#and again… I wish I had someone like me to talk about it :’)
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[ I've seen how Caleb is often described to be a sex god without any experience at every first time (and I eat it up) but I also think we should discuss the other side of it. Kinda of an addition to my previous post ]
Let's discuss virgin Caleb that since he hit puberty has been struggling with his own desires and when he finally received the green light from you it's like a dam was unleashed.
This man is BEYOND sensitive. And so damn needy too, to the point that greedy would be a much more suitable word for him.
He started having wet dreams about you after the first kiss and the walk of shame to the bathroom every morning to wash his boxers is very real.
He's got a leaking and painful boner every time you kiss him for a little too long and he can't get enough of the taste of your tongue on his.
Having you on his lap is both bliss and torture. He'd try to hide the fact he's hard the first few times, not wanting to scare or pressure you, but each time your hips pressed down against his boner he'd be rolling his eyes back into his head and forcing down a groan.
I'm a dry-humping truther and I firmly believe the first time he came with you was by rubbing himself against your leg like the dog he is while you two were making out.
Caleb is mortified about his first experience with a blow job and he wishes you'd forget such an embarrassing moment of him.
But in all honesty, it wasn't his fault. You offered out of nowhere, which left him no time to mentally prepare, and just by having you kneeling down in front of him with your hand wrapped around his cock had him gripping the edge of the desk behind him, to the point the wood creaked at the sheer pressure.
And when you licked along the precum that was dripping down his length and pushed your tongue against his swollen tip he came and he came hard. His cum coating your face, getting onto some parts of your hair and in your mouth.
It goes without saying that he spent the rest of the day apologizing, but the sight of you swallowing his cum that had gotten onto your lips made him dizzy and hard again.
I'm sure he'll be fantastic in bed eventually, but your first time is a mess. Literally. Caleb is so eager to explore the body he's desired for so long and to please you as much as you do to him.
Everywhere he can reach is littered with dark and very obvious hickeys.
He'd have your hands pinned next or above your head so you couldn't touch him otherwise he knows he won't last at all.
Though, all his efforts bear no fruit because the second this man bottoms out inside of your warm and tight insides he is cumming again.
His body would tremble as he held his entire weight on his forearms to not crush you and he bit down on his lips.
After switching condoms, you'd have to get on top while his shaky legs recover from his orgasm and oh gods he's really trying his fucking best right now.
He's panting against your neck when you roll your hips and cause a loud moan to escape his lips, followed by his strong arms wrapping around your middle like a bear hug as if to keep himself grounded. It's rather cute, really.
He'd come with you this time, if not a little before from you clenching around his cock and the sweet whimpers because he's oh so very sensitive.
His hands would feel up your thighs then shamelessly grab your ass while he looked up at you, loving the view of you on top of him and he's got the cockiest grin you've ever seen on his face.
Now we're talking about someone with YEARS of suppressed sexual desires so you better brace yourself because he's far from done.
Caleb would use the entire night to learn everything he possibly can about your body, besides what he already knew. Each sweet spot that make you cry so good for him and just how deep he can hit inside of you to have you gasping for more.
He's sloppy, he's desperate, he's pathetic and it's messy. He'd ask between shaky breaths and his tone is almost whiny "Does that good? I need you to talk to me sweetheart, c'mon."
"Tell me what you want and I'll do it. Teach me how to make you feel good."
"Can I go deeper? Fuck- Please? Please? you feel so good-"
"I can't stop— Just one more, I'll make it good for you too, please, gods please, I need more of you or I'll go insane."
Caleb is the type of pathetic loser that would get a nosebleed while he pounded into you for the nth time.
He'd kiss you when you showed concern, spit trickling down your chin as the taste of iron would spread on your tongue before he pulled away to admire the sight of you completely disheveled for him. Because of him.
He licks the few drops on your chest, the crimson smearing with the sweat glistening on your skin and leaving a trail that only added to the perverted satisfaction that you're his.
Almost every position is crossed off the list in a single night and he's willing to do anything you ask of him. You want to ride him again? He's sat. You want him to hit it from the back? He's got you on your hands and knees already. You want him to eat you out? Please, by all means take a seat on his face. You have complete control over everything that happens most of the time.
It's morning by the time you two pass out, or run out of condoms in the box honestly, but you can fully expect him to try something when he gets into the shower with you the next day. Hey, he's just helping you clean up like a good boyfriend should ;) .
#im losing my marbles#and im feral about it#but im free#love and deepspace#love and deepspace x reader#lads x reader#caleb love and deepspace#lads caleb#caleb x reader#caleb smut#lads#lads smut
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Reblogging this version and stealing the tags as well:
#i realized this when I was following#gen padalecki#she was talking about the garden#and livestock#and book clubs#and doing so many things with the boys#and i realized that if she had to work#like i have to work#and didn't have the money to hire people to do shit#she couldn't do all of that either#and then i unfollowed her#because it wasn't relevant to me#and was just making me feel bad about myself#even though i knew we were not on the same boat#she's in a yacht#and i'm in a rowboat#and you can't compare the two
This is so important, especially when it comes to body image.
If you ever find yourself looking at someone and thinking "damn, I wish I was as slim and toned as that insta model" or "damn, I wish I was built like that Navy Seal dude"... remember that this is literally PART OF THEIR JOB. You can't be an insta model without being slim and you can't be a spec ops soldier without being in excellent, buff shape. And as a result, people like that spend A LOT of hours in the gym. Like, a lot A LOT. And no, not off hours, after already working for 8+ hours a day like you with your desk job. If you are trying to emulate people like that while not being in that job, you are essentially trying to do two jobs at once. And that ain't a sustainable way to live (you can make it work, but good grief, at what cost...)
And any time you look at someone rich enough to afford somebody else to do their cooking and cleaning and child care? Dial your own expectations way the hell down, because those are freaking time sinks. There's a reason rich people hire other people to do that shit for them (because it's work--and unless you are rich it's work you HAVE TO do for free, because cooking is kind of important for eating and cleaning is kind of important for being healthy and if you don't take care of your kids they have a high risk of ending up dead).
I would also add to this that sometimes it really is too late/impossible to strive for something that you would like to be your top priority. I have asthma and I'm nearing 40. Even if I started working out right now, with the same diet and exercise regimen as a soldier, I would not be able to get that level of fitness, because 1) my lungs aren't build for that and 2) aging is a thing and my body's prime days are over.
And that sucks. Realizing that there are legit, unchangeable roadblocks to things you would like to make your priority SUCKS. And it's okay to be angry and frustrated about that for a while, and to grieve the opportunities you wish you had but never will. It's perfectly fine and normal and healthy. So long as you remember that grief is not a place to be forever. Life goes on. There's more beauty to find in the world and so much more to live for rather than wallowing in sadness forever.
So, if you find yourself with something that you want to make your priority, but cannot, for circumstances outside of your control, ask yourself "okay, but how much do I have to dial back the intensity to make it work and still have it be a top goal?"
One of my goals for this year is to go swimming again. I used to do that competitively. I would love to get back to that same level of intensity again, but 1) I am getting old, 2) I have a full-time job, and 3) it's not something I can just do at home anytime I want--I have to take a bus to the city swimming pool to get there and they ain't open 24/7. So no, I will not be swimming again with the same regularity and intensity as before, but I will try to find a time window that will work with my job and the commute and the opening hours and I will take as much swimming as I can get, because good grief, I miss the water.
One thing that has made me a much more well-adjusted person is a clip I once saw of Hank Green saying that anyone can be in amazing shape as long as being in amazing shape is one of their top three priorities.
(This is obviously a generalization that isn't true for everyone. But it is true for most people and I'm proceeding from there.)
This "top three priorities" framing has genuinely reduced my tendency toward jealousy and self-comparison a lot. Now when I feel envious of someone’s spotless, aesthetic home, I think to myself, “Having a spotless, aesthetic home is probably one of their top three priorities. It’s definitely not one of mine, so I shouldn’t expect my home to look like that.���
Or when I see an influencer with a body that takes a ton of work to maintain: “Maintaining that body is obviously one of her top three priorities, because it’s her livelihood. My livelihood is my brain, so I’m never going to prioritize my body like that.”
It also helps me to identify areas that I actually DO want to prioritize more. I realized in recent years that my envy for my friends who prioritized writing more than I did was NOT going away, so I started to prioritize writing more. (Not top three, but higher priority than it has been in the past.)
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can u write a oneshot where mean!sorority!karina x loser!g!p!reader and reader goes out of town for a lego convention or some nerd shit and karina's like "ok lol" barely replying to their texts
but then reader sends selfies looking kinda good and suddenly karina's not so mean anymore (but she's acting like she doesn't care) and later she's in bed lowkey staring at reader's pics when reader calls and starts yapping about legos all excited while karina listens way too hard. somehow this leads to phone sex 🫣
CYBER SEX — YU JIMIN.
![Tumblr media](https://64.media.tumblr.com/065847fd2dcadec3218a968968e7e139/e7a4062a234ddbc9-8c/s540x810/0b8133dbc032a51822a4f66b746d94f0d0d4c397.jpg)
"wish you were here right now, all of the things i'd do."
synopsis. karina swears she doesn’t miss you. not even a little. if her puppy wants to ditch her for some dumb lego convention, that’s your loss. okay...maybe letting you leave was a mistake… but at least she can have some fun making you miss her.
pairing. mean!sorority!karina x loser!gp!reader
warning(s). 18+ (smut), phone sex (duhhhh), g!p reader, pet names (karina calling u puppy ofc), bad writing, and let me know if there's more!
words. 2k
authors note. mean!sorority!karina is so awesome sauce man. i also forgot my own schedule dates.. i apologize.
part one. part two. part four. headcannons. navigation. main masterlist.
karina wasn't mad. she wasn't.
so what if her puppy had ditched town for some stupid lego convention? it wasn't like she cared. she had better things to do than think about you running around, geeking out over plastic blocks.
her sorority sisters, however, were testing her patience.
"she didn't even tell you until last minute?" giselle smirked over her drink.
"sounds like someone got ditched," winter added.
"i didn't get ditched." karina rolled her eyes, scrolling through her messages. your last text had been two hours ago—a simple just got here! it's so cool, you'd love it if you gave it a chance :( to which she had responded with a dry, doubt it.
and that was it. that was all you were getting from her. if you wanted to act like a loser, that was your problem.
"didn't get ditched," winter mocked under her breath, earning a laugh from ningning.karina threw them a glare before pushing up from the couch, phone clutched in her hand. "i'm going to bed."
she ignored their knowing smirks as she stormed up the stairs to her room, locking the door behind her.
her phone buzzed just as she flopped onto her bed, and against her better judgment, she checked it immediately.
puppy: look!! isn't it so cute?? :D
attached were three selfies of you grinning with some ridiculously detailed lego set in the background. your glasses were slightly askew, your hoodie a little too big, and your excitement was practically radiating off the screen.
karina clicked on one of the pictures, zooming in just a little. not because she missed you. not because she thought you looked cute. just... because.
another text popped up.
puppy: there's this one panel tomorrow about rare discontinued sets, you think i should go?
she bit her lip, hesitating before replying.
karina: do whatever you want.
she stared at her screen for a moment before sighing and tossing her phone onto her pillow.
she wasn't jealous. she wasn't annoyed. she wasn't—
her phone buzzed again.
puppy: you're so mean ;(
a smirk twitched at her lips.
before she could respond, her phone started ringing. you.
she exhaled sharply before answering, keeping her voice bored. "what?"
"okay, so—listen." your voice came through, breathless with excitement. "i got to see so many cool sets today. like, there was this one display of the millennium falcon that was massive, and i swear, if i had the money, i'd—"
she hummed, pretending to listen as you rambled on about your day. but she was listening. more than she wanted to admit. she could practically picture you, pacing in your hotel room, waving your hands around as you talked a mile a minute.
"like i said, you'd think it's cool if you were here," you muttered, and she could hear the pout in your voice.
"don’t think so."
you groaned. "you're impossible."
she smirked. "and you're a nerd."
"i am not—"
she could hear the shuffle of you moving around, probably flopping onto your bed. then, a pause. your voice was quieter when you spoke again. "you miss me?"
karina rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling. she could lie. she could say no. but instead, she muttered, "not really."
you laughed, soft and knowing. "liar."
she closed her eyes, gripping her phone tighter. maybe she was. but she'd never admit it.
not yet, anyway.
karina sighed, rolling onto her side as she let your voice fill the quiet of her room. it was late, and she should have been asleep already, but instead, she was still listening to you ramble about legos of all things—like some lovesick idiot.
not that she was one.
"i swear, some of these sets were insane," you continued, voice slightly muffled like you were getting comfortable. "there was this one star wars display with over ten thousand pieces. can you imagine? ten thousand."
"hm," she hummed, only half-listening now. she was too busy staring at the selfies you'd sent earlier, swiping through them like she hadn't already memorized every detail.
she could hear you shifting again, the sound of fabric rustling against fabric, a small sigh escaping your lips. "kinda wish you were here, though. feels weird without you making fun of me."
karina smirked, rolling onto her back. "i'd make fun of you either way, puppy."
you laughed, soft and breathy. "i know. but still."
a beat of silence stretched between you, comfortable but charged. karina exhaled slowly, her fingers tracing idle circles against her stomach.
"so..." your voice had dropped slightly, quieter, more hesitant. "what are you doing?"
"lying down," she murmured. "thinking."
"about?"
she bit her lip, debating. she could keep playing it cool, keep pretending she wasn't fazed by you being miles away. but she was tired, and her walls were lower than usual, and you sounded so damn cute on the other end of the line.
"...you."
you inhaled sharply. "oh."
a smirk pulled at her lips. she could hear the way you tensed up, the way your breath hitched, and it sent a slow wave of satisfaction through her.
"what, puppy?" she teased, her voice dropping into something lower, something smug. "cat got your tongue?"
you swallowed audibly. "no, i just—"
she hummed, tilting her head back against the pillow. "you're cute when you're flustered, you know that?"
another pause. a shaky exhale.
"karina..."her smirk deepened, fingers idly tracing patterns against her skin. "what's wrong, puppy? you miss me that bad?"
you made a small, frustrated noise on the other end, and karina chuckled, knowing exactly where this was heading.
maybe letting you leave town had been a mistake. but at least now, she could have a little fun reminding you exactly who you belonged to. she bit her lip as she slipped her hand into her shorts, trailing her fingers between her thighs.
her voice dropped lower, more sultry, more teasing. "use your words, puppy. tell me how much you miss me."
she could hear your breathing pick up, ragged and uneven. "i-i miss you. god, i miss you so much."
a small hum of satisfaction escaped her. you gulped at the sound, your shaky hands fumbling to unbutton your jeans. "i want you," you whined, your voice dropping to a whisper. "i wanna be back there with you."
"yeah?" she asked, a smile pulling at her lips. "and what would you do if you were here?"
she knew the answer, of course, but she wanted to hear you say it. she wanted to hear the way your voice would waver and crack as you finally gave in, finally told her exactly what you wanted.
you whimpered, your hands wrapping around yourself as you imagined her touch. "i'd kiss you," you admitted, your breath hitching.
karina's smirk deepened, her fingers sliding through her own slick. "where?"
"everywhere," you breathed.
she bit her lip, heat coiling in her stomach. she wanted to tell you to get your ass back here, to come crawling on your knees, to beg her to forgive you for leaving her alone like this. but she knew she was too prideful for that, and besides, she couldn't help but find a bit of amusement in the fact that you were getting yourself off, miles away, just to the sound of her voice.
“you touching yourself, puppy?" she asked, her voice low and teasing.
"mhm," you nodded weakly, even though she couldn't see you. you were breathing hard, your hand moving faster, your chest heaving as you lost yourself in the sound of her voice.
karina could hear the way your breath hitched with each stroke, could hear the way your voice went shaky each time she spoke. she loved it, and not in the usual possessive sense you'd expect from her. no, there was something almost tender in the way she teased you, in the way she kept you wanting.
"god, you're so easy," she murmured.
"please," you whimpered, your voice cracking slightly. "i-i wanna hear you."
karina tilted her head back, her breath catching in her throat. you were always so needy, so desperate for her, and god, she loved it. she loved hearing the way your voice would get hoarse and strained, loved the way you'd beg and plead with her to give you more.
"puppy..." she moaned, "you sound so fucking good." a finger slipped into her heat, curling up and dragging along her walls.
"please," you whimpered again, your hand moving faster. "i need to hear you. need to know if you're touching yourself too."
you could hear her gasp on the other end of the line, and you pictured her, eyes closed, back arched as she pressed down into the touch of her own fingers. you let out a jagged exhale, your whole body trembling with the effort of holding back. she was so gorgeous, and even if you weren't there with her, just hearing her like this was enough to drive you crazy.
"are you?" you asked again, a little more desperately this time.
"fuck, yes," she breathed. "i am."
"fuck." your grip tightened around your phone. "i-i bet you look so pretty right now. bet you feel so good."
"so fucking good, puppy." she was moaning openly now, another finger slipping into her slick heat. karina imagined what it would be like to have you back here, on top of her, inside of her, fucking her so hard that all she could do was cry out your name.
she wanted you so badly, and as her fingers sped up, as the heat built in her stomach, she felt herself getting closer to that edge, closer to falling apart for you. "god, i-i miss you so much," she breathed. her body was on fire with desire, her mind consumed by thoughts of you.
if she wasn't fingers deep inside herself right now, she would have cringed so hard at herself that she'd turn to stone. but her head was swimming with pleasure, and her tongue was loose with it, and god, she wished you were here so she could take out her pent-up frustration on your body.
"s-shit, puppy," she breathed. "you're mine. all mine."
"yes," you whimpered. "only yours."
her fingers curled against her walls, pressing deep into her slick heat, and fuck, she was close, so close, and—
"k-karina," you moaned, your voice going hoarse. "i-i'm gonna cum. please, please, i—"
"fuck, me too." her voice was a low growl, her body trembling as she felt her orgasm building. she wanted to tell you, wanted to make sure you knew, but all that came out was a series of broken moans. she could hear the way your breaths were coming quicker now, could hear the way they turned into choked gasps.
and god, if it wasn't the hottest thing.
you were hers, and you were coming undone for her.she was getting close too, and when her hand finally started to ache, and she couldn't bring herself to stop, couldn't bring herself to do anything but press her fingers deeper and deeper until her walls finally clenched around them.
"g-gonna—" you cried out, your body shaking as your release finally took over, spilling out of you in waves of pleasure. karina's body followed soon after, her fingers curling deep inside her slick heat, her muscles clenching around them. she shuddered, gasping, her legs trembling as the waves of pleasure rippled through her.
for a moment, there was nothing but the sound of your ragged breathing, the aftershocks still rolling through your body, your skin flushed with heat. the only thing grounding you was the faint static of the phone pressed against your ear.
karina was the first to break the silence, her voice quieter now, almost lazy. "...when are you coming back home?"
you swallowed, still trying to catch your breath. "why?"
"just wondering," she murmured, voice dripping with something that made your stomach twist.
you exhaled slowly, shifting against the sheets. "tomorrow night."
"good."
she didn't elaborate, but you didn't need her to. the implication was clear—she wanted you back.
you smirked, voice teasing as you asked, "miss me that much?"
karina let out a soft scoff, but it lacked any real bite. "shut up."
you chuckled, but before you could push her further, she spoke again, quieter this time.
"...you'll come straight to me, right?"
the words caught you off guard.
for someone who usually kept her emotions so close to her chest, it was unusual for her to ask for something so blatantly. she must be feeling vulnerable. but it wasn't unwelcome. in fact, it sent a wave of affection through you, made your heartbeat a little faster.
you smiled, the words leaving you without a second thought. "of course, i will."
the line was silent for a beat, and then another, and for a moment, you wondered if she was already asleep.
"okay," she whispered.
taglist - @brocoliisscared @spidrgamer @kimminjiissosjdirbidnsjje
part four.
#bytemee works#karina x reader#aespa x reader#aespa karina#jimin x reader#yu jimin#yu jimin x reader#karina x y/n#karina x g!p reader#karina x you#karina x fem reader#aespa x fem reader#yu jimin x you#yu jimin x g!p reader#aespa smut#karina smut#wlw#karina aespa#aespa imagines#yoo jimin#yoo jimin x reader#jimin x you#jimin x y/n#g!p reader
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megumi valentines special
w.c 0.6k masterlist
in all honestly, yn was afraid of fushiguro. the first time she saw him was when she was hiding from student council, she turned the corner to find him on a pile of bodies. not the most welcoming sight.
their relationship remained like that. yn was afraid of fushiguro, fushiguro probably didnt know that she existed. sure he saw her in the hallways from time to time. but those prolonged gazes glances didnt compare to the amount of times yn nearly tripped trying to silently run away.
when she entered high school she assumed that fushiguro would stop, and for the most part, he did. sure he was aggravated by a couple of students every now and then, but they had it coming honestly.
fushiguro attended every class and was on every a honor roll. he got nearly every girls attention, yn was not an exception. he was the standard of beauty, who could blame her.
although, out of all the girls in the school, yn was just average. if in fushiguros standards, probably below average. so she swallowed her feelings, if someone were to ask her who she liked. “no one.” she would say avoiding their gaze.
valentines was coming up soon, yn wonders if she would get any chocolates. hopefully romantic chocolates. maybe a boy in her class. maybe megumi fushiguro
eventually valentines rolls around and not a single chocolate left in her desk. thats fine, she wasnt betting on getting any anyways.
while eating lunch she heard girls talking about fushiguro possibly having chocolates.
‘wow. what a lucky girl.’ she thinks to herself.
nearly every girl (and boy) in the school was trying to figure out who it was for. he refused to say for his own reasons.
the last bell rings and school is dismissed for the day. yn walks home in the cold weather wishing she would’ve worn stockings for brought another jacket.
she hears speed walking behind her but doesnt bother to look back, she knows that whoevers behind her definitely isnt trying to interact with her.
yn feels a tap on her shoulder and shivers run down her back, their hands were cold. she turns around to find fushiguro, holding a small bag of chocolates.
“i got these for you for helping me.”
“help you with what?”
he shoves the bag further in your hands, looking to the side blushing.
“take them.”
fushiguro sprints off without looking back. “hey wait what was that for!” yn shouts.
after that she started noticing fushiguros lingering stares glares, did she do something wrong?
she assumed that fushiguro messed up and gave it to the erong person, or it was just gratitude chocolate. although, yn has barely spoken to fushiguro let alone done him a favor. she wonders who he really wanted to give them to. maybe that popular girl in his class. what was her name again?
a couple weeks after that chocolate incident, in p.e she overheard fushiguro talking with his only friend. “do you really think shes not getting my hints?”
“i wouldnt get them either.” (ita)
“i thought they were obvious” (fushi)
you quietly walk faster on the track. pretending you cant see fushiguro blushing and that other kid pointing with his mouth covered.
after abiut 1 minute you hear someone sprinting behind you. you think nothing of the footsteps until they start slowing down once they get within a couple feet across from you.
fushiguro looks to the his right, where youre standing. you divert you eyes. he takes inching closer to you.
“do you get it” (fushi)
you look at him in confusion. “hm?”
“get it?” (fushi)
“get what?”
…
“do you like me?” (fushi)
…
a/n: pls dont hate me because im bad at writing im sorryyy sorry 😞
#is ts (this) fire… i didnt proof read sowwyyy#jjk#anime#megumi fushiguro#manga#jujutsu kaisen#jjk megumi#megumi x reader#jujutsu megumi#jujutsu kaisen megumi#megumi x you#megumi fluff#megumi x y/n#megumi smau#fushiguro x reader#fushiguro megumi#smau#jjk smau#jujustsu kaisen x reader#jjk x reader#jjk x y/n#jjk x you#jjk x fem!reader#megumi x yn#x yn#valentines day#fluff#megumi fushiguro smau#megumi fushiguro x reader#megumi fushiguro x you
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perfectly imperfect.
summary: steve harrington comes into your campus workplace and flirts with you every chance he gets. after months of turning him down, you finally give in and decide to give him a try. after all, he’s the hottest ticket on campus among the girls, so there has to be something to it. right?
word count: 3.5k
warnings/notes: smut, breast play, oral sex (brief; f receiving), grinding, handjob, premature ejaculation, catching feelings
a/n: this is a college au with steve, based on a dream i had! i’m thinking he’s probably right around the age he was in season 4, so that would make him around 19-20 in this fic. as always, reader is 18+ and sorry if anything like this has been done before! i don’t have time to read fic much anymore, so i don’t know what is out there. i hope y’all enjoy!
also shoutout to my bestie @andvys for suggesting I write this dream as a one shot! ily and thank you for everything 🥺
_____
“what would you recommend, babe?”
you had to suppress an eye roll at the nickname. it was nothing new with steve harrington; every time he walked into the cafe where you worked, it was always the same old song and dance. he would walk in, smile at you, flirt, ask what you recommended, and would eat or drink it while sneaking the occasional glance at you. he was a blessing and a curse that you just couldn’t escape, not even outside of work. you had two classes with him–World History and Foundations Mathematics–and he would try to chat you up then, too. you knew his reputation around campus wasn’t a very good one; he was quite the player, apparently. you overheard girls talking about him at work and in class, talking about the time they had with him and how he never called or spoke much to them when he was done. you weren’t about that sort of life, but you had to admit you were growing curious about him. he had to be good if he was getting around and getting a reputation; the girls never said he was terrible. in fact, the opposite was true. you had been on many dates since you started going to college two years ago, but nothing ever stuck. you were mostly having flings yourself, but at least you let those down easily and didn’t just leave them hanging like he did.
“i recommend what i always do every time you come in here,” you said. “the scones are good today; get one of those.”
“i think i have an appetite for something else,” he said, eyeing you up and down. “i think i want to experience something a little sweeter.”
“you think you’re really smooth, don’t you?” you asked, chuckling. “do you realize how many guys come in with the same line every day?”
“damn, i’ve got competition?” he asked, shaking his head. “here i thought i was special.”
“oh, you’re special, all right,” you said, grabbing a scone and putting it on a paper plate. “i don’t think you realize just how special you are.”
“well, that’s a relief,” steve said, digging in his pockets for money. “i really wish you’d go out with me, though.”
“why?” you asked. “so you could fuck me and leave me, like you do all the rest?”
he shook his head. “no, it would be different with you. you’re different.”
you laughed, shaking your own head. “how many women have you used that line on?”
“come on, harrington,” someone said from behind him. “i want my coffee.”
“just a minute,” he said, leaning in close to you. “one date. we don’t even have to have sex, if that isn’t what you want. just give me a chance.”
you eyed the line behind him, and knew there was no getting out of it this time. he wasn’t going to let up until you gave in, apparently. you sighed, rolling your eyes before meeting his. “fine. one date and i’m calling the shots.”
“thank you,” he said. “that’s all i wanted.”
“yeah, i’m sure,” you said. “it’s two dollars for the scone.”
he handed you two one dollar bills and a ten. “a little tip for you, babe.”
you went to hand it back, but he was already gone, the line moving forward as you were forced to be professional yet again.
****
the night of the date came faster than you wanted. he had pestered you about it every day in class and at work, until you finally set it for the following friday night. you were off work and didn’t have many classes that day, so you thought it would be perfect. it would give you a chance to get ready, to prepare yourself, and to brace for what might happen. you’d been giving it a lot of thought since he’d asked, and you decided that maybe you wanted to sleep with him, after all. you would see how the date went first, of course, but you had no reason to expect that it would be bad. steve seemed like a decent enough guy; he was just a playboy. most men his age were, though, especially college frat boys, so you didn’t know what else you honestly expected.
you spent most of the afternoon working on yourself, and when the date finally came, he came to your room to pick you up. he couldn’t stop talking about how beautiful you looked, and you had to admit that he looked handsome, too. he was wearing a light blue button-up shirt that was done up to just below his neck, showing off a spray of chest hair underneath and accenting his muscular arms. he wore blue jeans that were nice and not torn, brown dress shoes, and his hair was done up in its usual fashion. he looked damn good; even you had to admit that. you followed him as he walked, and he offered you his arm after a little bit. you took it, feeling your heart flutter as you did so. you had already decided, upon seeing him, that you were going to sleep with him. you couldn’t wait to break the news to him at the end of the night.
he took you to a nice restaurant just off campus, an classy little italian place that served the best food. you’d been there a few times, but never on a date. steve paid for everything, and when you were both walking back to campus, you decided to spring the news on him. you stopped walking and he did, too, giving you a puzzled look. you just smiled at him, hugging yourself for a moment before walking over and standing directly in front of him.
“so i made a decision,” you said. “one that i think you’re going to like.”
“what decision is that?” he asked.
“i think i wanna sleep with you tonight,” you said. “if you’re up for it, i mean.”
“i’m always up for that,” he said with a chuckle. “but why the sudden change of heart? you seemed pretty adamant to not sleep with me before now.”
you shrugged. “i guess i couldn’t live with myself if i passed up on steve harrington.”
he laughed. “well, i wouldn’t be able to live with myself if i passed up the most beautiful girl on campus, either.”
your cheeks heated at that, looking down for a moment before meeting his gaze. “so…it’s on, then?”
“it’s on,” he said. “where should we go? my roommate is out with his girlfriend tonight, so my room might be the best bet.”
“okay,” you said. “let’s go there, then.”
he walked you to his dorm building and up to his room, which was, in fact, empty. it was a little messy, with clothes strewn about the floor, fast food wrappers on the desks, beer bottles hidden not-so-skillfully under the two beds, and posters of half-naked women adorning the walls. you had to resist rolling your eyes for the millionth time; it was such a typical guy room that it was almost hilarious. steve walked over to the bed on the right, sitting down and gesturing for you to do the same. he kicked off his shoes and you did the same, taking a seat next to him as he turned to face you.
“is it bad that i’m a little nervous?” he asked.
you looked at him, shocked. “you, nervous? why would you be nervous?”
he shrugged. “i don’t know. i guess because i’m not used to being with a beautiful woman like you.”
“yeah, and how many girls have heard that?”
“come on, i’m being serious.”
“so am i.”
“i’ve never really used that on someone. you’re the first.”
“wow, i feel special.”
he put one finger under your chin, tilting your head toward him. “you are special, though. at least you are to me.”
“yeah, yeah,” you said. “are we doing this or not?”
“yeah,” he said, drawing you in closer. “come here.”
he put his lips to yours, kissing you gently at first. it stayed like that for a little bit, his lips working softly against yours as you followed his lead. soon, though, he was kissing you a little harder, his tongue pressing between your lips as they met. he mewled softly, grabbing your hips and pulling you into his lap. you straddled him, cupping his face as he kissed you more heavily. you whined, kissing him deeper as he began bucking his hips into yours. you picked up on his cue, grinding against him as you continued to make out. he groaned, grabbing your ass and guiding your movements. you moaned as well, continuing to move on him as he kissed you harder.
“fuck,” he said against your lips. “that feels so good.”
“you’re already getting hard,” you observed. “i can feel it.”
“i can’t help it,” he said. “you just have that effect on me.”
“oh yeah?” you asked, smirking at him as you leaned down to kiss his neck. “well, i feel pretty flattered, then.”
“i really wanna get your clothes off,” he said, tilting his head back to give you more room. “can i?”
you chuckled, shaking your head. “not yet. i wanna keep doing this for a little bit first.”
“you’re going to make me work for this, aren’t you?” he asked with a groan.
you nodded. “that’s right.”
“you’re such a tease,” he said. “but that’s okay, i like it.”
“oh you do, huh?” you asked, toying with the buttons on his shirt.
“hey, i thought you said we had to wait.”
“i said you had to wait. i didn’t say anything about me.”
“that hardly seems fair.”
“i’m the one calling the shots here tonight, remember?”
that quieted him, and he mumbled a word of permission. you giggled, unbuttoning his shirt and pushing him back on the bed. you started kissing down the middle of his chest, down his stomach to the top of his jeans, and then slowly back up. his breathing was slightly heavier as you worked on him, and he drew you in for a passionate kiss as you came back up. he pulled you on top of him again, where you resumed grinding him for the moment. his hands squeezed your ass, kneading the flesh there as you rocked against him. you whined, moving a little faster as he gasped against your lips.
“you’re gonna make me cum already if you keep doing that,” he said. “please, can i take your clothes off?”
you giggled, nodding. “fine. but not the bra or the panties yet.”
he eagerly removed your shirt and pants, discarding them to the floor with the rest of the clothes. he studied your body with hungry eyes, his pupils enlarging as he took in every detail. you couldn’t help but flush under his gaze, your cheeks hot as he studied you. you pushed him back down, kissing him hungrily, your hips moving again as he slapped your ass. you laughed against his lips and you could feel him smiling, so you kept going. after a minute, steve’s hands found the back of your bra, playing with the clasp. you smiled, knowing that you’d tormented him enough, and you drew back to grin at him.
“you can take it off now,” you said.
“i can?” he asked.
“yep,” you said. “go ahead.”
he didn’t need to be told twice. he practically ripped the garments from your body, taking in every detail of your body as he did so. he licked his lips as he studied you, his eyes moving from head to toe and back again. your cheeks turned hot under his gaze, and you reached out to pull him closer. he went easily, his body pressed flush to yours as you chuckled.
“I think it’s your turn now,” you said. “it’s only fair, don’t you think?”
he nodded, hastily doing away with his clothes. as he did to you, you observed him from top to bottom, your eyes remaining glued on his cock. he was bigger than you expected, with good girth and even better length. a large vein ran up the underside, and his tip was pink and already oozing precum. you reached out to stroke him, and his lashes fluttered as he moaned under your touch. he looked at you with heavy eyes, his lips parted as his cheeks began to flush. you smirked at him, flicking your wrist as his body jerked slightly.
“who has the power now, huh?” you asked.
“you do,” he said, rutting into your hand. “god..”
“you know what I want you to do?” you asked.
“anything,” he said. “i’ll do anything you want.”
“i want you to eat me out,” you said.
“can i?” he asked. “please?”
“mmm hmm,” you said. “go ahead.”
steve turned you over so that you were lying flat on his bed. he kissed your neck, stopping at your breasts to give them some attention. he kissed over each one, sucking one nipple feverishly as he rubbed the other with his fingers. you moaned softly, grabbing his hair and giving it a slight tug as he, too, moaned. you giggled, running your fingers through his hair as he continued to work. he shivered, his eyes trailing up to look at you as he sucked your nipple a bit harder. you arched your back, bucking your hips impatiently as he trailed one hand down your body. he ran his fingers over your clit, barely ghosting it as you gasped. he smirked against your skin, his fingers ghosting your folds next. you wanted to slap him for being such a tease, but it felt so good that you couldn’t bring yourself to do it.
“you’re so hot,” he said, his hands coming up to squeeze your breasts. he moaned as he watched your nipples harden even more, his thumbs circling them. “the hottest girl i’ve ever seen.”
“oh yeah?” you asked, whining as he started kissing his way down your body. “am i hotter than all those other girls you’ve been with, or did you use that line on them, too?”
“no, just you,” he said, winking up at you as he knelt between your legs. “i swear it’s just you. i told you, you’re different.”
you wanted to roll your eyes, but you didn’t. you were curious as to what he would be like, and now wasn’t the time to offend him or piss him off. you would take him at his word for now; it’s all you could do. you watched as he kissed your inner thighs, painfully slow, and as he kissed around your mound, also painfully slow. he was kissing anywhere and everywhere but where you really wanted him, and you almost pushed his head there. but you didn’t want to do that, so you waited, letting him get it out of his system. he did it again, a little faster, and then finally he was right where you wanted him.
his mouth felt like heaven, and it was a feeling that you’d never felt before with anyone else. his tongue was like velvet, wet and soft and perfect. he lapped at your folds lazily, using the tip of his tongue at first to tease you further. you moaned, sitting up on your elbows to watch him as he looked up at you. he groaned as he pressed his full tongue against you, licking a long, slow stripe from your entrance to your clit and then back down. he did the same motion a few times, before wrapping his lips around your clit and sucking. you arched, falling back on the bed and writhing as he sucked harder.
‘steve…” you moaned. “that feels so good.”
“oh yeah?” he asked, and you could feel him smirking against you. “you think it feels pretty good, huh?”
“yeah,” you said. “you’re good at this.”
his smirk widened, and soon he was fucking you on his tongue. he replaced that with his fingers after a few minutes, paying attention to your clit as he sucked again. his tongue swirled the small bud, moaning against it to add vibration. you gasped and bucked your hips, feeling the tightness beginning to settle in your lower stomach. you didn’t think you’d be so close already, but it had been awhile since you’d gotten off–with yourself or with anyone else. you were pent up, and it was about to come to a head very soon.
“i’m close already,” you told him. “please keep going.”
“already, huh?” he asked, grinning up at you.
“don’t flatter yourself,” you said. “it’s just been awhile.”
“sure,” he said, winking at you. “i’ll take your word for it.”
he kept going, fucking you harder on his fingers and sucking your clit harder. he shook his head back and forth, his eyes on you as he kept going. it only took a few more minutes before you were falling apart, cumming hard as you cried out his name. he kept going as you experienced your high, going slower and more gentle, watching as you arched your back, writhed, and tugged at his hair. he moaned, stopping once you came down from your high. he sat back and looked at you, and you could tell by the look on his face that he was proud of himself for what he’d just done.
“that’s a first,” he said. “usually i have to go for twenty minutes.”
“you poor thing,” you said as you rolled your eyes. “how ever will you survive?”
he chuckled, kissing his way back up your body. “you’re so sassy. i love it.”
“come here,” you said. “i wanna pretend to ride you.”
“pretend?” steve asked. “why not do it?”
“because i wanna make you work for it, that’s why,” you said, smirking at him.
“but i’m about to burst already,” he nearly whined.
“now who’s the one who might cum too soon?” you teased. “come here.”
he lay back on the bed, tucking his arms behind his head. “okay, babe. i’m here. do whatever you want to me.”
you straddled him, positioning yourself over his erection. you began to grind against it, moaning at the heavy, throbbing feeling of him against you. he hissed, his hands coming out to grab at your hips. you kept going, gliding along him at a steady pace as he looked up at you. he leaned up after a few minutes and started sucking at your nipples, lying back against the pillows and pulling you with him after a moment. you moaned, biting your lip as you started moving a little faster.
“I’m not gonna last much longer,” he said, and you could tell that he was right. he was twitching, his cock throbbing against you as you continued to glide. “please.”
you giggled, getting off of him and taking his cock into your hand. “tell me what you want.”
“I—“ he began, but it was soon over. he came all over your hand, his body in spasms as he bucked into your hand. he squeezed his eyes shut, digging the heels of his hands into them as he came down from his high. “fuck, I knew that was gonna happen.”
you chuckled, holding your hand up to your mouth. “look at me, steve.”
he did so, looking at you with heavy eyes. you started licking the cum off of your hand, making eye contact with him as you did so. he moaned as he watched, and pulled you down for a kiss after you were done. you lay next to him, snuggling against him as he held you close. it was silent, save for steve’s heavy breathing, and you opened your mouth to say something. he beat you to it.
“wow,” he said. “i never…that’s never happened to me before.”
“no?” you asked. “never? not once?”
“no,” he said, shaking his head. “i think it’s because i like you so much.”
you looked up at him. “you do?”
“I do,” he said. “you’re unlike anyone I’ve ever met before, y/n. i think I wanna keep you.”
you smile at him, leaning up to kiss him. “you wanna know something?”
“what?” he asked, brushing some hair out of your eyes.
you kissed him again, a bit more passionately. “I think i wanna keep you, too.”
—
taglist: @andvys @littledemondani @etherealxwitch @eddieschains @happylilthought @trashmouth-richie @eiightysixbaby @thisbrokencapulet @sunkillerencoder @thatredlipped-classic
#steve harrington#steve harrington x reader#steve harrington x fem reader#steve harrington x y/n#steve harrington x you#steve harrington imagine#steve harrington smut#steve harrington one shot#stranger things fic
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@jollyhunter
Okay, I'm finally home and this was such a wonderful thing to read through! It made my day 😊
Girl, let me tell you I was also giggling the entire time I wrote this. This fic was so self indulgent because the reader IS me, one billion percent, the awkward anxious person who has no idea how to catch someone's attention 😆 But I love it resonated with you too (but I'm also sorry it took you back to your past trauma lol 😂)
I love your writing style and especially the way you add humor!! Like this had me already cracking up - Butcher and the boys x LotR, where’s my funfic, hm??
Oh goodness THANK YOU SO MUCH! 🥰 I literally laugh to myself the whole time I write and most of the time I'm scared no one else will get the jokes, but thank you that really means a lot 💗 But YES the subtle Eomer drop... if you haven't read As Tradition Dictates, you need to because it's so good and it's been living rent free in my head since I read it. And oh my word the cross over would be wild- Soldier Boy does act like an Orc sometimes, but we love him for it anyway 🤣
It’s a real struggle 😭
Amen it is 🫶🏻
Sneaky bastard - I feel like he’s only saying that because he’s afraid that he will fall for her. (Probably already has and is taking his chance now since she’d basically friend zoned him 😂)
He could be... 😏 You could be getting dangerously close to the truth there my friend 😉
EDIT: I FORGOT TO COMMENT ON THE FRIGGIN LOCUSTS SUPE - I’d pay to see that scene; Butcher and Soldier Boy running from a swarm of locusts because they can’t punch or shoot their way out as usual and making a deal to never talk about this embarrassing moment again 🤣
You know, I am so happy you pointed this out, because I really didn't think that in depth about what that scene would look like. And I hate locusts so I was like... what supe power would just be too much for me. BUT THAT IS SO FUNNY! I can see Butcher firing off like two shots into the swarm, while Ben kinda holds up his shield half-heartedly debating if it's worth it (it's not), and the reader and Hughie are already in the car with all the windows rolled up just watching it unfold. Even funnier would be her not letting Butcher or Ben into the car because she doesn't want any of the locusts to get in and she's shooing the two of them away. 😂
NOW WHERE‘S MY PART TWO?? I’M READY
Running joke I have is that I really can't write a one-shot to save my life... and this fic is no exception. I would love to make this a series (and I sort of accidentally plotted one out for this lol). The problem is I'm trying to finish up a soulmate AU series I started last year for Soldier Boy called If The Stars Wish It So and I have a prompt celebration running so I want to finish up those two things before I start a series based on this fic... BUT I do want to, because I love fake dating and I think that I could make this exceptionally awkward and funny lol.
But I am so happy that you liked this one sweetie and thank you so much for all the lovely feedback! 💜
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Promise Not To Fall In Love With Me
Pairing: Soldier Boy x f!reader and a little bit of Billy Butcher x f!reader
Prompt: "I find him very attractive." /"I'm standing right here"/ "I know."
Requested by: @angrydragon90
Tropes: Fake Dating, Pining.
Summary: When you first joined Butcher's team the last thing you expected was to develop a crush on him, but after two years of pining, you get a proposition from the last person you'd expect to care.
Word Count: 5K
Warnings: I'm gonna label this 18+ just in case (I don't really think it is). Some cursing, Sexual innuendo, References to sex, Over glorification of a man's shirtless body (I'm not complaining) Reader is a little anxious/anxiety/socially awkward? Drug use/Drinking (Soldier Boy), Soldier Boy being Soldier Boy (He's a warning, we all know it and somehow still love him for it).
Note: This is told from Reader's perspective. Any references to the reader is made using you or your. I tried my best to proofread, but nobody's perfect. If you don’t like, don’t read, but if you do like, you’re my favorite!
Internal monologue is in italics and is in first person.
Main Masterlist
Dean Winchester Masterlist
Prompt Celebration Masterlist
A/N: This is the third fic for my prompt celebration! This one was requested the incredible @angrydragon90 💗 Had to do something with a little bit of Valentine's Day spirit, but I'm going to be honest, this one turned into something that I didn't expect... let me know what y'all think. I also was thinking about @zepskies fic As Tradition Dictates for the more *ahem* gratuitous descriptions of Butcher 😉
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Butcher’s muscles rippled over his bare chest and broad shoulders with every swing of the mighty axe down to the earth. Each strike of the axe against wood sent chips of bark flickering in the air around him like sparks. Sweat rolled down his sun kissed skin curving in the dips of his muscular torso, along the tensing muscles of his back, and through the dusting of hair on his torso, before disappearing into the waistband of the dark jeans hung low on his hips.
Heat kisses your cheeks and darkens the skin the longer you watch him and you bite your lip hard to keep the appreciative sigh of the scene in front of you at bay. But it does little to stop your eyes which rove over the rugged man chopping wood.
No man his age should look that good.
Butcher props one of his feet up on the tree stump he’s been using as a table oblivious to your attention, shouldering the axe for a moment to glance at the stack of firewood he’d chopped, looking like a mighty warrior surveying his lands.
Your mind starts to slip into a fantasy of a shirtless Butcher riding horseback across a desolate plain, his dark hair long, and a sword strapped to his saddle commanding a group of riders behind him to his every whim. Before scooping you up onto his saddle to ride with him, his strong arm wrapped around your waist, and his face buried in the soft skin of your neck, his rough whisper in your ear a grating caress as he-
You clear your throat, cheeks darkening crimson, and take in a shaky breath to dissipate the daydream that usually starred in several of your fantasies. The same ones that probably came from the romantasy book that you’d brought along on this trip and were too embarrassed to read when anyone else was awake.
He raises a hand to wipe the sweat from his brow, shuffling it back through his hair that turns a chestnut brown in the light of the setting sun that flickered through the thick forest surrounding the small cabin you were all staying in.
Oh to be a drop of sweat.
You think mournfully, taking a long sip of your lemonade out of a brightly colored bendy straw, the same lemonade that you’d made in hopes of enticing Butcher over for a break.
It had worked, but only for twenty seconds.
Twenty glorious seconds that you got to bask in Butcher’s presence so close that you could smell the familiar cologne and the scent of sweat clinging to his skin while he drank the lemonade and you tried not to stare at his bare chest for too long. You hoped that Butcher thought the flush on your cheeks had everything to do with the heat and nothing to do with all the things you were imagining him doing to you.
And then there had been an additional two seconds when Butcher smiled at you and said “Thanks poppet” in the swoon worthy accent of his that made your knees weak before he sauntered back over to the woodpile and you watched him go shamelessly.
Hughie says something to Butcher you can’t hear, but it makes Butcher laugh. He throws his head back with a wide grin that makes you sigh to yourself again, hands tensing where they sit poised over the tangle of wires in your lap.
You were supposed to be working on a new gadget to help grapple up buildings, one that you and Frenchie had designed together, but you were distracted by Butcher.
You were always distracted by him.
It had been three days since Butcher, Soldier Boy, Hughie, and you arrived at the cabin in the middle of nowhere after a mission went wrong. The specifics weren’t important, let’s just say that there was a miscommunication and what the four of you thought was a supe who could turn into a single locust, was actually able to turn into a swarm of locust so thick you couldn’t see an inch in front of your face.
You had a sneaking suspicion that MM and Frenchie had something to do with the miscommunication, given how eager they had been to stay behind at headquarters and do paperwork, and the secretive smiles they had shared at the briefing before your team left.
But needless to say, none of you had been eager to live through a reenactment of the eighth plague and all decided to lay low to consider your options, while hoping the locust supe didn’t decimate all of the corn in the midwest.
You shudder remembering the crawl of the scratchy legs along your skin, the flapping of millions of wings like the beat of a drum, the crunch of locusts underfoot, and the low pitched hum of the swarm that vibrated so loud it made you feel your body shaking from the inside out.
At this point I would have taken a swarm of guinea pigs.
The cabin wasn’t the worst place you’d stayed at in all the time you’d worked with Butcher. There was running water and several rooms inside including two bedrooms with lumpy pillows and mattresses with creaking springs, a living room with a sagging floral couch, and a threadbare kitchen with dusty cabinets and doors that fell off whenever someone tried to open one.
Outside the cabin there was a small patch of wildflowers that fluttered in the strong wind that blew from the East, an overgrown garden where tomato plants, potatoes, and herbs grew without care, and a small front yard that was more of a grassy clearing.
Sure the cabin had it’s quirks, but the real problem was that the four of you were trapped here in the middle of summer with a generator that only did so much for electricity, but had no air conditioning whatsoever, which meant it was cooler to sit outside on the porch than inside the sweltering cabin.
Overall, it had been three days of nothing, but listening to Soldier Boy bitch about the lack of extracurricular activities, three days of nothing but hearing the soft chuckle under Hughie’s breath when he texted Annie, and three days of nothing but you lusting after a man who was twice your age chopping wood.
Why was he chopping wood when it was so hot and none of you needed it… You had no idea, but you figured that the universe was finally throwing you a bone because you got to watch him do it.
The porch was cooler than sitting inside. There were two creaky rocking chairs that faced the overgrown “front yard” that was more of a clearing and the breeze did weave under the overhang of the roof to wick the sweat that gathered at the back of your neck, but the problem was, it was impossible for you to feel anything but warm, especially with what was unfolding in front of you.
The weather isn’t the only thing heating up.
You think to yourself watching Butcher lean down to pick up another piece of wood, admiring the way his worn dark jeans cup his muscular ass.
Fuck, I’m just as bad as Soldier Boy.
The truth was, you’d been crushing on Butcher for the better part of two years since the moment the two of you met on your first day when you’d tripped and dropped the giant pile of blueprints you were carrying to your desk and he was the only one who stopped to help you pick them up.
After Homelander had been stripped of his powers and exposed for the narcissistic psychotic freak he was, you’d started working at Supe Affairs, thinking that it was the perfect way for you to make a difference in a world reeling from the revelation. It had shaken quite a few people to know that the so-called heroes they looked up to were in fact just as crooked as a line drawn by an elephant on a tricycle.
But you liked your job… sometimes.
Sure, the pay sucked, the benefits were dismal and the hours were long, but you didn’t care about any of that. You felt like you were making a difference, using the engineering degree that your dad had insisted on for something other than trying to figure out how to build a bridge that withstood the force of a punch from someone as strong as Homelander.
And you hadn’t meant to develop a crush on William Butcher of all people, you swore that each day to yourself, but it happened without warning. He was nice to you, he always had your back on missions, and sometimes when you were working on something after hours on a mission- like the gadget in your lap- Butcher would sit with you while everyone else slept, nursing a glass of whatever it was he had, and he always made you feel like a valued member of the team.
Yes, he might be a little rough around the edges, but you liked that about him, that he didn’t pull punches, rather he told it like it was. It was refreshing in the world you lived in when everyone else was so afraid of offending someone that they just kept their mouths shut.
But the problem was that you were younger than him and a little inexperienced.
Well… a lot inexperienced. You’d never been in a relationship before, never really done anything before because there wasn’t time when you were in school getting your degree, not to mention you had spent the last two years imagining yourself in a relationship with a man who didn’t know you existed.
That might be a little harsh, he knew you existed, obviously, but rather he didn’t see you as anything more than a teammate or at least like a little sister. The nicknames that he called you were all some form of “kiddo” or “poppet.” Nothing like the things you’d read about men calling the women they loved in books or heard in movies.
The most experience you had in the realm of love and relationships was binge watching Sex and The City (you could quote it by heart), flipping through Cosmopolitan Magazine and other articles about love on the internet like they were opioids, and reading through romance novels reverently as if they held the secrets of the universe.
Not to mention the draft of the romance novel on your computer… but you’d go to the grave before anyone ever saw that, and if they did see it you’d take them with you.
Reading about relationships was easier than having one, at least that was what you told yourself to feel better. It also didn’t help that you’d seen two out of three sisters married with kids, with the third one getting married in a few weeks and you without even a shadow of a date for the wedding.
That meant you would be stuck at the awkward reject table again with your weird fourth cousin who always came on to you and tried to show you the rooster tattoo he had on his hip bone, your dad’s brother who cleaned his dentures in public after he ate and his wife who always asked you what you were “doing” with your life and curled her lip up in distaste no matter what you said, and the gaggle of their ungrateful children who were always sticky for some reason and chewed with their mouths open while spilling food all over the table like cavemen.
Sitting there with them made facing the locust supe more appealing.
But even with the pressure of trying to find someone, anyone to take, you couldn’t muster up the courage to tell Butcher how you felt about him.
Butcher glances over as if he can sense you and you immediately drop your eyes to the bundle of gears and wires in your lap pretending to fiddle with something that doesn’t need to be fixed.
Yes, because that’s the way I’m going to win him over, by making absolutely no eye contact. Perfect, masterful. What can go wrong?
What the books, magazines, tv shows, and movies didn’t prepare you for was how to find the courage to talk to someone of the opposite sex without feeling like your tongue was going to drop out of your mouth or like you were going to throw up.
You wait a few beats until you’re sure that he’s no longer looking at you before you raise your head to watch Butcher again.
Ben chuckles under his breath where he sits beside you in the other rocking chair, leaning back with one of his hands behind his head. His muscles tense in the black t-shirt as he adjusts his arm.
“What?” You ask him.
He exhales a long and obnoxious cloud of foul smelling smoke from the joint he has in his hand. “I think you’re a hypocrite.”
“And why is that?”
“Because you’re out here eye-fucking that asshole and you yell at me for staring at you.” He chuckles with a wide smirk as he takes another hit from the blunt.
How can he smoke that? It’s like 100 degrees out here!
“I am not!” You reply as loudly as you dare, glancing over to Butcher to make sure that he didn’t hear Ben’s comment, anxiety prickling along the back of your neck, but he’s still talking to Hughie about something. “And you don’t just stare at me! You come up behind me like some gremlin out of hell, with your big hands and-”
“We both know how much you like the attention doll.”
“I do not!” Your cheeks flare bright red.
The only downside to working on Butcher’s team was sitting directly next to you. When you found out that you’d be working with Soldier Boy, one of your dad’s favorite heroes, you were excited to meet him, and then you had and he turned into another giant disappointment. He was loud, brash, short-tempered, rude, and was always either ogling you, coming on to you, smoking something, or drinking.
You supposed it could be worse. You didn’t hate him, and you got along with him, but he was always around. The plus side was that Ben was the one of the only people you didn’t have a hard time talking to.
Yes, he was attractive, but his particular lifestyle didn’t appeal to you and for that reason whatever nerves you had about talking to attractive men of the opposite sex evaporated when it came to Ben.
It was unfortunate that such a skill was wasted on him of all people.
“I just-” You hesitate, eyes dropping back down to the grappling device in your lap, not sure why you’re about to admit this to Soldier Boy when you haven’t been able to admit it to anyone else.
Probably because I’m sick of singing the line from Frozen “conceal don’t feel” over and over in my head.
“I find him extremely attractive.” You mumble on a shaky breath.
“I’m sitting right here.” The frown in Ben’s voice is prominent, but it only makes you roll your eyes at him.
“I know.” Your eyebrows furrow together. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Why are you looking at him when you could have my full attention.” He leans forward, dark hair falling forward into his eyes, mouth pulling up in a confident smirk. "I mean there's nothing else to fucking do, might as well do me."
Your cheeks flush with his words, but you tilt your head to the side to study him, eyes slipping over his rugged features. Tracing over the neatly trimmed beard on his cheeks, the brilliant green eyes that seemed to glow, the way his muscular body filled out his black t-shirt and blue jeans, the soft dusting of freckles that contrasted the hardness of the man he was flecked over his skin, and his full lips that are curved up in a sinful smirk that would make even the strongest woman crumble.
But not you. Ben was… Ben. He was brash, obnoxious, handsy, impatient, and disrespectful.
At least, that’s what you thought.
Sure you didn’t work with him often, but you believed you had a pretty good grasp on the kind of person he was. You did, right?
“You’re not my type Benny.” Your eyes flick back to the project in your lap, moving your fingers deftly through the wires of the internal mechanism.
Ben recoils at the use of his nickname, but he recovers with a low chuckle. “Don’t call me that and I’m everybody's type.”
“Not mine. I don’t like supes.”
You weren’t sure if that was 100% true. You liked Kimiko. What you meant to say was that you didn’t like supes like him. Supes that used his powers without care for the consequences, Supes like Homelander who didn’t give a shit who got hurt as long as the job was done.
And you weren’t a supe, which meant that if you were with a supe there was always the possibility of you dying during sex or dying before you had sex in the first place. Your job also presented the possibility of you dying before you’d had sex, but you weren’t going to let that hold you back.
“But Butcher has-” Ben begins to say.
“Temporary powers. Not all the time.” You correct, unable to stop your eyes from drifting back over to where Butcher has begun to start swinging the axe again. “And look at him. Fuck, he’s over there like Paul Bunyan, rugged, chopping wood-” You sigh continuing to watch the man who probably has no idea you exist.
Ben rolls his eyes. “I could do that.”
You don’t pay Ben any attention, because Butcher is bending over again and you bite the inside of your cheek hard.
Ben sits there for another few beats watching you watch Butcher. The wind chimes that hang above your heads jingle merrily as the breeze picks up once more bringing the smell of the wild flowers and wet earth from the forest surrounding the cabin.
“You know I could help you.” Ben says slowly.
Your eyes flick back to Ben from Butcher in confusion. “Help me?”
What is he talking about? Does he think he can figure out how to fix the grapple gun? The other day he couldn’t figure out how to open the automatic trunk of a car and he just ripped the trunk door right off.
“Get him.” Ben nods his head in Butcher’s direction, but you’re still confused.
“How?”
And why? Why does Soldier Boy want to help me of all people?
“Well, I could help you make him jealous.” Ben leans towards you, his eyes sweeping once over you as he does, lingering too long on your chest and the edge of the jean shorts you were wearing.
“And how would you do that?”
“Well for starters you could come sit on my lap baby, see how you like it.” Ben winks. “Take me for a little ride.”
“Pass.” You roll your eyes.
“Oh I see you want to have a more advanced lesson.” He smiles, scooting his chair towards yours, a dull scrape of wood on wood, so now his knee is touching yours. “He could catch an earful of us tonight. I’d be happy to fuck you. It’d give me something to do.” Ben takes another hit of his joint, the smoke making you scrunch your nose in distaste, while he gives you an appreciative once over. “Fuck knows the only entertainment I’ve had for three fucking days is my hand and it would be good to have a nice tight-“
“No thanks.” You interrupt, face flushing when you imagine what he was about to say.
Ben stiffens in surprise. “What?”
“I’m good.” You shrug. “I’m gonna get him the old fashioned way.”
The same old fashioned way that I’ve been using for the past two years and had absolutely no results.
“And what way is that? Pining after him and hoping that one day he’ll finally notice you?” Ben scoffs. “I can see how well that’s working for you doll-face. How long have you been working with him?”
“Two years-”
“Fuck, two years?” Ben sputters. “You should just tell him that you want him to fuck you.”
“That won’t work.”
Ben’s face scrunches in confusion, the joint clasped in between his thumb and forefinger forgotten. “Why the hell not?”
“Because-” You glance down at your hands, thumb running along the jagged edge of the grappling hook slightly embarrassed. The last thing you wanted to tell Soldier Boy was that you were a virgin. The guy would mock you endlessly. “Because I’m younger than him and he’s-”
He’s experienced.
“So? You think that he hasn’t thought about fucking you?” Ben takes a long sip from the whiskey sitting beside his chair. “He’d be lucky to have a little piece like you.”
You blink in surprise. It was the closest to a compliment that Ben had ever given you. He did tend to compliment your figure whenever you were around, but you usually ignored that because he did that to everyone.
Truthfully, the thought of dating Ben didn’t appeal to you at all, but the thought of using him to make Butcher jealous was not a terrible one. And at this point, you didn’t have anything to lose.
Well… except THAT, but you wanted it to be special, at least that’s what you’d always told yourself.
You sigh, a little frustrated, watching Butcher out of the corner of your eye swing the axe in a glorious arch to the earth. You weren’t sure how to get Butcher’s attention. You’d tried the usual things…
Leaving the room as soon as he walked in to avoid a conversation.
Gone completely mute when he asked you a question.
Pretended you didn’t see him whenever he walked into a room.
Tried to bring him coffee, but then chickened out and drank his and yours and then immediately had to go to the bathroom to avoid shitting your pants while having heart palpitations.
Basically the social anxiety was working wonders on the office romance you wanted so badly.
“Ben?” You say tentatively, hands tightening on the contraption in your lap. At this rate you were never going to fix it and Butcher was going to have to figure out how to fly.
“Yes, gorgeous?” Ben raises an eyebrow. The blunt is between his lips now and he’s looking at you curiously.
“If we did pretend to be…” You swallow nervously.
“Fucking?” He leans forward eagerly, eyes twinkling with interest.
Well… I’ve never understood what it meant when someone wrote “his eyes darkened” until this very moment.
“Dating” You correct holding up a finger.
Does his mind always go to the gutter?
You remember everything you think you know about Ben.
Yes. Yes it does.
Ben leans back with a frown. “I don’t date.”
“Well it wouldn’t be real! You’d just be helping me make him jealous and it would be nice to have a little practice maybe…”
“Practice?” He looks confused. It wasn’t the first time he had in this conversation or within the last five minutes, but like hell you were about to admit without at least one drink to Soldier Boy the extent of your dating life.
“Yeah. I’m not the best at talking to people or-”
“You’re talking just fine right now.”
“You’re different.”
“Why is that?”
“Because you annoy me and I don’t know you’re easier to talk to for some reason!”
“Thanks.” Ben says dryly.
By now all the anxious energy has begun to pop and crackle against your skin at the thought of what the two of you could be doing and at the thought of you two actually pulling this off and you having a shot with Butcher. Not just a shot in hell, a real shot.
“But if you’re serious about helping me get him-“ You continue.
“I was.”
It was odd that he was the one who had suggested this in the first place, and even weirder that he didn’t seem hesitant at all to be doing this.
Maybe he thinks that we’re going to have sex. Your throat tightened at the thought, eyes widening, your nerve endings electrifying with anxiety. Oh holy fuck what if he thinks that if we do this he’ll get to do whatever he wants to me?
You clear your throat, heart beating just a little bit harder in your chest. The entire situation was making you regret the extra cup of coffee you had this morning. “What exactly would I have to do?” You don’t recognize your voice. It comes out a little more wobbly and just a little more tentative than it was.
You didn’t know what Ben was expecting you to do and you didn’t want to say yes, only for him to force you into sleeping with him like he’d suggested earlier, the most you'd thought the two of you would do is just make out a little-
Oh holy fuck then we’d have to kiss and I don’t know if I’m a good kisser and he’s definitely kissed more than one person not to mention he’s-
The thought made you flush to the roots of your hair.
Ben hesitates, eyeing you and you wonder if he can hear the deranged monologue inside your head or if he can hear just how hard your heart was beating. You hoped not.
“You wouldn’t have to do anything, doll. I’m not going to force you to do anything that makes you uncomfortable.” There’s something genuine in his eyes when he answers your question, something that you’d never noticed before.
Your mouth drops open in surprise.
It wasn’t that you believed that Ben was that kind of man, but rather that what he just said to you might have been the most caring thing that he’d ever uttered in front of you. He was the last person that you’d expect to care about someone being uncomfortable or care if someone else was okay with everything that was happening in the bedroom.
Maybe I don’t know him as well as I think I do.
In all honesty you only knew the way Ben acted, you didn’t know anything about his life. The man kept his cards closer to his chest than a well-seasoned card player and his poker face, forget it. You couldn’t crack that combination even if you wanted to.
Everything else you'd heard about him was through the grapevine of gossip at work. None of it was first hand.
Ben sighs and shakes his head at you as if he’s a little annoyed with himself for saying that out loud. “But I still think it would be easier if you just told him that you wanted him to fuck you. Would’ve worked on me.”
“I’m not good at that sort of thing.”
And it was true. You could take down a target, diffuse a bomb in less than ten seconds with a thin mint and a bobby pin, but saying something out loud like that to something else made you feel nauseous.
Ben hesitates again and in his hesitation the anxiety and embarrassment starts to come soaring back into your chest.
You were asking Soldier Boy, Soldier Boy, to pretend to date you so Billy Butcher would fall in love with you.
Well kids, this must be what rock bottom feels like. I might as well just pray that the locusts come back to take me away.
“Fine.” Ben states.
“Really?” Your eyes widen.
He shrugs, but doesn’t answer.
“We’d have to have rules.” You blurt, and Ben makes a face.
“Rules? Never been too good with those, Sweetheart.”
“And I’d need you to promise that you wouldn’t-”
You lose your train of thought in the wind chimes that rattle over your head and the sound of Butcher’s laugh.
“Wouldn’t?” He arches an eyebrow.
“Lose control.”
Honestly, sometimes you were a little afraid of Ben. You’d never say that out loud or admit it, but he was stronger than Homelander.
You knew Ben's reputation around the office- heard the hushed whispers of the women in the break room who said he was the best fuck of their lives, heard the horror stories of what he did to his old team, and had seen first hand what his temper was like. You also knew about his powers and worried that Ben might have a little bit of a control problem or at the very least anger management issues.
“I’m not going to fucking hurt you if that’s what you think.” Ben growls, his eyes narrowing at your insinuation. “I’m not some fucking monster, doll.”
“I don’t think you’re a monster Ben.” You sigh. “I just- I don’t have powers and you’re kinda strong and I-.” You take a deep breath to steady your voice. “I don’t think that you’d hurt me on purpose. But-”
Ben’s hand comes out to touch your chin, tilting your gaze up to him and stopping the bicycle of babbling you were about to ride around the block. Your eyes widen slightly with the contact, you weren’t used to people touching you, certainly not like this.
Keep it together…
“I wouldn’t hurt you by accident either.” Ben’s green eyes are focused on yours, and you can see just a sliver of emotion behind them that you can’t identify. “But if we’re going to do this you gotta promise me one thing.”
“What?” Your voice comes out like a squeak.
“You’ve got to promise not to fall in love with me.” He sends you a saucy wink that makes you want to punch the strongest man on earth, instead you settle for pushing him back from you.
But you’re not prepared for the wave of disappointment you feel when he lets go of your chin.
“I’m not in any danger of that Benny. You’re not half as smooth as you think you are.” You start to lean back in your chair, but Ben reaches out to grab your wrist, his touch surprisingly gentle, the contact burning through your body, as he pulls you forward, so close you can smell his cologne. Somehow it's something that smells classic and modern at the same time, a hint of spice that tickles your nose and makes your throat tight.
His voice lowers into a purr that vibrates through his chest, his next words expelled on a warm breath that weaves through the air between the two of you.
“Sweetheart, you’re about to find out just how smooth I am.”
What have I gotten myself into?
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A/N: Again, not what I was expecting, but I really love this one y'all and I probably laughed way too hard at bits when I was writing it.
Thank you so much for reading! Likes, Reblogs, and Comments are not required, but are always appreciated! I love hearing what y'all think! 😊 If you'd liked to be added to my taglist please let me know!
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Second chapter!! Happy Valentine's day <3
Bruce finds you at work and doesn't leave you alone.
< first chapter
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The next day at work, it all feels like a fever dream. Did you really meet Bruce Wayne? And talk to him all night? You feel a bit nauseous just thinking about it, but you just remind yourself that you'll never see him again. Even if you did get along really well...
Whatever, you'll just daydream about kissing him in the moonlight, that's just as fun as the real thing, right? Not that you could compare it to the real thing, you'd have to kiss someone at some point to know what it's like.
Maybe you should have kissed Bruce yesterday, he certainly seemed like he would have been ok with that, but that was probably just wishful thinking anyways. Oh well, too late now.
The bell that lets you know somebody entered the store rings and rips you out of your thoughts. Fuck. You hate when there's costumers, which is why you chose to work at the shittiest bookstore in Gotham. And are hiding in the back.
You're supposed to say something like "I'll be right with you!", but you're not going to do that. You hate talking loudly. Especially to strangers, especially when you can't even see them. But you never even say anything when you're out in the front and making direct eye contact with them, so whatever. You just hope they won't ask you for help with finding anything, just having to ring them up is bad enough...
Why do you have to get costumers at all? Fuck, you should really look for a job with less contact to people, but this is the best you've been able to find so far.
You reluctantly leave the safety of the back room, only to find a guy in an oversized hoodie and sunglasses absolutely beaming at you. Why is he looking at you like that? Should you know him?
Only when he takes the sunglasses off do you realize that it's Bruce. No way, how did he find you? You feel your palms getting sweaty.
"Finally! I found you! Do you know how hard it was to find this book store with the minimal description you gave me?"
Not hard enough, apparently, considering that he was able to find you this soon. It hasn't even been a full day!
He's still smiling at you. "I've been to multiple book stores this morning! I'm so glad you told me you'd be working today, or I would have had to ask everyone if you're one of their coworkers!"
"Yeah, well, if I had wanted you to show up here, I would have given you more details, probably." You deadpan, hoping your voice isn't shaking.
He's not deterred, he just keeps talking as if you hadn't said anything: "Wanna get lunch with me? When's your break? We could go to that café around the corner that I saw on my way here!"
Is he not getting that you don't want him here? Well, you do want him here, but you don't. You want him to think you don't want him here so he'll leave before you can embarrass yourself.
"I can't leave for my break, I have to stay here. I'm the only one working right now, I can't just- just lock up and get something to eat." Your boss actually allowed you to do just that, but when you came back from doing it the first time, an angry costumer was waiting for you and yelled at you for 10 minutes about how it's rude to just close the store in the middle of the day. You don't want a repeat of that, so you started eating your lunch at work whenever there were no costumers. Which is almost always, luckily.
"I could go get you something and we can eat here! It doesn't seem like you get a lot of costumers so we won't even be disturbing anyone!" Why is he so persistent? Can't he go talk to some supermodel or something?
"I'm not hungry." You kind of are, actually.
"That's fine, we can just talk! I just wanted to spend some time with you. You know, I haven't clicked with anyone like this in a long time, I couldn't just let you go."
Wait, is he serious? Well, why else would he go through the effort of looking for you... But still, you can't quite believe it. Are you being pranked?
"You should go. What if costumers start showing up? I'm sure you don't want some weird fan to recognize you."
Bruce ignores what you say and stays. He talks to you for about half an hour, well, mostly he talks at you, until he has to leave because his lunch break is over. You just stand there, perplexed. Does he really want to hang out with you?
He returns the next day. And the next. And the next. Every day, always during his lunch break. It takes a few times until you stop trying to ignore him, a few more times until you start actually talking to him, and a few more times until you agree to eat lunch with him. Not go anywhere else, just eat your own lunch at the bookstore.
You can't stop yourself from trying to push him away a little bit, though.
You put down your fork. "You know, it's rude of you to keep visiting me at work, where I can't just leave. This is basically harassment."
"If you want me to go, I'll go. Just say so, and I'll never show up here again, I promise."
You don't want him to leave. Well, you do, because you don't want to get even more attached, but you don't, because, well, you're getting attached. You can't bring yourself to make him leave.
You huff and roll your eyes. "Whatever." You pick your fork back up and continue eating.
He tries to suppress a smile. Gross. He's so cute.
Whenever he catches you playing a silly game on your phone (which is basically every time he enters the store, as you love slacking off), he insists on befriending you on it if possible, so when you're not hanging out he'll send you a booster on your candy-crush-esque game, or play against you on a quiz app.
Sometimes he uses the chat option there to tell you to go to sleep when it's late and he catches you playing, even though he's obviously awake as well! Hypocrite. It makes you smile every time.
One day while you're eating lunch together, a few months after he first showed up, he puts down his fork and says: "I think I need to make this more clear. I am interested in you romantically. I want to date you."
You almost spit out your lunch, but manage to swallow it without choking. "H- Wh- Huh? What?"
"We can just be friends, I'd love to be friends, we already are friends, in my opinion, but I would also love to date you. So if one day you decide that you want to date me, please let me know."
You already want to, but you will absolutely not be informing him of that, thanks. Asking for what you want? What are you, a well adjusted person? You blink owlishly at him instead of saying anything. That should suffice as a response, right? No, you should probably say something.
"...Look, even if I was interested in dating you—", which, again, you literally are, but why would you tell him that;
"—you're famous, and at some point it would come out that I was dating you, and the paparazzi would publish one single picture of me and I'd immediately panic so hard I would pass out and die. This—" You point your fork between the two of you. "—is already risky enough. Whatever this is, anyway."
Bruce, as always, chooses not to address the parts of what you were saying that were clearly your anxiety speaking and simply grins.
"So you do want to date me? It sounds to me like you're just looking for excuses. Don't worry, if I don't want anyone to know about you, noone will! People don't tend to recognize me when I'm not wearing a suit, especially in environments where they're not expecting me, so anywhere outside of my workplace and fancy parties. It's worked so far, hasn't it? Not a single person has recognized me here! Dating won't change that. So, if you do want to go on a date with me, just say the word. Please."
What word? Wait, he means that metaphorically, right? No, but seriously, what would you say, how would you say that without sounding totally weird?
"That's not what I was saying. At all. Stop misinterpreting me." You roll your eyes at him. He changes the topic, but he keeps smiling until he has to leave.
Lying awake that night, you think about what he said. Does he actually like you? Or is he just pretending, because he likes a challenge? Knew you'd be difficult to get close to, and he gets a kick from being someone's first relationship, kiss, everything, and then leaving them? You feel nauseous and you suddenly feel cold. How are you supposed to figure this out? You try to tell yourself that it's only your anxiety speaking, that Bruce is actually a nice person and wouldn't do that, but you can't quite convince yourself.
The next day, your way home after work (and after pretending your conversation with Bruce yesterday didn't happen, which luckily he played along with), you see something on the ground that reflects the light in a way that catches your eye.
What is that? It's kind of hidden behind a trash can.
You take a step closer, hoping it's not some kind of trap, but you can't think of a villain who would hide shiny things on the floor to kill civilians. At least not in that color, the Joker would make it colorful, and this object appears to be... black?
Oh, it's a Batarang! You've never seen one up close, but they can't be super rare with how often people online post about having found one, there's even one guy who collects them and has an entire wall plastered with them. Allegedly. People online are saying that most of them are probably replicas, but you can't tell, as you've never seen a real one. Until now.
That makes you think, just how many Batarangs does Batman have? More than enough if he let's random people keep them. You think about picking it up and taking it with you. It would be really cool to have a Batarang...
You reach out towards it, but stop right before you touch it. Is it stuck in the floor? Fuck, just how sharp are those things...?
Maybe you should leave it here, you'd just cut your hand open on it, trying to get it unstuck.
Plus, maybe Batman will find this one if you leave it here, and then re-use it! Reduce, re-use, recycle, Batman!
You leave it where you found it, after taking a few pictures of it as proof.
The next day, Bruce asks you if you did anything interesting yesterday, like he does every time he sees you. Usually you'd say no, but you did find that Batarang... Would Bruce care about that?
While you're contemplating, Bruce says: "You'd have said no by now if nothing had happened! Come on, please tell me?"
Fine! Whatever! You'll tell him, even if he'll probably think it's boring.
"Ok, so, on my way home yesterday... I found a Batarang. And, um, it got me thinking, well, first of all, how many of those does that guy have? If he's just leaving them lying around like that, right? Oh, and, it was so sharp, it was stuck in the floor, though I guess maybe that just means Batman is really strong? Either way, I thought he doesn't kill, right, but considering what he's working with it's a miracle no criminal has ended up dead yet, right?" You stop rambling, realizing that Bruce hasn't said anything yet. At least he appears to be amused.
"You have a lot of thoughts about Batman, huh?" He grins. "Yeah, he must have tons of those things, I've seen the posts. Did you take it with you?" He didn't respond to your killing thoughts... Oh well, you did give him a lot of information all at once.
"No, I didn't... But I thought about it! I mean, it seems like that's what everyone else is doing, but with it being stuck in the floor like that I was worried I would cut my hand open trying to get it unstuck! And with my luck there would have been germs or poison on it and my wound would have gotten infected, like, immediately, and I would have died. So I left it there for Batman to hopefully find again. I mean, he should probably be reusing the ones he already has, right? Reduce, reuse, recycle, I'm just helping Batman be more climate friendly!" There you go, rambling again.
Bruce seems almost too amused at all of this.
"Well, do you want it? I can come with you when your shift is over and help you get it unstuck, if you want. If nobody else has already taken it. I'm sure Batman won't mind. And if it ever comes out that he's not trying his best to be climate friendly, I'll personally go kick his ass, I promise."
"Uh. Um. You don't have to do that!"
"...Kick his ass or go get the batarang for you?"
"I meant getting the batarang, but also please don't fight Batman. He'd wipe the floor with you. No offense."
"Well, first of all, I think I'm just as strong as Batman-" You roll your eyes at him. Dork.
"And second of all, I don't have to get it for you, but I want to. Please let me?"
Ok. Fuck. Whatever. This is the first time you'll be seeing him outside of work, excluding your first meeting.
"Uh. Ok? I, um, my shift ends at 8."
"I'll pick you up in front of the store, then. It's a date!"
"Uh! No, well, yes, but, it- um-"
"I'm just teasing you." He winks at you. Winks! Is he trying to kill you? You turn your face towards your food so you don't have to look at him. Asshole. Stop being so hot.
Later, at 8, he's already waiting for you in front of the store while you're locking up.
"Ready to go?" He smiles.
"Uh, yeah! Sure!"
You start leading the way to where you found the batarang, talking about whatever comes to mind on the way.
Finally, about halfway on your way home, you reach the place where the batarang should be. You hope it's still there, but somebody else could have taken it. You push the trashcan it was behind to the side, and...
There it is!
"Look, it's still here!" You turn around to Bruce, smiling. He smiles back. You fight the urge to giggle or hide your face behind your hands, he needs to stop being so cute.
"Didn't you say it's stuck in the ground? Why wouldn't it be here anymore?"
"Uh, you said you'd help me get it out? Somebody else could have done the same thing!"
"Right. But they don't have my getting batarangs unstuck from the ground skills."
You roll your eyes. How often could Bruce have come in contact with a batarang? His only advantage compared to you is that he's stronger and not afraid of cutting his hand open. At least that's what you think.
You watch as he grabs the batarang and gets it unstuck in seconds. Seriously? It was that easy?
"Woah. I think I would have been able to do that myself, that looked super easy. Sorry to have made you come all this way..." Apparently it wasn't stuck in there as much as you thought? Even if a considerable part of it disappeared beneath the ground. Hm. Weird. Maybe there was a batarang shaped hole there before it landed there? Or Bruce is just a lot stronger than he looks.
"No, I'm glad I came along! I wouldn't have wanted you to cut yourself accidentally." He wraps the batarang in a piece of fabric. Some kind of rich people tissue, maybe.
"Let me carry it home for you?" He looks at you in a way that makes you melt a little bit. Ok, fine.
"Oh, uh, sure!" You did enjoy walking around with him. And not just because walking with someone in Gotham is safer than doing it alone.
"Also we could maybe order dinner? And eat together at your place?" And let him into your apartment that's not cleaned up? That looks shitty even when it is cleaned up?
"Don't push it."
"Or we could go somewhere? I'll pay, of course."
And absolutely embarrass yourself and make him never want to see you again and talk about you to journalists that you're a horrible person, which gets published in every newspaper ever so you have to move and change your name? Ok, maybe that was a bit dramatic.
Bruce can clearly see the anxiety on your face.
"It doesn't have to be a date, if you don't want that."
Be brave! Be brave! You can do this!
"Uh." You almost choke on your words. "And... if I do... want that...?"
You might actually pass out, this is horrible. If he doesn't respond in less than a second, your flight response is going to win and you'll run away. And quit your job, so he can't find you again.
"That would be wonderful! We can take it slow, ok? Absolutely no pressure to do anything you don't want to do whatsoever, I promise."
You nod, not feeling brave enough to say anything. Maybe those were your last words ever.
"So... Dinner at your place? As a date?"
You nod again. Shit, fuck. Are you actually going to date Bruce Wayne? What were you thinking? Wait, does going on one date even mean you're 'dating' him? What's the definition here?
You start walking again, leading Bruce to where you live. If he hates your apartment and leaves and you never see him again that's fine and you'll be able to handle it, right? But that won't happen, so calm down. But if it did happen, you'll be fine and ok and fine. It's fine! Oh fuck, what if you misunderstood him? Did he even mean dinner tonight? Are you embarrassing yourself by assuming he'll come with you right now?
Bruce walks right beside you and starts talking again.
"I'll order. What do you want?" While saying this, he puts an arm around your shoulder. You tense. Woah.
"You said you'd take it slow!" Look at that, you can talk again.
"Too much?" Yes. But also no. But yes. But no.
"I don't know! Maybe?" He takes his arm away and you can breathe again, but somehow at the same time you miss his warmth.
"Don't worry, I'll take it so slow. The slowest. You won't regret dating me, I promise. This'll be so much fun, you'll see." He smiles.
You don't know about that, but you do know that at the very least it'll be interesting. You hope he won't notice you looking up what the definition of dating is on your phone while he's ordering food later.
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Behind Closed Doors
sweet!matt x reader blurb??
summary: you get into a fight with matt about the fact that he's kept your relationship under wraps for a year
c/w: angst, fluff, cuddling, swearing, kissing, yelling and fighting
dividers by @anitalenia here
You stir a pot of pasta mindlessly in your kitchen, awaiting Matt’s return. Looking up at the oven clock, it reads 12:32 AM. He was late coming home. Again. Scrolling through instagram, you pause at a video captioned “Matt Sturniolo is my man 😍😍. new fanfic on tumblr!!!”
You knew it was just some random fan, but every bone in your body wanted to comment. You wish you could tell the world that he was yours, and only yours. That he was the thing you most cherished and loved in your world. But you knew that it couldn’t happen. Despite the several long arguments you had with Matt, he didn’t want to make it public.
You sigh, shutting off your phone just as you hear the sound of keys at the door. The door cracks open and in walks Matt. You walk over to him, a big smile on your face, taking his jacket and bag away. He looks tired, but the hearty pasta and a kiss will probably rejuvenate him.
“Hey baby! I made pasta for you for dinner, come on, sit down.” He gives you a tight lipped smile, walks over to the kitchen table sitting down with a sigh. You eye him nervously as you set the plates.
“You good Matt? You came home pretty late…” His eyes snap up, immediately becoming defensive. “Relax okay? I was just out, it was a really long day today.” You’re taken a little aback by his reaction, but you ignore it, pushing the feeling down.
“Well good thing you’re home now,” you say, sitting down next to him to eat. He nods quietly. “I just saw the most ridiculous post on insta, someone promoting some fanfic of you. Sometimes I wish I could just comment “He’s mine!” y’know?”
“Well you can’t.” He replies sharply. “I don’t want to have this conversation again. I’m exhausted and my answer isn't going to change. We’re not dating publicly, you’re not filming content with us.” He gets up to leave, pasta only half done. “I’m going to sleep.” You listen to him walk away, his footsteps receding up the stairs. You feel tears pooling up in your eyes and dripping into your bowl, onto the pasta you made for him.
1 year. You had been together for exactly 1 year. Today was your anniversary, and he had forgotten about it. Like a rubber band, all your self control snapped, you stood up, taking both of your bowls and slamming them onto the kitchen counter. You nearly run up the stairs into Matt’s room swinging the door open. He’s in his bed, wide awake, scrolling on his phone. He looks up at you startled but mostly annoyed.
“Wha–” You interrupt him. “NO. NO, MATT. This is not okay. You can’t keep hiding me from the public, keeping me at home like I’m just your bitch that cooks and loves when you want me to.” He gets up, temper flaring.
“What the FUCK are you talking about? This isn’t about that. I’m not hiding you, I’m protecting you. I’m protecting us from the world.”
“FUCK THAT, CHRIS. You haven’t taken me out in weeks out of fear of being recognized. You’ve been coming home late every night, taking me for fucking granted. You know today was our 1 year anniversary, right?” You see a glimmer of regret in his eyes.
“One entire fucking year and you still don’t care about me enough to introduce me to your online life. Have you ever thought of MY YouTube career? My channel could be BLOWING UP if you even just let me show up in one of your videos, even just a TikTok. This isn’t about protecting “us”, you’re being selfish” Tears streamed down your face as you struggled to get the words out, each one heavier than the last.
“I’ve been busting my ass for this. For us. And you’ve been too busy hiding me away, like I’m some dirty little secret. You know what? I can’t keep doing this. I can’t keep sacrificing everything for a relationship that you aren’t even willing to put your full heart into. I deserve someone who sees me, who wants to share their life with me. If you can’t do that, then maybe it’s time I start thinking about me for once. Maybe it’s time I leave.”
He just sits there, frozen, eyes glazed over. You can’t tell at all what he’s thinking. You back out of his room, wiping the tears off your face. “Think about it, Matt,” you whisper, before you close the door and walk over to your room to collapse on the bed.
Hours pass by of you sleeping, waking up, crying, then going back to sleep. Your pillow is tear stained and your face is salty. Finally, you hear a knock on the door.
“Can I come in?” You don’t respond just laying there motionless. Matt cracks the door open, walking into your room slowly, and closing the door behind him. He looks like he’s been crying too, eyes and cheeks red. He sits on the bed next to you, reaching his hand out to smooth your hair. He stays there for a couple minutes, just playing with your hair, biting the inside of his cheek.
“Baby, I thought about what you said,” he says in a quiet voice. You raise your eyes to meet him, a glimmer of hope in your eyes.
“You… you are the most important person in my life, sweetheart.” He pauses, taking a deep breath. “And I can’t believe I let my own selfishness about the complexity of dating publicly hurt us. I can’t lose you. I love you so much. I-” he chokes up. “–can’t lose you” Tears pool in your eyes as you lunge forwards to wrap your arms around Matt. “I’ll make the post tomorrow morning. I’m so sorry. Please forgive me, I’ll do anything. Please”
You bury your face against his chest, listening to his heart beating quickly. You let out a deep sigh, melting into his arms. “I forgive you, Matt. I just- I can’t live without you.”
He pulls you closer, his arms tight around you as if he's afraid to let go. His lips press softly into your hair, and you breathe in his scent, letting it calm your racing heart. “I love you more than you’ll ever know,” he whispers, his voice hoarse.
You pull back just enough to look him in the eyes, wiping away a few lingering tears. "I love you too," you reply, your voice barely above a whisper. The tension of the past few hours seems to melt away.
Matt smiles softly, brushing his thumb gently against your cheek. “How about we make the rest of this year the best one yet? I’ll be the guy who shows you off to the world. I’ll let you be a part of all of it—because you deserve that and more.”
Your heart swells, a mix of relief and joy flooding you. "Promise?"
“I promise," he says, his words sincere. “I’ve got you, always.”
a/n: all done!!! This is my first angst fic and I like it i thinkk. I probably wont make it a series and i dont have much to say so thanks for reading!
suggestions and criticism greatly appreciated, requests VERY OPEN <33 love youu
#nick sturniolo#sturniolo triplets#christopher sturniolo#nicolas sturniolo#chris sturniolo edit#matt sturniolo fanfic#sturniolo#chris sturniolo#matt sturniolo#the sturniolo triplets#sturniolo angst#matt sturniolo fluff#sturniolo fluff
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Chapter 2 Lavender green, lavender blue
Chapter 2 of Sinnerwoman
A/N- Ahhh!! The second chapter is here and I really hope you all like it just as much as I liked writing it!!
Warning- ANGST!! Weapons, blood, light violence. Talks of death! And small SA part. Spoilers for the show!
Pairing- Hwang Jun-ho x fem!reader
Episode- 1x09 & 2x01-2x02
(Let me know if you want to be tagged)
——
A decision has been made. It was made the moment the Front Man revealed his identity, but what is the warmth and the sound of your lover's beating heart compared to a lifetime of bitter solitude and agonizing screams?
Nothing…nothing compares to what you have to return to, but you can’t stay or risk waiting. Jun-ho might be in a coma, he might wake up a month from now, and you would have waited a month or all your life if you had to, but you can’t risk it.
You have to leave, he has to forget about you for his own safety. And maybe it is a selfish decision, you got mad at him because he chose to leave you in the dark when he decided to put his life at risk to sneak onto that Island, but this is different. This is a sacrifice you're making to save his life. Does it make leaving him behind any better?
No, you don’t want him to forget about you. You don’t want him to meet someone else, and you don’t want him to live the life you wanted with him with someone else. You want him to only love you, but there’s no other choice. He won’t stop pursuing the Island and that will get him killed, and you don't think you’ll be able to survive this time if you have to watch someone else that you love die in your arms again, so you have to leave.
First, though, you have to snuggle up against him and share his warmth for a little longer. You have to hear the sound of his beating heart for a little longer to memorize its calming beat.
Just a little longer.
“Lavender’s green, dilly, dilly…lavender's blue,” you sing, or try because every word of the lullaby comes out shaky and like you’re out of breath because you can’t help the tears that run down your cheeks and stain Jun-ho’s hospital gown.
“If you love me…dilly, dilly. I will love you,” you continue and maybe you aren’t the best singer, but memories fade or get obscured, especially those of children, and that lullaby is one of the few memories you have of your sister when she would sing it to you at the orphanage. It means so much to you, to her memory and now when you think of that song, besides your sister, you’ll think of the only man you’ll love. The man who loved you; your Jun-ho, so you have to share it with him. Even if he can’t hear it.
Yet those last words uttered were like a pierce to the heart and with each impact, more and more of you was chipped away, leaving no more strength to continue the rest. Thus you stroke Jun-ho’s chest one more time before you shift your head to press a light kiss on the part of his chest that you were resting your head on. You then slide off the bed and sit up to study every inch of his face before you lean down and leave one last kiss on his lips.
Rather than getting up right away, you let the warmth of your lips linger on his to cherish the taste before you force yourself off the hospital bed.
When you’re standing at the foot of the same bed you steal one last glance at him, wishing you could have seen his eyes and talked to him one more time, but you keep telling yourself that what you’re doing is for the best, so you push yourself away with tears crawling down the curve of your cheeks.
Before you can leave the room and the hospital, however, you make a stop at the bathroom. You splash your face with water to wipe the tears off your cheeks and any marking they could have left behind. If you had any other clothes besides the ones you wore to the Island, you would have put them on now, but you have nothing. All you can do is disconnect your phone from any satellite that gives you service, and then the wifi to go offline, making the hospital the last place your phone would have been.
Once that is taken care of, you move to leave, but you catch a glimpse of your reflection in the mirror, so you stop and slowly scale your eyes to the scar of a skidding bullet above your ear, and every bad memory you have of the island comes rushing in, making you hesitate and dread having to return to that horrible and terrible life.
You almost have the nerve to return to Jun-ho’s bedside and pretend you weren’t going to leave. You don’t want to see it again. You don’t want to live it. You can’t hide behind a mask again, but…it’s a sacrifice you have to make for the man you love, so after a deep breath you make it out of the bathroom. You throw your phone away in the nearest trash can and stride out of the hospital.
No one stops you, and no one looks. You walk out alone under the cover of rain and leave everything behind.
——
*3 YEARS LATER.*
“…IT'S ALMOST BEEN THREE YEARS SINCE THE DISAPPEARANCE…”
Whatever had been said before didn’t matter. It didn’t even register as noise, but these words finally steal his attention. After all, it's been the same words they once repeated daily and then weekly, monthly, and then every year, so like his name, Jun-ho becomes alert when he hears them,
“…OF THE RESPECTED AND DECORATED DETECTIVE KANG…”
Yet when the news anchor begins to say your name he tunes out the news again. He can’t muster the strength to hear your name or see the portrait of you that they display on the screen without feeling agony pierce his heart. So with memorized timing, he tunes out those few seconds and then focuses again to hear the rest of the news bit.
“…SHE WAS LAST SEEN LEAVING THE HOSPITAL. IF YOU HAVE INFORMATION ON HER WHEREABOUTS PLEASE CONTACT YOUR LOCAL AUTHORITIES. THANK YOU.”
Yet no one ever does contact the authorities. It’s like you just vanished in the rainfall that supposedly hit that night.
Maybe if you hadn’t been seen at the same hospital he was taken to it would be easier to pass you off as dead, but you were seen. You made it out of the Island, just like he did, so how could he possibly forget you? You of all people. You out of every soul he knew. You…his epic love.
Just like his brother was his life. You were also all of his life and so much more of it. He would have to be dead to forget you.
Maybe death would be good though. That way he would forget what he saw his brother become. That way he could stop blaming himself for your disappearance, but when he looks up at the picture of you and him that he has attached to his locker mirror, he thinks to himself, “How can I possibly die without knowing where you are, or…what happened to you?”
He can’t die yet. He has so many questions, and so much unfinished business that also has nothing to do with you, but, you…
“You,” he thinks to himself as he pulls the picture off the mirror, catching at that moment the wandering eyes of his colleague before he quickly looks away and walks off without saying a word.
At first, the first few weeks of your disappearance, when he returned to work, all he would get was pitiful consolations. After that, anytime you were brought up they just passed him pitiful stares that were also mixed with curiosity as they wondered if he still cared.
He would tell them to fuck off, but he doesn’t want to waste his breath so he lets them think what they want. He’s still searching for answers and he’s the only one that needs to know that.
“I won’t stop looking,” he thinks to himself as he folds the picture so you and your timid smile are the center of attention.
After he strokes his thumb over the image of you he sticks the picture back on his mirror and tries to continue changing back into his normal clothes, but then the scar his brother left on his shoulder steals his attention.
Just like you, how can he possibly forget about In-ho? Sometimes he forgets what he saw, but when he sees his scar, when he feels the shape under his fingertips, he remembers what happened that day In-ho shot him and he’s hit with a wave of different emotions and questions.
One question he has is if In-ho has anything to do with your disappearance. You escaped the Island, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t find you after you escaped.
Maybe In-ho…took you away from Jun-ho’s life?
He doesn’t like that possibility, he can’t imagine that his brother is the one who stole the woman he loved from him, so he finishes changing. Once he’s done, like every day that came before, he leaves the department and heads to his car.
Yet this evening as he’s walking to his car he feels this sensation like someone is staring, so he stops walking, and lifts his gaze to look in the direction he felt the stare coming from.
However, when his eyes find the spot, there’s no one there. There’s just an empty street. So after a couple of seconds of lingering, he continues to his car. It’s only once he’s driven off that you come out from behind a pillar, and keep your eyes where you had seen him last before you take a deep breath and collect yourself to check your phone.
When you see what time it is you groan in annoyance and set off. There’s no hurry in your pace, or an urgency to get a ride to where you’re meant to be. You go on as if you’re taking a stroll through the city, enjoying the sights like a tourist, and enjoying the sounds of everyday life because that’s the one thing you like; the commotion of the busy city life.
Where you live now is like living in a construction site, or sometimes it feels like an office. In the off-season when there’s not an army of workers, there is a stillness that you appreciate, but with it comes a silence that drags on and if you weren’t used to it you would be driven insane.
That’s why you soak in the everyday commotion while you can. Even if it makes you late to your meeting.
“Hi, I’m here to join a party already at a table. Under the name, Oh,” you let the hostess know, and right away her eyes search the list on her screen. In a matter of seconds, her finger stops scrolling and she faces you with a perfectly practiced smile.
“Follow me,” she says and walks away from her podium to guide you to a secluded table at the end of the room, still nicely lit, but secluded to offer privacy.
Thus the walk is longer than usual, but when you reach the table the party waiting for you stands from their seats to welcome you to the table at long last.
“Here you go, ma’am, do you know what you want to order or should I leave the menu?”
“No,” one of the party members interjects. “We already ordered ahead for her. Let the waitress know she’s here.”
The hostess offers him a smile and nods in comprehension before she backs up and walks off, leaving you alone to face your rather patient dates.
“Forgive me,” you announce with a small smile. “I’m late. I know. There was some business I needed to take care of.”
You proceed to take your seat that faces the party you met up with, and they then take their seats after you, letting you meet them at their eye level and offer them a wider smile. “Shall we?” You suggest.
——
*2 YEARS AGO*
“…I don’t like to see you get hurt and if something had happened to you, or if something happens to you because of me, I…don’t think I could ever in my life forgive myself. I…love you.”
“I…love you.”
“I…love you.”
Jun-ho’s words are the commotion that keeps the quiet lobby from truly being deafening so late at night. While the picture in your hand keeps you company in a lobby where you’re the only one occupying it.
That is until you hear the glass front doors get pushed open and a single pair of wet footsteps walk in and change the occupation from one to two. Or so that’s what it sounds like.
You peer back thinking you’ll catch more people walking in with the person you’re waiting for, but alas, it’s a single man. A homeless man…maybe? He looks ragged with his beat-up clothes, his shoulder-length unkempt hair, and his dirty face.
But who are you to judge his appearance?
“The elevators are down the hall,” you share as you turn your head away from the man who seems lost. “If not. The receptionist start their shift at six. You’ll have to be gone by then.”
The man begins to walk down the hall while he offers you a response. “Oh…thank you. Goodnight.”
“Good night,” you deadpan and keep listening in. It’s not until you hear the elevator doors close that you bring up your picture again and keep admiring Jun-ho’s image, his heartwarming smile that he only showed to the camera because you were posing with him. Otherwise, you would only catch him in a picture alone if it was off guard. It’s why you have a lot of pictures of him off guard, and that’s why the ones with him actually looking at the camera and smiling are your favorite, but the one you hold in your hand is a picture you cherish the most because decorations from your favorite holiday adorn it, and he’s holding your little black Scottish Terrier, Gentleman.
If only you could be with them, especially now, but if you picked up your dog the moment you left the hospital that night, it would have made your disappearance questionable, so you left him behind with your neighbor the day you left for the Island. And Jun-ho…there’s hundreds of reasons why you can’t be with him…
That’s why you’re here alone, watching the snow start to fall and stick to the ground with a solemn look that will probably never leave. Once the snow is thicker you put the folded picture away and step outside where you break the snow’s path so some part of it can fall on you instead.
It takes a while for you to look up as you stand in your solitude and let the snow weigh you down first as if you’re just another object on the street. When you do finally break from your stupor, you slowly look up at the white sky intermingled with the night, and notice two perfectly shaped snowflakes dancing down from the sky in an attempt to reach the ground, so you put your hand out and try to catch them on your palm.
Nevertheless, one snowflake breaks away from its path and continues barreling to the ground, while the other lands on your palm all alone and melts right away.
Perhaps if the other snowflake had also landed on your palm, the lonely snowflake would have lived longer, but it was no good alone. Thus you fist your hand with disappointment and attempt to head back inside, but in that moment you then catch a man across the street.
He doesn’t seem conscious, he seems to be sleeping with the way he’s slumped on the ground, but you can’t be sure from where you are, so you make your way to him.
The moment you reach him you call out to him in hopes of gaining his attention. “Sir? Are you okay?”
You wait for a few seconds but there’s no response. His eyes remain closed and his breathing heavy, so you get closer and catch a whiff of alcohol, but you don't let that matter. You still shake him gently, causing him to slip.
When he doesn’t wake up that way you back away and immediately pull your phone out to call the police. And rather than staying there and waiting for the police out in the open, under all the street lights, you choose to walk off to a bench across the street and wait there where you won’t be seen.
You continue to wait and wait until finally a siren sounds and police show up to take the man out of the cold. And even then you don’t leave the cold yourself, you stay on the bench, letting the snow continue to pile up on your slouched figure as you wait and lose yourself on the untouched sheet of snow already covering the ground.
After some unknown time passes the headlights of a car break you from your stupor and you look up, noticing black SUVs with dark tinted windows pull up to the apartment building you had been waiting in. Thus ending your waiting period and making you dust the snow off your body before you get up to look like some creep waiting just outside the car.
Thankfully who you’re waiting for doesn’t leave you waiting too long, but the moment your eyes land on him your breath catches in your throat. And when his eyes fall on you, he comes to a stop and has the nobility to look at you in the eyes.
There’s no softness and no agitation. He doesn’t pass you a firm or deadpanned look. He seems curious about you, just as you are about him; Hwang In-ho, the older brother of the love of your life, and the Front Man.
Even so, neither of you exchange any words on any matter, he just says your name so you counter by stating his own name. “Hwang In-ho. It’s nice to meet you in a calmer environment.” You scoff and he just looks at you before he turns his body to face the car.
“Are you coming?” He asks and walks away without waiting for an answer as if he knows what you’re going to choose. Yet you still linger where you are to hesitate as if you have a choice when your mind's made up and has been forcing you to follow through with that decision for a year now.
It’s just…if you get that in that car, you officially go back to that nightmare. You leave your life behind. You leave Jun-ho, and trade it for…a life that turned its back on you?
“Your father is dead,” In-ho shares from inside the car as if he can read your mangled thoughts only getting more and more twisted—“you have a chance to start over. Not where you started, but by my side. Just as we discussed. Get in the car.”
You put your hands in your pockets to grab the picture and debate for a second longer before you choose not to live a lifetime secluded. If you’re going to be alone you might as well be alone there where you can be a piece upon the board. So you get in the car and watch your decision get sealed when the door closes.
“Is the host dead?” You ask first and foremost, skipping formalities because you already know each other's names.
“The flower arrangement was inappropriate,” he says in a deeper tone that could be passed as scolding.
“Well,” you respond with a growing malicious smile. “Look at it this way, now my flowers will be the first to decorate his grave.” You snicker and look over at him with a smile, but he looks at you nonchalantly.
“You can’t see Jun-ho anymore,” he changes the subject bluntly, causing your smile to fall and your amusement to fade right away.
“I know that,” you mutter as you turn your head away to look out the window. “That’s why I disappeared because I saw you. I knew who you were and what you meant to the games, and I…knew,” you pause and swallow back a lump of emotions that had begun to form in your throat. “I knew I wouldn’t be able to lie to his face.”
You see your eyes water through the reflection painted on the window, so you avert your gaze and continue. “He really cares about you…you know. He looks—looked up to you. It wasn’t long after we met that he told me about you, so…seeing you take that mask off…” you trail off and peek over at him, seeing that he can't look at you, his eyes are on his hands, and his jaw is clenched, giving away his discomfort on the matter.
“…was when I knew what I had to do to protect him because if he knew that I knew how to find you, he wouldn’t stop. He would get himself killed to get back on that Island again. To reach you, and,” you pause and feel the tears break away to fall down your cheeks.
“I can’t lose him. He means everything to me. And coming from someone with nothing, losing everything is like losing one's own life.”
In-ho hums, and you take that as a simple form of acknowledgment, but if you could understand the deeper meaning behind that simple acknowledging hum, you would know that he also knows what it’s like to lose everything.
“I already lost everything once. I can’t lose it again. So I know I can’t see him again,” you finish stating and then wipe the tears off your face to slowly look over at him.
“Are you sure there will be a place for me there?” You make sure to ask.
In-ho’s eyes drift to you to catch a glimpse of you before he reaches down and grabs a black box decorated with a pink bow to give it to you.
You don’t wait or question him. You pull at the pink bow to pull it off and then pull the lid off the box. When you reach inside you pull out a shiny silver mask of the top half of a crane’s face.
“This is where you belong,” In-ho assures you as you keep looking at your mask and realize there’s no turning back. This is you now. Again.
Another piece on the board…
Or the piece that ends it all.
——
*NOW*
“I’m glad that we are meeting in the city,” you muse as you pull your coat off and hang it on your chair. “The island tends to suffocate me.”
“You insisted on meeting here,” In-ho quips as he studies you as if that will give away where you were. “Annoyingly so.”
You shrug and flash him a sweet smile. “And you accepted. You had the power to deny my suggestion but you caved, so my point still stands.”
In-ho sighs deeply in annoyance before he snaps his gaze away to look at your third guest, the man in charge of recruiting the players for the games. “Anyway, considering some of us are meant to be missing, we're short on time. Tell us what you know,” he directs at the recruiter.
“Well,” the recruiter doesn’t leave you waiting. “As I’ve mentioned, player 456, Seong Gi-hun, and his…hired lackey,” he adds without masking his disgust. “Are trailing me.”
“What else is new,” you mutter and sit back as the waitress walks over with your cup of coffee just the way you like it. “Aren’t they on the subway lines every day?”
The recruiter sighs whilst he also picks up his spoon to mix his coffee. “On the dot. Which leaves me surprised that…such low lives are so loyal to their boring jobs.”
You pick your cup up and raise it to quip. “Money. Maybe we can offer them more to act like they don’t see you. That will keep player 456 chasing after his own tail.”
The recruiter laughs and you flash him a smile as you take a sip of your coffee. Albeit In-ho doesn’t share your amusement. “That won’t be necessary. You will let Player 456’s lackey find you.”
The recruiter lets his spoon go and blinks repeatedly in confusion before he questions the command. He’s not one to question any command given to him. If In-ho or anyone above him says bark, he will do so without hesitation, but he questions this command this one time. “Are you sure?”
In-ho nods. “Play with them or be straightforward. It doesn’t matter as long as Player 456 gets this key,” he shares before digging in his suit pocket and pulling out a brown card that he hands to the recruiter. “He won’t want any other thing but to see me. That key will have all he needs to find me.”
The recruiter doesn’t read the card. He blindly tucks it away and nods in comprehension.
“How many players have you recruited?” You interject now as you take a longer sip of your coffee.
“I’m close to getting all the players we need. I have of course left three spots open.”
“Good,” In-ho mumbles.
The recruiter licks his lips and leans forward. “Will you still go through with it, Captain?”
In-ho grabs the cup of his almost-finished coffee and leaves the question unanswered for a moment before he nods and then takes his last drink of coffee. Once he's done he proceeds to answer. “As long as player 456 does.”
You set your cup down and keep your eyes lingering on the coffee in your cup to avoid anyone’s potential stare.
“Will you?” The question gets passed and you know the Recruiter is looking at you. “It’s hard to imagine you getting your hands dirty. All those people.”
You swallow thickly and simply steal a glance at him before you take a sip of your coffee and keep your eyes on the cup rather than him to avoid letting him read any part of your current thoughts.
The Recruiter is no mind reader, but he’s crazy enough to know what’s lurking in the shadows of your mind. He always has.
“I’ve been a cop,” you argue. “I know how to get my hands dirty. It doesn’t bother me, and neither do the people.”
“Right,” he snickers. “You’re a lone wolf. With no social skills.”
You sit the cup down hard and snap your eyes to him, catching that stupid taunting smile plastered on his stupid face.
Just like when you were young he always finds a way to pester you.
“If you weren’t number two. You would die. There’s a difference between watching and actually playing. Did you ever play those games in the orphanages you—”
“My brother and I played all the time,” you cut him off before he can tick you off. Which is hard to do. You know how to keep your cool, but he just knows how to press your buttons. “Don’t worry about me,” you deadpan and then look at in-ho. “Shall we?” You press.
In-ho nods without fret, letting you grab your coat before you get up. In-ho mirrors your actions, and before he heads out he does add one last thing to the Recruiter. “Do you have us covered?”
Without a doubt the Recruiter tries to please In-ho by agreeing, letting In-ho then point his hand ahead to let you lead the way out of the cafe.
“See you soon,” the Recruiter throws at you as you walk away without giving your goodbyes, but there’s a reason you didn’t so you just offer him a feigned smile over your shoulder before you roll your eyes away and leave. Once you’re in the car you lean your body toward In-ho and don’t forget to complain.
“Why don’t we change recruiters? This one’s psychotic,” you grumble as you prop your elbow on the armrest and rest your chin on your hand. “He’s always been missing a few bolts in the head.”
In-ho grabs the newspaper of the day from the seat pocket and begins to read the articles. “Some will say that’s what makes him perfect for the job. Don’t let him get under your skin.”
You roll your eyes but keep watching him. “I know someone who will be better at the job. And he’s got a charm to him.”
“Who?” He immediately counters. “I never see you talk to anyone besides me.”
You sit up and look at him like he’s wounded you, while he hides his faint smile by keeping his eyes on the newspaper.
“Oh. Funny.” You grumble and turn away to look ahead with your body slumped in the seat.
“If you’re going to join the game you’ll need to socialize. Gain their trust. Or you’ll be a burden to me.”
“I’m not asking you to take care of me. We can pretend not to know each other.”
“That'd be impossible, who would you talk to then?” He teases you dryly. He’s teasing you!
It seems like you're starting to prefer when he was standoffish and blunt.
“Just be a player. Gain their trust and sabotage Player 456,” he puts it simply without long explanations because this is a matter you already discussed.
“No, no.” You shake your finger. “My job is not to crush Player 456 and destroy his last flicker of will. That’s your job. I am simply joining to not die of boredom watching the games.”
Or so you say out loud.
“Well whatever the case, there’s no fun in it if you isolate yourself,” he disregards you to keep insisting, making you sit back again and look out the window this time. “Do you want me to tag along on the 31st?”
“If it’s what you want,” he says while the newspaper in his hand rustles as he sets it down. “I’m gonna have snipers posted on the route. And two men that will walk in the club.”
You nod in comprehension and share what you already have planned. “Well, I’ll be your lookout then. I’ll have your back. Secure the perimeter, and figure out how many people Player 456 brings with him.”
Through the reflection on the window, you see In-ho nod before he turns his head to look at you before he bluntly changes the subject. “You went to see him didn’t you?”
You stiffen and slowly meet the reflection of his eyes. “You had me followed?” You snap.
“You’re making it harder on yourself,” he says without denying or admitting to the accusation which means it is true—“let him go. What if he had seen you? What if any of his colleagues had seen you?”
You roll your head his way to look him in the eyes with a firmly pointed look. “But he didn’t and he never does!” You argue with your voice raised higher than usual.
“It doesn’t matter if he never has. He can and he will,” he counters with no raise in his voice. He’s just trying to sound firm. “If he sees you, what then? You’ll throw away everything you sacrificed for him and for what? To see him dead?”
You furrow your eyebrows and puff out your chest, but can’t form any argument to throw back at him because you know he’s right. “He was all I had,” you say instead as your eyes wander down.
In-ho sighs and his voice is now softer. “I know, but you’re only hurting yourself more.”
You swallow back thickly and huff as a response. While In-ho steals a glance at you and lets his eyes linger on your drooped frown, your watery eyes, and your furrowed brows. He doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t show any emotion, he’s still, and providing a deafening silence that is…odd and uncomfortable. There was once a time when he could sit in the silence without it bothering him, but now?
He’s made a mistake welcoming you back on the island and allowing you to have a spot in the innermost circle, but he didn’t know what your presence would bring to his life and now that he lives amongst it, you are his new normal. So when that normal is disturbed it always feels so odd.
Like he’s upset the scales of life.
——
*LATER THAT NIGHT*
Maybe it’s because when you were growing up you were never asked for forgiveness from the man who called himself your father, so you learned to move on and not expect it; live like nothing happened in the first place and shove that problem away. Or maybe it’s because In-ho was/is right about you hurting yourself more by continuing to see Jun-ho, but now as dinner has rolled around, it’s like he didn’t make you upset to the point you haven’t talked to him since the car ride home hours prior.
As is your new normal, you set the dinner table for two, just him and you. It makes for quite a lonely dinner, but there isn’t anyone else either of you care about on the Island to have seated with you for dinner. Plus, after the awkward stage passed, it’s actually nice having dinner together. You look forward to it when you’re not upset at him.
Therefore once you finish setting the table you have the intention to go get him, but when you leave the dining room, there he is just outside the door. It seems like he was passing by the moment you opened the door.
Albeit, unbeknownst to you, he had been outside the door debating whether to come talk to you in order to balance the scales or not. Nothing he said was wrong, he was right and he was going to stand by that, but he also knows there could have been a kinder approach and he was going to explain that.
However, he also debated whether there was a point in asking for forgiveness. He isn’t your brother or your father, he’s your superior, your colleague, and your friend so he was leaning toward that choice. Yet you walked out before he could leave.
“Dinner is ready,” you let him know with a glass of wine in your hand. “But if you want sad ramen that’s okay too.”
In-ho is stuck again. You’re giving him a way out to do as he had chosen to do, but there you stand across from him with a tiny smile tugged on your lips, a pleading gaze you couldn’t keep discreet no matter how hard you try, a warm plate of food already expecting him, and no one else to fill the silence. You’re waiting and asking for nothing in return even if there is something he wants to offer you.
Thus, he accepts your invitation. He walks in, washes his hands, and sits down with no forgiveness to offer you in return. And it's not like you bring it up either. It's like you knew how not to expect it just to please him.
“My sister,” you offer him some more information on a past that you rarely share. “…Was older, so we were separated for most of the day at the orphanage, but when dinner rolled around we always made it our tradition to eat together. It was always my favorite part of the day and something I always looked forward to.” You pause and take a bite of your food, making sure to chew it well and swallow before you take a long drink of your wine and then continue.
“When I was adopted by my family, I was glad that I could continue that tradition with my mother and my brother and on occasion my father. And then…after Jun-ho and I became close, every day after work we would have dinner together. Whether it was in the park, in a car, or at one of our houses. That’s why I learned to cook so well. You’re lucky I’m not six anymore or we’d be having banana sandwiches.”
In-ho scoffs with amusement, letting a small smile appear on his lips as he chews. When he’s done with that bite he interjects. “I can’t imagine your sister was too pleased with your meal choice.”
You laugh softly and shake your head. “Never. She always scolded me, but they were my favorite and the only thing I was allowed to make at a young age, so on days she expected me to make them, she always had boiled eggs for us to eat after.”
In-ho’s smile stays on his face for a moment and it’s in that comfortable silence that was made by the fact that you could make him smile, that you bring up the matter that left a strain between each other.
“You were right, you know,” you say after you take a couple bites of your food. “About Jun-ho.”
You pick up your wine glass as you also lower your head.
“But,” you argue in your defense.
“No,” he cuts you off, and as you bring your eyes up to look at him, you notice that his smile and any sign of amusement is completely gone, leaving him…as always, nonchalant—“You need to completely cut him off. You need to forget the life you had on the mainland. That life will only drag you down and be your worst enemy.”
Tears slowly fill your eyes, but you’re tougher on yourself this time. You don’t cry, you simply snap back with no sign of spite, just nonchalance. “So should I be like you?”
In-ho clenches his jaw as he doesn’t know how to take that, but there’s also no other way to be. “Yes,” he deadpans.
You blink and look down at your food to take a couple of bites and then a longer drink of your wine, managing to finish it and serve yourself more as you think about what he said and that it's not what you want
You know what you yearn for, or so you tell yourself and you don’t want to become everything you despise. You know what you want and you don’t want to be the person that the masks turn you into.
Is he everything you loathe though? If you look at him in the eyes. Really look at him, will he be the reminder of the father you loathe? That’s who he wants you to be…is that who he is?
“Do you think that the workers here will obey me if I am more like you?” You fill the silence as you sit back with your new glass of wine in one hand, and a firmer look that isn’t like that warm look you carried moments ago. “I mean when I’m not in your shadow that is.”
In-ho sits up and holds your gaze as he nods with reassurance. “They’ll no choice will they?”
You tilt your head slightly and scoff.
“When your father was the Front Man…”
“He ruled with an Iron fist,” you continue for him since he wasn’t here when your father was the Front Man. He only knows stories. “Yes, but that’s a thing of the past. Done by different old men. I am no man. I left a different regime behind shall we say, and then I came back under you donning a position of power right away. Do you see where my doubt comes from him?”
“They don’t get to ask questions,” In-ho says. “They have to listen to you. Now if they catch you slipping they will take the chance to do what they want. And with that comes chaos that will eat you alive. Never falter.”
You slowly look down at your wine and begin to gently spin it. “I suppose it is easy to get rid of those who don’t listen here isn’t it?” You ask with a faint smirk.
“You don’t want to overstep either. Easy or not,” he interjects.
You slowly look up at him as you stop spinning your wine and nod stiffly. “I know,” you mutter.
He holds your gaze for a couple more seconds, letting you look him in the eyes and search for what you need.
Right away you see that his eyes are kinder, he is kinder—or was, from what Jun-ho has told you, and from the rare times he metaphorically takes his mask off. Albeit if you look deeper will you see everything you despise? Or something different?
You…don’t know.
But does that change anything?
——
*A FEW DAYS LATER*
“Can you hear me?” You ask for assurance after you made a discreet sweep down the street.
“Yes,” In-ho responds right away in his distorted voice. “We can hear you.”
“There’s nothing that stands out specifically, but I spotted two vans full of men who have not moved or left the car. Both the driver and the front passenger have earpieces on in both cars as well. Let me pass you the license plate,” you direct that last bit to the pink guards before you share what you mentally noted in your quick scouting trip around the block.
“I’m heading back toward the club now,” you follow up by announcing as you pick up your pace, but not in a way that will pique anyone’s interest. You’re fast enough to return to the club quicker.
“We spotted player 456,” a guard shares. “He and a companion are getting out of the car and are en route inside.”
“Wait for them to get inside and then go after them,” In-ho orders.
“There’s also a man in the driver's seat. It seems like he’s waiting.”
In-ho answers with a hum before he passes an order. “Get the license plate and share it with The White Crane,” he refers to your alias. “Take note of who he is, White Crane, and if he gets out of the car to go after player 456, stop him.”
You press the button on the earpiece to give your response. “Understood.”
You keep your pace with a new task in mind. No one stops you because you blend perfectly with everyone else on the busy street celebrating Halloween.
However, you do have to admit you are a bit envious that people seem to be having so much fun. It makes you want to walk into the club and get plastered to have fun too, but you’re on the mainland on a mission, so you’re strictly forbidden to even drink, you can only be envious.
Then again when you finally approach the club, you catch sight of the club and the giant line formed outside, and you admit that maybe being inside doesn’t sound as tempting.
“They’re inside,” a guard shares.
“Alright move in.” In-ho demands.
You finally reach the street where the Pink guards said the car and the man are, but there, in a black car parked in the exact spot you’re on the lookout for, sits Jun-ho. He’s in the driver's seat of the car that matches the license plate the guards told you about.
You could be mistaken. This could be some delusion, but you’re not sick and you can see perfectly fine through your mask, so no, he’s not some fever dream, it’s Jun-ho in the flesh.
Does he notice you?
Your heart stops at the sight of the man you love, making it feel like you’re about to be hit with a heart attack, so you stupidly stop in front of the car and look in wondering if he sees you too.
But how can it be if you’re wearing a fucking mask…
Damn it. Damn it. Damn it!
Of course, he’s involved. Why wouldn't he be in the middle of this ordeal?!
With or without you he didn’t let the Island go and now…you have to confront him and do what In-ho told you to do. There’s no other choice, but will you tell In-ho that it’s his brother working with player 456?
No.
Will you tell him that now that you know he’s here and once again involved in all this, that you have an absurd plan to confront him after 3 years of disappearing from his life?
Also no because he doesn’t need to know.
“I found the car and the driver,” you share through the earpiece after you manage to unglue yourself from your spot before Jun-ho can find you suspicious.
The moment you finish crossing the crosswalk though, the sight of Jun-ho getting out of his car catches your attention.
“He’s out of the car in pursuit of his friends,” you let your people know.
“Stop him,” In-ho deadpans with no clue that you’re referring to his brother.
“On it,” you assure him and cross the street properly, unlike Jun-ho who runs in the middle of a busy street like a madman, forcing a car to break.
He does make it across unscathed, but when he tries to just walk inside he’s stopped by the bouncer, so you have to pretend that you’re taking a smoke break so you don’t look like a stalker, or so he doesn’t spot you before you can stop him.
“Hey, no cutting. Go to the back of the line,” the bouncer tells Jun-ho off, which more than likely aggravates him knowing how impatient he can be.
“Police. Move,” Jun-ho snaps bluntly and once again tries to walk in, but again, the bouncer pushes him back.
“See your fellow officers waiting in line?” The bouncer points out to the line of people waiting. “It’s Halloween. Go put your uniform on first.”
With no warning and zero patience, you watch Jun-ho pull out his gun and point it at the bouncer as he shoves him back against a wall. “Does this look like a toy?” He threatens him, making you smile with amusement.
This time around the bouncer has nothing to say in return. He’s speechless, so Jun-ho is able to walk in, whilst you wait a couple of minutes before you drop the cigarette and stomp on the barely used stick to walk in without any resistance. Not because the bouncer was left shaken up after Jun-ho, it’s because they know who you are. That’s why In-ho chose this specific club.
Once you’re inside, you’re immediately enveloped by all the commotion, the raging music, and the bodies of people crowding the entrance and every step you take, making it hard to find Jun-ho, but not impossible. Luckily enough he didn’t make it far so you’re able to find him just on top of the metal stairs that lead to the main floor before he descends them and joins the madness.
With no other choice but to be like some haunting spirit you trail after him rather than being a part of the madness.
Every step he takes you take not so long after. Every turn he makes you do the same, and every person he shoves aside, you carefully slip past. There comes a point where he stops at a bar and shakes an unconscious man with a bright green horse mask, so you finally stop trailing after him. Instead, you pull your mask off and walk in the crowd of dancing bodies to find a way around Jun-ho.
“Dance?” A drunk man shouts and grabs your waist to try and pull you, but you shove him back harshly and snap at him while glaring at him.
“Do that again and I’ll tear your fingers off your hand to shove them up your ass.”
The man is left bewildered so he backs away, letting you disappear in the sea of bodies. And for a moment, because of the interruption, it seems like you lost sight of Jun-ho. You can’t find him again, but as you keep pushing through, you catch a glimpse of him so you run to get ahead. When you finally find an opening, you exit the crowd and stop across from him, making him come to an immediate halt as he notices right away.
You, the person who has been missing for three years. You, the woman he loves and has been searching for relentlessly. You stand there looking him in the eyes, unscathed, healthy, and just as beautiful as the day he lost you.
Yet it’s because he sees you so clearly in your flowing white robes that show off glimpses of your figure when the lights flash on you, that he can’t believe it’s really you. You have to be some divine spirit brought by stress.
“Come,” you wave him over with your hand without letting go of those dark eyes that glisten with brimming tears every time the flashing light basks his face. His jaw then drops slightly and his eyebrows rise as his eyes widen with shock. You proceed to not wait and turn to start walking away.
“Wait!” You hear Jun-ho call out after you.
You peer over your shoulder and see him do just as you want; he follows you, so you lure him to an employee-only door. It is hard making sure that he doesn’t lose sight of you or that actually reaches you since there’s so many people and it’s so crowded, but you manage to stay one step ahead and reach the employee-only hallway without having him stop you.
When Jun-ho sees that you disappear in the hall, he calls out your name and turns cautious when he approaches the door, letting you rush up the stairs to position yourself just around the corner and take out your taser gun.
Jun-ho continues to be cautious when he walks inside, but as he’s climbing the stairs he breaks into a run. In doing so, turning the corner hastily and not being able to stop you from hitting his neck with your taser gun that doesn't leave his flesh until he's knocked out.
Before he can hit the ground you catch him in your arms. “I'm sorry,” you whisper as you admire his face now that you can finally be close to him again. “I had to do it, but it will be okay,” you assure him before you lean down and press a kiss on his forehead. “I promise,” you whisper one last time against his temple.
.
.
.
.
.
A/N- Ahhhhh xD
#fanfiction#damn-stark#sinnerwoman#chapter 2#squid game fanfiction#squid game#squid game season 2#Hwang junho#Hwang Junho fanfiction#hwang junho x reader#hwang junho x you#Hwang junho x fem!reader#Hwang junho x female!reader#hwang jun ho#hwang jun ho fanfiction#hwang jun ho x reader#hwang jun ho x you#Hwang Jun ho x fem!reader#junho fanfiction#jun ho x reader#jun ho squid game#junho x reader#junho x fem!reader#wi ha joon#hwang in ho#player 001#seong gi hun#the salesman#the recruiter
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tuna mayo ! miya osamu
chapter five – post shower surprise
wc 2203
MDNI.
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22:46.
You stepped out of your foggy shower, and grabbed your towel. As you began to wipe leftover droplets of water off yourself, you couldn’t help but think about the events that had happened earlier in the day.
School wasn’t terrible today, as you only had two lectures, and–
You began to shake your head ‘no’, while continuing to dry yourself.
Oh, my apologies, not that early.
Right, at about 14:30 today, [L/N] [F/N] ate lunch at Onigiri Miya after Sakusa Kiyoomi had ditched her. The owner, Miya Osamu grabbed her plate from her table, and put it on the counter, while basically telling her to eat while conversing with him, so she wouldn’t be lonely. The best part? He asked her for her phone number before she left for work.
As you finally began to put your undergarments on, a small redness appeared on your face. Just the whole thought of it was making butterflies appear in your stomach. A feeling you haven’t felt since highschool.
Your mind eventually moved on from Osamu, and moved to work. Your eyebrows began to furrow, as it all came back to you.
To put it simply, the PR team for the MSBY Black Jackals decided to make a TikTok, essentially asking each member “Who would be the first to go to jail, and what would they be in for?”. You were a part of this video, due to being chosen to be the interviewer.
Earlier, 15:49.
“Do you all understand how this video is gonna go, or should I go over it once more?”
You were currently in the main gym, standing in front of all members of the team with a small microphone in your hand. You look to see everybody shaking their heads, giving you the ‘go ahead.’
“Great. I’ll give you guys some time to prepare your answers.” You turn to look at Meian, and speak again. “Meian, you’re first, alright?”
He gave you a thumbs up, and with that being said, the older members split into their own group, laughing about who they’re going to choose, Bokuto and Atsumu went to the locker room to quickly fix themselves up, and Hinata and Sakusa walked over to you. It’s safe to say that you were still somewhat upset over Sakusa leaving so abruptly, and as they approached, you crossed your arms. Hinata was the first to talk.
“Hi [L/N]! You excited to be in the video? It’s your first time, right?”
You nodded your head. “Yeah, I guess I am pretty excited.” You then quickly look at Sakusa, and can see him visibly tense up. “So, how was the early practice? Hmmm?”
He side eyed the ginger for a short period of time, and eventually did a full 90 degree bow. This caught you by surprise, causing you to step back.
“I’m sorry for ditching you, [L/N]. Truth be told, there was no early practice.”
Your eyes widened, and numerous thoughts began running through your head. You were right about him lying to you! You were so right to the point where you didn’t even catch the fact that Hinata had also stiffened, and began to lightly sweat.
Was Sakusa about to rat him out?
“I knew it. So, what were you doing then?” You asked once more as Sakusa began to straighten himself up from his bow.
Before the taller man could speak, Hinata spoke instead. “Ohhh, Sakusa ditched you? Now, why would he do that?” He put his pointer finger on his chin, and began to tap on it lightly, trying to imitate someone who was thinking deeply.
You squinted your eyes, and made a face of disgust. “Why are you acting like that?”
“Acting like what?!”
The way that Hinata immediately defended himself attracted the attention of everyone else in the gym, due to the loudness of his voice, causing them to stare for a bit, and eventually return back to their conversations.
You sighed dramatically and pinched the bridge of your nose. “Sakusa, it’s fine that you ditched me. I just wish that you actually told me why you wanted to leave. Hinata, I don’t even know why you’re being weird. Is there something you want to tell me?”
You look at him, and cross your arms once more, while he begins to scratch the back of his head with an awkward smile plastering his face. “Nope. Sorry, [L/N]!”
“Okaaay…” You moved your head more to the left, seeing the camera man waving his hand at you. “Well, I gotta go start this video. See y’all soon.”
With that, you walked past the both of them, and once you were out of earshot, Sakusa nudged Hinata’s side harshly.
“Ow, Sakusa! What was that for?” Hinata whined, rubbing the side of his torso.
“What was that for? You almost exposed us, you idiot.”
“Almost exposed what?” Sakusa gasped lighty and Hinata screamed while the both of them simultaneously turned around, to be met with Atsumu’s curious face.
“U–uh, well um-mm–”
“HINATA!”
Before Hinata could mutter out an answer, the three of them turned their heads to look at a raging [Y/N], with her pointer finger covering her mouth, indicating for them to shut up.
Present time, 22:47.
Even though you decided that you would drop the fact that Hinata and Sakusa were acting oddly suspicious, it still kind of stuck with you.
As you finished putting on your sweatpants and hoodie, you couldn’t help but wonder what they were possibly plotting. ‘Could they be trying to surprise me with something? No, maybe not.’
Using your head to think about these things was ultimately frustrating. You did say you would drop it, so eventually, that’s what you did. You took the towel out of your head, and began to put in as many products as needed, resulting in you letting it air dry.
Finally, your nightly routine was finished. The only thing left was to scroll mindlessly for about an hour before falling asleep. After you walked out of your bathroom, you quickly went to your living room to clean any excess things, such as organizing throw pillows, putting any water cups in the sink, etc.
As you were doing that, your phone was lying comfortably on the arm of your couch. You heard a singular ‘buzz’ coming from it, and went to go check on it.
When you saw the notification you didn’t expect, you immediately this rew it across the room. Thank heavens your floor was carpet.
Your hands covered your mouth as you began to feel a rush going through your head. ‘He texted that fast?! I thought it was going to take him at least a couple of days before actually texting me! What the–’
You sped walked to the spot where you threw your phone, ultimately picking it up and responding.
You quickly sat down on the couch, and put your phone next to you.
‘Is this actually happening?’
Yes, [Y/N], this is actually happening. You’re about to facetime Miya Osamu. Truth to be told, you didn’t even need five minutes. You live by yourself, meaning your apartment is usually clean most of the time, but there can be small messes here and there.
In the five minutes you had before facetiming him, you turned all your lights off, except your floor lamp to create a chill atmosphere, and got comfy on the couch, making sure you were in a position you were able to actually relax in.
Finally, you feel the vibrations of your phone, and mentally prepare yourself. Words could not even describe the excitement you were feeling right now. Was he feeling the same way?
After a few buzzes went by, you answered.
[bold + italics are osamu, bold is you]
“Hello?”
“Hey, Miya.”
He was sitting at a desk with a couple papers scattered around, most likely to do with his business. From what you could see, he looked pretty normal, not tired at all. He was wearing a white tee that hugged him in all the right places. You couldn’t help but wonder if he wore that for you.
“Yer livin’ room all clean now?”
You smiled, and responded, turning the camera to face towards your ceiling. “All clean. Would’ve been done earlier if you hadn’t distracted me, though.”
He chuckled, and averted his eyes to something that was most likely on his walls. He looked back at the camera, and put arms on his desk.
“Where’s yer face at?”
You smirked, and responded. “Why do you want to see my face?”
“Well first of all, it’s called Facetime for a reason. Second…”
He didn’t speak for a bit, and you stared at your phone, awaiting an answer.
“I miss your face. I uh– I know it’s kinda strange ta’ even say that, but yeah.”
You thought that was a good answer. A really good answer. You grabbed one of your pillows, and laid it flat, balancing your phone with it, basically giving him what he wanted.
“Thereee we go.” You couldn’t even hide the smile present on your face, and due to that, he began to smile as well.
“Happy?”
“Very. Now, how was work today?”
As the both of you began to converse about your shift, you didn’t even think about how nervous you were. Talking with Osamu was like talking to an old friend of yours. He didn’t make you uncomfortable one bit, and you really appreciated that. It just felt all too natural.
“Wait, so Sakusa and Hinata were actin’ weird?”
“Yes! I swear I don’t know what’s up with them, but I kinda just decided to not think too much into it.”
“I see. Did he at least end up apologizin’ for ditch’ ya?”
“He did.”
There was a small gap of silence between the two of you since you knew you had more to say, but didn’t know how to word it.
“Ya’know, Miya…”
He let out a “hm?” while still keeping his eyes on your face.
“I’m kinda glad he left me.”
“Yer glad that yer friend left ya all alone?”
“Well, no. I didn’t like that. But, if he didn’t, then we wouldn’t have talked as much as we did earlier.”
You could visually see him begin to think, and once he started nodding his head slowly, you figured that he understood it.
“Ya gotta point.”
“Right?”
Your many conversations with one another ended up going until 1:22 in the morning, until you decided to end the call. You were getting tired, and he was as well.
1:22.
“Miya.”
“Yeah?”
“I hate to end the call, but I can feel myself dozing off.”
He laughed, and grabbed his phone. “I can tell.”
You began to fiddle with your fingers while smiling, but then, you remembered what’s been on your mind since the first time the two of you met.
“Hey, before we hang up, can I talk to you about something real quick?”
“Go for it, no need ta’ ask.”
“Okay, well I– um…” You avert your eyes to your ceiling for a second, before continuing. “I’d rather not really tell anybody, especially Atsumu, that we’re… in communication. Well, for now, at least.”
He stayed silent for a bit, staring at his phone. You also didn’t speak up, as you didn’t even know what else to say.
You heard a small hum come from the other line. “Yeah, I kinda wanted ta’ mention that to you as well. He’s gonna go nuts if he finds out I’m talkin’ to ya.”
“Oh, why?”
“In all fairness, you were his friend first. Somethin’ I learned growin’ up with him, is that he doesn’t like sharin’ his friends.”
“Well, you know what? Tell him to shut up.”
Osamu laughed, causing you to start giggling. After that little fiasco was over, the both of you just looked at each other's faces. You were analyzing, and he was admiring.
“Goodnight, Miya.”
“Goodnight, [L/N]. Come back to Onigiri Miya, alright?”
“You know it.”
𐙚 Bonus
“Who would be the first to go to jail, and what would they be in for?” You held the microphone up to each individual player, awaiting their answers.
Meian: “Barnes, for sure. He’d be in for probably killing some people. I think he’s secretly in the American mafia.”
Tomas: “Inunaki, because he would be a drug dealer, and when I say drugs, I mean cocaine, ecstasy, etcetera.”
Bokuto: “Uhhhhhhh… Meian! I dunno, he seems like the type who would randomly hit someone with a baseball bat!”
Sakusa: “Bokuto. He’d be in for tax evasion.”
Barnes: “Bokuto, and something to do with not filing his taxes.”
Hinata: “Oh, for sure Bokuto! I don’t think he does his taxes!”
Inunaki: “Meian, but I don’t know what he would be in for. Maybe… maybe breaking traffic laws?”
Atsumu: “Who do I think would be in jail?” He points at you. “You. Knowin’ you, you’d probably commit genocide.”
*everybody silently agrees*
[Y/N]: “It has to be someone on the actual team, asshole.”
Atsumu: “Oh… uh, Bokuto. Tax evasion.”
Bokuto: “Stop choosing me! I do my taxes!”
Atsumu: “Then stop yer complainin’ about it, would ya?!”
author's notes !
𐙚 little bit of a filler episode since i didn't really know what to write , but it's cute , ain't it ?
𐙚 happy valentines day !! love ya , reader-chan ٩(^◡^)۶
taglist: @reuka1 @enepsigosthelast @arwawawa2 @miruac @loveelylani
#haikyuu#spectoo#anime#18+ mdni#miya osamu#osamu miya x reader#haikyuu time skip#hq x reader#haikyuu x reader#sports anime#tuna mayo by spectoo#hinata shoyuo#sakusa kiyoomi#hq#hq smau#miya atsumu#miya osamu x reader#osamu miya#miya twins#osamu x reader#hq timeskip
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And there you were
I saw this piece of Shane art today, a little Valentines Day treat for the Shane enjoyers from my friend @sotie-art. And, well, I can't help where the muse takes me. I wrote some words. Sotie, these are for you.
You opened the door to the farmhouse, a breath of cool air sweeping in, rushing through the cosy warmth of the lounge, before being quickly enveloped by the tranquil heat inside. Wrapping the thick, fluffy blanket around your body, the one you’d pulled from the couch when you heard the knock, you found your heart warming, a golden glow throbbing in your chest, to see Shane standing on the doorstep. You hadn’t expected to see him today; things between you were still new, tentative, quietly blossoming, as delicate and fresh as the coming Spring.
‘Hi!’ You beamed brightly, his unexpected arrival such a pleasant surprise.
He smiled sheepishly, a lop-sided grin rising to his face, softening as he met your gaze, a flush blooming on his cheeks. He ran a hand over the back of his neck when he noticed your eyes dropping to the bouquet of red roses he held gently. Your teeth pressed against your bottom lip as you tried to bite back the smile that grew even wider, dazzling, your heart skipping a beat. You failed. Oh well.
Gone was his usual t-shirt and comfortable, worn hoodie, replaced with a smart coat and sweater, defence against the late winter chill. He looked good. A sigh, so full of tenderness escaped your parted lips.
‘Hi.’ He replied simply, clearing his throat. You chuckled lightly. He never was the talkative type and for someone who had left the hustle and bustle of the city for the calm of the countryside, his quiet nature suited you to a tee. If only he could see himself through your eyes.
‘Listen,’ He started, his voice still a little gruff but oh, you could hear a note of that often-hidden sweetness just daring to peek through the cracks. ‘I know I’m a grumpy SOB…’ You smiled again, rolling your eyes, playfully teasing as you listened.
‘And I know I’m not the easiest person to get along with…’ You shook your head lightly. Surely, he knew by now that you were the persistent type. ‘Well, I just wanted to say that I’m…’
At this he paused and drew in a deep breath as if piecing together his words carefully, determined to make this right. You really should tell him that he’d already won you over, but you waited, giving him space to finish.
His gaze returned to yours and a wave of butterflies crashed through you. You couldn’t help but lift your hands to your stomach, as if you needed to hold them back. If you didn’t, you might just melt on the spot. You inhaled deeply.
‘I’m no good at this…’ He gestured between you with his finger. ‘But I’m trying... for you…’
A tear pricked at the corner of your eye, and you blinked rapidly, not wishing for it to escape.
‘I need you to know… you mean the world to me…’
Your heart tried to leap from you, the hands at your stomach now resting on your chest. You felt the thrumming beneath your palm, pulse racing, and for a moment your head swam, lost in his pretty green eyes.
‘Shane…’ You tried to speak but you saw his mouth open slightly, something else left to say. So, you held your breath, expectation and longing buzzing through your veins like electricity. You were a live wire, about to spark to life.
‘And well…’ He frowned for a moment, closing his eyes briefly, steeling himself, and then…
‘Hey hun… would you be my valentine?’ He smiled. You were a goner.
Stepping out onto the porch, you placed a hand on his chest, feeling his heartbeat beneath your fingertips. If that wasn’t the most wonderful thing, the glint in his eyes might just take the prize
‘I thought you’d never ask.’
He exhaled slowly, all the tension oozing from him, and you laughed softly as he hooked a fingertip beneath your chin, pulling you closer, the red roses nestled between the two of you.
A petal fell to the ground, carried away by the breeze. Not that you noticed, too lost in the exquisite desire of his waiting lips, surrendering entirely to the kiss you shared.
You can find this here on AO3 too.
Credit for the beautiful dividers goes to @saradika-graphics
#valentines day#valentines day 2025#stardew valley#stardew valley shane#stardew shane#sdv shane#a little gift#ao3 writer#archive of our own#writers on tumblr
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"palentine" parental!platonic yandere!supervillian & gn!neglected!hero sidekick!reader [oneshot] ! !
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intro | masterlist
description; You and Malpractice spend your first Valentines day together. You just don't know it's Malpractice you're really talking to, and not local college student Jenny Schüler.
additional notes; hi!!! happy valentines day :)) since malpractice seems to be the most popular, he gets valentines day special privileges. don't mind how I have an actual cupid character I could use. you're getting terrifying plague man and his inherent desire to adopt reader on the spot.
warnings; Child abuse, neglect, and generally immoral conduct involving reader (done by the agency), possessive behavior, violent thoughts/plans to kill, overprotectiveness, corpses, talks of decomposition processes and dehumanization(?) (involving Malpractices 'puppets'), manipulation, mentions/plans of kidnapping, and if there's anything else I missed, please let me know!! the moment i write something, i'm afraid it disappears into the void :[
w/c; 2.8k
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Malpractice has never been one for holidays.
Of course, nowadays holidays were a much bigger event then they were in his time. Especially Valentines day, which had morphed into something nearly unrecognizable (from his point of view) than the minor holiday he once knew it as.
Before he was... well, what he was now-- when he was still lesser than, still human; he'd get the occasional card with a silly pun on the front every one in a while, usually given by a co-worker out of self-imposed societal necessity.
But other than that, there was never much stock put into the occasion. Personally or otherwise-- as compared to now, where it was practically impossible to walk into a store and not see some sort of gaudy display. Full of red, white, and pink-- hearts and glitter that transfers to your skin.
At least, that's what Malpractice observes from afar. He's not much for stepping into your run of the mill Pharmacy these days-- not even with his macabre sort of puppets, made from some of the more in-tact cadavers he can snag from the local Morgue.
He tried not to let them be seen by anyone besides you-- there was always a chance that someone who knew who the cadaver had once been, who knew of their death; would be around.
Besides, there'd be no need for it-- unless he simply wished to spark terror. It's not like he had a prescription to be filled, after all.
Which, at the moment, he was actively avoiding-- he was avoiding making himself anymore known than necessary. Because if he did, than he's sure he'd scare you half to death.
You were such a delicate thing in his mind, and he often likened you to that of a baby bird. Because, in his mind, you really were. Fragile, even if you could sustain quite a beating out in the field.
The field you shouldn't be anywhere near, if he had it his way.
But, as it was, the agency had their claws stuck deep into you. Not emotionally wise, but legally; with you being in a sort of... ward of the state position, was the most comparable term he could manage.
Malpractice wished to dig his claws deeper, deep enough to rip whatever influence the agency had over you and take you for his own.
Metaphorically, of course! Oh, Lord knows he'd never hurt you. He'd find a way where you don't get sick with being around him-- get to a point where you won't be afraid of him afterward.
That wasn't quite in the immediate future, sadly. He had to stand by and wait, be patient-- he'd never been one to rush, but something about you made him feel an uncharacteristic amount of restlessness.
Maybe it's the fear that, if he waited too long, you'd slip through his fingers. You weren't made for the work you were being put through-- even if you weren't as young as you are, if you were of an adequate age for this sort of career,
You were still much better suited as a medic, maybe like he had been. Stay back in the medical ward-- you didn't have a flashy sort of power. But, then again, maybe the agency wanted to keep you as beaten down as possible;
Hoping that the little aches and pains that kept you up at night would make you less of a threat than they perceived you as. All because you had such a unique ability; he'd treasure it, just as he'd treasure you once he got you safely into his arms.
Unlike that blasted agency, that made you feel less than. That put you under a strict curfew, only allowing you waltz around on your own for a few hours at time-- even then, you'd have to alert them at least a week beforehand.
It was that controlled sort of 'freedom' that you despised, and had told him on multiple occasions.
...Or, to be more specific, had told various different 'puppets' the same complaint over the few short months he's been visiting you personally. You never knew it was the same sort of mind behind all the bodies, but with how you told every single one-- that was enough to rest his case that you hated it.
You hated how the agency tried to make you feel like you had a choice in the matter, when you really didn't. When your ability to go outside unmonitored and 'off the clock' was dependent on either how well you'd be preforming, or if the person reading the request had any semblance of empathy left in them.
Recently, you've been using all the time allotted to visit these puppets. You believed each to be a different person, unless you were a better actor than you caught on. Each having a different story-- to both enter, and subsequently leave your life before another cropped up shortly after.
Oh, how he hates to see you saddened by your 'newfound' friend having to skip town... but he'd try to wait until the very last minute until he did so. To the point where spots of necrosis were beginning to appear in more visible areas.
You never commented on the smell of death that'd follow the puppet during your 'last' meetings, maybe you'd become used to it-- with how you were, how your life had turned out.
But today, it was thankfully overcast; Malpractice was able to guide the puppet directly to the secluded, forested grotto he usually meets you in. That cut the commute about by about 10 minutes, since he didn't have to try and weave the puppet through the most sunless path possible.
When the puppet got to the grotto, you were already sitting on the crumbling stone bench in the middle of it. You didn't notice him-- until the puppet cleared its throat, and your head swung around to face him.
It was adorable, seeing how your face lit up. He'd thought that with all your 'new friends' coming and going, you'd become bitter. Develop a hardened shell, like he thought you'd already have by now--
However, with every new puppet, you were still as friendly yet disbelieving as you'd been while meeting the last. Like you just couldn't believe someone would want to be friends with you.
This puppet had been a jane doe, around her early to mid 20s. Due to the colder weather, this one had lasted longer than most; and it almost hurt him to know that eventually, the puppet would begin to rot despite his precautions-- and he'd have to find a new one.
You were rather attached to this one. Despite himself, he hopes he'll be able to keep this puppet until he can reveal himself-- only a few weeks more, and you'd finally be safe.
"Sorry for making you walk in this weather..." You started with, a sheepish, apologetic smile on your face, as the puppet sat beside you. "Not a problem, I'm more than willing to risk a cold to see you. I know how... rigid your routine can be."
With a little nod, you hummed before casting your eyes down and saying "Oh-- uhm, thank you." You always got flustered, whenever Malpractice-- or his puppets, he supposes-- shows you any sort of care.
Like you weren't used to being a priority-- because from what he'd seen, you very much were not. He'd even read parts of your intake records made shortly after the Agency took you in; they'd considered euthanizing you like a dog. That caring for you might've been too resource heavy-- until the sick bastards realized they could find a use for you and your unique ability.
It made him ill-- emotionally speaking, he obviously doesn't get physically sick anymore. He's practically the physical embodiment of it, it'd be silly if he could catch a cold like your normal, every day joe.
The unintentional stretch of silence was broken, as you jolted slightly-- as if remembering something. You swung around and grabbed something sitting by your other side--
Then, you turned to the puppet, and held your hands out. In them, was a little mesh bag of tin-foil wrapped chocolate hearts. The kind that'd be sold near the checkout lane at a grocery store during Valentines.
"I didn't know what you liked, so I just got you this." And-- oh, you looked so proud. He knew you didn't get much freedom at all, and you must've sneaked by to get this.
You may have have even stolen it-- there was a little bit of guilt lingering in your eyes, along with a strange sort of fear. Fear of rejection, he supposes. That whatever you'd gone through to get this wouldn't be worth it.
The puppet's hand reached out, before retracting slightly-- immediately, you noticed. Your little smile fell "Do-- are you lactose intolerant? I'm sorry--" And Malpractice laughed--
Not the puppet, so much. He's sure that, if you were a little older; better trained in your position, then you'd realize something was off with it. Some strange, uncanny value to it.
It wasn't cruel, he made sure of that. It was endeared, of course it was-- but he could never manage to quite quell the madness inherent to his tone. Not while he was laughing, at least.
"No, no not at all." The laughter died down, and the puppet gently took the bag of candy in its hands. He held it like it was the most precious thing in the world, and in his mind, it truly was.
A gift from you. He always treasured these sorts of things, but the previous gifts had been things you picked up off the ground-- pretty rocks, little knickknacks, an unordinary plant...
But this, you must've gone far out of your way to get this. And to just give it to him... he wonders, had you gone out with the intent to get it? No matter what, to just have something to show for valentines day?
After a few moments, Malpractice remembered that he should probably respond. The puppet looked at you-- fear and concern obvious in your eyes, deathly afraid that he'd reject the gift.
A soft smile broke out on the puppet's face, before he sighed and looked down. "Well, I don't have anything for you, is the problem--"
It wasn't a regular occurrence, you cutting him off. The Agency had all but tortured that possibility out of you, trying to make you into a perfect little cog more than the child you were.
Despite all that, your true nature shone through. You could never truly smother a children's light, he supposes.
"No!" You waved your arms frantically, shaking your head. You calmed down quickly, looking a little embarrassed from your own outburst. "No-- Uhm, I mean... well, you don't have to get me anything. I just wanted to do this for you,"
Malpractice went to respond, but it didn't seem like you were quite done just yet. He waited patiently, as you continued "Oh, and-- and I have something else." You dug into the pocket of your bland, practical gray coat; part of the few pieces of civilian clothing the Agency was willing to provide you with.
When he has you safe and sound, away from those (soon to be dead, if he had his way) maniacs; he'd be sure to let you express yourself however you'd like with your clothes.
He wouldn't force you into generic garments, given to you out of pure necessity.
You fished out a piece of paper from your main pocket, handing it to the puppet. It was an envelope-- handmade by the looks of it, held together by staples and closed with a small piece of scotch tape.
He turned it over to the flat side, finding it addressed to this particular puppet, written in shaky and inexperienced cursive. Jenny, he'd had you name it-- he did this often, with puppets. He'd have the puppet ask something like "well, what name do I look like?" And the first name you said, he'd take it-- the puppet would always respond with something like "Wow, are you psychic? That's actually my name!"
A shame, it was addressed to this false sort of person. This walking cadaver he took control in order not to scare you-- one in a line of many, but hopefully one of, if not the, last one.
Maybe next year, he'd receive an envelope addressed to himself. Maybe he'd even let you use his human name. He could help you with the cursive as well, even if it'd result in him basically addressing it himself.
He hasn't used the name in so long, hasn't felt attached to it for even longer; but with you, he doesn't think he'd mind you knowing him by it. To have an envelope handed to him, addressed to Maxwell S. in his own handwriting.
The puppet hummed, and flipped the envelope back over. He took his time, trying to use the puppets limited fine-motor skills to avoid ripping the handmade envelope.
Even if it was plain in nature, and not perfectly done by formal measures-- he'd still hate to mess up your handy work. It took some time, but eventually the tape was pried off and he could open it.
Inside was an index card, something you must've nabbed from the office section of the Agency; probably like the rest of the materials, if he had to guess.
It warmed his heart, to think that you'd risked so much-- even if they were meager supplies by most's standards, you'd really done a wonder with what little you had.
On the blank side was a little drawing, of a tiny cartoon version of you-- hugging this particular puppet. When he flipped it to the lined side, the words 'be my pal-entine?' were written in bright crayon, the letters alternated between green, yellow, blue, and red.
The puppet stayed quiet-- you were getting antsy, afraid of upsetting your friend. You leaned forward a little, Malpractice catching the movement out of the corner of the puppet's eye. Your brows furrowed, as you hesitantly asked "...Do you like it? It's not weird, is it? I've never really had a friend to do this with--"
You made the most adorable little squeak when, suddenly, the puppet surged forward and threw its arms around you-- it was cold, freezing to the touch; no way to retain body heat, but you didn't mind regardless. You leaned into it, despite the obvious shiver that ran through your entire body.
Sad, how he couldn't really feel what the puppet was. Oh, how he longed to hold you in this way, truly-- to feel your warmth, hear your heart beating and the blood rushing through your veins.
To know you're alive, you're safe within his arms. That you're far away from any wretched creature that dares to try and hurt his little bird.
Something annoying, something nagging that he thought he'd long since killed-- whispered in the back of his mind, telling him to just have the puppet pick you up and carry you back,
The impatient, quick-to-act sort of thought process he was known for when he was first reborn. It'd been hard to control the urges then, to act on every little whim just because he could. Just because nobody could feasibly stop him, not in a way that mattered.
The puppet held you a little tighter, and you said nothing of it. He presumes that you hold may have tightened as well, with how the puppet shifted in such a way as it did.
"So..." You said, muffled slightly as you pressed your face into the shoulder of the puppet. "Does this mean.. you, uhm, accept it?" Oh, you were so adorable that Malpractice felt like he might die right then and there, if it was possible for him to die at all-- of course.
The puppet didn't retreat, simply held you there as you melted into its cold, unnatural embrace. You must've felt it, how strange the skin felt due to the chemicals used to keep it fresh-- you either didn't want to upset them, or just plain old didn't care. Seeking any sort of comfort, not caring if anything seemed amiss.
Almost as an afterthought, too caught up in the moment-- Malpractice remembered to respond. You must've been so relaxed, so touch-starved, that you didn't notice the sudden shift in your friends speech patterns. How Malpractice didn't bother to keep up the facade of modern speech.
"Why ever would I not, especially when you've gone through all the trouble you have?" and you hummed, a soft laugh muffled by the fabric of the puppet's functionally useless coat. "...So you like it, then?"
The puppet, almost robotically, guided their fingers over your hair-- a comforting gesture to you, but it only made Malpractice feel anguished-- that he couldn't truly be here, couldn't feel you held within his embrace.
"Of course, little bird."
#oc: malpractice#yandere x reader#yandere oc#platonic yandere#platonic yandere oc#platonic yandere x reader#yandere#soft yandere#yandere horror#my writing#reqs open#requests open#my ocs <3#gn!reader#neglected reader
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🎼 Dress👗
Summary:
"Only bought this dress so you could take it off, take it off~" - Taylor Swift, Dress Starting with a secret relationship, stolen glances, subtle touch, marking each other and ended up with you waking up together. A collection of moment about your relationship with you childhood friend, best friend and as everyone else know him the stoic and strict doctor, Zayne. It's thrilling, it's sweet, and it's electrifying.
Disclaimer:
Alright listen, I love Caleb alright, as a friend, as a bro, he's like a brother that I never had so let me have this! My bro is still with me! But anyway... Fluff and technically AU Pairing: Zayne x Reader/MC
Ao3 link
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The room hums with conversation, laughter spilling over the clinking of glasses and the low pulse of music. Familiar faces, some barely changed, others worn by time, move through the dimly lit space, caught in moments of nostalgia.
Across from you, he leans back in his chair, effortlessly at ease. To everyone else, he’s just your best friend—same as always. The two of you, inseparable, yet nothing more. That’s what they think.
But then his eyes meet yours. Just for a second. A flicker of longing that only you recognize.
You look away, pretending to listen to whatever story is being told beside you. He does the same, nodding along to a conversation he isn’t really part of. But the tension lingers, a thread pulling between you, tightening with every stolen glance.
No one here knows. Not your friends, not even the ones who know you best. And maybe that’s what makes this moment sharper, heavier. The secret tucked between smiles, the quiet thrill of pretending.
"Man, I still can’t believe it," someone says, shaking their head with a laugh. "You three? Still thick as thieves after all these years? How does that even happen?"
You barely have time to think of a response before Caleb jumps in, all easy confidence and that familiar grin. "What can I say? Some bonds don’t break. You spend enough time together, suffer through enough bad group projects, and suddenly you’re stuck for life."
Laughter ripples through the table, and you nod, playing along. "Yeah, at this point, cutting either of them off would feel like losing a limb."
"Aw, you’d miss us that much?" Caleb teases, nudging you lightly.
"You wish," you shoot back, and the group laughs again.
Zayne, as expected, doesn’t say much. He just sits there, quiet, unreadable, offering nothing but a small nod of agreement. To everyone else, it’s just him being himself—stoic, detached, not one for small talk. But you know better.
You feel it in the way his fingers tap idly against the table, a slow, familiar rhythm. You see it in the way his gaze flickers toward you, barely noticeable, but enough. It’s a reminder. A quiet acknowledgment.
And just like that, you’re back there—
Late nights spent in Caleb’s car, all three of you crammed inside, talking about nothing and everything. The glow of streetlights casting shadows over Zayne’s face as he stared out the window, quiet as always. You’d watch him, thinking about how unfair it was that someone could just exist like that—unbothered, impossible to read, while you sat there, heart twisted up in knots over him.
Inside jokes whispered across crowded hallways, his shoulder brushing yours as you walked side by side, the warmth lingering longer than it should. That moment in the library when he passed you his notes, fingers grazing yours, the briefest touch that sent something sharp and electric down your spine.
You remember waiting.
Waiting for a sign, for something solid, something more than the stolen glances and unspoken moments. But Zayne was always just out of reach, his walls too high, his silence impossible to read.
And you—too caught up in your own doubts to realize he was waiting, too.
You blink, pulled back into the present as Caleb keeps talking, effortlessly carrying the conversation. Around you, the reunion buzzes on—glasses clinking, old friends swapping stories, laughter rising over the hum of background music.
Zayne still hasn’t said a word. But under the table, where no one else can see, his fingers brush against yours. Just for a second. Just enough to remind you—
You aren’t waiting anymore.
A sharp voice jolts you out of your thoughts.
“Wait—hold on. When did you get that?”
You barely have time to process before Harper leans in, eyes locked on the ink at the nape of your neck.
“You got a tattoo?” she accuses, voice full of mock betrayal. “And you didn’t come to me?”
You blink, momentarily caught off guard. “Oh. Uh—”
“Wait—you have a tattoo?” Caleb cuts in, sounding equally shocked. His gaze flicks to your neck, then back to you, brows raised.
You wave a hand, shrugging like it’s nothing. “It’s not that big of a deal.”
Caleb scoffs. “Not a big deal? You used to freak out over temporary tattoos lasting too long.”
Harper leans in more, squinting. “Hold on. That’s a smart ink heartbeat, isn’t it?”
Caleb pauses mid-sip, lowering his glass. “A heartbeat tattoo?” His brows shoot up. “Alright, now you have to tell me why.”
You roll your eyes. “There’s no story. I just liked it.”
Caleb tilts his head, grinning. “Right. Because nothing says ‘casual impulse’ like permanently inking a heartbeat on yourself.”
Harper snickers. “Yeah, whose is it?”
You shrug again, keeping your expression neutral. “Mine.”
Caleb gives you a long, unimpressed look. “Uh-huh.”
“What?” You fold your arms. “It is.”
“Sure,” he drawls, clearly unconvinced but not pushing further. Instead, he just grins wider. “Damn. Never thought I’d see the day.”
You roll your eyes, but before you can say anything, you catch movement from across the table. Instinctively, your gaze flicks to Zayne.
He doesn’t say a word. Doesn’t react. Just takes a slow sip of his drink, as carefully blank as ever. But beneath the table, his fingers brush against yours. Just a fleeting touch.
And suddenly, you remember exactly why you got it.
Not just because you liked it.
Because it was his.
And because every time you tie your hair up, every time his eyes catch on the exposed skin of your neck, every time his lips find the exact spot where the ink sits now—you remember.
You glance back up at him, but his gaze has already moved away, back to the rest of the room like nothing happened. Like he isn’t sitting there, knowing exactly what that tattoo means.
And Caleb—oblivious as ever—just leans back, shaking his head.
The night is winding down. The crowd has thinned, leaving only scattered groups of lingering classmates, voices softer now, laughter blending into the hum of the venue’s closing atmosphere. You weave through them, making your way back from the bar, ready to call it a night.
Near the entrance, Caleb is saying his goodbyes, but as soon as he spots you, his brows furrow slightly. “You’ve been drinking,” he points out, crossing his arms. “You shouldn’t go home alone. I can drive you.”
You shake your head with a small smile. “I’ll just take a cab, Caleb. It’s fine.”
He doesn’t look convinced. “Yeah, no, that’s not a great idea—”
Before he can finish, Zayne stands. “I’ll drive her.”
The words are calm, matter-of-fact. He rolls down his sleeves as he straightens, glancing briefly at Caleb. “I need to head home anyway.”
Caleb exhales, look relieved. “Alright. Guess that works.” He turns back to you, pointing. “Text me when you get home.”
You roll your eyes. “Yes, dad.”
He smirks. “Damn right.” Then he claps Zayne on the shoulder in farewell. “Take care, man.”
With that, goodbyes are exchanged, and you and Zayne step out into the night.
The air is cooler now, crisp against your skin. You’re walking beside him, and without a word, he shrugs off his jacket and drapes it over your shoulders, his hands lingering for a second before he pulls away. His scent clings to the fabric, warmth still trapped in it from his body.
“Wouldn’t want you catching a cold,” he says, voice quieter now, almost absentminded—like it’s the most natural thing in the world. But there’s a softness to it, a quiet care that makes your chest tighten.
And yet, your mind is already drifting elsewhere—because damn, does he look good tonight.
It’s nothing over the top. With his jacket on you, he’s left in just a crisp white button-down, sleeves rolled halfway up his forearms, tucked into tailored black slacks. Simple. Effortless. But there’s something about it—about the way the fabric stretches across his broad shoulders, about the way his arms look unfairly good like that, veins subtly lining his hands—
You’re too busy swooning to realize he’s stopped walking.
You only notice when you take another step and find yourself suddenly alone.
Blinking, you glance to the side—and meet his gaze.
He’s watching you, his expression unreadable, but there’s a small, knowing curve to his lips.
Then, he says your name. Just your name.
And somehow, everything else fades.
The city sounds dull, the cool air forgotten. It’s just him now. The sharp cut of his jaw in the dim streetlights, the way his dark eyes seem to pull you in, holding you there.
Something shifts in them.
“You’re not making this easy for me,” he murmurs, voice low.
You swallow. “What?”
He exhales, shaking his head slightly. “I’m good at controlling myself.” A pause. His gaze drags over you, slow, deliberate. “But not when it comes to you.”
Your pulse stutters.
His eyes trace the thin straps of your dress, the way it exposes your shoulders, your neck—the backless cut hidden beneath his jacket, the slit running high along your leg.
He already liked the dress when he first saw you tonight. You know that. But right now, under his gaze alone, you can feel it.
Then he leans in slightly, his voice quieter now. “What do you think this dress does to me?”
You should be embarrassed. Flustered. And maybe you are, judging by the heat creeping up your neck.
But instead, you square your shoulders and meet his gaze head-on.
“I hope it’s a good one,” you say smoothly. “I bought this dress so you could take it off, after all.”
It comes out steady, confident. But the second the words leave your mouth, heat spreads—your ears, your cheeks burning.
Zayne’s reaction is instant. His pupils darken, something unrestrained flickering in his eyes. For a moment, he just looks at you, unmoving.
Then you notice it.
His ears.
The tips of them, red.
A slow exhale leaves him, and then he steps closer, his voice lower now, edged with something rough.
“Then I better get started on that,” he murmurs. “Preferably not on the sidewalk.”
Just like that, the tension shifts—still charged, but laced with teasing.
You let out a breathy laugh, but your heart is still hammering.
Because the night is far from over.
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It’s rare for the three of you to get a day off at the same time.
With the way schedules clash—your shifts, Zayne’s surgeries, Caleb’s unpredictable workload—it almost never happens. So when it finally did, Caleb had immediately suggested the three of you hang out.
And you… may have dodged that invitation.
Just this once.
Because as much as you love Caleb, it had been too long since you and Zayne had a day off together. Just the two of you.
And now, here you are.
After spending the entire day lazing around at home, barely leaving the couch between naps, movies, and tangled limbs, you’re now soaking in the warmth of the bathtub, wrapped up in the scent of lavender and the heat of Zayne behind you, his chest firm and solid behind you, the rise and fall of his breathing steady—except for when his lips find your neck.
Again.
And again.
His mouth brushes lazily over your tattoo, lingering like he’s reminding himself it’s there. Like he’s claiming it all over again.
His fingers, damp and slow, skim down your arm, tracing absentminded patterns on your skin before they wander lower, teasing.
A shiver runs through you, and you tighten your grip on your wine glass, trying to focus on not reacting too much.
It was fine. Nice, even. Until suddenly—
His fingers shift.
And—oh.
The touch catches you off guard, a sharp, unexpected spark zipping down your spine. Your body jolts—and in the process, your grip on the wine glass wobbles.
Then, it happens.
The glass tips back.
A slosh of red spills right behind you.
Right onto Zayne.
There’s a beat of silence.
You turn slightly—just in time to see the aftermath.
Zayne’s expression is blank, lips parted slightly in delayed realization, his usually sharp features now half-covered in deep red. A drop of wine drips down his cheek, staining the pale skin of his throat.
He blinks once. Then, slowly, his tongue flicks out, tasting the stray droplet at the corner of his lips.
And that’s it.
Laughter erupts from you, full and unrestrained.
“You—” You can barely get the words out between breaths. “You look like a crime scene.”
Zayne exhales through his nose, lifting a hand to wipe at his face, but it only smears the wine further. You’re still giggling as you shift forward, already moving to climb out of the bath.
“Okay, I’ll grab a towel,” you say between laughs. “You should probably—”
Before you can finish, an arm wraps firmly around your waist.
You barely have time to yelp before you’re pulled right back against him.
The water sloshes over the edges of the tub as you settle on his lap, straddling him now. His arms tighten, caging you in.
You blink down at him.
Zayne blinks back up at you.
His eyes are slightly unfocused, his usually sharp demeanor softened by the alcohol in his system.
Oh. Oh.
You’ve seen Zayne like this before.
Drunk Zayne is rare, but when it happens, one thing is guaranteed—he clings.
And right now? That’s exactly what he’s doing. Sometimes you forget how much of a lightweight he is. Well, lightweight is generous—he really can’t handle alcohol at all, which is probably another reason he avoids it.
His lips brush your cheek, then your jaw, then your nose, peppering soft, uncoordinated kisses, like he has no plan other than covering you in them.
“Zayne,” you try, still half-laughing. “We should get out—”
He hums against your skin, clearly not listening.
His kisses trail lower.
The warmth of his mouth follows the curve of your throat, lingering just below your ear before drifting down.
Your fingers, still damp from the water, absently trace along his chest, gliding over familiar ink.
The thin, sharp line of his tattoo.
Your tattoo.
The heartbeat that matches yours, sitting right over his heart.
You trace the design slowly, feeling the way his muscles shift beneath your touch. Zayne exhales slightly, his body relaxing further against you, but there’s something more in his gaze now—something heated, something deeper.
Your pulse flutters.
Then, your lips curve, eyes flicking back to his.
“Want to continue this out of the tub?”
Zayne blinks at you, momentarily dazed, before letting out a soft chuckle. His hands tighten at your waist.
And then, his lips trail lower again, moving down—
And, well.
Looks like you’re staying in the tub a little longer.
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You wake up to the sight of Zayne’s face, close enough that you can see the faint traces of sleep still clinging to him—the slow rise and fall of his breathing, the way his lashes flicker slightly, the softness in his usually sharp features.
For a moment, you just watch him, warmth settling in your chest.
Then, memories from last night creep in.
Meeting up with Caleb.
Planning to finally tell him about you and Zayne.
You had expected some kind of shock—maybe even a dramatic reaction—but instead, Caleb had just grinned.
A big, knowing, downright cheeky grin.
And then, he said, “Took you long enough.”
That had been enough to send you into stunned silence. Zayne, ever composed, had simply exhaled through his nose in mild amusement.
Meanwhile, you had barely managed a flustered, “Wait, what?”
Caleb had just laughed, shaking his head. “Come on. You guys thought you were being subtle? I was just waiting to see how long it would take. Honestly, way longer than I predicted.”
You had groaned, covering your face with both hands as Caleb continued to tease, thoroughly enjoying the moment.
And then—just to really make a point—he had said, “By the way, if you two ever have a kid, I’m calling dibs on godfather.”
At the memory, a smile tugs at your lips, amusement bubbling up all over again.
That’s when you feel movement beside you.
Zayne shifts, his brows furrowing slightly before his eyes flutter open—heavy-lidded and still hazy with sleep.
He takes one look at you, then lazily scoots closer, burying his face against your chest with a soft sigh.
A chuckle escapes you.
“Good morning,” you murmur, running a hand through his sleep-mussed hair.
He doesn’t reply—just hums against your skin, his arms tightening slightly around your waist.
You glance at the clock. It’s still early.
Cuddling for a little while longer wouldn’t be a bad idea.
So you settle in, wrapping your arms around him, feeling the steady warmth of his body against yours.
Zayne exhales, his hold on you easy, content, as he nuzzles against your chest.
And just like that, neither of you are in any hurry to move.
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You’re curled up on the couch, scrolling through your phone while waiting for Zayne to arrive. The soft glow of your living room lamp casts a cozy warmth around you, and the smell of sweet tea lingers in the air. You’d already set out his favorite snacks—anything sugary, because your serious, stoic boyfriend has the sweetest tooth.
No alcohol tonight, though. As much as you want to... You have a morning shift tomorrow.
Your thumb pauses on the screen when a post about a dress catches your eye. It’s elegant, a little daring, and something about it reminds you of the dress you wore to your reunion a few months ago. That dress—Zayne’s reaction to it—how he looked at you, touched you...
You glance down at yourself now—loose, comfortable clothes, what you usually wear at home. Practical, sure, but maybe not the most exciting choice.
Thinking for a moment, you finally push yourself up and head to your room.
Just as you’re adjusting the fabric of your outfit in the mirror, you hear the front door open.
“I’m home,” Zayne calls out, his voice steady and familiar.
Something about hearing him say home makes warmth bloom in your chest. You shake the feeling off, smoothing down your dress before stepping out of your room.
Zayne has just finished putting his things away when he turns toward you—and stops.
His gaze moves over you, slow and deliberate, and you see the exact moment something shifts in his expression.
“Looks like I’m a little underdressed for the occasion,” he says, his voice laced with amusement as he starts walking toward you.
You don’t move—just let him take you in, knowing he’s enjoying every second of it.
When he reaches you, he lifts a hand, fingers sliding gently through your hair, gathering it together and lifting it up, exposing the nape of your neck.
“Perfect,” he murmurs, his breath warm against your skin before he leans in and presses a kiss just below your ear.
A shiver runs down your spine.
Then he kisses you.
Your arms wind around his neck as his hands travel down—trailing from your hair to your neck, then lower, fingers brushing over your shoulders, playing with the thin straps of your dress.
Between kisses, he hums, teasing, “I’m supposed to take this off, right?”
You can feel his smile against your lips.
Your own smile mirrors his as you pull him in closer.
“Well,” you say, voice light, playful, “that was the plan.”
Zayne chuckles, his breath warm against your skin. “Then I better not waste any time.”
And with that, the night truly begins.
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Notes:
I'm framing this like a slow pace montage, following the song yk, which is why it's keep jumping, and If I do say myself it turn out alright! Love this song, love fluff and ofc love Zayne lol I just wish I can highlight more of Zayne's behavior but I feel like this fit the song vibes and lyrics more, next time then. If anyone has ideas about Zayne, I’m open to hearing them! This new hyperfixation needs to be quelled…....
#love and deep space#love and deepspace#loveanddeepspace#love and deepspace x reader#love and deepspace zayne#zayne love and deepspace#zayne x mc#lads zayne#zayne x reader#li shen#l&ds zayne#lads au#love and deepspace x you#lads fluff#lads x reader#lads x you#established relationship#best friends#childhood friends#secret relationship#song story#taylor swift songs#fluff#sweet and sexy#sweet#second pov#tension#not so secret#teasing#tattoos
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Sarah, i loved the prompt you wrote for me! Thsnk you so much! And the one with Audrey cutting her Hand was lovely too!
So, may I ask for another one please if you have some time? Maybe number 34 to have some drama?
Thank you Cookie! Your wish is my command! Send me a prompt
34. Someone is yelling your name
The bomb had fallen on a farmhouse a mile or so outside Darrowby. The inhabitants, sheltering in their Anderson shelter a good distance from the house, were unharmed. Their house was utterly destroyed. Audrey, wearing her uniform, her helmet, and a fixed expression on her face, was surveying the damage. Dawn had broken, casting pale light over broken beams, the scattered detritus of years of living.
The farmer stood next to her. He heaved a sigh. “Well. Nowt to be done. Missus is sad to lose our things, but it could have been worse. I don’t like that shelter much. Wouldn’t have gone out to it if I’d been by meself.”
Neighbours began to approach. “Stay back,” Audrey warned them all. “It’s unsafe.”
One of the neighbours carted the farmer and his wife off for tea and breakfast. Audrey stayed at her post, keeping onlookers and nosey children out of harms way.
Mrs Hall had been quiet all day, Siegfried thought as he watched her slice bread for their tea, her mind clearly on other things.
“Was it bad?” he asked.
She jumped, as though she’d forgotten he was there. “Nobody dead or injured,” she said. “It was… hard to see.” She trailed off into somewhere else, staring unseeingly across the kitchen.
“Why don’t I do that?” Siegfried took the bread knife gently from her, guided her into a chair.
She remained not quite there throughout the evening, her knitting needles pausing for long periods of time. He watched her worriedly. They’d been through enough in the great war to have some idea of when somebody needed help.
“Would you like to talk about it?” he offered.
“Not really.” She managed a small smile. “But thank you.”
A sound woke him in the night. He blinked into awareness. Not the frantic trilling of the phone, but a voice.
“Siegfried!” Her voice was loud, carrying through the dark house. “Siegfried!”
She sounded terrified. He jumped out of bed, didn’t stop to put on slippers or dressing gown, hastened down the corridor to her room.
“Siegfried!” she cried again and he burst frantically into her room.
She was in bed, her eyes tight shut, sweat beading on her forehead. “Siegfried!”
The fear in her voice sent shivers through him. He dropped to his knees beside her. “Mrs Hall, Audrey!” He put his hand to her shoulder, shook her gently.
She sat up with a gasp. Saw him beside her and clutched at him. “You’re alive, you’re alive.” She held him tightly, one hand on his shoulder, the other cupping his face. “Oh, Siegfried!”
“Hush now, hush.” He put one hand over her shaking one. “It was just a nightmare. That’s all.” He imbued his voice with all the soothing tones that he could.
“I thought – you were dead.” Her voice crackled. “A bomb hit the house. You were buried under so much rubble. I couldn’t reach you… Oh, God…” Her shoulders shook and tears spilled down her cheeks.
He pulled her close to him and she twisted her fingers into his nightshirt. “I’m alive, I’m here,” he murmured as he ran his hand up and down her back. “I’m safe, I’m not going anywhere.”
“It was so real,” she whispered. “I thought I’d lost you.” She lifted her head then, a fierce look in her eye. “Promise me,” she said, holding his shirt tightly, “promise me you will always go to a shelter. No matter what.”
He was held captive by her eyes. “I promise,” he said. “I swear, Audrey. I will always go to a shelter.”
She sagged a little, then. “Thank you,” she whispered, and wiped her eyes. “I’m sorry for waking you.”
“Don’t be.” She felt so slight and fragile in his arms, and something of the fear in her dream had infected him too. “Sleep with me tonight,” he blurted out. “Please. I don’t want to leave you on your own.”
She looked up at him, eyes clear and true. “Thank you.”
They went to his room hand-in-hand. He pulled back the bedcovers for her and helped her in. She slipped in as though she belonged there, dark hair spilling over white pillows.
He climbed in beside her, felt the tremors that still ran through her. “Let me hold you?” he murmured.
She mumbled something that sounded like acquiescence and wriggled closer to him. He slung his arm around her middle, pulled her in tightly so that he could cocoon her in himself.
“I’ve got you. We’re safe,” he whispered into her hair. “Sleep well, Audrey.”
She yawned. “Thank you, Siegfried.” She pulled his arm tighter around herself. “Thank you.”
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blush - tobio kageyama || wc: 1.1k || genre: fluff || masterlist || tags: he fell hard, 5+1, just a two paragraph bit of angst, happy ending, yn our confident queen, hinata there to help the plot, shy kageyama
syn. a little blush here, a little blush there, a makeup artist and an athlete fall in love. it's only so many times kageyama can see them before he loses his mind. someone beats him to it though
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i.
the first time she meets kageyama tobio is for an ad for some curry brand. he’s not hard to work with and he doesn’t try to make conversation and make her job more difficult. that’s all she notes about him and doesn’t make an effort to look further in to him.
ii.
he’s glad that it’s her doing his makeup the second time they meet. all of the other makeup artists he’s had to deal with for various ads or interviews always want to talk to him more than he wants to. the process takes much longer he’s noticed if they talk and he just wants to go home to get the makeup off of his face. it never feels good on his skin, too sticky and heavy.
“hello again,” she says with a smile. she’s brought less product this time and he appreciates it.
“hello.” he watches her as she goes about cleaning everything and using disposable applicators to apply the minimal product to his face. he can't help the twitch when she puts concealer under his eyes.
“not like makeup?”
“feels too heavy.” she hums in response and nods as she searches through her bag for something. “i can use water-based products instead. they should feel lighter on your face.”
“okay,” he does admit it feels better. not as sticky and heavy. they don’t talk again after that.
iii.
the third time he begins to believe that it’s not a coincidence. but he can’t complain much when she’s gentle with applying what needs to be done and he’s found himself wishing she would talk to him more.
who keeps asking for this? does she keep asking to be the artist for all of his shoots? “do you like makeup?” that’s a stupid question, why would she do this for a living if she didn’t like it?
“yes,” she replies with a small laugh. “all done.” there’s a smile on her face that has his breath hitching and he’s not sure why.
he brings it up to hinata and glares at the laugh he receives. “you like her.” he can hear him over the crude speakers of the phone.
“idiot, i don’t like her. i barely know the person.” he scoffs and realizes hinata won’t be of any help in this.
“trust me on this, i know you’re bad at feelings but you definitely have a little crush.” hinata can’t hold back his small bits of laughter through the sentence though.
“idiot.” with a click he hangs up the phone and finds himself staring at the wall. did he like her? they’ve met three times and he likes her? that seems ridiculous.
he calls his manager five minutes later requesting her for all of his appearances.
iv.
surprisingly, the next time they meet he isn’t sitting in her chair and she doesn’t have her makeup bag with her. it’s at a local diner and her booth is right across from his table. she gives him a smile after realizing it is him and he nods his head.
he tries not to look at her but he hasn’t seen her look so…relaxed and free before. the actions she takes don’t look practiced and meticulous. he watched her putts around with the straw wrapper and almost knock over her glass of water with an inkling of a smile on his face.
“do you want to sit with me?” he finds himself asking over the silence.
“why?”
“i don’t like having lunch alone.” that’s a lie, he’s perfectly fine with eating alone.
“okay, i don’t like eating lunch alone either.” they eat their lunch in silence and kageyama pays even though she tries to refuse.
“you can pay next time,” an unspoken promise.
v.
when he visits japan it doesn’t feel the same. maybe he’s grown too used to the structure of italy. the sights, the language, and the people. his heart yearns for italy on nights he sleeps in his childhood bed. it’s become uncomfortable and bulky compared to his bed in italy. as much as it hurts, japan doesn’t feel like home anymore.
his friends are there…mostly, some have gone off across the world in their own ways. his family is there, his old coach is there, the place he got rejected for the first time. his first kiss was there, his first volleyball game. japan was his beginning but it feels like a coat that he’s grown out of but is still made to wear when the weather grows cold. it will always be warmth but not enough for him to stay there.
he returns to italy two weeks later and the first thing he does it run to the beach and just watch the waves. italy is warm and italy is his home now. “funny seeing you here,” his eyes flutter open and behind him he sees her approaching him. “haven’t seen you recently, i thought it was my turn to pay?”
that’s another thing japan didn’t have. it didn’t have her. “it is.” she sits down beside him and they look at the clouds.
“where were you?” her voice feels as gentle as the waves. wearing down slowly at his resolve.
“visiting japan,” he sighs and brings his knees down from his chest.
“most people would say visiting home you know.” she remarks with a small smile.
“japan doesn’t feel like home anymore.” she hums but doesn’t push. “i think i’ve been gone too long.”
“that happens…are you upset about it?”
“i’m…not sure.”
“that’s okay, do you want to get some lunch?”
“yeah, i’d like that.”
vi.
they’ve been meeting more frequently. numbers were exchanged and texts sent later than either should be up. quiet smiles at their phones between practice and appointments. it’s two months before he sits in her chair again. before the lights hit his face and the bag she carries with her is set down on the vanity next to him.
his cheeks feel warmer than they used to. has she gotten closer? when he closes his eyes he can feel her breath and the soft touch of her fingers as she applies product to his face. “you’re really pretty tobio.” he feels his breath stutter a little bit.
“thank you, you are too.”
“might need something to cover the red on your cheeks.” oh…could she tell? “if you like me, you can just say so. i like you too.”
it takes a moment for the words to wrap around his brain. “i do. like you i mean.”
“i know,” she cleans off her pallets and throws away the applicators. “this is where you ask me on a date.”
“will you go on a date with me?”
“i would love to. be ready by six.”
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hi ave <3 i hope you enjoy this !!! it’s your present for valentine’s day because i love you so much <3333 if you guys want to see the other things im writing today go here, it will be updated throughout the day <33
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so american <3
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Chapter Four: Operation: Get Him Back!
synopsis: Remus grows attached to an American transfer student from Ilvermorny
trope: idiots in love, grumpy x sunshine
pairing: remus lupin x american!reader
(R is alluded and mentioned to be in gryffindor)
content: r and remus are seperated ):, but not for long <3
wc: 1.2k
series masterlist
a/n; happy valentines day!
EVERYTHING WENT WRONG so quickly.
And you were still trying to wrap your head around the situation regarding Remus.
“I trust you, Remus.”
“Can I kiss you— Remus?”
“I—I don’t want to force you to do anything—“
He lashed out.
“Why do you want to kiss me? Out of everyone?” He moved himself back a bit, and you frowned softly.
You were drunk and still recovering from your closet incident.
“You don’t want to kiss Sirius?”
“I— no I don’t want to kiss him! I’m asking you!”
“Y/n, you don’t want to kiss me.”
“Remus—“
“Y/n, you don’t want to kiss me.”
“If you don’t like me, Remus. You can just say it.”
“I’m just protecting you!”
“Protecting me from what?”
“Myself!”
“Why?”
“ ‘Cause i’m a bloody Werewolf, okay?”
Once Remus had realized what he said— silence fell upon both of you.
“Remus..—“
“I have to go.”
“No— please— Remus—“
“I’m dangerous, Y/n. And if you’re smart, you’ll never speak to me again.”
Never speak to him again? Absolutely not.
Were you a bit bold in asking him to kiss you so abruptly? Absolutely, but why did Remus assume you weren’t being truthful and wished to kiss someone else?
And why did he run away?
Did he mean to say he was a were-wolf?
You needed to know more, and potentially bridge the gap between yourself and the boy of your dreams.
But where to start?
So, you came up with a plan. (after you spent hours being inconsolable, [sorry, dorcas.])
Operation: get him back.
First; You needed to speak with Sirius (or James, he works too.) immediately, figure out if Remus really is what he said he was.
Second; Explain to Lily your situation, perhaps she would know how to make amends? They do study together.
and Third; Regain your friendship with Remus and vow to never fall in love with him ever again.
That third step will be the hardest.
"JAMES!"
The bespectacled boy quickly pivoted to lay his eyes on you.
"Y/n? What's the matter?" He strutted across the common room towards you, and Remus shared some uncomfortable eye-contact with you for a moment.
"Um.. we need to talk somewhere... private." You urged, all while ushering him away and into the portrait hole near the entrance.
"Merlin, seriously- what's all of the fuss about?" He whined.
"It's about Remus, last night- He took me to the Boathouse after the whole incident with Lockhart and- I was stupid and jumped the gun and asked him to kiss me-"
"Stop, you asked him to kiss you?" James gawked.
"Yes, now-"
"That's rich."
"Stop interrupting me!" You snapped.
"The point is, Remus freaked out and blurted out that he was a.. a werewolf- and ran off and I don't know what to do and-"
"Calm down, okay? Wow, that is incredibly unlike Remus to just blurt that out." James perceived from your situation.
"What do I do?"
"I'll talk to him, try to help him sort out his feelings."
"Godric bless you, James Potter." You patted his cheek in thanks.
"Mum always told me I was a god-send." He beamed, clearly a bit full of himself but you know what they say- James had an ego the size of a lake but a heart to match it.
"Do make sure he knows that I'm not... like- against lycanthropes?" You suggested gingerly.
"I'll make sure." James grinned, before going back to his company.
First step- Complete.
REMUS IS EXTREMELY AND irrevocably torn.
It's been three days since you have spoken, three.
And he's beside himself with how upset he is.
He didn't mean to lash out, he really didn't.
"Remus! That's the girl of your dreams!" Sirius argued from across the couch.
"Maybe, she was meant to be- but I fucked everything up!" Remus took a long sip from his fire-whisky.
"Then go un-fuck everything up!" Peter cheered, clearly missing the memo.
"It's not that easy! I told her about my- problem.. and she probably doesn't want anything to do with me anymore!" Remus defended.
"No, mate. She distincively told me that she had no problem with your problem." James explained simply.
"Ha! I knew she wouldn't care!" Sirius barked.
"Still, I told her to never speak to me ever again."
"Ooh.. that's low, mate." Peter ceased his mindless celebration and silently judged Remus' life descisions all while taking a bit out of his bread.
"Do you think I don't know that?"
"Well- you need to fix it! Both of you need too!" Sirius slammed his hand down on the coffee table.
"I know- but how?" Remus sighed, his face falling into her hands.
"Perhaps when you have to meet for astronomy?" James suggested. "That's not till Saturday." "At the Slytherin Vs. Gryffindor game?" Sirius pointed out. "She might not even go." "Send her a lovely letter from an anonymous sender to meet somewhere rather romantic and pretty?" Peter joked, but Remus' face lit up.
"Yes! Peter, you are a genius!"
"What did I say?" Peter asked, confused.
But Remus couldn't find time to respond, as he rushed to his parchment and quill.
This was going to be the best damn letter ever written.
"SO, REMUS ISN'T SPEAKING to you, hm?" Lily combed her fingers through your hair.
"I totally messed everything up." You cupped your face into your hands.
"No- honey, you didn't. Everyone was a bit intoxicated and you should never feel the need to apologize for liking someone." She wrapped her arms around you consolingly.
"I don't know what I would do without you, Lily." You smiled softly.
"Same to you, lovely." Lily cooed, brushing a stray hair out of your face.
"What do I do, Lily?"
"Well... Remus does like chocolate." She suggested wirily.
"But what kind?" You turned to face her.
"Well he loved Galaxy Minstrels, but that's a muggle chocolate-"
"I'll get him those then." You announced.
"Y/N, Galaxy Minstrels aren't sold at Hogsmeade." Lily warned, an expression of concern for your determination.
"Those are his favorites, right? I'm getting those for him come hell or high water." You insisted, and Lily couldn't hold back her smile.
"You're going to bribe him with chocolate?" She chuckled softly.
"Exactly." You smirked, a wicked smirk if Lily had any input.
A FEW DAYS LATER, the chocolates so graciously provided by your parents arrived.
And you had recieved a letter from someone to meet you by the Black Lake after hours.
And with some help from Lily (and a hint from James), you were almost certain it was from Remus.
You had flowers and chocolates in hand, and you looked like you had just stepped out of a grocery store with an post-valentines sale.
You were nervous, understandably so.
As the Black Lake came into view under the star-stricken night sky- he came into view.
Remus, and was it a relief to actually be able to speak with him again.
You stood infront of eachother, silent as a grave.
Godric, let this go well.
Tune in next time on; so american (:
(this one is a bit short, i've got cool stuff in the works!)
so american taglist;
@hisparentsgallerryy @lydpop @amatoanima @po3tbbygirl @thequeen0fhearts @yourlittlefries @jsprien213 @liviessun @wandasbitch22 @michtellch @hellokitty-girl666 @bmyva1entine @n1ght-vngel @anehkael @wolfstcr @assorted-knives @mrsblackx @moonyswifee @sunset-toast @sammyreid @wsplalala @msfandomsblog @yimthesynonym @flowerytombx @rubyinthebooks @
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