#and I totally forgot about what had happened in last chapter

[sweettea-and-honeybutter]

Take You There II

Song that inspired this chapter...

A/N: Whewwww thank you for your patience 🥲💕 um I actually don't know what's happening to me but im actually enjoying? writing a slow burn?!? I just really love what's happening here in their little world. The whole story is inspired by HER's Take You There, but I love music so much not to have a different song on replay for every chapter I write. As always your feedback, likes, and rebloggs are so appreciated 🥰

Pairing: Terry Richmond x Reign Adisa (black female OC)

Warning: its a smidge explicit in the beginning, but other than that its a steamy, slightly angsty fluff

Word Count: 5,791 🥴

Part 1 Part 3 Part 4

Chapter 2

Reign tried to divide her attention evenly between her chatty client explaining her plans for an anime sleeve, and the fine details she was trying to capture on the girl's bicep. Her 19th birthday was right around the corner and Reign had the pleasure of giving her her first tattoo, a cute black cat from Sailor Moon that showed up beautifully on her tan skin. But if she were completely honest, her mind was also distracted with persistent thoughts of one Terry Richmond.

He texted her a few hours after he’d left, asking her to give him a list of places she liked and he’d pick one to take her too, still wanting to surprise her but needing to be pointed in the right direction being so new to the area. She didn’t expect him to keep up the conversation after that, but he texted her all night and day. His texts were short and straight forward, even when complimenting her scent and noting how it lingered on his clothing. But he was consistent and inquisitive and she liked it, knowing he was much warmer in person. 

Reign went through the motions of wrapping her client’s tattoo, nodding along as the woman gushed over how perfectly she’d captured Luna’s personality. But Reign’s focus kept slipping—an almost electric feeling humming in her chest, like a live wire sparking whenever she thought of Terry. After her last client left, he’d be there to pick her up. The thought of being close to him again—close enough to catch that smile that seemed like it was meant just for her, to fall into those eyes whose intensity shifted like the sky before a storm—made her heart race in a way she hadn’t ever felt before. She’d been attracted to plenty of men and women alike, but the anticipation of discovering everything there is to know about Terry had her buzzing with energy.

Reign walked her client to the door, trying her hardest not to rush the oblivious girl, and as soon the door shut behind her, Reign turned and sprinted to the bathroom, eager to freshen up and change clothes for the night. She shot Terry a quick text letting him know to come on in when he gets there and proceeds to strip out of her comfy clothes. She reapplied the tonka bean body butter she’d put on earlier today fresh out of her morning shower, and then hit all the warm areas on her skin with her signature jasmine perfume, hoping that throughout the night her scent wafts to Terry's nose every time his gaze makes her body flush. 

All the places she’d sent Terry were pretty lowkey, so she kept her outfit for the night simple-a black linen button down paired with a forest green suede skirt, a black belt with a gold buckle, and knee high black boots with a sturdy heel that was comfortable to walk in. She began putting on the layers of her fit, panicking when she realized she packed her nice lace panties and totally forgot to grab the matching bra. She turned her duffle bag upside down grumbling to herself “..my titties are too big for this shit” as she frantically looked through all the belongings she’d brought with her knowing she wouldn't have time to go back home after work. Still rummaging through her clothes, she heard her front door chime, opening and closing softly. Quiet steps moved around her studio and she cursed under her breath, still topless while quickly zipping her skirt up and clearing her throat.

“Um Terry?” she hated how loud and high her voice came out, it echoed around the tiny bathroom and she could hear the nerves in her shrill tone.

“Reign.” his deep voice sounded close, and amused, and it sent goosebumps traveling up her body.

“I-I’ll be out in just a second!” 

She hurriedly shrugged on her shirt, buttoning it and stylishly tucked it into her skirt. Her racing thoughts drowned out any response he might’ve given from the other side of the door. The soft material brushed her skin, and she sighed as her nipples peaked, prominent against the fabric. She’d been aiming for a cutesy vibe, something mindful and demure as the youngins would say. The snug fit of her blouse told a totally different story. 

After a moment’s hesitation, she undid the top three buttons, letting the fabric fall open just enough to reveal the soft swell of her cleavage. The look suddenly felt intentional, the perfect balance of bold and effortless. She bit her lip, glancing at her reflection; it was daring, different, but she couldn’t deny that she looked damn good. With no time left to second-guess herself, she added a few simple accessories, winged liner, mascara, and gathered her braids into a playful half-up, half-down style.

~~~~~~~~

Reign danced around all of Terry’s thoughts since he walked into her world. He truly intended for this tattoo to be a sweet reminder of the bond he shared with his cousin, and while it did serve that purpose, he can’t deny how his mind instantly goes to Reign whenever he looks at it. The gentle way she’d look up at him every so often while she worked, the way she quietly held space for him to unload the grief he carried, her sympathetic affection somehow coaxing him to be open when he’d vowed to close himself off from the rest of the world—he didn't yet have the words to tell her how much that moment meant to him.

Terry knew he was a goner the moment he caught himself grinning at her texts. He didn’t always know what to say, but he didn’t care—he just wanted to be in her thoughts, to have her thinking of him as much as he was thinking of her. Bit by bit, he was learning the quirks that made her who she was. She was a surprisingly animated texter, dropping memes and emojis that made him laugh harder than he’d expected. She had a sweet tooth, a green thumb, and a case of insomnia, which he discovered only after he’d fallen asleep trying to respond to something funny she’d sent at two in the morning. Each new detail felt like a tiny gift, pulling him in deeper than he’d ever planned.

The next day in the early afternoon he headed to the gym to burn off some of his restless energy. He wasn’t exactly nervous, just eager to see her again. A lightness had crept into him that he hadn’t felt in years, a tentative hopefulness about this new city and all it could bring. He reminded himself not to get attached to any particular outcome with her, promising to stay present, to let things unfold naturally. But already, he knew she wasn’t someone he wanted to experience lightly. He wanted to savor every moment, to truly explore who she was, layer by layer.

That thought alone had his desire for her spreading throughout his being like a wildfire. He caught himself wondering if her skin was as soft as it looked, feeling a need to trace his fingers over each tattoo she wore and memorize every curve of her body. She was so beautiful, yet somehow guarded beneath that serene aura. She seemed to move through life unfazed, as if no one could intrude on the calm she’d carved out for herself. Her quiet self-assurance was so enticing to him, and he hoped she’d keep letting him close enough to discover all that she was.

Reign gave him a good variety of places they could go to tonight, little did she know that in due time he planned to go to each of those places with her. But for the night he chose the modern looking food hall because it had so many appetizing options for them to try, and plenty of cozy seating options where he could have her all to himself—no persistent waiters interrupting their conversations, no noisy couples sat too closely to them, he could practically have her all to himself.

The sun was setting as Terry showered, and he wondered if he’d ever get the chance to have Reign in this steamy space with him. He needed to have a clear head when he was with her, needed to have self control to patiently wait for her to let him in. So he leaned back against the warm tile and stroked himself, groaning at the memory of her elusively dark eyes and the idea of tasting the plump lips she chewed on insistently. He let his fantasies guide his hands, thrusting into his fist faster and faster as they became more vivid. Terry cursed and came at the mental image of her writhing under him moaning his name. As he caught his breath and finished his shower he hoped that was enough to keep his thoughts tame for the rest of the night.

Terry dressed quickly, eager to see his—no, to see Reign. He shrugged into a black polo, leaving the top button open, the shirt framing his muscles in a way he hoped would have her eyeing him like she did yesterday, when she thought he wasn’t looking. Dark jeans and black Off-White sneakers completed the fit, and he sprayed cologne over every place he imagined her lips brushing. Grabbing his leather jacket, keys, wallet, and the plant he’d picked up for her earlier, he left his apartment in a hurry, heart already a step ahead.

~~~~~~~

“Okay, whew! Sorry you had to wait! I left something at home, and—” Reign came rushing out of the bathroom, words tumbling to a stop as she spotted Terry leaning back against a chair, one arm draped casually behind him, the other hand resting in his pocket.

They paused, eyes dragging slowly over one another, each undressing the other in their minds. Reign noticed his gray eyes darkening to a stormy, sinful shade, his easy grin widening as he took in her outfit. She couldn't help notice the way the muscles in his thighs flexed as he straightened to his full height, letting out a low whistle.

“Well, don’t you look nice, pretty Reign.” Terry didn’t miss the slight wobble in her step as she closed the space between them. His gaze traced over every detail, his mouth watering at the familiar sweetness of her perfume.

“Yeah,” she breathed, stopping just in front of him and tilting her head up with a soft smile, “you clean up nice too, soldier.” His eyes flicked from her glossed lips back to those warm brown eyes, and he fought the urge to lean in and taste her right there.

Terry pulled himself from his thoughts, his voice soft as he said, “I got something for you.” With a small smile, he revealed the Calathea he’d been hiding behind his back, and Reign’s pretty eyes went wide behind her glasses, a look of genuine delight spreading across her face. The bag she was holding dropped with a careless thud as she gingerly took the beautiful plant into her hands.

“Holy shit!” she whispered, stepping back to admire it more fully, her voice bright with excitement. Terry couldn’t help but feel a spark of pride, knowing he’d chosen well.

"I don’t know anything about plants,” he admitted with a grin, “but I wanted to get you something unique and beautiful… this one felt like you.”

Reign’s smile, wide and warm, made his mind go blank for a moment, and made his dick twitch awake unbeknownst to her. Her hand found his, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“I love it! I shall call her Maria!” she said, grinning as she skipped over to her desk, carefully setting the plant down under the warm glow of a lamp. He watched her every movement, eyes glued to the sway of her hips and the soft gleam of her exposed skin. When she finally turned back to him, her eyes sparkled, and his chest tightened at his growing feelings for her.

Terry cleared his throat to dissipate the emotion in his voice and picked up her bag, ever the gentleman. He turned his large body halfway towards the door saying “I’m ready when you are.” and Reign nodded happily, turning off lights here and there as she walked past him and he followed a few steps behind, trying not to crowd her space but feeling he was unable to escape the gravitational pull of her aura. She gave her studio one last glance before she opened the door for them, turning to lock up her space and jumping slightly at the feeling of Terry’s large hand on her hip. His touch was warm and grounding, and she let him pull her into his side towards his sleek matte gray BMW x6 M.

~~~~~~~

The drive to Lyric Market was brief but felt like an eternity for Reign. She couldn’t sit still, the scent of his cologne enveloping the car—woody, slightly spicy, and irresistibly masculine. Every breath made her squirm as she fought the urge to melt into a puddle right beside him. When he shot her a curious look, she could only manage a tight smile, acutely aware of her lack of subtlety but unable to play it off.

Terry handed her his unlocked phone, declaring her the DJ for the ride. As the melodic vocals of Sinead Harnett filled the air, Reign let the music express what her tongue couldn't. She watched him with yearning eyes as he reached one long arm toward her, hesitatingly hovering over her thigh before finally resting his hand on the exposed skin just below the hem of her skirt. He didn’t apply any pressure, merely grazing his thumb in mindless circles, affirming his earlier thought that she was as soft as she looked. Reign felt warmth pooling between her legs, almost overwhelming, and she bit her lip, glancing out the window and reminding herself to breathe.

Sensing he might be crossing a line, Terry began to retract his hand, but before he could pull away, she gently covered his with her own, their fingers entwining and remaining that way for the rest of the fifteen-minute drive.

~~~~~~~

Reign inhaled the crisp night air deeply as soon as he opened her door, finally easing her mind away from the depraved movies of them playing in her head. Terry gave her one of his fleeting smiles as he returned his hand to her hip, gripping her tighter when he thought she shivered from the chilly air. 

“I’m so happy you chose the food hall!” Terry was finding it hard to look anywhere else that wasn’t Reign. His gaze was intently on her as they walked in, watching her eyes dance under the bright lights as she told him of the waffles from this one place here that she’d been thinking about all day. 

He leaned his head down closer to hers as they walked towards the restaurant, unable to stop himself as his lips grazed the shell of her ear, 

“I couldn’t get you out of my head this whole day, and you’re telling me all you could think of is-” he paused dramatically, voice dropping to an impossibly deeper octave, “waffles?”

His incredulous tone made Reign snort out a laugh, giving him a cheeky smile as she just barely gave him a side eye.

“You haven’t tried these Terry. The magnificence of the Belgium waffle will change your life!” He doubted it, but he wasn’t going to ruin her fun. 

“I’ll try some of yours then, I think I’m feeling ramen for myself tonight.” Reign just nodded and stepped up to the iPad at the counter to place her order. Terry’s hand moved up her hip, to her back, playing with her hair while he looked around the place for them to sit. He turned his attention back to her when felt her start to remove her tiny purse from her shoulder, and he scoffed, gently moving her out of the way so he could pay for her food. 

“I don’t even know why you brought that like I was gonna let you pay for your food when I asked you out.” his displeased voice almost sounded like a growl and Reign found that deeply amusing. 

“Well I didn’t want to assume, but thank you Terry.” He nodded and grabbed her hand, guiding her towards the ramen spot while her order was being made. It was her turn to observe him under the bright lights in the building. His warm hazelnut complexion created a beautiful contrast where he held her hand, and she admired how their outfits uncannily complemented each other. The wide expanse of his back moved confidently as he walked, and she wondered what it’d be like to wrap her legs around him, if her thighs would get fatigued from squeezing because he was just that wide. 

Reign didn’t really hear anything he said to the restaurant worker as he ordered, too lost in her head imagining that deep voice saying all sorts of nasty things to her. She stood close behind him, feminine frame being concealed behind his massive body, so it’s no surprise the young woman behind the counter didn’t see her, and flirted shamelessly with Terry. 

Terry looked absolutely bored as he listed off the things he wanted, growing more irritated by the second and Reign was none the wiser, eyes trailing down to his ass because really, what else was she to do back there? Once he paid, Terry turned away from the worker who lacked all decorum, rejecting the receipt that had her number on it, and looked down at Reign who had the cutest caught expression on her face. His face softened as he pulled her a little ways away from the restaurant but positioned her so she could be seen, and he swallowed a laugh at the way the worker huffed and walked away. 

They waited for their food and talked about their day. He listened attentively, loving how passionately she spoke of her work. He wanted to touch her as she spoke of all the tattoos she did that day, but he noticed outside of her studio, she moved a lot, kind of slowly swaying to some beat in her head as she talked. The subtle shift of her skirt, and the swell of her breasts moving beneath her shirt, was hypnotizing, and he hung onto her every word.

They got their food and he carried it for them, leading them upstairs to a high backed booth that faced away from the other patrons and activity. They sat so close to each other their thighs touched, and neither of them minded. Terry was just taking out his chopsticks when his ears were blessed with the most wanton moan, and he looked down at Reign, his eyes round and mouth hanging open slightly. 

Reign admittedly forgot where she was, as soon as she took a bite of her waffled monte Cristo. She’s just now realizing she’d been too distracted to remember to eat much today, and the sweet and savory combination on her taste buds made everything else fade away. Yes, even Terry himself. 

“Mmhmm, that’s what I wanted.” She was too hungry to be embarrassed, too far gone in her ecstasy to be modest about her pleasure. Reign slowly blinked her eyes open, chewing carefully to savor every bite and looked over at Terry with a dopey smile. 

His unnerving stillness made her freeze. She’d never seen his eyes so dark, and his upper body was slightly leaning over her, his head cocked to the side so he could peer at her face, not wanting to miss a single second of her. She brushed some of her braids from her face, her smile turning sheepish. 

“Sorry, I am staaaarving” she tried to make light of the moment with her tone, trying to ignore the hungry look in his eyes so she, herself, didn’t lose all self control. “Try some!”

He didn’t say anything, just watched her cut him a piece, and opened his mouth obediently when she brought the food up to his lips. Her eyes were glued to his mouth as his tongue darted out to lick powdered sugar from his bottom lip, and she couldn’t help how her fingers grazed his jaw lightly when she pulled her hand back.  

He closed his eyes finally and moaned much quieter, breathing deeply, not at the taste of the food, although it was good, but at the amount of restraint he was exerting. He wanted to eat her right on the table. In due time he was telling himself. He swallowed, exhaled, and opened his eyes playfully sizing her up. 

“Yeah that was life changing pretty Reign.” He turned to his food, and began eating, leaving her to watch his prominent jaw as he chewed his own food, as if they both weren’t dangerously close to causing a scene just moments ago. 

The rumble in her tummy brought her back to her plate, and she continued to eat happily, more aware and mindful of her volume. He finished much faster than she did, and she insisted that he share her fries with her. He wrapped an arm around her, playing with the edge of her skirt and she commented on physical touch being his love language. 

“Hmm I think all of them would be my love language for the right person” he fed her a fry and continued “I assume your main one is words of affirmation?”

Reign gave him a funny look. “You calling me a yapper?” And he barked out a surprised laugh.

“No Reign, it was just a guess” she rolled her eyes half heartedly pushing her empty plate away.

“Nah the truth is out pretty boy, now you need to buy me a drink to get back in my good graces” he laughed at her again as he stood and pulled her up out of the booth. He was about to lead her to the bar when she stopped him.

“Nope, over here.” And she dragged him, he purposefully let his feet become heavy because watching her struggle was amusing, over to a place where they could get milkshakes. 

“Your sweet tooth is insatiable pretty girl” she smiled up at him and asked for strawberry and offered to split it with him, and he got the clichéd 2 straws. They sat on the diner style barstools and passed the milkshake back and forth, talking about all sorts of things. 

She told him about her plans to soon share her studio with more artists, and her dreams of hosting community events there. He admitted to feeling a bit lost, but determined to find more purpose for his life after everything that happened. They asked each other so much as the time pleasantly passed. She avoided answering questions about past relationships, and he avoided questions about his family.

Sudden thunder booming outside made her jump and caused Terry to pull her close to him, losing his train of thought at her hand on his chest, right over his racing heart. Reign groaned looking toward the front door. 

“I forgot I walked to work today, I don’t remember rain being in the forecast” Terry tried not to look too eager at that. 

“You know I gotchu” he pulled her up out of her seat and gently tugged her skirt down from where it slid up her thick thighs, “I can take you home.”

~~~~~~~

The rain was relentless outside. They were so consumed by each other earlier, they didn’t even realize how much it was coming down.  Reign invited Terry inside, not yet ready for him to leave despite how late it was, and he followed her inside telling himself he’d be on his best behavior for her.

Her place was cozy and inviting, much like her studio, and smelled just as sweet as her. She had an apartment on the third floor, the complex nestled against a wooded area, giving her place an almost treehouse feel to it. He watched her move comfortably around her home, dick growing hard unsurprisingly at the domestically of it all.

He heard a little bell jingle and watched a small orange cat with a polka dot bow tie collar trot towards him from down the hall. 

“I forgot to ask you if you like cats! That’s Kento, he’s very sweet.” Reign smiled fondly at the fluffy little thing she loved so much,  and observed Terry crouch down to let Kento smell his hand. After he apparently passed the vibe check, he picked the kitty up and held him in the palm of his hand, chuckling at the loud purrs leaving it. 

“Kento huh? I might steal you away in my pocket” Reigned faked a gasp and snatched her son back, setting him down on his palm tree shaped cat tree.

“You’ve been on my mind all day, and all you want to do is kidnap my only child from me?” she mocked his tone from earlier, making her voice comically deep.

He stood to his full height, casually putting his hands in his pockets and walking around her chairs in her living room not looking at her as he states “that's not all I want to do Reign.”

She swallowed from where she stood by her patio door, watching him drift closer to her as he looked at all her things. He finally stopped in front of her, a playful seriousness on his face as he asked her “what are you hiding out there?” He tilted his head at her patio and she reached behind her to open the door. 

The rain slowed and the thunder was slowly rolling away from them, the trees by her balcony preventing her patio from getting wet, and she turned on the twinkling fairy lights that adorned her railing. She had soft turf covering the cement, and lush hanging plants gently swinging near a wide outdoor sofa. Terry sat down and spread his arms across the back of the chair, looking up at her, looking straight out of a fantasy. She stood with her back to the railing, not sure what to do under such an intense gaze. 

“Oh um-” her voice came out high and she cleared her throat, trying to calm her nerves, “how’s your new piece holding up?” she gestured to his chest, and he grinned, dropping his arms to unbutton the rest of his polo.

“You tell me.” She was helpless to fight the command in his deep voice, its timbre drawing her near as she sat next to him, placing a hand on his broad thigh to brace herself as she leaned up towards him. Her heart thundered like the night sky as she used her other hand to move his shirt. Terry watched her like a cat would a mouse, hungry and patient. She gave him a proud little smile, knowing he was following all her aftercare instructions seeing as how it looked really good still. 

“It looks great” she looked up at him and her breath caught in her throat. They were so close now, and Terry couldn’t help but lick his lips at the sight of her-lids heavily half concealing her dark eyes, and her smell so intoxicatingly sweet, and her touch burning his thigh damn near setting his body on fire. 

“Words can’t express how much I appreciate you for yesterday Reign.” His eyes danced between hers and her lips, and he brought his big hand up to cup her jaw, using his thumb to graze her bottom lip. 

“May I?” She didn't fully know what Terry meant, nor did she care; her answer was already a hurried, breathless nod.

He groaned when their lips finally met. He fucking knew it, her lips were plush and soft, her gloss tasted so sweet, and that damn jasmine scent invaded his senses, making him feel drunk off her. 

And Reign. She felt like she was drowning in the energy of the moment. The once calm waters of her soul were surging forward as if the levee broke. She put all of her longing into that kiss, didn’t even know she wanted him this badly until this very second. She moaned, the hand on his thigh gripping tightly now, anchoring herself to him, and her other hand fisting his shirt trying to pull him impossibly closer. 

Terry’s hand on her jaw moved to the back of her head and tugged her braids just enough to tilt her head up more, prompting her to open her mouth, inviting her with his tongue to take everything she needed from him, sighing into her letting her know that he was ready and willing to be consumed completely. 

Reign just couldn’t get close enough, moaning more desperately at the feel of his teeth softly tugging her bottom lip. She boldly threw her leg over his lap, shifting to straddle him. Terry all but growled into the kiss that had turned overwhelmingly lustful, and his hands had a mind of their own, grabbing generous handfuls of her round ass, her skirt up around her waist forgotten as she broke the kiss to breathe. 

She threw her head back, hair now a messy halo around her and she moaned again, grinding her ruined panties on the imposing bulge in his pants. Terry’s hips bucked up into her, fingertips squeezing the softness of her ass, and he left bruising kisses down her neck, needing her to take more and more of him. 

“Terry” the way she moaned his name, voice beautifully deep and breathless, was a shock to his system, as if cold ice water had been poured down his back. He inhaled sharply, hands moving to hold her back tightly, stilling her movements.

A scary thought flashed in his mind, she’s too good to be true. Terry doesn’t like the turn his mind is taking, he inhales again, soothing his hands along her back as she whimpered above him trying to understand through the haze of desire fogging her mind.

All of this is too good to be true, what did you do to deserve this? Terry fought hard to stay present, to ground himself in the moment, but now so many thoughts were shouting at him, demanding to ruin this fucking beautiful moment. He rested his forehead against her neck, feeling her pulse slow as she tentatively rubbed his shoulders. He groaned, defeated.

“I want you so badly, Reign.” His body was so tense and holding on to her so tightly, she wanted to reassure him that she wants him too, but something told her he wasn't finished.

“I…I’m trying to take my time, trying to be intentional because that’s what you deserve.” He finally brought his head up to look her in the eyes. Both of them reflected such yearning back to each other. He nuzzled her nose softly with his own before continuing.

“And I’m trying to show myself that this is something I can trust. I feel that I can trust this.” His eyes shifted to an imploring green in the low lighting, begging her to understand. 

“So much has been snatched from me, and I want this so badly Reign. After today, the ball is in your court.” He gave her a quick kiss to stop whatever she was about to say. 

“I know I can trust you with whatever hold you have on me. But just for tonight, I need to show myself that I can exist outside of that fight or flight setting I’m so used to.” He gave her a sad smile, bringing one hand from her back to move her braids away from her face. He wanted to say more, he just didn’t know how. 

Reign looked intently into Terry’s eyes, seeing all the emotions he was trying to keep at bay. She understood more than he knew, the scary process of learning to trust again, learning to truly live again. It was a delicate dance, one capable of breaking down the strongest of foundations. She returned his sad smile, not disappointed in the moment being over, but sad that they could relate in such a way. 

Reign kept her eyes on his, the quiet understanding between them filling the space, almost tangible. She could see the depth of his struggle, the way he was bracing himself, and she knew words would only scratch the surface of what she wanted him to feel. Gently, she brought one of her hands to his chest, resting it over his heart. She could feel the steady, guarded beat beneath her palm, and she let her touch linger, grounding him in that softness.

After a moment, she leaned in, her lips brushing just beneath his ear, and whispered, “You don’t have to be afraid with me, Terry. I know what’s in my hands, and I’ll hold it carefully.” Her voice was barely above a breath, but each word carried the weight of her promise, steady and sincere.

When she pulled back to meet his gaze, she gave him a small, knowing smile, her hand still pressed to his heart. The look in her eyes was as clear as anything she could say: I see you, and I’m not going anywhere.

And Terry, who rarely found solace in words, felt something in him unwind just a little. He brought his hand up to cover hers, squeezing it gently, letting her touch settle the ache he hadn’t been able to name.

He drove home that night basking in the quietness she’d left in his mind, his tortured thoughts had morphed into simply replaying sweet scenes with her. And she fell asleep much easier than she normally does, waters of her soul not just serene on the surface, but all the way down to her ocean floor.

~~~~~~~

Not me just now realizing this may be the same Terry from Sweet Dreams 💀. I have a really raunchy request and a spooky request to fulfill before I can post chapter 3 🥲 but hopefully an update will come faster than the last one 💕 thank you in advance for your patience!!!

Taglist: @teddybeerz @liatreads @eviescloset @sageispunk @planetblaque @soft-persephone @violetmuses @miyuhpapayuh @iterum-incipi @slutsareteacherstoo @blackgurlnhermoods @helloncrocs @megamindsecretlair @meannaim @blyffe @nun0ir @onherereading @eilujion @maria-gab-rielle @gg-trini @gwenda-fav @violetlovezzz @keyaho @nahimjustfeelingit-writes @uzumaki-rebellion @honeytoffee @avoidthings @brattyfics @abeautifulmindexposed @blowmymbackout @kumkaniudaku @pocketsizedpanther @mysecretdiaryofableedingheart @amyhennessyhouse

[lovecla]

TAKE YOUR PAIN AWAY | quinn hughes.

chapter five:

<last chapter> <next chapter>

➴ chapter warnings: none!

➴ word count: 3.9k

💌 from me to you: honestly, today was a lot! i broke my phone yesterday and had to buy a new one today (i’m now poor :,) and i deadass forgot my email and i lost all of my works AHAH (quinn’s voice: it’s funny but it’s not funny). thankfully, i had already saved all of TYPA chapters here on tumblr so they’re safe and well. anyways, enjoy! 🤎

౨ৎ

2024, APRIL.

lavieenrose

Vancouver, Canada

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lavieenrose We are thrilled to announce our newest Flower, Madison Carter! Welcome to our garden, gorgeous! 🌹

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“SO QUINN Hughes is your childhood best friend?” Victoria sounded amused.

You chuckle. “Something like that, yeah.”

“What a small world we live in!” She raised her arm, making prayer hands. “God, if you’re out there, make my dream of fucking Luke Hughes come true.”

“Oh my God, you’re the worst.” You joke, watching as she winks at you, going back to her rambling about how funny it was that you and the Hughes were familiar with each other.

It was the week before your first official fashion show in Vancouver, and things were extremely busy. Today you and the other models had to visit the hall where the show would happen so you could practice your walk and get familiar with the runway’s layout.

Victoria wasn’t a model per se, even if she was one of the most gorgeous women you have ever seen, but she still made sure to be there with you so you wouldn't be totally alone.

The other models were nice to you but you were still extremely shy, and it usually took you a while for you to get used to new people. Thankfully, Victoria could help you just fine.

“But like,” she raises her voice again, staring at you funny. “Should I tell Gil to send the Canucks some invitations?”

You raised your brow at her, ready to say no. After that night at your house, a week ago, you and Quinn were… different. Being one hundred percent honest, you were different with Quinn. He was still the same as always, texting every day and asking about how you and Bella were doing, since he was away— again— and couldn’t check on you in person.

And you thought it was sweet.

Awfully sweet.

Dangerously sweet.

After the thoughts you had while he sat on your couch that night, thick thighs spread cozily across your couch, dress shirt opened and hair falling perfectly on his face, you decided that being away from him was probably the best thing you could do for your relationship.

“I don’t think they’ll be interested in coming,” you lie, shrugging. “It’s not like they’re interested in lingeries.”

“Hum—”

“At least not in the way you want them to be!” You quickly added, not letting Victoria’s mind wander to horny places.

“I don’t know about that, Mads,” she clicks her tongue, watching as the crew move around you both, lunch break already about to end. “We could invite only the single ones. What do you think?”

You laugh and joke: “I think that’s a great idea.”

Obviously, it wasn’t. Nothing about Quinn seeing you in lingerie was a good idea, but who were you to crash Victoria’s dream? Besides, the Canucks would never actually go to a fashion show unless they were forced to, so you had nothing to worry about.

“Okay, Madison, I need you to walk up there again.” Rory, the casting director called you, and you promptly got out of your seat to do what he needed you to.

And just like that your thirty minute lunch break was over.

౨ৎ

“THIS IS the day you all have been waiting for, girls,” James yells, loud enough to be heard by all the fifty girls standing backstage. “I need you all to shine today!”

You could feel your hands sweaty and your heart beating faster than ever. Today was the fashion show you've been preparing for everyday ever since you moved to Canada and watching it all unfold in front of you was anything but not stressful.

This was the first fashion show you did in months and you knew people were expecting something big.

“Madison,” James calls you, and you immediately go to his side, excluded from the other girls. He looks at you with his fierce, cat eyes and you almost gulp. “Today’s your night. The majority of the people are here to see you, they’re here to see Madison Carter. Do you understand that?”

You nod, blinking fast. “I do.”

“Great,” he crosses his arms over his chest. “I didn’t say this in front of the other girls because I don’t want them to feel bad, but having you here is pure gold, and the press is ready to put any mistake in a headline. So, can you be my prettiest flower tonight, baby?”

You smile, feeling confident all of a sudden. You had to remind yourself that you were pretty, even if sometimes your brain liked to tell you otherwise. People were here to see you, they paid money to watch you walk down that stage, and you’d give them a show.

You’d prove to everyone that you were just that girl. Even your own family.

“I can, J.” You confirm, shaking your arms slightly.

“Then great. You know when you have to enter the stage, don’t you?” You nod again, of course you did. You all rehearsed this so many times that it would be hard for you not to know. James turns around and starts speaking loud again, trying to talk to all fifty girls at once. “RAYE is here tonight and even though your job is to walk, I want you all to interact with her and her songs. I want you all on time and I want you all on your best behavior.”

Celestial Allure was the name of tonight’s collection, all of you wearing different shades of white, pastel pink, blue and purple, not to mention the tiny golden details in your hair and heels. Your makeup consisted in white eyeshadow, heavy eyeliner and big, angelic lashes. You had little to no blush in your cheeks, the focus on representing a pale, unreal face. Your lips had a natural pinkish color and you had highlighter all over your collarbone and nose.

Your opening outfit couldn’t even be called an outfit; it was simply a white, twinkle strap lace corset with matching panties, heels that adored your legs and reminded you of something Barbie would wear, your hair was perfectly styled with waves falling down like a waterfall.

You took a deep breath, the first notes of Escapism echoing through the entire place, and you knew it was the time for your entrance.

After saying a quick prayer, you enter the stage, immediately putting on your work mindset, not letting any of the hundred eyes make you feel nervous. One step and then another, your body moved alongside the music’s beat, RAYE’s warm smile and powerful presence making you feel less nervous. You made sure that your body was moving like James and Rory had instructed, lightly and featherly.

The camera flashes didn’t hurt your eyes anymore, thankfully, because there were so many of them that even if the building had dim lighting, the stage looked as bright as the sun.

“A little context if you care to listen, I find myself in a shit position,” you mouthed the words, walking down the stage like you owned, because, in fact— you did. “The man that I love sat me down last night, and he told me that it's over, dumb decision.”

You waved to some of the cameras, smiling from ear to ear, genuinely happy.

Even if it was a hard world, the happiness you got from modeling and wearing beautiful, delicate pieces like the one you were wearing right now was unbeatable.

Outfit after outfit, walk after walk, you made it to the end of the show, letting your eyes get shiny with tears when James grabbed your hand and walked with you to the end of the stage, raising your arm and bowing with you. You smiled, watching as people clapped for you and shouted your name.

Backstage, you ran around hugging the other models, all of you so emotional and happy. Your favorite part about working with La Vie en Rose was that they prioritized girls who supported other girls, and not girls who tried to get on top by dragging other girls, something that happened daily in the fashion world.

Victoria also hugged you, taking pictures and handing you your outfit change so you could talk to the press.

“Madison, Madison,” your name was on every reporter’s mouth, flashes and cameras being shoved in your face. You smiled through the uncomfortable feeling of all of your actions and breathing being recorded and pointed to one of the interviewers there, letting her speak.

“You were absolutely divine today. How are you feeling?”

“Honestly, I have no idea,” you smile, shaking your head. “This is the first show I’ve done in a while and I’m still getting back from the high.”

“The crowd’s reaction was amazing. Did you expect such a strong response?”

“No,” you laugh, sincerely. “I am used to my supporters in Los Angeles but knowing this many people would show up here in Vancouver? It’s insane. But I’m grateful anyway.”

“Speaking of moving to Vancouver, what can we expect from your Canadian side?”

“Everything. I’m always open to new opportunities and signing a contract with a brand as special to me as La Vie en Rose can mean a lot of good things.” You move to the next reporter, who was almost shoving the microphone down your throat.

“What can you say about the Canucks team being here? Do you know any of them personally?”

That caught you so off guard you had to hold back a gasp.

“What do you mean?” You ask carefully, trying your best to keep your smile from falling. “The… Canucks are here?”

“You didn’t know?” The reporter scoffs. “We have players like Quinn Hughes, Brock Boeser, Conor Garland and Elias Pettersson in the audience.”

“Oh,” you say, moving your head to the side, trying to see something past that sea of cameras. “Hum. I didn’t know they were here. I think it’s, hum, great and… yeah.”

“Time’s up, fellas!” Victoria shouts, grabbing your shoulders and pulling you to the side. “The other models are right there, ready for your questions. Thank you all, bye.”

“Thank you guys, have a good night,” you say before heading backstage. You turn your head to Victoria’s direction, eyes doubled in size. “Did you know the Canucks are here?”

“‘Course I did. I sent the invite.” She answers like it was nothing.

“You what?”

“Well, basically it wasn’t me, it was Gil, but I was the one who told him to invite them— and why are you so surprised anyway? We talked about this and you said it was a great idea!”

“I was joking, obviously,” you shout-whisper, walking around the room with Victoria beside you. “You’re crazy.”

“Well, now they’re here and we have to greet them.” She smiles, walking around people with a gorgeous smile plastered on her face. “Hi, good night.”

You had to set your apprehension aside and greet the other people there, so many designers, fashion students and artists congratulated you and asked for pictures. You were happy people were as pleased as you about you moving to Canada and even happier to see that you had so many supporters.

“Oh my God, there’s Quinn Hughes,” Victoria whispers beside you, making you snap your head in his direction.

And there he was. Wearing a gorgeous, dark blue suit, hair slicked back and hands in his pockets, standing there like Prince Charming himself. He was surrounded by three other men, who you could only imagine were his teammates, chatting quietly with one of them.

“Let’s go say hi.” Victoria grabs your hand and makes her way to their little chatting circle, Quinn noticing you before anyone else.

His eyes held a different kind of feeling that night, with him eyeing you up and down. His eyes discreetly trailed your body, the tiniest smile adorning his lips when his eyes met yours.

“Maddie.” He said your name with that raspy voice of his, making you shiver internally.

You smile shyly, watching as he leans down and kisses your forehead.

“Hi, Quinn,” you greet him back, face warm with all the attention. “Hum. Hi, guys,” you greet the other men, as six pairs of eyes stare back at you. “I’m Madison.”

They all give you a cheek kiss and a hug, broad bodies embracing yours like a giant blanket. They introduced themselves, and you were right; they were Quinn’s teammates.

“This is Victoria,” you introduce your friend, who eagerly hugs the players as well.

“Did you guys enjoy the show?” She asks and you watch as they all laugh and nod.

The one you remember being called Conor speaks first. “Honestly when we got the invitation I thought it was really random. But it was actually fire.”

“Yeah,” one of them, Pettersson, you think, agrees, putting his hands inside his pockets. “The girls are pretty. You’re pretty.”

You ran your fingers through your hair, smiling and thanking them.

“We were just going out for drinks at a bar just down the street, do you want to join?” One of them— you didn’t remember the name— asks, and before you could even think of what to say, Victoria jumps in front of you with her eager yes.

You looked at Quinn, watching as he stared right back at you, pointing to the entrance with his head.

You all walked out of the event hall together, photographers going crazy with the flashes and you knew that besides talking about your performance that night, people were also going to talk about your proximity with the Hughes and the Canucks.

The other players chatted with Victoria in front of you, while you and Quinn walked behind them, close enough that your naked shoulder touched his covered arm.

“Aren’t you cold?” He blurts out of nowhere, and you smile, shaking your head no.

“Not really. I’m still coming down from the high from earlier.”

“You were amazing, Mads,” he praises you, licking his lips. “Never seen you like that before. Just… stunning.”

“Thanks,” you mumble, not sure why Quinn’s compliment made you feel better than if it were anyone else’s. “Did you like it?” Even though Victoria had already asked them this question, you asked it again, because you wanted to know what Quinn had thought of it.

“Yes,” he winks, smirking at you. “Yes, I did.”

“Great.”

You continued to make small talk on your way to the bar, underestimating how crowded it would actually be. Thankfully, there were a lot of Canucks fans there, and a group of random people let you stay at their table in exchange for a picture with their captain, Quinn, which he promptly took.

“Do you want to drink anything?” The handsome brown-haired fella, Garland, you think, asked you, a few seconds after you sat down.

“Let her breathe first, idiot,” you heard Quinn mumble beside you, making you laugh.

“Maybe a Sex on the Beach?” You said simply, not really interested in Conor’s flirting. He’s hot, but he isn’t Quinn.

Maybe it’s time for you to stop thinking that you can actually have anything with Quinn, you thought, feeling yourself deflate just a little.

“Freaky,” Connor answered, before moving to the bar with the other guys.

“You won’t drink anything?” Victoria asked Quinn, since he was the man who stayed at the table.

He shrugs. “I’m driving.”

“Oh, we love a responsible king,” she nods to herself, giving you an approving smile. What she was approving was still a mystery.

Quinn eyes you, silently questioning you where you’d found that girl, and you only smiled, raising your shoulders.

The rest of the team took a while to come back, something about the bar being too crowded, but Conor handed your cocktail and winked at you.

“So, Madison,” he starts, sitting in front of you. “Are you single?”

Boeser whistled while Pettersson laughed out loud, hitting Conor’s shoulders.

“You’re very straightforward, aren’t you?” You retort, roiling your eyes but smiling nonetheless. “But, yes, I am. I’m not interested in anything serious at the moment, though.”

“One step forward for Conie here but at what cost?” Boeser shouts, clicking his beer on the table. You can hear Victoria laughing with Pettersson beside you, and you seriously want to pinch her cheeks.

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” Quinn speaks beside you, and suddenly all eyes are on him, yours included. He seems to realize what he had just said because his cheeks turn a very light shade of pink. “I mean, with a face like yours, I’d find it pretty hard to believe that any woman would be interested in you.”

“Fuck you, Cap,” Conor gives him the finger, sipping on his beer before winking at you. “Maddie here knows what’s good.”

“Don’t call her that,” Quinn hisses and both you and Victoria share a stare with each other.

Thankfully, Vic’s really good at changing topics and after five seconds she got all of the Canucks players talking with her at the same time. Garland seemed to have forgotten about you momentarily, and you were thankful for that.

You turned your head to the side, staring at Quinn who looked like he was having the worst time of his life. You frowned.

“What got you so upset?” You whisper, watching as he stops staring at his water bottle to stare at you.

“I’m not upset.”

“This little thing here…” you place your finger between his eyebrows, watching the furrow disappear underneath your finger. “…tells me a different story. Was it Conor?”

“Why would I be upset with him?” He taps his fingers on the table, once, twice.

“I know that you don’t like it when people call me Maddie.” You tell him, smiling softly. You would never confess it to him, but you didn’t like when people called you that too. Quinn had been the first person to call you that, to give you a nickname, and you wanted to keep that one between you both.

“He just can’t keep himself inside his pants,” He admits, and you smile even wider, finding the entire situation entirely funny. “It’s not funny, Madison.”

“It is to me,” you rest your chin on your hand. “Well, I know he won’t get inside my pants any time soon.”

“Yeah?” He smirks, and, finally, you watch his face transform into something that wasn’t a scowl or a frown. “Good.”

You gulp and pray to God that he doesn’t notice the way your thighs slowly close together, your body clearly desperate for something. Something that anyone else could give you, but you wanted it from the only person who was out of your league.

But perhaps God wasn’t listening to you like He usually did, because the way Quinn’s blue eyes turned into a grayish shade before he calmly placed his right hand on your left thigh told you a different truth.

Then he somehow inserted himself back in the conversation, leaving his hands on your thigh for the rest of the night, while you tried to keep up with what they were saying but failed miserably since all you could think was how his hands looked so big on you that maybe, just maybe, some of his other parts would be big too…

You sighed, forgetting for a few seconds that you were in public. Being around Quinn made your head work in the wrong way and trying to get back on the right path was tiring and exhausting.

“Are you not having fun?” You scared yourself with how close Quinn actually was, his lips almost touching your ear.

“‘M just tired,” you mumbled, feeling bad for interrupting Quinn’s conversation, even if the rest of the people at the table were still talking animatedly between themselves. “And I miss Bella.”

You hear his breathy laugh beside you. “I miss Bella too. Come on, let me take you home.”

“You don’t need to,” you say, shaking your head slowly. “I’ll call a cab.”

“You’re funny.” he says before opening his wallet and placing two hundred Canadian dollars on the table. “Madison and I are going home.”

“Uh, well… bye?” You say, uncertain of what you should do. It seemed rude to you to just leave like this, but you also knew Quinn wasn’t backing up now, and you were telling the truth when you told him you miss Bella. “It was nice meeting you all.”

“The pleasure was all ours, baby,” Conor says, winking at you. “Come see our next game. We’ll save you and Vicky a spot.” You tell him that you will, and then you smile politely, kissing Victoria’s cheek.

“Do you want me to take you home?” You ask, and she turns the cutest shade of red, eyes staring at Boeser for just a brief second before turning at you again. Oh. “Alright. Call me if you need anything.”

“Will do,” she winks, kissing you too. “Drive safe.”

You briefly hug the other players, wishing them a good night before you leave the bar with Quinn’s hand on your lower back, gently guiding you to his car. The drive to your house was quiet, with Quinn making tiny remarks here and there, but you were so close to saying fuck to all of your beliefs and kissing him that you realized that staying quiet was probably the best move.

It wasn’t like you thought Quinn wasn’t into you. You weren’t dumb, and you knew what the stares he gave you meant, but you also knew that what you had with him, your friendship, was precious and not something that happened to everyone.

Even if you’d just restarted seeing each other a short while ago, it was like you hadn’t stopped talking at all. He still took care of you like he did to young Madison years ago, and he still let you take care of him like you would’ve done if he’d stayed in your life when you grew up.

So risking it all just because you were horny? Not a chance.

“You’re so quiet,” he points out, making a U turn. “Do you miss Bella this much?”

You smile, resting your head on the window. “I do, yeah. But I’m also just tired. Today was a lot.”

“I was telling the truth when I said you were stunning, Maddie. You owned that stage. No one was looking at anyone else.”

“Oh, stop it, Quinn,” you tried to hide the fact that his compliments made you want to start running around while shouting his name. “It’s just my job.”

He raised his eyebrow at you, but didn't say anything else, what was probably for the better. If he complimented you again, you wouldn’t sure that you would be able to stay in your seat without climbing on his lap and begging him to fuck you.

Quinn parks in front of your apartment building and smiles at you, tired eyes shining like the moon that decorated the sky that night. “Want me to go upstairs with you?”

“No, no, it’s fine, I know you’re tired,” you bit your lip, fidgeting with your fingers. “Thank you for coming. And for the ride too.”

“I enjoyed tonight. We should… we should do this again.”

You smirk, playfully. “And invite Conor too?”

He groans, laughing softly.

“No, definitely no,” he shakes his head. “I know that dork already invited you but… if you want to come watch our next game, just give me a heads up. I’ll get tickets for you and your friend.”

“Only if we get to stay in that seat where we can watch the players beat each other up from up close.” You joke, watching as he laughs, wrapping his hand around his abs.

“Consider it done, M,” he blinks, an adorable smile adorning his face. “I’ll text you the details, alright?”

“Mhm,” you nod, removing your seatbelt and pushing your body forward, until you place a light kiss on his cheek, feeling his stubble softly scratch your lips. “Night, Quinn.”

“Bye, Mads.” he whispers, watching you leave the car and only driving away when he sees you enter your building.

You sigh out loud, trying to understand what the hell happened tonight.

౨ৎ

liked by vic_alonso, _quinnhughes, imgmodels and 828,023 other people

madisoncarter little dump from tonight. thank u all for coming 🌟 lavieenrose

View all 3,209 comments

raye this show was yours. Prettiest woman in the world. Xx

vic_alonso we look soooo good in that pic babe

vic_alonso also lowkey wanna kiss u again

user1 vic_alonso 📸🤨

madisoncarter @vic_alonso ‘m all urs baby

user2 why is my husband liking this when he doesn’t even know how to post a picture without Jack’s help pls I need answers

user3 oh both luke jack and quinn liked this we are cooked

maddiecarter_updates We don’t know if we want to be you or have you 🙂‍↕️ stunning as always, queen!

taglist: @hischierswhore @ru-kru @alwaysclassyeagle @he6rtshaker @nope-i-am-done @nngkay 🤎

[apute11as]

Everything happens for a reason part 2 - Alexia putellas x pregnant!reader

Author note: Hey as requested this is part 2 to my alexia x reader pregnancy fic! Sorry if it’s not great but I’ve got ideas for further chapters that I’ll work on soon! Also please send ficlet requests if you’d like more consistent posts as they take significantly less time :)

Warnings⚠️: mentions of vomit, tiny bit of suggestive content, angst

Part 1- https://www.tumblr.com/apute11as/733631966220582912/everything-happens-for-a-reason-alexia-putellas

~~~~~~

As you strolled through security, your mind flickered back to the conversation you’d had with the mother in the plane. Unease overtook your body as you couldn’t help but wonder if she were right, but she couldn’t be, surely? Yes you and Alexia had been trying but you’d taken a test after the last round of IVF and that test read a strong negative.

Casting the thoughts out of your mind, you decided to shift your focus to the important upcoming tournament. Getting though baggage control was yet again, a thankfully unproblematic task and you’d found your driver with minimal effort. These were further signs that you’d simply been overthinking the spontaneous sickness from this morning which was mostly likely due to fatigue or anxiety.

Having had help from your driver with hauling your luggage into the back of the black car, you finally sat down in the back of vehicle and allowed yourself a breath of relief as the most difficult part of your journey had been achieved. This moment of peace finally allowed you to check your phone, where of course you were met with a text from Alexia that read:

“I hope you had a safe flight bebita, I left you a suprise in the top pocket of your bag, te quiero mucho amor ❤️xx”

Smiling down at your phone, you clicked her icon to reply with a simple

“just got in the cab, can’t wait to see it te quiero más bebé xx”

The journey from the airport to St George’s Park was relatively short and you’d surprisingly managed to occupy yourself well enough that not once did your mind shift to your impending potential pregnancy. Upon arrival, you thanked your driver, giving him a generous tip for his good service and further help in hauling your heavy bags from out of the car. Thinking, you had another moment of peace, you reached down to look at a message which was a short lived attempt as you felt yourself being almost plowed down by a body being thrown at you.

“HOLA CHICA” bellowed none other than Mary Earps, the English goalkeeper wrapping you into a tight hug.

“Hiya Mary” you sighed after getting over the initial shock of her entrance, recovering from the near dropping of your phone onto the concrete floor below.

“How’ve you been, we’ve missed you at home, how’s Spain treating you?” she exclaimed, bombarding you with questions.

“Let the girl breathe Mary” rung the voice of Millie bright, the defender taking a much more gentle approach to you welcome.

“hey Mill, I’ve missed you all so much it feels like ages since I’ve seen you all” you replied.

“Clearly you’ve found some superior company though” stated Leah Williamson who now entered the scene, greeting you with a hug.

“What are you talking about?” you questioned, confused.

“well if the marks on your neck are anything to go by then I’m sure you’ve been just fine with Putellas” Leah jeered teasingly.

“oh shit I totally forgot, it’s been such a hectic morning I didn’t even realise” you stuttered although thinking back, your wife would surely have noticed your failure to cover up the less than subtle marks that littered your neck. Although, knowing Alexia she would have watched you walk out with pride, knowing that everyone would know you were hers just by taking one look at you. Typical la Reina.

“don’t get all stressed now, some of us a just single and miserable” the Chelsea defender gestured to Leah.

“haha very funny bright” retorted the younger blonde, and with that the pair of defenders wandered off inside.

“you said this morning has been hectic but I thought travel was smooth?” questioned Mary with a furrowed brow.

“Yeah yeah travel was perfect, it’s just other things.” you said with your expression visibly faltered.

“If your ever need to talk babes I’m here, it’s nothing to do with Putellas is it? Because i swear if that woman hurt you…”

“No no” you insisted, cutting her off. “Alexia has been perfect, just got a lot on my mind right now.” You assured the older woman.

“Alright hun, just don’t hesitate to reach out” she said with a smile.

“Thanks Mary I appreciate that so much” you replied.

After a further wave of reintroductions and also a couple of greetings towards the new players, you found yourself in a room with Sarina, the team and the assistant coaches.

“Right as usual of course, your rooms are to be assigned” stated the coach

“Leah and Keira”

“Georgia and Ella”

the list went on in a typical fashion.

and “Y/N and Alessia”

You let a small smile slip at the revelation, knowing that the blonde forward was easy to talk to and respected your quiet time, something you felt as though you needed more than ever, given your current stresses.

You were presented with a key card each and then made your way upstairs, having to haul your several bags into the elevator, a task that left you unusually out of breath. A fact that didn’t go unnoticed by Alessia as you hunched over, clutching your stomach.

“Are you ok Y/N?” the younger girl questioned.

“yeah thanks, I’m ok. I think it’s just a little discomfort from travel.” you replied with a weak expression.

Finally, the two of you reached the comfort of your shared room and unlocked the door swiftly. You offered Alessia the window bed as you knew that she much preferred it and felt slightly claustrophobic otherwise.

You both began unpacking your vast array of bags and unloading stuff into the wardrobes, when your mind shifted back to the text your wife had sent you earlier. You reached for your carry on bag and unzipped the pocket, to be met with the sight of your favourite Spanish chocolates with a small note that read:

“Para mi princesa. Un regalo casi tan dulce como tú. Te amo mucho mi corazon.”

You smiled softly, your wife had always expressed her love so beautifully through words, the terms of endearment making you tear up slightly.

“What’s that?” Alessia asked with curiosity.

“Just something Alexia got me to remind me of her.” you replied, wiping your eyes simultaneously. “They’re spanish chocolates” you continue “she knows they’re my favourite from our local chocolatería.”

“that’s so sweet” the younger girl replied with a smile.

“Yes it really is” you said, beginning to open the sweet treats but before you got a chance to offer some to Alessia, the smell hit your nostrils. Normally that would elicit a mouth watering response but this time you felt your stomach lurch in discomfort, similarly to the way it did this morning. You the found yourself bounding to the bathroom to throw up the small sandwich you’d eaten on your flight.

“Oh my god Y/N” exclaimed Alessia, worry evident in her tone. “I knew you looked pale earlier, you are sick!” she said holding your hair back and grimacing as another round of nausea had you further emptying the contents of your stomach into the toilet bowel.

“Sorry Alessia you don’t have to stay for this.” you managed in between the dry heaving that had replaced your sickness.

“No god I don’t mind, should I go get a staff member though?” She questioned.

“No, no definitely not I think I know what it is it’s fine.” You assured her.

Though Alessia wasn’t convinced and made a mental note to ask you again after team bonding, which you insisted you were well enough to attend.

“I thought you said those were your favourite chocolates, why did they make you feel sick?” The blonde questioned curiously.

“I’m not sure maybe they’d gone off” you offered weakly.

The two of you finally made it downstairs to the team, albeit 10 minutes late as you changed and freshened up after your spell of sickness.

“Look what the cat dragged in” shouted Beth as she attempted to rugby tackle you to the floor but before she was successful, she was stopped forcefully by Alessia.

“Careful Beth she’s not feeling great” explained Alessia.

“It’s alright Less, I’m alright now” you assured the girl.

“Anyways now that you two have finally arrived, we can start the fifa play offs!” cheered Georgia

As the night progressed, your stomach settled but your anxiety levels only heightened as the reality of your situation truly began to settle in. You were shocked out of your thoughts by a soft hand on your shoulder, that belonged to your captain- Leah.

“Woah there jumpy” she said as you flinched at her touch. “I was just checking if you wanted a hot chocolate but is everything all right?” she questioned.

That did it, the tears that had been threatening to flow came free now. You ran off hurriedly to the bathroom, Leah watching in awe as to what had actually just happened.

“It’s alright I’ve got her.” Alessia assured a couple of the team members who had gathered at the commotion.

You were now balling your eyes out in the bathroom, as the thoughts of what the pregnancy would mean dawned upon you. Ordinarily when you’d planned the pregnancy, you wouldn’t be attending the World Cup, opting to sacrifice it for your wife who’d just come back from an injury and was 4 years older than you anyways. However, now here you were, ready to go to the tournament and were potentially pregnant. You heard the door swing open and were soon met with the concerned face of your roommate, knowing you now definitely had to share your concerns with her.

“What’s up Y/N, no “I’m fine” or any nonsense, you’re struggling with something let me help you.” said the blonde, sympathetically.

“I-I think I’m pregnant” you said for the first time out loud since you began questioning.

“That’s good surely? Wait you’d have to do ivf for that, unless it’s not Alexia’s baby oh my god, oh my god is it somebody else’s, that’d explain the tears…”

“No Alessia” you urged, cutting off her rambling. “It would be Alexia’s it’s just not quite gone to plan” you continued as Alessia stared at you with a confused face.

You the preceded to explain your conversation with the woman on the plane, the negative pregnancy test from earlier this month and yours and Alexia’s plans to start a family. Alessia listening intently and comforting you as you spoke.

“Maybe the best idea would be to get a test” Alessia stated “because for all you know you’re getting stressed over nothing.” She reasoned.

“Yeah yeah that’s true, I just didn’t have much time to get one between the airport.

“We can get one tomorrow at lunch, it’s late now anyways maybe you should call alexia and tell her what’s going on?”

“No no no I can’t call Alexia she can’t know” you urged.

“why not she might be able to help you see clearly” said Alessia

“No she’ll be on a flight over here to make sure I don’t play, I really want to play Alessia” you pleaded

“Ok then let’s tell the girls you don’t feel well so we’re going to bed early how’s that?” Asked the blonde

“Yeah that sounds good thank you Less it means so much that you care.” you thanked her

“Of course Y/N anytime” she smiled.

[nyarumie]

Brains to Brawn. (Chapter 3)

narumi gen x f!reader — 2.2k words, co-workers to lovers, slowburn, multiple parts, semi canon compliant, they're both in denial (later on).

STATUS: Ongoing. Chapter links: 1, 2, 3

Author's Note: Please send some feedback about the pacing and characterization! I unintentionally turned this into a slowburn series 😭

Cross-posted on ao3. — Likes, Reblogs, and Comments are also appreciated; Happy reading ♡ Ask box is open!

Feeling oddly good about yourself today, joyful hums are heard coming from you while brewing your favorite daily dose of iced coffee. You made your way to your work table, co-workers staring inquisitively at you—was it weird to have little skips on your steps as you prepare to work for the day?

To say that you were happy is an understatement. You were practically glowing.

"Ahem." one of your friends tried catching your attention.

"Hmm?"

"Did something happen after the test yesterday? You're awfully… flowery today." Your small friend group was surrounding you, waiting to hear you spill some juicy details.

"Oh!" you started. As if to show you were proud, you crossed your arms and held your head high. "I'm going to be a millionaire!" you declared.

A chorus of 'Huh?' was heard, your declaration earning the attention of a few of your co-workers.

"Scratch that, I'm going to be a billionaire!" you said, determination exuding off you.

Just as they were about to ask if you're in your right mind, a stack of papers hit your head.

You turned towards your 'attacker', glaring playfully at him. "Wha— That hurts! Was that necessary, Kurusu?!"

He sighed, "Go back to your stations. And you—What were you thinking?" he sounded exasperated.

You tilted your head, confused.

He sat beside you and whispered, "What happened to rejecting the proposal?"

"Oh. Didn't you want me to accept it? I have my own good reason for it too, you know?" He raised his eyebrow at you, curious to hear your reason.

"... Salary Adjustments?"

And he smacked you with the papers once more.

"Hitting me again?! You said the same thing last night! How many people in the defense force are offered such an amount? It's too good to miss out on that!" you argued.

Waving his hand in dismissal, he handed you important documents for you to fill out. "I told you to think it over for three days, not overnight. Just answer these forms within the day and return it to me."

One of these forms is the application for new recruits. Staring blankly at it, you totally forgot it'll be held only 2 days from now… and you have no idea how to prepare for it! It's not like you've held a gun before, nor fought any Kaiju? Hell, you even bawl your eyes out at the sight of a roach and it flies off before you can even hit it! Oh, you're definitely gonna die now.

Kurusu snorted beside you, snapping you out from your thoughts. "It's too late to regret your decision now. I should've clarified it's more than just the salary adjustments I told you about." Is he a mind reader?

"It's not too late if I don't sign these forms, right…?" you asked, a mix of nervousness and hope evident in your tone.

"Good plan. But you shouldn't have addressed Captain Shinomiya in your email. He'll be expecting you."

You groaned, your head thumping down on your table.

"I'm gonna die… Don't wanna die… I'm gonna die… Don't wanna…"

You earned highly concerned looks from your co-workers, hearing you mumble repeatedly and mood significantly plummeting.

Feeling bad, Kurusu offered you a two-day paid leave for your preparation, but you're sure he's just pulling some strings to make it happen.

"No thanks. I'll work as normally as I can. I hope." You opened your work-issued laptop, timidly starting one of your few remaining normal work days.

Morning session passed by like a breeze. You were too cooped up in your work, one of your friends had to drag you all the way to the Cafeteria to get some lunch. Instead of lining up for a perfectly balanced meal, you went to grab an instant cup noodle in their snack station and filled it with hot water. Your realization from this morning took away your appetite, so it seems. You weren't in the mood to mingle with them either.

Bidding farewell to your friends, you made your way to the long-range training room observatory, deciding to watch fledgling recruits; you might pick up a few pieces of advice from the senior officers training them too. Not that you'd ask them directly, though. You're basically just eavesdropping, albeit obviously.

Upon entering the room, you nod in acknowledgement at your co-workers stationed there. One of them pointed at your cup noodles, then made an 'X' with their arms. You simply returned a mindless shrug, knowing you can chug this thing down within 5 minutes.

You made yourself comfortable on a seat, enjoying the view and your 'meal'. Seems like the shooting training has yet to start, you're just right in time then. From below, Platoon Leader Hasegawa can be seen going through final checks and reminders as the recruits gather behind him, bearing their standard long-range weapon.

"Listen up! You all have been on this line of job for a year now. We'll be going back to the basics from your very first training—one of them is reaction time. According to the memo, punishment is due to those who fail to at least show two times the better result than the record they had from a year ago. Are we all clear?"

A chorused 'Yes, sir!' resounded from the recruits, them obviously thinking it would be a piece of cake. What Hasegawa didn't mention, however, is that the shooting targets pop out much faster and they're moving in random directions at the same time. And the number of targets is significantly multiplied.

The first few officers who volunteered were found sulking at the very back of the pack. Not only did they fail to beat their amateur records, they weren't even able to find the locations of the other targets! As a result of this, the remaining officers were visibly anxious and discouraged, subtly pushing each other to go first.

"What are they? High Schoolers?" you mumbled. Though, you find yourself pitying them. A year of service in the Defense Force and the level of training is upped by this much—it does seem cruel. But that's the harsh reality. If they can't deal with these wooden shooting targets, what more if it's a real Kaiju jumping out to attack them at the same time from different directions?

You slurp down the rest of your meal, giving your now undivided attention to the training. You noted that the wooden targets have a specific echoing sound upon popping up due to the strain held by the metal holding them, and their volume determines which area they're located in. This observation allowed you to guess their number, treating it like some kind of minigame.

"Commencing in 3…"

You close your eyes as you hear the countdown, trying to focus your senses on your hearing. If you recognize the distinct sound and volume resounding from the dummies, you might be able to tell just how many of them there are.

"2…"

Suddenly, you feel stupid for doing this. You haven't even learned anything from watching them. How could you know better than they do? They're the ones on the field.

"1… begin."

'Ah… three dummies for Ground A this time?' you thought.

"25 seconds—Ground A clear!"

"4 on B and 3 on C," you mumbled. The echoes from Ground B and C aren't as loud as A's, so you expected Ground D's sound to be even softer.

"4 minutes and 12 seconds—Ground B and C clear! Officer now heading towards Ground D."

"5 on D… No, it's 6. Sixteen targets overall?"

"18 seconds on Ground D—all clear! Total record: 4 minutes and 55 seconds, 2 minutes slower than the previous record."

Before you can even hear your co-worker announce the total targets cleared, you abruptly open your eyes at the sound of someone talking to you, catching you by surprise. A pair of pink-reddish hues meet your own eyes.

"Bravo. How'd you guess that?"

Leaning right at your face is Platoon Leader Narumi. He's too close to your face, too close for your comfort! Is he shameless?! How long has he been observing you and your stupidly mindless action?

You put some distance from him, subtly pushing your chair backwards.

"Just some quick observations, I guess…?" you answered briefly, unsure whether he'd like to hear you ramble.

"Tell me more."

How do you even start this? He might not follow your line of thought. But here goes nothing. "Um, the dummies pop out with a distinct sound. I've heard what one pop sounds like in each area, so imagination is key to assuming how loud it'd sound if multiple of them appear at the same time." you paused, checking to see if he's still listening.

He, in fact, seems absorbed in your explanation. With newfound confidence, you continued, "As for which area, the farther they are, the softer they sound. I believe no further explanation is required here. Bottomline is, hearing one pop in each Ground is the key."

Still intently observing you, you spoke up again. "Is there something wrong?"

He pointed at the recruits below, now being lectured by Hasegawa.

"These dimwits who already had an experience of one year got outsmarted by you. That's what's wrong."

He stood up straight and continued, "Not only do they fail to showcase their improvement, their senses and heads weren't working at all. Makes you wonder how they're still alive after all those attacks."

'Well, you probably soloed most of the Kaiju…' you thought.

"You're making it seem like a big deal that I guessed the numbers. I work in the Operations, isn't it normal for us to be more observant than most people?"

You hear a co-worker chuckle. "Ah, well, the thing is, you're the most detail-oriented out of all of us. Remarkably good hearing too. That's why you're our designated eavesdropper—or gossiper, rather." they joked.

Narumi snickered. "Why're you here anyways? Desperate for advice?" he taunted, wiggling his eyebrows. "My word comes with a price, just saying."

You stood up and crossed your arms, wanting to appear grumpy. "Whatever price it is, I'm not paying it. I don't need any help at all."

"The price is helping me with my training. Right now. What do you say?"

…Were you hearing things? Help with his training? So many officers would beg and die to be offered this opportunity.

"I have work to do."

"Nahh, I'll have Kurusu deal with that." He grabbed your wrist without warning and led you away, earning worried stares from the people stationed behind.

"...Pray tell, how is this exactly training?"

"Mhm? I'm showing you my shooting skills, and you get to assist me with that. And— Hey, watch out! They're attacking you from the back!" he screamed, his focus still on the huge TV display in front of you.

That's right. The training he offered you is playing a 2-player shooting game. You seemed like you needed advice, and luckily (for him), he needed a player 2 to get the reward locked behind co-op. Fair trade, he'd say. It's not like you have any other choice again, so you quickly pushed away the disbelief you initially felt when he led you to his game room office. Two separate blankets were draped over your heads, sitting cross-legged with a pillow to support your arms.

You hear him sigh out in relief as you both finish the current level, as if he was holding his breath for the entire fight. "6:43 PM. We'll finish at exactly 7 for your dinner."

Oh, so he wasn't totally inconsiderate. You've been cooped up here for the entire afternoon, hoping that Kurusu wasn't hosting a search party for you. It was also kinda your fault for incorporating his gaming habits into his training schedule recommendations.

You played wordlessly, following along his instructions. You got the grasp of the game after an hour of playing, but leave it to the expert to take charge. He wasn't lying when he said you'd finish at exactly 7, the huge golden "Congratulations" banner displayed on the screen.

"Meh. That was too fast."

Looking at him incredulously, you said, "You call that fast? My ass hurts from sitting here for the entire afternoon!"

"But you stayed anyway, though?"

Ah, well… that was true. He never said you couldn't leave. But somehow, you felt like you can't.

"Can I now, then? I'm hungry." Standing up and going straight to his door, you didn't fail to notice how serious his expression has gotten.

"How do you feel now? What are you thinking of?" he asked.

"I feel… hungry? I can't think of anything to think of." Not knowing why he asked those out of the blue, but it was a harmless question to begin with.

He turned his back to you, moving to turn off his gaming console. "Good. Remember that."

"What?"

"Don't think of anything. Just do what you can in the moment. You'll know once you're there. That's my piece of advice."

Oh. He's right—you totally forgot about the recruitment. But it didn't stress you out as it did before. Did he also feel this way when he took the tests? Probably not. But you're sure he does whatever he can at all times.

A soft smile adorned your face, thinking that he wasn't such an ass after all. "Thank you, Platoon Leader Narumi. I'll make sure to remember it. I'll be on my way now, then."

Once he heard the door close, he lightly scratched his nape. Truth be told, he only did this to slightly repay you for looking over him as his personal manager. Still, this was so unlike him. Maybe he was the one feeling restless?

He'll definitely watch you on your examination.

[pookie-mulder]

June 2024 fic roundup

Here are my favorite June reads:

👶📝 Of Our Own Making by @television-overload

I totally forgot to put this on last month’s list! I absolutely loved reading each new chapter every morning at work. I can’t not read a marriage of convenience fic, especially when there’s a baby involved.

💌🦃 Small Lives Awake by Jesemie’s Evil Twin

You know when you read something so sweet, so pure, that you feel like it breaks your heart in the best way? That’s this fic. It’s incredibly fluffy without being cheesy, and the writing style is so elegant.

🏝️👨‍👩‍👦 The Eden Series by Jacque LaVa

Was this the best fic I’ve ever read? No. Was everyone OOC? Definitely. Did I still enjoy it? You bet. I cannot resist the siren call of a survival fic, an amnesia fic, or a kidfic, and this had all three.

👰‍♀️🤵‍♂️ The Marriage Spectacular by @cecilysass

I’ve never met a cecilysass fic I didn’t like, and this was no exception. Fake relationship my beloved! Only one bed my beloved! Mulder and Scully being idiots in love my beloved! Absolutely delightful. 10/10, no notes.

🌀☔️ Hurricane Season by beduini & rah

This fic perfectly captures M&S’s “we’re completely and utterly devoted to each other and literal soulmates yet we still doubt our place in each other’s lives and we never actually talk about it” dynamic that we know and love. It takes place when William is a few months old and they’re still trying to define their relationship. I loved it SO MUCH!

(hmu for an epub — the chapters are long, which makes it easy to lose your place if you don’t finish the chapter in one sitting)

❄���✈️ WHITEOUT by EvanBlack

A classic “Mulder and Scully get in a plane crash and have to survive until help arrives” story. (You all know by now how much I love a survival fic!)

I absolutely adored the dynamic between them in this one. They’re down SO bad for each other, and it shows. I especially loved the beginning when they’re both wishing they were sitting next to each other so they could hold hands. That’s the good stuff right there!

🛁🧪 Antidote by Rachel Howard and Karen Rasch

Mulder and Scully investigate an unknown contagion in a remote town. You can probably guess what happens from there.

This was the perfect road trip read! Engaging and exciting without being too plot-heavy.

🤰👶 40 Weeks by @malibusunset-xf-blog

What if the IVF worked?

The most delectable pregnancy fluff with a dash of smut and a healthy serving of Mulder and Scully figuring out their relationship.

🪶🐎 Omens by @lepusarticus

I cannot say enough good things about this fic. It’s definitely a new addition to the Holy Grail list.

It’s a casefic, but it doesn’t feel like a casefic…more like an exploration of magic and family and love. With its spooky small-town gothic vibe and emphasis on powerful women and strange houses and ancient magic, it reminds me a lot of my favorite book series, The Raven Cycle. (If you liked this fic, you should go read TRC!)

This fic has layers and nuance and themes and motifs and gorgeous metaphors and one incredibly hot scene that ticked all my boxes. Even the OCs are rich and compelling. I would read a whole series set in this universe!

💥🚗 Goshen by Bonetree

Emily angst plus survival plus tending to each other’s injuries plus hurt/comfort? Yes please! I love it when I find a fic that seems to be created in a lab just for me.

(After reading the summaries of the following installments, I’m not quite sure if they’re really my thing. Has anyone read the rest of the series? Did you like it?)

👦🏻🦊 A Boy and His Fox by 6hoursgirl

Mulder and Scully “platonically” coparent their son. Mulder learns what it means to be a dad. Pure, unadulterated fluff! If you like kidfics, this one is a must-read.

📚👩‍⚕️ Heuvelmans’ On the Track by The_Mythopeodic

This fic is a fandom classic, and I can definitely see why. The author uses language in unexpected and interesting ways, which is not something you see very often in fic.

I tend to go for “popcorn” fics that are addictive and easy to binge. This one is more like a hearty slab of meat. Both types are good in their own way, but this fic made me work for it.

Anyway, I got a bit frustrated with myself around the halfway mark and kept having to reread passages a few times to truly understand what’s going on. I lamented that I needed a reading guide like they used to give you in English class.

After putting it aside for a few days, I came back and DEVOURED the second half. I don’t want to spoil anything, but if you’ve read it, you know what I’m talking about. I loooooved seeing Scully be resourceful and scrappy and capable, and the epilogue is incredible. I’m glad I pushed through!

🪡🌨️ Skamania County by Sarie_Fairy

This is actually the second time I’ve read this one, which I didn’t realize until near the end when I tried to leave kudos, haha. Anyway, I loved it both times! It has everything that makes survival fics so enticing: a nice trip to the woods that quickly goes wrong, one person hiding their life-threatening injury from the other, the intimacy of tending to their wounds, cuddling (naked) for warmth, and finally resolving that UST. Chef’s kiss!

🧙‍♀️🔭 The Mars Differential by @asteraceae-blue

This one is a WIP, and I cannot wait for the rest! It’s an intriguing casefile with plenty of msr.

I also read a bunch of @o6666666’s fics thanks to this masterlist that made its way around recently!

They are the master of writing fic that hurts so good. This IVF arc one might be my favorite, along with this season 9 one that squeezed my heart like a stress ball.

[alexfromjersey]

𝓒𝓸𝓷𝓯𝓮𝓼𝓼𝓲𝓸𝓷𝓼 & 𝓐𝓻𝓰𝓾𝓶𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓼

jenna ortega x g!poc

summary: two months go by after the premiere of Scream 6. after not speaking for a month, Jenna finds you and has some intense news to share.

warnings: mature language, angst, fluff, mentions abortion

a/n: I'M NOT SCARED OF LIONS, AND TIGERS, AND BEARS...oh and I totally forgot that the Met was May 1 sooooo pretend it was a little bit later in the month. 3.7k words

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter | Series Masterlist

MAY 2023

Life has certainly skyrocketed for you after you released your vlog of the Scream 6 red carpet premiere. Everyone loved the funny moments between you and Davis and the cast appearances. The fans also noticed the interaction between you and Jenna, which blew up. You gained a lot more followers, going from 16.6k to almost 50k in a couple of weeks.

It was a tad bit overwhelming, having more eyes on you but it’s what you signed up for. You just had to adjust. 

“Chat, I got word that my special package is coming soon for the stream. I’m mad excited to show y’all this shit” You beamed. 

You sat back in your gaming chair wearing black basketball shorts and a black tank top. You had your reading glasses on because you were blind as fuck. You just finished playing the new season of Call of Duty and now you were talking to your chat for the last hour of your stream. 

Lately, you’ve noticed that you've lost focus a little bit. Ever since that night with Jenna, it replayed on your mind over and over again. The way her lips felt against yours, the sounds she let out when you pleasured her, and her beautiful body. 

You hate to admit it but you were starting to feel the actress. You’ve had your fair share of women, some that were relationships and some that were just for fun. But you never felt this way about a girl before and it kinda scared you. 

“When are you releasing new music? Whenever I can find studio time. On some real shit chat, I’ve been writing a lot more lately and I really wanna hit up the studio so anyone that can squeeze me in, DM me please” You spoke to chat. 

It didn’t help that Jenna stopped contacting you after a month and some change. You haven’t gotten any DMs, texts, or FaceTime calls in weeks. At first, you figured she was busy doing her job and she didn’t have any time to talk. A quick little text would be enough though.

But you had to remember that y’all are not together. No use of crying over spilled milk. Davis was upset when you told him.

You stupid motherfucker - again his exact words.

“I haven’t looked at my Reddit in a minute, let’s see what’s happening there,” You said and clicked to Reddit.

The first thing that popped up was a picture of you and Jenna at the restaurant. The caption said, “not Jah tryna rizz up MY WIFE!?!?”

You continued to scroll through the Reddit seeing nothing but edits of you at the premiere. There were some edits and pictures of you and Jenna with outrageous captions which made you laugh. You continued scrolling through and interacting with chat for the last fifteen minutes before getting off for the night.

Now you are bored and hungry. You threw on your slides and grabbed your accessories before leaving the apartment. You were craving a baconeggandcheese on an everything bagel from the bodega around the corner. 

( your outfit ^ )

You got to the bodega and ordered your sandwich, grabbed a soda, and some snacks for the rest of the night. About five minutes later, your sandwich was done. You bid goodbye to everyone in the store including the cat at the register before heading back towards your apartment. However, the loud sound of a horn can be heard throughout the night air. You ignored it, thinking it was not for you, and kept walking. But the horn sounded again and a heavy-tinted black SUV pulled up next to you. You were on guard now, you thought you were about to either get got or robbed. You freed your left hand just in case, you had to pull out the tool. But then the back passenger side window rolled down and a familiar face was seen.

“Yo Hollywood, word to you was about to get got. Why you roll up on me like that?” You questioned as you relaxed seeing her face. 

“We beeped the horn twice to get your attention” Jenna replied. 

“This is New York, car horns are heard every second and can mean various things. We beep and shout out the window here” You joked.

A small smile appeared on her face for a second before she turned to someone in the vehicle with her. 

“I need to talk to you…it’s important” She mumbled loud enough for me to hear. 

“Nah I ain’t getting in shit. You ghost me for a month and then roll up on me like this. How did you find me anyway?” You questioned. 

“Davis…I called him. It took a while for him to tell me where you lived but after I expressed how important it was, he gave it to me. Look, I know we haven’t spoken in a month and there’s a reason for that. If you would just get in the car, I will explain everything” Jenna answered. 

You sighed, contemplating getting in the vehicle or not. But after a small inner battle, you walked to the back driver's side and got in the SUV. Inside the vehicle was the driver, an older woman in the passenger seat, Jenna, and a boy who looked around your age. You were highly confused about what was happening.

“Where are we going?” You asked anyone.

“Somewhere we can talk privately” Jenna answered when no one did. 

You hummed in response, you looked down at her and took in her appearance. She was dressed in Adidas pants and an oversized sweater. She had shades covering her eyes which you found odd since it was nighttime. She kept picking at the sleeves of her shirt and bouncing her leg nervously. 

A clear throat made you look away from Jenna to the unknown boy next to her. He was glaring at you and clenching and unclenching his fist. You raised an eyebrow at him before you snorted. Jenna turned to you at the sound but you didn’t spare her another glance. 

You took out your sandwich and began chowing down on it. It was getting cold and you didn’t know how long this talk was gonna take.

Shortly, you all arrived at a building, it looked like an office building. You finish your meal and throw away your trash before following everyone inside the building. You all walk to the back of a conference room. 

“Okay, so what’s this all about? Cause homeboy over there look like he wanna pop off” You said and pointed to the boy sitting next to Jenna. 

“Jahaziel, I’m Nancy, Jenna’s manager and that gentleman next to her is her friend Hudson Maverick. It’s to our newfound knowledge that, you and Ms. Ortega slept together two months ago right?” Nancy inquired.

“I don’t really put my business out on who I sleep and don’t sleep with, with strangers.” You gave a fake smile to the older woman. 

Nancy sighed and ran her hand through her hair, “Jahaziel I’m -.”

“For godsakes Nancy will you just spit it out already to this girl” Hudson interjected. 

“I don’t know how to come out with something like this Hudson. I told you Jenna should be the one talking” Nancy sighed frustrated. 

You looked back and forth between the two with agitated eyes. They were wasting your time. 

“Listen, if this is about you worrying about running around tell people that we slept together, I’m not that kind of person. I don’t go around telling people who I stick my dick in no matter if they famous or not. So if this is what everything is about, you could have just emailed me” You said and went to leave the room but a soft voice stopped you.

“I’m pregnant”

You stopped in your tracks, Hudson and Nancy quieted down. It was so silent in the conference that you can hear a pin drop in the next room. You turned around to face Jenna who stood up from the table and pulled off her sunglasses. Her eyes were red and puffy like she’s been crying for days and hadn’t gotten a lick of sleep. 

“What?” You whispered.

“Can I talk to her alone please?” Jenna asked quietly. 

Nancy and Hudson looked at each other for a second before nodding. The two got up and left the room, leaving only you and Jenna. 

Jenna stepped towards you, "I'm pregnant. I found out a few days ago when my period didn’t come on. It didn’t come on last month either but I thought it was due to the stress I was under cause it’s happened before. I haven't slept or eaten properly. All I've been doing is crying and crying, wondering how I'm going to tell you. Then I got the courage to finally tell you but then Hudson found the pregnancy test and they started bombarding me with questions."

You felt your heart pick up pace and your palms started to get sweaty. You felt like the oxygen in your body was leaving, you couldn’t breathe. You stumbled into a seat and that’s when Jenna noticed your state. 

“Hey Jahaziel, look at me, breathe okay,” Jenna said and kneeled in front of you. She placed her warm hands on your cheeks and forced you to look at her but you were too busy freaking out.

“I’m a fucking dumb ass bitch, I fucking got a big ass actress pregnant. An actress I barely even know. Do you understand how fucking insane this whole thing is? I just started this YouTube shit, I still live in an overpriced shitty-ass rat-infested apartment complex in a neighborhood where I don’t know if once I step outside I’ll get shot or not. How the fuck you not freaked out right now” You ranted.

“You don’t think I’m losing my mind? Ever since I found out, I have a fucking panic attack every time I wake up. I’m twenty years old, I just booked several movies. I don’t have any time to have a child.” Jenna exclaimed.

“Well, it seems like you getting an abortion is the only option then” You argued. 

“Don’t make that decision for me” Jenna boomed. 

“What the fuck! You just fucking said that you won’t have any time to have a child. What the fuck you gonna do Jenna? Are you gonna fucking wish the baby out of you and everything will fall into place in an instant? You fucking Harry Houdini now?” You yelled, your Bronx accent getting heavy as you shouted. 

“Oh you are just fucking hilarious, huh, your a fucking comedian” Jenna growled.

“You not saying what you want to do! You say you don’t have time for a child then when I say abortion is the only option, you fucking lash out at me.” You roared. 

“Because I don’t want to get an abortion, I want to keep the baby!” Jenna belted. You looked at her face properly now and saw tears were now falling freely down her face. You closed your eyes and take a deep breath in, holding it for ten seconds, before releasing it. You repeated this process a couple of times before you felt yourself calm down. It was a technique the Marines taught you while you were in service, it came in handy most times. 

“I’ve always wanted to be a mom. Being a mom was something I knew I wanted to experience. Having a little mini-me running around with my and my partner’s personality. The experience came a lot earlier than I expected and not the ideal way but I have the chance and I’m not passing it despite what I said because I’ll figure it out. I always figure it out” Jenna confessed. 

She then pulled out a folded Manila envelope and slid it toward you. 

“So if you don’t want anything to do with me and the baby, you can sign your rights away. Nancy’s number is on that business card and she’ll come pick up the papers in the morning” Jenna continued. 

She then got up and walked out of the room.

“Jenna” You called out but she was long gone out of the room with her people following her. 

You sighed and rubbed your hands down your face, extremely stressed out. 

Honestly, you didn’t know what you wanted to do. You never thought about being a parent, especially after the way your father up and left you, your Mom, and your older brother years ago. You never gave parenthood a thought. You needed a second opinion and a blunt.

🤰🏻🩵

It was now 2 in the morning, you sat on your fire escape looking down at the streets with the papers in your hand. You just finished your second blunt of the night to help with the racing thoughts but it only increased it. You kept staring at the signature on the paper, wanting to write your name but not wanting to also. 

“You stress anymore, you gon’ pop a blood vessel” Davis said as he stepped out onto your fire escape. 

Once you found a way back home, you immediately called Davis and told him everything that happened. He told you as soon as he finished with his project, he was rushing over. 

“I feel like I’m about to have an aneurysm,” You said. 

“I would be too if I was in your position. This shit is a mess” Davis stated and took the papers from your clenched hand. He looked over it and exhaled deeply. “So you sign this and all your rights are taken away. No seeing the baby. Nothing?”

“Nothing. I won’t have a say in anything, can’t see them. I’ll literally just be the sperm donor” You said. 

“Is that what you really want? To be known as the sperm donor. You realize that she’s a mega actress and once the news gets out, it ain’t gon’ be long til people figure who the other parent is” Davis stated. 

“I don’t know what I fucking want. A part of me is ecstatic that I have a child on the way.” You exclaimed. 

“What about the other part?” Davis questioned.

You sat in the chair with cloudy eyes. Once Davis got a look at your expression, he immediately realized what this was all about. 

“Your father. You don’t want to end up like him” Davis nodded. 

“It’s been six years and that motherfucker still finds a way to haunt me. It’s pathetic” You scoffed. 

“No, it's human. Jah, he is your father-”

“Was. That bitch ass motherfucker ain’t shit to me now” You seethed. 

Davis sighed, “Either way, who said you was gonna end up like him. You plan on signing those papers and ditching your child? That ain’t you.”

You looked down at your hands, finding them more interesting. 

“Look, all those feelings you feeling right now…is that how you want your child to feel about you when they grow up. That you ain’t nothing but a bitch ass motherfucker?” Davis questioned. 

You took in your best friend’s words. “Look I know this whole situation is unconventional but you have to own up to it. You and I both know for a fact that you don’t want to sign these papers. You want to be in your child’s life. So stop being a fucking idiot, rip up those papers, and apologize to Jenna.”

Suddenly, the alarm on Davis’ phone starts to blare. You checked the time and saw that it was almost 3 o’clock now. 

“I have to get some rest for tomorrow. But on some real shit Jah, really think about what you want” Davis added before disappearing inside your apartment. 

Once again, you were left alone on the fire escape with nothing but your thoughts and the occasional crackhead shouts. You looked down at the papers again before shoving them back into the envelope and heading inside for the night.

🤰🏻🩵

The next morning, you were up and ready. You only got like an hour of sleep but that hour of sleep gave you a mindset. You texted the number on the business card and finesse your way to getting information about where Jenna was going to be today. She had a fitting for her Met Gala dress at the moment at a studio Downtown, so that’s where you were. You parked your car and paid the meter before heading inside the studio where she would be.

(your outfit for today ^ )

You texted the number that you were downstairs with the papers. After waiting for about ten minutes, you expected to see Nancy but Hudson came downstairs. 

“Jahazel or whatever you name is…” Hudson greeted with no emotion. He held his hand out, waiting for the papers but you never put them in his hands.

“Firstly it’s Jahaziel and secondly, I know I’m probably the last person she wants to see right now and I don’t want to mess up anything she’s doing right now. But can I talk to her please?” You pleaded.

“Absolutely not. Not after what you said to her yesterday, I’m not letting a hoodlum like you step near her again. You ruined enough for her already” Hudson hissed. 

“Who you calling a hoodlum skinny Fred Jones” You questioned offended. Hudson attempted to grab the papers from your hand but you moved them away. The move made his whole face start to turn red from anger. 

“Give me the papers before I call the cops on you” Hudson threatened.

“Call the fucking cops pussy” You snapped and stepped towards him. Before either of you can lay a hand on one another, a brolic man stepped in between y’all. You recognized that it was Big L and he was pulling you away from Hudson while another security guard stood next to him.

“I need you to calm down” Big L’s rough voice ordered. 

“Alright, alright I’m calm” You grumbled and pulled your arm from him.

“Listen, meet in the back alley in ten minutes” Big L instructed in a tone that only you and him can hear.

“Big L…my man you attractive and all but I don’t swing that way” You joked.

Big L rolled his eyes, “I’ll take you to see Jenna.”

“Oh, that makes more sense. I thought you were about to suggest something to me” You lightly chuckled. 

Big L just looked at you with a neutral expression before walking away toward Hudson.

“Damn not even a little giggle?” You pouted as you left the building. 

You waited in your car for ten minutes before going into the back alley like Big L said. He was waiting for you at the door and motioned for you to speed up. He then took you through various rooms and floors. By the 10th floor, your legs were jelly.

“Aye yo, Black Panther why didn’t we take the elevators? I’m not that fit like you. I’m skinny fit I was born with abs I didn’t work for these like you did” You complained out of breath.

“Because Hudson told every guard in the building to have you arrested for trespassing if they spot you” Big L answered.

“Is it really that serious though, you would think I be fucking aggressively stalking Jenna” You huffed and walked up another flight of stairs.

“Hudson has always been overprotective of Jenna, ever since he started working for her last year” Big L commented.

“Overprotective? For what reason?” You asked.

“Don’t know. I don’t get paid to ask unnecessary questions” Big L replied. 

You hummed in response and walked up another two flights of stairs before Big L opened the door to the 13th floor. Big L checked to make sure no guard was in the vicinity before he motioned you to follow him. You felt like you were on a James Bond stealth mission, it was exciting. He took you to the last door on the floor before knocking. 

“Ms. Ortega, Nancy will like to come in” Big L said.

“Okay, send her in” Jenna spoke after a moment. 

That was your queue to enter the room. You closed the door behind me and took in that you were in an open floor room with racks of clothes against the windows. It smelt expensive as fuck in the room.

“What are you doing here?” Jenna’s voice brought you back to reality. She was standing in front of you with a familiar flannel on. It was buttoned to cover her chest area but unbuttoned around her stomach area. Through a tiny gap, you can see her belly protruding a little.

“I…uh wanted to talk to you” You spoke. 

Jenna scoffed, “I think you spoke enough last night.” She walked away from you and into a different room.

“Wait, look I apologize for the way I reacted last night. It’s sincere too cause people from New York don’t apologize” You stated. 

“If you came here to be a comedian, you can go Jahaziel” Jenna grumbled. 

You sighed, you have to be serious. You can see that she’s stressed and not in the mood for jokes so you had to be serious. You walked up behind her and grabbed her shoulders. At first, she shrugged you off but you placed your hands there again and more firm. You turned her around to face you.

“Real shit, I’m sorry Jenna. For everything last night, you didn’t deserve me talking to you like that. Truth be told, I was mad scared when you told me that you are pregnant. My father up and left my family when I was 15 and it left some deep wounds in me. When I was younger I aspired to grow up, get married, have a family, and have a love like my Ma and Father did but then he left without saying a word and it tainted that aspiration. I got scared because I didn’t want to be like him” You explained to the shorter girl. 

“You could have told me that. I would've understood completely” Jenna mumbled.

“I know and I should’ve but I’m not really good at explaining my feelings.” You responded. 

Jenna glanced at the envelope in your hand, “I’m guessing you made your decision.”

“Yeah, I did” You replied and ripped the envelope in half. Jenna gave you a surprised look. “Look, me and you made this baby together even though we ain’t in a relationship…yet. I don’t want to be like my father. I also don’t want you to do this by yourself. Our baby, our responsibility. I’m with you to the end Hollywood” You smiled and stuck your hand out.

She looked down and chuckled before shaking your hand. The two of you looked into each other’s eyes and never stopped. The room felt hotter and your hand was still holding hers. Suddenly, Jenna took your hand and placed it on her small belly. 

“Til the end NYC” Jenna smiled.

taglist: @grandpatrolnut @raven-ss @fanboy7794 @morganismspam23

[dolcettamagica]

𐙚˙⋆.˚ 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐒𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 ch.4

rick x reader, prime rick x reader

tags: sexually suggestive, possessive & obsessive prime rick, alcohol and weed mentioned notes: minors dni, chapter one, chapter two, chapter three wc: 1.9k

Awakening in the dimly lit confines of the garage, Rick found himself entangled in blankets atop an old mattress, his head pounding in synchrony with the distant echo of Morty and Summer fighting in his mind. With bleary eyes and disheveled hair, he stared at your still sleeping form, trying to piece together the events of the previous night. The scent of space-alcohol heavy in the air, mingling with the tang of space-weed, serving as a reminder of their unconventional sleeping arrangements. As Rick gingerly sat up, his body protesting the excesses of the night before. He didn’t remember shit after hitting the bong.

“Fu–Fucking hell…”, His calloused hand ran over his face. How could he be so high and drunk that he forgot everything? What if something happened between you two yesterday and he just can't remember it? After all he did want to fuck you the whole time. Rick's dark eyes scanned your body. "Hm...", only a pair of panties and a tank-top still covered your soft skin. Unconsciously, he reached out, his fingers running over your thigh. You were deep asleep, not moving an inch. Rick was lying at the other end of the bed and had the perfect view of your perfect ass. You were lying on your stomach, one leg bent, your pussy right in front of him. How easy would it be to take what he wants now? Rick may be an asshole, a man who doesn't care about the feelings of others, but he's not that kind of asshole. So he decided to wake you up. Hopefully you could remember what happened and could tell him what happened.

With a heavy sigh Rick woke you up. You stirred from your restless slumber, your head throbbing in protest. Confusion clouded your thoughts as you struggled due to the memories hazy and fragmented. With a groan, you reluctantly opened your eyes to the harsh reality of your surroundings. The moment your eyes met Rick’s you remembered everything. Every little detail. The heated kiss, his enormous cock slapping your clit, the way he grinded against you almost causing you cum without any penetration needed, the way he called you little one, slut, whore.

“So…”, Rick broke the silence, “Wh–What happened last night?”

“Excuse me? Are you for real?” “I–I’m going to be ho–honest, y/n, I don’t remember shit.”

Was this a blessing or a curse? “Nothing happened except you totally succumbing to your God complex and calling yourself a god over and over again while smoking and drinking like a maniac.” It’s better this way.

Rick was disappointed but he sensed that you didn’t tell him the whole truth. Yet he didn’t ask any further. If he really needed to know he could just travel back in time or travel to a universe in which he remembers the event and ask that Rick. There is always a solution. Didn’t mean he wasn’t going to tease you a little.

“You sound disappointed”, he sneered, leaning forward, “Wanted Mr. Sanchez to play with you a little, baby?” You reacted exactly the way he wanted you to – blushing and pouting. Fuck, so cute. Those pouty lips would look even cuter wrapped around his big cock while he fucks your face. Sensing himself getting turned he swiftly stood up, while you were calling him a disgusting pervert, ready to leave the garage. “H–Hurry up and dress. I need Mo–Morty today so you can chill with Summer.” With that he left you alone in the garage, your cheeks flushed red and your pussy already wet.

The rest of the day went smoothly. Rick and Morty were gone, Rick said something about a crystal he needed, Morty was convinced it was a drug. Beth was at work and you were with Summer. Every now and then Jerry would come in and tell unfunny jokes. Summer was a sweetheart, a sweet girl. You felt comfortable with her, as if your souls already knew each other. Is that what you call a soul mate?

"Oh my God, that looks so good," Summer was on the verge of shrieking. You sat at her dressing table in front of her mirror, while Summer stood behind you and examined her work on your face. She really wanted to do your make-up, she had watched hundreds of tutorials. "y/n, that looks amazing on you. You're already pretty as it is, but now it's just wow."

She was right. Summer had applied the make-up to your facial features and undertone, she had even gone shopping for the right colors for your foundation and concealer.

"You have magic hands, Sum, maybe you should do this for a living." With a bright smile, you looked her in the eye as her cheeks flushed.

"Stop, I'm blushing... Do you think I could make a lot of money with this?"

Before you could answer, Jerry came back into the room and asked you to come down. Beth wanted everyone to have dinner together. At that moment you regretted wearing makeup. Summer reassured you that it was okay and that there was no need to be embarrassed. After all, Summer was wearing it, too. Both you made your ways downstairs when suddenly Rick and Morty burst through the door. Morty, fueled by a sense of moral righteousness and exasperation with Rick's nihilistic worldview, launches into a fervent tirade, challenging Rick's disregard for consequences and his cavalier attitude towards life. Rick, ever the cynic and intellectual juggernaut, counters with a barrage of cutting remarks and biting sarcasm, wielding his vast knowledge and cunning to dismantle Morty's arguments piece by piece. Their verbal duel dances on the fine line between respect and disdain.

“Yo–you’re a monster, Rick! A monster! You traded that woman for a crystal!”

“You dumb fu–fucking piece of horny shit! It was a fucking robot with–with some tits attached! Jesus. You’re so fucking dumb, Morty. Get the fu–fuck out of my face.”

“How about you both shut the fuck up?”, both turned their heads towards you – Morty ready to apologize, Rick ready to tear you to shreds. Yet both didn’t utter a word when they saw you. Apparently your makeup was more than just wow. 

Morty finds himself momentarily entranced by your presence. Caught off guard by your beauty, Morty's typically awkward demeanor gives way to a bashful charm as he fumbles for words in her captivating presence. His gaze lingers, momentarily forgetting that he was fighting with Rick. “S-s-s-sorry!”, he bursted out, almost screaming.

“Morty…sit down next to Summer”, Rick mumbled, his eyes glued on you. Morty was about to protest but Summer grabbed his wrist and sat him down next to her. Summer could sense what was happening and if Rick liking you (a bit too much) meant you staying with her as a big sister forever, she would be the ultimate wingwoman.

Sitting next to Rick now after what happened last night and him not remembering anything sounded like a bad idea. Sitting next to this burping alcoholic sounded like a bad idea in general. “You’re annoying”, you mumbled right before Beth and Jerry joined. Protesting Rick was not an option now. Beth and Jerry were so kind and welcoming, you didn’t want to be mean or overstep your boundaries so you took a seat next to Rick.

At first you thought this family was toxic and eating with them was going to be awkward but now that you took a close look at them you could feel that they all love each other very much. Beth was complimenting your makeup, praising Summer’s skill. Jerry made a comment about Beth being the prettiest and even though she huffed, you didn’t miss her slight smile to his compliment. Summer and Morty were snickering about something that happened at school the other day while insulting each other here and there. And Rick? Rick was simply staring at you. Annoying. You rolled your eyes and turned your head to face him. “What are you looking at, old man?”, you whispered.

Old man. Old man. Old man.

In a poignant moment of revelation, Rick's fragmented memories are suddenly restored upon hearing these two specific words. These words that started everything. As the syllables reach his ears, a flood of forgotten moments rushes back with startling clarity. His lips on yours, the taste of your mouth, your trembling legs, how wet you were just because he played with your nipples and grinded against clit and the overbearing urge to pound into your wet cunt. With newfound clarity he smirks, lowering his head to whisper back “What did I tell you about calling me an old man, little one?”

“You…you said you forgot?”

“Just remembered after you call–called me an old man.”

“Rick? y/n? Everything okay?”, Beth asked confused as she saw you two whispering, causing you to lean back and press yourself against the back of your chair. You wanted to disappear right now.

“Y–yea, sweetie, everything–everything is fine. Damn”, he took a bite of his steak, “This–this tastes amazing, sweetie.” A master of manipulation and changing the subject. Beth blushed and continued arguing with Jerry about some lame coin collection. Summer and Morty were deeply concentrated on their phones now.

Rick saw the events of last night flashing before his eyes non-stop and he could feel his dick getting harder by every second, wanting nothing more to drag you to the garage and fuck you raw. He slowly placed his hand on your thigh, letting it wander down, dangerously close to your crotch. Never was he happier that someone invented skirts. He felt the warmth of your pussy radiating, his fingers twitched, he wanted you so badly. Ah, fuck it, I did worse. Without missing a beat he pressed his index finger against your clit and your thigh closed, entrapping his hand.

Once again he leaned down, his lips gracing your ear, his hot breath on your skin “Not a sound, slut.”

Prime was consumed by an insatiable desire to possess every aspect of your life. His obsession with you bordered on madness, his every waking moment consumed by thoughts of you. He couldn't bear the thought of anyone else so much as glancing in your direction – not even another Rick. Especially not C-137.

He didn't sleep at all last night, his mind was being haunted with images of you and C-137 which were flashing over his monitor. The moment Rick forgot what happened last night and you not telling him was more than just a delight for him. So, seeing you and Rick now flirting at the dining table was enough for him to punch his desk in half with one slam of his fists. "This can't fucking be!"

He knew he should not be this angry, fuming with rage and jealousy, wishing to kill C-137 with his own hands for daring to treat you this way. C-137 is an inferior version of himself yet it isn't him. It isn't his finger carelessly playing with your pussy right now and it wasn't his cock making you moan and squirm last night. Yet, he still tried to find a way to make himself the one you actually want.

"She is used to my body…n-naturally – naturally she lets C-137. She wants me. She belongs to me."

[phoebepheebsphibs]

Double-Mutated Mikey

Chapter 19: Pathology

Continued from the short story written by @boots-with-the-fur-club

Prev || Next

Mikey wakes up to the sound of shouting and yelling.

"Oh, no.... oh no... oh no, oh no, oh nonononono...! Why today? This couldn't have happened like, last week, or maybe next month?!"

Mikey wonders what could be so upsetting to Leo. There's the sound of rushing back and forth, people shouting and whining and acting all terrified. He watches from his room as people keep running past his door.

A figure stops in his doorway -- Leo, by the smell and voice -- and flicks on the lights while yelling worriedly. The lights blind him momentarily as his vision switches from heat-seeking to binocular.

"Mikey! We gotta get you somewhere safe, bud..."

"Why?" he croaks.

Mikey doesn't even have to get out of the hammock before Leo scoops him up -- blankets and all -- and starts running with him.

"Dad's sick with rat flu!"

"Huh?"

"You don't remember rat flu?" Leo asks, looking down at Mikey as he runs. "Well, uh... it's this whole thing, it would take too long to explain. Basically, he gets a really bad cold and has weird symptoms. We don't wanna risk you getting infected just yet, so I'm having you bunker down in Dee's lab."

Mikey isn't sure what is going on, but everyone seems frantic. Leo drops him off in the lab, where Casey is also hiding out.

"Are you sure we'll be safe in here?" Casey asks, watching as Mikey is gently set down on the floor, blanket still wrapped around his shoulders.

"Probably... Splinter will be more focused on us than you, so all should be well... Have you ever seen rat flu, Casey?"

"A few times, though I don't remember much," Casey says with a shrug. "It happened mostly when I was a toddler, and before we had to eat Master Splinter."

"Okay, well, there's the seven stages -- wait, what?"

Leo shakes his head and holds up his hands.

"Nevermind, forget I asked, moving past, I don't ever want to know that story..."

"It was the apocalypse, we were running low on food, and his last wishes were--"

"But back to the rat flu!" Leo interrupts loudly, "Splinter will be going through the full seven stages, and those are way too chaotic for Mikey to be caught up in just yet. Besides, we don't know how well he's going to react to the flu if he should get contaminated by the germs. It's safest to just keep him in preemptive quarantine for now..."

"Alright, so what's first?" Casey asks, sitting next to Mikey.

Mikey shuffles just a bit away from him, eyeing Casey's hands nervously as his brother explains.

"First stage is fever, which -- oh man, I totally forgot about that..."

"What?" Mikey asks, concerned for why Leo is getting so bent out of shape. "What wrong?"

"Dad's first symptom is he gets overheated from the fever, so he cranks the AC all the way up," Leo groans, rushing out and shouting to the others. "Raph! I need blankets and a heater, stat!"

"Cold?" Mikey asks nervously.

"Yup, very cold. But we'll be prepared, don't worry," Leo says, as Raph rushes in with a stack of quilts and a heater.

"Will this be enough?" Raphael asks, handing half of the stack to the leader.

"I think so... Casey, there's a hoodie here, you should bundle up too," Leo says, throwing the oversized shirt at the future boy while Raph wraps Mikey up like a burrito.

"Danger?" Mikey asks nervously, watching Raph.

"No, there's no danger, it's just crazy and confusing," Raph reassures him.

Mikey can smell the fear. He can hear the nervous twinge in his voice. He can see the wrinkles on his head forming.

But Mikey trusts them. They may be scared, but they will help.

Mikey snuggles into the quilts and hums. Leo and Casey set up the heater before the two brothers leave the room.

"Casey knows how to work the door, so if anything goes wrong, he'll open it up, okay? But unless you hear one of us say something, keep this door locked for now."

"Leo safe? Raph safe?" Mikey asks.

"Sure! Like I said, it's just a flu."

Leo hands a communicator to Casey before he winks at Mikey, his smile strained and thin. The doors close with a hiss and a click, bolting from the inside out.

Mikey and Casey sit quietly as they wait.

Soon enough the air seems to chill, and their breaths can be seen as fog in the room. Mikey squirms in discomfort, pulling the blankets closer. Casey starts to shiver.

The communicator beeps, and Leo's voice chimes in.

"Stage one is in progress. You guys okay?"

"We're f-f-fine," Casey chatters. "K-k-keep us upd-d-dated."

"Will do."

The line clicks, and the two sit in silence.

Mikey shivers. The blankets help, but he can still feel the frigid chill of the air through the sheets. It doesn't hurt yet, but it is uncomfortable. The floor is ice under him. He tucks the quilts under his feet and legs as he tries to insulate himself better. He looks over to see Casey suffering by the heater. Mikey chirps at him to get his attention.

"Sh-sh-share?" he asks.

Casey looks Mikey up and down before nodding. Mikey hops over and opens his fortress, a gush of icey air whooshing in and stabbing his unprotected legs. He gasps and hisses through his teeth as Casey slides in and helps wrap the blankets around them again.

"The shared body heat will h-help," he says, his shivers shaking him to the core. "Thanks. I-I-I didn't think you l-liked m-m-me anymore..."

Mikey frowns.

"M-Mikey not h-hate Casey..."

He slinks into his shell a bit more.

"...Mikey s-s-scared of Casey..."

"Scared?" Casey stares wide at Mikey. "Why?"

"Mikey... not r-r-rem-member-r Casey. But Cas-s-sey human, humans scare Mikey," he whimpers.

Mikey hides his face under the blanket. Or maybe he's just trying to keep warm.

"Humans mean. Hate Mikey. Hurt Mikey. Mikey scared a lot... Mikey scared."

Casey sighs.

"I guess that makes sense. I-If I'm honest, I'd probably be scared of humans t-t-too..." He wraps his arms around the bundle. "But I'm glad you told me. I thought you just hated me!"

Mikey huffs, a shivering chuckle.

"Mikey th-th-thought C-Casey hate Mikey!"

"What? Why?"

"C-C-Casey-y look s-sad," Mikey explains. "Casey look sad at brothers, too. Casey l-look s-scared of Mikey..." Mikey sighs at the last sentence. "Mikey scares brothers. Mikey see. Mikey scary."

"You're n-not scary!" Casey lies. "We're just... concerned for your health. You went through a lot of injury, and we weren't there to help you. That's what scares us."

Mikey peeks up at him. CJ gently presses his head against Mikey's.

"We... we were so terrified, Mikey. You have no idea how happy I was to see you back... last week without you was a nightmare. I've never seen Leo so scared, and I saw him sacrifice everything to send me--"

He clears his throat.

"Uhm... getting off-topic. What I-I'm trying to say is... we're not scared of you, we're scared for you."

Mikey gives him a shy smile. He knows that Casey is lying. He can smell it. But Casey doesn't want to hurt him. Mikey purrs, nuzzling Casey's shoulder. CJ chuckles and pulls Mikey closer.

A moment later, the communicator beeps again.

"Stage two! Repeat, stage two, wild rat man! Donnie has been compromised!"

Casey pulls his wrist up to his face and leans in.

"What's going on out there?!"

"Donnie got pancaked by Splinter, he's quarantined now."

The boys hear a feral squeal over the comm lines, and both eyes go wide.

"S-S-Splinter-r-r?" Mikey asks.

"RUN!" a shout over the comms comes in. "Raph, this way, this way!!"

"W-w-ait, if Splinter's past the f-f-fever s-stage, then why is-s it still s-s-so c-c-c-cold-d-d???" Casey chatters.

"I told you, Donnie got quarantined! He hasn't rebooted the AC yet, and we're on a whole new system now so-- OH WAIT NO LOOK OUT!!"

There's a scuffle and a shuffle heard over the comms, and the two boys listen in intense silence. After a moment, Leo comes back onto the comms.

"Okay, we're good. Close call. How're you two holding up in there?"

"Cold," Mikey complains.

"We'll get to work on resetting the AC. Raph got Donnie's S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N.2.0 to lead Splinter away for the moment... I think we're in the clear..."

Several minutes pass by. Mikey and Casey sit in the lab, cold and waiting. Ten minutes go by. Fifteen.

Mikey's body starts jerking, seizing, convulsing. The pain starts to set in, his body can't handle the low temperature. He gasps, a sharp stabbing sensation in his chest that aches and spreads across his body. He doubles over, clutching his chest with one hand and gripping the blankets with the other.

Casey pulls him closer. Mikey is pressed against his chest, he can CJ's his heart beating. He focuses on that.

Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump.

Casey pulls the comms up again.

"Guys, what's the holdup? Mikey's starting to--"

The lights go out. The heater shuts down. The door hisses and a loud click echoes in the room. Mikey yelps and hugs Casey.

"That's... not good...."

The comms click.

"Ah! Ninja supreme! Stage four!!"

"What happened to stage three?!" Casey shouts. "What have you been doing this whole time?! WHERE ARE YOU GUYS?!"

"He's in the vents!" Raph shouts through the mic.

Mikey hears scratching and scurrying from above. Mikey makes a quick sound, a yelping chirp to warn Casey, before Splinter suddenly descends from the ceiling vents and lands with a smoke bomb on the floor. Mikey and Casey scramble in opposite directions.

The blankets fall off of Mikey's shoulders. He whines in pain, holding himself tight as the cold causes his body to go rigid like he's been frozen solid.

His tail jerks, curling around him in snapping movements, like he's a disc been scratched too many times and it keeps freezing and playing one moment at a time. It's agony, it's killing him, Mikey can't breathe anymore... his lungs feel like they're collapsing inside of him, his bones turn seize up and go stiff in place, his head is buzzing with pins and needles, and his limbs feel like freezer-burn.

Splinter -- in his full ninja garb -- crouches over Mikey and touches his shoulder, inspecting him. Mikey winces, the meager warmth from his father's hand burns against the ice that is his scaly skin. Casey shouts out Mikey's name, and Splinter dashes away into the darkness.

Casey rushes over to Mikey, checking him for injuries.

"Mikey? Mikey!! Michelangelo!! Oh no, oh no... can you hear me?"

Mikey tries to lift his head up to talk to him. He can barely move it, it feels stiff and it hurts to turn his neck. He manages to move his eyes to look up at Casey. He opens his mouth, trying to force out words, a croak, a whimper, anything. All he can manage is a ragged and laboured breath, a gasp for air as he writhes without moving.

"I'm gonna get the guys, I'm gonna get you warm, just stay with me!"

Mikey loses all feeling in his limbs. His tail stops moving. His torso goes numb before it too becomes lost in static. Mikey turns some kind of ghost, and nothing can touch him anymore, and nothing hurts anymore. His ears start ringing, a stuffy distortion that blocks out most sounds. Casey Jr. is two feet away from him, but his voice is far far away. Time slows down, an tormenting eternity that is all of three seconds long.

"Stay with me, Mikey! Stay... stay..."

Everything goes dark. Mikey's eyes slip shut.

He exhales softly.

He doesn't inhale.

.

.

.

"We have to find some way to keep him in line!" Dr. Timothy shouts. "Otherwise, he'll be running rampant throughout the labs!"

"Dr. Chaplin is working on a device that can control--"

"I know what he's working on, Abigail," he interrupts. "But that device won't be ready for quite some time, and we need something now!"

"Then, perhaps we turn to biology?" she offers.

"How do you mean?"

"This specimen has several different species genetic code integrated into his DNA. Perhaps we can find some weakness within the genetics to use against him, should the necessity arise."

"Hm... that could work. Nothing lethal, of course, just uncomfortable for him. Did you have anything specific in mind?"

Mikey watches from his cage as the two scientists look over a series of codes before turning back to look at him.

"Could work..." Timothy mumbles.

"We'll never know unless we try," Abigail replies.

Mikey watches as the two walk out for a moment before coming back in, wearing thick jackets. Timothy turns the air down. Mikey is confused until he starts to jerk slightly. What's... what's happening to him? Why does the air hurt?? Timothy watches him start to shiver and convulse.

"I was right," Dr. Abigail Finn says with a sly smile. "The three reptile DNA mixings have caused a severe reaction to brumation. His system goes into shock."

"Let's see how much he can handle," Timothy chuckles before grabbing a fire extinguisher and soaking Mikey in a cold foam.

"What are you doing?!" Abigail asks, moving away from him.

"Conducting an experiment, of course."

Mikey screams in pain before toppling over. It burns with how cold it is.

"We'll have to weaponize this," Dr. Timothy laughs. "Should be simple enough to concoct a device that can create cold gusts of air... I'll have Honeycutt get to work on the designs..."

Mikey shivers, drowning in the icy cold pain...

.

.

.

Mikey's consciousness slowly thaws. It's still dark... his body is still numb and lost... but there's... sound...

"...Mikey... poor guy... should be getting warmer..."

"...didn't mean to, I tried..."

"...not your fault, Pops, just what happens..."

"...should have done better... it's been hours... is he okay?"

"...brumation...body slows down... he'll be fine..."

"...getting a pulse, he's breathing again...!"

"Mikey? Can you hear us?"

Mikey moans, the first part of his body he can (sort of) control. He hasn't been this tired since... since... some time ago. The first mutation. Not that he really remembers much of it...

Mikey's eyes softly open. Light shines in. His whole family is here. Casey is here. Everyone is watching over him. When did they all get here? Where has Mikey been in this absence of consciousness?

Uggh, he feels awful.

Leo comes into view.

"Heyyyyyy, mi hermano. Can you hear me?"

Mikey nods weakly. At least, he thinks he does. He still can't sense much. The feeling comes in slowly, soft prickling and paresthesia. The first thing he feels is extreme heat and shaking. He's shivering. Still? But it's so hot...

Hot... but... he likes the warmth... so why is this unbearable?

Mikey moans again. His head is swimming. His breathing heavy, it's hard to get the air into his lungs. Mikey squirms, sweat breaking out across his brow and under his arms as he shakes.

"Mmnghh... Mikey no... feel... good..."

Leo presses the back of his hand against Mikey's head. It's not cold, but against the feverish heat emanating from Mikey, it's heavenly chilled. Leo winces, his brow furrows in concern.

"You're burning up... Dad, when you broke into Dee's lab, did you touch Mikey? Do you think you might have infected him?"

Splinter's eyes widen as he realizes.

"Oh... I think I might have..."

"So, is Mikey sick now?" Raph asks. "He's got rat flu, too?"

"Why is it just hitting him now, when he was infected hours ago?" Casey asks.

Hours...? Mikey's been a ghost for hours...?

"I'm guessing the brumation put Mikey's body into a sort of stasis. All body functions stopped until he thawed out," Donnie explains. "Brumation causes reptile like turtles, snakes, and lizards (all of which Mikey has the DNA of) to go into a sort of hibernation when it gets too cold. They slow down to an extreme, and might even stop breathing, but they won't die."

Mikey writhes on the bed. His tail thrashes, almost whipping Leo in the leg. Whatever is happening to him now, whether it's a side effect of brumation or whatever fever he caught from Splinter, he hates it.

Leo watches Mikey in concern.

"So, uh... no problem, no issue. We'll just take care of him while he gets over rat flu..."

"But who's gonna take care of him?" Raph asks.

"Uh...Donnie's the only one who got infected this year, and he already went through the symptoms, so he should be immune now..." Leo looks over to his twin. "Do you think you could play nursemaid?"

"You mean take over your job?" he asks snidely. "Of course. I mean, I've already lost a lot of work time on the anti-mutagen, so I might as well..."

Donnie sighs with exasperation as he taps his wrist tech, creating a checklist for the seven stages and supplies he'll need.

"Okay... so this will be interesting to see unfold. Stage 1 is fever, but Mikey's reaction to the low temperatures prohibits anything cold coming into contact with him. Any suggestions, Leo?"

"Give him lots of water, and ibuprofen. We can try to bring down his fever with warmer waters, but I'm not sure if that would help..."

"Copy that. Next stage is wild rat man... or in this case, wild Mikey. That should be fun," Donnie says, the last sentence a soft grumbling whisper. "With Mikey's animal instincts, everyone needs to be on alert. We don't know how he'll react..."

As Donnie continues to explain the seven stages again, Mikey lets himself crumble into a short-lived sleep while he waits for the rest of his body to wake up.

Stage 1: FEVER

Mikey hates this.

Every part of him aches, a dull but everlasting ache. He is constantly shifting between the heat of the sun and below freezing.

He can never get comfortable, he keeps kicking the blankets off as his fever causes delirium and slight nausea.

Donnie does what he can, having him drink as much water as possible while dabbing his face with a wet cloth. But it's all too cold, even if it's lukewarm. Against the burning inferno of his fever, it's practically glacial.

Mikey weeps at the torment his body is putting itself through. Donnie works in silence until Mikey makes some sort of rambling beg for him to talk so he knows that he's still in the room. Between the aches and the delerium, he can't always tell...

Donnie talks about his latest tech design. He talks about S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N.2.0 and the upgrades he made in Mikey's absence. He talks about some of the studies he's been making into genetic mutations and modifications to the DNA and... he sounds upset. He stops talking about that and moves on to a new subject. He talks about botany or something.

Mikey groans in agony and mumbles something... not even he knows what he's saying... Donnie presses his hand to Mikey's sweat-soaked head. He grimaces at the wetness, but sighs with relief.

"I think your fever is starting to break... that's a good sign--"

"Gggggggrrrhhhh..."

"...Mikey?"

Mikey's eyes squeeze shut as he groans, grumbles, growls...

His eyes snap open, the pupils shrink into thin lines that immediately lock onto Donnie. He snarls, his teeth elongating into sharp fangs.

"...Oh banana pancakes," Donnie says flatly as he starts to get up.

Stage 2: FERAL MIKEY.

Leo and Raph are eating lunch with casey, having ordered a pizza and subs due to the day's earlier havoc. Leo plays with the pineapple and ham toppings as he frets over Mikey.

"Dude," Raph scolds, pointing at the slice going cold. "Just eat it already, or put it back in the box."

"Do you think he's doing okay?" Leo asks. "I mean, I know it's only a flu, but after everything that's happened to him already, I'm just worried what this will do to him, I mean, we have no idea how shot his immune system is already from his captivity and malnutrition, and then coupled with the mutations--"

"Leo," Raph says in between bites of his footlong. "You need to chill. I'm freaking out too, but that's not going to do any good. Donnie's got this for now, if he needs any help then he'll let us know--"

"HELP!!"

"...I think he just let us know."

The trio run out to find Dee being chased by a wild Mikey, his tail spiked and quills raised, his eyes glowing bright yellow with blood red as he chases after Donnie, snarling all along the way. Mikey slithers up the walls and ceiling, perching above them all, his head and neck twisting around as he watches them somewhat creepily.

"Oh dang," Leo says, pointing. "That's terrifying. I'm not alone on this, right? That's some 'The Ring' bone-cracking-bending-in-odd-ways type of scary?"

"Not the time, Nardo," Donnie grumbles.

"What's 'The Ring'?" Casey asks.

Mikey snarls loudly, analyzing who to attack first. His eyes stop on Raph and his sandwich.

"Uh-oh," the eldest whispers.

Mikey jumps down from the ceiling, roaring as he pounces down at his brothers. Raph shrieks in terror as he throws the sandwich at his feral brother. Mikey grabs the sub in his mouth and starts to attack it viciously, ripping it apart with his teeth and fangs, shaking it all around as he kills it dead.

"Uh, we start running now, right?" Casey asks.

"Yes. We run now."

The four make a mad dash down the hall, running into the garage and locking the door behind them.

"That... that was terrifying," Leo gasps. "I didn't know he could be that scary... was he like that when you found him?"

Leo turns to look at Raph and Donnie, who pant as they lean against the shell hogs for balance.

"Uh... more or less," Raph admits. "He was lucid when I found him, but once the other experiments were released he went kinda savage and attacked them to protect me."

"He also bit you."

Raph rubs over the spot on his wrist that Mikey punctured. It's healing fast, thanks to Draxum's genetic-whatever-he-did-to-them when they were babies. But the thought of Mikey's face when he came to and saw what he'd done... that hurt much more than any bite.

He hopes to pizza supreme that Mikey won't remember anything from the fever... poor kid probably couldn't handle it...

There's a pounding against the door.

"Agh!" Leo jumps as the loud noise echoes through the garage. "Don't let him in! The door's going to hold, right?"

"But of course!" Donnie says with a nervous chuckle. "I restructured everything after the invasion. Not even a krang could break down that door. The only thing that could get it open is --"

'Hamato Family Override Accepted,' a computer voice sounds.

"...is if someone with the code unlocks the door," Donnie moans.

The doors open slowly, revealing Splinter, standing in the doorway with an irritated expression on his face.

"Boys," he says in his scolding voice. "would you care to explain to me why you left your brother in the state he's in?"

"We had to!" Leo says, hiding behind Raph. "He was going to rip off an arm or something!"

"What are you talking about?" Splinter asks, stepping aside to reveal a very flushed Mikey with a sad expression on his face, eyes wet and pupils so wide they engulf the majority of his eyes.

Mikey sees his brothers and starts crying with joy as he rushes towards them, sloppily landing on Raph's feet and hugging his legs tightly.

"Rrrrraaaaappphiiieee!" he sings, rubbing his cheek against his big brother's ankles. "Miiikeeeeyyyy loveesss youuu..."

Stage 3: CAPTAIN CUDDLECAKES

Raph stares down in shock, frozen still for fear of what else Mikey might do. But Mikey just looks up and him with grabby hands as he cries for affection.

"Pickkkk me uuuup, Raphhiieee.... hold me, please, Raaaaaaphhie..."

"Uh... okay..." he says with hesitance, kneeling down and gently tucking his hands under Mikey's arms as he hoists him up.

Mikey's body is limp like a noodle, swaying back and forth as Raph holds him at arm's length. Mikey's face is bright red from fever, his smile dopey, his eyes half-opened and unfocused, his head lolls rom side to side. He giggles lazily, holding onto Raph's hands and slowly pulling himself closer to him, sort of crawling-slash-climbing across his arms to get to his chest.

"Raaaaaphieee.... I love Raphie... I loves him sooooooo muchesss..."

"Is... is he okay?" Leo asks, a quick giggle escaping him.

"Delirium," Donnie says knowingly with a nod. "He's delirious."

"Are you sure?" Casey asks.

"I'm an ice cream kitty," Mikey says dopily, giggling as he wraps himself over Raph's shoulders. "I'm a cat called Klunk..."

"Pretty sure," Donnie answers flatly.

"He's really cuddly," Raph chuckles, rubbing his hand over Mikey's burning head.

Mikey hums with contentment as he continues to wrap under Raphael's chin, back over the shoulders, and around his neck again...

"Uh, Mikey?" Raph gasps, as Mikey's torso and tail starting to tighten around his throat and choke him. "Mike-- that's too tight, buddy -- Mikey -- gack!!"

Donnie and Leo rush forward and try to loosen Mikey from around his brother. Mikey whines at them, tiredly slapping them away as he nuzzles Raph's face, which is starting to turn blue.

"Boa instincts," Donnie diagnoses as he tries to get Mikey to let go. "Come on, Michael, let go, let go, let -- nggh -- go!"

"Stahp pullin'!" Raph chokes out. "Gettin' tight--!"

"He won't release!" Donnie grumbles. "I don't think he understands what he's doing! It's his animal traits taking over..."

Leo's eyes brighten as he gets an idea. He starts scritching and scratching around Mikey's neck, looking for a specific spot. Mikey starts to giggle, shoulders hunching up and tail loosening. Leo gets to a spot just under the jaw on his right side and scratches. Mikey's eyes pop as he falls into Leo's hold with a mad cackle, legs kicking as he jerks back and forth from giggles. Raph gasps for air and collapses to his knees as he clutches his throat.

Mikey wiggles out of Leo's hold and onto the floor as he continues to laugh himself silly from the special spot Leo found.

"H-how... cough cough... how'd ya know that would work?" Raph hacks.

"I didn't," Leo confesses with a shrug. "I thought he'd faint like in 'How To Train Your Dragon' or something."

Mikey's laughter starts to calm, and he relaxes against the floor, deep sighs of relief as his brothers talk over him.

"I think it's safe to assume that his flu is causing his animal attributes to take over," Donnie informs. "Which isn't good news for the next stage..."

Stage 4: NINJA HUNTER SUPREME

"It's okay," Casey says, trying to calm the room. "I-I'm sure it will be fine, all we have to do is keep an eye on him aaaaaand we lost him," he groans, looking down to where Mikey had been a second ago.

"Alright, nobody panic! We're fine, we're fine, we're--"

"Achoo!" Raph sneezes.

"Welp, Raph's infected now, we need to quarantine him," Donnie groans. "Who could have seen this coming, he said sarcastically."

"I'm okay, I can just -- Achooie!"

"Yeah no," Leo scolds as he helps lead Raph to the door. "You're getting into bed. We're all sticking together too, so everyone be on the lookout for you-know-who..."

The group slowly but surely trudge towards the traincars on the other side of the lair, stopping at every doorway to inspect the rooms for Mikey. He's nowhere to be seen... and that's terrifying.

Just before they get to Raph's room, Donnie's wrist tech beeps at him. One of the motion sensors has gone off.

"Wait a sec," Donnie whispers, tapping the security footage. "I think Mikey might be in the sewer tunnels..."

"What?" Leo whispers back. "Why would he go all the way out there?"

"I'm not sure, but if he gets lost --"

"I'll go after him," Leo answers. "You guys watch Raph and help quarantine him for now before the fever sets in too bad."

Leon grabs his swords and runs to the exits. Casey watches him nervously as he helps Donnie maneuver the former leader into his bedroom as the fever starts to take effect.

As soon as Leo gets to the tunnels, he gets the eerie feeling he's being watched. He's not sure where the sensation is coming from, but three years of being a ninja vigilante and 16 years of living in secrecy under the surface of the greatest city ever has trained him to hone in on these gut feelings and sixth senses. There is someone... or something watching him.

It's unnerving.

He steps into the tunnels and looks both ways. No sign of Mikey. He takes out his comm and leans into the speaker to whisper.

"Hey Don, which way did he go?"

"*Krrsh* I don't know, I didn't see on the recording. I just saw a notif that something set off the perimeter alert. Over. *Krsh*"

Leo doesn't like this. Maybe Mikey never actually left the lair. Maybe this was all... a trap.

Leo's ninja senses tell him to be careful. He turns around quickly and looks up. Mikey is staring down at him from the ceiling.

He drops down like a spider, crashing down onto Leo, who shouts in terror as he opens a portal just beneath his feet. The two fall through, one after the other. Leo portals them back to the traincars, shouting for backup as he runs away while Mikey regains his footing and inspects the new area.

"FOUND HIM! I FOUND HIM! HELP!"

Casey and Donnie jump into the hall quickly, brandishing weapons on instinct.

Leo frantically scrapes his katanas across the floor as he runs away, creating a series of portals that surround Mikey. The feral mutant boy falls through one and pops out in a random place, three other portals boxing him in.

"There," Leon pants. "That should keep him busy for now..."

Mikey sniffs one of the portals, and his eyes widen. He steps through, following his nose and navigating perfectly through each portal, gaining speed with every step until he arrives from behind the trapped trio.

"Or not..." Leo swallows.

Mikey growls, licking his teeth as he stalks them, getting ready to leap in three... two... one...

Mikey pounces on Leo, gripping the handle of one katana between his set jaws and yanking it out of Leo's grip. He clutches onto his brother's shoulders, pinning him down as he tries to rip the second sword away.

"AAGH!!!" Leo screams, kicking wildly as Mikey snarls and drools all over him and his weapon. "GET IT OFF! GET THIS THING OFF OF ME--!!"

Donnie activates his hover-shell and directs it to attach to Mikey, lifting him up and carrying him away. But Mikey still clings tightly to Leo, who is struggling against his brother's death grip on his shoulders. Mikey's nails dig in tight, making Leo cry out in pain.

Casey jumps up and catches on Leo's feet, pulling him loose from Mikey's hold. Mikey is flown away, screeching in anger as the hover-shell turns a corner and disappears with its passenger.

"Sensei-- Leo, are you okay?" Casey asks, eyeing the claw marks with concern.

"I-I'm f-fine," Leo manages, his breath shaky and eyes wide but lost. "I... I'll be okay... I... achoo!"

"Welp, we've lost another brother," Donnie sighs as he carries Leo to his room. "I estimate that we have at least five more minutes before Mikey comes back in a new stage. Casey, you go to my lab and lock yourself in there. Reboot the security system and put the whole lair on a lockdown. We can't risk Mikey escaping, got it?"

Casey nods nervously before rushing away.

Donnie helps Leo get into bed as the fever already starts to set in.

"H-he... he really got me, huh...? Woof, why is it so hot in here???" Leo mumbles as he topples into the bed. "Why is the room spinning so much?? I don't remember booking tickets to the tilt-n'-whirl..."

"I'll get the fan going for you," Donnie mutters.

"I... I feel bad..."

"You'll feel better in a minute--"

"I called him a thing."

Donnie pauses as he looks back at Leo, who's starting to cry softly as he hugs his pillow.

"I was just scared. I'd never seen him so angry or vicious. Not even against the krang... he looked like he really was gonna kill me..."

"He wouldn't," Donnie reassures him flatly. "Mikey would never do that."

"Do you think he hates me now?" Leo whimpers. "Do you think he heard me? He'll remember that? I don't actually think of him like that, I... I don't think he's a monster, I don't... gawd, why is it so hot in here?!"

Donnie rolls his eyes as he plugs in the high-speed fan and aims it at Leo. He sighs with relief from the cold winds blowing in his face.

"We can talk about it later. Right now I have to find Mikey."

Leo hums as he falls asleep on the bed.

Donnie runs back out, closes the door to the traincar, and rounds the corner into the hallway beyond... where he finds the smashed remains of his hover-shell, and no Mikey.

Fantastic.

Stage 5: KARAOKE LOVE SONGS

Donnie can hear Mikey singing loudly. But not in English. He's howling and yowling and chirping some incoherent animal gibberish in the TV room. Splinter probably left one of his old romance soap operas on, and somebody must've busted out into a love ballad.

Donine steps closer to watch him and surveil. The noise could damage his ears with how loud and high-pitched it gets, but at least Mikey's pacified. For the moment.

Donnie messages Casey from his wrist tech; he doesn't expect that he could hear him if he tried the comms.

D: HOW'S IT GOING IN THERE?

CJ: PRETTY GOOD. ALL EXITS SECURED.

D: GREAT. MIKEY IS... SINGING (QUESTION MARK?)

CJ: LOL DOES IT SOUND THAT BAD?

D: I WOULDN'T KNOW, MY HEARING IS PERMANENTLY DAMAGED NOW.

Dee turns back to smile at Mikey, who's howling has softened and slowed to simple hums. He scratches behind his ears with his foot before getting up and dizzily trotting back to his traincar bedroom. Donnie follows from behind, staying quiet as he can. He's not sure what the next stage will do to Mikey's animal brain...

Michelangelo starts looking around his room, coughing every once in a while and sneezing on occasion before finding a large roll of paper that April dropped off some time ago. Mikey knocks it down and rolls it out, carefully setting the paints out as well. That's when he sees Donnie.

He smiles weakly and ushers him in with a soft yawn turned cough.

Donnie walks in and sits beside his brother, helping to open the jars as Mikey starts to draw images...

Stage 6: STORYTIME

Stage six is fanfiction, Donnie knows this. But for some reason, Mikey isn't making fanart or comics of his favourite characters. Donnie wonders why... he maybe doesn't recall them...? He only just remembered Lou Jitsu a few days ago, so it's not out of the question. Donnie's stomach turns when he considers that Mikey not remember that their father was Lou Jitsu...

But he's definitely drawing something. His hands still shake, and he tears the paper every other stroke, but he's making a story to tell with his art. Mikey uses his tail as a paintbrush, gentle but sloppy strokes. It's easier than finger-painting with claws. Donnie sees images of a green thing with yellow spots in a cage... needles and crude doodles of knives and pink monsters... humans in white that kick and hit and zap and freeze the poor green and yellow figure... It doesn't take long for Donnie to realize what story he's telling.

The poor green and yellow thing is crying in his cage. It almost looks like... he's waiting for something...

Then Donnie sees a purple figure. A blue one. Red.

It's them.

But Mikey omits an orange companion. Donnie points this out.

"Why didn't you draw yourself?" he asks.

Mikey looks up at him with concern, and for a moment he's worried he broke Mikey's oh-so-sensitive concentration. But instead he shakily dips his tail in the orange paint and... stalls...

The paint drips onto the paper while they wait for Mikey to make his artwork. But he doesn't.

"Do you... need some help?"

Mikey nods with a sniffle. Dee chalks that up to a runny and stuffy nose. Same with the gloopy eyes that hold tears in them, that's just some kind of irritation or fever. Not the other, more difficult thing -- emotions.

Donnie reaches over and takes his brother's tail, helping Mikey draw a stick figure with round cheeks and a mask with a bow. Mikey leans down to stare at the drawing, analyzing it with astonishment.

Why does he look at it like that? Why is he so surprised by his own image? Why doesn't he... recognize...

Mikey's eyes glaze over, as he slowly sits back up and exhales. Mikey's vision is far away, lost in thought.

Stage 7: MUST SAY YES

Donnie waves a hand in front of Mikey's face. No reaction. Donnie sighs.

"Mikey?"

Mikey turns his head to look at Donnie with a quiet mew.

"I know you'll say 'yes' to anything I ask for. So, I want you to..."

He wants Mikey to tell him why he didn't draw himself. Why he reacts the way he does when they leave him alone. Why he is so scared of Casey and April, why he didn't remember their names or Lou Jitsu or anything. Why he has a voice in his head, and what the voice tells him. He wants to ask for him to get better and get back to normal as quickly as possible. He wants to ask him to be his same old Mikey self again.

Donnie sighs.

"...I want you to get some rest and heal up. Okay, buddy?"

Mikey gives a weak smile before closing his eyes and flopping against Dee's chest, wheezing with each breath he makes. Donnie rolls his eyes and lifts his congested baby brother up into the hammock bed, tucking him in and making sure that he's nice and warm.

He steps out of the traincar after turning off the lights. He's utterly spent, he might try taking a nap too...

Until Casey runs up to him, a worried expression on his face.

"Donatello! Donatello!"

"Shh!" he shushes quickly, signing that Mikey is fast asleep and resting. "What is it?"

"I was reviewing security footage in the labs, and saw that Mikey never went outside the tunnels..."

"What? But the sensors --"

"Sensed something, yeah, so I went back and looked for what it was. I found this hiding outside the entrance to the lair," he says, reaching into one of his fanny packs.

Casey pulls out a mediocre miniature drone, complete with camera and microphone. The device is no better than scrap metal now, having been partially destroyed by Casey's weaponized hockey stick.

"It may have taken me by surprise..."

Donnie stares down at it. There's a small logo printed on the side with the initials EPF.

"...How long has it been here?"

"We got the alert around... maybe fifteen minutes ago?"

"Are there any more?" Dee asks, his tone low and frightfully serious.

"I don't know," Casey answers. "But I can do a perimeter sweep."

"Good idea," Donnie says, rushing away. "I'm going to create an invisible fence around the lair that knocks out any unrecognized tech. Then, I'm going to see how damaged this scrapheap is. If the receptor and signal output are still intact... maybe I can find out what our friends at the EPF are up to."

.

.

.

Dr. Timothy stares down at the wretched mutated human in a cage, wearing a torn and tattered uniform.

What a disgusting failure.

His face is misshapen and bearing three eyes, his arms (one of which is scarred from talon gashes and bite marks) are covered in fur, his hands are like bear claws and his feet are webbed. He is an amalgamation of random things, and now he's in the cage that belonged previously to 'Mikey'.

Timothy scowls at the mutation. It was a wild test, anyways. Nothing important. Just to see what would happen... Honestly, it was more as a punishment for damaging Mikey's brain than an actual scientific pursuit. And it's not like anyone will miss him; he was nothing important, anyways...

Nothing is important. Nothing matters now. Nothing but finding that one experiment again. The only successful mutation... Mikey.

The man in the cage whines at Dr. Timothy. He cannot speak anymore. Nothing more than a dumb animal. Which, from the intelligence he showed before mutation, is quite possibly an improvement.

Timothy kicks the cage in frustration. The man yipes and backs away, whinging like a dog.

What to do, what to do...

None of the mutations have worked right. None of them show any signs of increased intelligence. It seems the opposite, their minds decrease and their problem-solving skills evaporate. The physical toll on their bodies is heavy, and some never even survive the first round of mutation. None of them can take orders. None of them can fight with complexity and agility. None of them can be trained. None of them can understand basic commands or words or anything of the English language, or any language. They're all just stupid, dumb animals! None of them have had the success rate that Mikey did. Why? What about him was so special??

He was already mutated...

There are a handful of mutated freaks out there now, running amok and wreaking havoc. How were they changed? Why has it worked with them? What could have possibly done it for them, and why can't they recreate this phenomenon?!

Dr. Timothy has always been interested in mutations and enhancements. This reason is why he joined the science division of the EPF. He knows most of the scientists here are working to save the alien-infected citizens. And Tim is all for that! Why not help humanity? But why stop at simple cures, why not go bigger? There are some freaks running amok in the streets, a result of odd glowing bugs released upon the masses almost three years ago. These mutations have made the humans stronger, faster, better. They can withstand almost anything! They are practically indestructible! These idiots think that saving humanity means eradicating the mutants. They couldn't be more wrong.

It's the humans who need to be... shall we say, updated?

What a weak and pathetic species. Slow, soft, squishy and easily injured. Bruisable. Breakable. Like putty.

But add some extra features and a killer instinct... and you've got yourselves a prime class of creatures that can stand tall for centuries!

Why not be better? Why not be stronger?! Why can't they see that?!

Timothy wrings his hands through his hair, growling at the unfairness of the situation. If only he could get his hands on that mutie again... if only he could have Mikey back.

That is the only thing that matters to him now.

Getting that mutant turtle back.

It's all he thinks about. The good news is that they've sent spy drones into the tunnels and seem to have gotten some interesting footage before mysteriously going dead... Timothy is having another wave sent in within the next three days, max.

The others may have seen his passion for the science, but this is different. This is mania. This is an obsession...

Timothy will do whatever it takes to get that mutant turtle back into his possession, and figure out how he survived the mutations.

And then...

He will become the better man. The better, more dominant species.

The better mutant.

Prev || Next

[britany1997]

Fate Yields For No One

Chapter Three

Hey besties! I hope y’all enjoy the next installment of this series!!! This one is gonna have a lot more lore, and plot developing so I hope you like learning a bit more of how things work in this AU:) Thanks for all y’all’s support on this fic!

Poly Lost Boys x Fem Vampire Reader

Reblog to support my writing, and comment to tell me you’d like to be added to my Taglist for this fic, or my main Taglist!

Prologue, Chapter One, Chapter Two

California, 1986

Paul’s eyes widened as he realized who you were to him. You wished you could have stopped the word that fell from his lips.

“Mine.”

No.

‘This can’t be happening,’ you thought to yourself as you fought your instincts to keep the same word Paul has uttered to you from bursting out of your own mouth.

Even if you could ignore the fact that this man had been hitting on Maria not five seconds ago, this wasn’t what you wanted for your life.

All the big choices in your unlife had been largely dictated by some dude with a god complex. How could this guy be any different?

You refused to trade one captor for another.

The handsome blond man stared at you in shock, seemingly surprised as you were at the sudden twist of fate that had brought you two together.

Though as his shock wore off his lips seemed to curve into a smile and his hand moved to touch your cheek.

You panicked.

You recoiled sharply from his outstretched palm “Oh my god I totally forgot I have to go stock things in the back, so nice to meet you, bye!” you rambled quickly as you raced to escape from behind the desk.

“What?” Paul’s brow furrowed in confusion. He moved to stand in front of the swinging door, your only escape from behind the desk.

You glared at him, “you’re in my way…”

“What?!” he repeated with more frustration than confusion, “but we’re…I mean we-”

“I know what we are,” you told him, “and I don’t care. So can you please move aside so I can do my job.”

Paul’s jaw dropped.

You sighed and pushed passed him.

“Hey!” he called after you.

You ignored him and kept walking, desperate to be anywhere but next to him.

“This isn’t over you know,” he promised you.

You scoffed as you pulled at the door to the back room, “seems like it is.”

You slid in, slamming the door behind you and pinching the bridge of your nose between your thumb and forefinger.

Despite what you’d said to Paul, you knew you hadn't seen the last of him.

You were determined not to breathe a word to Max about anything that had transpired that night.

He’d never really told you anything about mates, you suspected because he’d never found his own. You couldn't predict how he'd react, and you wouldn’t let him force you into anything else.

Which meant you'd have to figure this out on your own.

As the sun rose and Max went to bed for the day, you scoured the shelves of his home library for anything that could give you more information.

You slunk away to your bedroom with a mountain of books. You secured your black out curtains, preparing to stay up all day researching.

What you found terrified you.

Humans swooned over the idea of soulmates, they spent their lives searching for someone who’d complete them, one person who was perfectly suited for them.

But this wasn’t an original human creation. They’d stolen the idea of soulmates from vampires.

Many scholars thought when a human transformed into a vampire, they lost their soul.

From what you could gather, this was a myth. Instead, when a human became a vampire, their soul wasn’t taken from them, but tethered to another of their kind.

You read this was a facet of vampirism that had developed over time out of a necessity for more vampires. Great.

You’d also read that, as bats had multiple partners, vampires could have more than one mate. You didn’t even want to think about that possibility.

When you’d read the first text from cover to cover, you picked up a new one.

You found that the mates aspect of vampirism was inherently instinctual, which is why Paul had called you his, and why you’d almost done the same. He couldn’t help it.

You read, to your dismay, that your soul was intimately tied to his in a way that could never be severed. Your entire beings belonged to each other.

This was bad.

You continued to the next book, cringing as you read that from this point on every denial of your connection would only hurt you. Without Paul, a part of you would always feel empty.

Now that you knew you were “meant for each other,” every moment without him would hurt just a little bit. You could not exist the same way without him. He was yours, you were his.

Fuck that shit.

You didn’t need anyone to give your life meaning. You belonged to yourself and no one else.

You pushed the stack of books aside in a huff. They tumbled to the ground but you couldn’t find it in yourself to care.

You would fight to be the master of your own fate, whatever it took.

You were apprehensive to return for your shift the next day for fear that you'd be confronted by the persistent blond vampire.

However after two days with no sign of Paul, you began to relax. And after two weeks had passed without a trace, you had pushed the whole ordeal out of your mind entirely.

Instead, you turned your focus to Maria.

The two of you were constantly scheduled together as Max could never find anyone else to work the night shifts. You spent almost every waking minute with the girl that had quickly become very important to you.

And once Max had seen you'd connected with Maria, he felt the urge to supervise you less and less. It wasn't long before you were permitted to work your shifts without his imposing presence.

But work was a term used pretty loosely as you always seemed to do more talking than working. It wasn't like you had tons of customers, who even needed to rent movies at three AM anyway?

Besides, you were all too eager to spend each night hearing every seemingly insignificant detail of Maria's life.

Every good grade she'd gotten at school, every party she attended on the weekends, every fight she had with one of her siblings that always ultimately ended in apologies and hugs, you wanted to know it all. You were content to listen to the sound of her voice ramble on for hours.

She was just as eager to know you, and though you couldn't tell her everything, you could tell her enough.

Maria listened intently, wide eyed and hanging on every word as you related stories from your time in New York city.

Five siblings meant Maria's family didn’t get to travel much. You gasped when she admitted she'd never even ventured from the state of California.

"We'll go together one day," you promised her, "I'll take you everywhere, I know the city like the back of my hand!"

Her laugh rang through the store, prompting your lips to turn up into a bright smile, her joy was contagious. "What a dream that would be," she sighed wistfully, you could almost see the stars in her eyes.

"I mean it," you said seriously, "you and me, together in New York."

Her smile grew, "you and me."

As the work week came to a close, you shoved the last VHS back into place, moving to wipe down the counters as Maria flipped the switch to turn off the neon "OPEN" sign that hung on the front of the store.

You checked your watch as it flashed 6:00AM, sunrise was fast approaching and you were cutting it close.

"Damn you're working late," you realized as you wiped down the counters, "I thought I was by myself tonight."

Maria smiled sheepishly and you barely caught sight of the blush that rose to her cheeks, "you were."

Your eyes widened, "you stayed late for me? you didn't have to do that..."

"I wanted to," she replied as she bit her lip.

You dropped the rag and spray bottle, walking to stand in front of her from across the counter, "why?"

She blushed once more before her eyes fell to the ground, "I don't know, I just..." she looked up, "I like being around you."

As you stared into the eyes of the beautiful woman before you, you were presented with an opportunity. An opportunity to choose for yourself, to take control of your own destiny.

You didn't choose to be cursed with an eternity of seperation from the souls of your family, you didn't choose to be a vampire, you didn't choose Paul and you certainly didn't chose Max. But you could choose Maria.

"Maria," you whispered, leaning in till your noses were almost touching, "can I kiss you?"

She beamed before caressing your cheek with the back of her hand, "I thought you'd never ask."

You leaned in and her soft lips met yours.

Note: I promise the next chapter is going to be focused on all the boys, thanks for being patient I promise it’ll be worth it😌

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[justmeinadaze]

Take It Out On Me Part 6 (Steddie X Plus Size Reader)

A/N: I wrote this three days ago lol I've been so stressed and worried about things...all I want is these boys to use me and then cuddle me. <3.

My plan with this series has always been to go through the series. So with my next chapter Steve will be more Season 2 Stevie.

They do have a conversation on the phone in this chapter. Red is Eddie.

Warnings: Dom Steddie and Sub plus size reader and all that that implies (I regret nothing!) Rough smut. They sneak into her bedroom, degrading, choking, dirty talk. Possessive boys <3. Angst in the beginning and fluff at the end.

Word Count: 3916

It had been a couple of weeks since that night in Eddie’s trailer. Steve had scrubbed off the graffiti on your car before you woke up so your parents never found out what happened. 

To your surprise, Tommy and Carol left you alone but to your slight dismay they stayed away from Steve as well. Of course, you hated them and from what you learned so far Steve wasn’t like them at all but you hated that he sat at lunch alone most of time or skipped it entirely. 

You told him he was more than welcome to sit with you and Masie but all he did was smile and nod his head. 

The school year was coming to a close and you felt yourself start to panic, still unsure what your relationship with them actually was. What would the summer be like? Would they spend time with you and take you on dates? Were you even dating or did they just want to fuck you? What if they got into a relationship or you did? Would the dynamic stop? Were you even allowed to seek a relationship since you belonged to them?

You needed answers and you finally mustered up the courage during a conference call between you three. 

“Senior year, dude. I can’t fucking wait. One more year and we’re fucking free!”

“Calm down, Munson. It’s amazing they let you through.”

“First off, rude. Secondly, what were your grades again, King Steve? Oh, that’s right. About as low as mine.”

Their laughter trails off into silence. 

“Well, someone’s mighty quiet tonight. You alright, princess?”

“What are we?”

“Um, humans last time I checked. Why? Is that on the test?”

“No”, you giggle. “I mean, the three of us. What are we? Are we…in a relationship or am I just a toy for you?”

“You say that last part like you don’t enjoy being our little toy.”

“…so it is just sex?”

“Why are you asking?”

“Why won’t you answer?”

“Why do we have to put a fucking label on it? Can’t we just fucking be?”

“As much as I enjoy hearing you two go at it, I’m kind of curious myself as to why you want to know. Are you not happy with the way things are?”

“I didn’t say that. I just… how long is this going to last? What if something happens? What if one of us gets into a relationship—”

“Who are you interested in getting with?!”

“No one! I’m just asking questions.”

“Very interesting series of questions.”

“Oh, please. You both act like I have men lined up to date me when it’s way more probable that Steve the Hair Harrington and bad boy Eddie Munson have many women that want to be theirs!”, you sigh. “If that happened… if it’s just sex than it would be over…”

Their silence was deafening. A knock on your bedroom door startled you as your mom entered without waiting for an answer. 

“Y/N. Are you still on the phone? I know this is the last week of school but it’s almost eleven.”

“I know, mama. Masie and I are almost done going over our final project.”

“Hm. Ok then I won’t keep you but I wanted to talk to you about this summer. Did you still want to go spend time with your uncle?”

“Oh…I totally forgot about that.”

“You know how your father and I feel about New York but he promised me you and your cousins wouldn’t go out at night or anything.”

“Can I think about it?”

“Yeah, of course. We need to know by Sunday, okay? Now hurry up and get to bed.” She kisses your forehead before leaving your room and closing the door.

“New York, huh. Well, at least we know why she’s asking now.”

“What the fuck does that mean?”

“Definitely want to be free of attachments in a city like that.”

“Steve…you’re putting words in my mouth. I’m allowed to ask the questions I have. It’s not my fault that you two seem to be too scared to answer them.”

“Watch your tone, little girl. For the time being, you’re still ours.”

“For the time being.”, you repeated. Tears stung in your eyes at his words; you got your answer. Why does it hurt so much? “I see. Ok, I understand.”

“Your tone makes me think that you don’t.”

“No. I do, Steve. I really do. You both really do just want to use me. I got what I asked for. I have to go now. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

“Don’t hang up that phone, Y/N. We are NOT done here.”

“Yes, we are.”

################

You woke up at three in the morning, tossing and turning through most of the night. Those words remained imprinted front and center in your brain. 

“For the time being…”

You left your bedroom, walking down the hall to your bathroom. The cool water felt good against your face as you stared at your reflection in the mirror. 

Why did I expect it to be any different? Yeah so they started being more friendly with me but that didn’t mean anything. They still don’t talk to me at school. We don’t even hang out besides that one time after the fight. Fuck…why does this hurt so much?

Sighing, you throw the used hand towel on the sink and head back towards your room. As soon as you close your door, a hand comes from behind you, muffling your shrieks as another arm pins you against a body.

“I said we weren’t done. You think you tell us what to do?”, Eddie growled as his angry eyes glared into your frightened ones. “No, little girl. You belong to us. We are in charge of you.”

You started speaking against Steve’s hand and he lowered it enough so you could be heard. 

“For the time being, you mean.”

The metalhead smirked before grabbing your throat, gripping it tightly between his fingers. “I’m going to go ahead and start this here by giving you an out. Say vanilla and we’ll disappear the way we came. But, princess, I’m warning you. This particular game we are about to play is going to be rough.” You quickly sucked in heavy breathes, gasping for air when he let you go. 

“I…can handle anything…you do to me.”

Eddie’s sarcastic smile grows as he steps forward till his forehead is just above your own. 

“Good because we’re going to show you what being used really feels like.”, he whispers. 

Steve covers your mouth again with his palm as Eddie reaches over to your desk and grabs the pair of scissors laying to the side. You fight against the boy’s hold as the other man cuts your sleep shirt off your body, tossing it to the floor. 

You whimper when he takes hold of your hair and forces you to your knees.

“If you need to stop, tap your hand twice.” You glared up at him with angry eyes and you grit your teeth as he pulls harder. “You keep giving me attitude and this is going to be a lot worse for you. Do you understand me? I said do you understand me?”, he snarls when you don’t reply. 

“Yes, I understand.”

Eddie maintains his hold on you as he unbuckles his belt and pants, pushing them down enough to free his cock. “Open your mouth.” He hisses when your flat tongue glides along his length. “That’s it. Open your mouth wider. Take all of me like the good little whore you are.”

His fingers never let up their grip on your head as his hips thrust into you, forcing him down your throat. You gagged as spit fell from your lips. 

“Harrington, have you felt her lips around your dick yet?”

“Naw, Eds. I don’t think so.”

The metalhead pulls himself out of your mouth and lifts you off your knees, throwing you to the bed on to your back. Steve lifts you under your arms, dragging you till your head was hanging off the bed.

His cock sprang free from his shorts and without warning shoved it between your parted lips.

“Jesus.”

“I know. She feels good, right? Not as good at this pussy but…”, Eddie chuckles as he smacks his hand down between your legs. A muffled moan vibrates from your throat when you feel his tongue slide down your stomach as his fingers glide under the waistband of your panties. 

“Now, sweetheart. You’re going to have to be really quiet so I would recommend your keep your filthy mouth on Stevie’s cock.”

“Oh, don’t worry. I’m not letting her go anywhere.” Steve’s hand gripped the back of your head, holding you still as he pumped his hips. 

They watched with immense satisfaction as your eyes rolled back and fluttered closed as Eddie used two of his fingers to breach your entrance.

“You’re so fucking wet.”, he laughed mockingly. “Just a dirty slut, hm? Always this soaked just waiting to be fucked. It must be hard…being a slut and have no one before us fuck you the right way.”

You whimpered as he thrust his digits at a faster pace making Steve grunt above you.

Abruptly, the metalhead inserts a third finger into your dripping cunt and your back arches off the bed at the sudden intrusion as you forcefully pull your lips off of the other boy’s cock. 

“Eddie, plea—” Steve’s palm immediately covers your mouth as your own fingers reach to pull on Eddie’s jacket. 

Steve helps you pull yourself upright as your eyes meet his friends.

“One tap, yes. Two taps, no. Do you want to stop?”

You loosened your grip on him, slowly raising your palm off his shoulder.

*Tap. Tap*

“Didn’t think so. I mean look at you. Look between your legs here.” Steve grabs your hair and forces you to look down as you moan against his hold while Eddie continues taunting you. “Look how fucking dripping you are. Your pussy is just pulling me in. Now, Y/N, I want you to cum for me. I want you to cum so fucking hard that you drench these panties.”

His pace was slow but his fingers were much bigger than yours, stretching you open while hitting every sensitive spot inside you. Their eyes bore into you as you keened into Steve’s chest. 

“No. Hey, no. Keep watching him.” His lips tickled your ear as he forced your head to continue looking down. “I want this image burned into your brain that way, while your running around New York fucking any guy you can get your needy hands on…” As he spoke you started to push back against him, fighting against his strength at his words. He adjusted his body, wrapping his free arm around your chest to keep you still. “…you’ll remember that no one will ever make you feel as good as we have.”

You draped your arm over his, your hand clinging to the one over your mouth as your hips lifted off the bed and you came. 

“Atta, girl. Let go, baby.”, Eddie praised but there was still a gruffness behind it. They were nowhere near done with you. He slid your panties down your legs as Steve lowered his palm to allow you to catch breath. Your eyes follow the metalhead’s movements as he gets off your bed and removes the rest of his clothes. “You know, Y/N. I don’t know which version of you I like fucking more. The meek little girl or the fucking brat who talks back.”

“Meek little girl. To be honest though, I’ve never actually fucked the brat that fights back. She’s always opened her legs willingly for me which I always thought was amusing since she hated me for a while there.”

“You two never listen.” You punch Steve’s chest and roll away from him, placing your feet on the floor as you stand in defiance. “I’ve told you before I never hated you and you both refused to answer my questions immediately jumping to the conclusion that I’m going to run away and fuck someone else!” You pause as you try to calm down to keep from screaming at them. Your eyes meet Eddie’s annoyed ones as he stalks closer to you. “I guess we found your damage, Munson. YOU feel like no matter what people are going to leave you.”

His callused hand reaches for your throat and backs you against the wall before shoving your panties into your open mouth. 

“The only sounds I want to hear are your fucking whimpers when I make you cum again.” Eddie’s arm slips under your knee as he lifts your leg in the air and guides his cock roughly into your entrance. “Be sure not to be too loud. Wouldn’t want mommy and daddy to know their daughter is a whore. Let alone the freaks whore.”

His head fell against yours as he aggressively thrust into you. Eddie’s words hurt you, not because of what he was calling you but how he was viewing himself. You never once thought of him as a freak or the other vile names this town called him. You wanted to tell him that, reassure him but all you could do was moan behind your gag as your hands reached out to cling to his neck.

“No matter—mmm—no matter where you go or who fuck, Y/N, you’re mine. You belong to us.” Eddie’s blown out eyes find yours as he pulls your panties out of your mouth. “Say it, Y/N.”

“I-I-I don’t want to fuck anyone else. I only—fuck—want you two.”

“Now who’s not fucking listening?”

“Still you.”, you growl as you reach up to pull his hair. His cock inside of you throbs at the action and your pussy tightens around him.

“God fucking damn it.”, Eddie grunts as he shoves the panties and his hand over your mouth, pumping into you so hard that it takes every fiber of your energy not to scream and melt into the pleasure. Your body trembles as you cum and he pressed himself flat against you, rolling his hips till you feel his seed warm your insides. 

Eddie drops your leg as he pulls out, wrapping his arms around you as he holds you up. 

“No, hey, come on, sweetheart. We aren’t done yet. Stevie’s been waiting so patiently.”

The man himself appeared by your side lightly pushing his friend to the side to take his place. “Do you want me, Y/N?” He pulls the panties out of your mouth and tosses them to Eddie as you nod. “Don’t just nod you head, little girl. You fucking say it. Tell me that you want me.”

“I…I want you, Steve… Please.”

“Yeah?” His fingers roughly grip your chin, turning you to focus on him. “Show me how much you want me.” He suddenly lifts you in his arms and carries you back to your bed, positioning you on top of him. Reaching between your legs, you grab his cock and gradually lower yourself down onto him. Moaning, you lean over his chest, his fingers digging into your thighs as you bounce on his dick. 

Steve balances on his elbows and your lips find his quickly before he jerks his head away from you. 

“I said show me how…how much you…want me.”, he pants. “This is all…you got?” You reach for the back of his neck, bringing him to a sitting position, clinging to his shoulders as you grind and bounce against him as hard as you can. “Fuck, that’s it. Just like that, baby girl.”

Hearing him call you that had your pussy flutter around him and you had to bite down on his shoulder to hide your moan. 

“Oh, Harrington. I think she liked that.” Eddie crawled onto the bed beside you both as his finger gently turned your cheek. “Maybe we need titles of our own… would you like that? Have us take care of you and in return you show us the respect we deserve?”

You don’t respond, choosing to wrap your arms around Steve as he does the same, laying back against the mattress as his hips thrust up to meet yours. Shoving your face in the pillow behind him, you whimper as you cum, him following after you as he pumps his spend roughly deep into your body. 

He continues to hold you as Steve rolls you both on to your side before you feel fingers tug at your hips as Eddie turns you on to your back and delicately cleans between your legs. Your eyes scan his face as he takes care of you, tossing the towel towards your hamper. As he bends down to grab his jeans, you yank his hand hard till he tumbles on top of you. 

“Geez, woman. Be careful. I’m fragile you know.”

You grin softly as you cover his mouth with your palm. “I want that. I want you to take care of me and to belong to you. I want to give you all the respect you deserve. I just don’t think…you both would believe me every time I did.” You move your hand from his lips to his cheek as you turn to look at Steve. 

“I only want you two. I don’t want anyone else but I’m not naive to the fact that girls are attracted to you. I may be yours but not in that way. At some point… you’re going to want a relationship. Someone to give you more than just sex.”

“So we’re not even going to talk about it?”, Steve asked.

“You know those are two separate issues, right? You feeling like we don’t believe you and you feeling like we would want to be in a relationship with someone else. If we have such major trust issues than why would we get into a romantic relationship with someone?”

“See, Eddie. When you say things like that… makes me think ‘Ok, this isn’t romantic.’”

“Why does there have to be a label?”

“Because Steve, I need to know where I stand.”

“Why?”

“Because I need to know if you’re going to hurt me!” You pushed against Eddie’s chest with your hand as you sat up, tucking your knees under your chin. “I’ve been burned before. I don’t…I can’t do it again. If it’s sex, fine it’s sex. If it’s…something else…”

Arms wrap around your shoulders and you glance over to see Eddie’s lips kiss your skin. “I want to give you an answer you want to hear.”

“Be honest with me.”

“We’ve never done this before.”

That makes you genuinely laugh until you realize he’s not laughing with you. Your head whips around to find Steve who shrugs slightly as he nods his head.

“I…I don’t know what to say.”

“To be fair, you’ve never done it before either.” Eddie pulls away laying back on your bed and you follow him down. “We always wanted to.”

“Have you done it separately? The...dominate thing?”

The metalhead sighs as he rubs his hand along his stomach, throwing his other arm behind his head. “Sex, yes obviously. This? Not really. I tried a few times but apparently, I’m too mean.”

“Yeah, you are.” His eyes find your soft ones as you smile.

You roll over to face Steve as you wait for his answer. “No, honey. I’ve never tried it. It’s…slipped out a few times but…yeah.”

“Like when we were in the auditorium?” His eyes scrunched in confusion. “You said you were going to spank me but that was before you two quizzed me on what I like sexually.”

Eddie’s arm wrapped around your waist as he pulled himself closer to you. “The truth is, sweetheart, we don’t know what this is either. I meant what I said when you asked why you. You’re sweet and beautiful but hot damn is there’s something fucking sexy hidden under there. All we know is—”

“You do something to us.”, Steve finishes. “We want to explore it more but we don’t want to hurt you either. Not like that.”

“So what does this mean?”

“It means…you go to New York. Have a good time and call us any chance you get.” 

Steve reaches out to caress your cheek as your eyelids start to close. “And we’ll be right here when you come home.”

#############

The sound of your alarm screaming at you that morning bores straight into your head. After slamming at it with your palm you curl back up into ball and press your face into the pillow. Your head shoots up when last nights events jog your memory. Eddie and Steve were already gone, leaving your window open for emphasis. 

You sighed as you rubbed your eyes and started getting ready to face the day. Something on the chair by your desk caught your eye and you paused when you realized it was Eddie’s leather jacket and Steve’s big green long sleeve shirt he had worn last night. Taped to the collar was a note:

“Baby, 

We thought it only fair to leave a piece of us with you since we totally stole your panties ;). 

-E.M. & S.H.

You giggled as you threw on their clothes, reveling in the smell of them before quickly throwing on a pair of jeans and running out the front door. 

When you got to school you met Maze at your locker who whined, advising you there was last day of school assembly. 

“Oh, come on. We’re almost done.”, you smiled as you grabbed her arm. 

“Whose jacket is that?”, she mused as you both headed towards the gym. 

“Mine. Why?”

“No reason. I could swear I saw Eddie Munson wearing a jacket just like that.”

You roll your eyes at your friend as your grin grows. Your friends on the basketball team wave you both over and you two hastily settle in. You scan the area wondering if they were here already. Steve saunters in right as the bell rings pausing in front of Tommy without looking at him as his former friend grins wickedly. 

Eddie slides in right as the teachers are closing the doors, his eyes catching yours and following them to Steve’s stiff frame. 

You breathe a sigh of relief as the metalhead pats his back and whispers something to him before guiding him up the risers where they sit together during the assembly. 

As soon as it ends, you bounce up towards them not caring about the people around you or if you even should. 

“Are you okay?”

Eddie nudges Steve’s shoulder. “Yeah, just Tommy and Carol being dicks. Right, Harrington?”

“Y/N, we have to get to class.” Masie comes up beside you to grab your hand. 

“Hey, Masie Collins? I’ve never actually met you. I’m—”

“Eddie Munson. Yup. I know who you are. Steve Harrington to. Now come on.” She yanks on your hand but you still hesitate, seeing that stoic expression still painted on Steve’s face. You don’t know if it’s something you should do but your brain said you had to as you threw your arms around him. His shoulders relaxed under your grip and when you released him, he gently smiled at you. 

“Thank you.”

You return his smile with one of your own as you finally turn and climb down the risers. 

“Hey Y/N! Love the jacket by the way. I have one just like it!” Eddie winks at you as you and your friend disappear.  ##############

@manda-panda-monium @sherrylyn628 @local-stoner-bitch

@katethetank @danandphilequalsmemes @luna-munson83

@sidthedollface2 @mandyjo8719 @bexreastoomuch

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@siriuslysmoking

[thebestofoneshots]

Gilded Constellations | wolfstar x reader

Series Masterlist | Previous episode

Pairing: Wolfstar x Reader Word Count: 6 K Warnings: none Prompt: What will happen when you face a boggart on DADA? On top of that, it's finally the long awaited day, the quidditch trials, will you make it into the team? This IS a wolfstar x reader fic, but it's incredibly slow burn. They won't start all dating each other until we're very deep into the story, but I promise the long wait will be worth it.

Chapter 7: "Peaceful Easy Feeling"

A week had flown by while at Hogwarts. You were becoming closer and closer to your Gryffindor classmates, and you couldn’t be happier. This morning James reminded you like four times that the quidditch trials would be later that day. He’d given you a list of the things you’d need and made sure you were aware of the fact that he wouldn’t be the only person to choose who made it to the team, so you had to fly as gracefully as you always did, and better. 

“You sure you’ve got everything ready?” He asked, yet another time as you walked towards the Great Hall after divination. 

“Yes James,” you replied exasperated “I’ve got my broom, and my goggles, and the cape you gave me, and Remus’ sweater from the other day –because he said it would be cold–, and Sirius’ goddamned lucky hair tie too.” 

“Excellent, At what time will I see you?” 

“4 pm,” he was about to say another thing “Seriously Potter, one more quidditch-related question and I won’t even show up,” you warned.  

He nodded “I was actually gonna ask you If I could copy your DADA homework?” He said with a guilty smile “I totally forgot with all the quidditch stuff and Moony is pissed at me because he reminded me of it every night but I forgot anyway.” 

You rolled your eyes but took out your parchment and handed it over. “You better change it a bit so Nightshade doesn’t find out, remember she’s really good at spotting stuff.” He nodded profusely. 

Your DADA teacher was very strict, absolutely charming, and elegant, but strict nonetheless. Last time she discovered someone had been copying someone else’s homework –Tom copying Beth’s– she took 10 points from each of them and gave them detention until they did the entire thing again. Thankfully Lily had been very participative in that class and the points she won almost balanced out the ones they’d lost. 

From your table, Remus was the first one to spot the two of you. He was sitting besides Sirius, and he waved as soon as he saw you, you smiled, and went to take a seat. 

“Where’s my hair tie?” Sirius asked as soon as he saw you. 

“Nice to see you too Sirius,” You said as you raised your arm and pulled the sleeve of Remus’ sweater back, waving your hand in the air to make its position obvious.

“No, no, no. You need to have it on your hair for it to work,” He said, you raised your eyebrows at him. “Here, I can do it for you.” He grabbed your hand, pulling his hair tie from your wrist and placing it on his, standing up behind you. He then started toying with your hair, brushing it back with his fingers. 

“What the hell is that wanker doing to your hair love?” Beth said, pointing at Sirius as she took a seat in front of you.

“Infusing luck into my hairstyle or something,” you shrugged and leaned in to grab a slice of pie from the table, but you were abruptly pulled back by Sirius' hand in your hair “Ouch!” you exclaimed, furrowing your brow in discomfort. You tried to turn your head towards Sirius to glare at him but he firmly grasped your head with both hands and guided it back to face forward “Sirius, stop pulling on my hair!”

“Why? Don’t you like it?” He teased in a flirty tone, fucking Sirius Black. 

“Oh course not, goddamnit!” 

“Well then! Stop moving until I’m done, Would ya?” 

You took a deep breath and attempted to nod, causing your hair to be pulled yet again, you winced. Deciding it was best to remain still, you shifted your gaze toward Beth, who offered you a sympathetic smile. When you finally stopped moving you used your wand to skillfully levitate the food towards your plate and gave a satisfying bite to a piece of fudge. Meanwhile, Sirius gently tugged at the left side of your head, and surprisingly, you found yourself relishing the sensation of his fingers playfully caressing your scalp. 

“Hey Potter,” You heard someone shout from the entrance, “See if you can catch this!” the person said before launching a quaffle towards your friend, who swiftly dodged the ball, leaving you in its way instead. You turned your head, feeling another pull from Sirius’ hands on your head but managed to kinda catch the ball as it hit you sharp on the stomach, pushing you back into Remus’ chest, who’d turned to hold you from falling further.  

It took you half a minute to get your breath back, and then you turned to the place the ball had come from, Sirius and James were angrily walking towards the person that threw the ball, it was the unhinged boy you saw sitting next to Regulus on the train. 

“What the hell Crouch?” Sirius seethed, “You could’ve hurt someone!” 

“Hey Volkov,” You heard James shout to a tall boy in Slytherin robes “Keep your dog on a leash, would you?” 

Barty just laughed in response “You cowards, you dodged the ball!” He said in between maniacal chuckles. 

Feeling a mix of frustration and exhaustion from the hit, You let your head fall on Remus’ shoulder -who was still holding you– and took a deep breath to compose yourself. Finally deciding to intervene, you stood up and strode towards the confrontation. As you glared at the Slytherin boy who had thrown the ball, his laughter started to cease, being replaced by an uncomfortable expression. In hindsight, it might have been a reckless move, you could’ve easily gotten caught for it, but there were no teachers around at that particular moment. 

“What the fuck?!” He said after the ball fell on the floor, thick red liquid dripping from his nose “You b*tch!” He roared before he launched himself towards you, being stopped by the towering Volkov boy and Regulus, who’d just arrived at the scene. 

“Oops, I guess I threw it the wrong way,” you taunted sarcastically. “Maybe if you were as good at dogging as my boy Potter here,” you said pointing at James “you wouldn’t have ended up in that pathetic situation.” With a dismissive flick of your hair, you turned on your heel and walked back to your table, Sirius’ made ponytail swaying behind you. 

Volkov and Regulus practically dragged Crouch out of the Great Hall before James and Sirius finally returned to their seats beside you. You looked at your food with a frown, the hit of the quaffle right in your stomach had taken your appetite away, so you just grabbed your goblet and drank some of the apple juice you’d served yourself earlier. 

“You alright?” Remus asked, concerned. 

You nodded, Sirius walked back, looking guilty, and sat down beside you “Sorry,” he mumbled. 

“For what?” you frowned, confused.

“I could’ve tried to stop the ball, and all I did was yank your head for you to see it.” 

“Aww… Sirius is worried about me,” you teased, trying to lighten up the mood “I’m good tho, you do remember I’m a quidditch girl, right? I’m used to getting hit by quaffles.” Sirius shook his head with a little smile forming, “Besides, it was Potter who left me in the line of action,” you emphasised "Potter" so that he would hear you. He turned to you mortified. 

“I’m sorry,” he said as he turned to you frantically “I didn’t mean to, I didn’t calculate you were behind me, I’m a seeker, dodging is almost all I do.” 

You looked at him with a frown and then laughed, letting your head fall back. James looked completely distraught. “It’s fine James, I was only teasing you.” 

Lily gave James a look of disdain “But you should’ve caught it,” she said before pulling a list from her bag “Now, changing the subject, these are going to be the extra-curriculars for this year.” She placed the list in the centre of the table. 

You leaned in to take a look, “Apparition?” You asked, “On 6th?” 

Beth nodded “I’ve been waiting for this course since 1st, they say Dumbledore is the teacher sometimes.” 

“I’m up for that one,” you said, and Lily wrote your name next to apparition. 

“You can still choose something else since apparition is only a 12-week course.” 

“Uh… Magical Theory?” You asked, looking through the list. 

“It’s for creating spells,” said James. 

“We’ve been taking it since 3rd,” Remus chimed.

“You’d probably like it,” concluded Sirius. 

“I’ll take that one too, then.” You told Lily, who wrote your name on it, “Though Ghoul studies sounds good too.” 

“Oh, well, the times clash, but if you want you can come to the Tuesday class with me?” She offered with a smile. You nodded, and then she continued asking the rest of your classmates about their selection for the year. 

Once she was done, everyone stood up and you all walked together to your Defence Against the Dark Arts Class. The teacher had moved all the chairs and tables to the back of the room, leaving a large empty space in the middle of the room. 

Professor Nightshade was leaning on her desk, looking as graceful as ever, with a little smirk as everyone walked in. “Today, we will be learning how to deal with Boggarts.” The atmosphere in the room quickly became tense. “Mr. Pettigrew, please step forward.” 

Peter gulped and walked towards Seraphina, who whispered something in his ear. He nodded, still with a worried look and the professor walked towards a large chest she’d placed at the front, opening it. Some mist came out and it started to transform into a giant rat trap. 

You heard Sirius burst out into a laugh from behind you, James jabbed him with his elbow and gave him a warning look. Sirius nodded, giving James an apologetic look. 

“Riddikulus!” Said Peter from the front, and the cheese on the trap started growing and growing until it ripped through the cage and caused it to break down. Everyone laughed, causing the boggart to sink back into his chest.

“Excellent work Mr. Pettigrew!” She said and called Beth to the front. When the boggart came out it turned into a huge piece of magical chess, a knight with a giant sword, lunging at her.

She looked to the side, placing her hand over her hand in instinct, “Riddikulus!” She half screamed, the sword became an air balloon and the horse had turned into a cute Merry Go Round one instead. Everyone laughed at it. 

 Seraphina urged everyone to make a line, and soon enough everyone was facing their own boggart. Sirius dressed his mother in a childish way, with ponytails and everything, Remus made the moon blow up into hundreds of sparkly confetti. Lily turned a Death Eater into a clown. And then it was your turn.

Lily gave you a thumbs up as you walked closer to your teacher, “What do you expect to see?” She asked you calmly. 

“I… I don’t know, not sure how a boggart would represent loneliness,” you said, trying to add a bit of humour to the situation. She nodded and walked towards the chest, asking with a rise of her eyebrows if you were ready, you nodded. Soon the dark mist turned into the creature from your nightmares. You stared at it in shock, it looked as imposing and dangerous as it did in your dreams, and then it growled. 

From the back of the room, Remus gave a worried look to his friends. “How can she–“ started Sirius. 

“–be scared of Moony?” finished James with a frown. 

“We haven’t even had a full moon since she got to the castle. There’s no way she’s seen him.” Whispered Peter. 

You took a while to react, Seraphina was about to intervene but you raised your wand and whispered “Riddikulus!”. As you steadied your breaths the giant creature started becoming smaller, turning into a small little chihuahua dog, causing the entire class to burst into a laugh. 

Tom walked from the side and placed an arm over your shoulder, still laughing “That was brilliant (Y/L/N). Didn’t expect you to be scared of werewolves, tho.” 

You turned your head back to the place where the boggart had stood earlier “That- That was a werewolf?” 

Tom nodded “We saw them last year on DADA, it's a short chapter, but that’s exactly what they look like.” 

You frowned, trying to acknowledge the information. You took a deep breath and went to take a seat, Lily walked towards you then, “You ok?” She asked. She already knew about Remus’ condition and wanted to ask if he was alright too, but he was already having a hushed talk with the boys. 

“That was it.” You said, “It’s the creature from my nightmares!” 

Lily stayed next to you, rubbing circles on your back, taking quick glances at Remus every couple of minutes. So far, Remus and you had hit it off well, in fact, you’d gotten closer to the boys in a week than most people had in the 5 years they’d been together. 

Meanwhile, Remus’ head was in a whirlwind. While James, Peter and Sirius discussed how it was possible that your boggart had been Moony he couldn’t stop himself from going down a self-destructing hole. His new friend was scared of him because he was nothing more than the scary monster Witches told their children about at night. He was the boogie man of the wizarding world. 

When the class was over, Remus excused himself and went straight into the common room, you’d had enough time to relax along with Lily and decided to approach the boys, pulling out your quidditch gear from your backpack. You frowned when you noticed someone was missing “Where did Remus go? I thought he was going to come see the try-outs.” 

“He said he was feeling a bit shaken,” said Peter and started walking, being quick to change the topic “You feeling ready?” 

“I was born ready,” you answered cockily, tightening the ponytail Sirius had made for you earlier. As if cue he walked closer to you and grabbed a stray hair from the braid he’d done on the side of your head and set it back in its place. You were still getting used to Sirius’ touchiness, so you cleared your throat “James, you took my broom to the pitch earlier, right?” you asked, he nodded in response. 

As you arrived at the imposing field, you saw a long table placed close to the bleachers, Potter and Sirius walked towards the table taking a seat next to Marlene, and a tall curly-haired boy who you identified as the Gryffindor Head Boy. 

“Gather 'round everyone!” Shouted Marlene, all the kids that aspired made a line in front of the table. 

Both older and younger kids stood next to you, all looked eager to show off their flying skills to the Gryffindor team. 

James stood up, and everyone became quiet, he smiled “All right lads, first we’re testing speed.” He said with a smile “Grab your brooms, and do three laps around the castle.” 

You nodded, hovering over the air in a line, along with the rest of the students trying out. Marlene and Sirius went up in the air towards key spots before James gave you the sign to go. You took off and went straight towards the first mark line. James and Teddy had charmed golden light hoops in the air that you had to pass through if you wanted your laps to count. As you were flying you saw Sirius marking the speed of the players with a chronometer and Marlene making sure everyone was following the rules. You were the first one to get back to the pitch, followed by a brunette girl with an athletic build. 

“(Y/LN), Davis! Excellent job,” said Teddy when he saw the two of you arrive. 

The rest of the kids arrived one by one afterwards. James smiled, as Sirius and Teddy talked in the back, writing notes on the parchments. “Excellent job everyone, now it’s time for the next exercise. You will be playing a tag game.” He said as Teddy came forward and handed each of you a handkerchief. “The game is simple, you will place the handkerchief on your belt. And the rest of the players will try to take it from you. If you lose your handkerchief, you’re out. You will be evaluated on how much you last, and how many handkerchieves you get in the end. The court is the limit, like in a quidditch game. If you fly off limits, you’re out of the game. Any questions?” 

A smaller boy raised his hand “What if someone pushes us?” 

James nodded “Great question! Same rules as quidditch will apply for this game. Sirius and Marlene will make sure you’re not committing any fouls. Your game starts in 3…2…1… Go!” 

You were in the air in an instant. Far higher than everyone else, to get a good view of everyone. You spotted the boy who’d asked the question earlier and you dived straight towards him, passing by him, swiftly taking his handkerchief in your hands before he even noticed he was out, you took a break right before hitting the ground and continued speeding in the lower parts of the court, passing over the table where Teddy and James were sitting, causing some of his parchments to fly around, Sirius laughed when he noticed. 

“Show Off!” James shouted at you as he adjusted his glasses and rearranged the parchments with a wave of his wand. 

As you flew off, you turned back to give him a small wink and located your next target, a red-haired boy that looked about your age, you assumed he was a seventh year since you hadn’t seen him in your classes. You propelled yourself forward and shot up like an arrow in his direction, dodging the Davis girl as she attempted to claim your handkerchief. You took the redhead’s handkerchief in the blink of an eye and continued flying in circles like a hawk, placing yourself in the highest spot. 

You saw Davis turn to you, a smirk on her face as she shot upwards, thinking you hadn’t noticed. But you dived down straight towards her, like a game of chicken. Neither of you broke off the path until you were almost touching each other. Everyone was staring in awe and worry at the two when you turned your whole broom upside down, passing right beneath her and taking her handkerchief. She landed shortly after, still stunned by your manoeuvre, sitting along the Redheaded boy and establishing a chat. 

By now, most players had been taken out by the few that were left on the field. A younger-looking boy, who flew gracefully to avoid being taken out. A heavier girl with blonde hair that was looking around trying to find someone to catch and Tim, a boy from your class whom you weren’t particularly close with. You dove for him as the younger boy flew towards the blonde girl. You got Tim’s handkerchief, but the smaller younger boy had been faster to take the girl’s cloth and went straight for you, too fast for you to notice. Taking it seconds after you’d outed Tim. You saw him swiftly pass in front of you and waved with a smile and your handkerchief in his hand, before he flew towards James and the rest of the team, you followed behind him, shaking your head as you admired the boy’s skill. 

By the time you got down, everyone was taking their handkerchiefs out. You had taken a total of 4, and tied with Davis, who also had gotten four. The smaller boy, who’d taken yours, had 6 handkerchiefs, counting his own. 

“Gale! That was brilliant!” Marlene praised him. He smiled at that, meanwhile Teddy and James were busy talking to each other. 

After a couple of minutes James stepped forward “Now we’re testing for keepers’ abilities,” he said motioning towards the hoops, One by one you’ll take turns, Teddy, someone chosen randomly and I will be trying to score, while Mckinnon and Black will be doing their job and trying to throw you off your brooms with the bludgers. It’ll be like a quidditch game, except, you will only have yourself to defend the goals, and maybe a little help from beaters, who will also attempt to throw the bludgers at us… Questions?” No one said anything “Fantastic! (Y/LN), you’ll be scoring with me and Teddy in the first couple of rounds, Davis, you’re defending.” 

As you flew into the air you saw James throw the ball towards the left hoop, Davis saw it coming and he blocked it with his broom, you dived for the ball and once you had it you saw a bludger coming in your direction, you flew downwards and threw the ball to Teddy, who scored. You turned towards Sirius, who had batted the bludger towards you with a reproaching expression. “Sorry love,” he mouthed before flying towards the other bludger, shooting it at Davis, who managed to dodge it but left an opening for James, who had the quaffle, to score. By the end of his time, the girl had successfully blocked around 70% of the shots. 

Next up, was the redhead boy you’d taken the handkerchief from. You were still playing as a chaser, but Teddy was switched by Davis, so now the two of you were working as a team, and damn did you make a mean team. Davis passed the ball when she saw an opening and you scored several times, so did she. James was impressed by your coordination, especially after the chicken game you’d played in your brooms in the tag exercise. The redhead stopped around 50% of your shorts. 

With the next person they kept the same player set, and Tim managed to stop around 70% of your shots. The more you and Davis played together, the better the two became at guessing each other's shots. You already knew James well enough, so the three of you as chasers made an amazing team. Eventually, James switched with Teddy, and the three of you were almost unstoppable, leaving everyone with a 50% or less block rate. Gale, the boy who’d taken the handkerchief from you, was up, and he was good, he stopped almost 90% of the shots. When it was your turn, James made you switch places with Gale. 

He was a great chaser too, probably as good as he was as a keeper. Coordinating fantastically well with Teddy and Davis. As you stood your guard, you saw a bludger coming straight towards you, propelled by Marlene’s skillful shot, you instantly knew Gale would attempt to seize the opportunity and score, just like James had done earlier. So locked your gaze on him and as the bludger closed in on you, you swiftly manoeuvred your broom backwards, gaining the necessary traction to execute a handstand atop the handle, allowing the bludger to whizz through the narrow space between your head and the broom while your suspended legs propelled the quaffle aside, successfully blocking Gale's shot.  

The strain on your arms intensified, and gravity tugged at your legs, urging you downward. Acting swiftly, you yanked your broom, executing a seamless 180 until it was once again nestled between your legs. You heard some of the spectators from the bleachers gasp and cheer when they saw your manoeuvre. Shifting your focus back to the chasers, their impressed expressions fueled your determination. Gale, in particular, was so stunned he momentarily froze, until Teddy hurled the quaffle towards him jolting him back into action.

He grabbed the quaffle and attempted to score again, you blocked the shot with the back end of your broom. By the end of your time, you started getting a bit more tired, the sky was getting dark and the cold was kicking in. You started feeling sluggish, your hands were so cold you cursed yourself for not bringing gloves, and they hurt from gripping your broom so tightly. 

With all of the factors combined, you became slower, you had been flying for at least 4 hours at this point and you hadn’t flown that much since the past June or something. Eventually, the chasers managed to score like 3 times. One after you got a cramp on your left hand, and tried to shake it off, the other one when Teddy did a sick feint, making you think he would score and shoot the ball to Gale, who scored from the other side. In a real game, that goal would’ve been disqualified since the two of them were in the zone, but today, it counted because it was practice. The last one was because Sirius shot a bludger to your face and you ducked, flying towards the left hoop where Davis had shot the quaffle, but even as you stretched your arm, it didn’t reach on time. You blocked a few more shots made by the three of them and James called the end of your turn, letting everyone come down towards the grass. In the end, you had managed to block about 95% of the shots, according to the redhead boy, who was animatedly talking with Tim. 

You were so tired that you decided to lean onto your broom, using it as support as James spoke “All right, if you hear your name, please step forward,” he said before adjusting his glasses and grabbing onto a list “Tim Klum, Lucas Platanis, Anne Davis, Gale Thomas and (Y/N)(Y/LN).” You all took a step forward. “Tim, Lucas, you’re gonna be on reserve, mainly as chasers, but McKinnon and Black will train you as beaters in case any of them can’t make it to the match.” 

“Davis,” he said looking at the blonde girl “You’ll be a chaser.” She nodded and jumped excitedly. “And finally, Gale and (Y/N), you’re as good as each other, you were both excellent chasers and keepers, Gale you proved to have more resistance, especially towards the end when (Y/N) looked a lot more tired, but she had a better block to shot ratio than you did on the keeper test, which is why, she’ll get to decide which position she’d like to play.” 

You looked at him with your eyes opened wide, and he nodded in reassurance, a soft, ecourging smile accompanying his nod “I- um…” you stammered. “I think I’ll be a keeper?” 

James nodded “It’s settled then. You may go rest.” 

“Hey (Y/LN),” called Teddy “You’d make a really mean seeker, you know that right?” 

You smiled “I was a seeker in my older school,” you told him politely “And I can totally cover for James should he need it, but I’m pretty thrilled with the idea of being the keeper for the team. I like a good challenge.” 

“All the keepers from the other teams are boys,” he informed “You will need to perfect your resistance and be extremely careful when we play Slytherin, they won’t hold their shots just because you’re a girl.” 

You were taken aback “I sure hope they don’t!” You responded, “It’d be too boring.” 

He smiled at that and gave you a pat on the shoulder “I’m excited to have you on our team.” 

Once Teddy left you to go talk to Gale, Marlene approached you, with a huge grin on her face “You made it!” She said as she grabbed your shoulders, “And you’re so fast too!” She praised. 

“Thanks,” you said with a blush creeping up your cheeks, yeah, you may be able to be cocky on the playing field, but when someone you admire praises you like that, you will get shy, it’s how the world works. 

“Oh,” she grabbed onto your arm and linked it with hers “I’ll be so refreshing to have you on the team, although you’ll see Potter can sometimes get a bit in the control maniac mood, especially when we’re close to a game.” 

“Don’t talk shit about others behind their back, Marlene!” You hear James shout from the table, as he was packing up the stuff. 

“He heard that?” You asked with a frown. 

 She shook her head “He just knows me well.” 

As you continued walking Peter, Lily and Mary joined you, “It was brilliant, that backflip? I’d never seen someone do it in school!” Peter mused as he walked beside you. 

“I– thanks!” you mustered.

You frowned as you looked through the field “Remus didn’t make it?” You asked, Peter and Lily exchanged an awkward glance between the two of them “Is he still feeling off?”

Lily was quick to nod “he said it might have been the food.” 

You frowned, neither you, nor Remus had eaten that much, and you were pretty sure you’d both had only a couple of bites of the same Shepard pie, so whatever he had, wasn’t because of the food. But you decided to push the thought to the back of your mind. You arrived at the great hall shortly after, with Peter going over the highlights of the tryouts, praising you over and over, and mentioning how excited he was for the first game with the new line-up. 

When you arrived he started telling Beth about it, who hadn’t been able to go because she was still in detention with Professor Nightshade. “And then she did this freaking amazing handstand-backflip, dodging the bludger Marlene had shot at her, AND–“ he paused dramatically “blocking the god damned quaffle Gale had shot. It was brilliant Beth, you should’ve seen it.” 

“Oi, wormy, stop talking about her like she’s a freaking superhero, it’s gonna get on her head,” said Sirius as he placed his arm over your shoulders “She’s already pretty haughty as it is.” 

You turned to him with a fake offended expression “Haughty? But look who’s talking?” 

“I’m not haughty!” 

“Sirius, you might be the cockiest person I know.” 

“Well, then, we’ll make quite a pair,” he said with an air of disdain. 

Once sitting at the dinner table you grabbed a couple of desserts and placed them on your plate. James raised his eyebrows as he motioned towards it “Only sweet stuff?” 

“I’m knackered,” you complained “I need this, urgently.” 

He raised his hands in surrender. “Just curious.” 

You nodded and gave a bite to your scone. Moaning from how freaking good it was. “The elves outdid themselves today.” 

“Or you’re just hungry,” said Sirius, you pulled another scone and shoved it in front of his face, and he gave it a small bite. He moaned too, taking the scone from your hands and eating it by himself. 

“You were saying?” He rolled his eyes with a little smile in response, nudging you with his shoulder. 

While that exchange was happening Mary leaned down to whisper something at Lily “They’re even feeding each other now!” She said in a half excited tone. 

Lily turned to her “Stop it! They’re gonna hear you.” 

Once you were done eating, and realised Remus hadn’t made it down for dinner,  you grabbed a couple of scones and toast. Since you didn’t know what Remus liked on his toast with, you grabbed all the spreads and put them on different sections of the toast, making a very funny-looking and colourful piece of bread. You placed a piece of bread on top and then put everything on a cloth napkin. 

James had gone to talk to Teddy and everyone was still eating, so you excused yourself, “Imma head back now,” you said to Lily, “kinda tired.” She nodded in acknowledgment and waved you goodbye. It took you a couple of minutes to get to the fat lady’s portrait but once there you whispered the passwords and walked into the common room. You spotted Remus sitting in front of the fireplace with a blanket over him, his legs bent and his arms wrapped around them, staring at the fire as if it were the most interesting thing.

“Hey!” You said with a smile “Lily told us you were feeling off.” 

He looked up at you, and nodded “How did you do?” 

You walked over, sitting almost beside him “I made it to the team,” you smiled “Peter can’t stop talking about it. I think I surprised him with a little trick I did.” 

“Congrats!” 

“I brought you this,” you said raising your hand with the napkin on top, “they said it might have been your stomach, some sweets could make you feel better.” 

He smiled “Thank you,” he said “I was a bit shaken by the boggart, I guess.” 

You nodded “I can relate.” He winced but you didn’t notice as you were looking at the fire. “The scones are out of this world,” you said as you handed the napkin over to him. He unwrapped the knot at the top and grabbed one of them, giving it a bite and smiling. 

“Mhmmm…” 

You smiled “Told ya,” you took a deep breath and let yourself fall on top of the rug. Placing your hands under your head for support. “Sometimes when I’m feeling bad, I like looking at the sky.” 

He chuckled, “I’m not such a big fan.” 

“You don’t like stargazing?” You asked, frowning and turning your head back to look at him. 

“No, I- do like stars,” he corrected “but I sometimes find all the other stuff, a little anxiety-inducing.”

“Only stars then,” you said, smiling as an idea popped in your head. You pulled your wand and started launching bright balls of light to the ceiling, recreating the night sky as best as you remembered. 

Eventually, he let himself fall on the rug beside you, “What are you doing?” He asked. 

You smiled mischievously and pointed at the candles that surrounded the room “Nox,” you whispered, suddenly the lights at the top of the ceiling were the only visible thing, making it look like a clear night sky “There you go, only stars.” 

Remus laughed, “You know, they’ve got a similar thing on the Ravenclaw tower.” 

“Do they? Is it as pretty as mine?” 

He laughed, “Theirs was cast by Rowena Ravenclaw.” 

You chuckled “Well, theirs might be prettier, but this one?” you pointed at the ceiling “this one is ours.” You had replicated the night sky as best as you remembered, but you’d also added several stars that didn’t really exist, one for each one of your friends, and they were the brightest.

“That’s yours,” you said pointing at one of them “That one is Peter’s, next to James’, obviusly. Sirius is on Canis Major,” you said, drawing the lines in between the stars with your wand. “But he’s brighter than the rest,” you said, since you hadn’t added an extra star for him, just made his brighter. 

Remus chuckled “He is indeed.” There was a comfortable silence and Remus spoke again “And you?” 

“Me? I guess I didn’t make myself one.” 

He then grabbed his wand and threw a small but bright light towards the ceiling. 

“A comet?” You asked as you realised the trail of light trailing behind the star he’d created.  

“I’ve always found them intriguing. They appear suddenly, blazing across the sky,” He said, “kind of like the way you showed up, out of nowhere.” 

You laughed “Well, at least they’re pretty, even if fleeting.”

“But you won’t be,” he said pointing at the comet he’s created, “It’ll circle through the rest of the stars you made, forever.” 

You took a deep breath, realising how fast you’d been accepted by Hogwarts and your new friends. They had all been so kind, guiding and welcoming. Never leaving you out, even inviting you to clubs and other reunions they had created long ago. You knew the fact that you’d met Sirius before was of great help, but in this moment, you realised, that even without meeting him, Remus, and James and Lily and Marlene and everyone would’ve been just as welcoming. You remembered a line from a book you’d read long ago “Profound connections can be formed in the briefest of encounters.” 

It happened with Sirius during your vacation, and now it was happening here in Hogwarts too. And you smiled, looking at the sky you’d created. Moving to England might have been one of the best things to ever happen to you. 

Series Masterlist | Next Chapter

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Raead more Marauders Fiction

A/N: My sweet boy Remus deserves the world. Barty is a little deranged, but thet's why we love him, I'm sure he'll hold a grudge for what happened, though. Little sneak peak: next episode is gonna be spicy, so stay tuned <3

[steamberrystudio]

07/07/2024 Tumblr Devlog

Hallo everyone!  Time for the tumblr update! Whii~iich I think I may have skipped a couple - it looks like I did that annoying thing where I wrote up an update and *forgot to post it*. 

Sorry about that! 

So what have I been doing lately? Well. Lemme tell ya.

I wrote 23,000 words this week, for one. I am ded. ┗( T﹏T )┛

But let's jump into the details because in the most recent update I see, I was still revising chapter 10.

Summary:

Finished revising, proofreading, and formatting chapter 10

Revised Asher ending sequence

Revised Daaz ending sequence

Finished drafting Kav's endings sequence

Finished drafting Noel's ending sequence

Finished drafting Raif's endings sequence

Worked on a ton of UI changes and improvements

Worked on some sprite tweaks

Received some new BG art!

Writing:

So as you can see, lots of writing progress since my last update. 

I finished revising chapter 10 and coding it. It turned out to be 88,000 words coded.

I revised and formatted Asher and Daaz's ending sequences into the game. Those two were already drafted and just needed to be cleaned up and put into Renpy.

The remaining four character still needed to be drafted but I had paused to revise the entire script so I could make some necessary plot fixes before I tried to draft the remaining endings. 

With that done, I've moved into finishing up the draft.

Currently I have Kav, Noel, and Raif drafted and Yren in progress.

And that will be all the main game content complete!

The current un-coded word count amount is 625,000 words. 💪

Art:

So I have completed some CG work since my last update but the main thing I've been working on art-wise is UI updates and changes. 

A lot of small changes to the general aesthetic as well as implementing a lot of small additions I've been contemplating for a while as QoL improvements.

Such as a little indicator that shows when you are in a "character branch" and things like that.

I've also made a few small tweaks to some of the sprites - mostly just making their expressions a little more dramatic since they were reading a bit flat to me. And, of course, adding new outfits. Always new outfits. LoL

And of course, new BGs from both artists.

Background are around 76% complete currently.

Other Stuff:

I guess UI goes in here too since in addition to the "art" aspect, there's the implementation aspect as well.

Once you change the look of something that has to be coded in, of course. 

I ended up deciding that I want to experiment with moving the sprites around a bit more - mostly moving them a bit closer and then further away depending on the scene, what's happening, and how many characters are on screen in a given moment.

There are several benefits to this including keeping the screen from being static for long periods but also, there are a couple of characters that the player will really benefit from being able to see their faces up close (mostly Raif and Yren).

So yeah - in addition to redesigning some of the screens, I have also been implementing those changes bit by bit.

The game definitely looks quite different now. I recently saw a playthrough of the current prototype that's on Itch and was astonished because I forgot how it looked when it was first released. Ha ha. It's gone through a lot of changes. 

Noel no longer matches the ceiling, for one! Amazing.

Upcoming Weeks:

I will be working on finishing up Yren's ending sequence and hope to get that done in the upcoming week - which means another heavy writing week. 

As I've said elsewhere, I have been calling them "ending sequences" but in reality this is the last three chapters of each route which is about 20,000 words total for each character. I have about 3000 words of Yren's done and I'm actually only shooting for about 15,000 for the rough draft because I invariable add dialogue and variations when I edit, which means I have to undershoot the draft so I don't overshoot the word count during revision.

So yeah, I'll be completing Yren's final three chapters, then revising Kav, Noel, Raif, and Yren and formatting them into the game, which will give me the "final" word count for the project.

And then I will be "done" with the writing (in quotes because...you're never done with the writing until it releases. LoL

I should definitely be done with drafting and revising by my next update here but I can't really say what I'll be working on by that point. Probably...UI and CGs. Not sure.

We'll find out in the future I suppose! See you then!

[samptlay]

To My Sweetheart Who Carries A Wounded Heart ~ Info.

Blade & Reader's Relationship

Series Masterlist, Chapter 1 🤍, Chapter 2 🖤, Chapter 3 🤍, Chapter 4🖤, Chapter 5🤍, Chapter 6🖤, Chapter 7🤍

Being childhood best friends, they knew everything about each other and been there for all of the other's milestones.

Reader describes Blade as his soulmate and is the only person throughout the whole series who calls him "Ren."

They met in kindergarten or preschool (I forgot what I wrote for that) and the reader kept on bothering him until he acknowledged her and proved to care for her, and since then has been inseparable.

It goes deeper into detail in Chapter 2:

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/52453421/chapters/132797800

Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/samptlay/737693316678828032/to-my-sweetheart-who-carries-a-wounded-heart-ch

Before meeting Levi, (the reader's current husband) reader would call Blade at least 4 times a week and they would go out together 2-to 3 times a week. Lots of people thought of them as a couple, but both the reader and Blade would shut down the idea.

If the two of them were honest, the attraction and romantic tension were there. There was one night that the two had made out under the influence back in high school as seniors, but the two of them both agreed to just not speak of it. (Blade thinks about it every few months.)

However, none of them had ever made a move. And this is because of the phase he went through during high school. During the beginning of their sophomore year, Blade had started to hang out with guys who thought they knew better than everyone else. Guys who thought girls were just objects made for their satisfaction. Though it didn't change the way Blade acted around the reader, he was arrogant and an overall bastard to everyone else.

A bastard with a handsome face that had ladies all over him. He started to smoke and drink (not enough for him to be an alcoholic or anything, this is what also led to the make-out sesh with the reader one night) He had dozens of girlfriends throughout those years and cheated on them all. Even when he found someone he was actually interested in, he couldn't help but give in to the temptation of other females. So in summary, he was a total player who couldn't commit himself to someone for anything.

This behavior sadly faded into his early years of adulthood. He had different girls running in and out of his apartment every few weeks.

*Switching to 2nd POV, sorry.

You always scolded him about it, worried he would catch something or end up knocking a girl up though he always insisted he played it safe. He admired you even more during those times, because you never seemed to judge him for it. However, you were off limits, out of reach.

This also happened to be around the time you and Levi got married. Blade knew he couldn't commit himself to you, so he didn't have anything to say when someone else swept you off your feet. That doesn't mean he didn't feel anything at all. He took at all the frustration of not being there for you on other women, and got into a bad drinking habit.

Not exactly an alcoholic, but still. You let Blade know you would avoid being alone with him for a long while until you completely have your partners trust to come see him alone. Though Blade understood, it still made his heart ache.

It wasn't until he lost his job in a very risky project he wasn't even supposed to be working on in his company, that he sobered up. (Something like in the game.) During this period, he only had enough savings to last him 4-5 months but it would run out quickly. You had tried to offer him help but Levi wouldn't let you, saying you were being "too nice" and on your way to "giving Blade the wrong idea.".

When I eventually got to one month of unemployment, he was at the gym trying to gather his thoughts while in his own little bubble until a man named "Elio" approached him. Apparently Blade had been watched for about a year according to him and had no idea. Elio said that he knew Blade was running out of cash and offered him a job with a salary that would have people bending backs for. The requirements of the job were tight and required his whole life to fall into Elio's hands, but Blade was desperate and broke.

He didn't have time to entertain women or get wasted. The work was definitely sketchy, and he knew all the things he weren't all legal. He's been under-cover, stolen, fought, involved in fraud and more. All of this seemed to wake him up to true adult life and look back at his past self in absolutely disgust. Of course, you were stoked and over the moon about his new found maturity and even seemed to be around more, just because you felt a lot more comfortable & secure. with this Blade.

Yet, you had no idea what caused the change and always pressed him about it, a little concerned about his choice of field since you swore that Golden Watch he had on was more than both you & his savings combined. Each & every time, he gently shut you down and avoided the topic, deciding that this would be the one wall you'd never be able to break with him. After two years, you let it go and to be honest it caused a small strain in between the two of you since you though he didn't trust you anymore, which wasn't true. He was just silenced.

But you two were still each other's favorite person. Even if you were married, Blade was your soulmate. You've texted him at least 3 times a week throughout your whole life and make sure he never feels forgotten, vice-verse.

But as of the last three years, you seemed to be getting worn down more and more, day-by-day. Each month, the amount of times you'd call him crying because of arguing with your husband increase and he swears that he would have kidnapped you himself up and out of that place long ago if you'd let him.

End of 2nd POV.

In conclusion, Blade & Reader are strictly platonic even though there is little romantic tension, it's more of a click when it comes to the two. They never judge each other for anything and if one party calls, the others is zooming over there in an instant, no matter who there partners are.

Note this, Blade has always wished him and Reader had gone out in their early highschoolers years. Then perhaps his whole life would be turned around, as well as having a ring on his own finger.

And if you weren't married as of now, he would have proposed the moment he left his past self behind. But that's not the case. So for now, he'll admire you from where he currently is.

But Reader knows he loves her. And Blade knows reader loves him too.

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[oasisdew]

'Given' and grief

The first time we see Mafuyu think about Yuki consciously in given is in code 4.

And what we see him thinking is that he doesn't feel lonely.

Mafuyu thinks here, even when he knows he'll never see Yuki again, he still doesn't feel lonely because he still carries something within himself that Yuki loved.

And this was Mafuyu being in denial about Yuki actually really being gone. He was still trying to rationalise it.

“I am not lonely!” he protests, “The person that I loved so much, couldn't just become nothing! As long as I'm here, he is here somehow!”

And he keeps carrying Yuki's guitar everywhere, symbolising that burden. That thing that Yuki loved, yes, but Mafuyu wasn't a part of.

__________________

Then the story progresses. Mafuyu learns to play guitar. Mafuyu makes new friends, he learns to smile again and be excited, he starts to fall in love again. He starts to heal.

THEN Fuyunohanashi happens.

And we see him starting the song with, “I'm not lonely”, again.

He is back there. He is protesting, “you are not gone! You can not be gone! You are still in my head! Everywhere you once were you still are!!”

He has healed meanwhile, yes, from when given manga started to when FnH happened, he has. But he still hasn't come to terms with it.

And then, while performing this song, while on stage, this sudden realisation strikes,

“I am so lonely” he thinks. He has started to realise that Yuki is fading, Yuki's memory, his presence that Mafuyu imagined, they're fading slowly, and that is sad! That's why he is lonely!

After the performance of FnH, Mafuyu thinks again, “I am not lonely”, and this time it's not regarding Yuki. This is the general feel of it, Mafuyu isn't lonely anymore. He has friends, he has someone new he loves, he has started to heal, and with that comes the feeling of guilt.

“I wish I could tell you this!” I wish I could find closure from you!

_______________________

And then we get the extra chapter 'Umi E'. Expanding on the on stage "I am so lonely" panel!

Mafuyu realised on that 'blindingly bright stage' what 'loneliness' means. It's the healing part of the trauma. It's the guilt of letting go of the person who isn't here anymore.

If Mafuyu forgets Yuki bit by bit, which will certainly happen, because people can't keep living with someone's vivid memories forever, then who'll remember the Yuki that only Mafuyu knew? He will really be gone forever! And thinking about that is sad! And THAT is loneliness.

_______________________

Mafuyu is still there during CAC. Even though he has moved on, even though he is totally in love with Ritsuka and committed to him, it still feels like betraying Yuki somehow. The more he grows, the more he changes, the more the distance with Yuki grows.

Remember, that line in yorugaakeru that literally says, “even though you're not here, I can still continue to live on, in the end, that's what makes me sad.”

This part of grieving isn't talked about as much as it should be. It's the guilt you feel when you heal.

_________________________

This brings us to the last arc of 'given'.

There were many things going on with RitsuMafu the last arc, but part of why playing 'Umi E' for Mafuyu without telling Mafuyu was bad idea was because it meant forcing Mafuyu to confront something that he had no intention of confronting just yet.

But turned out it was for the best. At least for Mafuyu to realise that he has actually really moved on. He doesn't feel guilt for letting go of Yuki anymore. From the time they performed YgA to the SYH concert, Mafuyu has healed more.

See, compared to the first 'to the sea' memories, the last 'to the sea' memories are so blurry! He really forgot the details!

It's just a vague feeling of nostalgia to Mafuyu now! And it's still anxiety inducing, yes, especially seeing that he was already dreading everything.

But there's no guilt to be found of letting go of Yuki. His only concerns are not being able to connect to Ritsuka now.

Yuki is not somewhere inside Mafuyu anymore, or he doesn't feel pressured to keep him close to heart anymore. He has accepted the truth. He has found closure. Yuki is a memory now. A fond memory, preserved in a song, the memories are blurrier still. And Mafuyu is happy with that. Forgetting the details doesn't make him lonely or guilty anymore.

Which is why the last chapter we got, where just after being confronted by 'Yuki's song', Mafuyu still isn't sad or guilt ridden at all, he is sparkling and eager to perform alongside Ritsuka, he is so happy that he almost proposed to him, is so special!

[fjsjjgnnfjdjf]

Size allergy (1/?)

Wow, 9 interactions in three days! I didn't think this writing I do for fun would be so well liked. I know I said I was taking longer to update the stories, but these days the stars aligned and I got the time and the inspiration to continue with this, in this chapter starts the interesting part hehe 😈

I forgot to clarify in the last chapter, that this story is located near the end of season 2 of the series.

Warnings: In this chapter there is more angst and a slight panic attack.

English is not my mother tongue, if you see an error, please feel free to comment.

PS: The next chapter will take longer to come out, as I have college work to do.

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

The next day after the camping; the boys were already at home, doing their usual activities after a Splinter training, when Donnie started complaining of an unbearable headache. Leo was the first to discover it and decided to take him to the medical area, not wanting to alert Rapha. 

“Okay, let's see if you have the flu” said Leo putting on a stethoscope while looking for a thermometer. 

“It's not the flu Nardo... Ouch...” he said while pressing his head “It hurts more than that... And if I really had the flu, I'd be sneezing and sweating all gross” he was going to keep talking, but Leo interrupted him by putting a thermometer in his mouth. 

“Yeah yeah, but it's not bad to rule out... You know what happens when we all get the flu” he walked over to Donnie's plastron and placed the head of the stethoscope where his heart should be and concentrated on listening. 

“Ow... It's not the flu!” he complained, he was starting to get dizzy. 

“Shhhh... You won't let me hear!” after a moment of silence, he pulled his head out of the stethoscope and then took the thermometer out of his brother's mouth to examine it “... Mmmm well you don't have the beginnings of a fever and I can still check that you have a heart, even if it doesn't look like it” he smiled at him with a mocking tone. 

“Ha-ha very funny, he said totally sarcastic” he grabbed his head again, starting to sway a little from the dizziness “I feel like my brain is being scrambled” 

“Donnie... Have you been abusing caffeine again?” he folded his arms “You know Raph won't like that” Leo also started to feel a headache, but he tried to fake it in front of his brother. 

“No...” he felt more and more dizzy, feeling as if he was going to faint. 

“Wow, take it easy!” exclaimed Leo as he held his brother and made him lie down on the medical area bed “You might have some dizziness... I'll go get something for your head” 

He turned away from the bed and headed for the exit, turning for a moment to look at his brother. 

“Heh... You're very dramatic, you know that?” he only received a grunt in response that he barely understood as “shut up Nardo”, something that made him smile slightly, at least he hadn't lost his bad temper. 

As soon as he was out of his brother's sight, Leo started to press his head, it was hurting him a lot too, did he have the same thing as Donnie? He hadn't even figured out what it was, but the softshell turtle was right about one thing, PAIN IS UNBEARABLE!  

Quickly, he went to his room where he had a first aid kit, his idea was to get some painkiller pills for his brother. He went to the kitchen for water and took the opportunity to take a couple of pills himself, hoping that it would ease some of the discomfort, luckily his older brother wasn't there when he came in with the first aid kit. He took a glass and headed for the medical area, while he was also starting to get dizzy, he was somewhat worried about the situation, but it is better to act than to stay still. 

When he was just in front of the medical area, he was surprised by Raph. 

“Leo, what are you doing with the first aid kit?” the red-eared tortoise stood still as if he had been caught committing a crime “... And why are you in the medical area? Is someone sick?” he folded his arms and watched with a sharp look as the boy gave him a smile of feigned innocence. 

“Raphael! Hermano! What brings you here?” he smiled trying to show his most confident look, despite the intense dizziness he was having “Nothing serious, just Donnie being dramatic as usual” he felt his eyes starting to cloud over. 

“Is he alright?... not the flu or something?” while he believed his little brother, something smelled fishy, and this time it wasn't him. 

“Nooo, I... checked” the last word came out a little lower than the others, Leo was using all his strength to keep his eyes open.  

“Leo... You look sick too” he moved closer to this one, while the boy tried not to look bad “What is it, is that what Donnie has?” he tried to put his authoritative tone so that his brother would stop joking. 

“Hehe... Maybe?” he laughed as he kept trying to smile to keep his alarmist brother calm “But relax... I... I have... Under... Control...” at that moment he felt he no longer had the strength to hold on. 

Leo dropped the glass of water he was holding, while Raph grabbed his brother when he noticed he was losing consciousness. 

“Wow Leo!” he exclaimed as he knelt down to try to lay him down, he was panicking “What's wrong?!, talk to me!” he moved him so the boy wouldn't close his eyes. 

“Ow... I don't know...” he was trying as hard as he could to stay awake, but the dizziness was strong “Haha... Now... You have two heads” he said under the last while closing his eyes. 

“Wait wait wait!... Leo!” he tapped him a few times, but nothing seemed to wake him up “I'll take you to the medical area with Donnie... And I'll tell pops and...” he was getting ready to pick him up when another strange thing started to happen.  

Suddenly, Raph felt his brother become lighter; at first, he thought he was hallucinating, but after a moment it was evident that Leo seemed to weigh less than he did a few moments ago. Then he realized why, he was getting smaller, HIS BROTHER WAS GETTING SMALLER!  

It was slow, but steady. Within a minute, the red-eared turtle was closer to the size of a child than that of his brother, AND he still wasn't stopping! 

Raph was much more than just panicking now, he lifted his little brother off the ground as he continued to shrink, still unconscious. 

“Wh-what...! Wh-what is this?!” he could barely say, trying to keep himself from screaming, now barely three feet tall “Leo? LEO?” his brother didn't seem to answer. 

His mind was racing a thousand alarms a minute; his brother wasn't answering, he was literally shrinking in his arms and he really didn't know what to do. It seemed as if an ancient nightmare was materializing before him, How long was this going to last? Would his brother just shrink away? He would wake up eventually, right? 

Just as he thought the latter, his brother stopped shrinking, he now fit perfectly in his hands as if he were an action figure. It was amazing and unsettling in equal parts, plus it felt strange, of course in the past he trapped his brother with his mystical giant, but this was completely different. He was nervous beyond words, though a small relief settled over him when he took a closer look at his brother and found that he was still breathing.  

Should he try to wake him up? He was afraid of scaring him, or dropping him if this one moved too fast. He had always been the biggest of his brothers, but this was ridiculous, he had no answers to what had just happened and he really didn't know what to do. 

It was then that he felt Leo move slightly in his hands, as if he was waking up. “Damn, Wait! What do I do?”, he wasn't ready yet to face his shrunken brother. All he could manage to think was that he had to try to look as unthreatening as possible so Leo wouldn't end up slipping out of his hands, he curved his fingers upwards, just in case. 

~~~~~ 

Leo didn't know what had happened, he just remembered being dizzy and suddenly everything went dark, whatever it was he had, it was more than just a headache. As he struggled to wake up again, he felt something strange, he didn't seem to be either in a bed or on the floor, no, the surface was different; it was uneven, a little rough and (somehow) familiar. It was then when he sat up and opened his eyes that he saw in front of him the face of none other than his older brother. But something was wrong, he looked huge, and he was so close! 

“Wow! What the-?!” he interrupted himself, because he realized that the strange surface he had felt before was in fact Raph's hands, he began to fret. 

“Hey... Easy Leo...” the snapping turtle tried to speak in a whisper so as not to scare his brother any more “You're all right...” he was not so sure about that; he curved his hands to keep him as protected as possible. 

“B-but what... Raph?” the boy held on to one of his brother's fingers and watched his brother's face with a deep strangeness “W-what happened? Why are you so big?” 

“Uh... Actually...” he looked away for a moment, he was uncomfortable with this whole situation “Raph is normal” 

Then Leo looked around; everything seemed significantly bigger, the door of the medical area, the walls, even the small details, everything looked gigantic, but it was proportional to his big brother... 

“Wait wait wait!” he repeated the same word raising his hands, looking back at his brother “I... I shrunk?” he pointed to himself, Raph nodded with concern “But how!” he exclaimed raising his hands. 

“How should I know?” he answered a little louder than Leo would have liked “You started to shrink after you fainted...” he was now more nervous than before. 

“Give me a moment Raph!” exclaimed Leo placing one of his hands on his brother's face to push him away “You're talking too loud...” the boy looked in another direction as he frowned trying to think. 

Raph turned his face away a little, this was all wrong, he didn't know what to do and he didn't want to make his brother more uncomfortable either. For his part, Leo observed his surroundings again, the impression of the moment didn't make him think clearly, but seeing the first aid kit lying on the floor (as big for him as his bed at the moment) and the glass with the spilled water he started to tie up ends. 

“Hey... I was here for Donnie...” he saw his brother and his concern increased. 

“Yes” he answered, but interrupted himself when he felt he was talking too loud again “Sorry... Yes, you said he was sick...” he didn't like Leo's worried look. 

“Raph... He... He felt the same way as me...” the realization on both of their faces was pure panic. 

Raphael then quickly entered the medical area with Leo in his hands, while the red-eared tortoise tried as much as possible to get used to being carried by his brother's hands. On the bed where Donnie was before there were now only his things; his battle shell on one side, his wrist communicator and also his protective glasses... But the softshell turtle was nowhere to be seen. 

Raphael started to search everywhere with his eyes, especially on the ground (he didn't want to end up stepping on his brother without realizing it), but there seemed to be no trace of him. It was then that Leo, from his position, noticed something moving under the battle shell, so he lightly tapped his brother's palm to get his attention and pointed to the bed. Raph nodded and moved to the side of the bed. 

“Let me on it!” the boy asked. 

Raph nodded and let Leo hop off his hand onto the bed. Leo rocked a little on the soft surface before he started to move forward, he still wasn't quite used to this crazy situation, but the important thing now was his brother. He made his way to the battle shell (huge now) and stepped into the space between the bed and it; though it was dark underneath, he could make out a figure moving, no doubt it was Donnie, as small as he was now. And he was sitting up, hugging his knees, “Well, at least he's awake”, he ran to stand beside him and knelt down in front of him. 

“Hey hey... Donnie?” he placed a hand on his shoulder, his twin saw him, but he could tell he was somewhat dissociated from the stress, he was breathing agitated “Easy... It's okay, I'm here...” he smiled at him as he began to inhale and exhale slowly, while motioning for him to mimic him. 

The softshell turtle watched his brother, the only thing that seemed normal since he woke up, as he tried to mimic his movements. He was so upset that he couldn't talk to him, so he just listened to his brother's directions; he stayed that way for a couple of minutes until his breathing calmed down. 

“That's it buddy... Slow down...” Leo's voice sounded soft and calm, when he noticed that his brother wasn't hyperventilating anymore, he tapped him lightly on the shoulder and smiled at him “Back in the present time big eyebrows?” 

“Nardo...” he answered a little low, rubbing his head a little, while he tried to pull himself together “By Bohr's atom!” he suddenly shouted, making Leo jump “What happened and what does it have to do with you?!” he pointed at it, realizing that it was the only thing around him that didn't look like an alien environment. 

“Hey, I'm just as lost as you are with this situation!” he exclaimed pointing at himself and his surroundings “Although I admit that you were right... This wasn't the flu” he said scratching himself. 

“Wow, at least you realized that, feigned surprise” he said waving his hands “But... What could have done this to us?” he placed a hand on his chin. 

“That's what I want to find out with Raph” said Leo, noticing that maybe he had been under the shell for a long time. 

“Wait a second... Did Raph shrink too?” he asked with a certain dismayed tone. 

“No, he's normal, he's at the side of the bed now” he said as he stood up and held out his hand to his brother “And I have a feeling that, if we don't get out soon, he'll go crazy” Donnie grabbed his hand and followed him. 

~~~~~~ 

Raphael stood at the edge of the bed, watching Leo crawl under Donnie's battle shell; if he had to guess, his other brother must be down there, but he and Leo were taking too long. He knelt down beside the bed (all for trying to look less big) and placed his hands on it, he was so tense his neck hurt, Donnie's okay, right? He cowered like Leo and woke up, right?. The boys must have been under the shell for at most 5 minutes, but for Raph it felt like an eternity. Finally, both boys came out, Leo was holding Donnie's hand and Donnie seemed fine, although he still wanted to make sure. 

“Donnie... Are you okay? Are you in pain?” despite trying, he couldn't hide his anguish and loud voice, when he got too close, Donnie recoiled in surprise. 

“Pancakes!” he exclaimed “Yes Raphael, beyond the obvious, I feel perfectly fine” he approached his brother again, although with some caution. 

“Phew... That's a relief” he exhaled some air “You don't know how scared you had me” 

Again, he tried to take some distance from Leo and Donnie; it wasn't so obvious in Leo, but Donnie was certainly nervous about his presence. He didn't like this, he didn't like being, in a sense, the reason for their little brothers' (literally) discomfort. 

“Let's try to be calm brothers” said Leo trying to conciliate “At least the worst is over” 

However, just as he said that, the three of them heard a loud scream, which they recognized immediately. 

“MIKEY!” exclaimed the three of them at the same time.

Prologue / Next

[jakeyt]

Covet: Chapter 4

Pairing: Jake Kiszka x f!Reader

Covet Summary:

Life was good. No, life was great. 

Was. 

Until.

Jake Kiszka crashed into the picture.

You welcomed him into your life—your home. 

Yes, he was your best friend’s twin. But, he was also the one who would end up disrupting your whole world with his attitude, his troubles, and the annoyingly natural way he lured you in. 

Jake Kiszka came with so much you really didn’t want.

At least that’s what you tried to convince yourself.

Warnings: MINORS DNI (18+); lots of sexual things happening in ‘real land’ and ‘dream land’ in this chapter; anxiety; heavy petting; Jake being an asshole; Reader is incredibly stubborn (like bad…it will probably aggravate you lmao) . . . i probs forgot some, so just lmk what i missed!

Chapter Word Count: 18k+ (i’m very sorry :o)

Covet Masterlist

a/n:

hi, loves :)

i have to tell you, i’ve been waiting to share some of the things that happen in this chapter for a longgg time. i’ve had a few of these scenes written and schemed for a hot damn second haha. they’re some of my personal favs.

i hope you enjoy, lovies!! <333

-🌼🌼🌼-

Chapter 4

You were still reeling from your dream when you decided to get up and get ready for the day. 

You had an open to close shift at the shop today since it was truck day and a week before inventory. You always worked with Josh on truck days. And since you had inventory to prep for, you’d be working together very closely to get things done. 

You weren’t sure how you were going to handle being around Josh all day after your dream about Jake. 

So you’d made the executive decision that as soon as your feet touched the floor, you’d pretend the dream hadn’t happened at all.

-🌼🌼🌼-

As you got ready for the day, you did a great job at pushing down any lingering thought.

You decided you were totally ready to conquer the day when you placed your vanilla cappuccino K-cup in your Keurig. 

A few moments after standing at the coffee machine, you heard keys shuffling in the dish on the counter. You didn’t even acknowledge his presence. You just stared at your coffee trickling into your cup as though your life depended on it. 

You heard the door open for Jake to leave, and you almost breathed a sigh of relief. 

“Hope you had a restful sleep last night, y/n.” 

Almost.

He continued to speak in a way that was much too friendly. “Heard you wake up a little early this morning,” he paused and your skin flushed at what he could be implying. Surely not. “Thin walls, you know.” 

You knew your eyes had slightly bugged at that, but you tried to school your features. 

There was no way he’d heard me say his name as I. . ., you thought. I was so quiet. 

You glanced his way, a stone-cold look set on your features. You weren’t even going to acknowledge what he’d said. 

“Have a good day, Jake,” you’d said firmly. You wanted him to know you were done with whatever conversation this could easily become. 

He smirked and winked at you, and you instantly looked back to the Keurig. You felt your ears and cheeks heat. 

And when he closed the door, you finally breathed and decided for the second time that day that you were not giving him any more thought.

-🌼🌼🌼-

A couple weeks later. . .

You kept catching yourself thinking about the twins and their recent activities. Why Jake would leave as soon as he’d get home, why Josh never worked evenings anymore. . . You didn’t know why your curiosity was killing you, but it was. Something was off. And whatever was going on, you were dying to know. It all had to be connected. Your mind had been running especially wild since that day recently where Josh had picked Jake up. It wouldn’t have seemed strange if Jake hadn’t been leaving that night, just like all of the other nights: guitars in tow. 

You’d also had the occasional (unwelcome) thought of your dream with Jake. 

The one where he’d been laying between your legs, his mouth doing everything so perfectly right. It had only been one week since your subconscious had betrayed you completely with whatever that had been, and you were really trying to act as though it hadn’t happened at all. 

“You know the career that Jake had to give up?” 

You blinked a few times to register that Josh was talking. And about Jake, no less.

You had both been in your own little worlds of thought today. Tomorrow would begin your scheduled inventory at the B&G. Because of that, the past week had required a lot of time and meticulous work to prepare for it. The few times you had spoken to each other today had been in passing, exclusively about the vinyl in stock. 

“What?” You asked, completely oblivious to where this conversation was heading. 

All day, your thoughts had only been consumed with the records. You’d had a one track mind to get everything wrapped up before close. You had to.

You looked to the clock, realizing closing time was drawing near. You surveyed the store, forgetting Josh had spoken at all for a brief moment. You liked getting the store set up extremely well anytime there was inventory. You wanted to solidify that it was ready to go before any conversation happened. 

“You think we’re about ready for the big guys tomorrow?” You asked him this as your eyes still scanned the store. You were answering your own question as you did. You had to admit, everything looked pretty damn good. 

Josh walked around the store, checking everything one final time. “Looks like we’re all set and ready to roll!” 

You nodded in agreement, and saw that closing time was about ten minutes away. You had a few minutes to hear whatever Josh was talking about.

You went and leaned against the front of the cash register counter, crossing your arms across your chest. “What were you saying again, Joshy?” 

“Jake’s dream,” you looked to see your friend coming up from checking the last record aisle. He leaned against the wooden display next to the check-out counter. “Y’know, the one he’s always wanted to pursue, but was forced to give up,” he continued. “The one I didn’t want to tell you about because it wasn’t my own,” you nodded, remembering. “Well, lately . . .it’s become my life,” he sighed loudly. “And I’ve decided I have to talk to you about it.”

You nodded again, and re-folded a B&G t-shirt to keep yourself busy. Then, it all clicked in your head. Your tired brain caught up to what this could be. 

Your ears perked up, looking up to catch his eyes again as yours got huge. “If this has become your life. . . Does it happen to be the same thing that you’ve been hiding from me?!”

He rolled his eyes, but then grinned at you. “Yes, y/n. It’s what I’ve been ‘hiding’,” he’d used air quotes, jesting at you. “Miss Dramatic, you.”

You knew you’d been giving the situation way too much thought. You just hadn’t been able to help your wandering thoughts. Josh had been working completely different shifts than the whole time he’d worked with you, and Jake was always gone. 

Not that you really noticed when Jake was home, anyway; it didn’t matter to you. 

But still.

“So. . . What’s going on?” You prompted.

He glanced down momentarily, then connected eyes with you. “We’re forming a band,” he started. 

You let every piece connect in your head, but one thing didn’t line up.

“Well, it makes sense with Jake’s guitars. Always going out the door with him after work, but I—you. . .,” You shook your head to yourself. “You don’t play an instrument, do you?” 

He gave a cheesy grin. “I play the vocals,” he lightly tapped an open palm to both sides of his throat to emphasize it. 

Your eyes widened more than they had before. “You sing?!” 

“Yeah. I actually have since high school,” he looked off into space, squinting. “I’ve recently found that it’s matured a lot since then, though.”

“Wow. Honestly, I’m a little shocked. I mean, I knew you loved music, but a singer?” You were still trying to grasp that, apparently, your best friend had this hidden talent. “Now I need to hear it,” you leveled him with a stare, straight into his eyes. A grin grew on your lips. “Sing for me.”

He shook his head, “Oh, no. . .,” He breathed out, brushing a hand through his hair. “You’ll just have to come to a gig.”

“A gig?” 

He chuckled at that. “Yeah, you know, places bands go to perform for others? Show what they’ve got to make it to the top,” he rubbed his chin. It had always been funny to you how often Josh seemed to magically transform into a man 50 years his senior. “We sent in a few clips of us performing to this place here in Brooklyn, and they booked us practically on the spot.”

You rolled your eyes. “I know what a gig is, Joshua. But I’m just — already? You’ve only been practicing for a couple of weeks.”

“This has been coming for years, y/n,” he said. “We used to spend every weeknight for years just playing and practicing and fighting over all of it in-between to make sure it was perfect,” he outwardly cringed at that. “We truly would practice all the time. It was our way of life for a long, long time,” he explained some more. “And on the weekends, we’d take a break from practicing and play for birthday parties or at little bars on the outskirts of our hometown.” 

“How did you get a gig here?” You genuinely wanted to know how they got hooked up in this giant-ass city. “People in New York surely aren’t as accepting of a little band from a small town as people had been in Frankenmuth. You were already from there, so of course it was probably easy to get places to perform. But New York? I mean. . .,” you blew out a big breath. 

“Danny’s dad knows a guy who knows a guy who's a partial owner of a few bars in Brooklyn,” you couldn’t help but tell that he looked disheartened. “I mean, the music we make isn’t half bad, y/n. I’m sure somewhere would have taken a chance on a few decent musicians. We’re not amazing, but we aren’t shit by any means. It wouldn’t have been impossible.”

Even though you really hadn’t meant to offend, he looked obviously hurt.

You realized just how rude you’d probably sounded. On occasion, you would talk before you really thought something through. It wasn’t your shining trait. 

You slapped your forehead, “God, Josh. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound like an asshole. I could’ve worded it much better,” you continued. “I am honestly so excited for you. It’s really fuckin’ cool,” you looked around you, feeling anxiety continue to blossom. You wanted to get past sounding like a jerk. “Sooo, you already have a gig lined up or you’re waiting to hear back about one?”

“Have one lined up. Next weekend,” he explained, his voice still slightly tight. “It’s at a place called Baby’s All Right. It’s on Broadway. The Broadway that’s here in Brooklyn.”

“That’s amazing,” you wanted him to realize just how happy you truly were for him and his brothers. “When is it? I’ll totally be there,” you wanted him to look at you. But, he was peering down at his sandaled feet, seeming too concentrated to only be looking at a pair of sandals. “I’ll probably see if Elsie can drop by for a night, too. She’ll probably be able to come since it’s on a weekend.” 

He lightened at that. He shook his shoulders a bit, showing you that he was releasing some tension. Josh wasn’t one to hold a grudge or stay upset for any reason for too long. Though, he was one to get hurt pretty easily. He wore his heart on his sleeve.

“Oh, that would be cool,” he said in response to your idea, finally locking eyes with you. He was trying to play it off–the idea of Elsie being there. But you knew he’d probably die if she were there. “It’s actually happening next Saturday, if you wanna tell her.”

“Perfect. I’ll talk to her about it ASAP,” you glanced at the clock. Seeing what time it was, you went about gathering your stuff to leave and shut the store down. 

“What if you get, like, super famous?” A smile stretched across your face at the thought. You silently released some of your own tension as you moved about. You wanted to live in this moment with your best friend, share in the joy of possibility. 

“I don’t know about that,” Josh shook his head, clicking lights off. “That would be great, but we really are just starting out. Who even knows how long a journey like that could begin to take.”

You hummed. “Well, that’s the fun in it, Josh,” you reached a hand out and squeezed his shoulder, meeting up with him. “You have all the time in the world to see where this journey might take you. You have no idea what could be coming.”

“Life is all about the journey,” he agreed. “I’m just glad Jake came back to us so we could take this chance–explore this venture together. Wouldn’t have done it without my twin brother.”

“So it really was his whole idea to begin with?”

Josh’s eyebrows knitted and he nodded. “Oh, yes,” he enthused. “He started playing guitar so young that, to him, making music seemed like the only option for a career in life. He’s always wanted his whole life to be one dedicated to music. Y’know, loving it enough to make more for the world–share it with others. . .his mind is a very intricate place.” 

His voice softened as he continued to speak of his other half, pocketing his phone and heading for the door. You followed close behind. “Jake is the kind of person who thinks primarily about big things. His passionate nature for all of it– it’s what drives us. We wouldn’t have ever started or become even halfway good without him. He had the vision,” he snickered. “But, he and I argued and fought many-a-time over whose vision was better,” he chortled at that. “Danny and Sam would try to get us to stop. Those situations usually ended with me storming out, and Jake having to sing in my place. I’ve always had a flair for the dramatics.”

You smirked at the last line. “Of course you have. I don’t doubt it for a second.” You thought of the other thing he said. “Jake can sing?”

“He’s a Jack of all trades.”

-🌼🌼🌼-

The weather that night was warm and muggy. You could even feel your hair beginning to frizz due to the few minute walk to your vehicle. 

You unlocked your car, which was parked right next to Josh’s beat-up clunker. Then, you remembered you hadn’t asked an important detail. 

“Oh, what’s the time of the show?” You reached in your purse to get your phone out, ready to make an event in your calendar. It’s not like you’d forget. This had all been huge news to you. It just seemed exciting to schedule this. You really couldn’t wait to hear their music and see your friends (and Jake) perform. You really had very little idea what to expect.

“7:00. And you’ll come?”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” you walked over to him and wrapped him up in a hug. He squeezed you right back, which made you release one more breath you’d been holding in. You adored your best friend and his passionate nature. It was one thing that made him shine—made him Josh. 

And you never wanted to be one to dim that.

-🌼🌼🌼-

On the drive home, you contemplated everything Josh had told you.

The guys were in a band. A band apparently good enough to play at a fairly popular bar on a Saturday night. That was a pretty big deal.

Something was burning in the back of your mind though. 

Why had you reacted normally to finding out Josh could sing, but gotten so angry when you found out about Jake playing the guitar? You’d known Josh for longer, you should’ve been more upset that he was just now telling you of his secret. 

Jake and talents, they didn’t matter. 

The only thing he was to you was your roommate. A guy you didn’t really know at all. You shouldn’t give a shit about what he does. Josh was your best friend. He obviously mattered so much more to you. 

You scrunched your eyebrows together at all of it. You rubbed a couple fingers between them at a red light you came to, trying to ease the stress of your thought process. When the light turned green, your mind was still running.

Really, why didn’t your irritation rise when you found out Josh’d been hiding his gift? What Jake does or doesn’t do shouldn’t matter to you in the slightest.

As you pulled into the apartment complex, you went ahead and convinced yourself that it had been the alcohol’s fault. It had obviously heightened your emotions on game night. So when you’d found out about Jake hiding something, you’d flared up. That made sense. Only logical explanation.

Tensions had already been high that evening, so surely that’s the only reason it had bothered you so badly. Right?

-🌼🌼🌼-

When you walked through the door to your home that night, the first thing you heard was the shower running. 

You tried to make yourself believe that you were totally put out that Jake was home and not gone. But it actually felt a little nice to not have him gone.

Though, you didn’t want to chance running into a wet Jake. You were still trying to get over the feeling of his wet hair that had laid against your bare skin in your dream. 

Stevie purred as you quickly set food in her dish. Before you went to change out of your work clothes, you decided to prepare things to make pasta for yourself. You got the elbow noodles out, as well as the ingredients to make some sauce to go on top, and set water in a pot to begin boiling on the stove. 

You were busting your ass to get dinner started and wait in your room for Jake to be done and go to his room. Because, really, bumping into wet Jake was the last thing you needed. 

You speed-walked to the washer in the laundry room and stripped your clothing at a lightning-fast pace. You placed your clothes in the machine and rummaged through your hamper to see what else needed thrown in. 

The shower continued to go as you piled your laundry in, the quickest you ever had.

You blanched for a second at being naked right outside the bathroom door Jake was behind. But you were still trying to get used to the pattern of sharing laundry days with him. 

Due to sharing days, you were so backed up on laundry. You wanted to try to get ahead while you had the chance – even if it meant being almost-totally-naked right outside the door of the bathroom. 

Before, you and Elsie had always combined laundry since you shared clothes with each other anyway. So this was totally new to you.

Once the washer had started, you walked swiftly to your bedroom. As you went about looking for comfy clothes in your dresser, you came up empty on finding anything. For a few seconds, your brain pondered where in the hell all of your clothes were. Inventory week was the longest, and your brain was wiped. 

Once you realized where all your clothes had gone, you moaned to yourself and slapped a hand to your forehead for the second time that day. They were still in the dryer from this morning’s laundry load. Instantly, you were completely and utterly aggravated that you were so behind on laundry. Inventory had been a factor in you being behind on laundry that week. It’d been keeping you particularly busy for the past week. 

But, of course, having to share the washing machine and dryer with fucking Jake… He was the main reason you were so behind. It was his fault. 

When you heard the shower click off, your blood rushed to your ears. You panicked. Fuck. Literally all of your good comfy pants and shorts were awaiting you in the dryer. 

You tried to strategize your next course of action. You didn’t have much time, so you could only think of one solution on the spot. You decided you could make it to the dryer before he got out– if you booked it. 

You rushed out of your bedroom, almost tripping over your cat. Thankfully, he still wasn’t out when you got to the closet that held the washer and dryer at the end of the hallway. You silently thanked God. The giant load of lights made it extremely hard to locate a specific T-shirt and the gray sweat-shorts you were on a mission to find.

Then, all of your worst fears came to life. 

You were still crouched over, thong-clad ass up in the air, when you heard the bathroom door creak open. The steam from the heated bathroom washed over your bare ass. 

You couldn’t move. You felt goosebumps rise on your skin. You didn’t try to move or hide, even when you heard Jake’s frustratingly sexy, raspy voice.

“Ho-ly fuck.”

Without any control over your body, you felt your panties get a little wet at the sound of his voice and his words. It was a lot to hear with you in this position. 

He could see quite literally every piece of your ass, you knew it. Your skin heated in a way you couldn’t deny. 

Were you that sexually depraved? Had it been so long since you’d had sex that you got wet at the sound of his voice? Was that the reason your dreams had only been haunted by his tanned and toned body as of late? 

You finally grabbed a random shirt and the stupid gray shorts that you were so stubbornly stuck on finding (for no reason at all, really). And then, you quietly shut the door to the dryer. . . as if that would help the situation at all. 

You cursed yourself for thinking of this ludicrous idea. Why couldn’t you have just waited his shower out? Why did you have to make it a mission to race time? You’d definitely had better ideas. 

You slipped the T-shirt on to hide your chest that had only been covered by a pink bra covered in tiny strawberries. But you weren’t about to embarrass yourself by doing an awkward little dance to put your shorts on. You know, the same dance every girl seemed to do when putting a pair of bottoms on. He didn’t need one more thing to mock you for. 

Especially in this predicament. 

You held the shorts tightly to your stomach, and for some reason, before you turned on your heel, you didn’t ask him to look away. 

No, instead, when you turned around and saw that he was biting his fucking lip while simultaneously settling his eyes on your thighs. . . . . 

You sort of reveled in it. 

He was staring at you so intently, you decided you’d do it right back. 

And if you were being honest with yourself, you would gladly take any opportunity to look at Jake. 

A few tendrils of his brown hair came to rest just at the tops of his collarbones, sopping wet and dripping water down the chest that always looked so smooth. His skin continued to tan from the summer sun, making it a warm caramel. Continuing to admire him, you trailed your eyes down. You noticed how the muscles at his hips accentuated his form just right. 

Your eyes fell slightly lower, and the material of the white towel was thin enough, you could have sworn you saw a slight twitch underneath it, between his legs. 

It made you flick your eyes back up to his face. 

You watched as he went from letting his eyes unabashedly explore your figure, to then letting his gaze lock with your own. 

Fuck, if he wasn’t beautiful as hell. 

Your mouth went dry at the way his eyes bore into your own. You might as well have been bare ass naked – you felt completely taken under his darkened gaze. Your skin grew goosebumps again, except this time it wasn’t for a change in temperature. It was for a completely new reason. You sucked in a breath. He watched closely as your chest rose with the breath. 

You couldn’t take the heat that overtook your body. You were starting to feel nauseous at how hot your body was getting. And your underwear was getting uncomfortable. You felt more of your damp arousal gathering, hopefully still hidden by the material. . .  for now. You needed to stop this before it was any more obvious what was happening to you, though. The light gray material would surely start showing how you felt if you didn’t shut this down. You held the shorts over your crotch.

You looked down at your feet, as not to get distracted by him. “Turn around, Jacob.” You tried to keep your tone sharp, but you couldn’t help it when it wavered just a little bit.

“Yes ma’am.”

The way he said those words made your head spin. 

You glanced up and saw that he’d swiveled around, the velvety skin of his back was the first thing your eyes went to.

Surprisingly, he didn’t stay there and taunt you like you expected. As soon as he’d turned, he continued on to his bedroom, letting his hands move languidly next to his hips, just walking away like nothing had happened at all. 

You couldn’t help but watch the way he walked to his bedroom. It sat all the way at the end of the hall, giving your eyes ample time to sweep over the details of the backside of him. You could see the curve of his muscle underneath the tanned skin of his back. The waves of his hair stuck to the top of his shoulder blades, water droplets still dripping, wetting his skin.

You let your eyes avert downward, to the white towel that was hiding the ass that you just now realized was perfectly round. 

It was truly too much. Everything about the man was irresistible.

Why did he have to walk so damn slowly?! 

He finally got to his bedroom and shut the door softly behind him. The sound of the door should have shaken you from your reverie, but you kept staring at it for a bit. There was a part of you that was waiting on him to come back for more. 

Suddenly, you startled at the sound of water sizzling as it hit the burner, boiling over. 

You let the thoughts of him fall out of your head. You put the shorts on and almost tripped on a leg-hole as you did the little dance you knew you’d have to do to get your shorts over the curve of your ass. 

Stupid Jake Kiszka. Stupid gray shorts. Stupid plan. Stupid laundry. 

-🌼🌼🌼-

Later, you were sitting on your couch watching New Girl when you started wondering about your roommate. He hadn’t made a move to come out of his room since your run-in in the hallway, and now you were on edge. 

It had been a while. Long enough for you to finish dinner and watch a full episode of the show.

Your mind ran rampant. Had he gone to bed? Was he avoiding you? Had he actually been repulsed by your appearance after seeing you almost naked? He had followed your instructions to turn around rather quickly. Too quickly? Had you read the situation completely wrong? 

You’d be lying if you said it didn’t embarrass you to think of how you may have misinterpreted things with him in the hallway. 

You were irritated because you’d mentally established at the beginning that it was incredibly rude of him to avoid you in your own home.

But why did any of it matter at all? Ugh. 

You should’ve been happy that he was deciding to keep to himself. Him not being present was actually offering you some time to try and forget the hallway situation. You sighed to yourself as you focused hard on watching Schmidt say something to earn him a trip to the Douchebag Jar. You didn’t want to focus on Jake-related things.

Though, it seemed as soon as you’d decided that, Jake actually meandered in. 

You didn’t watch him for long. You just kept doing what you were doing. He would go away eventually and you would be alone again. 

That was what you wanted, right?

But then, he sat down on the other end of the couch. Butterflies filled your stomach at the proximity. 

You set your pasta bowl in your lap and peered up at him.

“Nice of you to join the class.”

His mouth turned up in a little grin at that. “You sure do miss me when I’m away, huh?”

You rolled your eyes. You didn’t want to admit to the possibility that you might actually miss his presence a little from time to time. Why, though? He didn’t mean anything to you. You’d barely interacted with each other. And any time you did, he always got under your skin. 

He hummed to himself, and you couldn’t help it when you watched him spread his legs a little. He sat one hand on his plaid-pajama-panted thigh, and observed the screen for a couple of beats. Then he said, “You like New Girl?”

It stunned you just the slightest bit that he was making small talk with you, but you rolled with it, peeking over to him. “It’s my go-to.”

“It’s a favorite of mine as well.”

Shockingly, he stayed in his spot for an entire episode.

And when you got up to go put your bowl in the sink, you noticed that his eyes followed you to the kitchen. When he grasped that you’d seen him looking, he quickly turned his stare back to the television.

“Hey, are you hungry?” You asked him, once you’d put your dish away. 

You were completely unaware of why you were asking. Why were you trying to possibly get him to spend more time with you? This entire night had been weird. You weren’t sure how to handle it.

“I actually already ate out with a client before I got home,” he said it loud enough that you could hear his response from the kitchen.

Your stomach fell a little at that. “Oh, alright,” you called back. As you put your food away, you caught yourself wondering if the dinner with a client had been more like a date than something professional. You didn’t know why your mind went there.

For two more episodes, you sat at your end and he sat at his. You’d noticed that you seemed to laugh at the same exact moments as each other. And his laugh. . . it was something so enticing to your ears. You couldn’t explain it. You felt your stomach flip just the slightest bit anytime you heard the sound.

It did something good for you to know you had a similar-enough sense of humor to laugh at the same time. Maybe Josh had been right when he’d told Jake that first night that you two were alike. 

You shared an appreciation for similar types of music; you both enjoyed the act of bonding over music; you were both slightly stubborn (him more so, of course); and you both shared an appreciation for New Girl’s comedic relief. And that stood out because you had learned over time that the TV show wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea. But it was definitely Jake’s. 

Strange.

You lost yourself in thought for a bit, but couldn’t help it when Winston said something that was funny enough to pull you back in. You gave a little giggle at the scene.

And, of course, as you laughed, Jake had done just the same.

-🌼🌼🌼-

It felt slightly awkward going to bed. Standing in a hallway that seemed to be wrought with tension after the night’s stand-off and last week’s whatever-that-had-been just outside your bedroom door. 

You stopped at your door, and when he saw you do it, he stopped caddy-corner from you at his own door. You cleared your throat.

“So, Josh told me about the gig next weekend,” you paused. It hung there in the air. You didn’t know what else to say, other than that. 

But he seemed to appreciate the start in conversation because he hummed and gave a friendly smile that brightened his whole face. His eyes twinkled at you when he said, “It’s exciting. I’m excited.”

You gave him your own little grin. And, his eyes had seemed to light up a bit more when you smiled back, but you didn’t give it a thought. It was late. He was probably tired. It was very possible you had imagined the change in his expression because you were so tired.

“I’m excited for you, too.”

-🌼🌼🌼-

A couple days later that same week, in passing, he mentioned your cat. He was leaving the apartment to do (what you now knew to be) band-related things. 

“Stevie.”

“Why do you want my kitty cat?” You wondered. He smirked at the question, surely thinking something suggestive and you just said, “Shut the hell up. You know what I meant.”

“I don’t need her,” he kept smiling, probably still thinking of the little joke in his head. He clutched the door handle to leave, looking down. You couldn’t handle how cute he looked, his sunglasses covering his eyes. “Just—is she named after Ray Vaughan?”

“No. Stevie Wonder,” you corrected. “Why?” 

“Oh my fucking God—.”

“He’s one of my biggest inspirations. I had to—.”

“Would’ve been better,” he interrupted, flashing his eyes at you. “If you would have named her after Stevie Ray Vaughan.”

“I don’t love him like I love Stevie Wonder,” you defended. 

“Your fuckin’ loss.”

He opened the door, about to walk out. You weren’t done, though.

“Not your place. Not your cat,” you glared at him, your irritation simmering right below the surface. “Keep your ridiculous opinions to yourself.”

He stopped at that. “Now I’m not allowed to share my opinions?” He raised a brow. “You just love to be a tyrant. Let’s make a new rule,” he put a hand in the air like he was displaying his next words, the other one still holding tight to a guitar case. “‘You can’t have an opinion unless you’re y/n.’”

“That’s not what I meant, and you know it,” You guffawed. You watched his fingers flex around the handle of his case. You moved to stand close enough to point a finger into his chest. “And, excuse me, sir, but you’re the ‘tyrant’ that leaves the dumbass, asshole sticky notes!” 

“Wait,” he put one arm out, holding the door ajar, angling his head to eye you over the top of his glasses. “Are you calling me a dumbass, asshole, and sir?”

You flushed at the insinuation you knew he was implying by highlighting the term ‘sir.’ You probably should’ve thought it through before calling him that. “No, just an asshole.”

“You said dumbass, too,” he pushed his glasses down his nose, just enough to get a good look over them at you. His eyes sparkled mischievously at you. “And I definitely remember you saying sir.”

His burgundy T-shirt had risen up when he’d put his hand on the door, showing a portion of his toned, tan stomach. You had to glimpse it, but you didn’t keep your eyes there for long. You got back to the topic at hand.

“You know what I meant. Quit it,” you leered at him, trying to ignore the way he was looking at you. “And quit leaving the damn sticky notes. I’m tired of it.”

-🌼🌼🌼-

Another evening, you and Jake were both at home, and out of nowhere, he’d come out of his bedroom, and plopped onto the couch.

You’d already been there, reading a book, snuggled in a blanket with Stevie on your lap. “No practice?” you’d inquired, just barely looking up from the steamy page you were on in your romance novel.

He’d responded. “Hm mm,” and then asked, “Pizza?” 

And what should have been a calm conversation about ordering pizza actually ended in a full-blown argument about whether or not pineapple should go on pizza. 

Where the banter was usually a playful one between (normal) people, it ended with you seething on the couch over Jake’s stubbornness while he slammed the door to go grab the pizza.

-🌼🌼🌼-

When Jake came back, he begrudgingly asked you how many pieces you wanted.

You sassed your response back, and then he’d come into the living room carrying the pieces for you on a plate.

He’d sat down to eat with you, and you’d watched New Girl together.

It was odd how it felt so natural. 

-🌼🌼🌼-

Wednesday night, you watched New Girl together for like the fifth time. Jake had only sat at the far end of the couch that first night with the hallway incident. Every time since, he’d kept edging closer. Him moving down the couch had been gradual, but the closer he got, the butterflies would uncontrollably buzz in your tummy. 

On Wednesday, he’d been the closest so far, sitting on the middle cushion. He was right next to you.

He was so close to you that if you leaned just a bit to the right, you could touch his shoulder with your own. He kept his hands to himself, though, crossing his legs at the knee and his arms at his chest. You could smell the wonderful scent of his sandalwood-scented cologne. It made your head dizzy in the best way. As of late, you’d learned that Jake smelled absolutely amazing. 

As Schmidt irrationally yelled at his roommates for getting on his last nerve, you heard Jake snicker at him, and then clear his throat. You looked over at him and instinctively turned down the TV a couple notches. 

He’d done it a few times while watching the show. You found that every time he cleared his throat, he was about to make a comment about an episode to (seemingly) try a bit of small talk. You were not used to the small talk. It made you feel all jittery when it happened.

You were expecting a comment about Schmidt when he surprised you by sucking in a breath through his teeth and saying, “Only a few days. I can’t believe it, honestly,” he started. “I don’t know if Josh told you, but the guy who owns the place we’re performing at this weekend owns a few more popular bars. And  he told us if he thinks we’re good, he’ll set us up with another place of his for next weekend,” you saw him shake his head and scratch lightly at his forehead with his thumb. 

It was a little strange to you that he was talking to you about his own show, rather than the television show, but you were glad about it. He might’ve had moments of being nothing more than an irritant in your life, but you really did enjoy talking to him. It made you get this rush that started from your ears, and moved all the way down to your belly button. And the gig, in particular, was something he was obviously anxious to talk to someone about. And he’d chosen to talk about it with you. He wanted you to know about this thing that was big for him.

You scooted into the corner of the couch, just enough to turn to look at him. You tucked your feet up under you. “That would be incredible, Jake,” you gushed, your spirits obviously high for him. 

You couldn’t help but notice how his cheeks blushed. He gave you a small nod and grin that noticeably stretched his cheeks, “This is such an exciting time for me,” he looked back at the TV. “I’ve waited my whole life for this.” 

His arms were still crossed like he was concealing so much more of himself. It was funny because he’d just let you in on something so personal. It was ironic. Though, you knew he did have so much more that was hiding, just beneath the surface.

“So much more is to come,” you encouraged. “I’m sure of it. I told Josh that, too.”

He glanced at you and nodded again. “I hope so. I’d be on cloud nine.” He tuned in and looked at the television and let out a particularly throaty laugh at something funny Jess’d said. Your stomach flip-flopped. 

You turned back to the TV, assuming your conversation was over with. But he surprised you again. 

“You coming this weekend?” He inquired, sounding more enthused than you’d anticipate. He cleared his throat. His next words were a little more nonchalant, like he didn’t want to let anything on. “You know, for Josh and the other guys?”

You felt a weight in your chest at the idea that he might think you weren’t going for him. Because as much as you wanted to deny it, seeing Jake perform was one of the things you were most looking forward to. 

Everything about him had been so mysterious up until that point, and seeing him do what he loved most would be a peek inside of the man you lived with.

“Yeah, I’ll be there,” you peeked over, seeing that he had been waiting for your response. 

He stuck his bottom lip out, shaking his head in approval. “Cool.”

Essentially, it ended at that. But it was special to you that he’d thought to share even a small piece of his heart with you. It was more than he’d ever let you in on before.

You realized that the more you hung out with him, the more you were starting to let the animosity you felt for him fade.

-🌼🌼🌼-

It was a record player night of yours on Thursday of that week. You were playing The Beatles’ White Album limited edition re-release you’d gotten in that week at the Black and Gold. You had indulged yourself in getting it, The Beatles being your favorite band of all time. 

You were taking the time to clean up around the house when Jake had come through the living room, grabbing a notepad off the counter. He’d actually stopped on the way back to his room. You frowned, trying to decipher what he was doing. He was scribbling something into his notebook, stopping to think here and there.

You gave him a questioning look. “Lyrics?” 

He brought his Amber-brown eyes up to yours, coming out of his sort of daze. “Oh, uh, no,” he replied, tucking the small pad into the pocket of his jeans. “Setlist for Saturday. Josh asked me to work on it.”

You hummed and went about dusting the living room, as you had been doing previously. 

He kept walking to his room, but stopped once more to comment on how he liked The Beatles. 

“Especially Abbey Road. But this album’s fantastic, too,” your ears tuned in to the possible bonding moment. You were about to add in your own little thing about Lennon and McCartney, when he ruined it. “The Stones are still better, though. Far superior.” 

You felt heat prickle behind your ears and your head get fuzzy, the way your body would react every time you’d get defensive of something you love. The Beatles were your greatest musical love, besides Stevie Wonder. And he’d essentially also criticized your love of Stevie Wonder earlier that week, so you were done with his bullshit. 

“Shut the fuck up, Jacob,” you turned your back to him, going about your cleaning. 

“Oh, yeah, I forgot. I’m not allowed to speak my mind.”

You faced him sharply at that, and he raised a brow at your reaction, a smirk making the dimple in his cheek appear. He was testing you. 

“You know that’s not what I meant,” you retorted.

“Oh, I think that’s exactly what you meant,” he started walking towards you, and you stood your ground, waiting for what he’d do next. “You don’t like to hear what anyone else might have to say,” he stopped, a couple feet away from you, sitting on the arm of the couch. “You just like to hear the sound of your own voice.”

You sneered at him. Your heart was beating so quickly. “Get off the arm of the couch.”

He made no move to leave his spot. He crossed his arms and squinted at you. Then, he challenged with an, “Or what?”

You walked up to him. You were so close to him, his proximity was making you feel anxious. You were impressed by the sternness you heard in your own voice. “Just. Move.”

He set his head back, and raised both of his thick brows at you. The smirk still hadn’t left his face. You didn’t want to acknowledge the desire to both simultaneously slap and kiss the look off of his handsome face. 

He scoffed and moved off the arm. You thought you were about to be rid of him when he went ahead and sat on the cushion at the end closest to the arm he’d been sitting on. 

“What are you doing?” Why was he so intent on playing with you? 

“I’m sitting here while I wait for you to finish,” he waved a hand around, showing that he’d noticed what you’d been doing before. “Then we can watch our show.”

Our show. Your head buzzed at him calling it that while your stomach somersaulted. 

“I don’t—,” you reached a hand up to your forehead and rubbed the crinkle out from between your brows. “Don’t you have a setlist to finish?”

He lifted his ass a bit, and you watched the way the dark denim of his jeans stretched just right across his hips at the action. He reached into his back pocket, flipping the small notebook to the page he’d been on. He clicked his pen open. “I can do it while I wait.”

You glared at him, your heart still beating fiercely in your chest. 

Try as you might, even with as livid as he was making you feel in the moment, you really did enjoy the nights of watching the show together. You (very) secretly liked the way he was wanting to spend that time with you.  

You blew a frustrated breath out of your nose and growled when you turned around to finish cleaning. 

Damn him.

-🌼🌼🌼-

You shook awake at the feeling of Stevie pawing at your blanket. It was dark all around you, but the television was awake in front of you, the bright light glaring in the blackness of the room as Schmidt went on about CeCe being a model. 

Still halfway asleep, you reached down to bring the blanket that was around you closer to your chin. 

One of your brows wrinkled at the feeling of the blanket. You hadn’t put a blanket on. You softly reached a hand to feel at the material. It was the one you always kept on the back of the couch. 

Then, you finally came to the realization that there was a warm body underneath your sleep-laden body. In fact, your head was currently nestled against the softness of a cotton t-shirt.

You blinked your eyes open huge, but didn’t move right at first. You smelled the cologne on Jake’s shirt, and felt the rising and falling of his stomach. Dammit, he was so warm, and the position felt so. . .right?

Though, you couldn’t let yourself get trapped in that moment. Especially when you felt a hand come to rest on your waist. It felt too natural for it to be okay. 

Initially, you were going to try to be as sly as possible, as not to wake him. But it seemed your plan didn’t matter when you felt him slide the hand he’d put on you over the contours of your side.

He was awake. 

You noticed how he kept his hand resting at the spot on your waist even after he’d rubbed it over you. He smoothed his thumb (calloused, as you knew it would be) ever-so-gently over the exposed skin of your waist. Your heart thrummed.

“You awake?” He asked, his own voice raspy from sleep. Your skin prickled at the timbre of his tone. 

The darkness of the room hid your blush, but you worried that the contrasting brightness from the television would reveal it too soon. 

You shot up, trying not to care when his hand fell from your waist. You pushed the blanket off of you, and Stevie hopped off the couch in a frenzy. You knew she was about to get the zoomies from how fast you’d moved from your position. 

Standing up was slightly hard to do on legs that were still heavy from just having been in a deep sleep. But you gained your footing enough to turn and start folding the blanket where it went on the couch. You caught a glimpse of Jake rising from his spot on the couch, following your actions. He straightened some of the pillows that always nestled in the center of the couch.

After he did so, you noticed he was still standing next to the edge of the sofa. You went about turning the TV off and checking the door that you already knew was locked. 

You were trying to do anything to avoid contact with him. The wax burner that lit up on the kitchen bar was the only thing helping you know where you were, as to not accidentally bump into him. 

You were so much more nervous around him, feeling dumb for being in that situation. There really was no reason to be embarrassed as he had been right there in that moment with you, too. 

But how you’d situated yourself to sleep on him. . .you didn’t know how that had happened specifically. That was what made your skin prickle with worry for exposing any secret part of yourself. 

All you knew was it couldn’t happen again. 

There were certain things you absolutely couldn’t do with Jake. You didn’t want to cross the imaginary line you’d created. He needed to be focused on himself, and you needed to focus on yourself. 

Remaining only roommates seemed the only option in your head. It was safe. It was necessary for you both. 

“Y/n,” you felt Jake come up to your side and touch a hand to your arm. You stepped away as if you’d been burned, putting a few healthy feet between the two of you. “You okay?”

You shoved past him, heading to the kitchen counter to mindlessly straighten the key bowl for no reason. Afterwards, you went to grab a water bottle from the fridge, then continued to your room. Creating plenty of space between you was all you could think to do. 

Once you got to your door, you didn’t even turn to see him before you said, “Goodnight, Jake.” 

-🌼🌼🌼-

And, as fate would have it, the next morning, you woke up with your skin sticky with sweat. Jake had made yet another appearance in your subconscious. 

You sighed to yourself, getting the vibrator you’d ordered a week ago, out of your bedside drawer. 

You had barely admitted to yourself that you’d purchased it. You’d never in your life felt the need to use one. Your hand had always worked. 

But not with your Jake fantasies. No, you had to be relieved from this man in a much more vigorous way than just using a hand.

The way he interacted with your body in your dreams—it practically demanded the intensity of a toy. Your hand simply couldn’t do the trick. 

It should have irritated you that the nightly fantasies had become so frequent. But you found yourself more disappointed to wake up without having one, if you were being honest. 

You added some lube from your drawer’s stash to the end of it, placed it comfortably between your legs and flicked on the little buzzing device to a low speed.

You gradually let it run through your folds, just getting the feel to begin. But your clit hadn’t stopped throbbing from how Jake had been acting in your dream. 

In your sleep, he’d appeared above you, with his cock already pumping into you. The version of you in your dream had welcomed the sensation, it had felt familiar to you in that reality. Though, it had been the first time you’d ever felt dream-Jake have sex with you. So it was strange that it felt like a normal occurrence. . .but you didn’t even give that part a second thought. 

All you knew was it’d felt just about as good as dream sex could. You knew there was something missing that you could only get in real life, though. But, you had still reveled in how natural it felt for him to slide in and out, in and out. 

So now, in the present day, you realized just how ready you were for your release, as your dream-self hadn’t been able to reach that point of completion. You’d just been taking what he would give you, enjoying every minute and movement. 

There was even a sort of pattern he’d kept for the duration of the dream that’d felt delicious. He had kept edging and teasing you (and himself, honestly) to the point of near insanity. He’d pump his cock into you, and then slowly drag it back out. He’d even nudged at your aching bud with the head of it a few times, for good measure. 

Neither of you had finished. You now cursed at that version of him for being so desperate to edge you on. But man, had it ignited a fire in you. 

Your hips lifted off the bed as the buzzing hummed from its place, all the way up to your most aching area. You jostled a little at the feeling of it affecting you from its position, still far enough away that it shouldn’t have had an impact on your clit whatsoever. 

You couldn’t handle any more of the teasing, so you dragged it up until it sat at the side of your hardened nub. You closed your eyes at the sensation it brought, your whole body flaring with the itch that was about to be satisfied. You could feel it everywhere. You felt your clit flutter relentlessly, and you couldn’t help it when you whined, “Jake.” 

You instantly pulled the device away, pressing the button to turn it off.  

You caught your bearings the best you could, and internally scolded yourself. You had been trying so hard not to say his name after the first time. You still didn’t know if he’d heard you, but you’d assumed he totally had. The walls didn’t hold enough weight to keep your secrets. And he’d been way too cryptic when he’d left that day.

Your body continued to pulse below, reminding you that you hadn’t let yourself reach that point. You put the small machine back where it had been, and bit your lip as it buzzed back to life. You wanted to finish, but you couldn’t make a sound. 

You even took a chance and set the frequency a touch higher. 

Your eyes rolled back. You rubbed the head of it back through the wetness that had gathered at your folds. And then brought it back to the bud that cried for its attention. 

You pressed the machine right at the underside of your most delicate part, and flicked the setting up one more time. 

And within seconds, your hips shot off the bed, your toes dug into the covers, curling so tight as every nerve-ending came to life. 

Your eyes rolled all the way back in your head and you couldn’t help it when you shut your eyes to envision him. 

You had to see him, and if you let your lids close, you could see him above you, so sweaty. In your mind, his stomach was touching yours, the stickiness of sweat from his exertion making you feel one with him as your belly was just as damp. 

He looked down at you, his eyes holding an emotion you hadn’t seen from him yet in ‘real life.’ You could have cried at the relief the gaze of his brown eyes brought you. 

You felt your body starting to become overstimulated, and your heart was beating so fast. You had to open your eyes. 

You brought the vibrator away from yourself and pressed the button to turn it off, tucking it securely in the bedside drawer. 

The itch could be satisfied by a vibrator, yes, but you couldn’t help it when you imagined just how exhilarating it would feel if the dreams ever became reality. 

But you wouldn’t let yourself think that way for too long. 

-🌼🌼🌼-

Once you finished putting some new underwear on, and a pair of sweats with your big T-shirt, you ventured out into the hallway.  

You went to go brush your teeth and get ready for a morning run, hoping a sense of your old life would bring some normalcy to the rest of your day. 

Though, as soon as you exited your room, you stopped before you turned for the bathroom to see Jake in the kitchen. He wasn’t doing anything special. Just cooking some eggs—hopefully his, you thought snidely. 

You needed to avoid him after your little venture with dream-him in your bed. You told yourself that was mostly why you were hiding as you looked on from the passageway to the kitchen from the hallway. 

You didn’t know why you stood there and stared aside from the fact that Jake was incredibly easy to look at—easy to observe. You admittedly could take a few moments to look over the man who’d been your New Girl-watching partner for the past week. 

He was now preparing a cup of coffee. His chestnut waves caught gleams of light from the early morning sun, showing you some hidden colors in his hair. His light caramel-colored skin shone in the sun streams. 

You hid yourself a little more in the shadows when he turned just slightly. And when you could see his eyes, you noticed they became a sparkling, golden brown when he looked out the window to survey the city. 

Your angle was now perfect to see everything. You even saw beneath the open lapels of the purple button-down he was wearing, you could see his chest, rising and falling. You didn’t know how Jake’s pecs were so perfectly toned, but you’d taken note that there was almost always a necklace or two laying between them just right. 

And, then there were the black jeans he was wearing. And hot damn, if his round ass didn’t sit so well in the back of them. 

As Jake turned to get in the fridge, you made a silent escape to brush your teeth and officially start your day. You’d put that moment of surveying in the back of your mind where it belonged.

-🌼🌼🌼-

The bell rang on the door as you continued stocking the new shipment of vinyls for the B&G. You’d just passed the J’s, stocking a Janis Joplin record when you heard the slightest shuffle behind you. 

You turned around to see if it was a customer that needed help, only to find a man looking through the sale bins. You suddenly noticed that you’d definitely need to make a new “Last Chance!” sign to hang from the wooden crates. The old one was looking particularly grimy.

You mentally added that to a list in your brain.

You turned back to the shipment. You moved onto the K’s. As you moved, you checked out the Featured wall. You really did love the Featured Vinyl wall. 

And, as you looked over it, you saw the re-release Wheels of Fire vinyl you’d gotten in that day. Josh had taken it upon himself to use the ladder to hang all of the featured vinyl earlier in the day. You always enjoyed seeing what he chose to feature. It was his thing.   He’d left shortly after setting it up for some midday errands to prepare for the weekend’s impending event. 

Your eyes stayed on the record, and you hated that you thought of Jake the second you saw Josh hang it earlier. And you continued to be irritated by who it made you think of most. You did not need to be thinking about him so much. 

You shook your head as if to rid yourself of the thoughts that were seeming to overtake you more often than not these days. You just wanted peace. And you’d essentially had none since the day Jake had moved in. 

“Excuse me.” 

You felt a slight shift against your hip and moved over to the side, not even looking over to the person. You assumed it was the guy who had been rifling through the sale bin. You moved over, giving him space to peruse. 

“No worries, man,” you said.

Though, you now heard him clear his throat. You looked to him, assuming he needed help. 

When you looked up, you were met with a slightly smarmy close-mouthed grin. It would make you recoil and avoid the person at all costs in a normal situation, but you couldn’t do that since you were at work. 

You slapped on a shit-eating-customer service-grin. 

“May I help you?” 

He cleared his throat again, and then he rubbed the back of his neck. “Well. I just wanted to ask you a question.” 

You raised your eyebrow, as if to say: And that is? 

He teetered forward on his feet, bringing you both in closer proximity to each other. You would’ve backed away, if you hadn’t suddenly come back to back with the R&B bins when you had turned to talk to him. The old wood of the bins creaked as you wedged in as close as you could to them. 

You kept your eyebrow raised in question, not letting your guard down.

“I’ve been coming here for a long time,” he said. “And when you started working here a few years back, I just had to start coming in more to see your pretty face.”

You felt your stomach churn. You didn’t like this. Though, you did notice him as a regular you’d come across on more than one occasion. He was near your age, but he made you feel completely unsafe. From the way he was looking at you, you didn’t have the best inkling about this conversation. The way this man leaned in, not respecting your apparent want for personal space—it was gross.

But, you weren’t afraid to shoot a guy down. You’d done it multiple times before. 

“Listen, dude, I—,” you began. 

He only stepped closer, cutting you off. You felt closed in. And, you tried not to let it show, but you kind of felt your edge fall. This was getting to be too much. 

“I-I-I’ve been working up the nerve to tell you that,” he continued. “For a long time. But you’re always in here with that cotton ball head.”

You felt personally offended on Josh’s behalf. Cotton ball head? 

And, of course this fucker would advance on you when Josh was gone to run an errand. Had he been watching for the moment Josh left? He had to have been. Hm. That wasn’t unnerving at all.

“Well, I appreciate your honesty and plainness, but I have to—.”

“Please, just let me take you out once?” 

As if to test the space, he stepped once more into you, cramming you into the crates uncomfortably. His hands gripped the wooden bins you could feel making dents in your back. His arms were effectively trapping you in. It all caused you to stumble back on the heels of your white boots. Thanks to the short skirt you’d decided to wear that day, you could feel the denim of his acid wash jeans against your exposed thighs.

Well. 

This man was turning out to be more difficult than you’d initially anticipated. You kept your eyes steady on the tie-dye print of his Sublime band tee. You didn’t want to look into his bloodshot, bug eyes again.

“Look, I’m really very sorry, but I can’t—.”

“Just one date.” He was starting to sound more stern, more threatening than you liked at all. 

You hadn’t heard the bell above the door ding the presence of someone new in the distance. All you could hear were the muffled sounds of your music in the background. It felt as if each of your ears was stuffed full of cotton. 

Your stomach churned in on itself again. You knew it was the result of the building anxiousness and alarm in this instance. It intensified when a pale hand lifted to touch your arm. Your skin was crawling. But, before it could touch you, it was harshly slapped away. The man’s arms both fell from around you.

Thank God. Josh was back.  

“You don’t touch her.” 

That wasn’t Josh’s voice. 

You looked to your left to see Jake. 

He was wearing a pair of sunglasses. The skin on his face and exposed chest was a warm glow of light brown. Within these small details of him, you’d recently come to find a sense of comfort. And every beautiful detail of him seemed to be on full display for you to admire. 

He had situated himself to be right next to you. He was ready to help you in any way you may need.

You tried to deny it, but in this situation all you felt was peace in the fact that he was here. 

Under normal circumstances, you probably would’ve rolled your eyes at him for interrupting something you were doing.

Though, in this situation, your growing understanding of Jake, combined with your natural human reaction to feeling protected in a scary situation — it made you want to fall into his arms and not let go.

You felt yourself gravitate towards him. Your shoulder came to touch his exposed chest. It sent a sweet shiver down your spine to be close to him. You could feel the cool metal of a couple of his necklaces on your bare bicep. 

It felt incredibly safe.

The customer was slightly taller than Jake, but you’d learned that Jake naturally gave off big dick energy. There was no other way to explain how Jake carried himself with such confidence. 

And, as you were witnessing at that moment, he apparently knew how to be very intimidating when he needed to be, too. 

That was one more thing you could add to the growing mental list of differences between him and his twin. The mysterious darkness that consistently loomed over Jake could help him be daunting and mysterious when he needed to be. Whereas, Josh’s sunshine-y, peaceful, and open-hearted nature just wouldn’t dare allow him that ability. 

“Listen, man, I was just asking—,” the man attempted.

“I don’t give a shit what you were asking her. You aren’t asking anything anymore.”

You felt a heat rise in you at his authoritarian attitude. It was hot as hell. 

The guy’s chest puffed. He seemed equal parts scared and indignant. The creepy guy wasn’t so creepy anymore as his bug eyes grew at Jake’s naturally intense presence. 

Because, the more you looked at him, you noticed the indignance seemed to be a mask for his fear. The guy had a slight shake in his lanky shoulders. 

You felt a warm arm that smelled like Jake pull your body further into his chest, away from the man in the Sublime shirt. Your golden sunflower necklace was now touching his own necklaces as your exposed cleavage touched the warm skin of his chest. His arm was still around you. You could make a cocoon in that place. 

Jake’s voice was stern with his next words. You felt them vibrate from his chest into yours, and into your ear nearest him.

“Get your fucking ass out of here,” Jake released himself from around you, and you instantly missed the closeness. Though, he used the new position to put an arm behind, shielding you from the man as he stepped between you and the tie-dye-guy, pointing a finger in the man’s face. “I don’t want to hear her ever speak of seeing you again. And she will let me know if she sees your sorry ass in here again. I can guarantee it because she sees me day in, and day-fucking-out. It’s a perk to living with a person. Don’t let it happen. I better not hear her say a damn thing about your ass.”

The guy held both hands up, as if to defend himself. He tried to maintain confidence, but his eyes held uncaged fear. 

Jake brought himself back around you, his arm around your waist this time. You didn’t know what had overtaken him to act so protective of you, but you weren’t upset over it at all.

You completely welcomed it. 

As your heated chest touched Jake’s own, you didn’t dare look to your rescuer. 

You distracted yourself by watching the man flee through the store. This store that had become your safe place for the past couple of years. You decided in that moment that you wouldn’t let some stranger take that safe feeling of the store from you. 

As soon as the green tie-dye shirt was no longer in sight, your senses came back to you. And rather than recoil from Jake, you only sunk further into him. You liked the safety. You softly put your head on his shoulder and you felt his hand come up to massage your neck as your head laid there. You saw stars at the sensation of his practiced hand. You briefly wondered what else the hand could do. 

Suddenly, the realness of your proximity to Jake was taking over. The warmth of your chests together became unbearable. You quickly stepped back from him, making a decent space between the two of you. 

You wanted to give him the biggest hug of thanks. You wanted to continue to wrap your arms around him until you felt like you were a part of him. He’d made you feel so secure. Hell, you wanted to give him a kiss of gratitude for stepping in when he did.

But you didn’t do any of that. 

Instead, you did your thing and pushed down any and all emotion you could possibly feel about Jake Kiszka. You remembered your annoyingly persistent looming thoughts of him from the past couple months and pushed them all away. You pushed those thoughts way down to the bottoms of your feet. 

He was still Jake. He was an asshole eighty percent of the time.  This situation and the few others as of late wouldn’t change that fact. 

And you wouldn’t dare allow any true emotion of yours to show in front of him. 

You brushed down your green floral skirt. You ran a finger at the hem of it as it touched your thigh, trying something else to gain a new sense of peace. It scarcely compared to how Jake had made you feel.

You couldn’t meet his eyes. You could feel him watching you. Your heart beat would not slow. 

You chose to look at his hair. You watched as he brushed a hand through his long waves. You noticed it still looked wet from a shower. 

You started thinking of him running his fingers through it to wash it. The soapy suds covering his fingers. The water trickling down his back and over his ass. The water that then traveled down his legs to pool at the bottom of the shower that you two shared. The same shower that he would wash his beautiful hair and body in… the same one you also stood in to wash yourself—. The thought got you all worked up for unexplainable reasons.

Stop thinking of Jake in the shower, y/n. Stop thinking of the fact that you share a shower. Stop it.

He pushed his sunglasses up, pushing his hair back with them. 

You didn’t want to talk about how your eyes trailed to his bare chest of their own accord, noticing his silky purple button-up that he’d rolled almost to his elbows. You noticed a couple pronounced veins in his arms, as he pushed his hands into the pockets of his jeans. He wasn’t tall, but you had this feeling he was stronger than he let on. 

And dear God, you did not let that thought wander.

When you finally flicked your eyes up to his, you felt your body flush even more with the concerned look that painted his features. He was watching you carefully, his eyebrows turned in as he observed you.

Though, you wouldn’t let yourself give in to any emotion you were tempted to show. You stood straighter, and when you spoke, your tone was much sharper than you wanted it to be.

“I could have handled that on my own.”

His eyebrows reflexed and shot up. He put on a new demeanor and scoffed. “Oh. Yeah?”

You tucked a lock of hair behind your ear that had fallen from your hair clip. “Fuck you, Jake. You know I could have,” you shook your head. “I didn’t need your help.”

He shook his head, seemingly in an act of disbelief for your words.

“You are so fucking impossible,” he said. “You can’t even say thank you when someone helps you out.”

He had a point. You could have said thank you. It was the least you could do to be polite. But, no. No emotions. Ridiculously, a thank you seemed too personal. 

And yes, you really did realize how juvenile that sounded when you thought it.

“Telling you ‘thank you’ would feel oxymoronic,” you stated, putting down the air quotes your hands had made for words ‘thank you’. “With all of the other shit you’ve done since you oh-so-gracefully entered my life? Yeah, I’m not going to tell you thank you for one act of heroism that didn’t even need to happen.”

He seemed genuinely amazed, with both brows raised high. You chose to not think of how your words might’ve stung.

He stared at you for a minute longer, an emotion was sitting in his eyes that you couldn’t quite place. 

“Tell Josh I left the line-up for Saturday on the counter,” he’d quickly, shortly stated the words in a way that was unfamiliar from past quarrels. He sounded. . .hurt?

And before you could say another word, his form was storming out of the store. The bell rung for the fourth time that day. Though, this time, the chime made you flinch. 

Had that seriously been hurt you’d seen in his eyes and heard in his tone? How did he even have the right to feel hurt by you?

The growl that escaped your mouth was definitely immature. But, he was the impossible one. You huffed and turned on your heel back to the vinyls you’d been so rudely cut off from stocking.

-🌼🌼🌼-

“Y/n,” Josh called to you from the counter. 

You sighed exasperatedly as you responded, “Yes, Joshua?” 

You wished you were simply being dramatic with the sigh you’d loudly released. But, your back hurt from being on your feet, stretching over bins all day. And, you were still feeling icky about the situation concerning the Sublime, tie-dyed regular from earlier.

And then there was Jake—who hadn’t seemed to leave your thoughts from the moment he’d walked out earlier in the day. 

You turned to Josh after you placed a Minnie Riperton record securely in its spot. 

You swiftly kicked the last empty cardboard box from the shipment up towards the front of the store. 

Josh knelt down to grab it as it seemed to slide right into his awaiting hand. 

He’d returned from his errand about an hour ago. The sun had been setting when he’d returned. You were borderline salty with him for being gone so long. But, you knew you were more happy for him than anything. He was finally seeming to go through the motions of making this passion of his and Jake’s a reality. 

As you walked towards the counter, you noticed he was pointing at something with a stupidly smug grin on his face. Your eyebrows crinkled as your eyes met what he was pointing at. You suddenly saw a small, potted, lavender plant sitting atop the counter. 

That was new. 

You rounded the opposite side of the counter from Josh. He was flattening the final box you’d sent his way, giving you an eye. You had seen the look he was giving before. It was the one that always seemed to say ‘I told you so.’

As you got behind the counter, you could feel his eyes burning into your skull. 

You hesitantly inspected the plant at first, but then saw the note that was tucked underneath it. 

Just thought this would look nice in our apartment :)

-Jake

Your heart leapt into your throat. It sat uncomfortably there for a moment too long. Guilt seemed to erupt in your chest as your heart plummeted back into it. The smiley face at the end set the guilt in even deeper.

The bell hadn’t dinged since Jake had aggressively pushed the door open to leave in his haste earlier. The store had been empty since, save for yourself and the soul music that had floated through the speakers all day. 

He had brought this little plant with him earlier. And you’d effectively chewed him out for no reason whatsoever.

Well, not for no reason, you reassured yourself. There was reason. There were reasons aplenty.

But, he could have at least gotten a thank you. And you hadn’t even tried to offer him that. 

Jake’s normally aggravating behavior was undoubtedly outweighed by your own unfair behavior today. 

He’d defended your honor and brought you a plant out of the blue. 

And you’d all but dismissed him.

Your stomach fluttered a little at that. He had defended you and thought about you upon seeing a lavender plant. The same plant you’d been wanting in the apartment. And he hadn’t just thought of you when he saw it, but he’d thought to bring it to you as a gift. 

And you hadn’t even given him a chance.

Not a thank you. For anything.

Well, shit.

-🌼🌼🌼-

As you waved goodbye to Josh from the driver’s seat in your car after work, you jetted off to your apartment. 

You were ready to get home and talk to Jake about how sorry you felt. You wanted to set things straight and maybe help him in enforcing this sort-of peace offering. There wasn’t one part of you that wanted to constantly be at odds with him. Being friends with him would be great. You couldn’t help it that you possibly wanted more, but you didn’t want to cross a boundary. 

It just seemed that he was ready to make this new adjustment to your relationship by being friendly, and you were ready to put your pride down for it. 

You also wanted to offer a thank you for the gift of the plant that you’d placed securely in the cup holder of your Jetta.

-🌼🌼🌼- 

You’d barely even graced the threshold of your entryway when you noticed him. 

Except, it was not at all a sight you wanted to see when you got home. 

Jake was blatantly breaking a rule. 

What was happening in front of you was the last thing you wanted to see, honestly. 

You couldn’t take your eyes away from him as he laid on top of a girl in your living room. On the couch you’d just fallen asleep on with him the night before. 

You were mad that he broke a rule, yes, but that was not the first thought that entered your mind. 

You were shocked by the sudden burning feeling of jealousy. Your chest was tight. Why were you jealous? You couldn’t stand this man. Yes, he’d appeared in a few of your dreams because he was sexy as hell. You virtually had no romantic feelings for him. . . Right? 

So why were you so obviously envious of this random girl that was lying on your couch with a man you had only grown to despise? 

The disheveled look of his hair made your stomach roll in a way you wished it didn’t. 

His shirt was completely open, his entire chest showing, heaving. And the same necklace that had pressed to your own earlier that day was now dangling between his chest and the woman below him. She actually went to grab it as you watched, pulling him closer to her.

Your left hand gripped so tightly to the potted lavender, it was almost enough to crack the terra-cotta. 

The woman was strikingly beautiful. . . and suddenly every insecurity you’d ever felt about yourself came into your head. You didn’t look a thing like this woman. 

This woman looked like a model, a certified bombshell. Her eyelids naturally drooped, the pupils of her big, blue eyes, blown wide, and her already-big lips were completely swollen. 

You wanted to vomit. You wanted to cry. You felt tears burning the brim of your eyes. 

You weren’t even sorry when your tone sounded so overtly snarky. Though, what you weren’t prepared for was the sound of tears in your throat, “Unbelievable.” 

You caught his eyes and the look you shared held so much weight. But why? Why was this suddenly tense for more reasons than just irritation that he was disrespecting the rules?

Why was the look in his eyes making your heart flutter? 

Had your appreciation for him grown past simply admiring the way he looked? Grown past the dreams that you thought had only been about the fucking? They’d been nothing more than that. Ugh. . . Right?!

The tears started making your eyelids feel heavy and you raced to her bedroom before you could chance him looking any deeper into your eyes. 

You didn’t want him to see you like this— possibly know the wave of thoughts and emotions you couldn’t even begin to understand. 

You didn’t have a clue where to begin with what you were feeling. 

-🌼🌼🌼-

For about 20 minutes, you glared at the plant that now sat on your dresser. You had reverted to anger, you refused to let any tears fall. 

You didn’t want to think any more about anything. You decided maybe just going to bed was the best option. 

Trading your work clothes for sweats and a ratty cropped t-shirt, you observed your bum-like appearance. But, you couldn’t care less what you looked like. All worries were getting pushed down for the evening.

When you went to open the door to brush your teeth, there was a knock on the other side of it. You blinked at the sound, but your hand stayed on the knob. You knew who it probably was on the other side. And you didn’t want to mess with him. 

Jake’s voice could be heard through the wood of the door, your assumption confirmed. “Y/n, you okay?” He asked it so delicately. It caught you off guard.

You only scoffed under your breath, not wanting to mess with his bullshit. His words didn’t need to be acknowledged with a response. He asked you again, and you still didn’t say a word. 

Standing there and ignoring him until he was gone seemed to be the best decision. He’d leave eventually.

You heard him sigh. He persisted,  “I just want to talk to you.” 

Glaring at where you imagined him to be  behind the door, all you responded with was: “No.” 

Jake sighed again, and his tone was still soft with his next question. “Why?” 

You removed your hand from the knob, and put your back against the door. You crossed your arms in defiance to him. “Fuck, Jake. I just don’t want to talk to you.” Your tear ducts welled with silent tears, much too close to falling. You couldn’t get the image from earlier out of your mind; you didn’t want to be talking to him about anything right now. Hearing his voice just made your throat feel tight. “Is that so hard to understand?!”

“What did I even do?” He uttered it so quietly, you barely heard it, muffled through the door. You were taken aback that he sounded a little sad when he said it. 

But you weren’t having it, not pitying him in the slightest. You didn’t believe this whole performance he was putting on: one where he could possibly care. He’d proven today that he could change his course of action pretty damn quickly if he wanted. 

All in the matter of a few hours, Jake had taken measures to soften your heart to him. Bringing the plant and helping you combat the predatory man had been great for you. You thought now that you could have finally been seeing him for the man he truly was. 

But then he’d been the one to harden it to stone all over again. He had totally sidetracked and betrayed you by having a woman on your sofa. 

Well, he hadn’t really betrayed you, per se, but the rules which you’d created. But it’d felt so much more personal. You were sure what you’d been feeling had been envy and resentfulness towards that woman on your couch.

But it wasn’t even her fault, it was your damned roommate’s. 

“Is she gone?” 

“She’s gone,” he replied.

You turned on your heel, and yanked the door open to face him. 

He had been much nearer than you were expecting. When you exited the bedroom, you were so close, you were almost touching him. 

You spared no time.

“For starters, I saw you breaking a big ass rule, Jake. You had a girl laid on her back with your tongue in her mouth. . .in the living room!” You placed a hand on his chest and pushed him back. You took your hand away just as soon, hating how warm and velvety his bare chest felt to touch. Thanks to the woman from earlier, there were even more buttons undone than usual. “That’s not the type of shit I wanna walk in and see after a long ass day like today.”

He moved for you, not fighting it. He cast his eyes down, looking sincere when he muttered, “I’m sorry. I get that it wasn’t okay.” 

You hated how he seemed so calm and cool. It was crazy how he was putting on an act to make you think he was actually sorry. You didn’t believe his sentiment for a second. “Cut the act, Jake. Don’t be one way out there,” you motioned in the direction of the living room. “And then a completely different way right here.”

But all he did was stand there and apologize again. And this time? He had the audacity to look you in the eyes when he said sorry.

Your heart was racing. You couldn’t believe how well he could put this on. “Don’t apologize when you don’t mean it.”

“You don’t get to tell me whether or not I mean something I’m saying, y/n,” he corrected.

Your cheeks burnt at his tone, “I’m not trying to tell you if you —.” 

“You literally just told me I didn’t mean my apology,” he closed his eyes briefly and ran a hand through his hair. The Amber-brown of his irises was steely when they opened, holding yours when he snapped, “You’re not allowed to tell me what I mean and what I don’t.”

“Well, I’m confused, Jake. I just don’t get it,” you snapped right back.

“Get what exactly? How I could maybe, actually be a decent human being? It’s like you’ve made up your fuckin’ mind that I’m a terrible person.” 

You bit the inside of your cheek, and grinned at him sarcastically. It honestly astounded you that he could be so dense. 

“First of all, I’d be entitled to think you’re an asshole with the shit you’ve said, the way you’ve acted. You’ve been inconsiderate from day one,” you held up a finger to show the number and then used it to jab into his chest. “And you just love to break every rule possible with women. I can’t even begin to process,” you ran both hands through your hair, and closed your eyelids to stabilize yourself. “But you also bring me a fucking plant to work? What in the hell was that anyway?” 

“I heard you and Josh talking about it, and thought it was the least I could do for being such an ass,” he sighed. “I know I haven’t been myself, but I’ve just been—.”

“Don’t just spout shit off,” you should have let him finish. You’d been waiting on him to open up for a while, but you weren’t in the mood right now. It took a second for the other piece of his response to sink in. “And I knew you were eavesdropping on that conversation!” 

He grit his teeth. “I wasn’t fucking eavesdropping,” he rubbed the back of his thumb against his forehead. His chest was heaving. “Don’t make me sound like a creep. I just used what I’d overheard to do something nice for you, and you can’t even appreciate it.” 

“Quite frankly, I did appreciate it, but I came home to— you know what? Nevermind,” you went to turn back into your room. “I’m going to bed. I’ll wait to—.”

“No.” 

You stopped in your tracks and faced him yet again. “No?” You were fuming. You were so tired of this. “So now you’re telling me what to do?”

“All I want is for you to say what you’re thinking,” he leveled, seeming just as vexed as you.

You shook your head and tucked a lock of hair behind your ear, “I don’t want to.” You were being stubborn, you knew that. 

“This is what I meant earlier. You’re fucking impossible. I don’t understand how the hell you can get your panties in such a wad over literally nothing. Things like post-it notes and me slightly breaking these fuckin’ rules,” he groaned frustratedly. “It’s like your only emotion is this annoyance—this irritation directed only towards me. You barely show any other emotion. I can’t keep up with you only ever being angry at me,” the muscle in his jaw clenched. “God. Impossible is the only word for it.”

“My only emotion?! That’s just peachy, Jake. You’re the one who— it’s the fact that you have always— no! I’m not talking to you about this,” you barely turned when he grabbed your arm lightly in his grasp, stopping you as you were about to walk away. 

“Yes you are. Just tell me what’s going on in your head. Please,” he practically begged. “Give me some insight, dammit.”

Why was he so desperate to know? He was just insisting on you opening up so he could continue to push your buttons, you were sure of it. 

“Quit acting like you wanna know so badly.” 

“I brought you a fucking plant today, y/n. And I  got that dickhead to lay off of you. I was fuckin’ seething when I saw him cornering you,” he was still holding your arm, and at this point, you didn’t want to move it. Your heart fluttered at his words. Seething? “Obviously I care about you and what you’re thinking. Tonight was stupid, but it was just a little rule that got broken,” his palm was warm, and his thumb was making little shapes on your skin. 

You couldn’t argue all of his points, so you settled on the thing that started all of this. You replied, your voice quiet, “It’s not just a rule.” 

“Then what is it?” He inquired, so gently.

You were completely overheated, heart hammering so hard you could hear every beat washing through your ears. This was too much. You didn’t want to let him in. 

So, you yanked your arm out of his grasp, trying to escape the impending admission you didn’t want to say out loud. Then, you tried to make it inside your bedroom, away from Jake. Being around him was making your heart pound. You couldn’t trust it. 

You did make it to your room. But, just as you were about to shut your door, Jake placed his hand inside of it so you couldn't. He held it open, his arm above you was not doing anything good for your senses. You liked the feeling of him being all around you, but you felt like you needed to hate it. You didn’t know what to feel.  “It’s nothing, Jake. Shit. Go to bed.”

“Y/n.” 

“It’s just—I’m tired of there being all of these women in my apartment. In my old bedroom. You know your bedroom? Yeah, used to be mine,” you were starting to ramble, so you got back on track. “Um, on my couch. The same couch we’ve sat on to watch our show together almost every night this week,” you put both hands over your eyes, leaving them there with what you said next. “I just can’t stand seeing you with other women, and I hate the possibility of hearing you with other women . . . in my home, no less.” 

You’d said what you were thinking, your words had just rolled off of your tongue. You were absolutely biting the bullet by saying any of that. You didn’t know what possessed you to say those things. 

You really didn’t want him to know any of that. . . .Or did you?

He stood there, his arm still above you, his exposed chest was so close. He was so close. His wonderful cologne seeped into your senses. 

You didn’t break eye contact, even after he pondered, “What are you trying to say?” 

“I don’t fucking know. Nothing. Ignore it, Jacob.”

You tried to push the door closed, but he kept a firm hand on the inside of it, not letting it close just yet. Your skin prickled, but you took that moment to let yourself admire his deep, brown irises that hadn’t looked away from you during your confession. You loved the way the sharpness of his jaw accentuated the way it clenched. You observed the muscle as it moved, for maybe a moment too long. 

You couldn’t think of anything else to do except step in his direction. His breathing stilled for a millisecond, but he took the chance to curve his body to be a sort of shield around you. You touched your chest to the lower part of his. You felt your cheeks heat pink at the proximity. 

But, as soon as you did it, you backed away. You couldn’t take it. He was intoxicating. What were you doing?!

“I’m just upset. I don’t know!” You moaned. “Maybe I’m a little jealous. What are you gonna do about it?!” 

His beautiful brown eyes raked over your figure, making goosebumps cover every piece of your skin. 

Jake slowly moved his arm off the door. Then, he grabbed your waist, one hand at a time. His hands were warm when they wrapped around the bare skin at your midriff, exposed by the crop top. He looked in your eyes briefly, the moment completely frozen. Your combined breathing was all you could hear. 

Then, he met your lips with his. 

You faintly whimpered at the feeling. His lips were so soft. Fuck. He wasn’t even using his tongue yet, letting only his lips do the work. He pushed his bottom lip through the middle of yours. 

He backed you both into your bedroom, never coming up for air. When the backs of your knees finally hit the end of your mattress, you moved to breathe. You stared intently at his lips, swollen from kissing you. Then you moved your eyes up, where his own were already waiting for yours to meet his. 

This undisclosed moment seemed to be a chance to meet each other for the first time all over again.

You sat down on the bed, and Jake sat next to you. It felt like you were a teenager, still learning what it meant to be so near to someone in a new way. 

But he didn’t let it stay that way for long. He placed one steady hand against your cheek, your hair falling over it. He cradled your face and then kissed you again. 

You angled your body to make it a little easier for you both. It wasn’t long until he was doing the same, except he was better, smoother at the transition than you had been. He moved you up the bed, ever so slowly. His lips staying on yours to whole time. 

However he moved his body, you did the same until he was positioned above you with his arms and wavy locks acting as a cover for your head from the outside world. 

You pulled away for a second and situated your back to lean against a few pillows at your headboard, giving yourself some height and him some leverage. 

Everything was Jake at that moment. And truly, you wouldn’t have had it any other way. 

You took a little while just to look at the man above you, admiring how beautiful he truly was. He was like a piece of art that was so intricate in its strokes that you couldn’t pull your eyes away.

He slipped one leg between both of yours, adjusting his weight to settle halfway on the mattress and halfway on you. He started kissing your neck, eliciting a sigh from you. His lips felt so purposeful against your skin. He finally let his tongue sweep against the side of your neck. 

“Fuck, you taste sweet,” his voice was the raspiest you’d ever heard it. Your legs shook just a little at the sound. 

Then, you felt something against your hip, and you knew exactly what it was. You angled away slightly and looked up at him. His eyes were so dark when he said, “That’s what you do to me.” 

You flushed at his words, your heart pumping quickly. All you wanted to do was move your body to rub against it, so you did just that. He released a low growl at the feeling. 

“Y/n, dammit,” he sighed, his breath warm against where it was on your neck. “You don’t wanna do that.”

So, you did it again. This time, you did the motion just a little more deliberately, letting your hip grind into it.  

Still kissing your neck, he nipped at you, holding his teeth there for a few long seconds. 

He met your movements and pushed his hard dick in slow circles against you. It made your breath catch in your throat, and your eyes roll back.

“Jake,” you moaned. 

His face came up to yours, and he took that time to find your lips again. This time, he slipped his tongue into your mouth. You whined at the feeling and you used your own tongue to find his. 

He sucked on your upper lip, while his tongue came out to lick the underside of it. You could only imagine his mouth in another place as he continued to draw your lips to his. Your clit twitched.

He groaned into your mouth, and you dazedly opened your eyes to get a look at his face. His were still closed, and his eyebrows were furrowed in concentration. 

It was one of the most attractive sights you’d ever seen. He seemed so focused, so intent on his task. It made you squirm in the best way.

He placed his body completely over you now. He settled himself right on top of you, his hips connecting with your own. The feeling of his firm cock against your clothed pussy was fucking amazing. He rolled his hips down into yours, making you whine the loudest you had so far. You saw a knowing smirk grace his features, and he did it again. The friction was just right against the growing wetness in your pants. 

He kept his arms on either side of you, but stopped his teasing to move down just slightly to lift your shirt up. 

You raised your arms for him, and he took it off. The bralette you’d worn that day was still on, and he didn’t make a move to take it off of you. He did, however, bite his lip as soon as he saw your pink, hardening nipples through the nearly transparent lace. 

“Your tits are just as pretty as I knew they’d be,” he said, seeming to actually be in awe of your body. 

You felt his words everywhere, and your breasts responded to him by your nipples growing to an even firmer peak.

His hand covered your right breast, over the heated flesh and the thin material of the bra. His hand felt incredible touching you like this. 

He lightly squeezed, and rubbed a thumb over your nipple. He kneaded your breast, which earned a pleased sigh from you. 

Then, he skimmed the same hand over the other breast, giving it the same treatment. Except this time, he placed his mouth below your jaw, licking a line from your chin to right below your ear. Your toes curled at feeling him in two different places on your body. 

The sensation that came with being so close to him was exhilarating. His hands floated from their position on your body, skimming down your sides. His body moved with his hands until his mouth was at your belly button. He licked around it, and then delicately kissed your stomach, right below.  

“And I love your soft belly,” he breathed, then he went even further. 

And finally, he was right next to the place that wanted his mouth most. Your body thrummed, your skin flamed at him being so near to your most secret place. 

And at that moment, as you felt your folds pulse, impatient waiting for him. . . It all set in what was happening. 

You blinked a few times to bring yourself back to reality. This couldn’t happen. This was not at all what should’ve been happening. 

“Jake, stop,” you choked out and looked up at the ceiling. You couldn’t let yourself look at him anymore for fear of not letting him stop if you do. 

And he had to stop.

You didn’t want to move, truly, but you knew you had to. You edged up the bed, away from him. 

And when you glanced down momentarily, he looked completely dejected, but stayed in the place he’d been before. It made your heart hurt.

“Wh-what?” He frowned, trying to understand the situation. 

But you couldn’t wrap your mind fully around it, so you looked back at the ceiling and placed a hand over your eyes.  

“Just go, please,” you suddenly felt tears brimming, and just like earlier, you didn’t want him to see. “Go.” 

“Y/n,” he tried. You felt his hand lay against your calf, but you pulled your body away from his touch. 

“Go, Jake!” You replied, admittedly too harsh.

And just as a tear slipped down your cheek, you heard the door to your bedroom slam shut.

-🌼🌼🌼- 

The following morning wasn’t a happy one as you laid in bed. You hadn’t had a dream come to you. Your sleep had consisted of tossing and turning, never able to get fully comfortable.

You were being taunted by your thoughts, contemplating everything that’d happened recently. All of the small things, and last night’s event. . .

Currently, your mind was all the way back at your first meeting— when you’d seen him that first night with Josh, the way he’d lured you in instantly. 

Then, you thought of the dreams that came so often. . . And the way he pissed you off constantly. 

Though, at the back of your mind were these small, sacred incidents.

There was the ‘thank you’ he’d offered on game night, so many weeks ago. You still didn’t know why he’d decided to say thank you. He hadn’t had to say that. He sure hadn’t done so until that point.

The night he ordered and picked up the pizza after your argument, and still wanting to sit with you and eat it after you’d berated each other about pizza toppings. 

Then, when he’d started spending some nights with you on the couch, watching New Girl. You’d noted how his proximity to you continually grew as the nights went by. The blush on his cheeks when you’d told him you were excited with him, the grin that would come on his whole face when he talked about his music. 

The night before last when you’d accidentally fallen asleep in the middle of an episode, your head having somehow landed on his stomach. He hadn’t moved you, only nudged you awake gently, not being forceful, how his voice had been soft. 

The way he’d stayed to look at your nearly-naked body in the hallway that one night. The way you’d had the time to appreciate his sharp features, the curves of his body. It made your cheeks warm to think of how you two had unabashedly stood there appreciating each other’s bodies.

Then, there was the defending you in the record store that you’d genuinely appreciated. And you hadn’t had the decency to say thank you. What if you had? Would the display on the couch have welcomed you home? Would you have ended up with him in your bed? 

Yet, somehow the plant was the action of his that stuck out the most to you. It seemed so personal. It was a sweet thought that he hadn’t needed to act on, but he still decided to. 

Your heart fluttered as you thought of all of these things. He really wasn’t the worst guy. Yeah, he had a tendency to be a massive jerk, but how much of that stemmed from his past hurt?

Last night was a kicker. Your dreams had been so close to coming to life when you made out. Your lips had touched his, you’d felt his dick against your side. . . he’d been so close to you. You were sure you’d never be able to forget the feeling of him against you, with you. And oh, and the way his hands had held your breasts. He’d known exactly what he was doing.  

But, ultimately, you had crossed a line you had told yourself you wouldn’t. One, Josh was your best friend (besides your sister, of course) and if something happened between you and Jake, and it went wrong, you didn’t want to chance losing Josh. 

You also didn’t want to be another woman in Jake’s life who could possibly destroy his dream by getting in the way of it. You had to admit, you cared too much about him to let that happen. 

You ultimately made the decision that maybe it was best to avoid Jake for awhile. 

The sound of your phone buzzing came from your bedside table, interrupting your train of thought. You grabbed it, seeing who could be texting you. Thankfully, it was only Elsie. 

Elsie, 8:59 a.m.: Meet somewhere to find outfits for tonight?

You groaned, and held a hand to your forehead. The show was tonight. You blew out a breath. It had been the farthest thing from your mind since last night’s event. 

Fuck.

Going to the gig didn’t seem like the best idea. You didn’t want to be that close to Jake so soon after last night. You weren’t sure what might happen.

You needed to make it clear to him that you were drawing a big, fat, dark line in the sand. Only friends. Only roommates. Would going to a show support that stance? You didn’t think so.

Except, Elsie was going out of her way to be in town today to attend it with you. You had to go, just to be with her. And supporting Josh was a huge deal to you. 

You groaned again, but sent her a quick response agreeing to going shopping. 

If you went tonight, you’d just have to make sure to stand far away from the stage. If you were far enough away, you could watch it, text Josh about it, and then dip out quickly.

As you got up to get ready to go shopping with Elsie, you hoped all could go according to this shaky plan.

-🌼🌼🌼-

a/n: i’m afraid there will soon be a hitch in reader’s plan….. ohhh nooo… 😏😈

there is so much coming so soon, you guys omg…. hehe. 👏🏻 we are really getting down to the wire with some of the big stuff i’ve plotted out. i. can’t. WAIT!!

if you’d like to be added to the taglist, please let me know!

& as usual, it wouldn’t let me tag some of y’all. :( so please check to see that you’re down there because if you’ve asked to be on the taglist, i tried to tag you. buuuut tumblr wouldn’t let me do it for everyone 🙃 ugh.

Taglist: @joshym, @gretavanfleetposts, @alyson814, @fretaganvleet, @lallisonl, @writingcold, @gvfpal, @twinszka, @jessicafg03, @reesetrippingthelight, @sacredjake, @laurenlovesgretavanfleet, @gretavangroove, @222headedcalf, @dreamssingold, @carbondancingthroughtime, @raviolilegs, @way-to-go-lad, @jakekiszkasmommy, @katgvf, @objectsinspvce, @jaketlover, @vanfleeter, @thetroublegetssloud71, @seditabets, @jakekiszkapunchmeintheface, @jaketlove, @ohgodthefeeling-gvf, @starcatcher-jake, @anythingforjtk, @lucimoo, @indigostreakmorgan