#I'm pretty sure I posted the one hand one feet 3 shot so here's the 2 😅

[thankyouforthememoriesworld]

My favorite insane shoot of marine is the one hand 3pts she did ( I think it was a 3 not sure could be a 2) She raises her hand and the ball seems to magically floats to score like this one is unreal

she did both, because of course she did 🙈 (a 3 and a 2 with one hand)

credit to MJohannesOOC on twitter

[anderseva]

1, 2, 3, not only you & me || norgeva

WHO: Noah Puckerman @puckhq, Morgan Weston @morgan-weston, & Eva Anderson

WHERE: The Spare Room & then Eva's home

WHEN: Friday, August 9th

WHY: Two hot people enter the bar with technically the same birthday present for the birthday boy, so they decide to turn it into a threesome. There's no smut under here, we decided to fade to black because writing a threesome is too much work for us but pretend this is the steamiest sex of your life under this read more anyways.

MORGAN WESTON

"Delta Dawn, what's that flower you have on? Could it be a faded rose from days gone by?" The infamous Tanya Tucker song blared out through the speakers. The sober people in the room probably wished that it was actually the Tanya Tucker version that was being belted out, but alas, it was not. Instead, it was some drunk lady, with a bottle of Budweiser - king of beers, after all - in one hand, and a microphone in the other, misreading the words on the screen, from the karaoke software. Morgan laughed to himself. Of course Puck would be celebrating his birthday at a bar with karaoke. A variety of songs had made sure the party was going strong, and "Delta Dawn" was no exception. 

People cheered for the drunk lady - they were probably also drunk - and Morgan took a swig of his own beer and looked around, spotting a seemingly happy birthday boy. Puck and him hadn't seen much of each other since the day they slept together, but that didn't mean that Morgan was upset, by any means. It just meant that there was more catching up to do. Heading towards him, the tall cowboy took several long strides, but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw a group of people instantly swarming him with birthday wishes. Morgan took another sip of his beer, and thought about what to do. He was in the middle of the room, and he looked pretty awkward, he figured. So instead, he tried to spot a way out of the situation. And there she was. He could spot her from a thousand miles away, he was sure of it. "Ms Anderson," Morgan greeted her, in their silly little way, as he walked up to her, with a smirk on his bearded face. "Are ya here for Puck's birthday too?"

EVA ANDERSON 

Eva hated karaoke, even more so while she was sober and her vision was 100% clear as day. Maybe it stemmed from having a musically inclined family, but hearing people who were tone deaf attempting to belt out songs she probably didn't know or hated was the worst kind of torture. She was only here for Puck, and that was the only thing that had guided her feet into this godforsaken place and right over to the bar. She'd even tipped the bartender a few extra bills to send a tray of shots over to Puck while she was being served bottomless Dirty Martinis — extra dirty in terms of less juice and more gin. As soon as he started putting them down in front of her, she was tossing them back before he could even start working on the next one. 

The crowd around Puck wasn't a surprise since he was so damn popular these days, and she didn't mind having to busy herself with some other people she knew, or had exchanged a few posts with online before finally meeting in person. Everyone seemed to be keeping the convos light while they sipped on their own alcohol, so it was decent enough company until she felt the need to push her way through the crowd to get to the birthday boy. Luckily that issue was pushed aside when she saw Morgan coming her way, and she couldn't have contained the glowing look on her face even if she'd wanted to (which she obviously didn't). "Hi, Mr. Weston." Eva beamed. God, she needed to unpack why she could turn into a bit of a puddle around only two attractive, tall ass men, but tonight wasn't the night to analyze that shit. "I am, but I didn't know you and Puck knew one another too." She hummed. "I'm surprised to see you at a packed bar, but I'm also jealous that Puck is apparently special enough to make this happen." She stated and frowned. "How do you two know each other?"

MORGAN WESTON

The way Eva looked tonight - 'oh, to hell with it', Morgan thought, 'the way Eva looked all the time' was enough to turn even the worst of days into the best ones, for the tall man. And then, her reaction to him, the way she greeted him, the tone of her voice with that smile mixed in, had him weak in the knees and stumbling, as he tried to casually lean against the big bar. If she asked, he'd blame it on the alcohol, and the amount of beers he'd had tonight. Grinning back at her, he took the last sip of his beer, before putting the bottle on the bar, and signaling to the bartender to get him another one, as well as another of whatever Eva was drinking. 

Morgan leaned in so he wouldn't have to shout over the drunk karaoke lady, the height difference between them more apparent than ever when he did so. "We met at the mixer - like you and I," He started the story, and maybe it was because he was a little tipsy, but he felt confident in himself. "We kinda hit it off right away. He came over once. Y'know..." The bartender came around with the drinks, and Morgan took another sip of his beer, turning to look at the guy everyone had come here for. "He's a good-looking man, Puck is." He turned back to look at the girl that kept enchanting him with her ways of just being. Morgan was hoping that she was good at reading in between the lines of what he was saying, so that he didn't have to flat out say 'we fucked', because what kind of southern gentleman would do that? "Eva, have ya ever heard the song 'Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond Of Each Other'?"

EVA

If there was always one thing Eva could depend on when it came to Morgan, it was probably his ability to always look at her and make her feel like she was the most beautiful woman in the world. She was in the top three for sure, that much she knew, yet that gleam in his eye certainly felt like she was in the number one spot. It also helped that she seemed to leave him just as flushed, which wasn't a rare occurrence for her to get that response in return, it was just foreign for it to be mutual. She bit her lip as he leaned in closer, already spiraling from the close proximity. Had it not been for the cheers around the bar for that horrible performance on stage, she might have completely forgotten the real reason why she was here and made a move on the man right there at the bar. 

She hadn't been anticipating much for Morgan and Puck's first meeting aside from some little meet cute where two tall, hot men probably made jokes about being the tallest in the room or some other masculine thing men do when they met other dudes, so her jaw was damn near on the floor as she followed along with where this story was going. Morgan didn't even have to spell it out himself as the song did just that, and she nodded her head slowly. "The gay cowboy song." She stated once her jaw was back intact. How her gaydar had missed this, she'd never know. "Wait — are you here to give Puck another round as a birthday present?" Eva questioned, and as soon as the words left her mouth, a light bulb went off in her head. "If you are, I was about to tell you that you'll have to get in line behind me...but there's three attractive bisexuals here, one birthday boy, and we're giving him similar birthday presents, so..." Her words trailed off there as she smirked up at the cowboy, figuring he'd catch where she was going with this.

NOAH PUCKERMAN

Today had been a fucking awesome day and unlike most people, Puck actually liked karaoke. Yeah it was loud and most people couldn't sing, but the vibes were always right and the energy was always good. It was fun and people were drunk and celebrating him, so as far as the now thirty-two year old was concerned, there was no better way to end his birthday. Originally he wasn't going to drink too much, but people were being so generous and sending rounds of shots and it would be rude not to slam back at least one, maybe two. By the time he noticed Eva at the bar, he was being dragged up to the stage for a group number and he only agreed because it was a classic. Montell Jordan's, This Is How We Do It. At some point, he noticed Eva wasn't alone and he almost hopped off the stage when he realized who she was talking to, but whoever was next to him, grabbed his shirt to pull him back.

By the last thirty seconds, Puck was so distracted by how fucking hot Eva and Morgan looked, he wasn't even anywhere near a mic and he was just clapping to the beat. When the song finally ended, the birthday boy made his way down to the two people he had been the most interested in seeing tonight. As he approached he saw an energy between them and was way too tipsy and warm to figure out what it was. Finding his way through the rest of the crowd, he smiled as he came to stand between the two. His attention on Eva first, "God damn, you look good." Not that she didn't always look good, leaning down, he put an arm around her waist as he gave her a kiss on the cheek and thanked her for coming. Turning to Morgan he pulled him in for a hug, his hand cupping his beard covered jaw as he pulled away. "I'm fucking honored you came man, I know it's not your scene." Letting his hand linger a little longer before backing up completely, he looked between them. "Were y'all talking about anything interesting?"

MORGAN WESTON

Morgan watched as the realization washed over Eva's face, almost in slow-motion. The way her jaw dropped, it was like he could see when it sank in, and she understood what had happened between Puck and Morgan. It was almost amusing, and he couldn't help but smirk a little bit - he was kind of proud of that conquest. What he just hadn't realized, was that Eva had been there and done that too. It was almost as if Eva's realization about Puck and Morgan was transferred to Morgan. The tape rewound, and instead of it washing over Eva's face, it washed over Morgan's. 

"Are you- the two of you- together, you have-" Morgan stumbled over his words for a bit. 'God, that was so hot,' he thought to himself, and bit down on his bottom lip. As Eva kept going, putting suggestions out on the table, Morgan nodded along slowly, as he understood and picked up what she was putting down. "I think I underst-" Before he could finish that sentence, he was interrupted by the man in focus today, Puck himself, and he watched as he greeted Eva, knowing - and picturing what had gone down between them, in his head. He greeted Puck back with a soft smile, and a gentle 'happy birthday', before turning to look at Eva, the smile slowly turning into a wicked smirk. "Just 'bout your birthday present, man." He said, his gaze shifting focus to read his face and his reactions. "We think you're really gonna like it."

EVA ANDERSON 

Eva grinned at Morgan being tongue tied as he tried to understand what her deal with Puck was. Not that there was even a label for it yet. Maybe friends with benefits, though they hadn't even gotten too deep into the friends thing yet. Same with her and Morgan sort of, so really, she was in a great place with them both for her little idea to spawn into something. And Puck sliding in between them only heightened her interest in this arrangement. Smirking at his compliment, she leaned into the kiss to her cheek. "Thanks, birthday boy." She beamed. Wearing the short, tight-fitting dress had obviously been for Puck's enjoyment and it had worked, but for both of her boys. 

She let Morgan greet Puck as well before he answered the question, clearly on board with her little idea. It made perfect sense really, and with two out of three of them consenting, she didn't think it would be hard to get Puck to do the same. "Considering how many shots I sent you, Puckerman, I'm sure your mind's a little foggy so let me just spell it out for you: Mr. Weston and I were thinking that the three of us should take this party somewhere more...private. We can go back to your place if the kid is gone, but if not, my condo is like fifteen minutes away from here." Eva shrugged.

NOAH PUCKERMAN

Standing there, mouth agape, Puck was going over Eva's words in his head, thinking he must have misheard. There was no way she was suggesting what he thought she was suggesting. What apparently both Eva and Morgan were suggesting. It's something he'd thought about, I mean, you would too if you had the pleasure of experiencing them both separately. They were also two of the hottest people he'd ever seen and standing between them like this, drunk and vulnerable, he felt safe. Looking at them both, Puck really shouldn't have been so surprised. Why else would he have invited them both here knowing he'd want to go home with one equally as much as the other. What was the plan, if not this?

"She's not home but fifteen minutes is closer." Puck finally responded because he wasn't about to question shit and give any of them time to reconsider. It was his 32nd birthday and something told him this was going to be the threesome of his dreams. Especially since it was now obvious that Eva and Morgan clearly had something. Even if he was just a bit of fun on their way to falling in love, he would take it. "I'm ready when you guys are."

MORGAN WESTON

What the hell was happening? This was not something that the cowboy would've done back in Montana. He had sex, obviously, but it was never with two people at once. He was too quiet for that stuff! He didn't know what it was; maybe it was the alcohol circulating his system, or maybe it was LA, having him come out of his shell? Or maybe, it was the fact that he had two insanely hot people, who were feeling the same attractiveness, and the same yearning to be with him, the way that he did for them. They both turned him on so much, in two different ways, and having the opportunity to now mash that together, and have them at the same time was blowing Morgan's mind completely.

He motioned to the bartender that he'd pay for all three tabs, the moment that Puck's words left some sort of confirmation to the group. And while the bartender was ringing it all up, Morgan whipped his phone out, leaving no time at all to do something that he'd only recently learnt how to do; order an uber to take them to Eva's condo. He ordered, paid, and shifted to put his hand on Puck's ass, moving in to whisper in his ear, "happy birthday, man," his breath warm, and his eyes catching the same darkness in Eva's eyes, as he knew he was feeling inside of himself. His phone vibrated in his hand, and his heart jumped once at the excitement getting closer. "Our ride is here, let's go."

EVA ANDERSON 

The way Puck's jaw dropped when the realization hit told Eva everything she needed to know about what his answer would be, as if he could have gone another route even if he'd wanted to. It wasn't every day that this sort of offer was laid out on the table, and even she had yet to partake in this sort of threesome, which was quite the shock to her own system. Being the only female in a threesome had never been propositioned before but now that it was, she was desperate for them to make it happen. Once they received a verbal confirmation from Puck, she smirked in response. "Thank god." She stated, exhaling a small breath she hadn't even known she was holding. The quicker they got somewhere else, the better. 

Morgan jumping right into action and taking care of literally everything was hot as hell, and truthfully, Eva didn't know how she was expected to survive this night when both men were this fucking insatiable. Even just staring at them together was driving her wild, and it felt like it took much longer than it had before Morgan was announcing that their ride was here. "Fucking finally." She groaned, grabbing both of their hands and damn near yanking them out of the bar. Luckily the car was waiting right out front, so she led them over and opened up the back door, climbing inside first. "Let's go, boys!" She beamed before she made sure the driver had her address, needing them to get there as quickly as this damn car could possibly go.

NOAH PUCKERMAN

Everything was moving so fast, Puck's drunk mind was processing even slower than usual. It however did register Morgan's hand on his ass, which lowkey kinda hand him wanting to kick his feet and giggle. When Eva grabbed his hand to get in their uber, Puck managed to register that too. Nervous and excited, Puck wasn't sure what the other two's experience with threesome's was but Puck has attempted several and only two have been, what he'd call, successful. Watching as Eva got in, he'd be lying if he said he hadn't gotten slightly distracted by her in the tight ass dress, but he quickly came back to reality, and this was his reality somehow. Getting in next, he found himself holding Morgan's hand to make sure he squeezed his tall ass in the back with them so he could keep a hand on each of them for the ride.

Putting a hand on Eva's thigh, he looked at her and smiled as she gave the driver her address. Already he felt like tonight was going to be a good night. It didn't feel forced or like he was just determined to make a fantasy come true. He'd also never been in this particular setup and had it go well, usually the other dude just wasn't really up for the Devil's Threesome, but he already knew that wouldn't be an issue with Morgan. He also knew there was sexual chemistry between him and Morgan and him and Eva and if the looks those two have been sharing with each other are any indication, Eva and Morgan were no strangers to each other. With those thoughts in his head, he really needed the driver to move a hell of a lot faster.

MORGAN WESTON

Morgan chuckled to himself as Eva grabbed their hands, rushing out past the crowd that had only come for one of the boys that was now leaving. Morgan would've thought it all through, had he been sober, and maybe even felt a little bad about taking him away from his own party, but he was damn attracted to these two people, there was no way his drunk self was going to pass up the opportunity to have them both, in one night. As they reached the car, Morgan followed Puck's gaze, his eyes landing on Eva's ass as she got into the backseat, and it only encouraged his excitement to grow. She was so hot. 

Maybe he blacked out or something, but all of a sudden, Morgan found himself in the back of the car, with the other two. A gentle hand was resting on Puck's thigh, and he couldn't help himself when he leaned in, planting his lips just under the man's earlobe. He kept going down his neck, slowly and softly, as his hand trailed up the birthday boy's thigh, getting dangerously close to his crotch. "You smell so good," he murmured against Puck's jaw, and was completely lost in time, having no clue where they were. But time felt like it had gone by so fast, because all of a sudden, the car stopped, and they'd arrived at Eva's address. "Thanks Mr. Driver, have a good night!" Morgan said, and climbed out of the car. "C'mon y'all!" He almost ran up to the building, dragging the two others with him, as he grinned, the excitement of what was about to go down taking over every sense in his tall body.

EVA ANDERSON

With the anticipation clearly growing in all three of them, the drive to her place felt like it lasted much longer than it should have, yet in reality, it hadn't at all. As soon as they arrived and Morgan hopped out and pushed them to do the same, Eva giggled as she pushed Puck out and then let the cowboy lead the way up to her door. She managed to swiftly unlock the front door and shoved it open as she practically ran inside. "Mi casa es su casa...or whatever." She stated and giggled, kicking her heels off right in the doorway. She'd never had two men of their statures in her bed at the same time, but she was sure that the California king would fit all three of them and the positions they were about to get themselves into. 

"I'd ask if either of you need anything to drink, but..we can worry about that kind of thirst later." She hummed as she led them back to her bedroom. "Master bathroom is next door, in case one of you needs it now." She hummed. Luckily her bedroom wasn't a mess and her bed wasn't covered in clothes she'd tossed out from her closet while trying to get ready for the bar, so they were essentially ready to get right down to business. And before either one of them could change their mind (not that she expected them to), Eva turned her back to her boys. "Will one of you unzip me?" She asked, and boy was she thankful that she'd chosen not to wear a bra or panties under this dress tonight since that would've just been fabric for the men to have to get her out of.

NOAH PUCKERMAN

As he felt Morgan's hand on his thigh and his lips against his neck, Puck let his hand creep up Eva's thigh and suddenly the car ride that was taking forever, ended and in the blink of an eye he was in Eva's place, with her standing in front of them asking to be undressed. Like a light switch, Puck looked at Morgan before taking his hand and walking the few steps until they were just behind her. Figuring, as the birthday boy, he deserved the honor, Puck unzipped the dress, quickly noticing a lack of bra. Smiling, he turned Eva around, so she was facing the two men before Puck moved the straps so the dress could fall to the floor. God, she was perfect. A part of him felt like he should be working on getting himself or Morgan undressed too but all he could do was appreciate the true beauty in front of him.

MORGAN WESTON

A sober part of Morgan wished he could have tried this with Eva alone, before getting involved in a threesome with her. The way he knew what made Puck moan a little bit louder, or grab him a little tighter, or what would send him over the edge, he had no idea what he could do, to get the same reaction out of Eva. But Morgan wasn't about to pass on this opportunity; he'd be a damn fool to! He got to have the most attractive people walking on this earth! So instead, his drunk senses would have to sober up, so he could feel his way through all of it, and be the best experience they'd both ever had, wanting to be even better than the last time with the birthday boy! Morgan watched as Puck started unzipping Eva's dress, holding his breath for a second, but then remembering that the two men still had so much clothes on! So he moved in to unbutton Puck's pants, while maintaining deep and focused eye contact with Eva's body, as the dress fell to the ground and revealed the silky smooth skin behind it. He could hear the choir sing. She really was a goddess! "I'm done waiting." Morgan announced, pulling his shirt over his head quickly, and grabbing both of their hands to pull them down onto the bed, chuckling as he did so. 

Breathing heavily, the naked cowboy moved to lay on his back, a hand going up to rest behind his head. "Holy cow..." He managed to breathe out, closing his eyes for a second as he came to his senses. They'd been going at it, for who knows how long, and it had been one of the best orgasms he'd had in his life. There was a light glisten on his body from the sweat, and the moonlight's rays shone in through the blinds, casting the only light on the throuple. He opened his eyes, moved to his side and sat up on his arm, smirking at the other two. "So...round two?"

[chasingpj]

🍄 hiiiiii congrats on 1k!!! i started reading ur child of hecate fic since the 1st chapter& i loveeeee what ur doing for the rewrite!!! any ways i want to ask what ur wips r rn ??? cause u havent updated in a while & i wanted to know if u have smthng planned

hi hi! first, i want to say thank you so much for sticking by my fic for so long like?? I'm the worst post-er in the world and i truly applaud you for your patience and am so so thankful for your support!!!

now to answer your question... i indeed have plenty for you guys and i'm really hoping i get to execute this! I'll give you some sneak peaks of the writing too :)))

Here With Me: it's a nico one-shot with a platonic older sister reader and the relationship is kind of inspired by Wednesday and Pugsley's dynamic.

“Okay, listen here…” You move a little closer, eyeing the name tag on the frightened guard. “Atrius. Have you seen a girl named Bianca? She looks like this kid.” Pointing at Nico, the ghost peers over your shoulder. 

“No, I haven’t seen her.” As definitive as that statement was, he didn’t sound so definitive. His bones clinked together as he shivered in your presence. 

“I don’t like when people lie to me.” You stare into his empty eye sockets. One moment passes and then two and then three and still he hasn’t budged. Irritation buzzed at the back of your skull. You had the time but none of the patience to play hide and seek. 

Nico stands a short way behind you, partially concerned for your victim. He wasn’t sure what you were going to do if you didn’t get what you wanted. The skeleton flashed him a look and even with no skin on his face, he could tell it was pleading. 

“Help me!” He was saying without a word.  The boy doesn’t move from his spot though, instead looking away sheepishly. Pleading or not, he looked scary. That and Nico really wants to find his sister.

“I’m not lying!” He insists and it annoys you even more. Quickly, in one movement, you grab his leg and tug so hard it comes straight out the socket. Tossing it to the side, your eyes don’t leave him as he yelps, falling straight to the ground.

“Tell me where she is, or I’m tossing both of your legs into Tartarus. Last chance.”

2. Discovered: it's a percy one shot where you're jason's little sister and you've trying to keep your relationship a secret

“Perce, we should get out there.” Your eyes focus on the door as he slowly lowers your hand off his face. “I came here to wake you up, not to cuddle.” The suggestion flew into one ear and out the other, Percy only nuzzling his face further into your neck. “Hmm.” The vibration of his hum tickles your skin, distracting the rational thoughts that urge you to take your own advice. “Let’s just stay here and sleep a little longer.” 

When did you become so weak? You’re not sure how it came about with Percy. His husky, fatigue-laced voice was enough for you to persuade you. It wasn’t even the warmth of his body splayed over yours or the inviting bed sheets graced with his sweet scent that could sway your persistence. As much as you wished to stay here, playing with Percy’s dark locks until the two of you drift to sleep, you know you couldn’t. 

Your brother, Jason, was big on routines and he didn’t waste any time to work out a schedule for himself and the whole Argo II crew. Curfew was set to wake up at the crack of dawn and the times varied person to person under the consideration of who was scheduled for the night watch. 7 am was pretty early, considering you’re all stuck on a boat all day. The hours would just drag and you’ve tried to compromise with him about it but the former praetor was set on his plans. 

3. Holidate: it's short series that i'm working on inspired by the netflix movie Holidate! It takes place after college, percy and y/n are adults and just got out of long term relationships! it's a fake dating au. I want to get this fic out for the holidays at the end of the year!

“What?” Silena doesn’t falter her stare and you shift on your feet, suddenly, aware of Ellie tugging on your arm, eager to show you all the Christmas presents she got this year. “You're acting like I showed up in sweats!” Silena purses her lips. “I did my hair, and my makeup! First time in 3 months.” You hoped she'd give you some credit but her expression doesn’t change. “You know what? I don’t need to explain myself to you. I’m going to attend your daughter's Christmas Haul now.” 

Silena scoffs and turns on her heels, the red bottoms of her heels clashing perfectly with the green of her dress. Content with that being the end of your conversation, you make your way to the grand stairs with your 4-year-old tour guide. 

“You look like shit.” Your vision follows the direction of the voice. Drew smirks, glamorous in her choice of outfit today. To any other dinner party, you wouldn’t be underdressed but Cabin 10 took any event like the met gala. 

“Thank you.”  you smile as if you just got a compliment. Ignoring her look of obvious disgust, you run up the stairs behind the crowd of children.

__________

“Percy?” Estelle pats her older brother’s shoulder. She waits for a moment, the older boy staring at his cup of eggnog with nothing particular in mind. “PERCY?” 

As if snapping out of a trance, Percy blinks, meeting the six-year-olds gaze. “Yes, Guppy?”

The sweet tone in his voice was hard to manage but the last thing he wanted was to ruin his little sister's Christmas with his crabby attitude. He wishes he stayed home at his apartment, waiting out this holiday by pretending it was just a regular Friday. Sally didn’t allow it though, waking him up by calling his landline and demanding he showed up to Christmas dinner. He only came for Estelle. He knew his little sister would miss him.

“Where’s Annie?” She asks, teddy in her arms. Percy shifts, about to answer before his mother chimes in.

“Estelle, can you help dad set the table?” The task was somehow exciting to her child mind, the girl ditching the teddy bear on Percy’s lap. Saved by mom, Percy releases the breath he didn’t even know he was holding. “Sorry,” Sally sheepishly sits beside her son. “I told her what happened and to not bring it up. I guess she wants to hear the news straight from you.”

“It’s fine,” Percy says, green orbs returning to the eggnog in his hand.

[ssuperficialspacecadett]

The Calm Before the Storm

Chapter Fifteen of The One Condition Series | Chapter Sixteen

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 5.4k

Summary: Pretty Thing and Din spend some time together on The Crest as they head to Daiyu

Notes: I'm back from my little break !! Sorry this was posted way later than I usually do ): This is finals week for me at my university and its safe to say I'm getting my ass beat. Anywayyyy I'm happy to be back and I hope everyone enjoys this chapter (: Feel free to comment !! Happy reading <3

Gar ganar haar haal, baar, bal runi akay haar oyu’baat hettir dayn: [gahr] [GAN-ar] [har] [hahl] [BAR-oor] [bahl] [roo-NEE] [ah-KAY] [har] [oy-YOO-baht] [HAYt-eer] [dain]

Mesh'la: [MAYSH`lah]

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

You almost missed it. A small puff of air causes your hair to flutter. You stop crying and hold your breath. You could have imagined it. It could have just been the wind, but you wait for it again. You feel tiny strands of your hair dance around as another puff of air, accompanied by a heaving chest, makes itself known. 

“I’m stronger than I look, Sweetheart.”

“D-dad?”

“That’s what I’m t-told.”

Even at a time like this your father finds a way to crack a joke. He does his best to smile at you even though you are sure he is in indescribable pain. 

“I’m so sorry, baby.” You can see tears spilling from his eyes. “I should have done more to prevent this from happening. I just never thought-”

“This wasn’t something anyone could have predicted he would do.”

He closes his eyes and slowly nods his head; words getting progressively harder to articulate due to his loss of blood.

“T-the money. I hid it.”

“You what?”

“Under that tree that you two used to climb? It’s all there.”

You don’t know what to say. All you can do is stare blankly at him.

“Take it, baby…please…get far away from here.”

The clouds gathering in the night sky above the two of you finally break open. Rain begins to pour down all around. You place your forehead against your fathers and feel his last breath roll across your damp skin. You aren’t sure if it's the rain or your tears wetting your face at this point. You hold him close as you finally hear the inevitable blaster shot ring out from inside your house. You thank The Maker that your father isn’t alive to hear his wife's death be audibly confirmed. The front door slams open and shut again and you know you are the only living being in the house. Alden has fled the scene of his own horrific crime; his empty hands dripping with blood. 

When the rain threatens to drown you, you find the strength to push yourself to your feet. Your stomach still burns from where Alden rammed his foot into you. Enough logic remains in your body to know that your wound isn’t fatal, but you need to stop the bleeding. The rain makes your shirt sleeve harder to rip off, but the old fabric eventually gives to your will. You fashion it around your neck and hope that it has enough pressure to quell the bleeding for now. 

If you hadn’t lived here your whole life, finding the tree your father spoke of in this torrential downpour would have been impossible. You locate it and kneel before its protruding roots. You don’t even realize you have started digging until your fingers make contact with a wooden box. You numbly remove it from the muddy crevice it has been placed in, barely registering how raw your hands have become from clawing at the earth. 

When you open it you almost feel like laughing. Your body and brain are so exhausted from what has just transpired that nothing feels real. Staring back at you is the cause of your parents death, a.k.a. 50,000 credits. This small box is the reason you have no home to go back to, no family left, and no idea what to do next. 

You wake up feeling a bit relieved. The nightmare sequence is over…at least until it starts again. You are currently living in the next chapter of it you reckon. You made the choice to do something about the memories that plague you. You hired a bounty hunter, you traveled through space, you confronted Thuban, and now you are on your way to Alden. This is going to end. It has too. Din had set the nav for Daiyu, the second time now, late last night. You remember laughing as he hurried out of bed to get to the cockpit. He was muttering something about you ‘keeping the bed warm’ and him not needing another thruster blown out ‘on account of a simple disagreement’. 

He is sound asleep next to you now. His arms wrap around your body snuggly like ivy to a brick wall. You like being the first one awake. It gives you time to soak in this feeling; to live in the now. It also gives you time to reflect on what he said last night.

“Being with what is mine always makes me feel better.”

He called you his. Then he fucked you like you were his. He said it first with words and then with his body. A shiver of excitement rolls through you. You were his. His girl. His Cyar’ika. His sweet thing. You lift the arm that's around your waist up to your lips.

“Mine.”

You whisper and kiss his arm over and over again. Each kiss pressing the word deeper into his skin so it becomes ingrained there. All care for sounding insane and childish has flown out the window into hyperspace. You have never had anyone call you theirs before. You had never mattered that much to anyone in this way before. You were going to take full advantage of the feeling. If that means whispering your truth into his skin in the early hours of the morning, then so be it. 

“Wha’s tha’, pretty thing?” A groggy voice interrupts your personal incantation.

“It’s nothing,” you laugh nervously like a child who got caught with their hand in the cookie jar. “I was just talking to myself.”

“You’re not getting off that easy.” His arms work in unison to bring you flush with his own body. A chin comes to rest on the top of your head and while you can’t see you know he is smiling. “I’m curious to know what was being said as my arm got kissed so ardently.”

“I was saying … ‘mine’.”

“Mine?”

“Yes.” 

“And what would you be calling yours, Cyar’ika?” His voice sounds so sultry when he asks.

“More like who would I be calling mine.”

“I’m listening.”

“You. I was calling you mine. Is that okay?”

He answers your timid question by placing his hand on your chin and tilting your face up to his. His lips engulf yours quickly. Your two bodies melt together easily as he moves his hand to cup the side of your face; as if he is afraid you will slip away. You can’t help but let a moan slip at his sudden action. You didn’t see it coming, in more ways than one. Your lips are always so pliant for him. They part like a biblical sea for his tongue. Each of you paw and pant as you drink your fill of each other.

“Gar ganar haar haal, baar, bal runi akay haar oyu’baat hettir dayn.” He says after pulling away to let you catch your breath.

“The last part of the sentence I understood, but the first part is new.”

“It roughly translates to ‘you have the breath, body, and soul until the universe burns out’.”

“Breath, body, and soul.” You whisper to yourself.

“Breath, body, and soul,” he repeats. “I want to be yours in every way possible. I never thought I would want to …give myself… to someone like this in my life. I was completely fine with it being just me and the kid. Then you decided to come along and turn everything upside down.”

“I want you in any and every way you will allow me too, Din.” 

“As long as I can have you in the same way, you’ve got a deal.”

“Until the universe burns out.”

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

In an attempt to keep the child entertained, you had started turning anything that wasn’t tied down to The Crest into a toy. First there was a piece of scrap metal. You figured that placing him in the middle of it and trying to spin him would be fun. You were wrong. He might still have been laughing when you stopped spinning, but you certainly weren’t. His breakfast must have decided that you were going too fast because it came back up to say ‘hi’ to you and to the hull floor. After that you found a small strip of rope. You pretended to make it move in a serpentine pattern. You both laughed as you made the faux creature slither all around his little body. You must have been doing too good of a job at mimicking the movements of a real animal because the kid decided to try to eat it. You spend a good five minutes trying to pry the rope out of his little teeth. Who knew he would have such strong jaws?

You decide to bring him over to your bed to play an invigorating game of peek-a-boo. You sit down with your back against the crate that acts as your headboard and place him in front of you. As you adjust yourself, your tote, that's propped up on your right, slouches against your body. The child coos as you move it back to an upright position. 

“I don’t think I have anything in there that would interest you, little one.”

Unphased by your statement, he reaches out his hands and makes a grabbing motion. You figure that if rummaging through your bag of clothes would keep him occupied, you should let him do it. You grab the tote and place it down in between the two of you. You flick open the clasp and lift the flap. He pushes himself up and waddles over to the wondrous new world you have just revealed to him. While you should be annoyed as he flings your clothes out left and right, you just smile down at him. With all the trouble that he is, and he definitely is, he’s worth it. 

When you spent all that time alone on Eadu, you longed for something interesting to happen. Something that would pull you from the monotony of your self induced isolation. Who knew that The Maker would finally answer your desperate pleading in the form of a tiny, green child. You obviously haven’t had the time to have your own children yet. It wasn’t even something that had entered your mind until you were face to face with those beautiful, big, brown eyes. Trust was something that was important to you when it came to family and there was clearly a lack of that in your life. Things are different now, but having one child is more than enough for you. 

The deeper into the bag he digs, the more sounds of excitement he emits. Your clothes now litter the bed. When he inevitably reaches the bottom of your bag he looks up at you in confusion. 

“I told you there wouldn’t be anything interesting.” You laugh.

He looks into the empty tote again and pulls it forward to lay it down. You watch curiously as he crawls halfway inside. The tote, from your point of view, looks alive. It is wriggling around and the spots where his ears are making the fabric protrude outward. You hear a zipping noise coming from inside and see him crawl his way back out again. Your body goes rigid when you see what he found. A small bag, the same worn leather as your tote, filled with credits. Their deceivingly joyful jingle rings out as he shakes it in his hands. A wave of guilt rolls over you. Something as pure as he is shouldn’t be playing with blood money. 

“Baby, are you sure that is what you want to play with?” 

The money itself isn’t inherently bad, it's what it stands for that is. Blood was shed to find it, and blood being shed will earn it. 

“Maybe we can find something else for you-” 

As you reach for the credits bag he pulls it away from you and shakes his head. He is clearly determined to play with it. While you are less than happy to let him play with this bag versus the first one, you know when to pick your battles. You lean back against the crate, subconsciously trying to get your body as far away from the bag as you can, while he tries to open it. He pulls at it with his claws first and when that fails he tries his teeth. Your sympathy for him overpowers your own complicated feelings and you take it from him. The knot you tied around it is absolutely covered in drool and saliva at this point. It takes you a few seconds, but you finally release the knot. You hand it back to him and return to your previous position. He wiggles his fingers inside to fully open it up and again squeals in excitement at what he finds. He mirrors his previous actions and starts pulling credits out one by one. You know that there are fifty in there, so this should keep him busy for a while.  

Soon your clothes covered bed becomes gilded. Once the last credit had been removed from the bag, the baby just looked around at all the havoc he wreaked. You think he looks quite pleased with himself. He picks up a credit and examines it closely. He tries to put it in his mouth and he even manages to get a laugh out of you with the disgruntled face he makes. 

“Well,” you sigh. “Are you going to help me clean all of this up?”

He just smiles at you and shakes around the credit he has in his hand. You manage to collect all the coins and get them in a haphazard pile in front of the kid. You teach him how to place each one in the bag they belong in before starting on your own task of refolding your clothes. It takes you all of ten minutes to get the clothes folded and sorted back into your tote. Unsurprisingly, the credit that you had placed in the bag to show the child how to do it has somehow found its way out of the bag again. 

“Alright, new plan.”

You remove the now empty bag from in front of him and place it in front of you. 

“You are going to hand me a credit and then I’m going to put it in the bag, okay?”

He nods and hands one over. You gingerly take it from him and begin what you can only assume will be a long cleaning up process. After you take the second credit from him and drop it in the bag, the coins clink together. His ears perk up at the sound and he hurriedly gives you another. Each time you drop a coin in the bag and the sound rings out, his ears twitch. It has got to be the single cutest thing you have ever seen. You try not to make a sound just in case that will cause him to stop. You can feel your heart overflowing with love for this curious little creature. 

The two of you aren’t even half way through when he decides that you aren’t moving fast enough for him. Instead of handing you the next credit, he uses the force to bypass your hand. Right above the bag he makes it fall in. It jangles as it makes contact with the others. You sit back and watch in awe of him. Even after all these months you are still amazed that something so tiny could contain something so powerful. All that power and he decides to use it to make sounds with coins.

He has maybe five more credits left to do when his father comes down the ladder from the cockpit. You look over the crate at him and give him a soft smile as he comes up behind you. The heavy pressure of his hands resting on each of your shoulders feels so relaxing that you almost forget to tell him.

“Din, watch this,” you gesture to the child. “Come on, baby. Do the magic hand thing.”

The kid looks up at the two of you and waves happily.

“Oh come on! You were just doing it to pick up the credits! Remember?” 

You pick up two coins that were previously in the bag and ding them together. The baby only laughs as you make the noise he has grown so fond of over the last half hour. 

“Using my kid for manual labor, huh?”

“Oh shut up. He was just doing it! I swear!”

“Sure.” 

“No, no really! He would use the force to lift the credits up and place them in the bag.”

The child is no help while you attempt to plead your case. He only laughs and claps his hands while you try to convince him to move a coin again. You can feel Din’s hands on your shoulders shake as he silently laughs above you. When it becomes clear that no amount of coaxing will get him to do it, you wave the white flag and scoop up the last few credits. Din has moved around to the entrance of your bed now. He picks up the child as you safely return the bagged credits to your tote. As always, a gloved hand is extended to help you up when you finish your task. 

The three of you make lunch together. It is a bit crowded with so many bodies, but you don’t mind. Not even when your ingredients seem to go missing and the only evidence of their existence are crumbs on the child’s clothes. 

“You know you're going to ruin his appetite if you keep slipping him chunks of meat.” You playfully chide to the man next to you without looking up.

“He can eat a lot more than what we think,” he bumps your shoulder. “Plus I have been meaning to give him an extra portion.”

“Oh? What did he do to deserve that?”

“For being a good judge of character.”

Eventually you manage to get the meal into bowls and disperse them to their owners. You take the baby and get him settled down to eat in your bed. Then you make your way back to the pantry to pick up your bowl. Din hasn’t moved from his spot since you handed him his food. You can feel the conflict inside him. You had felt his eyes trailing your body through the beskar as you walked away with the kid. He wants to eat with the two of you, but can’t due to the creed.

“The kid and I are going to eat in my room. We would both like you to stay down here for lunch with us if you’re comfortable. If you decide you want to, just let me know when you are done. No rush.” 

Before you go you squeeze his hand that isn’t holding his food. You don’t want to pressure him, but you want him to know that you are more than willing to accommodate his needs. As you move to release him, he squeezes your hand back and his helmet moves slightly to the side. 

“Thank you.” He says your name before letting you go back to the child. 

The kid has devoured more than half of his meal by the time you get back. Din was right, he sure can put food away. You dig into yours after getting settled in. Not long after, you hear Din making himself comfortable against the opposite side of the crates. You smile to yourself as you chew. Meal time may be unorthodox for the three of you, but you wouldn’t have it any other way. 

Naturally, the baby finishes eating first. When he realizes that you still have some left, he crawls into your lap. He is looking up at you with such pleading eyes. You almost give in and let him have the last bit of your food. 

“Nice try, but you already had a second helping.”

From behind the crate you can hear an unmodulated laugh. 

“You better be quiet over there,” you warn with mirth. “It’s a struggle to say ‘no’ to these big brown eyes.”

“I guess it’s best that you can’t see mine then.”

And just like that, the mental image you have been secretly working on in your mind is complete. You feel like you just got the wind knocked out of you. One tiny detail has completely thrown you off your axis. Brown. He has brown eyes. You had assumed they were brown, but now that you really knew you feel like you are one of the stars you have seen zipping by the window while traveling at light speed. You don’t know where you are going, but you don’t care. Even without seeing them, you can picture them so clearly in your mind's eye. His thick brows would sit above them just so. You think that his eye shape would slope down at the ends. Maybe from the weight of all of his years or maybe from the weight of his job. They wouldn’t be stern, no, they would be soft and caring. Perhaps even a little bit sad? They would be deep pools of mahogany. Showcasing his independence, his innate caring nature, and his confidence.

“Y-your eyes are brown?”

“Unless they have changed since the last time I looked in the mirror.”

His voice is soft. He doesn’t sound nonchalant as he talks. He just sounds…comfortable. You feel your chest swell with your newfound knowledge. You didn’t think your feelings for him could grow anymore, yet here you are. Falling a little deeper than you thought possible and not even worrying about if the ground under you will provide a soft landing or be unforgiving.

A voice, modulated, cuts through your proverbial swan dive. “I’m all covered up. Send the kid out and I’ll put him down for a nap. Lunch was delicious.”

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

“You know that I was just messing around earlier, right?”

Strong arms circle your waist from behind and pull you into cool beskar. Your mind immediately goes to his eyes. Was he just kidding? Was it just a joke? 

“About what?”

“The kid using his powers to pick up the credits. I was just messing around. He did stuff like that before you came along too. I’m sure he just got shy.”

You feel yourself relax at his explanation and wrap your arms around his.

“So you just like making me feel crazy, is that it?”

“No, but I like watching you get all worked up.”

“How would you like to see me all worked up in the shower then?”

He pulls a deep breath in through his modulator at your words. You feel a welcoming pulsing between your legs as you let your mind start to wander. 

“Lead the way, pretty thing.”

He watches you undress from outside the fresher. Your body burns as the helmet dips down and up as you remove each article of clothing. Neither of you say a word as they drop to the ground. You can feel your own need radiating off your body as you finally kick off your underwear and move them to the side. The sound of the water running drowns out your shallow breathing. You mindlessly take your band off your neck and move to cover your eyes with it. 

“Stop.”

“What’s wrong?”

“The band. Don’t wear it.”

“Din, it’s just water. It won’t hurt it.”

He lets your statement hang in the air for a minute before he corrects himself.

“I don’t want you to wear it. I don’t give a damn about the water.”

You let it fall from your hands, discarded, just like the rest of your clothes. You turn and slip into the shower before he can change his mind. As the water warms your body up and wets your hair, you hear him removing his armor. Each time a piece of beskar makes contact with the hull floor your body vibrates with anticipation. When you hear the door of the fresher close behind him, your body feels as if it's floating. 

“Just close your eyes for me.”

You had them closed the moment you stepped under the water.

“You really trust me, Din?”

You jump slightly as his hands come up to cup your face. His lips come down to meet yours. Water trickles down in between the two of you as you swallow each other. 

“If I can’t trust you, I can’t trust anyone.”

He moves behind your body so that his back is blocking the water’s spray. You shut your eyes tighter at the movement; determined to keep them glued shut. You feel his hand move your wet hair to your left side and kiss his way down your neck. He lingers only to leave sweet bruises that you know you will see tomorrow. Your head falls back as his tongue greets your skin like a lost lover. Even with the lack of hot water touching you, you have never felt warmer. 

He can’t believe he has you in his arms right now. He is flirting with excommunication. He watches as you extend your neck so he has more room to lick and suck on you. He can feel himself already hardening as your neck starts to look like a field of poppies. He wants to mark you all over. Make sure people know that you are his. He knows you would let him do anything to you; putty in his hands. That power scares him because he doesn’t know if you know that he would let you do anything to him as well. 

He keeps his eyes trained on your face as his hand moves down to your burning center. Your plush lips part slightly as he starts to rub tight circles on you. The meek whimpering sounds that spill out of your mouth threaten to make his knees buckle. This fear is made worse when you start to whisper his name out to him. 

“You sound so pretty when you say my name. Do you want this?” He makes need known to you as he pushes himself up against your ass. 

“Maker, please. I have been waiting for it all day.”

“If you want it, you have to earn it.”

He knows you know that that means. Two of his fingers slide easily into your slick folds. Your left hand comes up to dig your nails into his shoulder. He works the hand he has inside of you faster as you claw at him like an animal. Your body quickly adapts to the rhythm he has set for the two of you. You’re so beautiful, he thinks. Your brows are furrowed in concentration and the way your teeth bite your lower lip does nothing to silence your wanton moans.

“That’s it, Mesh'la. Cum for me.”

Your legs shake underneath him as he holds you steady. He whispers sweet nothings in your ear as you succumb to your climax. He carefully watches your eyes. He can see them darting around manically behind your tightly shut lids. 

“Such a good girl.” He croons. “Now you can have what you want.”

He moves the hand he was keeping you steady with up to your throat. He waits for you to say ‘no’ or ‘stop’, but you just smile as his grip tightens ever so slightly around it. He brings the fingers you soaked up to your lips. 

“Suck.”

Your mouth greedily takes them in. He has to grind into you to relieve the pressure building within himself as your tongue takes care of each finger. You don’t shy away. As you continue cleaning him off, he feels you arch your back and push up against him. When he can’t take it anymore he pops his fingers out of your mouth and uses your saliva to pump himself. He brings himself up to your entrance and chokes on a groan as you slide your way down unprompted. 

“You’re always so fucking tight, pretty thing. So tight around my cock.” 

He keeps his hand on your throat and moves the other back down to your clit. The two of you move together in unison. With each thrust into you he wills himself to hold on. You need to cum a second time. He keeps a steady pace with his hips, but his hand speeds up. 

“Y-you make me feel so good, Din.”

As the air around the two of you gets thick with steam, he feels you come undone for him a second time. The way your breath hitches and your body shakes is the strongest drug in the universe. It’s completely intoxicating to watch you fall apart for him. 

He gives you no time to recover as he keeps pounding into you. Your body is already drained from giving you two orgasms and your legs are wobbly from standing so long. You have never felt better in your life. When he wrapped his hand around your neck you expected to flinch or not feel comfortable, but all you felt was safety. You knew he would never hurt you and the pressure he applied and was still applying is thrilling. More so than you thought. You scratch your nails down from his shoulder to his bicep and feel him stutter inside you. He cums only a few pumps later. You feel what doesn’t stay inside you run down your legs and mingle with the water droplets on your skin.

When the two of you finish he turns your body back to where the water can fully reach you. He lathers you up with his soap and makes sure you’re all clean. Then he washes your hair. He’s gentle and makes sure not to pull on any knots you might have. You know your hair is past the point of completely soaped up, but you let him take as long as he wants. When it’s his turn to be washed clean, you try your best. He helps your blind self find his head and massage the soap into it. You make sure to take just as long as he did. While you scrub he periodically leans down to kiss your lips and your arms. The shudder your body makes when he touches you isn’t lost to him. 

When the water threatens to give each of you hypothermia, he shuts it off and wraps you in a towel. He dries you off completely before using the same one on himself. When he scoops you up you feel the towel securely fastened around his waist. You wish you could see the way his V tapers into the garment. He gently places you down on the edge of the bed while you hear him rummaging around in a drawer. He tells you to lift your arms up and slides one of his thick undershirts over your shivering body. 

“Do you want me to put my band on or…?”

“No.”

You leave it at that and crawl back under the covers. He follows rights after you and to your delight he has dropped the towel somewhere on the floor. He tells you that you should nap while the child does and when you insist that you aren’t tired a yawn breaks free. 

“That’s what I thought.” 

If you could roll your eyes you absolutely would. Maker, it’s so annoying when he’s right. As you huddle close to him you feel early signs of sleep creeping into your brain. You don’t want to let it take you before you can talk with him.

“Din? Do you ever have nightmares?” 

“Where is this coming from?”

“I don’t know. I guess sometimes I feel like I’m the only one who gets haunted by my past while I’m in the present.”

“I figured that’s what you dreamt about.”

“Yeah,” you scoot closer to him in the dark. “I replay what happened that night with Alden and my parents over and over again.”

“I used to get them. A lot actually.”

“What…what were they about?”

“My parents. I can see them so clearly protecting me before they die. They set me in this bunker and when they closed it an explosion went off. A droid opened the hatch and raised its blaster at me, but right before it fired a Mandalorian shot it.”

“Really?”

“The next thing I remember was being helped out and flown away by them.”

“What do you dream about now?”

“You.”

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

[justmystyles]

The variety and quality of the work you’ve put out is amazing! Do you have a preview/list of what’s in the queue or coming up? I’m so excited to read it all!

Thank you so much for your sweet message my anonymous friend! 🖤

I have 3 things I'm currently writing, and one more request queued up. I've put a little bit of each of the ones I'm currently writing below the cut.

I posted a sneak peek of NYIML last night, you can find that here.

I am working on a one shot based on an ask I was sent. It's super cute and silly, and takes place as a part of my NYIML universe.

“I’m going to go change, wanna go pick some music? My laptop should still be connected to the speakers.” You tell Harry as you hang your coat up and slide off your shoes.

Harry looks at you in shock. “You’re actually giving me unsupervised access to your music collection?” 

You had always been protective over your music collection, claiming you had a long list of guilty pleasures. Harry wanted desperately to know everything about you, including all of the music you enjoyed. He had gotten bits and pieces out of you, but he knew you were still holding back, so allowing him to go through your music library was a huge step in your relationship. 

You looked at him and shrugged with a soft smile. “I trust you, and I know you’re not going to judge me.” 

Harry stepped up to you, cupping your face in his hands and pulling you in for a kiss. “I would never. I know that this is a big step for you, and it means the world to me that you trust me.” He kisses you once more. “I love you.” 

You giggle against his lips. “I love you too, weirdo.” You moved into the bedroom to put on some sweats, and Harry picked up your laptop from the coffee table, taking a seat on the couch. 

“A whole playlist of boy band music?!” You hear Harry exclaim from the other room. “I knew you were holding out on me!” You giggled to yourself, waiting for the inevitable reaction. “What the fuck?!” 

The third is a super specific detailed, 2 part ask that has quickly developed into a full on series. This one throws back to 1D Harry. Since I was never a 1D fan, I'm excited and nervous to see how this turns out.

Before long, the boys were being ushered out to prepare for their performance. You said your goodbyes and they made their way out of your dressing room. Not too long after they left, there was another knock at your door, you opened it to find Harry on the other side. 

“Hi,” he said quietly. 

“Hey, I uh… don’t you have to go perform?” 

“Yeah, I do, I just um… well, I could tell you were kind of nervous so I just wanted to tell you that I’m sure you’re going to do great.” He said with a dimpled grin. “It can be pretty scary going out there in front of all those people…”

“And that’s supposed to make me feel better about it?” You interrupt. 

“No, I mean yes, I mean,” he stuttered, looking down at his feet. “I just, I know you’re going to do great. I wanted to tell you that.” 

You felt your heart flutter at his words, when you didn’t immediately respond he looked up at you nervously. “Thanks Harry, I really appreciate it.” 

His expression relaxed, and he offered you a small smile. “I had an idea, I mean, if you want. You should come watch us from side stage. You know, kind of get an idea of what you’re in for.” 

“I would really like that Harry, thank you.” 

His smile widened and he led you through the halls to the wings of the stage. When the rest of the guys saw you they greeted you while smiling expectantly at Harry. He rolled his eyes and shrugged in response. 

Not really sure when you can expect any of this, but I promise they're coming soon!

[codenamehazard]

.:Rabbit Hunt:.

Chapter 30: Rabbit Hunt

Hey guys!

I'm super excited to post this chapter! The big 3-0 and I still have so much more story to tell! It's still absolutely mind boggling to see just how big this story has grown and how it's just gonna keep snowballing from here!

Without delay, let's jump right in!

-----

My voice rings out like a battle cry as I chase after this stupid antlered rabbit, what the fuck are they called? Jackalopes? Whatever. Not the point. Point is that bastard bunny picked the wrong man to taunt. Used to catch rabbits as a kid with my cousin for shits and giggles and we were pretty damn good at it. Now that I’m grown and damn near a god in power? This bunny’s as good as mine.

I wonder to myself what I’m gonna do with this fuzzy bastard once I get it. I could kill it, have its fur and antlers made into something and the edible bits be my contribution to tonight’s hodge-podge. Could also keep the furry menace as a pet, undeniable proof that jackalopes exist with the bonus of watching Mako and Kes fawn over the creature.

Out of the corner of my eye I can see Mako laughing and Crow facepalming, about what, I don’t give a fuck. Mako was the one who gave me the green light, so she can take it up with her.

Not that I needed permission anyways.

I get close and try to grab its leg, but it switches directions right as I’m about to nab it. Damn! I had forgotten how fast these bastards were, no matter… It has been years since I wrangled rabbits, so I’m out of practice. Just need to warm up and let muscle memory take hold.

I can feel my arms start to spark as my irritation grows, this stupid bunny is a lot more flighty than any rabbit I remember. Juking when I go for a grab and darting past when I corner it. Didn’t help that the fucker seemed to taunt me every time I missed a grab, this bastard even darted between my legs! But it’ll slip up. I just gotta keep hounding that thing. I have a lot more energy than it does and it’ll tire before I do.

I grin when I see my chance, the rabbit freezes up in a crowd of people. With a quick sprint and a lunge I leap to grab the rabbit, but the fucking thorn in my side bolts as soon as I’m mid-leap and the only thing I manage to do is to land hard and slide face first in the clay-rich dirt.

I can feel eyes staring at me, hear voices laughing… This goddamn pain in my ass is making a joke out of me. When I push myself out of the dirt I see that mangy thing snickering and sticking out its tongue while everyone else laughs.

Alright, Thumper. Rabbit stew it is.

I get to my feet, arms sparking black and red as the chase resumes. I reach an arm out as electricity arcs from my hands, first a few shots to herd the rabbit where I want it to go, then with Precision sharpening my reaction time I fire a sniping bolt and-

-DID THAT BASTARD JUST TELEPORT?!?

I almost trip over my own two feet as I gawk at where the jackalope once was. Great, just great! First zombies, then zombifying metals, now Conduit rabbits?!? Just fucking brilliant!!! I look to see where the fuzzy mongrel is before chasing it again, the cacophony of people laughing still ringing in my ears.

My mind can’t help but to flash back to my childhood of watching Looney Tunes with the fucking absurdity of it all, this whole chase feels like something straight out of that cartoon! I had Pangolin and his Wil E. Coyote shtick, now we got Bugs fucking Bunny making me look like that dumbass hunter Elmer Fudd! It only makes the laughing louder and all I can see in my vision is red.

I want this rabbit dead.

Stalls and people go flying as I use blast after blast to clear my path. Eyes glowing red as I do. Peter Cottontail over here is as good as dead. I will make sure of it. I keep firing at the menace, just to keep it from darting off into whatever corner it wants to go, even launching a few stalls at it with Kinetic Pulse for good measure, maybe hitting some of the spectators. I don’t give a shit, they’re the ones standing around and laughing like they’re watching the village idiot on a Saturday night!

More stalls are trashed as I bowl through the streets chasing this damned rabbit when I start to notice something, it has stopped taunting me and toying with me and it’s making a beeline for the big-ass tent dead center. The logical part of my brain tries to tell me that this could be a trap and the bunny is bait… But I’m too pissed to care, so I follow the antlered menace into the big-top.

It’s dark inside when I enter, already I’m starting to regret this choice as I get “Attack of the Killer Clown” vibes in this place. With my sparks bathing the area in a crimson glow, I see the usual trappings of the queue area for a carnival tent… But the rabbit is gone.

With no target to take my anger out on, property damage is my second best bet as I start tearing the place up, rope-poles become projectiles, chairs become targets and the only thing I can hear is my own voice echoing as I scream in unguided rage.

In my fit, a flash catches my eye. The blinding light halts my rampage long enough for my curiosity to take over.

Walking over to where it came from, I see that the source isn’t a light, but a reflection of my lightning. A reflection in a hand mirror sitting on a table.

I pick it up and look it over, nothing seems out of the ordinary. Just a regular mirror that I’d find in my nan’s bedroom, though it has some weird-ass engraving on the frame. I take a moment to do something I haven’t done in years. Look at myself.

Huh… Strange… Three years away from thirty and yet I haven’t aged a day, might look a little tired, yes… But other than that, the face that looks back at me is the same face I remember seeing back in Empire those years ago… Though I can’t stand to look at it for too long… For the longer I look at my reflection… The more and more I see that bastard in my face. Before I can look away and put the mirror down, a voice echoes in my head.

“How do you see yourself?”

I whip around to see where that voice came from, but find nothing.

“Who said that? Come out!” I command with my full chest, but I only get crickets in response. My mind starts wondering if it’s that damn rabbit that did it. I wouldn’t be surprised at this point. The stupid thing can teleport so it is really a stretch of the imagination that it could talk somehow? Still, I can’t help but look around to see if I can find the source, all the while pondering a question of my own.

What the fuck kind of question is that? ----

(Special thanks to @rogueshadeaux for helping me with the engraving on the mirror and letting me use her darling Jean.)

[jianghuchild]

WIP Wednesday

Funny story: if any of you have watched Guo Ba Yin (i.e. if you were in China in the 90s probably), you know it ends with the male lead being implied to have died. Here's the thing: I'm pretty sure he got diagnosed in canon with ALS? But the medication he gets is neostigmine, which is used for myasthenia gravis. Which, while a serious disorder, isn't quite a fatal.

Basically this inspired a fix-it where they discover he was misdiagnosed and he has to deal with living for longer than he thought he was going to.

The reason I'm now posting this is that 1) I don't think I'm ever gonna finish it, 2) it's quite non-existent fandomwise, so there's not much point posting on ao3, and 3) I realized that his on-screen symptoms actually do match MG, the doctors never say the words ALS, and this was an age where MG could have been terminal. So I'm not sure how much of a fix-it this would be in canon anyway.

(Btw, this is the show I made my first and only ever video edit for.)

Title: And die...? | 就死，吗？

Jia Ling bites her lip, feet tucked under herself. She’s moved back to the dorm after breaking up with Charlie, and honestly it isn’t too bad. Both Du Mei and Fang Yan have been more than supportive, and…

Right. Fang Yan. Jia Ling twists the empty vial in her manicured fingers. Her nail traces the edge of the label. After a moment, she comes to a decision. Jia Ling pushes herself off her bed and picks up the phone down the hall. She dials the number and waits for it to ring.

“Yes?”

“Du Mei. Is Fang Yan there?”

A pause. Du Mei insists she’s forgiven her, but the betrayal probably still stings. No, Jia Ling knows it does. “He’s gone to bed. Did you need something?”

“Listen, can I come over tomorrow? I need to speak. To both of you,” she adds. She’d prefer to only speak to Fang Yan—she knows how Du Mei can get worked up over these things—but the thought of seeing him alone makes Jia Ling’s skin crawl with self-loathing.

Another pause, this one less wary. “Alright. Come over at five. I’ll make dinner.”

[...]

Fang Yan dislikes himself. Not hate, he’s not so dramatic as that. (Or maybe he is, considering the charade he pulled with Jia Ling. Maybe Du Mei just brings out the drama in him.)

Anyway the point is that he used to like himself. He’s not a fool, he knows he’s good-looking, that he’s charming and can get girls to like him. But he also dislikes that about himself. That he’s caused Du Mei so much grief.

“So,” Du Mei starts, in that way she does when she doesn’t want him to know something’s bothering her, which is often these days, “Jia Ling is coming over for dinner tonight.”

Fang Yan presses his lips together and quashes a jolt of anxiety. For a second he thinks, What’s she playing at now? But immediately he feels guilty for it, and only says, “Ah.” He won’t spend his last few years fighting with the woman he loves.

[...]

Jia Ling twists her fingers while Du Mei busies herself with a platter of fruit. Fang Yan fiddles with a cigarette but doesn’t light it, elbows on his knees. Du Mei sets down the fruit with a clatter and seats herself in the cavity of Fang Yan’s side.

“What did you want to talk about?” she asks Jia Ling.

Jia Ling bites her lip. “When…” Her eyes dart up to meet Fang Yan’s, then down again. “When Fang Yan was at my place,” and here she shifts in her seat, and Fang Yan closes his arm around Du Mei’s waist, “he had an episode.” She falls silent.

“Yes,” he prompts her, “I remember. You gave me a shot.”

Jia Ling twists this way and that, opens her mouth again and again.

“Oh, bother,” she blurts. “Du Mei, see here.” She presses something into his wife’s hand. “This is what I gave him.”

Du Mei opens her palm. It’s a tiny vial, the contents empty. On the label Fang Yan barely makes out the words Xin Si Di Ming.

“I don’t know why, or what I was thinking,” Jia Ling rambles, “And I thought long and hard whether I should tell you, because I don’t want to get your hopes up, and I could be wrong, but I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t—”

“Jia Ling.”

Fang Yan’s heart stutters. His wife—his darling wife, who cries and never holds back—sounds close to tears. She takes two shuddering breaths against his side, and Fang Yan hates himself because he can do nothing but run his hand along her arm.

“You gave him this? You’re sure?”

“It came out of that vial exactly.”

“Why?”

Jia Ling shrugs helplessly. “It came from the hospital. By all accounts, it was misprescribed. But it worked.”

Fang Yan’s head is all mist. “What’s going on?”

“Please, Du Mei.” Jia Ling presses their hands together. “I really, really don’t want to get your hopes up.”

“I understand.” Du Mei offers a watery smile. “Thank you.”

Jia Ling nods a little uncertainly and gets up. She gives Fang Yan a complicated look—one he can’t quite decipher—and leaves, shutting the door quietly behind her.

Du Mei bursts into tears. Fang Yan scrambles, repositions them on the couch so he’s holding her fully.

“Hey, whoa, alright, hush now.” He strokes her back as she wraps herself around his waist and burrows, shaking like a leaf in his arms. “Hey now.” He softens his voice, lowers his chin to get a look at her. “What’s wrong?”

Du Mei pulls away. She sniffs violently and swipes at her face with the back of her hand, then turns to grab her jacket.

“Where are you going?” Fang Yan makes to get up, but his leg buckles beneath him. Du Mei is at his side immediately, helping him into his coat.

“We’re going to the hospital.” Fang Yan grabs her fumbling fingers. Du Mei fixes dark, watery eyes on him. “Neostigmine doesn’t work for ALS. You’ve been misdiagnosed.”

And she says it with such conviction, and suddenly Fang Yan is thinking of the day they first got married, walking into an empty classroom and the way she said, You love me and that’s enough, with the exact same certainty.

“I went to three different hospitals,” he tells her, softly, because he doesn’t want her to break. “They all said the same thing.”

“Then why did they give you neostigmine?” Her curls swing about with the force of her shaking head. “We’ll go to the hospital. If they don’t get it right, we’ll go to another one.”

“Alright.” Fang Yan stoops down and stills the hands tugging shoes onto his feet. “But let’s go tomorrow, hm? I’ll hardly die overnight.”

Du Mei glares. “Don’t you dare say that.”

[...]

The doctor rubs his face. “Curious,” he murmurs. “Yes, very curious.”

“Well, doc? Spit it out.”

“Fang Yan.”

“Come on, am I dying or not?”

“Well,” he begins, “You’re right that neostigmine isn’t usually given for ALS. Whoever wrote it for you made a mistake.” He squints at the report. “You know, medical intuition is a funny thing. The way your symptoms present themselves are almost textbook ALS. But there must have been something to make them give you neostigmine.”

Fang Yan clicks his tongue. “Come on, now. Give it to me straight.”

The doctor waffles a little more. “We’ll need to do more tests.”

[...]

A week later, the verdict comes. “Myasthenia gravis. Considering the aggressive onset of your symptoms, I’m not surprised you got misdiagnosed, even by three different hospitals.” The doctor offers Fang Yan a small smile. “It also has no cure, but unlike ALS, it’s not a death sentence.”

“A war of attrition,” Du Mei says. Her arms circle his shoulders tightly.

“Precisely.”

“So, what?” Fang Yan asks. “Ten years, eight years? Three, five?”

“No, no.” The doctor removes his tiny glasses, wipes them on the edge of his sleeve, and perches them back on his nose. “The prognosis is quite good. I would keep an eye on symptom progression”–this he addresses to Du Mei–“given the unusual onset, but otherwise you can expect to lead a more or less normal life, given proper and timely treatment.”

“A normal life…”

[touyasdoll]

Day 26 Bonus: Stuckage

pairing: Katsuki Bakugou x f!reader

word count: 2.2k

warnings: stuckage kink, reader gets stuck in a window & it has nothing to do with weight or size or whatever and everything to do with Kats being unable to help himself when you find yourself trapped, praise kink, mild degradation, light teasing, unprotected sex, creampie, exhibitionism sorta, daddy kink, nicknames used: princess, baby, & sweetheart, uhh if I missed any lemme know politely pls <3

notes: so..yeah. here’s another Kinktober post. even though it’s August lmao. maybe I’ll finish these by November ajdhdhs I’m sorry. these are all literally sitting in my drafts fully formatted, so I'm not changing them 😂

“Hey, babe?” You call in your sweetest voice to Katsuki, who is not-so-patiently waiting for you to retrieve the set of keys that you were so sure were right here in your bag.

“Yes, baby?” His tone borders on mocking as he stands there with his arms crossed, leaning against the car that he was hoping would’ve been open by now.

“What would you say if—hypothetically—the keys weren’t in my bag aaand I already locked the door on the way outta the house?”

“I would say that’d probably make you look like a pretty big asshole, considering that you swore they were in your bag. Hypothetically,” he adds with a shrug. 

“Yeah..s’pose it would, huh?” You frown and stick your bottom lip out in a pout to answer the heavy sigh that falls from your lover’s lips. 

“You’re not allowed to be in charge of the keys anymore,” he grumbles while strolling back over towards the door to lift up the plant where your spare key should be, but it isn’t there. 

“We, uh..took that in to make an extra copy to give to your parents,” you gently remind him, physically feeling the frustration radiating off of Katsuki. 

He closes his eyes and splays his hand over his face to pinch his temples, dragging his digits together as he rubs them over his eyes. 

“And both of those keys are still sitting on my fuckin’ desk where I left ‘em.” He heaves a sigh and looks at you, shrugging against as his hands settle on his hips. “Whaddya wanna do? Should we call a locksmith?”

“Is this all it takes to put you in full blown dad mode?” You giggle, unable to help yourself as you take in his stance and all too serious demeanor, not that your boyfriend was much of the carefree type anyway. He narrows his eyes, rolling them while his mouth moves in a mocking gesture. 

“It’s daddy to you, princess,” he teases, not-so-lightly swatting your behind and making you yelp as he strolls past you and starts walking around to the side of the house. 

“Hey, wait! Where ya goin’?” You call after him as you scurry along. 

“M’gonna check the back door. Maybe we left it open,” he explains with a shrug. It was doubtful, but worth a shot. 

“Fuck,” he curses, trying the obviously locked back door one more time like it might make a difference. It doesn’t. He tousles his hair and goes to head back to the front of the house. “Locksmith it is, I guess.”

“Wait!” You bounce a little on your feet and he turns around to hear your bright idea. “What about a window? I bet the one in the kitchen is still unlocked. I can climb through it.”

“That could work.” He nods and pivots to head further into the backyard, making his way over to the aforementioned window with you on his heels. 

He grabs the bottom and lifts up and, much to his relief, you were right about it being unlocked. He pushes the window up plenty high enough for you to crawl through and onto the counter that sits below it inside. 

“Alright, c’mere, baby.” He curls his fingers, gesturing for you to come closer before he bends his knee and taps the outside of his thigh. “Grab the sill and step on my leg. I’ll help boost you up.”

You nod and step in front of the window, placing both hands on the windowsill and putting your foot up on his knee to help propel yourself up and through the window. Everything’s going according to plan. Until you lose your footing on his leg trying to give yourself enough of a push to crawl through. That awful feeling of falling washes over you for half a second before his strong hands find your hips, keeping you from falling backwards onto your ass when your feet touch the ground again. 

“Motherfucker,” you sigh, closing your eyes as you take a moment and a breath to collect yourself. “Okay, let—ahh!” 

You’re cut off by the sound of the window closing. Again, thanks to his heroic reflexes and reaction time, you’re spared from injury as he catches the window before it hits you. You breathe a massive sigh of relief, practically wilting in the window, which now you can no longer simply slip back out of. 

“Babe, can you lift it back up, please?” 

“I’m trying,” he mutters. 

“What?”

“I said I’m trying,” he repeats, sounding frustrated, though you know it isn’t aimed at you. It’s aimed at the window that suddenly won’t budge an inch. “Damn thing’s fuckin’ jammed,” he gripes, heaving a sigh before his hands are on you, soothingly rubbing your back. “Are you okay, baby?”

“Yeah, yeah,” you reassure him. “I’m fine I just,” you sigh. “Don’t know what to do now. Who the hell do we call for this? I’m not letting the fire department find me this way,” you state as you shake your head and briefly imagine what an interesting interaction that might make for. 

“I’m not either,” he scoffs, his eyes being drawn to your backside, which he had to admit looked especially great with you in this position. 

“Try opening it again. Maybe you loosened it,” you suggest, turning your head to try and look over your shoulder at him, but the angle is rather awkward with how you’re trapped. 

He tilts his head thoughtfully. It couldn’t hurt to try, but it certainly felt pretty well stuck. He leans over you and places his hands beneath the window again, trying in vain to lift it while his crotch presses right up against your backside.

“Are you really getting hard right now?” You can’t help but giggle, wiggling your ass against the bulge that you can feel growing in his pants. 

“You’re bent over in front of me,” he mutters, grunting as he attempts again to shove the window upwards. “And looking pretty vulnerable, I might point out,” he adds with a smirk as he relents his attempts and instead runs his hands along your sides. “How the fuck am I not s’posed to be hard right now?”

His hands seize your hips, bringing you flush against him while he grinds his hips forward, You close your eyes and let out a quiet groan, feeling a pulse between your thighs.

“You wouldn’t take advantage of me in a position like this, would you?” You ask in a sultry tone, no doubt implying that you sincerely hoped that he just might. 

“I wouldn’t say that, princess. You know how much I like seizing opportunities and this one seems too good to pass up.”

“Katsuki,” you whine his name, knowing full well that it makes all the blood in his body redirect to his dick. 

“Fuck, baby,” he gruffs, already feeling his breathing shallow from the pure sense of need that you can still feel pressing into your backside. “You want it that bad, huh? Want me to take you just like this, where any of our nosy fuckin’ neighbors could peek over and see me drillin’ ya?”

“Yes, baby. Don’t just want it. I need it, daddy. Please,” you insist, writhing as much as you can in your compromised position. 

“Shit,” he huffs the curse as he bunches your dress up over your hips, only pulling his hips away from your to appreciate the view. 

He hooks a finger underneath the waistband of your panties and tugs, letting it snap back against your skin while his other palm takes a greedy handful of your ass. 

“Still can’t fuckin’ believe someone as hot as you puts up with me,” he snorts, delivering a swift smack to your cheek before he soothes the ache with his palm. 

“I could say the same,” you reply, shaking your ass and grinning when you hear him groan at the sight, but you’re growing impatient, so you poke at him a little. “Have you even got your dick out yet? I want you so bad, baby..”

“Patience, princess. M’gonna take care of ya. Lemme just look at’cha for a second, yeah?” Both of his hands grope your behind before he hooks his fingers into the crotch of your panties and pulls them aside. “Wanna appreciate all this before I ruin ya.”

His thumb parts your folds and you shiver, juices gushing onto his digit as he snickers. 

“That worked up already, huh? Guess ya really do need me.”

You don’t need to see him to know he’s wearing his signature smug grin. His thumb finds your clit and he begins drawing it in slow circles, making you clutch to the wall inside the house. 

“I do, I do. Please, daddy,” you whine, rocking your hips to chase the friction he offers you. 

It’s gone a second later, but you hear the jingle of his belt coming undone and clench in anticipation while he frees his leaking cock. 

“All this beggin’ sounds real good, baby. Gimme a little more and then you can have this,” he promises, letting you feel his rock hard erection as the head teases through your lips. 

“Please,” you blurt the plea out, instantly complying in order to get what you need. What you crave. “I’ll do anything, baby. Want you inside me. Need you to fuck me. Want you to ruin me, daddy. Take this pussy. S’all yours. Always all yours.”

“Such an overachiever. S’what I love about you, princess,” he chuckles, giving you no notice before he lines up and bottoms out in a single thrust, stuffing you full with his impressive length. 

“Fuck!” 

You claw at the drywall beneath your fingers, pressing your hands to the surface to hang on as he begins to thrust, showing little mercy to your drooling cunt. 

“Goddamn you feel good. You’re really into this, aren’tcha? Like being stuck and lettin’ me use your pussy like I wanna?”

“Y-yeah. Oh fuck, yeah, daddy. U-use me. Oh my God, don’t stop. Don’t fucking stop.”

You’re babbling now, too far gone already with the way his cock moves inside you, deliciously dragging along your walls as the tip finds that special, velvety spot inside you and starts knocking into it over and over and over again. 

“M’not gonna stop, sweetheart. Not ‘til you’re creamin’ on my cock. You ain’t gonna last long, are ya? Fuckin’ squeezing me so tight already. Shit.”

“Mm-mm. N-no. Feels too—haa—s’too good, baby.”

And he’s right, of course. That white hot heat burns in your belly, searing you from the inside out as it builds and spreads, spiraling out of control as he continues to snap his hips, offering you no mercy now as you rocket towards your orgasm. 

It hits you like a freight train, making you scream as you slump over the sill of the window, simply trying to hang onto the structure as your cries echo around the empty kitchen. You don’t even notice the way that the window seems heavier on your spine now. 

“Good girl,” he grunts, breathing labored from his efforts as he keeps it up, sprinting towards his own undoing. “So fuckin’ good. Pussy’s too fuckin’ good, baby.”

He doesn’t even falter when he finds his release. If anything, he moves faster, willfully pummeling your poor, abused cunt as he fills you to the brim until the mixture of your essences begin to seep out as your own name falls from his lips, ringing in your ears through the haze you find yourself floating through. He looks down, entranced by the vision of his cum being pulled from and pushed inside of your again and again.

“Fuck,” he pants, sweat dripping from his brow and landing on your exposed lower back. He watches the bead trail along your heated skin to mingle with the rest of the fluids joined between your bodies. 

A whimper is all that you can manage as he withdraws himself and leans over you, a decisively more gentle touch skimming along your sides before he begins rubbing your back and feathering kisses along your spine. 

“You okay, baby?” His tone is as soft as his touch as he restores your modesty, dipping down to return your panties to their rightful place before he reaches for the hem your dress and pulls it back down. 

“Mhm,’ you hum, blissfully content as you continue coming down from your soaring high. 

“Good.” He continues rubbing your back, working up to your shoulders when his hand nudges the window and he realizes that it’s finally budged. “Well, shit,” he chuckles, reaching over you to lift the window up, freeing you from your entrapment. 

“Hmm?” You feel the pressure lift off of your back and step back from the window, shaking your head as a smile graces your features. “Well, I guess that works out.”

“Think you still have the strength to crawl through?” He grins, a little smug and a lot handsome as he pulls you into his arms, holding you close as he rubs your arm. 

“Gimme a minute.” You laugh quietly, closing your eyes as you wind your arms around his and rest your head upon his broad chest, nuzzling into the fabric of his shirt to inhale his cologne. 

“Take all the time you need, princess. I’m good right here,” he murmurs into your hair as he presses a kiss to the top of your head.

likes, comments, & reblogs especially are greatly appreciated! thank you for reading <3

[captains-simp]

(Not me accidentally posting this when it was half done)

I knew I could count on you @wndrcarol for a jock!Carol request🥳 also....👀I heard you like Sharon

Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

1.9k words

Warnings: harassment, degrading, face slapping, strap on sex, spitting, choking and hints of overstimulation

[ masterlist ]

Buy me a coffee ☕

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

You groaned in frustration when you finished checking the kitchen for your girlfriend. Everytime you went to a party with her the same thing happened.

You'd arrive, take a while to get comfortable and as soon as you did Carol would be whisked away by her friends leaving you to stand awkwardly in the corner. You really needed to get more friends. The ones you had never seemed to come to those parties.

You wandered outside onto the wooden decking area to get some fresh air and leant against the fence as you lazily scanned the area for Carol. You knew she wasn't out there, you had already checked.

Your eyes landed on a brunet who had been watching you carefully but the moment you locked eyes he scurried away back inside, not wanting to be seen near you. You smiled at the memory of the last time you had met at a party.

"There was only 10 seconds of the game left but I kicked the ball as hard as I could and it was on the last second of the game that it scored and we won!" Tyler exclaimed before taking another sip of his bear and gleamed at the memory.

"That's great." You said as you continued to scan the room for Carol.

"It was, you should'a been there." Tyler said as he looked back at you, or more he looked above the line of your low hanging top. You shifted uncomfortably under his gaze.

"I was at Carol's game." Tyler didn't react to the mention of your girlfriend. It wasn't like he didn't know you were dating, everyone knew. Carol made sure of that.

"Unlucky, mine was a lot more interesting." He declared with a smug grin. A brief memory of Carol fucking you in the showers after that game flashed through your mind and you couldn't contain your smile at knowing how wrong the guy infront of you was.

Unfortunately, he thought that smile was at him.

"I had a pretty great game before that too. But it's getting kinda loud in here, wanna go somewhere more private?" He smirked in an extremely unattractive way.

"I'm good, I need to go find Carol." You said quickly, wanting to get the hell away from Tyler.

You hadn't seen Carol in a while. It was her idea to go to the party, it was an environment she thrived in. You, however, did not. It wasn't your scene and you didn't know anyone there, not well at least.

At some point through the mass of bodies, loud music and numerous people trying to get Carol to do shots with them or be on their beer pong team, you had been seperated from the Captain and you hadn't seen her since.

"Come on, I'm sure there's some spare rooms upstairs." There was a slight slur to his voice that made it even worse when he approached you and put a heavy hand on your waist.

"Get off me, Tyler!" You snapped and pushed his hand away but he continued with a frown.

"What? Don't you want this-" He was cut off when a fist shot out beside you and punched him across the face. Tyler staggered back, gripping his bleeding nose, as the people around you cheered loudly, oblivious to what had happened prior.

"Get your fucking hands off my girlfriend." Carol demanded as she continued to advance towards a cowarding Tyler who could only hold his hands out in defence. You pulled Carol away with to turn her towards you and Tyler scrambled to his feet to flee.

"Are you okay?" Concerned and familiar eyes met yours that instantly eased your worry. Carol brought her hands gently up to your face as she scanned you closely and you were surprised to see that she looked completely sober.

You nodded your head and breathed out a yes before you took her right hand away from your face to examine it carefully. The dull lighting in the room made it hard to make out but you could feel that there was nothing out of place.

"Come on." Carol said as she took your hand. "Let's get out of here."

Tyler had a bandage across his nose for a while. He had avoided you like the plague ever since, clearly have some sense in him.

"Want some company?" Came a voice from beside you. You glanced sideways and saw Sharon fall easily into place next to you. She mirrored your position of leaning against the barrier and gave you a knowing smile.

"Thanks." You breathed out, feeling kind of embarrassed someone had noticed Carol always seemed to ditch you at parties.

"No luck finding the girlfriend?" Sharon teased.

"Is it that obvious?" You asked but weren't sure you really wanted to know.

"You look like a lost puppy without her." Sharon chuckled making you flush. Maybe you were too clingy.

"She's the golden retriever lesbian." You corrected making Sharon laugh more.

"That seems about right." She went to move closer to you but a group of jocks spilled out onto the decking, without Carol among them.

"Fuck this." She huffed and took your hand to lead you over to the garden swing bench. Your hand felt like it was burning when she held it to pull you along. Although her hands were physically soft, they weren't the kind of softness you felt with Carol. It didn't make you feel warm inside, it made you feel uneasy. But it was a party, you had to hold onto people to move about.

Part of your brain pointed out that there was only a few people in the garden so there was really no need for Sharon to navigate you through it, while the rest of you really did just want some company.

Sharon sat down on the bench and you followed, feeling as though you could relax a bit more on the edge of the garden.

"You know, I think Carol's a very lucky gal to have you." Sharon said as she watched you closely. You laughed nervously as you noticed how close she was. You found yourself searching the garden for Carol again but Sharon lighting held your jaw and turned it back towards her.

"Pretty thing like you must surely be a lot of fun to play with." She smirked as her other hand crept onto your thigh.

"Um I d-don't-"

"Shh, you don't need to talk." Sharon cooed as she tilted your chin up more when you struggled to keep eye contact. The blonde glanced at your lips and licked her own before leaning forward slowly.

Until a strong hand wrapped itself around your bicep and yanked you from the bench.

You stumbled into a fuming blonde who was glaring at Sharon. You blushed deeply as you realised how it looked at what Sharon was most likely trying to do.

"You keep your fucking hands off of my girlfriend, Carter." Carol spat as her fists clenched.

"You really shouldn't leave her unattended?" Sharon said, amused by Carol's anger. "Who knows what could have happened." She winked at you and looked away instantly.

Carol scoffed simply as she continued to glare daggers at the woman infront of you.

"In your fucking dreams, she's mine." She all but growled as she pulled you away. You yelped as you felt her nails dig into your skin but didn't have the nerve to ask her to loosen her grip.

Carol pulled you through the crowded house and up to an empty bedroom that she shoved you inside.

"Did you enjoy that? Whoring yourself out to Sharon?" Carol asked as she threw you to the bed and started undoing her belt.

"No I-" You started as you went to sit up but Carol put a firm hand to your chest and pushed you back flat against the bed.

"Shut up, slut. I don't want to hear another sound out of you unless you're saying my name." She warned as she pulled her strap out and pulled your panties down.

You looked at her wide eyed, never seeing her so worked up before sex. Sure, you'd have a lot of needy, desperate sex and the occasional quickly, but she never showed so little regard to you before.

"What? Think I'm going to be nice to you and take my time? Want me to touch you gently? Whores don't deserve to be treated nicely. You don't get to prep my cock either." Carol taunted as she pushed the tip of the head in and kept it there as she stared down at you. "You'll have to just take it how it is, not that you'll have much of an issue. You've always got such a sloppy cunt."

"Please, Captain." You found yourself whining earning you a harsh slap to your left cheek. Your head whipped to the side and your cheek burned but Carol didn't seem to care.

"Who are you begging to fuck you?" Carol asked as she rocked her hips slowly as a reminder that you only had the very tip inside you.

"You Carol, I want my Captain's cock!" You cried out desperately.

"Only mine?" The blonde mused as she inched a bit more of the strap in.

"Yes Carol, only your cock. I only want you." You whined truthfully. Carol knew that of course, she knew you were incredibly loyal. That's what made the game so fun.

"Please! Please Carol I need you so bad. I want my Captain deep inside me, please please." You begged and felt as though you could cry in frustration.

"You really know how to plead like a whore, don't you. Did you learn that somewhere? Or are you just a natural cock slut?" She asked as she slammed her hips forward and filed you up with the strap at every angle.

You moaned loudly and threw your head back against the pillows as Carol set about her harsh and unrelenting pace. The thick strap filled you up entirely with every thrust. It didn't take long for your eyed to water from the sheer amount of pleasure she was giving to you so roughly.

Carol grunted as she pounded the strap into you and her grip on your wrists tightened, letting you know she wouldn't let go anytime soon.

"See? You've got such a sloppy pussy. And it's all mine." Carol spoke as she glanced down to look at your pussy taking her strap so well.

"You're gonna cum for me now. You're going to cum all over my cock." Carol demanded as she noticed your signs of approaching orgasm.

You cried out at the force of each of Carol's thrusts until it became too much to bear and you crashed over the edge without much to hold on to. As you did so, Carol brought her hand up and wrapped it tightly around your throat before giving it a quick squeeze.

"You belong to me, slut." Carol said as she continued thrusting mercilessly. She noted your blissed expression and open mouth and gripped your jaw tightly, much rougher than Sharon had. She pulled your face down with your mouth still open and spat. You moaned as you tasted her saliva on your tongue and around your lips. You swallowed it eagerly making Carol beam internally, not that she could let you know that.

"Cum again for me whore. I get to do what I want with you. So you're going to keep cuming until I get bored. I don't give a fuck if you get tired." She spoke next to your ear, poison dripping from her words.

"So fucking cum."

[just-something-to-think-about]

The next day

Background: little teaser sequel from "A night out" out of Scott's view

-> Chris Evans, Scott Evans, mentioning of Zach Volin, female Y/N working in a field related to biology

Warning: slight swearing

Word count: ~1006

-not exactly a part two, but because some of you wanted to know what happens next, here you go... dont worry there will be more but I think I'm going to post a prequel next-

-> little reminder: I don't have a beta jet, so all the mistakes are mine and it's not my native language, still learning... -> do not repost or steal my story -> pleas feel free to like, comment or reblog <3

-> no idea how or if you do this but picture is from: https://www.pinterest.de/leirys/chris-evans-33/

Scott

At about 1 o'clock in the afternoon he could not stand it any more, it was simply not possible for him to restrain his curiosity any longer, he had to know wether his brother had taken the girl, whom he immediately had begun to care about, home and wheter she was perhaps even still there.

He had tried to call Chris several times by now, but suspected his phone was on silent or had run out of power.

So he just left Zach in the hotel suite, called a cab and got a ride to Chris's house.

Once he arrived, he had to ring the bell three times before a very sleepy-looking Chris opened the door for him in just his underpants, shielding his eyes from the sun with one hand.

"Happy birthday brother" he said grinning, pushing him aside he just walked in and went strait for the bedroom, where he suspected Y/N would be, still wraped up into his brothers sheets.

A bit surprised he came to a halt in the open doorway, no one exept for Dodger laying inside the untidy bed.

"What are you searching for?" Chris asked confused.

"You should ask who I am searching for" Scott said, turning around and raised one eyebrow at his brother who was standing in the hallway, rubbing his face with his hands to get a grip on reality.

Chris' head shot up, "Y/N" he called out. He pushed past Scott to look for her himself, suddenly wide awake.

"You took her home then" Scott grinned, as he watched him search his house for a girl who was obviously no longer there.

"Hell yes I did" Chris called after him, Scott was already walking towards the kitchen.

...

"She's gone" Chris said five minutes later frowning as he, pulling a t shirt over his head while walking,  joined his brother, taking a seat behind the counter.

Scott put down a cup of coffe in front of him.

"Why she left?" asked Chris, staring down into his cup.

"Maby you snored?" chuckled Scott as he stood leaning against a kitchen cabinet, his armes crossed.

Chris didn't say anything, he just kept staring into his cup and looked like he was brooding about something.

"I want to see her again" Chris said determined lifting his head, his look very serious.

"What was that?" Scott asked with a mischievous look on his face. "You, of all people take a woman home from a party, she takes off before you're even awake, and you want to see her again?" Scott grinned teasing, waiting for his brothers reaction, testing out what feelings the man had towards the woman who had saved his ass several times.

"She's not just some woman I took home from a party, Scott" Chris positivly growled at him, getting to his feet.

"Yeah thats what I thought" Scott grinned, satisfied with the reaction he had gotten out of his brother.

"Well, ahm I suppose you could just call her" he said shrugging "or at least send her a message, you could ask her why she left oOor just ask her out" Scott thought aloud with evident excitement, while tipping his indexfinger to is lipps, eyes sparkling.

"Dammit" Chris blurted out suddenly and slammed a fist on the counter "I didn't ask for her number" he said visibly angry with himself.

Scott almost jumped by his brother's outburst.

Chris scowled before apparently remembering something, his eyes focused on Scott "You have her number right?" he asked walking over to him grabbing him by his shoulders "You were with her all night when I was not, you must have her number!" his face brightened with hope.

"Sorry Chris" Scott said apologetically "but I didn't ask her for her number either I'm afraid".

Scott could watch his brother's face becoming gloomy again, "I'm sure someone asked her for her number" he growled walking out of the room, a moment later he came back in, phone in hand. "I'm going to ask everyone, if anyone has it" he said firmly.

Scott who had watched his brothers actions motionless, got out of his trance, pulled out his phone and offered to help.

...

"Fuck" cursed Chris after he hung up his phone an hour later, he had even called the Pub to ask the barceeper if he, by any chance, had Y/N's number.

He couldn't believe it, how could it be that really no one had asked this incredible woman for her phonenumber.

He rubbed his face in frustration. Who was he kidding, really he was just mad at himself for not coming up with the idea himself when he still had the chance.

"Do you know what she's doing?" Scott asked "where she could be working, I mean?"

"She's doing something with biology" Chris mumbled "But I'v got no clue where she could be working".

Scott squeezed his brother's shoulder "I'm sure you'll see her again, you've run into her how many times by now? Four times? And in the most impossible situations, that sounds pretty much like fate if you ask me" he said in an assuring voice.

"last time it took "fate" two years until I met her again, Scott" He said in a grave voice "I don't think any of us will wait that long" he said with resignation. "I guess I just have to forget about her" Chris said and finally got up. "Let's just go to see mum and the others, they are surely waiting for us" he walked out of the room to get dressed.

Scott was pretty sure that his brother was thinking too negatively in this regard, he couldn't imagine that this would be the end of their story. Especially since she was now living in town and not thousands of miles away or on another continent. But since he felt that a discussion would not have been useful at the moment, he let it rest for now and trusted that fate would intervene again, as it had done before.

@dontbescaredtosingalong @beautifulrose0809 @gitasor @keyanasstuff

[allensimpsforcorpse]

𝙹𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚂𝚊𝚒𝚕𝚘𝚛 𝙱𝚘𝚕𝚍 | c.h

Pairing :: Corpse Husband x GN! Reader

Requested :: Anon

Summary :: Corpse just wanted someone to be with this lonely summer night, he didn't expect that someone to be a mermaid but he's not complaining

Warning/s :: Swearing, hand injury, blood, angst in the end

A/N :: I hope you guys like this, especially to the Anon that requested this! This honestly turned into more like a short one shot rather than a drabble and it's a little rushed so I hope that's okay! Taglist (for all my future Corpse fics and my one multi-chaptered fic) and Requests are open

navigation

Corpse sighed as he lays on the cold and wet floor of the cave he found earlier that day while looking for a place to stay out of the birthday beach party. It was getting too crowdy for his taste.

Don't get him wrong, he'd love nothing more than to celebrate Poki's birthday along with the others, his friend deserved a fun and happy time but with his phobia? He doesn't do well with parties. Especially one that has a lot of people invited. The thought of being around so many people at once makes his skin crawl, so after a quick excuse, he left the party and walked around the beach, eventually finding the cave in which he is currently laying in.

A growl of frustration left his mouth as the sinking feeling won't leave his chest. He usually loves being alone, just him and his sometimes not so nice thoughts. But right now?

He feels so fucking lonely.

It feels like he can't stand being alone now but at the same time, the thought of going back to the party full of too many people partying scares the shit out of him.

My heart is pierced by Cupid

I disdain all glittering gold

A sudden soothing voice echoed from further into the cave, passing into his ears and swirling in his head, calming the previous tormenting feeling in his chest.

Who was that?

With his silent desperation for company, Corpse couldn't resist the temptation and curiosity to find out where that voice comes from. Standing up from his place, he ventured into the dark cave, the echoes of the voice and the small moon light from outside as his only guide. He hopes he wouldn't misstep and fall into the pool at the end of the cave, it looked pretty deep when he found it earlier that day.

The echoes of the voice stopped but even with the deafening silence, he marched on, determined to see who was blessed with such an angelic voice. He felt his hand slip on the sharp rock that he was gripping but he felt no pain, the sting wasn't there even as he can barely see the shine of the blood dripping from the wound on his palm. He decided to ignore the injury for now, he can just treat it once he gets back to the beach house later.

Steadying his feet on the rocky and slippery ground, he looked up and couldn't stop the gasp that left his mouth. Was this real? Or did he actually slip earlier and hit his head hard enough that he's hallucinating? To be honest, the latter seems more logical and believable for him because there is no way this could be real.

Lounging on the raised platform in the middle of the pool was the most gorgeous person (creature?) he has ever seen. Silky short/long (hair color) locks, piercing (eye color) eyes that seems to glow brightly in the dimly lit cave, smooth (skin color) skin that are devoid of scars, and a glistening (tail color) tail, half of it still submerged in the dark waters, gently swaying as the merfolk was completely relaxed.

Corpse has heard of the legends of the beach, hell, he even narrated a story all about it once in his channel! He didn't expect it to be true-

"Oh? What brings you to my little nest? It has been many moons since I've seen a human venture in here."

The same soothing voice came from the creature, yet their mouth didn't move. Their lips still in the same inviting soft smile, eyes watching his every move. Their voice seems to echo in his head and that should have triggered something in him! His anxiety, his flight/fight response, anything! But for once, they're quiet. And Corpse honestly doesn't know if that's a good or bad thing.

"Would you continue your song?" he's surprised at how steady his voice sounded, with how dazed he feels at the moment, he was pretty sure he would've slurred his words. A gentle laugh left the creature's mouth, their eyes glinting with amusement. They like this human.

"For you, little one, I will. If you'll take off your mask"

Corpse did so immediately, practically ripping the mask off his face and throwing it in the pool. The merfolk let out another melodic laugh, pleased at how eager the human was at hearing their voice.

There is nothing can console me

But my jolly sailor bold

At the last note, they reached out their hand towards the awe-struck humans. Corpse observed the hand, it was smooth and fragile looking. Their nails were sharp and dark. It didn't scare him, like nothing about this whole scenario was scaring him.

Without any further hesitation, he reached out and-

"Where's Corpse? Has he been found yet?" Valkyrae, or Rae for short, read out loud. She was streaming at the moment, playing Valorant alongside her friends and having a good time.

Well, trying to have a good time.

"No, he still hasn't been found yet. It was a hard search, we have no clue on where he could be other than his mask that we found in the cave somewhere on the beach." She sadly explained, her heart breaking as some of her missing friend's fans showed their despair in her chat.

She understood how they feel. Of course she does, the man was her best friend for goodness' sake!

She can still the moment they realized he was missing so vividly, it's been months since then but it feels like it just happened yesterday. She remembered Sykkuno desperately asking her for confirmation that Corpse has just fallen asleep in the beach but her silence answered him. She remembered how Toast never stopped trying to call his cellphone that day, only to find his phone dead inside his bag that was left in their room.

Randomuser: there is a legend in that beach yk, that a mermaid lives in that same cave and if it likes you, itll take you with it

Rae sighed as she silently read that comment, she and her friends has been getting those comments a lot ever since the announcement of Corpse going missing was posted. She didn't believe it, it sounded absurd! A mermaid, really? It's just a stupid urban legend that in no logical way can be true!

...right?

A/N: Hello! Thank you for reading this! I actually got invested to this request and I'm wondering, would you guys like to see this as a fic? Just a 3-5 chapters long fic?

Vote your decisions here! (Ends at the start of June EST)

Taglist: @apple-slice-of-your-laifu-blog

[bbugyu]

if you wanted to go to the moon, he would take you there.

plot twist | crash zoom | happy ending

16.1k (lol) | joshua x afab enby!reader, fluff, humor, suggestive, reader is ace lol, youtuber au, chef au, swearing, drinking, detailed descriptions of meals, mentions of past trauma including sexual assault, i swear it's not that deep, lots of implied sex but none on screen (yet), watching movies and playing video games, yes i am trying to set up all my friends, would anyone get it if i said r&r

welcome to part two of classic!! please enjoy this tooth rotting relationship garbo in which i basically announce to the world that i have a disgusting crush on joshua. posting this later than intended but i started working five tens so i'm 😅 a little tired lol. but joshua makes it ok <3

when you mentioned offhandedly that you had never had bibimbap in jeonju, joshua practically dropped the groceries he was helping you bring up the elevator.

"how long have you been in korea?" he asked.

you looked at him, wide eyed. "four years?"

he squinted at you, jutting his jaw out. "and you've never gone to jeonju? it's, like, the food hub of korea. how the hell?"

"i…" you laughed, exiting the elevator when the doors opened. "i don't know? it's never been top priority, i guess?"

"okay, well it is now," he stated plainly, following you to your door while you adjusted your bags in your hands to punch in the code. as soon as the groceries were safely on your counter, he pulled out his phone. "friday to sunday?"

you looked up from the vegetables in your hands. "what?"

he looked at you. "we're going. this weekend? i need to reserve the ktx tickets."

you laughed. "this weekend? joshua, it's wednesday."

"okay, next weekend?"

you stared at him a second, purely because you were in disbelief. "no, i have a demonstration next saturday."

he exhaled, looking at the calendar on his phone. "okay, and jamie's birthday party is the weekend after, so," he paused, looking at you through his lashes. "this weekend?"

you pushed your hands onto the counter and sighed heavily. "when would we leave?"

he grinned, knowing that meant he had won you over. "after i get off work? i can be here by 3:30."

"how long is the train?"

"uhh," he quickly searched for the tickets. "two hours. less than. we can buy snacks for the ride and have dinner when we get there."

you chewed your lip. "i have to edit on sunday, so we can't stay all day."

he nodded, inspecting the time table for tickets. "stay two nights, leave after breakfast?"

you considered that for a second. "i could bring my laptop and export footage on the train."

a smile crept across his face when you puffed out your cheeks in thought. "is that a yes?"

your cheeks deflated as you exhaled. "fine."

"yeah?" joshua grinned at you, wrapping his arms around your shoulders and tugging you into his chest. "jeonju this weekend?"

you exhaled again, your arms reluctantly winding around his torso. "yeah. jeonju this weekend."

"you're gonna love it," he said, pressing his lips against your temple. "i helped on an article about hole in the wall finds there years ago, so i know all the good spots."

you giggled, pulling away to look at him with a quirked eyebrow. "you used to write for the magazine?"

he shook his head at you. "when i was interning."

"aw," you poked at his cheek. "intern joshie?"

he rolled his eyes, separating himself from you as you giggled, and he looked at you slyly from the corner of his eye. "joshie?"

you grinned, reaching out to pinch his cheeks. "joshie!"

he laughed and batted away your hands. "joshie?"

you: i think i'm finally packed

joshie: i don't understand why it was so difficult when we're going for Two Days.

you: 😡

joshie: 😘

as promised, he arrived at your apartment in a cab and stubbornly took your roller suitcase despite your insistence that you could handle it. joshua was always doing things like this - for you, you imagined, he would probably even lay down his jacket in a puddle so you wouldn't have to walk through it. but at the same time, he wouldn't fault you for kicking his jacket aside and purposefully jumping in it instead. he would probably join you, even.

he had joked with you that this would be like a work trip for you, but only because he was the one that suggested you film - plus, he reminded you, filming a full video this weekend meant that you didn't have to film next week. and to be perfectly frank, you wanted the break. if you could have a weekend getaway with joshua and then a week long break to have a normal routine without a camera, it was a win-win.

equipped with coffee and cafe sandwiches, you casually kicked your feet and happily sipped at your americano as you edited a picture of it for your instagram story. joshua sat beside you, also doing something on his phone, and you watched him with no intention as he pulled his airpods out of his coat jacket and offered one to you. you looked at him, smiling when he gestured with the open case again.

"i made a playlist," he said quietly as you put the airpod into your ear. he took the one you left and did the same, tapping on his phone.

the thought of joshua hearing a song and thinking of you making your chest flutter to life, the heat rising through you until you were left in a comfortable glow, smiling softly at him as a melody started in your ear. he looked back at you, double taking slightly when he realized you were looking at him.

"what's that look for?" he asked, a sideways grin breaking his face in half.

you shook your head, unable to change your face. "that's, just... really nice."

"making a playlist?" he hummed, settling back in his seat as you stuck your straw between your lips. "i didn't consciously do it. i just started a list of songs to show you because i thought you would like them, and this ended up being a good time to share it."

you sighed dramatically, falling back against the window of the train. "that's even nicer, you dickhead!" he laughed, shushing you and looking around, worried someone might have understood your slightly-above-inside-voice exclamation. "i know for a fact i didn't do anything to deserve the sweetest, handsomest, loveliest boyfriend on the planet, so what's the catch, mr. hong?"

his eyes went to the ceiling as he thought, kneading his lips once before saying, "i think you forgot funniest, too."

"ah," you said, a dry chuckle following the realization. "that's the catch."

"hey!" he laughed, eyes big as he pretended to be offended. "i know i'm funny!"

you giggled with him, mentally noting that you liked the song that he was playing. that he must have somehow picked up on why you liked the music you did. you thought about how you had the same thought, sometimes, when you were listening to music alone in your room and a song popped up on your discovery that sounded like something he would listen to. how you would immediately text them to him, knowing you would forget if you didn't send it right away, and he would react with some assortment of positive emojis. how he must have been doing the same thing, but wanted to be there when you heard them, and didn't have the same flighty memory as you. you brought your straw to your lips again, staring after him as he adjusted something in his bag, taking too long to refocus your attention to story you had been trying to post.

he later nudged you, getting your attention as you responded to an email on your phone, gesturing his finger with the melody, and you gave him a childlike look of awe, as if to tell him that yes, you agreed, this was exactly the kind of run you really enjoyed. he pounded a fist against his knee at the beats, pointing up at the key change, and you exploded into a stifled laugh, your palm covering your mouth. he laughed with you before he showed you the now playing page on his phone, holding it open dutifully as you quickly searched for it to add to your own library.

as promised, joshua provided great insight for the food tour the two of you set out on. travel day, he had told you, meant that you would have something easy - bibimbap and makgeolli at two of the best places he knew, apparently. by the time you made it back to the hotel room you had checked into before headed to the bar, you just about collapsed onto the queen bed.

"i'm so full," you exhaled, eyes dancing across the ceiling. "i'm never gonna move again."

joshua just laughed at you, toeing both of your shoes aside at the door before shuffling into slippers. "we have a full day of eating tomorrow, so you better move."

you let our a breathy laugh, rolling your head to watch as he flopped onto the bed beside you. "i'm glad you also plan trips around the meals."

he gave you a puzzled look. "is there another way to plan a trip?"

you rolled onto your side, tucking your arm under your head to look at him. "some people like sightseeing. or activities."

his brows were still ruffled in confusion as he looked away from you. "i like looking at food. and the activity of eating food."

you giggled, and his face finally broke to reveal the bewilderment had been a bit all along, his smiling laugh meeting yours.

you walked a lot the next day, and you were grateful for the light exercise to help your digestion a bit between meals. the local famous kalguksu for breakfast, a visit to a cafe for coffee before walking down a historical street together. you filmed with a smile on your face, shaking your americano for camera with a colorful background, just for you to pull down the drink and let the beautiful buildings and trees take the focus.

joshua could watch you forever, he was pretty sure. watching you conceptualise what you wanted this out of the ordinary video to look like, seeing the way you managed to be present with him, joking and giggling on your scenic walk, but squeezed his hand in warning before letting go, telling him quietly you wanted to get a shot. he had seen the way you filmed food, and how you filmed your kitchen, which was incredible in its own right, but this was the first time he got to see your process on the fly. when you went to work, as it were, taking in your scenery and deciding the way you wanted to portray it - more thought went into this than filming at the same barbeque restaurant for the fifth time, but joshua saw the similarities in the way your eyes twinkled when you saw something through your camera lens for the first time, even if only the first time that day. the way you would review the footage quickly, smiling at the way it turned out, but announcing that you were taking a second shot for safety.

then, he took you to another restaurant.

you barely noticed the passage of time, but when he conveniently "happened" upon the next stop on your food tour, you were pretty sure your stomach growled at the thought of eating an insane amount of dumplings, and you smiled at him in a way that made him want to cause it constantly.

if having your pick at dumplings was enough to make you giddy like a child, the night market was life altering. the food stalls were set up like they always were friday and saturday nights, joshua told you, and that meant you got to experience korean street food in a way you hadn't yet. you found the best pad thai you had ever eaten, succumbed to the tempting smell of grilled squid when passing a busy stall, and you even got served alcohol practically in passing, the specialty liquor being offered in a way that was hard for either of you to say no to. after a few too many, you had to stop joshua before he dragged you to a choco pie stall.

"we should eat more first," you said, gesturing to a woman making hashbrowns on a griddle. "while we have free hands. loop back around for dessert and buy some for the road."

joshua tapped his nose, then wagged his finger at you. "smart and hot."

you laughed, pulling him towards the hashbrown stall.

that night, you laid in bed beside each other, talking like you hadn't just spent literally the entire day together. recalling highlights of the day, sharing related anecdotes with assorted friends and family. you didn't even want to sleep - your body did, sure, clearly, by the way it kept interrupting your conversation with yawns. joshua would laugh, then yawn in response, and tell you that you should sleep. you would shake your head, a pout on your lips, and he would just smile and keep talking about whatever the yawn had interrupted.

being in bed with joshua wasn't demanding, nor was it uncomfortable, and you were pretty sure that meant something good.

you were making curry. he had mentioned that it looked good while you were watching some show the week prior and you couldn't get it out of your head. so, even though it was midsummer and far too warm for something as hearty as japanese curry, you decided you needed to make it anyway, if only for your own peace of mind. you invited joshua over to cook dinner for him, and he asked where your camera was when he arrived with your requested potatoes (you had some, except they were older than you thought and started sprouting), but you told him you weren't filming tonight.

"this ones for us," you said matter of factly, giggling when he looked shocked. "i don't film every meal, y'know. sometimes i cook things just for me."

he watched you dump the potatoes into the sink to wash. "what if it ends up being really pretty?"

"josh," you said, looking at him. "i don't make things that aren't pretty."

he asked if you needed help with anything, but you just shook your head and told him to relax. that you had made this a million times, and that you could do it with your eyes closed. he asked again if you were sure, and you laughed, scrubbing potatoes and using your shoulder to get your hair out of your face.

"actually," you said, raising the wrist on which you kept a hair tie. "do you know how? my hands are wet."

joshua smiled and nodded, coming over and pulling the tie off your wrist, careful to not get it too wet on your hand. "how high?"

"ariana," you said, making him laugh as you giggled. "as high as you can manage, but i don't really care."

he just smiled, taking your hair in his hands as you washed the potatoes one by one, and you tried to ignore the way you heart skipped a beat when you felt his touch drift across the back of your neck. he gently gathered it all in one palm at the crown of your skull, brushing through it with his fingers. "here?"

"perfect," you said, chewing your cheek and smiling. he pulled the band over your hair, tying it off tightly and pulled at the hair gently to keep it in place.

his hands glided over your waist, leading his arms to wrap around you as his chin landed on your shoulder. "not too tight?"

you shook your head, smiling. "you're multi talented."

"i have a sister," he reminded you, then put a kiss on your cheek.

you managed to convince him to sit at the counter, and he smiled and laughed with you as you conversed about anything that came to mind. he talked about his latest work antics, and you told him about a café you found the day before that you really enjoyed. he watched you skillfully chop vegetables and prepare chicken, flitting around your kitchen with a familiarity that could only be fostered by time. he glanced at the time on his phone, then looked at the door behind him that led to a bedroom.

"is karol here?" he asked. she normally would have emerged to say hi by now.

you looked at him before going back to pan frying the chicken. "no, she's in busan this weekend with some friends. she'll be back sunday night."

an alarm went off in joshua's head, and he tried not to think too deeply about the fact that you had invited him over while your roommate was away. sex hadn't even been a discussion on the table yet, but not because joshua didn't want it - because, frankly, he wanted it - he was just more concerned about you and your wants. for most things, he felt as though he had learned your thoughts and opinions naturally over the last few months, but outside of a few passing jokes, you hadn't ever mentioned how you felt about sex in general, much less sex with him.

so he stared at you, suddenly unable to ignore the fact that you were wearing shorts because of the weather, but they were hidden under the hem of the neutral toned apron he saw in your videos every week. or the way you smiled at him as you talked, your eyes glinting with mischief when you made a joke at his expense, but only made him laugh and want you more. he stood and came around the island, standing with his hip against the counter as the two of you continued conversing and you added the roux cubes to the pot.

his eyes never left you or your actions, and you noticed the way he inched towards you as your cooking became less involved and began to wrap up. you didn't argue when he put his arms around you again, watching you stir the curry with his cheek against your ear. he wasn't in your way, not even when you reached over to pull a spoon out of a drawer to give it a taste and make sure the seasonings were right, so you instead just enjoyed his presence.

you hummed, licking your lips briefly as you appraised the flavor. "not bad," you said, using the ladle you had been cooking with to pour more into the spoon you had just used to taste. you blew on it, then displayed it for joshua, who looked at you in his peripherals before accepting the bite.

"oh, wow," he said, making you giggle as you put the spoon aside. "that's better than a restaurant."

"thanks," you said, tapping the ladle on the side of pot to get the excess back in the pot, a spot of sauce landing on the back of your hand. you put it on the spoon rest next to your stovetop and replaced the lid on the pot of curry, quickly turning the burner to low. "now we just wait for the rice to pop," you said, spinning in his grip and licking the spot off the back of your hand.

joshua stared at you, desperately wishing in that moment that he wasn't such a damn man, because it was clear in your eyes that it was a completely innocent action. you got some of the delicious sauce on your hand, so why would you wipe it off when a towel wouldn't appreciate it like your tongue would? you wouldn't, obviously. he wouldn't have, either, if it had been his hand. but here he was, gaze fixed on your mouth as you pulled your hand away from it, and one of your eyebrows raised when you noticed.

"can i help you?" you asked, glancing down at his lips when he involuntarily leaned into you.

"i-" he swallowed. "sorry, i'm just-"

in that moment, you registered what his gaze meant. and while you were fairly oblivious to most things, you were far from innocent, so you put your arms over his shoulders and knit your fingers in his hair. "you're just?" you prompted.

there was a chuckle on his lips as he backed you against the counter, and he shook his head lightly. "i just think it's insane how into you i am."

joshua had this way of kissing you that made you think his life depended on it. he kissed you like you were in the final scene of an apocalyptic movie and he had come to terms with the fact that this was the end. like he knew that if your lips left his, he would magically disappear before he could tell you how much you meant to him. like he could stop time as long as he had you pressed against him with his hand on your jaw, but the sun was setting and he wasn’t ready to say good night.

when he finally pulled away from you, you were trying to catch your breath as his hands ran down your waist, and you stared into his eyes. his lips were parted, and his fingers gripped at your hips in a way that you knew meant he wished there were less layers between your skin.

your mind raced, thinking quickly back to how long the two of you had been seeing each other. how long you had known that you were interested in keeping joshua around for the long term. you wracked your brain, thinking about when people normally took the next step at your age, finding a discrepancy in the timing. you had made him wait for so long, but this was the first time you had noticed him trying to bed you - though, this was hardly subtle, so perhaps you had missed signs earlier? hell, the two of you had even shared a bed at this point, but you were pretty sure he hadn't tried anything then, either. you considered the fact that this relationship had gone for over two months without so much as a hint to take the next logical step, and you decided that joshua was definitely the only guy you had met in years that you would be willing to allow under your covers.

"the curry can sit for," you started, blinking rapidly as your mouth caught up to your mind. you swallowed once. "well, until tomorrow, technically, but-"

joshua's lip quirked upward. "did you invite me over to have me stay the night?"

"not-" you exhaled. his tone was slightly accusatory, but only playfully, and you found yourself more flustered by the question than you would have liked. "not consciously, but…" your eyes studied his face. "do you want to?"

"are you kidding?" he asked, making you breathe out a laugh, his forehead landing on yours. "did you not hear me when i said i was insanely into you?"

the rice cooker beeped, drawing both of your attention as it sang out a small tune to alert you it was finished. you looked at joshua. "are you hungry?"

he looked back at you, a smile sneaking on his lips. "i mean, working up an appetite wouldn't hurt, right?"

he let you lead him to your bedroom, which he had only been in once, briefly, when he had helped you put some lights away. the two of you admittedly spent most of your time in kitchens or restaurants, the remainder of your alone time being split between joshua's car and a couch to watch a movie, but joshua thought your taste suited his as he glanced around again, and that he would happily lose time in bedrooms with you. you kissed him again, and he was quick to pull you against his body, leaning into you, making you giggle as you bent backwards at the hips. "josh."

"what?" he asked, giving you a half lidded smile as his hand found your jaw, pulling you back into him. "stop leaning back and i'll stop chasing you."

"i'm-" you giggled into the kiss he interrupted you with. "i'm not leaning back, you're pushing me."

joshua made you feel like you were out of your depth, but in a way that was more exciting than scary. it had been ages since someone had been able to surprise you, or had helped you surprise yourself, but today he was doing both. the last time you had let a man into your heart, it had been less than perfect, especially towards the end, but joshua felt like home. cozy. he made you feel safe. like he wouldn't let you fall backwards unless your mattress was waiting for you.

and when you fell, he crawled over you, connecting your lips again with a hand against your jaw, the other holding himself above you, and you tried to restrain a whine.

"josh," you said suddenly, pushing on his chest lightly, processing fully what was about to happen and a shot of anxiety running through your chest. "c-can i tell you something first?"

joshua paused his motions, studying your eyes, his expression skewing scared. "oh, shit, are you a virgin?"

"what?" your eyebrows creased, a laugh on your lips. "no, what the fuck, josh? i'm in my mid-twenties."

he blinked at you. "there would be nothing wrong with you if you were a virgin in your mid-twenties."

"i'm not a virgin, joshua."

"right," he shook his head slightly. "sorry, i don't know. what were you saying?"

you chewed at your cheek nervously. "i just. i haven't… been with a guy in a really long time."

his eyes examined your face, looking for a hint at what you meant, because if it was only what you were saying, he didn't understand why you were so worried. "okay?"

"like, really long," you reiterated.

"baby, i promise," he said, forehead against yours. "i promise you, i don't care."

you exhaled sharply, wishing you could just enjoy things normal people did. that you knew what people wanted out of these encounters innately, instead of having to overthink them. "like, i don't want to… i don't know. disappoint you."

"disappoint me?" his head bobbed backwards in shock. "how the hell could i ever be disappointed when you're you?"

your eyes shut, grateful that he could still make you smile when you felt so out of your league. "i just mean that i-" you paused, trying to figure out how much you were willing to say, and how much you could without ruining whatever mood had been fostered here. "i just don't really do this. like, i feel like i don't know how."

"baby," he said, pressing his lips to yours briefly. "honey, sweetie, darling," he continued, punctuating each name with quick pecks. "you could starfish and i would have the time of my life."

you laughed, a hand landing on his shoulder sharply as he smiled at you. "okay, i'm not that bad, jesus."

"i'm telling you," he assured. "i don't care. i don't care if it's been months or years or forever, i don't care." he paused, appraising your expression. "we don't have to do anything. i'd be happy to just kiss you for an hour and a half if you're not ready."

"no," you whined, crinkling your nose. "it's not that, i just…" you took a breath. "i might just need you to take it a little slow."

"well, baby, you're in luck," he said, giving you a teasing smirk as his lips closed in on yours again. "slow and steady is exactly how i want you."

karol had said you hated men. she hadn't been wrong. you hated a lot of men, and how they made you feel like a prisoner in your own body. you hated the men you had encountered in your past, who made you feel small and weak. ugly and only wanted for one purpose, disrespecting your boundaries, your presentation, and your being. you hated those men, and nothing would ever redeem them for you.

joshua was different, though. he wasn't like them, because even though you didn't say explicitly why you needed a little extra care, he was more than prepared to give it to you. without even needing specific direction, he paid special attention to your reactions. to your body. he waited until you were ready, and asking him for more. and even when he sheepishly admitted that he'd started carrying a condom in his wallet the month prior, you could only giggle and silently be overwhelmingly thankful that he was truly nothing like any man you had ever been with before.

you swore you had made the same recipe you always did, but your curry tasted sweeter than you remembered. maybe it was just that you were eating it in your underwear with a man that made you feel comfortable in your skin for the first time in forever, a home improvement show remaining unwatched on your tv as the two of you joked together.

joshua woke the next morning in your empty bed, and was only confused for a second as he looked around your white walls. he stretched once, then sat up, eyes meandering over your orange patterned rug (one he remembered describing as "groovy" when he had first seen it, which had made you laugh in that way he adored), then noticed your laptop had been turned on. it was saturday, he realized, and you were likely going to edit today so you wouldn't have to tomorrow. he decidedly did not peek, though he wanted to, and peeked out your bedroom door instead.

you were easy to find, standing in your kitchen with an oversized shirt on and your hair pulled out of your face as you formed rice balls. you looked up from your work, smiling when you saw him, placing the triangle of rice you had just made on the cutting board. "good morning!"

it was, he thought. it was a really good morning.

you teased him for hugging you in your kitchen while he was only wearing underwear, saying that he seemed to have made himself comfortable quickly. he just playfully ran his hands under your shirt, saying, well, what about you, then? making breakfast with no pants on?

"i live here," you said, giggling and using your hip to bump him away. "i pay rent. what do you do?"

his eyes darted away from yours as he thought. "sit still, look pretty?"

that made you laugh. "you are very pretty."

he grinned, taking the opportunity to pull you into his chest again. "you, too."

he looked at what you had made, noticing the pot on the stove for the first time.

"soybean paste soup," you said, reacting to his gaze, then pointed at the neat triangles of brown tinted rice in front of you. "mushroom riceballs, and i'm making tamagoyaki next."

joshua blinked at you after processing everything. "do you do this every morning?"

"not every morning," you giggled. "but i wanted to today."

weeks later, you were biting your pinky nail to oblivion as you scrolled through comments on the video you had posted earlier that morning. you were sitting on the couch in joshua's living room, your laptop perched on the arm and your boyfriend fixing something to eat before the two of you sat to watch a movie. you had made a risky move in your video - one you thought would have been fine, but clearly people read more into it than you expected. joshua came over for dinner earlier in the week, when you had made pasta with all the delicious fresh seafood the two of you had found at a market the day before, accompanied by a simple salad and white wine. karol was working late, so you had set some aside for her, but that meant it was just you and joshua in frame when you filmed your usual table setting shot.

people were speculating.

you knew it was inevitable, and a few comments had pointed out the man that had eaten sushi with you in the vlog that included your first date, but at this point, the comments were flooded with questions and hypotheses on who the mystery man could be. most assumed boyfriend - which, while true, made you feel slightly annoyed - and a few wondered if he was your brother, or close friend, but they all noticed that his hands and voice had become regular guest stars on your channel. that, while you still got meals with krys and karol, this nameless, faceless man sat opposite you more often than anyone else.

the jeonju vlog is what sparked the most comments. people suspected some amount of intimacy when they realized this guy was travelling with you, too, and you probably would have thought the same if it had been someone you watched regularly. you had been careful with the editing, only including clips with food and the scenery shots that didn't star him (while you had filmed a lot that did, those were just for your own personal record), but you supposed it was in peoples' nature to try and find a romantic plotline in your slice of life.

"josh?" you said suddenly, pulling your pinky from between your teeth. you heard his vague noise of acknowledgment and spun around on the couch to watch as he cocked his head at you from the kitchen. "should we go public?"

"uh," he paused, looking at the scallion pancake he was cooking, quickly grabbing the panhandle to flip it. "give me, like, two minutes and we can discuss? i'm almost done in here."

you puffed your cheeks out and nodded, turning back towards your computer. "okay, baby."

when joshua came into the living room, the spread he had quickly put together across a tray you had bought for him (because you wanted it, mostly, but karol would kill you if you brought more home), he put it on the coffee table and sat next to you, quickly addressing the subject again.

"people keep," you paused. his eyebrows raised, prompting you, but he only chewed on his bottom lip to let you take your time as you hugged your knees to your chest. "people keep assuming you're my boyfriend anyways, so i'm just thinking-" you exhaled sharply. "should we just say fuck it? just confirm that we're a couple?"

joshua studied you. "you've always been pretty private."

you chewed your cheek, putting your lips against your knees. "that's on purpose."

"you don't have to say anything you don't want to," he reminded you, rubbing a hand against your back. you put your chin on your knees and gave him your biggest doe eyes, making him smile. "they can speculate all they want, but you don't owe them an explanation."

you nodded lightly as you hugged your legs and looked around, briefly studying the tray joshua had brought over. he had quickly stirfried some vegetables, grilled the frozen pork belly slices he always kept on hand, and even cooked your favorite premade scallion pancakes, the spread complete with several side dishes you had made together earlier in the week and two bowls of rice. your brows knit together, fingers itching to film how neatly he had put together a light meal for the two of you because you had said you wanted to show him your favorite movie without interruption, and he knew you would be hungry soon.

"would you-" you cleared your throat, looking up from the food and finding his eyes. "what do you think i should do?"

he let out a breathy laugh. "does it matter? you'll do what you want anyways."

you whined, pushing his shoulder as your feet dropped from the couch. "i'm serious, your opinion matters here. would you be okay with being public?"

"you're joking, right?" he laughed, adjusting his posture, and grabbing your hand to folding it between his. "baby, you know i care about you, right?"

your lips pursed as you nodded, looking between his eyes shyly.

"and you know i would never try to say that i, like, own you, right? like, i don't claim ownership over you as a person."

you let out a short laugh. "right."

he held your hand tighter. "i want to tell every viewer of every single one of your videos that you are mine."

your cheek puffed out as you smiled. "really?"

"especially the reply guys, oh my gosh," he rolled his eyes, making you laugh. "there's a place i think you'd like! i could take you, smiley face. yeah, get lost, creep. move along."

your palm landed on your cheek as you laughed. "shut up, are you serious?"

"you don't see those?" his eyes wide when you shook your head. "baby, there's so many people trying to take you out in the comments. so many."

you giggled, pressing your lips together. "well, there's only one guy that gets to."

"that's right," joshua said, a proud look on his face. "the ultimate reply guy fanboy."

you pushed his chest, laughing again. "shut up."

you decided an faq would do, but in the style of your regular videos. you definitely didn't want to just sit down in front of your camera and talk through questions and answers - that wasn't your style, and would feel wrong uploading. so instead, you spent a few hours compiling questions you had been asked often and organized them in a way that made sense, planning on showing your daily life. questions like what camera you used, what your go-to quick breakfast is, where you bought the clothes you liked - it was easy to plan them out to create a vague storyline of your standard day. you woke up on a wednesday (a day you went to the studio, because many of your questions were about what goes on there), excited to film but slightly nervous. as you set up your camera for breakfast, your phone buzzed on the counter.

joshie: good morning, baby! you got this! can't wait to see you tonight 🥰

you: 🥺🥺🥺 thank you!

the day went well, filming your planned clips on the subway and at the studio, and when your coworker asked what all the questions you were filming for were, you sighed.

"normal stuff," you said quickly, taking off your apron after several hours of cooking and shooting. "favorite recipes, what equipment i use… y'know."

yunhyeong nodded at you, his eyes squinting slightly. "is that all?"

he knew you. he knew how you reacted when you were nervous. how you could practically hide it from anyone, but that certain subjects would always make your eyes look slightly panicked and your speech speed up. the worst part is that you knew he knew, and your facade was almost immediately broken.

"and if i have a boyfriend."

he stared at you for a second before he laughed in disbelief. it took him over a week of bugging you about the guy in your videos before you admitted you were seeing someone, and even then, you only did because joshua had started picking you up from the studio and - against your wishes - introduced himself to your coworkers. yunhyeong thought about how protective you were of your privacy, and how you had never revealed something as personal as a relationship online before - partly because none of the people you had gone on two or three dates with had been serious enough to reveal, but he mostly thought about how you barely even showed your own face. that you stayed mostly silent when you filmed, and if you had to speak, it was a voice that was only adjacent to your usual cadence, as if you were trying to create another barrier between you and your online persona. how you had mourned your grandfather's passing and uploaded your vlog like normal two days later, but called out of work for the week following.

"and you're telling the truth?"

you exhaled, wiping down the stove top now that it had cooled. "yeah, shua and i discussed it. people are speculating, anyways, and it's not like he's going anywhere any time soon."

yunhyeong nodded again, organizing the spices as he put them away. "i'm happy for you."

you looked at him. "what do you mean?"

"it's a big step," he said, purposefully keeping his eyes from you so you didn't get self conscious. "you haven't been this serious about someone the entire time i've known you. i think it's really great that you found someone you care about."

you watched him spin bottles to be label out as you considered his words. "thanks."

he peeked at you, smiling. "of course."

yunhyeong's words rattled in your mind as you walked to the restaurant joshua had agreed to meet you at, filming your feet as you went with the intention of answering a few random questions with on-screen text in the edit. someone you care about.

you thought about how joshua had said the same thing about you when you had asked if going public was something he would be comfortable with. the way it has made your heart flutter. you wondered, briefly, if perhaps this was something more than just caring.

when you were editing the video that saturday, you procrastinated on the last question as long as you could, and when it was the only thing left to do, you escaped to the kitchen to make lunch in favor of finishing the part that was haunting you. your bagel sandwich was delicious, but you could barely enjoy it, mind clouded by the task that made your anxiety peak for seemingly no good reason.

it took you too long to finish it.

when you showed it to joshua, wanting his blessing before you uploaded, he couldn't hide his giddy reaction.

"it's okay?" you confirmed, studying his face.

he nodded at you, lips pushed together into a lopsided smile. "it's really cute."

"cute?" you asked, clicking through the video. "that's good, right?"

"yes," he laughed, squeezing your shoulder to put a kiss on your head. "it's great. post it."

so you did. and while you had gotten a tiny bump when krys excitedly dragged the two of you onto her stream that afternoon, you had no way of predicting the way the rest of the internet picked it up a few weeks later.

"r/relationshipgoals," jeonghan read off his phone, leaning against your kitchen island along with several of your friends that had come over when they saw the two of you on their newsfeeds unprompted. "'cross post from r/cutecouples, the most heartwarming boyfriend reveal you'll see this year.'"

"twitter, too," karol announced looking up from her own phone, seated in a barstool beside him. "you're a twitter moment. people found the clip from krys' stream, even."

you were on the counter opposite them, kicking your feet nervously to the beat in your head as you chewed your lip. you sighed and covered your face. "how long is this gonna last?"

"a while, hopefully," krys said, turning your laptop screen towards you. "your subcounts are insane right now."

you whined into your hands, making joshua appear at your side to put a hand on your spine. you took a breath at the touch, relaxing your tensed thighs on the counter. "it's okay to be nervous," he muttered at you. "but it's also kinda exciting, right?"

you exhaled deeply, letting your hands fall and your eyes trail to his before a smile broke on your face. "kinda."

so after you calmed yourself down, you managed to go through some of the posts about you, and you surprised yourself by letting them put a smile on your face. even the idea of having a public relationship had scared you shitless less than a month prior, but this… this wasn't so bad. seeing twitter repost the same video of you filming your feet as you walked into a restaurant, panning the camera up to reveal joshua sitting at a table and waving excitedly at you. the cuts you made to show clips that had landed on the cutting room floor of past videos - the footage you had taken of him pointing out the new wok you had started using a few weeks prior in a kitchen specialty store, and the goofy face he revealed after holding it in front of himself as he brought it back to you. the video of joshua grasping your hand, panning up to his playfully serious face as he dragged you down a boardwalk in jeonju, gesturing to the sunset. the unedited audio from your first date, when you had said something about it looking really good, and he had said something along the lines of how it would have been a waste if you hadn't recorded, and the two of you giggled together in a way that nervous new couples did. short bits of you swinging your camera around to reveal a laughing joshua as you tried to film quiet shots. a clip of him wearing a triangular menu on his head like a hat, acting as though it was completely normal.

you had a hard time believing anything you ever did would be viral-worthy, but even you had to admit, this was a pretty understandable thing for you to go viral for.

besides, it felt like it made sense for this to be the one thing about your personal life that ended up getting attention. it felt like he was an innate part of you at this point, and that you wouldn't be honest if you hid him.

it was august when he broke your heart.

"how could you?" you asked him, staring in disbelief. "you haven't seen lord of the rings?"

"okay, i lied," joshua said, still washing the dishes. "i saw them when i was a kid, but i don't remember them really."

"well, we're fixing that."

he looked at where you were sitting on his kitchen island - a well known habit of yours at this point. "today?"

"not today," you said, poking your toe at his hip. "this weekend, maybe? if we start now, we'll be watching til you go to work tomorrow morning."

he shut off the faucet and gingerly placed the pan he had just washed on the drying rack. "how many movies is it? i thought it was just three."

"it is," you said, laughing at his shocked look. "the extended editions are around four hours each."

joshua exhaled, leaning against the counter as he used a cloth to dry his hands. "you're lucky i like wasting hours with you."

you grinned, hopping down from your seat. "you're lucky i let you."

and that weekend, the two of you did just that - waste time, ordering delivery food for two meals as you camped out on the couch in various positions as the two of you got comfortable repeatedly. you couldn't help but recite specific lines, mouthing along with every word gandalf said like you had thought of the words yourself. you pointed out behind the scenes facts along the way, even, excitedly saying viggo broke two toes when he kicked that helmet, or how faramir's flames were a mirror trick. joshua watched you, because while he knew it was your favorite movie and he really should pay attention, he couldn't help but get distracted by his own favorite movie, and it starred you getting excited about something you loved.

you slept later than joshua that sunday, and when you emerged from the bedroom, you spotted krys sitting at the island with a plate of waffles in front of her, then found joshua leaned against the counter with a cup of coffee. he smiled when he saw you.

"i made breakfast," he said, gesturing to the counter.

you looked around at the spread as you walked over to him. waffles, fruit, bacon, and the promise of a fried egg upon request - a spread worthy of your own brunching standards. "what about second breakfast?" you asked quietly, in accented english.

joshua laughed, his arm wrapping around your midsection as you came over to kiss him good morning. "elevensies?" he shot back, in the same vague accent.

you broke your serious face to giggle. "luncheon?"

"alright," krys said, voice raised in annoyance when the two of you looked over at her. "i get it, y'all are in love or whatever, but can you have some respect for those of us who are lonely?"

you rolled your eyes, laughing at the fact that she had absolutely brought this upon herself by forcing the two of you together every chance she got, but joshua went cold when he heard her say the thing he had been thinking for a while, but was too scared to say out loud. the thing he felt when you grabbed his arm and told him that if he wouldn't let you carry the ring, then you could at least carry him with all the same dramatics as one samwise gamgee did. when you cried as frodo and bilbo sailed into the sunset for good, even though you had seen it a million times over. the sneaking thought that he was in love with you, but didn't know how to say so. he swallowed down the thought, shaking his head when you raised a questioning brow at him as you dished up a plate of waffles and fruit.

it didn't take you long to trust joshua enough to give him your door code so he could let himself in, but it took him a while to actually use it. he said something about not wanting to intrude, but you told him it was more intrusive to make you come to the door when you could possibly be doing important things and he was completely capable of getting in on his own.

"babe?"

you hissed. you had the thought right before you started this boss battle, that he would arrive before you finished and you would be trapped at your computer. you were right. "in here! gimme like two minutes!"

you heard him enter your room, and his bubbly laugh when he spotted your back at your desk desperately clicking your mouse and striking your keyboard. "wow, is this what you meant by important things?"

"please, please, please," you whined, intermittently squealing as you reacted to the enemy attacks. "i'll get off in a second i just need one more cleansing heart to ascend xin- fuck! not the stupid birds!"

he laughed again, his hand finding the back of your shoulder, thumbs pressing into the constantly sore flesh. you winced as he kneaded his fingers into your shoulder but exhaled, making him laugh lightly when you got knocked over by a boar. "hey, there's a boar there."

"yes, thank you, joshua." you quickly cracked a knuckle as soon as you had down time, sticking your neck out as he continued to massage your shoulders. "i think i have two more waves."

"waves? because it's a water level?"

you groaned into a reluctant laugh. "no shitty jokes right now, i'm trying to focus. normally krys and i co-op this one but she was busy."

he hummed, moving to stand next to you with his hand resting at the base of your neck. "wonder what she was doing."

"don't you live with her?" you teasingly asked, glancing up at him for the first time while sprinting across the platform, your game camera spinning uncontrollably when you suddenly pulled both hands to your mouth and gasped. "what the fuck, joshua?"

he stifled a grin, but it was completely obvious in his eyes as you stared up at him, blonde hair curled lightly to stay out of his face. "what's up?"

you stood from your chair, inspecting his head. "what the fuck?"

he laughed, wrapping his arms around you when you ran your fingers through his bleached locks hesitantly. "do you hate it?"

"i-" you blinked at him repeatedly. "what? no, i don't hate- what the fuck, joshua?"

"what?" he whined, eyebrows tenting at you even though his lips were still smiling. "does it not suit me?"

you held his head and squinted at him. "josh, you're hot. you look hot. but what the fuck?"

he laughed, finally planting his hello kiss on your lips. he watched the gears turn behind your eyes, puckered lips becoming a pout.

"did you go to a salon?"

he grinned. "krys did it."

you made a fist at him, scrunching your face for a second as you exhaled, looking down at the screen right as your last team member died, respawning at a statue. "that's why she used so many smiley faces when she said she was busy."

he put his lips to your cheek, smiling into your skin. "not bad though, right? you got a pretty handsome boyfriend."

and while you would have loved to roll your eyes and tease him, you were overtaken by a giggle as you turned your head towards him again, the tip of his nose gliding across your cheek. "yeah, i do."

his eyebrows went up. "wow, wasn't expecting you to admit it so readily."

you laughed, a light, carefree laugh, your palms on his jaw as you kissed him. "i have eyes, joshua." he just smiled against your lips, lacing his fingers together behind your tailbone, and you pulled away slightly to look up at his hair again. your hands went to his nape, fingertips against his scalp. "how long did it take? you have thick hair."

"we did three sessions," he said. "enjoy it while you can, it might fall out."

you laughed with him, brushing your fingers gently in his bangs again. "it feels fine, though?"

"yeah, i made this incredible discovery that i'm almost positive i'm the first to hear about it. it's called a hair treatment."

you batted at his chest, giggling. "shut up."

"make me," he said, the sweet smile on his lips making the phrase more playful than suggestive.

"i can't believe you surprised me with bleached hair," you said, plopping into your seat and exiting the game. "you know i hate surprises, right?"

"that's too bad," he said, his hand returning to rub against your neck. "i like surprises a lot. get used to them."

you puffed out your cheeks, sighing slowly. "usually people compromise."

"not on this," he stated. "i'm a gift giver."

"yeah, i figured that out when you got flowers sent to the studio on our one month anniversary, then again on our second, then here on our third…"

he was just smiling smugly at you when you stood again, maneuvering around him. "and you love getting them?"

you rolled your eyes, not even commenting when he playfully patted your butt as you went by. "they're always tasteful and it's nice to have some seasonal flowers for the counter."

"so you love them," he repeated. "because it sounds to me like you love them."

you laughed, reaching out to catch his hand in yours and pull him along with you as you exited to the main living area. "and what if i do? so what, joshua hong, if it makes my heart beat a little fast when we suddenly get flowers delivered and i realize it's the fourteenth? are you gonna call me a hypocrite because i vocally advocate that traditional chivalry is bullshit?"

he just listened to your playful accusation, more proving that you were self aware rather than egging him on. "no way," he said plainly. "you can still think traditional chivalry is bullshit, it won't stop me from trying to make you smile."

you felt your face heating up, your jaw dropping slightly to let out an annoyed huff. "cheesy, joshua. i'm offended."

"want me to make it worse?" he asked, wrapping his arms around your waist.

your hands landed on his chest as you squinted at his grin. "i'm scared."

he gave you a crooked grin. "happy one hundred days. i brought sushi."

your head whipped over to the counter, spotting the paper bag with a familiar logo. "from nori table?"

"of course, from nori table."

joshua had promised jeonghan that you would make an appearance as a couple at a party he was throwing the next day, and you found yourself almost nervous. you got on with jeonghan famously - almost enough to drive joshua insane - and you even warmed up to seokmin pretty quickly, but from what you had been told, jeonghan enjoyed partying, and you didn't really like getting drunk.

"you made it!" seokmin grinned big, spreading his arms to signal for you to let him wrap you in a hug. you laughed and greeted him, enjoying the friendly comfort, then watching him hug joshua after he let you go. "and you're blonde! life's good?"

"yeah," joshua said, making eye contact with you briefly as his fingers tangled with yours. "life's good. you?"

seokmin blinked before he said "yeah, good!" and your brow knit slightly before you consciously adjusted your face to hide the analysis of his hesitation happening behind your eyes. "this is your first time here, right?"

you nodded, smiling and following him as he led you into the crowded apartment. "yeah, it's been busy lately. but i finally made it to one!"

"well, you need to meet my friends," he said, continuously looking back at you even as he walked ahead, towards a corner of the living room. "you're gonna love them."

"aye, josh!"

you looked to the source of the call, spotting the guy pulling himself to his feet from his seat on the couch, arms wide in greeting to your boyfriend.

"hey, hosh," joshua said, a sideways grin on and his brows tented as he gave him a quick handshake into a hug. quickly, he put a hand on your opposite shoulder, pulling you towards him and quickly introducing you.

soonyoung initially went in for a hug after your introduction, but immediately noticed the way your eyes widened slightly and instantly pulled his arms down, leaving a hand extended for you to shake. you laughed, taking it, and apologized for not being a hugger.

"no worries," soonyoung laughed, and you wondered if he was always this pink in the face or if he had already started drinking. "seokmin will hug me, right?"

"everyone!" seokmin ignored him, pulling you towards the people gathered on and around the couch. he announced you to his friends then quickly went down the line - soonyoung, seungkwan, jihoon, dongmin, yugyeom - you repeated the names back to him like you would remember all of them, even though you knew you wouldn't unless they became regulars in your life, too.

jeonghan flitted by and expressed his greetings to you both some time later, intending to abscond with joshua for drinks and conversation elsewhere, but he stopped jeonghan from pulling him away before he put a hand on your elbow, looking at you meaningfully.

"i'll be okay," you told him, smiling. "go ahead."

he squinted at you. "you sure?"

"seokmin's here," you reminded him, nodding your head at the boy you had practically adopted as your own brother. "real quick, about soonyoung-"

he quirked an eyebrow at you. "what about him?"

you chewed your lip, smiling. "karol's been a little too focused on work lately, right?"

his eyes widened, thinking about your roommate. his eyes went to the man you had referenced, who was currently chanting something into seungkwan's face as he rolled his eyes. "karol?"

"what do you think?" you asked, looking back at soonyoung.

he blinked. "i think he'll drive her insane."

your eyes shone at him. "i think she'll love it."

he laughed incredulously, registering that you had asked his opinion instead of just doing whatever pleased you, and he wondered if that meant you trusted him. "you're right," he said finally. "try it."

"of course i'm right," you said, giggling against the quick peck he put on your lips. "remove him, jeonghan."

"finally," an impatient host shot back, rolling his eyes in a way that landed in a sly smile at you. "for what it's worth, i think your plan will work."

"didn't need your approval, but i'll take it," you said, smiling smugly at him. "i'll update you later."

the update you gave the next time you saw him, weeks later, was that karol had left the apartment every week since to go be with soonyoung somewhere fun and exciting, and you waved her off with a shiteating grin every week, culminating in the two of them arriving to krys' birthday party hand in hand.

jeonghan laughed, stealing a carrot stick from your cutting board as you arranged them into a rainbow themed charcuterie platter. "knew it. soonyoung loves women stronger than him."

you looked at him as he took a bite. "and karol loves someone she can take care of."

"look at us," he said, waving the half eaten carrot between the two of you with a lopsided grin on his face. "what a duo. we should hang out more. fuck joshua."

you laughed at him, then at the offended look on your boyfriend's face as he walked past. "now?" you asked eyebrows raised as you looked at him expectantly, and he laughed when he realized what the last words out of jeonghan's mouth were seconds before.

"please, this is a child's birthday party," he reminded you, and you laughed at the overexaggerated look he gave you to sell the joke.

you looked over to where krys was laughing with seokmin, soonyoung, and karol, then back down to your work as you nudged around quartered figs with a vague smile on. "seems like the kids are having a nice time."

jeonghan sighed, falling dramatically against the counter. "oh, to be young and in love."

joshua laughed. "karol's our age."

his cheek was planted in his palm, elbow on the counter as he gazed after the group. "i'm talking about seokmin and krys."

"what?" joshua asked, voice nearly cracking, and you let out an explosive laugh. "seokmin and who?"

"stop acting stupid," jeonghan waved ahand at him, then popping his eyes up to catch your look of solidarity. he pointed at you. "see? we're on the same page, which means we're right."

joshua looked at you and you raised your hands in surrender. "are you serious?" he asked. "my sister and-"

you landed a hand on his face, effectively shutting him up as you giggled. "shush, josh. just leave it, okay?"

"good idea," jeonghan sighed, straightening and picking up the platter you had finished. "dining table?"

"please," you responded, looking back and giggling when joshua looked just as dumbfounded as he had before you looked away. "she's an adult. seokmin's a good guy. let it happen."

he closed his mouth, stealing a glance at his sister. "he is a kindergarten teacher."

"and both your best friend and your partner love him," you reminded him. "she could do worse."

he gave you a look. "she has done worse."

"shut up," you said, pushing his shoulder in your friend's defense. "you've done pretty bad, too."

his eyes went to the ceiling, remembering the accidental altercation you had been forced to have with one of his more regrettable exes. "how many times do i have to apologize-"

"you don't," you laughed, putting your hands on his cheeks and focusing his eyes on yours. "but krys is an adult. she's allowed to judge her own partners, and even if she ends up being wrong, she's old enough to make her own mistakes."

joshua huffed, knowing you were right but not wanting to admit it. "sorry i'm trying to protect my one and only baby sister."

"yes, and you're adorable," you assured him. "best big brother ever. but it's her birthday, and if you don't start getting drunk soon, she'll be very upset."

drinking with joshua was fun. because he wasn't much different than yourself - he didn't get crazy, he didn't get loud. he just got loose. he let stupider jokes out, and he was more willing to join in on krys' performative comedy bits throughout the night. you found yourself falling onto a couch with him, giggling as he caught his breath after a particularly involved musical number.

the most fun you had drinking with joshua was in itaewon, long past midnight but still what you considered halloween. you had been dragging karol with you for years, but now you had a boyfriend, and she had a boyfriend, and you both had a new joint best friend, so it only made sense for you to get them all take the train ride out to your favorite part of seoul.

ratatouille. that was the only way you could get joshua to go with you. he wanted a couples costume and he wanted you to be the rat.

"this feels backhanded," you told him.

"do you want to be linguine?" he asked. "i can be sexy remy. i can find grey hot pants, but you have to be the one to attach the the tail because i have no idea what my butt looks like."

you laughed, resigning to your fate and buying the outfit online, then looked at him suddenly. "liar. i know you check yourself out at the gym."

"okay," he said, eyes on the ceiling as he herded a giggling you into his arms. "then… i want it to be accurate, so you need to attach it directly at my tailbone." he cocked his head at you after you settled into the hug. "i have to be wearing them, obviously."

"obviously," you said. "but unfortunately, i already ordered the body suit."

josh pressed his lips together and made a quick fist in victory. "awesome. i-i mean! aww, well, that's fine, i suppose." he sighed dramatically, convincing absolutely no one that he hadn't wanted this outcome all along. "i'll be linguine."

"i don't feel like fighting a bunch of gays in itaewon for your affection anyways," you said, making him laugh and kiss your cheek quickly before pulling away.

"grilled cheese?"

"is that even a question?"

it wasn't a question when you were weaving through throngs of bunnies and angels, either, holding hands with both him and his sister to not lose them in the crowd, karol and soonyoung trailing behind krys, all five of you on a mission to get carbs in you after starting the night off nearly too strong.

halloween in itaewon was different. it was special, you thought. you usually didn't like crowds, but this one felt good. halloween wasn't a celebrated holiday in korea, but with internet, influencers, and immigrants, the culture found its way into the new age scene. you loved an excuse to celebrate your favorite characters by paying them homage, and joshua had thought that was a noble enough reason for him to justify staying up too late and drinking too much.

you had just left the diner themed bar that you devoured griddle top sandwiches from, as well as another drink, and you spotted a familiar angel making a beeline for you.

well, not you.

"how many times have i tried to get you to come to itaewon with me?" jeonghan asked, pushing joshua's shoulder as soon as he could reach it.

joshua laughed, looking shocked by the sudden appearance of his friend. "you never agreed to be remy!"

jeonghan looked at you, and burst into laughter, making your jaw drop in indignance and whacking your fist against both their arms. "at least we're original. way to put in the effort, han."

he shrugged bringing a straw to his mouth, and you eyed the pink liquid that had clearly been funnelled into a water bottle. "i look better than all these clowns and you know it."

"there you are!"

jeonghan spun, the straw still in his mouth. "shit, i haven't lost you?"

seokmin gave him a sarcastic laugh, adjusting the shoulder of his soccer jersey as he walked up behind him, quickly adding to your small circle as he greeted you and joshua. you stepped aside suddenly, revealing the members of your party that had been lagging behind. "o-oh! it's all of you!"

you made brief eye contact with joshua, who was trying to not laugh at your less than subtle attempt. "you match!" you said quickly, pointing out that krys was dressed as a baseball player. "baseball, soccer," you trailed off, looking around for help.

"sports couple," jeonghan said loudly, slipping you a quick look. "cute."

soonyoung had to put his entire palm over his mouth to stop himself from exploding into giggles when seokmin went red in the ears and krys tried to change the subject as kindly as she could manage.

when you finally made it back into joshua's room, it was far too late (early? you could think about it more, but you preferred resigning to the fact that the passage of time was beyond you and moving on), the sun already starting to light the sky as it prepared to break the horizon. when you stole his toque of his head, he put his hand on your waist, backing you up against the closet door and gently working his lips onto yours.

you giggled, your arms landing on his shoulders. "aren't you tired?

"yeah, but," his eyes fluttering over your face. "i just really like you."

you were smiling when he pressed his lips to yours again. "i really like you, too, but we've been at a sweaty block party all night and we need to shower."

"together?" he asked, a spot of childish hope in his voice. "singular shower?"

you sighed on his lips, playfully threading your fingers against his nape. "if you want?"

the hot water felt especially good after trekking home in the cold without a jacket. and even though it was just meant to be a shower, he kept kissing you like it was something more, pressing you against the tiled wall and running his hands all over your shape. you couldn't stop giggling. pushing his hands away, saying you need to wash up, but giving him looks like you wanted him to keep going. you were running your hands over his chest, rinsing away suds, when joshua couldn't help but put a hand at the base of your neck, tipping your head slightly to deepen an already heated kiss.

"cut it out," you muttered against his lips, feeling them curve despite your eyes staying shut.

"cut what out?"

you looked at him, barely processing anything other than how incredibly handsome he was, even with his lashes stuck together with moisture and his hair slicked back against his head. "trying to fuck me in a shower stall."

he laughed teasingly, leaning into you again. "then why'd you agree to come in here with me?"

your back hit the tile again, and you giggled. "to save water."

and then he's kissing you again, a hand steady on your nape as he worked you open, tongue lapping against yours with a desperation that could only mean one thing. you whimpered dumbly, the squeaky whine escaping you with no difficulty as your hands ran up his chest, your grip longing for any amount of him you could get.

his lips leave you abruptly, asking if this was too much. if you wanted to stop. but you shook your head at him, hands eager to feel more of his shoulders, his neck, his scalp, despite your legs starting to give out. steam drifted between you when you told him your legs felt like jello from your full shift of partying, and if he didn't want to hold you up, you should probably take this to bed.

you were giggling as you frantically dried each other off, stealing kisses that were far too deep to be so short and longing touches that could have been interpreted as purposeful drying if you squinted hard enough, but felt much more like careful teasing. his hands felt right running up your body, and your hair was still damp, but that didn't bother either of you when you fell into bed together.

"i cant believe you want to fuck me when i was dressed like a literal rat," you teased.

he laughed, tugging your thigh up on his hip as his nose nuzzled against yours. "a sexy rat."

you giggled, lips parting when he kissed you. "a rat from a pixar movie."

he didn't miss a beat. "a sexy rat from a pixar movie."

you roll your damn eyes at him, and he just laughs, knowing that it mattered very little what you were wearing before, because now you were bare, clean, and safe in his bed, which was exactly where he wanted you for the rest of forever.

the sun was past its peak when you woke, stretching your sore spine and legs with joshua's arm draped over you. his hand seemed to wake before he did, finding your hip and squeezing gently as he took in his signature first breath of the day.

"g'morning." you smiled at his soft voice as he squinted at you, and you rolled into him to plant a kiss on his lips.

"it's almost two," you said finally.

he groaned, burying his face in the pillow. "too early." his grip around you tightened, making you giggle. "nap time."

you whined. "i wanna make coffee before it gets too late."

"i said nap time," he muttered, face still against the pillow.

"baby, i have a headache."

his head popped up, squinting at the bedside. "there's water."

you laughed incredulously. "i need caffeine."

he just pulled you tighter. "i need you here."

"wow," you said, wrapping your arms around him as he snuggled into your chest. "would rather i suffer from a caffeine headache for your own selfish need to cuddle than let me escape for two minutes to make a coffee and come back?"

he smiled, rubbing his cheek against your sternum. "mhmm."

you giggled, carding your fingers through his hair and resigning to a few more precious moments of uninterrupted snuggling before you could relieve the vague aching in your temples.

he did eventually let you slip out of his grasp, and you asked if he wanted a coffee, too, to which he just blearily blinked at you and nodded once. you laughed, finding a shirt in a drawer and pulling it over your head before exiting to the kitchen.

you hit the kettle first, having a craving for a hot cup of coffee rather than the usual iced, grabbing a mug and glass from a cabinet. the espresso machine sat on the long counter against the windowed outer wall, and your eyes danced across the outside world as you made the two coffees. when you returned to the bedroom, joshua was on his phone, and when you cleared your throat, he dropped his phone on the pillow and pretended to be asleep, complete with a loud snore.

you giggled, sitting on the edge of the bed and nudging him carefully. "get up or i'll put the glass on your neck."

he winced at the idea. "evil," he stated plainly, flopping around to comfortably sit up and taking the iced coffee from you.

you sipped your coffee and put it on the bedside table to swing your feet back under the covers. you shoved at the pillows to support your back as you sat, grabbing your coffee and phone to begin your weekend morning routine of checking the news as you sipped at an americano. "i brought you coffee in bed at two pm. i think i'm pretty saintly."

he gave you a fake laugh, making you giggle and push your foot against his leg under the covers in a half hearted kick. "is that why you said 'oh, god' so much last night?"

you groaned. "gross, joshua. and for the record," you said, eyeing him slyly as a smile broke out on your lips. "that was this morning."

"time is an illusion," he declared, taking a gulp from his coffee and setting it down to get more comfortable beside you as you began to read an article. "are we doing anything today?"

you shook your head, eyes still focused on your screen. "nada."

"nothin'?" joshua fished.

"zilch," you concluded.

"rad," he decided, a light tone in his voice as he grabbed his phone to resume whatever he had been doing before you returned. "do you wanna order breakfast?"

you let out a breath, your head falling back as you looked at him. "yes, oh my god."

he laughed, and his eyes ran over your face in a way you recognized well at this point. to you, it was him just smiling back at you, and you liked that it reached his eyes. but to him, it was the way he looked at you when he was memorizing all the little reasons he adored you, and it was getting harder for him to pretend it wasn't more than just simple adoration.

"question," he started, eyes darting away from yours as he licked his suddenly dry lips and swallowed quickly.

"pasta," you said immediately, pulling your phone to your chest as you gave him your biggest, most convincing eyes before a finger came up to demonstrate a point. "and before you say that's not a breakfast food, i would like to remind you that it is 2pm and i had to sit through a hundred of your italian food puns yesterday despite ratatouille being set in france."

he laughed, and you gave him a confused look. "we can get pasta, but that wasn't the question."

your eyebrow quirked. "what other question could you possibly ask me right now?"

unknowingly, joshua let his face settle into the same look he was giving you less than a minute earlier. "would you want to move in?"

your eyes ran over his face repeatedly, trying to register how serious he was as you considered the idea of staying in this comforting bed and presence for the indefinite future, and even you couldn't hide how nice that sounded. the only thing stopping you was that you couldn't bear to leave karol alone. you had been living together for over four years now, she had been your first roommate in korea, your best friend for years, and an inexplicable source of quiet but understanding comfort for you.

"i understand," joshua assured you, placing his hand over yours after you expressed your hesitation. "i don't know what i'll do with myself when krys decides to move out."

you nodded, studying his face but mind wandering to other things. "krys," you hummed, and he eyed you.

"what genius plan is that brain brewing?"

you shook your head, brushing the thought out of your mind - the thought that krys had said something about needing to find a new place soon. the thought that she had said she was never gonna properly grow up when josh was taking care of her, whether she wanted him to or not. "nothing."

but it wasn't nothing. it was a compromise - you and krys would swap leases.

"are you sure?" you asked her, elbows on the island as krys ate the donuts you had anxiously made that morning. you had brought up the idea to her days before, and she excitedly agreed, but something about it felt too easy to you.

"yes," she assured you, wiping her bottom lip clear of powdered sugar. "i swear, i'm sure. how many times do i have to say it?"

you chewed your cheek. "i don't want you to feel like i'm kicking you out."

"you're not kicking me out," she said matter of factly. "i'm moving out. it just happens to be the same day as you're moving in."

you pouted. "and you're moving into my apartment."

"yeah," she said, nodding. "i get to pay lower rent and have south facing windows in my room. i should feel bad about kicking you out."

it took almost a month to organize everything, but by early december you were just waiting for the date. you purposefully scheduled for a weekend, in order to not disrupt krys' streaming schedule and your video uploads, since you had planned to do a separate moving vlog about safely packing tableware. the weekend before, krys came over to her soon-to-be home for your usual monthly brunch.

flipping pancakes that day felt a little somber, knowing it was the last time you'd be cooking brunch while living with karol. you had been with her for four years, and it felt surreal that you were finally parting ways like this. not only that, but you were moving in with a guy. the idea itself scared the shit out of you - cohabitating with someone other than karol. you'd be sharing a room. sharing a kitchen. sharing all of your space - normally, that would scare you away from agreeing, but something about joshua made you feel safe. he made you feel like you would never try to get back the distance you generally held so dear.

months ago, the idea of sharing space like that while trying to decompress would be unimaginable, but recently, you found alone time with joshua just as healing as alone time with yourself, so the idea of being able to snuggle into his side every night actually put a warm feeling in your stomach. you looked at your friends, who were laughing and drinking bloody marys as you tried to keep up with their conversation. your brain swirled, and you looked back down at the strawberries you were cutting, suddenly realizing you had never felt that way about a boy before.

"woah, you okay, babe?" krys bobbed her head downwards to check your face. "are you crying? i thought only onions did that to you."

you threw your head back, sniffling noisily trying to force the tears back under your ducts. karol stood. "oh, my god, what's wrong?" she frantically put down her drink and rushed around the counter to your side.

"wait, yeah-" krys shook her head rapidly, then reached over to take the knife out of your hand, her face creasing into a worried pout. "what's going on?"

you gathered yourself, embarrassed at how quickly you had cried so hard over such a stupid realization. you almost laughed, realizing what a scene you were making. you never cried. you weren't even sure either of them had seen it before now, yet you were ugly sobbing over something that they all probably already knew.

you swallowed harshly, clearing your throat. "i think i'm in love with josh."

krys and karol always knew you didn't truly care about the gender of your hypothetical partner, but that you had avoided men for a reason other than your attraction to them. they knew you gravitated towards women for practically your entire friendships with either of them, they knew that you never liked to get genuinely drunk and instead took care of the rest of them, and they knew you had never been very interested in sex. these were all known facts about you, and your friends understood that you kept the reasons for these facts close to your chest. they respected that.

but you finally wanted to share why. and the why was your ex.

when you had imagined telling your closest friends about your trauma, this certainly wasn't the situation you expected - crowded around the kitchen counter as your pancakes went cold, and only because you had burst into tears. it wasn't the right place, you thought, for you to talk about how he got you drunk. how you were practically asleep. how you tried to push him away but your body was weak with intoxication and you were powerless against him. someone you trusted. someone you loved.

you had always been the type to fight your own battles. you could stand up for yourself without difficulty, yet he made you scared of men. of what they could do to you. he reminded you that despite your effort to air on the androgynous, you had a body that some people might enjoy against your will. he made you want to hide everything about you and your body, wearing baggy shirts and oversized hoodies every chance you got, avoiding the unwanted gaze of men.

but recently, you've been wearing shorts more. you cropped some old shirts you never got use out of anymore to wear to your weekly yoga class. you had even bought a schoolgirl outfit for exactly one purpose, which had been entirely out of your comfort zone until roughly two months prior, but you had happily worn to please a man.

but in your defense, joshua hong was not like most men.

his appreciation of your body never felt predatory, and it always felt like it was bested by his appreciation of your mind. he didn't treat you like a prize, or like you were his for the taking. he appreciated your body as yours. while you may have found yourself the subject of his desire, you were never an object, and it had been a long time since you had felt comfortable wearing the clothes you liked in favor of opting for whatever would hide the most skin.

krys was crying. karol was too, but she was more focused on hugging you tight as you wiped off the tears that had trailed down your face. krys rounded the counter, loudly vocalising how much she loved you and everything about you, and you laughed out loud as she let out an exaggerated wail.

"actually, though," she said, pulling away slightly and sniffling. "drop the address. we're rolling up on this guy tomorrow."

you laughed again, wiping at your face when your arms were free. "wouldn't even know where to find him now."

"good!" karol declared. "fuck that guy! cut him out! you're a bad bitch!"

krys pouted. "i'm really happy josh helped you heal."

you stared at her for a second, registering that she must have been right. you eyes swam over the counter, thinking about all the times he had helped you feel more comfortable with yourself. with everything. enough to let someone in. enough to love. "i guess that's what this is, huh?"

karol cleared her throat. "so, you love him."

a grin broke out on krys' face, and your eyes immediately rolled. "you love him."

"you love him so bad."

"you wanna marry him and make adorable little hong babies."

"oh my god," you said, pressing the backs of your hands into your eye sockets, annoyed laughter on your lips as they bounced off each other. "you guys suck."

joshua started acting… odd. that was the only way you could describe it. there was nothing specific you could name - maybe the way his eyes were moving slightly too quickly from side to side? or maybe it was the way he inhaled a little extra when you asked him what was up, only for him to push his lips into an exaggerated pout and insist that nothing was. whatever it was, it made you watch him a little bit longer, your eyes squinting slightly more than usual.

you called him the day before, asking if you could bring some stuff over in hopes of making the next day as easy as possible, but his response was quick and surprising.

"what do you mean, no?" you laughed, putting down the wooden tray you were deciding the fate of. "do you have a girl over?"

you could hear him faltering on the other end. "and what if i did?"

"good luck getting her to make you breakfast."

he laughed. "i'm kidding. i have a guy over."

"oh?" you asked. "jeonghan?"

"shut up," he chuckled out. "i'm having something installed, but it was supposed to be a surprise."

"joshua," you reminded him, thinking of what the hell he could have meant by something. "i don't do surprises."

"you do now."

you groaned, a palm landing on your counter. "what is it?"

"a sex swing," he said plainly, as though that were the most obvious fact that you could have questioned, and you practically choked on your laughter, not even letting him confirm that he was joking before you were folded over your counter. and quite frankly, you could not wait another day to let him make you laugh like that as a routine.

you finally seceded, but you were glad when joshua arrived - the suv he rented loaded with krys' things - because it was a signifier that the distance between you and said surprise was shrinking quickly. soonyoung had become a surprisingly helpful voice of reason as you went through your piles of tablewares, telling you which ones to leave behind and which ones to take with you. seokmin had even arrived not long after the suv in his own car, a few brightly colored belongings in his backseat. you and karol exchanged a look when you realized he had volunteered to help krys move, but said nothing out loud, knowing she would do nothing but deny the obvious.

after yours and krys' affects were swapped in the car, you looked around one last time before telling josh you thought that was it.

"wait!" krys faltered, realizing she didn't have a good reason to stop you. "i- uh,"

"they know there's a surprise waiting for them," he said, digging the rental keys out of his jacket pocket.

karol looked to you. "do you know what it is?"

"of course not," joshua stated proudly before you could respond. "i'm like a steel trap."

you laughed. "that's definitely not how that phrase is meant to be used."

he raised a brow at you. "that doesn't change the fact that you could never get that info out of me."

"they absolutely could," karol said.

"for sure," krys agreed.

"i just wanted to let you have this," you admitted.

joshua looked between the three of you with his jaw slightly dropped, and seokmin put a hand over his mouth while crossing his arms to disguise the almost laugh on his lips.

"well, i want to see your reaction," krys decided. "so i'm coming."

"wait," soonyoung asked, putting down the retro boombox he had been investigating, among the other things that had been brought from the loft. "like, the surprise?"

"does everyone know about this but me?" you asked, hands hitting your sides in exasperation.

seokmin looked at you with wide, confused eyes. "i don't."

you lifted your hands in a vague prayer towards him. "thank you for your solidarity."

"i wanna see your face, too!" soonyoung said, ignoring you both. "you're gonna freak."

"joshua," you started, turning to him with a look of dread on your face. "what the fuck did you get?"

"i told you!" he exclaimed. "a sex swing!"

there was an excruciatingly long second of silence, making your palm land directly on your face - just above your eye - before seokmin let out a surprised, "a what?"

"he's kidding," you announced, much to the teacher's relief. "and if he's not we're breaking up."

it was decided that the entire party would move to the loft for the surprise reveal, and you watched your friends pile into seokmin's car with your palms sweating slightly and your molars gently gnawing at the fleshy party of your cheek. because, truly, you didn't handle receiving gifts well when you knew what they were, but you didn't have a single clue as to what could be waiting for you in your new home, and that made you a little nervous to have an audience for your possibly piss poor reaction.

joshua's hand found yours on the drive to the apartment. "you okay?"

you blinked and looked over at him, his eyes catching yours between glances at the road. "i don't do surprises."

"so you've said," he nodded. his fingers squeezed at yours lightly and you exhaled. "do you want to know before we go in? you can just act surprised."

your felt your face soften, registering what he was offering you. "joshua, you don't have to do that-"

"i know," he said. "but if it makes you more comfortable, then…"

"no way," you said. "i'll just stop being a baby. you set up a surprise, the least i can do is participate the way you want me to."

he eyed you, then the way you laced your fingers with his. "but you are a baby."

you rolled your eyes. "shut up, no i'm not."

"my baby," he clarified, and you let out an involuntary giggle.

he was guiding you into the kitchen, his large hands placed over your eyes and covering most of your face by proxy, and you didn't quit your playful complaints for the crowd of your closest friends that had gathered around, their presence obvious despite your vision being impaired.

"ready?" joshua asked.

"josh, i literally hate surprises, do we have to do all this?"

"yes," he said frankly. "because i'm doing something nice for us and you're going to love it so can you shut up and let me do this the way i want to like you told me you wanted me to?"

you paused, hearing the way your friends stifled their laughter as you took in a deep breath.

"ready?" he repeated.

"yeah, i guess," you sighed.

the light was harsh when his hands left your face, and you blinked repeatedly at the kitchen that you spent countless hours in, registering what was different. then, it suddenly clicked, the stovetop joshua had always had was replaced by the blue vintage styled range of your dreams.

"joshua!" you gasped, hands going to your face as you spun to look at him, then back at the range. "you bought me a lacanche?!"

he grinned, hands snaking around your waist from behind as you stood frozen in place. "i bought us a lacanche."

seokmin leaned over to krys. "what's a le conch?"

she reached up and put a finger over his mouth, eyes fixed on you. "shh, they're communicating."

you rushed over to the range, joshua following behind you as you ran your hands over the polished chrome handles that you had stared at on the website for years. "and it's all hooked up?"

he nodded, eyes on you with a smile on his face. "tested it last night."

"without me?" you asked, incredulous.

he laughed. "i didn't want to ruin the surprise by burning the loft down directly after."

your finger fidgeted on the handle, looking over to joshua. he gestured for you to go ahead, and you pushed and spun the knob, lighting a burner and squealing. you shut it off again before launching yourself into a hug.

"joshua!" you wailed, arms wrapped around his neck as he laughed, putting his around your waist. "i love it so much ican'tbelieveyouboughtusafucking lacanche range in portuguese blue for no goddamn reason!"

"there was a reason!" he laughed, letting you pull away slightly to study his face. "it's a housewarming gift. i want you to know this place is yours, too, now."

you did your best to suck the tears back into the ducts they belonged in, trying to not show just how much the gesture meant to you in that way, but you were sure one escaped down your cheek when your hands went to the base of his skull, pulling him into a kiss. you forgot the context of the move. you forgot about your friends that had been excitedly crowded in your new kitchen, anticipating your over the top reaction to what they saw as just a new stove. you, however, were overwhelmed by the specifics - the fact that he had picked the color you chose most often when building your hypothetical dream stove on the website you frequented more often than you would ever admit. the fact that it matched the details on the tile of his kitchen backsplash, a detail you hadn't even noticed when you were looking at them online. the chrome vintage knobs, the layout of the burners - everything was exact to what he had seen you dream about, and you couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the love and care that expressed, hoping you could tell him just how much it meant by working your lips against his.

"ok, gross," krys announced, looking away when the two of you didn't pull apart. "i'm saying goodbye to my wallpaper and we're leaving. would anyone else like to pay their respects?"

seokmin raised his hand, his eyes on the ceiling, and krys grabbed his arm and retreated towards the hall, karol telling them to hurry as soonyoung put up a hand to obstruct his view of you and joshua. when you finally pulled away, it wasn't for their reprieve, though they reacted as though it was. it was so you could look into joshua's eyes, creased with the grin on his face as you gave him a similar one, and you couldn't wait to cook with him, on your, plural, portuguese blue lacanche range, with chrome classique handles, four gas burners, a griddle, and a warming drawer. and it would be your best brunch yet.

[addictedtostorytelling]

I want to know your thoughts on this episode. I'm losing my shit omg 🤩

also, from anon:

Thoughts on the last episode? God, I'm not ok, the ring scene is just... everything we haven't had in 21 years!

hi, @sassylittlewoman and anon!

here are my thoughts on the episode:

while the case of the week once again strained credulity—just once i'd like to see this show feature a crime that could conceivably involve an actual human person who exists in real life, no identical twins, chemical explosions, doomsday preppers, or baby beauty pageants about it—it was nice to see grissom and sara doing some honest fieldwork together again, with some callbacks to previous cases (see episodes 02x05 "scuba doobie-doo" and 04x02 "all for our country") thrown in, to boot.

oof, that acknowledgement that covid is a thing that exists in this fictional universe was awkward!—and very weird, considering that no one seems to actually be wearing masks or social distancing except the grissoms, who inexplicably stand six feet away from each other at all times, even when they're holding hands or giving shoulder rubs, which is incredibly unnatural for them, given how they usually are. are we now to understand that the csiverse is a "post-covid" world?

the "sara loses her wedding ring" storyline was some serious romcommy goodness. i'd guessed ahead of time that that's where the writers were gonna take that particular plot thread—once they introduced the concepts of the loose ring and the human goo in the sneak peek and promo, it was kind of inevitable that they'd "go there"—but watching it play out in real time hit different. if we could time travel back to 2004 and tell sara that in the future she'd even have a wedding ring to lose, much less one that came from grissom, she'd never believe us. i love that this is her life now, and i love that her prince charming found the ring for her, and i love that we as viewers got a quasi-wedding scene out of it. a++++

still wish we would've gotten to see a kiss there, though. it's getting fucking ridiculous at this point.

anson wix took way too long looking at the license plate on sara's rental car for my liking. girl is in danger. that was a very deliberate held shot there.

not sure how sara snuck max inside of the building without anybody noticing. is there a back door to the lab? seems like an incredibly risky move, though one that did of course pay off, in terms of max making the connection between wix and woo (fwiww).

gilbert grissom giving his wife a backrub because she's stressed is *chef's kiss*

sara sidle fixing her husband's tie is !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

just keeping a mental inventory of all of the plot points that have to be resolved in-between now and the finale, and there are a lot of them: 1. the hodges case (which will involve proving hodges's innocence, plus proving the guilt of the siblings wix, plus putting a lid on all of the potential exonerations); 2. getting max restored as lab director; 3. grissom's landsickness; 4. the romantic tension between folsom & allie and the fact that they're kind of having an emotional affair behind her (yet unseen) boyfriend's back; 5. emma hodges being on bedrest and in danger of going into preterm labor due to the stress of the trial; 6. revisiting serial killer jeremiah dalt, if he's at all relevant to the hodges case, as we were led to believe that he perhaps is?????; 7. something something about hodges going missing per the spoilers for the finale; 8. a "come to jesus" moment where the grissoms finally get in trouble with the da or undersheriff for all of their extralegal investigatory activities; 9. some sort of reckoning with nora cross; 10. the grissoms decide what to do from here (once the hodges case is resolved, one way or the other) in terms of going back to the boat or staying in las vegas; etc., etc.; etc. there's not a lot of narrative real estate left to fit all of that stuff in, so they'd better be pretty economical with their storytelling.

that's all i've got.

thanks for the questions! please feel welcome to send more any time.

[deberiaestarescribiendo]

Hit me with your best shot

A/N: Hey! I saw the #WritersWednesday challenge on @autumnleaves1991-blog blog and thought it was an amazing opportunity to let the creativity flow and though I just started showing my works on here I guess giving it a chance wouldn't hur anybody and maybe some of you would enjoy this as much as I did writing it. And on that note, I'd like to thank every writer on here because your works have helped me a lot during these weird times; and of course speacilly to you @autumnleaves1991-blog for this and your "You're my best friend" series that made me cry, yearn (so much yearning) and loved every single minute of it, thank you!

Pairing: Javier Peña x Female character ( I decided to leave her very undeterminated as it's narrated on Javi's perspective I decided to use she/her pronouns, but I guess you could read it as a f!reader?)

Summary: Post-season 3, Javi and the character go on a date to Laredo's funfair (You could read this as a small piece on its own or as a part of the series I'm currently writing; if you're interested is on my blog and I haven't posted much since I opened it)

Warning: None (let me know if I should mark something) fluff! maybe some kissing...

Another thing! I've just finished this, so brace yourselves for some mistakes and mispellings, sorry

(I was listening to Kacey Musgraves while writing this, if you want to add more fluff to it)

She’s lovely with that white summer dress, she’s tapping her feet nervously looking around the street waiting for his car to arrive, but Javi is parked on the side of the road chewing a nicorette that has already lost all its taste. He observes how she peeks at her watch. He’s already late and doesn’t know what would make him feel any more terrible: standing her up or going on a date with her like an old creep.

Come on, Peña he urges himself to make a decision, but before he can make up his mind, he hears the door unlocking.

“Hey! I thought something had caught you up” she smiles and any doubts he had had been lifted. Gosh she’s pretty

“Sorry, I’m late I had...” he can make up any excuse and he feels he’s just smiling like an idiot.

“Don’t worry” she seats and adjusts her dress shyly “I see we’re making progress” she motions to his mouth

“Oh, yeah, I’ve been very good.” Javi says proudly and follows the road full of car towards the fair “I haven’t had a smoke in...a month, I think”

“Congrats!” she cheers “You deserve a reward then” she grins

“Sure?” he smirks eying her briefly not losing the sight of the road

“Whatever you want” she nods

“But a cigarette, of course”

“Obvs” she chuckles

“Then I better think for a really good reward, I deserve it”

“Yep”

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

­­­­­­­­­She’s talking about the first time she came to the funfair being a child. Javier is listening partially; part of his focus is on everybody around them. It feels like all Laredo is there and they had been stopped a few times already by people that wanted to shake his hand and thank him for his service; and Javi starts to feel like the music is too loud, there’s too many people around them and that he doesn’t want to hear the word “hero” anymore. So he tries really hard to look at her, to concentrate his mind on how she interrupts her speech when she looks directly at him, how she blushes, how the warm breezes moves the baby hairs that frame that beautiful visage, how her lips shine with that chapstick she uses and that he’s dying to taste.

“Anyway we can do any ride but that one” she points at the big one in the middle that spins fast creating a wave of screams and laughter every time it makes a round “Unless you want me to puke all over your pretty plaid shirt”

“You like my shirt?” he smirks

“Yeah” she tucks a lock of her hair behind her ear “You look like a real cowboy” she adds. Her smile is brighter than any of the thousand small lights that illuminate the fair.

“I like your dress” Javier leaves his hand hang languidly close to hers until their skin brushes against each other. When he sees she doesn’t recoil, he grabs her hand locking his fingers with hers.

He can sense her nervousness, but hopes it’s the good kind. The exact same feeling he has at the moment, those soft palpitations that he hasn’t felt in years; the butterflies. Eventually she answers his compliment:

“Thanks, it was just 10$” instantly she looks down at her feet “God! I’m terrible at this”

“At what?” the people look at him and then at her, and then their gaze is fixed on their intertwined hands. Javi knows that the rumors are already spreading and hopes that whatever she’s going to hear about him in the next few days doesn’t ruin this.

“Dates...flirt...this” she points at him and then herself

“I cannot believe that” he counters

“Seriously? hey your dress is pretty; yes it cost me ten dollars” she mimics

“I thought it was cute”

“Cute?” she raises her right eyebrow

“Yes, you’re cute” Javi maintains

“You too” she admits

“Me?”

“Yeah! A pretty cute cowboy in plaid” she laughs

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

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­She makes him forget about this damn town, even Colombia and everything that happens seems a billion years away. If the people around them bother her, she doesn’t say. She doesn’t speak with him like anybody in town after he’s been back. For her it’s just Javi, and this Javi can have fun: he has shared a cotton candy with her, he has done some of the strongest rides even if his back is killing him, he has hold her waist when she jumped and screamed on the Tunnel of Terror and then laughed out loud when they got out.

“Javi!” she calls “We forgot about your reward for your first month without a smoke” she holds his hand and stars running towards the shooting gallery.

“You have five shots to win one of our wonderful set of prices. You just have to hit the little birds once”

The targets come and go up and down on the wheel, the paint on them is chipped, testimony of a long life in these funfairs and many missed shots. She takes one of the guns and closes one of her eyes aiming towards the wooden forms that spin on the wheel.

“Take a look of the plushies, cowboy, I’m gonna win you one” she says cockily

“Yeah, sure” he scoffs

“What? you don’t think I’m capable?” she turns towards him, gun still in her hand

“Wow, first of all, never point to somebody with a gun” Javi grabs the barrel and pushes it downwards “even if it’s not real, and second, open both of your eyes to aim” he explains

“Yes, sir. I forgot you were an agent. I better follow your orders, then” she winks at him and with a deep breath resumes her posture to take her first shot. Failing.

“Shit” she grunts “Have you chosen?” she points to the wall on the right full of stuff toys

“Erm...Does it matter?”

“Absolutely, come on, it motivates me”

The toys are horrendous; surely they’ve been doing their round around every fun fair in Texas for ages.

“Okay, one of the teddy bears” he agrees with a shrug

“No! no! be more specific” she scolds “Do you want the big one? the white one with the red bowtie? the brown with the small farmer hat? Or...Look!” she jumps excitedly “There’s a cowboy one, I’m gonna get you the cowboy” she nods and tries a second time, missing.

Javi mocks her and leans on her shaking in laughter.

“Yeah, really funny. Why don’t you try then?” she passes him the gun. After he has collected himself, he adjusts his posture and aims. Nothing.

She crosses her arms over her chest and observes him with an amused grin.

He doesn’t wait longer until he tries again and misses.

“You only got one left”

“Say goodbye to your teddy bear, cowboy” she whispers in his ear. Her sweet perfume and her voice distract him briefly. For a second he wants to throw the gun away and take her in his arms at last.

Javier shots again

“No luck today, sir, if you want to try again is three dollars”

Javi refuses the man with a gesture; she doesn’t say a thing for a minute, but then snorts and cries in laughter

“You’re lousy shot!” she screams

“You missed too” he defends

“Yeah, two shots, and you three, but who of us is a well trained agent, huh?” she sassed

Javi bites his lip, both hands on his hips; he knows there’s no way to defend his shitty shots.

“I still gained a reward though” he gazes at her

“Yeah, that’s true. What do you want then? I still have a few of dollars on me if you want a sundae or something”

“No, not that” he walks towards her and she instinctively recoils until she’s against the tent of the shooting gallery “I want something sweeter” he places his hands on her waist.

“Wh-hat?”

He bends and holds her at the same time, saving the height difference between them. He just brushes his lips against hers at first until she sighs and comes closer to him standing on her tiptoes. Javi deepens the kiss savoring the fruity chapstick she wears. Her lips are soft and sweet as he has imagined since he met her, her soft moans are music to his ears and he wants to hear more.

“Wow, you’re an incredible kisser, Javi Peña, but a terrible shot” she assures.

[myhockeyworld87]

Bubble Wrapped - Part 3

Word Count: 4,279

POV: Reader

Warnings:  Same as always, Language, Smut, NSFW, Please see the note in the Masterlist

Teams: Bruins, Caps, Flyers, Lightning and Pens

Notes: Ok so we’re moving on to part 3. Feel free to send me in suggestions for things that you’d like to see happen in the Bubble. Also a few people have mentioned our reader having a love interest in the end, feel free to tell me who you think it should be. I love hearing from your guys. Happy Reading!

If day two went anything like day one you had your work cut out for you in more ways than one. You woke up early and got ready, grabbing a quick breakfast in the kitchen that was part of your suite. Heading down to the lobby, you found that everything was going according to schedule and that breakfast seemed to be going fine and there had been no food fight incidents like last night's dinner. All in all, the morning went pretty well. A lot of the teams had practice or went to at least check out the rink and there was very minimal interaction between them. Lunch went just as smoothly, with only a few minor problems here in there that needed your attention.

 By three o'clock you headed up to your suite to eat your lunch the kitchen had prepared and rest your feet a bit. You tossed your blazer off and grabbed a fork, sitting down on the sofa to eat the avocado quinoa salad chef had made you. Barely three bites in, your phone rang. "Hey Car, what's up?"

 "I hate to bug you, but Logan said there's a problem at the pool. He said it's urgent."

 "Did he say what it was?" Dropping the salad on the coffee table you grabbed your keys and headed to the roof.

 "Nope, just that he needed someone up there right away."

 Your suite had a private staircase to the pool and you took the steps two at a time, hoping that Ovechkin wasn't throwing anyone off the rooftop pool. "I'm already on my way. Thanks, Car."

 "Keep me posted," Carly said before ending the call. You burst through the door expecting a disaster but finding the place pretty calm. There were some players in the pool and even more lounging around on the chairs. It was definitely a mixed crowd, with some Bruins, Bolts, and Capitals there, but they seemed to either not be interacting or actually being friendly with each other. Scanning the pool deck, you looked for Logan but noticed more eyes on you than anything else. You finally saw him, over by the towel bin.

 "Logan, what seems to be the problem?"

 He was visibly flustered and yet you couldn't see why. "I…I ran out…I ran…"

 "Oh for godsakes spit it out."

 "I ran out of towels." You blinked a few times thinking that with his mask on you'd not heard him correctly. That's when you realized you didn't have a mask on as you'd been eating when you ran out of the room, but really with everyone being tested daily and no one coming in and out of the bubble, you were fairly safe. Still, you took a step back just so that there would definitely be six feet between you and Logan. It was probably for his safety as well, because running out of towels was not an urgent matter and you really wanted to cuff him upside the head.

 "So call housekeeping and have them bring some up."

 "Oh yeah right." You rolled your eyes. Logan was not someone you wanted on your team in this bubble life, but you'd had no choice as your bosses told you he had to be there. Pulling out your phone, you made the call yourself down to housekeeping; who said they would be right up.

 "Ok, now that's done. Is there anything else you need?" You tried to be patient, but you could see Brad Marchand laughing at the exchange between you and your co-worker. You glared back him, hoping to silence him especially after all the chaos he'd helped cause last night, but he just cocked his head at you, as if the look you gave him meant nothing.

 "Well, I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to do up here," Logan said bringing your thoughts back to work.

 "It's simple Logan, pick up the towels, put them in the bin, make sure it doesn't overflow." Like it currently was you wanted to add. "And call housekeeping if you need more." You'd thought you'd given him the easiest job at the hotel, but obviously, you'd need to rethink things if he couldn't handle this.

 "Right, right." He said shaking his head franticly. Housekeeping came up then with a huge stack of towels and you motioned for him to go get them, though he didn't register your meaning right away. Just as Logan went to turn to get them, Marchand came by, walking between the two of you. If you hadn't felt it, you would've never noticed the light push he gave you, making you stumble and lose your balance, sending you directly into the pool.

 You surfaced the water sputtering. "Well, that son of a…"

 "Are you ok?" Strong arms came around you and carried you over to the side, even though you could stand in the water.

 "Yeah, I'm…ouch!" you went to get your footing and noticed a pain shoot up from your ankle but also your shoe felt a little funny.

 "Don't try to stand on it." He moved you so that you were face to face and you finally recognized your rescuer as Jake Debrusk from the Boston Bruins. "Here wrap your legs around me and I'll take you to the side of the pool." Although you found yourself doing as he asked, you realized you weren't that far from the edge and probably could've just swum there yourself. Once you were finally there, Jake lifted you up to sit on the edge, while a few other players came around to see how you were. Well, you wanted to assume they were there to see if you were ok, but it was probably more about the fact that you were soaking wet and your silk cami was clinging to your skin, not leaving much to the imagination. Jake brought your foot up to look at it, moving your ankle in a few directions and making you wince. "I don't think it's broke, but it might be sprained." He took your high heels off and held it up. "I'm not surprised, the heel is totally broken."

 "Shit, they were one of my favorites too."

 "You should probably get some ice on it and elevate it," Jake told you, and you realized how cute he was. He had a smile that reached from ear to ear, and a voice that you could listen to for hours on end, which he probably got from his dad.

 "You're probably right. Do you think you could help me down to my room?" I mean if you were going to have to stay off your feet for a little bit; you might as well make it worth your while. The grin that was on his face got a little wider.

 "Yea…"

 "It's ok I got her." A voice from behind you said, and Jake's face fell. You could tell he was going to argue but the person continued. "You're soaking wet, she doesn't need that mess in her room." Jake simply nodded.

 "Yeah, you're right Charlie. You should take her." Well, you had a one in two shot, on who it was going to be, either McAvoy or Coyle. Craning your neck, you tried to see which is was, but the sun was bright and blinded your vision. They scooped you up before you could even think about shielding your eyes, and the next thing you knew you were face to face with Charlie Coyle. Jake was cute, there was no denying that, but he also seemed a little too innocent; whereas Charlie, well, there was something intriguing about him. You couldn't quite put your finger on it just yet.

 Charlie headed to the elevators, with you in his arms. "What floor are you on?"

 "Twenty-nine," you answered and he cocked his head realizing that you were in the penthouse suite. "One of my perks for being stuck here running this place."

 "Not such a bad perk." The doors no sooner closed than they were opening back up again and you were fishing for your key to open the room. Entering on the second floor of the two-level suite, you directed him to the bedroom. "You should probably get out of these wet clothes." You cocked your head at his suggestion. "No need to get a cold and all. People will think you've got COVID or something." He tried to add hoping to sound helpful.

 "Can't have people thinking that," you agreed. "The bathroom's that way. I could use a towel." He carried you into the bathroom, then set you down on the small stool, that you'd gotten for the vanity. He made no move to leave and you had to chuckle to yourself, as you knew exactly what was on his mind. Coyle was easy on the eyes with a soft smile. His features reminded you of Tyler for some reason, so you weren't opposed to where his thoughts were leading. You wiggled the soaking wet camisole up your body; peeling it off and throwing it in the tub. You'd worry about getting it cleaned later.

 His eyes went wide, dropping immediately to your breasts, which were only clad in a lace bra, your nipple already hard from the water and also in anticipation of things to come. "Could you help me with the skirt?" You hopped up on your good foot and twisted around so you could hold on to the counter while he unzipped the garment. You could've gotten it down easily yourself, but decided Charlie could have a little fun. He came up behind you, fingers working the zipper down, then he shimmied the wet skirt down your legs. His sharp intake of breath could be heard in the bathroom, as he took in your matching lace thong.

 Charlie let his hands glide down your thighs, all the way to your calves. Once the skirt was on the floor, his hands stole around your waist, lifting you up while his feet moved the garment to the side. "Better?"

 "Much, though still a little wet."

 He reached for a towel, and instead of handing it to you, he patted you down with it. Starting at your shoulders, he worked his way down to your breasts. "Seems futile to have this on," he said as he pulled at your bra. You simply nodded, and his hands went and unclasped your bra before he resumed his work of drying you off. You watched him in the mirror, as he moved the towel to your front, toweling off your breasts. The cloth dropped out of his left hand and his palm covered your breast. Your breath hitched in your throat, right as we tweaked the nipple. He continued drying you with his right hand as his left toyed you with your breast. "Has anyone told you today, how beautiful you are?" He breathed the compliment in your ear and it sent a shiver down your spine.

 "Not in the last few hours." You teased and he smirked at you through the mirror.

 "Well, you are." His lips were on your neck then, dropping kisses all around there and then down the back of your spine. The towel followed and he dried both of your legs, gliding his hands up your inner thighs, before sliding your thong to the side and dipping his fingers between your folds. "Mmm…This spot is pretty wet."

 "Well, I don't think…" You gasp as he hit that sweet spot inside you. "You're helping." The moan that left you echoed off the bathroom walls.

 "You like that?" you hummed out a yes and he continued to finger your pussy; the towel completely forgotten now, as it lay on the floor. "Then maybe we should get rid of this altogether." He made swift work of ridding you of your panties and now you stood completely naked in the bathroom mirror. "Should we move back to your bedroom? I mean you really shouldn't be on that ankle."

 You'd actually forgotten about the injury and now that you thought about it, your ankle didn't hurt all that much, but you weren't going to argue with moving things to a horizontal position. "Sounds like a good idea," you answered and turned as he grabbed your ass so you could wrap your legs and arms around him. His mouth came down on yours the minute he held you and he took a moment to just kiss you before making his way to the bedroom. Your hands threaded through his hair, tugging gently so he would deepen the kiss. Charlie didn't need to be told twice as his mouth devoured yours. He kissed differently than both Pasta and TK. Long sensual strokes of his tongue in your mouth; he wasn't hurried at all. When you were in the bedroom, he gently laid you down on the edge of the mattress before dropping to his knees. He propped your legs up on his shoulders, then proceeded to kiss and nibble on your inner thighs, before taking his tongue and licking between your folds. "Oh," you moaned out as he started to eat you out. His mouth worked it's magic on you, flicking across your clit, before his fingers spread you and he could thrust his tongue inside. Your hands played with your nipples and you could feel the smirk on his face as he looked up at you from his spot between your legs. His mouth left you, only for a second to be replaced by his fingers and you groaned out in pleasure.

 "Does that feel good babe?" and you hummed your approval. "I can make you feel much better." His mouth was back on you then sucking on your clit. It threw you over the edge and your hips bucked up into this mouth. Charlie's free arm pressed against your hips to hold you still as he worked you through your orgasm. His fingers slowed as you came down from your high. "You're fucking beautiful when you cum." Your body was already flush from your climax, so thankfully he didn't notice the blush that his words gave you, as he crawled up your body. He'd already shed his swim trunks but hadn't removed your juices from his lips as his mouth connected to yours.

 The kiss caught you off guard, or maybe it was just the fact that you were still on a euphoric high from your orgasm, but as soon as you recovered, you pushed at Charlie's chest for him to roll onto his back. He went easily and you kissed your way down his body as he made himself comfortable against the pillows. His cock was rock hard and pressed up against his stomach. You bypassed it at first, letting your hands lightly skate up and down his thighs before licking up the length of his dick. He sucked in a breath as his hands slid into your locks, not pressuring you to take him in your mouth, but urging you to, and so you did. Taking just the head between your lips, you swirled your tongue around. "Fuck babygirl, your mouth feels like heaven." Slowly you sank down on him, taking him deep in your throat. His hips flexed up into you slightly and you gagged a little but recovered quickly, sucking him in and out of your mouth. You hollowed out your cheeks sucking hard on him and he moaned. You let one hand toy with his balls, as you bobbed up and down on his cock. They tightened under your touch, and you knew it wouldn't take much more to make him cum. It was shortly after that, that he pulled you off him. "Can we…?" He tried to catch his breath before starting over. "Would you…?"

 "Fuck me, Charlie." You spit out as you wiped the back of your hand across your face. He grabbed you under the arms and hauled your body up to his so that you lay on top of him. You straddled your legs around his hips, his cock nestled between your pussy lips and you rocked back and forth; his dick getting coated with your wetness.

 He grabbed your hips and stopped your teasing. "Fuck (Y/N), I need inside you." Reaching down he took his cock and lined it up with your entrance, then thrust fully inside you. He wasn't huge, but you still enjoyed the familiar stretch that having a cock inside you brought. It took a few minutes while you both adjusted, but then you started to ride his cock. His one hand guided your hip, helping you set a steady rhythm, while his other played with your breasts, tweaking and pinching your nipples. You threw you head back at the combination of being filled by Charlie and what he was doing with your tits. "So, fucking beautiful." He breathed out, then flexed his hips up into you. You rode him for a bit before he flipped your positions and you were suddenly underneath him and he pumped furiously in and out of your pussy. "Gonna cum for me again babygirl." You were close as you felt your orgasm building but didn't know if you would get there in this position with him. You snuck your hand between your bodies to play with your clit. "That's so hot. Yeah baby cum for me." It wasn't long and you felt your legs start to tremble as the orgasm worked its way through your body. The wave came crashing down on you and your pussy quivered around his cock. He thrust a few more times before pushing deep inside you one last time; the muscles in his neck straining as he came inside you, calling out your name. He took a second to catch his breath, then quickly pecked your lips before rolling onto his back. "You're fucking amazing." He finally breathed out.

 "You were pretty fantastic yourself," you echoed back as you rolled on your side. "One thing though," he looked over, a look of contentment on his face. "How the hell do you know my name?" You knew him of course, that was part of your job, but you weren't wearing your credentials when you'd gone up to the pool, because you'd been in such a hurry.

 "Babe, I wouldn't forget someone as beautiful as you.' You resisted the urge to roll your eyes at the comment. It was definitely unnecessary considering that you'd already fucked him. "I'm serious, I remember when you introduced yourself yesterday. I knew I had to make it a point to get to know you. Just didn't think we'd end up here so fast, not that I'm complaining."

 You were lightly tracing your nails over his chest and found yourself asking one last thing. "So is that why you totally blocked your teammate from bringing me back here, because you wanted to get to know me?"

 There was a blush that stained his cheeks. "Yes and no," he rolled on his side to face you then. "Thought it would be a good opportunity and all, but he's a kid, probably would've lost his load the minute you took off your shirt. I was doing you a favor." He said with a little wink, then kissed your lips again.

 You pulled away, though a bit reluctantly. "I should probably get back to work."

 "Yeah I get it, you're in popular demand." You gave him a little chuckle as you knew he wasn't talking about your hotel duties. "But listen, I would like to get to know you, so call me and maybe we can chat or do other things sometime while I'm here." He rolled out of bed then and retrieved his shorts, pulling them on in one swift motion. "You sure the ankle's ok?"

 "It'll be fine. I'll just wear some more comfortable shoes for the next couple of days." He leaned over the bed and kissed you one last time before heading out the door. "Talk to you soon," you said as he made his way out.

 "I sure hope so."

 Once he was gone, you called down to the front desk to let them know what had happened at the pool and that you'd be down shortly as soon as you grabbed a quick shower. You were just finished putting on some makeup and throwing your hair in a messy bun when your phone rang. It was a Facetime call from Tyler. "Hey baby," he said with a smile as his face popped up on the screen.

 "Hey Ty, how's bubble life?"

 "It fucking sucks." He was laying on his hotel bed shirtless. "I just got back from practice, but I'm bored out of my mind."

 "Aww, poor baby. I feel so bad for you just laying in that hotel room with nothing and no one to do?"

 "Right," he agreed a pout on his face.

 "You mean to tell me you haven't charmed the pants off of some hotel server yet?"

 "(Y/N), this is not your hotel. Everyone, I mean EVERYONE," he emphasized it by bringing the phone closer to his face. "Is male. Can you fucking believe that?" You couldn't help the burst of laughter that left you. "It's not that funny babe."

 "Oh I beg to differ, it's hilarious." You had a hard time catching your breath from all your laughter.

 "I wish I was in Toronto with you, baby. I miss you so much."

 "You wouldn't be missing me if someone was there to keep you company." He always said things like this. It was just part of his natural charm and being an outrageous flirt.

 "That's not true at all. I swear I tell you this all the time, yet you don't believe me." Part of you believed that he did miss you, but you thought it was only because of the amazing sex the two of you had. You'd never thought about it being anything more. "Anyhow, how're things on your end?"

 "Well I had a food fight between the Bruins and the Caps on the first night, so it's been fucking fantastic."

 It was his turn to laugh now. "Tell me that's why Pastrnak tweeted what he did about Wilson."

 "Well not exactly, but that was the end result after the two got done playing a game of pool."

 "Wait, so Wilson and Pasta were in your suite?" He frowned at the thought knowing that you'd been staying in the penthouse. "Please tell me nothing happened."

 "Nothing happened." It wasn't necessarily a lie, considering all you'd done was kiss Pastrnak and promise the same to Wilson. You decided it was best to leave out what had happened between TK and Charlie just moments ago. It had sort of been an unwritten rule between you and Tyler that you didn't speak about your sexual encounters.

 "Oh, good. Wilson's an ass. Did I tell you that when you called me the first time?"

 "Nope, you only said that he gets around."

 "Well he's an ass and you should stay away from him."

 "I'll try and remember that." Even though you knew that wasn't going to be possible. "Oh, by the way, tell your friend Marchand to fuck off next time you talk to him, as he pushed me into the pool this afternoon and ruined my favorite heels."

 The look on his face on was one of both contained laughter and indignation for what you went through. "Marchy can be an asshole at times, I'm sorry babe. I'll buy you new shoes to replace those."

 "You don't have to do that Ty." Though it was sweet of him to offer. "I'm going to plot my revenge on him though."

 "Seriously, don't get involved with him. He can be a little rat when he wants to."

 "We'll see." You told him not willing to make a promise you weren't sure you could keep.

 "Not to change the subject, but how's the bet going?"

 "You mean the one that when I win, you'll be my sex slave." He chuckled at the mention of what you would win if you succeeded.

 "Yeah, that bet."

 "It's going; plans are in place." They weren't, but they would be soon.

 "You know we should just scrap it." You couldn't quite read the look that crossed his face to see if he was serious or not.

 "Afraid you're going to lose?"

 "No, it's just…" He seemed to think about what he wanted to say. "Can't have you having all the fun."

 "Consider it payback for every time you post the bat signal Seguin."

 "You know it's not a bat signal. I've told you that before." He seemed to be sincere but you couldn't tell for sure.

 "Whatever, I've already got a plan in place." You didn't but tomorrow was another day, and you would start then for sure. "But listen, I gotta get back to work. I'll call you later and if you're lucky I'll give you a little show."

 "I'll be waiting for your call. Don't go and find someone else to play with." He teased.

 "I'll try not to," you told him and swore there was a look of concern on his face, but it was quickly replaced with a smile and a wink. "Talk to you soon, Ty." You blew him a kiss before he said goodbye and hung up the phone, wondering how you were going to win that bet with him, because there was no way, that you were going to be his sex slave for a full twenty-four hours and you knew if you agree to cancel it that's exactly what you'd be doing.

[anonil88]

FF: "I hate us sometimes."

Rue x Jules

Someone mentioned how Jules looked more stunned to see Rue than happy, also a mutual of mine made a comparison gif set from the first time we saw that shot and the teaser clip in a post that was out before the new teaser we saw.

[Also on AO3 here]

[Listened to Ethel Cain writing.Not this song but this song feels like what they are projecting S2 to be.]

Drabble idea from @creativepromptsforwriting . I'm not in a great mood but someone suggested I write a continuation piece to after-school anime. I'm not always motivated by messages like that but i can write sad stuff pretty ok and fast when I'm not in a great place so why not. This is not exactly a continuation of that fluffy cute story at all. It is more like prepping myself for this ship to get hit with more cannonballs before it can even hit shore or less turbulent waters. Aka lots of angst is coming in season 2. This may get a part 2 thats less sad, keyword MAY. Excuse typos this was written no edits in my notes at 4-7am.

"I hate us sometimes!" Jules yells with her entire chest into the empty bathroom.

The words echo across the pale pink stalls and contrasting tiles. The already dejected girl sitting on the floor bites her bottom lip with disgrace.

This was her fault, she can't stay clean. She can try but she won't even do that. In a matter of weeks shes managed to push her mother, her sister, and her lover away. Lexi is still there and it feels like she always will but Rue can sense that thread has been getting thin. Its not like none of them understand because they do....kind of. They sympathize with an illness that has her stuck in concrete she pours herself. But, one person can only bare so much guilt and responsibility before you break them.

So here she is on the bathroom floor under a hand dryer, a crushed pill scattered in her lap, and her girlfriend that's not her girlfriend anymore yelling at her. Yelling just like Leslie when she got fed up with asking Rye to take out the trash every night she forgot, because the girl was too focused on getting to her new dealers for a re-up. Not that her mom knew where this new dealer even stayed which got a bit sketchy at times.

Sketchy describes the past few weeks of this spiral down perfectly. Rue stares up at the girl who looks dumbfounded at Rue's callous nature. Getting high at school was whatever but, using and then trying to pass her absence from Jules life on "processing emotions" was low. All Jules asked was for honesty and it wasn't getting any easier to hide the truth and Rue didn't enjoy telling Jules the truth. The truth led to this look on everyone's face, regret that they'd ever gotten mixed up with her in their lives.

"My name means regret....why would my parents name me that," Rue wipes her tears with the sleeve of her hoodie.

Jules starts typing angrily on her phone and exhales, "It also is another way to spell roux like Ru Paul. Roux is an ingredient for food."

"Stop making me feel better," Rue deadpans, "you can just stay angry at me."

Jules hears the side of Rue that is arrogant and mean bubbling at the surface. She's tired of tip toeing around all of this just to make sure Rue isn't hurling herself off a cliff. Rue is already waist deep in the deep end of a pool filled with quick sand. Jules knows it, Lexi knows it, and fuck so does everyone else at their fucking school. And, everyone just expects her to pick up the pieces for Rue after every slip up and fall.

She fell hard for the Rue thats funny and shy, the one who squeezes her arms tighter at sleepovers, and sends her little purple heart emojis to let her know she's safe. Rue let's her know that she's always felt safe with her but safety doesn't exist when you're falling head first into a mattress 20 feet away. Jules buries her head in her hands and swallows a sob.

Everytime this girl, her girl, gets 3 steps forward it's 22 steps back. Jules isn't always naive she knows this is just what the journey to sobriety looks like. It's praying to religions you don't believe that your mom will show up to your birthday not high or drunk. Its not being angry at your mom for being an addict but its being angry she chose it over you. She chose God, pills, and alcohol over knowing that her daughter is her. And not forgiving her will mean she'll never have to worry about her mother showing up to save her unannounced ever again. Jules can't help the way the tears make her body shake and her heart hurt. She knows its not her fault but it doesn't hurt any less knowing that Rue can't just choose her.

It will never be that simple and that wouldn't even be healthy. She can't give her girl whatever it is that makes this all so hard. If she could resurrect the dead maybe then they could both get a second chance. Maybe they'd get a few more kisses in that feel like the weight of their worlds had shifted back into place.

Jules drops her tote bag in a dry sink, "What made you have to get high this time Rue? Or did you just hate that you had to actually fucking face me?"

Rue looks up at Jules with a hand on her head. Her forhead is wrinkled and scowling. Fighting halfway through the class period in a bathroom was not a kind of avoiding she ever tried. At least not with Jules, maybe with all the other people she managed to burn bridges with.

"I could never hate you Jules," Rue hears her own voice crack at the mention of Jules' name on her lips. All she wants to do is put out this burning bridge even if it means Jules comes out unburnt. "I just don't know what to do anymore."

The blonde shrugs her shoulders where long blonde hair used to sway, "I don't know either Rue."

A teacher abruptly opens the door and stares at Jules, "Oh Kay, time to get to class Ms. Vaughn." Jules rolls her eyes at the teacher and gathers her bag and a wet paper towel. Her eyes have been crying too much to not be puffy and she still has several classes to get through. Even one Rue happens to be in although her therapist wrote a letter suggesting her class schedule be void of Rue.

Rue tucks her feet close to her body, hoping to go unnoticed and giving herself time to plan a way to leave school grounds. She is not about to spend an entire day sitting by herself at lunch or avoiding Jules to give them both a chance to cool down. They don't really talk these things out like they should because she is too worried about saying the wrong or right thing. She doesn't even glance her way as she pushes past the teacher to get to class.

"You too Ms. Bennett," the teacher clears her throat staring at the girl curled up and covering her face.

Rue sighs to herself. She is really starting to fucking hate all of this.