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#Posting the final chapter literally broke my heart
lestappenforever · 1 year
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The final chapter of "Devils roll the dice (Angels roll their eyes)" is up!
Please excuse me while I go cry in a corner about this fic officially being finished, three weeks and 50 000+ words later.
You can read the final chapter, chapter 7, here.
It has been an incredible ride, and I don't even know where to start.
I'm fluent in two languages, I master two more, and I can understand quite a bit of another and yet, I have no words in either language to describe the gratitude I feel to each and every one of you.
I have had so much fun writing every word of this fic, and I'm honestly heartbroken that I've actually finished it. The motivation and inspiration I've felt every second I've spent working on this is unlike anything I've experienced before. And a big reason for that is you guys.
To every person who has read the fic. To every person who has left kudos. To every person who has commented, to every person who has bookmarked. To every person who has subscribed. To every person who has liked and reblogged snippets and other posts related to the fic on Tumblr. To every person who has left me replies and asks. To every single one of you who has shown this fic and me any sort of love in the past three weeks: Thank you. Thank you so, so much.
And a very special thanks to the lovely Ilse, @f1writingbyme, for proofreading the Dutch parts of this chapter and making sure it was worded properly.
You truly have no idea how much each and every one of you means to me, and how much your support and love has meant. I'm going to remember the way you've all helped make me feel during this ride for the rest of my life, and I will cherish it forever.
I love you all so much. ♥
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the-eternal-child · 2 months
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Just noticed something...
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This part of Iron Flame noting how Riders are usually discouraged from politics and are discouraged from keeping their family seats.
Xaden's grandfather who was Sgaeyl's former rider was said to have died without making it out the quadrant. We know assassination attempts on students with powerful parents happens. So maybe this was an assassination carried out because of the power dynamics mentioned above. The future Duke of Aretia being a rider? Bonded to one of the strongest dragons out there?! It's what I'm thinking because why else mention the fact that he died while in the school? Info drops like these are purposeful.
My first question is timeline wise... WHEN did he have Fen 🤣🤣?!! I'm assuming he wasn't married since you can't get married until you leave... Unless he was married before entering the quadrant. Maybe marriages don't play that much of a part in the legitimacy of heirs for the Tyrrish 🤷🏾‍♀️.
Next question is, was this a case like Aaric? He found out what was going on and decided having a dragon would help the effort to fight the venin?
It brings me back to my questions in a previous post wondering about how much the Tyrrish know.
They're described through out the series as having been the last to join the unification, seen as troublesome or prone to unrest by Navarrian leadership, the Tyrs describe themselves as being 'loyal to their own' which makes me think of the kind of cultural identity people have when they're discriminated against...
It seems like the Tyrrish have been aware of the fate of the continent for a long time - or maybe only their leadership? They maybe have always had issues with Navarrian rulership decisions and being last to the party of unification and objecting to things would give them the reputation of being 'too proud' or 'thinking they're too good to submit to the king'.
Maybe Fen grew up being aware why his father died and decided to try another route to change. Let us become our own country so we can deal with this problem ourselves.
And the Navarrian top brass like Markham were just waiting to finally have a reason to drop the hammer on the Tyrrish people. Crushing a rebellion is one thing... But to raize a capital city to the ground?! A city described as having been beautiful?
Seems like a purposeful psychological blow to the people. Very publicly defame your beloved leader, take out almost everyone affiliated even loosely with the rebellion planning - Liam's father's execution even though he wasn't involved, and I bet he wasn't the only family member to get that treatment - they'd even wanted to execute the damn children! Cripple their financial centre by burning the capital, which would give them something else to focus on in the years to come, trying to rebuild their lives!
They humbled them, invalidated the claim they fought for, crippled them financially and painted a target on their back for the disdain of the rest of the kingdom. Amber Mavis was literally described as 'one of the good ones' because her family didn't take part in the rebellion!
Jesus fking christ!! Someone stop me! Cue 'make it stooooopp!!' screams like Jeremiah 😅😅
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The more I think about this damn series the more insidious things start to look, the more glaring Navarre's crimes. The Tyrrish are entitled to freaking reparations man 😭😭!!!
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longing-for-rain · 19 days
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Hello! First let me say that I am enjoying your 'Good Wife' fic. I skimmed chapter 2 today or maybe yesterday and my heart broke for Katara. I am literally terrified of chapter 3. I can't bear to see Katara wither away even more than she already has. I don't understand how a Katara fan can ship Kataang. Her future is bleak with Aang and it didnt have to be this way :(
So I have a question...what if Tenzin were female?? How do you think Aang would treat Fem!Tenzin? As a man, it's easier for Tenzin to sow his seeds so to speak to get more airbending kids. Do you think Aang would want to mold Fem!Tenzin into a mini Katara? Someone expected to pop out babies? Do you maybe see Aang being more doting? I never got the impression that Aang was a boy or girl dad...just an airbending dad lol
Thanks! I’m glad you’re enjoying the fic. I know it’s sad and difficult, but in my mind, it’s a realistic depiction of what Katara’s life was like based on the hints TLOK left. I hate to say it, but the final chapter is going to be even more heartbreaking. It’s a tragedy, after all. BUT to lighten the air a bit, I’m also soon going to post a counterpart story that deviates from canon and gives Katara the happy ending she deserves.
I think that’s a very interesting question about fem!Tenzin though. Given what we see in Pema and Tenzin relationship in TLOK, I feel like fem!Tenzin would be heavily pressured into producing as many airbending heirs as possible. Tenzin clearly was raised with the idea of that being highly important and if he was female, it would have probably been emphasized even more. I agree with you though that Aang would have still favored fem!Tenzin above the other children by virtue of being an airbender.
And yeah, I know people are going to accuse me of being an asshole for this take…but just look at TLOK. Tenzin was clearly the favorite. Tenzin clearly didn’t care about or value the Water Tribe side of his heritage at all, and he made no effort to pass that on to his children. I didn’t write that. It’s canon. Take it up with the writers, not me.
I’m just here to explore the tragic implications canon left.
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Snitches Get Stitches: Chapter 7
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Pairing: Jake "Hangman" Seresin x Reader
Part of the San Diego Dogfighters universe
Summary: Jake Seresin, golden boy of the NHL and Captain of the Dallas Stars makes headlines when he unexpectedly signs with newly-formed San Diego Dogfighters. When your future seems at the verge of crashing down, you receive the opportunity of a lifetime to become the team physician for the Dogfighters. You never expected to be working directly with your favorite hockey player. Jake has a secret and you have a job to do. Will he be able to trust you enough to help and will you be able to trust him with your heart?
Series CW: 18+ ONLY, swearing, violence, sports violence, medical stuff, blood probably, angst, fluff, (eventual) smut, forbidden romance, sexual harassment, suggestive language, medical inaccuracies, hockey inaccuracies etc. No use of Y/N.
Word Count: 4.7k
A/N: This is a repost of my completed series, Snitches Get Stitches. It was originally posted in October-November 2023, and was lost when my blog was deleted.
Previous Chapter // Series Masterlist // Next Chapter
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It’s been a week since all hell broke loose in the locker room. It turns out that Maverick and Dare’s marriage really isn’t public knowledge since all everyone’s been talking about is how Iceman had managed to get one of the best coaches in the entire NHL and as an assistant coach at that. Only you and Jake know the extent of the chaos that’s officially descended on the team.
Jake’s officially exempt from practice and the two of you spend pretty much every single day together as you start developing a recovery plan for him. You’d been bouncing between clinics and hospitals getting tests and scans done and you’ve finally managed to book Jake in for the final scans he needs tomorrow with one of your former medical school colleagues. Unsurprisingly, the Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute had been staunchly unwilling to help you out, NHL or not, so you’d been forced to look elsewhere to get Jake examined. You couldn’t help the guilt you felt that your own personal issues were keeping Jake from getting the care you deserved but it’s not like there was anything you could do.
That’s what found you here, sitting in a baby pink chair across from Zam’s desk as she chomps ferociously on your peace offering of green gummy bears from your office stash, clicking away at her computer, scanning the documents and emails you’d brought for her to examine. You’d been sitting in silence save for the sound of Zam’s chewing and clicking for the last ten minutes. She finally sits back, an annoyed frown on her face. “This is bullshit.” You sigh, you’d always thought so but every lawyer that had glared down their nose at you had always insisted otherwise. “You realize if you were a man you wouldn’t be dealing with most if any of this.”
“I’m acutely aware, yes.” You slump back into your chair. “Instead I barely have a career, and the one that I do have is constantly being affected by this. I’m literally having to beg doctors to see Jake.” Zam glares harder at her screen.
“A physician’s reputation shouldn’t keep a patient from getting seen.”
“That’s what I’ve been saying, but no one seems to care.” You’re tired, downright exhausted from the grueling and frankly humiliating phone calls that had taken up most of your week. Jake was the only thing keeping you sane amid all this. Unsurprisingly, the two of you had gotten even closer over the past week with all the one-on-one time you’d been spending together both at and outside of work. He was more open, and despite the difficulties he was facing with physical therapy, he smiled and laughed with you in a way you knew was genuine. That only made you want to lean on him more, but you knew you couldn’t. You didn’t know if you’d be able to handle losing him when he found out. You could take the rest of the world being disappointed and disgusted with you but from Jake? It would break every last bit of your resolve.
The last thing you want to do is cry in Zam’s office but finally feeling some solidarity and support from someone else is overwhelming. The look in her eyes as yours blur with tears isn’t pity, it’s pain, solidarity in the shared experience of being a woman in this industry. A knock at the door breaks the moment of vulnerability and you’re blinking back your tears as Zam pushes her pink tissue box towards you, pausing to make sure you’re professional again before she calls out to the knocker to come in.
A familiar blonde head sticks its way in. “Hey Zam, I’m looking for Bugs, Nat said-“ His eyes fall on the back of your head. “Hey Bugs, there you are!” You turn in your chair and give him a smile.
“Hey Jake, sorry I’ll be right there.” You glance at the clock on Zam’s wall. “Sorry, I lost track of time.” Jake shrugs, pushing through the doorway and coming to lean against the back of your chair.
“S’all good, Bugs. I don’t have anywhere else to be.” You know he means it in a nonchalant and completely platonic way but you can’t help the way your heart skips at his words. Then he’s leaning over where you’re seated to grab at the tissue on Zam’s desk covered in gummy bears. You can’t see much past Jake’s torso blocking your field of vision but you hear the slap. “Ow!” Jake yelps as he recoils, holding his hand and pouting at Zam as she scowls at him.
“Paws off, Seresin.” You giggle and Jake glares down at you.
“Whose side are you on, Bugs?” You roll your eyes.
“You know where I keep the stash in my office, Jake, you don’t have to steal from Zam.” He gives you an exaggerated pout and you swat at his arm gently. “Go grab some of your own and I’ll meet you in the therapy room in ten.” He grumbles but takes his leave, dropping a large hand onto your head to muss your hair up in a silent goodbye. You feel your cheeks pinken at the casual touch.
The moment the door swings shut, Zam lets out a breath and you look over to see her giving you a look. “What?”
“Oh girl, please tell me you didn’t go and fall for him.” Your face goes bright red. Now there’s pity in her eyes as she shakes her head.
“You’re setting yourself up for failure, you know that right? As cute as the two of you are, and you’re VERY cute, annoyingly so, actually, you know there’s no universe in which that can happen, right?” Your conscience has graduated from a nagging voice in the back of your head to a frowning woman in a lilac suit sitting across from you. You let out an exhausted sigh before whispering so quietly that you’re not even sure she’ll hear you.
“I know.” The tears are back and you hate that she’s right. There’s no future for you and Jake. Yet you can’t help the way your heart jumps every time he fixes that smile of his on you like it’s your personal spotlight and he thinks you deserve to shine. You’d asked him for professionalism at work and he’d delivered, keeping a respectful distance between the two of you at all times and dialing his flirting down to playful teasing. You knew he was trying for you so why were you so incapable of doing the same?
“Oh, sweetie.” Zam’s getting out of her chair and coming around her desk to wrap her arms around you. You tremble in her arms as the traitorous part of your brain wishes it was Jake holding you. The two of you are silent except for your occasional sniffles as you try to hold yourself together. “This is more than just a little crush, isn’t it?” She finally whispers. You nod over her shoulder because you don’t trust your voice right now. She straightens then, leaning against her desk as she looks you in the eye. She looks like she’s debating something before she swallows and speaks. “I’m gonna start looking into some stuff for you guys.” Your eyebrows shoot straight up. This wasn’t what you’d been expecting at all. She shakes her head. “There has to be a way for this to work.”
“Zam…” you’re at a loss for words at her kindness and solidarity.
“Hey now, this is my job, Bugs, remember? Sticky situations are my specialty. Plus, there’s no universe in which I’m letting Cyclone fire you without a fight, he’s a prick.” Your laugh gurgles up past your shed tears.
“Thank you, Zam, I mean it.” She just gives you a sad smile.
“Just be careful okay? Just because he’s a golden retriever in hockey pads doesn’t mean he’s not still a guy. He’s no Javy Machado, but just make sure you don’t let him break your heart.”
You snort, thinking back to your conversation with Jake about Javy’s dating habits or lack thereof. “How’s that going by the way?”
Zam groans, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I don’t get it, how can a guy that’s that sweet be such a slut?” You laugh at that. “He’s thirty-three for God’s sake, he needs to grow up instead of going through girls like he’s still a frat boy.” She raises an eyebrow at you. “His STD report really came back clean?”
“Really!” You insist. You hadn’t known that it was anything questionable when you’d gotten the results, but you hadn’t really known much about Javy back then.
She groans again, running a hand down her face. “These boys are going to be the death of me, I swear. And not just the younger ones.” She gives you a pointed look. “Cyclone is going to put me in an early grave.”
“Maybe we should get plots next to each other.” You muse and the two of you burst out laughing before Zam sobers before leaning in and whispering.
“Did you know that Mav and Dare are MARRIED?!” You give her a grim smile and nod.
“Jake and I accidentally found out when he invited us over to dinner.”
“There’s no way that doesn’t go absolutely ballistic.” She shakes her head, laughing nervously. “Not to mention the fact that she’s way more qualified than him and SHE’S the ASSISTANT coach. Feminism is dead.” She frowns as if she’s just thought of something. “You think Ice knows that they're married?” You frown back, you hadn’t considered it.
“I think there’s a pretty good chance. I mean why else would he call HER of all people? But a better question is why did she come here in the first place? She’s been coaching the Penguins for 26 years and they’ve been really good, there’s no reason for management to want her gone so that means she left. Mav said they separated on good terms, so maybe he asked her to come here and help?”
Zam shakes her head. “No, Mav didn’t know she was coming. He found out when we did” This is news to you and your jaw drops. “And look I love Mav, I really do but Dare’s been my inspiration for as long as I can remember. She’s the reason I’m here, doing this, and I can’t help but wonder if there’s more to the story than we know.” Before you can answer Zam, there’s another knock at the door. Zam calls out for them to come in and Maverick opens the door.
“Hey ladies, Zam you ready for our meeting?” Zam glances at the clock before cursing and you follow, having both lost track of time. You get up out of the chair, relinquishing it to Mav as he comes in and mouth thank you to Zam before excusing yourself.
***
You sigh, getting up from where you’ve been sitting next to where Jake’s lying on an exercise mat, observing while he does some heel slides, stretching his knee gingerly. “How’s the pain?” You ask, jotting a few notes down on the clipboard at your side.
“Better than yesterday,” Jake confirms as he smiles at you. He’s working hard and it’s showing. So far his recovery has been smooth. You smile back.
“Remember, we have the last of your preliminary scans tomorrow morning so we can’t be late.” You fix him with a look. Jake’s taken to joining you and Pudding on your morning walks aided by a pair of crutches so he can hop along. Unfortunately, both Pudding and her owner are all too excited for these outings and are easily distracted, leading to multiple days where you’ve been forced to rush to make it to work on time.
He holds up his hands in mock surrender. “I have no idea what you’re talking about Bunny, I’m always on time.” You give his chest a gentle shove that makes him laugh before pushing to your feet and holding out your hands to help him up after you. The muscles in your arms strain as you pull the much larger man up and Jake’s hands squeeze yours tightly until you’re face to face. His hands skim up your arms gently, thumbs skimming over your biceps. “Who knew you were so strong, Bunny?” Your eyelids flutter shut at the contrast between the gentle caress and the roughness in his voice.
“I’m really not.” You whisper back, half-lidded eyes meeting his green ones. “But you make me want to be.” It’s true, he makes you want to fight for what you want, for what you deserve.
“What’re you doing tonight?” The words spill past Jake’s lips in a tumble. You shrug, knowing you should lie, and tell him you have plans. It wouldn’t be the first time you’ve hung out after work but there was never this electricity that’s coursing between you now as you’re standing so close that you’re almost touching everywhere.
“Nothing really.” He lets out a pleased hum in response.
“How does a movie night sound?” His fingers are still stroking at the bare skin just past the edge of your sleeve.
“That sounds perfect.” You murmur back and he gazes down at you with such a fondness that you feel like the air has been knocked out of your lungs. Before either of you can move, however, the shrill sound of your alarm pierces the tense atmosphere, signaling the end of your session and you step out of his grasp to fish out your phone and turn it off. Jake plops into a nearby chair going to put his brace back on. You collect your things as he finishes before turning back to him, twisting your fingers together. “Hey, Jake?” He looks up, a question in his eyes at your nervous tone.
“Yeah, Bunny?”
“Can we swing by my apartment on the way? I’d really like to change first.” His face spreads into a relieved smile.
“Of course we can, and for the record? You never have to ask, you’re driving, remember?” You flush at the reminder.
***
You swallow hard when you pull into the parking garage for your apartment complex. Jake’s never been over to your place before. Usually, you’re content to stay in your scrubs for after-work hangouts but today you need to be as far as you can be from any reminders of your job, your title, and your responsibilities. You want to just be Bugs and Jake tonight. You put the truck in park in your usual spot, before turning to Jake. “You wanna come up?” You shouldn’t be so nervous, it’s just for a few minutes while you get changed. He nods and follows you to the elevator.
When you finally reach your door, you’re nervous again. He’s a millionaire and you’re only half moved into your new place so it’s a wreck. You pause with your key in the lock and turn to Jake. “Look, I’m still in the process of moving in, so it’s kind of a mess, but just make yourself comfortable as best you can, I’ll be quick.” He just chuckles and ruffles your hair, nodding. You try not to look too hard at the living room as you make a beeline for your room, leaving Jake behind.
After a few minutes of rummaging around for the pair of sweats that you’re looking for, you duck back out into the living room to check the half-unpacked box next to the couch. You come face to face with Jake who’s standing by the couch holding a box of dog treats in one hand and some brand new dog toys in the other, more on the table next to him. He’s got a look of soft awe on his face as he looks at you. “You bought all of this?” He asks as you walk over, taking them from his hands and returning them to the table, your cheeks pinkening, not meeting his eyes.
“Yeah, it’s nothing really.”
“Nothing? Bunny, it’s EVERYTHING.” You look up at that and then Jake’s lips are colliding with yours. You gasp against his mouth at the sudden kiss before your body betrays every bit of logic in your mind and you’re kissing him back just as hungrily. His arms wrap around you tightly, holding you close like he’s afraid that you’ll slip between his fingers and disappear. You almost sob at the feeling that you’ve been craving all day. Instead, you whimper into the kiss and Jake’s tongue sweeps gently across your bottom lip, asking for entry that you give wholeheartedly, whining his name into his mouth as his tongue sweeps into yours. Your hands come up to fist into his shirt, pulling him impossibly closer while you backpedal toward your room. He stumbles after you, not breaking the kiss. Your lips feel swollen from his ministrations and your mind is hazy as you shove the bedroom door open dragging him along with you. The backs of your legs hit the bed and Jake’s hands go to the back of your thighs, scooping you up effortlessly, breaking the kiss to toss you onto the center of the bed before he attempts to follow before he pauses, scowling down at the brace on his knee keeping it from bending so he can slot himself over you. You giggle softly in response and crawl towards him pulling him by the collar of his shirt and flipping him gently onto his back before you climb onto his lap. Your giggles are cut short by a moan as you feel the straining bulge in his pants. Jake pulls you close, kissing you again before he moves to place open-mouthed kisses along your jaw and your neck, whispering praises in between. “So fucking perfect, Bunny. You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do this.” You moan in response. He chuckles at that, reaching up to brush your hair back from your face, just looking at you and you flush, squirming under the intensity of his gaze. “So beautiful,” he whispers like it’s a prayer and you let your eyes flutter shut as you let yourself believe him. You open your eyes just as his catch on something over your shoulder and you watch his eyes narrow in confusion, the passion in them momentarily quelled as he pushes up onto his elbows to get a better look at whatever’s caught his attention. “Bunny, is that my jersey?” FUCK. Your heart stops and your desire screeches to a halt as Jake sits up, hands coming up idly to hold your waist so you don’t fall as he turns to get a better look at the frame above your headboard. Because yes, that’s his jersey. The stark white number 86 with his name emblazoned above it on the bright green fabric of the Dallas Stars jersey. And there at the bottom is his signature and a personalized note that says KEEP KILLING IT. You’re going to die from mortification as your eyes follow Jake’s past the jersey to the framed pucks, headshots, and various other memorabilia that hang on the wall, your heart dropping with each one that your eyes pass as you feel Jake’s body stiffening beside you. “Bunny,” his voice is low and dangerous and you feel your body shiver involuntarily. “What is all this stuff?” He turns to you then and you see confusion, anger, and most of all betrayal in his eyes as they search yours for an explanation.
“Jake, I can explain, I promise.” Your voice sounds foreign to you. You reach for him but he pulls away, pushing you off his lap and standing as you get up on your knees reaching for him. “Jake, please! Please don’t go.” You’re begging. Begging for him to wait, begging for him to let you explain, begging him to stay, begging him to understand, begging him not to go. He gives you a pained look as he walks out of the room. You’re tripping over your legs, falling off the bed with a thump as you race after him. You grab his hand, doing your best to pull him to a stop but you can’t because he’s wrong, you’re not strong enough. “Jake please, whatever you think it is, it isn’t.” He rounds on you then, pain in his eyes and your heart breaks at the thought that you’re the cause of it.
“Do you know why I left Dallas?” His voice is low, his eyes piercing yours. You look back at him with confusion at the sudden change in topic.
“Because of how your coach handled your injury, right?” You ask, unsure if he’s asking a rhetorical question or not.
He shakes his head, eyes never leaving yours as he chuckles darkly. “I left because after demoting me and saying he didn’t care if I healed properly or not, I found out why he didn’t care. He booked me a gig as an underwear model.” Your stomach lurches as the realization hits you. The pain in Jake’s eyes is palpable. “He didn’t need me to play, he just wanted a pretty little poster boy to ride the bench and bring in the media, get girls in the stands, buying tickets to see his pretty little sideshow.” Fury hurdles down your spine. Jake said it himself, hockey is his first priority and for his coach to try and take that away from him makes your blood boil even as your heart aches in solidarity. All this time you were afraid that Jake would cast you aside if he knew the truth about you, when in reality that couldn’t be farther from the truth. “And now the first girl I’ve been interested in in years has a fucking shrine in her bedroom, so tell me Bunny, how is it not what I think it is?” You feel like he’s slapped you across the face as realization dawns, as you see what he sees.
“Jake, no. NO. I’m not, I’m not some fucking puck bunny.” Your face twists in disgust. “I would never do that to you, that’s disgusting.” He glances down at you warily, the anger in his eyes warring with confusion and you can tell that he wants to believe you. You reach up and grab his face in your hands, forcing him to look at you. “I would NEVER do that to you, Jake, do you hear me? Yes, I know my room makes it look like the exact opposite but that’s not what you think it is. Am I a fan?” Your cheeks flush with embarrassment at having to admit this to him. “Yeah I am, and I have been for YEARS, but not because of the way you look. I’m a fan because of the way you PLAY. I can’t take my eyes off you on the ice because you’re BRILLIANT, Jake. I’ve watched hockey my whole life and I never understood what it was to truly love it until I watched you play.” Tears blur your vision as you look up at him. “And this?” You stroke your thumb across his cheek tenderly. “I never expected to fall for you, Jake. Truly. And the man I fell for is so much more than the person I’ve watched on the ice over the years.”
You swallow, your body beginning to tremble as you contemplate what you’re about to do, to admit, but you need to come clean, totally, completely clean. “You may think that I don’t understand how it feels to have everything you’ve worked for taken away because of someone else’s greed, but I do.” Your fingers are trembling on his cheeks and he reaches up to take them tentatively in his own as he waits patiently for you to keep going. “All through medical school, I kept my head down and worked hard because I knew I needed to be the best if I wanted to work in the NHL, and I topped all my classes. I gave up having a social life, dating, and everything to make sure I was the very best and it was working. And then,” you take a shuddering breath, and Jake gives your hands an encouraging squeeze. “A-at the fellowship I was at before I came here, there was this doctor. He was older and one day I was getting some stuff from the supply closet to restock one of the exam rooms, and he came into the closet.” You squeeze your eyes shut like you can block out the memory as it plays out in your mind. “He said there was no way a girl like me did as well as I was by myself and that he wanted some of my ‘special treatment.’ I-I tried to tell him that I’d never done anything with anyone to ever earn my grades, that I worked hard and was just good at my job, b-but he wouldn’t listen. He kissed me.” Jake growls in fury and you open your eyes to see the rage in his. “I was trying to fight him off and thankfully someone else showed up before he could try anything else, but then he turned it around and said I had kissed HIM trying to get a letter of recommendation from him.” You laugh hollowly. “And he was my senior, and he was a MAN, so of course everyone believed HIM. I almost lost the fellowship but it was so close to being over that I managed to beg them into letting me stay. Unfortunately though, if you fuck up at one of the best places in the country, they know everyone and you’re basically blacklisted from the entire industry. So there I was, at the top of my class, with the best grades and not a single job offer… until I met Maverick.” Your eyes burn as the tears finally start to escape. “He gave me a chance when no one else would. And then I somehow managed to convince Cyclone to give me the job. Apparently, he has a daughter so he sympathized with me or something, but he made me promise there wouldn’t be any incidents here. That I wouldn’t get involved with any of my coworkers or else he’d fire me.” You give him a rueful look. “And well you know how well that’s gone so far.” Your heart breaks at the fury in Jake’s eyes and the guilt as he gently lets go of you and you keen towards him, missing the feeling.
“Oh Bunny,” his voice is full of pain. “I’m so sorry.” A sob breaks through your lips and you reach for him, desperately and you see him hesitate a moment before he gives in and pulls you to him. You weep into his chest as he holds you close. You feel so light, like you haven’t in the months since the incident, because Jake’s here and he understands and he believes you, and it’s going to be okay as long as you have him.
You’re not sure how long the two of you stay standing like that until Jake finally pulls away, a deep sadness in his eyes that you don’t understand until he speaks. “I think I’m gonna get an Uber home, Bunny. You can keep the truck until tomorrow.” Your heart shatters. He’s leaving.
“You’re leaving?” You hate how weak your voice sounds and you can see on Jake’s face that he does too.
“I-I just need some space right now, Bunny. I need to think about all of this, about us.” You know he’s right, that you need to do the same but the idea of being alone right now is enough to make you feel lightheaded. You nod anyway.
“No, you’re right, that’s totally fair. I just- Jake I just want you to know, it was always real for me.” You swallow, forcing yourself to meet his eyes so he can see your sincerity. “But whatever you decide, I’m always going to be your physician first and I intend to keep my promise about getting you back on the ice because it would truly be a loss to the hockey world if you never played again.” You reach out to squeeze his hand. “I can drive you home if you want?” He shakes his head gently.
“Not tonight, Bunny. I’ll see you in the morning, yeah?” You nod your head silently. He steps closer and places a gentle kiss on your forehead before he turns and leaves, the front door clicking behind him and feeling more final than you want it to.
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alovesreading · 10 months
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Constant Repeat | Part 18
Summary: Having worked at Focus Creeps for a year, Ella knows that as a production assistant and part of the crew, there’s one important rule: don’t interact with the talent unless it’s needed. But once she meets Arctic Monkeys, and the recording of the music videos for their upcoming fourth studio album starts, the band seem to become her exception. Not only because they treat her more like a friend than just someone else they’re working with but when Alex continuously makes her blush with his flirting, so enthralled by her that he forgets he’s got a girlfriend, Ella finds herself growing closer to him. As videos are filmed, wrapped and edited, the friendship lines become blurry. Situations unfold, secrets are told and others are kept under lock and key, but how long can Alex and Ella endure being stuck in each other’s minds on constant repeat.
Word Count: 41.3k
Story Warnings: Throughout this series there will be suggestive talk, jealousy, cheating, alcohol and drug use, angst, smut.
A/N: Well, clearly I need to stop deeming one or another chapter the longest of the series when I still haven't written the rest cos I'm actually equally horrified and surprised that this chapter is this long - especially since I had to chop down a third of it to push it towards a new chapter. Yep, that's right - you lot are getting two more chapters after this one and the epilogue lol Anyway, I cannot believe I'm posting this chapter finally!!! Pinch me moment, really, but I hope with all my heart that you love it. Also sorry but I just literally finished writing this so it's not fully proofread so I'm very sorry if there's grammatical and spelling mistakes. Okay, I'll shut up now!! Enjoy!!! xxx
Masterlist
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 |
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Four days had passed since that stupid article had come out and Ella seemed to be working on automatic. She was trying her best to appear completely normal and unbothered while every word she’d read that day echoed inside her mind in an agonizing loop.
The giddy Ella that Ben had been teasing all day that Thursday was long gone by the end of the day. He had been completely ignored when he asked her what was wrong while everyone was saying goodbye and walking out the door to go home.
And the following four days were just the same: a blank expression on her face that only was exchanged from time to time for a forced smile she pulled whenever someone asked her if she was alright.
Ben had tried to joke with her on Friday, teasing her about being so down bad for Alex that she was missing him too much to function. But it had gone poorly. Ella had frozen in her place and stood up abruptly after a few beats of silence, grabbing her pack of cigarettes and lighter to take with her outside and her voice broke as she mumbled that she needed to go for a smoke. That was when Ben started to actually worry.
Even her coworkers had realized it was something far deeper than they’d been thinking when Monday had come around and she looked the same as the end of Thursday and Friday. At first, they thought she was just shutting down after coming back from her hometown, but she never let it drag on this much when that would happen. Usually she’d speak to her family on the phone on the weekend and that’d be enough for her to be cured of the homesickness, but this time it was apparent that it just wasn’t the case.
They tried to cheer her up during lunch break, tempting her with an offer to take her to her favorite Los Feliz restaurant, but she shook her head to decline their advances. With an absent look on her face, she told them she’d brought her own food that day. No witty remark to hold them up to that offer in the future, just falling silently into eating—more like moving around—the lunch she’d packed herself the night before.
Even if she was behaving that way, she was fully invested in her work and whilst everyone appreciated the fact that work wasn’t being halted, it just wasn’t something anyone in the office enjoyed seeing.
So Ben and Aaron begged her to go home earlier that day, knowing she’d be willing to stay way past usual hours just to drown in the work that had accumulated slightly while she was in Tennessee. She had already caught up with a lot on Thursday and Friday, and the last thing anyone wanted was for her to burnout due to her seeking an escape from whatever was going on by working non-stop.
Ella’s eyes were red from how long she’d been staring at her computer, editing pictures without a break once she came back into her office after finishing lunch—which had been a mere few bites of her pasta before threw it away. She still had two weeks to give back the finished product but she was determined to just do everything and anything she could to distract herself from her thoughts.
Staying at the office later than usual on Thursday and Friday had helped, and the weekend she’d spent alone at home had been beyond miserable, she needed the distraction that work gave her that Monday, and every day that would follow until her mind would stop racing and she could try to get over everything—force herself to forget about everything that had happened in Tennessee and forget about the hope that had bloomed inside her from it all, the one that made her heart break in a thousand more pieces the more time passed.
It was all a blur how Ben and Aaron managed to get her out of the office by six in the afternoon and when she got back home by seven, she was thankful for loud music and the lighter than usual LA traffic.
She’d spent the weekend deep cleaning every corner of her house, trying to be meticulous in every aspect so that her focus was completely on her tasks, so many movies had been playing in the background those two days. Crying over fictional people’s lives seemed to be just what she needed to fool herself about what she really wanted to cry over. When she had gone into her room to clean it though, it had gotten tough and Sunday had unfortunately ended with her sobbing as she clutched onto that Clockwork Orange shirt she’d never given him back.
So when Ella stepped foot into her spotless house, she started to panic over what she was meant to do so as to not drive herself insane for the rest of the day.
Breana solved that for her by calling her. She was currently on the way to Indianapolis with the lads and she’d been trying hard not to stress herself about Ella’s lack of answer to her texts throughout the entire day.
Unlike Alex, Breana hadn’t gotten the version of Ella who was acting like nothing had happened; she’d gotten a sad and absent Ella on the phone every time she called, and the texts would always come late and short. The model was actually surprised about how well Ella was playing it off to Alex, chipper on the phone to him and smiling hard, making sure to reply on time and joking with him through texts.
She was trying to fool everyone else into thinking everything was alright, and the only one who actually saw how broken and despaired she was, was Breana.
“Hey babe, I thought you were gonna text me during your lunch break.” Bre said softly when Ella picked up the facetime call.
Ella could see that she was hidden away in the back lounge of the bus so she felt relieved that she could let herself break down freely in front of her best friend.
“Sorry, completely forgot. Everyone was trying to ask me what was wrong and to cheer me up and I was focused on not crying in front of everyone.” All the tears she’d been holding back started to silently run down her cheeks, it made her feel so pathetic but she needed to cry after trying so hard not to all day.
Bre’s face fell at the sight and she wanted to be there with her and hold her all night, console her and tell her it’d be alright. After all, Alex still hadn’t mentioned seeing Alexa in New York so it felt like Ella was worrying about a phantom menace.
“It’s okay. Let it out, hun.” The model sighed when she watched Ella drop her head and start quietly sobbing, her shoulders shaking as she wept. “Why don’t you– Have you thought about asking him?” Bre asked wholeheartedly, thinking that Ella subtly asking him about it would lead to him honestly giving her the answers she needed.
But Ella was long gone in psyching herself into the worst situations, so there was no way in hell that she’d risk her own heart all over again by asking him about it. There was no way she could ask without exposing herself and she had no idea if she could ever come back from getting her heart broken by Alex again.
It was way different this time, nothing like what had happened in 2012 but exactly because of that is that Ella was terrified to risk losing him now that he meant so much more to her.
Just thinking about how much she loved him was enough for her to cry a little harder as she shook her head before lifting it up to look at Breana through the screen. “I have thought about it but I won’t do it. I can’t just ask him without making it obvious that I’m in love with him and then what? If he’s actually considering it with Alexa like everyone is raving about online then, what? I do my best to ignore the heartbreak so I don’t ruin the friendship?”
“Ella, he’s not said a thing about Alexa and we’ve all talked about New York multiple times these past few days.” Breana explained with a sigh, hoping her words would help settle Ella even if it was just slightly.
“Yeah, well. Maybe he’s hiding it. Maybe something happened and he hasn’t said anything ‘cause everything in Tennessee is too fresh and you’d all shit on him for it.” Ella was reeling by then and she knew it but everything that was being said online about the pair getting back together was making her come up with every and any theory that would back it up.
She was trying to get ahead of the big reveal and make herself numb to the future heartbreak, getting herself ready for the worst possible outcome. She was still trying to come to terms about the fact that this most likely meant losing him for good. There was no way she’d be strong enough to endure seeing them together while she was stuck longing for what could never be.
“You need to stop reading the bullshit people say.” Breana raised her brows at her with a stern look on her face, knowing Ella had gone on Twitter again and read what people were saying like she had on Sunday after finding Alex’s shirt in her wardrobe. “If you don’t ask him, I will. So you’ve got until the weekend to do it.” The model gave her the ultimatum and it was enough for Ella to scoff loudly and frown.
“You can’t do that.” Ella said breathlessly, the hurt clear in her voice.
Bre shrugged, “You’re driving yourself mad, Ellie. I can’t keep seeing you like this because of something that’s clearly not happening.” Her words didn’t matter because Ella was still looking at her like she’d just stabbed her in the back, “What happened with everything your parents said? Don’t you remember huh? They were right, in every single thing they said. And your mom is right too, you should tell him even if it’s through the phone.”
Ella shook her head, “Not happening anymore. Sorry Bre.”
Breana gave her a sad smile, “It’s not me you should be saying sorry to, Ella. The only one you’re hurting right now is yourself.”
Those words hit Ella like a punch in the gut, her breath hitched in her throat as she tried not to sob loudly and she let her gaze drop to her hands. She couldn’t handle much more anymore today so she shook her head and hastily let Breanna go, “I’m gonna make myself something to eat, shower and go to bed. I’ll text you in the morning.”
Breana’s sigh was full of anguish for her best friend but she knew it’d be worse to push, she’d only drive Ella into a worse state and she needed to relax. “Okay babe. Don’t forget to text me yeah? I’ll be waiting for your messages.”
Ella only hummed with a curt nod, her gaze wandering around her desolate kitchen for a second before facing Bre again and saying goodbye, “I promise I’ll text. Love you.”
“Love you.” Breana reciprocated and ended the call herself.
When she came out of the back lounge to where everyone was hanging out, they all picked on the sadness that had overcome her expression.
“Y’alright?” Jamie asked Bre as she sat down next to Matt, making the drummer turn to look at her fiance and when he caught the look on her face, he hugged her tightly and dropped a kiss on her cheek.
“Yeah, yeah. Just tired.” The model excused and the guitarist nodded. Everyone caught her up on their conversation then, slowly managing to get little giggles and soft smiles from her as the time went and they got closer to the state of Indiana.
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The following day, Ella woke up to the ringing of her phone. An incoming facetime call from none other than Alex. A call that made her frown and startle awake since it was half past six in the morning and all she could think about was that the early call meant an emergency.
But Alex’s chipper, “Hiya, darling.” proved nothing close to an emergency had happened.
“Hi, sweetness.” Ella replied breathlessly. Seeing him ready for the day with his hair yet to be gelled back with a bright smile on his face that not even the cigarette that he was smoking could hide, made her want to scream. “You’re very smiley today.” She teased him the best she could, trying to ignore the ache in her heart that got more prominent when the memory of the article and the stupid online chat weaved through into the forefront of her mind.
He hummed like he was aware. After all, his cheeks hurt from how hard he’d been smiling for the past hour. “I’ve got good news.”
“Oh?” Was all that Ella managed to say, her signal to get him to start talking.
But all Alex did was smirk and hum, “Mhm.”
She knew what he was doing, so she rolled her eyes as she let herself fall back onto bed and rest her head on the pillows, “You’re gonna make me ask, really?”
“I am.” Alex cheekily replied, his smirk only getting bigger at the prospect of having her guess what it was.
From the way he was smiling, Ella had a feeling it had to be about his imminent move to Los Angeles, so she grinned back shyly and softly asked as excitement started brewing in her chest, “Is it about the house?”
“Yes.” He answered with joy, but still steered her into guessing.
So she continued with her guesses, “Have you got it?”
He nodded eagerly before explaining further, “Signed an hour ago and my agent got the keys so yes, it’s all mine now.”
“Fuck off!” Ella gasped and sat back up on her bed, “So you’re moving here for the holidays?” Tour was meant to finish mid November in South America so that’d mean that he was gonna be moving to LA just in time for the holidays and that made her incredibly nervous to think about.
But Alex shook his head and clarified, “Moving in this weekend actually.”
The notion had Ella breathless and wide-eyed. “What?!” Ella stuttered when she managed to stop holding her breath in shock. He was moving in that very weekend and all she’d done the past week since she’d last seen him was sob over some stupid paparazzi pictures of him and his ex.
“Yeah, well, our last festival this month is tomorrow so I’d be flying over to LA on the 26th and moving in until we have to go back on tour on the 2nd.” Alex explained easily. He’d bought his ticket back to LA with the rest of the group only a few minutes before and the first person he had to tell was Ella.
“Wait, so you’re coming back in two days?” Ella was truly shocked at this all, she kept blinking as if wanting to properly wake herself up because it all just didn’t feel real.
Alex flashed her a toothy smile, “We all are. Bought our tickets about ten minutes ago.” Seeing her getting even more surprised by that information made him want to coo out loud, she was so cute. He wanted to kiss her face over and over and over again.
“Holy shit.” Ella muttered under her breath, getting up from bed and walking towards her dresser to actually start getting ready to go to work.
The singer chuckled at her but attentively watched her every move on the screen as he continued, “And I’m gonna have everyone over on Saturday for a housewarming party.”
Ella nodded, her throat becoming dry at the thought of only having four days to mentally prepare to see him in person again after the torment she’d kept to herself. She had no idea how she’d be able to hide it from him in person, it was already hard to hide it from him through texts and facetime. But in person? She could only hack acting okay for an hour maybe, there was no way she could play it off for a whole afternoon.
“Right. Let me know if you want me to take anything. Is it gonna be like Matt and Bre’s?” She asked just to be prepared for who she’d have to hide from. If it was just the lads and the girls then it’d be tricky but at least she’d have Breana to lean onto and she’d feel more comfortable.
Her heart stopped when Alex shook his head and said, “A bit bigger. Steve and Davey are flying in with us so Mia, Davey’s girlfriend, is gonna be there too. Miles is gonna come as well and some other friends we have in the city.” He took a pause to think about the list he’d written down inside his mind and he added, “Oh, Josh is coming too and I think Alexa is coming over too.”
At the mention of that name, Ella felt herself go cold and pale. She was so glad she’d decided to move off camera as she went to grab a pair of jeans just as he said that.
“Darling?” Alex asked with a frown when he didn’t hear a thing coming from her.
Ella took a few deep breaths as she tried not to burst out crying, the wound she’d been opening up more and more with her overthinking for the past week felt like it had started bleeding all over again and she was trying her best not to cry in pain.
Clearing her throat, she rose back up and appeared on the screen. She kept her head hanging low so he wouldn’t see her failed attempt of a smile, she lifted her jeans up and chuckled dryly before excusing herself with, “Sorry, was getting my clothes for work.”
His eyes went wide when he realized he had once again forgotten about time zones and the fact that it was a Tuesday morning. “Shit, darling. Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you and make you late for work.”
She finally looked up and waved him off, “You actually helped ‘cause I’m pretty sure I snoozed my alarm.” Moving out of frame, Ella started changing and she was so glad she could use the excuse of getting changed for him not to complain about her not showing her face like he always did when she tried to hide from him. “Miles and Josh are coming?” She asked first, feeling like him mentioning Alexa first was the best opening she’d get to ask about it without having to risk her heart.
“Yeah, you know Miles wouldn’t miss this one after not being able to come to Matt’s. And Josh has been trying to convince me to move over here since we met him back in the Humbug days.”
Ella chuckled as she pulled the jeans up her legs and buttoned them up, “That’s a long while he took to convince you.”
Alex hummed, “Well, he wasn’t the one to convince me in the end.” He hoped she’d get what he was trying to say, his smirk was a clear sign that he meant she was the sole reason he decided to finally do it.
But Ella wasn’t looking at her phone, she was staring at herself in the mirror and giving herself a quick mental pep talk as she geared up to ask, “You said Alexa is coming too? Alexa Chung?”
“Ah yes.” Alex nodded, “Bumped into her in New York the other day and we were chatting for a bit. I told her I was moving here soon and she said she was due a visit to LA so I should let her know if I was doing anything once I got the house.” He hoped he was playing it cool because in all honesty, most of the talk he’d had with Alexa was about how he was trying to get the house as soon as possible to finally be able to get things moving in the right direction with Ella.
“Oh, right. Right.” Ella said casually, like she wasn’t trying to figure out if Alexa had said that as a friend or if she’d been flirting.
“She’s excited to meet you, you know?” Alex continued, unaware of how Ella was struggling to take in the new information, “She’s seen your pictures and she loved them. Think she said something about wanting you to take her pictures, she loved the ones you took at Katie’s last year. Said you were brilliant.”
Deep breathe in and out. Ella tried not to think about how it’d be to not only meet her in four days but make peace with the fact that anything she would’ve hoped to have with Alex would also be gone in four days.
“I’m sure we can arrange something on Saturday.” Ella hoped she sounded like she was smiling, but the mirror reflected a wince instead of a grin and she wanted to scream at herself for being so pathetic.
She walked back into frame, watching Alex take one last drag of his cigarette and toss it to the ground. A pang of hurt flooded her system and she smiled sadly knowing that she’d soon lose all of this, purely because of her inability to just speak and make herself vulnerable to take a chance on it.
“Sweets, I unfortunately gotta go now but I’m so fucking happy for you and I really can’t wait to see you this weekend.” Despite the hurt, the love she felt for him shined through and it showed on her face. On her eyes shining as she watched him smile at her, on the sweet grin she offered him.
“Me too darling. I’ve missed you way too much.” Alex admitted with a loopy smile. He almost could already feel her arms around him as he clutched onto her when he’d see her next. Just a few more days and he could have her by his side again. And hopefully his plan would work out and he would be able to kiss her again, and again, and again. “Love you. I’ll see you soon.”
“Love you.” Ella replied, a hint of sadness behind the words, like she was mourning the loss of its actual meaning already. The loss of the opportunity to let him know how he’d driven her mad, and how she’d been so close to just risking everything in hopes he felt the same way. “See you soon.”
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Ella had been incredibly thankful that she’d gotten ahead of herself with her workload those three days she was back at the office because on Tuesday, after Alex’s call, she’d barely been able to concentrate enough to finish what she’d left halfway done on Monday.
She’d been frantically texting Breana all day, not knowing what to do with the fact that Alexa was meant to show up on Saturday along with everyone else. How could she even keep her emotions at bay when she was gonna be there too? It was impossible, and if it was any other case, she’d avoid the event altogether but she couldn’t. She just couldn’t because not only would Alex get suspicious and she’d feel like she would be letting him down, she wanted to know straight away if anything between the singer and the model were to happen.
Breana had let Ella talk all about it when she called her as soon as she got back home from work. The model had only a bit of time to talk to her best friend before she had to leave to see the band take on the stage of Summerfest to end the opening night of the festival with a ninety minute long set.
But before she could go, Bre left Ella with a few questions that she’d be pondering an answer to for the next twenty four hours.
“What if nothing happens between them on Saturday?” The model started saying after Ella had gone on a rant about what she’d have to do once Alex took Alexa back the day of the housewarming party. “What are you gonna do if there’s nothing going on there? Are you gonna waste another opportunity?”
“I doubt nothing will happen, Bre.” Ella sighed, rubbing her face in exhaustion. She needed her brain to stop for a bit so she could rest from the worries that filled her insides with dread.
Bre scoffed, “He said he bumped into her and they chatted about him moving to Los Angeles. How’s that a sign of them getting back together?”
“I don’t know, okay?!” Ella said loudly, wincing when Breana’s face fell at the volume and hostility of her response. “M’sorry. God, I’m so annoying. I’m sorry, I’ll stop bothering you with the same thing. I promise I’ll stop.”
“I just want you to stop with the bullshit.” Breana said frankly, “Stop with the stupid theories and the lack of security on where you stand with him. Alex doesn’t ever stop talking about you, he always has you in mind when even the smallest things happen. He smiles like a fucking fool whenever you text him and I know he’s texting you because I ask him every time and it’s always you. This is their fourth festival since Bonnaroo and I bet he’s going to say it doesn’t compare to Tennessee like he’s said with the other three before.”
Ella just stood there silent as she took in every word Breana said, the model took her silence as a sign to continue, “And why are you even waiting until Saturday for?! We all land tomorrow night and he’s going to his new house straight away so he’ll most likely be getting everything ready on Friday. You’ve got all of Friday to go see him and try your luck. You just gotta do it, Ellie.” In Breana’s mind, this was Ella’s chance and it would be such a shame to miss it, “Just go and tell him on Friday, spare you the hurt and the stress of waiting until Saturday for something—which isn’t fucking happening, by the way—to happen.”
There hadn’t been a chance for Ella to reply since Kelly and Katie came by the trailer to get Breana out and take her to the balcony since the guys were about ten minutes away from taking over the stage. Ella had to put on a smile and say a quick hello and goodbye to the girls she also missed tons, and then pretend like the call ending didn’t mean she was gonna go crazy with her own thoughts for the rest of the night.
Ella had fallen asleep thinking about every word Breana had said and she woke up to the same internal debate she’d been having all night. Would it be better if she just got it out of the way? If she’d just told him and have him let her down easy if he didn’t reciprocate. Have the chance to avoid seeing everyone on Saturday if it meant what she was dreading was actually happening, to start distancing herself before the damage was irreparable, to give herself a head start on the pain it’d bring her to lose everything that came with Alex.
There was a point during Thursday where everything changed from being unsure of telling him to knowing it was the right thing to do and it might’ve been the fact that he texted her, right as she was packing everything up to leave the office and head back home, to let her know that he was boarding his flight and it’d only be a matter of hours before they were in the same city.
She figured it was her lack of patience and the overwhelming need for answers that flipped the switch inside her. There was no chance she’d let this opportunity pass and she’d just have to deal with the consequences when the time came. She just needed to stop being afraid and face whatever would come with the strength she knew she could find inside herself.
For fucks sake, she’d been cheated on twice in her life already and she’d come out of the other end alive and well. And she’d survived it. What would another heartbreak do to her? Probably break her, realistically, but there was no way of knowing if she didn’t do what she needed to do.
Her appetite was gone by the time she finished cooking herself dinner but she’d tried eating as she watched a movie and it had worked to eat most of her plate. But she was fully spent by ten in the evening so she quickly washed the dishes and got herself ready for bed.
It wasn’t until she went to grab her phone from her coffee table that she realized Alex had texted her about half an hour before, her heart hammered inside her chest as she read what he’d sent.
(26/06/2014 21:43) Just landed and we’re waiting for our bags! Seeing the new house very soon. Do you want pictures or would you like a proper tour when you come? Cannot wait to see you darling xxxx
His words made her giggle like a fool, she bit her bottom lip as she went over his message again and walking back to her room, she threw herself on her bed and typed a response.
(26/06/2014 22:18) Think I’ll endure a few more days of intrigue and take you up on an actual house tour on Saturday. I missed you sweetness, can’t wait to hug you!! xxx
Ella couldn’t believe he was back in Los Angeles again, and she fell asleep with a grin on her face and her phone in hand as she waited for him to reply. A reply that she wouldn’t see until she woke up the next morning.
(26/06/2014 23:36) I’ll have you come earlier on Saturday then, give you proper time to take it all in. It’s cosy here, I think you’d really like it. You’ve no idea how much I just wanna have you here already and give you a cuddle. Love you darling xxxxx
As she got ready for work, she kept reading and rereading the message. Breana’s words echoing inside her mind as her gaze went over the text again and again.
It was Friday and this was it. It was the one day she could just get it over and done with, and it hurt thinking of treating the love she felt for him like a burden that she had to try and strip off herself as soon as she could, but it was for her own good. To know where she stood, to deal with what he was gonna choose to do.
But knowing what she’d decided to do and having to endure a full work day with it in mind had her going crazy. Every time Lydia would come in to check things with her, she was half distracted and had to ask the PA to repeat herself. She felt awful for it but she couldn’t help it, and she’d apologized for it multiple times.
By the time she came back from her lunch break and she’d been trying to properly answer emails for an hour, Ella called it a day and left. Ben and Aaron got a hasty apology for her early leave that they waved off, and they watched her all but run out of the office with confused looks on their faces.
Ella was just driving. She had no idea where she was going because after twenty minutes on the road, she knew it wasn’t the way back to her house, but she kept driving until she realized she’d taken the 101 freeway up to Hollywood Hills.
She made a quick detour when she knew she’d been driving the way to Matt and Bre’s, knowing Alex’s new house was a few minutes away from there. It would be bad if she went there empty handed, and she really needed an excuse to ease into whatever the conversation would turn out to be.
Fuck, fuck, fuck! She cursed over and over in her mind as she got off the freeway onto Hollywood Boulevard and went to the first grocery store she could find.
Two bottles of Pinot Noir later, Ella rushed back into her car and pulled up Alex’s new address—luckily he’d sent it to her with days in anticipation for her to know how much time it’d take her to get there on Saturday.
Merely fifteen minutes it took her to finally pull up into Alex’s driveway and when she put her car in park, her hands started shaking. She really had to clutch tightly onto the necks of the wine bottles not to drop them, one on each hand with her bag forgotten somewhere inside her car. In the haste to walk up to his front door she’d just grabbed her car keys and the wine bottles.
After having come all the way there, Ella rushed herself to ring the doorbell. There was no fucking way she was going to psych herself out of it when she was already there. Though going back inside her car and dashing back home to drink the wine alone as she cried over how much of a pussy she was being deep inside sounded very tempting.
But there was no chance for her to decide on taking that route for the front door opened and a sweaty and surprised Alex greeted her with the biggest of smiles.
Despite the house coming furnished for him to move in straight away, Alex had spent the entire day making it feel like home. Taking it upon himself to do some cleaning around and putting some clothes away that he knew he’d have to pack up again to leave back on tour, but he’d wanted to feel settled already.
As he’d been filling the drawers of his dresser with trousers and jeans, he remembered there were many things he needed to go through with his plan of the perfect way to finally tell Ella everything, and so he’d left his suitcase half unpacked and gone to the grocery store to buy everything he’d need to cook her a lovely dinner.
He knew he was going to try cooking her favorite pasta, making it a candlelit dinner and just giving it the old romantic fool to pour his heart and soul out for her. Like she deserved to get after all this time. There was no way he was leaving her again without properly trying to push their relationship in the direction he’d been longing for so long.
And Alex was planning on doing it all tonight, to give her a call and ask her to please join him that night, he was thinking he would probably tell her to come over a day early to give her that tour he’d promised. If he wanted this to work out, it couldn’t be hours before everyone else was due to come over.
But it seemed like she had beat him to it, bringing wine with her as well.
“Ella!” His eyes were wide and so was his toothy grin. Seeing her in front of him again flooded his system with relief, a feeling that escaped him when he saw the color drain from her face and the clear anxiety on her face. “Hi, darling. I wasn’t expecting you here today. Y’alright?”
Damn him and his ability to read her so easily. She stumbled through her thoughts, shaking her head and taking half a step backwards as she said, “Sorry, I-” What was she meant to say? How would she even begin the conversation?
Her gaze fell down to the wine bottles and she remembered why she’d gotten them in the first place, “Ermmmm, are you busy? I brought a gift…” She looked up at him and gave him a smile, moving the bottles up and showing them to him.
The joy she felt when seeing him in person just a few feet away from her was genuine, and she thought that was why he hadn’t questioned it. Alex gave her a tooth rotting sweet smile as he cooed, “Ah you’re so sweet.” and waved her inside, opening the front door wider and inviting her inside the new place, “Come in.”
Ella’s stomach flipped at the thought of what was about to happen and suddenly the excuse of bringing the wine as a gift felt like a mistake. “Actually, I–” She wanted to be sick. All the words she had been thinking about saying for the past twenty four hours rose up her throat and she was trying to hold back the impending word vomit.
“Fuck.” She cursed under her breath as she only took a few steps inside the house. There wasn’t even a moment for her to take in the beauty of the place since the second she heard the door closing behind her, she turned to Alex and gave him an awkward smile to let him know, “Erm, I wasn’t planning on staying long.”
His brows shot up and he smirked, amused at the sudden change in behavior. He still found her so fucking endearing, she was like a little mouse trapped in a corner by a predator. “You just drove over an hour to bring me a bottle of wine and leave me to drink it alone?” He knew the traffic must’ve been awful on the way here, and he wasn’t letting her go without getting an explanation for the way she was acting.
A few beats of silence passed before she answered, “Yes?” the inflection of her voice going up so her affirmation sounded like a question.
If she wasn’t gonna say it without being explicitly asked, then fine, he would ask. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She hastily replied, way too fast to appear normal. She winced, holding her breath for a few seconds before reiterating, shaking her head and chuckling dryly at herself, “Nothing! Sorry, this is stupid.”
“Ella.” Alex said a bit more sternly then, “What’s going on?”
Her eyes met his and she watched the determination he had to get an answer. She couldn’t turn back anymore, there was no chance she could lie her way out of this one, to give him some white lie that he’d believe was the reason for her awkwardness.
It was right then, it just had to be done. Taking a deep breath, she started, “Okay, erm… I gotta tell you something.” Alex frowned and opened his mouth to speak but she got ahead of him and pleaded with him, “But please let me finish before you say anything, okay?” She would burst out crying and lose her ability to speak if he was to cut in the middle of the flood of words that she knew was coming soon.
But the singer was starting to worry and his amused smirk was long gone, exchanged for a deep frown and distress clear in those brown eyes of his, “What’s happened?”
“Alex.” Ella said in a sigh, begging silently for him to do what she was asking for. Before she could make a run for the door and escape, leaving it all a mess behind her.
Alex pressed his lips together and nodded, “Sorry, go on.”
“No, don’t apologize.” She was the one to frown this time, her chest felt so tight and it was getting uncomfortable. “Okay, fuck.” Every word she’d rehearsed was slipping away from her mind, and in its place a knot of thoughts stayed. Knot that if she didn’t manage to untangle in the next minute, she’d start crying out of frustration at herself. “Wait.”
Alex nodded, willing to wait as she gathered herself to start saying whatever it was that was bothering her. He had no idea what it was but he was already thinking of ways to help her. There were only so many solutions he could come up with when he didn’t know the situation, “Is everything okay? What can I do? Do you need my help with anything?”
“No. I–” She started, but before she could continue trying to ask for some more time to think about it, Alex spoke again.
“Then what’s wrong, darling?” It was so sickeningly sweet, the way he walked up closer to her and reached his hand out to grab hers, the way his brows furrowed even more but that look in his eyes prevailed, the one that she’d started to read like something close to devotion.
She couldn’t get a grasp on her logic anymore, and her words escaped her in a loud manner that made him freeze in his place, “I’m tired!”
Alex was beyond confused, a quiet “What?” leaving his lips in a split second.
But Ella’s eyes started filling up with tears when she continued, “I’m so exhausted from this, Alex!”
Completely forgetting what he’d promised just a few seconds before, Alex went ahead and tried to ask for an explanation, “What do you–?”
Ella interrupted him before he could finish the question, giving him the explanation he was looking for with a passion that burned her insides, “This! All of this! The cruel back and forth that leaves me confused.”
She just needed to let it all out now, and that she’d do. Not that she could control the way her mouth moved ahead of her brain, words leaving her before she could even process her own thoughts, “I don’t want you to go again because I feel like my heart’s being ripped out of my chest every time and, fuck, I’m in love with you and I was so close to telling you that after the festival but then you had to leave. And then just two days later, you’re seen with Alexa in New York and everyone is talking about how ‘the IT couple is back’ and mentioning me in some stupid article just to completely disregard me like I’m some disposable thing to you, so that they could go on and on about you and her.”
Her voice broke by the end, remembering everyone’s excited words when it came to talking about the possibility of them two getting back together. She hated it, she really hated how badly it got her so she let it out too, “And I hate it! I fucking hate it! ‘Cause I just want you to be around but you can’t and it fucking hurts. All the damn time. But I’m never brave enough to just fucking tell you.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks, hot trail from the corners of her eyes down to her neck, she ignored them as best as she could to continue with her rant, “But now you’ve moved here and it’s too real, and I was scared of letting you know how stupidly in love I am with you but I just can’t lose you to somebody else again.”
She huffed as she shook her head, like a child showing her determination on the matter, “So I have to risk it. I have to risk getting rejected, ruining our friendship, losing you entirely and I–”
A sob managed to rip through her at the thought of this being the last time she’d see him, of everything ended like this, “I don’t wanna lose you but I can’t keep it to myself any longer. And I’m sorry but I just–” The words tangled on the tip of her tongue then, the avalanche of words abruptly ending after all of that.
Alex was breathless, his chest heaving as he stared at her with wide eyes, his mouth agape and his throat dry. He could barely muster the soft, “Ella, I–” he let out.
But he didn’t say anything else, he just stared at her with his brows furrowed like he was confused and it all dawned on her.
It had been such a mistake to do it like this, she’d needed to think it through properly and not throw herself into it as if she had a way with words, as if she could make it cute and nice and enchant him with an improvised speech.
It had been a mess and it was all fucking ruined. “No. Don’t.” She shook her head, not even wanting to meet his gaze anymore. “Oh fuck, this was so stupid.” She wanted to hit her head against the wall, to smash the bottles she was still holding in her hands, “I’m so stupid.” She cried out loud before shaking her head again and sniffling, breathing deeply and trying to swallow the knot in her throat.
She managed to look up, the singer looked blurry through her tear filled eyes. She was glad she couldn’t really make up his face then so she took a step up to him and pushed the bottles towards his chest, “This is pathetic. Just take the wine.” But he didn’t even try to make the effort to receive the bottles so pressed her lips together as she silently cried even more, turning on her heels to walk up to his kitchen island and leave the wine there.
In a hurry, she started walking back towards the front door, shaking her head once again as she tried to think of how badly it had gone but it was all blurry. Yet, Alex’s silence was enough to know it had gone terribly wrong.
“I’ll see you on Sunday if you even wanna keep me on the guest list.” She mumbled, almost by the door, but he quickly walked up to her, his hand stretching out to what she thought was opening the door for her. She watched the sleeves of his shirt rolled up to his elbows and she cried to herself again in frustration. How could it have gone so wrong? “Sorry. You probably were busy, doing stuff and–”
But instead of his fingers wrapping around the handle of the door, they wrapped around her wrist to turn her around, so she could see the wicked smile on his face as he asked, “Why now?”
She was fucking trying not to audibly sob and he was smirking at her? Ella narrowed her eyes as she asked, “Pardon?”
“Why now?” He repeated his question but that smirk only tugged further on the corners of his mouth and that to Ella only meant he was making fun of her. Suddenly, the heartbreak was mixing with rage and all she could do about it was run away. So she tugged away from his grasp, her arm slipping away from his hold but he was fast to catch her wrist again as he sternly said, “No, Ella.”
She thrashed again, trying to pull away from his hold, “Alex, please let me go.” Another wave of tears flooded her eyes.
But he shook his head and he sounded breathless when he replied, “No. Just give me a second.”
Ella scoffed, pulling hard enough to escape his hold again, but this time her gaze was harsher and her words sounded venomous, “Why? So you can let me down easy and send me back home? So you can exchange me for another one of your models like you’ve done before?”
Alex ignored the way her words stung, taking a big step towards her and cupping her neck with his right hand to make her look at him. Her eyes brimmed with angry tears broke his heart and the way she was staring at him with rage that was almost palpable had him pressing his fingers a bit tighter around her neck.
Her mouth opened with a gasp at the pressure and he smirked. His left hand came up to wipe away a tear that rolled down her cheek before it could fall down to rest on her waist, where he clutched her tightly and pressed her against him.
His tongue poked out in between his lips to lick them softly, and he smiled even harder when he saw her gaze fall on his mouth. He was almost drooling at the thought of tasting her mouth again, but this time it’d be so much better with everything out in the open, with his heart out for her to finally take in her hands, because it had been hers for so long she just had to hold it close to her chest.
He shook his head softly, denying the things she’d said were about to happen. He wanted to scream out of happiness, cheer and celebrate finally being able to say it out loud for her to hear, “So I can process that this isn’t just another one of my dreams and tell you that I fucking love you too.”
Without giving Ella a second to properly react to his words, Alex caught her lips between his and their mouths melted in a kiss that contrasted so much to the ones they’d shared before. Because it was raw and with a passion that they’d been trying to hide for so long finally revealed. It was needy and devoted, their fingers clutching onto each other tightly and harshly, almost sure they’d be leaving marks but nothing sounded more fulfilling.
They could finally bare themselves to the other, proudly wear the fact that they were each other’s like a medal. Loud moans slipped from their mouth as the knowledge ringed in their heads. They kissed harder, deeper, running out of breaths.
“Alex…” Ella panted as she pulled back, trying to get some oxygen back in her lungs as fast as she could, the need to have his mouth on hers too intense to even give her body what it needed to survive.
All she needed was him. Only him.
“Ella…” Alex whispered back, his forehead pressing against hers with his eyes closed, just taking in the proximity—the way they were taking each other’s breaths, the brush of their noses as they gasped for air.
“Don’t stop.” She begged, her eyes opening to see him and plead with them as well as with her words, “Please.”
His eyes fluttered open, being met with her green eyes that made him weak in the knees. “Never.” He mumbled back. She had him entirely at his mercy, he would do anything she asked and more.
Alex pounced on her lips again with desperation. He leaned in, sucking the air out of her mouth, licking away any remaining sanity. Her lungs burned. Greedy, his hands fell down her body until he grabbed her ass. He gave it a harsh squeeze, eliciting a moan out of her, before clutching the backs of her thighs and swiftly picking her up off the ground.
A squeal fell from her lips when he lifted her and she wrapped her legs around his hips quickly. She whimpered at the feeling of his hardening cock brushing her already aching core. He walked backwards blindly, cursing under his breath as she rolled her hips into him, begging for friction. She let a delighted giggle out, kissing him harsher.
Ella’s arms wrapped around his neck, fingers running up his hair and pulling on the longer strands. She swallowed the groan that rumbled through his chest at the feeling of her nails scratching his scalp and tugging his hair. His steps got quicker then and he only stopped when he felt the edge of the settee against the back of his legs.
Sitting down carefully, he settled on the settee with Ella straddling him. His growing bulge was even more obvious then, and she let her legs spread a bit more so she’d be deliciously pressed against his hardness.
“Fuck, Ella,” was his first reaction, breathy and solemn from his lips. She nodded, finding his mouth again, already addicted.
The brush of his tented jeans on her clothed clit felt heavenly, her own denim shorts only adding to the way the friction was making her increasingly dizzy. She had to break the kiss to gasp loudly. A cheeky grin teased his mouth, only to be wiped away for a moan as she rolled her hips. His hands dug at her thighs, encouraging her, guiding her.
Ella tried to catch her breath, but it was knocked out of it at the sight of Alex. Pupils blown, lips swollen, hair disheveled. They were panting, both stuck with the dilemma of not knowing if they should elongate the moment or hurry to the point they had been waiting so long for.
It had been barely eleven days since that cowboy party, and not even once had Alex stopped thinking about it. Not when he closed his eyes and he could still feel her fingers all over his body, the way she pressed against him and taunted him with the move of her hips, the taste of her lips and her tongue and the bruises she sucked on his skin.
But now he finally had her, and his expression which had been contorted in utter pleasure softened for adoration. He brought his hand up to brush a strand of her hair behind her ear, cupping her cheek right after. She leaned into his touch with a loopy smile, kissing his palm, her hips slowing down to an unhurried pace.
“You’re so beautiful.” The words came out soft, his breath hitting her parted lips as he leaned in again and they met in the middle for another kiss.
She cupped his jaw and wrapped an arm around his neck, pushing herself flush against him as she followed the pace he’d set for the dizzying kiss they were sharing. Her hips picked up speed again, making them moan into each other's mouth.
His quiet whimpers and moans were driving her mad. She just couldn’t wait to hear him properly, once and for all, coming undone for her.
Alex grabbed a handful of her ass, kneading her flesh harshly with his fingers, making her roll her hips rougher against him. Her mouth went slack at the pleasure rippling through her.
“Shit.” Ella shuddered, letting her head drop and moaning into his neck. She started a trail of sloppy open mouthed kisses there, her hands working through the buttons of his shirt until it was completely open and she had more skin to kiss.
She went back to kiss his lips first, but she rushed through it. Now that she had all that skin available, she was going to make sure to mark every inch of him so everyone knew he was hers.
She made her way down his jaw, his neck and even going behind his ear, enjoying a certain spot that had him bucking his hips up and breathlessly moaning. It wasn’t until she was sucking the skin on his collarbone that she knew she’d hit the jackpot. When she started marking up the place at the base of his neck, he let out a loud groan that made her smile.
She let go of the skin there, giving the soft red mark a peck to then look up at him, “You liked that, yeah?” Her smirk was big and proud on her face, already enjoying the way he’d become putty in her hands this easily.
“Yes. Fuck, Ella, I like everything you do to me.” Her hips rolled once more, him meeting the movement by thrusting upwards. “Especially that. God, darling, I fucking love it.” She chuckled, quicking her pace.
She peppered kisses on his collarbone again, smirk brushing his skin. “And do you love that?” She teased, trailing a hot tongue on his red skin. His chest rose and fell against her mouth.
“Yeah, but–” She nipped gently at his skin and he jumped, thrusting up into her. “Shit. But–” Ella hummed, encouraging him to go on like her wicked tongue wasn’t actively doing the contrary. Finally, Alex grew desperate, missing the feeling of her lips on his so he grabbed her by the neck, calloused fingers pressing tightly on its sides to pull her back up to meet his mouth.
Teeth clashed, as the air grew hotter around them, the kiss was messy and the smacking of their wet lips echoed inside his living room. Their hips went faster, meeting in the middle every time with a growing desperation, looking for relief until she stopped.
Ella hummed into his mouth before breaking the kiss again, “Let’s go to your room.” She needed more, so much more than just dry humping him over their clothes.
Her suggestion was met with an eager Alex, who wasted no time grabbing her by the ass and rushed through the hallway to go up to his room. Her smile was impossibly wide, he could feel it on his neck where she was hiding, leaving a few pecks as he walked up to the bedroom.
Alex didn’t even know how he had gotten to his room so quickly, barging through the door but taking his time to set her on the bed softly. And their lips met once again, it was a bruising kiss filled with urgency.
Yet, for the first time in their lives, they were in no danger of running out of time.
They’d finally said the words they’d been wanting to say and heard the ones they’d been waiting to hear. They had all the time in the world. Every minute of every day for as long as they wanted, and just from the way they were kissing, it seemed like forever was the only option.
Ella’s legs wrapped around his waist after Alex took her shoes off blindly, and she dug her feet on his ass to make his hips press against her throbbing cunt once more. He started rolling his hips then, thrusting into her and the kiss only got sloppier. She was growing breathless as he pressed his hardening cock against her clothed clit. Their moans grew louder, needier.
His hands started wandering, going from cupping her face down her neck and chest until they rested on each side of her waist. His fingers started fiddling with the edges of her shirt and they snaked beneath the fabric of it, slowly lifting it up. “This okay?” He asked, out of breath. She didn’t answer; instead, she pushed herself up enough for him to take it off her with ease.
The piece of clothing was lost somewhere on his bedroom floor, thrown away carelessly as his entire focus was on admiring her figure, exposed all for him.
Her black bra hugged her tits perfectly and when she let herself fall back down on the bed, they looked as if they were about to spill out of the bra. If Ella had anticipated her confession would’ve ended in this, she would’ve worn something much nicer—she cringed at the thought of the plain and simple black thong she was wearing—but it didn’t matter to Alex for he was jaw dropped at the sight of her.
“Fucking hell,” He mumbled before dipping his head to kiss a path over the valley of her breasts, his tongue coming out to lick her skin in a painfully slow pace. Her back arched as she moaned when he bit on the top of one of her tits. She got louder and squirmed even more when he repeated his actions on the other one.
“And this is all mine?” Alex asked breathlessly, eyes now on hers and she nodded with a loopy smile, her cheeks flushed from everything that was happening. “I’m so lucky.” He couldn’t wait to see her naked, to devote himself to giving every inch of her the attention she deserved.
His hand snaked between her back and the mattress, and there he found the clasp of the bra. With apt fingers he undid it and slowly peeled off the piece of clothing off Ella’s body. His breath hitched at the sight of her bare chest, her hardened nipples making his mouth water. “You’re killing me. You’re actually trying to kill me.” She flushed slightly, secretly pleased.
He couldn’t wait any longer to have his mouth on them. Flattening his tongue, he dipped his head to give a bold lick to one of her nipples, pointing the tip of his tongue to start flicking it. Ella squirmed beneath him, whimpering and moaning at the taunting touch. Her hand came to cradle his head, moving slowly up until she could tangle her fingers in his hair just as he latched his lips around her nipple and started sucking eagerly.
“Shit, Alex.” Ella managed in between gasps as he alternated between sucking and flicking.
He smirked at the sight of her, wanting to ruin her even more. So he let go of her nipple with a pop before he bit it.
A mewl fell from her lips at the pain his teeth inflicted on her sensitive nipple, her hips rolled in search of relief but he had her pinned down with the way his body was resting on top of her. She needed more of him, her cunt throbbed and leaked with arousal with everything he did.
“Alex!” And it came out as half a beg, half an order. Alex nodded against her, undeterred. Her need for more only got more intense when he started sucking bruises on her tits, biting and sucking and drinking in all the sweet sounds she let out as the pain of his abuse on her skin sizzled into dizzying pleasure.
“So good for me,” he promised. “Taking it all.” His tongue came to lick the blooming love bites, pecks on top of sore skin before he moved onto her other tit. Smirking proudly when she was just as responsive to his actions as she had been before. “So pretty. The best fucking girl with the best fucking tits.”
And he wouldn’t stop until she was whining in a high pitch. The sounds she made were music to his ears, only wanting to keep getting them out of her, “Alex. More. I need more.” She managed in between moans. She was clenching around nothing and it frustrated her, she loved what he was doing to her but she had a half mind to take over everything and let herself have her way with him just like she wanted already.
“Say please,” he singsung.
Desperate, “Please.”
“Soon,” Alex breathed, continuing his tantalizing trail of kisses and half hearted bites down her chest and stomach, smirking as he watched her through his lashes. Ella huffed and pushed him off her. He fell onto his back and she wasted no time to straddle him.
His shirt was still messily on him, barely hanging on his shoulders and becoming a burden more than anything. She grabbed onto his collar to pull him up until he sat on the mattress. Once his chest was pressed flush against hers, Ella pushed the shirt off him and tossed it behind her onto the floor.
Alex watched the way her eyes darkened with lust and mischief, a wicked smirk pulling at the corners of her mouth as her fingers moved slowly up his chest, brushing his shoulders and neck until she cupped his jaw with both her hands and pressed her lips on his. “My turn,” she said gleefully, kissing him again. Alex laughed, though indulged her.
Feeling his bare chest under her fingertips as she licked into his mouth made her patience run thin, she couldn’t keep kissing him without continuing to bruise his skin. The sight of the bruises she’d left on his neck a few minutes before made her mouth water with the need to leave more.
Ella got drunk off the whimpers and shaky moans Alex let out as she sucked harshly on his skin, his hips bucking every time she sunk her teeth into his flesh. He was a mess, clawing at the sheets as she abused his skin, and she fucking loved it. “I want to ruin you,” she revealed.
“Yeah?”
Making her way down with wet open mouthed kisses, she got right below his navel where his happy trail started and came down until it disappeared beneath his clothes. She licked a bold strip up the hair there, smirking when he cried out in pleasure and thrusted upwards so his bulge hit her tits.
“I want you to fucking beg.”
She left more kisses along the edge of his jeans, making him bite on his bottom lip to stop himself from being too loud. But that was exactly what she wanted, so she latched onto a patch of his skin there and started sucking harshly until his fingers came to tangle in her hair and pulled her off him.
He would definitely cum in his pants if she continued teasing him like that.
“Do you trust me?” She asked sweetly, batting her lashes at him. Putting on the innocence act to have him say yes to what she wanted to do. Not that she needed it, because he’d do anything she wanted now that he had her like this.
His mind was a mess and his words failed him so he only nodded. She tutted and shook her head as she started crawling up his body until their noses brushed and they couldn’t look anywhere else but into each other’s eyes.
“Words, baby.” She whispered, her voice low and sultry making him groan before nodding again.
This time his nod was accompanied by, “I do. I trust you.”
Ella hummed in satisfaction, and she turned her head slightly to the side to kiss the palm of his hand, which was still holding her head with his fingers tangled in the strands of her hair.
But for what she wanted to do, she needed him to drop his hold on her. So she held onto his wrist to pull his hand away and she peeled herself off and away from him.
His gaze followed her intently as she got off the bed and stood at the side of it, slowly undoing the button and zip of her shorts and pulling them down, making a whole show of undressing that only made Alex grow achingly harder inside his jeans.
His breath hitched in his throat seeing her like that, almost entirely bare for him. “You’re so fucking gorgeous,” he whispered. She grinned. She swayed her hips a little as she hooked her fingers on the edge of her underwear and without breaking eye contact, she shed herself of the last piece of clothing that kept herself hidden from him.
Alex whined from the back of his throat. “You’re not real. You were made to be my downfall.”
“Yes,” Ella agreed. To ruin him, to unravel him. Fully naked, she came back on the bed to straddle him again. Her slick core brushed against his bulge over his jeans and she smirked harder at the way he reacted, a whine leaving his lips, hips bucking up as his hands held her hips tightly, pressing her against him and keeping her there as she slowly rolled her hips on him. “I’ll make you fall, Alex.”
“You already have.” She smiled, raking a hand through his hair. His lips part, a quiet moan on his lips.
Ella loved the view she had, Alex fully at her mercy. She just couldn’t believe her luck; after all those years of thinking and fantasizing about it, she could finally have him like this.
“You look so pretty like this.” Her thumb rubbed at his cheek as she cupped it, leaning in until their breaths mixed together. Her fingers slowly moved down his face until she could wrap her fingers around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss.
Their lips met hungrily again, Alex had her naked on top of him and he wanted nothing more than take his jeans and underwear off and fuck her senseless, but Ella had other plans.
Her lips left his mouth to start kissing all over his face, each peck followed by some type of praise that he was loving. “Beautiful.” Smack. “Talented.” Smack. “Smart.” Smack. “Loving.” Smack. His heart swelled in his chest, the contrast between her shameless lustful behavior and the sweet words she kept uttering had him dazed. “And that nose,” she teased. With one last peck on his lips which Alex tried to elongate, Ella found his gaze and with the sweetest voice, asked him, “Can I ride your pretty face?”
His breath staggered hearing that, his cock twitching in his pants at the thought of what was about to happen. He nodded quickly like he had just a few seconds to answer before the offer was gone, and he added a breathless please when he remembered her telling him to use his words.
That was enough of a greenlight for Ella to push herself up on her knees and start shuffling up his body until she’d been hovering over his face. She would’ve kissed him once more if she wasn’t desperate to feel his mouth on her cunt already, if she wasn’t dripping and throbbing for his touch.
Alex’s lips parted at the sight of her slick cunt practically begging for him to latch his mouth on her. His hands ran up her thighs slowly until he rested them on her hips and he guided her a bit further up on the bed so her knees caged his head in place.
He was almost drooling, already imagining how sweet she’d taste on his tongue. But despite the growing burning need to lick up her folds already, he started kissing up the insides of her thighs, sucking and biting the skin like she now knew he loved to do and making her whimper and squirm in his hold.
There seemed to be no hurry in his mind, repeating the actions in that same agonizing pace on her other leg. By the time he got incredibly closer to her sopping cunt and her legs started to tremble from the teasing, she was ready to tell him off for it. She felt the way his hot breath left from so close to her core, a frustrated whimper fell from her lips.
Just when Ella looked down with a frown and her hand came down to tangle in his hair, he craned his neck up to lick a bold strip up her folds, wrapping his lips around her clit once he licked past her entrance.
He hummed at her taste, using his hands to pull her closer to his mouth just as he taunted, “Come closer, darling. You taste so fucking good.”
Without wasting more time, he started flicking his tongue up and down, her slick already dripping down his chin and mixing with his spit as he lapped and lapped like he was starved.
One of his hands left her hip and came down to her cunt, to spread her open so he could properly suck her clit, the pressure of it making her get louder and start pulling on his hair to bring him closer to her. “Need you. Fuck, Alex, keep doing that.”
He fucking loved it, the reaction only pushed him to getting more out of her. By that point, he was humping the air in search of some kind of relief. Her moans only made him drip in his jeans but he had no time to feel embarrassed at the pace in which he was ruining his pants, not when he had her sweetness all over his face.
He moved down, two fingers spreading her folds as he pointed his tongue and he started dipping it inside her sopping hole. Her back arched, breath hitching in her throat, “Fuck, yes Alex–” She could just keep saying his name as he started fucking her with his tongue, broken gasps and high pitched moans slipped past her lips and only got louder and more desperate when he started moving his head, causing his nose to flick at her clit with every thrust of his tongue inside her.
It was all so much. Not only what he was doing to her but the whole scene, it was so much better than she could’ve ever imagined and as he continued working his tongue in and out of her before lapping up at her arousal only to end up with him flicking and sucking on her clit, Ella was sure she wouldn’t last much longer.
“Oh God, oh God.” Ella rolled her hips on his face, grabbing her own breast and playing with the nipple. Pleasure rushed through her. “Fuck, Alex, you’re–”
The mix of her arousal and his spit was already dripping down his neck by the time he teased one of his fingers into the cunt. His mouth left her clit and the hot breath that came from it along with his gasp as her hole swallowed his finger with ease made her even more of a whining mess. “–Perfect,” she finally finished, though with much difficulty. “You’re perfect.”
He curled his finger inside her before drawing it back and the loss of the slight fullness had Ella crying out loud. So at the same time as he wrapped his lips around her clit again, he pushed two fingers inside her, curling them and making her legs shake and her hips rut as she leaned forward and held onto his headboard with a white knuckled grip.
The feeling of his skilled fingers curling inside her and his mouth sucking harshly on her clit made Ella erratically grind her hips against his face. “Alex! Yes! Yes!” She chanted breathlessly, every one of his actions stealing the breath from her lungs. She felt her orgasm so fucking close, her brain melted and every one of her filthy thoughts left her, “God, I fucking love your mouth! So eager, so greedy. Lapping at me like you’re starved, like you need me. It was made for me. Made to be between my thighs.” A throaty and long hum came from him, that vibrated against her and made her squeal in pleasure.
So he did it again, and again, along with picking up the pace with his fingers. “Made to worship me,” Ella blabbered on, mindless. “All perfect and hot and– Fuck, Alex–” The combination of it all threw Ella over the edge.
Profanities along with his name was all that he could hear from her as she came all over his mouth and face. Despite the tremble of her legs and the stuttering of her hips as she came, he didn’t stop. He couldn’t stop, not when he looked up at her and saw how fucking stunning she looked as she came. Her chest flushed and her tits bouncing as she rutted on his face, her mouth agape and brows scrunched up in pleasure, hair a mess falling on her shoulder and sticking to the sides of her face as a thin coat of sweat glazed her skin.
Riding out her high with that in mind, Alex kept his unrelenting pace until it made Ella’s knees weak and she had to be the one to pull him away from her cunt before she fell on his face and smothered him.
It wasn’t like Alex wouldn’t say that was the best way to go.
“That nose,” she cursed, shaking her head.
Her chest was heaving as she struggled to shuffle down his body, while he was hypnotized with how good she looked all fucked out. “I want to do that again. And again. And again. For the rest of my fucking life.” Ella chuckled at his words, still shortwinded. “I’m serious. I want that view forever.”
“Oh my– Fuck, c’mere,” Ella wrapped her hand around his neck as she looked at him, her cum all over his face. She hastily leaned in to kiss him and when she tasted herself, a loud moan came from her. It rumbled through her chest and she only got more desperate when she settled her hips on his and felt him rock hard in his jeans.
Her head spinned as a new wave of arousal flooded her system, as if she hadn’t just cum all over his face a few seconds before.
Sticking her tongue out, she lapped at the mess that had dripped down his neck. Lewd noises came from her as she tasted herself on his skin and when she got to his jaw, she wiped his chin with her thumb and brought it up to his mouth for him to suck. A smirk broke on her face when his wet swollen lips wrapped around her finger, eyes rolling back into his head and humming as he tasted the last bits of her arousal.
She admired him for a few seconds, her thumb brushing against his lips while she cupped his jaw and her other hand went up to brush his hair back. “See, I knew you were beautiful but you look even prettier with my cum all over your face.”
His cock twitched in his pants, her praises making him harder than he thought he could get from just words, but she was just so stunning like this, taking complete control over him and making a mess of him. He’d never considered himself submissive but fucking hell wouldn’t he willingly put himself at her mercy every time if that was what she wanted. The filthy words she’d been saying as she rode his face came to the forefront of his mind and he couldn’t help but point out the contrast between them and her sweet praise, it was just like the contrast of her sweet shy self and the Ella he was seeing now.
“God, you couldn’t be more perfect,” he whispered, barely registering the words left his mouth.
His hips bucked once again and his face fell into a pained expression when he brushed against her cunt. Ella pouted at the look on his face, feeling just how fucking hard he was and how he must be aching in those jeans, so she leaned in to peck his lips before saying softly, “Let me take care of you, yeah?” Alex whimpered when she rolled her hips once more as he nodded at her words. Again, she teased, “Words?”
“Please.”
“So polite.” He caught a glimpse of her smirk while she busied herself into kissing down his jaw and neck, down his chest until she was facing his bulge. With deft fingers, she undid the button and tugged down the zip, her fingers hooked on the edge of the denim to start peeling it off him and she smiled when he lifted his hips up to let her take them off him.
Alex was slightly relieved from the partial freedom, sighing as she kissed back up his chest and met his lips once more. But when she started rolling her hips slowly on his again, he knew that she was teasing him and he didn’t know how much of that he could take.
“Ella, please.” He mumbled in a broken moan when her hips rolled again.
Their lips brushed when she asked, “What do you want, baby?” Her hips stopped so he could form a coherent answer to her question.
Alex felt like he would explode at any second, so he just shook his head as he peeled his eyes open and stared into her eyes, “Anything. Just need you, darling.”
Biting her bottom lip, Ella took in every detail of his face. She sighed heavily before kissing him again. Leave it to him to sweet talk her into considering not teasing him and give him exactly what he wanted.
She could find some middle ground, so she enjoyed the slow trail of her mouth kissing down his chest and licking over the bruises she’d left there already. And she especially enjoyed hearing him whimper when she finally got to the band of his boxers and all she did was leave open mouthed kisses along it.
Taking some pity on Alex, Ella thought it had been enough taunting so she brought his boxers down, his hard cock springing free and slapping against his belly. He was swollen and heavy, red tip already leaking so much precum and her mouth watered at the sight, wanting nothing more than to take him in her mouth and gag on it but the need to continue teasing him a bit more was far stronger.
She moved back up to face him and he was about to complain but all the words died in his throat when she grabbed his chin and turned his head to the side so he could face her and said, “Spit in my mouth.” before parting her lips and sticking her tongue out for him to spit on.
“Fucking hell, Ella.” Alex cursed under his breath. He was sure she’d been made for him, this was something he hadn’t seen coming but fucking hell didn’t it make him want to kiss her lips until they were bruised and make her cum over and over until she couldn’t move out of bed. There was this animalistic need to give her everything he could give, until he could satiate the need of her.
Ella rolled her eyes and dug her fingers harshly into his face as if to hurry him and he snapped out of his trance to cup her jaw firmly, spitting into her mouth just like she’d requested. She hummed and closed her eyes in bliss when she felt his warm spit coating her tongue, closing her mouth to swallow it.
“Do it again.” She said, stealing Alex’s air from his lungs all over again, his cock twitching and he felt a bead of precum leaking out of the tip.
He spat in her mouth again but this time she didn’t swallow it, she shuffled down the bed to come back beside his cock and wrap her fingers around it, spitting on it and letting the mixture of her and Alex’s saliva dribble down his length until it hit the duvet.
“You’re filthy,” he whined, and it sounded like a praise.
Her thumb rubbed on the tip of his cock, smearing the precum down his length and starting to stroke him up and down slowly. Her eyes admired the way his cock looked thrusting in and out her fist, throat going dry at the thought of how it’d look like as he fucked her, but then she looked up and saw him already a flushed panting mess and she couldn’t help but stopping her movements to taunt him.
Alex groaned at the loss of the friction her hand brought on him and out of desperation, he started thrusting up into her hand to resume the pleasure that it had brought him. Ella smirked and started moving again, a very slow pace to have him do most of the work. “That’s it, fuck my fist.”
He whimpered, leaking more and more of his salty arousal as his pleasure made him shudder and stop being able to keep his eyes open. All he could think of was cumming, so he picked up his pace, his hips meeting her fist every time he thrusted up, “Oh Ella– Fuck!”
She could only watch him with her mouth agape, almost drooling and her cunt throbbing and clenching around nothing at the sight. She had to press her thighs together to get some kind of alleviation. “Yes Alex, just like that. Is this how you fucked yours huh? Is this how you fucked your fist to my pictures?”
Alex was desperate to orgasm, her statement almost flying past him. His brows furrowed, concentrated in the rhythm he had set for himself but he grew confused as to how she knew that. “Wha– Ah fuck! Who told you that?”
She chuckled at his lack of denial, “Who do you think?” She giggled at herself, finding it amusing that she’d brought this up in such a situation.
A string of profanities left him, as he felt himself growing closer and closer to his orgasm. His hips started stuttering and she tutted, “No, you’re not cumming yet babe.” Her fist left his cock, coming to rest on the mattress and a massive smirk showed on her face when his eyes went wide open and he started complaining.
“But Ella– Please, let me–” He choked on his words when her thumb brushed on his tip again and she brought the finger up to her mouth to suck. “Please, darling. I need it. Need you.”
She hummed, satisfied with his growing desperation and making a show of swiping her thumb over the tip of his cock again and moaning loudly at his taste. He groaned in protest, but she shut him up with a hot kiss, smacking lips and teeth clashing for a minute until she felt him rubbing against her leg, dripping precum over her.
She left him with a peck, moving back down his body and once more, she grabbed his cock. This time not waiting before licking a bold strip from the base to the tip, sucking harshly on the head of his cock before letting it go with a pop when he whimpered loudly, “Tell me how bad you want it.”
He looked down at her and couldn’t do more than just curse under his breath, “Fuck, Ella.” He could bust right then and there just from the view.
Her breathy chuckle hit the tip of his cock and he whined, “That’s the spirit but not what I asked.”
Alex ached and he knew he had to listen to her if he wanted to get anything, “I want you so bad darling, your mouth–”
But Ella was enjoying this way too much so she teased him some more, her words coming out in a sing-song tone, “You’re missing the magic word.”
He rolled his eyes and threw his head back on the pillows, “Please darling, I want to fuck your mouth.”
A snort of laughter came from her, Alex groaned at the sound because he was on the verge of tears and begging for her to do something, anything. “Chivalry is truly not dead after all, huh?” She joked with a stupid smile on her face.
The singer would’ve laughed in any other situation but he was about to lose it, he couldn’t even use his hands because he was fisting the duvet so hard his fingers ached. “Stop teasing, Ella, please.”
She dared him then, “Oh, but I thought you liked teasing?” There was a clear memory of him stating that, and how it’d opened a can of worms that always came to the forefront of her mind when she touched herself to the thought of him.
She smirked again and taunted him by leaving a soft peck on the tip of his cock, making Alex cry out a pained, “Fuck me–”
Still teasing, Ella hummed and played with the meaning of his words in a nonchalant manner, “Maybe in a bit, if you’re good and listen to what I say.”
Despaired now, he didn’t mind begging at all, “I will, I will. I promise baby. Just– Please Ella, I need you. Need you so fucking bad.” The vein on the side of his neck protruded as he spoke in a haste.
Ella was more than satisfied with that and she breathily let him know what had been her plan all along, “Just like that, Alex. I want you desperate.”
And with that she took him in her mouth, inhaling deeply through her nose to take him as deep as she could. When he hit the back of her throat, Alex subconsciously thrusted into her mouth, moaning louder than he had anticipated, making her gag but moan back in response when she drew back enough to take a deep breath.
With her taking him to the back of her throat every time, hollowing her cheeks and bobbing her head up and down relentlessly, he started twitching in her mouth and squirming beneath her in a minute. Ella knew he was close and she would’ve loved to have him paint her throat with his cum but this time she wanted him inside her, to spill in her cunt and drip out of her like she’d fantasized about so many times before, so just as he started gasping and his hips started stuttering, she pulled back and left him hanging over the edge of climax.
“Ella–” He choked out as he felt the coil of pleasure that had been tensing and building up as he’d been buried deep in her mouth completely left him and all that was left was the uncomfortable feeling of a stolen orgasm.
“Wait, sweetness.” She said in an infuriatingly sweet tone, cupping his jaw as she stood beside the edge of the bed and kissing him softly before standing back up and saying, “I want to do something. Stay there.”
She turned on her heels and made her way to his walk-in closet, knowing she would be able to find something there if she were to look for it. But she'd only taken three steps into the room when she heard the movement back in his room. He had painfully sat himself on bed, back against the cold metal rods that formed his headboard, and he’d been debating whether or not to get himself off to relieve himself of the ache that washed over him when her voice hit him like a ton of bricks, a heavy demanding tone behind her words, “If you don’t listen to what I say, you’re not getting a single thing, Turner.”
Alex froze in his spot, his cock twitching at the dominating roll she was taking. He threw his head back and swallowed a groan. He hadn’t even cum and she’d already ruined him, there would never be another one but her.
He waited patiently, a minute passed and all he could hear were the drawers being opened and closed until he saw her come back into the bedroom with one of his ties on her right hand.
She smirked seeing him sitting in bed waiting for her. She cooed like it actually amazed her that he listened and got on the bed again, placing her knees on each side of his hips to straddle him. Her hand came up to cup his jaw and her thumb brushed soft circles on his skin before she praised him with a proud, “Good boy.”
She distracted him with a dizzying kiss, one that he indulged in with feverish eagerness until she pulled back and their lips separated with a smack, the sound was followed by her words which sounded more of a statement than a question, “I’m gonna tie you up, yeah?” He nodded quickly, his brain a mush and unable to even think about what it was that she wanted to do to him tied up to his headboard but he was willing to comply if it meant that she’d make him cum.
He didn’t even have time to complain or ask questions because her tits had been on his face while she tied his wrists avidly to the posts of the headboard and he’d been too busy biting and sucking on them.
She moaned when he caught one of her nipples in his mouth and sucked it. Despite the very nice distraction, she pulled on the knots she so expertly knew how to tie and grinned in satisfaction when seeing them hold his wrists perfectly for her.
Ella sat on his lap, feeling his cock still hard coming to touch her drenched cunt and brought her hand to his face when he hissed at the contact. “I know.” She said softly before kissing him softly and briefly. “Is this alright?” She needed to ask again, to make sure it wasn’t too much since she could see the way his eyes were glazed over with frustrated tears from the edging.
But Alex nodded with a loopy smile that she loved and all she could do was smirk, nothing but a mischievous look in her eyes.
A look that’d get a meaning when she spoke up again, “If you’re cumming anywhere today, it’s gonna be inside me, okay?”
Alex nodded despite the shock her words had given him, his mouth agape in surprise at her bluntness.
Her hand slowly crawled down his chest until she could wrap her fingers around his length, she watched with a parted mouth as he threw his head back at the contact and he muttered under his breath, “Fuck me…”
A bright grin broke on her face and she leaned in to lick his bottom lip before saying, “That’s exactly what I’m gonna do.”
Alex was left with his mouth parted in search of a kiss but oxygen left his lungs when she pulled back slightly to spit on his cock, her hand starting to pump him a handful of times before she lined him up with her sopping entrance. She knew it would be easy to sink into him with how wet she was and the mess she’d made of Alex.
Just to build on the last bits of anticipation, she brushed his cock up and down her cunt, shivering when he grazed her clit.
“Darling…” Alex breathed out in pain, hidden away in the crook of her neck as she teased his tip in her hole.
She hummed, acknowledging him and finally letting herself sink down on him. He tried his best to keep his eyes on her as her mouth went slack and a soft whimper left her at the stretch of his cock, but his gaze fell down to see where they connected and his eyes rolled back into his skull. He could just cum seeing himself buried balls deep inside her, snugging him so tightly and clenching around him as she slightly squirmed over him when adjusting her balance on her knees.
She cried out in pleasure right as she started moving, rolling her hips tentatively to set a starting pace. But she could barely get a hold of her own thoughts, all that went through her mind was how she could feel every ridge and vein, how he was making her brain melt inside her skull with the way he felt inside her, “Filling me up so good.”
Alex swore he was seeing stars with how she was squeezing him, how good she looked as her hips rolled with an increasing speed that would surely drive him to the edge in no time, “Fuck, you’re so tight–”
With every roll of her hips, her clit pressed against his pubic bone and offered her a delicious pressure that made her eyes roll back. Her gasps and moans got louder as she went faster and the melodies of their pleasured sounds turned into a pornographic harmony when Ella went from rolling her hips to bouncing on his cock.
Her tits bounced as she picked up the pace, her hands resting on his chest for leverage and her hair falling in front of her face as she leaned in and changed the angle slightly. Alex stared at Ella fucking herself on his cock and it was a scene that not even his dreams could amount to. Watching himself disappear inside her over and over, and feeling her slick dripping down his cock and making a mess of the bedsheets had him looking up at the ceiling for a few seconds, willing himself not to cum too fast, to last as long as he could so they could cum together.
“Is this how you imagined?” She teased.
“Better,” Alex swore, too gone to be anything but sincere. “You’re perfect. You’re– I couldn’t have made you up. I couldn’t have ever imagined– God, you’re everything I need, Ella.”
The sound of the skin slapping every time they met was loud so the shit she muttered under her breath was barely audible. Ella slowed down just a bit to stabilize herself with just her left hand on his chest, bringing her right hand up to his neck and wrapping her fingers deftly around it, “I’ve always wanted to do this with you.”
Her fingers pressed on the sides of his neck, choking him just the perfect way. Her ‘Pure Desire’ tattoo adorning his throat. It was a miracle how he didn’t cum from just her doing that, that lustful look on her face as she watched him gasp and choke on a whimper as her fingertips dug on the sides of his neck. It just made Alex want to fuck her harder, and it seemed like it had the same effect on her because she picked up her pace despite the burning of her thighs from the effort.
Alex met her in the middle with every bounce, thrusting his hips up into her and hitting the perfect spot for her. “Right there, right there! Alex!” She was growing breathless, barely able to pick her head up. She was starting to regret tying him up just a little, she wanted him to hold her and help her match his eager thrusts as she got closer to her orgasm.
Digging his heels on the mattress, Alex found the footing to quicken the pace, “Ella– fuck!” He groaned and moaned loudly, his mind reeling when his hearing was entirely overcome by the sounds of the skin slapping and Ella’s mewls and whines.
Ella gasped with every thrust, the coil in her lower stomach tightening impossibly each time he hit that sweet spot inside her and her grip on his neck got tighter as she clenched hard around him. Her legs started trembling more and more and then her orgasm hit her suddenly, blacking out her sight as she shook and spasmed on him, loud cries of his name accompanied the symphony.
Seeing Ella as she came again, hearing how she cried out his name and the way she squeezed his cock with her cunt, Alex came hard inside her. His thrusts became sloppy as he shivered and his cock twitched as he spilled and painted her walls with his cum. His hips stuttered as her tightness milked his cock relentlessly, but he still rocked his hips into her, meeting her slow messy pace as they both came down from their highs.
With her legs trembling, Ella just dropped against his chest, completely fucked off reality for a few minutes. All they could hear was each other’s breathing and their hearts beating in sync as their chests pressed against each other.
She wondered why Alex was keeping his touch away from her when she remembered she’d tied him up so she lifted her head up and brushed her hair back to reach out and undo his restraints with one pull of the end of the tie.
Alex groaned at the feeling of his arms plopping down beside his head, but he ignored the soreness of his limbs when he could finally brush her hair back from where it stuck to her sweaty face and cup her jaw to give her a sweet kiss he’d been craving to give her the whole time she was riding him.
Ella smiled into the kiss when she remembered all that had happened in a matter of a few minutes. She’d lost track of time entirely, not even able to point out how long it could’ve been since she’d showed up at his house to just tell him all that she’d been holding back.
The happiness that bubbled inside her filled her with warmth and a small burst of energy enough to have her peel herself off him to rest beside him in bed. She lifted herself off him and settled to his right with a soft whine at the loss of him. Alex turned to his side and cupped her face once more to give her a quick kiss before he pushed himself up and off the bed with a quick, “I’ll be right back darling.”
He got up and went to his ensuite to clean himself up, flashbacks of what had happened made his cock twitch again. He got a cloth and wet it with warm water, taking it with him to clean Ella up.
Her eyes lazily followed him as he came back into his room and up to her. His hands softly spread her legs out to clean up the mess in between her legs. His cum dripping out of her mixed with her own had Alex biting his bottom lip, a shaky breath out his nose before he cursed out loud, “Fuck me.” She whimpered at the touch of the cloth against her overstimulated center, and he kissed her softly as an apology, being careful to continue cleaning her up until she was rid of it all. He had made a mental note to stuff his cum back in her next time, see it dripping out of her over and over, fuck the cum inside her with his fingers or his cock.
Alex left to go back to the bathroom with that in mind, his blood rushing south again the more he imagined it all. When he went back to bed, he noticed Ella had thrown the ruined duvet on the floor and gotten under the sheets. And when he turned to see her, she made grabby hands at him. He chuckled at the contrast of her behavior throughout the night, but was quick to cuddle her into him.
They snuggled beneath the sheets, their legs tangling together as his arm snaked under her to wrap around her waist and holding her flush against him so she could rest her head on his chest. Throwing her arm across his middle to keep him close, Ella nuzzled her head into his chest and she melted against him.
With Alex rubbing circles on her waist, Ella was starting to fall asleep. It was still light outside, the sun still heating up the ground outside and the bright rays managing their way into the room through the thin curtains that covered the windows, but her eyes grew heavy and her breathing evened out as time passed.
That was until Alex sighed loudly out of the blue and cursed, “Well, fucking hell.”
Ella frowned, confused by his sudden choice of words, “What?”
But Alex had been replaying everything in his mind and he felt himself growing flustered and hotter the more he recalled, “You’re seriously asking what after that?”
She couldn’t help but blush, because how the fuck had she gone from crying and going on and on about how tired she was of silently wanting him yet losing him every time to riding his face, edging him twice to then tie him up and fuck the lights out of him.
So she hid her face behind her hands, not wanting Alex to see her face, which she knew had to be bright red.
“Oh don’t go all shy on me now, darling.” He played with her, a chuckle slipping past his lips. His fingers peeling her hands off her face, only to be followed by littering every bit of her face with kisses until she was giggling and cuddled back into him.
They laid there in silence, dropping sweet kisses and tracing patterns on each other’s skin. It was one of those comfortable silences that they’d developed ever since they grew back together during the recording of AM.
A silence that was shattered by Alex thinking out loud, “Now I know what it feels like…”
She snorted when hearing him trail off like that, because what would that even mean? He wasn’t a virgin. “Huh?” She frowned as she looked up at him, trying to hide her amusement by pursing her lips.
“To be that bull.” Alex simply stated, looking down at her with a growing smirk on his face.
She was even more confused then, “Bull? What bull?”
“The one from that pub when you broke the record.” He explained with an obvious tone in his voice.
Ella burst out laughing at the realization of what he was implying. As if her riding that mechanical bull for three minutes was anything near what they’d done just then. She shoved him by his shoulder, letting herself fall away from his hold still laughing, “Fucks sake Alex, you’re an idiot.”
He hooked his arms around her waist again and pulled her into him again, “What? Thought you were a proud cowgirl?”
But she shook her head in disbelief and hid in the crook of his neck, mumbling a halfhearted “Stop.” on his bruised skin.
“Nothing not to be proud of with how well you ride, darling.” The singer added, to which she pinched his side, making him jump and yelp aloud.
With a frown to conceal her amusement, Ella came out of her hiding place, narrowed eyes to help her threat resonate in his head, “I’m gagging you next time.”
Alex shook his head as he watched a smirk slowly breaking on her face, “You’d like that wouldn’t you?”
Her gaze dropped to his lips, picturing them all wet and swollen, wrapped around a gag, leather belt wrapped around the back of his head and tight on the skin of his face. That was a view she certainly would appreciate, “I’d love it.”
Love. Alex smiled at the word, remembering he finally could tell her, “I love you.” and have her know exactly what he meant.
Ella’s heart was almost bursting at its seams when he said that, saying “I love you.” back to him was the easiest thing she could ever do.
Staring at each other adoringly, a minute or two passed. He twirled a strand of her hair slowly with his fingers, counting each freckle on her skin and taking in every bit of her in this new setting.
“How long have you been holding that back?” He asked curiously, wanting to know how long she’d been agonizingly waiting to let all those words out. His chest hurt when remembering her mentioning the pictures paparazzis had taken of him and Alexa and how she’d implied him going for Alexa just like he’d gone for Arielle two years before.
Ella genuinely asked back, “Wanting to fuck you?”
“No, you dickhead.” Alex replied with a cackle, his giggles falling right behind his words, making her giggle along until he could clarify, “Wanting to tell me you love me.”
“I was in denial for a while.” Ella admitted easily. There was no reason to not be entirely transparent with him anymore and she hoped he felt the same way as she continued, “But as soon as I saw you leave that morning… I was just entirely sure about it the second I woke up.”
He frowned, “Why didn’t you say anything?”
She scoffed softly when just considering how that would’ve happened, “Tell you that over the phone? No chance.” She was so glad it hadn’t been that way, because having him close after having told him everything felt so right and she knew she would’ve cried when he reciprocated and she couldn’t have him beside her right then and there.
Alex hummed, knowing what she meant, “I reckon if you’d told me when I was away, I would’ve cried not being able to kiss you right then and there.”
“Exactly.” Ella said, slightly wide eyes at the way it just felt like he’d read her mind. But before she could forget, she asked him, “Why didn’t you say anything?”
With an embarrassed smile on his face, Alex shyly replied, “I was afraid you wouldn’t feel the same.”
She sighed, smiling at their own foolishness. Both of them were concerned about the same thing and instead of speaking about it, they kept it to themselves in fear of rejection as if their actions didn’t speak louder than their hushed words. “We’re such idiots.”
“We are.” Alex agreed with a grin on his face, leaning in until their noses brushed and giving her a eskimo kiss before slotting his lips between hers.
Her fingers delicately held his jaw as they kissed slowly, all that hunger had simmered down and turned into tenderness, wanting to feel each other as close as they could like becoming one was possible. There was no rush, the only priority was taking in every second their lips moved together, tasting each other’s tongues with patience and trying to translate their love into it.
“How long has it been for you?” Ella asked softly when she pulled away after a minute of slowly kissing, her thumb rubbing circles on his jaw.
Alex smirked when he knew what he could say about the very second he realized how he felt for Ella, “You wanna know who was there when I realized it all?”
Her curiosity was piqued by the weird approach of his answer, “Who?”
The last thing Ella was waiting for him to say was, “Alexa.”
A quick, “No.” in disbelief left her lips, Ella’s cheeks heating up at the fact that she’d been horrendously affected by her presence beside Alex on a picture when Alexa had been there the time Alex came to the conclusion that he was in love with her.
“Yes.” Alex continued smirking as he said, eager to see her reaction when he’d tell her just how it had happened. “Remember how we were on the phone at the wedding and she came by for a smoke?” Ella nodded, remembering that exact moment way too well for her liking, “You hung up and she just asked who you were. And once she asked, I couldn’t stop talking about you. She just listened and kept teasing me about it. I was gonna leave but then she asked why I hadn’t made a move, said something like ‘you really like her, don’t you?’ and it dawned on me; how I just couldn’t say I liked you because it wasn’t enough.”
Ella looked at him with teasing wide eyes and played, “‘Cause you love me.”
He hummed with a foolish grin tugging at the corners of his mouth, “Because I love you.”
Alex couldn’t help catching her mouth in a kiss again. Now that he could freely kiss her any time he wanted, there was no moment he wouldn’t be thinking of tasting her mouth and feeling her lips on his. She was all he needed to get drunk from.
He caught her bottom lip with his teeth before he could pull back from the kiss, tugging on her lip until she hummed in satisfaction at his action. Her pupils enlarged when he let go of her lip and looked at her in the eyes. She took it as the perfect opportunity to answer the question she thought he’d meant to ask at the start, “If I’m being honest, I’ve always wanted to fuck you.”
His mouth opened agape in slight shock, “Oi, you filthy bitch.” He called her out for the bluntness he would have to get used to without becoming speechless, but she’d caught him off guard and he couldn’t help but chuckle.
“What?!” She frowned and scoffed before calling him out, “Don’t even start, Turner. Not when I know that you were getting yourself off to my pictures.”
He played dumb very obviously, the inflection of his voice going up as he asked, “Who? Me?”
“Yeah, you. Pervert.” Ella narrowed her eyes as she joked, calling him out further by adding, “And whilst you had a girlfriend too!”
At the mention of that, Alex dropped his joking expression and sighed in regret as he got serious, “Don’t. I actually feel really bad about that. I had to break up with her because I couldn’t stop thinking of you.”
She’d always been curious as to why he’d broken up with Arielle all of the sudden so she gasped and looked for more answers, “Are you serious?”
He hummed, wincing as he recalled, “I called her your name one time and I just couldn’t continue in that relationship after that.”
Ella gasped horrified, “You didn’t Cornerstone poor Arielle to me!” She couldn’t believe him, barely being able to scold him with the way her jaw was on the floor in shock, “Alexander David Turner!”
“I’m sorry.” He apologized wholeheartedly.
Her eyes looked into his unwavering for a minute and when she remembered a certain piece of information she’d gotten all those months before, she slapped her hand over her mouth and a muffled, “Oh my god. No. No. No. No.” came from her.
Alex frowned in confusion, his eyes swimming all over her face searching for answers but she just kept her mouth agape in further shock behind her hand, “What?!”
“Are you fucking kidding me, Alex?!” Her hand went from covering her mouth to cover her eyes as she sighed, entirely appalled by it all.
“What?!” The singer asked again, he’d no idea why the look on her face and he was starting to worry.
She had to take a few seconds to gather her thoughts before letting him know, “She fucking called me, you know? After you broke up with her, saying how you’d had the best sex the night before you broke up with her. And he said you called her darling for the first time that night!”
Alex hissed when he heard that and he knew he’d just have to admit to his mistakes, “I did call her darling ‘cause I was picturing you but she didn’t hear me calling her Ellie when I came.”
Another gasp came from Ella, “Alex! For fucks sake!”
“I know, I felt horrible.” Alex admitted, regret written all over his face, “I really did. If it counts for anything.”
Ella shook her head in disbelief, “Alex, I took her out to the club to make her feel better when it was because of me all along?!”
But Alex wouldn’t let her take that blow when it had all been his actions that caused Arielle hurt, “It wasn’t your fault, love. That was all me.”
“Alexxxxxx.” Ella whined as she covered her face with her hands again but this time because she had no idea what to say anymore. She was starting to feel bad for that having happened to Arielle due to her own existence and of course, Alex’s lack of self control. But she felt even worse for the fact that her stomach flipped and she filled up with a strange feeling when knowing she’d made Alex a total and complete mess since that long ago.
“Stop it.” Alex chuckled and pulled her in closer to him but she shuffled away from him the more he pulled on her wrists, “Come here.”
She shook her head, still hidden behind her hands, “No. I’m angry at you.”
“Our first argument already?” Alex joked and Ella rolled her eyes because she could hear the smirk on his face just from the tone of his voice.
“Slight disagreement.” Ella corrected, making Alex cackle loudly.
“Right.” He snickered before pulling on her wrists again, “Don’t hide please.” If she wasn’t gonna let herself be pulled towards him, then he’d go to her. So he crawled over to where she was and hovered on top of her, leaning in to leave a kiss on top of her hands and whisper, “I love you.”
She huffed, dropping her hands from her face to show her frown and cross her arms over her chest, “No, don’t bribe me like that.”
But how could he not? He just couldn’t hold himself back from saying, “I love you.” followed by a kiss on the right side of her face. Another “Love you.” with a kiss to the left side of her face. And one last “Love you so much.” before catching her lips in an elongated peck.
Despite the fact that she’d gracefully accepted the peck, when Alex pulled back, Ella still kept a blank expression on her face and said a meek, “Sure.”
He frowned, “Darling.”
“Alex.” Ella said back with the same determined tone he’d used.
He huffed childishly, “No.”
She chatted back with a short and dry, “Yes.” A roll of her eyes added in to accentuate her annoyance at it all.
But all that did to Alex was make him bite his lip because she looked so fucking hot when she was like this. He didn’t even know if he ever wanted to see her angry, but if she looked hotter than this, then he wouldn’t be opposed to being the target or her wrath.
“God, I fucking love you.” Alex groaned before cupping her face with his hands and pouncing on her lips.
His tongue licked at her bottom lip instantly and despite the fact that she was trying to continue acting all annoyed, she parted her mouth and invited him to lick into her mouth with a sigh of bliss.
Just to make her facade of annoyance crumble, Alex started moaning and groaning into the kiss, making a show of becoming sloppier with it and then leaving her mouth to attack her neck with wet open mouthed kisses so quick that the brush of his lips tickled her and had her giggling.
He pulled away when he heard her laughter, a loopy grin on his face matching the one on hers. But one that fell when she caught his gaze and said, “Now you gotta answer.”
“Huh?” He let out when he couldn’t put a finger on what she meant.
She smirked, her hands slowly brushing up his chest until they were resting on his shoulders and her legs wrapping around his hips before she asked, “How long have you been wanting to fuck me?”
Feeling her the heels of her feet digging into his ass, he let himself fall over her, his cock hardening just at the faintest touch of her cunt. “Ages.” He replied, gasping when she rolled her hips and he felt the arousal already wetting her core.
“Is that right?” She teased, fingers playing with the hair at the nape of his neck.
He hummed, a rush of heat flooding his body and blood rushing down to his cock just by the hungry look that had taken over her face. Her green eyes became black as her pupils dilated with another roll of her hips. “And I’ll make up for lost time until the day I die.” He swore out loud, because he would and it would not be a hardship in the slightest.
She grinned proudly at his words, butterflies fluttering in her belly at the hint of him willing to give her all those years of his life, willing to share all that time with her, “Good boy.”
His cock twitched at the praise. She’d fucking ruined him for good. “Call me that again.”
Ella smirked at his request but had no problem with repeating herself. “My.” She started saying, accentuating each word with a kiss, “Good.” Kiss. “Fucking.” Kiss. “Boy.”
Smashing their lips together, a bruising kiss followed as their hips started rolling in sync. Alex was already growing hard against her, his erection pressing onto her mound and she was getting more and more turned on from the way he reacted to her and the desperation seeping through his pores.
Alex could feel her already drenched and he couldn’t help but bring his hand down to gather some of her arousal. Two of his fingers ran up her folds and he hissed into her mouth. When he looked down, he let his fingers sink into her hole and her wetness allowed for them to glide in easily. The singer cursed under his breath when he drew his fingers back and when he looked back up at her, she let her mouth hang open inviting him to push his fingers into her mouth, wanting a taste.
He pushed his digits past her lips and let them heavily weigh down on the tip of her tongue. She moaned and her eyes rolled back at her taste, swirling her tongue around them before fully sinking them onto her mouth and humming in satisfaction when tasting even more of her wetness.
His mouth fell agape as he took in the filthiness of the scene, “How did I get so lucky?”
Letting go of his fingers with a pop, Ella replied to his question with a passionate kiss. So messy and pointless for their teeth clashed and couldn’t stop gasping the more their hips rolled into each other’s. But Alex could taste her arousal on her tongue and it drove him mad. He wanted another taste, he needed it.
So he broke the kiss, a string of spit clinging between their wet lips, guiding his kisses down her jaw and neck, her chest and abdomen until he reached her mound. Ella shuddered feeling his hot breath growing closer and closer to her heat, a wave of pleasure making her hips rut on the bed.
Her cunt was glistening, inviting him to have a fucking feast. And that he did once he threw her legs over his shoulders and he laid flat on the bed. His tongue pressed flat against her cunt and started to lap eagerly up and down her folds. Her right hand flew to catch a hold of his hair while the other one came up to her chest, fingers kneading her own tits, pinching her nipples when he started flicking at her clit.
“F–fuck!” Ella cursed loudly when he sucked on her clit, her hips bucking quicker with every second that went by, her fingers abusing her pebbled nipples even more to intensify the pleasure his mouth was bringing her. “Alex, baby… Shit.”
He hummed with his lips wrapped around her clit, her back arching from the vibration reverberation all over her. Her toes curling and her mouth going slack when he pointed his tongue and started fucking her with it, moving his head in such a way that his nose was rubbing on her clit.
She fucking loved it. She hadn’t known how badly she’d wanted to feel that again until she did and now all she could think of was getting this every day for the rest of her life. “Mmmm, just like that.” She praised, her hips still meeting his movements and making her orgasm build up.
Alex looked up at her and the sight of her playing with her tits as he tongue fucked had him letting out a guttural groan and bucking his hips into the mattress. The friction that brought him made him whimper pathetically and once the whiny sound fell on Ella’s ears, she got louder.
He got more vocal then, humming and moaning as he lapped at her, flicked and sucked at her clit, pointed his tongue to tease her sopping hole; all of it over and over until her legs started shaking beside his head.
“Alex! Al– Fuck.” She messily let out in between gasps, “M’so close. Oh fuckkkkk.” She mewled when his tongue started flicking faster at her clit, her eyes screwed shut and her hand falling from her chest to claw at the sheets when she felt her orgasm approaching her rapidly.
With a yell of his name, she came on his tongue, coating it with the sweetness he was already addicted to. The wetness mixed with his spit dribbling down his chin as he tried his best to lap at every drop, not wanting to let any of it go to waste.
His hips started rutting faster against the mattress, the springs of his bed creaking as he went. The sound of it was the thing Ella first heard when she came down from her high, not knowing what it was until she looked down and saw Alex lapping at the arousal that had wet her inner thighs and his hips bucking relentlessly on the bed.
“I can’t get enough of the taste of you, darling,” he confessed, kissing her inner thigh. “I’m obsessed.”
Pulling on his hair, Ella peeled him away from her cunt and in between her panting as she tried catching her breath, she finally said, “Fuck me, Alex. I need you.” Even if she was spent, and she felt far too oversensitive, she couldn’t miss the chance of him filling her up again.
He couldn’t wait anymore so there was not a second to doubt nodding and giving into her wishes, he crawled up her body and pumped himself quickly before aligning his cock to her entrance. Pushing his hips forward slowly and sinking into her for the second time in the night, Alex swore that was exactly how heaven felt like. Her back arched off the mattress when he bottomed out, her legs wouldn’t stop shaking and she felt her eyes well up with tears at the stretch after having just cum.
A cry of his name blessed Alex’s ears at the same time he leaned in to groan onto her chest. “Fuck me, you feel so fucking perfect.” He praised as he tried to catch his breath, stilling inside her to give her time to adjust to his length again. She needed to relax again because if her cunt kept squeezing him like that, he wouldn’t last more than a minute.
Before he could start moving, he lifted her legs up slowly one by one until they were thrown over his shoulders, shuffling closer until the backs of her thighs were flush against his chest and he leaned into her, her knees coming closer to her chest and the new angle allowing for him to sink even deeper inside her.
“Oh my– Fuck!” She yelled at the stretch of this new angle that had him pressing into her g-spot perfectly. She shivered beneath him, hips struggling to stay in place when her body was screaming for him to start moving. She felt like she was about to explode. “Alex, Alex, move please.”
Alex started at a fairly quick pace, not being able to start slow because the angle in which he fucked her just made her squeeze his cock even tighter. Not that Ella wanted him slower, she could feel her second orgasm looming on her with force and she needed him to continue picking up his pace.
The claps of their skin filled up the room, along with her high pitched whimpers and his groans. Her head was thrown back, giving him full access to kiss and bite and suck the skin of her neck and when he did, it just made her pleasure increase tenfold.
“Al– harder. Please, harder.” Ella cried out, feeling herself about to fall over the edge, seeing stars behind her eyelids with every thrust.
“Aren’t you greedy?” Alex taunted but obliged, and with harder thrusts, it truly felt like he was fucking her into the matress, the springs creaking as it bounced from their movement.
“Yes! Don’t stop!” She yelled desperately, her orgasm building more intensely every time his pubic bone smacked against her clit, the pain turning into blinding pleasure that made her toes curl and her fingers pull harder on his hair.
Alex rested all of his weight on his left hand then, using his right hand to start rubbing her clit in quick motions to have her cum along with him because there was only so much longer he could hold and he was afraid he was getting closer and closer to his limit. “Are you gonna cum for me?”
She bit her lip, rolling her eyes. “If you keep– Just–”
“Gonna drench my cock, huh?” He nosed her neck, tickling her. “Gonna make a mess of it?”
“Yes!” And, true to her words, Ella came all over him, the stimulation from him hitting her g-spot and toying with her clit making her squirt all over him, drenching him and the sheets. And with that filthy sight Alex came right after her, his cum coating her walls as he continued pounding into her with messy thrusts.
“Fucking hell, you’re hot.”
The rhythm of his hips faltered as he continued riding out both of their climaxes, his finger slowing down on her clit until it stopped as she kept spasming around him. Her legs were shaking on his shoulders, so he let her let them down slowly after dropping a kiss on her calves and resting them on the bed.
Alex rubbed her thighs softly as he pulled out from her, hissing when he did just like Ella whined at the emptiness, wanting nothing but for him to be always inside her, he filled her up so good she thought she would soon become addicted to it.
He looked down at the mess on the sheets, his brain flashing the image of her squirting all over him as he watched his cum dripping out of her and staining the wet sheets. Alex groaned from the pits of his chest, hovering down over her again and mumbling against her lips, “I fucking adore you.”
She giggled, trying to see his face through half lidded eyes and hummed, “Adore you too.”
At the sight of her eyes closing, Alex got off the bed and swiftly carried her to the bathroom so they could get cleaned up. When he set her on the floor of his en-suite, she groaned loudly at the soreness of her legs and her cunt, Alex laughed in response.
Ella glared at him then, folding her arms as she watched him get towels from some shelves hidden in the corner of the room. “Don’t laugh, you’ve just folded me like a pretzel. I’m gonna be so sore.”
The comparison only made him laugh even harder and she pouted. “‘M sorry, but you enjoyed it.” He walked up to her and, after tossing the towels on a bench beside the glass doors that encased his shower, he enveloped her in a hug and dropped a sweet kiss on her lips.
He started walking towards the shower as they kissed, so she walked backwards until the cold glass made her hiss when it touched the warm skin of her back. He pulled back from the kiss and dropped two pecks on her before opening the glass door for them to get inside but when she turned, she managed to catch a glimpse of herself in the mirror.
Ella scoffed, “Gonna have the best time covering these up, thanks Alex.” Her neck was covered in lovebites and so was her chest, and when she let her gaze fall down to her thighs, she found the darkening bruises littered inside of them.
He looked at her through the mirror coming to press himself against her back, his arms wrapping around her middle and dipping to leave a trail of kisses up her neck until he reached her ear and whispered, “Didn’t hear you complaining when I left them.”
She rolled her eyes at him trying to act like his tricks weren’t working but her walls clenched around nothing in response. “Shut up.” She said before peeling his arms off her and walking into the shower first. He was gonna be the death of her.
Alex walked in after her and pulled her into him again by wrapping an arm around her waist, their chests pressed flush against each other this time and making her throw her arms around his neck. “You love me.” The singer mumbled against her lips in a reminder, the smirk that broke on his face only pushing Ella to tease him back.
“Do I?” She quipped back, cocking her head to the side and putting on a pretty convincing confused expression on her face.
His eyes turned mischievous as he said, “You do.” and then flicked the shower on making her gasp when the cold water fell over them as they stood right beneath the wide shower head.
“You’re such a little shit.” She hissed through her teeth before pushing him off her softly. She really didn’t want him away because the water still fell on them cold but she had to commit to the bit.
The singer giggled as he stumbled backwards but came back up to her seconds later, wrapping an arm around her waist again and cupping her jaw, tilting her head slightly so he could kiss her. It stupidly felt like kissing under the rain and suddenly Ella couldn’t be more excited for every first kiss they’d share in the future.
“You still love me though.” Alex chatted back when he broke the kiss.
And despite the roll of her eyes, a smile won over her pursed lips and she agreed, “I do love you.”
Alex hummed, “And I love you.”
Soon enough the spray of water grew warmer and they started to clean themselves up. Alex grabbed the new bottle of shampoo he’d gotten and started washing Ella’s hair, massaging her head softly and making her moan as his fingers dug perfectly into scalp. When he rinsed the shampoo fully off her hair, she took over the task of washing his and he also was a moaning mess as she took her time massaging his head. They soaped each other up delicately and slightly teasingly, hissing when they would poke at a particular tender spot the other had sucked on their skin, smirking when they’d taunt each other with a frisky touch like when Alex groped her tits with the excuse of properly cleaning her up and when she let her fingers inch closer and closer to his cock as she soaped up his lower stomach.
When they came out of the shower, after Ella had made him fuck her first when he got hard at her tantalising touch, Alex wrapped her in a towel and left her to dry her hair with another one while he wrapped his own towel around his waist and went back out into his room to get some clothes for them to wear.
A few minutes later, Alex walked back into the bathroom in just a pair of joggers and one of his shirts and a pair of boxers in hand for her. He gave Ella the clothes and left her to take her time as he went back to his bedroom and picked up the duvet and the bedsheets to take to the wash.
It didn’t take him long to put the bedding in the washing machine and when he came back he melted at the sight of her wearing his shirt and boxers and brushing her wet hair with her fingers.
He stepped into the room, walking back to the shelves in the corner to take out a comb and a hair dryer. “C’mere, I’ll do it for you.” He waved her over to the marble counter where two sinks stood beside each other, and he tapped on the space in the middle for her to sit on while he took care of her hair
She walked over to him and sat where he told her, the marble cold against her bare thighs making goosebumps break along the skin of the legs. He stood between her legs, brushing from the ends of her hair upwards, making her get down to properly brush the back of her head. He then plugged the hair dryer and started drying her hair, his fingers tenderly combing through her hair as the warm air dried it.
When he was done, Alex was quick to give her a peck so that she would open her eyes which had fluttered closed at the feeling of his fingers raking through her hair.
“Thank you, darling.” Ella said with a fake British accent, trying her best to mock him but clearly failing when he frowned at her advances.
“You’re welcome, babe.” Alex replied, retaliating by putting on a fake American accent so high pitched it made Ella wince.
She scoffed, swatting at his chest softly, “I don’t sound like that at all!”
The singer just shrugged, wanting to wind her up, “Are you sure?”
“Dickhead.” She bit back with her eyes narrowed, making him let out a loud laugh before he pulled her into a tight embrace that ended with them sharing a sweet kiss.
With one last peck on her cheek after he separated their lips with a smack, Alex went and unplugged the hair dryer and put it back in its place along with the comb. Walking back to where Ella still stood, leaning on the marble of the sinks, and interlocked their fingers to walk back into the room.
Seeing the bed bare of bedding made Ella’s cheeks heat up, knowing that it was all her doing that the sheets were fully ruined to use tonight. Alex looked at her and smiled at her bright red face, pecking her lips before reminding her that it had been the hottest thing that he’d ever seen and suggesting taking the bedding from one of the guest rooms to get her out of her head.
Walking over to the guest room, Ella chuckled out loud remembering how he’d promised her a house tour and she was only getting it after she’d ruined his sheets, not because he’d promised.
“You still owe me that house tour, you know?” She taunted him with a grin on her face.
He turned to the side to look at her and giggled when realizing what was going through her head, “Tomorrow after breakfast, I promise.” She hummed, knowing she’d hold him up to that.
But at the mention of food, she openly admitted she was hungry and he said he was too. So they went back to his kitchen, hand in hand, and made themselves a fast sandwich that they practically devoured in minutes, along with a few talls glasses of water when they realized just how parched their activities had left them. They quickly put everything away in the dishwasher and continued their quest for the bedding.
When they opened the door to the guest room, Ella marveled at the look of it. It was California rustic and so pretty, the wallpaper and the wood used around the room combined beautifully and she realized then she hadn’t even had the chance to appreciate Alex’s room. Too caught up in trying to finally have him all to herself in the many ways she’d dreamed about.
She made a point to take in every detail of his room when they came back to it with their arms full of white bedding. Compliments came from her about what she’d seen of the house so far as they struggled to put on the fitted sheet, they laughed when they messed up the way it went and when the corners wouldn’t stay on as they perfectly placed them at first. The scene was so domestic, her heart grew in sizes inside her chest. How could she be feeling this rumble of butterflies in her stomach from just making a bed with him? She was utterly and completely fucked, and instead of scaring her anymore, it just felt right and she reveled in it.
Once they managed to tackle the fitted sheet, everything else came easier and as soon as the duvet was perfectly placed, Alex ran up to the window to pull down the blackout curtains and once that was done, the two of them gracefully disheveled the tidy way they’d made the bed to get under the sheets and finally cuddle each other until they could rest.
This time it was Alex who lay on top of her, the side of his face pressed over her chest where he was starting to fall asleep, being lulled by the steady beating of her heart and her nails scratching lightly at his scalp.
They’d been lying in silence for about ten minutes when Ella whispered, “Love?”
Alex smiled brightly with his eyes closed, his heart leaping from his chest hearing her using that pet name for him, “Hmm?”
“Which one’s your favorite?” She asked, still being intrigued about so many things they’d yet to talk about.
But it seemed that Alex didn’t really know what she was talking about for he lifted his head up slightly to press his face on her tits and motorboated her lazily for a few seconds before he mumbled, “Both of them.”
A loud cackle came from her, piercing through the silence in the room as she shook her head, “You’re such an idiot.”
“I’m not lying.” He wholeheartedly promised while coming back to rest the side of his face on her chest.
She hummed, a snort coming from her as she tried to contain her laughter and when she managed to keep it at bay, she actually clarified for him, “Okay, good to know. But I meant which of my pictures is your favorite.”
A soft, “Ohhhhh…” came from him in realization. She laughed just as loudly and then he peeled his eyes open to look up at her with a conflicted look on his face, “You can’t just make me pick one.”
“Well, I am.” Ella challenged him. She wanted him to list every single picture he’d gotten himself off to but for now she could go to sleep just knowing which was the one.
Despite him acting like it was despicable for her to make him choose one, coming up with an answer was as easy as the ticking of five seconds on the clock, “That one of you on the motorbike. The one where you’re wearing that silver bikini and your cowboy boots and that hat.”
She frowned, trying to think about which picture it was and when she remembered the frame she’d posted long ago, she gasped, “Really?”
He nodded, still looking up at her, “Yes. Wrote Arabella ‘cause of that one.”
“Of course you did.” Ella chuckled and rolled her eyes at him. She would’ve never realized that the ‘Barbarella silver swimsuit’ line actually had to do directly with her too and it wasn’t just another one of Alex’s witty lyrics.
“I did.” He confirmed, smiling proudly at her, “No regrets. Though you never said anything about that one.”
She frowned and scoffed at him like he was crazy, “What did you want me to say? I thought that one was about Arielle until I heard the bridge!”
He closed his mouth and let a few beats of silence pass when he knew her excuse was valid, “Oh, well…”
Ella actually giggled loudly at his response, a shake of her head in disbelief and she called him out for his audacity, “You’re so annoying.”
“You love me.” Alex countered with the statement that he knew she would never actually deny.
She hummed with a foolish smile breaking on her face as she confirmed, “I do.”
“Say it again.” Alex breathlessly pleaded, his fingers coming to take a hold of her chin as he craned his neck to lean in closer to her.
There would never be a day she would pass on the opportunity to tell him, “I love you.”
His heart soared hearing those words, devotion written on his face when he stared into her hazel green eyes and whispered back, “I love you.”
Their exhaustion was wearing them out already and the languidness of their movements translated into a lazy kiss. But what lacked in energy, compensated with the sheer amount of sincerity and intent, wanting to let the other know with every kiss just how much of a love fool they’d made each other.
When he pulled back, Ella leaned back in to drop a handful more chaste kisses on his lips and after the sixth one, she couldn’t help herself about asking another question that was poking at her curiosity intensely, “Which other ones are about me? Other than Snap, you made that very clear.”
“Fireside, Do I Wanna Know?, Stop the World.” He listed quickly, knowing just what was his train of thought behind every song he’d written about her. “I made I Wanna Be Yours into a song because I wanted you to get the hint.”
She offered him a sweet pout and cooed at him, “Awh, sweetness.”
“That worked out well, didn’t it?” He added with a lighthearted sarcastic tone.
But she shook her head because it had been her fault too, not picking up on the obvious signs, “Sorry, I’m just a bit dense sometimes.”
Yet, he wouldn’t have her blaming herself for it when he knew he should have just spoken up, “S’alright. I should’ve just told you.”
Just to tease him, Ella nodded and agreed, “You really should’ve.” As if she hadn’t been keeping it hidden for far too long too.
He shook his head and rolled his eyes in amusement before smiling brightly, “Nice to be able to say it now.”
She nodded, thinking nothing else would ever compare to the feeling that flooded her when he said he loved her for the first time and it only got better and better the more he repeated it. The peace that she felt when she let those three words out was just as good, “It’s relieving.”
“I love you.” Alex told her, his eyes taking in every detail of her face as it lit up when hearing those words.
Ella brought her hand up to his face to cup his jaw and reciprocate sweetly, “I love you.”
One more kiss was shared, another one of those teeth-rottingly cute ones that left each other dazed. The heat of their bodies beneath the covers was making it harder for Alex to stay up so he broke the kiss and mumbled against her lips, “Right, darling. Close those pretty eyes of yours and go to sleep yeah? Long day tomorrow.” She’d fully distracted him from cleaning up the house and getting it ready, nevermind for the party but he’d been planning on tidying everything up for when she’d come over, if he’d actually had the chance to prepare the candlelit dinner for her.
“Hmm right.” Ella whispered back.
It was hard to know if the fact that everyone else was coming over the very next day was gonna make her want to sleep as soon as possible, dreading the exhaustion that evening would bring, or if it was gonna make her nervous enough to keep her eyes open for far longer than necessary.
All because Alex started rubbing circles on the skin of her thigh just as he let his eyes flutter closed and wished her, “Sweet dreams, darling.”
Seeing Alex’s face starting to melt into a blissful stupor, she forced her eyes closed and wished him back, “Sweet dreams, my love.”
It was impossible for him to keep that stupid smile off his face when she called him that, “I like the sound of that.”
She giggled, her cheeks heating up again. “Go to sleep.” She called him out, trying to bite back her smile to push herself into her slumber.
With the dark behind their eyelids being the only thing they could see then, it was impressive the way they found each other’s lips again and shared one more quick and soft kiss before they could actually succumb to their exhaustion. The foolish grins on their faces stuck there until they fell deep in sleep, arms wrapped around each other and legs tangled to keep the other as close as possible, not wanting to let go anytime soon.
✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧
The domesticity continued well into the following morning, after Alex woke Ella up with an attack of kisses all over her face which ended in them holding the other as they worked their ways to an orgasm, whispering sweet nothings and looking into each other’s eyes intently as pleasure washed over them.
Brushing their teeth together before changing the sheets yet again—this time bringing the freshly washed ones in Alex’s room and putting the one’s they’d borrowed from the guest room in the wash—, making breakfast together and getting comfortable on the settee to eat.
Ella’s legs were thrown over his lap and he was trying his best to keep one hand on her thigh, rubbing circles on her skin while they ate. The only sound that rumbled through the house was the consistent hum of the AC that kept the house cool, outside the sun was heating up the ground and the water that filled the pool; they broke the silence from time to time to hum when they had another bite of the scrambled eggs and sausage he’d made.
It was hard to imagine everything else was going by normally outside the walls of Alex’s house. It felt like they were stuck in their own little bubble and pure happiness simmered inside them, butterflies fluttering inside their stomachs and their smiles just stuck on their faces so their cheeks ached from how much they were smiling already despite it just barely being nine in the morning.
Alex already felt the need for this to be routine, for this to be his normal so with a soft squeeze to her bruised thigh, he let out, “I could get used to this, y’know.”
It was so easy to agree, when Ella felt so complete right there. Everything felt right, all worries had been stripped away from her and she felt light and carefree, like she was soaring and the only weight was the love that filled her heart and swelled it until it tripled in size. She hummed in agreement, “Mhmmm, me too.” But just to tease him, like she was growing to adore, she joked by tapping her fork on the almost empty plate, “This is so good.”
An eye roll was added there along with a soft moan so that she could emphasize how good she meant the food was and, even though she wasn’t lying, Alex still gasped aloud, mockingly insulted.
A string of giggles fell from her lips and she set the plate down on the coffee table next to her coffee cup to cup his face with both hands and promise, “I’m joking.” Ella pressed her lips over his, their eyes fluttering close at the feeling, and she pulled back softly after a few seconds to genuinely say, “This just feels so right.”
With a smile, he also set his plate down on the coffee table and settled back on the settee to look at her and admit, “You know, you actually beat me to it by a few hours.”
A soft frown appeared on her face as she brushed his hair back, “Beat you to it?”
He nodded and told her just what he’d been planning for her later that night, “Was gonna call you and invite you over for dinner. I’d bought some things earlier to make you your favorite pasta and a bunch of candles to set it all up outside by the pool.”
“Awh sweetness…” Ella cooed as she shuffled even closer to him, “You’re so fucking cute.”
Alex kissed the soft pout off her face and hummed into her mouth before pulling back and smirking, “It was gonna be really cute but then you surprised me instead.”
She shook her head in disbelief not only at the fact that she missed that but also of her own actions, “Can’t believe I ruined your cute little plan by barging in and going on a crying rant.”
But Alex couldn’t disagree more with her choice of words, “You didn’t ruin anything, darling.”
“It was...” Ella started, trailing off to think of a proper word to describe what that had been and when recalling it in her mind, she closed her eyes in painful embarrassment and concluded, “A whole mess.”
“Nah, I loved it.” Alex said wholeheartedly, cupping her jaw and rubbing soothing circles on her face to have her open her eyes, “Not seeing you cry though, that broke my heart.” Her words echoed inside his head and his brows furrowed as worry washed over his gaze, “Did you really think I was ever going for Alexa when I have you?”
She averted her gaze but she tutted softly and tilted her face so she’d look him in the eye again. Biting her tongue, she took a deep breath and her fingers fiddled with the hem of her shirt before she mumbled, “Well if you’d read that article and seen all the shit people keep saying online then you’d know how I felt.”
“What article, love?” He’d no clue what she was referring to and if he could see it and get a link to it so he could send it to his PR team, he would do it in a heartbeat and ask them to do their best to take the bloody thing down. “Show it to me.”
Silently, Ella nodded and left him with a kiss on the settee to get her phone. She found it with ease as it was saved in Breana’s chat, and she held her breath when it loaded and showed on her screen. The stupid fucking article that had made her miserable for days. She had herself to blame for that too but she couldn’t not when that was going around social media and people took it like gospel.
Ella bit on her thumb when she sat down next to Alex and offered him the phone opened on the article. She watched attentively as he started reading and taking in every way his pursed lips twitched and his brows lifted and furrowed.
A loud scoff came from him when he read that last sentence and he shook his head, closing the tab and setting Ella’s phone down on the coffee table. “Utter wank.” That was all he could describe it as. And to completely clear things up, he explained, “We were chatting about you that morning, actually.”
“What?”
Alex grabbed her ankles and threw her legs over his lap again, wrapping an arm around her waist to bring her as close as he could to him before he could add, “Like I told you yesterday, she was there when I realized I love you. So when she heard that we were in New York and had just played a festival, she texted me and we met up. We were walking around smoking and I told her about the house and moving here and wanting to tell you and she gave me loads of ideas about how to tell you, the candlelit dinner being one of them.”
Ella’s mouth fell open agape at the information. She couldn’t believe not only had Alexa been there when he realized he was in love with her, she had given him ideas on how to finally tell her.
Her cheeks tinted bright pink and she let her head fall on Alex’s shoulder. He felt her shake her head and sigh heavily, “Ugh, fuck. I feel so stupid.”
Alex shook his head and rubbed up and down her legs to soothe her, “It’s all the media's fault and all those chatting shit online.” He got angrier when recalling all the idiotic implications written on that page, “Dunno what the fuck they’re going on about Cookie’s wedding either. Just a bunch of bollocks, that.”
Ella hummed as she took in the way he reacted to what he’d just read, his look of disdain when reading each sentence was imprinted in her mind. In a moment of utter sincerity, she started explaining what had gone through her head when reading the article, “It really just made me feel the same as 2012 when you went for Arielle after our date and I–,” it was hard to compare because it was a very different situation but the ugly feeling that had flooded her system was just the same only amplified tenfold, “I thought the worse and I didn’t want to be left broken like back then so I started overwhelming myself to just anticipate what was coming.”
Alex’s hand coming to hold hers and intertwine their fingers coaxed her out of her mind and she looked up at him with a sorrowful smile. He kissed the back of her hand and she said the last thing she wanted to ever utter about the matter, the one thing that had been haunting her the most, “I think what freaked me out the most was that last line. I had no idea you were engaged to her.”
“Never was.” Alex wholeheartedly said while still holding tightly onto her hand, “It’s just one of them things people take out of context. Must’ve told someone I wanted to marry her back when we were together and they probably went straight to the tabloids to exaggerate it and make it a piece of hot gossip.”
A faint, pathetic “Oh,” fell from her lips. She couldn’t keep his gaze because she felt embarrassed, she almost pulled her hand back but his touch was soothing and it was all she needed as she added, “My head was spinning. I thought if I already had no chance in ever coming close to the Alexa Chung then the history between you would make it entirely impossible to compare.”
With a pull to her hand, Alex made her look up again and once he could see those gorgeous eyes of hers, he shook his head, “That’s so far from the truth, darling.” Grabbing her other hand, he pulled her towards him so she shuffled and changed the position of her legs, coming to straddle him.
He cupped her face with both hands, watching every detail on her face adoringly, taking one of his hands up to her hair so he could rake through it with his fingers as he said, “No one comes even close when compared to you, Ella. You’ve been all I could ever think about for a while. Just the thought of you drives me mad. I’m all yours, I’ve always been.”
Silence fell around them as they took in each other’s expression. His face shined with devotion and her worried frown had melted into complete infatuation.
Cupping his face with her hands and softly rubbing circles on his jaw, she quietly asked, “Mine?”
“Yours.” Alex smiled brightly, an almost imperceptible nod made her fingers hold onto him the tiniest bit together.
It was as true a statement as her declaring, “I love you.”
And he knew. He felt it just the same, his heart beating in the same erratic pattern as hers, “I love you so much darling.”
She leaned in closer to him, breaths mixing together and their parted mouths ready to slot together and make the distance disappear between them, “I’m yours too, you know.”
His throat dried up at her words, it would take him time to realize this was actually real and not one of those dreams he had felt too crazy to lose himself in before.
“And for that I’m the luckiest man alive.”
They met in the middle to share yet another kiss that only assured for them to continue getting addicted to the taste of each other’s mouth. It was soft at first, deliberate and full of intent, but when his tongue brushed her bottom lip and she opened her mouth to welcome him in, it grew hungry and needy.
It was more than clear that they only had a few days to enjoy their bliss before he had to go on tour again. He’d shown her the schedule while they made breakfast and they knew once he left on the 2nd to tour festivals in Europe, they wouldn’t be able to see each other until he came back for three shows in different cities in California in August. And then he’d be off again. So it would be a little over a month that they’d be away from each other, and those three days they’d get would go by way faster than they’d need. It was just how time always treated them.
Therefore, they knew to take advantage of every minute they got with each other. To drink it all in and not take it for granted, to indulge in it all.
So it wasn’t surprising when his hands came to rest on her hips and he pressed her flush against his hips, he was already hard for her. A needy whine fell from her lips at the friction, his breath hitched in his throat when she rolled her hips, keeping her gaze on his to watch his face contorted in pleasure.
Alex threw his head back and rolled his eyes, “This is what you do to me.” Struggling to pick his head back up, he grabbed one of her hands and guided it between their bodies so her fingers could wrap over the bulge tenting his joggers. She squeezed softly and a groan rumbled through his chest, “One look at you and I’m fucking ruined.”
Her tongue poked between her lips to wet them as she looked down and continued stroking him through his clothes. Alex took in the view, her mouth agape and almost watering at the outline of his cock pressing against his joggers, her hand moving on him now more confidently as he tried swallowing his whimpers, her bruised thighs spread open and on each side of his legs.
“I mean, look at you.” He said raggedly, struggling to catch his breath. “Fuck.”
When Ella looked back up at him, she took in the way his chest flushed. He was still shirtless, and she’d been smirking all morning, shamelessly gawking at him. But now the pink hue his skin was turning contrasted with the dark red bruises she’d left on him the night before.
His breath grew heavier when she leaned in and kissed over the big bruise that adorned that sweet spot on the base of his throat, “Did a good job,” she said before licking up the side of his neck until she reached his earlobe, she bit it and tugged, letting it free after a pathetic whimper stumbled through his lips.
She leaned back slightly and stopped the movement of her hand on his cock, making him cry out at the loss of her consistent touch building on his pleasure.
Smirking, she whispered in his ear, “Wanna write my name all over you.”
Alex shuddered when her breath fanned on his skin as she made her way down his neck, only to start her abuse on his skin all over again, finding patches of pale skin in between the bruises that she felt the need to fix.
His hips bucked upwards when she bit on a bruise, the pain rippling through his body and turning it into eye watering pleasure that had him a mess of whispered profanities and her name as she went.
A broken moan came from him when she finished sucking a bruise over his heart and went straight back to dig her teeth on a patch of tender skin. “Awh baby.” Ella cooed when she straightened up and looked at his tear glazed eyes, “You okay? Want me to stop?”
She had started lifting herself off his lap when he shook his head eagerly, “No. Don’t.”
Alex pulled her back down on his lap, this time so her cunt was right over his hard length and she moaned when he used his firm hold to guide her into rolling her hips over him and his cock brushed her clit.
His brows furrowed in pleasure, a moan stuck on his throat, he managed out a shaky, “I need you.”
And Ella needed him too. She was wet and throbbing for him already, clenching around nothing and all she could think of was how good he stretched her out. She needed him inside her again. But she couldn’t help herself, pouncing on his lips with lust and an animalistic need that made her rock her hips at a quickening pace over him.
When his mouth went slack and he couldn’t kiss her back anymore, she took it as the cue to get off his lap and quickly undress. His shirt she’d been wearing was thrown behind the settee and the boxers she’d borrowed quickly followed.
Completely naked, Ella came to straddle him again. Alex’s hands fell on her waist and slowly trailed up until he could cup her breasts, fingers pinching each nipple and mouth parting in a silent gasp when her hands fell on his shoulders and she started rolling her drenched cunt over his clothed bulge.
“You’re gonna be the end of me.” Alex swore under his breath, her wetness already ruining his joggers. He could feel his own precum leaking and aiding in wetting the fabric along with her own slick.
Ella hummed, stopping her tantalizing movements to lift herself up and off his lap, enough for her to pull down the waistband of his joggers and his hard cock to spring out and brush against his lower stomach. They didn’t even think of getting them off him fully, halfway down his thighs was enough for them to carry on.
Her mouth watered at the sight, the hairs of his happy trail being wet by the salty arousal that leaked out of his tip. With nimble fingers, she grabbed his length and pumped him. Once, twice. Fuck. He was heavy, swollen in her hand.
Her thumb swiped the precum off him and brought it up to her mouth, sucking devotedly to memorize every detail of him.
How he shivered beneath her, how he tasted on her tongue, how he dug his nails in her skin to silently beg her to hold him again, how he looked as he panted and tried his best to go along the pace she set, the aroma of sex already lingering in the air surrounding them.
Every one of her senses was completely overcome by him, and she greedily wished for it to remain the same until she took her last breath.
“And you’ll be mine.” Ella reciprocated, hand coming down between their bodies to wrap around his cock again. No more time to waste anymore when the need for each other started to morph into an ache.
She took him and rubbed him up and down her folds, reveling in the way his face fell at the contact with her sopping cunt. The tip of his cock teased her entrance, and she concluded, “What a way to fucking go,” as she sank down on him.
Words struggled to come out of his mouth the more she swallowed him whole, “I love you–,” he started to say, just wanting to praise her for how good she was to him, how well she took him, but his thoughts melted into the puddle of pleasure she brought him and all he could do was curse under his breath when he bottomed out, “Oh fuck.”
Catching her breath with shallow inhales, Ella pressed her forehead against his and their lips brushed as she sighed, “All mine. Only mine.”
Their eyes rolled into the back of their skulls when she started rolling her hips, the angle heavenly and making them a mess of moans and whimpers.
“Feels so good baby.” Alex praised, wrapping an arm around her waist to keep her as close as possible. Her pebbled nipples rubbing against his chest, his senses going haywire. Ella, Ella, Ella. It was just her, all his mind knew. His heart, body and soul shared the same knowledge. “You’re a fucking dream.”
She hummed, he felt so good inside her. Every roll of her hips meant his cock nudged against that spot inside her that drove her mad, and her clit pressed on him deliciously. She was delirious from the pleasure, “Love– fuckkkk. Love you.”
Stilling for one second, she stabilized on her knees and started moving up and down on his cock. The friction of him dragging in and out of her velvety walls made them gasp, she was making a mess of him.
A high pitched moan fell from her lips, straight into his open mouth when one of his hands smacked harshly against her ass. The sting of the spank dwindling into white heat that only made her mewl louder when she bounced back down on his cock.
“Again, please.”
Her wishes were his command, so he did it again. Reveling in the feeling of her walls clenching around him with every hit. Because she kept asking for more and more, her breaths growing shallow, her cries of pleasure getting louder and louder. He was sure he’d see the red print of his hand there with how hard and often he was spanking her.
His fingers dug harshly in the tender flesh of her ass, helping her glide up and down his cock. He looked down to watch how easy it was for her to take him over and over, “So good to me, darling. Fucking made for my cock, weren’t you?”
“Yes.” She gasped out in agreement, they fit together like the pieces of a puzzle. A delicious, brain-melting, toe-curling puzzle that brought her closer and closer to the edge.
Her hips got faster, thighs burning from the effort but she wasn’t relenting, not when she felt that coil in her lower stomach tightening with every stroke. The slaps of their slick covered skin meeting made her smirk, “We’re gonna make a mess here.”
The image of her squirting all over him the night before flashed through his mind, a guttural moan coming from him at the possibility of it happening again, “I don’t care.”
“Already wanna ruin your new furniture?” Ella giggled breathlessly.
He nodded, biting his bottom lip to muffle a loud moan when she picked up her pace. He was gonna spill inside her any second now if he didn’t focus on holding out until she could cum with him. His words came out strangled by the effort, “I’ll ruin every inch of this house with you.”
“Yeah? What are we ruining baby?” Her voice was molten lust that washed all over him, fingers digging harder into her flesh.
Every scene played in his mind like a film, his mouth moved quickly with each frame, “Gonna bend you over the kitchen counter, have you make a mess all over the marble. Have a feast of this sweet cunt on the dinner table. You’re gonna see how well you take it when I fuck you in front of that mirror in my room.” She dipped her face to suck a bruise on the skin right below his ear, “We– Oh fuckkkk…”
With those plush wet lips of hers she stole his thoughts, making him crumble into a blubbering mess as she marked him up.
She let go of the patch of skin with a pop, licking over it with her eager tongue. “Yeah? Promise?” She whined, needy and begging for him to already make all that reality.
“Promise baby.” He moaned in response, “Ella… Shit.” He couldn’t hold out any longer, he was so close and he knew she was too with the way her legs started trembling. He needed her to cum with him and to drench him again so he brought a hand down in between them and started rubbing quick circles on her clit.
A broken gasp fell from her mouth, he swallowed it with a quick wet kiss but she caught his wrist and pulled his hand away. “Don’t.” She knew exactly what he was trying to do. “We can’t just throw your settee in the washing machine.”
He was about to complain but those fucking hips of hers wouldn’t relent and he was losing grasp around reality and any sort of logic. His need for release took over and pressing a hand down on the settee while the other still clutched her tightly to his chest, he started bucking his hips up, every thrust more determined, meeting in the middle as she fucked herself on his cock.
“Shit, yes! Keep– Ohh!” Ella couldn’t even properly speak, she was almost drooling from how fucking good it felt, how fucking well he slammed his hips up into hers. One arm wrapped around his neck and the other making sure to keep a good grip on the back of the settee, she mewled into his mouth, “Like that. Like that. M’so close baby.”
“Cum with me darling.” Alex struggled to say, his words strained as he got closer and closer to his climax. His thighs started trembling but he did his best to continue, cursing as it took all of him not to stop, “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”
Her legs shook beside his hips, her hips stuttered as she tried to continue riding him. Panting into each other’s mouths, they came. Crying out each other’s name, holding onto the other for dear life as their minds went blank and their sight was overcome by nothingness except for the feeling of him twitching inside her and coating her walls with his cum.
Sloppily, they rode out their highs until Alex slumped back down on the settee with Ella, almost dead weight on top of him. Their heavy breaths sounded like blissful sighs with every exhale.
It was an unearthly feeling to have this all with each other at last. So fucking perfect, they weren’t fully conviced this wasn’t a dream.
Ella giggled when she opened her eyes and found him blissed out, eyes closed and trying to gather his bearings, “Mmm, that was so good.” Not only was the sex amazing, she felt fulfilled in every possible way, her soul was vibrating with joy. She felt whole.
“Match made in heaven.” Alex finally opened his eyes as he stated, wholeheartedly. He could fucking write it on stone.
With a raise of her brows, she teased, “Doubt this scene is anything worthy of holiness, sweets.”
Alex shook his head and took his time to look her up and down, his cock twitching inside her when seeing himself still buried deep inside her and their slick covered thighs. Her chest was flushed and heaving still, all those bruises looming on her made his mouth water as well as those tits of hers that he couldn’t help but cup softly. She looked at him expectantly with the prettiest smirk he’d ever seen, like she was trying not to show her amusement at the way her body had him hypnotized.
With that view, it was so easy for him to confirm, “Nothing’s near as divine as you are, love.”
She snorted out a laugh and shook her head, brushing the strands of hair that stuck to his sweaty forehead, “I’d say you’re just saying that to get lucky tonight but you’re balls deep inside me and I can already feel your cum dripping out of me.”
He laughed with her and stole a quick kiss that she delved in for a few seconds, breaking it to lift herself up and off him to clean themselves up before it all dripped and stained the settee. But her legs shook intensely and she wasn’t able to even hover above him enough for him to pull out.
With a kiss on her cheek, Alex mumbled, “I got you,” before he carefully stood up as he held her with one arm. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and held on so he could stand up without her slipping off his hold.
Step by step, slow and steady, he carried her and took her to the bathroom, there he carefully got inside the glass doors that surrounded the shower and carefully lifted her up and off him, and onto the floor.
Ella knew right then that every shower she took after he left would be lonely when she didn’t have him massaging her shoulders and her scalp, or when he wasn’t giggling with her as she molded his shampooed hair into odd hairstyles. She would miss the kisses he dropped on her face and her shoulders as the water rained over them, and how he’d intertwine their fingers when walking out of the shower.
“Our coffee is definitely cold by now.” Ella joked when he was plugging the blow dryer to help with her wet hair like he’d done the night before. She half wanted to put on her best puppy eyes and beg him to cancel so they could just go back to bed and cuddle instead of actually setting everything up to be ready for when everyone was meant to come around.
With a fresh set of sheets that they’d just taken out of the dryer, they took on making the guest room’s bed again as their first task. It felt easier this time, and even through the novelty of the scene, Ella felt content and fulfilled like she did when she was at home doing something she’d been doing her whole life. It felt so familiar and just right, her heart swelled in her chest.
When they went out to the back, Ella gasped at the sight of the pool. She could see the blue water catching the sun rays and glimmering beautifully against the pink tiles of the walls of the pool.
She had laughed when Alex ran back inside to bring out a box in which there was a High Green sign just like the one Matt had gotten and put up on the back of his house. Of course, Ella helped Alex put it up and they proudly appreciated how it looked against the tan paint that coated the walls of the house.
There was a big table outside surrounded by a handful of chairs that they moved to the left hand side of the sliding glass doors that gave way into the patio so Alex could set up the food there outside. Thankfully, the pool chairs were perfectly placed around one side of the pool, making the rest of the patio look spacious enough to house the amount of people Alex had invited.
But before they could cheer about having done everything rather quickly, and run back to his bedroom to do fuck all before they needed to get ready, Ella realized she’d come very much unprepared to Alex’s house. She was wearing a new set of his clothes, because hers had been the same she’d been wearing the previous day at work and long forgotten in a corner of his room.
It was about noon when she managed to peel herself off a clingy Alex who was trying to convince her to use one of his shirts and the same shorts she’d been wearing on Friday, but Ella had reminded him of the amount of love bites he’d left on her skin and how she would still need her makeup to cover it if she wasn’t gonna use something with more coverage than her jeans and one of his shirts.
Alex huffed but managed to make a deal with her, one that he didn’t really need to push hard at all for her to accept. There was no way in hell she’d pass on the opportunity of staying over and staying with him every single day until he had to leave.
Ella made it to her house in record time, considering the Saturday traffic and all, and she’d packed everything up in a rush. Her makeup, toiletries, whichever clothes she saw first and deemed okay—she’d gotten annoyed remembering she needed to go to work the last three days Alex had in LA, so she grabbed a handful of clothes to wear to the office—, her camera, underwear and those lingerie sets Katie had convinced her to buy back in April, as well as some things that she quickly plucked out of that fun little box she kept in the back of her wardrobe.
When she came back, Alex had already set all the drinks out on the kitchen island along with glasses for everyone to use. There were so many bottles, Ella actually didn’t know what to expect of the night but she smiled knowing they’d have a nice time.
On the kitchen counter laid many different containers with food: fruit bowls, charcuterie boards, loads of dips for the many crisps Alex had bought, a variety of precisely cut veggies to be dipped as well, brownies and cookies, cheese and crackers, bacon wrapped grilled shrimp, sushi rolls.
Ella’s mouth watered at the sight and she was about to steal a bite of the shrimp when Alex walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, “I ordered us some actual food and it’s on its way.”
She smiled and turned in his hold, cupping his face and leaning in to mumble against his lips, “You just know the way to my heart don’t you, Turner?”
By the time the doorbell rang to announce the food was there, Ella had just finished setting her makeup bag and toiletries beside one of the sinks in his bathroom, her clothes were still inside her little carry-on case which Alex had brought into his walk-in closet the second they got to his room.
After eating the lovely chinese food he’d ordered, they made their way back to Alex’s room and he watched attentively as she started getting ready by doing her hair. His eyes followed every move of her hands and the way her lips pursed in concentration when she loosely curled strand after strand of hair until it looked voluminous and shiny. He grew more and more entranced as she put half of it up in a little bun and the rest brushed over her shoulders.
Ella dropped a kiss on his lips when she unplugged her curling iron and walked back into the walk-in closet to get the dress she’d chosen for the evening.
Since she couldn’t really show off her chest or her thighs thanks to the bruises Alex had sucked onto her skin, Ella had chosen a high neck, criss crossed back, long knitted black dress. It covered her whole chest and legs so she only had to worry about covering the love bites on her neck with lots of concealer and a heavy hand of translucent powder.
When Ella walked back into the room with the dress already on, Alex commented how rude it had been of her to change in another room. She’d laughed about it, deeming needy and horny, but he’d nodded and hugged her by the waist only to throw her onto bed and kiss all over her face. She couldn’t even fight the loving attack because if thrashed around too much, she’d ruin her hair entirely and she couldn’t be arsed to start working on it again.
Alex and his puppy eyes, and those lips she couldn’t resist, managed to convince her to cuddle him and kiss him for a few minutes before she could start doing her makeup.
Ella might’ve acted annoyed when she had been able to stand up and felt her hair all crazy, but she was more than happy when seeing him like that. Knowing that he just couldn’t get enough of her filled her insides with warmth.
Like a lost puppy, Alex followed her to the bathroom and he leaned against the door frame while watching her start working whatever magic she did with her makeup on her neck. He was all entranced, fully smitten and eyes glimmering with adoration, watching as she carefully applied products to her face and neck that he had no idea how they worked but she used in a way that just enhanced her beauty and completely hid away all the darkening bruises on her skin.
“Aren’t you gonna go get ready, sweets?” She asked softly, heavily focused on not messing up her eyeshadow as she applied mascara to her lashes, “You’ve been staring at me this whole time and you’re not even ready.”
He hummed, pushing himself off the door frame and walking slowly up to her, giving her time to put her mascara down and check on the mirror that it was alright.
“You’re so gorgeous, darling. I can’t stop looking at you.” He said as he hugged her from behind, kissing the side of her neck a handful of times before looking at her in the eye through the mirror, “Can’t blame me for getting distracted when this is my view.”
He watched as she rolled her eyes and her cheeks tinted even more pink than they already were from the powder blush she’d applied on the apples of her cheeks, “So smooth, Alexander.”
Tapping the backs of his hands softly which were resting on her waist, she waited for him to loosen his hold so she could turn around and rake her fingers through his hair, “Go change so I know if I need to cover up your neck or not.”
Looking up to see his own reflection in the mirror, he nodded knowing that she was right, and she’d taken most of her time covering her neck up than actually putting makeup on her face. So with a quick kiss, he dashed to his wardrobe and chose a simple outfit, a short sleeve red shirt that he made sure to button up as much as he could without feeling uncomfortable and black jeans.
She praised his speed when he came back to her all ready for the evening, and she waved him over towards her so she could cover up the hints of bruises that showed over the collar of his shirt. Her touch had made him melt under her fingertips, he kept letting out soft moans when she grabbed onto his neck to keep him steady as she blended the concealer to cover everything as best as she could.
Alex giggled when she pressed her brush over his neck after she dipped it in the translucent powder, and while she’d tried her best not to laugh, she couldn’t hold in her own giggles when he acted like a child being tickled.
“Can you not gel your hair tonight?” Ella fluttered her lashes as she asked, a soft pout on her lips that she’d painted a natural mauve color with some lipstick she had in her bag. He nodded, rolling his eyes like it was a burden to go along with what she was asking for. She poked his ribs and he jumped, making her cackle loudly before he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder to go back into the bedroom and throw her on the bed.
Ella knew what he was about to do so she clutched onto his wrists and held them away from her, “Don’t tickle me babe, I’m gonna mess my hair up.” And just because he’d seen how much time and effort it had taken, he nodded and leaned in to press a kiss on her lips and then moved to lay on bed, beside her.
Laying on his side, pressing his elbow on the mattress and his chin on the palm of his hand, he looked down at her lying on her back right next to him. She grabbed his free hand and started playing with his fingers, kissing each pad of his fingers and then making a fist to kiss each knuckle, finishing up by kissing the back of his hand and then opening it up to kiss his palm.
Once she was done with her kisses, she intertwined their fingers and Alex swore he could cry at her tenderness.
“Do you think they’ll know if we don’t tell them?” Alex asked after a few moments of silence.
“Breana might.” Ella knew her best friend would be suspicious about it since she’d been blowing up her phone earlier in the day and the director hadn’t known how to reply to her messages without lying so she just left them unopened. “She was the one who convinced me to tell you already, I was gonna wait ‘til today to see if you actually were gonna get with Alexa.”
The singer kissed his teeth and shook his head softly, “You silly thing.”
“I know.” Ella let out a breathy chuckle at her own stupidity, but changed the subject back to the main question, “Think it’d be fun to hide it for as long as we can and see if they suspect anything.”
He frowned, “But I wanna kiss you.”
“Me too but it’ll be fun.” Ella admitted with ease, and when she remembered something she had yet to tell him, she smirked, “And if you’re good, I’ll give you a reward.”
At that, Alex perked up: his eyes widened a little and his brows rose up on his face. He watched as her pupils dilated right before she cryptically explained, “Brought some things with me from home.”
Pure seduction was written on her face when she licked her lips and her teeth sank on her bottom lip, and that was enough to know exactly what she meant by it. “You can’t just say that to me right now.” He groaned, letting his head hang until it fell over her chest. He picked his head up in a second when her chest shook with laughter, “I swear I’ll call everyone and cancel, I don’t fucking care.”
She pursed her lips and shook her head, “Patience is a virtue.”
“But–“
“No buts. Thought you were gonna be good and listen.” She raised a brow in challenge.
Alex huffed at her clear invitation to defy her and see what that would bring, but he bit his tongue and went along with her game, “Alright, I’ll listen.”
Completely satisfied with his response, she smirked proudly again, “I know you will.”
The doorbell ringing startled them out of their bubble, Alex rose to his feet and pulled Ella up to stand with him by the hand he was still holding. Through the peephole, he managed to see a few of his friends and he opened the door with a smile, not letting go of Ella’s hand even under the questioning eyes.
Alex introduced them to Ella and she brightly smiled at them and reciprocated their niceties. She was trying not to chuckle at how hard it had been for Alex not to introduce her as his girlfriend, his awkward silence after saying her name out loud was comical. And it kept happening with each person that came through the door that he introduced to her, all of them expecting the title to be said after Alex lingered on his words instead of sounding resolute.
He was so cute.
Around five in the afternoon was when Jamie and Katie showed up, and at the sight of the first couple of the group to arrive, the pressure to keep their secret under wraps fell heavily on their shoulders.
It only got worse when Nick and Kelly got there and they asked when was it that Ella had gotten there and she’d struggled to answer; Alex had aided her by saying she’d gotten there early to help him around setting everything up and once that was out, Kelly was too focused on scolding Alex for not letting them know he needed help instead of lingering on Ella’s mishap.
Ella was probably on her second glass of wine when Miles came knocking on the front door. Alex had been knee deep in a conversation with Nick and some guy they knew from the city, and the music that came from the speakers he’d set up outside was a little too loud so he didn’t hear the doorbell ringing. Therefore, Ella was the one to go up to the front door and open it. In a blink of a second she was being squeezed tightly by Miles’ arms, swaying side to side and panicking about spilling her wine on Alex’s brand new wooden floorboards.
The scouser didn’t let her stray away from him for a second, not even when he went right into the kitchen and got himself a drink, topping off Ella’s until she squeaked at how much wine he wanted her to ingest.
When Ella walked out with Miles in hand, Alex raised his brows in amusement and excused himself from the conversation he’d been in. Only when Alex went for a hug did Miles let go of Ella and Alex laughed over the scouser’s shoulder when Ella sighed in relief. Still, even then, it seemed like Miles had been suffering withdrawals of their presence for he took the both of them around the party with him to greet everyone and start conversations.
There were no complaints to have though, Miles was a joker and he never failed at making Ella spill tears from how hard she’d laugh at the shit he’d say.
He was so distracting with his jokes and comments that Ella didn’t notice she’d drank her almost full glass of wine in just twenty minutes so she went back inside to get herself a drink of water and then a refill of her wine. Alex followed her inside and no one questioned it, it wasn’t like they didn’t behave like that all the time.
The singer smirked when seeing Ella taking sips of a glass of water as she leaned on her ass on the side of the kitchen island. He walked slowly towards her and caged her in her place by leaving his glass on the marble and placing each hand over the surface of it on each side of her hips.
She put her glass down behind her, lipstick stain on the rim of the glass that had him licking his lips in hunger. After having his mouth on her for twenty four hours, spending almost two hours now without kissing her once was agonizing. He was craving the feeling of her lips on his and he didn’t care if anyone could walk back into the house and find them.
But just as Alex was leaning in, the doorbell rang again and he slumped against her with a sorrowful sigh. A mocking laugh fell from her lips, she was enjoying seeing him slowly crumble away with need. It was hard for her too, lord knew she’d been itching to have her lips all over him for hours now, but it was funny seeing him suffer like that, so obvious.
Pressing her hands on his shoulders, she cocked her head and in an obnoxiously chipper tone, she instructed, “Go on. Be a good host.”
He wouldn’t let her have the pleasure of watching as he struggled to properly greet someone else, so he grabbed her wrist and pulled her along towards the front door.
The second the door opened, Alex and Ella’s faces lit up at the sight of who was standing there. “Zack!” They both said at the same time, but the photographer wasn’t alone and the stunning woman beside him smiled brightly at them as Zackery introduced her as Lola.
“Lola, nice to meet you, I’m Alex,” the singer said with that charming smile of his, turning to his side to add, “And this is Ella…”
Once again, Alex trailed off awkwardly and Zack knew exactly what was going on. He chuckled and added for Alex, “His girlfriend. Finally!”
Alex’s face fell, “How–”
Ella couldn’t help cackling at how naive he was toward his own failure at concealing the news, “Baby, you haven’t exactly been subtle about it. I wouldn’t be surprised if half the people you’ve introduced me to know I’m your girlfriend too.” She watched as Alex cocked his head, slightly embarrassed, so she turned to the photographer and pointed at him to warn, “But don’t tell anyone, Zack. We're trying to see how long it takes the lads and the girls to notice.”
“Are they all here yet?” Zack asked, enthused to introduce Lola to everyone. They’d only properly met a month before—he’d worked with her on a shoot about a year and a half before and they realized they had friends in common but their schedules never aligned—and gone on about three dates but he had a good feeling about her and he felt the need to introduce her into the friendship group as soon as possible.
Alex nodded, “Just Matt and Bre missing.”
“Right.” Zack shook his head, not surprised at all that the couple who lived closest was late.
But before the photographer could go on, Ella grabbed Lola’s hand and with a smile she said, “I’ll steal this gorgeous lady from you and I’m gonna introduce her to the girls!”
Katie and Kelly sat next to Mia, Davey’s girlfriend, on the pool chairs when Ella came back outside with Lola in tow. Turns out that Lola was a model—which didn’t shock anyone with how absolutely gorgeous she was—and she currently lived in New York, but was visiting LA for a modeling gig that she’d taken upon to have the excuse to see Zack again after he’d just left the big apple a little over a week before.
The sky was painted a beautiful pink and orange as the sun started to set when the girls were giggling and cooing like fools hearing the way her and Zack’s first date had gone like, but then their attention was caught by Alex and Zack coming back outside, followed by Matt and Breana.
Alex and Ella shared a knowing look then, it was now that it all properly started and Ella had to bite her tongue not to giggle like an idiot at the little secret she was meant to keep for a little longer. She thought that if no one was to call them out about it before they left, they’d come clean about it. Her heart jumped in her chest at the prospect of finally letting them all know.
When Matt and Breana finally incorporated the group, Ella knew she and Alex would have to try a little harder so they wouldn’t be too obvious. But that proved to be harder than they expected for they’d always been very touchy feely with each other.
At the start, keeping their hands to themselves had earned them a few looks and Kelly asking if they were alright. Ella had nodded and when the pregnant woman explained how odd it was to see them distancing themselves from the other, the director forced out a few giggles and excused herself as being a little too hot to be hugging Alex. That had proven futile when Katie then asked why she was so covered during a hot summer night, telling her she should’ve chosen a cute little sundress and even offering to take her to Bre and Matt’s so she could borrow a shorter, lighter dress.
So she and Alex started tentatively invading each other’s space more and more every passing minute, realizing just how foolish they’d always been when their behavior towards each other had always translated to something more. Ella let herself melt into him and Alex kept dropping kisses on her skin, they giggled into each other’s ears and fiddled with each other’s fingers as they spoke.
But there was something there, something out of the ordinary that everyone felt. It was palpable and the pair got multiple questioning looks throughout the night, all of which they ignored until Ella said she was gonna get another drink and Alex went along with her.
When they got back inside and into the kitchen, Alex caged her in against the marble of the kitchen island again. This time the wine that she’d been nursing and those whiskey and cokes Alex had been drinking made them a bit more careless about their actions and when they leaned in for a kiss, which exuded need from the second their lips touched, they lost all sense of logic.
Her hands came up to his face and her fingers carted through his hair only to tangle in the strands and pull on them. Alex moaned into her mouth as he pressed his hips forward into hers, and if it wasn’t for the fact that Jamie had been loud when calling out for the two of them, they definitely would’ve been caught prematurely.
Alex had basically thrown himself to the other side of the kitchen island and rubbed the back of his hand over his lips, as if he’d been drinking something and spilled down his chin, when Jamie got to the edge of the open plan kitchen. All the while, Ella had taken sudden interest in every label of each bottle that sat over the marble.
The guitarist knew something was going on, especially when he asked them if all was fine and their answers struggled to go past their lips.
So when Jamie went back outside with a new bottle of beer and a glass filled with rose for his wife, he made sure to tell everyone of his suspicions. Bless Zackery and Lola, they played along as the others threw theories around, nodding and humming as they indulged in the chat and trying their best to not expose the little secret Ella and Alex trusted them with.
“They’re together.” Jamie said entirely sure of his gut feeling, “They’ve gotta be.”
Matt scoffed, “How’d you know?”
The guitarist ignored his tone and explained, “You know the tension that’s always there when they’re together with us. It’s different now, I can’t really explain it but it is.” Katie hummed as she thought about it and actually agreed with him when she started connecting the dots.
The drummer once again, ever the skeptic, continued interrogating Jamie, “So what, you think they’ve been together since when?”
“I’d bet after Tennessee.” Nick smirked, actually believing Jamie could be onto something.
Jamie looked at the bassist and smirked back, “Me too.”
“No, ‘cos then Bre would know. Right babe?” Matt turned to his fiance to ask and she nodded.
“Mhm. And Ella hasn’t said anything.” The model fiddled with her fingers before actually continuing with why she sided with her fiance's logic, “She actually was struggling about her feelings towards him a few days ago.”
But that wasn’t enough to deter Nick, “I would still bet on it.”
Or Jamie, “Me too.”
“You would?” Matt asked, incredulously, and when the pair nodded, he shrugged, “Okay. A hundred quid they’re not together yet.”
“Fine.” Jamie agreed, a gallic shrug that matched his unbothered expression.
Nick seemed just as nonchalant, actually very smug about the agreement, “Helders, this is easy money.”
The drummer was set on his own logic though, so he scoffed and chatted back, “Easy money for me. They’re not together yet but I’m about to change that.”
Jamie and Nick snorted, “Okay, cupid.”
No one knew what exactly Matt was planning on doing to ‘change that’ but he put his plan to work as soon as Ella and Alex were back.
Matt basically let the pair join the conversation he’d started as a distraction for a few minutes before he asked Alex something random about the house. He made Alex take him to see what he was asking about, something about one of his guest rooms, and suggested Ella came along.
The whole group trying hard not to laugh at Matt’s incredibly improvised plan almost ruined his cover, but they managed to hold in their laughter until the three of them walked past the glass doors and back into the house.
“Ladies first,” Matt had said once they got to one of the guest rooms so that Ella would walk in first and, in a blink of an eye, Matt pushed Alex in without warning and slammed the door closed before loudly giving them notice, “You’re not coming out until I say so.”
Ella snorted when hearing that, because the doors locked from the inside so she was pretty sure he didn’t have a say at all in that, “Whatever that means.”
But at the opportunity to have each other alone, together for a little while, Ella and Alex took it and happily sat themselves at the edge of the bed.
Alex grabbed her legs and threw them over his lap, a big calloused hand coming to hold her thigh as he sighed, “Finally some peace and quiet.”
“Matt did something right for once.” Ella joked a little louder so, if Matt was still out there, he’d listen to her taunting.
But Matt had decided to go back to the kitchen to wait after giving everyone a thumbs up outside through the glass. So he didn’t hear as Alex shook his head and corrected his girlfriend, “Nah, he already did once asking Breana to marry him. This is the second time.”
Ella hummed in agreement, “That’s right.”
Alex didn’t let another second go to kiss her again, his hand cupping her jaw harshly as his lips intently moved with hers. His tongue slipped past her parted lips and licked into her mouth, moaning when he tasted the red wine she’d been drinking all afternoon. A giggle came from her at his desperation, but he continued making it known with the way his hands started roaming down her body, groping her tits through her dress and stealing the oxygen from her lungs further when he pinched her nipples with his nimble fingers.
Before she could lose herself in him entirely, Ella pulled away and grabbed his wrists as she tutted, “Uh-uh.”
“But–” Alex was quick to try and fight, his wet lips falling into a pout.
She fought the urge to kiss it away and joked, “You can do this, babe. I believe in you.”
“You’re a cruel tease.” Alex groaned, letting his head fall on her shoulder.
“You better get used to it.” Ella replied while bringing her fingers to his head, scratching his scalp softly and making him moan.
He dropped a kiss on the side of her neck and she could feel his smirk against her skin as he said, “Not going anywhere, are you?”
Pulling his hair, she made him come out of his hiding place and look at her, “Do you want me to?”
The shake of his head was decisive, just like his words, “Absolutely not.”
The sweetness that coated her tone as she easily said, “Well I wasn’t planning to,” made Alex fall back onto her lips.
This time, it was sweeter. The I love yous they had shared in the past day all said wordlessly though the movement of their mouths on each other’s. Gracefully stealing each other’s breath and melting into each other’s touch. It was heavenly, and it meant so much more now that they knew how devoted and entirely crazy they were about each other.
The memory of the last time they’d been forced into a room for minutes made her smile like a fool, leaving Alex to kiss her teeth twice before she pulled back, “Have you noticed how stupid we’ve been all along?” She wondered how different everything would’ve been if she’d just told him she liked him back then, because she knew she did.
Alex snorted, “Yeah. Think we came to that conclusion last night, didn’t we?”
“Hmm, yeah.” She agreed, but she realized that very afternoon how oblivious they had been to their own behavior towards each other, how everyone had been right all along, “We’ve always acted like this though, just never kissed.”
“Or shagged.” Alex smirked.
“Or shagged.” She repeated with a smirk of her own tugging at the corners of her mouth. “The girls were right.”
“About what?”
She knew then she had loads of things to tell him, “How we really shouldn’t have called this just a friendship.”
He hummed, understanding what she meant, “There’s always been more.”
“Wouldn’t have it any other way.” She declared, eyes filled with devotion as she stared at his pretty face.
Yet, there was still a lot of regret that settled in the pit of his stomach when he thought about it so he admitted, “There were some things I shouldn’t have done.”
Ella shook her head, knowing that he’d keep on haunting himself with guilt that he needed to shed off him already, she had forgiven all of his wrongs a long time ago. Rubbing soothing circled on his jaw, she whispered, “But it got us here, sweets. And that’s all that matters.”
“I fucking love you.” Alex mumbled against her lips, eyes fluttering close at their proximity.
Puckering her lips, she dropped a chaste kiss on his mouth before reciprocating with ease, “I fucking love you too.”
Loving him was second nature, it just happened and she wouldn’t ever forget because she just did. Alex felt just the same, and he could prove it with the way their lips slotted together perfectly, how right it felt to be held by her as they kissed and how his body couldn’t stop responding to her touch and her presence all over him with soft moans and gasps, the twitch of his cock in his jeans, the buzzing of every nerve ending in his body.
When their lungs burned and they needed to pull back to catch their breath, they just hugged with the biggest grins on their faces. All their worries about distance and the uncertainty of the future disappeared when the constant of their love was so strong and they felt it seeping through their pores.
But they couldn’t revel in the feeling for long since Matt burst through the door and startled them. “Fucking hell!” Alex cursed loudly as Ella clutched a hand over her chest and she tried to regain her breath.
Matt ignored them entirely and rose his brows to question a vague, “So?”
“So, what?” Alex bit back with annoyance written all over his face.
“Did you–” Matt started this time, but ended his sentence with more vagueness, “You know.”
Ella frowned, pursing her lips before chatting back, “Erm… We don’t know, actually.”
“Fucks sake.” The drummer rubbed his face in frustration, “This was my attempt to get you talking…”
Still completely confused, Alex asked, “About what?”
What the pair, who were still hugging, didn’t expect was for Matt to rid off his vagueness and spout out, “About how you’ve been wanting to fuck each other since 2011?”
“Woah, mate,” Alex said at the same time as Ella gasped, “Matt, Jesus Christ!”
Matt scoffed for the millionth time that evening, “Oh, don’t you two start fucking lying. Alex, I caught you–“
Alex knew what he was about to say and though Ella knew already, somehow, he still didn’t want Matt saying that aloud, so he interrupted before Matt could ruin the moment further, “We were talking…”
Ella knew by the way Alex squeezed her thigh that this was it so she smiled brightly as she started, “Yes. I was talking… to my boyfriend.”
It was Matt’s turn to loudly gasp, “What?! Wait, what? That quick?!”
Trying not to burst out laughing, Alex nodded, “Erm, well. You’re only,” he checked the watch that adorned his wrist and finished, “About a day late mate.”
“Fuck off.” The drummer let out in disbelief, “You’re joking.”
Ella shook her head and proudly denied, “We’re not.”
“Really?!” Matt made sure to ask again.
Alex and Ella nodded.
And again, “You’re not taking the piss?”
Ella rolled her eyes and mockingly suggested, “Do you want me to shag him in front of you for proof, Helders?”
Matt gagged loudly then, “God, no. No. Absolutely not.”
The director hummed, “Yeah, thought so.”
With despair, Matt sighed and rubbed his face again, knowing what this meant, “You’ve just made me lose a bet against Jamie and Nick, you insufferable cunts.”
Alex snorted at the clear pain in his voice, he couldn’t not ask, “How much?”
Matt replied with the meekest tone and the most irritated expression on his face, “A hundred quid. Each.”
Ella couldn’t hold back the loud cackle that rumbled through her, contagious as Alex laughed beside her, “What a shame, Matthew.”
“Yeah, yeah.” He rolled his eyes knowing they had no pity for him. And then he properly looked at them and saw how close they were, so he grimaced, “God, I regret locking you in here now. Ugh!”
Alex’s brows rose and he reminded his best mate, “S’my house.”
But the drummer ignored his words as he was lost in his head. He shuddered and shared one of his thoughts out loud, “I don’t even know if you’re gonna be worse now or not. Honestly, I'm scared.”
Ella let out another cackle and narrowed her eyes at him, “Shut up, you drama queen!”
“Does Bre know already?” Matt asked, thinking for a second that maybe his fiance had been in it all along and hadn’t said anything to see him suffer over losing a bet, like the tease she was.
But when Ella seriously answered, “No.”
Matt smirked, “Oh, she’s gonna kill you,” and dashed out of the room.
“Matt, no!” Ella yelled out for him but he was long gone. She let her head fall back onto Alex’s shoulder and she sighed, “I hate him.”
“I know.” Alex said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “At least they know now. Can kiss you all I want.”
“Yeah you can.” Ella perked up and sat back up straight, her gaze falling to her boyfriend’s lips and stealing a long sweet kiss before she stood up and called, “Let’s go. But you’re gonna have to hold me back so I don’t commit a crime.”
Alex grinned brightly, “Of course, darling.”
She offered her hand to help him up and he took it, intertwining their fingers as he stood up beside her and once he was on his feet, she started walking towards the door with him following closely behind.
“Hey.” Alex said before they crossed the threshold of the room, tugging on her hand so she turned and crashed against his chest.
Breathless, she looked into his eyes, “Yeah?”
“I love you.” He said quietly, just for her to hear before they could go out and be disturbed by the million questions he knew everyone would ask.
Ella blushed as she smiled at him, her stomach doing somersaults in response to how adorable he was, “You’re so fucking cute.” She kissed him again before mumbling back, “Love you too.”
Apparently, once they walked through the sliding glass doors, the news had spread like wildfire and everyone was gasping and hollering seeing them hand in hand on their way towards the group.
Ella caught the look on Breana’s face in a second, knowing exactly what was going through her head. So she tried to warn her best friend with a, “Don’t–”
That was cut short when Bre said exactly what she’d been thinking, “I told you so.”
“And she said it.” Ella sighed in defeat, earning the laugh of everyone around as well as questions about what she meant by that which Ella quieted down by promising to tell them in a bit.
As they watched Matt grumpily take out the cash from his wallet and handing their respective amount to Nick and Jamie, Miles hugged the new couple and congratulated them for finally realizing how in love they were with each other. Everyone gasped when Alex and Ella thanked Zack and Lola for keeping it hush for a few hours. And the new couple laughed loudly when Zack countered their surprise by calling them out on being too slow to notice what was obviously there.
Now that they could kiss and properly act like a couple, the party felt far sweeter. They went around the party, chatting and meeting more of Alex’s friends, laughing and sharing stories with everyone. The music got a bit louder, and the drinks flowed easier and faster, as well as the food which became more and more scarce as the time passed.
When Josh got there, it was hilarious to hear him yell, “Finally!” when he walked outside and the first thing Matt uttered was that Alex and Ella were together.
It truly felt like they were all celebrating the fact that they’d gotten together at that point and it only made the two of them more and more elated.
When Alex had gone to get Ella another glass of wine, she’d walked over to the speaker and queued up You Make Loving Fun by Fleetwood Mac to play next. Just in time for it to start playing, Alex walked back outside and found a smiley Ella staring at him expectantly, waving him over towards her with a cheeky grin.
Matt heard the harmonies loudly coming out of the speakers and he was about to complain about Ella choosing a song she knew he very much didn’t like when turned around and saw her starting to sing along, directing every word to Alex.
She walked to the beat of the song, meeting Alex in the middle as he made his way towards her. He was completely entranced by the way she looked, staring at her adoringly as she swayed her hips to the staring beat of the song.
Plucking the wine glass from his hand so he had a free hand to hold her, her arms flew around his neck and he swiftly wrapped his around her waist, swaying with her as she sang the lyrics out to him.
Sweet wonderful you / You make me happy with the things you do / Oh, can it be so / This feeling follows me wherever I go
She continued to sing with a massive smile on her face. She let her head hang back and then came back close to his face with her eyes open and sparkling with love.She pecked his lips quickly, leaving him dazed like she always did when she kissed him, and he swore he had never felt more adoration for someone before. It felt like his chest was about to burst, warmth tickling every inch of him, his lips itching to kiss her properly, his body burning to adore her over and over.
I never did believe in miracles / But I've a feeling it's time to try / I never did believe in the ways of magic / But I'm beginning to wonder why
Her hands went to cup his jaw as she sang the chorus again, staring right into his eyes. They were far too preoccupied with enjoying each other that they hadn’t noticed all eyes on them. She swayed her hips as he held her close and when she’d brought her arms up in the air in pure elation, he had grabbed one of her hands to twirl her around twice and then pull her back into her chest.
Don't, don't break the spell / It would be different and you know it will / You, you make loving fun / And I don't have to tell you but you're the only one
She sang that softly against his lips, Alex stole a kiss that he’d wanted to deepen but she broke it when she leaned back not wanting to miss singing the last bit of the song. Yes, she loved the song but she wanted him to know how hard she’d fallen for him and since she couldn’t do it with her own words, she’d do it with a song.
You, you make loving fun / It's all I want to do / You, you make loving fun / It's all I want to do / You, you make loving fun / It's all I want to do / You, you make loving fun / It's all I want to do
Alex held her close, hiding his face in the crook of her neck leaving pecks all over the skin he had available and making her giggle as the song died down. He squeezed her waist as he pulled back up to look her in the eyes and she brought her hands up to play with the hair at the nape of his neck.
Some other song started playing in the background but they were entranced with their gazes swimming all around each other’s faces, taking in each other under the golden haze of the patio’s lights.
“I love you so much, darling.” Alex was the first to break their silence and she was so glad his hold was tight around her waist because she felt her knees go weak when she heard him say that yet again. The alcohol in her system made her so much more sensible to everything that she now had with him and she could just collapse on the floor from the amount of love she felt for him.
One of her hands came to hold his neck and breathlessly she reciprocated, “I love you more, sweetness.”
Alex shook his head as he leaned in. “Impossible,” he muttered before catching her lips, both of them sighing in relief at the feeling of their lips together again.
Ella’s fingers pressed around his neck, making him blissfully hum in response. Her tongue teased his bottom lip, and he obeyed the silent indication to open his mouth. They swallowed each other’s soft moans when they tasted the alcohol on each other’s tongues, Alex bringing her in closer to his front, tightening his hold on her waist. He held back from the need to squeeze her ass and buck his hips forwards. He wanted her so badly, he needed her right there and then.
“Please tell me it’s an incredibly great idea to kick everyone out right now.” He begged, out of breath after they broke the kiss to get some oxygen back in their lungs.
She chuckled against his lips and shook her head, pulling back a little more to brush his hair back and then let her fingers trail delicately down his pretty face. She knew exactly what he was feeling, because it burned her too but waiting a bit longer, until everyone left, would make it all taste and feel much sweeter.
“It isn’t, love.” She disagreed, a smile on her face from her attempt at trying not to laugh at his despaired face.
His hold on her waist tightened as he pushed his hips forwards subtly, or at least he hoped because he couldn’t help himself. Ella swallowed a moan by biting harshly on her bottom lip, she could feel him starting to get hard and it was all very tempting, especially the tone in his voice when he argued, “But–”
But Ella held the best she could onto her logic and tutted as she remembered what was waiting for them if he pulled through with his promise of behaving tonight, “Good things come to those who wait.”
The reminder of her earlier words were enough for Alex to swallow his pain and bury the hunger she could only satiate for a little longer. He’d do anything she asked for, especially when it promised her to make him all hers afterwards.
It only took a few minutes for Ella to be snatched away by the girls and Alex to be left to fend for himself with the lads. It seemed like after that show of pda, everyone had loads of questions and a separate interrogation for the both of them couldn’t wait more than a few minutes.
Alex tried his best to answer the questions the guys were asking him but he was too distracted by watching Ella sitting on one of the pool chairs, surrounded by the girls, blushing and giggling and covering her face as they scooped everything out of her, question by question.
The faint sound of the doorbell was the perfect excuse for Alex to escape his nosy friends, so he excused himself in a split second to walk back inside and open the front door.
“You’re here!” He greeted with a smile when he opened the door and found Alex standing there, “Hi!”
“Al! Hello!” Her tone was chipper as she greeted him. A whistle came from her when she took a look around his new place, she complimented, “This house is stunning.”
“Ah thank you, thank you.” Alex replied with a soft grin, waving her over to the left side of the room where the gorgeous kitchen was set, “Come in, there’s drinks in the kitchen.”
As Alexa walked in and approached the bottles set on the kitchen island, Alex couldn’t stop himself from eagerly telling her that Ella was there and he was going to get her so she could meet her.
Alexa nodded excitedly, joking about him taking his time because she was indecisive and there were too many types of alcohol to choose from.
The singer wasted no time walking back outside and slowly approaching the group of girls. Leaning in behind Ella, he interrupted the conversation as he kissed her cheek and said, “Love?”
Ella smiled like an idiot and mumbled, “Sweetness?”
“There’s someone I want you to meet.” Alex said vaguely.
A spark of curiosity lit up inside her as she let out a soft, “Oh?” So it wasn’t long that it took her to excuse herself and hold Alex’s hand as he guided her back inside the house.
When they crossed the living room and walked past the edge of the kitchen, Ella was shocked to see Alexa standing in the kitchen.
The quiet, “Oh,” that Ella let out made Alexa look up from her glass she’d just filled with white wine.
“Hi!” The model said excitedly, that bright smile of hers reaching her eyes as they crinkle around the edges in such an endearing way. “I’m Alexa, nice to finally meet you!”
Ella was breathless but she reciprocated the enthusiastic sentiment, “Hi! Nice to meet you too.”
Alexa went for a quick hug that Ella welcomed and when the model pulled back, she gasped, “You’re even prettier in person, bloody hell.”
“Oh stop it.” Ella blushed hard when Alexa said that. Ella had just been breathless over the fact that she was even more perfect in person, as if that was humanly possible. When seeing Ella struggle to find her words, Alex wrapped an arm around her waist and giggled, dropping a kiss on her cheek, bringing her back to reality with the feeling of his lips on her skin. Ella smiled and told Alexa, “I was about to say that about you.”
“Ah, you’re too kind.” Alexa said like she didn’t hear that on the daily, waving Ella off jokingly. The model smirked then, seeing Alex’s hold on Ella’s waist, taking it as a sign that it had finally happened, “So… he finally told you?”
Ella giggled pathetically, melting into his chest and nodded, “He did, yeah.”
Alexa cooed, placing her hands over her heart, “You two look adorable together. So happy for you guys.”
Alex hummed, “Thank you ‘Lexa.”
Going back to get her glass, Alexa took a sip and told Ella with a funny look on her face, “Gave him quite a pep talk in New York last week about it. He was just wasting precious time, wasn’t he?”
Ella’s stomach flipped at the mention of New York, this time with embarrassment rather than dread. She cocked her head to the side and pouted at the mention, “Ah, I think we were both making that mistake.”
Alexa cooed again like it all was a cute little tv show drama that now had reached its happy ending. She raised her glass as if making a toast, “Well, no point in dwelling in the past now that you’re finally together.”
“That’s very true.” Ella agreed, raising her own glass and smiling when Alexa got closer to clink them.
After another leisurely sip of her white wine, she inquired keenly, “Did he tell you about my request for a photoshoot?”
“Oh yeah, he did!” Ella smiled as she nodded, still cozied up in Alex’s arms. “Just let me know when and we can plan something, brainstorm ideas for concepts and play around with what we come up with.”
“Sounds amazing. I’ll definitely let you know when I get a hold of my schedule.” Alexa promised. A smirk came to her face when she knew what she could say to take the piss out of Alex who was just silently witnessing the conversation, “Though I would cancel anything for you to make me look as good as you do in those pictures.” She whispered loudly on purpose, and winked when she added, “He showed me his favorite ones.”
Ella couldn’t help blushing, but a smirk broke on her face as well. She squirmed in Alex’s hold, purposely brushing her ass on his front, she heard him hiss in her ear as she said, “Has he? You’ll have to let me know which ones are they ‘cause he has yet to tell me.”
“That’s just plain rude of you Alex.” Alexa scolded playfully with a faux frown on her face.
Ella shook her head and shrugged, “Seems like he doesn’t want any new ones.”
Alexa laughed loudly when Alex’s face fell at Ella’s words. He scoffed and pinched her waist, making his girlfriend yelp before he scolded, “Can’t believe you’ve met her a second and already teaming up against me.”
“Hmm I love her.” Alexa stated, snatching Ella away from his hold to throw her arm over Ella’s shoulders. She started walking away with Ella beside her, Alex calling her out for stealing his girlfriend behind them. When they walked out of the kitchen, Alexa gasped, noticing the amount of people outside, “Bloody hell. There’s loads of people here! Where are the girls? And where’s that menace of a Scouser? Is he here yet?”
Ella chuckled at the mention of Miles, “Yeah. He’s out by the pool, probably trying to throw Matt and Nick in.” He’d been joking about doing it since he arrived, so she had no doubt he would still be trying to find the perfect moment to do it.
“Oh I’m sure I can push him in without him noticing.” Alexa smirked, shedding herself off Ella’s side to give her and Alex a moment alone and calling out a “See you around!” before walking outside.
“That went better than I expected.” Ella thought out loud.
“Of course it did.” Alex said as he walked up behind her, kissing her temple when he was pressed against her back. “No one can’t just not fall in love with you as soon as they meet you.”
A string of giggles fell from Ella’s lips as she turned around to face him, her arms wrapping around his neck, she cocked her head to the side and teased, “Speaking from experience?”
“Definitely.”
Her laugh was cut short as he pressed his lips against hers, her amusement being swallowed by the way he eagerly licked into her mouth. Her fingers tangled into his hair and she pulled harshly on it when his hands fell from her waist to her ass, cupping it before harshly kneading it with greedy fingers.
She moaned into his mouth and he gracefully swallowed the sound before pulling back and declaring, “I love you.”
After stealing a little peck from his lips, she replied, “Love you more.”
But Alex shook his head in disapproval, and Ella knew just what he was about to say. So before he could deny her words by swearing it was ‘impossible’, she kissed him hard and eager, successfully leaving him stupefied when she pulled back to scorn him.
“Stop it before we actually fight over that.” He opened his mouth to speak but she glared at him and that look was the only thing it took for him to keep the words to himself. She sighed, “Looks like I’m actually gagging you tonight.”
✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧
After the housewarming party, the band had four more days in Los Angeles before they had to leave.
Since Ella had kept her word on Saturday night and rewarded Alex in ways he could have only dreamed of, the two of them woke up rather late on Sunday morning. They would’ve kept sleeping if it wasn’t for the fact that their friends were blowing up their phones and it had gotten so obnoxiously incessant that they had ended up having to answer one of their million calls.
It was Katie, the one calling this time, and she wanted them to join them for a trip to the beach and then out for drinks later in the night. They all knew Ella had to go to work on Monday and every day that followed until the band had to leave so they had to take advantage of the only full day they all had together to hang out and enjoy each other’s company. Knowing how long it’d be until she could see everyone again, Ella accepted in a heartbeat and her own enthusiasm was what finally got Alex up from bed.
She certainly didn’t regret agreeing to it when they all had the loveliest day at Manhattan beach, laughing and having drinks, taking pictures and running in and out of the water. She and Alex had been teased endlessly for the amount of love bites littered all over their bodies and the little marks and bruises in other parts of their bodies from things their friends didn’t even want to know about.
“You animals.” Nick had said when noticing the bruises on Ella’s ankles and the faint marks on Alex’s cheeks, which the bassist could guess what they were since he’d been complaining about his jaw aching here and there.
Later that night, after they all went back to their respective houses and hotel rooms, they met back up at a karaoke bar where they had way too much fun in just the few hours they managed to stay there. They had all begrudgingly left the place when it closed at two in the morning, pouting about the fun time being over way too soon.
It had been horrendously difficult for Ella to wake up on Monday when her alarm ripped her off her peaceful slumber. Alex’s arms around her waist and his legs tangled with hers tempted her to stay in bed but when she remembered all that she had to start that week at work, she knew she had to force herself out of bed as soon as she could.
When she was ready for the day, after making herself and Alex a quick breakfast that she left there for him, she went back to his room and kissed him goodbye. He had been half asleep still, but when he woke up without her next to him, he knew he hadn’t been dreaming. After he got ready for the day, he found the breakfast she’d made him and he’d sent her a horrendously cringe and clingy string of texts that she giggled about when she saw them at work.
That afternoon, she’d been surprised to come back to his house and walk into the completely blacked out house which was decorated with a path of candles and rose petals that she followed out and found the cutest little set up for that candlelit dinner he owed her.
She enjoyed it thoroughly, complimenting him over and over for how good it was and how well he’d done making her favorite dish. And when dinner was over, and they were finally in bed, she made sure to let him know just how much she’d appreciated it by using her mouth and her spit coated hand to bring him pleasure, whispering sweet nothings and telling him just how much in love she was with him over and over until he came all over her face.
Tuesday morning had brought even more of a challenge for her to wake up. She was too content in Alex’s arms and she had no intention of moving so she kept snoozing her alarm, time and time again, somehow managing to go back into deep slumber after every ring of her phone.
But Alex had woken up around the fourth time she did that, and despite him shaking her and whispering her name to get her to wake up, she continued softly breathing in and out, not peeling her eyes open for a thing.
He watched the time on the screen of her phone when the alarm rang again, and instead of snoozing it, he fully just turned it off and took it upon himself to wake her up. So he started kissing all over her face, down her neck and her clothed chest and abdomen but it wasn’t until he got to kissing her inner thighs that she started waking up.
Waking up with his lips burning a trail down her body assured for her to blink herself awake with need buzzing through every one of ehr nerve endings, pleasure dripped down her spine in white heat that ran down straight between her legs.
He stopped when he saw her open her eyes, knowing his plan had worked. But Ella cradled the back of his head and pouted, spreading her legs open and wordlessly coaxing him to continue and to go all the way because there was no way she’d be getting out of that bed without having his mouth lapping at her cunt like a starving man until she came.
That was the reason why she’d been late to work that day and after being distracted the whole time she was in the office, her brain filled with the memory of his head between her thighs and his tongue working her up to her orgasm, Ella knew she had to ask for the following day off to properly enjoy Alex’s last day in Los Angeles.
Her plans for Wednesday had been less lewd. They had both slept in, heavenly giving into their laziness and staying in bed for far longer than necessary. She’d woken him up when it got closer to midday by peppering kisses all over him and then coaxed him out of bed to the kitchen where she made breakfast as he watched.
Then, they both got ready for the rest of the day with a shower—which they definitely elongated as they got lost in each other’s touch and ended up with Alex pounding into Ella from behind against the glass walls of the shower—and once they changed, they rushed out the door to make their way to Los Feliz and catch the early day screenings at the theater to have the whole place to themselves. It was their first proper date to Los Feliz now that they were official and Ella had been skipping down the pavement and swinging their interlocked hands as they went around the boulevard.
A pout had made its way to her face when it was time to go back home, Alex had offered to drive and he’d kept a hand on her thigh and asked her to play her music so they could sing along together. He didn’t want to see her sad yet, even though his heart was breaking little by little as the clock's needles moved forward and closer to the time he had to leave for the airport.
Once back at Alex’s, the both of them started packing. Alex packed to leave for Europe to resume the tour and Ella to go back home now that Alex was leaving LA.
When Alex went to the bathroom to get a few of his things, he quickly realized just how much he loved seeing their things scattered around in the same space and knew it was far too soon but how could he not think about her moving in when all he wanted at that very moment was for them to be together all day, every day.
So, hours later, when they were ready to go and leave to the airport, Alex gave her one of the keys to his house.
Ella was slightly shocked so the soft, “Why?” slipped past her lips without her wanting to.
“So you can come and go as you please.” Alex replied with a sweet smile on his face, his voice so soft it felt like a caress in her ears.
“Alex,” she whined softly. Yes, it was way too soon, they hadn’t even been together for a full week by then but she really wanted to keep it. But it wasn’t that the reason why she complained, it was because she didn’t know if she could take the reminder that he wasn’t gonna be there for weeks.
“Someone’s gotta enjoy the pool.” Alex joked to soothe her, recognizing the despair that shined through her eyes, it was burning him inside.
She snorted, “That’s actually tempting.”
“I know it is. Fucking hundred degrees out here darling.”
Ella hummed, a blush creeping up her neck to her cheeks, her teeth sunk in her bottom lip as she debated, “Well someone’s gotta take care of your house, no?”
But that wasn’t why Alex wanted her to take the key. “Don’t even think about it,” he frowned and shook his head, letting her know what he had actually planned, “I’ll have people come over to clean it. I just want you to enjoy it.”
“But you’re not here.” Ella argued in a whisper. How could she enjoy it when it would be the reminder that he wasn’t there?
He pressed his forehead against hers and sighed, his eyes fluttering closed as he said, “I know, but it’ll make me happy to know you are here.”
She smirked, pulling back so he could open his eyes and look at her as she teased, “Already wanna wife me up, Turner?”
His smile reached his eyes hearing that, and he had to hold himself back from nodding eagerly at the suggestion. He was completely sure he wanted to call her his wife in the future, and even if it was crazy to admit this soon, he knew he also wanted her to be the mother of his children. His pupils dilated at the image of her swollen belly carrying his child, fucking hell did he love her with all that he was.
Instead of all that, he played it off suavely, “Well if you’re also considering it.”
Her cheeks hurt from how hard she was smiling, but she couldn’t help it when he said things like that. “You’re smooth,” she called out with a raise of her brows.
And, of course, her boyfriend puffed his chest out and nodded, “I know.”
“Okay c’mon, we gotta go.” She said as she put the new key in the front pocket of her jeans.
But Alex didn’t move, instead he leaned in and hugged her around the waist, hiding his face in the crook of her neck to mumble, “I don’t wanna.”
He surprised her by easily picking her up off the ground, making her drop her bag to the floor as she yelped and walking up to the settee to lay there with her on top of him, “Just wanna be here with you all day, every day.”
She hummed, picking her head up to look at him beneath her, pecking his lips once, twice and then pulling back to say, “Me too baby. But that’s the cost of being a rockstar, every country wants you to step in it.”
He sighed, her fingers starting to brush through his hair making his eyes grow heavy, “Wish I could just take you on tour with me.”
“Yeah, me too.” She agreed with ease, thinking that nothing would be better than that.
Alex continued fantasizing out loud, “Travel the world with you, live every experience with you, seeing the crazy crowds everywhere we go.”
“We’ll figure it out.” Ella promised with a kiss to the tip of his nose, the pads of her thumbs rubbing softly on his lids to make him open his eyes again, so he could see the determination in her eyes as she said, “Now we’re together and we got this yeah? It’ll be the same as before, you’re just actually my boyfriend now so I can tell everyone to fuck off when they interrupt our facetimes at work.”
He giggled like a fucking fool and hummed, “Mhm, baby. You tell them.” She snorted before dipping down to kiss his lips softly for a few seconds, pulling back only to hide in the crook of his neck and have one last cuddle before they had to go.
✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧
By the time Ella and Alex walked into the airport and got to their airline section, everyone was there. They were all waiting in line to walk up to the check-in counters, and with the amount of stuff they needed to take with them, Ella knew it’d take a while.
So she went to sit next to Mia, who was also staying in Los Angeles like Ella, not going on tour with her boyfriend either. And thankfully they had each other, going through the same type of heartache, as they watched everyone go through slowly until it was time for them to head to security.
The security line was already so long and the airport was packed so they all needed to go in as soon as possible, which meant that goodbyes would have to happen right then and they’d have to be brief.
“I hate this.” Alex mumbled into her neck as they hugged goodbye.
“Fucking sucks.” Ella struggled to say as her eyes welled up with tears that she knew would spill as soon as she looked at his face.
Alex clutched her even tighter when hearing the heaviness in her voice, “We’ll be alright yeah? You’ll be sick of me by the time we come back to California.” He joked to settle her a little and he smiled when he heard her giggling.
“You wish.” She sniffled as the laughter had helped the tears start running down her cheeks. Sighing, she pulled back and cupped his face, “We got this, sweets.”
“We do.” He promised, bringing his hands up to her face to wipe away her tears. But they wouldn’t stop falling and he started tearing up at the sight. His hands held her face delicately but his words were determined as he said, “I love you so fucking much, darling. I’ll never let you forget it.”
Ella had to press her lips together in order not to sob, and taking a deep breath first, she managed to whisper, “Love you lots and lots and lots, sweetness.”
When their lips met, it tasted salty from the tears. That only made Alex move more intently against her mouth, hold her even closer to his body but not out of lust, because he needed the both of them to memorize how it felt to be properly pressed against each other. The way in which she held his face exuded longing, prematurely really because he was still there, but she was already mourning his presence beside her on the daily. The kiss was sad, a goodbye that hurt three times as much as the one they shared when he was leaving Tennessee.
But Alex couldn’t help but smile in content when he knew he would get to properly kiss her goodbye every time he were to leave from then on, like he’d been wanting to do for so long, “I can’t believe I can finally do that.”
“What?” She sniffled again, her sadness not only clouding her vision with tears but her thoughts for she couldn’t think about what he meant.
“Actually kiss you goodbye.” Alex answered breathlessly, a feeling coming over him in the most overwhelming way; a tear ran down his cheek and she quickly wiped it away.
Despite the ache that ripped through their chests, she knew what he meant by that. The final piece of the puzzle fell and the air changed around them when it all just felt right, once and for all.
Ella hummed, her pout changing into a massive grin as she concluded, “Finally.” 
✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧
A/N: So... what did you think? I hope you enjoyed it and you can yell at me freely all you want, I know I made you lot go through it to get to this moment lolllll Hope you found it all worth the wait!!! Thank you for your constant support and your comments and messages, I appreciate them with all my heart!!! xxx
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shiestys0rcerer · 2 months
Text
Hiraeth- S.G
﹒⋆ homesickness for a home to which you cannot return ﹒⋆
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
✧ Suguru Geto x Oc, eventual Satoru Gojo x Reader
✧ warnings : harassment?, cringe maybe, a work in progress
✧ Hireath Series: Chapter One
✧ Authors Note: Posted this on Wattpad but wanted to try it on tumblr, lmk what yall think :3 My first time writing so this might be a little ass but trust I have a vision 🙌, also this is kinda like a flashback? It’s just how they started dating tbh. NOT REVISED!!
✧ Summary: She wasn't exactly sure what made her realize she was in love with him. It could've been the fact that her heart raced when his eyes lingered on her a second longer than usual, or maybe it was the mere fact she constantly daydreamed about doing things with him that crossed the line of friendship.
︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿
2005
The three teens walked through the park together. The beautiful scenery around them began to show as the sun started to set, creating a beautiful gold overcast that filled the sky. The occasional gentle breeze of wind offered a cool contrast to the warm weather.
"I must admit I enjoy moments like these. It's nice not having any work to do." Suguru spoke.
"Exactly! No cursed spirits, no teachers, no higher ups, just putting an end to the day by being at the park with my best friends.” Gojo sighed as he walked with his hands behind his head.
"Please don't jinx us, the moment you say anything positive we'll end up having to deal with some stupid cursed spirit." Sayori groaned as she walked behind the two.
"C'mon lighten up. It's not often we get a chance to be off duty all at the same time." Gojo said as he turned to look at her.
"Oh believe me I'm beyond ecstatic about this, I just don't want our peace ruined by getting a random assigned mission before we even get there." Sayori explained.
The three continued talking as they strolled down the walking trail for another ten minutes before they arrived at an open area. There were people scattered all over the place. Families were sat on blankets, having picnics. Children ran around in groups playing. Even the occasional couple on their romantic evening walked by. Overall it was a nice change of scenery for the young sorcerers.
They instantly made their way to the first empty spot they saw. They spread out their blanket on the floor and began setting up their picnic. Once all the food was laid out they grabbed a plate and began loading it up with food.
"Damn leave some food for the rest of us." Sayori said as she looked at Gojo's plate.
"What? I'm hungry." He argued.
"You're always hungry." Suguru deadpanned as he grabbed a napkin.
"I am not!" He bickered as he placed his hand over his chest in an offended manner.
"No, no he's right, you were literally eating the dessert we packed in my bag on the way here." Sayori laughed.
The trio continued talking and eating for awhile before Satoru's phone rang. He checked the caller ID and instantly picked up. Silence fell over the other two as they watched his face drop with the quick conversation.
"Yaga called. Said he needed me to come in because the higher ups want to talk to me." Satoru groaned as he ran his hand through his hair.
"Do you want us to go back with you?" Suguru asked as he watched Satoru get up.
"Nah, it's fine. You guys enjoy the rest of your day, I'll see you two later." He said waving his hand as he walked off.
Silence once again fell over the two. It wasn't often Sayori got the chance to hang out with Suguru alone. Though she was excited she'd finally be able to talk to him without Gojo interfering every two seconds. If anything this worked out perfectly. They had the rest of the day free, maybe she could find the time and courage to tell him how she felt.
"Well at least it wasn't us." She broke the silence as she pulled her knees up to her chest.
"Yeah thankfully.” Suguru replied, before he stood up and began stretching. He closed his eyes as he pulled his arms behind his head, his shirt lifting up a little, revealing his torso.
Sayori very quickly took notice of his skin and shamelessly kept watching as he stretched. Though her trance was broken when the wind picked up and almost blew away the empty plastic wrappers laying on the blanket. As soon as she went to grab them he stopped stretching.
"Stupid trash ruining the moment." She mumbled quietly as she crumbled the wrapper. After being broken from her trance she decided to clean up and collect all the trash in the bag they brought the food in.
As Sayori began to walk over to the trash bin she noticed a man standing by a tree. She accidentally locked eyes with him, but she just looked away and carried on. When she looked back up she noticed he started walking towards the trash bin as well. Though she still shrugged it off and continued on. However he reached the bins and just stood there.
"Oh god please don't let him start talking to me. Just let me do this one thing in peace." She prayed as she reached the bin.
"What's a pretty girl like you doing out here alone?" The man whistled. He didn't look homeless but he reeked of alcohol.
"Why the hell do I even bother." Sayori groaned mentally as the emptied the bag in the trash.
"Come home with me baby, I can give you some company and show you a good time." The man continued, a smirk growing on his face.
"Ew.." the only thought that ran through her mind.
"Ah! No thank you!." She declined as she waved him off and turned around.
"It's not like you have a boyfriend anyways so just come home with me." He snapped.
"Oh so he's just an asshole, got it!" She remarked mentally rolling her eyes.
At the moment she could've just knocked him out. Even without her cursed technique she could easily overpower him in a second. Though something in his statement struck a cord and left a bitter taste in her mouth.
"What makes you think I wouldn't have a boyfriend?”Sayori asked.
"Because you're alone, and even if you did have a boyfriend, what kind of idiot lets his woman walk off alone. A real man like me wouldn't treat you that way." He slurred.
"A real man wouldn't harass a girl at the park either but okay." She thought to herself.
"He doesn't control my every move. I left to throw away the trash from our date. That I was very much enjoying until you came along." She lied as she looked him up and down.
"Hm, not buying the excuse, sorry sweetheart." The man said with a smug look on his face. Sayori was one step away from punching him, but she was set on proving him wrong
"Hey, Suguru! Can you please come here!" She called.
"Man, I hope this doesn't make things weird between us, hopefully he'll understand.."
Suguru was better than this man in every way possibly. Suguru was tall, caring, sweet, and attractive. The drunk on the other hand lacked in every category a woman could have for her standard in men.
Once he heard her calling he immediately walked over. Taking notice of the man, and Sayori's happy face he couldn't help but feel confused. He walked up  to the side of her, and she immediately snaked her hand around his waist, taking him by surprise.
"Well you wanted to see my boyfriend so.. here he is." Sayori smiled.
Suguru, now understanding his role in the situation, smirks as he relaxes his shoulders. He rested his hand on the small of Sayori's back, causing her to freeze for a second.
"I'm sorry, baby is this drunk bothering you?" Suguru cooed as he played along.
Sayori’s mind quite literally exploded in that moment. The nickname itself made her face heat up. Though for the sake of her act..and selfishly her self, she continued to play along.
The mans eyes just widened in shock. Which honestly was enough of a reaction for Sayori but she wanted to see how far she could push it.
"Yup, and get this, said you were an idiot for letting me out of your sight." Sayori added.
"Maybe I am for letting my you walk around while's there jobless drunks patrolling the area. C'mon my love we're leaving. Suguru said locking eyes with the man, who still was wide eyed. Though Sayori was almost matching his expression. She was in complete shock of his response to this situation.
"Keep it together, you look just as shocked as the drunk." Sayori thought as she regained her composure.
Suguru turned to walk away, still intertwined with Sayori, though as much as she wanted to stay that way, she let go and ran back to the drunk.
"Too late sweetheart you missed your chance.” The man smirked. 
Though it didn't last long because as soon as Sayori was a foot away from him her fist make quick contact with his face. Knocking him out cold. She immediately ran back to Suguru and grabbed his hand and ran with him to a different spot.
They made their way to a tree a good distance from the drunk man, and stood under it. It was closer to the pond and had an overall nicer view than where they were before. However it was far from others, and in a more secluded area. 
"I can't believe you just punched him like that." Suguru said almost astonished.
"Hopefully he'll wake up and realize that harassing girls in the park is a dick move. Or maybe the police will pick him up and take him in for being passed out drunk in public. Either way it's a win-win. He learns a a valuable lesson and I get the satisfaction of seeing the shock on his face when you came in." She said with a sense of justice in her voice.
Sayori looked at Suguru before turning to the view. The sun had begun to set, casting a beautiful mix of purple in the sky. The moon had been just starting to rise and peaked out through the purple sky. Below it was the pond, which still had a few people in the little swan boats pedaling around.
"The view is beautiful isn't it?" Sayori asked as she sat down and looked out at the pond.
"It is." Suguru simply replied smiling as he looked at her.
She could still feel his gaze on her. This felt like a dream. Almost everything she has wished for has come true today in one form or another. Without giving it another thought she opened her mouth.
"Hey Suguru… I'm in love with you." She admitted, her gaze still focused on the pond as her heart beat picked up.
He laughed quietly, before he spoke. “I‘ve waited so long to hear those words.”
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undead-supernova · 6 months
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I'll Pay the Price, You Won't.
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Monsters in the Darkest Dark / Masterlist
Chapter 6 / Chapter 7 / Chapter 8
plot: "I broke my own heart 'cause you were too polite to do it."
Pairings: modernrockstar!Eddie x fem!popstar!Reader (curvy!reader, bisexual!reader)
Warnings: media/public scrutiny of reader's body, hurt/no comfort, fighting, mention of smoking, my apologies
wc: 3k
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You didn’t mean for any of this to happen.
Honest to God, your intentions were nothing but pure.
And yet, against all odds, your fate was sealed the moment madness broke loose.
The morning had been gentle, awoken by the smell of burnt toast and melted butter. Eyes opening to the sight of Eddie handing you a plate and a cup of coffee. It was simple. Effortless.
He greeted you with a slow kiss, leaving behind the drag of your teeth against his lips. Toast left to grow cold on the nightstand as you dragged Eddie back into bed.
Most of the morning and afternoon seemed to slip away seamlessly, with gentle kisses and sunscreen and the promise of Jeff’s cooking. And it was all fine and good that evening, laughter pouring from your lips as you sat with Eddie. With Jeff, Gareth, Grant, and Ronnie. Playing an awful round of drunken charades and talking about what was next for the band. Wondering what the next album would sound like. Ultimately, Jeff was the one to shut it down, walking into the room with ice cream and a promise to watch Taskmaster.
But Eddie wanted to head to the beach alone, saying he wanted a moment to himself. You couldn’t blame him. This night was especially beautiful, the stars sprinkled against the obsidian of the sky. The air was just right, blowing a cool breeze through your overheated bodies and leaving behind warmth.
You paused at the halfway point between the beach and your shared house, watching him tuck a cigarette between his lips. Told him you’d see him soon. You let him go, disconnecting your matching calloused fingertips before heading back to your room.
Downed a few glasses of water. Laid back on your bed. Grabbed your phone for quite literally the first time since you’d called Este the previous morning. It’d been left idle on the nightstand, finding the lack of connection quite freeing.
But there you were, ready to venture back on. 
So, you opened Instagram.
It was supposed to be a silly little post. Really, that was all it was supposed to be. A moment of nonchalance. Nothing too big. Just a wish for Mary to have a happy birthday tomorrow when you couldn’t be there yourself. A small gesture of appreciation during the stress of finals.
But as soon as it was posted, you saw the comments grow.
And grow.
And grow.
And you knew you shouldn’t have looked.
You knew.
But you did it anyways.
You pressed on that stupid little comment icon.
And you found exactly what you shouldn’t have.
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“What?” you whispered to yourself before going to Google and searching your name.
And within seconds, it was there in front of you. Articles splattered with pictures of you and Eddie on the beach. Specifically zoomed in on your stomach from the side. There was one of you and Eddie sleeping, as if that wasn’t creepy enough. Three showed a red circle drawn around your tummy and the appearance of a double chin. And then there was a video of you making out from across the street, laughing and all over each other. One or two pictures of you in the club, dancing in the mosh pit.
Of course, all the pictures made Eddie look good. A fucking dreamboat. But you? Not a chance.
The articles said nothing about Eddie other than feeling bad for him. But for you, they spoke about how you “gained weight.” How you were “unhealthy.” How you looked “horrible” compared to him. That you were letting yourself go, standing next to the Rockstar who’d only “dated” thin girls; healthy girls—trying to make the words synonymous with one another. Trying to tell the public that your normal body was the problem.
And by association, you. You were the problem.
Eddie had promised privacy, safety. That this was an island of seclusion. And here the internet was, laughing at you. Laughing at Eddie for being dumb enough to be with you. Laughing at your relationship. Despite your heated kisses. Despite the grin on his face and his arms around you. Despite every pretty word that left his lips when he was given the chance.
And, yeah, maybe his words should’ve mattered more.
But you couldn’t help but consider it.
Maybe they were right. Maybe you didn’t fit.
And it was only a matter time before Eddie saw it.
You didn’t know what the breaking point was, couldn’t pinpoint the exact cause of the shift. Maybe it was one of the comments, one of the pictures. Maybe it was the metallic taste in your mouth that began to turn sour with nausea. It could’ve been the girl from last night or the way Ronnie never stopped looked at you like you were running out of time.
Regardless, you snapped.
And you knew you had to leave before Eddie had the chance. Find a way to break him gently so he didn’t feel obligated to keep dating you. Out of pity, out of politeness. 
If you left in the night, left in the shadow of the moonlight, maybe it could soften the blow. 
A swift, clean break. 
But as you started packing, you couldn’t help the tears gushing down your cheeks. Voices came at you from every part of your brain, screaming each vile word spoken about you in the last few years. 
It was too much now, the internet doing exactly what it wanted to do. You’d tried not caring. You’d tried to block out the noise and focus on the life you desperately wanted to live. Tried to let the love you and Eddie shared be the only sight, the only sound that mattered. But you just couldn’t take it anymore.
And maybe you needed to leave it all behind. Give the world what they wanted and go dark. Erase yourself from the public, from the narrative, and find a way to fade from view. Vanish into the shadows and let yourself become merely an echo in the ever-flowing chamber of public consumption. 
But where would Eddie be in all of this? What would you do with the silence, with the echoes of him drifting down your hallways? How would you be able to willingly follow that treacherous quiet? And was there any chance of survival?
It all ripped through you, your sobs ricocheting off the walls. 
And it was then that you heard his voice.
“Hey, sweetheart, what’s going on?” he asked, rushing over to you. “Are you leaving? Hey, talk to me. What happened?”
He was so beautiful in his black tank top, hair finally resting over his shoulders for the first time in days. A pretty reminder of just how much this was going to sting.
“I can’t keep dealing with this stuff,” you muttered, zipping up your suitcase. “I need to go.”
“Dealing with what?”
You couldn’t help the bitter chuckle that left your lips as you opened up your phone, still honed in on a TMZ article. He took your phone, eyebrows furrowing as he scanned the pictures. Read the accompanying sentences. 
But then he paused, avoiding your gaze. Voice growing quiet as he said, “I thought you stopped looking at social media.”
“I just wanted to post something for Mary’s birthday,” you explained. “And then…” 
“Sweetheart,” he said gently as he put the phone on the bed. “You’re so beautiful—"
“I don’t believe what they say about me,” you stated, watching his eyes widen as they finally met yours. “I’ll make that clear. I know my body is beautiful the way it is. I know that it’s my body and it doesn’t need to look the way that I’ve been told it needs to. I don’t feel bad about my body.”
“Then why…”
“Because it’s invasive,” you said. “Because I have become a target and I’ve got a lot of easy shots to take. My dating history, my weight. The validity of my bisexuality when I write about men. All of it. 
“Eddie, I am tired of being a joke. I am tired of being seen as some fictional character to write think pieces about and scrutinize and everything else. Maybe I should go into hiding for a while or something.” You shook your head, trying to go back to your frantic packing. “I don’t know. I just can’t be here.”
“I’ll come with you,” he said, pointing at his pile of clothes in the corner. “We can go back to New York and—"
“No,” you said harshly, looking at him. “I don’t want you to come with me.”
Slowly, he lowered his arm. “Uh, why not?”
You paused, knowing you had to deal the blow. Even if it was the last thing you ever wanted to do. “Because I don’t know if we should keep going. I don’t know if this is good for us. For you.”
He flinched away from you; eyes still boring into yours. “What the fuck are you even saying? That you’re just giving up on us because of strangers on the internet?” He scoffed. “Like they matter? I mean, what do they have to do with our relationship?”
His eyes widened, the reality of the situation washing over him. “If their dumb opinions win right now, what does that make me? Collateral damage? Or does that… Does that mean that I’m the problem?”
“Eddie, you’re not a problem at all—"
“It sure sounds like it,” he interrupted. “What’s the common denominator in all this? I asked you to be mine. I’m the one who got you the bikini. I’m the one who asked you to come. I’m the reason you’re given this shit.” He let out a short laugh. “I guess I’m the problem in this equation, huh? Gotta cut me out.”
“No!” you exclaimed before pointing at your chest. “I’m the problem, Eddie! It’s me!”
“Bullshit.”
“Eddie…”
“You act like you’re some problem for everyone,” he started. “With all these fucking people that love you, that see that goodness in you—see the real you. Like…you don’t even realize how much you actually shine.” He sighed, shaking his head. “And yet, you chose to be with me. I didn’t even really understand why, but I was just fucking happy to be yours.”
“Eddie, please,” you whispered. You didn’t know what you were asking. For him to stop saying these things? To stop fighting for you? To give up when you wanted nothing but to stop hurting him? 
Eddie took a step forward, eyes never leaving yours. “And I was so fucking happy because I’m crazy about you. And I thought you were, too.” He paused before his face drew closer. “Are you?”
You sniffled, no longer trying to wipe away your tears. And you cracked, unable to stop yourself from nodding. Because Eddie was what made you weak, made you bend. 
His face was so close, and his cheeks were flushed. You could smell the ocean and the faint hint of nicotine wafting off him. Could feel your callouses brush up against one another. And you were curling into yourself, daunted by the weight of his presence. By his stare.  
How could someone like Eddie still want you through all of this?
“Y-yeah,” you uttered. “Yeah, I am.”
Closer now, his forehead met yours. But your eyes still held each other, neither one of you able to look away.
“Then why can’t that be enough?”
A ragged breath left your lips. “We know why.”
“They don’t matter.”
“Maybe they’re right,” you whispered. “Maybe they see what we can’t.”
His features softened, his lower lip beginning to tremble. “Am I not worth it?”
You shook your head. “Don’t say that about yourself. Please.”
“You told me last night that you never wanted to be with anyone else,” he said, jaw tightening as his eyes glassed over. “And now you’re breaking up with me? Did you really just lead me on for six months? ‘Cause I thought you wanted to stay. That…that, I don’t know, you trusted me. Trusted what we have. Because it’s real. It’s all real. At least…at least it is for me.”
He took a step back, shaking his head. Emotions darted across his face, seeming to change every few seconds.
Frustration, anger. 
Sorrow, grief.
And then he sniffled. Tears spilled over. His face fell into a scarlet flush, lips curling open as a sob left his mouth. 
Every little detail that was surely going to haunt you for the rest of your life. 
“I just don’t fit in your world,” you whispered.
“That’s fucking horse shit,” he cried, furiously wiping the tears from his eyes. “You fit in so perfectly to my life. Can you not fucking see that?”
You could only reflect him, trying to cease your tears as you watched your hearts break in real time.
“I don’t,” you whispered. “You just don’t see that yet. I’m doing this for you.”
“No, you’re doing this for you.”
“This is the right thing to do!” you exclaimed, a hiccup escaping your lips. “This is how I protect you!”
“This is how you protect yourself.”
“Eddie, please. You can’t see it yet, but I promise I’m not good for you.”
Everyone knows it, you wanted to say. They see right through me.
And in due time, he would, too.
Eddie stepped towards you, lifting his hand to your face as if he was going to caress your cheek. But he stopped, curling his fist before bringing it to his lips to try and suppress a hiccup. Shook his head. As if he knew he had lost. As if this battle was already over and he was collecting his participation trophy.
“If you do this, you’re hurting me!” he exclaimed, gasping. “And if you sit there and act like you’re not good enough for me? You’re not just wasting that shit on yourself. You’re losing me in the process.”
“Eddie, I…” You couldn’t even finish your sentence. It was all there, lodged in your throat, unable to escape.
“Do you want to lose me?” he asked, tugging at his hair. “Do you care?”
“You know I care,” you said harshly. “That’s why I have to do this.”
“No, no, no. I’m showing my cards, okay?” he croaked, pressing his hand against his heart. “I don’t want to be with anyone else. I want you. I want a life with you, and I don’t want to sit here and have to wonder what anyone else thinks about it. I meant it when I said I wouldn’t trade you for the world.
“Could you say the same?”
Your eyes darted between his, soaking in his words as they spilled from his lips. He was saying all of the right things, all of the tiny things that made you want to cave. Made you want to call this off and get into bed. Forget that you ever made a decision. But you knew that you had to do this. If it wasn’t now, it would happened eventually.
And your silence was enough for him.
 “I just,” he sighed. “I love you.”
A short gasp left your lips.
He’d said it. He actually said it.
And you were still standing there, saying nothing.
Doing nothing.
Eddie crossed his arms over his stomach, digging his fingernails into his elbows. You could see him pushing into his stomach. 
“Say something,” he pleaded.
“I’m setting you free, Eddie,” you replied, barely above a whisper. “Goodbye.”
Grabbing your suitcase, you reluctantly took a few steps towards the door.
“Why do you have to do this?” you heard him whisper, voice cracking. Like he was saying it to himself. Like he knew that this was done. 
You turned back.
“I’m here fighting for you. And you’re just…walking away.”
And though you watched him fall to his knees, cries getting louder, you didn’t help him up.
You wanted to. Oh, how you wanted to fall back into him and explain that you wanted him so badly that it was tearing you apart. That you also wanted to fall to the floor, contort yourself into a fetal position and hyperventilate. That you understood. 
But you didn’t.
Like a coward, you walked away. 
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You sat on a bench by the pier for a while, sobbing into your hands, drenching your skin in salty tears. Listened to the crashing of the ocean, the white noise driving you to the brink of insanity. You stayed there until the sun came up, regretting everything you’d said. Everything you did. 
But it was already too late, catching the first boat back to the mainland.
So now you were sitting on the back of a boat, staring at the empty dock as you waited to pull away.
And in the distance, you thought you saw Eddie standing there.
But it wasn’t him.
It was Ronnie, with her arms crossed over her chest, giving you a scowl. Body rigid as she watched you go.
“You’re nothing but a coward.”
“I know you’ll gladly throw it away just because it isn’t the fucking fairytale you imagined.”
But there was one other thing Ronnie had said to you, the one that stayed stuck in your mind the entire way back.
“Don’t drag someone into your fucking mess if you can’t clean it up.”
And that’s exactly what you were. A godforsaken mess that had to be removed before you could ruin Eddie’s life any further. And if it cut you to the core, sobs wracking your body the moment you fell into Scott’s arms at the airport, then so be it. 
“What did he do?” he asked, pulling you further into the private lounge.
You merely shook your head, clutching your fifth tissue smattered in tears and snot. “It was me. I’m just a fucking mess. A stupid, idiotic fool. A coward. A fucking idiot. I—” 
You choked on another sob, curling further into his chest.
“Hey, it’s going to be okay,” he whispered. “You’re not any of those things, okay? You’re only human.”
Not to anyone else, you wanted to say. I’m not a human being. I’m just a machine for others to gawk at. 
“I wish I could go back to the beginning.”
“As much as I wish I could take you back…” Scott sighed. “Darlin’, none of us can go back.”
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Seven hours later, you ended up back at your New York house without paparazzi sneaking into the airport. Sat in the deafening silence, all alone. Went to your bed, alone, staring at the made bed. Shook your head. Decided to go back downstairs. Laid on the couch, curling into a fetal position.
You didn’t know how long you stayed there, making yourself as small as you could. But you watched dusk turn into dawn. And as the cold light of morning washed over you, you realized that your life was never going to be the same. Eddie Munson was gone.
And as far as anyone knew, so were you.
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as always, a big thanks to @strangergraphics for her lovely dividers. sorry to *gunshot* you all in the process of releasing this!
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alexturne · 1 year
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NEW FIC
So, this is finally happening.
The first chapter of my brand new fic "you've got control of everyone's eyes (including mine)" is out.
You can read it right here.
This fic is so special to me. My white whale, my genesis. This is what started it all, my journey as a milex writer.
I began writing this story on this day, two whole years ago. My first Milex story ever. It didn't end up as the first I posted, and it has been sitting in my wip folder for those two years, half-finished.
And now, two years and 15 other Milex fics later, it's finally done. I can't fucking believe it.
I've never worked this hard on any other story before, it's never been this difficult. I saw it so clearly in my head, and I needed it to pan out exactly as I'd imagined it.
I had several moments where I seriously doubted that it would ever see the light of day. It would die in that folder, and no one would ever get to read it. I'd never get to finish it and realize my vision for it. And it kinda broke my heart.
It's very special to me, it's everything I love the most, it's so me, and I love these characters to bits.
And I'm so proud of the fact that I actually managed to get it done. I love it with my entire heart. And I can't believe that I'm finally posting this, it feels fucking unreal.
And I hope you will welcome this story and show it support. It would literally mean the world to me.💕
Thank you to my friends who have supported me through all this, special mention to @yellowloid I literally couldn't have done it without your uplifting encouragement ❤️
Now there's nothing left to say but ENJOY !
I will be posting fairly frequently, at least one chapter per week ✨
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pinguphd · 5 months
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Soldier of Heaven Chapter 1
I spent like 3 days editing this, but at least I finally have chapter one of my fem!Shep/Kaidan fic. Taking place after the events of ME3, we're going to explore just what happened to our dear Commander Amira Shepard and her love, Kaidan Alenko. I would like to thank @the-californicationist for putting up with my rambling, and especially @tealenko for helping me work out some of the ideas I had. Wouldn't have done it without you two, this goes out to you!
Each chapter, including the name of the fic itself, is named after a song. I will update the playlist with each chapter so you can listen along with me. Enjoy!
“I won't be coming home
I won't be going anywhere
I will guard this post forever
Here on the alpine slope, where I did my final stand, I shall remain
Among the ice and snow that binds me to this mountain”
Soldier of Heaven-Sabaton
It took close to two months in the aftermath of the Reaper War for things to return to any semblance of normalcy.  While the makeshift hospitals were still full, they did not seem so utterly overwhelmed as when the Catalyst was fired, finally eradicating the Reaper threat and ending the horrid cycle.  Much of humanity’s home was destroyed, yet the overall mood in London was one of optimism or cautious enthusiasm at the society they are rebuilding. 
Amira Shepherd, the famed Savior of the Citadel, first human Spectre and one of the best biotics the galaxy has ever seen was one of the people still in hospital.  The doctors and nurses had no idea who she was, and Amira wanted to keep it that way.  Best they could figure was she was probably an Alliance soldier, but it was hard to be certain when she would not speak to any of them.  The combination of watching a man she considered to be a father figure to her-Admiral Anderson die right in front of her, the comedown from the six months that she had spent going from here to kingdom come gathering everything she possibly could to ensure the continued survival of everyone in the Milky Way, and, perhaps most heartbreakingly, saying her final goodbyes to her beloved Kaidan took its toll on her.
Having survived 3 different suicide missions, curing the genophage and watching Mordin die, saving Kaidan on Virmire, even her fraught reunion with him on Horizon was distressing.  She has seen enough trauma, heartbreak, and death to last her many lifetimes (quite literally, in her case). She could still recall every second of her final moments with him.  Helping him up after being fired upon with that beam, even forcing him onto the Normandy even as he begged her not to make him go and his anguish as she left him was the worst of all of it.  She loved him so deeply she made him go, although it broke her heart to do so.
That did not make the aftermath any easier.  After she had fired the Catalyst, she had very little recollection of what it was like in the midst of all that rubble.  Her armor was in pieces and near nonexistent and the burns and injuries she had, she almost couldn’t feel.  All she could remember was the feeling deep within her that she had to get back to him, no matter what.  Despite the risks to what she knew had to be incredibly fragile health, she did her best to keep a biotic field about her in the hope search and rescue would find her.  Dead or alive, she owed it to Kaidan to know how she ended.  Not another Alchera, not on her watch.
From what she had been told by the medical staff, she was in the smoldering rubble for around 3 days.  By the time she was found she was incredibly weak and in what she could only imagine was a rough state.  Bad enough to the point where the staff at the hospital, full to the brim with Alliance doctors, nurses and support staff had no idea she was Commander Shepard.  This fact suited her just fine.  
For some unknown reason they were keeping her there, so in a show of defiance, she kept her damn mouth shut.  She filled her time not in PT with a sketchbook and canvas a well meaning woman visiting her friend at work gave her.  It’s not right dear, you being here all alone. She was one of the only people in the few months she had been in hospital who was not interested in making her talk.  I understand dear if you don’t want to say anything she said to her on her first visit.  She enjoyed the companionship anyway.  
This sweet older woman was completely and utterly empathetic, expecting nothing in return.  Selfless too, visiting her.  She seemed to have a way with, what did Kaidan call them? “Old soldiers.” Huh.  Guess those words ring truer than she thought.  When the woman, Elizabeth, she eventually learned was her name, had come to visit, she always had a mug of tea and biscuits with her, armed to the teeth with even more art supplies for her.  
Elizabeth would sit with her in her room, chattering away about everything and nothing at all.  She heard stories of her kids and grandkids, all gone now.  She heard about her troubles finding ingredients for the teas and biscuits she brought with her on her daily visits.  More than once the doctors, nurses, therapists and technicians chided her for being rude in not talking to her friend who was so kind in visiting someone she had never met before.  Elizabeth came to her defense more than once, shutting that attitude towards her with a fury only known to a mama bear protecting her cubs.  
It was on one of these visits, Elizabeth chatting away while Amira worked on a scene of her and Kaidan’s last goodbye, that Elizabeth had said something particularly interesting.  “Apparently some Admiral is even in the area today.  Think he might be visiting some of the Alliance folk.”  Hearing this, Amira felt the blood in her veins run cold.  Beyond hope she prayed it both was and was not Admiral Hackett.  Desperate for word of her crew on the SR-2, she studiously focused her attention back on the pad in her lap, whilst Elizabeth prattled on and left her to get lost in her thoughts.  It was something she did a lot since she was found.
Okay, she was lying to herself.  She knew full well why they were keeping her there.  The combination of how heavy she used her biotics in her final moments before she made it to the Citadel, the injuries she sustained, and lying half dead (well, mostly dead if she was being honest with herself) using the very last of her reserves to emit a strong enough blue glow to be found had completely destroyed her implant.  The cybernetics and nanites Cerberus had given her had protected much of her fragile state and had served to speed up the healing process.  
In order to distract herself from the train of thought that thinking of Cerberus always led her down (the awful reunion with Kaidan on Horizon, almost losing Garrus on Omega, the suicide mission that was the Omega 4 relay…) she instead forced herself to use her famed laser focus on running down the list of why she had not been identified, her pencil stilling against the pad of paper in front of her.  Feeling a sense of calm overcome her after Elizabeth’s seemingly innocent remark at the visiting Alliance brass, she ran through the logistics she knew by heart.  
During and after any skirmish, battle or war, communications were in some form of disarray.  In this case, they were all but destroyed.  To that end, she knew connections to Alliance systems in particular were nonexistent.
When they had to replace her L3 implant with a highly experimental L5 type model similar to what she retrieved from Grissom knowing that the logistics of obtaining a safe and extraordinarily well tested L3 implant like what she had previously (she groaned internally at that, it would be her third damn implant) it was so badly damaged they couldn’t easily trace it back to the Alliance database, if they had the access at all.
With so few resources, they did not have a chance to thoroughly scan her like they would have done pre-war.
Over half of Earth’s population was dead, and with medical staff on or near the front lines their numbers had been particularly affected. With so few staff, and an extraordinary number of patients to tend to, she was able to stay safely under the radar.
Those who needed tending to number in the many thousands.  As fond as the medical field and Alliance tended to be of rules and protocol, the ability to follow such things went out the window in wartime, which she knew very well.
She thought of these 5 things, over and over, during the course of her visit with her friend.  It distracted her and calmed her nerves.  Anxieties she had become all too familiar with since Alchera reared their ugly head once more, however, when she heard a flutter of activity outside the small room she had been given.  She looked towards the door, with a mix of fear and well-disguised terror in her eyes in contrast to the awe Elizabeth had held in hers.  Elizabeth’s heart softened when she looked upon Amira, the older woman coming up to her to place a weathered hand on her bare shoulders.
Listening to the conversation in the hall with her well-practiced hearing, she heard a very familiar voice talking with the nurse that was particularly horrid to her over the course of her stay.  Prone to letting her mind wander since the war's end, she thought of all the ways this woman had tried to goad her into talking.  Attempts at withholding food, being more aggressive in the treatments she was giving, waking her at odd hours or abruptly, the list goes on.  She guessed that was part of why Elizabeth had visited her so often, after the first time she witnessed “the wicked harpy” draw blood with a rather vicious looking needle that left a pretty purple bruise at her elbow.
“Oh, how did you enjoy your visit sir?  We have had a great many Alliance soldiers grace our halls.  I myself have taken care of many of them.” She could hear their muffled footsteps walking away from the corner of the hospital. Elizabeth had given her shoulder a gentle squeeze, rolling her eyes. If by “care” she means acting like a wicked harpy armed with a syringe full of medi-gel, then by all means, she took great care of you dear. The two people in the corridor were unfortunately not far enough away, because the Alliance Admiral had heard some of their words and turned back around, heading right toward the door.  To her.
“Oh no sir, you wouldn’t want to go in there.  This silly woman doesn’t bother to talk to anyone.  No one knows her name and no one comes to visit either so clearly whoever she had in her life either is dead or she was so miserable to them like she is to us they just don’t care.”  She giggled a bit at that, letting just enough of her facade crack that the man's steps came to an abrupt halt and turned about face towards her.  Coming close enough to the windowed door, Amira’s eyes widened.  She knew that silhouette anywhere.
With a stern voice, he addressed Harpy.  “With all due respect ma’am, you were fully apprised of the reason for my visit today.  I did not put up with your company for the last hour for nothing.  I did not stand next to you blabbering about your skills as I visited my men and women, many of whom were under my command or under the command of a good friend who is also missing.  If there is a soldier in there under MY command, I will see her.”  Despite the stuttered protests of Harpy, trying to recover her “reputation”, he swiftly held out a hand to push open the door. 
Amira froze and dropped her pencil.  Clearly startled, Elizabeth raised her stature and wrapped both hands around her shoulders, standing protectively over her adopted charge.  “And just who in the hell are you?  Barging in here like a raging krogan like that, have you no manners man?”  Amira placed a hand over hers and shrugged them off, standing up.  The man’s eyes widened.  Yes, they knew each other very well.
“Commander Shepard?”
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literaphobe · 7 months
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who does adrien love more, ladybug or marinette?
HELLO ANON. i honestly love that u sent this. hard hitting potentially controversial questions are fun to me. i love analyzing and breaking down my writing and characters. also this is about tvl adrichat to anyone who’s seeing this <- im assuming so bc u sent it after I posted ch7
anyway, based on ch1-7, but also how tvl adrichat is in general, id say in simple terms, He Doesn’t Love One More Than The Other
in general, he thinks he shouldn’t be in love with either of them. ladybug, he sees as a door that’s been closed since jubilation. he turns that doorknob open, takes a peek every now and then, heart tightens at the sights he steals. but he’s been under the impression that they are Just Friends. he set that very boundary on his own, on multiple occasions, not to reject her—because ladybug never Properly came clean about being in love with him—but to remind himself that they weren’t a line he should cross. that is, until she revealed her plans and repressed desires to sleep with him. and then black and white swirled together to burn and blare flashing red sirens
and then as of right now in tvl, he’s falling into her arms but still sort of wary about everything he gets to enjoy. he’s afraid it’s too much and that she’ll realize that soon enough, can barely believe it’s still happening/has happened in the first place, and the indefinite nature of the situation is read as Temporary to him. it’s why he acts/acts out in bizarre ways, and tvl ladybug winds up accommodating him in ways she THINKS is sexual, but for him is usually deeply emotional
a part of him in still in denial. his plan from the get go was to not fall in love with ladybug again. he’s admitted several times to the readers that he thinks he’s doomed. but he hasn’t exactly crossed that final line, seen his tragedy for what it was -> he’s been in love with her from the start, and it’s only getting worse, the worst it’s ever been
SO. that brings me to tvl marinette. how does tvl adrichat’s love for her compare? as it has been alluded to/straight up mentioned on occasion across the chapters, tvl marinette broke up with tvl adrien years ago, but never properly explained to him why. they also remained friends, however awkward that was, best friends you could say, enduring high school and university and now they are even navigating working life together!! by literally having their jobs be intertwined. in ch7, it is implied that tvl adrichat hates his job. he mentions wanting to quit for more time with her on several occasions. undoubtedly though, he was also not being too serious, because actually going through with it would mean leaving marinette jobless
no, tvl adrichat isn’t over marinette. he doesn’t really think he is, especially before the events of tvl, and those first few years of their breakup. because he never received an explanation, the uncertainty of the whole situation, and the lack of space or boundaries they didn’t bother to establish in their friendship, a part of him just HOPED she’d change her mind, come around, and take him back. especially since all those years had her dating No One, and he followed suit because he wanted to be with her (and more importantly he just wasn’t interested in anyone else. his life oscillates between Bug Lady and Clumsy Girl)
random tidbit. in ch1 tvl adrichat mentions that he forgets everything that happens when he’s drunk, and this is why he was confused that tvl ladybug Remembered what happened to her when she was absolutely hammered. I’ll let u all make of that however u will
with tvl marinette, as seen in ch4, through adrien’s perspective GETS JEALOUS and appears somewhat into him still -> which is absolutely torturous and difficult because he’s well aware most of her confusing signals ARENT synonymous with wanting to date him again. she has this power and ability to turn his world topsy turvy that she isn’t fully aware of, and what she IS aware of makes her severely guilty
if his situation w ladybug is a closed door that creaks open from time to time, marinette is a house they’re still in together, but every time he sees her in a room, she walks into a different one. so, in conclusion, they both devastate him, and any time he’s with either of them, things aren’t easy on his heart in any sense at all
WHOOPS! poor guy!!
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crazylittlejester · 2 months
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If you’re wanting to tap about it; Linked Through The Centuries, Chapter 1:
He took a deep breath and raised the wood to his skin, and immediately a searing hot pain ignited the right side of his face. He dropped the wood with a scream and it fell to the grass with a soft thunk, but the burning in his body didn’t disappear, it just spread. Link felt his bones struggling to rearrange and rebuild themselves into a bigger body, and his injured eyelid flew open, which was something he wasn’t able to do himself due to the damaged tissue.
The air was completely stolen from his lungs and he crouched down, curling in on himself, and wishing he could scream out for the deity to stop. It felt like the flesh was melting off the right side of his face and his vision in both eyes had gone completely white.
Fierce must’ve noticed this didn’t feel like it usually did for either of them, or maybe the transformation had just failed, because the god backed off and retreated back to where he usually sat in the back of Link’s mind.
At some point Link had fallen onto his back, and he laid in the grass panting, blinking hard and trying to get his sight to return. His ears were buzzing and his heart was pounding, and his body felt like it had been disassembled and not put back together.
‘…nk! L…! Kid! C… y… hear… e?’ The god’s voice shouted in his mind, and Link just groaned and turned his head to the side.
To his absolute shock, blurry shapes were starting to appear in both of his eyes as his vision slowly returned. The right side of his face ached and felt like his skin had been burned raw, and he raised a shaky hand to gently touch his cheek. His fingers came away wet with blood and he whimpered. 
‘Can you hear me??’ Fierce demanded, his voice finally ringing clearly enough in his mind that he could make out the words.
‘Yeah,’ Link mumbled, ‘I hear you.’
All the tension in his body seeped out of him, almost as if it hadn’t been his in the first place. 
‘I thought I killed you,’ the deity groaned. ‘I’ve been calling you for thirty minutes!’
oh FUCK yes *cracks knuckles* anon I am so so fucking happy that not only did you send me a part of a fic for a ‘directors commentary’, not only did you send me something from my own au, you sent me THIS specific scene. Kissing you on the forehead you made my fucking day
For anyone unfamiliar with this it is my own Links meet au (@linked-through-the-centuries), and this character in this snippet is Mask. There is a link to the fic in the pinned post on that blog! :)
He took a deep breath and raised the wood to his skin, and immediately a searing hot pain ignited the right side of his face. He dropped the wood with a scream and it fell to the grass with a soft thunk, but the burning in his body didn’t disappear, it just spread. Link felt his bones struggling to rearrange and rebuild themselves into a bigger body, and his injured eyelid flew open, which was something he wasn’t able to do himself due to the damaged tissue.
Okay so Mask has been struggling a lot since the end of the war. He’s lost an eye, he’s lost Warriors (in his mind at least), and he’s painfully lonely. The Fierce Deity is trapped in Mask’s body, and since the mask broke, he hasn’t really been able to do anything but talk to the god. Because he’s never tried to transform without the mask, he wasn’t really sure how to trigger the transformation, so he went through the motion of it. The wood is just that, wood, it didn’t do anything. Mask no longer needs it at all to transform, the only reason he was struggling is strictly just a mental thing, this is a bit knew for him. The problem with this transformation is that Mask’s body is not strong enough to house such a powerful deity long term. He tried to draw on Fierce, but his physical form literally could not handle it, and the god quite literally burnt through him
The air was completely stolen from his lungs and he crouched down, curling in on himself, and wishing he could scream out for the deity to stop. It felt like the flesh was melting off the right side of his face and his vision in both eyes had gone completely white.
I watched a lot of videos of the majora’s mask transformations, and they do usually seem a bit painful for Link, but this experience is truly something completely different for him. He’s never felt such an all encompassing pain before like he’s feeling in this moment, because he’s never been a vessel for a god before. When I was working on this part of the fic, I was rewatching parts of supernatural with someone I live with, and I imagined this experience to be somewhat similar to how the hosts of angels/demons feel when their body is becoming inhabited by something Other
Fierce must’ve noticed this didn’t feel like it usually did for either of them, or maybe the transformation had just failed, because the god backed off and retreated back to where he usually sat in the back of Link’s mind.
This is really the very first time Fierce becomes aware of how easy it would be for him to hurt, or even KILL, Mask. He wasn’t super aware of how much pain he caused the kid before, but now he was able to feel for just a moment how he was literally burning through Mask and he felt Mask’s spirit in his body weaken, and that scared Fierce so he stopped. It would be totally possible for Fierce to kill Mask and take his body, though if Mask’s body were damaged and killed, then who knows what would happen 🤷‍♂️
At some point Link had fallen onto his back, and he laid in the grass panting, blinking hard and trying to get his sight to return. His ears were buzzing and his heart was pounding, and his body felt like it had been disassembled and not put back together.
Every single transformation has an extreme physical effect on Mask’s body, and changing his physical shape how he did so many times as a growing kid left him with a lot of physical problems. He dislocates things incredibly easily, his joints and bones do NOT want to stay in place, and he deals with a lot of chronic pain because of all this. This wasn’t even a full transformation, but it really took a lot out of him, and he took a lot of damage in a physical AND spiritual sense
‘…nk! L…! Kid! C… y… hear… e?’ The god’s voice shouted in his mind, and Link just groaned and turned his head to the side.
Fierce very genuinely cares for Mask, he’s grown incredibly fond of this doomed mortal child. He truly wants what’s best for him, and he wants to protect him as much as he can. They have a very “grumpy old man who hates kids accidentally acquires a child and his life is changed” dynamic
To his absolute shock, blurry shapes were starting to appear in both of his eyes as his vision slowly returned. The right side of his face ached and felt like his skin had been burned raw, and he raised a shaky hand to gently touch his cheek. His fingers came away wet with blood and he whimpered. 
When I was writing this out and planning out how exactly I wanted this whole Mask and Fierce in one body thing to work, the like, ‘image’ in my mind that I was thinking of was similar to a cracked mirror, and in those cracks, you can see straight through Mask and stare directly at Fierce. The ‘mirror’ has BEEN cracked for quite some time now, but now we see that this huge chunk of glass has fallen out. It’s not a perfect analogy, because Mask’s face there is STILL partly his face, it’s not 100% Fierce’s, but it more the deity’s than his own if that makes any sense at all
Mask WAS blinded in that eye, it was damaged beyond repair, and the nerve damage left him unable to lift his eyelid easily if at all and he struggled to move that side of his face because of how deep the scar tissue went. And the scar isn’t completely gone, however Mask’s face is like, very thinly stretched over Fierce’s beneath it on that part of his face. He can now ‘see’ out of that eye again because it isn’t his at all, the mental connection he has with Fierce just allows him to ‘see’ what Fierce is seeing, he’s basically showing Mask the images he sees at such a fast and immediate rate that Mask’s brain is perceiving it as his own eye. If they were separated, even if Mask’s body stayed how it looks now after this transformation, he would not be able to see out of that eye
‘Can you hear me??’ Fierce demanded, his voice finally ringing clearly enough in his mind that he could make out the words.
‘Yeah,’ Link mumbled, ‘I hear you.’
All the tension in his body seeped out of him, almost as if it hadn’t been his in the first place. 
While the most clear and obvious part of Fierce and Mask becoming a bit more intertwined with each other in both a spiritual and physical sense is Mask’s face, there are some other things that happened because of this transformation that are less visible. Like here, Fierce’s extreme emotion was able to create a very small physical response. Fierce is just contained to this vessel like he is to the wooden mask, he shouldn’t technically have any control over Mask’s body at this point and yet he does. It’s not a whole lot of control, but his worry and fear did cause Mask to express that physically even though those were not Mask’s emotions
‘I thought I killed you,’ the deity groaned. ‘I’ve been calling you for thirty minutes!’
I wrote this, read over it, and then Loki in avengers saying “I’ve been falling for THIRTY. MINUTES!!” came to mind and I laughed SO fucking hard. Like that’s not at all the tone I imagined Fierce saying this in, that’s not how I intended it to come off, but whenever I reread it or go over it, I read it in that same kinda way Loki said it 😭
SERIOUSLY THANK YOU FOR LETTIN ME YAP ABOUT THIS, I HOPE ALL OF THIS MADE SENSE AND WAS COHERENT. I HAVE A LOT OF THOUGHTS ABOUT MY LITTLE BLORBOS AND I SPENT A LOT OF TIME WORKING OUT HOW MASK AND FIERCE WORK AND IT WAS NICE FOR ME TO BE ABLE TO YAP ABOUT IT >:)
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bish-plz-haha · 9 months
Text
Noragami will be the death of me
December 20:
I'm catching up on the Noragami manga and I am dying. My god: I'm on chapter 95 and I'm literally crying. Like, I can't believe Yukine would do that?!? Like, Yukine is absolutely my favourite character in the show - maybe ever honestly - and like, I just can't believe it. I'm utterly speechless. I cant think of words to describe how I'm feeling.
Betrayal
Dejected
Sadness
Anger
Contempt
Confused
Mortified
These are just a few. I just cant believe he would go and do such a thing.
Also, that whole scene where Nora takes Hiyori to Yukine's grave just had me SOBBING. I saw it when it first came out but shit, seeing it again after so long; damn feelings. Shit.
(I will edit this post when I finish the manga - well, to where it is at now. Final chapter is coming next month and I'm stoked for it! Even with how much feelings I feel.)
December 21 (12:00 am):
OH MY GOD YUKINE'S MORTAL NAME (HARUKI) MEANS "Spring Tree" AND HIS SHINKI NAME MEANS "Snow"...
HIS NAMES ARE ON BOTH SIDES! "Snow" being in the season of "death" and "Spring" being the season of "life." His names fit which shore he's living in.
Adachitoka are genius. My goodness.
December 21 (4:24 pm):
OH MY GOD WHAT?!?!?
Okay, I absolutely love seeing Yukine in that beast form. He is badass and I love that.
Hiyori died?!?! But because of the world being false, she didn't ACTUALLY die. I love how Yukine bursting through the cherry blossom petals and Hiyori's shinki vessel came from them as well. That is a very cool parallel.
But my god! That panel showing Yukine laying in that refrigerator surrounded by the petals just absolutely broke my heart. Like, I know he died there, but I didn't actually need to see him laying in it. Why, Adachitoka?!?! Why??? Why do you gotta break my heart as so?
I also wanna say that I loved Yukine curling around young Yato in his beast form: that made my heart very happy. It was so cute!!!! I just wanna take it and print it out and colour it and hang it up. That was one of the most precious things I've ever seen!
Okay; now all I gotta do is wait until next month to get the... last chapter 😭😭😭😭
IM NOT CRYING, YOU ARE!
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Text
valentines day
summary: valentine’s day. the day of chocolate hearts, flowers, budding romance, and heartbreak.
WC: 1.7K
warnings: this is clean
A/N: ALL PARTS UNDER THE TAG -The Byers Harrington Story-
this is version2 of what i original started with but my break caused me to change it. so maybe in the future my version1 of certain stories might be posted, we’ll see obviously.
THANK YOU FOR 300 FOLLOWERS💗💗💗
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February 14, 1985
The house was quiet, the only noise heard through the structure was the mild volume of the TV. Movies and shows playing their romantic scenes, couples going on dates, a guy running through the rain to get the girl before it’s too late or many other romance gestures Hollywood could think of.
No one was in the house, well except for two people, those two people lounging on the couch just staring at the small screen and it was only two-thirty in the afternoon. Jonathan went out earlier since he planned a who day with Nancy, and said something about going to the next town over for dinner or something. Joyce had to work, as usual, she was basically the only employee at Melvard’s, so you wouldn’t see her until later that day. So it was only you and Will.
Steve called earlier and said he’s being held hostage, metaphorically, but also literally. His parents were in town for a few days and he mentioned something about lunch and his father’s work, so you know he wishes to stab himself to leave that situation. So you wouldn’t see your adoring boyfriend until tonight, dinner plans he step up, not Enzo’s he added.
You asked Will what his plans were when you saw he made himself comfy on the worn brown couch, just lounging in his pj's.
“Mike said he’s hanging with El today, followed by Lucas remembering to make plans with Max, so that’s two couples I don’t want to third wheel today.”
“What about Dustin? He doesn’t have a girlfriend.”
His attention moved from the screen to a loose thread he started picking at, “said he was working on a science project or something, and also that he was going with his mom for bingo at her friends.”
You twisted your torso to lean into the cushions, left leg angled on the seat while you face Will, head tilted at his pouting face. You poked a finger into his right thigh for his attention.
“Why don’t we do something? Like we used to do.” It used to be homemade valentine’s day cards with baking brownies or cookies and the final piece, going on a walk down the block and venting to each other.
“Is it only ‘cause Steve can’t come until tonight?” His comment was low, but you heard the sadness in the whispers.
You scooted closer to his, your leg to his thigh, your hands grabbing at his to stop any fidgeting, “Will, you know I love hanging out with you. Just ‘cause I have a boyfriend now doesn’t mean that changes.” With one hand you placed it upon his left cheek and turned his head to completely face you, “you’re my number one guy, always will be. Partners come and go, but my family will come first no matter what.”
You saw his eyes dip away, “hey,” you cooed softly to him, “Will, is something wrong?”
He didn’t even say anything and you knew there was something eating at him, but he was holding back. The only sign was the wetness growing along his lash line, and the tiny bite to his bottom lip.
“Hey, hey, hey.” You moved off the sofa to crouch at his knees, “Will, please, please, tell me if there’s something I can do to help. Or tell me what’s wrong, please, I don’t like seeing you like this.” Your own eyes tearing up and your throat straining.
The tears started to slip from his eyes and down his cheeks, matching stains on both your faces. He still didn’t say anything, only sniffling to stop the snot from dripping. Your fingers drummed along his knees, the physical sign of your nerves.
“Will…”
“I…I like someone…” his voice cracked on the last word, like the thought of them broke his heart.
You released a small sigh, relieved it wasn’t about something horrible, just a middle school crush. Your actions showed your thoughts as you dropped your forehead to rest on your knuckles that still sat on Will’s knees.
“Will…you scared me-” Your light chuckles stopped when you felt his body shaking and looked up to see his face pinched in hurt.
“Will… everything… it’s only a middle school crush.” You tried to comfort him. “You- you don’t… you don’t get it (Y/n).” His stuttered cries cracked your heart.
“Then tell me, explain to me. I was a kid in middle school not too long ago with a crush, I know the pain. I even had elementary crushes, and those hurt me.” A quick flash of middle school you staring longingly at middle school Steve, a kiss shared between you and another girl in your room.
You moved from the floor back to the couch, closer to Will and pulling him in by the shoulders, his head resting on your collarbone. One hand going to tangle in his dark brown strands while the other rubs up and down along his spine to soothe his hiccuped crying.
“Okay, okay. You don’t need to tell me anything right now, but know that you can tell me when you’re ready. I understand the pain of crushes, some of them you can’t have.” His hands clutched at your shirt.
No words were spoken for the next five minutes. Only the sounds of the TV as white noise, Will’s sniffling, quieting, and trailing off as the seconds ticked by. Your hand moved in slow and soothing circles over his shoulder blades while your other hand held the back of his head.
“Do you want some water?” Those were the first words out of your mouth.
Will nodded in acceptance of the offer. You both detangled from each other, limbs sore and bones cracking at the sudden movement. Your footsteps thudded against the hardwood that led into the cool tile of the kitchen. You stood on the tips of your toes and reached for a clean mug before placing it under the faucet. Just as the cup was full and you turned around, the landline blasted its high pitch ringing. A bit of water splashed to the floor due to your jumping at the blaring noise. You exhaled a sigh, placed the mug on the table, and trekked to the ringing phone.
“Hello?”
“Hi, beautiful.” His honey-laced voice greeted you.
A smile tugged at your lips, “Hi, Stevie. How are you doing?”
He huffed at the question which caused a giggle to slip from you, “I wanted to stab my ears so I could block out my dad’s annoying voice and comments. But I’m free now, so can I escape my jail and hide out at your place until dinner tonight?”
You twirled the thick cord ‘round a finger, “as much as I would like to see you, Will kinda needs me right now.” You kept your voice low, and you peeked into the living area to look at Will.
“Is everything okay?” Your heart skipped a tiny beat hearing the worry in Steve’s voice at the mention of Will.
“Yeah, yeah. It’s nothing horrible, just something personal. But I’ll- I’ll call you back when you can come over, or maybe you can come over in like…in like two hours. Is that okay?”
“Yeah, that’s fine. I’ll bring some extra stuff to stay over.”
“Perfect. I wasn’t planning on having you leave at the end of the night anyway, Harrington.” The last name holds an implication in the tone.
“Oh really, Byers. And why is that?” 
“Well-” “Please, god, stop!”
Will was fully facing you from the couch and his face was morphed into a disgusted scowl. You chuckled at his annoyance but knew you should hurry up anyway to get back to him.
“I gotta go. I’ll see you later.”
“Okay, don’t have too much fun without me.”
“That won’t be a problem.” And you hung up.
Will watched you as you came back to the couch, polka-dotted mug in hand.
“So…you wanna- wanna talk about it? Your crush.” Your fingers drummed against the ceramic.
Will took the mug from your grasp and chugged half the fluid before setting it on the table. You weren’t gonna rush him, knowing if you pushed someone in the Byers family to open up, most likely they’ll close themselves off.
So you waited and watched as he picked at the skin around his nails. Saw how his top teeth dug into his bottom lip harshly, blood likely to draw if he went any harder. And just when you were beginning to think he had changed his mind, his voice hiccuped.
“I…I like someone…that someone being...” he started picking harder at his skin, “it’s a- it’s a b-boy…” he trailed off, you almost didn’t hear him with the TV still on.
“Oh. Oh.”
Now you understand his pain and hesitation to tell you. But also you’re just a bit hurt to think he was scared to tell you, you understand where he’s coming from.
“Will, I understand that feeling you’re having. Where your brain is telling you it’s wrong to feel these things for someone of the same sex, but your heart is doing somersaults at just the tiny thought of them, getting to hold their hair, watching them smile at a stupid joke you made, or just looking at you like you’re the only person in the world to them. And- and I know people say it’s wrong an- and immoral or some bullshit that they use religion as an excuse, but there is nothing wrong or disgusting or immoral about loving someone.” 
The silence, along with the tones of dialogue in the background filled the space. Your mouth got a bit dry at the end of your speech, need to make sure you got your point across in one go so Will could speak up at any time. You wanted him to ask questions, get those horrible thoughts out of his head and replace them with a new perspective.
“Do you… do you wish you could be normal? Not have these thoughts? I- I know what you went through…when dad was here.” He was looking at you through his lashes.
“Sometimes,” you sighed, remembering laying awake after getting hit by your dad, “but I would never change that about myself. And you should never think about changing yourself just to fit into the norm.”
You held a hand out, palm up with inviting fingers. It took a second, but Will got the message and linked hands with you. He didn’t say anything further, and you didn’t poke for more information. The two of you just sat in the quiet, knowing that the two of you shared something no one else in the family would understand, your bond growing just a bit more that day with each other.
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buriednurbckyrd · 1 year
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Nothing Stays the Same Forever: Chapter 5
previous
It was difficult to walk to work the next day. She wondered every time anyone glanced at her if they had been at the bar the previous night.  Logically, she knew that no one was paying any attention to her.  She didn’t have much of a relationship with most of the Jackson residents so they probably just knew her in passing.  But she still felt vulnerable and exposed, and by the time she made it to her quiet little work room she was overwhelmed with the wish that she had just stayed home.  Still, now she was there, she had made it.  With a sigh, she began to set up for her day.  
There were a few bags to be looked through that a group had brought back from a scavenging expedition.  She busied herself going through the clothing; sorting what could be washed and used right away, what needed patching or repair, and what was only good for scraps or rags.  It was all in good condition, including several pairs of mens jeans that still had store tags on them.  It was a great find, they rarely came across anything that was still “new” after twenty years of post apocalyptic living.  
After taking everything to the laundry and starting a few loads in the washers she was startled when she ran, quite literally, into Ellie who was coming out of her work room as she was going back in. 
“I’m so sorry!”  She said, when she realized what had just happened.  
“S’no worry,” the girl said.  “I wasn’t paying attention.”  
“Were you looking for me?”  Y/N asked, gesturing at the doorway.  Ellie nodded and followed her inside.  
“Wanted to make sure you were okay.”  The girl stuck her hands in her pockets and scuffed her boots against the floor.  “Heard people talkin’.”  Y/N felt her heart drop into her stomach.  She sat down and scrubbed her hands over her face.  
“I was afraid of that.  Word spreads fast I guess.”  
“It’s mostly about Joel.”  Ellie told her.  “Some of the kids at school heard he killed a guy.”  
“What?” Y/N’s head snapped up in shock.
“Of course he didn’t,” she rolled her eyes.  “Tommy told me what really happened.  Didn’t want to, but he did anyway.  Joel just broke the guy's arm, but people are idiots.”  Y/N’s breath caught in her throat.  He broke his arm?  Ellie must have seen her confused expression.  “Oh, I guess you didn’t know that.”  She shook her head.  
“I didn’t.  I left pretty quickly.”  Ellie hopped up to sit on the work table, nudging Y/N’s knee with the toe of her boot.  
“But you know why Joel got so mad.  Tommy wouldn’t tell me but he let it slip you were there with him.”  
“Please, Ellie.  I really don’t want to talk about it.”  Just thinking about last night had tears prickling at the back of her eyes.  
“Well… The thing is,”  Ellie began, sounding uncomfortable.  “It’s my fault.”  
“Huh?  You weren’t there, of course it’s not.”  The girl chewed at her thumb nail.  
“I cut the lining in Joel’s coat.  So he would have to come see you.”  More confusion
rolled around in her head.  She thought back to the jacket, and how the seam had looked like it had been cut, instead of ripped like most of the repair jobs she received.  
“Why?” 
“Because he looks at you, watches for you.  And he listens when Maria or Tommy talk about you like he’s interested.  He pretends he isn’t but he is.”  Y/N didn’t know how to respond, too many thoughts happening all at once.  
“It still isn’t your fault, sweetheart.” She finally said.  “You didn’t make anyone say those horrible things to me.”  
“Ah-HA!”  Ellie jumped down.  “I knew it was something about you!  See?  Joel likes you and he like, defended your honor.  Like those dudes in your books.  But you got hurt and if I hadn’t ripped his stupid coat you wouldn’t have.”  Her fists clenched at her sides.  
“Ellie, sweetie,” she sighed.  “It would have happened sooner or later.  It’s something I’ve dealt with my whole life.  Maybe I thought Jackson would be a different kind of place, but the fact is there are folks that are gonna be nasty no matter where I go.”  She took one of Ellie’s hands into her own and loosened the girl’s fingers.  “You don’t need to carry that on your shoulders.”
“I heard Tommy tell Maria you looked so sad and hurt.  I would have broken more than that guy’s arm.”  For the first time since the whole ugly incident, Y/N laughed.  
“You know I really like you, kid.”  
“You don’t hate me?”
“Nah.  Can’t hate someone when they wanna break bones because some dumb guy was mean to you.”  Ellie’s face broke into a lopsided smirk.  
“Does that mean you like Joel?”  Busted.  
“You’re really sneaky.”  Ellie just shrugged and smirked more.  “I guess it does.  Is that okay with you?”  Another shrug.
“I mean, he’s grumpy as fuck and kinda old but I’m not stoppin’ ya.”  Y/N laughed again, and gave Ellie’s hand a gentle squeeze.  
She ended up working until all of the found clothing was washed, sorted, labeled, and stored.  Ellie had left her with a tangled web of thoughts, doubts, and confusion.  What did she mean that he looked at her?  Joel was nearly always on high alert, he watched everyone.  She couldn’t help but wonder if the teenager was setting her up, and the intrusive thoughts shamed her.  Ellie was rough around the edges, but she wasn’t malicious.  Still lost in her own swirling mind, she tidied up and left.  
The days were growing longer as spring edged winter out of Wyoming but it was still mostly dark for her walk home.  The dining hall was still crowded with people, so despite the hunger rumbling in her belly she decided against going there for dinner.  What if the man from last night was there?  She couldn’t stand the idea of running into him.  She was sure she had some bread and cheese left in her kitchen so turning away from the busy town center she started her commute back home.  
It was quiet on the street.  Some of the homes had lights on but they were mostly dark and silent.  She stopped in the road for a moment and looked up into the clear evening sky, the moon was only a sliver, but the stars were endless, and would only grow brighter as darkness fell more completely.  Something about the sight relaxed her, and she felt most of the tension of the last twenty four hours drop away.  Jackson was different, it wasn’t just like every other place in her life.  It wasn’t a cutthroat city, moving so fast you couldn’t stop even for a moment to take a breath.  It wasn’t a rapidly crumbling world, dissolving into disease and war.  It definitely wasn’t the QZ, full of men abusing their positions of power.  Jackson wasn’t perfect, but it was somewhere she was safe enough to pause and look up at the night sky to drink in its beauty.  
“‘Evening.”  Joel’s low voice called out from his porch.  She turned from the stars and smiled at him, leaning against a post and looking every bit the rugged cowboy from a story.  
“Hi.”  She noticed he was by himself.  “Ellie out with her friends?”  
“Movie night.”  For some reason his brief answers charmed her.  She really did like the man.  
“She came by to visit today.”  Y/N took a few steps towards him.  
“Yeah?”  She nodded.
“Had some interesting things to tell me.”  
“Did she?”
“Mmm-hmm.  Apparently that asshole left the bar with a broken arm.”  Joel’s stance went from relaxed to arms crossed across his broad chest.  
“Told you.  He got what he deserved.”  She stopped at the porch step, and tipped her head back to look up at him.  
“You know…no one’s ever stood up for me before.  I mean, I did my best before the world went to shit, but people like that…they like it when you react.  They want to see you get upset, so they know they have some kind of power over you.”  
“People like that are weak.”  His voice was hard.  “Gonna give me a hard time for bustin’ that guy’s arm?”  He looked ready for an argument.  
“No.”  Joel hadn’t expected that response.  
“Hmm.”  
“I don’t usually like violence, I’ve seen enough of it the last twenty years.  But I do like
you, Joel.”  The look in her eyes hit him hard and almost knocked him back on his heels.  “Ellie seems to think you like me too.”  She watched the muscle in his jaw tick.  
“She tell you that?”  
“Well, she says you look at me.”  
“You’re friends with my brother and his wife, you’re around.  Be rude to not look at you.”  
“So you asked me for a drink to be polite.”  He grunted.
“Not what I said.”  
“What are you saying, Joel?”  
“Why do you keep sayin’ my name like that?”  She put one foot up on the step.  
“Like what, Joel?” He gripped her arm and hauled her up to his level, but then seemed to regret the action and let her go like she had burned him. 
“I didn’t mean to…Sorry.”  He took a step backwards.  
“Joel.”  She reached out and touched his wrist.  “You don’t frighten me.”  
“I should.”  He looked at her with blazing eyes.  “You don’t know what I’ve done.”  She nodded in agreement.
“You’re right, I don’t.  But you don’t know what I’ve done either, what I’ve had to do to survive.”  Her right hand clenched and relaxed a few times at her side.  “I’m not here to ask you about what you had to do, and I’m sure as hell not ready to tell you everything about my past either.”  
“Then what are you here for?”  
“Just you.”  She looked down, suddenly shy.  “If you want me to be here, anyway.”  He lifted her chin with his finger.  
“I hate to prove that girl right,”  he said quietly.  “But I do.”  Y/N couldn’t help the nervous giggle that bubbled up in her throat.  
“Well here I am.”  Joel nodded and drew her closer.  
“You really are breathtaking, sweetheart.”
“I want to believe that,” she murmured.  “I’m trying to.”  She could see him looking at her lips, his tongue flashed out and wet his own.  “Please, Joel.” Her whispered plea broke him and he pressed his mouth softly against hers.  She clung to him like a burr, and for a brief moment he felt like a young man again, like they were just two ordinary people sharing a sweet first kiss on a spring evening.  It scared him, but the fear couldn’t overpower his desire to sink further into her embrace.  Something about this timid woman had wrapped around his heart and he didn’t want to try and unravel it.  After all he’d been through, maybe it was time he let himself finally try to find a little peace.  He gently pulled away and stroked his thumb over her neck where his hand had come to rest.  
“Would you like to come in?”  He asked her.  She smiled at him with a dreamy look in her eyes.  
“I’d like to say yes…”  
“But?”  He braced himself for rejection.  She cupped his cheek.  
“I’ve never…done this before.”  She felt her face heat up with embarrassment when she 
saw the meaning of her words sink in.  “I need a little time.”  He looked lost, like for the first time in a long time he couldn’t pretend he knew exactly what to do.  Y/N tugged him back down and kissed him again.  “Ask me again.  Maybe tomorrow.”  Joel’s lips quirked up in a half smile.  
“I can do that.”
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ladyelainehilfur · 5 months
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Hey! I'm SOOO behind on unOrdinary, but I came across your post about just sending asks. The series is SO well done, and the characters all tug on my heart in different ways 💖💖💖
it literally is so well done 🔥🔥🔥 I've been reading it since 2017 and aside from a few arcs (*cough*joker*cough*), it's been a massively steady and entertaining thing to look forward to every week. I really have to appreciate uruchan's storytelling abilities! Even from the earliest chapters, you could see her setting down the bread crumbs about Ember, the officials, Vaughn and Keene, etc. Now that we're finally delving into the world outside Wellston as the students fight it, her writing shines even more!
I love the new characters she's introduced like Kuyo and Kassandra (my fave adults) and it makes me so happy to see the Wellston royals actually getting along 😭 cuz I don't know about y'all, but if John smashed my face into the concrete and broke my arm and generally effed me up, I would NOT be forgiving him. You could argue some of them deserved it, but regardless, having them all unified as this passionate team who want change while still having their individual goals has been exciting to watch come together. Love this series so much :')
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freedomfireflies · 7 months
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Hiiihello 👋. Finally caught up on insufferable you, and let me just say…. I’m obsessed with this fic concept. You so beautifully allow each character to explore their place in the dynamic, and the tension that we’re seeing at the moment is so natural as they adjust (or struggle to adjust, in some cases) to the new dynamic. Like in some ways, I’m actually so grateful that Rebecca and H are settled into this 5 year relationship, because I think there would be so much more unease if everything new with Kitten was compounded by Rebecca and H still figuring out their own thing. Instead, we have Rebecca who is an absolute LEGEND. So warmly inviting Kitten into the dynamic, sort of guiding the way with teasing H about the intimate moments, revealing how their relationship works. Honestly Rebecca is top tier and they’re both lucky to have her!
And of course, it is so natural for Kitten to be jealous and nervous and settling in. She’s been monogamous for her prior relationships, and suddenly there’s someone else spending time with her crush/ partner. It broke my heart a little when she was trying to rush off the phone at the beginning because H was with Rebecca and has plans, even when she apologised for calling so early. Almost as if she only “has him” when he’s in her space or physically with him, whereas H was trying to take care of his girl and show her all of the other ways he could be hers even when es not there. I just thing that moment was so responsible of him, both the checking in post scene but also trying to care for her as she struggles to adapt to this newness.
And of course, the jealousyyyy. I’m glad H can admit it was hypocritical for him not to want her to call Ethan when he has Rebecca, but we have to remember this is new to him as well. We know he has shared Rebecca with other relationships previously, but so soon after they got together? Maybe not. And maybe (we hope) he’s feeling maybe some new things for Kitten which makes his struggle a little harder. I mean, we know I love a bit of angst and I see that coming sooooon if this Ethan bit does come in. In this chapter, H literally said he knew Kitten didn’t have any other plans because she tells him so much, and so what about when he asks to meet up and she says he can’t because she actually has plans?! And he’ll realise what she means and it will be a whole “oh…oh” moment. I will be HOWLING. And I can see him sulkily being like “can we do something Tuesday or is that Ethan’s night too?”. This man is about to get jealous on a whole new level. And maybe a bit petty as well, if he doesn’t agree with Ethan’s date choices (“he brought you to a horror film? As if, you hate those things. Here, why don’t we go see X film to make up for his horrible taste?”).
Lastly I just want to say that I have seen the other asks who were not comfortable with this dynamic and I think you had very respectful responses back. It’s true that this dynamic will not be for everyone, but that is why authors notes and warning tags exist. I personally am not so into fantasy themes, so when I see an author posting a new fantasy fic, I just done read it. I have no doubts the writing is excellent, I just know personally it won’t be for me. So I do hope you continue to write this fic, as myself and others are so invested to see what happens next. As I said up top, you’ve given each character their time to explore the dynamic and I think that’s a beautiful thing.
Sorrrry this is ridiculously long, I just had ✨thoughts✨. What was your favourite line from this chapter?
No because you don't understand, I just sat here staring at my phone with tears pouring down my cheeks over this because this is so incredibly sweet and kind and MY HEART IS GOING TO BURST???
Thank you so much for reading and for taking the time to say such wonderfully kind and crazy insightful things!!!! ALSO BC "Or is that Ethan's night, too?" THE WAY I FUCKING HOWLED OH MY GOD can I please steal this bc now I need him to be that bitter alsfjdf
I cannot thank you enough for reading and sending this, like I literally feel SPEECHLESS right now?? You have no idea, I'm actually going to think about this all week??? You absolutely got everything I was hoping would convey in the story and I'm 🥹
THIS IS SUCH A FUN AND GOOD QUESTION ILY!! Honestly......I don't remember any of the lines anymore so I had to go look HAHAH but!! I think I'd have to say, "If I don’t put a bit of distance between us…I don’t think I’ll ever be able to breathe on my own.” because I feel like it perfectly explains her reasoning and her feelings in this part! She's scared by how much she's starting to care for him and she knows this dynamic isn't sustainable when he doesn't feel the same way!
BUT ALSO ALL THE FUNNY ONES WHERE SHE SAYS SHE PREFERS HIM HARD ALSO HAD ME LAUGHING AT MY OWN JOKES AT LIKE 2 IN THE MORNING SO MAYBE THAT TOO HAHA
Thank you again so much for this, I'm.....still at a loss for words and I appreciate this more than you know!!!
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