#I’ll try to get some doodles in tomorrow

[a-flappy-bat]

( I’m not dead just busy…) Darling painting practice

[eggs-can-draw]

It

Is

DOOOOOOONE

I’m free from tech work for at least the next month I can’t remember when our next production is

[redstarwriting]

happy birthday

miles morales x reader

request?: yes

request: “I LOVEDDD THE HC’S OMG OMG WORK OF ART!!! i was wondering if you would write something expanding on getting miles’ doodles tatted as an adult!! i would love to read more abt it, it’s so cutee”

requested by: anon​

word count: 2.2k

genre: fluff

Warnings: language, tattoos, mentions of tattoos and needles, Miles is so sweet it's sick

A/N: GLADLY!! i've been itching to get a new tattoo since the minute i got my first like three years ago and writing this just made me want to get another one so bad LMAO. i hope you enjoy!

also in case you were wondering what hcs anon is talking about, it's my pda/general affection hcs i wrote for hobie and miles! you can check it out here if you haven't already and feel compelled to :)

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“Miles! Baby, can you give me a tattoo?” you ask, and he smiles. This has become a common practice in your relationship. From the time y’all were kids in love to now, you would always ask him for a tattoo. Of course, he didn’t actually give you tattoos, he just drew on your arm. He’s mentioned you, and even urged you, to get a tattoo every now and again. Especially when he offered to design them, but you always say his temporary ones are more special than any other tattoo you could get. He isn’t upset about it. He genuinely loves drawing on you. “Of course, babe. Come here,” he says, motioning you over to him as he grabs his markers he has specifically for your “tattoos.” You go over to him, sitting between his legs and extending your arm. “Can you draw it right next to the uh… elbow pit?” you say, and he laughs. “Elbow pit?”

“Yeah, like the inside of my arm and not on the bicep part or the elbow pit part, but the forearm part by the elbow pit,” you explain, pointing to the area you’re talking about. He chuckles. “Elbow pit.”

“Well, what else would it be called?” you ask, smiling, and he grins, starting to doodle on your arm. “I’ll text and ask my mom what the scientific name for it is after I’m done here,” he says, and you lean your head back against his shoulder. “Oh, god, please don’t tell her I called it an elbow pit.”

“Oh, I’m totally telling her you called it that,” he teases, placing a quick peck on your lips before returning his attention to your arm. He draws a spiderweb, of course, but in the shape of a heart. He adds his Miles touch to it by making it look like the web was spraypainted, and having it pop with black and red. You don’t even look at the tattoo as he draws it, you just stare at his face. You love watching him when he does his art. You assume it’s similar to the way his face looks when he’s swinging around the city as Spider-Man. He’s in his element, laser-focused and yet has an ease about him that mesmerizes you. “Take a picture, it’ll last longer,” he says, smirking and turning his attention to you. You feel your face heat up but roll your eyes. “Can’t, arm’s a bit preoccupied.”

“You can get creative; I have an idea. Maybe use the one I’m not drawing on?”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” you say, and he shakes his head. “What do you think, amor?” he asks, and you look. You smile. “I love it, Miles. Thank you,” you say, kissing him on the cheek. He grins, wrapping his arms around your waist as you admire his art. “What time is it?” you ask, and he glances at his phone. “11:15. Why?” 

“Ganke and I are gonna go get some lunch today.”

“Should I be worried?” Miles jokes. “No, dummy. We’re just talking about… something happening soon,” you say, and a sly smile spreads across Miles’ face. “How soon?”

“I’ve said too much,” you say, trying to get up. Unfortunately for you, your boyfriend is Spider-Man and can easily hold you in place. “Nuh uh, how soon is this something happening?” he looks at you with a shit-eating grin, and you roll your eyes. “Wouldn’t you like to know, spider boy?”

“I would. Is it, and this is just a wild guess… something happening tomorrow? A special something happening on a very special day?” he guesses, and you sigh. “Don’t tell Ganke you found out…”

“I knew it!”

“We’re supposed to be planning your birthday party, yes. For tomorrow. On your birthday. Are you happy you spoiled it for yourself now?” you feign annoyance, and he laughs. “I am, actually. Now I know to look good for you tomorrow.” You roll your eyes. “You always look nice, Miles.”

“Only for you,” he grins at you, turning your face to look at him. The two of you share a kiss before it’s interrupted by his police scanner going off. He frowns slightly. “It’s okay, Miles. I gotta go soon anyways,” you give him a quick peck for squeezing out of his arms. He sighs. “Fine, fine. Guess I’ll go save the city. Be the best thing that ever happened to New York and all that.”

“My hero,” you joke, and he grins. “You know it,” he says, slipping his mask on and sliding his everyday clothes off. “I’ll see you later, Miles. Stay safe. Love you.”

“You stay safe, too. Love you more.” He leaps out of the window, and you make sure he’s gone before you call Ganke. “Yo, what’s up?”

“You gotta plan Miles’ birthday party tomorrow.”

“Woah, what?” You sigh. “I already have the roof of our building booked out for it, I ordered the cake already and will pick it up tomorrow and have all the decorations. You just need to invite everyone, okay?”

“You mean I have to reach out to people in different dimensions, tell them to clear their schedules for tomorrow, and hope for the best?” Ganke asks, and you hum into the phone. “Yep! Thanks, Ganke! Also, if Miles asks, we went and got lunch, okay?”

“And where are you really going?”

“I’m getting a tattoo to surprise him for his birthday tomorrow,” you say, grabbing your keys and putting some money in your pocket. You put Ganke on speaker, sending a quick text to Hobie. “You need to stop using me as a cover-up, (Y/n).”

“Who else am I supposed to use? Gwen?” you say, and Ganke sighs. “I mean, yeah, you know she would be down to help you with something like this.”

“Ganke she is so bad at keeping secrets like that, and you know it,” you say, admiring the art on your arm again. “Then use Hobie.”

“Wait that’s actually a good idea,” you say, “Especially since he’s the one giving me the tattoo.”

“AND YOU STILL USED ME?!”

“I PANICKED! He was asking questions! Just, listen, invite as many people as you can think of, alright? Please, and thank you.”

“Fine. Go get inked or whatever they say,” Ganke says. The two of you give some quick goodbyes before hanging up. You receive a reply from Hobie, and a portal opens in Miles and your bedroom. You step through it and find yourself in Hobie’s flat. “Can I just say it’s about damn time you got one of ‘is works tattooed onto ya,” Hobie says, motioning to his couch. You sit and he gets his whole get-up ready, all the cleaning wipes and gloves and the tattoo gun all ready to go. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. I’m getting it now and that’s what matters,” you say, and he clicks his tongue. “I can guarantee ya this is just gonna be the beginning. Kinda becomes an addiction,” he says, sitting next to you, and fiddling with his gun. “Then I guess I’ll just need to have Miles draw on me even more.” He chuckles. “Lemme see it.”

You show him the drawing, and Hobie shakes his head. “Your man is corny,” he says, and you shrug. “I like it.”

“I know,” he dips his gun in ink, and looks at you, “Ya ready?” You nod, and he begins tattooing Miles’ art onto your skin. The two of you talk the whole time, really, and you let him know about the party tomorrow. He, of course, agrees to come, and can’t wait to see Miles’ reaction. It takes a few hours, but eventually he finishes up and it looks exactly like Miles just drew it on your skin. Hobie places fake skin over it and gives you the rundown of how to take care of it. He turns away from you to put something away, and you quickly slip $100 under a pillow on the couch. You know he won’t accept any money from you because he’s ‘not a capitalist pig,’ so you have to be sneaky with it. “Thank you so much, Hobie,” you say, and he winks at you. “Anythin’ for my mate’s better ‘alf.”

He opens the portal again, and you two say bye until tomorrow. You’re back home, literally, in no time, and you quickly throw one of the hoodies Miles left lying around on. This way he won’t see the tattoo, and you can play it off like you missed him. Especially since you did kind of miss him and it is sort of a staple in your relationship that you wear his clothes when you do. That’ll make him melt and he’ll forget all about the art on your arm. And you were absolutely right. 

It ended up being a late night for Spider-Man, and when he got home, he saw you curled up on the couch, sleeping with his hoodie on, and all he could think about was that you missed him. He carefully picked you up and carried you to your shared bed. You started to wake up as soon as he was getting in bed after taking a shower and cleaning up, and he began desperately trying to get you to go back to sleep. “What time is it?” you groggily ask. “It’s like 3am, (Y/n/n), I’m here now, we can go to sleep, okay?” he says, slipping into bed next to you and pulling you on top of his chest. “Happy birthday!” you sleepily say, burying your face into his chest. He smiles. “Thank you, amor. Let’s get back to sleep now, yeah?” You make a muffled mmhmm sound and are out like a light almost immediately. Miles smiles to himself, wondering how he got this lucky.

You can imagine his disappointment when he wakes up the next day and you’re not snug against his chest, but he feels better the minute he sees a little note on his chest that explains you’ll be home, you just had to go do something for him. He gets up and decided he can do his Spider-Man duties until you text him and let him know he needs to come home. It may be his birthday, but the city still needs it’s defender. So that’s exactly what he does. He cannot explain how grateful he is that none of the big bads were trying to start anything today, because if he didn’t get to see you and eat a slice of cake, he was going to scream. The day went slower than he wanted but also sped by when eventually he got a text from you saying to come home. He immediately obliges, swinging in through the window and putting on some of his nicest clothes. He walks out of your room and sees you chilling on the couch. “Miss me?” he asks, walking over and bending down to kiss your lips. You giggle. “Obviously. Hey, before we go up to the roof where there totally isn’t a party waiting for you, I wanna show you something, okay?”

“Okay,” he grins, and you grin back. “Cover your eyes.” He does as instructed, and hears you shift slightly. “Okay… open them.” He opens his eyes, and immediately sees his “tattoo” on your arm. Only it was covered in a clear wrap. And it’s real. His eyes get big, and he looks at your face. You give a small smile. “You always encouraged me to get a real tattoo, so… happy birthday.”

“Yo! It looks so good, hold up,” he gently grabs your arm and softly traces it through the saniderm. “When did you get this?”

“Yesterday.”

“You weren’t actually with Ganke, were you?”

“No, I was with Hobie,” you say, and he shakes his head. “I got a little liar on my hands, huh?”

“It wasn’t lying it was covering my ass because you ask too many damn questions,” you say, and he laughs. “I love it, (Y/n/n).” You smile and the two of you share a kiss. “We should probably get up there. Some people are waiting. Oh, and pretend like you haven’t seen it yet. Hobie wants to see your reaction.” Miles laughs. “Alright. Well, I hope he knows I’m not gonna stop drawing on you. And that he fully traced my art,” Miles says, and you shake your head. “I’m sure he knows, Miles. You really like it?”

“Like it? Baby, I told you I love it. I love you; I love this tattoo; I love that this is a birthday present from you… everything about this? I love it. I don’t even need to go up there to make the day better because all I need is you,” he says, and you smile. “Hobie was right. You’re so corny.”

“Nah, hold on, he said that? Forget everything I just said it’ll be a perfect day when I punch him.” You laugh as the two of you make your way up to the party. But the whole time, Miles keeps finding his eyes drifting to your tattoo. Something about having his art on you permanently makes his heart swell with pride and happiness. And he and Hobie were both right.

It’s not the only “tattoo” that will become real.

───────────────────────────────────

[lovebugism]

hi angel! I have a little fictober request … can I pls get holding hands for the first time from the prompt list with steve harrington and shy!reader? maybe they’re in a busy place and steve doesn’t want to lose r so he grabs her hand, not realising how ridiculously flustered she gets <3333

ty for requesting angel :D this can be read as a part two to this fic!

summary: steve takes you to a mall in the city in a desperate attempt to spend time with you, fending off freaks, douchebags, and your anxious tendencies alike (shy!reader, hurt/comfort, friends to lovers cw for mentions of anxiety, 3.5k)

fictober leftovers (㇏(•̀ᵥᵥ•́)ノ)

Steve idles between the X-rated horror and thriller sections for several long minutes until he works up the courage to talk to you. You’re a pretty little thing behind the counter, hand in your palm as you scribble into the journal Keith threatened to confiscate from you earlier that morning.

He’s never been this nervous to talk to you. Things are different now. Post-first date, and Steve’s still toeing that wretched line between friends and something more. The puppy love is so painfully mutual, but it’s equally hard to navigate. He can’t come on too strong — not with someone as soft as you — but he’s still got some King Steve left in him. He’s still learning how to be gentle.

With sweaty hands, he walks up to the counter and tries to be subtle about the whole thing. Stealthy, like a ninja. He leans on his folded-up arms and blurts before he means to, “So you’re, like, totally coming tomorrow, right?”

You lift your chin and blink at him with wide eyes. You hadn’t heard him come over, too busy doodling a bunch of nothingness in your notebook. Your stomach whirls at the sight of him. It takes you a moment too long to answer.

“Coming… where?”

“To the mall,” he reminds, then corrects himself with a shrug. “The one in the city— not the shithole we have here.”

“Oh. Uh, I don’t— I don’t know,” you stammer. Steve invited you earlier that week, and you promised to think about it. You did. And you want so desperately to go, but your brain’s too mean, and it just won’t let you.

The disappointment that flashes on his face is fleeting, but you don’t miss it. The hurt softens his features in an unbearable way. It makes your chest ache.

“C’mon,” Steve presses in a gentle lilt. He leans closer to you, eyes twinkling and lips curling. “It could be fun, you know? I mean, everyone’s gonna be there.”

He’s trying his best to persuade you. He has no idea that that’s exactly what’s keeping you from going. Crowds are always stress-inducing, even those of the familiar kind.

“Everyone as in…?”

“Robin, obviously. Dustin, too,” Steve answers, counting on his fingers as he goes. “Max is coming, but Lucas has a basketball thing, so he can’t. And the rest of the little shits are in California, so that’s definitely a plus.”

It’s a dumb joke, but it makes you laugh anyway — a quiet giggle of a thing that makes him grin.

“Uh… Eddie’s coming, too, I think— but don’t let that dissuade you, alright? I promise I’ll protect you from that freak. You don’t have to worry about him.”

You smile because you know he’s joking. You’ve met Eddie a couple times now. He’s always been really sweet to you. Him and Steve just have a strange complex that forces them to be assholes to each other.

“And also, I’m gonna be there. Obviously. So…” he trails off with a wavering smile. So if you don’t wanna come for them, maybe you can come for me, is what he’s really trying to tell you.

“I don’t know,” you repeat, quieter now as you shrink into yourself. You try and fail to meet Steve’s honeyed gaze. “I just feel like I’ll make everything all weird.”

His bushy brows pinch, almost in offense that you’d think you’re anything less than totally perfect. “Why would you think that?”

“‘Cause… I don’t know,” you murmur in a quiet sigh. You don’t want to lie to him, but telling the truth feels so much harder. “They don’t really know me, you know? And I feel like… like I’ll just ruin everything if I’m there…”

It takes Steve a couple of seconds to answer you. He doesn’t know how you could say something that — like you don’t light up every room you’re in. “Well, that’s… that’s just not true,” he argues with a shrug. “They like you. They love you, actually— they just wanna get to know you. And the only way they’re gonna get to know you is if you come hang out every once in a while.”

Your heart flutters. You want to believe him. It’s hard for you to comprehend that anyone could care so much about your presence, so you just nod and don’t say anything further. 

Steve is quick to comfort you, almost like he can read your mind. “But if you think it’s gonna be too much, you could always just stick with me. I’ll fend off the freaks for you, no problem.”

His cinnamon eyes glimmer with honey. He looks at you far too fondly to say no.

—————

There’s six of you crammed into Steve’s 733i. It’s already a tight fit, but it’s more suffocating when it’s full of a million different conversations. Almost all of them are pointed your way. Steve tries to bat everyone off of you, but it’s hard to yell at everyone and drive at the same time.

You’re being a pretty good sport about it despite how anxiously helpless you feel. 

You wring your clammy hands in your lap and try to regulate your bated breaths, nodding to whatever Max is telling you. It’s hard to hear her because Eddie’s talking to you, too. You’re too scared he’ll think you’re mean if you stop him.

You watch Robin reach for the radio, complaining about all the yelling as she turns up the volume. The cheesy pop song is all you can hear. The conversations around you become a monotone buzzing. You feel like you could just about explode.

“Jesus, you guys are acting like you’ve never seen another person before,” Steve shouts over it all, the only definite thing you can understand. “Let her breathe before she thinks we’re all a bunch of lunatics, alright?”

He’s met with a bunch of muffled complaints, but the noise quietens nonetheless.

Steve glances at you in the rearview, a quick check to make sure you’re still okay. You catch him doing it and try your best to give him a smile. It looks more like a wince.

“Well, it’s your fault for finally bringing someone cool around,” Max argues with all her practiced teenaged ambiguity. “I have to spend all day surrounded by freaks— at least now there’s someone halfway normal to talk to.”

“I’m normal!” Steve insists, face twisted in offense.

“You’re a jock.”

“Hey. C’mon, Red,” Eddie scolds, so obviously playful. “Let’s not go throwing the j-word around—”

The brunette boy huffs. “Thank you!”

“—Jock would imply that Steve’s still cool,” the wild-haired boy continues. “Which he isn’t.”

Poorly hidden laughter fills the small car. Steve nods and mutters beneath it all, “Yeah. Okay. Thanks for the clarification, Munson.”

He glances at you again and finds you cracking a halfway sincere smile. He shoots you a light-hearted glare. “Don’t laugh! You’re just encouraging him!”

“Sorry,” you apologize, hiding your giggle behind your fist. “’M sorry.”

Steve smiles at you, silently tells you he doesn’t really mean it. He’d let Musnon make fun of him all day if he thought it meant he’d get to hear you laugh like that again.

—————

You take your first good breath in an hour when you step out of the car. 

Steve shuts it off and gravitates towards you on instinct. His honey eyes are wide as they dart across your flustered features. You see his hands reach towards you, to grab your elbows maybe, but he decides against it.

“You okay?”

“Yeah,” you nod, quicker than you mean to. “I’m good.”

“Okay. I’m sorry. I really tried to—”

“I know,” you cut him off with a sweet, still quiet smile. “It’s still okay.”

He sighs heavy, like a deep breath of relief. “Okay. Good,” he hums, almost to himself, nodding with a pink grin you could stare at all day. He would’ve let you, but neither of you get the chance. 

Your friends start messing around, and the chaos melts into the buzzing crowd surrounding you, and you realize the two of you aren’t the only people on earth. Bummer.

You gather around the large map at the entrance of the bustling mall. “Where should we go first?” Dustin chirps from the front of the crowd. His eyes are as wide as his smile. “Game Player? Sam Goody? Oh, look— they have a RadioShack! I’ve been looking for a new supercomm. It’s on the other side of the  building, though, but we can just work our way around, I guess—”

“Jesus, Dusty-Bun,” Robin interjects with a gritty laugh. She stands on the outside of the group, arms crossed over her chest, effortlessly too cool for it all. “Take a breath, buddy.”

“Don’t call me that!” the boy gripes over his right shoulder.

Steve shrugs. “Go wherever you want to. I don’t care.”

Dustin looks to his left, shooting the older boy a glare. “Aren’t you supposed to be the babysitter?”

“You’re fourteen!”

“Well, what if I get kidnapped?”

“No one’s kidnapping you, alright? Trust me,” Steve jokes, only smiling when he sees you trying to hide yours. He puts his hands on his waist and cocks his hip to the side. “They’ll send you right back where you came from. You have nothing to worry about.”

Dustin squints. “Rude.”

“We’ll just meet back at the food court in, like, two hours. And if you don’t get yourself killed, you’ll be fine,” Steve reasons with a nonchalant shrug and a jutted-out lip.

“Oh. Wow. Thanks, Steve. What would I ever do without you?”

He rolls his cinnamon eyes at the boy’s monotone. “Alright, smartass.”

When the rest of the group dissipates, he leans over to nudge your shoulder. It knocks you from your stupor — so deep in your own head you were practically drowning. You blink at him with wide, glassy eyes. “Hm?”

“Do you wanna go anywhere?” he asks with a wavering smile. His laugh is equally forced. “You’re kinda staring a hole into the map there…”

“Oh. No. I was just…” you trail off with a shake of your head. You’re not entirely sure what to tell him, how to make him understand your easily overstimulated mind. “I was just distracted. Sorry.”

“It’s okay. No big deal.”

“Where did everyone else go?” you wonder with a furrow to your brow, noticing the lack of familiar chaos around you.

“Eddie and Dustin went to some movie store, and I think Robin and Max are on the hunt for cassettes.”

“Okay...” you nod with a tremble in your voice. 

You’re still not totally used to being alone with Steve. Your friends are usually good distractions. They fill your awkward silences with something funnier and talk loud when you get too quiet. When they’re not around it’s just… awkward silences and quiet air. 

You get too in your own head, so eager to impress the pretty boy beside you, that you end up putting your foot in your mouth.

Steve doesn’t seem nearly as apprehensive. Instead, he’s beaming at the fact that he’s finally got you alone. He doesn’t have to worry about quieting Dustin when he gets too loud or shoving Eddie away when he forgets what personal space is. It’s quieter with just the two of you — warmer, cozier, easier.

“Wanna go down to the food court?” he wonders, honey eyes sparkling when he looks your way. “I know you haven’t eaten anything yet, so…”

Your eyes narrow, accusing and playful. “How would you know that?”

“Uh, ‘cause I know you,” the boy scoffs like it’s obvious. “I basically have to force you to eat every morning.”

“That’s not true!”

“It so is!” Steve giggles and it’s heaven to your ears, the exact sound of honey. “That’s why I hate not opening with you. ‘Cause if I’m not around to force you to eat the other half of my Poptart, I’m just, like, worrying if you’re withering away or not.”

Your face burns hot. Your heart swells with a similar warmth that borders on painful. You didn’t think he cared so much about you — or that he ever thought about you outside of work or the occasional hangout.

“Fine,” you concede with your arms crossed over your chest, trying not to seem as flustered as you feel. “Let’s go to the food court.”

Steve grins. He follows you in stride when you start to head that way. “Cool. We can go get one of those disgustingly good burgers or something.”

“For breakfast?” you wonder with a light-hearted laugh.

“Yeah! Like, one of those crazy huge ones, you know? The patties are, like, the size of your fist— make a fist.”

You do. You ball your fingers and hold them up between you. Steve holds onto your wrist for further inspection, fingers long and warm and soft. You swallow.

“Bigger than your fist,” he corrects with a laugh. The sweet sound is drowned out by the swell of yelling teenagers. They talk so loudly and over one another that their conversations become a meaningless drones.

Two in particular shove at one another, laughing loud like it’s fun. One of them almost barrels into you — long blonde hair, tight shirt, tighter jeans, and cologne so potent it stings your nose. He just narrowly misses you, mostly because Steve’s there to yank you out of the way.

The boy’s gentle grip on you tightens. He pulls you close until you’re stumbling into his side. With a strong arm wrapped around you, he shouts at the roughhousing teens — “Watch where you’re going, assholes!”

The scrawny boys walk on ahead of you. They seem apologetic, halfway scared at first. When they realize Steve’s not rushing to beat their asses, they chuckle about the whole thing and keep punching each other.

You’re still frozen in shock — not so much of fear anymore, but of how tightly Steve’s holding onto you. It’s an embrace of the firmer kind, a touch so solid you feel immediately safer inside it. You don’t think you’ve ever been this close before. The teenage girl in your heart starts to spin.

“You okay?” Steve asks when the anger ebbs.

“Yeah,” you nod, swallowing tightly and forcing an awkward laugh. “You don’t have to keep asking me that, you know?”

He nods rapidly, then notices how close he’s holding you. Fearful that he’s made you uncomfortable, he uncurls his arm from around you and takes a small step back. “No, I know! I just wanna— I just wanna make sure, you know? ‘Cause I know you don’t like… all this.”

He waves his hands vaguely out beside him.

You’re immediately cold without him holding you. You wrap your arms around yourself to compensate for the lack of him. 

“Yeah, but… It’s not the rest of the world’s fault that I’m scared of everything,” you say with another forced laugh, shifting your weight on your feet. If you could melt into your oversized sweater, you would. “It’s mine. So I can deal with it. I have to deal with it.”

Steve nods, slower this time and with a silent sense of understanding. He steps closer to you and shrugs. “I think the least I can do is make it a little easier on you… And I feel like I’ve been doing the exact opposite of that all day.”

“That’s not true,” you argue with the shake of your head.

His chocolate eyes widen. You’re rarely so assertive. “No?”

“No,” you answer, softer this time as you grow sheepish all over again. Your unsure gaze darts from your dirty sneakers to his twinkling eyes until it makes you dizzy. “You’re actually making it more bearable for me, so…”

“Oh. Okay. Good,” he nods with a smile, breathless because his chest is swelling with pride. He knows the world can be a little much for someone as soft as you. It’s good to know that he’s the exception to all that. 

He gets lost in the way you look at him for a moment too long. He clears his throat and stammers, “Uh, do you still wanna go get food?” he asks, pointing off beside him. “We can find somewhere quiet to eat so we don’t have to deal with teenage douchebags the entire time.”

Your heart lurches into your throat. It’s practically your love language — spending time alone in a quiet space, with no overt need for conversation or people to fill the void. 

You nod, trying and failing to hide the beam on your face. “Yeah. That’d be nice.”

—————

The quiet place in question is a photo booth on the halfway vacant, furthest end of the mall. Closed curtains, small spaces, and entwined breaths. It smells like his deep cologne, your perfume, and a freshly cooked meal. It’s too easy to forget that there’s a whole world outside of here.

You sit twisted on the bench, facing Steve with your burger trays in front of you. You pluck salty fries from the plate with a trembling hand, distantly fearful that you’re not supposed to be eating here. You think being so close to Steve is worth the risk.

“Is this the day you were expecting to have?” Steve asks with a lopsided grin. He takes a big bite of his burger right after and gets mustard on the corner of his mouth.

“No,” you answer, giggling as he swipes the stain away with his tongue. “But not because it’s bad.”

“Hm?” he hums to egg you on. He’s got too much of a mouthful for anything else.

“Mm-mm,” you shake your head, equally nonverbal as you chew on a handful of fry crumbs. You swipe your palms together to dispel the grains of salt. “I’m having more fun than I thought I would, actually.”

Steve scoffs in disbelief. “Spending time with me? Alone in a photo booth? That’s a good time to you?”

His tone makes you self-conscious. You feel a little shameful, like a child, because you don’t need much to be entertained. You get all warm with embarrassment, too. Being alone with Steve has always felt like climbing mountains — something short of an adrenaline rush that makes you think you could conquer the world. Maybe you’re too small in comparison to do the same for him.

“Yeah,” you shrug in an inaudible murmur. “I don’t know— I just… I like spending time with you, you know? I don’t really care what we’re doing.”

Steve’s chest swells. From a girl who too often keeps to herself, inherently nervous and incessantly frightened of being a burden, it’s more of a proclamation of love than he ever thought he’d get from you.

“Well, I’m glad we’re on the same page,” he confesses with a crooked pink grin, internally praying his cheeks aren’t as red hot as they feel.

He holds his half-eaten burger out towards you. You knock yours with his, clinking them together like champagne glasses. He takes another too big bite. You go to do the same but get a whiff of the sleeve of your sweater before you can. 

“God, I smell like a teenage boy,” you groan, only half-playful. The nose-burning musk from the kid from before has seemingly stuck itself onto you. Like fruit and sage and wood and vanilla, every scent ever made combined.

“I wasn’t gonna say anything, but you definitely smell like bodyspray,” Steve affirms, scruffy cheeks jutted out from the burger in his mouth.

“I think I’ve been tainted,” you giggle, a quieter sound compared to his boyish laughter. “Thanks for saving me, by the way.”

You’re saying it to be nice, but you watch him get all shy about it when you take a bite of your sandwich. He shifts on the bench, like he suddenly can’t get comfortable. When he rubs his palms on his thighs, you can’t tell if it’s because of the salty fries or because they’re clammy.

“Yeah— I didn’t mean to— I didn’t mean to grab you like that,” he stammers with an apologetic twinkle in his eye and a gaze that can’t quite meet yours. “Just so you know. I was just trying to—”

“Save me?” you interject.

Steve smiles when he sees how softly you’re looking at him. He shrugs. “Well, I was gonna say ‘pull you from the line of fire,’ but sure.”

“It’s okay,” you repeat for perhaps the thousandth time that day. “I didn’t mind. It felt nice, actually— you have really warm hands.”

“That’s ‘cause yours are always ice cold.”

“Well, maybe that’s because you’re not holding them,” you blurt before you mean to. 

You freeze mid-bite, eyes wide in distant horror as your blood runs cold. In a desperate attempt to break away from the awkwardness you caused, you muster a trembling smile. “I’m kidding,” you murmur, halfway hidden behind your burger.

You weren’t.

Steve knows this, too, so he smiles. 

He’d been thinking about it all day, in truth — how he was gonna get to hold your hand without having to stick his foot in his mouth to ask you. Turns out, a series of unfortunate events and an impromptu date in a photo booth was all it took. And he’s grateful. For all of it.

“No, you weren’t,” he teases, fingers as warm as his smile when he wraps them around yours. He holds gently onto your hand — even though it makes eating a little harder, even though your fingers are cold, even though you tremble.

[sugaryplum]

the tale of sugar cookies

pairing: theodore nott x hufflepuff!reader summary: about how your procrastination got you a first date and a night spent in hogwarts’ kitchen. warnings: language mistakes, lots of cuteness, i made some hogwarts–related stuff up AND I’M SO SORRY TO ALL THE BRITISH PEOPLE. the name “cookies” just fits better. notes: first piece of the autumn(ish) collection, prompt here being baking together. i’m happy with the premise of this fic, i think it’s super cute. i’m a major procrastinator, currently supposed to be studying for the exam i have in a few days so i very much resonate. and i could really eat a sugar cookie right now yum yum

your knee is bouncing. it’s stupid, really. consequences of some of your dumb choices catching up with you. you’re desperately in need of help, but now you try to focus on theo, who’s heading towards your library table.

he says “hi, y/n.” as he sits down next to you and you chuckle faintly. “i get a whole hi? you sound particularly excited to see me.” he rolls his eyes and smiles ever–so–slightly. “don’t acknowledge it or i’ll go back to just nodding.”

you two are in something. you don’t exactly know what it is and can’t pinpoint when it started, but it’s definitely something more than just study buddies, acquaintances or even friends. you’re a people person by nature, you’ve had so many friends over the years, but this, this is different. this is butterflies and hearts all around. this is overhearing his roommates talk about you, calling you “nott’s girl”. you can’t help but blush at even the thought of it.

today however, neither the boy sitting next to you, nor the essay you’re supposed to be finishing with him are the things on your mind.

“alright, you have to stop this.” after fifteen minutes of your mindless writing, theodore’s hand lands on your knee gently. the touch makes your heart go a bit faster. “you will bounce your knee into oblivion.”

“i’m not sure if oblivion takes in bouncing knees.”

he doesn’t acknowledge your poor attempt at a joke and just looks at you. it's the kind of expression that makes you want to tell him everything immediately. so you do.

“you’re gonna think it’s ridiculous.”

“most things you say are a bit ridiculous, didn’t stop you before.”

your problem is fairly simple. you’re supposed to have one hundred sugar cookies in your dorm by halloween. that’s in two days. so far, there are no sugar cookies in your dorm and you want to drown in your sea of procrastination.

theo’s brows furrow. “one hundred?”

“it’s a hufflepuff thing. i’m sure you’ve heard of it.” you sigh, when he looks clueless. “every halloween we give first–years the opportunity to go trick or treating around all the dorms of older students. so the older students such as myself need to have treats prepared for each kid. most of the people just buy some sweets from hogsmeade but i thought it would make an excellent idea to make them myself. i got all the ingredients and stuff but never got around to do it, because the amount is overwhelming. and now halloween is so soon and i have nothing.” you’re almost breathless when you finish your rant, ready to take his scolding. what came upon you when you decided to do this? you had a whole month to go to honeydukes and buy some candies instead.

he’s quiet for a couple of seconds, looking at you the way he always does. a hint of excitement appears in his eyes, as if he got an idea. “i could help you.”

“what?”

“you heard me. tonight you need to finish this essay.” he looks down at your parchment with only the first few sentences and random doodles all around them. “but tomorrow we can do this. bring the ingredients and we’ll meet up in the kitchen. i end practice six thirty, we could start at seven.”

“you think we can make one hundred in one go?”

“nothing i can’t do.”

“that’s not true. but i’ll go with it this time.” you smile. it means a lot to you. not even the act itself, but the fact that he, of all people offered to help you. theo isn’t exactly a person who expresses his feelings easily, he’s not like you. and he definitely is not a person you could imagine in the kitchen, baking cookies for first–years. you thank him and hope he doesn’t notice the red on your cheeks. as expected, he doesn’t answer with anything but his eyes. you go back to the homework, calmer and happier.

time passes and you start feeling sleepy. you tell theo you’re going and you pack up your bag. when you stand up to leave, you hear his voice again.

“so tomorrow? kitchen? seven?”

you smile.

“it’s a date.”

you’re meant to turn around, but once you realize what you said, you freeze and your expression changes. your eyes stare at him for an excruciatingly long second, petrified. but all he does is shrug his shoulders slightly.

“yeah.” not even looking at you. he reacts as if you sky is blue. you can’t help a smile forming on your lips that only turns more beaming when you turn around and he can’t see your face. it’s a date. damn.

being a hufflepuff has it’s perks. one of them is constant access to the kitchen, accessible through the back of the common room. there were so many times throughout the years when you skipped the normal hogwarts’ dinner to cook something homely. or countless moments stumbling there in the middle of the night to make hot chocolate. you thanked helga everytime when you, or your friends got to taste the goodness you prepared.

today you’re also thankful. it’s almost seven in the evening and you’re giggling, seeing as theo is struggling to put on an apron.

“here, i’ll help you.” you tie it and step back, looking proud of your work. “you look like a professional.”

“i am a professional.”

“have you ever actually baked anything?”

“...no. but isn’t it just a couple of–” he moves his wind a few times to demonstrate what he means and you chuckle. he has no idea what he signed up for. “this will be fun.”

you put your arms on the table. “we’re doing this without magic. it’s better like that. tastier.”

he’s not talking for a couple of seconds, opening his mouth as if he’s about to say something. “you’re joking. it’s one hundred cookies. how is a normal, sane person supposed to bake it all in one night, muggle style?”

“that’s exactly what i need your help for.”

“this is a trick, you’re tricking me.”

“not a trick, just my undying charm that caused you to worry about me so much, that you offered me help and now we’re gonna spend the evening baking cookies. you might actually learn something from it, it’ll be good for you.”

“cruel woman.” he shakes his head, but comes up to you anyway, getting a pinch of sugar into his mouth. you give him a scolding look and take away the sugar bowl.

“i’m gonna show you how to make the dough. it’s simple and we need a lot of it, for six whole batches.” his eyes follow you around the kitchen, when you take out ingredients from the shelves. “we need to mix everything together. first, butter and sugar. then flour.” you start mixing things in a big bowl with a spatula, stealing a few glances at the boy in front of you. he’s smiling.

four batches of cookies later, fifth one in the oven, theo really gets into it. at first he seemed skeptical, but now you can see the care in his eyes, when he adds the flour to the bowl, making sure he doesn’t spill anything.

“look at you! doing so well, you might end up as a cookie maker after a–” before you get to finish the sentence, he gets some flour in his hand and throws it all on your face.” when you open your eyes, you see a small grin on his face. “you look like a ghost.”

you talke a big breath and exhale slowly. then you steal the flour from behind his body, ready to fight back. “you are not getting away with this!”

a sweet war starts between you two. each of you fire your shots. all you can do is laugh, there’s powdered sugar on your nose, cheeks and lips. you feel like a small child, so carefree and innocent.

laughter distracts you from the situation you’re in. theo is holding you by the wrists, preventing your hands, armed with a spatula of dough, from rubbing the mass into his face. your eyes open to meet his and in one moment you both turn quiet. you might be delusional, but this seems like perfect time for a kiss.

his lips crash into yours so suddenly, that you barely get the chance to register that it’s actually happening. when he backs away after a second, you pull him in once again, this time him much more confidently.

„you taste like sugar.” you whisper against his lips.

„i wonder why.” he whispers back and kisses you again, and again.

you like the softness on his cheeks when you touch them, and way his hands wrap around your waist. you stay like this for a moment, closer than ever before, until you’re brought back to reality by the oven alarm. sugar cookies. you pat his shoulder and run to get the baking tray.

when you turn back to him, he’s still leaning his lower back on the table, looking at you, smirking. you pretend like you’re not extremely flustered and point to the bowl he never finished mixing. „work, theo! this dough won’t mix itself!”

he quickly grabs the spatula again, saluting to her with it. „yes, chef!”

you giggle. „i don’t think it works like that in cookie shops.”

„yes, chef.” he murmurs quietly, glancing again, as if to see how you react.

you roll your eyes, smile and look away, feeling your cheeks getting hot. your face hurts from all the smiling, but with the smell of sugar cookies and theodore’s eyes on your back, it doesn’t seem like you’re going to stop any time soon.

[lunaroserites]

Art and Ice - New Perceptions

Pairing: Eventual Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader

Characters: Natasha, Wanda, Pietro, Loki, Bucky, Sam Wilson, Clint Barton, a lot of the avengers cast is mentioned.

Summery: This kinda a filler chapter, some cute fluffy moments between Bucky and Doodle happen.

This might a 2 or 3 parter (it's gonna be more because cannot help myself). College AU, our boy Bucky is on the hockey team, and reader is an art major (because I love that trope and couldn't help myself)

Warnings: Not beta'd! All mistakes are my own. Friends fluff, swearing, mentions of college students being college students. Bit of friendly harmless flirting between friends. Bucky is a playboy. Flirting. Mentions of not eating or drinking for a hours (ADHD Brain)

Word Court: 3539

Likes, reblogs, and comments are appreciated! ❤️

Please do not repost, translate or otherwise copy my work elsewhere, without my express permission, thank you! Lunaroserites on tumblr and ao3

Catch up here: Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5

It wasn’t a surprise that your college finished out the regular season on top. Your college was known across the country for its sports programs. 

It didn’t surprise you when Bucky showed up with a bright cocky smile the day after the last away game. “Ooooh Doodle!” He said in a sing-song voice. 

You looked over your shoulder setting the paint brush down, raising an eyebrow at him, “yeeees Bucky?” You matched his tone perfectly. With all the away games you haven’t seen him since the weekend, you have made some decent progress on the painting of him. You were giddy to show him what you completed in his absence. 

“Guess who scored a date with Mandy, the head cheerleader?” He was beaming. Your heart sank momentarily, your facial expression dropping slightly before you composed yourself and gave him your best dazzling smile. 

“I’m not sure Buck, I’ve always been terrible at guessing games,” you murmured, trying to hide the discontent in your voice as you looked back at the canvas to compose yourself. He didn’t seem to pick up on your change in mood. 

“Ah come on Doodle, I’ll give you a hint. He’s charming, on the hockey team and incredibly sexy,” he sounded so cock sure. 

You turned to face him and tapped the end of the brush on your lip, feigning that you were deep in thought and then a bright smile split across your face. 

“Oh! I know who it is,” you said excitedly. “Sam!” You faked enthusiasm before turning back to the painting but not before catching his face drop for a moment. 

“Pfft, he’s about as charming as an out of tune piano,” Bucky deflected. “Come on Doodle, it’s easy.” 

“They’re easy huh?” You mused. “So must be you then,” you said flatly without missing a beat. He laughed awkwardly behind you. 

“Uh, yeah it’s me,” his cocksure attitude was gone and he sounded a little deflated. 

“That’s nice Buck, have fun,” you said quietly. 

“It’s not until tomorrow night,” he said, “I wanted to come hang out with you tonight,” your heart clenched and you bit your knuckle to stop the pang of hurt that threatened to crush you, you didn’t trust your voice at the moment so you just nodded. 

“How much of the painting have you done?” He asked quickly, changing the topic. You were grateful. “Last time I saw it you just had some base colours on.” 

You had the puck almost done, you were painting as if the puck was being shot at the person viewing it. Slightly different from your original idea, but you liked how it was turning out. Bucky was now standing next to you and you could smell the deep woody and amber tones of his cologne. He always smelled good, even after playing a game or practice. It was something you appreciated about him, Thor would smell like a locker room after practice. It was awful. 

You quickly focused back on the canvas and not how much you wanted to stick your nose into the crook of Bucky’s throat and inhale the heady scent he wore. This little crush was getting out of hand, you needed to squash it quickly. 

“That looks amazing, Doodle,” Bucky said in awe as he looked at the painting. “How do you make it seem so real?” 

“Practice, and a little luck,” you said with a shrug. Bucky moved out of the way when you picked the brush up and started to work on it again. “The inspiration was also a big help,” you looked over your shoulder at him and winked. He gave you a dazzling smile back. “What are you doing today?” He had pulled some books and notes out on the table and was staring down at them. 

“I’m studying for my astronomy final,” he said, his tongue caught between his teeth. His arm crossed over his chest and the other hand held his chin as he looked down at his notes. 

“Mind if I put some music on?” He hummed and you clicked the play button and let the music wash over you. You got to work, getting lost in the music and the brush strokes. 

The soft notes of Work Song by Hozier played soothingly over the speaker and you hummed softly along to the song and swayed gently back and forth. You jumped when you felt Bucky’s hand cup your shoulder and slide down your arm clasping your hand in his. 

“Can’t have a pretty thing like you dancing by herself,” he said softly. He pulled you to him and started to sway you two gently to the beat. Your heart was racing a million miles a minute, your cheeks were a bright shade of red as you hid your face against his firm chest. 

He moved you two effortlessly, he guided you in a small sway. He was smiling down at the top of your head as you leaned your cheek to his chest. His hand held the small of your back gently to him. 

You couldn’t believe this was happening, he was dancing with you randomly. It was completely out of the blue, but you couldn’t bring yourself to complain. He was firm and warm under your touch. He held like you were as fragile as blown glass, his touch feather light and respectful. You usually hated dancing but something about this moment felt right. 

As the song came to close and Bucky took a step back from you, you started to miss the contact as quickly as you lost it. He was smiling down at you and kissed you knuckles of the hand he had been holding at the time. “Thank you for the dance m’lady,” he tipped his chin and gave you a devilish smile. You couldn’t find words to express who you felt at the moment. 

“Thank you kind sir,” you stuttered back. He laughed his beautiful rich as chocolate laugh and made his way back to his studying and you went back to your painting feeling lighter than before. The pit in your stomach growing deeper, you could still feel his warm hand on your waist and the way he held you so carefully.

“Loki I don’t know what I’m going to do,” you whined as you draped over his lap dramatically. You had texted him “code red” before you left the art studio, Bucky had offered to drop you off at your apartment but you declined like you usually did. Code red meaning ‘I need you please come get me.’ Which he did without hesitation. 

“Darling you’re being a little dramatic,” he ran his fingers through your hair trying to sooth your nerves. 

“Loki, I’m not being dramatic. We had this whole conversation about just being friends and spending time together without him waiting to get me in bed,” you exclaimed. 

“Which he probably still does,” Loki added, you glared at him. 

“Not the point, how can that conversation mean anything if I can’t even hold myself to it,” you said in an exasperated tone. “Loki, he danced with me, out of the blue. Just took my hand and danced with me,” you peaked up at Loki who was running his long fingers through your hair, he had an unreadable expression. “Who does that nowadays, it’s something my grandpa would do with nana.” 

“Little brother,” Hela’s sing-song voice called as she poked her head into the room. “Oh hello sweetling! I didn’t know you were visiting,” she smiled at you. You had always liked Helena, she was always nice to you. She gave Loki and Thor shit when we were teens and they were acting like typical teenage boys, insensitive and immature. She looked you over, draped over Loki’s lap, your arm thrown over your eyes. You looked miserable, she entered the room further and sat down on the edge of Loki’s bed and gently touched your shoulder. 

“What’s the matter sweetling,” she asked soothingly. 

“Nothing Hela, stupid feelings and a crush a stupid boy,” you whined. She laughed at that. 

“Men tend to be like that, this is why I like women,” she chuckled. “Seriously sweetling, it can’t be that bad, who is it?” She asked softly. Her eyes drifted to Loki for a moment and he made a face. 

“Bucky Barnes,” you groaned. Hela’s eyes widened and she groaned. 

“You’re telling me you’re upset over that overgrown toddler on skates?” She asked with a raised eyebrow, you looked at her, god she was so pretty. You nodded and sighed heavily. 

“I know, I know. He’s just so.... Ugh.” Loki chuckled and Hela glared at him. She grabbed your hand and rubbed her thumb over your knuckles soothingly. 

“You know a couple years back he tried asking me out. I rejected him. He called me a stuck up bitch,” she said, you raised your arm off your eyes and looked at her. “He wouldn’t even let me tell him I had no interest in men, especially younger men.” You nodded and that was what Loki meant when he was rude to Hela. “He later saw me with Val on a date. He felt like an idiot and apologised for how he acted.” 

“He did?” Loki asked, he sounded surprised. Hela nodded. 

“He learned his lesson. Learned a few things too. From my understanding he’s not as pushy as he used to be,” Hela added. “Shame what happened with his girlfriend and her sudden departure to Alaska. He was apparently a lot different when she was here. She broke his heart. It doesn’t excuse his behaviour but it definitely gives perspective.” 

“You know Nat mentioned that he had a long term relationship that suddenly ended,” you said back, thinking back. 

“Val knew her better than I ever did, she apparently just packed up and left. No explanation, not warning. She was just gone. Barnes was devastated,” Hela said thoughtfully. 

“Huh, well that definitely adds perspective,” you agreed. 

“It doesn’t excuse his behaviour though,” Loki reiterated. You and Hela nodded in agreement. 

“What should I do?” You asked Loki after Hela left. He sighed and looked down at you, eyes swimming with uncertainty. 

“I’m not sure darling, if you told him what do you think would happen?” Loki asked softly. 

“He would probably pick up on trying to sleep with me again,” you groaned. 

You ended up spending the night at Loki’s house with him, falling asleep on his bed. 

“You know, it's a good thing you don’t share a bed with anyone,” Loki shoved you away from the centre of the bed. “You’re a fucking bed hog,” you couldn’t help but laugh at his groggy disgruntled voice. 

“Apologies Loki,” you laughed as he huffed. 

“Bull shit,” he exclaimed while standing up and going into his ensuite bathroom. You stood and leaned against the door frame while Loki pulled a brush through his hair and did his skin care routine. “Do you want me to bring you home so you can change and stuff? 

“I would appreciate it,” you smiled at him. 

“Morning Wands,” you called as you came through the front door, Loki right behind you, he grabbed your coat and hung it up as you pulled it off. 

“In here,” she called out as the toaster popped. You and Loki walked into the kitchen together. “Morning Loki,” she gave him a dazzling smile, which he returned. 

“I’m making cinnamon toast and eggs, hungry?” She asked. 

“I’d love some, I’m going to grab a quick shower and change.” 

“Princessa!” Peitro wrapped you in a hug tightly as he walked behind you and snagged a piece of toast off your plate. 

“Get your own,” you batted his hand away. 

“But I want yours,” he teased. You heard Wanda and Loki chuckle at you both. 

“I have a plate for you too, stop stealing hers,” Wanda ushered him over. 

“What plans do you have today?” Wanda asked as she sat down next to you. You looked to Loki, it was his turn to plan the Saturday plans. 

“The new book I’ve been waiting on is finally here so we have to stop by the bookstore in town,” Loki said, “then I think we’ll drive up the coast, we need pictures for our photography class.” You smiled at him, so thoughtful. “Then maybe some dinner and a stroll through the park,” he finished. 

“God Loki you’re making me look like a terrible boyfriend,” Pietro whined, you snorted into your juice and leaned back laughing loudly. 

“Maybe you should take notes,” Loki teased. You and Wanda were laughing together. Loki was an incredibly thoughtful friend. That’s why you adored him so much. But that’s where it ended. You two were the best of friends and that was where the line was drawn  and there was never a need to cross it. It took time for people to understand your friendship and the boundaries you two had in place. 

“Sounds like a fun day,” Wanda said thoughtfully. 

“What about you Wands? Vis is still abroad isn’t he?” She nodded at your question. 

“I’m going to practise with Pietro, it’s a nice day to be out in the sun,” she answered. “Vis gets back next week.” 

“I had fun today,” you said softly as you and Loki walked through the park after having supper at a sweet little Mexican restaurant. Loki had his hand on the small of your back guiding you and keeping you close. 

“I did too,” he hummed. You two walked around a little more, taking a seat on a bench to watch the setting sun. You looked out over the green space and saw some couples sitting in the grass relaxing. One couple caught your attention. 

“Is that bucky?” You said quietly, tipping your head in his direction. Loki squinted and nodded. 

Bucky was sitting a little ways away leaning back on his hands. Mandy sat next to him completely ignoring him. Something twisted in your heart as you looked at him looking up at the sky and she was scrolling her phone. Loki rubbed your shoulder soothingly. Drawn back to him you gave Loki a sad smile. 

“She probably just wants to sleep with him,” Loki whispered. You nodded in agreement. 

“He likes space a lot. He’s talking to her and she is not even pretending to listen,” it broke your heart. Soon his date leaned over and they got up from their spot. He trailed behind her as they waltzed across the green space toward Bucky’s truck. You watched him follow after her like some love sick puppy. 

But then for a brief moment his eyes connected with yours. His eyes narrowed in on you and he paused for the briefest moment as he looked at you across the field. You couldn’t place the look in his eyes, but it was something akin to longing, maybe you couldn’t be sure. As soon as it started it ended and Bucky was gone with Mandy into his truck. 

“Darling,” Loki’s smooth voice filled your ears and you looked at him. “You okay?” You nodded and sighed. 

“I think so,” you mumbled while shaking your head to clear it. 

You didn’t see much of Bucky over the next few days, practice and studying seemed to completely take over his days. He would text you little updates, ask how your day was going, remind you to drink and eat snacks. Your phone going off startled you out of the trance you were in. 

It was a FaceTime request from Bucky. You slide the answer button and gaze at him with a quizzical look. “Hello,” you chuckled, propping the phone on the easel. 

“Hey doodle,” his hair was wet and he was shirtless, you tried to not look at his shoulders. “Miss me?” He wiggled his eyebrows at you. 

“Like a toothache Bucky,” you mused. Your shirt rode up as you stretched your arm to reach up on the canvas. Your phone left you a perfect anglee for Bucky’s eyes to follow the now revealed skin. You didn’t catch him licking his lips at you. 

“I’m hurt doodle,” he feigned hurt and clutched his hand over his heart being dramatic which made you laugh. There was a sudden knock on the art studio door, you looked over your shoulder and then back at the phone. Bucky was trying really hard to not look suspicious. 

“What did you do?” You asked as you grabbed the phone and opened the door, you looked down and he shrugged. Opening the door you were greeted by a delivery driver. You raised an eyebrow and squinted at him. 

“Delivery for Doodle?” The driver said, he looked completely over the day and didn’t bat an eye at the nickname. 

“I didn’t order,” you looked down at your phone and were met with Bucky’s shit eating grin. “You cheeky bastard,” you accused him. “Thank you,” you took the food and sat down at the table in the art room. 

“Thanks Bucky,” you were touched. He had ordered your favourite, everything completely how you liked it. You had only ever ordered this once in his presence, weeks ago. He remembered. “You even remember the extra sauce,” you could feel tears well up in your eyes from how sweet of a gesture it was. You quickly rubbed the tears away and smiled at him. 

Everyone in your life had been so busy you barely spoke to them, Bucky had been the most consistent person by far. You didn’t blame the others, you had barely kept in touch being swapped with final projects and finals. Everyone was just busy. The fact he took the time to send you food, made your heart soar. 

“I figured we could eat together,” Bucky said as he sat up and positioned the phone so his hands were free and you could see his full torso and face. You almost choked on air seeing him. He was fucking hot, you stoped the that train of thought immediately and looked at his face and not his peaks or squishy tummy. He was a big dude, firm but soft looking. You wanted to run your fingers over his torso. 

“I’d like that,” you were impressed with how composed you sounded in that moment. 

“How’s the projects going?” He asked. You shrugged and sighed. 

“They're going. I’m almost done with three of them and I finished the last one this afternoon,” he nodded. Silence fell over you two again but it wasn’t uncomfortable. That was something you noticed shortly after his visits to art studios became more frequent, silence with him was comfortable and you never felt the innate urge to fill it. “How’s studying?” 

“Good, the practicals will be easy. I hate written exams,” Bucky was a kinesiology major, doing astrology classes for electives. What surprised you early on was that he was actually doing well in classes. It made you question those Reddit comments you read saying he cared little for academics. He wasn’t a valedictorian or anything but he was passing with 3.1 GPA overall. You weren’t surprised when he mentioned he wasn't interested in the arts, and that he only did the two mandatory English classes. 

“You got this,” you said to him with a smile. 

“So do you,” he gave you a dazzling smile back. “I'm sorry I haven’t been coming to visit,” he said quietly. 

“It’s okay, we’re all busy right now. I haven’t seen Nat in 4 days, she was hauled up in the dance studio getting ready for her practicals and the final performance,” you shrugged, the performance arts program did a big show at the end of exams the whole campus was invited to purchase tickets for. The funds raised went toward funding future projects. You had your ticket, and an extra because Loki had bought his and forgot to tell you. 

“She hasn’t been at practice either, Barton has been insufferable,” Bucky said with a mock exasperated sigh. 

“I’m not surprised,” you chuckled and smiled at Bucky, he admired the way the corner of your eyes crinkle when you smile like that. 

“You’re still coming Friday?” Bucky asked. 

“Of course,” you nodded. “Actually I have a question to ask you,” he looked at you attentively and waited. “I have an extra ticket to the performing arts final show after exams, did you want to come with me?” You didn’t build your hopes so high that he would say yes. “If you don…”

“Yeah, love too Doodle,” he cut you off. Your face lights up with a bright smile. 

“Awesome,” you cheered excitedly, you wouldn’t soon forget the beautiful smile that graced his face, you both looked into each other for a moment, smiles morning one another. You didn’t want to look away from him, his eyes snapped from yours at the sound of a crash from another room and some yelling. 

“Dammit Scott,” Bucky groaned and looked at you apologetically. “Gotta go Doodle, I’m going to try and swing by the art room tomorrow.” 

“Bye Bucky,” you waved at him as he waved the call ended. You saT back in the chair for a moment before giving up for the night and packing up to go home.

AN: Thank you all so much for reading! I've have been really enjoying writing this series!

Taglist: @vicmc624, @calwitch, @learisa, @aaqua-tofana, @charmedbysarge, @blackbirdwitch22

Feel free to send me a message if you have a request or would like more, or would like to be added to the tag list!

[lovedrruunk]

'Mango Letters ♡⸝⸝💌⊹˖➴

Venture (Overwatch) x GN Reader

[Established Relationship!]

Authors note!!!; DID U MISS MEEE??? also...IM SO SORRYYY!!!! BUT I THINK IM JUST GONNA START WRITING WHAT I WANT :((( i realized im sososo bad with requests like genuinely ughhhh!! Ill def do some every now and then tho! Anyways im just clearing out my drafts cuz I’ve come to the realization that this is literally tumblr and my posts don’t have to be perfect lmao, enjoy!!

75 days 18 hours 46 minutes and 3 seconds. That's how long it had been since you've seen your partner Sloan. Being with them you knew how devoted they were to their work and how much it required them to travel but on pretty days like this one when the weathers just right and the flowers are in full bloom and the sunset is the perfect hue of orange, you couldn't help but wish they were by your side.

And although they were thousands of miles away they always made sure to send you physical manifestations of their love.

Through love letters of course!!!

It had been a tradition ever since they had started going on longer expeditions for them to send you things in the mail. So there in your shared closet in a cute little shoebox on the top shelf, laid all their feelings on coffee stained papers. Little crystals the same color as your eyes, maps with all the places they wanted to take you, polaroids of them doing silly faces, and your favorite part, the sweet scent of mango that came with it all.

And so although they weren't by your side, their feelings were. Their longing, their excitement, their thoughts, all in the palm of your hands covered in all types stickers and doodles.

Sitting outside on the porch of your shared home enjoying the calm breeze you smile holding the most recent letter delivered. Inhaling deeply catching the hints of mango as you carefully open it.

Dear Beloved,

It's been so looong!!! I can feel myself aging without you! Hope this letter finds you well! Notice how I used "beloved"? Fancy huh? Arn't I just the most romantic partner ever? (don't answer that.) This is my fifth time trying to write this and it's annoying the crew so this is my last chance before they jump me... It's just so hard y'know!? It has to be perfect. Perfect for you. Is that cringe? That was cringe sorry! I miss you lots and I think about you all the time... You'd love Petra! A camel ate my shemagh... but It's whatever. I'll buy a new one tomorrow, I'll get one for you too so don't worry! Now that I'm thinking about it the days seem to be going by pretty slow and I'm not sure if I like it much. Like I said I miss you a lot and it stinks being away from you for this long. Can't you just book a flight over here? Can't you do that for me pretty pleaseee? That's ridiculous? Okay just say you hate me and never want me to come back, just say you don't love me at all and want me to get stuck in a cave foreva. Just kidding! or am I?... (I am! >ᴗ<)

I like to imagine you’re missing me really bad counting down the seconds till I get back, which by the way I am too so don’t feel the need to deny it! I can see it now… You all shriveled up like a raisin crawling on the floor going “sloannn… sloannnn…” because of how bad you miss me hehe. Just kidding again! It’s probably the opposite let’s be real… I’m going insane without you seriously, I started talking to the hieroglyphics yesterday and the crew even caught me tasting some rocks earlier (sos!!!!)

But speaking of, they’re rushing me to “turn the lights off already” what a bunch of buzzkills ammarite? Promise to show up in my dreams okay? Who am I kidding, you’re always there regardless. Sweet dreams ᥫ᭡ᥫ᭡

p.s they really wanna meet you!

p.p.s take care okay? I’ll be home before you know it!!!

Yours truly,

(so romantic!!!)

“(๑´>᎑<)~*”

[sinsinsininning]

A little bit softer

Chapter 4

Eustass Kid x crew mate!fem!Reader

This includes Kid’s POV of the end of Chapter 3 while the reader is in the shower. 😳

Also to clarify, Badger is a made up character, I didn’t feel like incorporating a cannon character into the reader’s backstory. I spent literally 2 seconds on the name and even less time on a vague description of him which I’ll post later.

TW: swearing, voyeurism, masturbating (both male and female)

~~~~~~~

After you left him on the deck, Kid ate slowly, thinking out the details of his next steps. He had no idea where this bastard, Badger, was or even what he’d look like.

Plus the West Blue was crawling with dangerous crews and the notorious 5 Families of the West, headed up by Capone Bege. Not someone Kid was on good terms with and, depending on how deep into the West they’d go, someone they’d likely run into.

While Kid would prefer to just make this a quick mission, so they could double back and enter the Grand Line, he was excited to think of all the practice the crew would get fighting all these other crews. It’d be good training before they entered the New World.

After finishing, he pulled out the maps and started charting again. Wire eventually returned to join him and the two worked quietly. Kid was making a list of things they could get while in the West Blue when Wire spoke up.

“So what’s this Captain’s name?”

“Why’re you asking?” Kid growled. “Just chart the stupid map.”

“I’m nearly done, I just need to know where to find him, then I can finalize the map. Right now I’ve just got it charted how to get there while avoiding marines bases and included supply stops. But I need a specific area to finish.”

“His name is Badger.” Kid said after a beat.

“Is that his first name or last name?” Wire asked.

“The fuck if I know. His name is Badger, he’s in the West Blue, and I’m gonna kill him. Make the map.” Kid blustered for a moment, he felt a little silly, all this effort and he didn’t even know who the guy was. Fuck he didn’t even know if you’d been honest…. Nah you were nearly crying, you wouldn’t lie like that. Wire sighed heavily and Kid nearly smashed the table.

“Ok, I can’t finish it tonight, but I’ll go through some logs and see if I can get more info on him.” Wire relented, knowing the captain was at his limit. “We should be able to make it to the next island tomorrow, I’ll do some more digging then too.” Kid grunted an acknowledgement, head down as he finished his list, pen nearly tearing the paper.

Wire stood and started putting the supplies away, he glanced at his captain.

“Boss… you know-“ He paused and considered himself, Kid glanced at him with a scowl. Better play it safe. “Just let me know if you need anything, you know I’d help.” Kid bristled at that, but just grunted again to dismiss the tall man.

He doodled a few sketches of his projects on the list, trying to clear his head. Eventually he puts everything up and leans against the railing, watching the waves and night sky.

After an hour or so, Heat joins him to take his watch shift, but brought a few beers for his captain. Kid downs his first two quickly, then nurses the next one.

“It’s none of my business,” Heat starts off.

“Then don’t fucking bring it up.” Kid snaps.

“But I think we should get rid of the sniper rookie.” Heat continues, eyes on the coast.

“What? Why the fuck do you think that?” Kid stood to shout at him. “Thought you two were buddy-buddy?!” He could keep the jealously out of voice.

“She’s alright. But she’s soft.” Heat isn’t phased by the shouting. “She won’t make it in the Grand Line. We can’t have that type of weakness.”

“Quincy’s soft. Wire’s soft. You questioning my authority huh?” Kid gulped the rest of his drink and tossed the bottle behind him. “You think I keep a weak crew?! That what you’re trying to say?!”

“The only thing she’s got going for her is she’s cute.” Heat added nonchalantly, Kid was fuming.

“Fuck off like she’d want your ugly, stitched up headed ass!” Kid grabbed his vest, forcing the other man to look at him. “She’s staying, she’s a good sniper and a good crew mate. Fucking question me again and I’ll fucking throw you overboard!” Heat grinned and Kid felt like he’d been caught.

“I get why everyone’s been fucking with you lately,” Heat chuckled. “It’s fun. You’re so biased for her, I’m a little jealous really, wish you’d defend me this hard.”

Kid wanted to shout again but he felt like he’d reveal too much. Well, more than what he’d already done. His face was hot and he felt deflated, but he released Heat with a shove.

“Maybe if ya did your job and not play mind games I would.” He finally says, Heat resumes his watch. An awkward silence falls over them.

“It’s not that bad, Boss. Trust me it could be worse. Imagine you liked Pomp? He’s fucking insane. I heard he sold his ex husband’s kidney for cheating on him in a dream.” Heat tried to console his friend, not his forte, but he felt a little bad at his trick. Kid let out a short laugh.

“Fuckin’ hell that can’t be true…. Can it?” He started on his next beer, sitting back down. They laugh together again.

“I don’t actually think we should get rid of her. Just sayin.”

“I know.”

“Yeah she’s soft, but she saved my ass that last fight, shooting that guy trying to creep up on me while I was taking care of Reck.”

Kid just hummed in response, still hesitant to say anything about her. Heat noticed.

“I promise it’s not that bad.”

Silence.

“I don’t think she’s scared of you, not really at least.”

“I heard what she said to you.”

“I think she’s scared of her ex captain. Should make her sit down with Wire, he’d sort her head out.” Heat lit a cigarette, offering a pull to Kid who shook his head.

“Not a bad idea. Just don’t want anyone knowing how-“ He paused. “She can go to Wire but I’m not gonna make her.” He said finally, Heat nodded in understanding.

“You can’t say it, I gotcha.”

“I can’t say it first.” Kid sighed, finishing his last bottle.

“Makes sense. Don’t worry,” Heat claps his hand on the captain’s shoulder. “It’ll happen.”

“Since when have you gotten this mushy?” Kid sneered. “I hate it. Go back to minding your own business.” Heat laughed as his captain got up. It was past midnight and he was tired.

He made his way down the halls, he needed to return his dishes or else Killer would bitch at him all day tomorrow. He placed them in the sink, then a thought struck him. Quickly glancing in the fridge, your plate was still there, all wrapped up nicely.

You hadn’t eaten since breakfast, he slammed the fridge shut. Fuck, you probably hadn’t finished your shit yet. He stalked down the halls towards your make shift shop room, irritated that you’d not finished yet and had still not eaten.

A small part of him was excited to have an excuse to talk to you, even if it was just to bitch at you. Maybe he’d walk you to the galley personally, to make sure you followed orders. Maybe he’d sit with you as you ate too, couldn’t let you try to skip out. After that he’d grumble at you for making him stay up late to babysit you, even though he chose to do it.

Then he may as well make you go to bed. His bed. With him. Obviously to make sure you didn’t try to sneak back to your project. He’d keep you pressed in his arms all night to ensure you didn’t try anything.

Fuck he needed to stop, he was hard in the middle of the hallway. He adjusted his belt before entering the shop room, hoping it’d hide his arousal. Somehow the shop was empty, all the weapons cleaned and stacked up correctly. He looked around for any mistakes or mess you’d left behind, anything that’d allow him a chance to speak with you.

But the room was spotless, everything put away correctly. Then where the fuck were you? He wondered if you went to bed right away, tempted to check your bunk. He headed toward it, pausing when he passed by the bathrooms, steam pouring out the door.

The doors to the bathrooms all had hatches at the top that opened to allow steam to vent. He was a little impressed that the hot water still worked after everyone’s showers.

With you in the stalls he didn’t have any excuse to bother you, you’d finished your work and unless he wanted to wait until you were out to force you to the galley, he was out of luck for tonight. Kid turned to go when he heard you moan.

Oh fuck.

He glanced around the halls, no one could hear you or see him palm his cock over his pants. You weren’t generous with your noises, obviously trying to stifle them, but some slipped out.

Your groans and whines sounded frustrated, like you couldn’t work how you wanted. He reached his hand inside his pants to grip himself, jaw clenched almost painfully to avoid alerting you. His mind filled in the gaps of what he couldn’t see. He pictured walking in and offering to help you reach your climax, since you still seemed to struggle.

He thought about how’d you’d look right then if he did, wet and naked, probably surprised and shy. Maybe you’d try to cover yourself, until you’d realize what he was offering. Or maybe you already knew he was there, confident he’d join you. Maybe you’d tell him exactly what you wanted from him.

He’d let you boss him around, at least at the start, but after you cum once or twice, then he’d be in control again. He thumbed his slit right as you let out a different moan.

Oh. That one was much more satisfied, he didn’t know what changed to make everything work for you, but he was pleased. He stroked himself faster now, checking the halls quickly, then held his ear to the open hatch. Your whines and moans were breathier, much more high pitched. He squeezed his cock, picturing it was you. When he closed his eyes and really focused on listening, he swore he could hear how wet your pussy sounds.

Your moans are getting faster and he tries to keep up, hand pumping hard to get himself off. Finally you let off a loud moan, cutting yourself off halfway through in a pathetic attempt to be quiet. He’s not quite there yet, so he moves his hand fast, but freezes when you turn of the shower.

Shit you were done. He was fucked.

Without adjusting his pants he quickly walks down the hall, his workshop is closer than his room. It’ll have to do for now, it’s not the first time he’s jacked off in there. He gets the door closed and locked before resuming.

Part of him is irritated, his high was so close just to be edged back. But more of him felt a little proud, you’d gotten off before him, as you should. Yeah it wasn’t like he’d gotten you to cum, but it still stroked his ego. He thought about that as he sat down, hand around himself again, stroking quickly.

He wondered how many times he should make you cum before he did. Hell how many times should you cum before he even fucked you with his cock. At least two times on his fingers and maybe three times of his tongue, that seemed fair.

He rubbed his tip harshly as he thought about your sounds, they were so sweet and full of emotion. Kid could basically read your mind from how expressive you were, so open and honest with your lewd moans. He could tell when you were close, when you were struggling, and even when something clicked. He wondered what it was that made you moan like that, thinking of ways to extract that info.

His climax caught him off guard as he thought about you. He came across his hand and chest with a groan, some of his spend getting on his pants. As he came down, panting as he leaned back in his chair, he could hear you walking down the hall.

Leaping up, he tucked himself back into his pants, grabbed an old rag to wipe the cooling cum from his hands and chest. He knocked over the chair and toppled a few tools in his haste. Your steps were quiet but he was hyper aware of you as you passed the door.

After a few minutes of quiet he finally exited, going straight to his room and laying face down on the bed. He wanted to shout but settled for smothering himself until he finally dozed off.

[justalildumpling]

⇢ renjun as your boyfriend

pairing: renjun x reader  genre: fluff, established relationship note: happy bday to our fav lil angry bean jun <33 (also um?!?! he literally has THE BEST bf material photos istg)

your relationship would’ve probably started off as not friends but not dating in a way, whether you met thru mutuals or just naturally, the two of you would’ve felt a spark but wanted to get to know each other before actually pursuing something

renjun would’ve made it obvious but not too obvious about his feelings, enough for you to question it but not enough for you to be completely confident with your evidences

the dreamies would be ROLLING AROUND the floor in frustration, telling him to confess his feelings already and giving you the biggest hints ever with the two of you shrugging them off saying it’s too early

despite the slow burn lead up to your relationship, i feel like renjun’s confession would be rlly casual like you two would be over at one of your guys’ place watching tv on the couch cuddling and renjun would just drop it like- HUH?!

it could literally be a disney movie in the background and renjun would say “you know, that character is my favourite from that movie” and you would laugh and ask him why

“idk it’s just really cute and it reminds me of you in a way, maybe that’s why i’ve always liked you.” 

once you started dating, not much would’ve changed in your relationship ok besides from the occasional kissing and hand holding etc

i feel like he would send you little doodles throughout the week that reminded him of you

oh the way he would have the softest smile on his lips whenever he talked to you or if he received any messages from you during his schedules 

renjun would have so much care for you whether he would express it thru just random sweet sayings throughout the day like “you look pretty today” or just giving you that honey soaked smile that he has (you know the one) 

he would call you love or some sort of cute nickname and would get super happy if you gave him one too (tho wouldn’t admit it to the dreamies LMAO)

the dreamies would so tease him everytime you came over ESP HAECHAN OML which would probably end up in a bickering match between the two so nomin and mark would take you away from the scenario and have a nice civil chat

he doesn’t seem like the type to overdo on PDA but wouldn’t mind small gestures like holding hands or leaning on each other’s shoulders/lap/stomach

tho i feel like he would purposely kiss you in front of haechan just to be petty and see his reaction LMAOO

tho he doesn’t seem like the possessive type, he would get clingy towards you when schedules abroad comes up 

“imagine you came with me to Thailand that would be so cool, haha im kidding! i mean… unless??” “ok fine!! i’ll stop guilt tripping you but like just so you know i’m gonna be crying on the plane tomorrow.”

ok. renjun may be a relatively small man but do not underestimate his power/anger like if he found out you were ever mistreated in any way he will fight. like rip to whoever hurts you because jun would roast the heck out of that person (touch them and i’ll destroy you vibe)

your dates will either be aimlessly exploring the city and trying to find the best hotpot spots or food spots in general to just chill nights at your houses just enveloped in peace

you would feel so comfortable around each other, and could feel that the relationship was stable from the start

he seems like the type to communicate problems well and stress the importance of it. even tho it can be hard to communicate sometimes just in case it may hurt the other’s feelings, he makes sure to address the problem on the early stages because he cares and wants to be with you in the long run

he doesn’t seem like he would throw in this much effort for people he thinks isn’t worth his time and energy 

the best thing about dating renjun would be that you would feel at home with each other, you guys realise early on that you are each other’s rock, that you can trust each other with your lives and be each other’s driving force to become your best selves

taglist: @polarisjisung @wooyoung-a @w3bqrl @enelrahs @rv7hsua @n0hyuck @neosdaisy @xxxx-23nct @maeumiluv @produmads @dearlyminhyung @shwizhies @baekhyunstruly

[solarmorrigan]

Eddie leaves the lights on for Steve.

The two of them are off schedule right now — Steve is stuck on late shifts and Eddie is working early mornings; more often than not Eddie is asleep by the time Steve stumbles in, but Eddie always leaves a light on.

He knows Steve’s least favorite part of working late (amid a myriad of perfectly good reasons to hate working late) is coming home to see the apartment quiet and dark. It reminds him a little too sharply of the years he spent in his parents’ empty house, feeling small and alone in a maze of cold, impersonal rooms, so Eddie gives him a little sign of life.

Sometimes it’s the hall light, illuminating Eddie’s keys and wallet on their rickety side table, where Steve’s join them in short order.

Sometimes it’s the kitchen light, showing Steve some kind of snack Eddie’s left out for him to inhale before bed (it’s never anything special, per se; nine times out of ten it’s just peanut butter and jelly, but it’s usually the first thing Steve will get to eat all evening and he doesn’t have to make it himself, so it’s actually the greatest thing in the world).

Sometimes the bathroom light is on, which quickly becomes Steve’s favorite because it’s often accompanied by little notes stuck to the mirror – colorful pieces of paper covered in doodles, or declaring Eddie’s over-the-top devotion in sleepy misspellings, or snatches of song lyrics (and once, memorably, Eddie’s “To Do” list for the next day, under the heading of which he’d only written Steve’s name; Steve had snorted so hard trying not to laugh that he may have actually damaged something).

Tonight, it’s the living room light. That one’s new.

And what Eddie’s left in the living room for Steve to find is, in fact, Eddie himself. He’s dressed in boxers and an old t-shirt, as if he’d been preparing to go to sleep but had instead planted himself on the sofa in front of the old movie playing on the TV. He’s made it to sleep anyway, though, snoring quietly with his head thrown back against the top of the couch.

Steve shuts off the TV and gives Eddie a gentle shake.

“Eddie. Hey,” he says, quiet but firm, “time for bed. Your back’s gonna kill you if you sleep like that, and then I’ll have to listen to you bitch about it all day tomorrow.”

Eddie puts up a little resistance, frowning and shifting away from the shaking of Steve’s hand on his shoulder, but once he finally wakes and blinks away the bleariness, he smiles as his eyes land on Steve.

“Hello,” he murmurs.

“Hey.” Steve can’t help but laugh a little, even as he’s cupping a warm hand around the back of Eddie’s neck with the beginnings of worry expanding in his chest. “What are you doing up?”

The drowsy smile remains firmly on Eddie’s face, and he pushes through any of Steve’s concerns about nightmares or aching scars playing up by reaching up to cradle Steve’s jaw in his palms. “Just wanted to see your pretty face,” he says, just the right side of smarmy. “And here it is.”

He leans in for a kiss that Steve returns with warm enthusiasm, but which is ended too soon by a jaw-cracking yawn from Eddie. Steve shakes his head, standing from the couch and pulling Eddie up with him.

“Seriously, though, what are you doing out here? You have to work tomorrow.”

Eddie shrugs. “Just thought I’d wait up for you. Figured it’d be nice to come home to, or some shit.”

“Oh.”

It’s all Steve can think of saying, really, because – well, no one’s ever done that before. No one has ever waited up for him, has ever altered their schedule just to welcome him home, has ever done so much just to remind him that he isn’t alone.

“Should I… not have done that?” Eddie asks, and Steve realizes that he’s been quiet, unresponsive, for a moment too long. “Because if it’s weird or something, then–”

Steve swoops in for another kiss, stealing the rest of Eddie’s anxious words and swallowing them down, pressing his gratitude and his love into the shape of Eddie’s mouth.

“Thank you,” Steve breathes when they pull apart.

“Yeah. No problem,” Eddie says, his voice soft and not at all as casual as he’s probably aiming for.

“I love seeing you when I come home– even if you are out cold on the couch,” Steve teases.

“Okay, falling asleep was not part of the plan,” Eddie breaks off with a yawn. “God, what time is it, anyway?”

Steve glances at the VCR, but he’s too tired to get his eyes to focus well enough to read the time. He takes a stab at guessing. “11:30, I think?”

“Oh god,” Eddie groans, dropping his head against Steve’s shoulder. “Not even fucking midnight. I’m old, Steve.”

Rolling his eyes, Steve pries Eddie away and turns him so he can chivy him down the hall towards the bedroom.

“Just sell me to the glue factory now, get it over with,” Eddie continues, and Steve laughs.

“But if I do that, no one will be around to leave the lights on for me.”

Heaving an enormous sigh, Eddie flops down on the bed. “I guess.”

Steve effectively hides his laughter by stripping his work shirt up and over his head. “I mean, if it’s not too much trouble,” he says.

“For you?” Eddie asks, watching as Steve tosses his shirt towards the hamper and sets to work on his pants. “Nah. Never.”

There’s a sleepy sort of sincerity in Eddie’s gaze when Steve looks back up at him, something raw and real and warm, that makes Steve unable to doubt him, even for a moment.

Something that promises the lights will always be on when Steve needs them.

[abarbaricyalp]

For the intimacy prompts: "a hand written note", Sam/Bucky

Wowee is this so super duper late! Very sorry. But unfortunately, this prompt reminded me of a fic I started all the way back in 2022 for Valentine's Day and I just could not let it go this time. AO3 Link

In 1950, several years after the war had ended and just as the excitement and tragedy surrounding the short-lived career of Captain America was dying down, a collection of war time letters from the Captain’s second-in-command, James “Bucky” Barnes was published.

In 2026, the only edition with new letters was published

Selected Texts from: The Barnes Letters : Revised and Expanded 11th Edition, 2026

[Letter to Sam Wilson (36 years old, former Air Force Pararescue, current VA therapist, new best friend of Steve Rogers) left in an apartment while Wilson was running the trash out, 2015]

Birdbrain,

Don’t get so irritated with this cat and mouse game that you give up and just opt for pouncing over me and eating me. I dunno, maybe I shoulda gone with the early bird and the worm metaphor, but whatever. Maybe I’ll slow down for you in the next place. Spend a little bit of time at some farmer’s market or something. Use an alias that you might know about, depending on how much you read.

Take it easier, birdy.

-B

The first Barnes letter of the 21st century paints a stark contrast to the paragon found in the original text of The Barnes Letters. This book does not attempt to psychoanalyze Barnes or the events of his life, as the original did not. The 11th edition of The Barnes Letters merely wishes to build upon the corpus of the original and to bring a conclusion to the questions brought up in subsequent editions.

The text of these letters have been transcribed exactly as found, but the spirit of them would be dampened slightly if it were not brought up that the letters were found on everything from sticky notes to napkins to sheets of lined paper to sketchpad pages with doodles on the other side or around the words–clean, crumbled, torn, creased. These letters, perhaps moreso than the original, were cherished and protected and clearly read several times over.

The Wakanda Letters

[Collection of letters left for Bucky Barnes, by Sam Wilson, in the Wakandan Palace’s medical facility, 2016-2018]

Hey, Tin-Can,

You’ve gotta wake up soon ‘cause you still owe me a car.

Sam

Robocop,

I’m tired of being a fugitive for your broody ass. You better have a whole slate of apologies lined up for when I see you next ‘else I’m gonna put you right back under. I haven’t showered with seriously hot water in ages. (Barring the one I just got in the palace. Wait until you wake up and see the water pressure here. It’s gonna blow your poor little 40s mind.)

You know, Steve really wants us to get along. Gotta say, I do see the appeal. You’re so quiet and a great listener. I always know where to find you.

He just read that over my shoulder and called me a jerk for you. I figure you’d use stronger language, but hey.

Oh, hey, I heard there was some crazy fight here a few weeks ago. Did you see anything you wanna gossip about?

Alright, alright, I’ll stop. Heading out somewhere new tomorrow morning. Always some new fight, new monster, new injustice, right?

Well, good dreams or whatever.

Sam

B, you’ve gotta try a drink at this bar. (Bringing the napkin in won’t get a discount, I asked) It’s called…get this, get this, get this, it’s called a Bucky Bear Brawl. Bucky Bear. Gonna lose my mind. -S

Barnes,

If I bleed all over this paper, you won’t use it to create an even better super soldier serum, right? (Cause, let’s be honest, my DNA is a catch for mad scientists. Looks, brains, body, personality. I’ve got it all.)

I don’t get why you didn’t give up the chase after DC. We coulda done all of this shit, avoided all of this shit, if you’d just come back then. You knew I was there. You kept me in the corner of your eye or your rearview or your scope, I assume, so why not just stop running?

I’m so tired of this. I want to go home. I want to see my friends and my family and sleep in a real bed. And you gave all that shit up for…what? They still found a way to ruin your life. Steve’s life. My life.

How did I end up giving up everything for you and the star spangled man, huh? Seventeen infuriating hours in a car with you and suddenly that makes you worth something to me?

I always try to do what’s right, help people who need it. At great personal cost, lost people important to me. I’ve never done this much for one person, though. And I don’t even know you. I have your files. I’ve read history books. Hell, I even know the fruits and fish you like. But I gave up my family and my reputation for this. I have a bullet in my shoulder for this.

Who are you to drive me to that, huh? You’re not even awake. You’re not out here with us while we do this for you. This is bullshit.

Sam

PS, I lied the other day. I don’t prefer you being quiet. I want you to argue with me. I want you to hear what I’m saying. I want you to come back. Fuck, that’s all I’ve ever wanted. I want you so far gone that I never think about you again or I want you to come back. But you keep just existing right in my periphery. A shadow I can’t shake. A stray that’s followed me all the way to my door stoop. Fuck.

Bucky,

Sorry.

Sam

B,

I’ve thrown away seven other sheets trying to find something to say, but I suppose it doesn’t really matter what I write down now. You’ll be able to hear it straight from my pretty mouth soon enough.

Sorry we won’t be around to see you through all of it. Princess’s orders. Besides, there’s a new bad guy out there fucking something up. And, surprise surprise, Ross hasn’t sent anyone after them, so duh-da da da-dah, here we come, to the rescue.

I’ll see you soon, though, alright.

Not that, like, you care about when I’ll see you. Ah, shit, I’m gonna throw this one away too.

And Sam had kept his promise, showing up a week afterwards with a sharp quip on his lips but a tellingly earnest patience as Bucky had walked him and Steve around the spaces that had become his life. He’d even left a note on Bucky’s bed wishing him good dreams again.

So it only made sense that Bucky slipped a note into his go-bag.

[2018]

Tweety,

You musta been real bored without me around to fuck shit up if you had this much time to write all these letters. Did keep me busy for a while though. Maybe next time you could be more verbose and flowery, give me something to really sink a literary analysis into.

I’m gonna keep this one short, though, ‘cause you’re nosey and pay attention to everything I do. I ain’t gonna throw you around no more, so you can unclench. Heard you argue with S1 and S2 about whether or not I was ready to go out again.

I’m not.

I know it’s selfish when all of you are still fighting the fight, but I’m so tired. And I’m unstable on my feet. I need some time to get the ground under me again. But if you tell Steve I agree with him, I’ll burn your letters without looking at them.

You could stay, y’know. You don’t have to keep fighting. I could use the company. Talking is supposed to help rebuild neurons or something, right? Maybe I’m just making that up.

Anyway, hope you find this at an inopportune time.

-Tin Can

[Left on Barnes’s pillow in Wakanda, 2018]

B,

Sorry the world doesn’t wait for what we want. Sorry the world’s ending. Maybe you can show me all your goats again when all of this is said and done. Maybe it’ll be a little quieter for once.

-S

Read the rest on AO3

[chibishortdeath]

Free will strikes again, these were some really fun doodles :3. I think Simon is allowed to be a little visual kei sometimes. Idk I just know he’d vibe with it. Explanations under a cut—

And also a couple unfinished doodles that were just intended to be rough pose/anatomy practice sketches, but ended up accidentally more detailed than intended 💀💀💀. It’s nothing graphic, but ⚠️slight artistic nudity warning⚠️ anyway in case d(>_< ).

Hehehe, this is based off of a photo from Malice Mizer live, it’s Simon in place of Mana and Fuma in place of Gackt. Very fun pose to draw!!! Especially cause it’s a pose with a whip and also cause idk why but I find poses with one or both arms up pretty easy to draw. And yeah yay, Fuma inclusion yippie :3!

I don’t have any other explanation for why this exists other than dresses are cool. So I made him one :D. The coord has a half caplet that connects to a shoulder paldron on the other shoulder by chain with a little cross. Under that there’s a blouse and skirt combo with patterns similar to his SQ armor and some rose thorn patterns around the ends of the sleeves and collar. Over that is a corset and under is a cage crinoline made to look like crosses peaking around the edge. Shoes carry outfit motifs like the roses on the bow tie and headdress and the lace throughout. Also, an eyepatch with cross on it because yeah, cute :3. I’d probably wear this if I had uh any skill in sewing at all (TwT ).

A not chibi version of the above outfit! Except probably without the crinoline with how the skirt fabric is sitting lol. Tbh I think Simon would probably be fine with this for a little bit and then get uncomfortable about having so many layers on. I don’t think he’d like tights at all 💀💀💀💀💀💀💀. Hmmm I’ll have to draw a version of it that’d be more comfortable for him hmm maybe tomorrow.

Another Simon holding Dracula’s heart artwork. Shout out to how this guy just carries this thing around for so long lol.

Simon facing off against his worst enemy: stairs! This one was practice drawing characters in backgrounds, since I’m so rusty at actually drawing those two things together (ToT ). I can draw a separate background fine, but the second I have to put someone in it I just completely forget what I’m doing XD.

This one is also a practice! He’s running up to the altar in Drac’s basement. The lighting was fun for this one, but I forgot to draw the whip in his hand 💀.

This one was an attempt at drawing a skeleton and keeping the same proportions in a drawing of someone (Simon) who is uh not a skeleton. Fun fact! It took me like 5 tries to get the skeleton to not just look like Papyrus Undertale cause holy heck do the skeletons from that game take a hold of some part of your art style and never let go 💀💀💀💀

CASTLEVANIA JUDGEMENT HAS HATS??? AS LIKE AN UNLOCKABLE?????????? So obviously I had to draw Simon (x2) with the bow options. Pink probs looks really nice with his hair tbh. And the striped bow was black and white so it fits with the Judgement design’s outfit. If I ever actually play this game again (I suck so bad at it), I’ll be trying to get these for the very important reason of Simon cute. :3

—

Ok now these two. The first one was a different attempt at that Mana pose, but a bigger scale and a bit less exaggerated. I ended up having to do a ton of edits to it cause I kept making things too big or too small lol. And the second one is just a couple dynamic posing practices. They’re also excuses to draw more arm up poses cause they’re fun X3. He was just supposed to have like a generic placeholder rectangle er um uh there, but some of the sketchy lines ended up looking like what’s supposed to be in that spot, so I just didn’t wanna risk these being on main tags out in the open 💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀. Though, tbh, I’ve seen more explicit things on the tags so eh, better safe than sorry tho (- w - )

[hplonesomeart]

Hey hey! We are so back to posting random doodles!! But only temporarily, as I’ve still got an animation MAP to work out completing this week—and given how school is still simultaneously going on for me, I can’t afford to take many breaks from animating if I want it to be good quality & meet the deadline on time. And I refuse to be late!! I’ve made a vow and I tend to not break it even if it means subjecting myself to late nights and late meals!! (half joking here don’t worry about it). But today I decided to finally lay off the constant workload before getting right back to it all tomorrow, hence this sassy Puzzles! Say hello to sassy Puzzles guys don’t be shy about it! What a nice fella :)

Oh yea the random shirt photo was something I stumbled across on Instagram, and I wanted to draw Puzzles wearing it for the sillies…but he just gave me this side eye look of annoyance so I don’t think he’s willing to try it on. Was too drab for his fashion taste maybe. And I don’t think he likes being reminded of his smoking problem either…alas maybe some other time I’ll force him into it. Also don’t stare too hard at his non-existent arm placement I got lazy jskjsksp

[gothlcsan]

LIKE THE MOVIES ›› CHOI EUNCHAN

Movies seemed so unrealistic, who genuinely falls for someone they dislike? Well, here you sat in the passenger seat of his car entirely enamored with him.

pairing non!idol eunchan x fem reader

genre smut, fluff, actual plot

warnings no mentions of using condoms (practice safe sex), biting, lots of kissing, size kink (?), pet names (baby, etc.), partying, mentions of throwing up, outdoor sex, fingering! please let me know if i missed anything <3

special thanks to @woongisi who got me into this group fully, this one for you! mwah x

wc 7338 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ m.list ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ like/rb

Your morning starts in a whirlwind, nearly missing your bus to the university, stepping into a puddle wetting your socks, and now you stand in line behind your academic rival, Eunchan. His presence alone is enough to question if you needed coffee this monday morning but deciding if your day was already starting this poorly you’re definitely going to need this caffeine boost. As he turns around after getting his coffee, you turn away quickly to stare outside the windows not wanting him to know that you were there, waiting until the barista asks if you need anything, embarrassedly telling him your order.

Looking down at your watch you curse at yourself now only having fifteen minutes to race across the university grounds to your class, praying your matcha doesn’t spill all over as you pick up pace. Bursting through the doors as the bell rang, you stop to catch your breath not caring about the eyes on you, trudging up the steps and sinking into the seat next to your best friend, Taerae.

“Eventful morning?”

He asked with a smile on his lip, placing a comforting hand on your shoulder as you mockingly copy his question. This catches the attention of Eunchan who turns around in his seat long enough to look you up and down before turning to face back towards the board. You act as if you were going to throw your half empty matcha at the back of his head, stopping yourself after Taerae tells you to settle down and stop being hot headed. Giving the professor your half divided attention you doodle on the edge of your notebook trying to decide on whether or not you planned on going to the after exams party, your decision relying heavily on Taerae going or not. Nudging his arm with your pencil he glanced at you with a raised eyebrow as you slid your notebook into his view to read.

Are you going to the after-exams party?

Watching him start to write you try to sneak a peek at his reply, scribbling your quick answer back before you two get caught.

Most likely i’ll pick you up.

Thnxs.

After class ends you wait for Taerae to pack his things, following him out the classroom and out towards the buildings doors, making the way to the café.

“It starts at ten so I'm okay with being picked up then, it’s not ideal to be any earlier or on time.” You said handing Taerae his americano, taking a long sip of your matcha. He agrees not entirely caring about the time more focused on his phone than anything as you two reach the main building of the college. Bidding you goodbye Taerae leaves into the science swing as you make your own way towards the library wanting to cram in some extra studying before tomorrow’s exams, cursing as you run into someone as they step out of the library. Rubbing your arm you look up to apologize, instead groaning with an eye roll as you make eye contact with Eunchan who’s glaring at you with disgust.

“Do you have anything to say?”

With a chuckle, you open the other side of the library door stopping long enough to reply before heading in. “I actually do, maybe next time don’t be in everyone’s way, Eunchan.”

Exams come and go the next morning, Taerae groaning next to you that he probably failed, you patting his head to cheer up that he’ll be ok after a good night of partying. He perks up at that going on a new rant of wondering if Hanbin would be going, hoping that he was, to which you tell him to ask him, Taerae whining about not being bold enough to ask. The bell rings, telling Taerae that you’ll see him later tonight and to not overthink it too much. Entering into your dorm, you sigh in relief that your roommate was there still, asking them if they were going out to the party tonight. They shake their head saying they have work, which you ask if they minded helping you pick out an outfit which they say they didn’t mind, letting you model in front of them before deciding on the very last outfit. You thank her telling her to have a good shift as you sit in front of the small shared vanity, doing your hair and makeup, vibing to your music trying to get into the mindset to go out.

A few hours later, you check your phone hearing it go off as you finish lacing your boots, your mood dropping.

Sorry I can’t make it, new plans came up. :(

You stare at the text in disbelief, wanting to call Taerae and give him hell for canceling right at ten when you already spent an hour getting ready. You text him back telling him it was completely ok and you’d text him later after the party. There’s no point in wasting the hard work you put in, ordering a cab to take you to the party, thanking the driver as you step out onto the sidewalk. You knew the host, Lew, had money but this house was way over your expectations. Entering the party you make it a point to thank Lew for hosting, darting afterwards towards the kitchen past the sea of bodies to find anything to drink to kill time, making due with a bottle of strawberry soju. Slipping back into the living room your eyes catch sight of Eunchan, surprised he came as he’s not the type to show up to parties, turning away to make conversation with drunk strangers as you finish your own drink in hand. It’s your third bottle as you start to nurse it, stumbling towards the couch completely forgetting Eunchan is there, groaning as you kick off your heels onto the floor, taking another drink from the bottle and mindlessly turning to look next to you.

“Ugh, why are you here?” You question Eunchan who stares at you dumbfounded, motioning towards the huge crowd of people.

“Believe it or not we’re at a party literally everyone was invited.”

With a glare you shake your head while pointing at him.

“No I mean why are you here when you never come to parties. You’re kind of a goody two shoes, no?”

This time Eunchan rolls his eyes and smacks your hand away, not listening to you as you whine, telling you to stop asking questions whilst drunk. Despite failing, you try to convince him you’re not drunk, shakily standing up which fails as you stumble back onto the couch, a rush of nausea washing over you. This makes you spring up much in Eunchan’s surprise, shoving your drink into his hand as you dart up the stairs to the bathroom, slamming the door behind you barely making it to the toilet; throwing up. It’s nearly five minutes of consecutive throwing up before there’s a gentle knock against the bathroom door, managing a croaked “what,” Eunchan cracking the door open to ask if you’re alright. Before you can properly answer his concerns you throw up again, his hand rubbing comforting circles against your back as you empty your stomach contents. He tells you to wait here, you joking that you didn’t plan on leaving with puke all over your top, him returning with a bottle of water and his sweatshirt hanging over his arm.

“Go ahead and change into this and i’ll take you home, don’t worry about it.” Eunchan closes the door behind himself, telling people to go to the other bathroom as you change, embarrassed by the fact your rival was on the other side of the door helping you. Hyping yourself up in the mirror to open the bathroom door, you crack it open to not hit him, thanking him for helping you, embarrassment making your body red hot. He tells you not to worry about it, apologizing for throwing your drink away as he hands you an empty thank you bag. Quickly throwing your dirtied top into it you follow behind him to his car, stopping at the passenger side door.

“I didn’t drink.” Eunchan said as he steps into his car, you nodded while getting in yourself, securing your seatbelt. Maybe it was the drinks you had or the fact you were in Eunchan’s car in his sweatshirt that had you quiet and strangely nervous. You don’t really remember getting to his apartment, him helping you out and up to the front door. Sleep was pricking both your brain and eyes, letting Eunchan guide you into the apartment, falling against the couch whining when he tells you to get up that the couch wasn’t going to be comfortable enough for you. He helps you take off your shoes, picking you up from the couch and jokingly calling you annoying as he gets you to his bedroom, laying you in bed and covering you with the blanket. You complain your jeans were uncomfortable going to take them off, Eunchan quickly bidding you goodnight before darting out of the bedroom and back to the living room. He groans as he stretches across the couch, laughing to himself in disbelief as he tucks a pillow under his head, covering himself with the throw blanket.

The beam of sunlight directly attacking your eyes wakes you up, sitting up slowly cradling your forehead pained from the hangover. Finally gaining enough strength to open your eyes, you collect your surroundings realizing you didn’t recognize the place. It definitely wasn’t your dorm, or a dorm room at all, reaching over to check the time on your phone. It was midafternoon, throwing off the blanket and looking down at the sweater, the faint memories of last night flooding in all at once making your eyes widen. Oh my god. Scrambling to find your things and take off the sweater (to which you threw back on realizing you only had your bra on and your top nowhere in sight) you crack the bedroom door open to ensure the coast was clear, darting to what you assumed was the front door, knocking into Eunchan as he stepped inside.

“Running out already?” He joked while stepping around your frozen body, placing a drink carrier with coffees and a small box of donuts onto the coffee table. Guilt (definitely not the aroma of fresh hot coffee and presumably freshly baked donuts) made you turn back around and sit onto the couch, shaking your head embarrassed.

“Thank you for helping me last night, I’m sorry you had to witness that.”

Eunchan looks at you with a smile as he chuckles, passing you a coffee, quickly thanking him as he lets you choose a donut first.

“It wasn’t any problem. I couldn’t see leaving you alone to fend for yourself when I -“ he cuts himself off clearing his throat throwing you an awkward smile. “It just wouldn’t be good of me to leave you drunk and throwing up alone.” You raise an eyebrow at his sudden shyness, letting it slide as you were too embarrassed yourself to bring up the details of last night.

“Do you need a ride back to your dorm? I tried to wait for your roommate but she either fell back asleep or took too long, I didn’t want to keep making you wait in the cold.”

“I can always take a bus, thank you and again, I’m sorry for making you take care of me in my drunken state.”

Eunchan’s hand freezes, his coffee cup against his lips as he stares at you blankly. He sets the cup down against his coaster while shaking his head.

“There’s genuinely no reason for you to be sorry. I offered my help and it wasn’t like it put me out any. I don’t help just anyone. Buses will be packed since it’s nearly ten so let me take you to the dorms at least.” Eunchan takes a bite from his donut as you sit there staring at him in curiosity. Doesn’t help just anyone, huh? You thought to yourself as you finished off your donut, resting back against the couch in silence as he finished his breakfast. You figured there wasn’t any reason to argue with him as you sort of enjoyed the extra care. Looking down at the sweater you remember your top from last night, asking Eunchan if he knew what you’ve done with it, him getting up from the couch leaving the living room and coming back with your top now cleaned.

“Sorry, I didn’t want it to sit in the throw up so when I got you in bed I went ahead and cleaned it so it didn’t stain.”

You stare at him in awe, thanking him as you take it from his hands, excusing yourself as you go to the bathroom to change shirts. You liked the bagginess of his sweater already missing the soft fabric against your arms as you throw on your top, gently folding the sweater and placing it onto the hamper feeling weird about just tossing it in there mindlessly. Returning to the living room you help him clean up the remnants of breakfast, thanking him again for the hospitality as you two walk to his car. He jokes that you say thank you too much for the bare minimum which made you wonder what he considered as spoiling someone. You spaced out majority of the ride to the dorms, a bit preoccupied with the last twenty four hours that have been the most eventful you’ve had in a long while, thanking him again for bringing you back, tucking money into his cup holder and leaving before he can refuse it. Waving at him you press your student ID against the scanner, heading up to your dorm to hopefully spend your Saturday alone in the dorm until your roommate got home from work later tonight.

Monday you spend the day being grilled by Taerae who is very curious about what happened and why he heard from a friend of a friend that you left and got dropped off the next day from Eunchan. You tell him it’s not what it sounded like and he helped you after you got sick and your roommate didn’t get up to let you in, Eunchan not wanting you to be left out alone drunk. Taerae calls you messy and teases you for not taking it as an opportunity to flirt with him, you kicking him under the table for suggesting it. Turning the tables on him you tease him for bringing you to the universities’ café just so he could watch the barista, Hanbin, work. He calls you stupid but the blush across his face simply confirms what you already knew, proud of yourself for winning a few moments of no teasing. The bells of the café doors opening catches your attention, looking up and instantly back down as you catch sight of Eunchan, barely whispering when you tell Taerae to stop staring at him. Taerae smirks at you as he stands up, walking towards Eunchan pretending to ask Hanbin for a straw, making small talk with Eunchan as he motions towards you. Eunchan turns to look at you, quickly looking out the window as embarrassment covers your face in a flush, cursing Taerae in your head for being a prick. Turning your head to take a peek, Eunchan is still looking at you, deciding to wave at him instead of being rude. He gives you a smile, thanking Hanbin for the coffee, leaving the two to talk as he walks up to you. Instinctively you start fixing your hair which makes you mentally scream at yourself for doing so, smiling at Eunchan who pulls out a chair and sits down next to you.

“How are you?” You ask, trying to not choke on your words, sipping on your coffee to keep your mouth busy. Eunchan smiles as he speaks seemingly amused with your actions.

“Well someone left money in my car and ran away before I could give it back so I figured why not get a coffee with it. So, thank you for the coffee before practice.”

You tell him it’s boring compared to what he did for you, peeking over Eunchan’s shoulder glaring at Taerae who winks at you. Eunchan follows your gaze and apologizes for interrupting your date going to stand up. Not entirely thinking you grab his hand, dropping it in shock as you inform him that Taerae is only a friend, apologizing for grabbing his hand suddenly. With a smile Eunchan nods and says “noted,” stopping to tell you he didn’t mind his hand being held as he leaves the café.

The next few weeks you and Eunchan get closer. You can’t exactly place when and how it came to be but you’d meet up by the front doors, walking towards the café to grab coffees before class. Sometimes he’d text you to sleep in, saying he’ll just pick you up coffee, those days you were thankful.

“Are you and Eunchan dating?”

The question makes you choke on your food, wiping your lips as you rapidly shake your head at Taerae.

“We are definitely not dating, oh my god. What would make you think that?” You asked in between coughs and sips of iced coffee. He shrugs, taking a sip of his coffee before answering you finally.

“Well, you two have become extremely close after the party it seems. Everyone assumed you two liked each other hence the bickering but now you two are still bickering but very-“ Taerae pauses to think of what to say, clicking his tongue against his teeth. “- Close and the blushing is off putting.”

You groan, dropping your head against the table. Taerae laughs at you rubbing your back as he tells you it’s ok that you’ve decided to join the enemies to lovers trope; this earns him a jab to the ribs. The bell rings and you throw your trash away, walking out of the cafeteria and running into Eunchan who’s waiting for you across the doors, leaning back against the lockers. What Taerae said makes you blush, groaning in your head when Taerae tells you to have fun, running off to his next class with his other group of friends. Eunchan smiles at you, pushing himself off the lockers and towards you, asking if you enjoyed your lunch. You smile back and say yes, returning the courtesy by asking him if he enjoyed his lunch. He teases you for being unoriginal and says he didn’t have time since he was practicing, you stop in your tracks and glare at him, turning back around on your heel. He calls for you asking where you were going, you ignore his questions and grab him a banana milk, yogurt cup with fruit, and bread, paying for the snacks and shoving the bag into his hands. Eunchan whines telling you that he was fine, you continue to ignore him telling him that you’ll talk to him once he eats. This leads to the two of you sitting in his car, you in the passenger seat facing him with your arms crossed as you watch him eat. Eunchan peeks over at you and chuckles, blushing on his cheeks as he looks through the driver's side window.

“It’s hard to comfortably eat when you’re staring at me so hard, you know? I’m going to get indigestion from you.”

You tell him to stop being dramatic, playfully smacking his arm as you adjust in your seat to sit forward, sipping on your drink and scrolling through your phone while he finishes. Once he finishes (yes you made sure to check) you tell him he did a great job, ruffling his hair and telling him he’s regained your talking privileges. He stares at you with wide eyes, telling you that you’re a dork, his face so red you panicked he was going to burn up. Denying he was blushing you lean over the center console, poking his right cheek and saying he was definitely blushing, he quickly turns to face you which makes you in turn blush now, his face dangerously close to yours. Panicking, you lean back towards your seat and take a long swig of your iced coffee, changing the subject to ask if he had any plans. Eunchan shakes his head asking if you had anything to which you also shake your head. You two sit in silence for a moment before Eunchan asks if you’d like to hang out. Deciding you had nothing better to do, you nod, him smiling and starting the car.

The drive is silent mostly besides the occasional small talk and music. It’s peaceful and you realized your time spent with Eunchan is peaceful, you don’t think too much or worry around him. Pulling up to a convenience store, Eunchan hands you his card and tells you to pick out whatever you want snack wise. You come back out with two bags in each hand, Eunchan laughing asking if you got him anything to which you sarcastically shake your head telling him no. The remainder of the ride you two spend it screaming music, pulling up to a hiking trail, your eyes wide with wonder as you gaze around the scenery. Eunchan parks and tells you to let him carry the bags, stepping out to open the trunk, pulling out a blanket, locking the door when you step out. You go to try and help carry something but he denied you of doing so saying it was his job, shaking your head playfully at his ways. The hike isn’t very long thankfully, making it into the clearing, the sight of flowers spotting the grass makes you gasp in awe, following closely behind Eunchan. He guides you to a more open spot, laying the picnic blanket down and letting you lay down on it, resting down right beside you. The sun wasn’t bright thankfully due to the trees blocking it only allowing very subtle dim rays hit against your legs. For a while the two of you talk about everything and anything that comes to mind, laughing in between bites of fruit and sips of water, you don’t realize how close you two got, shyly blushing when the conversation fizzles out into quietness.

Eunchan tilts his head to the side, his eyes sparkling under the bright moon, making his already handsome features softer and angelic like. A blush creeps up your neck and settles down onto your face, the very little space between the two of you making your heart race, pounding against your chest.

“I know we’re supposed to be rivals, that’s what everyone expects now but I really want to kiss you.”

Eunchan’s words make your heart explode, your mouth opening to respond but nothing comes out, him growing embarrassed and getting up to leave you grab his hand, shaking your head. He raises his eyebrow in confusion, leaning back down letting you try to regain your composure, collecting your face into his hand.

“May I kiss you?”

With these last few weeks of you two becoming closer with each other, you couldn’t have ever predicted to be in this situation with him but you didn’t regret that drunken night anymore, not one bit. You nod, allowing him to guide you closer by the hand on your hip, closing your eyes when your lips touch. Your lips work simultaneously with his, the taste of his chapstick making you shiver, leaning closer as he moves the hand to your lower back lessening the distance between you two. Eunchan pulling your bottom lip in between his teeth makes you gasp, giving him room to slide his tongue alongside yours for a brief moment. The kiss was intoxicating, making your brain fuzzy as you climbed onto his lap, your hands wrapped around his neck to keep him close. If it was possible to get even closer you’d take that opportunity, huffing in annoyance not feeling close enough. Eunchan stops, pulling away, staring at you with concern.

“You ok? I didn’t mean to go too fast.” He said while going to help you off his lap. This takes you by surprise, holding yourself in place by tensing your thighs giving him a playful glare as if daring him to move you again. He chuckles calling you cute, cupping your jaw as he places a few more kisses against your lips. You whine that he feels too distanced burying your face into his chest trying to desperately satisfy the need to be impossibly close to Eunchan.

He lays back against the blanket, his hands naturally guiding to hold your thighs, smiling up at you making you blush looking away from him. Eunchan playfully pinches your thigh telling you to look at him, you are overwhelmed with so many feelings, squirming in his lap from his pinches and pokes. Your body freezes when Eunchan chokes out for you to stop moving in between a moan, his grip on your thighs firm keeping you still against his lap. Apologizing for making him uncomfortable he shakes his head, reassuring you that it wasn’t your fault, but his because he’s holding back the best he can. This intrigued you, pressing your weight back down onto his lap, subtly moving your hips against it. Eunchan’s grip tightens as he warns you that he’s going to lose all his will to hold back on his desires. Leaning down, you press a kiss against his ear, asking him why he’s trying so hard to hold back when even his body is begging for something else. He brings your face back to his, catching you into a heated kiss, his hands touching, exploring your body over your clothes. The slowness in pace annoys you, whining that you wanted to feel him, leaning up to pull off your cardigan leaving you in your skirt and cami. Cursing under his breath, Eunchan pulls you down to kiss against your now exposed collarbones, nipping at the skin leaving nice sized marks behind. You beg him to touch you, earning a bite against the soft part under your jaw, breath hitching in your throat as Eunchan slips his hand under your skirt. Mentally thanking yourself for wearing such as he growls in annoyance over your tights covering your skin, he tears the fabric without second thought making the wetness between your legs worsen.

“Eunchan.” You breathlessly moan into his chest as he continues to tear the fabric out of his way, stopping once satisfied. His fingers brush over the lacey fabric of your thong causing you to shiver, blushing over him teasing you for having such lewd panties on. You rebuttal saying you were hoping to have them in full view for him, this backfired as he accuses you of having such dirty thoughts. The two of you bicker back and forth before he shuts you up with his fingers pulling the fabric to the side, fingers brushing up against your folds. You bite your lip in between your teeth as he rubs you slowly seeing what makes you tick and beg for. The teasing only continues as he works his fingers slowly rubbing your clit making you whine against his chest, easing your ass up in hopes of getting more. His fingers pinching and rolling your clit in between them makes you shake, pretty cries being milked out of you, squeezing around him as he slips a single finger into you.

“Please, fuck,” You moan loudly against Eunchan while he manages to slip a second finger alongside the first, pumping them at a pace threatening to have you cum. You fumble to get a hand under his pants, struggling with the various buttons pleading for him to give you more than just his fingers. He calls you impatient which you don’t disagree with, giggling as he lays you down on your back, kicking off his pants making you drool as he takes off his boxers. You tell him to make sure to pull out, raising your hips as he takes off your panties and the ripped remains of your tights. The way Eunchan is looking at you makes you wetter, eyes rolling back as he rubs himself against your folds and clit. Neediness fills your entire being as you beg him to fuck you, telling him that you couldn’t wait any longer with a pout. Eunchan smirks at you but is quick to please, gently pressing into you, reminding you to relax as you clench around his size not expecting the stretch. His girth makes you roll your eyes back into your skull as he begins to change his pace into something steady. Soon you're holding hands as he thrusts into you eagerly, reducing you to nothing but moans and cries, the other hand flat on your lower abdomen urging you to cum. A slight change in position makes you shudder, Eunchan abusing your sweet spot until you’re cumming around him, mind going completely blank. With your lower half risen to meet flush with his pelvis, your pussy swollen and overstimulated.

“Please, Eunchan, please.” You whisper from behind your arms, covering your expressions as you moan feeling him twitch inside you signaling he was close to his own orgasm. Crying into his shoulder when he leans down, chasing his high making your inner thighs bright red and sore from how quick he was being. He pulls out, cumming onto the very edge of the blanket where the grass meets the fabric, cursing with each stroke. You whine as he leans back over to place a kiss against your lips, not allowing him to leave until you are satisfied. He asks if you’re ok, nodding in response asking him to grab your purse. Eunchan hands it to you, offering to help as you pull out a small pack of baby wipes, humming in stimulation as he gently cleans you up. Reality doesn’t set in until the car is packed up and you’re driving away, blushing thinking about how you just had sex with Eunchan, let alone outside. It’s quickly changed to a proud smirk as you thank Eunchan for the lovely evening, his face turning pink as he says it was his pleasure.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?” You questioned looking at him with a smile as he pulled up to your dorm building. He nods and offers to pick you up in the morning for classes, happily agreeing with thanking him once more for earlier plans. Wishing him to get home safely, you lean forward to give him a quick kiss, bidding him goodnight as you leave to head inside.

Tomorrow is exactly what you were exactly expecting it to be, everyone staring as you two walk into the university hand in hand, sporting very visible hickies walking to your first class together. Taerae spots you first, his mouth dropping as he sees you linked with Eunchan, you sitting down next to him allowing him to gawk at you trying to process it.

“What the hell? You-,” he takes a quick pause before continuing. “And Eunchan - - when did this happen? Am I dreaming?”

Giving him a pinch against his thigh he jumps, rubbing the pain away as he mutters about you not knowing what a joke was. Not giving him another chance to fall into a rambling mess of questions, you go into detail about the course of events that led to this (of course not mentioning your activities at the picnic.) Which Taerae clocks instantly pointing at the display of hickies adorned down your neck and collarbones.

“And those, don’t tell me that you burned yourself with a curling iron.”

You feign ignorance asking what he meant, Taerae smacking you against the neck making you yelp and hit him back. Eunchan turns around in his seat, looking at you rubbing your neck then towards Taerae.

“I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t slap my girlfriend’s neck right now, if you can’t tell I already bruised her enough.”

Eunchan smiles smugly as he turns back around, Taerae gagging and telling the both of you to go perish away together. However you sit there frozen in your body, the same word repeating itself in your head like a montra.

Girlfriend.

Girlfriend…

Girlfriend?!

You chew on your thumbnail, staring holes into the back of Eunchan’s head. He never properly asked you out yet but he called you his girlfriend, so was it an automatic thing? Did he mean it or was it something casual that he slipped out by accident? The uncertainty of it was driving you mad, taking out your phone and sending him a text.

Meet me by the library door after this?

Watching as he fished out his phone from his jacket, your stomach bursts in nervousness from his response.

Sure.

The class ends, letting Taerae you were heading out first, ignoring the confused look on his face as he peers over your shoulder at Eunchan. Beelining to the library doors, you collect your courage mumbling to yourself to try and get your thoughts together to not shut down once in his presence.

“How is the conversation going?”

Hearing Eunchan’s voice causes you to jump startled out of your thoughts, turning around with an embarrassed smile on your face.

“Uh, good, I guess.” You drag out the sentence, nervously rocking on the balls of your feet, Eunchan having to bring your attention back to him.

“What did you need?”

The precious nervousness bubbles up in the pit of your stomach, your cheeks aflame trying to make the words escape from your mouth, stumbling on your words.

“What did you mean earlier when you said that I was, you know, your girlfriend?”

“What else would I mean?”

You pause, a subtle frown forming on your lips.

“You never asked me out, I wasn’t aware that we were exclusive.”

“Do you not want to be?” You can hear the slight hurt in Eunchan’s words quickly reassuring him that wasn’t what you were trying to say. Explaining how it took you by surprise due to the fact neither of you had made clear of your stance on the relationship and if it was serious or a fling stemmed from a new friends with benefits outlook. There’s a disappointed expression on his face which makes you feel guilty, reaching up to cup his face the best you could due to his height, speaking to him slowly yet gently as one could.

“Will you be my official boyfriend?”

“Always.” Eunchan responds, bending down so that he can place lips against yours, his hand cupping the back of your neck sending electricity down your spine and throughout your veins. His cologne welcomes you warmly, doing your best to bring him closer by yanking on the sleeves of his jacket, your lips working in perfect unison, humming contently while his fingers tag the hairs on the back of your neck.

The moment is cut short when you hear an exaggerated gagging noise, breaking away from Eunchan and peering around him seeing Taerae standing there hand in hand with Hanbin.

“You two are so gross, spare our eyes, please we beg.”

Flipping him off, you look up at Eunchan flashing him a smile before taking his hand and walking up to Taerae.

“One to talk when you got your fingers interlocked. I give it not even a few hours and you’ll be in the stairwells kissing away.”

Making dramatic kissing noises at him, Taerae whined that you're annoying, laughing as Eunchan tugs you towards his side, telling you to be nice. Taerae thanked Eunchan for quote on quote, “finally making a smart and intelligent proposal.” He laughs at Taerae’s comments, saying he’ll take it as a personal win for himself, the four of you walking out to the parking lot to head home. You stop on the passenger side of Eunchan’s car, smiling at him.

“What are you thinking?” Eunchan asked, eyeing the playful expression on your face.

“Can I come over?”

With an amsused smirk, Eunchan unlocks the doors for you, nodding.

“You never have to ask, beautiful.”

The drive to his place is quiet, not uncomfortable, but the sort of silence that brings you a sense of peace. Eunchan’s thumb brushing your hand in a gentle rhythm that puts you at ease, nodding subtly to his music.

Pulling into the parking lot, you undo your seatbelt before lifting yourself up using the center console as a boost to plant a surprise kiss against his cheek. He sits there surprised but quickly shifts to excitement, climbing out of the car after you. Reaching the front door, he snaked his free arm around your waist, unlocking the door and pushing it open to let you go in first, shutting it close behind him. No words were spoken as you spun around on your heel, pushing yourself up onto your tiptoes to kiss Eunchan. Placing his hands on either side of your hips, he pulls you closer, deepening the kiss as if not being close enough to you would harm him. The kiss itself is deep, passionate, and full of need from the both of you. Eunchan hummed deep in his throat, clearly obsessed with how small you were in comparison to him.

You trail your hand to cup him through his sweats, earning a nearly inaudible sigh from Eunchan who pulls away to look down at your hand then back up at your eyes. Taking it as a sign to continue, you do exactly that, palming him not yet breaking past the fabric of his sweats nor his boxers. His mouth hung open ever so slightly while his eyes fought to stay open, tipping his head back when you finally dipped your hand past the band of his clothes and touched his bare skin. The way your hand was working his leaking dick made his legs unstable, holding himself upright by leaning against the back of the couch.

“Fuck, baby, want to fuck you.”

Eunchan’s voice was low and raspy by now, pleasure coursing through him that he was sure he’d cum soon if he didn't stop you. With a playful whine, you grab his hand and guide him around the couch before sitting down, climbing onto his lap with ease. Instinctively placing his hands back onto your hips, he initiates the kiss, back to where you were just moments prior. Kissing Eunchan was exhilarating, his soft plump lips sending sparks throughout your body that made you crave more with each kiss. Feeling his erection grow under your ass, you lift yourself up by your knees, leaning down to whisper into his ear.

“Please, fuck me.”

It’s nearly automatic in the way Eunchan latches himself onto you, kissing and biting any exposed skin he could get his lips to. His large hands worked their way to bunch up your skirt to expose your panties (which didn’t stay on longer than a few seconds after he admired them).

“Channie,” you moaned as he rub his fingertips against your aroused clit, biting down onto your bottom lip internally begging for him to fuck you already; growing impatient from his teasing. Eunchan smiles smugly, loving the way you respond expressively to him, having you hover over his lap just long enough to pull both his sweats and boxers down. Staring at his dick you whip your head back up to meet his eyes then back down.

How the fuck did you fit that in you last time, you pondered.

Eunchan is quick to notice the uncertainty on your face, bringing you down to kiss your face whilst returning his hand to rub your pussy.

“You can take it, baby, you’ve done it before.”

Embarrassment brought a blush to your face but his words made you wetter, whimpering from his fingers dipping into and back out of your pussy. Carefully working you to ensure not to hurt you, he waits for you to ask for more before rubbing the head of his dick against your hole, gasping loudly as you sink down onto it. He firmly (and lovingly) tells you to slow down to not hurt yourself, your tiny cries being lost into the fabric of his shirt as you buried your face into him. The slight discomfort grows into pleasure as you begin to move your hips, Eunchan aiding you by lifting you up then slowly pulling you back down to meet flush with his thighs. He takes his time which allows for you to relax and fall into a rhythm with him, your head tilting to the side as you ride him.

Eunchan groans as your moves become needier, bouncing on his lap causing your skin to redden from the impact.

“Feel so good, baby, fuck.” He grabs a handful of your ass in each hand, kneading it between his fingers repeating the process over until your ass was red and stung to any degree of touching.

Your legs were beginning to grow tired, sweetly begging Eunchan for help, clenching around him knowing he’d fold instantly. Which unsurprisingly enough, works perfectly in your favor. Eunchan’s thrusts are deep but still considerably gentle, his face now buried into the crook of your neck. His breath fanned across your skin in between wet kisses and bites, your brain growing fuzzy from the sensitivity of your skin there. Each other's moans filled out the space of the living room, babbling between broken moans how amazing he felt or how badly you wanted to cum. Your growing need to cum was getting dangerous, Eunchan pushing down on your stomach whilst whispering into your ear, his teeth nipping at your earlobe in betweenst words. He was toying with you and enjoying every second of it shamelessly. The red hot knot growing tight in your abdomen threatened to unravel at any given moment now, moaning you were so close, hugging Eunchan tightly.

“Cum for me, baby, such a good girl.”

Eunchan quickens his thrusts, growing sloppier and uncoordinated as his own orgasm begins to unravel itself, thighs spasming as he cums in you. You cry into his chest, reaching your breaking point cumming onto his dick, shaking uncontrollably as you slump into him. Desperately trying to gulp any oxygen to your lungs, you clench around him feeling the mess you both contributed spill onto his lap. Eunchan carefully maneuvers you so he can pull out gaining shaky moans from you as he drags across your sensitive pussy, sitting back onto his lap absolutely spent.

Brushing the hair out of your face, Eunchan plants several kisses across your face, ignoring the sweat across your brows.

“You’re so beautiful.” His voice is deep as well as soft, a little blush forming on your cheeks due to his concentration on you.

“Shut up.”

“Yeah, that’s all you got to say, hm?”

Eunchan wraps you in a hug, kissing you all over your face, making you laugh and failing repeatedly trying to push Eunchan to climb off his lap and get away. It’s no use as his grip is secured, slumping back comfortably into his chest, playfully smacking your head against his chest. Placing his hand onto your forehead he lifts you to sit up, fixing your hair once more with a shake of his head.

“You’re something else.”

“Jeez thanks, I love you too.”

“Oh, you love me?” Eunchan smiles, his eyes cutely scrunched up making your heart jump from the cuteness.

“Of course I love you, my gosh.” You feign a pout, Eunchan pulling you up into yet another kiss, combing his fingers through your hair.

“Stop pouting, I love you so much.”

“Mm, good.”

Smiling brightly at his words, you let yourself get wrapped up into a heated make out session, tipping your head back as he pushed himself back into you.

Your heart exploded, it was amazing having the greatest boyfriend you could ever possibly wish for.

Enemies to lovers, what a silly yet beautiful trope.

[xain-russell]

Before I jump into trying to make an ask/ RP blog again, I want to see if I can get a few questions answered and drawn and see how it feels.

Please send me asks about my silly dragon Vivid! I’ll pick out a few and stream some doodles tomorrow!

[bakerstreetbaggins]

WIP thing

Thank you so muchhhhh for the tag @supernova3space !!!

Tbh I don't have a whole lot done of the next chap of my current WIP - in vain of wanting - butttt I do have a little snippet of something else I was working on a little earlier. Idk if I'm gonna post it or not (it's nowhere near done lol) but here ya go!

The sun is setting when Patroclus hears something small clink against his window. He’s got his music turned up, some rock band both he and Achilles have taken a liking to, echoing against the small walls of his bedroom while his textbooks lay open on his bed. He’s got a test in the next few days, and he figured he’d at least try to somewhat study for it. He glances up at his window briefly, the sun catching the sky in pinks and purples outside, but he doesn’t see anything. Back to the books, then. Who knew eighth grade English could be so boring? Rhetorical. He and Achilles were always bored to death during class. Even now, Patroclus has to resist doodling in the corner of his page. He flips it as the beat of the drums thumps through his speaker, and huffs amusingly at the dick Achilles had drawn yesterday without him noticing. Another ping, a bit louder, like someone was throwing rocks at his window. He glances up, frowning at his window now, and still nothing is there. He couldn’t be imagining it, could he? Another ping, and yes, that is definitely a rock. Or a pebble, or something. He gets up and opens the window to see Achilles down on the front lawn, a handful of pebbles in his hand with one leg swung over his bike. “Patroclus!” He whisper-shouts from down below. “Achilles?” Patroclus returns, at regular volume, sending his friend a look of bewilderment. “What are you doing?” Achilles’ hair has grown longer from when they were kids - Patroclus had just turned fourteen, Achilles having turned just a month earlier - and he has to push it back out of his face to look up at him, falling in cascades over his tanned shoulders. “Come down!” he calls. “No, I’ve got to study.” Achilles frowns at that, pouting. “Studying’s for losers. Come down, I want to go to the beach.” Patroclus glares at him at that. Studying is not for losers, thank you very much. “Is not,” he retorts, “and I don’t want to fail the test on Thursday.” Achilles gives him a look. “You’re not going to fail. You’ll probably ace it.” He doesn’t have any words for that - other than that Achilles is much more confident in Patroclus’ English-class skills than he is himself. “Not right now, Achilles. Maybe tomorrow.” Achilles huffs with frustration, pushing his hair back once again. “What if you brought your books down to the beach with us?” “And get them all sandy and wet? You know that’s a bad idea.” Besides, with Achilles there, Patroclus knows he won’t get any work done whatsoever. Achilles huffs again. “Come on. It’s so nice out!” He gestures wildly at the sky, now turning orange at the horizon. “You’d really waste such a nice evening on studying? When you could be down at the beach with me?”

He does want to go down to the beach with him, because literally anything sounds better than poring over English textbooks right now, especially on a warm night such as tonight. But… The test will be hard - their class was right at the end of the unit, and the more he thought about it, the more stressed he became. Achilles would always be right across the yard from him, waiting for mischief. The test, however, would not. He feels genuinely bad when he calls down, “I’m sorry, ‘Chilles, but not tonight. I seriously need to study. We can go to the beach tomorrow, if you want, okay?” Achilles’ face drops at that, his shoulders slumping in disappointment. “Seriously?” Oh, now that just makes him feel horrible, like something sliced through his gut. “I’ll see you tomorrow, alright?” Achilles doesn’t say anything back, only giving him a disappointed look from down below. Patroclus takes that as a yes, and gives him a half-smile before shutting his window and reluctantly retreating back to his textbooks. It’s not even a minute later when he hears another three pings against his window, following each other in rapid procession. He gets up and yanks his window open once again. “Cut it out, Achilles!” He doesn’t. “Come down!” The words are hissed through the air, accompanied by another barrage of pebbles, dinging against the glass window. “Stop it!” Patroclus hisses back, now becoming increasingly annoyed. “If you crack my window, my dad is going to kill me!” “So just come down so I don’t have to break your window!” “Why do you have to break my window at all?” “Just come down!” There is real anger in his words now, his eyes glaring, his cheeks red. It’s not a look Patroclus sees often, and hardly is it ever directed at him. It makes Patroclus pause, watching him from his window, because he knows now that something must be wrong. “Just…” Achilles hesitates, taking a deep breath. “Just come with me, okay? I wanted to show you something.” The rock music behind him is still playing, the song having switched during the whole exchange. His books are still waiting for him, open expectantly. He bites his lip - a nervous habit he hasn’t managed to get rid of yet. “Please?”