward with a teasing grin. “So, you two aced the quiz, but do you even have any chemistry?” Her question hung in the air, causing a collective intake of breath from the spectators. Alessia looked at you, a subtle uncertainty in her eyes. “Seriously, guys, you need to up your game. You look way too platonic.”

Your teammates, now fully invested in your fake romance, decided to play relationship coaches. “Alright, stand up,” Beth commanded. “Let’s see how you two handle physical proximity. Hug. Now.” You and Alessia exchanged a glance, both feeling a bit awkward. You hesitated for a moment before tentatively wrapping your arms around each other. The teammates observed and then erupted into a chorus of opinions.

“Too stiff!”

“More like you mean it!”

“Look into each other’s eyes, not the ceiling!”

You and Alessia shared an amused yet bewildered look. The teammates continued their analysis, discussing everything from hand-holding techniques to the positioning of your bodies. It was like a crash course in relationship theatrics. “Alright, sit down,” Beth commanded again. “You two are sitting too far apart. Scoot closer.”

As you and Alessia moved to sit side by side, Steph suggested, “Try a more casual touch. Like, Y/N, put your hand on Alessia’s leg.” Panic flashed across your face, but you complied, very carefully placing your hand on Alessia’s leg. The room erupted into laughter again.

“Okay, she said casual, Y/N. She’s not made of thin glass now is she?” Beth joked, and Alessia chuckled as you adjusted your grip, secretly wanting to disappear into the couch. The teammates continued to give advice, critiquing every move and gesture. Amidst the laughter and chaos, Laura suggested, “You guys should try the 36 Questions. You know, that study that makes people fall in love?”

That mention drew curious looks from you and Alessia. Beth explained, “People say you’ll fall in love if you answer them honestly with someone. It could help you two look more... well, in love.” The idea was met with a mix of enthusiasm and skepticism. “Homework for our fake couple!” Beth declared, and everyone laughed.

As the evening wound down, the teammates left your place. Everyone but Alessia, who offered to help you clean the place up. Lotte went to bed, leaving you and your now approved ‘fake girlfriend’ with a newfound list of relationship do’s and don’ts, along with the prospect of a homework assignment that promised to make your fake relationship more convincing.

“So… I guess we’ve got some homework to do,” you said, feeling very awkward all of a sudden now that it was just you two. You then realised you had never really hung out together without at least one other person being there. “Yeah, 36 questions,” she started as she grabbed her phone. “Do you believe in this?”

“No of course not,” you said, ever the sceptic. “But I do believe Katie is gonna murder us if we don’t do our homework. Both of you exchanged glances like, ‘Are we really doing this?’ and rolled your eyes in silent agreement that this was a bit of a silly experiment.

“Given the choice of anyone in the world, whom would you want as a dinner guest?” She read the first question from her phone, immediately gazing at the ceiling as if in thought about her answer. “I bet yours would be Michael Jordan,” you said. “Hey, I’m asking you about your answer not mine!” She giggled as she elbowed your shoulder. 

“Fine, let me think. Do they have to be alive?” You wondered. “I mean I guess it says ‘anyone’, so if you want to have dinner with a corpse, by all means,” she chuckled. “No, not like that, ew,” you now elbowed her. “I just mean I would love to have dinner with my grandma. She’s sacrificed so much for our family, but I only ever knew her as a child so I’ve never been able to thank her for it.” Still in thought you stared at your feet for a bit until you realised it had been quiet for a while in your living room. 

“Sorry,” you said, quickly looking up and finding Alessia’s eyes already on you with a look you couldn’t quite place. “I’ll just go with Beyoncé, she’d be a cool dinner guest,” you quickly changed your answer. “No, no, that was really sweet. I bet your grandma would love to have dinner with you too. And I’m sure she knew you’d be grateful,” she said softly, her eyes remaining on yours. “Yeah well, you just called her a corpse so that idea is kind of ruined for me now,” you teased. “No I didn’t!” She protested.

The first couple of questions were mostly light and you chuckled at each other’s silly answers. However, as you continued down the list, the questions became increasingly deep and personal and as eye-rolls turned into thoughtful pondering, you both found yourselves sharing way more than you had expected. 

Alessia’s responses were open and honest as she shared stories about her childhood dreams, the hurdles in her football journey, and her aspirations beyond the pitch. One question, in particular, struck a chord: “If you could wake up tomorrow having gained any one quality or ability, what would it be?” Alessia’s response was heartfelt. “I’d want to be fearless. Not just on the field, but in life. There are times when I feel held back by my own doubts and fears. I’d love to face everything without that weight.”

Her openness made it easy for you to share your own dreams and fears. The conversation flowed easily, moving through topics of love, aspirations, and personal histories. It felt like something shifted between the two of you. Alessia was no longer just a teammate or a fake girlfriend to you. She was someone you could talk to, someone you felt a genuine connection with and you had a newfound appreciation for her.

By the time you had finished the first set of questions you finally looked at the time. “Oh my god, Alessia, it’s 2 am!” You both jumped up. Two hours had passed since everyone had left and you had an early training the next morning. “Really? How did that happen. I should run then,” she said.

“Hey, do you want to stay over?” You asked as you immediately noticed her questioning expression. “In the guest room I mean. Just cause we have an early training tomorrow and I don’t want you to be exhausted.” You quickly added. “Yeah, that’d be nice.” She smiled shyly at you. “Okay, be right back.” You stated as you sprinted towards your bedroom.

You returned a few minutes later with a bunch of stuff in your arms. “Here’s an unused toothbrush, towels are in the bathroom cabinet, and I didn’t know what you like to sleep in so here’s some shorts, joggers, a t-shirt and a hoodie. Wear whatever you want.” You rambled nervously as she chuckled. “Thank you Y/N. Good night.”

The next morning, your alarm blared, pulling you from the depths of sleep. Groggily, you stumbled out of bed, rubbing the sleep from your eyes. Training awaited, and as you yawned your way through the morning routine, the events of the previous night flashed in your mind. You couldn’t help but glance at Alessia, who was already up, seemingly more awake than you were. She flashed you a tired yet friendly smile. “Morning,” she mumbled, her voice thick with sleep. “Morning,” you replied, trying to shake off the remnants of your dreams. The two of you exchanged a glance, a silent acknowledgment of the peculiar situation you found yourselves in.

As you headed to training together, you couldn’t ignore the amused glances from your teammates. Alessia, clad in your training gear because she hadn’t brought her own, was the target of playful banter. “Nice walk of shame, Alessia!” Katie teased, eliciting laughter from others. “You two look tired, looks like our chemistry experiments worked a little too wel!” Quipped Beth, pointing out the bags under both your eyes.

Training progressed as usual, but not without the occasional teasing from one of your teammates. You knew none of them really meant anything by it though. Everyone knew it was just a bit and that the two of you were no more than friends. And so did you, cause that was the deal, right? 

“You know,” Alessia began when the two of you were alone for a second after Katie asked her when you were planning your next sleepover, “despite all the teasing and the fake girlfriend stuff, I’m kind of enjoying getting to know you better.” You felt your cheeks starting to flush as you took in her genuine smile. “Yeah, me too. It’s strange how these things work out.” You tried your best to reciprocate her smile without blushing too hard. What on earth was happening to you?

The day went by swiftly as the prospect of having Alessia around as your fake girlfriend all weekend had you slowly spiral into a nervous wreck. When Friday afternoon finally arrived, you stood in front of the bathroom mirror as you went over the many things that could go wrong. What if your parents didn’t believe it? What if they did? What would that even mean? What if she never even showed up cause who were you to think she would do something like that for you? What if her boyfriend got mad? What if she suddenly started liking you, for real? What if she didn’t?

You splashed water in your face, desperately trying to stop your mind from spiralling, and more specifically to erase those last thoughts. Where was your mind coming up with all this none-sense? Was there something more to this? Another splash. No. None-sense. You groaned as you watched drops of water trickle down your face. 

“Y/N? Everything okay?” You heard Lotte’s voice call out from the other side of the locked bathroom door. “Less is here.” You inhaled a sharp breath as you felt a familiar knot form in your stomach. “Shit,” you mumbled to yourself. “Be right there!”

“You’re early,” is the first thing you said when you came out of the bathroom after quickly drying yourself off and fixing your hair. “Nice to see you too.” A kindly smiling Alessia appeared once you opened the door. “Thought I’d help you prepare before your parents show up. Hey, are you okay?” She gazed at you as if she was examining your current state. “Yeah, I’m okay. Sorry, hi, thank you for being here.” You opened up your arms as an invitation for a hug which she accepted immediately.

“Allright, lovebirds, I’m out.” Lotte said, suitcase in hand as she hugged you both goodbye, leaving for a little romantic getaway with her boyfriend. “Have fun!” You both shouted at the same time as she closed the door behind herself.

You spent the next hour or so getting the house ready for your parent’s arrival and providing Alessia with all the necessary information on your family, as if you were doing a last minute study session for an exam.

Then, a knock on the door echoed through the house, signalling the arrival of your parents. A surge of nerves shot through you as you exchanged a quick glance with Alessia. You both took a deep breath, steeling yourselves for the upcoming performance. “Ready?” Alessia whispered, and you nodded, though your heart was doing a drumroll in your chest.

-> Chapter II

[satrs]

𝐒𝐇𝐇𝐇𝐇, 𝐁𝐄 𝐐𝐔𝐈𝐄𝐓!

ꜱʏɴᴏᴘꜱɪꜱ; ʀɪꜱᴋʏ ꜱᴇx ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇ ᴊᴊᴋ ᴍᴇɴ

ꜰᴇᴀᴛᴜʀɪɴɢ; ʏᴜᴜᴛᴀ ᴏᴋᴋᴏᴛꜱᴜ. ɢᴏᴊᴏ ꜱᴀᴛᴜʀᴜ. ɢᴇᴛᴏ ꜱᴜɢᴜʀᴜ. ɴᴀɴᴀᴍɪ ᴋᴇɴᴛᴏ.

ᴡᴏʀᴅ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ; 1.0k

Tags; EXHIBITIONISM. grinding. cumming in pants. cheating. blood kink(?). Breeding kink. Mention of marriage/kids(nanamis).

ᴀʟʟ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀꜱ ᴀʀᴇ ᴀɢᴇᴅ ᴜᴘ! // ɴᴏᴛ ᴘʀᴏᴏꜰʀᴇᴀᴅ!

YUUTA OKKOTSU.

The both of you decided to visit your parents over the weekend, a normal decision at first glance, but a foolish one at second. Did you seriously think you would be able to take your hands off each other for a whole weekend?

"Please baby. Let me put it in", the man quietly mumbled into your neck, hips grinding harshly into your ass, softly groaning at the friction.

"W-we can't. My parents- fuck, might hear", you warned him, holding onto the last bit of your sanity, close to your breaking point. Yuuta whined into your neck in response a little too loud, causing you to turn and slap a hand over his mouth.

"Shhh!," you lectured him, the grinding of his hips not stopping. Then, an idea came to your head.

"You want me, right baby?", you questioned him in a low voice, earning an eager hum from the male. "I know just the way to shut you up."

You slapped a pillow into your face in an attempt to muffle your moans, the feeling of his wet tongue dancing along your needy heat was making your head spin, eyes rolling into the back of your eye sockets.

The muffled moans that managed to reach his ears caused him to grind onto the bed, cock aching in need.

Your hands creeped to take ahold of his dark locs, pushing his head further into your heat as you came. Not long after Yuuta also reached his high, cum spurting right into his boxers, causing him to growl into your heat.

Your legs twitched at the vibration, a moan of yours echoing through the room.

The both of you quickly retreated back into your previous positions, attempting to sleep as you heared the creeking of the door.

As the door closed, Yuuta was quick to jump on top of you,

"One more try alright baby? I'll keep quiet this time."

GOJO SATURO.

"Shhh, doll. You don't want your husband to hear," you harshly bit your lip at that, pussy tightly clenching around him. "Or do you? What a dirty little wife you are. Fucking your brother in law while your husband 's waiting for us downstairs."

Your grip on the sink was tight, closing your eyes to contain yourself from moaning, lip drawing blood at your harsh bite. "But you know I like that-", he harshly grabbed your chin over your shoulder, embracing your lips in a needy kiss, letting out a groan at the taste of your blood on his tongue, "-right?"

"Mhmm, m' gonna' cum, Saturo", you whispered as quiet as you could, looking up into his eyes, knot threatening to snap in half.

But before you could reach your high, Gojo pulled out swiftly, adjusting himself in his pants again, leaving you there, ass up and looking back at him in confusion.

„He‘ll get suspicious if we stay here any longer“, Saturo said, door knob in hand,

„Let’s continue this later, yeah?“

And that’s exactly what you did, after the family meeting that took place at your home, you sneaked into your brother in laws car, continuing the sinful antics the both of you started in your bathroom.

"Fuckkk", he moaned as he bottomed out inside of you, for the second time tonight, but for sure not the last time.

GETO SUGURU.

"Do you want us to get caught, darling?", suguru asked, rather rhetorical question, but you still shook your head no regardless.

"Then", he began, testing out if you understood with a sharp thrust of his hips, „keep quiet.“ he whispered into your ear, softly biting your earlobe.

This is just crazy. Everything just started with you and him entering Victoria secret in order to find some nice things for you and him to enjoy.

But as soon as you came out the changing room to show off the beautiful lingerie he chose for you, he was quick to hush you back into the closet, sliding those panties off of you to quickly guide his aching length into your warm heat.

And here you were, trying your best to not utter a sound, your leg wrapped around his hip while you held onto his shoulders to keep your stability.

„I‘ll buy you that fuck-, that lingerie for sure. What a pretty thing you are.“ he said in a low tone, clasping his hand over your mouth in order to hush your moans.

But it was literally impossible, since he was basically asking to get caught, hitting every spot inside of you so well while his tip kissed your cervix all over again.

„Taking me so well baby. If you‘ll be a good little girl and cum for me, I‘ll buy you this whole damn store if you wish so.“

So, you did what he told you to do an came, teeth sinking into his hand in an attempt to lower your high pitched moans.

No woman would say no to a free shopping spree, right?

NANAMI KENTO.

"Shhhh darling. You don’t want the guest to find you like this, do you?“

It started off all innocent. The both of you attended to the wedding of your best friend and when she threw the bonquet, it was you who happend to catch it.

Loud cheers echoed around and some of the men teased nanami. „When will you two lovebirds even marry? And don’t you think it’s time for some kids?“

His heart jumped in his chest. Kids? He never really thought about that up till this point. But then the thought of mimi you‘s running around sounded quite tempting.

Which caused the man to drag you into an empty storage room near to where all the guest were celebrating, pleasuring you to the point where you were almost drooling.

„You wanna marry huh? We gotta add a baby to our family then don’t you think?“

His words made you clench around him, causing him to lowly groan.

He couldn’t wait, he had to have you right now and he honestly didn’t care if someone would badge in. You were his afterall, and that would only more prove the fact.

He would make sure you walk out of that storage room, filled to the brim.

„Not to loud, darling. You don’t want to be a wedding crasher now do you?“

©︎𝐊-𝐀𝐙𝐔𝐒. all rights reserved. Do NOT plagiarize, copy, modify, republish, or translate my work in any way!

[venusbby]

♡ characters/pairings: isagi yoichi x reader

♡ warnings: cursing, teeny tiny bit suggestive (oops)

♡ note: this is short but my brain today was fully occupied by yoichi so here u go also i am so horrid at titles that i almost thought about naming this 'victoria's secret' somebody call me an idiot sandwich right now ok bye somebody help me what do i even call this no title for now ok ok bye

🍁 — your boyfriend has taken the concept of your secret relationship a little too seriously.

"what are you doing? let me in." isagi whispered, eyebrows furrowing underneath his messily kept dark hair. although standing in your apartment's doorway gave him a little relief from the cool waves of your air conditioner, he needed to get in before anybody else saw him— but for some reason, you looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"yoichi?" you stressed on the name hard, your jaw dropping slightly when you were finally able to recognise the deep blue eyes that stared back at you. "you're joking."

"no way, you couldn't recognise me?"

"of course not!" you whisper-yelled, opening the door further to quickly let him inside, eyes drifting from the two doors across the floor to see if anyone of your neighbours was watching. as isagi stepped inside and kicked off his shoes, you watched in astonishment.

"you think i'm going to recognise you when you're dressed like this?" you gestured towards his outfit, from his black face mask to his new shoes. once the door was closed, you couldn't stop yourself from snorting. the more you looked at him, the more recognisable he got— from his eyes to the rings he usually wore.

your boyfriend scoffed, hastily discarding his face mask and throwing it aside, followed by his jacket, then his hoodie, and then— why was he removing his shirt?

"it's so fucking hot," he hissed, running a hand through his hair which was damp at the base with sweat, broad shoulders tensing and relaxing every time he moved to fan himself. "it's so fucking hot but i wore three layers just so i could see you and you're laughing?"

you only stared, not being fast enough to take everything in, how he looked and what he was saying— until he took three quick steps towards you and his hands found their home on either side of your hips, "before you say anything, i'm here because i missed you."

your heart sped up.

only six months into dating the pro footballer isagi yoichi, and he shows up to your apartment in broad daylight dressed in all black hoping to get here without being noticed, just because he missed you.

there was no way he couldn't feel your heart pounding when you chuckled and threw your arms around his neck to bring him into your embrace. your smile was not going to leave anytime soon and by now it was almost normal for your heart to act up when he was around.

since you were just in a tank top and shorts, when you hugged him, you realised he really was suffering in this month's hot weather. there was no way a little sweat was going to stop you from balancing yourself on your toes to push back his hair and plant a kiss on his forehead.

you stared at his flushed face, not bothering to think if it was because of your close proximity or the heat from his clothes. "yoi, you didn't have to do all this. we could've met where we did last time—"

"i'd do anything for you," he cut you off, talking as if he was telling you a fact. his eyes softened, loving and apologizing. "and i hate that you have to drive ten minutes away to meet me all the time."

you rolled your eyes, hands settling on his shoulders now. "ten minutes is nothing."

isagi shrugged at your stubborn response, eyes trailing down to your lips. "im here now, so what's the point of all this? just kiss me."

as expected, your secret lover was quite desperate during the kiss. the last time you met each other was the previous week, after which your schedules struggled to match up and caused you both to pause your meetings for a few days.

the longing behind the way his lips settled against yours almost made your legs give up, and you were thankful for your grip that tightened on his shoulders, which coaxed out a soft hum from isagi.

your first instinct after pulling away was to pinch his cheeks. isagi wasn't in his trance any longer once your fingers poked at his face. "your disguise was kinda shitty, though."

"as if. even you couldn't tell if it was me at first." he retorted, lips still swollen.

"next time you come over, let me help you decide on an outfit that won't make you miserable. 'kay?" you smiled cheekily, thumb hovering over his jaw, and whispered. "and put your shirt back on, please."

"but i'm still feeling hot. don't you like the view anyway?"

you shook your head when you saw his grin, ignoring the last part (which was true). "no worries, i'll turn the AC up for ya."

he gave himself a B for effort, at least.

🍄 — val is tagging... + @hyomagiri (<333)

[jennyanypenny]

Soo heard ya seen the georgetown palace production of cats with the female munk kinda curious on ur thoughts on whats the production like?

It was fun :o3 Im forgetting stuff already, but I do know that seeing it changed my opinions on Skimbleshanks.

Using this ask as an excuse to write down a summary for myself (not in exact song order uhhh)

Starting numbers were good. Don’t have much to say, but seeing it live and kinda close is def different from seeing 5 pixel bootlegs!! These cats are people sized!! Also you could hear the noise when they pounced on the floor. I think some of that had to do with how small the theatre was. Also Vickys solo was mostly on a pole. I thought that they wouldn’t keep the sensuality of her parts but they did!

The Old Gumbie Cat number was soo good. But that was expected from the best song in the musical. Ive already praised Munku’s actress so :o3 .The gumbie trio sounded wonderful!! But during their part they did stuff with sticks and it was definitely a bit too loud.. The guys were the mice instead of the girl kits. They made a cute little shawl for Jenny out of rope that she wore throughout the show. Rumpel and Mungo may or may not have stolen it later. The beetles tattoo was very good! I think ive already mentioned it but Munkus led most of it. Jenny did lead some of it tho. She also came in inside of a shoe-car?? Oversized light up sneaker that she was riding. Supports my hc that these cats are 3 centimeters tall.

Oki so I missed some of The RTT because im lame and I can never watch this number without looking away for a bit. Anyways, the actor was funny as hell. Made silly faces through the show. Sillabub had a “I ❤️ Tugger” cardboard sign. Very important. Bomba and Tugger were def very close. Munkus and Tugger hung out a lot too! He got a lil crown during the number from his fangirls :3 . The end bit went on for some time but it made me giggle from what I remember so it was good 👍

Bustopher Jones sounded very nice. Very jolly. Wasn’t the full song I think. Some of the cats didn’t seem to like him which lame 🙄!! (Misto and Skimble were very exited tho!). Jenny still had the crush and got a flower at the end¿. (im forgetting stuff already) Also Bustopher Jones existed outside of his song! Win for Bustopher fans everywhere.

Mungo and Rumpel were trying to be funny I think?? But a lot of it came of like those parodies of Cats. Yknow, the ones were the cat role isnt taken seriously and its like “hahah, hairballs”. Was not a fan. Hated it actually. Maybe I just hate fun idk. They were also in front being silly wayy to much. During multiple numbers. There was some dialogue at the start of their song, them asking if it was safe to come out yet instead of the usual Rumpel laughs. The two actually being scared of Mac isnt something I usually interpret, but mmm has u thinking.

Augh during one of the Scares (not sure which one) they (Deme starts and cats join in) say (not truly sing) a part of Macavity, emphasizing the hypnotizing part (foreshadowing💥). Took away some of the mystery but it didnt bother me that much. They could have made it sound better tho 😭

The Jellicle Ball choreo was a bit disappointing, but I don’t remember much uhh. The music was good tho. Misto lifted Victoria btw, if any of the 3 mistoria shippers see this.

GLAMOUR CAT REPRISE!! GLAMOUR CAT REPRISE HOW I LOVE YOU! After it I think it was just Grizz and Sillabub was there watching her from up high in the set. I dont remember if Old D stayed, but he might have.

Moments of Happiness was good I rlly liked Old Ds voice. Victoria and Jemima had a little dance at the end although this could have also happened before/during the Jellicle Ball.

Gus the Theatre cat was wonderful <33 . Such a great Jelly. One of my favorites (although I already have a lot of favorite Jellys :’3). She was sweet and her voice was nice. The number was def a bit less sad and more funny. Mmm something cute is that like 4 cats worked to place and fluff up a pillow on the hat¿ Gus sat on.

Macavity fight was very cool. There wasn’t the reveal bit. He just came in ready to fight. Demeter fought quite a bit. All the other cats (apart from Munkus [who got their ass beat like usual] and Deme) who hit Mac were all played by male actors. Munk did recover and finish it off tho (I think). Deme was also kitnapped. Definitely a suprise! There was this box they were sliding around and stuff and Mac escaped by going inside with her in it after hypnotizing her. They really played into that part. I somehow missed Old Deuteronomy being kitnapped before all this idk how.

Speaking of Macavity I loved Demeters voice. She was really good. I knew Macavity was gonna be good when I heard her in the opening number 🙏. Bomba had a deeper voice and I rlly liked the playfulness the actress brought to her. Ermm I dont remember much else.

SKIMBLESHANKS THE RAILWAY CAT was awesom. Actor was very expressive. Bustopher appears during this song. There was a bit where mungo/rumpel stole Bustophers’ watch, skimble caught them, and then Bustopher came back to get it and found skimbol with it. ‘,:-\ . Very silly I liked that part. There was also like 2 seconds of tap dancing I swear. Instant bonus points. Everybody loves Skimbleshanks for good reasons and I finally understood why.

Magical Mr Mistoffelees was fun! Its always such a happy joyful song! The Conjuring Turns!!! Holy moly. Its another experience to actually be there clapping. He first conjured up Deme at the very start and then Old Deuteronomy. They hugged a lot <33. Mr. Mistoffelees was very kittenish in this production. It was cute :o3

Memory sounded good I will not deny this! But the acting. It wasnt that emotional.. which is what I mainly like about Memory. She mostly just sung towards the audience. You didn’t really get the feeling she was angry/sad/regretful and desperate.

Grizzabella ascended on a boat. The one that is on the right of the stage in the pic.

Another number my mind was changed on is Addressing of Cats. I think I mentioned it being a least fave in a ask game and yeagh. This is why Growltiger beat it for least fave song. Very awesome. A cat is not a dog.

I enjoyed it! Genuinely never thought I would see it in person until I was much older but I was proved wrong! Also the Cats brainrot was stronger in the weeks leading up to it. (good thing)

According to my mom my dumbass missed when they went through the aisles :’( . I only saw Misto bringing Old D in his arrival. Fave performers where the ones who played Munkus, Jelly, Gus, Old D, Deme and Tugger.

[rottenbrainstuff]

BG3 playthrough - CAZADOR

Spoilers and my thoughts on spawn vs ascended Astarion below.

But let’s begin with a disclaimer, because everyone is taking this discourse way too seriously: these are MY THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS, I am talking about MY PREFERENCES AND MY OBSERVATIONS. I think everyone should play the game however they like and leave everyone else alone. YES, EVEN IF they are doing things you don’t agree with.

My poor little computer continues to chug its way through the city, but I’ve been getting a bit bored with the little random arbitrary quests of act 3 and I wanted to do something fun this weekend, so I decided to go to Cazador’s palace.

It definitely does feel like there was initially a plan to have more content in there that they weren’t able to get around to finishing… stuff like the unresolved threads with Amanita Szarr, stuff like the bizarrely empty basement, stuff like the aftermath of the big party, Victoria’s body (which I understand you used to be able to talk to, which was since cut out since her lines contradicted the plot in other spots?) sure, unfinished, but I’m really not THATbothered by it. I dunno. I’m still enjoying the game a lot. I can feel how much work and care went into it, I understand how long it was in development for and what a risk they took with it and how they almost went bankrupt trying to get it finished. In a perfect world I wish they could have had all the time and money that they needed to make act 3 as slick and organized as act 1, sure, but am I still enjoying myself? Am I still emotionally invested? Do I appreciate the work they did? Yes yes and yes. I’m not bothered.

Ok thoughts. The lore here is only fragments so you really have to flesh it out in your mind. It’s interesting how long Cazador managed to survive compared to his ancestors. I think it can be assumed that this is because Cazador was much more reluctant to make other vampires than his predecessors. We get only a tiny glimpse into what Vellioth was like, and I think it’s very interesting to think about how the game shows us that Astarion was punished with a year of being locked away, while Cazador was punished with eleven years of impalement. I’m sure in Cazador’s mind he is a more benevolent master, and his ungrateful spawn don’t understand how good they have it. It’s like an abusive parent who doesn’t understand why you complain so much, because when they were a kid they got the strap, look at how much nicer they are to you, you’re just being ungrateful! Cazador is really strikingly unimpressive for all the buildup he got, and I can’t decide if that’s funny, or a lost opportunity. Ever since I since I started playing, I wished there was an element of cycles of kindness and apology mixed in with Cazador’s abuse, because in real life that’s such an important part, these moments of calm where you think things might get better and things could work and you want to believe the bullshit that they’re saying. There’s none of that at all with Cazador, but maybe it just would just make the narrative more complicated, and also more disturbing, so that’s ok if it’s not there, it’s just a thought.

The fight was a lot easier than I was expecting and I found that a little disappointing. I skipped ahead one night just to see what the fight at the House of Grief was like and I was really challenged by that… Cazador is a whiny little asshole, comparatively. I wouldn’t have minded a bit more of a challenge. And yes I know I can bump the difficulty level any time I want, but I haven’t had to do that for any other fight. I’m just saying, I think the fight could stand to be a little trickier.

So here’s Astarion’s big choice - similar to Wyll, and different from Shadowheart and Lae’zel, you can’t just leave him to decide by himself and see what he picks to do. You must decide either to help him, or you must decide to talk him out of it.

I did the spawn choice first, because this is what my Tav would do. Wow, beautiful scene, so emotionally satisfying and cathartic. I really like that there was no attempt to be like, well, you can’t kill Cazador because then you’d be just as bad as him… no, even with the spawn route you are able to at least get that piece of revenge. I like it. I chose to release the 7000 spawn. It’s supposed to be a difficult choice, and for sure it is, but for me there really isn’t any other option in the end. After learning it isn’t 7 souls on the line but 7 fucking thousand, Astarion stubbornly tries to justify his commitment to going through with the ritual by saying these spawn are so far gone they’re better off dead now, but I disagree. That’s not at all the impression I get talking to Sebastian and talking to the Gur girl. I think that’s him feeling uncomfortable with suddenly being shown the consequences of 200 years of collecting victims. 100%. Sebastian has been there almost since the beginning and he is coherent and can express that he doesn’t want to die. It’s heartbreaking. I can’t condemn 7000 people to death because they MIGHT hurt people later. Look, I know, 7000 spawn loose in the underdark, they are going to hurt people. I’m not naive. But the last time I checked, even in places where capital punishment is a thing, you’re not actually allowed to execute someone preemptively because you think they MIGHT do something wrong EVENTUALLY - you have to actually wait until they do something wrong! It’s not a good situation, for sure. I can totally understand why other people in the world would be angry at me for it. I can totally understand why the Gur are angry at me for it. Totally get it! But like. The bottom line is, I can’t decide to destroy 7000 sentient people.

(I’m ok with the Gur being angry, but I DID really appreciate that at the very very least, Gandrel is talking about wanting to go and find their missing children. Yes thank you, at least one single person who wants to at least TRY and see if something can be done)

Everything after this is just so breathtakingly lovely: Astarion’s confusion about feeling numb afterwards, which ties nicely back into Aylin’s feelings after she cracked Loroakan in half, and the beautiful act 3 romance. Man. Like. It all really got me thinking about just how much Astarion has changed since act 1, how he’s being so honest here, so vulnerable, so sweet. His act 3 romance is all about moving forward and becoming free and why it isn’t easy. I’m so proud of him. Man. Man.

After this, his conversation dialogue changes yet again, and a dark urge has the option to try and break up with him because you’re afraid you might hurt him, which prompts him to give this amazingly sweet and supportive dialogue, man. Just. Babe is so sweet with a dark urge tav, I can’t stand it.

So some people have said they wish Larian had added in an option to hug Astarion while he’s wailing after killing Cazador - adding my disagreement here. This moment is all about Astarion. He’s letting out 200 years worth of grief and anger and pain, this is his moment, it feels really odd to me to insert myself into that, leave him alone with it. He wants to let it out, not have a hug. There is plenty of time for comfort later, there are two conversations about it post-fight, even.

Some people have also expressed discomfort with how Astarion uses the line “I could be persuaded” (to have sex). Personally I do not have an issue with this line the way it’s used here. I think his word choice is meant to be funny and to deflect the seriousness and significance of this milestone he’s suggesting, because he’s still working on this whole vulnerability and honesty thing, and I think people are getting too hung up on the literal wording and missing the contextual cues. I think Astarion’s intentions for the night were clear in his mind from the beginning. I think his entire plan for the evening was to have this chat with Tav and try sexual intimacy again. If you tell him you’re not in the mood, he acts surprised. If you go along with it, he is very much in control and setting the pace. “I could be persuaded,” he says, as if he wasn’t the one who asked Tav to meet him there, as if he hasn’t just turned to them expectantly and taken their hands like he wants to talk about something very important, as if telling him you don’t know what he means causes him to clarify that he wants to be sexually intimate, as if he doesn’t express surprise if you say you don’t want to. He doesn’t need persuading, this is the whole reason he’s set up the little graveyard date. I think……. I think people place too much emphasis on literal words. In real life things are rarely so neat and efficient. That’s totally valid if some people are bothered by the line, but I do think it was NOT the intention to suggest Astarion HAS to be persuaded. This is just how Astarion likes to talk.

While talking to the imprisoned spawn, a certain path of dialogue leads to Astarion having a bit of a revelation about how up till now he’s always clung to the reassurance that he’s not responsible for any of this because he was enslaved by Cazador. “Yes this was horrible what happened, but it’s got nothing to do with me, I couldn’t help it. While we’re here we might as well make the best of a bad situation, right?” But now he realizes… it’s very true that back then he didn’t have a choice, and I don’t begrudge him that at all, not for a second… but now he does have a choice. And he needs to think very very carefully about what he is going to CHOOSE to do. I’m so happy he realized that. He’s always clung so stubbornly to this rationale as we learn worse and worse things about the ritual, and I think this is the first little light shining through the crack that he needs to challenge himself.

After that was all done, I decided to try letting him ascend.

I knew what happens, I knew how things change, I’d seen clips of the alternate romance so it’s not like I didn’t know what was coming. Somehow though I was still surprised, much more than I thought I would be.

Cause ouch, it hurt. It hurt WAY more than I was expecting.

And hey kudos to Neil, A+ acting, this is why he’s winning all the awards: man, ascendant Astarion is a totally different character. Immediately, and completely. He immediately begins speaking to me differently. He SOUNDS different. He talks different. As soon as I heard him laugh for the first time I knew that I would never be able to do this in a normal run.

Ascended Astarion is very sexy. He’s very much now the hot bad-boy vampire, the bad guy from the movie that everyone writes fics about. He’s now very much the sexy bastard with the delicate little love interest sitting demurely on his lap while he rules a kingdom with an iron first type thing. I’m all for that, normally. If this was the Astarion we met in act 1, I’d probably still love it.

The problem for me is that IT’S NOT the Astarion we met in act 1, and that HURT MY FUCKING HEART.

The Astarion I have traveled with for two and a half acts is a bit of a bastard, yes, but he’s also silly, and cranky, and insecure. He’s been struggling with allowing himself to be vulnerable around me, and as he’s gotten more willing to drop his guard, this really beautiful personality has been emerging. He has a capacity for empathy that Cazador couldn’t even torture out of him after 200 years. The BEAUTIFUL things he’s said to my durge! The BEAUTIFUL thoughts he has in the spawn romance scene!

That is GONE. It’s dead. As soon as I heard him laugh for the first time, I knew how much of a mistake this would be. My precious, mean, beautiful, sharp, silly, sad Star was gone. Ascended Astarion will never be honest or vulnerable ever again.

I was shocked, very shocked, how quickly and completely Astarion changes with his dialogue and how much of a bad taste in my mouth it left. He sound different but he is also very much above everything happening, very much above me. After we left the palace and I had the chance to have a conversation with him, at first I tried to roleplay the conversation naturally, and I responded to him in a less than enthusiastic way, the “wrong” way, and he fucking shouted at me, and it just. It made me sick, absolutely sick. It reminded me of accidentally saying the wrong thing to my abusive ex husband and suddenly I’ve triggered a fight and I’m scrambling to say all the right things to placate him. I hated it. I hated it. I hated it SO much more than I was expecting.

The ascended romance has some of the same beats as the spawn romance and I think it’s obvious that’s on purpose. Again, it’s a contrast that hurts my heart. Rather than taking the lead because he is exploring his desire, allowing himself to HAVE desire, here he is taking control because he’s enjoying the feeling of having you underneath him. Rather than being honest and vulnerable and sharing this last piece of his history with you and pondering the trajectory of his life and his future, he’s talking to you in this syrupy voice and putting on a grander performance than ANYTHING he ever did in act 1 and there’s nothing behind it except possession and control. HURT! MY! HEART!

Astarion is strong and powerful now, and no one will ever hurt him again, that’s for sure, but here’s the thing: being alive means being hurt sometimes. You can’t make yourself strong by stepping on the backs of people the same way you were once stepped on, and you can’t prevent your heart from being broken by just burning out your heart. That’s not freedom and that’s not happiness. Without honesty and vulnerability, there can be no love, and it makes the act 3 romance feel depressingly hollow.

My resisting durge tav’s entire story has been about how he’s trying to resist his dark urges, resist his biology, and be a new, different person, and Astarion has been helping him. Similarly, my tav has been trying to help Astarion to do the same. The only reason my tav would ever NOT stop Astarion from ascending is if he tried and failed to convince him, and he now has to watch sadly as his love makes this terrible choice and lets his fear win.

So yeah. That’s my thoughts on that. I’m usually 100% all for the bad guys, I love the bastards. If that was the bastard we started with, I’d probably love it. But I fell in love with a different bastard who is already beautiful exactly the way he is, and who is basically totally destroyed if you go down that route. It hurts me to see him change like that. I do really enjoy that the game gives you both options, so you can play how you want to play, and so you can explore and see what happens down each path. I love how people have different reactions, I get how some people find a kind of catharsis or satisfaction in putting Astarion down that darker route. For me it’s a hard pass, hard pass, a much harder pass than I was expecting. Kudos to Neil and kudos to the writers for developing everything so beautifully.

Phew.

I still can’t get over how silly and sweet Astarion is being in the dialogues with me now though. I think as they explore more sexual intimacy, my tav would tease Astarion a lot about how it must feel to be a little vampire spawn who has bhaal’s own son at his complete and utter mercy and I think Astarion would get off on that, haha. Up next I guess I’m going to head over to the Elfsong and do the Emperor’s bullshit errands. Man this is such a good game. I’m so glad it’s being so recognized with awards, but I also hope it’s been selling a lot?

[xuminghao-de-qingren]

Part 1

One Friday night, your friend suddenly cancels your supposed Girls Night Out. So you decided to play around with the dating app while doing your self-care routine.

Pairing: the8 x freader; minghao x freader

warnings/tags: explicit sexual content, oral, face-fucking, unedited so there may be missing words or typos

-------------------------------------------

You were just finishing your day at work, excited to clock out when your friend suddenly cancels your GNO. You were so pumped up and ready to party because recently you've been so stressed about your projects and you need a release but the introvert side of you somehow found joy in it.

As you arrived at your apartment, you decided to relax and meditate in the bathroom. While preparing your bath tub, you were at the kitchen preparing your mini cheese board and pink moscato wine tray. You lit up some scented candles and put your lights at a dim, got into the bath tub and start meditating.

You were not a fan of doing this kind of thing because, honestly, you think its impossible to find peace living in a fast paced influenced society in a middle of a super busy city. You recently were curious about meditating because of your favorite idol, Xu Minghao, from Seventeen.

"Ah, Hao, I sure hope this works." You washed you face a little to feel the warm of your bath water. You enjoyed the soothing fragrance of your bath bomb and scented candles: berries and roses. You hear traffic sounds and some noises from outside your apartment as you keep your mind clear and move along with your meditation process.

5 minutes later, you're done meditating not sure if it worked but this a first so you thought "oh, wells". You grabbed a piece of cheese as you open your phone and browse through a dating app.

"Let's see..hmm" as you swipe left several photos in a few seconds. There's this one guy who caught your attention. He's wearing a white weird looking hoodie, face mask almost reaching the lines of he's eyes while he's trying to make an effort opening them more for a selfie, and eyeglasses, sitting somewhere doing a weird peace sign like a hippie.

"Should I?"

"Umm, sketchy"

"He's photo is unique, tho!"

"His description is a bit catchy too: 🖤🎱"

"NOT!!"

Just when you're about to swipe left, your fidgeting thumb accidentally swiped right.

"Oops" as your face showed an exaggerated regret. "I'll just have to get on with it." You stowed your phone to the bathroom shelf beside your tub and finish off your first glass of wine.

After a relaxing bath, you fancy nothing but to feel sexy for tonight's sleep so you wore your one and only-slash-favorite Victoria's Secret nighties. "Huhu, your're so expensive." As you try it on while looking at your body mirror. This is your kind of self love, while everything else in your mind is chaotic you still manage to prioritize your mental health. "Gotta make the most of this weekend, ugh, sad though I've really wanted to go out." Suddenly you heard a "ding" from your phone and a notice came from the dating app came.

A message from "🖤🎱" came:

🖤🎱: "I'm just wondering how'd you find me attractive after seeing my photo here 🤣"

You: "Well, I think its a fake photo. Lol"

🖤🎱: "Heeey, come on!"

You: "🙃"

🖤🎱: "So what do you need my damsel in distress?"

You: "Guess."

🖤🎱: "Sex"

You giggled quietly. "Of course I'll be looking for sex. Why else would I be pampering myself right?" You reply in thought.

You: "Duh. Lol"

🖤🎱: "Unfortunately, I can't go out to have one tho. 🥲"

You: "Why?"

🖤🎱: "It's a secret."

You: "Okay."

🖤🎱: "Wow, you're a savage one."

You: "Sorry, the truth is I suck at this. I really don't know how to respond. Lol"

You: "Can you teach me, sensei?" - your famous flirting line. Lol

🖤🎱: "Well, first, tell me what are you wearing?"

You: "Wow, what are you? A teenager?!"

🖤🎱: "I'm kidding! I'm kidding! 🤣"

🖤🎱: "But seriously tho, I do wanna know. 🥺"

You sent your selfie that you took a while ago after changing showing your back side.

It took him a while to respond.

You: "Are you still there?"

🖤🎱: "Yeah, sorry."

He calls you through the video call portal of the dating app. You answered. He's wearing a bucket hat, chic glasses, and face mask. You were a bit shocked coz he looks very familiar to you but you did not bother because you were trying to maintain your confidence and flirt around some more. Also, you were bothered why he covered his face so much and positions his phone away from his face so you can see side part of his face and shoulders.

He tries to check your face again.

🖤🎱: "Wait, is that you? Y/N?!"

He sounded so familiar.

You: "Huh? What? You sound so familiar. I How'd you know my name? Stop moving your camera, I can't see you!"

🖤🎱: "Huwaa, it is you! Wow, you're still hot!"

Just when you heard his voice again, your heart skipped and was running fast as you respond.

You: "Hao?!"

---------------------

Yep, it was Xu Minghao, he was your high school fling. It was a short while before he started training in his agency then. After that, you lost contact.

You remember your first hook up at your bed room when it was supposed to be a study group session. You were both curious about the deed until it became a fling.

You covered yourself with your blanket as you go on with you video call with Hao.

"Hey, how have you been? And why are you in a dating app?!" You asked.

"Y/N, why are you covering your body. Come on now, I already saw them." His clicks his tongue as he reacts to your body language.

"Oh shut up." You giggled.

"Boo." He replied with disappointment.

"You must be in town since you showed up in my list. Where are you staying now?" You asked him while checking google for Seventeen updates.

"Oh just somewhere, we're currently on a work break." He said while removing his covers and fixing his hair. Then smiled at you looking like a kid who's excited to see his playdate.

"You sly sly sly dog! Why are you in a dating app? Are you trying to get girls vajected tonight? You're so mean." You tease him.

"What are you saying, stop talking and show me those nighties please." He pouts at you.

"No! We're adults now and we're friends. Hold on, I'll wear my robe." You stood up away from your phone.

"No!" He laughs "Don't change please."

"Stop it, Hao." You laughed while walking back to your phone and try to focus on catching up with him.

He clicks his tongue in disappointment again. "Yep, I'm here in town for a while and I decided to spend my break with my family."

"I see." You smiled back. "Then, welcome back, Hao!"

"Thanks." He replied. "So how are you? I assume you don't have someone right now since you're in this dating app we're using." He giggled teasingly.

"Yup, there's nobody right now." You laughed. "Can you introduce me to Jeonghan or Joshua? Hihi"

He replied in a fake smile ignoring your request. "You still look the same! It's like you did not aged. A bit of maturity showing which is a good thing, I think?"

You both feel excited as you try to catch up with each other's life recently.

"Hey, I'm glad to see you today." He said. It seems he's trying to end your call soon.

"Me too." Smiling back at him. At the back of your mind you remember the times you play around. As you feel hot and try to maintain composure, there was an awkward silence.

You heard a long sigh from him and asked: "Are you sleepy?"

"No, I still need to finish these." As you turn your camera showing your serving tray on you bed.

"Shall I join you?" He asked looking like a happy puppy hoping you say yes.

"Sure, you haven't changed at all, Hao. I know what you're up to and I do hope it's not gonna happen. I'll send you my address." Hao laughed at your sarcasm. You ended the call and sent your details through chat. You got up from your bed and changed into your casual clothes. You were so lazy to change so you just put up an oversized sweater enough to cover your night wear.

After an hour, your doorbell rang. "Gosh, it's still 8:30pm?" You walked to your door to see if it's him. He was fully covered in black outfit to make sure no paparazzi could manage to see him. You open your door and greeted him. "Woah, you brought food! You shouldn't have." You took the take-out from his hands and lead him to your kitchen. You busy yourself preparing your wine and snacks.

Meanwhile, Hao's checking out your place while removing his coat and covers. "Nice place you got here. Very you."

"Thanks!" Smiling back at him while carrying the food you prepared on your food tray and putting it on your living room's coffee table.

You both sat down and you enjoyed the rest of your catch up while having dinner and drinks. You reminisced about your silly friends and the things you've done during your high school days and laughed so hard about it.

"I'm glad we stayed friends after 'all' that." You told him still giggling from your last topic.

"Yeah." Hao agreed taking a sip from his wine.

An awkward silence filled the room and your speakers started playing: Fallin' all in you by Shawn Mendez

"You know, we can still do it again. I mean if you want to." Hao breaking his silence in a small tone almost a whisper while looking away.

"What?" You asked shockingly.

"Only if you want to! I'm not gonna force you. You know I'm not like that." He immediately retreated after saying those words.

"Are you asking me to be your fuck buddy just now?" Asking him again.

"Well, hmm.. Ye-es?" Then he paused. "I just thought, what's the reason we're both in a dating app a while ago?"

"Hey, you're an idol and I don't know what you were doing in that app but as for me my reason is valid." You explained in a laughter.

"I'm just looking for a hook up!" Hao reacted childishly.

"While wearing a face mask?!" You tease him.

"No, just someone who I can talk to through a video call.. And uhm, if I get lucky someone might show their hmm.." He bashfully explained while making a gesture of removing clothes. "So you know, I can get my needs.. you know satisfied."

"I see.." nodding your head sarcastically pretending you listen to his bullshit but really he's telling the truth. "Sucks to be you." You laughed at him.

"Hey! Huhu" He said while pouting.

You both laughed. "Let me think about it for a second."

Knowing you, the fact that he's an idol rising to stardom, you don't really care about his status. He's just looking for someone for release with no strings attached. To you, he's just "Hao", the one you met from high school and your friend. It would probably run for a short while since he's just here for a break. He'll definitely go back to Korea for work.

"How long will you be staying here?" You asked him.

"2 weeks? I'm on a break this week and have a few shoots here and there.." Hao replied.

"And this "fling part 2" should only be valid for this schedule?" You asked again.

"Hmm, that depends.." he replied.

"What do you mean?" You asked back.

"Let's just focus on our time right now." He whispered slowly grabbing your hand for a kiss. He rest your hand on his toned shoulder as he kissed your lips and play around with your tongue. He kissed your cheek down to your neck. You can smell his scent, that familiar scent you used from your bath and once again, you felt high on his touch. You definitely remember the feeling, the ecstasy that this thing gave when you were both in high school.

It's getting a bit steamy so you stopped him gently because you can't take it anymore. You stood up and pull him as you lead him to you bed room. You pushed him to your bed. Hao giggled and sat while undoing his buttons showing his well-toned torso. You removed your over-sized sweater and showed him personally your nighties. His tongue clicks in excitement as he pull you and place you on him, sitting on his thighs, and kissed you. His hands are all over the place and enjoys the touch of silk on your body. He touches your back, your waist, and your butt. He moved his lips away from yours and kissed your chin as look up making his way to your firm breast. He moved a bit of your clothing to gain access from your firmed nipple. You moved your arms and hugged him from his head as you enjoy his lips playing on your breast. You brush his hair back and you catch his wild eyes looked at you then looked away enjoying every bit of your soft skin. You focused on rubbing your hands all over his head and shoulders. He moved your body over to his side and dropped you on the bed panting. Your heart raced as you looked at him examining your body once more. He positioned himself over you and kissed you intensely. He removed your top over your head and pulls your panties down until you're completely naked. You placed your arm over your eyes covering it from him, the same thing you did first time with him.

"Hey, really? This again?" He said. "Like I said from last time: don't worry I'll be gentle." He tracked soft sweet kisses from your lips down to you neck, chest, belly button, then down to you clit. You released a soft moan as he started to play around with your pussy. He's so good you shake softly while biting your fingers to avoid making a noise from his licks. "Ni tài shīle, Y/N." He whispered back at your ear.

"Put it in, Hao, please. I want more." You begged. You looked at each other panting as you trail your hands on his torso down to his black denim pants, you felt his erection as he pushed it towards your hand giving you permission to cup it. His eyes locked on you. You undid his zipper and pull down his pants. "Can you show me the way please." He requested. You rubbed him once then lead his hard thing inside you. Hao dropped his face beside yours as you both moan and pant up and down. He likes it slow at first enjoying every inch inside you. You release this kind of heat that makes him so crazy that eventually accelerates your pace.

"Oh my, Hao~" You screamed softly.

"More please, more." You whispered.

"I'm near, Y/N." He said.

"No, let me go first." Asking him to relax.

Hao slowed down his pace. You turned over riding him. He sat down so he can easily kiss your lips while fucking you. You lead him on to your pace as you race to cum first. He's holding you by your waist to assist you as you fuck him. "I'm coming, Hao." You moaned. "Yeah, babe, cum for me please." He replied. Then finally you look up breathlessly as you feel your warm release over him. "Oh, shit." Panting and feeling you. He's still hard inside you. You kissed him and moved out of his erected cock. You went down to his pelvic area and sucked him. "Y/N, you're making me crazy." He said as he enjoys your mouth. He bit his lips as you pace your blowjob well. Your tongue swipes around his head teasing him. "Mmm.." he moaned. His entire length inside your mouth. He can't help but fix your hair up so he can control your face the way he wants to. From here on you thought nothing but to satisfy him and making him cum inside your mouth making you both excited. "I'm coming, Y/N." He moaned and you moved a bit faster. Suddenly, you felt that sweet warm flavor inside your mouth as he holds you on your head while releasing making his leg twitch. You wiped your drools and moved back up beside him tired but satisfied. You both laughed it off and Hao kissed you. "Your so hot, babe." You closed your eyes still awake but resting. You giggled to his flattering comment and replied: "You too. I'm glad to see you back, Hao. Thank you for today." He moved you placing you on his shoulders to a hug. "I'm glad to see you too."

[totallynotreadingatwork]

More Mini Book Reviews

Truly, Darkly, Deeply by Victoria Selman - Not my usual thing, but I picked it up and read it anyway because why not and it was alright! I thought the ending was a bit naff, but the rest of it explored some pretty interesting ideas. It was about a girl whose mum was dating a serial killer (obviously they didn't know at the time) and how his arrest really impacted them.

Temeraire or His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik, book 1 of the Temeraire series - Not me out here almost crying at the connection between man and beast. Seriously I really loved this one, it's like Httyd but for adults, and I'm absolutely living for it. Also I really like books about ships - something about the idea of a crew really appeals to me I think - and this really hit that spot for me. Also, the dragons are cool.

Scarlet by Genevieve Cogman, book 1 of the Scarlet Revolution Series - Basically just some good fun! It's not a vampire romance as many will be pleased to know, and the vampires do actually pose a threat, which is nice. It's set in an alternate-universe French revolution, and explores such ideas as 'hmm, maybe the beheadings were a bit too far but would it really be so bad to take down all the rich people?'. Idk, I enjoyed it.

The Witch's Warning by Joseph Delaney, book 2 (the final book) of the Aberrations series - Very good indeed, Delaney is brilliant at making dark spooky worlds full of horrors and monsters. Just really is a shame he died before he could finish the series as the only thing that lets this book down is that it spends a fair bit of time building up to a sequel that never gets to happen.

The Family Remains by Lisa Jewel, the sequel to The Family Upstairs - Really, really good follow-up book to the first one, using everything you learned about the characters there to build tension in this one. Lots of different things happening, multiple POVs, interconnecting storylines, and wrapping up some loose plot points from the last book. I recommend this pair a lot to people in the library and most seem to like it!

Spook's: Alice by Joseph Delaney, book 12 of the Wardstone Chronicles - God I love this character. As with all of this series, you can definitely tell they're books written for children, but that doesn't mean they're bad, nor do they shy away from some pretty gruesome stuff. We're winding up now for the final book as this is the second to last and things are looking exciting. I can't say too much about this one without spoiling it unfortunately but just know that it's as solid as the rest of the series.

The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne by Jonathan Stroud, book 1 of the Scarlett and Browne series - I actually read this before a couple of years ago and decided to read it again before I read the sequel because I'd forgotten what happened. It's a really good book; Stroud really know what he's doing. If you liked Lockwood & Co. for the character interactions then you'll love this. The worldbuilding is on point, the characters feel full-dimensional, and the hijinks is everpresent. Just a really fun read.

Dracula by Bram Stoker - I went to Whitby on holiday for a few days so naturally took this with me. I don't read very many classics at all so it took a little while for me to tune into the language and get used to everyone taking two pages to say what could have been said in two sentences, but once I did I had a grand old time with it. I wouldn't say it's anywhere near scary by today's standards, but it was interesting to see where a lot of modern tropes got their origins. Also, I've read Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu before and it was cool to be able to mentally compare and contrast them and see where Bram Stoker was inspired by different things.

The Notorious Scarlett and Browne by Jonathan Stroud, book 2 of the Scarlett and Browne series - Just as good as the first if not better. Where the first book focused more on Albert and where he'd come from and his backstory, in this one we explore more of Scarlett's history and how she came to be the person she is today. Fast-paced, witty, and packed with actions, I really enjoyed it and strongly recommend it!

The Mystery of Three Quarters by Sophie Hannah - Read this one for my book club and it was... alright. Nothing special, but not bad enough to not finish. I didn't manage to solve the mystery unfortunately but that's no surprise, though I will say that it did feel pretty convoluted. Not too sure why the character of Hercule Poirot was used other than to cash in on the name of course, and Sophie Hannah is definitely no Agatha Christie, but, like I said, it was okay.

Girls With Razor Hearts by Suzanne Young, book 2 of the Girls With Sharp Sticks series - Sometimes, you just want to read a book about sisterhood and taking down the patriarchy. From some of the fics I've seen around, people who really enjoyed those parts of the Barbie movie might enjoy these books. They're by no means subtle in their messaging, but sometimes I like a book that just lays everything out on the table in front of you because it's borderline impossible to misinterpret them. Definitely feels like a teen-fic book, but that's okay because it is one.

The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan, book 2 of the Heroes of Olympus series - Do I really need to say anything about this one? We all know Riordan is brilliant.

Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield - Oh boy this one was A Lot TM. Kind of an eldritch horror story in Leah's bits, and then a story about mourning someone who's not really gone and learning to let go in Miri's chapters. Very much a 'came back wrong' sort of scenario, but less scary and more just deeply sad. I had to take a break and go look at trees for a while after I finished it. The ending was low-key heartbreaking.

Revival by Stephen King - Sort of promised myself I wouldn't read any more of his books but here I am. This one was actually pretty good for the most part though! Not very horror-y, I didn't think, but still a good story. The only bit I didn't like was when the 52 year old protagonist is sleeping with the 24 year old daughter of his co-worker, but I honestly should have expected that because this is a Stephen King book.

[briamichellewrites]

93

Mike was no longer talking about his theory because nobody would take him seriously. I never should have said anything. His band still thought he had some mental health condition that needed treatment. They were momentarily distracted by Rob announcing he was dating Elliot. He had been wanting to wait until she was eighteen but then, he couldn’t wait anymore. What did she say? Fuck yeah! They laughed and congratulated him.

They thought he would be perfect because he didn’t smoke or drink due to his religion. She was a little bit of a wild child who was allowed to drink and smoke at the age of thirteen with her father. They didn’t agree with that decision because of the effects it had on her growing brain. Since she was back in touch with him, he let her have some of his cigarettes.

She smoked occasionally and drank only when with him. They were thankful she didn’t develop a habit or addiction. They also trusted him with her. They didn’t know that they were very sexually active. She had a birth control implant that prevented her from getting pregnant for up to four years. After getting it, she explained to him how it worked. He was thankful because he always forgot to use protection, even though it had been drilled into him by his parents.

He was like every other twenty-something-year-old guy, who loved women and who wanted to make love to women. They were only sexually active with each other, so they didn’t have to worry about diseases. He almost lived at her place because of how often he was over there. His apartment was used to change clothes and shower.

Bruce liked him and got excited every time he came over. He got up on his hind legs and wagged his tail while dancing around. Hi, human! Elliot was thinking about auditioning for Victoria’s Secret after she turned eighteen. It wasn’t a huge dream of hers, just something she wanted to try, just to tell people she did it. Wasn’t that the women’s underwear store? Yes, it was. They were expensive but she loved their underwear sets and robes. Their robes were so soft and comfortable!

How old did she have to be to model for them? The models were between the ages of eighteen to thirty-five. It was probably illegal for them to hire anyone under the age of eighteen because they sold mostly underwear. He thought that was possible. Modeling wasn’t something she wanted to do for the rest of her life. It was a job that paid the bills for the moment. What did she want to do?

She wanted to be a producer for movies, music videos, tv shows, or commercials. Anything that involved a camera. What about porn? Besides porn! He laughed.

“I think I told that to Chester once and that was his response.”

“That sounds like something he would say.”

“Two more years.”

He remembered wanting to be eighteen because then, he could do whatever he wanted. Then, he found out that being an adult wasn’t what he thought it would be. Every kid at one point had looked forward to turning eighteen and getting out of their parent’s house. She had moved out of Mike’s at sixteen and was living by herself. That was something he mentioned regretting because she was too young. She should have waited for two more years.

For her sixteenth birthday, they took her to dinner. He helped her co-sign for a red 2003 two-door Chevrolet Silverado 1500 with a regular cab. It had an MP3 and CD player, leather seats, and a hands-free phone system. Her truck was everything to her. She decorated the interior to personalize it. In the back seat, she bought a hammock for Bruce to sit or lie on.

It was waterproof, in case he used the bathroom. He loved riding in her truck and getting up on his hind legs to look out the window.

Mike met with Brad alone, without Anna or Chester. They sat down in the living room. What he was about to tell him was hard to believe. He just asked for an open mind because he had enough people telling him he was crazy and that he needed mental health treatment. Okay, he promised not to judge him until the end. Thank you. With that, he went back to the very beginning.

Brad listened to everything. It was hard to believe but he kept his promise of keeping an open mind. He was telling him that because there were some things he needed to know. Like what? Angelina Jolie. He had met her because they were filming a movie together. Was there something he needed to know about her? Don’t fall in love with her. Why not? Because she was physically and mentally abusive. In one of his time loops, she had severe mental health issues.

Untreated Borderline Personality Disorder. He saw her throwing stuff at him, emasculating him, threatening to kill herself if he left, accusing him of abusing her and the kids, and almost losing Elliot. Kids? He adopted three kids from different parts of the world and had twins with a surrogate. Brad thanked him for warning him about Angelina.

“I’m also telling you because you started drinking because of the abuse and ended up in rehab. Stay with Anna.”

He nodded. “Thank you. I don’t know what you’re going through and I’m sorry. I believe you and I don’t think you need mental health treatment.”

“You are the only person who has said that to me. Thank you.”

How was Elliot? He hardly saw her anymore. Mike laughed. She was dating his bandmate, Rob. He didn’t know the extent of their relationship because he was a quiet guy. How old was he? He was in his early twenties, about twenty-three but he didn’t drink or smoke.

Rob was the perfect guy for her. He could not say enough good things about him. Brad and Anna had recently discovered she was three weeks pregnant. It was a complete surprise since she was on birth control. He was trying to find a way to tell Elliot because he didn’t know how she felt about Anna. Mike recommended he talked to her alone.

He would. After finishing their conversation, they went their separate ways. Mike wanted to cry in relief because someone believed him! He wasn’t crazy! Fuck his band. As much as he loved them like brothers, they had no idea what he was going through.

When he got home, he went into the bathroom and turned on the faucet in the bathtub before bursting into silent tears. The pouring water drowned out his tears. He heard a knock on the door. Mikey? Chester. He wiped his tears before turning the water off and opening the door. Though he tried to hide it, he could tell he had been crying.

“Mikey. What’s wrong?”

“It’s allergies.”

While getting ready for bed later, he examined the cut on his arm. It was almost healed all the way. He got his razor and cut another line. It hurt but this time, he was used to the pain. He rinsed the blood off before putting the razor back in the cupboard. Chester came in and wrapped his arms around his shoulders. I love you. He loved him, too.

@zoeykaytesmom @feelingsofaithless @alina-dixon

[southernsgothic]

𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐝𝐬.

pairing, fezco & black fem reader!

summary, in which, solana sees fezco at a party with another girl and thinks back to the times where she and him were dating!

warning (s), slight fluff, mentions of smut and angst

didi's notes, this is my first time writing angst and i really hoping this won't be bad (i'm apologizing in advance if it is😭) even though this is a bit different from my usual jack content, i really love fezco and i also might be writing something about maddy too so stay tuned for that!! (before you start reading, i just wanted to let you know that flashbacks will be in italics)

solána took another sip of her drink as she tuned out everything her close friend, kat, was saying to her.

she didn't mean to tune her out, but something (or should i say someone) else had caught her eye. it was her ex-boyfriend, fezco, or fez as everyone including herself liked to call him. they'd broken up a couple weeks back and it was really hard on solána.

however, from her perspective, it looked like the break-up wasn't hard for him at all since he'd been flirting with another one of her friends, lexi. even though her and lexi weren't close, it still pained her to see them flirt together.

solána really wanted to cry, especially since she'd been thinking about getting back together with him lately, but she refused to cry over him, considering that she was at a party. "lána? are you listening to me?" kat asked as solána stopped looking at fezco, putting all of her attention on kat now.

"y-yeah, yeah, i'm listening," she lied, kat continuing with her story as solána began to stare at fezco again.

she stared as he smiled and laughed with lexi, a small smile coming to her face when his laugh, even though she couldn't hear it from where she was sitting, rang through her ears. soon enough, solána began to think back to the small, but cute moments she shared with him.

solána wiped her tears as the end credits of the african movie they'd watched for a hundredth time that month played on screen. fezco looked her and covered his mouth to stifle his laughs.

"it's not fucking funny, fez! this movie is really sad." she punched his arm as she started to cry even harder, fezco deciding to let out his laughs. he pulled her closer to him tucked a strand of her black wig behind her ear, solána putting her head on his chest.

"we've watched this movie over fifty times, ma. why are you still crying over the ending?" "because she was supposed to get with marry the king, not her greedy fucking stepsister! plus, she did everything for that man and he chooses her stepsister who did nothing for him?! this is so fucking unfair."

fezco did nothing but shake his head and laugh at his girlfriend, kissing her forehead as he lit up another blunt to smoke.

solána laid on fezco's chest as they both breathed heavily. they'd just finished having sex with one of solána's playlists playing in the background, so ashtray wouldn't suspect anything.

suddenly, f.u.c.k by victoria monét came on and solána really wanted to sing it, since it'd been a song that she'd been playing recently. "wanna be a friend you can keep," she sung lowly as fezco squinted his eyes, trying not to believe what he was hearing.

once he heard her sing again, he spoke, "are you seriously fucking singing right now?" she stopped dead in her tracks and turned to face him, "what? it's catchy." "my dick is still inside of you, lána." "okay? that doesn't mean i'm gonna stop singing."

fezco admired solána as she slept peacefully on his chest. light snores left her mouth as she slightly drooled on his shirt. even though it was disgusting, she looked cute doing it.

her braids were sprawled everywhere and fezco remembered how much she hated when her hair wasn't in a bonnet when she was asleep. he grabbed her scarf and her silk bonnet, preparing to wrap her hair and put it inside of her bonnet.

he wrapped the scarf around her head and tied it in the front, grabbing the hair tie that was in her hair already so he could put the rest of her braids in a messy low bun. he did just that and let it sit on her back for while as he grabbed her bonnet, trying to stuff her braids in the bonnet.

he struggled putting her hair in the bonnet for a while, taking a quick break so he could catch his breath. "how the hell does she do this without getting frustrated?" he mumbled to himself as he got back to work.

he pulled the bonnet over her head one last time and this time, he got it on, sighing in relief once he did. "goddamn, was it really that hard?" solána laughed, fezco laughing right along with her. "yes, it was. that was a whole full workout in itself."

solána smiled at the last memory as she looked at fezco, who was now looking at her. he gave her a small smile and wave before continuing his conversation with lexi.

she looked away from him as well and put her attention on kat and ethan, who had just joined the two when solána was daydreaming.

they shared a kiss as she scrunched her face up in disgust, "you two are disgusting!"

[lis-likes-fics]

A Witch Thing | Chapter 5

Y/N was waiting outside the room where Bella was in bed, waiting for her to wake up. Edward was inside with Bella's mother. She heard talking in the room, realizing she was finally awake. Jasper stayed with you, he was in the cafeteria with Charlie to help with his emotional state. He was worried sick about Bella and Jasper was trying to make sure he was okay.

Y/N tapped her foot as she sat outside the door. After a few moments, the door opened and Renee came outside, closing the door softly. She gave her a warm smile and said, "Thank you so much for your help with my daughter. It's so good to know she's making more friends."

Y/N returned the smile, unable to hold it back. She wasn't used to be given compliments like this. She nodded and responded, "It's really no problem. I'm glad I was able to help."

Renee smiled a little wider, placed a hand over Y/N's and left. She smiled as she sat in her chair, thinking over the thank you. After a few more minutes, the door opened again. Edward came out and looked at her.

"Hey." She said, standing up. Edward gave a weak smile and slowly spoke, "Bella wanted to speak to you." Y/N nodded simply and said, "Okay." He stepped aside to let Y/N in.

Before she opened the door, Edward placed a hand on her shoulder. Y/N jumped and put a hand over her heart. "Sorry." They both said at the same time. Edward told her softly, "I want to say thank you...for what you did back there. Thank you for helping Bella and my family. You're welcome to stay with us."

Y/N smiled and responded, "You don't have to thank me, really. I've been helping those vampires hurt others for so long and I haven't like a second of it. Helping someone for once...I wanted- I needed to do it."

Edward nodded, "Still...thank you, Y/N."

She smiled, "You're welcome." She turned and opened the door, seeing Bella laying in bed. She saw Y/N and sat up a bit. "No, no, lay back. You don't need to be working yourself right now."

Bella chuckled lightly and laid back down, "Yeah...you're probably right."

Y/N sat in the chair next to Bella and gave her a smile. "Are you alright?" She asked.

Bella nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine." Y/N smiled, she asked, "Anything hurting? I may be able to fix that..."

Bella shook her head, "No. No, you don't have to do that."

Y/N shook hers in return, "No, it's no problem. Where?"

Bella bit her lip and pointed to her leg. "There." Y/N nodded and walked over, placing a hand on her leg and closing her eyes, chanting a little something before letting her hands down and looking at Bella.

"Wow...that feels so much better." Bella said, smiling a little. Y/N sat back down and asked, "Edward said you wanted to speak to me?"

Bella nodded, squinching her eyes and taking a breath as if she was trying to think of how to word her sentence. She spoke then, opening her eyes a little, "I wanted to thank you. You didn't have to help me back there, but I'm glad you did. Edward is actually really happy to have you here. I'm glad you're here, too."

Y/N smiled again, chuckling a little to herself and beginning to wipe away a little tear that was threatening to fall. "What?" Bella chuckled.

Y/N took in a breath and shrugged, "Sorry, I'm just...I'm not used to this. Getting all of these 'thank you's. being complimented. In my old coven, with James and Victoria and Laurent...I never really got any kind of affection. It was like walking on eggshells. But with everyone else here, even when everyone is stressed, it's like...I'm cautious of where I step, but there's not much reason to be. I've been given so much...comfort. It's so foreign to me..."

Bella smiled and said, "Well, if you're going to live with the Cullens, you'll have to get used to it." They both shared a small laugh and Y/N swallowed the lump in her throat. "Okay, then..." Y/N started, "I'll go and let you get some rest...or...y'know."

Bella chuckled and nodded. Y/N turned and left. As her hand hovered over the knob, Bella said, "But seriously, Y/N...Thank you."

She smiled, "No problem."

Y/N stepped outside, Edward rejoining Bella, and went to the cafeteria to find Jasper. When she found him, she ran into Charlie, who also gave her an awkward but heartfelt thank you.

Jasper chuckled a little as he stepped over to her, putting his hands in pockets. He asked her, "How many does that make?"

She thought over it before replying, "Five. Two from Bella and Edward, two from her parents, and one from Carlisle."

Jasper chuckled again, "Well, you're feeling a little overwhelm, so I won't smother you with another..." They both laughed together.

Y/N twiddled with her fingers as she thought over what she was going to say. She took a breath and slowly said, "So do you guys have a spare room?"

Jasper slowly smiled as he asked, "What?"

"I think I may stay with you guys... If the offer is still there..." She rephrased.

He nodded, "It is. I'm glad you decided to stay. Everyone will be glad to have you around."

She smiled and said, "Thank you."

"Look who's getting the thank you's now." He said.

She laughed a little at that. She wasn't used to all of this. When her laughter slowly stopped, her face fell a little, only a faintest of smiles left there. "What's wrong?" Jasper asked.

She shrugged as she answered, "Nothing. That's the thing. I'm not used to everything being right. With James and Victoria and Laurent, there was always something that I'd done wrong. But it's like I could say almost anything and I wouldn't get yelled at."

He shrugged, "Well, we're an entirely different coven. James and Victoria were..."

"They were malicious." She said for him, "You could see it in their auras. They were so dark and cloudy. So...wrong. So many years of tormenting others, killing innocents. So much carnage and some sort of sick pleasure from all of the killing..."

She closed her eyes and shook her head, taking a deep breath and removing it from her mind. As they sat down, Jasper asked, "Well...what do you see in mine?"

She looked up at him, tilting her head as she saw through him. "Um..." she started, chewing on her lip, "For you, I see light. It's a type of purity that's hard to come by for vampires. It's not dark, but it isn't quite white. It's a tinted shade that comes with having innocent intentions but...not so innocent actions..."

Out of instinct, she reached out, placing a hand on his cheek gently as she muttered, "What happened to you?"

When she realized what was happening, she yanked her arm back and apologized quickly, "Sorry, I'm so sorry. Oh, my god... I didn't mean to, I got distracted."

Jasper calmed her, pushing a light layer of serenity over her and telling her just as calmly, "Hey, don't worry about it, Y/N. It's okay. You don't need to apologize so much. You're so anxious all the time and you have no reason to be now. You're safe with us."

'You're safe with us.'

'You don't have to worry.'

'We won't hurt you.'

'You're safe with us...'

The words played in Y/N's mind like a whirlwind of memories. Those are the words James' coven spoke to her when they first found her. They weren't as comforting as they made it out to be. But, said by Jasper, it seemed more innocent than when James' had said it. More true, more trusting.

That's all she could do. She could trust Jasper, she had to be able to, or she might as well walk away and try to live on her own with no way to protect herself.

She could trust Jasper.

She took a deep breath, "Okay...I trust you, Jasper."

He smiled softly, but he was a little distracted with the hurricane of emotions going through her.

-

They got back to Forks after Bella was free to leave the hospital. Carlisle showed her to her new room, giving her a warm smile and a polite nod as he said, "Make yourself at home, Y/N.

She smiled and thanked her as he closed the door behind her. She looked around the room, an open view to the woods surrounding the house provided by the window wall.

Y/N sat on the bed that'd been placed in the room and looked around. Before she could enjoy her surroundings any further, the door opened and Alice came barging into the room.

"Hi! You don't have any clothes in your drawers because you didn't have any clothes with you. So we're going shopping!" She exclaimed, clapping her hands at that last part.

She walked further into the room, another person following her who you ended up eeing as Jasper. Y/N raised her brows and asked, "Shopping?"

Alice nodded, "Yes! Shopping!" Her eyes widened suddenly as she asked, "Oh my gosh! Do you not know what shopping is? You poor thing!"

She shook her head with a chuckle, "I know what shopping is, Alice. I just...haven't been shopping in years."

She frowned, "That's worse, Y/N. You do realize this, right?"

She chuckled, "Yeah, so...when?"

She bit her lip, "Well, I would say now, but you look exhausted. So you take a nap and we'll go shopping later. I would just get your sizes...but you need a good shopping trip."

Y/N chuckled weakly and nodded, "Okay, will do."

She smiled, "Great! See you then!" She left, a few jumps in her steps. Jasper stayed behind, looking after her as she left.

He laughed a little and said, "Sorry about her. She can be very...enthusiastic."

Y/N shrugged, "No need to apologize. It's nice having a positive energy." Jasper nodded, "Yeah, well, with my gift, I can confirm that. It's nice to be around her, she's always so happy."

She bit the inside of her lip and nodded. Jasper scratched the back of his head, "Well, I'll let you nap. See ya."

"Bye." She waved. Jasper nodded and turned, leaving her to her thoughts.

She sighed to herself and laid down, slowly falling asleep. It took a moment, but she was about to drift off into a peaceful rest.

-

Y/N woke a while later, getting up to a wonderful smell. She cocked her head and got out of the bed, stretching before making her way to the kitchen. Esme was behind the counter whipping up some food for her to eat.

She smiled softly as Esme turned around, giving her the same, warm smile Y/N had given her. "How did you sleep?" She asked.

Y/N shrugged, "Great."

Esme nodded to the food, "I thought you might be hungry. It gives me an excuse to use the kitchen."

Y/N sat at a stool and she pushed the plate of food over to her. She smiled and thanked her as she ate. Soon, Alice and Jasper had joined her, Rosalie being dragged in by Alice as well. "Are you ready?" Alice squeaked.

Y/N nodded with a laugh, "Yes, I'm ready. Just let me wash my plate."

In a second, the plate had been snatched from the counter and cleaned, placed back in its place in the cabinet. Alice came back to stand next to her again, "There, clean, let's go!"

She dragged her from her stool and stuffed Y/N in the car in the garage. It happened so fast her head began to spin. Rosalie and Alice were sitting in the front seat, Alice in the driver's side. Rosalie asked, "Why do you need me again?"

"More opinions. C'mon, Rose. Perk up. It'll be fun!" Alice told her. Rosalie sighed and shrugged, looking forward as Alice began driving, stomping on the gas pedal harder than she should have. In no time, the four ended up in the front of the mall.

Y/N looked up with a smile. It had been ages since she'd been in a mall. "First time?" Jasper asked. Y/N looked at him and shook her head, "No, I haven't been to a mall in forever."

Jasper smiled, "Well, then, we should have fun." She smiled and they both walked in, following the two ladies in front. Alice walked in, stars in her eyes as she looked around at all the shops she could shop from.

She walked over to Y/N, hooking her arm with hers and dragging her off to a store. Alice dragged her around, showing off the clothes on the racks that could be hers. Alice showed her cardigans, flannels (that she actually approved of), a few sweaters, dresses, skirts, and even more. By the time they finally left the first store, Y/N thought she was all set, but she was being pulled to another one in no time.

"Alice, is it really necessary to have more clothes?" Y/N questioned her, "I mean, we have more clothes already than would usually necessary."

Alice chuckled, "You're funny. Let's go." Alice led them all back to the car and Y/N smiled, "Okay, no more shopping then."

Alice laughed a little and said, "We're just putting the bags we already have in the car so we don't have to keep carrying them around, silly. There are way more shops to look at."

Y/N sighed, already ready to get back to the Cullens house. Jasper felt the slight exasperation coming off of her and gave a small sympathizing chuckle before giving her a little more calm than she had. Y/N silently thanked him with a smile as she was dragged away by Alice once again.

[yougotthatbilly]

take care (m)

→ member: johnny seo

→ genre: assistant!johnny | smut

→ word count: 15.9k (not surprised atp)

→ playlist: body talk x majid jordan, warm x majid jordan, BoRdErSz x zayn, moment x victoria monét

→ warnings: slowburn, indecisiveness, v  self-indulgent; unprofessional relations, big dick!johnny (ofc; don’t expect anything else), soft dom!johnny, begging (johnny’s a tease), subspace, oral; face-fucking, (and if you squint, ass eating), unprotected sex, squirting, praising, overstimulation, etc. 

↳ summary: your assistant just wants to take care of you

The heavy rain outside mocks you. You were supposed to be at your favorite bar across the street, but here you are sitting at your desk, staring out your window. And that’s how Johnny finds you after being granted entrance into your office.

Your arm is propped up on the arm of your seat, cheek in hand, lips pouted. Johnny does his best not to smile at the thought of you looking adorable as not to piss you off. He just sets your cup of tea down on the coaster on the corner of your desk. 

“How was the meeting?” he asks, taking a seat on the other side of your desk. 

You slowly spin to face him, looking at him with annoyed eyes as you take a sip of your tea. It’s the perfect temperature—a temperature Johnny took almost a month to perfect— and sweetness, and it instantly makes you feel a little better.

“Don’t worry,” you sigh. “Jiyoung didn’t get fired.” You have a three-strike policy; this incident is the second strike.

“Jaehyun,” Johnny corrects, grinning.

You tilt your head at his correction. “I care?”

Johnny just shakes his head, knowing you’re being petty because Jaehyun got his dates wrong and uploaded a post on a few new products a week earlier than the scheduled date, resulting in having to speed things up a little. It didn’t cause a major problem because you’re typically prepared for the worst case scenario, but you don’t like feeling rushed and when things don’t go as planned, so you were pissed. 

“What’s his punishment?”

“That’s between me and him,” you tell Johnny before taking another sip. Your lip curls in disgust at the suggestive look your assistant gives you. “Okay, let’s not be gross. He’s a child.”

“I didn’t know 23 was considered a child,” Johnny teases, mostly because the man of the hour has had a crush on you for the last year he’s been working for you and he’s been trying to get Johnny to talk him up to you. 

“I didn’t know you wanted to get fired in his place,” you say with a tight smile. Johnny decides to switch the subject.

“Mind me asking why you looked so sad when I walked in?”

You sigh once more, slouching in your seat.

“I wanted to go to the bar…” You point to the window beside you. Johnny follows your finger and watches the storm that hasn’t let up since it started half an hour ago. “That’s not happening anytime soon.”

You’ve either been in your office working nonstop or sleeping for the last week or so and you can feel a burnout creeping up. You were going to walk to the bar to get the fresh air you needed, enjoy a drink and your favorite wings because you deserve it—especially after the headache Jaehyun caused the moment you stepped foot into your office this morning—and indulge yourself. Now look at you, hardly munching on the fruit slices Johnny gave you this morning and almost finished with your tea.

“I’m sorry things aren’t going the way you planned today.” Johnny pouts. “On the bright side, you don’t have anything else on your schedule so if you wanted to go home within the next hour, you wouldn’t fall behind.”

“I’ll probably just take a nap on the futon once I’m done looking over the new plan again.” You shrug. 

Johnny wants to roll his eyes, but he catches himself. He’s sure you’ve already gone over it at least five times. There’s nothing he can do about it, though, so lifts himself out of his seat. “I’ll leave you to it. Just give me a call if something comes up or you change your mind.”

To both of your surprise, you actually head out and get yourself a candle you’d ran out of a week ago on the way home to treat yourself to a much needed bath filled with bubbles and essential oils. The scent of the candle reminds you of your assistant because it’s the scent he got you for your birthday, and it’s become your favorite. 

You send a picture of the candle at the end of your tub to Johnny, thanking him again for putting you onto greatness, as he worded it before when you first smelled it in front of him and your eyes practically rolled back. 

[18:14] John Suh: Are you actually relaxing???

You suck your teeth at his response, but you can’t blame him. He’s the only one that knows just how much you put in to get to the position you’re in, while you’re positive a lot of others just think it was handed to you by your mother instead of the school and endless hours work you went through and continue to go through. It’s very rare you give yourself the time to truly sit back and relax aside from when you’re on vacation. And even then, work never really stops. It just gets placed on the back burner for a little.

[18:16] you: Hush.

[18:17] John Suh: I’m just glad you’re taking care of yourself. Your dark circles have been snitching on you.

[18:17] you: Wow. You really wanna get fired today, huh?

[18:18] John Suh: Dark circles or not, you know you’re still beautiful. Now stop texting me and enjoy your bath!

When you find yourself smiling at your phone, you know you should do exactly what he says. Johnny’s always been a complimenter, though his usual kindness goes along the lines of telling you that you look nice. You’re no stranger to this specific compliment, you get it all the time on Instagram from your business partners and supporters. So why does this time settle differently within you?

[18:21] you: Nice save. 

You need a video of one of your popular social media influencer ambassadors using and reviewing your newest skincare products tomorrow—due to Jaehyun’s mix-up—but that’s not happening. She didn’t record it before going on vacation and didn’t think to bring the products with her on her trip. While it isn’t her fault times have moved around, you’re annoyed she didn’t bring the products with her when she’s supposed to be using them every day because she’s one of your main advocates for your products being oily skin-friendly. You have the videos of the other models with their specific skin types, and this is your missing piece. 

The weather is nice today, so you take a much-needed break from electronics and go to the roof of the building. Your peace is quickly interrupted by the body of a six-foot male in front of you, standing in the way of the sunlight you were basking in.

“I know you hate him right now,” Johnny begins, skipping over greetings to get to the point of his disruption. “But Jaehyun has oily skin, he’s been using the products you gave him for like three weeks, he really likes them, and he has a good following on Instagram.”

You take the phone handed to you begrudgingly and look at Jaehyun’s page. Thirteen thousand followers and quality pictures. You’re not blind, Jaehyun is conventionally attractive and looks like a model in the photos and boomerangs. Something is missing, though. “Eh.”

“‘Eh?’” Johnny parrots, confused. He doesn’t know a better last-minute model for you than Jaehyun.

“Something’s missing,” you explain with a shrug. You absentmindedly tap the profile icon at the bottom of the screen and Johnny’s Instagram profile pops up. The two of you follow each other, so it’s not like you’ve never seen his pictures, but it’s been a while since you actually paid attention to detail. He has eighteen thousand followers and apparently uploads his pictures following a color theme. There are pictures of himself, random people, and nature in a strategic flow. When you select a video to watch, you’re sold on the lighting, exposure, and the way he captured the woman’s features. “Sit.”

Johnny does so without any questions. You gently grab his jaw and study his face closely. His skin is supple and dewy, the sun highlighting his cheekbones and the bridge of his nose. Not that his skin was bad before he started using your products, but the texture and scarring have minimized quite a bit. Johnny doesn’t have the typical, bland model face your competitors love so much, especially with the slight stubble he’s got above his top lip and on his chin. 

“What’s your skin type, John?” 

“Oily,” he sighs, knowing what’s coming next. He was doing his job as your assistant, trying to make your life easier, but now he wishes he would’ve left this task to the social media department and stayed out of it. 

You thought so. “Will you do this for me instead?”

“Do I look like an influencer to you?” 

“Yes. I’ll double your next check and everything,” you promise him. “You actually have a personality and everything you post is quality. Women will love the eye candy and all types of men will take you seriously because you don’t have that annoying pristine, perfect look to you like Jaeyoung does.”

Johnny is here to fulfill your needs, so he knows you asking is really just you being polite. He doesn’t have much of a choice, especially with the lack of time you have. He is enjoying the warmth of your hand and the fact you referred to him as ‘eye candy,’ too. And who is he to say no to extra money?

“I’ll have it recorded and edited by midnight,” Johnny smiles, giving you the hope you need. 

“Ugh, you’re the best,” you sigh in relief, shaking his face side to side affectionately before letting him go to stand up. You feel much better now. “Send it directly to me.” 

Johnny stands up with you and leads the way, opening the door for you. “Yes, ma’am.”

Always true to his word, Johnny emails you two links at a quarter-till, with a message attached: 

Good evening, 

I edited two videos for you, one short enough for a regular post on the company’s page and the other that could be used for my IGTV for my followers. I hope these meet your expectations, but if there’s anything you need me to fix or redo, let me know and I’ll get right to it. 

Sincerely, 

John Suh

You get comfortable in your bed with your iPad and tap the first link. You make sure the brightness and volume are high enough to get the full effect, then press play. The quality of the film makes you assume he used a professional camera instead of his phone, and he gets a point for that. 

“Hey,” Johnny starts with an awkwardly endearing smile. “I know this is a little different than what I usually post, but I got scouted by the skincare goddess herself to be an ambassador for Surreal’s new line of skincare, Ethereal.”

You grin at the nickname and note that with him being in the bathroom, there’s no echo in his audio, and that gives him another point.

“I’ve been using the four of the five products I’m about to introduce to you everyday for around a month and before I do my skincare routine for you, I’ll show you what my skin looked like before I started using these products with dates so you don’t think I’m just trying to sell you on them just because she’s been writing my checks for the last year,” Johnny chuckles, then the screen shows a selfie Johnny took with the date of a month ago from today, some hyperpigmentation and small bumps dotting his cheek and jaw. 

Another point for including before and afters. You knew he’d meet your expectations without you having to say much.  

“I’ll get up close and personal at the end so you can really see the results,” Johnny winks into the camera, causing you to blink. 

You knew he’d have personality and that was one of the main reasons he was a great idea, and while in hindsight his actions are predictable, you shake your head. The fact that he’s actually charming makes you scoff, but you’re sure that the damn wink only worked on you right now because it’s almost midnight and you should be asleep right now. You won’t act like he hasn’t always been nice on the eyes, but he’s Johnny. 

You can’t deny that you do thoroughly enjoy the Johnny presented to you through the screen, though. 

“The first product is an oil-based cleanser because the SPF in this collection is oil-based as well,” Johnny explains, then proceeds to show the jar and small spatula that comes with it before he scooped some out, capturing the texture of the product well. 

And that’s how the rest of the video plays out, the unusually deep, gentle tone of Johnny’s voice explaining how well each product works for his oily and acne-prone skin, lulling you into a relaxed state against your headboard. He keeps things short and simple, the video just barely passing three minutes and as promised, his face comes a lot closer to the screen, showing the faded scarring and smooth texture of what used to be his problem areas. Johnny ends the video with a sweet smile and says goodbye. The shorter video is edited to where he’s hardly talking, mostly just demoing your products, just the way you like things to be on the company’s page.

You did great, John. Thanks again for doing this last minute. You can come in at 10 am tomorrow since I had you working overtime today. Rest well. 

Johnny is at your desk with your morning cup of tea at eight in the morning, a bright smile on his face as he tells you good morning. 

You glare at him. “Why are you here?”

“Because it’s my job?” Johnny says, pretending like he doesn’t know what you’re referring to. You can read him well, though. You take the mug out of his hand before gesturing for him to take a seat in front of you. 

“You’re either being hard-headed as usual, or you’re anxious about your video being uploaded. Which is it?” 

And that wipes the bright smile off of his face. 

“I slept three hours last night,” he confesses. “I’m not used to this kind of exposure.”

You take a couple of sips of your tea and quietly observe him, thinking. 

“Would you prefer we didn’t post it, then?”

Your assistant looks at you as if you didn’t just speak one of the languages he’s fluent in. You just blink at him and continue drinking your beverage, waiting for him to either say yes or no in case you need to make other plans, again.

“You’d do that for me?” he finally says after a while of staring at you like you’re crazy. 

“Why wouldn’t I?” you ask slowly. “You’ve proven how far you’d go for me and I appreciate it, but I care about you as a person and anxiety is a bitch, so I wouldn’t want you to be panicking over Jaejoon’s mistake.”

The corner of Johnny’s lift curls at your continued pettiness, and maybe his heart does a thing at the fact that you care that much about him. It’s obvious to everyone that he is the closest to you out of all of your employees; being your assistant means you let your guard down a little with him. Along with the more serious side of your personality everyone else gets (especially recently), he sees your soft side. You’re not an overly strict boss, but Johnny gets to see you smile more and pout (he’d lose his job if he admitted to you how endearing your pout is to him). But even with the closer relationship the two of you have, Johnny would’ve never expected you to choose his stage fright over your baby; your company.

“I couldn’t ask you to do that,” Johnny declines with a shake of his head. “I’ll be okay, I promise. Thank you for considering my feelings, though.”

You shrug, not about to press him on the issue. “Alright. I need you to post the IGTV at 2 pm and tag our page in an appropriate caption. I’d suggest you turn your notifications off for a while because as soon as you post it, it’s getting posted to our story then I’m sure you’re gonna get flooded with DM’s.”

“Flooded?’” Johnny asks, head tilted. “I mean, all I’ll have to do is copy and paste the same message answering any questions they might have about the products. Easy.”

You’re the one to look at him like he’s stupid this time. You set your mug down, lean back in your swivel chair, and clasp your hands over your stomach. “You can’t be that dense.”

“‘Dense?’” he asks.

“Are you a parrot?” you tsk. “But yes, dense. You know good and well most of the messages will have nothing to do with my products and everything to do with you.”

Johnny has the audacity to still be confused after your explanation. 

“John, you realize you’re a good-looking guy with a likable personality, right?” 

It’s not that he doesn’t know that. Johnny’s always been a pretty confident guy, with both his looks and personality. His confusion doesn’t stem from being blind or too humble. It’s the fact you of all people are telling him this right now. 

“You think so?” he prompts, just to see how many compliments he can get out of you. This is a rare occasion.

“When you’re not being annoyingly happy-go-lucky and chill out, yes.” You reply. And now he’s pouting. That’s what he gets.

“I thought my cheerfulness brought joy to your days,” Johnny says with a dramatic hand on his heart, offended.

“What brings me joy is everything running smoothly and everyone doing their job,” you correct. He isn’t wrong, but you decide not to stroke his ego any more than you already have. And you’ve already said too much. “With that being said, you do everything I ask of you, and that brings me so much joy. You’re the perfect assistant, so don’t cry.”

“Is this your way of telling me to calm down?”

Your iPad buzzes against the wood of your desk and when you peek at it, you see it’s an email from Jaehyun with the subject: Today’s upload schedule.

“This is my way of telling you to get to work, honey.”

Johnny often finds himself slowly backing out of your office with his hands up in surrender, and he wouldn’t have it any other way. He loves the distinct differences between the two of you. He figures it’s why you work so well together and why he’s held this job position for over a year in comparison to the two assistants before him that both got fired before the six-month mark. Johnny’s also positive that you love his excessively positive nature (as Jaehyun has described Johnny’s personality before) somewhere deep down and that he brightens your day after dealing with idiots like Jaehyun. 

When your assistant is out of sight, you grab your iPad, respond to Jaehyun’s email, and find yourself rewatching today’s scheduled video. Maybe more than once. 

The video is up at 2 pm sharp and Johnny does as advised, turning his Instagram notifications off immediately. He even goes as far as taking his phone off of vibrate so he isn’t aware of any other notifications until he decides to look at his phone again. He’s got things to organize anyway, so the work he has to do takes his mind off of any anxiety within him. 

That is until you appear at the doorway of his office an hour later. This is a rare occurrence, so Johnny can’t be blamed for staring at you, and in the process, he appreciates the very fitted pantsuit you’re wearing. You took off the blazer sometime in between when Johnny left your office hours ago and now, and he thinks that the blush pink blouse compliments your complexion and red lips very well. But of course it does. Everything you wear compliments everything about you perfectly. 

Just one of the many observations Johnny has made in the past year.

“How do you feel?” you ask him. Your voice is always so calm and collected, even when you’re ripping someone to shreds because of idiocy. Johnny admittedly admires that about you.

“I’ve done everything under the sun to avoid my phone,” Johnny confesses with a weak laugh.

You nod. “Well, just know that I’ve had multiple companies and modeling agencies ask why I’ve been hiding you. So don’t be surprised if you have job opportunities waiting for you.” 

“Wow… this means I can finally quit,” Johnny hardly whispers with a victorious fist pump.

“I wish the hell you would,” you deadpan, breaking Johnny’s act and causing him to laugh loudly at the lack of expression paired with your response. “You’re mine unless there’s a tragic accident, God forbid, or you’re moving up in the ranks.”

“Promise?” 

“Promise,” you confirm, sending him a wink before turning on your heel and strutting back to your own office. Johnny licks his lips at the sight of the natural sway of your hips before shaking his head and getting back to working on the excel sheet staring at him.

“How is it that you all have the skills and training for the very simple tasks I ask you to complete, yet lack common sense and proper work ethic?” 

Everyone in the room, excluding Johnny, just looks up at you from their seats, pitiful expressions on their faces. Their eyes follow you as you slowly walk to the other side of the room. You’re trying to stay calm and be professional, so pacing around the room is your best bet. 

To Johnny, you look like you’re on a runway in slow motion, modeling the slim-fitting pencil skirt and red bottoms you’re adorning. Though still attentive to every word coming out of your mouth, Johnny lets himself get lost in each step you take because he’s not the one getting chewed out. 

Mark, one of the newest additions to the marketing department, leans into Johnny’s side to whisper into his ear. “How have you managed to not fuck up and be on the receiving end of her talks yet?”

You don’t hear anything, but you see whispering happening, and now is not the time for side conversations. Johnny doesn’t even have the chance to turn to Mark or tell him to shut up until the end of the meeting before you’re speaking again.

“Mark Lee,” you call as you make your way towards him, causing him to sit up straight. “Is there something you’d like to say?”

“No, ma’am,” he responds nervously. Johnny internally shakes his head at Mark not being able to think quickly and lie. “My apologies.”

“Is there anything anyone wants to say or am I just a narcissist who loves talking to hear my lovely voice? Should I sing?” you ask, standing next to Johnny at the end of the conference table, hand on your hip. “Y’all want a performance?”

Johnny bites the inside of his cheek to refrain from laughing. Your sarcasm only intensifies the unsettled looks on everyone’s face and they all side-eye Jungwoo, their savior from the last time they got chewed out as a whole. Jungwoo raises his hand before saying, “There’s nothing we can say to excuse our actions—or lack thereof, but we will get right on it and do our jobs correctly this time. You won’t have to repeat yourself again.”

Johnny is impressed at how quickly your features soften. The ready-to-fire-someone look melts away as you nod at Jungwoo’s promise. You do have a bit of a soft spot for the latter, though, so it makes sense. 

“I’ll take your word for it. You’re dismissed,” you announce, waving everyone off. 

The room is empty, save for you and your assistant, in mere seconds. 

“You’re going to give them nightmares,” Johnny chuckles, gathering your belongings before opening the door for you to exit the conference room. He laughs once more at your responding yawn.

“How? That was me on my best behavior,” you retort, your heels clicking loudly as you walk to the elevator. “And what was Lee whispering about?”

“Your employees are just amazed that I’ve kept you satisfied for so long.”

You walk into the elevator once the doors slide open and lean against the mirrored wall, arms crossed. Your eyes are squinted as you give Johnny a once over. He has done everything right since he completed his training. “You think you can keep me satisfied?” 

There’s a challenging tone in your voice that causes Johnny to lick his lips. “I’d never disappoint you.”

Your response is a nod of your head paired with a drawn-out hum, and then you walk out of the elevator to your office once you hit your floor, walking ahead of Johnny without another word. You laugh at yourself when you replay the short conversation in your mind at the feeling you got in your gut at his response. And then you’re scoffing because, once again, it’s Johnny.

Johnny… Over six feet, amicable, charming, handsome as all hell Johnny. The scene of him licking his lips and saying those four words in that promising, deep voice in the elevator flashes through your mind once you’re seated at your desk. Your fingernail taps against the wood as you roll your lips together, stuck in your head. The ironic conclusion you come to before getting back to work is that you’re working way too much and just lacking male attention because there’s no other plausible reason for your goofy-ass assistant to have been on your mind so much for the last couple of days. 

“Really?” Johnny asks when he walks in and sees you slumped over your desk.

Your eyes flutter open at his voice.

“I was just resting my eyes” you yawn, waving him off. 

“What work is there possibly left for you to do at this point?” The products go on the market tomorrow, meaning all the work that had to be done in preparation for the launch was completed before everyone left today (the marketing department got their shit together quickly because they know about your policy and how unforgiving you are when the deadline is right around the corner). The only thing left for your marketing team to do tomorrow is look over everything once more and then you’re free to sit back and wait for customers to buy the new products and idly watch over social media if you really wanted to. It frustrates Johnny that you always find something extra to do. 

“I was doing some last minute, um”— another yawn —“touches on the-”

“Well, that’s enough,” Johnny interrupts your explanation, walking around to your side of the desk and plucking the pen out of your hand.

 You just nod and lean back in your ridiculously big swivel chair, blinking up at him slowly, because he’s right. There’s literally nothing else for you to do and you have the most full coverage concealer under your eyes; you need to rest. 

“Am I driving you home tonight?” He asks as he packs your belongings into the massive purse on the box by your feet then places it on your desk so he doesn’t have to bend back down to retrieve it.

“Yeah, I don’t feel like moving,” you mumble, thankful you spent so much money on the chair you’re oh-so comfortable in. 

Johnny puts his hands out for you to grab, and once you do so, he pulls you up. You groan and lean forward into him to catch your balance after not being on your feet for many hours, but then Johnny’s hand on firm on the middle of your lower back, and the pressure makes you stay. He’s just helping you steady yourself, a position you’ve been in once or twice before because you like to push your limits (says both your therapist and your assistant), but he smells good and he’s warm; his presence is comforting. It always has been, which is why he’s made the perfect assistant for you. 

“Are you okay?” he asks, looking down at the top of your head that simply nods in response.

“Think I pushed my limit,” you admit, much to your assistant’s surprise. It’s not that you’re prideful, but you don’t exactly like showing weakness, especially in front of your employees.

Though tempted to just let you rest your head on his chest because he doesn’t mind the proximity at all and knows you’re somehow comfortable, Johnny makes sure you’re standing steadily by yourself so he can drape your coat over your shoulders. He grabs your purse and wraps an arm around your waist then guides you out of your office, all the way to the parking garage, saying goodbye to the confused cleaning staff on his way out. 

He presses the button on the handle of the passenger side’s door to unlock it, opens the door, then fits you inside of his car. Johnny leans over your body to buckle your seat belt, and when he’s back away, he catches you looking at him with a look he can’t quite decipher. 

“What’s up?”

You shake your head and blink slowly. “I just really appreciate you, John.”

Johnny just nods to save face and closes the door before making his way to the driver’s seat. He’s not quite sure how to feel or respond to the soft-spoken, sleepy side of you since it’s been months since the one other time you’ve been in a similar situation, and he wasn’t as smitten as he is now. 

You’re fighting your sleep because even though you trust Johnny, you want to be as aware during this trip to your house. It’s a hard feat, though. His car is big and comfortable and the hum of the engine is trying to lull you into a deep sleep. 

Johnny looks over at you after getting on the main road and notices your internal fight. 

“You can fall asleep, you know.”

“You might take my organs.” 

“I would’ve done that a long time ago if I wanted to,” Johnny humors you. His response brings a small smile to your face, and that keeps a smile on his own. 

“You have a really pretty smile, John.”

“Thank you,” Johnny says, figuring it’s just your exhaustion talking. 

“I’m almost jealous of how pretty your lips are,” you sigh, mouth not filtering your thoughts at this point of exhaustion (you’ve gotten 10 hours of sleep in the last week, but no one, especially not Johnny, needs to know that). You don’t care enough to try to “correct” yourself because the pretty curl of his lips gets even deeper.

“Really?” Johnny asks, trying his luck again because he’s sure tonight isn’t like the other day in your office. “You think my lips are pretty?”

You hum and cuddle into his seat even more. After staring at his profile a while longer, you tell him, “I think you’re pretty.”

That makes him laugh again, taken aback at the string of compliments coming out of your mouth towards him of all people. It’s not that you’re mean or don’t applaud him for his great work, but this is a very different side of you that he’s seeing. He likes it.

“That’s a first, but I’ll take it,” he says, taking a moment to look at you again before focusing on the road again. “Thank you.”

“Are you used to hearing ‘handsome?’ ‘Fine?’ ‘Sexy?’” You notice how Johnny’s brows lift. “Too far?”

He shakes his head. “No, you’re good. I like you when you’re nice.”

“You like me regardless,” you say with a sassy scoff, pretending to flip your hair even though it’s slicked back in a low bun, the same as every workday.

Johnny nods slowly, contemplating if he should humor you or just laugh you off. It literally takes him 0.5 seconds to go with the former option because he’s been waiting for the day the two of you step out of professional talk and get into something more personal, specifically between the two of you. “You got me there. I mean, what isn’t there to like?”

Your eyes squint as you analyze him and process his words. There’s a subtle but still very noticeable shift in the air after his question, and while you’re sure it’s your fault for letting your exhaustion let you feel comfortable enough to open your mouth and start spewing out nice things to your assistant, his response is enough to keep it up. It also doesn't help that this is a far more intimate setting than work. 

“Be careful, you keep saying things like that and I’ll think you have a crush on me,” you tease him, chuckling at the snort he responds with. 

Before Johnny snitches on himself, he flips the script. “Says the one staring at my lips long enough to deem them ‘pretty’ and calling me pretty, of all things.” 

“Well,” you start as your gaze goes right back to his mouth at the mention of it. “It would be unprofessional of me to tell you that I think you’re fine as hell, so,” you shrug.

You and Johnny have always had a bit of banter between the two of you, and while this topic isn’t something that’s been covered before, it’s hard to really care when you feel comfortable enough to cross that line right now. If he hadn’t been playing along, you wouldn’t have said anything more than the simple compliment from earlier, but with the reciprocity, the logical voice within gets pushed away. Exhaustion isn’t much of an excuse at this point because that high from tiredness has passed. 

The timing of the traffic light turning red is a little too perfect. Johnny takes the opportunity to look at you again, and something lights up in his chest when he catches how your eyes travel up from his mouth to look into his own eyes at his attention. 

“It would be unprofessional,” he agrees with another nod of his head. “But I can’t say the feeling isn’t mutual.”

You hum and nod. “Good to know.”

“You must not be sleeping well for you to be throwing out compliments like that.” Johnny leans onto the middle counsel.

“I’m not saying anything I haven’t thought of for a while.” You tell him after a beat, choosing to reply honestly since you’re already here. Johnny quirks a brow to prompt you to elaborate, and you do so, mirroring his position and propping your chin in your hand. His face is a lot closer now, but you keep your eyes on his own orbs to avoid losing focus. “I hired you because of your experience and skill set, but I knew it wouldn’t hurt to have some eye-candy around me. Pretty privilege and all,” you wave a nonchalant hand. “You were perfect until you opened your mouth.”

“You can never be nice to me for long, can you?” he snorts.

“You’re perfect tonight, though,” you add on, specifically for the quirk of Johnny’s mouth that comes from the praise. Yeah, you failed the challenge. 

“How so?” Johnny questions, quickly checking to see if the light has changed yet. It hasn’t, and for once in his life he’s grateful for a long light. He feels good about where this conversation could possibly get him after a year of silently admiring you, so good that he not-so-subtly gets even closer, definitely in your bubble, but nothing too crazy.

“You’re calm and collected and taking care of me,” you admit. The silent deep breath you take to calm yourself grants you access to the scent of Johnny’s cologne again, and your mind is so close to deciding that logic is unnecessary. A tiny voice in the back of your mind has been trying to get your attention and steer you in the opposite direction of the one you’ve decided to take, with how you tilt your head up to get just a little closer to him.

“You like being taken care of?”

“I love it,” you confess, and Johnny takes the chance to tuck a stray hair behind your ear as he hums, content with your response. Definitely an excuse to test the waters and see how far he can go and how willing you are to really cross this line. You turn your face into his hand so he cups your jaw, but then there’s a horn sounding behind you because the light is green, and Johnny begrudgingly has to pay attention to the road. You blink, the trance you found yourself in with him so close but so far away dissipating, the situation becoming a lot more real now that he’s out of your space. You slump back into your seat and look out of the window, that voice becoming louder and grounding you as you take another deep breath. “But allowing myself to be vulnerable with someone like that? Yikes.”

He knows your defense mechanism is trying to kick in, but he’s not having it.

“Aside from me?” 

You hum. “Not quite…” 

You set yourself up. From that moment in the elevator to now, you’ve been digging your own grave, and Johnny has done nothing but assist you, encourage you to dig deeper. You’re not sleepy anymore, there’s no more foggy brain from earlier when he found you asleep in the office. Just desire you’ve done a grand job of ignoring up until the last few days. But unfortunately, you have to remind yourself you’ve been ignoring it for a reason.

Your assistant almost doesn’t say anything because he loves his job and you clearly switched the direction of the conversation for a reason, but so much (yet so little) has already been said during your time in the car and you’ve already said enough to get the gears in his head turning. 

“So you mean a different type of care?”Johnny asks. He pulls into your driveway and parks. He wants to get back to the space the two of you were at when stopped at that light, but you’re already unbuckling your seat belt and grabbing your purse, signifying that the moment is long gone. That doesn’t stop him from trying, though. “Do you need me to walk you in?”

“I think I’ve got it now, thanks.” You need to get inside and get some sleep. Are you running right now? Of course. You’re a responsible person and the most responsible thing for you to do as the woman that signs his paychecks, is to get the fuck away from him before he persuades you, because you both know it’s possible.

“Let me rephrase that:” he licks his pretty lips and your fist balls up around your purse’s straps. “Do you want me to walk you in? I know you didn’t need me to do most of what I’ve done tonight, but you let me because you wanted me to.” His ability to read you so well is both a blessing and a curse. “Now would you like for me to continue taking care of you tonight or not?” 

You do. You absolutely do. You’re tempted to say yes in the case you don’t end up alone tonight, but you know it’s not a good idea. And you’re sure the atmosphere of this car ride will disappear by the time you wake up. At least that’s what you tell yourself because you know, ethics.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” you tell Johnny, opening the door and stepping out. “Thanks for the ride. Drive safe.”

Johnny watches you walk up to your door, unlock it, then disappear into your house. He lets out a deep sigh before backing out of your driveway and driving home.

Tea, fruit slices, and avocado toast are set down in front of you the moment you walk behind your desk. 

“Good morning,” Johnny greets you calmly. “Your eleven o’clock meeting has been pushed back thirty minutes, so I’d suggest using the opportunity to get out of the building and get some fresh air. You know, get away from electronics and people to recharge.”

That’s exactly what you’ll do. You’re going to be monitoring the Instagram engagement and website sales for a while, even though you pay people to be on top of numbers, so a break will definitely be needed. 

“I love your brain, you know that?” you ask, looking up at him once your jacket and bag are off of your body, meeting his eye. The corner of Johnny’s mouth twitches. 

“I told you I’d never disappoint you.”

“And I’m holding you to that.” You ignore the fact that there’s definitely another meaning behind his words. You can’t say the tension that last night’s conversation produced has gone away completely, but it’s weak enough for you to ignore it and stick to the amicable atmosphere the two of you have built for the last year plus.

“Would it be alright if I accompanied you during your walk?” Johnny prompts after a moment of him just standing there, pursing his lips together to refrain himself from grinning at you. “There’s something I’d like to run by you because I trust your opinion as my boss and my friend.”

“We’re friends?” you joke, settling into your seat.

“Last time I checked,” he responds, unfazed. “We could be even closer if you let yourself be vulnerable with me.” 

And there it is.

“John,” you say after a brief pause. He’s got his hands in his pockets, face mostly void of emotion. Johnny doesn’t want things to go back to normal, and he’s decided to let you know in the most subtle, yet obvious way. Why ignore the feeling when it’s clearly mutual? 

“Yes, boss?”

“You can leave now.”

The grin on the male’s face falters. He examines you to see just how serious you are, and he knows this isn’t one of your playful banter moments. He tries to call your name, either to ease the situation and tell you it was just a bad joke or to apologize, but you just remove your attention from him and get on your iPad. 

And when he’s out of the room, the door closed behind him, you let out a frustrated sigh. Up until you fell asleep, if you weren’t thinking about your launch, you were thinking about him. If you weren’t thinking about the numbers from your last launch and the possibility of exceeding them, you were thinking of the way you felt and the words he said while you were in that intimate bubble before the horn honked at him. You had to take a couple melatonin gummies to shut your mind up and knock out. The sleep was amazing, the best you’d had in a while, but then when you were conscious again, Johnny was back.

You could have done without stepping into uncharted territory last night. To him, it may not seem as deep as you’re making it out to be, but there’s too much on the line for you. Your professionalism. Your pride. Your job, quite possibly. His job. You could pay him off if you decided to fire him, but you don’t want to deal with bribes making you feel like a shitty person. You don’t want a new assistant. You want Johnny.

At that very last thought, you pick up the phone and call Jaehyun to have him run the plan by you one more time. He thinks it’s because of his fuck up from before, and you just let him think that. 

Thankfully, Johnny is out of your way until later in the night. He didn’t try to accompany you on your walk, but he has no choice but to be here at the company outing taking place to celebrate your products selling out within 4 hours. 

All shots are on you, so your employees are taking advantage of this, recording  as everyone clinks their shot glasses together and downs the painful alcohol down. You’re two shots in and you mentally note that three is your limit for tonight. Maybe four. You’re already a bit of a lightweight, and there’s no way in hell you’re going to make a fool of yourself in front of your employees. Regardless, you’re having a pretty good time. As a gift, your best friend rented out the bar, so it’s empty save for your large group, and Joohyun’s presence is a godsend. She’s being friendly enough to your employees and for the most part she hasn’t left your side, being the comfort she doesn’t realize you need. 

“Congrats again, babe,” she says excitedly to you, pushing another shot in front of you as she scoots into the seat next to you. “Can we take that vacation in Bora Bora now that you’re free and even richer?” Her teasing smile makes you crack one of your own and sigh.

“You know that trip is for August. Be patient, Bae.”

She rolls her eyes but her expression doesn’t falter. Her gaze wanders a bit as she sips from her mixed drink and then she’s looking at you expectantly. You raise a brow to prompt her.

“How is it that all of your employees are hot as fuck?” she asks bluntly. “Even the women.”

You take a glance around like you don’t remember what everyone looks like. “I mean, I guess.”

“Especially a certain assistant.”

“Go for it,” you tell her, nodding in his direction. The said male is at the bar ordering something with his arm draped over Jaehyun’s shoulders, the two of them laughing about whatever the latter just said. 

“You know that’s not why I said that,” Joohyun scoffs, swatting at your arm. You may have mentioned to her a while ago that your assistant is very nice on the eyes and you sometimes enjoy watching him as he does his job. “Plus, Jaehyun’s more my type.”

You shrug. “I’m sure they’d be down for a threesome.”

Your best friend hits you once again. “What’s with your mood? You’re not acting like someone who just sold out in only a few hours.” 

Before she decided to bring a certain assistant up, you were doing pretty well. You’d been able to not look at him for too long or even have to speak to him much aside from a greeting and his congratulations before he was by Jaehyun’s side and Joohyun was by yours. But now, with him being mentioned, your eyes are having a hard time pulling away from his figure. His tie is loosened and the top few buttons of his shirt are undone. His sleeves are rolled up right under his elbows and show off the tattoo on his arm. 

You rip your eyes off of him and down your shot. Yeah, you’re thinking four.

Joohyun’s incredulous laugh brings your attention back to her. “You didn’t.”

“What?”

She leans into your side to whisper, “You’re in a mood because of Johnny?”

You side-eye her because you don’t like how quickly she read you, and her smile grows wide. 

“Oh, my—you slept with Johnny?!” she continues to whisper-yell.

“No,” you hiss. “I did not. But I could have and that’s the issue.”

“Not seeing the issue?” She’s always been the little devil on your left shoulder. “The only reason I brought him up is because I’ve noticed how often you have his attention when you’re not even in the same area. And I know the difference between a look of concern and a look of want. He’s got a good ratio of both going on.”

“Okay, Miss Couple’s Therapist,” you mutter. “You ever heard of conflict of interest?”

And that shuts her up. Only for a few seconds, though.

“All I’m saying is I know you’ve thought about it… and you’re probably thinking about it now,” she giggles, making it hard for you to keep glaring at her. “I’m just trying to help you understand that it wouldn’t be a bad thing if there is a mutual understanding between the two of you on what flies and what cannot and shall not happen regarding the matter. You’re both consenting adults and it’s obvious he’d be on his knees for you with the snap of a finger.”

You decide against telling her about last night’s situation nor do you let her know you’re considering her words. That you’ve been considering the whole thing for days. 

You change the subject instead, asking her about how her latest trip overseas went.

It lasts for only so long when Johnny and Jaehyun make their way over to your table. 

They greet the two of you and you give a nod, choosing now to be the perfect time to check your notifications, while Joohyun says, “Hey guys.”

“Why are you checking your phone when you should be enjoying your time?” Johnny asks right by your ear, his voice lacking excitement but instead low enough to almost make your thumb falter as you scroll. “Get off your phone and celebrate, please?”

You make the mistake of looking up. He’s too close to your face to use the music playing through the speakers in the bar as an excuse. His eyes don’t have their usual playful glint in them. They look down at you with a purpose, and you’re kind of embarrassed at how fast you comply with his request. You drop the device into your purse and zip it up for extra measures.

“Thank you,” he smiles. “I got this for you two, by the way.”

Johnny slides a plate of your favorite wings on the table.

“Aw thank you, Johnny,” Joohyun coos, shooting you an annoyingly smug glance. “Are you gonna sit with us?”

“Is that okay with you, boss?” Jaehyun asks after sharing a look with his friend.

“Have at it,” you smile tightly, gesturing to the seats across from you. While they make themselves comfortable, you steal your best friend’s shot and actively ignore the way she looks at you from the corner of her eye.

Joohyun and Jaehyun fall into conversation easily after she compliments the watch he’s wearing. You nibble on some celery, actively ignoring how Johnny’s still too close. He subtly squeezes your knee to get your attention, and when he’s got it, he tilts his head in the direction of the bar. 

“I drank enough,” you tell him with a shake of your head.

“It’s not about a drink. I would like to speak to you alone, please,” Johnny explains in a whisper. A tiny voice in your mind says hell no because of what Joohyun has put in your head, but the rational voice reminds you that he is your assistant and you can’t avoid him forever. 

You tell your best friend that you’re gonna get a drink and that you’ll be back, and when she notices Johnny getting up with you she nods with a whisper of a smirk on her lips all without breaking the conversation she’s having. 

“What’s up?” you ask once seated on a barstool, at least a few seats away from everyone else.

“I’m sorry about earlier. I was trying to make light of the situation and I took it too far. As for last night, it was wrong of me to make a proposition like, so I want to apologize for that, as well.”

You nod as he speaks, letting his words process in your brain. 

“I spoke out of line last night and gave you an opening, so that part was on me. I apologize and I hope we can move forward from it. Thank you for your apology.” You try to get up and make your way back to your table quickly, but Johnny gently grabs your hand until he knows you’ll stay in your seat. 

For a moment he wanted to just apologize so you can stop being distant with him and he can stop purposely avoiding you for your space, but your response rubs him the wrong way and now he doesn’t really want to drop it. He wants to talk about it because the topic clearly came up for a reason last night and he’s tired of denying how he feels towards you, especially now that he knows he’s not alone after a while of thinking there was no way in hell his little crush would even get him this far. 

“Can you not shut me out right now?”

You really don’t like his ability to see through you.

“I accepted your apology and gave you the one you deserved... how am I shutting you out?” you bullshit him anyway.

“I’m not gonna pretend that what happened last night didn’t happen. I can’t,” Johnny tells you honestly. “Can I speak to you as a friend instead of your employee for a moment?”

“I guess,” you shrug.

“As your friend, what I say cannot be held against me as your assistant.”

“Whatever, John. Go ahead.” 

“I want you,” he confesses, and there’s really no going back from here. “I am very attracted to you and when you spoke about wanting to be vulnerable and taken care of last night it only made me want you more. And if there’s anyone you can let your guard down with and that will take great care of you, it’s me, and you know this.”

All you can do is stare at him for a while. If you hadn’t had that conversation with Joohyun a while ago you would not still be in this seat, letting him know you’re truly considering his proposition. The dip in your gut at his confession confirms your feelings, but your brain and your body conflict. 

Can you separate business from pleasure in this instance? 

If you allow your desires to become reality and it’s nothing like what you imagined, you’d never be able to look at him the same, no matter how good he is at his job. You’d either have to fire him or become so distant he’d want to quit. Would a bribe really have to be offered for the well-being of your precious company? The thought alone rubs you the wrong way.

But if you’re being honest with yourself, you just know it wouldn’t be a bad experience because it’s Johnny. He’s calculated and good at anything that gets thrown at him. You truly believe him when he says he’d never disappoint you. But how will you go about seeing him five days a week without seeing him in a different light? You’re professional but there would definitely be a change in your dynamic.

“I adore you as my assistant, John,” you finally speak up after too long. “And I do consider you a friend. I just don’t want to compromise our relationship over lust.”

“It’s not just lust, though,” Johnny states. “I’m not in love with you or anything but I care about you and want to take care of you the way we both know you need and deserve.”

He’s saying all of the right things and it’s almost as if the universe is rubbing him in your face. Your control is slipping and you don’t like it. You would love to be taken care of. You crave it. Running a business right before the age of thirty comes with so much stress and bullshit and you haven’t been taken care of in years, at least not properly. You’re content with being single because you give yourself everything you need and you love having your own space, but it does get lonely sometimes. And you can’t do everything yourself, at least not to the extent you need. Your eyes scan down from his face to his hands and your resolve gets a little weaker. 

“I’m not going to push you, okay? I just had to let you know that I’m here to help you in many more ways than in the office and that if anything were to ever happen, my lips are sealed. I’d even sign a damn contract if that meant I could have you for just one whole day.”

“A whole day?” you ask before you can stop your curiosity from being known. 

“I can’t elaborate on that. I can talk to you as a friend all I want but I know that too much detail can fuck up my job if you’re not down and I’m perfectly content with my job right now.”

He’s so vague, yet he’s said just the right amount. It’s easy to imagine what exactly could be in store if you release your inhibitions and just agree, but it’s not that easy. And Johnny understands that.

“Just think about it, alright?” He requests, and you nod slowly. “What drink would you like?”

“I’ve already had four shots—”

“No one said it had to be alcoholic,” Johnny laughs. 

“Hello?” Johnny’s morning voice grumbles. 

“Okay.”

It’s quiet on the other end of the line for a while as Johnny wakes up and decodes your single word. When he understands, his smile can be heard through his next words.

“Would you prefer I go to you or you come here?”

“I’ll go to you.”

“How does noon sound?”

“Good,” you nod, even though he can’t see the movement.

“Alright. There’s a couple of questions I have before you come over, though,” he tells you, his voice suddenly a lot more serious than it was before.

“Okay, go ahead,” you sigh, curling into a ball on your sofa. 

“Do you trust me?”

“I do.” Of course you trust him. Johnny smiles at how quick your answer. “You know that.”

“Trusting me with your work and trusting me with your mind and body are completely different things,” he tells you matter-of-factly. “But yes, I did know. I just needed to ask.”

“I clearly trust you enough to be hours away from going to your place without thinking you’re gonna exploit or blackmail me.”

“And I appreciate it. As I said, I’ll sign a contract if you’re still in your head about it.” At the dismissive response you give him, he continues with his questions. “We’re not gonna be weird about this before, during, and especially after everything, right?”

“No, I won’t be weird,” you chuckle, knowing his ‘we’ translates to ‘you.’ “It would’ve took me way longer to give you an answer if I was still gonna be weird or standoffish.”

“What made you change your mind so quickly?”

You blink at the tree on the other side of your window blankly. It took less than a day to give him a response, and while he may have popped up in your dream last night, Joohyun was right. You want him and he’s not shy about letting you know how much he wants you in return, so why play this game of tiptoeing and faux unclarity?

“You’re asking too many questions now,” you deadpan. “I’ll see you later.”

The last thing you hear before you hang up is Johnny laughing quietly to himself, sounding endeared.

You’ve always been punctual, so when you knock on his door, it’s twelve on the dot. And Johnny was expecting this, with it only taking him a couple of seconds to unlock and open the door for you. 

“Hey,” he greets you with a smile and you immediately take in his appearance, having never been around Johnny in anything but formal wear. You take in how he looks in the comfort of his own home, his brown hair is parted down the middle in comparison to how he always has it pushed back, and his fitted white tee shirt and joggers are a stark difference from the button-downs and slacks he usually adorns around you. He looks good either way, you note. 

“Hey.” 

You walk past him into his home and take your shoes off, and while pleasantries are exchanged, it’s Johnny’s turn to give you elevator eyes. The grey color of your athletic wear draws attention to the curve of your ass and hips. Your hair isn’t in its signature style, but out and flowing about freely. When you turn back around to face him he notices you don’t have your typical red lipstick on, just a clear sheen covering your lips. He didn’t think you could look any better, but here he is, being proven wrong. 

You’re guided down a hallway and into his room, and the first thing you notice is a cute stuffed animal on his dresser. One you remember buying him for his birthday because that was his only request, seeing that it was limited edition.

“I still can’t believe you wanted this of all things,” you laugh fondly, picking it up and examining it.

“You gave me a budget and this fit in it,” Johnny shrugs, coming up behind you. His chest molds into your back naturally, causing you to look up from the plushie and up at him through the mirror in front of you. “There was no way in hell I was coming out of pocket for that myself when you were willing to spend big bucks on me.”

You relax into his chest, the vibration against your back a very pleasant feeling. “Touché.”

The last few days of building sexual frustration did nothing to prepare you for the suffocating blanket of tension that envelopes you once Johnny lifts your head up to the side and presses one of the gentlest kisses to your lips. Followed by another chaste one, and another until you find yourself chasing his lips.

“Feel free to bite into it when it becomes too much for you,” Johnny graciously offers in a whisper that tickles your lips.

You scoff, amused by his confidence. 

“I’m a grown ass woman,” you remind him. “I promise you there’s nothing I couldn’t handle.”

“And I’m gonna hold you to that.” He nods, using your own words against you. You’re turned around by his hands on your hips until you’re facing him. A moment of silent eye contact translate to him challenging you before his pretty, soft lips slowly slide in time with yours. 

The longer he kisses you, the more your body melts into his. You find yourself being pulled forward, him walking backwards. The kiss interrupted when he sits down at the foot of his bed, but then you’re pulled onto his lap, straddling him to resume it. A hand on the side of his face prompts him to deepen the kiss, and your mouth instantly opens when you feel his tongue brush against your bottom lip, the wet muscle minty when it touches your own and you curl yours around it to get an even better taste. 

Your hands find his hair as his own grip your ass, pulling a muffled whimper out of you. And then you’re flipped onto your back, legs falling apart to give Johnny freedom to stand. He swiftly takes his shirt off and then he’s interrupted by your palms glide up his abdomen. You’ve never felt small around practically anyone in your adult years, but with how he hovers over you, you feel tiny. You know he and Jaehyun have been going to the gym frequently, but at this angle, you can really appreciate just how big and broad he is.

Originally, you figured you’d give him the reign to do whatever he wanted and you’d bask in being a pillow princess for once in your life, but in the position you’ve found yourself in, with his print in your face, you drag your hands back south and tug his waistband down. 

Johnny just watches you silently until he understands you’re doing more than just assisting him with stripping. Your hand grabs hold of his semi (your mouth waters at how hung he is and you briefly wonder how you never noticed before), his sweatpants forgotten halfway down his thighs. The way your eyes have tunnel vision and you lick your lips tells him your plan. “You wanna suck my dick?” he asks anyway, making sure he accessed this correctly. 

Your eyes fly up to meet his gaze. “Yeah. You want me to?”

“You think I’d ever say no to you?”

His response goes straight in between your legs, so you focus your attention back on his dick, which has grown some during the time of your small interaction, and you might be a little more excited about this than you initially thought you’d be. 

You let spit fall from your mouth onto his tip, then spread it down with your hand. You flick your wrist up and down a few times and lean forward, licking a broad stripe up his shaft. At the deep exhale he releases, you glance up at him through your lashes, and the sight of him with his jaw tightened in anticipation makes you want to give him so much more, so you suck the tip into your mouth. 

Fingers move your hair behind your ear for you and if you still had any inhibitions at this point, they’re lost now. Your head bobs back and forth slowly as you continue to look him in his eyes; it’s hard to look anywhere else when you’ve never been looked at so intensely in this position. You gather spit on the tip of your tongue and spread it across his head, circling the wet muscle around it until he hums and you need to feel the weight of him back inside. 

“Tap my leg, okay?”

You furrow your brows at his words, but your silent question is answered when there’s a hand on the back of your head and the tip of his dick hits the back of your throat lightly as if in warning before his hips pull back then he’s back in your throat. Your hands come up to his thighs as he sets a slow pace to fuck your face, and when his head falls back the moment he realizes he can go as far as he wants, you close your eyes and prepare for the onslaught you know you’re about to take.

Johnny’s hips instantly pick up speed and roughness, and while he’s still in control of himself, he loses a bit of sanity. After a year of silent pining and thinking this would never happen, he’s fucking his boss's face, and of course, of fucking course you don’t have a gag reflex. 

You stick your tongue out flat to lick at the bottom of his shaft as he does the rest of the work and the feeling of spit bubbling out the sides of your mouth and making its way down your chin digs your fingers into his skin since you can’t clench your thighs together. Your hair is gathered for extra leverage, and the pull of your scalp is such a delicious feeling you moan helplessly just when your nose comes in contact with trimmed hairs. 

“Shit,” he hisses, picking his head back up to watch as he slows back down but thrusts in rougher. You clearly enjoy being used like this, spit traveling down your chin to the point of landing on your jacket and darkening the material. You’re a mess in the best possible way, and this is an image that will haunt his memory for a very long time. 

More of his resolve crumbles at the feeling of your hands curling around to his butt to press him even closer into you, even further down your throat. You haven’t even been touched, barely kissed, but you’re lightheaded and extremely aroused. While he contemplates if he should cum down your throat or wait until he’s buried in your pussy, you’re silently hoping he lets you taste him soon. 

Johnny drags his dick out of your mouth at an extremely slow pace, and how you wrap your lips around him and open your hooded, darkened eyes to look at him again shoots a shiver of pleasure up his spine. 

“Never would’ve thought,” he says around an amused exhale.

“Hm?” you prompt, releasing him with a loud pop. 

“Nothing.” He shakes his head. He grips his dick with his free hand and taps the tip on your awaiting tongue, amused and extremely turned on. Smearing fluids over your tongue and lips, he softly demands: “Play with your pussy for me.”

The smile you give him is a concoction of wicked and endearing. He releases your hair as you manage to wiggle out of your leggings. You soaked through your lace and leggings, you both notice, and Johnny stops you with a disapproving hum when you make a move to remove your panties as well. You squint, he laughs and shakes his head. 

“Over your panties.” You roll your eyes but listen nonetheless, slipping your hand in between your thighs. The material is extremely wet to the touch, and the slickness helps with making the friction pleasurable when your fingertips find your clit and begin rubbing circles. “Slowly.”

Johnny finds your huff of frustration adorable.

The tip of his dick taps your mouth again to gain your attention. You suck spit up to the front of your mouth, then your mouth is stretched wide once again, hand back in your hair. 

Having your throat fucked with the additional pleasure on your clit, even with the slow pace you’re forced to go at, has you practically whining, the sound going in and out as he goes in and out your mouth. That vibration only spurs Johnny to grip your locks tighter and thrust in deeper to feel as much as your mouth and throat offer. 

“You were made for this, huh?” 

“Mhm,” you affirm, eyes rolling back at the way he pulls your hair to tip your head back and get a different, much better angle. 

Johnny honestly didn’t expect you to submit so easily to him. The visual of your face all messy, eyes hardly opened to look into his eyes and hair out of place while touching yourself sparks that feeling in his lower abdomen.

 “You want me to cum in your mouth?” You hum again and even with a mouth full of dick you manage to smile. You’re getting what you wanted. “Don’t swallow it until I tell you to.”

It takes a few more strokes for Johnny to fulfill your wish. The moment his head falls back again you use your free hand to caress his balls, and that does it. He leaves the tip in so that his cum pools onto your tongue and strokes every drop out. The groan he lets out causes you to unintentionally swipe at your clit faster, but he’s distracted anyway.

“Let me see,” Johnny says after collecting himself and stepping back. You straighten your head so none slides down your throat and open your mouth wider for his inspection. He smiles in approval, wishing he could take a picture of the sight before him. “Swallow.”

You lick your lips and wipe away all the spit that traveled outside of your mouth with the sleeve of your jacket after doing so.

Johnny completely removes his pants before he leans down to kiss you again. His tongue languidly licks against the seam of your mouth for an entrance that you grant instantly. While it curls around your own and he gets a taste of himself, Johnny’s hand guides you to bend one leg and he caresses your outer thigh.

“Good?” Johnny asks for extra measure, lips just barely dragging across your cheek to press opened mouth kisses on your jaw. Your head automatically tilts to the opposite side to give him more real estate. You hum, your mouth a bit preoccupied with how your teeth have trapped your bottom lip. 

Your breath stutters at the gentle scrape of his teeth along the length of your neck after he unzips the high neck of your top to expose more skin. Whichever scent you chose to put on today has Johnny latched onto your neck for a while, kissing, licking, nibbling the skin to the point of your breath coming out a lot louder than before and the seat on your underwear getting uncomfortably wetter. You’re throbbing at this point and not being touched enough, so you claw at his sides and call his name quietly.

Johnny eventually spreads your legs more and maneuvers himself in between them. Both of your legs bend at the knee to accommodate his large build in the middle of them, and the hand that isn’t keeping himself propped up by your head kneads your hip. 

“You know how long I’ve been wanting to get you like this?”

“How long?” you prompt, voice hardly above a whisper.

“Since the day you gave me a tour of the building,” he admits and slowly rises until he’s up on his knees. 

“That’s a long time,” you respond lamely, hardly caring when your pussy is practically screaming at you to be touched. He raises a brow, and when he looks back up at your face, your lip is back in between your teeth. 

If he doesn’t touch you soon you might explode.

“I’ve wanted this for a while, too,” you decide to confess, hoping it gets you somewhere. And it does. It’s almost like you’re rewarded for it by Johnny walking back on his knees until he’s far enough to settle on his stomach, face barely inches away from the apex of your thighs. He subconsciously licks his lips at the smell of you. He’s been wanting to taste you for so long now, but he refrains himself because he sees how you’re affected by the lack of attention to your heat. He promised he’d take care of you and that’s exactly what he’s going to do. But not before breaking you. 

“Wish you would’ve told me sooner,” he eventually tells you after having you hold your breath for way too long.

“You know I couldn’t.” The way Johnny looks at you, attentive to every word that comes out of your mouth while he smoothly scoops your legs over his shoulders to wrap his arms around your thighs, makes you continue speaking. “Seems like everything fell into place, though.”

Johnny nods, rests his head on one of your thighs, and looks up at you, brown eyes still watching your mouth intently, as he unhooks one of his arms to push your right leg further to the side. His fingers are soon on your center, gliding up and down your slit, bumping into your clit with each pass. 

“I guess it did.”

Before you can reply, he adds more pressure behind his touch, and your hips just barely lift to get even more. The smile you get in return is attractive as all hell but annoying. He knows exactly what he’s doing to you or he’s just really enjoying himself. Either way, you’re getting more impatient by the second, if the way your hips rise to grind your core against his fingers again says anything. 

“Stay still for me, okay?” You almost pout because you need more, but you promised to give him total control of the situation and you’ve done well thus far, so you press your ass back into his comforter. “There you go.”

Your pussy clenches around nothing.

The light pressure on your clit is soon gone and then the zipper of your jacket gets dragged down all the way. “Take this off for me.”

Sitting up, you do as told. You toss it where your leggings had been dropped and now you’re presented in front of the awe-struck brunet in just your matching set of underwear. You figured you’d wear something nice under your clothes, both for Johnny’s pleasure and for your confidence, and with how Johnny’s eyes settle on the way your breasts are trying to burst out of your snug lacy bra, you know you chose well.

A hand slides up your torso to grab one of your breasts and squeeze it. Somewhere in the midst of him fondling your chest and pressing teasing, yet promising kisses on your inner thighs your eyes drift shut again as you bask in the pleasure. One of your own hands comes up from your side to slide under the cup of your unoccupied tit and pull at your nipple. 

The tip of Johnny’s tongue drags dangerously close to your annoying-still-clothed heat and your patience is shot. 

“John…”

“Yes?” 

“I need more.”

He has the audacity to hum and give your clit a kitten lick. “Do you?”

You huff, stuck between just pushing his face into your pussy or doing what he asks of you, but you promised, so you suck in a breath and give him what he wants.

“John,” you say again, almost whining. 

He doesn’t say anything, just continues to look at you expectantly. And when too much time goes by, it somehow hits you what he wants from you and you groan quietly to yourself.

“Please.”

“That was very convincing,” Johnny snorts. His nose glides across the inside of your thigh like he’s got all the time in the world. It tickles in the best way, but it’s nothing but teasing and you’ve been stimulated enough that if you go more than a couple of seconds more without his mouth giving you direct pleasure, you’ll go insane. So with a great amount of willpower, you try again.

“Johnny,” you whine, giving him your best pout. Addressing him so informally feels foreign, but the way his eyes light up encourages you to keep going.“Please?”

And of course a big smile takes up half of his face and you mentally prepare yourself for what’s next to come. He peels your panties off, both of you watching the line of slick that stretches then breaks in the process, and when you spread your legs even more for him, his mouth salivates. 

Johnny makes sure you’re looking into his eyes as his tongue licks a wide stripe from your entrance to your clit. He wants to be smug at the gasp you let out, but the taste of you shuts his ego up quickly. 

You squeak when you’re suddenly flipped onto your stomach and your ass is lifted up into the air. With yet another broad lick to coat his taste buds with your essence, Johnny buries his face in your pussy. He uses the tip of his tongue to collect the puddle of wetness you’ve produced and smears it over your clit, soon digging  inside to directly stimulate the bundle of nerves. 

Johnny’s lips close around your clit and he sucks on it softly. As the moments pass he gradually sucks harder to the point of you not being able to fight the way your eyes flutter shut and hips push back. He’s nice about the movement, just grabbing your hips to keep you still, soon caressing and kneading. 

“Mm, that feels good,” you compliment. At that very moment, Johnny decides to roll his tongue in up and down motions and apply more pressure behind his hands. “Fuck, that feels so good.”

He prompts you with a hum of his own. 

With how your moans start to get louder and your breath gets quicker and harder, not to mention the tingles you feel building in intensity, you know you’re already close. It’s a beautiful yet frustrating feeling because you don’t want this to end so soon after waiting so long. But you also want him inside of you so bad now.

Johnny comes back up to circle your entrance, and then he goes even higher.

“Are you— fuck,” you groan deeply. 

Your hands grip the pillow your face is buried in and your eyes have found the back of your head again. Johnny just hums at the way you react, the octave of your voice as you let out your sounds of pleasure go straight to his dick. His tongue licks filthily up and down, not leaving an inch untouched nor missing a drop of your juice. His fingers rub your entrance until he slides one in. One becomes two after a few pumps, then his thumb presses into your clit and your back is arched almost uncomfortably.

“Johnny,” you whine again, breath hiccuped. 

“Yes?” he prompts, lifting his head and looking up to see your face peaking around your body, smushed into his pillow still. 

“I wanna cum,” you tell him. It feels too good now. “Fuck, I need to come, Johnny.”

“Then cum for me.” His voice is so gentle yet commanding as his digits speed up. He tongues the skin between your holes sloppily and you try to curl into yourself, your mouth wide opened with no sound coming out of it, your walls clenching madly around the fingers inside of you, and your grip on the cushion is borderline painful.

Johnny helps you ride out your orgasm for as long as possible until your body begins shuddering due to oversensitivity. He gradually slows down to a stop, then removes himself from your body to let you breathe correctly. While he sucks on his fingers, he uses his clean hands to soothingly rub your back, waiting for you to calm back down. 

You’re a bit dazed during the transition of more kissing that leads you on top of him, straddling him once again. You vaguely remember the caresses on your waist or the pinch of his fingers playing with your nipples, but the feeling of your bare pussy dragging against his dick is very memorable because it sparks a desperate need within you to sit on it. 

Johnny’s hands on your hips move you to continue the friction, moving you back and forth on his dick easily. Foreheads connected as you catch your breath from the kiss you just broke away from, the two of you watch silently as his head reappears and disappears behind your lips, turning you both on until he’s fully hard again and you can’t handle him not being inside of you anymore.

You lift up on your knees to align his tip with your entrance. A silent look is exchanged where you ask and he nods once. He lets you take your time, enjoying the feeling of his tip directly rubbing against your sopping entrance.

Your labored breaths at the sensation bring his attention to your chest, and his mouth wraps around a nipple without a thought. By now, you deem his dick wet enough to press his head in your hole and press your hips down. The moment he slides in your head falls back because the stretch burns in the best way. It feels like time doesn’t exist as you work your way down his length, inch by inch. Your hips naturally find a slow rhythm as you lift and drop them to take in more until he slides in and out easily. 

When your features no longer show discomfort, Johnny begins moving with you. Every time he lifts his hips up a little to meet your thrusts his body slumps down the headboard. His hands are loose on your waist as you move your body up and down and he’s got the perfect view of his dick going in and out of your core while you’re controlling the pace and intensity. The muscles in your thighs start to burn, so you slow down to a stop and carefully slide your way down until your clit comes in contact with his pubic bone, resulting in your eyes rolling back, hips grinding on their own accord. 

“How the fuck do you feel this good?” Johnny groans deeply, hands gripping your ass to assist your movements.

His compliment, his hungry, intense gaze as they take you in from your eyes—which mirror his own—down to the trail of slick you’ve left behind on his tamed curls from the swivel of your hips, and the way his cock rubs against your g-spot send you over the edge within moments. Johnny soothingly rubs a cheek with one hand while the other caresses your arched spine, keeping his hips still to let you ride your orgasm out on your own. 

You slump into him, head on his shoulder, panting against his neck. A sigh of content slips out when Johnny hugs you tightly against his broad chest right before asking, “You alright?”

“Great,” you reply breathlessly. 

Johnny smiles at the positive response. He lifts his hips experimentally and gauges your reaction, which is a satisfied hum. 

“You want more?” he asks, hands moving to your hips to carefully grind against him. How could you say no? “Hands and knees, baby.”

You begin climbing off to the side of him then he follows your lead and lifts himself up so you can settle on your knees and bend until your face slides onto his pillow. Your hands grab the sides of it in anticipation. 

A deep groan sounds from behind you, so you crane your neck and see the way he stares down at how he can see everything you have to offer him at this moment. One hand goes to his dick while the other massages one of your cheeks. He runs the swollen tip of his dick along your slit, collecting what’s oozed out. You close your eyes and relax the side of your face into the cushion beneath it and take a breath, preparing yourself for the stretch and intensity this angle never fails to bring.

He slowly starts to breach your entrance. There’s a pause, then you hear him spit down before more of him slips inside of you inch by inch with each roll of his hips. He keeps his movements shallow for a while and your walls reaccept him easily. A particular thrust sends him deep inside of you, his tip just barely kissing your cervix. Your body’s first instinct is to run away from it. His hands on your hips stop you from fleeing, holding you still and rubbing the skin there to ease you. 

“I won’t go too deep,” he tells you, hips still as he kisses up your spine and makes you dizzy by the tenderness of it all. “I’m not gonna hurt you.”

You nod at his promises and take another steadying breath, then the pleasurable friction is back. You’d believe anything he told you with that intoxicating voice of his. 

A loud, embarrassing squelch comes out of your core when he’s sheathed inside that makes you bury your face into the pillow. There’s one last kiss at the top of your spine before the body heat from his chest is gone and he’s back upright. He finds his rhythm easily, and hands return to your backside, fingers digging into the flesh, no doubt leaving behind white imprints. He uses his grip as leverage to fuck down into you at a different angle that allows him to speed up and rip an unrestrained moan from your throat. 

“You okay?”

You nod violently and sob, “Yes! Oh, my god, yes.”

Content, Johnny hums and you just know he’s grinning down at you by the sound of his voice when he asks: “Feels good?”

“So good,” you whine, unable to close your mouth or stop noises from coming out of it. You begin dropping your hips down to meet his thrusts, the loud smacks of skin against skin echoing and bouncing off of the walls of his room. “Fuck it feels so good, Johnny.”

“I know, baby” he groans. “And this pussy feels so fucking good—shit.”

The two of you get lost in the rhythm you’ve created and no more words are exchanged for a while, just the sound of groans that comes deep from Johnny’s throat and whines and pants that make you drool all while drying your throat out. The room has gotten increasingly hotter and your bodies now shine with a thin, sticky sheen that makes the back of your thighs stick to the front of his own every time he fucks back into you. Your sensitive nipples rub harshly against the sheets, stimulating you even further to the point of another sob ripping out of your throat and your walls fluttering around his girth. 

“I’m gonna cum,” you whimper. Your divulgence prompts him to reach his arm under you to graze his fingertips over your engorged clit and then you’re repeating your words over and over again until your actions meet your words and you’re cumming all over him. Your essence drips down the insides of your thighs and his balls and his thrusts create wetter, louder noises. A swivel of your hips causes his dick to pop out and suddenly your body is vibrating. 

“There you go, baby,” Johnny praises you, sliding back into you and precisely hitting that spot within you a few more times until your pussy clenches again and he pulls out again, letting more wetness spray the sheets under you. 

“Look at you,” he continues with a deep chuckle. “Making such a big mess.”

You don’t know if he really meant for you to look but your curiosity gets the best of you and you lift your head and look in between your legs. There’s a dark puddle on his sheets and another whine leaves your body, your head falling back into the pillow. 

“Can you handle more?” Johnny asks you softly, slapping the top of your asscheek with his dick. 

You need more. You don’t know what the hell Johnny has done to you and your body but you feel empty and not satisfied enough. Your core is raw at this point but you want nothing more than to feel the velvety skin of his thick, long dick sliding in and out of you and hitting every spot in you that makes your body convulse again. 

“Please,” you beg, wagging your hips to emphasize your needs. “Please, Johnny.”

“I’ve got you begging now?” He sounds so turned on yet taken aback, another dark laugh vibrating your body at the nod of your head and movement of your body. If you were in your right mind, you would be ashamed of your behavior and submission to your assistant, but you’re not. And who cares when you’ve never felt this way before and crave to feel even more?

“I need it,” you confess without shame. “Need you back inside of me.”

Johnny doesn’t need any more convincing to be back, deep within you and instantly satisfying you again. Your breath stutters and it’s not easy to speak in coherent sentences, but that doesn’t stop you from trying to voice your pleasure and appreciation to the brunet whose self-control only continues to dissolve the faster he slams into you and the higher your voice gets.

Both of your breath patterns get quicker, loud, more erratic, signaling the approach of his first release and your third? Fourth? You can’t keep up with it when your brain has turned into mush and you can barely remember your own name, only his own registering in your brain. His name rolls off of your tongue like a mantra, driving him insane behind you. 

“Where do you want me to cum?” he pants. It takes you too long to swallow in an attempt to lubricate your throat and answer him, Johnny humming in question impatiently. 

“My back,” you manage to squeak out. You’re impressed with the amount of control he has, the slamming of his hips into your ass somehow speeding up and getting rougher. Johnny lacks the control and precision from before, and the way his tip kisses your cervix rips a yell out of you, eyes watering as you hold on for dear life. He releases a drawn out groan from deep within, and not too long later you feel ropes of cum land on your lower back and ass.

Your body is shaking. Tears leak out of your eyes, your breath is hard to catch, and quiet cries come out. You’re gently flipped over and pulled into strong arms, quickly finding comfort in the chest you settle into. 

“You’re okay, baby,” Johnny’s soft voice says to you, but you can’t open your eyes or your mouth to acknowledge him. You’re confused about why you’re reacting to this, but you don’t dislike it. Especially when you have Johnny to soothe you and help you calm down. “Are you hurting anywhere?” 

You shake your head and finally try to respond, but it takes a couple of coughs and harsh swallows of spit to do so. “No. I feel good. Everywhere.”

Your speech is choppy, unlike your usual way of speaking, but stringing words into sentences that flow well is too much work right now. Johnny doesn’t mind; he loves that he had that effect on you after you’ve had him under your spell for so long. He loves the fact he successfully kept his promise to you and now you’re boneless in his arms. 

He reaches for the glass of water on his nightstand and hands it to you. “Are you ready for a bath?”

“Can I fall asleep in the bath?” you ask, wiping your face tiredly.

“Sure,” Johnny says softly before setting you down on the dry part of the bed. “I’ll come get you once it’s ready.”

That’s how the rest of the day plays out, you getting taken care of in multiple ways. Your favorite method is with his tongue and fingers as he made out with your pussy for what felt like hours in lieu of an apology for going so hard. And maybe Johnny purposely falls asleep next to you after you’re bathed, fed, and exhausted from coming, curled up into his side in the new sheets because he wants you to stay a little longer. There’s no way in hell he’ll ever get to see this side of you again after today.

“Good morning,” Johnny greets you. It’s eight in the morning the following Monday, and he’s got your avocado toast and fruit in his hands as he walks up to your desk.

You're rummaging through your bag looking for the bobby pins you threw inside of it this morning in your rush to get to work on time because believe it or not, you overslept. You give up in favor of looking up to greet him back, but your voice decides not to come out when your eyes lock with his. There hadn’t been any contact since you woke up in the middle of the night and he walked you to his door with a lingering kiss that quite literally took your breath away to close out the short chapter of your relationship you’d just created. You were still tired, but you definitely were not supposed to sleep over, so it was nothing. 

But now, seeing the same eyes that stared into your own while you came and cried his name multiple times, all you can do is blink. And then he licks his pretty lips. You knew this would happen. You’re not mad at it, though. How could you be when you’d never experienced someone like him before? In hindsight, there was no possible way to go back to normal after the intimacy, tenderness, and raw attraction you shared that day. No possible way to never want another taste. 

“You okay?” he asks unsurely, setting your plates down. 

And here it comes.

“Johnny,” you say lowly, setting your bag down. The quirk in his brow and the corner of his mouth lets you know he’s onto you. And that just makes things easier for you. “Lock the door.”

yikesssssss

[emmikay]

Emmikay’s CATS Field Notes

Okay, I finally got everything typed up!

First I want to say that I’m so happy that I got see the show! The cast did an amazing job, and it looked like they were having fun. I hope they were, the audience loved them. It was absolutely worth both the wait, and the stress of getting there. 

These are my thoughts on the individual songs, and fun moments I noticed during them! I tried to write these out as clearly as possible. And I know there’s probably so much that I missed in the background, but this is what stood out to me!

Act One

Opening

The opening was a lot of fun. I did spend some of the time pinning down who everyone was, but it was a lot of fun picking them out of the crowd. It actually took me awhile to find Tugger/ Bill Bailey.

I also feel sorry for the person in the seat they picked out for ‘the man over there’. Maybe they had already seen CATS, but I think if it were me, I’d still be scared. They made it sound very accusatory as well, which I found pretty funny. ‘The Naming of Cats’ was still appropriately creepy. I think one of the ladies in front me had never seen CATS, because she turned to friend as asked “What is happening?” It was too bad they couldn’t go into the isles during this tour, but I still enjoyed the eyes appearing on stage during the overture.

Jennyanydots, the Old Gumbie Cat

Jenny seemed really sweet, and was acting with a lot of energy. The whole number was very cute as a whole. I noticed that Skimbleshanks brought out the mouse masks, called over the mice, who I think were Victoria, Sillabub and Rumpleteazer, and handed out their masks. The cockroaches were Tumblebrutus, Pouncival and either Plato or Mungojerrie, but I’m not sure which. Both the mice and cockroaches stayed on stage for quite a bit of the number.

Another very cute thing I noticed, is that Misto was helping Jenny out a lot during her number, guiding her around, helping her sit down and get back up when she was in the first costume. There was also a moment where Jenny seemed to space out, and Misto was trying to gentling get her attention again.

Throughout the entire musical, it seemed like Misto was trying to help out and be as useful as possible. I interpreted it as Misto trying to prove he’s a mature adult now, who should be taken Seriously.

The Rum Tum Tugger

Tugger! Zach Bravo was delightful, of course. He’s just so much fun to watch. The whole number was very fun. I’m pretty sure Tugger flirted with most of the cats on stage in one way or another, other than Munkustrap, who he was definitely trying his best to annoy, as any little brother would do. I noticed Munkustrap and Alonzo plotting by the car just before they did the ‘Terrible Bore’ line.

There were a lot of cute moments between Tugger and Misto as well. At the start of the number, Misto and Skimbleshanks were sitting of the car together. Skimbleshanks seemed to smooth down Misto’s white neck fluff, before Misto joined the dancing. My friend and I agreed that it had very strong ‘Dad straightening his son’s tie before he goes on a date’ vibes. Tugger and Misto had great chemistry, which made the added choreography of them dancing together very fun to watch.

After Misto made the spotlights for Tugger, he crawled through Tugger’s legs. Tugger was pelvic thrusting while he was doing this, and if that’s not symbolism, I don’t know what it was.

Do to the lack of kitten characters in this production, most of the female characters were in the ‘squealing circle’ at the end, including Demeter and Cassandra. Misto was also part of it.

Grizabella the Glamour Cat

I’ve made my feeling about post-revival Grizabella known, so I won’t repeat them. That being said, Tayler Harris did a really good job, and I felt legitimately sorry for Grizabella. In this show, Jenny seemed to take the leading role in shooing the kittens, and everyone else away from Grizabella. Jellylorum helped out a bit, but it was mainly Jenny. Tumblebrutus and Pouncival both bullied Grizabella quite a bit and had to be shooed away.

In this show, Munkustrap was being played by Taylor James Rosenberger. He did a really good job, and had a really nice voice. One thing I noticed is that he plays Munkustrap as being very aggressive towards Grizabella. While other Munkustraps have seemed sad or resigned towards her, it was clear that he actively disliked her. It was actually an interesting twist, because usually it’s Tugger who really dislikes her, but in this show it was almost like the roles reversed.

Bustopher Jones, the Cat about Town

Bustopher Jones was quite a bit of fun, he was played as a very jolly, good natured guy. It seemed like he was very much enjoying entertaining all the cats, and all the attention they were giving him. I actually really like the part where several of the characters, I believe it was Munkustrap, Alonzo, Skimbleshanks, Mistoffelees, Victoria, and someone else who I can’t remember start offering food for him to try. I also noticed an interesting moment where at the beginning of the song, Tugger is lounging on the car, and he and Demeter seem to a have a little chat before Demeter goes to join the dancing.

Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer

Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer were pretty good. I read their interactions as best friends rather than siblings or in a relationship, which was fun to watch. In the show, Bustopher Jones doesn’t say his “Toodle-pip” until after Jerrie and Teazer scare everyone,then immediately ran off.

I will say, this is probably the number that entertained me the least. It may just be that I was spoiled watching the 1998 version, but there weren’t a lot of the acrobatics and more entertaining dancing that previous shows have had. The actors themselves did a great job, though. Also, at the end, it was Munkustrap and Plato that hold up their loot bags instead of Alonzo.

Old Deuteronomy

This was a very sweet number, as it should be! Old Deuteronomy seemed like a very warm and happy character, and all of the cats seemed very happy and excited to see him. As I said earlier, Munkustrap had a very nice voice, and did a really good job with this number. And it was very cute when Munkustrap and Tugger started singing together. Tugger had been annoying Munkustrap since his number, so Munk seemed relieved that Tugger was actually acting on his best behaviour for once. Of course, as soon as Old Deuteronomy appeared on stage, Tugger did his mane shimmy, but Old Deuteronomy seemed to find it more amusing than anything else. Tugger also was the one helping Old Deuteronomy up and down the tire. He loves his dad!

The Jellicle Ball

I mean, what can I say? The dancing was amazing, and lighting was fun, and there was so much happening it was hard to take in. All of the cast are really talented, and it was so impressive to see it in person!

I picked up on a lot of little moments in between the dancing. Throughout act one, Misto hangs out with both Skimbleshanks and Cassandra quite often, usually on top of the car. I noticed Tugger hanging out with Cassandra a few times as well. There quite a few interactions between Demeter and Munkustrap. They danced together at the ball, and I noticed that the moves weren’t dissimilar to the choreography between Misto and Tugger one of the times they danced together in The Rum Tum Tugger. There were also several instances where they seemed to check in with each other during scene transitions throughout the act. When Gus entered for the first time towards the end of the Ball, Jellylorum held his hand to help him onstage.

There was one really funny thing when Grizabella appeared after the Pas de Deux. When Misto spots her on the car, he makes all the hanging lights turn on, then jumped on the car himself to try and scare her away. He immediately turned to Jellylorum like: “Did I do a good job?” Grizabella, however, wasn’t scared away, and Munkustrap had to go up and shoo her away. Poor Misto, you tried your best.

Memory: Prelude

All the cats vacated the stage when Grizabella showed up again. Munkustrap stayed the longest, and as he was leaving he was still trying to keep an eye on her. Tayler Harris has a really amazing voice, and I was already excited for how Memory proper was going to sound. Also, during the song, when Grizabella was facing the audience Old Deuteronomy was watching her sadly, however several times she glanced behind her, and whenever she did, he would turn away from her, which I thought was an interesting detail.

Act Two

Moments of Happiness

There was a guy in my row who never came back during intermission. Weak.

Old Deuteronomy entered the stage a bit before intermission ended, which was cool. It’s too you couldn’t get pictures of him because of COVID, but I was happy I was able to get some photos from my seat.

This song also sounded amazing. It was portrayed as though Old Deuteronomy was trying to lecture the cats, but they just weren’t getting it. Jemima also sounded really good during her solo. One funny moment, right at the beginning, Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer skipped onto the stage, only to get a look from Old Deuteronomy, and immediately looked guilty.

Gus, the Theatre Cat

Another sad number, but again, it’s supposed to be. Jellylorum did a good job, and also sold me old the fact she was happy to be talking about Gus’s past, but also sad, because it was likely he would be chosen tonight. At the beginning of the number either Tantomile or Coricopat set out a row of tin cans across the front of the stage and Misto used magic to turn them into stage lights. During the number, most of the cats were gathered at the back of the stage, but a few of the younger ones were sitting around Gus. Jenny and Skimbleshanks were sitting on top of the car together. Skimbleshanks, actually, was the one who looked offended when Gus said that jumping through a hoop doesn’t make you special. Misto was sitting on top of the pipe, and when Tugger entered part way through the song, the two of them seemed to have a quiet conversation.

The Aweful Battle of the Peakes and the Pollicles

This number was very fun! Gus was having a good time living out his glory days, and was acting pretty goofy while he was portraying the Rumpus Cat. During the number Tugger didn’t participate, but moved over to the tire to sit with Old Deuteronomy, and watch the show with him. During the part where everyone is barking at each other Munkustrap almost got trampled, which is when he yelled at everyone. Poor Munk. It’s not even his show anymore, and he still can’t catch a break.

Skimbleshanks, the Railway Cat

Another really fun one! There was a lot of energy, and everyone seemed like they were having a good time. It doesn’t matter what the production, Skimbleshanks is a very popular cat. At the beginning, both Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer helped sing lines, which was adorable!

Tugger didn’t dance for most of the song, only joinng in at the very end, but he was vibing the entire time. Throughout act two I kept glancing up at Tugger, and he was never out of character. Even if he was just standing there, it still felt like he was standing in a way that fit the character. The woman from before seemed amazed when they built the train on stage, which is the absolute correct reaction. Misto was the one holding the train light, which I know he usually does, but it was still adorable.

Macavity the Mystery Cat

When Macavity first appears everyone seemed frozen in place. It was pretty heavily implied that Macavity does have magical powers in this version. Munkustrap stepped forward to confront him, but Macavity glared and pointed at him, and Munkustrap froze, then collapsed on the stage, as if Macavity had forced him to pass out. It was only after that he grabbed Old Deuteronomy. I’m not sure if other productions have included that, but I really liked it. As well, for several of the Macavity scares, it looked to me like Tugger had a more active role of helping to look for him.

Both Demeter and Bombalurina were amazing in the song. It felt really jazzy, but also like they legitimately trying to warn all the other queens who were onstage. Munkustrap and several of the other toms entered towards the end of the number and watched the last bit of it. I’m not sure because I wasn’t focusing on him, but Munkustrap seemed relieved when he was back onstage, either because all of the queens were safe, of because Demeter and Bombalurina were warning everyone.

Macavity Fight

Again, Macavity has pretty apparent magic, because when he enters again he seems to forced several of the queens to start preforming the dance moves from his number again, before Munkustrap intervenes. I always find that really creepy when productions add that detail, and I’m happy it was included here.

The fight itself was intense as well. Poor Munk took quite a beating. After they swiped and threatened each other a bit, Macavity knocked Munkustrap to the ground. He got up pretty quickly, but seemed shaky. He immediately tried to reenter the fight, and then Macavity grabbed him and pinned him against the car, where he slashed at his throat twice. Munkustrap staggered a few steps before collapsing and staying down. It was actually pretty brutal, and I legitimately gasped when it happened. After Munkustrap went down, Macavity went after Demeter, and Alonzo pulled him off of her. That was when the entire tribe started going after Macavity, and he knocked the light out with the jumper cables.

Demeter and Munkustrap still had their cuddles after Macavity disappeared. Poor dears, I think they both really needed it.

Mister Mistoffelees

It’s my boy! Paul Giarratano and Zach Bravo both did an amazing job, and I was so excited to see this is person!

At the beginning, which I think is probably in most productions, the cats turned away from Tugger when he first suggested asking Misto for help, and he had to call them back. Tugger was so supportive of Misto, as any good Tugger should be. I can’t be completely certain, but I’m pretty sure Tugger didn’t take his eyes off of Misto for the entire number, which was so adorable, in my opinion. He loves him so much! I liked all the tricks they did with the lights to create magic effects. It would have cool if they had used flash paper and smoke effects, but this was still fun to watch. The dancing was a lot of fun as well, especially with Misto’s colour changing jacket, and the strings of light around the stage flashing rainbow colours.

Also… (Deep inhale)

I SAW THE CONJURING TURNS! IN PERSON! I SAW MISTO DO THE CONJURING TURNS, AND IT WAS AWESOME! VINDICATION! SWEET SWEET VINDICATION!

Anyway…

The way he brought back Old Deuteronomy was interesting. Instead of using the sheet Misto used magic to give everyone a candle or a like to hold, or something like that. They all gathered together, and when they separated, Old Deuteronomy was in the middle of the group.

When Tugger started singing again, after Old Deuteronomy appeared, it looked like Old Deuteronomy though he was singing about himself, but Tugger immediately redirected his attention to Mistoffelees. Then, after Misto hugged Old Deuteronomy, he and Tugger shimmied and nuzzled together, which was adorable.

The number ended on a funny moment, with Misto making the spotlight get smaller and smaller until it was just illuminating his face, before turning it out completely.

Memory

As I was hoping, this was beautiful, and sounded so amazing. Also, basically the entire thing was performed with Grizabella hunched out, and holy crap? How are you getting those high notes in that position?

When Grizabella first appeared again, Munkustrap stepped forward to chase her off, with Old Deuteronomy stopping him. He stepped forward again, to stop Victoria when she started to approach Grizabella after the number, and Old Deuteronomy had to hold him back again. This Munkustrap really did not like Grizabella.

I noticed that in this production Sillabub often acts similarly to Tugger, spending a lot of time watching the action from one the higher perches. She was doing the same thing in Macavity.

Journey to the Heaviside Layer

Very nice, and it’s always heartwarming when Grizabella is welcomed back into the tribe. Tugger actually reached out to her very quickly. Conversely, Munkustrap was the Second last to touch her, and didn’t actually moved towards her, he only touched Grizabella when she went to see Old Deuteronomy. He never looked her in the eye either, and was acting extremely guilty about the entire thing.

The tire rose up, but they also had what looked like a star bridge descend for Grizabella to climb up, which was a detail I liked.

The Ad-dressing of Cats

Very well sung, by both Old Deuteronomy and the rest of the cast. The lady in front of me seemed confused again, though I don’t know if it was about this song, or what had just happened to Grizabella. Skimbleshanks seemed very excited at the mention of cream.

Bows

Very entertaining! My hands hurt from clapping so much!

A final funny thing, after all the individual bows both Munkustrap and Jenny were teasing Tugger, and trying to steal the spotlight from him!

So that is that! I had so much fun! If anyone wants to talk more, or ask anything, I would enjoy that, but I hope you liked my field notes, as my friend called them. (I was typing them on my phone during intermission, and immediately after the show)

[darkcitiesnluv]

IDOL BEOMGYU X STYLIST READER ( NO RULES Era: comeback show freeze outfits ) PART 2!

Pairing: Beomgyu x Fem Reader

Genre: smut, fluff at the end.

Warning: 18+, swear words.

1st part ⬇️

"lets start this fucking game already...." He groaned as he turns you around and kissed you passionately.

Beomgyu held your face with both hands as you try to reach for his soft long brown locks to pull on them. How much you wanted to pull his hair for the second time. Now you wish he could never cut it. The way Beomgyu kisses you with so much need, with so much hunger, makes you feel butterflies in your stomach again. It makes you feel as if you are very important to him, makes you feel that you two are not just two friends with benefits.

He bit down on your bottom lip making a small moan come out from you. You made eye contact with him and his eyes stare at yours with lust and..... something else but you can't tell what it is, however his gaze turn you on even more so you start to ran your hands around to his clothed body to feel him.

Beomgyu still looking at you, he caressed you as well, his hand on your right cheek going down to your right breast caressing it and squeezing it.

That squeeze made you moan his name and send a pleasurable feeling down to your core. Immediately Beomgyu took off the coat and your white shirt of you leaving you on your Victoria secret bra.

" why do you buy bras from that brand? Their too sexy I can't control myself seeing it on you" He whispered close to you admiring your chest with a sweet smirk. His eyes then looks at you. You chuckled and kiss him passionately as you decided to grab him down there. You palm him through his black pants feeling how hard he was for you. He groaned sexily between the kisses. You smirked and knee down to pull down his pants. Beomgyu look up at the ceiling with a mischievous smile, he knows what you're going to do, something his been dreaming about so many times.

" what a naughty girl you are Y/n~" he cooed softly as hands reach down softly to ran them through your hair. You felt relax when he did so, however you gotta focus on your mission to make him cum real good. You're not that type to stop someone from cumming, because you know how frustrating that is and you wouldn't personally want to go through it either. You're all about making the other person feel happy and specially good, meanwhile.....Beomgyu......his a little devil and loves teasing you soo.....

You put his thick length on your mouth savoring it completely, still rubbing your hands around the part it didn't fit in your pretty mouth. Beomgyu throw his head back and hissed while closing his beautiful big eyes. He was feeling too good.

" ahh~ Y/n~..... you're d-doing...ahh~ so w-well~" He breath out as his breaths started to get heavy and fast. He clutched his fingers on to your hair slightly because of how good he was feeling. You bobbed your head faster and sucked harder almost gagging, but it didn't matter because you want him to feel good.

" oh I'm about to-Ahhj~~" He moan out loud shooting everything down your throat.

" mmm~ baby you taste delicious" you chuckled. You pull up his boxer and pants up. You gave butterfly kisses all over his face down to his neck, helping him catch up his breath.

Beomgyu laughed as he held your face to kiss you passionately and slowly. " Now it's my turn......laid on the table" He order with a quiet serious voice and gaze. He pointed at the empty table that is leaning against the wall.

You got excited and obey. You sat on the table, your legs spread apart from each other still wearing your blue tight jeans and the black bra on. Your hair was down spread all over your shoulders. You gave him a seductive look and bit your bottom lip.

Beomgyu chuckled feeling fluster as he looked away while biting inside his lip. ' She's driving me crazy..' he thought then look back at you, as his black eyes scan your whole body sexily. ' god.... why is she so fucking beautiful....' He slowly walk towards you and stop between your legs. His hands snake around your torso to reach to unclip your bra from the back, leaving soft warm tiny kisses on your neck and shoulder. His fingers tickled behind your back and you held in your moans since your neck, shoulders and back are one of your most sensitive spots of your body.

He slowly takes your bra off and kisses you one more time. He reaches to massage and pinch your breast and nipples. " Ahhh~ oh MY-.... Gyu~ your hands are the best" you complimented between the kiss as he kissed you even harder and reach down to but a breast on his mouth. He sucked on your nipple while still looking at your dirty expressions. He sucked harder.

After he kissed down from your chest down to your stomach, he reach to pull down your pants and underwear. After the whole make out session and touches from his already had you extremely wet. " My baby girl is so eager to have my mouth fucking her....." He said as he puts his mouth and tongue on you. " Mmm~ Gyu, that feels good, go faster please.." You breath out as you held onto his hair already messing it up. Gyu added a finger, then another one, making you feel like your about to explode of pleasure.

" ahh~ yes!! Beomgyu! Yeah~! Ahhh yes- right there!" You screamed reaching your high. " No one does it better than you~!" Once again you complimented him boosting his confidence even more.

" I know..." He chuckled teasing you as he pulled away. You pull him up to you and kiss him passionately, wrapping your arms around his neck and your hands playing with his pretty hair. Gyu chuckled in your kisses and wrapped his arms around your waist. " How can you look soo tiny and innocent yet look so good.... and your good at sex..." You tease studying his handsome face still playing with his hair. " Beomgyu, I love you..." Without thinking you realize what you said and widen your eyes. Beomgyu looked at you with big eyes and a surprised look.

"neukkyeojyeo, nae meorin Daze Daze Daze

jungdoge ppajyeo Replay Play Play"

Suddenly his phone started ringing. You chuckled at the new ring tone he put on his phone. " Sorry babe that song has been stuck in head eb5er since it was released............hello Soobin-"

" WHERE THE FUCKITY ARE YOU! YEONJUN IS LITERALLY CRYING FOR YOU, TAE AND HUENINGKAI ARE PLANNING A HORRIBLE PRANK ON YOU, WHERE ARE YOU LITTLE PIECE OF SH-"

" Chill out giraffe boy, I'm with my girlfriend...." He smirked as he looked at you. You covered your mouth in shock.

" I'm with her releasing- I MEan reducing our problems! I'll be back in five minutes I promise!"

" YOU HAVE A WHA-" Beomgyu ended the call.

He swept away his imaginary sweat from his forehead and looked at you. " Y/n, I love you too, do you want to be mine?..... I've been crushing on you since the first time i saw you and after all the things you and I went through, I really catch feelings for you....." He said as he caressed your cheeks lovingly.

" Yes, i want to be yours, Beomgyu.... Finally get to have you all to myself my handsome teddy bear!" You hugged him and reach down to smack his butt earning laughs from him. " What are you saying! " He smack your naked butt as well. " Oooh! The felt good!" You tease and laughed.

" hurry up and change baby girl.....Imma go after you're done changing......also....." He said as help you change. " Let's keep this relationship a secret....at least for now......you understand right?...I really don't want my precious moas to know about us and you know what will happen if they do...." He said looking at you seriously and sad.

You smiled at him. " I understand..... we'll keep it a secret until you no longer want it to be ..." You kiss him one more time before letting him go.

He walked away but stop beside the door and look at you. " I know this is too fast but .....I love you..." He waved goodbye and ran away not letting you to tell him you love him back too.

@beomgyutxtmoa here it is!! 💕🔥✨

[egcdeath]

unwinding

summary: On Valentine’s Day, you receive a bit of a surprise.

pairing: steve rogers x reader

word count: 2.2k

author’s note: valentine’s day came early this year. like... over a month early i’m actually pretty proud of this! i hope you all enjoy :) 

p.s. this is part of @syntheticavenger​‘s lyric challenge, my prompt was: So let me take away your pain, give me all of your emotions (Victoria Monet ‘Moment’)

warnings: so much fluff. before you read this, ask yourself (and your dentist) if you’re okay with getting a few cavities.

Being engaged to a fugitive from the law meant a few things.

For starters, your fiancé was almost never home, and when he was home, he wasn’t there for long. Whether it be a 3 AM knock on the door from Natasha, or soft and apologetic eyes bidding you farewell after a 4 day tryst, everything always seemed to end too soon.

The second being that you often had little to no warning when he was coming home, leaving you to go on a mad dash to put on something nice before your partner arrived at your front door. Between random messages from burner phones, and random deliveries of local goods to your door, you were often given short notice of when you’d be able to see Steve again.

Finally, despite his best efforts, Steve was frequently absent from holidays that you used to gleefully celebrate together.

As the soft clicks of the clock increased, and night drew nearer, you feared that your Valentine’s Day would end the same as the aforementioned days, yet, after hearing the chime of your doorbell reverberate through your home, you were filled with a semblance of hope.

You all but skipped down to your door to see what (or who) had arrived, and lit up with glee when you were handed a bouquet of yellow roses with a printed note attached to it.

You didn’t think I forgot about my best girl, did you? Happy Valentine’s Day, Dear. I’ll see you in an hour.

p.s. I just learned that yellow roses represent welcoming someone back, isn’t that nifty?

-S

You couldn’t help but to grin at the note, quickly thanking the delivery person, then bolting upstairs to prepare for Steve’s homecoming.

——

After debating with yourself about which candle scent Steve would enjoy smelling most, and filling up your oversized bathtub with a cocktail of soap, essential oils, and an overpriced bath bomb, you heard the door ring once again. This time, you had a good idea of who you’d be seeing. Upon opening the door, you were far from disappointed.

In the doorway stood your greek god of a fiancé, a lopsided grin on his face despite the scratches, bruises, and dried blood that seemed to litter his body. You immediately reached up to wrap him in a tight embrace and he gladly accepted it.

“Steve!” You cheered, burying your face into his chest, “I missed you so much.” Your words were muffled, and you felt tear stains begin to latch onto his suit. He leaned down and kissed the top of your head, before lightly pushing you further into the house.

“You have no idea of how much I missed you too,” said Steve in response. “I never wanna leave you again.”

At this, you somehow managed to squeeze him tighter, and he let out a soft grunt, screwing his face up. “Are you okay?” You asked before letting him go completely. “Take off the suit, let me take care of you.”

----

That’s how you ended up soaking in a bathtub with Steve, running your hands up and down his chest while he leaned his head back and rested his eyes. It became more and more apparent with every second that he was completely exhausted, no matter how hard he tried to hide it.

Now usually, you liked to spoil your man when he came back home, but after seeing his pure exhaustion, you decided to go all out. If anyone deserved a few hours of pure relaxation, it was certainly Steve.

You stirred and sat up, sloshing around the purple water that had been dyed by the aforementioned bath bomb, and attempted to readjust yourself so that you could at least make eye contact with Steve, who had now opened his eyes from your sudden movement.

“What’s up?” He asked, breaking the prior comfortable silence, and running a large hand through your hair.

“How about we unwind. Like, really, really unwind. The whole nine yards. I completely meant it when I said I wanted to take care of you, and as much as I’m enjoying this, I don’t think that just a bath is gonna cut it,” you hummed while wrapping an arm around the back of his neck, attempting to bring your faces closer together.

“Hmm,” Steve attempted to look pensive, “Only if you insist.” At that, he gave you a toothy smile, then leaned in to close the gap between the two of you, and peck your lips.

Boy, was Steve in for it.

----

Sometime after the bath water eventually became unbearably cold, and your skin was so pruny that you swore it’d slip off, the two of you exited the bath.

The next task you set out to complete was a deep clean of your faces, which could only be accomplished with the help of a peel off face mask. You stood at your bathroom countertop and plugged in a facial steamer after filling the bottom opening.

“What’s that for?” Steve asked with a slight lisp, as he was currently flossing his pearly teeth.

“It’s a facial steaming thing. It’ll be good for your pores before the face mask, or some shit like that,” you stood back and allowed the small machine to make some strange noises as it started up.

Steve tossed the string into a trashcan before leaning over the counter and examining it, giving you the opportunity to press a button and turn the device on.

“What the hell was that?” He immediately recoiled at the sudden puff of steam, and you couldn’t help but giggle.

“I can’t believe thee Captain America, who fights aliens and takes down governments on the regular is afraid of a little steam machine.”

“Hey, everyone gets startled sometimes,” he turned his head to give you a little pout. “How ‘bout you do it first, and show me how it’s done,” Steve stepped aside at this.

You shrugged a bit and nodded, then took his place at the sink to demonstrate how exactly to steam your face. After observing you for a few minutes, Steve motioned for you to move, and as you did, he made sure to give you a little ass squeeze, gaining him a side eye from you as a response.

“Just put your head right…. there,” you gently pushed his head down, then once his head was in the proper position, you pressed the button that turned the machine on.

“This feels kinda weird. It’s like, tickling me,” he mumbled into the machine while you reached into your medicine cabinet to grab a peel off face mask. Steve began to move his face back, but you shook your head and tutted.

“I mean, that’s kind of the point. Your pores need this. So keep that head down, big boy,” you giggled, beginning to apply the charcoal goop to your face while examining yourself in the mirror.

“Do they, though?”

“Yes! Those poor cells have probably been through hell and back with all of that fighting and… avenging you do.”

“You’re lucky that I love you. But know that I expect something in return for this hard work.”

You lovingly scoffed at this, but were pleased that Steve had found a reason to finally stop complaining.

Once a decent amount of time passed, Steve lifted his face and used the back of his hand to attempt to wipe away some of the dampness.

“Here,” you said softly, grabbing a towel, and softly patting his face with it. “Now the fun part,” you began to apply the facemask to Steve’s face, and he seemed to have no complaints.

“Hey, this feels pretty nice!” He exclaimed.

“Unless you want me to get this all over your beard, I suggest you move your face a little less,” you commented while putting the last of the mask on his left cheek.

He opened his mouth to respond, but decided it wasn’t exactly worth the risk of getting a strange substance in his sensitive facial hair. You finished up putting on the mask, then rinsed your hands in the sink while Steve checked his face out. “Ooo, I can feel it exfoliating already. Are you tingling too?”

You smiled fondly at him, then shook your head and grabbed his hand. “Let’s go to the bedroom. Since you were such a good sport, I think you deserve a little treat.” You all but dragged him out of the ensuite, grabbing a fresh towel on your way out, and setting it down on the bed.

“Take your clothes off,” you demanded. “Then lay on the bed face down. Ass up. I’ll be back in a minute.” You winked suggestively at him, then went back into your bathroom to search for the lavender scented body oil hiding in a cabinet.

When you arrived back in the bedroom, you were not disappointed by the sight of Steve with his sculpted back and perky ass out. You allowed yourself a moment to check him out before you spoke. “Hey honey…” you drawled out in a faux sultry tone. “A little birdy told me that you’ve got some sore muscles from all that crime fighting you’re doing…” You ran your hand up and down Steve’s back, and you felt his back heave as he attempted to hold back his laughter.

“Y/N, what are you doing?” He asked, not even trying to hide his chortling.

“Shhh, don’t think. Just let me take away your pain, give me all of your emotions,” you poured a bit of the oil in your hands, warmed it up, then placed your hands on his back. Steve involuntarily let out a full body shudder, and you couldn’t help but to smile at yourself with satisfaction. “Seriously though, try to relax,” you began to knead his upper back.

Steve let out a shaky sigh, and relaxed into your soft mattress. Although the tone of the massage started as a joke, he was feeling more relaxed by the second. Then those seconds seemed to turn into minutes, then… hours? Maybe even days. The point is, Steve fell asleep. Then woke up to the familiar tone of a phone alarm, and a gentle shaking on his shoulder.

“Hey, you can sleep later. It’s time to take off our masks.” You reminded him. “Meet me in the bathroom, but get somewhat decent first.” You gave a little squeeze to his shoulder before walking off.

Once Steve met you in the bathroom, he made a beeline to the toilet and sat down on top of the lid. “Will you take it off for me? I’m too tired to do it myself.”

“Fine, but only ‘cause I love you,” you teased, referencing his words from earlier before you leaned down to his level. You picked at a piece of the mask on his forehead, and began to peel it back, watching Steve screw his face and squeeze his eyes shut.

“Ow, what the fuck, Y/N,” he whined, giving you a little pout.

“I’m sorry. Just think of how fresh your skin will be after this, though. You’ll look so dewy, people will think you just came out of the ice.” You moved to remove the piece on his nose, and gained a similar response.

“Ouch! Double ouch. That was way too soon. Why can’t you be nice to me while you’re peeling off my face?” Steve looked deep into your soul while you peeled around the rest of his face, and you couldn’t help but internally melt a little.

“I only tease because I care. And I’m pulling your skin off because I care even more,” you finished up pulling the last of the mask off, then pressed the back of your hand up to some red parts of his face. “All done. You look like a whole new man, Stevie.”

You stepped back so he could stand up and look at himself in the mirror, and he rotated his face back and forth so he could examine himself.

“You’re so right, Y/N. Stark and the government will never catch me when I look like this,” he teased.

“I’m just a miracle worker, I guess.”

“Well is this miracle worker ready to head to bed? All this self care has been fun and all, but…”

“Say less,” you grabbed Steve’s hand once again, and paraded him out to your bedroom, before flopping on the bed theatrically, and grinning when Steve followed suit.

You rolled on top of your starfished fiancé, and kissed him passionately, threading your fingers through his long, sandy hair and sighing contentedly. He turned his head slightly for breath, then began to speak again.

“What I was saying was,” he said breathlessly, “All of this self care has been fun and all, but now I think it’s time that I show you how I unwind.”

[lokiondisneyplus]

Loki director Kate Herron’s heart was beating fast. She’d already had some surreal experiences during her short time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so a simple phone call shouldn’t make her nervous. But on the other end of the line was Owen Wilson, an actor and writer she admired and hoped would join her on a time-jumping journey through the MCU.

“It was the most detailed pitch I’ve ever done, to an actor, ever. I pretty much spoke through the entire first episode with him,” Herron recalls of wooing Wilson, who wasn’t too familiar with Marvel before being cast as Mobius, an agent for the mysterious Time Variance Authority central to the series.

Wilson instantly put Herron at ease with his laid-back charm as she walked the actor through 10 years of onscreen lore for Loki, the god of mischief played by Tom Hiddleston. She answered his questions about Avengers: Endgame, about time travel, about how this version of Loki was not the one fans knew from films like Thor: Ragnarok, but rather one plucked from an alternate timeline from 2012’s The Avengers.

It was all part of a whirlwind few years for Herron, who not that long ago was temping at a fire extinguisher company and struggling to land directing work even though she’d already helmed a BBC project with Idris Elba. Then Herron finally achieved breakthrough success directing episodes of the Netflix hit Sex Education and soon was hounding her agents for a Marvel meeting.

When Herron finally landed one, the Loki superfan cleared her schedule and spent two weeks putting together a 60-page document, even though her agents tempered her expectations by noting it was just a meet-and-greet.

“I knew I’d be up against some really big directors, and I knew I wouldn’t be the most experienced in the room, so I [said], ‘OK. I’ll just be the most passionate,'” recalls Herron.

Just a few days after officially landing the job, Herron found herself on a five-hour walk through New York with Hiddleston discussing Loki and flying to D23 in Anaheim to be greeted by thousands of screaming fans alongside Loki head writer Michael Waldron.

Herron is now working long days finishing up Loki in Marvel’s production hub in Atlanta, where the British filmmaker has largely lived since getting the job in 2019. Over Zoom from her freezing Atlanta apartment (she still hasn’t figured out the quirks of the air conditioner), Herron dives into Loki ahead of its June 9 debut on Disney+.

What was your process of sitting down with Marvel for this?

I was just so overexcited. [My agents] were like, “Look, it’s just a casual conversation, they just want to get a sense of you,” and basically I was like, “OK, I’m just going to pitch them.” Because I thought, they might not meet me again. So I got as much information as I could, and they sent me a little bit about the show. And I just prepared a massive pitch for it. I canceled everything for two weeks. I made a 60-page document full of references, story ideas, music. I knew I’d be up against some really big directors, and I knew I wouldn’t be the most experienced in the room, so I [said], “OK. I’ll just be the most passionate.”

Was that first meeting in Burbank?

That was in England, in southeast London on Zoom. I had a few stages where I did that. Then after a few interviews with Kevin Wright and Stephen Broussard, two of the Marvel executives who got me ready for the big match, I went in to pitch to Kevin Feige, Victoria [Alonso], Lou [Louis D’Esposito], the whole team there. That was very surreal because they flew me to Burbank and I pitched at Marvel Studios. I didn’t have the job, but I found out they were interested and then I remember Kevin Feige called me, and when he was in London, we had coffee. He was like, “Look, we want you to direct it.” Oh my God. They flew me to D23 and that was crazy because I think I found out I got the job 48 hours before, and then I was onstage. The Lady and the Tramp dogs were in front of me and Michael [Waldron] on the red carpet. “What is going on?” (Laughs.) I met Tom that week as well, so it was a bit of a whirlwind kind of thing.

📷Herron, Waldron and Feige at D23 in 2019.

Where did you first meet Tom?

I had a two-stop trip. I flew first to New York to meet Tom. He was in Betrayal at the time, on Broadway, so we basically went on this amazing walk around New York. I’d never met him before. We just spoke about Loki and what was really important to us about the character and where we thought it would be fun to take him, as well. It was this intense, five-hour conversation with him basically. I met him and then flew straight from meeting him to D23. So it was a lot. (Laughs.)

When did you finally get the scripts? How did that change your thoughts on what you want to do?

They sent me the outline, so I knew the overall story. I also was pitching stuff. “Oh, we could do this with this character.” The pilot was really well written by Michael and I really liked what they were doing with the character and the story. Then it was building upon that and throwing in ideas for where he could go later in the show. It reminded me a bit of improv where you’re always building, always trying to push the story to the best place. So we were always adapting and shifting the story. Our lockdown, during COVID, was a chance for us to go back in. I was cutting what we’d done, so I was like, “OK, this is tonally what is really working for the story.” Then we went back into what we hadn’t filmed and started adapting that stuff to fit more where we were heading.

The Marvel movies have a writer on set to help tweak things. Was that the case with Loki?

Michael [Waldron] was with us at the start, and then he went on to Doctor Strange [in the Multiverse of Madness]. We had a really wonderful writer called Eric Martin from our writers room, and he was our production writer on set. It was between me, him and my creative producer Kevin Wright. We would kind of brainstorm and adapt. I’ve always loved talking to the cast. We had such a smart cast. Owen is a writer as well. If you have that amazing resource, why not talk to them? We were always adapting. Obviously paying respect to the story we wanted to tell from the start, but always trying to make it better.

📷Herron on the set of ‘Loki’ with Hiddleston and Wilson.

Kevin Feige has said Owen Wilson, like his character, is nonplussed by the MCU. Since Owen isn’t necessarily dazzled by Marvel, does that make him all the more perfect for this role?

He is playing a Loki expert, so at the beginning of production, Tom and I were talking. He devised this thing called Loki School. He did a big lecture to the cast and crew. I love the character. This is a decade of fans loving this character and where that character has been. It was talking everyone through that, but through Tom and his own experiences. Stunts that Tom liked or costumes. He ended up doing that same Loki school for Owen. Owen absolutely loved it. Owen has such a writer’s brain. I remember I had to pitch him down the phone. My heart rate [was up].

Was this the pitch to get him to get Owen on board?

Yeah. I love his work. “Oh my God, I’m going to talk to Owen Wilson.” He’s so laid back and nice, it immediately puts you at ease. It was the most detailed pitch I’ve ever done, to an actor, ever. I think I pretty much spoke through the entire first episode with him. You can tell he’s a writer, just by the way he attacks story. His questions about the world and the structure and the arc of the character. It was really fun to work with him.

Was it the most detailed pitch you’ve ever done because you really wanted Owen, or because you knew you needed to woo him a bit to get him to sign on?

It was the questions he asked, and the way he attacked story, in that sense. And also probably because he was newer to the Marvel world, he was like, “OK, how does this work?” I also pitched him Loki’s arc over the past 10 years, where that character has gone, but also explaining our Loki and what happened in Endgame and time travel. There’s a lot to unpack in that conversation.

Sometimes Marvel will give writers or directors a supercut of all the scenes of a specific character. Did you get one of those?

They didn’t actually give me a supercut, but I’m a big Loki nerd. I think his is one of the best [arcs] in the MCU. I really wanted to make sure we were paying respect to that. At the same time, something Tom spoke about a lot was you have to go back for a reason. Let’s be united on what that reason is and feel that it’s worth it.

The reason can’t be, “Well that’s what happened in Endgame,” so the question becomes, “What is the point of revisiting him at this era of his life?”

Yeah. He’s only had — I don’t want to get this wrong — I think 112 minutes of screen time in total if you cut all his scenes together. And he steals the show. We have six hours to really delve into this character and talk about him and go on this completely new story with him. For me, it was making sure that [we’re] paying respect to what has come before — I know as a fan if there is a character I really loved and I found out they are making a show about him, I obviously would be so excited and so happy. I felt lucky to have the responsibility, and I took it very seriously.

Those who have worked with Kevin Feige say he’s someone who can stress test an idea and push things in new directions. What have you found working with him?

Something I always found was we would sometimes pitch something, and it would be at a good place, but he’d always be like, “OK, that’s great, but push it further.” Sometimes I’d pitch stuff and be like, “This is too weird,” and he’d say, “No, go weirder.” He wants to tell the best story and I found it really helpful having his eye across everything and the fact that he does challenge everything. Tom as well, on set. He brings this amazing energy and this great A-game that causes everyone to rise to the occasion.

How do you know when you’ve got the perfect Hiddleston take? Is he asking you for one more, are you pushing him to do one more take?

By the end, it was almost telepathic. We would kind of know. We would look at each other. “We could go again,” or, “We’ve got it.” It’s different with every actor. There are some actors who will come in firing and they just want to go for it. But they don’t want to do a million takes. There are other actors I work with who are very meticulous and they want quite a few to warm up and get into it. It’s actor-dependent. The way me and Tom are similar is we are both very perfectionist. We are both very studious. (Laughs.) We definitely connected in that sense. He’s a very generous actor. I remember one day, we had quite a few of our actors coming in as day players. It was really important for him to be there for them, to read lines offscreen. He would have to be 50 places at once, because he is the lead actor. The most amazing thing about him was his generosity. Not just to the other actors, but also to the crew, to be filming in a time like COVID.

When you make an Avengers movie, you get a big board with every character that’s available, and whether the actor’s deals will allow them to appear or if that would need to be renegotiated. Loki is smaller, but was there any equivalent for you? Was everything on the table? Was only some stuff on the table? I imagine if Chris Hemsworth has his own new Thor movie coming up, he’s not going to be on the table, necessarily.

I felt like everything was on the table if it meant it was good for story, and Marvel would be like, “We’ll work it out.” Me and the writers, we never felt restrained in that sense. Honestly, it always comes back to story.

What is your relationship with your editor as you finish this up?

We have three editors, Paul Zucker, Emma McCleave and Calum Ross. My relationship with all three of them is very different. Emma and me are very close because she was also in Atlanta away from home. I got to know her very well. I love working with the editors because it’s a fresh pair of eyes. You get so deep into something when you are filming, it’s almost like writing it again when you are in the edit. Stuff does change. Even some episodes, we’ve reordered the structure. Or we moved scenes from one episode to another episode. I’ve always loved the editing process. The best thing is someone honest who can be like, “Hey, this doesn’t quite make sense to me,” or, “This isn’t working.”

What are you going to do on premiere day? Will you be on the internet at all to see the reaction?

I’m actually working. I’m still finishing the show. My last day is the day the second episode airs. I’m going to be working that day. Sadly, I’ll probably check in on the internet a little bit, but I’ll probably go to bed when I finish because I think I’ll do a 12- or 13-hour day or something. I can’t remember. I’m really excited for people to see it and just to bring it out in the world, really.

Everyone wants to know about spoilers, but what’s something you wish you were asked about more when it comes to Loki?

Kevin Feige said, “We make movies. We want to run it like a movie.” So unlike a lot of television shows that are showrunner-led, this was run like a six-hour film. As a director, you don’t often get to do that in a television-structure show. I really enjoyed it, having a hand in story and just how collaborative it was. Also, just beyond that, directing the equivalent of a six-hour Marvel movie was incredible for me. That’s something I found interesting about it. Making something the Marvel way.

In terms of the themes, I love gray areas. The show is really about what makes someone truly good or what makes someone truly bad, and are we either of those things? Loki is in that gray area. It’s exciting to be able to tell a story like that. As a director and a writer, you don’t necessarily understand why you are making these stories. Something I keep getting drawn back into is identity. Sex Education, we spoke a lot about identity and feeling like an outsider but actually finding your people. I feel the same with Loki. It’s a show about identity and self-acceptance and for me, that’s also what drew me in.

Gray is a good way to describe Loki. Your version of Loki just tried to take over the Earth not long ago.

Exactly. This isn’t the Loki we’ve seen. How do we take a character that people love, but from a lot earlier, and send him on a different path? That for me was interesting, getting to unpack that. Alongside that, getting to set up a whole new corner of the MCU with TVA. That to me was so exciting.

What about the Teletubbies? You referenced that recently and it made quite a splash. Are you going to leave people in suspense on that?

I referenced the Teletubbies once and people were like, “What, Teletubbies? What does this mean?” Maybe I should leave people in the air with it. One thing I would say is the show for me, stylistically — I wanted it to be a love letter to sci-fi because I love sci-fi. Brazil, Metropolis, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Alien. If people love sci-fi, they will definitely see the little nods we’ve got across the show.  People will know what it was a reference for when they see the show. It was a visual reference to something in the show.

Interview has been edited for length and clarity. Loki debuts on Disney+ on June 9.