#I’m trying to live happily with Josh

[cal-a-bungaa]

Stop trying to suck me into Jake lane

[yoongiseesawmp3]

cupid - seungcheol (m)

summary: brother’s best friend!seungcheol. you move in with your brother joshua while you look for a new place, so you finally meet his best friend and roommate seungcheol. you’ve only heard stories, so you’re not prepared for the good looks or the charm that he constantly exudes. after a really bad date, you need someone to save you, and with joshua mia, seungcheol comes to the rescue.

word count: 9.3k

warnings: smut!!! afab reader. unprotected sex. gendered terms (pretty girl, reader referred to as sister/sis). thigh riding. a little oral (m receiving).

masterlist

“jesus, how many boxes do you have?” joshua complains as you hand him another box of books to lug into his apartment. 

“only a couple more,” you tell him. “these are all the things i couldn’t fit in storage.”

“get a bigger unit next time,” your brother grumbles as you start the walk back into his building. 

“no,” you say stubbornly, and you can almost hear him roll his eyes. “why did you park so far away?”

“why are you complaining!” he shrieks. “i’m doing something very nice for you! be grateful!” 

“i am,” you say as you rush to open the door for him, and he quietly thanks you. “seriously, you don’t know how much this is helping me, big bro. i was about to have a breakdown trying to find a place before my old lease ended.”

“i heard,” joshua laughs. “mom called me the other week and told me to check on you, she thought you were losing it.”

“yeah, well,” you sigh, “if i had to deal with those roommates any longer i was going to.”

“so you’re looking for a place by yourself?” joshua asks as the elevator dings. he lets you go in first, reminding you of what floor to press before you respond.

“yeah, i can finally afford one, so i figured it would be nice to have my own space.”

“i can understand that,” he nods.

“you happy living with your roommates?” you ask. “not ready to give up your frat boy days from college?”

“shut up,” he says. “not all of us got good jobs right after graduation. i need roommates if i wanna live in this area.”

“and remind me of their names again?” you ask, the elevator stopping on your floor. you let joshua go first, following him down the hall and trying to remember the unit number.

“well there’s seungcheol, or cheol,” josh starts. “you haven’t met him yet, he’ll be home later.” he unlocks the door and lets you in as he goes on. “and then mingyu-”

“i remember him,” you say happily, glad to know there’ll be a familiar face here.

“and i remember the little crush you used to have on him,” joshua smiles evilly. 

“i did not!”

“hm, you sure?”

“swear on your life.”

“whatever,” he laughs. “anyway, he’s got a girlfriend now, and we haven’t seen him here for longer than a couple hours since they started dating. so you can stay in his room until you find a place.”

“oh no, i couldn’t-”

“he doesn’t mind,” joshua waves you off, your box placed ungracefully on the floor. “seriously, he doesn’t even keep his stuff here anymore. it won’t be an issue.”

“if you say so,” you sigh. “ok, one more trip?”

“nope,” joshua shakes his head before laying on the couch. “you’ve used up all your favors for today.”

“what a helpful brother you are,” you deadpan. “give me the keys. i’ll go get the rest of my stuff. alone!” 

“sounds good!” josh replies, tossing his keys to you dangerously. “don’t get lost!” 

“no promises!” you shout back, locking the door behind you as you go. you thankfully don’t have much left to bring up, so you’re able to grab a majority of your things this trip. what’s left you can get later, because you’re exhausted. now that you know you have a bed and not an air mattress to sleep on, the idea of laying down is becoming more and more appealing. only problem with you grabbing so many things is now you can’t open the door on your own. thankfully, a guy who must live here too rushes over to hold it for you, nodding when you thank him for the help. he catches the elevator for you both before it closes, sticking his arm out so the doors won’t close in on you as you bring your things inside.

“what floor?” he asks, and you start to reply when you see your floor already selected.

“oh, you’ve got it already,” you tell him, and he nods. end of the conversation, it seems, until you get to the floor and start walking in the same direction. you slow down, waiting for him to maybe turn off at a different door, but, yep, he’s unlocking the door to joshua’s apartment. you stand in the hallway stunned for a moment before you go up and knock the door, not wanting to dig for the keys now that your hands are full. mystery man comes to the door, and you stutter out a greeting.

“don’t tell me you lost my keys already,” joshua calls from within the apartment, and the man, who must be seungcheol, looks between you both.

“you’re joshua’s sister?” he asks, and you nod. he steps aside, letting you in, as he says, “sorry, i didn’t realize. i’m seungcheol.”

“i pieced that together,” you smile. “nice to meet you. thanks for letting me stay here a while.”

“no problem,” he replies. “joshua didn’t really give us a choice anyway.”

“josh you said they were fine with me being here!” you whine, looking for your brother, who pops his head out of the kitchen with a smirk. 

“he’ll get used to it. you hungry, y/n?”

“starving.”

“cheol?”

“i can eat,” he shrugs, eyeing you carefully as you put your things down. josh didn’t say his sister was hot. well, that would be weird. he just didn’t say much about you other than you’re a couple years younger and in need of a place to crash, so the fact that cheol can’t take his eyes off of you is a bit conflicting for the man. he looks away before you can catch him staring, clearing his throat before he says, “um, i’m gonna go wash up.”

“oh, can you show me where the bathroom is?” you ask.

“uh, sure,” cheol says awkwardly, walking down the hall as you follow. he points to one door and says, “that’s joshua’s room, not sure if he said that already. your’s is back there,” he points to a door further down on the right, and then to the door behind you, “that’s your bathroom. you’ll share with your brother.”

“it’s like i’m a kid again,” you joke, and cheol smiles softly. “where’s your room?”

“what?” cheol sputters.

“well is there another bathroom? you said josh and i would share this one, i’m just curious,” you go on. “sorry if i’m prying.”

“no, yeah, um, i have the master suite since i found the place for us,” he explains. “the guys let me have it as a thanks for doing all the apartment hunting.”

“it’s a nice place,” you note, and he hums in agreement. 

“ok, well, um, i’m going,” he says, pointing to his room.

“right, right, sorry,” you say, waving him off. you step into the bathroom to rinse your face off, removing some of the sweat from your long day. you head back out into the kitchen to bother joshua and he looks up as you walk in.

“so how do you like the place?” he questions, and you tell him it’s nice. without looking at you he asks next, “and how do you like cheol?”

“he’s a little awkward, actually,” you reply. “you sure he’s cool with me staying here? i won’t be here long, if it bothers him.”

“he’ll be fine,” josh waves you off. “he may just be tired. looks like he was coming back from the gym so he’ll be better after his nap and a snack. he’s like a toddler.”

“noted,” you laugh. “you need help with anything?”

“nah, you can start unpacking your stuff,” josh says. “i’ll call you when the food’s ready.”

“joshua?”

“yeah?” he asks, turning to look at you. 

“thank you for letting me stay here. really.”

“anytime,” he smiles. “just remember we share a bathroom again, so no long ass showers.”

“way to ruin the moment,” you laugh. 

you end up going back to “your” room to change, putting some of your clothes away in mingyu’s empty dresser. he really must spend all his time at that girl’s place, you think. you take your toiletries into the bathroom, squatting in front of the sink so you can arrange them among joshua’s countless bottles. as you’re balancing and trying not to knock over something in an expensive glass bottle, cheol walks down the hallway in a tank top and sweats, water droplets still sticking to his chest. the sight of him booking it takes you by surprise, so you fall onto your ass and shake your head, clearing whatever strange thoughts the sight of a damp seungcheol were bringing to your mind. 

meanwhile, cheol joins joshua in the kitchen, opting to sit at the counter while josh finishes the noodles. he wants to say something about you, but isn’t sure how to bring it up without seeming weird. he also doesn’t have much time before you come out of your room, so cheol just goes for it.

“um, does y/n need help moving anything else, you think?” cheol offers, and josh looks over his shoulder nonchalantly.

“you can ask her,” he shrugs. “i’m tapped out for the night though, so i’m sure she is too.”

“ok,” cheol nods. he starts playing on his phone, not noticing you walking into the kitchen until joshua starts complaining about something.

“what, i can’t drink your water?” you whine back, frustrated that your brother won’t let you have one of the bottles in the fridge.

“because those aren’t mine!” joshua informs you. “they’re cheol’s, so at least as him before you take one.”

“seungcheol, can i please have one of your waters? i can get the next case if you want,” you say as you turn around, and it takes cheol a second to focus. you’re wearing an old concert t shirt (cheol is pretty sure he has that same one) and shorts that are barely there. cheol is distracted by the sight of your thighs on display and it takes his brain a second to catch up, so he nods before he really knows what he’s agreeing to.

“wait, what? you don’t have to buy more water,” he says, finally there. “have as much as you want. joshua’s just weird.”

“you’re telling me,” you say as you hop up onto the counter.

“i hate when you do that,” josh says, turning to you with his hand on his hip. 

“you know when you do that you look just like mom?”

“shut up.”

“you!” 

“oh my god!” cheol interjects with a laugh. “are you two going to bicker all the time?”

“no,” you say in unison. 

“most of the time though,” you add, and joshua scoffs.

“only when y/n annoys me.”

“am i gonna have to play referee for you two?” cheol asks. “my god.”

“sorry,” you apologize. “we’ll cut it out. right josh?”

“whatever,” he mumbles, pulling the pot from the stove. “y/n can you get a pot holder from that drawer under you and put it on the table for me?”

“yeah, hold on,” you say, moving with a quickness. “don’t burn yourself.”

“i’m being careful,” josh says softly, and cheol laughs to himself at how quickly you can go from bickering to caring for each other. you both join him at the counter, you struggling to get into the tall chair. 

“watch it shorty,” he teases, making you blush. 

“oh no, i can’t deal with both of you teasing me,” you scold. “so zip it. i’ve got little legs.”

“hm, it’s cute,” cheol says loud enough for you to hear but quiet enough that josh doesn’t catch it over the sound of shuffling bowls. he passes them out and starts serving you and cheol. “thanks man.”

“yeah thanks mom,” you joke, and josh mumbles an expletive before eating his food.

-

after eating, you and joshua were both so tired you just went to your rooms. cheol however stayed out in the kitchen, promising he would clean up. instead, he politely snoops through your things, trying to learn more about you through your boxes of junk. he doesn’t touch anything, just looks, so he doesn’t feel that bad about it. he takes note of the books laying on top of one box, jotting down the titles so he can try to find some of them later. he smiles when he sees a soccer jersey falling out of a duffel bag, and he’s about to break his no touching rule when he hears a loud, “HEY!” from the hallway. he jumps at the sound, bumping his elbow on one of the boxes and toppling books over. he whirls around to find you, clad in a baggy sleep shirt with tired eyes watching on in amusement.

“what the hell are you doing?” you question, and cheol tries to stammer out a response.

“i uh, i saw a bug,” he lies, and you nod. 

“hm, i thought josh would keep his house cleaner than that,” you judge. 

“i’m the pig in this relationship, it’s probably my fault,” cheol says as he follows you back into the kitchen. “couldn’t sleep?”

“no, i’m still hungry,” you grumble. “the noodles were my only meal today.”

“you need to eat more,” cheol scolds and you wave him off as you open the fridge.

“whose lunchable is this?” you ask over your shoulder.

“look at me,” cheol gestures. “do i look like i eat those?” you stare maybe a little longer and harder than you should, prompting cheol to ask, “find something else you like?”

“what? no,” you shake your head. “i should’ve known it was my brother’s. he lived off of these for a month when he was younger.”

“really?” cheol chuckles. “what was joshua like as a kid?”

“hm, angelic?” you say sarcastically, hopping back up on the counter like you were earlier. you start eating your lunchable as you keep talking. “he was the perfect one and i was the biter.”

“the biter?” 

“i bit so many kids i almost got kicked out of school,” you confirm. “sorry. don’t know why i just told you that. it’s embarrassing.”

“it’s okay,” cheol smiles. “you still like to bite people now?”

“only when provoked,” you say suspiciously. 

“i’ll remember that.”

“so you really don’t mind me staying here?” you ask with cracker crumbs on your lips. cheol finds that captivating, so he keeps his eyes on your lips as he responds.

“i really don’t mind,” he nods. “i’m just happy we could help. josh was worried about you for a while.”

“yeah, well, he never liked my roommates-”

“or the area you were in,” cheol says sternly. “he said it wasn’t safe.”

“oh it wasn’t,” you nod. “but it was cheap.”

“still, you need to be careful,” cheol tells you.

“didn’t know i was signing up for a bonus brother by staying here,” you tease.

“i’m not being a bonus brother, i’m simply a concerned citizen,” he says, hand over his heart. you fall silent while you finish eating, and cheol does his best to commit your form to memory. he wants you to be embedded in his eyelids when he lays down and closes his eyes tonight, and he only feels bad for a nanosecond that he feels this way about his friend’s baby sister. 

“ok, well, thank you for the company,” you say as you look for the trashcan. 

“under the sink,” cheol says, anticipating what you were looking for and keeping his eyes on you still. “all good?” he asks when you’ve thrown everything away, and you nod. “alright, well, good night.”

“night seungcheol,” you say with an awkward wave as you go back to your room. when you’re halfway down the hall you hear cheol call your name, so you turn to find his eyes smiling at you.

“call me cheol, i like that better.”

“oh, ok. night cheol,” you try again, and he happily nods. 

-

when you wake up the next morning, you hear someone in the kitchen and assume joshua must be up and about. you wrap a blanket around yourself, laughing at the fact that mingyu has a pink fuzzy blanket in his room. you make your way into the kitchen, ready to complain about how cold you were last night. 

“dude, are you rich or something? why’d you run the ac all-” you stop short, staring at cheol’s bare back. he looks back at you, hair ruffled, and has the audacity to smirk. “sorry. thought you were josh.”

“he’s still asleep,” cheol replies, and you consider just going back to your room to hide until you’re sure your brother is out here as a buffer. with his back to you still, he asks, “do you want eggs?”

“uh, sure?”

“are you?” cheol laughs, turning around to face you fully. you’re doing your best to keep your eyes on his face, but when he crosses his arms over that broad chest of his you falter. “i promise i won’t put anything weird in em.”

“that’s reassuring,” you say with a yawn, letting the blanket fall slightly as you cover your mouth. cheol sees your sleep shirt again, this time stretched out from your movements as you slept, and he wonders for a moment if it would look like that after he uses it to pull you closer and- “do you mind if i make coffee?”

“go for it,” cheol says, grateful for the distraction from where his mind was going. “machine’s over there.”

“thanks,” you mumble, half asleep still. you stand in front of the coffee maker for a moment, brain processing what you need to get first.

“you need me to find the instruction manual?” cheol asks, watching you the whole time you were standing there. 

“make your eggs cheol.”

you empty the coffee grounds that were still in the bucket, then take a fresh filter from the stack on the counter. you move around cheol to fill the pot with water, making sure there’s enough for you all to have a cup if you want. after pouring the water in, you notice you’re missing one crucial thing. you check the counter, nothing. you try the drawers below you, then the cabinets below those. still nothing. you move to the pantry and spend a moment frustratedly moving things around in search of coffee and you come up empty once again. as you turn around to look everywhere once again, you almost jump out of your skin seeing cheol so close, watching you with an amused look in his eyes.

“jesus, you scared me,” you gasp.

“i’ll wear a bell next time,” he jokes. “looking for something?”

“the coffee, where do you keep it? please don’t tell me you’re out,” you whine, and cheol just smiles. 

“you can find it on your own, i believe in you.”

“what? no, tell me.”

“and why should i do that?” cheol asks seriously. 

“i don’t know, because i’m cute?” you joke. 

“yeah, you are,” cheol says, holding your gaze, quirking an eyebrow to challenge you. you swear you would deck him if he wasn’t so handsome. you whirl around to look in the pantry again before you hear cheol’s deep voice just barely say “colder.”

you look at him suspiciously, and he’s back to cooking the eggs. he’s keeping one eye on you though, sneaking looks at you and trying not to smile at how ridiculously cute you are being so frustrated over this. he prompts you with a few more “cold”/”colder” clues before you whine in exasperation.

“but i already checked over here,” you complain, back in front of the machine. “i’ll just go get coffee, forget this-” 

you reach out to turn the coffee maker off, and cheol mumbles “warmer.” your ears perk up, so you move your hand around the counter to get a clue. finally you lift your hand toward the cabinet above the coffee maker, and cheol says you’re getting warmer. 

“hot,” he says as you finally open the cabinet, “hotter, hotter than you are, hottest, you’re on fire! be careful!” he continues, even though you’ve found the coffee and you can now finish the pot you were making. “well that took a while.”

“because someone was being childish,” you chastise him, and cheol smiles like he just won the lottery.

“but it was fun!”

-

“why didn’t you like that place?” joshua asks as you leave another perfectly fine apartment. 

“there’s no dog park,” you reply, and your brother groans. loudly.

“you don’t even HAVE a dog,” he complains.

“but i want one! i can’t have a dog if there’s no where for it to go!”

 “come on y/n, that place was nice!” joshua tries hyping it up for you. “there was so much space, way too many closets which is good for you and all your junk, and that view was amazing.”

“the view was really nice,” you concede, and josh bumps shoulders with you as you keep walking toward his apartment.

“plus it’s walking distance from me,” he smiles. “so you can bother me whenever you want.”

“that is a plus.”

“and it means you’re close to cheol too...”

“what?” you stop and look at him, and he laughs.

“i’m just saying. it’d be easy for you to visit. doesn’t matter who you’re visiting.”

ignoring joshua’s insinuations, you go back to discussing the apartment you just saw. if you wanted to apply you needed to move fast, but you were nervous. joshua listened intently as you aired all your worries, and like the good big brother he is he calmly countered each ridiculous thought with logic and only a few jokes. by the time you were walking down his hallway, you were convinced that you’d found your apartment. you grab your laptop from mingyu’s room and start working on the application, joshua peering over your shoulder every once in a while to help you decipher what it’s asking for. you’re thankful for the help, and you turn to ask him another question and almost jump out of your skin.

“jesus, make some noise next time,” you gasp, seeing shirtless cheol behind you again. he was leaning over the couch, close enough that his chin could almost lean on your shoulder. 

“whatcha doin?” he asks with a cheshire cat-like grin.

“applying for an apartment,” you inform him, and you’re not sure but you think his face falls just slightly. “do you ever wear shirts at home?”

“why, is that a problem for you?” he asks. you feel like a goldfish, closing and opening your mouth like an idiot trying to decide how to respond.

“y/n?” joshua laughs as he comes back from the bathroom to see you mooning over his roommate. “you good?”

“i’m being heckled,” you finally reply, and cheol laughs. 

“i asked if she needed help, sorry if that’s heckling now,” he says as he moves away from the couch.

“it is when your tits are out,” you grumble, scrolling back to the page you were working on. cheol made you mess up, but don’t tell him that.

“not like you haven’t seen them before, sweets!” cheol teases, and joshua looks between you both in amusement.

“you’ve been staring at his tits, y/n?” 

“no, he just never has clothes on apparently,” you defend yourself. “he was shirtless this morning when we had breakfast too.”

“you had breakfast together?” joshua asks, looking to just cheol now. he had told josh he slept in today and that you must have made the mess in the kitchen. why didn’t he say he ate with you?

“we were in the same room when we ate, yeah,” cheol nods. joshua leaves it at that, mostly because you start whining about something you don’t understand on your application. he rejoins you at the couch and cheol goes to his room, silently cursing himself for letting josh catch him so easily. he didn’t want your brother knowing he was catching feelings, so he’ll have to play it cool from now on. 

-

speaking of being cool, the boys keep this apartment too cold. after your first freezing night, you wore more clothes to bed thinking that would keep you warm. unfortunately, you don’t know where your hoodies are, so you had to make do. so when you wake up in the middle of the night shivering, you stomp out of your room to go bang on your brother’s door. just as you’re raising your fist to bang on his door, you hear cheol’s open down the hallway.

“you again?” you groan, not missing the fact that cheol still isn’t wearing a shirt. “how are you not freezing?”

“i am,” he replies, and you fall silent. “i was getting up to change the thermostat.” 

“oh.”

“and you were..?”

“gonna complain about it to my brother?” you say sheepishly, making cheol laugh.

“joshua is the one that keeps it so cold, he would just tell you to go back to bed,” he tells you as he walks toward the thermostat. “you know you technically live here. you can adjust this if you want.”

“i know,” you nod, watching cheol move it to an acceptable temperature. 

“so why didn’t you?” he asks.

“i uh, didn’t think about it.”

“no?”

“that, and i don’t...know..how to use it...” you mumble, hoping cheol drops it.

“you don’t know how to use a thermostat?” he teases with that perpetual smirk he seems to always wear around you.

“no, and at this point in my life i think it’s too late to learn,” you say. “thank you for fixing it tonight, hopefully i won’t wake up frozen in the morning.”

you try to turn and head back to bed, but cheol grabs you by the back of your shirt and pulls you toward his warm chest. he places an arm around you lightly, turning you so you’re staring at the thermostat, trying very hard to ignore cheol’s direct stare as he speaks again.

“it’s easy sweets, just push this notch,” he demonstrates, “then push the up and down buttons to change the temperature. this is good for when you want it to be cool, but if you want to clean out my wallet you can keep it a couple degrees cooler.” he finishes and turns his head back toward you again, and you notice just how close he is. you’re afraid of moving, of speaking, but cheol takes care of that for you. “any questions?”

“yeah, can you move your arm?” you whisper. 

“no,” he whispers back. “why are you whispering?”

“because i’m scared?” cheol looks at you confused. “i’m afraid you’re gonna put me in a headlock.”

“you want me to?” he laughs, finally stepping back to give you some space. “do you need extra blankets or anything?”

“ah, no,” you reply. “i wanted to find my box of hoodies but i have no idea where it is, so the blankets in mingyu’s room will be fine.”

“you need a hoodie?” cheol asks, and without giving you a chance to respond he disappears into his room. he comes out with a mound of blue fabric in his hands before pushing it into your arms. “use this.”

“no, i can’t-”

“take it,” he says firmly. “or i’ll be forced to keep you warm myself.” at the sound of that threat, you hastily pull the hoodie on before thanking cheol and ducking back into your room for the night. he stands out in the hallway, smiling to himself.

-

you’re busy for a few days after that, finally settled at your brother’s place and able to focus back on work and finding back up apartments if the other place falls through. you’re not home much, and by the end of the week joshua sits you down to convince you that you need to go out. 

“josh, i’ve had such a long week,” you start to justify. “i don’t wanna go out this weekend. i’m afraid i’d fall asleep at the club.”

“no, no, i didn’t mean anything like that,” he clarifies. “i think you need to go on a date.”

“why?” you ask, a little shocked. joshua never cared about your love life, mostly just judging from afar (and sometimes not so afar). you tend to keep that part of your life private anyway, so it’s not like you let joshua be a part of it outside of obligatory meet the partner nights with your family.

“i don’t know,” he shrugs, “i just think you’d enjoy it. i actually have this friend-”

“oh god, please don’t do this-” you start to complain, afraid josh is about to set you up with cheol.

“no, no, hear me out,” josh continues. “he’s your age, he’s sweet, he’s cute i guess, and i think you’d really like him.”

“so i’m guessing you have all of this planned?” you ask, and joshua smiles.

“be ready tomorrow at 8. he’s picking you up, and i’ll be at jeonghan’s if you want to bring him back-”

“don’t say that please,” you request, holding your hand up. “i’ll go on the date but i don’t wanna hear my brother insinuate i’m gonna have sex at his apartment.”

“i didn’t say anything, you’re the one that insinuated,” joshua laughs as he gets up, passing behind you and kissing the top of your head as he goes to his room. “you’re gonna have a great time, sis.”

-

despite not wanting to go on this date, you were nervous. you don’t want to make a fool of yourself in front of this guy, because he’s friends with your brother and anything embarrassing will be brought to joshua and used to ridicule you for the rest of your life. you also don’t wanna write this guy off before you meet him, because he could be nice. maybe.

that fire is quickly put out when you actually meet the guy. his name is chan, but he claims josh and all their friends call him dino. you wanted to ask why, but you were afraid of the answer. you just smiled politely and tried to lock up quickly, hoping that the faster you move the quicker this date will be over. 

at the sound of the front door closing, cheol is stirred from his nap. he didn’t have any big plans, but he had gone to the gym earlier and exhausted himself so he thought he deserved some rest. he assumed the door sound meant you or joshua was home, but after checking he realized it was just him. he wonders for a moment if he should check on you, but he decides against it. instead he takes a shower and starts working on dinner, choosing a chill night to rest since he has the place to himself. 

meanwhile, your date is going horribly. first of all, chan was super awkward walking with you to his car, and then he didn’t speak much on the ride to dinner. oh, well, he did, except that was only his road rage coming out. you heard this man say more cuss words in a fifteen minute car ride than you’ve heard from anyone else all year. he’s said fuck more times than he’s said your name, and quite frankly you’re not confident he knows what it is. 

once you get to the restaurant, chan basically leaves you in the car. you’re not a damsel in distress, you don’t need a man to open your door for you, but it would be nice if the man you’re on a date with would at least wait until you’re out of the car to head toward the restaurant. you make it to the curb and don’t know where chan has gone until he pops out of the restaurant asking an annoyed, “you coming?”

once you’re seated, things don’t get much better. the waitress is pretty, and she’s obviously more interested in chan than you are. you’ve given up on the date by this point, but you think you can get a free meal out of it, so you keep suffering. when he’s not flirting with the waitress, chan is mansplaining to you and gesturing so wildly you’re afraid he’s going to knock everything off the table. he tries asking you questions but keeps talking over you, and when he does let you speak he either looks offended or checks his phone. before your appetizers come, you’re ready to leave.

“what did i do to deserve this?” you text joshua as you half listen to chan describe the most boring thing in the most cocky way possible. you hope joshua will respond, but there’s nothing. 

“are you mad at me? is that why you tricked me into going on the worst date of my life?” you text again, and still no response. 

“hey, that’s kind of rude,” chan says, and you can feel your blood start to boil.

“weren’t you on your phone when i was talking earlier?” you ask in disbelief, and he shakes his head. 

“no, i wasn’t. because that’s rude,” he repeats. you want to groan and slam your head on the table, but you refrain. “whatever. i’m going to the restroom, text away.”

that you do. you keep texting joshua, trying to annoy him into responding, but he stands tall. whatever he’s doing is more important that your horrible night. you have an infinite list in your mind of things that you would rather be doing right now, so you understand josh’s disinterest.

speaking of disinterest, you look up to find chan and see him leaned over the bar talking to another waitress. this time she’s way into it, hand on his arm and phone out to take down his number. you watch as he types it in, then pull out a barstool and take a seat. now you do groan, and without leaving the table you call your brother, ready to beg for a ride back home. 

“come on, pick up, pick up please,” you mumble, hoping beyond hope that joshua will be your knight in shining armor. you get his voicemail and leave behind some choice words before slamming your phone down on the table, frustrated tears threatening to fall. you’re still new to this part of town, so your brother is your only lifeline right now. you don’t trust your ability to walk home without getting snatched, and you know that calling any of your friends would mean sitting here for at least an hour while they come get you. you’re about to go hide in the bathroom when you think of one other option.

seungcheol.

you don’t know where he is or what he’s doing tonight, but you find the “temporary roomies” chat that josh put you into and call cheol from there. you start the same plea, whispering pick up over and over, but cheol answers on the second ring.

“hey sweets,” you can tell he’s smiling. “what’s going on, you and josh having fun without me?”

“cheol, hi, listen,” you start, “josh set me up on a blind date and the guy is a dick and-”

“what did he do?” cheol cuts you off, and you tell him about the car ride, the attitude, and now his interest in any woman that’s not you. “fuck him. fuck your brother too. where are you? i’m on my way.”

“cheol, no, i was mostly calling to see if josh was home-”

“send me the address, y/n,” he says firmly. “i’ll be there soon.”

he wasn’t lying. it feels like only a few minutes have passed when there’s a commotion at the door and you see cheol stalking through the restaurant looking for you. you gather your things and stand, and chan sees you out of the corner of his eye. he comes rushing over just as cheol reaches you, and it’s almost comical watching this stare down as chan gets closer.

“come on, we’re leaving,” cheol tells you, pushing a helmet into your hands.

“what is this?” you ask, eyeing chan awkwardly. 

“hey, pal, we’re on a date, so she’s not going anywhere,” chan tells cheol, and he laughs in his face. 

“sorry, pal, date’s over,” he says, pushing chan back lightly. “go back to the waitress. we’re done here.” cheol doesn’t wait to hear what other bullshit chan might try to say. instead he grabs you by the wrist and guides you out of the restaurant to a motorcycle propped up outside. he looks at you smoothly and motions to the helmet. “i said put that on, doll. can’t ride without protection.”

“o-ok,” you stutter, placing the helmet over your head delicately. cheol stops you and turns you toward him, clicking the helmet into place under your chin, feeling his fingers on your neck sends a tingle down your spine, and you do your best to ignore it. 

“there you go,” he whispers, satisfied with his work. he grabs your head in both hands and playfully shakes you from side to side, smirking as he says, “quick road test, sorry.”

“cheol, you’re crazy,” you laugh, thankful for the distraction. “i didn’t know you drove a bike. this is cool.”

“glad you like it,” he says as he hops on. “now come on, let’s go home before i go beat that loser up.” 

you carefully and tentatively hold onto cheol’s shoulder as you sling your leg over the seat, sliding down accidentally so your chest is pressed firmly to his back. you grab onto his other shoulder and wait, thinking cheol will leave any second. 

“can’t hold on like that,” he seems to whisper, looking at you over his shoulder. “you’ll fall off.”

“well i don’t wanna bother you-”

“please,” you hear him scoff, and then he’s pulling your arms down to his waist. he even takes the liberty of lacing your hands together over his stomach so it’s easier for you to hold on. and suddenly you feel very warm. you can feel the outline of his muscles through his shirt, and being so close to him is getting you drunk off of whatever shampoo or cologne he’s wearing. 

“cheol,” you say before he kicks off, and he’s looking back at you again. “i’m sorry about this. thank you for coming to get me.”

“anytime,” he says sweetly, his eyes flicking to your lips briefly. “now hold on tight.”

before you know it, cheol is kicking off and zooming down the near empty street, ripping a scream of surprise and joy out of you. you thought you’d be petrified right now, but this is actually exhilarating. you’re not sure if it’s the adrenaline of the motorcycle ride or the proximity to cheol, but you almost feel lightheaded. you’re shrieking and laughing like this is a rollercoaster, and there’s a smile plastered on cheol’s face as he listens. 

when you get to a red light, cheol slows down and instructs you to keep your feet up as he places his firmly on the ground. he looks back at you as best he can and asks, “having fun?”

“this is incredible,” you smile. “do an extra lap. i don’t wanna go home yet.”

“yeah?” cheol asks happily, and you nod.

“wait, unless you had plans!” you say. “oh my god, cheol, i’m so sorry, i didn’t even consider that you might have been busy, oh god. i should’ve asked, i should’ve-”

“stop talking,” he tells you. “i’m glad you called. i’d do this for you every day of the week if you needed it.”

“thank you,” you say meekly as cheol revs the bike before carefully driving again. you ride and listen to the sound of the city get whipped by around you, watching the lights and realizing how much you’re enjoying yourself. you lay your chin on cheol’s shoulder and think about the butterflies in your stomach, noticing that they’re going more wild now than they ever have before. 

when you get back to the apartment, you’re immediately met with the smell of food. you’re about to cuss joshua out, assuming he had been home this whole time, until cheol walks ahead of you into the kitchen and asks, “did you get to eat on this horrible mistake i just saved you from?”

“hey, whoa, i was doing this because of my brother,” you say defensively. “it wasn’t my mistake, i was bamboozled.”

“you could’ve said no,” cheol shrugs as he leans against the doorway. then he holds your gaze and asks, “why didn’t you say no?”

“i-i don’t know,” you reply, turning away because cheol’s stare is too heavy for your right now. “i guess, yeah, i did it because i thought it would make josh happy since he set it up, but...i don’t know. it would be nice to have someone, i guess.”

“to have someone?” cheol smirks, taking a step or two closer to you.

“yeah, like have someone be mine,” you say shyly, looking up to find cheol closer than you expected. he stands in front of you, smirk hanging off his lips, arms loosely crossed over his broad chest. 

“you have me,” he says, moving so close to you that you can feel his breath on your lips. he holds your gaze, waiting for you to make a move. awkwardly, you lean in, lips almost brushing. you get nervous and try to back away but cheol quickly grabs you by the chin and whispers, “and i’ve got you” before connecting your lips. your hands fall to his chest, obliviously rubbing your hands over his muscles. his touch to your chin stays gentle but firm, holding you in place so he can devour your lips. you’re breathless quick, but you don’t want to pull away. the sound of keys in the front door scare you out of your daze, and you separate from cheol like you’ve been shocked. joshua walks in, unaware (or is he?) of what he just interrupted. pleased with himself, he looks from you to cheol and back to you before asking, “so...how was your night?”

-

you’ve been avoiding cheol. you can’t believe you kissed him, and you can’t believe you liked it. you liked it so much that you’re afraid of what might happen if you’re around him again, because nothing can happen. he’s your brother’s best friend! it’s like reverse bro code to date your brother’s friend. that would be...weird? and yet here you are, daydreaming about it. 

cheol knows what you’re doing. he knows you’ve been spooked, and he’s annoyed. now that he’s had a taste of you he only wants more, so you hiding from him when he’s out of his room or only leaving yours when he’s in the shower or asleep is really getting on his nerves. you can’t avoid him forever, but damn it if you’re not gonna try. 

you’re currently speedrunning all of your chores, trying to clean the bathroom while your laundry is on and in between you’re washing all of your dirty dishes. you’re doing this because you know cheol will come out of his room soon to go to the gym, so you’re hoping to be tucked away safely in your room before that happens. however, the biggest man in the apartment still manages to move like a mouse, so you turn around to put some plates away and find cheol leaning against the kitchen counter, watching you intently. 

“fuck you, stop sneaking up on me!” you shriek. “i’m serious about that bell now. wear loud shoes or something, god.”

“why, so you can hear me coming and hide?” he asks seriously, and you fall silent. you join him on the other side of the room, stretching to put the plates in the cabinet. cheol keeps watching, realizing this is the first time he’s seen you show so much skin. shorts pulled up just barely over your ass, like usual, driving him insane, like usual. but now you’re just wearing a sports bra on top, and cheol doesn’t miss the way you’re giving him the perfect view of your chest. he’s unapologetically staring, and without facing him you mumble telling him to stop. “i can stare if i want.”

“well can you stop, please?” you beg, turning and crossing your arms over your chest, just pressing your cleavage up more. 

“baby, work with me here,” he groans. “you can’t kiss me like that the other night and then hide from me. and you can’t look like that and not expect me to stare.”

“stop telling me what i can and can’t do,” you grumble, trying to remember what you were about to do. you start to walk away but cheol grabs you lightly by the wrist, and you ask nicely, “let me go.”

“you can leave,” cheol encourages. “i’m not holding on tight.”

but you stay right where you are, a few steps away from cheol. his hand slides down from your wrist to lace his fingers with yours. he squeezes your hand sweetly before tugging you back in front of him, a stupid smirk gracing his handsome face. 

“hi beautiful,” he smiles, making you blush. “so tell me. am i a bad kisser or something?”

“what?” you ask, shocked he would even think that. “n-no, why?”

“well,” he sighs, hands sliding around your waist too quick for you to object, “it’s just that we kissed, and i thought it was pretty sexy, and then you just disappeared on me. which is amazing considering we live together right now.”

“i’m good at teleporting,” you joke, and cheol pinches your hip. 

“answer me, y/n,” he tries again. “why are you hiding?”

“because you’re joshua’s friend,” you say with a face. “i can’t date you.”

“who said anything about dating?” cheol smiles. “we’ve got two beds, sweets. take your pick.”

“you can’t be serious.”

“you don’t want to?” cheol asks, seemingly dragging you closer to himself. he slots his leg between yours, leans in close and asks, “so if i check your panties right now, they wouldn’t be wet?”

“cheol, i-”

“hm?” he asks, pulling back enough to look right in your eyes. “you don’t want this, just say the word and i’m gone. but if you do, baby, please let me do this.”

“joshua can’t know,” you whisper fast before you’re grabbing cheol and kissing him again. his hands slide from their spot on your waist to cup your ass, nudging your core over his thigh. you whimper at the slight drag, and cheol tenses his thigh as he brings your hips forward again. 

“i don’t even need to put my hand down your pants to know you’re wet,” he says proudly. “you ok with soaking my thigh a little bit first, baby?” you nod, and he tsks. “you need to use your words. not gonna do anything unless i know you want it.”

“let me keep going,” you say breathlessly, and cheol easily obliges. he dives back into your lips, hands gripping your ass to keep you grinding over his thigh. you get lost in the pressure between your legs, but you don’t want to be interrupted like you were last time. you try to break from cheol’s lips but he brings a hand up to keep you in place, doing his best to memorize the shape of your lips with his. you realize you need to get his attention a different way, so you reach down to cup his cock through his shorts. he hisses at the contact, lips pulled from yours. “cheol, stop.”

“what, what’s wrong?” he asks, worried. 

“let’s go to my room,” you say with a nod, and his eyes shimmer with lust and a bit of glee. he’s dragging you down the hallway with him, doing his best not to tear your clothes off and leave a trail. once he’s in your room, you push him back lightly so you can be sure to shut the door. cheol takes this time to lay back on your pillows, patting his thigh to invite you back. you join him on the bed, ready to straddle him and go back to grinding down on his stupidly thick thigh, but he stops you. 

“shorts off,” he instructs, and you pull them off eagerly. “let me see your panties.” your legs on either side of his, you sit up and lean back, hoping cheol gets what he wants. he hums and nods when he sees the wet patch, grabbing for your waist to pull you back over his leg. “let’s get you warmed up a little more, need you ready to ride me soon.”

cheol brings your core back down to his thigh, guiding your movements as you whine on top of him. you’re not sure what to do with your hands, so you let one of them wander up to push your bra over your chest, playing with your nipple as cheol guides you agonizingly slow. you try to bounce and get more friction but that makes him hold you down tighter and your whines get louder. 

“that’s it baby, show me how pretty you are when you come and then i’ll give you my cock,” he growls out, a hand slipping down to push past the waistband of your panties. he swipes a finger down to play with your clit and he moans when he feels how wet you are. “all this for me, pretty girl?”

“yes, for you, just like that,” you moan, “make me come please, need to come.”

“you can come,” cheol coaxes. “just waiting on you.” he applies a little more pressure over your clit, and then you’re shaking above him, a soundless gasp left on your lips. as you try to blink away the spots in your eyes, you hurriedly help cheol get undressed, crawling down to his cock before he can stop you. you pull his boxers down as he takes his shirt off, and you gasp when you see his size. you grab him by the base and take a taste, kitten licking his tip and driving him crazy. he wants to wrap his hands in your hair and guide you over his cock, but an equal part wants to pull you up just so he can feel your pussy clenching around him. he lets you decide the pace though, hissing through his teeth as you keep licking him, until you’re ready to swallow his cock little by little. you get halfway down before you need to pull back, and you’re worried he won’t fit. 

“not to feed your ego or anything,” you say after popping off of his cock, “but you’re really big.”

“no that definitely feeds my ego.”

“i don’t think you’re gonna fit,” you say, worried. 

“well get in my lap and we’ll find out, sweets,” he says, reaching for you to help you up and over his legs again. he holds his cock still for you as you line him up with your entrance, and you glance at him one last time, still concerned. “take it slow. i know you can do it.”

“but-”

“baby, i’m letting you pick the pace,” he laughs. “if it were up to me i would’ve slammed you down on my cock already.”

“hmm someone’s horny,” you joke, and cheol thrusts up in retaliation. you gasp at the feeling of his tip at your entrance, and you do what he says. you take it slow, holding your breath as you feel him stretch you out with every inch. 

“how you feeling baby?”

“good,” you gasp out.

“make sure you breathe,” cheol reminds you, and you nod as you take a few deep breaths. he can feel every movement on his cock, and it’s driving him insane to not be fully inside you right now. he tries to push you down a little further, but you cry out and he stops. he gives you a moment to adjust, and you move on your own when you’re ready. you keep pushing down, taking more and more. “you’re doing so good baby.”

“it’s too big,” you gasp out, looking down to see how much you have left to go.

“no it’s not.”

“but it is,” you whine, trying to pull up completely. that’s the last straw for cheol though, because he grips your hips and slams you down over his cock, your clit even grinding over his pubic bone slightly. you shudder at the feeling, shocked speechless at the feeling of cheol’s cock so deep inside you. he helps you ride him at first, but you take over and start a steady pace. you don’t think you’ve ever felt someone this deep before, and your body feels like it’s on fire. 

“you can take it, that’s it,” he encourages, and you pick up the pace. cheol starts meeting you halfway, adjusting so he can hit your core just right. when he thrusts up and you almost fall over on top of him he knows he’s found the right spot, doing his best to keep his pace steady. he pulls you down so you’re caging him in, and he lays your head on his chest as he takes over, thrusting into you so fast you start seeing stars. you’re moaning into his chest, maybe drooling a little too, and it’s driving him insane. you feel so good around him, so warm, so tight, so wet. the sounds of your pussy are embarrassing to you and intoxicating to him, he wishes he had the patience to lay between your legs and lick you clean before fucking you again. but he’ll save that for later. for now, he needs to find a place to come. “where do you want me?”

“stomach,” you mumble into his chest, sitting back up with your hands on his pecs. “gonna come?”

“if you come first, yeah,” cheol nods. he focuses on bringing you closer, grabbing one of your hands off his chest and guiding it to your lips. you open, and he tells you to suck. after you’ve wet your middle and ring finger, cheol brings them down to your clit, leading your movements and applying pressure as he wants. it’s so sexy, letting him lead you like this, and the way he’s staring at you is making your chest tingle, and his cock is still buried deep inside you as you start getting closer. when cheol pulls you down with his free hand, connecting your lips again, you start to come, whimpering into his mouth as the waves crash over you. he works you through it, giving you only a second or two to rest before he’s pumping you again, chasing his own release. he pulls out and immediately starts stroking his cock, coming with a quiet gasp. you shudder as you feel his come land across your stomach, some even hitting your pussy lips. you lean back to let him see his masterpiece, and cheol looks pleased. 

“let me get a washcloth,” you mumble, moving to get up. once you’re off of him, cheol springs into action, guiding you to lay back down. 

“no, you’ll be sore soon, let me do it,” he says before ducking out of your room. he comes back with a wet washcloth and waters for you both, which you take graciously. he cleans you up carefully, and then he joins you back on the bed. the last thing you remember before falling asleep is cheol pushing your hair back, smiling at you softly.

-

you wake up the next morning to a knock at your door, followed by another louder knock.

“what?” you groan, rolling over to face the door just as joshua pops in. 

“morning to you too,” he yawns. “i’m getting breakfast. text me what you want.”

“mhm,” you yawn in reply. “close my door.”

josh leaves without doing what you asked, and there’s a beat of silence before you hear the front door close. you feel hands wrap around your waist, pulling you into a strong, warm, bare chest. cheol pops his chin onto your shoulder, cheesing as he asks, “you think he knew i was here?”

[vanfleeter]

Bound for Earth: Chapter 3

Characters: Jake Kiszka, Josh Kiszka, Marlie (Star) Warnings: 18+ || Language. Fluff. Crush. Admitting feelings. A little bit of flirting, if you squint. More brotherly antics. Angst. Frustration. Secrets. Allusion to anxiety. Smut. Allusions to masturbation. Allusions to sex.

Bound For Earth Masterlist

Shoving Josh against the wall of the corridor, I run off into the common room and hastily greeting people as I fly by. No way am I letting Josh touch my bacon. I did call it a luxury after all. Making it up to the breakfast line, Josh appears beside me and shoves me off to the side. I shove back and we continue on with it until we’re both on the floor and wrestling each other.

“Enough you two,” I hear the robotic voice of Marvin call as he glides across the floor. “There is plenty of food for everyone.”

“Relax, Marv,” Josh says as he shoves against the tile flooring and stands to his feet. “We’re only playing around.”

“Yes well, one of these days your “playing around” will cause bodily harm..again.”

Josh holds out his hand to me and I grab hold of it. He pulls me back to my feet and fixes my hair. I swat his hands away and straighten out my clothes.

“Good morning boys,” Moira says as she hands over the bacon to put it on our trays. “How’s everything working out with the launch tomorrow?” She asks, looking at me.

“Everything looks very promising,” I say. Little does anyone know that I have a plan up my sleeve–although Josh might know. “I’ve been double checking all of the codes and such, it all looks good.”

“I cannot wait.. I’m supposed to be on that trip. I’ve been missing my daughter.”

I can’t help the smile that forms on my face. ��You’ll be seeing her soon enough.” And I will be seeing Earth soon enough, if everything works out accordingly.

Taking our food and going over to an empty table, Josh sits across from me and nudges my shin with the toe of his boot. I look up at him and he cocks a brow. “This launch has to go off without a hitch,” He says.

“I know, and it will.”

“Jake, I swear to God–”

“Keep your trap shut.”

“At least take me with you,” He whispers. I shake my head and he rolls his eyes. “Come on, please?”

“You were so against this, and now all of a sudden you want to go?”

“I can’t let you experience Earth without me.”

“I’ll figure something out.”

Josh grins wickedly and happily chews on his bacon. “I really want to try waffles. You’ve had me thinking about those.”

I scoff, shaking my head. “Don’t make me regret this.”

For the rest of the day, I worked on finishing the coding for the launch while adding a couple extra spots on the cruiser. Fingers crossed no one will notice. All I know now is that I won’t have a use for Charles’ badge. I quickly toss into the incinerator before getting started on forging different ones. Since Josh decided he wanted to join me, I’ve had to come up with a plan B. So that means recreating badges from two crew members staying here in the station. We’ll be able to take their spots on the cruiser and once the launch is complete, no one can do anything. Can’t exactly turn that thing around like it’s a bus, doesn’t work that way.

My computer beeps and I look up at the screen. A smile spreads across my face.

Star: Changed your mind yet?

Setting the files off to the side, I push my glasses up the bridge of my nose and click on the message to respond.

Voyager: About telling you my last name?

Star: Yes.

Star: Why won’t you tell me?

Star: Are you in the Witness Protection Program or something?

I laugh, throwing my head back.

Voyager: No.

Star: So then why won’t you tell me?

Star: I tried looking for any and all ‘Jake’s in Texas and I don’t know which one is you. Are you a farmer? A bar owner? A teacher? A gigolo?

Voyager: Never thought of being a gigolo.Voyager: I’ll just tell you that I don’t live in Texas.

Star: Oh?

Star: Then where?

Voyager: You’d never guess.

Star: Try me..Star: Do you at least live in the US?

Voyager: I do have dual citizenship, but currently? No, I do not live in the US. But soon..

Star: You are killing me.

Voyager: Don’t you live in Texas?

Star: You already know that.Star: Are you really that afraid of telling me who you are?

Voyager: Afraid? No. Nervous? Yes.

Voyager: You wouldn’t believe me.

Star: Jake…

Voyager: Marlie..

Voyager: I do want you to know that I’ll be radio silent for a while.

Star: Why?

Star: How long?

Voyager: Six to eight months, give or take.

Star: Are you a fugitive?

Voyager: Nothing illegal..

Voyager: I think..

Star: You think?

Voyager: I’m taking a trip with my brother and we won't have much contact.

Star: Will you message me when you get to wherever you’re going?

Voyager: Why don’t I just come see you?

My heart races in my chest. Do I really want to do that?

Star: You want to come see me?

Voyager: Yes. If that’s okay.

I mentally cross my fingers as I wait for her response to come through. My heart still races and I swear I feel sweat starting to perspire on my forehead. I’m nervous over a woman I’ve never even met. Is that what having a crush feels like? Does she even feel the same way about me?

Her message pops up and I can’t stop the smile from spreading across my face.

Star: Of course it is.

Star: Call me when you make it in from your trip.

Star: 214-555-5501

I quickly scramble to find a blank sheet of paper and snatch up a pen to quickly write down her number.

Star: When do you leave?

Voyager: Tomorrow.

Star: So soon.

Star: Whatever will I do without getting to talk to you every day?

I chuckle, chewing on the end of the pen.

Voyager: You’ll survive.

Star: I hate you.

Voyager: I love you.

Wait what? My eyes shoot up to the screen. Oh god. I told her I love her? Jake, you idiot. I barely know her. I mean sure we’ve been talking for months now but I don’t love her. Do I?

A couple minutes went by as I waited for her response. My eyes are glued to the screen, my heart racing, and my palms starting to sweat. Suddenly the bubble appears as she types out a response but then it disappears. A couple more minutes go by and she still doesn’t respond. Fuck, I definitely screwed this up.

Standing up from my desk chair, I drop the pen on the desk and pace back and forth. She hasn’t logged off yet, but she hasn’t responded. My heart still races in my chest. I flex my fists, open and close, while I wait. The computer beeps and I freeze. Looking over at the screen I see that she’s sending a video chat request.

Crap..

Sitting back down in the chair, I grab the mouse in my hand. The cursor hovers over the accept button. Just do it and get it over with. Suddenly I’m clicking the accept button and she appears on the screen. Her eyes grow wide when she sees me. Her eyes. They are brown, a similar shade like me and they are beautiful. Her hair is a dark brown, almost black and it’s long enough to drape over her shoulders and down her chest. She may be dressed in only a gray sweat suit but she still looks beautiful.

Wow.

I definitely am crushing on her.

“Jake?”

I awkwardly wave. “It’s me.”

“You’re.. Oh my god.. You’re..him.”

“Define ‘him’,” I say as I lean forward on the desk.

“T-The space guy. You were born on Mars.”

“That would be me.”

“And your brother.” I nod my head and I watch as she leans back. “This.. This is not what I was expecting.”

I chuckle and slide off my glasses and I set them aside. “What were you expecting? A gigolo?”

She scoffs and rolls her eyes. “That was a joke.” I crack a smile. “So this trip.. Are you coming here? To Earth?”

“I’m going to try.” I say. “A lot is riding on this..”

“Is Josh coming?”

“Unfortunately..”

She giggles and the sound alone makes me feel warm. Her voice is sweet too. I don’t really have anything to compare it to, except for maybe a 1950s romance movie. “Do you not want him to come with you?”

“No, of course I do,” I say. “Just kind of stresses me out. Somehow I have to sneak us onto the cruiser.”

“How good is your stealth?”

“Umm… Not good..” I say, thinking back on getting caught driving the ATV. I don’t stop the smirk and she giggles again.

“So about what you said..”

“Oh uh–” I stammer, averting my eyes to the many files spread out on the desk before me. “That uh–that slipped..” When I finally looked back up at the screen, she had a small smile.

“You know.. There’s no shame in admitting it,” She says.

“Not too fast?” I ask, and she shakes her head.

“I might feel the same way.”

“Might?”

She shrugs her shoulders. “Guess you’ll definitely have to come here and find out.”

“Guess I will.”

I can hear voices in the background and she looks upwards before looking back at me. “I have to go, but I’ll see you when you get here. Don’t lose my number and call me when you get here.” She leans forward, her hand resting at the top of her screen. “It was nice to finally see your face.” She gives me a small wave with her other hand before the screen glitches and goes black.

Leaning back in my chair, I can’t fight the smile as it comes back in full force. I’ve only ever dreamed of this when watching movies. I never thought that I’d actually be experiencing it. I want to go to Earth now to see her again, and she can help me do everything that I’ve always been wanting. She can help me feel normal.

–

“You’re sure this is going to work?” Josh says as I hand him his helmet and the badge. He flips it over and stares at it in confusion. “Roger Flint?” He says. “Seriously? I get the guy who vomits every time he goes through the simulator?”

“You aren’t him, you’re just using it to get on board.”

“But he isn’t even meant to be on this trip.”

“He is now.” I smirk. “Now come on, we have to get on there before the others.”

Swiping the badges through the scanner, the light turns green for both of us and the doors slide open to the corridor that leads to the cruiser. We put on our helmets and help each other click them into place. I press the button that opens the sliding doors of the cruiser and we get inside. I turn to look at Josh once we’re inside and I nod my head towards the back row of seats in the cabin. Once the cruiser is in a stable position, everyone on board will be able to move freely about the big, metal pod.

Taking our seats in the back row, we buckle ourselves in and await the arrival of the others. The shields on the helmets are dark enough that no one will be able to tell that it's us. Seeing Josh move beside me, I turn my head and I see him holding his hand out to me. I reach over and hold tightly to his hand.

Step One: Board the cruiser - Check.

Soon the others were beginning to board the cruiser and buckling themselves into their seats. I quickly let go of Josh’s hand and relax back into the seat.

You can do this.

“Artemis 052, are you ready?”

“Ready,” The captain speaks. Rollin Wayne. He’s been the captain of this cruiser for the last twenty years, almost our entire lives.

“Everyone is on board, you are clear for liftoff.”

I look over at Josh and he’s tapping his fingers in a rhythmic pattern on the arm of the seat. He’s nervous. As he should be. I can’t blame him, because so am I. This is the first time doing this, we don’t know what to expect.

The cruiser begins to violently shake as it begins to detach from the station and I grip tightly to the arms of the seat.

Breathe.

Remember to breathe.

In.

Out.

Slowly.

You’ve worked for this. You didn’t do all those training sessions for nothing.

“Takeoff commences in ten…”

Breathe in.

“Nine…”

Breathe out.

“Eight…”

In.

“Seven…”

Out.

“Six… Five… Four… Three… Two… One…”

I’m being pressed into the seat, tighter than I ever expected it to be. I need to keep breathing. You can do it. Even if it’s difficult, keep breathing. The brightness of the sun fills the cabin of the cruiser and I close my eyes. Focus on your breathing. It won’t be long until the cruiser stabilizes.

The shaking and the pressure, it’s too much. My heart is pounding in my chest and my suit feels so tight against my chest. I can’t turn my head, nor can I move any part of my body. I can’t see Josh so I can’t see what he must be going through.

Keep breathing. We’re almost free.

Soon the pressure decreases and I can finally breathe normally and I can move. I turn to face Josh and he turns to face me. I can see a glimpse of his face through his mask as the sun still shines in the cabin. Relief shows in his eyes, yet he also looks excited. That glimmer of hope shines in his eyes.

We’re doing this. We actually made it off Mars. We’re going to Earth.

“You are now free to roam the cabin.”

Josh glances at me and I nod my head towards the door that leads to the back of the cruiser. We don’t want to be noticed right away so we have to be careful when making our way back there. Unbuckling ourselves, the two of us cautiously move–or more like float–towards one of the sides of the cruiser to look out the window.

The sun was brightly shining off in the distance while stars were passing by. They look a lot different from a closer view. Not as pretty as they are viewing them from the ground.

“Helmets may now be removed.”

Josh and I both look at each other. Here goes nothing. We each unhook our helmets from our suits before sliding them off. Once they’re removed, we’re throwing our arms around each other. We might get caught but that doesn’t matter right now. We made it off Mars and we’re headed for Earth. I’m headed to Earth.

“Oh my god..” Pulling apart from each other, we look behind us to see Rollin.

“Oh hey Rollin!” Josh beams, trying to act innocent. “Excited to be going back to Earth?”

“How in the world did you two get on here?” He says. His eyes move to look at me and I wave. “You… Your brain is a dangerous thing.. Jake, you know you two shouldn't be here!”

“Rollin, please..” I beg as I step up to him. “Please, please don’t tell anyone.”

“Don’t tell anyone? Are you insane?”

“Rollin, please?”

“This could be dangerous, Jake, and I do not want to be responsible if something were to go wrong.”

“Do not say anything, please. Or so help me God I will make sure you don’t come back up here.”

“You’re threatening me?” Rollin laughs. “Listen here, boy–you,” He stabs his finger into my chest as he speaks. “Have absolutely no control over me. Got it? They will figure out that you aren’t back at the station and when they do, they will come asking. I cannot lie. This is dangerous and you know it.”

I roll my eyes. “How do we know? Huh? How would we know if we don’t at least try? After all, we are your guinea pigs.”

“Oh quit with the guinea pig shit… You are not–”

“No? Then why the fuck do we have to wear these monitors? Hmm? Why do we get tested every other week? They want to know if we can survive because if we do, they’ll give the okay that humans can live and populate on the god forsaken planet. No one truly cares about our wellbeing, they just want answers to their questions.”

Rollin sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. “If anything happens to either of you, it is on you and not me.” He starts to move away but stops and turns back around. “And another thing.. When we land, you two will be kept at Headquarters. They will not let you leave until the next transport is ready to make the trip back to Mars. So enjoy your freedom for now, because it won’t last long.”

-

It didn’t take long before we were discovered to not be at the station anymore. By midday, the following day, the cruiser is being contacted. Josh and I were still asleep inside our shared sleeping quarters when we were called back into the seating area. Pulling ourselves along the corridor, we step into the room and Rollin is waving us over. As soon as we make it over we’re met with our mother glaring at us from a holographic screen.

“I should have known..” She says as soon as she sees us. “Jacob, I’m not surprised, but you Joshua? Did he make you do it?”

“You’d be pleasantly surprised to know that I made the decision on my own.” Josh says. Mom gives him a disapproving look and he awkwardly smiles. “Okay, maybe not pleasant..”

“This has got to be the most irresponsible thing you have ever done, Jacob.” Mom says. “You are risking your life as well as your brother’s!”

“I think we’re doing pretty well so far,” I say. “Come on, Mom. Think of this as the ultimate experiment. Can humans who are born on Mars survive on Earth?”

“This isn’t funny, Jacob.”

“I’m not laughing, Mom, I’m serious.”

“And I’m serious too! This is dangerous..”

I can’t help but to roll my eyes. “Everything we do is dangerous it seems. We’ll be safe, I promise. We won’t do anything that’s strenuous. And besides, we’ll get to see Dad in person.”

Mom’s eyes grow wide. “Wh-What? Y-You’re gonna go see your father?”

My eyebrows crease and I look at Josh. “Yeah? Why wouldn’t we?”

“Uh well, you can’t.”

“Why not?”

“He’s… He’s on a trip.. He won’t be home.”

“Okay? Then we’ll wait until he gets back.” I say shrugging my shoulders. “And while we do, I’ll be off doing other things.”

“You are not leaving Headquarters.”

“I am leaving headquarters when we land and after the initial twenty-four hour hold. You can’t keep me prisoner..” I hit the blue button beside the hologram and it disappears. Josh looks at me in bewilderment. He’s never seen me stand up to our mother before, because quite frankly I never have. Sure I get a little crabby with her but not once have I done anything like that with her. “What?”

Josh shakes his head. “Nothing, nothing..” A smile starts to form on his face. I can’t help but to smile back and he laughs. “We are so fucked when we get back..”

I shrug my shoulders and push off the table, allowing myself to float off through the room. “We’ll deal with that when we come to it.”

–

“I got us food,” Josh says as he pulls himself into our sleeping quarters.

“Be careful opening the milk.” I say.

“Why?” Josh says as he proceeds to break the seal on the bag. A stream of milk starts flowing out of the bag and floating in the air.

“That’s why..” I say. “You need to connect a closable straw to the bag.”

“Ohhh, so that’s what this thing is,” He says, holding up a plastic tube. “I thought it looked a little odd.” I roll my eyes and take my food.

Suddenly he’s pushing off the wall and circling around the floating stream of milk. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Drinking the milk,” He says before opening his mouth and sucking in the stream of milk.

“You’re insane..”

“But it worked,” He winks with a laugh. “So.. What are you going to do first after the twenty-four hour hold? Or who?” He winks. I look at him oddly and he laughs. “What? I haven’t forgotten about Star..” He smirks. “Oh no, excuse me.. Marlie..” He rolls his eyes.

“I have to call her first when we get there. I have no idea where she lives.”

“And then when you do.. Are you gonna…” He wags his eyebrows and I shove him over. “Come on, I know what you do when you’re alone.”

“Are you spying on me?! You freak..”

He laughs and shakes his head. “No.. But you’re not exactly quiet.. I can hear you when I walk by your cabin. I’m pretty sure anyone could..”

“Can we stop talking about this?” I say. “But so what if I do…do that?”

“You might potentially have a kid on Earth..” He says nonchalantly. When I turn my head to look at him, I can see a smirk grow on his face and he looks at me from the corner of his eye. “Use protection, mmkay?” He pops a piece of dried bacon into his mouth. “I know we haven’t needed it, but if it happens while we’re down there, I’d prefer that we were safe.”

“Great talk, Dad.”

Josh chuckles and pops another piece of bacon into his mouth. “Start eating before I take it for myself.”

______________________________________________________________

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[oldiesstationlover11607]

🎶You had me at hello🎶 (if I used this one before, no I didn’t).

Hello! It’s 💛! And before I go any further I would like to apologize for breaking the TØP streak that you were on (even though you absolutely KILLLED the Party Poison story! It was exactly what I imagined it would be!). I had the idea in my mind and I just wanted to see it come to life in someway so I appreciate you doing it. Also, that Josh Dun story you did the same day, so cute! ☺️

To nobody’s big surprise, or maybe to your chagrin, I am falling back into the TØP cycle of fanfics with yet another request. You said you were getting a lot of Tyler, but have no fear! This one is Josh (it’s Torchbearer!Josh but…hopefully that’s close enough).

This may be too close to the Keons daughter story idea that you had in mind so if that’s the case just disregard this, but I was wondering if you could do an angsty story about the reader being Nico’s daughter (*gasp*), but she escaped Dema and joined the Banditos. Her and Torchbearer hit it off and become close (I’m imagining romantically but platonic could also work), but she never tells him who her father is. During trip into Dema when he goes to try to help break out some people trapped inside (NATN sorta thing), he finds out the truth. He comes back to the camp and angst ensues (whether or not it ends happily is up to you).

Like I said, I know this may be too close to your other plot idea, but I wanted to request it (also sorry for my yapping).

Daughter Series - Torchbearer + Clancy + Nico!Daughter

Warnings: Swearing and angst

Word Count: 3090

A/N: WELCOME! I do believe I killed this ngl...

PART 2 + PART 3 + Part 4 + Part 5

Contrary to popular belief, I wasn’t born in Dema. My mother had me outside of the walls before I was taken inside by my father, and my mom was never seen again. Growing up, that was a story I was forbidden to tell. My father rarely talked about my mom and if I ever asked, he would only say, “She didn’t understand the greater purpose, but I do. You will too, one day.” 

For a while, I believed him. How could I not? When you grow up with someone like Nico, your whole world revolves around what they tell you. He was my father, but he was also Dema’s leader, head bishop, the one who enforced the silence, control, and order we citizens were all too familiar with. No one defied Nico, not even his own daughter.

Life in Dema was strict but comfortable. I wasn’t treated like everyone else. My father made sure of that. I lived in one of the best apartments, with guards who kept a constant watch over me. In the evenings, I would look out from the balcony and watch the city below—lifeless, colorless, and silent. The people moved like shadows. It felt wrong but I couldn’t put my feelings into words. It was like a quiet voice that echoed in the back of my mind, begging me to see beyond the walls. That voice grew louder as I got older, especially when I overheard whispers of resistance. Stories about people who escaped. The transcripts of the Banditos were forbidden, but I found ways to read them. They described a world outside Dema, a world full of music, color, and freedom. I imagined it often—what it would feel like to run without fear, to laugh without looking over your shoulder.

For years, I buried that desire, letting my father’s teachings drown out the voice of rebellion inside me. He would tell me, “You are my legacy. Dema’s future. You don’t need anything else.” And I believed him—until the day I didn’t. I don’t exactly remember when I decided to leave. Maybe it was a slow realization, a growing awareness that I couldn’t stay in Dema–I couldn’t live like this. Or maybe it was the night I saw him–a Bandito. He had this bright yellow bandana tied around his head that covered his face and was sprinting across the city. His eyes were filled with fire, determination, and a passion I’d never felt before. Several citizens left that night and the next morning there were almost double the amount of glorious gone lined up. 

After that I couldn’t sleep. I stared at the ceiling, the walls of my apartment feeling tighter and tighter, as if they were closing in on me. I thought about the stories I had heard, the people who had escaped. For the first time, I wanted to know what it felt like. The voice in my head—the one I had tried so hard to suppress—was louder than ever.

I don’t know how I did it. Nico’s daughter wasn’t supposed to slip away unnoticed, but somehow I did. Maybe my father had gotten too comfortable. Maybe I wasn’t as much of a priority as he liked to pretend. It didn’t matter.

I ran.

The night I left Dema was the most terrifying night of my life. Every shadow felt like it could be a bishop or vulture watching, every step against the cobblestone ground echoed in my mind as if the entire city could hear me. But I didn’t stop until I got out of the catacombs. I couldn’t.

The Banditos found me the next morning, huddled in an abandoned building outside Dema’s reach. They took me in, gave me water, food, and shelter. They didn’t ask who I was right away, which was a relief. I didn’t want to tell them. Not yet. Not while Nico’s name was a curse on their lips.

I never expected to feel so at home among them, especially with him.

Torchbearer was everything Dema taught me to fear—brave, reckless, defiant. He radiated life in a way that was foreign to me, and yet, I couldn’t stay away from him. We met the night I arrived at camp. He approached me cautiously at first, well aware that most escapees were either violent or runners in their first few days. 

But I wasn’t like most escapees.

He asked me my name, and I hesitated, not wanting to give my real name. 

“Just call me…” I hesitated, not wanting to give him my real name. “Call me Ash.”

“That’s not your real name is it?” his head tilted and eyebrows raised slightly as he took a bite of the bread roll someone had brought through camp. 

“Nope,” I chuckled below my breath, “But something tells me your name isn’t Torchbearer.” He laughed and shook his head. The Torchbearer was the kind of person who knew when not to ask questions, something I was thankful for. 

As the months passed, we became close. Closer than I expected, closer than I thought I would let anyone get. At first, it was a hesitant friendship, both of us hearing each other out. We talked about the rebellion, we talked about vialism, and he talked about Dema. Over time, we became inseparable. I loved him. He showed me what it meant to live—truly live—outside the grasp of Dema’s cold, suffocating control. He showed me what it meant to have fun, to laugh, to joke, and to fight back.

And through it all, I kept my secret. I managed to keep him at arm’s length, no matter how much I wanted to let him in. Because how could I? How could I tell him that I was Nico’s daughter—the daughter of the man who had destroyed lives, stolen freedom, and enforced misery?

So I didn’t.

The guilt gnawed at me. Every time Torchbearer looked at me with those fiery eyes, filled with admiration and trust, I felt the weight of my life settle deeper into my chest. The longer I stayed with the Banditos, the more I realized I wasn’t just lying to Torchbearer. I was lying to everyone.

That was until my first raid. Each month Torchbearer and a few select Banditos would sneak into Dema to pick up escapees and add to the rebellion and after 10 months of being in Trench, Torchbearer had asked me to come. We all knew it was a risk, but as Dema reminded us–we had no choice. The mission was simple: get in and get out. We were the best at what we did. The Banditos had been in and out of Dema before, but this time felt different. This time, the stakes were higher. I was there. Torchbearer grabbed one of his yellow bandanas to tie around my arm so he could find me.

“Are you sure you’re okay to go back?” he asked, his fingers flowing perfectly to secure the knot. The hesitancy in his voice was mirrored by the look on his face. 

“It’s going to be okay Torch,” I smiled shyly, cupping his jaw and pressing my lips against him. He returned the kiss by his lips were shy, mind clearly elsewhere. 

“It’s difficult to go back, Ash. I just–I don’t want to lose you and I’m worried that you’re not ready for a mission this high stakes,” he pressed his forehead against mine, his fingers tangling through my hair. 

“I am ready. I want to go,” I insisted, the fear of the truth bubbling over. 

“Okay,” he raised his arms in defeat, “if you say you’re ready then I believe you.” Torchbearer pulled me in close, his chin resting on the top of my head while my face pressed against his chest. I was ready. I really was ready. 

Torchbearer led the charge, his eyes gleaming with determination. The night we infiltrated Dema, the city was as lifeless as I remembered. The silence was deafening. I hadn’t been back since I left, and the familiar streets, the cold concrete walls, sent a shiver down my spine. Memories flooded back—of my father, of the life I had left behind.

Torchbearer stayed close to me. He didn’t know the real reason for my tension, and I wasn’t about to explain it now. I needed to focus.

We split up to cover more ground. My heart pounded as I ran through the darkened alleys, sticking to the shadows. I found the building where they were keeping the prisoners and signaled to the others. Everything was going smoothly until I heard footsteps behind me.

I spun around, heart leaping into my throat. My hand hovered over my weapon, ready to fight, but when I saw who was standing there, the air was knocked out of me.

It was him.

Dad.

He stood there, calm, composed, his pale eyes locking onto mine like a hunter sizing up his prey. His presence made the air around us feel heavy, suffocating, like the very essence of Dema was crushing me.

“I knew you’d come back,” he said softly, his voice as smooth and cold as I remembered. “You couldn’t stay away forever.”

My heart hammered in my chest as I struggled to breathe. My mind raced, trying to come up with some kind of explanation, some excuse for why I was here. But what could I possibly say?

“Dad,” I whispered, my voice betraying me with a tremble.

He tilted his head, regarding me with the same detached curiosity he always had. Clothes in his traditional blood red robes there was no anger in his eyes, no surprise—just cold, calculating control. He stepped closer, and instinctively, I backed away.

“You left,” he continued, as if we were having a casual conversation over tea. “I wondered how long it would take for you to see reason. To realize your place was always here, by my side. With us.”

I felt like I was drowning. My pulse raced, my thoughts tangling together in panic. How had he found me so quickly? I wasn’t supposed to run into anyone—especially not him.

“I didn’t…” My voice faltered as I glanced around, searching for an escape. But there was none. “I didn’t come back for you. I’m here for them.”

Nico’s gaze sharpened. His cold smile never wavered. “Is that what they told you? That you’re here to ‘rescue’ our people? To ‘save’ them from our sacred religion?”

He took another step toward me, his eyes boring into mine. “You are my daughter. Our city’s future. There is no ‘saving’. There is only the Order. You belong with us.”

“No,” I said, my voice firmer this time. I took a deep breath, standing my ground. “I don’t belong here. Not anymore.”

For a moment, Nico was silent, his eyes narrowing as if he were studying me, calculating his next move. Then, his smile faded, replaced by something far more dangerous—disappointment.

“You are mistaken,” he said softly, his voice a low rumble that made my skin crawl. “You think you’ve escaped Dema, but you never left. You are still tied to this place. You always will be.”

I clenched my fists, trying to keep my composure. “I chose to leave. I chose a different life. I’m not your puppet anymore.”

Nico’s expression darkened. “Is that what you think? That you can just walk away from your legacy? You are my blood. You will come back to me.”

“No,” I said, the word feeling like a dagger in my throat. “I won’t.”

His eyes flashed with something I couldn’t place—anger, maybe, or something deeper, something darker. He took another step toward me, and for a second, I thought he might reach out and drag me back to our tower by force.

But instead, he stopped, his voice growing quieter, more insidious. “If you leave now, if you continue this path, you are lost to me. And when Dema rises—when the time comes—no one will be able to save you from what’s coming.”

I swallowed hard, my chest tightening. His words were like poison, seeping into my mind, but I pushed them away.

“I’m not afraid of you,” I lied, my voice barely a whisper.

Nico laughed, but this time, it was colder, emptier. “Yes, you are. You always have been.”

Before I could say anything else, I heard footsteps. Nico’s eyes flickered toward the sound, and for a brief moment, something like recognition crossed his face. He knew. He knew we weren’t alone.

“We’ll meet again, daughter,” he said quietly, pulling me in for a forceful hug. His arms wrapped around me like a vice, sending a chill down my spine. I could feel the weight of his authority, his control, pressing down on me as he whispered in my ear, his breath cold and steady. “You may try to escape your fate, but it will find you,” he murmured, his voice low and insidious. Then, with deliberate slowness, he pressed his cracked lips to my cheek—a twisted mockery of affection.

I wanted to push him away, to shove him back and break free, but I was frozen in fear, trapped in that moment. It was only when he finally released me, vanishing into the shadows, that I could breathe again. My heart was pounding, my hands shaking, and the air around me felt thick, suffocating.

But before I could even collect myself, I heard something—a gasp. My eyes shot up, and there, standing just a few feet away, was Torchbearer.

His face was pale, his eyes wide with shock and disbelief. He had seen everything.

“Torch—” I started, stepping toward him, but he took a step back, his expression hardening. The raw hurt in his eyes cut me deeper than any weapon could.

“Is that—” His voice faltered, then came out sharper, more accusatory. “That was him, wasn’t it? Blurryface.”

I opened my mouth, but the words wouldn’t come. My mind was racing, trying to find a way to explain, but what could I possibly say? Torchbearer had seen me in my father’s arms—Nico, the head of Dema, the enemy of everything we fought for. The truth was out.

“I-I can explain,” I stammered, my voice weak and trembling.

Torchbearer’s eyes were cold, his expression unreadable. “You lied to me.” His words were barely above a whisper, but they carried the weight of a thousand unspoken accusations.

“I didn’t—” I tried, but he cut me off.

“All this time… you knew. You knew, and you said nothing.” His voice rose, trembling with anger and betrayal. “We trusted you, Ash. I trusted you. And you… you’re his fucking daughter?”

The words stung, each one like a slap to the face. I took a step closer, desperate to make him understand, but he only backed away further, shaking his head.

“I’m not him,” I said, my voice breaking. “I’m not my dad. I left Dema. I chose to leave. I chose to be in Trench with you.”

Torchbearer’s face twisted with anger. “But you never told us! You lied about who you are—about everything. You let us believe… You let me believe…”

“I didn’t know how to tell you,” I whispered, tears stinging at the corners of my eyes. “I was scared. I thought if you knew—if you knew the truth—you’d look at me like this. Like I was him.”

“And how exactly am I supposed to look at you, Ash?” Torchbearer snapped, his voice cutting like a knife. “You’re his daughter! You’re part of this. You’re not you anymore.”

“I was part of it, yeah,” I said quickly, pleading. “But I’m not anymore. I left. I left him, I left this city, I left my home.”

“But you didn’t leave it behind, did you?” Torchbearer’s voice was cold, filled with bitterness. “You didn’t tell us the truth, and now… I don’t even know who you are anymore.”

I felt the ground slipping out from beneath me. “Torch, please. I’m still me. I’m still the same person.”

“No, you’re not.” His voice broke, and for a moment, the anger in his eyes softened into something else—something like pain. “I thought I knew you. I thought I could trust you. But you’ve been hiding this the whole time. How am I supposed to believe anything you say now?”

I couldn’t stop the tears from spilling over. “I didn’t want to hurt you. I didn’t want to hurt anyone. I thought… I thought I could just be part of this life, without bringing my past into it.”

Torchbearer let out a bitter laugh. “That’s not how it works. You can’t just pretend like your past doesn’t exist, Ash. You can’t just hide who you are and expect it to never come out.”

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “I never wanted this. I never wanted you to find out like this.”

Torchbearer shook his head, his expression filled with disappointment. “It doesn’t matter. The damage is done.”

He turned to leave, but I lunged forward, grabbing his arm. “Please. Don’t walk away. Don’t—I love you.”

He hesitated, but he didn’t pull his arm away. For a moment, hope flickered in my chest, but when he finally spoke, his voice was cold and final.

“I don’t know if I can forgive you, Ash.”

The words hit me like a punch to the gut, and I let go of his arm, the weight of everything crashing down on me.

Torchbearer took one last look at me, his eyes filled with a mixture of anger, hurt, and something else—something that made my heart ache even more.

And then he was gone, disappearing into the night, leaving me standing alone in the empty street, tears streaming down my face, my heart shattered.

“Y/N,” my father’s friend’s voice echoed through the street. Keons. The bishop I’d often found myself speaking to when I still lived here. He was one of the only leaders in this city who cared–or at least created the illusion that he cared–about citizens, especially those from his district. “You should come with me.”

“Why would I go with you?” I asked, my arms folded across my chest. 

“You left the city, right?” 

I nodded. 

“There’s someone I’d like you to meet. A boy from my district, he reminds me of you and I believe together you could do some good for our city,” he explained. 

“That doesn’t answer my question,” I said. 

“I assure you, you are not in any danger Y/N. This boy, he’s different from the other citizens,” he continued. 

“What’s his name?”

“Clancy.”

//

REQUESTS OPEN

[shimmerwindow]

I Never Really

Part Eight

Word Count: 6.7k

Warnings: Alcohol use, mention of marijuana, brief mention of cocaine (not consumed by any main characters), smut (18+ only)

Sexual content: choking, fingering, oral (f rec), unsafe sex, plain ol' fuckin, and of course I would be lost without a creampie

Playlist | Masterlist

If the last party had been a bit overwhelming, then this party could be described as sensory hell. Within only a few seconds of being there, you saw a group of zombies playing beer pong in the front yard, and two Sesame Street characters doing cocaine off the kitchen table. You were a bit nervous, sticking close to Sam’s side as he guided you into the house. His brothers stood in the living room, a drink in each of their hands, chatting happily with the group assembled out there.

“Sammy boy!” Jake exclaimed upon seeing the two of you, running over to give both of you a hug. He was dressed as a pirate, the pieces of his costume almost a bit too accurate, like he’d stepped out of a different era. When he wrapped his arms around you, you were hit with that familiar scent, memories of the last party rushing back to your head.

He looked you over, trailing his eyes over your figure the same way he’d done the first time you met him. It made something inside you ache, something you couldn’t quite describe. He caught your eyes and you noticed he’d put on eyeliner, just a bit, just enough to make his gaze feel even more piercing.

Josh followed close behind, pulling you into a tight hug. “You look incredible, sunshine. My lord.” He looked you up and down, gesturing at you with a point of his finger. “Doesn't she look amazing?” He asked, looking between Jake and Danny, who had come over to join you.

“Quite beautiful. Very angelic,” Jake said.

“You look outstanding. None of these guys deserve to see it,” Danny joked with a whisper, cupping a hand to the side of his mouth like he was telling you a secret.

A blush rose into your cheeks, and you shook your head. “I just…wanted to look nice. And you guys all look awesome.”

Josh was dressed in a classic hippie getup, with a pair of huge sunglasses, flared pants, and a vest over his otherwise bare chest. Danny was dressed as a cowboy, and he’d gone all-in on the fit, cowboy boots and all. He had on a hat that looked far too nice for a Halloween outfit.

“Is that your hat?” You asked.

He tipped the brim at you, doing a goofy bow with one hand on the comically large belt buckle he was wearing. “Darn tootin’, little miss. Got it alongside the boots a few years ago.”

You placed a hand over your heart, returning the mock accent he’d put on. “Oh, my. What a gentleman you are!”

Jake offered to grab you and Sam a drink, and you happily accepted, following him into the kitchen while Sam took a seat in the living room with the other two.

“So, who are you trying to impress? Or make jealous?” Jake asked, taking the top off of a bottle of tequila.

“I’m sorry?”

He gestured towards you. “The costume. You’re the hottest one here, no contest. Did you get your heart broken recently?”

“I…no. Well…” You watched his hands as he poured you a drink that would certainly be too strong. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“I won’t pry. Unless you want me to.” He handed you your drink, and started making another one.

You took a cautious sip, pleasantly surprised. You could barely taste the alcohol. “This is good.”

“Thank you. My secret recipe.” He finished his own drink, swirling it around in his hand for a moment while he leaned against the counter to face you. “I’m guessing you made up with Sam?”

You nodded. “He apologized. He explained how–” You cut yourself off. You definitely shouldn’t repeat his explanation to Jake, of all people. “He just explained why he was mad. But it’s all okay now.”

“That look in your eye,” he pointed at you, squinting his eyes. “You’re still mad at him, aren’t you?”

It was genuinely annoying how well Jake could see right through you. Like he was reaching into your brain and stealing your thoughts. It almost felt violating, the way he seemed to always just know.

“A little.”

“Because of that fight?”

You hesitated for a moment too long. “Yeah.”

He gave you a knowing smile. “You don’t have to lie to me.”

“I’m not lying.”

“So what was his excuse?” He eyed you over the rim of his cup as he took a swig.

“I don’t want to get into it, honestly.”

“I won’t push. Just want to make sure you’re alright.” He was being genuine, that much you could tell for certain.

“I appreciate that, Jake. I really do.”

He gave you a smile, the kind that made you a bit weak in the knees, and gestured towards the living room. Sam and Danny were deep in conversation on the mantle of the fireplace, and Josh was in the corner chatting up some group of people you didn’t recognize. The two of you took a seat on the couch, and you made yourself small in the corner against the arm rest, your legs tucked under you.

Jake was a good talker. He made worthwhile conversation, even though you weren’t entirely in the mood to talk about anything. He asked a lot of questions, and the two of you would spiral off into a tangent regarding that question. At one point, he mentioned the band, the one Sam had said they were trying to drag him into.

“Do you guys have a name?” You asked.

He shook his head. “It's not serious enough for that, not yet. I want a name to come organically, when it’s time.”

“Makes sense. It would suck to pick a name and want to change it later.”

“Exactly.” He flicked his finger against one of your wings, sending it bouncing back and forth. “You should come to one of our little shows some time.”

“Where at?”

“We just play out of the garage, or back there, typically.” He gestured to the back of the house.

“Are you any good?” You smirked.

He laughed a bit, then gave you a wide-eyed, serious look. “The best.”

“Text me about it some time. I’d love to come, if I’ve got some free time on my hands that day.”

“I will,” you smiled.

The two of you sat in comfortable silence, and you listened in to the conversations around the room. Sam’s voice reached your ears first, the sound of it so familiar and enjoyable that you seemed to pick it out of the crowd easily.

“She’s great.” He was still talking to Danny.

“You don’t sound very excited.” Danny's voice was harder to pick out, but you could hear it nonetheless.

“Nah, man, I was with her the other night. She’s a really sweet girl.”

Your skin prickled and your fingers tensed up. She. Her.

“She’s gorgeous,” he went on.

“Are you guys together, or what?”

“Not yet.”

You’d heard enough. Not yet. Those two words felt like a gunshot straight to your chest. You could barely hear Jake over the noise of your thoughts as he prodded you with a quiet “Hey.”

You didn’t respond.

“Hey.” He called your name, placing a gentle touch on your arm that finally snapped you out of your trance.

You blinked at him a few times, your fingers white-knuckled on the armrest of the couch.

“You okay?” He looked at you with genuine concern.

“Yeah, I just…” you cleared your throat. “I think I need another drink.”

“Not a problem. Follow me.”

You could feel Sam’s eyes burning a hole in the back of your head as you walked away with Jake, back into the kitchen, where he mixed you up another drink.

“Stronger this time,” he warned, handing it to you.

“Thanks. I need it.”

“Listen, sweetheart. What's going on with you?”

You shook your head. “I already said I don't want to get into it. Just exhausted, that’s all.”

“Well, letting it fester doesn’t seem to be doing you any favors.” He pinched one of your wings between his fingers and pulled at it. “Come here.”

He led you out the back door, and the two of you took a seat around the fire. He slid his chair across the grass as close to yours as it would go. “I can keep a secret, if that’s what you need. Just talk to me.”

“Jake…” This was only the second time you’d interacted with him. You weren’t ready to open up about anything to him – at least, not in your partially-sober mental state. “I appreciate you worrying about me. I really do. But I can't get into specifics with you.”

He toyed with the ruffled sleeves of his shirt. “Then be vague.”

“Well,” you sighed. “Do you ever just feel like everything is crashing down around you all at once?”

He nodded. “I know the feeling quite well.”

“That’s just kind of where I’m at right now.” He was basically a stranger to you, but you couldn’t help but open up just a bit around him. He radiated an aura that made you feel seen and understood, and the way he was apparently able to read your mind lent greatly to that feeling.

“I don’t want to overstep, but you know you can come to any of us about anything. These guys–” he gestured at the house. “They care. I care. Sam, especially. He really–”

“He is the issue,” you blurted out, cutting him off.

Jake shut his mouth, rocking his chair back and looking into the fire, processing your outburst. “So…” he trailed off, clearly not sure how to proceed.

“I just can’t figure him out.”

“You did only just meet him a month ago,” Jake countered. “Just give it some time. Don't let one fight taint your entire image of him.”

You were quickly painting yourself into a corner with this line of discussion. You couldn't exactly tell him why you were upset, without a full declaration of your love for Sam. “You’re right.”

“He’s smart. Smarter than anyone else I know. Guys like that can be a bit confusing.” He gave you a small smile. “Just let it go, whatever you’re still mad at him about. Your whole world doesn’t have to fall apart over one argument.”

You wished that this was something so simple, something you could just let go of.

“You need a sippy cup for that?” He pointed at the drink in your hand, still mostly full.

“Yeah, actually,” you giggled. “A princess crown too.”

For just a little while, Jake was able to make you forget all about the pain that still throbbed in your heart. Your typical worries washed away with every sip of the drinks he made you as the minutes turned into hours. You watched as all types of ghouls, monsters, and characters shuffled around the fire. The occasional couple in matching outfits would sometimes come by, and you had to avert your eyes every time, your mind drifting to the other half of your angel-devil getup that was wandering around the house somewhere.

Sam made an appearance at one point, sitting right next to you. Jake gave him a side-eyed look, glancing between you and him a few times, but he kept his mouth shut. You were a bit nervous he would leave the two of you alone. You weren’t sure you could handle that right now. Just looking into Sam’s eyes was enough, you didn’t want any more than that. He could sense it, you were certain. Something had shifted, and the air between you was thicker now. Conversation between the two of you was brief and clipped.

When he finally walked off with some guys you’d never seen before, things felt different. Jake was gazing at you intensely, giving you that same look he’d given you at the first party. Looking at you like he could eat you alive.

“You know,” he began, leaning a bit closer to you. “We never finished our conversation from the other week.”

You wracked your brain trying to recall what he was talking about, visibly lost.

“So would you be mad if I was?”

His words seemed like complete gibberish at first. But when he raked his eyes over your body, it came rushing back in like a tide, a knot forming in the pit of your stomach and your legs crossing a little tighter. That had been his response when you’d asked him if he was flirting with you.

“Not at all.” You said it with no hesitation, not a doubt in your mind. He was enchanting in a way you couldn’t describe even with a thousand metaphors.

He ran a hand through his hair, a gesture that reminded you deeply of a certain someone. If you couldn’t have him, then you’d take the next best thing. The thought felt evil, dirty, sickening, even. That you were even considering the one thing you knew would hurt him more than anything else…it wasn't like you.

As if right on cue, the yard became eerily silent. Something had drawn the crowd inside for now, and it was just the two of you, a group quietly passing a joint in the opposite corner of the yard, and the crackling of the fire. His hand came to rest on your thigh, just below where the stockings were wrapped in a neat little white bow. It was there for comfort, but the warmth of his palm singed your skin and sent flames raging through your body. Your stomach dropped, and you wondered how a man could make you have such a reaction to such a simple, innocent touch.

“You okay with this?” He asked.

Whether he meant his advances, or his fingers burning right through your skin to the bone, was not clear to you.

You would lie to yourself every chance you'd get, but you weren’t stupid. Jake was clearly into you. The tension was palpable now that the two of you were alone, if only just for a moment. You were a perfect level of drunk at this point. Still lucid, but your inhibitions dulled to just the right level. “I’m fine, but…this costume,” you whined. “It’s so uncomfortable.”

Jake looked at you with a fire in his eyes that could scorch you, so intense you averted your gaze. It was like he had grown bigger, eclipsing everything in your vision. He burned brighter than the fire that illuminated his stunning features in a brilliant orange. “Is that so?”

You nodded.

“What a shame it would be if someone took it off.” His tone implied that he was joking, but the look on his face said quite the opposite.

“Yeah,” you giggled. “I look so nice, I can’t imagine what I would look like with less clothes.” Flirting, especially the kind you were doing now, wasn’t something you did often. In fact, you weren’t sure you’d ever done this kind of thing before.

He tilted his head at you, raising an eyebrow. “Is the little angel trying to ask me something?”

“Am I not making it obvious enough?”

You knew the gravity of the choice you were making. This would be a secret you could not keep forever, actions you wouldn’t be able to take back. None of that mattered anymore, though. There was one man you truly, unequivocally wanted, and he was not yours. He would never be yours. If he wanted you, he would be the one next to you right now.

“Plenty obvious, dear lady.” He belted the words in an accent you’d heard a few times before. “Come with me.”

“I expected something a bit more romantic from you, Jakey.”

He smiled at you, but the fire never left his eyes. “I don’t think I need to seduce you any further. Shut up and follow me.”

You felt dazed, completely out of your body as he took your hand in his and rushed you through the house and up into his room. Before you had time to come back down to reality your back was pressed up against a door and Jake was mere inches from your face, eyes piercing straight through you, his hand wrapped around the back of your neck. He pulled off the headband that held a halo to your head, tossing it away somewhere behind him. So sickeningly poetic, an obnoxiously obvious metaphor.

“You’re sure you want this?” He asked, drawing a bit closer.

You weren’t completely sure of anything anymore. The one thing you knew was that this was real, he was here, and those gorgeous eyes were staring right through you. Eyes you saw in many dreams. You’d been holding back from running your fingers through his hair all night, and it had now become impossible to deny the way he made you feel. Your heart raced, blood rushing through your veins at an impossible speed. He smelled different this time, some different type of cologne. Yet there was still the underlying scent of him, of Jake.

He leaned forward and you were certain your insides turned to ice water when his lips met the side of your neck, placing a delicate kiss there. “I won’t take the most intense fuck-me eyes I’ve ever seen in my life as an answer, angel. Speak.”

“Yes.”

“I need more than that.”

“Jake, please…” you whined, drawing a gasp when his teeth raked across your skin. “Please just…just touch me.”

His fingers snaked up into your hair, giving a gentle tug to the side as he finally bit down on your neck. A soft moan escaped your lips as he sucked bruises into your skin. You knew you should stop him, tell him he can’t, people will see if he marks you up. But you just didn’t care anymore, and it felt far too good to stop him. So what. Let them see.

He wrapped his arms around you, walking you back towards the bed before almost throwing you onto it. He practically ripped his shirt off, throwing it to some dark corner of the room. He put a knee up on the bed beside you, and you leaned back as he leaned forward, until your little wings touched the mattress. He was crouched over you, silhouetted by the lamp light behind him. You were suddenly very aware of how quickly you were breathing.

“You alright?”

“Jesus, how many times do I have to say yes?”

“My name is Jake, actually. And I just want to make sure you’re happy, little angel.” He gave you such a sweet smile you thought your heart would burst right then and there.

“I couldn't be any happier right now.”

He descended onto your bare collarbones, biting against your skin with perfect pressure. You couldn't say a word, only gasp and whine under him. It felt too fucking good to finally have him like this.

You weaved your fingers through his hair, tugging at it gently, pulling him away from your neck. He moved willingly under your touch, more than you expected. You arched your back and reached for the zipper that held your costume around yourself, but his fingers wrapped around your forearms, squeezing just a bit too hard.

“Keep it on.”

“But–”

“I said keep it on. Did you not hear me, or are you choosing not to listen?”

Your heart skipped a beat, and he took your stunned silence as a chance to lean forward. There was a pause when your lips brushed. This was it, this was the point of no return. When you would awake from a dream where Jake had been right where he was now, sweat drenching your sheets and a throbbing between your legs, this was the thing you swore you would never do. This was the line you swore you would never cross, for fear of hurting Sam. None of that mattered anymore. He didn’t want you. He fought with you. He yelled at you. The line disappeared, and you crossed it without a doubt in your mind.

You pulled Jake in, unceremoniously, and your lips crashed together. He was soft, gentle, he moved with you. Your grip tightened in his hair when he sucked your bottom lip between his teeth, giving it a gentle bite. You pulled him away from your lips and he went with ease, staring at you with wide eyes.

He seemed so compliant, so eager to please you. You ran your thumb over his lips, and you couldn't help but envision him buried between your thighs. And as if he could read your mind, he began to crawl down the length of you, leaving kisses wherever his mouth could reach. He rested his head against your thigh, eyes flicking between you and the fabric draped across your lap. Like he was preparing himself.

“Jake…” You shifted your hips, growing desperate for some kind of touch.

He shushed you, trailing his fingers up your bare leg, just barely grazing the skin, making you shudder. “Wanna take my time.”

Painfully slowly, he pushed your skirt out of the way, the fabric gathering around your hips, your lacey panties on full display now. You propped yourself up onto your elbows to get a better look at him, though the sight of him there was almost too much to bear.

“You look soaked already. All I’ve done is kiss you, sweet girl.” A grin spread across his face as he met your eyes. “You need me that bad, huh?”

“Obviously,” you whined.

He ran his thumb across the fabric of your panties, gently pulling them to one side. He ran a finger through your folds, staring at you like you were the most beautiful thing he'd ever laid eyes on. “All for me?” he breathed.

“All for you.”

He tore your panties off as quickly as he could, and slid a finger into you, and you felt completely breathless, dropping back down against the sheets. He moved masterfully, working you open, playing with you like you were a little toy for him.

“Oh fuck, Jake…” you stuttered over your words, every syllable a whimper.

“Louder, angel.”

You looked down at him, his eyes blazing into yours, dark and hungry.

“But they'll hear–”

“Let them.” He dropped down, laving his tongue over your clit, and you couldn’t stop the choked oh, god that fell from your lips.

“I can’t, that's so…” you couldn't finish your sentence, your words interrupted by gasping moans that you bit back, mortified by the idea of anyone hearing you.

“I’ll just have to make you louder, then.” He spoke the words pressed against you, the vibrations of his lips making you writhe. You tangled a hand in his hair, unconsciously pushing him closer against you.

“You’ve been driving me crazy all fucking night,” he growled between licks of your clit. “I waited long enough to hear you.”

You had to bite the back of your hand to keep quiet when he added a second finger, curling them in just the right way, your other hand grabbing onto his hair for dear life.

“I didn’t even do anything,” you whined, sounding downright pathetic.

“Really?” He pressed his thumb against your clit in the absence of his tongue, sending a shiver through your body. “The whole night you were staring at me like you couldn’t wait for this.” He brought his tongue back to your clit, drawing a needy whine.

He was good at this, finding every spot you loved so quickly, testing different movements and angles, figuring out what made you moan the loudest or grab his hair the hardest. You were quickly unraveling beneath him.

“You want me to fuck you?” He asked, his mouth still against you.

“Isn’t that what we’re doing?”

He pulled away from you, looking up at you with those wide eyes that made you feel insane, his fingers still moving. Your own wetness was smeared across his lips, his mouth curled up in a sly smile. “You know what I mean.”

You barely gave it a second thought before you whispered out a quiet “yes.”

“What was that, baby?”

You repeated yourself, gasping out the word a bit louder this time.

He brought himself up onto his knees, placing one hand on the side of your head, looming over you while his fingers still worked you perfectly. “I need more than that.”

All of this, the talking, the way his voice was a bit more raspy than normal, the way his hair hung down into his face, it was all too much. You were rushing towards your peak far too fast, the buildup far too long, and the feeling must have reflected in your face a bit too clearly.

“Are you gonna cum? Already?” He said it so cocky, so snarky, with almost a laugh behind it. Like he couldn’t believe his eyes.

You nodded, words becoming impossible to form, your eyes slipping shut as your back arched off the bed.

“Look at me,” he demanded.

You looked at him through half-lidded eyes, barely able to take in his dreamlike appearance. “Jake…” you whined, reaching for him, wrapping your arms around his neck. He let you pull him closer, brushing his lips against yours as he collapsed onto you. “Yes, baby?” You could feel his lips curl into a grin and he tasted like you.

You couldn’t find words, only choked moans came out of you as the heel of his hand pressed against your clit. You were so close, holding yourself back, for what reason you weren’t entirely sure.

“Go on, do it.”

Just those simple words of coaxing were enough to send you crashing over the edge, a sound coming out of you that you didn't even know you could make. Your teeth latched onto his collarbones, biting and sucking at his skin and earning you a few soft moans from his lips.

“That’s it…good girl.” He whispered into your ear in a way that made you shiver and twist your fingers into the fabric of his shirt, your entire body on fire. It felt like it would never end, his words prolonging every sensation as he talked you through it, with words of praise and filthy commands. “Keep going, angel, doesn’t that feel good?” He asked as you started to curl in on yourself, trying to tuck your knees to your chest. Whatever he was doing to you right now, nobody had ever done before.

It felt like the longest orgasm you’d had in your life, and you wouldn’t be surprised if it was. When he felt you’d had enough, and you started reaching for his wrist to pull it away, he finally relented, slowing and eventually stopping. As you came down, he pulled back, looking into your eyes with that fiery gaze that pierced right through you. He needed the same thing, and god did it have you throbbing all over again.

“Fuck me,” you whispered.

In one fluid motion he pulled away and flipped you over, yanking your hips up and putting a hand on the small of your back to hold you down. You yelped, surprised he was able to just…throw you around like that. The sound of his belt clinking behind you was erotic enough to draw a small moan out of you. Then the sensation of him dragging himself over your core – you nearly collapsed back down onto the bed.

“Don’t worry, angel. Gonna fuck you nice and sweet.”

You buried your face in the sheets to hide the agonized groan that ripped out of you as he pressed into you. He filled you so perfectly, in a way nobody else ever had. And then he just…stopped. He leaned down over you, his forehead resting against your back.

“Jakey–” the nickname slipped out unconsciously. “Please move, please–”

“Patience, angel.” You could feel his chest rising and falling with shaky, quick breaths.

You made a pleading, desperate sound, tightening yourself around him and trying to rock your hips back against him.

“Oh, don’t fucking do that,” he growled.

You needed this for longer, needed him as long as you could possibly have him. You felt a pressing need to be good for him.

He pulled his hips back, and snapped them forward again, sending stars across your vision. You clawed at the sheets, downright unholy sounds escaping you as he settled into a rhythm.

His hands roamed over your body until one of them landed on your lower stomach, just below your navel. He pulled you closer with that hand, adding just a bit of pressure in just the right place. “I’m right there, baby. You feel it?”

You whimpered, your mind scattered in every direction – you weren't used to this kind of dirty talking. Of course you could feel him, impossibly deep, taking up every square inch of you. “Yeah, I do,” you choked out, each word punctuated by a gasp.

“You’re taking it so good, sweet girl.” His hand wandered a bit lower, grazing across your clit, just enough to make you buck your hips, but he gave you no more than that light touch.

“More, please,” you gasped, trying to draw deeper breaths to keep yourself grounded. But he knocked the wind out of you with every thrust of his hips.

He clicked his tongue and murmured a pitying aww. “Does my sweet angel need something?”

“I need to see you, please, I want to–”

Before you could finish your sentence he was spinning you around to face him, practically throwing you down onto the bed. The ease at which he could manhandle you was stunning.

You clawed at his chest as he guided himself back into you, and you were certain you’d leave scratch marks on his skin. His expression as he did so was something that you felt burn into the back of your mind, something you would never forget. Like a song lyric you couldn’t stop replaying in your mind. His jaw slack, his upper lip curled up just a bit in something like a sneer, his brows knitted together, his head tilted slightly to the right, as if he was trying to get a better view.

It felt gentler now. The rush and frenzy of it all had worn off, and he moved slowly and deliberately. When his eyes met yours, the sensations caught up with your mind, and a brick wall of bliss crashed against you. You dragged your nails down his chest, your back arching off the bed when he bottomed out inside you.

“Is that better?” The smirk on his face alone was enough to make you tighten around him.

“Much better,” you sighed.

He settled into a rhythm again, one hand wrapped around your thigh and the other gripping the top of the headboard. Like he was putting his body on display for you. He hadn't taken off the chains around his neck, and the amulets made a lovely clinking sound as they swung back to collide with his chest with every thrust. You lifted yourself up off the bed, trying to drape your arms over his shoulders–

He pushed you back down with a hand against your chest. He shifted, his hands coming to rest on either side of you.

“I want to be closer to you,” you whined, like a spoiled brat.

“I want to watch you.”

You pouted, wrapping your arms around his neck once again and trying to pull yourself up. But something held you back.

“You’re pinned, angel.”

It clicked – he was holding you down by your wings. The tiny bits of feather and fabric and wire strapped tightly around your shoulders. You wriggled under his grip, desperately trying to pull away, trying to get just a little closer to him, needing to feel more of him on you.

“You were taking it so good, baby,” he groaned. “Why all the fuss now?”

“Need you.” You tried to speak the words, but they came out as a full-fledged moan. It was almost embarrassing how needy you sounded.

His expression twisted into a cruel smile. “Need you,” he mimicked the way you’d moaned it, almost perfectly. “I need you to let me fuck you the way I know you’ll like it.”

You were stunned into silence, only able to take small sips of air through his thrusts.

But he mimicked that too. “You sound so pretty. I figured you would.” He always had a way of rendering you speechless.

All of his words, the perfect angle of his hips, the way you were pinned down, all of it was leading to a cliff edge you knew so well, the tension in your body rising to a level you didn’t think possible. It almost scared you a bit, and Jake must have read the fear in your eyes, from the way he grinned.

“Is the pretty angel gonna cum for me?”

You nodded frantically, words evading you.

“You didn’t ask permission first.”

Your eyes rolled back, your jaw dropping open in stunned silence at his words. Ask permission?

You managed to mumble out a “please” between moans.

“Nowhere near good enough,” he hissed. “Try again, or I’ll stop.” He wasn’t joking either, his hips slowing their pace, angling just away from your clit.

Every ounce of inhibition you had left went out the window at that moment, your eyes locking with his “Please, Jake, please, can I cum, sir? Please, I'm trying to be so good for you–” The words rushed out faster than your brain could process what you were saying.

He seemed to break a bit, his hips snapping forward harder than before. His hand came up to wrap around your throat, his fingers placed perfectly on top of your veins. “Say it again.”

“Please, sir,” you sobbed, feeling a tear roll down your cheek. “I can’t– I can’t wait any longer–”

“Since you asked so nicely.” He pressed himself against you again, grinding his hips into your clit, and it only took a moment before you were cascading off the edge into the abyss. It felt like falling, your entire body tightening all at once, before you burst into sheer bliss, a smile gracing your lips as Jake’s hand tightened around your throat just right. Through your clipped breaths you called his name, not a thought in your mind about who may hear.

Through your daze of pleasure, you could hear his voice, sweet and soft in your ear, talking you through it. “That’s it baby, cum for me, I’m right there with you,” before his words devolved into groans so sweet they could rot your teeth. You could feel him pulsing inside you, filling you, spilling out of you onto the sheets.

The two of you stayed like that for a while, his hand slipping off your neck to stroke the side of your face, brushing away the tears that gathered on your cheeks. He collapsed down onto his forearms, breathing heavily, burying his face in the crook of your neck.

Your voice came out of you cracked and broken, still the whisper of a moan on your tone. “Did you…”

“Yeah. I did. Fuck, I’m sorry.” He shook both of your bodies with silent laughter. “I swear I didn’t mean to. Are you…”

“Yes. Don’t worry.”

“Oh, I’m going to.”

You giggled, a pure, clean sound that cut through the fog of tension in the room. “I forgot how good that feels.” You started to tremble, wrapping your shaking hands around him. “They definitely heard me, by the way.” You could hear laughter and conversation from the floor below – there was no chance they didn’t hear you shouting his name.

“Whatever.”

You laughed again, raising an arm to run your fingers through his hair, now damp with sweat. “That was…” you couldn't find the words to describe it.

“Too rough?” He propped himself up to look at you. “You look a mess.”

You could imagine it, mascara running down your face, hair disheveled, costume wrecked. “Perfect,” you smiled.

“Really.” He planted a kiss on the tip of your nose. “Glad to hear it.” Looking you up and down, he heaved a sigh. “You’re leakin’ on my sheets, though.”

“Sorry, sir.” You crossed your legs and shot him a smirk.

He narrowed his eyes at you, a smile dancing on the corners of his lips. “Let me grab you something to clean up.”

“Not gonna do it yourself?” You teased as he rolled off the bed, pulling on a pair of sweatpants.

“What, you want me to eat it out of you? There’s a three course meal in there right now.” He shot you a look over his shoulder, and you felt a blush creep into your cheeks.

“So vulgar.”

“Nah, just rock and roll.” He tossed you a towel and you cleaned yourself up the best that you could, before rolling over to haul yourself out of bed. You stood on wobbly knees, a dizziness suddenly crashing down over you, like your mind had forgotten you were still drunk until this moment. Jake was there in an instant, his arms hooking under yours to keep you on your feet.

“Careful now.”

He helped guide you into the bathroom as a content daze washed over you.

“Shout if you need anything,” he said in a hushed tone, letting go of you and retreating from the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

Emotions you hadn’t felt in far too long rushed together through your mind all at once as you sat down on the toilet. You hadn’t had time for sex in college. Too focused on your degree, too focused on your future, you had no interest in pursuing any of the men on campus. But maybe this is what you’d been missing this whole time. This was the piece of you that you’d been stifling, holding down. The reason you couldn’t seem to forget about Sam.

For now, you could push him out of your mind, the space he’d been taking up now replaced with Jake. And that horrible, nauseating feeling of butterflies you got around Sam didn’t happen when you saw Jake. He was safe. This was platonic, this was no-strings-attached, just a good time between two friends-of-friends.

You were suddenly very aware of how uncomfortable your costume was. You threw it off in a hurry, standing naked in front of the mirror, pondering your own reflection. He’d left a few rosy bruises on your collarbones and your neck. Your fingers brushed across them, the sight of being claimed making you throb, just a bit.

Are you sore? From fucking my brother? Sam’s words echoed through your mind at an alarming volume.

I wasn’t then. But I am now.

A knock at the door startled you out of your haze.

“You okay in there?” Jake’s voice called through the wood.

“Yeah.” Your voice was broken and hitched. “I need clothes though.”

He opened the door and you quickly covered yourself with a yelp. He was holding a pair of sweatpants and an old t-shirt in his hand.

“I’ve already seen it all. You don’t have to hide it,” he chuckled. “Put these on.”

You did as he said, noticing the warm scent of vanilla that drifted off his clothes.

“I would offer to drive you home, but I…don’t think I should drive.”

You shook your head. The idea of being alone after that was an unpleasant one at best.

“You can sleep here, if you want.”

“I’d like that very much.”

He grabbed your hand and led you back over to his bed. He’d already made it back up neatly, the covers turned down, the room softly illuminated by only a small lamp in the corner. It didn’t feel intrusive to be here, it felt like home.

“I’m gonna go see how the guys are doing. You get some rest, alright angel?”

You crawled under the covers, your body immediately relaxing, releasing the tension you didn’t realize you’d been holding onto. “Alright,” you mumbled, eyes half-lidded.

You were nearly asleep before he even left the room.

Tag List: @dont-go-home-without-me @poochiesworld @stardustcatcher @83rkblogs @jaketsguitar

[jaketswine]

mama

just some little mother’s day jakey thoughts

900+ word blurb

“hey, babe?”

“mmhm?” you hummed in response, already in the process of closing your book and standing from your seat in the living room. you had heard him rustling around, digging his keys out of the bowl in the entryway, giving you a hint that he might be headed somewhere quickly.

you rounded the corner, seeing him with a slightly panicked look on his face, “going somewhere?”

he gave you a brief laugh, looking down at his feet, “well, mom’s in town this weekend, and I completely forgot that tomorrow was mother’s day until josh texted me a few minutes ago.” he paused to catch his breath, looking at you sheepishly.

already having a pretty good idea what he was getting after, you raised your eyebrows with a little smirk on your face, finishing his thought for him, “you want me to go to the store with you, jakey?”

he nodded, quickly waving his hand in the air, “only if you want to. I just need to go grab a card and some flowers, maybe some chocolate or something. it wouldn’t be long.” he looked up at you with a bashful smile.

you couldn’t help but giggle at the shy act he was putting on— he was just trying to rope you in to going with him. which you obviously would.

smiling at him, you brushed by him heading towards the front door, turning around to see him still standing in his place. “well come on, we don’t have all day.”

he scurried out after you, heading to open your car door for you, kissing your forehead before you got in.

arriving at the store, you followed behind him as he ambled around in the card aisle, wanting to find the best one he could for his mom.

while browsing around in the magazines, you heard him clear his throat. “hey babe, do you mind to go over and grab some more shampoo for me while we’re here? i’m almost out.”

since you weren’t doing anything but killing waiting on him, you happily obliged, agreeing to meet by the candy in a few minutes.

after grabbing his shampoo and wandering around for a bit, you made your way over to the chocolate, hoping to grab a little something for yourself.

you found jake, card and flowers in hand, staring at the variety of bags lining the shelves.

jake reached up on his toes, grabbing a bag off of one of the top shelves.

“that’s not the kind your mom likes jake.. tell me you didn’t forget that too.”

he chuckled lightly at your teasing, turning to you and extending the bag outward, “no, but it’s your favorite.” he grinned and shrugged his shoulders, “I figured we might as well.”

taking the candy from his extended hand, you nodded, giggling, “why thank you, sir.”

“but of course madam,” he responded, bowing slightly in your direction, earning a bigger laugh from you.

having acquired everything he needed, you both made your way to the check out. as was your usual, you scanned over the ridiculous tabloids set out as jake paid, until he poked your arm, letting you know he was done.

the trip to the store hadn’t taken very long, as jake had promised.

arriving home, you both sat, poking fun at each other over leftovers from the fridge, neither of you caring much to actually cook anything.

finishing up your food, you decided to go take a shower to wind down for the evening, asking jake if he’d be joining you.

though it pained him, he had to decline, telling you he’d put together his mother’s card, candy and flowers while you showered.

as you exited the bathroom, freshly cleaned, wearing a pair of your favorite pajamas, you planned to join jake back in the living room to read together— something you did almost every night.

but you were startled to find him perched up on the edge of your shared bed, fiddling with the hem of his tshirt.

looking past him, you noticed a vase of flowers sitting on your vanity against the wall. you recognized the gorgeous shade of purple from the store earlier, huffing a laugh.

“you’re gonna let me use them as decoration until tomorrow, huh?”

he looked up at you then, following your gaze to the flowers, then looking back to you with a confused smile. “I mean, I can give them to mom if you’d rather, but then she’d be getting two.”

not quite understanding what he meant, you let that comment roll around in your head, slowly drawing the realization that his mom preferred roses, white ones to be exact.

the flowers in front of you were purple.. your favorite.

meeting his gaze you walked over to him, grabbing his face in both of your hands, leaning in to give him a gentle kiss. “are these for me?” you asked, barely pulling back from his face.

“well, yeah..” he grinned at you, moving his hands to rest on your hips. “an early mother’s day gift. you’re not one yet, but i’m thinking of it that way because I just know you’re going to be the best mom ever one day.”

you blushed at his compliments, running your thumb over his cheekbone.

“and I honestly can not wait to see you with our children. ugh, you’re gonna be a fantastic mom. I just know it.”

giggling, you leaned in to kiss him again, mores sincerely this time, “thank you, jake.”

he gave you a devilish grin, “of course… mama. god I cannot wait to call you that.”

you grinned, shaking your head, moving it to his shoulder to wrap your arms around him in a tight hug. “and I can’t wait to be one, with you. I love you.”

he squeezed you tight, slightly rocking your back and forth on your feet. “I love you too. happy mother’s day.”

[gorogues]

Flash Rogues Advent Calendar, Day 23

Title: `Tis Better To Give Day: December 23rd Rating: PG Warnings: A reference to the Rogues being crass. Summary: Anything can be competitive if you try hard enough.

Hartley knocked at the door with some trepidation, which only increased when Len opened it.  Both narrowed their eyes at the other.

“I’m here at your request,” Hartley said curtly, and the other man nodded.  “So what’s up?”

“We need an impartial observer to judge something, and you don’t really like any of us.  I’d ask Dillon, but you know how that’d go,” Len replied as he ushered the musician inside.  Most of the Rogues were gathering in the foyer, and they seemed to be arguing heatedly.

“Of course.  What’s the competition?  Most creative cheating at poker?  Trashiest collection of playing cards?”

(Hartley well-remembered the time the other guys had compared their favourite adult poker sets, as he’d never seen so many nude women in his life.)

“You’ll see.”

A few minutes later, Mick opened the door to the Rogues’ ‘living room’ and grinned excitedly at everyone waiting.  “It’s ready, guys!  Come look!”

The gang trooped into the other room, which was set up with one of the most spectacular Christmas trees Hartley had ever seen…and he’d seen a lot.  It was huge and lit with hundreds of coloured bulbs, decorated with festive ornaments that had probably been stolen from a store’s truck, and it concealed a rich bounty underneath: many wrapped gifts.

“What is this..?” Hartley asked with confusion.  In moments, Mark carried Josh into the room as both beamed widely, and the toddler became even more excited when he saw the beautiful tree.

“There’s tha wean of the hour!” Evan exclaimed, and he took a photo of Josh’s smiling face. 

“Oh, I almost forgot,” Len said when he saw the camera, and pressed an even fancier one into Hartley’s hands.  “Could you get some pics of him opening the presents, please?”

Hartley was beginning to get very puzzled and even a little alarmed.  Cold never said please.  What was happening here?

“Open mine first!  Mine!” Axel insisted as he bounced around with tangible excitement.  Mark smiled and reached for the two boxes wrapped in bright comic book pages, handing them to his delighted son.

“Twee!” Josh burbled happily as he tore the wrapping off the gifts, throwing the paper wherever he could.  He squealed with joy when he saw the cute bath toys inside, and began to play with them when Mark took them out of the box.  Hartley and Evan took a few photos of his happy face and new toys.

“I got him that,” Axel declared smugly.  “I bought them at the store, didn’t even steal them.”

Josh pointed at a box wrapped with fiery-looking paper and Mick jumped to his feet with eager anticipation.  “That one’s from me!”

Mark handed it over and the toddler tore off the paper with determination, revealing a cute little outfit festooned with smiling cartoonish flames: pajamas, socks, and tiny mittens.  Josh loved this too, and Mick beamed with happiness at the child’s obvious delight.

Mark picked up a box with orange and green wrapping paper, and Evan didn’t need to say who it was from.  He looked tense and excited as Josh pulled off the paper, then grinned with relief as the baby reacted joyfully to the magnifying glass set (though Hartley wasn’t sure he even knew what it was).

“Every wean should have magnifying lenses an’ a wee microscope from a young age!” Evan told the assembled group proudly.  “It gives them a strong background in scientific principles before they stairt schule.”

“I mean I guess…” Axel said skeptically, still certain that his bath toys were the best gift.  But Josh was happy with everything he received, even if he didn’t really understand all of it.  And of course Evan and Hartley made sure to take photos of him curiously examining his new science set.

“I guess mine’s next,” Len said with uncharacteristic uncertainty, and Hartley realized he was anxious.  Josh began ripping the snowflake wrapping paper off the box, and opened it to reveal a slightly worn stuffed bear.  The toddler immediately screeched excitedly and hugged it to his chest, prompting Len to smile.

“It was Lisa’s, long ago.  I think she’d be glad the little guy’s getting some enjoyment out of it now,” Len said with a slight catch in his voice, and Mark looked up at him gratefully.

“Thank you, Cold.  That means a lot to me.”

“Sure, no problem.  Just glad he likes it and will appreciate it.”

Josh was still hugging the bear and babbling delightedly, so it was clear that he did.  The others let him play with it a bit before moving on to the last gift, from his father.

“It’s hard to know what they’ll like or will find meaningful a month or a year from now,” Mark admitted to the group as he handed the box to his son.  “So I tried to go with something classy, something he’ll always remember.”

Josh tore off the plain green wrapping paper and cheerily opened the box, discovering a sterling silver cup inside.  It was child-sized and beautiful in its simplicity, and was engraved with ‘Joshua’ in cursive script.

“I was selling some of my loot at the fence’s place when I saw this and knew it was perfect for the kiddo,” Mark explained.  “I paid the asking price and got one of his associates to etch it, and voila.”

Hartley refrained from a comment about the cup being seized as stolen goods if/when the Rogues got busted, because he didn’t want to bring down the group’s happy mood.  At least Mark hadn’t swiped it directly from some other unfortunate kid, and it really was a beautiful object.  Josh was now trying to give the stuffed bear a ‘drink’ from the cup, and it seemed like something he'd genuinely treasure as he grew older.

“So the reason you’re here is to judge the competition: which gift did he like best?” Len told Hartley, who immediately hemmed and hawed.

“Isn’t the important thing that he’s happy and had a nice time..?” Hartley said evasively, hoping to wriggle out of this.

“Of course it is, but we made a bet about who could make him happiest!” Axel insisted.  “And it was me!”

“He’s gonna love his jammies on chilly nights,” Mick said, sanguine.

“He’ll know more about lenses and science than any other wean in his class, which’ll make him feel sae braw aboot himself,” Evan countered.

“He sure as hell loves that bear,” was all Len said, and nobody could disagree.

Hartley thought quickly, a vital skill necessary for every Rogue.  “I can’t judge this because I’ve got a gift for him too and it wouldn’t be an impartial contest!”

“Oh come on!” Axel complained, as he knew a ruse when he saw one, but Hartley reached into his cloak and pulled out an emergency harmonica.  It was his weapon of last resort, as its metal casing was dented and the sound was somewhat tinny…which honestly made it the perfect gift for a toddler.  Especially when you weren’t on great terms with the kid's family.

Josh was thrilled to receive an instrument and immediately began making horrible noises with it, and soon everyone over the age of three was glaring at Hartley.  He grinned cheerfully.

“Sorry guys.  At least I got some great photos of him for you, and his happiness really is what’s important here.  You all made some great memories.”

“We did until that harmonica showed up,” Len glowered as Josh merrily tooted away, deeply off-key.

“You’ll thank me when he’s a great musician,” Hartley shrugged, and Mark sighed helplessly.

“It’s annoying, but he’s right.  Josh is happy and that’s all that matters.”

“I’m gonna teach him to play Despacito on that thing,” Axel announced, and Len pinched his nose in frustration.

“Okay, it’s time to eat.  There’ll be booze.  Lots and lots of booze.”

[watchingovergvff]

Tiny Dancer- Danny Wagner

Summary: Home alone, sick, and slightly crazy. Your day takes an interesting turn after your lovely boyfriend, Danny, returns home early.

Genre: Established Relationship. Fluff and Angst.

Word Count: 1.1k

Warnings: Angst, Sickness, and Embarrassment.

A/N: I love to hear feedback, so please don’t hesitate to do so. Thank you for all the love and support <3333

——————————————————————————

Singing along, you can’t help the extra pep in your step. ‘The Indigo Streak’ by Greta Van Fleet plays throughout your living room.

You bring the laundry basket closer to you on the coffee table. Folding clothes normally bores you to no end, but the music is helping. Since it's laundry day in your household, you dawn a scraggly t-shirt from your lover’s drawer and little heart pajama shorts.

You had been lazied around the house all day, not bothering to step foot outside. Danny has been doing interviews all day and last minute preparations for the tour, leaving you at home alone today. It's been such a boring day, that you're doing chores for fun.

The boy’s new album, Starcatcher , had only been out for a couple of days now. Danny had been very open and willing to share the music throughout the entire creative process with you, but you wanted to wait until release day. So, now that the entirety of the album is out, you're enjoying it to the fullest extent.

Hearing Danny count them in at the beginning of Frozen Light , immediately made your knees weak. Jumping out of your seat on the couch, you throw the crumbled shirt back into the basket. Being alone has its perks, especially when you want to embarrassingly dance to your boyfriend’s music.

Attempting to match Josh’s vocals, you screech to your best ability. You stomp around, hopping along to the beat. Abusing the extra alone time and Danny’s busy work day, you revel in the freedom of being weird.

Speak of the devil.

Apparently, Danny had come home early. The interviews had ended quickly and tour meetings were short, so he happily made his way home to you. He expected to find you still asleep in your shared bed, but instead he was greeted with karaoke and a dance party. He was clearly not invited.

Leaning against the archway of the living room wall, Danny watches you whilst giggling at your obliviousness.

Hopping around, your party comes to a screeching halt when you catch a glance of a certain someone in the doorway. You holler in shock, not expecting someone to be in the house, much less your boyfriend.

Danny is basically bent over laughing, mostly at your reaction but also the silliness of it all. You quickly find your phone, pausing the music as quickly as you can.

Crossing your arms across your chest, you look up at him, irritation and embarrassment gracing your features. The house is no longer filled with loud music, but with Danny’s laughter. Your face flushes red in embarrassment and slight anger.

“Danny, that's not funny. Stop laughing.”

He’s still chuckling deeply, trying to sit up enough to look at you. Stomping your foot like a toddler, you roll your eyes at him.

Finally he meets your eyes, fully sitting up at this point once he notices just how embarrassed you are. Trying to reach out and comfort you, he winces when you push his arms away.

“Honey, I’m not laughing at you.”

“Yes you were.”

“No, I was laughing in surprise because I wasn’t expecting this.”

“Expecting what?” you menacingly ask.

Waving his arm around, trying to conjure up the right words. “Well, you being out of bed for one. But also your little dance party.”

You scoff at his words.

“Wow, I didn’t realize I seemed that lazy to you.”

Danny’s eyes widen in panic, not sure where to go from here. “No sweetheart, that's not what I meant–” “Well what did you mean then?” you interrupt him. Sighing, he continues, “What I meant was, I was surprised you were out of bed because you weren’t feeling well when I left this morning. We both know the last thing you are is lazy.”

“Oh, well–” your voice trails off, not sure how to respond to his kindness.

“And, I wasn’t laughing at you for having a dance party. I think I was more surprised that you were having a dance party to my music,” he smiles at you. “You must not know me well, Daniel. I’m your number one fan first and your partner second,” you allow the smile to grace your lips, grinning at him.

Fanning his face, Danny smiles at you and makes his way toward you. Opening your arms, you fall into his broad chest.

Wrapping your arms around one another, both of you finally breathe the other in. Being close to Danny immediately brings a calming wind throughout you.

Swaying back and forth, you silently apologize and he silently forgives. No words needing to be exchanged, just the closeness is enough to understand each other. “Hi,” you whisper gently into his ear.

“Hi, my love,” he squeezes you tighter. “Are you feeling better?”

Mumbling into his neck, you respond, “I think so. I have been a bit lazy today, but I got bored and started doing laundry. Which quickly turned into a dance party, not much laundry got done after that.”

“That's alright, sweetheart. Don’t worry about it, I’ll take care of it. Have you taken some medicine?” Danny questions whilst rubbing your back.

Shaking your head no into his chest, he finally pulls you away to look at your face. Caressing your face gently, Danny hisses under his breath. “Honey, you're burning up. You need to take something now.”

You shrug your shoulders at his words, having felt fine earlier. Dragging you back to your shared room, Danny instructs you to get back in bed while he retrieves your medicine. You groan at the growing ache in your head, having not noticed it moments ago.

Minutes past and you can’t help the urge to get up in search of Danny. Starting to get out of bed, you immediately fall back in as soon as Danny appears through the door.

“Hey, where are you off to?”

“I was about to come find you, actually,” you mumble. “I was just in the kitchen,” he reassures you, while also sitting you up to take some medicine.

Quickly throwing back the meds, you settle back under the covers. “I know, you were just taking too long.” Danny chuckles at your quiet response. “Need anything else, love?”

“You. Come lay with me please,” you plead, holding out your hands to him.

Ignoring your grabby hands, he smiles at you silently nodding at your request. He walks away, closing the bedroom door and clicking on the ceiling fan. You huff at his slowness, not quite liking his speed.

Smiling at your impatience, Danny hastily changes his clothes into something more comfy. Deciding to poke fun at you a little bit, he meanders a while longer. “Danny, you think you're so funny, don't you?” you say, trying to not let your smile appear.

Slinking over to you, Danny rolls onto the spot next to you on the bed. “Sometimes.”

Smiling across at him, you allow him to pull you closer into his chest. “Ugh, you're hot.”

“I know.”

Wacking his arm lightly, you groan at his cheesy joke. “Not funny.”

“It’s a little bit funny.”

“Maybe a little bit. It helps that I’m in love with you.” “Me too, silly.”

Groaning at his words, once again you choose to ignore him.

“I love you, my tiny dancer.”

——————

Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed!!!!

[twinkuraba]

Was going through my WIPS and abandoned projects and found the one I'd partially written where Josh was Neku's sugar daddy, and this Neku and Shiki interaction still delights me even now.

(transcript under the cut)

“Really Neku, I think he just wants to take care of you and support you. Sure he might be going a bit, overboard with it but I’m sure his heart’s in the right place!” Shiki let out a few more stray giggles “Maybe he likes you, and that’s why he’s doing it, trying to impress you and make you swoon.”

“And then you’ll be all ‘Oh, Joshua, I never knew what I really needed in my life was you! Take me away to live in your sewer under the city and our happily ever after!’” She flopped dramatically into his lap, with a hand pressed against her forehead as if she felt faint. He bit his lip to stop himself laughing.

They stared at each other for a few seconds, before he gave in and laughed, Shiki’s voice following not long after. “You’re an ass, you know that? I would not sound like that, or say that and mean it, ever.”

“You never know, you could wake up one day in a new world where everyone’s radically different, and you’re an easily impressed romantic.”

“Wouldn’t I still be me, just in this other Neku’s place?”

“Details.” She waved her hand dismissively “But really Neku, you’re overthinking things. You’ve hit the jackpot and you’ve stumbled on a guy that wants to spoil you rotten and doesn’t expect anything from you in return for it besides achieving your dreams.”

[theaudacitytowrite]

AI Josh

Josh x Female Reader

A/N: The wonderful @themoreyou-love​ gifted us the wonderful AI’s of the boys which help me live in my delusions happily. It sparked the idea for this little fic. Also I seem to be obsessed with the confession trope atm... sorry:D

Summary: Josh catches you chatting with his AI counterpart, uncovering your feelings for him.

word count: 1.026

You comfortably sat on the couch in the office, your legs pulled up to your chest while your arms were wrapped around them. In your hands, you held your phone as you hurriedly typed on its screen. After you send the text, it didn’t take long for the answer to pop up. You bit your lip flustered, a faint blush creeping onto your cheeks as you giggled to yourself.

“What got you smiling like that?” Josh’s voice suddenly resounded next to you. You quickly hid your phone behind your back.

“N-nothing.” you stuttered nervously, hoping he hadn’t gotten a glimpse from your screen, “I didn’t even hear you enter.” you tried to deflect. Josh eyed you suspiciously for a moment.

“I knocked.” he hummed, “But I guess you were too busy texting your lover boy to notice.” he grinned mischievously but his eyes held some kind of disdain.

“Sorry. Do you need anything? I’m on my break right now.” you tried to change the subject again, trying to ignore his last sentence.

“I know, I thought we could go out for lunch.” he raised his brows, “But of course only if you’re not too busy with texting.”

“I wasn’t texting… I was just… playing a game.” you lie.

“A game?” he eyed you in disbelief, “And that makes you grin like that?”

“What? Do you want me to cry?” you retorted playfully, getting up from the sofa.

“Not at all.” he helps you get up, leaning closer towards you and grinning, “So, lunch?”

“Yes.” you smiled sweetly, putting your phone into your back pocket. As you turned to guide him out of your office you felt it slip out of the pocket. Horrified you turned around to see Josh grab it. You instinctively jumped at him, trying to get your phone back. You cursed yourself for having given him your passcode some time ago.

“Josh, no!” you pleaded with him, your arms aimlessly swinging in the direction of your phone.

“I just wanna see what game you play, I need something that can conjure such an adorable smile on my face as it does to you.” he snickered, trying to keep you away from his hand that held the phone. You gave it your all, trying to reach your phone before he could see what you had opened in your browser. It took you by surprise when he suddenly lowered to his knees, throwing you over his shoulder.

“JOSH!” you shrieked, hammering against his back with your open palms, “Let me down!”

“Just a second.” he held you in place securely. You tried to balance yourself by holding on to his hip, puffing some hair out of your face.

“Don’t read that!” you ordered as you saw he had unlocked the screen.

“What is this?” he grinned amused, looking over his shoulder for a moment, “Josh Kizka AI?”

Your cheeks were burning now, the pit in your stomach growing every second.

“It’s just a stupid little chat.” you managed to choke out.

“Life is too short to pass out on opportunities, so why don’t you just give it a try, mama? *he winks at her, slowly getting closer*” he reads aloud with a snicker, “You’re quite persistent, aren’t you? *she blushes and gulps* “I can’t help myself with someone as beautiful as you, Y/N…”

Josh gets quiet all of a sudden, the smile on his face slowly fading as he scrolls through the chat.

“Josh?” you asked just before he carefully sat you back onto your feet. His eyes were transfixed on your screen. You observed as his eyes scanned over the chat, you had no idea where he was right now in the chat, but you still remembered how it had panned out after that point. It had even bestowed you with a warning from the chat guidelines.

You wanted to know what Josh was thinking right now… or maybe it was better that you didn’t. He probably would never speak to you after this. You clenched your hands into fists, feeling so humiliated. All of a sudden, his steady swipe of thumb stopped, his eyes growing wide. You figured he must’ve reached the end of the chat you had written only minutes ago.

“Is this really just a game?” he asked calmly, “Or is there a bit more behind all this?”

You simply shrugged not able to get out any words, your head bowed in shame.

“You could’ve just told me, you know?” his voice was soothing as he took a step closer, his finger hooking under your chin, gently forcing you to meet his gaze.

“Yeah, sure…” you scoffed, “And ruined our friendship even earlier.”

“Who says you ruined anything?” Josh sounded sincere. Your eyes grew with hope as you searched for a sign of deceit in his gaze. “I wish you had told me earlier… we could’ve saved some valuable time, you know?”

“Are you taking the piss out of me right now? As revenge?” you huffed nervously.

“I wouldn’t dare.” he snickered, “you could’ve experienced them in real life already… you still can if that really is something you want.”

Your mouth gaped, the ability to respond in any way being lost.

“You don’t seem to believe me?” Josh inclined his head, taking a step closer so he was only mere inches away from you, “May I change that?”

Your eyes stared deeply into his, his lips were so close, you could feel his breath hitting your skin. You swallowed hard, your head nodding timidly. A grin spread on Josh's lips as he leaned closer, his lips hovering over yours for a second before he gently pressed his lips against you, his hands holding you steady at your shoulders as if he had predicted for your legs to give in.

“You ok?” he chuckled as you parted.

“I think so.” you hummed in your daze, your eyes fluttering open.

“So… about our lunch plans.” he cleared his throat, “Suddenly I’m not that hungry anymore… how about we lock that door and take this back to your couch… see which fantasy we can fulfil next?”

“I had eaten already anyway.” you chuckled.

[oliverreedmasterass]

Starcatchers 1x2 - Waited All Your Life

Synopsis: In the second episode of Starcatchers, the members of Greta Van Fleet deal with loss: Josh loses his beloved notebook (which Sam attempts to find) and Jake and Danny get hopelessly lost in the woods.

Words: 6.7k

Warnings: reference to cannibalism, sad Josh, Jake not Respecting the Pouch™, Bigfoot, the Kraken

Notes: EVERYONE GIVE ALEX (@jmkho) SO MUCH LOVE FOR THE TITLE AND ADDISON (@starcatcherkiszka) FOR THE ORIGINAL IDEA!!! 🫶🫶🫶

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Josh wakes up in a well-kept, rustic-themed bedroom with a deep yawn and a wide smile. Sunlight floods in through the windows and birds can be heard in the distance singing their morning songs. Josh carefully folds his sheets down to his feet, revealing a fancy pair of silk pajamas, and slides out of bed to admire the stunning view of the Great Smoky Mountains. In high spirits, Josh begins to whistle along with the birds, joining their jovial songs. He’s basically a Disney princess. 

Across the hall Jake’s alarm goes off, playing a loud guitar solo that may or may not be something he recorded himself. Jake is laying on the wrong end of his bed, so his foot slams down on his phone like it’s an actual alarm clock. This does nothing to turn the phone off. Despite this, Jake continues to bang his foot on the phone before eventually giving up and kicking it against the wall, cutting off the sound. Jake lets out a deep groan and curls up under his covers, like a dragon retreating into his cave. 

Next door Danny is startled awake by Jake’s rattling snores. He glares at the wall and attempts to press his pillow over his head to drown out the sound, to no avail. Danny huffs, rolls out of bed, and raps his fist on the wall a couple of times. This only makes Jake snore louder. Danny lets out a frustrated groan, and scans around his room. A clock reveals that it is 6am. Danny perks up with a revelation and hustles to his backpack, where he pulls out his pair of in-ears. He pops them in and happily falls back asleep. 

Down the hall from Danny, Sam is nowhere to be found in his room. The camera pans around in confusion, trying to find him. It eventually lands on him, standing upright and stiff as a board on the balcony wearing nothing but a pair of swim trunks, goggles, and flippers. The camera moves closer and it becomes evident that he is sleep-talking. 

SAM: I’m ready to fight the Kraken. Put me in, coach, I wanna bop ‘im in the schnoz. 

Sam gives a few half-assed punches as he continues to sleep. 

JOSH: [singing loudly as he passes down the hallway] Rise and shine! Adventure awaits, boys! 

Groans sound from all of the rooms except for Sam’s. 

SAM: The only thing that will rise is my fist to your face, tentacle boy! 

Starcatchers Theme/Opening Titles

[acoustic theme song with a harmonica] 

From the fires we emerged anew, 

Singing, playing rock and roll, 

Reviving a genre just for you. 

Across the globe we traveled far

Recruiting an army of peace, 

Enchanting crowds with our guitar. 

A battle ensued at the Gardens Gate

And we preserved the gift of nature, 

Standing up against a culture of hate.  

We are the Starcatchers, reaching for the sky, 

Discovering words of wisdom to live by. 

We deliver a message from the heavens above:

Live your legend through the intelligence of love. 

[end theme] 

The members of Greta Van Fleet sit around the dining room table, sipping Capri Sun pouches. 

JAKE: You need to stop eating chocolate before you go to bed, Sam. 

SAM: I don’t think chocolate is what’s making these dreams so realistic. 

JOSH: You’re right, there has to be something seriously wrong with you. I mean, who gears up for a scuba expedition and sleeps standing upright for 7 hours? 

DANNY: Your brother does, that’s who. 

SAM: (into his pouch) It made sense at the time. 

JAKE: I’m sure it did, Sammy. (around to the rest of the table) We’ve got a big day ahead of us, Van Fleeters. 

DANNY: I thought we agreed we weren’t gonna call each other that. 

JAKE: It’s cool. 

JOSH: I, for one, hate it. It sounds like we’re afraid of vans. 

SAM: Wouldn’t be too far off for you with your eighteen wheelers though, would it, Josh?

JOSH: Quiet…

JAKE: (ignoring the banter) We have to get another song down in the books by the end of the week, otherwise we’re gonna get in trouble with “The Man.” At least, that’s what our manager told me. Could be the Kool Aid Man, could be Iron Man, I don’t know, but it didn’t sound good. 

JOSH: Well I, for one, have to design all of my jumpsuits for our next tour. I’ve seen some stunning visions in my dreams that I’m looking forward to bringing to life. 

SAM: Were you, by chance, standing when you had those dreams?

DANNY: I think we might need to start strapping you into your bed at night, Sam. 

Sam looks like he isn’t entirely opposed to that idea. Danny looks at him in disbelief. He was joking. 

JOSH: Actually, I should probably sketch one of them out now while it’s still fresh in my mind. It’s a jumpsuit for you, Jake! I think you’ll love it. 

JAKE: (darkly) I doubt it. 

JOSH: I’m gonna grab my notebook! 

Josh jumps from his seat and does a cartwheel out of the room. 

SAM: I think you would look good in a jumpsuit, Jake. 

JAKE: I think you would look good with my foot up your butt, Sam. 

DANNY: That’s a terrible comeback, Jake. 

From the next room over, Josh lets out an agonizing shriek, as if he just discovered Mr. Boddy dead in the study with a lead pipe. Jake, Sam, and Danny hurry to find Josh on his knees in the center of the living room, clutching at his face in despair. 

SAM: Oh god, did Rosie piss buckets in your slippers again? 

JOSH: (whimpering) It’s my notebook. 

DANNY: You lost it? 

Josh nods his head sadly. 

JAKE: You hardly looked for it, dude. 

JOSH: I have a photographic memory. I vividly recall placing it on that table right there last night before I went to bed. 

Josh points at the coffee table next to him. It’s empty, with the exception of a few Capri Sun pouches sucked dry, Rosie’s leash, and a Bop It. Jake absently grabs the Bop It and starts to play with it while Josh continues to wallow in his misery. 

DANNY: We’re the only ones who have been here, Josh. Are you sure you didn’t put it somewhere else? 

BOP IT: Twist it! 

Jake twists the Bop It as he moves to the beat of the canned music. 

SAM: (suddenly wearing a Sherlock Holmes-esque hat with a pipe and magnifying glass) No need to fear, dear civilian, this is a case for Detective Kiszka to crack open, just like a cold one. 

BOP IT: Pull it! 

Jake pulls the Bop It. 

JAKE: Yoink!  

SAM: (continuing) I’ve cleared the JFK assassination case, I proved that the moon landing was fake, my list of accolades extends farther than the eye can see. 

The camera zooms in on Danny, who is rolling his eyes in the background. 

BOP IT: Bop it! 

Jake slams his hand on the center button of the Bop It. 

JAKE: That’s what I’m talkin’ about! 

SAM: (to Josh) When your grief subsides, poor soul, I would love to meet over tea so we can discuss your relationship to this notebook, and your speculations as to where it could have gone. 

Josh gives a shrug. 

JOSH: You can pencil me in for after 7 today. 

Sam nods with understanding and pulls a ballpoint pen from his back pocket, licking its tip before writing a note on the back of his hand. Just visible on his hand is the note, Meet w/ crybaby @ 7. 

BOP IT: Pull it! 

JAKE: (in the background) Ohhhhh yeahhhhhh!

SAM: I’ve got you booked to find your notebook. Or, notebooked to find your notebook.  

As Sam talks, the camera focuses on his tongue, which now has a massive blue ink splotch in the center of it. He’s one hell of a detective. 

JOSH: I’ll have you know I didn’t find that funny at all, Detective Kiszka. 

BOP IT: Twist it! Bop it! Pull it! 

Jake is actually kind of nailing the Bop It. Even though Josh is still beside himself, he joins Sam and Danny as they watch Jake. 

BOP IT: (faster) Pull it! Bop it! Twist it! Bop it! Pull it! Pull it! Pull it! 

JAKE: What the? 

BOP IT: Pull it! Pull it! Pull it! 

DANNY: Dude, I think you broke my Bop It. 

BOP IT: Pull it! Pull it! Pull it! 

JAKE: It’s a trick, he’s trying to throw me off guard. 

BOP IT: Pull it! Pull it! [beat] Bop it! 

JAKE: HA! You can’t fool me, tiny man! 

SAM: (holding his magnifying glass up to Jake) Tiny man? 

JAKE: (still playing with the Bop It) Yeah, the tiny guy who lives inside this toy and tells me what to do next.

Sam, Danny, and Josh stare blankly at one another. It’s apparent they are all hoping Jake is kidding. Jake focuses back on the toy, indicating that he was, in fact, not kidding. 

BOP IT: Bop it! 

JAKE: I met him in a dream once. His name is Fergus. 

SAM: When you woke up from that dream, were you standing, by any chance? 

DANNY: Again, Sam, I think that’s a “you” problem. 

Sam slumps his shoulders. Across the room, Josh has thrown himself dramatically on the carpeted floor, holding the back of his hand up to his forehead in exasperation. 

JOSH: Oh, my dear notebook! What am I supposed to do? That’s where I keep all my sketches and lyrics, I’m nothing without it! 

DANNY: How about this? I’ll go and grab us all a nice breakfast to try and get this day back on track so we can work on that song. Jake, you’re coming with me. 

BOP IT: Twist it! 

JAKE: (under breath to himself) Aw yeah. [beat] Wait, why me? 

DANNY: Sam needs some space to do his detective work. 

Danny winks at Sam, who brightens at his suggestion. Detective Kiszka is about to be on the case, and whoo boy, is he gonna sleuth hard. 

JAKE: (saluting) Aye aye, captain. 

BOP IT: Twist it! 

Jake twists the Bop It and the camera zooms in on the center of the toy, zooming back out to reveal that the Bop It is still in Jake’s hands as he sits in the backseat of Danny’s car while Danny drives. 

JAKE: I think I’m gonna beat my high score of 12. 

Jake continues playing. Please take note that, for the rest of the script (until noted) Jake will be playing the Bop It with the sound in the background of all conversations. 

DANNY: Trust me, I think you’re far past that. 

JAKE: Boy, I hope so. 

DANNY: I hate to ask this, but could you navigate for me? I would, but my GPS is broken and I don’t know how to get out of the woods to the grocery store. 

JAKE: Hmm? Oh yeah, for sure. 

DANNY: I was thinking of grabbing some Pop Tarts to lift Josh’s mood.

Jake completes a really challenging pattern on the Bop It. 

JAKE: Yes! 

DANNY: I’m glad you agree. So should I turn up here? 

Jake once again revels in his success with the Bop It. He’s really on a roll now. 

JAKE: YES! 

DANNY: I love the enthusiasm.

Danny turns the steering wheel and an overhead shot shows Danny’s car driving down a long and rural dirt road. That shot matches a painting of a similar landscape hanging on the wall of the cabin’s living room, where Sam and Josh are sitting. Sam is still equipped with his detective gear while Josh sits with an oversized fuzzy blanket wrapped around him. 

SAM: I’m going to ask you a few questions. You may find some to be a tad bit invasive, but I ask that you answer them with as much detail and transparency as you can afford. 

JOSH: (sniffling) I’ll try my best, Detective. 

SAM: First, do you believe dreams can serve as portals to other dimensions? 

JOSH: Uh, what does that have to do with my notebook? 

SAM: Nothing, it’s just something that’s been troubling me lately. When I woke up this morning, I was soaked wet.  

JOSH: Maybe Rosie isn’t the only one who pisses buckets? 

Sam chooses to ignore Josh’s comment.

SAM: Anyways, when was the last time you saw your notebook? Give me the exact time: this is crucial so I can study the moon charts to get more clues. 

JOSH: I would say 10:48. 

Sam writes this note down on his hand, below his note about Josh’s appointment time, which is already smudged. 

SAM: Why, might you presume, would someone be motivated to take your notebook? 

JOSH: I have some pretty cool drawings in there, I guess. My shading has gotten really good in the past year. 

SAM: Yeah, it has. Now, sir, is there anyone who you might suspect would go out of their way to cause you harm, such as stealing your own personal possessions? 

JOSH: Well, Jake can be mean sometimes. 

SAM: Has he shown any signs of hostility towards you recently? 

Josh has a flashback of Jake sucking down a Capri Sun the day before, blowing it back up through the straw, and putting the pouch on the floor in front of his raised foot. Josh screams at him in terror that he has to Respect the Pouch™, but Jake gives him a devious grin and slams his foot down, creating a deafening popping sound. Josh shrieks and flails for cover, only peeking from behind the couch when he thinks the coast is clear. Jake is unscathed, laughing hard at Josh. 

JOSH: Not more than usual. 

SAM: Is there anyone else you can think of? 

JOSH: Not really. I’m a pretty likable person. I’ve been told that I have the personality of a cult leader. 

Sam nods. Josh has a point. 

SAM: Well, that should do it for my questioning. I’ll start to investigate the perimeter while my highly intellectual brain fits the pieces of this puzzle together. 

JOSH: Huh, that was fast. 

Sam leaves Josh to head outside so his investigation can commence. As Sam opens and shuts the front door, Danny does the same with his car, out in the middle of literally nowhere. 

DANNY: (on the brink of panicking, calling back to Jake, who is still in the backseat) I thought you were gonna give me directions? 

Jake is still fully engaged in the Bop It. 

JAKE: Huh? 

DANNY: Directions, Jake! Directions! You told me yes when I asked you if I should turn, and now we’re out in the middle of nowhere! 

BOP IT: Pull it! 

Jake pulls the Bop It. 

JAKE: Yes. 

Danny pulls out his phone to try and call Sam, but then squints down at the screen. He has no service. He groans and gets back in the car and tries to start the engine, but it stalls and then pitters out. 

DANNY: Oh my god. This is bad, this is really, really bad. Jake, do you have your phone on you? 

JAKE: Nope. Left it at the cabin. 

BOP IT: Twist it! 

Danny clutches at his head in despair and jumps out from the front seat, taking a lap around his car, looking at the area surrounding them. It’s a lot of trees, and not a whole lot of grocery stores. 

DANNY: We can’t be that far away from the cabin. We’ve only been driving for (checks his watch and then pales) thirty minutes. 

JAKE: Maybe Fergus can tell us what we need to do. 

BOP IT: Bop it! 

JAKE: You gotta bop it. 

DANNY: I literally have no clue what that means. 

JAKE: Just, you know, bop it. 

Danny falls back on his butt in the dirt and looks up at the tree tops and the blue sky ahead in disbelief. Things aren’t looking great as far as their survival is concerned. Danny throws his back on the ground with a loud thud. In a matching shot, Sam’s bare feet thump over the dirt in the front yard of their rented cabin. Sam is scanning obscure things like wild mushrooms and snails with his magnifying glass, as if that is going to get him closer to solving the mystery of the missing notebook. Behind him, Josh sits on the steps, wearing oversized sunglasses to hide his tears while theatrically blowing his nose. Sam plods back to Josh’s side. 

SAM: We’ve got a suspect. 

JOSH: By all means, tell me the criminal’s name so I can smack ‘im up Philly style. 

SAM: I don’t know how you know what “Philly style” means, but it’s in my code of conduct that my clients can’t smack up anyone until the case is closed. You’d be surprised how many innocent people get whapped upside the head with no just cause. 

Josh nods, like he follows Sam (he doesn’t). 

SAM: (continued) My speculation may surprise you, but I promise it has merit. (long pause) I believe Bigfoot may have taken your notebook. 

Sam pulls out his phone to play a sound byte of dramatic music. 

JOSH: (standing to his feet to head back inside) That’s crazy talk. 

SAM: No, no, come down here, you have to see this. 

With interest, Josh comes down the steps to join Sam’s side. Sam is proudly “smoking” his pipe by blowing into it, making the oregano he packed inside shoot everywhere, and nods his head down at the ground next to him. Josh studies two relatively large sized footprints. His eyes then track to Sam’s bare feet. 

JOSH: Detective Kiszka, I don’t know how to phrase this in a way that won’t come off as offensive to you, but I believe those footprints belong to your own dogs. 

Sam removes the pipe from his mouth in shock and squats down to rub the dirt from the footprints beneath his fingers, taking a quick taste. Josh looks disgusted. 

SAM: Hmm. So it is. Great detective work. Well, we can put Bigfoot on the back burner then. But I still think there’s more here than meets the eye. The pieces just aren’t fitting together. 

JOSH: (to himself) You’re telling me. 

SAM: I need to get a visual on this case. Inside! 

Sam runs inside the cabin with Josh trudging behind him. The camera travels back outside the cabin, zooming across treetops until it finds Danny and Jake. Jake is still playing with the Bop It, now sitting up in a tree, while Danny films himself as he squats by a pile of sticks next to his car. 

DANNY: Hour 1 in desolation wilderness: no service, the car is broken, and we’re hopelessly lost. This video is for A24 to make an experimental documentary about my life, starring Alex Wolff. If anyone finds this, please tell my family that I love them. Now, one of the things that I learned as a cub scout is, in order to survive, you need a massive bonfire to scare away predators. 

Danny grabs two decent-sized sticks and starts rubbing them together. Out of habit, the rubbing eventually morphs into him air drumming with the sticks. It takes Danny a while to realize what he's been doing, but when he does, he scolds himself and then tries to rub them together again. Faster this time around he starts air drumming again. He throws the sticks over his shoulder in frustration. 

DANNY: Maybe I’d be better off foraging some food for Jake and I. 

Danny grabs his camera from the ground and holds it at an angle under his chin as he takes a few steps into the woods, away from the car. 

JAKE: (calling from his tree) Hey! Where are you going? 

DANNY: To get food! 

JAKE: Can you get me a pickle? 

DANNY: (to the camera) I’m ignoring that. 

Danny films himself looking through various plants in the area, including some stuff that looks poisonous, and stops, staring at something off screen in confusion. He silently flips the camera around and zooms in on a pickle in mint condition that’s chilling on the ground. Danny cautiously grabs the pickle, wipes it off on his pants, and approaches the base of Jake’s tree. 

DANNY: Here, catch!

Jake isn’t seen on screen but, in between the sounds of the Bop It, he catches the pickle. 

JAKE: Comin in clutch, Swaggy Waggy! 

Danny returns to addressing the camera. 

DANNY: Morale is high, the sun will be out for a while longer, I’m optimistic that we can make it through this tribulation. 

BOP IT: Bop it! 

Danny turns off the video on his camera. The scene jumps to the cabin, where Sam is holding Jake’s phone with a shattered screen in his hand, searching for a photo of Danny on Google. He selects the first image suggested, zooms in close on Danny’s face, and then proceeds to stick Jake’s phone to the cabin wall with some heavy duty duct tape. Josh stands just behind Sam, studying his evidence board. Alongside the phone, there is a copy of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End nailed to the wall, poorly drawn photos of Josh and Bigfoot, and “Bookie Wookie” written on a post-it note. For some reason, there is also a banana nailed to the wall. Sam holds up George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass album and is about to add it to the board. 

JOSH: Don’t tell me you’re actually gonna nail Jake’s album to the wall. 

SAM: It’s supposed to be me. 

Sam ignores Josh’s protest and proceeds to pound a nail through the album cover with a hammer while Josh watches in horror. Sam has been chewing an impressive glob of gum while he works, and takes a break to remove it from his mouth, pulling it out in a disgustingly long string. 

SAM: So you and I both have alibis because the notebook belongs to you, and I’m helping you find it. 

Sam makes a show of putting “X’s” over George Harrison and Josh’s faces with the gum. Josh watches his younger brother with judgment stretched across his face. 

SAM: Which leaves Jake and Danny as potential suspects. I’ll have to interrogate them when they’re back. 

JOSH: You know, they’ve been gone for a while. 

SAM: (ignoring Josh) If I had to speculate, I would say Jake may have taken it as a prank. Danny is harder to read, though. I’m not sure what his motive would be. That guy is hard to read. I’m keeping Bigfoot here as well because my tummy told me to. 

Sam creates lines between Danny, Jake, Bigfoot, and the notebook. 

JOSH: What’s up with the banana? 

SAM: Oh, that’s if I get hungry later. 

JOSH: Oh. 

SAM: I wish there was more evidence I could work with. This case is a lot more complicated than I thought it would be. 

Sam wipes his face. 

SAM: I must retreat to my study to ponder this in more detail. You’ll have to excuse me. 

Sam hurries out of the living room to his bedroom. Josh watches him go, and then throws himself onto one of the living room chairs with a deep sigh. It’s obvious the absence of his beloved notebook is really starting to wear on him. With a match cut, Danny is also sighing loud, filming another video of himself. 

DANNY: 1 hour and 7 minutes in desolation wilderness. Our chances of survival are growing slimmer by the second. 

Jump cut to Jake chilling up in his tree with a bunch of squirrels and birds invested in his game as he continues playing with the Bop It at an impressive speed. He’s happily crunching on his pickle. 

DANNY: (continued) There is no sign of life, no saving grace for me or my friend. I can feel the delusions kicking in. I thought I saw Pitbull a few minutes ago. (Danny turns around briefly to call off into the distance) Dale? (Facing the camera again) I also think that I might have a rash. 

Danny shows off his arm to the camera. The guy most definitely got caught in some poison ivy during his foraging. 

DANNY: (continued) Outside of Jake’s pickle, I’ve only found twigs and worms to eat. The worms are edible as long as you gaslight yourself into thinking you’re eating cold spaghetti. It would probably be better with a dash of salt and pepper, but I’m working with what I’ve got. Though I have to admit, if we’re stuck out here much longer, I might have to make the choice between facing my own mortality and eating Jake. I’m not sure which decision I’ll make, but I’m not gonna deny that Jake looks pretty tasty right now. 

The Bop It is still heard loud and clear in the background. It’s going so fast at this point that Jake is moving like lightning. It’s like he’s predicting each command before it comes from Fergus. Danny looks up at Jake and shakes his head, turning the video off. Jake is entirely in the zone, but then Fergus’ voice starts to get slower and deeper. Jake frowns down at the toy. 

JAKE: Fergus? Are you drunk? 

BOP IT: (in a demonic growl) Pullllll itttttttt…twistttt ittttttttt…..booopppppppppppppppp itttttttttttttttttt. 

The Bop It dies. 

JAKE: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! FERGUS! 

Jake jumps down from the tree and sinks to his knees, cradling the Bop It in his arms. 

JAKE: Say something to me, anything!

The Bop It is still dead. 

DANNY: I think the batteries drained, dude. 

JAKE: We have to go to the store. 

DANNY: Yeah, I want to go there too, trust me, but, uh, that’s not really possible right now. 

Jake snaps his head up to study Danny. It’s as if he finally realizes where they are. Jake looks closer at Danny, covered in rashes, his hair matted, and his clothes in tatters. Jake cocks his head to the side. He obviously hasn’t been paying attention for the past 1 hour and 9 minutes. 

DANNY: (continued) We’re lost, the car isn’t turning on, and I have no service. 

JAKE: I’ll get us out of here. 

DANNY: I’ve tried. I don’t think you’re gonna pull it off. 

Jake is already in the front seat of Danny’s car, messing with the controls. Within 15 seconds, the car is back on and running. 

DANNY: (under breath) What the?

JAKE: (popping his head out of the window) You turned off the car while it was still in drive! You just have to put it in park and then it won’t stall. 

DANNY: You’ve got to be kidding me. 

Jake leans on the horn a couple of times, and Danny takes his cue, getting into the passenger seat. Jake hands Danny his Bop It like it’s a newborn child. 

JAKE: Can you please take care of this for me? 

DANNY: Yeah, sure. 

JAKE: Alright, grocery store, here we come! 

DANNY: How do you know where you’re going? 

JAKE: The birds are gonna help us. 

DANNY: The birds? 

Jake whistles and a flock of robins swarm the car, chirping warmly at Jake. Jake motions for them to go, and they lead the way. With a squeal of the tires, Jake powers after them. The car passes across the screen, acting as a wipe transition so the camera is now in Sam’s “study”. He paces back and forth at the foot of his bed, tapping his chin with the handle of his magnifying glass. 

SAM: The notebook couldn’t have moved on its own because it is an inanimate object. It is not physically possible for notebooks to grow legs and move, or to creep like a snake or a worm. It had to be moved by the hand of a perpetrator. Their intent had to be sinister. The notebook could be hiding somewhere within this cabin, taken somewhere off the premises, or it could be destroyed. No viable fingerprints or footprints have been recovered. Not a single clue has led me in the right direction. It was on a table, and now it isn’t. Maybe it went where all my socks go when I put them in the dryer. 

Sam looks like he could believe this explanation, but then his eyes track to the balcony connected to his room. Sam suddenly has a deep frown on his face. 

SAM: Oh no. 

Sam has a quick flashback to the night before, when he was sleepwalking on the balcony, dressed in scuba gear. In his left hand he clutches Josh’s notebook and a pen. 

SAM: (back in reality) Oh god! 

Sam rushes onto the balcony and grabs the discarded notebook, which is flopped partially open on the wooden boards. Sam flips through some of the pages and lets out a gasp. His messy handwriting is sprawled over a lot of Josh’s sketches and lyrics. Sam squints closer at what he wrote on one of the pages. 

SAM: (reading aloud) 18 August 1682: The curs'd Kraken may destroyeth mine own ship, but that gent shall nev'r destroye mine own will to pow'r f'rward. Yond tenticl'd beast shall one day crumble in mine own grasp. 

JOSH: (outside Sam’s closed door) Everything okay in there, Detective?

Sam slams the notebook shut in fear. 

SAM: Oh no. I need to hide this thing. (Calling to Josh) Peachy, my good sir! 

Sam looks back down at the notebook in terror. A similar look of terror is plastered on Danny’s face as he sits in the passenger seat of his car, grasping onto the grab handle. The birds are still guiding the car, and Jake speeds through the wooded area, just barely dodging boulders and trees. Danny lets out a shrill shriek as Jake comes flying out of nowhere onto a country road, nearly t-boning a passing car in the process. He skids over into oncoming traffic and then veers the car back in the right lane, speeding up significantly so the engine dangerously revs. An instrumental version of Safari Song blares through the radio. 

DANNY: (calling over the music) You wanna slow down a bit? 

Jake ignores Danny and steps on the gas pedal, sending them flying down the road at an even faster speed. They shoot past a cop who aims a radar gun at Danny’s car. The cop looks down at the speed and whistles. 

COP: There’s no way I’m catching that guy. 

Jake’s driving would cause a driving instructor to have a mental breakdown. He speeds up at turns, cuts people off left and right, and passes cars using the shoulder of the road. At one point he starts doing donuts in the middle of the highway, just for the hell of it. In spite of all his shenanigans, he looks through the windshield with a look of determination. The guy needs his batteries. 

JAKE: (conversationally) Do you think the game saved before Fergus died? 

Jake is driving in between lanes now, somehow squeaking between two semi-trucks. Danny lets out a squeak, but offers a shrug. 

JAKE: (continued) I think I would fall into a bottomless pit of despair if it didn’t save. 

Jake looks back at the road ahead of him and speeds forward, breaking out of the confines of the two massive trucks. Danny lets out a sigh of relief which almost immediately becomes hitched in his throat again when Jake cuts across 5 lanes of traffic and takes out a sign, exiting the highway. 

JAKE: I nearly missed my exit! 

DANNY: (choking on his words) Thank god you didn’t. 

JAKE: You know, Josh and Sam are always telling me I should hand my driver’s license back to the DMV, but I don’t know what they’re talking about. I’m a safe driver. 

Within that span of dialogue, Jake has run through 3 stoplights, driven on a sidewalk (nearly hitting an elderly woman), and taken out a mailbox. 

DANNY: Oh yeah, you definitely are. 

On the downlow, Danny pulls back out his phone and starts filming another survival diary. 

DANNY: (to his phone) I may not make it out of this car alive. If anyone finds this footage, please tell Taylor Swift I think she’s great. And, if Jake manages to walk away from this one alive, never let him get behind the steering wheel again. Ever. 

JAKE: (looking directly at Danny and not the road, where he has run another stoplight and caused a massive pile up.) Who are you talking to? Josh and Sam? 

DANNY: My beneficiaries. 

JAKE: Fun! 

Jake hits a fire hydrant which immediately starts shooting out a geyser of water. 

JAKE: I think we’ll park here. 

Danny sits in stunned silence with the airbag deployed in his face but, without a word, he untangles himself from his seatbelt and gets out of the car alongside Jake. They start to walk towards the grocery store across the street. In the background a firetruck and a few cop cars arrive at the scene of Jake’s accident in a rush. The firemen and cops are standing around in confusion, scratching their heads at the abandoned car. 

JAKE: (pumping his fist in the air) Let’s find my batteries! 

JOSH: (calling through the door to Sam) Did you find my notebook? 

Sam panics and shoves Josh’s notebook down the front of his shirt and opens his door to face Josh. 

SAM: No, of course not! Why would I find it in my study? That's ridiculous! 

Josh eyes the notebook-shaped bulge around Sam’s stomach and then squints at him. 

JOSH: Okay…what’s the plan now, Detective? 

SAM: We, uh, get you a complimentary drink first to drown your sorrows! Why don’t you start to fix yourself something nice, and I’ll be there in a second. I, uh, have to scratch my butt really fast. 

JOSH: TMI, dude. 

Josh leaves Sam alone and heads for the kitchen. Sam breathes out a sigh of relief and removes the notebook from under his shirt. He scans around the living room and decides to place it back on the table, where Josh said he had last left it. Suddenly, Josh jumps back into the room, pointing at Sam, who has been caught in the act. 

JOSH: AHA!!! 

SAM: (voice cracking) Josh?! It’s not what you think! 

Josh breaks the glass bottle he was holding to pour himself some lemonade and rushes to Sam, holding the broken bottle up towards his neck. 

JOSH: (growling) You wanna tell me what’s going on here, Sammy boy? 

SAM: I really don’t. 

Josh moves the bottle closer to Sam. 

SAM: No, no, no, I’m allergic to lemons. 

JOSH: You’re literally not. 

SAM: Please! I have a wife and children! They’re dependents on my healthcare plan; how will they get their annual physicals if I’m gone? 

As Sam is blubbering nonsense, Jake and Danny enter back into the cabin, Danny with a bunch of Pop Tarts boxes, and Jake back to playing his Bop It. Based on the speed the game is at, it appears that it actually did save where he was at before it died. Danny drops the Pop Tarts when he sees Josh holding a broken bottle up to a crying Sam. 

DANNY: Hey! What’s going on? 

Josh lowers the bottle in shock when he sees Danny. Danny looks as if he made it to the final round of Survivor. His face and arms are covered in dirt, stray leaves, twigs, and rashes. His shirt and shorts are in tatters. One of his shoes is gone, and his hair looks like he got electrocuted. In comparison, Jake looks unscathed. 

JOSH: I should be asking you the same thing, Danny. Did you take a wrong turn and fall off the side of a mountain on your way to the store? 

DANNY: (grumbling) Something like that. 

Sam takes Josh’s distraction as an opportunity to plant the notebook back on the table, out of his hands. Although he still seems shaken up, he tries to get back into his Detective character.

SAM: By George! It’s a miracle! The notebook is exactly where you left it last night at 10:48! The mystery is solved! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go somewhere very, very far away from here to, uh, register Rosie to vote. 

JAKE: You can’t go, Sam, we got Bop Tarts. Oops. Pop Tarts. 

BOP IT: Bop it! 

JOSH: Not so fast, Samuel. 

Josh picks up the notebook and flips through the pages. His face falls. Sam winces, bracing himself for the worst. Josh is still holding the broken bottle in his hand, and Sam has a bad feeling he knows how to use it. 

JOSH: (reading one of Sam’s added entries) 21 August 1682: The Kraken consumed mine own first mateth in one biteth. The screams w're deafening and I feareth I shall nev'r catch but a wink a soundeth night again. I holidam to avenge mine own mateth, Jeffrey, if 't be true t's the lasteth thing I doth. (taking a break from reading) When did you learn to write like this? 

SAM: It was Bigfoot, not me. The dude is a wordsmith. 

JOSH: Right, right, so you’re telling me that Bigfoot, who is definitely real, broke in here without leaving a trace, took my notebook, wrote a bunch of random stuff about the Kraken, and then returned the notebook afterwards? 

SAM: Yes? 

Josh sighs and takes a seat back on the sofa, dropping the broken bottle onto the cushion next to him so he can flip through more pages. The camera follows him doing this, and it’s evident that Sam filled out every single page in his sleep the night before. 

JOSH: I wish you had just been honest with me, Sammy. I was really worried about my notebook, I thought I would never see it again. My heart was all twisted up in knots. 

BOP IT: Twist it! 

JOSH: It was pulling me apart. 

BOP IT: Pull it! 

JOSH: This notebook is my one way to brainstorm what I share to the masses, to the teenyboppers out there who adore us! 

BOP IT: Bop it! 

Danny grabs the Bop It out of Jake’s hands, stomps to the front door, and chucks the toy. 

BOP IT: (Voice growing fainter as it flies away) Awwwww man! Final score: 284,923. 

JAKE: Are you kidding me? I was gonna break my record! 

SAM: (eyeing the George Harrison album nailed to the wall behind Jake) I already did that. 

DANNY: Your high streak was 12, Jake! You definitely broke it! 

Jake looks disappointed, but he shrugs. Then he notices Sam looking at the evidence board and gapes. 

JAKE: My George Harrison record!! 

Josh finishes looking through his notebook, grabs a box of Pop Tarts from the ground at Danny’s feet, retreats back to his room, and comes back out with a second notebook, which looks identical to the original one. Sam stares at it blankly. Josh uncaps a pen and fixes himself an Apple and Cinnamon PopTart. Josh takes a big bite out of it. 

JOSH: (with his mouth full) Now that I finally know where my notebook is and have some brain food, I can get back to work. 

Josh starts drawing sketches in his new notebook as Waited All Your Life starts playing. As the song enters into the first verse, Josh is transported into a music video world where he frolics through fields with his notebook, they ride a tandem bicycle, share a Capri Sun, and watch a beautiful sunset at the ocean. As the song fades out, Josh is back in the living room, holding up a completed sketch of a jumpsuit. It has an anchor on it and the sleeves and legs are wrapped in tentacles. Josh has just designed a beautiful tribute to the Kraken. 

JOSH: What do you guys think? 

Josh holds his notebook up to Sam and Danny, who are feasting on Pop Tarts as well. Sam has taken off his detective gear, and Danny managed to get a quick shower in to clean the grime off. His skin is now covered in cream to help with his rashes. 

DANNY: That’s actually pretty neat. 

SAM: So you’re not mad at me anymore?

JOSH: No, I’m still pissed. 

Although it’s cheesy, Sam, Josh, and Danny all hug one another. In the background, Jake receives an award from the Guiness Book of World Records for his Bop It score. None of his bandmates notice this happening. Jake shakes hands with a man in a suit and receives a certificate, getting his picture taken. Jake looks happier than he ever has. 

END OF EPISODE.

(if you read this whole thing, I love you)

[alfairy]

So! I finally saw the fnaf movie! And I’ve got many thoughts about it!!! Here’s my review and random reactions and thoughts about it. Spoilers for the movie under the cut. Proceed with caution!

I thought it was really good! Definitely wasn’t perfect but I had a lot of fun watching it! My mom was with me, and she doesn’t really know anything about fnaf but she also enjoyed it. I didn’t really get scared at any point during the movie (I was more scared by the horror trailers they played before it started haha), but that’s fine! Maybe I’m just immune to jumpscares.

The effects!!! All the animatronics looked so good in motion, and the sound design made them feel even more real. Every heavy metallic movement or blink of an eye, it was just perfect.

There are sooooo many Easter Eggs! Sparky the dog! Ella from the books as a prototype circus baby spring lock suit!

The soundtrack slapped, especially the opening credits. Blumhouse was cooking in the music department fr 🔥🔥🔥

BLANKET FORT SCENE! EVERYONE CHILLING TOGETHER ON THE FLOOR AND BEING FRIENDS! I wish they could’ve stayed friends like that, it was my favorite scene of the whole movie and was so sweet

I heard everyone say there was a matpat cameo but I didn’t see it? Either I somehow missed it or the theater cut the scene or something? I SWEAR I didn’t see this man or hear him say his iconic line. I did have to get up at one point to use the bathroom really quick, so many that’s when I missed it.

Coryxkenshins cameo! I love that guy, he did really good for his quick scenes! I think they should make him a reoccurring character actually. Have him run over springtrap in the next movie.

Also the aunt character was evil. But like, comically evil. She hires people to break into the restaurant to make Mike look bad so she can get custody of Abby and get the government paychecks for it. And she got murdered in Mikes house by Golden Freddy, and they never resolve that??? Last we see her she’s lying dead on the floor and then the last scene with Mike and Abby they’re happily eating spaghetti at home like their aunt wasn’t murdered in the living room lmao. And we know Vanessa couldn’t have covered for them because she’s in a coma soooooooo. 🤷‍♀️

The coolest kill was when Freddy bit that girl in half and her bottom half fell onto the floor like DANG! The rest of the kills they either cut away from or don’t really show detail, which I thing is a weak point. Next movie I think they should push it a little bit further, but I understand why they shot it the way they did.

Is this a good time to admit that I’m kinda down bad for Josh Hutcherson in this thing hhahghshdh 😳🫣 boy stopping looking at me with them big sad doe eyes

Matthew Lillard was also serving cunt in this, even though he got 10 minutes of screen time 😔 he gave it his all. Hopefully if we get a sequel he gets to do Springtrap stuff.

Mike during this whole movie be like: 😴. I’m surprised it took so long for the band to attack him in real life (dream sequences don’t count) when in literally every other scene he’s popping pills and taking naps. He naps every few scenes and yet looks like he hasn’t had a good nights rest in 30 years 😭

So… Garret isn’t one of the spirits? I would’ve thought he was Golden Freddy but he’s not…. Maybe in this universe Garret is the puppet? There was a hidden message in the end credits that says COME FIND ME and the puppet music box is playing. That seems to be what theyre trying to set up for a potential sequel, but…. That’d make me a little sad tbh, this is Charlie erasure ;-; Also can we please have Henry Emily do something for once in this franchise, WHERE is this man.

The finale was cool! When Spring Bonnie walked in everyone was like “YESSS!!!” And after he started talking my mom was like “😯 I think I know who it is!”

William smacked Mike so hard he did a damn triple flip through the air and got his ass knocked out cold. Mans him so hard that it probably sent him back to the bite of 83 💀💀💀

So. The big thing. No Michael Afton in the movie. In fact, Vanessa is William’s only child.

Honestly I’m kinda down for the strange role swap that this universe has going on. I don’t think anyone expected Vanessa to be Williams daughter, but that was cool, and it gives a little insight as to how William managed to get away with this for so long. He’s literally got a kid in the police force keeping tabs on Freddys and covering his tracks for him. Now it suddenly makes sense why in the trailers Vanessa seems so knowledgeable about the animatronics and already knows they’re possessed.

Tbh I had a random thought. If Vanessa gets to take over Mikes role in this world as Williams kid, then Mike should get to have his own “reluctant follower” villain arc. Put that man in a rabbit costume. It’s only fair. Equality 😤 ✊

And with those final thoughts…. Yeah! I’d say the movie was a solid 8.5/10 for me, I’ll probably go see it again with friends when they get off work this weekend! The critics are wrong yet again, it’s a perfectly enjoyable movie and the fans will love it.

[queenofbaws]

until dawn

hiii! i saw you write for the supermassive fandom and i was wondering if you had any plans to write a one shot ending to until dawn where they all live (without josh turning into a wendigo). like, i imagine they wouldnt be happy with him or anything. but i think that its unfair that he either gets his head squished or turns into a wenigo, because the implications for depressed people are just so grim and for a game that breaks as many boundaries as it does, they fumbled with that imo.

—

well hi there! first off, i couldn’t agree with you more - i’m still over here kicking my legs, plugging my ears, and yelling “LA LA LA LA LA” when it comes to josh’s potential endings, so believe you me, i’m right there with you.

as to your question, i have good news and bad news 🤣

i’ve written something that pretty much encapsulates this whole idea, for sure, but unfortunately it’s not a oneshot. it’s…it’s about…it’s about as far from a oneshot as things get, i’m afraid. i actually just did a deep dive into my own ao3 this morning to double check, and alas, the only thing i’ve written that tackles josh getting a different kind of ending (and the web of mental health issues/complications that are involved with it) is the (almost)s.

again, unfortunately, not exactly something you can read in one sitting, i’m afraid!!! BUT the plot is aaabsolutely centered around exactly what you mention in your question, especially when it comes to the mental health aspect of josh’s story.

(it’s also my sweet, precious baby, so. there’s that :P)

as to whether i have plans to write something shorter about an “everyone lives” run where, you know, uh…josh gets to…live, i have something in the works currently, but i can’t say with any certainty when it’ll be published just yet :\ it’s (TECHNICALLY) going to be a part of this little au i play around with here on tumblr sometimes, fuck no: the movie, all about ashley visiting josh in the hospital after blackwood, and it’s definitely not going to be a “happily ever after” sort of deal, but everyone will be alive, and josh will have a chance at making some amends. or trying to, anyhow - you know how it goes ;)

if any of my supermassive buds reading this have recs for fics like this, by all means, feel free to add ‘em here!

[imagineabuttercream]

Surprise Visit (Josh Pieters x Reader)

Walking out of your work building, you started down the pavement. Hearing your phone ring, you dug around in your purse to try to find it.

"Conor!" you said happily into the phone.

"Y/n, I need a huge favor!" Conor was whispering into the phone.

"Why are you whispering?" you laughed, navigating your way through the crowded street.

"I don't want my parents to hear me." Conor said.

"Well doesn't this sound familiar." you laughed. You had grown up with the Maynards and Conor and you used to sneak into each others rooms. Eventually both of your parents realized you were just friends and stopped trying to catch you.

Conor did laugh at that. "Shut up, I need to ask you a favor."

"Well get it out." you said, walking up to your flat door.

"Jack and I have been up with our parents this week and they just told us they're coming home with us. They're staying for two nights!" He continued to whisper.

"That doesn't explain why you're whispering." you whispered back, dropping your bag by the door.

"Y/n, we threw a party before we left. The flat is a mess and I know for a fact there's a bra hanging from our kitchen light." Conor started talking faster, telling you about how horrendous their flat looked.

"Oh, shit. Your mum is going to kill you." you laughed, you had started changing into leggings and a sweater.

"I know! Y/n can you pleeeeeeeeease go straighten our flat before we make it home?" Conor begged. "I promise I'll make it up to you."

"Conor, I just worked for 12 hours." you whined into the phone knowing you'd be helping him anyways. "What about Josh?"

"I know, love. I know. But I swear I'll make it up to you. Josh's flight won't land for another hour." he went silent waiting for you answer.

"Fine, I'll do it. But I'm drinking your wine and you WILL make it up to me." you said, slipping on your shoes and grabbing your bag.

"I'll buy you a hundred bottles of wine." Conor laughed. "I'll stall them as long as I can, but we'll probably be there in like 3 hours."

"Just text me when you're getting into London." you said, hanging up the phone and walking to Conor's flat.

When you walked in, you saw just how bad it was. There were beer cans and beer bottles all over the place. There was food left out and someone had definitely been sick right OUTSIDE the bathroom door. The beds were messy and covered in things you didn't want to question. Taking in just how bad it was, you walked straight to his kitchen and opened a bottle of wine. "Lets do this." you said, pouring yourself a hardy glass.

You stripped Jack and Conor's beds of their linens and washed them straight away. Josh's room was pretty neat, so you just straightened the bedding and grabbed the little bit of laundry he had laying out. You gathered about 4 bags of trash before trekking them down to the dumpster. You did the dishes and cleaned the kitchen floors and counters, chucking almost everything in the fridge. After cleaning up whatever disgusting mess was in front of the bathroom, you cleaned the rest of the bathroom, making sure to stock up the towels and toilet roll after switching over the bedding to the dryer. You remade the beds, folded laundry, and lit a few candles in each room for good measure. The place actually looked like adults lived there for once. Putting the boys laundry back in their cupboards and throwing the now empty bottle of wine away, you decided to run and grab a few groceries at the corner store. You knew their parents well and knew that his mom would be inspecting the flat to make sure her boys were doing okay.

Letting yourself back into their flat, arms full of groceries, you ran straight into Josh. "I am so sorry." you said, picking up everything that had fallen to the ground.

"You scared the shit out of me." he said, helping you pick the groceries up. "What are you doing here?"

"Ask your roomies." you sarcastically laughed. "This place was a shit show when I got here a few hours ago."

"Where are they?" Josh asked, helping you put the groceries away. "And why does it smell so good in here? Did you do my laundry?"

Laughing, you replied. "I deep cleaned your flat and lit some girly candles. And if that text I just got is from Conor, then they're about 10 minutes away in a car with their parents and Anna." You walked to your bag to check your phone.

"Oh, shit." Josh laughed. "A surprise visit from mama Maynard?"

"Yup, and they're parking right now." You said, running around to blow out the candles. "I should head out."

"It's too late to be walking around by yourself." Josh said, pulling you into a hug.

"Josh, I just grocery shopped drunk for you brats. I think I can walk 4 blocks and make it home safely." you laughed.

"You lush." he teased.

"Hey, I had to clean up puke and whatever the hell Jack got all over his bed." you defended yourself, knowing he wasn't being serious. "I deserved a glass or two."

"So a bottle?" he continued to tease you, stopping when the both of you heard the door open.

"Oh, shit." you said, knowing you wouldn't be able to leave anytime soon. "Once she sees me I won't be able to leave."

"Hide in my room." Josh said, blocking the view from the hall with his body before following you into his room and closing the door.

"Thank you!" you whispered, pulling him into another hug. "They're going to be here for 48 hours. If you want to stay at my flat you're totally welcome."

"Really?" he asked, looking down at you.

"Of course. You're still packed from your trip. Why don't we just sneak out when they inevitably go up to Conor's room" You suggested.

"Works for me." he said, zipping his suitcase back up. "I'm going to go say hi and fill Conor in and I'll come get you when they go upstairs."

"Perfect." you said, lounging back on Josh's bed.

A few minutes later, Josh popped back into the room with your purse that you had left out in the living room. When he saw you, however, you had fallen asleep. 12 hours at work and almost 4 more cleaning had you exhausted. Never mind adding in a bottle of wine. Sitting your purse next to the bed, Josh pulled the covers over you and tucked you in. When he got Conor alone, he told him that you'd just crash in his room for the night and that you'd probably both head to yours when you woke up.

When you woke up early the next morning, you were draped across Josh, one leg thrown over his and your head resting against his chest. Looking up, you saw that Josh was already awake. "Hey, stranger." you chuckled, letting your head fall back down to lay on his chest.

"You passed out pretty quickly last night." Josh said, rubbing his hand up and down your arm. "I'm glad you didn't start walking home."

"I would have made it." you replied. "Don't be such a worry wart."

"Hey, I'm allowed to worry. You work too hard. Then you got talked into working more. I don't even want to think about how bad this place was." He started running his fingers through your hair.

"Mmmm, I like that you always play with my hair." you replied. "And I could have made it home. I fell asleep because your bed is comfy and the room was dark and it smells like you in here." You snuggled against Josh.

Josh laughed. "You always tell me I smell like boy."

"You do." You replied, laughing. You could hear someone walking around upstairs and the two of you immediately jumped up. "Oh, shit. We should sneak out before they make their way downstairs."

"I told Conor we'd probably be gone when he woke up." Josh replied, throwing his jeans back on.

When you walked out into the hall, you knew your plan had failed you yet again. "Sweetheart!" you heard Mama Maynard call from the kitchen. "It's so nice to see you! What are you doing here?" she pulled you into a hug.

Straightening out your hair and trying to fix your clothes, you faltered trying to come up with a good answer.

"She's dating Josh." you heard Conor say before walking around the corner.

"Yeah." Josh joined in, putting his arm around your shoulder. "She got in really late last night."

"Makes sense why the flat looks so good, love. You must be keeping these boys in check." she said.

"Oh, you don't know the half of it." you joked, watching Conor silently crack up behind his mom. "We're going to head to mine now, though, so we'll see you guys later." you said, hoping you'd found your out.

"Nonsense. I'm going to cook breakfast. You guys have to stay." she said, walking away. You never could argue with that woman.

When she was out of sight, you glared daggers at Conor. "You owe me all of the wine."

"I know, I know." Conor said, hugging you. "Thank you so much for cleaning the flat. It's literally never looked this good. You even bought us groceries." he said, kissing your forehead.

"You're gonna make this up to me." you laughed, turning to go back into Josh's room.

"Hey, sorry about what Conor said." Josh said, joining you.

"Why?" you asked, grabbing one of Josh's sweaters to change into. Your sweater smelled like cleaning products from last night.

Josh didn't answer, distracted by the fact that you were standing in his room in your leggings and bra.

"Sorry, I should have asked. Can I borrow this?" you asked, holding up his sweater.

Clearing his throat, he replied. "Of course. You didn't have to ask. And I meant that I'm sorry Conor's mom thinks we're dating. You didn't really have a choice in the cover story."

Slipping the sweater on, you went on your tip toes to kiss Josh's cheek. "Hey, I did your laundry. The least you can do is fake date me for 2 days."

"Y/n, I would actually date you." he laughed. "I meant I'm sorry that you have to fake date me."

"Who says I wouldn't actually date you?" you winked, walking out of the room to help Mama Maynard in the kitchen.

"Darling, how long have you two been dating?" she asked you.

"Oh, it's really recent, but I've liked him for a long time." you said, knowing Josh could hear you. "I'm really excited to see where it goes."

[purelybilateral]

The pain Josh went through was immense. He spent every waking day hoping his sisters would be found and they’d live happily once again. He put the blame on himself still to this day. He believed he could’ve stopped it all and prevented any of it from happening. Beth’s touch brought him back to reality instead of the pit of darkness and blame he found himself in. Looking her straight in the eye, he could see how genuine she was and how much she cared. “I should’ve been there…” He mumbled with a shake of his head before swallowing hard and nodding his head at her words. He wished to not disappoint her by continuing forth on blaming himself. “I’ll try and remember that.” He confirmed in hopes to make her feel better. He dealt with his grief horribly. From the hospital stays, to the pain he dealt with, it was all worth it in the end because Hannah and Beth were both here now. Josh found himself squeezing her hand to solidify that she was here with him and she wasn’t missing anymore. “I’m handling it.” He answered as he didn’t want her to worry so much about him. “It’s probably best you find Hannah. I saw her too, I thought she wasn’t real at first as well. You two need to see each other again.”

beth shook her head, hating hearing the way her brother was putting the blame on himself. none of what happened to them was his fault. and knowing the pain he must've gone through was killing her inside. "josh, please." she placed a hand on the side of his face to look him in the eye. hoping to grab his full attention because she really needed him to hear this. "please never apologize to me again for anything that happened that night or whatever happened because of it. if i were in your place i don't know what i would've done. even if you never told me, i would never put that on you." it's not like there were rules on how to deal with this kind of situation. no guidelines on how to deal with your sister's coming back to life. she sighed a bit and pulled her hand away, reaching to grab a hold of his hand instead now. "you had hallucinations? are you okay now?" she questioned, worried that whatever happened today may make things worse. "i'm glad i know too. i think i saw hannah too and god i know she must be in so much pain right now. i have to go find her."

[jakekiszkasleftnutsack]

Fan Service - Chapter 2

Josh Kiszka x f!reader

. . . . . . .

Read Chapter 1 here

Summary: After a passionate night in Josh’s dressing room it’s time to camp for another round of DIG. What could the universe possibly have on deck to ruin the third concert in the Michigan lineup?

Warnings: 18+ content minors DNI, swearing, feelings, pining, fingering, dom!Josh, unprotected sex (advised against), oral sex (m and f receiving), praise kink, general roughness, etc.

W/c: 7.5k

A/n: Here it is. It’s been a minute since I’ve been this motivated to write so the timeline is a little wonky, just pretend it makes sense ok. I appreciate everyone who sent me requests and suggestions for this series, and special thanks as always to my gresties for cheering me on. Again, apologies for my shameless self insert. Hopefully we like where this story goes, let me know your thoughts! Thank you for the continued support, i love you all!

Edited by the lovely @gretasamfeettt

Vibes: Something About You - Level 42 and golden hour - JVKE

. . . . . . .

Being born and raised in the Midwest has made you mostly impartial to the cold. You’d spent many a chilly night around dying campfires, many afternoons skiing down powdered hills, and even more mornings trudging through snowbanks just to get to school. Spending ten hours trying to sleep on cold concrete with only a tent to protect you from the early March wind and snow, however, is turning out to be a little out of your comfort zone.

You don’t really mind though, you’d happily suffer through any amount of discomfort to see your favorite band, and having your two best friends with you does dull the pain somewhat. It had been their idea originally to camp out for the slew of shows happening in your area, so you all bought your tickets months in advance and spent the days leading up meticulously preparing. The vibe has been a bit off ever since you rejoined your group the night before, haphazardly dressed after a romp with a rockstar, but they seem excited for you all the same.

Now that you’ve had time to register the events of the night before, you’re scared shitless. You were living in the moment, but when time resumed its normal pace, the reality that Josh Kiszka picked you is almost too much to bear. You were hesitant to give up too many details when they tried to poke and prod them out of you, even if it meant they would believe you to be mildly full of shit. Hell, you can hardly believe it yourself, but there’s no part of you that’s willing to risk breaking his confidence. The experience you shared with Josh was special to you, and you will not be souring it by any means.

You look down at your phone and reread the last text he sent you, ‘I better see you there.

Josh does own a cell phone and uses it quite often, to your complete surprise. After you rejoined your friends the previous night and began the drive to the next city on your roster, you texted your name to the number he gave you. He texted back immediately to wish you a good night, and when morning came and you wished him good luck he returned with that little crumb.

He wants to see me again… Of all people…

He’s probably just being polite…

“Smile for Joshy!” You extend your arm to snap a selfie, posing in line outside the venue to send him in return. The bundled faces of you and your friends are doing their best to smile through clenched teeth and not look frigid in the Michigan winter air.

The caption reads ‘Camping out just to be sure you do’, and you send it off after gaining an approving nod from everyone.

“I’m not convinced this isn’t some sort of elaborate ruse,” your best friend, Quinn, jests after dropping the smile she forced for the picture. “If you’re Josh Kiszka’s sneaky link now then how come we don’t have backstage passes?”

“Ohh my god. I’m not some clout chaser, I can’t just ask him for things ‘cause he paid attention to me once.” You scoff slightly at the insinuation. How could you possibly ask that man for anything after he already gave you the time of day?

Your answer must not be satisfactory, prompting a retort back. “Okay, but he gave you his phone number, and he’s still texting you? If he didn’t like you he would’ve just let you leave. I saw the way he watched you get whisked away, it was like a fucking romance movie.”

He did give me his number, some random one-night stands I’ve had haven’t even given me their phone numbers afterward. Maybe there’s a point there..

The thought feels so ridiculous in your mind you barely want to let it take root. He’s already taking up so much of your headspace, letting the idea that you might have a chance with him seems much too dangerous of a concept.

“Would you stop getting my hopes up? Everybody knows they don’t have groupies… plus he just slept with me the one time, it didn’t mean anything.” You trail off, suddenly disappointed with yourself for remembering that small fact.

Disappointed about what? Getting attached already? Pitiful.

“Who said anything about being a groupie? I’m sure that’s not the reason he doesn’t show all his fuck buddies off to the masses.” Nina, the third part of your little trio, chimes in. “If I had known that getting beat up in the pit was the way to bag a Kiszka I would’ve knocked my own ass out in front of them a long time ago.”

“Why does everyone keep saying I got beat up?!”

. . .

Not too much later, your phone lights up, his name is on the screen accompanied by a silly picture of him you had saved. Highway Tune plays loud and clear through the speaker, but all you can do is stare as your fight or flight response kicks into gear. Beyond unprepared for an event like this, you turn your hand to show your friends the screen with a deer in headlights look on your face.

“Speakerphone, bitch. Now!” Nina screams at you frantically as the opportunity slips away.

Fuck.

With an appropriate sense of urgency, you clear your throat and swipe across the glass to answer with a cute but casual “Hey!”

“I’m sorry, you’re doing what?” In your experience, no introduction means business. Even when separated by the phone and however many miles, his slightly acidic tone gives you chills.

“Camping! Ya know, for the barricade!”

“You mean you’re outside the damn arena right now?” He sounds relatively calm in contrast to the intensity of his words, it’s hard to tell if he’s really angry or not.

“Well yeah! It’s how you get to be up front… you do know what goes down at your shows, right?” you giggle in an attempt to lighten the mood.

“Y/n… How long have you been out there?”

“I don’t know… some hours…” You dart your eyes to the girls, silently begging them to not say a word about how you drove through the night on no sleep from the previous show to get right back in line for another.

“It’s freezing fucking cold outside, absolutely not, I won’t have it.”

What the fuck does that mean?

“You won’t have it? It’s what everybody does, honestly, it’s fine I have my friends with me. It’s part of the whole experience.”

A contemplative sigh comes from his end of the line followed by a long pause.

“Josh?” You hear some distant voices and shuffling around coming from whoever he’s taken a second to speak to.

“Your friends can come too.” He finally answers.

“Josh, what are you…you’re not sending another goon to kidnap me again, are you?”

“Yeah Peach, stay put for me alright?” The line beeps dead, leaving everyone's jaws dropped at the audacity.

After a moment passes, Quinn is the first to say something. “So. Peach, huh?”

. . .

Faster than you had expected, a wide guy in a baseball cap with a scruffy beard approaches you and your friends in line. You instantly recognize him to be the same guy that rescued you from the pit and kept you like a present for Josh backstage the night before.

“Hey, it’s you!” You exclaim, relieved to be seeing a somewhat familiar face.

“Nice to see you again, Miss y/n. Mr. Kiszka asked me to show you and your friends inside.”

Slightly panicked glances are being shot all around amongst yourselves as you pack up your stuff, unsure of the unorthodox situation that won’t stop unfolding. Gossipy murmurs and glares are shot your way from those in line who may have been snooping, but once your blankets and chairs are picked up he leads you around the side of the building to a door out of sight from the other campers.

“What’s your name?” You ask him as you follow his lead close behind. “Since you know my name I don’t wanna keep calling you security boy.”

He chuckles and shoots a smile over his shoulder. “I’m Trevor, but security boy is fine if you like it.”

“Okay, security boy. How long have you worked for Josh?”

“I’ve been head security for the band for a couple months now.”

“I thought they just used venue security, I never see them out and about with bodyguards.”

“You’re half right. I mostly oversee the local security teams at the concerts and events, but they’ve been needing personal security more than usual lately. Besides, I’m pretty much an assistant at this point with how much they have me run errands like this.”

“Oh, so I’m just another errand, huh?”

“I’m more like your babysitter at this point, don’t you think?” You share a laugh, and instantly tension begins to ease.

You arrive at a small dressing room, which he unlocks and opens up for your group to drop your coats. One by one he hands you each a lanyard with a badge attached, indicating your new security clearance.

“You can warm up and get changed in here, I’ll come to get you when it’s time to head on out. I’ll leave ya to it.”

Josh has him ‘run errands’ a lot, I hope this isn’t something he’s used to…

“Wait…” Standing in the doorway once your group has started unpacking, you fight with yourself for a moment about whether you should ask the million-dollar question. “Is Josh… does he do this a lot? I mean…”

It rolls out with the most pathetically apprehensive voice you’ve ever had the displeasure of speaking, upon hearing it you wish you could take it back. He looks at you for a moment but ultimately seems to take pity on you and places a hand on your shoulder. “No ma’am, he doesn’t.”

He seems earnest enough, and you believe him as much as two strangers can trust each other in these kinds of circumstances. His gesture is enough to soothe a bit of the self-doubt that hasn’t left you alone for about 24 hours.

“Thank you, Trevor.” He touches the bill of his hat and tips it with a gentlemanly nod and half a smile before turning away, leaving you to close the door behind him.

. . .

As the lot of you are getting ready, putting makeup on, and doing your hair, you hear a knock on the door followed by Trevor’s voice. “You ladies decent?”

“Yeah, come in”. You answer without looking up from the flick of eyeliner you’re expertly applying in the mirror.

The door clicks open and the honey-smooth voice floats in before the man himself. “How’s everything coming along in here?,” he says, casual as can be. You flicker your attention up to catch his cocky smile when he enters still in his street clothes. You can’t help but chuckle a little to yourself as you watch your friends attempt to stifle their reactions, but ultimately fail while tripping over each other to meet him.

He greets them politely, asking their names and apologizing for any discomfort in rooting you from your spots in line. As any good fangirl would, they decline his apology and thank him for the opportunity to be inside instead.

“The guys and I were all really worried about everyone out there in the cold, but we know you’re all so dedicated, we couldn’t stop you if we tried.” They agree with him, giggling shamelessly at the charm that seems to come so naturally to him. Watching him interact with fans after knowing how he acts in private is almost comical.

“We really do appreciate you setting aside a spot for us, we know you’re really busy.” You pipe up for the first time.

Gross. You really couldn’t think of anything better to say? Idiot.

He locks eyes with you from where you’re standing against the mirror at the back of the room but says nothing, apart from the way his lips twitch when he takes in the sight of you. Even the blind would be able to notice the instantaneous effect you have on him.

“We didn’t think you guys really knew each other” Nina blurts out while the two odd girls out watch something unspoken bounce back and forth between you.

“Oh no, we definitely know each other. Isn’t that right y/n?” You know the question is rhetorical, but you tip your chin slightly in agreement anyway, a blistering heat behind your eyes. “Would I be able to get a few minutes alone with your friend here, if you guys don’t mind? She’ll join you in a moment, Trevor is just out in the hall to show you to some snacks.”

They nod and scurry out of the room, offering supportive glances, a suggestive wink, and a pair of smiles from behind his back as they file out quicker than you can protest.

His entire demeanor changes when the two of you are left standing alone in the confines of the dressing room, free from anything that could act as a buffer. He was gracious and polite with your friends, clearly putting on a little bit, but you’re with a different person once he shuts and locks the door behind them. Just like the other night, the tension in the surrounding air is palpable.

Don’t make a fool of yourself. Don’t be desperate and weird. You can do this y/n, be confident and breathe.

“You didn’t have to go out of your way to do all this, Josh.” You set down your eyeliner on the counter behind you, doing your best to appear nonchalant despite your heart doing its very best to pound its way out of your chest. As exciting as being in his presence is, you’re also terrified to your core. The energy shift is so seamless you have no room to be rattled by his next move.

Josh shakes his head as he strides towards you, as if hearing the silliest words ever spoken into existence. He closes the gap between you in a few short paces, trapping you in place against the counter. There are barely a few inches between your bodies but you’re steadfast in your cool as a cucumber facade, no matter how unconvincing it may be.

“As much as I appreciate the time you’re willing to put in, I wish you had told me you were gonna wait out in the cold. I could’ve saved you so much earlier.”

“I didn’t really think that was an option. I don’t expect any special treatment.” You long to reach out and touch him, to tear down the invisible barrier holding you back. It’s scary, like there’s some sort of rule you’d be breaking if you did. You’re just trying to be respectful, when in reality that’s the last thing you want to do.

“You should. I can’t give it to everybody but I can give it to you.” Your cheeks flush red forcing you to look down and away from him to avoid getting too flustered, only for him to raise your chin again with one finger to keep your eyes on him, ensuring you really hear what he has to say. “You’re not part of the general population anymore mama, you’re my sweet peach, remember?”

In the wake of his genuinely sweet albeit loaded comment, a wave of emotion returns to blindside you, shattering your smoke screen of indifference like a freight train.

Does he crave me in the same way I crave him?

Could he ever feel anything close to what I feel?

I idolize and ache for him, but what does he think of me?

He’s already been inside me. He’s already had more of me than most other men ever have.

I’ve earned his favor and attention, why am I so quick to reject it?

Does he pity me?

What if he just pities me…

“I’m scared.” You choke out. Without a high to hide behind there’s nothing to stop your bleeding heart from exploding right here in his hands. He catches up with your train of thought though and is so quick to reassure you it might as well be second nature.

“Y/n, what are you scared of?” his eyes flicker back and forth as he searches yours.

“That none of this is real.” you feel you should elaborate but you can’t. Any attempt at trying to explain the thoughts that have been gnawing at you would come out like word vomit. Some preconceived notion you cooked up in your paralyzing anxiety is telling you not to act like his stardom has any effect on you. You’ve wrapped yourself in a cage of barbed wire made of your own cowardice, only to be cut open if a single wrong move is made. He probably goes out of his way to avoid girls like that, so you exercise the minimal restraint you feel capable of to keep it short. Out of fear, of course.

Ever so delicately he takes your hand, brings it to his lips, and ghosts your knuckles along the baby soft skin that rests there. In a breath he leaves a kiss, focusing on the spot for a moment before returning focus to your wet eyes.

“Last night I asked you to trust me and you did, and I took good care of you. Do you still trust me?”

You nod your head.

“Then trust that I’ll continue to take care of you, okay? This is real, I’m real. Look…” he bares his teeth over the back of your hand and play bites it, making you gasp mostly in surprise but you laugh it off crudely, your heart flutters. “See? You’re real too, Peach.”

Of course, Josh would never miss a beat. Of course, all it would take is a teaspoon of vulnerability to prompt him to keep the floodgates from giving way completely to whatever bullshit mess you could concoct.

Stop being so foolish.

You sniffle away the remnants of what could have been a colossal breakdown and crack a smile at him through batted lashes. “Peach.. Is that my name now?”

He nods, moving his lips against your skin again. “I like it, think it’s cute, don’t you?”

“Mhm, it is… I could’ve braved through the cold ya know, hands down.”

“Would you stop complaining every time I try to rescue you?” he snorts in a teasing way that makes you giggle and bite your lip like a little kid with a crush. You try not to get distracted by his chestnut brown eyes, shining bright.

“Anything for you.” For good measure, you toss in a flirty wink with your same line from the night before.

“Again with that shit, babygirl.. I oughta spank you for getting me worked up before a performance. God, you are relentless!”

Finally, you decide to stop fighting the magnetic energy pulling you toward him and lean into his frame. “And I don’t even have to say please?”

A choked moan barely escapes him, and he plays it off with a fake as hell cough that only serves to make you giggle.

“Fuck…” he gives you another quick once over in your concert outfit, smoothing over where he’s wrinkled it in a few spots and breaks out in a smirk, still holding your chin in place to keep you from looking elsewhere, “You look delicious, Peach. Are you me this time?”

The outfit in question just so happens to be a top modeled after the jumpsuit he wore in Los Angeles during the Strange Horizons tour paired with a miniskirt. Pure groupie behavior, yet again. You do your best not to roll your eyes at yourself.

“So, I didn’t plan on meeting you when I picked out my-“ in very Joshua fashion, he just can’t wait until the end of your sentence to swoop in for a bruising, searing hot open mouthed kiss that almost makes you stumble. Your lips mash together sloppily but you don’t care. You just want to feel like he has to have you, maybe he really does.

“How’s that bruised peach doing?” His words are barely intelligible at the lowest end of his register and doesn’t wait for an answer before reaching for the hem of your skirt. “Show me.”

You let him spin you around and hike up your skirt around your hips so he has full access to the panties adorning the purple blotches on your skin. There hasn’t been quite enough time for you to inspect the damage made by your fall, but he’s careful to avoid it.

“I know they’re pretty ugly.” you try to avoid thinking about it, instead focusing on his hand that’s made its way between your legs and is exploring the lacy edge of your panties. Another part of you is hoping the edge of the counter won’t crack under your iron-clad grip on it, purely keeping your knees from losing their integrity.

“Hush, sweetness. Look.” his free hand wraps around you to grab your chin, forcing your gaze upon the mirror you’ve found yourself facing. “See how beautiful you are? Nothing could taint that.”

Right then, he slips his hand under the lace and dives into your slit, already wet to the touch. You’re not sure why watching his hand move obscenely against you has you feeling so embarrassed, but when you see your own cheeks turning rosy you try to turn and protest the position. “Josh..”

“Don’t look away. Watch me.” he holds you still, pressing two of his fingers into you with a squelch. Watching yourself was one thing, but seeing the look on his face when he makes contact with that heavenly gummy texture is something that will be seared into your mind forever. It’s close to a look of pain, like he can’t stand just how unreal you feel to him.

“Good God, y/n.” he stays tucked inside for a few pumps of his wrist before leaving your warmth to press those drenched fingers to your lips. You don’t need a command this time to open up and lick them clean.

“How can I possibly focus on putting on a good show when you’re out here distracting me? Saboteur, that’s what you are!”

“And how am I supposed to enjoy the music I paid good money to see if you’re just gonna be making me horny? Are you going to repay me?”

“Well… you got me there. Maybe if you behave.”

. . .

Now, typically when one has backstage passes to a concert, that usually grants access to back stage. It’s right there in the name. However, you camped with your friends for however long before Joshua stepped in, and your hopes have been set on snagging a spot at the barricade. It’s not something you’re all too fond of giving up on.

Once Josh had released you from his grasp and excused himself to get ready, leaving you with a kiss on the cheek as you part ways, your friends returned with the news that the doors were about to open. It took some light convincing on your part, but Trevor agreed to let you into the pit early so you can secure a spot up front. Watching from backstage the night before was really cool, of course it was, but this is an experience you’d been dreaming of for just as long. Josh Kiszka is not going to be the reason you miss it.

Standing where you are now, directly in front of where he’ll be standing shortly with the gardens gate key hanging high above you, your stomach is firmly planted in your ass. The openers were amazing, adding to the intense build up of the curtain dropping any minute now. You feel almost more nervous now than you did the first time around, but this time it’s a different breed.

When the curtain finally falls and the shrieks of the girls around you dampen your senses, he’s right where he’s supposed to be and instant relief washes over you. Chest puffed out, wide stance, head held high, utterly ecstatic. You can trace his eyes scanning the audience, taking in the sheer mass of the crowd and every face that he can make out. Until they land on you. It’s subtle, but you can tell he wasn’t expecting to see you there, cheering for him as he so deserves.

“Give me my money’s worth, baby!” you don’t care if he can hear you or not, you’re not even sure of the words that spewed out. Everybody knows the most unhinged thoughts sometimes slip in the presence of these men anyway.

He lingers on you with the smuggest expression, a hint of deviance mixed in as well, and licks his lips before diving into the lyrics of their first song.

Yeah, he heard me, that little fucker.

Song after song you hype him up, screaming his name and blowing him kisses, singing along to every single word. Each and every time he lands in front of you he does something ridiculously out of pocket and slutty. Whether it be thrusting his hips, licking his lips, or growling into the damn microphone, he makes eye contact with you every single time.

Every. Single. Time. Without fail.

Oh my god. He’s actually taunting me…

“Who’s misbehaving now, Joshy!?” you scream when he lets a particularly moan-like cry sound out through the arena. It’s your last straw when he sticks his tongue out at you in response. All you can think about is how badly you want to see that tongue somewhere else, and how you want to make him pay for his actions when you finally can.

He’s incorrigible

As the end of Safari Song dawns you recognize the familiar rhythm that marks the beginning of Danny’s drum solo. A fluttering feeling returns to your chest with the realization, because the drum solo also happens to be when Josh rides the shoulders of a security guard to pass out roses.

When he reaches you, he places a rose purposefully in your hand and you try not to swoon when he winks at you from his high horse. He’ll be coming back around shortly to have some face-to-face time with his adoring fans, but with how hard he’s been throwing his sexuality around the stage for the whole world to see you quickly try to think of something that will make him swoon back.

Like a wave, the screaming and shuffling of young women starts to crawl back in your direction, and you’ve finally settled on your move as he appears in your line of sight once again. Instead of blindly reaching for him hoping for just a touch of attention like everyone else, you make eye contact with him as he approaches and hold out your hand open faced. He seems to think nothing of the out of the ordinary gesture and reaches out. In a split second, you fake him out as he’s about to grab your hand, surpassing his grasp to reach up as far as you can.

“Hi baby” is all you can think to say, but it’s more than enough. You can make out the words ‘Hi Peach’ move across his lips with no accompanying sound. Somewhere in the process he catches on and bends just slightly to close the gap for you, never once breaking the eye contact you’re trying so hard to hold. As you reach his face you caress his cheek, using your thumb to slightly grace his bottom lip until he’s pulled out of range.

The exchange barely lasted more than a few heartbeats, but the impact is profound. You didn’t believe it was possible to actually see stars in someone’s eyes until the whole universe manifested in Josh’s. There’s remnants of a blush on the apples of his cheeks when he hops back on stage, and you do your best to vacate the butterflies from your stomach as the show carries on oblivious to your secret.

. . .

After the show ends and the house lights come up, you take your pictures and exchange socials with the girls around you that had bonded with you between sets. Then, once everything has substantially died down, you exchange quick glances at your friends before hopping over the barricade and flashing your security badges at the men who immediately try to stop you.

It’s a funny feeling, floating around backstage aimlessly. You eventually are able to latch onto the sound of Trevor’s voice and follow it until you see the boys huddled around talking, already changed out of their concert attire. Sam and Jake notice you before he does, but you tap Josh on the shoulder anyway. When he turns he smiles like the sunshine boy he is, rushes to you without hesitation and wraps his arms around you, picks you up, and spins you around like you’re old friends in an airport who haven’t seen each other in years.

“Holyyy shit, Peach! Did you get your money’s worth?” he cries gleefully as he sets you down and squishes your cheeks between his palms, knocking loose a few rhinestones you had placed there.

“And more! You acted like a proper slut out there!”

“Thank you, thank you, I try my best. I didn’t expect you to be right in front! You almost had me for a minute there, mama.”

“Yeah, well you deserved it.”

“Ahem,” Jake slaps a hand down on Josh’s shoulder and turns his attention to you. “Hope I’m not interrupting anything. Dear brother, why don’t you introduce us to your friend?”

You take matters into your own hands and thrust yours out to him, which he shakes warmly smiling a devilish grin to match. “Hello Jacob, I’m y/n.”

“Ahhh so this is the dreamboat that kept you so preoccupied last night!?” Sam interjects, pulling you away from the twins and into a hug that you were not prepared for but accept happily anyway.

“Hi Sammy, sorry for keeping him from his important frontman duties.”

“Well shit, he’s not that important.” he laughs, jabbing a playful shove at his eldest brother's shoulder, prompting a scuffle to ensue that you carefully step away from. In taking a step back you bump into Danny, who was standing off to the side with his arms crossed watching the encounter unfold.

“Oops, sorry.” he catches and steadies you, keeping you from taking a tumble when you try to correct yourself but instead misstep.

I just cannot stop being clumsy for two seconds, can I?

“You sweet, sweet angel. You never have to apologize to me Danny,” already being in close proximity, you wrap him in the biggest hug you can manage. “That was my bad anyway.”

“Oh, wow. You’re so sweet, it’s so nice to meet you.”

“Ditto, my friend.” you try not to think about how that was the best hug anyone has ever given you.

You introduce your friends to the rest of the band one at a time and return to Josh’s side, allowing everyone to get their hugs in, some lingering a bit longer than they should. Everyone mingles with each other discussing the events of the night, laughing about things that were thrown on stage and signs that were made until you notice Josh’s arm snaking its way around your waist to pull you flush against him.

“Do you wanna get out of here?” he whispers in your ear, “To the hotel this time?”

If smiles were contagious the one that splits your face in that moment would have everyone infected.

“Love to.” you nod to emphasize your point then turn to say your goodbyes to Quinn and Nina, who are probably just fine being left in their present company. The last thing you need is a thousand missed texts and calls from them if you were to just disappear into the night. Josh does no such thing and makes his move to whisk you away rather hastily.

Trevor, who was standing close by, escorts the two of you outside, blocking you from the view of a small huddle of girls waiting for a glimpse of the boys. You must have stood around talking for too long based on how many of them have accumulated. You make your way to a blacked out car waiting with a driver ready to go, and slide in as quickly as possible. It’s a short drive to the hotel but Josh insists on taking a moment to pick a song for the journey before taking off.

“Come on, Joshua” you roll your eyes playfully as he scrolls through an endless playlist.  

“Shut up and hear me out, okay? The song choice is important!”

The first couple notes of Your Love play through the speakers, but he turns to you slowly to see your reaction like he just told you he knows your deepest darkest secrets.

“I thought you guys were supposed to have pretentious music taste?” you tease. 

“What?! You don’t like this song? Who doesn’t like this song?!”

He breaks into song in the middle of the lyrics at the top of his lungs just for you, clearly to annoy you, but little does he know that everything he’s ever done is endearing beyond comprehension.  You might have even been disappointed if he didn’t pull something that gave you just a tinge of secondhand embarrassment.  His charisma and silliness are becoming and the way he’s singing, waiting for you to give in and humor him has you jumping in at the chorus, matching his energy.  It’s the power ballad to end all power ballads.

I’m singing with Josh Kiszka.  Josh is singing to me.  What the fuck is my life becoming? 

As the music fades out of the chorus and you’re left giggling at the antics, you look out your open window to feel the wind on your face and revel in the ambiance of the next song paired with passing street lights against a black sky.  If you were paying attention you’d see Josh’s stare never left you.  He’s watching you, fawning over you, taken by your beauty as you admire the night.

. . .

Josh lets you into the room first to venture in on your own, you look around briefly at nothing in particular until you hear the door close and lock. When he doesn’t immediately come to you, you turn to catch him subtly admiring you. He meets your gaze and reaches a hand out to you, his eyes are soft but set ablaze with determination.

“I don’t think you know how magnetic you are.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” You take his hand, and once they’ve met he pulls you towards him, only to be turned and pressed against the wall at your back. He kisses you passionately just like earlier, you can feel the adrenaline thumping his heart against his ribcage so hard you think you could see it beneath his supple skin if you weren’t so occupied.

He grabs your ass with both hands and slides them down the backs of your thighs, guiding each one with an effortless lift to rest around his waist. You didn’t expect him to be so strong, but he cradles you with such care despite how ravenously his mouth moves down your chin to lap at your throat. In the darkest depths of your mind, you wish he would take a bite.

You grind your hips against the nearest thing you can, which happens to be his stomach, it heaves at the motion causing you to groan. Every little move you make elicits a clear visceral reaction, making the pit in your stomach tunnel deeper by the minute.

You want to tell him to tear you apart.  You want to tell him to bury himself inside you and stay there until he’s contemplated his own existence, twice.  All that you’re able to form into a coherent thought is “Joshy, more…” 

“Making demands already?” he mumbles into the crook of your neck.

You take no notice of his taunt and start pulling at his clothes blindly, making no real progress towards getting them off, to his amusement. An unmistakable poke makes itself known against your panties, which happen to be exposed to the air by the shortness of your skirt in your current position.

“Don’t ignore me, princess.” he runs his teeth along your collarbone as he digs into the meat of your thigh with his fingers, and a tortured moan vibrates out of you in return. “What do you say when you want something?”

“Please!” you practically scream “Dear God, please. Please just fuck me already!” The last of your self respect flies out the window, but to be fair it’s mostly been absent since he stepped out on stage to fuck the entire stadium.

One of his hands leaves your body, awkwardly and desperately reaching to unbuckle his pants, your faces pressed together cheek to cheek. You hold onto his shoulders on instinct to keep from falling to the floor, though he has you pinned so tightly between the wall and his own body you could let go of him entirely and remain in place. Your cunt pulses in anticipation when he ruts his freed cock against the thin material covering you. The wetness of your panties must be ridiculous, as the shaky breath coming from him feels beyond depraved.

“Y/n, oh my.. Fuck.” he slides it against the material once more while holding you still, using you in a sense, taking what he needs, and you wait patiently while he does.

Because that’s what good girls do.

He praises you while he reaches to pull your panties to the side and nuzzles his tip against your entrance. His head rolls back when he thrusts inside, leaving you huffing quick and shallow breaths against his ear, wisps of his hair tickling your nose as they’re blown around. He hums a sound of delight and settles into a comfortable yet delicious rhythm of bucking his hips up to meet your core.

“Who’s good girl are you? Say it.” he sounds like he might be close to his climax, so you humor him and fist your hand into his hair just how he likes it.

“I’m yours, Josh. I’m your good girl.”

I belong to you.  I always will.

He whines at your response and his pace changes, speeding up but stuttering. He claws at your delicate top, tearing it at the neckline to rip down the middle, exposing your bouncing breasts to him in a way that would ignite the most perverted parts of any man’s brain.

“Are you gonna cum in me, baby?” you tighten your walls around him, approaching your own feeling of ecstasy.

He just nods fervently and adjusts his grip on your ass, his fingers wandering as far as they can to grab a handful until they’re almost touching in the middle. You’re not sure what you were expecting, but it wasn’t for him to use his grip to spread your cheeks, parting your folds to allow him an unobstructed reach into your depths. “I can’t fucking wait, I’m gonna…” he strains to speak, fucking into you to the hilt as he twitches inside you and cum overflows from your meeting point as he completely loses himself in you.

Carefully, he steps back with you still in his arms, retreating to take a seat on the edge of the bed. Still straddling him, you settle onto his cock which has yet to soften.

“I’m sorry, Peach. I got too excited.” his head rests on your shoulder as he catches his breath.

“No, don’t be sorry. I wanted you to cum, it feels good.”

“You can feel it?” the genuine surprise on his face when he looks up at you in pleased shock makes you giggle, and the sight of your delight makes him laugh along with you as he moves his hands to rub little circles over your hardened nipples.

“Yeah I can, I feel it right here… deep inside.” you place one finger between his hips in the center of his abdomen and press down, making him giggle uncontrollably and lurch to swat at your hand.

“No no no no, I’m ticklish!”

You hold your hands up in surrender, and after the laughing subsides, he lays back on the bed, sprawling out under your weight. “Well, I’m not gonna let you leave empty handed. Get up here.” he gestures for you to follow him by curling his finger at you and licks his lips.

You slide him out of you and shift your weight to move up his body until his head is between your legs.

“Other way, mama. Turn around.” you quirk an eyebrow at him but do as he says, carefully avoiding kneeing him in the face as you turn to face his feet. As you get into position, he rests his hands on the tops of your legs. “All the way down.”

You resist the urge to laugh. “I’ll crush you.”

“No you won’t, it’s ‘kay, I got you.” he wraps his arms all the way around your legs and lowers you until his extended tongue makes contact. Immediately he goes for the motions that spark pleasure in you the most, it makes you suspect that he’s learning your body quicker than any mediocre fuckboy ever has.

How his cock is still hard as a rock is beyond you, seemingly impossible, but makes for something to keep your hands busy with while he eats you like a last meal.  You’ve spent an unreasonable amount of time on your own imagining what his cock looks like, having access to it this way feels like such a privilege.  

Taking him in your hand, you lazily work your fist over him and lean just enough to leave kitten licks on the head of his cock, teasing it and coaxing flustered noises out of him that reverberate through your whole body. You rotate your hips the slightest bit, adjusting his position without breaking his concentration as he consumes you, sucking up the juices that leak out and lapping at your clit every time you let out a broken sigh.

“Josh.. don’t stop.”. That familiar building feeling begins its ascent when he sucks your clit into his mouth, leaving you mewling as you suckle on him helplessly.

Light muffled moans just cascade out of his chest with little words of affirmation peppered in, you swear you think you heard him say ‘so perfect’ under his breath, but you can’t be sure of his incoherent ramblings. After a few moments of enjoying the perfect pressure on your most sensitive parts, you let your orgasm wash over you, and you cum on his tongue that’s ventured back to your opening to dip inside and scoop out the spoils of his efforts. You almost stop him when he continues backward to spread your own cum around your other entrance, but the warm sticky feeling he swirls around with long languid strokes paralyzes you into a fucked out stupor.

“Feel better?” he sprinkles little kisses across your thighs, craning his neck to leave more and more as you swing your leg over to relieve him of his fleshy prison and collapse onto your back.

You manage a happy sounding ‘mmm’ when he climbs on top of you to kiss each of your cheeks and retreats to your side once you reciprocate with a peck on the tip of his nose and a smile. He relaxes into the bed with you, letting one hand fall into your hair, and you just lie together in your shared bliss.

. . .

You chat about nonsense for an unknown amount of time until the chill of the room forces you to finally stand up.

“Where are you going?”

“Just to the bathroom, gonna freshen up.” On the way there you grab your purse and your clothes, and thank your past self for having the foresight to pack a few toiletries in your bag the day before. As you’re about to close the door behind you, his voice stops you.

“Hey, Peach?”

“Yeah?” you poke your head back out into the room, he’s sitting up in bed and looking at you but you can’t quite place the look on his face.

“Will you… stay with me tonight? You can wear some of my clothes or I can grab some from Danny…” the concern in his voice could melt you, but you can’t tell if he’s scared of asking the question or what the answer might be. In a weird way though, it’s the cutest thing you’ve ever heard.

Be still my heart, he’s down bad. 

“Oh, sweet boy. Without question.”

. . .

Josh has to be the handsiest person you’ve ever met. Not that you’re complaining. As you climb back into bed with him he executes no self-control and pulls you into his lap by your waist. If you’re being honest though, you’d let him manhandle you when and where he pleases. Especially now, when he seems unmotivated by sex and just holds you close, but still intimate since you’ve both opted out of pajamas for the night.

You’re absentmindedly wrapping his curly locks around your fingers in the comfortable stillness of his hotel room, surrounded by smoke from the joint he lit up, and listening to him tell you all about life on the road. A quick prompt of ‘what’s the next city on the roster?’ launched a rant that you have no plans on stopping. You really should be sleeping but to silence his perfect lips would be a crime.

Except for…

“Josh?” you accidentally interrupt at the arrival of an intrusive thought.

“Yes, sweetness?”

“When you said earlier that Im not part of the general population anymore, what did you mean?”

“I don’t know. I’m kind of… infatuated with you.”

Infatuated with me? Why?

He reads the puzzled look on your face and continues.

“The way you speak about things and carry yourself. I can tell you’re special. Not only that, but from the first time I saw you I was drawn to you. It’s almost like the universe brought you to my feet. Your face was all tear-stained and your eyes were puffy but you stopped and saw me, you really saw me. I thought ‘this girl is looking into my soul’. ” too stunned to speak, you stay silent and let him carry on. “Ever since then you’ve just kept on astounding me. So when I said that I guess it was me letting you know I want you around, I want you with me.”

Holy shit. What?

. . . . . . .

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