#I’ve not by that time even been groomed by a male how was a woman my first experience getting groomed when men exist

[kavehater]

Was that man and his wife looking at my . . .

[kiki-shortsnout]

Something I'm working for @the-elle-kat! A Sugardaddy A/B/O in which Tony (omega) ran away from home when he was pregnant, and since then has been leaping from crappy part-time jobs to make ends meet.

Stephen (Alpha) a famous, and rich, neurosurgeon has been looking for a caregiver for his mother, who is paralysed from the waist down after a horse riding accident.

***

‘Good afternoon, Doctor Stephen Strange I presume?’ the man on the other side of Stephen’s door answered.

He has manners. Stephen begrudgingly admitted, his ego stroked at the use of his title. The omega was slight, small in stature as was typical for male omegas, well-groomed and Stephen took a moment to appraise him. He’d never been with an omega, preferring the uncomplicated nature of betas, their lack of pheromones better suited to Stephen’s need for control in his life, but his man might have made him look twice.

‘You must be Tony Stark, please come in.’

‘Yeah, about that, I’m really sorry but I’ve had a slight hiccup with my babysitter and…’

Opening the door wider, Stephen saw there was a small child attached to his hand, a girl with the same huge chocolate eyes as the omega, her free hand clutching a stuffed animal of some description.

You have got to be kidding.

He should do them all a kindness and shut the door in his face now, but Wong’s warning hung over him, so he gritted his teeth and stepped back, opening the door wider.

‘Take a seat,’ he spoke through clenched teeth after they’d followed him down the hallway, indicating the impressive dining table near his piano, watching the child like a hawk as she moved, touching nothing as she sat on the chair

At least it's well-behaved, Stephen thought to himself, sitting opposite them and smoothing out the application form. A brief look at the omega’s neck told him everything he needed to know. Unbonded, a single parent then. Explains the high school education.

‘So, how long did it take you to judge me?’ Tony asked, folding his arms over his chest and giving him a sardonic smile.

‘I don’t know why you think that you’re qualified for this job, why you believed bringing a child along for an interview would help your prospects,’ Stephen told him frankly.

‘I apologize for bringing her, I know it’s unprofessional, but it would be irresponsible for me to leave her alone, or ask someone she doesn’t know to watch her. In terms of being qualified, no, I have nothing on paper that can show you my qualifications, but I do have experience of being a single parent.’

Stephen said nothing more, almost daring the omega to elaborate.

‘No one knows time management better than a single parent, how else could I work and support my child? I did it alone, cared for her, and stayed committed to her development. I’ve dressed her, fed her, got her to her appointments, and that was what you were asking for in the application form.’

He scoffed, the sound making the small girl flinch.

‘I think you’re oversimplifying the care my mother requires. I do not doubt the amount of effort that goes into child rearing, but those skills aren’t applicable here.’ Stephen couldn’t believe he was even explaining this, let alone entertaining this farce of an interview.

‘Doctor Strange!’

Evangeline, his mother’s carer burst through the door, her hair standing on edge from where she’d obviously run sweaty hands through it, splotches of red on her cheeks from her frustrated anger.

‘I can’t, not anymore. I know I promised to stay until you found someone else, but that woman is impossible.’

‘Evangeline, wait,’ Stephen pleaded, getting to his feet, ignoring his guests as he tried to chase after her.

‘Don’t listen to what he says, she’s a monster,’ Evangeline directed towards Stark before she fled the penthouse, ignoring Stephen’s repeated calls for her to stop.

He’d only made it a few steps before the front door slammed, the sound echoing through the space of his penthouse.

What the hell was he going to do now?

‘I think it’s best if-’

‘Stephen!’

The headache that had been brewing behind his eyes grew in strength, pounding against the inside of his skull as his mother wheeled herself into the room, her rage in her scent thick enough to make Stephen’s nose curl, and he spared a brief thought for how the omega might find it.

‘What happened?’ Stephen asked, his voice monotone. He’d long ago learnt to keep his emotions out of it, knowing anything he said would make situations such as this worse.

‘What happened is another one of those bimbos you hired completely ignored my wishes and began doing things without my permission. I don’t understand why you think it’s so hard to-’

‘Mother, we talked about this. They’re here to help you, to help you be as independent as possible. However, they’re not your emotional punching bags-’

‘They’re supposed to ask me at least-’

‘And we both know your demands are impossible-’

‘If you just listened to me for once!’

‘That’s enough!’ A clap of hands interrupted them, and they both looked at the standing omega, his hands still clasped together as he stared at the pair of them.  ‘We’re all grown adults here, so let's stop shouting over each other and listen, shall we?’ He spoke to them as if they were of the same age as the child still sitting at the table, and Stephen stretched to his full height, outraged at the impudence.

‘What happened?’ His voice lowered, becoming sweet and coaxing as he addressed his mother, and to his wonderment her anger dissipated, her eyes wide and uncertain with the omega’s full attention on her.

‘I wanted to go for a walk. I haven’t left the apartment in a few days and-’

‘That’s because you made Evangeline’s life hell for-’

‘Nope, no interrupting. You’ll get your say in a minute.’ The omega held his hand up, silencing Stephen’s explanation, and he could see the slight smile on his mother’s lips, a genuine amusement he hadn’t seen in months. Forcing his outrage down, he shifted from foot to foot, gripping hold of his temper as he watched events unfold.

‘You were saying…’

‘Beverly.’

‘Beverly. Sorry, please continue.’

[angelmelon]

tumblr won’t let me reblog right now I hate you tumblr

@clit-a-cola

Will that work?? I have you blocked idk I just saw this from fluffy’s acc

YOOOO INANIMATE INSANITY MENTION

Now to address some points myself

I have. Way more things made by straight men that I hate about the same amount as Leasebound actually

Making an entire blog dedicated to the problems in Battle For Chicken Nuggets would be the worst possible idea anyone has ever made

FUCK YOU OBJECT TERROR FUCK YOU FUCK YOU FUCK YOU I HATE THIS STUPID WALLET VTUBER THING WHY DO YOU LOOK LIKE THAT

FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU

Considering I have severe religious trauma talking about how much I hate fundamentalist institutions all the time would make my life very difficult. At least hating on Leasebound is kind of entertaining?? I don’t have direct trauma with y’all?? (Well. There’s an exception to that 😭😭 not gonna get into that)

okay now for why I focus on Leasebound in particular

Leasebound was like. My first exposure to this kind of unbridled hate. “Joking” on a podcast that all male babies should be aborted, “JoKiNg” on Instagram that all people should bully people who wear makeup and skirts, commenters being facilitated to “jOkE” about a 16 year old child character being locked out of his house, it’s really not just the transphobia. Also, to your point, Rusty could be focusing on way more important issues in the feminist movement with a feminist comic than trans people existing.

oh yeah, I’ve also been talking more about radfems in general now…. Like just the entire movement sucking cause I’ve started getting hyperfixated on it myself. Even talking civilly to more radfems to get info. Shockingly hasn’t made me “peak”, it’s just made me either laugh super hard or feel like throwing up. Like, imagine working with the HERITAGE FOUNDATION to “protect” lesbians. They do NOT realize how bad that’s gonna backfire. To your point again they would not go this hard on cis men cause they’d rather work with the HERITAGE FOUNDATION than talk to a trans woman for 5 seconds in a civil manner 💀🙏 they also accused me with no basis of grooming my trans woman friend after I informed them that the worst thing she has done in her life is do weed underaged after they accused HER of grooming ME with no basis. Like you don’t KNOW this woman and you’re switching your tone that fast

also the term libfem just makes me giggle. Just a couple letters away the radfems would be calling people libtards like Elon Musk 😭😭

and finally, my butch lesbian sister is like the whole reason I came out so I have a whole lot of respect for lesbians. (I also thought I was a nonbinary lesbian for years until the demons (cis men who shower) got to me) Respect enough to know that they can be good people, or bad people, or have good or bad ideologies like anyone the fuck else. I’d actually love to set up a convo with you and her at some point?? If she actually has the energy of course. She’s like 20 she’s old enough to have a not comically ridiculous conversation with most of the millennials that make up the Leasebound fanbase (though, to Rusty’s credit, I thought her and my sister were the same age for abit… oh how wrong I was) she also has her Bachelors at 20, she’s very intelligent. Would probably be more professional than me, huh??

[luna-rainbow]

Jdorama 2023 Spring

Kyojo 0 (12.1) / 教場０風間公親 Stars: Kimura Takuya and others

I’ve been looking forward to this drama even before it screened 🙈 I LOVED the SPs. The format of the series looks like it's different. The SPs intercut between several key characters, forcing you to keep track of several narrative threads at once, meaning it's a bit of a cognitive challenge to stay alert for the whole 4 hours, but it's also a format I quite enjoyed because the interactions between students are key to the story. The series seems to go the classic episodic police procedural route. The opening episode has Akaso Eiji and none of the other big names, and I wonder if this means the students won't interact.

Sometimes the messaging in the SP is a bit murky, but the first episode managed well. Kazama quickly picks apart several flaws that makes Urihara a dangerous policeman: not noticing key details, jumping to conclusions, thinking he can talk someone into a confession without having enough evidence, lying to a suspect about key evidence, precipitating a young child's asthma in order to get the father to confess.

Ultimately, Kyoujo is supposed to be a crime solver and not commentary on the police system, but I do find the reflections on ethics interesting. The situations are ethically ambiguous, and the series rarely offers a "model answer", but what it does is to tease out the biases individual policemen can bring to their work and how that could lead to harm...and I think that's a very worthwhile examination.

Watashi no Oyome-kun / My Mr. Bride / わたしのお嫁くん Stars: Haru, Takasugi Mahiro

Haru is seriously getting typecast in these OL dramas...and the personalities are all kind of the same. Based on manga, this is about a woman who is excellent at her work and a man who is excellent at housework, and how they, presumably, live together in subversion of traditional Japanese gender roles.

There's been quite a few dramas lately about career women who can't manage housework finding a male partner who is good at it. It's interesting to watch the progression of the attitude through the years - when Nodame Cantabile and Hotaru no Hikari screened back maybe 10 years ago, Nodame's messiness was a tool for humour, and Hotaru's lack of grooming AT HOME was treated self-deprecatingly as laziness. In Watashi no Kaseifu Nagisa-san from 2020, though, while there was some comedy in Mei's messiness, it was much more matter-of-fact about the fact that yes, as a full-time (+overtime), high-achieving, hard-working career woman, she couldn't also attend to her domestic cleaning, and compromises had to be made.

And this drama continues that trend and is a little more frank about the discussions. Why should a woman who is good at her sales job - by regularly preempting and meeting customer expectations - be constantly told that she would make a good bride instead of being appreciated for being an excellent sales rep? Why should a woman feel like being a good housewife is the lifetime achievement rather than being good at her job? Why should a two-income household where both partners hold demanding jobs expect the housework to fall onto the woman?

This is supposed to be a romcom, so inevitably amatonormativity doesn't come into the discussions (especially since Japan wants to increase its marriage and birth rates). But to do that, Japanese culture is likely to need an overhaul on its gender roles, especially as more and more women find that they are more fulfilled by staying in the workforce than marrying off to become a housewife, where they get no respect, no social contact and a husband who has no appreciation of how much work they do.

[unveiledveins]

ryan guzman, homosexual, cis+male & he/him → isn’t that rafael calderon? i’ve seen them hanging out with the humans. i hear they’re thirty-six years old, but they’ve only been in alexandria for five years. they seem to be ambitious & charismatic, but also arrogant & machiavellian

GET TO KNOW THE MUSE

Name: Rafael Calderon

Nickname(s): Raf, Rafa

Age: 36

Date of Birth: August 10th

Zodiac: Leo

Place of Birth: Mexico, but moved to Texas when he was thirteen

Race / Ethnicity: Mexican-American & white

Gender: CIS-Male

Pronouns: He/Him

Sexual Orientation: Homosexual

Romantic Orientation: Homoromantic

Species: Human

FAMILY

Siblings: A half-brother, age 14

APPEARANCE

Height: 6′1

Build: Athletic, Muscular, Toned

Hair Color: Brown

Eye Color: Hazel

Distinguishing Features: A small scar above his left eye, causing a break in his left eyebrow

Biography

From the moment that he was born, Rafael had been told just how special he was. As the only son to Angelo Calderon, a well-liked politician in the country of Mexico - as well as a key figure in the Mexican cartel - Rafael was definitely considered to be his father’s heir and successor and he had been groomed as such. Learning the business from an early age, between how to launder money, how to shoot a gun, how to package drugs and how to fight, many of his dad’s employees would tell him what a natural he was, telling him that he was the prince to his father’s empire. And Rafael? Rafael ate it up. Of course, his mother could see what this was doing to her son and not wanting her baby boy to be corrupted by his father and his goons, took him across the border to the United States in the hopes that being raised by her family would help to humble the boy. But it didn’t. While he learned how to work on buildings and how to fix a car, following his two uncles to their respective careers as a carpenter and a car mechanic, he knew that he was meant for more than this - that he was better than just a mechanic or a carpenter. He was a Calderon, and that meant something. But Rafael loved his mother, and while he wanted to head back to Mexico to shadow his father and learn even more about the business that would one day be his, he decided to humor her and stay in the United States until he finished college - he owed her that much, at least. Getting a scholarship to play football for LSU, Rafael headed to Louisiana to play football and get a degree, all the while knowing what his future lied in front of him. Making solid connections in Louisiana with people that enjoyed partying, Rafael was planning for an expansion into the state once he returned home to his father and, after graduating, he headed back to Mexico… Only to find that he had been replaced. His father, having given up hope on seeing his first-born ever again, had found another woman to carry another child of his and, luckily, he had been blessed with another boy. This was something that Rafael couldn’t stand for, and all Rafael wanted to do was step up and show his father that he still deserved that spot as his father’s heir. Because he was. He was his rightful heir, and he’d be damned if he let anyone else claim that position. With a promise to his father to expand his empire and prove his worth as his son, he headed back to Louisiana to begin trading and selling various drugs. It was in New Orleans that he met his first supernatural creature. The two of them had met at a party that Rafael was “catering” and quickly struck up a whirlwind romance - it wasn’t something that Rafael expected, really, but in time, the other man admitted that he wasn’t human. This only intrigued Rafael, making him more and more curious about the man to the point where it was all he wanted to talk about - how did you become one, what all could you do, what sort of creatures were out there - and, eventually, his lover wound up breaking things off with him and fleeing. But Rafael was determined, and he knew that if he could find more supernatural creatures and somehow become one? He’d be worthy of being his father’s heir. That is how Rafael found himself in Alexandria, working in a garage in the city, as he had heard about the supernatural safe haven several years ago. He’s been here for about five years, and while he hasn’t found anyone willing to turn him - he’s biding his time, knowing that eventually? Someone will give him what he wants. And when he gets that, he knows that he’ll be unstoppable and he’ll be the rightful heir and king to his father’s empire.

[summer-fruits-and-cream]

I tell people that transition has only made me more of a feminist, which I already very much was. The bar for certain things is so much lower for men than for women. It’s really astonishing. I went from being seen as off-putting, unapproachable, and unsociable to approachable, easygoing, and friendly. That’s not just an assumption, that’s based on my actual performance reviews and colleague feedback. On the appearance and grooming front, I went from being seen as, at best, a relatively low-maintenance woman, to being a very sharp and put-together man. I wouldn’t say that I’ve changed all that much as far as how much I socially engage with colleagues, and I spend way less time/money on things like clothes and hair. I feel like so much time and energy has been freed up for other things. I wish everyone could have that kind of choice in the matter without facing so much judgment. I get questioned on my authority far less, even by people who know little to nothing about my experience and credentials. They assume that because I have a job that I have successfully performed for going on three years now, I must know what I’m talking about. Initially, that backfired. Whenever I made a point, I’d front-load justifications and arguments since that was what I was used to doing to be heard, and people reacted with surprise and confusion. Additionally, I had to learn to stop pushing so hard for space to speak in any given discussion, since everyone in the conversation automatically made room for me. I had to learn to more mildly state my opinion and offer the rest only if asked. I do try to use my powers for good by signal-boosting my more timid and/or non-male colleagues’ voices. If they’re spoken over or ignored, I’ll say “Hey everyone, did you catch what Colleague said? Pretty good point, Colleague” and turn to them, offering them the opening in the discussion that I just made. One completely unexpected consequence of the whole dude-authority thing is becoming the organizer for the office book club. The other members (almost all women) decided that I’d be the one to run it, and that was that. I did outright refuse any title. Plus, I have focused on dealing with all the annoying logistics so that everyone else can enjoy reading and discussing, which I think is the type of thing that’s usually foisted on women anyway.

AAM post

[shadowealth]

It’s interesting how in my small small world

I thought I knew about love and romance bc of my ability to feel things deeply. My ability to allow myself to be penetrated by the flighty, and how my fear of the real thing blocked the flow of exactly what I needed.

I can’t even write about love now- between man and woman in that distorted way I used to. I know for certain that romance isn’t real. So now my words in that area fall short, as words tend to do when a lie is being told. When it comes to a lie, the words are either too short, too long , or complicated…it’s the complicated that reveals deceit.

I don’t have the experience accurately illustrate what love looks like between man and woman

But I’ve loved other things and I’ve had other feelings of bliss that were sourced from a genuine and honest place inside me. Tru love tends to be short lived and simultaneously everlasting in that way.

I loved kissing my first boyfriend behind the vending machine at school. He made sure to pop some gum in his mouth beforehand. I looked forward to it every day. It was gross, but innocent. He wrote me lengthy love letters, and I realized he was one boy I felt comfortable to share my odd music tastes with. I mean…14 years old and listening to Lalah Hathaway? What did I know about Lalah Hathaway? Yet & still I shared it w him and he didn’t make me feel shame for my matured, off-trend ears. He never pressured me into sex, and was kind enough to break up with me before sleeping with another girl. I thought I was gonna die when it happened, but as an adult I can see and say he had more balls than grown adult males who remain in committed relationships/marriages yet don’t have the testes to leave before he lies down. I will never respect a coward.

Love doesn’t always feel good. & there’s no shame in it.

Another blissful moment in my life, was when I was a child and I went to Libby Lu w/ my childhood best friend. Everything was glittery, flirty, and pink. It was free reign for a girl to really be a girl in a girls world. The world CRAVES the majik of girls and the innate glossiness, flare, whimsicalness we have at that time. Every tendril curl on a grape vine, that’s a girl. The flutter of a butterfly’s wing, that’s a girl. Sequins…yup that’s girls. Fake diamonds that look icier than the real ones & never make your ears turn green, thats a girl. Christmas lights & the way they make u feel… a girl. Hugs w/ a side of sassy winking aimed at whoever, smeared chrome-fuchsia lipstick, clammy hands that’s been everywhere n touched everything, dirty as a little boys…lol…that’s a girl. And that’s what we were.

I recaul looking at pics of our Libby Lu excursion. She’s pregnant w her first born now and I pray it’s a girl.

I can go on and on and on.

Inner dualism, society, family, nonsensical economies, perverts…they try to rob bliss

They try to rob love.

They try to replace it w religion, fantasies, illusion, belief, wonder, porn, manipulation, grooming. Everything but the truth.

Why? Don’t know for sure.

Maybe it’s bc if a person lived a life of recurrent bliss via the harmony that comes w an expansive & deep inner world…they wouldn’t need to indulge in the most heinous, infected aspects of themselves.

They’d know awe, from the smallest things. Like a kiss from their first, loving boyfriend.

Or a girls say out w their bestie dressed in all pink.

Maybe.

[osakunt]

Song summary / translation - I’ve been informed that your boyfriend is boring. You’re a fire and he so cold. Your little friend says that he doesn’t want me being your friend. He suspects that I’m a pirate and that I might steal his flower. Don’t be surprised if one night I sneak into your room and once again make you mine. If you marry the day of you wedding I’ll tell your husband in a hurry, that the the woman he loves is only being lent to him because you’re still considered mine.

Eres mia = You’re mine [Female use]

☢︎ Taiju.S x F!reader

☢︎ NSFW [cheating and hidden sex] MINORS DNI

“You think I wouldn’t find out that you’re not happy ?” Taiju whispers with an aggressive thrust. Another follows with a bite to your shoulder.

“Your little friend said that ole boy doesn’t want you being near me. Thinks that I’ll rob you from him. He’s not wrong though”

Taiju was always the one to know where to hit to take you to where you wanted to be. He had changed a lot ever since he lost that battle at the church. When he met you things changed for him even more. He go to experience love. Something that he had once with his family at one point. But this love was more of intimate love. Something different from family love.

You were to be wed tomorrow. With someone you just now realized, you didn’t love. The one you cared about the most was inside of you, making your eyes roll back from the arousing feelings he was giving you.

“I’ll make sure to be at your wedding tomorrow, doll. I’ll tell your to be husband that you’re just being lent for him for a while. That who you really belong is to me”

Taiju flips you over onto all fours. He passes his thumb over your recently abused lips. A moan escapes feeling him press his thumb against your clit. “You like that don’t you ?”

“Hm” you hum in pleasure

Plunging in his thick cock inside you, a gasp laced with a groan, string out of Taiju. He was going to make you his tonight. He didn’t care if you had showed up to your own wedding with hickies who were made by another man who wasn’t suppose to be.

Gripping the flesh of your ass, Taiju bottoms out inside you. His warm release filling up your pussy with desperate need to make sure that you were his.

The next day Taiju shows up to your wedding. You with no smile to be seen and your husband to be eyeing out the crowd wanting to know who the suspect was. The pirate that was going to steal his flower.

Taiju smiles watching as the priest asks you for the second time, if you accept the man in front of you as your husband. “I guess that’s a no. I’ll be taking her off your hands” Taiju gets up from the bench of the church. His tall form leaving even the grooms mother surprised.

“Son. You can’t really be doing this ? Do you know how wrong this is ?” The priest knew of Taiju’s intentions. Taiju himself told him, wanting him to be aware. When he found out he hoped that Taiju wouldn’t end up actually doing what he was doing right this moment.

“I can father, and I will. I love (y/n). She doesn’t love the man in front of her. So as I said before - I’ll be taking her from here” He had now walked up to the alter. His hand extended towards you to help you with your dress.

“You aren’t taking her anywhere ! She’s my fiancé. Remember that you two broke up and she is yours no longer !” The mad male lashes out at Taiju.

But of course his words meant nothing to him. Taiju blinked down at him trying not to laugh at the poor attempt to keep you where you were.

“She was never yours. Her love for you was lent. She never really did love you. All she needed was a distraction from the strong hood I have against her heart. You can’t even erase me from her. I’m her’s as she is mine”

You take ahold of Taiju’s hand. Letting him guide you away from the alter - leaving the grooms family in shock while yours wasn’t surprised. Most of them knew that your heart belonged to Taiju. There was no reason for them to stop you with being with your true love.

Your parents sighed with relief seeing that you didn’t say yes to the man they detested. With Taiju they saw you excel and even give a proper smile. They let you go as long as you were happy, so were they.

You get a call while you change out the raggedy dress, your now ex fiancé had chosen for you. Looking at the screen you see your father’s caller ID. You answer it waiting to hear an ear full. Instead you get a “Go to the house. We’ll be waiting for you and my real son in law there”.

[woos-lil-oreo]

Love Scene

Pairing: Song Min Gi x Female! Reader

Word Count: approximately 3.1k words

Warnings: Slight Voyeurism???, Mentions of alcohol consumption, cursing/swearing, biting, spitting, Reader is a slight pillow princess, UNPROTECTED SEX (plastic wrap your peenie weenies), oral sex (fem receiving), fingering, slight use of pet names... I think that's it.

Author's Note: Most of this is a BIG self-indulgence XD and that Mingi gif always get me going... AnYwAyS, This fic is NSFW!!!! If you are uncomfy, do not read! If I miss anything, please tell me. If you wanna join the taglist, send me an ask and let me know. Don't steal... all that ✨ jazz ✨ music. Drink your water and enjoy my dirty lil harlots 😉

Taglist: @shusan @woowommy @ceopjy @joongsprincess @yunhofingers

Intro and Masterlist ✨

This is the happiest day of your life. You are dolled up in a beautiful snow-white dress decorated in speckled sequins and intricate rhinestone designs.

Your makeup is simple yet glamourous with a simple natural smoky eye with a shimmer in the inner corners. There is this aural glow of happiness around you, and you genuinely feel like a princess.

You are standing in front of your handsome fiancée with your hands holding each other, who is decked out in a simple black suit with a white dress shirt accented with a deep royal blue tie and shiny black Oxfords.

Hongjoong’s friend, Maddox, recites the point in the script where the vows would be repeated by you and your soon to be husband.

The vows. A spiritual binding of words that will connect the two of you until the end of eternity… or until you two get tired of each other, whichever comes first.

As you repeat after Maddox, Mingi’s eyes glisten with tears of joy. As much as he willed himself not to, one little miscreant of a tear dared to fall. You drop one of your hands to go wipe the tear stream off of his cheek.

The guests proceed to awe in adoration. Seonghwa fans his eyes to prevent his tears from falling, while Hongjoong is sporting a runny nose and a giant crocodile tear down his cheek, clinging to Seonghwa’s shoulder.

As you listen to Mingi recite his vows, tears start to well up in your eyes. You grip Mingi’s hand a little tighter to calm yourself because your makeup is beautifully done, and you’d be damned if you let a teardrop and a dried tear stain appear on your cheek. Jae-hee would have your ass. You got through the ceremony without tears!

“By the power vested in me, I pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride.” Maddox proclaims. You turn to Mingi, who now has one of the brightest smiles ever on his face, and he leaves a nice, sweet, lingering peck on your lips, still holding your hands.

“Oh, come on, you can do better than that!” Wooyoung screams out, earning himself a nice smack to the forehead from Yeosang. Wooyoung winces and rubs the spot while the guests laugh at their interaction and turn back to you when Mingi lets go of your hand and smirks.

Mingi pulls you to his chest, grabs you by the waist – pulling you close to him – and kisses you. As the kiss gets deeper, he places his hand on your cheek – steadying your head, and your hands work their way to the back of his head.

The crowd begins to root the two of you on, and Jae-hee screams out, “You guys are literally about to get a room!” You both pull away from each other and look at your husband. Mingi has a very thin layer of shimmer lip gloss on his mouth, and his cheeks and the tips of his ears are red.

A now very flustered and blushy boi Maddox quickly recollects himself from what he just witnessed and mutters, “They don’t pay me enough,” with a chuckle before he announces, loud and proud, “I-I now present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Song Min Gi!”

Everyone stands up from their seats and creates a round of applause as the newlywed couple leads the processional to the area where the wedding party, which is beautifully attired in soft peach pink dresses and deep royal sapphire blue accented suits, is to take pictures of one of the most important days you will never forget.

~25 minutes later~

The host has completed the introductions for the most chaotic wedding party that has ever existed, and everyone is getting to their seats in the venue.

The reception hall is absolutely stunning! The same colors of the wedding party are accented with gold. Diamonds are loosely scattered across the table, tealight candles alit floating in water vases, giving the room a soft glow in addition to the dimmed lighting.

The caterers are dressed in a clean white shirt, a black vest, and slacks. The guys have a royal blue sleeve garter, and the girls a soft peach one.

Once everyone has settled at their tables, Jae-hee and Yunho approach the front of the makeshift stage to make their toasts as Maid of Honor and Best Man.

Jae-hee grabs the microphone first, and she is already tearing up, and she is usually not one for emotion often. “Y/N, we have been friends for so long… we are practically sisters. I’ve watched you grow into a beautiful and confident woman… and even though I put you through some shit….” All of ATEEZ shakes their head and groan in agreement, and the rest of the guests laugh in response.

Jae-hee rolls her eyes and continues. “I’m so happy that you have found the love of your life and that I wasn’t the first to get married.” You roll your eyes and get up to hug her, and she meets you halfway. While in her embrace, she whispers, “I love you, baby girl,” and you respond with the same hushed tone, “I love you, too,” letting one measly tear run.

You two kiss each other’s cheek, and you return to your seat, and Jae-hee returns to the stage. She grabs Yunho’s handkerchief to dab away her tears before they fall through mascara. “Mingi, I officially welcome you into the messy integration that is our family.” Mingi chuckles and nods in response.

The mic is passed to Yunho. “Mingi, you have grown into an immaculate young man who is decorated with accomplishments and people who love you. I’m really proud of you, and I wish you two the best of luck. Y/N, I have watched you become each other’s yin and yang. You may be a bit of a handful,” you roll your eyes and chuckle. “… But we love you so much, and we welcome you into our quote – end quote ‘messy integration that is our family.’” Yunho walks over to give you a kiss on the cheek, and bro hugs Mingi.

“Cheers!” After an emotional toast from Hongjoong and Seonghwa, it was time for the party to begin, and I mean both aspects of the term. Which explains why you are now seated in a chair in the middle of the dance floor. Mingi is standing across from you with a slightly evil glint in his eye.

Hope You Do by Chris Brown blares through the speakers in the venue. You immediately cover your warm cheeks with your hands to conceal the blush and warmth there, knowing what is to come. Mingi starts to remove his suit jacket… and Yeosang, Yunho, and surprisingly, Jongho remove their coats as well.

As the trio wines and grinds on the floor behind the Groom, Mingi moves closer towards you to go and remove your garter.

When he reaches you, he does not even take the time to bunch up your dress and goes straight into hunting for the garter. His big hands rub around the top of your knees to find it.

When he does, he drops his hands to the floor to give himself leverage. He proceeds to leave a speckled trail of kisses up your leg and bites right below the garter, causing you to yelp in surprise and the crowd to holler out.

Mingi drags the garter down your leg to your ankle and removes it from your foot. At this point, there is a tension between you two that begs and pleads to be relieved.

Mingi stands to his feet, grabbing your hands to guide you straight up off the chair. You two make eye contact, and you can see the tension. “Alright young bachelorettes, come out to the floor and catch you a bouquet!” The host says in the mic, and all the women move to the floor, ready to start drinking, the actual after-party, and the real fun.

When all participants are on the floor, you pretend to throw the bouquet to keep them on edge. After a few false turns, you finally throw, and Jae-hee sprints to the front to catch it effortlessly.

“Yeahhh bitches, I’m next to get married!!!” She jumps up and down as you laugh and the other ladies leave the floor.

The host announces that it is the fellas’ turn to come out on the floor. It was not as many males as females, but there was a good amount present. Mingi played the same card as you: pretending to throw the garter until he did.

In an ironic twist of events, Jongho caught it on the top of his head like a flower crown. When he patted his head to confirm he sort of caught it, he made eye contact with Jae-hee.

They both quickly look away with a bright pink flush on their cheeks, which causes you and Mingi to laugh together. He wraps his arms across your shoulder blades and squeezes your shoulder. You look at him questioningly, and he nods to the door. You nod and grab his hand, running to the back door with your husband.

Seonghwa will have your ass for running out and leaving him and Hongjoong to clean up your mess, but that is a tomorrow problem, and you have more… pressing matters to deal with.

Mingi is flying down the street with you in the back seat to compensate room for your dress. As he tries to get to your home without getting a ticket, you untie his tie and proceed to rub down his chest, slow and meticulously popping one button after another.

Before you could decorate his neck in pretty little hickeys and love bites, the car jerks to a stop, and he power strides to your door and opens it. He grabs you in his arms bridal style out of the vehicle.

You were surprised at how easy he made that look, especially with all of the extra fluff on your dress. He carries you into the threshold with ease, kissing you as if his life depends on it.

When Mingi blindly finds your room, he puts you down on your feet, spins you around, and begins to unzip your dress. He kisses under your ear and down your neck as your dress pools around your feet. He breaks away to rest his forehead on yours.

“As much I would love to pound you into the mattress right now, I would like for our first time as a married couple to be gentle,” he breathes out. You nod your head, and he slowly turns you around to unclip the black strapless bra, allowing your breasts to drop.

He returns his mouth back to your neck and softly twists your nipple between his fingers, eliciting tingles to run all over your body. As good as the feeling was, you remove Mingi’s hand and spin around to face your husband. You walk backward until the back of your legs hit the mattress and lean back.

MIngi crawls on top of you and slowly kisses you. You can feel the passion and love through it, causing you to shiver. Mingi, once again, pulls away from you to drag your black lace panties down your legs. He throws them across the room and stands from the bed, peeling away the dress shirt you opened in the car.

The shirt drops to the floor, and he begins to unbuckle his belt, dropping it to the floor. The pants come next, along with the boxer briefs, and they pooled around his ankles. You bite your finger and lick your lips with lust-darkened eyes as you are being blessed with this private show.

Mingi returns to your V of your legs and brings your ankle to his mouth, leaving delicate kisses down the inner side of your leg until he reaches the inner thigh, where he leaves a bite – causing you to giggle and squirm a bit.

He lifts himself to where his penis grazes your labia. He rubs the tip along your slit and teases the tip inside of your core. “You ready, baby?” He sticks the reddened tip inside, just to pull it back out, and repeats this a couple times until you are a whining and moaning little mess. He finally pushes his dick past the tip and slowly moves into you, allowing you to feel every vein and ridge of his cock.

You moan in relief and very, very, VERY slight pain due to his girth, and Mingi doesn’t stop until he is at the hilt, meeting you pelvis to pelvis. He doesn’t move for a second, trying to collect himself before he busts in you from the tightness of your honey pot. You shiver as he pants in your neck, leaving goosebumps wherever his warm minty breath hits.

You grind your hips around, signaling that you have adjusted to his size, and he moans out at the action. He begins to pump inside very slowly in and out of you, with his brows scrunched and his bottom lip being bitten.

You hear the squelching noises from his slow pace. When you started getting louder, Mingi moves a bit faster, seeing that you are slowly reaching your orgasm, and frankly, so is he. “Baby, I love you so much,” he mutters like a mantra as he helps you both reach new heights.

You two have made love before, but never to this extent. After every mutter, your heart from knowing that this is the man you will spend the rest of your life with. You place your hand on the back of Mingi’s neck to kiss him, but before your lips could make contact, Mingi stops.

He licks the base of his thumb and places a firm pressure on your clitoris, and then kisses you, his tongue swirling around your own. You two are seeing specks of light under your eyelids from cumming so hard. It may not have been anything degrading, rough or intense in that sense. Still, it was absolutely beautiful joining souls with your lover.

~The Next Morning~

You wake up feeling floaty, like you are lying on a cloud. Your husband is asleep with his arm draped around your waist. As you face Mingi, his features are soft, and it looks like he is in bliss. You place your hand on his cheek and caress the apple.

When you are done admiring your husband, you carefully move his arm to his side to make breakfast. You are successful in not waking Mingi and hop out of bed, still naked from last night’s escapades. “Wow, it feels nice to say that,” you think as you grab your husband’s dress shirt and run to the bathroom to clean Mingi’s cum that has dripped down your leg.

~A few minutes later~

You are now in the kitchen, whipping up some waffle batter. The table is decorated with a nicely plated array of bacon and a bowl of freshly washed and cut fruit. You finish plugging in the waffle iron when your husband wraps his arms around your shoulders and spins you around.

He quickly lifts you on the counter. “Good morning, Mrs. Song.” He says huskily from his morning voice. You try to reply with a greeting, but Mingi catches the words in your mouth. Your lips are smashed together from Mingi’s fervency, and his long and slender fingers start to move down to your hole.

“Oh my goodness, babe. You’re so wet for me.” He teased. You moan out while he rubs your entrance, spreading your slick up and down. “You like this, don’t you?” He asks when he pushes a finger in, causing you to scream in response. “Those weren’t proper words, but I’ll take it.” He responds while adding another finger in and drastically changing his pace. You cry out due to the incredible speed. Mingi looks up at you.

Your head is tilted back, tiny pants coming from your mouth, and hands grabbing the counter as if to ground yourself. Mingi lets a drop of spit fall from his mouth and adds another finger to add more lubrication and bring you closer to climax.

You start to squirm on the counter, which is now soaked in your fluids, and whimper softly. A telltale sign that you are almost there; you just need that one little push. Mingi kneels down to be face to face with your cunt, and he stares at your dripping core as if he was hypnotized by how well you are taking his digits.

A loud moan from you knocks him out of his trance, and he adds one more finger and starts to apply suction on your button. A blinding white light flashes behind your eyelids, and a fuzzy warmth roams all over your body.

You breathe heavily from your high, and Mingi slows his speed, allowing you to ride out your orgasm. He slowly removes his fingers, causing you to whimper from overstimulation, and brings them to your mouth.

You immediately open your mouth to welcome in the appendages and begin to suck them as if your life depends on it. The spit dribbles from your mouth down your chin and along Mingi’s forearm. He gently pulls at your jaw to open your mouth and spits in your mouth.

“Swallow.” He growls, and you do not think twice about disobeying him. He returns to kiss you, mixing your natural taste with your juices and his tongue.

He pulls away, and your fucked out state is adorable: your eyes are dilated from here to Hell, saliva glistening your chin, your cheeks are heavily flushed, and your ass is drenched with your cum.

“If this is what I wake to every morning, I’m not complaining.” Mingi chuckles. “You didn’t even get to have breakfast yet.” You laughed. He looks with an eyebrow raised… “Oh, you meant actual food?” You nod your head.

“As long as I have you, I don’t think I’ll need anything else.” He cheesily says. “Yeah, sure, that’s not what your body will be saying.” You retaliate as you jump off the counter, cringing when you hear your butt peel off the corner from your juices.

Mingi laughs, grabs some paper towels to clean that. When he’s done, he washes his hands and proceeds to help you cook so you two can build the stamina to christen the rest of your home together. Well, christen is not the right word… more like fuck like rabbits until the morning light returns.

~~~~~

And there's the fic ✨ hope you enjoyed the read ✨ leave an ask and say hi or even follow me or reblog if you did

[sinner-as-saint]

Let Me Love You.

CEO!Bucky Barnes x Reader AU.

Run-through: Things happened between you and your boss over a weekend recently; while on a business trip. Boundaries were crossed, lines were blurred – rather salaciously. Following this; you decide to resign from your dream job because you couldn’t handle the guilt of having been so unethical. So vulnerable and open. Neither could you handle his burning stare at work, nor the craving of being under him each time you looked at him. So you decide to leave before you ruin your own career and further. But then, your boss shows up at your doorstep – determined to make you realize that this isn’t so bad after all…

Themes: smut, fluff, ceo!bucky (because I miss him)

You felt awful as you stepped into your apartment.

Sighing as you looked around; thinking about how the job you just quit had paid for this lavish home you owned currently. Removing your shoes by the door, dropping your bag and keys beside them you lazily crossed your spacious living room and stepped into the main balcony.

Given you were high up, the view you had of the city was to die for. The sun was going down, and usually you loved sunsets but you couldn’t appreciate this one as much as you wanted to. You were stressed; now jobless.

You thought back to the past week you had just hustled through. Monday was weird; he avoided you like the plague. Tuesday was the same, except you caught him staring in your direction while in a rather important meeting. Wednesday, he still didn’t say a word – except for his usual demands which being his PA you had to meet. Thursday he didn’t come to work; which then gave you more time to think about everything which happened recently, allowing you more time to feel guilty and weird.

And today, given it was Friday he was the busiest he’s been all week. Yet despite that, he managed to send you looks which spoke volumes even in crowded rooms. And you couldn’t take it anymore. You believed you were someone who wouldn’t be able to mix work and pleasure and find a healthy balance, so for the sake of your own peace of mind; you produced a resignation letter and placed it on his desk when he wasn’t in his office. And you left for the day.

You knew he always lingered at his office for a while longer on Fridays. So you were sure that by now he must have found your letter. You wondered if he felt just as awkward and weird as you did, and if so, then he’d accept your resignation without any hesitation.

You sighed one more time, taking in the cool air and the orange-pinkish sky. You walked back inside and decided that soaking in warm water and essential oils would make you feel a little better. So that’s what you went for.

 Thoughts of him filled your head as you soaked in the warm bath water. Your boss. James Buchanan Barnes; powerful name for an equally powerful man. He was the kind of person you couldn’t forget even if you tried. Respect, fame, wealth, authority, power; he had it all.

And recently, just a week ago, he had taken over you as well…

-Flashback-

Friday morning you came to work and found out that you would be accompanying your boss on a short business trip. You didn’t make a fuss, even if it meant sacrificing your days off. The paycheck you received each month made up perfectly well for it.

Paris for weekend, to attend a business conference didn’t sound so bad after all.

“Sir, I’ve just been notified that you’ve cancelled the hotel reservations?” you questioned while scrolling through your mails. While you were just a little confused by this, the man in front of you was clearly not.

Sat across you on the dark seat; well-groomed as always – dark suit, perfect hair, perfect face, strong jaw and strong built. He looked like he could be on a magazine cover. Pure, drop dead gorgeous male. Many of your friends often asked you how you kept your calm and composure around him, and how could you not want to jump his bones all the time. To which you answered; you didn’t see your handsome boss in that light.

But oh did you lie.

You were human. And you did find your boss to be super attractive just like the rest of the world did. But did you do anything about it? No. Firstly, that would be highly unprofessional. Secondly, he was way out of your league. Still, it was hard being around a man this handsome. Knowing he was single and available made it worse.

“I did.” he answered, just as confidently as he did everything else. “It’s just one night, Y/N. We’ll stay at my penthouse.” He stated.

You nodded and replied back to your assistant who had initially emailed you about this sudden change. ‘We’ll stay at my penthouse’…

You had shared residence before. Once you spent the night at his mansion because of work load. Then another time you two shared a cabin while on a trip. Once you shared a hotel room because separate rooms weren’t available. But this, today seemed a little different. And you couldn’t place a finger on what it was.

It didn’t rub you the wrong way or anything. He just seemed so cheery, which was unlike the normally slightly grumpy man. But then again, who were you to question his decisions? So you went along.

You two landed in Paris on Saturday morning. The conference was to be held on the same evening, followed by a formal party of some sort, then the two of you would be making your way back home by Sunday evening. Quite a tame weekend… until it wasn’t.

 Throughout the whole conference, you felt a pair of eyes staring at you from across the room. Meanwhile you were talking to an acquaintance – legal advisor of one of the many businessmen who were attending the same conference as your boss. Steve was a friend of a friend but you two were currently bonding more and more due to work.

And little did you know, that Bucky hated it.

He was watching. He’s always watching you. Not in a creepy manner, in a protective way. As a woman, you were somewhat oblivious to the effect you had on people when you entered a room. You never noticed it, but your boss did.

Bucky knew how every man turned their heads to look at you. How every woman envied you. And it was never about what you wore, or how you did your hair. It was always about how you carried yourself, how you walked so confidently, how you were always polite and proper. And so beautiful.

As much as he liked showing you off, Bucky hated it when he wasn’t the only one who had all your attention. Like right now. He clenched his jaw as he studied how this man approached you. Blonde hair, tall and muscular – Bucky hated him immediately. He hated him a little more after he saw how the guy hugged you; a lingering hug which Bucky never got. Then he hated him a little more when he saw how you dragged your hands down the guy’s arm, refusing to let go of him.

You never touched him like that. Bucky asked someone close by and he was told that the guy you were talking to was someone named Steve Rogers, and he was a lawyer and an acquaintance of yours.

Hmm.

He tried to look away but he couldn’t. Bucky envied the guy talking to you. He didn’t like how close he was standing to you. He didn’t like how he kept his hands at your elbows so gently, caging you, keeping you to himself. He hated it.

 Then he asked you about it on the elevator, as you two made your way up to his penthouse to get changed and ready for the party later.

“You know Rogers?” he asked out of nowhere. His tone just as serious and cold as always.

“Yes. He’s… a friend.” You smiled innocently, thinking back to how you and Steve had successfully broken the ice earlier.

Silence.

 You each took a room inside his lavish penthouse apartment. You immediately loved the place. You had about two hours before the party so there was no need to rush. You took your time, yet your mind couldn’t help but drift towards how your boss has been acting in the past hours. First he was all cheery and warm, and now he’s back to his grumpy self.

Oh well.

You stepped out of your room just in time, your boss was waiting by the foyer dressed in a signature, all black, 3-piece suit. He looked devilishly handsome.

“You look lovely, Y/N.” He said softly as you walked towards him. You couldn’t help but smile and tried to hide your face by looking down at the marble floor. Before you could recover from his rare compliment, he reached for your hand and walked the two of your towards the elevator again.

You noticed it then. The shift between the two of you.

The party was amazing. Lovely people, lovely music, nice conversations; what more does one need? Then again, you could still feel a pair of eyes on you. At some point, you dared to look up and you made eye contact with your boss.

He was staring with an unreadable expression on his face. You shook it off and went back to the conversation you were currently part of, but you could tell he hadn’t stopped staring at you.

 You two met on the elevator again after the party, on your way up for the night.

“You and Rogers seem close.” He pointed out.

You were surprised at the tone he used – that of disgust and anger. “I don’t understand what you mean.”

He scoffed, then turned to you. “Is something going on between you two?” Same tone as before.

Your eyes widened. “No. No, what makes you say that?” part of you wondered why the hell was he so suddenly interested in your personal life.

“Just asking.”

You couldn’t help it. “Are you alright, Mr. Barnes? You haven’t been yourself in the past-,”

He cut you off abruptly. By backing you into the corner of the elevator, the cold metal pressing against your back as his warm hand held you gently at your waist.

“Am I alright?” he mocked in that authoritative voice of his. “No, Miss Y/N. I’m not alright.” He confessed. “I’m not alright with you being so close to me, yet not being able to touch you. I’m not alright with seeing other men making you smile,” he inched his face closer you yours, “making you laugh, dance with you, touch you like I can’t. I hate it.”

His warm breath fanned your face. And as the metal cage got higher and higher, your heartbeat increased in the same tempo. Racing. Rushing. Your thoughts were a mess. Your body was tingling, he was so close. Too close. And you could feel yourself giving into him already.

And you did eventually.

“Then what’s stopping you?” you asked in a whisper, and you heard his little chuckle under his breath. This could be a wrong idea, but it felt right. You looked up into his piercing stormy blue eyes and you saw it; the hunger, the desire, the need.

You were sure yours mirrored the same emotions. Bucky pulled away just for a second, to press the key to stop the elevator from moving upwards any further. Then he turned to you again. “Can I kiss you?” he whispered against your parted lips, barely touching them with his own but the proximity was enough to make you lightheaded.

You nodded quickly and his mouth was on yours immediately. His lips moved against yours perfectly. He slipped his tongue past your lips and stroked the top of your mouth, driving you crazy. His kiss was just how you imagined it would be; hot, passionate, and exciting.

Your hands found their way into his hair and your fingers ran through his soft locks. He pushed his muscular body into yours even more and you gasped as you felt how close he actually was. His body heat wrapping around you.

His hands slowly reached up and slid the straps of your satin gown down your shoulders, letting it fall and bunch around your waist. He had been wanting to do that all night, especially since he saw you dancing with that guy Steve.

Bucky smirked at the sight of the flimsy, lacy lingerie you had on; which he was sure he could tear off your body in less than a second. And he did, allowing the thin material to fall to the floor. He gently touched you wherever he could; letting his hands linger at your breasts and taking his sweet time; caressing and kissing your skin. His lips trailing down your neck; kissing, licking and biting.

His mouth didn’t leave your skin as his hands slipped in between your legs with ease; caressing your inner thighs as he went. His hand slipped into your underwear with no shame, his knuckles gently stroked your wet folds; making you shiver at his touch. He chuckled upon feeling just how aroused you were. “So perfect…” he whispered.

He ran his fingers up and down your folds, gathering and smearing your arousal around as he went. You whimpered quietly against him; your gown barely covered your body. But Bucky was nowhere near complaining. In fact, he had been thinking about what you looked like under that dress since the first time he saw you this evening.

His hand gently wrapped around your throat. He gave it a little squeeze and an involuntary, playful smile formed on your face. His smirk grew, and so did the fire in him. “Like it when I choke you, huh doll?” he spoke, dragging the tip of his nose along your jaw as his other hand slipped under your skirt and rubbed your clothed core. He couldn’t take it any longer. “I need to have you.” he growled. “Now.”

He pushed his two fingers past your entrance with ease and moaned right in your ear as he felt your wet and warm walls immediately welcoming him in. He curled his fingers inside of you, hitting all the right spots which made you weak in the knees. You bucked your hips against his hand involuntarily, and he chuckled as you moaned out loud while he touched you.

Feeling more confident than earlier, you quickly unbuttoned his pants, palming him through his underwear and feeling his erection. You smirked to yourself as he grunted the moment you touched him.

“I want you…” you mumbled breathlessly. All your worries and overthinking left behind, you wanted him bad. And that’s all you could think of at the moment.

Bucky smirked. He lowered his pants and underwear, then he hurried in pulling down your underwear, letting it all fall and pool around your ankles. You stepped out of it and Bucky picked you up by your thighs and kissed you deeply while holding you between him and the metal surface tightly.

Your legs wrapped around his waist and your arms held on to him tightly. His cock briefly brushed against your wet folds in the process and you whimpered through the kiss. Bucky needed to be in you already, all he wanted was to hear you scream his name as you cum around him. So he wasted no time in aligning his throbbing tip to your dripping wet entrance.

He pushed himself into you; stretching you out. His nails digging into your skin as he held you by your hips, and yours scratching at his shoulders as he filled you up; making you whine and moan as he went. You were both gasping by the time he filled you up entirely. His body didn’t feel as foreign as you expected. You two fit perfectly.

Bucky started rocking in and out of you, without wasting any time. You felt all of him; your walls clenched around his thick cock as he started out with slow strokes and then gradually sped up into you. You felt all of him, the bumpy and the velvety skin of his length. He was perfect as he stroked your walls with his pulsating cock. You were a moaning mess in no time.  

His strong arms supported you up by grabbing you at the curve of your ass; holding you against him, as he sped up into you; showing you how much he missed you. He pushed his head into the crook of your neck and swore under his breath, all while occasionally mumbling how much he loves you and how good you feel wrapped around him.

He fucked you relentlessly; earning more and more moans out of you each time his cock stroked your walls. Your hand slid into his hair and you tugged on it each time he pushed into you. You soon felt the familiar pressure forming; pressing inside you as the familiar warmth spread all over your body. You moaned wantonly.

Bucky nibbled at the skin under your ear and you lost all control you had left. Your thoughts became cloudy and all you could focus on was how his body brought you immense pleasure; your mind a foggy mess. Your clit rubbed against his pelvic bone each time he buried himself completely in you, and he soon quickened his pace; earning even more moans and mewls from you.

He pounded into you as fast as he could, your back slamming into the wall with each thrust; it hurt just a little. Your body moved along with his like a rag doll. And you never complained once. You could hear the wet sounds that he caused and the sounds of your skin clapping against each other – it was all too sinful.

He moaned right into your ear and the sound sent shivers down your back like it always did no matter where he took you. Your legs started to shake around him as he quickened his pace; pounding into you relentlessly. The pleasure built nicely as he took you higher… and higher… and higher. Until you couldn’t hold back anymore. So, you came undone around his cock; screaming his name in the process.  

And that was one of the many times he made you cum around him that night…

 -End of flashback-

 Fuck…

You shivered in the warm water at the thought of him deep inside you; how perfect he felt, and how you never wanted to leave that bed with him in it. But then, you thought about how wrong that was; how you shouldn’t have gotten so intimate and personal with your boss. It was wrong, and unethical and a terrible mistake. But it felt good…

Stepping out of your bathroom, wrapped in a soft robe, you felt chills all over your body. Not because of the temperature, but because it felt as though you suddenly weren’t alone in your home. You panicked for a moment. Your heart racing, your thoughts racing faster.

Then you sensed it.

Sensed him.

He was here.

 “Miss Y/N.” He spoke in that damn voice which could make you drop to your knees in less than a second.

Yet you managed to maintain your composure as you slowly turned around to face him. Realization hit you a little late, and you gasped under your breath when you finally saw him standing in the middle of your bedroom. Your initial reaction was to hug your robe tighter around your body.

He looked flawless and powerful as always. Hands shoved in his pockets; accentuating his broad shoulders. That gorgeous smirk on his face. Flawless hair. Flawless face. Bucky smirked. “Oh don’t hide from me. I’ve seen it all, haven’t I?” he teased so effortlessly.

You felt your face getting hotter under his intense gaze. “How did you… how-,”

He cut off your rambling. “I own the building, doll.” he answered like it was the most obvious thing ever.

Right. Of course he owns your apartment building. He also owns half the city.

There was an air of arrogance around him at all times. And you tried so hard to hate it, but you couldn’t. It suited him; the arrogance, the power, the authority. And he sure knew how and when to use it.

You cleared your throat as you kept your eyes focused on the ground, rather than look into his stormy blues ones because they were a new weakness of yours. “You shouldn’t be here.” You mumbled, not hating that he was here.

He scoffed. “Oh?” he raised an eyebrow at you and took a few steps towards you. You were surprisingly not hysterical about the fact that this handsome man found his way into your home out of nowhere. He walked over to you, grabbed you by the waist and pulled you into him.

You had no other choice but to look up into his ocean blue eyes and you could feel yourself melting already. He pulled you closer and leaned in, gently kissing along your jaw repeatedly. You closed your eyes and tried your hardest not to sigh in pleasure or moan as you felt the softness of his lips and the roughness of his stubble altogether.

“I’ve missed you.” he whispered against your skin, stopping for a moment and kissed you at the corner of your mouth. His arms circled around you, holding you close to him. Your arms circled around him as well, slowly. You realized you had missed him as well. His warmth, his voice, his mouth. All of him.

And just like that, he took over your very being again. One touch of his lips and you were under his spell with no intention of making it out anytime soon. “I missed you too…” you whispered breathlessly as he kissed your lips gently.

But those few words from you triggered something in him. An irritation he had carried inside since he saw that letter of yours on his desk. Overflowing emotions he couldn’t handle; due to which he was here in the first place.

“Yeah?” he whispered through the kiss, then slide his hand into your hair and tugged on it to pull your face away from his. He clenched his jaw as he looked down at you. He was conflicted, should he be mad that you even dared to think you could just leave him, or should he just fuck some sense into you? “Yet you dared to leave me your resignation with no warning?” Oh. “Huh? Is that how it is now, you think you get to decide everything?”

Oh. So he was mad.

“I didn’t mean-,”

He kept going. “Shut up, babygirl.” He spoke softly. “Now you listen to me,” he inched closer, gently biting your lower lip, “You’re not leaving me. You’re not resigning. You’re not going anywhere.” He stated, then pulled away to look at you again.

There was a fire in his deep blue eyes. “We can’t keep doing this.” You tried to come up with something. An excuse. You were looking for an excuse.

“Why not?”

“It’s wrong.”

He scoffed and then smirked again. “Is it? Does being with me feel so wrong to you now, huh?” he cooed, knowing it was only a matter of another minute or two before you give into him. “That wasn’t the case this past weekend, was it?” He moved the two of you backwards, towards your bed in the middle of the room.

You knew you wouldn’t be able to resist him for too long now. But you still tried, in vain. You sighed loudly, wrapped in his strong embrace. “You’re my boss.”

He chuckled. “I know that.”

“Exactly.”

“What?” he questioned, already untying your robe as he stopped at the end of your bed.

“You know what. How are we supposed to be professional at work if we’re sleeping together?” you asked.

He smirked looking down at you. “Then let’s not be professional.”

You sighed again. “It’s-,”

He cut you off with a kiss again, sliding your robe down your shoulders and letting it fall to the floor. “Shh.” And just like that, you melted under his touch. “It’s okay babygirl, let me take care of you.”

He pushed you down on your bed and held your stare as he undressed himself; smirking as he watched how you grew more and more desperate with each item of clothing he took off. He hovered on top of you in no time.

Bucky lowered his face; pressing his forehead onto yours gently, while he pushed his erected cock past your tight entrance. You moaned out loud as he did. He grunted once he filled you up entirely, and he gave you a couple of seconds to adjust.

“Fuck…”

You were so full of his thick cock that even forming a proper thought seemed impossible at the moment. You shuddered as you felt all of him. His lips found yours again, attempting to get you to stay quiet while he rolled his hips against yours.

He removed himself and pushed himself back into you, and watched in awe how you struggled to adjust to his size. He lowered his face again, and leaned into your ear. You heard him panting and swearing under his breath as he rocked into you. Your nails sank into his skin, around his shoulders; which you held onto for dear life as he pounded into you.

“Thought you could just leave me, huh? Thought I would let you?” he mumbled right in your ear as he fucked you relentlessly. “You thought I would let you go? Let someone else touch you, pleasure you, fuck you like this? Did you babygirl?” he growled. “Answer me!”

You whined, throwing your head back and moaning at how good he felt. “No… please I didn’t-” you were breathless. You tried matching his thrusts but were unable to; so you simply let go. Your body moved against his like a rag doll.

He growled at how your walls clenched around him. “What? You didn’t what? You didn’t think I’d come back looking for you? You thought I would just let you go because you asked for it?” he accidentally let out a moan, followed by swear words. “You think you make the rules here, doll?”

He reached up and grabbed your jaw, forcing you to look at him. His blue eyes were wild and fierce; staring deep into your soul. His gaze made you tremble in pleasure. He looked so powerful. Broad and strong, hovering above you, his cock buried deep in you. Looking down at you like he owned you.

He kissed you, bit your skin, kissed your open mouth while he rammed into you; and you never complained once. Given his size, he stretched you out completely. And it did hurt, but the pleasure compensated for the pain.

Your legs trembled as you lifted them up to wrap them around his waist. This allowed him to thrust deeper into you, and in the haze he was in, he managed to mumble right in your ear about how good you felt. He was relentless, as though each moan, each mewl which left your lips only encouraged him to get more and more rough.

 At some point, right when your walls started clenching around him and when you were just about to come undone; he removed himself from you and flipped you onto your stomach and pulled you onto your knees by your hips. He kissed the back of your neck and pushed himself inside you again. You felt his hard body press against the curve of your ass as he filled you up again.

You moaned out loud at the new sensation of him rocking into you from behind. Bucky’s hand found its way to your front and he pressed the palm of his hand against your lower abdomen. He liked the thrill each time he felt himself thrusting deep within you.

His hand travelled all the way to your throat and he bent down to whisper in your ear, “Can you feel me deep within you?” he boasted as he gently squeezed the side of your throat. But hard enough to make you lose your mind.

“Please…” You could only moan and whimper in response while he kept pounding into you incessantly. You felt him quicken his pace as he chased his own orgasm. And finally he let you, and you came undone all around him – moaning his name out loud.

-

You woke up an hour later, the sky was darker and you felt a lot better than you had all week. You turned to your side and found your handsome boss passed out next to you. A smile formed on your face involuntarily.

“Don’t just look, you can touch too.” His gruff voice spoke up a second later, his eyes still closed. You chuckled and snuggled closer to him.

“So what now?” you asked, wrapping an arm around his bare torso. His body heat was something you were quickly getting used to.

He took a deep breath, smiled and lazily reached over to place a kiss on your forehead. “Now you let me love you.”

[radkindoffeminist]

Hi! I know you’re not a stand-in for all gc people and don’t expect you to speak on behalf of all of us but I’ve been wondering for months now what the stance is on tifs— in my experience, I’ve tried to engage with other terfs on this allied basis against all males, but I’ve personally never really taken issue with women/females who want to transition or change pronouns, which is typically where I find a division. Obviously I think they/thems are annoying and egregious most of the time, but I’ve found it really perturbing how much vitriol I’ve seen towards tifs from some terfs, I’ve seen some calling them stupid or deranged or brainwashed, things of that nature. Have you seen this pattern? How do you feel about it? My best personal/irl (and most effective) activism has always been talking to tifs actually, and getting them to see how the trans women in their lives treat them, how they perpetuate violence (particularly as tifs are often subjected to more tw attention and fetishism, and often effectively groomed into submission under the guise of “T4T”). But I love women and I feel like tifs in whatever form shouldn’t be hated or criticized this much (yes I recognize I’m calling them women even if they would not, irl I do my best to respect how they want to be referred to as and treated). Anyway, food for thought. Hope you’re having a good Sunday!

So my view is heavily shaped by the TIFs I have been good friends with for a long while and many encounters I’ve had online. As you said, I’m not a stand-in for all GC and my views are on the more sympathetic end as things go. I’m mostly in the same boat as you and have found that TIFs can generally be split into three categories.

Internalised misogyny/Internalised homophobia/Trauma: These three categories overlap heavily so it’s impossible to split them apart. Internalised misogyny/homophobia and/or trauma has led these women to identify as NB or trans in order to become ‘trans and straight’ or to escape the restrictions that they feel as women. The sad thing is that this probably makes up most TIFs and they will never analyse where some of these feelings are coming from because the hate for their bodies and womanhood is validated by the trans community as proof of them being trans. These women are struggling and often dress more androgynously because they think that gets them further away from ‘being a woman’. I have so much sympathy for these women, even if many of them still tow the trans party line and are assholes sometimes. They’re still struggling nonetheless.

Trendy Q*eer Girl(TM): Can cross other with either of the other categories, but also distinct enough to give it its own category. The trans q*eer girl is basically just the ‘I’m not like other girls’ but instead of doing it to impress the boys, does it to impress other q*eer people because they see being q*eer as a cool trend that they want in on. Often straight and if not straight then identifies as bisexual or pansexual but has (almost) exclusively been with men. Uses things like ‘loves iced coffee and energy drinks’ as proof of their q*eer status because obviously you can only like things like that if you’re q*eer, right? Annoying as fuck but sometimes does have trauma and internalised misogyny behind it so I have some sympathy, but not a lot for the people who treat our identities as little more than a trend.

Fetishiser: Rarer but certainly becoming more common and incredibly toxic. The fetishisers are typically trans men who date (or want to date) gay men and love yaoi (or whatever it’s called) and from that have developed an obsession over gay men to the point of convincing themselves that they themselves are actually gay men. It is creepy and weird and this group, even though they can struggle and have issues which led to this, deserve to be called out to no end. These are the people who are helping to normalise ‘genital preference’ and not being allowed to reject someone just because they’re trans, but focus more of their energy on gay men than lesbians. They are deeply homophobic.

As I said, I have an incredible amount of sympathy for many TIFs who are obviously struggling and it’s sad to see other radfems attack them so harshly and so often. They should definitely be called out on their toxic, homophobic, and misogynistic views, but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t recognise that so many of these women are just struggling and doing their best to cope with their issues. Baselessly attacking them because people want to group together all trans people as being the problem when that’s not the issue does absolutely nothing for our cause and, if anything, continues to drive women away from radical feminism.

Why does so much of our sympathy go out of the window when people disagree with us? When did we stop fighting for the rights and protections of all women and decide that actually only the women in the fight with us need help and protection?

[dippedanddripped]

Old Nollywood aesthetics and fashion may be considered trendy today, but the films were not always so well-regarded. In the 90s and early 2000s, when these movies were made and watched in parlours across Nigerian homes as they were shot, straight-to-video, they were considered as bad entertainment, or ‘low culture’. To watch and enjoy Nollywood films was to celebrate mediocrity. But today, nostalgic young Millennials and Gen Zers are overlooking the jarring audio, grainy pictures, and sometimes hammy acting, to appreciate not only the grooming and style of the actors, but the original and diverse stories that reflect unique Nigerian experiences.

It was for this reason that sisters Tochi and Ebele Anueyiagu started Nolly Babes, a nostalgic Instagram account dedicated to celebrating the cinematic period’s women. Started in December 2017, their first post was of Nollywood’s biggest star Genevieve Nnaji; a still taken from 2004 film Sharon Stone In Abuja, directed by Adim Williams. Nnaji plays the titular character, a sexually liberated young woman who uses her beauty and charm to ensnare unassuming men into doing her bidding.

The account is an ode to the female characters of old Nollywood who were often portrayed as warning examples. The storylines were steeped in moral principles rooted in the patriarchal culture and the dominant Christian religion of Southern Nigeria. A large number of the female characters were considered immoral because they kissed other women, challenged men, smoked and drank, or wore mini skirts. Today, Nolly Babes and similar accounts are reimagining these women, taking their scenes out of the moralistic context of the films, and turning them into iconic feminist personas.

The first time Nollywood content seeped into the mainstream internet consciousness can be traced back to 2017 when videos of Nollywood’s favourite comedic duo Chinedu Ikedieze and Osita Iheme, better known as Aki and Pawpaw, rose to popularity due mostly to the influence of a now-defunct Twitter account @nollywoodroll ran by Nicole, a woman based in Brazil.

Their memes became the go-to reaction videos for expressing a wide range of emotions: joy, disappointment, sadness, frustration. The appeal was in seeing children making mischief or in adult situations – drinking beer and smoking cigars, wooing bigger women, or in oversized suits shouting instructions at people twice their size. Although both Ikedieze and Iheme were in their 20s in the early 2000s when most of the films were made, they mostly played children because of their body stature. By 2019, the memes had achieved such virality that brands like Rihanna’s Fenty would use them for social media clout.

Theodora Imaan Beauvais is the curator of Yung Nollywood, another archive of clips and stills from old Nollywood paying homage to its controversial female characters, after screenshotting moments from Nollywood she found “appealing or inspirational”. Yung Nollywood is remarkably distinct from Nolly Babes for its subtitling of the films’ stills from Nollywood films, something she attributes to Tumblr. While the idea to give witty captions to the actors’ facial expressions came from watching Netflix. “I thought, ‘If someone could describe Nollywood reactions in short phrases it’d be an art form on its own,’ and I became that someone.’”

In December 2019, Tochi and Ebele hosted a Nollywood-themed party in Lagos. Nollywood actor and musician Nonso Bassey attended the party dressed in a two-piece jean set and bucket hat, a signature look of the bad boy/alpha male archetype, and a role reprised multiple times by older actors such as Hanks Anuku, Emeka Ike, and Jim Iyke. Since that party, Nonso has attended social functions and premieres in outfits that make a nod to the fashion choices of that era of Nollywood. He insists, though, that he isn’t cosplaying Nollywood characters of that era. “I’ve always been attracted to the idea of merging old world charm with a new school approach,” he said.

The party caused a cultural stir amongst Nigerians and Africans both at home and in the diaspora – every other week, there seems to be a Nollywood-themed party held either in Lagos or London. Take for instance friends and business partners Imani Okunubi and Aseosa Uwagboe, two Nigerian-British kids who grew up in the UK. Nollywood was one of the ways they could connect back to their roots. That experience informs their event brand, Lasgidi to London, targeted at Nigerians living in the UK. “We wanted to create events that were reminiscent of the Naija hall parties (Owambe) we attended as kids, as we don’t want to see that culture die,” Aseosa said. Their next owambe is a Nollywood-themed party and guests are expected to come dressed in their “best nolly Y2K aesthetic”.

Below, the Nolly Babes sisters talk about creating and hosting the first Nollywood-themed party and the cultural moment it has inspired.

How did that first event come about – please take me through it, from the planning to how it turned out?

Nolly Babes: From the inception of Nolly Babes, we knew we had to throw a party. Fashion is a huge part of what makes Nolly Babes different from other Nollywood-themed pages and we knew we were the only ones that could set Nolly Babes as the dress code and have people commit as they did. There are many iconic Nollywood scenes and scenarios. The daughter meeting her evil mother-in-law, the ominous visit to the Babalawo, the campus stroll – just the mere mention of these scenes evokes images that have been embedded in the minds of our fellow Nollywood enthusiasts. The party scene is probably the most iconic of them all. Whether it’s in a club, a mansion while mum and dad are out of town (but coming home early to crash the whole thing) or poolside, the Nolly Babes party scene has its staples: mad music, dancing, and sick outfits.

December in Lagos is notoriously hectic. On each day, there are day parties, beach hangouts, concerts, and we just knew we had to be a part of it. Our flyer was the first thing we made sure was done right, and that has been replicated (but never duplicated) many many times. We went through at least six drafts of that until we got the flyer to be a realistic replica of the home video covers from the golden era. The DJs Kemi Lijadu and vIVENDII Sounds understood the assignment and played music from the Nolly Babes era. We’re talking Tony Tetuila, Mo Hitz, Wande Coal, Plantation Boyz… We curated a special cocktail menu: Genny Colladas, Jim Iyke’s Hard Lemonade, MargaRita Dominic, and our Lagos Island Iced Tea, in tribute to Nollywood stars Genevieve Nnaji, Jim Iyke, and Rita Dominic respectively. We had a video projection on the famous red wall at Nok showing a mashup of emblematic scenes. We were partying while seeing images of a young Jim Iyke dressed just like many of the attendees were dressed. It was magical! We have an event we’re planning in New York for the summer – it’s going to be a madness.

Did you envisage it becoming the cultural movement it’s now become?

Nolly Babes: We really didn’t. We hosted the party because we knew people were taking inspiration from our page for styling jobs and music video treatments, and wanted to give everyone a chance to recreate some of their favourite looks. Now every week we see people planning Nollywood-themed parties and sending people to our page for references. It’s awesome. Toke Makinwa even recently attended a Nolly Babes-themed party and she was dressed as a character we have immortalised – Regina Askia in President’s Daughter. She killed it! Even though the character wasn’t referenced, it was clear as day and it was awesome to see that she pulled it off! Honestly, when we see people really pay attention to detail and execute the theme well it’s so, so dope.

How has TikTok helped grow Nollywood's influence? You posted a scene from Girls Cot, the famous “you stink with poverty” clip on TikTok and it went viral and birthed these recreations even by non-Africans.

Nolly Babes: We’re just happy to see that another aspect of Nollywood that we champion – the iconic scenes and one-liners – is also resonating across the world. We see Nolly Babes as an archival work and as much as we focus on beauty and looks on Instagram, it’s nice to be able to point people in the direction of the scenes that are forever embedded in our brains. These are scenes we recreated in jest ourselves before there was even a Nolly Babes to begin with, so to see it catching on TikTok is exciting and a new frontier for us to fully explore. I think what distinguishes Nolly Babes from other Nollywood pages and what contributes to our TikTok success is that we really watch Nollywood movies. We grew up watching these movies and continue to do so now so we can capture those moments in films that the casual consumer or poster of Nollywood content might not.

What are your thoughts on Nollywood’s influence on the Alté scene? Music videos of artists such as Lady Donli and Odunsi nod to the aesthetic and fashion styles of that era.

Nolly Babes: Nollywood, and specifically the aesthetic we have shone a spotlight on, is probably one of the biggest influences in terms of visuals in that scene right now. I have never seen so many Eucharia (Anunobi) eyebrows on TV and we love it! It’s awesome to see our images and scenes being used in treatments and storyboards. If we’re being candid, we think it would be great if we got the chance to step into our stylist/creative direction bag and help with the execution of the aesthetic.

“The bottom line is really that Nolly Babes has brought what was already an international cultural influence to the modern social media realm with a new lens” – Nolly Babes

How far do you see Nollywood's influence on pop culture, beyond Nigeria and Africa?

Nolly Babes: When we moved to New York we found our Dominican and South American friends had also grown up watching Nollywood films. The bottom line is really that Nolly Babes has brought what was already an international cultural influence to the modern social media realm with a new lens. Nollywood clips were online everywhere – but it was always in a comedic way. Aki and PawPaw are meme gods now, and that’s because their expressions transcend cultural boundaries. Black Twitter eats that stuff up.

Nolly Babes chooses to center the beauty, style, and iconic imagery, even the home decor with our #NollyDecor hashtag of the golden era of Nollywood. We share the makeup, accessories, fashion, iconic phrases, and scenes in a way that isn’t just comedic but inspirational and aesthetically groundbreaking. I see Nollywood being at the centre of this Y2K resurgence that is happening all over the world, from TV to runways and fashion collections. That era is coming back around and, this time, the Black experience is being revisited and centered in a way it wasn’t back in the late 90s and 2000s. (Black people) were always the originators of the trends and this time they’re tapping into the source and Nollywood, particularly the era we celebrate as Nolly Babes, is a great resource for that.

Follow Nolly Babes on Instagram

[universitypenguin]

Preview

Okay, so I’ve been working on this story for quite awhile in my head. Recently, I’ve even started putting it down on paper… 😂

The background to this scene: Ari retired from working as a Mossad field agent and moved to Canada. He served as a liaison officer with CSIS, but was recruited back to undercover work to stop an infamous North African gun smuggler. During this chapter he’s arriving to Alexandria, Egypt with his teammates.

Without further ado, here is the ‘meet cute’ scene from my upcoming story!

An Excerpt, from an untitled work

“They didn’t bother checking the hold,” Max said.

Ari ducked inside the cabin, pulling the door shut behind him. “Good. Now we just have to charm the locals.”

He stood at the controls and watched as Max backed the yacht into the rented slip.

“So, how’s the fiancée?”

Bile twisted in Ari’s gut. Stabbing pain blazed through his chest and he counted it as a blessing that Max was too focused on his task to notice the reaction.

“We broke up.”

“For real?”

It had been two years since he’d gotten together with Max. The last time was for beer and fishing in Belize. Other than the occasional text or call, they hadn’t caught up.

“Yeah. Sylvia and I called it off last month.”

“Mate, you should have called.”

Ari shrugged. “I figured I’d catch you up when we got together for the mission, but it was never a good time.”

Max looked as if he were about to say something, then frowned and tilted his head. The boat captain pointed towards the dock.

“Who is that?”

Turning, he saw Jake and Mariah standing with a woman. Ari pushed down his sunglasses to stare.

Max let out a low whistle. “Damn, that girl is fine!”

Truer words had never been spoken. Even with a distance between them, Ari’s gaze swept hungrily over the gentle curves of a shapely figure that should have been gracing the cover of magazines. Her dress was long enough for the conservative dress code of a Muslim county, but the shape underneath it screamed sex appeal.

“Hello, goddess…” Max murmured.

Ari’s lips twitched into a smile at the sound of breathless lust in his friend’s voice.

“Careful. We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto.”

“No…we’re not… supermodel or fitness instructor?”

Ari watched as the woman tilted her sunglasses up and gestured, speaking to Mariah.

“Huh?”

“Come on, she’s one or the other.”

“Trophy wife,” Ari said.

Max groaned and slapped the controls, shutting down the boat’s engine.

“You’re a spoilsport. You know that, right?”

“She’s at a marina in the middle of the day, wearing heels, and carrying a Prada handbag. If you don’t get ‘kept woman’ out of that, you should reconsider your profession.”

“Maybe she’s a trust fund baby and it’s daddy’s money,” Max said.

“Then you’d better get down there before Jake swoops her up.”

He laughed as Max took off like a puppy running towards a mud puddle.

Ari shut up the cabin and made his way down to the group. Sure enough, Jake was flashing his come-on smile and pushing his hair back from his eyes with a subtle bicep flex as he groomed himself. Max was trying to edge him out, stepping between the radiant beauty and the competition.

Next to them, Mariah was smirking. Her eyes darted between the two men like she was watching a tennis match. Ari ducked his head to hide a chuckle. When he came into ear shot, Mariah was happily accepting an invitation to a backyard barbecue.

“We’d love to come. What’s your address?”

“Actually, you’ll be right across the street from us. The receptionist just mentioned it, so I thought I’d stop by and introduce myself.”

Her accent was exotic - a blend of several different languages. It came off as vaguely trans-Atlantic, but he caught the subtle roll in her “r” sound. His interest piqued.

Max butted in as Ari came to stand beside Mariah, asking Galene about the local nightlife. He watched the woman shift her weight to her back leg as she noticed the male interest directed towards her. Unusual. In his experience with beautiful women, they soaked up casual flirting. Ones at this level of staggering beauty could play seductress, ingénue, or man eater, practically on command. When the woman shied away, his eyes narrowed. Max and Jake were more focused on each other than her reaction. Mariah was too busy being amused by the men’s byplay to see how she shivered and wrapped her arms around her abdomen. A gesture of self protection and uncertainty. Ari caught her gaze when she glanced towards the path leading to the parking lot.

Fear flashed in her eyes for a split second, before she hid it behind a polite mask.

“We don’t mean to keep you, Miss…”

“Eliades. Galene Eliades.”

Ari smiled politely. He was cautious as he held out his hand. If he hadn’t seen the subtle alarm in her reaction to Jake and Max, he’d have stepped forward into the handshake. Having noticed it, he kept his feet planted and left the full length of his arm between them.

Relief flickered across her face - but it seemed as if he were the only one who could read the emotions she wore on her sleeve.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

End of Excerpt

More of this story is coming soon!

[masterthespianduchovny]

I’m going to be honest: I dislike Nate right now.

And that’s perfectly fine.

I understand that this show loves to redeem people, however, as I said in another post, you can only redeem someone if there are negative feelings and/or you believe that person wronged someone or whatever. If you have positive feelings and excuse what they did, what exactly are they being redeemed for?

Despite loving Rebecca’s character, when I rewatch season one, I don’t like her at times. I dislike a lot of what she did back then. It doesn’t matter that I know she tells the truth eventually, the stuff she did was still fucked up. I’m not going to preemptively excuse her actions because I know the end goal.

Take Jamie for instance, his behavior was not okay. We know why he behaves that way, but it still wasn’t justified. We are still allowed to dislike him and what he did then. We talk about the negative effects of the bullying Nate received from the players, yet some try to excuse Nate’s bullying and his actions?

Wrong is wrong. Jamie being verbally abused by his dad didn’t justify how he treated others just like how Nate’s father (and bullying by others) is emotionally abusive doesn’t justify Nate’s behavior.

Although we understand the context, Nate IS being a fucking backstabbing asshole right now. Some may hate to hear that, but this isn’t an unfair opinion or unflattering light of him. This is exactly how he’s behaving.

There are some who has a ton of sympathy for Nate, but I’m not one of them. Please believe, I do hold some sympathy for him, but I have a limit.

So here’s reasons why Nate is on my shitlist and I’ll wait until he’s actually redeemed to forgive him.

1. Calling Rebecca a shrew. It’s not the fact that he literally called Rebecca this, but that he immediately verbally attacked the woman. We can say, “oh no, she’s the owner so he had reasons to think…”

No, Nate literally attacked Rebecca for no reason at all. She had little to no interaction with him and has never disrespected or harmed him in anyway, yet he has these intense feelings of dislike in the moment based off what exactly?

Nate attacked Rebecca because she is a woman. If you disagree, what other reason it might be? The reason I believe it was due to her gender is because she’s been defanged so to speak. So he doesn’t fear her like he used to. But Nate also practices in casual misogyny ie his shoe remark to Rebecca and Keeley. That may not seem like a big thing, but how is that an involuntary response??? With him believing he got fired, he doesn’t wait for answers, he immediately attacks her. And I had to ask myself, would he have done this with a man? With someone like Rupert? No fucking way. Nate can’t even directly challenge Ted who is a ray of sunshine, but attacks someone who he literally ran away from in fear in the pilot. Although Nate respects power, he respects male power the most. He skipped over Ted and Beard and went straight towards Rebecca. The fact that this even happened has always been disturbing to me. And Nate is fucking lucky that he hasn’t said any of his comments to old Rebecca (not age, but personality. 🥺) because she would have fired him. Only due to her relationship with Ted and him getting to let her guard down and find her old self that she frowned and shrugged Nate’s comments off. Most bosses at the very least would’ve talked to Nate and he didn’t get even that.

2. Projecting his daddy issues onto Ted. I understand that nate is going through some tough shit and has been for literally decades, however, that doesn’t mean make someone your stand in dad because they were nice and kind. Ted treats Nate like he does the other coaches, but Nate wants a special and unique relationship that will never exist. Ted is not his father and he didn’t ask for the job or the responsibilities.

I understand that people go through shit and latch onto those who made the rough times easier. I get that. However, all this animosity, scheming, and resentment because Ted isn’t giving the attention he wants. That fucking unfair to Ted. He didn’t ask or sign up to be Nate’s father figure. Yet he’s being punished for not being something he never wanted to be. Never even thought about it.

And because I’ve seen/partially experienced this shit, people getting mad at you for not being who they projected onto, it makes me upset at Nate. Because people like this really do become resentful and manipulative and that is not okay despite their own hurt that they’re dealing with. Why does the person you projected on have to suffer for something they’re unaware of and have no obligation to fulfill?

Nate isn’t just trying to blow up Ted’s professional career, he’s doing it via one of the cruelest ways: using his mental health against him. Thereby exploiting Ted’s trust in him.

Ted has literally changed Nate’s life for the better and rather than have a man to man talk with him, he cowardly tries to sabotage Ted in one of the worst ways imaginable.

3. His cognitive dissonance about how coaching works!!!

This seriously irritates me because, on some level, Nate knows that the very system he’s criticizing is how it works across ALL team sports and with reason.

He wants to be a damn head coach soooo bad—does he think ideas, plans, plays, etc only comes from head coaches???

What does he think assistants are there for?

For those who aren’t familiar with sports and coaching, literally every team sport has a head coach and then assistants under them. These assistant typically specialize in a given thing.

In American football, I believe there are like defensive coaches, strength and conditioning coaches, etc. there are coaches who watch a lot of tapes to learn the opposition and how to make plays to hold them exploit their weakness and tailor plays around that.

Like on the professional level there are so many types of coaches and, hell, not all of them want to be head coaches. Some of the greatest coaching minds aren’t head coaches.

For example, the American basketball team the Chicago bulls fired their coach Doug Collins in like 1989, I think. He was a good coach, but one of his assistant coaches had a basketball IQ out of this world. Doug refused to listen to him, but management fully supported this assistant coach. Now the other assistant coach they were grooming to take over, Phil Jackson, if you’ve heard of him, DID listen to this basketball genius. So much so that when he became head coach after Doug was fired, he continued to implement The Triangle offense that came from this basketball genius, which Phil was known for until he retired.

Nate’s upset that Ted gets all the credit for if they win, he does realize that Ted also gets all the blame for if they lose. Ted has always highlighted his coaching staff and everyone who helped him. He has always stressed that he wouldn’t be where he is without them. And when he loses, he takes full ownership. He doesn’t pass the blame at all.

Does Nate seem like someone who’d take ownership for losing?

Does Nate seem like someone, at this moment, who’d appropriately give credit to assistant or anyone else who helped him?

Would he even listen?

What makes Ted a great coach is that he gives others opportunities to step up to the plate and if/when they succeed, he allows them to shine.

Ted sees the fuller picture, for the most part, and knows how to address his weaknesses and who’s stronger than him in what area. He realized that the team needed a presence like Roy on the team. He knew he needed someone like beard who could absorb insane amounts of knowledge. He saw that Nate had potential coaching ability.

But Nate doesn’t understand the importance or value of this. He also doesn’t understand how instrumental Ted’s philosophy has been in transforming the culture of the team. That this is also a reason why the team is playing better.

So like, yeah, I’ll forgive Nate when he’s redeemed. But these three things are what really irks me about him. Just because I understand why he is acting this way doesn’t mean I have to excuse it when he’s being a dick to others, complaining about shit only due to his ego, and doing fucked up shit like leaking someone’s mental health struggles so he can gain an advantage over them.

Does he think that if Ted leaves/gets fired that he’s getting the job??? I mean hopefully whatever he has going on with Rupert works out (before it inevitably goes wrong) because this isn’t going to turn out how he thinks it will.

[simpingforsoftboys]

Not Everyone Gets A Happily Ever After

ft. Iwaoi, Atsumu Miya

!Gender Neutral Reader!

Pt 2 to this

*Male readers just pretend that you and Tsumu have a mix of female and male friends each who can be both groomsmen and bridesmaids 

Anon thank you for requesting- I live for angst and this was super fun to write- even if I cried while doing so. IwaOi is my comfort ship but they’re not perfect. People make mistakes- in life, love, and everything and anything in between. Sometimes they repeat those mistakes, other times they learn from them, either way everything happens for a reason and sometimes it’s for the better. Unfortunately, not everyone winds up happy with the results- and that’s okay. 

Also I kind of made it into a song fic (listen to Sign of the Times by Harry Styles while you read)!

Just stop your crying

Hajime and Toru were sitting in the second row on your side of the aisle, pretending that they couldn’t feel the sharp gazes from your family and friends. They had some nerve showing up to your wedding, despite being invited, especially after spending five or so years treating you like an outsider in your own relationship. The reception itself hadn’t yet started, Atsumu had just stepped onto stage- his twin right beside him as the best man.

It's a sign of the times

Atsumu was looking incredibly dapper in his midnight blue suit, his blonde hair combed perfectly to the side. He looked incredibly anxious, whispering to his brother if he looked alright. Hajime thought it was a stupid question- obviously he looked great- but then again he supposed he would have done the same, had he been in Atsumu’s shoes.

Welcome to the final show

Toru’s gaze flitted to the front row where your parents and close friends were sitting. Some were commenting on his and Hajime’s choice to attend the wedding still, but it was your mother’s words that surprised him.

“I’m glad it’s Atsumu (s)he’s marrying, he’ll treat them right.” That woman had been like his aunty since childhood, hearing her say that caused another crack in his heart.

Hope you're wearing your best clothes

His suit’s collar felt like it was strangling him, Hajime reached up to loosen it slightly. Despite doing so, he still found that he had trouble breathing.

You can't bribe the door on your way to the sky

The trainer wondered if he and Toru would go to hell for breaking your heart- only to mend it again with false promises, for telling you that they loved you when it had been lust the whole time.

You look pretty good down here

Maybe they were already damned to an eternity in hell. 

But you ain't really good 

They were good liars- him and Toru- maybe that’s why they were able to lie to you, to themselves, and to each other. Lied about their true feelings, convinced themselves it was lust and not love. 

If we never learned, we been here before

It felt familiar, Toru thought, being here, like when he got invited to weddings in the past and he’d only bring Hajime as his plus one. 

“You wouldn’t enjoy it Y/n- so I’ll just bring Haji okay? We’ll be back in no time- I promise!” The brunette had told you mournfully, as if they weren’t going to be staying in the Bahama’s for a week in order to attend a wedding. Now that he thinks about it, all the fees were covered- they totally could have brought you if they wanted.

Why are we always stuck and running from

He pretended he didn’t hear the hitch of your breath once his back was turned to you, not wanting to deal with your water works. 

‘It’s fine,’ he had told himself, ‘(s)he’s just being dramatic.’ It’s not like it was the first time they’ve gone without Y/n after all. 

The bullets

The bullets

We never learned, we’ve been here before

Yes, it was a familiar sight. Sitting together side by side in a wedding venue, awaiting the arrival of the bride/groom. Yet, there was a stark difference this time. This wedding wasn’t for just some coworker or old friend, this was your wedding. 

Why are we always stuck and running from

The bullets

The bullets

Just stop your crying

Someone squeezed his hand- it was Hajime- his normally piercing olive green eyes were cloudy with unshed tears. They hadn’t even laid eyes on you yet and the two of them were already ready to start sobbing. Semi Eita- who had been one of your close friends in high school- gave them a judgmental look.

It's a sign of the times

‘Why are you two crying? You had plenty of chances before now. Get over it.’ His fiery gaze told them, it was then directed elsewhere- since the music had started and the groomsmen and bridesmaids began streaming down the aisle. It was a little later than usual, apparently there had been an issue with the flower girl- so they had the wedding party wait a moment.

We gotta get away from here

We gotta get away from here

Just stop your crying

Others were tearing up all around them, but Hajime and Toru remained ignorant to them. The ring bearer- a little boy- they recognized him as your siblings youngest son, since they had accompanied you to see him be born. The kid was about six or seven now, and he was every bit as charming as you were.

It will be alright

He strode down the aisle proudly, chin raised in a way that reminded them of you. When you were feeling particularly stubborn or prideful, you would raise your chin just like that. 

They told me that the end is near

Next up was the flower girl- or flower girls. Hajime didn’t recognize them whatsoever, they must have been around your nephews age. It was likely that they were from Atsumu’s side of the family. The girls scattered white rose petals down the aisle, it was a magical sight- watching them flutter to the ground. 

We gotta get away from here

They had been expecting this moment, ever since they agreed to attend the wedding.

Just stop crying

To his right, he heard Toru stifle a sob. 

Have the time of your life

It was you. Hajime couldn’t remember when he last saw that smile on your face. You were donned in white, smiling from ear to ear- hair done perfectly, eyes tearing up- but for a different reason from them. You were happy. Excited. Today was the day, not sparing them a glance, the only person who mattered to you was at the end of the aisle, waiting for you to join him. 

Breaking through the atmosphere

Taking a step onto the raised platform, facing Atsumu, you let the tears fall. Unbeknownst to you, Toru and Hajime cried alongside you.

Things are pretty good from here

“Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today in the presence of these witnesses, to join Miya Atsumu and L/n Y/n in matrimony commended to be honorable among all; and therefore is not to be entered into lightly but reverently, passionately, lovingly and solemnly. Into this - these two persons present now come to be joined. If any person can show just cause why they may not be joined together - let them speak now or forever hold their peace.”

Remember everything will be alright

Toru’s entire body tensed up. Hajime placed a firm hand on the setter’s thigh, preventing him from even considering objecting. Semi cast the two of them a evil look, promising violence should they dare to object.

We can meet again somewhere

 "Miya Atsumu and L/n Y/n, if it is your desire to take the vows which will legally unite you at this time, please respond, 'It is,’.”

Somewhere far away from here

Atsumu and you continue staring lovingly at one another, not even hesitating a second before saying “It is.”

If we never learned, we been here before

“Do you, Miya Atsumu, take L/n Y/n to be your lawfully wedded wife/husband? From this day forward, to have and to hold, for better, for worse, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do you part?”

The entire audience held their breath in anticipation- as if there were any reason to doubt his love for Y/n. Even Toru and Hajime couldn’t find it within them to wish he declined. Y/n deserved a loving husband- even if it was just one person- so long as he would dedicate himself to her/him entirely.

Why are we always stuck and running from

“Course I do.”

The bullets

Everyone’s gazes fell upon you.

The bullets

“Do you, L/n Y/n , take Atsumu Miya, to be your lawfully wedded husband? From this day forward, to have and to hold, for better, for worse, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do you part?”

We never learned, we been here before

You’re wiping your tears away, that wide smile- Hajime realizes that in all his years of knowing you he has never seen you this happy- never slipping from your face. 

Why are we always stuck and running from

“I do.”

The bullets

The ring bearer comes up, shining rings placed a top the red, velvet pillow.

The bullets

Toru’s never hated red as much as he does now. Not even when he was playing desperately against Japan during the Olympics.

Just stop your crying

“Atsumu, please take the ring you have selected for Y/n. As you place it on her/his finger, repeat after me: 'With this ring, I thee wed.’”

It’s a sign of the times

Your groom picks up your shining gold and diamond wedding ring/band and delicately slips it on your ring finger. 

We gotta get away from here

“Y/n, I’ve been enraptured by yer beauty since the first time I saw ya. Even before I fell for ya I’ve always admired how kind hearted and understandin’ ya were. There’s not enough words t’ capture or explain my love for ya. So I want to spend the rest of my life tryin. Yer it for me Y/n... so I can say without a second thought. With this ring, I thee wed.” He murmurs, salty tears spill from his eyes. He’s finally going to get the s/o of his dreams, he realizes. 

We gotta get away from here

Hajime and Toru hold onto each other with vice like grips. They realize it too. There’s no do overs.

Just stop your crying

“Y/n, please take the ring you have selected for Atsumu. As you place it on his finger, repeat after me: 'With this ring, I thee wed.’”

It will be alright

Your hand reaches for the single wedding band still resting on the pillow. It shines brilliantly between your fingers. 

They told me that the end is near

“Atsumu, you’ve been there for me time and time again. You lifted me off the ground when I was broken, kissed my tears away from my eyes, and helped me learn how to love again. You’ve seen me at my best and my worst and loved me through it all. And it’s with complete faith and love that I say this. With this ring, I thee wed.” Atsumu’s wedding band matches yours, and slides on his finger perfectly.

We gotta get away from here

If we never learned, we been here before

The vows had been short but sweet. Toru would have been able to recite a whole paper- had he stood in Atsumu’s shoes. 

Why are we always stuck and running from

“Seeing as the two of you have consented together in holy wedlock, and have witnessed the same before God and this company, by authority vested in me by the state, I now pronounce you husband and wife/husband. You may kiss your bride/groom!”

The bullets

But he’s not in Atsumu’s shoes.

The bullets

You yank Atsumu down and press a passionate kiss to his lips, throwing your arms around his neck to pull him closer. He reciprocates immediately- all tongue and open mouthed. Neither of you pay any mind to the fact that everyone is watching you make out. All you see is each other. 

We never learned, we’ve been here before

Neither is Hajime. 

Why are we always stuck and running from

The bullets

The bullets

There’s no second chances.

We don't talk enough

No talking it over.

We should open up

You weren’t L/n Y/n any longer.

Before it's all too much

You’re now Miya Y/n.

Will we ever learn?

Devoted to and utterly in love with Miya Atsumu.

We've been here before

Is this what it had been like for you?

It's just what we know

Watching the two of them be so in love- eyes locked on each other- with no care in the world about who was watching.

Stop your crying baby

About who they were hurting.

It's a sign of the times

They didn’t even get the chance to ask why you did it- why you stuck around for so long and loved them, despite them not feeling the same. 

Now they never would get that chance again.

We gotta get away

We got to get away

We got to get away

We got to get away

We got to get away

We got to, we got to

We got to, we got to

We got to, we got to

[dirtychocolatechai]

meet-cute | b.b.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Female Reader Warning(s): fluff, awkward Bucky, vet appointment stuff, Alpine Request: Babes if you're lowkey taking requests can I lowkey make one? 👉🏼👈🏼🥺💕 something flirty and cute and maybe a lil spicy with Bucky and vet!reader where something's going on with Alpine? Not self indulgent at all 😻💖 Notes: This was the first thing I’ve written in months and it felt damn good. Funny story, I actually almost went to school to be a vet tech + shadowed a vet for two weeks and got to see some wickedly cool things.

This was a bit self-indulgent on my part because I had a cat who passed away some years ago because of struvite stones and I wished he had a happier ending like Alpine so I thought why not 🤷‍♀️💖

Taglist is open

(gif from google)

There’s nothing Bucky hates more than the stringent smell of industrial cleaners and clinical white walls - too many associations and shades of memory long laid to rest - except for when something’s going on with Alpine. The Turkish Angora was fine up until a few days ago when he started to hide away and sleep all day.

That wasn’t too concerning at first...

But then came the pained little noises, the frantic running back and forth from the litter box, the excessive grooming. The pit that started forming low in his belly grew, his instincts screaming at him that something was wrong, very wrong, with his little buddy. 

Bucky wasn’t about to fuck around and set up an appointment with the first vet office he could find that had a same-day opening. And now he’s trying not to fall apart at the seams while he waits for the docs to do their magic and tell him what the hell’s going on with his cat and what he has to do to fix it.

The vet tech collected Alpine a bit ago and every minute stretches into years, the cat’s pitiful meow echoing in his ears and those betrayed eyes burned onto the backs of his eyelids.

I know, Bub, I’m sorry but they gotta figure out what’s going on. It’ll be okay, they’ll take care of you. 

His ass went numb from the plastic chair ages ago, his leg jiggling up and down at a rapid pace as he chews on his thumbnail and waits.

And waits.

And waits.

God, he knows these things take time but he’d rather be back at home, curled up on the couch with Alpine pigging out on breakfast food and watching space documentaries. 

How much longer-

“Alright, Mr. Barnes?”

The heavy door swings open with a click, a kind, professional voice preceding a pair of sensible shoes as the vet steps into the room with a clipboard cradled against her chest. His eyes snap up, skipping over her completely to look at the tech holding his cat who looks absolutely miserable. 

She introduces herself but he’s not paying attention. He’s not meaning to be rude but all his focus narrows in on that white little face, the knot in his chest unfurling at the little mew.

He smiles, his eyes crinkling around the edges as he breathes, “Hey there, Little Buddy.” 

The vet doesn’t push, in fact, she seems a little enamored with how much he melts at the sight of his pet. Her own lips quirk up into a soft smile while she stands off to the side patiently as Alpine’s set down on the metal table.

Bucky gets in a few good scritches under his chin, the beginnings of a purr just starting to vibrate his hand when the vet clears her throat delicately. 

He clears his throat, heat burrowing into the apples of his cheeks. “Shi - uh, ‘m sorry.” A hand scrubs over the back of his neck. “I’m just - uh - y’know...” 

Her laugh trickles down his spine like warm rain, the sound effectively drawing his attention away from the cat rubbing up against his side. He gets his first look at her and oh.

A bare face and a no-nonsense hairstyle greet him, her scrubs and white coat adding to the overall doctor vibe but she’s still breathtaking. The natural beauty in the curves of her face, the slant of her brows, the sparkle of her eyes.

He feels like he got sucker-punched in the chest, his heart giving a sudden throb that has him coughing like an idiot as he scrambles to not look like such a jackass.

“So,” he clears his throat, scratching at the stubble along his jaw, “What’s - what’s wrong with him?” 

Glancing down at Alpine’s chart, she hums and writes a note before glancing back up with a reassuring smile. “Nothing that can’t be managed with a special diet and watching his water intake.”

It’s like the weight of the world disappears from his shoulders, his broad frame practically heaving with his sigh of relief. “Oh thank fucking- ahem, ‘scuse me - thank god.” 

Her chuckle and sly smile have him blushing from the roots of his hair to the collar of his shirt, his stomach squirming in discomfort. Old habits are hard to break, especially ones his momma taught him with a box to the ear.

“You’re allowed to swear, Mr. Barnes,” she says, reaching down to run her fingers through snow-white fur. “We’re all adults here.” 

“No, no, I know...” 

“Hm, anyway, his blood work came back and everything looks fine which is a good thing.” 

And it’s back to business like that, any hint of personality hidden behind cool professionalism that Bucky thinks even Tasha would admire. Except for the playful gleam in her eyes as she sneaks peeks at him while going over everything they did and what they found. 

“Struvite crystals are quite common in cats at low levels, especially males because their tract is longer and narrower.” She pauses, flipping to a new page. “Depending on the severity, they can clump together in the urinary tract and actually form stones. That’s where the true problem lies because get one large enough, and it can cause a blockage.”

He’s listening with rapt attention, soaking in the knowledge she’s imparting to him all the while, petting Alpine who keeps nuzzling him and making little sounds. Honestly, he could listen to her talk for hours even if he didn’t understand a goddamn thing. 

She’s so animated when she speaks, holds eye contact and makes sure he understands everything without making him feel like an idiot. He’s had so many doctors who talked at him rather than with him, staring through him without seeing, more interested in the paycheck rather than their patients.

But not her, she cares.

Deeply.

He can see it all over her face and it’s utterly enchanting. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t a little enamored, charmed.

Turning the tablet towards him, she shifts closer and a waft of whatever perfume she’s wearing tickles his nose as she explains what the x-ray of Alpine’s abdomen found.

“These are the stones but thankfully they’re relatively small,” she points to several hazy white ovals starkly visible on the radiograph, “We caught them in time before they became a really big problem.” 

Shit, she smells so good...

 “Now, we’ll send you home with a special diet and see how he does. Also, make sure to up his fluid intake as much as you can. The food can take several months to start dissolving the crystals so we’ll have to do everything we can to help. Sound good?”

Bucky hasn’t pulled his eyes away from her face once this entire time, and how fucking creepy is that?

Quickly looking down at Alpine, embarrassment gnawing at his belly, he nods and wishes for the first time since he cut his hair that he hadn’t so he’d at least have a passing chance at hiding the blush burning its way across his face. 

“Yeah,” he says, picking up the ball of white fluff to hold against his chest, a makeshift shield. “Is there anything else I should do?” 

“No.” She smiles, writing another note and tapping away at the tablet next to her. “I do want to see him again in about a month for a check-up.”

Fuck, he doesn’t want to leave so soon.

The irony isn’t lost on him either.

How does he make this last longer? What can he do? If Sam was here right now, he’d be kicking him in the ass and bitching at him to ask for her number already, Ice Pick.

The clack of the chart being set down rings through the room, bouncing off the walls and sounding so fucking final that he starts to panic. 

Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. 

She’s already halfway to the door when she asks, “Do you have any questions?”

The word vomit spring from him, unbidden and sudden without any thought, more forward than he’s been with a woman in years.

“Can I have your number?”

As soon as the question leaves his lips, he curses, cringes and wishes he could snatch the very words from the air itself.

Great, I just hit on my vet.

No amount of backpedaling can salvage this but goddamn it if Bucky doesn’t try, stuttering out some half-assed excuse about wanting it just in case he thinks of something later.

When he glances up, he wishes he hadn’t. The vet tech is in near tears in the corner, biting her lips so hard he wouldn’t be surprised if they started to bleed.

But it’s the absolute surprised bafflement on the woman he just inappropriately hit on that does him in, makes him about ready to burn all forms of identification and run for the hills. 

Her brows nearly reach her hairline, her mouth slack, eyes startled. She gets ahold of herself before he does, and he barely stops himself from slapping a hand over his face.

Right when he’s thinking there’s no way he’s going to be able to show his face in the office again, her expression softens with gentle amusement and her lips twitch. 

Struck dumb, he can only watch as she writes something down on a slip of paper before handing it over to him. He barely believes the string of numbers and the cheeky little call me anytime :).

The wink she sends his way is there and gone, so fast he almost believes he imagined it. 

“For emergencies only,” she says, slyly. “Of course.”

“Of course,” he agrees, almost tripping over the cat carrier as he hurries to stuff Alpine back in. “Of course, thank you. I...appreciate it.” 

“Anytime, Mr. Barnes.” 

Bucky leaves the room in a stupor, the world sharply shifted to the left as he heads to the front desk to make the follow-up appointment, but not before hearing the whispered, “Girl, you’re lucky. He’s fine!” and the “He is, isn’t he?”.