#I’m jazzed if it updates and fine if it doesn’t.

[ssruis]

@nyanderhoy

Actually criminally underrated. it lives in my head rent free.

If pjsk was good we’d have more saki and rui interactions but colopale hates people with good taste

[leonw4nter]

maybe like a lil drabble (or whatever you’d like to do) where instead of hunnigan working with leon, it’s the reader. and they be all flirty and cute and kinda like 👉👈

tbh it can work for anything post-re2r, even if its still before re4r. you can do how he acts around you in different eras (if you want to at all, or just choose an era)

sooo whatever you have most inspo with! thank youu

RE4R!Leon x FOSAgent!F!Reader drabble

After Ashley and Luis had gone to sleep in the small ramshackle shed Leon had managed to locate for the night, he sat by the entrance of their temporary shelter and turned on his comms, waiting for his radio to pick up a stable wavelength to relay information back to HQ. The dingy little thing still wouldn’t pick up a frequency, which the blond didn’t wonder about since he’s been thrown around one too many times, the walkie-talkie probably also got a small beating along with the impact his body took. After giving a small pat to the black box in his hands, he finally managed to hear the static of his handler’s voice.

“Condor One to Roost, baby Eagle is currently taking shelter in this… dilapidated hut,” he sternly reports. “Along with Sera. Luis Sera.”

A moment of silence fills the air, accompanying the gentle pitter patter of the rain on the thickening mud before you respond to his reports.

“Hmm… aerial imaging tells me you’re near a lake, am I right? Can hear the rain from here,” you say.

“Yeah. We’re not too far from a lake,” he responds. “Guess we got eyes in the sky too, huh.”

He hears a faint little breath coming from you, probably a soft scoff. He smiles to himself, the first time in a long time before he brings his wrist near to his face.

“What time is it back home?” he asks.

“1300.”

“You should probably get some rest, baby. Don’t worry about me, I’m making sure we all get out of here in one piece.”

“I want to but I can’t bring myself to,” he hears you softly respond. “I can’t risk losing you, you know. I gotta keep guard on comms 24/7 even though I know you’re great at your job.”

Leon’s heart squeezes a little bit; he knows how important rest is to someone, which is ironic considering how he hasn’t had proper rest in over 96 hours and is desperately craving a good, lengthy sleep though he doesn’t mind if it means keeping Ashley and the flirty Spaniard safe and sound. He won’t mind, most of all, if it meant keeping in touch with you.

“And besides, I have reports to send to Graham– location updates, aerial view images, all that jazz. I have many things to work on,” you say before he hears you yawn quietly. “It’s not like I can just stop doing these because I’m tired; at the end of the day, the president is a father who wants to know how his daughter is doing all the way on the other side of the world. He’s worried sick.”

“And at the end of the day, I’m just your boyfriend who wants to make sure my girlfriend is still taking care of herself despite all her workload,” Leon responds. “I know baby, I know but still take some time to rest– even for a little bit.”

A soft sigh can be heard from your end.

“Fine. But aren’t you supposed to be resting too? Don’t see any threats within a 3-mile radius, you’re good.”

“Nah. Gotta keep watch, can’t be too vigilant. You’ll be the one resting for both of us tonight,” he says.

“Leon.”

“I’ll get rest later, honey. I promise,” Leon pleads.

Another sigh. Gosh, Leon hates how you’ve been sighing a lot more lately, which meant that a lot was weighing on your mind.

“Promise me that. Or I’ll personally fly there to beat your ass.”

“I’d rather you beat something else of mine instead,” Leon jokes.

“I’ll remind you, agent Kennedy, that we’re still on government-operated frequencies so I highly recommend communicating in a professional manner.”

“Ma’am yes ma’am agent Kestrel, the absolute love of my life.”

“I’m going to go on the break you’ve been forcing me to have instead.”

Leon chuckles to himself, a small puff of air leaving his cracked and pale lips.

“Okay, okay. Good night, baby. I’ll talk to you 4 hours from now.”

“Good night, hon. I… I miss you and… please stay safe,” you sincerely whisper to him, unable to switch off the frequency connecting you to him.

“Me too. I miss you. I love you,” he says before turning the radio off and placing it back in one of the many fancy pockets he had.

He props one leg up while he sits, resting his forearm on his knee as he looks out into the dark and foggy scenery. The rain would be nice if he was back home with his girlfriend, cuddling and joking in the bed of their shared apartment instead of this miserable hellhole infested with mutants and murder-crazed cult fanatics. As much as he wanted to bring along a locket or a small picture of you he couldn’t, out of making sure that there would be no traces of foreigners that the crazy locals could use to somehow involve all of America into this. A faint creak of the rickety wooden floorboards has the hairs on the back of his head standing, his hands flying to the sleek silver pistol on his holster to point it at the source of the noise, only for the source of the noise to be the nosy Spaniard who was unfortunately very much wide awake and conscious throughout the conversation he had.

“Didn’t know you had a ladylove, sancho.” was all the man said after raising his arms up as the agent pointed his gun at him.

Leon put his gun back down, the usual smoulder and frown taking its place back into his haggard features as he sat back down and stared out into nothingness again.

“Didn’t peg you as the type to call a lady ‘baby’ or ‘honey’,” he teases. He walks up to Leon, taking a spot beside him and placing a cigarette to his lips before lighting the end of it with his lighter.

“‘You should probably get some rest, baby’,” Luis repeats with a sly smirk as he shoots Leon a curious look.

Leon simply gives him a death glare, squinting his eyes before turning his attention back to somewhere that isn’t irritating or getting on his last nerve.

“That’s not what it was.” It was what it was.

“Mhm, Sancho.”

“You be thankful she hasn’t ratted your ass out to the president yet,” he hisses.

“Good point there,” Luis sneers. “No… no anything then?”, to which Leon responds with silence.

“Then… perhaps she’d like to go out for a jive, a little dance of bachata with me,” the Spaniard presses with a shit-eating grin. “Since you two don’t seem to be anything.”

“Back off from my girlfriend,” Leon blurted as he froze the man in front of him with his steel blue gaze.

Luis puts out his cigarette, chucking it somewhere and gets up as he walks back to where he ‘slept’ moments ago.

“Okay, sancho. I can clearly see that you’re hers,” he comments. “I guess only you have the pass to call her ‘the absolute love of your life’. Buenas noches, amigo.”

With a wink, he lays back down on the floor and turns to his side to fall asleep.

NOTES - It feels great to finally get back to posting again!!! It's been quite some time and since I'm finally finished with the third quarter and my tests, I'll be more active with posting fics :)) Requests have been marinating in my inbox and I know ppl have been waiting for quite some time so here's the request, more otw!!!! I'm also eepy rn so I'm going to go to bed after I post this <3 Neways, thanks for reading my works and I <3333 UUUU!!!!!! HAVE A GREAT DAY WHEREVER YOU ARE <3

[jazzthatonewriterchick]

Rock The Boat 🛳️(Bartender!Toji x Black!Fem!Reader 18+ One Shot)

Pairing: Toji Fushigiro x Black!Fem!Reader (Strangers to Lovers)

Synopsis: You go on a cruise vacation after your boyfriend cheats on you and meets Toji, the fine-ass bartender & divorcee. You're invited to a white party that he’s working at and while there, you find yourself flirting with him thanks to the liquid courage. After slipping him a note with room number, you wait for him that night. At first, you believe that he isn’t coming and feel rejected, but when he does, you realize that this vacation is just what you need to get over your heartbreak. 

Warnings: Smutty Smut; 18+ (MINORS GTFO); Black-coded!Reader; Flirting; Alcohol Consumption; Dom!Toji/sub!Reader; Drunk Sex; Oral (Giving & Receiving); Spitting; Toji Drinks Patron Off Your Tits & P*ssy; Daddy Kink; Spanking; Mild Choking; Backshots On Balcony; Exhibitionism; Missionary; Doggystyle; Unprotected Sex; Raw Creampie; Aftercare; Mild Yuki x Choso

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters mentioned in this fic. However, as this is my writing, I do not give permission for my work to be reposted on any other sites that are not from my own accounts. Thank you!

Writer’s Note: I’ve had this idea for a minute now & wanted to write it cuz I’m a whore for balcony sex. Also, I just started my college courses so my writing updates may slow down a bit, BUT I’ll still be writing as much as I can. -Jazz 💋💋

*********

You sit next to the lonely soul with the horrible comb-over at the pool bar, your cheek in your hand and your brain taking you to places other than here with him.

Like in the pool of appetizingly blue water with the rest of the cruisers or at the spa getting a massage and a mud mask done. 

“I just don’t think women realize how much they can hurt men by treating them like sex objects, y’know? Like, yes, I understand that men can do it too, but I believe that’s only because men are testing women! They want to weed out the real women and the quote-on-quote “whores”. I thought my ex-wife was a real woman, but…”

To anyone watching, it’d look like you’re intently listening to the man (a divorced investment banker, as he told you) discuss his extremely sexist, incel-like views and ideologies, but your eyes are about a second away from rolling out of your skull. 

Your eyes flit to where you left Yuki, your bestie and partner in crime, at the poolside only to find her flirting with the cute guy you met yesterday standing in line to get dinner at the buffet. He has a black mullet, inked muscles, and a lip piercing that no doubt is getting Yuki interested. You believe his name is Choso. 

Yuki lays back on her pool chair in her black bikini and sunglasses, flashing Choso a smile that makes him blush and sheepishly rub the back of his neck. 

You curse your friend for having such an easy time flirting with cute guys while you’re stuck sitting in the middle of this middle-aged divorcee’s tirade of ignorant thoughts that you no doubt know his people refuse to listen to, so that’s why he’s telling you about them. 

“Most women are gold diggers nowadays and only seem to focus on the outside instead of the inside,” he laments into his vodka spritzer. “That’s why I’m so glad you’re not like that. As nice-looking as you are, you’re still sitting here talking to me.” He gives you a smile that makes you feel bad because he is 100% wrong. 

Not that you’re a gold digger, but you absolutely would want to talk to someone you classify as ‘eye candy’, like Choso. Especially someone who doesn’t make you want to take a gun to your forehead. But you return the smile, forcing it as much as you can. The divorcee turns to the bar and waves his hand. “A third, please!” He calls. 

With him distracted, you take a sip of your tequila sunrise, wanting desperately to get another. You curse Yuki even more for encouraging you to flirt even though this is what a singles’ cruise is supposed to be about: flirting, romancing, and fucking people that you’ll never see again. 

Yuki had come up with the idea for you two to vacay on the water for seven days on a boat about five months ago when you were still healing from your boyfriend’s betrayal. After three years of dating and hoping to live together to begin your lives, you discovered that he had been cheating on you after a random chick contacted you over IG with photos of him asleep in her bed. 

“I don’t want to keep him,” she told you. “I just wanted you to know what was going on.” Apparently, he had met her at a club and things took off from there. Of course, he denied it until you showed him photos. Then it was the waterworks, the “I’m so sorry”s, and then empty promises of never doing it again. 

But of course, dogs will be dogs. As soon as you broke it off, you found him posted up in a strip club between two dancers’ fat asses. You blocked him with the quickness, permanently taking him out of your life, but that didn’t stop the heartbreak, the betrayal, and the lonely nights when you desperately wanted to call. 

Tired of seeing you moping around your shared apartment all gloom and doom, Yuki found the perfect solution: “Let’s go on a singles’ cruise!” She bellowed to you over coffee one morning. “It’s for seven days, we dock at Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, and St. Martin, and all that is on the boat are hot singles wanting to meet other hot singles like us!” 

You thought it was a stupid plan. You haven’t been away from home since your teens when you flew to Mexico for a family vacay. But then again, it would be nice to get out of the city and see new sights. And maybe the water and hot guys would help cure your heartbreak. So you agreed, split the payment with Yuki, packed your cutest swimsuits and sundresses, and now here you are! 

Here you are trying to think of a good way to tell this drunk divorcee that it was nice chatting with him, but you’re due for a dip in the pool curiosity of the skimpy, cut-out one-piece that Yuki made you buy for the thong and deep V-neck that makes your breasts look immaculate. 

You sip your drink for liquid courage, but you’re stopped when a deep, silky yet raspy voice comes from behind the bar: “Apologies for this, sir,” he says, “but you’ve reached your limit on your drink card. I can’t serve you anymore till you get that taken care of.” Both you and the divorcee turn to stare in shock at the bartender standing behind the tiki bar…and he’s by far the finest man you’ve ever seen. 

He’s tall, he’s buff, and he’s got eyes and a voice that would make any woman cream her panties. Standing about 6-foot something, he towers over you as you sit on your barstool. His toned body fills out his Hawaiian shirt and khakis, his thick thighs and pecs pushing up against the fabric. You see yourself running your fingers through his black hair or the scar running over the corner of his lips. Veins run up and down his arms and big, calloused hands that pass the drink card back to the divorcee who looks red in the face. 

“W-What?!” the divorcee stammers. “But that’s impossible! I specifically ordered a card for unlimited drinks!” The bartender shrugs, not looking the least bit apologetic or sympathetic. “Well, ya may not remember, but I had warned you at the casino bar to be careful orderin’ all of those drinks, especially since you only docked the boat yesterday.” 

The divorcee opens his mouth to say more and the buff bartender raises an eyebrow, waiting for a rebuttal. Instead, the divorced banker snatches his card up, downs the rest of his drink, and scurries off back to the pool. You turn to the bartender who shakes his head disappointedly. “Don’t worry ‘bout him,” he says, turning to you. “He’s just a lonely, drunk soul. All he does is bother the single girls.” 

He pauses, picking up a shaker and vigorously shaking it as he speaks. “I’m assumin’ you’re single?” He questions, obviously fishing for a conversation. You raise an eyebrow at him, wondering what he’s getting at. “I am,” you reply. “Why? You interested?” 

The bartender stifles a chuckle as he opens the shaker and pours some orange liquid into a frosted daiquiri glass. “That would be overstepping, wouldn’t it?” He rhetorically asks. “I mean, you’re a customer and this is my job. It wouldn’t be…” He pauses, passing you another tequila sunrise. “Proper.” 

He gives you a smirk, the very tiny movement making your insides flutter. He’s just too damn fine! “My treat,” he says. “No payment required.” Hesitantly, you take the new glass while he takes your old one and passes it off to get washed. ”What is this?” You chuckle. “You buyin’ me a drink?” 

“Makin’ one, actually,” he corrects you as he passes two people some club sodas. “And to make you feel better after that guy got on ya nerves.” He ticks his intensely brown eyes up to yours. “You looked like ya needed a hand.” 

You titter into your glass, already feeling the tequila taking its toll, making you talk shit. “A hand?” You parrot. “I was actually handling that, thank you very much.” 

The bartender, who you realize is still a stranger to you, laughs at this. The deep, sexy rumble of the sound makes you feel hot in your swimsuit. “Oh, yeah, ‘cause you were doing such a great job,” he sarcastically replies. “That man would’ve talked you to death.” 

You purse your lips at him, wondering if you should send the drink back or toss it in his face. “And who are you?” You sharply ask. It’s more rhetorical, but he answers anyway: “Toji Fushigiro.” He reaches one of his big hands out across the bar towards you. “Pleasure to meet you, uh…” He trails off, allowing you to fill the space with your name. You hesitantly eye his hand before tentatively reaching out to shake it. “Y/N,” you say, ignoring the zing of electricity zipping through your arm at his rough palm and firm grip. “Nice to meet you too.” 

“Mmm, I’m sure,” Toji replies and you quirk a questionable brow at him. “I make the best drinks on this boat,” he explains with a shrug as he retracts his hand. You suddenly feel cold despite the hot sun beaming down on you. “You’ll be even happier you’ve met me once you get a taste of the cocktails I can whip up.” 

You scoff, rolling your eyes. “Oh, really? You talk such big game that I almost don’t believe you.” You take a sip of your drink, aware that he made it and it’s the best damn tequila sunrise you’ve ever had. It puts the one you had earlier made by another bartender to shame. 

A spark suddenly appears behind Toji’s eyes. One of…interest? Mirth? Curiosity? Whatever it is, it makes you feel exposed despite your bathing suit and cover-up. “It ain’t ‘big game’, Y/N,” he says, your name sounding like a sin coming off of his tongue. “When I talk, it ain’t shit. It’s all real and from experience.” 

You watch his hands quickly fix another drink, grabbing, whisking, mixing, etc. He is obviously a pro at this. You can’t imagine what his fingers could do to you in the darkness of a bedroom. Realizing where your thoughts are headed, you mentally kick yourself. He’s a whole stranger and you’re thinking about fucking him! 

‘Get it together,’ you think. You still haven’t even read him or his intentions yet. Though he’s undeniably hot with hands that you’d love to feel wrapped around your neck, a body you want on top of yours, and a voice that you know has delicious moans, you don’t know how you feel about sleeping with a guy you barely know. You at least want to get to know more about him.

So you play along, twirling your straw around your glass. “Oh, really?” you ask, a purr in your voice. “I’d say prove it, but you already fixed me a drink and you look kinda busy.” 

To slowly take the straw into your mouth, wrapping your plump, glossy lips around it. Toji watches, not so subtly staring dead at your mouth. His eyes tick back up to yours as if he just realized that he’s working and he smirks. “Not enough for you,” he replies. 

Before he can do absolutely anything though, his phone rings in his back pocket. He looks visibly frustrated, his brows narrowing and the corner of his mouth that is scarred twitching. “Shit,” he sighs. “Duty calls, I’m afraid.” 

You find yourself feeling disappointed that he’s leaving too. “But listen,” he continues, passing you a white card from behind the bar. You take it and read it, realizing that it’s an invitation. “I’m gonna be workin’ at an all-white party later tonight, adults only. It’ll start at 8 PM, but I suggest comin’ around 10 if you want the best drinks. That’s when my shift starts.” 

His smirk, sparked with playfulness and mischief, widens. You contemplate your decision for a bit before you give him a smile. “Alright then,” you agree. “I’ll see you then, Toji.” You take a final sip of your drink and pass it to him. As he reaches for it and grabs it, your fingers brush against each other. Maybe it’s the alcohol, but you believe you see him inhale sharply through his nostrils as if your touch has burned him. 

I’ll be lookin’ forward to it,” he murmurs. “Enjoy the drink and the pool, Y/N.” He gives you a wink before he heads off to clean your glasses, leaving you feeling lightheaded and tingly all over. 

When you meet up with Yuki by the pool, you feel like you need to take a dip to cool yourself off. She sits up in her chair, putting her sunglasses on her head. “Whatcha get?” she asks. “A number from that hot bartender, I hope.” She grins at you, signaling that she’d been watching you the whole time. 

With a secretive smile, you silently pass her the invite and her eyes go wide.m“A party invite?!” she gasps, grinning up at you. “Girl, he wants you! Now we have to go! You brought a white dress with you, right?” 

And so Yuki drags you to the nearest shop on the boat to get the perfect outfit for tonight. 

***********

As soon as you arrive at the all-white party with Yuki, you want to go back to your room and sleep almost immediately. 

Number one it’s because the music is waaay too loud. While you’re a fan of rolling your windows down and blasting your music in your car, it’s not enough to blow out your eardrums. But this music is. And number two, the pool is waaaay too crowded. There has to be about one hundred guests here tonight all dressed in their finest white outfits under the strobe lights. They surround the pool and the tiki bar where the bartenders must be working overtime. 

You look towards the bar, hoping to at least see a glimpse of Toji. Admittedly, he was the only reason you decided to buy the dress Yuki pressed you into trying on before you came down here with Yuki after filling your stomachs at supper. 

Before the party, you and Yuki attended a delicious lobster dinner and pre-gamed with cocktails before going upstairs to get dressed. She’s decked out in a flowing white dress that hugs her toned body oh-so nicely and strappy sandals, her flowing, blonde hair cascading down her back in soft curls. She looks damn good. 

You feel like you do too. Standing in the bathroom mirror in your cabin, you slid your hands down your sides in your mini white halter dress with a chiffon skater skirt that stops mid-thigh and ties around your neck in a cute bow. The V-neck leaves a silver of cleavage that eyes are drawn to (unbeknownst to you) because of the long gold chain you added to match your hoop earrings and strappy heels. 

After applying some Fenty Glossbomb to make your lips look plump and juicy, some shimmer oil to make your brown skin pop, and piling your braids into a bun at the top of your head, you felt sexy. Goddess-like. Good enough to eat. But even now, despite still looking hot, you don’t quite feel it. You can already feel yourself becoming overstimulated by the crowd and disappointed at not seeing Toji. “Well, it’s 10:02 and he’s not here,” you announce, checking your phone. 

Yuki pets your shoulder like you’re a cat, intending to comfort you. “He’s probably just late,” she assures you, looking around for someone in particular before pouting. “Choso isn’t here yet either. C’mon, let’s get a drink.” 

She drags you over to the tiki bar, scouting out two stools at the end of the bar. You anxiously tap your finger against your knee, your anxiety rising along with the sound of the music and miscellaneous conversations as people get drunker. Suddenly, the idea of meeting Toji with the intention of flirting and possibly having casual sex doesn’t feel like a good idea. 

“Yuki, I don’t know about this,” you sigh, leaning in towards her ear. “I haven’t dated or slept with anyone since the breakup.” Your friend furrows her blonde brows at you, her eyes soft. “And that’s okay!” she replies. “All it takes is a little push. Bartender, a round of tequila over here, please!” 

She waves one manicured hand at a pixie of a bartender and she nods, running to get your order. She then turns to you, cocking her head to the side. “That Toji guy looked like he’s exactly what you need, but you need to give him a try, Y/N! Besides, even if he doesn’t show, you’ve got plenty of dudes in here who will gladly spend the night with you as fine as you look!” 

She motions her hand up and down your legs; thighs; boobs; face; even your feet. “What have you got to lose?” She asks and the question stumps you. Really, nothing. You already lost your relationship. And maybe a trip filled with hot sex would be just the trick to help you out of your slump of heartbreak. 

But even so, the anxious, paranoid part of you still lingers on the ‘what ifs’. What if he isn’t interested? What if he turns out to be a creep? What if he tosses you over the balcony into the shark-infested waters? ….Okay, maybe that’s just your ID Channel obsession talking, but still! 

Even now, your lips wobble, prepared to protest against Yuki’s encouraging speech. “But—“ 

“Hey there, can I buy you two pretty ladies some drinks?” A mildly familiar, sexy, deep voice suddenly asks near your ear. You turn around, prepared to either agree, say no, or jump down the man’s throat, but your words die in your throat when you see Toji leaning against the bar behind you. 

And he looks yummier than he did earlier. He decided to wear white too—the shirt he wears is short-sleeved and halfway unbuttoned to show the sliver of his chest and a name tattoo that you can’t read on his right pec paired with khaki shorts and white Vans. The gold jewelry—a chain around his neck, a watch, and an anklet on one of his ankles—add to this deliciously masculine summertime fit. You’ve been waiting for him to arrive, but now that he’s here, all the flirty bite you had in you earlier disappears.

You let out an embarrassing croak which he humorously smiles at. His smile is a killer, all white teeth and goddamn dimples. Damn him. He knows his powers. 

“I thought you were making the drinks,” Yuki says, talking for you since you suddenly cannot. “Though we’re not complaining, shouldn’t you be behind that bar?” 

“Not till 10:30,” Toji answers with a wink. “We’re fully booked with bartenders till then, so I’ve got a little break, but I can make a few exceptions for you two.” He looks at the bar, finding the tray of tequila shots sitting there. “Or not,” he chuckles. “Looks like you girls have already started.” 

He takes a seat next to you, practically filling up the space beside you with how big he is. “Uh, this is my friend Yuki,” you say, quickly snapping back to reality. “She’s my cruise buddy.” The blonde smiles at the bartender, putting an arm around you. “And the best person in her life,” she giggles. 

Toji offers his hand across you for a handshake. “Toji. Nice to meet you.” Yuki’s phone suddenly flashes and she quickly digs into her purse for it. She smiles at the mystery message on her phone and gives you a wink. “You two go on ahead and enjoy yourselves. My guest just arrived.” Meaning Choso is here and you’ll be left alone. 

Yuki downs a tequila shot, gives you a sticky kiss on the cheek, and leans down to whisper to you. “Have fun,” she says. “Call me if you need me.” And then, before you can even stop her or beg her to stay, she is gone. 

Now you’re left alone with the hot bartender. You become acutely aware of how close he's sitting next to you, his knee almost brushing yours. He clears his throat to ebb away the awkwardness, ”So you decided to come,” he states, smiling at you. 

You turn away, staring at your nails instead. You’re afraid to look at him too much or else you’ll melt. “I said I would, didn’t I?” you reply, picking up a shot glass. “So here I am.” You take a swig and swallow it whole before sucking on a lemon to ease the strong taste and burn in your throat. 

“I’d say you look good, but that isn’t goin’ to sweeten you up, is it?” Toji asks. He says it jokingly, but you can tell he’s noticed how hostile you seem. “What, party scene ain’t your thing?” 

You turn him, expecting him to be laughing at you, but you see none of that. Now you feel like a bitch. “Ah…no, I’m just a little seasick,” you lie. “Sorry. I’m just not used to cruises.” You sound as lame as you feel. “Why’d you decide to come then?” he wonders aloud. “Other than the pool and trips.” 

You allow yourself to chuckle, liking that he’s trying to ease your nerves. So you decide to tell him. “A breakup.” You watch Toji’s face fall. “I was with someone for three years, hoping that they’d ask me to move in with them or even propose, but that didn’t happen ‘cause they cheated on me, and for the last five months, I’ve been…” 

You pause, realizing that you’ve been talking for far too long. “Shit,” you sheepishly laugh. “Why didn’t you stop me from rambling?” 

Toji reaches across you for a shot glass and you realize just how big his arm is. He could put you in a chokehold if he wanted to and you’d enjoy it. ‘Cause I thought it was cute,” he simply replies as he downs the shot in one gulp. “But seriously: your ex sounds like a fuckin’ idiot. Barely a man.” 

You crack a small smile at his attempt at comforting you. “Yeah,” you sigh. “Thanks.” 

Silence descends upon you again, but this time, it’s less awkward or tense. “You ain’t the only one with a breakup on their back,” he somberly says. “My ex-wife and I divorced two years ago, but she recently got engaged to a new man. Can’t say I didn’t face that blow.” He heaves a heavy sigh, looking down from the memory. 

“Well, what happened?” You blurt and then cover your mouth, horrified at your prying. What is wrong with you tonight? “I-I’m sorry, you don’t have to—“ 

“Money problems,” he interrupts. “Plus, we married young when we had my son and started growin’ apart. That’s the name I’ve got on my chest that you were starin’ at: my son’s name.” He peels back a bit of his shirt to show you his tattoo. “Megumi”, it reads. 

“Yes, I saw you starin’ at it earlier,” he sniggers, his eyes filled with mirth. “You’re not as discreet as you think, darlin’.” You scowl at him, happy to be Black so he doesn’t see you blushing. “You jerk,” you scoff while he cackles at your dispense. “Fine. Then what about me starin’ dead at my boobs?” 

Toji looks like a kid caught in a cookie jar now. “It’s actually the necklace I was starin’ at—“ 

“Liar!” You laugh, lightly punching him in the arm. “You sound like one of my school kids’ lyin’ to my face after I told them not to do something.” Interest appears on his face. “School kids? You’re a teacher?” 

You nod, picking up another shot. Your second one of the night. “Yep, for about five years now.” You love your teaching job and your students. It feels good to be able to be such an important figure in their little lives. 

Toji whistles to himself. “Shit, my kid would definitely pay attention in school if he had a teacher that looked like you.” You criticize yourself for folding so easily. How does this man have so much game? But then again, he was married, so you suppose he knows how to flirt. 

He reaches for another shot and holds it up. “Cheers to work, new experiences, and a summer to remember.” You smile and raise your glass as well. “Cheers,” you parrot before you both down your shots in one gulp. 

Your second shot turns into a third. Then a fourth. And soon, it becomes easier to talk to Toji and not feel so awkward. You feel loose, but not enough to come out of your clothes or fall over chairs. The liquid courage gives you just enough confidence to stop being so closed off and start talking. Really talking. You converse with Toji the whole time about everything: your job, why he decided to bartend, where you’re both from (you’re from the US while he was born in Japan), relationships, food, etc. 

You find that you love talking to Toji. It could be the tequila shots, but you find yourself hanging onto all of his answers, jokes, and little quips. You giggle at his attempts at flirting with you and you flirt back, slamming your attraction down on the bar. “Y’know, you’re a really good listener,” you drunkenly admit. “Definitely not like my ex-dick.” He laughs, sucking on a lime. “It’s the magic of a bartender,” he chuckles. “I get that a lot, but you make it easy to listen.” 

His hooded eyes stare deeply into yours, making you turn into a puddle on the bar stool. You feel absolutely delicious and untouchable being in his presence, especially under his gaze. He can’t keep his eyes off of you. However, his magic is broken when a timer on his phone goes off. 

“Well, duty calls,” he sighs, stretching his big arms over his head. “Now I can show you all my tricks.” 

You giggle as he slides off of his stool and lifts up the bar to get to his post. “You mean that big game you were talkin’ earlier?” you snigger, crossing your legs over each other as you turn to face him. “Ah-ah, sweetie,” he tuts. “I told you: it’s all real. Lemme prove it to you.” 

‘I’d let you prove anything to me,’ you think, completely and totally wet over this man. How can you not be? Every word out of his mouth sounds like an innuendo or a promise better suited for the bedroom. You try to quell your horny thoughts as you watch him lean over the bar, giving you that playful smile. “What would you like?” he asks. “A mango daiquiri? Piña colada? Pick your poison.”

You take a moment to think, tapping one nail against your chin. “Hmmm…how ‘bout a mai tai?” 

Toji’s smile falls. “Seriously?” he asks. “All the fancy drinks I’ve been namin’ and you pick a mai tai? C’mon, darlin’, give me somethin’ bettter!” 

You stick your tongue out at him. “I want what I want,” you boldly say. “Now are you gonna give it to me or do I have to find it with another bartender?” You cock your head to the side, sizing him up. Toji, on the same type of time as you, smirks and begins to whip up your order. 

You watch his big arms and skillful hands whisk; pour; grab; shake. You imagine his hands all over you, one wrapped around your neck while the other is between your thighs, his thick fingers curled in your p– 

“Somethin’ here you like, miss?” he teasingly asks, his brown eyes fixed on you. You’ve been caught. “No,” you cough, feigning embarrassment. “Just wonderin’ what the hell is takin’ so long.” A twinkle appears in Toji’s eyes, attracted to your ability to keep up with his quips, as he finally pushes the finished drink your way. 

He watches you as you take a sip. You moan softly at the taste, falling in love with it. “Mmm!” you hum. “Okay, fine, I’ll bite. This is amazing.” Toji smiles, pleased. “I’m so glad I could please you,” he responds in that silky voice. “Looks like dude over there wants to please you too.” He nods down at the bar. 

You look to where he’s looking and notice another admirer with so much hair gel that it makes his hair stick together in clumps. He gives you a smile that looks more like a grimace and raises his glass your way. “Mmmm,” you hum, but not in a seductive, pleased way. You’re disgusted. “Not your type?” Toji asks, stifling his laughter as he wipes down the bar. 

You give the stranger a small smile before turning away and sipping your drink as if he isn’t there. “Let’s just say I don’t like hair gel.” Toji suddenly stops cleaning, interested in you now. “Then what is your type?” he boldly asks. 

You. You pout pretending to think. A lady never tells her secrets this early, but there’s something about the bartender that makes you want to throw all caution to the wind. You want him to know you’re feeling him. “Well….I like men who are tall…and can make me laugh…and are good with their hands.” You trail your eyes down to his big, strong hands. He notices. 

“What about you? What’s your type of girl?” You take a sip of your drink to cool yourself down, feeling hot all over. But then Toji fixes you with a look over the bar that makes you feel like you’ve stepped foot in a boiling volcano. “The kind that like mai tais,” he answers. His phone rings then, dropping whatever was about to happen from happening. “That’s my boss. Hang on a sec.” 

When he leaves, you finally feel like you can breathe, but your pussy has had it by now. She knows what she wants and she will get it. So you quickly take two more sips of your mai tai and fish $10 out of your purse along with a pen that you use to scribble down a message on a napkin: 

Toji, I left cuz I was overstimulated from the party. I loved talking to you & would like to do more up in my cabin. If you’re interested, come to the top floor at 210. I’ll see you then. - Y/N 

You fold the $20 into the napkin and leave it under your drink before leaving. When you text Yuki that you’re heading upstairs but to stay at the party, she catches on immediately. You don’t have to tell her that Toji will possibly be upstairs with you. “Just be careful, tell me everything later, and make sure he eats pussy,” she texts you back. 

After an hour he doesn’t show up. After two, he still doesn’t show up. When three hours go by, you’ve finished your glass of wine and have dozed off on the couch. When you wake up alone in your cabin with no Toji, you feel disappointment and embarrassment flare inside of you. You feel stupid. 

While it occurs to you that you never specifically asked him when his shift ends tonight, the party is over! It said it ended at midnight on the invitation. Plus, if you had asked when he’d be done with work, you would’ve exposed yourself for wanting to spend the night with him. You were supposed to be a creature of mystery AND seduction. 

But…maybe you should’ve just told him. Maybe you should’ve been real about your intentions from the start like Yuki encouraged you to be. You think about your lovely best friend leaving the party with Choso on her arm and going up to his room. The thought makes you sick. 

You thought for sure that you’d be in the same boat as her tonight, but you were sadly mistaken. Now here you are, sitting alone in your pretty sundress, slightly sober from the nap and not wanting to be. Viciously swiping away a lone tear that drips down your cheek, you pour yourself another glass of wine. What you need right now is a hot bubble bath. 

But as you walk towards the bathroom with every intention of drawing yourself a relaxing bath, stripping off your stupid dress, sipping your wine, and washing away tonight, you hear a sudden loud knock on the door. 

You startle, nearly dropping your wine goblet. You stare at the door, perplexed and scared. Yuki has her own key, so she won’t be knocking. So who in the hell is knocking on your door at this time of night? “Yes?” You call, your voice stern despite the wobble in it. “Y/N?” Toji’s deep voice drifts through the door. “It’s Toji. It’s late, I know, but I got your note and—“ 

You’re walking across the room and flinging the door open before he can finish. There he is standing before you. This isn’t a drunken hallucination or a mirage. He is right here at your door, still as sexy as the moment you saw him at the party tonight. He leans against the doorframe, looking like a big, hulking Adonis. 

“Sorry,” you breathlessly say. “I couldn’t really hear you.” “Can I come in?” he asks, his dark eyes hopeful. You nod and step aside for him to enter the empty cabin. ”Sorry for the mess.” 

“S’cool,” he chuckles. “I was sayin’ I got your note, but I got held up at the party. I was put on cleanin’ duty, but after that, I shot out of there as fast as I could.” He turns to you now and takes your smaller hands in his bigger ones, gently stroking your knuckles with his thumbs. His touch sends electricity shooting throughout your body. 

“I’m sorry to ask,” he says, his voice soft, “but is your offer still on the table?” His gaze is not intense but it is hot. It tells you that he still wants whatever you want to happen to happen. You now know he feels the same attraction to you that you do to him. 

Throwing all caution, insecurities, and doubt to the wind, you take your hands out of his, place them on his broad shoulders, and stand on your toes to press a hot, open-mouthed kiss to his lips. Toji moans into the kiss, his lips moving in tandem with yours. He tastes of mint gum and the tequila you consumed before, his tongue slowly chasing yours. 

When you pull away, there is a string of spit that attaches itself to your bottom lip. Toji’s gaze is dark and heated, burning you on the spot. “Don’t apologize,” you murmur against his lips. “Just fuck me. Please.” 

Toji grins down at you and instantly grabs your ass over your dress. “That’s all I needed to hear, baby,” he exhales before swooping in to take you into another sloppy, open-mouthed kiss that results in a make-out session. His pillowy-soft lips and stubble rubbing against your chin instantly make you wet. You can’t remember the last time a man’s kiss made you feel so aroused. 

His hands and body too. As his fingers and big palms glide up and down your thighs and ass beneath your dress, your hands indulge in his lusciously hard muscles. His biceps, pectorals, and abs all seduce you, making your inner thighs clench together in excitement. You can’t help but moan and whimper into his mouth, your bodies pressed against each other, hands all over each other’s bodies.

Finally fed up, Toji tears himself away from you, panting heavily. “Turn around and let me take this off of you,” he demands, his hands gliding down your sides. “As good as you look in this dress, I need to see it on the floor.” 

You do as he says and shiver as his fingers brush your skin while he toys with the bow holding your dress up. He only has to pull on one of the ties to make it slide off your body, exposing your brown skin, naked breasts, and thong to him. He runs a hand down his face as he gapes at you. “Shit,” he hisses. “Now why the fuck would anyone cheat on you? Your ex is officially a dickhead.” 

He moves towards you and swoops you up in his arms, wrapping them around your front. You bite your lip, instantly falling back into him. “You’re fuckin’ perfect,” he whispers, his teeth nibbling at your ear. “Lemme show you how much. Just tell me what you like.” 

As he kisses up and down your neck, gently sucks and nibbles on your hard nipples, and massages your ass with those big hands, you tell him every naughty, nasty thing you love. You tell him your kinks. Your fantasies. How you want to be touched and used. Toji’s smile grows wider and his cock grows harder with every secret that you tell him. 

Somehow, that all results in you getting spread eagle on your twin-sized bed while Toji is between your thighs, slurping at your pussy and fingerfucking you. You gasp and writhe on the mattress, one hand gripping the comforter while the other is laced in Toji’s black locks. “God, Toji, yes!” You whine, your voice bouncing off of the room’s walls. 

You don’t care if your neighbors hear you. Anyone would be as loud as you if they could feel Toji’s tongue swirling against your clit and his long, skilled fingers curling up inside of you. The wet squelching of his digits fucking your cunt make you even wetter much to his enjoyment. He eagerly slurps and licks up all that you give him, his tongue sliding down to your asscrack and then up again to your slit. 

“You taste so fuckin’ good, mama,” he moans, pressing a kiss to your quivering inner thighs. “But I know what’ll make ya taste even better.” He gives you a mischievous rin that both excites and scares you. He slowly slides his fingers out of you and sucks on them, looking you in your eyes as he does.

“Stay here,” he orders even though you’re not going anywhere. You watch him walk over to the mini fridge in your cabin and retrieve the complimentary mini bottle of Patron that was given to you and Yuki yesterday as a welcome gift. You got that along with the bottle of wine you just consumed, a fruit plate, and a bag of chocolates that you both shared while sitting on the balcony last night. 

Though Toji is only gone for two minutes, it’s enough to make your throbbing, aching pussy feel desperate and impatient. When he returns, you whimper, sliding your hand down to play with yourself. “Toji, please,” you whisper, gasping when he smacks your hand away. “Uh-uh,” he sternly says. “That’s my pussy tonight. No touchin’ what’s mine.” 

The idea of that turns you on more than you can express. You helplessly watch as he pops open the Patron and takes a swig before pouring a few droplets onto your hard, brown nipples. He swoops down and sucks on both, causing shocks of pleasure to soar through you. “Mmm,” you hum, eyes rolling back at the pleasure. 

Toji pulls away, his eyes intense. “Open your mouth,” he demands and you do. He takes a swig of the tequila before he leans in and presses his mouth to yours, spitting the Patron in it. You have no choice but to swallow it, your cunt throbbing from the act. 

“Like that, baby?” He asks, smirking down at you. Chuckling when you nod, he hovers over you and pours some Patron on your pussy lips. You gasp as the cool liquid hits your sensitive, heated skin, but the chill doesn’t last for long when Toji swoops in to engulf your cunt in his mouth and tongue. 

“Oh, Toji!” You gasp, your back arching off the bed. His fingers slip inside of you again as he hungrily laps at your pussy, slurping up your juices and the tequila. “Shit,” you hiss. “Right there! Oooh, yes, right there!” 

The bartender chuckles against your clit, keeping the same tempo and pressure as he fingers you, causing more juices to slip down your asscrack and onto the bed. It doesn’t take long for that knot in your core to tighten, threatening to snap the more Toji plays with your clit and your pussy. You grip his hair and shoulder for dear life, digging your nails into his skin and scalp. 

“T-Toji,” you stammer. “I-I’m close! You’re gonna…gonna make me cum.” The sexy man between your thighs mumbles in agreement against your cunt, demanding your orgasm with his fingers and tongue. “Cum for me, you little slut,” he growls. “Do it. Give it to me, baby.” 

You don’t even have a chance to warn him before your orgasm rolls out of you and hits you like a tidal wave that rocks you to your core. A loud scream-like moan escapes you as you gush all over Toji’s face, coating his chin and mouth in your cum along with his fingers. They become sticky with you and he loves every second of it. He continues to do this even as your body squirms beneath him and you try to push him away. 

“T-Toji,” you whimper. “W-Wait, oh, fuck, wait, i-it’s too much!” You’ve become overstimulated, your clit throbbing in protest to his tongue bath. Finally, he pulls away and hovers over you, his fingers and mouth coated in your cum. He then puts his fingers above your mouth. “Taste yourself,” he orders. 

Like a puppet pulled on strings, you sit up and suck your cum off of his fingers, staring deep into his eyes as you do. He then tears his digits out of your mouth like you just bit him and jumps up to strip. You watch with eager eyes as he takes off his shirt, pants, and then finally his briefs. Your eyes roam down his big, squeezable pecs, his washboard abs where a delicious happy trail lies, right down to his long, thick third arm swinging between his thick thighs and dripping in precum. 

“You’re perfect,” you whisper before you can stop yourself. Toji chuckles, pleased with your reaction to his physique. “Glad you like what you see, mama,” he says, giving his cock a little sway that has you hypnotized. “I do too.” He comes over to the edge of the bed and gets on top of you, straddling your chest. 

Your eyes widen at the cock in your face gently probing your chin. “Open your mouth, baby,” he coaxes. “Don’t I deserve some fun too?” He pushes his hips forward, gently prying your lips apart. You allow him to slide into your mouth and stretch your jaw to accommodate his girth. He is all length and thickness, stretching out your cheeks and immediately causing spit to gather in your mouth which makes it easier for him to fuck it. 

“Shit, baby,” he groans, watching you take his cock deeper. “You must’ve needed this too.” Through his hooded gaze, he is enchanted by the way you gag and slobber on his cock…with no hands. You bob your head up and down, your moans causing vibrations along his shaft that travel all the way to his balls. 

His hand grabs the back of your head as he begins to roll his hips against your mouth, making you take more and more of him down your throat. You begin to gag as he hits the back of your throat, but you don’t pull away. He chuckles, caressing your scalp. “I like that noise,” he hums. “Keep gaggin’ on that shit for me.” 

Like a good girl, you do, breathing through your nostrils as you do. You look up into his eyes, spit copious amounts of saliva onto his dick, and suck that shit like it’s your profession. His moans and swears egg you on, making your pussy throb and gush excitedly at the sexy sounds escaping his mouth. Even with the spit dripping down your mouth and your mascara ruined, you’ve never felt sexier being used like a toy for Toji’s pleasure. 

Having had enough, Toji finally slides out of your mouth with a moan and quickly jumps off of you. He stands at the end of the bed between your thighs and slides his dick once, twice, thrice against your slit before finally sliding home inside of the wet depths of your pussy. You both gasp in unison at the contact, the bliss hitting you both instantly. 

He yanks on your ankles, pulling you closer to the edge of the bed, and begins slowly rocking his hips into you. The act causes your clit to glide against his pelvis and more wetness to gather in your pussy that gushes around him. It makes it much easier for Toji to fuck you, so he places his hands on either side of your head and deepens his strokes. Your mouth falls agape, the stretching sensation and pleasure you feel otherworldly. “Ah!” you gasp, grabbing his shoulders. 

Toji is feeling the same, unable to stop his hips from moving and moans from escaping his lips. “God, you’re so fuckin’ tight,” he grunts. “You feel so good, darlin’.” He pants and groans in your ear, making your pussy throb excitedly at the sounds. The pleasure is so immense that you can feel tears gently pushing past your eyes. You can’t remember the last time you felt this good. You can’t get enough of him. You need all of him. 

You wrap your legs around his waist, pulling him closer. When he leans up to look down at you, you hold his gaze with yours. “Fuck me, Toji,” you beg through teary eyes. “Just take what you need.” 

Toji takes your wrists in his hands and pins them above your head, causing your heart to leap. “No…I’m gonna give you what you need,” he softly growls and captures your mouth in a sloppy kiss. And then he proceeds to grab your hips and piston into you until you see stars. You can’t stop the moans and gasps that escape you as his cock strokes your insides, causing lewd squelches and bouncing bedsprings to create a symphony of sex in the cabin. 

To anyone walking by your room, they’d absolutely know what’s up. You’re so loud that, of course, they’d hear your incoherent words mushed together from the pleasure and deep dick you’re being given. “Fuck, Toji, yes!” you babble. “Fuck me just like that! Just. Like. That!” 

Toji grins above you, proud of the way you’re submitting to him with every roll of his hips. Your body looks so good beneath him, pinned down to the bed with no way to go. You have no choice but to take all the dick he’s giving you. He loves the way your tits jiggle with every thrust of his hips, giving him something to watch other than your pretty face. 

He wonders what else he can make jiggle. Suddenly getting an idea, he pauses in his fucking and places his hands under your ass. Without pulling out, he picks you up and begins walking with you away from the bed. “W-Where are we going?” you softly ask, tightening your limbs around him. Toji just smirks at you as he uses one hand to unlock the balcony. “To get some air.” 

When you suddenly feel the cool air tinged with the smell of sea salt on your skin, you feel your heart leap and your stomach flip. What is he planning? With a soft moan, Toji pulls out of you and places you onto your feet. His eyes, filled with lust, are illuminated by the big, silver moon that hangs above the dark sea below. 

“Bend over,” he demands. Your eyes widen at him. “W-What?” you squeak. “But someone could see us!” There are plenty of people down below and on either side of you in their own cabins. Anyone could look up or over at you getting slutted out on the balcony. 

Toji firmly grasps your chin and squeezes your cheeks together, his expression almost feral. “I don’t give a fuck,” he growls. “They can look all the way. Regardless, I’m makin’ you cum and then fillin’ you up. Now bend the fuck over.” With his other hand, he gives your ass a smack. “Don’t make me ask you again.”

With your ass stinging and your pussy weeping, how can you deny him? You turn around and slowly bend over the balcony, grasping the bar as you do. You moan as he slides his cock up against your slit, nudging your clit, before sliding in again. Your moans grow embarrassingly louder as he begins to fuck you, his cock sinking deeper inside of you at this angle. “Fuuuck, you got wetter, mama,” he cackles, gripping your hips. “What, does my little slut like gettin’ backshots in public?” 

Slowly, he lifts up one of your legs, not enough to hurt you but enough to make you feel even more of him. His heavy balls slap against your clit as he thrusts a little faster than before, paying close attention to how you respond. T-Toji, no!” you whine. “Someone’s gonna see!” 

You can see people walking about on the lower deck, unaware of the woman getting backshots above them, Smack! He gives your asscheek another harsh smack that echoes across the water. “Didn’t I tell you I don’t give a fuck?” he grunts. “Let ‘em see this pussy gettin’ filled up. I’m givin’ you more pleasure than they’ll ever have in their lives, baby.” 

He grabs one of your tits with one hand, massaging it while he presses his face into your hair. You can feel him everywhere. Your senses are filled with nothing but him. Getting fucked by him in the summer breeze and moonlight is the most erotic thing that has ever happened to you. You can feel your pussy tightening around him, your peak nearing. 

As if sensing it, Toji turns your face to meet his as he continues to piston his cock into you, though he slows his pace in favor of agonizingly slow strokes. “Look at me, you little slut,” he demands. “Watch me fuck you.” His handsome face is flushed, sweat sticking to his forehead. “Tell me it feels good. Tell me you love this fuckin’ cock.” 

You feel delirious from the pleasure, like another woman who lives off of getting fucked and slutted out for the rest of her days has crawled into your body. “I love it!” you whine. “I fucking love it the way you fuck me, Daddy!” That’s the magic word for Toji. 

He grips you to him and proceeds to fuck you faster, harder, giving you exactly East you need. You wrap your arm around his head to bring him closer, sharing a sloppy kiss as his thrusts quickly bring you over the edge. You don’t care if people see you. You don’t care if they hear you. All that matters is right now. All that matters is that you cum. “God, Toji!” you shout, your voice carried among the waves. “You’re gonna make me cum!” 

Toji loops a hand around your neck and squeezes, making you gasp at the pressure. “Try again, mama.” 

Realizing your mistake, you quickly correct yourself, needing to cum. “Daddy, please,” you sob. “Please keep going! I need you to make me cum!” Toji smiles against your cheek, supremely satisfied with your compliance. “Good girl,” he grunts. “M’close too. Want you to cum on this dick while I fill you up.” 

There is no more talking. Only desperate moans, grunts, and gasps as he takes you to the land of bliss with his cock. You get yourself there quicker by rubbing your clit in time with his thrusts and finally, that knot inside of your core snaps. “I’m cumming, I’m cumming!” you babble. 

Toji doesn’t need to warn you. His desperate, sloppy thrusts tell you that he’s close and when he grips you tighter than a vice, your body flush against his, you know that he’s cumming you. As your pussy gushes around him, his cock explodes and floods you with his cum. You both moan in unison as your orgasms take you through the stars and above, beyond the sea and beyond that. It’s blissful. It’s a high you’ve never experienced before. 

When it fades, Toji pulls his cock, wet with your cum, out of you and wraps his hand around it, pumping it as he gives you a heated look. “On your knees. I’m not done with you yet.” On wobbly legs, you kneel down in front of him, watching him lazily stroke his cock in front of you. “Clean yourself off of me,” he demands. “You made the mess, so you need to clean it up.” 

You open your mouth and lazily lick his cock, cleaning yourself off of him. He softly moans as you do, caressing your hair. “Good girl,” he sighs. “Now did I make it up to you or what?”

You lean your head against his thigh, too exhausted to reply. “Aw, poor thing got fucked too good,” he chuckles. “C’mon, let’s get you inside. 

Suddenly, you’re lifted off of the floor and carried into the cabin. You feel the cool comforter underneath you as Toji lays you down on the bed and then his warm, hard body curls next to yours. You lean your head on his chest as he tests his hand on your ass, comfortable and content.

“So I’m guessin’ they’ll be a next time for this while you’re on your trip?” he asks. 

You can only nod in response as sleep comes like a wave and sweeps you out to sea with him. 

THE END.

[samgirl98]

Mending a Family 54/54

Prev | Mending a Family Master Post

A family is forgiven, goodbyes are given, and promises are made

Well, here it is, the final chapter

Dick was not jealous. He wasn’t! Just because Danny greeted Lian as his cousin, Roy as Uncle Roy, and Raven as Auntie Raven doesn’t mean Dick was jealous.

Is that the truth? Are those your genuine emotions? Dinah’s voice echoed in Dick’s head.

Okay, maybe he was jealous. But it wasn’t fair! He had his first nephew, and Danny was avoiding him, and when he wasn’t avoiding him, he was glaring at him with glowing green eyes.

Why isn’t it fair? Didn’t you do the same with Mar’i?

Ugh, being self-aware was annoying.

Jason laughed loudly with his whole body at something Roy had said. Even Danny smiled at whatever Roy had said. Dick gritted his teeth. Jason had never laughed with him like that. Well, it’s not as if Dick had given him many opportunities to laugh with Dick when he was younger. Dick regrets not getting closer to Jason when he was younger. Things might have been different if he hadn’t been so angry and jealous. By the time their relationship had started to get better, Jason had died. When he returned, well, there was no relationship to be had.

Dick’s phone beeped again with a notification. He had been receiving messages from his siblings who wanted to know how Jason and their newfound niblings were or from Mar’i wanting to know when she would see her new cousins and uncle.

Dick ignored them. He didn’t know what else to tell them. He had already updated them that Danny and Jason were fine.

Bruce walked up to Dick.

“He seems happy,” Bruce said in a neutral tone. Dick had been around the man long enough to know it was probably eating him inside. Like a typical rich kid, Bruce wasn’t used to sharing.

“Yeah, he does. I’m…happy for him.”

Even to Dick, his tone sounded insincere.

“Do you think he would want us in his life again? I’m glad to see him alive and well, but I want my son to at least speak to me. To us.”

“I don’t know, Bruce, I don’t know.”

“I will grant his wish if he doesn’t want to talk to us again, but it’ll hurt,” Bruce said. Dick stayed silent. He honestly didn’t know what to do. On the one hand, Jason was entitled to his boundaries. On the other, Dick wanted to beg his younger brother to let them back in.

Let him come to you first, Dinah’s voice sounded in his head.

“Did Talia leave already?”

“Yeah, she gave her final goodbyes to Danny, Jazz, and Jason and left.”

“Huh,” Dick was glad. He understood he was both Damian’s and, ugh, Jason’s mother, but he couldn’t stand the woman.

Danny suddenly turned to them and glared with his eerie green eyes. Every time he saw those Lazarus green eyes, Dick felt uneasy. Dick felt the sudden paranoia that Danny could read his thoughts. After all, he didn’t know what powers Danny had.

Danny snarled silently, showing tiny fangs.

“Children hold a lot of sway with their parents,” Dick said, “If Danny wants nothing to do with us, Jason is most likely to follow his son’s wishes.”

Bruce said nothing. Eventually, he left Dick and walked up to Roy and Jason.

Dick watched as Danny’s scowl deepened. The little boy left the group when Bruce started talking with Jason. Roy crossed his arms and glared at Bruce, not hiding it from Bruce.

Danny walked toward Lian and started talking to her. The little girl laughed at whatever Danny said. Dick smiled weakly. It was their fault that Jason had left. After all, they abandoned him first. They had no right to feel saddened.

It didn’t mean he didn’t feel it.

____

Danny didn’t like Bruce or Dick. They had been the cause of his dad’s suffering, Them and the whole so-called Batfamily.

Yes, even Alfred and Barbara, though dad always talked about them fondly.

After all, Alfred could have easily visited dad when he was feeling down, Bruce’s rules be damned. And Barbara’s crumbs of talking to dad occasionally probably caused him to feel more acutely alone. Barbara could’ve easily fought harder for his dad instead of just talking to him occasionally.

Danny sighed. He stared at his daddy, talking to both Dick and Bruce.

His dad always had an air of melancholy surrounding him, no matter how much Danny and Jazz tried to help. There were times when he would be happy, and then out of nowhere, bam, depression would hit.

Danny didn’t feel even a hint of it now. His dad still missed his old family, even though they had hurt him.

Danny wished he could say he didn’t understand, but he did. Because even though his parents had hurt him, a part of him still wanted their love and acceptance, even though it was too late now.

So, why not allow his dad to reconnect with his old family? They seemed to be trying, and dad looked more at peace. Even though Danny hated it, he would give that stupid family a chance.

He glared at Bruce and Dick, but if they hurt his dad in any way, well, he was half-ghost. He smiled chillingly. His smile widened when he saw Bruce tense, and Dick rub the back of his neck uneasily.

They would get their chance, but it would only be one.

____

Jason gave Bruce his phone number. Logically, he knew Bruce had it from his call for help, but this made it more official.

“Call or text me, but for the love of God, don’t be like Tim texting me at two in the morning telling me he figured out who stole the left socks. As interesting as the dog/human hybrid was, I just wanted to sleep.”

Dick flinched.

“Yeah, sorry about that. He was obsessed. He didn’t sleep for a week straight until he caught him. And that’s why you don’t play with genetics, boys and girls.”

“Alfred and I tried,” Bruce tried to defend himself, “God, did we try.”

Jason snorted, “Timmy needs to learn to let it go and sleep, and you need to learn to put your foot down. Besides, it’s Gotham. It’s not the strangest thing I’ve seen.”

After all, they had a bat-themed villain and a bat-themed hero.

Dick looked as if he was about to say something. He looked uncomfortable.

“I know about Mar’i. Roy told me.”

“I���m sorry, Little Wing.”

Jason shrugged, trying not to show his hurt, “I understand. I wasn’t exactly in the best state of mind when I returned.”

“Still,” Dick said and left it at that.

“I missed you, Jason.”

“We all have,” Bruce added, “Do you think you’ll ever find it in you to forgive us? Maybe to visit?”

Jason tackled Bruce in a hug. Both Bruce and Dick were surprised when they heard a chirp leave Jason’s lips.

“Little wing, did you just chirp like a bird,” Dick asked. His grin said everything: he had found blackmail material. He was still an older brother, after all.

“Ghost children chirp at their parents and family,” Danny came up to them, “it’s a privilege to have a ghost chirping at family.”

Danny glared at Dick, daring him to make fun of his father. Jason felt grateful to Danny. He didn’t think he’d be able to take any of Dick’s ribbing at the moment. He still felt too raw.

“Sorry, guys, it won’t happen again.”

“No, Jason, it’s cute! I promise I won’t say anything, but don’t deny something that’s a part of you,” Dick said.

Bruce was silent, but his eyes were loud with questions. Jason appreciated that Bruce had kept all the questions to himself so far. He didn’t know where he would even begin to explain his powers and half-life.

“Thanks for helping me and Danny. I can’t tell you how grateful I am.”

Bruce put his hand on Jason’s shoulder.

“Always, Jay lad, always.”

Jason hugged his dad again.

Things weren’t perfect, but they were better.

____

Bruce didn’t want to leave. Neither did Dick, but they had responsibilities. Gotham had been without Batman for three days, and Blüdhaven without Nightwing. Besides, they both had children they also had to care for.

As much as Bruce wanted to be with Jason and his family for a while longer, it wasn’t in the cards.

Raven was waiting to the side, giving the family a bit of privacy before she teleported them back.

“You’ll come and visit? Alfred really misses you, and everyone else wants to get to know you and your little family.”

“Yeah, Bruce, we’ll visit. I don’t know when, but we will.”

Bruce rubbed Jason’s hair, “Are you going to let it grow back to your regular hair color? You’re not hiding from us anymore.”

“I don’t know. I’ve kind of grown fond of it. Besides, it matches Jazz’s hair color.”

Bruce nodded. He gave Jason one last hug.

“I miss you, son. I’m sorry for everything.”

“Me too,” Jason said, “me too.”

With a heavy heart, Bruce smiled at Jason and turned toward Raven. It was time to go home, but he would do better for his son and all his children this time.

Jason watched as a white light overtook Dick, Bruce, and Raven.

They were gone.

“Good riddance,” Danny said.

“Danny lad,” Jason said in a warning voice.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. You forgave them, and we all are going to play happy family now. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t getting too crowded. I want to spend time with my family after…after what happened.”

Jason hugged his son.

“Don’t worry, son, we’re here now, and nothing will happen to us anymore.”

Jazz walked up with Ellie and stood by Danny and Jason. They smiled at each other, comfortable in the knowledge that, no matter what, they would always have each other.

I want to thank everyone who has been with me until the end. Thank you to those who have been here from the beginning to those who came halfway through or toward the end. I couldn't have done it without your support and encouragement.

Endings are hard, but hopefully, this one leaves you satisfied. I do plan to write one last one-shot of the family visiting Gotham and Wayne Manor, but that's a future project, and then I'll be done with this series.

Once again, thank you!

For those of you who have a Tumblr, can you vote here . 

[fanfic-recs-01]

Reddie Fics

This is just a list of all the Richie Tozier/Eddie Kaspbrak fics I like on AO3, if you have any recs for me feel free to send me some!

Updated 9/19/23

Runaway Now and Forevermore by AlexSW97

~Richie and Eddie run away together in 1994 and return to Derry in 2016 as actual bickering husbands.~

richie tozier: not an asthmatic by walmartofficial

~“I’m getting word that I’m not allowed to tell this joke,” he tells the audience, “but it was gonna be about eating ass, if that wasn’t clear.”~

move in, mess my place by bebe8s

~Stan motions to the two new guys in the room. Eddie doesn't even have time to focus on Bill, because he's too distracted by the lanky boy sprawled out across his bed. With his dark curls and pale skin, it's undeniable. It's the guy from last night.

"Well, hello there, princess." Richie says with a smirk, and Eddie can feel the flush in his cheeks.~

walk me home in the dead of night by QueenWithABeeThrone

~Richie Tozier met Eddie Kaspbrak for what they both thought was the first time in a shitty New York dive bar, sixteen years ago.~

fruit from a forbidden tree by glorious_spoon

~a week before he's supposed to get married, Eddie hooks up with a stranger in a bar, and it changes the trajectory of his life.~

we belong to the sound of the words by ShowMeAHero

~Eddie’s got a messenger bag across his shoulders and, when they’re brought out to Richie’s autograph table, he’s glad he brought it. It’s full of tissues, hand sanitizer, granola bars, mini water bottles, zinc tablets, lozenges, and anything else he could think to grab. The con floor is fucking packed, and Richie’s got a whole goddamned line of fans waiting for him that scream and cheer when he comes out.~

Put Those Colors On by TheMightyChipmunk

~Set in a universe where you don't see color until you hear your soulmate laugh, Eddie really doesn't think Richie is funny. I wonder how that's going to work out for them.~

cherry cordial by ShowMeAHero

~He’s staring down hard at his phone, scrolling aimlessly through Facebook without reading anything, when someone bumps into him. Whoever it is grabs the pole, their hands brushing against each other’s.

Right in his ear, the guy says, “Fucking shit, you’re hot.”~

walk through fire for you by hyruling

~His eyes properly well up now. Richie has only seen Eddie cry a handful of times in his adult life, so he’s fairly concerned. He drops down to sit across from Eddie and takes his hands in his.

“Eddie baby, now you’re scaring me, why are you crying?”

Tears track down Eddie’s cheek, and he all but wails, “Cause you’re engaged!”~

Morphine by inoubliable

~They all crowd around Eddie's bed, their faces shimmering a little. Eddie has to squint to make out their features, and he laughs once he does. They all look so worried. Eddie feels great.

"Oh my God," Stan says, at the same time that Richie says, "He's high."~

Lips Like Fire by yallreddieforthis

~When Richie finally convinces the Losers Club to light up with him he needs to find an... 'alternative way' to get Eddie high without giving him an asthma attack.~

The 'Do Not Fucking Touch Me' Tour by loserchildhotpants

~Richie Tozier's taken up writing his own material for once, and it could absolutely ruin him~

anything for a fan by zach_stone

~It was fine, though. Just a stupid little celebrity crush; a safe, inaccessible outlet for Eddie’s deeply suppressed gay thoughts. He could pine away over Trashmouth Tozier from the comfort of his living room, clicking on video compilations with titles like “Top 10 Trashmouth Interview Moments” and only feel vaguely guilty.

And then, of course, he gets a call from Mike Hanlon in Derry.~

nor rivers drown it by theparadigmshifts

~"We promised to confide in each other, and cherish each other, and sustain each other, and all that jazz.”

Stan stares at her, blinks twice.

"And right now, that means going back to your horror-show hometown, and facing your trauma, and potentially killing a demon. Together."

Or: When Mike calls from Derry, Patty answers the phone instead.~

lost inside a moment (with you) by anniebibananie

~In which Richie is always pretending to be Eddie’s boyfriend, Eddie fucking hates it, and finally Eddie decides two can play that game (it is not a total disaster… depending on your definition of total disaster).~

Everywhere, All At Once by EvieSmallwood

~Eddie bites his lip, tucking his hands deeper inside the pockets of his sweatshirt. It’s actually not even his, it’s Richie’s; a faded band logo, a hole by the collar, the faint smells of cigarette smoke and laundry detergent.... it’s like Richie’s with him, which is all Eddie really wants.

Which could be why he’s walking to Richie’s house at one in the morning.~

Party Foul by sundaise

~Crashing a stranger’s birthday party isn’t usually a part of Eddie’s weekend plans. Neither is unknowingly chatting up the cute dark haired comedian... who happens to be the roommate of said birthday boy.

“So, how do you know Stan?”

Eddie’s blood runs cold with shock as soon as the innocent question leaves his lips. “Oh, uh,” he shrugs nonchalantly, like it’s no big deal, “I’m dating his roommate.”~

Must Love Dogs by TheMightyChipmunk

~When Eddie sees a dog, he's gotta pet it. Even when he is stuck in traffic.~

I Didn't Know There Were Wizards in California by spotlightonmringenue

~Will ignores a timid reply from his classmate, his focus fully on this strange interloper that could be his best friend’s twin.

Evil twin, as Dustin would say, his voice low and incriminating. Ultraman type shit. Will considers relaying the situation on their upcoming weekly call to make the current situation less unsettling.~

Playing for Keeps by LogicalBookThief

~Richie and Eddie go on a game show for couples. Nobody expects them to be such a dream team. And nobody suffers as much as the host.~

[juicezone]

Hi hi! I am here with an update :D

Went shopping today to get sushi and treats (and boring things to but we only talk about the fun stuff here)

They didn’t have the sushi I liked at first so I picked a new kind which was a little disappointing in the moment, but it turned out really good! I just like my same order ya know >.<

Now onto the little treat cups that I told you about before. I didn’t end getting any because one, they were tiny. Like about the size of the distance between your thumb and pointer finger and maybe a quarter size around. Which I mean fine, tiny snacks are cute too, but they were stupidly expensive!! Like my guys, I’m on a budget here! What are we doin’? In this economy?!

One positive thing was they were handing out little mini drink samples of this super good caramel drink. I took my mamas one as well as she doesn’t like sugary drinks >:3

Oh and I picked up a sandwich for dinner to have along with soup.

(Jazz hands) And there you have it haha what have you guys been up to? Hopefully something fun after all that studying. <3

ohhhh i totally know what you mean 😭 nothing like wanting the comfort of your regular treat and not grtting it, and the replacement was GOOD but not YOUR usual snack. i feel you

and stupidly expensive tiny stuff is like. okay cool im eating w my eyes but i wanna eat w my mouth :( but yay two of the little samples :D

more studyinf for me right now 😔 my test is sunday and im wicked stressed bc civics and remembering the consistution and the court cases is like AUGH! i cant wait to be done >.<

I DID! get chinese food yesterday tho and took a brain break to run errans w my grandmother :)

[scarletlizzard]

Watch the attitude, darling, I can leave again in a heartbeat.

Hmm, I would say I’m very dom-leaning, but I can be topped by a partner if I find them to be dominant enough as well (I fear I’ve articulated that quite poorly in my tipsy stupor so will try to elaborate)…if I were with a cute, submissive little bottom, I can very happily top them indefinitely without ANY desire for them to be more dominant or to top me. However, if I were with a sexual partner for a longer period of time and they could/wanted to exude that dominance, then I can submit. Occasionally. I’d say it’s about 90/10 and never, ever for a one-off occasion. Does that help clarify your adorable little list? Nearly as adorable as you waiting to hear from me all day.

As for my favourite song, it’s quite tricky. I’m afraid it doesn’t align much with your own taste, honey, so just bear that caveat in mind (with the exception of Talking Heads). I am very fond of classical music, my favourite piece being Chopin’s Nocturne No. 8 in D Flat. Having said that, I do also like modern music, especially with a jazz/soul undertone. Joy Crookes - Mother May I Sleep with Danger is an excellent song, James Blake, Loyle Carner, Tom Misch. And then I’m also partial to some 80s artists like Talking Heads, Pulp, David Bowie. You’ve been quite spoilt for information there, so I very much hope you remember your manners.

-🫖

Sorry I can't help but through a little attitude your way 😊 The Brit... tipsy? Two replies in one night? I'm actually kinda laughing at the fact you're tipsy? I bet you would be so off your game drunk. That wall is crumbling!

That is even better than what's on the list, and I will be updating it. Thank you for your participation! Now, with that new information, top or not, I will need to hear you beg at some point since it is possible.

Ahhh, so you think I'm adorable? See? Walls crumbling all around, how does it feel 😊

Take a step back, my little Brit cause who says I don't like classical and jazz? You're looking at a fine trumpet player! Jazz & Orchestra in high school and college thank youuu very much. (Yes marching too everyone ignore this, include you teapot) I also happen to LOVE 80s music! So maybe our tastes are similar after all.

You have spoiled me tonight, and I thank you so, so much for that! 😚 But you have to come back so I can tell you what I think about the song and artists you said you like, because I will be listening to them.

[daymusik]

🐾 Watch the audio visualizer here: https://youtu.be/rvfjB1SiTmk ���� Purchase this song here: https://daymusik.bandcamp.com/track/winter-wonderland ▶ I've always wanted to cover this song. Careful what you wish for, they say, because working on this project may have just made me despise this song now. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ óÓÒò 🐾 From start to finish, this song was painful. Don't get me wrong, aside from THIS version of it, I might still enjoy listening to this song. The biggest reason why I like this song so much is because of the unique chord progressions. The first two phrases are pretty simple but still appealing to the ear. Once the song pulls you in, however, it tries to keep you in its hypnotic grasp by switching up the key on the third phrase, not just once, but twice! And it's very interesting how it does it as well! Simply put, the melody resides on the fifth note of the scale that it's in. When you sing the last couple of lines, "to face unafraid, the plans that we made, walking in a winter wonderland", cleverly, you jump up to the seventh note and walk down the scale all the way down to the tonic note, or first not. Why is this important? Well, for the third phrase, it isn't just a random key change. The key changes to that of the third note of the original scale -- it doesn't stay in the original key and shift up to the third, it's now completely in a different key. Then it does it again jumping up to the fifth note of the original scale. Once this phrase ends, it ends on the root note of this scale... which was the fifth note of the original scale... meaning that, for the fourth phrase, it wraps around perfectly to being the melodic line residing on the fifth note of the original scale! It's ingenious and I love it! Trying to make it sound interesting in anything other than jazz, however, was a challenge. I think it turned out decently, however. I usually try to do research for remixes and covers (mostly to make sure I don't accidentally make something too similar to someone else's, but also) as a way of absorbing inspiration for my own version. Personally, I couldn't find a decent unique version of this song that I thought would help me. A majority of the songs are in jazz or blues or whatever you would expect them to be. I found one version that was kinda different, but it ruined that exquisite chord progression I mentioned and played straight eights, removing the swing. I decided to make it more challenging for myself and left the swing in. The only other versions were people presumably having the same problem of trying to make it sound unique and settled upon making their versions a mashup with some other song. 🐾 Now, that was just one problem. Guys. Please, make sure you're clicking my links, buying my music on Bandcamp, streaming my music on streaming services -- if you don't know, down in my LinkTree link, you can find [most] of the music streaming services my music is available on. FL Studio is amazing; I don't think I will ever change programs. Their lifetime free updates are great... but, with each update, with each improvement to their program, my computer seems to be able to run it less and less. This song took SOO... LONG... to make. WAY too long to make. I don't know how to over-emphasize this to you all enough, something about this song would cause my computer to freeze. Not just FL Studio, but it would freeze my entire computer, mouse and all. I am NOT lying to you, I am not over-exaggerating -- every 2 to 5 minutes of working on this song, the program and/or my computer would freeze for anywhere from 30 to 60 seconds, SOMETIMES MORE! It was so painful to try to do anything because I would listen to a piece of the song and it would be fine, then I see something I need to fix and I try to fix it and it would freeze. Sometimes it would freeze while I'm doing something, sometimes when I'm not doing anything at all! (In the event someone is reading this thinking they can help me, know that I also thought it was every time the program autosaved, so I turned off autosaving and that did nothing for the problem.) I also learned a cool new bug that would happen to me when FL Studio froze while I WAS in the middle of doing something. If I was clicking something, like an automation node or whatever, and it freezes, my mouse is suddenly locked in that position... of editing that whatever it was I was changing. So whatever minuscule, fine-tuning I was trying to do is now gone because I was trying to find where my mouse went and started shaking my mouse only to find that, even though I'm not holding down the mouse button anymore, I'm still editing the thing and now the edit is messed up. *sigh* I almost cried a few times. 🐾 Okay, rant/vent over. This description has gotten way to long. If you're skimming through the description, this paragraph is interesting, I promise. The lyrics. Yes, I tried to come up with my own verses. I recall that the term "Eskimo" isn't as acceptable as it was when this song was created. Most modern renditions of this song simply repeat the original lines again. I thought about doing that, but I wanted to change it up. Honestly, I was going to sing the original lines again if I couldn't think of any words because I'm not any good at writing lyrics... as you can clearly see. I came up with some decent lyrics that I was okay with -- mostly the last phrase, wrapping the narrative back to the line "walking in a winter wonderland". I tried to modernize it as well. I-, eh, whatever. óÓÒò Lyrics: Sleigh bells ring, are you listening? In the lane, the snow is glistening. A beautiful sight, we're happy tonight, walking in a winter wonderland. Gone away, is the bluebird. Here to stay, is [a] new bird, who sings a love song as we go along walking in a winter wonderland. In the meadow, we can build a snowman, and pretend that he is Parson Brown. He'll say, "Are you married?" We'll say, "No, man. But, you can do the job when you're in town." Later on, we'll conspire as we dream by the fire, to face unafraid the plans that we made. walking in a winter wonderland. Sleigh bells ring, are you listening? In the lane, the snow is glistening. A beautiful sight, we're happy tonight, walking in a winter wonderland. Gone away, is the bluebird. Here to stay, is [a] new bird, who sings a love song as we go along walking in a winter wonderland. In the meadow, we can build a snowman and pretend that he is Parson Brown. He'll say, "Are you married?" We'll say, "No, man. But, you can do the job when you're in town." Later on, we'll conspire as we dream by the fire, to face unafraid the plans that we made. walking in a winter wonderland. Walking in a winter wonderland Walking in a winter wonderland. In the meadow, we can play in the snow and we'll have a thrilling snowball fight. We'll watch as the snow continue to blow and watch while everywhere gets covered white. Later on, we'll watch TV while we can't help getting sleepy. Reminisce on the way we spent the whole day walking in a winter wonderland. Walking in a winter wonderland. Walking in a winter wonderland. Walking in a winter wonderland. ▶ Bandcamp 🐾 https://daymusik.bandcamp.com ▶ MySpace 🐾 https://myspace.com/daymusik197 ▶ Twitter 🐾 https://www.twitter.com/daymusik/ ▶ everywhere else 🐾 https://linktr.ee/Daymusik

Posted using PostyBirb

[warukunaimirai]

Tonight at a Jazz Bar ♦ A Quartet of Freedom and Passion | Episode 9 「A Melody to Relish In」

Nobel: —Thus, our final rehearsal begins.

Our time is running out. It’s not long at all until our final scheduled show.

But I want to improve, even if only a little. I’ll teach them everything I know, so that they too may comply to the best of their abilities—

…Truthfully, there are parts I invested too much passion into. If you were to ask if this resembled the usual me, I’d say it doesn’t in the slightest.

But there’s no problem with that. It’s fine, isn’t it? This is all in accordance with my “kokoro”...

⋆　♦　⋆

A few days laterー

Alto: …The day of their last show has finally arrived.

Old Barkeeper: It has. I’m truly indebted to them.

Alto: Could I ask you something? After today, what will happen to this bar…?

Old Barkeeper: Hmm, like I’ve mentioned, I’m running this bar as a hobby. It doesn’t have to stay open but…

Now isn't the time to come to a conclusion. Let’s save it for after today’s show to think about, hm?

Alto: …! Right! I think that’s a good idea…!

Old Barkeeper: I wonder how he’s doing? It looks like he’s enjoying himself playing, doesn’t he?

Alto: Are you talking about Nobel-san? Yes, he does. When he’s here, he seems a little different from his usual calm self…

I can see a bit more childishness in him. He really loves jazz, doesn’t he?

Old Barkeeper: Certainly…that’s exactly why he couldn't make any compromises with his own performance.

Alto: ! …You noticed it too?

Old Barkeeper: I’ve seen my fair share of musicians. I can get a good idea of what they’re thinking after a show just by looking at them. 

I was concerned about what would happen if he couldn’t shake off his doubts before the end…but it looks like my worries weren’t necessary.

Alto: I feel the same.

Old Barkeeper: It’s rare to find someone with such a deep appreciation for jazz these days. Especially when it comes to androids.

Alto: Nobel-san has been a regular here for a while now, right?

Old Barkeeper: I’ve known him for an awfully long time…I’m incredibly grateful to know that there’s someone out there with an attachment to this bar.

Well then, they should be starting soon. Let’s enjoy the show.

Alto: Yes, let’s…!

⋆　♦　⋆

Nobel: —May I contradict myself one last time?

Einsatz: Contradict?

Nobel: Jazz…and especially live performances don’t need to be perfect once a certain standard has been surpassed.

Ruma: My my, that certainly is quite the contradiction.

Nobel: The condition of the night, the mood of the audience and the band’s composition and instruments create slight changes.

Music changes its form like a living being. This may come across as strange but the fluctuations of it are often a welcome occurrence if anything.

Night: Ah, I think I understand! For comparison, performances at Babel are always live streamed.

Of course, our performances are polished to perfection but some of the most enjoyment comes from little arrangements or ad libs.

Nobel: How impressive, Night. When examining both Babel and this place, they certainly do feel similar.

It’s especially characteristic of jazz considering its origins of popular music that was played in bars and entertainment districts.

Ruma: Oh, is that so?

Nobel: There’s a number of different opinions on the matter. Whatever the case may be, I enjoy music such as jazz that adopts that sort of crude atmosphere.

Especially the jumps, the variation…the way it engulfs the audience and creates a singular groove. That is what jazz is.

Einsatz: —I see. I will update my data related to jazz music.

Nobel: I am truly grateful to all of you. You’ve accommodated my greed and improved your performance skills beyond perfection.

So from this point forward, you’re free. Without worrying about reenacting the classics of the past, without getting caught up on exquisitely handling the instruments—

Let’s have fun. Let’s enjoy ourselves. Allow the melody to show you the way.

Back | Next

[dreamwraith]

Shiptember Day 3: 3rd Wheel

Ship: Pitch Pearl (parasite theory; Phantom was a ghost bonded to Danny)

Summary: During a cross-country road trip, Sam and Tucker notice something going on between Danny and Phantom. They call Jazz in a panic, but she blows past their every excuse until reaching the real reason for their discomfort: Sam and Tucker don't want things to change.

--

“Tucker!” Jazz interrupted, her voice ringing through the speaker phone. “Slow down! Start over. What’s happening between Danny and Phantom?”

Tucker forced himself to draw in a deep breath. “Okay, so….” He sat on the hotel bed in a further attempt to calm himself. “It started once Phantom got behind the wheel—”

“You guys let him drive? He doesn’t have a driver’s license!”

“He and Danny were still merged when they were learning how to drive,” Tucker said defensively. “So, he knows how to drive, he just can’t get his driver’s license because he’s not technically a citizen. It’s total bullshit which is why we agreed to make him part of the rotation.”

“And if a cop pulled you guys over?”

“Then Phantom would have overshadowed them. Come on, Jazz, we thought this through. We’re adults now too, you know.”

Jazz snorted. “You’re all barely eighteen,” she muttered.

Sam looked away from the window, and the two friends shared a commiserating eye roll. Dealing with Danny’s sister could be trying sometimes.

“Anyway,” Tucker said forcefully, “that’s when it started.”

“What started?”

“The…” Tucker met Sam’s eyes again, hoping she knew how to describe what they saw, but she only shrugged. “The thing. The thing going on between Danny and Phantom. Danny sat in the passenger seat and coached Phantom through the motions until he started picking up on it again. That was fine. Then the inside jokes started. Just. Little jokes about when Jack and Maddie were trying to teach them. Danny or Phantom would laugh and it was like…like…”

“And that made you and Sam feel left out? Is that what this is about?”

“That’s not the issue here,” Tucker said, evading the question. “It. Just. Didn’t. Stop.”

“They shared a mind for almost two years, Tucker. Of course they’re close.”

“Not like this,” Tucker insisted.

Sam pushed away from the window and approached Tucker on the bed. “Has Danny been hanging out with Phantom?” she asked Jazz.

“Wouldn’t you guys know that better than me?” Jazz asked, confused. “I’m at Harvard, remember? I haven’t seen either of them since Spring Break.”

“Yeah, but you speak to them on the phone, right?” Sam pushed. “Does Danny ever mention Phantom?”

“Of course he does. He keeps me updated on things over there. Phantom fought off an invasion last week, right? He’s worn out, and that’s why you all insisted on this trip?”

“Personal details, Jazz,” Sam clarified. “Does Danny mention anything beyond Phantom’s hero activities?”

“Maybe? I didn’t realize I was supposed to be looking for that kind of information.”

“He’s your brother!” Sam exclaimed. “Shouldn’t you care about how he’s doing?”

“Danny’s doing just fine,” Jazz said, defensive. “A little depressed that you guys are leaving for college, but otherwise…”

“She meant Phantom, Jazz,” Tucker said. “Your other brother.”

“What?”

“Phantom’s your brother too!”

“I love him like a brother, but why do I get the feeling you two are trying to create an artificial relation between us?”

Sam and Tucker shared a forlorn glance. “If Jazz doesn’t even see him as a brother,” Tucker whispered to Sam, “what are the chances Danny sees him as a brother?”

“Evidence would suggest the odds are slim to none,” she replied, huffing.

“And anyway,” Jazz continued, “ I talk to Phantom on the phone too. I don’t need to ask Danny when I can just ask Phantom directly how he’s doing. He’s stressed and suffering from PTSD, by the way. I think this road trip will be good for him. He needed to get away from Amity Park for a while and remember it’s okay to relax every now and then.”

“Does he mention Danny?” Tucker asked quickly.

“Why are you guys so fixated on this? I just said Phantom has PTSD! That’s a little more important, you know.”

“Just answer the question, Jazz,” Sam said. “We’re focusing on one problem at a time, we’ll deal with that later.”

“What is the problem exactly?”

“Does Phantom mention Danny?” Sam repeated.

“No,” Jazz said forcefully, almost groaning the word. “Not very often, anyway. Mostly just when he saves him. He likes bragging about it. I think he gets some sort of ironic pleasure out of rescuing Danny because of their past. But otherwise, I guess their paths just don’t cross very often. Is that what you guys are getting at? You think they don’t hang out?”

“I never noticed them hanging out,” Tucker confirmed. “And Danny and I share everything! I would know if they were best buds.”

“Once they started talking, it was like they had just rediscovered an old friend,” Sam explained.

“So?”

“So they haven’t stopped talking.”

“So?”

“So it’s been six fucking hours!” Sam exclaimed.

“So?” Jazz repeated pointedly. “They have a lot to catch up on. They’ve been separate for, what? Two years?”

“So you’re saying…” Tucker and shared another glance with Sam, “six hours of nonstop talking, laughing, gossiping, and touching? That’s not weird at all?”

“Touching?”

“Danny keeps touching him,” Tucker whined. “He just won’t stop, it’s like he’s, he’s drawn to him or. Something. And Phantom keeps leaning into, like what? What the fuck?”

Jazz started laughing.

“It’s not funny!” Tucker and Sam shouted.

“Oh my gosh, you two are jealous!” Jazz cried, laughing still. “I can’t believe this!”

“I’m not jealous!” Tucker objected.

“This is serious, Jazz!” Sam yelled over Jazz’s laughter. “Your brothers are falling in love with each other!”

Jazz snorted a laugh and squeaked, “That’s why you guys keep pushing the brother angle, oh my, ohhh my sides…”

“Jazz!”

“It would be so much easier for you two if Danny and Phantom were actually like twins, wouldn’t it?” Jazz said, snorting still, her tone mockingly sympathetic. “Then you could just sweep all the discomfort under one easily labeled trash can and throw it out, huh?”

“What are you talking about?” Sam demanded.

“Forget it. I can see you two aren’t mature enough for that sort of introspection.”

“Hey!”

“What makes you think they’re falling in love?” Jazz asked. "One six-hour conversation during a long car ride doesn’t really mean anything, you know.”

“It’s the way they’re speaking to each other,” Tucker said, groaning. “I don’t think you understand, Jazz. And it wasn’t just during the car ride. It was at every rest stop, too. It was during dinner. It was in the backseat. It was everywhere! We arrived at the hotel two hours ago, and they’re still talking! They went swimming together, Jazz! Swimming!”

“Oh no,” Jazz said in mock horror, “Swimming! I hope they brought protection.”

Disgusted, Tucker shoved his phone into Sam’s hands. “You explain it to her!”

Sam groaned. She sat on the bed beside Tucker, but Tucker didn’t want to sit anymore. He stood and walked over toward the window, maneuvering around the bags Danny had yet to unpack. He had set them beside the bed he had chosen, the bed he and Phantom would share. It had seemed like the least awkward arrangement when they had been making plans. Sam would get her own room; the boys would get the room with two beds. Danny and Phantom were bi, so Tucker had been just a little bit shy about sharing his bed with either of them, and Sam definitely couldn’t without stirring up old flames, which meant the two who used to share a body would have to share a bed.

Easy.

Phantom would sleep with his human half. Danny could sleep beside his ghost half.

Easy.

Nothing would happen between them, right? Danny certainly hadn’t seemed all that uncomfortable with the idea. He had only shrugged. Phantom had only seemed grateful he was actually going to sleep in a bed at all. Danny had warned him not to hog the blankets, and Phantom had warned him not to snore.

But that had been at the start of their trip. Tucker wondered now if Danny would be so blasé about sleeping beside someone like Phantom. Dubious past aside, Phantom was the hottest heartthrob in their year group, as voted by the senior yearbook—and he hadn’t even been in the running! How was Danny’s gay little heart supposed to resist Phantom after they had spent all day acting like lovestruck fools?

Was Tucker going to have to wear earplugs just to drown out their whispering? Was he going to wake up and find them spooning?

He had hoped it would happen before, but that was just because he wanted to tease them! He hadn’t wanted it like this.

“They’re so focused on each other it’s like they’re the only two people in existence,” Sam complained to Jazz.

“I’m sure they haven’t forgotten about you and Tucker.”

“Yes, they have!” Sam snapped. “You’re not here, Jazz! Trust me. They wanted to be alone so bad they ran to the swimming pool just to get away from us.”

"Did they say you couldn’t come?”

“No…”

"Then they weren’t trying to get away from you. You could have gone too.”

“Yeah, well, no thanks, I don’t feel like throwing up. I can handle only so much lovey dovey shit in a single day.”

“You could try being supportive, you know.”

Sam snorted. “They don’t need any support.”

"They will once this dream is over and they have to return to reality.”

Tucker froze, his hand halfway toward the curtain. Behind him, he heard Sam suck in a breath. “What do you mean?” she asked.

“Have you two forgotten how hard same-sex couples have to fight to be accepted? Danny hid his attraction to guys for so long out of fear, do you really want to be the ones who make him feel ashamed again?”

“This is a little more extreme than having a crush on Kwan,” Sam objected, but her voice had softened.

"Yes, it’s going to be even harder because Phantom isn’t just another boy, he’s a famous hero, an infamous troublemaker, a mystery to all Amity Park! He is under intense scrutiny, and once he starts dating another boy, that scrutiny is going to turn on Danny. Danny won’t just be judged for dating someone of the same sex either, he will be judged for dating a ghost. What would have been accepted in a straight couple will suddenly look amoral between two boys in a biracial—bi-species?—relationship.”

“Oh no,” Sam said softly.

"The worst offenders will, of course, be Mom and Dad.”

“Shit,” Tucker added. He glanced over his shoulder at Sam, but she was staring blindly into the distance.

“If Danny is serious about pursuing Phantom, he will eventually tell Mom and Dad, and then he’ll be back in that uneasy position where he has no idea if our parents will kick him out because of his connection to Danny Phantom.”

“Would they?” Sam asked quietly.

"I don’t know,” Jazz answered honestly. "They’re paranoid. They might suspect Phantom of brainwashing Danny somehow. It’s easier to believe this is all Phantom’s fault than to accept Danny likes the infamous ghost boy. They might accept Danny’s choice, but it’s equally likely they’ll try to ‘fix’ him.”

Tucker drew in a sharp breath through his teeth.

"Danny delayed and altered this confrontation, but so long as he pursues a connection to Phantom, he’s always bound to circle back to seeking Mom and Dad’s acceptance. Don’t make him have to fight for yours as well.”

Tucker pushed a hand beneath his glasses and rubbed his fingers against his eye. He turned away from the window and pressed his back against the wall, suddenly feeling sick.

“But, Jazz,” Sam said, “Phantom is Danny’s ghost half. They can’t date. They’re the same person. This isn't like if Phantom started dating some random human, this is his human half."

“First of all, that was two years ago. In all that time, Phantom has been fighting, defending, training, and only occasionally relaxing. Danny has been living as a normal student trying to catch up on his grades so he could graduate high school after spending those first two years flunking nearly every class. If you believe they are still the same person after living such extremely different experiences, you haven’t been paying attention. People change. Growth is inescapable, especially for Phantom. He’s had to learn some tough lessons that Danny has never had to face, and they have affected him as a person.”

Sam’s eyes finally met Tucker’s. She was frowning, which alerted Tucker to his own. He was relieved to see she didn’t like hearing this anymore than he did.

"Secondly,” Jazz continued, "Danny has repeatedly stated Phantom was a ghost that fused with him during the accident, he's not his ghost. It might just be a matter of disassociation where Danny is trying to distance himself from a very stressful period of his life, but from what he and Phantom have told me, they truly believe the portal accident brought two souls together for a time.”

Sam made a soft “oh” sound.

"They may look similar to us, but their souls are not the same, according to them. It might just be all in their head, but it's what they believe. That might be why they’re able to look at each other as strangers and talk for six hours without getting bored.” She scoffed. "I have no idea how they could talk so long, but I never had a crush before either, so…”

“Oh?” Tucker said archly, gaining a little of his fire back. “Danny says otherwise.”

“Danny’s a filthy liar who needs to keep his mouth shut.”

“So, this really doesn’t bother you at all?” Sam asked, cutting off Tucker’s teasing retort.

"Not really. What other people do with their lives is their own business so long as they aren’t hurting anyone. It’s something you two will learn in college someday too. I tried so hard to fix peoples’ problems when I got here, and it was totally the wrong thing to do. I hurt my friends, and I exhausted and stressed myself out over things that were none of my business. There’s only one thing I care about now. Are they happy?”

Tucker and Sam shared another look. Tucker pushed himself up from the wall, turned toward the window, and pulled aside the curtain.

“Yeah,” Sam said. She still sat on the bed. She didn’t need to see Danny’s lovestruck expression. They had been seeing it nearly all day.

“And you’re sure they’re falling for each other? It might just be friendship.”

Three stories down, Tucker saw Danny and Phantom in the pool. Or rather, he saw Danny in the pool. Phantom sat on the edge, his bare legs lazily kicking the water. Danny’s body drifted chest-deep in the water, his arms folded over the ledge, cushioning his cheek as he stared up at Phantom. It looked like Phantom was talking about something—flying maybe, given the smooth glide of his hand gestures—and Danny was just watching him.

Watching him with a little smile, a soft glow in his eyes completely unlike the kind that used to be there when he and Phantom were one.

“No way,” Tucker said. “I haven’t seen Danny look at someone like that since—” Tucker cut himself off and guiltily looked at Sam.

She sighed. “Danny has that dopey expression whenever he looks at Phantom now. You know the one.”

“Kind of strange since they don’t look that different,” Tucker said. “How can Danny be attracted to someone that looks so much like him?”

“Actually, that’s very common! You might notice couples often look alike, and this is believed to be caused by something called ‘positive sexual imprinting.’ It isn’t the only determining factor, of course, but scientists and psychologists have long studied why we—and other animals—are more attracted to mates who share physical—”

“Yeah!” Tucker interrupted. “Danny can just develop a crush on himself because humans are strange! Got it!”

"If you don’t believe me, google ‘couples that look alike.’ You’re touching on a huge academic topic here. Maybe I should make a paper about this…it's probably why Danny was attracted to Sam. You two look alike too. Remember that rumor about you two being twins?”

Sam grimaced. "That's not the same thing."

“Isn't it? I’ll repeat, Danny and Phantom aren’t brothers. Just because you two see them as brothers doesn’t mean they feel the same way. If you can’t let go of your preconceived notions and listen to what Danny says, you aren’t any better than my parents.”

Tucker grimaced. “That’s not fair…”

“Neither is forcing my brother to accept your views at the cost of his happiness!” Jazz snapped. “Danny loves you two. You are just as capable of hurting him as our parents. Knock it off. You knew all of this already. You two are just trying to justify how upset you are by shifting the blame onto Danny and Phantom. That way you don’t have to confront what’s really making you two upset.”

“Oh yeah?” Sam said hotly. “And what’s that, Doctor Jazz?”

“You and Tucker are leaving Amity Park to attend your dream colleges,” Jazz said, gentling her tone. “But Danny is staying behind. Your childhood where the three of you fought ghosts together is over. After Danny and Phantom separated, you still clung to this idea that he and Phantom were still somehow the same, because that’s how everything started. But now that they’re falling for each other you can’t hold onto that belief anymore. This is the end of that chapter, and the beginning of something new, something you two won’t be a part of. That’s why you’re upset. That’s why you want them to stop.”

Tucker made a low noise and stared down at Danny and Phantom.

“You’re getting a little too good at that phsycobabble stuff,” Sam said quietly.

“Please, I should have let you two discover it on your own if I really wanted it to stick. But Danny and Phantom don’t have that kind of time. If they actually fall in love on this trip—or even if they just get closer —that will be good for them. Phantom needs that human connection, and Danny will need someone after you two leave for the semester.”

“Why doesn’t Danny just leave with us?” Tucker asked, subdued. “He doesn’t have to stay in Amity Park anymore.”

“He said he didn’t feel right leaving Phantom to deal with the ghosts on his own.”

“Really?” Tucker perked up a little. “So maybe this thing isn’t actually all that new.”

“Nope.”

“You said they never mentioned each other,” Sam accused.

“I said Phantom rarely mentioned Danny. Danny talks about Phantom’s all the time. I suspected something like this might happen. It seems even Danny isn’t immune to Phantom’s heroics, but I could never be sure if it was just admiration or…admiration, you know? What about Phantom?”

“What about him?”

“Do you think he feels the same way?”

“Yes,” Sam answered promptly. “Without a doubt.”

Tucker groaned. “If he ever took his eyes off Danny, it was only because he was driving. It was his idea to go swimming…”

“Oh, the dreaded swimming. All that bare skin. How scandalous.”

“Shut up, Jazz.”

“Are they still in the pool?” Sam asked warily.

Tucker hummed, watching as Danny pushed away from the edge. Phantom slid into the water so gracefully he had to be using his flight powers. They were still talking. They were still focused entirely on each other. The underwater lamps rendered Phantom’s glow obsolete, and for a moment he didn’t look any different from a human aside from his white hair. He dove under the water, and a second later, Danny was yanked under with him.

“They were just talking, but it looks like they’re playing now,” Tucker said.

“Are you two watching them?”

“Noooo,” Tucker and Sam said in unison.

“You two are impossible.”

“Shut up, Jazz,” Sam said loftily, “our friend is falling in love here. These are trying circumstances.”

“Yeah, yeah. Give them privacy, you stalkers.”

Tucker made a rude noise. Danny and Phantom finally broke the surface, both of them panting. Danny’s face was red, but he was laughing. He splashed Phantom, and Phantom splashed him back. They did that a few more times, and then Danny threw himself at Phantom, and they went under again.

“They really do look happy,” Tucker said quietly.

“Just let them do their own thing,” Jazz suggested. “Neither one of them has had a serious relationship in a while. I doubt they’ll be able to think clearly if they are infatuated. Just give it time. They’ll calm down. Eventually. You have all summer, right?”

Sam groaned. “Don’t remind me…”

“All summer to watch our friend fall in love with a super powered hero and forget about us,” Tucker said. “Fun.”

“Maybe we should crash their little pool date,” Sam said thoughtfully.

“Oh!” Tucker let the curtain fall closed and turned around to face her, his eyes bright. “Now that sounds fun! I’m going to cannonball right between them!”

Sam flashed him a wicked grin.

Jazz groaned through the speaker. “Why do I even bother…?”

“Thanks for your help, Jazz,” Sam said, lifting the phone. “But we need to breakup their romantic night now. Bye.”

“Bye. Tell Danny I love him. Oh, and, if it comes up at any point in this trip, remind them to practice safe sex or I will personally come down there and give them a lecture they’ll never forget.”

“That’s so won’t be necessary with the two of us on duty, right, buddy?” Tucker said, grinning at Sam.

She cackled. “You bet!”

“Uh-huh,” Jazz said, unconvinced. “You two will keep two hormonal teenagers from doing anything when one of them has ghost powers? I bet you twenty dollars you’ll catch them making out in the backseat at some point.”

“First of all, that’s my car and they better fucking not,” Sam said. “Secondly, you’re on. We got this, right, Tuck?”

“Right!” Tucker said, pumping his fist. “There will be no falling in love on my watch!”

“You can probably stop them from kissing, but you can’t stop them from falling in love.”

“Ha!” Sam scoffed.

“Watch us!” Tucker shouted.

“That’s—you know what, never mind. Have fun. Don’t get yourselves killed.”

Sam and Tucker laughed. “Bye, Jazz!”

Sam ended the call, and Tucker pounded his fist into his palm. “Let’s do this!”

[moontale-official]

Holy shit it’s new Moontale content what the fuck is going on--

This lil’ idea for a fic had been brewing up in my noggin since January-- and so when my brand new PC that drained me of almost all my life’s savings (which had the files for the next fucking update) took to the shitter so hard the motherboard had to be replaced, it gave me the perfect opportunity to get this idea properly fleshed out. 

(I don’t have a proper name for this fic and idk If I’ll remember to come up with one but I just sorta call it the Undyne Fic because that’s the POV character for this story whoopee) But alas, enjoy. (For Context: this is a prequel story before the main events of the comic, about a year or so after the Wingdings of this au died (NOT shattered into time and space) and all that fun jazz.)

“I--… Well, before anything else I honestly have to apologize that it took this long to meet up again.” Papyrus raises a bony hand to gesture to himself and his sibling, a polite yet apologetic smile lifting his cheekbones, “we’ve just been rather occupied  these past weeks and… well, with that we never had much time to properly sit down.”

Undyne sits opposite to the two skeletons, body loose as she allows herself the simplistic comfort of the sofa’s cushions, settling down into the living room of the two skeletons. The cup of oolong she held emitted a gentle steam, delicately condensing upon contact with the multicolored scales of her chin and cheeks. She lets out a huff, “Look- you're fine. I know you’re busy n’ all so it ain’t no sweat off my back. We’re here now.”

She takes a gulp of her drink, “What’s it you wanted to say, anyhow?”

A relieved chuckle bubbles up Papyrus’ chest without sound, never fully escaping him. With gentle strides Papyrus attends to a new pot of simmering water on the stove. With a lift he pours the pot into two cups holding bags stuffed with white tea leaves, allowing himself a moment to articulate his request. “So… me and Ivis have been talking something over for some time, now that he’s shown that he can start working again…”

Ivis averts their gaze, focused on the floor as their brother brings them up. Undyne leans forward, focus pinned on her friend as he faces her again, attention pulling from the tea as he waits for it to steep.

“Applying him for guard duty. There’s a shortage around our area, is there not?”

There’s a slight wince from Ivis after the remark is made, their fingers digging into their thighs. Though it swiftly ceases before their brother has a chance to take notice. Undyne doesn’t take notice either-- her puzzled eyes squarely set on Papyrus; not for the request he made, but for the one he didn’t, “of all people who wanted to apply-- I thought you would be first in line.”

“Oh-- no, no… It’s… a little unrealistic for me. I’m more comfortable where I am now.”

“Handling paperwork for the rest of us?”

“Which is a good job that I am perfectly content with,” he lifts himself up and strides over to the kitchen, scooping out the steeped leaves and coming back with two steaming cups. “I’m sure my brother would be better suited.”

Undyne opens her mouth to protest, but ultimately sinks back into her seat. She forces herself to focus on the one who was actually applying.

“I mean-” Undyne takes a pause to scan Ivis, focusing her attention to them.  Her brow furrows at their shaken nature; the way they try to take up as little space as possible on the sofa, or even the constant, uneasy shifting and fidgeting every other moment. “You think you’re ready for that?”

“It would help keep his mind off things,” Papyrus places the tea down on the table in front of him and his sibling, “to give him a new path forward.”

Another couple winces- the older skeleton’s bulky hands grip the sofa, hidden enough for those not looking for it to not notice. Their gaze sticks to the floor, shifting from one spot to another: avoidant, especially of the eyes of others. Undyne averts her gaze to her own drink, deep in thought. 

“Sure, yeah. We’ve been needing new guards, and there’s not much for patrols out in the forest area. I’m sure you’ll do best without a crowd around.”

Papyrus nods. The corners of his weary eyes lift, a gentle and polite smile forming, “well of course he--” 

“Not talking to you.”  Undyne’s eyes focus directly on the older skeleton, who -after taking a moment to realize such- is gently startled into returning eye contact. She repeats herself, “you’ll do good without a crowd?”

Their bulky frame stiffens tighter the longer the attention weighed on them. Lips purse, before parting ever so slightly.

“...Yeah.”

She can’t help but let the corner of her mouth curl up to a smirk, shoulders slouching while Ivis’ own lower an inch, maybe two, the slight strain on their expression easing for a moment. Papyrus smile falters, just for a moment, returning almost as soon as it stumbled. 

“Yes-- yes, very good. Of course he would need to be more eased into it; starting small, with nothing too complicated,” the younger skeleton’s lanky hands perform brief, minute gestures as he articulates, rebounding from Undyne’s interruption. “A post closer to home would be most preferred, in case I ever needed to check up on him for any reason.”

Undyne’s lips purse, fighting the urge to interrupt a second time. “Sure, maybe. I’ll have to see.”

A moment of stillness passes, Papyrus examining Undyne’s features. He lets out a small chuckle to release some of the tension, “well, now that we have… that settled, I just need to give you all the applications we filled out and that should be more than enough business for one night.” He makes a gentle glance down at Ivis, placing a hand on the shoulder of his sibling, “I’ll just be a few minutes, okay?”

With an adverted glance, they gently nod their head. Papyrus lifts himself off of the sofa, striding to and up the stairs until disappearing from view. Both Ivis and Undyne pause; all is quiet for a good moment, maybe two. The air takes a pause as the tallest skeleton leaves up the stairs, uncertainty brewing between the two as they sat alone. The moment Papyrus leaves her sight, Undyne’s gaze falls back on Ivis, the realization that -for the first time in god knows how long- she has a small window with them without any interception.

Undyne clasps her hands together, letting out a huff, “so, you uh-- ready for your life to get back on track again?”

For a fraction of a second Ivis’ gaze lifts to meet Undyne’s, lips coming millimeters from parting, but they bail out last second. Another complacent nod. Undyne’s brows knit with discontent, “do you know how long it might take for you to get used to that again? Or even just-- being a guard, that gritty… day-to-day heat that comes with it?”

 The skeleton’s gaze wavers some, one hand slowly shifting up their lower arm to give it a gentle squeeze, “mhm...”

Her lips purse, undoing her clasped hands to gesture for them to elaborate, but they don’t catch onto it; instead staring down at the mats on the floor beneath, visibly anxious. Undyne takes note of this, deciding to shift the topic-- hoping to get more of a response on something Ivis was more focused on… whatever that was. 

“What’s eating you, huh?” Undyne leans in, peering closer at the bulky skeleton as the tense air continued to settle between them. Ivis’ nerved gaze shoots up, almost startled by the sudden remark. Once again, their lips hesitate to part, beads of sweat forming on their neck-- body tightening, subconsciously attempting to appear smaller despite their burly frame.

“I. I’m…”

Undyne leans in closer, gaze tightening. Hearing the clash of that deep set voice that seemed to do everything in it’s power to seem as meek as possible -intentional or not- it somehow never ceased to pull her attention in closer, even if it might've been only due to how sparsely they used it.

“I-- I-I don’t… I-I-I’m not sure if I’m--. I. I-I’m…” their posture tightens furthermore, the fearful hesitation wriggling it’s way onto their surface. Ivis shrinks back down, a hint of visible regret beginning to cloud their eyes-- to which they don’t seem to realize how visibly that feeling was adorned until the moment they see Undyne staring directly into them like a hawk.

“Yes?” Everything else going in the background seemed to fade out, even if only slightly. Undyne’s full attention was on Ivis; something was up. Some piece missing that only they knew, which she simply could not let pass by. Something that she must have needed to know-- especially when Papyrus wasn’t around? That detail alone making Undyne’s head spin with possibilities that needed to be confirmed one way or another. 

Ivis’ chest tightens, the tension churning in their stomach. The words weren’t coming out. Undyne’s expression tightens evermore. “What are you not sure of?”

No real response; the more the skeleton squirms under her questions, the more Undyne presses on.  “Do you not think you’re cut out for this?” she couldn’t hep but let that inquisitive tone further leap out of her. Every second that passed by only served to pique that borderline upsetting intrigue-- though perhaps she couldn’t help but pounce the moment she got something confirming her own biases. 

“N-no-- I-’m-- it’s not--”

“Well then what?”

The skeleton grips their hands together, trying to quell their own shaking, “I’m just-- I’ve-- I-I-I’m just-- It’s-- I-I-I shouldn’t have brought--…” their voice trails off into incoherent murmuring, beads of sweat forming and trickling from their clenched hands.

She has to keep herself from throwing her hands up, an exasperated cry escaping her. “Shit man, just spit it out! You’re just making it harder for yourself!”

It is at this moment the situation goes from bad to worse.

Everything that was building up pressure in the bulky skeleton starts to leak, almost literally. It was clear they were aware of just how humiliating it was, shrinking more and doing everything in their power to hide it, keeping as quiet as possible and wiping as many tears away, but none of it sufficed. Their stuttered half sentences soon devolved into complete incoherency, the overwhelming bouts of distress robbing any remaining semblance of a sentence. 

Before Undyne can even have a chance to react, the gentle footed steps come back down the stairs.

“Hey-- hey-- What’s going on???” Papyrus’ footsteps hasten the moment he catches glance of the situation. His gaze repeatedly switches between their distressed sibling -who only shrunk the more attention shone onto them- and Undyne, falling on her a borderline accusatory look that wanted answers.

Undyne, still reeling from the sudden twist of the situation, lets out a scoff, “what?? I was just trying to have a conversation!”

“You know you have to be gentle with him--”

“Wh-- I barely said anything! He wanted to say something -for once- and I was just trying to help him man up!”

“Man up?” 

“Yes! And he’s going to need that,” she feels her voice raise the further she spoke, “not whatever this constant sheltering thing is you're doing!”

He holds back a scoff, “does it look like what you said made anything better?”

“It’s what he needs! Do you want him to just keep cowering away the moment he gets a teeny bit of pressure put on him?”

Papyrus winces, sparing a small glance down at Ivis as they further shrivel into themselves, hiding their face behind their knees. “You are not helping right now.”

“Yeah-- because treating him like a child is working so much better right now-- I mean like what happened to you?? Since when did you start acting like this???” She tries to keep herself from choking on her words, “you used to be so much… so much bolder? You always went into everything headfirst and--”

“You are not helping.” Papyrus’ tone stiffens as he rubs circles along the back of his sibling. “If you could just give us some space, because clearly you’re doing nothing but making this whole situation worse--”

“He’s not ready.”

There’s a moment of pause as Papyrus’ gaze sits on Undyne. 

“I’m serious. If he even wants to think -and I mean think- about being a guard he’s gonna have to learn to toughen up because he is not--” her eyes lower to the bulky skeleton, the gesture of her hand pausing on Ivis as she locks her gaze on them; seeing the slightest hint of their dual coloured eyelights peek out from their curled up position. She zeroes in on it. Gives them one last chance. Maybe -just maybe- they’d finally say something; whatever was in their mind behind that hesitant stare. But the moments passes without so much as a peep from them.

“Just take a few minutes outside. Alright?” Papyrus cracks, the half moons under his sockets showing darker than they have been the whole evening. Undyne purses her lips, watching her former friend turn back to his sibling. She opens her mouth to protest, pauses, only to then storm past the two and out the sliding doors behind them. 

. . .

Undyne leans against the porch fence’s banister as she presses her fingers against the scales of her forehead, reeling back from the evening’s outburst. Downing the last of her tea -which at that point had chilled as much as the surrounding air- she clenches the cup within the tips of her fingers, her index tracing the chilled stone of the rim. Her sigh rang coarse and dry. 

It seemed to have quieted down back inside. She couldn’t hear Papyrus’ voice anymore; maybe he went back upstairs, or even taking his sibling up too? It was a surprise, to say the least, that he hadn’t come back to tell her to leave after the half hour that passed-- did he assume she already left? Should she have left? 

Side glancing her empty cup, she turns back around to the sliding doors-- only to choke on her own saliva. Ivis stands just outside the doorway, their frame tense as they silently watch Undyne, gently fiddling with a folded sheet of paper in their hands. Undyne stares back, scraping up the humility she had to try and apologize for the scene from earlier, but only one word comes out.

“...Hey.” 

She doesn’t get much of a response; instead, Ivis hesitantly walks over beside Undyne on the small wooden balcony, gently placing the folded sheet on the banister beside her, along with a small stone to keep the paper from blowing away in the light breeze. The bulky skeleton gives Undyne one last look before stepping away and heading back inside, leaving her alone.

Her eyes lead down to the paper beside her, sliding the rock aside to grab the sheet underneath. She opens it, only seeing a small set of words written on the center. 

‘I’m not a boy.’

Undyne stares hard at the words for a long moment, before looking back up at the now closed doorway where Ivis had been.

[five-rivers]

While You Still Can

For Ectober Day 2: Scream

.

Warnings: Accidental self-injury, repeated injury, minor blood, muteness.

.

The first time Danny got laryngitis was the day after returning from the bad future. He’d been a bit of a baby about it, too, because not being able to communicate effectively while already feeling like garbage and being depressed wasn’t great. Jazz had been very understanding about it all.

He got it again the next time he used the Ghostly Wail, and resigned himself to the inconvenient side effect. The Wail was sort of a last resort power to begin with, since it drained so much of his energy and left him vulnerable. He hoped that with time and practice it would get better.

He hoped in vain.

The day after Tucker's resignation from the student body presidential race, Danny, Sam, and Tucker splayed, exhausted and still slightly sandy, in Sam's basement. They'd settled on watching a nature documentary at some point, although none of them were really paying attention to it.

Tucker sighed heavily and readjusted himself so that his legs hung over the arm of the loveseat he’d commandeered. “So, I’m tied with Danny for most frequently possessed,” said Tucker.

“Seems like it,” said Sam, lazily twitching her foot to kick Tucker’s. “Unless mind control doesn’t count as being possessed.”

“Ugh. I hate this. Do you think we should try to practice throwing off overshadowing again? I hate that, too.”

“Dunno. Danny, do you think that would do any good?”

Danny, because he had the attention span of a caffeinated squirrel, tried to answer verbally. This was painful and did not work well.

The sound from the documentary briefly dissolved into something that wasn’t quite static. All three teens sat up, straight and wary of any ghostly intruders.

Danny’s ghost sense did not go off. Danny, who hadn’t been looking forward to how his ghost sense would feel against his abused throat, sighed in relief.

“Wait,” said Sam, “the static- Danny, was that you?”

Danny shrugged. If it was, it wasn’t on purpose.

“Maybe… Can you try to talk again?”

That would hurt. He made a face.

“I know,” said Sam. “But if it was you, don’t you want to know?”

“Could be the start of a new ghost power,” said Tucker, lying back down.

Danny rolled his eyes, but once again tried to speak. Once again, the sound of the documentary cut out, replaced by something else. Something that wasn’t words, but also wasn’t just random noise.

“Weird,” said Tucker. “So. New power, I guess. Do you think you’ll be able to do that without your voice gone?”

Danny shrugged. It wasn’t like these things came with a guidebook. Also, this didn’t seem particularly useful for anything except getting his friends’ attention when he was temporarily mute.

“I wonder if it works on recordings,” mused Tucker. “It’d be useful for making sure no one catches you transforming on film.”

Ah. That was true.

“We’d have to test it,” said Sam.

Danny dropped back onto the floor. He didn’t want to do anything today.

“Later?” suggested Sam. “Maybe once your voice is back?”

Danny gave her a thumbs up.

.

Danny’s voice came back the next day, as usual. Trying to mess with audio electronics had no effect, so they sort of forgot about it and ignored it. It wasn’t important.

They didn’t think it was important.

Danny kept using his Ghostly Wail as a trump card. His voice always took a vacation afterwards, but never for too long. Never long enough for Danny to worry. His parents were making noises about bringing Danny to the doctor, maybe a throat specialist. But they were ridiculously easy to distract.

Everything was normal. Everything was fine.

Until Technus came by with a massive upgrade, courtesy of Vlad, Danny suspected, and Danny had to use his wail twice in a row.

He managed to cap the thermos before he doubled over, coughing. Blood speckled the asphalt below him. Which was disturbing for a number of reasons, not least of which being that he was in ghost form, and shouldn’t be bleeding red at all.

He heard a gasp, and twisted in a way that probably would have broken a normal, human spine.

Sam and Tucker were looking at him with a great deal of consternation and worry.

“Dude…” said Tucker, softly.

Danny winced, and his rings flickered.

“Don’t do that now,” said Sam, scoldingly. “Shoot. We need to get you to Frostbite or something. That’s- Oh my gosh. Frick.”

Danny grimaced. They’d seen him more beaten up, but this amount of blood from the mouth probably was a more disturbing image than bruises and random cuts.

His rings flickered again.

Tucker swallowed hard. “We’ve gotta… Um. Somewhere to transform. Yeah.”

“Alley,” said Sam, pushing.

Danny let go of his transformation as soon as he was out of sight, and leaned against Tucker. He was so incredibly tired. He coughed, lightly, and more blood dribbled from his mouth.

“Oh, gross,” complained Tucker. “Are you, ah, jeeze, you’re not okay.”

No joke.

“Frostbite,” said Sam. “Danny, you up to- What am I saying, of course you’re not. Tucker, you’re going to have to drive.”

“Uh,” started Tucker.

“Since I’m going to be dealing with first aid stuff.”

“Oh. Okay, yeah, I can drive.”

.

Danny wheezed as Tucker made another wrong turn and almost plowed them into a half-melted wall. Sure, the Speeder could phase through just about anything here, but that ‘just about’ was a significant concern.

Plus, going too far that way would put a lot of extra time on their journey. Like. A lot. Some kind of fourth spacial dimension nonsense.

“Sorry!” said Tucker. “Did your parents update the controls or something?”

They had, but Danny couldn’t exactly explain how at the moment. He shrugged.

Eventually, they did arrive at the Far Frozen. The yetis took one look at Danny’s pale face and the blood dripping down his chin and rushed him away to their hospital. Frostbite arrived, and the next hour or so was a whirlwind of tests and scans, particularly of his neck and throat.

They… looked worried. Which made Danny worried.

They gave him good painkillers, though, and lying on the ice bed did wonders for his tension.

Frostbite came back. “Great One,” said Frostbite. He settled himself, fur shifting. “Your Wail is an amazing power. From our scans of your core, it looks like you are also going to develop other vocal powers.” He paused. The silence stretched long and deep. Normally, Danny would have tried to fill it. “But,” said Frostbite, finally, “those powers are not compatible with your human vocal cords. Using them damages your human vocal cords.”

Danny nodded.

“Your ghost half will replace them,” said Frostbite, “but they… they would not be at all the same.”

Danny tilted his head.

“You are probably confused, because you speak in your ghost form, but the structures are very different. You… You would be unlikely to be able to communicate in a way humans would understand, without significant practice. Not while you were in your human form.”

That… didn’t make sense. He communicated with people now. Frostbite and the other ghosts communicated just fine.

“It’s just the type of ghost you are,” said Frostbite. “You are… powerful, Great One, bound to a powerful and painful path. I am sorry for that.”

There was something so pained and apologetic in Frostbite’s tone that Danny started shaking his head. He hardly knew what he was saying, and he still couldn’t help but reject it.

“I am sorry, Great One,” said Frostbite, “but if you keep using your Ghostly Wail, your human half will become mute.”

Frostbite knew, then, just like Danny knew. Danny wouldn’t be able to stop using his wail. Not while people were in danger. He couldn’t abandon people he could save.

Tears collected in the corners of his eyes.

It made him want to scream.

(While he still could.)

[scorpionoesit]

Okay, was debating whether or not to post this, but if not for my own sake, I feel I at least need to do it for someone else’s. I need to address some stuff about the update post. (To those of you who didn’t get a chance to read it, this is going to be very confusing for you. Sorry.)

Specifically, I have some things to say to certain groups of people who responded.

—To those of you who were offended, disgusted, insulted, and/or annoyed at my post and made it very clear in the comments:

You were right.

And I am sorry.

I’ll say this now: I am not sorry for sharing my beliefs. That is something I will not and cannot apologize for.

But that doesn’t mean I didn’t make a mistake. What I posted was poorly timed, very poorly worded, and not thought out, and I can very clearly see why what I posted could be seen as disrespectful to Techno and his family (Hindsight is 20/20, and all that jazz). I let my emotions get the better of me.

(That tends to happen when you talk with your emotions instead of your head: you forget to think about what you’re saying.)

That said, some of you crossed a line.

You made insinuations and accusations that you had no right to make and no grounds to base them on. I understand that some (but not all) of them were based on ignorance and misunderstandings, which is fine, but the way you worded them was not.

This is not a—“oh, how dare you argue with me about my beliefs”—rant. (I was fully expecting people to disagree with me when I made that post.)

This is a rant about how some of you need to watch your words.

Because words hurt.

And your words hurt me.

I will happily admit that, under normal circumstances, I am in a good place mentally. I don’t suffer from depression or anxiety (mostly).

But that first weekend after the news was really rough. I was not in a good place mentally, and I tried to do something about it, and then you went and threw it back in my face with no small amount of contempt.

It got to the point that my family noticed, and were legitimately concerned for my mental health, and that has never happened before. One family member got almost physically sick because they were worried about me.

And that is not okay.

I’m fine now, I promise. I’m not even upset about it anymore, honestly. Annoyed and a little ticked off, maybe, but I’m over the worst of it. But I need you all to understand: words. have. consequences. 

A lot of people were hurting that week. I was in the fortunate position of being in a good place mentally when I heard the news, but I think we can all agree that many authors do not have that. And if someone in a bad mental state, already worsened by the death of a loved content creator, made a post they thought would help both them and others, and then got hate for it?

You could have very easily pushed someone past their breaking point.

That said, I’m not dumb enough to ignore the very real possibility that most of the toxic comments I received were made by people who were in just as much pain as I was, if not more. I’ve already admitted I’m partially guilty of posting something while under the influence of emotions, and I’d say it’s safe to assume others are just as guilty.

But the next time you see something that offends you, or that you don’t agree with, or that you think is disrespectful to certain people…sometimes, all it takes is a gentle nudge and a “hey, maybe reword that a bit, yeah?”. You don’t need to tear apart someone’s intentions, or try to psychoanalyze them to get your point across.

TL;DR—be careful of what you say, and how you say it. You don’t know where people are mentally, and your words can have a serious effect on not only their mental health, but also those around them. Also, whoever coined the “sticks and stones may break my bones” phrase needs a harsh slap upside the head.

Alright, that’s the end of this little PSA.

Moving on.

—To those of you who did not like my post, but were very considerate in your responses:

Thank you for your honesty, your consideration, and for your common sense. I meant no offense in my post, and I’m sorry that what I said made you unhappy.

—To those of you who were made extremely uncomfortable by my post for personal reasons:

I owe you all an apology, whether or not you commented. I didn’t think about how my post could affect those with trauma related to the issue at hand, and that again was an extreme error on my part. I should have put a trigger warning on all of my posts when I first posted them.

Also, just to be clear and to ease your worries, neither Vagabonds nor Braided will have any content of that sort in them, I promise. Vagabonds will have a very brief, passing mention of it in the next chapter or two, but it is solely for the sake of world-building. Nothing more.

Again, I apologize for not taking you into account. It will not happen again.

—Now, to those of you who were supportive of my post:

Thank you. From the very bottom of my heart, thank you. I can’t tell you what a relief it was that I wasn’t the only one in this fandom dealing with the same thoughts on the matter, or that there were people who shared my beliefs. I hope to see some of you around.

—To those of you who, despite being part of a different and conflicting(?) belief system, were still supportive of my post:

I cannot express to you how much your comments meant to me, so I’m not going to try. Just…thank you.

—To those of you who never actually got to read the post and are sitting here very confused about this entire conversation:

Suffer. <3

In all seriousness, though, I am dropping this topic completely after this post.

I will say this once and only once: do not try to bring it up.

If you send an ask, and a single sentence tries to fish for information about what happened in the post or what people said, I will just delete the entire ask. I am ending the drama here and now.

Alright! That’s all I had to say on the matter. Apologies for the seriousness—I felt it needed to be said—but after this you’ll be getting the good ole’ crack and sass back.

(Also, to the one ask who actually did send me an actual question about the topic, I’ll answer back, I promise, but talking on the internet is haaaarrrRRRDDDDDD—)

OKAY BYE!

[rebeccccccaaa]

𝚃𝚠𝚘 𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝙳𝚊𝚍𝚍𝚢

________________________

𝙱𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚢 𝙱𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚜 𝚡 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛

𝚁𝚎𝚚𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚍: ANON Hey you ❤️ Could I request an imagine with Bucky where you are his non-avenger girlfriend but you got really distant towards him lately as you found out you're pregnant and you're scared of his reaction? But then he finds out and is all happy and all other avengers are happy for you and insist on taking care of you and it's just all fluffy ? Thank you a lot ❤️

𝚆𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜: really fluff smut 18+ (praise, daddy kink, slight mommy kink?, breeding kink, oral fem!rec, age gap, etc), slight angst, cw: mentions of eating disorders (no one has one but bucky thinks this)

𝙰𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚛’𝚜 𝙽𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚜: listen…. The idea of kids and having kids getting pregnant all that jazz, yeah. It fucking terrifies me! LOL! But nonetheless I really do see the appeal and sometimes i catch myself reading these kinds of fics so i really hope you like it anon! :)

PS: updates are going to slow down cuz i don’t have any drafts ready for upload and also things are a little crazy personally so yeah hope y’all understand :)

_____________________________

“You like that baby?” Bucky groaned in your ear.

“Yes daddy! Oh my god,” you moaned.

“You’re being such a good little girl for your daddy. Fuck, daddy. You're gonna make me a daddy. I’m gonna come inside you and you’re gonna get all swollen and round with my baby. You want that? You wanna be a mommy; make me a daddy?” 

Bucky and you both expressed in the past that kids were something you both wanted but with Bucky still heavily involved with missions and the avengers, and you were in college studying to get a PhD in biomechanics and computer engineering, something that would let you understand and work with Bucky specifically very closely. You were too young to have a baby but that didn’t stop you from playing into fantasies of having a family with the man you were so in love with. 

“Daddy,” you moaned.

“Give it to me, baby,” you looked him into his eyes.

Bucky kissed you hard as you both came and after cleaning yourselves up you had showered together, ate dinner quickly, and soon went to bed. 

That was two months ago. 

Three weeks after that night, Bucky was gone for about two weeks on a mission with Steve. You and the girls were drinking wine but you opted out for the tempting glasses feeling nauseous that entire week. 

As a joke, the girls were saying you were pregnant but you were sure that you and Bucky were always cautious when having sex. It wasn’t a good time to have a baby. So you joked that all three of you should take a pregnancy test and when yours came out positive you freaked out. 

“Oh my god! Bucky’s gonna kill me!” you panicked.

“Hey, relax. It’s ok,” Nat comforted you.

“We can get through this. Now did Bucky explicitly say he doesn’t want kids?” Wanda asked.

“No, we both want kids it’s just, ugh, life is so fucking crazy right now and I’m still in school, Bucky’s going on missions all the time. It’s just not a good time to have a baby.”

“Ok think about it this; if life for us was normal, as boring as that is, would Bucky be upset if you were pregnant?” Nat reasoned.

“No, he would be so happy. He wants to be a dad, it’s just so sudden,” you said in distress.

“It’s always sudden with this situation. But what’s more important is that you have support. Whatever your decision is in the end we'll all support you, even Bucky,” Nat told you.

Bucky came back home and immediately knew that there was something that was upsetting you. You promised him that you were alright but you were conflicted. You tried to tell him, you really did, but there wasn’t a good time. 

One night Bucky tried to initiate sex when you two had the tower to yourselves. You were instantly distant with him afraid he’d take one look at your naked body and know you were pregnant and that freak you out. 

“Baby, are you ok?” Bucky asked that night.

“Yeah, I just don’t feel good,” you didn’t actually lie, the pregnancy did affect your appetite drastically and many foods you used to adore before were repulsive to you. 

“Oh ok, do you need anything?” he was concerned.

“No, I think I’m ok.”

Now present day, you and Bucky hadn’t had sex since. It’s been a little over two months and Bucky wasn’t frustrated per say but he missed you; he missed having his hands on your warm and soft skin. He missed the way you squirmed under him and the little whimpers you made. How good your walls felt as he thrusted in and out of you torturously slow. 

You two were in the kitchen sitting with some of the other team members. So far only Nat and Wanda knew about your pregnancy as hard as it was to not tell Vision or Steve or literally anyone. You stared at the breakfast sitting in front of you; it used to be your favorite but looking at it and smelling it was making you extremely nauseous. 

“Baby?” Bucky rubbed your back.

“Hm?”

“Why aren’t you eating? It’s your favorite,” he said.

“I’m not too hungry,” you said.

Bucky wasn’t convinced but because you were in front of other people he didn’t want you to feel embarrassed like a father scolding a teenager. His hand rested on your thigh and immediately felt your leg tense up. 

You retracted and stood up walking away without saying a word and Bucky was confused and followed you quickly shoving as much food in his mouth as he could and tossed his plate in the sink. 

“What’s going on with them?” Steve asked.

“Oh no are they gonna break up?” Sam asked with genuine concern, as much as he fucked around with Buck he did admire your relationship. You are really good for him and he loved you unconditionally.

“No, it’s just-” Wanda started.

“Wanda,” Nat warned. 

“I wasn’t going to say anything,” she rolled her eyes, “There fine. Y/n’s just not feeling well and she doesn’t want to be bothered.”

Bucky walked into your shared room and found you changing into yet another hoodie. That’s when he started piecing things together; or at least he thought. You were always wearing very big clothing and covering your body; that he thought was the most beautiful he’d ever laid eyes on. You were constantly nauseous and refused to eat even some of your favorites dishes and meals. You wouldn’t let him touch even though he’s initiated a couple of times.

“Y/n?” Bucky asked.

“What?” you played dumb.

“Y/n, what’s going on?”

“Nothing, I told you I don’t feel good.”

“That seems to be your excuse a lot.”

“What does that mean?” you asked.

“Y/n, be honest with me. Are you starving yourself?” he had tears in his eyes; he couldn’t even think about you doing this to yourself.

“What! Bucky no! I’m not, ugh, just,” you stuttered.

“What is going on, please tell me, baby?”

“I’m pregnant!”

Silence. Bucky was shocked. You were pregnant? How long? Why didn’t you tell him? 

“I’m so sorry, Buck,” you started crying.

“No, no, no, no, don’t cry babygirl,” Bucky hugged you tightly while you sobbed into his chest.

“I’m happy, I’m really happy and excited for us. We’re gonna be a family,” he smiled.

“You’re not mad?”

“Why would I be mad?”

“I don’t know, I know we talk about this and having a family but not now. I thought you’d be mad at me.”

“Well, I’m a bit bummed that you didn’t tell when you found out but no; I’m so happy. I love you from the bottom of my heart and I would do anything for you. I’m gonna be here every step of the way and we’re gonna get through this together, ok?”

“Ok,” you sniffled. 

“Are you ok? Do you need anything?” Bucky already started going into protective dad mode and he just found out.

“No I just need you,” you whispered. 

“God, I love you,” Bucky picked you up and laid you on the bed littering your face in kisses.

“Does anyone else know?” he asked you.

“Well, uh, the girls,” you said.

“You told the girls?”

“Well, they were drinking and i declined because I was feeling sick and they joked that I was pregnant so we all took pregnancy tests as a joke but mine came out positive. I took two more and they were all positive,” you started tearing up.

“Hey don’t cry, it’s ok.”

“Sorry,” you laughed.

“We’re gonna be ok, right baby?” he whispered.

“Yeah, I love you.”

Bucky leaned down again and pressed kisses to your neck making you giggle. His warm hands trailed under your shirt making your skin burst into chills. Bucky’s lips continued their assault on your neck and before you knew Bucky started lifting your sweater over your head.

You did the same to Bucky and your chests were pressed against each other instantly as he kissed you hard. Bucky trailed kisses down your body slowly, hands rubbing your skin softly, lips staying longer than usual around your stomach for obvious reasons. 

Bucky peeled your sweats from your body and didn’t hesitate to dive in. His tongue licking a long strip against your pussy. You moan softly and your hips wiggled under him. He pressed down on you to keep you from squirming but you were getting very close to your orgasm and it just felt too good. 

Bucky brought his fingers and circled your entrance before inserting a finger slowly. He looked up at you moaning at his fingers and this encouraged Bucky to insert another one. His fingers slipped in and out with ease with your arousal practically dripping from you. 

Bucky leaned forward and circled his tongue around your clit. The obsecene sounds of Bucky finger fucking you echoed in the room and you finallly climax, cumming all over his finger. Bucky crawled up your tired body after taking his pants and boxers off. 

Bucky didn’t bother putting a condom considering you’ve been his only partner the past couple years and he got you pregnant. He pumped his cock a few times before grabbing your legs to wrap around his waist and easily slipped between your folds. 

“Fuck, baby girl. You feel so good,” Bucky moaned in your ear.

“Oh shit, yes,” you whimpered.

“Oh you’re gonna be so beautiful when you're all big and swollen, shit. You’re gonna be the sexiest mommy in this whole fucking world.”

“Ugh! And you’re gonna be such a sexy daddy,” you smirked and cupped his face.

He leaned down and kissed you passionately. He thrusted into you harder and your back arched into his chest, moaning high pitched and loudly. Your hands tugged on his hair and Bucky groaned in your mouth. 

“Oh Buck, I’m gonna come,”you said against his lips.

“Let go, baby. Come for me, mommy,” Bucky said. 

You came hard; your body contracted and trembled, your stomach tightened, your toes curled, and your legs pulled Bucky deep inside you, hot spurts of his cum coating your walls. Bucky settled on you but bounced back afraid he was crushing the baby.

He went to the bathroom, well practically sprinted, and returned with a warm towel to clean you up. Your body laid still while you were cleaned and you just watched Bucky with adoration. He left again and returned wearing boxers and held a bottle of your favorite lotion that you usually saved for special nights or for Tony’s parties.

You smiled and got comfortable as Bucky poured some lotion in his hand. His hands spread the lotion evenly on your body; thumbs skimming your sensitive nipples, gently caresses all over your stomach, teasing grazes along your inner thighs. You closed your eyes and felt euphoria. 

The love of your life was really pampering you and you felt so good. 

“I love you,” you whispered.

“I love you, too,” Bucky kissed your forehead, crawling into the bed with you.

“Let’s stay in all day. My girl is pregnant and she’s gonna need all the rest she can get,” Bucky joked.

“But what about-”

“No, who cares,” bucky interrupted.

“But-”

“No buts.”

“What are we gonna tell the rest of the team?”

“Oh, well. It’s your body, your comfort. You tell them when you feel it’s best. But I do hope it’s soon because I’m so happy and I don’t think i'd be able to keep this a secret for long,” Bucky dived his head in your neck making you laugh.

“Ok,” you whispered.

“Man, I’m gonna be a dad,” Bucky sighed happily.

“You’re gonna be daddy,” you said innocently.

“I’m already your daddy,” he playfully growled.

“Then you’re gonna be two types of daddy,” you smirked.

“Two types of daddy.”

=======================

TAGLIST:

@mathletemadison 

[uncpanda]

The Ties that Bind: Nuances

Synopsis of series: Being the older sister of a literal genius? It’s not easy. Raising said genius from childhood on? An act of love. Uprooting your life again when he gets in over his head? A no brainer. Finding a new family and support system for yourself? Well, you suppose that’s just luck.

Master List

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x platonic!reader (We’ve entered slow burn territory) and Spencer Reid X Sister!reader 

What’s something you guys would like to see in this series? Any special moments? Any special episodes?

“I’m going to die, a horrific and painful death. I can see it now.” 

Aaron doesn’t even look up from his book he’s picked up on your little nuances in the past three months; ever since you stormed his office after a serial killer nearly killed him and your brother. He knows you still have a punchline to get to, “Seriously Aaron, internet dating, it’s going to kill me. You should see the weirdos on here.” 

He lets out a huff that you know is actually a laugh, “I do. Everyday. At work. Could I interest you in a nunnery instead?” 

You scoff, “No thank you. I like sex too much.” 

You glance over to see the tips of his ears go red, and you smile to yourself, before moving from his kitchen table, to the spot next to him on the couch. His eyes move to you, “Yes?” 

“Tell me if my dating profile is good?” 

His brow furrows, “You’re asking for dating advice from me? The divorced guy?” 

You roll your eyes, “You must have done something right. You convinced Haley to marry you, you got through nearly fifteen years of marriage and had an adorable kid.” 

He stares at you for a second before saying, “When you make a point, you really make it.” He plucks the phone out of your hands and begins scrolling, and then he scowls, “You didn’t take this seriously at all, did you?” 

“Not a bit, and you should see some of the messages I’ve gotten.” 

He flips through them, and you watch in amusement, “Some of these guys need to be on our watch list.” He mutters. And then more loudly, so that you’re intended to hear, “How do you delete this thing? There has to be a better way than this.” 

You roll your eyes, and he watches to make sure you delete the fake profile and the app. Grinning, you ask, “Want to make one for you?” 

“I do just fine, thank you. I have Dave.” 

“Let me guess, the two of you are cruising jazz bars.” 

“How old do you think I am?” 

“Let’s see, you were born in ‘71 and it’s 2008 now. . .” Your lips twitch and he rolls his eyes at your teasing. Finally, you allow your body to just tip into his; you head landing on his shoulder. He stiffens briefly, still not used to casual touch, or maybe he’s still just touch starved, but after a few seconds he allows his body to relax, and to your surprise his head tips towards yours and a second later his cheek is resting on top of your head. 

It’s a position you’ve held with Spencer numerous times, but with Aaron there are butterflies in your belly, and a thought crosses your mind, and then you squash it. Because he’s not ready for anything else, he’s only been divorced a few months, and you . . . well you’re still raw from Joel, and you don’t think you can handle being a consolation prize again. 

So you wait an appropriate amount of time and then shift away, and the way Aaron’s eyes chase you tells you he wasn’t quite ready for the contact to end, but you need to get going. 

“Okay, I better head out. I have to make sure Spencer ate something green this week other than candy.” 

Aaron smiles, “I made him eat a salad on Tuesday when we ordered in, while on a case.” 

You laugh, and swoop your purse up, “Then I owe you one.” 

“Are we still on for coffee Tuesday?” 

“As long as a serial killer doesn’t drag you away.” 

“I’ll keep you updated.” 

You make it to Spencer’s in record time, even after stopping for groceries. And of course when your brother opens the door, his nose is buried in a book. A new one you'd guess, because he’s actually taking his time reading it and he barely gives you a grunt in greeting. 

You set the groceries down, pluck the book from his hand, and smile when he glares at you, “I was reading that.” 

“And you can have it back, after you go through the norms of polite society.” 

He rolls his eyes, and moves in to give you a hug, snatching the book back, before saying, “Hello. Welcome to my home. Can I get you something to drink?” 

“Smartass.” 

He sets the book down on the coffee table, “I get it from you.” 

“Can’t argue with that.” 

He settles down on the couch, and you take the overstuffed armchair, while eyeing the new stack of books, “Go to the book store today?” 

“Several. A lot of my independent bookstores were having some good sales. I picked up a few for you.” 

“Thanks.” 

“What about you, what have you been up to?” 

You shrug, “Nothing much.” He doesn’t know about you becoming friends with Aaron. You imagine he’d freak out. He always did when you talked to people of authority in his life. 

His eyes narrow, “Really?” 

“Really.” 

There’s a moment of silence as though he’s trying to figure out if you’re lying before he gives in, “What are we making for dinner?” 

“We?” 

“I thought I’d put up a pretense of cooking at the very least.” 

And you laugh as the normal and the easy replaces the uncertainty of earlier. And you’re very grateful for that, because you’re nowhere near ready to process any of that. 

Tag List (If your name has a strike through it means that it won’t let me tag you): 

@hateinthemorning @nightressposts @bulldozed88 @toastedside @am3l1a-24 @wintelu @escapingthoughtsandsecrets @moonwarriorx3 @fallen-wolf22 @donttellanyoneireadfanfiction @kathleenjasmine @l-vvne @sekhmet5

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@mochionly @Jinxy_175  @big-galaxy-chaos @princess76179   

[darklydeliciousdesires]

Verboten - Chapter Twenty Seven.

I’m so sorry I’ve kept you all waiting and waiting for weeks on this update! I’m about halway through ch. 28 too, but goodness knows when I’ll have it ready. I’m currently preparing to move premises at work, and that’s so damn stressful. UGH! I am dedicated to seeing this through to the end, though. I love these two too much not to complete their story!

Previous chapters - One  Two  Three  Four  Five  Six  Seven  Eight  Nine  Ten  Eleven  Twelve  Thirteen  Fourteen  Fifteen  Sixteen  Seventeen  Eighteen  Nineteen  Twenty  Twenty One  Twenty Two  Twenty Three  Twenty Four  Twenty Five  Twenty Six

Visuals - The Verboten cast of characters post

Words - 2,792

Warnings - None

Tag list - In the comments! To be added/removed, please DM me :)

“Do you think we need to have some kind of intervention?”

“Hmm, I mean it seems a good idea in theory, but in practice? Zoey will storm out and Ella will scream at us. I honestly think we need to just leave them to find a way back to one another in their own time.”  

“Or we could just ask Tyler when we get there?”  

Cait’s suggestion was probably the wisest, Fran nodding as she rooted in her bag for her phone as they pulled into the Starbucks drive-thru, ready to pay for their order. They were picking up lunch and coffees all round (except for Tyler, who vehemently stated that the chain coffee outlet was rubbish and surlily refused to drink it) on their way to visit, he-who-hated-Starbucks just recovering from a second operation on his shoulder.  

When they arrived, though, he wasn’t exactly in the state to talk.  

“How you doing, big fella?” Fran asked, bending to kiss his head.  

“Fuckin’ jazzed off my nuts! Your tits look awesome in that top, mate.”

“Tyler!” Her scream of laughter made him beam.  

“Oh god,” Zoey exclaimed, slapping her still grinning boyfriend on the thigh. “He’s high as a kite and thus, his filter has gone completely. They had to reconstruct more than they were expecting and thus cut him deeper, so he’s mostly in agony without being dosed up.”  

“I’m fine!” he shouted, laughing to himself. “It’s what you four all have in common as sisters. A crackin’ rack.”  

Cait nearly choked on her coffee, Zoey hiding her face and Fran booming with laughter, Tyler looking very pleased with himself.  

“Enough, go to sleep!” Jerking her head in the direction of the kitchen, they left him to it, muttering and laughing to himself, all sitting down at the table and eating their toasted sandwiches.  

“So, how’s he been?” Cait asked, reaching for the pepper to grind a liberal sprinkling across hers.

“He had a lousy night, he’s trying not to rely too much on painkillers though because of his past issues, thusly meaning he doesn’t sleep well when he’s in so much pain. I had to talk him into taking the ones he’s on now earlier this morning. I thought they’d have worn off by now! Hopefully he’ll pass out soon, though. He has a window, about two hours of nonsense or unfiltered observations and then he falls asleep,” Zoey replied through a mouthful of hot cheese, licking pesto from her top lip.  

“Let’s just hope this time, they’ve sorted it,” Fran spoke, eyes wide. She couldn’t imagine Tyler in a profession that didn’t involve wielding a weapon.  

“I know, I really do. The surgeon is really optimistic, though. Hopefully if all goes well with his grip, he should be back in work around April. Of course, he hit the bloody roof about it taking a further six weeks, but you know how Tyler is. He hates sitting around not doing anything.”

“Has it been hard, getting him to rest?” Cait then asked, sipping her coffee.

“Oh my god, the arguments we’ve had about it,” Zoey began, looking between her sisters and thinking how nice it was, to have two of them there. She noticed it, though, the little pang in her chest at the fourth chair being empty, imagining Ella sitting in it. She might have still been angry, but heavens, how she missed her big sis. “I’ve seriously considered using adhesive to keep him sitting still!”  

They sat and talked more, catching each other up on their lives, a little lull in the conversation driving Cait to speak the words she hadn’t really planned to, but felt she needed to, noticing the exact same absence there at the table as Zoey had. 

“Zo, when can we get you and Ella together to mend things? It’s been months, the family has been torn apart enough. Now, after the initial shock and condemnation, we’re getting used to you and Tyler being together, she’s moved on with Camille, I think it’s time. I mean, I know I can’t rush you, I know there’s a lot of resentment there on both sides of this, but I think if we both wait for you guys to come to this decision of your own volition, we’ll still be waiting next Christmas.”  

More silence followed, Zoey crunching through a crust laden with pesto as she contemplated her sister’s words. “I just don’t know. We hate each other so much, for all the obvious reasons. But you’re right, it can’t go on like this. I think I need to swallow my pride a little, don’t I?”  

“In order to mend, yes. I mean, talking to her, both of you sitting there and really hashing it out, it might put to bed a lot of the resentment you guys feel toward one another,” Fran suggested with a little shrug, reaching to wipe a crumb from Zoey’s cheek.  

“My advice would be to call her up and ask to meet her somewhere neutral, somewhere quiet where you can have a good chat and like Fran says, hash it all out. Don’t expect the relationship to be instantly mended, but see it as the first block to rebuilding it.”  

Zoey smiled, grabbing Cait’s hand and then Fran’s, sighing as she nodded. Ella would never call her, she was far too stubborn, but from what Tyler had said, she might be open to such a suggestion if she reached out first. Much later that afternoon, with her phone in hand, she paced around the lounge in a little circle, getting up, sitting down, Tyler with one eye on the documentary he was watching and the other on her.  

“You’re wearing the carpet down.”

Stopping, she smiled a little embarrassedly, sitting down once more. “I’m apprehensive. Nervous, too.”

“Yeah, I get that,” he noted, adjusting the pillows behind him a little, his discomfort coming back a little as the painkillers wore off. “What’s the worst she can do? She’s already done it, you’ve both already done the worst you could do to one another. If she continues from that place when you’re taking the first step to mend it all, then that’s on her. I don’t think she will, though.”  

Nodding, Zoey took a deep breath, getting up again and striding for the French windows to let herself outside, pressing the call button at last. Her nerves jangled like wind chimes as she heard the dial tone burr, the cool breeze helping calm her a little. She felt hot and tense, her heart fluttering nervously as the phone continued to ring out.  

“Hey. Sorry it took a while to answer, I’m clearing out the pantry.” Ella sounded guarded and frosty still, but definitely less so than Zoey had been expecting her to. The venom level had been turned down from a lethal bite to a graze of fangs. “You alright? And Tyler?”

“Yeah, I’m good, he’s alright too. In pain from the op, they had to cut at him much more than anticipated to put it right, but they’ve sorted him now, which is the main thing.”  

A long pause followed. “Listen, Ella. I want us to meet up, talk, try and mend things. Would you be open to that?”  

She sighed slightly, knowing the time had come but still not feeling one hundred percent open to Zoey’s suggestion. It was time to be brave, though. “Yes. Let’s meet somewhere neutral, but not too public. How about the park? Morning time, when it isn’t busy? I can ask Cami to look after the kids and meet you tomorrow?”

It seemed very quick to Zoey, another pause following Ella’s suggestion. She felt as if she needed time to prepare, but then swiftly reasoned that she’d truly had ample amounts of that already, if she was honest. This? It had been a long time coming. “Okay, shall we say 9am on the bench opposite the playground?”

Ella agreed, their call ending as swiftly as it had begun, Zoey jumping when she felt Tyler’s hand on her shoulder. Even when slightly incapacitated, he still had the quietest stealth mode. Half the time, he didn’t even realise he was doing it.  

“That was quick,” he noted, trepidatious over what she might tell him. There’d been no shouting at least, but with her back to him, he hadn’t been able to read the situation clearly while she’d spoken to his ex.  

“I’m meeting her tomorrow in the park, 9am. We’re gonna talk.” It was the reply he’d been hoping for, but couldn’t deny a part of him thought that despite what she’d told him, Ella might have stonewalled her younger sibling once more. “I’m shitting myself already. I mean, she sounded alright just now, still frosty, still quintessentially angry Ella, but there was a little thaw there. There had to have been, for her to even agree to seeing me. I feel so apprehensive, though. I’m still mad at her, she’s still mad at me. Fuck. It’s a mess.”

“Just remember, baby steps. You guys have a long way to go, don’t you, until your relationship is fully mended. Don’t be eager to rush it, just take it a bit at a time, try not to lose your cool either. You both want this to happen. You’re just as anxious as she is about taking that first step, though. It’ll be alright.”

His words were the usual plain sense Zoey was used to him speaking, smiling as he wrapped his good arm around her and pulled her back against his chest, avoiding his sling as she closed her eyes and let herself feel the comfort of his embrace, the breeze cool at her slightly warm cheeks.  

As he stroked her back, eventually steering her back inside, Tyler knew she would stress about it, regardless of what he’d said. He couldn’t blame her for that either, really. It had been such a tense situation, one that would now be coming to a head. In one way, he wished he could be there to mediate it, since he’d been the driving force of the fallout between the sisters, but in another, he knew it was for them to sort out, without his input.  

He’d done enough as it was. This was definitely something he did not need to get between again.  

“You look tired,” Zoey noted after they’d sat back down on the sofa.

“Yeah, I am a bit. I think I might nap.”

“I think I’ll join you.” He smiled, kissing her head as he swung his legs up, Zoey doing the same and snuggling at his side. She wasn’t asleep for long, though, her subconscious ruining her attempt for a longer sleep than twenty minutes by making her dream of Ella, chasing her around the park with a giant hook for a hand she dragged behind her and then swung at Zoey whenever she could gather enough strength and momentum to lift it up from the ground.

Leaving Tyler to sleep on, she quietly got up and headed into the kitchen, setting herself up at the table with her laptop in order to get some work done. One thing she really missed about her apartment was the office space, which didn’t exist within Tyler’s abode.  

It was a big factor in her reasoning that she wasn’t ready to move in with him yet on a permanent basis. Not that he’d asked, or would likely for a while yet, she thought, but her own space and little sanctuary that was all hers was definitely not on the cards to trade for domestic bliss just yet. She was very happy with him and deeply in love, but it didn’t mean she wanted to rush anything.  

Throughout the afternoon, she found herself stopping at several points through detailing financial plans to think on how she would begin her conversation with Ella, each time her stomach rolling over with nerves. She knew it had to happen in order to begin applying the first stitches to the gaping wound that was her relationship with her elder sister, but suffered what could only be described as crippling blankness.  

What on earth could she say? Offer the same apology as she had before?  

“Yes, that’s exactly what you have to do, now she actually might be ready to listen.” Her muttered response to her thoughts was followed by the memory of how deliberately uncomfortable Ella had made her feel, the last time she’d attempted to voice her regret at her input in tearing her marriage apart.  

Immediately, her heart leapt within her chest.  

It had been the most horrible altercation she could remember, with anyone, ever. The memory of it persisted, just as Ella had designed it to, but this time, after at least hearing her vastly different tone when they’d spoken earlier, Zoey could at least feel some comfort that her sister wasn’t likely to behave in such a way for a second time.  

Try telling her brain that, though.  

All night, she worried about it, despite Tyler telling her that the rational scenario was that Ella wanted to work on their relationship just as much as she did. It didn’t really penetrate her psyche as much as either would have liked it to, though, meaning that while he slept, she lay awake, playing out how the meeting might go from all angles in her head, finally managing to find some shut eyed peace at around 3am.  

“Here.” A large, steaming mug of coffee came into her eyeline as she stood at the mirror, taking in her slightly bleary-eyed appearance at 8am the following morning.

“You should be resting, not making me drinks,” Zoey chided lightly, turning to kiss Tyler’s chest.

“You’d be surprised at all the things I can do one handed.” A brief tickle between her legs had her giggling, pushing his arm as she shook her head, adding a few more chest kisses.  

“Down boy. No exertion, remember?”

“Hm.” The deep rumble in his throat was half acceptance, half displeasure at being reminded of such.  

“I’ll blow you later, so long as your ex doesn’t smack all my teeth out my mouth.”

“You don’t need teeth to suck cock though, baby.”

“Oh, and here was me thinking you liked a little pain?” Reaching out, she grasped his nipple, pinching it with a little twist. The action went right to his crotch.

“Stop it, or I’m gonna make you late. No exertion be damned, you’ll be bent over this sink and pounded so hard, you can’t see straight. And now I can’t stop thinking about that so I’m gonna excuse myself and let you get ready.”

Zoey snorted laughing in his wake as he walked off muttering, his inflated cock tenting his boxers. He might have been in pain from his surgery still, but that didn’t stop him from being like a caged tiger in heat. She was glad he seemed to be more chipper than usual that morning, still wincing in pain here and there, but generally with more of his usual spark returned. It had to have worked; she couldn’t bear to think about how miserable he’d be if he couldn’t return to the police.

She washed, brushed her teeth and applied minimal makeup before dressing in her favourite baggy sweater and leggings, slipping her ballet pumps on and finishing her coffee before kissing Tyler goodbye, taking his keys and leaving. Her car was parked in by his truck, so it made sense to just drive that, since he’d had to get over his issue with her behind the wheel of his prized possession, now that she was his chauffer while he healed.  

The little traffic around meant that she was early as planned, pulling up in a parking space to the left of the park and walking around to the entrance gate, across the grass until the play area came into view, as well as Ella sitting there waiting. Apparently, she wasn’t the only one who’d wanted to arrive early.  

As she approached, she also saw that she wasn’t the only nervous one, Ella doing her tell-tale fiddling with her keys as she sat, one of the biggest giveaways to her feeling trepidatious over something. With every step, Zoey’s heart thundered wildly, her legs feeling like heavy jelly, her sister looking up and smiling a thin-lipped half smile at her, her face pretty much unreadable as she sat down, leaving the kind of gap she never usually would have.

“Hey.”

“Hi, thanks for meeting me.”

Zoey was still completely blank on what the hell to say, one thought and one thought only echoing through her head as she finally formed speech. ‘Here we go. Time to mend it.’