#I would have the same feeling as when someone loudly eats yogurt next to me

[waitimcomingtoo]

Dummy

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader

Synopsis: Peter is the only one of the Avengers who doesn’t tease you for being a little slow 

Masterlist

Now you weren’t exactly dumb.

You were just a little slow.

When you joined the Avengers last year, the team learned pretty quickly that your mind moved at a different pace than everyone else. It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing and it didn’t keep you from doing your job, it just meant you were the butt of most of the jokes. Every time one of your blunders happened, your intelligence would be mocked in some way. You knew it was all in good fun, but it hurt to it feelings every now and then. The only person who never poked fun at you was Peter. And for that reason, he was your favorite on the team.

“How are there 23 minutes left in this movie and I still don’t know any of the characters names?” Steve wondered as you all sat in the couch in Stark Towers, watching a movie on a particularly rainy afternoon.

“I think the main kids name is Phoenix. That’s all I got though.” Sam shook his head, just as confused as Steve.

“The dogs name is Benson.” Bucky mumbled quietly.

“Who names their kid Phoenix?” Peter wondered out loud as he shoveled popcorn into his mouth. The two of you were tucked into the corner of the couch, sharing a blanket and bowl of popcorn. You looked at him like he was crazy when you heard his question.

“Ummm, Joaquin Phoenix’s parents.” You scoffed and rolled your eyes. You turned your attention back to the movie as a silence settled in the room. You felt everyone’s eyes on you after a minute and looked around to see everyone staring at you with a dumbfounded expression.

“What?” You asked shyly, shrinking down a little in your seat in discomfort.

“That’s his last name.” Sam stated, chuckling a little under his breath. You realized your mistake and felt your face heat up.

“Oh.” You mumbled, your voice getting drowned out as the rest of the Avengers laughed at your expense.

“Did she really just say that?” Nat looked at the group with a playful smile. Everyone, excluding Peter, nodded as their laughter died down.

“Oh my God.” Steve chuckled. “That’s so stupid.”

There was that word again.

He didn’t mean it maliciously. Steve was the kinda of guy who ushered spiders into a magazine so he could let them outside. And yet, it still stung when he said that word.

Stupid.

You smiled sheepishly and tried to focus on the movie, snuggling closer to Peters side until it ended. You were fully aware that he was the only one who didn’t laugh, and you loved him that.

And maybe you loved him for a few other reasons too.

~

“Alright. Who has money for the subway?” Sam asked the group as he patted his empty pockets. You were on another late night trip to get cookies from a specific shop in Times Square, leaving without Tony’s knowledge. Everyones hands went to their pockets and collectively made a face.

“Not me.” Rhodey shrugged.

“I don’t have any.” Bruce added.

“I don’t even have pockets.” Nat realized.

“I have gum.” Peter proudly produced a silver wrapper from his pocket. “Oh wait, it’s just a wrapper.”

“You’re telling me we’re earth’s mightiest heroes and we’re broke?” Sam shook his head is disdain.

“I gave my last dollar to a guy in the subway for playing music.” Peter defended himself.

“What was he playing?” You asked him as you tiredly leaned against his arm.

“A mandolin.” Peter answered, making your face scrunch up.

“That’s a language.” You laughed at him slightly, feeling empowered by having the upper hand. Everyone looked at you and a few of them snorted.

“Mandarin is a language.” Bruce said gently, not wanting to embarrass you further. “Not mandolin.” 

“What?” You blinked in confusion and looked to Peter for answers.

“A mandolin is an instrument, dummy.” Sam chortled. You smiled tightly as the group laughed at your mistake, looking down to hide your blush.

“Oh. Sorry. My bad.” You laughed shyly as you tucked your hair behind your ear and pretending to read a nearby sign.

“That’s okay.” Peter spoke up in your defense. “They sound really similar. Plus like, French, French Horn. Who knows what’s going on?”

“Yeah.” Bucky said softly. “Or like, bra’s aren’t pointy anymore.”

Bruce nodded like it made perfect sense and Sam just shook his head as he texted.

“What?” You whispered to Peter, not knowing what he meant.

“He’s from the 1920s. He’s still adjusting.” Peter whispered to you out of the corner of his mouth before looking at Bucky. “That’s the spirit. Kind of.”

“FRIDAY is sending a car.” Sam informed the group. “This is never happening again. The cookies aren’t that good.”

“They’re pretty good.” Rhodey shrugged, but wanting the late Nate tradition to end. Sam looked at him for a moment before breaking into a smile.

“Hell yeah they are. Let’s do this again tomorrow.”

~

Bruce found you in the lab the next day with a pin between your teeth and a pencil behind your ear. Papers with drawings of suits were scattered around the table as you measured a piece of black fabric.

“What are you doing?” Bruce wondered as he took a seat across from you. You glanced up at him before marking a dot on the fabric.

“Mr. Stark asked me to help him with the new suits. I’m trying to make a fabric template for Nat’s gloves.” You told him as you smoothed the fabric out.

“Is it hard?” He asked, watching you intently as you worked.

“Not really.” You shrugged and took a step back to examine your work. “Okay. How many holes do we need? 1,2,3,4,5.” You counted your fingers. “Okay. Five holes.”

You sat back down and put five dots where her fingers would be to mark where you had to cut. You heard a slight chuckle from Bruce and looked up at him curiously.

“Did you just count your fingers?” He asked slowly, wanting to make sure he saw what he thought he had. “To know how many fingers Nat has?”

Your face burned when you realized how dumb you looked, in front of a scientific genius no less.

“Oh, Uh, yeah.” You stammered, feeling very insecure with him watching you now. You moved slower than before and second guessed moves you’d already made a hundred times. Bruce sensed your discomfort and got out of his seat, tapping the table twice as he thought.

“Have you ever heard the expression “the lights are on but nobody’s home’?” He asked you and you were grateful he changed the subject.

“Yeah, I think I have.” You smiled, proud of yourself for knowing something.

“It reminds me of you.” Bruce said so politely that you didn’t realize it was an insult at first. He left the lab to find Tony, leaving you feeling embarrassed and a little hurt. Everyone knew Bruce could hurt you ten times worse with his words than the Hulk could with his fists, you’d just never been his target before. You slumped down in your seat and continued making the gloves, your mood significantly dampened from before he came in the room.

~

You walked into the kitchen the next morning, sleepily rubbing your eyes. You pressed a chaste kiss on Peters shoulder as you passed him, also more affectionate to your best friend when you were half asleep. You smiled at Rhodey, who was seated at the bar and skimming through a newspaper.

“Did you eat yet?” You asked him through a yawn as you got out yogurt and fruit for yourself.

“No. I needed my coffee first.” He smiled sleepily at you and held up his mug.

“Oh, you mean your sugar with a spoonful of coffee?” You teased him. “Yeah, it’s good you got that out of the way.”

“I prefer it this way. The sugar wakes me up.” Peter defended his drink as he took a sip.

“That’s what the caffeine is supposed to do, mi amor.” You laughed as you ruffled his bed head ridden hair. He was about to make a comeback when his stomach rumbles loudly.

“Someone’s hungry.” You remarked. “Do you want eggs?”

“No thanks.” Peter shook his head. “I can’t eat eggs alone.”

“Well I’m here. And Rhodey’s right there, so you’re not alone.” You told him. “And I can grab Steve and Bucky. They’re just in the other room.”

Rhodey looked up from his newspaper with raised eyebrows and looked at Peter. Peter set his mug down and made a face at Rhodey that told him not to say anything. You looked between the two of them in confusion as you wondered what was going on.

“I meant alone as in without toast, sweetness.” Peter said gently, not wanting you to feel dumb for misunderstanding. “But I am glad you’re here.”

“Oh.” You faked a smile and shrugged like it was no big deal. Peter had handled the situation with ease and you didn’t feel as embarrassed as you normally would. That is until…

“You know, Y/n, it’s a good thing you’re pretty.” Rhodey nodded before going back to his newspaper. You froze with your spoonful of yogurt midway to your mouth and looked at him. He didn’t actually call you dumb, but it was implied. You looked at Peter to see if he was thinking the same thing, but his face had nothing but kindness on it.

“You are pretty.” He agreed with Rhodey. “But you’re a lot of other things too.”

You cracked a smile and rubbed his back for a moment in appreciation.

“Thanks Peter.” You said softly and went back to your breakfast. Not wanting to worry him, you ignored the way Rhodey’s comment made you feel and tried to push it from your mind. But no hard you tried to focus on other things, you had one thought prodding at the back of your head.

You were dumb.

~

A week went by without anyone poking fun at your intelligence. You had a sneaking suspicion Peter had something to do with the lack of comments, but you said nothing. It was nice to have a break from all the teasing and it made hanging out with the team more enjoyable. You all lingered around the kitchen one day, eating all different kinds of lunch when Tony came in the room.

“Eat up, funky bunch.” He clapped his hands. “We have a mission in Alaska to train for and I need all hands on deck. Cap, do you think you can teach Peter that spinny thingy you do?”

“I can try.” Steve looked at Peter and nodded.

“Great. I’m getting a manicure. I’ll be back around noon.” Tony informed you all.

“Wait, I thought you said all hands on deck.” You tilted your head at him.

“I did. Which I why I have to make sure my hands look the best.” Tony waved flirtatiously, wiggling his fingers around like a teenage girl. He smirked as his action was met with some eye rolls and a few chuckles before leaving the room.

“I can’t believe we’re going to Alaska.” Peter nudged you excitedly and you smiled with glee.

“Is Alaska the same as the North Pole? Or am I thinking of Antarctica?” Sam wondered out loud.

“No. The North Pole is all the way at the top. Alaska is below California. Like by Texas.” You said confidently, proud that you knew information that someone else didn’t. Your pride quickly dissipated when you saw the teams faces twist in amusement.

“Wait a minute.” Steve looked at you like you were joking. You shrugged, letting him know you weren’t. Sam burst out laughing and clapped his hands as the rest of the team began to laugh.

“Absolutely not.” Sam grinned as he wiped a tear from his eye.

“Yes it is.” You insisted. “Look at any US map. It’s on the bottom by Hawaii.”

You were getting angry now. You knew you were right this time and they were still teasing you.

“No.” Bucky shook his head is dismissal. “No.”

“Alaska is below California on every map I’ve ever seen. You’re telling me I’m wrong?” You our your hand on your hip and stared at them.

“100%. I am 100% telling you you’re wrong.” Sam said between his laughter. Peter came to your side and showed you a picture of a map on his phone.

“Alaska is US territory but it’s not connected to the rest of the states. They just put it below California on maps to show it’s a part of the US. Thats not actually where it’s located.” He said quietly. You looked at the map for a few seconds before you realized he was right. And if he was right…

You were wrong.

“Oh.” You smiled apologetically and averted your eyes. “Oops.”

You turned around and pretending to clean up the kitchen to hide your searing blush. Your fingers clenched around your sponge when you heard the teasing laughter from behind you.

“Sometimes I wonder how you made it out of high school.” Steve joked as he threw out the crusts of his sandwich. The comment stung you and you began to scrub the counter faster so you could leave the room sooner. Peter could see your shoulders tense and put a reassuring hand on your back. You gave him a tight lipped smiled before putting your dish in the sink.

“I’m still wondering how she made it out of first grade.” Nat teased you and she poked your side.

“I can’t believe she made it out of the womb in the first place with nobody telling her where to go.” Sam said, making everyone laugh loudly. You abruptly threw a dish in the sink, making everyone go silent. You tuned around slowly and faked a smile.

“Haha. Yeah.” You forced a laugh. “I’ll catch you guys later.”

You swiftly left the room before anyone could catch your tears. You felt stupid for even getting upset over it, but their words hurt. Feeling like you were always the dumbest person in the room was taking a toll on you, especially when you weren’t the only one who felt that way. Peter watched you leave with sympathetic eyes, feeling his own frustration bubble at the sound of the team laughing at you. He thought they had listened the first time he told them to stop making fun of you, but they clearly hadn’t. After seeing the pained look on your face, Peter made a decision.

It was never going to happen again.

~

“Ugh. I’m never gonna get this right.” Peter groaned as he messed up the move Steve was trying to teach him once again.

“You’re getting too much inside your head. Just let it happen naturally.” Steve instructed as he resumed his stance. Peter tried the move again, wiping out and landing on his side with a thud. You watched him out of the corner of your eye as you spared with Nat.

“I can’t.” Peter got up and rubbed his arm. “I can’t do it.”

Steve nodded, like he was accepting Peters defeat. You stopped sparing and looked at Peter.

“Yes you can. Come on, Peter.” You encouraged him. “Everyone told Van Gogh that he couldn’t be an artist because he only had one ear but he did it anyway.”

The room feel silent, as it often did when you spoke, and everyone looked down.

“Oh dear Lord.” Rhodey sighed and hung his head and he snickered. You could see everyone else fighting back laughter or cracking a smile, yet saying nothing.

“What?” You crossed your arms in annoyance, looming to Peter for help.

“He chopped his ear off after becoming an artist.” Peter said kindly. “He wasn’t born without one.”

You opened your mouth to speak, but Tony beat you to it.

“Speaking of ears, do you think of you shone a light in one of Y/n’s ears, it would come out the other ear?” Tony quipped, making everyone laugh. The tips of your ears burned as that feeling of stupidity sunk in again. You undid the Velcro on your boxing gloves and pretended to wipe sweat from your face as you rushed to the bin where the gloves went. You kept your back to the group and pretending to be putting your gloves away when you were really concealing your pained expression.

“Yes.” Nat jeered. “Yes I do.”

Your shoulders slumped with exhaustion as you turned around, making every effort to keep your face neutral. Your face didn’t give away any signs of sadness, but your knuckles turning white from how hard you were gripping the bin gave your true feelings away. Peter noticed this and felt his jaw clench. If you weren’t gonna tell them to stop, he was.

“Leave her alone, guys.” He commanded the crowd before looking at you. “Thanks for the encouragement, Y/n. I’m gonna keep trying.”

“It’s fine.” You nodded curtly. “I’m gonna hit the showers. I’ll see you guys at dinner.”

You walked out of the gym, pausing in place when you heard Sams voice.

“Hit the showers?” He laughed. “We just started.”

“Shhh. Don’t confuse the poor girl any further.” Bruce joked back. You looked back at the gym with your eyebrows knit together, taking a quiet step closer to hear what they were saying about you without you there.

“She’s probably like, ‘whats this magic closet that makes rain?’” Rhodey imitated your voice, making you sound as dense as possible.

“Knock it off guys. It’s not funny.” Peter snapped, but the teasing continued.

“Or like, ‘this shampoo says it adds volume, but I used it and I can’t hear any louder than before’.” Tony mocked you, skipping around a little like a child. Your face contorted in misery as they made fun of you. You knew who they really were, and they were good people. They didn’t intend to hurt your feelings, they were only joking around like they did with everyone. Steve was teased all the time for his old fashioned dialect and no one lets Tony live down the kimono incident. Still, all their insults and mockery cut you like a knife.

“Ahh, I love that girl.” Nat shook her head with a smile. “She’s so dumb.”

“She may be slow, but she’s entertaining as hell.” Sam nodded in agreement.

“I said knock it off.” Peter repeated, getting a reaction this time.

“Aw. Peters mad because we’re teasing his girlfriend.” Nat pouted and pinched Peters cheek. She quickly realized how wholesome she was being and punched Bucky in the face to maintain her lethal assassin persona.

“She’s not my girlfriend.” Peter grumbled. Now that you were out of the room, he was the next target.

“He’s right. Hey, maybe that’s why you guys haven’t gotten together yet.” Rhodey shrugged. “She’s too stupid to realize you’re in love with her.”

That was all you had to hear. You ran towards your with tears running down your face. Thanks to Peters advanced heating, he heard every heavy footstep.

“Okay. Maybe she is a little slow.” Peter shook his head in disdain at the team. “But you guys are idiots.”

~

You were quiet the entire way to Alaska, keeping to yourself and silently looking out the window. Peter attempted to talk to you once or twice, but he could tell you wanted to be alone. The Avengers completed the mission within a few hours with minor damage to the area. Peter focused on his job but found himself looking for you every now and then, being as you usually stayed together during missions. He didn’t see you anywhere and assumed you were doing your own thing on the other side of the field. He heart rest assured when he saw you boarding the jet, still looking reserved and aloof from the rest of the team. You took a seat by the window and rested your chin on your hand, looking out at the bleak landscape in front of you as the jet took off. Peter didn’t engage in small talk with the rest of the team and wistfully stared at you instead, silently willing you to cheer up.

“I think that went pretty well.” Rhodey nodded and the team agreed. “But where were you the whole time, Y/n? Picking daisies?”

Peter held his breath as you slowly turned around. You gave Rhodey a frigid smile and shook your head.

“We came during a blizzard so I used my powers to create a heated force field around the area we were in to prevent frostbite and give you guys and easier time seeing in the snow. We were also at a higher altitude than any of us are used to so I kept the air pressure to sea level standard.” You said simply. “And I assumed there would be smoke from the battle so I rounded up the nearby animals and made a separate for field around them to protect their lungs.”

The room went silent, something you were used to at this point. But instead of everyone falling silent because they were laughing at you, they were impressed.

“Oh.” Rhodey blinked in surprise, not expecting the answer he was given.

“I also picked this flower.” You smiled proudly as you produced a Forget Me Not from your lap. Peter couldn’t keep the grin from breaking through on his face. You were the center of attention once again, but in a good way this time. Everyone was pleasantly surprised with what you had done and it showed.

“I didn’t think about the altitude.” Nat realized.

“I had no idea there was a blizzard.” Steve added, looking dumbfounded.

“Because I kept you from knowing.” You shrugged. “I wanted you guys to focus on the mission.”

“I mean, I knew. I just didn’t tell you guys because I was so distracted by my buffed and polished nails.” Tony twiddled his fingers again, showing off his freshly manicured nails. You all laughed, breaking the tension in the jet.

“Well look at that.” Sam looked impressed. “Y/n knew something we didn’t.”

It was almost a compliment, but it still made you feel insecure. You didn’t want it to be this mind boggling every time you did something useful.

“Thanks, Y/n. That was really smart.” Peter said softly as he patted your knee. You put your hand over his and squeezed it. It was the first time someone called your smart, and it made you feel good.

“It was really smart.” Sam said skeptically. He stared at you for a moment before poking your side.

“What are you doing?” You swatted his hand away.

“Just making sure you’re still in there.” He eyed you suspiciously. Peter could sense the attention was making you uncomfortable and changed the subject.

“Are we almost home?” He asked Tony before peering out the window. The flight was a little over 7 hours on a normal plane, but the Stark jet was much quicker. The flight would only take a few hours, but Peter was not known for being patient.

“Yes, Peter. We are almost back at the tower. You can get your diaper changed and your bottle as soon as we get back.” Tony sassed him, making him shrink in his seat. Your body language had completely changed and your were now sitting straight, facing the group. Peter was glad you were feeling better and didn’t even mind Tony’s comment.

“Guys, let’s be civil. We’re all tired. We all want to get home.” You said calmly. “Let’s just focus on how pretty the sky looks tonight. Isn’t is pretty, Peter?”

He gazed at your profile as you looked out the window at the stars, admiring how pretty you looked from the side.

“Yeah. It’s beautiful.” He conceded without ever taking his eyes off you. You shot him a smile before looking straight ahead at the dashboard.

“Wow, the moon is huge!” You pointed time a large yellow crescent that could be seen through the window.

“That’s literally the reflection of my banana on the windshield.” Tony deadpanned. He may have been right, but it still looked pretty.

“Should we make a wish?” You asked Peter, ignoring Tony’s comment.

“On the banana?” He asked.

“Yes.” You nodded. “On the banana.”

“Why?” Rhodey asked. “It’s not like people wish on the moon.”

“It feels like we should.” You said with confidence.

“Yep. She’s still in there.” Sam chuckled. And just like that, your confidence receded.

“I hate it here.” Bucky sighed heavily and tuned out of the conversation.

“It must be so peaceful being you, Y/n.” Tony remarked.

“Why do you say that?” You wondered.

“Because instead of thinking about your problems and mistrials, you simply don’t think at all.” Tony said suavely. In only a better for minutes, you’d gone from being the hero to the laughing stock of the group. The sly comments and taunting laughter made you feel like you should stop opening your mouth entirely. You faked a smile and turned back towards the window, tuning out the rest of the way home. Peter chewed his lip as he stared at you, feeling useless to helping you out. The team just wouldn’t let up, no matter how many times he told them to stop. Knowing you weren’t in the mood to talk, he scooted closer to you and put a comforting hand on your back. You smiled warmly at him and rested your head on his shoulder, listening to him point out the constellations the whole way home.

~

The next day, you and Peter were sitting in the balcony, working on some new gadgets for Mr. Stark when Peter made a startling discovery.

“Where’s my right web shooter?” Peter stood up in a panic when he realized it was missing. “I left it right here.”

“Maybe a bird carried it off.” You shrugged as you twisted a tiny screw into Peters left web shooter.

“I’m being serious, Y/n.” Peter stated. “Mr. Stark is going to kill me and turn me into a decorative rug if I lost it.”

“I’m being serious too. We live in New York and I see birds around here all the time.” You told him as you continued your work. “And you know the pigeons here are feral. A bird probably stole it to pay for his child support.”

Peter usually entertained your antics and joined in with his own batch of sarcasm, but he wasn’t in the mood. His web shooter was missing and their were actual stakes involved. Without his web shooter, he couldn’t be Spiderman. And without Spider-Man, he couldn’t be an Avenger.

“Can you be serious for once?“ Peter whined, picking up everything on the table to look under it.

“I’m just saying it’s possible, Peter. You never know.” You insisted as you put your screw driver down to help him look. You began looking in the flower pots on the windowsill that you and Peter had planted. Peter stopped his search for a moment, growing angry with you for wasting time. He didn’t know if you were joking around or genuine believed his web shooter was in the flower pots, but it made him frustrated nonetheless. A combination of his lack of sleep and stress over losing the webshooter manifested into a moment of unchecked rage.

“No, it’s not possible.” He snapped. “A bird didn’t steal my web shooter. God, do you have to be so stupid?” 

 The word hung in the air for a moment, settling in to the both of you. Peters eyes immediately softened, feeling instant regret for what he had said. You stopped trifling through the plants and slowly turned around.

“What?” You asked quietly. Peter tightened his lips into a line and tried to justify what he had said.

“I try to defend you but you make it so hard. Can you help me out a little here and not be so…” He trailed off when he realized he had only made it worse. Your face hardened and you looked disappointed in Peter, which killed him. He would have preferred anger or even sadness, but the disappointment killed him.

“So what?” You shrugged. “Finish your sentence Peter.”

“I didn’t mean that.”

“No, really, go ahead.” You stated coldly. “You got this far. So what, Peter?”

He looked at you for a moment, getting that feeling of wishing you could turn back time just a few seconds to fix a mistake.

“So dumb all the time.” He finished his sentence with an unsteady voice. Your face scrunched up in a pained expression as you sucked in and let out a shaky breath.

“You were the only one who never called me that.” You whimpered before moving past him and going inside. Peter watched you through the open balcony doors as you disappeared into the hallway with a heavy heart. His mouth was open to apologize, but you were long gone. He’d seen you being ridiculed so many times already, and now he was the one doing it. All that talk about it never happening again, only for him to be the reason it happened. Peter couldn’t live with himself for another minute without you knowing how sorry he was. He took a step towards the doorway until he heard a pigeon land on the table. He watched it curiously for a moment as it pecked at the screwdriver you had been using before picking it up with its beak. It flew over to the edge and began to walk along the railing, still keeping the screwdriver in his mouth. Peter followed the pigeon, walking all the way down the balcony to find a large nest in the corner. He watched as it dropped the screwdriver into its nest, right next to his web shooter.

“Holy shit. A bird stole my web shooter.” Peter said in disbelief. Peter watched as baby pigeons poked out from inside the web shooter to greet the other pigeon.

“Holy shit. A bird stole my web shooter for his kids.” Peters eyes widened even more than they already were. Realized struck him and his shoulders slumped.

“She was right.” He mumbled, angry at himself more than ever. “I yelled at her and she was right.”

Peter wasted no time in rescuing his web shooter from the birds, offering them a nice biodegradable coffee cup in its place, and ran to the kitchen to make you a peace offering. He knocked softly on your door and didn’t wait for an answer before going in.

“I made you this cup of tea as an apology.” Peter stiffly held out a mug with an awkward smile on his face. You looked at Peter from your bed, eyes puffy like you had been crying. You stared at each other for a long time, you with a death glare and Peter with his awkward smile. Neither of you said a word as Peter continued to hold out the mug. After two full minute of silence, a bead of sweat ran down Peters face as he looked around nervously, never breaking his smile. You let out an angry sigh and decided to throw him a bone, crossing the room to accept his mug. You looked into the cup for a moment before looking back at Peter.

“This is empty.” You deadpanned.

“I don’t know how to make tea.” Peter whispered, never breaking eye contact.

“I’ve seen you make it.” You snapped.

“I forgot how to do it.” Peters eyes shifted nervously to the side.

“Bucky was in the kitchen, wasn’t he?”

“I know he hates me.” Peter talked over you as you groaned. “I know he does.”

“Just go away.” You tried to close the door but he kept it open.

“No.” Peter said firmly. “I came in here to apologize.”

“You see this?” You held up the mug for a Peter to see. “It’s my cup of care. And look at that” ,you dumped the cup over, “it’s empty.”

Peter stared at your demonstration with raised eyebrows, surprised that you were still able to be sarcastic when he hurt you. Peter took the mug from your hands and set it on the ground before slowly looking up at your face.

“You’re not stupid.” He said softly with all the sincerity his heart could give. You scoffed and folded your arms, looking to the side when you felt tears sting your eyes.

“Yes I am.” You said like you fully believed it, which was Peters worse fear. “Everyone says so. Even you.”

It hit Peter like a sheet of glass when you looked at him like that.

Like he was someone you didn’t want around.

“I didn’t mean to say that.” Peter apologized. “That is not how I feel. At all.”

“Don’t act like you’ve never thought about saying that before.” You laughed sadly. “Everyone on the team calls me dumb. It was only a matter of time before you did it too.”

“I didn’t mean it.” Peter repeated. “I don’t think you’re stupid.”

“Bullshit.” You snapped. “You’re so full of bullshit.”

“I’m not full of bullshit.” He whined like a child and gave you puppy dog eyes. “I’m full of regret.”

You chewed the inside of your cheek as he gave you his best pout, willing you to forgive him. Finally, you caved and cracked a smile.

“I hate you.” You stamped your foot and hung your head, frustrated with yourself for not being able to stay mad at him. Peter opened his arms and you walked into them, arms still folded angrily. You bumped your forehead against his shoulder before moving to rest your chin on it as he wrapped his arms around you. Peter nestled against your hair and sighed, happy that you had forgiven him but still saddened that he had hurt you in the first place. He could see the pile of used tissues on your bed and it killed him to know he made you cry.

“I didn’t mean to call you that. I really didn’t.” He said softly. “I’m the one who’s been trying to stop people from saying that.”

“But they still do it.” You sniffled. “Everyday I get called dumb or stupid or scalene.”

“I think it’s obtuse, not scalene.” Peter reluctantly corrected you. You pulled away and little and let Peter wipe the tears from your face.

“Maybe they’re right.” You shrugged and looked Peter in the eyes. “Maybe I am dumb.”

Peter kept your face between his hands, staring at you for a moment before sighing.

“I once sneezed so many times in a row that I peed my pants.” Peter deadpanned. “I was 17.”

“What?” You chuckled as you wiped your nose.

“I saw Bucky try to take a piece of toast out of the toaster with his metal arm and electrocute himself.” He continued. “And I constantly see Tony bumping into glass doors.”

“I don’t understand.” You squinted your eyes, but sure what point he was trying to make.

“Steve still picks up the phone and asks for the operator. Nat leaves her curling iron plugged in all the time. I do not think Sam knows the address of where we live and I’m pretty sure Rhodey can’t do laundry. He gets all his stuff dry cleaned, even his socks.”

“Why are you telling me all of this?” You asked.

“Because were all dumb.” Peter concluded. “We all do and say dumb things. You don’t know where Alaska is and no one in this tower can read analog clocks. If we’re all dumb, then maybe none of us are dumb. Or we all are. Who cares?” Peter shrugged, making you laugh. “And you were right. A bird did carry off my web shooter. So no, you’re no dumb. Or stupid. Or obtuse. You’re, uh, you- you…” Peter looked down at he fumbled over his words.

“I’m what?” You raised an eyebrow. You could finish his sentence last time, but this time you were lost.

“You’re…” Peter tampered off again, staring at your confused expression for a moment before pulling you into a kiss. Your hands clenched into a fist and slowly uncurled as you relaxed into the kiss. Peter pulled away too soon and let his eyes flutter open. They met yours and you shared a moment of hesitation, not knowing what happened rest next.

“I’m gonna be honest lovey, I didn’t really have an ending to that sentence.” Peter chris joes softly, his breath fanning your face. “That was mainly improv.”

“You’re pretty good at improv, Parker.” You cracked a smile and wrapped your arms around his neck.

“I did a little bit of theater in high school.” He shrugged smugly, making you giggle.

“Mmm. I severely don’t want to hear about that.” You teased before kissing him again.

“Oh, I think you do.” Peter remarked. “Because I once went to the bathroom during intermission with my mic still on and the entire audience heard me peeing.”

“Oh my God.” You laughed. “You’re so stupid.”

Tag List 🏷

@maybemona @foreverxholland @damnyoudameron @lavender-writer @captainmandeestudent17 @whatareyouhidingpeter @takenbyheartstrings @ultrunning @imyourliquor-youremypoison @theolwebshooter @andreasworlsboring101 @guksmyfav @waiting-to-be-myself @letsloveimagines @peterparkoure @a-villain-vying-for-attention @justcallmehitgirl @averyfosterthoughts @jackiehollanderr @tiny-friggin-human @celestial-skylines @mara-twins @iamaunicorn4704 @spideygirl2003 @the-crazy-fanfictionist @maryjanee23  @geeksareunique @emmamarshmellow @jillanaholland @unbelievableholland @rebekkah4766 @flixndchill @sovereignparker @wendaiii @thisisthebiplace @spideydobrik @every-marveler-ever @undiadeestos @caelestii-e @eridanuswave @itscaminow @fiantomartell @solarxmoonchild @where-art-thau-romeo @canyouevencauseicant @illwritetomorrow @thehappygrungelife @saysomethingspiderman @parkerboop @smilexcaptainx @hes-amarillo @quaksonhehe @kelieah @silteplaittais-toi @kickingn-ames @purefluff @seasidecrowbar @lovelessdagger @love-sick-blues @electraheart-3174 @lou-la-lou @unbelievableholland @yourtypicalhotmess @ohnothezombies @spideyanakin @horanxholland @thesuitelifeofafangirl​ @anapocalypseinmymind @quacksonfics @marshxx @heyheycharlatte​ @nooneinvitedfascistbarbie @tomshufflepuff @buckybigbutt @cookiemonstermusic258 @awesomebooklover17

[multifandhoem]

Home || Issei Matsukawa x Reader

A/N: This is my present for @seita in the Haikyuu HQ Secret Santa event! It’s longer than I expected, but I hope you like it!

Genre: smut

Warnings: pseudo incest, stepbrother!Issei, softDom!Issei, virgin!reader, first time, oral (male receiving), spanking (female receiving), fingering, unprotected sex, squirting, cum eating, slight manipulative!Issei, a creepy guy tries to hit on reader at the beginning

Word count: 4713

READ THE WARNINGS, DO NOT COMPLAIN TO ME WHY YOU READ SOMETHING YOU DON’T LIKE!!!

“I’m going to the store do you want to come with me?”

Issei was leaning on the doorframe to your room, watching with a smile on his face how you excitedly crawled out of your bed, eager at the thought to spend time with your nii-chan. He was home from Tokyo for a couple of weeks and it has been so long since you could really spend some time with him, but with your parents, on a weekend vacation, you had him all to yourself.

Even if he wasn’t your biological brother, something made you always want to spend time with him. He was always radiating a sense of security. You really couldn’t imagine any safer place than in his arms.

Issei chuckled at the way you excitedly stood in front of him within minutes, ready to join him on his quest to the store, so you two would have food for the next three days.

“Well, then let’s go little one.”

Your heart jumped at the endearing nickname he had given you when you were first introduced as his little sister. You really loved your nii-chan so much it hurts.

*-*-*-*-*

It was the weekend before Christmas, so the store was packed.

Issei used his height to his advantage, scanning the aisles and navigating through the least crowded ones, with you clutching the ends of his jacket to not lose him.

“Hey, little one, we need some cheese, milk, and yogurt, can you get these here? I will go grab some cornflakes real quick.” He threw a reassuring smile in your direction before he already dipped down into some aisle, leaving you in front of the refrigerated display shelf.

You were always shy and unsure in situations outside of your comfort zone, but getting some ingredients.. you could make that work, you were sure of it!

Otherwise, Issei-nii chan would be disappointed with you and that was something you really didn’t want.

And everything went great, you nearly got all of the stuff Issei-nii had told you to get when suddenly this one man started talking to you.

“I can think of a better cream you can get.” He didn’t even introduce himself, just sleazily standing way to close to you after you had turned back around, cartons of milk in your hand.

“T-that’s milk.”

You wanted to duck away from the uncomfortable situation, when he suddenly took your wrist into his hand, tugging you back towards him. “Don’t be like that, I was just making friendly conversation!” The grin on his face made shivers appear all over your arms, but maybe it was also the cold shelf you stood in front of.

You shouldn’t think so badly about people or men in general. Stereotyping was bad.

“I’m sorry, I just have to get back to shopping.”

You tried to drop the cartons of milk into the cart, but he still had an iron grip on your wrist. “You haven’t even introduced yourself, that’s not very nice of you. You see, I’m-“ The rest of his words went down in an unattractive squeak, as he was suddenly ripped away from you.

You felt tears arise in your eyes when you saw Issei-nii’s furious face appear behind him. You really messed up this time, you didn’t want Issei-nii chan to be angry at you.

“Get away from her, you scum.” His voice sounded so scary, but after his face softened immediately when he laid his eyes on you you relaxed a bit.

He took the milk out of your arms, dropping it into the cart, before squishing you firmly into his side, navigating the cart with only one arm.

For the whole duration of your shopping spree, he kept you pressed against him, not speaking a word, which made you rethink if he really wasn’t angry with you.

He also had a mean look on his face, but you still couldn’t help but feel safe, tucked under his arm, nearly buried inside of his jacket, tightly clutching his sweatshirt in your hands.

*-*-*-*-*

By the time you arrived back home, you were sure that he was angry with you.

He had gripped the steering wheel unusually tight and he still hadn’t said a word to you.

“Nii-chan…” You fiddled with your fingers, standing in the kitchen while he was aggressively placing all of your purchases in the respecting cabinets. “I’m sorry I upset you. I really didn’t want to, please don’t be angry anymore!”

Your nii-chan was never really angry at you, so for him to be so aggressive now made you very uneasy, to the point that tears started appearing in your eyes, slowly rolling down your cheeks.

“Oh, my cute little baby, I’m not angry at you, come ‘ere.”

He took a big step in your direction, engulfing you in his arms. Immediately you felt warmth blooming in your chest, something only your nii-chan was able to produce.

“I could never be angry at you, baby. I love you too much.”

Issei pressed little kisses onto the crown of your head, his fingers caressing your back gently.

He wasn’t angry at you? The relief made you cry a bit more when the refrigerator started beeping due to being open for too long. Issei silenced it with a kick to the door, still cradling you in his arms.

_______________________________________________________________________

He slowly guided you to the couch where he seated you on his lap, pressing you tightly against him.

“My sweet, sweet baby. I love you so much. It’s okay. You’re just so naïve, I should have known. You’re just a small little baby, I should have never left you alone.”

He raised your head by your chin, kissing your wet cheeks repeatedly with his soft lips, making you sniffle. “I love you too, nii-chan.”

His heart exploded in his chest as you said that. Yes, you loved him. He could not have wished for more. But you should love him. He was your nii-chan. He protected you, he cared for you, he kept creeps like the man today away from you.

The whimper that escaped your lips made every little doubt and regret vanish. You were just so cute. When you clumsily started to move your lips against his, reciprocating the kiss, he wondered if you have ever kissed someone before.

Something primal in him growled at the thought of being your first kiss and within that second he was determined to not only be your first kiss.

Your cheeks were flushed, and your tear flow had stopped when you finally ended the kiss, resting your forehead against his’.

“I just don’t want anyone else touching my sweet little baby.”

“I didn’t know! I thought he was being friendly, nii-chan, really,” you defended yourself, desperate to make him happy with how you acted.

“Nobody is ever ‘just friendly’. Remember that. But you’ll only let your nii-chan touch you from now on, right?”

His hands roamed over her back and he smiled contently when you nodded wildly. “Only you, please, nii-chan.”

This time you took the initiative and pressed your lips to his, willingly opening your mouth for him to slip his tongue in.

The heat in your chest was overwhelming you, spreading through your whole body. You wanted to be good for your nii-chan. Wanted to show him that you’re his good little baby.

“Nii-chan!”

A shudder traveled over Issei’s entire body at your whimper of the title and he felt his dick twitch in his pants. You were still pressing yourself tightly against him, so he moved a hand to the lower part of your back, slightly pushing your hips forward until you were nestled against his sizeable bulge, even if he wasn’t even fully hard yet.

You moaned again, continuing to slightly hump him even though he wasn’t pushing you anymore.

_______________________________________________________________________

Did you know what you were doing? He wasn’t sure, but for some reason the thought only made him get more aroused. “You feel good, baby?” He couldn’t hide the slightly teasing tone in his voice when you kept humping him.

The face you made was so innocent but so vulgar at the same time, he loved it. “Yes, nii-chan!” You were already a bit breathless, moaning loudly when he moved his hips in time with your thrusts to maximize the pleasure.

You were extremely happy with the smile that had been on Issei’s face as soon as you started to push your hips against his. He seemed so proud of you. You never wanted it to end.

You have never done these things with anyone in your life, but your nii-chan would help you, you hoped. And he would still be proud of you. You increased your pace, humping him even harder and faster, moaning every time his cock was angled in the right direction, pressing against your little clit.

You had to do good for your nii-chan. You pushed yourself forward, lips crashing against his messily, your teeth colliding, a bit of salvia dripping down onto your chin.

“Easy there, baby.”

You had done something wrong. You realized it the second he assisted you in pushing your hips forward again.

_______________________________________________________________________

“I- I want you to feel good, nii-chan,” you stammered as a defense and he chuckled.

“You want me to feel good? Then stop humping my lap and get on the floor.” It took a couple of thrusts until you could stop yourself, abandoning your pleasure to shakily climb of his lap and sit on the floor.

“No, baby.” Issei chuckled at you, stretching over the couch to get a pillow he threw on the floor in front of him. “On your knees.”

You scrambled around to get in the right position, embarrassment burning on your face at your stupid mistake. You were now on the same height as the obvious bulge in his pants and uncertainly, your hands moved to his thighs and then the band of his sweatpants, to pull them down.

“Tch.” You pulled your hands away as if you burned yourself. “Did I say you could do that? Don’t be so greedy. Just wanting to get right down to business, I hadn’t expected for you to be such a whore.” You flinched at the insult.

“I’m sorry, nii-chan. I thought this was what you wanted, I only wanted to obey you.” The proud smile he had had on his face earlier had disappeared and you desperately wanted it back again.

“Put your mouth to better use.” He didn’t even wait for you. His hand just snaked itself into your hair, pushing you against his clothed erection, nuzzling your face against it. “Lick it.”

You tentatively started licking it, a sharp tug at your hair reminding you to not be too soft. It felt weird, your mouth was getting dry and fuzzy, but you still tried your best in licking his erection up and down, even sucking on some parts and all in all making a mess of his sweatpants.

“Good girl.” You doubled your efforts at his praise, trying to produce as much spit as possible in your mouth to continue slabbering against his crotch. He raised his hips a bit, finally sliding his sweatpants off, letting his half-hard cock spring free.

You looked up at him uncertain, waiting for permission to continue. A small nod of him was all it took for you to vigorously start lapping at his length, cradling it in your hands while wetting it all over.

_______________________________________________________________________

Issei loved the sight of you on your knees in front of him, tongue playing with his cock.

He wasn’t even fully hard yet and still, your face and hands next to his dick looked extremely tiny in comparison. But you were his tiny little baby, so what else did he expect?

He used the hand he had in your hair to align your mouth with the tip of his dick, pushing it into your warm cavern.

“You look so good sucking cock, baby.” You beamed around his cock at the praise, pushing down even further and promptly choking around his massive length, sputtering to get off it right after. His brows furrowed, his hand keeping you in place.

You weren’t even halfway down, you had to do better than that. He had to teach you. “Relax your throat, if you want to be good at that. I’m not even halfway in, there has to be more that little mouth has to offer.” Tears were welling up in your eyes as you felt him in the back of your throat, the corners of your mouth burning from the stretch around his girth.

You had read somewhere that you should not use teeth under any circumstance, so you tried your best to keep them shielded with your lips, even though your whole mouth was filled.

You wanted to suck, make it tighter and more pleasurable for him, but there was no room for that. And he still didn’t stop.

When you started violently gagging, he held still for a moment, but he didn’t let you retreat. He wanted at least three-quarters of his cock buried in your mouth. Anything else would be unacceptable. He couldn’t have a little sister who could only fit half of a cock in her mouth.

And you understood. Your eyes were big and filled with tears, but you still gazed at him with adoration in them. Your nii-chan was teaching you how to suck dick properly. How to pleasure him properly. And there was nothing more that you wanted, other than your nii-chan feeling good because of you.

_______________________________________________________________________

After he was content with how much dick you could fit in your mouth, he pulled you off of him, letting you breathe for a couple of seconds before shoving you right back down, now bobbing you on his dick.

You tried doing something, eventually giving up, relishing in his moans while he fucked your mouth. Every surge of pleasure of his was a different pleasure for you.

Seeing your nii-chan get off with your mouth, feeling his dick becoming fully hard, because of you, it was the greatest pleasure you ever experienced.

“Good little baby. Sucking my cock so good.” The praise made your insides bloom with a comfortable warmth. You did good. Your nii-chan was happy with you.

One of your hands cupped his balls, fondling them, unsure what to do with them. But he moaned louder, so you were sure you were doing something right. You wanted to see his face, but the tears streaming out of your eyes obscuring your vision, only getting more with each time he hit the back of your throat.

_______________________________________________________________________

The sounds you made were heavenly. Issei wanted to record you to always hear them.

The choking and moaning around his cock was something he could never grow tired of. He wondered if you would swallow his come like a good girl.

He would make you swallow it one way or another, either directly from the source or licking it up from his fingers, his cock, or the floor.

The thought sent shivers down his spine and he thrust even harder. The image of you licking his come off the floor. He had to try that sometimes.

Probably not today, if you behaved. It was still your first time after all and he was a good nii-chan.

“Keep going, baby, just a bit longer.”

Praise made you more eager to please, practically devouring his cock, tongue moving everywhere it could while he was still restlessly thrusting into your mouth, nearing his climax.

You were just so cute, with spit and tears all over your face, humping the air while kneeling between his legs. Issei was sure you weren’t even aware you were doing that. You just loved him so much.

_______________________________________________________________________

His thrusts grew more and more erratic and his groans louder. You tried to blink the tears out of your eyes, but new ones were appearing over and over again.

You just wanted to watch your nii-chan lose himself in the pleasure you gave him. When you could finally make out his facial features he had a breathless smile on his face. A feeling of accomplishment bloomed in your chest, especially when he gently took up more hair in his hand, pushing it out of your face in the process. You just felt so loved.

And then he came.

You were so grateful for your nii-chan’s come, even though you had to choke a bit when he pressed you deep down onto your dick, shooting his seed deep into your throat.

He still kept you around his dick, as his breathing came down again, enjoying the slurping noises you made around his dick, desperate to not let a drop escape. Seems like he worried for nothing.

“You did great, baby.” He finally let you come up for air, chuckling at your proud smile. “Thank you, nii-chan. I really enjoyed it.” He mentioned for you to come back up onto his lap again, letting you sit on his lap again, his sweatpants still dangling around his knees.

“Leave it there. I like you messy. Especially when I’m the reason for that.” He stopped you from wiping your spit and tears from your face. You looked so good with a wet face.

“I’m never going to be messy for anyone else, nii-chan. Only you.” He groaned at your statement, feeling his dick springing back in motion again.

“That’s right, baby. Only messy for me, right?” He chuckled at her nodding, tapping your ass. “Then let’s reward you for being a good little baby. Lay over my lap.”

It was borderline funny how fast you scrambled to get into position, even though he had to help you a bit until your ass was positioned right over his crotch, his large hands roaming over your cheeks.

_______________________________________________________________________

The teasing touch already made you twitch thanks to the pent-up frustration you had from sucking your nii-chan off. But a warning slap to your right cheek made you remember your position immediately.

With one final movement, he pulled your leggings down until they were hanging below your ass, only exposing your round cheeks and nothing more.

“Such a pretty baby,” he hummed appreciatively, fingers dancing over your naked cheeks, sometimes even dipping between them a bit.

You whined against the pillow you were pressed against, drool already sullying the cover.

“Don’t be an impatient brat.” He spanked your ass again, making you moan. “Let nii-chan be gentle with you, you won’t like the alternative.”

You weren’t sure if you could dislike anything your nii-chan did to you. But you trusted his judgment, biting into the pillow to refrain yourself from whining.

Finally, his hand dipped down between your checks for more than a quick brush over your lower lips. He let out a surprised moan when he let the tip of his pointer finger dip between your lips.

“Oh, baby, you are embarrassingly wet. Did sucking me off turn you on that much?” He laughed a bit, swirling his finger around in your wetness, eliciting quiet sighs from you. “I like making Issei-nii feel good,” you confessed, missing his content nodding.

“Yeah, you do. You’re the perfect little sister, aren’t you? My slutty little sister.”

He dipped a finger into your hole, making you arch your back, pressing up against his finger. He immediately removed it again.

“Look at that. You suck your nii-chan off one time and suddenly you think you deserve more than I decide to give you?” You whined in apology, forcing your ass back down.

“I’m sorry, Issei-nii.” He returned his finger back to your entrance and this time you were a good girl, not moving.

There was a slight squelching noise when he started slightly thrusting his finger in and out of you, enjoying the way you obviously had to hold yourself back from impatiently moving.

_______________________________________________________________________

Even though Issei’s fingers were thick, one of them was not nearly enough to quench your thirst. Especially when he was neglecting everything else apart from caressing your asscheeks with his other hand.

But apparently, your silent prayers were heard, since he gently started prodding at your hole with a second finger. You immediately felt much fuller, even if it wasn’t enough yet. If he could move a bit faster, or harder, the situation would change, but at the moment you were breathing into the pillow.

“Moan for me, baby. You shouldn’t move, but you can make me hear how good I’m making you feel.” He scissored his fingers a bit, promptly eliciting a moan from you.

“Can you move faster, nii-chan, please?” He allowed you to talk, right?

Apparently not, when he pulled his fingers out from your pussy, delivering a harsh slap onto your ass, making you flinch in surprise.

“I allow you to moan and you are already requesting stuff? Bratty little slut. Well, I’m going to give you something more.” He pushed you off his lap, roughly tugging you upright, pushing your leggings off of one leg, so you were straddling him again.

He took your face into his hand, squishing your cheeks together, smearing your essence all over them in the process.

The big dick of your nii-chan was already hard again and the second you wanted to gently rut against it, he lifted you a bit, aligning his cock with your entrance. Excitement filled every one of your pores at finally being one with your nii-chan.

That was until he slowly pressed into you.

_______________________________________________________________________

With the way your hole fought against his dick, there was no way you weren’t a virgin. The thought of being your first made him slow down for a second to contain his excitement. And he still didn’t want to hurt you too much.

He had wanted to prep you more, but you had decided to be a little brat. He worked his cockhead into your little cunt, groaning at the feeling of your wet insides engulfing him.

“Too big, nii-chan. Too much.” You were whimpering against him, tears streaming down your face once again.

“Remember, you decided to be a little brat and not let me stretch you properly first. So now take it like the slut you were trying to be.” He spanked your ass again before taking mercy on your shaking form and moving his fingers to your neglected clit, rubbing it gently.

Suddenly your whole body tensed up, a rough shiver moving through your whole body, legs twitching, mouth opened in a silent scream.

It took a couple of seconds for Issei to realize what was going on, but the erratic clenching of your pussy was, what gave you away. He was only inside you with the head of his dick and you had come.

Your cunt kept sucking him in, making him slip in a couple of centimeters further. He really had to hold himself back. You just looked so fuckable. He couldn’t believe you just came, without him really doing anything. Not that he had anything against that. You were just so fucking perfect.

“Fuck, baby.” With a deep growl, his hips thrust up a bit, sheathing him inside of your cunt halfway. “That was the hottest thing I have ever seen.” A tired smile was on your face, happy at the praise, even though you weren’t really understanding what had just happened.

If he had known that you were so sensitive, he would have fucked you a long time ago.

_______________________________________________________________________

Issei gave you a small break to come down from your high before he started massaging your clit again, ready to elicit more of your beautiful moans from you.

And he was not disappointed.

Your mouth was dry from the continuous moaning he made you do, his skilled fingers making you relax more and more, making you forget the pain while you slid further down onto his cock.

You were already so full of your nii-chan’s cock. You couldn’t imagine anything more having space inside of you, but when you looked down you saw that there was still a bit left. And you were determined to take your nii-chan’s cock fully.

So, you kept sinking down more and more, until you were fully pressed against him, his dick completely inside of him. The proud smile on Issei-nii’s face made you forget about all of the pain as you blinked the tears out of your eyes, stretching yourself to connect your lips again.

It was only when he slowly thrust his hips up again, that you felt a bit of pain return, but not nearly as strong as before. On the contrary, the pain was kind of.. pleasurable?

You felt dirty at the thought, but your brain was emptied again when Issei-nii began to move normally, thrusting his cock in and out of your stretched cunt at a slow pace.

_______________________________________________________________________

He kept his eyes fixated on your face to see any signs of discomfort immediately. You were looking so hot. Your tongue was rolling out of your mouth, you were panting, and your eyes had a delirious sheen to them. You already looked so fucked out. And he hadn’t even really started.

He quickened his pace a bit, but still no signs of discomfort. Your moans got louder, and you tried meeting his thrusts with your hips. You really were perfect.

He moved you until your back was pressed onto the couch and hastily shoved a pillow under your ass. Now he could really let go.

Already the new position made you see stars. It felt like he was even deeper in you if that was even possible. He hooked your legs over his shoulder, leaning over you until your knees were pressed into your body. And then he started practically hammering into you, eliciting a loud scream of his name from you.

It took only a couple of thrusts until you were spasming around his cock again, but he couldn’t stop. He was in way too deep. He just had to ruin you now.

“Issei, Issei, nii-chan, I – I – fuck, please, please, more.” The words you were slurring had no context, you just didn’t want him to stop. You felt something good coming.

Issei wasn’t even thinking about possibly stopping. He was too enamored by your tight cunt sucking his cock in over and over again.

He felt his release approaching. But he wanted you to come one last time around his cock, so he squished his hand between your bodies, furiously rubbing at your clit, watching you lose yourself with a loud scream, your body twitching with the intensity of your orgasm, liquid spurting out of your abused cunt. It was the sight of your face and the feeling of you squirting that made him lose his composure, shooting his seed deep inside your cunt.

_______________________________________________________________________

You were breathless, slowly coming down from your high, while Issei-nii peppered your face with kisses. “You did so good, baby. So good. Perfect little baby. I love you so much.” The praise made your heart bloom, and you gave him a tired smile. “I love you too.”

You whined when he pulled his cock out of your abused hole, watching with fascination how his cum dribbled out of you, mixing with your fluids. He scooped the mixture up on two of his fingers, hovering them in front of your mouth, not waiting long until you had sucked them completely clean.

“Messy little girl, squirting all over me, ruining the couch.” You were too tired to pay any mind to his words, only continuing to suck his fingers every time he offered them to you.

He cleaned you up correctly after having you eat your cum, gently wiping you clean with a washcloth. He would have preferred to shower you, but you already seemed like you were going to pass out every second.

You felt his gentle hands around your abused cunt, removing the sticky feeling and sliding clean clothes onto your body before carrying you somewhere, probably his room, if you could go from the scent.

And in the back of your mind that was still conscious, you couldn’t help but be excited about everything the next few days had to offer.

[cherrykindness]

one spoon for two |

first of all, i can't make my first post in english without thanking those who helped and encouraged me to make this decision. thank you for everything @waitimcomingtoo, @harryhoney-bee and @parkers-gal 🧡

summary: you and peter share spoons and sweatshirts and are “secretly” in love with each other.

pairing: peter parker x stark!reader

warning: hi! english (obviously) is not my first language, so I ask for patience, im still learning <3

"Good morning." You said with a enviable morning good humor as soon as you arrived at the complex's kitchen, receiving distracted nods and murmurs from Bucky, Sam, and Natasha. Peter, on the other hand, received your greeting with equal enthusiasm.

"Good morning, Y/N." He replied anxiously, straightening the posture and removing his feet from the chair beside. "Do you want to sit here?" He asked quick and shyly, pretending not to notice Bucky and Sam narrowing their eyes across the table. "I-I mean, it's empty, but you don't have to if you don't want to."

You nodded, accepting the offer before sitting down next to the boy you used to call best friend, frowning as you noticed that your yogurt with granola was already prepared next to a spoon and a glass of milk.

"Did you do that?"

Peter agreed, feeling a warmth rise from his neck to his cheeks.

"Yes, I figured you would be tired after last night."

That answer was enough to capture the attention of the entire kitchen. Steve, who was walking through the door with an empty mug in hand, stopped as soon as he heard the phrase leave Peter's lips, widening his eyes as he struggled not to let the ceramic object hit the floor.

"What?" Bucky asked in astonishment, blinking rapidly as he looked away between you and Peter. "What did you guys do last night?"

You and Peter looked at each other in confusion, but before you could respond, Natasha pointed to your clothes.

"Is that Peter's sweatshirt?"

Steve's pressure seemed to have dropped at this very moment. With trembling hands and flushed cheeks, the soldier sat down on one of the chairs, hiding his face amidst inaudible murmurs.

"Tony already knows this?" Sam asked with his mouth full of cereal, looking at you both with disapproval.

"What should I know?"

Peter swallowed hard when he heard your father's voice, dreading the mischievous smile that grew on Bucky's face.

"That me and Pete spent the whole night watching Star Wars." You were quick to respond, causing Peter to let out a relieved sigh.

"So that's what the kids call it these days?" Steve whispered, looking more shocked by the minute. Natasha patted her friend on the back, offering consolation.

"The Spider-Baby said he made Y/N very tired last night." Bucky, playing the part of the devil on Peter's shoulder, repeated the sentence with slight alteration.

"I didn't say that." The boy with bright curls said in horror, shaking his head frantically as his face turned as red as fresh strawberries. "It wasn't like that, Mr. Stark."

"So explain it to me." Tony demanded with a serious face, crossing his arms over his chest.

The boy became an clumsy mess in a matter of seconds. Bucky, Sam and Natasha holding their own giggling as the comic moment unfolded.

"You don't have to say anything, Pete." You reassured him, understanding your father's intentions. "Let's get away from those perverts. We still have a lot to enjoy this weekend."

You stood up with Peter at your heels, leaving the kitchen under the watchful eyes of the Avengers. Everyone, except Steve, burst out laughing as soon as Tony made sure that you were no longer around, Sam having to wipe away a few tears that had escaped from the corner of his eyes.

"What?" Steve asked confused, staring at the others strangely. "What did I miss?"

"They are so oblivious." Natasha said with a smile, shaking her head negatively.

"It's kind of cute." Tony admitted, shaking his shoulders. "The boy is unable to make a move, however."

"What?" Steve voiced it for the third time in less than three minutes. "They-they- you know; Aren't you angry? Isn't that a move for you?"

"They did nothing, cap." Tony stated between a sigh. "They spent the night watching Star Wars just as Y/N said, believe me."

"But is painfully obvious the Spider-Boy is upside down for her." Sam stated, earning a nod from Tony, Bucky and Natasha. "He was already here when me and Bucky showed up in the morning. He was sitting at the table and Y/N's breakfast was also already prepared. I was about to sit next to him– and it was the first time I ever considered sitting next to that child, I swear, when he simply put his feet up on the empty chair, saying that he had severe cramps and needed space. When Y/N appeared at the door all smiling and wearing his college sweatshirt, puft, it seems that the boy went out of his mind, and the first thing he did was to offer the seat next to him."

"There was one day that Y/N needed to help Bruce in the lab and was without access to her cell phone for most of the day. Peter and I were working together on his suit, but the boy was picking up the cell phone every two minutes. He sent a message at 04:30 and Y/N didn't answer until at 08:47, so guess what? Peter answered at 08:48." Said Tony.

"The boy was whipped." Bucky uttered between a sip of coffee.

"He and Y/N were sharing a pot of strawberry ice cream during the last movie session." It was Natasha's turn to share a moment between you and Peter, attracting the attention of the men accompanying her, "but there was only one spoon for both."

There was a suggestive exchange of glances between her, Stark, Barnes and Wilson, broken by Rogers' timid and cautious voice.

"So the kids didn't do anything indecent?"

"Oh, for God's sake!" Tony rolled his eyes, leaving the room.

–

It was almost seven in the evening when Peter came into the kitchen again, now with a green mask on his face and a Hello Kitty's patch over his nose.

"What the fuck?" Bucky asked skeptically, almost spitting out the sandwich that was in his mouth.

"Y/N and I are going skin care tonight." Peter replied simply, going over to the refrigerator as everyone watched him intently.

"And what is that on your face?" Natasha asked the question everyone wanted while Peter grabbed a pot of ice cream from the freezer.

"Avocado mask. She saw in TikTok that it is good for the pores."

"So that was the fate of the avocado I bought to eat in the morning." Steve said regretfully. "It's okay, I can buy another one tomorrow."

"I have many questions, but I don't think any answer will answer them." Sam do a grimace before turning to the food laid out on the table.

"Peter, you should ask Y/N out on a date." Thor gave his opinion. "That's what you Midgardians call, right?"

Peter choked with the air as he heard the Thunder God's phrase, almost letting the pot of ice cream slide down the sink.

"W-we go to dates almost every day." He refuted with red face. "Tomorrow we will go to the supermarket. We can buy another avocado for you, Steve."

"But this is not the kind of date we are talking abo–" Natasha tried to explain, but Peter was already leaving the kitchen practically running.

"Bye, Y/N is waiting me to put cucumbers over the eyes."

"You got only one spoon!" The redhead screamed.

"It's enough!"

The Avengers present exchanged a look of recognition before Thor broke the silence, repeating the question Sam had asked that same morning:

"Tony already knows this?"

Everyone shook their shoulders simultaneously, Bruce being the only one to speak up verbally when silence filled the room.

"I'm sure he's already pulling some strings."

–

"Please, Tony, don't tell me that you are hiding to spying Peter and Y/N."

Tony peeked a bit between the leaves as he heard Pepper's harsh voice, putting the binoculars in the back pocket of his pants as covertly as possible.

"Spying?" He laughed exaggeratedly loudly. "Of course not, dear. This is absurd."

The woman eyed him suspiciously, reaching into her husband's pocket as soon as he hugged her.

"So can you start explaining to me the binoculars, the camouflage clothing, and the presence of a giant plant that was not in the hallway before?"

Tony walked away defeated, lowering his eyes at the judgmental look he was receiving.

"The word "spying" is too strong, okay? Let's say I was watching them without them knowing."

Pepper rolled her eyes.

"They are already adults, Tony. You should let them make their own decisions, and it is pretty obvious that they like each other. I know that the idea of Peter and Y/N dating may be strange to you, but–"

"Strange?" He almost shouted, lowering his voice when he noticed that the music that used to come from your room had stopped, now putting his camouflage skills at risk. "Baby, I love you, but you are crazy." He whispered. "Peter is the only boy who deserves to be with someone like Y/N, and all I have been doing for the past seven months is trying to get them to confess the feelings that everyone knows exist, but they seem too blind to see. So far I remain with the verdict that the boy is right for her and I hope don't change my mind anytime soon. They are my OTP."

"OTP?" Pepper asked confused by the slang.

"One True Pairing. Honey, you are so out of date."

"All right, I'm leaving."

Tony arched an eyebrow as he watched his wife walk away and take the binoculars, shrugging his shoulders before hiding behind the leaves again. He spent almost two hours there, but nothing interesting had happened, just you and Peter going back and forth from the kitchen with greasy foods and ice cream, a spoon for two as you shared whatever it was in the aisles, sometimes even taking it into each other's mouths, making Tony look away from those nauseatingly sweet scenes.

He had a story appointment with Morgan and his presence in the little girl's room at nine was a must. The plan affectionately called "Project Starker" had failed that day, and Tony had to accept defeat as he went to your room, expecting to find you and Peter sprawled out on the bed while some nerdy movie was playing on TV.

"Y/N? Peter?"

The room was dark, lit only by adjacent lights coming through the window. Tony stumbled over a few objects along the way, walking blindly through the furniture until he was near your bed.

"Can you even see each other here? God, how–"

Tony had to interrupt the sentence, surprised to see you and Peter snuggled up to each other, sleeping peacefully while a current series he didn't know the name of played on the TV at an almost inaudible volume. He shook his head in denial, holding back a smile before nudging Peter's waist, forging an angry timbre:

"Kid, you have a room here for a reason. What are you doing in my daughter's bed?"

Peter blinked a few times, completely lost and surprised by Tony's presence.

"Mr. Stark?" He asked stunned, trying to see Tony through the shadows. "Why are you here?"

Your father raised one of his eyebrows, aghast at the sudden boldness of the teenager before remembering the younger man's sleepwalking habits. Peter probably thought he was dreaming or some shit.

"Why are you here?" Tony returned the question, crossing his arms.

"Because I'm in love with Y/N and I want to sleep next to her."

Tony opened his mouth like a goldfish, cursing himself mentally for not recording that statement, shaking Peter's body when he started to close his eyes again.

"Aren't you going to your room?"

Peter mumbled something indecipherable, tightening his arms around your body as you continued to sleep heavily on his chest.

"No, thanks for the offer."

Tony nodded to nothing, deciding to just close your curtain and ask to Friday to turn off the TV.

"Thank you for doing Y/N too, Mr. Stark. I appreciate that."

Tony laughed softly, promising himself that he would tease the boy about it the next morning, “Go to sleep, kid. I'm sure no one will leave you alone tomorrow after I tell what you said."

Stark was about to leave when he noticed Peter's feet sticking out of the covers. The night was cold, and there was nothing but a thin comforter protecting the two of you.

"Just one blanket?" He asked.

"Yes." Peter kind of whispered, pulling you closer. "It's enough."

This time Tony didn't hold back his smile, shaking his head before closing the door, leaving you and Peter in that little bubble of teenage passion.

"Point for you, Spider-Boy."

[adelheidvonschicksal]

Cuddles and Confessions 2 | Todoroki x Busty!Reader

Sequel that requests Todobabe and Reader going all the way for the first time since they were so rudely interrupted before.

Original request: The reader has a nature quirk and was training with Recovery Girl. Shoto fell in love with the reader when she was helping him with his injuries, he doesn't know that reader also likes him too. The girls in 1-A caught how the two would always share a loving gaze at each other and decided to make both of them confess.That's all I could describe and you can add anything you like, also you can add a smut in the story if you can.The reader is quite shy about her chest area because it's too big( like Momo's), but Shoto loves to rest his head on it like a pillow.

Warnings: Fluff and Smut

Part 1

Wordlessly, Shouto intertwined his arm with yours. You frowned as he assumed the usual position and rested his head against your bust. When you first started dating, you’d complain when he’d unannouncedly do so even in the privacy of your dorm, but you had quickly grown used to him getting his way in that regards regardless of how the others teased you about it. However, he didn’t seem at peace this time as he remained tight and rigid against you, all his concentration on keeping an even breath the way you taught him. 

“Shouto, are you all right?”

“I’m fine, just sleepy,” he answered with a yawn, but you suspected it was more than that. He would never admit that his dreams had been bothering him ever since the scare about his father’s defeat, and it was taking a toll on his health. Though as a healer, you eventually started to notice the signs on your own - the late nights, longer days, the way he threw himself into a routine.

“You know I’m always here for you if something is bothering you…”

“Don’t worry. It’s nothing concerning.”

You kept your disappointment secret as he closed his eyes and rested against you in comfort. Bringing your hand up, you gently combed your fingers through his hair. Kissing the top of his head, you let him sleep this time, hoping it was something little like he said. 

The next morning, you didn't mention that he still was quieter than usual on your walk to school. You really think that talking about it would make him feel better rather than bottling up his feelings, but he hadn’t tried to open up to you. It was the only thing that made you worry about your relationship. He could be more emotionally distant than you realized, and you didn’t want to push him into something uncomfortable since you knew there were some things that were painful for him. You weren’t naïve enough to think that he would tell you everything, but you wish he would so you could figure out how to help. Instead, you felt helpless.

Separating to your designated areas, you ended up studying your general courses in the first aid room. It was a quiet place to do your work when granny was dealing with medical emergencies outside of campus. You heard a knock and placed aside your books to go answer the door. You were surprised to see it was Shouto on the other side.

“Shouto, what are you doing here?”

“It’s lunchtime. You didn’t forget to eat again, did you?” he asked. 

“Oh…well…you see time has been going by so fast…” you answered, earning a sigh from him. 

“I figured as much. I bought this for you,” he said, handing you a carton of his usual strawberry yogurt milk before he made his way to the cot. “Do you mind if I catch up on some sleep in here?”

“Well, actually—” you said but he had already laid down and stilled as he fell victim to exhaustion. You worriedly watched him, wondering how he could reason scolding you to take care of yourself when he wouldn’t do the same. Carefully, you grabbed sheets from the closet and placed them over him, keeping a thinner layer on his left side like he liked. 

You sat at your desk, carefully gazing over him every few minutes to make sure he was okay. About ten minutes in is when the first of his muttering happened, and you quietly stood up to check on him. The sweat was already collecting on his forehead, and the singeing pillowcase was proof enough that his temperature was burning hot. You never felt so scared for him, not since the Sports' Festival. It was unbearable.

“Shouto.” You shook him forcefully in attempts to wake him. Groggily, he opened his eyes, his lips dragging into a scowl as he sat up. “I’m sorry I woke you, but you looked like you were having a bad dream.”

“Ah…it happened again,” he said, wiping the gloss from his skin. He folded his hands in his lap, and you could see that he was lost in thought. A thought he refused to share with you. You sat down next to him, feeling so distant despite being so close, and tenderly you rested your hand on his shoulder.

“What’s wrong?” 

“It’s not that important,” he answered, and you swore that you’d be a rich woman each time you heard that from him. “Sorry for interrupting your work.”

“Of course, it’s important. It’s obviously been having a negative effect on you.”

“There’s no need to wind yourself up about it. It’s my problem.”

“You’re my boyfriend. Your problems are my problems,” Shouto sighed, turning away from you. The worst part being he wouldn’t look you in the eye. “Why won’t you tell me what’s going on? Don’t you trust me?” 

“I do.” 

“Then, why?” you asked him with an edge of urgency as you held back your tears. Shouto glanced at you, frowning as he saw you hold back a sniffle. It was the opposite of what he was trying to avoid by not weighing you down with all the issues in his personal life. 

Reaching out, he brushed his thumb under your misty eyes. “I do trust you…I just don’t want to burden you with everything that happens. I don’t usually have a lot of good to talk about when it comes to my family and if you met them right now, it would be a nuisance. What if it’s too much to deal with, and you think it’s not worth the energy to be with me?”

“I wouldn’t think that at all…” you reassured him, draping your hand over his and squeezing warmly. “I love you. I want you to rely on me the same way you do when you’re hurt. If something is bothering you, I want you to be able to share that with me.”

Todoroki blinked at you, closing his mouth as he failed to respond. You looked at him softly, your eyes reflecting with this loving shine that made his heart skip. Your fingers tightened around his hand, but your touch was still so gentle the same as the sweet voice you used to tell him that you loved him. It sounded so lovely to know how you shared that same sentiment that he did. Your feelings had aligned so easily. It wasn’t quite so scary anymore to open up to you.

“…Can you come a bit closer?” Timidly, you agreed and scooted closer. He circled his arms around your waist. Immediately, he cozied up to you like always, dropping his head against your chest.

“Shouto!”

He chuckled. “I like this. Your heart has a nice rhythm. It’s comforting when you hold me like this and stroke my head. I may not talk much, but it helps just being like this with you…Ah…Your beat picked up…” Shouto mentioned, smiling peacefully to himself as he listened to your heartbeat. 

“Well, of course, it did! When you say stuff like that…I…I…” you stammered loudly. Todoroki glanced up at you, watching the shyness grow on your face. He smiled faintly, wondering how he got lucky to be with someone so lovingly adorable. Todoroki shifted up, pulling you closer until you were comfortably seated in his lap. 

“(Name), I want to touch you,” he murmured in your ear and brought his hands up to gently cup your breasts. You gasped as he watched his kneading hands over your shoulder. “I’m sorry. I really hate having to show you such a needy side of myself…”

“There’s no need to apologize…I want to see the different sides of you,” you said, your arousal quickly building as you share a wet kiss. His lips were perfectly smooth and warm against yours. You couldn’t get enough of them. You wished things could be like this always. He pulled away, flushed.

“Stick out your tongue,” he softly demanded, and you readily complied, sliding it out to meet his. They swirled together, his thick tongue glided into your mouth, feeling it with slick heat. He didn’t stop teasing your breasts until the desire to feel your skin against his palms won over, and he started to unzip your nurse uniform and slide it off your shoulders.

His palms brushed over your soft skin, skimming just above the feminine linings of your bra cups. He always lavished you to an embarrassing degree. Though, you were happy to have a boyfriend who liked what you hated so much. You shuddered as he slid his hands inside, his fingers curling around cotton, and he pulled your undergarment down to expose your ample bosom. 

Todoroki flicked your nipples and playfully circled them against the pads of his fingers. He squeezed the lovely (s/t) nubs between his fingers, gently tugging on them until they were stiff little peaks between his fingers. “Your nipples got all puffy fast this time.”

“You always tease my breasts too much that’s why…” you whimpered, squeezing your thighs together. 

“It’s because your breasts are like marshmallows, they keep sucking in my fingers,” he described matter-of-factly. Todoroki cupped and squeezed your flesh again, enjoying how his fingers sunk into your skin as if it were a cushion while you felt a rush of bashfulness. Chuckling, Shouto trailed passionate kisses along your neck and bare shoulder. “You have a very motherly body. It’s really erotic,” he whispered.

“What? Don’t say it like that! Geeze…You’re so embarrassing sometimes…” 

“It’s true.” Carefully, Shouto pushed you onto your back. He hovered above you, unbuttoning his shirt first before moving to undo his belt buckle. “This is what you do to me because you’re so cute.”

You went wide-eyed as he unveiled his risen cock, swollen with the need for your attention, and you realized that you wanted to touch him too. You clasped your hand around him. It was soft but meaty at the same time and readily twitched at your touch. One curious squeeze had his rounded tip oozing precum onto you.

“Ah, it’s coming out,” you said. Shouto held in a heavy moan. His face was flushed a rose shade, and you tested him further by carefully tracing your fingers over spiraled veins. 

He laid down on the side of you, and the two of you faced each other. “You too…” he said, squeezing at your hip and pulling you to a better angle to stroke your cunt. Yearning for more of his rugged fingers, you spread your legs a little wider. You moaned in unison. Your soft whine was drowned out by his deeper moan. 

“Shouto, you’re being too loud,” you giggled. 

“I’m not that loud.”

He huffed lightly, and you don’t think he realized he was actually making heavy groans even as he trembled. You twisted your hands around him. It was sort of slick from his precum and balmy, and you couldn’t stop watching the yielding of his cock in your hand, the foreskin stretching along his shaft with the pull of your palm.

Wanting to touch his muscles, your other hand rested on his chest and lightly stroked his body from his pecs to the bulging muscles of his arm, squeezing the springy muscle every so often. His breath fanned warmly over your face, and you could tell yours was on his as you both panted. “I’m going to cum,” he shortly rasped.

You nodded, holding in a whimper as his fingers twitched inside of your warmth, desperately stroking away as he held back. “W-Wanna do it together?”

“I want to do more than that. I want to feel you around me,” he said, blushing darker. 

“I want that too…” 

The two of you kissed again, stopping your petting to wrap your arms around each other before slowly moving away from one another. Shouto was on top of you. Only hesitating when he saw how vulnerable you looked under him. “Are you sure?”

“Uh-huh,” you said, and he cleared his mind of any remaining nervousness with a deep breath. Slowly, he guided himself inside of you. You squeaked as it stretched delicate layers. 

“Are you in pain?”

“I’m in a little pain,” you admitted, sniffling slightly behind your hands as you hid your fluster. He petted headed your head comfortingly. 

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” you mumbled. Gently, he grasped your wrist and cleared a path to kiss your lips. Your eyelashes fluttered lightly before you closed your eyes and melted into his kiss. 

“I’m going to start moving,” he warned as he worked his kisses across your jaw. You sighed as he rolled his hips into you, pulling out then returning with an effortless thrust into gooey warmth. You felt his head stretch you again, your body wrapping around the round tip before sinking straight down on his smooth shaft.

It was strange. You felt like he was still inside you even when he pulled out, like your pussy was conforming more to his cock with each thrust. It left you full and whining with each back-arching pump.

“You’re making a really sensual face right now. I wish you could see how cute you look with my cock inside of you,” Todoroki said, smiling at you as he watched himself disappear inside of your folds again, the curly tufts of red and white hair lining his pelvis meeting with yours as he sunk himself entirely inside of you. You gasped, choking up as his chubby member ravaged you. 

“It keeps rubbing all inside me.” you moaned, grasping onto his shoulders for leverage. “It’s, It’s like it’s all the way through my stomach.”

Todoroki smiled and sloppily kissed your mouth as you ran your fingers along his back. You rolled your hips to meet his, and the rush of fluids squelched around him, earning a grunt as you slid around him like silk glove over his skin. 

“Shouto,” you tenderly mewled, and he held onto you tighter, keeping your body against his fully. Your hands cupped his face gingerly as you rested your cheek against his and softly panted in his ear. “I love you. I love you,” you chanted between light moans. 

He swallowed thickly. He could burst with emotion from that exact same feeling. Your touch was so gentle, your smell light and flowery, and your eyes always tender and caring when you looked at him. You were all too perfect. “I love you too,” he returned in a whisper. “ I really love you ,” he thought. 

With a hard thrust, he flooded inside of you with a throaty groan, continuing to pump, milking himself inside you until he couldn’t anymore. “It’s really hot,” you quietly mentioned, once again marveling at how wonderfully full he had left you. 

Todoroki laid down beside you, gently trailing his fingers across your rising and falling chest before sliding his hand to rest on your stomach. “(Name)…is your body okay?”

“A bit tingly and it aches a little…but in a good way. I’m really happy,” you admitted with a smile, placing a hand over your chest to feel your own rhythm. “My heart won’t stop beating.”

Todoroki smiled. “Can I hear?”

“Yes, but—” you answered, but you wanted to be able to get covered up first rather than have him place his head against your bare chest. 

“It is loud,” he said happily. “I’m glad.”

“You are?”

“It’s soothing. It reminds me that you’re here with me. I don’t want to lose anyone else.” 

“Is that what’s been troubling you? Because of your dad’s fight? Everything’s worked out. It’s okay now.”

“I know that. It’s still fresh, that’s all,” he explained. 

You hugged him, making him into your little spoon. You caressed his body. “I’ll always be here.” When you felt him relax against you, you had to admit it wasn’t so embarrassing anymore to have him rest on your chest. 

Shouto sighed softly and cuddled you. “Can you write me a sick note? I want to stay like this a little longer.”

“All right, but it’s your fault if we get in trouble.”

Todoroki smiled. “It’d be worth it.”

[skzsauce01]

In Fair Verona︱Chapter 8

Synopsis: Jisung knows he is the Romeo to your Juliet. He could wax poetry about you all throughout rehearsal and even a little after. Except Hwang Hyunjin is the one playing Romeo in the school play, not him. Jisung is just another tech crew member that you don’t know, but he’s determined to win your heart... by any means necessary.

Warning: violent imagery

Word Count: 2.3k

Pairing: fem!reader x Jisung; fem!reader x Hyunjin

Prepare to be baited. Apologies in advance.

updates every Wednesday and Sunday @ 11 PM PST︱chapter list

A plague o’ both your houses! I am sped.

The weather matches his mood — cold, gray, sad. The rain suddenly came in between third and fourth period, and the hallways are still covered in watery footprints. People linger around after school, waiting for their rides or asking for them. He notices a few boys loaning their girlfriends their sweaters, and he desperately wishes he was one of them. Instead, he takes his textbook out from his locker and heads to the auditorium for rehearsal.

He drops off his belongings in the classroom, which is packed wall to wall. He has to nudge several people out of the way when his “Excuse me’s” aren’t heard. He doesn’t see you anywhere and assumes you’ve escaped to the dressing room, where it is sure to be less crowded. Hyunjin isn't around though, so maybe you’re with him.

He hopes not.

When rehearsal begins, you wait on stage right as usual. Your hair is damp, and you have Hyunjin’s jacket draped around your shoulders to prevent your costume from getting wet. You stand next to Hyunjin and talk about something excitedly. Jisung doesn’t let the soft looks from Hyunjin escape his notice. When you’re finally alone, he goes over to you.

“Didn’t you say you would give his sweater back?” he says, far more accusing than teasing. You jump a bit at his sharp tone, and he apologizes. “Sorry. Didn’t mean it like that.”

“Hey,” you cautiously greet. “Rough day?”

He nods. “The rain ruined my mood. Sunny days are much better.”

“I like the rain. I think it’s nice.” You absentmindedly ran your fingers across the drawstring of the hood, and he knows it’s not the weather that you only like.

“So, the sweater?”

The look of guilt is clear on your face. “I wore it to school, and then it started raining, so I decided to keep it for a little longer.”

Would you do the same if Jisung were the one to let you borrow his? He thinks he already knows the answer, but he pulls off his hoodie and holds out to you anyway.

“You can have mine.”

With no hesitation, you reply, “I couldn’t, but thank you for the offer.”

“Why not?” He wants to hear you say it. He prods you again. “Why not? Is there something wrong with mine? What’s wrong with mine?”

“Nothing!” you indignantly say. You look away and start fiddling with your earring. “I just—”

A red hot rage floods his system, and he thrusts his hoodie forward. “Then give Hyunjin’s sweater back and take mine!” he hisses.

You flinch and take a step back. “I wouldn’t be comfortable borrowing yours. I don’t know you well enough to feel okay with it.” The last part comes out in a whisper.

“No, I get it.” He forcibly tugs it over his head and runs a hand through his mussed up hair. “I get it. I get what you mean,” he repeats more calmly, though it’s more to convince himself than you.

You don’t look like you buy his act, but you slowly nod anyway. “I’m sorry if I offended you.”

“No no,” he shakily laughs. He pastes on a bright smile so wide that he’s afraid his face might crack. “I’m not hurt at all.”

You try to give him a smile back, but it wavers before disappearing altogether. “I gotta talk to Yuna,” you point to the girl playing Nurse. “Bye.”

Jisung goes over to Changbin, who looks like he’s having the time of his life working on math problems. “Hey, Changbin.”

“Hm?” he mumbles, not looking up.

“I’m gonna go to the restroom after the next blackout.”

“Okay.”

Until then, Jisung is stuck. You chat with Yuna, but even he can tell that you’re not into it. Your eyes occasionally wander to the general area where Jisung is. It’s not the shy, sneaking peeks he wishes they are though; they’re more like concerning, “he’s not going to hurt me, right?” glances. He wants to apologize, but what does he apologize for? For scaring you? For being rude? For falling in love with you when you don’t care? All of the above?

He finds himself walking back to you. He robotically taps your shoulder while you’re in the middle of a sentence, and you jump.

“Can we talk?” he says.

You look at Yuna, who retreats a short distance away. You face Jisung and stand directly in front of him. Your voice trembles when you say, “I have to be on stage soon. What did you want to talk about?”

“I’m sorry about earlier,” he blurts out. “I didn’t mean any of that. That wasn’t me back there, and I didn’t mean—”

The lights go out, and Jisung loudly swears as he remembers that he has to help set up. He rushes on stage with Changbin and haphazardly aligns the set pieces. Then he makes his way back to finish his apology. To his misfortune, Hyunjin beat him to you and is asking about his performance in the earlier scene.

“Y/N,” Jisung calls. When you’re looking back at him with a deer-in-the-headlights expression, he continues with, “I’m sorry, and I didn’t mean to hurt you with any of that.”

You tightly reply, “It’s fine,” and end it there. Jisung opens his mouth to protest, but you clearly don’t want to continue the short lived chat.

In a more relaxed tone, you say to Hyunjin, “See you at dinner?” You shrug off his jacket and hand it to him. Jisung doesn’t miss the way his fingers “accidentally” brush against yours. Without waiting for an answer, you stride onto stage, your still damp hair hanging down your back.

Hyunjin has a dopey grin on his face, and he clutches his own sweater like he’s holding the only life preserver on a sinking boat. Jisung wants to smack him until he sees stars, but he heads to the restroom like he told Changbin he would.

There’s someone inside, and Jisung has to wash his hands until they’re scrubbed raw before the person leaves. Once he hears the door swing shut and Jisung’s certain he’s far away, he lets loose a scream worthy of a horror film. It echoes against the tiled floors and walls, and he unleashes a string of curses after. His throat feels like it’s been cut with knives, and he pants as he rests his palms against the edge of the sink.

I hate you, I hate you, I hate you.

This is all your fault.

She’s supposed to be mine.

I hope you get run over by a semi truck.

I hope the lights fall from the batons and land on your head.

I hope your heart stops.

I hope you die.

Jisung stays in the restroom for a while longer to pull himself together. He waits until his breathing returns to a more normal rate and until he stops trembling. He wants to shatter the mirror into a million pieces, so he clasps his hands together. In another lifetime, it would have been your hand in his.

But Hwang Hyunjin had to exist in this one.

He heads back to the auditorium, taking careful steps in front of him. He doesn’t want to be around anyone, so he tucks himself into the corner of the stage next to the fly rail. The person manning the fly rail looks surprised at the sudden intrusion, but Jisung ignores it. At least he can’t see the front of the stage where the actors are anymore.

When dinner rolls around, Jisung is unfortunately forced to eat inside the classroom since he has no more money for convenience store food. You and Hyunjin share a table together with two other actors, while Jisung sits with Seungmin, who also brought his own dinner. Seungmin makes small talk, and Jisung gives one word replies. He’s too busy trying to eavesdrop on your conversation and watching you from the corner of his eye. Your back faces him, so he can only see the movement of your head. He bitterly notes that you’re wearing Hyunjin’s jacket now and that you’re laughing at his lame attempts at jokes.

“You’re not hungry yet?” Seungmin asks as he gestures to Jisung’s untouched but fully cooked ramen.

Jisung glances down and picks up his disposable chopsticks. “Oh, I forgot.”

“You okay? Changbin mentioned that you were kind of out of it today.”

“It’s the rain. I hate rain.” He eats a mouthful of noodles and angrily chews on it. “It is awful, and it makes everything wet and gloomy, and it always makes me freaking mad for no reason. Screw. The. Rain.”

Seungmin laughs at what he thinks is Jisung being overdramatic. “Alright, I got it. The rain is evil, and you hate it.”

“Exactly.”

You gasp at something on your phone and excitedly tap on Hyunjin’s arm. A splotch of pink blooms on Hyunjin’s face, and he looks at your screen. He congratulates you for getting an A on your exam and offers to take you out to FroYoZen to celebrate.

“It’s too cold for that, “ you goodnaturedly say. You tilt your head in his direction and look up at him. “Maybe when the weather clears up.”

Jisung grips his wooden utensils and continually shovels ramen into his mouth. Would it be odd if he suddenly snapped his chopsticks in half? How can you betray him twice by getting yogurt with Hyunjin? The first time he can forgive since that was a task for the play, but frozen yogurt is supposed to be his thing with you.

Meanwhile, Hyunjin looks pleased with his situation, and your conversation switches to a debate about frozen yogurt versus ice cream. Jisung almost chokes on his meal when he learns that you and Hyunjin shared your yogurts together last time.

“Jisung? You okay?”

Jisung’s cheeks are stuffed like a squirrel’s, and he’s breathing hard. He’s finally aware of how absurd he looks and the concern on Seungmin’s face. He chews and chews until he’s able to swallow.

“I thought you were choking,” Seungmin sighs in relief. “Thank goodness you’re okay.”

Is he really though?

The rest of rehearsal is hazy, and Jisung can only remember the stabbing in his heart when you and Hyunjin stage kiss. He can’t see it since he’s tucked in his little corner, but he knows the lines leading up to both kisses like the back of his hand. It hurts, and the invisible knife cuts deeper and deeper.

During tech notes, Jisung gets lightly chastised for taking bathroom breaks so often during performances, but everyone overall seems pleased with his efforts. There’s a reminder from the tech director that the preview for the play is tomorrow after school and to wear all black.

“When do we get our shirts?” Felix asks.

Ah, yes. The cast and crew shirt that Jisung paid for because he had no real choice and because he wanted to share one article of clothing with you. If he’s lucky, you and him will wear the shirts on the same day, and it will almost be like a couple’s matching outfit.

“They should be here by tomorrow, but come in all black anyway.”

“Do we get a refund if they don’t come in time?” the freshman jokingly says.

There’s a bit of a laugh from Mr. Gi. Then he deadpans, “No.”

After they repaint and respike the stage floor, the tech crew is dismissed for the night, and Jisung goes to the green room for his belongings. You’re still receiving extra notes from the director, so he mills around outside, waiting for you to come out. He wants to apologize again for his outburst earlier since he knows you didn’t truly accept his previous apology. He needs you to know that he still loves you.

As actors start filing out, Jisung pretends to be immensely interested in the tech crew lists for all the upcoming shows. You come out of the classroom with your books clutched to your chest and Hyunjin on your heels. Jisung mouths a curse.

“Hey, Y/N?” he says.

You stop, and your shoulders are beginning to rise. You can’t even look at him; your eyes are directed at the yellow wall behind him. The deer-in-the-headlights expression is back, and Hyunjin takes notice.

“Sorry, we gotta go,” he cuts in. He wraps a protective arm around you, and while you initially jump at the gesture, you eventually sink into him.

“I wasn’t talking to you,” he snaps. “I just need one minute with Y/N.” To you, he pleads, “Please.”

“I have to go, Jisung. Maybe tomorrow,” you quietly answer.

Hyunjin leads you away, shooting him a warning glare. Jisung glowers back, but Hyunjin’s not looking anymore since he’s whispering something to you. You shake your head, and Jisung can make out the words, “Everything’s fine.” The door to the parking lot shuts with a heavy thud, and Jisung stops wishing death upon Hyunjin to run out to follow you.

It’s raining hard, and he can just make out your silhouettes from the car headlight beams. He pulls his hood over his head and strides toward the two of you. Hyunjin poorly shields you from the rain with his jacket while you duck under the trees to avoid getting your books wet. To Jisung’s astonishment, you don’t leave Hyunjin’s side at all. He freezes in his tracks as he sees you getting into the passenger seat of a car he doesn’t recognize. Hyunjin walks around and gets into the driver’s seat.

What. On. Earth.

The car pulls out of the parking lot, and Jisung is left standing in the middle of the drop off zone. A car honks at him, and he loudly swears at them, earning looks from the group of people nearby. He shouts at them to mind their own business before stomping to his car. As he drives home, there’s a clap of thunder, and a flash of lightning follows soon after.

The weather matches his mood — cold, gray, stormy.

~ ad.gray

A/N: Happy birthday to Han and Felix! 

[sunsetinmyvein]

CLOSED (for now)

All right, all right, ALL RIGHT. PEOPLE. For the first time, I am taking requestsssss (so, let’s see if this goes well or not lol). @aphxsia‘s taking requests, @dot-writes is taking requests, everyone is taking them and I just felt a tad left out, y’know? I’ve chopped up a bunch of other prompt lists to throw together this lovely prompt list below at the suggestion of Dot. My general idea is: send me a character, and one prompt from the “dialogue” side as well as one prompt from the “context” side (or more if you have more that fit together in an idea, I suppose. But I need one of each to get a VibeTM) and Iiiiii’ll do my best to make it work within a character x OFC/Reader sorta thing. Oh, and send me an album era for added flair, if you’d like. Deets below the cut.

 I’ll write for:

-          The boys of Fall Out Boy

-          The boys of Panic! At the Disco (we’re talkin’ Ryan and Jon days)

-          The boys of The 1975

-          And, if you’re incredibly ambitious, also willing to give Alex Gaskarth of All Time Low a whirl

 Rules:

-          Can’t do smut (sorry, it’s just awkward and clunky for me to write and nobody wants that)

-          Won’t write characters under 18

-          Won’t write slash

-          I just kind of reserve the right to be like “I dunno what to do with this, sorry” (But I’ve curated this prompt list, so I should be okay lol)

-          I’ll get around to them when I get around to them - I’ll be writing them around The Radio Station being posted as well, so you won’t be starved for content.

  Dialogue:

·         “You’re not in love with them, are you?”

·         “I could literally strangle you right now and no one would stop me.”

·         “It’s not as bad as it looks.” - “You’re not very convincing.”

·         “You need to relax.” - “Relaxing is for the weak.”

·         “How long has it been since you’ve slept?” - “A week?”

·         “How the fuck are you still alive?” - “It’s a special talent of mine.”

·         “Can you please just listen to me for once?”

·         “I think this is a bad idea.” - “You think all of my plans are bad ideas.”

·         “You should really listen to me more.”

·         “Do I even want to know?”

·         “You have the cutest smile I’ve ever seen.”

·         “Just take care of yourself, okay?”

·         “Please don’t use cheesy pickup lines on me.”

·         “I like it when you’re romantic.”

·         “I’m going to be pissed if we get murdered.”

·         “How could I resist?”

·         “I’m sorry, I don’t speak dumbass.” - “Real mature.”

·         “You’re worth every scratch.”

·         “I could name about 110 things I love about you.” - “That’s oddly specific.”

·         “We can raise hell together.”

·         “Partners?”

·         “Don’t get too cocky now.”

·         “Fuck me.” - “Really?” - “No.”

·         “I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic.”

·         “Do you trust me?” - “Should I?”

·         “Do you have any idea on how frustrating you can really be?”

·         “I really, really want to kiss you right now.”

·         “I think we got off on the wrong foot.” - “You think so?”

·         “I don’t think that cancels out.” - “It does in my book.”

·         “You’re being dramatic.” - “I’m not being shit!”

·         “Take a break.” - “I don’t need it.” - “You look like a fucking zombie.”

·         “Then we’ll leave. Just you and me.”

·         “Do you need help? - “No… yes.”

·         “I hate you.” - “I love you too.”

·         “You have something in your hair, umm… Do you want me to get it out?”

·         “It’s nice that your voice was the first thing I heard today.”

·         “No, like…. It’s just, I can’t believe you’re actually wearing my clothes.”

·         “Would it be too cliche if we matched clothes a little?”

·         “My friends get so annoyed by how much I talk about how sometimes.”

·         “Wanna, like– I mean, if you’re not busy… We could get lunch? Or even just coffee if you don’t have a lot of time?”

·         “Quit smiling at me, I can’t stop messing up my sentences when you look at me like that.”

·         “What are you smiling about?”

·         “What’s in it for me?”

·         “Could you say that again?” “Were you not listening?” “No I was, I just like hearing your voice.”

·         “You’re an idiot.” “But you love me.”

·         “Is that my shirt?” “You mean our shirt?”

·         “You come here often?” “Well considering I work here, yes.”

·         “Are you blushing?”

·         “Your hair is really soft.”

·         “You’re really warm.”

·         “You owe me.” “Fine, whatever you like.”

·         “I love you.” “Tell me that when you’re sober.” 

·         “I wasn’t lying when I told you that I loved you.”

·         “It’s pouring rain why are you here?”

·         “Is that blood?” “Yes, but that doesn’t matter right now, what does matter is-” “You are literally bleeding.”

·         “Cheers, I’ll drink to that.” “You drink to everything.” “Cheers!”

·         “Why is there a deer in the room?” 

·         “Is that vodka? At 7 in the morning?”

·         “Wake me up when it’s over.” 

·         “Why is arson always your first answer?”

·         “Are you flirting with me?”

·         “Are they really ‘just a friend’?”

·         “Is there a reason you never say my first name?”

·         “Shh… listen… that’s the sound of me falling in love with you.”

·         “I have to tell you something really important and if I don’t tell you now, I won’t get the chance.”

·         “Whatever he’s saying, he’s lying!”

·         “I play a mean air guitar, if that’s what you’re asking.”

·         “I thought you knew?”

·         “We can, y’know, go together? If that’s a thing you’d like.”

 Context:

·         I remembered it was Valentine’s Day late on my way from work and the only place still open was McDonald’s, is bringing you a cheeseburger acceptable?

·         I accidentally punched you in the face when I was too overexcited about something

·         The library’s pretty empty save for you and me and, OH that couple making out loudly in the shelves somewhere

·         You’re overdue on this book and I want it so I’m tracking you the fuck down

·         You give me a different fake name every time you come into this coffee shop and I just want to know your real name because you’re cute but here I am scrawling “batman” onto your stupid cappuccino

·         We live in the same block of flats but haven’t ever talked and Sunday morning we were both doing the walk of shame and had to stand in the lift together

·         “My shower’s broken but I’ve got a date tonight could I possibly use your shower please?” “Oh sure (neighbour that I’ve been crushing on for the past six months) of course you can use my shower to get ready for your date (fuck fuck fuck)”

·         You’ve got a date tonight and you asked for advice on what to wear but I’m so in love with you and damn you look good in the outfit I picked out for you

·         It’s my high school reunion and I need a hot date so I can rub it in the faces of the people who hated me

·         There’s a person who won’t stop bugging me will you pretend to be my partner so that they’ll fuck off?

·         I wanted to go on the Ferris wheel but there has to be two people to a cart come on random person let’s go – oh, wait, are we stuck at the top? Fuck

·         It started to snow and I’m the only one of our friends who would go outside with you – I soon found out why none of the others would go out in the snow with you when you shoved a handful of snow down my back and declared snow war

·         It’s nowhere near Christmas it’s literally still November would you calm down about Christmas wait no why are you getting the tree out – no, stop, please stop

·         You were waving at your friend behind me but I got confused and waved back at you and now I’m dying of embarrassment but you think it’s cute

·         I’m a waiter at this wedding and you’re a drunk guest who will not stop hitting on me please I’m trying to work no I can’t dance with you omg let me find you some water

·         You’re pretending to be your friend’s lover for the sake of the friend’s family. But, I’m their sibling. And I know you’re not dating.

·         You had an assigned seat next to them at a wedding for a mutual friend.

·         You accidentally sprayed them with yogurt when you opened the lid the wrong way.

·         They mistook your bowling ball for theirs in the shared ball return.

·         They caught you when you slipped on ice and nearly fell over.

·         Accidentally stepping on their heel in a crowded room.

·         Tripping while getting into your seat in the theatre and spilling your popcorn on them.

·         Accidentally opening a door on their face.

·         They cover the small amount of change you are short on for a purchase.

·         They see your ice cream drop to the ground and buy you a new one.

·         You walk out of a dressing room asking if the outfit suits you, but it’s not your friend waiting outside the room like you thought.

·         Sharing an umbrella at a bus stop as it rains.

·         You help catch their dog when the leash slips from their hand.

·         Texting the incorrect number but continuing the conversation.

·         Getting paired up on an amusement park that requires even numbered riders.

·         A friend of a friend needs a place to crash because they got evicted

·         You’re so sunburnt you can’t even more, do you need help?

·         I admit that sleeping on the beach wasn’t the smartest idea but someone buried me in sand please help me

·         I met you last night when you were drunkenly patting my dog in my backyard at 3am and when I asked you what the hell you were doing, you slurred something about dogs being great and then you threw up on my feet. Fifteen minutes later you were passed out on my couch so that’s why you’re here right now. What the fuck is your name.

·         I always see you eat breakfast on the train and you always offer me some

·         I’m waiting for the train and the only open seat is on a bench next to you. Okay, sure, I’ll sit down next to the very cute person and I JUST SPILLED MY DRINK ALL OVER YOU I’M SO SORRY.

·         I don’t know you, but I fall asleep on the train every ride home and you always wake me up because we have the same stop, but we’ve never actually talked. Then one day you’re the one falling asleep and I got so excited for my comeuppance I made us get off at the wrong stop.

·         My cat steals underwear and I come home to find you chasing my cat to get your underwear back.

·         We’re always making stupid bets like ‘bet you can’t drink this whole bottle of BBQ sauce’ but then you did and now you’re sick and I feel really bad. Let me look after you

·         Did you actually just blue shell me on our date you fucker

·         I beat you at Mario Kart and now I’ve been banished to the couch for the night

·         I’m calling to cancel our date because I’m actually in the ER right now, sorry. I mean… sure? I guess you can come down here but- okay…

·         I asked a staff member and they said you’ve been coming to the pound every day to play with the dog I’m taking home today and that’s why you’re getting weirdly emotional

·         It’s my turn to open up the café today and you were sleeping under one of the tables when I came in, and I don’t know what to say so I’m just awkwardly sweeping around you

·         I’m drunk on public transport and you’re high and we both keep looking at each other knowingly.

·         You’re mowing your lawn at 5am and that is completely unacceptable and I’m going over to your house to yell at you about how unacceptable that is.

·         It’s like 3am and my roommate locked me out of the house and I forgot my keys and I’m really drunk and please take pity on me and let me crash at your place for the night o’neighbour of mine

·         We decided it would be fun to go camping and now it’s raining and we can’t figure out how to set up the tent.

·         I know it’s probably poor taste to ask you out during your relative’s funeral but I don’t know if I’ll ever see you again, so…

·         It’s raining. I’m walking home in this downpour and have no umbrella. I’ve taken shelter on a random porch in the hopes that the rain will let up, but the door behind me had just opened

·         You’ve got a big, lush pool and I overheard you say you were going out of town, so I snuck over to use it but you came home early

·         You’re having a BBQ in your backyard and it smelled really good so I crashed the party

·         Not trying to make a scene here, but you took the last pool floatie and I want it

·         This is a big beach, why do you have to build that sandcastle right next to me?

·         You tried to grab the exact Halloween costume I want and it’s the last one and I want it.

·         I pranked the wrong person on accident, I’m so sorry I thought this was my friend’s car.

·         We just wanted to do one of these awful, fake ghost hunting shows but now shit is happening and we don’t know what to do.

·         I tried to take a shortcut and ended up stuck in this damn fence and you just happen to pass by and after poking fun at me for a million years you finally help me.

·         Two strangers locked inside the store at 3am together.

·         I accidentally broke your nose in a moshpit, sorry.

·         You’re the bastard who keeps parking in my spot so I retaliated by keying your car and you caught me

·         This is a long plane ride. You’re stuck next to me, and apparently afraid of flying.

[bestillmyslashyheart]

The Red Name pt 3

part one || part two

“Evans,” Kyle greeted when Max opened the door. Max’s grip tightened on the door like he was about to slam it in his face.

“Valenti,” Max returned. “Something wrong?”

“Nope, just wanted to talk to you, if that’s alright.”

Max stepped back. “Couldn’t talk to me tonight? I hear we’re all getting together for dinner.”

“Yeah, but that’s with everyone and I wanted to talk to you one-on-one.” Kyle walked through to the living room without waiting for Max’s reaction. The door closed loudly behind him.

“What do you want to talk about?” Max followed him.

Kyle smirked. “I don’t know. What do you think I could possibly want to talk to you about?”

Max folded his arms across his chest. “Liz.”

“Liz,” Kyle agreed. “We both love her.”

“We do.”

“Do you think we could make that work?”

Max looked at him, confused. “Make what work?”

“I haven’t really talked to Liz about it, yet, because I wanted to see what you thought first, but what if we could make it work. Both of us, loving Liz. And, I don’t know, becoming friends ourselves.”

“Are you- are you trying to suggest that we both date Liz?”

“No,” Kyle denied, even though that was exactly what he was doing. “I just wanted to see if that would be something we could agree to. I love Liz and I know that Liz loves me. I also know that she loves you and literally everyone knows how much you love her. She’s caught in between us, even if she won’t admit it, and I’m too selfish to just walk away. So I’m seeing if there’s an alternative that we could work out.” He paused. “Is there?”

“I, uh, I don’t know,” Max stammered.

Kyle nodded once. “That’s not a straight up no,” he mused. “Think it over. Once you decide, we can talk to Liz.” He turned to go.

“Wait!” Max called. Kyle paused. “Does that mean you’d be okay with that? With both of us dating her?”

Kyle smiled. “I love her and I want her to be happy. I don’t really care about the specifics.” This time, Max didn’t stop him.

---

“If you ever need gay sex tips, I can recommend some good porn.” Max whirled around to see Michael standing in the middle of the kitchen eating a yogurt. 

“Have you been there the whole time?”

Michael nodded.

“Fuck.”

---

Liz wasn’t sure who convinced her dad to close early but it was nice to have the Crashdown to themselves. It had been a long while since everyone had gotten together, since before the mark reveal really, and it was nice to be able to get together without any pressure. They weren’t at someone’s house and there weren’t any potential eavesdroppers to whatever conversation they may have. They were free to relax and enjoy themselves and each other’s company and she was grateful for it. 

“Thank you for putting this together,” she kissed Kyle’s cheek. He had been the one to send out the group text but he insisted it wasn’t his idea. In fact, he’d been very tight lipped about whose idea it was. 

“My pleasure,” he pressed a quick kiss to her lips and rubbed gently circles on her thigh. “It’s nice to see everyone.”

“It is,” she agreed, looking around. The seating arrangement brought a smile to her face if maybe not for the right reasons. Michael, Alex, and Maria had strategically placed themselves as far apart as they could get for a relatively small group (Liz still hadn’t gone the full story of the breakup from Maria but she could tell it hadn’t helped matters between Michael and Alex) which put Maria next to Isobel and Michael at the end next to Rosa. Alex was across from Rosa between Isobel and Max and looked surprisingly okay with it. While conversation was a little stilted to begin with, everything everyone carefully wasn’t saying filling the space between them, Rosa somehow forced them into acting normal. 

It wasn’t until she and Rosa were cleaning up that it occurred to Liz that she still didn’t know whose idea this all was. 

“Hey,” she called over to the table from where she stood behind the counter. “Who do we have to thank for tonight?” She walked over. “Kyle said he just sent the message but someone else wanted us all here. It was a good idea and I’m glad we did it.”

Alex cleared his throat. “Actually, it was my idea.” Everyone looked at him in surprise. Of all of them, he’d been the most withdrawn from the group, even before the marks were revealed. “I have some news to share and I thought it would be best if everyone was together so I only had to do it once.” It was impossible to miss the way Michael tensed at the end of the table. “I’m, uh, I’m being deployed, I leave on Monday.” He held up a hand to stop everyone’s reactions. “And when I get back I won’t be coming back to Roswell. I’m being relocated to Andrews in Maryland.”

“Alex,” Liz gasped. “No.” She shook her head.

“I thought you said you couldn’t be deployed again because of your leg,” Kyle protested.

Alex shrugged. “I can’t go into active combat but they need someone with my skills and training on site overseas so I’m being shipped out.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Michael spat. Alex’s face went blank and he squared his shoulders. 

“Don’t worry, Guerin, I’ll be out of your hair soon enough.” 

Liz actually flinched away from the force of Michael’s glare but Alex didn’t even blink. He stared Michael down for another moment before turning back to the rest of the table. “So I have a few days before I have to leave but I need to get everything packed up and shipped out to Andrews so I can report straight there when I get back. Anyone free to help?”

“Of course,” Liz offered straight away.

“How long’s your deployment?” Rosa asked, a strange tone in her voice. Liz realized this was the first time Rosa would have to deal with Alex going overseas. The first three times, Liz and Alex had only been in minimal contact but it was still nerve wracking. She’d thought she was done worrying about him but apparently not.

“I can’t tell you that,” he smiled sadly.

“Where are you going?” She asked instead.

“I can’t tell you that,” he replied. 

Rosa scoffed. “You’re just being a dick.”

Alex laughed. “No, it’s classified so I really can’t say. I probably won’t even be able to be in contact with anyone so any emails or texts will have to wait until I get to Andrews.” Michael’s chair scraped loudly across the floor as he shoved himself to his feet. Alex ignored him but Liz couldn’t help but watch as he finished clearing the table as angrily as a person could. 

“How long will you be at Andrews?” Rosa tried.

“I don’t know. It could go to the end of my enlistment or I could get a new posting. I go where they need me to go. To be honest, I’m surprised I’ve stayed in Roswell as long as I have. And,” he cut Rosa off as she opened her mouth for another question, “I’ve got three years left on my enlistment.”

“So worst case scenario, you’re going to leave on Monday and not come home for three years?” 

Liz’s heart sank when Alex didn’t answer. 

“Alex?” Max asked softly. “You’re going to come home when your enlistment is up, right?”

“No,” Michael answered from across the room. “In three years he’ll be five years away from retirement so he’s just going to re-up again.” He pushed through the doors to the kitchen. As soon as he disappeared, there was a loud crash. Liz had a feeling her dad just lost a stack of dishes.

“Is he right?” Kyle asked. Alex looked away before meeting his gaze.

“I haven’t made any decisions yet.”

“But it’s possible,” Kyle pushed.

“Sure. Anything’s possible.”

Liz had the terrible feeling that Alex was going to drive away on Monday and they weren’t going to see him again. “Even if you do, you can come home and visit,” she reminded him. “And we can come see you in Maryland or wherever you are.” Alex’s smile was guarded but he nodded all the same. 

“Definitely.”

“You’re coming back.” It wasn’t a suggestion. “This is home and you’re coming back,” Isobel stared him down. Alex just gave her the same smile and nod he’d given Liz. 

“Look, it’s late,” he stood up. “I’ve got a lot I need to get done in the next few days so I’m going to head home.” 

Rosa hurried around the table to hug him. Alex smiled and kissed her hair. “It’s not goodbye, Rosa. I promise.”

“Yeah but you’re leaving,” she reminded him.

“Not yet. Still got a few more days.”

“We have to throw you a going away party,” she spun to face Isobel. “Evans can plan it.”

“No!” Alex threw out a hand to stop Isobel from saying anything. “Really. I don’t want a fuss.”

“Tough shit, Manes,” Isobel told him. “Don’t worry, I’ll make it classy.”

Alex looked like he would dearly like to argue but they’d all long learned their lesson when it came to arguing with Isobel. They never won. “Small,” he pleaded. She nodded in acquiescence. “Thank you. Good night, everyone.” He extricated himself from Rosa’s grasp and left. 

Michael came out of the kitchen a moment later. He took only a second to note Alex’s absence before he was following after him. 

“I really don’t think-!” Kyle stood up and yelled after him but Michael ignored him and slammed the door shut. “Now’s a good time,” he added softly as he sat down.

“Alex!” Michael’s voice was clearly audible from inside. They all turned to look out the window. Alex had stopped just at the edge of the glass but still in full view of everyone inside as Michael stalked after him. “What the fuck?!”

---

It was really too much to ask for Michael to just let him go, wasn’t it? He’d managed to tell everyone and leave before anyone got too emotional but of course Michael couldn’t respect his carefully laid plans.

“What?” He turned around with a heavy sigh. “I’m in the military, Guerin, you knew this was a possibility.”

“You said you weren’t getting deployed,” Michael accused when he was barely a step away. His shoulders were tense with poorly concealed anger. If Alex looked closely he thought he could see worry in Michael’s eyes but that was probably just wishful thinking.

“Into active combat,” he clarified. “Nothing preventing me from sitting behind a desk somewhere not here.” He shrugged. “I’m not sure why you’re so surprised, honestly. You’re not an idiot, no matter how much you like to act like one. We both know I only managed to stay in Roswell this long to shut down Project Shepherd and now that that’s done, it’s back to my regularly scheduled duties. Which yes, include being deployed and relocated.”

“So what that’s it? You’re just going to leave again?”

Alex laughed mirthlessly and shook his head. “Yes, Michael. I’m in the military. It happens.” Michael clenched his jaw. “I told you this would happen. Right when I re-upped I told you I would probably be relocated and I asked you to come with me when that happened and you laughed in my face,” he reminded him. 

“Dammit Alex I don’t want you to go back to war!” Michael yelled.

Alex froze. To say that was unexpected would be an understatement. “Well,” he cleared his throat. “I didn’t want to be held personally responsible for everything my family’s ever done to you but I guess we don’t always get what we want.” Against his better judgement, Alex took a step closer to Michael. They were close enough now that Alex could feel Michael’s breath on his face. “You don’t know what you want, Michael. I suggest you figure it out before it’s too late.” 

Michael didn’t say anything, just stared at him until Alex stepped back and turned to leave. He got a full step away before Michael grabbed his arm, his grip tight on Alex’s elbow. Alex half turned to face him.

Before Michael could say anything a flash of movement behind his head caught Alex’s attention and he turned to see all of their friends craning their necks to watch them. Michael followed his gaze. When he caught sight of their audience he let go of Alex’s arm like it was burning him.

Alex huffed. “Good night, Guerin.”

Michael didn’t stop him this time.

---

True to Isobel’s word, the going away party for Alex was small, just their little group plus Arturo and Mimi, and it was classy. There were small Air Force themed decorations that could easily be overlooked but were obvious if you looked for more than a second. She had promised nothing garish and she had delivered in spades. 

“So. Maryland, huh?” Max sat down next to him by the fire pit. “Conveniently on the other side of the country.”

Alex hummed. He would never admit to requesting a new posting, not to Max at least. No matter how much time they’d spent together recently. Never in a million years did Alex think he’d one day call Max Evans a friend but stranger things had happened and he supposed it was time. It was just odd to think that they only started to hang out once Max was neither his boyfriend’s brother nor his friend’s boyfriend. They had no real connection to each other which might have taken some of the pressure off. One night at the Saturn’s Rings drowning their heartache in alcohol later, that was it. 

“You know, you never actually said whether or not you were coming back when your service is up,” Max pointed out idly. He wasn’t looking at Alex, his attention caught on where Kyle and Rosa were attempting to fire up the grill. Maybe that’s why Alex answered.

“I haven’t decided yet.”

“There’s more here for you than just Michael, you know.”

“I know,” he said, mostly because he knew Max expected him to. Truthfully, Alex wasn’t sure he had any real reason to come back. Sure he had friends but he had friends around the country. The real crux of the matter was that Michael was in Roswell and if something didn’t change, Alex couldn’t be here anymore. 

“Alex!” Rosa yelled, laughing. “Come help this idiot.”

“You were supposed to be helping!” Kyle yelled at her. 

“I don’t know why, we all know I’m hopeless around a grill,” Rosa laughed and ducked back into the house as Alex quickly got the grill going. It took two seconds.

Kyle stared at the grill, dumbfounded. “How did you do that?”

“It’s a grill, not rocket science,” Alex smirked. Kyle shoved his shoulder in response. Alex laughed and left him to it. Inside, Liz and Maria were making margaritas, why Alex wasn’t sure but he wasn’t going to stop them. Liz handed him a beer as he walked past and he smiled at her in thanks. 

“Alex!” Arturo called. Alex grinned and joined him and Mimi in the living room. The next few hours passed in much the same way, Alex moving from person to person, answering the call of his name. The only person who wasn’t there was Michael and Alex honestly wasn’t sure how he felt about that. 

At one point, he escaped outside with his beer to drink in the view. It was strange; he was more than likely heading straight for another desert but there was something about this one that just felt like home, felt like his.

The door slid open behind him but he couldn’t be bothered to turn and look, figuring it was probably Rosa. She seemed to be having a harder time dealing with this than anyone and was soaking up as much of his time and company as she could.

So he was surprised when Maria eased herself into the chair next to him. 

“Hey.” He blinked. Still Maria. 

“Hey,” she tried to smile. 

It was weird. They both knew it but there was no way around it, really. They hadn’t been alone together in a long time. Alex had never really put a conscious effort into avoiding her but he’d also never tried to speak with her or connect after everything that happened.

“I want to state for the record that I would be doing this even if you weren’t leaving in the morning,” Maria started off. Alex looked at her, mildly confused, but she was staring into the fire, the last rays of the sunset reflecting on her face. She looked beautiful. And sad.

“Okay?”

“I never apologized to you,” she said.

“You don’t need to.”

Her lips quirked upwards in an imitation of a smile. “Yes, I do. I hurt you. I know I did so now I’m apologizing.” She shifted in her seat to look at him without craning her neck. “Alex, I didn’t realize how much you two loved each other. I knew you had feelings for him but not the extent of them. And Michael promised me that his feelings were in the past.” She shook her head. “It’s not an excuse, I know it’s not. I just want to explain. I should have talked to you. I should have listened better when you tried to talk to me. I thought, I don’t even know what I thought, but I had some strange idea that maybe I was helping you. If your relationship with him was over and he didn’t have feelings for you anymore but you were feeling hopeful about a second chance, I thought seeing him move on would help you move on.” She stopped and looked back at the fire. “And I love him and he loves me and I really wanted to be with him. I’m just so sorry that meant hurting you.”

“Maria,” he sighed. “I appreciate the apology and I thank you for it but I’m not sure you did anything wrong. It’s not like we were together or had any hope of being together. You didn’t betray me. I don’t blame you for wanting to be happy or for wanting to be happy with Michael. I get it.” He laughed lightly. “Believe me, I get wanting to be happy with Michael. And yeah, it hurt but I wouldn’t have asked you to not be with him just to avoid hurting me. He doesn’t want to be with me and he was going to move on anyway. I’m glad he got to be with someone who made him happy. I’m glad he made you happy in return. And I’m sorry for the part I played in ruining that for you.”

“You didn’t do anything, Alex. It was just- some quirk of his biology that made him finally be honest with me.” She sighed and looked over at him. “He really loves you.”

“So I’ve heard,” Alex pressed the bottle to his lips. “Doesn’t seem to mean a damn thing though.” 

They sat in silence as the last few colors faded from the sky. “I don’t understand it,” Maria confessed quietly. “He said it didn’t matter. That love hadn’t stopped you from walking away, hadn’t stopped your family from hurting his, hadn’t stopped him from moving on with me. And I don’t understand. If you love each other, and you both know that you love each other...what’s the problem? Why can’t you be together?”

Alex rubbed at his forehead and sighed. “It’s complicated, Maria.”

“I’m sure. And I’m not asking for an explanation. I just- I just don’t get it. And what’s more? I don’t think either of you get it. I think you both think it’s harder than it is.” She paused until Alex looked at her. “If you love each other and you want to be together, be together. Decide you want to make it work and fucking work at it. I get that it’s complicated and messy and painful but Alex- you two could have something amazing if you just tried.”

“You get that I’m leaving in the morning, right? And I don’t know if it’s escaped your attention but Michael didn’t even bother to show up to my going away party that’s being held at his damn house.” He shook his head. “It’s done, Maria. I appreciate this but he and I are in the past. And no matter how much we may love each other, that’s not going to change.”  Alex pushed up out of his chair and headed for the door.

“Alex,” Maria called before he could get inside. He paused and waited for her to catch up. She surprised him by wrapping her arms around him. “Be safe, okay? I know you said it’s not active combat but still. Be safe and come home. And if you can’t come back here, you better be prepared for us to show up on your doorstep in Maryland, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

---

“You okay?” Isobel handed her a margarita. Across from them, Maria watched as Alex made his goodbyes and escaped out the door. “That looked heavy.”

“It was,” Maria agreed. “But I think it went well? It’s hard when he’s leaving tomorrow.”

“I’m sure.” Isobel fell silent. She was a steady presence at Maria’s side and Maria was thankful for it. She had grown to appreciate Isobel’s friendship during her and Michael’s relationship and she’d mourned it when she thought it lost forever. Thank god, Isobel didn’t let that happen, she mused.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Shoot.”

“You can not answer,” Maria warned. “I won’t be mad.”

Isobel rolled her eyes. “Just ask, DeLuca.”

“When did you first start- I mean, what was it that made you think, well not think, but like when did you realize you had, um-”

“Are you trying to ask me when I fell for you?” Isobel asked in disbelief.

“...maybe?” Maria looked at her then quickly looked away, her cheeks heating up.

Isobel struggled to answer. “I never really thought about it. Honestly, I hadn’t even really realized it, not fully anyway, until the damn mark appeared.”

“Really?” Maria was surprised. She’d assumed the mark couldn’t be a surprise.

“Well it’s not like I let myself examine my feelings for my brother’s girlfriend all that closely,” Isobel defended. “But if you want an answer, I’d say things started changing not long after Noah died. When you realized I was pregnant and went with me to get the abortion, no question’s asked. I was in a really bad place with Max being gone and dealing with Noah and I just- I didn’t have the capacity to deal with that, too. But you were there and we weren’t even friends but it didn’t seem to matter. You just went with me and you held my hand and you took me home and made sure I was okay. You were exactly what I needed in a time when I had no idea what was going on or who I was, let alone what I needed from other people.” She paused. “I never really thanked you for that, did I?”

“That’s okay. I just did what I would want someone to do for me.”

“Yes, but you still hated me then.”

Maria shook her head. “Doesn’t matter. Not for that.” She reached out and grabbed Isobel’s hand. “I’m glad I could be there for you.”

Isobel smiled and squeezed gently. “Me too.”

---

“Question,” Max grabbed Kyle’s arm and dragged him into the kitchen as subtly as he could manage. Which is to say, not much.

“Answer?” Kyle looked over his shoulder like someone might be coming up behind him.

“In that scenario you proposed, what does that mean for you and me?”

Kyle raised an eyebrow. “I would hope it means that we could be friends. Because, no offense, but I have no desire to be in a relationship with you.”

“Oh thank god,” Max let out in a breath of relief. “I mean, no offense either, but you’re not exactly my type.”

“Likewise.”

“Kyle’s everybody’s type, what are you talking about?” Max jumped when Liz spoke up behind him.

“Uh nothing?” Max brushed a piece of hair out of his face. Behind him, Kyle made a poor attempt to hide his laughter. “Weren’t you outside with Rosa?”

Liz looked at him then at Kyle. “She took Dad home…what’s going on?”

Max looked back at Kyle for help. Kyle just raised an eyebrow in question and somehow Max knew he was asking if he’d made up his mind. That, more than anything, sold it for him. He turned back to Liz. “Kyle and I were thinking-”

“That’s dangerous,” Liz interrupted.

Kyle reached forward and poked her in the ribs, causing her to laugh. “Don’t be rude, Ortecho.”

“Okay, okay! Tell me what you’re thinking.” She glanced between them, trepidation clear on her face.

Max looked to Kyle. It was his idea first after all. Kyle rolled his eyes but nodded. “I love you. And Evans here loves you, obviously. And we know that you love both of us.”

Liz straightened her back. “Okay?”

“We don’t love each other,” Kyle gestured between them, “but we love you enough to get along anyway.”

“Um, I’m confused.” 

“Liz, we both want you to be happy and we will both respect whatever and whoever you choose to be with even if that’s one of us or neither of us...or both of us.” Max brushed the hair out of his face again.

“...both of you?” She looked between them like she was waiting for someone to yell ‘gotcha’. “I don’t- what are you saying?”

“We’re saying, we love you and we’re not asking you to choose one of us. If you want to be with both of us, that’s okay with us.”

Liz’s mouth opened and closed. She appeared truly lost for speech for the first time in her life. “I- I need- I’m going home. And I will- I’ve gotta, I don’t know, process this. Bye.” And then she turned and fled. Max wouldn’t be surprised if she’d kicked literal dust up at them in her wake.

“Well. That went well,” Kyle sighed.

---

Michael’s truck was in his driveway. He was at Max’s for six hours and all he wanted was to get some sleep before he reported to base and Michael chose now to show up. Alex banged his head on the steering wheel.

There was no sign of Michael outside so Alex turned off the car and trudged up the steps. The front door opened easily at his touch even though he was positive he’d locked it on his way out earlier. 

“Guerin?” He dropped his keys on the table and kicked off his left shoe. Normally, he’d already be removing the prosthetic by now but he wanted to be standing when he talked with Michael. Speaking of…”Guerin?”

“Where’s Buffy?” Alex turned to see Michael leaning against the doorframe to the hall. 

“Rosa’s going to keep an eye on her until I get to Andrews and then we’ll figure out how to get her out there.” He paused. As much as they had to talk about, Alex wasn’t sure he wanted to get into it right now. Besides, he’d meant what he said to Maria earlier: he and Michael were in the past and hashing out old hurts wasn’t going to change that. “You weren’t at the party.” It wasn’t quite an accusation but it also wasn’t particularly a question either. 

Michael shrugged. “Didn’t really feel up for company tonight.”

Alex stepped to the side and held an arm out in the direction of the door. “Well don’t let me ruin your night then.”

“Alex-”

“What?” Alex snapped. His arm fell back to his side. “What do you want, Guerin?” Michael didn’t say anything. “Do you even know? Have you figured it out yet?”

Michael was across the room and holding his hand before he could blink. Alex didn’t even think to stop him as he raised his hand and pushed it inside his shirt until his palm was flush against his name. 

He’d missed it last time, too caught up in the revelation that it was his name, not Maria’s as he’d feared, but there was no denying it now. Michael’s eyelashes fluttered and his skin flushed a pretty red as he leaned into Alex’s touch. He even let out a little moan when Alex shifted his hand a little bit. 

Alex stared at him in wonder. Slowly, he moved his hand so just the tips of his fingertips grazed the mark, his index finger tracing the letters of his own name. Michael swayed forward until his forehead pressed against Alex’s. “So this is what you want?” Alex asked softly.

“I want you not to go to war,” Michael replied, his own voice hushed. “I want you not to move to the other side of the country. I want to not hurt every time I see you. I want to make you feel as good as you’re making me feel right now. I want this to be easier between us. I want a lot of things, Alex. I just don’t know if any of them are possible.” He lifted his head and looked into Alex’s eyes. “But most of all, I don’t want to spend your last night here making each other sad and angry.”

Alex knew what he was saying, it was pretty hard to misinterpret, but he didn’t know what to do with it. As he thought it over, his fingers kept stroking the mark. Michael made delicious noises when he did and he couldn’t bring himself to stop. “We always did suck at the talking part,” Alex agreed quickly. It was a bad idea, he knew and Michael knew it, but Alex couldn’t stop himself if he tried. He reached out and dug a hand into Michael’s hair and dragged him forward until their lips met. Instantly, all of their troubles faded away. This they knew. This they were good at. Their problems would still be there later but for now, for now they let themselves communicate in the only way they really knew how.

In between the sighs and the moans and the cries of pleasure, there were the words “stay with me” and “come with me”, but they were lost to the moment. 

In the morning, before the sun rose in the sky, Alex would slip out of bed and pack up his few remaining possessions before driving out to the base and getting on a place destined for places unknown. He didn’t know when he would be back on American soil, let alone back in Roswell. In the morning, Michael would wake up to an empty bed in an empty house with no idea when or if he’d ever see Alex again. 

But it wasn’t morning yet.

[jovialyouthmusic]

Special Delivery

Fabio and I share a bottle of wine and discuss previous relationships.

Word Count 2993

No warnings - just a few feelings and a bit of sexual tension No under 18s please

8 What Came Before?

It was late afternoon on the day my new lodger moved in. He retreated to his room after Martin’s visit, and came out when he heard me clattering around in the kitchen.

‘I can help?’ he asked.

‘You say can I help? I corrected him.

‘Ah.’ he sighed. ‘I never learn.’

‘Don’t worry.’ I reassured him ‘I like the way you speak, and you make yourself understood very well. Your vocabulary is really good, but the tenses are difficult. I looked into learning a couple of other languages a little while ago, but most of them have masculine and feminine forms, and that really confuses me.’

‘Ah yes, that is all normal for me.’ He gestured at the salad ingredients. ‘I get these ready if you like?’

‘Okay.’ I smiled ‘Do you want an apron?’ I tugged at my own apron just in case he didn’t know the word. He nodded. ‘I have just the right one for you then.’ I giggled, reaching into a drawer to bring one out that was made to look like a dinner jacket and bow tie. He grinned.

‘Perfecto! I look smart, yes?’ He put it on and struck a pose, hand on his cheek, looking off into the distance, one of the poses that had made my heart beat a little faster when I had seen it on Instagram.

‘You do’. I smiled. I got on with grilling the salmon while he washed and cut up the lettuce and rocket. I told him how to make the dressing, and before long the meal was ready. I put a small portion of fish out for Ginger, who I had shut out of the room while we cooked. He rushed in and wolfed it down eagerly. I hoped he would go and sleep it off rather than sit and stare at me as I ate my dinner. Fabio reached into the fridge, where he had put the bottle of wine he’d brought, and opened it while I got out the wine glasses. We went through to the dining room, the table set out neatly. I loved having a separate dining room and putting everything out just so, with flowers and napkins – it made meal times more of an occasion. Earlier on I had prepared strawberries for dessert, washing and cutting them up and putting a little sugar on them before placing the bowl in the fridge. He poured the wine while I waited.

‘Salud, to my new English home, and my new beautiful friend.’ he said, raising his glass, and I reached out with mine to clink them together, feeling my cheeks heat up.

‘Bottoms up.’ I said, without thinking. For a moment he looked puzzled, then he laughed loudly. I blushed even more, but he set me at my ease.

‘Ah, you mean the bottom of the glass.’

‘You can say cheers or to your health.’ I explained ‘bottoms up is rather – informal.’ I refrained from saying cheeky in case that got me in hot water.

‘Thankyou for telling me - it sounds very English.’ He waved his fork in the air ‘Tomorrow we go out to eat, yes? I pay.’

‘That would be nice. You can say my treat if you like. There’s an place on the coast that does great bar meals, very English. We can go there after our walk.’

‘Si, it sounds good. Do we need to book?’

‘Not usually, but I can do to make sure.’ I replied. We began eating, the fish fragrant and tasty, the salad crisp and the dressing piquant. The wine went down nicely, and he kept my glass topped up.

‘We get just a little drunk.’ He winked. ‘But I don’t throw stones at the window.’

‘You don’t need to, you’re already inside.’ I said drily.

‘That is true.’ he grinned, sitting back in his chair, stretching, his hand behind his head. I reached out to clear our empty plates.

‘Strawberries?’ I asked ‘I have Greek yogurt too. To be properly English we should have them with cream, but I think that’s a little calorific – and I like Greek yogurt.’ He made the gesture again with his thumb and forefinger touching, kissing his fingers and raising his hand

‘Perfecto.’ he grinned, obviously relaxed from the wine, as was I. I presented him with a bowl of the red fruit, bringing the yogurt in with a spoon. He picked a piece up ‘Try this’ he said, and dropped it into his glass ‘Is better with champagne or prosecco, but is good’

‘I’ve heard of prosecco and strawberries’ I replied ‘I’ve never tried it though’ I dropped a piece in my drink and swirled it round. A little of the sugar clung to the fruit, and when I drank it sweetened the wine, while the strawberry was a little tart. I became aware that Fabio was intently watching me as my lips parted to suck the strawberry from the glass. He kept eye contact with me as he sucked his from the wine and rolled it around his mouth. Heat pooled in my belly and I felt a little light headed from the wine.

‘Is good, no?’ he smiled seductively, quirking an eyebrow.

‘Mmmm.’ I replied, spooning the yogurt into my bowl to try and break the spell he had on me. He reached out for the pot when I had done, and ladled a dollop onto his. He took his time with dessert, toying with his spoon and savouring every mouthful until his bowl was empty. I went to take the empty bowl, but he reached across and stopped me, his hand on mine. Our eyes locked as a little jolt of electricity travelled up my arm, and my cheeks flamed red.

‘Is okay, I wash up.’ He said ‘Go, take your glass and sit in the lounge.’

‘I – umm - don’t bother to dry things. I usually leave things and put them away later. I – it annoys me if things aren’t in the right place.’ I couldn’t handle standing next to him drying the dishes, I decided, and although my house was often cluttered and disorganised, in the kitchen everything had its place so that it was easy to cook.

‘You teach me where things go tomorrow.’ he smiled, and stood, taking the bowls and spoons out. I rose onto shaky legs to pick up the yogurt to put it away, then went through to the lounge. I sat in the easy chair and curled up, comfortably full and a little tipsy, taking a deep calming breath. The couch was dangerous territory, I told myself, and leaned forward to put my glass on the coffee table. Ginger was curled up on the couch and opened his eyes to look at me sleepily before dozing off again.

I listened to Fabio washing up in the kitchen. It was good to have company, even company that made my knees go weak and my heart flutter. I told myself he couldn’t possibly feel anything for me, being used to rubbing shoulders with beautiful models. I was just ordinary, my only claim to being exotic in his eyes was my nationality. Of course he was flirting with me, good looking men like him just did that naturally, I told myself. Perhaps he didn’t even know how he was affecting me.

Fabio came into the room with his glass and the rest of the bottle, almost empty now. He sank down onto the couch and Ginger made a little sound of surprise.

‘El gato churo.’ he smiled, and reached out to stroke him. The cat stretched out luxuriously and exposed his belly, a goofy expression on his furry face. I envied him his relaxed acceptance of my new lodger and his total lack of restraint or self consciousness.

‘So we are a little drunk.’ he said, raising his gaze to mine. ‘Relaxed, no?’

‘Solo un poco.’ just a little. I admitted.

‘Martin, he is a good friend?’ he asked, turning the conversation in a direction I hadn’t expected.

‘He is. We talk a lot, about all sorts of things.’

‘He tries to protect you. I think he doesn’t like me.’

‘It’s only natural I suppose. He’s like a brother to me.’ my breath caught in my throat as Fabio gave me a slow smile. ‘I’m an only child – no brothers or sisters’ I said quickly.

‘Senora, you said your head and your heart tell you different things.’ He leaned his elbow on the back of the couch, his cheek resting on his palm.

‘Doesn’t everybody feel the same way?’ I asked ‘your heart tells you to – to jump in, not think about the consequences, and your head tells you to stop. I suppose mostly my head wins.’

‘You mean with love? You have had a boyfriend – or someone special before?’

‘Of course, I’m only human. Nothing longer than a couple of years, mostly just months.’

‘Me also. Perhaps every now and again it is good to jump in, otherwise we are lonely.’ His words made me suddenly feel sorry for him.

‘You’re lonely, Fabio?’ I asked softly. He shifted self consiously.

‘I travel alone. I have friends here and there, but when you move around so much it is difficult.’

‘I’m sorry. Sometimes I feel lonely too, but most of the time I don’t mind.’

‘If I was not here?’ he asked, the end of his question hanging in the air.

‘I’d take in a lodger, maybe not as soon as this, but unless I meet Mr Right One, I guess Ginger would be my companion.’ He smiled and stroked Ginger, who was now sitting with his paws tucked under his body, his head dropping forward sleepily.

‘Lucky cat, to live in this English house, quiet and happy. Rabbits to chase, a warm place to sleep, someone to look after him if he gets sick.’

‘Fabio…’ I started, but he interrupted me.

‘I’m sorry senora, perhaps I move too fast, I…’ he paused and reached into his back pocket for his phone to translate his thoughts ‘I think that maybe you want…’ he rubbed his forehead. ‘Perhaps the wine is talking.’

‘We should just be friendly for now.’ I said gently ‘it’s easy to get carried away.’ He smiled ruefully.

‘Your head is strong. Your heart…’

‘My heart needs a little more time’ I explained ‘It doesn’t always lose, sometimes my head realises that my heart is right. We only met a few days ago.’ He nodded sagely.

‘That is true senora. Tell me, you like me calling you Lisa?’

‘Lisa is fine.’ I replied ‘How about you? Do you have a nickname? Something shorter?’ he shrugged.

‘Not really’ he smiled.

‘You know, the first part of your name – Fab – is like ‘fabulous. How about Fabby?’ He grinned widely.

‘I like Fabby. You use that. Is almost the same in Spanish - fabuloso’ He stretched and took his glass up again, taking a sip and putting it back down again. He looked very relaxed, long legged, his ankle resting on his knee, his arms spread wide along the back of the couch.

‘So you and Martin. You are just friends? Always?’

‘Yes, always, though I had a bit of a crush on him when we met. He was married though, and by the time he was free we were – just friends. I don’t think of him that way, and his life is very complicated.’ We spent a little more time talking about old partners, falling into a comfortable place. Eventually Fabricio yawned.

‘I am tired.’ he announced ‘I think I will go to my room. Tomorrow we go for a walk – you said the coast?’

‘Yes’ I smiled.

‘And you listen to your head, let your heart get used to things.’ he smiled, standing. I stood to pick up the glasses and bottle. He moved toward me, then stopped, thoughtful.

‘Do friends whose hearts are waiting hug each other?’ he asked ‘Is alright?

‘I think so.’ I replied, putting the glasses back down. I walked into his embrace and he held me tight. It was different to hugging Martin – I felt it was something Fabio needed, something that grounded him, but there was an undercurrent, a feeling of potential. I felt him sigh happily, then he drew back and kissed me on the cheek. Doing anything more daring was not a good idea after the wine, I told myself with a little pang of regret.

‘Sleep well. Do you need anything?’

‘No, is fine. I see you in the morning. Is okay to shower when I get up?’

‘Of course, the door has a lock on it, and I’ll hear you. This is your home.’

‘My English home. Goodnight my friend.’

-------

I slept surprisingly well that night, but I closed my bedroom door which did not please Ginger at all. He fussed to be let in, and settled down with a little grumble. At two o’clock in the morning I relented and left the door open when he yowled at me, but he didn’t return until he decided it was breakfast time. He was so insistent that I thought I would risk going downstairs in my dressing gown. I could hear the shower running in the bathroom and calculated that I had time to complete my task before he emerged, so I went to feed Ginger and put the kettle on for coffee. I started out to go back upstairs to get dressed when I realised the sound of the kettle boiling had masked the sounds from the bathroom, and Fabrio emerged, clad only in a towel wrapped around his waist.

My breath caught in my throat at the sight of his bare chest, unwaxed and unshaved with dark hair forming a trail that lead down below the towel. His hair was wet and tousled from towel drying and steam billowed out from the bathroom. He was barefoot and grinned at me disarmingly.

‘Buenos días senora.’ he said as I gripped the newel post to stop my legs from giving way. The scent of his shower gel flooded the hall and I managed to return his greeting.

‘Good Morning Fabio. Did you sleep well?’

‘Muy beuno. Is quiet here. El gato – Ginger, he came to sleep on my bed when I got up for the bathroom.’ I eyed the cat, who had strolled out from the kitchen licking his chops and making for a comfortable place to digest his food. He avoided Fabio’s bare legs, but went to his door and looked up at him, mewing to demand entrance. ‘Ginger, you are bad.’ he scolded ‘You go to Lisa, not me.’

‘I’m so sorry. If you don’t want him in your room…’

‘Is okay, I don’t mind, but he should be more – faithful.’ I shrugged

‘Cats are very independent. I’m glad he likes you, it means you’re not a threat.’ Fabio gave me a smouldering look, and I pulled my dressing gown closer around me. He looked back down at the cat, nodding sagely.

‘Ginger, you are a good wing man. You make me look good.’ He laughed loudly and the cat glared at him and stalked off to the lounge.

‘I uh – I’ll get dressed and we can have breakfast.’

‘Thankyou Lisa.’ He shook his head at me, his hair flopping over his forehead. He pulled at it ‘I do this and then I join you.’

It wasn’t long before we met again in the kitchen, both fully dressed, Fabio’s jet black hair styled and glossy. I made coffee and showed him what was available for breakfast.

‘Have you ever had porridge?’ I asked ‘It’s more Scottish than English. In the USA they call it oatmeal.’

‘Si, I have it before.’

‘I like to cut up banana and cook it with oats and water, and I add something sweet – honey is good, and a splash of milk. The Scots like it with salt.’ He looked thoughtful.

‘Make it the way you like it, and I try it.’

‘Okay, if you go and sit down I’ll get it ready.’ He took his coffee and phone and went into the dining room, and ten minutes later we were sitting together eating and looking out at the garden.

‘Ginger will love it when he’s allowed out.’ I said ‘He probably won’t bother sleeping on my bed if it’s warm outside.’ Fabio looked at me.

‘El gato, he is not sure who to sleep with now. This is good.’ he waved his spoon over his bowl ‘Very healthy, yes?’

‘Thanks. You can make it richer if you make it with milk instead of water. You can put sultanas in, or any kind of fruit you like.’

‘Strawberries?’ He asked, and I nodded, remembering how we had flirted over strawberries and wine the night before.

‘I like bananas best.’

‘You don’t have to feed me all the time, senora.’ he said ‘today we eat out, and on my next day off, I make paella.’

‘Okay, I can put aside space in the cupboard and fridge for any food you want to cook, but otherwise you can share most things – if you’re not sure, just ask.’ 

When we had finished, Fabio washed up for me again, and I showed him where to put things away in the kitchen. I was getting more comfortable having him around, but there was still an undercurrent, the sense of possibility. I had wanted excitement – but as usual my head had put the brakes on, and I hoped I could overcome that and manage to go toward that goal again very soon.

[throwaway-sinfulwriter]

The Same - Chapter 6 - 8/8 (final)

The next morning, Malcolm stands in his father's cell. A guard next to him. His father is wearing wireless headphones, and he's stuck staring at his back.

The way his muscles rippled in his back as he wrote.. he wasn't wearing his sweater this time. Just the clean, white of his psychiatric uniform. His father was definitely quite older, but he wasn't any less attractive.

His curls are so defined, Malcolm thinks as he turns around.

"Malcolm! How long have you been here?" Doctor Whitly asks, the guard leaving and closing the door behind him.

He stares at his father, the memory of his warm hand over his making the skin on his knuckles tingle.

"Tell me about the girl in the box." He says simply, hands at his sides.

His father groans loudly, and Malcolm ignores how body reacts to the sound. "Oh, this again."

Doctor Whitly clears his throat. "There wasn't any girl. There couldn't be."

"There was. I remember her." Malcolm is firm, wanting to grab his father's shoulders and shake him.

"Your dreams..." His legs cross in his chair, and he looks amused.

"They're not dreams. They're memories. After I found her, you drugged me. And that gave you just enough time to…"

"To what, kill her? Hmm? Chop her up? And what did you do? During this missing time." Malcolm flinches, guilt weighing him down. He glowers at his father, lips curling into a sneer.

"I don't know."

"Ah." His father chuckles softly, shaking his head. "Be careful, Malcolm."

"If you didn't call the cops after you found the girl, then how long did it take you to make that call? Days? Weeks? Months? How many other people died? And why can't you remember?" His thick eyebrows raise as he stares up at his son.

"Perhaps it's better if you don't."

Malcolm's heart is bleeding onto the floor. Tears burn his eyes. He won't let his father see him crying. He hadn't cried when his father was taken away. Only after, when he couldn't see.

The lock buzzes, the latch on the door clicking.

"Don't worry, Dr. Whitly. I plan to find out."

Just before the door clicks and locks, Malcolm hears a smug. "Good for you."

---------

He spends the day feeling sick and lethargic. Vomiting several times, the sight of his mother violating his father's mouth.

The smell of chloroform lingering around his apartment, phantoms pains in his throat and mouth.

He manages to eat half a container of yogurt before vomiting. It didn't hurt as bad after, as he wasn't throwing up pure acid.

In between episodes, he manages to eat light things. Banana's. Yogurt. Chicken broth with crackers.

Malcolm has adapted to his PTSD over the years, knowing how to deal with his symptoms.

It's difficult. His phone buzzes all day, texts from Gil and Dani and Ainsley.

He can't bring himself to tell them what's happening. All he sends is a text reassuring everyone that he's fine, just resting for the day. No one needs to come over. He's fine.

He's not, though.

Near the end of the night, after he's thrown up once more in disgust, Malcolm lays on the cold linoleum floor.

His chest hurting like no other. Doctor Whitly could be so cruel when he wanted to be. The small boy inside Malcolm is whimpering in pain. He lets himself slip into that headspace in his vunerable state, shivering on the floor.

He wants his father to love him. Something inside of Malcolm wanted him to obey his every wish, listen to what he said. Wanted praise from him. Hugs and warm cups of hot chocolate. Soft kisses and bubble baths.

He and his father were similar in so many ways. Malcolm wondered if that made his father proud, to see how affected he was by his influence and his presence.

Malcolm doesn't allow himself to indulge in that train of thought for long. When he gets up from the floor, he is half hard against his thigh. He heads to his bed.

Wrapping the blankets around him in a crude impression of a hug.

Grabbing his phone, Malcolm stares at his lock screen for the longest time, before unlocking it and staring at his browser.

'BDSM clubs in New York'

Something easy about the scene was that it was surprising tender in the aftercare, if you found the right person.

His best memory (after his first time) was being in full restraints. Completely deprived of his senses. One would think that Malcolm would panic, but it calmed him like anything else.

His dom had brought him to the edge over and over, never letting him fall over. When it was over, Malcolm was kissed in a way that made him feel incredibly cherished.

The only time he had ever felt like was when his father held him after a nightmare as a child.

He had thought that he wasn't as fucked up as he thought, that he could be happy with someone other than his own father.

His wish was crushed when that same Dom broke up with him six months later, calling him "unstable" and "unsafe". Malcolm decided to forego relationships all together after that, and hadn't done more than one night stands and purely sexual relationships since.

Malcolm wonders if he can find someone that will deal with his PTSD and let him call them Daddy.

Face flushed red, he turns his phone off.

He could do more research later. For now, all he wanted to think about public pools of bowls of watermelon on hot summer days. No murder. No drugging. No conflicting feelings.

------

After Malcolm leaves Martin, phone time begins. The doctor had planned for this, looking at the clock. "Hello, David." He says as the guard enters with the phone and sets it down.

The guard is just sitting down in the folding chair when the door unlocks and another guard sticks his head in, panicked.

"David, #3457 is going crazy. You need to get in there and calm down, you know they only trust you." David jumps to his feet, and the two guards leave together.

Martin smirks. Distraction successful.

He punches in the number, settling back in his chair.

"This is Andan."

Martin grins. "Andan, this is Doctor Martin Whitly."

"H..hello, Dr. Whitly. Do you need something?" Oh, how he loved hearing fear in people's voice.

"As a matter of fact, I do. I need you to forego all your other jobs for this one."

"I.. of course, sir. What do you need me to do?" Andan asks, and there's the shuffling of paper.

"I need you to keep tabs on my son. 24/7. I expect a daily report at 4:30 each day, with extensive details on what he's doing, who he's talking to, how his eating and sleeping habits are."

There's silence on the other end.

"Andan?" He asks, tone dark

"..Yes, of course, Doctor. Consider it already done. Daily reports. 24/7. Got it."

Martin smiles. Everything was so much easier now that he was a known, notorious serial killer.

"Good. Don't let him see you. He's very aware of his surroundings."

By the time David comes back, Dr. Whitly is sitting on his bed, reading his copy of Peter Pan.

-----

After calming #3457, David headed to the nearest phone, figuring his report was slightly overdue. It had been 3 hours since Malcolm had left.

He picked up the receiver, typing in the appropriate number.

"You asked me to call." The guard says.

"He came back?" Jessica Whitly asks, and David hums.

"Yeah, he just left."

"Thank you, David. That's good to know." The woman hangs up and he sighs, replacing the phone on it's jack.

Heading back to the Doctor's cell to watch the door.

In upstate New York, Jessica violently throws her cell phone, the device smashing into pieces.

[ariadenassau]

AMERICANA TASK 001

LAYER ONE : THE OUTSIDE (OOC)

name: Ariadne Marie de Nassau 

meaning of name: Ariadne is a Greek name, meaning “chaste” or “most holy”. Marie is a French version of Mary, and the meaning is debated, but can mean “sea of sorrow” or “rebellion”. Her last name, de Nassau, is literally “of Nassau” — she is a part of the House of Nassau. 

aliases: Aria is her nickname from childhood and her preferred name. 

place of birth: Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. 

race: Caucasian 

nationality: Dual citizenship with France and the United States. 

gender: Cis-female

sexuality: Mostly heterosexual

profession: A freelance journalist

eye color: Dark brown

hair style/color: Straight, chestnut brown hair to her shoulders, usually partly braided or in a plait.

height: 5’4” (164 cm)

clothing style: Simple, tailored, and clean-cut, Aria dresses in neutrals and soft materials. She's partial to creamy ivories and tans as opposed to bright colors, with the occasional baby pinks. The only jewelry she wears is a simple gold pendant and a sapphire ring, her birthstone.

best physical feature: Her eyes — both soft and piercing at the same time, the eyes are truly the window to Aria’s soul. 

appearance: Very soft and muted, yet luxurious. Aria is from wealth, which shows, but she never flaunts it. She doesn’t wear much makeup and avoids showing too much skin. She looks professional and pretty, but not someone you’d turn around and look at twice in New York. 

weight: 110 lbs (50 kg) 

complexion: Fair during the winter, slightly tanner during the summer, as Aria darkens easily under the sun. 

build: Slight and petite, she is quite skinny and small, without very many curves. 

voice: Gentle, she rarely speaks over a shout. She doesn’t like to yell and upturns the ends of her sentences, as if she’s always a bit unsure of herself. She has a slight British/European accent from her upbringing abroad. 

LAYER TWO: THE INSIDE (OOC)

fears: Spiders, roller-coasters, and disappointing her parents — although she is working on that last one, 

guilty pleasure: The Bachelor. Aria will never admit to watching them, as she finds the entire idea trashy and degrading, but somehow, she turns it on every week when its airing with popcorn and a glass of wine. 

biggest pet peeve: People who chew on their food loudly (bad table manners in general, really.) 

ambition for the future: To find out who was behind Abby’s killing and write an entire expose on it. 

one bad habit: Popping her pimples and skin blemishes.

one good habit: Washing the dishes immediately after she uses them.

one habit they can’t break: Her daily iced coffee (or two) from Starbucks.

one they’ve broken: Chewing on her nails. 

LAYER THREE: THOUGHTS (OOC)

first thoughts waking up: “I need coffee.” 

what they think about the most: Deep-set anxieties about her future and identity as an individual person. 

what they think about before bed: All the errands and things she needs to accomplish tomorrow. 

what they think their best quality is: Intelligence and writing ability. 

what they think would completely break them: Finding love, and then losing it. 

what they think was the best thing in their life: Discovering that she had a long-lost sister, and getting to reconnect with her. 

what they think was the worst thing in their life: Losing that long-lost sister. 

what seemingly insignificant memories stuck with them: Her childhood piano teacher smacking her fingers when she’d play the wrong notes. 

LAYER FOUR: WHAT’S BETTER? (OOC)

single or group dates: Neither — Aria hates dates. 

to be loved or respected: Respected.

beauty or brains: Brains. 

dogs or cats: Dogs. 

coffee or tea: Coffee. 

showering in the day or night: Showering at night. 

taking baths or taking showers: Taking showers. 

tv or movies: Movies. 

writing or reading: Writing. 

platonic or romantic love: Platonic.

iced tea or lemonade: Iced tea. 

ice cream or smoothies: Smoothies. 

cupcakes or cake: Cupcakes. 

beach or mountains: Mountains. 

LAYER FIVE: DO YOU? (IC) 

lie: “Yes — it’s a way to get information that I want out of people. But I never lie to hurt anyone.” 

believe in yourself: “I hope that I do. I think that I do. Maybe not.” 

believe in love: “I think love is out there, but I don’t know how to find it or if it even exists for me.” 

want someone: “Maybe.”  

work so that you can support your hobbies or use your hobbies as a way of filling up the time you aren’t working: “Well — neither. Writing is both my work and my hobby. So I guess I lucked out.” 

have something you’re reluctant to tell people: “My ‘royal’ status. It doesn’t mean anything.”  

have an opinion about sex: “It’s something lovely that can make two people’s bonds stronger, but...  I don’t know. I don’t think I have a strong opinion either way.” 

have many friends: “I have many acquaintances from work and school, but close friends? Probably not.” 

have as many friends as you want: “Yes. I’m a bit of a loner, you see.” 

have something to make a scene in public about: “God, I hope not.” 

have something to give your life for: “A hundred percent — my career, my writing, and figuring out what the hell happened to Abby.” 

have major flaws: “I… get too attached to people. It goes along with having such little close friends. The friends I do have, I keep very close to my heart, which means when I lose them… well, my world falls apart.” 

have something you pretend or try to care about: “Um — politics?” 

have an image you project: “I think I try to come off as more self-confident than I am. I’m also very polite to most people, even if I don’t particularly think the person is deserving of it.” 

have something you’re afraid of: “Isn’t everyone afraid of something?” 

think you’re polite or rude: “Definitely polite.” 

LAYER SIX: FAVORITES (IC) 

favorite color: “Hm. I love baby pink, but I also love cream and ivory as well.” 

favorite animal: “Polar bears. They’re so majestic!” 

favorite movie: “Lost in Translation. It was such a beautifully shot movie!” 

favorite game: “I don’t play very many games.” 

sound: “Oh! — the sound of sunny winter mornings back when I was in school in Gstaad. You can hear it when you open a window; the chilly breeze, the sound of snow underneath people’s feet… I miss it.” 

song: “It changes, really, but I can always listen to anything by Frank Sinatra.” 

band: “Is it cliche if I say The Beatles?” 

outfit: “Well, it certainly depends on the season, but for the fall and winter, I love my tan crepe pants, an ivory cashmere turtleneck, and my Acne leather boots.” 

place: “Switzerland. I spent most of my years there, and the landscapes are so beautiful.” 

memory: “I think the first time I met Abby — I was so nervous, and I just saw her, and we talked for hours in her room afterwards. Her parents made hot cocoa, and we just sat there, laughing, crying… it was so wonderful, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.” 

person: “Abby. Or my mentor back at Harvard. She was the one who helped me curate my writing to what it is now.” 

show: “I don’t watch much television.” 

LAYER SEVEN: AGE (OOC/IC) 

age: 29

date of birth: September 2nd, 1990

day your next birthday will be: Thursday.

zodiac sign: Virgo.

age you lost your virginity: 18.

does age matter: “Age certainly matters if you’re younger, but once you pass twenty-five or so… who am I to judge?” 

LAYER EIGHT: PERSONALITY (OOC) 

moral alignment: Neutral Good. 

enneagram: 4 - The Individualist

four temperaments: Melancholic

tropes: the soiled dove, the lost soul, the contrite, the taciturn

archetypes: The Sage/Innocent 

tarot cards: Temperance

compassion: yes. 

empathy: yes.

creativity: yes.

mental flexibility: at times, no.

passion: yes, for the right things. 

stamina: yes. 

physical strength: not much. 

battle skill: not at all. 

agility: a bit. 

strategy: she’s always planning for her next move, so yes. 

teamwork: yes, but she needs to be the leader. 

strength: so much emotional strength. 

intelligence: yes. 

wisdom: partly, but still trying to find it. 

dexterity: none; Aria has a rare muscular dystrophy that degraded the muscles in her hands and fingers. 

constitution: a hundred percent. 

charisma: only on certain occasions; otherwise, Aria is quite aloof. 

LAYER NINE: FINISH THE SENTENCE (IC) 

i love: “... good food. Can you blame me?” 

i feel: “... lost.” 

i hide: “... my feelings, my emotions, my thoughts.” 

i miss: “... Abby.” 

i wish: “... that I could know where life is taking me.” 

i hate: “... people who think they can take advantage of my kindness.” 

LAYER TEN: FAMILY (IC) 

relationships: “I had a boyfriend. It’s awkward to talk about really, but he dumped me. Quite an awkward situation.” 

parents: “My father is Prince Jean Louis, sixteenth in line for the throne in Luxembourg. My mother is Princess Charlotte Julie, formerly Charlotte Julie Vanderbilt.” 

siblings: “Just Abby, who was fathered by my father and another woman. She was given up for adoption when she was a baby, which is why I never met her until I grew up.” 

children: “No — although, maybe in the future.” 

favorite childhood memory: “Oh — my childhood wasn’t that fun. But I guess, early on, my parents did take me out on trips on the boat in lakes in the South of France. Those were always nice.” 

favorite childhood toy: “My stuffed bunny Juliette. I still have her.” 

embarrassing story: “I fell asleep once in a bowl of yogurt in class. I was so tired staying up studying for an exam, that during it, I was eating my breakfast, and just… fell asleep.” 

favorite family member: “Abby. I’m not very close to my parents, or anyone from my family, really.” 

[bellatrixobsessed1]

Mutilated Mannequin (Part 17)

“I leave you alone with them and this is what you do to them!” Ursa’s voice is shriller than usual. “You couldn’t just leave them be? I almost didn’t recognize him without that scar. Making him get rid of that wasn’t enough for you?” Her voice carries loudly from two floors below.

“I was thinking of his future. I couldn’t send him off to high school with that kind of scarring.” Ozai insists. “They’d rip his self-esteem to shreds. He’s already a softie…”

“Zuko wasn’t enough for you.” Ursa repeats. “You had to do this to our beautiful girl too. She didn’t even have any scars.”

“She had a baby face.” 

“She’s fifteen!” Azula doesn’t need to see her mother to know that the woman was throwing her hands up. “Of course she has a child’s face, she is a child.”

“You had a womanly face when we started dating.” Ozai argues. 

“We’re not the same person! She’s a late bloomer, you can’t rush these things.”

At this Azula’s face flushes. Zuko slumps down against the wall next to her. “Just like old times, right?” He comments. 

“They used to argue about jobs.” Azula shrugs. “Not about us.”  She pauses, it is still a bit of a hassle to enunciate things clearly. She can’t wait for some feeling to return to the right side of her face. “Not about how to raise us, anyways.” Custody matters had been a common topic back then. Ultimately they were left with their father as his income is more stable. Ursa had taken a leap of faith in leaving them behind for her career. She said it was her best chance. Ozai refused to make the move with her because his career is where they are now. 

She supposes that she still holds a little resentment at how Ursa had chosen her career over them. But she can’t say that her ambition wouldn’t carry her to make the same choice. It doesn’t matter anyhow, she doesn’t have the energy to cling to rivalries. Not when she could use her mother’s special brand of care. 

“I guess so.” Zuko replies. 

“I have a sturdy job now.” Ursa declares. “More than sturdy, I have nearly as much wealth as you do. If you think that I can’t get custody of my children after this, you’re mistaken.” 

“You will not take my children. I raised them, I did the hard work.” 

“You raised them and you broke them.” 

“They’re fine. I taught them to be resilient.” 

Azula finds herself lucky that he did. Part of her is inclined to say that she would have given up at the diagnosis if he hadn’t at least taught her to push through things. Not that she is anywhere near ready to embrace her situation. She has hardly accepted it yet. 

The surgery is through with, to her surprise, and with a splinted arm, they had cleared her the very same day that they’d done the procedure. The splint is terribly uncomfortable and she has been fated to wear it for at least three weeks. 

She tenderly cradles the splinted arm and listens for the conclusion of the argument below. 

“They are staying with me, Ursa.”

“We shall see.” 

Zuko seems to smile at this. “We might get to live with mom.” 

Azula isn’t so sure that she shares his delight. She is wholly torn. “Maybe.” she mumbles in way of a response. 

.oOo.

It seems like it has been ages since she has been in the halls of Agni High. “You can go to class, Zuzu. I can take care of myself.” She rolls her eyes and shoves a few textbooks into her shoulder bag. She picks it up off the floor with her good arm and hoists it on lets it rest on her uninjured shoulder. 

“Are you sure that you don’t want help with those?” 

“I can handle a few textbooks.” She closes her locker and gives him a shooing gesture. 

“I just want to help.” 

“And I don’t want people to treat me like I’m helpless just because my arm is in a sling.” 

Zuko seems to hesitate. “Just don’t hurt yourself worse.

She rolls her eyes, and yet, she deep down she has to admit to herself that she appreciates the sentiment. She thinks that this might be the closest they have been since they were children. She can’t exactly place when they had grown apart, but she is sure that father had created the rift with his ridiculous expectations. She watches her brother make his way down the hall before slipping into her own classroom. 

TyLee greets her with a warm smile. She slips into her desk and arranges her supplies upon it. 

“Need a copy of the notes?”

Azula shakes her head. “Zuko’s been getting them for me.” She pulls out the worksheet she had finished the night before. She hands it to Kyoshi who replaces that one with a new assignment and a welcome back.

It is so ordinary.

The day is so mundane it is almost as though nothing has changed at all.

Almost.

TyLee and Mai walk with her as she makes her way to the gym. People murmur to themselves. She might be able to pretend like she isn’t the subject of the murmurs were they not looking at her just a little too long.

Pitying stares that make her both furious and uncomfortable, perhaps furiously uncomfortable.

“Do you want to stop by my house after school?” Azula offers, a small attempt to invest herself in a conversation that didn’t leave her feeling awkward. She almost wants to ask if the state of her face is as bad as their expressions suggest.

“I can stop by if you don’t mind Tom-Tom tagging along.”

“Does five o clock sound good? I’ll have some time after gymnastics.”

“Five sounds perfect and I’m sure mother would love to meet Tom-Tom.” Azula replies.

“You think that she’ll take him off my hands for a bit?”

“Probably.” Azula says. They reach the gymnasium door. “I’ll see you at lunch.” She enters the gym and scopes Kyoshi out. She refuses to sit on the sidelines again. “What are we doing today?”

“You’re sitting out and working on your lit assignment.” Kyoshi shrugs. “The rest of us will be playing soccer after a few warm up laps

"I can still use my legs, Kyoshi. And one arm.” Azula insists. “I can play soccer.”

Somewhat reluctantly, Kyoshi agrees to let her speed walk the track so long as she promises to either walk or stop entirely if she doesn’t feel well. She supposes that she shouldn’t push her luck and makes her way to the track. 

She hears someone sprinting up behind her. Before she can turn around, Yue is standing in front of her, leaning in way too close for comfort. “I heard that your face is all messed up.” 

“Keep talking and yours won’t be any better.” She replies dryly. 

Yue takes a step back. “It isn’t as bad as Jet made it sound.” 

“Jet hasn’t even seen my face yet.” 

Yue taps her chin. “It’s still pretty awful.” She shrugs. At Azula’s scowl she adds a hasty, “no offense.” 

Her frown only deepens as she stalks away from the other girl. It isn’t like she hadn’t been expecting Yue to make things more difficult. No, she had very much anticipated the girl making her feel worse about herself then she did already. 

She hears footsteps again. “Go, away.” 

“Did I do something wrong?”

“No. I thought that you were Yue.” 

“She’s over there.” Katara pointed. “Pouting about something.” 

Azula rolls her eyes. 

“How are you doing?” 

“Better, I suppose. I guess that I’m just going to have to get used to everyone looking at me like that.”  She takes a deep breath. As things stand, she doesn’t feel as though such a feat is possible.  They make her feel like some sort of creature. She casts her eyes to the floor. 

“They’ll get used to it and stop staring.” 

“There are more people than the ones in this school…” She doesn’t like thinking of being in a crowd, walking amid people who haven’t and won’t ever get the chance to get used to it… “this is going to be peoples’ first impression of me.”

“And you’ll know who’s worth talking to right away.” Katara replies. “If they’re rude then they aren’t worth talking to anyways.” 

“I don’t even have a thrilling story to tell. At least Zuzu got to tell everyone that he got his scar saving the neighbor’s kid from a kitchen fire.” Azula slows her speedwalk to a halt. “I get to tell everyone that my plastic surgeon fucked up.” 

“You don’t have to tell the truth.”

“Yes, Toph said the same. She suggested that I tell everyone that I was fighting an evil government agent who threw acid in my face. She also mentioned something about being attacked by a mutant.”

“You should hear her ‘how I went blind’ story.” Katara laughed. 

“I’m sure that that’s entertaining.” Azula glances around the track. “Where’s the nimrod.” 

“He got sent home for a dress code violation. I told him that he needed to stop sagging his pants. They already gave him several warnings.” 

“They let him be the class president…” Azula grumbles. Regardless, she decides that it is doing her well to have more mundane conversations again. 

.oOo.

Azula stares at her applesauce with annoyance. She still can’t eat solids and she is growing sick of oatmeal, apple sauce, and yogurt. She isn’t even sure that a healthy person can live on such a diet. She casts a longing look at Toph’s egg rolls and dumplings and an even more longing look at TyLee’s arrangement of cupcakes. Those are soft and fluffy, perhaps her doctor will approve of adding them to her meal plan.

Katara sits across from her and offers her a carton of orange juice. “I don’t really like oranges.” 

“Neither do I.” 

“Okay, one of you is going to have to move!” Yue stands before Mai and TyLee. “I am not sitting next to the clownfish.” 

“Clownfish?” Mai questions.

“She’s been calling me that since...nevermind.” 

“Since Katty accidentally swam diagonally while doing the backstroke and made our team look like a big joke.” Yue shrugged. 

“And I call her, the eel because she’s a snake.” 

Yue folds her arms and wedges herself between Azula and TyLee with a ‘hmph.’ “I don’t like our new table mates.” 

“You’ll get over it.” Toph shrugs. 

“This table is too crowded.” Yue eyes Suki. 

“Well it’s about to get more crowded.” Chan declares. 

“Move over a little Katara, make some space for Chan’s ego.” Azula remarks. 

“Happy Monday to you too, Azula.” Chan greets. 

It is nice to get back to the playful jesting. Though she still believes that they are due for a talk. The sooner the better, but she doesn’t want an audience. For the time being they will have to deal with the remaining threads of tension. That subtle spark of awkwardness that settles when he sits down. 

Jet follows in suit. 

“Good morning, Jet.” TyLee greets.

“It’s the afternoon.” He fixes his gaze on Azula. Judgement rolls off of him in waves.

“You look a lot worse than I thought you would.” He picks up a french fry and, before popping it into his mouth, says, “you weren’t pleasant to look at before. But this is awful.”

“She was kinda pretty before.” Yue interjects.

“She was really pretty, Yue.” Chan adds. Was, was, was. It only makes her feel that much worse for having lost whatever beauty she might have once had.

“Well she sure as hell isn’t now.” Jet replies. “And if she was such a looker before, why didn’t you take her to homecoming?”

Another relentless blow to her ego.

She braces herself for the next, it didn’t come in the way she had prepared for.

“Because she was changing things about her that I liked the way they were and it was frustrating to watch.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me that before I got the first surgery?” She asks. “You know that I first thought of getting them because of you, right?”

This time it is Chan who looked as though he’d taken a physical hit. “Wh-when.”

“Can we talk about this later?” She sends a cutting state towards Jet. “Alone.”

Chan nods but she can tell by the way he pushes absently at his mashed potatoes that the rest of lunch will be heavy.

“You know what?” Azula asks prompting the whole of her posse to look up. “I think that I have a solution to our overcrowded table.”

Chan cringes.

Without a word, she picks up Jet’s lunch tray and moves it to the corner table. She gestures to it. “Go on, Jet.”

Yue holds a hand up to her mouth, “ooo, Jet, you’re in trouble.” She snickers, “even I haven’t gotten evicted from the table!”

Jet scowled. “That’s fine with me, I didn’t want to look at that anyways.” He motions to Azula. “It’s disgusting.”

Azula lets out a breath, a tickling sensation flutters up in her tummy.

“He doesn’t know what he’s talking about, Azula.” Katara mutters. But she thinks that he does. She can’t say that she disagrees with him, she has gone out of her way to cover and avoid mirrors.

She feels TyLee wrap her arms around her and snuggle her cheek against Azula’s.

Azula signed and gives him one final glance. She sees him making his way to Smellerbee’s table. He may be tables away but the damage has been done. Chan has his head propped up by his arm and dismally stares at his still untouched meal. And Azula herself feels numb.

[velvarii]

Sleight 2 - a second chance

i decided to post it here anyway

I think I was looking at dialogue prompts somewhere long ago and had come across “So tell me, what was it like to die?” and I believe that was the motivator for this particular chapter.

Story under the cut

Read on AO3

Rating: T? Nothing too crazy, really, unless you don’t like to read about someone getting shot a time or two. Nothing graphic.

*This takes place before Gray and Juvia entered into a relationship*

Gray squinted as his eyes opened, the bright, fluorescent lights flooding his pupils painfully. Why the hell were the lights so bright? Where was he? And why was he feeling so relaxed? That was… rare.

His eyes finally adjusted after blinking for about a minute and he realized he was in a hospital room, hooked up to all sorts of machines. The door opened and in stepped a woman with long, indigo hair. She was checking a clipboard when she looked up and saw him staring at her.

“Oh! You’re awake,” she said, brown eyes brightening. She hurried over to the bed and began checking his heart rate and blood pressure. “My name’s Wendy Marvell. I’ll go and get your friends.” Before Gray could ask anything, she was gone.

When the door opened again, he saw Natsu. He looked exhausted; dark bags under his eyes, his pink hair was a scraggly mess, and his right arm was in a sling. He looked flat out awful, and Gray tried to tell him so, but his mouth was incredibly dry. He saw a cup of ice chips at his bedside and popped a few in his mouth.

“What the hell happened to you?” Gray tried, and his voice sounded weaker than he would have liked. Instead of an argument, Natsu shrugged.

“No sleep.”

“No sleep? Since when do you have a problem sleeping?” Natsu was silent, and when he reached the bed, he promptly slugged Gray in the jaw. Hard.

“What the fuck?” Gray shouted. He made to sit up more, but groaned loudly as pain shot through his side and fell back again. He raised a hand to rub at his jaw.

“That’s for being a fucking idiot,” Natsu said through clenched teeth. Gray stared at him with furrowed brows. He wracked his brain in hopes of remembering what happened on yesterday’s mission but, unfortunately, his mind was foggy and a headache was surfacing. Natsu seemed to relax after a moment, exhaustion catching up with him. He slouched in a chair next to the hospital bed with a heavy sigh. He propped his left elbow on the arm rest and held his head up with his hand. Gray decided to stop thinking about what may have happened on the mission, wanting to avoid any further strain on himself.

“Where’s Juvia?” The blunette surely had to be here. At least, that’s what he hoped.

“I made her get something to eat. She’s gonna kill me when she finds out she was gone when you woke up.” So she wasn’t eating much. Must mean he’s been here a while, which explained how tired Natsu looked. It was just like the two of them to worry too much, but he’d have been the same way if either of them were in his position.

“So,” Natsu began, and Gray looked over at him again, “tell me, what was it like to die?”

Gray’s eyes widened and his brows furrowed.

“What… what are you talking about?” This time Natsu looked confused. He sat up a little straighter.

“You mean you don’t remember?” Though, if he died like Natsu mentioned, would it really be something he’d remember? Even so, he sighed and rest his head back against the pillow, closing his eyes and trying his damndest to remember. Slowly, bits and pieces began fading into his consciousness until it all came together.

Three days ago

“Natsu!” Gray shouted as he watched his comrade drop his gun and grab his right arm with a pained outcry. Juvia came from behind him and took out the man ready to take another shot at the pink haired agent.

“I’m fine,” Natsu said through grit teeth. “Just go after the letters!”

Gray watched him for a moment, then glanced to the direction the group was heading.

“Yeah, sure. Just… don’t die on me,” he muttered, then hurried off with Juvia, who was tucking something into her pocket.

“Medical evac is on their way. If Natsu stays where he is and doesn’t get into anymore trouble, he’ll be fine,” Juvia said as they entered a rundown building. Gray scoffed as he looked around.

“Natsu staying out of trouble? Right.” He glanced over at Juvia and his features softened at the worried look on her face, no matter how hard she tried to mask it. “Hey, he’s gonna be fine. It was just a shot to the arm. It didn’t look too bad from what I saw.”

“Right,” she said with a single nod, and he could tell she relaxed a little. “But he’ll be following us. He’s not going to stop fighting until the mission’s over.”

“He’s already right outside the building, waiting for us to go in further before he follows,” Gray muttered. He would normally turn and yell at Natsu for not staying behind, but it would be futile and only succeed in causing a scene and giving away their position to any potential threat.

As they advanced further within the shoddy structure as quietly as they could, Gray saw Juvia looking around their surroundings, a furrow to her brow.

“This place looks like it’s about to collapse any moment.”

“Wouldn’t be surprised if it did. The wind isn’t being too kind to it right now, either, so we need to get the letters and get the hell out of here,” Gray said. Juvia nodded, tightening her grip on her gun.

A shot rang out, a bullet burying itself in a nearby wooden pillar near the duo. Without hesitation, Juvia turned to the direction from which it came and fired a few rounds. Gray caught sight of movement through a collapsing archway that had been held up by said pillar. They truly did mean to tear this building apart as a way to get away.

The structures around them began to fall, and Gray made a beeline for the archway.

“Gray, what are you doing?!” Natsu shouted, making himself known.

“They’re right through there! If we don’t go in now, we’ll lose ‘em!”

“Gray, no!”

But the calls of his comrades went ignored as he reached the crumbling archway. As it fell, he only had one chance of sliding through on the ground at the risk of being crushed, but made it to the other side just in the nick of time. He heard Juvia call out for him again as he pulled himself off the ground, but continued onward in pursuit of the assailant that likely holds the letters containing information on the whereabouts of the agency’s target, Zash Caine.

Gray chased the man through the building, shooting when he thought he could incapacitate the man, but never quite hitting his target, much to his own frustration. Eventually, the man ran out of the building, and Gray followed. Finally, he got a clear shot and took the man down. He searched the man’s pockets and finally found a small stack of opened envelopes. Triumph coursed through his veins alongside the adrenaline, but he made the grave mistake of letting his guard down, which made him an easy target for another man to take a shot at him.

And his mark was not missed.

With a loud cry, Gray fell to the ground, hands clutching at his side where the bullet passed through him. His heartbeat pounded in his ears, and he only just registered the anguished scream of his name. Another shot rang through the air, and Gray braced himself for impact, but it never came. He wondered if it was Natsu or Juvia taking out the man who shot him.

“Gray! Gray!” The voice sounded so distant - so quiet. How far away were they? Who was calling for him?

Blue entered his vision, and despite how it was blurring, his mind filled in the spots and he saw Juvia, tears falling from her eyes and mouth moving as she supposedly called out for him.

Juvia.

She was so beautiful. So kind and loving and smart and so damn amazing at her job, and -

He loved her.

But he couldn’t tell her. He couldn’t breathe. He could hardly see.

He was losing her, and was helpless to do anything about it.

~~~~~~

“The look on your face tells me you remember something.” Gray blinked, dry eyes burning. He didn’t know what to say, so Natsu continued. “It’s a damn good think Juvia called medical evac when she did after I got shot. Had it been called when we saw you get hit… well, you would be long gone.”

“So, for three days, Juvia and I have been here, waiting for you to wake up. Erza was in for a while, but had to get back. I’ll have to contact her soon.” At his boss’s name being spoken, Gray flinched.

“Erza -”

“Oh, she’s pissed. You’re suspended indefinitely.” Gray sighed. Figured, he thought. Natsu shook his head. “What you did was perhaps the worst thing you could have done. Reinforcements were coming, Gray.”

“There may not have been time. I did what I had to do. It’s our job. Those letters contained critical information about where to find -”

“And what if they had killed you and you stayed dead? Or they captured you? Then we’d have been down an agent and the letters! We fucking watched you die, man! We were right there!”

Gray clenched his jaw. He registered the look on Juvia’s face as she watched him fall, broken and in disbelief, as though she were begging with her eyes for it to be a dream; a horrid nightmare that she would wake from in any second.

“We got the letters, and that’s all that matters.” Natsu slammed his fist against the arm of the chair.

“But dammit, Gray, at what cost?!”

Just then, the door to his room opened, and in stepped Juvia. Her hair was pulled into a high ponytail, and she looked even more worn out than Natsu. Still, she looked so beautiful and Gray found it hard to breathe once more. She was there.

“Juvia ate a yogurt. Is that good enou -” The blunette looked up and met Gray’s eyes. Her own widened, and quickly shimmered with tears.

Next thing Gray knew, he was being wrapped tightly in her arms, and he felt tears fall to his bare shoulder. He was quick to wrap his arms around her in return, but shortly after, Juvia pulled back, and swiftly slapped him across the cheek. Gray began to shout, but realized soon enough that he most certainly deserved the hit. Her brows, drawn in anger, softened as the tears came again and she grabbed him in yet another hug.

“Don’t you ever do something so horribly stupid like that again,” she muttered into his neck. “Juvia will kill you.”

Gray wanted to remark with something snarky in an attempt to lighten the mood, but he couldn’t find it in him to do so. He couldn’t even bring himself to speak. Instead, he held her close, as though she’d disappear if he let go.

~~~~~

What was it like to die?

It was awful.

The looks on their faces were so terrifyingly haunting, and it was finally hitting him that he’d have never gotten the chance to hold Juvia again. He’d never tell her how he felt, and there would be no future for them.

He didn’t want to die - he wanted to continue living - for everyone. And he’d make sure he wouldn’t fuck up this second chance.

[hoyoungy]

On-Air | Vernon/Hansol (III)

genre: fluff, comedy, slight angst, college au | vernon x radio personality!reader summary: under the pseudonym Honey, you are the host of the most popular radio show in the city called Honey Time Radio where you give advice about relationships, school, and life in general. when it comes to your own love-life, however, you don’t have the best luck, and you don’t even follow your own advice! so what happens when you get a call from a listener who’s asking you advice on how to get to your heart? word count: 2702 a/n: i get so carried away with the dialogue LOL. hope you all are enjoying it so far! warnings include swearing & that it’s a dialogue-heavy fic. as seen on my ao3

part ii, iv

“SOOO ~” Wonwoo sang loudly as he plopped down next to you in the lecture hall. “How was your study date yesterday ~?”

You were slumped in your seat at your 10:00 AM, hoodie covering your entire face as you tried to nap for five minutes in between lectures. But no, of course Wonwoo had to ruin your peace and quiet.

“It wasn’t a date,” you groaned. “And oh, my God, you were right, he’s fucking hopeless.”

“Jeez, how long did you guys stay up?”

“You know that 24-hour cafe at the corner by the frozen yogurt place? We were there ’til like, 3:00 AM.”

“What, why!?”

“His second midterm is next week and he knows literally nothing from this unit, so we had to start from the beginning. But he’s really bad at staying focused, so we only covered one chapter!” You threw your head back and pulled on your hoodie strings to hide your face. “I’m so tired.”

“You never stay up that late with me to study,” Wonwoo pouted.

“Shut up, your GPA is a 3.89…”

“It’s not a 4.0, though,” he noted. “Did he ask you to study with him again tonight?”

“Not that I can remember. Last night was a blur and it’s still too early for me to think properly.”

“Did you guys kiss?”

“No!” you exclaimed, giving Wonwoo an incredulous look. “Jeez, isn’t it a bit early for him to be kissing me?”

“Hansol’s a wildcard, so I have no idea what he could be up to.”

“You and me both,” you groaned.

The lecture went on as usual, with you trying to follow the powerpoint slides on one half of your laptop screen while at the same time writing your script for tonights show on the other half. After seeing how stressed Hansol was about his exam last night, tonight you wanted to highlight how to tackle self-care during midterms week. Wonwoo spent his time scrolling through his phone. You hated that he didn’t need to put in much effort to get such good grades.

A message popped up on your screen and the ringtone echoed throughout the room. The professor stopped momentarily and looked in your direction, with the rest of your classmates following suit.

“Please silence your devices.”

“Sorry…” you said. Wonwoo leaned over and peaked at your laptop screen.

’Good morning!’ Hansol messaged you. ’Did you sleep well?’

“Tch,” Wonwoo scoffed next to you. “Are you going to tell him you regret staying up with him so late?”

“No. At least not like that, that’s a bit harsh, isn’t it?”

“I mean, it’s the truth.”

“… Why do girls like you?”

“C’mon, _____,” he rolled his eyes. “Look at me.”

“Ugh.”

’Good morning,’ you typed back. ’I did, surprisingly.’

’What are you up to right now?’

’In my second lecture today. How about you?’

’So you had a 9AM!? Why didn’t you tell me? I wouldn’t have asked you to stay out with me so late,’ he said, sending several sad emojis.

’Don’t worry about it! I’d much rather stay up with you and help you study than sleep.’ You rubbed the bridge of your nose as you reread your message. You sounded like such a dork.

’Wow, what an honor ~’ he teased. ’That’s sweet of you. But really, thanks so much again. I feel terrible, you must be exhausted. Can I buy you lunch today?’

“Say yes!” Wonwoo whispered. “Say yes, say yes!”

“No way, I-I can’t do it.”

“What, why!?”

“He’s moving way too fast and getting too comfortable too quicky. I’m gonna fuck it up soon, I can feel it.”

“You can’t always assume that, that’s what makes you so bad at relationships!”

“I know, but I just… I just need more time. I need to move at a slower pace so I can think things through.”

Wonwoo sighed, throwing his hands up in defeat. “Whatever you say. What are you gonna tell him?”

’That’s nice of you, but I can’t today. Wonwoo and I have to plan for tonight’s show.’ At least you weren’t completely lying - you would always spend your lunch time with Wonwoo planning out the show.

’Oh, with Honey?’

You raised a brow at his message. Why would he ask about Honey? ’No, she usually doesn’t come to our meetings. It’s just us two.’

’Oh,’ was all he sent in on message bubble.

“What are you doing!?” Wonwoo hissed. “Are you trying to make him jealous!?”

“What? No, why?”

“Well, it kinda looks like you are, and I think it worked.”

“Does it really!? Shit…”

’Maybe next time, then. Have fun,’ he sent you.

“Shit!”

“You weren’t kidding when you said you were going to fuck it up soon, huh?”

“Well, yeah, do you even know me!?” you sighed. “What do I do!?”

“Ask to reschedule. But you have to be the one to set the date. Say you want to eat lunch tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow!? That’s still pretty soon -”

“For fuck’s sake, _____, just do it.”

“Ok ok, jeez,” you muttered. “You should be Honey for one day.”

“Fuck no, I’ll only be Honey for you,” he winked.

’Would you like to get lunch tomorrow instead?’ you asked.

And almost immediately, he replied, ’I’d love to.’

“Happy now?”

“I think you just made his day,” Wonwoo teased.

“And we’re back!” you said into your mic. “You’re here listening to Honey Time Radio. As always, thanks Dj Wonwoo for, uh, you know, mixing them beats.”

“Please never say that again,” he dead panned.

“You told me to say that!” you scolded. “Anyways, on the line right now is a caller named Seungcheol who has fulfilled his major requirements the past three years and now is stuck between completing his major and being miserable or starting all over and being happy. Caller number seven, what do you think?”

“I think he should just graduate with the same major,” they said. “He’s spent so much time and not to mention money here, why would he want that to go to waste!?”

“That’s very true, tuition ain’t cheap here,” you sighed, flashes of your student loans appearing in your mind. “Caller number fourteen, how about you?”

“No way, he shouldn’t spend the rest of his life doing what he hates! I think he should start over, no matter how much time or money it takes. A few more years in college will be worth being happy for the rest of his life.”

“Quite optimistic of you! Caller number twenty?”

“Don’t do it, bro, you’ll spend the rest of your life in debt! Trust me…”

“Ah, the hard truth. At least someone said it. Thanks for your input, everyone. Seungcheol, I think you should do what you really want to do if you think you can handle the backlash from it,” you said. “For example, make sure your parents know, or plan out how you’re going to pay for the extra years, you know, all that loan shit.”

“Telling my parents is the scariest part,” he told you. “Any tips on that?”

“Prepare for the worst is all I can tell you. Prepare to get yelled at and for them to not understand. Also choose your words wisely, ‘cuz you know how parents can be when you try to explain something for the tenth time, and they’re like, ’don’t give me that attitude, young man!!!!’”

“I definitely will. Thank you, Honey, you really know how to ease the mind.”

“Aw, I try,” you said, smiling smugly. “Thanks for calling, Seungcheol. I know something like this can be really stressful during midterms week, which leads us to our next topic. Honey Time Radio would like to wish everyone a healthy week of studying, since midterms are next week. Study with a couple friends if you can, because studying alone can be demotivating and lonely. Use apps that block all of your social media for a couple of hours as you study. And rremind yourself that it’s ok to take as many breaks as you need. But most importantly, remember that no amount of studying could make up for skipping meals and skipping sleep. I’m totally guilty of breaking that rule every semester, but I’ve gotten better! Your guys’ health is more important than one midterm grade, so please, everyone take care of yourselves.

“We’ll be taking our last call for this evening. Hello, caller number twenty-two, what can I do for you ~?” you sang.

“Hey, Honey. It’s, uh, me again. Vernon.”

You nearly choke on your water as you hear Hansol’s voice. You gave Wonwoo a brief glance of panic and he just shrugged. What could he possibly be calling back about!?

“Oh! H-Hey, Vernon!” you said shakily. “Nice to hear from you again! What’s up…?”

“I called again because I need someone to tell me that I’m overthinking things.”

“What are you overthinking?”

“So I did what you said yesterday and asked her to study and hangout and she said yes.”

“Hey ~ congrats!” you commented awkwardly. “How did it go?”

“I think it went amazing! I’ve never had so much fun studying before,” he chuckled. You couldn’t hold back your growing smile - Hansol seemed so sweet. “We stayed up until 3:00 AM and just talked during our study breaks. I feel so… myself around her.”

“What’s the problem then?”

“I asked to grab lunch today because I felt bad she had to stay up so late and wake up for an early lecture. But then she said no, because…” he paused.

Your eyes shifted over to Wonwoo, who was innocently listening to Hansol rant. He shot you a guilty smile knowing that the reason Hansol was calling you was because of your friendship with him.

“She said no because she already had plans with this other guy.”

You tried your best to hold back a loud groan as Wonwoo snorted. You couldn’t believe that Hansol was jealous because of Wonwoo.

“What’s her relationship with this guy?”

“I don’t know! She said they were just, um, working on a project together, but they’re literally together all the time.”

“What!?” you screeched accidentally. That was such a lie, you weren’t always with Wonwoo! Just… very frequently… “I-I mean, I can kind of see why you’re upset…”

“So am I just overthinking things or should I be more straightforward with her and beat the other guy to the punch?”

“No! Definitely don’t do that!”

“Really? Why not?”

“U-Uh, she might be overwhelmed with your bluntness or she’s not ready to jump into something so quickly. You guys have only hung out once.”

“So I’m just crazy, huh?” Hansol asked lightly.

“A little bit. Did she at least reschedule lunch?”

“Yeah, for tomorrow.”

“Oh, Vernon ~ you have nothing to worry about yet,” you reassured. “I promise you.”

“Really?”

“Really. Her rescheduling means that she didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to get lunch with you. She obviously enjoyed being with you last night,” you blushed. “However, if she keeps rescheduling, that’s when you should worry.”

“I was just starting to feel sane again until that last part.”

“Sorry, friend! Just making sure you’re prepared for the worst.”

“What about the other guy? Should I be worried about him?”

You see Wonwoo gag from the corner of your eye. “Maybe find out for yourself what their relationship is like first before you jump to any conclusions.”

“Jumping to conclusions is what I do best.”

“You and me both…” you muttered. “I wish you the best of luck, Vernon. Call back again if you need more help.”

“You’re the best, as usual.”

“Thanks, I know ~” you said, hanging up on Hansol. “And that about wraps up our show for tonight, everyone! Thanks again for listening and remember to stay safe out there. Honey Time Radio wishes you all a good night. This is Honey signing off.”

“’She obviously enjoyed being with you last night ~’” Wonwoo mocked, making kissing noises. “So gross.”

“Shut up, so what if I did?”

“What do you even think about him? Do you like him?”

“I think he’s very sweet,” you smiled. “And funny, and charming, and wow, he’s really cute…”

“Then what’s holding you back!? And don’t tell me any of that ’I’m gonna fuck it up’ nonsense or ’he’s only using me for Honey’ bullshit because there’s no way he is if he’s calling about you!”

“I mean, you heard him yesterday! He’s been around, you know? I don’t want to be another one of his collection of flings or part of his hook-up bingo.”

“He wears condoms! At least I hope, I mean, I’ve seen his room and the costco-sized box he keeps.” Your face twisted in disgust as you could imagine why he needed such a box of that, uh, magnitude. “You need to cut him some slack.”

“I’m damaged, ok,” you pouted.

“I know, and that’s why I’m trying to help you. I really don’t know how you’re going to deal with giving Hansol advice on how to win your heart. Isn’t that, like, conflict of interest, or something?”

“Oh, absolutely.”

“Well, good luck with that.”

“Thanks, I definitely need it.”

“Are you going home now?”

“Um,” you paused. You had something else in mind you wanted to do. “No. I think I’m going to ask Hansol what he’s up to.”

“Miss me already?” Hansol teased as you took a sit in front of him in the library.

“Of course. Not like I saw you yesterday, or anything.”

“How was the show? I was only able to listen to the first half,” he lied.

“It was good - someone from yesterday called back again today, which was weird.” You saw him shift uncomfrotably in his chair. “But his situation was really cute. I hope he calls back again.”

“O-Oh yeah, why’s that?”

“I don’t know, I really want to listen to how it turns out. I hope it works out for them in the end.”

“Yeah… Me too.” Hansol gave you a shy smile, one that was completely different than his usual smirk. You could feel the blush creeping up on your face. “Can I walk you home?”

“Y-Yeah,” you stuttered. “That’d be great.”

The first few minutes in your way home were spent in awkward silence. It seemed like he was hesitating to ask you something - probably involving Wonwoo. It was cute how jealous he was of him that you almost wanted tease him about it.

“So,” he started. “How was planning with Wonwoo?”

Bingo. “Good, although I did most of the planning, as usual. Wonwoo just kind of sat there and took care of all the music stuff.”

“Do you two hang out a lot?”

“Other than the weekends, I can’t remember a day where I haven’t seen him,” you said, smiling to yourself. Wonwoo was truly a great friend, and you’d have to thank him more for it.

“Oh,” Hansol said awkwardly.

“Yeah. He’s a great friend,” you emphasized.

“Have you guys ever tried dating before? You seem like a good match for each other…”

“Ugh, Wonwoo’s an insufferable, lazy slob. He’s like the annoying twin brother I’ve always wanted.”

“Really? That’s it?” he asked, eyes wide with hope.

“Are you jealous of him?” you teased, pulling on his hoodie strings again.

“Honestly? A little bit,” he said, looking down in embarrassment. “I was upset that you declined my offer for lunch today.”

“At least I rescheduled!”

“Yeah, so that made up for it.” Hansol wrapped his hand around the one that held onto his hoodie strings again, just like last night. But this time, you didn’t pull away. Slowly, he laced his fingers between yours and led you home, melting away any insecurities you had about him at that moment.

“You’re still paying though, right?” you asked.

“Of course.”

[peterjonesparker]

in which michelle hates shopping for dresses, but peter parker better damn well be sure that she’s gonna turn heads at prom.

one | two | three | four | five | six | seven (THIS ONE!) | eight | nine

most things in the jones family are community events. her little sister’s first day of kindergarten: the whole family piled into the car and took lots of pictures as little lola walked into the classroom, scowling as mj jumped up and down holding a small sign that said, “lola jones, you’re the best! lola jones, we’re so impressed!” (not her best work, but she was twelve.) there was the time when her brother made it to the regional spelling bee and got out in the fourth round. her mother even cheered when alexander misspelled “porpoise” and her dad had to nudge alice to let her know that alexander hadn’t spelled it correctly.

and now, michelle is dragging her feet through the mall as her family follows close behind, laughing and generally being too jovial. they’re even facetiming alexander in so he can be there too. lola is skipping through the mall, oohing and aahing at each dress store they pass. michelle wanted to go to old navy or the gap, but her father had insisted upon either nordstrom or macy’s.

“you can’t buy your prom dress at the gap, honey.” he had chuckled the night before when she had found out her mother had invited everyone to go shopping with them. “especially not if you’re going with peter.” he gave her a coy smile and then walked away, leaving her to gape and groan loudly before storming off to her room because there is no point in trying to stop her family.

her mother speeds up so she can walk next to michelle. michelle keeps her arms crossed over her chest and her eyes straight ahead. when it becomes clear her mother is not going to leave her alone, michelle sighs and quietly asks, “why did you have to invite them? why couldn’t this one thing just be small?”

her mother smiles warmly, wrapping her arms around mj’s shoulders. she squeezes her tightly, whispering, “because, honey, it isn’t small to you.”

and, well, maybe mj doesn’t want to admit that her mother might be right. because admitting that this whole prom thing is a lot more to her than just a school dance. that peter is a lot more to her than just a small crush. that what she had hoped would pass by in a few months has actually lasted the better part of two years. that it’s almost the end of her junior year and she’s still helplessly in love with this dork she met on the fourth day of freshman year.

and she really does not want to discuss this whole matter with her mother, or her father, or her family generally. well, maybe alexander. but only because he’s eight hundred miles away and she can always hang up on him if he starts to get too chummy about it.

so she sighs and nods, determined not to talk about this further for the foreseeable future.

and then they go through nearly every dress in bordstrom and macy’s and none are right. and maybe she’s being too particular, but she’s always felt slightly uncomfortable in very feminine dresses and she doesn’t want to be any more uncomfortable tonight than she already will be given that peter parker is her date.

and, look, going shopping and hating everything you try on is actually horrible and nothing is more draining. and she feels so defeated and upset because this shouldn’t be hard, but she wants to feel beautiful in her prom dress and that shouldn’t be too much to ask.

they’re all sitting on a bench in the middle of the mall, eating frozen yogurt from the place next to the tea shop. as michelle is about to take another bite of strawberry and reese’s peanut butter cups, her sister pulls on her arm. “mj, come look!” her smile is so elated, mj decides to entertain her. so she follows her to a boutique a few shops down, her sister jumping and tugging on her arm all the while. and then mj sees it. she sees it before her sister even points it out.

there’s a beautiful dress on a mannequin in the window. it’s a stunning red color and it isn’t too frilly or out there. she wouldn’t call it muted by any sense of the word, but it’s simple in its beauty. and her sister shoves her into the store and proudly asks the woman working the shop if they can try on the dress in the window, thank you.

when she emerges from the dressing room, her mother and father have joined lola as they sit on a bench right outside the stall. her mother gasps, hand going to cover her mouth. she stands and walks over to mj, smiling gently. “you look gorgeous, honey.” she touches her shoulders, smiling as she surveys her daughter’s dress. “you look beautiful.”

she looks over at her father, who appears to be tearing up. “oh my goodness, dad, stop it. we’re in public.”

“you know how I get emotional with these things!” he wipes his eyes, hugging lola close to his side. “I love you, baby girl. that’s a beautiful dress.”

so mj and her family leave the mall after four hours with a dress her sister saw in the window of a random boutique. and mj thinks about how life has a funny way of working itself out.

then it’s monday and she’s reading her dad’s poetry book at the lunch table when ned plops down in the seat across from her. she smiles, looks around, and sees that peter is nowhere to be found. she pouts a bit.

“he’s not here today.” ned manages in between bites of his yogurt. “he, uh, he isn’t feeling too well today. he’ll be back tomorrow.”

michelle eyes ned suspiciously. she’s pretty sure she read something about spiderman stopping a mugging on sunday. “what happened to the dork?”

“oh, just…” ned stuffs a large spoonful of yogurt into his mouth and makes vague gestures with his hands. “common cold and whatnot. he’ll be fine. he’s just a baby.”

mj laughs at that, deciding to leave ned alone and go back to the poems. but she feels ned staring at her, so she looks up and demands, “what? do I have something on my face?”

he’s smiling in an entirely too self-satisfied way for a monday. “heard you and peter are going to prom together.”

mj groans, covering her face with her book. “will you give it a rest? it’s not a big deal. i just…” she tries desperately to think of anything she can say to get ned off her back. “i felt badly because cindy seemed so excited for the whole team to be there and i wanted to be there for the team.”

“uh huh.” ned’s still got that smug smile planted on his face and mj wants to smack it off. “so that’s why you have to go with peter. for the team.”

she huffs, putting her book down and leaning across the table, eyebrows drawn as she stares intently at him. “so why are you planning on asking betty to prom then, ned?”

he sputters. “it’s not like that. i just…we’re just friends. how did you even know?” he crosses his arms, scowling when he realizes. “god damn peter, can’t keep his mouth shut.”

she scoffs, leaning back into her chair and picking up  her book again. “you’re telling me.”

and despite the fact that peter apparently tells everyone everything (okay so maybe not everything because he’s somehow managed to keep his identity as spiderman a secret from the entire school a secret. but the point remains), michelle texts him later that night.

michelle the destroyer: you weren’t at school today, loser

that nerd that keeps texting me: nice to see you too, michelle. i’m good, thank you. how are you?

michelle the destroyer: better now that i know you aren’t dead

shit. that wasn’t cool, calm, and collected.

that nerd that keeps texting me: yeah. someone has to take you to prom this friday

michelle the destroyer: yeah, i couldn’t be bothered trying to find someone else so it’s a good thing you’re alive

that nerd that keeps texting me: anyway, i’m okay. i’ll be at school tomorrow. won’t be sick on friday so you don’t have to worry about me sneezing all over you.

she admires his and ned’s dedication to their lie. even if it’s all a moot point where michelle is concerned.

michelle the destroyer: good segue, do you want to meet at my apartment or yours? and i’m assuming ned and betty will be going with us too.

that nerd that keeps texting me: oh shit, did he actually ask her?

michelle the destroyer: today during the last period.

that nerd that keeps texting me: sweet. so yeah, they’ll probably go with us too. want to meet at your apartment, then? it’s bigger than mine.

michelle the destroyer: yeah, sure. i’ll check with my parents. though be warned: they will take a thousand embarrassing prom pictures, prom pose and all.

that nerd that keeps texting me: haha, i’ll be prepared. i’ll wash my hair and everything

michelle the destroyer: you better look nice. i didn’t buy a dress this weekend for nothing.

that nerd that keeps texting me: wait, you bought a new dress?

michelle the destroyer: yeah. it’s prom, parker. i’m not going to go in jeans and a t shirt.

michelle the destroyer: cindy cares too much about this dance.

michelle the destroyer: but this means you have to look nice. i can’t walk into prom, destroying hearts, with a boy in a nerdy physics t shirt.

that nerd that keeps texting me: don’t worry. i’m the same size as my uncle ben now and he wore nice suits for work sometimes. i’ll do my best not to cramp your style.

michelle the destroyer: you better not, parker. see you at school tomorrow.

mj spends the rest of the night trying to keep a dopey smile from forcing its way onto her face. yet, at dinner, her parents still ask her if she got good news today. she simply continues to smile. maybe, in a way, she did.

[isotuan]

Nutrition (Yoongi x Reader Fluff/Crack)

Genre: Fluff/Crack

Word: 1,634

Summary: Are you a fruit? ‘Cause honeydew you know how fine you look right now?

Note: This is set in Stupid!universe where Y/N and Yoongi are best friends that annoy the fuck out of each other. It was mentioned in the fic how Yoongi had to drag her to the grocery store at some point, and I got INSPIRED. Also, I’m not that witty, these pick up lines and jokes are from the internet, with a bit of iteration to fit the story line. Other than that, I really like this one. Maybe it’s bc I’m equally of a lazyass as Y/N? The banter is really my style... SO GET READY FOR SOME HELLA CRINGE LMAO.

CHECK OUT STUPID (YOONGI X READER FLUFF) HERE

“Can I ride the cart at least?”

“Jesus fuck. For the third time, Y/N.—

—No.”

Y/N grumbled loudly, kicking at the tiny rocks under her her shoes. Yoongi pulled a large cart out of the store’s several rows, figuring that this grocery run would turn out to be quite a big one. 

After countless attempts of convincing Y/N that PostMates and UberEats of grease-drenched Chinese food were not exactly the healthiest option, he had finally dragged her to the local supermarket. That was, after telling her that they were going for frozen yogurt and had ‘accidentally’ made a wrong turn to the store, “so we might as well, right?”

“This is no fun,” Y/N bemoaned as they made their way through the second set of sliding doors.

“When was the last time you’ve step foot in a grocery store?” 

Y/N shrugged, “Last year maybe?”

“Jesus,” he huffed. “I should’ve guessed by that leftover salad rotting in your fridge.”

“It was a good salad, I was saving it for later.”

Yoongi tilted his head, “For six months?”

Y/N puffed out her cheeks and shifted from one foot to the other, avoiding the question. Yoongi knew that Y/N knew herself how bad her eating habit was. She was just too stubborn to admit it, Yoongi would know after all these years. And of course, he was very much expert now at dealing with her stubborn ass. He snorted, “Just stay by the cart, I’ll do the shopping.”

They made their way over to the produce section, but not after Y/N insisting that they should make a pit stop at the snack aisle first. To which Yoongi quickly denied and pulled her away with a tug of her wrist.

Yoongi began strolling around the section. The vibrant colors made each fruit look as if they were little gems and each vegetable look as delectable as ever, Yoongi grabbed a strip of plastic bags and began shopping.

“No, no, no. Not tomatoes!” Y/N ran up behind Yoongi as picked up the bright red fruit. “I hate tomatoes.”

“Well that’s too bad,” Yoongi placed it into a bag along with another. 

“Dickhead,” she hissed.

In defeat, Y/N groaned and dragged her feet off to somewhere else. Yoongi watched her and made sure he could still see her out of his peripheral vision before returning to picking out more fresh produce.  

She likes avocados, he thought to himself. But not too ripe. He took his time picking out the perfect avocado out of the large pile.  

She can’t have mushrooms. Once he ordered had ordered her a stuffed Portabello at dinner which resulted in a night beside the toilet bowl. So he passed them without hesitation.

He gathered stuff he knew well Y/N could eat and stuff he thought she’d be able to tolerate. The produce in the cart quickly piled up with much consideration for each item and researches of recipes Yoongi could (with his utmost culinary skills of boiling an egg) attempt in order to have Y/N at least try something new. He made himself two mental notes: one, when he makes these, have 911 on speed dial (just in case), and two, to search up how the fuck to pronounce “açaí?”

Yoongi was choosing a bunch of spinach with ease when suddenly something popped up in front of him. And just a couple of inches away from hIs nose was a—

A pineapple?

“Hey, baby. Are you a pineapple? ‘Cause you’re one fine-apple.”

“What the hell are you doing?”

Y/N stood next to Yoongi and, still, with a pineapple held to his face, she answered, “I’m picking you up, gorgeous.” 

Yoongi rolled his eyes and swatted the yellow fruit away, “Fuck off.”

“Come on,” Y/N followed Yoongi as he stuffed the bag with spinach and made way back to the cart. “They might be corny, but I think they’re a-maize-ing!”

“I said fuck off,” Yoongi spoke. He pushed the cart over to the dairy section, where he grabbed a carton of milk and scanned the variety of cheese for a possibly healthy option—

“Hey, I know I may be cheesy. But I know you’d want a pizza this,” she gestured to herself. “Or do you prefer the whole pie?”

“Oh, fuck you for that,” Yoongi’s face twisted with distaste before pushing the cart away fast, letting Y/N shuffling behind him to catch up.

“Hey, at least take me on a date first,” Y/N pointed at the shelve of raisins and— Dammit. “But don’t worry I’ll go out with a cute-cumber like you.”

“I hate you,” he grumbled a tried focusing on the recipe he had pulled up on his phone, even he wasn’t processing a single word in front of him. 

“Oh, donut be like that,” she nudged his side. “Anyone would be glazed to hear these.”

“Look, if you want to eat decent food for once,” He turned to face Y/N who trailed behind him. “I have to follow this recipe, so shut—”

“Oh, what’s on the menu, sweetheart?” Y/N tilted her head and pointed back and forth between her and Yoongi. “Is it me-n-u?”

“For fuck’s sake,” he groaned.  

“Because I’ll have whatever you’re having if it means getting those sweet buns of yours.”

Giving up entirely, Yoongi rushed out of the aisle with a hurry, plus, the old couple beside them weren’t giving the two the kindest of looks. He sped towards an open checkout and began loading the conveyor belt Even if he hadn’t gotten all of the things he intended to buy, this was good enough if it meant leaving this shitshow of a stand-up. 

“Can we go to McDonald's after this?” Y/N came up beside Yoongi.

“No—”

“Oh, nevermind. I forgot I already have a McGorgeous right here,” and she poked his side, making him bend the slightest bit. Fuck being ticklish.  

“Yah—”

From the other side of the register, the cashier chuckled and Yoongi snapped his head over to the young lady saying, “You guys are a really cute couple.”

Yoongi’s jaw dropped and he could feel the warmth creeping up at his cheeks, but before he could deny her—

Yoongi felt arms wrap around his torso while he stood frozen with kale in one hand and a bag of oranges in another. Y/N spoke as she hugged Yoongi with a wide grin, “Thank you, at least someone appreciates my jokes.”

She looked up at Yoongi with a snarl. 

Yoongi wondered if she saw his face turn a blush color in the split of a second he took to pry off her embrace with much embarrassment. He also wondered if she heard how fast his heart pounded when she had her face that close to her head. 

He hoped her stupid ass didn’t. 

God, he hoped.

“Why the hell did you do that?” 

“Do what?”

“Run off your smart ass mouth,” Yoongi continued his path towards his car still keeping the space between himself and—

“Oh, I know you were McLovin’ it.”

“Shut up, you fucker.”

After they loaded his trunk, the two got into the car without a second loss of Yoongi's continuous nagging of how publically humiliating the grocery trip that was. 

“I’m never taking you anywhere ever again, you know that right?”

“Yeah, whatever,” Y/N drummed her finger against the dashboard with a lack of interest in what Yoongi had to say. “It’s not like I go out much often anyway.”

It was silent for a while, Yoongi thought about what Y/N had just said and, hell, it was true. You could practically mistake her for a hermit crab. She wouldn’t get out of the house, that was if it wasn’t for Yoongi and school. And he would try his best to visit her often, being the wonderful best friend he was.

“You have to get out more,” Yoongi spoke. 

“I don't see why when I can just sit in the comfort of my bed and watch ‘How I Met Your Mother’ for the fourth time.”  

“That’s not even that great of a TV show.”

“You’re point?” 

“My point is...” Yoongi turned on to the main street. The car came to a stop at a red light, the engine hummed lowly and the radio tunes sounded gently in the background. The sun was about to set and he watched its final golden rays bounce off the hood of his car. The weather was cooling and he could feel the soft breeze entering the car with the windows rolled down. Yoongi glanced over at Y/N in the passenger seat with her legs tucked against her chest, how she always sat. She was busy giggling at whatever was on her phone screen that she hadn't noticed the way the corners of Yoongi lips curved up just the slightest bit. But, that was how it had always been. 

And Yoongi hoped it would stay that way. 

"My point is," Yoongi finally continued, eyes returning back to the road. "Instead of making shitty puns. Don't you want to, I don't know, explore the world or something?"

That same way.

“Do you want to see a picture of the world?”

“What—” Yoongi turned once more although what greeted him was not Y/N but Y/N's phone. The screen illuminated brightly, it was on selfie mode and it was a display of—

“Get it?—"

—’Cause you’re my world?”

That same old stupid, stupid way.

[justinjohn]

Today’s Flight

Photo introduction:

This is a selfie of me on the airplane in efforts to get a photo of the woman behind me who is TALKING SO LOUDLY I CANT EVEN HEAR MYSELF THINK. Of course her hair is the color of fall foliage in New Hampshire.

A few notes on this:

1. yes my under-eyes look like I colored them with black crayons. I was up at 5.

 2. I love that I got this photo of her doing side-eye to her friend next to her, like “what you just say?” 

3. Why do some people feel as though it is okay to speak at the same decibel in real life as it is to scream to someone on a cell phone whom you think can’t hear you? 

4.  Seeing the beginnings of my double chin, I’ll be sure to call a plastic surgeon upon landing. 

5. The food options on this flight are: Chex mix cereal or a ham-egg-and-cheese sandwich. You might as well be like “On the menu today, we have a choice between a ham, egg and cheese sandwich and this fistful of garbage I’m holding. Which would you like?”   Does anyone ever eat Chex mix cereal by choice? I thought Chex mix was an alternative to potato chips.. not a breakfast food.. something you see in a big bowl on the table at your aunt’s house at Christmas which is still sitting there untouched at the end of the evening.  Anyway, suffice it to say, the flight attendant is warming up 12 egg sandwiches. 

6. The man next to me has a British accent and just pulled out an enormous work computer and started working on a PowerPoint for the Uganda Conservation Foundation, and I want to chat him up, but that goes against everything I stand for in terms of airplane etiquette, so I’ll probably just continue to sit here staring at the back of the seat in front of me, surreptitiously glancing at his screen but pretending to look at my phone. 

7. I can still hear this woman’s voice clear over the roar of the plane engines at 35,000 feet. The person in front of me just turned around to look back like, “whose megaphone-ass voice is shouting down this airborne hallway from hell?”  It’s the woman with flames for hair, duh.

8. Update: The flight attendant is sweating trying to get these sandwiches out on time. That’s what happens when you offer a complicated-but-delicious heated option in combination with a bag of in-flight trash in a bowl.

9. Update: The British man next to me is literally holding his tray of food up in one hand while working on his PowerPoint with another. It’s been 5 minutes. That arm has to be getting tired. I offered him the side of my tray, but nope, prefers to be a waiter on one side and business man on the other. I have discovered he is giving a speech at Buckingham Palace in 24-hours and hasn’t prepared anything, and “whoever bought me a ticket for an 8-hour layover in New York is dead.” 

I told him to try his luck at the airport lounge because if I were at the counter and someone told me he/she was a conservationist I would just let them in regardless of airline status. Although that’s probably also why I don’t have a job.

10. My yogurt just exploded on me like a Fourth of July firework. It’s always rough when horrifyingly embarrassing things like that happen in public because you have to maintain an outward sense of ‘cool’ like, “oh boy, whoopsie daisy me” but inside you’re like “Holy fucking shit I just ejaculated yogurt all over myself and my chair in front of 75 onlookers- they should just eject me out of the plane right now, I’m an embarrassment to humanity.” 

11. We landed and I am immersed in excitement and yogurt, but, New York here I am, and now it’s time to frolic about and see what amusements befall me, which of course I will share.