#and double cheeked up on a sunday afternoon

[dumbandpoetics]

JOE BURROW Cincinnati Bengals vs. Buffalo Bills Divisional Round | January 22, 2023

[hezekiahwakely]

Everyone is so mean 2 me 💔

[kirlianradio]

I love ryetoast (the fnaf theorist) but also I can’t stop thinking abt her youtooz plushie. Every time I see it I think that piece of toast got panties on at first glance

Notes app artistic rendition

[choke-me-joey]

It's literally a peach FUCK OFF

[roosterforme]

The Younger Kind Part 6 | Rooster x Reader

Summary: In the aftermath of his drunken kiss, Bradley doubles down on his efforts to find someone else. You're confused and hurt, but you don't want to risk losing Noah, so you don't say anything, even if it's crushing you inside.

Warnings: Angst, swearing, fluff, and age gap (eventually 18+)

Length: 3300 words

Pairing: Single dad!Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x babysitter!female reader

Check out my masterlist for more!

Bradley woke up with sunlight on his face, warming his skin. He must have forgotten to close his bedroom curtains. He started to sit up and noticed that he was for some reason wearing his jeans. And his mouth was so dry.

He groaned, realizing he was on his couch as he finally got upright. And then his head started pounding. "Oh, shit." He must have really overdone it at the Hard Deck. Served him right for letting Nat take him out all night. He pulled his phone out of his pocket. It was still early, and his phone battery was almost dead. 

When he tried to stand up to check on Noah, he spotted a glass of water, a bottle of Advil, and a note on the side table. 

Hope you have fond memories of last night. Enjoy your hangover. And let me know when you need me to watch Noah again. 

Bradley started to remember more of his night at the bar. Jake and Nat and playing pool and lots of beer. But then he pictured with crystal clarity your perfect face just seconds before he kissed you. He closed his eyes and sank back against the couch cushions, remembering the feel of your perfect skin beneath his fingertips and the way you were immediately kissing him back. 

His cock pulsed when he thought about your fingers tugging his hair. He could practically still feel the sensation along his scalp. 

But then you stopped him. Because he was drunk.

Oh fuck. Bradley had kissed you, pushed you back against the furniture, and told you how fucking pretty you were. When he was drunk.

"Oh my god." He'd be lucky to ever see you again. Noah would be devastated. 

He grabbed your note and carried it to his bedroom with him, passing Noah still asleep in his bed on the way. He set the note on his dresser and read it again and again. Did he have fond memories of the evening? Hell yes, he did. His hands on your waist. Your lips on his. That wildflower scent as his nose rubbed your cheek. He wanted all of it again.

He was also terrified. He needed to get back on track with the dating app and hope you would still be willing to babysit Noah. Because there was no way in hell you would want to date him. He was so much older than you. And you were still a pediatric nursing student. Right about to start your career. And he was looking for something permanent with a woman.

"You're an idiot," he mumbled, stripping off his shirt and changing into a clean one. He plugged his phone into the charger next to his bed. He would need a full battery so he could go through all of his matches and messages and line up some more women to meet.

----------------------

You were waiting around on Sunday, hoping you'd get a text from Bradley. You weren't sure if you should text him or not. The only thing you seemed to be able to do was replay those kisses over and over again in your mind. It had been perfect. His lips were addicting. And odds were he didn't remember any of it. 

Finally by late afternoon, you caved and texted him first, careful not to mention any of the kissing. 

You feeling okay? How's Noah?

Hours went by. You finished your school assignments for the entire upcoming week, you cleaned your house, you went for a walk on the beach. No response. You were feeling lonely and kind of miserable, because Bradley didn't remember kissing you. Or worse, he did remember, but he was trying to forget. 

You had your thumb ready to call Greyson, because you didn't want to be alone any longer today. As you were about to see if he was home, Bradley finally wrote back.

Bradley Bradshaw: I'm fine. Noah is too. Hey, I'm lining up a bunch of dates on the app. Can you send me your availability for the next week or so? And, I'm really sorry about last night. It won't happen again.

You sank down to sit on your steps. It wouldn't be happening again, even though you wanted it to. So he did remember....he was just trying to forget. 

You sucked in a deep breath before you started to cry. Now Bradley had even managed to ruin going to see Greyson for you. But you texted him back anyway, because at least you'd get to spend some time with Noah even if Bradley didn't want you to stick around after he got home anymore. 

So you told him the days you were free, and by Monday morning, he let you know he had a date planned with a woman named Amanda on Thursday night.

Cool. But you didn't want the details anymore. You didn't even want to know that her name was Amanda. You'd get there on time and leave as soon as Bradley got home from here on out. 

Of course the week flew by in a blur since you were kind of dreading Thursday evening. When you were heading to Bradley's house directly from class, you thought about stopping at that coffee shop he seemed to favor, but it was closer to North Island. So you just continued on your way. 

The front door was unlocked. "Hi?" you called out, and Noah was running for you immediately. "Hey, Noah!" You knelt down on the living room floor and scooped him up into your arms and let him hug you. 

"Missed you," he said, releasing you and leading you toward the kitchen. Even though you braced yourself, as soon as you saw Bradley, you remembered what it felt like to be in his arms. 

"Hi," he said with a forced smile. Even the first time he met you, he didn't seem to have to force friendliness. You really hated this.

"Hey," you managed, and then you saw the coffee cup on the counter when he reached for it. He handed it to you, and you couldn't help but smile a little more. "Thanks."

So he was giving you a peace offering. He didn't want you to be upset over the fact that you would never get to feel his lips on you again. 

"You're welcome." You could almost feel that there should have been a Princess at the end of that sentence. Its absence had you gulping down some of the French vanilla coffee before you could start pouting. 

"What do you want to do today, Noah? Crafts, coloring, blocks, a hike?" you asked, pointedly ignoring Bradley as he hesitated before walking out of the room. 

"Blocks, probably," Noah said. "And I'm hungry."

You rummaged through the refrigerator, noting that there was very little food left already. You sighed. "Mac and cheese?" It was really the only option. 

You started to get everything ready when Bradley strolled back into the kitchen looking gorgeous for his date. "Not sure what time I'll be back."

"No rush," you said without really looking at him. "But if you have two credit cards, can you leave me one? I'm going to order you some groceries online."

He was silent for a moment. "You can do that? Online?"

You turned to look at him. "Do you live under a rock?"

He laughed, seemingly in spite of himself, and you did too. "I told you I was old, Princess. Too old for you."

You watched him swallow hard as your tummy swooped at the pet name. When he handed you his Visa card, his warm fingers brushed yours, and you had to turn away as he said goodbye to Noah.

---------------------------

Bradley was too old for you, but Amanda was just two years younger than him. And things were starting off pretty well as Bradley watched her order dinner. She was even prettier than her profile photos had led him to believe; he noticed that was something that never seemed to happen. And she was a kindergarten teacher who loved kids. 

But, she looked a bit like an older version of you. Which was confusing to Bradley, because that was simultaneously making him very sexually attracted to her as well as making him uncomfortable. 

"So, Amanda, what's it like teaching kindergarten?"

She smiled at him over her wine glass. "Here's the answer I should give: it's so much fun, and I just love the kids. Here's the real answer: the kids are exhausting, but somehow they are also sweet, so I go back each day like a sucker."

Bradley chuckled as she sipped her wine. She ordered the same kind of wine he had shared with you. He needed to focus on Amanda. She was funny and pretty and liked kids.

"I have a son. He's three," Bradley told her, wanting to just get that out of the way immediately. 

"What's his name?" she asked with an unwavering smile. 

"Noah." Then she started asking all the right questions, and making all the right jokes. She even laughed when he made fun of himself with a shrug. And when her high heel grazed his calf under the table, he didn't even mind it. 

He hadn't thought about you too much, so of course that was when you texted him. 

Babysitter: Noah and I had an unfortunate runin with the sink while we were doing dishes. Can I borrow a shirt?

"Sorry," he mumbled to Amanda as he typed out a response to you. "It's my babysitter."

"No problem."

But it was a fucking problem for Bradley. Because as soon as he told you where you could find a clean shirt in his dresser drawers, he was imagining you getting changed in his bedroom. He was imagining you wearing a wet shirt. He was imagining you looking at him while removing your wet shirt in his bedroom.

He gritted his teeth and tucked his phone away as his cock twitched. 

Amanda. He was ready to focus on her and the way she kept intentionally bumping his leg. 

"I'm having fun with you, Bradley," she said with a grin.

He nodded and agreed, because compared to anything else he had going for him, she was actually a pretty great option. 

"You free on Saturday?" she asked. "There's a film festival in Balboa Park we could hit up."

And just like that, he had a second date.

And then twenty minutes later, Amanda was kissing him next to her burgundy car. Bradley felt her fingernails scraping at the back of his neck, and it felt good. He let his hand rest at her waist, and that felt good, too. Just as Amanda's lips parted so he could taste her, Bradley pulled back a little bit. 

"I'll meet you there on Saturday," he rasped, and his eyes drifted closed as she kissed his mustache. 

"Night, Bradley," she said, slipping into her car and pulling away.

He was in no rush to get home now. He didn't even want to look at you all curled up on his couch with your Skittles and your textbooks. But he needed to get back so you could leave for the night. You had class in the morning. 

When he parked the Bronco in the driveway, he sat there for a few minutes. He couldn't date you. There was no way. Noah was already way to attached for him to even consider intentionally fucking things up with the babysitter. And you were too young. He'd just head inside and send you on your way until Saturday night. 

But when he unlocked the front door and found you asleep on the couch wearing his well worn UVA sweatshirt, his heart started pounding, and he could barely remember the woman he just had dinner with. You looked impossibly young and too fucking sweet. The fabric was pushed up enough that he could see a few inches of skin and your belly button. He could see a bit of lace peeking out above your leggings, and he was aching to kiss you there.

He turned and went directly to the kitchen to catch his breath. But you had cleaned the entire room so it was spotless. The refrigerator was covered in Noah's artwork, and when he opened it up, it was filled with the groceries you had ordered for him.

Bradley closed the door and let his head tip back. He selfishly didn't want to wake you up. He wanted you to sleep at his house tonight. He wanted to see what you looked like first thing in the morning. So he went to check on Noah and change into his pajama pants before returning to see you were still exactly where he had left you. 

Your steady breathing and softly parted lips were mesmerizing, and Bradley had to turn away a few times; the sight of you in his shirt was too much. Finally he knelt down next to you. 

"Princess?" he asked softly, but you didn't stir. "Princess, wake up." Still nothing. It was almost midnight now. Bradley gently slipped his hands and forearms between your body and the cushions, and he slowly scooped you up into his arms. 

"Mmmm," you moaned, and your lips made contact with his bare shoulder in a brief kiss before you stilled again. He held you close to his body and you curled up against him, never waking as he walked to his bedroom and gently set you on his bed. 

Bradley tucked you in, pulling the bedding up to your shoulders and letting his fingers brush your neck. Then without hesitation, he bent and placed a kiss to your forehead before shutting off the lamp and leaving the room. 

He went to brush his teeth, hoping he would be able to relax enough to fall asleep on the couch, alone. But you'd spent time in here too, because the room was clean now. New towels were hanging up, and everything was lined up on the vanity with perfect precision. Bradley started to violently brush his teeth, and that's when he saw your tee shirt hanging up near the shower curtain. Along with a sheer black lace bra. 

He reached out to run his fingers along the straps before taking the lace between two fingers. He groaned, his toothbrush hanging precariously out of his mouth as he pulled his hand away and spit his toothpaste into the sink. 

Without a backwards glance, he made his way to the living room couch and tried like hell to fall asleep on the cushions that smelled like your wildflower scent. 

---------------------------

You woke up with the softest fabric brushing your cheek, and you felt snuggly and warm. You wondered what time it was, and as soon as you moved, you realized you weren't in your own bed.

You sat up quickly, eyes wide, breaths coming out ragged. But this room smelled familiar, and it felt safe. It smelled like Bradley. You were in his bed. But you were alone.

Then you caught sight of your purple crown hanging from one of the bedposts, and your tummy swooped. You crawled across the bedding to run your fingers along the crown before climbing out of Bradley's bed. 

Hadn't you fallen asleep on the couch in the living room? You remembered getting tired and dozing off, no matter how hard you had been trying to stay awake. 

You buried your nose in the scent of Bradley's sweatshirt as you walked quietly down the hallway and peeked into Noah's room. He was still sound asleep, looking as angelic as always. Then you walked into the living room where the couch was empty with a blanket tossed halfway on the floor. 

You knew Bradley was in the kitchen before you heard him messing with the coffee maker, and when you peeked in, you almost moaned out loud. He was turned away from you, hair a wavy mess, and all of the toned muscles of his back and shoulders were on display.

"Morning," you said softly, and he spun to face you. There was nothing you could do except stare. Everything you saw above his low slung lounge pants had you almost giddily laughing. Toned abs, sparse chest hair, collar bones that you wanted to lick, and a scarred neck. 

"Morning, Princess." Oh shit! His voice was so rough. It sounded like sex, and you clenched around nothing as you bit hard on your lip. "I'm trying to make you a latte, but only Nat knows the secret inner workings of this machine."

You made your way a little closer and said, "Regular coffee is okay." But your voice was shaky, and Bradley was examining your face now. 

"Alright, get out the creamer, Princess."

You did as you were told, your thoughts stumbling over having a normal, domestic morning with Bradley and Noah in this house. Your breath caught as you turned to look at him again, and it felt like the awkward, drunken kisses were a thing of the past as Bradley measured out the coffee. 

"You moved me to your bed," you whispered, and he nodded at you. "Why didn't you wake me?"

Bradley was blushing and looking down at his hands. "You looked too comfortable. It felt like a crime to wake you up."

You grinned. "Can't have you committing any crimes. But you could have left me on the couch."

You wanted to add that he could have joined you in his bed, but you weren't feeling that bold. You didn't even know how his date had gone, but you knew he had slept here alone, on the couch.

He shook his head, the pink color starting to fade from his cheeks. "That would have been unfit for a Princess."

Bradley poured two mugs of coffee, and you added French vanilla creamer to each of them. Then he handed you the mug that said Kiss me, I'm an aviator and you blew on the steam. You forced the words out as he looked down at you. "How was your date?"

You watched as Bradley's brow creased, as if he had somehow forgotten he was even on a date. You were hoping to hear him say it went poorly, and that she didn't eat salad dressing, but instead his words made your heart stop. 

"I'm going on a second date with her on Saturday."

"Oh." Your lungs deflated, and your shoulders slumped. "I'm so happy for you."

"Yeah...." he grunted, but he didn't look too happy. 

And then Noah came into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes and looking between the two of you like he wasn't sure who to hug first. Bradley scooped him up in a hug, but soon he was reaching for you, too. 

"Will you make me scrambled eggs?" he asked as you hugged him. You really needed to leave for class, and you really wanted to get away from Bradley, but of course you agreed to whatever Noah wanted. 

So you made eggs and sausage for the boys while you finished your coffee, Bradley's eyes on you the whole time. 

Then you excused yourself to freshen up in the bathroom, hastily dressing in your bra and shirt from yesterday, before folding up Bradley's soft sweatshirt and leaving it on his bed. You thought about ripping the crown down and throwing it away, but instead you carefully placed it on top of his sweatshirt before turning on your heel. 

You contemplated leaving without saying goodbye, but then you'd be thinking about Noah's little face all day. You simply couldn't let yourself be that bitchy. So you gave him a little hug as he finished his eggs. 

And when you turned toward Bradley, he asked, "So you can come on Saturday evening? Sit with Noah while I'm out with Amanda again?"

You wanted to laugh in his face and tell him no, but instead you nodded before you grabbed your things and ran out the door. 

------------------------------

He needed a little help remembering, but I don't think he could fully regret kissing her.... but poor Princess! The next part will be 18+!!!!! You have been warned! Enjoy your babysitter fic @beyondthesefourwalls

PART 7

@hotch-meeeeeuppppp

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[navarresimp]

Why is he just laying there double cheeked up on a Sunday afternoon

(Netflix doesn't allow screenshots so I used my dsi to take an important pic)

[thewritingbeforesunrise]

Share Our Skin (part 1).

18+ ONLY. MINORS DNI

______________________________________

A/N: Hi everyone! It's been ages since I last posted a fic on here, so I am really nervous.

I have been working on this one for a while now. This is the first part of a wonderfully unhinged request from the lovely @twistedmelodies. Hannah, I really cannot thank you enough for your incredible patience and kindness!

This series is going to have three parts; the first two are building the background for the third and last chapter that is going to be 🔥.

I really hope you like this.

Word count: 8.1K

Pairing: Josh x female!reader

Warnings: fluff, NSFW 18+ONLY, graphic sexual content, oral (f!receiving), protected sex, rat tail Josh.

Summary: You stumble upon a nice little cinema in the city you have just moved to and you meet an even nicer boy, there.

_____________________________________

You didn't do that on purpose.

Absolutely not.

But, as you would soon learn, in life you should always prepare for trouble and only hope for it not to become double.

It was safe to say, though, that this time you had fucked up big time.

You had met him at your local cinema.

You had just moved to a new town alone and you had started to explore your surroundings, trying to find some interesting things to do, when you had stumbled upon a nice little cinema, just at the corner of your neighborhood.

You almost hadn't noticed it at first because it was mid afternoon on a Wednesday and it was closed.

The building looked absolutely anonymous but, as you lifted your gaze to the darkening clouds swirling in the sky, promising a storm soon, you spotted a faded unlit white and red sign saying "Cinema" and nothing more.

You made a mental note to try it on Saturday night, though.

You loved going to the cinema, so having one so close was making you feel a little less like a fish out of the water in a town you didn't know well.

Saturday evening came quickly.

You got ready and made your way to the building, finding the sign lit and a small queue of people just outside the door, which was still closed.

You learned that every Saturday evening they showed old movies. That night they were showing "To Catch a Thief", one of your favorite ever.

You waited in line and about ten minutes later you heard the sound of keys giggling and the door finally opened.

People slowly started to move inside and soon you were standing in front of the ticket booth.

The cinema from the inside looked old-fashioned but the atmosphere was warm and inviting. The first thing you noticed upon entering was the salty buttery smell of fresh popcorn that brought you back to when you used to go to the cinema every Sunday afternoon with your parents.

A little sense of nostalgia about your childhood invaded you and you started to get lost into your head.

You were quickly brought out of your tangled thoughts by a voice, nice and crystal clear.

"Good evening, love. What can I do for you?"

The voice belonged to a boy about your age with curly hair and buzzed sides, a perfect heartstopping smile and the most sparkly brown eyes you had ever seen.

You were at a loss of words.

Your expression must have been incredibly funny because he giggled and repeated himself, his smile deepening even more,making a tiny dimple appear on his left cheek.

It was even worse.

He had the cutest giggle you had ever heard.

You had to bite the inside of your cheek to prevent yourself from getting lost into your head again.

You blushed furiously and averted your eyes from his face, starting to stumble over your words making him giggle again, sweetly.

"Uh…I-I…" you tried to say but your brain didn't intend to cooperate.

You were making a fool of yourself and blocking the line. You heard people behind you starting to complain and you shook your head to finslly get a grip on yourself.

"Uh… a ticket please" you managed to say without looking at him and rummaging inside your purse for your wallet.

"It's 10$" he said, still smiling and as you handed him the money, your fingertips touched his and you felt a little jolt of electricity.

His fingers were warm and soft.

When he handed you the ticket he also slid a little chocolate bar your way.

When you frowned, he spoke.

"It's on the me, don't worry" he said gently and you blushed even more, thanking him in a sliver of voice and scurrying away absolutely embarrassed.

You kept scolding yourself for looking like an idiot in front of everyone.

When you entered the cinema room, you felt a nice warm feeling spread in your chest and again you remembered how much you loved and you missed cinemas.

The room brought you fifteen years back.

The cherry wood of the walls and the low golden lights made you feel at home.

The red velvet seats were incredibly soft to the touch and looked absolutely comfortable and well-kept.

The floor was covered in a dark grey carpeting that muffled your steps.

Like an enthusiastic child, you slowly made your way down the central corridor tracing your fingers dreamily against the side of the seats and scanning the room for the perfect spot.

Once you found it, you pulled down the seat and sat down on the soft cushion.

You started rummaging inside your purse for your phone and found the little chocolate bar the ticket-boy had gifted you and your stomach rumbled.

You had already had dinner so you weren't hungry. But you always had a sweet tooth so you couldn't resist.

You unwrapped the chocolate and took a bite.

Your eyes scanned the room slowly as you let the chocolate melt on your tongue. Inevitably your mind kept conjuring up images of the boy that had made your brain go blank and you mentally slapped yourself again for the terrible first impression you made.

Suddenly, the light faded out and the white screen came to life, making you momentarily forget about the cute boy and your clumsiness.

You lost yourself in the images.

Grace Kelly's dresses were a dream and Cary Grant was absolutely stunning. You were transported back in time by Hitchcock's virtuosity.

Before you knew it, the end credits were rolling slowly onto the screen and the light were turned on again.

People started to exit the room quietly and you stood to follow them.

You were the last one to exit.

The boy wasn't behind the register now, but he had a broom and was carefully sweeping the floor near the exit door.

He lifted his eyes from the ground as you approached the door and was quick to grab the door handle and open the door for you, like Cary Grant had done in the movie, you noticed.

Such a gentleman, you thought, a delicate blush covered your cheeks and his at the same time.

You thanked him. As you stood there ready to go home, he let go of the broom, leaning it against the wall and offered you his hand.

"I'm Josh," he said with that same big smile and bright eyes as before.

You reciprocated the greeting and introduced yourself too, shaking his hand.

He repeated your name slowly, rolling every letter on his tongue and you found yourself staring at his full lips moving.

He kept your hand in his for a second longer than what was considered usual and you couldn't help but notice his warmth and softness, compared to your icy skin.

You both blushed as you shook hands and let go, awkwardly standing one in front of the other in silence

"Well, I really have to go now," you said to break the silence.

"Good night, Josh" you added with a small smile and you saw his eyes twinkling upon hearing his name rolling off your tongue.

He wished you good night, too, as you exited and slowly started to make your way back towards your flat.

When you crossed the road, you couldn't help but turn around and look towards the building.

A warm smile spread on your lips before you could stop yourself when you saw that he was already looking at you from behind the cinema glassdoor.

As you caught him staring, he swiftly hid behind the wall but showed up again seconds later with a guilty grin and a hand rubbing the back of his neck, a bit embarassed.

God he is so sweet, you thought and blushed under his gaze despite being so far away from him.

He waved at you and you reciprocated, feeling something stir in your belly, like a hundred butterflies spreading their fluttering multicolored wings.

That night you couldn't fall asleep for hours and when, finally, sleep graced you, your dreams were haunted by beautiful brown eyes and contagious smiles.

You woke up with a jolt to the sound of your alarm clock. You cursed it because it had interrupted the sweetest dream you had ever had.

Of course you were dreaming of Josh.

You were afraid that you were starting to develop the biggest crush on that little cinema guy.

By the end of the week, you were sure you were madly in love with him.

You couldn't go five minutes without thinking about him and you hated yourself for that.

You didn't even know him, how could you feel that way for him already?

On Saturday evening you decided that you needed to see him again, the thought of his smile was more or less the only thing keeping you from saying to hell with everything. The week at work had been absolutely draining so you really needed a breath of fresh air.

And, of course, the cinema was the first thing that came to your mind.

This time they were showing "Pulp Fiction". You had already seen it millions of times but you didn't mind as long as you could see him again.

There were more people waiting outside than the last time.

When you entered, you saw him there, tearing tickets and serving popcorn and beverage to customers, expertedly.

Your heart started beating wildly as you waited for your turn.

Finally, you were in front of him again.

When he saw you, you were graced with that heartstopping smile that your brain had replayed hundreds of times in your dreams.

He greeted you using your name in his usual sweet tone and you tried not to swoon in front of him.

"How are you tonight? Ready for some Tarantino?" He asked playfully and you nodded, unable to control your smile.

"Yes, I am. I've seen it many times but never in a cinema, actually" you confessed as he gave you your ticket and change.

"Oh, it's way better on the big screen, trust me" he said and winked as he handed you the little bag of popcorn you had ordered.

You blushed at the gesture and entered the cinema room.

You chose your usual spot and you started eating popcorn waiting for the movie to start.

The film was almost finished when you reached the bottom of the popcorn box, feeling the little grains of salt under your fingertips.

And something else too.

There was something inside.

You took the item between your fingers and brought it out of the box. Thanks to the light coming from the screen you saw what it was.

It was the same chocolate bar that he had offered you the first time you met. But it wasn't alone. It was attached to a little strip of paper folded on itself.

You detached the chocolate from the paper and unfolded it.

Despite the darkness, you could see what had been handwritten inside.

"This is to make it up to you for last Saturday night. I should have at least offered to walk you home. I shouldn't have let you go out alone at night. I am so sorry. I would have never forgiven myself if something had happened to you. I hope this doesn't come off as rude or creepy but here's my number, don't hesitate to text me when you get home safe or whenever you want to know what films we are showing.

P.S. Please, ignore this if I am overstepping.

Josh :)

You blushed instantly and unconsciously brought the paper close to your heart as you felt butterflies go crazy in your stomach.

Nobody had ever been so thoughtful with you.

You couldn't stop smiling and, as the credits started to roll on the screen and the light switched on again, you stood and walked out of the room to see if he was there.

You wanted to thank him for his kind gesture, but once you were in the hall, he was nowhere to be seen.

An old man with round glasses and kind eyes was sweeping the floor, exactly like Josh had been last Saturday.

You were a bit disappointed.

You wished him goodnight and walked home.

Once you arrived home, you decided to text that number anyway.

With trembling fingers you typed a brief message.

Hi, Josh. I found your message inside the box. Thank you for your kindness. I have just gotten home safe. Please, feel free to text me the scheduled films every week, thank you.

P.S. You were right! The film was so much better on the big screen!

Goodnight.

You signed the message and before you could start mulling over it and overthinking, you sent it.

A few minutes later, your phone vibrated on your nightstand.

I am glad you got home safe and you enjoyed the film.

Sweet dreams!

Josh.

You felt again those damn wings flutter in your chest. You read the message hearing his voice in your ears and you blushed even though nobody could see you.

You were already smitten with him.

That night you dreamt about him again.

~

It started like that.

Every Thursday he texted you the scheduled movies and every Saturday night you texted him when you got home safe.

He was always so sweet every time you saw him and every time you fell a little more in love with him.

Every Saturday night he kept offering you the same chocolate bar, hiding it inside your popcorn box together with a little slip of paper where he wrote little anecdotes about the movie you were watching.

He told you he was a film nerd, but you were honestly impressed by the extent of his knowledge.

One Saturday evening, the weather looked awful but, after a long week at work, you didn't really feel like staying at home. And you needed to see him, his smile was more or less the only thing that helped you keep your sanity.

You had spent the entire afternoon baking a cake for him, to thank him for all the times he had offered you a chocolate bar and shared his precious knowledge with you.

You had opted for a chocolate fudge cake, since he gave you major chocolate vibes.

Dark, sweet and captivating. The website described the recipe with those three words and they made you think about him, immediately.

The recipe wasn't exactly easy, so you spent all afternoon mixing and stirring ingredients and then wiping and cleaning the kitchen.

Once the cake was in the oven, you showered and started to get ready to go out.

You had been so busy that you didn't even heard your phone vibrate with a message and then a phone call.

When everything was ready, you placed the cake in a box and exited your apartment.

The sky was dark. The clouds swirling fast and looking menacing and an intermittent rumble of thunder could be heard in the distance.

You grabbed an umbrella and walked to the cinema.

Once you arrived there, though, you were very surprised to find the sign unlit and the doors closed.

You checked the time on your watch and noticed that the cinema was usually open at that hour.

You knocked but the lights inside were off.

You started to worry that something had happened to him

You knocked again, just before a loud thunder shook the glassdoor.

You flinched at the loud noise but your heart flooded with relief as the lights inside switched on and you saw Josh make his way towards you with keys in his hand.

His smile was a little surprised but beaming as always.

"Hi, darling, what are you doing here? The storm is about to hit" he greeted you and said, looking up at the darkening sky.

"You didn't read my text, did you?" He added then, still smiling, at your confused expression.

You panicked and started rummaging through your bag for your phone.

"Hey, hey, calm down, it's ok!" He said placing a warm hand on your arm. "I texted you to tell you that tonight the cinema was closed due to the incoming storm. I even called you but after one call I didn't insist because I thought you were out with somebody and I didn't want to bother you." He said sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck and smiling, a little embarrassed. His cheeks pinkened slightly.

"Oh, I am so sorry Josh, I spent the entire afternoon baking this cake and I didn’t look at my phone." You started rambling, then added in a sliver of voice, "this is for you, for your kindness and sweetness"

You handed him the box as you started to back away from the door.

"Hey, darling, please don't go. Stay. I am really happy to see you. I don't want you to go away and…" he stopped for a second before continuing, casting his eyes down to the pavement.

"And I don't really feel like staying here alone working during a storm, so please stay" he said quickly, his cheeks pinkening even more.

"You can even choose the film tonight, it will be a private screening" he added and winked, playfully.

You blushed at his sweet request and after a few seconds you agreed. In reality, you had decided straight away to stay, but you didn't want him to believe you were too desperate.

His smile beamed even more when you accepted and he motioned for you to take his arm.

Then he closed the door behind you and escorted you inside like a gentleman, thanking you profusely for the cake.

You were really afraid he could hear your heart beating wildly in your chest at the thought of spending the evening alone with him.

He started leading you to a part of the cinema that was restricted to the public.

He opened a door, flicked on the lights and motioned for you to enter.

At that moment, you understood that he had taken you to the very screening room. You had never been inside one and you were mesmerized by everything you saw there.

You gasped and he chuckled.

"Here's were the magic happens" he said while spreading his arms wide.

You started to take a look around but you were interrupted by his voice as he placed the cakebox on the table and opened it.

"Wow, love! This cake looks delicious! How did you know chocolate is one of my favourite things in the world?" He asked, his eyes glittering with happiness.

"I just guessed" you answered sheepishly, blushing at his compliment.

He looked at you with a strange light in his eyes but the moment was interrupted by a loud thunder that shook the whole building.

You both flinched at the loud sound.

"Now, I really have to sort these new films that arrived today. But you can do as you were at home, you can choose the movie you want to see and I'll set it up for you while you get comfortable on the seats downstairs." He explained.

He pointed to a staircase that lead to the cinema room downstairs.

"Are you sure you don't need a hand with those films? I can help you so we can sort it out quickly and watch the movie together." You asked tentatively. You really didn't want to watch the movie alone while he worked.

It didn't seem right to you.

"Well, I don't really want you to work on Saturday night, really. I can do it myself, it won't take much time. Thank you, darling, but you just have to choose the movie and relax" he said sweetly, motioning you towards a closet full of rolls of film.

He left you there and you started to take a look around among all those movies.

This was honestly one of your dreams coming true.

You always loved movies and you always wanted to know what happened behind the door of the screening room.

You felt giddy being in such a special place.

Your eyes landed almost immediately on one of your favorites of all the times.

Your friends and family mocked you because whenever there was a movie to choose, you always picked that one, without even caring about how many times you had seen it.

"The Shining" was written in bold red lettering on one side of a roll on the bottom of the closet.

You picked it gently, trying not to make the others fall to the ground.

You assessed the weight of the film between your hands and you felt like a little girl with her favorite toy.

You turned around and he lifted his gaze from one of the boxes of new films.

He spotted the title immediately and bit his lip with a beautiful smile.

You heard him mumble something low under his breath but you caught it anyway.

"God, you are perfect" he whispered before catching himself and giggling, noticing that you had heard him.

You blushed and so did he.

You really didn't want to watch the movie without him so you told him and offered again to help him.

"I'd love to see this, but only if you let me help you with those boxes first, I really mean it, Josh" you said and you saw as he mulled over your offer.

You knew he had refused your help only because he was a gentleman and didn't want to make you work on a Saturday.

You also knew that four hands were better that two, so you really wanted to convince him.

"You don't want to end up like Jack, do you?" You said tauntingly, referring to the main character of the movie.

"All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, remember?" You continued and you saw his smile beaming again at your reference.

"All right, you sold me, darling," he said chuckling "I could really need some help. Plus, it's been a lot since I last watched that masterpiece, I'd love to see it again with you with the cinema all to ourselves. But only if you promise me that, after, you'll eat that cake with me" he added, pointing a finger at you.

"Ok, now tell me, what do we have to do?" You asked him, curiously.

"We have to classify these rolls briefly and then order them alphabetically on that shelf" he explained and you sat next to him, ready to work.

In less than an hour, you had finished and, meanwhile, the storm seemed to have passed. An occasional rumble of thunder could be heard far away.

He started thanking you profusely but you quickly interrupted him saying that that wasn't that big of a deal.

In reality, the truth was that you had loved spending some time alone with him. His presence was absolutely captivating and his eyes beaming while he told you every little thing he knew about those films. You could have listened to him talk for hours and hours nonstop about his passion.

"Now we can finally relax" he said, gently taking the roll you had previously chosen and starting the various machines that occupied one side of the room.

You watched mesmerized as he made quick work of operating the projector and you gasped when you saw the first images light up the screen in the cinema room from the little window in front of you.

He winked at you and you tried so hard not to swoon you had to bite your tongue.

"Here we go, love, let's go search for the best seats," he said, grabbing the cake box and guiding you down the stairs with a warm hand on your back.

You felt the butterflies go crazy in your stomach again at that simple touch.

He guided you to the center of the seats and motioned for you to choose.

You sat down in the same place you always chose and he sat down next to you placing the box on the seat next to him.

As the opening credits started to roll on the screen, he came closer to whisper into your ear.

"Wait here, I'll just go get two forks for the cake and I'll be right back" he said, his warm breath hitting your neck, making goosebumps raise onto your skin.

A few minutes later, he came back with two forks and two cans of coke. He settled them on the floor next to you.

As you thanked him, he opened the cake box and handed it to you, along with a fork so you could take the first bite.

"No, Josh, the cake is yours, you have to take the first bite. I really hope you like it" you said.

Worry started to creep up on you. You were mentally retracing the recipe steps for the millionth time to check if you had forgotten something.

You watched with bated breath as he sank the fork into the soft cake and brought a bite to his mouth.

He started chewing slowly and moaned in pleasure at the enveloping taste of the cake.

"Good Heavens, this is delicious, love. You are the queen of chocolate cakes." He said still chewing and looking at you, amazed.

You sighed in relief and watched mesmerized as his jaw clenched and unclenched with every bite he took.

You were quickly brought out of your reverie when he motioned for you to get a taste, too.

You had to admit that it was really good, and the perfect treat for a movie night with him.

As you ate and watched the movie, every once in a while he moved closer to whisper little anecdotes about the movie into your ear.

You usually hated when people disturbed you during a movie, but, with him, it was different.

His voice was so soothing and soft that you didn't want him to stop. You would have spent the entire night just listening to him talk about anything and everything.

After some time, you heard a sudden loud thunder and, all of a sudden, everything was dark around you.

"Oh, fuck" you heard him groan as you rummaged through your bag to get your phone and turn on the flashlight.

Its white light illuminated the room casting a spectral glow on everything.

"I can't believe it" he said again, dragging a hand on his face.

Another crash of thunder shook the building.

Then he started giggling. And you couldn't help but mirror him.

"Ok, I think that the storm decided that we shouldn't see anything tonight." He scoffed and you giggled, helpless.

Silence encompassed the room, then. The only sounds you could hear were his regular breathing and the harsh wind outside.

Suddenly he stood up with a new idea.

"Ok listen, I am pretty sure there are some candles under the stage. A few years ago this was a theatre, so there are a lot of scenery in the storage closet" he said with a hopeful look into his eyes.

"Let's go, lead the way" you said and stood up next to him.

You followed him through a door and down some narrow steps that led behind the white screen.

You almost fell on the floor because everything was extremely dark despite your flashlight.

He caught you before you could smash yourself to the ground and grasped one of your hands in his to keep you from falling again.

His skin was so soft and warm that you felt a little shock of electricity at the contact.

He guided you down the corridor and stopped in front of a door. He unlocked it and entered, bringing you with him.

The room was packed with all kinds of handpainted scenery.

He spotted the box of tealights and matches next to the very door and grabbed it. He handed it to you and grabbed what looked like a big pile of velvet fabric that was on a table.

"What is that?" You asked and he snickered.

"Those are the old velvet curtains of the theater. In case we get cold" he said and you laughed

"That's creative" you said and he chuckled.

"Let's go back, it's too dark in here" he said in a spooky voice.

"That sounds like a last line before getting killed by the monster in a horror movie" you whispered and he giggled.

Once you were back into the main cinema room you started placing tealights all around you and slowly the room was immersed in the golden light of many tiny flames.

You both decided to move to the first row of seats, right in front of the stage, so there was more light.

You sat down next to him again and you both listened in silence to the storm raging outside.

Then he turned towards you and spoke.

"I am glad you are here but I am sorry that you are stuck with me instead of being in the comfort of your house. '' He said sheepishly.

"I am happy to be here with you and not alone at home, honestly" you answered him, turning towards him, too.

His flawless skin was glowing golden in the feeble light of the candles and his eyes were the same shade as the chocolate cake that lied abandoned on the floor.

You lost yourself inside them.

He had the innate capacity of drawing you in, like a magnet.

You couldn't control yourself and, honestly, you didn't want to.

Before you knew it, his lips were pressing against yours, hot, soft and so gentle.

You felt your head spin as your heart melted from that simple kiss alone.

You were shocked when he pulled away and he must have seen it in your expression because he immediately started apologizing.

But you didn't hear a single word.

Your mind froze in the exact moment his lips parted from yours, depriving you from their warmth.

There was only one thought occupying your mind.

Him.

Without thinking, your hands snaked on the back of his neck and you dragged him towards you again, pressing your lips against his and successfully interrupting his ramblings.

You felt something under your fingertips and smiled in the kiss as you understood that the hair at the nape of his neck had been braided in a little rat tail.

He placed one of his hands on your hip and a little groan escaped his lips as his fingers came in contact with your skin, left bare by your shirt riding slightly upwards.

He squeezed your hip and you whimpered into his mouth, parting your lips and allowing him to deepen the kiss.

When his warm tongue caressed your bottom lip, something into your brain snapped.

Without further thinking you climbed on his lap and lost yourself in the kiss that turned every second more heated.

Both his hands came to rest against your cheeks and the sound of smacking lips filled the room making your head hazy.

He parted from you then and chuckled at the whine that left your mouth.

You couldn't tear your eyes away from his perfect plump lips, glistening in the golden light of the candle.

Both your breaths were ragged, your faces flushed but you couldn't care less.

You started kissing again and this time his hands started to roam your body, quickly slipping under your clothes.

As his hands slowly traced your back and moved to your front, inching towards your breasts, you stopped him biting his lip lightly. You grasped his rattail and tugged at it, making his head tilt back with a low groan.

That sound went straight to your core and you knew there was no going back.

You needed to have him.

"Fuck, love. I can't get enough of you" he confessed against your lips and you shivered at the low register of his voice.

He kissed you again and started fumbling with the hem of your shirt.

"May I take this off?" He asked gently and you nodded quickly.

He took off your shirt and you shivered, feeling exposed in front of him.

He gently grabbed your arms with which you tried to cover yourself and caressed them, taking them slowly away from your body to admire you with care.

You had a very simple bralette on, but he was looking at you like you were wearing the most expensive Italian lace lingerie he had ever seen.

You blushed but he was quick to comfort you.

"Has anybody ever told you how beautiful you are?" He asked and you bit your bottom lip before crashing your mouth against his, his tongue soothing your need.

Your hands gripped the hem of his tshirt and you pulled it upwards, admiring him as he took the hint and slipped it off with a smug smirk.

He was astonishing, the perfect tanned skin of his chest was glowing against the deep red velvet of the seat he was sitting on.

You started kissing his neck nibbling at his skin and reveling in the little whiny breathy sounds escaping his reddened lips.

His fingers traced your spine, making you shiver, and they slowly inched towards the button of your jeans.

His expression was tentative when he looked at you, silently asking your permission to remove them.

You nodded and he winked before slowly unbuttoning them.

With some effort and chuckles, you managed to take them off with his help.

When you sat back down in his lap, he was quick to place his hands on your bare thighs, kneading the skin gently.

You never felt like that before.

As you sat there almost naked, a deep hunger overcame you, observing him taking in every little detail of your body.

Suddenly his lips were pressing featherlight kisses along your shoulders, where the straps of your bra sat against your flushed skin.

One of them slid down your arm and you shivered.

He kissed you again and his lips started a path down your throat and down the center of your chest.

"Josh" you heard yourself whisper as his fingers traced the other strap making it fall, too.

"Tell me, love" he whispered back, leaving open mouthed kisses on your neck.

"I need you, please" you whispered down to him, like a secret, even though nobody was there to hear.

"You want me to take this off?" He asked, tracing the hem of your bralette with his pointer finger.

You nodded and he smiled sweetly giving you what you needed.

He took his sweet time admiring you then, making you blush as you sat almost entirely naked in front of him.

He looked in awe, his eyes sparkled as he looked at you.

Then, his lips encompassed one of your nipples while his hands grabbed your hips and pushed you further against him.

You groaned as you felt his erection press against your core.

You started grinding against him and his breathing picked up as his mouth kept spoiling your chest, nibbling and sucking.

After a while, though, his hands stilled your hips completely.

"Baby, you should really stop this, or soon it will be game over for me" he smiled, out of breath and a little embarrassed.

You smiled at him and blushed, apologizing.

His hands on your hips gently pushed you upwards making you raise on your knees, still on his lap.

You rested your hands on his shoulders as he started placing a trail of kisses down your tummy and towards your lower abdomen.

When he reached the hem of your panties, he looked upwards and you forgot how to breath.

His eyes were wide like a deer in the headlights, pupils blown out, making the soft shade of brown disappear completely. His breathing was ragged and you shivered as it hit the damp trail that his lips had left on your tummy.

What he did next made your soul leave your body.

A little smirk appeared onto his lips as he took the little bow that sat at the center of the hem of your panties between his teeth and tugged at it before letting it snap back against you.

You whimpered and he chuckled. Then his mouth moved downwards, placing gentle hot kisses on your still covered mound.

"You want me to kiss you here, don't you?" He whispered looking up at you for permission and caressing your slit through the fabric with gentle fingers.

"Please, Josh, yes" You begged him and you shivered as his thumbs hooked on the sides of your underwear, pulling it slowly down your legs.

He groaned at the sight of the wet fabric parting from you and you shivered as the cool air of the room hit your flushed skin, squeezing your eyes shut.

"Hey, love, look at me, please" he whispered and you lowered your gaze.

He kept a steady eye contact as he slid down the seat just enough for his mouth to reach your center comfortably.

Both your hands were gripping the velvet seat behind his head, but when his mouth was close enough to your core that you could feel his warm breath hitting your wet skin, one snaked into his curls, gripping them tightly.

That simple gesture spurred him on and in a second his mouth was on you, his tongue lapping up and down your slit, parting your lower lips and making your breath stop in your throat.

You were holding onto his hair so hard you were afraid that you were hurting him.

Little breathy sounds escaped his lips as he ate you out at the perfect pace.

You felt his fingers slowly reaching between your legs and you stiffled a moan.

"Baby, let me hear you, nobody is here, you are safe" he whispered onto your skin and next thing you knew his name was echoing in the room alongside thunders as you slowly started to unravel.

He slid a finger inside slowly and started stroking your clit with the tip of his tongue in quick circles.

You shivered.

You were close.

"Josh" you gasped as he added another finger and curled them harshly, making you almost double over him.

Before you knew it, you were coming undone on top of him, clawing at his shoulder and his curls.

He parted from you slowly and you bit your lip at the sight of his lips and chin glistening with your arousal and his puppy eyes looking up at you wide and in awe.

"You did so good" he said against your lips before kissing you deeply.

Your hands reached quickly for his belt and you unbuckled it.

He groaned as your fingers pressed against his crotch while you were trying to free him.

When he was finally free from the confines of the fabric, you gasped.

He was beautiful, girthy and veiny. It made your mouth water.

You started stroking him gently and you saw as his head lolled backwards again the seat, exposing his neck.

You licked a stripe up his throat and stopped at his ear, tugging with your teeth at the little silver hoop that adorned his lobe.

Suddenly he grasped your wrist.

"Baby, careful" he said out of breath and you understood.

He was close.

"I want you Josh" you whispered onto his lips as thunders kept booming.

"Inside" you punctuated and he nodded.

He placed you on the seat next to him and stood, getting rid of his pants and reaching in his back pocket.

He fished out a condom and sat back in the same spot.

You climbed again on top of him, shaking lightly with anticipation.

You watched enraptured as he rolled it on himself and groaned in need.

His hands reached for your hips and guided you up.

He nodded towards himself signaling to you to grab him and guide him where you needed him.

You did so with trembling fingers and his voice immediately came to soothe your nerves.

"Don't be nervous, baby, it's just me. Take your time" he whispered onto the skin of your sternum that covered in goosebumps.

You kissed him and, at the same time, slid his tip a few times along your slit.

When you were ready, you lined him up with you and started to sink down slowly.

Both your gazes were trained between the two of you as he slowly entered you.

By the time he was fully inside of you, you were biting your lips so hard you were sure you were drawing blood.

He felt amazing inside, the sting of the stretch took your breath away completely at first but it slowly dulled.

You both exhaled shaky breaths and he held you still to let you adjust to him.

"You feel amazing, Josh" you whispered onto his lips.

"You feel like heaven, love" he whispered back, clenching his jaw, trying so hard not to move.

You moved, then, sliding up and then back down and feeling him caress your walls beautifully.

You started riding him at a slow pace and watched mesmerized that every time you pushed back down on him, his brows knitted together.

His eyes were shut and his mouth was parted, letting out whispered whimpers of pleasure every time.

You kissed him, deep and slow like your rhythm, but soon it turned famished and your rhythm quickened, with the guidance of his strong hands on your hips.

Your legs were burning, the effort of keeping your body upright when he was eating you out paired with the one you were enduring now started to make you move a bit more erratically on top of him and he was quick to notice the slight change.

"Your legs are hurting, aren't they, baby?" He whispered into your ear hoarsely.

"Yeah, a bit," you said out of breath "it's been a lot since I last…" Your voice trailed off and your face flushed in embarrassment.

"Hey, it's fine don't worry about it," he whispered pressing his nose in your cheek "let me help you"

He stopped you and stood carefully, with you still on his lap, showing his strength.

You wrapped your legs around his hips and pressed your body completely against his.

You were both covered in sweat and glistening in the low light.

He started walking backwards and soon, you were sitting on the side of the stage with his body between your parted legs

He managed to move the both of you while staying inside of you. You were impressed.

You admired the toned muscles of his arms as he flexed them to keep you close to him.

Once your body relaxed back, he searched for your gaze and you nodded, giving him permission to move.

He took the lead and set a quick and deep pace, hitting places you didn't even know existed inside of you.

The first thrusts made you slip down, so you were laying on your back on the stage gripping the edge tightly and looking up at the ceiling.

But you missed the eye contact with him so you managed to bring yourself back up.

You kissed him again and your hands tangled in his hair, making him moan in your mouth.

Suddenly he grabbed your ankle and hooked your leg in the crook of his elbow, opening you up even more for him.

His next thrust shook your entire behind, making you clench harshly around him and you couldn't help but claw at his back.

"Are you close, baby? I can feel you squeezing me so tight" he whispered into your ear as he kept his pace, strong and steady.

You nodded, unable to speak and slid your hands down his sweaty back and on his ass, digging your nails in the supple muscle there.

He groaned and angled his hips so he could hit your sweet spot repeatedly, while simultaneously stroking your clit with his thumb that he had previous wetted with his tongue.

A thunder so loud that rattled the walls muffled your cries as you hit your climax, enveloping him in a vice-like grip.

He followed soon after, the sounds escaping his mouth were unbridled and heavenly and echoed into the room sinfully.

His body fell limp against you, his damp forehead pressed to your shoulder as he tried to calm down his heavy breathing.

You tried to do the same, feeling his hands caressing your back gently.

He slowly pulled out of you and kissed you sweetly.

When your eyes met the both of you were still panting, with flushed cheeks and disheveled hair, but you couldn't hold back a little embarassed giggle at how the night had escalated.

"Thank God there is no one in here or that would have been a hell of a 18+ show" he whispered playfully into your ear and you cackled loudly.

He helped you get down from the stage and grabbed some of the tissues you had brought for the cake to clean you up gently.

Then he grabbed your clothes from the seat and handed them to you.

"Don't run away, I'll be right back" he said and walked towards the bathroom with his clothes in his hands.

He came back with other clothes on, a white tshirt and black jeans and brought you a clean tshirt too, so if you wanted to change.

It was black, with the cinema logo in bold red lettering and it reached you mid-thigh, like a perfect sleep tshirt.

You sat back in your respective seats and ate some more cake, chatting about your favorite movies.

After a while, you started yawning, the tiredness of the day was starting to making itself known.

He looked tired too, but the storm outside wasn't subsiding in the slightest, so you were stuck there with the lights still out.

Then you saw it.

The deep red velvet of the curtains folded on one of the seats.

He noticed your gaze and chuckled.

"We had the same idea, love" he said and stood helping you, unfolding the fabric and placing it on the floor.

Quickly you had set up a makeshift bed in the middle of the cinema room.

You laid down feeling extremely awkward but giddy to be there with him.

The velvet felt extremely soft against your skin end despite it being old, it was clean.

As you laid down, his arms brought you closer to him. You could feel his breathing, steady and calm on your neck and soon you were drifting off, listening to the wind whistling outside.

In the morning you woke up in his arms. You were a bit sore due to sleeping on the floor and other activities but you felt extremely at ease with him close to you.

He looked so soft, with sleepy eyes and his usual contagious grin on his lips.

It was hard to part from him but you had to go to work so you had to leave him there.

"Have a good day, love" he said in a hot whisper against your neck and you forcefully parted from him, knowing that if you didn't, you would end up tangled in the curtains with him, again.

But at work you couldn't focus, your mind kept drifting off to him.

And you spent the entire week thinking about him.

On Saturday you went to the cinema as always, they were showing "The Shining".

His smile at the register was very flirty and warm.

The evening went on as usual, but when the movie was almost over, you felt someone touching your elbow in the dark.

It was him.

He motioned for you to follow him and you ended up in the same showing room as last time.

Before you knew it you were pressed against the wall by his body, his lips hot on your neck and his hands sneaking around your body.

"Did you miss me, baby?" He said unbuttoning your jeans and sinking down on his knees.

"God, you don't even know how much" you whispered back, biting your bottom lip and sinking both your hands into his hair.

______________________________

Taglist: @gvfpal @sammyslappers @spark-my-nature @highladyofasgard @sparrowofthedawnsworld @jessicafg03 @doodle417 @hellowgoodbye @ejoygvf @jaketlover @jakekiszkasbabymama @objectsinspvce @indigostreakmorgan @witchofendora @myleftsock @gretavanshmeat @gretasfallingsky @giraffehippy @jennasometimesreads

[soft-bellied-tannies]

Chubtober Day 6!

We going with a WIP today, friends. I haven't had much time to write this weekend, but I wanted to share something with you so here is a snippet I have been working on.

It will eventually be posted as a part of the second chapter to last year's Chubtober finale - Full, Fuller, Fullest.

Definitely read that first before checking out this WIP otherwise, it won't make much sense lol!

---

Jimin should have realized sooner that a day or two wasn’t going to be enough to recover from his week-long stuffing. He also should have realized how much being full for a week straight would stretch out his stomach.

Getting ready for bed Sunday night after quite possibly the best week of his life was proving to be more of a challenge than he thought. He wouldn’t say that Jungkook fed him quite as much over the weekend because Jungkook wasn’t the instigator this time around.

Jimin snacked all day long Saturday and had been the one to overdo it all on his own with a few too many dumplings.

Sunday had been a slow afternoon, laying around and finishing their latest drama while Jimin emptied a bag of honey butter chips, two cups of instant ramen, a pint of ice cream, and a couple of random choco pies he found in the pantry - all washed down with a couple cans of Coke.

After brushing his teeth, Jimin lifted up his shirt to see that his stomach almost looked more bloated now than it did a few nights ago. He started to trace a faint pink line that popped up next to his belly button when Jungkook cleared his throat from the doorway of the bathroom.

“So much for that recovery weekend, huh?” Jungkook asked with a teasing smirk. He stepped behind Jimin and reached around to caress his belly.

Jimin leaned back into Jungkook’s chest as he rolled his eyes. “This is all your fault. It was your idea to begin with.”

“Oh no, my idea ended on Friday night. No one forced you to eat our whole snack supply this afternoon,” Jungkook replied, patting Jimin’s still-taut belly a few times.

“Well, someone did seem more focused on that than our show so maybe I had some motivation,” Jimin cut back, trying to hide both his growing smile and blushing cheeks.

Jungkook gently pulled Jimin’s shirt down and tugged his hand over to the other side of the bathroom. He slid their scale out with his foot and gestured for Jimin to step on.

“Well…I seem to remember that someone proposed an idea of his own a few nights ago so let’s see if the ‘recovery’ weekend worked in your favor.”

Jimin rolled his eyes again at Jungkook’s dramatics, but he did step onto the scale, not expecting much since it had only been two days. However, Jimin clearly had to stop making assumptions because the bright red “196.7” blinking up at him made his jaw drop.

“Shit, that's almost 4 more pounds. You definitely don’t need until your birthday. You’ll be 200 by Tuesday at this rate,” Jungkook said, in equal parts seriousness and teasing. He knew Jimin didn’t slow down over the weekend at all, but it certainly didn’t seem like that much.

Jimin let out an involuntary little whimper at Jungkook’s words, realizing he was absolutely right. Somehow Jimin’s little impulsive thought to eat the whole pizza last weekend had turned into him completely wrecking his self-control and metabolism.

He had gone from gaining a slow and casual fifty pounds over the last year to piling on over ten pounds in ten days. Obviously they couldn’t maintain the way he had been eating for the past week all the time, but Jimin knew that his outlandish, partial joke about doubling his gain over the next year was going to be more of a when rather than an if.

Something about that thought turned Jimin on more than he wanted to admit. If they didn’t have to work in the morning, he probably would have told Jungkook to go grab anything from the kitchen so he could feed him again. 

Instead, Jimin led Jungkook to their bed and decided that a belly rub would have to be his consolation prize. He drifted off with Jungkook’s warm hands easing the tension of his full belly and his loving whispers lulling him to sleep.

—-

It was moments like this that made Jimin glad he was a freelance writer who could make his own schedule and work from the comfort of his own home. He had woken up to a still bloated and incredibly hungry belly the next morning.

He almost wanted to skip his entire routine and head straight for the kitchen, but he wasn’t ready to let all of his self control completely slip away. After doing his skin care, Jimin selected very comfortable and loose clothes, knowing that his sensitive belly actually needed to start recovering today.

While his coffee brewed, Jimin heated up the container of kimchi rice and made himself three fried eggs to put on top. He also realized that Jungkook had made him a milk bread and strawberry sandwich at some point, which he grabbed from the fridge. 

As he scrolled through his emails, Jimin made quick work of his larger-than-normal breakfast. He knew this past week would increase his stomach capacity, so Jimin was going to try to get ahead of his hunger if he could. 

His resolution after weighing himself last night was to eat intuitively now. His appetite was clearly leading him toward his goals so he should follow it.

Getting caught up in a list of editing changes kept his focus, not realizing that Jungkook was walking into his office until his partner was setting down a bowl and a cup on his desk. Jimin jumped slightly, looking up with a smile when he saw Jungkook’s smiling face above him.

“Just bringing you a snack, baby. I figured you could use one,” Jungkook said nonchalantly as if it were an innocent gesture.

Jimin laughed but had to agree that he was starting to feel a bit peckish. “Thank you. I hadn’t realized it was already 10:30.”

Jungkook kissed the top of his head in response before reaching down over Jimin’s shoulders until his hands landed on his belly. “Damn, can’t believe you are still so bloated. Maybe you’re stuck like this now.”

“I am not stuck like this,” Jimin replied dryly with a scoff. “I just need more time to settle. Someone kept me filled up like a balloon ready to pop for days on end.”

“Well, you know a balloon deflates eventually,” Jungkook said, dropping a kiss on Jimin’s cheek as he stepped away until he was in the doorway of the office then he continued, “but they don’t shrink.”

Jungkook winked at Jimin before turning to walk down the hall, his laugh echoing as he did. Jimin let out a little offended sound, thankful that Jungkook wasn’t still there to call out the bright red blush filling his cheeks from his teasing. 

Jimin was quickly learning that maybe he and Jungkook were better at this whole gaining dynamic thing than they ever knew. 

—-

Spending the rest of the day working helped Jimin be more mindful of his intake. He gratefully accepted the simple lunch Jungkook prepared for him, and he had a light snack after he logged off for the day.

Since Jimin had spent the entirety of the last week allowing Jungkook to cook and order all their food, he was looking forward to cooking dinner together. They decided to go with a vegetable stew recipe Jimin had been wanting to try and sat for a much slower-paced dinner than they had been having lately. 

Jimin was certainly full after his full bowl of stew and generous helping of rice but not in the way he had been for the past week or so. He was comfortably full where any typical person would end their meal. Knowing that he really could use a break, Jimin did just that. 

After dinner, he curled up with Jungkook and said that he was done for the night. He sipped on his water for a while to keep the desire for dessert away until they made their way to bed. 

Jimin made an offhand comment about how he felt less bloated already and hoped for an empty and rested belly in the morning. Jungkook started having some suspicions that Jimin was yet again underestimating himself, but he kept quiet.

Quiet until the next morning when Jimin had the sudden revelation that maybe those ten or so pounds had already settled and it wasn’t just bloating after all. 

“So, still looking pretty bloated, babe. Maybe you need another day to settle or maybe…”

Jimin looked up from staring at himself in the mirror, taking in Jungkook’s smug expression that confirmed what he was thinking as well. “Or maybe those ten pounds stuck to my belly and this is settled.”

Jungkook brought his arms around Jimin’s waist, patting a few times and enjoying the rippling movement across his now empty but just as round belly. “I’d say this is a bit more than ten. I mean, look at this gut. You have a proper potbelly now, Min.”

“Fuck, you’re right,” Jimin let out breathily, still feeling a bit shocked at this realization. He had been complaining about how all his weight goes straight to his bottom half for so long yet he wasn’t prepared for it finally changing.

Both wanted more than anything to head back to bed and appreciate this new discovery, but they couldn’t take another day off work. 

Jimin asked Jungkook to join him in the shower before they realized that was not a good idea. They would lose track of time immediately and get wrapped up in exploring Jimin’s growing body. 

Jungkook told Jimin that he would get clothes out for him and go make his breakfast instead. As much as he wanted to join him in the shower, Jungkook told himself to calm down.

Jimin found his chosen outfit lying on their bed, clearly much different than the oversized hoodies and sweatpants he had been wearing around the house lately. The t-shirt Jungkook picked was from college which had been snug when Jimin wore it six months ago. 

He pulled on the pair of low-waisted leggings Jungkook picked first. Jimin usually wore them around the house with a cropped sweatshirt, but he hadn’t worn this pair in the last few weeks. The waistband further emphasized how his belly protruded forward all on its own now from where it was tucked below.

Jimin could feel that the shirt was going to be tight as he pulled it over his head. The sleeves hugged his upper arms more than before which was what he noticed first, but that thought came and went when Jimin realized that the hem of his shirt was barely meeting his waistband. 

The fabric hugged his skin without a hint of extra room. It made his belly seemingly bigger and rounder than it already had grown to be recently. When Jimin looked himself up and down in the mirror, it was the first time since he started gaining that he genuinely thought ‘wow, I look fat’.

“Holy shit, you do look kind of fat,” Jungkook blurted out from the other side of the room.

Jimin’s head snapped toward him, not aware that Jungkook was back in the room or that he had said his thoughts out loud. Deciding to push a little farther, Jimin began to pout.

“It’s just the shirt, Gguk-ah. You picked an old one.”

Jungkook shook his head as he walked closer. “I don’t think it’s the shirt, Minnie. I think it’s what’s underneath.”

“That’s not true! If you got me a different shirt, it wouldn’t be as noticeable,” Jimin replied, hoping Jungkook would play into his little game.

“Oh yeah, how about we test that?” Jungkook asked, clearly enjoying this just as much. He stepped into their closet and grabbed a shirt that would likely still be small but was a size up.

Jimin couldn’t believe that he was feeling shy, but his face grew warm as he took off his shirt to change in front of Jungkook. He grabbed the other shirt and already anticipated the reaction just from feeling it slide over his shoulders.

It did have more give than the first shirt, but Jimin’s belly was just as prominent as before. If anything, the little bit of extra fabric was actually making him look wider.

“Seems like it wasn’t the shirt so that must mean-“

“It’s the leggings! Low-waisted pants just aren’t flattering,” Jimin countered, cutting Jungkook before he could make his point. “Breakfast ready? I need to start working soon.”

Jungkook barely held back his laugh as Jimin left the bedroom, evading the real answer that they both knew was true. Jimin truly hadn’t gained enough to be considered fat yet, but yet was the keyword for Jungkook because, with the way things were going, it would be sooner rather than later.

[limbel]

Fil Rose

for day 2 of sapphicnatural week: pink | 1.3K words

Pink was the color of the minidress that clung tight and glittery and oppressive to the smooth-plastic body of the Barbie that came out of the package, curly red ribbons and giftwrap now laying all scrunched next to Jo’s toes.

She turned the thing over and over in her hands, wanted to ask, where is her silver knife and her gun and her ammos and her first-aid kit and her salt and her EMF meter and her holy water, instead she said, “Thank you Mom, she looks so pretty.”

The doll looked at Jo with her pretty blue eyes and her pretty white smile and her pretty blonde waves and her pretty pink dress, and Jo looked right back at her and felt the urge to break her pretty plastic body into one hundred tiny plastic pieces and flush them all down the toilet, the one with the loosen-up seat and the disgusting yellow stain in the back of the Roadhouse — the place where all things pretty went to die.

But her mom was pretty and Jo didn’t want her to die, not for another million years, even if Mom made her mad sometimes, but Jo made her mad too so they were even-steven and all squares and Mom should keep living for a million years even if pretty things don’t deserve to be alive.

Mom was pretty and she made her mad but she deserved to live because she was all Jo had now.

*

Pink was the color of the lipstick she bought at the shopping mall on a Sunday afternoon. Jo went there with some friends from school to have some ice cream or maybe a smoothie and talk about boys and homework and clothes and all the other things girls her age talked about (not blades not guns not ghosts not werewolves not exorcisms not dead fathers etc.)

She wasn’t sure about the price and she wasn’t sure about the color ‘cause she liked black better, but black doesn’t look good on a woman’s lips, the girls told her all giggling, bestowed this Higher Truth on her like a revelation, so she went with pink because that’s what she was supposed to do anyway and she really really really needed them to like her.

The girls giggled a lot and Jo tried to mimic them with the brand-new pink lipstick rolling back and forth inside the paper bag that hung from her pale scrawny fingers. Jo giggled but her giggles sounded fake to her ears, too high-pitched and too lengthy and too gritty and not giggly enough, and Jo prayed God that the other girls didn’t notice. Jo prayed God that the other girls didn’t notice how hopelessly fake she was all the way down to the tips of her bones.

She tried on the lipstick that night. When she got back home she ran up the stairs and opened the door to her room and carefully closed it behind her so Mom wouldn’t hear and turned on the lights and went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror that was all spotted with toothpaste and water marks. She tried it on and scrubbed it right off and the force of it made her skin all sore and red and swollen around her lips and for some reason her eyes became sore and red and swollen too.

She never tried it on again.

*

Pink was the color that washed over the girl’s cheeks as Jo pulled away just enough to look at her face in that funny way when you’re too close and your eyes cross and everything sorta doubles around your focus. But the pink on the girl’s cheeks was the only definite thing in this world and it spread to the edges of Jo’s vision and changed her life forever, rearranged it entirely.

And it had been so easy, really, the easiest thing ever to press lips back on wet lips and chest on wet chest and skin on wet skin. Skim her hand up the girl’s arm and over her shoulder and down the soft curve of her spine vertebra by vertebra and curl the finger around the string of her skimpy bikini and pull a little, just a little, just to see if it gave. And it did.

And Jo thought just for a moment how terribly and devastatingly easy it’d be to reach for the switchblade in the side pocket of her bag, and she’d be so quick with it that the girl wouldn’t even notice as she slit her throat with a clean pull to the right. But the pink flush on her cheeks would be gone forever then and the thought alone made Jo sick to the bottom of her stomach.

The girl twisted and chuckled under her touch and Jo felt something hot and wiry blossoming in her chest, because she made a choice for herself and that choice was to kiss this girl in this locker room after swim practice with water pooling up on the wooden bench and the tiled floor below and the lights sending buzzing electric sounds from the ceiling above.

And if she could choose this thing for herself who knows, who knows how many other things she could choose still, all the things that she was told were impossible and unreachable and ridiculous and how silly she was for wanting them, but maybe they were not, maybe she could have them in the end, yeah, maybe she could.

*

Pink was the color that glazed the inside of the hound’s mouth as Jo imagined it sinking sharp teeth into her meat, pulling through skin and muscles and sinews until there was the entirety of her spilled on the floor, so muddled there was no more telling what was what. Of course she couldn’t see it, but she pictured it all pink and shiny and slick with spit and blood and juices and she wished she could feel how soft it was, how smooth and velvety, she wished she could feel that instead of the sharp nails of panic hammering the softest corners of her body.

Her body, and her mom right beside her. Forever beside her, the reassuring smell of her, and still fresh on her forehead the impression of the kiss his friend had left on her skin, then on her lips, the Kiss of Death, as she waited patiently for the right moment to push the button. The button she’d chosen to push, for herself more than anyone else.

Jo chose this button and her mom chose to die with her, for her, by her, despite her, folded on the dusty mold-soaked floor of a hardware store instead of a bed with milky bedspreads and flowers and sunlight. And Mom said, “I will always love you,” cradled her head, pressed salty lips on her temple, and now Jo was finally able to see it.

Now ‘always’ was what they had, she and her mom, and Dad too. Dearest Dad, beloved Dad, that she missed so much, so much she couldn’t wait to see him again. And when she’ll see him again she’ll hug him tight, and Mom too, and she’ll never let go, and she’ll kiss him all over his wrinkled face, over the seams of his mouth and his eyes and the tip of his nose. Over the scar on his cheek and the rough of his stubble. And she’ll tell him all about it, she’ll tell him how good she’d been, how brave, she’ll tell him that she saved the world, his little girl saved the world, and he’ll look at her so proud with eyes full of love, and he’ll say, my little girl, my baby, my sweetheart, of course you did, of course you saved the world, and Mom will make a sound with her throat and she will say, well, I was there too, I also did that, I also saved the world, because that’s what Mom does, and his Dad will laugh and she will laugh too and they—

[padfootagain]

Something Good (XXVI)

Chapter 26 : An Impromptu Meeting

Alright, we have one final crisis to tackle in this fic! We have three chapters left, including this one.

Hope you like this new chapter, tell me what you think!

****

Pairing: Ben Barnes x Reader

Warnings: Fluff angst, Slow burn, professor AU.!

Summary: Coming out of a divorce and trying to get used to being a single mom, while teaching your classes at University, you thought your life could not get more complicated than it already is. But when you are asked to take care of the theatre club with the colleague that you really can’t get along with, you realize that everything can still get ten times more complicated in your life. And when you start actually liking Professor Barnes, the troubles only grow exponentially…

Word Count: 3134

Masterlist for the series – Ben Barnes’ Masterlist – Main Masterlist

You had a strategic decision to take.

On your right, Sally was sitting on the carpet wearing her pirate hat, an excited grin on her face. She was eyeing that blue fish she needed to win the game. You followed its movements as it got carried along the water, the mechanical noise buzzing through the room while the plastic fish opened and closed their mouths as if trying to take a bite at the very air. The plastic disc turned on its axis, and your gaze was distracted upwards as it brushed over Ben’s black tee-shirt, climbing along his frame without anything you could have done to stop it. It landed on his dark eyes that sparkled with a playful glint, on the darkness of his beard, on the colourful pink, purple, white and blue rainbows stained with golden and pink glitter that your daughter had drawn on his cheekbones.

You couldn’t refrain a grin at the sight, making Ben rise a challenging brow. You focused back on the game at end, lifting your tiny red line.

If you picked up the fish, you would win. You could tease Ben about your victory for at least a week. But Sally would be disappointed.

Damn… you heaved a sigh as you lifted the tiny fishing rod, and aimed terribly on purpose.

What sacrifices you did for your child…

It was Sally’s turn again, and she eyed her blue fish, the last of its kind remaining on the spinning board. She caught it with ease, and cried in victory.

“YES! I WIN!”

She jumped up to her feet, did a crazy victory dance, and both you and Ben congratulated her. She gave Ben a high-five.

“Nice catch, meerkat!”

You joined Sally in her crazy dance, before you would scoop her from her feet to shower her with kisses, making her double over in laughter, while Ben was tickling her feet.

It was a bright Sunday afternoon, with the city outside drinking up every drop of that sunlight shining upon its rooftops. As Ben stole a kiss after you put Sally back down, it seemed to be sunnier in your home.

“What about we have a little snack? Our fishing adventures have me famished!” Ben offered, and Sally was obviously excited at the idea.

He helped you cut some fruits, gathered a couple of biscuits in a plate. You munched together on the snacks, your fingers sticky with the sweetness of your food, and your heart stickier still with the love bathing the room.

Ben pressed his lips to the top of your head as you leaned into him.

After a few months of this, there was spring both outside and inside your home. You laughed at Sally being silly with her slice of apple, Ben joining in, pretending to have sabre teeth. You were gentle as you admonished them, reminding them not to play with their food. None of them believed you, and a few seconds later, two slices of apple were sticking out of your mouth too while you growled. The fit of giggles and delirious laughter that followed had your stomach aching, your cheeks burning. Ben’s skin was warm under your palm as you reached for his arm for support, bending over as you laughed some more.

It was like this often these days. Bright, loud, unbearably filled with love. You could get used to that kind of life…

Ben was looking at the lamps in this shop, but he wasn’t convinced.

You wanted to change the lamps on your bedside tables, finding them impractical. That, and the fact that the one on Ben’s side of the bed didn’t work most of the time. Sally was holding a dinosaur plushie she had asked for, and you had yielded, accepting to buy it for her. She was giving it lots of hugs and kisses, looking for a name for the plushie. Meanwhile, Ben had placed a protective hand on her back, just to make sure she was staying close to the two of you as you looked at the items ordered neatly on the shelves.

“This one?” you asked looking attentively at a blue lamp. “It’s the prettiest, I think.”

“Yeah… but it looks big… too big for your bedside tables.”

“Hmmm… maybe…”

“I think I saw smaller ones in the other shop… Christ… which one was it? You know… the blue lamps you liked.”

“Hmm… yeah, I remember the lamps, but the shop… I don’t remember…”

“Mummy? Can we go home now? I’m tired,” Sally asked, rubbing at her eyes for good measure.

You checked the time. You had been shopping for a couple of hours, you reckoned it was time to call it a day indeed. It was normal for Sally to be tired and impatient to go home now.

“Yes, this is our last shop. We’ll go pay for your plushie and these cushions,” you added, showing her the cushions under your arm.

“Want me to go check the lamps in the other shop? I think it was the one next to entrance of the mall.”

“Okay, but if it’s not this one, just give up. It’s been enough shopping for one day. I want to take Sally home.”

Ben nodded, and you took Sally’s hand while he was walking away.

He crossed the mall again, checked in the shop he was thinking about, but didn’t have any luck. No blue lamp there. He heaved a sigh, hurrying back to you and Sally.

He was lost in thought, and he barely heard his name when it was spoken. For a moment, he thought it was you, he turned around.

He remained frozen instead.

“Hi, Ben.”

He couldn’t believe it. Ben couldn’t believe it, and yet, Julia was there.

She was real, in the flesh. He had not seen her since that night when he carried his belongings out of their apartment, his former best friend waiting in the hallway to take his place.

And yet there she was, standing in the middle of the mall, staring at him, talking to him, acting almost shy. She was most definitely uncomfortable, but she didn’t seem willing to simply… ignore Ben and leave. Act like they didn’t know each other. Which Ben would have preferred, in all honesty.

He struggled to swallow, but gave her a polite nod anyway, his voice turning hoarse as he answered.

“Hi, Julia.”

“I… I wasn’t expecting to see you! You… you look good.”

“Thanks.”

He wasn’t certain what he ought to answer. She seemed healthy. She was as beautiful as he remembered. He didn’t feel like admitting it though.

“I… Actually, I… I’ve hesitated a thousand times to call you, Ben.”

He raised a surprised eyebrow.

“Really?”

“Yes, I… I never dared to, but… I miss you.”

She seemed sincere. She seemed sad, even. Ben merely blinked, ran his tongue along his lips in his nervousness.

“I doubt that Paul would like that,” he finally answered after a silence that had been too heavy and too long.

“Paul and I broke up.”

“Oh…”

He blinked again, trying to digest the news.

He had thought all along that they were still together. That they had done this to him because…

Her voice stopped his train of thoughts.

“Actually, I… I would love it if we could… have a drink someday.”

His eyes grew round in surprise, and he didn’t even think of hiding the shock on his face.

“I don’t think that would be a good idea…” he started, but she interrupted him, eyes begging as she took a step closer to him.

“Ben, look… I know that what Paul and I did was… terrible. But that’s why I would really like to talk with you. No other thoughts, just… just to talk things through.”

He let out a shaky breath, one filled with disbelief.

“Julia… it’s been five years. We’re past talking about what happened…”

“Are we?”

They stared at each other in silence for a moment.

“My phone number is still the same…”

“Julia…”

But Ben was interrupted by Sally zooming towards him across the crowd, to hold onto his leg like a koala.

“Ben!”

She opened her arms, and he didn’t think before picking her up.

“Mummy is paying for the cushions and my dinosaur! I think I’m going to call him Albert!”

“That’s lovely, Sally.”

She seemed to finally notice Julia, and hid her face into Ben’s neck.

“Erm… this is Sally,” he introduced the young girl. “Sally, this is Julia. We used to be good friends.”

He wondered if he had really seen that flash of pain in Julia’s eyes.

“Hi,” Sally breathed, all shy now, but Julia answered with a smile.

And then your voice formed behind him, covering the cacophony of the mall.

“Gosh… it took forever to pay for those! Did you find the lamp in that other shop of yours, honey?”

But when you looked up, you noticed that Ben wasn’t alone.

“Erm… Y/N, this is Julia,” he said in a quiet voice, clearly uncomfortable. “Julia, this is Y/N.”

You stared in shock for a moment, silently questioning Ben with a gaze.

The Julia?

But the discomfort in Ben’s gaze was enough of an answer. It was her alright. The one who had broken his heart.

She offered her open palm and you struggled to keep a polite expression as you shook her hand.

“It’s very nice to meet you,” Julia smiled, something honeyed that you knew not to trust. “It’s good to meet one of Ben’s friend…”

“Girlfriend,” Ben and you both corrected her at the same time.

You looked at each other, surprised by how in sync you had just been, and you exchanged a tender smile.

“Y/N is my partner,” Ben stated, and your heart made a happy jump at his choice of words.

“Oh…” Julia blinked, staring at the two of you.

“We… we’d better go, babe,” Ben said softly to you, and you nodded.

But Julia stopped you as you started to turn away.

“Ben… I’d really love to talk to you. Just talk. I just want to talk. Know how you are doing. That’s all. Please… Can you think about it?”

Ben stared at her, an unreadable expression adorning his features while you stared at him, expectant, trying not to be jealous, not to feel any doubt about yourself…

“Goodbye, Julia,” was his only answer, before he was turning away, Sally still in his arms.

You followed him in silence as he went straight for the exit of the mall, forgetting all about the lamp you had been looking for. He put Sally in her seat, fastened carefully her seatbelt, helped you with your bag that contained the three cushions and Sally’s new toy.

You didn’t remind him of the lamp, merely climbed in the driver’s seat of your car in silence.

You let out a relieved sigh though when he placed his hand on your leg as you left the parking lot.

It would be alright… it was alright…

Ben was quieter than usual for the rest of the evening, also he was remaining his patient, sweet self. You acted like nothing had happened until Sally was put to bed, and you could finally be alone. But when you wanted to talk with him, he turned to you first, asking if you minded if he went home.

“I just… I know that the reasonable and mature reaction to what happened at the mall would be to talk with you about it,” he explained. “But I really need to be alone and to just… digest what happened before we do that. Can we talk tomorrow?”

“Are you going to call her tonight?”

He stared at you with a slight frown, but his gaze was earnest when he answered.

“No, of course not. But… seeing her was a lot. I just need to be on my own for a few hours.”

Slowly, you nodded. What else could you do anyway?

He crossed the distance between the two of you, holding you close for a moment.

“I love you,” he whispered into your ear, and you couldn’t refrain the quiet hum that left your throat.

“I love you too,” you answered, your tone matching his quiet one. “Please, don’t close yourself up. Don’t push me away.”

“I won’t. I promise you, I won’t. I just… I just need to process what happened.”

Slowly, you nodded, forehead rubbing against his shoulder in the process, before you buried your face in the crook of his neck.

“Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow. Do you want to eat dinner with us?”

“Yeah… that would be lovely.”

He kissed you then, tender and loving, filled with how much he felt for you. It was reassuring, to feel loved like that.

After he left, you spent most of your night pacing across the living room.

On Sunday, you didn’t talk before Ben arrived at your home for dinner. The evening with Sally was nice and went smoothly, as per usual. You could feel that something was off with Ben, that he was forcing most of his smiles, but Sally didn’t seem to notice, and that was enough for you.

You let Ben take a shower and settle down in your bed with you before bringing up Julia. You let him lie down with you, under the covers, the light low in your bedroom coming only from the small lamp on your bedside table. The one for Ben was still the broken lamp, so his side was in the dark.

You welcomed him with a content sigh when he wrapped a leg around yours, threw his arm across your stomach and nuzzled into your neck. You held him tenderly in your arms, letting your muscles relax as your breathing started to match his again.

“Have you slept at all last night?” you asked, running your hands through his dark hair.

His eyes blinked a few times, and then the black irises disappeared as his eyelids fell for good. You felt him relaxing in your embrace.

“Not much,” he admitted.

“We should talk about Julia.”

“Yeah…” he heaved a sigh.

“Are you alright?”

A pregnant pause.

“Not really.”

Slowly, you nodded.

“What did she say?”

“That she wanted to talk to me. She asked for a drink… or a coffee… I don’t remember. I was a bit too shocked. It’s a little fuzzy.”

A pause again.

“She said Paul and she have broken up.”

Slowly, you nodded, your movements steady, hoping he wouldn’t notice how your heart was pounding now.

“Okay…”

Ben didn’t speak again, and so you pushed him, gently, towards an answer.

“How do you feel about that?”

“I don’t know… Not great.”

You nodded again, imagining the worst-case scenario already: how he was going to break up with you to go back with her…

“I just… I think that I… kind of accepted what happened after a while because I thought they were just meant to be. It was just… it was a reassuring thought to believe that I never stood a chance, because Paul was better than me. Because he was better for her. Because they were meant to be together. And I had my heart broken, but they were happy together, true love at its finest, soulmates, and it had to happen. That they didn’t… they didn’t betray me like that for something that didn’t last. But they broke up… so why would they do that to me, then?”

He heaved a sigh, burying his face deeper into your neck, and you tightened your hold.

“I’m sorry, Ben,” was all you found to say.

“I thought this was behind me. I have you now. I have Sally. And I’m so happy like this… I thought… I thought I was done with her.”

“You are. You don’t have to think about that again if you don’t want to.”

But he shook his head, sat up all of a sudden. You followed him in his movement.

“Will you… will you be angry if I see her once?”

He turned to you, staring as you sat there, in one of his t-shirts that you loved sleeping in. You said that it was soft, that it smelled like him…

You shifted, uncomfortable now.

“I don’t know,” you admitted.

“I won’t see her if you don’t want me to,” he promised.

“But?”

“But I… She was right, Y/N. We’ve never talked about what happened, not properly. I caught them red-handed, we fought, I took my stuff and left. But we never sat down and talked about it properly. And… knowing they’re not together anymore… I need to understand. I need to understand why. If it’s not because Paul and her were perfect for each other, then why did they do that?”

He heaved a sigh, passed his hand across his face.

“I’m just… I can’t… I just want to fucking move on for good. I don’t know if I can do that without answers. And the only way I can have answers, is by seeing her again. Just once.”

He looked at you again, reached for your hand. You let him take it, squeeze it tightly.

“I love you. I want to be with you. I don’t have feelings for Julia anymore, that’s not the point. I just… I just need to put this all behind me for good. And maybe… maybe bumping into Julia now, now that I’m happy with you… maybe that’s what I need to finally close that chapter of my life once and for all, and never look back.”

Ben wasn’t blind, of course. Despite the nod you gave him, it was clear that you didn’t like the idea of him seeing his ex again.

He let out a long exhale through his nose.

“You could come with me.”

You raised a surprised eyebrow at that.

“Isn’t that weird? To bring your new girlfriend to have coffee with your ex-fiancée?”

“Let’s say… that it’s unconventional,” Ben chuckled.

“Is it a good idea?”

He shrugged, his hold on your hand still there, unfaltering.

“I don’t know… I don’t want to see her on my own. And I don’t want you to worry about what would have happened if I meet her again.”

“I trust you, Ben.”

“I know… I know, but I’m not stupid. It’s a strange situation, I understand that you won’t feel comfortable with me seeing my ex one more time.”

“It’s your choice to make, Ben.”

“I reckon that I need to see her one last time. And I want to do it with you. I… I need your help for this. Could you do that for me?”

You offered him a gentle smile, before nodding.

“Of course, baby. I’ll come if you want me to.”

[mynameismckenziemae]

She's a Fire-Chapter XXIV

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw x OFC/

Reader (no use of y/n)

Make a mess of me

(previous chapter here, next chapter here)

Warnings: smut, 18+ MDNI, butt stuff, etc.

“Will you be my good boy and keep it in through dinner?”

He hides his face with a dramatic groan, but his lips twitch, fighting a smile. “Do I have to?”

“‘Course not baby. I only asked so the prep will be easier when I take your ass later,” you reply, hands sneaking under to squeeze his reddened cheeks, “but we don’t have to do that either if you don’t want to.”

He shudders and turns his head to meet your eyes, “No! No…I want that. Just promise you won’t make me jizz my pants in front of Bob and Sunny?”

“But I thought you liked cumming in front of Bob and Sunny?” You tease, leaning forward to press a kiss to his lips before reaching up to untie his arms. “Kidding. I promise though. You’re not gonna cum until I’m inside you later.”

“Jesus, Row,” he groans; his spent cock gives a gallant twitch inside you but you climb off and take him by the hand to the bathroom for a shower before dinner.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

“So we leave Friday afternoon and come back Sunday afternoon, right?” Sunny asks across the from you, sipping her drink-a margarita of course.

“Yep, pack swimwear,” you smirk, not giving her anything else.

“That’s it?! That’s all you’re gonna tell me?”

“Oh my God Sunny. You literally asked for the bachelorette party to be a surprise!” You laugh, but you were dying to tell her what you have planned over the Fourth of July, but she wanted a surprise and you weren’t going to ruin it now. It was a combined bachelor/bachelorette party after she kept dropping not-so-subtle hints of that preference for Bob.

“Ughhhh, I know,” she sighs. “It seemed like a good idea at the time but now I can’t wait.”

“It’s only two weeks away, you’ll be alright,” Bob smiles.

“What are you guys doing? Golfing? I hope not, ew. Gambling? Strip club? Ooo! Can we meet them at the strip club?” She asks, nodding excitedly.

“Only you would be excited for strippers, Sunny girl,” Bradley laughs, shaking his head. “Sorry, but I’m not telling either.”

“But you told Bob! And that’s really not fair. I’ve tried everything…and I do mean ev-er-y-thing,” she winks, while Bob flushes, obviously remembering her attempts to crack him, “But he’s like a steel trap!”

“Yeah, he told me.” Bradley replies, shaking his head while a similar flush creeps up his neck too, “And oof, Sun. You fight dirty.”

She lets out that adorable laugh of hers and you smile. God, you were so happy she was back in your life.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

“So.. did Row give you your birthday present yet?” Sunny asks, turning to wiggle her brows at Bradley as Bob pulls into the driveway—who graciously offered to be the designated driver again.

“Yeah, you already know about Lola,” Bradley says, so distracted by his thoughts of what’s to come that he misses her double entendre.

“Of course, I know about Lola, I meant did Row do anything special in bed? You know, birthday sex. Like for my birthday, Bobby—“

Bob shushes her, squeezing her knee with a chuckle. “That’s it. No more tequila. Not only do your clothes come off but all our secrets come out too.”

“You’re no fun,” she says rolling her eyes. “They know most of our secrets anyway. We did have sex next to them, remember? Good lord, was that hot. So?” She sighs, looking at Bradley pointedly.

Bradley flushes and rubs the back of his neck. “Uh...”

Sunny interrupts before he can continue. “Oh, she so did! Didn’t you, Row? Did she tie you up? Did she give you a blowie? You know I’ve seen her toy collection. Did she put something in your butt? Did she let you put something in hers? Did you spank her? Did she spank you? Did—“

You and Bradley laugh as Bob covers her mouth, giving her a look. “Quit interrogating him, or I’m gonna spank you.”

“Is that supposed to be a threat? Do you promise?” She mumbles under his hand, arching her brow sassily.

Bob rolls his eyes at her antics with a smile and leans forward to kiss her.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

You wave them off with plans to meet back up at the beach tomorrow with the pups.

Bradley lets Lola outside while you open the app on your phone, turning the plug’s vibration on for the first time since he got off earlier in the afternoon.

His back stiffens as he feels it, his head drops to his shoulder when you grind your hips into his ass. Your hands wrap around him; the right snaking under his shirt to tweak his nipple while your left cups the erection he no longer has to fight to conceal.

You shiver at the unrestrained groan that leaves him as you stroke him through his jeans.

“I love how vocal you are, it makes me so wet. Will you record yourself jerking off before the next deployment?” You murmur against his back.

“Yes, fuck. Anything for you,” he sighs, closing the door after Lola runs past.

You squeal when he turns to pick you up bridal style, carrying you up the stairs with ease.

“How…?” He asks, trailing off as he strips off your clothes, kissing every new bit of skin he exposes.

“I was thinking you could ride me. I want you to cum on my tits and face.” You moan as his lips brush across your collarbone.

A shiver works through him and nods eagerly. He slips off his own clothes and lets you lead him to the bed.

“Bend over,” you whisper, putting light pressure between his shoulder blades.

A humiliated, but aroused flush creeps up his chest at your words, but he does as you request. He whimpers softly when you remove the plug and sighs when you replace it with two well-lubricated fingers, zeroing in on his sensitive prostate.

“I’m—fuck! I’m ready, sososo ready. Please?” He begs after you quickly work him up to 3 fingers while his hips rut against the comforter.

“You’ll take what I give you,” you tease, slapping your other hand on the tender skin of his ass. “Stop humping the bed before you cum.”

His whole body trembles. “Yes ma’am.”

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

He’s ready after a few more minutes; mostly because he’s going to cum if you don’t give him reprieve.

You pause in the doorway on the way back to the bedroom after washing your hands and donning the harness. He’s still bent over the bed where you left him, resting his head on his crossed arms, hard cock steadily dripping precum on the wood floor; he’s so turned on he can’t help but shift his weight from one leg to the other.

Seeing him so needy sends another wave of arousal straight between your legs.

You pull him over you after lying back on the bed. He grunts desperately when his cock grinds against the strap. “…want it, please.”

“Shhhh, it’s okay. Sit up.” You murmur against his lips.

You squirt a generous amount on your hand and coat the dildo, tapping his side when you’re done. “Ready when you are.”

He straddles your hips, hands bracing on the frame above your head and slowly starts to sink down, holding his breath until his hips meet yours.

“So good for me, taking it all,” you praise, smiling at his shuddering inhale.

“Ohhhh Row—hnnhgh,” he rasps when his prostate is brushed on a downstroke and your pussy clenches in response.

“I see why you like this. You look so hot,” you moan, your hand releasing the grip on his hip to turn on the vibration against your clit. your hips jerk up unintentionally, ripping a wrecked groan from his throat. “Shit, Sorry! I…oh God,” you gasp as he starts to move faster.

“It’s ‘kay. Feels so good,” he rasps, voice cracking.

His volume increases the faster he fucks himself on the strap; his moans, whines, and whimpers growing longer and more shameless.

You’re getting close, so your lube-slicked hand grips his cock and begins to stroke him, but his movements stutter to a halt at the overwhelming sensations.

“Try this,” you pant, guiding his hips to grind in a figure 8.

“Yeah, that’s—oh…oh fuck,” he keens, repeating the motion as you start jerking him faster.

You don’t even get a chance to warn him before the coiling tension in your pelvis breaks; your back arches and lips fall open on a silent scream as your orgasm tears through you.

A garbled sob escapes him when your grip tightens and Bradley shudders as he finds his release too. His cock pulses in your hand and stripes of cum paint your chin, breasts, and stomach.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

“I…I need a picture of you like that. You look so beautiful coated in my cum,” he pants, blindly handing you his phone after he’d flopped on his side next to you.

You laugh but oblige, reveling when his breath catches as you record yourself running your fingers through his spend and licking them clean. “I’m gonna get a bath going, okay?”

He nods a confirmation and you do just that, cleaning up while the tub fills.

You coax him to the bathroom and get him settled in the tub before pressing a kiss to his lips pulled into a sleepy smile while you pull on your robe. “Be right back, I got one more surprise. Don’t drown, okay?”

“Mmmm, no guarantees” he hums, his mustache twitching.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

“Make a wish,” you whisper after singing, and hold out a large piece of chocolate cake with a candle stuck in the middle.

“I’ve already got everything I wished for,” he murmurs, tears filling his eyes as he nods to you and then to Lola who’d made herself at home on one of the towels you set aside, tail thumping lazily when you both look at her.

“Is my singing that bad?” You tease softly, kneeling next to him in the tub and combing your fingers through his hair before wiping the tears that started to escape. “I know what you mean. These are happy tears I hope?”

He nods with a sweet smile. “I think I cried one time between when my mom died and meeting you and that was to Sunny after my near-death experience. I was telling her how I wanted a love like my parents had, someone to come home to and share my life with. Then a few weeks later, I met you and you’re…damn it, I suck at this,” he laughs wetly and you smile, your own tears starting to fall. “You’re just…everything to me, I love you.”

“You don’t suck at this. That was incredibly sweet,” you reply, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “I love you too. Happy birthday.”

“I thought of my wish,” he says after a beat and blows out the candle before meeting your eye. “Wanna make it come true?

“‘Course I do,” you murmur, your attention on your fingers still weaving through his hair.

“Get in here then and let’s share that cake.”

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Tagging:

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[sunlightmurdock]

Admiral kazansky finding sub Rosa! reader’s positive pregnancy test lying around and going apeshit on Bradley but Bradley didn’t know cause she hadn’t told him yet

Stop it because he would he PISSED. And obviously it’s after Bradley and Lil Kazansky move in together but long before they’re married, so guess where Ice sees him most often? Work.

Taking the trash out is not Mrs. Kazansky’s job. It hasn’t been since he married her in ‘89. She does plenty around the house, more than Tom could ever pretend to be completely aware of. So, emptying the trash is his job and has always been.

Kitchen trash can? — Easy. Remembering the bathrooms? — That’s a little more tedious in the big house that his extensive career has afforded him.

Now, it was Mothers’ Day this past weekend. One of the rare times that your sisters were in town. So, you had made the most of it, all having a sleepover in your parents’ house like old times. It was Maddison’s idea. She’s the oldest. Married and trying. Well — she hadn’t explicitly told you to take one, but she had mentioned that she was testing every day. Describing her symptoms to you.

She had put the idea in your head. So, when you were laying awake that night in your childhood bedroom — you couldn’t get the thought off of your mind. The fact that you were laying on your back because your breasts were too tender to be on your side of your front. She had offered up a test willingly and you had taken it without thought.

You had discarded it with the same carelessness, shell shocked by its answer.

Bored and in dull, Sunday afternoon task mode, your father could have missed it when he lifted the lid off of the small bathroom trash can to take the bag out. It was sitting right at the top. Double lines, bright and proudly displayed.

“Bradshaw!”

He’ll never get used to that — he flinches every time. Rooster’s eyes widen a little as he spins to face your father in the men’s locker room. Towel wrapped around his waist and uniform folded neatly in his locker, his conversation interrupted, he studies the furious look on your father’s face.

“A word in my office. Now.”

“Uh, sure — is everything alright?” Bradley’s brows furrow slightly, cheeks burning a deep terracotta, all eyes in the room on him. He swallows softly and adjusts the towel. There are rarely admirals in the locker room and he’s truly dismayed that on this rare occasion, the admiral happens to be your fucking father.

“Not here.”

Rooster pulls at the collar to his uniform, already worried that he’s going to sweat through his freshly applied deodorant as he steps into your father’s office, now dressed in his flightsuit. You’re at work, not yet on your lunch break and unable to reply to his SOS text message.

The door closes and the room suddenly feels a lot smaller. Bradley presses his back to the door.

“When I gave you my blessing, Lieutenant — it was to marry my daughter, not to get her pregnant after less than two months living together.”

Bradley doesn’t have any significant allergies. Cats make him a little itchy but it’s worth it for the airplane ears and funny little attitudes. But now, his throat feels like it’s closing up.

Ice notices the sudden dilation in Bradley’s pupils. He straightens up in his chair, refusing to be fooled. “Don’t play dumb, kid, I found the pregnancy test in her trash.”

Bradley stares at him, back pressed into the office door. It occurs to him briefly that — yeah, your period probably is a little later than normal. He hadn’t thought to that yesterday when he was balls deep inside of you in your now shared shower.

“I’m talking to you, Bradshaw — you gonna answer me, or are you just going to keep staring at me like a damn idiot?”

Rooster exhales slowly. Tom can’t help but notice that he looks a little bit… greener than he did before. Rooster swallows the lump in this throat.

“Can, we — um — can I get back to you? — I think I need to make a phone call.”

[g0ttal0ve101]

Just Like Before

NOTE: lukai from mia narrative real 😽! this is so random but aye double upload this month cause the Halloween special 😝

⚠️tw: mentions of SA ⚠️

Mia Jacobs had been rough around the edges for as long as she could remember. No matter who stood in her way or what defied her, she was unbreakable. She never started fights but would end them her way, come Hell or high water. Most people called her bitchy and pissy, others called her much worse things. On one occasion, she had actually beaten Lindsey Hall’s ass, prom queen and little sister of everyone’s favorite valedictorian. That story usually scared people off, if not for the additional stories of her terrifying reign. Despite that enigma she insolated herself in on the outside, there was no doubting she had a heart of gold. It was hard to reach even to those closest to her, but once it was, there was no telling what lengths her generosity would go.

Seeing as she spent most of her time with her boyfriend, Carl, he was the prime recipient of her rare kindness. Unlike many before him, he appreciated being one of the only people on Earth who could say that Mia Jacobs tried her best to resolve any problem he had — down to little things like homework and driving lessons all the way to talking him out of suicide. (But that’s a story for another day.) This aspect of her character was, for the most part, overlooked or unseen by those who she willingly or unwillingly surrounded herself with.

What she didn’t know was that this trait would be playing a major role in her afternoon.

The day played out as any ordinary Sunday. Underneath the busted car she was working on, the late crisp September breeze put her in a better mood than usual. She thought about calling it a day and going to hang out with Carl for the rest of the night, but it just didn’t feel right to leave her progress in such an awkward position. She pushed on for another half hour before finally crawling out, grabbing her bottle of water and sighing heavily. Oil and grime decorated her gloves and left cheek as she tried moving the stray strands of blonde hair from tickling her nose. It was no use. As much as she loved having long hair to style, it could be irritating.

While finishing up her last sip, Mia suddenly caught the glimpse of a screen glare from the corner of her eye. She assumed Carl must be calling because he was bored or horny or sad or all of that combined, hurriedly grabbing her phone to pick up the call. Her suspicions were proven to be false once she saw the big user ID printed flat in front of her place, presenting her the opportunity to answer.

Lucian Williams. Truthfully, she didn’t even remember saving his number in the first place, but that didn’t stop her from picking up anyway.

“Uh, hello?”

“Hey, Mia…uh, are you busy?” His voice was shaky as though he was ready to burst into tears at any second.

Like mentioned before, Mia was instantly alerted of his distress and jumped the gun to fix it. “Not really — are you okay? You’ve literally never called me before.”

“Can you pick me up?” he blurted out.

Again, she answered without hesitation. “…Yeah. I’ll be there in five.”

“Okay.”

“Okay. See you then.”

Then she hung up. It was then she realized that her way of communicating was a little off compared to others. Rather than staying on the line and trying to feel for what she was getting into, she immediately agreed to get him and figure out everything in person. In her eyes, she knew it could be perceived as “weird” behavior — in reality, it was more intimidating than weird.

Mia set out onto the slick road with puddles of water splashing against the freshly clean truck. It wasn’t hers so she could care less about what it looked like when she gave it back since the client was kind of a douchebag — he couldn’t keep his eyes off her tits for a minute even while talking to her — and needed to be reminded of his place.

When she pulled into the gravel driveway of Lucian’s home, she couldn’t help but feel a tinge of envy. The little blue house was beautiful, decorated by wind chimes, various pots of flowers, and a bunch of garden ornaments, too. It was warm and welcoming, which reflected Lucian for the most part. Maybe that’s what it was. Lucian was just too pretty himself to reside anywhere less. Before she was able to take in his precise decoration status, the front door swung open. It surprised her enough to jump back.

“Jesus. You scared the hell outta me.” Mia said in response to her heart flying out of her chest..

Lucian rushed down the porch steps and to her side. “Sorry…do you need to get home at a certain time?”

“You act like someone’s gonna bust my balls over it.”

“Well, Carl…”

Mia scoffed from the mere suggestion. “Trust me, he’ll be fine for a few hours. Now tell me what this is all about. I’m guessing Kai isn’t around?”

Jumping into the passenger seat of the car, both Mia and Lucian were hit with the overwhelming scent of cigarette smoke. “…Yeah. Is this your truck?”

Fixing her hair in the rear view mirror as she waited for him to get settled in, Mia laughed. “One of my client’s. It’s pretty nice, huh?”

“Other than the smell.”

“Yeah, stay away from cigarettes or I’ll beat your ass,” she joked with a sly smile.

Once Lucian was secured in with a seatbelt, they started their way down the street. She didn’t know where he wanted to go and honestly, didn’t care much either, so she figured any corner was safe ground to hit. Despite this, Lucian seemed nervous enough to present his explanation. “Is it okay if we just drive around a little? I don’t really want to go anywhere, I just needed to get out of that house.”

Again, a vague statement, but Mia took it. “Oh, I don’t care. I was kinda hoping I could ride this bad boy around a little bit anyway, haha! Besides, it’s the least I can do. You’ve never asked me for anything else.”

“Actually…can we stop by the liquor store?”

“You got liquor money?” Mia sarcastically asked, figuring that he was joking or something. But once she saw those eyes, she knew that he wasn’t.

He laughed nervously. “I didn’t bring my wallet for nothing…”

Not in a hundred years did Mia think she’d hear something like this come from Lucian’s mouth. There were some rumors she heard down the grapevine that Lucian used to have a problem with drinking in middle school, so much so that he actually had to be admitted to a hospital after being found completely unconscious and unresponsive in his ex-boyfriend’s bathroom. Mia always thought it was an outlandish idea. She couldn’t picture Lucian taking a sip of liquor, let alone downing so much that it caused him to be hospitalized. But after hearing this, she couldn’t help but wonder if that story was true.

Clicking her tongue, she tried to think of the nicest way to say what she was thinking. It did her no good.

“What do you like?”

“Whiskey. Sometimes tequila.”

“Is that what landed you in the hospital the last time you drank?”

Lucian froze. Evident by his wide eyes, he didn’t know that information reached her, otherwise he probably wouldn’t have asked her the favor in the first place.

His answer came out shakier than he wanted it to. “I was fourteen when that all went down, y’know? I was just being irresponsible…I can definitely handle it now.”

“Yeah?”

That wasn’t a good sign. Not at all. He tensed up before she even got another word out.

“I’m gonna be honest. You can bat your eyelashes and sweet talk me all you want, but at the end of the day, I won’t let you go off and make dumb decisions. I’ll put it this way — would Kai want you to start drinking again?”

She didn’t think she was too rough, but alas, tears streamed down his face anyway. She should’ve figured that would happen — Lucian wasn’t the best at handling someone being snippy with him.

“No,” he muttered with the eyes of a lost puppy. “I’m sorry. Forget it.”

It was hard to keep her cool. Mia wanted to shake him around and ask him what was wrong so that she didn’t feel so helpless, but she knew that would only end in disaster. She had to be tactful in the way she spoke to him. He wasn’t like Carl who was willing to give up any and all information to her at the snap of her fingers. He was more reserved than that.

Understanding this, she pulled into one of the many deserted parking lots she knew of. Usually she took Carl here so they could stargaze and talk about sentimental things, so she figured it’d make a nice setting for her to get to the bottom of…whatever the hell was going on with Lucian. Nothing about him was normal at that point. His eyes, his hair, his voice, his posture, everything was just throwing up hazard signs. Mia recognized them almost instantaneously upon seeing him walk out of the house.

Lucian, appearing uneasy with the sudden stop they were making, fixated his gaze toward the freshly-clean floor. Once the engine reared off, the sound of crickets began ringing louder than ever. Mia twirled the keys around her index finger while trying to think of what to say. Again.

“You wanna talk about it?” Her voice was softer than he’d ever heard it before. “You don't have to if you don't want to.

Sniffling, he wiped his tears away with his sleeve for a third time. “It’s embarrassing…”

“I won’t judge.”

Lucian swallowed against the lump in his throat and rubbed his forearms in an attempt to subconsciously comfort himself. “…Kai, uh…Kai got upset with me last night, I think. He left when I was sleeping and just didn’t come back…won’t answer my calls either.”

It took less than a second for Mia to respond. “Why’d he get upset?”

Lucian knew all too well.

/—/—/—/—/

It was the first time he felt this way. Underneath the piles of blankets and sheets he had on his bed to protect himself during the night, Lucian was half naked and bleeding at the mercy of Kai’s teeth and tongue. It was wonderful. Despite staining the mattress red and having a hard time regulating his shallow breaths, he couldn’t help but feel that strangely distinct yet distant sensation rising within himself. Kai looked better than ever. Hotter than ever.

“What’re you squirming around for?” Kai hummed, grabbing at his hips and applying the slightest amount of pressure on them to ensure he wasn’t getting up. “Does it hurt?”

None of the wounds felt like anything. The adrenaline zipping through his veins made him feel like he was floating and the dopamine rush was making him feel like he wanted more than just a bite.

“N-No,” Lucian murmured.

His rapid breaths caught Kai’s attention. “You sound like a scared little bunny-rabbit. You hear that?”

Sliding his slender hand up Lucian’s ribcage and onto his left pec to feel his heartbeat, Kai’s smile seemed to be wider than ever. His teeth were stained red, his hair was disheveled, his eyes were eager, but God Lucian could only focus on his touch.

“You’re getting all hyper just for me.”

Lucian laughed nervously. “Is it really that noticeable?”

Kai smirked. “What, your heartbeat or…?”

The joke nearly flew over his head. With a bright red face and an even faster heartbeat, he clenched his legs close together and whined playfully.

“Aww, don’t be like that.” Kai’s hands reached both his bare shoulders as he leaned in to whisper in his ear. “It’s cute.”

“Kaaaiii…”

Lucian didn’t have a chance to complain before he was captivated by that feeling again. Kai’s tongue grazed up his neck and toward his ear as he giggled, obviously trying to get his boyfriend to ease up a little. After a few more hickeys and tons of kisses, he finally gave in.

His once shallow breaths became airless begging as he placed both of his palms against Kai’s shoulder blades, letting him have full access to his upper body. And as always, Kai gave him what he wanted.

“I wonder what your organs look like in that little tummy,” he hummed. Pulling out his favorite pocket knife, he placed it right above Lucian’s belly button. The cold blade made him shiver. “So pretty, I bet…so, so pretty.”

Lucian grabbed at the arm wielding the knife. “Not too deep, okay? It’ll hurt.”

That playful expression Kai once wore fell instantaneously after hearing such a thing. His eyes widened like saucers. “I love you. I’ll be nice, I promise. I love you very, very much.”

His voice made him melt. “I love you too.”

As the last syllable came from his mouth, Kai slid the blade just hard enough to draw blood. Lucian didn’t even realize it was already over until Kai lurched down to play with it a little, smiling like an idiot. His adrenaline numbed any sort of pain it might have caused.

“You squirm when you’re nervous.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“No.” Kai’s lips met the wound as he locked eyes with Lucian. “I like it, bunny.”

bunny.

In the matter of seconds, something switched. The arousal Lucian once felt melted into pure terror as he felt Kai’s kisses lowering dangerously close to the elastic of his pajama pants. It didn’t feel good anymore. It felt like at any second, he’d hear the zipper or smell the alcohol or feel the painful sensation of a hand wrapped around his throat. And to think that it was happening again, Lucian’s breathing hitched and wavered rapidly. He didn’t move or say anything — he just stared at the ceiling and tried to regain control over his mind.

Squeezing him tighter and forcing himself to shut his eyes, Lucian attempted to return to normal. He told himself to picture a puppy frolicking across a colorful meadow, peaceful and happy just to be alive. When that didn’t work, he tried to imagine going to the beach and putting his feet in the water while watching the sunset. Again, to no avail. Every scenario he tried to eject himself in spat him right back out into the same memory he was trying to escape. And for the first time in forever, he started to slip.

The smell of alcohol in his stepfather’s heaving breaths as he grinded his hips against him was something he couldn’t forget. It was so vivid in his mind, yet so vague. So real, but so far away. It happened so many times that the memory complied itself into one big rotting mess inside his brain. Sometimes he’d be face down against the mattress, sometimes it was against the shower wall, and sometimes he’d just be on the floor without any recollection of where or how it started. Sometimes he was twelve. Sometimes he was five.

But those dark eyes never altered.

Kai might’ve said something. Lucian couldn’t hear it. It wasn’t until he pulled away completely that he realized something was wrong.

“Lu?”

When Kai’s voice finally reached him, Lucian’s mind became a clean slate again. Though temporary, it felt more than relieving. However, no matter how hard he tried to look him in the eyes, Lucian avoided it at all costs. And though he was bad at reading faces, Kai understood it.

Shifting himself off Lucian’s hips, Kai straightened his posture and tried his best to keep his cool.

“Hey, hey, it’s just me…”

Lucian hadn’t noticed the tears trickling down his face until he heard his words come out airless and shaky. “S-Sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

Kai reached to wipe his face off but retreated the gesture when he saw Lucian’s subtle flinch. It dug into him deeper than any blade could go. “I don’t like it when you cry, Lucian. I really don’t. Please stop.”

While this might seem ignorant to outsiders looking in, these words carried heavy weight between the couple. On any other day, Kai relished in making people suffer. He was a sadistic and apathetic individual at heart — heart-wrenching sobs and cries tended to be music to his ears. But not Lucian’s. It could never be Lucian’s.

“Did I hurt you? Are you crying because it hurts? I’ll fix it for you. I’ll make it better.”

Choking on every syllable that left his mouth, Lucian’s words were distorted into sobs and hiccups. “It’s okay. I-I’m fine,” he whimpered, trying to keep his lungs from collapsing.

“Are you scared of me?”

Kai’s face said it all. In that moment, Lucian realized how badly he fucked up. Kai was terrified to be perceived that way by somebody he loved — by Lucian. He expressed his fear of being perceived as dangerous time and time again and yet, Lucian was crying and trembling in his grasp.

“…I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said. His voice was so low, Lucian could hardly hear it. “I love you so much.”

“Kai, I—!”

“C’mere.”

Kai pulled him close before he could even open his arms to welcome his embrace. Both of his hands, warm and soft, rested against Lucian’s shoulder blades, but that fuzziness that inhabited his stomach during times like these was no longer there.

Rather than resting his forehead against Kai’s chest and dozing off like he usually would, Lucian remained still. He didn’t know what to do. His stomach was bleeding through his shirt, his eyes wouldn’t stop producing tears, his heart was pounding, and his mind was in a spiral. He didn’t know what to think or say or anything, really. All he could think of was Kai’s face when he asked that horrible question.

are you scared of me?

Lucian wanted to scream and rip his hair out. It had nothing to do with Kai. It was all his fault. If he could just tell him why, tell him everything he’s gone through, tell him anything, then all of this could’ve been avoided.

But he remained silent.

/—/—/—/—/

“So he was touching up on you, you got freaked out, and — no offense — but he didn’t really fucking help you, and somehow you’re in the wrong here? Bullshit.”

Knowing she was ready to bash Kai’s head in, Lucian rushed to his defense. “I mean, what else could he have done? I was acting like an idiot and he didn’t know what was going on. Everything was going so smoothly before that and I…”

“Okay, okay, so he was kissing you?”

“Yeah. Kissing me.”

“Where?”

Appearing confused but intrigued by her line of questioning, Lucian took a deep breath. “My neck at first. He likes giving me love-bites sometimes, haha…”

Anyone with eyes could see that. The patches of dark hickeys across his collarbones and throat were kind of hard to miss since his skin was so pale. Telling by the way he spoke about them, Mia assumed Lucian had no idea how noticeable they really were. It was sort of funny in a way.

“But then he moved down to my tummy and started kissing one of my fresh cuts.”

“Cuts from what?” Her voice suddenly became serious. “Lucian, I will beat your ass if you’re hurting yourself.”

“What?! No! It was a stray cut!” he assured her, purposefully leaving out the part where Kai inflicted the wound himself. (He wouldn’t call it a kink, but they were both seriously into it.)

“It had better be.”

Subtly changing the subject back to the original point before she asked too many questions, he sighed. “I’m telling you he didn’t do anything wro—!”

Hushing him by placing her index finger against his lips, she shook her head. “Lemme figure this out for you. You guys were making out and on the verge of fucking, right?”

Bashfully looking off, Lucian recalled the engraved memory out loud. “No, never. Well, not never, but not yet at least. Wh-What I mean to say is that he hasn’t gotten all excited for me like that before, okay? This was the first time! Probably the last time too…” His saddened voice trailed off with a sigh. “Anyway, we weren’t going to do anything. He was just pampering me and being all cute. I was enjoying it, I-I really was.”

“What do you think caused you to freak out then, babe?”

Biting his tongue, Lucian’s face was redder than Mia had ever seen it. “I guess maybe it was how I couldn’t see his face anymore since it was against my tummy, or that maybe the kisses felt too much like…back then. I don’t know. It’s not like he’s never kissed me down there before.”

It was a tough situation. Mia couldn’t help but feel for him. Not too long ago, she was in the same predicament herself, trying to figure out how to deal with her trauma while still maintaining a healthy relationship with Carl. There wasn’t much advice she could think to give him in that aspect considering it was a unique process for everyone, but she wanted more than anything to assure him that she was there as support.

“…Well, there is one thing that might have caused it.”

Mia’s head perked up. “What?”

Playing with his shirt, he avoided her eyes again. “Whenever he calls me Bunny, I kind of think about…my stepdad.”

The mere mention of that man stiffened the air. As far as she knew, nobody was granted the opportunity to know anything about him — not even Kai himself. To know that he felt comfortable enough to even mention his existence in her presence indicated just how much he trusted her. It was a nice feeling, but terrifying at the same time. Why her? Why not Kai?

Mia calculated every syllable that came from her mouth so intentionally that it felt like she was talking in slow motion. “That must’ve been really scary then, Lu. You’re way better than me. If I were you, Carl probably wouldn’t have any teeth.”

The subtle humor and praise interwoven with her reply helped Lucian crack a smile again. Even if it was weak, it was a sign she was doing something right.

“I dunno. At least you try to protect yourself, right?” he murmured.

Her heart squeezed. It was true, she always tried to defend herself. And to think Lucian’s first instinct was to just take it without a fight…

It was too much for her to think about.

“I guess this is pretty dumb on my part, huh?” Lucian said shakily. “Kai has no idea about any of it. My parents, my stepdad, my biggest fear…I hid it from him. Now it’s coming to kick me in the ass and all I can do is cry. I’m such an idiot…”

Grabbing his arm, Mia pulled him close to give him a hug. He was more tense than usual, but still embraced her tightly and planted his forehead against her shoulder. She felt his fast heartbeat and sighed. Poor thing.

“You don’t owe anyone an explanation. Not me, not Kai, none of us. Do you understand?”

“But—!”

“Listen to me, Lucian.”

Their eyes met. Lucian was on the verge of tears again.

“I know this might sound crazy coming from me but in my opinion, you two are gonna get married one day. Seriously. So, who cares if he doesn’t know yet? You have plenty of time to ease him into it and prepare yourself.”

Lucian’s breathing steadied a little more. It was working.

Releasing him from her tight grasp, Mia planted her hand against the top of his head and pushed his bangs off his forehead. “That boy praises the ground you walk on, okay? Do you really think that’s gonna change because you tell him about your past? Seriously, do you believe that?”

It was a supposedly hard question for Lucian. He furrowed his eyebrows and dabbed his sleeves just beneath his waterline to collect the excess tears that were fighting to fall with a pitiful sniffle. Following that, he shrugged.

“I’m just…I’m scared that he’ll look at me completely differently. I mean, I’m afraid what he’ll think when he finds out I’m not a virgin, Mia. If he found out another man already took it from me…what would he think? I’m scared. I know it’s stupid, but I am.”

“It’s not stupid,” Mia assured him. “I was scared of the same exact thing.”

“…You too?” His eyes were wide. And although he didn’t specify what the question was inferring, Mia instinctively answered.

“Yeah. My brother raped me when I was six, so it’s not like I had a chance to choose when I lost my virginity either.”

Mia had almost forgotten how sympathetic Lucian could be before she saw the flood of tears streaming down his face. There was no use now — that boy was bound to sob his eyes out before this conversation was over. That was okay. It made Mia feel good that he felt safe enough to do so.

“It’s not fair!” he whimpered, covering his face out of shame. “You shouldn’t have t-to feel like that…!”

“You shouldn’t have to feel that way either,” Mia emphasized. She pulled his arms away from his face so she could see his eyes again. “That’s what this is about, right? You went through it too?”

Lucian’s expression read like he had seen his entire family get murdered in cold blood right before his eyes. Somehow he grew paler and colder to the touch, his trembling body seeming more fragile than ever before. Mia recognized that look. She hated it more than anything.

“…Mhm,” he mumbled. He couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud.

Mia’s expression remained unwavered. She knew if she reacted even in the slightest negative manner, he’d be completely shattered.

“And you’re still the coolest guy I know,” Mia hummed.

“…Really?”

“Really. I don’t think anything less of you. Do you think any less of me?”

“O-Of course not!”

“Do you think Kai would think less of me?”

“Honestly?”

“Honestly.”

“No,” Lucian airlessly laughed. “No! He wouldn’t at all! He’d probably just give you that one look he makes when he feels bad a-and ask me what he should do to make you feel better.”

Weakly smiling, she turned the question back around. “So if you tell him, what do you think he’d do?”

Lucian hesitated this time. Slowly but surely, that same smile reappeared on his face as he wiped his tears. “I dunno. I think he’d be really upset…n-not at me, but…I dunno. I don’t want him to see him like that.”

“It’ll be okay, cariño. Trust me. I’m sure Kai just needs some time to cool off, yeah? He’ll be back in your arms soon. Knowing him, probably tonight.”

“…You think so?”

“I know so.”

And with that off his chest, Lucian’s mood improved almost immediately. He wiped away all his tears and rolled down the window, leaning his head out to catch some breeze through his hair. To top it all off, there was a subtle smile on his face. Pretty.

The conversation varied from there going back and forth about how their lives were fluctuating since they’ve last seen each other. They talked about all the kills they racked up, how they should plan another date to catch predators, and gave each other advice on how to clean up bodies (Lucian was surprisingly good with that kind of thing) and what other torture methods they could use (Mia was unsurprisingly good with that kind of thing). Before they hit the road again, however, Lucian decided to backtrack toward the original conversation they had.

“I know this is gonna sound really weird, but…how did you, like…stop being scared of having sex?”

It was laughable. Cocking her eyebrow upward and smiling from the mere thought of that being a concern, she answered as truthfully as possible. “Where is this coming from?”

Lucian bounced his leg nervously. “…It’s hard to explain.”

Now things were starting to make more sense. Tapping her finger against the wheel, she examined Lucian’s expression. He sat there terrified, practically rubbing off all his nervousness onto Mia.

“Well, everybody’s different. It’s not some sort of mental switch where you can just turn it on and off, y’know? For me, I felt better taking the more dominant role so that I knew I was in control of everything that happened. I’m still like that with Carl I guess, but it’s different with him. Way different.”

Her sly smile and the click of her tongue told a story on its own. Lucian was foolish enough to ask for more details.

“Different how?”

“Not that you care, but Carl has a dick. Like, he’s a whole ass dude. Usually I get with women.” Pulling back her hair into a quick bun, she continued to explain the difference. “To say I was pretty fucking scared to do anything with him is an understatement. I just fronted like I wasn’t. Not saying that’s what you should do, but that’s what I did.”

Lucian nodded sheepishly. “Yeah, that’s understandable…”

With a smirk, Mia gave Lucian a hefty pat on the back. “Are you asking me this stuff because you wanna do it with Kai?”

He blushed. “Eventually, I think.”

“Hahaha!”

“W-Why’re you laughing?!”

Covering her mouth to shut herself up, she took a deep breath to recover from her sudden burst of energy. “¡Que mono! Lo siento, lo siento…debería haberlo sabido que esto eventualmente sucedería.”

Lucian furrowed his eyebrows. “C’mon...I can’t understand what you said, but I’m guessing you’re teasing me.”

“No, dummy. I’m saying that it was inevitable. I mean, you guys are always on top of each other hugging and kissing and whatever the hell you do — biting?”

Low blow, but painfully true.

Lucian folded his arms and stuck his nose in the air playfully. “We do wound-to-wound blood transfusions, yeah. I mean, he’s bitten me just about everywhere by now other than my, y’know…”

“Ass?”

. . .

“He has not bitten my ass before, no.”

“Maybe you should try it. He’s clearly running outta room on your neck.”

“Mia!”

Practically dying from laughter, Mia lurched over the wheel. Lucian tried to convince himself that it wasn’t funny, but the stupid smile stuck on his face said otherwise. She was pretty good at doing that to him.

“Esos dientes de ese chico me asustan...si te chupara la polla entonces estarías jodido, haha!”

“Wh-What?”

“I said you two are super duper cute together and Kai, uh, Kai has a super nice smile.”

Lucian squinted his eyes. “Tell me what you really said.”

“Uh, invite me to the wedding?”

“Mia!”

/—/—/—/—/

When Lucian stepped out of the truck and into the driveway, all of the warm security from their conversation wore off. Mia said her loving goodbyes, giving him a big hug and preaching that this support system would always be in place. He thanked her a million times, but not before realizing he didn’t give her any money for gas. He tried to stop her before she pulled out the driveway but she purposely ignored him, playfully honking her horn and waving her hand out the window. Again, he found himself smiling like an idiot.

The door shut behind him with a loud thud as he let out a dreaded sigh. Everything about that place was suffocating without Kai being there to ease his thoughts. Initially, he planned to check every lock to help him relax a little, but once he realized that one of the windows was wide open, he knew it was pointless. Somebody was already in there with him.

“Kai?” His voice was shaky but clear, reverberating against every wall in the house. “Kai, I’m home. Where are you?”

Like a deflated balloon, his confidence and enthusiasm began to shrink. He sighed and began untying his shoes on the floor, hoping by the time he was done that Kai would say something back. But alas, nothing.

It wasn’t until Lucian’s eyes wandered from his laces and to the hardwood floor that he saw a pair of big combat boots standing inches from him. He gasped and jumped back in surprise.

When their eyes met, it felt magical. Lucian’s once chilled heart melted back into his original state as he scrambled to his feet and launched himself into Kai’s open arms. The sensation of Kai’s skin making contact with his skin and warming it up again was far beyond any pleasurable experience he ever had. It almost brought tears to his eyes — if he hadn’t cried so much that night, he probably would’ve.

“I missed you so much…”

“I missed you too, Lu. I’m sorry I left.”

Lucian’s face scrunched up in joy once his eardrums were pleasantly rewarded by the sound of his soft voice again. “It’s okay! I left too, so now we’re equal! Let’s eat dinner a-and watch a movie and cuddle!”

When he pulled away to see Kai’s expression, his heart sank. No smile was present on his face whatsoever despite being reunited. For some reason, he looked nervous. Lucian took a few steps back.

“Kai?”

“C’mere.” Kai reached for his hand and led him into the darkness of the house, unbothered by the lack of light. Lucian struggled to keep up.

After trekking up their staircase and turning the corner, they stood in front of their bedroom. Kai released his hand and fidgeted with the rings on his fingers for a second, swinging the door open and supposedly inviting Lucian in. He followed.

Lucian noticed the big fortress of sheets and blankets in the middle of the room first. It was decorated with fairy lights and organized with every pillow and stuffie Kai could’ve possibly found laying around. The mere sight overwhelmed him with a strange amount of nostalgia. Whenever they were younger, they’d make pillow forts all the time — binge candy, watch movies, talk shit, everything and anything two middle schoolers would do. Back then, everything seemed much simpler. Neither of them knew what the other went through. Neither of them had to worry about it.

Everything falls back on their past now. Lucian knows how to treat Kai with the reminder of his tragic past. But Kai knew nothing about him and could hardly piece together the pieces he left behind. It was a mess. He was a mess.

“Thank you, Kai. You’re the sweetest.” Lucian’s voice was gentle as he pulled his boyfriend close for another sensational embrace.

Kai relaxed in his arms for a moment or two before wriggling away. “Go inside, Lu.”

Obeying his orders, Lucian got onto his hands and knees and crawled inside.

The interior looked like how he’d imagined it — various different patterns from the sheets and blankets holding the roof up with warm lighting and a soft covering for the floor. Lala (Lucian’s favorite stuffed animal) was propped against his pillow with care alongside a colorful slip of paper.

The writing was done with purple crayon (Lucian’s favorite color). And although it could’ve been mistaken for a toddler’s doodles, Lucian understood immediately that this was his boyfriend’s best work. He slowly paced his eyes on every letter.

4 luciAn

im sory 4 makeng U cry lAst nite i dont wAnt U 2 b scArd of me i wil nevr do it AgAin Am sory 4 it

i love U luciAn so lots

xoxoxoxoxo

On the bottom, Kai had attempted to draw the two of them holding hands with a bunch of hearts around their heads. Lucian teared up and probably would’ve cried if he hadn’t done so earlier that night.

It was a big deal. Lucian knew this must’ve taken him a long time. He knew how much Kai hated writing and reading or really doing anything that involved a pencil and paper. By holding this crinkled paper in his hand, ripped in various spots from the amount of times he had to erase, Lucian knew he had put everything he had into making it up.

“Kai, come here.”

Kai, standing outside of the fort bashfully, crawled inside with a bright red face. He looked like at any second, he was going to explode. Lucian couldn’t help but grin like an idiot, his eyes full of adoration.

“I wrote that for you,” Kai murmured. Again, he was fidgeting with his rings to try and make himself feel better. “Can you read it?”

“Mhm! You did so good, honey!”

“…I did?”

“Yeah! I understood all of it! I’m gonna keep this forever!”

Concealing his mouth behind his palm, Kai practically vibrated with excitement from the praise he received. Lucian pulled him close again, only this time, he was able to comb his hands through the ebony curls on the back of his head. Kai wrapped his arms around his shoulders in return.

“…Are you still scared of me?” Kai asked with an audibly hard swallow.

“No, never.” Lucian whispered into his ear, causing him to physically shudder from how close his voice was to his eardrums. “I’m sorry for making you feel that way, honey.”

They pulled away and looked into each other’s eyes. Neither of them were very fond of eye contact, so whenever this did happen, it usually came right before they started kissing. Lucian’s butterfly-diseased stomach begged him to get on with it and let all his worries pass over, but his mind refused it.

“…Kai.”

“Yeah?”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Mhm.”

Lucian bit his lip a little and looked away. “Would you ever date somebody who wasn’t a virgin?”

It was painfully obvious what he was getting at. But with Kai being Kai, he didn’t notice in the slightest.

“Like, they got fucked by someone else or they fucked someone else?”

“Either…?”

Kai shrugged. “I wouldn’t mind it, I think. I’d just want the other guy dead.”

All the weight on his shoulders was uplifted. Lucian nodded and smiled a little to himself, fidgeting with his sleeve as he scooted closer to Kai. “Yeah. That makes sense.”

. . .

“We should have sex on our honeymoon.”

The soul left Lucian’s body the moment he said that. With his eyes bulging out of his head, he waited for further explanation — not that he would be able to say anything if Kai didn’t elaborate anyhow.

Tapping his finger against his chin, Kai looked toward the ceiling with a red face. “Y’know, like in all those old movies. Unless you never wanna do it. That’s fine, too.”

“N-No! I do!”

“You do?”

“Of course I do, wh-when we’re totally married and old and stuff! I-I mean…do you?”

Kai processed the question longer than anticipated. With a warm smile on his face, he narrowed the wide space between them a little and nodded. “When we’re totally married and old and stuff.”

Grabbing his chin, he gently pressed their lips together. It felt just like before.

[cricketnationrise]

7:15am, ransom and bitty, haus kitchen, “honeybee” by anju

OMG new song obsession for real. its so sweet and lovely and like perfect sunday morning vibes - thank you for the introduction! i hope you like your ficlet!!! 💜🦗

want your own ficlet? followers can submit prompts using these guidelines through Jan 31 2024 (only 4 days left oh gosh!) all ficlets submitted by the deadline will get written!

🏒🏒🏒🏒

7:15am, haus kitchen

No shade to Holster and an exquisitely co-planned kegster, but there’s nothing more perfect than early Tuesday mornings in the kitchen of the Haus. There’s no practice until the afternoon, the rest of the Haus either asleep or have already left to begin their day like the robot they claim not to be. It’s just Ransom, alone in the kitchen, watching the street wake up with the sun over his cup of coffee. It’s a nice moment of stillness before the eight AM class that kicks off his busiest day. Just him and the other poor fools with early classes.

Ransom does a double take when he sees Bitty of all people running back to the Haus, waving goodbye to Jack as he carries on for another loop of campus. He would have bet his share of Bitty’s pies for the rest of the year that Bitty would rather die than get up this side of eight on a day when he doesn’t have class until ten. 

Bitty practically dances through the front door and into the kitchen, the very picture of cloud nine, only catching sight of Ransom staring at him in shock when he twirls around toward the fridge for creamer.

“Oh! Mornin’, Rans. Didn’t know you’d be up this early!”

“I could say the same to you, Bits.”

Bitty’s cheeks go pink at that, his eyes flicking to the window. “Well, Jack offered to start checking practice again, after that last game, and the way practice has been going…” He trails off for a moment, lost in memories and Ransom doesn’t push, doesn’t want to remind Bitty even more of the hit from last season. Doesn’t want to think about how still Bitty was, just lying there on the ice, helmet thrown feet away from him.

“Anyhow,” Bitty says with determined cheer. “The only open slot was real early before the figure skaters so Jack—”

“He didn’t,” Ransom chimes in with mock horror.

“He did. Five o’clock in the morning. Well, actually quarter t’five so that we had time to walk over. Before the sun was even thinkin’ ‘bout peekin’ over the horizon.” He’s shaking his head ruefully but his eyes go soft, glancing outside once again, and Ransom feels a funny swoop in his chest. “It was real pretty in Faber though, seein’ all those pretty colors through the windows.”

Ransom can picture it in his mind’s eye, Bitty’s blonde hair etched in early morning rays like a halo, lit from all sides where the sun reflects off the ice like some sort of deity.

“I’ll bet,” Ransom manages to say before taking a hasty swig of his coffee.

“What are you doin’ up this early anyways?” Bitty asks, rummaging in the fridge.

“Got class at eight.”

“It ain’t even seven yet!”

That’s stretching it a bit, he can see the microwave clock blinking 6:59 over Bitty’s shoulder, but Ransom just shrugs. “I’ve got a packed day, five classes, plus practice after. So I started getting up earlier to have a moment to center myself before the madness.”

“Oh! D’you want me to leave? This can all wait.”

“No!” Ransom clears his throat before dropping his voice back to a reasonable volume. “I mean no, you’re fine to stay. I’d like you to, if you want.”

Bitty watches his face for a long moment before the furrow in his brow clears and he takes Ransom at his words with a wide smile. “Well then, sugar, you’ll have to taste test this french toast recipe I found the other day while studying for that food history class Jack and I are taking.”

“However will I survive?” Ransom deadpans, pleased when Bitty dissolves into giggles.

“I’m sure you’ll muddle through somehow,” he says solemnly, teasing Ransom right back.

Ransom sits back and watches Bitty flit around the kitchen cooking up a storm, lets his torrent words wash over him and fade to a pleasant buzz, and soaks up the honey-sweetness of Bitty’s presence, ignoring the clock for now. 

He’s got plenty of time.

[cantstayawaycani]

Meeting Tenoch @ Comicpalooza Part Three

Sunday May 28 - THE AUTOGRAPH(s)

Today, Tenoch’s autograph sessions started early and I wanted to get there early. That way I would have the rest of the afternoon and then I could just hang out at the con if I wanted to.

I've got his book, and I have my picture. I wanted him to autograph my book, but I bring my picture just in case because I didn't know in the end which one I was gonna give him. I know he saw me with his book and I really wanted him to sign it, but I’m glad I put both in my bag, as you’ll see!

I stopped at the Starbucks that they have on site, because I saw that he had visited the Starbucks the day before and someone said they’d seen him. (Was that @milkfromcats?) I was thinking maybe on the off chance he goes to get himself a coffee? HA! But when I got up there, there were so many people, I was like “oh well there's no way he will come up here,” but I got my coffee and I got a breakfast sandwich. I was feeling energized and good by the time I went down to the photo area.

So I go and I talk to the attendant and I get in line. I see some of the other women that I had met at the panel and we're talking about all kinds of nerdy things.

All of a sudden, I'm so nervous! 

I got so nervous I had to start doing a few like breathing exercises just to calm myself down. This was surprising to me because the day before I felt more confident and I guess that was because I had that double shot of vodka.

But it was too early in the morning for me to drink anything like that; it was around 10:30 or 11 AM.

I'm nervous, I'm trying to breathe, I'm talking to the people in line about how great he is and everything and then we get told “OK it's time to go in!”

I’m thinking: “Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!” 

We're going through the line, and his autograph table was behind a curtain. Everybody else’s was out in the open, even William Shatner's. But for some reason, Tenoch’s autograph table was behind a curtain. I was like, OK great, some privacy! 

So when we went through, the girl who was sitting there scanning our barcodes saw I was nervous. She says “Don't be nervous, he's so sweet! When he came and introduced himself to us, he kissed both of my cheeks, and I was just like wow, he’s such a nice guy! So he's gonna be so sweet!”

I'm still trying to breathe and not cry, and manage to say “I know he's lovely, but I’m still so nervous!”

She saw that I had his book, and says “Oh he's gonna love that! He loves it when people bring his book! Not too many people bring his book, so this is gonna be great, don’t worry!"

I feel good about that, but my stomach is still in knots! She really did try to calm me down, but I was a lost cause. My anxiety got the better of me!

I get to the girl who writes my name on a little sticky note for him. I didn't know if I could tell her that I wanted him to personalize a message. I had no idea, so it was just my name. 

Now,  I'm like right in front of him and say again, “Hi Mr. Mejia, how are you?"

And he goes: “I'm good, Kenya, how are you?"

I say: “I don’t know, I'm nervous man!”

He laughs and looks up at me. He asks “No, why are you nervous?"

As he looks at me, that's when I remember to look at him, because he was finished signing my book. I said “because I just really wanted to meet you!” That’s literally ALL I could think to say at that moment in time.

Mind you, what’s running through my head is that he’s beautiful, but smaller in person. His eyes are BROWN and clear. His hair is PERFECT. He is biting his lower lip and then he licks them and he’s just looking at me very casually, waiting for me to speak and I cannot think of a SINGLE appropriate thing. I want to tell him how pretty he is, but that would be so wrong (in this setting).

Finally he kind of shrugs, or just lifts his shoulders and says “It’s OK, you are here. Thank you for being here!”

I’m thinking, I should be saying this to you!

But all I could manage was: “Thank you!"

He smiles again and says with a little nod “You’re welcome!”

And I take his book and just say “OK have a good day!”

He says “You have a good day too!”

And then I just …. left. I could not think of another word to say! When I tell you I had been up practicing what I was going to say to him! I was gonna tell him “I'm learning Spanish because of you.” 

I was gonna say “un poquito, para ti, poco a poca voy aprendiendo.” 

But I did not say those words (I’m kind of glad, because imagine me butchering Spanish in front of him?) so I just hightailed it out of there! When I got beyond the curtain, I was like “Holy shit!”

Then I went and I got my autograph authenticated.

Walking back to the hotel,  I was kind of disappointed. I was sitting in my hotel room and I was like “I'm not happy about that interaction.”

I felt disappointed in myself for not getting the words out of my mouth and for almost forgetting to look at him and take him in while I was standing in front of him.

So I was like “OK I'm gonna go back to the convention center, I can like hang around and see what's going on and maybe I can see him at some point,” you know?

When I got back to the convention center, it was almost time for his late afternoon session. I said ok let me go get another drink because the bars open. I go up to the bar and I swear I was just gonna get a regular vodka cranberry, but the bartender asked me “do you want a single or double?”

So I took another double vodka cranberry!

Now I don't advise this to everybody. It was just the one drink, but it was a double shot. Ultimately, it was fine. I certainly wasn't drunk or even what I would call tipsy. It just helped to loosen me up. 

As I'm walking around, it helped me decided to go up to the autograph booth to scope out my options. He was either on a break or taking pictures at that moment. I ask the attendant if they know if he's gonna come back and at first they couldn’t tell me or not. He could be doing pictures for the rest of the evening.

They tell me to check back, so I walk around some more. When I come back, they have put up a sign and it says he'll be back at 3:30.

So I finally decide then and there, I'm gonna buy another autograph!

I go eat something, and I go line up again. I see the same ladies that I had seen and hung out with at the panel.

They were like “yeah girl we got another one too," so I didn't feel bad! I was standing behind a Latino man who had bought 5 autographs and 2 pictures from Tenoch! That was a lot of money!

I didn’t feel too bad after that! In front of him, there were two Latina women who had got an autograph but the signature got wiped off, so they were going back through the line so that he could sign their picture again. So I was like OK I'm not the only one coming back through here, awesome!

I was determined to say something to him this time!

When they call us in, this time the person who's scanning the barcode is his translator I believe! She perks up when she sees me, like she recognized me (she had been sitting next to him the first time).

She says “Oh hi, back again?”

I say “Yes, I was nervous last time!”

She says “Please, don't be nervous! He is so happy to be here, don't be nervous!”

I say “I think I’m better now!”

I'm going through the line, they asked me again, do you want personalization? And I still only gave her my name.

The women who needed to get a redo because their signature got wiped off were in front of me and I stopped to talk to the marker guy and point at my picture to ask what's the best marker to use for this picture so it doesn’t rub off?

The marker man shows me one, but also says “you just have to make sure it dries before you put it back in the sleeve.” 

The marker man is standing right next to Tenoch. At this point now, Tenoch has noticed me and is looking at me talking to the marker guy.

So I turned to Tenoch and say “Oh I'm going to blow on this like my life depends on it so that it won't mess up!”

And Tenoch laughs!

He looks tired but, he’s very present.

I take a deep breath, smile and say “Hi Mr. Mejia, again!”

He says “Hello again Kenya!” 

I said “I came back because I was nervous the first time!”

He says “Thank you so much for coming back again!”

I say “You're welcome!”

While he’s signing, I say “OK, while you're doing that, let me tell you this: we love you, and we're proud of you! We don't know you, but we are proud of you! We love when you speak, we listen when you speak! When you speak, you make so many people so proud!”

 I pointed to his book in my bag again and I said: “I've been learning Spanish for you so I could read this! So I could understand your story and where you're coming from,”

At this point he’s looking at me again, and blinks and touches his heart. He smiles very warmly and does that little nod again.

He says “Thank you so much Kenya.”

I said “Thank you! It took me three months to work my way through the first three chapters of this book!" 

He laughs very quietly and puts his head down. When he looks back up at me, I say “You are a beautiful person and please keep doing what you're doing because you mean so much to me and others.”

He nods and says “thank you” again.

This time, I know I’ve said all I’ve dared to. So I say “OK I just needed to say that because I was nervous the first time.”

He was just like “It's OK!"

And then I was like, “OK have a good day again!” and he’s like “OK have a good day!”

So that's it!

I just booked it on out of there and as soon as I got beyond the curtain I was just like Oh My God! OK I did it! I did it! I went back through! 

I wasn't going to go back through; I wasn't even gonna come back to the convention center! I tell you man, soon as I get that double shot of vodka I was like “you know what Kenya, it's your 40th birthday, treat yourself! Get another autograph!"

So I did and I got a chance to actually speak to him and look him in the eyes and see him appreciate the words that I was telling him.

I will say, I think that he cannot really encourage conversation because then he would be spending too much time with one person, so he didn't say much. Also, his translator was on the other side of the table scanning people in for some reason.

I know he speaks English well, so he didn’t really need her. But I don't think he could say much to me because he could not prolong the conversation. He just expressed his appreciation and was telling me thank you and also for me to have a nice day and that was enough for me!

He is such a beautiful person and everybody around him, from the people that were working there at the convention center who were in charge of managing him all said he's wonderful. He kisses people on the cheeks, he gives hugs, he's just the nicest guy. 

I'm happy that I got to get his autograph. I'm happy that I got to take the picture. I'm happy that he saw my shoes. I at first kind of wish I had been able to tell him that the “Pretty Baby” shirt was for him, but actually it's a good thing that that is just my little inside pet name. He doesn't really need to know that, it's not for him, it's for me. 

All in all, it was a really great experience and I'm really happy that I did this for myself! And now I'm gonna go back home to Los Angeles and relive the memories gazing at my picture!

[dcwnthercbbithcle]

THINGS YOUR MUSE WILL NOTICE ABOUT MINE. (Repost, don't Reblog, please!)

WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE:

Big, deep brown, almond-shaped eyes with creases at their corners lend to Doe’s broad, beaming smile. Still, something doesn’t sit well in her eyes, like porcelain fruit. Big, beautiful and fawnlike as they are, there’s a level of emptiness and vacancy behind them. Lights are on, but nobody is home. Maybe it’s the lack of focus, wide and shining but unfocused, staring at something far away and unseen to the rest of the world. Perhaps it’s the quiet weariness carried under them, bags partially hidden with makeup and glitter but evident in the lack of light behind her expressions. Either way, it’s unnerving at the best of times.

BIIIIIG expressions. Doe doesn't emote like most people. Oscillating between a neutral facial expression that denotes nothing at all, just a wide-eyed, almost haunted deer in the headlights vacancy that's evocative of porcelain dolls watching from a shelf to full-bodied, all emotion and no-holds-barred expressions of her feelings, like toothy, full-faced expressions of pure energy. Toothy mouth open, cackling grins, feral snarls like something out of an animal, not a human, and full gross sobs. Now, it should be said that Doe does feel sheepish about this. Quickly shying up and returning to her neutral and controlled expression when called on it. Still! unnerving queen!

Very, very emotive with her hands, arms, legs and everything. When she's feeling, she's feeling HEAVILY, and the emotions seem to affect her like a kid's toy tapped onto a generator instead of a double A battery. She's hopping in place, pointing, gesturing, everything.

Constrained body language, though, when left to her own devices, she likes to keep her hands, legs and arms to herself. Refusing to sit with legs spread or arms splayed out, even when utterly comfortable with her surroundings.

FRECKLES!!! Doe is covered in freckles and moles, concentrated most on her cheeks and upper back in a bountiful constellation of markings. She avoids covering with makeup and instead tries to enhance with methods like liners and slightly lighter blemish cover. 

A squint in her left eye (ptosis), one of few remnants of her skull and face improperly being healed through the afterlife process after being crushed in during her death.

Short and petite, no taller than 5'0 when standing straight up and often smaller with the slight slouch in her appearance. Curvy build with a wide if boxy, bust and hips.

Distinct personal fashion sense that blends the line between maximalism, 80s high glam, hair metal and punk/counterculture aesthetics (specifically those associated with lesbian and bisexual communities). Featuring many layers, leather & denim, HEAVY personalization (painting, embroidery, patches), different clashing patterns, too many belts, bright colors, metallic incorporation, accessories and provocative fits.

Dresses in almost exclusively Jewel-Tones (Blues, Purples, Reds, Pinks, Yellows & Turquoise Greens)

BIG HAIR!!!! It's the 80s, so it's a given, but I HAVE to mention that she often has it either curled and styled with varying degrees of mess from day-to-day wear or actively in curlers. She's very rarely seen with her natural texture and style on display.

ALWAYS wearing makeup, usually just lip gloss and lipsticks and eyeshadows. I'm not fond of foundations, though!

Somehow, despite the Raccoon-energy that defines Doe, she maintains a neat and made-up appearance that's earned her the nickname 'princess' by many for the high-maintenance vibes she evokes. Something, something, she looks plastic!

WHAT THEY SMELL LIKE:

Understated but not undetectable base of a clean, floral, baby-powder-like aroma reminiscent of fresh wet laundry on the line

Thick and heavy overcoat of an almost intoxicating, floral & chemical-laden musk distinctive of cheap hairspray, mousse and bustling hair salons on a Sunday afternoon

Beneath the perfume of her hair products, Doe has a distinctive, almost nature-evoking blend of sweet amber, gardenia & jasmine, black cherry, nectarines, grapefruit, fallen leaves and wood.

Clothing has a thin aroma of cigarette and skunky smoke musk clinging to it, droned out by the already loud scents of her perfume and body products.

Breath is generally unnotable, though tinged with sweetness and minty freshness from her sugar-loving diet and gum-chewing habit.

WHAT THEY TASTE LIKE:

Sticky, sickly-sweet cherry-flavouring painted across her lips, harkening to those few bittersweet maraschinos swimming at the bottom of a half-drunk cocktail, festive, blood-red heart-shaped suckers and menthol-laced cough drops. It's an unnatural, overpowering, fruity concoction with a hint of a sour kick. Evocative more of her personality than the times.

Often, Doe's kiss comes with a warm, menthol tang on the tongue and in the back of the throat, resulting from a long-held habit of chewing gum to alleviate subconscious jaw clenching.

Depending on the situation, the stale taste of stagnant, metallic blood. The leftover remnants of a recent death or attack against her.

WHAT THEY SOUND LIKE:

High-pitched but silvery and dulcet-toned.

Gregarious but not at all loud, though she will talk at length whenever her body and mind allow her, her volume is quiet and softly spoken, maybe two or three steps above a whisper that often becomes muddled out in the presence of other people, which frustrates her to no end.

Playful, non-fussed lilt to her words, often not seeming to take anything TOO seriously. Part confidence and part pure mischief but all Doe!

Notable slur to her words that worsens, to the point of her speech being difficult to understand when speaking at length and with overwhelming emotion.

Very distinct Western Canadian accent that can be confused for an American accent until she goes to pronounce certain words, such as plague (pl-AG), drama (DRA-ma), lever (LEE-ver), z (zed), etc.

Kind of an evil, wicked witch of the west cackle, though! It's a point of playful mocking, but she will audibly titter with an 'ehehehehe'

WHAT THEY FEEL LIKE:

VERY soft skin that dips and dimples where numerous scars can be felt in her skin,

Mismatched, the constantly changes between the clothing she layers and the level of care Doe pays attention to certain features of herself lends to a confusing sensory experience but one that perfectly suits her

TAGGED BY: myself! Which is to say I stole it, but tomato tomato! Haha TAGGING: @coastercrushed, @neverscored, @mxlevolence (& for Loki!), @markedprey, @who-is-muses, @vcngefulwrath, @slateir & @horrifichaunts