#Navy st. gym

[talia-rumlow]

Friendly Fire (Alvey Kulina X Reader) Chapter One - Back Again!

I´m sorry. I just couldn´t help myself. I had to share this story. I absolutely LOVE the Kingdom TV show. So naturally I had to write a story about it. Now, I´m not the biggest Lisa fan, so she won´t be featured in this story, other than some mentionings.

Pairing: Alvey Kulina X Reader

Wordcount: 2274

Warnings: Strong language, Mentions of drugs, mention of suicide, fighting

Summary: You´re back in Navy St. After years away from the fighting business. How will Alvey react to you being back in the game?

HAPPY READING!

The sound of gunfire, not a surprise, given that you are at a shooting range. The sound of gunfire is kinda in the description. Fuck! What are you actually doing here? Why the FUCK did you decide to show your face to Alvey? To cushion the blow? Like that would fucking help. Alvey would be PISSED either way. But you didn't have the luxury of turning down jobs.

- Is it weird that I want to fuck this gun?

Alvey fucking Kulina, being himself. Fuck, Cunt and Motherfucker. His three favorite words. You remember that.

- Nah… You won't fit…

You say, when you walk up behind him.

- Up your ass maybe, but I kinda have a feeling that's not what you meant!

You continue. You know you should probably just say "Hi, Alvey!", but his statement about the gun was just too good to let slide.

Alvey turns around, still holding the gun. He looks at you for a split second.

- The fuck are you doing here?

He asks, his voice angry, condescending.

- Just saying "hi".

You say, shrugging. You should tell him about what's going to happen over the next couple of days. But you can't seem to find the right words.

- You came all the way out here, just to say fucking "hi"?

Alvey says, still in a condescending tone. It actually makes you a bit mad. Maybe you should just keep him in the dark.

- Oh, go fuck yourself, Alvey!

You say, before turning around and walking away. Stupid fucker. He fucking deserves the blow he's about to get.

__________________________________

ALVEY'S POV:

Fucking cunt! He thinks for himself, as he enters the Navy Street gym. Fucking cunt! What the FUCK is she doing here in Venice? Vacation? Why the fuck did she come here for? To see him?

- Alvey! You have a meeting at 4, and Ryan still has 2 pounds to go!

Shelby states, as Alvey makes his way over to his office. Fast firm footsteps. Stupid, fucking cunt. Ruining fucking everything. He raises his arm, to tell Shelby that this is not the time, before he enters his office, and closes the door behind him.

__________________________________

YOUR POV:

- YN!

You hear Jay shouting the second you enter the gym.

- The fierce medic is back, to join the Navy Street team once again. Come here!

Jay shouts, wrapping you in a hug.

- Good to see you again, Jay!

You say, looking around.

- Did you tell Alvey that I was coming?

You ask. It's not that you're scared of Alvey in any way. But it would make it easier if he got a heads up about your arrival.

- Now where's the fun in that?

Jay states. Letting his hand pat your back.

- Where's Nate? I want to say hello to him as well.

You say, looking at Jay. Jay's pointing towards the cage. Alvey is standing on the outside of it, shouting to Nate.

- GET YOUR SHOULDER DOWN. NO! FUCK, NATE. ROTATE!

Alvey yells. It would be a miracle to you if Nate even gets what he's yelling. You slowly make your way over to the cage. When you're almost there, Nate takes a hit, and goes down.

- WHAT THE FUCK?? SPARRING! SPARRING, WHEELER! FUCK! WE DON'T HAVE A FUCKING MEDIC HERE!

Alvey yells to the other person in the cage.

- Alvey! We actually have a medic. Err.. This is YN YLN. She's our new medic.

Shelby says, as Nate sits down outside the cage, and you kneel down in front of him. He got a pretty nasty cut over his right eye.

- The fuck, she's not!

Alvey says, when he sees you.

- Alvey! It's not easy to get anyone. After what Ryan did with the drug test, and how you pushed it under the rug. Good help is hard to find. And you NEED someone who can stitch up the fighters, and make sure they're fit to fight. She is one of the best there are. She's been in the business almost as long as you.

Shelby argues, as you move Nate over to some benches so you can get a better look at his cut.

- She's not fucking stichin' up no fighters!

Alvey almost yells at Shelby. Before he turns to you. Pointing his finger at you.

- You're not stitchin' up no fucking fighters!

He continues, before he again slams the door to his office.

You look up at Nate. Give him a little smile.

- Still the same old Alvey!

You state, as you clean his cut, before you get your supplies up from the first aid kit. Just as you are about to start stitching Nate up, Alvey comes back. Walks all the way over to you, standing over you, looking down. Is he trying to threaten you?

- You're not fucking stitchin' nobody up. I didn't fucking hire you, so get fucking lost!

Alvey yells. You take a breath before you get to your feet. Alvey isn't moving an inch. You're standing dangerously close to each other.

- Listen jerkoff!

You say, your voice is a bit louder than you intended it to. But fuck it!

- Nate here has a pretty nasty cut over his eye. So unless you want it to get infected, I suggest you let me do my job!

You say, kneeling back down, and starting to close the wound.

- Fucking cunt!

Alvey mutters to himself, before he once again walks into his office. He's not thrilled that you're here, that's for sure. But, that's a problem you can deal with later.

- Hey, YN! What actually happened with you and Alvey?

Nate asks, as you get your supplies back in the first aid kit.

- I just couldn't be part of the fucked up shit anymore. So I quit! We didn't exactly part on good terms.

You answer, shrugging a bit.

- And now you're back. So what's the deal?

Nate continues. Not moving. It's obvious that he wants some answers.

- You know what happened, Nate!

You say, shaking your head a bit.

- I know that he beat the living shit out of your ex. And that's about it.

Nate says, his eyes demanding an answer.

- Why do you want to know so bad, Nate? It's been years…

You ask. Nate gets up.

- Because you were the only one who cared about me, you were the only one who listened to me. And then you just left, overnight. No words, no explanations. You just left! So forgive me, if I want some answers!

Nate almost yells to you, before he walks away. You notice Jay, and that guy Wheeler, looking at you. You gesture with your arms, that you're already fed up. Then you follow Nate.

- Hey, Nate!

You yell. Following him into the locker room. Two other guys just got out of the shower when you come in.

- Hey, what the fuck, lady! This is the fucking boys locker room!

They yell at you. You look down on their bodies, before you look up at them. Laughing a bit.

- Don't worry guys. You've got nothing I wanna look at.

You say, before you continue to follow Nate!

- NATE!

You say, a bit higher. Still no answer.

- NATHANIEL!

You yell, slamming your fist into one of the lockers.

- Back here!

He finally answers. You walk over to the sauna, where Nate sits, his face in his hands. You sit down next to him. Put your hand on his shoulder.

- What do you want to know?

You say, trying to be calm. To calm him down.

- I wanna know why you left, YN. And why didn't you tell us!

Nate says, looking at you. You're unsure if it's anger or sadness you see in his eyes.

- Because of Alvey!

You answer. Tilting your head a bit.

- What happened? Didn't he save you from that fucked up ex you had?

Nate asks, his voice a bit harder now.

- He did!

You say, turning your head away from Nate, and look at the wall.

- And then he decided to get absolutely shit-faced, and wrecked my car. Ended up at the Police station, and left me to clean the mess up. I had enough. So I left. Didn't look back.

You say. It's about time Nate got to know this. And he's right. You should've told him. A simple text message at least.

- Listen, Nate!

You say, putting your hand on his shoulder again.

- I'm sorry. I…. I just… I needed to get out, allright. I couldn't do it anymore. All the fucked up shit he pulled. Looks like he's doing better now, though…

You say. Unsure if you actually believe that, but it might make it easier to talk to Nate.

- Why did you come back?

Nate asks. You look at the wall again. Why did you come back?

- Lisa called me! Said you needed a medic. Told me about what happened to you. Told me about her and Alvey breaking up. And I don't have the luxury of turning down jobs. Former Navy Street employees, from back then, aren't exactly first in line, for the big paying jobs..

You say, shrugging again.

- Lisa called you?

Nate asks. Narrowing his eyes.

- Yes! She called me. And I decided to help you guys. So, now I'm back.

You say. Hoping to calm him down some more.

- How long will you be staying this time?

Nate asks, angry. You can't blame him. You did leave in a hurry, and he has no good reason to trust that you'll stay this time.

- Ok.. I guess I deserve that one… I'll stay for as long as you need me…

You say, nod your head.

- Or, for as long as Alvey lets me.

You continue, shrugging.

- I'm going to trust you on this. But don't go pull any of that shit on me again!

Nate says, getting up. You get up as well.

- So… We're good?

You ask. Patting his back.

- Yeah.. We're good!

Nate says, before giving you a hug.

When you walk back out into the gym again, you hear angry voices.

- And now you're fucking medic is snooping around in our fucking locker room.

One of the guys from the locker room earlier is yelling at Alvey.

- Oh, shut the fuck up, tiny dick! If you had anything worth looking at, you would've swung it around out here, like the real men does!

You yell back, getting their attention.

- YN! My office! NOW!

Alvey yells at you. You look at Nate, roll your eyes, before you follow Alvey into his office.

- The fuck are you doing here, YN?

Alvey asks, as he sits down on his couch. You just look at him.

- The fuck are you doing here, YN?

He repeats. Gesturing with his hands that he wants an answer.

- I'm helping out, Alvey! I just stitched Nate back up! What more do you fucking want?

You yell back.

- I want to know what the FUCK you're doing here?

He says again. You roll your eyes at him.

- Lisa called, said you needed someone like me. Said that Navy Street was in some deep shit, and that you needed a friendly face.

You say, staring at him.

- I can handle my own fucking shit, allright! I don't need you!

Alvey says, pointing a finger at you.

- Ahh.. So Ryan didn't cheat on his positive drug test, you didn't push it under the rug? Nate didn't get knocked out and is unfit for fighting? Jay doesn't have a drug problem? Your ex wife didn't suddenly walk in here, stirring things up? You didn't visit a fucking brothel with your so called rich friend, and got pulled over by the Police, and that same friend didn't use your gun to kill himself? I mean, Alvey, do you want me to go on?

You say, looking at him, waiting for a reaction. Alvey clears his throat.

- So, what the fuck happened, YN!

He asks, placing his arm on the back of the couch.

- What happened, Alvey?

You ask, this whole situation pisses you off. Alvey looks at you, waiting for you to answer his question.

- I stitched you and your guys up after a few fights, and you fucked me in return. You fucking know this, Alvey!

You say, getting up. Alvey gets up as well. Points his finger at you again.

- Don't ever fucking mention my dick and your pussy in the same sentence. Don't even fucking mention your titties and my dick in the same sentence. Fucking cunt!

Alvey says, walking towards you. You just stare at him, not moving an inch.

- If I'm going to let you stay. If I'm going to let you do this. You keep your fucking hands to yourself. Don't go and fucking make a move on me!

Alvey says, his finger now all up in your face. You push him away from you, and go to open the door. Halfway out in the gym, you turn towards him.

- Don't fucking flatter yourself, Alvey!

You say, continuing to walk.

- And I have about a million reasons to mention your fucking dick!

You yell, as you walk past Ryan and Jay. Jay tries to stop you. You push him away.

- Don't fucking touch me, Jay! Get your fucking shit together, Alvey. Or I'm fucking out of here!

You yell, as you enter the reception area, and sit down on a chair.

- What the fuck are you looking at?

You hear Alvey yell out in the gym, before you can hear the door to his office close. You take a deep breath, and drag your hands through your hair. This whole thing turned out to be more difficult than you imagined.

@nekoannie-chan @bat-mar @late-to-the-party-81 @here4thefanfics @rip1009 @there-goes-thefighter @differenttyphoonwerewolf @saiyanprincessswanie @ladysif8

Check out the Friendly Fire Masterlist HERE!

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Next Chapter --------->

[shoshiwrites]

I've done a bit of the dancer/boxer AU here and there and then I got bit by the cheesy winter bug.

snowed in

On Thursday they start talking about snow. She doesn’t have classes until after New Year’s but there are still rehearsals, still walks to the studio, still cigarette breaks standing by the steam grates. Shifts at work the same as every other. She buys what you’re supposed to buy for storms: water, canned things, toilet paper, but the amounts are all off. Is it too much, or not enough? She throws in an overpriced package of dried apricots from the health food section, cinnamon chewing gum at the register. 

She thinks about Joe at home for Christmas, wonders if he’s staying through to the first. The drive up and down I-95, the endless string of headlights.

.

On Friday he surprises her at the studio. All casual, in his jacket and his beat-up sneakers, the other girls whispering behind her. They walk over to the gym together, chatting about everything and nothing, passing coffee carts and foil trays of roasted chestnuts, next to the soft pretzels. He’s heading back down for New Year’s, he says, but can’t stay the whole week between. She almost asks him why, but they get to the door before she can. She makes a go of the crossword while he warms up, until he waves her over so she can hold the bag for him, so they can stretch out together. 

Afterwards they stop so he can stock up for the snow too. He seems much more decisive about it, she notices. There’s canisters of things she doesn’t recognize, and tools. She’s prepared to leave him at his door with the usual argument and take the subway home, but he lingers on the sidewalk, in the cold. “Come up?” he asks. “We can get takeout.” She thinks of all the cans of soup and navy beans on her counter. She has no bag, no toothbrush, no change of clothes. 

“The snow might trap us right here,” she says, with no action in her voice. He smiles a half smile, not entirely un-wolfish, and opens the gate. 

.

On Saturday, it already feels like a snow day. The getting-away-with-it of it, the waking up on the couch under a fleece blanket, and the snow hasn’t even started yet. They’d fallen asleep three-quarters of the way through a cowboy movie his roommate had left on top of the TV; she doesn’t remember the name. He’d woken before her, and, she thinks, fallen asleep after her. There’s coffee on the counter, the containers of fried rice and chow mein cleaned up and put in the fridge. She has a shift in a couple of hours that she doesn’t want to think about. 

She doesn’t want to think about it so much that she uses his phone to call out, pretends her flight home got grounded even though she’d mentioned nothing about travel two days ago. Despite his best efforts Joe snorts into his coffee, and she has to shush him. 

“If you’re staying you should probably have some of your stuff,” he says after she hangs up. 

She props her chin in her hand on the table, wonders aloud if his roommate would mind. She’s not exactly keen to be an object of observation this weekend, to answer the usual questions and worry about who's in the living room when she needs to come grab something in a towel. 

“He won’t be back ‘til next week,” Joe says.

They wander back to her place so she can fill an overnight bag, past the quiet bus stops and newsstands, the chill over a city in wait. Joe packs up all the cans on the counter into a duffel. “For soup,” he says, and there’s a twinge somewhere in her ribcage that feels like adoration.

.

On Sunday there is soup, bubbling away on the stove. The snow is really coming down now, the newscasters say, and it is, big fat flakes and gray light. There’s more coffee too, and she tells him about how Frankie would pour a little hot espresso in the cup and froth the sugar into foam. 

She does her exercises and he does his, as much as they can in the small space, and this time there’s a couch to collapse onto when they want to kiss instead. 

They eat soup for lunch with stale bread. He’s stocked Diet Coke in the corner too, she notices, catches his eye a little too long. She reads and he works in the bathroom, fixing something with the tile and under the sink. They watch reruns on the little TV set and fall asleep on the couch again, limbs entwined, his face nuzzled in her shoulder.

.

On Monday she pads around the apartment in her green bodysuit and black tights, slouchy gray legwarmers and her bun all messy. Her scalp feels tender, from all the abuse she subjects it to. His fingers are gentle through her curls, as they sit on the floor and stretch out. Her eyes roam over his body, the exposed strip of skin when his shirt bunches, the waistband of his boxers hugging, the sweats tied below. He makes her take his sweatshirt, baggy and gray, and it almost looks like she’d planned it, as part of her outfit. 

She rubs Tiger Balm into his lower back afterwards, before he showers, her thumbs ghosting over a bruise on his ribcage. It bubbles, what she feels when she looks at him like this. “Can I ask you something,” she says softly. Her touch finds another patch of yellow-green, on his upper thigh. “Doesn’t this hurt?”

He looks sideways, almost turning back to her. “Not as much as it used to.”

That’s a lie, she wants to say. It always hurts. Twisted ankles. Stress fractures. But she supposes there are things like calluses too. Things like distance. When he comes to her warm and sleepy from the shower, droplets still beading at the back of his neck, she doesn’t ask any more questions.

.

On Tuesday she wonders if the roads will be clear enough to make it back down to Pennsylvania for New Year’s. “You should come,” he says, and she stops chewing the scrambled eggs she’d made for both of them. She can’t cook, she’ll be the first to admit, aside from that pasta, sort of, and good scrambled eggs. He hadn’t even reached for the ketchup.

She can’t stop the question of it. “What?”

“You should come.”

Drive down with me, he means. Meet my family.

Was this what guys like him did, bring girl of the month home to meet ma? She smarts at her own reaction, at the words in her head. She bites her tongue with guilt. Her eyes catch the box of Diet Coke next to the counter again. She scrapes the rest of her breakfast onto his plate.

She reads the rest of the afternoon, makes notes in newspaper and magazine margins about ideas for stories. It feels possible here, a life beyond dance. Possible in this late afternoon light, orange and gold. She pulls his hand towards her when he passes, pulls him down into a kiss that feels like an apology, for something she didn’t say. She hopes he feels it. 

“Can I keep your sweatshirt?” she mumbles later, against his ear on the couch, and her lips brush against two-day stubble. The radiator makes a noise in the corner. His hands rub up and down her back. The sweatshirt she’s still wearing, the one that smells like him. “‘S’ yours,” he says, so easily that it shocks her, the way she could’ve said heart.

.

On Wednesday, they venture out into in the snowdrifts. They buy more cigarettes from the one store still open and listen to the silence, the scrape of shovels and plows. She figures she should go check on her place, get the heat running, make sure nothing awful’s happened. Tomorrow’s New Year’s and she knows he’ll be leaving at some point. She’s going to miss this. All of it, the light in the apartment and his smell and his touch, his arms around her every night. This little world of only them. 

“Next time you come over I promise we won’t have soup,” he says, as they slurp down the last bowls. 

She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.  “I think I owe you one at this point.” What will her apartment feel like when she goes back? 

He pours some more oyster crackers into his bowl. “Any thoughts about tomorrow?” he asks quietly. His eyes are very dark. The thought of him driving down all by himself makes her want to cry. 

“I have to work,” she says slowly, and it’s not a lie, but it’s still so ugly, the way he knows she could ditch if she really wanted to. He’d seen it. She hates that store anyway, hates the treatment, hates the pay. 

He moves his mouth a little, but doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t fight her when she says she’ll head uptown alone.

.

On Thursday she wakes up alone. Her apartment is fine, and cold. He’d reminded her to open the cabinets when they’d picked up her things, so the pipes wouldn’t freeze. The thought of his sweatshirt slowly taking on the smell of her own place puts something like a lump in her throat. 

She wants to head back downtown, wants to tell him to come over, wants to tell him she’s sorry. She wants too many things. It flattens her, the thought of hurting him.

She packs her bag for work, and walks. The subway is very loud. Forty-five minutes into her shift, in the middle of getting screamed at by a mother who wants to know why they don’t have any more children’s pastel sets in stock she excuses herself to use the phone. She finds herself pacing as much as the cord allows, pick up pick up pick up heavy on her lips.

“Hello?”

She’s going to play it cool, going to act like this is alright, act like she doesn’t love him. But it’s the truest thing in this moment. It melts, all of it. She can hear the cracks in her voice. 

“I’m sorry,” she says over the noise, and doesn’t give him time to say anything. “Have you left yet? Can I still-”

She’s already untying her apron. When he picks her up she kisses him so long that the cars behind them all honk. 

[ocakess22]

#Blog 4

(AUTOBIOGRAPHY)

Ralph P. Betis is here.

1am 18 years old and I was born on September 22, 2004 at Cuyapo N.E

I am the Son of Ricardo and Amelia. I have 3 sisters and 1 brother and I am the eldest among of us. I live in which address at District 6 Corpuz St. Cuyapo N.E together with my family, We live there for many years. I am a type of person who is shy at first but when you get to know me, you will see the crazy me. They say I am an snobber person and yes that’s true. I am also moody. My favorite color is black and yellow. My height is 5’7. I also love playing basketball and i’m a varsity player here at Saint Pius.

My father live in Sacramento, California and I will live there soon when my papers is done. When I’m angry or not in the mood I stay quiet. I am a sneakerhead person I love collecting sneakers when i have some extra money I save it so that i’m able to buy the shoes I want. My favorite basketball player is Kobe Bryant. As a teenager I love going to gym so that I can workout and become physically fit because i’m skinny. My daily routine is to train at home to become good at basketball.

In my 18 years of existence in this world, I already experienced so many things from being a cry baby until I entered to this age where I am no longer a child. I matured enough to have my own decisions in life but not literally independent for now. Now, I am a senior highschool student at Saint Pius X Institute and currently taking HUMSS. I study hard so that I can graduate and make my parents proud. And as an HUMSS student, my dream in life is to become a future Police or US Navy to serve and protect our country.

[bitzsims]

Lucklight Valley Gym

Nairi decided to take a glimpse here, wondering if she wanted a membership. She wasn’t really health conscious, but she figured workouts wouldn’t hurt her in the long run. 

Situating her dress, she started walking up to the gym but then stopped seeing a man exiting. A soldier that looked very familiar. Nairi quickly remembered him as a guy she noticed at the park last weekend. He was by himself just relaxing in the summer sunshine. Nairi didn’t forget how her heart skipped at beat just by looking at him. She debated going up to talk to him but in the end, cold feet won over and he left the park. 

Even now, he was about to leave to his vehicle, but Nairi knew she wasn’t going to miss this chance to know who this soldier was. She gathered her courage…

Oh! It’s you! I saw you at the park some time ago. Good to see you again, uh…”

“Hey, there! The name’s River. I’m River St. Bree. You are?”

“I’m Nairi. Thank you for your service! What branch?”

“Thank you, ma’am. This is actually my second round. I was in the Navy first and now the Army.”

“Wow…you’re a busy bee!”

“Ha ha…yeah something like that. I guess I was just born for the military. You come here a lot to do some working out?”

“Well no. I actually just recently moved here so I’m trying to see what all is around here.”

“Welcome then! Lucklight is a great place to live in! Pretty nice people live around here as you can see.”

Nairi smiled soft looking down. “Yeah, I’m beginning to notice.”

River gave her a grin back before tapping his chin. “Say, why don’t I show you around the city one day? I’m pretty sure you haven’t had the grand tour yet.”

“I…I’d love that!”

“Great! Here’s my number. Give me a call when you are ready to hang.”

[ohcanadashop]

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[nahasbet]

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But please drive safely, and stick to the posted speed limits. Once you're comfortable using the clutch, you could even rent an exotic sports car for a day, and take a thrilling drive in the country with your own special "Bond Girl." Be sure to pack a picnic lunch, and don't forget the chilled champagne. If you're not in the market for a new vehicle, consider hiring an instructor for a few lessons.

WATCH LICENSE TO THRILL SKI MOVIE MANUAL

even the most basic economy car is more fun to drive in its manual configuration. And the beauty is, you don't even need to own an expensive Aston Martin or BMW to enjoy this activity. Yes, you will have an awkward first week, but once you get the hang of it you will reap the rewards every time you pump the clutch and shift into gear. If you are currently in the market for a new car, consider purchasing one with stick shift. Few activities will immerse you so much into the world of a dashing secret agent as running through the gears of a manual transmission on a twisting mountain road, listening to the roar of the engine as the car surges forward with each shift.īond's Aston Martin DBS - photo © Aston Martin If you're going to spend that much time driving, wouldn't you rather drive like Bond? If you haven't learned yet, you owe it to yourself to learn to drive a stick shift. Drive a manual transmissionĪccording to one study, the average commuter spends approximately 480 hours per year in their car. Always consult with a physician before engaging in any exercise program. After a few weeks, you should be ready to step up to a more strenuous workout if you desire. A routine such as this probably won't give you a body like Daniel Craig's in "Casino Royale," but it will definitely prepare you for physical activity. You could also alternate days with some light cardio, such as jogging, biking, or swimming. It's difficult to be sure exactly what "arm and chest exercises" Fleming was referring to, but you could substitute core exercises, such as lunges, planks, bridges, chin ups, for a great all purpose work out. Enough arm and chest exercises and deep breathing to make you dizzy.As many straight-leg lifts in the supine position as will make your stomach muscles scream.20 slow press-ups (push ups), done lingeringly.His daily routine is described in the novel "From Russia with Love" as: In his civilian life, however, he seems to have adopted a simple, daily regime of basic exercises that can easily be done at home, without the cost of a gym or exercise equipment. Of course, one can assume that during his time in the Royal Navy he engaged in regular strenuous exercise. Adopt a fitness regimeĪs a former military man, Bond keeps himself extremely fit. Cyril, or fighting on the back of a plane in mid-air are beyond the scope of most of us, this article will detail some simple but exciting physical activities that almost any of us may engage in, and allow us a safe taste of the thrilling life of a globe trotting spy. Although climbing the looming rocks of St. Bond is a man driven by his passions, of which fine clothing and expensive watches are but one.īond leads an intensely physical life, and takes personal pleasure in engaging in many enjoyable, yet somewhat strenuous activities, sporting and otherwise. Do you have the clothes and accessories but still feel something is missing from your quest to assume the lifestyle of the world's most famous secret agent? Perhaps that's because James Bond is more than just a walking mannequin draped in sartorial perfection. Enjoying the physical thrills of the Bond lifestyle.

[chiwhorei]

CONGRATULATIONS DYMPH DYMPH!!! I love you so fucking much and You absolutely know how much I love your writing. You deserve all the praise, recognition, and followers! Thank you for being a kind beautiful friend of mine!

This probably won’t come as a surprise uwu but the love of my life Kags 👉🏾👈🏾 with 18, 29, 62. Any of those or all of them idk it’s up to you babe! 💖💖💖

pairing: t. kageyama x fem!reader

genre: drabble, smut, 18+ minors dni

word count: ~1k

tags: hard dom!kageyama, dom/sub dynamics, teasing, degradation, crying, squirting, overstim, size

a/n: marquie! i love you so so much, words can’t even express my love and admiration for you. i hope this nasty kags is to your liking.💖 this word dump is brought to you all by the tobio brainrot i have been living in with @kyovtani for the last 48 hours. i’m also on a shit ton of cold medicine so it’ll be interesting to re-read this in the morning sksksksksksksksk. anyway, i hope you enjoy!

event prompts: 18.) “Are you wearing my shirt?” 29.) “Take it off. Slowly.” 62.) I bet all our neighbors can hear you, I bet they all know what a dirty little slut you are.”

✨St. Dymph’s Holy Milestone✨

It all starts with white and navy fabric hanging off of your shoulders, Tobio’s jersey drowns your form. It was an innocent venture, at least to an outside perspective, surprising your boyfriend at practice with a homemade lunch.

Usually, your impromptu visits to the Adler’s gym bloomed a giddy warmth in his chest. His sweet girl in the stands always made practicing a little more fun-- red flushing his cheeks every time you gave him a small cheer or called his name.

“Princess, are you wearing my shirt?” He turns to see you at the door, eying you from hairline to shoes, taking in the baggy jersey and pleated skirt that barely reaches your mid thigh. Every inch of skin on display shoots right to the aching in Tobio’s shorts. He’s lost in the supple flesh, teeth aching to tear into your bare thighs, fingers itching to pull at his jersey and explore what’s underneath.

He swallows around the lump in his throat, mouth dry as you walk towards him, each swing of your hips is disastrous. When you lift up on your toes, Tobio’s hand finds place on your lower back. He takes a moment to revel in your warm cheek against his neck, smiling at the sweet gesture. Before you pull away, he feels your fingers against his pocket. Your intent now clear, the reason for your visit is less than virtuous.

“I brought you a little good luck present, baby. Have a good practice.” Your whisper has Tobio gripping onto your hips tightly, when you pull away to walk towards the bleachers he reaches into his pocket to find a slick, lacy present.

You feel Tobio’s eyes on you as you take your seat, the blue color digging into your soul. His look says everything he can’t scream across the gym in front of all of his teammates. You are so, incredibly, fucked.

The loud, unceremonious crash of headboard to wall fills the room. With every feverous thrust into you, a trail of squeaks and thuds follow. Each pump into your tight cunt is enough to bring a fresh set of tears to the eyes. How long has it been since Tobio slammed the front door and pulled you to bed by the hair? How long ago was it when you fiddled nervously under his dominant stare, fingers tightly wound at the bottom of his jersey?

“I’m not going to repeat myself princess,” his form encloses in on you, keeping your knees pinned to where they press into the comforter with just a look, “Take it off. Slowly.”

Time is illusive at best now with your body being used like a toy by the man above you.

All you can do is tighten the grip you have on Tobio’s shoulders, looking for purchase on the sweat-sheened muscles. You clench down on him hard, a sign he knows well. Before you can even begin to beg for release, he pulls out of you completely, thick cock springing back against his abdomen with a wet pop. You feel empty without the stretch, you ache for the pain.

No matter how many times Tobio fucks you, his cock splits you open with new depths every time.

At your small cries, Tobio snickers. He leans back on the bed, legs tucked beneath him, and looks at you through a messy set of bangs. Your tugging against the fringe makes his hair stick up like bed head. The sight of you flushed, tear-stained cheeks and wobbly lip has sadism swimming through his veins. It’s not every day you can chip away at his demeanor to unveil the monster you want eating you alive, but a wayward pair of panties seem to do the trick.

Tobio only takes a moment to ogle the curve of your breasts heaving with every shaky intake of breath before lining himself up again, sparing you no time to acclimate before he’s hitting your cervix. You yelp as his hands grab onto the back of your thighs, pushing your legs up to your chest. With your folded in half, he can fuck you even deeper.

Every cry that leaves your lips is like gasoline, igniting in him and spreading into every vein.

“I bet all our neighbors can hear you,” he sneers, leaning over you with a smile that makes your stomach flip, “I bet they all know what a dirty little slut you are.”

You whimper, tears rolling down your cheeks in fat trails, the only words left in your vocabulary are “Oh god, Tobio,” and a sting of garbled, “Please, please, please!”

“Cut the whining, princess,” You feel him pull out again, slapping your puffy clit with his shaft before a strong set of fingers grip onto your spent body to flip you over, “You’ll fucking take what I have to give you.”

You nod into the mattress, sheets wet with spit and tears. Your head swims further into a submissive haze at every thrust. With this new angle, holding back your orgasm is impossible, especially with the addition of Tobio’s hand pushing your back to arch farther.

“Tobio, please! N-need to cum, ‘m gonna make a mess.” Your cheek is pressed firmly into the mattress, mouth hanging open slightly. You feel a sharp smack against your ass cheek.

“Cum for me baby, cum on this fat cock. Show me how good I make you feel.” His words send you tumbling with a final wail of his name. Every vein in your body lights like a match, and you can feel your release gushing around Tobio. The wet feeling seems to only make the setter more hell-bent on your destruction. Instead of slowing down his pace, Tobio doubles down.

You’re in for a long night, that much is obvious. He’ll bask in every drop of sweat and slick that you give him. He’ll ruin you, exactly how you like it.

all writing is dymphnasprose’s original content, please do not repost or modify. do no read my content as asmr.©️

[talia-rumlow]

Friendly Fire Masterlist

You are the new medic at Navy Street, assigned to make sure the fighters are fit to fight, and to stitch them up if they get injured.

You've been in the game before. And you know Alvey, better than most people.

Shelby & Lisa hired you, without consulting with Alvey. And Alvey is not happy when he sees you.

You suddenly find yourself in the middle of a half broken up Kulina family, drug and alcohol abuse, and a Navy Street gym that is about to wreck itself from the inside out.

Will your strong will and smart mouth get them out of the ditch they dug for themselves? Or will you go down with them?

DISCLAMER: I'm not the biggest Lisa fan, so she's a side character in this one, she already left, and is not coming back. Remember this is Fiction, so don't hate me for changing parts of the story. I know a lot of you are BIG Kingdom fans (so am I). I just wanted to make this story my own. I Hope you'll like it.

TRIGGER WARNINGS:

Drug and alcohol abuse Graphic Sexual Description Violence Strong Language Public Sex

Chapter One - Back Again

Chapter Two - Professional Opinion

Chapter Three - Here We Go Again!

[i-need-entertainment]

Not Scary To Me Pt.2

Character: Washio x single mom reader

*I would highly recommend reading Pt.1 if you want this to make any sense*

Pt.1-Pt.3

TW- mentions of toxic relationships and divorce, sad times for my mans Washio, mutual pining

 When you got there Komori and Suna were still tormenting Sakusa and Atsumu, Hinata had arrived and was talking with Meian and Tomas and Washio had started warming up with some of his other teammates. Bokuto had also arrived, something about his oven on fire? You spent the remainder of the hour getting paperwork and legal forms done, running back and forth between the main office and the gym. 

When the match started you were finally at a point where you could do your work in one place, so you chose the gym. You loved watching the team play, for starters they were really good! And it brought back memories of when you used to watch Washio play. And he just so happened to be playing on the court right in front of your eyes. It brought back a lot of memories watching him play. While you were watching the game, you zoned out and went back to when the two of you were in your second year. 

That game had been a particularly hard one. The whole team was struggling. Bokuto was long since in his emo mode, poor first year Akaashi was struggling to get him back up to speed and Washio was having an exceptionally hard time going against this third year spiker from another school. The game ended, and Fukurodani ended up losing…luckily it wasn’t an important game, really just a practice match, but it was the first game with the new starting line up so mistakes were bound to happen. 

After the coaches gave their input/advice and the players were dismissed, Washio made his way into a secluded hallway and sat down at one of the benches. He was blaming himself, you knew he was as soon as the game ended. You quickly went up to Konoha, asking if he knew where he was. He didn’t know his friends exact location but he knew the general direction so you thanked him and went on your way. 

When you finally found him he was bent over with his elbows resting on his knees and his head in his hands. Without saying anything you had knelt down in front of him, asking him to look at you. When he did, and you saw tears in his charcoal gray eyes it took every nerve in your body to will yourself from crying. And you weren’t even the one that lost! You were quick to pull him into a hug, your resolve almost cracking when you felt his arms weakly surround you before gripping onto you tightly. 

That was the night you knew, you just knew you had fallen in love with him. But with everything going on with Ken, and school you pushed the thought aside. But now, years later watching him play again, you can feel those feelings resurface. Except now you have Emiko to think about…

”WATCH OUT!” 

Your head shot up and you let out a squeak as you ducked, narrowly missing a ball that was headed straight for your face. Washio hurriedly made his way over to you, much to the satisfaction of his teammates. “Are you okay?” You shot him a smile as you fixed your hair and what not. “I’m alright, I got plenty of practice in high school.” You gave him a cheeky smile as he dead panned, a tint of pink traveling across his face. “I only hit you with one once.” 

You laughed before you heard a ‘oops, my bad’ from who you remembered to be Suna, looking over you saw him and Komori were smirking at something. Shooting the two a glare Washio retrieved the ball and made his way over to the court, getting a nice slap on the back from Komori and a ‘nice’ from Suna. You couldn’t contain the dorky smile on your face, shaking your head as you got back to work. When it came time for a water break, the teams retreated to their respective sides of the gym. 

“So, ya got the hots for their middle blocker huh?” You looked up from handing the team their water bottles to give Atsumu a glare. “Shut up Atsumu. We were friends in high school, we hadn’t seen each other till today.” Atsumu nodded, his mouth forming an ‘oh’. “But, you do still like him, right?” You stilled at that as you quickly looked to Bokuto, Hinata slapping a hand over his mouth. “Don’t say it out loud!” You see, during one of your outings with the boys, they had asked you about your past, Bokuto telling the story of you and Washio. Or rather the ‘almost love story’ as he called it. 

Of course, none of them could be bothered to tell you he was on EJP. (They purposefully told Bokuto to come in late so he couldn’t spoil the secret. Hinata was in charge of him :0) Bokuto looked at you strangely before looking at Washio and back at you. “But if he feels the same way what’s the problem? Plus that jerk isn’t there anymore”. You crossed your arms over your chest and sighed, “It’s a little more complicated than that…” he continued to look confused until Sakusa smacked him upside the head. 

“Don’t be so simpleminded. There’s a lot of things they both need to consider. Especially with Emiko involved.” Bokuto got it then, even if the situation still made him scratch his head sometimes. The game ended with MSBY winning 3-2, but both teams played well. “Tatsuki!” The middle blocker turned to see you walking over to him. He took one last drink of his water bottle and dried his face with his towel before turning to face you. 

“Yeah?” she looked down before looking back to him, “Would you like to join Emiko and I for dinner? I just went to see her, and she was adamant ‘Mr. Washio’ came too. It’s okay if you can’t but..” He smiled and shook his head “I’d love to, just tell me when and where.” Your smile was almost blinding at this point, and to Washio it was a nice breath of fresh air. “Okay! I’ll text you the details~ I’ve gotta go, I’ll see you later?” Washio nodded his head. “See you, Y/n.” 

With one last wave she walked out of the gym and headed towards her home, after picking up little Emiko of course. Washio went back to the locker room, showered and got changed into some casual clothes (during all of which he was choosing to ignore the smirks his two younger teammates were giving him.). *bzz bzz* he looked at his phone to see a text from an unsaved number.

Y/n: Hey Tatsuki! This is Y/n. Our address is xxx xxxx St. Go ahead and come around 5:30! Can’t wait to see you

 He smiled at that last part, ‘can’t wait to see you either, Y/n.’

 Tatsuki: I’ll be there, I’m looking forward to it :)

 It was 5:13 so he exited the stadium (after telling off his nosey juniors) and made his way to the address you had sent him. You however, were not as calm. Currently you were running around the kitchen, mixing and chopping things left and right. You looked at the time ‘5:13, okay, it’s fine, this is all fine! I have time…’ You set the timer on the oven and rushed upstairs, checking in on Emiko to make sure she was fine, and taking a quick shower. Now for the hard part…what to wear. 

On one hand you were home and didn’t really want to, or need to but on the other hand the man you’ve been in love with for a good 8 years was coming to your house for dinner so…a nice sweater and overpriced leggings it is. ‘okay…it’s 5:24 so he’ll probably-‘ Your thoughts were cut short when you heard knocking at the front door. Quickly focusing your thoughts, you rushed downstairs before checking the peephole 

**ALWAYS CHECK THE PEEPHOLE/WINDOW BEFORE YOU EVER OPEN A DOOR IT IS WORTH IT. USE A DOOR CHAIN OR SOMETHING TOO IT IS WORTH THE EXTRA FEW SECONDS!!***

 and opening the door when you saw it was him. “Tatsuki! Come in!” he thanked you and walked in, removing his shoes as you led him inside. “Emiko! Mr. Washio’s here!” Looking up the stairs you heard little footsteps before you saw a small head pop out from her play room. She then made her way down the stairs and over to Washio, giving his leg a little hug before she sat down on the rug in the living room. “Dinners almost ready, you can have a seat in the living room if you want.” 

He nodded, “Do you need help with anything, don’t say no if you do I don’t mind.” You just smiled, you never could stop him from helping you. “Well, if you insist I could use some help.” The two of you moved into the kitchen, you pulling dinner out of the oven and him, with your direction of course, getting out the plates and such. “Hey Tatsuki?” he turned to look at you, “Yes?” “Could you help me get this bowl? I can’t reach it.” He just nodded before he reached up and grabbed it, unintentionally flexing his muscles which were nicely defined by the navy blue button down he was wearing. 

Averting your gaze and releasing a small ‘thank you’ you quickly resumed your previous task hoping he wouldn’t catch onto your embarrassment. “Emiko, dinner’s ready” The little girl happily made her way to the table, lifting her arms to be set in her booster seat. Setting the plates and dinner onto the table, you sat across from Emiko while Washio took the seat at the head of the table. ‘Just like a family…’

You quickly shook your head and tried to push the thought out of your head. But as the dinner went on, it kept feeling more and more normal, more and more domestic. And you were feeling…really really happy. Fulfilled. As soon as she finished her dinner, Emiko lifted her arms, her usual signal to be let out of her chair. But instead of turning to you like she usually would, she looked at Washio. “Up!” you looked at her, “Oops, up, please!” She gave him the cutest smile as her little arms reached above her head. Washio thought his soul was going to leave his body. 

Breaking himself free of his thoughts he nodded his head as he stood up, helped the little girl down from her chair and almost cried when she hugged his leg and said “Thanks Washio!” Before you could even scold her for being informal, you saw the look of pure joy on his face when he sat down. “Y’know…you must be really special if she asked you to do that, and if she hugged you.” Washio looked over to you with a confused expression, “What do you mean?” You sighed as you placed your elbow on the table and your face on your palm, eyes drifting to where your little Emiko was playing with Bunny. 

“She’s usually painfully shy, I’m lucky to get her to talk to anyone other than family, let alone kids her age.” You then turned your gaze to look at him instead, his dark eyes moving to meet yours. “It means a lot if you two just met and she’s already infatuated with you. It means a lot to me too…” The rest of the evening was spent by the two of you catching up on what’s been going on in your lives for the past 5 years. It was about eight now, Washio didn’t have a specific time he needed to go since they were allowed to head back to Hiroshima whenever since today was Thursday and he didn’t have to work tomorrow. 

(Suna and Komori convinced the coach to give them the next day off, they gotta help their mans Washio!!) And since the two of you were having so much fun, he figured he could stand to stay a bit longer. “I’m gonna put Emiko to bed, I should be down in about 15 minutes.” You told him as you picked up the sleepy toddler. “Say goodnight, Emiko.” The little girl sleepily smiled at him before lightly waving “Goodnight Washio” before she returned her head to her mother’s shoulder. 

You got her changed into her PJ’s, read her a story, and got her tucked in when “Mommy?” You paused from turning off her light, “Yes honey?” she seemed to squirm a bit. “Will I get to see Washio again? I heard you say he lived far a way…” You gave her a smile, “Yes baby, you’ll see him again.” Your daughter than put on a sleepy little smile and closed her eyes, “That’s good…night mommy.” You turned off her light and cracked the door shut, you left it open so your cat, Kitty, could get in if he so pleased and cuddle with her. “Goodnight Emiko, I love you.” You heard a drowsy, ‘love you too’ before you left to go back downstairs. 

When you came back down to the living room, you saw Washio hang up on a phone call. “Sorry I should have made sure before hand, but, do you have a ride home? It’s getting late..” he looked at you and you could have sworn he looked flustered but you let it go. He sighed before explaining the call was from his teammates, letting him know they were leaving him and to come home whenever since they had the weekend off. “Well, do you want to stay here? We have a spare bedroom and my brother left some clothes here…” He opened his mouth, probably to refuse but before he could you cut him off, “It’s no problem, really! I took the day tomorrow to spend with Emiko and I know she’d love it if you came along so, really it’s no problem.” 

You gave him ‘the look’, which just so happened to be the same ‘look’ you gave him in high school when you wanted something, knowing he couldn’t say no. “Thank you…tonight’s been really nice.” You couldn’t help the flutter his words put in your heart, choosing to channel them into a shy smile. “Me too…” Not wanting this to turn into an awkward silence you clapped your hands together. “Alright. Since you’re going to stay here, you can help me with the dishes.” Chuckling a bit he nodded his head, unbuttoning the cuffs of his shirt and rolling the dark blue sleeves up to his elbows. (Tell me I’m not the only one who just diEd) 

The two of you made your way to the kitchen sink. Being a middle blocker he was keen and observant, and having dealt with Bokuto’s mood swings, he was also keen and observant of people and their reactions. To be clear; he was very much aware of the way you couldn’t stop looking at his arms, it had been intentional after all. After knowing him for so long and seeing the mischievous glint in his eye and the small smile he had stuck to his face, you caught on that he was probably teasing you. ‘Two can play at that game.’ 

You inwardly smirked as you took off your sweater, revealing the tank top you had been wearing underneath (idk if you wear tank tops under your stuff bUT THIS AIN’T THAT TYPE OF STORY So you did). Turning around you lightly laughed when you saw how pink his face had gotten. “I didn’t know this was a competition” His face held a playful smirk as he joined you at the sink. Your expression matched his as you started washing and he dried. “It wasn’t until I won~” 

He shook his head but couldn’t shake the smile that had formed a permanent residence on his face since he had re-connected with you. After the dishes were done, with only a *little* splashing each other with the water, you two retired to the couch and continued your chat. It was about 10 when you decided it was a good idea to get to bed him, having played an intense game earlier in the day, agreed. You gave him some sweatpants and a shirt to wear, which were a bit snug since he was quite a bit bigger than your older brother, but he accepted them gratefully. 

After making sure everything was in order you shut off all the lights and showed him to the guest bedroom. “Goodnight Tatsuki and thank you for visiting…it’s been really nice. I hope we get to do it more often.” You said this as you gave him a hug, one he of course returned. “Thank you for having me…it means a lot…Goodnight Y/n” You nodded as you both separated, you giving him a small wave as you retreated into your bedroom shutting the door and turning off your light before getting into bed.

[gildedmuse]

Yes, please. More ZoLaw... How about AU ideas?

Oh, I have ton of AU ideas. Some of which I have like 11 pages of co-brainstorming, some of which I've written up summaries roughly the length of some of which are just two words: [blank] Zoro / [Blank] Law. Here's the best list I can put together while on my way to work.

Okay, Hear Me Out. A ZoLaw Fic Where....

Zoro Is Law's Marine Bodyguard....

After Corazon dies, the navy does some digging. Years later they learn about Law and insist he is in danger as Doflamingo has located him as well. A young marine, Zoro, is assigned to guard him

Law Is A Marine & Roronoa Zoro Is His Obsession...

Or Law follows in Corazon's footsteps and becomes a marine. He sort of takes Tashigi's place as Smoker's sidekick second in command. So he's there in Lougetown when the Strawhats breeze into town. and the two develope an... Intense rivalry in which Law is determined to hunt down the cocky young swordsman (mostly because he feels like a fool... Why in the world would be agree to a fight without using his devil's fruit? What kind of argument is "it's cheap" anyway? Why the hell had he been thinking?) while Zoro enjoys taunting the handsome, moody marine he kicked the ass off back in Lougetown (or totally would have if they hadn't been interrupted).

Just wait until Law follows him all the way to Dressrosa. He's been avoiding meeting The Heavenly Demon since he became a marine, so why they hell is he willing to follow this green haired pirate hunter into the devil's own home?

Zoro Hates All Doctors (Except Law) (And Also It's A College AU Because Why Not?)

Modern AU where Law is an overworked med student filling shifts at the student clinic and Zoro is a at University on a kendo scholarship, preparing for the olympics. He has a knack for getting injured (it doesn't help that his coach, Mihawk Dracula, doesn't believe in pulling punches... Or whatever the sword equivalent is). Still, he absolutely hates going to the clinic. One day Law is taking out some tension at the gym practicing with his own blade when Zoro gets badly hurt. Law rushes over to help, and since Zoro isn't really in a position to say no he has to let the young doctor help him.

After that whenever Zoro gets injured he still refuses to go to a doctor. What he does do is lurk outside the student clinic (typically with Luffy in toe to keep him company - even if your injured and tired, you can never get too bored with Luffy as your best friend) until Law gets tired of it and makes him come in so he can fix up whatever he's managed to injure this time.

The clinic receptionist - Perona - doesn't find this cute at all. Mostly because Zoro is typically sweaty and gross and the Monkey boy is just annoying. His fellow student interns Shachi and Penguin are just impressed Law has put up with him this long (they did ask if the Kendo scene attracted a lot of girls, but Law's blank stare pretty much answered that one) while Assistant Professor and Physician Marco thinks it's adorable but is kind enough to only tease Law about it occasionally (he doesn't ask about fangirls in the kendo scene since he's pretty much certain that's not Zoro's scene either way).

Of the two tenured professors who officially oversee the clinic, Dr. Crocus has never said anything to Law about the whole situation except for letting him know when Zoro is waiting outside. He does, however, sometimes bring Zoro and Luffy by snacks or something to drink and has even kept them company an few times. No need for the two of them to wait out there with no one looking out for them (and, yes, they clearly need someone looking out for them). On the other hand Dr. Kureha has never believed in cuddling her students. The exact opposite actually. She started by telling Law he'd best take his pet home since he couldn't have it here all day ("Pet? What pet? Whoever it is, it's not mine, Dr. Kureha-ya." / "So that green haired stray and his little monkey friend don't belong to you?" / "Green hai- Urg."), Which eventually evolved to her telling him this was a clinic not a dating service ("He's not... *Sigh*") and finally came to the point where she just snips st Law for not being able to control even a simple minded athlete then how does he plan to deal with actual problem patients? She's also made a point of telling Zoro off - it pretty obvious that even when he does come by the clinic he only does so after either accumulating multiple injuries or continuing to push one until it gets far worse than needed. Is the boy an idiot? Why wait until things are so bad, and why is he wasting the time of one of her top students? If he wants to stalk one of the postgrads he could at least pick a less talented one. There are plenty to choose from.

Marco tried to make up for this lecture (after which Zoro stayed away for three months until he almost lost an eye) by offering to let Zoro and Luffy wait in the actual clinic to wait. (To which Luffy helpfully announces, "Zoro isn't waiting for the clinic, he's waiting for Toroa." Which kinda makes Zoro want to strangle his best friend but since he's currently holding a towel up to his eye and feels pretty sick at the thought of not making these games because he's an idiot, he only managed an apologetic smile and mentally promises himself to pinch Luffy later. Marco is totally unsurprised by this answer, for what it's worth.)

(Also, it turns out Kendo does attract at least a couple of girls, at least at the Olympics level. It's probably more accurate to say that Dracule Mihawk and Roronoa Zoro attract attention, which Law only learns because he was heading home after his shift and saw a bit if activity around the gymnasium and wandered over purely out of curiosity and somehow accidentally ended up watching Zoro's match. And that randomly happened a couple of times. Look, the best parking is by the gym he practically has to walk by to get to his car. He isn't going out of his way. And he has a valid reason to be interested in kendo. (Also, appro of nothing, Tashigi seems like an annoying know it all and Hiyori seems like a silly teenage girl and why is Perona even here?)

Shanks Uses His Yonko Status For It's Highest Purpose - Mischief

While sailing to Wano, they stop at an island to gather supplies when they are ambushed. It turns out to be one occupied by the Head Haired Pirates. Before anyone can attcak, Shanks steps into view, smiling. He greets Kin'emon and Kunjuro (they were with the Roger pirates for a while). Robin, Franky and Usopp he recognizes as friends of Luffy. Weirdly, he calls Zoro 'Mihawk'ss boy'. Law corrects him as Zoro is also in the Strawhats. Shanks laughs because while that may be true, he's met Zoro and he's Mihawk's boy to him. Law seems unhappy with this description, while Zoro just rolls his eyes, calling Shanks an old pervert and to stop messing around. Despite everyone else freaking out, Shanks laughs it off. He insists surely Mihawk would be the pervert in that situation. Law dislikes the whole conversation. It only gets worse when it turns out they have to stay on the island two weeks, and Mihawk is visiting as well. Under Shank's bad influence (and seeing how such comments got under the other Captain's skin even if he wouldn't admit to it) he convinced Mihawk to join him in creating some mischief (Shanks is a terrible influence).

Law Is Working For Doflamingo, Gathering Information On & Chain Off Rookie Pirates

Instead of Bellemy, the crew find Law right before Skypea. He is also (secretly) working for Doflamingo. Typically it's his job to narrow out the herd, and for the pirates that might make it to the second half of the Grand Line, his job is to gather information that may be useful in "convincing" them over to Doflamingo's side later or else can be useful in eliminating them if they become a threat.

Unlike Bellamy, it takes Law only one conversation in the bar to determine that the Strawhats aren't your average pirates. Their captain's open, naive nature makes gathering information on them rather straight forward. Which is how Law determines that his biggest advantage is his crews loyalty, and none seem more so than his handsome swordsman. Luffy seems to naturally open and unashamed to be able to gather blackmail material on, but Law's willing to bet if you own Zoro, you'd more or less own the captain. So he sets out to do just that.

Swords Are Cats

Zoro owns three infamous crazy cats. Law is a vet. Look, this is an AU in which Swords are cats. Zoro has two in particular that no vet is willing (or able) to get anywhere near. When Wado gets sick, though, he shows up to The Heart Veterinary Clinic (it sounds like such a cheesy name he already can't stand it) with all three in toe. Best to get everything done at once since it's unlikely they'll ever be allowed back again. Sure enough, Shisui just has to start the trip off by escaping when Zoro is checking in.

Law is in his office when he notices Kikoku is gone, which is strange. She usually likes to stick by his side. He goes looking for her and is surprised to find her hiding under the receptionist desk, curled up peacefully with another cat. He holds up the strange tomcat only to very nearly lose an eye. Zoro catches the poor thing midair when Law stumbles back from surprise, honestly just thankful to find him before he caused any damage.

Law takes one look at Zoro and the three cats and instantly knows two things:

A. Oh, so these are the demon cats he was warned about by Tashigi and Pica and Wanda and even Shanks who seems like he can put up with almost any animal

B. He's definitely going to get these cats to like him, if only to ensure that Zoro back.

Law Ends Up On Kuraigana Island

Incredibly simple What If premise. What if instead of fighying two pacsifistas alongside the Kid pirates, the Heart Pirates wind up on the battle field with the Strawhats. When the real Kuma shoes up, Law gets a little too close to the action and is sent along with Zoro to Kuraigana Island. This has everything you need in an AU. Zoro and Law going from complete strangers to friendly rivalry to sexual tension because they're stuck on an island for two years together. A possible love triangle with Mihawk. Perona being either an annoying bratty sister to Zoro (who in fairness beat up her crew) while openlh crushing on a disinterested Law or a Perona silently shipping the two of them long before they even take any real notice of each other (I'm guessing she'd talk about it with her hallows). Bonus points for scenes of The Heart Pirates trying desperately to find their beloved captain.

I'm kidding. Bonus points for adding Mihawk in the mix and making it a triangle filled with possessiveness, jealousy and a totally unaware he's in the middle of it all Zoro. That's my jam.

They Were Childhood Friends (Who Haven't Seen Each Other In Years)

Sometimes, all an AU needs to be is a romamtic comedy formula lifted wholesale and recontextualized to fit whatever fandom you're into. So, yeah. Law and Zoro grow up at the same dojo but haven't seen each other in years, then suddenly Law is sitting there in ten Sabaody auction house when the something crashes through the roof, and that something looks a lot like a boy he hasn't seen since he left the dojo at 18. Or, hey, maybe Law catches a wanted poster of "his little brother" while sailing on the Grand Line and decides to track him down just to see how he's doing. And probably he was totally unaware that at 13/14 years old, Zoro had just about the biggest crush in the world on him.

Although most the Strawhats definitely know. Or at least figure it out damn quickly. It's kind of hard to miss how their badass swordsman suddenly can't make eye contact or flushes at the slightest provocation. ("Do you think the Heart captain realizes?"/"Maybe it's just because Zoro looked up to him. I mean, I can't imagine him actually LIKING someone."/"Oh, come off it, you'd have to be blind not to see!"/"I think it's sweet that our swordsman-san still holds such a place for what must have been his first major crush."/"Yeah, who know Zoro-bro could be such a romantic!")

Strawhats antics ensue.

Law Uses His Shichibukai Connections For Something Other Than Revenge (So Sex. Sex and Revange.)

After becoming a Shichibukai, Law meets Mihawk at an official summon and picks up on the fact that Zoro is training there. Having promised Luffy he would look it to his nakama's safety should be discover them (something he had thought would never happen) he follows Mihawk back to the island to see how Zoro's training holds up.

Perona Is Zoro's Older Sister, Just To Create Drama

AU where Perona is Zoro's older sister. She hangs out with a much darker, edgier crowd than Zoro approves of. He find Law especially questionable and not just because they seem to have a 'thing' (in my mind Zoro is in high school while Perona and Law are not in college. He's heard about the way college boys often are and he doesn't really understand that all their relationship is entirely casual, and most the time when he catches Perona cuddling up to him, it's just her being cutesy (and because she knows that while it annoys Law a little, he won't do anything to stop him). He also doesn't understand why every time he tries to confront Law about it he ends up feeling so flustered. (Not that Law is about to openly hit on his friend's little brother, but some teasing never hurt)

There's Only One Bed. Because There Is ALWAYS A Story With Only One Bed

The Polar Tang and Sunny are stolen while the two crews are meeting up, talking over a plan to take down Blackbeard (okay fine, LAW is doing all the planning). Luckily, Shanks just happens to be passing by and offers them a lift, but as big as his ship is, three whole crews take up a lot of space. And despite Shanks (joking) offer to let Zoro share his bed, Law is the one who ends up stuffed into a single hammock with the Swordsman.

Law Tries To Sleep With His Uncle's Partner (Not As Terrible As If Sounds)

Law's uncle Corazon works in Law enforcement. He talks endlessly about his new rookie partner to the point of Law's annoyance. Until Corazon brings the young green haired detective home for dinner.

Law Is The Ship Doctor For The Strawhats Pirates

Corazon lives and runs off with Law, who grows up to be a doctor. One day, a pirate ships sails to their island. They have a sick crew member and desperate for help. Law doesn't help pirates, but then the corrupt ruler of their island has Corazon arrested and locked up, claiming he's found his true identity and plans to sell him out to his brother. They come for Law, but the Strawhats save him despite his refusal to help them (Luffy doesn't mind, he's sure Torao has his reasons and anyway Corazon is an amazing man who gave them a free lunch and he's sure Torao is just as good.) The Strawhats rescue Corazon, kick out the evil ruler and bring peace back to the island. Law finds himself compelled to accompany them.

Law Tutors Zoro (In The Ways Of Love Math)

Zoro's life is way too stressful. Between kendo competitions, a job that doesn't pay enough, a second job that's a bit questionable not too mention school. He doesn't even care about most that stuff, but if he wants to be the greatest at his sport, the rest is sort of necessary. Like training. One thing he definitely needs more training in is school work. Zoro has to keep a certain GPA to keep his Kendo scholarship. Luffy insists he knows the perfect tutor, and while Zoro isn't so sure about Luffy's judgement on intelligence, he trusts his friend. Enter Trafalgar Law, college senior who tutors on the side. Oh, and - as he casually mentions at the end of their first session that he's seen Zoro at his job. No, not as at the restaurant, but the online videos. And he has to say, he's quite the fan.

There are a few I didn't manage to get to tonight, despite being some of my favorites. Maybe later, when work has not drained the life out of me, you can hear about...

Drummer Zoro/Med Student Law

Marine Law/Revolutionary Zoro

Marine Law/Marine Zoro

Police Zoro/ME Law

Rock Star Law / Bodyguard Zoro

Biker Gang Zoro / Anarchist Group Law

Kendo Olympic Champion Zoro / Sports Doctor Law

Kendo Rivals Zoro / Law

Evil Doflamingo Pirate Law / Captive Zoro

Samurai Zoro / Ninja Law

Detective Zoro / Art Thief Law

[drariellevalentine]

Medically Inevitable

Chapter 6- Satirical Shocks

Characters:- Arielle Valentine, Ethan Ramsey, Sienna Trinh, Elijah Greene, Jackie Varma, Landry Olsen, Aurora Emery, Rafael Aveiro, Naveen Banerji

Warnings:- None

Pairing:- Ethan Ramsey x Arielle Valentine

You wake up quite early, deciding to go for a mile of cycling to work off all that chocolate and sugar that you ate the past two weeks. After changing into a black and aqua streaked gym outfit and pulling your thick hair into a high ponytail, you head out to your balcony, headphones in hand. Playing your regular playlist, you roll out your yoga mat and start stretching. Working your way through your body from head to toe, you head out to the empty and dark kitchen. “Guess no one’s up.” You open the fridge and pour yourself a glass of vanilla almond milk. After drinking, you check your phone and pager to make sure there aren’t any emergencies and head down to your parking lot after grab your backpack, phone, water bottle, and your Apple Watch to track your stats. You get your bike from the garage and ride it down the quiet street. You decide to circle around and head to Edenbrook and get ready there, knowing you have a spare outfit in your outfit. Adrenaline spikes as you ride like the wind, the cool autumn breeze in your hair. After a good 30 minutes, you circle towards Edenbrook, deciding to get a head start on your shift.

Ethan’s PoV:-

Driving towards Edenbrook, you can’t help but think about yesterday with Arielle. The way her violet eyes lit up when she saw the drink you ordered or the way her cheeks turn pink from the cold breeze. “Stop it, Ramsey! The reason you come so early to the hospital is to make sure you have a moment of peace before the interns do something. You’re parking your car and getting out when you notice her. In a skin tight pair of leggings and a sports bra. You don’t think you’ve ever seen her without heels, she’s quite short without them. How she manages to stand in them is beyond your train of thought.

“What is she doing here so early?”, you wonder. You see her parking her bike against someone’s car and stretch. You can’t but stare at her, the morning sun hitting her luscious hair, making it shine. You snap out of it and head inside before she can see you...or anyone else for that matter.”

Arielle’s PoV:-

You enter the locker room and see Elijah. “Hey Elijah.”

“Hey Arielle.” He turns to look at you. “Woah! Where’d you do?”

“I went for a ride.” He gives you a look. “...on my bike. Give me ten, and then we’ll go check on Eliza.” You quickly take a shower and get dressed in a lightly cropped white top with a pair of pinstriped navy blue and white pants. Pulling on your white coat, you grab your things from the shower and go back to the locker room.

“Done?”

“Almost. Just hair and makeup.”, you reply.

“You know you look beautiful without it, right?”

“Nice try, Elijah. I would feel really bad for the patients who have to see my dark circles.”

“Yeah, your invisible ones.” You laugh and quickly get ready. Applying your usual amount of makeup, you brush down your hair and quick twist the sides and pin it against the back of your head to avoid hair in your face. “Done! Let’s go.” You head towards her room, going over her chart. After discussing her treatments, you exit the patient’s room with Elijah.

"Is it just me... or is the ground actually shaking?" Elijah asks confused. Hearing his question when you actually pay attention, even you can feel the floors vibrating.

"Uh, Elijah, does Boston get earthquakes?" you ask back. Looking at each other we are about to move forward when we turn back hearing commotion. A crowd of interns pass us running towards the atrium, talking amongst themselves. Seeing us at a side Landry approaches us.

"Guys, Dr. Ramsey is posting the rankings of second week!" He announces before moving that way. Seeing another group of interns coming in our direction, you take shelter in the nearest patient room, grabbing Elijah with me.

"What? Not excited to see the latest ranking?" Elijah grins at me.

"I'd rather not get Mufas'ad," you smile.

Once the coast is clear, you and Elijah get out of the room and move towards the elevator to get to the atrium, where the excited herd of interns are surrounding Dr. Ramsey, who just pinned the rankings to the board. "Can't you people exhibit a modicum bit of self-control. You work at Boston's best hospital for God's sake!" He pinches the bridge of his nose and walks away. You can't help but notice that he seems distant, it feels like he's barely acknowledging what's happening. He walks away, leaving us interns to check the rankings.

"You guys! I'm finally up to fifth!" Landry smiles proudly.

"I slipped to number...thirteen. Weak," Elijah sighs his voice low and sad.

"Ugh...seventeen. I knew this would happen," beside me Sienna slumps sadly. Poor girl, feels like she's going through a lot. I look towards her.

"Dr.Ramsey caught me crying in a supply closet yesterday. I've just had a lot of...sad cases recently," I see her eyes glistening with tears.

"Wanna talk about it?" You give her a side hug in an attempt to comfort her.

"No point wallowing. Just gotta smile my way through," she fakes a smile but you can clearly see her hesitation. After comforting Sienna for another moment you turn around to find Jackie standing silently looking at the ranking sheet . I follow her gaze to see that she's dropped to eleven.

"Eleven? Really?" She nods in disbelief.

"Number ten," Sienna smiles nudging me. You look at number ten to find your name. “From nineteenth to tenth, that's good.” Happiness washes over me. But after seeing my friends’ dropped positions, the small spark of joy vanishes. Hours after, I walk towards the staff lounge to take a break being tired for working for at least 4 hours without a break. As I near the elevator, I can hear faint sound of cries from somewhere near. On instinct I walk forward hearing the sound and it leads me to the nearest supply closet. I think for a moment whether or not to go inside. What if the person inside doesn't want me too see them like this? After giving it another thought I decide to get inside thinking what if the person wants someone to talk to. As I open the door, light rays enter the dark supply closet falling on a small figure and I run towards her as soon as I see it to be Sienna. "Hey, what's wrong?" I ask softly side-hugging her.

Leaning on my shoulder she sniffles. "I- I j-ust lo-st a pat-ien-t," somehow managing to say this she again starts sobbing.

"I'm so sorry, Si," you hug her more tightly.

"He didn't deserve it," she sniffles ,"He was just 14. He had a whole life to live."

"I understand Si," you try to comfort her, “But there's nothing you could've done." After comforting her for some more minutes and letting her know that it was not her fault, she stops crying. You have an idea.

"You've any patient to check on right now?" I ask after she's stopped sobbing and she nods in negative.

"Good. You're taking a break then. We are going to grab something to eat,"I say.

"But-" she tries to protest.

"No ifs or buts, you clearly need a break. You need to talk about this and somewhere which is not a supply closet," She hesitates at first but then agrees to it. You take her to the milkshake parlor to Bryce took you when you were down.

"You are going to love their shake!" You smile and say to Sienna whose mood is much better now. After ordering our shakes we take a sit in one of the booths near the window. We both order chocolate caramel milkshakes. "So you want to talk about it?" You ask her after taking a seat on the sofa opposite to her.

“I already did.”, she smiles sadly. “But I can’t help but feel that maybe I could have done more, something that would have saved him.”

“Si, you did all that you could. Sometimes things in life just don’t go the way they want to. What happened wasn’t your fault, you can’t blame yourself for it.” She nods sadly.

“Thank you, Arielle.” You smile.

“What else are besties for?” The waiter serves up our order. We thank him and each take a sip from our milkshakes after I take a pic and post it.

“This is so good!”, Si exclaims happily.

“I know right. Bryce took me here a few weeks ago. It became my official favourite milkshake place.”, you exclaim. We both giggle like high schoolers.

“So...did you find out anything about Patient X?”, Si asks.

“No, I haven’t. I’m still trying but I haven’t found anything.”, you reply.

“Maybe it’s just some kind of case study?”, Si speculates.

“I don’t think so...I think it’s someone near to him. I don’t know if you noticed, but he seemed distant and out of it this whole week. Especially the day after the f.M.R.I testi”- you clasp your hands to your mouth, realised what you just spilled.

She looks at me smirking, “What f.M.R.I?”

“I-he” you stutter. “Dr. Ramsey-he”, you look her smirking. “Stop smirking!”

“Then you have to tell me everything!”, she exclaims.

“There’s nothing to say!”, you counter but you’re sure your cheeks gave you away.

“Sureeeee!”, she teases me.

“Tell me everything, and I mean everything. Do you hear me?”

“Fine!” You reluctantly start telling her what happened. roll my eyes, "Stop it Si! I was just helping him to check whether or not it works."

"Remember I went after him to update him about Mrs. Turner? " I ask and she nods. "I told him about the housewarming party and asked if he'd like to come-" Sienna smirks at this but you pretend not to notice. "Obviously he denied-" And you explain her how he asked for help to test the fmri machine.

"Wait! You are telling me you were standing half naked in front of Dr.Ramsey," her smirking face turned into a surprised but then again retreated back to the former one. "I bet he couldn't tear his eyes from you!"

"Sienna, he's a grown up. He'd obviously have the minimum amount self-control to not stare at his half-naked intern," you say.

"Mhmm, if you say so..." She motions with his hand for me to continue, " What did he ask you?"

“My middle name. That was his first question. Then he asked about my favourite childhood memory.”

“Yeah? Tell me too! I want to know how it was growing up in a luxurious mansion!”, she says excitedly.

“I told you about my godfather, remember? So when I was little, I would head to his lake house every Friday to spend time baking desserts and talking about life then. I would stay there until he had to drop me off at school Monday morning.”, you smile as you recall the fond memory.

“Aww! That’s adorable! What did he ask next?”, Si excitedly asks.

“He asked me about one of the happiest days of my life. I told him about the day my niece was born. He was surprised though.”

“You have a niece?! Why didn’t you tell me?! Ooh! What’s her name? Promise you’ll bring her one day!”, Si rambles.

“Okay okay! Calm down! Yes, I have a niece. Her name is Arabelle and she’s 4 years old. I do sometimes babysit her, so...we’ll see.”, you reply.

“So...what was his reply?”, she asks.

“He didn’t say anything. And that was the last of the questions. Then, somehow, while getting off, I managed to fall down. So when he entered the room, I was sprawled on the floor.”

“That’s all?”

“I showed him a pic of my niece.”

“Ooh! Show me!” You pull up the pic and show it to her.

“Aww! She looks adorable! And you look like a princess! What did he say?” You blush.

“He said that she’s cute.”

“Finally! A compliment from Dr. Terminator!” You laugh. “Did he say anything about you looking gorgeous?!”

“Si!” She giggles and soon you join in.

“Wait! You never told me what happened after you saw Dr. Ramsey st the baseball game.”, she says.

“Not much. I helped him close a deal for Edenbrook and then we just talked, ended up telling him why I wanted to be a doctor. Then it got late, so he dropped me off.” Her grin widens. “What?”

“Nothing!..”, she says in a singsong voice. You stare at her. “Well what, Ari! He invited you to a private box suite, he gave you a ride, and he asked you to help him test a machine. So...”

“What so.... There’s absolutely nothing! Now come on, I have a few patients to check on.” You both head back to the hospital. After your regular rounds, you go to check in on one of your newest patients, Remy. When you enter his room he is strumming on a guitar, singing softly with it. He smiles as you enter the room.

"What's up doc? You ready to let me out of here?" He grins.

"Well, that depends on what your lungs would say, Remy," you smile. "Any wheezing or coughing today?" You ask after going through his chart.

"Nope. I'm feeling one hundred percent!" Putting your stethoscope on, you listen to his breathing.

"It looks like you respiratory infection have cleared up. Let me check your vitals and then we can think about discharging you." You slip a blood pressure sleeve around his arm and pump it. “All your vitals look good. You’re about to get his discharge papers signed when you notice his calf covered in reddened nodules. “What happened?”

“Don’t know doc. But it itches though.”

“Well, it might be an indication of something else, I want to do a few more tests.”, you reply.

“Well if it makes you happy! My parents have sweet insurance so test, test, test away!” You laugh as you leave the room.

After ordering the test for Remy and a few check-in’s on your patients, you head towards the cafeteria to get a light lunch. You’re standing in line, deciding what to get when you notice Aurora standing in front of you, surrounded by her usual circle of suck-ups.

“Dr. Emery, can I get you a latté?”

“Dr. Emery, I’ll pay for your lunch.” You roll your eyes.

“What you can do is take a step back so your hair doesn’t go into my food.”, Aurora snipes. You decide on a garden wrap and head towards your usual table, where you find your friends.

“How is she still number one in the rankings?”, Jackie says.

“I know right. She barely spends time with her patients, literally ten minutes!”, Landry says.

“Does she solve the case?”, you ask.

Landry reluctantly says yes. “Well then, there’s your answer.”, you reply.

“Maybe Chief Emery’s rigging the competition. Or Dr. Ramsey favours her?”, Elijah says.

“Please, he doesn’t even know our names.”, Jackie scoffs.

“He knows Arielle. She even helped him with something. I saw both of them coming out of the new equipment room a few days ago.”, Landry says.

“I was just helping him test the new f.M.R.I machine.”, you reply. Sienna gives you a look. ‘If only they knew...’ You try not to blush.

“We should try to make a better impression on Dr. Ramsey, does he have office hours?”, Elijah asks.

“I don’t know if he has the time. He’s wrapped up on some secret case right now.”, you accidentally blurt out. They give you a look. “He dropped some CT scans and when I gave them back I saw the name as ‘Patient X’.”

“Whoa! Do you think he’s working on some cutting edge treatment?”, Elijah wonders.

“Ooh! It might be the President! Do you think he’ll tell us?”, Sienna rambles.

“Guys! We’re talking about Ethan Ramsey here. You do not want to get on his bad side.”, Landry says. You and your friends speculate on Dr. Ramsey’s case as you eat. Everyone says goodbye and splits, but you notice Jackie heading off without saying anything.

You head towards the ER for the next part of your shift

“Hey Jackie! Wait up!” She reluctantly stops and whirls around.

“What do you want?”, she snaps. You’re taken aback.

“Did I do something wrong?”, you ask.

“No. I’m mad at myself. I came here to be the best and right now I’m not. I can’t let whatever emotional thing you want to do distract me.”, she says. It hits you like a slap in the face.

“So you’re saying that our friendship is a distraction?”

“Yeah.”, she heads off.

After a short shift in the ER, you’re filling out charts at the nurses’ station.

“Hey there, had a rough day?” You look to see Bryce leaning against the station.

“You don’t know the half of it. What about you?”

“See this hand? It just touched a beating human heart.”

You smirk. You’re about to reply when you see Dr. Ramsey furtively looking over his shoulder and turning a corner. “I bet he’s going to see Patient X.”, you discreetly point towards Dr. Ramsey. His brows furrow in confusion. You fill him in on what you’ve learned so far. You’re about to follow him when you notice Ines and Zaid heading your way. “Shit! They’ll definitely stop me to ask about my patients. By the time they’re done, he’ll be long gone.

“I didn’t know you were so badass Elle. Following your boss?” You ignore him.

“Can you do me a favour”, you ask.

“Let me guess. It requires me distracting two doctors by the name of Ines and Zaid.”, he replies.

You give him your signature puppy dog eyes and pout, “Please?”

“Fine. You’re lucky you’re so adorable.” Giggling, you thank him and round the corner to the hospital’s new wing when you collide straight with Dr. Ramsey.

Ethan’s PoV:-

You can see Arielle following you as you head down the hallway. You decide to stop right at the end of a corner and wait. A few seconds later, a light force collides with your chest. She squeals. You look down to see her raking her perfectly manicured fingers through her long violet hair. “Why are you following me?”

“I wanted to ask how you’re doing.” You’re surprised.

“And what made you want to ask?”, you question.

“Working as an intern at this hospital has a lot of pressure and stress. I can’t imagine what level your’s would be.” Her baby pink lips melt into a smile. “Just because you’re a world class attending doesn’t mean that you’re immune to stress or people aren’t allowed to ask you if you’re okay.”, she replies. You feel the corners of your lips tug.

“I’ll be fine once I get a coffee. The coffee machine in my office is broken and you know I don’t drink the dishwater from the cafeteria. There’s a small cafe a few blocks away that I don’t hate.”, you reply.

She smirks, “Wow! An actual compliment from Ethan Ramsey. They should have you as an endorsement.” You give her an incredulous look. “You should swing by...”

“Are you saying I can come with you?”, she asks.

“No, but I won’t mind if you decide to follow me there too, though.” What the hell are you thinking, Ramsey! Are you flirting with an intern?!

“I could use some coffee.” You both walk towards Derry Roasters.

“The breeze is beautiful this time of season.”, she says flipping out her hair and letting it flow freely in the gentle breeze. “Have you ever been apple or pear picking this time of season?”

“Once or twice, I think.”

“Really? If I was your height, I would be picking things every chance I get. It’s quite annoying having to jump every single time to pick a pear.”, she says with a ridiculous tone. You laugh, something you haven’t done for many days.

“My family has a fruit orchard. Apples and pears are best picked this time around. My brothers usually pick all the fruit while I run around with my niece. I still try to pick a few though, it does get quite annoying though. That’s why I opt for strawberries, they’re much easier to pick. You can’t help but imagine Arielle and her adorable niece running around in the fall leaves, the warm sunlight shining on her face, making her striking violet eyes a touch of pink.

“Here we are.” You lead her inside and head towards the counter. “I’ll have the Vienna, she’ll have the... Fall Frappé.” She pulls out her wallet to pay but you gently lay a hand on her wrist, “I’m the one who invited you.” Pulling out your wallet, you pay the barista and sit down at a table.

“So... do you come here often?”

“I do. Sometimes I need a moment where nobody needs anything from me. Nobody recognises me nor gives a care.”, you reply nonchalantly.

“I know what you mean.” You’re about to contradict her when you notice the genuinely sorrowful look in her eyes. You change the subject.

“A good roast and a medical journal does wonders, but I didn’t bring one so I suppose you’ll have to entertain me.” Her eyes light up. A server arrives with your coffees. Her eyes widen with joy as she sees the obscene amount of chocolate syrup and marshmallows, with a vanilla flower and roll of cinnamon. “This is sooo pretty!”, she squeals ridiculously as she takes a picture. You won’t tell her you’ve seen her countless times order something with chocolate, the vanilla and cinnamon she would like because that was the scent of her body wash. She takes a sip, sighing with pleasure, “Delicious chocolatey goodness.”

“That’s not a word.”

“I don’t care.”, she says.

Suddenly her eyes widen. “How did you know that I liked chocolate?...”, she asks surprised.

“I observe, Rookie.”

“So you study me. Am I that interesting?”, she asks, smiling.

You scoff, “I observe everyone. As should you. In fact, that’s why I enjoy coming here. The clientele are quite intriguing.”

“Nah, I like to curl up on the couch, covered in a fuzzy blanket with a good romance novel and a nice mug of hot chocolate.” You wouldn’t expect anything else.

“The art of observation is important for a diagnostian.”

“Okay then, what else do you observe?”

“You see that woman there, with the cup of gelato?” She nods. “She’s waiting for someone.”

“How do you know?”, she asks.

“Look at her. She keeps on checking her phone and is taking very minute bites of her gelato.” Just then, a young man enters and walks up to the woman, kissing them on the cheek and sitting down.

“Very well, let me try.” She looks around and spots a young woman entering the cafe, hair in a breezy mess. Arielle’s lips form into a devilish smirk.

“There! That woman just got laid.” You blink in astonishment.

“She had sex. Look at her hair.”

“I’ve seen your hair looking like that at the end of your shift.”, you counter.

She giggles. You find it ridiculously cute. “Well I certainly wouldn’t wear a dress that scandalous to work,” She points to the tight sparkly minidress peeking underneath from her trench coat.

“Okay, you win that one.”

“Now... what else have you ‘observed’ about me?” You think about what to say.

“You’ve worked very hard to get where you are now. You’re somebody who is selfless and caring and always make sure your friends are always happy. If people you love or respect say anything about you, you take it to heart. Others, you don’t give a damn. You would go to any extent to help the people you love.You have an unconfronted past, but you’re looking to change that.” Her mouth falls open into a perfect circle. “Am I right?”

“You are.”, she replies.

“Now do me.” She coughs.

“You’re someone has faced many obstacles to get to where you are in life. The people you truly respect can be counted on one hand. You don’t give a damn about what other people think or say about you, nor let it affect you. You don’t bring your walls down for anybody. Right now, you’re lost.” How did she manage to...

“Lost? Whatever could you mean by that?”, you ask.

“You’re trapped in some kind of problem, not knowing what to do or where to go.”, she says.

You fake scoff, “You’re half right. In diagnostics, that means nothing.” Your gut churns as you flat-out lie to her. Your pager beeps.

“I have to go.”

“I think I’ll stay here for a few minutes. Thank you for the coffee, Dr. Ramsey.”, she gently smiles.

“You’re most welcome, Dr. Valentine.”

Arielle’s PoV:-

You decide to post the picture of the mouthwatering coffee. Sipping the rest of your now new favourite coffee, you caption it ‘Delicious Chocolatey Goodness!”, ignoring what Dr. Ramsey said about it not being a real word.

You reply to a few of the comments and head back to the hospital when your pager beeps. Heading towards the nurses’ station, you see Danny.

“Hey Danny, are the tests I ordered for Remy back?”

“Yeah. Here you go.” He hands me the file, going through it as you head to Remy’s room, you collide headfirst with a rock hard chest. You look up to see Rafael.

“I’m so sorry, Raf.”

“It’s okay, Arielle. What you got there?”

“I saw some markers for a genetic disorder, so I ordered a test. But it looks good so fa”- The words die on your lips, your face falling downcast as you read the last page.

He notices your face. “What’s wrong?”

“The test I ordered came clear, but there are some other markers that clearly point to another disease, he won’t be able to walk by the time he’s fifty. Surfing’s his whole life.” You look to him for help.

“I can’t make the decision for you Arielle. But sometimes telling the truth does more damage. Just keep in mind that no decision is wrong or right. It’s different in everyone’s eyes. I’ll wait for you here.”, he gestures to the door.

Taking a deep breath, you enter the room to find Remy strumming on his guitar. “What up doc, am I cleared to go?” You steel yourself.

“Remy, the tests came back. I’m afraid you have genetic markers for distal muscular distrophy.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that you won’t be able to use your hands or legs at the age of fifty. The disease is quite a late onset, it starts by atrophying the muscles of the hands and legs. It only starts at the age of around 40. I’m so sorry, Remy.”

His face morphs into fury. “I didn’t even want you to do the stupid genetic test! Is this what you wanted, to ruin my life?!” He throws the guitar at you, you dodge just in time and exit. You look back and see him sobbing on the bed. Rafael comes over and engulfs you in a bear hug.

“Hey, it’s ok.” You nod and bury yourself into his chest for a few minutes. “Hey, what if I take you out for dinner?” You look at him.

“Hey, not as a date! Think of it as a friend trying to cheer you up with the best comfort food in town.” You laugh.

“Okay. I have to change though. We’ll drive back to my apartment, where I’ll drop my car and change, and then you can attempt to cheer me up.”

You drive back with him to your empty apartment. “So... where is everyone?”

“Jackie and Landry have night shifts, and Elijah and Sienna want to keep an eye on their post-op patient overnight. So it’s just me.”

“Come on, I’ll show you around.” You give him a little tour of the place, giving him a glass of lemonade to drink.

“ I bet this is your room.” He points to the master bedroom, decorated with a trio of blush, pearl and gold hues all over the room.

“It is.”, you laugh. He looks at all the pictures on the walls.

“Anyone who’s met you can guess this is your room. It’s filled with positive and meaningful quotes all over the walls.” You giggle.

“Now get dressed quickly, I’ll wait.”, he exits the room. You close the door and decide on a pair of comfy leggings with a flowy cold shoulder baby blue top. You grab a small crossbody purse and a nice jacket. Deciding to skip makeup, you quickly twist both sides of your hair and clip it back, giving an illusion of a half up, and head out.

“See...you look pretty. Now, let’s go. I’m hungry.” You walk with Raf, him guiding you on a busy street.

“So...where are we going?”

“You’ll see.” He leads you down the street and suddenly turns your body to the right.

You see a beautiful little street lit up with lantern and fairy lights, outdoor tables set up for little shops and food carts along the way. “Wow! I wasn’t expecting a street market. It’s beautiful Raf.”

“Now, what are you craving?” You inhale the smell wafting in the air and deduce spices, particularly the ones Naveen would use when he made your favourite dinner.

“Indian.”

“Nice choice, follow me.” He leads you to a food truck and ushers you into a seat while he orders something. A few minutes later, he comes with two bowls filled with steaming jasmine rice and aromatic curry.

“You take a bowl from him and smell the delicious, mouthwatering scent. “Mm! That smells delicious.” Almost like the one Naveen makes, you think.

“Wait here.”, he goes back to the truck and gets drinks and spoons.

“Dig in!”, he says handing you the drink and spoon. You take a small bite and let the flavour dissolve on your tongue. You moan.

“It’s good, isn’t it.” You nod instead of replying, your mouth full of rice. He laughs. “Okay okay! I won’t disturb you. Eat in peace.” You both finish off your dinner in peaceful silence, taking solace of the beautiful view of the fairy lights against the night sky. Washing off your dinner with a special lemonade you say, “That was the best meal I’ve had in a long time. Thank you Raf.”

“Of course, Arielle. You’re my friend, don’t forget that.” He puts a hand around your shoulder and you head back to your apartment, talking about your favourite Indian dishes. You don’t even notice you arrive at your apartment cause you’re so tired. The only reason you were able to walk all this way was Raf helping you.

“We’re here.” You look up and blink.

“Oh, I’m so tired. Goodnight Rafael.” He gives you one last hug saying, “Goodnight, Arielle. Promise me you won’t beat yourself up about the decision you made.”

“I won’t.” You ride the elevator to the top floor and stumble into your apartment, locking the door. You fall asleep the minute you hit the bed. Waking up to the sound of loud intro music, you rub your eyes and head out to the living room. “Oh shit! I completely forgot tonight was movie night.”

“It’s okay Ari. Join us.” You see Elijah, Si, and Landry on the couch with popcorn and a few other snacks. “Where’s Jackie?” Landry points to her closed bedroom door. You knock on her door.

“Jackie? You in there?” You open the door to find medical textbooks scattered all over her bed. She looks up.

“Hey. Tonight’s movie night. Aren’t you coming?”

“No. I have to study.” You think about the various times in college you’ve put off meetings with friends to study.

“Good call.”

“I know. Close the door.” You slowly close the door, as sadness creeps up on you.

General PoV:-

Arielle slumps on the sofa between Elijah and Sienna. “So did anyone find out anything about Patient X?”, Elijah asks.

“No! I asked a bunch of residents and nurses, they thought I was joking.”, Landry says.

“I asked Danny, he didn’t know anything.”, Si says.

“So you asked Danny, huh?” Arielle gives her a knowing look as a slight blush creeps up on her face.

“They’re right. I checked all the patients’ records and there no ‘Patient X’ in the hospital.”, Elijah says.

“Okay, enough! Let’s start movie night!”, Sienna exclaims. All four of them bicker over what movie to watch and end up binge-watching Grey’s Anatomy. Arielle falls asleep again on the 3rd or 4th episode. A couple of hours later... Arielle wakes up to bright sunlight shining on her face. “Hmm....” She rolls of the sofa and onto the plush rug with a thud. After laying there for a few minutes, she gets up stretching her sore limbs and heads towards her room to get ready for the day. If only she knew nothing would have prepared her for what she was about to witness.

Arielle’s PoV:-

The first thing you do is check on Remy. You tentatively head towards to Remy’s room when he sees you and gestures for you to come in. “Hey Remy... how are you doing?”, you wince waiting for the reply.

“First of all doc, I want to apologise.” You look up in confusion.

“You’re a doctor and it isn’t your fault that this happened to me, it’s kinda your job to tell me.”

“I know Remy, but still...”

“I’m so sorry for lashing out at you, hell I acted like an ass.”

“I think I can excuse you for just this once.”, a smile blooms on your face. “But what made you change your mind?”

“If you hadn’t told me, I would have probably wasted a lot of time fooling around and doing idiotic things. Now that I know, I can make sure that I enjoy life and spend my time wisely. A lot of people don’t even know that they’re going to get sick, but I do. I should be grateful.” You smile saying, “That’s a poetic way of looking at life.”

“And... I wanted to thank you but didn’t know how. But luckily I came across something.” He pulls up his phone and shows a picture of you, a few years ago, strumming and singing with a guitar. He then pulls out his guitar and hands it to me. “Your voice is beautiful and way better then mine. This is way more useful for you.”

“Remy... I can’t possibly take this.”

“Well you have to. Think of it as a small price for the 20 years of life you gave me.” You accept the guitar and hand him his signed discharge papers. “Now go live your life.” You head towards the 4th floor for rounds, stopping at the locker room to safekeep the guitar that he gave you with a smile on his face.

Later you’re heading towards your next patient right before lunch when a gut feeling stops you in your tracks. “Wait, I followed Dr. Ramsey here yesterday... and the week before that too.” You remember what Elijah said, “They’re right. I checked all the patients’ records and there no ‘Patient X’ in the hospital.”

Following your gut, you enter the new wing under construction, stepping over the barricades. You go quite far into the corridor and peer into the halls but find nothing. You start to doubt yourself, “I might just be grasping at air here.” You decide to go a little further and notice a glow emitting from one of the newly constructed patient rooms. You peer into one the room to see someone lying in the patient’s bed, but you can’t see clearly who it is. You look beside the bed to see Dr. Ramsey, head in his hands. Taking a few steps closer, you make out the face lying in the bed. Naveen! Your heart stops. “No, no, no, no, no. There’s no way.” You try to deny it, but all of it makes sense. Why else would he quit his job. He can’t be sick, can he?”

“Before you can understand what’s going on, Naveen locks eyes with you. His eyes widen, his face morphing into utter shock. You’re frozen in place. You can see the pain in his eyes, the pain you caused. Your hearts beats way too fast. Your head is spinning. You don’t know what’s going on. It’s hard to breathe, hard to focus. So hard that you don’t even notice Dr. Ramsey looking at you. You don’t hear him shout, “Rookie!”. All you hear is the words you last said to your godfather, the ones that broke your inseparable bond and the ones that broke his heart.

Everything goes black.

[tabloidtoc]

In Touch, April 12

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Reese Witherspoon divorce shocker

Page 1: Contents

Page 2: Who Wore It Better? Heidi Klum vs. Maren Morris in Dundas, Scarlett Johansson vs. Ingrid Andress in Tom Ford, Kate Upton vs. Zoey Deutch in Old Navy

Page 4: Kylie Jenner bought all of this instead of helping a friend -- Kylie gave $5000 to a GoFundMe to help pay a portion of the medical bills for Samuel Rauda, a makeup artist friend-of-a-friend who'd been in a serious accident, but when Kylie urged her fans to donate as well, she was slammed for not covering all his expenses. Here are the investments that were worth her hard-earned bucks

Page 5: Man Candy of the Week -- Jason Derulo leaving an L.A. gym after a two-hour sweat session, Number of the Week -- 1 million viewers Ellen DeGeneres has lost from her talk show following allegations of a toxic workplace, Clapback of the Week -- Priyanka Chopra to a critic who suggested she wasn't qualified to announce the Oscar nominations, TMI of the Week -- Orlando Bloom who replied Not Enough when asked how often he and Katy Perry have sex adding we just had a baby though, Makeover of the Week -- Leah McSweeney goes from blonde to red

Page 6: Crib of the Week -- Rihanna's Beverly Hills stunner, Winner of the Week -- Prince Harry who on top of his Netflix and Spotify deals scored a new job as an executive at a San Francisco-based tech startup, Loser of the Week -- Dr. Oz as former Jeopardy! contestants and fans call for his removal accusing the celebrity doc of dispensing dubious health advice over the years

Page 8: Up Close -- Julianne Hough introducing her new Fresh Vine wine line with Nina Dobrev

Page 9: Nick Jonas holding a Blake Shelton bobblehead on The Voice, Heidi Klum's husband Tom Kaulitz gets cheeky at a backyard barbecue

Page 10: Britney Spears' boyfriend Sam Asghari shows off his pecs while heading to the gym in L.A., a new photo of Kristen Stewart as the late Princess Diana in the upcoming movie Spencer

Page 12: Bethenny Frankel wipes out in the waves in Miami, Neil Patrick Harris snorkeling, Paul McCartney soaks up the rays in St. Barts

Page 13: Rose McGowan at the beach in Tulum, Mexico

Page 14: Demi Moore with two puppies on #NationalPuppyDay, Selena Gomez shares a throwback photo of her and Taylor Swift and her cat Benjamin Button

Page 16: Duchess Kate Middleton and Prince William return to their wedding venue Westminster Abbey for an official engagement a few weeks before their 10th anniversary

Page 18: Madonna serving her signature look at age 62, Justin Bieber gets a neck tattoo referencing his latest single Peaches

Page 20: Sharon Stone has had a lot of health problems, she writes about in her new memoir

Page 21: Gwyneth Paltrow is desperate to get Meghan Markle to collaborate with her on future content for Gwyneth's wellness and lifestyle company Goop -- she know Meghan once had a similar site called The Tig, pre-Harry, and she'd bring so much exposure to Goop -- of course Gwyneth also thinks it'd be cool to say she's friends with Meghan as Gwyneth is very focused on status and loves the royal family and they're neighbors in Montecito, so she's been going out of her way to ingratiate herself into Meghan and Harry's life -- Gwyneth even sent Meghan a box of products from Goop's website

* Alex Rodriguez and Barbara Corcoran: Worst Landlords Ever? -- critics sure think so after a building in which the stars are part-owners threw out a COVID-19 victim's belongings while he was in the hospital -- Ryo Nagaoka was admitted to Bellevue in January and returned to his East Village home in late March to find it virtually empty and the locks changed but the building's managers who control the daily operations were just protecting the other residents as Nagaoka's condition had deteriorated some much, they felt his apartment was a health hazard -- Alex hasn't commented on the incident, but Barbara says the management company, with Mr. Nagaoka's permission, has fully renovated his apartment and everyone is the building is beyond thrilled to discover he had returned

* Star Sightings -- Nina Agdal, Brooklyn Decker, Chrishell Stause

Page 22: Cover Story -- Reese Witherspoon and Jim Toth hanging by a thread -- tears, threats and a costly mistake: why Reese and Jim are at the breaking point -- in many ways, they're leading separate lives

Page 26: Bindi Irwin's baby joy -- introducing Grace Warrior Irwin Powell

Page 28: After eight year of hell, Bethenny Frankel is finally divorced from Jason Hoppy, and she's ready to wed again to Paul Bernon

Page 30: Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla's anniversary from hell -- Charles' marriage with Camilla is cracking under pressure -- the last few weeks have been an absolute nightmare for the couple

Page 34: The Big Interview -- Sherri Shepherd

Page 36: Beauty -- Spring's fragrance fix -- Kaia Gerber

Page 40: Animal Overload

Page 46: Horoscope -- Aries Mandy Moore turned 37 on April 10

Page 48: Last Laughs

[imaconstantmess]

Until. Part 2/?

Part 2, criticism still needed and welcome, wanted to say thank you to everyone who reblogged/ noted because you gave me the confidence boost to write a part 2 ❤️

Is this too long? Please let me know 

part 1 here

Steve x gender neutral! Reader

Steve’s mind has been occupied for the past few weeks, and it’s got something to do with the recruit he’s been assigned to train.

Warnings: swearing

The ride home on the back of Steve’s bike was loud. You could feel the wind nipping at your skin and the engine roaring underneath you, and it was brilliant. You smiled wide as the blur of New York lights went past you, and almost felt like letting out a ridiculously loud laugh until you remembered who you were riding with. You thought it best not to embarrass yourself infront of your captain. As Steve got closer to his home, the sound of traffic grew quieter. The city never does really sleep.

He pulled up behind a large, fairly average looking apartment building and started to turn the keys to his bike. You let go of his waist and hopped off the bike before it got awkward, and started to fiddle with the strap of your- his- helmet. Steve looked at you with a slight smirk while he watched you struggle. He was about to do it for you when you found the little side clip preventing you from taking it off. You let out a little victory sound as Steve raised an eyebrow at you.

“What? It’s not like it was obvious” you smiled at him. The bike ride made you feel better than you should have felt, considering what had happened, however you found it hard to be upset in the prolonged presence of the dear old captain.

“Hey, I didn’t say anything.” He laughed with mock offence. You two made small talk while walking to the elavator, Steve letting you in first. He pressed the button and stood back, turning to you. “You can stay with me for as long as you need, you know. I wasn’t fond of Starks curfews either”

“Thank you, Steve. Really, you’ve got no idea how much I appreciate you doing this for me.” You sent him a warm, but tired smile which he returned. The lack of sleep was brought back to your attention with the yawn you had to stifle. You both got out of the elevator, and let Steve lead you to his apartment. You were both being quiet, considering your neighbours, as as you entered the apartment you took in how nice it was. It was modern, but still homey. Part of you expected it to be at least a little out-dated, but we’re pleasantly surprised.

“Nice place you got. Was almost expecting it to look like my grandmas living room” you joked. Steve cracked a smile and tried not to laugh. He loved it when you made backhanded compliments like that, it helped him find humour and a bit of normality in his strange situation. It also kept him sharp.

“If the pottery she keeps sending you is any indication, that woman’s got style” he hung his jacket up and motioned for you to do the same.

“She takes commissions you know. I’ll tell her to give you the friends and family discount” you sent him a mischievous smile as you both walked towards his kitchen. The warm neutral tones his lamps created made you feel sleepy, but for some reason you wanted to be awake.

“I’ll keep that in mind if I need a fruit bowl. Or a key bowl. Or a-“

“OK I get it, my grandma likes making me things.” You finished with a laugh. Steve smiled too, and you saw his eyes crinkle. But those crinkled eyes looked tired, which reminded you why you were here. You pulled out your phone from your back pocket to glance at the time. 3:47am. You hadn’t even realised.

Steve noticed something different when you pulled out your phone. He’d noticed the texts Tyler had sent you, and a few missed calls. He didn’t see what he wrote, he just saw the heart emoji still next to his name. He’d seen it pop up while you were training before. It also reminded him why you were here and not getting the rest you deserve. With that thought, he turned to go towards his room, leaving you a little bit confused on what to do.

“Wait here a sec, I’ll get you something to sleep in. There’s a washer- dryer- combo thing that stark gave me in the utility room “ he scrunched his eyebrows a little when trying to explain it “you can wash your clothes for in the morning” as he left, you took more time to admire the apartment. Warm tones and wooden furniture, with navy blue accents here and there. It was very... Steve. You couldn’t see any pictures on the walls, but the apartment felt lived in. There were a few books placed neatly here and there, and you smiled when you saw the record player in the corner. And then at the other side of the room, a stereo, which screamed ‘STARK’. Behind the stereo you saw lots of CDs, and wondered what kind of modern music Steve was into. You were friends enough to know that Bucky was Steve’s best friend, and friends enough to know that Steve trusted you with the embarrassing tales of his childhood and early 20s that you couldn’t find in the history books. He sometimes talked of his mother, Sarah when he was in a good mood, saying he wished she could see the world today. You told him about your current life, about what shows you were obsessed with, about times when you were not the witty shield agent he usually saw, but just a regular dumbass going about their day to day life. He’d scolded you for calling yourself that, but after tripping over your shoes and going nose first into your door that morning, you begged to differ. It’s not like you hid your past from him, but the subject never really came up. It was a pretty normal childhood in your opinion, although you rarely saw your dad as he worked abroad a lot. Your mother was a stressful person, but she could also be the most understanding mother in the world. You went to a normal school and had normal friends, and there wasn’t really much else too it. But for some reason, the idea of bringing justice to the world had stuck with you since you were a kid. Funnily enough, you’d wanted to be a superhero. You never thought you’d end up actually working with one.

“I don’t really have anything smaller, but I think these should fit?” He handed you a pair of grey gym shorts and a light grey t-shirt. They were too big for you, but with the mans super soldier size it was understandable.

“I’m just surprised you own a pair of shorts” Steve rolled his eyes “it’s like you live for joggers and jeans”

“I mean if you don’t want them-“

“No no, these are fine. Thank you.” Steve smiled, he knew he’d won. Your relationship with him was built on free flowing jokes, sarcasm rooted deeply within you both. Steve was usually just a bit more reserved, keeping his comments to himself. He felt comfortable enough not hold back infront of you.

“Good news though” Steve said with an easy grin.

“And what would that be?” You really hoped he wasn’t being sarcastic.

“I’m giving you- well us- the day off tomorrow. There’s no way in hell I’m training recruits when I’m this tired.” He ran a hand through his hair and rested his hand on his neck as he let out a small sigh.

“Does somebody get cranky?” You laughed at him while he rolled his eyes. “Because honestly, I’d be cranky too. Hope you don’t mind, but I’m not setting an alarm”

“Trust me, I’m not either. Been dying to get a decent nights rest for a while now. Your rooms just down the hall, want a cup of coffee or anything?” You couldn’t read the look on his face, putting it down to you just being tired after over 24 hours of being awake. Steve was hoping you’d stay up for a while longer. He knew it was selfish, but talking to you, with no distractions or interruptions was addictive. He’d been savouring every moment he could get with you, never crossing the platonic line you had created. He wouldn’t make a move on you, but by god did he wish he could. At first glance, he knew you were attractive. Not just in your looks, but the way you held yourself and the personality that seemed to shine through when you spoke. You were reserved, yet confident in whatever short sentences you had to say. And that was just the beginning. The reason Steve had been losing sleep was because of you. He’d be worried when you came to training irritated or angry, but not unloading your problems or talking to anyone- to him - about them. He kept himself up at night, debating whether or not his feelings had begun to border romantic or of it was just a crush that would go away. He never dared think of you in a sexual way, feeling as if it was a boundary, that if crossed would change his behaviour towards you. Change his behaviour enough to push you away, when all he wanted to do was hold you tight and tell you everything was going to be alright. But it wasn’t his place. Before, that was Tyler’s job. He was the one who was supposed to comfort you, because he was the one you chose to give your world to. And he took it and he threw it away, and he hurt you. And Steve was willing to bet he hurt you more than you’d let on and he was angry. You didn’t deserve heartache at all, and seeing you with tears in your eyes, in such a vulnerable place made his heart hurt too. Before he could think about it any longer, you spoke.

“Nah I’m alright. I think I’d better head to bed. Not everyone has super-soldier-stamina like you” you held the clothes Steve had given you a little closer to your chest. He gave you an understanding smile, and gestured you to go down the hall.

“There should be a couple of spare toothbrushes in the cabinet. Take your pick.” Steve stepped back a little as he gestured, not realising how close you were. You made your way to walk past him, peeking down the hall.

“Goodnight Steve” you placed your hand on his arm “and thank you. For- well for everything” Steve’s heart swelled at the contact.

“You’re welcome y/n. Go get a good nights rest. I’ll be here in the morning.” With one last smile you made your way to the room at the end of the hall, while Steve entered his own. The room had a standard double in the middle, a set of drawers and 2 night stands on either side of the bed. You found the lamp that was on the drawers, and as you turned it on you could see the room clearly. The walls were white, but the carpet was a nice, dark grey. The curtains that outlined the window looked more for decoration, a simple line pattern going across brought a little colour into the room with different shades of blue. There was a grey black out blind, which you were grateful for, and not much else. The furniture was wooden. Painted white. The lamps and the bedding were a simple blue, which matched the curtains well. You could tell it was a guest bedroom. It wasn’t lived in at all. To your left you saw a door, which you assumed would be the en suite. As you thought of a shower, you remembered how gross you must look and decided the first thing you were going to do was shower. The bathroom was nice, but small. It had a decent mirror, and as you looked at it you wondered if Steve noticed the bit of ketchup on your face from earlier. You found a toothbrush in the cabinet, and what looked to be toothpaste. You set them aside as you turned the water on. As you got in the hot shower, your muscles relaxed and you were left alone with your thoughts. Which, as you would find out, was a bad idea. You thought of Tyler, and the life you had made together just suddenly gone. You remembered how you’d both laughed and cried at the same movies, and how many times you’d had dinner with your mother. All of it just... gone. A flood of emotions went through you as your face felt hot and your eyed stung.

“Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry...”you whispered as you felt the tears escape “...fuck” you were in the shower a few minutes longer than you would have been, having cried out all the pent up emotion. You got out and dried your hair with a towel, and changed into Steve’s clothes. You felt a strange sense of calm, when you put them on. The smell of Steve was usually clean, like fresh linen, and something just distinctly... him. You crawled into bed after turning the light off, and let sleep consume you.

——————————————————-

When you woke up, you felt a whole lot lighter. You checked your phone, which was on 17%, and the time read 10:30. You didn’t sleep for as long as you would have liked, but your stomach rumbled and compelled you to get up and have breakfast. You washed your face with cold water to wake you up a little and headed towards the kitchen.

——————————————————

It was 7 am when Sam and Bucky met up for their usual daily run. The sun was starting to come out and they were ready to go, except they were missing someone.

“You heard from Steve? He’s usually on my ass about being late” sam said as he was doing a little stretching before the run.

“Was about to ask you the same thing. He did leave late last night after your trainee decided to try play a power move. Could hear Fury giving the speech to the trainees about how you must ‘treat each mentor how you would treat your own’” Bucky replied, doing a half-assed impression of the Director. Sam let out a chuckle.

“Old mans probably catching up on his beauty sleep. I’ll go over after we’re done. Coming with?” Sam finished his stretching and limbered up a little.

“Sure thing.” Bucky was a little concerned about Steve. Usually he’d call or text if he couldn’t come on a run, but he had been tired lately.

They both settled in to a comfortable pace, Bucky going slower than usual to keep Sam company. It was around 9:45 when they’d finished. Sam was sweaty, but used a towel to dry off and after some deodorant, put on a new shirt.

“You always keep a change of clothes in your car?” Bucky asked, only half sarcastic.

“With the situations y’all put me in, it’s nice to be prepared” Sam’s tone was light, showing that he was joking. Bucky was getting used to the dry humour Sam had, and although he’d never admit it he usually found him quite funny.

They got in the car and after about 5 minutes of having a drink and catching their breath, they started making their way to Steves apartment.

———————————————-

Steve had woken up just before 10. He had a quick shower before exiting his room, now in some comfy jeans and a T-shirt he found in his wardrobe. He wasn’t really planning on going anywhere today, but he was going to ask what you wanted to do. He was about to look in the fridge before he heard a knocking at his door. He went to answer it, as it was getting louder and louder by the minute. He already knew who it was. He opened the door with a blank expression as Bucky and Sam strolled into the apartment.

“Where were you man? Didn’t feel like leaving me in the dust today?” Sam asked as he looked in the fridge, frowning once he saw it was empty. “You got anything to eat? I’m starving.” And as if on cue his stomach rumbles.

“Please say you do, he’s been complaining all the way here” Bucky added with a smirk. Sam was about to retort when Steve spoke.

“Could you guys keep it down a little?” And from the looks on their faces he knew he just said the wrong thing.

Sam spoke up first, putting 2 + 2 together.

“Why? Who else is here?” He said much quieter, but Steve heard it. He knew he wasn’t going to hear the end of this.

“Wait, you actually brought someone over?” Bucky couldn’t believe it. Steve finally had the guts to pick up a date. The faint sound of water running confirmed their theories.

“Are they hot?” Sam asked with anticipation on his face.

“Are they nice?” Bucky asked, a bit more protective of his friend. Steve had little luck/ experience in the dating department and he didn’t want his friend hurt. Before Steve could answer, the door to the spare room opened. They heard footsteps coming down the hall and waited for who it could possibly be.

—————————————————

You stepped out of the hall into the kitchen, phone in your pocket as you were debating to go knock on Steve’s bedroom door. You jumped as you saw 3 men in the kitchen, but calming down when you recognised the familiar faces.

“Morning” you greeted them with a tired smile. Bucky and Sam just stared at you. “What’s up?” You asked with caution. They didn’t seem to blink.

“...is this what it looks like?” Sam asked, gesturing to your attire. Tired from just waking up, you didn’t get the meaning behind his words.

“Is what what it looks like?” You asked as you his a yawn.

“Did you two...?” Bucky made a more obvious gesture between you and Steve. You glanced down, momentarily forgetting what you were wearing. You supposed it did look a bit suspicious.

“Oh! Uh, no. We didn’t- we didn’t do anything like that.” You had blushed a little, the situation being a little more than embarrassing. Steve spoke up then, saving you from the questions that were bound to be fired at you.

“Y/n needed a place to stay last night. It was a little last minute, so I let y/n borrow some clothes” Steve didn’t want to tell them what happened, he didn’t feel as if it was his place. Bucky saw the worried look on Steves face and decided to speak.

“What happened?” He asked softly “how come you didn’t go home?” You and Bucky were friends. You weren’t as close to him as you were to Steve, but you two talked often enough around the compound to consider each other friends.

Steve looked at you then, worried about of you actually wanted to tell them. You caught his look and gave him a small smile that seemed to say ‘it’s ok’.

“Well, long story short, I did go home, but me and Tyler had a bad fight. I couldn’t stay there, and Steve found me and offered me a place to sleep.” Bucky looked a lot more understanding to the situation while Sam looked angry.

“What an asshole.” Sam muttered under his breath. You let out a little laugh at that and it lightened the mood.

“You and him still together?” Bucky asked, still speaking softly. He met Tyler once, you two passed him on the street and you stopped to say hi. Tyler didn’t look interested in what you were saying at all, and Bucky had caught him staring at a woman walking past. He didn’t say anything to you then, not wanting to cause an argument when you looked happy. He’d told Steve of course, and Steve nearly knocked another punching bag off it’s hook.

“No, we aren’t. And Im not planning on being with him again. Ever.” You said with a bit of anger in your voice. You figured it wouldn’t hurt to tell them what caused you to leave. “He tried to get physical. Threw something at my head. Not putting up with that bullshit... so I wandered around for a while and found Steve. That’s it.” You looked directly at Sam as you finished your little speech, feeling as if he would have something to add. He kept quiet at your look. Everyone seemed to almost look down, unsure what to say. You decided to lighten the mood. “Is there anything for breakfast? I’m starving.”

“No, there isn’t, because SOMEBODY doesn’t want to keep his fridge full.” Sam gave a pointed look at Steve, and Steve seemed a little offended.

“I’ve been busy! And you two eat most of the food I buy.” Bringing Bucky back into the conversation. Sam and Steve carried on with the friendly banter and you were laughing at them along with Bucky.

“You’re both like an old married couple” you said to them both, which made Steve shut up and Sam act mock offended.

“Old? You’re calling me OLD? I have never in my LIFE been more insulted. I thought we were friends y/n” you couldn’t keep a straight face as you both burst in to laughter. Steve was happy. You were here, you were laughing with his friends. He could get used to it.

“How about we go out for breakfast? It’s not even 11 yet” Bucky suggested , looking at his watch. Steve remembered your attire, and thought it’s probably best you didn’t go out like that- you’d be uncomfortable being in a busy place in your pjs. Before he could step in for you, you answered.

“As much as I’d love that, I don’t have any clothes. I forgot to wash mine yester- well, this morning “ Sam had a thoughtful look on his face.

“Do you have the key to your apartment?”

“Yeah, why?” You didn’t know where this was going.

“I can go pick up some stuff if you’d like.” Sam asked you, and Steve cursed himself for not offering to do that sooner.

“I’ll go too. Help carry some things” Bucky was being a gentleman, but he was really going to make sure none of your things had been broken. People do weird things when they’re angry. And also, to stop Sam from ‘throwing hands’ as the spider boy called it. It would give you and Steve some time to talk at least.

“Really? You two are life savers.” You looked at everyone.”I’ll go find my keys” you turned around and headed for your room. You came back, gave them the keys and they were off. You turned to Steve with a smile, he’d been quiet.

“You ok? If you’re still tired you should get some rest” your brows creased a little bit in concern. You didn’t know if he got much sleep.

“I’m fine n/n, I’m more worried about how YOU’RE doing” he mirrored your concerned stance. He’d never called you n/n before, it was nice. You told him that you were fine, that you were better than you thought you’d be. He listened to your every word, making you feel as if what you had to say was actually important. It was nice having someone listen to your problems for a change. Sam and Bucky called, they didn’t actually know where your apartment was. They FaceTimed using Steve’s phone, pointing out which things were yours. You and Steve were on the couch at this point, sat quite close so you both could be on camera. Neither of you mentioned it, but you weren’t complaining. After getting some things like your laptop, phone charger, a rucksack full of clothes and your safe box from under the bed (you kept your gun and money in it, easier to grab in difficult situations. Every trainee had one) they were on their way back. Bucky accidentally turned the camera around, and was walking around with it pointed to the floor. As he stepped around the broken pottery from last night, Steve saw how many broken pieces there were. He knew it was thrown hard.

“Bucky, we can’t see you” you said to him. Bucky pointed the phone at his face but the camera was still turned around. There was a hole in the wall, and it looked big. Steve almost went white, that could have been your skull. He kept quiet as Bucky turned the camera around.

“We’ve got most of your stuff, but I think you might have to come find the rest” he said as he gave a quick glance round.

“Yeah that’s fine. Don’t forget to lock up, see you two later”

“Later”

Bucky ended the call and left you and Steve alone on the couch. He looked at you and asked if you were alright. His arm was along the top of the sofa, behind your back. You leaned back into his arm and let out a sigh. This was the most intimate position you two had ever been in outside of training, but it felt natural. Nice, even. You told him how you would be a lot better after you had food, and laughed it off.

You’d never had support like this before. You’d never had friends who were willing to take you in without even being asked, to drop everything. That was until you met the avengers. Until you met him.

Until you met Steve Rogers.

———————————————————-

A/n: am I making these too long? Or rambling? Idk I’ve never written before so sorry if it’s not great 🥺

[talia-rumlow]

Alvey´s Game (Alvey Kulina X Reader One-Shot)

WORDCOUNT: 1611

TRIGGERS: Mutual Non-Con, Sexual Description, Strong Language, Rough Treatment

You sit down in the chair Lisa gestures for you to sit down in. You usually deal with Alvey, when it comes to these kind of things. These being in the boss' office things. But, since Lisa owns this gym WITH Alvey. You can probably deal with her too. After all, she does pay your salary.

- Like it here?

Lisa asks. Isn't it kinda obvious that you do? The pay isn't THAT good. You could probably get a job that payed twice as much.

- Yeah. People are really nice here!

You answer. And you mean that. You do enjoy working here.

- Anyone in particular?

Lisa continues.

- No, not really. Everyone is nice..

You say again. Lisa folds her arms over her chest.

- Look, we both know that you're screwing Alvey, so I'm just gonna skip the chit-chat!

She says, getting to her feet, and leans her arms on the desk.

- Two words….

She continues. You look at her.

- You're fired!

Your heart jumps. She knows? Lisa actually knows? How? Did Alvey tell her?

- I'm not..

You try.

- Yeah? So he didn't fuck you on this couch?

Lisa says, throwing some papers at the couch.

- He didn't fuck you on this desk?

Lisa says again, hitting the desk with both her fists. You slowly get up from the chair, and walk over to the door. When you reach the door, and walk out into the gym, Lisa follows you. Pushes you.

- You little whore!

She says, pushing you again.

- You fucking slut!

You try all you can to keep your cool. But people are looking, and you really want to leave.

- Get out of my gym! Get out of my gym! Get out of my gym!

Lisa repeats over and over again, pushing you for each sentence.

You snap. Pushing back.

- Hey, hey, HEY

Alvey yells, as he gets between you. Stretch out his arms to keep you apart.

- What the fuck is going on here?

He says, looking from Lisa to you, and then back to Lisa.

- I fired your little slut!

Lisa says, pushing Alveys arm away from her.

- You fired, YN? Why?

Alvey asks. Still looking at Lisa. Lisa looks back for a second or two.

- Oh, fuck off, Alvey!

She says, then she leaves.

Alvey turns to you.

- What is going on here, YN?

Alvey looks at you. You shrug.

- She fired me, Alvey! There's really not much more to say.

You say, turning to leave. Alvey grabs your wrist. You yank it back. Not turning around.

- Go to hell, Alvey!

You say, before you leave the Navy St. Gym for the last time.

Three weeks later you sit at a local bar having a beer. You were right, back there in the gym that day. You did get a new job. And the pay is way, way better.

- Is this seat taken?

A voice behind you, and you can feel someone sitting down on the stool next to you. You turn around. Alvey fucking Kulina.

- Piss off Alvey!

You say, getting up to leave. He grabs your wrist, and this time, you don't manage to yank it back.

- Sit the fuck down!

He says, looking at you.

- Oh for fucks sake, Alvey. What the fuck do you want?

You say, angry, before turning away from him again.

- I want you back!

Alvey says, leaning in a bit closer. You turn around.

- Forget it, Alvey! I'm NOT coming back to Navy Street!

You say, trying to get back up. He still holds your wrist. Again he leans in a bit closer. You can feel his breath on your neck now.

- Forget about the fucking gym, YN! I ment ME! I want you back!

He says, breathing into your neck. You turn around. His face is dangerously close to yours.

- Leave me the fuck alone, Alvey!

You say, yanking your arm back, and leave the bar.

Halfway to your apartment complex, you can't take it anymore. So you turn around.

- What part of "leave me the fuck alone" don't you understand, Alvey? I'm done! Done with Navy Street, done with Lisa, done with YOU!

You yell. Stupid fucking Alvey. You never should've slept with him in the first place.

- Hey! I just want to help you!

Alvey answers. You walk all the way up to his face.

- Listen, Alvey. I can handle my own fucking shit, allright! So leave me alone!

You say, pushing him, before you again turn away from him, and walk the rest of the way home, without looking back.

You fish up your key from your purse, and are about to unlock the door to your apartment complex, when you get pushed up against the wall, face first. An underarm on the back of your neck, and another arm pinning your arms in a locked grip in front of you.

- Shhh…. Shhhhh…. Shhhh..

Alvey whispers in your ear behind you.

- Get your fucking hands off, Alvey!

You say, trying to get out of his grip.

- Shhh…Shhhhh….Shhhh

He continues to whisper in your ear.

- Fucking scumbag! Let go of me!

You say, your voice a bit higher now. Alvey grabs your chin, yanks your head back, pinning it against his shoulder.

- Just shut the fuck up for one second will ya?

He hisses into your skin. He's got you locked in his grip. There's no way you'll get out of this. So you relax your body.

- Fine! What the fuck do you want, Alvey?

You ask.

- I told you… I want you back…

He answers, before he leans into your ear, and whispers into it.

- All. Of. You!

You shake him off, as you unlock the door, and walk inside. When you're about to close the door, he stops you again, following you inside, pushes you up against the wall, grabbing your throat. You just look at him. Angry.

- You and me! We're gonna have some fun!

He says, before he kisses you aggressively.

- Fuck off, Alvey!

You say, as you once again push him away from you. He reacts instantly, spinning you around, and pins your arms in front of you, before he grabs your throat, pushing your head into his shoulder.

- What, Alvey? Are you going to rape me now?

You say, still in an angry tone. Alvey leans into the side of your face, breathing heavily into your ear.

- Now, that would be something. I bet you'd like that!

He hisses into your ear, as he starts to move you both towards your door.

Inside your apartment, Alvey again pushes you up against the wall.

- I'll scream!

You say. Keeping eye contact.

- I'd want nothing less!

Alvey answers, dragging you into your bedroom. Oh fuck!

Before you know it, you´re stomach down on your bed, with Alvey on top of you. Breathing heavily into your ear, as he gets your skirt up around your waist.

- You like this?

He asks, as he lets his hand glide over your behind. You don't answer.

- How about this?

He continues, letting his fingers enter your underwear. Still no answer.

He roughly spins you around. Grabbing your throat again. Leaning down into your face, forcing his tongue into your mouth, before he bites your lower lip, so hard it hurts. You scream. His other hand, glides into your underwear.

- Yeah… You like it. I can feel it! You dirty little girl!

You don't dare to fight back. Alvey starts to get his clothes off. Using only one hand. The other one firmly around your throat. Using his body weight to hold the rest of you down.

Then, without any warning, and with his pants not even down to his knees, he pushes your underwear aside, and enters you. Hard, rough and mercilessly.

- Aaaa.. Fuck. Yes!

He murmurs in your ear, as he mercilessly fucks you into the mattress.

- Alvey…

You try. But he stops you, placing one of his hands firmly over your mouth.

- Ahhh, fuck.. You dirty little girl. Fuck you're tight.

He continues to moan into your ear. As he keeps fucking the living shit out of you. Showing no mercy.

- Fucking tell me how good this feels!

He commands, removing his hand from your mouth.

- Ahhhh.. Fuck.. Alvey!

You moan. He grabs your throat again. Looking into your eyes, as he continues to pound you into the bed.

- Yes! That's it. Moan my fucking name!

He commands, between his rugged breaths.

- Fuck… Alvey…

You don't manage to say anything else, before the orgasm overpowers you. He leans down, and silence your screams with his lips. Aggressively keeping them locked with yours, until you collapse next to each other. Breathing heavily.

You turn your face and look at him. He send you a little smile.

- If we're going to continue to do this….

He says, catching his breath again.

- We're going to find a new bar. I'm pretty sure they think I'm stalking you by now.

You laugh a bit.

- Well it's your turn next time. Whatever you come up with… Just let me know..

Suddenly Alvey grabs your throat again.

- Like this?

You smile at him.

- You know me too well, Alvey!

You answer, still smiling.

- You really outdid yourself with your lines tonight, YN!

Alvey suddenly says. You send him a teasing smile.

- Just trying to make it authentic, that's all.

You say, turning away from him.

- "Are you going to rape me, now?"

Alvey delivers your line back to you.

- And..

You teasingly answer.

Alvey roughly moves you over on your back, grabs your throat again.

- Ready for another round? Am I going to rape you now?

He says, before he roughly kisses you.

- I'd like that!

You answer..

@nekoannie-chan @late-to-the-party-81

[perscinnamon]

BONSAI!

    1. Everett

Sometimes, it's a simple answer found in your own home.

1999; a year of restless anticipation and empty grocery stores, a considerable population of gym rats and game shows and the bitter smell of black coffee through the suburbs of Everett, Washington.

The world was coming to an end as we knew it according to David Eddy and McGraw-Hill which, to Mark, seemed fucking ridiculous. But, what did he know? He was too busy trying to keep his joint together, bits of weed falling between his shaking fingers. He had woken up at exactly six-thirty for the past month and a half so he could clamber his way to the upstairs bathroom, the only one in his house with a window, to smoke before school. He knew his parents slept in unless it was Sunday. He also knew that they didn't know the difference between the smell of incense and the smell of weed.

When he was finally able to assemble his joint, sticking his tongue out a bit to lick both sides and stick them together, he sighed in relief.

He grabbed his lighter off of the counter and put the toilet seat down, climbing up on top of it to unlock the window and push it open.

Mark leaned each elbow on either side of the windowsill, lighting his joint and taking a deep inhale. He watched the cloud of smoke as it left his mouth.

He liked this feeling; the cold fall breeze nipping at his skin as his heart fluttered in his chest and his head felt light, the high settling in quickly.

The sun was just starting to rise. Of course, Mark couldn't actually see this since he was facing the West, but he watched with sleep in his eyes as the sky slowly lit up, cascading the neighboring houses in a blurry coat of morning sun.

Yeah, he liked this. He liked this a lot.

That is, until the sharp sound of a car horn in his driveway jolted him from his weed-induced reverie.

"Ah— Ow, what the fuck..." Mark groaned in pain, holding his head where he had hit it on the top of the windowsill.

He leaned over as far as he could, looking past his roof to find exactly who he'd expected.

Johnathan Suh, a lanky 22-year-old sitting in a bright red 1987 Corvette Convertible was grinning smugly up at Mark, his long arm swung over the passenger-side headrest. Mark had known Johnathan for as long as he could remember, the Suh family were regulars at their church.

"What do you want?" Mark croaked from his bathroom window, joint still in his right hand.

"What do you think? I'm driving you to school!" Johnathan yelled back, not bothering to consider the fact that it was 6AM in a sleeping neighborhood.

"Why?" Mark said, taking a hit from his joint.

"Because your parents don't trust you after last weekend. They trust me, so hurry or I'm leaving." Johnny said with an impatient hand gesture.

Mark exhaled dramatically, flicking the stub of his joint off the roof and hopping down from the toilet seat. He glanced at his reflection in the bathroom mirror and ran a hand through his messy hair, his cross pendant flashing around his neck as it caught the dim bathroom lights.

He was clad in a pair of navy blue boxers that hung at his hip bones as he made his way to his room, pushing the door open and reaching for his dresser drawer. He managed to throw on a pair of black trousers and his wool uniform sweater, a pair of mismatched socks on both feet as he took two steps at a time down the carpeted stairs. He grabbed the pair of P.F. Flyer's he kept by the welcome mat and his black Jansport backpack, making sure not to slam the door behind him as he padded to Johnathan's car.

"Took you long enough." Johnathan said, wearing that same grin he always seemed to have plastered on his face. Mark shook his head with a soundless chuckle, hopping over the passenger door and throwing his bag in the backseat.

"Buckle up, kiddo. I don't want another ticket under my belt. I got pulled over last week because one of my taillights were out. One!" Johnathan exclaimed with frustration, still grinning, as he pulled out of Mark's driveway and cruised down the street.

"I mean... That's still illegal." Mark said, his voice still relatively hoarse with sleep as he pulled on his shoes.

Johnathan's car was definitely a hand-me-down, given to him by his uncle with a rearview mirror missing and three flat tires. He managed to clean it up decently enough but it never seemed to be the kind of car he could see Johnny in. Mark could see him in some 1970s Shaggin' Wagon. Or an Achieva.

"Yeah, but, like, the car is ol— Wait, you're one to talk about legality!" Johnny said as he slowed at a stop sign, throwing a quick peace sign up at the Nissan Quest passing us.

"It was one time, Johnny." Mark said with a frown. Here we go again...

Johnathan had been grilling Mark incessantly for his recent drunken fiasco the previous Saturday since their parents spoke about it at church Sunday morning.

"Dude, yeah, two days ago. How did you even manage to get ahold of a bottle of wine near a Jewish holiday? They buy that shit up every Shabbat." Johnny said with a chuckle, pulling on to 41st St. past the cemetery.

"I got it from Paul's. I managed to get out of there before he opened up a can on Jacob's brother. That's why I was driving so fast, I wasn't even that drunk!" Mark explained hastily, looking out at the passing headstones. Some were in the shapes of crosses or angels or hearts. It would suck to be buried in Everett, Mark thought as they drove by in a blur.

"If you pull some shit like that you're in for it, Markie-boy. Your dad doesn't play around. I'm actually surprised he didn't ground you." Johnny said calmly, turning right on to Rucker Ave, past the Safeway Fuel Station.

Mark shrugged, bored of the conversation topic as he rested his chin in his palm. He hated when Johnny ruined his high like this, especially when he talked about his dad.

He loved Johnny like a brother and for a Tacotime employee that carved wood into spoons and smoked Nutmeg in his free time, he was a pretty cool guy.

He could also be totally overbearing.

As they pulled into the roundabout at the front of Mark's school, he faced Johnny with ruffled hair and a pink nose.

"Could you pick up a gram or two for me later? I'm gonna be at Hyuck's."

Johnny hesitated for a moment, rubbing his forehead with a sigh.

"Fine, now get out of my car." Johnny said with a playful shove to Mark's shoulder.

Mark grinned winningly before getting out and grabbing his backpack, turning around to say one last thing.

"Pick me up at two."

"Three."

"Two-thirty?"

"Whatever, go to class."

Mark chuckled, walking towards the school with his untied P.F Flyer's, his laces swinging around his feet angrily as he shoved both hands in the pockets of his trousers.

He didn't mind this place. For a stuffy private catholic school covered in brick and vine, it wasn't too bad.

It was the kids that were the worst.

He liked a few of the student's at St. Pius School. He liked his friends and, although he didn't talk to the girls too much, he definitely liked looking at them.

As he made his way up the front steps, he caught sight of a Bully Piston bike racing by him. He watched it screech to a halt in front of the bike-racks.

"Hey, Hyuck!" Mark called from the top of the stairs.

Hyuck turned around as he was locking up his bike, a grin on his face as he flashed a peace sign, rushing up to Mark and shoulder-checking him.

Mark stumbled back with a laugh and shoved Hyuck with his elbow as they made their way through the double-doors.

"How've you been, bud? Heard you knocked over the Bailey's mailbox last weekend."

Mark grunted, rolling his eyes.

"Can people stop bringing that up? It's been, like, almost a week."

"I haven't been here to press you about it. Also it's Monday." Hyuck said nonchalantly, stretching his arms over his head as he nodded to a giggling group of girls to their right.

"Where've you been, anyways?"

"Out."

"Out where?" Mark asked again as they approached his locker. He rotated the lock carefully, silently mouthing his combination numbers.

"My dad's." Hyuck said, leaning his shoulder up against the locker next to Mark's.

Mark frowned. He knew about Hyuck's situation with his parent's recent divorce but didn't know it would resort to him being taken away for an entire weekend.

"That's dumb."

"I know." Hyuck said, ruffling his dark curls with his hand as he watched the students around them waste time before they had to head to morning mass.

"I'm coming to your place later, right?" Mark asked, glancing at Hyuck before putting a binder in his backpack and slamming his locker door shut.

"Yeah. I might have a few people over Friday if you wanna stop by to pregame." Hyuck said, yawning.

"Maybe. I'll see how my dad's feeling."

"Kate might be there."

"Oh- Okay." Mark said after a minute, not really knowing how to reply to this statement. Kate was a pretty blonde that sat on the other side of his Psych classroom in third period.

"Don't be weird about it, Mark. I'm trying to get you laid." Hyuck said with a low chuckle, playfully bumping Mark with his arm.

Mark rolled his eyes.

"Thats all you think about, Hyuck."

The bell rang.

Hyuck shrugged.

"I like to have fun, can't blame me."

**

Morning mass was always a slow process, all the students gathering into Ardolf Hall at an irritatingly slow pace. The stress of having to find his friends in the pews before looking like a loner was too nerve-racking for Mark. That's why he avoided it.

He had ditched Hyuck to go to the bathroom and separated himself from the usual crowd of people that we're headed towards the double doors of the school chapel five minutes ago, heading down the empty hallway with his head down, staring at the floor pattern and stepping from one green tile to the next.

The boy's bathroom was always pretty gross, in every sense of the word, but there wasn't anywhere else to get away.

Mark walked in, scrunching his nose at the smell as he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror, eyes red, lips chapped, face pale. He sighed in frustration at his appearance before dragging his eyes down, towards the stall directly behind the mirror.

Mark shrieked and jumped back, scaring the girl sitting on the toilet behind him who let out an almost identical yell.

"What the hell?!"

"Damnit." The girl said as she stared at the coke on the floor that she had previously been forming into a neat white line on top of her Economics textbook.

They stayed like that for a bit, the girl sitting on the closed toilet seat with a textbook on her lap and her coke dusting the tiled floor, Mark leaning up against the sink with wide eyes.

"Wh— What are you—"

Heavy footsteps drew closer outside the bathroom door.

"Sh." The girl said, holding her hand to her mouth cautiously.

They came closer, a hand reaching for the bathroom door and swinging it open.

The girl peeked past the stall door and her shoulders relaxed, lunging towards the boy that had just entered the room and hitting his shoulder.

"Christ, Duffy! You almost gave me a heart-attack." The girl said with furrowed eyebrows.

"Not my fault you're so damn jumpy all the time."

Mark stood there awkwardly, his cheeks bright red.

"Since when are you buds with Mark." The guy, Duffy, said to her, gesturing his head towards Mark with a raised eyebrow.

Mark scratched the back of his neck, pushing off of the sink he had been leaning against.

"I'm not. He walked in and scared me shitless." She said, glancing back at him.

"I'm just gonna go. Sorry." Mark said, inching past the couple slowly.

"Hold on. What are you doing over here, anyways?" Duffy said, a look of suspicion on his face. The girl stood behind him, arms crossed.

Reid "Duffy" Durbin was a notorious presence at St. Pius. He was a self-proclaimed DJ and if he wasn't hosting a party he would show up anyways, always with a baggie full of pills nobody bothered identifying as they scarfed them down. He sported a bristly excuse for a go-tee and a patchy buzzcut. He and Mark didn't really run in the same crowd, although Duffy and Hyuck were pretty tight.

Mark didn't really have an excusable answer so he just shrugged.

"Just getting some air..."

"Not much air to get in here." The girl said with a chuckle.

Duffy groaned in annoyance, "Okay, I hate to be an ass, but... Mark, can you leave? I'm trying to run a business here." He said this as he held up a baggie of what Mark assumed was more coke.

The girl crossed her arms anxiously.

"Um, yeah... Okay. Sorry." Mark said with hesitation, reaching for the door handle and pulling it open.

**

His strange interaction that morning had killed his high and left him drowsy for the remainder of the day, forcing him to watch the clocks at the front of his classrooms as the hand spun clockwise in repetitive circles.

Mark thought about the run in with Duffy and coke-head girl all day, half humiliation and half curiosity. Since when does Duffy sell coke? He had always been just a friendly neighborhood weed plug.

It was weird, but Mark didn't think much of it as he waited by the bike-racks while Hyuck unlocked his bike.

"Isn't Johnathan picking you up?"

"Yeah, but not until two-thirty. I'll probably wait in the library until he gets here."

"You can just hitch a ride with me, you know." Hyuck said as he walked his bike down the sidewalk, Mark following beside him.

"Yeah, but he's bringing bud."

Hyuck made a face that indicated that he understood Mark's rationale.

"Fair enough," Hyuck mounted his bike, "see you at my place, then!"

Mark nodded and waved, watching Hyuck race off, dodging a mini van pulling into the roundabout. It honked at him and he gave it the finger.

Mark snorted at the exchange and turned back towards the school, kicking a half-eaten apple core lying on the sidewalk.

He kept his head down the entire way to the library, kicking acorn tops and stones, stepping over the cracks in the sidewalk instinctively.

Step on a crack, break your mother's back.

**

Mark made his way into the library, the smell of dust and paper overwhelming. There were a few people sitting at the wooden tables in the middle of the room, books or lined paper spread out in front of them. A few people sat at the computer desks at the back as the librarian piled books on a rolling medal cart.

He took a seat on the floor in a back aisle near the history books where nobody ever bothered going. He stretched his legs out and unzipped his backpack, pulling out the book he had been reading for his English class. The Crucible.

The only thing he could hear in the room was the occasional sound of the printer going off or someone coughing.

A kid stepped over him to reach for an obnoxiously heavy Civil War book, a thick History packet in his hand as he eyed Mark and walked off, scuffed Nike's shuffling against the dirty carpet.

Mark had been reading for almost fifteen minutes, his tailbone already aching, when he heard the doors to the library slam shut. He jumped and looked up and around, only seeing the aisles of books that surrounded him.

His eyes, wide as ever, scanned the area as he got up with a grunt, creeping away from the history books and towards the middle of the room, the hair on his arms standing up.

As he approached the middle of the library, he realized he was alone. Not one person reading a book at the wooden tables, nobody typing away at the clunky old computers in the back desks, not even the librarian with her dusty medal cart stacked with books.

"Hello?"

He stood there as his voice's muffled echo filled the room.

And suddenly, it was dark.

[lifewithjessi101]

Iowa Goodwill Thrift Haul

Thrifting has become a new hobby and obsession of mine. I have always been into fashion and had a love for clothes all my life. My three different closets can test for that. But it wasn’t till this past winter I found Haley’s Corner on Youtube. She inspired something deep within me. She is the literal queen of thrifting. After watching almost her whole channel of videos I knew this is something I could try out. Low and behold my first ever thrifting adventure and haul. 

Davenport and Bettendorf Iowa were my first two cities to test the waters of thrifting. What other places to have your first thrifting adventure than Goodwill! I was ecstatic to find that both places had pretty decent sized shopping carts upon arrival. I didn’t have a list going into either place other than don’t spend more than $60 at each place. I held pretty well to my limit too. The first place was Goodwill in Davenport on Villa Drive. The place was smaller than I originally anticipated but none the less I found many gems. This store had a steller denim section but sadly had no men’s t-shirt section. Their men section was not that stellar. The second stop was Goodwill Bettendorf. This store was a lot bigger than the first stop. They had a great ladies’ top section. It’s where I scored the Master’s Golf tank. This store also had a section dedicated solely to activewear. I score brands like Nike and Underarmour for dirt cheap. It’s safe to say both stops will be shopped at again in the near future. Now each brand of thrift stores is different from how they sort the merchandise. I choose Goodwill as my first store brand because they are known for their organization. You know how much I love organization! Goodwill sections the clothes by size and by color. Don’t let this fool you though sometimes there are those gems hidden amongst the other sizes just waiting to be found. You’ll definitely want to look through other sizes too, not just your own. There are so many treasures to find, you just have to look and be patient. With that being said let us get to the haul. 

Outfits:

The Master’s Championship Tank 

When I saw this tank and did a happy dance in Goodwill. I have been golfing since I was little so when I saw the Master’s logo I grabbed it. This tank would have cost so much as a souvenir but I got it for a whole $3. It’s so comfy and a perfect shirt for the summer golf match. Here I paired it with some simple dark denim for an everyday look. 

Stoosh Black Blazer 

Thrift stores are the perfect place to find business attire. I found this blazer for $3. It’s the perfect business women staple. I paired this blazer with a simple cheetah tank, black Old Navy business pants, and cheetah print heels to complete the look. I snagged this blazer because of the color, of course, black is the perfect color that goes with anything and the sleeve length. It’s not a full length which makes it wearable for all seasons. 

GAP Grey Sweater and Old Navy High Waisted RockStar Jeans 

I’m a sucker for sweaters, but thrifting a sweater can be tricky. Finding one that isn’t stretched out or not in the greatest condition. The color, neckline, and the length of the sweater. This one was a mega find. Along with these amazingly soft and high waisted jeans. I love the distressed on the knees and the cut at the bottom. The sweater was $4 and the jeans were $6. I styled both of them together with the signature white Vans at the bottom to complete the outfit. 

Boutique Brand Black and White Top with a Suede Pocket

 Who doesn’t love a good color combination? Black, white, and light brown go so well together on this shirt. It is the perfect length to wear with leggings to work or even some dark denim jeans. Here I styled it with some simple black leggings and white Vans to complete the color balance. I scored this top for only $3! 

Eye Candy Zip Up and So Brand Light Wash Jeggings 

Another fully thrifted outfit besides the shoes. The zip-up is THE comfiest top I have ever owned. It’s also thin enough to wear even on the hot summer days. The jeans are the softest ones in my collection of denim. The light wash is a perfect color to pair with anything this spring and summer. I got the zip-up for $3 and the jeans for $6. That’s a whole outfit for $9! I paired both with some suede grey Vans.  

St John’s Bay Navy Top, GAP Light Washed Denim Vest, and So Brand White Denim 

One of the many favorites that I have thrifted is this outfit right here. The whole outfit is from this Goodwill trip. Everyone needs a pair of staple white denim in their closet. These are so soft, comfy, and fit like a glove. The navy top and denim vest compliment each other so well too. It’s the perfect combination of light and dark together. I scored the top for $3, the vest for $7, and the jeans for $6. That’s another whole outfit for only $16. You normally have to pay that money for one shirt at a mall. 

A New Day Yellow Top and Maurices Dark Denim 

I really like styling the color that seems to be very on-trend lately, mustard yellow. I found the perfect comfy long sleeve for only $3. The material and color is the reason I fell in love with it. The jeans are that perfect fit everyone looks to find. I have multiple shades of denim and these just added to my collection. They were a total of $6. I styled them both together with some Burks to complete the look. 

Banana Republic Cheetah Top and Talbots Grey Denim Jacket 

This is another one of my favorite outfits and it’s all thrifted! The cheetah print top pairs so well with the grey denim jacket. The jacket is so comfy and the silver detailing that makes it pop. I finished the look off with the grey suede Vans. This look is perfect for a day out on the town with friends. I got the top for $3 and the jacket for $11. 

Express Dark Denim Vest 

The outfit is giving me all the fall vibes. Who here loves fall as much as me? This denim vest is perfect to go with all those flannels sitting in your closet. I scored this for $8! I styled it here with some non-thrifted items, a flannel, and simple black leggings with those suede beaded sandals. 

Ann Taylor Dark Denim Jacket 

Everyone needs that perfect dark denim jacket in their closet. This Ann Taylor jacket was a great find. I love denim. I will always snag a good denim jacket or jeans when I find them. I snagged this baby for $11. That’s a STEAL! Name brand and good quality! Here I styled it with some non-thrifted items: a simple tank top in mustard color, olive green Old Navy dress pants, and simple suede beaded sandals. This look is perfect for work or just a simple day on the town. 

Under Armour Bright Pink Active Top 

When you find name brands at a thrift store that are also good quality how can you not pass them up? I got a perfect condition Under Armour’s active top for $9. I style it with just about anything from leggings to jeans to sweatpants. This was definitely on the list of the top finds. 

Nike Black Active Tank 

Snagging all the name brands in the active section. I scored this Nike tank for $6. It’s the original dry-fit material to keep you cool during those hot and sweaty workouts on the track. I have it styled here as a gym to an everyday outfit with black athletic leggings and white Vans. 

Grey and Pink Iowa Dance T-Shirt 

This is my favorite t-shirt right now. It’s so soft, it’s unreal. I had to have it since it has my two favorite things! Dance and Iowa Hawkeyes! The best part it was only $3. Another find on the top of my list. 

Nike USA Olympic Team Active Tank 

Another name brand find. A Nike USA Olympic tank. This tank is the perfect combination of comfy and soft. Two qualities you want in a workout shirt. This tank was only $6 at Goodwill. You can even style it with some denim shorts or jeans for an everyday look. 

Under Armour Grey and Pink T-shirt 

Last on this thrift haul is another name brand top. This simple Underarmour t-shirt has the dry fit material also but adds a splash of color with the bright pink. This would be perfect for the gym or for an everyday outfit too with some jeans. This t-shirt was only $6 to top it all off. 

I hope this thrift haul has inspired you to start your own thrifting adventure! Like always be sure to follow along on all my social media platforms to see into my everyday life. From daily insta story vlogs, OOTDs, thrifting trips, travel adventures, and of course baby Pumkin. I can’t wait to get to know you all more through this fun blogging adventure. Laters babes!