#I wanna buy more things for him he needs optional hands he must be expressive

[tipsy-scales]

A lot of space dedicated to him because he’s important 😤

[judeswhore]

clueless; steve harrington

summary: steve is absolutely clueless when it comes to your period and in a panic he buys a bunch of products and hopes for the best

pairing: steve harrington x fem!reader

requested: yes

warnings: none

notes: feedback is appreciated! you can find my masterlist here.

"hey, stevie." your voice was slightly muffled when steve picked up his house phone, a little duller than usual, lacking it's normal perky tone and his lips pulled down into a concerned frown. he leant against the wall, wrapped the telephone wire around and around his finger as he pictured you. you were probably in your room, sprawled across your bed maybe, settled on your stomach with your feet in the air as you waited for him to arrive. you were lucky to have called when you had because another five minutes and he would have already been heading over to your house for your friday movie night.

"hey, trouble, was just about to come over. is everything okay?"

"everything's fine, s'just," you trailed of, voice dropping a little lower and it only made steve's frown a that much deeper. "can you run to the store for me?" he didn't miss the shy note to your voice, the way you dipped into a whisper. he leant against the wall, twirled his keys around his finger.

“was gonna run in anyway, i forgot to buy those chips you like. what do you need?” steve’s feet were still bare, his shoes on the door mat just to the right of where he was standing and he held the receiver between his ear and shoulder while trying to shove them on. he was bouncing a little on one foot but came to an abrupt stop when you started talking again.

“i got my period and i thought i still had tampons in from my last shop but i must have forgot to stock up and well, i don’t wanna go to the store in case i leak all over because that’s so humiliating. i know that you probably don’t wanna, like, why would you wanna go looking around the period aisle but it’s kinda urgent and i just thought-”

“baby, breathe.” steve cut your rambling off with a laugh, shaking his head despite the fact you couldn’t see him. he could picture your somewhat embarrassed expression, your teeth gnawing at your bottom lip the way you only did when you were flustered about something and he wanted to be there to kiss you until you stopped worrying. he wasn’t exactly sure why you sounded so hesitant about asking him to grab tampons, he was more than aware that you got periods, he’d spent a bunch of nights curled up with you, hand pressed to your lower stomach in attempts to dull the pain. and anyway, it’s not like he would say no, he’d do anything you asked of him.

“sorry.” it was a little breathless, slightly muffled and for some reason it tugged a little at his heart. his image of you changed, he knew you were probably curled up in bed right now, heating pad against your stomach and he wished he’d gotten to your house earlier.

“don’t be silly, you just need tampons or..?” he trailed off because he wasn’t exactly sure what else you would want and come to think of it he wasn’t entirely sure about the tampon situation. normally, if you wanted him to grab something and he was a bit clueless he’d have you tell him exactly what it was you needed but he didn’t want you to think he never paid attention to these things. they were tampons, it couldn’t be that difficult.

“yeah, just the tampons.”

“i’ll be about twenty minutes, okay?”

“okay, thank you, i-uh- you know the one’s right?” he didn’t but he’d seen the boxes in your bathroom and surely he’d be able to pick them out when he saw them on the shelves. he didn’t think there were that many different options.

“yeah, i know the ones. i’ll see you soon, i love you.”

“i love you, too.”

steve was wrong. there were an unnecessary amount of different options and now here he was, standing completely lost in the middle of the aisle containing sanitary products, feeling as though he'd been thrown into the ocean without a life jacket. the shelves were stocked with a variety of boxes, each one with different names and labels. they varied in size, regular boxes to jumbo ones, the products inside also varying in size. there were so many different options he wasn’t sure where to start. the only thing he was certain of was that yours came in blue packaging.

he swung the bag of chips back and forth, gaze sweeping the shelves, eyes bouncing from tampons to sanitary towels, mind reeling because why the hell did there need to be so many? surely one kind was good enough? the sizing options he kind of understood to a degree, he based his knowledge of those solely on the fact he could buy different size condoms so he figured it was kind of the same. but why did there have to be different types of products? didn’t they all work the same?

his nose crinkled ever so slightly, brows furrowing when he spotted a box of supposed sanitary towels which apparently had wings. steve had to pick the box up, lifting it to his face with a more than confused expression. “wings? what the fuck are wings?”

“do you need any help?” he startled, almost dropped the box and his cheeks flushed as he hid it behind his back. the girl raised her eyebrows, gaze darting to his hidden hands and almost immediately he wanted to hit his head against a wall because what on earth was he doing? shopping for sanitary products was completely normal, he wasn’t doing anything weird but hiding it made him look like he was. he flashed a sheepish grin, slowly brought the box around into view and shook it.

“nope, m’good, just grabbing some of these,” he was still waving the box and the employee was staring at him like he’d grown a second head. he felt even more embarrassed, turned and stuffed the box back on to the shelf. “not for me, i’m not- i’m just- y’know they’re for my girlfriend.”

“..right, you know what you’re looking for?”

“yeah, totally,” he laughed, nodded his head. “i’m like, a pro at this, i could find them with my eyes closed.” she only nodded and then made her way back down the aisle, leaving steve just as confused and ten times more embarrassed. he huffed out a sigh and turned back to the shelves, glaring at the rows of boxes. “how is this so fucking difficult?”

he supposed he could run outside and use a pay phone to call you, he remembered your number and he had a pocket full of change. but that would mean admitting that he didn’t pay enough attention and that he’d lied about knowing what he was doing. steve was a pleaser and he wanted to turn up to your house with everything you needed and pull you into his arms until you felt better. he spent another few minutes deliberating, debating whether or not to flip a coin and then with a dramatic sigh he grabbed four different blue boxes off the shelves, all with different labels and crossed his fingers as he paid that one of them would be right.

entering your bedroom, steve found you exactly as he thought he would have, curled up beneath your sheets, lips downturned in a pout, one of his old hoodies covering your upper body. his own lips twisted into a sympathetic pout and he dropped the plastic bag to the end of your bed, crouched down at the side so he was level with your face. his hand cupped your cheek, thumb softly stroking over your skin.

“hi, baby.” you blinked at him, grinned a little sleepily when he pressed a kiss to your forehead and he wondered if you’d been falling asleep as you waited for him. “tampons are in the bag, got you an extra bag of those chips you like and some ice cream, thought we could order pizza later instead of cooking?” on movie nights the two of you usually made a meal to eat together, more often than not making a mess of your kitchen, but he had a feeling you weren’t entirely in the mood for that today.

“sounds good.” you sat up, winced a little and steve squeezed your hand, lifting it to his mouth to graze light kisses over your knuckles. he spotted the heating pad laying beside your pillow and tugged it towards him.

“i’ll go sort this out and you can do what you need to do, yeah? i’ll get the movie sorted too.” you nodded but before steve could get up you leant in and kissed him, fingers light on his jaw as you dragged your lips lazily over his. it was a soft kiss, full of simple love and gratitude and it had steve humming, his heart squeezing in his chest. you brushed his hair back off his forehead and then kissed his cheek.

“thank you.”

“you don’t have to thank me.” he returned your kiss, light and fleeting and then pushed himself up, shaking his jacket off and draping it over the back of your chair. “you’ve got me wrapped right around your little finger, y’know.” your eye roll was obvious and it made steve grin, another kiss being dropped to the top of your head before he left you to fix the heating pad up. he watched you grab the plastic bag and his stomach flipped, face twisting into a hidden grimace as he hoped and prayed at least one of the four boxes were useful to you.

you were just coming out of the bathroom as steve came up the stairs, three blue boxes balanced in your hand and a baffled expression winding into your features. you met his gaze, cocked your head to the side and sent him a confused, hesitant smile.

“why’d you get three extra boxes of random tampons?” steve swallowed, glanced between you and the boxes, fiddled with the edge of the heating pad before shrugging.

“they had a deal going.”

“but they’re all different, i can’t use these ones.” again steve just shrugged, thankful at least one of the boxes was right and moved closer to you. he pressed his hand to your hip, nudged you in the direction of your room.

“we can put them in the trash or something, they were free anyway. i told the cashier i didn’t want them, i said it’d be a total waste because i know what kind my girl uses and those weren’t it but he insisted and just like, shoved them at me.” he threw the heating pad on to your bed and took the boxes from you, dropped them down on to your desk. “i’ll throw them out later, but now you gotta get into bed, i missed you.”

[watchmegetobsessed]

Never Have I Ever - Harry Styles (part 7)

a/n: aaand part 7 is finally here! however i want to warn yall that we are nearing the end of NHIE, im planning on having one more part and i don’t think it’ll be any longer, so enjoy while it lasts! lmao as always, feedback is very much appreciated!

pairing: Harry x actress!reader

word count: 5.7k

warning: some slight violence? it’s the good kind, you’ll see lmao

SERIES MASTERPOST

masterlist

Sitting in your trailer you stare down at your phone longingly, rereading Harry’s last text.

“Miss you, hope everything is alright. Facetime when you’re free?”

You hate how your chest is aching at such a small and sweet thing. If you had the chance, you’d run into Harry’s arms without a second thought, but you are stuck in Atlanta while he is currently back in LA, feeling farther away than ever, in every sense.

It’s been three weeks since you left the city and parted ways with Harry. You hated it. You absolutely hated how he was looking at you and how you was about to cry in his fucking Range Rover as he was dropping you off at the airport. You tried to make it quick so you don’t get too caught up in the moment, but the moment he kissed you, it was over for you. For a split second you were ready to cancel on the whole movie and just stick with the plans you made before you got the role, but that wasn’t really an option.

Since that day, Harry has been very respectful of your will to keep some distance, he always checks in before trying to call to make sure you have time, he doesn’t text you about the most random things like he used to, maybe because you both are so busy, you basically live on set while he has left for his tour exactly a week ago, and you can tell he is trying his best to never even mention Levi.

The news that you’d have to work with your ex came as a punch in your stomach. Taiki contacted you himself to talk to you about his choice to include Levi in the movie. He has informed you that they all agreed on him at the end of the casting process, but he wanted to make sure it’s okay by you as well. What would have you said? You wouldn’t just start off a project with getting someone out of the movie before filming even started. You had no choice but to suck it up and say that it’s all fine.

Now you are stuck to see him almost every day and spend your free time with him as well since he is always the first one to show up when a little group of the cast is out and about. He has always been such a social butterfly, though now you wish he would just lock himself up in his hotel room and not show up until he is needed on set.

Levi has been trying. He’s been pushing on your nerves, always coming up to chit-chat, like there’s nothing weird or absurd about the situation, but there’s plenty. Seeing that the last time you two saw each other you threw a book at him and he threatened you to sue you if you dare to even say his name ever again. Your breakup was the definition of nasty while the rest of the world just noticed a quiet and uneventful parting, photos disappearing from Instagram and awkward smiles whenever either of you were asked about the other.

While you are all about being civil and professional, what he has been doing feels like he is trying to get under your skin, testing your patience with him, which is starting to run short.

For an outsider he is acting perfectly fine, even human towards you, but you know him all too well, you know all his little tricks and moves because you used to be an expert on the topic of Levi Hudson.

Huffing to yourself you get back to the text and type a quick reply.

“Still on set, I have two more scenes to film. Will text you when I’m back at the hotel xx”

You wish you could call him right away, you wish he was here with you and you wish you didn’t have to go back to set and face Levi once again. You really thought you’d get entirely consumed by work once filming starts and run short on time and energy to even think about Harry, but it hasn’t been the case. He is all you can think about, you always catch yourself wondering what he is doing, how his day has been or if he is thinking about you too. You cling onto your phone the moment they yell Cut! and frantically check if he has texted you. It’s taking a toll on you and you can only hope you’ll last until the movie is wrapped and you can finally join him on tour, just like you planned.

“Hey there,” Maya steps out of her own trailer when you turn the corner and she catches up with you quickly. “Wha’s up?”

“Just plotting how I can leave early,” you huff, making her laugh. You’ve become the closest to her, you right away bonded when you met at the table read and she caught you grimacing behind Levi’s back when you thought no one was looking. She came up and simply told you she doesn’t like him for literal no reason, he just has a punchable face and an alliance was formed right then and there.

“Oh Honey, let me know when you figured it out,” she chuckles, circling an arm around your shoulders as you both make your way to the set laughing.

Trying your best, you focus fully on the job on hand so you can leave as soon as possible, call Harry and go to bed. Today has been way longer than you would have liked and you just need to get away from set, despite how much you enjoy filming in general. Sometime during the taping Harry texts you that he is free whenever you are and will be waiting for your call and it just makes you even keener on leaving.

When filming is finally finished, you find yourself storm out faster than ever, already ringing up Harry as you are walking back towards your trailer. When he answers the call, his smiley face fills the screen and you feel your heart flutter in your chest.

“Hey! Done for the day?” he asks, seemingly eating something as he talks.

“Luckily,” you breathe out. “What are you eating?”

A blush appears on his pixelated face as he glances down and grabs his bowl, showing it into the camera. He is eating your pesto pasta recipe.

“I had a strong craving for it,” he shyly tells. “It’s not as good as yours though.”

“There’s nothing to do different about it, H,” you chuckle.

“I know, but it’s different when you make it,” he smiles and his words warm your chest. Just as you are about to tease him about being so corny, you hear your name being called out. Turning around you see Levi jogging towards you.

“Here we fucking go,” you mumble, not ending the call with Harry who is a little confused about the situation since he can’t see the intruder in your conversation.

“Are you heading back to the hotel?” he asks, catching up with you.

“Yeah, I wasn’t planning on sleeping in my trailer,” you answer with a frown.

“Wanna share a car?”

“Why would I?” you simply ask.

“What’s with the attitude, Y/N?” he scoffs as if he was an angel and deserved all the respect on earth.

“Why do you keep coming up to me?”

“Because I’m trying to be nice!” he snaps, but it’s all for the wrong reason. You don’t buy this shit, nice is the last thing he is trying to be and you know that for sure.

“No, you keep getting on my nerves and you know that! We don’t have to interact outside of set and I want to keep it that way, Levi!”

“Now you are being a bitch, Y/N.”

“Excuse you?” Harry’s voice is coming from your phone’s speaker and you suddenly realize that he is still there, listening to the conversation. You glance down at the screen and see his now angry expression on it.

“Who’s that?” Levi nods towards the phone with a frown, but then realization must hit him. “Is that Harry Styles you’re talking to?”

“None of your fucking business, Levi. And leave me the fuck alone.” Turning around you start marching back to your trailer that’s now so close, but once again, his voice stops you.

“You’re making a fool out of yourself, Y/N!”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” you snap back at him, one hand already on the door handle of your trailer, the other one holding your phone.

“If you think he wants more than just a good fuck and some publicity out of you, you’re delusional.”

“Fuck you, Levi!” you flip him off before walking into the trailer and shutting the door behind you.

With your back against the door you close your eyes and take a few deep breaths, fighting with yourself not to go back out and kick him in the stomach. This is how it has been, he starts acting all nice, pretending like he is the good buy, but when he doesn’t get the reaction he wants, he is quick to show his real, asshole self he keeps hidden.

“Angel? You alright?” Harry’s voice brings you back from your thoughts and once again, you realize that he is still in call, staring from the screen with a worried expression on his handsome face.

Taking another deep breath you bring the phone up so he can finally see your face.

“Sorry you had to hear all of that,” you mumble, feeling way more tired than you were just a few minutes ago.

“Don’t apologize, it’s none of your fault. But I gotta ask, has he been this big of a dick since the start?”

“Kind of,” you sigh, walking further inside. You put the phone to the little vanity, propping it up against the mirror as you start washing your makeup off.

“Have you tried doing something against it? You really shouldn’t let him treat you like that.”

“I’m not trying to be the whiny star who gets someone kicked out. I don’t know what others would think if I told Levi is being a jerk to me, because he is fine with everyone else. Maya is the only one who knows about it, so I’m kind of stuck.”

“Then just punch him,” he suggests making you laugh.

“I wish I could.”

“Want to talk about it? I would love to listen to you talk about how big of a dick your ex is and about your hatred towards him,” he tells you, way too excited about the topic and it makes you chuckle.

“Let’s not talk about him, I get enough of him all day. But not enough of you.”

It just slips out, way too cheesy than you intended it to be, but it makes him smile so you don’t mind it.

“Is this your way of being casual?” he chuckles softly.

“Shut up,” you grin. “Tell me about your day while I get ready to leave.”

You listen to Harry tell you about his day in the smallest details as you clean your face, brush your hair out and change into your own clothes, finally feeling like yourself again. You’re talking even when you’re already in the car, but that’s when it ends.

“Talk tomorrow, Angel?” he murmurs, now lying in his bead, propped up against the headboard without a shirt on.

“Yeah. I’ll be off around five so just call me whenever your show is over.”

“Will do. Take care, alright? And… just hang on a little longer.”

“A little?” you huff. “There are still two more months to go.”

“You can do it. Text me whenever you want to talk, alright?” You just quietly nod, ignoring the ache in your chest. You want nothing else than to crawl into bed with him, curl up against him and never leave from under the covers.

“Good night, Angel,” he smiles sweetly.

“Night, H,” you sigh before ending the call.

An hour later you are already in your hotel room, wrapped in a fluffy bathrobe, lying in bed as you scroll through Instagram, aimlessly opening posts here and there. The explore page is always a mess, you like so many different things that Instagram sometimes can’t decide what to show you, but that’s just how you like it. Lately it’s been a lot of Harry on there, given the fact that you’ve often found yourself lurking photos of him when you were missing him more than the usual.

When a paparazzi photo comes up of him from yesterday, having lunch with Kendall Jenner you can’t help but feel the jealousy ignite a fire inside you. It’s not like you didn’t know they met up, he told you a week before it and even asked if you are cool with it, to which you said that you are not an official item and you’d never tell him not to see a friend, even if it happens to be an ex as well. After all, you were the last one to throw a stone at him since you are now working with yours, even if it’s a living Hell.

But after such a draining day, seeing him have a good time so far away from you with a woman who is not you, your opinion about the situation seems to be different.

You’ve never been that extremely jealous type and you are also very much aware that you have no right to feel this way, but… you do. Scrolling through the few paparazzi photos that has nothing odd on them, just the two of them sitting at a table on a terrace, enjoying their meal and then leaving in separate cars, you can’t help but tear them apart to the tiniest detail, your brain fixated to find the smallest thing that tell you that they have something more than friendship going on, when you also know damn well sure that there’s no such thing. Harry has talked to you openly about his friendship with Kendall, how they tried to make it work two times but both of them ended up the same way: they realized they are far better as just friends and that’s how they’ve been since then.

But because of the distance, your horrible days with Levi and your agonizing feelings about wanting to be with Harry but also not being able to, you find yourself letting out a silent cry as you close the app, but the pictures still haunt you.

Before you could even think twice, you are kneeling in front of the minibar you haven’t touched since you arrived, but now you’re determined to empty it out, paying extra attention to the alcoholic drinks.

You are well aware that it’s not how you should be coping with the situation on hand, but you don’t know what else to do. You were the one who told Harry not to make things official, there’s nothing you can do against the distance between the two of you and you are stuck with Levi for the rest of filming as well. You have no other choices but to somehow dumb the pain that’s been torturing you silently ever since you found out you got the role.

It’s nerve wrecking, because this role means so much to your career, you know it’s your big chance to be finally taken as seriously as you’ve always dreamed about, but does it worth it? If you lose yourself along the way and everything that’s been making you happy lately, does it still worth just to have an Oscar nomination, which is not even guaranteed, just a speculation.

It’s past one am when you run out of drinks, but because of the small portions, you are just buzzing, not really drunk. But it’s enough to make you lose your rationality and snatch your phone from the bed and open your text threat with Harry.

“I miss you. A lot, like a whole lot.”

You send the text before you could change your mind and for your biggest surprise the status changes to seen just a few moments later before the three little dots start dancing on the bottom.

“I miss you too, Angel. Everything alright?”

Harry knows you too well, you wouldn’t just text after you’ve talked on FaceTime before and you’re usually asleep by this time, since filming starts early in the morning usually.

“Do you really miss me?” you write back with a heavy sigh.

“You can’t even imagine how much…”

“Tell me. How much?”

“I’ve written three songs about you since we parted. Does that tell you how much I miss you?”

“Oh fuck!” you choke out, feeling your chest tightening. You don’t want to be in this hotel room anymore, damn the movie, Levi and the Oscar, you need Harry. Now.

“Can’t wait to hear them all.”

“There’ll be plenty more, Angel. Get ready for a whole album!”

The pictures with Kendall are long forgotten. Now you’re just lying in bed, rereading the texts over and over again until your eyelids get too heavy and you fall asleep, still clinging onto the device.

 ***

 After years of being an independent and strong woman you’ve always aspired to be, you find yourself only focusing on two men to keep your nerves stable enough to stop you from breaking down every other day: Oscar and Harry.

The possibility to win an Oscar is what you think of every time Levi is pulling on your nerves, working harder than the devil to make you burst while acting like a saint in front of everyone. His attempts of ruining your days every imaginable are getting worse as the time passes and when thinking about the Oscar doesn’t help, you reach out to Harry. You’ve felt terribly at the beginning when you kept calling him whenever you felt like screaming after an encounter with Levi, even apologized for it, but he made sure you know he doesn’t mind it, not even the tiniest bit.

“I’m happy I’m the one you come to for comfort. I like that you’re thinking about me,” he told you one night when you called him so late, but he still answered.

Today has been extra hard. Two weeks have passed since your little late night breakdown when you emptied your mini bar out and felt like leaving Atlanta as soon as possible. Luckily, the morning came with an ease, though the pain was still there, you just managed to bottle it up enough to make you keep going.

You’ve been on set since 4 in the morning, having shot some scenes during sunrise and you’ve been going since then. Now it’s four pm, you are desperate for a good sleep already, but you still have some hours to go before you can head back to the hotel.

It seems like Levi has made it his mission to make you cry today. His latest favorite thing has been throwing shade about fellow actors who end up being the talk of gossip sites because they’ve dared to go on a public date with another celebrity. So, just to be clear, he is shaming you for being all over the tabloids, people are still speculating about you and Harry and Levi doesn’t hesitate to call you out about that in a sugarcoated way.

All he has been saying all day is “I guess I’m just more careful about my privacy!” or “Everyone is different, but I like to be noticed for my professional success!” but your favorite was “I get it that women need more effort to stay relevant.”

You were shocked how no one else realized how sexist he was, but deep down you weren’t that surprised. Levi successfully brainwashed everyone to make them believe he didn’t think it seriously, when you know for a fact that even if it was just to piss you off, he really meant it. You were once one of those who couldn’t really see how wrong his beliefs are and now you can’t believe you used to ignore all these sexist comments, but now they make your palms itch.

“You know, you once were just like that. I still remember us being on the covers,” you snapped back at him before everyone left for lunch and it was just the two of you, but he just snorted, brushing it off.

“Hated it. Always felt like just a toy they like to throw around.”

You needed all your self-control not to laugh right into his face and then jump at his throat. Instead, you just watch him walk away and you are quick to fetch your phone from your bag to text Harry, but then you realize that he hasn’t texted you back in the past ten hours. Your last four messages are sitting not just unanswered but unread as well so you talk yourself down from sending another one. It’s odd, because he always tells you when he is about to be busy, but he didn’t this time and you wonder if you’ve said or did something that upset him with you enough to stop talking to you. But then you tell yourself that something must have just come up.

“Hey girl!” Maya calls out for you, already dressed in her own clothes since she is done for the day. “I’m heading out to lunch with Timmy, want to join? Please don’t say you’ll just order in and stay in your trailer!”

“Only if Levi is not coming,” you grumble making her chuckle.

“Don’t worry, it’s just gonna be cool people.”

You both take your car to the little diner close to set, you’ve been going there quite often, they have the best pancakes and that’s exactly what you need right now. Timmy is already there sitting at a booth, waving at you happily. Aside from Maya, he is the other person you’ve been quite enjoying spending time with on set, he is a genuine guy and helped you a lot professionally which was a huge boost along this rocky way.

All through lunch you notice that he’s been checking his phone a lot, but you don’t think much of it, he is a busy guy, that you’ve learned already. It’s nice to have some time away from set and you’re thankful that Maya and Timmy are trying their best to make you forget about Levi and that eventually you have to head back.

The three of you return to set about an hour later. When the both of them stick to your side and they keep asking if you are going back to your trailer, you start to suspect something.

“You guys alright?” you ask with a chuckle. “Where else would I go? I still have thirty minutes from my break.”

“Just making sure,” Timmy shrugs. “We’ll walk you there!”

“Yeah! Let us walk to your trailer!” Maya nods in agreement and you give them a glare.

“You guys are weird,” you mumble under your breath.

As the three of you reach your trailer you notice how excited they are acting and you are confused about what’s really happening, but it’s just until you finally throw the door of your trailer open and gasp at the person waiting inside.

“Hello, Angel,” Harry smirks at you, leaning against the wall as you completely freeze.

“Angel! Oh my God!” you hear Maya squeak behind you, but you can’t pay much attention to her or Timmy, because you are busy throwing yourself into Harry’s arm, who envelopes you into his embrace, lifting you up from the ground.

“What are you doing here?” you breathe out, face buried in the crook of his neck.

“Should I not be here?” he jokes chuckling, his hands running up and down your back.

“Well, you are not supposed to, but I’m glad you are!” you chuckle and pulling back you kiss his lips, not able to hold yourself back.

“Thank your costars,” he mumbles nodding towards the door where Maya and Timmy are standing, grinning widely and proud of themselves.

“You guys did this,” you breathe out.

“Well, it was Maya’s idea, and then I was the one to message Harry,” Timmy admits, hiding his hands in his pockets. “Wanted to surprise you.”

“You surely succeeded,” you chuckle and turning back to Harry you hug him again, holding him tight as if he could vanish any moment.

“Alright, we’ll leave you two alone,” Maya chuckles before shutting the door and giving you some privacy.

“So how long are you staying?” you ask, arms circled around his neck.

“Unfortunately I don’t have much time. I need to fly out late tomorrow.”

“You came here for less than 48 hours?” you gasp in disbelief. He has been on the road for weeks now, all the traveling has been hard on him, that you know, yet he still went into the trouble of flying here for such a short time just to be with you.

“If Timothée didn’t reach out I would have still tried to mess around with my schedule to come here. I know how hard it has been for you here, I wanted to help you.”

“Stop or you’ll make me cry,” you chuckle, leaning in for another kiss.

You spend the rest of your break cuddled up on your tiny sofa in your trailer, talking but mostly kissing, because you’ve been missing Harry’s kisses the most probably. When it’s time to head back to set, you need everything in you not to lock the door and just never leave, but your work is calling.

Walking towards set you find yourself lacing your fingers together with Harry’s, to which he smirks at you in satisfaction. You couldn’t give less shit about that people will think the rumors are true, let them! All you want is to be as close to Harry as possible.

As everyone is slowly gathering back, you lounge around the buffet tables with Harry and Timothée, just genuinely having a good time, right until Levi walks in and he freezes upon seeing you with Harry.

At first you are convinced he’s going to come up to you, but luckily, he chooses to keep his distance this time, saving you some stress about what would go down if the two of them were to talk. Harry has definitely noticed his presence as well, but he doesn’t say a word, just holds your hand tight, kissing your knuckles.

Harry sticks around the whole afternoon, watching you film scene after scene and the excitement in his eyes is priceless. He takes every opportunity to praise your work and tell you how amazing you are doing and it means the world to you since it’s the first time Harry is seeing you working.

Through the afternoon, you can feel Levi’s burning glare on you, but you try your best to ignore it. You can tell he doesn’t like having Harry around but you haven’t figured out if it’s because he is jealous of you and him or because now Harry has all the attention he usually has. Either way, he is a petty fucker and you are enjoying pissing him off for once.

When filming finally finishes at six you are one of the first ones to head out, eager to finally be alone with Harry in your hotel room and not be disturbed for the night.

“I would say to pick up something to eat on our way, but maybe we should just order room service, how does that sound?” he asks as the two of you are walking back to your trailer.

“Room service is gonna be perfect,” you smile up at him, giving his hand a squeeze.

“Y/N!”

The voice calling out your name makes you growl in annoyance. The situation is all too familiar, Levi stopping you on your way back to your trailer with the pure intention of ruin your mood.

Oh for fuck’s sake,” you mumble under your breath before turning around. “What?” you snap back at him, clearly annoyed that he is here again.

“Hey, just… thought I would introduce myself to your friend over here,” he smiles as if it was the most natural thing, but you and Harry stand there, completely confused about how he can act so casual about him meeting Harry.

“I’m sorry, you what?” you question.

“Just wanted to meet Harry,” he tells again. “I’m Levi, nice to meet you,” he nods smiling, holding out his hand and you can’t hold your laughter back. Luckily, Harry is quick to react the best possible way.

“Are you really just gonna pretend like I didn’t hear you call Y/N a bitch the other day?” he asks, voice stern and surprisingly calm, however his hold on your hand is a little tighter now.

Seemingly, Levi is taken aback and you can tell he was convinced Harry wouldn’t bring it up straight to his face, but he did. He definitely just did and you are so happy about that.

“I’m, uhh—I don’t think you have any business in that, Harry,” he chuckles nervously, still trying to somehow dominate in the situation, but he is failing miserably.

“Oh, but I think I do. If you think you can just go around and call women bitches, you are in the wrong and if you ever have just one bad word for Y/N again, I’ll definitely won’t be this calm.”

The cherry on the top is the warm smile on Harry’s lips and your mouth hangs open at how bad he just burnt Levi. If you were alone now, you’d definitely jump his bones right away.

Watching Levi you see the exact moment when he drops the act and before he even opens his nasty mouth, you already know you’ll get another taste of his real self.

“What, you fuck her once and think she is the Queen of England who has to be treated with special care?” he scoffs and your stomach drops. Here he goes with the insults, buckle up!

“Excuse you?” Harry snaps back, clearly losing his patience with him.

“She is not that big of a deal, Styles. Might be a good fuck, but she is a fucking bitch in reality and you’ll see that soon.”

“I think it was just you who made her act that way and that’s entirely your fault, m’ friend. Anyone would be that way if they had to deal with you.”

“You know what? You two deserve each other, two low-life, attention seeker celebs, I just don’t get what people like so much about you. Especially about you,” he adds, eyes snapping to you. Your anger is boiling, he is dancing on your very last nerve and you have no idea how long you can last.

Harry then turns to you, a calm expression on his face, but his eyes tell you otherwise as he simply takes his rings off and places them into your palm, confusing you about what he is really doing.

“I’m sorry in advance, Angel,” he mumbles before taking a step towards Levi and with a simple but graceful move, he punches your scumbag ex.

You gasp as you hear Levi’s groan, his hands flying to his face while Harry shakes his fist off with a heavy sigh.

“Oh fuck, this feels better with a glove on,” Harry breathes out, taking a step back.

“You fucker!” Levi spats as he straightens up. He moves his hand from his face, checking it to see if he is bleeding, but it’s just some redness on his cheek.

“Don’t freak out, princess. You’ll just have to sit some more in the makeup. But Swear to God if you ever speak about her that way,” Harry warns him pointing at him, “You won’t be able to fix it with some powder.”

And with that, Harry grabs your hand and pulls you into the trailer, leaving a shocked and raged out Levi outside. As soon as it’s just the two of you, Harry changes from the confident, protective man to a frightened little puppy as he looks at you.

“I’m so sorry, but I just couldn’t take it any longer. The way he was talking about you and I—“

He doesn’t get to finish because our lips shut him up with the most heated and passionate kiss you two have ever shared. It’s hard and messy, your fingers thread through his hair as he grabs your waist forcefully, yanking you against her tightly.

“That was literally the hottest thing I’ve ever seen,” you pant against his lips.

“Yeah? So you’re not mad?”

“I’m only mad because you got to punch him before me,” you chuckle making him laugh as well.

“God, I have no idea how you could put up with him this long,” he breathes out, resting his forehead against yours.

“I’m convinced that my nerves are made out of steel,” you joke pecking his lips two more times.

“I don’t even see how you could be in a relationship with him in the first place,” he huffs.

“I was younger and dumber. Don’t worry, learned my lesson,” you laugh, cupping his cheek in the palm of your hand, running your thumb along the soft skin under his eye.

“If I’m being honest, there’s one more thing that’s upsetting me about him.”

“And what is that?”

“Please don’t get mad at me though, okay?” he chuckles softly.

“Just tell me!”

“I’m mad… because he is able to say that he has been in a relationship with you and I’m not. It’s pissing me off, properly,” he admits and your heart skips a beat. “I know you said you don’t want anything official, but I just want to call you mine and—“

You cut him off for the second time now as you kiss him again, grinning against his lips. If he didn’t bring this up now, you would have for sure before he left, because there was no way you would have been able to say goodbye to him again without having all strings tied.

“Just to be sure, was this your way of asking me to be your girlfriend?” you smirk, your hands holding onto the base of his neck.

“Kind of? Yeah,” he chuckles softly.

“Alright, cool. Now let’s go back to my hotel room, boyfriend.”

You watch as his eyes light up and leaning down he kisses you again.

“Just so we are on the same page, was this your way of saying yes?”

“Kind of, yeah,” you nod, using his own words.

“Great. Okay, let’s go, girlfriend.”

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[mysticgoblinwriter]

Driving In A Cold Sweat; There Is No One On This Highway

Warnings- Murder, infidelity, swearing, food imagery, shitty parents, i made Steve the villain who’s in the HOA and a politician, adult content, dark!reader, cheating, a bit of flirting, mental health joke (mental health is NOT a joke, y’all), religion symbolism, dark!steve, peggy x bucky,

Word Count- 1.9k

kudos to @blackberrybucky for being my soundboard, and @fandomsandxfiles for being my beta reader. Love y'all

a/n- This is inspired by Hypothermic by Goodnight Texas.  Its really dark, and I surprised myself writing this but I like it. I also changed the landscape to desert. Leave comments if you want! As many as you like, I fangirl over my work too. All writers should, its selfcare.

IF YOU WANT SOMETHING FLUFFY AND SOFT TURN AWAY NOW; MINORS DNI

DO NOT COPY OR REPOST ANYWHERE. A REBLOG IS APPRECIATED. A REPOST IS NOT.

Bucky looks you up and down, taking you in like you are the gods own ambrosia.  “So, doll.  What brings you to this shit hole?”

You laugh to yourself.  “I murdered somebody.”- was the sentence that also inspired this but its not in the actual story.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The radio gave out miles ago.  It was emitting nothing except for crackling and static.  Every now and then it would cut back to a sermon, funnily enough it’d been the same one that was on when you started your trip.  Sunset was a little ways off.  If you looked hard enough you could see coyotes just off the asphalt.  Alive, yes.  But just how long had their souls been gone?  Someone was screaming.

A man.  You’d heard that scream before.  Seared into you memory like that steak you had for your 15th birthday. It was right next to you.  Oozing blood and raw-red.  You could hear the clink of the knife as it scraped against the plate.  Shaking your head to clear it, you notice an exit with a gas station.  “Now’s a time as good as any to stop.”  Gravel crunches as you slide up next to the pump. The neon beer lights from the bar across the road are calling.  But you can’t answer. The gas handle is slick and grimy, you’ve felt something like that before, but you can’t remember what.  A fuzzy noise in the back of your ears gets your attention.  Another truck has pulled in.  Right in the spot next to yours, never mind the dozen others that are free.  A bulky man steps down, his face hidden by a rangers hat.

You could tell he worked out though.  And had hair in need of a washing.  Clunk.  The tank was full.  You thought it best to leave before anyone could place you, but your stomach needed something other than greasy two-bit fast food.  You glance around, looking for any sign that promised a hot meal.

“Looking for something, doll?” You let out a small gasp.  He was staring straight at you now.

“Does this shithole have a place to eat?  I might have to start eating the cactus.”

He lets out a soft laugh, “Yeah, there’s a diner about half mile down the road.”

His face brightens like he just thought of something.  “You wanna meet me there?  I’ll buy dinner?”  You weigh the options.  You can’t have anybody recognize you; but your cash is getting low and however you can stretch it, you must.  You nod once.  “Sure.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The diner is every trope you’d seen in the movies your pops watched when he got off work.  Flies buzzing, neon sign flickering, checkered tile.  It even had the shiny red leather booths.  What a dream.  “Getcha a seat anywhere, honey.  I’ll be right over,” came a perky voice from the back.  Presumably a waitress. You choose the booth near the back exit.  Its always good to have a backup plan.

The man said he needed to get something at the mini-mart, that you could go ahead and he’d catch up.  Somebody screamed right next to you, causing you to jump out of your seat.  You whip your head around.  No one was even in the dining area.  It sounded so real.  Like you could reach out and grasp the shattering inky blackness.  You take a couple of deep breaths.  Try to remember your happy place.  Tahiti, its a magical place.  Or so you’ve been told  You just picked it from a magazine that was open on the coffee table the night your mother set fire to the curtains in the living room.  The flames had licked up the page, burning the island resort into ash.  Boots thudded as they made way to where you were.  He slides in across from you.

“Um, the waitress’ll be right out,” you said softly.  He barely heard it over the rickety air conditioning.  He nods to show he heard.  He’s sitting close.  Closer than you’d thought another human would ever sit next to you again.  His hands are rough and calloused.  The sleeve cuffs of his hoodie are frayed; as if someone clawed at them.  Eyes traveling up his body, you take in more details.  The hoodie isn’t faded, its brand new.  He wears a bracelet of leather on his right hand, with a charm you can’t quite see.  His necklace is corded hemp, plain and understated.

A light stubble that’s maybe three days old covers his jaw.  His eyes... are piercing right through you. You take in a quick breath, not being able to look away.  You’d never seen that shade of blue before.   He’d been watching you watching him.  Quirking an eyebrow, ”See anything ya like, doll?” You start to sputter an answer but the waitress comes over.  “Sorry about the wait.  Here’s your-”  Blue eyes interrupts her, “We don’t need those.  I’ll have the special and she’ll have the ‘Its Impossible To Go Away Hungry’ plate”  “Okay, then.  I’ll get that right out to ya folks.”

You glare at him, he mirrors it with dicky nonchalance. “Why did you order for me?”  He leans forward, tilts his head the right the tiniest fraction.  “You’re starved.  I really don’t give a damn what kept you from eating but I ain’t gonna let you go without giving you a meal.  The steak plate is the biggest meal they have.  You can take a to go box, that is if you don’t eat the whole thing.”

“Oh.”  You cast out a huff, “Well, thank you.”  He flashes a killer smile. Pearly white teeth in a straight line.  Not an imperfection to be found anywhere.  A silence falls between the two of you.  You can’t decide whether its comfortable of not.

“My name is Bucky.  I thought you wouldn’t like eating with a stranger.  I like to doodle in the margins of my books sometimes.”  “Please tell me not library books.”  He scoffs as if you suggested the impossible, “Never.  Do you think I’m crazy?”

“Jury’s out on that, Bucky.”  He looks at you more intently now.  “Really?  Same could be said about you.  When I first spoke to you it was like a deer in headlights.  Ya running from something, sugar?”  He’d said it jokingly but you didn’t laugh.

“No.  Nothing like that.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Shirley came back with your plates, and two root beers.  She left the check at the end of the table and Bucky swooped it up.  The meal passed by in the comfortable sounds of silverware clinking and ice clacking in the cups.  You both ate in record time.

You were careful to save enough for a second meal. That went into the to go container.  Now both cups were drained and plates scraped clean.  You start to slide out of your seat, mumbling a thanks but Bucky stops you.  “Wait, won’t you sit here a while longer?  I’d be kinda sad sitting here alone.”  After a moments hesitation, you resume your position.  “What do you wanna talk about?  It can’t be the weather.  Its been dry as bones for weeks.”   He ponders for a moment, “You.”  He shifts a little, resting one ankle on the opposite knee.

“I want to know what you’re running from, and see if I can offer...a distraction.”  That shocks you.  “Life?  Aren’t we all running away in some form or another?  I just happened to take the mobile route.”  You shrug, “What do you want me to say?  It was all shitty so I left it behind.  And as for the distraction part, I got a whore last night, so don’t bother.”  He is silent.  Just sits there and gazes at you.  You cock your head, getting impatient.  “Am I allowed to leave now?  Or do you want to talk about our feelings?”

“I slept with my best friends wife.”

“I-I’m sorry you what??”

“I slept with my best friends wife.  He owns half the town, what with him being mayor and all.  I couldn’t take it anymore, he’s always been the golden boy.  Always been the beacon of light.  I just wanted a slice of what he had.”  He looks up, his eyes are dead.  “She was willing, and I just... took her.  There on his desk.  He’d been out for lunch with some bigwig, and I made her cum twice on my cock.”  He chuckles darkly.  “That’d been the first time.  All the other times don’t matter, he doesn’t know about those.  But he does know about the time in the craft shed.  Peggy did pottery.

Had a nice little workshop, it was connected to the mansion they had.  I wanted to bring her pleasure in the place where she gets frustrated often, so she’d have something else to think about.  Steve caught us on the floor.  A big bunch of daffodils in hand.  Stupid, those weren’t even her favorites.”  He was gone now, lost in memories, not even knowing he was talking.  “Said he had come by to take her to lunch.  That was always like Steve.  Expected her to clear her schedule at the drop of a hat but never doing the same for anybody. He didn’t even get mad.  He just walked away, muttering something about his office.

Peggy said she could talk some sense into him.  The next day I found her in the garbage when I took out my trash.”  Your sharp inhale and big eyes do nothing to catch his attention.  “Steve comes strolling out of nowhere, said that she was a threat to his image.  Said that I need to leave or face the same.  I asked why he left me alive and he said ‘So you can remember the pain until you lay down in the ground and the mice and carrion drag your body up from its silk cocoon to feast.”

But that’s not all.”  He said the last bit so quietly, it was as if he said nothing.

“What?”  He’s crying now, tears are forming rivers in his eyes.  “She knew.  She knew  he was going to be there and that’s how she wanted to go out.”  Your puzzled expression makes him laugh.  “Don’t know many politicians, do you?  Good.  Keep it that way.  That day when the mail came I got a letter.  From her.  It said how she wanted to divorce Steve ever since he became the HOA president.  But she couldn’t.  He had threatened her once, just once and what he said was so blisteringly awful.  And he did it.  He is a man of his word, after all.  He kept his damn word.”

“So...she used you as an out?”  He winces.  You hadn’t meant to sound like that.

“Yes.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Out in the diners parking lot you say goodbye to James.  Wait.  No, no.  His name is Bucky.  He’s got a green  Chevy and blue eyes.  Or was it red?  It doesn’t matter anyway.  You back out and head for the next state, ignoring the blood leaking from the tarp in your trunk.  The screams have stopped.  And the moon is bright.

[aceinspace691]

40 for the ask thing :D not sure if we're allowed to add more to it but id love it if it was the dteam. if not all good!

Yes, thank you for the prompt! Yeah, for these, you cant be as detailed or as minimal as you want; all I ask for is a pairing and a prompt number, which you gave me :] Thanks again for the prompt and I hope you enjoy! (I may have gone a bit overboard haha...)

I made this sort of a pet au, and this is going to a be a bit angsty at first, but then I'll add in some fluff :D I made Sapnap the giant in here because he definitely seems like the type to be overly enthusiastic and unaware of how the tinies were actually feeling.

Prompt list can be found here! Please send more in, I’d love to write some more :]]

Warnings for: Dehumanization, referring to a person as 'it,' treating people like pets, swearing, fear

Word Count ~ 1250

--------A Bit More Human--------

Sapnap shifted the tiny beings in his hands, leg bouncing in excitement as he observed them. He had bought them earlier that day. They were a new oddity that the world had recently discovered and he'd decided to buy both of them, seeing as it seemed to cause the other distress when he grabbed the one in blue.

"You guys are so cool!" His voice was loud, and he didn't notice how they flinched in his hands. His eyes darted to the one in a green cloak as it moved a bit. "Let me get you guys back in your cage real quick and I'll get something to play with you guys."

He walked briskly over to his cage and slid the two of them off into the cage, which was lined with the shredded material found in hamster cages. The beings pulled at their collars nervously as he grabbed the harnesses to attach the leash to.

He turned away to make sure the harness and leash were properly connected and looked back at the sound of a small click. He locked his gaze with the one in blue, who froze, its hands holding the green collar.

Without thinking, Sapnap shot his hand out, wrapping it around the one in blue and dragging it through the air to be closer to his eyes. He reached out his other hand to grab the collar out of its hand, but didn't make it that far.

"GEORGE!" The voice was full of fear and desperation.

Sapnap froze, lowering that other hand as he looked around in confusion. His gaze rested on the other tiny, in the cage. It looked pale all of a sudden, and it scrambled back as Sapnap leaned closer. It seemed to hesitate before it stiffly took a step closer.

"Please put him down. Don't hurt him." The voice pleaded and Sapnap's brain short-circuited, staring blankly at the tiny being. At the lack of response, the being's pleading grew more intense and desperate. "Please, it was my idea, I'll put it back on, just please don't hurt him."

Sapnap finally registered everything and was flooded with a sense of overwhelming guilt. He placed the one in blue back into the cage, pulling out his phone numbly. He dialed Bad, the other greeting him with a cheery tone.

"Bad, I fucked up."

"Hey, language!" His friend chastised, but then his mind must have caught up because it was followed by, "Oh, wait, what happened? Are you okay?"

"It's just, I got those new tiny things as pets, except apparently they're able to.. Uh, I don't know. They were skittish when I bought them, but..." He sighed, dragging a hand down his face. "I didn't know they were actually afraid of me..."

"Oh, Sapnap.." The voice on the other end was sympathetic. "Are they still in the room with you?"

"Yeah..." He glanced over at the two, noting how they were watching him intently. He shifted uncomfortably.

"Then talk with them," Bad encouraged, "and try to make this better, okay? Call me if you need anything, you muffinhead."

"Bad, what-" The call went silent and he lowered his phone, kneeling slowly in front of the cage. It was one where the lid came off, so he was still staring through the bars. He noticed how they were shifting constantly, the one in blue's hands on his collar.

They were people. Sapnap felt sick, wishing he'd noticed beforehand. He opened his mouth to speak, licking his lips as they suddenly felt dry.

"I, um.. You can take that off." He pushed away the extra guilt that come from the expression of disbelief on that tiny face. It looked so human and he couldn't believe he hadn't connected the dots sooner. "I'm really sorry, and, oh!"

The tinies jumped at the increase in volume, huddling closer as the other collar slipped off and cringing as Sapnap removed the front wall of the cage. He backed away a few steps.

"You don't have to forgive me," he began with, heart pounding, "but I'm really sorry I scared you. And like, bought you. And, uh, didn't treat you like people." Silence met him, and he cleared his throat slightly. "You don't have to stay here either, but I promise if you do, you won't be, like, pets or anything."

"Um," That was the one with the blue one, and Sapnap was shocked to hear a different accent then the other's. "You're going to let us go?"

Sapnap's heart felt heavier as he nodded. He knew that they didn't have to forgive him, but he'd hoped that they would anyway. But, regardless, he'd keep his word.

He was met with relieved smiles from both of them, and he offered a tense one in reply. The two stepped forward slowly, looking around and realizing that they were high up. Sapnap realized this too, and he reached for them without thinking.

He froze as he was met with startled yelping, quickly bringing his hand close to his body.

"Sorry! Sorry..." He felt humiliation and shame course through him and he felt his face redden. He just kept messing up. "I was just going to move you somewhere you could move easier, um," he slowly moved his hand to rest palm up near them, ignoring how they scrambled away, "does this work?"

The one in green looked up at him through eyes that seemed to be weighing their options. He whispered to the one in blue before they both nodded and stepped closer to his hand. He noted their hesitation and tried to hold as still as possible as they started to finally step on.

He was careful as he slowly brought the hand up to his chest, other hand hovering nearby in case something happened. He tensed a bit as he took a step and felt the two lean against his chest.

"Um, where do you guys wanna go?"

"The kitchen." The one in green said, glancing up at him and watching carefully. "Just like, on the counter or something."

Sapnap looked a bit surprised but he didn't comment on it, simply nodding and taking careful, steady steps toward the kitchen. Before long, they were there and h place his hand on the counter for them to get off.

"Wait, um, before you go," Sapnap said, feeling a bit guilty at the way they froze. He was quick to shake his head slightly as he continued, "I, um, it's nothing crazy, and I'm not going to bother you or anything after this, so you'll never have to deal with me if you don't want to, but could I at least know your names? I'm Sapnap."

A moment passed. Then another. The two on the counter exchanged a look and seemed to have a silent conversation before they responded.

"I'm Dream." The one in green said slowly, as if he was gauging Sapnap's reaction. When the latter simply gave a small nod and smile, he continued. "And he's George."

"Nice to meet you, uh, this way, I guess." Sapnap straightened himself, feeling oddly huge and out of place in front of them. He turned to leave, but was stopped by the accented voice-George.

"You won't try to catch us or anything?"

Sapnap glanced over his shoulder with an earnest half-smile. "Nope."

He ignored the feeling of warmth and hope he got in his chest when he heard "See you around then, Sapnap." and knew that he'd have a chance to make everything okay.

[thelastspeecher]

Pirate AU - Shore Leave

A coupla times this week I randomly got inspired to write some Pirate AU stuff.  And I got some good news yesterday, so I decided I’d post the stuff I wrote.  Like a gift to myself, that kind of thing.

So here’s some more Pirate AU content, but most importantly, some Pirate AU Stangie content.  Plus a bit of bonus Shermie content.  Enjoy.

(For context, this takes place a few years after this ficlet.)

——————————————————————————————

              “Thanks for watching the kids, Maria,” Stan whispered. “You can head home.”  Maria got up from the kitchen table.  On her way out, she tsked at Angie.

              “You know better, mija.  Be smarter and faster next time.”

              “Of course, Maria,” Angie said.  Maria shook her head disapprovingly one last time, then left.

              “Sit down, you gotta get off your feet,” Stan instructed his wife.  Angie obediently took a seat at the table.  Stan sat next to her.  “Angie.”

              “It’s a good thing I’m pregnant,” Angie said jovially.  Stan scowled.

              “Then we must be defining ‘good thing’ differently,” he growled.

              “If I wasn’t pregnant, I wouldn’t have been able to delay ‘em hangin’ me,” Angie said.  “Without that, you ‘n the crew wouldn’t have rescued me from the clink in time.”

              “You got caught pirating!” Stan snapped.  “You were about to be hanged!  Yeah, you were able to delay it this time, but next time?” Silently, he thanked whatever deity he believed in that day that they had come back from the rescue mission late enough the kids were asleep.

              Don’t want ‘em to see their parents fight. And judging by Angie’s already frustrated expression, this was definitely going to be a fight.

              “There won’t be a next time.”

              “You’re damn right.”  Stan met Angie’s eyes squarely.  “‘Cause you’re giving up piracy.”  Angie’s eyes flashed with anger.

              “You have no right-”

              “To what?  Want my wife safe?  Want my kids to grow up with both parents?  Angie, I can’t- I can’t live like this anymore!  I can’t watch you go to sea, knowing that you might not come back.  I love you too damn much to let you keep throwing your life away like this!”

              “This is the first time I’ve been caught,” Angie said, but her voice lacked some of the bite it had earlier.

              “Now that it’s happened once, it’s gonna happen again.”  Stan reached out and took ahold of one of Angie’s hands.  He rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb, feeling the thick scars from years of piracy.  “There are some injuries that, when you recover from ‘em, you’re never the same. You’ve had a lot of those.  It’s already started catching up with you. You know that.”  Angie looked away.

              “I…”

              “Give me a single reason you can’t leave piracy.”

              “You know my reasons.”

              “They were reasons you had when you first started. But they don’t matter anymore, Ang! Your name – your real one – got cleared. You’ve got a family and a home. You’ve got money.  Give me a reason that still applies.”

              “I…”  Angie looked down at the floor.  After a moment, she sighed.  Without saying a word, she got up and walked away.

              Shit.  Did I overstep?  Stan started to get up.  No. He sat back down.  Give her a bit of space.  You know how she is.  When a few minutes had passed, Stan couldn’t hold himself back any longer.  He followed her outside.  In the light of the full moon, he could see her talking to Dan. He walked over.

              “Thanks fer savin’ me,” Angie said quietly.  “Not just- not just tonight.  All those other times.  I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t fer you.”  Wordlessly, Dan enveloped her in a hug.  “Take good care of her, Dan,” Angie said, her voice cracking with emotion. They broke apart.  Dan ruffled Angie’s hair, nodded at Stan, and began to walk down the road that led to town.

              “What was that about?” Stan asked.  Angie’s shoulders shook.  “Ang, is everything all right?”

              “No!  I’m- I’m pregnant, I’m sure it’s twins again, I was almost hanged tonight, and I just gave up everything I spent most of my life buildin’ up!” Angie snapped.

              “You…”

              “Dan’s goin’ to run Sweet Viola fer a few months before easin’ her out of the game.”  Angie’s head drooped.  “This pirate king is hangin’ up her crown.”

              “Angie.”  Stan tilted Angie’s chin to look into her eyes.  Eyes the color of the sea.  “Thank you.”

              “You never thank folks,” Angie mumbled.

              “That’s how you know I’m serious.”  Stan grinned.  “And you’re not giving up all the shit you spent so long on.  You’ve still got me.  You’ve still got the kids.  All five of ‘em.”

              “No, darlin’, it’s definitely goin’ to be six,” Angie insisted.

              “What makes you so sure?”

              “A woman knows.”

              “If you say so.”

              “That’s no way to talk to yer captain.”

              “You just gave up your ship,” Stan pointed out. Angie looked away.  Stan wrapped an arm around her shoulders.  “I’m just kidding, babe.  You’ll always be my captain.”

              “Damn straight,” Angie muttered.  “By the way, I might be givin’ up piracy, but I ain’t givin’ up thievery.”

              “Good,” Stan said.  “I’m gonna need your help to keep the shop stocked.”  Angie managed a soft laugh.  The two stayed outside.  Their home was atop a seaside cliff, from which they could see the dark ocean reflecting the pale moonlight.

              Angie buried her head in Stan’s shirt, crying, as her ship disappeared over the horizon for the last time.

-----

              They walked past a shop with a number of nice dresses in the storefront window.  Promptly, Danny and Daisy made a beeline for it, cooing over the fancy fabrics.  The whole family was in town to run a few errands.  Stan glanced at his wife.  Angie wasn’t happy she had been dragged out of the house, but Emmett refused to go anywhere without her.

              “Mama, look!” Danny said excitedly, pointing at the dresses.  Angie forced a smile.

              “Yes, dear, they’re very nice.”

              “You should get it!  It would look so pretty on you!”

              “She’s got a point,” Stan whispered to her. Angie sighed heavily.

              “It would be nice to have some more clothin’ options.  I noticed the other day that I don’t have many dresses.”

              “What are you talking about?  You’ve got plenty!”

              “Yes, fer this!”  Angie gestured to her enormous baby bump.  With how big she was getting, Stan had finally begun to agree Angie was likely right, that they were having twins for a third time.  “But after I give birth?  Most of the clothes what ‘ll fit me were fer workin’ on the ship.”

              “So, something that a nice housewife wouldn’t wear,” Stan said.  Angie nodded. “Well, want me to treat you to somethin’ nice?”  Angie rolled her eyes.

              “I don’t think even you can steal a whole dress in public without bein’ caught, darlin’.”

              “I wasn’t gonna steal it.  I was gonna buy it.”

              “Buy it?”  Angie put her hands on her hips.  “Who are you and what have ya done with my husband?” she asked, aghast. Stan laughed.  “It’s prob’ly expensive.  I’m fine.”

              “After the kids are born and you’re back to normal, I’ll get you somethin’ fancy, okay?” Stan said.  He held out his arm.  Angie took it with a smile.

              “All right.  If ya insist.”  She leaned in to talk quietly.  “Darlin’, in all seriousness, yer okay with buyin’ somethin’ rather than stealin’ it?”

              “Ang, I haven’t done much crime ashore.  Only small stuff I know I can get away with. I didn’t wanna risk getting caught and leaving the kids all alone while you were at sea.”

              “…Right.”  Angie sighed again.  “I keep forgettin’ how little I’ve been on land with you ‘n the kids.”

              “You’ve got plenty of time to catch up on everything.”

              “Yes.  Since I’m now permanently on shore leave.”  Angie raised her voice.  “Girls, leave the dresses alone, we have to go to the market.”  Reluctantly, Danny and Daisy abandoned the dresses and ran back to their parents.

              “Papa, I wanna piggy-back ride,” Daisy whined.  From his perch atop Stan’s shoulders, Emory blew a raspberry at his older sister.

              “Emory’s got littler legs than you do,” Stan said. Daisy crossed her arms.

              “Emmett’s walking just fine!” she argued, gesturing at Emmett, who was holding Stan’s hand.

              “What have we talked about?” Angie asked patiently. Daisy pouted.

              “Being a good big sister,” she muttered.  Angie ruffled her hair.

              “Don’t worry, honey, when we get to the market, you can do some more pocket practice,” she cooed.  Daisy’s eyes lit up.  She nodded. The family continued walking down the street, Danny and Daisy running ahead eagerly.  Stan grinned cheekily at Angie.

              “You’re getting lazy, having the kids pickpocket for you,” he teased.

              “I’m too pregnant to be quiet and get away fast,” Angie said.

              “Fair.”

              “I’m glad that even if yer not willin’ to do much crime lately, yer not extendin’ that to the kidlets.”

              “It’s a lot easier to brush off a six-year-old taking something than a grown adult.”

              “Mm, true enough.”  Angie smoothed the fabric of her dress.  “Once I’m shipshape, I’ll get to restockin’ the shop, darlin’.”  She smirked.  “I’m damn fine at sleight of hand.  Not to mention, no one would accuse the sweet housewife of larceny.”  Stan chuckled.

              “I knew I married the right woman.”

              “Mama, what’s larson?” Emmett asked abruptly. Angie smiled at her son.

              “A grown-up word ya don’t need to worry ‘bout.”

              “Like ‘damn’,” Emory said helpfully.  Stan and Angie grimaced.

              “…We should probably work on cleaning up our sailors’ mouths if we wanna avoid attracting attention,” Stan said quietly. Angie nodded.

              “Agreed.”

-----

              Shermie walked up to the unassuming house.  A large sign outside read “McGucket’s Marine Antiques”.

              This is the right place, then.  Good.  Being a merchant, Shermie had to spend a lot of time away from his family, so he made sure to bring back souvenirs from each trip.  This trip, to a small town called Gravity Falls, had been woefully bereft of potential souvenirs.  As such, he’d been relieved when a local told him about the store on the edge of town full of fun and sparkly things.

              “Ma’am,” he said politely to the woman sitting on the porch, supervising two toddler boys playing on the front lawn.  On either side of her was a basket holding a young infant.  The woman looked up at him curiously.  Recognition flickered in her eyes.  She opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, one of the infants began to fuss.  The woman quickly began to soothe the infant.                 Shermie ducked into the house.  The room he was in looked like a proper shop.  Shelves lined the walls, groaning underneath the merchandise.  Some larger items, like a rusted anchor, were set on the floor, with price tags that seemed far too high to Shermie.  Two young girls in the corner giggled to each other as they picked through a box on the floor full of even more small items.

              “Welcome to McGucket’s Marine Antiques!” a voice boomed. A familiar voice.  Shermie’s eyes widened.  He turned.  Behind the store counter was a face he hadn’t seen in over a decade.

              “Stanley?” Shermie croaked.  His little brother gaped.

              “…Shermie?”

              “Stan, what are you- how- you-”  Shermie ran his hands through his hair.  “The people in town said the man who ran this store was named Stan McGucket, not Stan Pines.”  Stan grimaced.

              “Yeah.  Uh…” Stan looked over at the girls in the corner.  “Danny, Daisy.”  The girls looked up.  One had the distinctive Pines nose.  “If anyone comes in, go get your ma and have her handle the customer.”  The girls nodded.  “All right, Shermie, come with me, I’ll answer all your questions.”

              “You better,” Shermie mumbled.  Stan pushed open a door located behind the counter. Shermie followed him into the house proper.  The living room they walked into was cozy and nautical-themed, full of décor that looked like it came from a ship.  Stan gestured to a couch.  Shermie sat down.  Stan sat in a chair across from him.

              “The people in town said this place was run by Stan McGucket because it is.”

              “But how-”

              “I’ll tell you everything, but first, what do you know?” Stan asked.  Shermie raised an eyebrow.

              That’s…interesting.  Stan’s careful dodge reminded Shermie a lot of how his brother would construct lies as a teen.  He would ask what someone knew, then build his lie around that information.  Asking first allowed him to avoid contradicting something known to the person he was lying to.  Hopefully he’s not lying to me now.  I’ve fallen out of practice seeing through Stan’s lies.

              “You were captured by pirates over a decade ago,” Shermie said, deciding to take Stan at face value.  “At some point after you were captured by pirates, Stanford disappeared at sea.”  Stan nodded.

              “Yeah, that’s right.”  He sighed.  “Ford actually caught up to the ship I was captive on.  I got free in the fight, but Ford…he…”  Stan looked down at the ground.  “Well, I didn’t see his body, so I’m holding onto the hope that he’s still alive.”

              “Stan…”

              “The people in town know me as Stan McGucket ‘cause that’s my name now,” Stan continued, talking over Shermie.  “While I was captured by pirates, one of them decided he liked my name and took it.  I didn’t like the idea of sharing a name with a pirate, so I took my wife’s last name.”

              That smells like a lie.  Shermie’s brain caught up with what Stan was saying.  Wait, what?

              “You’re married?” Shermie asked.

              “Yeah.  You saw Angie – my wife – outside.  At least, I hope you did.  She said she was watching four of the kids out there.”

              “I…”  Shermie kneaded his forehead.  “Okay. Now I need to know how you met your wife.”

              “After I escaped from the pirates, I decided to stay at sea to look for Ford.  I didn’t- I didn’t wanna come home without him, y’know?”

              “Yes, I do,” Shermie said quietly.

              “I managed to get a spot on board a merchant ship where her brother, Lute, was first mate.  He was looking for her after she got captured by pirates.  Eventually, we found the ship she was on and rescued her.”

              “You…you rescued your future wife from pirates?” Shermie asked, dumbfounded.  Stan nodded. “Why am I not surprised?”  Stan smirked slightly.

              “We both stayed at sea as merchants,” he continued, “and fell in love pretty quick.  After we had the first set of twins, I decided to move ashore with ‘em. Angie, she, uh-”  He laughed quietly.  “She decided to keep sailing.  Even after we had another set of twins.”

              “Really?”

              “What can I say?  I married a free spirit.”

              Makes sense Stan would find someone like himself.

              “When she found out she was pregnant for the third time, though, we had a long talk, and decided that she’d move ashore with me permanently.  I like having her close by.”

              “I’d imagine having her help with the kids would be nice as well.”

              “Eh.  We’ve got some former crewmates in town that love watching the kids,” Stan said with a shrug.  “That’s why we settled here.  With that help, keeping track of the kids wasn’t what I was concerned about.  I missed my wife.”  There was something more, though.  A haunted look lingered in Stan’s eyes.

              “You were worried about her safety,” Shermie said. Stan looked away.  “I can’t blame you.  It’s dangerous to be a merchant.”

              He’s already lost his twin to the sea.  Of course he doesn’t want to lose his wife, too.

              “Yeah, well.”  Stan cleared his throat.  “I’ve got Angie on shore with me now.  We’ve got six great kids.  Life’s pretty good.”

              “Yes.  I can see that.  Mom will be relieved to hear you’re fine.”

              “She’s gonna show up within a week of you telling her,” Stan mumbled.

              “Can you blame her?” Shermie asked.  Stan shook his head.

              “Not after having my own kids, no.”  The door opened.  The woman from outside, who Shermie now knew to be Stan’s wife, Angie, poked her head into the room.

              “Darlin’, should I be plannin’ on an extra person fer dinner?” she asked.  Shermie tried to hide his surprise at Angie’s strong accent.

              “No need,” Shermie said, getting up from the couch. “I need to be going back to my ship before long.  But before I head out, I should do what I came here to do.”

              “What’d you come here for?” Stan asked, getting up as well.

              “To buy something for my kids.”  Shermie raised an eyebrow.  “Might I be able to get a family discount from my little brother that disappeared for ten years?”  Stan sighed heavily.  “If I get a good deal, I might forget to mention you to Mom for a few days…”  A twinkle appeared in Stan’s eye.

              “Make it a week, and I’ll see what I can do.”

              “Deal.”

[diavolodigitale]

L’appel Du Vide: 00 Despicable Him

It took me a whole goddamn year to finally win the fight I fought against myself and start posting this story. I have 7 complete chapters written already but now cannot seem to find the strength to continue, so I was hoping releasing it into the world would give me a nice boost. Anyway, my friends enjoyed the story so if in reality it turns out to be bad, it’s obviously their fault, not mine ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Rhys is the CEO of Atlas and Jack's AI is back, surprise, surprise! Now Rhys is dismayed, Jack doesn't care much, and the events of Borderlands 3 are just beginning to unravel. Is there any way to fix the plot of this game? Would it be any better if Rhys had to cooperate with Jack this whole time? Well, this is your chance to find out!

Spoiler: yes, dammit, it would. Everything's better with a bit of Handsome Jack in it.

Genres: Fix-It, Developing Relationship, Alternate Canon, POV Third Person, Humor, Drama, Plot-driven (kind of? well, it has plot)

Pairing: Handsome Jack’s AI/Rhys (this is only the 1st chapter so don’t expect much yet)

Characters: Handsome Jack’s AI, Rhys

Rating: M for Mature but not in this chapter lol

Size: around 2500 words (chapter 1/11)

Rhys’s office was great. He liked to sit in his big executive’s chair and dreamily look outside instead of doing the paper work. The view was also great. Well, kind of.

What did not seem so great, however, was the war he had been recently dragged into by the Maliwan corporation. He didn’t like being involuntarily involved into global affairs, especially those that had something to do with fusions or takeovers. The situation his company was in was bothering him at the moment, so he took a deep thoughtful breath and continued staring into the window.

“Hey, kiddo,” said the voice of somebody who definitely could not be in Rhys’s office neither at this given moment nor at any other time. Rhys was almost sure in his sanity so he proceeded to ignore the not-uttered words, although he, for some unknown reason, became visibly shaken.

“He-e-ey,” said the voice with those familiar little notes of annoyance that would let the hearer know that the person speaking clearly didn’t like being ignored.

A half-transparent blue hand waved in front of Rhys’s face, and he totally lost it.

Still somehow managing to remain seated in his chair, Rhys jerked back and rolled right through the blue figure formerly standing behind him.

“Wha…” muttered Rhys, barely able to speak at all, “Jack? What are you… I mean, how… I mean, is that really you?”

“Calm down, Rhysie,” said Jack with the same smug expression on his face – perhaps, the only thing that was unchangeable apart from his self-confidence, principles, self-esteem, disrespect for the others, sly nature, and, well, many, many other things really. “I get it, you’re happy to see me, but gosh, have some self-respect!”

Rhys was still confused, so after a few seconds of silence Jack felt the need to add, “Of course, it’s me”.

“But I thought you’re…”

“Dead? Gone? Dead and gone?” Jack clicked his tongue three times. “I thought, you knew me better, Rhysie. I thought, you’d welcome me with your arms wide open. Are you not happy to see me?”

“I am,” Rhys started nodding zealously and clenched his fists tight, hoping that Jack wouldn’t notice he was shaken. “But I don’t understand. What happened…”

“What happened was a mistake. I was gone for a while, but now I’m here to stay.” Jack leaned towards Rhys’s face and smiled. It was in no way an amiable smile. His glowing eyes reminded those of a vulture watching his prey. He already started to smell fear in the air.

“And where exactly is here?” asked Rhys with the last glimmer of hope fading from his voice. More than anything now he wished for the story not to repeat itself, but it was not like he had a choice or something.

Jack only tapped on Rhys’s temple with his index finger and leaned back. Rhys didn’t feel the touch but the gesture itself made him uncomfortable. He knew what it meant, unfortunately.

Jack jumped onto the table of the CEO of Atlas and crossed his legs and arms, waiting.

Rhys swallowed loudly. This was not great at all. He was sure his head was clear from this phantom and there was nothing to worry about. He was sure he would never again be convinced to go against his nature and pursue the world domination. Or any kind of domination. He was sure, but whenever it came to Jack, he was a defeatist.

“This can’t be true. I don’t believe you came back. I must’ve hit my head or I’m just seeing things…” Rhys’s voice quavered in disbelief when he spoke.

“Now-now, honey, no need to worry so much. You know I don’t like it when you wince, it makes you look older. Seeing me here must make you feel sorry for what you’ve done, but you should know that I don’t hold any grudge. Actually, I’m kida proud of you, you know. It only proves I was right all along,” said Jack roguishly. His manner of speech made his words sound benign, as if he was forgiving sins during the confession. Rhys was still not buying it.

“I did what I had to, what you made me do! If anything, it was YOUR fault, YOU betrayed me, so don’t you try making ME responsible for everything! I don’t know what kind of mind game this is, but I know you can’t be here.”

As Jack opened his mouth to yet again say something pricky, Rhys, still sitting in his chair and tightly gripping its arms, yelled at top of his lungs, “Begone! Begone, foul apparition!”.

The apparition sat on the table, sandbagged and with a dropped jaw, for a few moments and then uttered “Wow. Just wow. I’ve always known you’re weird, but this is just… wow. Are you on drugs or something? I’m not judging, you just seem really… deranged? I wanna say deranged, but I’m not sure it’s the right word.”

Rhys snuffled resentfully and looked at Jack with a brooding expression on his face. “You won’t go?” he asked, not really hoping anymore.

“Nope, kiddo. Everything’s gonna be just like the good old times – me as a hero and you as a… as a… I dunno, a less attractive sidekick?” Rhys quietly sighed, holding his head in his hands. “We’re gonna hang out, kill bandits, save the world, and I will always, always be at your side. I’ll make sure of that.”

“I killed you, Jack. I destroyed you. I ripped you out of my body, tore you apart and threw you away from my memory. Nothing’s gonna be the same anymore, you know that.”

“No, Rhys, I was killed by some OTHER goddamn crappy bags of… ugh, I’m not even gonna bother with that. You and me just had a misunderstanding. Often happens between two forceful promising personalities, like between me and the previous Hyperion CEO. Oh, wait, no,”–Jack scratched his head and furrowed his eyebrows–“no, I killed him, that’s a bad example. Anyway, you know what I mean.”

“I smashed my fucking arm to get rid of you! You,”–Rhys pointed his cybernetic finger at Jack–“are the only one who is insane here if you think that’s nothing. We both know what we did, Jack. Whatever you want, I’m not helping you. The last time I tried, you took control of me and tried to end my life.”

Jack’s expression turned from stolid to menacing as fast as gray clouds cover the sun and it starts raining in summer. He wanted to be good, he really believed that he did.

“Why do you always have to be so stubborn?” he hissed at Rhys. “I wouldn’t be here if you didn’t want me to. No matter how much I don’t want to admit it, I’m dependent on you, you little whiny coward, so do me a favor – be a good boy and listen to what daddy has to say. You kept your eye implant, didn’t you? Don’t even try arguing with me, I know you did. It was your decision to leave it be, so it’s you who brought me here. I’m grateful for that and I promise not to be nasty. No taking over bodies and no homicidal tendencies. Well, at least when it comes to you, pumpkin.”

“…Okay,” fumbled Rhys. Even though he didn’t believe this was really the case, he knew disputing with Jack never solved anything anyway. “Although… I didn’t really use the chip afterwards. I don’t know how you’ve found out I had kept it, but I surely wasn’t that stupid so as to put it back into my head after what you had done. I really want to know how you’ve managed to–”

“We all have our secrets, Rhysie. But enough about me, let’s talk about you.” Jack gave Rhys a wink. “How’ve ya been? Must admit, I fell out of the loop and now need an update,” he said petulantly. Now he was idly looking around as if he had lost all interest in what was happening.

Rhys decided to let go of his worries for now. If he couldn’t make Jack talk, his only option was to gain his trust once again and find out how he survived. Or if he did at all. Just be composed, not the worst scenario you’ve ever been in, he said to himself.

“Um, actually, I’m great. This is my office and… We’re doing fantastically if you disregard the fact that we’re at war with Maliwan and currently I am occupied with this new–”

“Yeah-yeah, okay, what was there about a war? I don’t remember Maliwan scum being at least somehow dangerous. How did you even manage to mess this up?”

Rhys stood up from his huge chair, arms akimbo, eyes disdainfully narrowed, and went on with his story, affronted and even a little peevish.

“As I was saying, I’m working on a new plan right now. At this point I’m pretty fed up with Katagawa, this new CEO of Maliwan,”–definitely peevish right now–“Oh, in fact, I just hate him so much!”–now even irate–“The day he murdered all his siblings, he just mobilized his fleet and went straight to my planet! Who in the right mind does that? Could’ve sent a message at least. Anyway,”–Rhys hid his hands into his pockets and sunk back into his chair, having lost all his righteous anger–“he wants our corporations to merge, to fuse, as he says, to become one.” The irritation on Jack’s face was becoming more distinct with every word Rhys said. “He wants me to sign the deal and share my developments with him, can you believe it? That greedy bastard!”

“Proposals like that don’t just come out of nowhere. Seems like he’s been watching you. This Katagawa guy, what does he offer you in return? Money, contacts, tech?”

“Himself, I guess,” said Rhys without any second thought.

“What?” asked Jack contemptuously. He was already close to seeing red. Rhys forgot how it worked with him.

“He said we would become partners, but I think it’s all lies to make it seem pretty. I suspect he will simply take control of Atlas and our new shiny guns, and all my work will be wasted.”

“I see, no one can trick our Rhysie,” said Jack, grinning. “Thank god, at least some good news.”

“That’s right!” said Rhys, perhaps, more enthusiastically than he should have. “No one,” he added more quietly. Except for you, you snake, muttered the inner voice inside his head.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you something this whole time. Funny how I really haven’t been here for long, but you know. May I?”

Jack’s incisive manner of speech was absent, so Rhys took his guard down for a moment, getting the feeling that this conversation was like one of those they used to have before – unbraced and at times even innocuous.  

“I know what’s on your mind, Jack,” he said, heartfelt and certain.

“You do?” Jack undoubtfully seemed surprised at his interlocutor’s insight.

“Yes. I’ve noticed how you look at me and I know exactly what you want to ask.” Rhys made himself more comfortable in the chair, crossed his legs and sat straight, in a more business-like manner. “This,”–he made a vague hand gesture around the area of his mouth–“is a siege mustache. Shh, let me finish, you can’t say anything I haven’t heard about it before. My troops love it, and as a good commander, I do what I can to boost morale on the battlefield. Of course, I don’t go out there, but they are happy enough when they see my hologram. A-a-and, now you can talk. I guess. If you want to. By the way, I don’t care if you hate it, it’s my face so–”

“You know what? I love it. Love it. Never thought I would say that, but I am saying it right now, so here you are. The second rule of a successful boss – do what the fuck you wanna do with your face. The first one is murder the previous boss, of course.”

“Really?” gingerly asked Rhys, who, in reality, had never heard anything good about his poor moustache.

“Really. But I must upset you, Rhysie. This is not what was bothering me. You see, there’s this other little thing, pretty close in its significance to your moustache.”

“Oh,” uttered Rhys nonchalantly, “what is it?”

“Hyperion. What’s with it? What’s with MY Hyperion, Rhysie?”

At the sound of that very word Rhys hunched in his chair and felt as if he was reducing in size under Jack’s cold gaze.

“After what had happened… the Helios was destroyed and everything collapsed and…”

Rhys sat silent, not able to go on, and this was the last thing he should’ve done. Jack was not in the mood for such a behavior.

“Look me square in my fucking translucent eyes, Rhys, and tell me – what is with my Hyperion?” yelled Jack.

He still sat on the table quite far from Rhys, but it seemed like the room suddenly shrunk and he was right in front of him. Jack was a ghost, a phantom, not able to do anything, not able to inflict any damage or even touch him, but Rhys sensed the danger. No matter in what form, Handsome Jack was still Handsome Jack.

“I don’t know. I guess, somebody took control of it after I left. The weapons are still being manufactured, but I didn’t bother to find out who was the next in line after Helios was… after I destroyed Helios.”

Rhys exhaled loudly and averted his eyes from Jack. Oh, yes, making Jack angry is much easier than making him proud, how could I forget, he thought.

“I see. I didn’t doubt for a second you would do that to infuriate me. Believe it or not, this is the first time I’d rather be disappointed. But you know what? It doesn’t matter now. Now we’re bonding,” Jack sucked the air through his teeth, “now we’re rebuilding what was destroyed like a family we are. Isn’t that great? Look at us, two best buddies exchanging the latest news.”

“And you promised not to be nasty this time...?” Rhys made a feeble attempt to save himself and remind Jack about the terms under which he was allowed to accompany him.

“Yes, Rhysie, and you know damn well I keep my promises.”

And he did. But only when he promised to kill somebody.

[livesincerely]

dress you up, dress you down ch.1 - dress you up

aka the Tie Fic. Also on Ao3

00000

“So. Davey.”

Davey pauses mid-sip. He looks at Katherine, then down at the cup of coffee in his hand—it’s the expensive kind, the kind that comes with milk and sugar, the kind that Davey would never dare buy for himself—then back up at Katherine, and realizes that he’s been tricked.

He sets his cup down with a heavy sigh. “What is it?”

To her credit, Katherine doesn’t even pretend to misunderstand. “Jack needs new clothes.”

Davey’s eyebrows shoot up.

“Okay...” he says after a moment of consideration. “Why does Jack need new clothes? We got him that art smock so he’d stop getting paint on his selling shirts and I haven’t noticed any rips or tears—“

“No, not his selling clothes,” Katherine interrupts. “I want to get him a few outfits that he can wear for his shifts in the art department. He keeps coming in wearing his Newsies cap and he showed up at my father’s office on Friday with a piece of tie-line holding his pants up instead of a belt.”

“He didn’t,” Davey says, though he doesn’t find it at all hard to believe, torn between laughter and exasperation.

“He really did,” Katherine says, the corners of her eyes crinkling up in amusement. “I’m sure a lot of it is just impertinence for impertinence’s sake—understandable after all that’s happened—and god knows it’s good to have someone around that won’t jump at my father’s every beck and call, but Davey,“ Katherine leans forward, her expression turning serious, “you get why things can’t continue on this way, don’t you?”

Davey takes a long drink of his coffee to give his thoughts a chance to settle. Because the thing is, Davey absolutely understands Katherine’s concern.

Jack’s new position at The World is a fantastic opportunity, especially for someone who wasn’t born with the privileges of a full education, a comfortable home, or family connections to ease his way in life. This job might just be a weekly political cartoon, but it has the potential to one day be so much more: the start of a life-long career, where Jack can do something he loves and get paid a fair wage to do it.

Jack’s hard working and smart and so incredibly talented, but he’s also stubborn as a mule and dead set against submitting to any kind of authority, even over something as simple as an office dress code. Pulitzer and the other managers in the art department might be willing to look over Jack’s apparel for now, but not forever—the last thing Davey wants is for Jack to get passed up for promotions, raises, and projects because he can’t dress the part.

“Yeah,” Davey finally says. “I get it. It’s a good idea, Kath.”

“Great!” Katherine exclaims. “So now we just have to convince Jack to let us pick out some business casual clothes for him; I was thinking we could spend tomorrow uptown, my tailor will be able to see us right away, I’m sure, and we can get Jack’s measurements taken and have him fitted for a few—“

“Wait, hold on,” Davey says, suddenly wrong-footed. “How did I become involved in this? It’s your idea!”

“But it’ll be easier to convince him if he hears it from both of us,” Katherine says. She’s hitting him with the wide-eyed, pouty, please-Davey-do-this-favor-for-me face. Joke’s on her: if Les and Sarah hadn’t already indoctrinated him against that face years ago, the last couple of months spent as the lone voice of reason amongst the chaos that is the Lower Manhattan Newsies would’ve done the trick. “And it would be helpful to have your opinion when he starts trying things on.”

“You mean, it’ll be helpful to have me there to take the fall if Jack hates the idea,” Davey says.

“Oh, sure, like Jack’s gonna be angry with you,” Katherine says, rolling her eyes.

Davey patently ignores this comment. “I mean, you clearly have a handle on the situation,” he continues, fingers drumming against the rim of his coffee cup. “I’m sure you don’t really need me to—“

“If you come with me to pitch this to Jack, I’ll make sure he leaves with a new set of suspenders,” Katherine says.

Davey blinks, his protests thoroughly derailed. Katherine knows him too well.

“I hate you,” he says, blowing out a breath. “Fine, I’ll go. But I’m telling you now, Jack’s not gonna be happy about this.”

“All we have to do is present a united front,” Katherine states with incredible confidence. “He can’t argue if it’s both of us.”

“No. Hell no,” Jack says when they approach him the next day. The two of them have been talking for all of five minutes and Katherine and Jack both look ready to throw punches. Davey’s relatively sure it won’t come to that, though honestly, his money’s on Katherine if it does.

“Jack, would you please just—“ Katherine gets out through clenched teeth.

“I said no, Kath! How many more times do you wanna hear it? No!”

Katherine throws Davey an exasperated look—one that says ‘for the love of God, talk some sense into him.’

“Jack,” Davey starts, taking a step closer to him. “I think you should let Kathy take you shopping for some new clothes.”

Jack whirls around to face him, his eyes dark with irritation. “Dave, just ‘cause  I’m workin’ a desk gig don’t mean I need some fancy geddup to do my damn job—“

“Jack, no one’s saying you need to start showing up to The World dressed to the nines,” Davey says, “but don’t you think having a nice set of office clothes would get the other workers to treat you with more respect?”

“I shouldn’t hafta dress a certain way to get treated decent,” Jack says, and he still looks upset but he’s starting to settle down. “Havin’ money don’t make ya a better worker and being poor don’t make me an idiot.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Davey asks, running a hand soothingly along Jack’s shoulders until the tension there eases. “I’m not saying it’s fair, of course it’s not fair—but stuff like this never is. It’s about knowing the game and learning how to play it. Katherine and I just want to make sure you got a decent shot at it.”

Jack holds Davey’s gaze for a long moment, then the last of the fight drains out of him.

“Fine,” he huffs. “What exactly did the two of ya have in mind?”

00000

Katherine doesn’t give Jack the opportunity to reconsider. She drags them uptown to a little tailor’s shop with a neat, simple storefront, but whose glossy windows and brass finishes make it clear that this is a place that caters to the upper class.

The bell above the doorway chimes gently as they enter. The young woman behind the counter looks up from where she’s taking inventory and greets them with a smile; a moment later an older gentleman with a head of salt and pepper hair comes out of a back room, his arms open wide in welcome.

“Miss Katherine,” he exclaims, taking one of Kathy’s hands in his own and kissing the back of it. “How good it is to see you once more! And you have brought friends!”

“Good morning, Giovanni,” Katherine greets warmly. “This is David and this is Jack. Jack’s the latest hire in the art department—he works on political cartoons.”

“Jack… Kelly?” Giovanni asks. “Yes, I have seen your work! I very much enjoyed the cartoon with the little shoe shiner. Was very funny!”

Jack looks a little caught off guard—like he wants to dislike Giovanni on sheer principle, but is finding it difficult in the face of such an honest compliment.

“Uh... nice to meet ya,” Jack says.

“We’re looking to get Jack fitted for a few things,” Katherine explains. “Business casual, office wear. Do you have time to see us now?”

“Of course, Miss Katherine,” Giovanni says. “We will get this taken care of right away. Abigail!” The girl at the front counter scurries over. “Turn the sign on the door—we have a project and must not be disturbed!”

Giovanni has Jack stand on a small footstool towards the back of the store. He makes a slow circle around him—pulling a tape measure out of one of his apron pockets and whipping it to and fro—eyeing Jack critically and muttering rapidly to Abigail, who trails behind him dutifully taking notes.

For his part, Jack looks deeply uncomfortable with having such careful scrutiny trained on him. Davey tries to seem calm and reassuring but he’s not sure how successful he is: he’s feeling a bit out of his depth as well.

Finally, Giovanni steps back. “This is enough to start with,” he says, nodding decisively.

“What options can we look at right now?” Katherine asks, with a kind of intensity that Davey would be hard pressed to muster up over any clothing, no matter its quality. “Ideally we’d like to leave here with at least one full outfit.”

“We keep a selection of our most popular styles on hand for customers to try on before purchase,” Giovanni offers. “Would you like to begin with those? I can think of several that would flatter the young gentleman.”

Katherine smiles. “That sounds perfect.”

The two of them have a quick conversation about colors and cuts and fabrics that goes over Davey’s head, then Giovanni is bustling Jack into a changing area, his arms weighed down with bolts of cloth and a mouthful of stick pins. In the meantime, Abigail ushers Katherine and Davey over to a pair of cushioned stools set up next to a tri-fold mirror, ostensibly so they’ll have the best view from which to offer commentary and cast judgement.

Or, really, for Katherine to cast judgement. Davey suspects his main job will be mediating when the argument between ‘An Actual Heiress’ Kath and ‘the paint stains on this vest match my hat so it’s fine’ Jack inevitably breaks out.

They’ve not been waiting very long when Jack comes out of the fitting room to model the first outfit. Davey glances over when he hears the rustle of the curtain being pushed back and—

Oh.

Oh.

Jack is wearing a navy blue button down with a pair of dark gray slacks and a matching vest. The colors and cuts aren’t that much different than his usual garb, but the way everything fits makes a whole world of difference. Oh good god, does everything fit.

Davey’s eyes bounce here and there, his brain unable to decide which part of the incredible sight to focus on. There’s the strong line of Jack’s shoulders, which look even broader than usual because of how the vest tapers in at the waist. Or how the fabric of the pants drapes nicely around Jack’s thighs, perfectly highlighting the toned muscle underneath.

Jack looks back to ask Giovanni a question. Davey’s eyes trail up the backs of his legs as he turns, then up over the curve of his ass—

Davey ducks his head to hide his burning face. Oh no.

“That looks great, Giovanni,” Katherine says. “How does it feel, Jack?”

“Like it’s too damn expensive,” Jack mutters. He’s standing strangely: holding his arms out from his sides like he’s trying his hardest not to touch the clothes even as he wears them. “I’m still not convinced that all this is necessary.”

“Do not start with me, Jack Kelly,” Katherine says, one eyebrow lifted. “Now honestly, what do you think?”

“Well... it fits,” Jack says lamely. “That’s all that matters, right?”

“Jack,” Katherine starts with a huff.

“I’m serious!” Jack says defensively. “I’m not tryin’ta get on ya nerves, Kath, but I dunno what else there is to say.”

Katherine considers him for a moment, then sighs, disappointed but accepting the answer. “Davey, what do you think.”

Davey’s throat works. He still sort of feels like someone’s hit him over the head, but he manages to say, “The gray is nice. You can match it with a bunch of different colored shirts.”

“Hmm...” Katherine hums, tilting her head to the side. “Simple, versatile... sure, we can make that work.”

“Versatile?” Jack whispers to Davey.

Davey gets caught between not staring at Jack and trying not to look like he’s avoiding staring at Jack; his gaze lands somewhere around Jack’s left ear. “She means colors like black and gray and navy and brown—stuff that goes with everything.”

“Right, okay,” Jack mutters to himself. “That don’t sound too bad.”

Another quick conversation between Giovanni and Katherine, then Jack’s back in the fitting room to try on a second option. As the curtain pulls shut, Davey feels himself let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.

Katherine glances over at him and says, “Aren’t you glad you agreed to come with us?”

Davey’s blush had been fading, but it flairs up again with a vengeance. “You are the worst person.”

“I am the best person,” Katherine corrects. “I’m the reason you know what Jack looks like in pants that actually fit his waist—“

“Katherine,” Davey hisses, shoulders hunching in embarrassment.

“—and I saw you staring at his biceps. You’re welcome for that, by the way.”

“Katherine, oh my god—!”

Jack comes out again, this time in a black and white ensemble, and still looking far too handsome for someone who’s been safety pinned into his clothes.

“I like this, but it’s a little... plain.” Katherine says, mercifully distracted from tormenting Davey any further.

“And? What’s wrong with plain?” Jack grumbles. He moves as if to cross his arms across his chest, then seems to remember all the sharp pins sitting very close to his skin. He settles for tucking his hands in his pockets. “Plain works just fine for me.”

“It needs something to finish the look,” Kath muses, ignoring Jack completely. She looks at Giovanni and asks, “What sorts of ties do you have?”

“No. Absolutely not. Ya mighta talked me into a coupla shirts but ya ain’t gonna put me in no tie—“

“We have a fine selection, Miss Katherine,” Giovanni responds, joining Katherine in talking over Jack’s protests. “In fact, we just received a variety of silk ties in a number of colors. I will fetch the display—“

Jack’s eyes bug out a little when he hears the work silk, his mouth opening and closing soundlessly; Davey fairs only slightly better. Katherine and Giovanni don’t pay them any mind—examining the assortment of ties, weighing the pros and cons of each one, occasionally holding one up next to Jack’s face and frowning.

After a few more seconds of spluttering, Jack seems to come to terms with the fact that he’s leaving with a tie. He points at the array Giovanni has brought over and says, “What about that blue one?”

“You and your blue,” Katherine mutters, shaking her head. “How about something different for once? This silver one is nice. Or, how about this one, with the stripes—“

“If you’re gonna make me get a tie, you could at least let me pick it out,” Jack grumbles. “I like the blue one.”

“You can’t only wear blue, Jack,” Katherine says, a little testily. “You need to have different options.”

“Don’t seem so important to me,” Jack says with a shrug. “Blue’s a good color: it don’t stain too easy, it’s versatile.” His eyes dart briefly to Davey, and then away again. “And it’s my favorite.”

“Be that as it may, I still think you should choose something else—“

“Jeeze, why does it matter so much—“

“The red one,” Davey blurts out, and given that he hadn’t meant to say anything at all, it comes out much louder than he’d intended it to.

Katherine and Jack halt their bickering and they all turn to look at him. Davey regrets opening his mouth.

He swallows, then awkwardly continues, “You should try the red one. It looks nice—red is a nice color, I mean. You’d look good in it, or it’d look good on you. Either, really, I guess. And, um... yeah.”

“Uh, okay,” Jack says when Davey trails off. “Sure, let’s try the red one.”

Giovanni slips the tie around Jack’s neck and knots it for him with professional ease. Jack flips his collar back down, then tucks the ends hesitantly under his vest. He stares at himself in the mirror, twisting and turning as he checks himself over from all the different angles.

It looks nice. Better than nice, actually. Maybe even incredible. Davey tugs at the collar of his own shirt, suddenly feeling overheated.

“Yeah, that’s the one,” Katherine declares. She’s not even looking at Jack, instead she’s watching Davey for his reaction. She pins him with a knowing smirk, and Davey blushes even harder, privately wishing for a nice, cozy sinkhole to open up beneath him and put him out of his misery.

“I dunno,” Jack murmurs dubiously, not noticing the exchange. “What do you think, Dave? Does it live up to your expectations?”

Davey really wishes Jack would stop asking for his opinion. He already feels like he’s suffocating—Jack could at least do him the courtesy of letting him die unharassed.

“...I think it looks good,” Davey mutters into the floor.

Jack does another turn. “I still think the blue one woulda been nice...”

“Get the tie,” Katherine orders.

“But—“

“Get the tie before I stab you with these fabric scissors.”

Jack ends up leaving with two vest-and-pants combinations, one in black and one in gray, four dress shirts in various colors, the promised suspenders, a new pair of shoes, and the red silk tie. Katherine leaves with an incredibly satisfied expression and Davey leaves with significantly elevated blood pressure.

As they walk back home, Katherine says, “So do you want me to hold on to everything, or do you want Davey to?”

“What?” Jack asks.

“Who do you want to keep your new clothes, me or Davey?” Katherine repeats.

Jack and Davey stare at her, not grasping her meaning.

“You don’t have anywhere to keep them at the Lodging House, and I would say you could see if Medda would let you keep them at the theater but I know they wouldn’t last the day before they were covered in paint,” Katherine explains. “So? Me or Davey?”

“I guess I’ll have Davey keep ‘em for me, if that’s okay,” Jack decides, glancing at Davey for permission. “Probably easier that way.”

“Um, sure, that’s fine,” Davey says, taking the garment bag when Jack hands it to him. “You can get changed at mine, and we can clean and press them for you too.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Jack agrees. “I’ll just pop over before my shift tomorrow, yeah?”

Davey imagines tomorrow, imagines trying to deal with Jack in a suit and tie first thing in the morning, and can feel his expression start to falter. “Sounds good,” he says weakly.

00000

Chapter two here

[reactingwithexo]

Bonnie & Clyde (7) - Baekhyun

Part 1/ 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6

Summary: “Babe I want you to know how much I love you, how much I need you”

genre: mafia/gang au!, angst, fluff sometimes, smut

warnings: filthy smut(!), car sex, fingering, dry humping, just all these stuff, don’t read it if you’re not over 18 ok?

word-count: 3.3K

A/N: This is hapenning for realz, thank you so much for everyone who has been supporting me lately, I’m getting so much love here that I feel I am not worthy of, hope you like it.

He put his hands on his pockets and paced a little bit “I don’t know yet”, he stopped and looked at you “Can I ask you something now?”

“Hm, yes, one question”

“That might be a little bit selfish of me but, would you be willing to go on another adventure with me?”

“What? Baekhyun, you’re being investigated”

“I know”

“What the hell are you planning?”

“Ah” he takes exact three steps in your direction and stops right in front of you, you could feel his breath on your cheek before he said “you didn’t answer my question”

“You need to be honest with me if you want an answer”, you said while he kept his stare on you.

“I’m not asking you to go back there with your brother, I’m not, I promise, I have something else in mind, just us”

You were confused if this was another trap or if he had some honesty within him when it came to you “I am not going to go on another quest with you while you keep passing info to my brother”

“Y/n...” he took a step closer to you yet again “It’s not like that this time” he took your hand in his and gave it a gentle kiss “I don’t think I can do this without you, I understand if you want to move on, or even” he paused and swallowed “help on my arrest, I probably deserve it for fucks sake but, I also thought that maybe if you’d payed attention to everything that hapenned since we met, you’d see that I care about you, for real”

You knew he did try to protect you multiple times, I mean the guy was shot for you more than once, still part of you thought that maybe it could be a scheme, but part of you wanted to give in.

“You know what?” He asks while your forehead touches his after he pulls you even closer, his hand still holding yours, his gaze now directly on you “I give you the choice, if you want to help the police, fine, if you want to disappear and never see me again, that’s fine too, or if you’re willing to give me another chance”

You felt that you were holding your breath and your heart was racing “what is really your plan?” you decided to focus on your fingers tangled to his “just run away?”

“Not exactly” he stared at your hands too and started to swing them left and right slightly “I have some places to go, unfinished bussiness”

You hummed “is it legal?”

He smiled “depends”

You backed away and felt yourself frown “ah baekhyun, are you kidding me? I just told you I don’t want to be involved in stuff like these”

He shook his head “y/n, it’s not about your brother, you didn’t even le-”

“You wanna start your own mafia now is that it?” you exclaimed.

“Hey!” he alerted you to the fact that you had police all around the room before continuing “y/n, you’re so silly sometimes”.

He took two steps in your direction, closing the distance between you two yet again “you need to remember that, if you accept tagging along with me it won’t be entirely legal getting out of here ” his lips aimed to whisper in your ear “but i can’t stop thinking abou-”

There were two subtle knocks on the door and Baekhyun seemed to loose his train of thought, he swiftly whispered “if you choose to be with me, try to meet here at 10 pm, the door will be unlocked” 

It was so fast you couldn’t react to what he said and Baekhyun had already stepped back from you as Namjoon stated your time to talk was over. You just nodded his way and left the room turning around looking back at him to see he stopped his pacing to give you a side smile.

“So when are you avaiable to start the testimony? We need it as soon as possible” Namjoon asked you as soon as you left the room.

“I don’t know yet” You looked down “I thought I could have some time to assimilate all of this”

“I think you had enough time, no? By the looks of it you were taken care of just fine” he said with an unpleasant tone.

You felt anger coming through you as you turned to him  “What the fuck is your problem with me?”

He seemed shocked for a split of a second before his expression turned into a grin as he opened his mouth to answer you “listen to me, I don’t trust you as much as I don’t trust your friend in there”

You were ready to answer him with gritted teeth when Taehyung showed up “hey.. everything alright?”, he looked back and forth between you two.

You just looked at him and realized you had made your decision “Yeah I just.. need to rest, can I stay in the infermary for a little bit? my head hurts”

“Yeah of course”, he promptly helped you to get there and you saw Namjoon from the corner of your eye shaking his  and letting out a huff while you were leaving his sight.

You followed until the infirmary when Taehyung asked you “are you okay? you look a little off”

“I’m fine , just confused”

“Oh , the talk didn’t go well?”

“I guess you could say that, but I think I just need to rest really” You answered with a reassuring smile

“Okay , Imma leave you here” he turned around to leave the room when you asked “Where’s Flora?”

“She’s probably taking care of other things right now, sometimes she goes to other units”

“Oh , so she won’t be here during the whole day?”

“She should be here before 8 pm”

“Hm I see, thanks”

“Why ? Do you have any specifics you wanna talk to her or something?”

“No no, I just didn’t see her here so I wondered”

He didn’t seem to be fully satisfied with your answered but let it slide anyways “Okay, I’m gonna check on you later then and we can talk”

Fuck.

You smiled “yeah sure, see you later”

He nodded and left the room.

Ok so you’re fucked. Flora will be here before 8 pm and Taehyung will probably reappear in a few hours , how the hell would you endure until 10 pm and leave without being noticed?

Furthermore this place is full of cameras didn’t Baekhyun think of that? How would you two get out?

Maybe this was a sign of the gods for you to rethink your decision, or maybe Baekhyun didn’t think this through. Maybe you should just go out and never look back.

“You seem to be worrying too much for someone as young as you are” Flora entered the infirmary with some supplies on her hands and a big smile on her face.

“Hm..I guess you could say that” you tried to laugh it off but she didn’t seem to buy it as she still stared at you

She started to organize some cabinets before asking you quite discretly “I’ve been asked to ask you if you really do have a commitment at 10 pm?”

“What?” your head turned to her immediately. Was it possible she knew? What if everyone already knew and this was a way of the police getting to you?

“If yes, I’m gonna help you out” She continued as you looked at her in shock “There aren’t many people here after 8 pm so I don’t think it will be complicated”

Yes it could be a trap but what were your other options really? “Are you serious? What did I miss”

She laughed and turned to you “Sweetie, I’ve been in the service for a long time, you learn to make friends at both sides to survive in here for as long as I have, believe me”

“I see” 

“But I don’t think this one is that bad, he seems to have good intentions at least”

“How can you know that?” you asked more to yourself.

“Sometimes you just know sweetie” she answered with a smile “So you’re going I suppose -” she laughs a little “how silly am I, of course you are”

“Why are you laughing?”

“Judging by the look on your face and his eagerness for my help, I’d say it is obvious.”

And Flora was right. Of course you’d go with him, you probably would regret everyday if you didn’t, and even more if you helped with arresting him, deep down a part of you believed he was a good person, he was just raised in a bad environment and that’s all he has known.

Flora helped getting taehyung far off telling him you ended up sleeping there after taking medicine for a ‘terrible headache’. It took some work to convince him but she still managed it “experience” she exclaimed proudly when you looked impressed over her abilities.

She handled you a big bag from one of the cabinets and asked you to follow her, instead of following the path you’d been guided earlier, you entered through the back where there was a kitchen and some deposit right after, you realized there weren’t any cameras there, contrary to almost every other room in the building.

You quickly found yourself reentering  where Baekhyun was.

The look on his face when he saw you two enter was something you wish you could have recorded, or maybe it was just something from your head, but you felt this more than usual urge to kiss him right there.

He seemed to have the same thought for a split second but the adrenaline of the moment kept you two while you focused on Flora’s last tips for leaving.

“The exit has many more guards than usual, you must be something kid” she tells Baekhyun before moving on “but there’s a way, I’ll have to distract them because it is the only way out but you have to be really fast, so I hope you’re both ready”

Baekhyun took your hand in his as you followed her once again, you two looked at each other for a quick second before she rushed you two.

You don’t really knew how she managed but with her sympathy she really managed to get all the guards concentrated on whatever she was talking and as she indicated with her hand you and Baekhyun managed to run out of the building.

Maybe you were being stupid but you two just kept running until you couldn’t anymore and as you exchanged glances and he smiled at you, you both started laughing while you gave up on running and took a seat on a bench near by.

“Oh my god Baek..” you gasped while still laughing “I don’t know what I’m doing” you leaned your head on his shoulder and it was his turn to talk while he wore this cute smile.

“Not even I know for sure y/n, but now we’re here right?”

“Yeah..so what’s the first stop? We shouldn’t be sitting here , they’ll come looking for you eventually”

“Yes you’re right, we need to get the car before” he took the bag Flora had given you earlier, opening it and checking some of what was inside. “Great, just like I asked”

Following that , you two rented a car with some fake id baekhyun had and he rushed to start driving as fast as he could before anyone realized he was not where he was supposed to be. He also told you the trip would last 3 days.

“3 days in a car? Oh my god are we moving countries?”

“Aish, of course we’re gonna stop to sleep y/n, you won’t spend the whole day in the car gosh, did you forget how we used to do?”

“We weren’t fugitives that time, I was more relaxed”

“Considering you were running away from your brother , seems like a lie”

“Whatever Baek, just tell me when we get to sleep”

“You’re awkwardly a whiner today, already regretting coming with me?”

You just smiled and answered “We’ll see in the next few hours, maybe if I get too bored i can head back and head you over to the authorities”

“Hmm but you’d be in trouble too for helping me escape in the first place” he placed the hand he wasn’t using to drive on your knee

Silence seemed to take over for a little while and he started to take his hand higher to your thigh, it may have seemed like it was just a non calculated touch but the electricity between you two has been so overwhelming ever since your last kiss that any touch you two encountered from the other already set the sparks high.

“I could just tell them you seduced me to help you” you mumbled “Or maybe even blackmailed me and I didn’t have a choice”

“You know I feel bad when you have to lie because of me” he says with a slight smile on his face “and we’re not that far from where we escaped so there’s a possibility we’ll get caught soon”

His hand caressed your thigh more surely “So maybe I could seduce you so you won’t have to lie about it”, you two traded looks and he pulled over on some residencial street you were passing through so he could focus on you properly.

“Seduce or blackmail me?” You asked and he answered by taking your chin with the fingertips of his other hand guiding your look directly to his eyes “maybe both”

You didn’t loose time going for the long awaited kiss and his lips felt like the most delicious thing you have ever tasted.

The kiss held some of the urge you both kept inside for a while and the promise of something more to come

While one of his hands helped deepen the kiss pulling you closer through the back of your neck, his fingers brushed the place you wanted him to touch you the most and you letted out a small gasp swallowed by the kisses.

You felt annoyed about the restrainement on touching him in reason of the distance between the car seats and decided to stop the kiss so you could straddle him in the driver’s seat.

His hands immediately fell to your sides as you both laughed into the next kiss, when he pushed the seat all the way back to give you both more space, you felt him bellow you and started to grind down on him slightly.

It didn’t take him long to react by urging to take your shirt off, he gathered your hair with one of his hands as he opened space for his mouth to kiss and mark all over your neck until you started to release moans with the stimulation of grinding.

“I need you so bad” he whispered between kisses as you had heightened the speed of your movements.

He furthered his mouth to your collarbone and then stopped to admire your breasts, you took advantage of the moment and took off your bra, his look expressed hunger and defeat.

You decided to tease him a little bit when he was about to touch your breats, you slapped his hand away and touched them yourself, gaze never leaving his as you dry humped him.

 His chest was rising and falling quickly as he didn’t let you look away either “So you just want to use me to get off?”

“It would be a fine punishement for everything you’d done” you said while bringing your body closer to his again.

“You really want me not to move a finger anymore?” he reached to tease your almost exposed core through your underwear, you unconsciently bucked into his touch and he smirked at you “that’s what I thought”

He didn’t seem to give up on getting reactions from you this time as he teased your clit in small circles, he only seemed to be satisfied when you gave in and let out small whimpers, he kept one finger close to your clit while he used his middle finger to enter you. He murmured in your ear “You’re so wet for me baby”.

“Baekhyun...I need more” you moaned while he kept a steady pace, you heard him let out a little laugh as he added another finger into you.

“Ah Baek this isn’t eno-” you were cut by your own moan when he motioned the tip of his fingers in his direction inside you.” You have to stop complaining all the time and be a good girl for me”.

Baekhyun kept doing the same movement with his two fingers while the other now rubbed circles on your clit, you felt yourself tightening around his fingers “Should I let you come already?” he asked while speeding up his actions.

While you felt that part of you was reaching your high, you didn’t wanna come just yet. “No no” you shook your head.

“No?” He asked you with an amusing glint in his eyes.”Why? Tell me where you wanna come baby”

“I wanna ride you” you whined.

“You wanna ride my cock baby?” 

“Yes, I want it so bad Baek” He seemed to have had enough teasing you and  stopped his motions before kissing you hungrily “I’ve been waiting to do this with you for such a long time” he said after your lips separated from each other.

You had unbuttoned his shirt while you were kissing and now it was your turn to kiss his skin “Ay now you’re gonna tease me?” he asked.

“Just let me kiss you a little bit” you told him as he lowered his pants, you motioned your hand up and down his length and savored in the gasps and noises he let out, you took the condom he got from his pants and put it on him yourself.

After you felt sufficient with exploring his body, he helped you lowering yourself on his dick, the sensation felt as a relief for both of you and the sexual tension it has been building up since the last time you got to do this.

“Ah fuck” he said in the middle of a grunt when you started moving around him. “You feel so good”

You started speeding up, the orgasm that had been taken aback from you by Baekhyun, was begining to build up again and you began to exclaim non sense in the middle of both of your gasps and moans.

He helped you guiding your movements at first but as you seemed to be reaching closer to your peak he started thrusting up into you and that’s when you had to close your eyes to just focus on the sensation. He pulled you closer and whispered “come for me baby, i’ve got you”

His thrusts felt deeper from this angle and it didn’t take long for you to get to where you were in the verge of orgasming, in a moment of intense pleasure you gathered energy to bounce on him and he helped you reaching for your hips.

“That’s it baby, don’t stop” 

Indeed you didn’t as you felt your awaited high, you shook around his body with endless moans of his name slipping out of you.

Feeling you tighten and shake around him couldn’t have taken him closer to his high and soon enough he came as you were almost done savoring your own orgasm. 

You both seemed to just look at each other for a while when you’d both came down from your own respective peaks and slowly a smile creeped onto his face and you followed incousciously.

“We could have gotten arrested and it would all have been in vain”

“Worth it don’t you think?” You both laughed as you observed the situation you’ve put yourselves in.

He caressed your cheek with the side of his hand “I really do love you, you know?”

A/N: Ooof, I did it, hope you still like the series and don’t hate me too much for taking so long, as you all know I’m back for real and don’t plan on going anywhere. Any feedback is accepted, also I was so embarrased I didn’t proof read it so I’m sorry if there are many errors.

[christellaohwang]

The Call [Sehun x Reader OneShot]

Description: Sehun is married to y/n, however their relationship has lost its spark. He finds himself trapped in a lustful nightmare that can only offer him a brief escape from his unsatisfying reality.

Sehun's thoughts were more than cohesive. It's not that he was confused or anything. He knew perfectly well what he wanted. What he was uncertain about was what he needed. What if he made a mistake he would regret for the rest of his life? After all his wife wasn't stupid at all. In fact, he was stupid... For making the next step.

Sehun and Y/N weren't talking to each other anymore. They just stopped. Nothing specific happened. To him, it seemed like they grew apart. To her, it seemed as if he had stopped being in love with her. Sehun loved Y/N dearly. Lately, though, they repeatedly failed to communicate. He seemed to have forgotten how to touch her to show her his feelings. She felt as if he didn't care enough to listen to her anymore, even though Sehun was praying to listen to one word she had to say to him.

Maybe they had a problem and didn't dare to face it. Sehun thought it was because they wanted to protect their daughter that they always acted as if they had no problems. Problems need solutions and solutions need fights. On the other hand, love for Y/N was a double-sided knife. He desperately tried to grasp the long lost memories of excitement, adoration and tenderness when they first started dating. If mistakes happened along the way, they both wished they could turn back time to get them fixed. Only they did nothing more to make it come true.

At the beginning of their marriage, to them, everything worked perfectly. They both worked in the same field for almost half a day and sometimes Y/N left for she needed to travel to other places. Their relationship then became long distance for short periods of time, so they were both used to it and had adjusted their lives to make it perfect. And it was...

Sehun turned to his friends "I'll be right back".

He took a deep breath and started walking towards her. Her neck reminded him a lot. All the kisses he used to place on y/n's neck. Her tall, slim and curvy figure made him recall the first time Y/N approached him. He hadn't made the first step then, but he would make it now, because this time it wouldn't have been for love. He brushed her shoulder with his fingers. What an awful husband he would be...

"Excuse me miss", said Sehun in his soft and charming voice.

She turned around swiftly and her long pink curly hair locks almost touched his hands. She wouldn't have heard anything in the club. The music was too loud. Sehun smiled at her faintly and she did too. She excited him. Her similarity was exciting. She looked the same as the one he loved. Even though he knew his wife was at home with their daughter, she looked the same yet different. More childish and fresh. Just like Y/N was at first. It wouldn't matter if she didn't look the same in reality. In his eyes, she looked like his Y/N. And that would be the only way to ease himself into this...

"You are very beautiful..."

"Thank you mr...?"

"Oh Sehun... Call me Sehun..."

Her smile was frustratingly charming. He couldn't help but smile back for a moment. He felt something vibrating in his pocket and lowered his sight. The girl grabbed a bit of his shirt turning her focus back on her before she leaned against his ear and whispered. 

"Listen Oh Sehun... I got a little place nearly... Wanna go?"

Sehun slightly opened his mouth in wonder, but nodded nonetheless. He convinced himself he was about to go home, but she just stood in his way.

"Give me a moment..."

He briefly walked away from her and picked up his phone.

"Hello? Sehun?", asked Y/N.

"Hello? Y/N? Hi it's me, what's up baby? I'm sorry, listen I'm gonna be late tonight so don't stay up and wait for me, ok?"

"Where are you?"

"Wait wait say that again?"

"Hello?"

"You're really dropping out I think my battery must be low. Listen if you can hear me we're goin' to a place nearby, alright? Gotta go!"

And so he hung up and buried his guilt for not being loyal and honest to her for the first time ever. He grabbed his coat, bid his friends good night and followed her outside. Cheating was the wrong way, he knew this much, but he couldn't think straight anymore. He wanted back his wife, so hallucinations or not this would work just fine.

They started walking quickly. Her black dress hugged her figure perfectly. She took his hand and he was certain. She couldn't possibly be someone else. If he was hallucinating then he would only half cheat on her. Right?

"Do you mind if we stop by the supermarket Sehun?"

"No, it's ok, I can wait outside."

"No, come on, you should come with me!"

She let out a chuckle and playfully got in. Sehun started looking at the snacks. He had promised himself that he would buy Y/N her favorite chocolate before he returned home...

The lights suddenly started to go off. Sehun looked around for the girl but didn't seem to find her. He didn't like darkness at all. And the only thing that came to his mind at that moment was that if his wife was next to him right now, she would calm him down.

"How dare you think of your wife right now Oh Sehun? When you are about to cheat on her...", He thought to himself.

Someone touched his hair from behind and he turned instantly around flustered. The girl smiled.

"Are you ok? It seems there is a power cut. Come on..."

She paid for her stuff, exited the shop and started walking towards a big apartment block. The whole neighborhood reminded him of the good old '90s and that made him even more excited. A strong wind blew towards his face as they entered the tall dark building. Funnily enough, it looked like an old hotel, but people had the doors to their apartments wide open. Each and every one of them made him feel incredibly uncomfortable, as if he clearly didn't belong there. And oh they were so right.

Her apartment was at the far end of the hallway. Sehun glanced at all the people staring at him behind his back with disapproval but chose to ignore them. He sighed, entered her bedroom and heard the door closing behind him slowly. With his senses at peak, he smelled her fresh and flowery perfume in the air. She took off both of their coats. Sehun turned around to look at her innocent face one last time before he fell hard on her bed. She climbed on top of him and he closed his eyes waiting for her to touch him. She placed her thumb on his pouty lips and gave him a deep kiss.

She stole his breath and kept it safe in her heart. She touched his face one last time and leaned against his ear.

"Sehunnie?"

He finally heard the familiar voice and opened his eyes widely at once being in shock.

"Y/N?"

He stared at her face which bared a mixture of bitter disappointment and betrayal. Her tone quickly switched to show the anger his actions had caused her.

"Did you ever think I'm that stupid Oh Sehun? I'm sorry baby..."

She pulled out a knife from behind her back, raised it up to look at him one last time and pierced his heart with all the love and hate she could possibly master, letting out a sad cry of regret. Sehun gasped and looked at her aethereal trail before she stood up again, threw him one last glance and jumped off the open window and into the black night. The last moments of his life passed by. All the things he neglected and ignored just because he chose not to see them. Just as he chose not to see that it was her from the beginning. A real live picture from the past. Her touch was the same at the club too... He should have stayed there and danced with her. Again the safe option for a safe dream. What was he thinking...?

"Sehun? Sehun!"

His body was drenched in a nervous sweat. He opened his eyes not coming to the realization at once. Y/N stood above him touching his forehead.

"Sehun you are feverous..."

He jumped up anxiously realising it was all a dream and stared at her.

"When did you change your hair? Why is it pink?"

His mind must have been playing games with him, since now his wife looked identical to her doppelganger in his dream.

"Don't you remember me telling you that I would go to the hairdresser after work yesterday? Ah Sehun, I'm wasting your time even when I speak."

"It will get me killed in the end baby, don't worry, you outsmart me."

Sehun uttered those words in a low anxious voice and Y/N chuckled softly caressing his hair and looking bittersweet.

"Sometimes I do wish I could kill you."

"Maybe I wish the same thing Y/N."

"Well then maybe I should go ahead and do it..."

Her tone now was sarcastic and cold as she removed her hand and stood up from the bed. She walked to the dresser and stared into the mirror.

"And what will you do without me afterwards? Our child will be fatherless."

Sehun stared at her through the mirror with a vaguely serious expression, knowing full well it would get her mad. Y/N clenched her teeth and pierced him with her eyes.

"I'll make it seem like an accident, come on, I promise."

"Sure baby..."

Sehun stood up and walked towards her slowly.

"Go on baby. They say it's easier to kill if you feel hatred. I'm sure you'll feel relieved afterwards. But let's be honest, you wouldn't be able to do that even if your life depended on it, would you?"

"You bet I could Oh Sehun. There are multiple ways you can kill someone. One way is to stop loving them. Which you have for a while now. So why shouldn't I?"

She turned around and avoiding his harsh gaze tried to walk away frustrated. Sehun grabbed her wrist and pulled her back in front of him. He put his fingers on her chin to make her look up at him and ran a finger in between her shiny hair locks.

"Sometimes I think you are the smartest woman, but you occasionally act stupid my dear wife. What did you think? That I could just stop loving you?"

"You have, it couldn't be more obvious. You are just scared to admit it."

Sehun sighed and clicked his tongue defensively.

"No, I haven't. I just miss how things used to be initially. All the excitement of being in love, all the kisses and the touches that we no longer do, how we talked for hours. And I know you miss them too Y/N. I don't want to do them with anyone else. I want to do them with you."

Y/N looked deep into his eyes sad and disheartened. Sehun sat back down on the bed and pulled her on his lap. She hesitated but eventually relaxed and wrapped an arm around his neck. Sehun placed his one hand on her waist and the other one on her hips bringing her even closer. Y/N couldn't help but blush as she run her fingers through his periwinkle blue hair. Sehun leaned in and placed a tender kiss on her soft neck. Oh how he missed doing that, especially knowing she enjoyed that, seeing her shudder as a positive reaction. Y/N smiled at him and pulled him in for a deep kiss. It felt as if they hadn't kissed in ages. The truth though was that this was just a very different kind of kiss. A rejuvenating one full of adoration and passion. A moment between two soulmates who were at long last able to breathe each other again. And it felt rather relieving as Sehun realized that all he ever dreamed of was right there in his arms.

Author’s Note: This short story is a metaphorical depiction of how trapped unresolved issues can make 2 partners feel.

Sehun is my ultimate bias and I used to write fanfictions about him and me for EXO's Amino. I decided to patch up the only OneShot I have written so far and post it on here.

Also posted on Archives Of Our Own, AsianFanfics and Wattpad

[sun-choices]

It Lives Series: A Guide For Those Who Are Bad At Horror

*ORIGINALLY POSTED ON REDDIT, I AM REPOSTING HERE*

I’m famously bad at horror. I’ve played every single Choices book and been into the app since early when it came out in 2017, but the one series I’d never dared to play was the It Lives series. I’ve been dying to play the series but the scariest thing I’ve watched is Caroline and I get nightmares from that. I’ve also got real bad anxiety, so it was a no-go for me. However, I finally sucked it up and went through both, and god damn, they do live up to their rep. There’s been posts before asking how bad it is, but I would’ve liked something with more guidance to keep the anxiety more at bay. If anyone out there has been holding off on playing, or wants to replay as safely as you can, I hope this helps you all out.This guide will contain some spoilers for those who haven't played it yet, but I’ll try to keep them at the minimum, just some of the scariest stuff. I will also talk about keeping your friends alive diamond free in ILB, a highly debated topic, so keep reading for that too.

GENERAL GUIDELINES

Use the wiki guide for both books. This is the safest way to make the safest choices, have slight but not full on spoilers, and keep your friends alive without spending diamonds willy-nilly.

Do NOT play at night, and play with your sound off. Listen to cheery music even, if you want. I found the best time to play was taking on 2 chapters in the morning, and preferably when I had something to do for the day to take my mind off it later (school, work, etc)

Do not fret when you lose nerve. You might even fail nerve checks, but that doesn’t mean its the end for you all. Follow the wiki and think about how you want to play ILB, and everything should go fine in the end.

You don’t need diamonds to keep everyone alive in both books. However, a few calculated diamond choices can help make things less scary. I’ll go more in depth for each game, but as a general guide, weapons pop up over and over a lot in both games. If you want to spend, that’s a good choice.

Play differently than you usually do if you can. I usually play as a girl in non genderlocked books, so I played as a guy here with names very different from what I’d usually choose. Its a small thing, but can help separate things in your mind.

If you ever get really scared or you want to purposely do a darker play through and something disturbs you, remember we’ve basically all played the book, and these writers at PB were really just going all out on these books.

If you want to have a chance at winning diamond free in ILB or make it easier on yourself, everyone must survive in ILITW, and you must sacrifice Noah.

IT LIVES IN THE WOODS

IMO, I found this book scarier, while the other felt more like a mystery book. This is in part due to the scary artwork. There’s a pretty bad jumpscare early in the first chapter, of a purple zombified Dan, so beware of that and perhaps keep your hand splayed over the top. Monsters will also pop up throughout the book but they’re not so bad once you’ve seem them once or twice. The mud monsters can be scary as well for some. Redfield might look a bit creepy too at times but its manageable, look away from the sprite and cover it up if its too much for you. There’s a noticeable in Chapter 9 where the walls are filled with spiders so be ready to look away if that type of thing creeps you out. The next scariest thing I’d say is at the second to last chapter when the friends play Are You Scared in the cave and reading about your friend’s deaths and seeing their bodies splayed over the screen.

Scary story spoilers if you want them: Dan will be missing and then in a coma at first, but he will be found and turn out to be okay later on. Cody will show up impaled and dead on the tree outside your house at one point. Jane is Redfield. To complete the sealing ritual, someone else must become the monster (Noah or MC).

It is easier to keep everyone alive in this book, so don’t worry too much. Try to enjoy their friendships and any LIs you romance, because one of the best parts of these books is how well written everyone is and how intricate the story is.

You can make it through the story pretty easily w/o diamonds. However, as I said before, weapons are very useful to have and they reoccur the most often, helping tone down rougher scenes. Pets are nice refreshers, so if you want to buy one, thats cool too. The lore is what I feel least necessary, and you can google them up on the wiki anyways, but whatever you choose is fine!

IT LIVES BENEATH

This book is less scary, but harder to keep everyone alive. You cannot make one wrong choice without diamonds, and even then, everyone will be alive but Parker will abandon the group and go live elsewhere. This is okay if you don’t mind, but a few calculated diamond choices can help avoid this. Save up diamonds from ILITW to do so. Play with the wiki to get every choice right. You need a group nerve score of somewhere around 289 for nobody to die, so even if you fail minor nerve checks, even those sewer checks, get it up to there by then and you should be okay.

To win without diamonds: Choose EVERY right choice, so use the wiki or replay chapters. You MUST either dance or sit with Tom (you cannot lose your finger at the nerve check or you will need diamonds to make up and keep anyone from dying). Do note, I believe Parker will abandon the group regardless if you don’t buy at least one diamond choice, but he can still stay alive and nobody will die. Alternatively, you can keep him in the group for free but someone would have to die for him.

With Minimal Diamonds: Buy Parker’s stun baton. This boosts his nerve significantly throughout the book and I believe it’ll help get him to 55/100, the amount you need for him to stay in the group. I also bought the scene where you hide with him in a closet, and his end nerve was in the 80’s, so I think you’ll be okay with just the stun baton.

Disturbing scenes and spoilers: this book doesn’t have as many jump scares like the other. The first chapter has a gruesome bloody murder scene where you find MC’s parents dead and a bloody symbol on the floor, and MC remembers this in a flashback throughout the first half of the book. Maybe some of the animals are unsettling at first but they pop up so often its not too bad. The ghost monster from the lake is unsettling too but I’d put her at the same level as Benji’s statue in the closet you find in QB. Finally, I’d say towards the end when you go from the sewer into the water and find Josephine’s skeleton with the marlinspikes in her, that’s also unsettling. If you don’t like seeing ghost sprites, you will see Josephine’s and her angry expression is creepy as well, but again, try to avoid looking or cover up the sprite and you should be alright. Finally, in the last chapter, Richard will try to murder MC by putting them in a coffin. If your nerve is high enough and you use the wiki guide for the right answers, you will survive just fine.

Optional Diamond Purchases: if you have the extra diamonds, I highly recommend buying the bracelet as it serves like a little warning before something bad/scary will happen, and gives MC a major nerve boost later on. Again, weapons are great (I wish I had bought Imogen’s Bolas to keep her nerve higher but oh well), and weapons appear REALLY often in this book so its a worthy purchase. Next I’d say some of the rune items are helpful, such as the skeleton key and Danni’s seeing stone, and ofc the bracelet, but if you had to choose, I’d say weapons before most of the runes. Pets really only pop up once after the initial purchase, but they’re sweet if you want them. As for scenes with the group/one LI, those are nice too, they give MAJOR nerve boosts and since you kinda have to be selective of how you play diamondless, if you really wanna romance someone specific its a good way to get more interaction without risking someone else through the free options, and brings the group score way up regardless.

I hope this guide is useful to some of you, and if I’ve forgotten anything or you have questions, feel free to add on. This is a horror based series and I totally respect and understand anyone who wishes to play it as such and doesn’t mind characters dying, however the plot is so damn good, the friend groups are A+, and I figured I would’ve liked a guide like this when I played. Good luck everyone!

[amazingphanisnotonfire-imagines]

Jughead//...Baby One More Time

Request: Would I be able to request a reader/jughead smut where you both find out the other is sleeping in the school, maybe you happen upon each other in the showers?

Warning: Smut! ooooo

After school most people run out the doors as fast as they can. Once the bell goes, they leave as quickly as possible, a trail of dust behind them as they all race to get home. 

Not me however. Whilst everyone was running and pushing past me, trying to be the first ones out the door, I’m slowly wandering the halls, waiting for it to quiet down so I can hide in the old supply closet in peace. Not ideal, no. But for now it’s all I have. Growing up on the Southside meant you don’t have a lot to begin with, but throw in some lousy parents and missed rent payment, and you have no other choice to say goodbye trailer that you’ve grown up in, and hello to cramped, dark school supply closet. 

Things haven’t been great at home, my dad has been drinking more than usual and my mom was off doing god knows what, but me? I was coping...kinda. Doing a few shifts at the Wyrm each week and the money that my dad made when he actually did work was enough to scrape by. However school had picked up its pace, meaning revision and homework instead of wiping down bars. And dad had been more than useless, a few days later him and mom had disappeared, leaving behind a note saying they were going away for a while. Meaning I missed the rent payment (+ apparently dad hadn’t been the best at keeping up with them), so I was kicked out, and with no where else to go, Riverdale High is my new home. Yay, me... 

I mean sure, I have friends on the Southside. I have plenty of them, but they have their own problems and their trailers were small enough as it is, never mind adding one more person. 

And living in the school isn’t that bad. For a supply closet, its kinda cozy. I have a little blow up bed, a duvet and tons of shelves to put all my things on, I just have to share them with cleaning products and mouse traps. But, it’s in a part of the school thats rarely visited and I do get first dibs on the vending machines when they’re re-filled, plus I know where to hit them exactly to get free food. And because I’m staying at the school constantly, I know all the drama thats happening with the teachers. Like who’s sleeping with who and who’s stealing Mrs Thompson’s pens. 

Oh, who am I kidding. Living in a school sucks. It’s lonely, cramped and cold. Plus, just a nightmare. The only plus point? The showers. The school showers are the best I’ve ever had. They’re the highlight of my day, which to be honest, is quite sad to admit. 

Okay, 3:30. That means I have two hours to kill before the school is completely  empty and then I can shower. Library or bleachers? Library, I’ll do my homework for the week. 

“Y/n!!!!” Sweet Pea’s deep voice breaks the silence that has settled over the library, making me giggle. “What the fuck are you looking at?” He glares at two people sat at the table beside him who are staring and shaking their head at him. Both of them shake their head quickly and stare at the table. 

“I don’t mean to offend you.” I start and sit opposite him. “But what exactly are you doing here?”

“What do you mean?” He asks offended. 

“Its 3:34, meaning school finished ages ago, and you’re sat in the library doing...” I trail off as I look at the work he has open in front of him. “Spiderman?” 

“I can’t afford to buy it, but sometimes the library gets the new ones in, however because I’m a Serpent, I can’t take them home.” He explains. 

“Ohhhh. Yeah that makes more sense than you actually doing homework.” 

“Yeah. Who do you think I am?” 

“Sooooo.” I start, taking out the History homework from my bag. “Where’s the rest of the gang?” 

“Ermmm.” He says absentmindedly. “Toni is with Cheryl. As always.” He rolls his eyes making me giggle. “Fangs is helping Kevin with the drama department. And Jones? I dunno where Jones is. I saw him last period but he was acting weird.” 

“Weird?” 

“Yeah. Weird.” 

“Care to expand?” 

“Not really no.” He shakes his head. “I’m trying to read.” 

“Ouch.” I placed a hand over my heart. “Don’t worry, I got the hint. I’ll shut up.” I added and he grinned at me. 

-----

“Do you wanna ride home?” Sweet Pea asks as he stands up. 

“Errr.” I stuttered. “Its fine. I have a bit more to do.” 

“You sure?” He asks again and I nod slightly, sending him a soft smile. “Watch out Y/n. Your bordering on nerd territory.” He teases and I roll my eyes. He laughed as he walked to the front desk, handing the comic to the old lady that was looking him up and down. 

“Ha. Ha.” I deadpan and he looks back, laughing softly. 

“See ya.” He mock salutes before wandering out the library, leaving me alone...again. 

5:25 finally rolled around and I dragged myself out of the library and down the dark corridor so I could hide for five minutes. Once I was sure that everyone left I grabbed my towel and wash bag and made my way to the showers in the basement. Whistling as I went. Sometimes its nice to fill the quiet, what’s not nice though, is when you hear somebody else whistling faintly. 

“Oh shit.” I whispered and gripped the towel tighter to my body. Because that’s gonna save you from a serial killer. Okay. What would any normal person do in this situation. Well, I suppose no normal person would be living inside a school, so maybe that wasn’t the best thing to ask myself. 

Right, I have three options. Go back to the supply closet I call home and hope to god that whoever this person or thing is, doesn’t need any cleaning supplies in the near future. Run far away from the school and sleep in the park until they go away. Or be brave and maybe a little stupid and face this school demon, head on. Maybe it was the fact that I had been living in the school for a few days, making me slightly delirious. Or maybe it was because I’d witnessed Sweet Pea reading for what felt like the first time in forever, but apparently I’m feeling brave, so toothbrush gripped tightly in one hand, and razor in the other, towel over the shoulder and wash bag tucked under my arm, I decide to investigate...very slowly. Until I figure out if whatever this things is, is a threat or not. 

“Wait.” That tune is familiar. The whistling has turned into soft singing. “Is that Britney?” I ask myself, relaxing as I stop in the middle of the corridor. What kind of ghost/demon/killer sings Britney Spears while they’re showering in school?

Whoever is in the shower is not threatening, however this could all be one big ploy to brutally murder me. I grip the toothbrush tighter and slowly make my way forward, until I’m stood right in front of the shower curtain. Whoever this person is, is really getting into the chorus of ...Baby One More Time, making a smile replace the frown on my face. Okay, deep breath Y/n. You can do this. And if this is how you die, at least they’ll be a good soundtrack to go out with. Pulling the curtain back, I make eye contact with a very familiar Serpent and the two of us stand screaming for a few seconds. 

“Jughead!?” I shout, my hand gripping the shower curtain tightly. The razor and wash bag have long been forgotten, failing to the floor as I opened the curtain, but the toothbrush is still gripped hard in my hand and I can’t help but think how unthreatening I would look if this was a serial killer and not just a fellow serpent.

“What the fuck!!!” He screams and squeezes the soap he was using as a microphone. 

“Ahhhh. Holy shit! Cover yourself up.” I stutter and start to back up, my hands covering my eyes. 

“Cover up?” He asks. “I’m in the shower!” He adds and grabs the shower curtain, hastily covering himself. 

“What the hell are you doing here?” I ask, finally recovering from the shock. However I can’t help but bite my lip and the sight that was just before me. Jughead Jones in all of his glory. I mean, it’s not so bad. 

“What am I doing here?” He asks sarcastically and I nod my head. “I’m having a fucking wedding, what does it look like.” He shouts, now more angry than anything else and I flinch at the tone. 

“Sorry.” I mumble, hastily picking my stuff up from the floor and turning around. “Forget you saw me here, and I’ll forget I saw you. And I’m really sorry.” I ramble, my cheeks heating up. I make it a few steps forward before a wet hand is on my wrist pulling me back. I turn around, finding myself face to face with Jughead. My eyes trail down and my eyebrow quirks up. “I think you forgot something.” I whisper in his ear and he looks at me confused before looking down and blushing profusely. 

“Can you pass me my towel please?” He asks quietly and I nod, an amused smile taking over my features. I pass him the towel that was hanging on a stall beside me and he hastily wraps himself up. “I’m sorry.” He apologizes and you shrug.

“It’s fine.” 

“It’s not. I shouldn’t have snapped. I just got a...fright. I thought I was in some sort of re-enactment of Psycho.” 

“I thought I was in a re-enactment of every teen horror film ever while I walked down the corridor.” I admit and the two of us laughed softly. “If you don’t mind me asking, what exactly are you doing here?”

“Family troubles. Me and my dad have been arguing recently so I decided to get away, give him some space.” He shrugs, a sad expression taking over his face. I frown sympathetically at him and place a hand on the top of his arm, giving it a soft squeeze.

“How long you been staying here?” 

“A few weeks. I’ll probably go back soon.” 

“Why didn’t you just stay with some friends. You have plenty?” I ask and he looks around the room shyly. 

“I, err. I didn’t want to bother any of them.” He admits. 

“Ah...I get that.” I nod and the two of us look around awkwardly. “Well, erm. I’ll let you get back to your shower. You still had suds in your hair and you need to finish the rest of your song.” I excuse myself and start to walk backwards. “I must say Jones, I didn’t have you down as a Britney fan.” I tease and he rolls his eyes. 

“Wait!” He calls and I stop. 

“Yeah?” 

“Why are you here?” He asks and its now my turn to look away. The floor looks really appealing right now, so much so that I think I may be burning a hole into the tile. However, the intensity of Jughead’s stare is burning a hole in my head and I can’t take it for much longer. I suppose he told me why he’s here, I may as well give him the same. 

“My mom and dad went...away...for a while.” I start, trying to piece together the right words. Its so much harder to say out loud, to another actual human being and the tears in my eyes are threatening to fall. However, I’m not gonna cry in front of a half naked Jughead Jones while the two of us stand in the schools bathroom. At least not today. “Schools been kicking my ass so I had to stop working at the Wyrm and well, I ended up missing the rent. So now I’m here. Home sweet home.” I try to play it off and it’s my turn for the sympathetic look, which for the record, is absolutely no help at all. 

“Y/n...” He starts, his eyes softening as he looks at me out of pity. “I’m so so-” 

“It’s fine.” I cut him off. 

“Do you know when they’ll be back?” 

“Who?” I ask, I’m only half listening now, there’s a lot of things going on in my mind right now, but the main thing is that Jughead is stood half naked in front of me. And I’d be lying if I said I’d never thought about this. I mean, maybe not in this context and he is totally fully naked, but, I mean its practically the same thing. 

“Your parents.” 

“Oh, I dunno. Probably soon. But until then it’s Riverdale High all the way!” I fake cheer and he laughs. 

“Yep.” He agrees and raises his fist slightly. “Why didn’t you tell anyone?” 

“I didn’t want to bother anyone.” I shrug. 

“Ah.” 

“Yeahhh.” I trail off and we look at each other. His eyes look so pretty in this light. And his hair is all floppy and curly an-

“Did you hear that?” He asks, panic evident in his voice and eyes. 

“What?” I ask, but he grabs my wrist and pulls me into the shower cubicle. 

“Jones! Ask a lady firs-” 

“Shhh.” He places a hand over my mouth and my eyes widen in surprise. His arm is around my waist pulling me tightly against him and the dampness from his chest in making my t-shirt kinda wet. However my thoughts are quickly interrupted when the door to the bathroom opens and the two of us share a look. 

“What the hell?” A man’s voice asks confused and I squeeze my eyes shut. If we’re caught like this, we’re dead for so many reasons. The two of us listen closely as the man picks up the things I dropped on the floor. He looks around, well I assume he does. He could be doing anything for all I know. And then he walks out, closing the door behind him and I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. The two of us stay in the position for a few minutes longer before I look between the two of us and pull apart (as much as I didn’t want to). 

“Dammit.” I mutter as I open the shower curtain. “He stole my things. The only thing I have is my toothbrush.” Jughead laughs softly behind me and I turn to glare at him playfully. “And that was my good razor too...and towel!” 

“You can always share mine.” Jughead suggests and I eye him suspiciously. 

“What exactly are you proposing Jones?” 

“That you can share my soap and shower gel...and shower.” He winks at the end making me snort, before blushing profusely. “You’re cute.” He laughs and I roll my eyes. “Are you coming?” He asks and holds the shower curtain open. 

“Hopefully.” I reply, sending him a smirk and making my way back towards him and the shower. He turns it on and takes his towel off as I quickly undress. And soon the two of us are stood in front of each other, the hot water running over us as he looks at me with lust filled eyes. “Well, this is not how I imagined today ending.” 

“Are you complaining?” He quirks an eyebrow.

“Absolutely not.” I shake my head and his lips are on mine in an instant. He pushes me backwards, his hands gripping my waist as my back hits the cold shower wall and I shiver against him. He pulls me closer to him, making me whimper at the feeling of pushing against me. My hands trail down his chest, while his fingers tangle in my hair and pulls softly. I stop just above where he needs me most and he pulls harder making me moan. The sound seems to travel straight to his dick as his semi, hardens against my thigh. My hand finds it and slowly starts to pump him up and down making him groan in my mouth. 

“Fuck.” He moans softly, the wetness between my legs builds up and I smirk and move quicker. He pulls away and I pout, however he soon makes up for it, one hand plays with my nipples while the other travels down my stomach and stops just above my clit. 

“Please.” I whimper and he gives me a lopsided grin before he starts to rub me, a finger dipping into my core making me buck my hips. He pulls out and away as quickly as he was in me and I whine, a pout taking over my features. 

“Jump, pretty girl.” He whispers in my ear and I waste no time in obeying. Jumping and wrapping my legs around his hips while his arms hold the back of my thighs, pushing me against the shower wall again. He pulls away just a little in order to line himself up with my core, and then presses a kiss against my lips as he slides in slowly. We both moan at the feeling and his head leans against mine as he starts to move, slowly at first but the pace soon quickens until my back is hitting off the wall and his hands are gripping at my things, both hard enough to leave marks. “You feel so good around me.” He manages to make out between heavy breaths. 

“Fuckkkk.” I moan loudly and he looks at me with an unreadable expression. 

“So good baby girl.” He adds breathily. 

“Faster.” I manage to pant out and he thrusts his hips harder and faster, one of the hands gripping the back of my thighs travels to my clit and he rubs hard figure-eights on it, making me scream. The sound of skin against skin mixes with both our moans and they echo against the tiles, which turns me on more. 

“You close baby girl?” He asks, his bottom lip pulled between his teeth and I nod before smashing my lips against his. 

“You’re so hot.” I pant and he giggles against my lips. 

“Thats you baby.” His movements gradually increase before I moan loudly and scratch my nails down his back, my walls clenching around him as I cum. He follows quickly and drops my legs gently. I shake a little and use his shoulders to keep myself steady. The two of us catch our breath, the hot water running over us, and the only sound in the bathroom being the two of them mixed together. I can’t help but smile up at Jughead, who is already smiling back at me. We catch our breaths and actually start washing. 

“Ya know.” I start and he looks at me intrigued. “Maybe living in school won’t be that bad.” I shrug and he laughs. 

“Maybe not, no.” He agrees. “However if I knew this would happen I would have moved in ages ago.” 

“I didn’t live here ages ago.” I remind him and he rolls his eyes as he pushes his head underwater. 

“Yeah, I know.” He replies sarcastically and I stick my tongue out at him. 

“Quit hogging the water.” I push him softly and he laughs. 

“I’m not.” He defends and I raise an eyebrow at him. He laughs louder before moving out the way. “Here, let me.” He says, picking the shower gel up from the bathroom floor. 

“Thanks.” I blush as he pours some on his hands before rubbing it into my scalp. 

“Y/n?” He asks and I hum in acknowledgment. “When I move back in with my dad...if your parents aren’t back, you’re welcome to stay with me.” 

“Thanks Juggy.” I reply sincerely and the two of us blush at the nickname. “However, I don’t know if I’m gonna get used to you singing Britney. Don’t get me wrong, I love Britney, she’s an icon. But you butchered her.” I tease and he pulls my hair playfully, however it has the opposite effect that he wanted, and I end up moaning softly. “Hey!” I turn around and glare at him. “Don’t start something you can’t finish.” 

“Who says I can’t finish it?” 

[teacupfulofstarshine]

where the love-light gleams

summary: logan is disappointed (but not surprised) when his husband tells him that he won't be home for christmas. virgil encourages him to celebrate, but logan just isn't in the christmas spirit without virgil by his side. it'll take a miracle to get him into the holiday spirit - a christmas miracle. (OR: an analogical holiday gift fic for my spouse squad secret santa!)

a/n: this is my spouse squad secret santa gift for @shesavampirequeen!! she wanted analogical, and i am HAPPY to deliver! the plot of this fic was inspired by a commercial for indeed 

cw: mild angst, brief description of sensory overload 

word count: 4130

read it on ao3! 

December 20th - 5 days before Christmas 

“So what you are telling me is that you will not, in fact, be home for Christmas?” 

Logan does his best to school his expression neutral, even though logically he is aware that Virgil cannot see him. There is a reason he typically opts to call people on the telephone (when he has to resort to calling them) as opposed to video-calling. Personally, however, he finds that keeping a neutral expression is the best way to maintain a neutral tone of voice, and he desperately needs to do so lest his husband feel any guiltier than he most certainly does. 

“I am so sorry,” Virgil says, voice shaking just so to indicate that he’s anxious or guilty or both. “I know I said I’d be home this year, I really thought I would be, I swear, but - but it’s just that my boss justtold me that the conference dates were adjusted last-minute, because of the snow, and I didn’t have the option to say no because he always steamrolls all over me, and I -” 

“To quote you, Fuck your boss,” Logan says, taking care to enunciate his speech. 

“Listen, I share your sentiments,” Virgil says. “But listen, Lo, I am so, so sorry that I got your hopes up for nothing, I -” 

Someone shouts off-screen, and Virgil sighs. “And that would be my coworkers, who are apparently incapable of finishing any project without me. I’ll talk to you later, alright? I love you, more than all the sand on the beach.” 

“And I love you, more than all the stars in the sky,” Logan responds. Despite their current predicament, he can’t stop himself from smiling at the sappy line. “Be well, my darling.” 

He hears Virgil laugh once, softly, before the phone beeps to indicate that the call has been dropped. Logan pulls his cell phone away from his ear, locks it, and then lifts it to illuminate his lock screen. It’s a photo of himself and Virgil from their wedding day, standing under an arch of twining ivy lit with gleaming fairy lights. The full moon is positioned perfectly over their heads. It truly is a stunning photograph; despite his boasting and faults, Remy is an excellent photographer. 

Logan allows himself five seconds to smile sappily at his phone screen before unlocking it with a sigh and tapping on the FaceTime icon to call his brother. The screen rings a few times, and then it picks up to show Emile grinning at the screen. His hair is dyed pink, flopping messily into his face. “Do you how do? Emile speaking!” 

“Hello, Emile.” 

“Oh! Hey, Lo! What’s happening?” 

“I just called to give you logistical information concerning the upcoming holiday. You will need to set two fewer places for Christmas dinner this year, as Virgil and I will not be attending.” 

“What? Why not?” 

“Virgil’s job necessitates him to stay out of state longer than anticipated. He will not be home for Christmas.” Logan is proud of the way he keeps his voice from shaking. Emile frowns at him, so he suspects that he has not concealed his disappointment as well as he’d hoped. 

“I’m sorry, Logan. I know that must be really disappointing for you.” 

“It is unpleasant, but expected. Virgil’s boss is very mercurial, and his schedule is not very consistent. I was, in fact, expecting him to be home for Christmas this year, but it is not out of character for him to express such a change.” 

“Well, why don’t you come on your own, Lo? I know you don’t like travelling on your own, but my house is only a couple train stops away from yours! We’d really love to have you this year . . .”

“Thank you for the offer, Emile, but I am afraid I must decline.” 

“Why is that?” Emile says. Logan frowns at him. 

“Do not attempt to . . . what is the phrase? Do not attempt to ‘therapy me’ into telling you what is wrong, Emile.” 

“Hey, I’m just looking out for my womb-mate!” 

“Please do not call me that. I am your twin.” 

Emile laughs, eyes scrunching up. “Seriously, though, Logan, tell me why you don’t want to come?” 

Logan exhales forcibly through his nose. “I find that my holiday spirit is significantly diminished with the knowledge that I will not be seeing Virgil on Christmas after all. And since you and Remy are coming to our house for New Year’s festivities, we can exchange gifts then. It will not be that big of an imposition.” 

“Logan, I don’t want you to isolate yourself on Christmas.” 

“I am not responsible for the isolation,” Logan mutters. 

“Lo . . .”

“I do not blame Virgil for his fluctuating work schedule. I know that he does his best to be home when he says he will be home. But this does not reduce or relieve my distress at his absence, and I do not wish to ‘drag down’ the rest of the party because I am pining for my husband.” 

“Are you sure, Logan?” 

“I am quite positive. If I change my mind, I will let you know.” Emile likes it when he tacks that onto the end of his conversations. 

“Okay, Lo. I’ll see you soon no matter what, alright?” 

“Alright, Emile.” 

“I love you!” 

“I love you as well.” 

Logan stares at his lock screen fondly for a few more moments before he sets his phone down and goes about his day. 

*~*~*~*~*

December 21st - 4 days before Christmas

Logan pushes his shopping cart through the grocery store, eyes scanning rapidly over the brightly colored shelves. He catches a bright yellow SALE sticker on the shelf below his favorite type of jam, and eagerly sweeps an armful into his cart. 

Turning the corner, he pauses over the produce section. He should really pick up a vegetable for dinner tonight, something that will complement the pork log that’s currently sitting in his freezer. He reaches out and picks up a head of cauliflower, twisting it in his hand and humming. He can roast it in the oven and bake it with cheese, just the way Virgil likes. It will be a wonderful homecoming surprise for - 

His heart twists and clenches in his chest. It does not matter if he makes the cheesy cauliflower tonight, because Virgil is not coming home tonight. Virgil will not be home until almost the new year; Logan will be lucky if he sees Virgil again this year, given the general hectic nature of holiday traffic. 

Logan still buys the cauliflower, because he has just spent the past two minutes manhandling it and he doubts that he is allowed to leave it in the store now. He places it in a plastic bag and ties it up with more twist ties than are strictly necessary. Logan hates cauliflower; he only makes it for Virgil, and Virgil is no longer going to be home in time to eat it. 

He sets the cauliflower down with slightly more force than is strictly necessary, determined not to cry in the middle of this supermarket. His phone buzzes in his pocket, and he fishes it out to see a text message from his husband. 

Vee <3: hey there, loganberry. work is shitty, and i hate being here, and i wanna come home and snuggle you in our bed, but i can’t, but i want you to know that i love you and i don’t wanna be here 

Logan smiles fondly at the message, running a single finger along the screen. 

Me: I appreciate the reminder, Virgil. I love you too, and I also do not want you to be where you are.

He slips his phone into the pocket and heads toward the checkout line. The cauliflower taunts him from where it sits in his cart. He does his best to ignore it. 

*~*~*~*~*

December 22nd - 3 days before Christmas 

Logan reaches up behind the ornate faceplate of the grandfather clock and pulls out a tarnished key. He slips it into the prominent keyhole and slowly creaks open the old wooden door. There is an odd amalgamation of things tucked away inside the clock, but Logan sifts carefully through the detritus until he finds what he’s looking for: a second, smaller key, still gleaming and new. He carefully locks the clock back up and hangs the old key on its hook before making his way to the bedroom. 

He unlocks his closet door, slipping the key into his pants pocket. Carefully hidden among the clothes and shoes and spare blankets and keepsakes are the presents he’s purchased for Virgil over the course of the past several months. He normally wakes up early in the morning, while Virgil is still sleeping, to wrap his gifts. 

It is strange, taking the boxes and setting them on the neatly-made bed while the sun is still bright and shining. Most years, Logan finds himself quietly cursing Virgil’s observant nature and the fact that he has to creep around with his husband’s gifts if he wants them wrapped to his satisfaction. This year, he wishes he was awake before the crack of dawn. 

He has the same paper he always uses to wrap Virgil’s gifts, a reflective deep purple with small silver bats embossed on it. He buys a new roll every November and leaves it in the hallway closet, right next to the midnight blue paper with gleaming gold-foil stars that Virgil wraps his gifts in. 

It had hurt, reaching into their hallway closet and pulling out his wrapping paper while seeing Virgil’s roll leaning in the corner gathering dust. Normally, his husband has already wrapped his presents and the roll is dusted off; Logan had closed the door with slightly more force than was strictly necessary. 

His phone rings as he’s carefully pulling the paper away from the tube and laying it along the bed. He pins it down with a box and pulls out his phone, smiling when he sees his husband’s contact name flashing on his touch screen. He swipes his thumb across the Accept Call button. 

“Hello, Virgil.” He can’t stop the grin from spreading across his face. 

“Hey, Lo! How’s it goin’?”

“I am wrapping your Christmas presents right now. I will leave them under the Christmas tree as I always do, and you can open them when you come home.” 

Virgil huffs a soft laugh. “You know that won’t be for a while, right?”

“I know,” Logan says softly. “But I cannot stop myself from participating in traditions.”

“How are you even gonna be around for that? Aren’t you going to your brother’s for Christmas?”

“No,” Logan says. “I am not.” 

“What? Why not? Did something change that I’m not aware of?” 

“No, of course not. You are not going to be home for Christmas, so I will not be celebrating with Emile.” 

“What are you talking about, Lo?”

“I do not want to celebrate the holiday without you, Virgil. I am not interested in taking the train by myself to spend my holiday in a small, too-loud, too-crowded house with people I barely know. I will celebrate quietly, here, in our house.”

“Logan, you can’t give up on Christmas just because I’m not there,” Virgil presses. “Seriously, I’m gonna feel so shitty if you give up on seeing your family this Christmas because of my fucking work schedule.” 

“I will see Emile again at New Year’s, since that will be hosted at our home. I do not need to subject myself to the horrors of traveling without you.” 

“Logan, sweetheart, please -”

“I have to go, Virgil,” Logan says, biting down on his lower lip to prevent himself from crying and giving away how upset he is. “I will speak to you later.” 

“Logan, please, don’t hang up on me -”

“I love you,” Logan says softly. A pause, and then Virgil sighs. 

“I love you too, Lo. And you know that I’d do anything for you, right? I’m sorry that I can’t be home for Christmas, but - but I - I love you so much. So, so much.” 

Logan lets Virgil press the End Call button, cradling his phone against his face for a moment. He closes his eyes and briefly lets himself imagine that it is his husband’s hand warm against his cheek. He knows that it is not, but he allows himself the be surrounded in the delusion before setting his phone down and returning to wrapping the presents. 

*~*~*~*~*

December 23rd - 2 days before Christmas

“Hello?” 

“Lo! Hey. 

“Hello, Virgil. It is always a joy to hear your voice.” 

“Logan, listen, I have something to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“You’re probably not gonna like it. I’m just warning you now.”

“Virgil, I am willing to listen to another delay in your schedule -”

“No! God, no, nothing like that, Lo. I just - I think you should go to Emile’s Christmas shindig thing.”

“Did you just use the word ‘shindig’ unironically?”

“So what if I did - Lo, did you hear me?”

“I did indeed. However, I fail to see the point of me going. As I have explained before -”

“I know, Lo, but listen, I was talking to Emile and he’s - he’s really sad that you won’t be there.”

“He . . . is, is he?” 

“Yeah. I - you should really go. Please, Logan? I know you, I know you’re isolating yourself because you don’t want to drag everyone else’s holiday down with your missing me. But you deserve to see your brother and have fun at his holiday party. You haven’t gone in a while, and I know how much you love him.”

“I . . . do love my brother dearly. But it - it feels wrong , somehow, to be celebrating with my brother and friends while you are stranded elsewhere at an impersonal hotel convention center and -”

“Lo, remember to breathe, please?"

“. . . . I am sorry, Virgil.” 

“No need to apologize, my starlight. Just . . . please, go and have fun with your brother? For me? As long as at least one of us is having a good time this Christmas, that’s more than enough for me. ” 

“I will call Emile and see if there is still a place for me at the holiday party.” 

“You know you don’t have to, right? I just - I want to make sure you have a happy holiday.”

“I will never truly have a happy holiday without you by my side, Virgil. But I suppose that I can try my best to be merry.” 

“That’s all I wanted, Lo. Do you still have a train ticket?”

“Yes. I purchased a ticket for tomorrow’s train. I had been planning on cancelling it, but I never got around to doing it. I suppose that is for the best now.”

“Yeah. Oh, fuck - my boss is calling me, I have to go. I love you, Logan.”

“I love you, too, Virgil.” 

*~*~*~*~

“Do you how do?” 

“I still do not understand why you insist on answering the phone in such a ridiculous manner.”

“Lo! How are you, womb-mate?”

“I will hang up the phone right now if you continue.” 

“Seriously, what’s up? It’s not like you to call in the middle of the day like this.” 

“I . . . I was just . . . wondering if you still had . . . a place for me at your holiday celebrations?” 

“Of course we do, Lolo!”

“My train ticket is for tomorrow, would - would it be possible for someone to meet me at the station? And is it still feasible for me to sleep over at your house?” 

“Absolutely! Rem, you’re still clear to meet Lo at the train station, right?”

“If you are not capable of doing so, it is fine -”

“Nonsense! Remy’s gonna meet you at the station, okay?”

“That is acceptable.”

“See you tomorrow, little brother!”

“We are the same age.”

*~*~*~*~*

December 24th - 1 day before Christmas 

Logan carefully slides his Marie-Kondo file-folded clothes into the little duffel bag on his bed. He zippers it closed after carefully laying his Ziploc-bagged toiletries on top, pulling his backpack into reach and poking through it. He checks off his laptop, chargers, planner, the novels he’s currently tackling, a few notebooks, his backup headphones, his wallet, and his train ticket. 

His phone pings with a text from his brother. When does your train leave?

Logan quickly fires off a response - I will text you when we pull out of the station - and carefully pulls on his winter coat, taking care to button each of the gleaming black buttons before tucking his dark blue scarf into his thick coat and tugging on his gloves and earmuffs. 

He slings his backpack on and picks up his duffel bag, making sure that he locks the door securely behind him before tramping down the three and a half blocks to the nearest train station. The clouds are low and iron-gray in the sky as he makes his way slowly, slowly through the crowds of people. The earmuffs do a decent job of keeping out unwanted noises, as well as keeping his ears warm, but he still knows that the second he’s on that train he’s clamping his headphones on and blasting classical music to kingdom come. 

The attendant glances up at him with a bored, half-awake stare. “Name and destination, please?” 

Logan tells her, sliding his ticket across the counter to prove that he has it. She pops her bubblegum at him (he pretends it doesn’t send a visceral shiver down his spine) and stamps the ticket with a rubber marker. “Happy holidays, or whatever.”

“Happy holidays,” Logan mumbles, gripping his ticket tightly (but not so tightly that the paper tears). 

He shuffles onto the train and settles into a window seat, placing his bag next to him to deter anyone else from trying to sit next to him. His headphones come out, hold for seven seconds to turn them on, wait for the beep and the friendly female automated voice to say Bluetooth. Connected! and then pick up the phone and hold his finger against the sensor to unlock the screen and tap tap tap at the music app and relief, finally, as Gustav Holst’s The Planets starts to flood into his ears. Logan exhales, looking up as the train slowly fills with people. 

He’s prepared for movement, but he still flinches when the train lurches forward. 

Outside of the conductor taking his ticket and hole-punching it, Logan is left in relative peace. He reads and annotates three more chapters of his book before the motion sickness starts to kick in, and he leans back against his seat to sleep the rest of the way. His phone vibrates with a silent alarm ten minutes before they pull into his stop, and he makes sure that he has all his belongings gathered together. 

The train screeches to a halt, and Logan carefully turns off his headphones, pausing the music and tucking them into his backpack. He peers through the rush of steam and smoke flooding the train platform, trying to spot someone familiar. 

He purposefully chose a seat near the door when he sat down; as soon as the conductor announces that they are allowed to leave, he gathers his bags and hurries out the door. He minds his step carefully as he descends onto the platform, swiftly moving out of the way of other passengers. 

“Yo! Logan!” 

Logan turns his head to see Remy leaning against a railing. He sports his signature aviators and leather jacket, and Logan does not understand how he is not freezing. “Hello, Remy. Are you not cold?” 

“Colder than a witch’s teat,” Remy responds easily.

“Why did you not dress warmer? Surely you knew the weather forecast before coming to retrieve me.”

“Of course I did.” 

“Why, then, did you dress the way you did?”

“The aesthetic, bitch.” Remy lifts a Starbucks cup and slurps at what even Logan can recognize as an iced coffee. He shivers, grins, and takes the duffel bag from Logan’s hands. “Let’s go.” 

*~*~*~*~*

December 25th - Christmas Day 

Logan wraps his hands around the warm mug of spiced cider Emile passes him, smiling at his twin. “Thank you, Em. I am sorry that I am not as festive as you and Remy and the rest of the party . . .” 

“There’s no need for that,” Emile says, ruffling his hair gently. “We know that you miss your husband, and I know how you are about crowds. I’m not upset with you at all.” 

Logan smiles sympathetically at his twin. “Thank you, Emile.”

“No problem, little brother!”

“We are the same age,” Logan calls at his retreating back. He takes a sip of the cider in his hand and smiles to himself. Remy is a pastry chef at a local restaurant, and it is clear in everything he makes. The cider is the perfect blend of spicy and sweet; Logan detects cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and even a hint of ginger among the rich apple flavor. Remy’s spiced cider is one of his favorite things about the holiday season. 

The party goes on around him, friends of Emile’s and Remy’s passing in and out of the rooms with plates of food and glasses of cider. The lights are all dimmed, so the living room is lit primarily by the large Christmas tree and the multiple strings of Christmas lights and fairy lights hung tastefully around the walls. 

Remy comes by about an hour later, with the tell-tale flush of alcohol high on his cheeks. He hands Logan a plate of various holiday foods and desserts, laughing and reaching for his glass of brandy. He’s singing along loudly to the Christmas music playing from the kitchen, and he’s kind of off-key but it’s still an essential part of Logan’s Christmas. 

He quietly snacks his way through the tasting platter Remy had brought him. Despite his initial reservations, he truly is happy to be here. Logan knows that even though he is still missing Virgil, he is happier here than he would have been sitting alone at home. 

Someone touches his shoulder, and Logan exhales softly. “I am alright, Emile. You do not need to ignore your party guests for me.” 

“Oh, Lo,” a familiar gravelly voice says, just a hint of a laugh present. “There’s no party guest I’d rather pay attention to than you.” 

Logan whirls around, empty paper plate falling to the ground as he stands up. Virgil is standing in front of him, still wearing his heavy leather bomber jacket, rolling suitcase at his feet. Before Logan can react, before he can even breathe, Virgil’s arms are around him. He lifts Logan up into the air, twirling them around as best he can in the limited space before leaning back and gently rubbing his nose against Logan’s. 

“Hey there, my star,” Virgil hums. Logan feels the tears welling up in his eyes, and for once he makes no effort to fight them back. He leans in and kisses Virgil, taking in his chapped lips and the warmth of his hands on his hips and the softness of Virgil’s hair as he locks his hands around his neck. 

“You - you’re here,” Logan whispers. “But - but you said - you said -!”

“I know what I said,” Virgil says. “I never meant to intentionally mislead you, Lo. I truly didn’t think I’d be home for Christmas this year.” 

“What changed?” 

“I’ve been applying for new jobs for a few months now. Better jobs. Jobs that are closer to home.” Closer to you, he doesn’t say, but Logan can read it in the crinkle of his eyes. “One of them got back to me while I was out on that shitty work job. I got hired, Lo. I’ll be running the IT department at a local college, which means that I’ll only have to travel there and back. I - Lo, I won’t be gone anymore.” 

Logan laughs wetly. “You - you’re - you’re home. You’re home, and I - this -”

“I got the call about getting the job on the twenty-third,” Virgil says. “I quit my old job right there and then, I hopped on the first bus I could, and I came right home to you. That’s why I was so insistent on you coming to Emi’s holiday party. I knew his house was closer than ours, so I thought I could make it here to surprise you.”

Logan presses his mouth to Virgil’s again, locking his legs around his husband’s waist as Virgil sits on the couch where Logan had been. One of Virgil’s hands comes up to cup his face, and Logan shivers happily when he feels the cold weight of Virgil’s wedding ring press against his cheek. 

“I love you,” Virgil breathes. “I love you, Logan. Merry Christmas.” 

“Merry Christmas,” Logan replies, and Virgil leans up to kiss him again and again and again.

[taetaesbitch]

My Secret K-pop Idol - Chapter 1 - Seduction

This is the start of a smutty series, mostly about Taehyung, but there could be parts with the other members. Enjoy! 

Word count: 2.5k

Warnings: 18+, fluff.

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

You meet Taehyung at a bar as a non-army and so are unaware of his famous status, things get heated. A couple of weeks after, you begin work at a new company, where you are assigned as an assistant for BTS. You are shocked to find that Taehyung is in fact V and he is equally shocked that you are the assistant. As you are now with them nearly 24/7 it proves difficult to keep your hands off one another, and it’s not just Taehyung that wants you...

Chapter 1 - Seduction

Dionysus was your only option. The bar where everyone headed to wind down from a heavy day. As you enter, something feels different. Off. You come here often enough to notice new people. You spy four men in masks, they also wear hats, as if to conceal their identity. Strange. Suspicious. As you observe them, you meet the gaze of one. Warm chocolate brown eyes stare into yours, strands of black hair falling into them. Captivating. Enticing. You look away first, your cheeks heating as you walk down the steps in a short dark purple dress, and straight to the bar, taking your usual seat. You nod to the barman to give you your regular drink and thank him. You sway slightly in your seat to the music playing, your hair cascading over your shoulders. Soon you feel a presence beside you, a deep voice orders four shots. Looking over, you once again meet the eyes of the stranger, who feels oddly familiar all of a second. You squint at him as his eyes roam over you before meeting your gaze again, he begins to fidget under your gaze. The alcohol in your system gives you confidence as you ask, “Do I know you from somewhere? Have we met?” He seems to hesitate, laughing nervously as he replies, “No. No, I don’t think so.” The barman places a tray of shots in front of him, he begins to pick it up. You sit up straighter as something shoots into your memory, “Aha! Are you the guy from my high school? The one who was always walking around with headphones on?!” He freezes and looks up at you, shocked for a second before confirming, “No, no. We weren’t allowed headphones at my school.” He looks relieved and his eyes crinkle as he smiles behind his mask. “Oh.” You blush and stand up, “Sorry, excuse me.” You politely smile and head for the bathroom. Stupid. Stupid. A cute guy approaches you and what do you do? Make a complete fool of yourself. When you return, you see that the mysterious stranger has returned to his friends, who are tipping back shots as we speak. You sigh and order a shot for yourself, you tip it quickly down your throat, relishing the burn. You hear someone clear their throat from beside you, making you jump. You look at the same guy startled. He lowers his mask. Your breath catches in your throat as you take him in. He’s beautiful. His smile makes you feel all tingly. His lips are incredibly sensual as he speaks. You think of all the things he could do with them. Damnit! Snap out of it! “Sorry?” Your eyes meet his once again and he chuckles, obviously aware of the fact that you weren’t listening.

“I said, I never introduced myself… I’m Taehyung.” He bows his head slightly. You smile. Does that name sound familiar? 

“I’m (Y/N),” You bow, “It’s nice to meet you.” He grins.

“(Y/N),” He contemplates, “What a beautiful name.” I laugh nervously and look down at my feet. “Are you by yourself?” Your smile fades and you begin to stutter.

“Um… well… ye-yes.” He frowns.

“Would you like to have shots with us? No one should drink alone… it’s no fun that way.” You seem to fall deeper into his eyes.

“Oh no, it’s okay, I’m fine I wouldn’t want to intrude.”

“You wouldn’t be intruding…” He edges closer, “It’s pretty boring over there right now.” 

“Hey!” A voice startles you both. One of his friends seems to have snuck over, he’s standing directly behind Taehyung, “I heard that! Are we too boring for you now?” This one seems devilishly handsome, his dark hair not quite as long as Taehyungs and he’s slightly shorter. Taehyung turns to him with a cheeky grin on his face. The guy flicks his eyes to you, “Who’s your friend Taehyungie?” He grins, as Taehyung blushes at the nickname. You find it incredibly cute. 

“This is (Y/N), (Y/N) this is Jungkook.” He says reluctantly. Jungkook smiles and winks. His name sounds slightly familiar, but I can’t think from where.

“Well (Y/N), you look lonely over here, has he invited you over yet?” You nod.

“Yes, but I don’t want to be a nuisance.” Jungkook gasps sharply.

“Of course not!” He wraps an arm around your shoulders, guiding you towards their table. You hear a grunt of disapproval from behind you, looking back you catch Taehyung’s eye again, holding your stare boldly, he slowly smirks sending shivers down your spine. You turn back around to be met with two more pairs of eyes. The shorter one seems to light up, he sweeps a hand through his silver hair, smiling behind a mask, “Who’s this?” he asks. Fiddling nervously with the hem of your dress, you look into his ethereal eyes.

“I’m (Y/N).”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you (Y/N),” He dips his head, “I’m Jimin.” His name sounds familiar too! Where have I heard them from?! 

“(Y/N)?” That same deep voice snaps you out of your thoughts, you turn towards a concerned looking Taehyung, “Are you alright?” 

You laugh nervously, “Yeah, I’m good.” You must have been frowning. You turn towards the last guy, who seems to tower over you, “Hey I’m Namjoon.” His mask is already down and he smiles awkwardly, but he has the cutest dimples. 

“Well it’s nice to meet you all, but... I really should be going.” Your feet take you back a few steps, until you bump into a solid chest. Spinning, you come face to face with Taehyung, who wears a determined expression.

“Stay.” It’s not a question, it’s a command and you can’t help the warmth that pools in your core. Your eyes widen as he raises an eyebrow and steps closer. You take a step back. You both continue until your waist hits the table and you wince. Drinks topple over, one spilling down Jimin’s shirt, a shocked expression falls over his face. You gasp, instantly grabbing a napkin and mopping at his chest. “Oh my! I’m so sorry!” Your hands begin to shake as you panic, “I’m really sorry I’ll buy you another one!” Jimin’s hand on your wrist halts your movement and he laughs.

“It’s ok, no need to worry.” You look up into his eyes seeing nothing but genuine sympathy. Pulling his mask down, he smiles, as if to reassure you. A hand clamps down on your shoulder making you jump. It’s Jungkook.

“(Y/N) you seriously need to relax, here,” He hands you a shot, “Drink up.” You look at him, eyes wide and lips slightly parted as you bring the glass to your lips. You hesitate. Jungkook grins and tips the liquid into your mouth. You make a sound of protest as you gulp it down…. 

Four shots later the room is beginning to tilt and you all laugh as you slam our shot glasses down. “Another!” Cheers Jungkook. You giggle, your hair falling into your eyes as you agree. You look at Taehyung who stares back at you with amusement in his eyes. You stick your tongue out at him teasingly. He eyes your lips before meeting your gaze, you can’t seem to look away as his eyes darken. They become almost...hungry. He reaches out, his fingers brush across your cheek, creating electrical sensations as he tucks your hair behind your ear. You forget to breathe as he moves closer, placing those soft lips against your ear and whispering, “Let’s dance.” He grabs your hand, tugging you off your seat and onto the confined dance floor. The place has gotten busier and you wiggle between bodies. Finding a space you begin. Swaying your hips to a highly sensual song.

...Baby strip down for me gonna take em off,

Don’t worry baby imma meet you halfway,

Cause I know you wanna see me,

No heels, no shirt, no skirt, All I’m in is just skin, 

You a beast oh, You know that I like that,

Come on baby all I wanna see you in is just skin... 

Taehyung dances in front of you, his eyes roaming all over your body as you both dance. Soon enough his hands come to rest on your hips, you like the pressure as he squeezes and draws you closer. His eyes are intense. Their warm brown colour flaring like fire as he stares into your eyes. He wants something. Your lips part slightly as you draw in breath and he dips his head, lips crashing into yours, causing you to moan. You wrap your arms around his neck, his hands sliding around to your back. You part your lips, allowing him access as his tongue sweeps in and he groans. You break the kiss for air, panting, “Tae-Taehyung.” his lips move down your jaw, making you so wet and wanton. He murmurs against your skin, “Call me Tae.” You surrender to his kisses as he trails down your neck to your chest, before you spin around and start gyrating on his front with your backside. You guide his hands onto your hips, you can feel his hardness as you push against it, he  breathes in sharply. His teeth graze the spot where your neck meets your shoulder, before clamping down. Biting. Marking. Sucking. “T-Tae.” You whimper at the sting and his hot mouth on your bare skin. It seems that as soon as it begins it’s over, as Tae is ripped away from you and you hear Namjoon shouting, “We’ve been found out! We need to leave!” You spin stunned, before you begin to sway again at the sight of Tae. The music pounds in your ears. Namjoon’s hand is fisted in the shoulder of Tae’s white shirt, the top buttons undone. His face tilted, sweat glistening as he looks down at the floor. His chest heaving from dancing and despite listening to Namjoon, his eyes quickly meet yours again. A predatory glint in his eyes. You dance for him then, swishing your hips and lowering yourself before curving up and around. Showing him you want it. He nods in answer for Namjoon before stalking towards me. He leans in close, “Do you have any idea what you're doing to me?”

You giggle, looking into his eyes and biting your lip, “Maybeee.” One side of his lips tilts up, “You think this is funny?” You laugh at his question and respond with the same answer, “Hehehe maaybee.” His lips seem to tuck in as he stares at you firmly, mock surprise and anger in his eyes. “Hehe you look cute.” You tap his nose. He freezes as you hear a commotion from behind. Suddenly your feet are swept out from underneath you and you hear Tae say, “Time to go.” You lay over his shoulder, his hands dangerously high up on your bare thighs as your dress seems to have ridden up, seeming to bounce as he moves.

“H-hey!” You hiccup, “Put me down.” You feel the vibrations of his chuckle and he imitates, “Maaybeee.” You huff.

“Well ok, but I know the shortcut out of here.” You feel yourself immediately lowered to the ground.

“Lead the way.” His hand sweeps out in the gesture as he bows. You hear someone shout, “There he is!” You spin to see roughly six girls screaming and pointing.

You frown, “Who is he?” In your drunken haze you look at Tae who seems to wear a look of fear, “Me. (Y/N) We really need to go!” Realisation dawns on you and you grab his hand, as you rush towards a door, down some steps and out of a fire escape. You barely feel the cold air, too high on adrenaline to care. You're both out of breath as you begin to pick up the pace, running next to a brick wall in a quiet street, you hear the distant echo of the girls. 

“Quick! In here!” You pull Tae into a small alcove in the wall, hidden in darkness.

Your chests are pressed together, your hearts pounding together, blood pumping loud in your ears. You both try to calm your breathing as the girls run past. Breathing a sigh of relief, you gaze questioningly at Tae, “What was that about?” He looks at you surprised, and then smirks. “They’re my fans.” You burst into laughter and he quickly places his hand over your mouth to shush you. You shake it off, “What are you an idol?” You giggle and he chuckles knowingly. Looking around you confirm that there is no one around. You go to move, but Tae’s hand wraps around your waist as he jerks you back against him. He stares down at you, the wall is rough against your back, his body hard against your front. His other hand gently tips your chin up, his eyes flick down to your lips, everything slows down as his tongue snakes out to lick his lips. Heavy lidded, his gaze meets yours again before he brushes his lips softly over yours. You apply a little more pressure as you melt. That’s all he needs to deepen the kiss, lips moulding to yours before his tongue slides over your bottom lip, asking for entry. You take him in hungrily. Snaking your arms around his neck, your fingers lacing into his thick hair. His hands slide up your outer thighs, you like the coldness of his rings on your hot skin, they come to rest on your ass before squeezing and lifting, you gasp into his mouth as he picks you up and presses you against the wall. Your dress rides up as you wrap your legs around his waist, you feel the bulge in his trousers grinding slightly against that sensitive place. He breaks the kiss, humming as he nips at your neck. You begin to move against him, rubbing on him. He groans, “I want you.” You’re both panting. A loud ringing snaps you out of it. Tae curses and slowly puts you down. Your head falls back against the wall as he reaches for his phone, “Hello.” His voice is gravelly and irritated as he answers. “Yes I got away. I’ll see you in a couple of hours. Yeah Bye.” He sighs and puts the phone back in his pocket. He looks at you longingly, resting his hands on either side of your face. “What am I going to do with you?” You place a hand on his.

“Come home with me?” He scoffs before dropping his head onto your shoulder, his lips brushing your neck, tenderly caressing your skin. “I can’t. I need to go.” Your hands grip his waist, “Please. Stay.” His chest rumbles against you as he chuckles again. Your beginning to love that sound. He pulls back and looks down at you, sighing once again. “Fine.” 

You grin like the Cheshire cat.

[dakotacrisis]

Transferred (6)

Awkwardness, advice, and even more awkwardness. (The word awkward now doesn’t even sound real. You’re welcome for this awkward description.)

---

“Quinn, do you know when that essay for history is due?” Marinette walked into class with Nanette and Quinn.

“Um,” They checked their arms, “Thursday?”

“You need to get a planner or something.” Marinette sighed.

“I’ve been barking up that tree for three years.” Nanette rolled her eyes.

“I have a system.” Quinn scoffed.

“Writing everything on your arms is not a productive system.” Marinette argued.

“Says you!”

“Quinn, darling, as someone who meticulously keeps an organized and color coded planner/calendar in my room this ‘system’ of yours gives me anxiety. For all that is sweet and holy, buy an actual planner. Download an app on your phone. Something!” Marinette begged.

Marinette really liked Quinn, they were smart and fun and had an encyclopedic knowledge on everything having to do with conspiracy theories and cryptids. Marinette hadn’t even heard of the giant snail like creature, Lou Carcolh, until they mentioned it once while hanging out at Marinette’s house. Like them as much as she did, their organization was zero. She’s seen their locker, their bookbag, she could only imagine the neat-freak meltdown she’d experience if she ever set foot in Quinn’s room.

“Nah, this is easier.” Quinn shrugged as they took their seat.

“Quinn...no…”

“Good morning,” Kagami approached their table. Ever since Marinette had talked to her that first day the two were getting along better. Kagami was even starting to branch out more to her classmates. “Did you all have a nice weekend?”

“Morning, Kagami,” Nanette smiled back at her, “I had a great weekend. I even got to meet Marinette’s boyfriend, Adrien.”

Kagami’s pleasant expression faltered and the temperature in the room dropped ten degrees.

“Nani,” Marinette pinched Nanette’s arm forcefully, “I told you he’s not my boyfriend.”

“The way he was looking at you though and how much you talk about him--”

“Shh!” Marinette clamped a hand over her mouth, “We are just friends. He doesn’t see me that way at all.”

Kagami muttered something under her breath that Marinette didn’t catch. Probably cursing the fact that Marinette liked Adrien too. Every time Adrien got brought up, in even the tiniest of moments, things between Kagami and Marinette soured. An unspoken rivalry for the blonde’s affections tensing the air without saying a word.

Class started and Marinette went back to her seat. She risked a glance at Kagami and sighed. She really was a nice girl when you get past her hard outer shell. They even seemed to have quite a lot in common when they got right down to it. A little too much in one case. And that is what drove them apart every time.

Adrien.

A crush on a boy isn’t what should split what would otherwise be a pair of close friends, should it?

“Alright students,” Mr. Babineaux started handing out papers, “To finish out our study of Utopia, we are going to be doing a pairs project. You and your partner will create your own utopian island. You have complete creative control but there are a few points that everyone must hit. 1: Draw a map of your utopia. 2: List the laws and regulations of your utopia. Lastly, write a small essay on the values the indigenious people of your island hold and why, minimum two pages. If you want to add other things like culture, holidays, or what have you then that is more than welcome. You have the rest of class to find your partner and start your project. This will be due next Wednesday where you will present your utopia to the class. Have at it.”

Immediately everyone started pairing off. Marinette stretched her head to look at Nanette and Quinn but they were already huddled together making rough sketches of their island. Looking around the only available person seemed to be Kagami.

“So…” Marinette smiled at her, hoping to diffuse some of the tension, “Want to be partners?”

“That sounds nice.” Kagami stated matter of factly.

Oh boy.

They started by outlining the core laws their island would function under and then moved onto what the punishment for breaking the laws may entail. Kagami seemed to have a much harsher form of punishment then Marinette had in mind. Marinette was able to talk her down out of anything lethal. Although she may have let slide the liars have their tongues cut out rule for reasons…

The bell rang and everyone started packing up for their next class.

“I was thinking, I don’t know what your schedule is like but maybe we can figure out a day to get together and keep working on the project. I’m not too worried about the map but I think we would need more time than class allows to hash out the culture and values of our island.” Marinette explained as she and Kagami packed their things.

“I’ll let you know when I’m free. With tournament season coming up my mother has arranged for me to spend more time practicing my fencing.” Kagami said, “I’ll probably barely see anyone outside of Mr. D’Argencourt, mother, and Adrien.”

And there was the tension again.

“Right, you have my number so you just let me know. We’ll figure something out.” Marinette smiled through the awkwardness.

After school let out Marinette opened her phone and pulled up her contacts. She wanted to talk to someone about this whole Kagami and Adrien situation. Nanette and Quinn are great but they don’t have the whole story and Marinette was not in the mood to explain everything. She sure as heck couldn’t talk to Adrien about it. Aurore didn’t really know Kagami. Wayhem can’t keep a secret to save his life. Chloe was a hard no for many reasons and not just because she went AWOL.

She stared for a long minute at Alya’s name. She would understand what Marinette was going through. At the very least she’d be able to give her some advice.

Marinette put her phone away with a sigh. “Why such a long face?” Tikki whispered, popping her little head out of Marinette’s purse.

“I want to be friends with Kagami cause she’s really nice and we can get along but every time Adrien gets mentioned things go south. We don’t say anything but I can feel it. It’s like there is a string between Kagami and I that frays a little more when Adrien is mentioned. I want to say something but I feel like doing so would just make things worse. What if I say something wrong and we end up arguing? I don’t want to fight what could be a good friend over a love triangle.”

“I feel like not saying anything could do more harm then ignoring it altogether.”

“I know but what if--”

A loud crash from down the road halted Marinette’s reply. A dozen or so people were running away as more crashes crept closer to where she was. An akuma no doubt.

Marinette ducked into an alleyway. This Kagami situation would have to wait. “Tikki, transform me!”

Marinette lunged onto the roof of the nearest building and searched for the source of the destruction.

“BAH!” A giant baby waddled around the corner, “BAH!”

“Seriously? Hawkmoth akumatized August again?” She sighed. At least she knew how to deal with this akuma already. Not as easy as taking down Mr. Pigeon but at least she didn’t have to worry about Chat’s allergies.

“I’m guessing someone’s pretty cranky about being woken up from their nap.”

Speak of the devil.

“Hey Chat Noir,” Marinette greeted her partner, “It’s been a while.”

“Too long, my lady,” he grinned back at her, “While I did enjoy the break from akumas I did miss our moments together.”

“Which ones? Where I throw you at akumas or when you leap into the line of fire yourself?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s just get junior here pacified before dinner. I think giant babies would take a lot more than a bottle to keep them happy.”

“True.”

Marinette scanned over the akuma. What was his problem today? He wasn’t chewing on anything so it wasn’t teething. He was rubbing his eyes a lot. Maybe he really was grumpy from waking up or just too tired to realize that sleeping would rid him of his grumpy mood.

“We need to get him to fall asleep.” She told Chat Noir, “Help me lure him somewhere with room enough to lay down. I have an idea.”

“On it.” Chat Noir jumped closer, “Hey! Over here! Wanna play with a kitty? Gotta catch me first!”

The pair went running as a sleepy August waddled after them.

Marinette knew that she should focus on the akuma but her thoughts about Kagami wouldn’t leave her be. “Chat, can I ask you something?”

“Anything,” he shrugged as they ran, “Finally gonna ask me on a date?”

“Not so lucky, minou,” she rolled her eyes, “You see, there’s this person I’ve started making friends with but she likes the same guy as me. I still want to be friends with her but the topic always brings up a cloud of awkwardness because of this boy. Any advice?”

“I have two options.”

“What’s the first one?”

“Talk to her. If the both of you want to be friends but this subject of a shared crush makes things uncomfortable then you need to address it. You don’t have to bow out of your crush so the other isn’t awkward but keep pursuing this mystery boy without letting it harm your friendship. If you truly are on good terms then a little rivalry is fine as long as you don’t delve into underhanded tactics like sabotage.”

“And what was option two?”

“Ditch mystery boy and go out to the movies with me?” he asked with a hopeful but joking smile.

“I think I’ll stick with option one. Thanks though.”

They got to the football field arena and circled around August. He wouldn’t cause anymore damage here.

“What’s the plan?” Chat Noir asked.

“We got him here, now we need to get him to sleep. Let me see what I got,” She thrust her yo-yo into the sky, “Lucky Charm!”

A CD dropped into her hands.

“A track of lullabies? Helpful.” Chat Noir shrugged.

“But not enough. No. We need back up.” Marinette sighed. “Someone who can cast a calming illusion.”

“Rena Rouge?”

“Yup,” Marinette grasped her yo-yo tighter, “I’ll be right back. You keep August entertained.”

She sped as fast as she could to Master Fu’s. He was unperturbed by her sudden appearance as was the case nowadays. “Marinette, in need of an ally today?”

“Yes, I need the Fox Miraculous.” She took the necklace out of the box.

“Is something the matter, Marinette?” Fu asked.

“Sorta, I know who I should give it to but I don’t want to. But I also could use someone who already know what to do.” she contemplated briefly giving the necklace to Chloe but with her under the radar dealings of late she wasn’t sure where to even find her. That really only left one option.

“Grudges are only a form of self-punishment. Remember that, Marinette.” Fu told her, “Do not let your emotions stand in the way of the common good.”

“You’re right.” She looked to Tikki to make sure she was recharged, “Let’s get going. I don’t know how much longer Chat can keep a giant toddler in one place.”

After transforming back into Ladybug, Marinette sped as fast as she could to Alya’s house. She hesitated at the window before shaking the contempt from her mind. Ladybug isn’t mad at Rena Rouge.

She knocked on the window startling Alya off her bed. Quickly she ran to the door and thrust it open. “Ladybug? What’s up?”

Marinette held out the box with necklace. “I need Rena Rouge for a quick mission.”

“Oh, right,” Alya took the box but didn’t open it.

“Problem?”

“No, I just…” She looked back at her bed where her laptop sat with what looked like fifteen or more tabs opened, “I was doing some research. But duty calls!”

She transformed into Rena and the pair went vaulting back across the rooftops to the arena. Chat unfortunately had been caught by August and was turning a sickly green shade from being waved around in the toddler’s hand.

“Cast an illusion of a giant mobile to help him fall asleep. I have some tunes to put on.” Marinette ran towards the commentator box and popped the CD into the arena stereo system. A minute later a giant mobile appeared over the field spinning plush ladybugs, black cats, foxes and turtles on strings.

August stopped playing with Chat Noir and focused on the mobile. Combined with the soothing music he was yawning and soon curled up on the grass for a nap. Chat wiggled his arm free and cataclysmed the bracelet where the akuma was. After that Marinette went out to catch it and thrust the CD into the sky to right all the damage August had caused this time.

The sleeping toddler was taken back to his mother by Chat while Marinette collected the necklace from Alya. “Thanks for letting me help out today.” she said.

“We needed you.”

“I’m sure you could have figured something out without me. Truth be told, I haven’t felt very heroic lately.” Alya twiddled her thumbs. The beeping of Marinette’s earrings told her she needed to get out of there fast.

“Wait!” Alya stopped her, “Can I ask you something?”

“I’m kinda in a hurry--”

“Are you friends with a girl named Lila Rossi?”

The question took her aback. “No. Outside of when she was akumatized and a less than flattering confrontation when she tried to use me as a pick-up line I have never interacted with her. Why?”

“Nothing...research...it’s not important. See you later, Ladybug.” Alya ran from the arena to return home.

Marinette’s transformation wore off and Tikki landed on her shoulder. “Are you okay? Seeing Alya again must have been strange.”

“Yeah, kinda,” Marinette reached into her bag and pulled out another cookie for her kwami. “Let’s head home after we return the Miraculous. I’m too emotionally worn out to contemplate further human interaction.”

The walk home Marinette checked her messages. She had a text from Kagami telling her what times she could work on their project. They set a meeting time for Friday after school to work. With Chat’s advice still ringing in her ears Marinette made a mental note to talk to Kagami so they could get on the same page about their feelings regarding Adrien. Not today though. The rest of today was going to be fruit tarts and video game therapy.

---

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (7)

[shreddedparchment]

Man and Wife Pt.03

The Marriage

04/08/2019

Pairing: Bucky x Reader          Word Count: 7,253

*Masterpost in Notes     Warnings: smut, protected sex, language, angst, teasing Sam off-screen

A/N: This is where this fic is going to start to get real folks. If you’ve read the stuff I write, you’ll know that I don’t shy away from tough stuff. This is just another. I promise that the angst will be worth it. I’m enjoying writing this so much because I think it’s helping me grow, to see relationships from different perspectives and to explore the way that relationships evolve. I hope you like this chapter. If you happen to reblog, thanks so much for helping me spread my work! xoxo

You and Bucky don’t get to go on your honeymoon.

He knows you’re disappointed and he tries to make it up to you with several lavish dates.

One night he takes you to a five-star restaurant that Tony owns. The meal is free, obviously, though you'd gotten a look at Bucky's finances—“Y/N, it's our money. If you need to use it, use it.”—and he doesn’t need comped meals.

In fact, Bucky could have bought the restaurant from Tony if he'd wanted it. He pulls out your chair and he feeds you from across the table.

“Bucky, I don’t need all this. It wasn’t the trip I cared about; it was spending time with you.” You chew your food though, licking your lips because it's delicious.

Bucky's shoulders sag lightly. “I know. I’m sorry. As soon as we catch this guy, we can go on that honeymoon, but I doubt we'll see more than the bedroom.”

You chuckle and Bucky's eyes light up at the sound.

That night he takes you on the sofa. His love and apology pouring into every pump of his hips as he brings you to the edge of ecstasy and then falls over it with you.

He collapses on top of you then pulls you up and grabs another condom as he walks by the dresser into your master bath then pins you to the slippery tile wall as he ravishes you again while the two of you shower.

You and Bucky fit very well physically.

Then he leaves on mission again and you focus on work, counting the minutes until he's back. As your marriage rounds into month two, Bucky’s lovemaking only gets more elaborate. He buys you toys, soft feathers and silk scarves.

There's some play in the bedroom, nothing too crazy, but it's new to you and every time he ties your hands behind your back and he takes you from behind, your orgasm almost splits you in two.

Month two, is very much like month one, full of soft kisses and intense sex. There's very little time to sit and talk because Bucky is always leaving for a day or two at a time.

On the morning of month three, you pull open your door and smile at Casey who you’ve seen almost every day since you got married.

“Aren't you supposed to be unreachable for like six months or something? Why is it that you got married and I don’t miss you?”

You know her question is rhetorical, so you don’t answer. You also don’t want to think about the point she's trying to make.

“How's that new roommate?”

“Miserable. She laughs really loud. High pitched. The dog next door howls.”

You chuckle and place her cup of tea down on the soft chestnut brown coffee table then sit down so that you can face her.

“Where is he today?” Casey asks, reaching out for her cup of tea and completely ignoring your very subtle hints about not wanting to talk about Bucky.

You’re trying to wean her off caffeine. She's calmer when she's not full of coffee and as she questions you, she still sounds determined just not as confrontational.

“I don’t know. I asked but he had to go before he could tell me. I didn’t even get to kiss him goodbye.” You pout, leaning your head against the inside of your elbow where you have it extended along the back of your sofa.

Casey frowns. “I told him to take care of you.”

“He is taking care of me.” You assure her. “I just can’t wait for them to catch this guy so he can just be here. I miss him so much.”

Casey shakes her head. “What do you guys even talk about? Can he talk about his work?”

That’s a good question. You’ve never asked. You and Bucky are always planning for when he can be with you for more than a few days at a time that you haven’t asked about his work.

“We talk. Lots. About stuff we like and don’t like. He hates the cold. And um…he likes to draw. He likes math. The weirdo. What else?” You shut your eyes to try and remember the things you two have shared with each other while you lay together but all you can see are his sweaty abs, the curve of his muscular butt, and the thick spread of his thighs.

Jesus, your ears are hot.

“All you two do is fuck, don’t you?” Casey narrows her eyes knowingly.

You laugh because she's not completely wrong.

“No!” She narrows her eyes more. “And yes. We do spend a lot of time in bed together. He goes for hours, Case. And when he doesn't go for hours he goes over and over and over. He's got me doing things that I’ve never done before. We do talk. We do. But-"

“I get it, you’re drowning in dick.” Casey rolls her eyes.

You laugh.

“He's hot. I don’t blame you, Y/N, but you are going to get to know him better, right?”

“I do know him.” You pout. Refusing the idea that you and Bucky don’t know each other.

“You know his history, Y/N. Who is he? What's he like on a day to day basis? Does he scratch his balls when he sits watching TV? Does he clean his ears and leave the cotton swabs on the counter? Does he pick his teeth after he eats? What is your husband like?”

You swallow hard, trying to answer her questions in your head but you can't. You don’t know if he scratches when he watches TV because he hasn’t been home or out of bed long enough for the two of you to even watch a movie.

What if he hates all of your favorite movies?

Days later when Bucky gets home, these worries are rattling around in your head.

So, when you hear him pushing his key into the lock of your front door, you hurry to open it for him and stand with bated breath as you look him over.

A new routine you’ve formed is giving him a head to toe examination to make sure he's not injured. There’s always a bruise or two. Small cuts, but luckily nothing major so far.

He stands there, his hand extended out towards the lock, key in hand, and you can see the exhaustion on his face.

“You’re home!” You exclaim, grateful and excited to see him unharmed this time. Not even a bruise.

“I am.” He says and moves inside, shutting the door behind him as he lowers a large black duffel bag that you know has some of his work clothes and supplies, and places it on the floor by the door.

He looks freshly showered which means he's been back for at least a couple hours. A couple hours!

“You’re not hurt this time.”

“It was just a scouting mission.”

You take that in, grateful for his safety but wondering if maybe someone else couldn’t have gone for him. Did it have to be him?

Suddenly he's got his arms around your waist, pulling your attention back to him and out of your thoughts.

“I missed you.” He whispers deeply. You know that tone.

You place your hands on his wide chest and let him kiss you.

Did he miss you? Or your body? Not that you mind but what happens when he stops wanting your body? That happens right? The passion in marriages fizzles out after a while and when it happens to you and Bucky, you’re going to notice it more because you’ve been married now much longer than you knew each other before. All you have known is this passion.

You’re so lost in your mind that it must be affecting your kiss because Bucky pulls back and licks his own lips as he looks down at your face.

“Hey, everything okay?” He asks, startling you back to reality.

“Yeah.” You smile. “Yes. Of course. I just missed you so much.”

You reach into his hair, grazing your nails lightly against his scalp. He shuts his eyes and you push yourself up onto your toes to kiss him.

He responds to your lips instantly and you try to squash Casey's voice down as you just enjoy his lips.

He pulls you in, making your knees buckle like only his kiss ever has, but you’re not as lost in it as you usually get.

When he pulls back, he begins to trail burning kisses along your jaw then down the side of your neck, his tongue tracing small circles against your skin.

You feel the itch of desire moisten your core, but you pull back. Pushing on his chest gently.

“Bucky?”

He blinks, surprised by your refusal but he's not upset. He waits, watching you before he caresses the right side of your face with his cool metal hand.

“What is it, baby-doll?”

“Can we watch a movie? I picked out a few of my favorites. I don’t know yours but if you wanna watch something you like instead, we can.”

He furrows his brow, not confused but maybe curious? He doesn't seem to understand why you're suddenly going on about movies, but he quickly relaxes and smiles again, soft and kind as he reaches to take your left hand and lead you to the sofa.

The two of you sit and you grab the remote to scroll through the options. You look over at Bucky as he settles himself in low, leaning back so that his head is propped up by the back of the couch.

He's man spreading, relaxed, as he reaches up to wipe at his tired eyes with his right hand. You've got your body angled towards him, your knees bent up onto the cushions, as you steal slightly nervous glances at him and continue to scroll.

“You like Star Wars?”

“Uh…never seen it.”

“What?!” You look at him, but he looks uninterested, so you keep scrolling. “We'll do Star Wars another day. There are like a million of them. How about an adventure movie? Have you ever seen the Goonies? It's eighties old but really good. Fun.”

“Nope.” He rolls his head to the left to look at you, his expression stoic.

“We don’t have to watch a movie, babe.” You assure him, feeling weird about insisting when he doesn’t seem interested.

“No. No, I want to.” He assures you and smiles at you genuinely, then he yawns lightly, quickly covering it with his hand. “Pick whichever one you want. I haven’t seen almost any movies since I…Let's watch it.”

You feel better with the clear reflection of love in his eyes, so you push play.

As you settle in against his side, you take his metal arm and intertwine your fingers with his.

The soft fabric of his gray t-shirt feels good against your skin.

Suddenly, you sit up, the movie having already started.

“Oh, are you hungry? I didn’t even ask. I’m sorry. I can make you something?” You begin to get up, but Bucky places his slow moving metal hand on your knee to stop you.

“I already ate, Y/N. Just relax.” He rubs your knee and then leaves his hand there as he turns tired eyes to the TV.

“What did you eat?” You wonder. It is pretty late. It would be silly of him not to have eaten.

“Steaks and veggies and some pizza and some hot wings and-Do I have to name everything? I ate a lot. I’m stuffed.” He says the end with a laugh in his voice as he rubs his perfect stomach and you feel a soft ache.

“Where?”

“At the compound. Tony likes to throw these dinners after we get back from mission. Everyone was there.” He blinks hard, his eyes probably burning for sleep.

Everyone? No. Not everyone was there.

“Oh.” You look at the TV and shrink into the sofa, clinging to his metal arm as Data crashes through Mikey's front door but you’re not really seeing the kids. As you lay your head on his shoulder, you’re calculating the time that Tony's parties usually last. Not that you’ve seen any of the Avengers since your wedding… “What time did you get back, Bucky?”

When he speaks he sounds sleepy.

“I don’t know, early? The sun wasn’t up yet.”

Something akin to jealousy rages in your stomach. No, not jealousy but you do feel sick. Like you might throw up.

He'd been back all day and he'd just come home? You’ve been out of your mind with worry for three days. Why didn’t he at least call you?

You look up to ask him but find him with his jaw slack and his eyes shut. The dark curtain of his hair falls gently on the sides of his face. He looks so relaxed, so tired and peaceful that you bite your lip and shove your anger down.

You can’t wake him up now. He's been working so hard. You lay your head back onto his shoulder and tighten your hold on his arm, snuggling in closer to him. Trying to find comfort in his closeness because that’s what it has offered you since the beginning. Tonight, it’s not working though.

He responds to your snuggling however, sighing deeply, his lips smacking in his sleep before he leans his head against yours and continues to sleep.

You don’t really watch the movie. While Bucky sleeps, you seethe. Your stomach churns and bubbles with rage.

Three days! He'd been gone for three days with no word to you, which is fine because that’s how it's been since the beginning and you don’t expect him to call you while he's actually in dangerous situations but the fact that he's been home for most of this third day and he hadn’t even called to tell you that he was back…what are you? Are you even his wife?

As the credits roll and you pick up your head, you push his up with yours.

He breathes in quickly, a sudden gasp as he realizes he fell asleep.

“Oh, shit, sorry.” He blinks hard, chasing the sleep from his eyes as he sits up straighter. “I guess I was sleepier than I realized.”

You don’t answer. You’re afraid you'll shout if you do.

Bucky gets up and moves into the kitchen, pouring himself a large glass of water which he gulps down.

You get to your feet, pins and needles explode in your legs because your legs had fallen asleep.

You tug your t-shirt down and turn off the TV, your back to the kitchen because you don’t want to look at Bucky just yet.

You should be happy right now. Bucky is home. He’s safe. So what if he didn't call? So long as he's home!

Two large hands slide down the front side of your hips, two large thighs press against your back, and a pair of hot lips press an open-mouthed kiss to the side of your neck then press another just under your jaw.

Your body responds because of course it does! This is Bucky. You can feel him twitch behind you, growing hard from sheer anticipation.

“Y/N…?” He whispers against your skin and you shut your eyes, letting your body tell you what to do because your heart and mind are on the same side and sex is not a priority.

You turn around, wrap your arms around his neck and meet his lips in a kiss.

“Mmmmph.” Bucky moans.

You wrap both hands up into his hair and Bucky reaches down to hook his hands beneath your legs and softly in fluid motion, lifts you up.

You wrap your legs around his waist as he stumbles with you towards the bedroom.

You’re aware of everything happening. You can feel him strip you and then shudder with the cold air as you’re brought bare in front of him. His lips devour you, tasting as much of your body as it can but he doesn’t waste a lot of time on foreplay. Or maybe he does and you're too busy thinking to realize?

He has you on the bed, your legs spread and bent wide as he settles between them and in slow relishment he slides himself into you.

For one moment, you’re pulled from your anger and gasp as he fills you. Even after three months of constant sex, you’re still not used to his size.

He takes this as encouragement and brings the cold of his metal hand to your breasts which hardens your nipples. He takes them in his mouth suckling until he begins to thrust himself into you.

“Does that feel good, baby-doll?” He asks but you don’t hear him.

“Y/N?” He asks mid thrust, a quiet groan in your name.

No response.

He stills over you and places his hand on the soft mattress beside you so that he can hold himself up over you.

“Hey,” He says slightly louder, definitely not a moan, and that more than anything pulls you back to him. When you meet his eyes, you see confusion and worry in his narrowed brow. “Everything okay?”

You shake your head and Bucky quickly pulls out of you and sits to your right.

You get up, sliding along the sheets until you can stand up and pull your robe from the dresser to slip it on over your naked form.

You hold it shut, both hands clutched over your aching chest as fear of a fight—your first fight—turns your stomach into knots. Bucky slides to the edge of the bed too in all of his naked glory to sit with his feet flat on the ground and full of worry.

His beautiful blue eyes are overcome with confusion, you almost feel bad for doing this right now. Almost.

He places his hands on either side of his hips, holding the edge of the mattress firmly with his own nervousness.

You can’t seem to find your voice; you just stare at him. Afraid to start this because what if you’re just overreacting?

“Y/N, you’re scaring me.” Bucky admits, looking down towards your hands over your chest then right back up to meet your eyes.

“Sorry.” You gasp, fear making your voice shake. What if he gets mad because you’re mad? “I…I don’t know how to start.”

“Did I do something?” Bucky asks, his voice quiet and you realize suddenly that he really doesn’t know that what he did today was anything wrong.

However, your anger is justified!

“Bucky…you said you got back this morning?”

“Yeah.” Bucky nods. “Around four A.M. Why?”

You blink, thinking about how you'd been tossing and turning at four in the morning, wondering if he was okay. If he was on his way home. If he was safe and uninjured.

“Why didn't you call me, Bucky?”

“I didn't-wanna-wake-you?” He says the words slowly, his eyes wary as he gauges your reaction and the anger slowly growing in your eyes.

Your expression is less angry and more hurt.

“Bucky…” God, you’re saying his name a lot, and not with pleasure the way you usually do here in your bedroom. “I have been worried out of my mind since you left, and you get back early this morning and spend the entire day at the compound?”

“We had debrief and a few meetings after.” Bucky tries to explain, rushing to say it to try and chase away that hurt tone of yours and the pained expression on your face.

“You could have called! ‘Hey, Y/N, I’m home but I’ve got some meetings, so I won't be home until later.’ Fuck, Bucky, it's a two-minute phone call. I wasn't even asleep at four A.M.! I was here, laying in our bed, thinking about you and where you might be or what dangers you might be in.”

In desperation to hide your anger from him, you turn around to give him your back, clutching your robe tighter.

“I mean, I know you say you had meetings, but they took all day? Obviously not, since you had time to go to Tony’s dinner thing. I mean, it's almost midnight. I would think…” And you have to speak slower because your voice is going to strain as you shift to talking about why your chest feels like it’s caving in, instead of why you’re angry.

He didn’t call and let you worry? Angry.

He had an entire day to be with you and instead he spent it at the compound? Hurt.

“What?” Bucky urges you gently.

“I mean, you’ve been gone for three days. Don’t husbands want to come home to their wives as soon as possible? After your meetings, didn’t you want to be with me?” You shake your head to try and ignore the ache in your chest but it's no use. Tears stain your cheeks and you curse yourself internally for letting yourself cry.

You sniffle. You can’t help it.

“Are you crying?!” Bucky gasps, stunned.

“No!” You deny it, despite the tears still falling, your voice thick.

“Oh my God.” Bucky exclaims in surprise.

Here it comes. His own anger. Then he'll leave you for being a troublesome wife!

Instead of angry yelling, his large hands find your shoulders. He turns you around so that you must look at him.

You try and hide your face as best you can. You don’t want him to see you crying.

“Y/N…” He begins and his voice is so deep and soft, you look up into his stunning blue eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m an idiot. I should have called as soon as we landed. I'm…I’m just not used to having someone waiting for me.”

He reaches up, cupping your cheeks to slowly wipe away your tears.

“Please don’t cry.” He pleads, hurting because you are it seems. “I’m such a fucking idiot. Really. Of course, I want to be with you. I missed you so much.”

He leans down to press a kiss to your salty cheeks.

“I promise, I’ll call from now on as soon as the jet hits the tarmac. Forgive me. I won’t let it happen again.”

It takes a few more soft kisses to your cheek for his words to really register in your mind. But after they do, your heart is soaring. He's not angry at you for being angry. He's comforting you. Promising to call from now on when he gets back.

It doesn’t change the mistake he already made and your anger isn’t exactly gone, but it did shed light on a problem and now it's been resolved.

“I love you.” You confess and you can see the hitch in Bucky's breathing as your sudden confession startles him—but in a good way. “I worry about you. The idea of you getting hurt…I don’t want to lose you.”

“You won’t lose me, baby-doll. Not ever.” He assures you then pulls you into a kiss.

Now that you can sort of relax—your anger is still pretty demanding—you can focus on giving Bucky what he needs.

After every mission so far, you've given him a release. Tonight will be no different.

His hands are already pulling your robe open, gripping your re-exposed body by the hips. You sigh against his lips as he pulls back a little, he leans in and licks your lips. It pulls your lips apart. The heat of his breath feels good against them. He kisses you once softly, then again. This time, he leaves his lips hovering over yours, both of your mouths open as the heat of the moment washes over you.

You push him back, walking him towards the bed until he falls back sitting.

You move back to the dresser and pull out a new condom. Gently you remove the one Bucky is already wearing then rip the small metallic packaging with your teeth.

Bucky watches with his mouth gaping in awe as you slip the condom over the tip of his cock then roll it down slowly, pressing warm and wet kisses against the vein on its underbelly.

Once he's ready, you stand back up and straddle his lap. Bucky's hands find your bottom as you line him up at your entrance then slowly impale yourself on him until you're sitting snugly on his lap.

Bucky's hands are claws on your bottom then he starts to move, softly, gently, apologizing to you with his body.

He curls his arms around you, pressing your breasts flush against his chest as he kisses the curve of your neck sweetly.

You know that he's sorry. You can feel it with every thrust, every kiss, when he looks into your eyes and then kisses your cheeks and the tear stains there.

More than anything, you can tell that he's sorry that he made you cry.

Bucky makes love to you tonight. It's not just sex and although you enjoy the way he's physically showing you how much he loves you; you’re still too upset to really enjoy it.

Bucky gets his release. Clinging to you tightly as he buries his face into the side of your neck.

You’re breathing hard and your heart is pounding but you get no big moment of satisfaction tonight.

“Did you-?” He wonders, but he sounds as if he already knows the answer.

You shake your head.

He looks back at your face, staring up into your eyes while you reach up to caress the sides of his face and push the sweaty strands of his hair back behind his ears.

He sighs, defeated, and rests his forehead against your chest.

“I’m sorry.”

Mornings in the Barnes household are usually full of soft disappointment. Why? Because every time you do get a few days with Bucky home, he's gone by the time you wake up.

This morning is no different.

You reach over to his side of the bed but find only sheets.

Opening your eyes, you glance at the empty space and sigh lightly, pouting because you wish he was there.

“You’re awake.” Bucky says from behind you and you sit up and twirl at the same time to look for him.

Clutching your sheets to your bare chest, you smile as Bucky moves over to you and shyly offers you a tray laden with breakfast foods.

There are eggs and bacon. Toast and blueberry muffins. Three pancakes with syrup, orange juice, and a small glass of milk.

“I wasn't sure what you were in the mood for so, I made everything.”

“You made me breakfast in bed?” You ask, delirious with excitement.

“Yeah. I can’t even begin to explain to you how sorry I am, Y/N. I never want you to feel like that again. I love you and I want to be with you.”

“Thank you.” You smile and lean in towards him.

Eagerly he places his hands on the bed and leans in to meet your lips for a quick peck.

“Oops. I forgot the jam." Bucky gets up and heads for the door. “Grape okay?”

“Actually, I don't-" But he's already gone. “-like grape jam.”

When he comes back, he puts the small jar on your tray and sits back down.

“I thought you’d be out already. Don’t you meet Steve to work out?” You chew on your eggs, talking out of the corner of your mouth.

“I called him already. We'll go once you’re at work instead.”

“Oh.” You swallow your food. “Actually, I have the day off. It's Launch day so Henry doesn’t need me to come in.”

You’ve been working at a small indie publishing company for the last four years. Although you're a copy editor, because the company is so small, you do more than your standard editor. However, as Henry is your boss, he handles all launches and you get to take a good break.

“Oh.” Bucky's shoulders slump as he faces this new dilemma. “I made plans with Steve and Sam. If I'd known you didn't have to work today-"

“You should go.” You nod and hope he can’t see your disappointment.

“Really?” Bucky reaches over, taking hold of your forearm.

“Yeah. Go. I’ve got a new manuscript to read anyway. I’ll be no fun.” You force a smile and he must see it.

“No. I’m not gonna go. I’ll call and cancel.” Bucky moves to get up, but you catch hold of his arm and grip it tight. You don’t want to be that wife that doesn’t let her husband go out with his friends.

“Bucky, go. I told you, I’ll be busy anyway.”

He looks uncomfortable. Uncertain.

“You sure?”

“Yes. Go.”

He clicks his tongue and then gets up, this time leaning in to kiss your lips.

“I’ll be back.” He heads to the door without changing out of his jeans and blue Henley. He must have his workout clothes in his duffel bag.

“I washed the dishes.” Bucky says as he reaches the door. “If they sit too long, they start to smell.”

Oops. You'd been so sad with him gone that you’d neglected the apartment.

“Right, sorry.” You force another smile. “I’ll make sure to wash them quickly next time.”

Bucky sighs and struts back towards you, when he reaches you he smashes his lips into yours. He kisses you breathless then leans back, his forehead pressed against yours.

“I can stay.” He whispers.

“Would you just go?” You say with a genuine chuckle.

The sound brightens the blue of his eyes turning them almost ice-like.

“Okay.” And he leaves.

You sit there for a bit, wondering whether not asking him to stay was a mistake. You feel sad about it, but you shrug it away, finish your breakfast, and resign to spend the rest of the day cleaning and working.

 Or so you thought…

 You’re pushing your vacuum down along the long stretch of carpet in front of your sofa then lift your foot to push the table out of the way so that you can get at the unexposed space.

As you finish, you sigh and turn the machine off, and arch your back as you stand up straight. You’ve been going at the cleaning for a good two hours and your lower back is begging you for a break.

“Ow…” You gripe to yourself, reaching back to massage the small of your back.

Your eyes suddenly fall onto the coffee table where a small glass of sweet tea you’d served yourself earlier has toppled over spilling the last dregs onto the shining glass that you just fucking cleaned not thirty minutes ago!

“Shit.” You turn to head back to the kitchen and find yourself colliding with a large mass of muscle.

“AH!” Your scream is ear splitting and your hands shoot out in defense, odd angles as you raise your palms and smack at the large body.

Bucky’s cool metal hand quickly covers your mouth, cutting it off before it can sound like more than a shout of surprise.

“Shhh, Jesus, darling. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” He chuckles slowly at your exasperated expression as the fear in your eyes slowly dims and makes way for annoyance.

You smack his chest as he falls into low gentle peals of laughter. Not a chuckle but a real laugh. It shakes his shoulders and his belly juts out with each bubble of amusement. Luckily his beautiful body had been protected by his blue Henley, so your nails caused no damage.

He drops his hand, placing it on your right hip as his right hand rises to rest on your neck, his warm fingers tickling the small hairs on the back of it.

Your annoyance gives way to confusion as you watch his laughter shift into a soft chortle, his eyes squinty and beaming down at you brightly.

“Your first reaction to an intruder is to smack him to death?” Bucky asks. “Remind me to teach you how to punch.”

“Sorry, I didn’t know that I kicked and screamed when surprised in my own home. What are you doing here, Bucky? I thought you were spending the day with Steve and Sam?” Your heart is still pounding as your mind tries to assure your body that you’re safe and it’s only your husband, coming home.

Something about what you said makes Bucky’s eyes dilate and he suddenly pulls you into a ravenous kiss.

You don’t question his desire. You yield to it and push yourself up onto your toes, following his lead and slipping your tongue into his mouth as he opens his and sighs with contentment.

You two haven’t made out in such a long time. Kisses, sure. Desperate, passionate, necking during sex? Yes. But just making out? Just kissing him for kissing’s sake? He left right after you got married and has been leaving since…

Suddenly you break it because your heart aches with the memory of his unbridled passion for you and how he couldn’t help but corner you just to kiss you. The loneliness that you’ve been feeling but are too afraid to tell him about also doesn’t help with the ache of missed time.

“Oh, Bucky.” You gasp and bury your face into his neck.

“How can I spend all day with the guys when my girl’s got the day off?”

You know what this is in response to though.

“And you thoroughly pissed her off last night?” You pull back to look up into his face, setting your feet down flat.

The grimace he’s wearing tells you that you’re right in your guess. If he hadn’t made you angry last night, he might not be here right now.

Whatever. He’s home now. You’re not going to complain. “I’m so glad you came back.”

Bucky’s smile returns, soft and heavenly.

“Me too.”

The two of you stare at each other for a few moments, enjoying the feel of the other’s body so close.

“You hungry?” You finally ask, knowing what his answer will be. He’s freshly showered, his hair still damp. He came straight back after his workout.

“I’m starving.” He admits, reaching down to rub his muscled stomach.

“I’ll make you some lunch!” You exclaim excitedly. You’ve been looking up new recipes to try for him.

“Something fast? I’m really hungry.” He moves to gather up the cord for the vacuum and takes it towards the hall closet to put it away.

“Mmm.” Okay, change of plans. You’ll save the meatloaf for dinner or something.

You pull out a bag of penne pasta and toss it onto the counter then fill a pot with water and set it to boil. As you set to making the alfredo sauce from scratch, Bucky moves around the living room picking up the cleaning where you left off.

When you can, you watch him, enjoying the various angles of his butt that you get to gawk at but also the fact that he knew he’d interrupted your cleaning and is doing it for you.

“How was your work out?”

“Well, Steve and I left Sam in the dust on purpose. Lapped him like three times before we finally slowed down. I mean, I thought he was gonna cry.” Bucky stands up, one of his shoes and one of your hair ties in one hand while he presses the tips of his fingers of his right hand against his chest to indicate himself. “But Sam insisted that there was just some dust in his eye.”

You chuckle.

“Casey stopped by. She was on her way to some party in the city.”

“Yeah, her sister is having a baby shower. She’s due in three months.”

“You weren’t invited?” He asks, stopping his straightening to lean on his butt against the back of the couch as he looks over to you.

“I was.” You say off hand.

“Well, why didn’t you go?” He wonders and you can hear that confusion from last night in his voice again, so you look for his eyes and find them inquisitive. The small pucker between his eyes is so damn cute…how can he not know why you aren’t going?

“Because you’re home, silly.” You say with a light smile, shaking your head. “I wasn’t going to go out when I actually have you here.”

Bucky looks away from you, down at his feet for a long moment and you go back to cooking.

After a few silent minutes, two strong arms wrap you up, and you jump again, but because they’re familiar, you don’t scream.

“Jesus, Bucky…” You huff a laugh, leaning back against his chest but you keep your hand stirring in the pan so that your sauce doesn’t stick or get lumpy. “I’m gonna buy you a bell.”

“I have been gone a lot, haven’t I?” He speaks quietly but it isn’t a whisper. The scruff of his chin grazes against your cheek as he leans down to cuddle you.

“Yeah, but that’s your job. I don’t mind you being gone—I mean I do; I miss you when you’re not here—but you have to go away for work. Just…” You stop, not wanting to bring this up again. Things are so nice right now, in this moment.

“Just what, kitten?”

Kitten? Flutters erupt in your stomach and you lean to your left, so that you can look up at his face over your shoulder.

“Please don’t do what you did yesterday again. That really made me feel like shit, Buck.”

He suddenly buries his head into your neck, shaking it as if he’s trying to shake off the thoughts in his head.

You feel the press of his lips on your skin, but it isn’t sexual. It’s apologetic and loving. Soft and tender. When he pulls back, he rests the side of his head against the side of yours as you continue to cook.

“I’m really sorry, Y/N. I hate that I made you cry.”

“I know.” You assure him and turn to kiss his lips briefly. “Now go away, so I can finish cooking. You get to cook dinner though!”

Bucky smiles wide although there’s still a worry in his eyes and moves out of the kitchen to get back to cleaning.

It takes about forty minutes for all the food to be ready. You cut up some veggies and make him a salad first and then give him the pasta. Red wine is served but only you get slightly dizzy.

After lunch, Bucky washes the dishes and once the kitchen is clean, he insists that the two of you watch the Goonies again, this time, so he can be awake for it.

“Yay!” You squeal with delight and start the movie then settle into the couch on one end. To your surprise, Bucky goes to the opposite end.

You’re about to pout and shove over to him but he turns to sit facing you and then takes your left foot in his hands and with his metal fingers he begins to apply firm pressure to all the sore spots you didn’t know you had.

“Oh my God.” You gush, it feels so good.

“Hey, now. Haven’t you said that to me before?” Bucky teases.

Your neck and ears burn. “Shut up, perv!”

Grabbing a throw pillow, you chuck it at him as he chuckles at your flushed face, but easily catches the pillow and sets it under your knee to elevate it slightly.

While the movie plays, Bucky asks countless questions.

“Why is that guy in jail?”

“Why is there a race at the beach?”

“Where did all these kids meet?”

“Damn, what a mess. Who’s going to clean up that milkshake?”

“How can they afford a cleaning lady if they’re leaving because they’re getting bought out?”

“Bucky,” You laugh. “I don’t know.”

“I’m just asking! I mean, if they can afford a cleaning lady, they should be able to buy their house.”

Then it’s your turn to talk.

“Man, I miss when we could do that.”

“Do what?”

“Go out.”

“Uh, kitten, you’re an adult. You can go wherever you want.” He says in his best duh tone.

You chuckle and Bucky looks over at you, staring as your laugh dies off. You’re too busy looking from the movie to his hands caressing your feet to notice the look of utter love on his face.

“I meant as kids. Kids can’t just get on their bikes and ride around town anymore.”

“Why not?” He wonders, curious and he looks back to the movie as the titular Goonies ride their bikes away in escape of Brand, Mikey’s older brother. “Steve and I used to go all over the neighborhood on our own as kids.”

“They’ve got all those laws now. Kids can’t be out without adult supervision. They get kidnapped. It’s neglect. I guess I can see their point but at the same time, when do they get a chance to be kids? Casey and I used to run off to the park every day or each other’s houses. We explored the woods nearby before they developed the area. We made a lot of good memories in those woods.”

You lift up your foot and poke his side with your big toe.

“I had my first kiss in those woods.”

“Oh yeah?” He asks, intrigued and teasing. “Who with?”

“Juan Delgado. He was this kid visiting this other friend of ours from Mexico. He was really cute. Short wavy dark hair. Dark, almost jet-black eyes. Pouty lips.”

Bucky pushes himself up and begins to crawl over you. “Is that right?”

“Mm-hmm.” You nod, and slither down a little more so that your head is propped up enough to watch the TV but you’re laying down a bit more.

Bucky grabs one of the throw pillows and as he reaches your head, he puts his right hand behind it and pulls you up just a bit so that he can slide the pillow behind your neck, so it doesn’t hurt.

Once you’re settled back onto the sofa, he lays himself on you. “Was he a good kisser?”

You nod.

“Better than me?”

“I don’t know.” You admit, then continue in a whisper. “We were nine.”

Bucky’s eyes are twinkling at you again. He presses his lips against yours, shutting his eyes as he tastes you. “Then, I guess you guys didn’t use tongue?”

Another kiss.

“Definitely not.” You agree.

Another, softer, slower kiss as he runs his tongue along the seam of your lips. As you part them for him, he pulls you into a heady smooch.

You’re out of your mind for a few seconds as he makes you drunk on his lips. When he pulls back, both your lips and his smack softly.

“I win?” He asks.

You huff another laugh, delirious still from his salacious tongue.

“Yeah.” You admit. “You win.”

With triumph curving his lips into a smile, he moves down just a little so that he can rest his head against your left breast, staring at the TV to watch the movie. His arms wrap themselves close around your sides, and he shoves his hands beneath your shoulder blades to both hug you and support your weight.

The two of you are so snuggled into that sofa and neither of you has ever felt so at ease. You’re both right where you should be. Your marriage may not have been conventional, but it was most definitely not a mistake.

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