#and i will tell my landlord about it and ask if he can at least fix the bathroom silicom so maybe some of their hiding spots are gone
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n0rmal-cat · 1 day ago
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Siren singer x taxi driver reader- part 2
[for harpy person, are we talking like a night bird? Like an owl or crow? Or just any]
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Reader sat in their boss's office, "I’m sorry, Reader, but it looks like we have to let you go.”
“You're firing me?! For what? I couldn’t have possibly done anything that bad!” they ask confused.
“I’m sorry, but we don’t have to explain why we fire people,” the boss replied, avoiding eye contact.
“Yes, you do! This is so unprofessional!” Reader slammed their hands down on the table.
The boss stood up hastily. “Now listen here, Reader, we don’t want to call security.”
Grumbling under their breath, Reader left the room. They had suspected this would happen all along, all because of that insufferable man. But why had they been offered $1,000 in compensation? Asshole.
Reader didn’t believe their job application had been that bad. Surely they could find a position at a fast-food restaurant or something similar, but that hadn’t happened. No one seemed willing to hire them.
They slumped down on their couch. "I guess I could talk to my parents?" They really didn't want to, though...
The ring of their doorbell startled them and made them jump, "Jeez!"
"Don't be the landlord, don't be the landlord,"  they whispered, crossing their fingers as they made their way to the door.
As they opened it, they collided with the chest of a man. “At least take me on a date first, dear,” he joked, a cocky grin spread across his face.
They recognized that voice anywhere, "you!" They stumbled back, "you got me fired!"
His shirt was unbuttoned halfway down, and he had sunglasses on
“Oh, gasp! You got fired? How terrible,” he pouted playfully.
"Yes, I got-...did you just say gasp?"
"Enough about me, let's talk about you," he stepped into the apartment . “So, it’s come to my attention that you don’t have a job, yes?”
Reader blocks him “You can’t just waltz into my home like this. And yes, I do have a job!”
“Ooooh, delightful! I was thinking about what you said, and you’re absolutely right I should get a personal driver, you” 
“Excuse me? Wait, are you actually some rich guy?” Reader eyed him warily.
“Yes, and apparently an asshole as well,”
Reader paused for a moment, momentarily caught off guard before snapping back to reality. “No, you?!”
“Yes, you see, you intrigue me. I’ve never met ‘anyone’ who doesn’t like my voice,” he said, the last part sounding almost like a growl, made even more apparent when he bared his teeth slightly.
"i highly doubt that, and no i refuse, you're the one that got me fired and for a petty ass reason nonetheless"
“Oh, okay, I see how it is. But…” He lifted Reader’s chin, forcing them to meet his intense gaze. As he spoke, a mesmerizing mixture of blue and green mist escaped his lips, his sunglasses sliding down the bridge of his nose to reveal his striking blue-green eyes.
“Did you vape before coming in here?” Reader blurted out.
"W-What?" He looked genuinely shocked. Suddenly, he squeezed Reader’s face in his hands, frustration flaring in his eyes. “What is wrong with you, human?” he glared at them, fully showing his teeth now.
“What the hell are you doing?” Reader struggled against his hold.
“Unless you, gasp!” He opened Reader's eyelids with his fingers to peer inside them.
“Let go of me, you idiot!” Reader shouted, mortified.
“I swear to God, if you try to take my turf… oh, okay, good not a siren,” he said with a smile, finally releasing them.
Reader pushed him away, breathing heavily. “I’m going to call the cops on you!”
“Fat chance they’ll do anything, sugar. Now, let’s get straight to the point, you're my new driver. There’s no room for argument unless you’d prefer to stay unemployed.”
Rubbing their temples in frustration, Reader groaned, “What are you talking about? I can find a new job!”
"No you can't i made sure of that. i did say I was a siren that's why I need to have you, why don't you fall under my spell dear tell me."
"Siren?" That did sort of make sense, his fanbase was a mindless mob, wasn't it? "Really?" they asked, confused.
"Yes, really, I mean what human could have a name like mine?" he said smugly.
"yeah 'silver midnight' is a shit name"
"No, it's not!" he composed himself.
"So tell me, would you rather leave all this junk behind and come with me, or do you want to take some of this crap with you?” He gestured around the apartment casually.
"Are you gonna be paying me the same as the check?"
"That depends, are you going to be a little smart ass the whole drive" he crossed his arms like they were the problem.
"Maybe pay me more."
He puffed his cheeks "get in the damn car and well see how many zeros i add on"
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tardis--dreams · 1 year ago
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There's silverfish in this apartment so the only chance for my body to get some rest would be collapsing from exhaustion otherwise i will not sleep for a While
#how long does it take to get rid of them?#ages probably#and i have only one room (+ a tiny bathroom) so i cannot avoid them#they're in my bedroom therefore the bed isn't safe#god i hate it here#i had them in my first apartment too for a short time and i hoped to never experience this again#well#also the guy living here before me apparently has never cleaned the shower or the toilet in his lifetime#the shower is filthy and I've been cleaning it for 3 hours in total already#I'll have to scrub it everyday in order to get a chance to get rid of these years of dirt and limescale#(like scrub it for 30 minutes using cleaning supplies and all. not just clean it after showering like usually#which would have prevented this from happening in the first place if that guy had done this even just once a week)#also cannot fathom how my landlord accepted this bathroom to be left like this#there was literally still toilet paper in the toilet and there is dirt so bad i haven't gotten rid of it after scrubbing for hours#but yeah#the insects are the worst#i mean in korea i had actual bugs but there weren't as many and i think they couldn't climb the walls so i felt less#disgusted by my bed and everything i touch#(there was one in my bag and in the kitchen sink and in my blanket once and#I'm not exactly scared by them but actually disgusted#i guess this is what some people mean when they say they aren't scared of spiders but don't like them anyway#it's just gross and i don't want to see them)#and i will tell my landlord about it and ask if he can at least fix the bathroom silicom so maybe some of their hiding spots are gone#I'm just very tired of everything rn lol#still not using that extra time i have during the night to work for university so that's great#not getting anywhere#void screams
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luveline · 5 months ago
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Shy!reader and post prison Spence - the first time he calls her a pet name? I love that your Spencers always use “honey” or “dove” or “love” and we know she’d be a mess.
P.S. completely agree with how much I love the gentleness of your characters. The way you write Spencer in love is literally my favorite
ty for requesting <3 fem
“Are you sure it’s okay?” 
Spencer holds a hanging strap. You hold your own, core tense with the movement of the train. “I think I would’ve mentioned it before you got on the train if it weren’t.” 
You nod, glancing around the traincar at the other passengers. There's a stout lady wearing a large fluffy sweater, turquoise with two white kittens at her chest nuzzling one another in knit. A man with three bags of groceries sits just beside her. Further down, a teenage girl listens to music through leaking headphones, her phone reflecting blue light on her cheeks. 
“But are you sure I won’t be an imposition?” 
“You aren’t usually. I guess we won’t know until we get there.” 
“Maybe I should just find a hotel for the night.” 
“Y/N, I’m kidding. You’re not an imposition, it won’t be a problem. There’s enough room at my apartment for you to stay however long you want. Between all the books, that is.” 
It’s just not something you pictured asking him for. Your kitchen flooded in your apartment and the landlord had to put you up in a hotel until he could get someone in to make sure the stove wasn’t about to explode or catch light. But the idea of a hotel is rough torture —somewhere unfamiliar, living out of a suitcase, surrounded by people you don’t know without a door that locks properly. Spencer caught you sweating over it at your desk, pulling the story from you in reluctant drags with a hand on your shoulder. 
It’ll be okay, he said, you can just stay with me. 
Which is relieving and somehow a new can of worms to deal with. At least at a hotel there was no chance of seeing Spencer in a towel. Spencer seeing you in a towel, in your pyjamas, without your formal office protections. 
The worst part is the excitement. 
Terrified he’ll see it on your face, you stare at your shoes next to his. Spencer… Everyone told you he was a dork. When you joined the team in his absence, not once did you get the impression that the man who’d be coming back was like this. You feel like he’d been infantilised. Which isn’t to say he isn’t a dork, he is, he tells you the strangest things, facts or statistics to accompany each topic of the day, and he has all the manners and chivalry of someone who knows what it’s like to be as painfully shy as you are. But he isn’t shy. 
Autistic, he’d confided once. Probably. I’m better at dealing with it now. 
“You okay?” he asks. 
“Nervous.” 
“I know.” He grasps your arm as the train screeches on tracks, turning a tight bend. You’re grateful, but immediately flushed with heat. 
“I don’t want to embarrass myself.” 
“You couldn’t. I think I know you too well already.”
“You’ve known me for less time than the rest of the team, but you were the first person to offer me a place to stay.” You clench the rickety handle of your suitcase. “Thank you.” 
“That’s okay, angel.” He says it simply and softly, like you really are an angel. Something breathless to wait with. 
Angel, you think, heart skipping a beat, pulse slow and then suddenly ramped. 
His arm slips behind your back. “I don’t want you to stay in a hotel if it’s going to scare you. Besides, it’ll be fun. Like a sleepover.” He laughs. And you, despite your flush, heat sinking across your chest like a bruise, manage to laugh back. “I’ve never had one before.” 
“What?” 
“Never had a sleepover. I didn’t have any friends in school, and I haven’t had a girlfriend stay the night before.”
You look up at him with wide eyes, expecting a retraction. Not that you’re my girlfriend, not that you’re anything like that at all. 
He smiles at you. “Should we get takeout?”
“What were you thinking?” 
“There’s an Indian restaurant between the station and my apartment? We can stop in. Or we can order something to come. Or I can cook, if you want home cooked.” 
“No, it’s fine, you don’t have to cook–”
His lips turn to a quizzical pout. “I don’t mind.”
You want him to call you angel again. You want him to take you home, make you dinner, and you want to sleepover. Like a girlfriend, you want to wake up in his bed. 
“Sorry,” you breathe, “I think I’m just tired.” 
“Are you sure?” You nod. “Alright. I was worried you didn’t like the pet name, but your pupils dilated when I said it–”
You can’t escape him. One hand in the hanging strap above, the over on your suitcase handle, you have no choice but to stand there with his arm around you to keep you from falling, face so hot with it that you’re sure you’d be feverish to the touch. “It’s fine,” you say, too afraid to look at his face that you end up staring at the nice shape of his throat, his black and purple tie. “Call me what you want. Um, I think we should get Indian.” 
“Good choice, angel.” 
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aakeysmash · 7 months ago
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college!sukuna accidentally bumping into you at a café. *inspired* by this ask!
college sukuna masterlist
The bells right next to the front door chime when he enters the café. Today he’s distracted: the kitchen sink back at the apartment is currently leaking and he’s searching online for someone to come look at it. Not that he didn’t already try to fix it, but he doesn’t have the right bolt to repair it alone. He’s just going to order the usual, sit at one of the tables in the corner and play candy crush until Yuuji gets out of school.
He’s a regular here since his brother’s elementary school is right in front of it. Sometimes he just wants to kill time, and pastries here are good for his macros. Or at least he tells himself so.
“Hello, what can I get you?” A female voice asks him from the register. He doesn’t strain his gaze from his phone.
“The usual,” he says. Then he thinks about the familiar voice he just heard and snaps his head up.
“What are you doing here?” “Sukuna?” You both say at the same time.
His surprised face morphs into a smug one in a split second.
“Didn’t know you liked me so much that you started to follow me, baby. You could’ve just waited for me at home if you missed me that much, I would’ve made sure to put some cream in your… coffee,” he says winking at you.
You put on a fake smile before answering. His innuendos are getting worse by the day, he’s disgusting.
“I’m going to poison your coffee if you keep this up, Itadori,” you whisper, as to not make the manager hear you. “Go get some pussy, please, you’re insufferable,” you whine when he gets closer.
He looks you up and down, licking a corner of his lips, mischief still in his gaze. He knows you’re right, sometimes he does a bit too much, but the way you huff and puff brings him more joy than any game on his phone does.
“You know I wouldn’t touch you with a ten foot pole, Y/N. I don’t fuck snitches,” he responds, rolling his eyes.
You chuckle at that. This has been one of your inside jokes since the start. You managed to file 15 noise complaints in the first three weeks of your stay in the apartment, and the owner had to threaten to kick out Sukuna if he didn’t stop fucking girls so loudly. Sukuna had to agree and bite his tongue 5 times during that conversation. He knew you filed the complaints just because he didn’t want to say he was the one who ate Yuuji’s cookies, instead blaming you. Yuuji didn’t talk to you for a day for that, and you took it to heart.
Also, you exaggerated how many times he fucked inside the apartment. By a lot. You knew he had game, or at least you were certain of that seeing how confident he was, but he also hated when Yuuji managed to see some of the girls. Which happened only one time and it was when you moved in. You just filed noise complaints for every little noise you heard from his room, and seeing how the landlord didn’t doubt Sukuna had game either, you won by default.
“So… One black coffee? I don’t know your usual, I’m just covering a friend for today. It’s been a long day,” you say sheepishly, putting some of your hair behind your ear, cringing when you hear your own voice. Suddenly, the screen of the menu is so interesting to you. It’s not like you’re embarrassed as hell to see him here when you’re clumsily trying to understand how things work. It’s not like you’re trying not to look at him at all. Fuck. He is never going to let you live it down if you make a wrong move.
“I can see that,” he adds, serious. He sees your crestfallen look when he finishes his sentence. Maybe he shouldn’t have said that out loud, even if it is pretty obvious. He never saw you this nervous.
“Couldn’t you just fucking lie?” You grit out, composing yourself, pinning him with some sort of rage.
“Not my style, doll,” he answers, raising his shoulders. Your eyes turn into slits and you’re about to say something else when he catches movement behind the counter. The manager.
“Two coffees and a strawberry cake,” he says, getting back to his phone.
You raise an eyebrow. You thought he hated strawberries. You start typing his total when said manager turns to Sukuna.
“Your total is-“
“Man, I haven’t seen you in ages,” the man behind you enthusiastically interrupts you.
“Satoru,” the pink haired man nods, pocketing his phone and making some sort of special handshake with him. They know each other?
“Mind if your coworker here comes home with me?” Sukuna asks the handsome man you have next to you.
Your manager is silent for what feels like 10 long seconds. “Y/N, don’t give into this brute,” he tells you, staring at you behind those dark ass black glasses he wore the entirety of the day. He managed to do the work of three people without breaking a sweat, but he also spent most of his time tasting pastries the chef cooked. He’s nice, you think. But he’s weird as hell. No wonder they’re friends.
“He’s actually my roommate, boss,” you say, smiling up at him. Then you look at Sukuna and your smile drops. “Unfortunately.” Your said roommate flips you off.
“You know what, fuck you. I was just doing you a favour by letting you go earlier, stupid,” Sukuna says, bored.
The white haired man chuckles at the interaction, then tilts his glasses down his nose to look at the man in front of you, amused. “Oh, it’s her, huh.”
Sukuna snarls. “She’s a pain in the ass.”
“Oh, he’s talked about me? What did he say? Is it enough to kick him out and ask for Yuuji’s custody?” you ask, mockingly. Your manager turns to you and you’re almost blinded by how blue his eyes are. You genuinely have to blink a couple of times to make sure you’re still able to see.
He completely ignores your questions, giving you a once over. Then he gets his glasses back on correctly.
“Go home, Y/N, don’t worry. You’ve done an excellent job today. Feel free to come whenever,” he says, giving you a smile as bright as his eyes, then leaves while you think about how your cornea must be damaged now.
“Off the clock, come on,” Sukuna says, taking his phone out again, not sparing you a glance.
“Why don’t you jump off of my dick instead,” you hiss, going to take your purse from the service room. You don’t see the way he tips you anyway, even if you didn’t ask, and takes his order to the nearest table, positioning the cake in front of him. Like he’s waiting for someone.
You get back out front and side eye him, rummaging through your purse violently before sighing defiantly. You forgot your keys.
You turn around to look at Sukuna, who is just a couple of tables away, jumping a little when his eyes are already on you. He gives you a confused look behind his cup of coffee, before putting it down and mouthing “You look stupid, come sit.” You raise one of your eyebrows and you’re going to flip him off when someone bumps into you.
“Yo, cutie,” the man in front of you addresses you. You smile politely and sidestep to the left, getting out of the way, but he follows your movement, positioning himself closer to you.
“I was wondering if you were free now that you don’t have that little apron on,” he tells you languidly, swiping your arm up and down with his hand, stopping at your shoulder. When you try to get it off, he just grips you harder.
“Get your hand off of me or you’re getting kicked in the balls in front of everyone,” you deadpan. He’s slimy, probably conventionally attractive for a lot of girls, but he’s creepy.
He whistles lowly. “I love it when they’re a little feisty,” he smirks, trying to get even closer. You’re raising your knee when he gets pushed off of you and you kick a strong thigh instead. You widen your eyes comically and the man you just kicked winces.
“Man, what the fuck-“ the creep starts, before getting interrupted.
“Don’t touch my girl,” Sukuna seethes. The man takes a step back. Your heart skips a beat. You didn’t think he’d come to your rescue. “Even if her kicks are strong as fuck, I gotta say that. I might have unfortunately just saved your sorry ass’ future sad child,” he says, glancing at you. You giggle.
“There’s no way a fine thing like that is with you,” the man continues blabbering, albeit scared of Sukuna’s imposing feature.
“There’s no way a fine thing like me could ever be with someone like you, you mean,” you say, standing closer to Sukuna.
The man scoffs. “You could do so much better.”
"You? Lying is a sin, motherfucker."
On cue, Sukuna raises one of his arms and drapes it over your shoulder. You’re surprised by how delicately he gets you closer to his body, like he’s thinking you aren’t going to like what he’s doing. You look up at him, laying your hand on his chest, giving him the okay. He stares down at you, swallowing.
“Yeah, I’m lucky,” he says thickly, smirking, before lightly kissing your forehead. The kiss is barely there, you wouldn’t even have felt it if right now you weren’t hyper aware of how intoxicating and warm his body pressed to yours feels. You think you might have a fever from how much the spot he grazed is scorching. Your ears are buzzing, and you don’t distinguish the words the two men are exchanging, getting out of your daze only when the creep exits the cafe with his tail between his legs.
“I didn’t need you, you know,” you say to Sukuna, still looking up, letting your hand fall from his chest. Fuck, he’s ripped.
He nonchalantly gets the bag your manager (grinning behind his hand) is passing him before escorting you out. You notice he didn’t get his arm off of you, and you realise you don’t really mind the soft weight of it. Or maybe you just don’t mind being close to him. Or maybe you don’t mind him at all.
“Now you can tell Yuuji how fucking cool his brother is,” he shrugs, getting you imperceptibly closer to him. You roll your eyes, whining, while he huffs out a laugh.
Back at home, Sukuna goes to take a shower, leaving you with a yapping Yuuji. He’s telling you about his day at school and you get your phone out to read the text you just received, noticing the ping sound.
Worst roommate ever: the cake is urs. eat it. or don’t. idc
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krirebr · 8 months ago
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Luck Be a Lady
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Pairing: soft!dark Curtis Everett x female reader
Word Count: ~10.1k
Summary: Desperate for money, you accept a job as a cocktail waitress at an underground casino. You think you know what you're doing, but when you meet Curtis, will you realize you're in over your head?
Warnings: Mob AU, violence, allusions to murder, explicit language, dubcon touching, noncon touching (not Curtis), willfully oblivious reader, SMUT - facefucking, dirty talk, light d/s dynamics, praise kink, other explicit sexual content. This is definitely on the darker end of the soft!dark spectrum, so proceed with caution! All of my work is 18+ - Minors DNI
Dividers by @thecutestgrotto
Masterlist
A/N: And here it finally is! This is my first real attempt at soft!dark. I hope I did it right! 😂
This was inspired by two things: 1) me going to a rep screening of Goodfellas and spending the entire time wondering why I hadn't done a mob au yet and 2) @bigtreefest saying "enforcer!Curtis Everett and mob boss!Andy Barber" in my general direction. Thanks for the inspo, friend!!
And big thanks as always to @paperweight91 who not only came up with Curtis's name for reader but also offered heaps of encouragement and was a great sounding board. And thanks to @stargazingfangirl18 for helping me figure out how exactly we'd get to the smut. Thanks Siri!
Any comment, reblog, or ask to let me know what you think will be greatly appreciated. Please come scream at me about this! 😄 As always, thank you so much for reading! 💜
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You fruitlessly tug down your very short skirt as Holly talks at you. You’re both standing in the corner of the bar’s basement waiting for the night to start in earnest—your first night.
“Lloyd’s not so bad,” she says of your boss, the man who runs this little underground gambling ring. “You’ll have to split your tips with him at the end of the night, but he doesn’t take that much, and you’ll make enough that you won’t really notice. As long as you do that, he’ll mostly keep his hands to himself.”
You nod along, glancing at the mustachioed man conferring with the bouncer at the door. The interview process for this job had boiled down to a thorough once-over that’d made you feel naked in your jeans and t-shirt and a “You’re not too stupid to take a drink order, are you?” and then you had the job.
Holly had vouched for you. Neighbors for almost half a year, she’d come home early one morning last week and witnessed you trying to convince the landlord that you were good for your past-due rent. She’d taken you for coffee and told you she might be able to help if you were good at keeping your head down and mouth shut. And now you were here.
“The customers, on the other hand,” she continues, smacking her gum, “you’ll have to let them touch, at least a little bit. Within reason, you know? But if anything gets out of hand, you can just tell Jake at the door and he’ll take care of it.”
“Within reason?” you ask, voice shaking, just the littlest bit, as the pit that started forming in your stomach when you agreed to this grows a little more.
The look she gives you verges on exasperated. “Well, you want to make money, don’t you?”
Yes, you do. Very much so. It’s a need, not a want. So you nod and try to listen as she keeps giving you the rundown. 
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Before you’re ready, the first patrons start trickling in and then you’re off to the races. It’s not too bad. No one’s orders are too complicated, mostly just bottles of beer and glasses of straight whiskey. The bartender, Colin, is friendly enough, although you learn that he’s another person you’ll need to split your tips with. 
As for the touching, there are hands on your hips, pats to your ass. But you’re rewarded with folded-up bills held up between fingers or tucked into the strap of your top. Or, twice, slid behind the waistband of your skirt. Once you realize that the majority of these bills aren’t ones or fives, but twenties, you care about the touching that comes with them much less. Plus, you’re too busy to really think about it that hard. 
You can’t believe how busy it is for a random Tuesday night, multiple games of poker, craps, and who knows what else all going at once. But when you mention that to Holly, she just laughs and shakes her head. “This is nothing,” she says. “On the weekends there’ll be three more of us and another one of Jake. Things get wild.” 
You don’t have time to decide whether that makes you nervous or excited before someone is signaling for your attention again. You manage to suppress your grimace when he slides his arm around your waist to tell you what he needs from the bar. You’re rewarded for your troubles by a wad of twenties. You aren’t sure who these men are to tip so freely, but you know better than to look a gift horse in the mouth.
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It’s an hour or two later that Lloyd calls you over to where he’s speaking to a large, impossibly broad man, dressed in a soft-looking henley under a leather jacket with dark jeans. There’s dark ink all over his hands that disappears up his sleeves and reappears on his neck in intricate lines. He’s got close-cropped hair and a full beard that’s neatly trimmed. His deep blue eyes drill into you right away and you do your best not to shiver.
“Got a new girl tonight, Everett. Still learning the ropes, but she’ll take good care of you, won’t you, Cupcake?” 
“Yes, of course,” you say, before Lloyd wanders off to check on one of the poker games.
The man, Everett, lets his eyes rove over you. “Cupcake, huh?” His voice is deep, gritty, but there's something there that's much gentler than you expected.
You give him what you hope is a coy smile. “Sure. If you want.” Lloyd was treating him like he's important. You hope important means deep pockets.
He hits you with a penetrative stare, so strong you almost have to take a step back. “No,” he finally says. “I don't think so. I'll find something more fitting.” Then he turns and starts to walk away, before calling over his shoulder. “I'm gonna get dealt in. Bring me a whiskey once I'm settled.”
You watch him go for just a moment, and then head to the bar, asking for a whiskey. 
“This for Everett?” the bartender, Colin, asks. When you nod, he grabs a fancy bottle off the top shelf. “This is all he drinks. And he doesn't pay for it, alright? Don't ever think about giving him a bill.” 
You look back at the man in question, seriously looking at the cards he’s just been dealt. Who is he???
You collect his whiskey and move back to him. As you set it down, he turns to you. “How about this?” he asks as he holds up a crisply folded hundred-dollar bill between two fingers. Your eyes widen at the money. All you’ve done is bring him one straight pour. “There’s another one of these in it for you if you make sure I never see the bottom of this glass tonight. Sound good?” And then he folds the bill one more time in his thick fingers, before sliding it under the low-cut neckline of your blouse. Your skin tingles where he brushes against it.
“Yeah, you got it,” you just breathe out, a little shocked you’re able to form words. He gives you a smug smile that you can only describe as shark-like before turning back to his cards, and you understand it as the dismissal that it is. 
You move around the room, collecting empties, getting refills, trying to goodnaturedly accept unsolicited touches. The whole time you feel eyes on you, but whenever you glance Everett’s way, he’s focused on his poker game.
Eventually, a down moment finds you catching your breath against the wall. The moment Holly sees you standing still, she’s quickly making her way to you. “You need to be more careful around Curtis,” she hisses, lowly.
You look at her, confused. “Curtis?” Jake’s at the door. Colin’s behind the bar. You don’t know a Curtis.
“Curtis Everett!” You glance at the man at the poker table. He’s running a poker chip across his knuckles mindlessly. Then he looks up and you briefly make eye contact before you quickly look away. Holly is staring at you and she looks worried. But the name still doesn’t mean anything to you, so you shake your head and shrug. She groans as quietly as she can. “He’s Barber’s top enforcer!”
This whole conversation feels so out of the blue that it takes you a minute to catch up. Barber. Andrew Barber. The most feared mob boss in the city. Probably the state. Maybe even more. Ruthless and exacting was how the papers described him. He’d been the subject of multiple stings and taskforces and whathaveyou but nothing ever stuck. “He works for Andrew Barber?” you ask, shocked and a little appalled.
Holly stares at you in a way that you can only describe as dumbfounded. It takes her a few moments to find her words, then, “Bitch, you work for Andrew Barber!”
Everything stops. “What?” you gasp.
“Oh my god,” Holly groans. “This was such a mistake. It’s an underground card game in his city! Who did you think was running things?”
“I– I don’t know,” you stutter, stupidly. The god’s honest truth is that you’d never really stopped to think about it. You’d been staring down an eviction, struggling to afford groceries. Unable to make ends meet no matter what you did. When Holly told you about this job, all you saw were dollar signs. You didn't think about anything further. Of course, you’d known these games were illegal, but it seemed so minor in the grand scheme of things. You hadn’t connected it to anything bigger because you just hadn’t wanted to.
But now– Now that you know the truth, what are you going to do? You know what you should do. You should walk out the door right now. You should find some other legitimate way to pay your bills. It’ll be safer. It’ll be better. It’ll be so much harder.
As you bite your lip, trying to process all of this information, Holly continues. “Listen,” she says, “still get him drinks, be friendly, whatever you need to do. But keep your distance however you can. Don't encourage him. He's just– He's really dangerous. They don't call him Barber’s attack dog for nothing, ok?”
“Yeah,” you say. You start to look back in Curtis’s direction but stop yourself. You think about the hundred you already have and the one promised to you at the end of the night. You think of how empty your pantry is. But then you see the genuine fear in Holly's eyes. You let out a shaky breath. “Yeah. I got it. Thanks.”
“He doesn't even come in here that often. I'm surprised to see him tonight, so I'm sure it’ll be fine,” she says, but you can tell she’s nervous.
You nod, absently, finally letting yourself glance over at him. His drink is getting close to the bottom. “Shit,” you mumble. “I gotta get him his refill.”
“Do you want me to do it?” Holly asks. 
You should let her do it. You absolutely should. But you just can’t give up on that tip. You shake your head. “No, I’ll be fine. But thanks.”
You head back to the bar and grab Curtis’s top-shelf whiskey of choice from Colin, then make your way to his table. You set it down next to him, hoping to move away without him even noticing, he’s so engrossed in the game. But as you take a step back, his hand shoots out to grab your wrist. He holds it tightly until you meet his eyes. “Good girl,” he murmurs, and you can’t help the sharp intake of breath or the way you feel his words in your knees. He strokes his thumb down the inside of your wrist, then abruptly lets go, pushing his chips to the middle of the table. You step away, gathering yourself as subtly as you can, and get back to work.
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The rest of the night goes quickly. The crowd gets a little rowdier as they drink more, but you find that it’s nothing you can’t handle. The reality of who these people are, what they’re connected to, never leaves your mind. But really, they’re not so bad. None of this feels so bad at all. And soon, people start heading out. You’re beginning to clean up, when a recognizable voice rings out, “Bambi!” You turn and lock eyes with Curtis. He crooks two fingers at you and you quickly make your way over to him.
“Bambi?” you ask.
He grins at you and it feels more than a little predatory. You’ll never admit how much you like it. You try to keep Holly’s warning at the forefront of your mind. “Wide eyes and just getting your legs under you,” he says. You instinctively duck your head at that, which earns a dark chuckle. “Here,” he continues, as he pulls a genuine, fat money clip out of his back pocket. You’ve never seen something like it in real life before. He peels off two bills and holds them out to you. “This is what good girls get,” he says, a low rumble in his voice.
You swallow as you take them from him. Two hundred dollars. Twice what you were expecting. “Thank you,” you say quietly. 
He shakes his head. “You earned it.” Then, after one last long look at you, he turns around and leaves.
You stand and stare after him. You don’t doubt anything Holly said, but three hundred dollars, just for bringing him drinks. He doesn’t seem that bad, not really. A little intense maybe, but there’s some sort of interest there, and it can’t be that bad to encourage it, just a little if it earns you these sorts of tips, can it??
Any hesitance you have about this entire endeavor completely disappears as you count your money at the end of the night.
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Your first week flies by. You're starting to get the hang of the job. You get along with your coworkers. You get to know the regulars. You like it. Even Lloyd isn’t so bad as long as you give him his cut at the end of every night.
And you’re making so much money.
In your downtime, you pay your landlord what you owe him. You go grocery shopping without scouring for coupons first or calculating exactly what you can afford beforehand. You make a Pinterest board of what you want your apartment to look like now that you might actually be able to buy things to fill it. For the very first time, you’re thinking about things you actually want, not just desperately trying to figure out how you’ll pay your bills. You’ve never felt this calm, this relaxed, this free before. It’s an incredible feeling.
And Curtis. Despite Holly’s reassurances that you wouldn’t see him much, he seems to be there whenever you are, trying to capitalize on his winning streak at the poker tables, you assume. His tips are still insanely generous. You don’t think he carries anything less than hundred dollar bills. 
And there’s just something about him. The way he looks at you. The way he touches you. It’s not like the other men here. His touch is like fire, warming from the inside. There’ve been times when his hand on your hip has almost made your knees buckle. That doesn’t happen with anyone else here.
But you’re being smart and you’re being safe. You are. You’re going to set a savings goal, you think. And once you hit that number, you’ll be out of here, onto something more legitimate. And until then, you’ll just keep your head down and mouth shut, like Holly said. You haven’t even really seen anything. It’s a good plan. It’ll be fine.
She’s right that the weekends are wilder. Even with three additional girls working the room, you’re kept running. You do your best to keep an eye on Curtis’s drinks, but it’s much harder than on weeknights. And you aren’t really able to pause when you drop them off. It’s one of these times, as you’re pulling away from the table as soon as you’ve set his glass down, that you’re stopped short by his hand on you. He pulls you back in by the wrist and says, “They’re just running you ragged tonight, huh, Bambi?”
You smile and shrug. “It’s busy.”
He holds out a bill and you try not to smile even wider as he slips it into the waistband of your skirt. “For all your hard work.”
You bat your lashes a little. “You spoil me.”
“I like spoiling you,” he says, lowly. 
“You’re too sweet,” you say softly. Then, pulling your arm away with a wink, you add, “Gotta run,” and you’re onto the next table.
You’re getting good at this, figuring out what level of harmless flirting is just enough to keep the money flowing. And you’re having fun. You’d never expected that.
Holly and two of the other girls, Jane and Kristi, are congregated at the end of the bar, waiting for drinks, when you join them. They’re all watching you warily. “So, uh,” Jane starts quietly, “you seem to be getting pretty cozy with Curtis.” 
Before you can respond, Holly scoffs behind her. “I’ve tried to warn her but she won’t fucking listen.”
You roll your eyes. You’re tired of hearing this. “I seriously don’t get what the big deal is. He’s nice and he tips well. It’s harmless!”
Kristi just gapes at you. “He’s nice?!”
Holly slams the drinks she was waiting for onto her tray. “Whatever,” she grumbles. “It’s her fucking funeral.”
You shake your head as you watch her go. It’s fine. You can take care of yourself.
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The rest of the night goes by in a blur. You don’t get much of a chance to talk to Curtis, but you feel his eyes on you before he disappears a little before closing.
At the end of the night, once you’ve helped clean up, you cash out with Colin and Jake and then go to find Lloyd in his office. You think it’s kind of ridiculous that you’re basically paying him to work there, but it is what it is. And Holly was right, you’re making so much that you barely even notice. 
Lloyd is sitting at his desk, looking a little more disheveled than you’re used to. He startles at your approach, which is also new. 
“Oh, hey,” he says, with slightly rounded eyes. “What can I do for you?”
You look at him, a little confused. “Just here with your cut,” you say as you hold out his money.
His hands immediately fly up to his chest, palms out. “No, no,” he says. “You made that fair and square. You just– you keep what you make from now on, Cupcake. Sound good?”
You swallow and nod, preparing yourself for whatever other price you’ll have to pay for keeping your job, mentally calculating what you’re willing to do. But Lloyd doesn’t do anything, doesn’t make any move to get closer to you. Just stays there at his desk, turning back to his work. “You have a good night,” he says, clearly dismissing you. 
You leave confused, but richer, telling yourself not to question it too hard.
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Things go so smoothly for a few weeks that you’re a little shocked when the bubble bursts. 
It’s a relatively quiet weeknight. There are a few games going, but nothing compared to the weekend. The pace of the night feels leisurely. It’s nice.
It’s maybe the first night you haven’t seen Curtis there. It feels weird. He’s become such a part of this place for you. A fixture, like the bar or the carpet. Just one of the elements that make it what it is. But it’s fine. Of course, he doesn’t come every night. He probably has a whole life outside of this. He must’ve gotten bored of playing cards. Oh well. It was nice while it lasted.
You’re passing the time talking to one of the regulars at the bar, Vinny. He’s in his fifties, you think, with gray hair and laugh lines. He’d gone bust at the poker table (or maybe it was craps tonight) earlier and then had moved to the bar to drink away his sorrows and bad luck. That was how his nights tended to go.
He’s sitting on a barstool, his arm around your waist where you stand next to him. He’s a little close for comfort, but he’s always just been a friendly guy, so you’re alright. Which is why you’re so surprised when, in the middle of a story about the good old days of the Copa Cabana, his other hand suddenly finds its way between your thighs. You freeze. For just a second. Then you force out a laugh and try to push his hand away. “Bad boy,” you try to tease, your voice shaking. His hand will not move. What is happening? “Come on, let’s keep our hands to ourselves.”
Instead of doing what you’ve asked, his thumb briefly brushes the inside of your leg and then his whole hand begins moving higher. You stop breathing. You push again but he won’t budge.
“You’re such a pretty doll, aren’tcha?” he says. 
Tears start to gather in your eyes. You look around wildly to see if anyone’s noticing what’s happening. Colin’s busy making drinks. Jake and Lloyd are talking by the door. Everyone else is engrossed in their own business. “Vinnie, stop, please,” you whisper. You don’t know why you can’t get your voice to work, can’t get your body to move.
“Come on,” he cajoles, “I’m being nice, aren’t I?” 
Then his thumb brushes against your panties and your entire body jolts into action. You wrench your leg out of his grasp and take several steps away from him. Your whole body is shaking now. “I gotta–” you start, trying to keep your tone casual and failing miserably. “I gotta get back to work, Vinny.” Then you grab your tray off the bartop and walk away as fast as you can.
You don’t really have a destination in mind. You pick up a few empties as you wander between tables. You can feel his eyes on you, following you. You try to take a deep breath, calm yourself down. It isn’t very helpful. You look up to see Jake by himself now. You make your way over to him, Holly’s words on your first night in your ears. That was out of hand, wasn’t it?
He looks up as you approach. His big golden retriever smile on his face. “Hey, what’s up?” Then he actually takes you in and his smile drops. “What happened?”
“Um, Vinny, he, uh–” You feel a few tears fall down your cheeks and you just shake your head.
Jake’s face darkens. “Did he hurt you?” 
“No, uh, he– he just–” You shake your head again. “No, he didn’t hurt me.”
Jake doesn’t say anything for a moment, just looks at you. There’s something about the way he does it that makes you think he understands everything you just can’t say. He nods once. “Alright. I’ll take care of it. You go take your time in the back. Do what you need to do. He’ll be gone by the time you’re done.”
You let out a shaky breath. “Okay, thank you,” you say so quietly. Then you get yourself to the back room as quickly as you can.
It’s really more of a hallway than a room, small and narrow. All of the storage space for the building is in the legitimate bar upstairs. But there’s enough room for you to crouch down, your knees pulled up tight to your chin. You bury your face in your thighs and let the tears you’ve been holding in finally fall. You’re okay. You’re okay. You’re safe. You’re fine. 
You don’t know how long you’ve spent trying to calm yourself down when a large shadow suddenly looms over you. It takes you a moment to gather your strength to find out who it is. You hope it’s Jake telling you Vinny’s gone. You’re afraid it might be Lloyd, here to tell you to get back to work. There’s a slowly building terror that it might be Vinny himself.
After a deep breath, you look up to find Curtis staring down at you, concern on his face and fiery anger in his eyes. “What happened?” he growls.
You shake your head and turn away. He crouches down in front of you. “Are you alright?”
A humorless, uncontrolled laugh escapes you. Once you finally stop, you ignore his question and ask your own, “Why are you here?”
It takes him a very long time to answer. He just looks at you seriously for several moments. Then, finally, “Jake called me.” While you try to figure out why on earth Jake would do that, he continues, “I'm sorry I wasn’t already here.”
“Why?” you blurt out without thinking. 
He looks away without saying anything. You both just sit in the silence for a few moments. Then, you try to change tactics. “Where were you?” you ask out of morbid curiosity. You can't imagine what his life is like outside of here.
“Working,” he says curtly. He plays with a ring on his middle finger and the movement draws your eyes to his hands, specifically his knuckles. They're scraped and caked with dried blood. 
You swallow and you catch how his eyes track the movement. His eyes are always on you. He catches everything. 
“Someone touched you?”
“Lots of people touch me,” you say, flatly. “It's part of the job. You touch me.”
His eyes narrow at that. “But this was different.” It isn’t a question.
You look down at your hands in your lap and don't say anything. 
“Tell me who it was.”
“No,” you say instinctively, something about the moment feeling incredibly dangerous. 
He huffs in frustration. “Are you trying to protect him?”
“No!” you say, sharply. “I’m protecting myself.”
“You don’t have to do that. Not from me. Not ever.”
You don’t know how to tell him that every atom in you knows that that isn’t true. You can’t explain it, and it wasn’t until the moment he joined you in this little closet, but you’d swear that he’s a danger to you. You just can't articulate how, but you feel it in your bones. And still, here you stay.
At your silence, he grits out, “If you don’t tell me who it was, Jake will.”
Jake probably already has, that’s what you’ve figured. “Great,” you say. “Then you don’t need me to say it.”
“Bambi,” he lets out in an exasperated growl. “I'm trying to help you.” 
You just look at him and then figure you may as well ask the main question that's on your mind. “Why did Jake call you?” 
He ignores you and stands up. “Come on,” he says and extends his hand, “I'm taking you home.”
You just blink up at him. “My shift isn't over.” 
He shakes his hand at you impatiently. “It is now. Come on.”
You shake your head. “Curtis, this is my job. I can't just– Lloyd will–”
“I'll take care of Lloyd. Let’s go.”
You think about going home. About sitting alone in your small apartment. At least here you'll have something to do, things to focus on, to keep you busy. At home, there'll be nothing to think about other than that hand between your legs and– “No,” you say as firmly as you can manage. “I'm staying here. I'm finishing the night.”
His jaw ticks but he doesn’t say anything, just tries to stare you down. You stare right back. You will not concede this. 
Finally, he exhales through his nostrils, then growls out an unhappy “Fine. But I'll–” He's interrupted by his phone ringing in his pocket. He takes it out and glances at the caller ID and sighs. “I have to take this.” He steps away as much as he can in the tiny area and answers with a curt “Everett.” There's a slight pause. “Yeah, I took care of it.” Another pause that has him glancing at you. “No, something else came up.”
You don't wait to hear the rest of the conversation. You take the opportunity to go back to the main room and get back to work. 
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You don't see Curtis again that night. You don't spare much thought to where he might've gone. You're too focused on getting through the remainder of your shift. When it's done, Jake insists on seeing you home. You don't ask why. You already know who's behind it.
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The next few days are fine. You try to put what happened behind you, doing your best to ignore it. But that becomes impossible when three days after the incident you watch Vinny walk in. You can’t help the little burst of panic you feel as you warily watch him sit down at his usual table and get dealt in. 
As subtly as you can, you make your way over to Jake. You don’t even say anything before he’s looking at you, chagrined. “I know,” he says. “I’m sorry, but I had to let him in. I promise it’s all going to be taken care of. It’s just– You can ignore him tonight, ok? Just trust me. You don’t need to worry about him. I promise.”
“Ok,” you say reluctantly, trying to resist looking back at Vinny. “I just– I didn’t think I’d have to see him again.”
“I really think that after tonight you won’t,” he says sincerely.
You don’t really understand what that means, but you nod anyway. “Ok,” you say. “I, uh, I should get back to work then.” 
He just nods after you, looking a little concerned and a little sad. But the room is filling up, so you don’t have time to delve into it.
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Sometime later, as you’re taking a brief moment to idle by the bar, a strange hush descends over the room. You’re facing away from the door, away from the rest of the room, but you see Colin take in whatever it is that’s caused this. His face pales and he lets out a quiet, urgent, “Shit.” 
You turn around to see what on earth could be going on and you immediately freeze. Curtis is here. But that’s not what’s garnering all of this attention. Well, not all. Because he’s not alone, there’s a man with him. A little shorter, not quite as broad. But you’d be able to feel the power radiating off of him, even if you didn’t recognize him. Soft dark hair, thick beard, an immaculately tailored suit. You’ve seen him in the papers, on the news, but in real life, he’s even more intimidating. Andrew Barber.
Barber leans in close to say something to Curtis, who nods, eyes scanning the room until they land on you. Your breath catches, but luckily Colin calls your name behind you and you have an excuse to turn around. He places two glasses of dark liquor on the bar. “Everett,” he says, gesturing to one, then “Barber,” while waving his hand over the other. “Got it?” You nod and place them on your tray. They’re identical to your eyes except for the fact that Barber's has a muddled black cherry at the bottom of the glass.
You carefully bring them over, trying to force yourself to breathe. Curtis intercepts you and grabs the drinks when you're a few steps away. “Thank you, Bambi,” he says, lowly. 
Barber perks up. “This is Bambi? Really?” He extends a hand and you have no choice but to take it. “Andy Barber,” he says with a disarming smile. “It's a pleasure to meet you finally.”
His handshake is firm, demanding. He is terrifying in his friendliness. And he knows who you are. Has known, for who knows how long. You glance at Curtis, but he's just calmly drinking his whiskey. You don't know what to say, what are you supposed to say?? So after too long a pause, you practically whisper, “Thank you, Mr. Barber.”
He chuckles lightly as he takes back his hand. To Curtis, he says, “You're right, Bambi does suit her.” Then he turns back to you and adds, “Andy, please.”
“O– Okay, Andy,” you say, with what you desperately hope is a benign smile. You look over at Curtis, you’re not entirely sure why, but out of these two dangerous options, he, at least, is familiar. “I should get back to work.”
Curtis is staring at you, but it’s Andy who answers. “Mmm, and we have a game to join, don’t we?” Curtis nods but still doesn’t break his gaze. Andy smirks, “No rest for the wicked.”
You have no idea what to do with that sentiment, so you take the opportunity and get out of there. You walk through the tables, checking to see if anyone needs anything, but the mob boss’s physical presence seems to have ground all action to a halt. The room is collectively holding its breath. 
You go back to the bar for want of anything else to do. Colin is standing ramrod straight, coiled in case he needs to spring into action. Lloyd is sitting down at the end of the bar, drumming his fingers, eyes moving all around the room. You settle next to Holly, who looks just as scared as she did that first night when she was trying to warn you off of Curtis. “Is this,” you start to ask, your voice shaking. “Is this normal? Does he come here a lot?”
“No, never” she shakes her head. “Why would he come here? He has real clubs and restaurants. He doesn’t need to hang out in a shit hole like this.” She shakes her head again. “He’d only come here for a reason.”
You turn your head back to the room and find that Andy and Curtis have settled at Vinny’s table, joining his game across from him. Your heart lands in your throat. That can’t– No. You’re just some cocktail waitress. Even with Curtis’s obvious interest in you, you aren’t important enough to bring the most powerful man in the city here. You’re nothing. He must have other reasons.
The room is quiet enough to hear a pin drop as everyone waits for something to happen, which is why when Andy does start speaking, you don’t have to strain your ears to pick up every word.
He looks at his cards carefully, then over at Vinny. “You know, Vinny, you’re a hard man to track down.” His voice is so calm, it sends a chill up your spine. “You don’t go home, we can’t find you at work. I was starting to get worried.” He runs a few chips through his fingers before tossing them into the center of the felt. “That’s why, when I heard you were showing up here, I sent my best man to investigate,” he nods towards Curtis, “just to make sure you were ok.” 
You don’t have a great view of Vinny from where you’re standing, but you can see how stiff he is, how silent. But he still calls when it’s his turn.
“You can imagine my relief when I found out you were alright. Except,” he raises again, a few more chips into the pot, “you’re losing a lot of money, aren’t you? Now, this upsets me. Not because you’re losing your own money. But because it’s mine, isn’t it?”
Vinny finally tries to pipe up. “Andy, hold on. I can ex–”
“You owe me $150,000, Vinny. With interest, that total’s climbing every day. And yet, you sit here and you just keep losing, don’t you? At my own game. What would you do if you won, huh? Would you really try paying me back with my own money? I thought maybe you’d at least have the smarts to cross the border and try this at one of Roger’s casinos. Huh? Paying me back with my enemy’s money, at least that I could respect. But no, it’s only me you think is stupid enough to fall for your bullshit. So now I’m here to give you the chance to fucking do it to my face.” With that, he violently pushes all of his chips into the center of the table. 
Everyone else has folded. It’s just Barber and Vinny now. You’re not sure Curtis even actually played. He’s just staring Vinny down, although occasionally his eyes will flick up and meet yours. You hate feeling like you’re a part of this, but you don’t know what else to do besides watch it play out.
Vinny is just spluttering, while Andy calmly looks on. It’s all the expected, cliche stuff you’ve seen in gangster movies. He’s got the money, he swears. He just needs a little more time. Andy has to know he’s good for it! You want to roll your eyes right along with Andy.
“Call, Vinny,” Andy cuts him off, sternly. “That’s $150,000 I just put in the pot. Call. And if you win, we’re even. Your debt’s erased. But if you lose, well then that’s $300,000 you’ll owe me. And you know I won’t be able to tolerate that. So call. And let’s find out where we stand.”
You can’t see what Vinny’s doing, but you can imagine the way his fingers must be hovering over his chips, his eyes moving down to his cards to check, one more time, if they’re as good or bad as he remembers. You know there’s no way out for him either way. He’ll have to call. He’s just delaying the inevitable.
You feel like you can't breathe as you wait for him to just finally do it, but Andy cuts in again. “The thing I can't understand, Vinny, is why you kept coming here after Curtis showed up. Either you're very stupid or really fucking greedy.” He looks at Vinny carefully. “Maybe a little of both. I hear you've been touching something that doesn't belong to you.”
You gasp. No one notices, but you do. He can't be talking about you. He can't. He can't. 
Vinny seems even more confused than you. “What are you talking about? I haven't touched anything!”
Andy continues to ignore him. “So you're stupid and greedy. That's why you aren't afraid of him like you should be. They call him my attack dog, did you know? Have you heard that? Maybe that’s the problem. Maybe you think he’s some puppy that follows me around. You’d be stupid to underestimate him, underestimate me. But maybe you only do that because you've never seen my dog off his leash.”
Curtis springs into action, lunging across the table to grab Vinny by the collar, and then slams his head into the felt. Before there’s even time to react, he’s stood and he's picking Vinny back up and hurling him onto the floor. Curtis comes around the table to stalk after him and the look on his face has you gasping for breath. You've never seen Curtis like this. There's a glint in his eye that might be the scariest thing you've ever seen. Who is this man? What is he capable of?
Vinny is dazedly trying to crawl away, but Curtis catches him easily. He grabs Vinny’s collar and hauls him back up, delivering two punches to his face in quick succession. The sound it makes. There's no other sound in the whole room. No one's saying anything, no one's doing anything. Everyone's just watching, hypnotized. You turn away, your stomach churning. Your eyes catch on Andy, sitting back in his chair, placidly drinking the whiskey you brought him, completely relaxed, like he's watching anything else. You can't look at him either. 
The room is completely silent except for the crunching of bones, Vinny’s whimpers, and Curtis’s grunts. You look up again to be startled by eye contact with Curtis. His eyes are wild, unhinged. Feral. But there's something else in it, like all of this is for you. That all of you are there, everything is happening, because Vinny dared to touch you. It takes your breath away. It’s mesmerizing.
Andy finally stands and strides over to where Curtis is holding Vinny up in the middle of the room. He looks down at Vinny, then spits in his face. “I'm tired of trying to draw blood from a stone,” he says. Then he turns to Curtis and finishes, “Get rid of him.”
Curtis gives you one last long look, his face unreadable. You feel it in your knees. Then he drags Vinny out, leaving a bloody trail behind him.
The moment they're gone, it's like the entire room can breathe again. “Lloyd,” Andy calls out. “How ‘bout a round for everyone? On me.”
Lloyd nods to Colin who hurriedly starts pouring drinks. And you, so grateful for something to do, instead of just standing there, shaking, start loading the glasses on your tray.
As you begin to pass them out, Andy of all people, pulls you aside. “Bambi,” he says quietly, “I hope you know now, we take care of our own.”
You gaze at him, shocked. It feels like a comfort and a threat. But why? It's not so much the implication that this all had something to do with you, but you can't for the life of you imagine what you've done to get yourself to a place where Andy Barber might consider you his, however distantly. It can't just be that you work here. You can't picture him doing something similar for Holly or Colin. Once again, this all feels so incredibly dangerous. 
While you're struggling to come up with anything to say to that, he grabs a drink off your tray and downs it quickly. Then, with a wink, he turns and leaves. You’re left staring after him until someone calls after you and you're scrambling to pass out drinks again. 
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The night ends quickly. No one seems eager to stay and drink and play after everything that's happened. Not when there's still blood on the floor.
You do what you can to help clean up, but when you stare at the stain helplessly, Lloyd tells you not to worry about it. He's got a guy.
Colin walks out with you so you aren’t in the parking lot alone. You're grateful. You're still so shaken. As you approach your car, your beater that you still don’t quite have the money to replace, you see someone leaning against it. You stop short, looking to Colin for help, but he just keeps walking to his own car, his head down. That’s when you know it’s Curtis. 
You take a deep breath and then force yourself to keep walking towards him. You can't begin to parse how you feel to see him now. Your keys are ready in your hand like you might just get in and drive off without speaking to him. You know you won’t.
When you reach him, his voice is rough as he asks, “Are you ok?” He’s cleaned up. There’s no more blood on his hands, his clothes have been straightened.
You open your mouth to answer, even though you have no idea, so instead what comes out is “Did you kill him?”
“Did you want me to?” is his immediate reply.
It stops you in your tracks as all sorts of feelings come bubbling up, ones you can not, will not examine. This is about his propensity for violence, how terrifying he became, not– No. “Did you?” you insist. 
He looks at you carefully then shakes his head. “I don't think you actually want me to answer that.”
“But you've killed before?” You can't stop yourself from pressing, from pushing. You don’t know why. 
He just sort of smiles, gently almost, in a way that is deeply unsettling. “You need to stop asking questions you aren’t ready for me to answer, Bambi.” And it’s the way he says the nickname, like you really are that babe in the woods, just born with no knowledge of the world around you, that has your hackles rising.
“Andy called you his dog,” you say, like he should be offended.
To your surprise, he laughs, his head thrown back. Then he takes a step closer to you, and you take the opportunity to sneak in behind him, get to your car. You realize your mistake immediately when he turns back around and cages you in, your back pressed against the driver’s side door. “Everyone calls me his dog. Because he’s the civilized man in the designer suit, and I’m the animal just begging for a reason to slip my leash.”
Your heart pounds wildly in your chest. You should get into your car. You should drive away as fast as you can. You should never come back. But you don’t. “You did it for him,” you say, mustering all the strength into your voice that you can. “You didn’t do it for me.”
He leans over you, the space between you shrinking rapidly. “Yeah, he asked me to do it,” he nods. “But if he hadn’t, I still would have done it. For you.”
 You try to shake your head, to tell him that that can’t be true, even as a wild, loud part of you starts to rise up and claw out of your chest. You try to tamp it down, deny it, but before you can, Curtis is leaning in further, his whole body pressing against you, and then he covers your lips with his.  
There’s a heat that comes up out of him that fills you, the instant his skin touches yours. His hands are on you, your neck, your hip. You can’t keep track, can only say that his hands are there, everywhere, that his body touches all of yours, that his lips and his tongue are demanding, unrelenting. You are burning up from the inside.
Too soon, but ages later, he pulls away. His eyes are on fire as he looks at you. Then he tears his gaze away, and hits the roof of your decrepit car twice, looking at it disdainfully. “You get home safe,” he says, then steps back to allow you the space you need to get into your car.
You do what he wants you to do. You get in your car, sit in the driver’s seat, and then stare blankly out the windshield. You’ve never felt so out of control in your life. How did this happen? You were flirting for tips, that was all! You encouraged it for money, that was it, and now– You press your thighs together, trying not to pant. You will not be unmoored. 
A slight movement in your periphery makes you notice that Curtis is still standing just to the side of your car, watching you. You turn your keys in the ignition and shift into drive.
It doesn’t mean anything it doesn’t mean anything it doesn’t mean anything, you chant to yourself all the way home.
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It’s your next shift back, and everything seems to have changed. You don’t understand it. You keep doing laps of the room, keep sidling up to regulars you were so friendly with just a few nights ago, but now, they won’t even look at you, let alone touch you. No one’s ordering anything.
Or at least, they aren’t ordering from you.
Holly has been running around nonstop all night, basically having to take care of the entire room by herself. You watch man after man after man slip her little bundles of money. 
You want to scream. What the fuck happened? What did you do? What are you going to do?
You go to stand by the bar to wait for something you can do. Colin gives you a brief nod of acknowledgment but that’s it. He’s been cold, too. No. Not cold, distant. You don’t understand what’s changed.
You take a deep breath. It’s one weird night. Things will be better tomorrow.
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Things don’t get better. The next night is the same. You’re starting to panic. This job was supposed to be your lifeline. Without it, without the money you were making, you’re not sure how you’ll survive.
Curtis comes in after a couple of hours of nothing. You could cry you’re so happy to see him. But terrified too. If he gives you the cold shoulder, this job really is over. But you have no idea how he’s going to act, not after what happened last time. You’re not sure how you’re going to act either. You can still feel his lips on yours.
You bring him his whiskey immediately and he greets you with an arm around your waist, pulling you in. “Hey Bambi,” he says quietly. Then he gets a good look at you. “What’s wrong?” 
You look at him carefully, not sure what to confide. You aren’t even sure what the problem is. You shake your head. “Not my best night,” you say with a tired smile. “But I’m fine.”
He stares at you for a moment, then stands up. “Come on,” he says, grabbing your hand and leading you to the little back room. You feel eyes on the two of you the whole way there.
Once he’s closed the door behind you both, he asks again, “What’s wrong?”
You sigh. “The last two nights have been weird here. I don’t– I don’t know. I’m just worried. I don’t know what happened but I’m not making any tips. No one’s treating me like they used to.”
“Mmm,” Curtis hums thoughtfully. “I think,” he says as he takes two steps closer to you, which in this small space is significant, “everyone else here has figured it out.”
It’s suddenly a little hard to breathe with him standing over you like this. His presence, his attention is always so much. “Figured what out?” you ask, confused.
“That I have lost my patience for watching other men touch you.” 
It hits you like a freight train. “What?” It comes out in a whisper.
“I’ve let this go on for too long,” he says, his voice is calm, casual. “I don’t want you working here anymore. This is done.”
“I– What? Curtis. What?! I have to work! I have to pay my bills! I don’t understand. I don’t–”
He takes one last step forward. You feel the heat coming off of him. “Shh,” he soothes, cradling your cheek in his hand. “It’ll be alright. I’ll take care of you. I take care of what’s mine.”
You pull your face away, even as the urge to nuzzle into him is so strong. You feel like you’ve missed something, a thousand things. You feel too many steps behind. “Curtis, I’m not– I’m not yours.”
Something comes into his eyes and you’re reminded of him standing over Vinny, covered in blood. His hand travels down from your cheek. He strokes your throat once, and then his hand closes around it. “Look me in the eye,” he growls, “and say that again.”
His hand is firm, snug, but it doesn’t tighten. But you can imagine so easily how it might. You look him in the eye. You open your mouth, ready to say it again. But then– then you see it. In the way he looks at you, the way he’s always looked at you. You feel it in his grip on you, now. You can’t deny it anymore. 
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Curtis shoves you into his bedroom. You’re panting already. You need his hands on you, right now. You don’t have to ask for it. He gets you to the center of the room and yanks down your skirt, tearing it in the process. You step out of it and take your blouse off, throwing it on top of your skirt. Curtis’s eyes are cataloging your body, the swell of your breasts spilling out of your bra, your soft tummy, thick thighs. His gaze, as always, takes your breath away.
You reach out for Curtis’s shirt, but he grabs your hands. “I want you on your knees,” he growls and you immediately kneel for him. He throws off his shirt, revealing the expanse of his chest, the muted blacks and grays of his tattoos. You’re desperate to run your hands over them, trace the art, but instead, they just twitch at your side. He'll tell you what you're allowed to do.
He begins unbuttoning his jeans and your mouth drops open. He chuckles darkly. “Perfect little slut.” He takes his phone out of his back pocket and aims it at you, taking a picture as you gaze up at him under your lashes, your mouth wide open. “I've been dreaming of getting you on your knees for me.” He puts his phone on his dresser, then continues taking off his pants. “You ready to choke on my cock, baby?”
“Please,” you whine. You're practically salivating now. His bare thighs are as thick as tree trunks, the muscles corded. His abs ripple as he moves. His shoulders, his back. You want.
He frees his cock and rolls his black boxer briefs down his legs, stepping out of them. It's long and thick, just like the rest of him. Your breath catches. You don't think you've ever taken something that big before.
He takes a few steps so he's completely in your space, his cock bobbing right in front of your face. He takes it in one hand, the other firmly on the back of your head and slowly feeds the tip into your mouth. You taste his musk on your tongue. As he rocks into your mouth, going a little further each time, your hands come up to grasp his thighs. On his next thrust in, you run your tongue along the underside of his dick. His movements stutter just a little and then he looks down at you, a smirk overtaking his face. It's just a touch mean, in a way that has you soaking your panties. “You ready?” he asks, his voice rough. And then without waiting for the answer, he thrusts in all the way, making you take him deep in your throat.
You flail, slapping his thigh as you try to swallow around him, breathing frantically through your nose. After holding you there for a moment, he sets a brutal but steady pace. It takes you a moment, but you find your rhythm, your panic subsiding. Once you feel steady, you lift one hand from his thighs and bring it up to cradle his balls. “Fuck, Bambi,” he grinds out. “You're gonna– I– fuck!” His hand moves from the back of your head down to the back of your neck, which he grips firmly, pulling you off his cock. As you cough and splutter on the floor, he growls, “The first time you make me come is gonna be inside that perfect cunt.”
He helps you stand on wobbly legs, then shoves his hand between your legs, cupping your pussy over your panties. “Shit, fucking soaked just from deepthroating me?”
You let out a needy little whine, trying to push further into his hand, but he withdraws it, instead settling on your hip. “Well,” he grins, “if they’re ruined anyway…” then uses that hand to rip the black lace down the side, letting them fall to the floor. He makes quick work of your bra as well, then takes a step back and sighs, “Shit, Bambi, look at you.” It’s the reverence in his voice and on his face that has you launching yourself at him, unable to keep from kissing him any longer. He lets you, quickly taking control, letting you feel all his hunger, the want he’s kept barely bottled up since he first laid eyes on you. You understand it all now. His erection brushes against you, and now it’s his turn to whine, just a little. 
He pulls away, brushing a hand down your cheek, then says “Get on the bed, on your stomach.” You quickly comply, laying in the center of the bed with your knees pulled up and spread beneath you. He brings his hand down on one asscheek harshly and you can’t help the lewd moan that escapes you. He chuckles, “Oh, I will definitely remember that for later.” He grabs your hips and cants them up, then whistles at your exposed cunt. “I knew it. Absolutely beautiful.” Then he unceremoniously shoves two fingers into your hole and you choke on nothing. “Shh,” he coos. “You can take it. My cock’s gonna be a lot thicker.” 
As he starts scissoring his fingers inside you, you can’t hold it in any longer and start babbling. Mostly a combination of “please,” and “Curtis,” and “I need,” over and over.
“I know, baby,” he says as he pulls his fingers out of you. “I’ve got what you need right here.” You have a brief moment to feel the tip of his cock on your pussy lips before he’s thrusting it into you, as far as he can go without making it hurt. 
“Oh my god,” you cry, pressing your forehead into the mattress and balling his dark blue sheets in your hands. You feel so full. It’s so good. He’s working himself into you as quickly as he can, desperate now. You both are. Once he bottoms out, fully seated in you, he pauses. Then with one hand on your stomach and the other around your neck, he pulls you up onto your knees, your back flush to his chest. You cry out at the new angle; he’s somehow even deeper now. He starts thrusting up into you at a punishing pace. You’re bouncing up and down in his firm grasp. The hand on your neck turns your head to face him, his lips brushing against yours. He holds eye contact with you as the hand on your stomach snakes down your pelvis so his thick fingers can begin circling your clit. “Fuck! Curtis, please!” you shout. 
“Yeah, come on,” he breathes, “you can let go. You can do it. Come for me like a good girl.” It’s those words that send you careening over the edge, your cunt pulsing around his cock, squeezing him until he’s coming too with a grunt, filling you up until both your cum is leaking out around him. 
He holds you there, on your knees, as you both come down, your twin pants all you can hear.
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You wake up slowly, the sun shining on you through the soft drapes. You start to shift then groan at how stiff you are. The night before comes back to you. Curtis took you two more times before you both collapsed in satisfied exhaustion. He’s still out like a light beneath you. 
You take a moment to look at him. It’s odd to see him so peaceful, so still. There’s nothing of the feral predator he projects to the world. It makes you feel oddly close to him, seeing him like this.
You carefully get up without disturbing him and begin collecting your clothes. You put on your bra, but there’s no saving your panties. Same for your skirt; it’s ripped along the seam. So instead you pick up Curtis’s t-shirt from last night and put it on. It smells like him. You breathe it in shamelessly knowing there’s no one to witness it.
You savor the soreness as you move out of the bedroom. It’s like you can still feel him inside you, how much he wanted you, needed you. It makes you feel a little powerful, having that effect on a man like him.
You make your way into his living room. You didn’t really have a chance to look at his house last night, as determined as he was to get you into the bedroom. If you’d ever thought to picture it, this wouldn’t be far off. It’s all rich blues and greens and grays, leather and dark wood. Masculine. It suits him. 
As you’re admiring the room, you hear footsteps behind you and then two big arms are encircling your waist, pulling you into him. “Good morning,” he rasps. 
You turn your head to him. “Good morning,” you say with a smile.
“Fuck, Bambi, you’re even hotter in my shirt than you were last night.”
You smirk at him even as your face heats. “Mmm,” you hum. “It’s comfy. You might not get it back.” He nuzzles into your neck as you continue. “I was hoping you might have something I could wear for bottoms, too. You destroyed my skirt.”
His beard roughly drags against your skin as he asks, “Why the hell would I let you wear bottoms?”
You laugh. “Because I have to leave the house, Curtis.”
“No, you don’t,” he says as his hand begins to move between your thighs.
You playfully swat him away, even as you feel yourself getting wet again from his attention. “I have to go home.”
“Why? You’re staying here.” It’s how certain he sounds that has you turning around in his arms.
“What?”
“I don’t like your building. It isn’t safe enough. Now that I finally have you, of course, I’m going to keep you here with me.”
Once again, you feel too many steps behind. You just blink at him, confused. How does he even know where you live??
He takes your chin in his hand, his fingers gentle. “I told you, Bambi, I take care of what’s mine.”
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dalamjisung · 10 months ago
Text
A muted shade of green ✧ Spencer Reid
genre: fluff, light angst
word count: 6339
pairing: reader x spencer reid
description: Dr. Spencer Reid is simply adorable. And you actually think he might be perfect. Until, that is, he isn't.
a muted shade of green masterlist // next chapter
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His apartment is a muted shade of green and you always wonder why is it that he painted it so dark. The book covered walls never fail to impress you, making you smile into the ether that was this place with its shelves and shelves of worldly stories. His taste, you think, is more towards the classics and refined tales that carry significance and importance in the world of literature. Dostoyevski, Austen, Orwell, Doyle. Though here and there, in some corners of the living room or thrown haphazardly in the kitchen counter, you see peeks of contemporary names, the ones you’re sure you sold him a long, long time ago. Murakami, Zadie Smith, George. 
You met Spencer when you first moved into D.C., about a year or so ago, and sometimes, you really think that it was just yesterday when you first saw him with his purple scarf walking inside your store.
“Excuse me.” 
You have too many books in your arms to even see who is talking to you, but you apologise nonetheless; it’s the least you can do for your first customer. “I’ll be with you in a moment, apologies for the mess, we literally just opened.” In your defence, you had been so busy unpacking all the new orders and organising things into shelves that you absolutely forgot to put the plaque with your opening hours by the door. You can hear his shoes clicking and clacking around the place, and a wave of anxiety washes through you. If he leaves with a book– luckily two– you will have made your first sell and that just might remind you that of the reason why you decided to do this in the first place.
Carefully putting the pile of Maggie Nelson’s on the counter, you finally turn to face him, tired smile from ear to ear when you see him holding two books already. “You found something you like?” You gently ask, voice calm and fingers fidgeting while you wait for an answer. “Many things, actually. I’m quite glad to see a wide variety of books here, it’s been hard finding something new to read lately.” 
His voice is pointed and it echoes in the empty store. The clock on the walls says it’s 7:58AM and you suck in a breath; it’s definitely too early for someone to be looking for books, but maybe he wants entertainment for his commute, maybe he needs a distraction for the way, or maybe he is odd like that. 
It must be cold outside. The man is wearing a purple scarf  inside what looks like a wool coat, and somehow, he fits in there, in your store. He looks like the kind of person who would be buying books as early as 8 in the morning and you’re not sure if that is adorable or unhinged. 
“Just these, thank you,” The loud thump of the pile of books he deposits by the cashier makes you gasp. “You have a great selection here, I was lucky you open early!” The twinkle in his eyes is what keeps you from telling him that that, in fact, was a big mistake. In the middle of rushing to get the keys from the landlord in time, get the deliveries, get everything sorted and organised, you had completely forgotten to put out the hours for the shop. 
“I am glad you found us here! Do you live nearby?” At this point, you’re just trying to make conversation as you bagged his items, smiling at the titles and happy to see your favourite book in the midst. “I live just across the street, actually,” He said, giving you his card. “You’ll see me a lot, I’m afraid.”
“And what should I call my most loyal customer, then?” One look down at his card and you would know, but you wanted him to tell you himself. 
“Spencer Reid.”
There is not really a sound reason as to why you walk so freely into his apartment. The first time he asked you to do this, he was going on a case and needed someone to water his plants. As it turn out, your store is quite literally across the street from his building and you don’t really mind the mindless task, so you tell him to not worry, you’ll take care of it. It had been a few months since you two met, five or so, and despite taking you some time to truly understand, you got used to the fact that Spencer created a routine for both of you, knocking on your shop’s door every Monday at precisely 8 in the morning. With time, you stopped questioning him even when you had many, many questions– was he even reading all these books? If yes, how?! Every visit, he left with three books or more, and unless he pulled all nighters every night, those were simply sitting on his desk. 
Instead, you start putting a few titles aside whenever you spot them. You start it with ‘A Gentleman From Peru’ by André Aciman, short and sweet. Next week it was ‘A Little Paris Bookshop’ by Nina George. Then ‘Cultish’ by Amanda Montell. And just like this, you two form your own little book club, his visits extending beyond their usual thirty minutes into the better part of the hour to talk about the plot, the characters, the arcs. You know there is quite a lot you don’t know about Spencer, of course there is, but you learn more and more with every little debate you two have. You learn about his morals through the character he likes, and his dreams through the plots he enjoy. You learn about his photographic memory that allows him to quote his favourite sections to you, and you learn that he is a very logical man through his hatred for the inaccuracy of investigative books. You learn and you learn and you learn and you find out that you like learning about Spencer. More than you like learning about anyone else, that is, and now, every time he walks in, you can’t help but get excited, smiling as you only imagine what you would learn that day. 
Sometimes, you did notice the absence of your favourite customer. He would disappear for weeks on end and then act like nothing happened, and you get it; he doesn’t owe you anything, you’re just the lady that sells him books, but you feel like there is something that is starting to bloom when, every time he comes back, he brings you a book. “I thought you’d like it,” Is all he says before leaving with his bag of new reads. For a moment, it’s like an exchange, but Spencer never demands anything of you; never asks for anything more than new books and recommendations. 
It’s quite rewarding finding the books you sold him scattered through the apartment. There are a couple in the kitchen, open split on the counter and you smile fondly at the clumsy way he marks his books. There is no folded page, no book marker, no random picture; just his book, cover facing up, open and splitting the spine in half enough to crease. You shake your head, smiling like he’s done this just to rile you up.
“Oh my god, don’t!”
You don’t mean to shout but it’s too late. His eyes widen in shock and he immediately freezes, mouth stuck in a little ‘o’ shape that makes you blush. “What did I do?” 
The wince in your expression is as visible as the light of day when you speak. Your hands hover in the air, unsure of what to do now, but still trying to do something. “The book, Spencer,” The words come out like a whine, and if you start stomping your feet you might as well look like a child. “The spine. The book. The– oh my god, the noise!”
The way he laughs at you is contagious, and you start laughing with him, face hidden behind your hands in embarrassment. Owning a bookshop doesn’t come for free. Your particularities when it comes to your literary treasures are enough to scare any sane person away. “You know, there are worse sounds than a book’s spine breaking,” He mused, closing the book before walking to your counter. His nimble fingers drum a soft rhythm as he waits for you to go around and charge him for the book. It’s a symphony, almost; so loud in your quiet store that, for a second, your heart is tuning in, thumping as his fingers do, beating to the song he creates. 
“You don’t have to buy it,” It’s a little ridiculous how airy your voice sounds then. Aren’t you a little too old to have a crush? “It’s okay if–“ But he doesn’t even let you finish, rattling off some facts about the writer. Most of the time, actually, he is rattling off some fact about something, and some you know, some you don’t, but you never interrupt him. You like hearing him talk. 
You miss hearing him talk. Whenever Spencer leaves, you miss him. You miss the knock on your shop’s door at 8AM. You miss the shy little chuckles. You miss the purple– the constant, always there purple. A wave of sadness hits you then, looking around the apartment with a longing expression. 
The first time he calls you over, it’s not really an invitation. A week before it happens, he doesn’t show up for your Tuesday unboxing and you have to carry all the new orders inside by yourself. It takes double the time and despite the effort it takes you, it’s the absence of his coy chuckles and snarky commentary that leaves you breathless. When you open the boxes, checking inventory to make sure there had been no issues with your order, you find the book Spencer asked you to get him. It’s one of those special books, so old and unique that you could only get your hands on it because you had contacts in the space. “Huh,” You frown at that– it isn’t like Spencer to forget something. Hell, it isn’t like Spencer to forget anything. Before you can cower away from doing it, you send him a text. You have his number saved in the system, and this feels wrong, it really does. Using his personal information that he gave to you as a client felt wrong. But for a second, it makes you stop biting your nails in anxiety. 
Your book is here. 
It’s Y/N, by the way. 
He doesn’t answer right away and you wallow in your regret for as long as you can. Your shoulders hunch forward as you line up the new arrivals in the shelves. Your frown sits on your forehead all day while you help other passing customers. Your hands brush against the book, all ready and wrapped up and sitting on top of the counter. You hate waiting; you hate waiting for someone or for something to happen as if you’re praying for a miracle. Literature has taught you many lessons in life. It has shown you countless of love stories that could’ve been resolved with a simple conversation. It has told you about people that waited and waited and waited until time passed them away. It has taught you that waiting is simply delaying the inevitable. 
But what literature has not taught you is that, sometimes, waiting truly is all you can do. 
That day, you don’t get a message back. 
You get a call instead. 
“Y/N?” The familiar voice on the other side speaks before you can and your shoulders tense up. Something is wrong. He sounds hoarser than usual, airier, too. 
“Spencer,” You say back, clearing your throat of any remnants or indicators of how nervous you are. “Spencer, are you okay? You sound rough.”
Even his laugh sounds weak and a zap of worry rushes through you. “I’m fine,” He mumbles, and you know he’s saying it out of politeness. “I just got sick. I think I have a cold, it’s nothing much, really.”
The relief that washed over you in crashing waves is almost embarrassing. Even though he is not there to witness it, your face still flushes in a dramatic red. “Oh. I see. Sorry, I didn’t mean to bother you–“
“It’s not a bother,” The way his voice interrupts you, so strong and concise, makes you chuckle. “You’re not a bother. I uh, I’m glad to hear my book arrived.”
For a moment, you both stay quiet. You, on your end of the line, are nodding like he can see you. Except he can’t. Except he is waiting, probably, for you to say something. Do something. “I can bring it to you. If you want.”
This time, there is no pause. “Yes. I mean, yes, please. I– I don’t have anything new to read and–” Spencer pauses to cough and you start moving immediately. There is no one in the store and you quickly change the sign to ‘closed’, grabbing his book and your bag before locking the door behind you. There is a pharmacy at the end of the block and you keep your cellphone balanced between your shoulder and ear while your hands make sure you have your wallet with you. “Sorry.”
“No problem at all,” You cross the street in such a hurry that you don’t notice the traffic, getting a symphony of horns calling you out as you run to the other side of the street. “Shit…”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” You tease, laughing a little and entering the pharmacy with purpose. “So just a cold, right?”
“Y/N, where are you?”
“Out,” There is no need to be vague, but you don’t want to give him a chance to protest. “I should be at yours in fifteen minutes with the book.”
“Just the book?” He asks in such a suspicious tone that you can’t hold back a laugher. 
“What else?” Thank god for automatic cashiers speeding up this entire process. You are in an out in less than five minutes and before he can even answer, you are almost at his door. Admittedly, you are speed walking, almost running, in a futile attempt to get there sooner. “Which apartment do I buzz?”
“Apartment 23.” And that is the end of the call. 
By the time you make it to his floor, panting just as you hike the last step upwards, he is already waiting for you, and you can’t say you’re terribly bothered to have a man like Spencer Reid waiting for you by the door. “Spencer,” You still admonish, a small smile playing on your lips. “You shouldn’t be out and about like this.” 
“Then who would let you in?” The mischief in his expression, much like that of a child making an innocent joke, makes you giggle, nodding in agreement. “Do you want to come inside? I promise everything is clean, I’m not a slob or anything.”
“Yeah, let me come in so I can give you your stuff.” 
“I knew it wasn’t just the book,” The coughing fit that followed has you rushing your hands, pulling things out of your bag in a desperate attempt to get him the medicine you bought. This had always been your curse, the flustering anxiety of wanting to help but being unable to take your time. Shaky hands push the book towards him, with the medication and some old receipts stuck to it. 
“Oh shit, sorry!” You squeak, grabbing the receipts and shoving it back in your bag. One of these days, you’d have to close the store early to clean this thing. “But uh, yeah, I got you some cold medicine and your book. I’m sure you know this with your big brain and all, but you need to take this before bed, cause it makes you drowsy, and this other one in the morning since it has caffeine! And you should be good in no time… hopefully!”
In life, a pause is not always a bad thing. It’s a time to think. A time to appreciate, to enjoy. It’s a time to be. A pause, however, from the man whose brain worked a thousand miles an hour, doesn’t feel like something to be thankful for. “Is… Do you not like that brand? I didn’t want to get the generic thing, I don’t know why, I–“
“Thank you.”
At first, you barely hear it. For someone whose voice is so rough and hoarse, you’re surprised he can still sound so smooth and airy. Your reaction is obvious; he can see the blush in your cheeks and the way you bite back a smile. “Y/N, thank you, I really appreciate it,” He says it again and now you think he just wants to get a rise of you. “You didn’t have to.”
“I know,” You shrug, faking humbleness while you keen at his praise. “I wanted to.”
“I know.” 
There is a dance that happens after that, one that you find yourself enjoying quite a bit. Spencer is more present than ever, and you’re getting used to having him around. It’s like you two broke the glass wall the kept you at a safe distance, and now is when you two discover each other a bit better. Like how you find out that, when Spencer’s hand lays on the cashier counter, just an inch or less away from yours, you feel the heath that it emanates. Like how your fingers curl and your palms itch at the sight of his shaggy curls falling on top of his beautiful eyes. Like how his laughter is deep when it’s true and dry when it’s forced. Like how he can read 20,000 words per minute, but he chooses to read 183 instead just so he can read you passages out loud.
You are not sure what he has learned about you, or if he even cares to learn something about you, but the thought still makes you smile. “What’s gotten you so smiley so early in the morning?” 
Ah, yes; another thing you’ve learned about Spencer Reid– he is as quiet as mouse when he wants, and as loud as an elephant when he doesn’t. “My god!” You jump, hand immediately going to your heart to try and keep it from beating our of your chest from the shock. “Spence! You scared me!”
“I’m so sorry,” He laughs, raising his hands in the air, shaking the two cups of coffee he is holding. “I come in peace.”
“And with bribery, I like your style.” 
His style doesn’t change, still haven’t. For ages, you think he buys you coffee at the nearby cafe. You don’t really know the name of the place, some cliche Cafe something something, but the one time you’ve been in there the coffee was terrible and the music too loud. It’s hard picturing your shy, smiley book-lover in there, trying to order something without raising his voice. It’s only when you see the go-to paper cups on his counter, on the fourth or fifth time you come around, that you realise Spencer has never gone to that cafe to begin with. 
The cups are still there. You make a point in spotting them every time you come over– next to the microwave, close to the paper towels. The reminder that this man has, in fact, been making you coffee most mornings validates the fluttery feeling you have whenever you think of it. It makes it somewhat logical. “I must be spending too much time with him,” You mumble to yourself, pushing your sleeves up and getting to work. You are there for a reason, and if those wilting plants die on you, you fear that you might just never be invited back. “Why does he even have plants?” 
You don’t know much about Spencer’s job. He hasn’t told you anything about it except that he travels a lot for it, but you can imagine it is something of importance– a man like Spencer was someone of importance, after all. In your mind, you can imagine him walking into an office down by the Financial District, working with big corporations as an advisor. Yes, you can absolutely see him as some sort of advisor or consultant, but something about him working in finances doesn’t sit right with you– he is yet to talk to you about crypto investments and how to better implement a payment system into the store. Shaking your head, you switch it up. Financial services, aren’t quite right, but maybe an editor, working in a publishing house. With the way he devours books and how well-rounded his personal library was, you could see him as a Publishing Director instead, reading manuscript after manuscript. 
The thought of him reading brings a smile to your face. In his living room, there is an armchair that sits next to the large window on the west wall of his apartment– he says he likes how the sunset hits and makes the pages look warm and golden, turning words into a burning fire of knowledge– and you can practically see him there, blanket over his legs, books and books pilled next to it. It’s your own little secret, how every time you come over, you grab a book, any book, and you sit there for thirty minutes, forty, fifty, an hour; until the sun has completely set and you have to get up to turn the lights on. 
Today, when you sit down, when you bring your knees up, when you drape the blanket over you, something feels incredibly right and incredibly wrong. On the pile of books next to you, right at the top, lays a copy of Gulliver’s Travels. If you remember correctly, which you usually do, last time you sat down at that spot you managed to read up to chapter five before the sun was gone. When you grab the book and you see the bookmark you gave Spencer the second time he visited the store, and you frown– usually, he’d pick up from where you left off. “How long has it been since you last came home, Spencer?” You muttered out loud, grabbing the book regardless. Because even when it breaks your heart to know something has been keeping him away from his precious nook, it fuels your heart to know he leaves your book where you can easily pick it up. To know he doesn’t mind you sitting on his armchair, to know he doesn’t mind you reading his books, to know he doesn’t mind you settling, somehow, in his house. 
A knock on his door, however, breaks you away from your precious moment of rest and relaxation. For a moment, you can’t move, frozen in place light a kid that has been caught doing something wrong. It’s only when they knock again that you move, shuffling to the door to look through the peephole. “Who is it?” You ask, voice weak and shaky. 
“I have a delivery for Spencer Reid.”
How silly you feel in that moment, hand over your heart as you take a deep breath in relief. Unlocking the door, you smile to the USPS guy. “Sorry, he isn’t home right now. I can take it for him.” All you have to do is sign it and close the door, but once you put the package on the counter and your eyes catch sight of a note scribbled on top of the box, all those butterflies inside of you slow down. And find perch. And for a second, make you miss them just like you miss him. 
The first time you think Spencer might have a girlfriend is when he comes into the store with a certain look in his face. He is practically glowing and his eyes don’t leave his phone for a second. “What has you smiling like that?” You two are close enough to ask these kind of things now, making jokes about each other as if you have been friends for ages. “Or uh, who?” Even though you started the conversation, you want to end it now. There is a sour aftertaste in your mouth when you suggest another person to be cause of his happiness, and you know, right there and then, that that is just your jealousy speaking. At this point, you’ve been harbouring a crush on Spencer for the almost two months and there’s only so much a girl can take before exploding. 
“Oh, it’s just a friend.” Somehow, this answer doesn’t settle you as much as you hoped it would. 
The second time is when he brings a woman around. She is blonde, and loud, and colourful, and you eye her carefully. They are matching costumes, and for a second, without even saying, you already feel left out. It’s stupid, being this green over someone so pink. If Spencer was purple, and if you are green, than that woman was pink– she is happy and light and exciting. Next to her, you… well, you are as muted as his green walls. “Y/N!” He calls for you with such a big smile and you just don’t have it in you to pretend to be busy anymore. 
“Hey Spencer,” It comes out quiet and a bit distant, but he doesn’t seem to notice, not with the way he is going back and forth on the ball of his heels. “And hello, ma’am. Welcome, I’m Y/N Y/L/N, the owner. Please let me know if you need any help.”
That day, you two barely talk, but that’s okay, because Penelope, as she introduced herself to you after you help her find a specific book on coding, speaks for both of you. She says that it’s lovely to finally meet you, and mentions how much she has heard about you, and you think this is a very cruel thing to do to your poor, squeezing heart. But you push through. You pretend you’re tired, you apologise for the distance, and you lie about a cough. It’s better if they stay away, you say, but Spencer doesn’t buy it. Instead, he buys Penelope her book and leaves with promises of coming back the next day with your usual coffee. 
After that, you don’t see Spencer for two weeks.
It’s a bittersweet feeling when you get the text that he is back. After almost a week and a half without seeing him, you miss Spencer. He created a space for himself in your life and in your store, and when he is gone, it’s just not the same. But just like how he did, you created a space for yourself in his apartment. Suddenly, the muted green walls aren’t claustrophobic or smothering, but comforting. They are safe. Familiar. They are Spencer. And just like you said, you miss Spencer.
“Y/N!” 
You should be happier to hear his voice, but it’s not the same. The fluttering in your stomach is still there, like a slow buzz trying to come alive, but it’s not the same. Not when the note on the box, flashing like neon signs behind your close lids, has been tormenting you and your poor heart ever since you made the mistake of opening the door. “Y/N? Are you here? The door says open…” At one point or another, you have to come out of hiding and face him. Delaying the moment, though, is the best defence plan you’re able to come up with– if you look into Spencer’s eyes, if you see that pretty smile he has every time he comes back from a work trip… you’re fucked. 
“Y/N, I need you to tell me if you’re here!” It’s not the same. 
His voice. It’s not the same.
Usually mellow and undulating, Spencer sounds stiff, like he’s holding something back. Something new. Something… heavy. There is an edge to him right now, so sharp and cutting that it has you stepping out from behind the Science shelf in pure curiosity. And just like people say, curiosity killed the cat. In this case, however, it almost kills you. 
When you turn the corner to find him by the door, the first thing you see is a man. He is tall and handsome and oddly serious. The way his brows are pulled together make you falter, steps slowing down and mouth opening to ask if he needs help.
That’s when you see it. 
More like you catch a quick glimpse of it, the shinning spark of metal to your side, and you do a double take. You have to do a double take. It’s like your brain doesn’t believe what you’re seeing, and you move your head so fast you feel your neck tensing up in that way that makes your eyes water. “WHAT THE FU– OH MY GOD!” There is no way to throw yourself against a wall graciously, arms over your head and fear written all over face. You land in an awkward angle and your shoulder takes the brunt of the shock, making you gasp in pain while your legs give our under you. 
Of all the ways you’ve imagined Spencer, him holding a gun up to your head was never one of them. “Y/N!”
“Oh my god!” You think you might pass out– you’re breathing too fast and your chest is squeezing, squeezing, squeezing to the point of physical pain. There is a ringing in your ears, muffling the entire conversation between Spencer and the other man and even though you try, you can’t look up; you’re frozen in a state of distress. For the first time since you met him, you’re scared of Spencer Reid. “I– I– Oh my god, I c-can’t– I can’t b-breathe, I can’t–“
“Y/N, look at me! Look at me, you’re okay, I’m so sorry, I’m sorry,” The moment his hand touches your shoulder, you’re shrinking away. 
“Who are you?!” You manage to gasp enough air into your lungs to scream at him. One shake hand moves to the back of your neck, pressing down on the sore nape as you finally move to look at him, crying and all. “Spencer, who are you? Who is he? What is happening? Why do you have a gun in my bookshop, why–“
“Ma’am, I need you to take deep breaths,” The other man quickly holsters his gun and you actually think you might be going insane when flashes you a badge. “I’m SSA Derek Morgan, I work with Spencer. We are with the FBI.”
Federal Bureau of Investigation. Spencer is a fed. And he never told you. 
“The FBI…?” You whisper, eyes going wide and breath hiccuped in your throat. “S-Spencer, you work for the FBI?” Nothing about this makes sense to you. The gun, forgotten in his left hand and now pointing down and away from you, is all you can look at. The gun that looked heavy and cold. The gun that those hands hold– the same hands you’ve wished and, admittedly, dreamed of holding yours instead. The gun, the gun, the gun.
The gun. You’ve never seen a gun before, not this close. In museums, of course, and in movies and shows, but never in real life. You don’t have interest in it either, having voted, without fail, for anti-gun laws and representatives. Anything and everything about this, about seeing him with that deadly weapon, feels wrong, and you really think you might be sick soon.
“Kid, put it away, you’re freaking her out.” 
Then is when you catch sight of the Spencer you know. It’s the clumsy actions, looking almost freaked out himself– his hands fumble with the holster and it takes him a couple of tries to fit the gun properly. That’s when you know for sure– you are going to be sick. “Trash,” You mumble, trying to get up but falling again and again. “Trash, pass me the–“ But there is no time and you throw up right there and then, between the cashier and the nonfiction section. 
“What just happened?” 
“Morgan, get her some water– there, over the counter,” The rapid successions of words make you feel a bit better, a cadence of tone and rhythm that has your hands finally stabilising. “Y/N, you’re in shock. Adrenaline kicked in and left, and you pressured crashed, which is what made you nauseous. You need water, and to come sit by the counter.”
It’s funny, how in any other circumstance, you’d be ashamed and embarrassed to have gotten ill in front of him. As far as you know, Spencer is a germaphobe and this surely counts as germs. But as he grabs your hands, gentler than you’ve ever seen him grab any book in your store, and brings you to your chair behind the counter, you wonder if he forgot or simply doesn’t care. Both options don’t make sense. “Spence, what is going on?” Your voice comes out winey and rough, and there is no way to hold back the pained wince when you feel the sting spreading through your throat. Sip by sip, you try your best to drink the water and soothe yourself, but nothing seems to help. 
Nothing until you hear him next to you, small and quiet and, dare you say, meek. “I’m sorry.”
As much as you’d like to tell him he has nothing to be sorry for, he does. “I see…”
“It was just… it was new, having someone not know I’m FBI,” His thumbs play with each other and you’ve known him long enough to recognise that Spencer is nervous. “And we started getting closer and I just didn’t find an opportunity to tell you.”
“There were plenty,” You clarify, feeling a bit of a bitch for the bite in your voice making him gulp. “But it’s okay. I’m not… I’m not anything of yours, I guess, so it’s okay. You don’t owe me anything.”
“Don’t say that. You’re my friend.” That hurt.
“Do you point a gun at all your friends or am I just special, Spence?” It is supposed to be a joke, but the memory makes your bottom lip start wobbling again and you feel stupid. You feel so, so incredibly stupid right now that you can’t even begin to explain why. “Sorry, I’m just– I’m not okay.”
“I know, and we’re sorry,” There is such raw honesty in his words and he manages to make you smile a little. Your hand is still shaking, but you stretch it out towards him regardless. It’s a conscious decision to hold onto his wrist, covered by his jacket, than to reach out for his palm, and from the way he looks at you, you know he recognises the effort. “But you need to come with us.”
“Why?” You cry out, a single tear coming out of the corner of your eye. At this point, the shock is going away and you’re more overwhelmed than anything else. You’re scared and confused and overwhelmed and it’s his pulse, beating again and again, that brings you back to Earth. “Why do I need to go with you? What is going on?”
“Y/N, when you were housesitting for me, you received a package, right?”
In the midst of everything, the memory of that day, that box, that note, all fade. Frowning, you shrugged. “The delivery man knocked and said he had a package for you… I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude, I–“
“No, no, no, you didn’t, you didn’t. Please.”
“Ma’am, when you signed for the package, did you use your name?” The man, Morgan, ask, and all you do is nod. Of course you signed with your name. “Kid, we need to take her to the office now.”
“I am not going anywhere until you tell me what’s going on!”
Finally, some energy in you. Some strength. Your voice echoes in the empty shop, and the chair tips back when you stand up on stiff legs. Looking at Spencer is hard, when you feel the burning of your rage inside, but you still do; you still meet those pretty brown eyes, you still stare him down until you practically force the answers off of him. “The package… did you see who it was from?” 
“Spencer, are you insinuating you’ve pointed a gun at me because I read a message your girlfriend wrote on the package she sent you?! Because I didn’t mean to– I didn’t! It just… It was there, right at the top and I–“
“She is not my girlfriend,” He immediately cut you off, hands waving in front of him in a visual demonstration of desperate denial. “Not at all! I don’t have a girlfriend! I was–“
“We can deal with this later,” Morgan is quick to interrupt, sighing as he looked at you. “Y/N, we re really sorry to disrupt you like this, but this is for your own protection. Please lock the store and let’s go.”
It takes time for you to gather everything you need. You are not a disorganised person by any means, but suddenly, you can’t remember where you put what. Your bag is thrown under the cashier, and your keys are, for some reason, in the Fiction shelf. Your glasses are in your head the entire time, and Morgan has to point that out to you. The more you look, the more flustered you get, yet somehow, you make it to the car. Morgan is driving and Spencer is on the passenger seat, and the way they keep talking to each other using words that make no sense to you make you want to scream. “Spencer.”
The heaviness of his name, said with such emotion,, lingered in the air. His eyes meet yours through the rearview mirror, and he nods. “Yeah?"
“Spencer,” You whisper again, eyes wide in shock as reality starts to dawn. “Spencer, if she’s not your girlfriend, then who the fuck is Cat Adams?”
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AAAAAhhhhh I'm trying something new >.< I've been a massive criminal minds fan for a long, long time and Dr. Spencer Reid has my heart <3
Please let me know what you think, this is my first Spencer fic and I'd love if it got to turn into a series!
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cheralith · 2 months ago
Text
— read the fine print.
characters ; karasu tabito, otoya eita, yukimiya kenyu || wc ; 1.7k contains/cw ; gn!reader (though fem implied), no pronouns used, slight crack, roommates!au, modern!au, aged-up characters (mid-20s ish) apartment 345 series masterlist ☚ previous next ☛
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thinking about tabieitaken roommates!au new girl style, where you've finally had enough of your shitty landlord and your overpriced shoebox apartment after he pushes back his examination of your pipes that you think have been contaminated with rust for the nth time. not wanting to accidentally poison yourself any longer with the built-up rust inside them, you start finding new places to live and stumble upon a request for a roommate for a rather spacious loft. and the fact that you'll be paying only half of what you owe for the loft in comparison to your current apartment is an absolute steal!
when you send a request in for an interview, the person, karasu tabito asks when's the soonest you can come and is clearly more than elated in his email sent back to you when you say you can come after work tomorrow. something is telling you that there's a catch to this loft because you still can't believe you're only paying a fraction of a price for what seems to be a three bedroom apartment compared to the shoebox, but you shake it off, thinking that this opportunity only comes once in a lifetime and that if it comes to you, you should take it with full glory.
karasu comes to greet you at the door, a cordial smile on his face and tells you to make yourself comfortable, an accent evident in his tone. the loft is bigger in person, clearly, and it has a bunch of windows that let in a bunch of natural light. evidence of a man is scattered throughout the apartment, with some spare sweaters and a couple of beer cans sprinkled about, but it's still rather tidy.
after he asks you if you'd like some tea, he tells you to sit down at the couch, and the other roommates should be coming home soon after their grocery trip.
your head spins back to him. you blink.
"u-uh... other roommates?" you hastily say, taken aback.
karasu turns back to you, a cup of peach tea and honey in one hand for you. he raises a brow. "er, yeah...?"
"i-i thought," you begin and pull out your phone to double check the application. "i thought it was just you living here?"
karasu snorts and shakes his head, gently settling down the cup of tea in front of you.
"i wish," his kansai accent drawls with a laugh. "but no, i couldn't afford this all by myself. pretty sure i put down that we were lookin' for a fourth roomie?"
and to your disdain, you missed the fine print that was at the very bottom of the application, one that was hidden by the "read more" feature you didn't bother to check after your excitement seeing the cheap rent and spacious area took over. "fourth roommate needed, rent will be split across four ways equally" says the last bullet point.
your lips warble a bit. of course you overlooked such an important detail. you were so overconfident that you had found such an amazing place for cheap that you failed to try and find a justification for, only for reality to hit you hard on the head. and you had just signed off your lease, as well!
karasu notices your hesitation. "i know it doesn't come off as much comin' from a guy like me, but i swear my roomies are real nice and proper folks," he pauses, thinking over his words for a minute. "well, for sure one of them at least..."
three roommates... oh god. you ponder about. you've had roommates in the past—both good and bad—and you're sure you've dealt your fair share of rather horrible roommates back in your early adult years, so you think that four fully-fledged adults would have reached some point of maturity. the apartment did look spick and span after all.
the lock clicks suddenly at the front door.
"ah, they're here," karasu says with a grin. "don't worry, i promise they don't bite."
but his attempt at comfort doesn't do that much to ease your nerves, especially as you witness two other men walk into the loft with grocery bags in hand. your eye twitches.
one of them sports a rather fashionable manner—dressed in a light trench coat, hemmed jeans, and noir turtleneck, his hazelnut hair parted neatly with stylish glasses to top off his face.
the other... not so much. a beanie tops off a mess of white hair with a striking green lock falling over his face, a baggy white t-shirt reading "I ♡ MILFS" with grey sweatpants to match to clearly contrast the other man's outfit.
"they didn't have those cookies and cream protein bars you wanted tabi," beanie says nonchalantly as he takes off his slides. "so i got you some ice cream instead."
karasu grits his teeth. "ya fuckin' idiot. what makes you think ice cream is a good substitute for protein bars?"
glasses sighs and shrugs as he hangs up his coat, your presence to them still going unnoticed. "that's what i told him, but he insisted on it."
beanie shoves his hand into one of the plastic bags and holds up a cookies and cream ben & jerry's.
"they're the same flavor, aren't they?" he asks as he presents it to karasu. that's when he notices you sitting rigidly on the couch. his brows perk up. "oh hiya. you must be the roommate we're interviewing today."
you wave a stiff hand and give an even stiffer smile. "yes, hello. my name's—"
"—(y/n), right?" glasses asks you, a polite smile settled on his lips. when you really take a good look at him, you notice he's quite handsome, a certain charm radiating about him. "nice to meet you. i'm yukimiya kenyu."
his eyes exhibit a warmth that ever so slightly melts your frigid nerves, and you hypothesize that he's the one that's been keeping the apartment as tidy as it looks now.
"otoya eita," the other greets loosely, throwing a peace sign your way. you notice the way his eyes shift over your figure for a second before he nods quietly to himself, humming.
you squirm. karasu rolls his eyes and tells you not to pay him too much mind. "don't worry. he's a good guy at heart. a flirt, but you can just put him in his place if he needs it."
the other two settle themselves down next to karasu on the couch in front of you, yukimiya folding his hands courteously across his lap while otoya lays down lazily, manspreading a little. you don't think the personalities of three strangers you've just met have been so visible without the use of words.
yukimiya and karasu do most of the talking, asking if you have any pets or what do you usually do in the house. your answers fly by fluidly, many of them receiving nods of approval from the men. karasu asks you what you do for work, seeing if your salary would be able to cover your part of the rent.
"oh, um, i'm a manager for the marketing team for a talent agency," you say, feeling your nerves finally beginning to relax.
that piques yukimiya's interest. "oh really?" he asks, his eyes a little bright behind those glasses. "which one?"
"oh um, i doubt you've ever heard of it—" you sway off, a little shy about the fact you work for a rather prestigious company. "ego creatives group? does that ring a bell, at all?"
yukimiya gives you a charming laugh, a little astounded. "no way, that's the parent company of my agency! i work for flow talent management."
you give a little bit of a gasp that earns a chuckle out of karasu. "yukki here is a model himself part-time," he juts a thumb over to his brunette roommate. "a small world after all, huh?"
it's otoya's turn to speak up, his own ears perking up at the sound of your work and your connections. "so... does that mean you work for models... and stuff?"
yukimiya throws a warning glare. karasu pinches him on his arm, earning a whine from him. "what! can't a guy be curious?"
karasu points to a lone jar settled on the coffee table that has a post-it taped onto the front of it reading douchebag jar in sharpie. "that's worth at least a dollar."
otoya grimaces and pulls out a dollar bill, plopping it into the half-filled jar to your amusement.
the interview eventually ends and the men give you a tour of the loft and where you'll be staying. your bedroom is the second-largest one, one that has a large array of windows that look out into the city skyline ever so beautifully with exposed brick on one end. you think it's just ever so slightly smaller than the entirety of your own apartment, the spaciousness making you giddy and forgetting about the fact that you'd be sharing a space with three men.
"is it to yer likin'?" karasu asks as you walk about the room, though he thinks he already knows the answer based on your astonishment.
yukimiya grins as you examine the large closet space. "i admit, i'm jealous that you'd be getting all that closet space, but i figure you might have more clothes than i do."
otoya pouts when you feel the comfort of the queen bed, sighing pleasurably as you bounce about it. "you wouldn't happen to want to trade beds, would you?"
regardless, it's clear that the three men have come a unanimous agreement without exchanging words. given your answers, you'd be a pretty good person to room with, as you had no pets, you were financially stable, tidy, and would probably spend most of the time in your room given you often came home late.
as you prepare yourself to leave, you thank the men for welcoming you into their abode. you think you may still need some time to make a proper decision, since you don't seem to brush off the fact you'd be living with three men so easily, but "believe me... the offer seems tempting."
"actually, about that," otoya mutters, scratching the back of his neck. he flickers his eyes toward the other men, who avert their gaze away from you in the same guilty manner. you furrow your brows. otoya turns back to you and swallows a little thickly.
karasu takes on the liberty of breaking the ice. "so our rent is actually due in a few days and we sort of... lied to our landlord that we found another roommate already. we don't mean to rush you but—"
"—we'd need an answer by tomorrow at the latest," otoya finishes and juts a pen in your hand, him pulling out a wrinkled document of the lease's agreement from behind his pocket. "or today. like, right now, if you're able."
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nadvs · 10 months ago
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please can we have sleeping with the enemy reader taking care of rafe with his hangover (from your last blurb) 😚😚
aaaa yes omg the fluff! (and the everyone but them can see it trope!) (and the overdue confession!) 🙂‍↕️
based on this fic, continutation of this blurb
rafe can’t even open his eyes yet. he feels like he’s an inch away from death.
about a month ago, he moved out of his dorm and into a house with a group of his teammates. it was a nightmare securing a lease on a house because of the reputation athletes have left on the landlords off campus.
but because rafe was the one who worked so hard on getting the house, and because he’s the team captain, he got the biggest and best room, ensuite attached.
it’s in the top floor. it’s quiet. it gets the best ac. but no amount of ac can make the sickening heat of the hangover he has this morning any better.
he finally opens his eyes. she’s not beside him. if he remembers correctly, he asked her to sleep over last night. and… goddamn it, he called her his girlfriend.
there’s a good chance he scared her away. they’re best friends who hook up sometimes. that’s it. no matter how much his teammates - at least the ones who have the balls to - fuck with him about it.
a few nights ago, a girl struck up conversation with rafe at a party and one of his buddies told her not to bother because ‘he’s basically married’ and the crazy thing is, he let her believe it. he hasn’t hooked up with another girl in ages. he hasn’t wanted to.
it got to him. maybe that’s why he slipped up last night, calling her his girlfriend. if he remembers right, it’s like they agreed to being something more in a roundabout, drunken way. or maybe she was just humoring him and is planning to let him down easy when they’re both sober.
she’s in the kitchen, wearing one of rafe’s shirts, cutting up what little fruit the guys have lying around. the blender was a bitch to clean, tacked with residual protein powder.
she’s awake before everyone, making rafe a smoothie to help cure his hangover. this is 100% girlfriend behavior. she’s doing the absolute most. she knows that.
she tells herself it’s because they’re best friends. she’d do the same for any other friend. but doing it for rafe feels so much more gratifying than if she did it for anyone else.
as she drops banana slices into the blender, she thinks about the regret that washed over rafe’s face last night.
she wonders why he so obviously wished he hadn’t called her his girlfriend. was it because he accidentally exposed what he really thinks of her? or because he didn’t want her to get the wrong idea?
she blends the smoothie, cleans up and pads upstairs to rafe’s bedroom. when she opens the door, he’s sprawled out on his bed, down to his boxers, the duvet half-covering his body.
she’s seen him naked so many times before. but this weirdly feels like it’s the most intimate they’ve ever been.
“did you take my clothes off last night?” rafe grumbles, staring up at the ceiling.
“somehow,” she answers. “i fell on my ass trying to pull your jeans off.”
“oh, yeah,” he laughs. he heard her fall to the floor in the dark. it was hilarious. but then he clutches his head. even laughing hurts. “fuck.”
“imagine how bad you’d feel if i didn’t force water on you last night. you’re welcome, by the way,” she says.
she places the glass on the nightstand and sits on the edge of the bed, glad she only had a couple of drinks last night.
“i made you a smoothie. you need to replenish.”
his tired blue eyes finally land on her. he takes her in, the way her brows are knitted in concern, the way she looks in his shirt.
“and your blender was disgusting,” she adds. “it’s pretty sad that a whole group of grown men don’t know how to properly wash dishes. it took me forever to clean it.”
“you’re talking too much,” he rasps, massaging his temple with his thumb.
normally, she’d tease him back. she knows he’s joking. but the joke doesn’t land. she looks away.
in the sober brightness of the morning, she realizes she feels stupid. they agreed they were just friends, but she’s playing house and acting like a girlfriend to someone who either doesn’t want her like that, or does and won’t admit to it when he’s not drunk.
she doesn’t mind taking care of him. but she’s catching feelings. how can she be friends with someone when every second that passes that they’re not more than that feels like a little dose of rejection?
they’ve always been direct with each other. at some point, that stopped. at least on her side.
“i’m fucking with you,” rafe clarifies. “thank you.”
she scoffs. he hardly ever has manners. she must really look mad.
“sure,” she says. she leans forward, picking up and handing him the smoothie, knowing he’s too tired to get it himself. “do you remember what you said last night?”
rafe’s eyes dart away. he rakes back his tousled hair, sitting up slowly to hold the smoothie. tortuously slow, he takes a sip, making her wait for his answer.
“what’d i say?” he mumbles.
she tilts her head, her lips in a firm line. he said he wouldn’t be embarrassed the next day. he’s acting like he is now, though. or maybe he really doesn’t remember.
she suddenly feels bad for pushing this heavy of a conversation on him when he’s clearly exhausted and feeling so terrible.
“we’ll talk about it later,” she says. it gives rafe a wave of anxiety. maybe she’s planning to let him down gently. to tell him they can’t be more than friends. “hydrate, got it?”
she stands, pulling his shirt off over her head.
“where are you going?” he asks, watching her bend over to pick up last night’s clothes.
“home,” she says. “text me if you wanna hang out later when you feel human again.”
she leaves. he lets her.
he’s in a funk the rest of the morning. he eventually finds the strength to take a shower. he eats his first meal at three p.m.
when he sees the blender on the drying rack in the kitchen, his chest tightens. this isn’t normal. he shouldn’t miss someone he saw just this morning. but he does.
and whatever happened last night is hanging over him. if he knows her, he knows it’s bothering her, too.
he texts her: feeling human again. u busy?
she replies: i’m free and starving.
he smirks at his phone. pick you up in 30
when she sinks into the passenger seat of his suv, she’s uneasy. jittery. as if this is a first date. but when she takes in how tense he looks, she pushes all her feelings away.
“what’s wrong?” she asks. “you good?”
“i’m… this feels weird,” he admits. she stills. so it’s not just her who senses it.
“weird how?”
“what do you wanna eat?” he asks. “where am i going?”
“you’re staying here until you tell me what’s up.”
rafe chews on his lip. he turns his key, shutting the car off, parked in front of her dorm building. he knows there’s no point in arguing with her. she can be stubborn.
“weird how?” she repeats.
“like… i’m nervous or something.”
rafe has known for a while now that he’s someone else around her. or maybe he’s actually himself, and she’s the only person who coaxes it out of him.
“nervous?” she echoes. rafe is only ever nervous before an important game, and even then, he’s more hyped up to win than anything.
he can’t take it anymore. he’d rather rip off the bandaid.
“be straight with me,” he says. “what’d i say that you wanted to talk about?”
she can’t recall the last time she felt so shy around him, if ever.
“do you remember calling me your girlfriend?” she says.
he shuffles in his seat, expelling a heavy breath.
“if i fucked things up, just say it,” he rasps.
“so, you remember?”
“yeah.”
“do you remember how you said you wouldn’t be embarrassed for saying it?”
“yeah,” he mutters sharply. “can you get to the point?”
“can you not be a dick right now?” she says.
he sighs. can’t she tell he’s anxious?
“are you?” she says. “embarrassed, i mean?”
“no,” rafe begins. “i’m annoyed that i said it. it made things awkward.”
“it did,” she agrees.
“okay,” he huffs. “so what now?”
she clasps her hands together in her lap, looking out at the side mirror. she could just say they can forget about it. grab takeout. go back to normal. but going back to normal kind of feels impossible.
“my friends always tell me we act like a couple,” she finally says. “this morning, i was washing your dishes and organizing your fridge and i thought, they’re right. this is the kind of stuff a girl in a relationship does. but then i was like, no it’s not like that. we’re just best friends. but then last night... you said you’d be a good boyfriend.”
“mhm,” he says, bracing for the rejection. the let’s just be friends. or worse, the things are too weird now and we should probably stop hanging out.
she swallows hard.
“i wanted to know if… did something change? were you just drunk or do you actually want to…” she trails off.
for once, it feels odd saying her thoughts out loud to him. because he was always as adamant about not wanting commitment as she was. things have gotten so messy all because he blurted something out last night.
rafe stares at her profile as she looks out the window. she’d fiddling impatiently, like she was the night they first talked at the bar months ago, waiting for someone to take her drink order.
“the guys mess with me about it, too,” he tells her. “they say we act like we’re married or some shit.”
she quirks her eyebrows. they basically do. they see each other almost every day. they bicker. they’re constantly subconsciously touching, whether it’s through joined hands or bumped knees. they have too many inside jokes. they take care of each other. she reminds him of things he can’t afford to forget, like appointments or exams. he makes sure she eats and he pays for everything they do together.
“i don’t look at other girls,” he confesses. “and i know you get hit on when you go out, but it never goes anywhere. i… okay, yeah, fine, something did change at some point. i don’t know when.”
for the first time since she got in the car, she cracks a smile. they’re best friends who are ridiculously attracted to each other and joined at the hip. if that’s not a relationship, what is?
“are we already kind of dating?” she says, finally meeting his eyes.
rafe breathes a chuckle, the heaviness in his chest lifting all at once.
everything was always so easy with her. he assumed it’s because they had no expectations between them. but that wasn’t it. in reality, they had been quietly meeting each other’s expectations without having to try.
“yeah. we are,” he says.
her eyelids flutter as she looks down, gazing at his hand splayed over the dark denim on his thigh. her stomach is numb. her mind is buzzing.
“how’d you get so lucky?” she teases.
rafe doesn’t even have it in him to joke back. he needs to touch her. he leans forward, cradling her jaw, capturing her lips in his.
they’ve kissed a thousand times before. but never like this. this is a kiss that says there’s an understanding that she’s his and he’s hers. and maybe it took them a while to realize that, but now that they’re here, they’re not going back.
(continuation)
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luvyeni · 7 months ago
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( reaction ) they help you with money problems ! ୨୧ 一 스트레이키즈 ՞
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⸃ ⸰ ⌁ when times are tough skz is there to help ヾ
boyfriend!스트레이키즈・ fem!reader ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ g ・ angst, fluff ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ cw ・ money problems‎ wc ・ ‎n/a ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎| ‎ ‎click to library
request. this was a request but i accidentally deleted when i was clearing out request...
「 ୨୧ authors note 」 i hope you like it <3
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﹙ 𐙚 : bangchan﹚ .ᐟ
only figures it out when he finds you crying because you wanted to buy him a gift for his birthday, but you were unable to get the one you wanted because you couldn't afford it and even if you saved up for it would take too long. “i don't care what gift you get me.” he says, comforting you. “i like the one you got me.” he said. “i can't even get you a good gift.” he never cared about gifts , he hated seeing you like this. “baby please quit this job , it's not doing anything but stressing you and underpaying you.” he said. “chan i need the money , to pay bills.” you said. “i can't just quit.” he would never tell you to quit your job if he wasn't prepared to tell you he was ready to take care of you. “i have the means to take care of you.” he said. “i don't want to be a burden for you.” “it's a burden seeing you break down over not being able to pay your bills because your job is shit.” you didn't know how to thank him , but he didn't want one.
“don't thank me , just work on unstressing yourself.”
﹙ 𐙚 : lee know﹚ .ᐟ
both of you are pretty stubborn and you're so used to being independent and he just doesn't understand why are you so hell bent in not letting him help you; so it causes an argument. “it's not that big of a deal.” lee know said. “im your boyfriend , giving you money shouldn't piss you off this much.” you rolled your eyes. “it doesn't piss me off , i just don't need your money.” you said. “i heard you crying about not being able to pay your electric bill , what are you gonna do , let your lights get turned off.” you began to get frustrated. “i’ll handle it.” you said. “by working yourself to death?” he shot back , leaving you silent. “take the money.” he said. “i'll pay you back.” he scoffed.
“i won't take it and you know it , stop being stupid.”
﹙ 𐙚 : changbin﹚ .ᐟ
will never care about taking care of you and your needs; he'd even prefer it — seeing you stress stresses him out and he feels like as your boyfriend he should be the one taking care of you anyway. so when he sees you constantly working, it upsets him , and when you start having to cancel dates and spending time with him because you have to work, thats his final straw. “no this is the third date you've canceled.” he said over the phone. “binnie i have to work.” of course you felt bad , but rent needed to be paid. “let me pay your rent for a few months,” he said. “i can't — don't tell me you can't , you can and you will.” he said. “changbin— no im paying for it , i'll send the check to your landlord.” you didn't know what to say. “thank you so much binnie.” you said , so thankful for your boyfriend. “yah , why are you thanking me , this is my job!”
“now clock out and go home, im coming over with some food.”
﹙ 𐙚 : hyunjin﹚ .ᐟ
he would never ask you to quit your job , he knows you'd never do that , but he was also tired of seeing the love of his life stress about cash or constantly working overtime just to stay above water. he also knew you'd die before letting him take care of you fully , even though he was ready to take on the responsibility. “how about 50/50 ?” he asked. “i pay for somethings and you can pay for somethings , when you get a different job we can stop if you want.” he offered. “i don't want to be a burden.” you said. “how would you be a burden if you're paying 50%?” he said holding your hand. “i would rather pay 100% and have you move in with me.”
“but 50% will have to do now , at least i will have you around me.”
﹙ 𐙚 : han jisung﹚ .ᐟ
you accidentally snap at him one day , you didn't mean to and could tell you didn't mean it because you drop down , apologizing profusely, confessing to him about how you were stressed about money and you were just at your breaking point. “whoa , it's okay.” he comforted you. “i know you didn't mean it.” he said. “i’m so sorry ji , i just don't know what I'm gonna do.” he doesn't see anything wrong with his next request. “oh i'll help you.” he said. “i would never ask you to do that.” you said. “i wasn't asking you , i was telling you , if money is the problem , i have the money.” he said. “if i have it then it's yours baby.” he said. “really?” he nodded. “as long as you're happy and not yelling at me , then I'll pay for everything.” you shook your head. “i don't need you to do that.”
“i mean you can try and stop me , but doesn't mean im gonna listen.”
﹙ 𐙚 : felix﹚ .ᐟ
notices you look more and more tired every time you see him , you look more and more skinny and he is just confused. “baby?” he sits you down one day. “yes.” he immediately ask you what's wrong. “you're not looking so good , what's wrong?” he just assumes you're not taking care of yourself , but when you break down and tell him that your job isn't paying you enough , and you have to take different shifts and you barely had money to pay bills let alone the proper food. he lets you finish everything before he just wraps his arms around you and calms you down. “you should've told me , i could've helped you , i want to help you.” he said. “i couldn't do that.” he ignores that. “and watch you struggle? no , until we can get you a new job with better pay , i'll pay for anything you need.”
“you don't have to do this to yourself , let me take care of you.”
﹙ 𐙚 : seungmin﹚ .ᐟ
much like lee know it would often cause arguments , seungmin being more traditional he was always taught a man should be taking care of his love — but how can he do that when his love is probably one of the most stubborn people to ever so graciously walked the earth. “i don't want your money , i can get it on my own.” you had recently lost your job and it was tough finding a job and your bills weren't stopping. “you'll be on the street before than , don't be stupid and let me take care of you.” you scoffed. “so now you don't think i can do it?” he knew you were just frustrated. “i never said that , i said you don't have to do it now if you stop being stubborn and just let me take care of you.” he said. “i can't pay you back.” he rolled his eyes. “why would i ask you to do that?”
“just stay with me and everything you need and want is yours.”
﹙ 𐙚 : jeongin﹚ .ᐟ
he understands that you don't want him to take care of you; no he wouldn't mind it all , but you don't want that , so he helps you find a better job. jeongin is a researcher , he spends all his free time finding jobs for you , picking out all the jobs you'd be qualified for and pays better than your recent job , sending them to you. he's so focused , he helps you fill out a better resume and all. “should we lie a bit?” he sat at your laptop. “no we shouldn't.” you said. “just a little bit , nothing too crazy.” he said. “yeah like what?” you asked , eyebrows raised. “maybe you speak three language.” “but i don't.” “well then learn spanish because im putting it down.” when you get the job he's more excited than you. “i got the job!” he's celebrating. “i knew you could do it , and it pays 3x times more, so you don't have to slave 7 days a week.” he's smiling seeing the light come back into your eyes.
“told you , they love when you speak other languages , but let's actually pick up a spanish book just in case.”
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©LUVYENI
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mmirx · 2 months ago
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AFTERTHOUGHT ⋆⑅˚₊
Who were you if not unremarkable? You had finally come into terms that you are someone who was meant to stay in everyone’s shadow, but not until you met Caleb, or so you thought.
cw/tags: university au, non-mc reader, frat guy caleb (but not really important), angst, jealousy, self-loathing (please just lmk if i missed more cw, i just cant identify more as of now)
note: this will have several parts but im not sure how many lololol i hope you guys will like this! this is going to be based on my experience with a guy i recently met. also, i didnt add any visuals as i was too lazy to find one so sorryyy
word count: 824
“Here's one,” the guy who had been occupying your bed for hours suddenly blurted out, “it's a fifteen minute walk away from the university.”
He showed you a listing of the apartment he found. It has a bed that's probably smaller than what you wanted, and it looks like it has witnessed history more than you ever had. It's nowhere near a liveable state.
“Caleb," you sighed as you tried to  find your way into his eyes, “you serious?"
You shouldn't have asked—he looked dedicated, but come on, you were broke but you deserved to live in a somehow decent apartment. Saving a few bucks in rent but having to pay more for medical bills isn't something you'd want to do.
His smile immediately turned into an awkward one, almost a comical one. You would have probably laughed if you weren't currently swamped with deadlines and on the edge of being kicked out by your landlord. It was nice of him to help you find a new apartment, really, but at the same time you’d wish that he'd be more careful on what to recommend. He had found out a week ago that you haven't paid your rent since you ‘accidentally’ created a feud with your landlord and enthusiastically offered to help.
“I told you, you can crash on my place for a while," he tried to say as he munched on the chips that you gave him—it was the least you could offer. You had declined him a few days ago when he offered you to stay in his fully furnished apartment, and of course, you badly wanted to but you needed to save your dignity. 
In all honesty, you didn't want him to find out—you wanted to keep this from everyone as you were trying to avoid their pity. Pride is a funny thing because one could be in the deepest pit of hell and lose everything but your pride will hold on as if it has embedded itself onto you. Even MC, his and your best friend, didn't know about this because you had begged him to not tell her.
“Speaking of MC, is she doing an interview for the student paper, again?" you asked, not looking away from your laptop filled with whatnots of old and greedy colonizers from the past. Made you wonder why you chose history as your major.
“MC? Yes, you know she could be quite a celebrity," he responded enthusiastically as if he'd been waiting for someone to bring her up. “Last time we went to a cafe, she literally had to greet almost everyone we saw.”
You raised your eyebrow to show that you were intrigued as to why. It's always like this, you ask one question about her childhood friend and he'd talk more than what you wanted. You sounded bitter, but who could blame you?
Every time someone mentioned you, you were referred to as their ‘third-wheel’ which you find quite insulting. Sure, you're not the type to steal the spotlight, but you were your own person—you had your ups, too, or at least you thought. Unfortunately, you're surrounded by the exceptionals and compared to them, you're plain as a tofu.
It wasn't like you wanted to be popular too but someone appreciating you without bringing them up would be nice. For God's sake, you literally presented in an international paper conference—that’s something! Though, only two people congratulated you because the same day you received the news, MC’s latest film was released. The film was nice, produced by film majors who were known by the whole student body because of their quality production, however, you wished your win was celebrated too—
Caleb’s phone rang. You knew that ringtone—it’s customized solely for his ‘pipsqueak’. You signed him to take it outside since you were busy finishing a presentation for one of your courses. 
Your eyes landed on his laptop; he left it opened, so you could help to take a look. Oh, and you wish, you hadn't. His desktop wallpaper is a picture from his childhood and MC’s.
Self-loathing isn't something that one should make a hobby of theirs, but you can't help it. You hated how you unconsciously felt small compared to MC. What's wrong with you? 
She had always been nice and kind, for Christ’s sake, she nursed you every time you were sick. But it dawned you, why can't he see you the way he sees her?
Maybe, you should stop fooling around and move on, but do you have the strength? You pondered within yourself and you almost missed the fact that Caleb has come back from his phone call.
“I'll be going. MC needed help for dinner." 
“Oh, right," you tried to sound as neutral as you could. Dinner? That's what he's leaving you for? But who are you to demand, you're literally a charity case in this scenario.
“Say hi for me to her. Thanks for today, Caleb.”
PART 2
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runa-falls · 1 month ago
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the baby-making protocol - 2
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pairing: mickey barnes (17) x afab!reader
cw: mentions of human experimentation (ofc), short mention of vomit + sickness, suggestive thoughts, a spark of emotional connection, mickey being cute again :), not beta-read
wc: ~1.6k
note: slow updates btw (lol)
---
Mickey didn’t make it to the new room with you. 
Halfway through your journey, he collapsed in the hallway and puked up the small pieces of artificial meat he had at dinner along with the usual slop he had earlier in the day.
At first, he tried to downplay it:
“O-oh…” Mickey looks down at the mess he made, face flushed, “Um, my bad. I must’ve gotten too worked up after eating or something.” His eyes are bleary, his hands are shaking, and his jaw is tense like he’s fighting back pain. You can already tell that this is more than just food poisoning. 
“...Mickey, what did they feed you?” 
You attempt to approach him, but he quickly stops you.
 “No, I’m okay,” He struggles to prop himself up, “y-you don’t have to come any closer.” 
“Let me help.”
“I-it’s–” 
He starts convulsing.
And as any sane person would – You start freaking the fuck out. 
In the end, someone from the lab was alerted about his reaction and came to collect him. Apparently, it was a test to see how safe a new type of imitation meat was. 
And you watched defeatedly as he was dragged away like a piece of livestock.
The room they assigned to you both is only slightly larger than the single room you had before. Instead of a double bed, a queen-sized mattress is awkwardly wedged into the corner, resting on a metal frame that also serves as storage – you suspect they included it because there's still barely enough room for one person's belongings.
The room sticks to the same monotonous blue-grey palette that you’re used to – accented by metal piping carelessly painted over, jutting from the walls in a way that seems almost hazardous. It really leans into that “landlord special” aesthetic that nobody asked for. 
The usual exposed wiring that hangs over every dwelling is visible here too, snaking across the ceiling from all sides. Now that you think about it, you’ve never figured out exactly what the wires are connected to…for all you know, they could just be there for decoration. It’s truly remarkable how far Marshall goes to offer his crew nothing more than the bare minimum.
On the multi-purpose table sat a sheet of instructions, a vase of plastic flowers, and a fake candle boldly emblazoned with the words, “Happy Baby-Making!” – If this was their idea of setting a romantic mood, you have serious doubts about the success of this mission. 
You scoff at the vibrant petals of the fake roses, running a finger over the fraying polyester threads that stick out from them. These are going straight into the incinerator after tonight. 
You turn your attention to the sheet of paper, curious why they bothered to print out the instructions when a digital memo had already been sent. 
The instructions were fairly straightforward: 
Get to know your partner: Ask simple questions like “What’s your favorite color?” or “How old are you?” to build a connection. 
Practice proper baby-making etiquette: No protection allowed—make sure to fulfill your duty at least once a day. 
Stick to your assigned partner: This isn’t a free-for-all; we’re building a sacred community, not a random collection of individuals. 
Attend all scheduled appointments: No skipping! 
Most importantly, have fun!
At the bottom of the instructions are some suggested sex positions – some of which you’ve never seen before and, frankly, don’t believe are anatomically possible. You can’t help but laugh at the exaggerated stick-figure genitalia that distinguishes the man and the woman as they fuck ‘for the sake of humanity.’ 
There's one called “Straddle the Laptop” (essentially just cowgirl — but since it takes place on a desk, they’ve thrown in some tech-inspired terminology for flair), that sparks your interest. Not only does it require the man to be at the bottom, helpless to the ministrations of the person on top, but also forces the couple to look into each other's eyes. 
You could just imagine the way Mickey would fall apart for you, staring at you in awe with those pretty blue eyes as he whines for more. How his hands would clumsily grope against the contours of your body as he braces against pleasures he’s never known before. 
You clutch the page of instructions enough to crumple the edge as the scene plays in your mind. 
You mustn’t get ahead of yourself. 
It’ll probably be a while before you get to that point in your relationship with Mickey anyway.
You set the piece of paper down and look around at the empty room. So this is your life now. 
He didn’t come back until the following night. 
You assumed the delay was due to the printing process, which takes about a day, so you braced yourself to meet Mickey 18. After all, each new Mickey is an exact copy of the last—yet subtle differences always emerge. 
For all you know, the next Mickey could be a freak… but you’re sure that no matter how he turns out, you’ll probably fall for him too. 
It’s still Mickey, after all.
But as it turned out, you didn’t have to worry about that. The Mickey returning to you was still 17.
After he was taken away, he was given an experimental medication that successfully counteracted the effects of the lab-made meat. Of course, after barely ten minutes to recover, he was immediately sent to the back storage room of the ship to fix a collapsing corridor—because why not?
Which is why, despite coming back as the same Mickey 17, he still bore bruises, scratch marks, and a slight limp.
Trust the science sector to throw Mickey into a mission the second he recovered from food poisoning!
You expected to return to an empty room – one cluttered with unpacked boxes, your few belongings, and an unmade bed. But instead, Mickey was sitting on the bed, printed-out instructions in one hand and the flimsy bundle of gaudy roses in the other.
There’s a palm-sized bruise on his neck – probably from the indelicate syringe that the scientists like to poke him with – and a few scratches on his forehead and arms. 
He looks up from the paper as you enter, wearing the same confused expression he had at dinner the night before.
“So the fake meat didn’t make me hallucinate this…” He mumbles in disbelief, eyes bouncing between the paper, the roses, and you. 
“Mickey, you’re…” Still alive? Still 17? Still – “...here.” 
“Yeah – I-I’m sorry you had to see that yesterday.” He’s suddenly sheepish as he recalls the last time he saw you. “The experiments are usually more isolated, but I guess they just wanted my authentic reaction to the food or something.” 
You walk over and sit next to him on the bed. He subtly scoots over to give you more space, eyes widening at the sudden loss of distance between you. You wish he wouldn’t, but you don’t say anything.
“No, don’t apologize. I’m just… happy to see you.” You offer him a small smile. “The same you.”
“You noticed?” He looks surprised, like no one has ever really paid attention to him before. 
“I always notice you, Mickey.” Your voice is soft, yet the words carry so much weight.
Again, those pretty blue eyes widen, silently asking about every layer of meaning in your admission—so close to you. Then, he breaks eye contact, preferring to look at the floor as he turns your words in his mind. You notice subtle blotches of pink coloring the base of his neck and the tops of his cheeks.
Oh no. Maybe he’s uncomfortable…
“I-I mean…I saw that you still have that one healed cut from the other day…” Amid your rambling, you miss the small smile that tugs at the corner of his lips. “...not that I’m watching you or anything, I just guard the lab most of the time and see you–”
“Thanks.” He interrupts you with a soft voice – quiet enough that you would have missed it if you weren’t so intent on noticing his every move.
“...Thanks?”
“For looking out for me. You’re the only one who treats me like a human being and not some…lab rat.” He looks down at the paper in his hand, “I’m actually…kinda glad we were paired together for this protocol.”
Your heart skips a beat at his words.
He’s glad? To be with you?
“Really?”  
“Yeah. We’ve known each other for a while…and you’re a lot nicer than anyone else on this ship…” His eyes flick up to meet yours, “I’m sorry you got roped into this though…”
“It’s okay, it was bound to happen at some point.” You shrug, still riding the high that he likes you enough to endure this twisted experiment by your side, “It’s what we all expected when going on this voyage.” 
He rubs against the blotchy bruise on his neck thoughtfully, “But we’re the first ones to…you know…”
“Procreate?” 
He blushes when you say it. “Yeah.”
“If it makes you feel any better, we can start slow.” 
“But don’t we have a schedule to keep up with?”
"Okay then, we can start slower." You take the paper from his hand and glance over the list. "The daily check-ins don’t start for a few days, so… how about a date?"
“A date?”
“Unless you want to jump right into it.” You tease.
“N-no,” he stammers, “I didn’t mean–”
You rest a hand on his thigh, and he instantly falls silent, eyes fixed on where you're touching him. “Tomorrow let’s do something, just the two of us.”
“O-okay.” He immediately agrees. 
255 notes · View notes
elsecrytt · 6 months ago
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you fucking hate your job.
unfortunately, you also need it.
some old money family hires you to play housekeeper for their weird ass son. satoru gojo, you think.
he's handsome. just looking at him is a treat; stark white hair, bright blue eyes, a face like an actual idol.
and then he opens his mouth. illusion ruined.
whatever. you don't care that much about his "wow! you really didn't dress up for work, huh?" and "so, let me guess... no boyfriend?" you’ve dealt with worse.
you'd been excited when you got this job. you're broke. the pay is great. you're ready to do anything to not get fired.
you keep the apartment completely spotless, despite how many candy wrappers and packages he leaves around, the disaster that is his stupid fancy bathroom. 
seriously, who leaves soap and shampoo everywhere like that? who jerks off in the shower that often? throws towels around and knocks bottles and toothbrushes over? it's like he's trying to leave a mess.
you do his laundry, which he just leaves on the floor like a goddamn animal. there's some clothes with gross, crusty white on them.
one time, you'd caught him staring at you while you picked it up, smirking all the while.
this is the guy you’re being paid to look after. and you’re fucking trying! god, do you ever try!
you cook meals from scratch, hours-long, intensive processes. you check his fridge, shamelessly dig through his garbage to see what he likes and try to make things he'll enjoy.
he leaves empty boxes of takeout on the counter, your homemade dinner in the trash, untouched.
it's in your contract. you can't not cook for him. and you can't eat anything, either, not when you're terrified of getting fired and he obviously likes to make you miserable.
and your landlord just informed you last month - rent will be going up. and not by a small amount.
you'd just finished digging yourself out of one hole and life kicks you right back down.
you don't know how you're going to make rent this month. fuck, you don't even know what you're going to have for dinner. if you can afford dinner. if you can even afford to put the heat on tonight.
it's not even a question. obviously the answer is no.
sitting on the plush, luxury couch in gojo’s apartment, you bury your head in your hands, and cry.
maybe you can get another job? but there's only so many hours in the day. you're so fucking sick of working all the time. you already do.
is it too much to ask for life to cut you a fucking break?
"what's wrong?" your least favorite voice interrupts - and a hand on your shoulder, shaking you, none-too-gently.
"don't tell me..." there's that smugness, "are you cryin'?"
"sorry, i just need a minute." you say, swallowing your anger to look him in the eyes. "i just got some bad news. my landlord is raising the rent next month."
"oh?" his tone is only getting worse, "so what? just move out. or get some roommates, or whatever you poor people do."
god, the fucking mouth on this man.
"soooo? sounds like poor planning on your part," satoru says, casually leaning onto the edge of the couch, "i just don't get why you're crying about it. like, that's kinda pathetic, you know?" he snickers -
SLAP
dead silence. a sting on your hand. satoru's face bent to the side. you don't even regret it. not right now, as angry as you are.
"you-" a rant is just about to spring from your lips, and then -
satoru grabs your hands, pulling them into his, right in front of his face.
his cheeks are dusted red. pretty eyes wide and dilated, fixed on you. mouth twisted in a grin.
you glance down to the front of his pants, where a noticeable bulge has formed.
"do it again."
328 notes · View notes
anyamaris · 6 months ago
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Make Me
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Pairing: Kim Seokjin x F!reader
Summary: Things between you and your long time best friend take a turn one day into forbidden territory-will you be able to go back to the friendship that you hold so dear?
Genre/AU: Best friends to FWB, non-idol au, angst/smut
Rating: 18+/M for mature
Word Count: 5782
Warnings: Adult Language, unprotected sex, playful banter/insults, unexpected sex, creampie, mild angst after the deed
A/N: Thank you to my beta readers @pars-ley @colormepurplex2 @yoonguurt you're amazing! @pars-ley for the ridiculously gorgeous banner and @cafekitsune for the dividers!
I was going to do this in a one shot, but I got a bit carried away and this will end up being at least two parts.
Taglist: @lapydiaries @bangtanwritershq @thebtswritersclub @ksmutsociety @frenchkisstheabyss
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Dinner parties at Yoongi’s are always a great time, the combination of Sky’s hosting abilities and both of their cooking skills make any event they throw a complete smash.
You glance at the group bantering in the other room as you gather the dishes from the table, laughing at the chaos already starting.  
“Stop, you’re a guest,” Sky tells you, but you just ignore her and continue to help despite her narrow–eyed look.
Giggling, you take off into the kitchen as she sighs behind you.  
“They’re so cute, I knew they’d eventually end up together.” You tell her as she follows you, noting your glance at Namjoon and your long-time friend, Ty.
“Of course, totally called it.” Sky agrees, and you share a secret smile.
Since they first met, Sky has been whispering to you about the inevitability of it, and as always, she’s spot on.
Well, almost always, you think, smiling inwardly.
Her own story with Yoongi was something to behold, that was for sure.
A squeaky, wheezing laugh greets your ears as Sky swats you away from attempting to do the dishes, so you finally give up to go find out what is going on in the other room.
Before the door to the kitchen swings shut, you smirk as you hear Yoongi’s deep voice.
“You’d better leave those, baby, or -”
Shaking your head, you go plop down next to Hoseok, eyes locked on Jin as he rambles on about some incident at the practice room.
“What’s he on about?”you ask Hoseok, leaning over towards him as your eyes just watch the animated man yapping a mile a minute.
“Who knows, I tuned him out a while ago.” Hoseok chuckles as he shakes his head.  
“Did someone bring the WD-40?” you ask as Jin lets out another one of his signature windshield wiper laughs.
“Yah!” he says, eyes wide with fake anger as he turns on you, causing the whole room to erupt into laughter.
You shoot a wink across to Ty, who is curled up with Namjoon on the opposite couch as Jin and Jungkook resume their little argument.
Sky was almost always right, you think again, settling in to enjoy the evening.
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You open your eyes to your phone blaring at you, your jaw cracking as you yawn and clear the morning fog from your mind.
You know it’s Jin before you even look; he’d somehow managed to get ahold of your phone and used his ridiculous laugh for his personal ringtone.
You just shake your head as you slide the answer call button.
“Hey, something up? Shouldn’t you be working?” You ask, rolling your neck and rubbing the sleepiness from your eyes.  
“Yeah, I should be but a pipe burst at my place and the whole ceiling came down. Dealing with this for now, but I have a favor to ask…” 
His voice is punctuated by people talking in the background and you can hear him cover the phone with his hand as he answers something.
Probably the landlord and workers, you think.
“Of course you can come stay til it’s fixed, Jin.  You don’t even need to ask.” you tell him, sitting up to swing your legs out of the bed.  
“Ah, thank you! I appreciate it, you know I won’t be a bad roomie.” You can hear the relief in his otherwise tense tone.
“Didn’t want to ask the newlyweds?” you tease, knowing very well Namjoon’s place would be very...unwelcoming to guests at the moment.
His snort just has you grinning as you make your way to peek into the guest bedroom, already taking stock of what you need to do to get it ready for him.
“Seriously, I’m all for them being together but that’s different than rooming there…ugh the noises alone…”
You can only laugh at his tone and nod as you turn to go make a list of things to do today.
Step one, coffee.
“Sure you don’t want to stay with Yoongi and-”
“Don’t even say it, you know how bad it was last time.” he groans.
“Yes, yes, I don’t want to hear the details again about my friend's sex life.  Grab whatever and I’ll have the room ready.  You still have your key?” you ask, setting about your morning routine.
“Yep.  Are you staying in today?” he asks, and you can hear the voices calling for him once more.
“Yeah, I may run out for a moment but other than that I’ll be here.  Go take care of that.  See you in a bit.”
You hang up, letting out another big yawn as you pad over to peek into the fridge.
I’ll have to run to the grocery store too, you put on your mental checklist.
One of the things you love the most about when Jin comes over is cooking together, so you always have to make sure you have some fun things to work with.
Deciding to put off your writing for the day since Jin is coming, you focus on getting some laundry going before heading out to grab some things.
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The weeks following Jin temporarily moving in go as they normally do for the two of you.
Early mornings where Jin is waking up as he makes his way out to early practice or the studio, as you are finally closing your laptop after an all-nighter.
Your schedules have a brief overlap, allowing you to catch up with each other about random things over quick shared simple breakfasts before he’s rushing out the door as you shuffle off to sleep the day away.
Completing your most recent chapter ahead of deadline, you find yourself slowly getting back to a regular schedule and can catch up with some more social activities.
Yoongi had taken Sky with him on some kind of work related trip, and most of your friends were busy with their own schedules.
You hadn’t the heart to harass Ty too much with the new relationship, knowing that her infrequent text responses are a good sign that she’s likely quite busy.
Lounging on the couch, you scroll through the most recent conversations.
“Namjoon’s keeping her occupied.” you hum happily as Jin leans over your shoulder to read the text on your phone.
The scent of fresh soap washes over you and you glance behind at the man now hovering over you.
Clad in only a towel around his waist, his damp hair tickles your cheek as you turn to raise your eyebrow at him.
“Is that my towel?” you ask, sighing at the cute little sunflowers now adorning his otherwise naked body.
“It looks good on me.” He winks at you, and you can’t help but push his face away, rolling your eyes at him.
“I left one for you, Seokjin! I just did the laundry! Why are you using mine?” 
Walking around to go grab a water bottle from the fridge, he just takes a long swig before he’s turning to finally answer you.
“Don’t want to share?” he grins, reaching out to lean against the wall beside him.  
“Ugh, don’t pose to try to look sexy, Jin.  Now I won’t be able to use that again, just the thought of your dick tainting my pretty little flowers….” you sigh dramatically, looking back at your messages.  
“Try?!” He scoffs, and you try to keep a straight face while his voice rises, anticipating the incoming rant.
“”Mhm…try.” 
“I’ll have you know, I’m considered very sexy!  You should have heard the staff talking about how handsome I am at the company today-!”
You merely nod, not looking up from your phone as he continues, doing your best to not burst into laughter.
Nodding absentmindedly, his rant finally just turns into muttering as he wanders off to hopefully put on some clothing.
It was always a good day when you got Jin to rant, it just means this is a win for you.
“What do you want to cook?” He asks as he shambles back out, finally drawing your attention as you finish answering some texts.
“Now there’s a question…” you say, hoisting yourself off the couch to go poke around with him in the fridge.
By the end of the evening, you find yourself in your normal spot, lounging with your leg over Jin’s, his arm perched behind you on the back of the couch as you watch the most recent episode of the drama you’d both decided on.
It was nice to have something to look forward to with your schedules being so wacky lately, and by the time it finishes, you’re happy to find that you’re tired while it’s still dark out.
Covering your mouth to hide the big yawn, you extract yourself from your best friend, checking the time.
“I may be able to sleep tonight and get up at a normal hour tomorrow,” you say.
Glancing over, you can’t help but smile at the half-asleep man blinking as if he didn’t fall asleep halfway through the show.  
“Go to bed, sleepyhead.” you tell him, reaching out to ruffle his hair as you make your way to your room.
“Yeah, bed.” he echoes sleepily, but before you can close the door to your room, he calls out.
“Hey, tomorrow the guys want to go out.  Letting you know ahead of time that I won’t be back til afternoon Saturday.” 
You nod, appreciating the heads up. 
“Alright, I almost forgot tomorrow was Friday.  Thanks for letting me know.” you wave to him, closing your door before heading to flop on your comfy bed.
Good, you could lounge around and have some alone time, you think.
It’s not as if Jin being here is a hardship, of course.
But you did miss not having to worry about having pants on in your own home.
Not that Jin would care, but you had some decency.  
It’s not like you wanted to go around flashing your best friend, even if he does use your towel like a jerk.
“So, when are you two announcing that you’ve moved in together and have been having a secret relationship this whole time?” 
Sky’s text from earlier just makes you shake your head, and Ty’s “Just get it over with and we can all be happy couples, girl.” only adds to your exasperation.
“Quiet, both of you.” you murmur, tossing your phone on the comforter as you curl up in bed.  
As if you haven’t had this conversation with pretty much every single person in your friend group, or heard some semblance of this mindset.
At this point, you’d both started to play into it, much to the dismay of your friends.
Have you ever had feelings for Seokjin? 
You surely appreciate his attractiveness, as much as you like to tease him.
He really is very handsome, of course.
But all of them are handsome in their own ways.
Ty and Sky both knew about your secret crush on Hoseok years ago, and that had gone nowhere for the same reason you’d never even attempted to think beyond the basics with Jin.
Especially with Jin.
You’d given up the idea before you let it get out of control or even let on about it.
Your friendship matters so much more than a physical relationship, even if you’ve pondered what it could be like.
This dynamic had been established basically from day one, way back in your first year of college when you’d met their friend group.  
As friends, you two were so open and honest, to the point of hilarity.  
He could match your energy and you enjoyed getting him as riled up as he got you.
You may tease each other and pretend to argue, but you’ve never actually had a true fight.
You knew once that line was crossed, feelings would get complicated.  
There was something special between you two and you treasured what you had right now.
For all you knew, the perfect dynamic of friendship you currently have could quickly turn into a really bad match if you ever dated.
You guarantee that Jin would agree with you, so there was nothing more to talk or think about.
Sighing into your pillow, cursing your friends for making you think about the same stupid things for the millionth time, you close your eyes to get some rest only to hear your phone ding one last time.
“I used your loofah too.”
“GODDAMNIT, KIM SEOKJIN!” 
You launch a pillow at your door as you hear his distant high-pitched laughter and clapping through the otherwise quiet apartment.
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“Where did I put my-aha!” 
You glance up at the man currently acting like he hasn’t packed everything he’s needed well ahead of time.
Rolling your eyes as he scoops up his favorite hoodie from the back of one of the kitchen stools, you can only shake your head as you return your focus to your last email of the day.  
“Hey, I saw that.” he huffs, padding to the door to get his shoes on, “Don’t miss me too much, brat. I know you’ll be counting the hours while I’m gone.” 
This draws your attention, eyebrow raised as you give him a deadpan look.
“Oh Kim Seokjin, how I pine for you. Whatever will I do without your presence nearby?”
Your monotone coaxes a laugh from him as he checks himself over once more, then turns to nod at you.
“I know, it’s tough but you’re strong.  You’ll survive this.  Hwaiting!” He raises both fists to you before saluting.
Snorting at his antics, you just shake your head and return to your email to send it.
“Yeah yeah, have fun, catch lots of fish, yadda yadda, don’t get eaten by a shark…” 
Before you can finish, the door is swinging shut, the sound of Jin singing loudly slowly fading down the hall as he leaves.
“Dumbass,” you mutter, unable to keep the smile off your face.  
Closing your laptop, you stretch and look around your now empty apartment.
“Ah, freedom for a night!” You say to the walls, bouncing up to go change into something comfier.  
The plan for the evening is to lounge around and watch some music videos, cooing over your current idol crush all while not wearing pants.
Letting your mind wander, you calculate how long Jin has been staying with you.
A little over a month at this point, you think.  
He’d just gotten the call this week that his place would be ready very soon, so he wouldn’t be here much longer.
Though, it was no hardship to cohabitate with him, definitely not.
Most of the time, it was more comforting knowing someone was around, even if he steals your used towels and laughs like a hyena.
Still…
You love your best friend, but a girl needs her alone time.
When was the last time you even got a chance to release some pent up sexual frustration?
You’re not entirely sure how it’s been for him, but you know for sure that it was a little too weird to even make use of your special drawer next to your bed knowing he could be listening in at any time.  
Not that you’re ashamed of masturbating, but there was also the idea of making him uncomfortable as your guest.
Though, in reality, you know he’s more likely to bring it up at breakfast and tease you about vibrator noises than feel embarrassed over it, like he did last time.
Regardless, it has been a while since you’ve even gone on a date, let alone had any physical encounters.
It’s not necessarily a plan to do anything tonight, but knowing that if you get in the mood you can do so openly.
“Right on the couch!” You announce, letting out a little cackle as you toss on an oversized nightshirt, sans bra.  
Ahh liberation, you think, stopping to contemplate your special toy drawer.
“I'll be back for you later, Dannie.” You pat your little end table as you shuffle out to the couch, plopping down and not giving two shits if your panties are showing.
Smug and content, you settle in for a nice, cozy, intimate evening with yourself…and maybe a few named friends.
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Deciding against getting too freaky right away, you find yourself lounging happy on the couch.
A little over an hour has passed since you turned on the newest music on YouTube when you hear the sound of the door being unlocked .
Stiffening, you sit up straight, tense at the unexpected intrusion.
Who else had a key besides you and Jin??
Confused, and grateful you’d stopped singing at the top of your lungs due to the song ending, you feel your heart leap into your throat a moment before the door swings open to reveal Jin.
Blowing out a relieved breath, you place your hand over your heart.  
“Holy shit, Jin!” You almost yell, falling back on the couch, fear dissipating into annoyance.
His big, wide eyes blink absently at you, confusion written all over his face.
“Sorry, sorry, I should have texted.  The trip got canceled at the last minute so we ate before I came back.” He sighs, tossing his bag on a nearby table as he removes his shoes.
“Well that sucks,” you say, glancing at your phone.  “At least they fed you.”
He just nods, finally turning to face you and take in the scene.
“Did I interrupt?” He asks, leaning against the door frame as he scans you.
Unwilling to give him the pleasure of your embarrassment, you just feign annoyance as he gives you a cheeky smirk.
“Never seen a girl without her pants on before, Jin? I understand.” You shoot back, turning back to your TV, using the remote to pretend to look for something to watch.
He snorts, huffing out a laugh.
“You know, if you missed my handsome face that much, you could have just told me.” 
“Ha!” You retort, rolling your eyes, “There goes my plans to masturbate on the couch to porn, not to you.”  
Instead of laughing or walking away, the frustrating man just waltzes over, plopping himself down beside you.  
“Oh by all means, don’t let me stop you.”  He gestures to the TV, never taking his eyes from you.
Oh here we go, you think, narrowing your eyes at him.
Eyeing the arm he tosses casually across the back of the couch behind you, you fight the urge to elbow him in the gut.
It always starts like this with you two.
Your mouth is faster than your brain half the time when he says infuriating things, and vice versa.
It's the majority of the reason you get along so well, but also the reason for some serious competitive moments.
The self congratulatory look on his face says it all; he thinks he’s already won and you can’t have that.
“The last thing I’d want is to embarrass you by showing you something you’ve never seen before.” Your eyes are locked on the television as you try to ignore his gaze.
He chuckles, relaxing as he gestures to the screen, “Oh please, as if Namjoon hasn’t ruined computers downloading-” he starts but you cut him off.
“Oh I don’t mean porn, Jin. I mean you seeing a woman experiencing pleasure in your company.” 
It’s almost adorable how his lips twist up and purse, and you can’t help but gloat inwardly as the barb hits its intended target.
Before you can bask in the early victory, he’s leaning in close and you can’t help but shiver at how his warm breath tickles the shell of your ear.
“Perhaps if you had better taste in men, you wouldn’t have to rely on that little stash of fake dicks in your drawer so much.” 
Swallowing, your eyes narrow at his comment even as his fingertips dip into the strands of your hair to tease at the nape of your neck.
He chuckles softly, blowing gently into your ear as you seethe, your mind reeling because that one is a little too close to home, and he promised to never bring that up again.  
You can feel your cheeks stain as you struggle to not let him win this one.
“That one hurt, didn’t it?” He teases and you just nudge him with your shoulder as you turn to glare at him.  “If your taste ever improves and you need a real man to show you-”
He winks and you just snort at him, unwilling to concede that his little touches and nearness is affecting you much more than his taunts are right now.
You can’t stop yourself from leaning in closer to him, reaching up to brush back a strand of dark hair from his brow.  
“Oh don’t worry, Seokjin.  I’ll make sure to call Hoseok.” 
His eyes fly wide open at your words, head snapping back as he blinks at you in his typical dramatic way.
“HOSEOK?” He yells, and you can’t help but start giggling as he goes to grab you, dodging him and rolling off the couch before bouncing up to stick your tongue out at him.
“What’s wrong, Jin? Jealous?” 
You dance over near your door to put some space between you, giddy at watching the vein in his neck pulse and his jaw clench.
You don’t know why, but sometimes invoking Hoseok’s name just gets the best reaction out of him.
His eyebrows shoot up as he slowly stands, and the stern look on his face has your stomach doing somersaults.
God, why is he so hot? You think off handedly, trying not to admire the width of those goddamn shoulders.
“Are you scared?” He retorts, ignoring your question, eyeing you as you go on the defensive.  
You let out a huff, pretending to toss your hair as you eye him from head to toe.
“Scared? Of you? Unlikely, I could have you pinned in an instant.”  
It’s his turn to scoff at you, and he raises a hand and gestures at you, beckoning you over.  
“Come here and prove it then.” he taunts, giving you his signature smirk.
There’s a beat of silence as you stare one another down and you tense before you toss out your next words.
“Make me.”
The tension in the room builds as his eyes seem to darken, hardening yet dancing with excitement as he lowers his head.  
The squeal you let out echoes through the room as he finally springs towards you, your heart thumping wildly as he rushes at you.  
Barely evading him, you dart into the kitchen, putting the island between you as he chases, feigning back and forth before sprinting back into the living room, then down the hallway.  
“You can’t outrun me-!” He calls out, and you can’t refute that fact, but you’re sure as hell going to try.
Laughing and shrieking, fear and excitement coursing through you, you can feel him gaining and you make the mistake of looking back over your shoulder to check.
Unfortunately, this causes you to overshoot the door to your room, allowing him to all but slam into you as he wraps his arm around your waist from behind. 
Lifting you and spinning you as you kick your feet, you can feel his hot breath on your neck as he tries to catch his breath. 
“Make you, huh?” He pants, forcing you around so you’re facing him.
You can’t stop letting out little giggles and yelps as he cages you against the wall, grasping one of your wrists to hold you in place. 
As if his body pressing you against the wall isn’t enough to keep you there.
Catching your breath, you try to stop laughing as you suck in air.  
“Mmm, yes make me.” you quip, looking defiantly up at him.  
His dark eyes flit back and forth across your face, then down at how he has you pinned to the wall, then back up again.
His throat bobs as he swallows heavily and the reality of the position you’re in suddenly hits you.
His body pressed against you, arm over your head, the bulge in his pants stiff against your thigh.
Breath hitching, tamping down on the arousal that slams through-you just blurt out with a laugh,
“Kim Seokjin, are you hard?”
The rosy tinge that creeps up his neck fascinates you as you wiggle your hips a little, causing him to gasp and he loosens his hold on your wrist in shock.
“Thinking about Hoseok gets you going, eh?” You tease, taking advantage of the moment to slip under his arm and rush into his room with a cackle.
Your head is spinning at just how much you want to find out what would happen if you explored this avenue, your body reacting to everything much faster than your brain can talk any sense into it.
Your name echoes through the apartment in a deeper tone than you’re used to him using, almost in warning as you leap onto his bed to scramble away from him and possibly find something to use for bartering.
Maybe his plushie-?
Shit, my ass is completely exposed, you think a brief moment before you feel his hand clamp around your ankle like a vice.
The thought that this is an extremely dangerous situation for you both flits through your mind as he yanks you down the bed towards him and easily flips you over, his weight landing on you as he pins you down.
“You’re such a little shit, you know?” He states simply, battling with your arms as you attempt to tickle him, finally managing to restrain you by holding your wrists down on either side of your head.  
Assessing your current position, you can’t see any path to freedom as you wriggle beneath him, your tangled limbs combined with his full weight on you not allowing for a way out.
Snickering at his comment, you only nod happily as he stares down at you in a mixture of frustration and…amusement?
Something has his eyes gleaming as his chest heaves against yours.  
Countless times you’ve played this little cat and mouse game, and countless times you’ve found yourself in positions much like this with Jin.
But for some reason, tonight feels different, as if there’s a tight rope you’re both walking and one little slip up will have you both falling into unknown depths.
It’s as if time stands still as the tension in your stomach coils, both of you studying one another as if silently daring the other to push.  
“I know.” You say, your voice huskier than you’re used to hearing it.
Shifting, you swear you can feel the pulse in his erection against your inner thigh and you involuntarily clench as your mind battles with your rising lust.
“You’re not wearing a bra.” He states, definitely not a question.  
“I’m not.” you reply, acknowledging how your nipples have been responding to his chest rubbing against yours.
“I won…but you’re cheating.” His voice is softer now, yet there’s an edge to it that has you wanting to rub your thighs together to ease this tension.
If only he wasn’t pinning you down.
“Lies.” You claim, but your body rebels eagerly as you wiggle beneath him.
A small struggle ensues until you manage to push your legs open so that his very sizable cock is pressing right where you want him most.
What am I doing? 
The thought is fleeting as much more important needs are making themselves known.
The breath leaves Jin in a woosh, followed by a soft groan as his hips jerk forward against you.
Heat spreads through you as the entire situation teeters on the limits of just playing around, and you know that if one of you doesn’t give in then this could be a very complicated predicament.
Yet, the “giving in” you desire most right now isn’t putting a halt to things. 
Heat pools in your lower abdomen as your buried, forbidden longing claws its way to the surface to make itself known.
“Admit defeat.” You finally say, even as your hips lift against him.  
You can’t help but relish the way his eyes roll, his lips pursing as he lets out a grunt at your tactics.  
Silence fills the room as you both search one another’s eyes, asking something that you can’t form the words for. 
“Is that what you really want?” He inquires softly, head tilting as his eyes flit back and forth as if implying something much more than simply giving up.
Only a moment ticks by before you nod once, your heart beating in your throat, then he says one simple thing that changes everything.
“You win.”
His mouth is on yours before you can take another breath.
The hands gripping your wrists disappear and your arms are snaking around his neck, his fingers slipping behind your neck as he rubs his thumb against your pulse.  
A low keening noise leaves your throat as his plush lips dance over yours, his tongue slipping along the seam as you open eagerly for him.
Fuck he can kiss, you think dizzily, even as his free hand slips down to tug at your shirt hem.  
Time stretches and compacts as you both tear at each other’s clothing in a frenzy, only parting lips to tug one another’s shirts over your heads to toss them away.
His scent overwhelms you, his own natural scent of nectar mixed with the cedar and fig of his cologne. 
It’s a fragrance you’ve always loved but now it’s spiraling you out of control as moisture pools in the fabric of your panties.
You breathe a wanton moan into his mouth as his large hand cups your tender breast, kneading and brushing the pad of his thumb across your taut nipple.
“Brat.” he groans as your back arches at his touch, his lips skimming down the column of your throat.  
Your fingers tangle in his hair, tugging harshly as your other hand traces a path down his spine.  
“Prick,” you retort, even as his teeth nip at your collarbone.  
“Shut up.” he grunts as your legs wrap around him.
“Fuck me,” you respond in kind even as his hand leaves your neck to slip between you, yanking desperately at the button of his pants.
His only reply is freeing himself finally, kicking off the rest of his clothing then assisting you as you tear at your panties, not even caring if they’re ripped in the process.
You’ve both gone beyond the point of asking at this point.
You cry out in euphoria as he only takes a moment to look down between you to position himself before he’s thrusting deep within you.
Your blended moans are swallowed as his lips crash against yours once more, his tongue plunging into the depths of your mouth as he stretches you deliciously.  
Tears prick the back of your eyelids at the insanity of it all, the heady mixture of pleasure and relief, the almost sacrilegious act you’re both committing.
You don’t think you’ve ever wanted anything more than you want this right now, with him.
The thought has your head spinning, pushing the implication of it away as you rake your fingernails down his back, his deep moans followed up by soft whines barreling you inevitably to a rapid climax.
Before you can even fully realize it, you’re clamping tightly around him and breaking the kiss to scream his name loudly as your climax rips through your entire being.
Your name drips from his lips as sweat drips from his brow, his face contorted in beautiful ecstasy as you pry your eyes open, needing to see him as his hips snap against yours.  
“Again, let me see you-” he gasps out, lowering his forehead to yours, his eyes locked on yours.
You can only nod as you swallow harshly, cradling his head as you grasp at his shoulders, unable to look away as his wordless cries grow louder and more desperate.
His lush lips part, his cheeks flushed gloriously as you urge him with your eyes, with your hips, with your cries to let go for you; with you.
His hips stutter as you feel yet another orgasm tear through you, his moans reaching a crescendo as he thrusts forward one final time, emptying within you in a hot flood.
He buries his face into the crook of your neck as his entire body quakes, hips stuttering erratically as he collapses fully onto you.
Your fingers comb through his now damp hair, a layer of sweat clinging to both of you from the exertion as you both attempt to regulate your breathing.  
You can feel his heart racing against your naked breasts, and time extends as you both lay entangled in a spent heap.  
“Jin-” is all you manage before he’s shushing you, lifting himself before his mouth is covering yours, silencing whatever it was you are about to say.  
As your sanity slowly returns, you open your mouth to say something, anything. 
Grateful, you surrender to his wordless command.
It’s not as if anything you could say now would make any sense after that.
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Darkness surrounds you as you open your eyes slowly, the fog of sleep clearing as you feel a heavy weight pressing on your chest.
Reality slams into you as the crown of Jin’s head becomes slightly visible in the dim room.  
Your heart thumps as you gaze at him, cheek pressed against your left breast as he breathes softly in his sleep.
The ache between your legs is far too welcoming as you study his gorgeous pouty lips, his dark lashes only highlighting how handsome he is, especially like this.
You tentatively reach up to caress his cheek, gently tracing his eyebrows, his cheekbones, his lower lip.  
He snuggles you at the touch, his lips twitching in an almost smile as he smacks his lips happily in his sleep.  
Oh fuck this is so dangerous, you think, panic washing through you.  
What the fuck did we just do?
Feeling dread wash over you, all you can think to do is slowly extract yourself from the slumbering man, pausing every so often as he stirs until you can slip from the bed.
Before you can collect your thoughts, you need to get away from him…now.  
As you shut his door softly, you place your hand over your heart as your mind races.  
The last thing you expected was to be sneaking out of Jin’s room with his semen leaking down your thighs.  
Scurrying to the bathroom, you barely manage to suppress the frustrated scream bubbling up in your throat.
Did you just ruin your perfect friendship?
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anarchy-and-piglins · 7 months ago
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Tommy tries not to stay too long because Mareep gets sad when she's lonely.
She can't tell him this - she's a sheep and all. But she shows it in the way she nuzzles her gentle head into Tommy's chest when he returns, as if she's trying to push out all those sharp and bunched up feelings that get stuck there. They're not bad feelings though. Not good feelings either.
Just feelings. A lot of fucking feelings.
But Tommy likes visiting the cabin. Even back when, it always felt so far removed from everything else. So quiet, not always in the positive sense. He loved it and he hated it. That seems to sum up about everything he remembers from that time.
(He went in once, the first time he visited. Not anymore. Everything was covered in dust, hollow and empty, and Tommy couldn't breathe for reasons beyond the stifled air.)
Being there doesn't hurt the same.
Tommy still marvels at that. Yes, it still hurts and yes, it always will. But there's more than the hurt now. He remembers the laughter and the stupid jokes and the bench and Henry and man, does it feel as if he's aged a decade. He hasn't. He's young. And there's so much ahead of him.
Then the snow shifts behind him with the soft crunching of footsteps. He turns around, and a person Tommy has thought about pretty much every other day for the last eight months is standing against the treeline.
"Hullo," Technoblade says, as if they have seen each other yesterday. He looks a little less exhausted, and a little less jumpy than Tommy has ever seen him before. Tommy's hand curls around the handle of his sword and then relaxes.
"Hey," he says. Then he swallows. "I didn't know you still came around here."
"I don't," Techno says. "Just came to pick up some stuff I left behind."
"Yeah?"
Techno walks around him in a little arch, and in a way that keeps him facing Tommy at least from the side, never the back. Tommy hates that this is who they are now.
And then Techno scoffs lightly, kicking at some rocks Tommy had been piling into a tower once when he was deep in thought. "Bruh, you're not ruining my property value again, are you?"
Automatically, Tommy laughs. Bright and sudden, and sincere. "Wha- Fuck you, you just said you don't live here anymore."
"I could be on my landlord arc," Techno says dryly.
Tommy should leave it at that. The part deep inside him that still feels raw and scared - as if he's sixteen again and the ocean is endless before him - recoils at all of this. But Tommy knows that part of him can be wrong, sometimes, in how it reacts to things. In how it refuses to embrace change.
"What have you been doing?" he asks. Techno watches him for a moment, a little guarded. He shrugs.
"Farmin'," Techno answers after that small second of hesitation. "Hibernating. Just doing my own thing, away from everybody. I'm done being hounded by people." He brushes some hair from his face, longer now than when he was living on this server. Tommy doesn't think he has never seen Techno without fresh scars or bandaged knuckles. It suits him.
"Sounds nice," Tommy says. He thinks about his little cottage, and Tubbo's honey, and how he's been starting to grow his own flowers.
"It is," Techno agrees.
Tommy leaves quickly after that. But when he returns two days later, there is a glint of round netherite hanging from one of the fence post. A compass with an emerald inlaid in the back, that points to a place very far away.
Tommy doesn't think he's quite ready to follow it. But someday he will be.
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anonsturniolo · 9 months ago
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Handcuffed to love ✧₊⁺
policeofficer/probationofficer!matt x criminal!reader
Part 2 of ???
Part 1- HERE
warnings: mentions of drugs. mature themes follow, read at your own risk.
“Where have you been?” My roommate demanded the second I cracked open the door to our shared apartment. I let out a loud sigh, dropping my keys in the dish by the front door. 
I rounded the couch before throwing myself into it, getting comfortable, “I got caught last night bro.” I whined, rolling onto my back and throwing my arms over my face. 
“What the hell happened.” I begin to retell the story of last night into this morning, making sure to leave out the fact I had basically fallen in love with the cop that arrested me. Jade sits beside me in disbelief. 
“So your PO is coming tomorrow morning?” She asks, making me nod. “If you need anything, I’ll be at Jacksons place.” She announces, getting up and going to her room. I wasn’t even surprised, she mostly stayed at her boyfriend's place already. 
Once she left, I decided to take a shower. I probably should’ve done that when I got home but I just wanted to lay down and rot for a bit. The bed I had to sleep in last night was pretty comparable to a slab of concrete. Once I finished my skincare and changed into my blue and black flannel, a simple black tank top, I was out like a light when my head hit the pillow. 
I was startled awake, feeling like I was being watched. I quickly sit up in bed and flick on the lamp on my nightstand. A quiet scream leaves my mouth once I look to my doorway, to see Matt Sturniolo leaning against the doorframe with an unimpressed expression on his face. 
“What the fuck?!” I spit out, getting out of bed. 
Matt raises his hands, as if it would calm me down in the slightest, “You didn’t answer the door okay? Had to make sure you were here, or alive at the very least.” He replies, turning sideways as I barrel past him. I make my way to the front door to see the damage, but I’m pleasantly surprised to see none. 
“Your landlord let me in.” He comments from behind me. I spin on my heel, a new fire lighting within me. 
“Why the hell did he let you in?” I ask him, crossing my arms across my chest. I took a second to take him in, as he wasn’t wearing his uniform. He had a cream sweater on, light blue loose fitting jeans, tan tims on his feet, and a red hat on his head. He looked nothing like a cop.
He pulled his badge out of his pocket, “Just had to show him this sweetheart.” He grinned at me, before turning around and walking into my kitchen. I followed him with a huff, watching as he opened every cabinet, looking for a few seconds, before moving on to the next one. 
“Is this really necessary?” I ask him once he opens the dishwasher. 
“No.” He immediately replies. I throw my hands up in the air and leave the kitchen. If he wants to go the extra mile, so be it. I’m not gonna follow him around like I have something to hide anyway. 
“You’re 21 aren’t you?” He asks me, walking into the living room. 
I raise an eyebrow at him, “You’re telling me you don’t know how old I am?” I ask, tilting my head in a condescending manner. 
“Drop the attitude.” He glares at me, before entering my bedroom. I can hear him shuffle a few things around, before he walks out with a cocky smirk on his face. He sits down across from me on my loveseat. 
I can’t hold it in anymore, “The fuck is that smirk about?” I ask him, knowing damn well I didn’t have anything that could even slightly incriminate myself.
“I found something interesting in your room s’all.” He replies, his smirk growing, “It’s pink, has a couple different settings-”
“Enough!” I cut him off, letting my head fall into my hands. Of course he found my vibrator of all things. I could feel my cheeks heat up with embarrassment, my head snapping up once he began to chuckle. 
“No boyfriend I take it?” He questions, leaning back against my loveseat, and I can’t help but notice how appealing his lap looks at the moment. A perfect place for me to sit. 
I shake my head, ridding myself of my dirty thoughts, “No boyfriend.” I confirm, not missing the way his face lit up. We go over a few more boring details before he rises from his seat, heading for the front door.
“That’s it?” I ask him, watching as he pauses by the front door. He turns to face me with an unreadable expression. 
He takes a few strides to look down at me, that same cocky smirk on his face, “What, did you expect me to bend you over the kitchen table and have my way with you?” He questions me darkly, his eyes flashing towards my lips for a brief second. 
My breath hitches and he, of course, takes notice. He leans down slightly to the point where I can feel his breath fan across my face, “You’ll be hearing from me, darlin’.” Matt murmurs to me before he gives me one last look, and then he’s gone. 
I let out a huff once he’s gone, and can’t help but let my mind drift as I walk back into my bedroom. All of my dresser drawers are closed and my bed appears to be untouched. I pull back the covers to lay back down, but I’m shocked as I see my pink vibrator resting in the center of my bed, a note attached to it. 
Instantly I rip it off my bed, my heart pounding. Matt had grabbed one of my sticky notes from my desk and stuck it on the side with the settings. I unfold the note and my jaw nearly touches the floor. 
Think about me when you use this, sweetheart 
I bite my lip at the suggestiveness, how the hell did he find out I was even attracted to him? I’m usually really good about keeping a stone face around people that make me nervous, but maybe jail scared that right out of me. 
I throw all caution to the wind and lay down, raising my hips to pull my shorts and underwear down in one go. I eye the vibrator, clicking the small power button and familiarizing myself with the consistent buzz. My eyes flutter shut as I let the small wand travel down my body, my hips jolting as it finally connects to my clit. 
“Taking it so well f’me.” Matt groans into my ear, his dick fucking into me at a ravenous pace. His hands grip my hips so tightly I’ll be left with bruises, and it sends a surge of pleasure through my body. My hands claw into his back once he starts to thrust upwards, the tip of his dick hitting my sweet spot over and over. 
“Matt,” I choke out between moans, making him lift his head from my neck where he had been leaving harsh kisses, “So close.” I whine once our eyes meet, his eyes darkening once he sees my fucked out expression. 
He leans back, thrusting even harder while letting his eyes travel down to where we were connected, “Holy shit.” He groans, lifting a hand to press down on my lower stomach, “You feel me baby? How deep I’m fucking you.” He moans, pressing his thumb to my clit and rubbing furiously. 
My mouth drops in a silent scream as I finally cum, my pussy convulsing around his dick as he continues to fuck me. My broken moans between thrusts sends Matt over the edge, pumping me full of his cum, fucking me softly as if to ensure not a drop is wasted. 
“Good girl.” He quietly praises me, before softly pulling out and flopping onto the bed next to me, tugging me into his warm embrace. Matt places a kiss on my forehead before I’m suddenly shaken from my delusions by my phone ringing. 
I shakily pick up my phone, seeing a phone number I don’t recognize, “Hello?” My voice slightly wobbles as I speak, making me look down to my bed. I had fucking squirted while imagining Matt fucking me, my cheeks flush as I realize how crazy I am for doing all that. 
“You good?” I hear from the other side of the phone, and my heart falls to my stomach. 
“Matt?” I ask, waiting for him to confirm my worst fear. 
“Officer Sturniolo to you, Y/N.” He teases me, making me instantly put my head in my hand that wasn’t holding the phone, “Just wanted you to have my number.” 
I breathe out a sigh of relief, “Okay.” 
He lets out a chuckle, “I’m guessing you just had some fun?” He questions, ignoring my quiet gasp, “Bet you thought of me, huh?” 
“Matt, this is crazy.” I finally whisper, not wanting to confirm I just came to the thought of him. 
“I’ll talk to you soon, sweetheart.” I can practically hear the grin in his voice as he hangs up. I do not like the power this man has over me right now. 
I’m so cooked.
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lostintransist · 4 months ago
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Fallen Angel | Witching Hour Wishes
Part 1 | AO3 | *This is a story told in scenes and can be read in any order though is listed in chronological order on the masterlist.
Sitting bolt upright in bed John sucks in air like he had escaped the vacuum of space, cold sweat tipping him into shivers. To either side of him lay Kyle and Gary. Every night since the sarin exposure at least one of his men had mended their hurt in his bed. John held each of them together while they let their broken parts out. Tonight he needed someone to hold him together.
One nice thing about being the boss was being able to call it a night early. At twelve-thirty am with an empty cafe and a quick call to the local bars to find out they were also nearly empty, you had decided with your one staff on shift to call it a night early. Tara would still get her full pay for the shift and happily helped finish closing duties and get home.
One-thirty found you rearming the alarm on the house, toeing off your shoes and setting them into the rack, and wandering the dark of the house to your room. Any number of times you would come home and find someone in your bed, fairy lights draped along your wall still twinkling. The faint light seeping out from below your door didn’t surprise you; John pacing your room in nothing but a pair of sweats, hands deep in his pockets, however, did.
He looked up as you opened the door, distress clear in every line of his body. The past peered out of his eyes at you, speaking only of trauma and fear.
“Hi John,” you greeted him softly as you set your bag down on your desk.
No words from him. Oh, this was a bad one. All of your guys would go nonverbal if things got too hard to live with in their heads. He tracked you with his eyes, body swaying side to side.
Reaching out a hand in offer you waited. John settled his hand into yours, the clammy grip informed your plan. This house had several bathrooms, they had decided that one of them needed a massive tub and renovated it soon after moving in.
“Will you come with me, John?” You interlaced your fingers with his as you peered up at him.
He squeezed your hand once, the gentle pressure breaking your heart. Tears pricking at your eyes you lead John into the darkness and into the hall bathroom. With no exterior walls, this room had to be one of the darkest in the house. By memory alone you found the correct drawer and pulled out two glow sticks, cracking them to provide dim light. This had been a trick that a roommate a long time ago had shown you. Sometimes she couldn’t shower in the light due to a migraine and used this as a workaround.
Fingers still tucked firmly between John’s you started a bath for him. Tossing in a lightly scented bath bomb and testing the water you confirm the temperature before turning back to him.
“John, I need you to shuck the pants and get in the tub okay? I am going to get a cup and will be right back. Can you do that for me?” Tilting to catch his eye you offer him an encouraging smile.
At his nod, you stretch up and kiss him on the lips.
“Be right back.”
Ducking from the room you moved quickly on feet as quiet as you could make them. Sliding into the kitchen on your socks you nearly run into Johnny.
“Did you just get home? Didn’t hear you come in,” Johnny drops a kiss on top of your head.
“Been here a few minutes. Putting John in the bath though so can you grab me the large cup we got from the movie theater a few months back?” You point to the cupboard as if he doesn’t know where it lives.
“John doing okay?” Johnny’s concern is evident as he does as you ask.
“He will be. He’s gonna spend the night in my room. Can you tell the guys to leave my room alone for a bit?” Worry crawled up your spine, you had been gone longer than expected.
“Course,” he lays the cup in your hand, heart in his eyes, “We are so lucky you fell into Simon’s lap.”
“We are all lucky for shitty landlords I guess,” rolling your eyes even as you smile and walk away. “Night Johnny. Sleep well.”
John had turned off the water by the time you returned, leaning back in the tub with his eyes still distant. Setting the cup down on the edge of the tub you grabbed your bath supplies and a clean rag. Kneeling beside the tub you dip the rag into the water before spreading soap across the surface of it. Starting with his face, you clean gently before moving on to his hands.
Lifting one from the water you work over each finger individually. When you reach his ring finger he starts to talk.
“Nearly died on the last job. It was bad,” his voice took on a tone of abandonment, “So bad and I still had to be the captain.”
“You aren’t my captain John. Would you like me to be in charge for the night?” The process of cleaning him didn’t pause as he began to release the pressure on his soul.
When his eyes settled on you with the weight of an anvil you cleaned up his arm before setting it down and curling two fingers in invitation for the other one. He ignored your request.
“Why?”
He isn’t questioning why he should let you be in charge, more of why would you offer that?
Lifting a hand to his face you wait until he rests his cheek into your palm.
“Even redwoods require rest. You stand among giants John, let me be your rest.”
The tears that slip from his eyes shock him, as evidenced by the finger he swipes below his eye to study critically. Leaning over the edge of the tub you kiss him. Taking your hand back you gently take his arm you have yet to clean and begin the process anew.
Rinsing the rag you apply more soap and wash his chest and back that are above the waterline.
“Stand up for me John, need to wash more of you.”
The compliance is punctuated by the slooshing water running down his body. The cleaning is perfunctory, and he handles cleaning his groin after you finish everything else. Once he takes the rag from you your attention turns to draining the tub. As the water drains you look at him. Arms dangling to his sides he watches you, suds slipping past his ankles. Softly tugging the rag from his hand you rinse it in the receding water and set it aside.
“I know it’s a bit cold but please stay standing until I can rinse the tub.”
He nods once, gooseflesh creeping along his body. As the last of the bubbles stick you flick the water on to a decent temperature. Using the cup Johnny had pulled down for you you pour the clean water along the basin until it has been cleared.
“Okay, time to sit down. Tell me if the water is too hot,” you close the drain and watch as the water begins to rise along the length of John’s legs.
Needing to give your back a rest you stack your arms on the edge of the tub and rest your head looking at John.
“Tell me something.”
The command is lightly given—a denial allowed, though not encouraged.
“I joined the military when I was seventeen,” his hand drifts through the rising water, trails of motion following him.
You chuckle lightly, “At seventeen the only life-changing decisions I was making involved boys and a fuck ton of substances.”
He smiles at that, the first smile not haunted you had seen in a long time.
“Why did you?” Turning off the water that had reached his nipples gave him time to answer.
“Tradition, I think.”
Returning to your previous position you watch him settle more comfortably into the water.
“Say more about that.”
He puffs a breath of air out his nose, sending ripples through the water like a dragon. The lift of a brow reminds him that for tonight he ceded control.
“My father served,” his eyes grow distant in the dim light, “And my uncle, and their father. They all died before forty. My grandfather’s plane went down, never found it or his body. My uncle took a bullet through the neck and my father’s heart gave out behind his desk. I am scared I will continue their curse.”
Dipping a finger into the water you loop patterns into the warm water.
“Does death scare you?”
“Yes.” The answer immediate and firm.
“It doesn’t scare me.” Flicking your gaze to him you find disbelief mingled with confusion. “I nearly drowned when I was ten. I hit my head at the pool and couldn’t find up. Lifeguard told my mom that I had a concussion and needed to go to the hospital. I found something at the bottom of that water. I found the peace in death. It never left me, that knowing that when this all ends, even if I go screaming, once the pain stops there is only peace.”
It sits like an albatross between you, the fear and acceptance of death dueling.
“Enough of that, death will come in time.” Grabbing the cup again you fill it with water and set about washing John’s hair, guarding his forehead every time you doused his head close to it.
Hair sufficiently soaked through you pump a squirt of your shampoo into your hand and lather it. Focusing on his scalp you work it in until John’s eyes have shut and the weight of his head is resting in your hands.
“I’m thinking of retirement.” He whispers the words as if they carry a shame that would tarnish his bloodline.
The noncommittal hum you provide has him cracking a single eye to look at you.
“Not sure what you expect from me, John. You don’t take advice so why waste my precious oxygen?” You wink at him; he rolls his eyes.
Rinsing his hair you pump some conditioner and repeat the process, infusing tender care into the hair routine.
Eyes once again closed he opens up again, as if the darkness behind his lids allowed him to open the box deep inside of that deep place in his soul.
“I am scared to leave them.”
“You will leave them in death or in life John, you only get to choose one. If you are scared for them I understand, tough jobs you all take on. If you are scared to let them grow beyond you I would have to point out the cowardice in that,” you rinse his hair, avoiding his eyes as he glares at you.
Hair clean you move to the drain, unplugging it and letting the water flow once more.
“Stand up John, I’ll rinse you once more and then we are going to get you dried off and into bed.”
He does as commanded, for a captain was once a private who took orders. Running water through the shower head attachment you rinse him and the tub once more. Cutting off the water you retrieve two towels and hand one to John. Working in tandem his body is dry and his sweats are returned to his body. Dropping the glow sticks into the garbage can you lace your fingers in John’s again and pull him to bed.
Changing quickly into something not wet from work or care you join John beneath the covers. He is curled in on himself. Molding to his shape you begin to drift. The quivering shakes of his body pull you from the brink of sleep.
“Roll over John, let me hold you.”
He does, weeping into your chest until only the slow, deep, even breaths seeping across your collarbone tell you he has emptied his well of pain.
When wakefulness finds you hours and hours later it is in John’s arms as he contemplates the ceiling.
“Thank you.”
Neck stretching you lay a kiss on his cheek above the beard.
“They will understand whatever decision you need to make. And if that includes full retirement I could always hire you as a new barista,” you offer up cheekily.
The glare he sends you has you giggling and trying to escape his grip. Bastard tickles you until you cry uncle and rush to the bathroom, his laughter follows you. The glow sticks still faintly emit light from the can.
Shout out to @isuckatbeeingadult for nudging me with enough of any idea to produce another chapter.
Masterlist | Fallen Angel Masterlist
@lilynotdilly @demothers-empty-blog
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