#Not surprised this is coming up now he loves his fun fact time. Earlier I was poking at what he was doing

[abyssalpriest]

Damnit lev lmfao. I was thinking about Shiva wearing corpse ash being resonant for other reasons, something about his relationship with the Bright Skinned Ones and death and whatever. No, no. More fucking importantly: Oh I wonder why Shiva is known for. you know. wearing bodies. his appearance is a mass of bodies joined together. yeah

[adalindofcabinsix]

that kind of love never dies (II)

summary: the one where jake realizes the complexity of a supposedly simple plan.

pairing: jake x mc

word count: 1.4K

warnings: tkolnd takes place after the events of episode 10; cover images found on pinterest; english is not my first language.

author’s note: i love this chapter. it was so much fun to write jake's first meeting with mc. the game left many unresolved questions and i will try to answer them based on the information we already have and a little imagination.

masterlist

Without any hesitation, he nodded. There was no point in lying now, not after everything they had done to get Hannah back. And, even if it bothered him a little, Barbara had won his trust.

“A penny for your thoughts.” The hacker asked, seeing the confusion in her eyes.

“What are you doing here?”

“It's a long story.”

“I have time.” She crossed her arms over her chest, waiting.

Jake took a deep breath to calm himself. They definitely didn't have time. However, he knew he would need to do his best to make her trust him again.

“Long story short, an old alert from Nym-0s showed results yesterday saying that you bought a plane ticket to Switzerland. Since the airport was close to Duskwood, I thought I'd better investigate.”

“Have you been following me since New York?”

“Not exactly, I bought a nonstop flight from Tokyo to Zurich.”

“Why didn't you tell me who you were when we bumped into each other at the airport?”

He hated the fact that his tone was more hurt than angry. Jake opened his mouth to apologize, then closed it. Looking over her shoulder, he noticed the presence of a hooded figure standing in front of the open door of the chinese restaurant, hunching his shoulders against the pouring rain.

Barbara's cell phone immediately started ringing with a call. Frowning, she reached for the device inside her bag, and Jake didn't need to understand portuguese to know what was written on the screen.

“Unknown number?”

“Yes.” She lifted her head, meeting Jake's eyes.

“Great.” He said ironically, taking the cell phone from her hand and sliding his finger to the left to reject the call. “Come on, I'll explain everything to you on the road.”

“All right.” Barbara answered, allowing Jake to lead the way. “But if you're lying about who you are, I'll break your nose.”

“It's fair.”

The hacker kept walking , and she ran to keep up with him, dodging a puddle of water. Two minutes later, they stopped in front of a gray Mercedes-Benz crowned with a red convertible roof parked behind the Gates Hotel.

“Please tell me it’s not stolen.”

“It's not stolen!” Jake looked at her offended, opening the passenger door.

“Sorry! It's just that in my mind you were poor. Which, when you think about it, doesn't make sense, right? How would you do everything you do without money?”

“You are impossible, Barbara.” He shook his head in disbelief.

“I can't be impossible, Jake, I exist.” She replied, rolling her eyes theatrically. “I think you meant that I'm unbelievable.”

“Get in the car straight away.” He ordered, but he was smiling, his eyes filled with something like pleasure.

“I have some questions.” Barbara announced when they stopped at a red light.

“Of course you have.” Jake smiled amusedly, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel.

“Earlier, at the airport, was our meeting on purpose?”

“Yes. I couldn't risk my position by tracking you via cell phone so I had to be creative.”

“Something tells me you're the type to put trackers in people's favorite coat pockets.” She was surprised when he didn't deny it. “Seriously?” Barbara scoffed, rubbing her hands down her arms.

“That worked, didn't it?” He said, undoing his seat belt. “Here, you must be cold.”

Before Barbara could object, Jake took off the leather jacket he was wearing and handed it towards her.

“Thank you, Jake.” She accepted the offer, her cheeks blushing beautifully as she quickly looked away from the defined muscles that were marked by the white t-shirt.

“You're welcome.” He looked straight ahead again, covering his mouth with the back of his left hand to hide a smile of pure satisfaction.

He looked straight ahead again, covering his mouth with the back of his left hand to hide a smile of pure satisfaction.

“Were you in Tokyo this whole time?” Barbara questioned, placing the jacket over her shoulders.

“Tokyo, New Delhi, Manila... I needed to keep myself busy so I didn't think about you too much.”

“I'm unforgettable, aren't I?”

“Too unforgettable for your own good.” He agreed, replacing his belt and accelerating the car to get them moving again.

She sighed loudly.

“Yeah, I guess that explains why the FBI won't leave me alone.”

“What?”

“You have no idea why I'm here, do you?”

“Considering who I saw at the chinese restaurant, I think I might have an idea.”

“They sent some messages yesterday, inviting me to that same restaurant we talked about last time. The writing was very similar to yours, but it wasn't the same.”

“You knew it wasn't me and you came anyway?”

“We had an agreement, and as a future lawyer, I couldn't let them get away with this so easily.”

“What was your plan?” He waited for an answer, but Barbara just shrugged. “What? Didn't you have one?”

“We brazilians work better under pressure.”

Jake had to stop himself from giving her an irritated look.

“Well, at least this time the FBI is innocent.”

“What do you mean?”

“Old habits never die, right? I figured something was wrong when you didn't go directly to Duskwood, so I accessed the security cameras around the hotel and watched the footage from the past two days.”

“Did you find anything?”

“Nothing too out of the ordinary, but there was one guy who caught my attention. I think I've seen him before. Anyway, I've run his face through facial recognition software and will have confirmation by the end of the night.” He met her eyes, his expression becoming serious. “Barbara, do you understand how…”

“Stupid to come here alone without knowing what I would face? Yes, the reality is starting to knock. In my defense, I would never imagine that someone from the outside could have access to our conversations.”

“Breaking into the FBI database is complicated, but not impossible. This guy was supposed to be looking for information about me and ended up finding you along the way. I'm sorry for bringing you into this.”

She made a nonchalant gesture, dismissing his apologies.

“You're only here because I was impulsive and played my role as a decoy very well, so I think we can say we're even.”

“I will always be in your debt.” Jake declared softly, weaving through traffic with ease.

The rest of the trip flew by, and the next thing he knew, he was parking near the Aurora's curb.

“What are we doing here?” Barbara looked at him uneasily, her voice sounding louder.

“I need to drop you off somewhere safe before I go back to get my gear from the hotel I'm staying at.”

“A bar is the last place I would think of, I have to admit.”

Jake snorted.

“As much as you approve, we only came here to get Jessica's address.”

“I thought you gathered information on all of us when Hannah was kidnapped.”

“I did, but Jessica moved out a few months after Richy got arrested. And since the FBI is monitoring activity around your friends' digital data, I'm forced to do this the hard way.”

“You mean... Talking?”

“Talking to Phil.”

She stifled a laugh.

“You can wait in the car if you want.”

“I'm not leaving you alone with this guy.” He rolled his eyes, stepping out into the drizzle that was decreasing with each second.

“In that case, why not go to Lilly or Dan?” Barbara commented, carefully slamming the car door. “I'm sure it would be less unpleasant for you.”

“I don't want others to know I'm in town.” Jake said, stopping beside her under the bar's canopy. “Not yet.”

“You're avoiding your sisters, aren't you?”

“It is complicated.”

“I know it's none of my business, but they'd be happy to hear from you. Especially Lilly.”

“Since when have you been Lilly's defender?”

“Believe me, I'm as surprised as you are.” Barbara laughed, brushing an invisible speck of dust off her dress. “How do I look?”

Jake analyzed her from head to toe for a few moments, seeing the way Barbara's hair fell over her arm in messy locks, how her smudged mascara highlighted the beauty of her light brown eyes, and how her dress, almost completely dry, outlined each centimeter of her body.

“Beautiful.”

“I'm serious, Jake!”

“Me too.” He smiled adoringly, intertwining his fingers with hers. “Come on, I don't want to prolong this any longer than necessary.”

taglist: @daniiiworlds; @labemquarts; @deinily

[anantaru]

DAY 31 — drunk sex

kinktober 2023. — masterlist | ao3

a/n. hello loves! this concludes the last day of my kinktober, thank you so much to everyone who read along and supported my stuff <3 it means a lot to me and I had so much fun!! after taking a day off, i will post three bonus kinks that will be posted from the 2nd-4th november, that's all and i love you all — yoru <3

𖧡 — including — kazuha, venti

𖧡 — warnings — fem! reader, drunk syx, teasing venti & dom venti, wall syx, touch starved, both parties are consenting

𖧡 — KAZUHA

sometimes you forget that even kazuha can be defenseless against alcohol and it's negative reactions on the body, let alone make yourself join him in order to watch out for your boyfriend which wasn't originally that big of a deal— despite both of you now, being batshit drunk, randomly lost outside a dark alleyway and essentially starved for each others touch.

"so cute," kazuha coos and hiccups against your lips, "please, voice your pleasure out to me, i yearn to hear you."

to your surprise, it was a miracle that you both were even able to stand tall with all the alcohol you had consumed earlier running through your veins, and well, the truth was— you haven't seen each other for a while, and what better way was there to catch up on your lives with a couple glasses of dandelion wine accompanying adventurous stories and daily activities.

kazuha eagerly pulls at your bottom lip between his teeth as he whines when you suddenly pull yourself away, "come back," he pouts, "one more, heh, ’please," attempting to kiss you again as you dodge him flawlessly.

yet, he wouldn't be sad for too long— because you see, you could barely wait to feel him as well, not just those small, hasty kisses he would plant on you, but the real thing, the one you missed dearly as you turn your body around so your back could face him, your plush ass greedily wiggling over his rigid erection and drawing a low grumble out of his chest.

oh my, you're just so desperate, and kazuha doesn't even try to conceal his excitement when he flips your skirt up, followed by dragging your slicked panties down so they could clumsily dangle around your knees. so now, as he fists his erection in his palm, gathering his pre cum over his shaft so he wouldn't hurt you upon entering your warmth, you bite back a whimper when he nudges his cockhead against your hole before slowly entering you.

"baby," you pant, "hurry, please more," his painfully red and swollen cock gradually filling you up as your own body grows on hotness, almost feeling as if set on fire when the cold wall you were being pressed against served as an easy way to cool yourself off.

kazuha sighs blissfully as he can finally, finally feel you again, he just missed you so much it practically burned his heart to be apart from you for such a long period of time, his head although ringing, the lingering scent of wine hovering between your bodies when everything appears as if trapped in a blur.

one hand, wraps around your waist while the other presses close to the cold wall to keep his stability, or well, both of your stabilities.

if anything, both of you would die of embarrassment tomorrow that you even had the audacity to fuck outside, shamelessly yearning for those shallow thrusts of his hips smacking against your plush ass that would drive you into absolute madness with unfaltering greed and begs to feel him even quicker, better and finer, his cock rolling in and out of your wet cunt and sending tingles down your spine, your legs wobbly and your erected nipples harshly brushing against the cold wall.

𖧡 — VENTI

there was a sonata playing in your head on repeat, and at first— you wonder where it came from, then remember that you must've picked it up during the past hours of drowning yourself in booze together with venti happily joining you— and everything started out pretty innocent, in fact, you never really seemed to have looked at him for much longer than two seconds, aside from joyfully listening and humming along to his songs whenever he performed at the angels share.

groaning deeply, venti sloppily kisses your lips while fisting his semi hard erection into the little tunnel of his palm— and again, you curse yourself that you have never admired him from up close, despite the fact that your own vision was blurry, your head slightly spinning as you watch every curve and ridge of venti's solid abs tense and let go in tune with his cock rutting into his hand.

although he too, lets his eyes follow down your body and looks at your glossed up folds drenched in your own slick, your legs parted so he could settle himself in between, "I bet you're so soft," venti slurrs happily, moving forward to roll the leaking tip of his cock across your folds as you flinch at the feeling, pulling out a strangled sound that scratched over the back of your throat.

"you know," he starts, shamelessly nudging his tip over your fluttering hole— so shameless, in fact that you're wondering if it was just the alcohol making him exceptionally confident right now or if he's always like that, taking into consideration that the bard was treating himself to quite the amount of liquor day by day.

"i will admit... i never had the guts to speak to you," he cackles, practically admitting that he was harboring at least something for you, which, truthfully made you let out a surprised gasp— although you haven't thought about venti in such ways before, you were finding yourself drawn to him for whatever reason, it's almost like something divine would pull you to him whenever he performed songs that you considered your favorites.

"you— uh, really?" you breathe and swallow hard, and next thing you know he slides himself in without warning, huffing out a strangled groan as your wet warmth instantly envelopes around his shaft, rolling his hips all the way inside so he could grind against your neglected clit.

"venti!" you whine, "don't just— do that!" bucking your hips as he drapes his body on top of yours, your slick oozing out and wrapping around his shaft. but he grins slyly at you, slamming his dripping length into you as your wet heat clung onto him, your arms folded around his chest so you could whine and sob into his neck.

"me? do what?" feigning innocence, he reaches up to squeeze one breast, and the sight of you enjoying how he pumps his thickness into you was intoxicating, so erotic that he violently twitches inside your tight hole.

"oh, silly!" he continues, "you're so cute, with your mouth open, looking all desperate!" and before you can even answer to that, he pulls you in for a sloppy kiss, his harsh thrusts making you moan into his mouth as he skillfully inches back and forth your tight cunt.

©2023 anantaru's kinktober do not repost, copy, translate, modify

[appocalipse]

hello! can I please request "I really, really want to kiss you right now." with steve and our shy!reader friend?!

here you go my love! hope you like it ♥ 1.3 k

The rain catches the two of you by surprise.

It pours down relentlessly, the cold droplets stinging your skin as you and Steve hurry towards his car, sadly parked way too far away from the charming flea market you had somehow dragged him to earlier that afternoon. 

Well, not really dragged exactly — Steve himself had volunteered to give you a ride the moment he heard you telling Robin how much you wanted to go and see if you could find some new furniture for your apartment, maybe even some decorations. But you felt as if you had dragged him there because, c'mon, what kind of guy thinks walking around a flea market with a friend is any fun?

And to top it off, the summer rain had come out of nowhere, sending everyone desperately running for shelter somewhere. Some lucky vendors had their tents already set up when it started, others began trying to cover their wares with tarps or whatever else they had at hand. A good number of them simply started to pack up their things to leave though, as did most of the potential customers who had been taking a look around — you and Steve included.

He had left his BMW in the parking lot of a closed store. It had seemed much closer before than it does now, as you and him run through the rain, palms over your heads to try to shield your faces from the relentless water.

You accidentally step into a puddle. Water splashes around your ankle, wetting the bare skin all the way up to your calf. You mutter a curse under your breath, deeply resenting your decision of wearing a summer dress today. "Oh, great." 

Steve chuckles, looking over his shoulder to you. Then what you can only assume is instant karma happens, and he slips and falls into a larger puddle, splashing water all over his pants and shoes.

You try to hold back, you really do, but the laughter is already building up inside of you, threatening to come out. And besides, he makes no move to get up, sitting there on the ground all wet, looking up at you like an abandoned puppy.

You giggle, which makes him laugh as well. 

"Sure," he says, "go ahead and laugh."

"Sorry, I'm sorry!" you choke out, trying to hold back your laughter as you approach him, offering one hand to help him up. "Are you okay?"

But of course he is. Except for the blow to his ego, that is. And now, in addition to just being wet, his jeans are also partially stained with mud.

And the t-shirt — which is white, no less — starts to stick to his skin, giving you a view you didn't ask for but that's certainly hard to ignore.

Steve accepts your hand, but you use both hands and too much force to pull him up, so he almost collides with you when he finally stands, his face inches from yours. You both laugh, because it was supposed to be funny — his head almost bumps into yours — but he grabs your shoulders and the remnants of the laughter from before slowly die when you realize without a doubt that he's looking at your mouth.

And you at his. In the rain. Doesn't get any more romantic than this.

Except for the fact that Steve is Steve, the former King Steve, the boy who had a pretty girl on his arm every week, while you are...you.

You're not sure who pulls away first, who clears their throat, changes the subject. But before you know it, you're sitting in the passenger seat of Steve's car, staring at the dashboard as lightning cuts across the darkened sky in the distance, a storm clearly brewing.

And it's worse. This feeling you have whenever you look at him or he says your name or anyone mentions his…it's somehow worse like this, in this moment, inside this car.

As if that wasn't enough, he offers you a jacket that he takes from the backseat. His jacket.

"Thanks," you murmur, taking the jacket and putting it on. It's warm. You remember the last time you saw him wearing it and resist the urge to close your eyes for a moment, inhaling his scent that still clings to the fabric. It's like a mix of laundry detergent, soap, and something uniquely Steve.

You feel a blush creep up your neck, and you look away, trying to focus on something else. Anything else.

He hasn't started the car yet, you notice. Perhaps  he's considering waiting to see if the weather will get a little better? It doesn't look that bad that it's not safe to drive, you think.

“Sorry for dragging you here for nothing,” you say, when it’s clear he’s not going to say anything.

“You didn’t drag me,” Steve assures you, sitting half to the side to look at you. "And what do you mean, for nothing? You wanted to look at the furniture, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but we didn't buy anything and now you're all wet."

He chuckles so quietly you almost don't hear. "I didn't come here to buy furniture."

You think about asking what he actually came for, but that would be a stupid question, wouldn't it? A hope of hearing something that he probably won't say. He came so you could buy what you wanted. He's a good friend like that.

Still, when you turn your head to look at him, there's something different in the way he's looking back at you. You smile, hoping to God he doesn't notice the nervous edge behind it, "What?"

Steve opens his mouth. He's pretty sure he didn't give those words permission to come out, and yet they come out anyway,  hoarse and low, "I really, really want to kiss you right now."

You watch his lips move as he speaks, but it's like your mind can't process the words. 

And once you do, you blink, not quite sure what to say to that. Your heart feels like it's trying to escape your chest, a wild thing thumping against your ribs. But there's something else in there too. Something warm. Something you haven't felt in a long time.

The front seats are close enough, so Steve reaches out, cupping your cheek in his hand, his thumb brushing across your lips. "I've wanted to for a while now," he whispers, leaning in closer.

You feel hot all over, the air in the car suddenly too thick to breathe. 

Steve's fingers trail down your cheek, his thumb tracing the outline of your bottom lip, teasing you. It's a slow, deliberate movement, as if he's memorizing every inch of your face, every second of this moment. "Do you want me to?" he whispers, and the teasing tone in his voice makes your stomach flip over. 

Your mind is spinning, but somehow you manage to force out the words, "Yes." You mean it. God, you mean it.

Steve's smile grows in that charming, lopsided way he has when he's happy. You can feel the warmth of his breath against your skin as he leans in closer, closer…and then his lips are there, pressing softly against yours. Feather-light at first, like he's testing the waters, making sure this is what you want. But when you part your lips, letting him in, he deepens the kiss, his tongue dancing with yours in a slow, lazy rhythm, one of his hands coming up to cup the back of your head, holding you to him.

And then, all too soon, he pulls back, his forehead resting against yours as he catches his breath. "Was that…was that okay?"

You smile, leaning as close to him as you can without jumping over the gearshift.

"It was more than okay."

[join my 3k followers celebration! ♥]

[minawritesfanfic]

You are who you eat

Dexter Morgan x Reader

Word count: 4.4k

Summary: After lots of games it is finally time for meet Dexter in person

Part 4

Previous | Next

☆ ★ ✮ ★ ☆

The last few days were hectic, to say the least, with Dexter’s constant crew of agents surrounding him it was hard to send him any more goodies without risking exposing my identity earlier than I intended. I wasn’t sure if they’d allow me to send him treats without thoroughly expecting anything I send so I held back. Things were also hectic due to the new developments in the Bay Harbor Butcher case but also a big lead on someone the fraud department had been trying to catch for months, meaning my team was split pretty thin throughout the building trying to help with major and minor technology errors. It was absolutely insane how many calls we got where it was usually a simple fix, I love my job but god some of my coworkers are idiots. I crossed my arms over my chest with a sigh as I walked down the hallway past the homicide department towards the elevator, I couldn’t help but peek through the glad walls, I was surprised to see that Dexter and his entourage were nowhere to be seen. Though I could see him and another guy hiding away in the back, my attention was drawn away as I heard a voice call out my name. To my surprise it was Debra, Dexter’s sister, I didn’t know her very well but we had started talking more frequently as she’s needed my help quite often as of late.

“Hey! I haven’t seen you up here in a while, how have you been?” She said with a smile tucking her hands into her pockets.

“I’ve been alright considering everything that’s going on, how are you? I heard you guys found the butcher.”

“I’m alright as well, I’m just glad we’re close to putting this guy behind bars. It fucking sucks he was one of us though, you just never know what a person is like behind closed doors yknow?” I nodded stiffly trying not to laugh at the irony.

“Yeah, yeah it’s awful. The world’s a really scary place, but uh can I ask what was the deal was with all those FBI agents and your brother?”

“Ugh don’t even get me started on that, they were his protective detail just in case the butcher came after him but he fucking called them off. I was actually headed to go give him a piece of my mind about that when I saw you.”

“Well, they did seem kind of suffocating..” She gave me a look and I raised my hands defensively, “Sorry not my place, I’ll let you talk to him then.”

“Thanks, I will but uh I was wondering if you would maybe want to grab some drinks later?”

“Oh, I’m sorry not tonight, I probably won’t be done until very late. Maybe another time, first round on me?” She frowned but nodded, she patted my shoulder before storming off to see her brother.

It was great news to hear that Dexter’s constant security detail was gone but it also meant he was off to cause trouble tonight and I was going to figure out what. For now, since I have the chance I should probably send another note, I left the department and headed back to my office. I didn’t like the fact I was going to have to print it here but it would have to do for now, I didn’t want to wait too long and lose his interest and curiosity. Once I was back in my office I had to figure out what I was going to write, the other notes came easy but this one was harder to write. The big finale of our interaction was coming, the day we were set to meet in person, I was thankful I had scheduled it for a week or so after I sent the note as having him meet me with security detail would not have been fun. Now that I knew they were officially gone I could send another note confirming that I still wanted to meet him that Friday after not sending anything for nearly two weeks straight, I printed it out in my office and placed it in the bag with the double fudge brownies I had originally brought as a treat after lunch to instead give to Dexter. This time I would deliver it myself to spice things up. As I walked towards the elevator I wondered if he would try to kill me, that’s definitely something I had to consider. I know he kills murders but I don’t know the full extent of how he operates and if I’m safe from being tied down on one of his tables, but it was a risk I was willing to take. Of course that doesn’t mean I was going to meet him unarmed, I would take my own precautions. I stepped out of the elevator and glanced around making sure he was in his office and approached. I knocked on the door and held out the bag of brownies with the note as I smiled at him.

“Special delivery for Dexter Morgan.” I handed them to him and he offered them, I couldn’t help but notice the grin that briefly appeared on his face.

“Oh thank you, any chance you’re willing to tell me who this admirer is?” He asked as he set it down on his desk and looked away not expecting much.

“Sorry no can do, but I hear it won’t be long. Make sure to clear your calendar for Friday.”

I smirked and turned to make a quick exit when I saw the infamous Lila who Debra could not shut up about, she frowned and I knew she saw my interaction with Dexter and I could only imagine what she was thinking but it couldn’t be good. Before I could do anything she said goodbye to the detective she was talking to and hurried out the room towards the elevator. I sighed knowing that there was no way that this could end well, I left the department with a glance back at Dexter. It wasn’t a surprise that our eyes met again, I just smiled and disappeared out the door.

★ ✮ ★

Dexter read the note as he savored the brownie, it was delicious as always but his mind drifted to the brief conversation with a particular someone who he’d been seeing more frequently around the office. Most would say it was a coincidence but Dexter had stopped believing in those long ago with the job he had, they had to be the secret admirer or very closely involved with them. It didn’t make sense though, how could someone so normal and friendly be like him, he simply refused to believe it. From the most recent note it appears he’ll have an answer soon enough, they reiterated their intentions to meet at the beach beside Coral Cove Marina tomorrow afternoon. It was unsettling how much they knew about him and Dexter wondered if he would have to kill them, his number one rule was to not get caught and it’s not like they were innocent. But if he was interpreting the notes correctly they were likely about as innocent as he was, it was conflicting and killing them would make him the biggest hypocrite. Harry’s code has never prepared him for a situation like this. What right would he have to kill them if they worked under a similar code of conduct as he did? If what he did was just how could he persecute you for the exact thing he would be doing to you?

Rather than fretting over the ethical conundrum of his secret admirer, Dexter had other matters that needed his attention like whether or not he would have to kill this ‘Harlow’ person, after searching up his phone number it wasn’t hard to find his full name. Dexter put Christopher Harlow into the department's database, a known alias for one Jose Garza who had committed various crimes but none of which involved murder. Dexter didn’t need to kill him as long as he didn’t know where the cabin was, so he sent a quick text inviting him there to get his ‘snow’. Dexter didn’t wait long for a response and was relieved to hear that he had no clue, he tucked the phone back into his pocket and stood up. He needed to have a quick chat with Debra but more importantly, he needed more answers from Doakes. What he said had stuck with him, was Harry truly not who he said he was?

★ ✮ ★

Of course, I followed Dexter after he left work, I knew better than anyone he didn’t ditch his security detail just to lay around at home and watch tv porn. My suspicions were confirmed when he didn’t take the usual right at the light toward his apartment, I drove far behind keeping a safe distance between us to avoid being caught. Which grew harder to do as he ventured into the more rural part of Maimi, eventually he turned down a long dirt road. I watched as he took one more turn and eventually turned off his car, as I crept slowly towards the turn I could see up ahead was a very remote cabin. Now that I know where it was I could come back later to see what exactly he was doing here, for now, I had more important things to tend to like Franklin Graney.

The thirty-eight-year-old phone technician who not only kills people but violates them alive and dead, he’d just finished checking in after his last job for the day and was about to head home. He made his way to his truck but before he could even unlock it I came up behind him and used my wire garrote to strangle him, I forced him to kneel on the ground and pushed him away from me so he couldn’t reach back to scratch me. It only took a few minutes for him to pass out, I let his body haphazardly fall onto the concrete. I left him there and pulled my car up beside his, then I dragged him into my backseat. I got into the front and sighed, I peeked back at him through my rearview mirror with a frown but resolved myself to finish the job. I pulled out of the parking lot and headed to paradise.

Paradise was in the basement of an abandoned hospital, specifically an abandoned hospital with a morgue built into its basement which was equipped with everything I needed. Of course, I had to rig a few things to work the way I needed them to and clean things very deeply, it was awful in here when I first found it. Now it looked quite nice and I had even decorated it to my liking, and I had taken several measures so that any wanna-be urban explorers wouldn’t be able to get down here even if they tried. It was truly perfect. I turned on my music and got to work dismembering and draining the blood to save for later.

It was nearly midnight when I finished, cleanup was messier than usual today but I got what I needed. Unfortunately I couldn’t bring any of the meat or blood I harvested home because Debra was, unfortunately, spending the night, after we went drinking the last time she confided in me about her relationship with Lundy and apparently took that as us being friends now. I wasn’t a big fan of Debra but if I was going to pursue Dexter I figured it wouldn’t be a bad thing to befriend her, so even if it was unconventional to have her over I was prepared for this. It took a lot of reading, trial, and error but I had successfully managed to rig this floor to a generator which allowed me to use the mortuary fridge. I slid out one of the chambers originally used to store bodies and set the coolers containing the meat and blood onto it, then I slid it back in and shut the door. All I had to do now was take what was left of the body and incinerate it, I chose this hospital specifically because of its incinerator. I could start and finish my disposal of the corpse in one place and didn’t have to bother traveling around to complete the job it was wonderful, I placed the remnants on a cadaver stretcher and wheeled them into the other room. I opened the incinerator door and pulled out the long tray that slides inside, I transferred everything onto it and slid it back in. Then after pressing a button and pulling the lever, the incinerator roared to life, thankfully it was advanced enough to shut off on its own. I just had to come back for the bones another day, I walked back into the main room and grabbed my bag and keys before heading out. I needed to get as much sleep as I could considering what I had planned for tomorrow.

I quietly shut my front door behind me as I slipped off my shoes, of course, Deb had just tossed hers over here haphazardly. I bent over and neatly put them to the side like mine, as I stood back up I was surprised when a light turned on behind me. Debra was sitting up on the couch still awake, I completely forgot that she was still struggling to fall asleep when she was on her own. I smiled over at her and approached.

“You really were out super late.”

“Yeah, I really needed to blow off some steam then I ended up driving around not realizing how late it had gotten.” She nodded but still looked at me a bit odd.

“I see, well I’m glad you’re back safe. I was starting to think something bad happened to you.” I gave her a spin and smiled.

“Well as you can see I’m A-okay, but I desperately need a shower and to sleep for at least a decade.” I walked past her towards my bedroom, “ Good night Deb oh and I probably won’t be at work tomorrow by the way.” I said before shutting the door behind me, I desperately needed to sleep in and prepare for my meeting with Dexter tomorrow.

I tossed my bag off to the side of my bedroom and started to undress, I grabbed my towel and got into the shower. The water was warm and poured down my back it was like a really wet and warm hug. I reveled in it as I wrapped my arms around myself, killing people wasn’t something I had ever come around to enjoying and wasn’t what I wanted to be doing with my life. I had my life fucked from the beginning by people even more fucked up than I had become, so now I kill people so that I could cannibalize them. What a twisted life I was living, everyone I knew would be mortified to learn about what I do or the kinds of things I eat. Though if things continued the way they were nobody ever would, I finished showering and stepped out. The bathroom was warm and foggy from all the steam from my shower, I wrapped my towel around me before wiping away the steam on the mirror. I stared at my reflection briefly and a bloody monster stared back at me, I turned away and quickly left the bathroom. I just needed to go to bed rather than dwelling on things I couldn’t change as it wasn’t doing me any good.

Friday morning came faster than I anticipated but I made sure to call out yesterday so I slept in until ten, though it was hard to stay asleep when I had exciting plans for today. I got dressed and practically ran out the door, thankfully Deb had already left. I got into my car, I still had some time before it was noon so I decided to check out Dexter’s cabin in the woods before meeting him at the beach. I struggled a bit to remember where I was going but the closer I got the easier it was to remember, and eventually, I made it. Thankfully it seemed Dexter wasn’t here right now, I got out of the car and my clothes flowed slightly in the breeze. I nervously approached the cabin, it was old and looked damn near run down. I opened the door and was instantly met with a foul but familiar stench, I winced but stepped inside despite it and was surprised to see Sergeant Doakes locked behind a cage.

“Thank you, god, please you have to get me out of here.” He said with a relieved sigh as he stood up.

“What-what happened to you? Why are you locked up here?” I asked mostly to myself as I approached the cage resting my hand against the bars.

“It’s that freak, Dexter Morgan, he’s the Bay Harbor Butcher and he locked me in here. You have to get me out, the keys are over there.”

I frowned and I genuinely felt bad, to be honest, I liked Doakes and respected him as an officer but I couldn’t let him expose Dexter when I still had business with him. I thought for a moment debating what I should do, I didn’t want to leave him here as realistically Doakes hadn’t done anything wrong besides getting too close to the truth. Which was probably why Dexter hadn’t killed him already. It was his problem to deal with and I really shouldn’t get involved, I turned around and bolted out of the cabin despite his cries for help. I felt sick to my stomach, just leaving him there but what was I supposed to do? I had finally found someone somewhat like me, how could I throw away a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity like this? I quickly turned my car around and drove as fast as I could back to the main road, I decided to head to the beach even though there was still time before noon. I could hang out there and wait for Dexter to arrive but also spend some time clearing my head.

★ ✮ ★

After an enlightening but also earth-shattering conversation with Captain Matthew Dexter was lost, despite that he still arrived at the beach on time to finally find out who this secret admirer was. He stood far away from the shore in the shade with his hands in his pockets, he stared off into the distance where the ocean stretched out for miles farther than he could see but he also observed the various people littered across the beach. So when someone approached him from his left he turned to see who it was, and his suspicions were confirmed though it left him with far more questions than answers. She smiled at him but seemed apprehensive and kept a safe but reasonable distance.

“See we finally met huh? I’m sure you’re already working out how to get rid of me in your head which I wouldn’t recommend unless you want everyone at the office to know it was you. I’m just here to talk, now can we do that or are you going to take care of me like you did Roger?” Despite her body language showing how anxious from her eyes Dexter could see she wasn’t afraid.

“I have to admit I’m impressed by how bold you are, but you know me well. I won’t kill you for now just don’t give me a reason to.” He said narrowing his eyes slightly for a moment daring her to try something, “Why have you been sending me these gifts, what is it that you want from me?”

“That’s a great question, honestly at first I was just messing with you but then I grew curious once I found out you were the infamous Bay Harbor butcher. We operate in similar ways and I was a bit envious of how neatly you worked, at some point I started to look up to you and maybe even develop a crush.” She admitted turning away and walking further towards the beach, “It’s not every day you meet a serial killer especially one with morals. I figured we could be friends or something.” She said with a laugh as Dexter followed slowly behind her as they walked along the beach.

It was weird for Dexter to hear the words ‘serial killer’ fall so casually from her lips as she laughed like it was the most innocent thing in the world. Dexter’s mind was a whirlwind of emotions and complex thoughts, he wasn’t sure what he was expecting when they asked to meet him here. But he definitely wasn’t expecting a genuine love confession, sure they had been sending him notes under the guise of a secret admirer but he assumed it was just an excuse. Not to mention he was still conflicted as you did have morals on killing like he did so it’s not like he could justifiably kill you, this entire situation was baffling. Dexter couldn’t say he wasn’t attracted to her though, despite being weary she still carried herself with a confidence and aliveness that he didn’t have. He couldn’t wrap himself around how she could when they were the same, what did she have that he didn’t?

“That was a bit forward, wasn’t it? I’m sure this is kind of a lot.” She said with an awkward laugh, Dexter wondered if she could read his mind.

“I just never imagined I would find someone like-minded, but you want to be friends? How do I know you won’t just betray me?”

“Uhh I don’t know…” She paused thinking for a moment weighing her options in her head, “I could give you the location to my kill room? Then you could give me something more concrete about, uh let’s call it our hobby, then we’ll be even. Is that good enough for you?” Dexter thought for a moment, he hesitated but he’d be lying to himself if he wasn’t desperate for a connection much like this one.

“Sharing our vulnerabilities would be enough for me to consider this friendship, I keep my tools in a secret compartment in a chest in my apartment.” Dexter frowned as soon as the words came out his mouth, why did he tell her that, he could be risking his entire well-being just for some woman. But after everything going on with Rita and Lila, he needed someone more like-minded and rational.

“Oh so that’s what was in that trunk, I knew it was suspicious. Well, there’s this abandoned hospital on the outskirts of town that closed a little over a decade ago, in the basement is where I keep everything and do my work. There now we both have a safeguard in case of the other.”

“Yes, mutually assured destruction.”

“Exactly, but now for the other reason I invited you here. I do want to actually get to know you as a person Dexter, so how do you feel about treating this as an actual date?” She extended her hand out to him offering to hold hands.

Dexter mused for a moment with an unreadable expression as he stared down at her hand, “An actual date doesn’t sound bad. That’s fine with me.” He laced his fingers between her and she smiled.

“Perfect, I should probably start by introducing myself.” She told Dexter her name and he remembered Debra mentioning her once or twice, “Anyway do you know why I chose this beach?” She asked.

Dexter nodded and listened quietly as the woman went into a long speech about why she had chosen this beach besides its connections to Dexter. They walked along the shore as she did hand in hand with the sun shining down on them from high in the sky, from afar they appeared to be a normal-looking couple on a normal date. Dexter still wasn’t sure what to make of all of this, but he was at least enjoying the company as she made for a decent conversationalist. Not to mention he didn’t have to sugarcoat what he said because of a certain hobby of his because she understood, it was refreshing for him. Intoxicating even, his grip on her hand tightened slightly as he stared forward listening carefully to her words.

★ ✮ ★

We ended up walking along the shore talking for several long hours, well I did most of the talking as Dexter wasn’t exactly the chatty type which was fine. He still responded and was actively listening to what I said and occasionally when the topic broached something he was passionate about then he became chatty, but just as quickly he’d go quiet as if he was afraid to be passionate about anything. It was odd but I decided not to comment on it, as it was still the first date and I would have plenty of time to learn about him. Especially about the way he operated, and at some point our conversation drifted that way. I had seen his neatness in person, and I complimented him on how amazing it was that he never left a crime scene. He was very interested in how I disposed of my bodies though, I kept it vague and only talked about the incinerator. It was too early to talk about my cannibalism, I’m sure that’d scare him off faster than I could say, cannibal.

Eventually, the conversation strayed away from our extracurricular activities, we talked about our masks and he was curious how I hid who I really was so well, we talked about family, our normal pass times, and at some point the meaning of life. It was nice being able to let go like this, not having to hide what I do because someone wouldn’t understand. It was like I was breathing for the first time, and from the relaxed smile on Dexter’s face, I could tell he felt the same. I glanced past him and could see the sun setting over the horizon, it was a beautiful sight and the sun illuminated Dexter with a warm glow.

“This is so nice, I feel like I just let a huge weight off my chest. Not to mention the sunset is amazing, it’s so beautiful.” I said walking towards it as Dexter followed closely behind me as our hands were still linked.

“Yeah, admittedly this is kind of nice. I almost feel alive.” He said staring out at the sun with his hand on his heart.

“News flash buddy, you always were alive. You’ve been living every moment, I think you just can’t see it.” He glanced at me but didn’t respond so I changed the topic, “So does this mean I get a second date? I think this went too well to end with one.”

“Yeah, I think a second date would be quite nice.”

☆ ★ ✮ ★ ☆

[platypusundercover]

Hello!

I was wondering, could I please request a Boothill and Ratio x reader (Seperate) where the reader is attacked and comes home injured and covered in blood, to the surprise of their lover.(Sorry if this is too dark🥲)

Hi~ Thank you for the request! (Not too dark, don't worry!) First time writing Ratio, I was debating how to call him in there: either Ratio or Veritas, but went with the latter. I hope I wrote him alright ? It was fun to explore his character :D

Boothill

You tasted blood and that metallic under-flavor was definitely not welcome. You entered the kitchen and sighed. Boothill was hard at work on.. something that you couldn’t see on the counter, back facing you.

“I’m home.” You said simply, in a nasal voice. “And I need tissues.”

He wouldn’t have perked up without that last sentence. He looked back to you and suddenly whatever he was doing on the kitchen counter got discarded at the speed of light. You were uselessly holding a finger to your nostril trying to stop the bleeding, that already got all over your hand, chin and... collar? Nosebleed aren’t usually that bad, right?

“Wow! Hey there,” He said arriving at your side, putting a protective around your back. “Who the fork did this to you?”

“Weirdo at the bar.” You started explaining, as Boothill handed you tissues. “They were laying it on the waitress a bit too thick. I told them to back off and they didn’t like it very much.”

Boothill’s worried face eased a bit, and he couldn't refrain a grin. He knew you could handle yourself. You wouldn’t pick a fight you know you wouldn’t win. You bunched a piece of tissue into your nostril and kept the pressure with your fingers.

“I won though.” You said proudly, smiling big at him, mouth full of blood, teeth all red. “Then we got kicked out. Buuut I was promised a free drink, for saving the day.”

“Well look at ya.” He pulled you in closer and peck your forehead. “Got myself a knight in shining armor now?”

You laughed and detached from him to walk over to the sink and spit the blood that had accumulated in your mouth. You grabbed a glass and rinsed your mouth to get rid of that metallic aftertaste. The cowboy approached again and grabbed a tissue to remove the blood that still hadn't dried of your chin.

“They got you good, huh?” You grunted. “You gonna be alright?” He continued softer, concerned.

“Yeah, I will. I’ve had worse.”

“I know.” He breathed. “Just checkin’. You tell me if anything comes up, eh? Bring you to a doctor or somethin’.”

You smiled at him, and pecked his cheek, hoping the sweet gesture would convey your gratitude. Nothing much he could do either way, it’s a matter of waiting for the bleeding to stop. Just the fact that he cared made your chest warm. It already felt much better anyway. He peered at you from under his hat and chuckled.

“You look ridiculous with that cotton ball up your nose.”

“You love me though.” You replied smugly, daring him to oppose you.

“Yeah, I do. But know what I love more?” He paused and you playfully shook your head. “You not complainin’ about the blood stains on your shirt, lemme clean it for you.”

You scoffed and pulled you bloodied shirt over your head, handing it to him, an eyebrow raised and a smirk. He gave you a wink and headed to the bathroom, while you finished cleaning out the blood on your neck and face with a wet towel. Once done, you looked over to what he left on the counter when you came in. Where those…? Was he cooking your favorite meal? Oh Boothill…

Ratio

When you arrived back home, a bit out of breath, you found Veritas where you left him earlier. On the sofa, a few papers in hand. He was tapping his pen against his lower lips rhythmically, eyes trained on the words hastily written by one of his student.

“Did you find what you were looking for?” He asked nonchalantly.

“I- uh. Yeah, yeah I got it.”

Hearing your small, dazed voice made him detach his eyes from the paper he was reading and as soon as he set eyes on you, he shot up. You had blood running from your hair to over your brow bone and left eye, and your futile attempt to stop the bleeding with either your hands or your jacket just made a bloody mess of everything. Who knew head injuries bled so much? The paper in his hand long forgotten on the sofa, the doctor took long strides toward you.

“What happened?” He asked, concern evident on his face. He helped you toward the bathroom and sat you on the toilet while he got the first aid kit out.

“I decided to take a detour, I wanted to walk a bit longer.” You explained, slowly, still feeling a bit lightheaded from the Adrenaline finally subsiding. “There was a guy on the way and I don’t know. I must have looked at him funny because he approached me and tried to grab me?” You explained still confused at what exactly happened. “So, I pushed him away and he- He bashed my head into a wall.”

Veritas stopped his movement as he was putting on gloves after having sanitized his hands. He looked at you bewildered. How dare he? He hurriedly parted your hair to look for the main wound just on the crown of your head above your forehead. You almost leaned into the touch, sighing. When he found what he was looking for, he applied antiseptic, cleaning out any clots and debris around the wounds before covering it with a fresh piece of gauze and bandages. It didn’t even sting.

“I punched him back so hard he fell on his ass, and I kind of panicked and ran here. I couldn’t even see from my left eye because of the blood.” You laughed tiredly.

However, Veritas did not find this very funny.

“Head injuries can be extremely serious and traumatic. Maybe you should be more concerned about this!” He scolded lightly; his brows still furrowed in evident worry. “They can cause degeneration of brain cells, internal bleeding or even torn tissues.” He removed his gloves and threw them in the trash, now wetting a towel with warm water. “We should take you to a clinic after this. Check for anything more serious.”

“Aw, you care.” You mumbled, still in a daze a soft smile on your lips.

He light blush rose high on his cheekbones, and he started swabbing at your face to remove the drying blood from your skin, gentle as ever.

“Of course I care, you are my partner. This is serious, you know!”

“I know,” you drawled, your hand reach to wrap around his wrist. “But in what better hands could I be?” You nuzzled into his hand. “I got the famous Dr. Ratio as my personal nurse, I got nothing to worry about.”

He huffed and continued his task diligently, now a small pout on his lips, sporting his blush still. You were adorable sure but also such a menace. This was not the time to joke like that! But he couldn’t help fighting against a small smile. Oh how smitten he was.

© platypusundercover - 2024 || Request rules

[sl-newsie]

Melted Mind (Dr. Spencer Reid x OC Coworker)

Summary: The team checks into a hotel and one of their coworkers has never used a sauna, leading to late night shenanigans. (Hinting at intimacy towards the end)

“You’ve never used a sauna?”

I’ve had a lot of strange and unusual conversations with the BAU but this has got to be a very random one. I guess one half-mention of never having used a sauna seems to be the hot topic of tonight.

I shake my head at Emily’s question. “Never had a reason to. I can’t stand being too hot.”

Of course now Spencer has to hop in and give his input. “Saunas actually help us sweat toxins out of our bodies and improve lymphatic drainage. They also reduce stress levels and help strengthen the immune system.”

I love him dearly but he can come in at the worst times. Just because he’s my boyfriend does not mean he can drag me into this too.

Meanwhile Emily is looking at the hotel’s brochure. “There’s one in the pool room. We should try it.”

Um, no. We’ve just spent three hours flying. I feel no need to sit in a boiling hot room with my coworkers.

Quick, grab the suitcase and start walking away. “I think I’m going to relax in my room-”

Morgan grabs my arm. “C’mon, it’ll be fun!”

In the corner of my eye I see JJ and Penelope waving goodbye with cheeky smiles. Hotch has already gone to his room and Rossi avoids the situation by heading for the bar. There’s no getting out of this.

There’s no other way to say it. This is Hell. I won’t sugarcoat it. 

I don’t care how Emily tries to sell this as a good thing because it’s a ‘steam sauna.’ Spencer’s facts from earlier have completely flown the coop because thinking about the positive health benefits of sweating is the last thing on my mind. All I can think of is drinking water and staying alive.

“I’m melting.” We’ve been here for half an hour and I’m already slumped in the corner.

“You look like a lava lamp."

My glare can burn through walls. “Thanks, Morgan.”

“That swimsuit is really cute,” Emily comments. “But why wear a shirt over it?”

The suit I packed is my patriotic one. A one-piece suit with blue and white stars at the top cascading into red and white stripes. When we met up in the hall I threw on a swim shirt and I guess that raised a few eyebrows. Why? I don’t know.

“Some call it image paranoia, I call it modesty. I will not walk around half-naked in a hotel lobby.” Technically my onepiece could count as a leotard but it’s still not modest.

Emily snickers. “Between you and Reid both you guys could give a lecture on social etiquette.”

“I’m giving a lecture?”

Reid pokes his head in and a wave of cold air washes over me. It’s Heaven! But it’s only a split second because he closes the door and I’m submerged in the moist prison once more. He hops up on the seat next to me and from the look he gives me I can tell he’s looking to see if I’m still alive. I think I am. Maybe.

“Here’s the boy genius!” Morgan claps and gestures to my limp body’s presentation of a corpse. “What do you think of this lovely swimsuit?”

Why? Why did Morgan of all people have to find out about us? I’m honestly surprised Penelope didn’t find out first. If only Spencer didn’t want a picture of me on his desk so badly. Ever since we became official he’s been much more manly about it. Like he wants to make sure everyone knows I’m his. It’s actually cute.

Spencer gives me a look-over. “Very patriotic. It looks nice.”

Those eyes say more than that. He loves it.

“Thank you. I’m lucky I brought it with me. Though this may be what I’m buried in if I don’t make it through tonight. This sauna’s going to be the death of me.” 

So the night goes on. My mind dwindles in and out of the conversation but the only thing keeping me awake is Spencer’s occasional squeeze on my shoulder. Though him rubbing my back is definitely not helping. After a while my mind starts to wander.

“Ever notice how radio stations play the same songs over and over?”

The chatter stops and in the corner of my glazed eye I see everyone look at me. 

“That’s kinda deep,” Morgan teases.

“I can’t help it. This sauna’s making me think deep.”

Emily waves a hand in front of me. “Ok, I think it’s time to call it a night. You need to drink some water. Make sure she gets to bed safely, Reid.”

Reid gives me a hidden smirk. He’s definitely thinking about that out of context. Thankfully the others are too tired to notice and we all slowly exit the human vegetable steamer from Hell. 

“I’ll go get you a towel,” Reid says before walking off.

I’ll finally get to go to my room, rinse off and relax- Uh-oh. I catch a quick glance out the window. A pair of blue sunglasses lies on a patio lawn chair. No one’s outside. I guess I should do the Girl Scout routine of returning them to the lobby desk.

Brr! How is the air outside so cold? The sauna must have really gotten to me. Back inside now- Oh no. Is it my wandering mind or am I locked out? No. No! I don’t have a key card!

Inside Spencer walks around the pool looking for me. The towel he’s carrying might as well be a fur coat.

“Oh- Spencer! Help!” I knock on the glass door. “Please! I’m locked out!”

Reid’s eyes widen and he strides over. “How did you get stuck out there?”

“Someone left their sunglasses out here and I didn’t think about needing a key card to get back inside. Could you let me in?”

He starts reaching for the door but then gets an amused smirk. “Hmm. I don’t know…”

Is he kidding? “Spencer! Please! It’s freezing out here!”

Reid checks the thermostat. “It’s only 65 degrees.”

“I just came out of a sauna! Do you want me to pass out?” I put my hands on my hips.

Spencer’s laughter is muffled by the glass but he turns the doorknob anyway. “Open sesame.”

I sigh in relief at the warm air. “Thank you- oh!”

My temperature spikes the instant Spencer’s lips are on mine. He backs me against the cold condensation-covered door and pulls me close to him. I hope no one’s looking!

“It was hard not to do that in front of the team, seeing you in this suit.” Spencer presses a kiss on my cheek. “It looks very nice.”

If I weren’t so exhausted I’d encourage this. “Ready to go to bed? I’m getting tired.”

“Me too.” Reid wraps the towel around my shaking shoulders and we start walking back. “Would you like me to rub your back?”

“I’d love that very much, Spencer.”

The sight of our hotel room is equivalent to scoring an A+. I speed-wash through the shower and all but dive onto the soft bed. I lift my sleepy head up to look at Spencer, who’s sitting in the lounge chair staring at me.

“What?”

“You know my attraction to you didn’t start from your body,” he murmurs, still looking at me as if examining a piece of art.

I smile shyly and look down. “It was my eyes.”

He walks over and kneels down to my level. “It was your eyes. Those eyes that show a deep wisdom but are always wide with excited curiosity.”

Spencer crawls up onto the bed and rests his head on my chest. “Still tired? I can feel your heart rate elevating-”

“Let me pause the lecture, professor.” I put a finger to his lips. “It’s time to sleep. You can resume tomorrow.”

He sighs but gives in to his own tired state by going limp. I’m too tired to push him off. 

“You were right, Spencer. Saunas really do reduce stress levels. Even if I was almost locked out.”

He smiles with his eyes closed and feels around for the bedside light switch. “Goodnight, angel.”

The room goes dark and I give him one last kiss. “Goodnight, genius.”

[loveinhawkins]

Steve heads outside at about 10pm, hoping that the frigid night air will wake him up a bit. He’s conscious of the fact that he’s hardly been in the party spirit, trying and failing to stifle a yawn behind the lone bottle of beer he’d sipped at before abandoning it on Robin’s kitchen counter.

It’s less a New Year’s Eve party, he thinks, and more a relieved exhale. An I’m glad we’re all here kind of party.

There’s a swing bench out on the porch, and once he sits down, he kicks the whole thing back with his feet, the movement sending more fresh air his way. It turns his forearms to gooseflesh but does little to banish the drowsiness, as if it’s somehow been waiting all year to be felt…

“Hey,” comes a voice, and Steve startles back to awareness; Eddie is suddenly sitting down beside him. “Thought you’d absconded, Harrington.”

Steve smiles at the word—“You talk like you’re in a book, dude,” he’d teased earlier that evening, when Eddie and Robin were taking exaggerated swills of boxed wine, pretending to be sommeliers. Eddie had adopted a plummy accent, went on about “heady aromas” and “full bodied complexity” until Robin snorted wine out of her nose.

“Ah, Steve, Steve, Steve,” Eddie had said in delight, “that’s part of the fun, darling.”

And it was still delivered in that stupid accent, all part of the game, but it didn’t stop Steve from feeling a glow in his chest that had little to do with the wine they ‘sampled.’

Now Eddie’s voice is back to normal, if a little softer than usual, like he doesn’t want to disturb the stillness out here. “Thought I was gonna have to look for a glass slipper or something,” he goes on, and it takes a moment for Steve, lulled by the gentle cadence of Eddie’s words, to get the reference.

When he does, he snorts. “Bit early for that. But at this rate…” And he yawns again as he speaks, aiming for a self-deprecating shrug. “At this rate, I’m sorta doubting I’ll make it ‘til midnight.”

He’s expecting Eddie to lean into the teasing, call him ancient. But instead he just looks over with a fond smile and says, “I’m not surprised, man.”

Steve scoffs. “It’s not like I’ve really done anything.”

Eddie raises an eyebrow. “Seriously?”

Steve gives another shrug. “It’s the holidays, dude, not exactly taxing.”

“Nah, that’s not…” Eddie shakes his head slightly. “You can’t see it, huh?”

“Can’t see what?”

There’s a moment where Eddie just considers him. “Steve Harrington,” he drawls, almost like it’s a little song, like Steve is the one who’s a character in a book. Like he’s someone admirable. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you, like, stop even once. And at first I thought…” He tilts a little closer on the swing, making it creak. “Like, ‘oh, that’s just how he is when the world’s ending’, right? But no. You’re like that all the damn time.”

Steve is far too tired to work out what ‘like that’ even means. He chuckles quietly, rubs at one of his eyes. “And, what, I can’t even keep going to see in the new year?”

“Eh, time’s a construct.”

“Oh, shut the fuck up,” Steve says with absolutely no bite to it. “Midnight countdown is the one time when it matters.”

“Well.” Eddie nods his head as if to say fair point. “We could time travel.”

Steve smirks. “Oh, yeah? You park the DeLorean somewhere?”

Eddie grins. “Nope. It’s—” He stops, smile fading just at the corners, like he’s suddenly a little shy. “Okay, it’s kinda stupid. Like a family thing, I guess.”

“Lucky for you that I like stupid,” Steve says lightly—doesn’t really know how to say that he secretly loves hearing about quirky family traditions, sometimes feels like he can live vicariously through them.

(The last New Year’s Eve he’d spent with his parents had been in New York, and when they were getting a cab back to the hotel, his mom had said that he couldn’t fall asleep because they were sharing the ride with some business partners; it would be embarrassing. He’d spent the journey pressing his forehead against the cold condensation on the car window, fighting sleep.)

“So,” Eddie says, “every year since I was, like,” he gestures with his hand comically low, nearly touching the ground, “Wayne always let me stay up for New Year’s, and it blew my tiny mind ‘cause I was never tired. At all. And then, I think I was, what, ten…? Something like that. And I figured it out.”

“What?”

Eddie leans forward conspiratorially. “Sneaky bastard wound all the clocks forward.”

Steve laughs and laughs. “I love your uncle.”

Eddie rolls his eyes but he’s smiling. “Yeah, yeah, he’s something else.” Then he softens. “We did it tonight, before I came here. Early midnight countdown.”

And there’s a weight to that, like Eddie can hardly believe that he got to be there, to see the tradition continue.

Then Eddie blinks, and the heaviness is gone. “How about it, Harrington?” He pushes back his shirt to reveal his wristwatch. “Wanna try it?”

Steve smiles. “Sure.”

And he watches as Eddie fiddles with the watch until it reads as being a minute before midnight; and it’s silly, he knows they're not really time travelling, but he can’t help feeling that there’s some magic involved anyway. Like there’s suddenly a little pocket of the world that’s just their own.

They count down from 10, and then Eddie does a hushed imitation of fireworks going off, which makes Steve laugh again.

“Hey, Eddie,” he says. “Happy New Year.”

And suddenly it sounds like more than that—sounds like we made it and we’re safe.

Maybe Eddie hears all that, too, because there’s a sheen to his eyes that can’t entirely be blamed on the Christmas lights. “Yeah. Happy New Year, Steve.”

They stay put in comfortable silence. Eddie starts to rock the swing slowly with one foot, back and forth, and Steve knows that he doesn’t even realise he’s doing it—probably is hearing a song in his head that he can’t help but follow the rhythm.

And at some point Steve finds that he’s catching himself on the brink of dozing, then pulling back. His eyelids keep…

The softest laugh, somewhere very close. “Oh, Steve,” Eddie sighs, and Steve can hear him smiling, can hear the fondness shining through. “There you go, big guy.”

And his head is tilting down, down onto Eddie’s warm shoulder.

“Glad you’re here,” Steve just about manages to say.

Through a dreamy haze, he feels a hand brush across his forehead; an arm around him, so he doesn’t fall. “Ah, sweetheart. So glad you’re here, too, you’ve got no idea.”

And then he’s melting into sleep, right through the gentlest turning of the page from one year into the next.

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

Eddie and Steve slept together for the first time before Eddie left to travel with his band. Was it a weird time to start a relationship? Sure, but Eddie was just glad it happened at all. He called from the road as often as he could. It was a few weeks later that Eddie received a phone call from Steve. He had sounded off, so Eddie dropped everything and started heading back to Hawkins. He decided to surprise Steve with his favorite flowers.

Eddie crept into the house carefully, tip toeing, so he didn't make a sound. He heard voices coming from the living room. It sounded like Robin. Eddie grinned and crept closer, making sure he stayed hidden. Their conversation prevented him from jumping out.

"Okay, we're really going to do this," Steve said with a sigh. "Yeah, I'm pregnant. I got knocked up by Eddie."

"I knew it!" Robin said with a dramatic grasp. "I just want you to know that I'm not mad that you've made me a godmother at such a young age. I'm here for you. So, like what are you going to do?"

"I'm keeping the baby. I just don't know how I'm going to tell Eddie," Steve said. "He's been having such a fun time traveling with his band. I don't want to railroad that."

"Wait. . .you're serious," Robin said. "Um, okay, well, Eddie loves you, so I know for a fact that it wouldn't kill him that you're having his baby."

Eddie's eyes widened, and he crept out of the house. He ran towards his van and drove off, missing the other half of the conversation.

"I'm not fucking pregnant, Robin!" Steve yelled. "It's food poisoning."

"So, it's just a coincidence that you're getting sick a few weeks after having sex with Eddie?" Robin asked, narrowing her eyes. "Especially knowing how much you want to have kids."

"So, you think that I just willed it into existence?" Steve asked and then paused. "You know, my menstrual cycle was a little late this month."

"Really?!"

"No! I don't have a menstrual cycle, Robin!"

". . .is it because you're pregnant?"

"Robin!"

"Don't be so hormonal, Steven."

Meanwhile, Eddie had pulled off to the side of the road. He was freaking out, and it had nothing at all to do with the fact that he had driven all night, so he wasn't thinking straight. Steve was pregnant. Steve was having his baby. How in the fuck did this happen? The only way this could have happened would be because of the bat bites. They changed them, and now they could get pregnant. Oh God, does this mean that Eddie would have to start taking birth control?

"Focus, Munson," Eddie said and slapped his face. "This isn't about you. This is about Steve."

He drove off to the store and thought about the fact that he was going to be a dad. He smiled at the image of himself laying his head on Steve’s big belly and then of them holding their baby. Eddie hollered as he skipped into the store and went to the counter.

"Give me your biggest fucking bear," Eddie said with a grin.

"Uh, celebrating, sir?" The clerk asked.

"I'm going to be a daddy!" Eddie exclaimed.

"Congratulations, sir."

As he started walking out with his purchase, Dustin's head popped out from the aisle.

"Eddie?!"

Eddie strolled into Steve’s house, the bear in his arms.

"Honey, I'm home!" Eddie exclaimed, bursting into the living room.

"Eddie?!"

Steve grinned in surprise. He was laid on the couch, curled up under a blanket, while Robin sat in the recliner next to him.

"You sounded off on the phone, so I drove all night to come and see you," Eddie said, dropping to the floor next to him. "I'm yours now and forever."

"Aww," Robin said.

"You sound like you're proposing," Steve sniffled. "Is that bear for me?"

"If you want me to propose, but I'd want us to get married for the right reasons, you know, not just because I knocked you up," Eddie said.

"Wait. What?" Steve asked.

"I know, sweetheart. I overheard you when I came in here earlier, and I want you to know that I so want to be involved," Eddie said.

"I told you that I heard someone!" Steve exclaimed, sitting up. "Eddie, you heard half of that conversation. Did you miss the part where I told Robin I am not pregnant?"

"I am so tired," Eddie whined. "And I thought the bats. . ."

"Gave you guys babies instead of rabies?" Robin asked, and Eddie nodded.

"Shit, you did say you drove all night," Steve said. "Baby, get up here."

Eddie climbed on the couch behind him, dropping the bear, and buried his face into the pillow.

"Are you sure you're not pregnant?" Eddie asked sleepily.

"Do I need to take a fucking pregnancy test?" Steve asked, mostly to himself.

"It wouldn't hurt," Robin said.

Steve flipped her off as Eddie's snores drifted through the air. He laid down next to him and threw the blanket over the blanket over them.

"Robin. . .," Steve said slowly. "Are you being this way because you're obsessed with the Godfather, and you want to be the Godmother?"

". . .No."

Steve did not believe her.

Part two

[malarign]

ur probs insanely busy but I just had an idea based on a TikTok I saw (typical)… basically I think it would make a really good heeseung angst where he thought it would be fun to play around with his partner and make them a little jealous - either cause they were unintentionally being too friendly with someone else or whatever you feel like coming up with - but it just turns out going bad and his partner gets super upset and there’s a lot of comfort. anyway now that I typed it it kinda sounds cringe but go wild if u want

jealousy, jealousy

(when you get jealous of his co-worker)

contains: idolbf!Heeseung x gn!reader | genre: angst, fluff | tw! kissing, mentions of food, the reader is insecure about their looks, please remember, everybody is pretty in their own way | wc: 1,1k

reblogs, likes and comments are highly appreciated!

author’s note: thank you anon and sorry for the delay, i was in fact pretty busy 😵‍���� also! no hate to the anon who sent this request but if you want to make your partner jealous intentionally just don’t get into a relationship! 🤭

“Have a lovely day, dear! I’ll let you know when I’m done with work today and maybe we’ll grab some dinner together?” Heeseung said in a rush, putting his shoes on.

“Sure, just don’t overwork yourself m’kay?” You fixed the collar of his coat and smiled.

“Anything for you, baby.” He left a last sweet kiss on your lips and bid his last goodbyes for today.

Closing the door behind him you decided to get to work on your assignments. You sighed seeing the workload you had. A sudden rush of motivation took over your body and mind and got to grips with everything. Closing your laptop you took a look at the clock on the wall in front of you. The day just started and you had plenty of time before Heeseung would come back home, so you decided to pay him a visit at work.

It wouldn’t be the first time you visited him at work, yet you always can’t help but feel anxious at the thought of your presence there among other idols. You were intimidated not only because of their popularity and fame but also because of their stunning looks which often made you jealous. His pretty co-workers didn’t have to do anything, in particular, to make you feel insecure, intimidated, and simply ugly. Despite your concerns you never dared to disclose them to your boyfriend, afraid he would laugh at your worries.

You arrived at his company and went straight to their practice room, but you met with silence and darkness. Confused you wanted to call Heeseung, but then a familiar voice caught your attention.

“Y/n?” You saw Jake at the other end of the hallway. “Heeseung didn’t tell me you’ll come over” He smiled after jogging your way.

“I finished my work earlier today so I thought I would surprise him but can’t find him.”

“Oh! He’s eating lunch right now with the rest of the guys. Come on, join us, they’re serving your favorite,” Jake laughed as he nudged your side jokingly.

You felt your stomach grumble at the thought of their cafeteria’s food and walked with him to the elevator. Before you stepped in, he excused himself as he had some other obligations and left you.

Opening the door to the dining area you were met with the smell of fried rice and chicken. Many people gathered to eat so finding Heeseung bordered on the miraculous. When you finally noticed him you saw he was talking to one of his co-workers, smiling widely and telling jokes as they both ate their lunches. You took a few steps back at the sight, a wave of fear rushed down your spine.

Their smile, their hair, their eyes, their figure. Everything about them screamed perfection, making you embarrassed about how you looked. They’re beautiful, talented in many ways, while you were just an ordinary person, who wouldn’t find their place on stage.

Heeseung raised from his seat after he finished his meal and made his way to the elevators, right where you were. You quickly turned around and pushed a button to close the door as fast as possible. Looking at the mirror you noticed a few teardrops on your cheeks and wiped them off your face.

“I’m back!” Heeseung’s voice echoed in your apartment as you quietly fidgeted with the hem of the blanket you were under. “Jake told me you were at Hybe, why didn’t you tell me?” he asked and made his way to the kitchen and took a bottle of apple juice.

“I don’t know,” you mumbled under your nose and continued playing with the fabric.

“I didn’t hear you, can you repeat?”

“I don’t know, Heeseung,” you repeated yourself louder, sounding a little bit too harsh than you intended to.

Your tone and the way you called him by his name and not one of many nicknames you used made him confused.

“Hey, are you mad?” he asked and sat next to you. “Is it because I didn’t call? I’m so sorry, my love, but I got caught up in so much work I didn’t realize it got so late,” he said and tilted his head as he spoke.

“No, it’s not because you didn’t call.” You looked him in the eyes and that’s when he noticed your tear-stained cheeks.

“Are you crying? Love, what’s happening?” Heeseung cupped your face as he scanned your features. “We agreed not to hide our worries from each other,” he reminded you.

His sweet voice and full of love words made you cry, leaving him even more confused than before. Quietly embracing you in a comforting and warm hug he waited for you to calm down. Instead, he heard your voice, full of distress.

“Why would you love me, when there are so many other people who are way better than me?” You spoke incomprehensibly, but still enough for him to understand what you said.

“Why would you say that? Love, where is that coming from?”

You pulled away from his embrace and wiped your tears to look at him.

“Why would you want to be with me, an ordinary person, who will never understand your struggles as a public person? Why would you want to be with me, who has nothing to offer but coarseness? I’m not as beautiful as your co-workers. I’m not as talented, as charismatic, as interesting as them, so why would you want to settle down with me? When will you realize that they’re perfect and I’m not enough for you?”

Heeseung listened to you attentively, keeping eye contact with you throughout your whole monologue. When you were done he thought for a second to gather his wits and took your hands into his, rubbing your skin with his thumbs.

“Love, why didn’t you tell me earlier you felt that way? Gosh, I don’t care that you’re not a public person. Why would I want you to be one? Y/n, nobody knows and understands me more than you do. What you offer is not coarseness but stability and my safe space. Nobody makes me feel so safe and loved as you do. You don’t have to be an idol to be the most beautiful, talented, charismatic, and interesting person in my eyes. I love you as you are and nothing will change that, okay?”

You lowered your head at his words, feeling embarrassed at your own jealousy.

“My dear, please look at me,” Heeseung spoke and brushed your hair off your face. Looking at him smiling reassuringly made you cry again. You fell into his arms and wrapped yours around his neck, as he left soft kisses on your skin. “I love you so much,” he whispered.

“I love you, Hee.”

thank you for reading! back to the masterlist

permanent taglist: (send an ask to be added) @nicholasluvbot

[jermer10]

idk if you do any repeats of requests but that fake dating scout anon had me thinking if maybe we could get more jealous scout? if possible?

TF2 playing pretend | scout x reader

gn reader | i freaking LOVE jealous scout <33

drabbles under the cut :P

You didn’t think much of it when Scout asked you for a favour.

"Come on," he pleaded, leaning against the doorframe of your room, flashing that signature grin of his. "Just one night. Pretend to be my date, and I swear I’ll owe you big time." Apparently, some of the guys had been giving him a hard time about not being able to get a date for the RED team new years party. You’d always had a soft spot for Scout and his endless charisma, so you agreed. After all, it wasn’t like anything real would come from it. You figured it’d be easy enough - hang out with him for a few hours, let him save face in front of the team, and then go back to your normal routine.

Except you didn’t expect him to get this into it. And you definitely didn’t expect him to get jealous.

The night of the event, you walked in with Scout by your side, his hand loosely around your waist. He was all smiles, playing the part to perfection, and for the first hour or so, everything was fine. He was charming, cracking jokes, introducing you to everyone as his "date." It was almost fun - Scout was energetic and easygoing, always keeping the conversation light. But as the night wore on, you noticed a shift.

The first sign was when Sniper approached you.

You’d always gotten along well with Sniper, and it wasn’t unusual for the two of you to chat during downtime. He made his way over during a quiet moment, tipping his hat with that low drawl of his. "Lookin’ nice tonight," he said, giving you a small smile. "Thanks," you replied, feeling a little flattered. Scout was busy talking with Engineer and hadn’t seemed to notice. Sniper leaned against the wall, his tall frame relaxed, and you found yourself easily slipping into conversation with him. He had a way of making you feel at ease, and soon, you were laughing at something he said about one of the recent missions.

But then you felt it - a subtle shift in the air. Scout had appeared at your side, his arm now more possessively wrapped around your waist than it had been earlier. "You good here, pal?" Scout asked Sniper, his tone light but with an unmistakable edge. He wasn’t even trying to hide the fact that he was not happy. Sniper raised an eyebrow but didn’t seem fazed. "Just talkin’ to ‘em, mate. Didn’t realize you were the jealous type."

"Jealous?" Scout scoffed, his grip tightening slightly on your waist. "Nah, just making sure everything’s cool. You know, since they’re my date tonight." The emphasis on the last two words was hard to miss, and you could feel the tension between the two of them rising. Sniper just chuckled softly, clearly amused. "Right. I’ll leave you to it, then." He gave you a wink before walking off, and you could practically feel the heat radiating from Scout beside you. "You good?" you asked, looking up at him once Sniper was out of earshot. Scout turned his gaze to you, eyes narrowing slightly before he quickly shook it off. "Yeah, yeah. I’m fine. Just didn’t like how he was gettin’ all buddy-buddy with ya." You raised an eyebrow, surprised by his sudden defensiveness. "Scout, we were just talking."

"Yeah, well, didn’t look like just talking to me," he muttered, his usual cocky grin faltering for a moment. You tilted your head, studying him. "Wait… are you jealous?" His face flushed immediately, and he quickly looked away, trying to regain his composure. "Jealous? Me? Nah! Pfft, why would I be jealous? I mean, this whole thing’s fake, right? Just doin’ me a favour." He laughed, but it didn’t reach his eyes. You blinked, taken aback by his reaction. He was fidgeting, shifting from foot to foot, avoiding your gaze—a stark contrast to his usual cocky demeanor. And that’s when it hit you.

Maybe this wasn’t just fake for him.

"Scout…" you started, your voice soft but playful, "you do know this is just pretend, right? There’s no need to get worked up over it." But he wasn’t looking at you anymore, his jaw set tightly. "Yeah, pretend. Sure. Like we agreed on." He was silent for a moment before his eyes flicked back to yours, the playful gleam in them replaced with something more serious. "Look, forget I said anything. Let’s just get back to the party." Before you could respond, Scout let go of your waist and walked away, leaving you standing there, more confused than ever.

The rest of the night passed awkwardly. Scout tried to brush it off, acting as if everything was fine, but the tension between you was palpable. Every time someone else approached you - whether it was Sniper, Spy, or anyone else - Scout was right there, cutting in with a joke or changing the subject, his jealousy glaringly obvious.

Eventually, you couldn’t take it anymore.

When you both stepped outside for some air, away from the rest of the team, you turned to him, crossing your arms. "Okay, enough. What’s going on, Scout?" He blinked at you, shocked by your bluntness. "What? Nothin’. Just...enjoying the party."

"Don’t give me that. You’ve been acting weird ever since Sniper came over earlier. Are you seriously upset over this fake dating thing?" For a moment, Scout was silent. Then he ran a hand through his hair, sighing heavily. "Okay, fine. Yeah, maybe I got a little jealous. So what? It’s not like I meant to or anything. I just...I don’t like seeing you with other people, alright?" You stared at him, processing his words. "Scout...it’s not real. We’re just pretending, remember?"

"Yeah, but..." He trailed off, eyes flicking down to the ground. "Maybe it was never fake for me, okay?" That stopped you in your tracks. "What?" Scout’s face flushed as he rubbed the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable. "I dunno, alright? I sorta used this whole 'favour' thing as a ploy to try and ask you out. Like, for real." He let out a nervous laugh, but it quickly died off as he looked back at you, his usual bravado gone. "I like you, okay? And it’s stupid, ‘cause I didn’t want to make things weird, but I guess I already did." You were stunned. Of all the things you’d expected, this wasn’t one of them. Scout, the cocky, carefree loudmouth, was standing there, spilling his feelings, clearly terrified of what you’d say next.

Slowly, a smile crept onto your face. "You know, if you’d just told me how you felt from the start, we wouldn’t have had to go through all this fake dating nonsense." Scout blinked, staring at you. "I- what?" You laughed softly, stepping closer to him. "I like you too, Scout. Maybe I was waiting for you to make a move first."

For a moment, he just stood there, processing your words. Then, slowly, a grin spread across his face - the same confident grin you knew so well. "Wait, really? You’re not messin’ with me?"

"Nope," you said, shaking your head. "Not pretending this time." Scout’s grin widened, and before you knew it, he’d pulled you into a tight hug, his energy suddenly bouncing back. "Oh man, this is awesome! I knew you liked me!" He pulled back just enough to give you a playful smirk. "Guess the fake dating thing wasn’t such a bad idea after all, huh?" You rolled your eyes, but couldn’t help the smile that stayed on your face. "Yeah, yeah. Just don’t get too cocky about it."

"No promises," Scout said, still grinning as he took your hand, this time holding it for real.

[writeforfandoms]

The Name of the Wind 4

Find the series masterlist

Here we finally are continuing with this story! I'm trying to match up the timing on everything between these thee stories in the dragon riders 'verse. Yes, three. Our two special guests in this chapter will be leaving to their own story.

It'll be fun, I swear.

Warnings: Swearing, idiot in love, clueless reader, scheming riders, seriously the whole garrison is invested by now.

Word count: 1.8k

Dinner seemed nothing special, in the way that you'd become accustomed to meals here. There was the usual assortment of foods at every table, riders and staff settling down to eat. 

Alejandro was at the table you'd unofficially labeled his - not in the center of the room quite, but still easy to get to. Some of the usual people were there already - Rodolfo and Marin both nodded to you. 

The two new people were there as well, seated side by side across from Alejandro.

“Our guests for tonight,” Alejandro told you, motioning you to sit next to him. “Alex and Frank.” 

You greeted them both, settling next to Alejandro. They'd both cleaned up since you saw them earlier, though Frank hadn't bothered to shave. You'd never seen them before, and you were curious as to how they got here, and how long they'd be here. 

“You must be new here.” Frank eyed you, openly appraising. 

“Yes,” you admitted, a little surprised. 

“New rider?”

“Not exactly,” you hedged, on the border of being uncomfortable, and not sure why. 

“She is a leather worker,” Alejandro answered smoothly, one knee pressing into yours under the table, his elbow gently jostling your arm. “Quite skilled, as well.” 

You warmed under both the praise and the touches, shoulders relaxing even as you leaned ever so slightly into his space. 

Frank held your gaze for a moment before he nodded. “Then we'll be seeing you around again.” 

“Are you here often?” You took a tray from Alejandro, serving yourself food even as you glanced at the two men. 

Alex shrugged, a secretive half-smile twitching his lips. “We come through every so often.”

You looked between the two, seeing clearly that this was some kind of joke. But Alejandro nudged your knee again under the table, and you didn't ask. 

The conversation moved on from there, Rodolfo chiming in with daily reports. Another rider came over to talk to Alejandro for a few minutes, mostly ignoring Alex and Frank. They seemed content to be ignored, talking quietly to each other. 

You squashed your curiosity back down and ate your dinner quietly. 

Frank and Alex stood to leave in tandem, and Alejandro nodded to them. 

“Who were they?” You asked very quietly once they'd left. 

Alejandro hummed for a moment, arms crossed loosely over his chest. “You will see them from time to time,” he said slowly. “But you cannot ask what they do, or where they go. It is confidential.” 

“Okay.” You could do that. No problem. 

Well. Okay. You'd have to remind yourself not to ask, but you'd manage. 

He looked down at you, amused. “You won't see them so often it will be a problem,” he assured you. “Don't fret.” 

You chuckled. “Sure,” you agreed easily. “If you say so.” 

Alejandro shook his head but smiled, getting to his feet. “I will see you tomorrow.”

“Good night.” You watched him and Rodolfo walk out together, shoulders nearly pressed together. 

The view was quite nice, after all. 

Shaking your head at yourself, you cleared your place at the table and made your way back to your room. You had a little time before bed. Plenty of time to stuff your emotions back down. 

You were still trying not to find Alejandro attractive… but it wasn't easy. He made it very difficult, in fact. Especially when he sought you out at meal times, and took you on a flight, and promised he wouldn't let harm come to you… 

Really, how were you expected to not find him attractive? 

You squished your face in your pillow to squeal, just a little bit. 

The problem over the next few weeks wasn't work. It wasn't the dragons, as they had all learned that you were to be treated gently.

No. The problem was Alejandro. 

He ate most meals with you. He took you on two more flights. He made a point of seeing you at least once each day. 

He was distracting, but in the most pleasant way. Intriguing and courteous and funny. 

He was a major problem. 

You looked for him, almost automatically, every time you went to eat, or when you were in the dragons’ nesting area. Any time you heard his voice, you paused what you were doing to look. 

Honestly, it was a bit ridiculous. You were embarrassed at yourself. 

But you still looked. 

One night after dinner, Alejandro asked if you'd take a walk with him. You agreed, heart fluttering. 

“I will be gone a few days,” he said as the two of you strolled down empty hallways. “I need to go to the capital.” 

“Oh.” You couldn't help the way your heart sank with disappointment. 

“Rodolfo will be in charge while I'm gone,” he said, looking at you and away again. “It will only be a few days.” 

“I hope you have fun?” It came out for too much of a question, and you grimaced at yourself. 

He snorted. “I will not, but thank you. I dislike going, but I must sometimes.” 

“Why do you dislike it?”

He shrugged. “Politics,” he answered dryly. “There is an overabundance of people who feel far too self-important.”

You laughed, unable to hold it in. “I'm sorry,” you managed, still giggling. “But the look on your face.” 

He huffed, smiling. “It is never a hardship to make you laugh,” he murmured. “Is there anything you want from the capital?”

You blinked at him, taken completely by surprise. “I don't know.” 

He eyed you for a moment before he nodded, just once. “I will find you something, then.” 

You almost protested, except he turned to face you fully, two fingers under your chin tipping your face towards him. Your eyes went wide. 

“I will think of you,” he promised, low and quiet. “I need to go, because I need to wake early. I will see you in a few days.” He leaned in, and for a wild moment you thought he'd kiss you. Your heart leapt and then pounded, lips parting ever so slightly. 

But his lips landed on your cheek, soft and chaste. Your eyelids fluttered, a soft breath escaping you. 

The two of you stood perfectly still for one moment. Then Alejandro stepped back, his fingers falling from your skin. 

You watched him go, hand rising to touch the spot he'd just kissed. 

You hadn't imagined that. He had really kissed your cheek. 

Oh, you were way past trouble now. Now you were in deep. 

You meandered back to your room, completely distracted and oblivious to the world around you, replaying those precious moments over and over again to make sure you remembered them. 

You didn't sleep well, half-remembered dreams of flying then falling interrupting you through the night. 

You were surprised when Marin sat with you at breakfast. She asked about your day, and seemed genuinely interested. Which was… weird, but okay. 

But the weirdness didn't stop there. 

Various riders popped in to your workshop throughout the day. Some just asked how you were doing, while some asked about bringing you things for repairs. One even brought you a canteen of water, saying she'd noticed yours was empty. 

You were deeply, deeply confused. 

But you didn't actually object. 

Rodolfo gently herded you to the normal table at dinner, but he didn't try to make you talk. Just made sure you had food. 

Alejandro left for a few days and the whole garrison went extremely weird. 

Maybe they just needed some sleep. Or something. Maybe you needed sleep. 

Except the next day passed in much the same manner. You hadn't had so much conversation… basically ever. And with so many people! Even one of the kitchen staff found you to ask if you had enough scrap leather to make a holder for a knife. 

Which, of course, you did. Not that you'd tell her, the poor woman seemed easily flustered to begin with, but you weren't using scraps for this. 

You were also debating between telling Alejandro the entire garrison went nuts while he was gone, or never mentioning any of this again. 

You skipped breakfast the next day, sneaking some bread from the kitchen to tide you over until lunch. This, apparently, was a mistake, as what felt like half the garrison showed up at your workshop before lunch. Not all at once, thankfully, mostly alone with a few pairs or small groups showing up.

But still. Highly annoying while you were trying to work. 

You were gearing up around lunch time to yell at the group of three hovering outside your door when a dragon trumpeted outside. All three riders perked up, and the youngest (and boldest) of them darted inside to grab you. You barely had time to yelp before the three were half-dragging you off, your feet barely keeping up. 

Bright sunlight blinded you for a couple moments as they dragged you clear outside. But you felt the ground-shaking thump of a dragon landing. 

You didn't even have time to ask before the three abandoned you. You nearly stumbled, but managed not to. Huffing, you shaded your eyes to look. 

Your heart fluttered in your chest. 

Caba stopped just in front of you, rumbling a friendly greeting to you, head lowering to breathe hot air on top of your head. You couldn't help but laugh a little, reaching up to pat his snout. 

“You're here.” Alejandro sounded surprised but rallied quickly, throwing one leg over Caba's back and sliding down the big dragon's side. He landed easily, making you the teensiest bit jealous - you still nearly faceplanted every time. 

“I am,” you agreed, a little perplexed but mostly just happy to see him. “How was your trip?”

He waved a hand, dismissing the question. “Uneventful. Not worth it, as usual.” He paused a moment before he smiled. “But I did find this.” 

He produced a flower from nowhere, petals marbled pink and white. 

“Oh, it's beautiful.” You smiled, leaning closer to see if the flower had any fragrance. It did, and it smelled wonderful too. 

“It's for you.” Alejandro took one of your hands, curling your fingers delicately around the stem.

Your eyes blew wide and you jerked your gaze from the flower to him. He just smiled at you, warm and soft and so pleased. 

Excited not-exactly-whispering behind you made both of you turn to look. Alejandro's smile dropped and he huffed softly. 

“Excuse me, I have some riders to speak with,” he growled, much less happy now. But he paused and cupped your cheek, leaning in close to whisper, “I'll see you later.” And then he strode off, like a man on a warpath.

You dropped your gaze back to your flower and hid your smile behind it, inexplicably giddy.

[runninriot]

written for the @steddieholidaydrabbles

Day 10

prompt: first kiss | rated: T | cw: underage drinking | tags: Robin, Steve & Eddie are friends, confessions, coming out

“What d’you mean you never had your first kiss?”

Oops. Did he say that out loud? Shit. Eddie knew he should’ve gone easy on the rum. But they’ve been running around town all afternoon to buy Christmas presents for the kids and when they finally made their way back to Steve’s, the idea of having some rum-spiked hot cocoa to warm them up from the inside sounded great. And it was - up until now.

Now, he’s being reminded of the fact that alcohol loosens his tongue, makes him say things he usually would keep to himself.

“Uh, yeah? It’s no big deal.” Eddie tries to play it down, tries to ignore the heat spreading uncomfortably in his cheeks.

“No. Hold up. Eddie, are you really telling me you’ve never kissed anyone? Not once?” Steve’s eyes are huge and Eddie searches for mockery in them, finds only honest confusion.

“Well, Steve. Not everyone starts their slutty era as young as you did,” Robin defends him. Maybe because she can sense how embarrassed Eddie feels. Maybe because she knows something about him that Steve doesn’t.

“Yeah yeah, I know. Keep making fun of me but- I can’t believe it, Eddie. You’re 19 and no one has ever been worthy enough for you to kiss them?”

The way he phrases it makes Eddie’s insides twist into a knot, makes his heart flutter at the notion of Steve actually thinking anyone had ever wanted to kiss him.

Because the truth is that no one has.

“What can I say? Maybe I’m just waiting for the right one.” Eddie laughs, makes it sound like a silly joke to hide the fact that in another universe, the right one would be sitting right next to him. Not in this life, though. He’ll never know what Steve’s lips taste like.

“I’d rather not had my first kiss at all than the one I got. Middle school, Jackson Hughes. Planted one right on me, wet and sloppy. Ugh, guess that’s when I knew I don’t like boys.”

Steve shoots her an alarmed look.

“It’s okay, Steve. He knows,” Robin answers his silent question, obviously referring to Eddie knowing about her being a lesbian.

“Oh. G-good. That’s good.”

“Takes one to know one.” Eddie chokes on a laugh.

FUCK!

Did he really just out himself in front of Steve?

As if his earlier confession hadn’t been enough to throw him off, the look on Steve’s face now is even worse. Not like- he doesn’t look disgusted or anything. More like, surprised. His facial expressions going from confused to… soft? So soft in fact, that Eddie suddenly has a hard time breathing.

“Oookay. That was awkward. Moving on. Who wants another?” Eddie quickly jumps up from the sofa, waving his empty cup at the others, not even waiting for their response before he makes his way to the kitchen.

He needs to do something, needs to get away. Splash some cold water into his face to cool down, sober up. Maybe getting another drink isn’t a good idea, after all.

Eddie braces his hands on the edge of the counter, drops his head down and sighs.

Shitshitshit!

Yeah, nope. He should not get another drink. Not if he doesn’t cut out his own tongue first. He already said too much, already confessed too many things for one evening. What comes next? Telling Steve that he’s hopelessly in love with him?

Over my dead body.

No one needs to know that. Especially not Steve. So, yeah. Definitely no more rum for him. He should probably go home and hide under his blanket until the end of days or at least-

“Eddie?”

He turns around quickly, trying his best to steady himself.

“Are you okay?”

Steve’s eyes are warm and his voice is gentle and Eddie just wants the ground to open up and swallow him whole.

“Yeah. Just needed a minute. That was not exactly how I planned on telling you.” Eddie laughs but it sounds strange even to his own ears.

God, you’re pathetic.

The other boy steps closer and Eddie feels like he’s frozen in place. His heart beats like crazy when Steve stops only inches away from him, so close now that Eddie can feel warmth radiating off Steve’s body.

“I’ve been wanting to tell you, too. A-about me.”

Eddie thinks he can feel, hear, and smell the wires in his brain short-circuiting. His mouth drops open, eyes blown wide in disbelief.

What?

“I’m… bi. Apparently.” He shrugs his shoulders and smiles shyly at him.

“Th- that’s. Cool.” Eddie stutters, doesn’t really know what to say when his mind offers nothing he can share.

Steve likes boys? Maybe I have a chance. Maybe he likes me too? Shut up, Munson! He’s so pretty. I want to kiss him so badly...

“And I-“ Steve bites down on his bottom lip as if he’s trying to prevent himself from talking.

“I wanted to tell you for a while that I-“

Eddie knows he’s being delusional but he can’t take it anymore. He needs to know.

“I like you, Steve. A lot. I-“

Steve's whole face lights up and Eddie's head is spinning.

“Can I kiss you?”

He doesn’t know how exactly it happens or who starts it but somehow he finds himself glued to Steve’s lips not even a second later - his hands in Steve’s hair, Steve’s hands wrapped around his middle, their bodies pressed against one another so close that he thinks he can feel Steve’s heartbeat in his own chest.

Eddie must’ve died and gone to heaven because he is kissing Steve and Steve is kissing him back and it’s nothing like anything he’s ever felt or tasted before. A tender brush of lips, a hesitant tongue asking silently for permission, Steve’s hot breath on his face, the sweet little noises they both make… it’s like a dream come true.

And yeah. If waiting 19 years got him this - he'd do it all over again.

[softie00]

SAFE

pairing; lee know x reader

warnings; fluff, cute bf minho, teasing, jokes, reader feeling tired and drained, use of jagi, going in nature, flowers, words of affirmations, kissing, very cute minho!!

word count; 1-2k

summary; you haven't been feeling the best these days, feeling drained as each day comes. but your cute boyfriend minho has something planned for you, hoping it'll help bring some ease.

a/n: something for myself and i hope for those who also have been feeling this way❣

Drained. You've been feeling this way for quite some time, not knowing why. The busy days at work, interacting with a bunch of people, making reports and handling all sorts of deadlines at once just makes you want to internally scream.

When was the last time you've had no interruptions? You probably don't even remember.

But you do know that once you reach to the comfort of your home, it stops. Seeing your beautiful boyfriend minho just brings you so much inner peace. It may even sound weird but whenever you struggle to sleep in the night time, you shift your focus fully on Minho's sleeping face.

How peaceful and adorable can one look just sleeping away? You've always thought angels only existed in heaven but how lucky are you to have one besides you.

Yes, only an angel could look this beautiful.

He isn't even aware how you thank those from above for delivering his sweet ass to you. A person who brings ease by just watching his face, being in his presence feels like a big warm hug, removing all kinds of negativity away.

You plant a kiss above his head, just before you fall asleep.

The routine begins once again. Getting up in the mornings are always the worst. Minho leaves earlier than you since his schedule is a lot different to yours. Though some days like today, you had wished to feel his lingering warmth right beside you for extra few minutes.

You gain the strength to finally get up and do your routinely quick shower, which has also felt like a chore. Once your done and you've put on your fresh clothes, you make your way down to the kitchen to have a quick little breakfast before you leave for work.

Just as you make your way to grab the milk from the fridge, a sticker note is placed above. You brows furrowed ahead before you read.

Wanna know a fun fact?

Octopuses have three hearts

And they still couldn't love you as much as I do ;)

If only Minho was here to see how hard you was smiling right now. Til this day, you're not used to him professing his love in various ways, almost immediately making you flustered. It's almost in sync when he does these things, particularly on the days you feel drained.

You love his silly little jokes and sometimes you question how he even comes across certain things but hey, it made you smile.

Like always.

You really needed to hear this today. Words of affirmations are so important to you and your boyfriend almost never fails to deliver. He really knows the key to your heart.

Oh Lee Minho, I fucking love you

Surprisingly your day wasn't as bad. It helps even more to know you have the weekend coming up, finally some break. But really thanks to your boyfriend's sweet words that instantly changed your mood for the day. Feeling a lot more loose.

You arrived at home as usual but was surprised to see Minho present. During the time at work, Minho cleaned up the place and made it look a lot more presentable. You appreciate his kind gesture as you were just about to approach him.

"Hey jagi, you're back."

Minho embraced you with his both arms, a warm feel arises as inhaled in this comfort. His fresh soft scented body wash still lingering over him, a scent that brings you to comfort.

"I missed you," You respond back. ever since the morning and even the past few days, you've missed having Minho around you for longer. But due to his work, he's been waking up a lot more earlier often leaving you alone.

"I missed you too, jagi." Minho replies, his hands squeezing you tighter. A part of him feels guilty that he hasn't been around much but he will change that very soon.

The hug felt like it just got rid of all your worries and distress of all them days you've had. If there is one place someone had asked you where you'd stay, the answer would be in Minho's arms.

Minho pulls aways first, causing you to frown but immediately plants a kiss to your head.

"Go get ready, we're going out today." Immediately you eyes open, surprised at his words.

"Where are we going?" You asked, part of you actually feels like a kid as the excitement grows. Minho watches your eyes for your reaction, just as he expected. They lit up almost in quickness, something he had missed seeing before.

"Somewhere, now go" He quickly brushes off. Only to make you get even curious.

"But-"

"Go. Now" He demanded.

"But where-"

"Jagiiii don't be stubborn please, just get ready. Pleaseeee" He begs sweetly, gently pushing you towards the door because he knows your ass won't stop questioning, which makes you giggle hearing how cute he sounds already.

"Okaaaay fine!" As you laughed to yourself getting inside the room.

You've been questioning Minho for the past 30 minutes and yet he still isn't giving up to tell you where you're both going. You look outside the car before opening up the window all the way down, letting the cool breeze hit your face.

How long has it been since you've just closed your eyes and felt some fresh breeze?

You almost forgot how calming it makes one feel. You breathe in and out, all thoughts of the days slowly becoming smaller and smaller until they are left to cease in your mind.

The feeling of nothing. No sadness, no anger, no frustrations, no worries, no stress, no nothing.

Just you being present, having the love of the life right beside you and some really cool breeze hitting your face.

This is what you've missed having.

You don't even realise that you've finally reached your destination, having your eyes still closed until Minho calls out.

"Jagi," He admires how peaceful you already look, his hand moves through the hair on your face, "We've arrived."

The sensation of his hands wake you up, not realising you almost fell asleep. You slowly opened your eyes and watched ahead. You have no idea what this place even is and before you even ask more, Minho already opens your door with his hand reaching for yours.

You don't remember when was the last time you've even visited nature. Nature was always a place you'd end up in whenever you needed a breather. Though these past few days, you couldn't even get yourself anywhere.

Normally you'd raise a comment on how much longer you'd need to walk. In places like these, it feels never ending.

You allow yourself to just feel. Let the wind fall through your skin, your hair as it flies away softly, let the birds sing to you and let the trees embrace you. Hand in hand with Minho, who seems rather ecstatic at the beautiful trees ahead as you both walk.

It feels peaceful.

As you both keep walking, there's fields of beautiful flowers that have blossomed, filling their love all throughout the way. Pink. It's such a pretty colour isn't it?

And before you could even say that, Minho beats you to it.

"Wow, I've never seen this many pretty flowers in my life." He says in amaze and you agreed, "Me too, they're beautiful."

Minho immediately engulfs you in a hug, like he's trying to protect you from something. "Jagi I think we need to hide you away from them," Which made you feel a bit confused to why.

They're only flowers. So harmless you thought.

"But why babe?" You questioned.

"Right well, you see how pretty they are right?" He explains as he goes on, "And how much space they've taken up?" Which you nod to trying to understand what he's coming at. "I fear them being within your presence they may end up taking away my beautiful flower, too."

Your heart melted. Stop. No. How much more cuteness can you take from this man?

"Minhoooo," you whined out, smiling like crazy, "Why are you cute and also are you actually jealous of a bunch of flowers-" you almost laughed.

"How could I not be! They also recognise beauty to, don't they?" He pouts cutely, and your heart is fluttering so much right this moment. You can't believe you've found someone who's this adorable.

"Exactly, so in that case," You grab on to his hand and move away from the flowers. "I'd have to protect my flower too." In which Minho immediately blushed with a cute smile creeping in. God, he is so cute when he gets shy too.

You both venture off until you finally stop to the end. The hills. You didn't realise you both had climbed all the way up here, which to be honest was worth it. You walk hand in hand, mouth dropping at the amazement of how beautiful this hill is.

It feels like your on top of the world right now. Seeing everything from above and below. The gorgeous fields that are formed within this place, the different type of flowers, the greenery. The people, the lights as you watch the city running in fast speed. Perhaps, you may have been on speed to. Not having a chance to actually slow down and just breathe.

Reminding you of the times you would often walk off to nature. Something you've actually missed doing. It brought you so much peace and only today you've realised how badly you needed to see this.

You don't realise when Minho has actually sat down, leaving you to fully embrace this lovely view on your own. He knows how badly you needed this and to be alone for some time.

Which you appreciate so much. You notice he isn't beside you and you make your way towards him, sitting down on the benches present.

You both listen and immerse yourself in the silence. Well not so much until the birds begin to hum, sending a lovely melodic sound to your ears. You don't know how long its been to just stay still. Quiet. No sounds of people nagging you, no one expecting you to do anything, just you two alone, in this world.

Allowing yourself to feel the earth for once.

"I'm proud of you."

Is all you heard as you break out of a trance. You look next to you as Minho watches you with intently with a soft look, his hands brushing above yours.

"I'm proud of you for existing today." The words seemingly hit your heart and before you could speak, he stops you. "I'm proud of you for waking up each day despite being tired of life. For taking a shower, for eating your food even on the days you don't feel too. For going in to a hell called work. For dealing with a bunch of humans that drain your energy and on top of the workload. For faking your smiles in order to show you're fine when really your crumbling inside. For gaining the strength to perform for people and society when all you want to do is hide. He utters, causing you to breathe slowly as you take in all of his words.

You smiled, with teary eyes, "Thank you so much Minho." You feel loss at words. No one in your life has ever seen you this closely to notice such things about yourself. No one. Not even your past lovers did.

But Minho? Oh, he's special.

Now you realise how Minho started doing more things at home, not allowing you to do anything. This goes to making food for the two of you, to cleaning up the place and washing up. Even those times where he would sneak into your showers, which you had thought was for other reasons. But no, you was wrong. Because each time he came in, he smothered your scalp with shampoo with his gentle finger tips, slowly massaging away the worries of the days. He picked up the soap and let his hands work through your body, all whilst he gave you kisses. It felt so comforting and you couldn't even think of anything else. It made it easier for you not to feel exhausted when you have him beside you.

And you never even thought of that, until today. Now.

Minho has always noticed. And he's always shown that through his actions.

Immediately you wrap your arms around him as you continue to sob, "I'm sorry I didn't even realise those things-" which he shuts you off right away.

"Listen jagi, you shouldn't need to apologise at all. It's my job and responsibility to care for you. I don't do these things out of pity, no. I do it because I love you, so much that I just want to make life easier for you." He breathes, "We can't control how we feel but what I can do is make things feel easier even if its little. And honestly this is so effortless for me because I love you. I want to care and do things for you." He emphasises.

You cry even more, letting your tears flow below him at his words. To be loved this way was always what you dreamed. You had thought these things only exist in movies, which only was proven wrong when you first came across Minho.

Minho removes your arms and faces you directly, brushing off the tears with his fingers gently, "Shush. It's okay. You're safe now. With me." He smiles, planting a kiss right above your lip.

You chuckled and leaned into the small kiss, placing your mouth on to his. His lips felt ever so soft.

You both leaned back to the bench, cuddled up just before Minho asks you something. "Jagi?"

"Hm?"

"I know you always love admiring my face, even right now haha. But am I that handsome that you watch me sleep too?" He teased watching how completely flushed out you looked when the shock runs through your body.

"Minho what the fuck-"

He did not just say that. Wait, how does he know you watch him?

"No no jagi it's completely fine. I'm just so handsome to look at, so I can't blame you," He smirked making you feel even more flustered. Great, cats out the bag now.

"This is so embarrassing" You screamed, trying to hide yourself away from him. How weird does that sound that someone watches you sleep? But you don't do it weirdly, it's just become an habit over the past few days. It just instantly makes you feel better and yeah.

You huffed as you got up trying to escape until Minho grabs on to your waist and pulls you down to his lap, "Why are you running away?" He looks further into your eyes. Even though you've been together for time, his eyes still feel so intense, reading through every thought in your mind.

"Hmm? Shy now?" He continued to tease you further, only for you to hit your palm against his chest. "You're unbelievable." You sighed out as you chuckled. "You know what, they shouldn't have dropped you down yet." You thought back to your whole theory on Minho, your boyfriend being a whole angel from heaven who accidentally fell.

Minho only looks at you confusingly before he laughs, planting another kiss on your cheek, "Who?"

You giggled to yourself, "Nothing." And kissed him on his cute nose, watching his puzzled adorable face.

"But jagiyaaaaaaaa."

copyright ©2023 softie00

[bengals-barnesbabe]

Pairing: Joe Burrow x Singer!FemReader

Summary: When the secret relationship between a famous singer and a popular quarterback is revealed no one could be happier. But when lyrics to an unreleased song are released, the strength of their relationship is questioned and tested when fans, reporters and exes start coming into the mix. Will you get your happy ending or is this the beginning of the end?

Chapter 13: 'i love you, goodnight' tour

#Track9 Masterlist

Warnings: 18+, mentions of sex, foul language.

Part One🖤

Word Count: 1.2k

Anxiety courses through your veins like hot lava as you wait for your name to be announced. You haven't done a live appearance like this since before you and Joe went public with your relationship, not one with an audience that is. During rehearsals Jimmy reassured you that it would be more fun than stressful, but that does not include the buildup to it. Usually you’d be texting or talking to Joey right now but he’s knee deep in meetings across the country so thats not an option. So its just you and your nerves.

“For tonight’s musical guest, we have the incredibly talented and beautiful Venus, she will be singing her latest single off of her new album ‘Tell Me You Love Me,’ everyone allow me to introduce Venus to the stage.”

 I guess that’s my cue.

Walking out to the lively applause and the smiling host helps you shed some of the nervousness that plagued you earlier. You and Jimmy share a quick hug before turning towards the audience and smiling and waving back.

“Venus, everyone. Wow, they might love you more than me.” He jokes as you both take your seats.

“Well, I love everyone here equally.” You wink at the audience causing a wave of laughter. “Thank you so much for having me, Jimmy.”

“The pleasure is all mine, the last time you were here you had just won your first grammy’s and there was someone else with you backstage that we’re missing today.” He lightly smirked. Fantastic start right.

“Its crazy that it was only a little over a year ago when my life completely changed. Then even more so in the last few weeks, everything is absolutely insane and I wouldn't wish for it any other way.” You widely grinned, dusting off the last part of his question.

“Thats great,” he says then pulls up a photo of you at the SuperBowl. “You surprised everyone when you joined Usher at this year’s SuperBowl, tell us how this came about.”

Your eyes crinkled up as the memory flooded your brain. “Of course, so for those who don’t know Usher is one of the big industry people that discovered me way back when, so he’s been like my mentor ever since. He called me in about November and told me that he was going to

headlining it and I was ecstatic for him. It was about time we had an Atlanta centered show, and then he asked me if I wanted to join him. I immediately said yes, like Usher just asked me to perform with him, I don't care what stage we’re on or even the fact that I know him personally. The man is an absolute legend and it was an honor to share the stage with him. Being apart of his surprise guests was so exciting and I was starstruck the entire time.” 

“Thats incredible, you were amazing up there and I hope we see you headlining it someday.” He winked.

“Who knows what the future holds.” You chuckled.

Then a picture of you and a certain someone shows up on the screen behind you cause the audience to start hollering and your face to heat up a bit. “Oh what do we have here, I have no idea how that got up there.” You smiled then shook your head.

“I’m just going to ask the question and see how far you want to go. How did this happen, where did this romance come from?” He says hiding his face behind his cards.

“God, I’d like to say that I don’t know, but that’s not true. You can thank LSU for that, we met at the beginning of our senior year and became really fast friends. There was always some kind of attraction on both ends, but we didn’t do anything about that until two years later. And we’ve been together ever since.”

“That’s cute, you guys look great together. So were together during your first appearance?”

“Yea, he was backstage with me trying to stop me from freaking out about performing for y'all.” Everyone cracked up at that one.

“I don’t know how you could be nervous about this, you are absolutely killing it. Now lets talk about the album, this track 9 controversy, what happened?”

“My lack of media training happened,” you huffed. “Im joking, but not really. I was really excited to put out this project and even more ready to actually show the world who I dedicated it to. I worked on this album for a really long time, it was like journaling an adventure and the hardest part was finding a way to condense 5 years into one album. In the end, we were all satisfied with what we made then what I thought was going to be a fun little peak at track 9 turned into absolute chaos.”

“For a few weeks, it seemed like every media outlet could not stop talking about this song and really giving Joe a bad rep in the process.”

“One that wasn’t deserved at all. Joe was such a good sport through the whole thing because he’s such a laid back guy. While I was basically preparing for war, he was the one calming me down about it. Everything was so fresh to the outside world that people just took it to an extreme that it was no where near. When artists release a body of work, I think fans skip past the time element. That particular song was written before I was even signed, I was still working my regular 9 to 5 in Louisiana and using songwriting as a way to cope with my feelings. And its extremely dramatized. For something to be entertaining that might be banal to most, you amp it up and Track 9 was taken from a 4 to a 10 in one session. By the time we were putting together this album, Leon Thomas III, absolutely incredible musician and producer, heard it and decided to rework it. When he was finished, everyone in the room was in love with it, we almost made it a single.”

“Its funny how things like that happen. Before we let you go and hit that stage, give us a little about the song you will be performing in a bit.”

“Absolutely, earlier this week I released ‘Prayer for the Broken’ as a single because I wanted to be able to give to communities that are struggling right now. This song is about how love is the only thing that can fix our broken world so all the proceeds that it brings in will be donated to multiple charities around the world, to help people and communities in horrid conditions. These charities are on my website so if anyone wants to donate straight to them, please do. This song means a lot to me and I hope everyone loves hearing it live.”

“Tonight only?”

“Live tonight AND this summer when I go on my ‘i love you, goodnight’ tour. I hope to see you all there and maybe I’ll bring some friends along too.”

🝮

“Ladies and Gentlemen give it up once again for Venus!”

<<<Previous Chapter | Next Part>>>

Main Masterlist

[grahamzcracker]

💊— i’m only seventeen - i don’t know anything, but i know i miss you.

effy stonem x reader | w.c : 722 | CW : cheating, slight mention of drug use . | title from betty by taylor swift. (req status : open!)

✧〰︎〰︎〰︎〰︎〰︎〰︎〰︎〰︎〰︎〰︎〰︎〰︎〰︎〰︎〰︎〰︎〰︎〰︎〰︎〰︎〰︎✧

Effy was pacing in her room, calling you nonstop. You had caught her cheating on you with Cook a few days ago and you're now ignoring her. You've been skipping school for the past few days just so you wouldn't have to see her or Cook, and you've mainly just spent the days rotting in your bed, only occasionally leaving to eat or use the restroom. 

Effy ran her fingers through her hair, sighing out of frustration as the phone went to voicemail for what felt like the millionth time. She decided it was no use and put her phone up, before she finished getting ready and headed out to school.

She debated on just skipping the day, knowing her mum wouldn't even notice, but realized she didn't want to be stuck inside all day. She spent most of the day trying to avoid everyone, but it didn't work out so well. Cook was the one that was hard to avoid, with his constant talking, and he had approached her at the end of the day at her locker. 

"What's your problem, princess? Gonna ignore me all day?" he asked with a grin.

"Fuck off, Cook." Effy said, slamming the locker shut and heading out the building. Cook tried to run after her but ended up losing her in a crowd of students. 

Once Effy got home, she tried ringing you again a few times but it was no use. She headed downstairs and got a snack, then tried to settle down for the day.

A couple hours later, she called again and wasn't surprised when you didn't answer. She realized calling wasn't going to get her anywhere, so she changed into a comfier outift and headed out of her house, starting to walk to your house. 

It was fairly dark by now, but not too late. Effy arrived at your house and took a moment to take in the sight, mentally preparing herself to talk to you. She crouched down and picked up a few rocks, starting to throw them at your window to get your attention.

After a few minutes, you opened your window, looking frustrated. Your hair looked like it hadn't been brushed in days and you just looked like a complete mess in general. 

"What do you want, Eff?" you called out.

"Can I come in?" she asked, and you took a moment before caving in, giving her a nod and heading down to the front door to open it.

You guys sat down on your couch in awkward silence, before Effy spoke up.

"You look like shit." she said with a smirk.

"Oh, I wonder why." you muttered sarcastically. 

"Right, yeah... Listen, I really am sorry."

You looked at her for a moment, unsure of what to say. "Bullshit... How can I believe you? You never care about who your actions hurt, all you ever want is fun! You can't even just be with someone, even if it's for a little bit. We- we were good together, I don't get why you had to go back to Cook for the millionth fucking time! I should've known something was up. You act different when you hang out with him, it's like he just brings out the worst in you... Just because I don't go out and party and get high or drunk every night doesn't mean I'm not good enough for you! We're great together, and you know it."

"Look— I get what you're saying, I do! Please hear me out. I fucked up, like really bad. I'm sorry I was so stupid, I realize now that I don't want Cook. I don't know what I was thinking, I shouldn't have done what I did. I think... I don't know, I think I just... couldn't handle the fact that I love you." she said, the last few words coming out in a softer tone.

Your gaze softened at the last words. Does Effy really love you? 

"What? You love me?" your earlier frustration went away as you spoke and you couldn't fight the grin creeping up on your face.

"Do I really have to say it again?" she groaned.

"Yup."

"I love you, okay? I was stupid for not realizing it before."

"I love you too." you replied with a smile, pulling her in for a gentle kiss.

✧〰︎〰︎〰︎〰︎〰︎〰︎〰︎〰︎〰︎〰︎〰︎〰︎〰︎〰︎〰︎〰︎〰︎〰︎〰︎〰︎〰︎✧

a/n : hope u enjoyed!!!!!