#and it stayed there for a while so i was able to try a lot of different things

[jobean12-blog]

Defenseless in Love

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x female reader

Word Count: 3.6K

Summary: You've been friends with Sam for a while and you've trained with him here and there but never really got to the point where you feel you could properly defend yourself and when you ask him to teach you self-defense his new job as Captain America makes him a little less available so he directs you to his friend Bucky.

Author's Note: I always loved the thought of Bucky teaching us to be badass and even though he's lethal he's gentle and patient and wonderful! Thank you all so much for reading! Much love always! ❤️❤️❤️Divider by the lovely @firefly-graphics thank you Daisy! 🥰

Warnings: lots of fluff and flirty things and tension and a minor (totally fine) injury, soft Bucky

 “Why me?”

“Why not you?” Sam raises a brow, setting his hands on his hips.

Bucky remains quiet with a shake of his head.

“She doesn’t want to take a class. Says it makes her uncomfortable and she would rather train one on one with someone she trusts.”

“Then you do it,” Bucky sighs.

“I can’t.”

Bucky pins Sam with an incredulous glare.

“I’m kinda busy at the moment,” Sam explains with a lopsided smirk. “You know…Captain America and all.”

Bucky’s jaw tightens and he mindlessly stirs the spoon in his coffee.

“How do you know I won’t make her uncomfortable?”

The words are quietly spoken, and Bucky’s eyes stay fixed on the dark liquid in front of him.

“Buck,” Sam says softly. “I told her I was going to ask you to do it and that I trust you completely.”

Bucky looks up to meet Sam’s eyes.

“She was fine with it. She said, ‘if you trust him then I do too.’”

He’s tall, with tousled dark hair and a strong jaw covered with dark stubble. He stands and waits, his arms crossed over his torso in a way that makes the muscles in his chest and forearms shift deliciously. And his eyes…his eyes are a shade of blue that rivals the ocean. They’re gorgeous-like the rest of him.

Taking a deep breath, you remove yourself from the hidden shadows just outside the gym door and grab the handle.

His head snaps in your direction, his gaze turning fully on you and making your heart skip a beat.

He says your name; his voice is low and gravelly, and it skates down your spine with a tingle. You nod and say hello.

“I was wondering how long you were going to stand out there.”

You suck in a breath and your lips remain parted.

“First lesson,” he continues, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly, “always be aware of your surroundings.”

“Right,” you manage to say as you step inside and let the door shut.

An hour later, after stretching and taking the time to talk through any jitters you’re standing in front of Bucky in your best defensive stance.

“That’s really the best you’ve got?” he says, his tone neither mocking or malicious.

“I’m more dangerous than you think,” you bluster.

The corners of his mouth rise into a challenging smirk.

You hate how beautiful he is. It’s a distraction and if you really want to learn you’re going to have to steel yourself against it.

He wiggles his fingers in your direction, and you pause.

“Shouldn’t you be attacking me first?” you ask. “Isn’t that why I need to learn to defend myself…you know self-defense.”

“I just want to see what I’m working with here,” he replies, keeping those perfect lips titled upward.

You let out a long exhale and rush toward him, barely able to register what happens before you’re wrapped in his arms, your back pressed tightly to his chest. You struggle in his grip, moving against him to try and loosen his hold.

He goes still and you swear he stops breathing for a heartbeat before he let’s you go.

You spin and face him again, breathing heavily and not from exertion. This time he moves toward you, and holy shit he’s fast. You try to swipe his feet out from under him in a move that he artfully dodges and captures your arm. The earth spins and you brace for the impact of your back smacking the mat but instead all you feel is the strength of his arms behind you as he holds you up and slowly lets you sink down. He leans down so his face is only inches from yours, “you’re strong,” he whispers, “but you’re gonna need more finesse.”

You huff in response, but he releases you and stands, offering you a hand. “We’re not done yet. We’ve barely gotten started.”

He tugs you to your feet, then twists your arm behind your back and yanks you against his hard chest, pinning your joined hands before you even catch your balance.

“Shit,” you snap, trying to steady your breathing.

He releases your hand and steps back and you whirl, going for a punch to his throat. He knocks your hand aside easily.

“Good,” he says with a smile, deflecting your next blow without even breaking a sweat. “Going for the throat is always a good option as long as it’s exposed.”

You kick out again, mostly from frustration, and he captures your leg, this time, holding it for a second before dropping it to the mat with a frown. “I expect you to learn from your mistakes.”

Your frustration turns to fury, and you glare at him, noting the way he stands there with loose arms, rocking back on his heels.

“You’re not even trying,” you grit out.

His lips curve into a smile and this time you don’t think, you just act, going low and kicking out the backs of his knees. He goes down hard, and you pounce, trying for a headlock. Doesn’t matter how big someone is- they still need to breathe.

Instead of going for your arms, he twists, grabbing a hold of the backs of your thighs so you lose your leverage and your bodies careen into a roll. Of course, he lands on top.

His forearm rests against your throat and his hips have you pinned; your legs useless on either side of his as he lies heavily between your thighs. Your body becomes so acutely aware of him that he’s all you can feel. Your breath catches and your body warms.

“Where did you learn that move?” he asks with an approving smile.

Your chin lifts. “Sam taught me a few things here and there.”

“If your opponent is bigger you need to stop going for moves that will expose you,” he explains, keeping you pressed to the mat with his weight. “A rib shot would work just fine.” He gently pulls your hand free and drags your fingertips down his side. Then he guides your hands around his back. “Kidneys are a good fit from this angle too.”

You swallow hard, refusing to let your mind wander to other things that are a good fit in this position.

He leads your hands to his waist and you’re sure you feel the muscles of his abdominals tense under your touch. “There’s weakness here too. Three easy places to strike.”

You stare at him, your fingers still pressed against his shirt and feeling the hardness beneath.

“You hear me doll?”

You nod.

“This looks promising,” Sam says with a mischievous tone.

You’re suddenly reminded of your surroundings and the realization of your current entanglement with Bucky makes your skin heat.

“Sam!” you say as you try and get out from under Bucky.

Bucky presses up from the mat a few inches and then slides your hand away from his side, slowly, inch by inch.

“That’s it?” you ask, surprised at the disappointment you feel.

“I hate to break it up, but I need Bucky,” Sam says.

Bucky pushes up all the way, removing his weight from your body and offering you another hand. You don’t take it this time and rise from the mat with ease. His approving smile makes you feel warm all the way down to your toes.

Sam’s smile is wide and knowing but you ignore it, focusing on Bucky.

“I’ll be right there Wilson,” Bucky says, the short dismissal enough to get Sam to give you two privacy.

“You did well,” Bucky says, filling the space in front of you.

Your head drops and you scoff, kicking at some invisible object on the mat. Warm, strong fingers press gently under your chin and raise your face until your eyes lock with ocean blue.

“You did,” he says again.

“Thanks,” you whisper, mourning the loss of his fingers when he drops his hand.

“I’ll be more organized next time…if you want to do this again.”

“I do,” you answer quickly. “I want to feel safe. And strong.”

Bucky nods. “You will doll.”

The next week you’re back at the gym, feeling more confident and even more comfortable. After your first session you and Bucky exchanged phone numbers, the text messages flowing easily between you the past few days. This time you open the door without hesitation and find Bucky leaning against the far wall, cutting the pieces off a plum with a knife. His eyes lift and lock with yours just as he opens his mouth to pop a bite in.

Your entire body tingles.

He didn’t lie when he said he’d be more prepared and organized for this session. He works you through some stretches and a warmup and then takes you through several take downs step by step, each one building on the next. You’re moving faster and even getting a few hits in here and there. The confidence fuels you and coupled with some adrenaline you really push yourself, pressing Bucky to work you harder.

He does but when you try something new, something he wasn’t anticipating, you end up ramming your ribs into his metal forearm. It’s completely by accident but knocks the wind out of you nonetheless and you fall to your knees to catch your breath.

“Shit doll,” Bucky says, falling down next to you and grabbing your shoulders. “I’m so sorry.”

You wheeze out an “I’m ok,” and when you look up to reassure him, the lines of worry etched into his features make it even harder to breathe.

“Let me see,” he says, the panic in his eyes softening your own before he looks down at your side.

“I’m fine,” you say.

His focus snaps back to your eyes. “Don’t lie to me.”

“It hurts,” you admit after a stuttered inhale.

“Let me see,” he says again.

“Is that a request or a demand?” you ask, trying to sound teasing.

“You pick as long as I can check to see how bad it is.”

You swallow, then nod, reaching for the hem of your shirt. He stops you with a soft hand and then with surprising gentleness his fingers skim your bare skin as he slowly lifts your shirt. You suppress a shiver, locking your muscles so you don’t melt against him.

“Sorry if my hands are cold,” he says, clearing his throat as more of your skin is exposed.

Your eyes meet and warmth flutters in your stomach. He drops his eyes and inspects your side, gentle fingers stroking your ribs before they prod carefully.

“You’re gonna have one hell of a bruise doll. I really am sorry.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong and thanks for checking.”

He drags your shirt back down, letting his knuckles graze you skin in the process. He waits for you to stand, watching you closely and letting out a relieved exhale when he notices your breathing is more even.

Your eyes widen when he drops to his knees in front of you. “Your shoe is untied.”

“Oh.”

Your hands twitch at your sides, his long, soft strands of hair at the perfect level for you to run your fingers through.

“Thank you.”

He gives you a real smile, not a cocky smirk or a teasing tilt to his lips. A real, honest, heart-stopping smile that you’re anything but immune to.

“It’s the least I could do after…that.”

“Not your fault Bucky,” you assure him again. “It happened by complete accident.”

Bucky texts you at least forty-seven times over the next week, constantly checking in and asking about your ribs. But you’re still surprised when the day before you’re next session he calls, asking if you want to meet for breakfast beforehand.

“This place has the best coffee. And muffins. And scones,” he says as he holds the door open for you.

You laugh and walk through, instantly soothed by the smell of coffee beans and baked goods. “And you know this because you’ve tried them all of course.”

“Of course,” he says while rubbing his stomach.

Your eyes track the movement and you’re positive you can see ridges of muscles beneath his shirt. It takes all your concentration to tear your gaze away and focus on the menu. After ordering your drinks and two of everything baked you head for your seats.

You try it all and let Bucky eat the rest, marveling at how he packs it away and doesn’t even seem fazed.

“I wish I could eat like that and look like you.”

The comment comes out before you can stop it, and your eyes widen slightly when they meet his narrowed ones.

“You look perfect,” he says, his tone leaving no room for argument. “Eat whatever you want. You’re gonna need the energy today.”

He gives you one of his signature teasing smirks and you stand. “Bring it on Barnes!”

The walk to the gym is short but the weather is warm, and you can feel a light sheen of sweat coating the back of your neck. The hot coffee you’re drinking doesn’t help either but it’s too good to not finish.

He holds the door open for you and then walks in, sipping his coffee as he goes. You bend over to retrieve something from your bag, and he takes a misstep, his focus on your ass instead of where he’s going.

With a tumble forward his coffee follows suit, his momentum forcing the liquid out of the cup and onto his shirt. He catches himself before he looks like a complete fool, but the damage is done. His shirt is soaked through on the front with the last of his coffee.

“AH shit,” he sighs, pulling the wet material from his stomach.

“What happened?” you ask, your brows furrowed as you turn toward him. “Did you trip?”

“Um…yeah, something like that,” he says. “I have to change.”

He reaches behind his back and starts to lift his shirt, slowly revealing tanned skin that’s all sharp lines and barely restrained power. You’ve seen shirtless men before. Many times. But never Bucky Barnes. You’d start counting his ab muscles if the rest of him wasn’t just as good to look at. Your mouth waters when he turns around and you see the muscled expanse of his back. Even the gold and gray metal plates of his arm move beautifully as he searches for a new shirt.

“Sam usually keeps some stuff stashed in here,” Bucky says.

You think you heard what he said but you’re shamelessly wondering how his skin would feel under your fingertips, how your body would react to having every ounce of him on top of you, over you…in…”

The slam of the small storage door draws your attention downward, and you shake your head to snap out of it.

“Ready?” he asks, a new shirt securely in place.

You walk to the mat and wait.

“Are you sure you’re not still in any pain…?”

“Bucky,” you sigh. “I’m really ok. I have been for days. I appreciate your concern but I’m pretty sure I’m going to need to be able to work through pain sometimes. I don’t think anyone who attacks me will care if I’m injured…”

“You’re right,” he says, pride shining in his eyes. “Let’s go…but first…”

You watch with rapt admiration as he pulls several hidden knives free, his smile growing when he takes the last one out from his boot.

“I want you to learn how to use a weapon. You can carry it with you…just in case.”

He hands you the blade and you hold it in your open palm, noticing the weight of it and how the handle seems just right.

“Wow,” is all you can think to say.

“I had it made for you,” he explains. “Most blades are made for men…you know, big hands, long fingers.”

As if to drive his point home he splays his hand in front of you, showing off just how big and long they can be.

“Right,” you whisper. “I don’t know what to say…thank you Bucky.”

He smiles again. ���Now let me teach you how to use it.”

Before you can prepare or react he has you on your back, his weight settled between your thighs. It takes all your willpower not to reach up and brush the stray lock of hair from his forehead.

“You didn’t even give me a heads up,” you whisper, leaning up slightly and letting your lips brush the shell of his ear.

He jerks up, and the heat in his gaze makes you all too aware of everywhere your bodies are touching.

“You know…” he says, his eyes glittering, “distraction is a great way to do some damage.”

His eyes drop to your mouth.

“Are you distracted?” you murmur.

Before he can answer you use a move he taught you and roll him on to his back.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” you sing song.

His eyes meet yours under the fluorescent lights of the gym before dropping to your lips. His metal arm slides up your back, but not in a way to remove you, it’s slow and purposeful for a completely different reason. You can feel the warmth of his touch through your clothing, your skin unbearably hot.

When you shudder in his arms his smile is like a caress and his free hand moves to your cheek, brushing across your skin.

“You have incredibly soft skin,” he murmurs. “I’ve been aching to feel it again since I checked your ribs.”

The admission makes you suck in a breath, and he studies you with an intensity that makes you sway closer. His thumbs stroke along your cheekbones and his heated gaze moves to your mouth. Hands flexing, he draws you forward a few inches before he stops.

“I…” he starts, groaning when your tongue traces your lower lip.

“Bucky.” His name comes out like a whispered plea and it’s all he needs to close the distance. He was just out of reach and now his mouth is on yours, hot and insistent. He cradles the back of your head, trapping you against him as he lays on the mat and you feel every hard line of his body. You clutch the material of his shirt at his chest, parting your lips when he angles your head for a deeper kiss.

“Fuck baby,” he moans, and the sound makes you ravenous. Your hands lift to his hair and it’s just as soft as imagined, your nails scraping lightly over his scalp.

His hips tilt upward, and you gasp at the friction but it’s not enough and in a move that rivals all the others you’ve seen him do he flips you onto your back, the impact so soft you gasp into his mouth. You surrender completely, going pliant beneath him as he claims every line and curve of your mouth with a reckless edge that makes your body sing. He breaks the kiss, sliding his mouth across your jaw, your neck, whispering words of praise as he explores every inch of your skin his lips can find.

The sound of the gym door startles you enough to pull away, but your eyes never leave Bucky’s and when you hear Sam’s voice you let out a giggle.

“You look like you’re…defending yourself well,” Sam says from above you.

“Your timing sucks,” Bucky sighs. “And she could have totally handed me my ass right now if she wanted to.” He smiles down at you with a wink.

Sam pulls Bucky away once again but before he leaves he presses a soft kiss to the corner of your mouth then one to your lips, lingering until Sam starts shouting from the doorway. Later that night you get a text from Bucky-‘I can’t stop thinking about kissing you again.’

You read the words over and over again as your body continuously reminds you exactly what it feels like to have his mouth on yours. Your stomach flutters and you actually press a flattened palm against it, hoping to calm the eruption of butterflies.

After washing up and throwing on some pjs you’re just about to spend the rest of your night watching something streaming on Netflix when you hear a knock at your apartment door. You check the time. It’s late and you’re not expecting anyone…maybe it’s your neighbor?

Standing on your tippy toes you check the peep hole and barely stifle your gasp of surprise.

“I’m glad you checked to see who it was first,” Bucky says when you swing the door open. “That’s part of smart self-defense.”

You stare at his face, then the flowers in his hand, then back at his face.

“Is it too late? Were you asleep?”

His eyes fill with worry but before you let him fret too long you grab his free hand and drag him into your apartment, slamming the door shut and pushing him against it. Without a word you kiss him, softly at first, just a brush of your lips, but he instantly takes over, resting the flowers on the small table by the door and taking you in his arms, spinning you and caging you with your back to the door.

“You always get the upper hand,” you smile against his lips.

“Better get used to it,” he teases, resting his metal hand next to your head as he leans back in, letting his eyes do a warm sweep of your body from head to toe.

“You look magnificent,” he murmurs.

“I’m in my pajamas.” Your reply comes out breathless.

His fingers drops to your shoulder, tracing the soft curve before ghosting down your arm and sliding to where the hem of your tank sits just above your shorts.

“Magnificent,” he repeats, slipping one finger under the material to touch your skin. “And So. Fucking. Soft.”  

“Bucky,” you whisper.

“I know doll,” he says, “but I need to take my time…I want to get my hands and mouth on every inch of you.”

[purrincesskittens]

@muffinlance I see your Zuko gets adopted by old sweepy and propose to you Zuko gets adopted by a random scholar at the Ba Sing Se University.

Look in Yuka's defense she has a lot of siblings, and Zuko at a quick glance could pass as her youngest brother. Yes, he should be at home still nowhere near Ba Sing Se, but her siblings end up in the strangest of places so she wouldn't put it past him to show up randomly. Doesn't help she already wears thick lens glasses, and her eyesight is just getting worse from all the reading in the dark she does. Also, she was deep in her research for the paper, and the kid she mistook as her brother was really useful at finding her just what she needed for her paper. He was also apparently an expert on Avatar research, able to spout off all kinds of facts and quotes where he got that research from. By the time she realizes this kid isn't her little brother, she's decided to adopt him anyway, and she will absolutely fight the Di Lee for him. He is her new research partner, and she'll list him as one of her sources if she has to. Then they can't take him as he is an integral part of the development of the culture of Ba Sing Se. Besides, the kid sucks at hiding the fact that he is a fire bender and needs someone to take him under their wing. Half her family are firebenders anyway. She may be small and mousy, but she can be mighty when it comes to her research. She is totally willing to throw hands with the Di Lee if it comes down to it.

Zuko isn't sure what to make of the small mousy scholar he accidentally stumbled upon while trying to find more research on the Avatar. Nor is he sure how he became her research assistant. All he knows is she started calling him Koji and talking to him like she knew him or rather knew this Koji and handing him scrolls to put away and requesting more works on the Avatar some he hadn't read before as Ba Sing Se was the one place he hadn't been able to break into until now. Then he starts spouting off his Avatar knowledge between what he knows of the current Avatar and what he read in old books and scrolls she just jots down what he said without ever once looking up at him. By the time she realizes he isn't this Koji person, she has apparently decided she is keeping him. She escorts him home or to the tea shop when she is done picking his brain for the day or treats him to good food and makes sure he gets enough to not only fill his belly but also to bring home to Uncle. When he gets fired from the tea shop for fighting Jet, she hires him permanently. She even argues that Jet is clearly delusional and needs help not to be carted off by the Culural Police. He is clearly scared so badly he can't see he is safe and that there is no war in Ba Sing Se. So Jet gets an involuntary stay in one of Ba Sing Se's finest mental hospitals with his own personal Joo Dee to look after him. It's around this time that Uncle realizes he may have to fight this young lady for custody of his nephew. At least he is staying out of trouble and expanding his intellectual knowledge.

[fangirlingpuggle]

More thoughts on reverse AU. (Links here and here)

Shen Yuan ends up thriving in the abyss, he ends using knowledge to solve a lot of problems and tame beasts, the demons in the abyss end up trying to put Shen Yuan in charge, he is constantly running away form it like 'NO, NO I DON’T WANT TO BE INVOLVED IN THE PLOT, I JUST WANT TO BE A SHUT IN HERE IN BASICALLY HELL AND NOT GET MURDERED’

Shang Qinghua and Shen Yuan meeting up on one of the times Shen Yuan has been wondering peaks and finding creatures. The 2 basically spider man meme each other and alliance of we are gonna figure out how to survive this shit, after Shen Yuan tries to kill Shang Qinghua as soon he realizes Airplane 'YOU HACK AUTHOR’.

Mobei Jun then starts hovering over Shen Yuan because he can sense Shang Qinghua he’s been around him (No ones sure how) cue Luo Binghe scooping up Shen Yuan and getting in Mobei Jun’s ace like 'Stay away from my disciple I’M THE ONLY ONE ALLOWED TO BE SUSPICIOUS OF HIM’

Luo Binghe keeps trying to interrogate Shen Yuan only it doesn’t work because Shen Yuan is terrified but also Luo Binghe’s speeches are so cool he’s so awesome and is just looking at him with stars in his eyes and Luo Binghe is feeling things and very confused.

Shen Yuan is also so genuine and always worrying about Binghe’s health because 'The poor protagonist has had to go through all airplanes shitty writing and his tragic backstory, Binghe should take care of himself and rest while he can once he gets into his revenge on all demons arc he’ll be so busy and won’t be able to rest especially when he becomes king and gets his harem’.

Luo Binghe is just like 'Genuine affection and care I what???- this is a trap I know this is a trap, he’s planning something’ but anytime Shen Yuan is smiling at others Luo Binghe is just angrily glaring and so jealous like 'No only plot against me i’m the one you want to destroy right? so only smile at me’.

All the other peak lords are like we should be doing something but we’re not touching this shit with a 5 foot pole. But please sect leader stop yeeting our disciples who are finds with Shen Jiu off the mountain when they try to visit him, also please do something about your second in command trying to get bride-napped by a demon lord.

[pineconepie]

Here's the yanmom drider from a poll I did a while ago!

CHARACTERS: Anevra, Reader/You

WARNINGS/TAGS: Parental yandere, forced infantilization, baby-talk, animal death (hunting), abduction, semi-obedient reader, non-sexual nudity, bathing, escape attempt

WORD COUNT: 2.7k

Your torch flickers weakly, squinting through the darkness and the rain, trying to make sense of your surroundings. It's hard to see anything when you can't even see the sky.

You knew it was a bad idea to be exploring in these dark hours, but you needed to try and find shelter before night fell for real.

Your eyes finally pick out what looks like the entrance to some kind of cave.

Well, not like it's ideal, but at least you won't have to worry about getting any wetter, right? Besides, maybe the storm will calm down, and you'll be able to get home soon.

It's a spacious cave, and all you can hope is there isn't anything horrific to greet you inside. Your boots squeak against the rock floor as you walk carefully deeper in. It's pretty cold in here, though at least it's much drier than outside.

Maybe you can just build yourself a fire and hunker down.

You take out supplies from your backpack and set them on the floor, lying down on a blanket as a makeshift mattress.

Then you take a long drink from your canteen, wiping some of the moisture away from your face with the edge of your sleeve.

Using the little fire left from your torch, you lift it to take in your surroundings more better. There's a lot of large cobwebs stretching throughout the cave... but you know most spiders are generally peaceful creatures, right? As long as you don't provoke one... You look down at your own hands and realize how badly they're shivering.

As you rummage through your backpack to find something else to help warm you up, you hear a skittering noise. But it has to just be the echo of your own movement off the walls, right?

Something is thrown in your general direction, making you yelp. It's the carcass of a dead animal, but you don't get time to analyze what it is, because now you're terrified about who just threw that... or rather, what threw that.

The skittering noise again. And this time, it doesn't sound like an echo at all. Rather, you're almost completely positive it's coming from somewhere in this cave.

Then you see her.

At first, she just happens to look like an extremely tall woman, one with short light brown hair and blue eyes.

But then you see her multitude of legs and realize why this cavern looks so huge.

She looks just as shocked as you probably do. Then she brings her hands to her mouth. "A human!" Her voice sounds surprised, but happy. She almost lunges forward towards you, crawling on several of her long spindly spider legs. She looms over you, examining you. The size comparison between you both makes her seem at least three times taller than you.

You stay frozen in place, staring back at her. This can't be real... You're just exhausted and dehydrated and need some sleep. But that can't happen if your body refuses to allow you to close your eyes for a minute, too paralyzed by fear.

"I cannot believe my luck! After centuries, here I was thinking that I'd never have children to dote upon!" She places her hand to the side of your face. "What a blessing you are!"

Despite everything, your curiosity wins out over your caution. "Why... umm... why aren't you trying to eat me?" You hope that doesn't put ideas into her head.

She looks absolutely appalled. "Why would I ever think about doing such a thing?"

"Well..." You motion towards her extra eight legs and to the dead animal carcass still laying on the cavern floor. "Don't driders eat humans?"

"A lot of them do," she admits, "but not me! I've always adored humans! You all are just so small and cute!" She gently strokes one finger against your cheek. "Look at you! You're so small!" She suddenly stops and pulls away. "Where are my manners? My name is Anevra. Oh! But I suppose humans don't call their mothers by their name typically." She smiles warmly at you. "So how does Mama sound?"

This is ridiculous, you decide. This has to be some kind of twisted dream that your sleeping mind created. Your brain must just love seeing how much it can torment you, even if you aren't conscious.

"Mama?" you echo, feeling unsure of what else you should say.

"It rolls off your tongue nicely." Anevra's voice is smooth and warm, as is the expression on her face.

With how big she is compared to you, you can't tell if she genuinely thinks you're a child or not, but you don't really want to stick around long enough to find out.

The longer she looks at you expectantly, the more pressured you feel to do or say something, anything. Perhaps if you go along with what ever this is, you can find a way to escape, since you have an idea she won't let you leave willingly.

She leans in close, her face only inches away from your own, so close that you can see her eyelashes. "I bet you were scared, all alone outside by yourself in the rain. Don't worry, sweetling, Mama's got you now." She lifts you off the cave floor as easily as picking up a feather, then sets you into the crook of one of her arms. "It'll be okay now," she whispers.

Her extra legs guide your arms around her neck. When she's satisfied that you won't fall, she crawls back into the darkness of the cavern, where there are more cobwebs.

"I know that when I was younger I'd get comfort out of cuddling," she comments softly. "Are human children similar?"

"...miss, I am not a child," you finally say.

Anevra laughs, a soft sound echoing against the walls. "What a funny little thing you are!" She rubs her large hand over your head. "Of course you are. Why else are you so little compared to me, hmm?"

"Because I'm a human, not a drider!" You wiggle against her grasp, which just seems to make her grip harder onto you. Her strong embrace feels like it could snap your bones if she pressed any tighter.

"You are definitely my baby," she continues. "You don't have to be so shy about it."

With nothing else you can do, you decide to try and go along with her delusions. Maybe once she gets comfortable with you, she'll let her guard down, and then you can make a run for it.

It doesn't take very long for you both to reach a chamber deep inside the cavern system, but you weren't really sure how to keep track of time when all you could see were shadows and webs.

There are more spider-like aspects to her dwelling than before, with thick webs covering parts of the walls and ceilings, acting almost like decoration.

"Do humans normally shiver so much?" she murmurs, almost to herself.

You look down at yourself, just now realizing how you can barely keep your body still.

Whether it's from fear or coldness, you can't tell, though. It was colder deeper within the cave system, so that could definitely be a factor. Plus, now that the shock from meeting Anevra is starting to wear off, the chill is sinking in.

"Cold," you reply through chattering teeth.

"You poor thing." She brushes her knuckles against your face. "Let me wrap you up in a cocoon."

Before you can protest, you feel webbing wrap around you as tightly as a blanket. She holds you close to her chest like a precious gemstone. You can hear her heartbeat against your ear. Your struggles just cause you to get wrapped up even further. And she's looking at you with such maternal adoration. How could someone so dangerous seem so sincere?

But eventually you get exhausted from trying to fight, and she hums pleasantly in satisfaction.

"Hush, my little one." She presses a kiss to your forehead. "Now that I have you safely wrapped, you can rest your weary head against me all you'd like." She traces her clawed finger across your cheekbone.

...

When you wake up, everything is quiet, save for the distant sounds of wind howling and rain pouring down into the cavern.

As soon as you can get away from Anevra, the better.

However, when you squirm, you realize you're still wrapped in webbing. Then you start to struggle.

You hear a familiar skittering sound. It echoes off the walls until Anevra shows herself. She tilts her head at you. "Good morning, little one!" she greets enthusiastically. "What are you doing?"

"Can I come out now? I'm no longer cold or tired," you inform her.

"No! Not yet!" she insists. "I still want to hold you!"

How frustrating. But maybe there's something you could try to convince her. If it doesn't work, hopefully she won't react violently towards you.

"I wouldn't be going anywhere else," you promise. "I just wanted to... uhh..." It feels silly to say this next part, but it might just work. "...be able to hug you with my own arms," you finish quietly.

Luckily for you, Anevra reacts exactly as you hoped she would. She covers her mouth with her hands, eyes practically sparkling as she squeals with delight.

"Oh, you're such a darling little thing, you know that? You're simply too precious for this world."

She unravels you from the cocoon with great care, as if you'd break at any second.

But once you're free from the webbing, you try to jump down, only to be pulled into another embrace by her. Though it's less constraining than the webbing was. Still, it doesn't change the fact you're being held against your will by a drider.

You reluctantly wrap your arms around her midsection. You hope that you're being convincing, because all you want to do is get out of here.

She pets the top of your head. "Aren't you just the sweetest baby? Hmm? Mama loves you so, so, so much!" She punctuates each word with a kiss on your forehead.

Now that you think about it, maybe you'll have to plan this more well. After all, you don't know the layout of the big cave well at all, not to mention how dark it is and the fact she is probably fifty times more strong and fast than you are.

Perhaps if you spend some time getting used to the layout of the cave, you'll be more prepared to make your escape.

For now, all you can do is play along. You let her dote and coddle, as annoying as it is, because hopefully in the end, your efforts will prove to be worthwhile.

Anevra sets you on the ground for a minute while she scours the cave, muttering things to herself under her breath.

"What are you doing?" you ask after a little while.

She turns her attention back to you. "Oh, I'm sorry! Here I am ignoring you!" She shakes her head. "Mama is just a bit distracted, that's all. I'm trying to find suitable food for a human. And after that, I'll bathe you by the hot spring. Does that sound okay, sweetling?"

"Hot spring?" you repeat, confused. "There's a hot spring here?"

"Yes," she answers happily. "This cave is much bigger than it looks."

She starts a small fire nearby using logs and sticks, presumably collected from the outside, then places a flat rock on top.

You can hear your stomach grumble as she cooks a slab of something, though you're not quite sure what kind it is. It's still so hard to see in this dim lighting.

Once it's finished cooking, Anevra leans over to you, holding the meat up to your face.

"Can you feed yourself?" she asks gently. "Or do you need Mama to do it for you?"

"I can do it myself." As embarrassing as it is, you don't think you could bare her feeding you like a helpless infant. So you gingerly take the food from her claws and begin to eat. It tastes surprisingly good, but maybe your hunger is causing your tastebuds to favor everything edible. Either way, you're thankful to fill your aching stomach. Despite everything, Anevra's warm smile feels genuine.

After you both finish eating, she offers her hand to help you stand up, which you cautiously accept.

You walk down several long passageways, illuminated by the light of a lantern, until you reach the hot springs. There are steam clouds floating around the water and in the air, making everything moist.

She hums as she begins undressing you. For a moment, you're freezing again, but she grabs you from under your armpits and places you into the hot spring. The warmth hits your bones like an electric shock, and you melt against the rocks.

"Good baby," Anevra murmurs to you.

As she begins washing you, your mind goes numb for a moment. But you're startled back into focus once her fingers comb through your hair and scratch against your scalp.

"So tiny," she marvels aloud, "so small. Fragile and cute." She plants a kiss to your temple. "All mine."

Your body feels numb and limp from the warmth, despite the weirdness of the situation. The water smells faintly of lavender. Your eyes flutter shut, and for a blissful moment, you're asleep and peaceful.

Nothing exists, nothing worries you, and nothing bothers you. Just the sensation of weightlessness, like you're floating in a cloud.

Suddenly, you jolt back awake as you feel Anevra pulling you out of the water. She dries you off with a cloth, then grabs a shirt and shorts. They look handmade, though they're pretty big, enough to hang loosely around your frame.

The two of you settle into silence as she guides you back into the depths of the cavern.

...

Each day begins roughly the same. You wake up, have breakfast, try to get familiar with the layout of the cave, have dinner, and bathe in the hot spring.

Anevra is always watching, her gaze hovering over you, protective yet possessive. Even so, you try your hardest to keep your emotions neutral. You can't risk showing how upset and uncomfortable you are by her behavior.

Your opportunity comes to you one night, as she's sleeping. Most of her legs stretch out, and you lay carefully in the crook of one of her arms. When you sense that her breathing has become steady, you wiggle away slowly.

However, once you free yourself, you see that Anevra hasn't moved at all, still deeply asleep.

Good.

You creep as silently as possible to the entrance of the cavern system. Luckily for you, the sunlight shines down into the opening. Makes sense it'd be daytime, she must be nocturnal.

Everything's fine.

Until it isn't. And that happens the second you step outside and realize you have no idea where the fuck you are. The landscape around you is barren and unfamiliar, and you don't recognize any landmarks. At this point, it seems like your best option would be to retrace your steps, or at least attempt to, before you ended up lost in this place.

You're walking for about half a mile when you finally turn around.

And instantly regret doing so.

There stands Anevra. She's smiling, but you can feel the malice radiating off of her. Her face is eerily blank of expression, aside from the grin plastered on her face, unnaturally wide and bright. As though she were forcing herself to remain cheerful for you.

"Aren't we silly today?" she asks. "Going on an adventure, are we?" Her tone is calm, but you sense danger lurking behind her words.

She doesn't give you a chance to reply before lifting you off the ground and carrying you back inside.

"I'm so very disappointed in you," she says, wrapping you in a layer of thick webbing. "Mama told you many times never to leave the cave, especially by yourself. You disobeyed me." With every word, the webbing grows tighter. "It looks like you need to truly learn how to depend on me before I can trust you again." She cradles your cocooned self like a swaddled infant.

"Please! Let me go!" you exclaim. "I didn't mean to scare you!"

Anevra clicks her tongue disapprovingly. "You didn't listen, sweetling. Mama's not angry, though. You just need to learn how much you need me."

[sushirrrry]

TRACE a harry styles x original character one-shot word count: 7,785 cw: this is the fluffiest thing I've ever written, but harry is very hot summary: a shy writer commissions a tattoo from an artist who is way too hot to handle; she can’t stop staring at his hands while he works. and, he notices quite quickly. tag list: @gotdrxnkonu @mads3502 @mellamolayla reply to this story if you would like to be added to the tag list in the future! enjoy, and let my know what you think <3 home - send me a message - masterlist

When something got into Lily’s head, it stayed there. It stayed there for a long while, and even though Lily had no intention of really ever getting a tattoo, something about the idea felt like a step forward. Lily had trouble with decision making; while that was a terrible quality for permanently inking skin, it had grossly taken over her brain that she just wanted to do something different.

All of her friends – the two that were the closest, really – had tattoos, a few actually. She didn’t want to just be like them, but she wanted to fit in, in a way. She wanted to be able to share experiences with people, even if it were in small ways that were her own decisions. While indecisive, she knew that she could at least say that she made the decision to walk through the front doors of a tattoo shop and ask for something that she wanted.

Or, at least, get their opinion on it first.

The bell above the door chimed, a soft, musical sound that echoed through the quiet shop. The décor caught her eye first – lots of art deco, prints on the walls, a leather couch that could have easily stepped out of 1970. Lily stepped inside, heart thudding hard enough she could hear it in her ears – she had been noticed by the girl at the front desk now, so she couldn’t just leave.

The air was thick with the scent of ink, leather, and something smoky-sweet that made the place feel untouchably cool. It was the kind of cool that lived in the margins of a life she didn’t know how to be part of, but she was trying her best.

Her fingers tightened around the crumpled piece of paper she carried; it had a few quotes that she’d picked weeks ago but hadn’t had the nerve to act on until now. They were all quotes from her favorite works, but she didn’t know where one would fit best, or where it would fit best.

The shop was dimly lit, but cozy. Exposed brick walls were plastered with art: flashes of color, delicate lines, portraits that seemed almost alive. A soft buzzing sound came from a back room, like a needle whispering against skin. It was sharp and delicate, and she appreciated the artistic value that these works of art held. Lily shuffled forward, swallowing hard as she approached the front desk.

Behind the front desk sat a woman with dark hair that sat on her shoulders, bangs higher on her forehead, and tattoos trailing up both arms like ivy. Her neck was inked with blues and oranges, delicate flower pieces that she could tell had beautiful delicacy. She looked up from her half-finished crossword puzzle, and her mouth pulled into a slow, warm smile — the kind that said, I see you, and it’s okay.

“Hi there,” She greeted, setting down her book. “Are you here for an appointment with someone?”

Lily swallowed, clearing her throat as she gave her best, confident smile back. “Oh – um, no I don’t have an appointment actually,” Her hands held the piece of her paper before she approached the desk, “Do I need an appointment?”

The woman shook her head with a smile, “You don’t need one, we do walk-ins. Do you have a design in mind?”

Lily raised her brows, “Um, yes. I do,” She placed the quotes on the desk for the woman to look at; she had chewed her gum a bit as she nodded.

“A quote is super easy – we can definitely get you in today. We only have one artist here today, so we’ll have to have him draw something up for you. Is this your first tattoo?" The woman asked, tapping her pen against the desk in rhythm with the low thump of music playing somewhere deeper in the shop.

Lily nodded, cheeks burning. She hated how obvious her nerves always were.

The woman leaned in a little, her voice lowering like they were sharing a secret. "No worries, love. You're in good hands here. Everyone has to do something for the first time every once in a while. I’m Kaila, by the way.” She stuck out her hand to help ease Lily’s nerves a bit.

“I’m Lily.” Lily answered, shaking Kaila’s hand before feeling a bit of relief from her prior anxiety. She still felt the rumbling of her heart against her chest, but it had started to ease.

“Well, Lily, I think,” Kaila checked behind herself, neck stretching to see behind the curtain where the sound of the tattoo gun was coming from. “I think we have our artist finishing up here in a minute. Let me check.”

Before Lily could even think to protest, the woman disappeared behind a beaded curtain that rattled softly in her wake. A few voices were heard – a deep, low voice came from that direction before Lily saw Kaila reappear from behind the curtain.

“He’s finishing up in a minute, so you’re welcome to have a seat. Here,” She handed Lily a large book, “Try and see if any fonts jump out at you while you wait.”

With a nod, Lily took the book in her hands before going to sit on the sofa. She had tried to steady her breathing, focusing on the drawings pinned to the wall — intricate vines curling around skeletal hands, bold quotes stitched into roses. She perused through the pages of the book, calligraphy of many sizes and curves. She bit her lip, feeling a bit overwhelmed with that decision. She was halfway through convincing herself to just leave when she heard a low, amused voice.

“Come back in a week or so, we’ll let that heal for a bit. Kaila will get you on my book,” Two men approached from behind the curtain; one had significantly shorter hair that had streaks of blue through bleach. It was so much more alternative than Lily could pull off, surely. His arms were coated in colorful ink and a bandage that coated the inside of his left arm.

The other man had shaggy brown hair, tortoiseshell glasses that sat on the bridge of his nose that held a small silver hoop. He was tall, had a short button-down shirt that held a checkered pattern, a tighter white t-shirt sat underneath it. The jeans sat on his hips with a baggie fashion, the Converse on his feet were filthy and worn to the point of unfathomability.

He was downright beautiful in a way that Lily should have run.

“It’s going to look so sick when it’s finished,” The brown-haired man told Kaila with a smirk. He joined Kaila behind the desk while she took the other man’s payment and got another appointment. Lily had been staring at the interactions, trying not to be obvious as she kept flipping through the book.

In a moment of staring, her eyes reached up to see that Kaila bumped the man with her shoulder, nodding her head towards Lily with a smirk. The man’s attention drew to her; Lily didn’t know what to do but smile back.

"You must be Lily."

She stood from her spot on the sofa, and the breath she'd been trying to catch abandoned her completely.

The man standing there looked like every fictional bad boy she'd ever secretly fallen in love with between the pages of her books. He was a vision of sorts. His messy, dark hair fell into his green eyes, which crinkled slightly at the corners like he laughed more than he should. The tattoos crawled up his forearms in swirling black ink, disappearing beneath the sleeves of the button down that covered muscles that flexed when he pushed his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. And the way he looked at her — like he already knew she was nervous, and found it almost unbearably charming — made something in Lily's chest twist hard.

"I’m Harry," he said, his voice rough and lazy, the kind of voice made for midnight conversations and whispered secrets. He reached a hand out for a shake greeting, to which Lily reciprocated. The only thing she could do was smile back, barely able to form a word.

Lily swallowed, feeling her own pulse against her throat. She nodded, too flustered to trust her voice yet. Harry made his way back to the desk where Kaila stood, Lily followed.

“So, Lily,” Harry said, dragging his knuckles lightly across the counter as he leaned in; Lily took note of the way that his arms were coated with ink, each one telling a different story of a different time, she was sure. “Tell me about this tattoo, then.”

His mouth tugged into a slow, crooked grin, like he already knew she’d stammer her way through it.

Lily unfolded the paper with shaking fingers, offering it like a peace treaty as she slid it across the counter. Harry’s head turned slightly to be able to read some of the words on it.

“I… um, they’re quotes,” she said, forcing herself to meet his eyes, even though, in her mind, she was already completely in way over her head. “One’s from Jane Eyre - it’s, ‘Conventionality is not morality’, and then I have this Oscar Wilde quote, 'All art is quite useless’ which I just think is quite on-the-nose,” Her voice wobbled as she kept talking, making eye contact with him every so often to make sure that he was engaged.

“Oh, and then this one, from Anna Karenina, 'Yet he saw her, like the sun, even without looking’. I think it’s just beautiful. I’m just not sure where I want it yet - or which one I want, I guess. I only want one.”

Harry took the paper from her, his fingers brushing hers — warm, calloused. He had marks on his knuckles, some scrapes, she could tell. Lily’s stomach flipped at the interaction, but she took in a deep breath to try and even out her breath.

He scanned the quotes, his brow furrowing slightly in thought, then lifted his gaze back to hers, softer now, like he understood more than he let on.

“We can take our time figuring it out,” he said, voice low. “That’s the best part.”

He rounded the counter, moving with a lazy kind of grace that made her toes curl in her boots. He stood close, leaning against the front desk as he studied the paper closely. He was close enough that she could see the faint stubble along his jaw, the tiny silver ring in his left ear.

“The decision on where to put it is mostly about if you want it somewhere only you can see, maybe,” Harry murmured, his voice dipping lower, sending a shiver down her spine as she thought of him seeing it. Of him painting it on her. “Or somewhere you can show it off, if you want the world to know you’re braver than you look.”

From behind the desk, Kaila watched the interaction and the way he spoke to her, a satisfied smirk tugging at her mouth as she picked up her crossword again.

Meanwhile, Lily felt her entire face heat, but her feet stayed planted. She couldn’t look away from Harry if she tried. “I-I’m down for whatever, really. I just – um.” She cleared her throat, fingers playing with her bottom lip as she tried to think about his suggestions. Harry tilted his head, studying her like she was something delicate and fascinating, like he didn’t want to rush and risk breaking the moment.

"Here’s what we’ll do," he said, voice almost a purr. "I'll draw up a sketch so you can see it on you. No ink yet, just a little marker. It'll help you picture it."

Lily opened her mouth to say something — to agree, to flee, she wasn’t sure — but the words caught somewhere behind the pounding of her heart. Harry smiled like he already had his answer. He took the piece of paper that she had crumbled and written on.

"Come on back," he said, jerking his head toward the beaded curtain, where a tall leather chair sat against the wall, His hand brushed lightly against the small of her back as he led her over — a barely-there touch that made her skin tingle under her sweater.

She perched on the edge of the seat, feeling like a statue — awkward and frozen, almost like she was at the doctor’s office— as Harry grabbed a very fine-tipped marker from a nearby tray. He popped the cap off with his teeth, tossing it aside with a lazy flick of his wrist.

“Do you have a kind of an idea of what you want it to look like?” He sat on a chair next to her, a notebook in his hand as he sat the piece of paper on the notebook for reference. Before she could answer he had already started a freehand sketch of the design.

“Um, I think just more of a pretty font,” She nodded, crossing her ankles. “Maybe more of a like,” She shrugged, “Softer?”

Harry nodded, which let a piece of his hair fall over his glasses. “Just letting you know that I actually like the Anna Karenina quote the best. Don’t make that decision based on me, though. It’s your body.”

“Any reason?” Lily found herself asking, feeling that it was a bit bold of her to even create an open conversation.

Harry shrugged, with a smirk that revealed a dimple in his right cheek. “Guess no reason. It would make a boyfriend happy to see his girl wearing a quote like that, I think. It would be a good nod to a good love.”

Lily felt her cheeks flush a heat that made her shake her head. “I-I don’t – uh, there’s no boyfriend.”

Harry bit the inside of his cheek to keep the smile from revealing on his face before he looked up from his notebook. “Good to know,” He shrugged then, “I think it’s the most poetic. Any reason you want a quote before a drawn art?”

Lily licked her lips, “I’m a writer, and I think having written works on me is like – I don’t know. It makes sense to me.”

With a nod, Harry understood it. “I get that, same with me and drawn art, I guess. Makes sense to me.”

Lily watched his continue to draw on the notebook for another moment before he seemed satisfied with how he had finished it. He sniffled, scrunching his nose before he lifted his head.

"Mind if I...?" he asked, gesturing vaguely to her arm. “Do you have anything on under the sweater? Or you can roll it up if it’s more comfortable.”

Lily took in a breath as she shook her head, as if it was stupid to wear the most clothes to a place where she needed to show skin. "Oh, yeah, of course.” Instead, she threw the sweater over her head, leaving her in a plain white t-shirt. A flush of her skin came back in a rush when she realized that she hadn’t put on a bra, leaving her a bit more intimate than she had intended.

She hadn’t thought this far – how stupid could she have been.

Instead of overthinking it now, she offered her forearm like it was some kind of ancient, sacred ritual.

“Just going to touch you,” He smirked, “Know that goes without saying, but I just want you to know that you can tell me to stop or let go whenever – sometimes people think they can’t do that, but just letting you know… you can.”

Harry’s fingers wrapped gently around her wrist, his touch firm but somehow careful, like he could feel the way her pulse raced under her skin, she was sure of it. Slowly, he pressed the tip of the marker to the inside of her forearm, right where the skin was soft and sensitive; Lily breathed out at the unfamiliar touch. His other hand steadied her, thumb brushing in slow, absent circles against her skin.

"Here’s one idea," he murmured, voice low and private. "Something you can glance at whenever you need it. Something just for you, but for everyone too."

Lily's breath caught as he sketched a delicate curve of letters along her skin, his hand feather-light, almost reverent.

Then, without warning, he lifted his hand to let his thumb touch her collarbone with a slight rub motion. The rest of his fingers grazed over her shoulder.

"Could go here too," he said, his knuckles grazing the edge of her shoulder. "Something that peeks out when you wear a wide neckline, if that you’re thing. A bit teasing."

The word teasing hung heavy between them, almost like he noticed the fact that her nipples were practically on display for the world. He didn’t make it known that he was catching glimpses, but maybe he was quite more of a gentleman than that.

Harry's eyes flicked up to meet hers, and for a moment, the air between them snapped tight like a wire. His hand was still at her shoulder, his thumb now resting on her skin like he hadn’t had any reason to let go.

Lily's skin burned under his touch. She swore he could hear her heart pounding.

"And then there's always..." His voice dropped even lower, tougher, more dangerous. He let his fingers trace — just barely — along the outside of her ribs, not quite touching, more of a whisper of suggestion. "...somewhere a little more private, if that’s your thing.”

Her breath hitched audibly; she flinched just a bit even though he hadn’t touched her. The smirk on his face was bitten back as he shook his head.

Harry grinned, wicked and beautiful, then. "No pressure," He said, sitting back as he ran his fingers to push his hair back but slowly, like he wanted her to feel every second of the space he left behind. "Just giving you options."

She swallowed hard, trying to understand the understated feeling of tension that laid between them. It was almost like he had the charisma of a movie star, but she knew that she shouldn’t feel special. Men like Harry didn’t look at girls like Lily.

"Maybe...” She managed, her voice barely above a whisper as she felt the way that her own hand ran her thumb over the site of her ribcage. “Maybe here, I guess. Will it hurt?”

Harry took a sip of the water cup that sat on his station; it kept him from showing the overzealous smile that would appear on his lips at the way that she suggested the private site. He started to smile; it widened like the sun coming up over some dangerous horizon.

"Good call," he said, picking up his pen, "And hey," he added, voice a soft scrape near her ear as he leaned in, "First tattoos are supposed to hurt a little. And I’m pretty good at making sure you’ll like it enough to come back for more. It’s an addicting kind of pain.”

Harry had moved towards the notebook, before he went to go prep the transfer. “Did you like the font of that?” Harry asked, referencing the quick sketch in the middle of her arm that he had given her for reference. “Size too?”

Lily took in a breath, staring at it before she bit her lip, “I think I want it a bit more… rougher, I guess. Nothing too professionally written, I guess. More like regular, messy cursive handwriting. And the size is good. Can we do it in a stanza? Overlapping each comma. You know?”

Staring at the work on her arm, Harry nodded at her notes. Letting his own hand mimic the way that she wanted it – the notes had given him a bit of a warmth in his chest to know that she was asking for exactly what she wanted. On the paper, he turned to show her his interpretation of her thoughts before he pushed his glasses on his nose.

“Something like that?” He asked, Lily’s eyes looked over the design. She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth before she nodded and looked back at him.

Yet he saw her, like the sun, even without looking.

“That’s perfect.” Lily told him in all honesty; her vision, while very biased on the fact that she was unable to really decide on her own what she liked, was definitely brought to happiness with the way that he sold his design and where she should have it.

“Awesome,” Harry said, pleased with the way that she agreed without any further remarks. This step always took much longer, as people wanted their design to be something in their head – Harry had to figure out how to bring their designs to life, but he was creative in that sense. He could usually try to understand them by their character, getting to know them a little bit before designing it.

He just knew that Lily would like this, without knowing her at all.

“So, I’m going to go trace this for you really quick so I can get a stencil. Grab a soda of something out of the fridge, make yourself comfortable. This shouldn’t take more than twenty minutes or so,” He told her, “It will take more to prep and clean you up than anything else. Also, assuming you want black ink?”

Lily let her hands fold in her lap before she nodded at his instruction, “Yes, black is good.”

With that, Harry stood from his own seat before taking his work over to trace it for stenciling. While they were apart, Lily took the moment to let out the largest breath that had been holding back in her lungs. She shut her eyes for a moment, trying to steady herself.

Now, she lay back against the leather chair, her sweater discarded on her lap as she tried to play with a loose string. Her eyes shut in a few flutters before she laid her head back and stared at the ceiling. She turned her head for a moment to stare at the way that Harry’s back arched over the small desk that held the stencil he was carefully tracing.

She didn’t know what to do with her hands – she grabbed her purse, taking her phone out of her purse before she brought up her text messages with her best friend, Tess. She rolled her lips into her mouth before she snapped a quick photo of the set up where the ink and tattoo gun were held.

Lily:  Going under the knife… or gun?

Lily: Also… the artist could not be cuter if he tried

“Okay, this is where you need to stand up so we can make sure it’s straight.” Harry’s voice took her out of her phone, startling her a moment before she nodded. She moved herself out of the leather chair, placing her feet on the floor, using her hands to make sure that her silk skirt was straight.

“Also, the cowboy boots are sick, by the way.” Harry complimented her with a bite of his own lip. Lily noticed their height difference when she looked from her boots up to him; the shine of his nose ring caught her eye before she blushed at the compliment.

“Thank you- I, uh, thrifted them in Shoreditch a few weeks ago,” The genuine brown leather hit against her calves as she showed them off a bit, “Thought they were fun. My first time wearing them.”

“You pull them off well.” Harry nodded. There was a slight tension as Lily cleared her throat; shaking her head, they found the moment of silence to be too much. Harry broke it.

Reaching over his station, Harry worked silently at the little rolling table nearby, snapping on a pair of black gloves with a crisp snap. The sound made her flinch — not from fear — but something deeper. Anticipation, maybe.

"Alright, sweetheart," he murmured, his voice so low and easy it crawled over her skin like smoke. "I’m gonna clean the area first, and then I’m gonna to lay the stencil where I think you’ll like it. If you don’t like it, we can do it again.”

Lily nodded, even though her throat had gone bone dry.

Taking a seat in his chair, Harry rolled closer, a small squeeze bottle and cloth in hand. She stood taller than him now, but she would have to admit the view from above may have been just as good – if not better.

“So, just lift your shirt up – which are we thinking, right or left?” He watched as Lily took the edge of her shirt in her hands before she looked between them, incredibly indecisive, but also without a care, so she just stated, “Left, I think will be better.”

Harry wheeled himself to her left ribcage, using his glove to push her hand up a bit to show more of her skin.

“You doing okay?” He asked; when he received the nod of her, he used his thumb to brush the latex over her skin before using the wipe to clean the area. Lily flinched at the chill of the cool wipe before Harry looked up at her – she had been staring straight ahead.  

The antiseptic was cool against her overheated skin, making her jerk slightly when he swiped it along the curve of her ribcage. He steadied her with a gentle, gloved hand at her side.

"Sorry," Harry said, grinning, "It's always a shock at first."

Lily could barely breathe, acutely aware of everywhere he touched — even though he was professional, methodical, only exposing the small area he needed to work on.

Still, the intimacy of it — the way he had to tilt and maneuver her slightly toward him, the way his hands bracketed the sensitive space just beneath her breast — it felt like too much and not enough, all at once.

"There we go," he said, voice all concentration now. "Now stay real still for me, okay?"

She nodded again, uselessly, because the second the stencil met her skin, she swore she could feel him — the heat of his body, the careful drag of his focus on the straightness of the stencil. She could have sworn his face was close enough that a few strands of his messy brown hair brushed against her bare side.

"You're doing good," Harry murmured after a minute, his breath ghosting over her ribs. "Very good."

Lily squeezed her eyes shut. She was utterly doomed.

When he finished the stencil, he sat back just slightly to admire his work, pulling off one glove with a snap to smooth the tracing paper carefully against her skin. The backs of his fingers skimmed her ribs — feather-light, deliberate — and when he looked up, the green-gold of his eyes darkened.

"You sure you wanna stop at just one?" he asked, voice roughened with something almost tender. "Because, honestly, you wear ink way too well."

She swallowed hard, daring to glance down at the delicate tracing tucked along her ribcage, just under the swell of her breast. She drew in a breath, “Let’s see how much this one hurts first.” She let out a breath of a laugh.

Harry — still sitting beside her, still half-smiling like he knew every thought flying through her head — looked like pure, heart-wrecking trouble. Harry’s grin turned wicked. He peeled off the second glove and stood, flexing his fingers, muscles shifting under the ink that wrapped his own arms like stories written just for him.

"You never know," he said, voice a promise. “You might like a little pain.”  

Turning to his station, Harry grabbed a bunch of unopen supplies that were sterile, and he turned to prep the needle and machine, leaving Lily alone on the chair — heart racing, skin burning, body already craving the sting of his touch.

The buzz of the tattoo machine filled the space again, a steady sound that somehow made Lily’s heart race even harder. Harry sniffled, looking over at her before he cleared his throat.

“I think we’re going to have you lay on your back,” Harry went to maneuver the chair to lay flat; Lily moved with it, laying down on her back before Harry shook his head. “Hold your arm over your head.”

Harry leaned in close, resting his newly gloved hand flat against her side to steady her. The spot was so sensitive — right under the curve of her breast — that when the needle first kissed her skin, she gasped and instinctively arched slightly away.

"Hey, hey," Harry murmured, his free hand held at the underside of her breast, right at her ribs– which gave him a bit of unease at first. "Easy, sweetheart. You're alright. Deep breath for me, yeah?"

Lily swallowed hard, her face burning, but she nodded. She focused on breathing through her nose, trying to ignore the feel of his palm anchoring her, the heat of his body so close it was dizzying. Her eyes stared at the ceiling, knowing that each moment felt more and more difficult.

"You’re doing great," he said, voice low and soothing. "First tattoo’s always the hardest. Especially a spot like this. Let me know if you need to stop.”

She let out a shaky laugh, the sound barely there. "Y-Yeah, I guess I don’t do things halfway."

Harry’s smile widened — not mocking, but warm. Proud, even. He adjusted the machine in his hand and carefully started again, the fine line of the quote beginning to take shape along her ribs.

Harry’s mouth curved into a slow, appreciative grin. "Figures. You’ve got that stubborn look about you."

The machine whirred as he carefully pressed the needle into her skin again, beginning the delicate line of the quote. "What's the quote from?" Harry asked after a minute, his voice soft and warm, keeping her distracted as he worked.

"Anna Karenina," Lily said, her voice barely more than a whisper. "It’s about... someone seeing you. Even when you think you're invisible."

Harry’s hand paused for the briefest second before he resumed, wiping gently at her side with a cloth.

"Sounds like it means something to you," he said, glancing up at her with a flicker of something real in his gaze.

She shrugged, the movement small against his steady hand. "I just... sometimes it feels like... if you're quiet, people don't really notice you. But when they do..."Her voice trailed off.

Harry's smile softened, a little less cocky and a little more sincere. "They’d be bloody stupid not to notice you," he said, almost too low for her to hear.

Before she could say anything, he leaned back in to finish the script, his concentration fierce, brow furrowed. His hand was careful, stabilizing her, and even through the sting of the tattoo, all Lily could focus on was the way his touch felt: steady, grounding, almost reverent.

"You’re holding up better than most," he said after a few minutes, wiping away a smear of ink. "Some people swear and curse the whole time."

She gave a breathless laugh. "Maybe I'm just too shy to complain." She knew very well that it hurt – it hurt more than anything she had done, but she laughed at the idea that maybe she just needed to stay quiet.

Harry chuckled under his breath, shaking his head. "I don’t mind a little shy," he said, his thumb rubbing slow circles into her waist without thinking. "Means you don't bullshit."

She swallowed, heat rushing to her cheeks. As he finished the final strokes, he leaned in even closer, his breath ghosting against her skin.

"And it’s the quiet ones," he murmured like it was a secret, "who usually end up being the most unforgettable."

Lily's breath hitched, her entire body tense — not from the tattoo, but from him.

"I know you marched in here scared outta your mind," he said, carefully wiping away excess ink with a cloth. "And you still picked one of the hardest spots to get tattooed. You sat through it like a champ."

Lily didn’t know what to say to that, but the smile pulling at her mouth was uncontrollable.

Harry kept working, his touches careful, respectful — but God, she could feel him everywhere. His hand steady against her waist. The occasional brush of his knuckles against her ribs when he adjusted the angle. The warm breath from his mouth when he leaned closer to focus. It was overwhelming in the best, most terrifying way.

"You from around here?" he asked, glancing up again as he shifted slightly, bending lower to reach the final curve of the quote.

"Yeah," she said, her voice a little stronger now. "Grew up about fifteen minutes away. You?"

"Born here," Harry said, grinning as he dabbed gently at her side. "Escaped for a bit. Came back when I realized not everywhere has diners open 'til 3 a.m."

Lily laughed softly at his remark. It surprised them both— the way it slipped out of her so easily, warm and bright. Harry looked at her like he wanted to bottle the sound; she hadn’t showed as much emotion than from that little, stupid remark.

"You're loosening up," he said teasingly, switching out a cartridge on the machine to do the finer details. "Almost like you’re not terrified of me anymore."

"I was never terrified of you," she said quickly, eyes wide.

Harry just smirked. He leaned in, his voice dropping conspiratorially as he waited for the color to rise on her cheeks the color of fire. Somehow, he already knew the buttons he needed to press.

"Then why were you blushing so hard you looked ready to faint when I walked over?"

Lily opened her mouth — and then shut it, mortified. She knew that her cheeks could not have been redder than they were in this moment.

Harry's laughter — warm, deep, good — filled the studio space that they were sitting in.

"Don't worry, sweetheart," he said, his knuckles brushing her side again in a way that felt far too deliberate to be accidental. "You’re not the first to get a little shy. You just wear it way cuter than most."

Her heart fluttered so violently she was sure he could feel it vibrating under her skin.

"You're... very confident," she muttered, staring at the ceiling like it might save her.

Harry tilted his head slightly, the machine buzzing softly again as he started on the delicate flourishes of the script, intricate details were needed as he stared deeper onto the inked skin.

"Suppose I have to be," he said, easy with a shrug to his shoulders. "People are trusting me to carve something into them forever. Can’t really be shaky about that." He pulled back for a second, wiping gently again, then leaned closer to blow softly on the ink to dry it.

The puff of air against her raw, sensitized skin made her shudder. Harry grinned like he noticed, like he was tucking it away somewhere private.

"Almost done," he said softly. "You’ve been a dream to work on, Lily."

The way he said her name with a slow, deliberate tone made her stomach flip. When he finally clicked the machine off and peeled his gloves away, the quiet that fell was almost deafening. It hadn’t been too long then, but Lily had missed the feeling already.

He sat back on his chair, running his hand through his messy hair, looking her over like he was committing the sight to memory.

"Alright," he said, voice a little rough, "moment of truth. Want a mirror?"

She nodded, and he passed it over carefully, brushing her fingers with his own in the exchange.

Lily angled it, looking down to be able to see where the writing sat on her skin. It was raw, her skin, red around the darkened ink that was now visible and permanent.

The quote curved perfectly under her breast, right on the ribcage, elegant and understated — exactly like she had imagined it in her head a hundred times. She knew that this would help her, this would connect her with her peers knowing she had gone through this experience.

"It's..." She swallowed hard. "It's really beautiful. Thank you."

Harry's smile softened, all the cocky teasing bleeding out of him until he looked almost bashful at her complimented admission.

"Hey," he said, reaching out instinctively to squeeze her hand that had been holding the mirror in place, fingers brushing along softly as he let go. "Thank you for trusting me. Let me bandage it up for you, and we can send you on your way.”

Lily nodded at that, biting her lip as she kept looking at the mirror while he grabbed the bandages. Harry wiped the ink again, giving it a sheen as he gave her instructions for aftercare. He handed her a small paper bag that included a lotion, a soap wash, and instructions for first time care of a tattoo.

"You mind if I grab a quick photo?" Harry asked, twirling the tattoo machine cable loosely between his fingers as he started to clean up his space; he was trying to act nonchalant about getting the photos, knowing she could possibly say no – but hoping she would just say yes. "For my portfolio. Only if you’re cool with it. I know it’s a spicy spot."

Lily blinked at him, heart still pounding. His smile was easy, but there was a gleam behind it, something playful, like he already knew she wouldn’t say no.

"Okay," she breathed, before she could overthink it. “Yeah, sure.”

Harry grinned a gleaming smile that allowed his dimples on display. He grabbed his film camera from under his station – of course it was a film camera, Lily thought.

"Stand up over here for me," he said, nodding toward a spot near the exposed brick wall where the late afternoon light pooled golden through the windows. “Better lighting.”

Lily slid off the chair, legs slightly unsteady, the fresh sting of the tattoo a thrilling reminder that this was real.  Harry watched her cross the room, head tilted like he was studying a living piece of art. His gaze dragged over her with an intensity that made her toes curl inside her boots.

"Just... pull the shirt up a bit,” he said, his voice going rough at the edges. "Show it off."

Her fingers fumbled at the hem of her shirt, tugging it just enough to reveal the tattoo.

"There," he murmured, camera drawn up to his eye, voice a velvet scrape "Perfect. Hold still for me, pretty girl." he said, almost under his breath as he concentrated on getting the perfect shot.

The first snap of the camera echoed too loudly in the quiet shop. Lily's heart thudded against her ribs as Harry moved around her, finding angles, framing her tattoo, but it didn’t escape her that his eyes kept straying back to her face. Her mouth. Her flushed cheeks.

"One more," Harry said, voice low and rough now. “Chin up. Look at me."

Lily obeyed, realizing that her face would now be in the shot before she even thought about it, tilting her face toward him — and the look that passed between them nearly set the air itself on fire. For one breathless, infinite second, it didn’t matter that the camera was between them. It didn’t matter that she was shy, or new to this, or that her heart was beating out of control.

All that mattered was the way Harry was looking at her. It was almost like she was already his favorite work of art.

The camera clicked. Harry dropped it to his side without a second glance.

He stepped closer again, too close — the kind of close where all she could see was the glint in his hazel eyes and the faint smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"You killed it, Lily," he said softly, with the hint of humor coating his tone. “First tattoo... and you already look dangerous."

Her cheeks flamed, but this time, she didn’t look away.

"Guess I’ll have to find an excuse to see you again." He murmured, trying to keep it between them, even though Kaila was just at the desk behind the beaded curtain. “If you want to, I mean.”

Before Lily could even straighten up, a warm hand closed gently over hers.

She looked up — right into Harry’s eyes. Up close, they were even more devastating — a messy green-gold, framed by thick lashes, flecked with something reckless and soft all at once.

“Y-You want to see me again?” Lily asked, almost like the words coming from him weren’t real. They couldn’t have been; there was nothing intriguing enough about her that would allow a man like this to be interested in her. But the way that his eyes shone behind the glasses as he looked at her held a truth that she couldn’t deny.

"I’ve got about an hour before my next appointment," he continued, like he hadn't just tilted her whole world off its axis. "And I was thinking maybe instead of a payment, you could just... walk to get a coffee with me instead."

Breathless, Lily opened her mouth to speak, letting a breathless laugh escape her. “Oh, uh,” She shook her head, but watched Harry’s smile start to fade as if she was denying him, “Oh- I mean, yes. I would… I would like to do that. But you’re sure you don’t – I mean, I can pay you for your work.”

Harry smiled wider, clearly delighted by the reaction he was pulling from her.

"No, really," he added, even though they both knew there was nothing casual about the way he was looking at her right now. Harry reached over to the chair, handing her the sweater. "I wasn’t expecting this today, so I’ve kind of already been paid. In a way.”

Kaila snorted quietly behind her crossword, drawing Harry’s attention. This time his cheeks reddened at the reaction.

Lily hesitated for half a heartbeat, then found herself smiling, small but real. Maybe a little reckless as she pressed her tongue into her cheek.

"Okay," she said. "Coffee sounds... good. I like coffee."

Harry’s grin turned into something full of promise as he nodded, finding his cheeks hurting from the smile emitting from him.

"Yeah?" he said, stepping back just enough to snag his jacket from the hook by the door. "Good. I know a place.”

Lily pulled the sweater over her head, pulling it back over her frame as she looked up at him. “Do you mind if I freshen up really quick?”

Harry perked up, “Oh, sure. The restrooms over there.” He pointed towards the back, “I’ll meet you at the front.”

Lily moved her way towards the restroom, taking her small purse as Harry grabbed his jacket and sunglasses before going towards the counter where Kaila was sitting with her crosswords in front of her. Harry blew out a breath and raked a hand through his messy hair. The slow smirk on her face was overtaking her smile, Harry caught it immediately.

"You good, Casanova?" Kaila asked without looking up, flipping her pencil between her fingers. “I’m surprised you were able to keep your hand steady enough to get good ink out of it with how jacked up she made you.”

Harry leaned his elbows onto the counter, head dropping between his arms with a low, muffled groan. "I’m gonna marry her.”

Kaila snorted so hard she almost dropped her pencil. "You talked her into coffee, not a courthouse wedding."

He peeked up at her through his messy hair, a cocky but boyish grin tugging at his mouth. "Coffee first. Courthouse second. I’m a gentleman, of course. I do nothing without second thoughts."

Kaila rolled her eyes, laughing under her breath. "Well, just don’t scare her off with your strong puppy energy. She’s sweet. You don’t get a lot of that. You don’t usually throw yourself at girls, it’s a lot of the opposite, so I can tell she’s going to challenge you."

Harry straightened up a little, something serious flickering across his face for half a second. "I know," he said quietly, “That’s hot.”

Kaila softened, just a little, watching him. Then she shook her head and went back to her crossword, voice light again. "Go easy, Fabio. Try not to spill coffee on yourself this time."

Harry flipped her off good-naturedly just as the bathroom door opened, and he immediately turned around, smoothing his jacket down like he'd been standing there casually the whole time. Kaila bit her lip to stifle another laugh.

When Lily came back into view, cheeks still a little pink and hair a little mussed from the day but pulled back into a clip now, Harry couldn’t stop the wide, helpless grin that broke across his face.

“I’ll be back, Kai.” Harry walked in front of Lily, he held the door open for her, a little old-fashioned but somehow so natural it made Lily’s heart ache as she moved out in front of him.

The bell above the shop door jingled as they stepped out into the late afternoon sun. The sidewalk was still warm, the city humming around them. For a few seconds, they just walked, side by side, the silence between them not awkward, but tentative — fragile, like the first brushstroke of something beautiful about to begin.

Harry glanced sideways at her, his voice a little lighter now, teasing again. "So, Lily," he said, slipping his hands into his pockets as he walked. "Tell me something about you. Something I wouldn’t guess."

Lily looked down at the ground, shy, but the corner of her mouth twitched up. After a beat, she said softly, "I once won a spelling bee because I memorized an entire Russian novel in case they picked a word from it."

Harry laughed, a rich, warm sound that made her grab onto her sweater sleeves a bit tightly. "Let me guess," he said, grinning as he walked sideways to face her. "Was it Anna Karenina?"

She laughed too then — a real, bright thing that made her feel lighter than she had in months.

"Maybe," she said, pretending to be coy. "Maybe not."

He bumped his shoulder gently against hers, careful but playful. "Oof, you’re going to keep me guessing,” He bit his lip, “I like it.”

They rounded the corner together, the coffee shop coming into view — a cozy little place with fairy lights strung up in the windows.

And for the first time in a long time, Lily felt like maybe she wasn't invisible after all.

Maybe she was finally being seen.

[reapersapprentice]

After Hours, At Yours.

Nanami x reader

TW: Heavy degradation, dom/sub dynamics, spanking, manhandling, pet names (slut, whore, good girl), humiliation kink, brief switch in dom role, emotional tension, slight aftercare. 18+ ONLY.

⸻

He knew it the moment you opened the door.

The flicker in your eyes, the tension in your voice, the way you half-blocked the doorway with your body like you were hiding something. Nanami stepped inside and understood.

Your place was a mess. Not dirty just… small. Worn. Cluttered. The bed in the corner, half-made. The cracked nightstand. Clothes you probably didn’t have time to put away.

You saw the disappointment in his eyes. Tried to laugh it off.

“I know it’s not much,” you said, barely meeting his gaze. “I don’t make a lot, rent’s expensive, I’m still in my interning phase I, um. I didn’t think you’d care.”

“You didn’t think, that’s where I have a problem” he repeated coldly, shutting the door behind him.

Your face crumbled.

“I’m sorry” you said, trying to keep your composure as much as you possibly could under the circumstances.

“I’m staying.” He replied, completely catching you off guard.

“Excuse me..?” You said, trying not to sound as shocked as you were.

He stepped closer. His presence alone pressed you back toward the edge of the bed. “You invited me in. So now I’m here.” His voice was ice. “I’m not going to let you sit here and spiral in your shame all night. That’s not how this works.”

You swallowed. “Oh well okay.”

He watched your shoulders tighten. Watched your throat bob as you looked anywhere but his face. And he realized something that made his cock twitch under the neat lines of his suit: You were embarrassed.

Completely and utterly embarrassed, you’d been staying here you assumed he knew how the housing was being it was provided by the school.

More so you felt like you weren’t good enough for him.

And you still wanted him to fuck you.

What the fuck is wrong with me? You thought to yourself.

He didn’t waste time. But you.. you on the other hand were in deep thought pushing out excuses after excuses.

He stepped closer to you, picking you up, quieting you.

One minute you were stammering excuses next, you were on your bed, breathless, back pressed to the mattress as he stood over you, maintaining eye contact the way you knew he’d want you to be.

“Take your clothes off.”

You hesitated.

“There is nothing I haven’t already seen, no need to be shy now.” He said while your cheeks flushed red.

“I said take them off. Now.” He demanded.

You scrambled to obey, hands shaking. The humiliation made it better, or maybe worse you didn’t know. All you knew was the heat in your core when he finally climbed onto the bed, hands rough on your knees as he spread your thighs wide open and looked down at you like you were something disgusting. You could see how hard he was through his pants, it was a confusing rush of emotions and alot to take in.

“This is what you wanted?” he said, dragging his fingers through your folds like he wasn’t impressed. “To let a man like me see you like this? Spread open in your shitty little bed like a good-for-nothing whore?”

You moaned. Finally able to get out a single “Yes”

“Of course you did. Filthy little slut.” He spat out, somehow turning you on even more.

His hand cracked down on your thigh, flipping you over, then another hard smack to your ass, hard enough to sting. You yelped, back arching but he was already on top of you, weight pressing you into the sheets, one hand gripping your wrists above your head, the other guiding his cock to your entrance.

“You’re so fucking wet,” he whispered into your ear. “All from being insulted. Do you even have a shred of dignity left?”

You didn’t answer. You didn’t know really.

“Say it.” He demanded

“I don’t, I don’t have any.” You practically whispered.

“Louder.”

“I don’t have any dignity left, please, just fuck me” you begged, turning him on even more.

“Pathetic.”

He slammed into you.

The bed creaked with every thrust, but somehow you managed to be louder.

He was merciless, deep fast strokes, breath ragged, voice full of venom and authority. He held your wrists in one hand, slapped your tits with the other, called you everything but beautiful and you loved it.

“Look at you,” he grunted, staring down at you like you were nothing. “Taking it like you’ve done this a hundred times before. Are you that used to being used?”

“No, just you I just want you, I just need you” you pleaded.

He grabbed your jaw. “Then earn me.”

You did.

You moaned his name, begged through the tears, took every inch until your body was shaking and the sheets were soaked.

But then you had an idea.

You pushed back.

He wasn’t ready. None of his planning, none of his time, not even any of his authority could’ve processed what you were doing.

You shoved at his chest. Rolled him onto his back. Climbed on top.

“What the hell do you think” you could feel him throbbing beneath you.

“Shut up,” you said, guiding him back inside with one smooth movement.

His hands gripped your hips, tight ..too tight but you leaned down, mouth brushing his.

“How about you cum for me.”

He groaned. Head fell back. And just like that he gave in.

You rode him slow. Deep. Controlled. He hated it. He loved it.

He understood how bad you needed this. Needed to be in charge. Needed to take control.

“Fuck,” he growled, jaw clenched. “You little slut don’t get cocky” he said through gritting teeth.

You clenched around him. Mouth on his “But I’m so good at it, aren’t I?”

He came hard. And you felt every bit of it. You took every bit of it.

Later, his arm was around your waist. Your face was buried in his chest.

“Still pathetic,” he muttered. Still dumbfounded from what just happened

You smiled.

“But you’re mine.”

“I know.” You replied listening to his breathing settle rubbing his chest.

:

It’s so nice to be back let me know how yall all liked this one, don’t forget to like, reblog and comment. until next time my loves, xoxo Reaper 💋.

[whereianonymouslypostfics]

Tribulations Part 1

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff x reader

Word count: 14.6k

Summary: Arguing with Wanda leads to more stress than usual for both of you.

A/N: Here's the angst (FINALLY). It will be two parts just because it's so damn long!

Warnings: Angst, arguments, sickness, discussions about death/end of life.

Money. 

Of all the things that you thought you’d argue about with your wife…well this wasn’t in the top ten. 

Neither of you had ever really considered money an issue in your marriage. It certainly wasn’t a point of contention like you’ve heard it can be with most other couples. You both make plenty of money, sure Wanda made a lot more, but it wasn’t as if either of you were ever stressed about money. 

For this reason, you’re not sure how a simple conversation about getting affairs in order had caused an argument. 

That said, when emotions were running high, sometimes both you and Wanda were guilty of saying things you shouldn’t. 

This conversation started because of an issue that you and Wanda were far more used to fighting over. 

Her job. 

She’d been out last night, like most nights of the week, and one of her meetings hadn’t gone as well as she’d hoped. She’d been sitting down with one of her suppliers to renegotiate terms, but she’d somehow offended him along the way. She couldn’t quite remember what she’d said that made him so upset. Was it the previously agreed upon 10% fee increase, or was it the fact she was only signing a 2-year contract instead of a 3 year? 

All Wanda really remembers is that the table between them had been flipped and guns started going off. After the table hit her in the face and broke something, it actually protected her from being shot more than once which she was grateful for. She was only a little less grateful after she went through surgery to repair her zygomatic arch and remove the bullet from her side. It was just a flesh wound, but this fact only made you feel a little better when you arrived at medical to visit your wife. 

She admittedly had looked a little rough with the bruising beneath her left eye that extended down her cheek. The careful suturing along her face was unlikely to leave a scar she’d been told, but that didn’t stop it from looking gnarly right after surgery, and for weeks afterward. 

When you’d seen your wife lying in bed with a grimace and a horrendous looking bruise you’d panicked. You’d already been briefed by Steve as usual, but even he wasn’t able to appease your growing anxiety this time. 

You’d been at work when he called you, and it took you longer than you would have liked to leave. This stress was compounded by Wanda’s appearance, and you may have been a little blunter than you usually were after she was hurt on the job. 

“You need to get out Wands.” 

You usually didn’t start the conversation like this. You of course asked how she was feeling first, but usually you’d sit with her for a bit and fuss over her before you asked her to explain what happened. You’d barely waited two minutes and Wanda’s shame at being hurt quickly was overshadowed by annoyance at your insistence that she quit.

“It’s not that easy, Y/n.” 

You of course knew this and you told her this, but not in the best way. This had probably been the straw that broke the camel’s back. 

“Well obviously, Wands, but you need to try harder.” 

“How do you propose I do that, Y/n?” 

You had been too focused on the discoloration and swelling around her eye to think of anything particularly plausible. 

“I don’t know, Wanda, but you need to leave before you get killed.” 

Unsurprisingly, Wanda had given you the silent treatment for an hour until you finally left her alone to return to work. You were more upset by the fact that she’d gotten hurt than anything else, but you’d taken your fear and frustration out on her which you felt guilty about. You’d been distracted for the entire time you’d attempted to stay at work that night. You figured you just needed time to calm down while Wanda needed to focus on getting better. She shouldn’t have to worry about you and your insecurities right now. You’d visited her for two days at the compound after work until she was discharged and set free to go back home. 

You’d been hoping that she would return home and take time off of work, but that hadn’t happened. Wanda had to make up for lost time, and you had been so mad you just went home and didn’t speak to her for nearly 24 hours. 

When Wanda finally came home the third night after her surgery, she found you in the living room working on something that surprised her. She barely greeted her dogs as she eyes the words ‘last will and testament’ and wonders what the hell you’re doing. 

She doesn’t realize that she’s asked this out loud until you turn around and shoot her a slightly annoyed look. You look tired like you haven’t slept well, but she doesn’t even have time to consider this right now. She focuses on your scowl and the pen that you’re holding in a white-knuckled grip. 

“What does it look like, Wands? I figure we need to be responsible.” 

Wanda’s response is so quick it almost gives you whiplash. She sounds offended and it doesn’t take you long to figure out why. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” 

This is when you realized that you hadn’t paid enough attention to your wife. Not only was she in pain and stressed about work, but now you were surprising her with wanting to have your will updated. 

You honestly had just wanted to make sure that everything was in order. Did you leave all of your money to Wanda or Yelena? Check. You did the same for nearly everything else except for one thing that you plan on leaving Natasha. You decided that you weren’t going to tell Wanda about that because even though it is ancient history, you had a letter stashed away that you wanted to give her in the event that you die before Wanda. 

Wanda had sat down beside you waiting for your response, and you just glared at the paper in front of you before you claimed that it wasn’t personal. 

“I just want to be prepared.” 

Wanda frowns at this but she doesn’t argue as she considers asking to read it. It’s not entirely her business even though she’s sure you’ve left her most everything, but she does wonder. Still, she knows she should focus on the reason why you’re doing this tonight, and she can’t help but sigh in defeat. 

“It was a fluke, detka. It won’t happen again.” 

You’re still on edge and Wanda’s empty promises just grate on your nerves. You have been with her for years and you know better than that by now. You know that she can’t guarantee that she’ll be safe, and this truth is a bit harder to stomach tonight. You shake your head before setting down your pen and turning to face your wife.

“So I should just wait until you die to worry about this?” 

Despite knowing that this question is designed to antagonize Wanda, you can’t help but be a little desperate. You know that the only way, the best chance, for Wanda to be safe in the long term is to quit. You’ve talked about it a dozen times in the past year alone, and you both agreed that if you were going to start a family, both you and Wanda had to be as far away from her business as possible. 

This is what you’re thinking about when you ask Wanda to reconsider her career choice in the cruelest way you can. Selfishly, you want your wife by your side for years to come, and you want to stop having to worry about her every time one of you leaves the house. 

You see Wanda’s face fall and you know you’ve made a mistake, but you can’t stop. You unconsciously choose to channel your fear into the least productive line of questioning that focuses on something you couldn’t care less about at the moment. 

“Is all of your money under just your name? Am I the beneficiary or will it all be left to your brother? How does that even work when it’s all earned illegally?” 

You watch as Wanda’s frown turns into an ugly sneer, and you feel yourself tense. You wish you could take a moment to breathe instead of panic, but unfortunately when your wife’s concerned this can be difficult. 

“Are you seriously asking me if you get my money right now? Is that all you care about?”

Even as she asks this, Wanda knows that this isn’t the case. You’re both extremely riled up about different, yet related issues and it’s making you say stupid things. You stand up nearly throwing your chair back onto the floor causing the dogs to jump in surprise. Boone is sitting beside your chair and Rogue stands behind Wanda as you blindly lash out and send the papers in front of you scattering across the floor. Rogue jumps in surprise and ducks behind Wanda while Boone stands up beside you. 

“I don’t give a shit about your money, but we need to start somewhere. It doesn’t seem like you want to admit that you’re never going to leave your job!” 

You and Wanda just stare at each other in silence for an agonizingly long time. It’s Wanda who finally speaks up because you’ve finally said your piece. You’ve voiced one of your greatest fears and you have nothing else to throw at your wife. Wanda eventually just rolls her eyes before storming toward the garage. She doesn’t want to be around you right now, not if you’re just going to keep pressuring her into making a difficult decision. She has a headache and shouting at you has only made it worse. 

“I can’t talk to you when you’re like this.” 

You don’t manage to respond before you watch both Wanda and Rogue escape to the garage. You hear the door open only moments later, and you’re not exactly shocked to hear her car start and back out leaving you and Boone to think about what you’ve done. 

The morning after your argument with Wanda is worse than you thought it would be. You wake up alone in bed with Boone lying in the hallway right in front of the stairs. The fact that Wanda didn’t come back last night leaves you equally annoyed and upset, but mostly at yourself. You go through the motions of getting ready for work,  but you manage to check your phone a half dozen times for a text or call from your wife. 

Nothing. 

You guess you don’t deserve a check in after last night. 

Wanda didn’t have a much better night away from you. She woke up with her entire left side throbbing and Rogue at the foot of the bed. She forgot to take her medications last night, and she’s certainly regretting it now as she tries to sit up. Her side burns and she bites her lip to keep from screaming as she finally manages to get to her feet. She doesn’t waste any time going to her purse and grabbing the two medications she’d been given a few nights ago. 

She slowly heads to the kitchen to grab a glass of water and something to eat. She’s starving since she skipped dinner last night, and the sight of Rogue following her reminds her that she hadn’t grabbed any of his food before leaving the house. She sighs in defeat as she sets her glass in the sink and looks to the pantry for suitable alternatives for him. She ends up just making extra eggs and toast to give him which feels ridiculous, but Rogue doesn’t seem to mind at all as he munches away at his breakfast on a plate that looks just like hers. 

Wanda is sitting at the table where you’ve always eaten dinner while at the compound when she thinks to call you. She bites down on the urge and swallows it with her slightly burnt toast as she shakes her head. She needs time to think about everything that’s happened in the last week. She’s still not feeling up to talking to you yet, but she has to admit that you make a good point.

You’ve been wanting Wanda to quit her job for years. She’s honestly considered doing it for nearly that long. However, there’s always been something stopping her from taking the chance and leaving the mob. She’d always claimed that it was a dangerous and tedious task untangling herself from the criminal empire she’d run for longer than a decade. 

The risks of leaving herself and by association her family vulnerable never sat well with her, but this wasn’t what kept her from quitting her job. 

She’d never told anyone, certainly not you, but she was terrified of leaving her job. She was afraid that doing so would change everything, and once she had no mobster job, no secret appeal, you’d become bored of her.

It felt silly and conceited, but Wanda knows that becoming a stay-at-home mom, which is the ultimate goal, isn’t nearly as exciting as what she does now on a daily basis. There’s an irrational, or perhaps fearful, part of her brain that’s telling her that quitting will ruin your relationship. You’ll realize that without all of the excitement and danger, that she’s nothing special.

Wanda’s only tried to think of comparable careers that she could pursue to keep this from happening, but it wasn’t realistic. If she was going to leave the mob, she couldn’t try to do anything else. She needed to take a break from work, perhaps permanently, and then stay on the right side of the law for the rest of her life.

She knows she’s been lucky to avoid being charged and going to jail, but at some point, her luck will run out. 

Similarly to how she escaped a few days ago, although not unscathed, she knows that one day she may not make it out. The idea of dying from an injury sustained while working makes her pause and drop her fork back to her plate. She ignores Rogue’s whine as he sits beside her with sad, hungry eyes. 

The idea of leaving you in this fashion makes her blood run cold. She never wants to leave you alone and unprotected, hell she never wants to leave you period, but the idea of blindsiding you in this way…

She pushes her chair back from the table and grimaces as she stands and takes her plate to the kitchen. She sets it in the sink before she stands at the counter staring off into the living room but not seeing anything. She thinks about what would happen if she died. Would someone come after you? Her family? She hates to think of you being hurt, or worse, but the thought of you grieving her death makes her a little nauseous. She makes some coffee and nearly chugs it as she thinks about how she’d feel if she was in your position. 

She has to admit that you are far more patient than she would be. If she had asked you to leave work as much as you had, and been told no for so long…she’s not sure she would have tolerated it. She likely would have threatened to leave you by now, and although she’s pained by the thought, she can’t help it. Her anxiety would make it near impossible to sit home alone night after night not knowing if you’d come home. 

She disappears into the bathroom to change the bandage covering the wound on her side. It’s been cleaned up and closed but it’s still oozing because it’s impossible not to move at all. As she looks into the mirror she pauses before taking off her shirt. She focused on the red line down the side of her face and the splotchy skin beneath her eye. She’s stunned that she didn’t end up worse off after that night. 

As she thinks about this, she can’t keep her mind from wandering to you. 

She’d seen your apprehension when you first came to visit her after her surgery. She’d been in pain and drowsy, and she’d just wanted to cuddle with you. She’d been prepared for some anxiety and was ready to offer reassurance, but your resolute request that she quit caught her off guard.

At first she’d thought that you were mad at her for getting hurt. She’s certain you were worried too, but she’d thought that this had been overshadowed by anger, and she still believes this.

She spends most of the morning scowling as she tries to work out what she wants to do. She needs to do something, and although she’d intended to work, a call from her brother told her that there was nothing to do. He was taking care of everything so she could have the day off, and no amount of arguing with him would change his mind. 

So now Wanda’s mildly irritated at her brother too when she decides that she’s sat around for long enough. She doesn’t want to walk around the compound if she can’t work, so she decides to take more pain meds and take Rogue on a walk around town. 

She retreats to the bedroom once again to figure out the easiest disguise she can so she can get some air as quickly as possible.  

You’re struggling to get through the day at work while Wanda’s busy picking between two different blonde wigs. You slept like shit and it’s caught up to you so quickly that you’ve been forced to drink coffee while at work. This is something you’ve managed to avoid for years, and it’s not something that anyone at work misses. You receive shocked, both kidding and serious, looks when you walk through treatment with a cup of 50% coffee and 50% milk. 

You stifle a yawn as you try to focus on your next appointment. It shouldn’t be too difficult, but then again nothing was very easy for you when you were fighting with your wife. You could name fewer than half a dozen times that you disagreed enough to avoid one another for any period of time. You sigh at the thought and push your way through the treatment area door so you can head up to your office. Your assistant is still taking a history so you probably have time to drop your coffee off at your desk and delay the inevitable. 

You slouch in your seat in front of your computer and stare at the screen without really seeing it. You ignore the glare and the schedule in front of you as you consider how you could have gone about this differently. 

You loved your wife. That wasn’t even a question. 

The real question that you’ve been wrestling with for years was far less straightforward. Most of the time you tricked yourself into not thinking too much about the risks associated with Wanda’s work, but incidences like a few nights ago caused your anxiety to ramp up. You think about Wanda’s reassurance that everything will be fine, and you’re honestly sick of hearing it.

You’re sick of trying to believe it. 

Maybe it had worked when you first met her because you didn’t know any better. You hadn’t gone through everything you have now. You’d seen and experienced too much of the collateral damage that came with being with Wanda, and now you were just tired.

You don’t get to dwell on this as your phone goes off and you’re being summoned for your appointment. 

You’ll think about this later. After all, you’re not sure that you’ll be seeing your wife tonight. 

Wanda had made the uncharacteristic decision to wander downtown among the bustling city life for her walk with Rogue. Not only had she wanted to be distracted, but she hadn’t wanted to be alone. She knew her mind would wander too much if she went on a hike or anywhere more secluded than where she was now. She was wearing her favorite blonde wig and sunglasses that covered most, but not all, of her injury.

Her first stop after she’d found parking was a pet store. She’d found the closest thing to the food you had for Rogue at home, but she’d been unable to buy it without a prescription. She’d only considered bothering you for one for a millisecond before she saw an entire shelf of human grade dog food as she went to put up the bag she’d chosen. She eyes the boxes carefully and realizes she’d basically be feeding Rogue soup, stew, or some other wet food. This was too messy for right now, so she just grabbed a bright blue bag of kibble that had salmon in it. Rogue loved salmon which you learned after he’d stolen an entire fillet from the kitchen counter when you had your back turned. This thought reminds her of the only real requirement you had for your dogs’ food. 

Something about avoiding grain-free. She couldn’t manage to remember the reason at the moment, but that mattered little as Rogue started to whine and nudge her hand with his nose in excitement. She decides to focus on him for now and hurries to check out. She’s going to try and focus on him today instead of herself if at all possible. 

This is how she found herself sitting in a fairly crowded park with a bag filled with dog food, two new bowls, doggy bags, and jerky treats. Rogue had been good about wandering around so far, but Wanda knew it was never a bad idea to have treats when she took him on walks. He was sometimes triggered by someone running or something too loud, and the only way she’d ever been able to snap him out of his fear was with food or cuddles. 

“Sorry for the delay, bud.” 

Rogue didn’t seem to mind as he scarfs down his new food with gusto. She just rolls her eyes before pouring some water into the spare bowl with a sigh. She glances around behind the cover of her sunglasses and people watches for a few minutes. She follows a cyclist down their path toward the lake and to the gardens beyond before her attention is stolen by a loud squeal. She looks around for the source and nearly melts at the sight of a child, probably no older than 2 or 3, smiling widely as she reaches up for her father. 

She jumps excitedly and Wanda watches as the man leans over and hoists her up high in the air. The squealing resumes as the toddler is spun around under the watchful eye of a brunette who’s following the duo with a stroller in one hand and a purse in another. Wanda feels a surprising pang of envy at the sight, and has to look away before she makes a face that might be misunderstood. She reaches out for her dog who’s now sitting beside her as he does his own survey of their surroundings. He’s panting as he stands up seemingly ready to continue walking, and Wanda just sighs in defeat. She packs up the mess before slowly getting to her feet with a slight grimace. Her pain meds have kicked in, but her side still aches with too much movement. 

She’s probably going to regret this outing later, but for now she’s just going to use it to forget. 

In the few minutes it takes to walk down to the lake, Wanda’s mind has already begun to wander back to you. 

She follows dutifully as Rogue leads them around the water past groups of sunbathers and families having picnics. She only has to slow him down once when he starts to pull at the gates of the flower garden. She knows that she shouldn’t go in there since he’ll try to dig something up, but there isn’t a sign that says ‘no dogs’ so she doesn’t fight him. 

As she follows her dog as he explores the grounds, Wanda thinks about to the last time when she truly felt free of responsibility. 

Was it when she was in elementary school and she didn’t know what her dad did for a living? Or was it after, in middle school when she learned about the family business, but still had no idea that she was going to be the one to take it over? She had always assumed it would be her brother. That he would be mentored by their father until he retired.

She’d never expected to be orphaned and then thrown into everything. 

Sometimes she was still surprised that she hadn’t run the business into the ground. 

She wonders what her life would be like if that had happened.

Would she have still met you, or would her life have gone in a completely different direction? Maybe she would have had to flee and start all over with her brother.

Wanda hisses when Rogue yanks on his leash at the sight of another dog. She’s quick to redirect his attention and tell him to sit until they walk past. She gives him a treat before making a turn into what looks like a sea of flower beds. 

“Behave.” 

Rogue already has his nose in the dirt of one of the rose beds, and Wanda sighs in defeat. 

“Rogue no. Come on.” 

The dog whines but he continues on his way without additional protest. Wanda lets him wander around for a bit longer until she needs to takes a break. She needs to sit down and the first place she finds is luckily in the shade. She’s exhausted from her poor night’s sleep and pain, but she still doesn’t want to go home yet. Or rather to the compound. 

She startles when Rogue jumps up to sit beside her on the bench, but she’s too tired to tell him to get back down. He luckily just sits down and pants as she closes her eyes and leans back against the bench. She grimaces when her shoulder hits something hard, and she turns to investigate, but she stops short. 

“Rogue no!” 

Her shepherd’s mouth is already closing around a colorful tall flower with so many petals it’s ridiculous. The pink scatters but a fair amount disappear into Rogue’s mouth as he sucks them down like he’s starving. Wanda stands up quickly and ignores her body’s protests as she quickly yanks Rogue away from the flowers. Wanda curses under her breath as she glances back at the ruined few flowers whose petals have fallen onto the bench. It’s only as Wanda traces their path and considers sweeping them away that she spots the plaque. This is what she must have been leaning again since the rectangular metal sign had raised letters that she definitely felt digging into her skin. 

When she sees what it says; however, she stops breathing. 

Foxglove (digitalis purpurea)

She’s been married to you long enough to have a running list of things that are toxic to pets. The most common ones that she can never forget are onions, garlic, grapes, and dark chocolate.

Some are more regional toxins such as a type of weed you told her about because you found the name entertaining. 

Then there was Foxglove: a cardiotoxic plant. 

Wanda quickly turns to Rogue when she realizes he’s still chewing, and she drops to her knees so quickly she shocks them both. 

“Rogue, open your mouth. Spit it out now!” 

Wanda wrenches open the shepherd’s mouth and he nearly bites her in his surprise, but Wanda grabs his tongue and does her best to grab the remaining soggy petals that she sees. She grimaces and then cringes when Rogue starts to gag and even more saliva and macerated petals fall into her hands or on the ground. She looks to the small pile on the ground knowing that it isn’t nearly all of them, and she curses under her breath before standing up. 

She was already sweaty, but now she’s also shaking as she hurries to the closest exit while reaching for her phone. She can’t remember where the closest emergency vet is, and despite not being ready to talk to you, she doesn’t hesitate to call your number.

You’re in the middle of an appointment so you aren’t able to answer your phone. You don’t even hear it vibrate as you examine a dog that weighs nearly as much as you do. Well at least you’re trying to, but it’s difficult given that he’s just walking around in circles and pushing you around with his massive body. 

“Do you think you could hold his leash while I listen to him?” 

When you don’t answer your phone for a second time Wanda leaves a quick message before she calls Steve. 

She is probably about a twenty-minute walk from the car and she’s not sure how long it will take to get to the ER. She’s panicking because she can’t remember how long it takes for signs to show up after eating the flower, but the fact that it causes heart problems is enough to nearly send her into a panic attack. 

“Hey Wanda.” 

Wanda barely greets her friend as she tries to explain what happened while she leads Rogue out of the park. He doesn’t understand her urgency, but luckily he’s keeping up with her as she rushes to get them to the car. 

“Steve. Where are you right now?” 

When he tells her that he’s about an hour away with Bucky, Wanda curses under her breath. She grows tense and ditches the bag from the pet store on a nearby bench. It’s slowing her down and it seems like she needs to hurry up. 

“Can you look up the closest ER clinic for me please?” 

By the time Wanda gets Rogue to the car, he still seems fine, but she doesn’t waste any time heading toward the hospital. It’s about a 15-minute drive, and Wanda makes it there in 10. She’s so worried about getting Rogue taken care of that she doesn’t notice how his demeanor changes immediately when he realizes where they are. He digs his heels in and she practically has to drag him through the front doors.

“I know, Rogue. I’m sorry, but this is on you, bud.” 

It’s not until she’s facing a receptionist that she realizes that she just walked in here without a plan. She is luckily still wearing her sunglasses, but she nearly says her real name as she speaks up. 

“Hi, my dog ate almost an entire foxglove plant about 45 minutes ago.” 

The subtle widening of the brunette’s eyes confirms Wanda’s fears and she barely resists the urge to throw Rogue’s leash at her when she simply nods. 

“Okay, can you tell me your name and your dog’s name? I’ll call someone up to triage him.” 

Wanda gives them her fake name which luckily matches the credit card she has on her before she turns her attention to Rogue. He’s tense and his gaze is darting around the room at any sign of movement. When he sees someone come out from the back and head towards them, he somehow grows even stiffer. His ears fold back and he steps back immediately. The woman in scrubs seems to understand, and she just offers Wanda a smile before gesturing toward the scale along the wall behind her. 

“Hi, my name’s Antonia. Can we see if he’ll let us get his weight?” 

Wanda immediately regrets tossing the treats she’d bought because those would have helped a lot. She walks with Rogue to the scale, but he steps over it twice, avoiding it as best he can before Wanda has to bodily lift him onto it. She’d usually be more patient, but time is of the essence and this is likely important. 

Once Rogue jumps off the scale he steps behind Wanda’s legs and tries to hide when Antonia reaches out her hand. 

“92lbs, great. Now I’ll borrow him so a doctor can examine him and try to induce vomiting. Is that okay?” 

That truly is the million-dollar question. As soon as Wanda nods and tries to step out of the way when she hands over the leash to the brunette, Rogue begins to try and pull away. He starts to thrash his head and whine in an attempt to get free. Wanda hates that she didn’t have time to ease him into this, but this wasn’t something that she could have planned. 

She does her best to try to calm him, but he must know that he’s going to be taken away and he doesn’t do well with strangers. She reaches out for him to keep him from getting out of his collar, and as soon as her hands are on his back he starts to cry out in distress as he bucks against her hold. 

“Rogue, hey, it’s okay. Rogue, look at me.” 

She reaches out for her dog’s face and turns him toward her with as reassuring smile as she can manage. He’s panting and his hot breath is fogging up her glasses, but she keeps them on as she scratches his ears and kisses the side of his head. 

“I’m sorry, I know you hate being here, but they’re going to help you okay? You need to behave.” 

Almost as if he knows what Wanda’s saying, Rogue whines in protest before he throws out his tongue and manages to hit her injured cheek. She cringes but doesn’t hesitate to pull him close so she can whisper in his ear.

“I love you my sweet boy. I’ll be here waiting for you.” 

Wanda stands up and when Rogue immediately starts to look around frantically, she grabs his leash with a small smile as she turns toward the very patient tech. 

“I’ll pretend like I’m going with you, if that’s okay?” 

The brunette hesitates but she second guesses it as she just nods and leads the way. She scans an ID badge and opens the door for Wanda to walk through. Rogue unsurprisingly isn’t very willing to walk through, but a firm tug and another whispered reassurance is enough to get him through the door.

Wanda tries to ignore the multiple people, at least two doctors, in the room and the pets they’re looking at. She doesn’t make eye contact as she holds out Rogue’s leash and starts to sneak out. Rogue doesn’t catch on immediately, but then he spins around and lunges as he tries to follow her. He nearly takes the tech’s arm off, and his anxious cries make Wanda tear up. She hates to leave him here, but he needs to be treated by someone, and you weren’t available. 

Wanda’s hand finds the door handle, and she retreats before Rogue can get too worked up. She holds up a hand to him and speaks in a tone that he recognizes but only partially acknowledges in his heightened state of anxiety.

“Settle. I’ll be back. I promise.”

Wanda ducks out before she can second guess her decision. She forces herself to walk away despite how hearing her dog cry makes her want to cry too. She goes back to the desk because she’s sure there’s paperwork to fill out. After that’s done, she’s told that she should get an update as soon as a doctor looks at Rogue. She just nods before retreating to a secluded corner of the waiting room. She sits in the sun despite being hot because it’s the only way she can justifying keeping her glasses on. She takes them off briefly to clean them, but she doesn’t dare look around before slipping them back on.

She pulls her phone out again before trying to call you again. 

“Hi, you’ve reached Y/N. Leave a message.”

Wanda sighs in exhaustion, annoyance, and defeat before she leaves you a slightly passive aggressive message. 

“Y/n. I’m at the emergency vet on the East side with Rogue. Call me back when you get a chance.”

You get a moment to breathe about an hour later, and at this point Wanda has been briefed on Rogue’s progress, or lack of so far. You’ve had a hectic afternoon and you only just get to grab your phone when someone else pulls your attention away. You drop it back into your pocket to address the possible emergency that’s waiting in treatment. You haven’t even gotten to eat lunch yet, but the presence of a vomiting dog luckily helps curb your appetite. 

Wanda’s sitting motionless as she listens to a doctor tell her about Rogue’s reluctance or simply failure to vomit. 

“If we can’t get him to vomit, we can administer activated charcoal to try and neutralize the toxin. The problem is…” 

Dr. Cohen briefly considers how difficult it was to give Rogue his injection of apomorphine. He was still very stressed and he attempted to get away from anyone who tried to touch him. He became an almost 100lbs bucking bronco and not only was this dangerous to everyone involved, but it was going to make treating him impossible. 

She recognized the name that Wanda signed in under, but she’s never met you so she’s unsure of what you look like. Since time is not on her side, or Rogue’s, she decides to cut to the chase.

“Are you Dr. Y/l/n? I saw the name you checked in under.” 

Wanda seems a little surprised by this question and she looks up at the blonde before shaking her head. She turns away because she can feel her face aching and she’s suddenly self-conscious about it again. She only briefly considered what people must think of her coming in here with her sunglasses on. Either she’s under the influence, or she’s hiding something. 

“No, that’s my wife. Sorry, that would probably make everything easier to explain.” 

Wanda offers a self-deprecating smile and luckily it seems to move things along. The doctor smiles back before she shakes her head despite her response.

“No that’s okay. I was just curious because Rogue’s not letting us put an IV catheter in and that will be important for what we need to do.” 

Dr. Cohen explains how foxglove causes GI symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea, but it can also cause a slow heart rate, arrythmias, and even death if it’s not treated promptly or aggressively. Since Rogue didn’t vomit, this makes things a bit more complicated, and higher risk. Wanda feels herself stiffen at the idea of her dog getting so sick and having to stay here overnight, but she pushes this aside. She’ll do whatever is necessary for him to be okay. She doesn’t care how much it costs or how long he needs to stay here. Although she knows that he’ll hate it. 

“Typically, if we can’t place a catheter while they’re awake, we would sedate them. However, given what Rogue ate we don’t want to do anything to lower his heart rate if at all possible.”

Wanda just nods in understanding before she pictures her scared dog not letting anyone touch him. She isn’t sure he’s ever had to be hospitalized, certainly not since they rescued him, so she’s sure his vet experience was limited. 

She takes a deep breath as she tries to push aside her terror at the guarded prognosis she’s been given, and focus on the now. 

“Okay, that makes sense. Can I do anything to help?” 

Dr. Cohen hesitates because what she’s going to ask is unconventional, but she was hoping that Wanda was a vet. The fact that she’s married to one at least suggests that she might understand protocols and how sometimes their goals and patient compliance don’t always align. 

“I shouldn’t be asking, but do you think he would be calmer if you were in the room while we tried to place the catheter?”

Wanda didn’t answer immediately because although she was sure that she could calm her dog down, she wasn’t sure if it would be enough. She wanted to try and help though so she nods before standing up and following the doctor back to the treatment area. 

“Okay, let’s give it a shot.” 

Wanda immediately realizes how much the small team of techs have tried when she arrives to see her dog standing as far away from the duo as his leash would allow. They had different treats, an e collar, a muzzle, and what must be catheters and tape scattered around the floor. Wanda doesn’t have time to ask where they’d like to start before Rogue spots her and comes running for her. He barrels into her and she grimaces when he jumps up on her and bats at her with his paws. She swallows a curse when her side spasms before she shoots Rogue a glare he doesn’t see. 

“Rogue, sit down.” 

It takes him a couple of seconds to comply in his excitement, but he sits in front of her and pants happily as he tries to ignore everyone else’s existence. She looks down to him and holds out her hand with a small smile. 

“Lie down. Wait.” 

Rogue listens before Wanda turns towards the techs and Dr. Cohen who are standing by watching.

“How would you like to do this?” 

After slathering a tongue depressor with squeeze cheese and offering it to Rogue to gauge his interest, Wanda reluctantly takes a muzzle that has some cheese spread across it. She was told that her involvement with this required extra precautions, and although she’s fairly certain that Rogue won’t bite her, she doesn’t have the energy to argue. She also doesn’t want to drag this out. 

“Here, Rogue, want some more?” 

It takes him a few seconds to fall for it, but when he does, he has cheese on his face and Wanda can move the straps behind his head and secure it. She tries to ignore how everyone is just watching her, and she speaks only to Rogue. 

“Alright, bud I’m going to buckle this and it might make a loud noise. “

As predicted Rogue flinches a little but Wanda scratches his head causing him to look up at her between his furious licking. She keeps petting him as she looks to the two techs that have their supplies in hand. 

“Tell me where I need to be so I’m not in your way.” 

As Dr. Cohen watches her technicians get on their knees beside Rogue and his mom, she’s surprised by how knowledgeable the blonde seems to be. She figures it must come from being married to a vet, but she didn’t seem to trip up at all with this process. She wonders if Rogue’s had to be hospitalized before, but she realizes it doesn’t really matter. He obviously trusts the blonde, and he’s already getting his catheter wrapped as Wanda holds him around his neck and distracts him with cheese and kisses. 

Once they’re finished and Rogue’s eaten all of his cheese, he stands up quickly. He shakes out his leg with the catheter briefly but he doesn’t try to go for it. Wanda keeps scratching him before her hand goes to the buckle behind his head. She turns to Dr. Cohen with a look that she can’t decipher past her glasses.

“Can I take this off?” 

Rogue doesn’t seem too bothered by it, but that’s likely because his mom is nearby. She is about to nod, but she stops short as she spots the cone that’s still lying on the floor.

“Yes, but we’ll need to put a cone on so he doesn’t chew at his catheter.” 

Also so he doesn’t bite us when you leave. Dr. Cohen doesn’t say this, but she’d be naïve to think that Wanda doesn’t recognize this. 

Still, the blonde removes his muzzle before reaching out for the e collar. Rogue obviously knows what’s about to happen, and he starts before taking a step behind his mom. 

“Rogue, close your eyes. Bedtime.” 

Rogue immediately falls on his side and covers his eyes as he pretends to sleep. Wanda sighs in defeat and she rolls her eyes when she realizes this won’t work. She turns behind her to get a treat that she can use to lure him. 

“You’re too smart, Rogue, but luckily you’re very food motivated.” 

And dumb enough to eat a poisonous flower. 

Rogue stands up when Wanda waves a treat in his face, and she tells him to sit again before holding up both the cone and the treat. 

“Wait. No wait.” 

Rogue lets her put the cone over his head before he lunges for the treat when she tells him okay. Wanda’s fingers are spared from the savage chewing that Rogue starts while Wanda tries to secure his cone. One of the techs comes up and helps her thread some gauze through the base of it, and luckily Rogue doesn’t protest too much. 

“That went better than I thought it would.” 

Wanda just nods before she realizes what comes next. She’s going to need to leave again, and it wasn’t until now that she realized why coming to help was a bad idea. Rogue’s already up on his feet and leaning against her heavily as he watches her expectantly. He must think he can leave now that she’s back, and the idea of leaving him again makes her chest constrict. 

“It did. We’ll take him to the ICU to set him up for monitoring and fluids.” 

Wanda nods before she moves to leave them to their work. She’s a little surprised when she’s asked if she’ll walk him to his run. The idea of him fighting them every step of the way is enough for her to agree. 

“Okay, Rogue. Let’s go to your temporary digs.” 

On the way, Dr. Cohen tells her that she’ll start supportive treatments, but monitoring for the next few hours will be important. One of the techs returns with a bowl full of wet food mixed with something black, ah charcoal. Rogue sniffs at it and when it’s placed in his run he just looks at it before turning back to Wanda. She just waves him in before reaching down to take off his leash once he’s inside.

“Go on, bud. Don’t pretend like your curiosity didn’t get us into this mess.” 

Rogue allows the door to be shut behind him, and Wanda just watches as he eats from the bowl behind the window. She turns toward Dr. Cohen who’s watching Rogue eat. 

“Thank you for your help. I hope to be able to call you with good news soon.” 

Wanda just nods before thanking the doctor and heading back to the lobby. She’s exhausted and by the time she’s sitting back at the window the sun has disappeared. She reaches for her phone to call you again and when she gets your voicemail again, she’s torn between being angry and terrified. 

“Hi, you’ve reached Y/N. Leave a message.”

Wanda waits until the beep before she signs audibly. She tells you that Rogue’s eaten an entire fucking foxglove plant and that he wouldn’t vomit. He was administered charcoal and was going to be hospitalized until they could figure out how he would respond. 

She doesn’t even say bye before she hangs up and turns off her phone. She’s annoyed and saying it all out loud made her anxious again. She hates that she was so distracted, and she didn’t see Rogue try to eat the flower. She’s cursing herself for leaving the compound at all because despite wearing glasses, her headache is back and she’s so stiff she needs to lie down. That said, she doesn’t want to leave until she knows what’s going on with Rogue. She wants him to keep doing well, but she’s afraid that when her update comes in a few hours, that it won’t be good news. 

She slouches down in her chair before sighing in exhaustion. She honestly shouldn’t have even left her bed this morning. She should have tried to sleep the day away to make up for last night. She shakes her head at the idea of actually being able to sleep. She was so on edge that nothing she did would make her sleep except maybe taking far more of her pain medication than she should. 

She doesn’t realize she’s wrong until she’s awoken by someone shaking her forcefully. She sits up in surprise and turns immediately to see the technician from earlier shooting her a near frantic look. She sits up, not even noticing that her wig is a mess and her glasses are falling off her face. 

“Mrs. Y/l/n, I’m sorry to wake you, but Dr. Cohen needs to speak with you.” 

This doesn’t sound good and Wanda has to resist the urge to check the time as she stands up and nods quickly. She takes a moment to straighten her hair and put her glasses on top of her head. She may as well abandon this part of her disguise. She catches a glance at the clock and realizes it’s nearly 8pm. She’d slept for two hours. 

She doesn’t get to wonder where you were before she’s standing in front of Dr. Cohen. The blonde looks a lot less relaxed than when she last saw her, and Wanda can’t help the way that her heartrate jumps and her entire body tenses in anticipation of what she’s about to say. 

Wanda barely notices as the blonde reaches out to place a hand on her arm as her words register. 

“Rogue’s coding, we need a decision about what you want to do next.” 

Wanda sits up with a start as her eyes fly open behind her sunglasses. She looks around frantically before she sees a clock and determines that it’s only 7pm. She groans under her breath as she removes her glasses and cleans them off with her sleeve. She’d barely been able to see through Rogue’s saliva, and given that it’s dark it’s impractical to keep wearing them. Still, under the bright fluorescent lights of the lobby, Wanda can’t help but slip them back on. She’s certain of the impression she’s giving off, but she doesn’t care at the moment. She’s more concerned with keeping her identity a secret opposed to hiding her injuries. Wanda sighs in defeat as she lies back against the chair again and reaches for her phone. 

She’d turned it off and isn’t surprised to see that she’s missed some calls. 

She ignores them for the moment as she fidgets nervously in her seat. She’s wondering if her dream was a sign of what’s to come, and she can’t help but force herself to her feet to check in on her dog. 

Wanda doesn’t make it to the desk before the sound of the automatic doors opening catches her attention. It’s mostly the labored breathing that makes her turn around, and she’s equal parts relieved and annoyed to see you looking stressed and out of breath as you hurry into the lobby.

“Hey, Wands. I’m so sorry I’m so late. How is he?”

You speak low enough for no one but Wanda to hear, but she still stiffens at the sound of her name spoken in public. She shakes her head before walking toward you and leading you back to her seat. She figures you can both check in on him once you have been given a rundown of what happened. 

You seem confused but don’t argue as you sit beside Wanda and listen to her tell you about Rogue. 

“I don’t know. I haven’t heard anything since they set him up in the ICU. I’m just worried since he ate the whole thing and I was only able to get some of it out of his mouth. I just…I hate this. “

You frown in sympathy as you watch your wife tear up. You watch her push her glasses up her nose before she gives in and pushes them onto of her head. You reach out for her with a questioning look and you try not to notice how she hesitates before leaning into you. 

“I hate that I was distracted and let this happen. I should have just stayed home.” 

Wanda’s crying harder now and you wrap your arms around her shoulders as hers fall to your waist. She hugs you back despite her aching side. That reminds her she’s probably due for more meds right now. Wanda sighs as she tries not to think about her poor dog, or how she’s still upset with you after the argument you had yesterday. 

It seems like forever ago, but the irritation is still there so Wanda pulls away before she really wants to. You notice and you can’t help but sigh in defeat. There’s too much going on right now to talk about what happened last night. You reach out for Wanda’s hand and are grateful that she doesn’t tug it away. She looks down at your joined hands before meeting your gaze with a distant look. 

“It’s not your fault. Rogue can’t help himself sometimes. He’ll be well taken care of here though, and we’ll do whatever he needs.” 

Wanda simply nods as her mind wanders back to her dream. As short as it had been, it was jolting and making her consider everything she’d been told when she first got here. She thought about the forms she signed, that she’d barely read, and she sighs before turning and leaning back in her seat. 

“Do you think I should have put him as a DNR?” 

You hadn’t been expecting this question and your frown deepens as you think about it. Rogue was a young healthy dog, but if he coded it likely wouldn’t be while under anesthesia. It was during this time that CPR was the most successful, so if he happened to flat line while lying in his run, it was going to be due to the side effects of the foxglove. You hate that you can’t reassure Wanda that this won’t happen, and what’s even worse is that you won’t give Wanda a straight answer. 

“I think that it’s your choice, Wands. He’s your dog and you know him best.” 

Wanda’s tears begin to fall again and she cringes as she wipes them away. You glance at the bruising around your wife’s eye and it honestly looks much worse under this lighting. You figure that’s why she was wearing her sunglasses earlier, but maybe it was just part of her disguise. You watch as Wanda struggles to reach into her purse with trembling hands. You don’t realize what she’s looking for until you hear the sound of pills rattling. 

“Do you want help?” 

Wanda shakes her head but says nothing as she finally manages to open the bottle and takes two instead of one. You don’t comment and you wait until she’s swallowed them dry before opening your mouth. She beats you to it though as she squeezes her eyes shut and takes in a shaky breath. 

“I don’t want to lose him, Y/n. I can’t lose him.” 

You squeeze her hand again but don’t say anything as you both become lost in your thoughts. 

You imagine that Wanda must feel as lost as you would if it was Boone who had gotten himself into trouble like this. You would want to do whatever possible to help him and you wouldn’t care how much it cost. You wouldn’t want him to suffer, and you’re not sure you would have done anything differently from Wanda.

You watch as she struggles to come to terms with her dog’s mortality for so long that you don’t realize that someone’s snuck up on you. 

“You must be Dr. Y/l/n.” 

You look up to see a blonde in a white coat, and immediately you sit up in recognition. This must be Rogue’s doctor. You offer a small smile before you stand up and hold out your hand. You don’t notice Wanda jump in surprise at the new arrival, but she recovers quickly as she stands as well. She’s anxious for an update and the appearance of Rogue’s doctor means that there’s something to report. 

“Yes, but Y/n is fine. It’s nice to meet you Dr. Cohen.” 

The blonde smiles in agreement before glancing to Wanda briefly. She offers a small nod before she motions for the couple to sit down. Only you do, but it’s brief before you’re back up on your feet beside your wife. 

“You too. I have an update on Rogue.” 

The doctor begins to detail how Rogue did well for the first half hour on fluids and pain medication, but he’s since started to show signs of toxicity. He’s had some GI upset and was obviously lethargic. His ECG showed that his heart rate had dropped considerably since intake. When you hear the numbers, you try not to react especially since you notice that Wanda’s watching for your reaction. She realizes that none of this is good, but she’s just not sure how bad it is yet. Neither doctor is saying it despite her desire for them to do so.

Finally, you frown as you recall what you know about foxglove toxicity. Mild cases are treated supportively, but you’re not sure if that’s where Rogue is yet. 

“Is he starting to have arrythmias yet?” 

When the blonde nods you sigh as realization hits you. This is what you were afraid of. You turn suddenly when you feel Wanda fall into you. She doesn’t realize that she’s swayed and is struggling to keep her footing until you grab her arm. You quickly help her sit down, but she’s not aware of what you’re saying. She’s fixated on the fact that her dog is having issues with his heart.

He could die.

You sit down beside Wanda a couple of seconds later, but at this point Dr. Cohen is gone. You asked what the next move was and she explained the antibody treatment that they luckily had in hospital. It was ridiculously expensive, but you didn’t care, and you told her to do whatever she could to help Rogue. 

The bill could be as much as a car, and you’d pay for it without question. 

“Wands, hey. Can you look at me?” 

You’re on edge from the unresolved argument and trying to get through the day regardless, and that stress compounded with your worry for Rogue is making you near desperate for some relief. You still somehow wait patiently as Wanda struggles to pull herself from her spiraling. It takes a bit of coaxing, but eventually Wanda turns to you with her eyes filled with tears. 

“I’m sorry.” 

You frown and you open your mouth to tell you wife that she doesn’t have to apologize for crying. You want her to do what she has to in order to cope, but you don’t get a chance to tell her this. 

“It’s okay, yo-.”

“I’m sorry I’ve been dragging my feet. I-I know I need to—I need to get out.” 

Your jaw drops but you can’t manage a response as you fail to process what Wanda’s talking about. Luckily she doesn’t leave you hanging for long. 

She sits up and takes a deep breath before she squeezes your hand tightly. You nearly flinch but instead you meet your wife’s troubled gaze. 

“I’m just scared about what will happen if I leave. What you’ll think of just me, but that’s…it’s selfish of me. I can’t let you be scared for me every day. That’s not fair.” 

You hesitate because despite this being what you wanted to hear last night and this morning, you’re not sure why Wanda’s brought it up now. You struggle to find words and you’re still floundering when Wanda turns fully to face you. You focus on her tear-stained cheeks and the bruises that are faintly visible beneath her make up. She gestures to her face when she realizes what you’re looking at with an exasperated sigh. Luckily you can tell that she’s not upset with you. 

“I mean look at me. This hurts like a bitch, but the worst part is that I can’t promise…I can’t guaranetee it won’t happen again. I don’t…” 

Wanda trails off and you try to say something but you only manage a couple of words before Wanda keeps going. You realize that she has a lot to get off her chest and she wants to do it all at once. You don’t argue despite feeling that this isn’t the best place. That said, sometimes you can’t really predict when these things will happen. 

“I don’t--.” 

“I don’t want to fight with you. No-not now, or ever, but especially not when Rogue might…when he might-.”

You open your arms almost before Wanda falls into you with a barely stifled sob. You don’t bother looking around because you don’t really care if anyone’s watching you. You don’t want to make Wanda feel any worse than she already does. You’d rather figure out a way to make her feel better, but since there’s not much you can do about Rogue right now, you figure hearing her out is best you can do right now. You hold your wife tightly as she turns to whisper in your ear. You stiffen at what she says before you let out a heavy, relieved sigh. 

“I just want us to be a family. Y-you, me, the fur babies, and a human one eventually.” 

You take a moment to sort through your many thoughts before you land on what you eventually say. You squeeze your wife one more time before you pull back so you can meet her gaze. You hate to see her cry, and you hate even more that you’re not sure you can do anything about it.

“I appreciate you saying all of that, Wanda, but we don’t need to worry about that now. Let’s focus on Rogue, and revisit this when he’s home recovering. Okay?”

Wanda wants to argue because she wants your forgiveness so badly. She doesn’t want to be at odds with you right now, but she knows better than to believe that she should always get what she wants. She just nods before she looks back up only to realize that Rogue’s doctor had left. She turns to you in confusion, and you prepare to fill in the gaps. 

“Where’d--? What did you tell her to do?” 

Dr. Cohen returns to the ICU in a noticeably better mood than when she left a few minutes ago. She glances to Rogue who’s still lying on his side as he had been for the past twenty minutes. She sighs before turning to Antonia with a small smile. 

“We’re going to start him on the antibody therapy. Can you go grab it while I calculate the dose?” 

Antonia only nods before she jumps up and heads for the pharmacy to grab the drug. She’s glad that Rogue’s parents were able to afford this treatment because watching the shepherd’s heartrate drop over the past hour had been discouraging to say the least. The terrified dog had gone from sitting in the far corner of his run to pacing as he had vomited and had diarrhea, before he laid down and seemed to fall asleep. After cleaning him up a little, which he barely even flinched at, the shepherd practically collapsed in the middle of his run and stayed there. 

She hopes that he responds well to the therapy. She’s seen dogs die from ingesting a single petal, let alone an entire flower…

It’s not until 10pm that you finally get Wanda to come home with you. After talking to Dr. Cohen once more after Rogue was started on the antibody treatment, you’re both told that it could take him hours to respond positively. They had approval to give another dose if necessary, and after being reassured that she’d receive a call about any negative changes, Wanda’s walking arm in arm out to the parking lot with you. 

As soon as you step onto the sidewalk you feel Wanda sigh heavily as she practically stumbles to her car. She must be exhausted. You are and you only worked all day. You didn’t stress for the entire day like she did. You catch her hand before she can retreat to her car and drive herself home. 

“Let’s carpool, okay? I can come back for my car once we pick up Rogue.” 

Wanda doesn’t hesitate as she reaches into her pocket and hands over her keys. You unlock the door and watch as she collapses into her seat before you walk over to the driver’s side. You glance back toward the hospital with a sigh before you take a fortifying breath for the trip home. 

You’re glad that Bucky’s already dropped off Boone when you arrive because that’s one less thing to worry about. You greet your dog with muted enthusiasm as you watch Wanda wander aimlessly into the house. She goes to stand in the living room before she starts to look around with a frown.

“Fletcher?” 

You just look to the stairs where you hear muted footsteps, and you can’t help but smile when you see your wife’s cat rush toward her. Wanda doesn’t react to her immediately since she still semes dazed, but eventually Fletcher makes her presence more obvious. She meows loudly before reaching up toward Wanda with searching eyes. Wanda reaches down easily and lifts her cat into her arms with a sigh. 

You just watch as she cuddles with her cat for nearly a minute before deciding that it’s time to eat something. You’d been busy all day, and hadn’t eaten anything since breakfast. You’re certain that Wanda’s in the same boat, so as she seeks comfort in her cat’s presence, you and Boone head to the kitchen. 

It’s only a few minutes later that Wanda seems to realize that you’ve left her, and she wanders over to watch you cook. She’s so exhausted she thinks that if she sits down, she’ll pass out straight away. For this reason, she’s probably going to need to eat standing up, but she can’t help but feel a little uneasy about what happens next.

You two are both back home after a long exhausting day, and the last time you spoke in the house was to have an argument. Wanda barely addressed the issue at the hospital, but as she watches you heat something on the stove, she’s worried she’ll need to pick up where she left off. Otherwise, you both will be in for an uncomfortable night. 

She doesn’t realize that you’re thinking the exact opposite as you stir the soup in the pot in front of you. You don’t want to focus on your argument right now. Not when you know that Wanda’s mind is all over the place, and she’s distressed enough to breakdown in public. You appreciate what she said earlier, but you don’t want her to make such as important decision under duress, only to regret it later. 

You turn around to grab two bowls from the cabinet, and you pause just long enough to see that your wife really does look stressed. Stressed and exhausted. You glance to Boone who is greeting his sister as she finally decides that she’s finished being cuddled. This inevitably makes you think about Rogue and how although he doesn’t seek out her attention, he’s been a good brother to Fletcher. 

Thoughts of your pets makes you sigh slightly, and by the time you come back to the counter where Wanda’s standing with dinner, you decided to get right to it. 

“I don’t want us to stress about anything tonight except Rogue. We can worry about everything else later, if that doesn’t seem unreasonable? I just think it will be easier…for both of us.” 

You turn away before Wanda can respond, but when you return with spoons for you two, you see her frowning. Wanda’s deep in thought and she’s trying to push down her urge to resolve this argument now. She knows that you’re right about this though since every time she tries to think about the future she can’t help but wonder if Rogue will be in it. 

Finally she sighs in defeat as she accepts a spoon and sits down in the chair she’s just been standing behind. She nods before watching as you move to sit beside her. There’s so much she wants to say to you, but right now she’s going to do as you ask and try not to worry too much about what’s on her mind. 

“Okay. Until Rogue comes home then.” 

You offer her a smile before the two of you begin dinner in companionable silence. 

Rogue’s tail thumps against the papery pads beneath him as he blinks away some of his exhaustion. He’s not sure how long he’s been here in this run, but it feels like it’s been days since he saw his mom. Sure his perception of time was off from his frequent naps, and he didn’t feel well at all, but he was certain it had been too long since he was dropped off here. 

He hasn’t tried to stand in a while. His entire body feels too weak, and the thought of mustering up the energy to even roll over made him nauseous. He glances out of his run to see the same blob of purple that has been following him since he got here. His vision is a little blurry, but the tech in purple scrubs who’s been assigned to him is always nearby. He missed the last check in when he was asleep, so he’s surprised when she comes up to his run a little bit later with another bag of fluids, a couple of syringes, and that dreaded thermometer. 

He hated the thermometer. 

“Hi Rogue. Are you feeling any better?” 

Antonia has been watching his vitals carefully and things seem to be improving slowly but surely. Since starting the antibody therapy, Rogue’s heart rate has increased by ten beats per minute and his arrythmias were less frequent. Still, he was very weak and had spent most of the time sleeping. His fluids kept him hydrated when he started to vomit, and the pain medication helped him feel a bit better. The anti-nausea medication that had been given an hour ago was still taking time to kick in, or at least it felt like it. 

The antibody therapy was administered every 12 hours, so Rogue had about 10 to show enough improvement to go without another dose. Antonia is still a little amazed at how much the treatment costs, but she’s not going to get too hung up on it. She’s just glad that Rogue’s family is able to pay for it. She just hopes that it won’t be in vain. 

She saves the task of taking Rogue’s temperature for last because he hates it. Even in his sleep he seems to jump in surprise, and the couple of times he’s been awake he’s whined. Most of the time he’s been too weak to do anything else, but this time he actually yelps and his head, cone and all, shoots upright in protest. 

“Sorry, bud. This is important.” 

Rogue just grumbles in response before he keeps trying to shift. He manages to almost sit upright before he flops back down in exhaustion. He doesn’t completely fall back though as Antonia uses her free hand to steady him, and only a few seconds later, both of them are helping him sit upright. 

“Do you want to sit up? Here.” 

Antonia grabs Rogue’s shoulders and helps him rotate so he’s upright before moving his lower half to follow. She pushes him a bit against the side of his run so he doesn’t have to hold himself up. She reaches out to pet him before she gathers up her supplies and stands up to head out.

“Also, no fever, so that’s good!”

Rogue doesn’t look enthused from where he’s propped up against his blanket, and he just stares at her blankly.

Antonia feels bad for him, so she decides to leave him be. Although it’s not as obvious given how sedate he is, she tries to keep in mind that he’s a highly anxious dog. For this reason, she doesn’t linger, and she leaves him with water, replaced pads on top of his blankets, and restarts his fluids. She returns to the tech station to update Rogue’s chart just in time for the clock to strike midnight. 

Her shift ends at 5am, and she’s hoping that Rogue will show more improvement by then. She glances at the dog whose eyes are now closed and sighs at she returns her attention to the screen in front of her.

She’ll just have to wait to find out. 

Surprisingly, the most awkward part of the night for Wanda was not crying in the middle of an ER clinic in front of her dog’s doctor. Instead, it was the decision of where to sleep that night, or rather whether or not it would be appropriate to sleep in bed beside her wife. She had gotten ready for bed quickly given the late hour, and changed her clothes before she realized that you were in the room with her doing the same. You seemed a little less on edge about all of this, or you were just hiding it well, while Wanda was exhausted and a ball of tightly wound nerves. She hesitated long enough for you to understand her dilemma, but you only got into bed before pulling the covers back enough for the invitation to be clear. 

“Come on, Wands. We need sleep. I’m sure you’re more tired than I am, and I’m close to passing out.” 

Wanda’s skeptical look disappears before you notice it, and she just nods before she tries not to feel weird about being in bed with you. In the past, the two of you rarely argued for longer than a day, which meant most of the time you didn’t have to worry about going to sleep angry. She didn’t have to worry about not being able to sleep due to being upset with you, and she didn’t have to wonder if you were upset with her. 

As of now, she really couldn’t tell and that was adding to her stress. She was considering if she should have just slept at the compound again when you reach out for her. You wrap your arms around her waist and sigh tiredly before shooting your wife a worried look. 

“I’m sorry you’re so stressed and worried about Rogue. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you today.” 

Wanda hears that unsaid apology behind your words and she sighs too as she turns to face you. She feels a slight pinch in her side and the grimace makes her head ache, but she ignores it for now. She focuses on you and how your concern becomes a contrite expression before her eyes. She watches you fidget a bit before planting a kiss on the exposed skin of her shoulder. 

“I’m sorry about how I approached the conversation of your retirement. I shouldn’t have hit you with it so soon after being hurt…while you’re still hurt. I was scared and that made me selfish which wasn’t fair to you.” 

Your head dips down as you try to hide your face, but Wanda reaches out to catch your chin. She’s frowning but she’s not even really sure if it’s more because of her own actions or yours at this point. Everything is so jumbled in her head right now that all she can offer you is a small smile. 

“Honestly, detka, it’s your turn to be selfish given how long I have been. We’ll have a real discussion about what quitting would look like for us, but as you said, let’s just try and rest tonight. Okay?” 

You can only nod in response before you settle in next to your wife. It’s nearly midnight, and you both have no idea what awaits you tomorrow.   

The first time Rogue stands up after his treatment, he nearly falls over. He’s very wobbly and it’s very disorienting trying to balance himself, let alone walk with one paw in front of the other. He only makes it a couple of steps out of his run before he falls to the ground with a whine. It’s at this time that his walk outside is aborted and he’s steered back into his run by two techs. 

Dr. Audrey Cohen stands by and observes Rogue as she looks at all of his vitals throughout the night. He’s done surprisingly well and his ECG has almost completely normalized. The occasional dropped beat is the only abnormality, and now of course, she realizes ataxia. That said, it’s hard to say how long this has been present since this is the first time they’ve attempted to take him outside. He has a urinary catheter in and they’ve minimized moving him since he was so critical. He’s not doing great by any means, but seeing him have the drive to at least try and stand and walk is encouraging. 

Audrey looks at the time before considering how she’ll report all of this to his parents after rounds. She figures that he has a good chance of recovering, but the bloodwork that she’s about to run may tell her whether or not another dose of the Digoxin F-ab is warranted. 

She waits until Antonia is finished collecting his blood before speaking up. 

“I’m impressed with how well he’s doing. Maybe after talking about his case at rounds, we’ll decide if he need another dose.” 

Antonia turns to her with a small smile before nodding as she stands after collecting her samples. She’s been working as an ICU tech for nearly 8 years, and she’s closing in on her self-imposed deadline to go to vet school. She’s applied for the current cycle, but she won’t hear back for a few months. She’s anxious of course, but she’s also grateful that her job offers her ample opportunities to continue learning. Especially rounds. 

Typically, there are rounds between the technicians and then the doctors, but rarely do they do rounds together, unless it’s one on one when transferring care. Since expressing her interest in vet school a couple of years ago, she’s been allowed to sit in on doctors rounds whenever they have enough coverage. 

“Sounds great. I’ll be ready. I only have Humphrey’s treatments to finish.”  

When you and Wanda wake up, you realize that the distance you’d put between the two of you did not last through the night. You honestly don’t mind because it’s nice to sleep beside her again after the argument you’d had. That said, you realize very quickly that your hand is in the wrong place. 

Wanda woke up a while ago, but she hadn’t been able to force herself to do anything but lie beside you. She was still exhausted after yesterday, and she didn’t want to spoil the peace that she’d somehow managed to find during the night. 

Well, the source or the cause isn’t exactly a surprise to her. She has always slept better when you were beside her, but she’d been woken up by the pain in her side. The ache from her still healing wound forced her into consciousness and she had to stop herself from immediately moving away from your touch. 

She did a great job up until the pressure became unbearable when you tried to pull her closer as you slept. She hisses under her breath, and she hears you curse before you pull back quickly.

“Shit, I’m sorry. Are you okay?” 

Wanda’s already nodding despite her grimace as she turns away from you with a sigh. She stares at the ceiling for a moment before turning to face you. She sees your worried expression and quickly offers you reassurance that she’s fine. Well, she could feel better, but her side doesn’t even hurt anymore now that there’s nothing touching it but her clothing.

“It’s okay, it was mostly uncomfortable. It’s time for my next dose of pain medication though.” 

Wanda places her hands on the mattress preparing herself to sit up and grab her medication from the bathroom, but you beat her to it. You nearly fly off the bed as you hurry to grab what Wanda needs. The redhead opens her mouth to protest, but she falls short when her phone starts vibrating on the bedside table. 

“I can get them. I’ll be right back.” 

Wanda reaches out for her phone and frowns when she doesn’t recognize the number. She figures that whoever is calling her before 9 in the morning must have something important to tell her. She just hopes that it’s not work. 

“Hello?” 

Audrey was grateful that she was able to call Rogue’s moms with relatively good news. His bloodwork looked near perfect, and a second attempt to get him outside after rounds was more successful than the first. He was far more willing to follow someone outside until he realized that he wasn’t actually getting to leave. Getting him back into the building was difficult, but luckily Audrey’s plan was to get him out within the next 24 – 48 hours. Max 72, if she had her way. 

She’d decided to call the number that was given to them at check in despite knowing it wasn’t the vet parent. She figured that it was the right thing to do given that she’d brought the dog in. If she was lucky, you’d be around to listen in as well. 

“Hi, this is Dr. Cohen. I’m calling about Rogue.” 

There’s a pause as someone shifts in the background, something drops, and someone mutters a curse. Audrey has to remind herself to keep a straight face despite being alone in her office. A few moments later she’s nearly smiling. 

“Yes, hi. We’re both here, thank you for calling.” 

Once you’re settled beside Wanda, you both listen as Dr. Cohen relays how Rogue has done in the past 12 hours. You’re glad to hear about his progress, and you can tell that Wanda’s relieved which of course makes you happier. You both agree that one more treatment would be a good idea, and they planned to check back in later this afternoon. Depending on how he was doing, they would be able to visit him. Wanda hoped that it was a good idea. Despite wanting to see her dog she didn’t want to make his stay any more stressful by seeing him only to leave again. You’d convinced her that a visit from her would make his day, and hopefully he wouldn’t be there for too much longer anyway. 

After the call, you can tell that Wanda’s already a little bit brighter. She greets Fletcher with what the tabby deems appropriate enthusiasm, and she responds in kind by practically climbing Wanda like a tree. You stifle a laugh as you hurry to get coffee made and breakfast sorted. You feed Boone and then let him out before stepping back into the kitchen in front of the stove. 

Wanda watches as you cook her an omelet, and she laughs so hard she nearly snorts when she watches you make another smaller one that she can only imagine is for your dog. 

“For both of them, if she doesn’t touch it, Boone will happily help her.” 

Wanda isn’t surprised that Boone scarfs up his ¾ of the omelet while Fletcher sniffs her portion suspiciously. She nibbles on it before she begins to eat with more intention. It’s just eggs, a small amount of cheese, and spinach, but that’s apparently enough for the tabby. 

“Aw she loves it! How cute.” 

You smile at this before you make yourself a larger omelet and sit beside Wanda at the counter. You sigh in exhaustion as you nearly collapse into your chair. You slept well last night, you slept great honestly, but you were still worn out. You’re grateful you don’t work today and that you can focus your attention on your wife and pets.

You’re not sure if Wanda plans to work today, but the fact that it’s nearly 9 and she hasn’t touched her phone beyond that initial call from the vet gives you hope. You don’t dare ask because you don’t want to be disappointed, so you two mostly eat in silence. Wanda’s thinking about what she’ll fill her day with while she’s waiting for news of Rogue.

“Do you have any plans?” 

You’re still considering this yourself when Wanda asks you, so you shrug before mentioning all you’d come up with so far. 

“Not really. Other than getting outside at some point to enjoy the weather. What about you?” 

You wait with bated breath as Wanda shakes her head with a sigh. You noticed earlier that she hadn’t bothered with makeup today. Certainly not enough to cover up the bruise around her eye and the thin line of sutures from her surgery. It looks worse today and you frown in sympathy at the idea of Wanda being so stressed and hurt yesterday. You reach out for her hand and smile when she squeezes yours in return. 

“Not at the moment. My face hurts more today, so maybe I’ll get to take it easy.” 

You love the sound of this, and you smile widely as you consider all that you can spend the day doing. 

Despite waiting anxiously for news, the day flies by with you and Wanda spending the morning watching TV before taking a short, slow walk outside. Boone was excited to get around, and Fletcher actually tolerated her harness and leash today, at least for a bit. For the last ten minutes of the walk, unsurprisingly, Fletcher had managed to get Wanda to carry her. You find it difficult to even roll your eyes when you see how happy the pair look, and Boone keeps you plenty distracted with his antics.

After forming a small pile near the deck of the many sticks Boone decided to try and carry with him, you lead your dog back inside. It’s nearing 4 and you could use another nap, or at least a snack. Boone’s on the same page, and after getting his post-walk treat, he takes it over to his bed and lies down. You grab both your and Wanda drinks as the redhead tries to take off Fletcher’s leash. You set the two glasses on the coffee table before falling onto the couch. You stifle a yawn as you wait for Wanda to join you. 

Wanda���s just sitting down after wiping as much cat hair off her as possible when her phone rings. She starts in surprise and is about to jump back up to retrieve it from the kitchen, but you beat her to it. 

“Let me get it.” 

Wanda doesn’t argue, but she turns to watch as you walk to the kitchen and grab her phone from the counter. It’s the vet again, Wanda had saved their number after the call this morning, and you hand her the phone with a smile. 

“It’s for you.” 

TBC

taglist: @esposadejoyhuerta

Masterlist

[hedwig221b]

Kinda random but do you know any fics where Derek calls Stiles baby or sweetheart (or something similar) and Stiles gets all flustered?

Can I offer you, like, my entire collection lmao 😭💖 It's baby, sweetheart, angel, kitten, sunshine... I love pet names

tbh when you mention sterek and pet names, siand is the first who comes to mind. Like, truly, a sterek pet name connossieur, and the one who got me addicted to 'kitten' as a pet name for Stiles

Tax Evasion by standinginanicedress

Stiles chews on his thumb a bit harder, and for a second he thinks about saying no. He thinks about letting the whole thing go and just going back to his life, the safe and easy way out. He considers just settling for someone who’ll never really get him, some boring guy who touches him the wrong way and buys him flowers sometimes. He’s been doing it for years upon years, now, and really, what’s a little bit longer? And then, what’s the rest of his life? What’s the worst that could happen, he wonders? Trying something is better than not trying at all.

Stars and Their Meanings by standinginanicedress

"You’re older,” Stiles begins counting, on his index, “you’re bad news,” on his middle, “you were recently accused of murder,” ring, “and we have not a damn thing in common,” his pinky. “I mean, come on. You just want to mess around with me if you want me at all.” “Mess around with you?” Derek shakes his head, like that blows his mind. “What is that supposed to mean?” Stiles waves his hand. “Like, ohh, you’re a bad boy, and I’m the Sheriff’s son, so it’s all so hot. I get it.”

Helen of Troy by standinginanicedress

Stiles can fake laugh, fake smile. He can play coy and he can be demure and barely eat anything in front of them, and he can sit still and do his little song and dance of feigning interest. But this is a little out of his scope. They want him to fully become someone else. They want him to be who everyone wants him to be, and it scares the shit out of Stiles, because he doesn’t know if he can do it for hours and hours while cameras watch his every single move. It’s a lot. It’s more than he bargained for.

You're My Sanctuary by lilmissdaydreamer

The Argent Wolf Sanctuary. It’s been Stiles’ dream since he was five years old to work with the wolves, ever since his mother took him up there to see the magnificent creatures on one of their ‘full moon runs’ that the Sanctuary does once a month. The wolves are beautiful and much larger than Stiles would’ve thought, or at least, the newest wolf is. The owner had said he’s a special breed. Stiles just didn’t realize quite how special he is.

You Were Already My Baby by SterekLoverForEver

Stiles would like to preface that he is NOT dating Derek. Even if Stiles wishes with all his heart, he knows he never has a chance with Derek. Stiles has seen such a positive change in Derek in almost 2 years of knowing him, and he doesn’t want to get in the way of his progress. Stiles has seen the hard work and dedication Derek has put in, Derek has become the most kind and special alpha the pack loves and relies on. Stiles knows that Derek has worked on uniting the pack together as well as developing a bond with each member of the pack. Derek has been able to level with each member and have their own unique friendship because he wants to be someone each member can turn to. While Stiles and Derek’s friendship may look different from the others, it’s only a friendship. So despite what others may say, Stiles would definitely know if he was in a relationship with the most perfect specimen that is Derek Hale. Or 6 Times (I couldn't help myself) Stiles Didn't Know He and Derek Were Dating + 1 Time He Did

Stay by wulfarchival (wyrmwolf)

In which Stiles just wants to loose his virginity and goes to The Jungle to do just that. But instead gets himself a hot Dom and a werewolf boyfriend. Except, he just doesn’t know about the werewolf part. Yet.

Baby by Little Spoon (JaydenNara)

When Stiles was fifteen, he dubbed Derek Sourwolf, and unfortunately for Derek, the name stuck. In retrospect, Derek didn't really mind all that much, especially if it was a breathless whimper in his ear. Funny thing is, Derek didn't have a pet name for Stiles.

The Arrangement by Arver7

Through blackmail and lies, Stiles and Derek are forced into a marriage neither of them wanted. If they each want to survive each other, they must learn to coexist. But the more they get to know each other, the more they seem to care about each other. But will the lies stop them from falling in love?

Other fic recs: angsty fics + pt2 + pt3 | possessive Derek | historical AU | baby/mpreg | outsider POV | smut | mafia | hurt/comfort | magical!Stiles | Stiles gets kicked out of the pack | BAMF!Stiles + pt2 | omegaverse | witch!Stiles | creature!Stiles + pt2 | oblivious Stiles | oblivious sterek | bad friend Scott | pack mom!Stiles | unrequited love | werewolf!Stiles | dark sterek | single parent!Stiles | feral Derek | feral Stiles | arranged marriage | Stiles is underestimated | mpreg w/o abo | accidental knotting | jock!Derek | jock!Stiles | alive Hales | spanking | royal abo au | longfic | void!Stiles | sheriff dissaproves | Stiles doesn't know about werewolves | soft fics | hales love stiles | somnophiIia | secret relationship | childhood friends |

[bumbled-bees]

Getting Close Was What Set Me Free

(Or: Why I Do This Work)

So I've come to realize that getting close to Lily was what set me free. And by that I mean: the reason I was able to finally see Lily for who she really is wasn’t because I stumbled across some damning document or a big exposé. It was because I got too close to her to keep lying to myself.

I was in her server from June to September 2024. Three months. Not long in the grand scheme of things, but long enough to change everything.

Before that, I was just a casual fan. I watched her videos, nodded along with a lot of her takes, maybe rolled my eyes at a few. But I still trusted her. I still believed in the version of herself that she presents—the version that’s loud, unfiltered, “honest to a fault,” as she might say. Someone who’s rough around the edges but ultimately good-hearted. Someone who "says what everyone else is thinking." That’s the version she wants you to see.

And for a while, I bought into it. A lot of people do. Especially if you’re neurodivergent, LGBT+, or otherwise looking for a voice that feels like it “gets” you. She markets herself directly to us—those who’ve been overlooked, who’ve been hurt, who want to believe that someone loud and confident must know what they’re talking about.

But once I got inside that server, once I was in her space every day, I saw the real Lily. Not the polished version, not the performance. The person.

It started small. Subtle acts of condescension toward her own viewers. Passive-aggressive remarks she clearly expected people to just “get.” The way she acted offended if someone asked a question she didn’t feel like repeating herself on. That kind of thing. It wasn’t abusive in an overt way at first. But it chipped away at you. It created this atmosphere where you always had to tiptoe around her mood. And if you didn’t? Well, you were either ignored, mocked, or quietly exiled.

What really changed things for me was realizing how much effort she puts into controlling the space around her. That’s what it comes down to. Control. Everything is about control—what people are allowed to say, what kind of questions are allowed, what “tone” you’re supposed to use when addressing her. And the more time you spend in that environment, the more you realize that nothing you say is ever just a question. It’s a potential offense. A potential threat. Every interaction with her is a test you can fail, and she gets to decide the rules.

The incest game folder is when I started going back to old allegations, to posts I’d brushed off as “haters” or “drama.” And suddenly everything clicked. It wasn’t just “cancel culture” or “jealous ex-friends.” These were patterns. These were consistent behaviors. And they matched exactly what I was now seeing firsthand.

That’s when I got out. But that’s also when I realized how dangerous her grip really is.

Because if I’d stayed a casual fan? I wouldn’t have looked any of that up. I wouldn’t have believed the claims. I would’ve kept assuming that anyone who criticized her was just bitter or couldn’t handle a “strong personality.” And that’s what scares me most. How many people are still in that mindset? How many people are still where I was?

That’s why I started documenting. That’s why I made this blog. Not to “get back at her,” not to cause drama. But to lay out the patterns. To name them. To put them in the light. Because they are recognizable—and not just in Lily. The same red flags show up in other online spaces, in other creators, in other parasocial relationships. And if this blog helps even one person get out of a toxic space, or recognize that they’re not crazy for feeling like something’s off? Then it’s worth it.

I do this because I’ve been there. I saw it up close. And I got out. Now I want to help others recognize what I did—before they get pulled in too deep.

This isn’t a callout blog. It’s a flashlight. And I’m just trying to shine it where it’s needed.

[reccyls]

Victor's Main Route: Both Ends Clear Bonus Story

Masterlist

Bonus Story: Your First and Final Love

After praying that I would find one thing that I would not be able to give up, despite having let go of everything else, A free-flying robin willingly chose to fall into the reaper’s grasp.

Victor: Please, do come in.

Kate: Okay…

A month after we began our relationship, I invited Kate to the room where the queen was supposed to be living, and where many previous monarchs had stayed. The way she timidly shuffled in while anxiously looking this way and that made her look like a recently-adopted kitten trying to get used to its new home.

(Too cute…)

I closed the door behind her and locked it. Kate was studying the portraits on the walls with an earnest intensity.

Kate: This is…

Victor: The previous king, yes. The policies he enacted were very effective, and I respect him very much.

Kate: And this portrait is of…

Victor: The ruler who instituted what would eventually become our present day legal system.

I could spend all day watching her amazement as she spun in the middle of the room.

Victor: Kate, over here.

I felt a little sorry for her, so I pulled out a chair so she could sit.

(I know this room very well, but this is still new to Kate.)

She still seemed a little nervous as she sat, but gave me a bashful smile.

Kate: I’m happy to be here again.

I continued to speak as I opened the closet and searched for something.

Victor: You’re welcome to come here at any time. Victor: I’m sure the people depicted in those portraits would be happy for the company.

I was confident that Kate wouldn’t steal or damage any of the valuables in this room. Not just because we were lovers, but because I knew that Kate was a genuinely good person. Finding what I needed, I left the closet and made my way back to Kate. She blinked in surprise when she saw what I was holding.

Kate: Is that the queen’s veil?

The thick veil of pure white cloth was meant to conceal my identity, and as a result, it barely let any light through.

Victor: You asked me before if I could see anything while wearing the veil.

It had been a comment she made about a week after we became lovers, when she had come across the veil. At the time, I just told her that I was used to it.

Victor: Since we have the time, why don’t you try it for yourself?

Kate: …What?

Kate’s mouth dropped open, but she pulled herself back together after a few moments and violently shook her head.

Kate: No, no, no, I can’t wear something that important! I wouldn’t even dare to touch it!

Victor: It’s just a veil. I suppose you could call it an antique, but…

Kate: Saying that does not help!

As I held the veil out to her, she raised both of her hands in refusal. She frowned and said:

Kate: It’s important to you, isn’t it, Victor? I don’t want to ruin it.

Hearing her concern, I stopped pushing it at her.

(...Of course you’d say that.)

To me, the veil was just a piece of cloth. But Kate cared for it, and what it stood for, a lot more than I thought. Because caring about the veil also meant she cared for me during the times I wore it.

Victor: That’s exactly why I’d like you to wear it.

She stopped shaking her head when I spoke.

Victor: You are the only person in the world who is worthy of holding this.

It was a nice declaration and all, but mainly, I just wanted to see Kate wear it.

(I really do mean it, though.)

That seemed to have changed Kate’s mind, though she was unaware of my ulterior motive.

Kate: Okay, I’ll do it!

With a look of determination, as if she were about to ride into battle, she slowly reached out for the veil.

Victor: I can put it on you. Hold still for a moment.

Kate: Okay.

I unfolded the veil and placed it over Kate’s head.

Kate: Whoa, it’s so heavy!

She hunched over, arms suddenly flailing as the full weight of the floor-length veil settled over her. Holding back my laughter, I gently caught her flapping hands.

Victor: The cloth is quite heavy since it’s meant to hide my identity.

I pulled her to her feet with one hand, and she waved the other hand in the air like she was searching for something.

Kate: I can’t see a thing. How do you even walk with this thing on?

She turned her head from side to side, but apparently still couldn’t see anything, because her grip on my hand tightened.

Victor: You get used to it. It just takes a bit of practice.

Kate looked like someone playing dress-up as a ghost. She couldn’t see a thing in front of her, and what’s more the cloth got caught under her feet, making walking difficult.

(What if I let go of her?)

That would be mean of me. Just a little bit, though.

Kate: …Huh?

Without a word, I let go of her hand and took a couple of steps back.

Kate: Victor?

Kate extended both her arms out in front of her, searching for me. But she quickly realized that I wasn’t nearby.

Kate: Where did you go?

Her voice was full of confusion. I watched her wave her arms about as she took a few wobbly steps.

(...Oh no, she’s too adorable, I can’t stand it.)

I clenched my hands into fists, holding back the urge to run over and take her into my arms. But then, in a very, very small voice…

Kate: …Victor?

Her voice wavered as she whispered my name, and I could no longer hold back. I swept her into a tight hug.

Kate: Ack!

Victor: How on earth are you so adorable?

As I pulled her even closer so I could press my cheek against hers, she reached up to grab my coat lapels.

Kate: Got you!

The veil parted when she looked up, revealing a brilliant smile. Her radiance rivaled the sun.

Victor: …That’s it.

Kate: Huh? What was tha- whoa!

I picked her up and moved towards the bed.

Kate: Um, Victor…?

Victor: If you keep acting so cute, you’ll get swept away by a very wicked man.

Kate: Nn…

I sat her down on the bed and greedily kissed her.

Kate: Mm… ah…

Shifting closer, I captured her lips again, not giving her the space to breathe. When I slipped my tongue into her mouth, I could tell that Kate’s mind was beginning to grow fuzzy. As my hands crept up her thighs, I could feel when she started to relax and spread her legs for me.

Kate: Ah…

I pulled up her skirt, caressing her exposed legs. I couldn’t get enough of watching my fingers sink into her soft skin. Rolling down her socks, I let my tongue trace down her calves.

Kate: Mm, Victor–

I gripped her thighs as I pressed kisses to the tops of her feet.

Kate: That’s– dirty…

As I kissed her toes one by one, she blushed scarlet and shook her head.

Victor: And yet, your face says you want more.

Kate: Aah…

I lightly bit her ankle and she let out a moan.

Victor: I have to teach you that being too adorable is a sin.

I moved back to her thighs, kissing and sucking until I left a mark at her inner thigh. Seeing this, Kate reached out for me.

Kate: Too late. I’ve already been caught by a very, very wicked man.

She kissed my cheek and gave me a naughty smile.

Kate: So what should I do now?

I blinked in surprise, briefly stunned by her expression. Then I pulled off my coat, tossing it along with the queen’s veil to a chair. After giving them a glance, I turned back to her.

Victor: Unfortunately for you, there’s no escaping this situation anymore.

I pushed her onto the bed and chuckled.

Victor: You’re stuck being loved by a very wicked man for the rest of your life.

-----

I was roused from slumber by daylight falling across my eyelids. As I squinted at the morning sun peeking in through the curtains, Kate shifted lightly in my arms. I ran my fingers across her neck, tracing the marks still leftover from last night, and stroked her hair. Her breaths were still even as she slept.

(...I never imagined that I’d see such bliss in my lifetime. Not until I met you.)

Waking up with someone asleep in my arms. And not just any person, but the one woman in the world I was madly in love with. I sat up and continued to stroke her hair.

(All of this is the happiness Kate has given me.)

I wanted to savor this moment forever.

But alas, work called. There was a lot to do today.

(I won’t be able to spend as much time with her…) (I’m going to have to find a full day to set aside just for the two of us, next time.)

As I was planning out a schedule in my head–

Victor: Mm, Victor?

Kate’s lovely voice drifted to my ears, and I turned back to the bed to see Kate’s sleepy eyes blinking up at me.

Victor: Good morning, Kate. Sorry to disturb you.

I approached the bed to press soft kisses to her eyelids. She giggled.

Kate: Hehe… good morning.

She greeted me with an adorable voice as she accepted my kisses.

Victor: I’m sorry to do this right after you just woke up, but I need to leave. Victor: Do you know how to go back?

Kate: Yep, the passageway to your room is hidden behind that portrait. I just need to pull the lever over there.

Victor: I knew you’d remember. Victor: That’s my sharp girl.

She smiled in contentment as I stroked her head. When I stepped back, she also hurried out of bed. She was wearing one of my spare shirts, sleeves rolled up as she picked up the queen’s veil from the chair it had fallen on last night.

Kate: Let me.

She stood on her tip-toes to try and place the veil on my head. It was adorable, and I laughed and bowed my head so she could put the veil on for me. She smiled with satisfaction once I was fully dressed in the regalia of Her Majesty, Queen Victoria. As a reward, I pressed a kiss to her forehead.

Victor: I’ll be off now.

And that was when Kate lifted the edge of my veil, stretching as far upwards as she could to kiss my forehead in turn. With a smile and eyes full of soft affection, she said:

Kate: Good luck. I’ll see you soon.

I opened the door and stepped outside.

(Our lives from now on would not be simple.)

I would one day destroy her, erasing her from history itself. Sadness and suffering would befall her, and even after despair led her to her death, she would be fated to walk into the depths of hell forevermore. No one in their right mind would call it a happily ever after.

(But I can’t let her go. And even if I could, I won’t.)

When I looked over my shoulder, Kate was smiling and waving to me. I smiled back, closed the door, and shut my eyes for a moment.

(You don’t need to know the weight of my love.)

It was a tale that had been written on the day we first met, a fate that was set in stone when you fell into my arms.

Victor: I am your first and final love.

The only man you will ever love.

[existence-is-a-pain87]

eh uhmm am quite nervous since this is my first time asking for a resquest but u seem nice and cool so i thought i would make a shot for it! Can I have astro with a reader that is lazy asf like him like they could both sleep for a whole day and still sleep again and do whatever in their dreams (feel free to ignore this or reject!)

Most of my requests were about the Self-Aware AU, but then I saw your request. And since this is your first request, I'll take a short break from the self-aware AU and fufill the request for you!! <3

BTW, I'm sorry if you wanted this to be set in the self-aware AU. If I messed up at all, please tell me immediately!

I have a tendancy to done goof a lot, lol.

Sleep the Day Away

Astro x Lazy!Toon!Reader

Warnings: N/A

--☆☆☆☆☆--

When you were introduced to the other Toons, the first thing you did was yawn, nod, and walk away.

You didn't even say your name. Just ignored them all talking to and being curious about you and waltzed off. When they found you later, you were asleep on a bench.

So, was it surprising when it was revealed you were meant to be a counterpart to Astro?

--☆☆☆--

Astro was a little apprehensive to you, especially at first.

He didn't know what to really do with you. Even if you were like him- calm and easily able to go to sleep- you were also so... different.

You were ditzy, daydreaming the day away. And you were almost constantly exhausted. To the point you often just outright refused to do many things because you were too tired.

And if you weren't daydreaming, you were usually just sleeping the day away or was outright gone.

Most Toons barely noticed you because of this. You usually were just gone, sleeping somewhere off to the side or sitting somewhere with bleary eyes.

You barely spoke to anyone. Especially Astro. Sure, you were now often made to stand next to him due to the marketing, but you two never had much of an in-depth conversation.

You always seemed like you were in your own world. Even when awake, and even when asleep. But your dreams...

--☆☆☆--

Astro could only describe your dreams as completely unexpected for you.

Your personality was quiet, sleepy, ignoring reality.

But your dreams?

They were beautiful.

Serene, breath-taking... like someone brought a painting to life.

Sometimes it was a garden of flowers. Other times it was a galaxy.

And every time in your dreams?

You knew you were dreaming. And you were simply painting.

And you knew Astro was there.

And in your dreams, it was the first time you spoke to him.

"Hi Astro. You needed a break too?"

Astro then decided he liked you.

He liked that he never had to make your dreams either.

--☆☆☆--

While Astro was meant to be of dreams when asleep, you were of daydreams.

But you also listened. To everyone.

When Astro just thought you were sitting off to the side, you were listening to Toons woes. Helping them daydream and find peace when awake. To pursue their dreams in reality.

He liked that about you. You were kind.

You were just constantly exhausted, and not even Astro knew why. Your dreams gave no hints, like a perfect facade. A way for you to escape.

Astro worried for you and your tendency to just ignore reality. Especially when the ichor operation started.

He barely noticed when he started to love you. He just thought he worried and trusted you.

--☆☆☆--

Astro became a Twisted to save you.

You often went off to distract due to being quick. However, your constant exhaustion made your stamina close to none.

So Astro stayed close, regenerating your stamina as much as he could to keep you safe.

One day, your exhaustion was worse than any other. Because you weren't sleeping. You were forcing yourself to stay awake to help the other Toons. The ones who remained.

Astro felt guilty he didn't join you in helping the Toons. You even taught him how to make daydreams, but he didn't go and help you calm down Toons.

He was too busy trying to keep them peaceful in their sleep. But even when he was unable to find time to help you, you managed to find time to help him.

Then panic mode occurred on one of the later floors, and you fell asleep in the middle of running.

When Astro watched you collapse unconsious, he panicked. You were being chased by several Twisteds, and he knew that you may not make it through this.

He panicked and immediately ran into the fray, as Goob noticed you were unconsious and dragged you into the elevator.

But the elevator closed before he could make it in.

--☆☆☆--

Astro blamed himself for the fact you nearly became a Twisted.

If he helped you, maybe you'd be less tired.

If he did something else, maybe he wouldn't be a Twisted.

If he didn't become a Twisted, maybe you wouldn't have been left behind on a floor.

He found you asleep in a corner, barely noticeable.

And despite the ichor in his body, he didn't attack you.

He just found his old blanket (now too small for him) and wrapped you in it, protecting you.

He still was able to go into your dreams. Even if he was still a Twisted, even if him being in your dreams corrupted it.

You still just looked up at him from your painting, and smiled. As tears dripped from your eyes at the sight of his Twisted form, you kept smiling.

"Hi Astro."

That was when Astro realized he loved you.

And that you loved him too.

[doctor-dusk]

𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 | 𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐱 𝐭.

‘’it's like eating an orange. have you ever eaten one?’’

warnings: oral and fingering (f receiving), fetus!alex being a munch and a horny virgin.

word count: 4.6k

part 1

nobody asked for this part 2 but it’s here anyway. we’re lacking of fetus!alex content. and hello, by the way. out of my cage finally lol, is anyone still here?

‘’ i can't wait for you to eat me out on that desk.’’

this sentence stayed in turner's mind for longer than he would like to admit. every time he looked at you, his body automatically stirred. he hated feeling like a fucking teenager around you. 

you two hadn't talked since that day. the most that happened were glances at each other during classes or in the hallways. you thought it was cute how he always looked away when you looked back at him, or how his eyes widened slightly when he was going to look at you, but you were already looking at him. 

he had thought a lot about talking to you again about that "next time" you said you were willing to. a part of him thought you were still bluffing. but oh, the other part of him was dying, eating him up from the inside out to touch you again, to feel your perfume entering his nostrils more strongly, to know if your taste was as good as your kiss. he felt dirty for thinking that way about you, but it wasn't like he was going to stop.

he must have rehashed the dialogue five times in his head before he finally got the courage to go talk to you while you were there before the break. he took advantage of the fact that you were away from your classmates and called you softly, his voice almost sounding like a whistle.

‘’yeah?’’ you answered, your eyes turning to look at him. he could already see the script he prepared burning inside his head. he didn't know that just your look was enough to make him look like a mess.

‘’i... uh, how are you?’’ he asked, sounding a bit insecure. you shrugged softly.

‘’good. you?’’ you asked politely. he nodded. he wanted to slap himself completely.

‘’yeah, good.’’ he sighed before struggling to at least be able to maintain eye contact with you. ‘’listen, about what happened that day…’’

‘’you didn't like it?’’ you asked.

‘’no, i mean, yes... i mean-’’ he stuttered a little, taking a deep breath and collecting the right words. ‘’i liked it. a lot. i loved it.’’

you nodded. you knew he liked it, it was clear on his face that day, and you'd be lying if you said you hadn't been thinking about it on the way back home. the sweaty face, the scrunched up nose, the trembling lips, the half-lidded eyes, everything seemed to live in your mind like a freshly painted painting, all still vivid on the wall of your memory.

‘’and i was thinking about... next time.’’ he continued, his fingers gently gripping the edge of the table he was leaning against. ‘’i mean, you said you were willing to have a next time.’’

‘’i did.’’ you confirmed. you knew where he was going with it, but you wanted to hear him say it in every word. you wanted to see him overcome his shyness and be a little more daring.

‘’well, uh…’’ he scratched the back of his neck and shrugged. ‘’is this next time still on the room with us?’’

‘’do you want to know if i'm still up for it?’’ you asked more specifically and he nodded immediately. ‘’and... are you up for it?’’

he scoffed a bit. it was like asking if a monkey liked bananas.

‘’yeah.’’ he answered. you tilted your head.

‘’alright. can you meet me at the same place then?’’ you suggested. his stomach did the flip immediately. he really hated how he looked like a teenager around you.

‘’when?’’ he asked, already feeling the tingle of anticipation.

‘’today. in half an hour.’’

his eyes widened. he thought he would have time to prepare for this and that it wouldn't be that close.

‘’t-today, like... now?’’ he asked, trying not to show so much desperation, but his reaction already gave him away.

you didn't have much time, and it was hard to find another place to do this. you wouldn't take him to your house, nor would he do the same for you. and of course, he wouldn't pay for a hotel just to eat you out.

‘’yeah. do you want it or not?’’ you asked him. not that you were pressuring him, but it was a matter of opportunity.

he composed himself, not wanting to seem like a coward afraid of women. ‘’yes, of course i do.’’ he answered, his hand moving to ruffle his hair in a failed attempt to dissipate his nerves. he would never let the opportunity slip through his fingers like sand. it wasn't every day that a pretty girl would voluntarily want him to go down on her pussy.

‘’so we meet there. don't be late.’’

and with that, you left the classroom. if he was already on edge, this just got worse.

how could he possibly eat out a pussy? he'd never seen one up close. well, the closest he'd gotten was when he'd watched some porn on his phone, but that never came close to what he was about to experience. he didn't know if he could just lick it. or bite it. or pinch. he was a mess, but he hoped you could understand him, and more so, guide him.

he splashed water on his face at least twice. he brushed his teeth three times to be sure. he puffed against his palm just to make sure he didn't smell like the ratatouille he'd eaten for lunch during his break between classes.

when he got to the empty gym, he found the locker room door ajar. it could only mean you were already there waiting for him.

''alright, alright...'' he muttered to himself, both hands running through his hair as if he was about to take the hardest test of his life. ‘’pull yourself together, alexander. it's just a girl. and a pussy.’’

he took a few deep breaths before opening the door completely. the first thing his eyes fell on was your figure on top of that damn desk. legs crossed so that your skirt was riding up to your thighs, feet swaying back and forth in a soft rhythmic manner, body slightly bending over, supported by your outstretched arm and your hand flat on the solid wood of the desk, while your other hand was too busy swirling a lollipop inside your mouth like a carousel.

‘’you took too long.’’ you told him as he closed the door with the weight of his own body leaning against it for a few seconds.

‘’i was busy.’’ he lied. he wouldn't say it took too long because he was freaking out internally. you chuckled, signaling for him to drop his backpack next to yours, letting him make sure he had locked the door properly. 

‘’sure.’’ you answered, adjusting your position on the desk, sitting up straight and with your legs slightly apart. ‘’nervous?’’

‘’i can't lie.’’ he murmured. and even if he did, you would know. he exuded nervousness.

you nodded, reaching out to him and pulling him closer to you, your hands moving to his tense shoulders, the lollipop still on your mouth as you talked.

‘’it won't bite you.’’ you said and he chuckled low. your hand moved to the strap of his jeans, guiding him to stand between your legs, almost pressing against you. the heat was undeniable at this point. ‘’it's more likely the opposite will happen.’’ you continued, trying to lighten the mood. he let out a nervous laugh, his hands turning into fists on his sides, not quite sure if he should - or could - touch you now.

‘’that's what worries me.’’ he replied, feeling your hand from his shoulder rise to his chin, your fingers hooked on either side of his chin, tracing the line of his jaw gently.

‘’i'll help you.’’ you assured him. ‘’it's like eating an orange. have you ever eaten one?’’

he understood the analogy to an orange immediately. it was fresh, juicy, there was a way in there where he could stick his tongue to get more juice.

‘’yeah. a few times.’’ he replied and your lips tugged up in a smile.

‘’then you're a munch, boy.’’ you joked, your fingers unhooked from the strap of his pants, holding his hand so he could place it on your bare thigh, the contact made his fingers practically itch. ‘’don't be nervous. we've been here before.’’

‘’i'm just afraid of doing something wrong.’’ he said, his thumb moving gently from side to side in an involuntary and almost noticeable caress over your skin. you felt like a little ant was walking in circles on your thigh.

‘’you won't. i said i'll help you.’’ you hummed, taking the lollipop out of your mouth to kiss his face, always being careful. he didn't know why you were always so calm with him, but he was grateful for it. he always imagined that his first times would be like a blur, where he wouldn't remember anything, or would pretend nothing happened because it was all too traumatic.

soon, your mouth was pressing against his. now he could feel the sweet taste of the strawberry lollipop on your lips, his tongue immediately tracing over your lower lip, asking for entrance to deepen the kiss. of course you allowed him to deepen, letting you both get into the mood. 

his hands were still hesitant. you knew you needed to give him a little push.

‘’you can touch me, al.’’ you whispered to him, your lips moving against his as you spoke, both lips glistening with the mixed saliva. your hands guiding his to touch your body, letting him explore, even if he was still a little shy.

even though he was hesitant, he knew you were giving him total freedom, so he let his hands roam on your sides, feeling your curves like the gentle waves of a calm sea.

you tilted your head back, exposing your neck. ‘’you can kiss me too.’’

he took the hint, his lips leaning to kiss your neck, his nose practically piercing your skin because he buried his face so far, trying to commit your scent to his memory.

‘’you smell so good.’’ he muttered against your neck, kissing every inch he could reach, his lips opening to spread open-mouthed kisses down the length of your neck. you felt your skin crawl, both from the low and rough sound of his voice and from the fact that his kisses were actually giving you goosebumps more than you expected.

you tutted when you noticed he was nibbling your neck. ‘’no visible marks, please.’’ he controlled himself, mumbling a ‘sorry’ in response. you chuckled. ‘’i mean, at least on the neck. doesn't mean you can't leave marks elsewhere.’’

just the thought made his cock throb. fuck, how he hated that you seemed to know exactly what to say to him. or he was too emotional to get turned on whenever you opened your mouth to say something.

his hands moved under your shirt, just to tease your stomach, he wasn't willing to go any higher than that, but you were willing to show yourself to him. you didn't know exactly if it was his naive nature or just him, but there was something there that made you want to be an open book to him. you wanted to be seen by him.

‘’wanna see my tits?’’ you asked him, making him pull his face away to look at you.

‘’can i?’’ he asked, half incredulously. you chuckled, your fingers hooked on the hem of your shirt, moving it up to your collarbone, the fact that you weren't wearing a bra made it easier to flash him as if your breasts were like two car headlights and he was a deer, completely hypnotized.

‘’what did you think?’’ you asked him. not that you were expecting a compliment, you just wanted a first impression from him. they weren't the first breasts he had ever seen in his life. he accidentally saw the neighbor changing clothes, her tits flashed before his eyes too fast because he quickly looked away, afraid of being mistaken for a pervert if she noticed he was looking.

‘’they're... nice.’’ he said, pressing his lips together and feeling a knot on his stomach. he felt a little insecure, but wanted to try anyway. ‘’can i touch them?’’

‘’you should.’’ you chuckled, your hand moving to take his hand, his palm landing softly on your left boob. it was soft, he could feel the weight in his palm and the supple flesh made him want to squeeze, but he knew he didn't want to hurt you. ‘’good?’’ you asked him, seeing that now both hands were on both breasts, exploring, his eyes watching how your nipples quickly hardened with the gentle contact of his thumbs.

‘’yeah…’’ he said almost in a whisper. his head felt heavy, but it wasn't like he was going to faint or anything. it was like a magnetic force that pulled him down, his mouth practically attacking your breast like he needed it to survive. the attitude took you by surprise, but not in a bad way.

turner was finally showing his claws.

‘’sorry. i didn't ask if i could.’’ he chuckled after releasing your nipple in a soft pop.

‘’oh, you can. don't stop. you're doing good.’’ you said, reassuring him, your hand moving to the back of his head to guide him back, his open mouth searching for your breast like a hungry baby. knowing he was doing well was a great sign for him. a kind of fuel, to be more precise.

his hands and mouth worked on your boobs, his tongue swirling around your nipples as if it were a pastime, making you almost giggle as you brought your lollipop to your mouth again. he was having fun at it, slowly discovering what made you laugh and what made you moan.

‘’alex.’’ you called him, your legs quivering at his sides, your calves rubbing against the rough material of his jeans. ‘’i'm so wet now.’’

your words short-circuited his brain a little. he paused, already feeling that his lips were numb. his eyes searched yours while his hands gripped the sides of the desk tightly.

those deer eyes locked into yours. ‘’yeah?’’ he whispered. you nodded, your hand guiding one of his hands to where you wanted. he shivered as his fingers slid up against your core, the fabric of your panties ridiculously wet. soaked, even.

‘’can you feel it?’’ you indulged him, watching him nod, his fingers still moving up and down, so slow and so torturous. ‘’i want you to touch me.’’ you whispered back to him, putting the lollipop inside your mouth so you had both hands free to guide him, making his fingers tangle in the elastic of your panties.

your panties were in his hand faster than he could have anticipated. you moved your body closer, your ass almost off the desk. he bent down, not necessarily kneeling on the locker room floor, but squatting high enough. he knew his back would hurt if he stayed in that position for too long, but it was for a good reason. a beautiful, glistening good reason.

as you opened your legs to welcome him, he took a deep breath, his eyes blinking a few times, admiring your glistening pussy.

‘’you're soaked.’’ he stated the obvious, licking his lips involuntarily, feeling like his mouth had dried out and filled with water at the same time at the sight. oh, this was so much better than porn.

‘’and it's your fault.’’ you bit your lip, leaning on your elbows, feeling his nose slide down your inner thigh, the warm air coming out of his nostrils made your skin crawl and your scent made his head spin. ‘’don't ask me. just do it.’’ you said when his eyes stopped on yours, like a silent request.

his tongue stiffened a little, licking the long stripe from bottom to top, holding back a groan at the taste. he couldn't even explain the taste, but it was unlike anything he'd ever put in his mouth. sweet. salty. strangely good.

‘’relax your tongue. let it slide.’’ you said to him, patting him softly on the head, wanting him not to be so tense.

he hummed in response, his tongue relaxing a bit, the wet muscle getting a little softer as he repeated the movement, his tongue slowly starting to explore your wet heat.

‘’yeah, just like this…’’ you hummed back to him, pressing your lips together as you watched him. his hands rested on your inner thighs, his licks were like a kitten's, testing to see how you liked it. although this was his first contact with a pussy, he wanted to make it good for you. ‘’higher up.’’

he listened to you, his mouth moving a little upwards, his mouth finding your clit, the lips gently closing around it.

‘’here?’’ he mumbled and you nodded, shivering at the way his tongue flicked on your bundle of nerves, giving you soft spasms, but not enough. it was like a pink pearl, he was afraid he would end up sucking too hard, or biting it by accident, but he was going through the motions, guided by your hand and your soft whimpers.

as he started to suck your clit, applying a little pressure, one of his hands left your thigh, his thumb ghosting on it, pulling a bit upwards to reveal a more sensitive part to the touch or even for a mere breath of air, which made you yelp a bit, but in a good way, very good. he was really getting the hang of it.

encouraged by your reaction, he dared more. the fingers of his hand slid through your entrance, collecting your juices mixed with his saliva.

‘’okay?’’ he asked you, pausing a bit, taking the opportunity to breathe a little and kiss your thigh, the tips of his fingers threatening to invade you.

‘’yes. please.’’ you swallowed hard. you were already a mess and look, he was the one who should be like this. the game changed in a way that you didn't even notice, and you weren't complaining.

he slowly slid his middle finger inside you, feeling how wet, hot and tight it was, but you welcomed him with vigor. he watched intently as he pumped his finger in and out, looking at your folds gently parting as his finger moved, just like a flower blossoming. ‘’so pretty.’’ he muttered, more to him than to you.

‘’one more.’’ you asked. of course he obeyed. soon, the ring finger joined the other finger, moving at a leisurely speed, exploring you and scissoring you, stretching your walls only to feel you tighten around him again. ‘’yes, fuck…’’ you gasped out, making him smile against the supple flesh of your thigh. he was doing so good for his first time.

he would be lying if he said he was still insecure. quite the opposite. your reactions increased his confidence, which made him double his efforts to keep eliciting moans and sighs from you. so he continued fingering you, his lips returning to suck your clit. “you like this? being finger-fucked while being eaten out?” he asked, his voice muffled against your cunt.

something triggered in you when he said that. alex wasn't usually this bold. he barely knew how to hold a conversation while looking you in the eyes, but at that moment, he was a different guy. and god, how you loved it.

‘’yeah, i do. ​​fucking love it.’’ you replied, meeting his expectations, since he looked at you with a smug expression, his chin glistening with your wetness.

‘’and you taste so good, by the way.’’  he nipped your folds, stilling his fingers momentarily, making you shiver, your hand gripped at his hair in response. ‘’i could eat this pussy all day.’’

you almost dared to ask him what had happened to make him feel this surge of confidence, but his fingers curled inside you so good, hitting your g-spot, that you lost the words. his tongue flicked rapidly against your clit again, teasing and pushing you further to the edge.

‘’yes, yes, fuck, right there-’’ you gasped. he felt the pressure of your thighs around his head, but he wouldn't mind dying crushed there, all his attention and devotion were on you and how you were already trembling with his fingers pistoning in and out of your tight cunt, plunging deep inside you.

you held the plastic lollipop stick tightly, moving the sweet red ball to your clit, somehow the stimulation was delicious along with his occasional licks, the sweet taste of the lollipop mixing with your taste in his mouth, making him want to eat you out forever on top of that desk.

‘’god, 'm gonna come so hard…’’ you mumbled, your hands falling at your sides as your eyes rolled back. 

‘’yeah? gonna cum all over my mouth?’’ he asked you with greater expectations than himself. that also stimulated him in a way. he was so hard inside his pants, feeling his cock throbbing when he palmed himself with his other hand.

‘’you want me to, turner?’’ you asked, forcing your head up to look at him with your already fucked up expression. his hand tightened over his pants, squeezing his cock in a failed attempt to try and relieve himself as well.

his fingers hooking up inside you. ‘’yes, give it to me.’’ he purred against your pussy, his fingers maintaining the movement of massaging your g-spot at the same time he palmed himself, feeling a strange and familiar knot in his stomach as he did that. ‘’i want you to cum on my tongue.’’

his words, his fingers, his mouth, everything made your body go into a state of combustion, as if you had received an electric shock so loud that it burned you from the inside out. your ears seemed to ring and you felt your heart beating like crazy more vividly as you despaired in the midst of your orgasm.

“fuck, fuck, fuck…” you moaned non-stop, gripping his head tightly, keeping it in place, with his face buried in your pulsing cunt as you came, your walls clenching around his fingers.

he would like to say that it didn't affect him, but he would be blatantly lying. it affected him a lot, more than he would like. so much so that just the sight of you cumming and the feeling of your pussy squeezing his fingers was enough to make him cum too, creating a real mess inside his boxers, but he was so dazed because of all this that he only realized it later, when he was moaning between your legs, still sucking hard on your clit, drinking down every drop of your release. but he chose to ignore it for now, focused only on you.

“oh my- god, alex.” you whimpered, still feeling his fingers fucking you through your whole orgasm, making sure to hit that spot inside you, making you see stars as your legs still quivered. your ears were ringing, but you were still able to hear him murmur if you were okay. “yeah, it was... fuck, that was good. are you sure that was your first time eating out a pussy?” you chuckled out of your breath.

‘’i’m a good orange eater, i suppose.’’ he said, finally sliding his fingers out of you, both coated with your creamy arousal as if he had stuck his fingers in a bucket full of white glue. he wished he could never wash that hand just so he could taste it on his digits, but he had a bigger problem on his hands right now. or rather, in his pants.

you noticed he seemed insecure and restless, looking at him between your legs. ‘’something wrong?’’ you asked. somehow, you felt insecure too. did he not like it? did you have a bad taste or something?

‘’n-nothing, i just…’’ he mumbled, flexing his knees, feeling that sticky discomfort between his legs. ‘’god, this is so embarrassing.’’

‘’what's embarrassing?’’ you asked, sitting on the table while he remained squatting, feeling that any sudden movement could make the situation worse.

he sighed, knowing he wouldn't be able to hide it from you there, because you would find out anyway. it was impossible not to notice the big wet spot right there between his legs, darkening his jeans.

‘’just... shit, don't laugh.’’ he warned beforehand. you raised your hands in surrender, somewhat agreeing. ‘’i made a mess in my pants.’’

you frowned, not quite understanding what he meant. but soon you connected the dots, your eyes widening in surprise. ‘’did you cum in your pants?’’

his eyes widened a little, shaking his head. ‘’don't say that out loud.’’ he muttered through gritted teeth. you hadn't even said it out loud. he was just too embarrassed.

it took you a while to think, not knowing what to say. this had never happened to you before.

‘’it's okay.’’ you said quietly and he scoffed, standing up, showing you his situation. it wasn't the most ideal of situations, but you couldn't help but appreciate it. it was a good mess.

‘’no, it's not okay, look at this.’’ he grumbled nervously in frustration. ‘’can't leave here like this.’’

''the staff keeps some face towels in the last closet. they won't miss them if one goes missing.’’ you said, getting down from the table, almost losing your balance when your feet touched the floor because your legs were a little wobbly.

you watched him leave, opening the unlocked cabinets. he walked a little funny so as not to make the situation worse in his pants, finding a clean towel in the last cabinet. he thanked you mentally and unbuttoned his pants, lowering them enough to be able to clean himself.

‘’this is ridiculous.’’ he muttered to himself, he was so embarrassed that he didn't even know if he would be able to look at you after he was done. in his head, this only reinforced the stereotype of an immaculate virgin that he has. 

meanwhile, you put on your panties and lowered your shirt, suppressing a smile as he got back. his pants weren't that stained, you couldn't notice it at first, unless you stared at that spot too hard. he could feel the blush all over his face when he looked at you. ‘’listen...’’

‘’my mouth is a tomb.’’ you interrupted him, assuring him that you wouldn't tell anyone what happened there. 

he let out a sigh of relief. ''thanks.’’  he muttered. he still thought this was so ridiculous that he thought the first thing he'd do was throw himself in front of a bus.

‘’but, if it's any consolation…’’ you trailed off, adjusting your skirt. ‘’it was hot.’’

he narrowed his eyes softly, trying to figure out if you were telling the truth or just trying to make him feel better. but your gaze seemed sincere, so he chose to believe it.

‘’you're so weird.’’ he laughed and you followed him as you walked to the exit, picking up your backpacks on the floor along the way.

‘’you are too.’’ you replied, holding the lollipop that was still there between your fingers, swirling your tongue around it one more time before handing it to him, watching him hold it with his left hand. ‘’we're a good pair of weirdos.’’

and with that, you wink at him and left the gym locker room, leaving him alone again, just like last time. he looked at the lollipop, bringing it to his mouth. he felt like he was crazy, but he could taste your pussy there. sweet. salty. strangely good.

he could easily get addicted.

a/n: i hope i don't disappear anymore. i missed writing so much :c

[doodler16]

I'm actually wondering if Husk's disappointment in Angel possibly ruining his progress would've been more understandable if they changed the dialogue a little in ep 5.

Like, instead Vaggie saying "And we've almost been able to find all of Angel Dust's drug stashes... Almost." It could've been "And last week, Angel Dust even brought us his remaining drug stashes we hadn't found yet." and then Charlie would gush "He decided to stop using drugs three months ago, and I'm so proud of him!" <- this is just an example, it's clumsy I know. Best solution could've been extra ep between 4 and 5. Or maybe alongside Vaggie's words, show Angel receiving his salary from Valentino and it's actually just bunch of drugs that he then dumps in the trash while complaining.

Overall I can actually see that in the following months after ep 4, Angel Dust decides not to do drugs for his own sake. They were tied to his bad coping mechanism. And Husk, while being accepting to "coke up dick sucking ho" also supporting Angel's decision to try stay sober (except booze, booze seems to be fine) and reminding him about it in his rough/kind of judgemental way. Or then it's just that characters are acting how fast-paced plot demands them to act for drama.

Yeah, it would’ve been a lot more better if Vivziepop and the writers tweaked the dialogue. Along with having an extra episode or two regarding said situation so it doesn’t seem janky. For an extra episode regarding Angel Dust and his drugs, they could easily cut one of the episodes from season 1.

[notitlesapply]

Okay I'm blaming @cacodaemonia who has sold me on the Waxer/Boil/Rex OT3. They're sooooo hot, and so I'm gonna provide a little spicy something something for Caco 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Smex under the cut!

Okay, so everyone knows Waxer and Boil come as a set. They're more WaxerAndBoil than anything else. Buuuuut that doesn't mean they're not willing to let someone else in their hearts (or bed).

The whole 212th knows if you want some comfort, you go to Waxer and Boil. They're the best at calming down nightmares, soothing shinies, and taking the edge off. If someone (or multiple someones) are having a particularly bad time, they get the Waxer/Boil special. Sometimes that means sex, sometimes it's a talk or a cuddle...whatever someone needs at that time. They're the 212th's best kept secret.

Anyway, Rex is having a rough time of it. Maybe this is after a shit mission like Kadavo, or maybe it's just a build up of all the stress of the war. He's constantly on edge and he has a hard time talking to anyone in the 501st about it or even asking for some physical comfort. He's their captain, and he can't show weakness in front of the men, and it's not like he can burden Ahsoka about it, she's too young. He tried talking to Anakin, and while Anakin was full of righteous rage on Rex's behalf, he's not that great at soothing Rex's fears and anxiety.

Eventually the 501st meet up with the 212th. Cody instantly clocks Rex as being in need, and quickly gets his best men on the job. Waxer and Boil come up to Rex, bold as brass, and ask if he wants some time with them. Something to take the edge off.

At first Rex is hesitant, but... Waxer and Boil are not in his chain of command. He doesn't have to appear strong for them. And Cody would only recommend them if he thought that they would take care of Rex. And it's been awhile since he's been intimate with anyone, he could use the release.

So Rex agrees.

He decides for now, he just wants to get out of his head for a while. He doesn't want to be in charge or responsible for anything for once. He wants to just be acted upon and fucked until his head is empty. Waxer and Boil can do that. They'd love to.

Waxer and Boil get Rex laid out on bed, Rex leaning back against Waxer's chest as Boil kisses and licks down his body. He adds in little nips that cause Rex to sigh and moan. Waxer keeps murmuring in Rex's ear. "You're so pretty. Gorgeous. Look at you. Everyone is going to be so jealous that we got you. That you're under our hands. Beautiful."

Rex groans at the praise and gives a wanton moan when Boil takes Rex's dick in his mouth. Waxer keeps murmuring to Rex, describing everything they're going to do to him. First Boil is going get Rex's decree nice and wet while he opens Rex up. Then Boil's gonna fuck him nice and slow. And then Waxer will get a turn fucking into Rex's sweet ass. And Rex doesn't have to worry about pleasing them, or holding on. He can cum whenever he wants as much as he wants. Just take whatever they give him. And if Rex still wants more after both of them fuck him into the mattress, he can pick who gets to ride him to competition.

"What if I want both of you?" Rex whines as Boil's fingers start stretching him open. He knows he probably won't be able to take that much fucking, but he's willing to try.

"Then you can have both of us," Waxer purrs as he strokes down Rex's chest and tweaks his nipples, "It doesn't have to be all at once. We can stay with you until morning and beyond. Sex first thing in the morning is soooo good. We can both prep before going to sleep, so you can push into either one of us as soon as you wake up. Or one of us could fuck you, whatever you want sweetheart."

Boil pops his head up to leer, "Or you can fuck into Waxer while I fuck into you."

Rex whines, his hips flexing unconsciously. He likes that. He likes that a lot.

[alovesreading]

Constant Repeat | Part 19

Summary: Having worked at Focus Creeps for a year, Ella knows that as a production assistant and part of the crew, there’s one important rule: don’t interact with the talent unless it’s needed. But once she meets Arctic Monkeys, and the recording of the music videos for their upcoming fourth studio album starts, the band seem to become her exception. Not only because they treat her more like a friend than just someone else they’re working with but when Alex continuously makes her blush with his flirting, so enthralled by her that he forgets he’s got a girlfriend, Ella finds herself growing closer to him. As videos are filmed, wrapped and edited, the friendship lines become blurry. Situations unfold, secrets are told and others are kept under lock and key, but how long can Alex and Ella endure being stuck in each other’s minds on constant repeat.

Word Count: 28k

Story Warnings: Throughout this series there will be suggestive talk, jealousy, cheating, alcohol and drug use, angst, smut.

A/N: You lot deserve a medal, perhaps a couple awards for all your patience. Thank you for sticking by, being so supportive and willing to wait for me. So much had happened in the past year, I just turned a year older, I got a new car, and I'm graduating tomorrow; lots of exciting things and I'm so incredibly grateful for it all. I just wished I could have some more time to write/read, but I'm trying to manage it a little better and it might be working. I just finished this chapter, it's not been properly proofread but I hope that it's good and not filled with awful grammar and orthographical mistakes. I truly hope you enjoy despite it being relatively short, I really poured all of me to bring you another chapter as soon as I could, fighting all my writer slumps in the process. I hope I was successful, anyway, have fun reading! xx

Masterlist

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 |

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There was never a moment when Alex wasn’t on the phone to Ella while the band was away on tour after they got together. In the tour bus, before boarding a plane, in the greenroom before and after a show. It was a miracle to even get Alex to put down his phone for soundcheck and, more often than not, it was because Breana would be the one to record videos to send Ella or FaceTiming the director herself so Alex could concentrate on what he was supposed to do. 

It was honestly kind of disturbing to see Alex using his phone so often. The lads had definitely been teasing him over and over for not being able to leave Ella alone—to that, Alex always rolled his eyes and actually refuted them by saying he did leave her alone when she was working and couldn’t use her phone on set. 

“Melt,” Matt would say followed by a mocking snort when Alex would pout at his phone screen when Ella couldn’t pick up the phone or hadn’t answered one of his texts yet.

But it was days like those when Ella couldn’t stay on her phone for most of the day due to work that she would sneak into a bathroom and send Alex pictures that she had hidden away in her phone just for him. 

One of the first ones he got was when she had been shooting an advert and managed to sneak away from her responsibilities during her very short lunch break. She had sent him a mirror selfie just wearing one of the lacy little things she had gotten for herself when she went shopping with Katie.

Alex, who was slowly sipping his beer while lazily sitting on the corner of the lounge, choked when he got the notification of her text and opened it to a very explicit photo of her. 

His eyes went wide and he couldn’t stop coughing. He locked his phone fairly quickly when seeing everyone’s attention on him, but the picture was burned into his retinas and he needed to leave the room—his jeans started feeling too constricted.

“You alright mate?” someone asked.

The singer didn’t even have the mind to focus on who was speaking to him, he just nodded his head as he tried to calm down. Once he got his breath back, he added, “Yes, erm…” 

His trailing off was met with silence since everyone wanted an explanation for his sudden coughing fit. Nosy bunch the lot of them really. 

“Yeah, fine,” Alex clarified, and without leaving room for their curiosity to continue growing, he jumped off his seat and left the room with a quick, “Excuse me.”

He ran to his bunk so quickly, almost smashing his head open when he hastily climbed into his bed and closed the curtain. Unlocking his phone and getting to see the picture again left him breathless.

Ella was sitting on the floor of her room right in front of her massive mirror, burgundy lingerie set on. He had been instantly caught by the look of her tits almost spilling out of the see-through lace bra she had on, just now he was noticing that she was using the hand she wasn’t holding her phone with to shove aside her underwear and had a finger teasing her entrance. 

You’re cruel, he texted back as he fumbled to undo his belt with one hand. I’m so tempted to buy you a ticket and have you in this bunk with me right now xxxxx

Alex was teasing himself over his boxers when Ella’s response came through, Made a mess already? That’s quicker than I expected ;) xxx

Squeezing himself one last time, he shoved down the fabric of his boxers and let his cock spring out. He was already leaking at the tip, all he could think about was burying himself in her, replacing her finger in that picture and teasing her with his cock until she was drooling and begging for it. 

He groaned as he ran his thumb over his slick tip, wishing it was her arousal getting his dick all wet instead.

Not yet darling, but it won’t be soon before that. Wish I could make a mess of you instead xxxx 

Ella giggled inside the lonely bathroom, looking at herself in the mirror and noticing her flushed cheeks, the color going down her neck. She shifted in her spot when feeling a tingle run down her spine and settling between her legs. Fuck, she wished he could make a mess of her too—she missed the feeling of him pounding into her and the warmth of his cum mixed with hers dripping out of her cunt.

She swallowed a moan as she replied, Wish you could make a mess all over me xxx

Alex groaned as he pictured his cum on her pretty face, tongue licking away the remnants of him on her swollen pink lips. Inside his mind flashed the fantasies of him cumming over her stomach, imagining Ella running her fingers over the mess and sucking on them to taste every last drop of him—the singer picked up the pace of his fist around his cock when he pictured himself licking it all up for her and spitting it all in her mouth, how she’d swallow gladly and pull him in for a hungry kiss. 

It never took long for Alex to cum all over himself—or in a condom, if he wasn’t rushing enough to roll one down his length before getting himself off to the sight of her. And after the first time she complained about him not sharing proof of just how badly she affected him, Alex made sure to send her something back. 

Ella drove back home with the biggest smirk on her face every time, knowing that she had a treat from him when she got back to hers. After a long day of work, there was nothing better than moaning his name as she used one of her toys while seeing pictures or a video of him getting himself off to the thought of her. 

No one really said anything, because they all knew how badly it was to be away from their partners while on tour, but there were times when Alex and Ella were just too obnoxious for the lads to not taunt them about it. 

Like the one time Alex felt careless enough to remain in his bunk when Ella called him late one night, her voice wavering and her breath staggering in a clear sign that it was one of those days she was way too needy and had to hear his voice while touching herself. 

His jeans becoming too tight as his cock grew heavy when she’d whine and whimper on the other side of the line, her thoughts incoherently leaving her mouth as she fucked herself with a toy that just didn’t feel as good as his cock did but was enough to satiate her need for him.

Alex’s whispers weren’t quiet enough, and the silent gasps he’d let out were too abrupt in the silence of the night to wake his mates and their wives up. 

Ella’s fantasies ran loose as she came closer and closer to her climax, she painted the picture in detail as she continued gliding the dildo in and out of her dripping cunt, “I want you to bend me over the bathroom sink, and pound me from behind so hard I get bruises on my hips, baby. Want you to fucking spank me and pull my hair so I can see you through the mirror, and you can see me fucking drooling because your cock feels so fucking good inside me.”

“F-fuck, baby.” Alex groaned a bit too loudly, “Gonna be squeezing me so fucking tight with that sweet cunt of yours. And you’re gonna cum all over me, yeah? Gonna drench my cock, darling?”

Ella moaned louder in response and picked up her pace as she felt herself about to fall over the edge, “Yes–fuck! Yes, Alex!”

“Go on darling, give it all to me.” 

His voice dropped an octave as he quickened his pace and he started thrusting upwards to fuck his own fist. He bit his lip not to moan out loud, holding his breath when Ella’s loud mewls and moans of his name came through the phone, cumming inside the condom he’d managed to put on.

Ella’s labored breaths matched his and it was all they heard as they came down from their highs. The crackling of the signal reminded them of the distance between them and, suddenly, the sweet remnants of release were exchanged by the longing of being skin to skin, missing how it felt to relish in how well they fit together body and soul in the aftermath of an orgasm.  

“I miss you, sweetness,” Ella mumbled sadly, “Want you right here with me.”

“Me too, darling,” Alex sighed heavily, “I hate being away from you for so long. Will make it up to you, I promise.”

“Yeah?” Ella replied, a cheeky smile growing on her face as she went to tease him, “How will you make it up to me, baby?”

“Anything you ask for, darling. A thousand movies in Los Feliz, the moon and the stars, to worship you until my jaw aches and locks.” He heard her breath hitching, “Whatever you ask for, darling. It’s yours.”

She groaned loudly, “I fucking love you.”

He giggled like a fool, “I love you more.”

“Impossible,” she replied easily with his usual one-liner.

Alex snorted but before he could reply, someone shouted from another bunk, “Go to sleep you filthy fuckers, I’m tired.” 

The silence was loud afterwards but Ella laughed loudly after a few seconds, calling Alex out for not going to the other bunk area or the back lounge like he usually did, “You just stayed in there with everyone else?”

“You kind of didn’t give me a choice, darling. I couldn’t think straight the second I picked up and heard you saying my name like that.”

Ella snorted, “Glad to know just how badly I affect you.”

Alex sighed, a loopy smile on his face as he clarified, “Oh darling, you’ve ruined me you know that.” 

“Have I?” Ella countered, as if she didn’t know.

“Horrendously so.” Alex mumbled, “Ruined forever, baby.”

Ella bit her lip before going to reply, but again, someone else interrupted their conversation, “We just wanna sleep. You’re gonna see each other on the 6th. Just– please stop it, you soppy twats.”

Alex sighed in annoyance while Ella giggled. Even if he wanted to continue, he knew he’d just have to go to bed because he was sure now everyone in the bunks were awake and awaiting him to shut the fuck up. 

So he sighed again before joking loudly so the nosy bunch would stop complaining, “Sorry darling, they’re just fucking jealous.”

A choir of insults and profanities was heard, making Ella laugh again. Alex joined in her giggling before actually bidding her farewell, “Love you, darling. See you soon, yeah?”

Ella sighed contentedly hearing those words from him. She’d never get tired of hearing them nor saying them back. Biting her lip, she replied, “Love you. Sweet dreams, my love.”

“Sweet dreams baby,” he said back before she ended the call. 

When Alex went to discard the condom in the bathroom, he had gotten another round of abuse from everyone else. The bullying didn’t relent for days and, every day as Alex pouted when he FaceTimed Ella, she threatened to be even worse if they didn’t leave her man alone. 

That only triggered more bullying, but it was funny enough to hear them all creatively picking on Alex, and seeing how his cheeks would tint pink when they’d imitate the noises he made or the things he said to her on the phone.

“Don’t worry baby, I’ll make them pay when y’all get over here,” Ella promised one day after the teasing went on and on. 

On the morning of the 6th of August, Ella arrived at the venue of the concert they were having in San Diego. When she saw Alex looking hot as fuck, waiting by the tour bus beside Bre and Matt with a sweet smile on his face, she felt like even the constant FaceTime calls and texts hadn’t made up for all the time apart. 

The second Alex locked eyes with Ella, as she got out of the car that he had booked to drive her down to San Diego, he started walking towards her. But she beat him to it, for she ran straight towards him, jumping into his arms eagerly. 

The thud of her suitcase being taken off the boot of the car and placed on the pavement was lost in the background as Alex’s hands came to hold her up. Ella was so lost in the fact that she could finally card her fingers through his yet-to-be-gelled hair that she didn’t hear the driver asking where he could put her case. If she had properly heard, she would’ve said it didn’t matter, because it truly didn’t.

The only thing that mattered was that she could finally pounce on Alex’s lips with need, feel his tongue licking into her mouth and hear his breath hitch as she pulled on his hair. His fingers dug harder into the clothed flesh of her ass and she could already feel arousal pooling between her legs from his touch.

“Hi,” she said breathlessly when she pulled back, but before she could continue, he went in for another kiss. 

She squealed and giggled into it, squirming in his hold and forcing him to set her down on the floor. But even as she pulled back because her giggles wouldn’t let her keep kissing him, he continued dropping pecks all over her face. The two of them completely forgetting the crowd around them, Matt was the one to tell the driver to please leave Ella’s case by the door of the tour bus.

“Missed you–” Alex mumbled in between his loving attack, “–so much.”

Both her hands cupped his face, stopping him. Just so she could stare at him, take in those gorgeous brown eyes she was obsessed with, the strands of hair falling over his forehead. 

Being apart for over a month felt like a crime, but it did make seeing each other again so incredibly sweet. She almost wanted to melt into the floor all because of the flood of feelings rushing through her. Her chest hurt from the amount of love coursing through her veins.

And Alex felt just the same, he was almost vibrating with every feeling rumbling inside of him, like an earthquake that just wouldn’t stop.

His arm wrapped around her waist to bring her impossibly closer and kissed her again. But this kiss was cut short since Matt and Breana, who were done being tortured by the PDA, finally approached them and the model called out from behind Alex, “Okay, my turn now!”

Ella laughed loudly as she pulled back and left Alex’s arms to hug Bre tightly. They swayed in their place, cooing at each other, making both lads smile as they watched the sweet reunion. 

Alex clocked on the driver leaving Ella’s case by the door and thanked him just as Matt managed to get his own bear hug from Ella. However, it wasn’t long before Ella was back beside Alex, intertwining their fingers and kissing him quickly just once more before they started moving towards the van that was waiting for them. 

Matt and Bre led the way while Ella and Alex followed a few meters behind, wanting to have the other to themselves for a tiny bit longer before the day properly started. 

When they stopped by the van, and Matt was approached by the driver, Ella took the chance to throw her arms around Alex’s neck and run her fingers up and down the back of his head. That had Alex rolling his eyes in pleasure at the feeling of her nails scratching his scalp lightly. 

She bit her bottom lip at the sight of him—the black Chelsea boots and the black jeans paired with a light blue wash button up, which was half buttoned and showing his chest and that gold chain that made her thoughts go feral, “You look so good.”

Alex raised a brow and a smirk broke on his face, “Do I?”

“Yeah,” Ella nodded, “Fit as fuck.”

The singer couldn’t help but giggle at his girlfriend’s choice of words, leaning in to kiss her as a thank you for the compliment. 

When he pulled back, he made sure to make a show of looking her up and down, letting every dirty thought he was having of her show in his darkening eyes, “You look fit as fuck too, darling.”

She didn’t believe him for a second because, even though he’d had someone pick her up and drive her two hours down to San Diego instead of letting her drive herself, she still felt a little rough from the trip. And she was just wearing a pair of jeans and a vest top with a leather jacket over it, her black motorcycle boots matching it, she didn’t feel hot at all at the minute—much less this early in the morning.

“You’re just being nice,” Ella rolled her eyes as she said. 

Alex shook his head and leaned in until his lips brushed the shell of her ear and he could whisper, “Darling, you look so fucking hot I wanna take you right here, right now.”

Her cheeks were burning bright red when he pulled back to look right in her eyes, her mouth slightly parted and her breaths became heavy. 

After clearing her throat, she called him out in a whisper, “Sweetness, you can’t just say that when we’re meant to go somewhere else.”

“Shall we try my bunk quickly?” Alex quipped with a cheeky smirk.

She flicked at his chest and giggled, heat rushing up her neck and cheeks again, “Stop it.” 

The reason she wanted him to stop was because she would say yes in a heartbeat if he really suggested it, and it wouldn’t be ideal for anyone else but the two of them.

Thankfully, Matt saved her decency by turning around and telling them they had to get on the van and get going. Ella couldn’t help the little squeak that left her mouth when she started walking towards the vehicle and thought about how she’d be hearing them live again so soon. 

Alex gave her a puzzled yet amused look when he sat beside her on the second row and she was very honest about it for she shrugged and admitted, “I’ve been dying to hear you sing in person again, sweetness.”

With a smug expression on his face, he teasingly asked, “Have you?”

But she couldn’t be anything but honest about it, “Been playing you in the car every day but it just isn’t the same.”

He narrowed his eyes at her, smirking, and called her out, “Obsessed.”

Ella had the brightest smile on her face while she let her hand come over where his hand was resting on her thigh. She nodded, “I really am.”

Alex felt loopy already. Drunk on all of her. He just needed those eyes on him, her touch all over him, to hear her sweet voice, to be enveloped by her scent, to feel her lips on his. So he turned slightly and kissed her again, a kiss that said I love you and I need you and only you.

By the look on her face when he pulled back after they lost their breath, Alex could say he had successfully relayed the message. 

Yet, just in case, he promised, “I’ll serenade you,” so he could use another of his favorite languages to tell her everything he felt for her. 

The drive over to the studio was barely 40 minutes long, which was relatively quickly considering they got stuck in quite a bit of traffic. 

When they got to the place and they walked in, the large crowd of fans and the radio station crew were instantly captivated by the sight of Alex and Matt walking into the room. Breana and Ella slipped to the back of the room where no one noticed them as everyone was too busy following the band members’ trail up to the little stage that had been set up.

Ella smiled like a fool when the lads took a seat on the tall stools right behind microphone stands in the middle of the stage and waved at the people gathered in front of them. Alex offered everyone a quiet greeting that everyone echoed back with enthusiasm. 

The room was charged with anticipation and it rumbled inside Ella’s chest as someone brought in Alex’s acoustic guitar and handed it to him so he could tune it and get comfortable with it. 

Just as Alex was tuning the guitar and teased a few strums of it to get himself ready, someone handed Matt a pair of shakers and a tambourine. The drummer looked at his best mate and nodded, and right then, the show started.

The setlist started with ‘Snap Out of It’, which was a nice first song since the energy in the room charged with even more excitement. Ella couldn’t help the string of giggles that left her when Alex looked her way and winked as he sang. 

‘Do I Wanna Know?’ had been next and it had everyone in the room whooping, whistling and hollering by the end of the song, which made Alex smile shyly to himself and get a little flustered at the response from the crowd. 

By the time ‘Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High?’ started, it felt like the whole building had quieted down so everyone, even those outside, could hear how amazing the song sounded with an acoustic guitar, Alex’s rich voice and Matt’s flawless falsetto on the background vocals.

After that, they played ‘No. 1 Party Anthem’ which made Ella and Breana hug each other and sway together to the music. Ella felt like she was levitating hearing Alex singing, her brain flooding with the memories of the first time he ever sang a few of those lines and how that song came to be. She choked up a bit when thinking back to how long ago that felt like and how far they had come since then. 

Her emotional state only became worse when they ended their set with ‘I Wanna Be Yours’. Knowing that he had wanted to make that poem into a song for her to get the hint made her chest swell with tenderness. 

She was a bit sad though, about the fact that she wasn’t allowed to take pictures with her own camera because she was honestly dying to capture the moment through her own lenses, however all she could do was try her best to engrave it all in her mind. 

It wouldn’t be hard to when, by the end of the song, Alex looked right at her and winked. She blushed hard, the heat going from her cheeks down to her neck, but she still blew him a kiss. 

Ella felt like her chest was about to burst with pride and adoration, she wanted to run up to him and place kisses all over his face.  

When the little acoustic set was over, the lads took a few pictures with the radio crew and made sure to thank everyone for having them and for coming to see them. A few people mentioned that they’d be coming to the show later and Alex made sure to promise them a good show and assured them he was eager to see them all there. 

Ella felt a bit selfish when she felt an immense sense of relief right when Alex finally intertwined their fingers together as they walked out. But she cut herself some slack: after being away from him for so long, having him ten meters away for an hour without being able to be stuck by his side felt like torture. 

She made sure to steal a quick kiss before they got inside the van to head back to the venue where Jamie and Nick were waiting for them to come back so that they could have breakfast and then soundcheck. 

Getting back to the venue was quicker without the traffic, and it was a relief when Ella could finally walk up into the bus and settle on the lounge, cuddling Alex lazily. But what the director hadn’t been expecting was to get so emotional when seeing Jamie and Nick walk out into the lounge to greet her after being gone for so long.

Bless both Nick and Jamie, they made sure to give Ella extra long and tight hugs to make up for the time apart and for the fact that Kelly and Katie weren’t touring with them anymore. But Kelly was due at any moment and Katie had stayed back in the UK with her not only for work but to keep her company.

Enjoying the show without them was certainly a bit bittersweet, but Ella and Bre recorded multiple clips and made sure to send them afterwards. 

Throughout the gig Ella couldn’t fight the butterflies fluttering away and rumbling in her stomach, her heartbeat in sync with the beat of every song Alex was singing. The setlist seemed to have been chosen with her in mind, the enamored glances and cheeky winks the singer sent her way during every song nodded to her being right. 

After finally being able to call Alex her boyfriend and say I love you as many times as she wanted, every song hit a bit different. Especially those he had written with heavy and silent longing rushing through his veins. It was like the fog had dissipated and every combination of words made so much more sense. 

It was probably why, the second the encore was over and the lads officially walked off the stage, Ella ran off to trap Alex in a tight hug. They shared a passionate kiss before the crew walked in on stage to pick everything up, the curious and teasing glances not bothering the couple one bit. 

When they got to the greenroom, Alex and Ella were basically glued together, only letting go of each other when Alex went to take a quick shower before they boarded the bus and left for LA. 

With how tired everyone was, they skipped staying in the lounge and all went to their respective bunks. Ella’s heart multiplied in size inside her chest when Alex guided her to his, a broad hand on her lower back. The warmth that spread through her suddenly dissipated her exhaustion, having Alex coming in the bunk after her and feeling his body press up against her kickstarted her whole being. 

The drive up to Los Angeles was meant to be about two hours long so they were due in the city of Angels in the middle of the night. And, realistically, Ella and Alex would just have to wait a bit longer to have each other all to themselves; but with being so close together after such a long time apart, it became an impossible task to keep their hands to themselves.

It had started with short kisses in between whispers of I missed you and random but brief things to catch each other up with, until the whispers died down and the kisses deepened and all that could be heard in the quiet of the night was the faint smacking of their lips and the soft gasps at fingers digging on skin and pulling on hair.

It became worse when they shifted impossibly closer together and one of Alex’s legs found itself slotted in between Ella’s. His hand clutched onto her hip and encouraged her to press flush against his thigh as they kissed, and soon the kisses became sloppy when Ella started rolling her hips on his leg. 

Delicious friction got a soft moan out of her, a sound that Alex would encourage and only aim to raise in volume any other time but in the still silence of the night inside the bus, Alex had to pull back and break the kiss to remind Ella, “We need to be quiet.”

Ella swallowed harshly, slowing down her hips but not stopping entirely—she couldn’t even if she tried. She bit her bottom lip as her face contorted in pleasure and took a shallow breath to be able to promise, “We’ll be.”

Those words were the greenlight for them to shift gears and continue giving into their need for each other. 

Alex held her tighter and guided each roll of her hips on his thigh, his mouth agape and his eyes never leaving the sight of her face as it crumbled out of pleasure and how desperate Ella was to chase her high by using him.

She was struggling to keep quiet so she hid her face on the crook of his neck, heavy breaths fanning his sensitive skin and the silent gasps falling right in his ear. 

He needed more. So much more.

Alex was completely driven by the need to make her fall apart for him when he let his hand wander from her hip down the front of her sweatpants, deftly dipping inside to touch her where she was aching for him. 

Just one barely-there touch to her clit had Ella moaning in a whisper, “I– oh fuck.”

She was fucking drenched and Alex couldn’t help but groan softly, “So wet for me already.”

“Al…” Ella begged quietly when his fingers started tracing slow circles on her clit.

“Yeah?” Alex teased, increasing his speed and when Ella let out a broken whimper, he asked, “Feels good?”

Her hips started rolling again, greedily chasing more, as she nodded and mewled in his ear, “Mhm, so good.”

Alex could feel his cock getting heavy and straining his joggers, he wanted nothing more but to bury himself deep inside her but the situation wasn’t going to allow it so he would settle for the next best thing.

His fingers left her clit and slowly traveled down her folds, relishing in her wetness and just how responsive Ella was to him. He couldn’t help but bring his hand up to his mouth and licking his fingers clean. It was the greatest effort of his life not to let out a guttural moan at the taste of her, somehow sweeter than ever after so long without being able to have her. 

Ella shuddered at the filthy sight, left so weak from desperation and need that when Alex dipped his hand back down her underwear and slipped two fingers right inside her, a broken moan left her lips before she could even think of biting her lip to stay silent.

“Shhh, baby…” He reminded her but he really wasn’t helping at all when he slowly dragged his fingers out of her only to plunge them back in and have her gasp as he continued, “You need to be quiet.”

Ella pressed her lips together, her walls clenching his fingers tightly as she apologized in a weak whisper, “Sorry– Shitttt.”

He smirked hearing her struggle to keep quiet because of him curling his fingers inside her and starting to quicken his pace. The corners of his mouth only tugged even more when he felt how she was holding her breath as he continued to pick up his pace, and in the dead of the night they could even hear the sounds of her drenched cunt taking his fingers.

Alex pushed himself off the bunk mattress and hovered over Ella when her hips started moving again, following Alex’s pattern and meeting him in the middle as she started fucking herself on his fingers. 

But as she did that, her moans started slipping past her lips louder and louder and the only solution Alex could think of just made for the scene to become even filthier. 

With his other hand, he pushed two fingers into Ella’s mouth hoping that sucking on them would quiet her down. A smirk broke on his face when her lips wrapped around his digits without prompting and her tongue started swirling beneath them, “Yeah suck on them,” he encouraged. Images of her sucking him off flooded his brain and when she started slightly bobbing her head on them, the words just came naturally from him, “Good girl.”

It was such a great effort for Alex not to bust in his pants, but with how easy his fingers glided in and out of Ella’s cunt, how she clenched around his fingers and how good she looked as she fucked herself on them, the singer was doing his best to hold up even if he knew he would have to find his release in her hand later.

Ella sucked harder on his fingers when he curled the one inside her and hit just the spot, a muffled whine came from her and he swore he felt a bead of precum leaking from his tip just from hearing that sound come from her.

“Right there?” Alex asked, doing it again and trying to get the same response.

This time, Ella was even more eager as she mewled a louder, “Mhm!” in response. Alex’s quick shush was only half hearted.

Yet, Ella started shaking her head and then pulled her mouth off his fingers and stopped moving her hips even though her body screamed at her to keep going, because she was so close, her orgasm was looming on her. But even though Alex’s fingers filled her up so much better than her own, Ella wanted more. 

She needed more.

Alex fully pulled his fingers out of her and placed a comforting hand on her hip as he whispered a sweet, “What’s wrong?”

“I just–” Ella whispered back frustratedly, wanting to whine at the loss of him, her brows furrowing as she tried to say what she wanted even if it didn’t feel like it was possible to do then. “I don’t–” she tried again, this time fiddling with her fingers before she started being a bit clearer,  “Maybe we could, erm…”

But her words died into silence and he was left wondering for too many seconds. Alex let his body come to rest over hers and pushed his hips into hers, earning a gasp out of her at how hard he was and how good he felt rolling against her core.

“Say it,” he demanded against her mouth.

She was breathless, the only word leaving her mouth being, “I…”

Alex nudged the tip of his nose against hers and huffed, “Darling.” He had no idea what she wanted but he needed her to tell him, all he wanted was to make anything she asked for was given to her, and he would do anything if she’d just say it.

But Alex still choked when she finally got the courage to admit, “I want you inside me.”

He pondered on it for a split second before saying, “We won’t be quiet.” 

Despite the fact that there was nothing more that he wanted to do with her right then and there, he knew that they wouldn’t be able to keep quiet at all.

She brought her hands up to his face, brushing his hair back and off his sweaty forehead, “Well we don’t necessarily need to fuck do we?” She blushed as she indulged in the idea of something she’d been dreaming of doing with him, something she just needed then, “Just want you inside me. I’ve missed you baby.”

“Fuck me,” Alex mumbled before hiding his face in her neck, there he pressed a few kisses before softly biting the side of her neck and making her gasp. The ache between her legs only became worse when he licked up the side of her neck until he reached her ear and there he whispered, “Anything and everything you want, darling.”

Alex pushed off her as far as he could so that they could both shed off their sweats and underwear, a mess of limbs and haphazardly shoved down clothing that ended up being kicked off to the corner of the bunk. 

It was all a blur until the moment where Alex hovered closer to her, leaning in until their breaths mixed and they were gasping into each other’s mouths as Alex started dragging the tip of his cock up and down her slick cunt.

She let out a pathetic quiet cry at the teasing, and he listened to her silent instruction by finally lining himself up and slowly filling her up.

“Fuck… You’re feel so–” Alex moaned as he continued pushing into her, feeling the way her mouth opened wider with the stretch of his cock finally filling her up after so long. He wouldn’t be able to last with her wrapped that tightly around him, “ Ella…”

Her eyes rolled back when he bottomed out, “I know– Fuckkkk.” Her brain melted inside her skull, all that she could think about was how she could feel every ridge and vein, how well she was being stretched out by him, how she was burning up just from being like this with him again, “I missed you so much. Fucking missed your cock buried in me so much.”

Alex took deep breaths to calm his erratic heartbeat before he stated, “We can just stay like this yeah?”

“Mhm,” Ella hummed brainlessly, fully fucked out already, “Please.”

Alex’s heart was still doing somersaults inside his chest, but he recognized the feeling just came from how complete he felt at the moment. Saying, “I love you,” in that moment tasted just as sweet as her on his tongue.

And Ella saying, “I love you,” back only made his brain become even hazier. 

It was that feeling of being finally complete when they were like this that allowed for their eyes to start closing out of bliss. About thirty minutes passed with them like that, full of the other, but when there was that lingering trace of an orgasm, Ella couldn’t help but squirm around just a little. 

At first, it was alright, she was adjusting her position until she ended up almost laying on top of Alex. She sighed out in pleasure at the angle for which she finally settled, but her body reacted on its own, and when Alex felt her clenching around him, he couldn’t help but let out a noise of his own.

“Ella, shit,” the singer groaned, as quietly as he could muster but the depth of his tone reverberated inside the bunk. A shiver ran down Ella’s spine, making her squirm once more. Alex threw his head back, swallowing a moan and choking out, “You’re killing me, darling.”

A broken sob in frustration caught in Ella’s throat as she tried her best not to move again, “M’sorry, I just–” She tried to explain, but she couldn’t without disturbing the quiet of the night. So she lifted herself off Alex’s chest, just a little so she could become more comfortable, but when she shuffled forward a little, Alex’s hips worked on their own and he thrusted up into her. 

Ella’s arms wobbled like jelly, she crashed down on his chest just in time for her mouth to press against his chest, right over his erratic heart, muffling the loud moan she let out, “Oh fuckkk.”

Alex’s face scrunched up in pleasure at the friction, his whole body coming up alive with lust. But he did his best to control every atom of his being, stilling his traitorous hips to check on Ella, “Darling?”

Inside Ella’s head was a debate. It really couldn’t be considered one, when her need for him was winning over logic. Through the desperation to have all of him, she struggled to ask, “We can be quiet, right?”

“We can.” Alex nodded, gulping harshly when she moved to look up at him. Innocent charade as she batted her lashes at him. He brushed some of her hair back, admiring every bit of her beauty under the pale moonlight before saying, “I’ll just use a condom so we don’t make a mess.”

The last sense of logic left in him. She just made a mess of him, left him a fool and he had never been this content at recognizing his lack of sanity. 

Her pretty lips turned into a pout as she nodded, “Please. Please baby.”

A hand wrapped around her neck and pulled her right to his mouth. The kiss was desperate, lustful; her fingers dug into his shoulders, nails dragging up until she reached his hair and she pulled on it, bringing her impossibly closer to her. 

Alex reached a hand into the pocket of his bunk, finding a condom blindly as he continued to kiss Ella. But when the cracking of the foil reached Ella’s ears, she did not waste time to pull away and slowly get off him so that they could finally have the other how they’d been dying to for weeks. 

Ella bit her bottom lip to quiet down the soft cry that left her at the loss of him filling her up. She felt so incomplete that the few seconds it took him to rip the foil, and roll the condom down his length, felt infinite. 

Alex’s vein protuded on his neck as he held his breath when he held himself in his hand, “I won’t last darling. Come here.” 

A hand on her hip, he guided her back down. A hiss leaving him when he rubbed the tip of his cock up and down her slick folds. But as much as he would love to have her ride him, he needed to show her just how much he had missed her, how he was willing to be at her mercy after being apart for so long.

In a swift move, he pushed himself off the mattress and pushed her softly down on it. Ella let herself rest on the bedsheets with a sigh, eyes twinkling at the sight of him hovering over her. Hair falling over his forehead, heavy breath hitting her cheek, his eyes drinking her in and falling down to where they would soon connect. 

Silence was loud, charged with anticipation when he lined himself up and started to slowly push in. Staring at the other, eye to eye as their mouths went slack, silent gasps leaving the both of them. Her eyes rolled back and her teeth sank into her bottom lip when he bottomed out, his face hidden in the crook of her neck and his heavy breath tickling her sensitive skin there. 

Ella clutched tightly onto him, nails leaving crescent marks and scratches down his back. She felt the flex of his muscles with every thrust, her breath left her in a gasp with every drag and push. Sweat coated their skin, trying to be quiet adding to the effort of it all. They weren’t doing a good job at it, not when they moaned softly into each other’s mouths, not with the way they looked into each other’s eyes as their pleasure built and built. 

His fingers dug harder on her hips, bruises probably would show in the next few days, a reminder of his desperate need to hold her close and tight now that he had her. Bruises the shape of his fingers, a self-made puzzle only for Alex to put together forevermore. 

The pain of his hold only brought a smile to her face, one that was only broken by the steady looming of her orgasm. 

The lack of space in the bunk only meant they were pressed flush against each other, her peaked nipples rubbing on his chest with every thrust. And since the bunks were not reliable to not make sounds with abrupt movement, every thrust was slow and deliberate. 

She could feel him hitting that spot over and over again, her walls clenching hard around him as she struggled more and more to keep quiet. Tears brimmed at the edges of her eyes, the pleasure and their closeness only heightening each feeling and emotion. 

The tips of their noses brushed with every movement, shuddering breaths mixing together. Alex brought one of his hands up to her wrist, so that he could entwine their fingers and rest their joint hands on the mattress right by her head.

Ella felt her heart exploding in her chest. She barely managed to say in a broken whisper, “I love you.”

Alex’s hips faltered at the sound of that, his heart skipping a beat and his limbs going wobbly at those three words. His entire being felt like it was on fire when he reciprocated with devotion, “Love you– fuck.” He let his face fall on her chest, kissing up the side of her neck and squeezing her hand a bit tighter as he whispered in her ear, “M’so close.”

“Me too baby,” Ella mumbled back, her thighs starting to shake beside Alex’s hips as she started to move to meet him in the middle. Her voice wavered as she pleaded, “Don’t stop.”

It was then that the last bit of thread that held his logic together snapped, her wishes the only thing in his mind. His hips started going faster, the slap of their sweaty skin piercing the quiet around them, their gasps not silent anymore. A lustful, unrestrained harmony that they no longer cared if it reached the ears of their friends around. 

Trying his best to keep his rhythm, Alex moaned very not quietly, “Ella. Fffuc– darling,” before he bit her collarbone, trying to silence himself as he felt his orgasm hitting him abruptly.

His stuttering thrusts and the way he moaned into her skin sent Ella over the edge, “Mmm, Alex, baby.” 

Her legs shook as her orgasm washed over her like a treacherous tide, his name the only thing she knew other than the white heat rushing through her and making her toes curl. 

With the last of their strength they rode their orgasms out, Ella still spasming around him as he slowed down and his hips came to a complete stop. He didn’t take long to lift himself off her and get the condom off him, cock twitching at the sight of her glistening cunt. The most glorious aftermath, he wished he had the space to clean her up with his tongue, have the place all to themselves so he could hear her scream his name as she came on his tongue over and over again. 

After tying the condom and throwing it inside a little garbage bag inside the bunk, Alex sighed in content when he finally came to lay down right beside Ella. He helped her pull her sweats back on, and he did just the same, lifting the bedsheets afterwards to finally go to bed. 

It took them fifteen minutes of whispered conversation, stolen soft kisses, and gentle touches on each other’s skin for their eyes to grow heavy. But just when Alex was getting comfortable and nuzzling his face in the crook of her neck, Ella’s phone screen lit up with a message notification.

It made the inside of the bunk so unbelievably bright that she could not ignore the text. 

(07/08/2014 01:29) Why haven’t you gone to the bathroom yet? That’s how you get a fucking UTI, missy.

Mortified was an understatement. Alex, the absolute menace, only chuckled in her ear when Ella showed him the text. The glow of her phone highlighted the blood that had rushed up to her cheeks, tinting them that bright pink he adored to see. 

Alex dropped a string of kisses on her cheek as Ella replied to her best friend. 

(07/08/2014 01:30) Oh for fucks sake, you’re awake Bre?

(07/08/2014 01:30) Yeah. You’re loud even when you’re quiet.

(07/08/2014 01:30) Sorry xxxxx

(07/08/2014 01:31) It’s okay, my love. I wouldn’t wait either if it’s been over a month apart. But please go to the bathroom now.

(07/08/2014 01:31) Don’t you think a week of cranberry juice is better than a walk of shame?

(07/08/2014 01:31) Go to the bathroom, you silly bitch.

(07/08/2014 01:32) Hahahaha okay mom! Goodnight and sorry again. Love you xxxx

(07/08/2014 01:32) Love you too, night night xxxx

Alex groaned as Ella picked herself up and off the bunk bed and went off to the bathroom, his clinginess taking him with her. Ella laughed quietly as he stayed outside the tiny little tour bus bathroom, and she shook her head when he squished inside to throw away the condom as she washed her hands. 

In retrospect, that was not the smartest decision. Leaving the evidence to their lack of patience certainly made their friends more eager to take the piss out of them the next morning. 

“You’re fucking filthy,” Nick said with a face of disgust, “Right above me, as well. I hate you.”

Ella felt slightly bad for the snort of laughter that got out of her, the bassist only shaking his head in disappointment at her amusement.

“If it helps, I’m deeply sorry about that little detail,” Ella said as she hugged him from behind.

Breana raised an eyebrow at her best friend, “Not sorry about everything else? Disrupting our sleep perhaps?”

Letting Nick go, Ella blushed a little as a smirk managed to break on her face, “Not at all.” 

Jamie cackled, elbowing a blushing but proud-inside Alex. The guitarist crossed his arms as he continued with the bashing of his friends, “You could’ve just waited until this morning and had a proper bed over at Alex’s or yours.”

Alex was the one to reply that time, “Patience is not my thing.”

“And we all had to pay for that,” sighed Matt, in an exaggerated manner that made Ella smack the back of his head.

“You’re one to talk,” the director quipped, knowing damn well he and Breana were the reason for many times the lads had to go to bed with headphones, or get hotel rooms that didn’t share walls with them.

Matt opened his mouth to bite back but the sound of tires on pavement had the group whipping their heads around to see the arrival of the cabs that were taking them to their respective places. 

Alex and Ella were going to Alex’s house, while Breana and Matt were going to theirs, and Jamie and Nick were going to a hotel.

The last two had declined the offer to stay at Alex’s after the previous night, knowing a worst fate would await them over at the singer’s house. The same could be expected if they were to go to Matt and Bre’s, so they decided to book hotel rooms in a posh hotel close to the venue. 

With quick hugs and ‘see you later’s, everyone left in their respective cabs.

It certainly had been a wise choice for Nick and Jamie to not come along with Ella and Alex, for the second the couple stepped through the door of Alex’s house, he lifted Ella off the ground and took her straight to his room.

Alex’s kisses dazed her enough for it to feel like she blinked and they were undressed, his fingers trailing down her body to start teasing those noises out of her that he so badly wanted to get drunk on. But Ella managed to snap back into consciousness and ask for them to shower before they could get on with it.

The shower started out normally, they were seemingly rushing to get out of it just at the prospect of what was waiting for them back in the bedroom. That all changed when Alex started shampooing Ella’s hair and a loud moan slipped past her lips.

Feverish kisses under the shower rain ensued after he haphazardly rinsed her hair, as well as wandering hands, and soon Ella ended up kneeling in front of Alex stealing moans and gasps out of him as she pleasured him with that mouth of hers.

Alex was so drunk on pleasure, eyes rolling back into his head, brain melting into a puddle inside his skull. Yet, he had enough of a mind to drag his hips back when he felt himself close, because he needed to cum inside her properly.

He had missed seeing his cum dripping out of her, and wanted nothing more than to stuff it back inside her with his fingers.

So he pulled her back up to her feet, and kissed her desperately and hard until they ran out of breath and then he wasted no time pressing her back against the wall to start the worship of her body.

It was his mouth first, one of her legs thrown over his shoulder and a hand fisting his wet hair. Every time she looked down as her mouth opened agape and moans left her in honey-trickled strings, she found those brown eyes staring at her while his tongue lapped at her like he was starved.

He had to hold her tightly when she came, her legs shaking so much she started to slip down the wall.

After he cleaned every last drop of her, holding tightly onto her trembling thighs and trying to memorize the sound of her whimpers, Alex’s deft fingers undid her next. 

Her chest was heaving, and despite the water still spraying over them, she felt like she was dripping with sweat as if molten lava ran through her veins with every drag and curl of his fingers inside her. 

This time he left her hanging right off the edge of her climax, leaving her teary eyed and begging for him. 

Alex was on his feet and teasing her dripping cunt with his cock in a second, Ella threw her head back in a loud groan at the feeling of him pushing inside her again. It was heavenly, and she really did not know how she was meant to survive without him filling her up this deliciously every day when he was away. 

In between sloppy kisses and Alex’s relentless hips, they both came together. Moans and groans filling the air, louder than the pitter-patter of the water hitting the tiles of the shower. Fingers digging harshly on skin, nails scraping and marking each other, fingers tangled in hair and pulling it. 

Their rhythms faltered as they rode out their highs, their minds gone for a good few minutes until they came back into their dazed minds. 

“I love you,” Alex whispered against her lips, his heart beating out of his chest with the amount of adoration he felt for her. 

Ella smiled, loopily, “Love you too.” 

When Alex pulled back, slowly as he hissed and Ella whimpered, he watched as his cum started dripping out of her. Fingers caught the string of white and rubbed it up and down her folds to mix both of their aftermath together, Ella watched while she held her breath, her mouth watering at the thought of tasting the both of them together. 

Leaning towards the side of her neck, his lips brushed her sensitive skin up until he got to her ear, there he bit and pulled on her lobe before whispering, “Not a drop goes to waste.” 

Her fingers clutched tightly onto his arm when he pushed his fingers back inside her, his cum going back in with them. She moaned at the intrusion, her oversensitive cunt clenching around his fingers as she shivered in pleasure. 

Her mind was reeling, all conscious thought out of the window, so she couldn’t fight the thought that escaped her mouth, “Can I have a taste?”

Barely a whisper because she was holding her breath, but Alex looked up so quickly, eyes looking for hers. His cock twitched at her request. Who was he to deny her?

Pulling his fingers back, he brought his fingers up to her mouth, and his own fell agape watching as her swollen wet lips wrapped around his fingers and her eyes rolled back into her skull at the taste. 

The loud moan she let out the second the taste touched her tongue was so addictive that Alex pulled his fingers out of her mouth and dipped them back inside her to let her indulge again in the taste. 

If she continued making those noises, they wouldn’t make it to the show that night. He couldn’t care less about canceling it, having Ella for the rest of the day was the only thing he really wanted. 

When Ella let go off his fingers with a pop after the second taste, Alex pounced on her lips with need. He couldn’t find an explanation as to why when it came to Ella, he just couldn’t get enough. He could never entirely satiate his need for her, so he turned off the shower and guided her back out to bed. 

The sheets ended up drenched since they didn’t care to dry themselves out before continuing what they’d started in the shower, and they didn’t care to stop pleasuring each other one way or another until they were interrupted by a call from the band’s tour manager.

Alex could barely speak back to Steven during the brief call because Ella wouldn’t stop rolling her hips as she rode him. His voice cracked multiple times, and all she could do was smirk watching his cheeks tinting bright pink and holding his breath. 

“You’re cruel,” he accused after ending the call and tossing his phone to the other side of the bed. 

Ella leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, adjusting her weight on her knees to start riding him properly again, “You think?”

She pouted at him in faux innocence and he shook his head in response, “Really cru– shittt.”

Her smirk was wide on her face, watching him crumble as she started bouncing on his cock. It wasn’t long before he came inside her again, the view of her tits bouncing right in front of his face, the sound of their skin slapping as it met and Ella’s sweet moans and whimpers, Alex was done for.

The fact that they hadn’t had a proper rest was obvious when they got to the venue and met everyone in the greenroom. It was a mixture of Ella yawning every other minute and the lovebites peeking through the open collar of Alex’s shirt. Another round of shit talking and piss taking happened at the arrival of the couple, which was only met by a giggly Ella and a possessive Alex.

Ella kind of wanted the teasing to continue because she loved feeling Alex’s hands all over her as he chatted back to every comment everyone made about them. Her giggles were bubbly and they made Alex smile brightly every time, he couldn’t keep his facade of seriousness when her chest rumbled against his with laughter at every joke at their expense. 

The energy in the greenroom was incredible and it translated into a fucking incredible show. Ella was once again mind blown by the lads’ abilities to put on shows like that, shows that got people screaming and singing along loudly, dancing and jumping around, she even saw a mosh pit from the side of the stage and she was baffled. 

The pride that filled her chest didn’t leave her for the entirety of the night, and it showed in the hugs she gave the whole band, the kisses she peppered all over Alex’s face at random, the whispered compliments in Alex’s ear. 

“You’re fucking incredible, you know that right?”

The brush of her lips against the shell of his ear had Alex humming in content, but his curiosity piqued, “Hmmm, what are you trying to get darling?”

Ella pulled back and scoffed softly, “What? Nothing! I’m just trying to tell my boyfriend that he is amazing!”

“You’re too cute,” he said before stealing a sweet kiss. Once he pulled back, his eyes, glimmering with devotion, took in how beautiful she looked and couldn’t help but add, “You’re unreal.”

Of course Ella took it as him complimenting her back, so she shook her head with a little giggle before adding, “No, I mean it. I love hearing you sing, it’s my favorite thing.” 

Cockily he let himself relax on the settee they were occupying, bringing his arm to rest over her shoulders with a smoothness that dripped in his voice as he said, “What else?”

The snort Ella let out broke the smug look on his face, a bright grin tugging at the corners of his mouth when she scrunched her nose up at him as she leaned in and whispered, “I’ll indulge you just this once because the show was insane.” 

He raised his brows, “Right.”

“Stop,” she squealed as she brought her hand up to cover his face and playfully pushed him away. Her own body betrayed her when she hid her reddening face in the crook of his neck and mumbled against his skin, “Okay, I can’t do it anymore, you’re making me blush.” 

“No, don’t hide!” Alex managed in between chuckles. The noise made her giggle along, her body vibrating with love and the need to just never leave his side. 

One of his hands went up to her neck, fingers clutching her tightly enough for her to gasp as he pulled her out of her hiding place, “C’mere.”

Leaning in until their noses bumped together and their lips brushed, he whispered against her mouth, “I fucking love you.” 

Heat rushed up Ella’s neck and cheeks, she felt like a high school girl with an embarrassing crush every time he uttered those words. “Love you more,” she whispered back to him.

That smirk that drove her mad broke on his face, and she already knew what he was going to say before he actually did. 

“Impossible.”

Ella rolled her eyes playfully and hit his chest softly, pushing him away enough for his hand to drop from around her neck. But before Ella could joke about him ruining the moment, Alex grabbed the hand she had shoved him with and intertwined their fingers. In a blink of an eye, he pressed their joint hands against his erratic heart and with his other hand, he cupped her jaw to pull her into a kiss that made her heartbeats stutter. 

Breana had to swallow a coo at her friends, her heart melting in her chest when finally being able to see them carefree and loving each other; no more miscommunication, just being obsessed with each other like they had quietly been for so long. 

Despite them all teasing the couple and making jokes at their expense, they were all incredibly happy to finally see them together. It just made so much sense, it was something that had taken far too long to happen. And it was the best thing to see Alex always smiling, his energy through the roof every night, his laughter a little louder, his smiles bigger. 

“We love you two but I would like to sleep and not have my ceiling creak tonight, alright?” Nick warned as he got into his bunk when they all finally went from extending their night on the tour bus lounge to getting ready for bed as they drove up to San Francisco. 

Ella snorted, “No promises.”

“Eleanor,” Nick said with a stern look on his face that Ella cackled about.

When her laughter stopped, she sighed and rolled her eyes, “You lot are no fun. Goodnight.”

But the truth was that she was just kidding. When the realization that they were driving up to Outside Lands hit her as they got back on the tour bus, nostalgia overcame her and all the memories of the years that had passed flooded her mind. 

And it seems like nostalgia was playing a number on Alex too because after they got comfortable in bed, he asked, “Remember our first Outside Lands?” 

Her finger stopped tracing circles on the skin of his chest when she did the math on how long it had been. Her eyes widened and her mouth opened slightly in shock, “God… That was three years ago, wasn’t it?” 

Alex hummed, rubbing his thumb on the skin of her lower back, “Almost. We were on the 13th then, so we’re playing 5 days earlier this time around.”

Ella couldn’t help but half sit up and look at him in further shock at his memory, “How– You remember the exact day?”

The singer snickered watching the surprise written on her face, he smirked as he started, “Hard to forget when it was the first time I saw you in cowboy boots.”

Ella laughed at the cheeky wink he gave her, going back to cuddling him as she replied, “You’re funny, sweetness.”

“You looked so good that day,” Alex added, letting his hand wander down from her waist to her ass to cup it and squeeze it as he confessed, “I still remember wanting to kiss you when you put my jacket on during the Black Keys’ set.”

“Careful, people might think you’ve fancied me a while,” the director joked as she tried downplaying how flustered his admission and touch were making her. 

Alex shrugged and then turned his head to the side to look down and into her eyes, “They wouldn’t be wrong.” 

His gaze fell on her lips and Ella was too weak when it came to him to fight the urge to kiss him. The slotting of their lips together and the brush of his tongue against hers were her favorite things, she couldn’t deny herself from indulging in the pleasure of his kisses. All of them, the hot and needy, the desperate and impatient, the sweet and loving, the hurried but unmissable. 

“And now we’re here,” Ella concluded when they pulled back.

A loopy smile broke on his face when he nodded, “We’re right here.”

He squeezed her ass again and she squeaked, making him giggle. That reminded her of how much of a menace he and the guys had turned out to be that first Outside Lands. 

Pointing an accusatory finger at him, she recalled, “You lot got me very tipsy that day! I was technically working, but y’all have always been trying to get me in trouble.”

Alex brough a hand to his chest, his mouth opening in offense at the accusation. He was quick to counter the claims, “Matt was trying, I was the one giving you water, remember?”

Clarity hit her when she remembered Alex being the logical one, she had to give it to him, “Hmm, yeah that is right.” Ella shook her head and sighed, “Bloody Matt.”

Alex smiled when Matt was mentioned and he remembered another great thing that happened during the weekend of their first Outside Lands, “And a day after that we all met Bre.”

Ella froze and looked up at him, mouth agape in shock yet again. This time though, her lips pursed into a pout quite quickly as her eyes got teary, “I’m actually going to cry.”

Alex saw the tears brimming her eyes and he cooed, “Darling…”

She sniffled, blinking rapidly to avoid tears falling, “It’s just– I’m feeling really nostalgic.”

“Yeah, me too. But no tears, alright?” Alex spoke softly, brushing her hair back and then letting his hand fall down her face to cup her cheek and rub it softly.

Ella nodded, taking a breath and kissing the palm of Alex’s hand before she recalled a thing which had had her mind reeling that weekend three years ago, “Remember flirting with me at the bar after we wrapped up recording Suck it and See?”

Alex blushed, the cringey lines he had drunkenly used on Ella coming to the forefront of his mind, “Perhaps.”

“You and those shitty pick up lines,” Ella shook her head, “You’re lucky you’re cute.”

Alex took the chance of that turn around, smugly looking down at her and raising his brows and impulsing her to continue with a suave, “Oh yeah?”

Ella rolled her eyes as she admitted, “It’s embarrassing how you had me blushing and giggling with those awful one-liners.”

The singer chuckled with her, but quickly and seriously asked, “They’ve gotten better though, no?”

Ella snorted and shook her head no, because they had not gotten better at all. But he took that to slight offense, exaggerating it by gasping loudly and pressing a hand to his chest.

“I’m wounded.”

Sighing and rolling her eyes, she let him have a bit of consolation but not without a dig at him, “Okay they might have gotten a bit better, but you remain a drama queen.”

A scoff left him, “Double murder now.”

Ella gaped at him and pointed out, “See? Drama que-”

But he interrupted with a mumbled, “Shut up,” before he grabbed her face and pressed their lips together. 

Ella moaned softly into the kiss, the possessiveness of his hold as his fingers dug on her cheeks had her wanting to climb on his lap and ride him while he handled her however he pleased. But she had promised herself that she would behave herself, and she would. 

When they pulled back, she stared at him for a few seconds and took him in all over again, as if it was the first time. She let a pathetic little enamored sigh out before thinking out loud, “I can’t believe it’s only been 3 years since we met.”

Alex intertwined their fingers and kissed her back of her hand softly, “Feels way longer, doesn't it?”

With a hum, Ella agreed. Suddenly the image of him in the studio came back to her in full force, his shaggy hair, that shy smile, and his incredibly thick northern accent. She smiled at him now, who would’ve thought back then that they would end up like this. 

“You know, I miss your old shaggy hair,” she confessed to him in a whisper, “The one you had for the Brick by Brick video.”

His brows furrowed, “You don’t like this hair?”

“I love it,” Ella was quick to reply, brushing her fingers through it and biting her bottom lip when his eyes fluttered shut at the touch. She couldn’t help but mumble, “You’re hot,” before kissing him again, a pleasure she couldn’t deny herself. Yet, she arrived at the same initial comment, “But I miss your old hair.”

“Why?” He questioned. It wasn’t like he hated that hair but he thought this haircut suited him better. However, if she was the one to ask him to grow his hair, he definitely could.

She shrugged, “I dunno, it was cute.” 

Alex tried not to chuckle, it was obvious that wasn’t what she actually thought of it, “Cute?”

She sighed, knowing he wouldn’t stop until she said what she actually had in mind, “I thought it looked very pullable…”

His eyes darkened and he wasted no time to lean in, their lips brushing as he whispered into her mouth, “Filthy, filthy girl.”

His mouth came on hers hot and hard, stealing the oxygen from her lungs in a split of a second. They licked into each other’s mouth, drunk on their taste and the feeling of their bodies pressed together. The desperation seeped through their pores as their hands started roaming, grabbing, pulling, scratching. 

Alex groaned when he pushed his hips forwards, his cock, already growing heavy in his joggers, pressing against her thigh. 

Ella had to be the one responsible then. Pulling back, she reminded her boyfriend, “For their own sake, we need to be considerate tonight.”

Out of breath, he pointed out the bottom line of her words, “Just tonight?”

She sighed in defeat when she realized, “And tomorrow night I guess.”

But Alex had a solution and he said it quickly, a statement like it was written on stone already, “We’re sneaking in here tomorrow when everyone’s busy enjoying the festival.”

She frowned, “I’m not missing Kacey Musgraves.”

Alex couldn’t hold back a bright smile. She would always get her way. He nodded, “After her set.”

“Deal,” Ella muttered before putting her hand out for them to shake on it. Alex smiled even bigger when he shook her hand and she added, “Same thing Sunday?”

“Well, do you wanna see anyone?”

She took a few seconds to think about the lineup and the schedule before giving her brief answer, “Just Haim, I think.”

More than pleased, Alex whispered, “We got all day then, darling.”

Ella winked and concluded, “It’s a date.”

And a damn good but exhausting date those two days at Outside Lands turned out to be. 

They all got to sleep in while their crew unloaded their set gear, getting everything ready on the Twin Peaks stage before the festival started at noon. When the band, Ella, and Breana decided to finally get up and go to the festival, the place was filled with people and good music. 

They all enjoyed themselves, drinking and eating around, dancing and smoking. It felt like Ella and Alex were carrying a shared ticking clock that made them so incredibly eager for the Kacey Musgraves set that their friends found it odd when the couple left before she fully got off stage. 

The excuse had been that Ella forgot to get extra film rolls and she had already ran out of the one on her Minolta from all the pictures she had been taking. However, when the two of them got to the bus, they had left a trail of clothes down the hall to the back lounge where they finally and freely made all the noise they wanted as they enjoyed some alone time. 

Much needed really, with all the space and the freedom of an empty bus, after having had to hold back the night before, and with the anticipation building up all day. The both of them were spent after an hour of teasing and edging, admiring every inch of each other’s body. 

They rushed back to meet with the group once they felt they looked decent enough to conceal their rendezvous, finding everyone getting more tipsy in the artists’ tent by the stage they were performing soon. 

A bit of a questioning ensued, but nothing that a round of shots grabbed by Alex couldn’t cut short. The drinks flowed and so did the conversation, in no time the lads were chugging the last of their drinks to go on stage, while Ella and Breana escaped out to the VIP section of the crowd where they had decided to enjoy the show from. 

Pride filled the girls’ chests when the crowd got incredibly loud and absolutely crazy the second that band stepped foot on stage. The feeling had the two of them singing a little louder, dancing more carelessly. 

When Arabella started, Ella felt a different kind of elation. And everyone could see it, she was practically fucking glowing as she sang and danced, the sway of her hips and her arms up on the air captivated Alex’s gaze.

He was so distracted by her, especially when the bridge started and she stared straight at him while she sang along, that he fully forgot he was meant to grab his guitar for the guitar solo at the end. 

It took him a few seconds to realize his mistake, but when he turned and hurried to get his guitar, Ella let out a chesty laugh. Her cheeks hurt from laughing and smiling so hard by the end of the song, and they would continue to ache throughout the whole show for she could not keep the grin off her face. 

The celebration of such an incredible show elongated until around 3 in the morning since they managed to bring a few bottles back to the bus. Drunk on vodka and rum—a horrible combination that they would all regret the next day—, they all went to sleep and the snores were heard inside the bus until they all rose from their bunks well after noon. 

A hungover Ella barely made it to the Haim set, dragging a heavily hungover Breana, and Alex who was in a better state than both of the girls. At least the good music had been great in lifting their spirits up and by the time they all met back on the tour bus to go back to the festival, everyone felt way better. 

They were leaving earlier that day because the band’s flight to Canada left in the early night, Ella’s flight back to LA had been booked that night too, so they only had a few hours left to enjoy the festival. 

Alex and Ella took the first chance of distraction to escape their friends and go on with their planned escapade to the bus, one which ended with them loving each other slowly but deliberately, enjoying the last moments of quiet and calm, and of each other’s company before they had to be apart for a fortnight. 

This time, they didn’t even bother to go back and find their friends again. They stayed in the bus, taking their time in picking up the mess they had left, indulging in more sweet touches and stolen kisses after they had gone back to resting in Alex’s bunk. 

They only moved when everyone got back and it was time to get their things ready before leaving for the airport. As Ella helped Alex put some things back in his case, she truly wished that, in the future, whenever they had to pack their stuff up it was because they were going somewhere together, not saying goodbye. 

When they got to the airport, the fact that they all were taking flights was at least a consolation because Ella and Alex could be glued together through security and while waiting. Since Ella’s flight left an hour later than the lads and Bre’s flight, she could freely stay with them at their gate without worrying about missing her flight. 

As a group decision, they went to McDonald’s first and got some food to have while they waited for boarding to start. The chatter was never-ending with them all, always laughing and finding new things about each other, picking up old stories and creating new inside jokes. This time, the joke that had been revealed for the first time to Ella were the plane slippers that Alex always used when at the airport lounges and inside the plane. 

“Sweetness, really?” Ella laughed when Alex pulled the white slippers out and exchanged them with his loafers. 

Alex smiled like a little kid, blushing when hearing his mates starting to take the piss out of him and letting Ella know he always did that. 

“They’re quite comfortable,” he mumbled, slightly embarrassed. 

The commentary from everyone else was making her laughter uncontrollable, but she couldn’t stop herself from kiss him because she found him so fucking adorable for it, despite how equally hilarious it was. 

After a few minutes, everyone calmed down, and as the sun set and the lounge got fuller, the group was caught up by their exhaustion. One by one they started falling asleep, the chatter around serving as a white noise that dulled their senses until they succumbed to slumber. 

Ella had been chatting to Alex, their volume going down progressively as they got closer, until they ended up as cuddled as they could be on their side-by-side chairs. Ella’s legs were thrown over his lap, her head rested on his shoulder and Alex rested his head on top of hers, his hands clutching her thighs in place. 

They were at peace, enjoying the last minutes of their company. Nothing bothered them until they woke up due to the voice calling for boarding through the speakers. It would be first class first and so the band and Breana had to stand up and get in the line as soon as possible. 

Alex wanted to take his sweet time and so he took advantage of the fact that the first class line had gotten long and so there was no need to rush just yet. He stretched in his seat just like Ella was doing, making sure nothing had fallen out of his pockets soon after and just making sure he had his bag beside him. 

He turned to stare at Ella as she brushed her hair with her fingers, checking her plane ticket for her gate number and boarding time. When she had repeated the gate number enough times in her head to memorize it, she put the ticket back in her bag, and met Alex’s gaze. 

“Rock en Seine in two weeks, darling,” Alex reminded her with that deep voice he usually had every morning when he woke up.

Ella felt herself melting in her seat when hearing him like that. She leaned in and stole a chaste kiss before smiling brightly at the prospect of getting to be in Paris with him so soon, “Can’t wait.”

“I’m flying you out,” Alex reminded her, and she nodded because she knew how long of an argument it had been when he invited her but didn’t allow her to pay her own ticket. But he shocked the air out of her lungs when he added, “Private plane.”

Ella glared at him, “Alexander.”

He looked at her super confused, and as if he hadn’t said the most outrageous thing, he innocently asked, “What?”

“Absolutely not,” Ella sternly decided, “A first class ticket is as far as I will go, not a fucking private plane.”

Alex pouted, resting a hand on her upper thigh and squeezing as if to distract her, “But you can be comf–”

She interrupted before he could even finish that statement, “A seat that reclines into a bed, a champagne glass as a welcome and better food than a damn sandwich and a granola bar is the greatest thing I can think of, so first class is the only thing I will accept.”

He didn’t know how else to convince her, not when she seemed so set on her decision already. But he just had to confirm that by asking, “You sure?”

Ella saw the way his face had fallen, and so she let a smile shine on her face for him to realize that it wasn’t something that was bothering her. She cupped his face and pecked his lips before confirming, “Yes, my love! You’re taking me to fucking France for the first time in my life, even if I went on a dingy little boat I would be sure.” 

Out of everything that she thought Alex could say, she wasn’t expecting him to hear her and then reply with, “We’ll go on a cruise next then.”

A blank expression took over her face, her voice humorless as she said, “Alex.”

He quipped back with, “Ella,” in the same tone, struggling to keep his giggles at bay.

The director rolled her eyes and put an end to the matter before he could get any more ideas, “Just get me the first class ticket, I don’t want more than that.”

“Okay, darling. I’ll send you the confirmation email when we’re in Canada.”

With a nod the chat ended, but that meant that Alex was going so, after they stood up from their seats, they leaned in and met in the middle for a slow but bittersweet goodbye kiss. One that they tried to elongate as long as they could, trying to push their human boundaries and fight against their natural need for oxygen just so that they could enjoy a few more seconds of their lips together. 

When they pulled back, Ella wasn’t fighting the urge to steal a peck from him, but then Alex did the same, and that turned into an endless cycle of stolen chaste kisses that broke smiles on their faces. 

It was so unbelievably cute until the lads started calling Alex over, and the singer fully ignored them, deciding to indulge in one last proper kiss with his girlfriend. 

Yet, when Ella pulled back to let him go, Alex followed her lips, stealing kiss after kiss. 

“Swee–” Ella tried saying but she was interrupted by his lips on hers, “Bab–” Smack. “Lo–” Smack.

Exasperated because she could see over his shoulder that all of first class had gone in and the band had scanned their tickets, just waiting on Alex to come through, Ella took a big step back and pointed at the door to have him look at the state of the no-longer-there line, “Alex, you’re making them wait!”

He mumbled a curse under his breath, asking himself how the fuck had the line moved that quickly. But it didn’t matter, not when he felt the need to steal one last peck before grabbing his bag and turning around to dash to the door, yelling “Love you!” over his shoulder and waving her goodbye.

Ella laughed as she watched him strangely jog his way up to the door in those horrid slippers, her heart exploding in her chest seeing him just exist. It wasn’t embarrassing at all for the whole airport to hear as she yelled back a loud, “Love you!” 

She watched as he scanned his ticket and passport with a big smile on his face. Even from afar, she could see the adoration that filled his brown eyes when he turned around and waved her goodbye. 

A few more steps and he’d be gone. Ella’s heart then squeezed and wilted in her chest. But she fought the urge to cry by blowing him a kiss. A kiss that he made a show to catch in the air, like he always did, only this time he smashed it against his lips and successfully had Ella giggling like a foolishly drunk-in-love girl. 

The silly, enamored smile stayed plastered on her face even through the terrifying experience that was take-off.

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

Ella had always liked the idea of travelling, though the feeling of a plane taking off always kept her from actually doing it, but buying a new plane ticket always had her giddy. Most of the places she had gone had been inside the States though, not really being brave enough to face the long hours flights outside the country. That was exactly why she had taken so long to process that she was flying to France of all places.

Seeing all the airport signs in French, the thick accents, and quick conversations surrounding her, had her in awe. 

She sort of wished she had taken French instead of Spanish in high school, even though that came in handy when living in Los Angeles. She wished she could say more than ‘hello, my name is’ and ‘thank you’ in French. Plus, she knew she was butchering the pronunciation simply from the mocking faces of those she had spoken to at the airport.

That is exactly why she found herself so turned on when Alex spoke some French to the driver that took him to the airport to pick her up. 

She squirmed in her seat as he named different places they drove by, and of course he noticed; he had noticed from the very moment he told the driver they were ready to go. Alex knew now exactly what the way she bit her bottom lip meant, how her eyes darkened when her mind was plagued with filthy thoughts. 

He kissed her slowly and deliberately any chance he got, it must have been something in the French air—or simply the fact that not seeing her for two weeks had actually managed to drive him mad.

It was clear by then that he was utterly fucked. There was no chance he could ever go on tour without her now, and finding out if he was actually capable of withstanding the distance wasn’t something he was willing to do.

But he would figure that out soon enough. He just wanted to enjoy that very moment with Ella, drink in the wonder in her eyes and how clingy she was after the time apart. Alex wasn’t any better, clutching her thighs as they lay atop of his own, rubbing small circles over her denim-clad legs while he scrolled on his phone to play some music in the earphones they were sharing.

Ella had never really asked how much French her boyfriend knew, but hearing him sing in a foreign language under his breath had her amazed. Really she had no clue if he was doing a good job or not, but it was hard to hide how enamoured she was. 

That was until he made her cackle uncontrollably as he sang a song called “Les Cactus” a little louder than he had done the others. Apparently it was his favourite, and it showed in the enthusiasm he had as he made a fool of himself in the car.

Seeing French streets and the countryside as they drove to the festival had taken over most of her experience in the car. Alex made sure to tell her all the facts he knew about the country, along with a little lesson of some phrases in French for her to use. Of course, he added a promise to bring her back, give her the proper experience of a city that he had grown very fond of throughout the years. 

Ella was feeling spoiled already, after the most comfortable flight she had ever been on, being picked up by Alex and getting an infinite amount of cuddles and kisses on their way to Rock en Seine. Yet, Alex told her that he had a little surprise waiting for her when they got to the bus. 

It left her mind as soon as she saw the guys and Breana around the lounge having a late breakfast, so she gasped loudly when she pulled back from hugging Nick and stumbled into her boyfriend who was holding a box in his hands. 

Plain white and with a little red bow, she thought how cute he must have looked putting it together. She kissed that boyish smile off his lips first, a small thank you falling from her lips before taking the box from him with her mind full of intrigue.

He watched expectantly as she sat down at the edge of the lounge settee and carefully undid the bow, stopping before opening the box to ask, “Sweetness, what is it?”

Alex just smiled like a fool, he knew she was gonna like it but he needed to see her reaction already, “Just open it and you’ll know, darling.”

Looking around at the rest of their friends, she was met with soft smiles from everyone. Matt’s, however, did falter as he rolled his eyes when Ella lingered for a bit instead of opening the gift.

“Christ, you’re killing me, Eleanor. Open the bloody box,” the drummer said. He had no idea when his best mate had gotten whatever was inside, and he was intrigued as well.

Ella only chuckled before finally opening the box, and she squealed excitedly when she was met with a cute polaroid camera that she had been thinking of buying for ages. 

As she jumped off her seat to hug and kiss her boyfriend, Matt reached for the box to see what it was and he couldn’t help but smile when he realised then why Alex had been so adamant on knowing all about polaroid cameras a few weeks before.

The lads knew all about the inquiries the singer had made to Matt, so they smirked knowingly and made sure to relay the information to the girls. 

“He’s whipped,” Jamie said with a hint of a smirk in his voice, the smack of Ella’s lips all over Alex’s face softly in the background.

But they all knew that fact already, and it was pretty obvious just how much Ella matched the sentiment as they all finally went out to enjoy the festival.

Picture after picture was taken and printed by the brand new Polaroid camera that Ella was loving with every bit of her. Every chance she got, she stole another kiss off Alex’s lips, one that Alex knew meant thank you for they came after every picture she would take.

Ella was so incredibly happy she had a new camera to play with while she was over, enjoying a bit of their tour together and could capture the most candid shots and them becoming tangible instantly. By the time the lads had wrapped up their set at Rock en Seine, drove to the airport, and got on their flight back to the UK, Ella had probably around fifty pictures in her bag.

Getting to go to France to see her boyfriend perform had been such a privilege to her, something she would have never imagined would happen to her; but when they took off and were headed back to England, she was filled with another level of excitement since it meant she was finally gonna see them perform at Reading and Leeds Fest.

Reading and Leeds had been something she was looking forward to since Alex told her they would be headlining that year, before they were even together. He had spoken about the festival the same way she would do Bonnaroo, and she had been dying to see them playing it. 

The lineup was incredible as well, so Ella was just buzzing with energy the second they landed on British soil. 

It was hard to hide, and Alex’s cheeks hurt from smiling so big at Ella’s childish enthusiasm while en route to Reading.

Not only was she excited to see her boyfriend and best friends absolutely kill their set, but she was also excited to meet with some friends she hadn’t seen in so long, like Pale Waves and The 1975. 

It was a shame she wasn’t going to see the Manc boys because they were playing the opposite Festival the days the Monkeys were on so they wouldn’t be able to enjoy R&L together, but she was going to be able to see Pale Waves open for the Monkeys both times so that was great news to her.

Ella was really excited to see Alice and catch up with her, since it had been a while since she had last spoken to her. However, she wasn’t expecting to find out what she did while hanging out together in the Monkeys trailer.

It all started with both bands meeting around the Artist’s Tent, getting some drinks together at the bar and chatting for a while. 

At first, everything was alright, laughter was heard all around the group, conversation flowing with ease. They had been interrupted here and there by some fans, but nothing that had thrown them or the group’s dynamic off. However, about half an hour later, the amount of people coming up to the lads to ask for pictures and to chat with them started rising to the point they felt suffocated. So the Monkeys decided it would be good to take the group to their trailer for a bit of peace.

About an hour passed and Oscar, Zara, and Connor excused themselves to go meet with some other friends that had just arrived at the festival. And a few minutes after Alice's bandmates had left, Katie and a very pregnant Kelly took their husbands to a set they were eager to watch.

Ella had been so caught up with her conversation with Breana and Alice that she didn’t even think of coming along with them. 

Matt had gotten a call about twenty minutes later, and he excused himself to go meet whoever had phoned him, dragging Breana with him. With the door closing behind the drummer and the model, the trailer only housed Ella, Alice, and Alex.

It was an interesting group of people, sure, but Ella wouldn’t have thought anything of it if it wasn’t for the fact that it felt like the air shifted a little. It was like Alex had grown a little stiff, and Alice was a little nervous. 

Ella knew about Alex’s aversion for Alice, but after having Pale Waves as openers for so long, the director felt the dynamic that was palpable in the air was a little odd. She would give him the benefit of the doubt, thinking about how it had almost been a year since the two bands had toured together.

However, it was weirder to see the confident Alice she has always known shift in her place a little, stumbling over her words from time to time when Ella was chatting with her.

And there was this look Ella noticed the two shared. She didn’t know whether to be worried or not, because it felt like they were hiding something. It was as if they were wordlessly trying to figure something out that only the two of them knew. 

Testing the waters, Ella started inching towards her suspicions. It wasn’t weird that she would ask about Alice’s romantic prospects, but it was odd that she wouldn’t joke along with her when Ella took the piss a bit when suggesting Alice could be their third now that Alex was officially with her. 

Not a single ‘leave him, I’ll treat you better,’ that she could have expected, not even a ‘bet he doesn’t make you cum like I do,’ that Ella knew Alice was capable of cheekily saying. And Alex choking on his beer and loudly coughing was another sign, as if he was trying to distract Ella.

So it wasn’t a surprise when the minutes passed, and the director was fed up with it. 

She cut straight to the point with a blunt inquiry, “You two have fucked, haven’t you?”

Ella smirked as she watched Alice’s pale skin turn bright red, the color going all the way up to the tips of her ears, and her gaze avoiding Ella’s entirely. When Ella turned to Alex, he was just as red, if not more, and he couldn’t hold his girlfriend’s gaze at all either. Just a pair of deer caught in headlights.

Ella gasped at the discovery. “When?” she asked, with a chuckle that left her involuntarily. She was so shocked, but there was a bitter feeling simmering in the bottom of her stomach.

Silence was all she was met with, and that had Ella fearing the worst. 

“Oh, c’mon. I’m just curious!” She faked being calm, a wide smile on her face that was very fake but none of them were looking at her anymore to notice. Ella couldn’t stop herself as she questioned, “When was it? Where?”

Alex and Alice sighed, knowing they couldn’t get away with it anymore. But the simultaneous sigh was the only thing they unknowingly had managed to agree upon, because they both shot themselves in the foot when giving different answers. 

“The tour bus,” came from Alice. While Alex had said, “A hotel in Vegas.”

“Oh,” was the only thing to fall from Ella’s lips when hearing their answers. Both of them now staring at the director, their eyes screaming honesty. Ella knew their answers meant it had happened back when the bands were touring together, which meant around November of the previous year, but that didn’t make it sting any less.

She was clearly jealous, she could easily point that out. But she found solace in the fact that it had happened way before she and Alex got together. 

The effort it took her to do the quick math in her head had distracted her slightly from the valuable information they had given her. But when she came back to it, her jaw dropped at the realization, “So… twice?”

It was hilarious to Ella hearing Alex let out a quick, “Fuck,” under his breath. He felt caught and guilty, very guilty.

Ella laughed out loud, how could she not? She had to find the humor in the situation so she didn’t drive herself crazy at this new wave of information. “It’s okay, love. Trust me, I get it.” She winked at Alice when saying that. Alice shifted in her place, she had no idea how to react to what was happening, much less when Ella added as she looked at her, “But I’m now sad you’ve fucked him as many times as you’ve fucked me.”

At her pout, Alice easily shook her head, reassuring the director with a genuine, “You’re still my favorite.”

Alex shook his head at that. Ella caught the movement with the corner of her eye and let her hand fall on his thigh. 

Rubbing his clothed leg up and down slowly, she said, “Oh don’t feel bad, sweets. At least now you know you won’t have to listen through the wall,” she dropped that bomb on him like it was nothing. Alex was already speechless with her saying that, how had she found out? He had no clue. 

But he had much less to say when Ella smirked at him, a hint of cynicism laced through her words, and added, “You can watch.”

Alex let the silence linger for a bit, looking at Ella straight in her eyes to find a hint of humor, but there wasn’t any. He scoffed as an answer, yet that wasn’t enough for Ella. She needed to push his buttons further.

She leant in, slowly closing the distance between her and the singer, her hand slowly creeping further up into dangerous territory. He wanted to squirm in his place, finding his girlfriend’s clearly jealous behavior incredibly hot. 

Ella’s voice fell to a whisper, but with the silence in the trailer, Alice managed to clearly listen as she told Alex, “Maybe if you behave I can let you participate. How’s that sound, hm?”

Alice was a little taken aback, unsure if Ella was being serious or not. Her tone saying one thing, but her body language saying another. The question left her without even thinking about it first, “You’re seriously considering it?”

“‘Course I am,” Ella answered, beaming at her. She would be honest when saying that, because she knew that would make for a fun night. She almost wanted to lock the trailer’s door and play out every scene that was flooding her mind with the both of them right then and there. 

“Thanks for letting me know that, by the way. It just makes it easier now,” Ella winked at Alice. “I’ll definitely be hitting you up with the details soon, baby.”

Alice was still stunned, not really knowing what to reply to that. Ella stopped her train of thought entirely when she grabbed Alex’s hand and stood up from her seat. The singer followed her actions, just as dumbfounded as Alice, not resisting whatever his girlfriend was planning on doing then.

“Now if you’ll excuse us, baby, I need Alex to come with me. Gotta get something from the bus.”

If Alex wasn’t too confused over Ella’s reaction, he would have easily realized that her excuse to leave was absolutely bullshit. The same excuse they had been using every time they had escaped their friends to go for a quick shag behind their backs. However, all he could think of was how deep in trouble he was now for keeping that information to himself.

They were walking for a while, Alex still lost in his thoughts but his strides matching Ella’s pace. He was conscious enough to notice they had gone past the tour bus area, though. But before he could mention it, Ella stopped in her tracks and faced him with a stern look on her face. 

She walked towards him, and he could only walk a step backwards before his back was pressed flush against the trunk of a tree. 

Ella smirked, invading his space. She leant forward, noses almost touching as she slowly questioned him, “So… Were you gonna keep that dirty little secret all to yourself then?”

Alex scrambled to apologize, “M’sorry darling, I–”

But she laughed. A hearty laugh that made her throw her head back. He was mortified, not knowing if she was angry or if she was okay with it. It was harder to figure out what she was thinking when he felt her hands fall on his chest, slowly making their way down to his hips as she said, “Alex. It’s okay. We weren’t even together then, why are you apologizing?”

He had no clue what to say. On one hand, he was relieved she knew that it had been ages ago; but on the other hand, he had no clue if it still angered her that he hadn’t told her.

She hummed, cocking her head, as if agreeing with his silence. And then Alex felt her pulling him impossibly closer by his belt buckle, “But I think you blushed a little too much back there, and I think you need reminding of who’s the only one who can make you feel good.”

His head was spinning. The past fifteen minutes had been an absolute roller coaster of emotions and thoughts, but now? His brain melted entirely. All he could mutter was a choked, “Fuck…” as she started kissing up his neck.

A trail of wet kisses was left by her as she made it up to the shell of his ear, which she bit softly before whispering, “What is it, baby? Need anything?”

Alex was putty in her hands already, the words falling from his lips with ease, “You. Need you.”

He felt the smirk pulling at the corners of her mouth against his skin. His eyes slowly peeled open when he felt her leave the crook of his neck, only to find her facing him again. She pressed a long peck on his mouth, humming before pulling back and stating, “You’re lucky I wanna get my knees dirty for you.” 

Alex’s breath hitched in his throat as she made her way down by quickly kissing down his neck and clothed chest until she was kneeling right in front of him. He was lucky his girlfriend had purposely pressed him against a tree, for he could have easily lost his footing when she lifted his shirt and licked a strip up his lower stomach before undoing his belt.

She worked with deft fingers, pulling his jeans and boxers down just enough for his hardening cock to be freed. 

Her mouth watered at the sight, and it was impossible to hold back from giving his tip a kitten lick. She hummed in content when tasting him again, before looking up at him through her lashes to say, “You look so pretty when you cum and I want you to fuck my mouth, okay? I wanna gag around your cock and swallow everything you give me.”

Alex threw his head back, cock twitching at that dirty little mouth of hers. The same one that started working on him in a split second. 

“Shit, baby,” he hissed when she fully sank her mouth down his length until she gagged. He thrusted forward involuntarily, making her choke. 

Her eyes watered, coughing a little as she came off him, taking a deep breath before adding, “And I want you to fucking scream my name. Let everyone in this place know who’s making you come undone, yeah?”

Her hand worked him up while she spoke, but it wasn’t the same as her warm mouth so he agreed in no time. A splutter of, “Yeah, yes. Yes.”

“Good boy,” she praised before letting her mouth envelope him all over again. 

Alex had no idea if it was her filthy talk, the way she was gagging on him from time to time, or if it was the thrill of possibly being caught that made his pleasure increase tenfold; what he knew is that he was a mess of whimpers and moans. Those sounds would have embarrassed him any other time, if it wasn’t for the fact that when he looked down, he could see her looking up at him as his cock disappeared time and time again in that beautiful mouth of hers.

“Oh–fuckkk, Ella,” his voice breaking as his hips started moving with her. He was so fucking close, his hand came to cradle her head, fingers tangling in her hair to hold her in place.

But she pulled back, her fingers wrapped around the base of him and continued working him up as she took a deep breath to say, “Louder baby, I know you can do better than that.”

Without wasting another second, she went back in. Her hand came down to play with his balls, fondling them and making him see stars. It was impossible for him not to grow louder, “Ella! Fuck!” 

His fingers clutched harder on her hair, and she hummed at the pain of him pulling on it without restraint. The reverberation of her moans made it feel so much better, he was forgetting to breathe. He gasped for air to be able to tell her, “M’gonna cum darlin–shit.”

She pulled back again but to encourage him. She was ruining her own underwear just from hearing him and watching how he crumbled down for her. “Fuck my mouth babe,” she encouraged, hand still wrapped around him. She sucked the tip of his cock, getting a taste of his precum and moaned, “I want you to stuff my throat.”

Alex was gone, he had no clue how he was meant to behave as a normal human being after this, “Oh my— Fuck.” His mind went blank once she started sucking him off again, this time taking him to the back of her throat every time. His hold on her hair was unwavering, and his thrusts grew more eager. He watched as he fucked her mouth, tears spilling down the corners of her eyes, smudged mascara staining her face. 

“Fucking hell, Ella.” He cussed in awe, “You’re a fucking dream.” His jaw fell as she made a mess of him. Her drool mixed with his precum and fell down her chin to her neck. Alex couldn’t stop himself from complimenting her, “So fucking beautiful gagging around my cock.”

He wished he could take a picture of her like this. Immortalize the moment, or just be able to have palpable proof that he wasn’t in fact dreaming. How had he managed to get this lucky? The words left him without having to even think about it, “Love you.” And they were as true as the tree he was leaning against, and the mud sticking to Ella’s bare knees, the chirping of the birds around them, the far-away festival noises that surrounded them. 

Though the sound of his cock invading her wet mouth was louder. His mind was reeling from how she overtook every single one of his senses. “Ah fuckkkk— Love you so fucking much.”

Alex could feel himself about to fall over the edge, an invisible grasp so close to his orgasm. His stirred up thoughts fell from his mouth in a load of gibberish, “Ell— Love you! Oh– fffuckk Ella!” 

Ella knew what was going to happen, and it was so incredibly satisfying to feel him twitching as he came, spilling his cum inside her mouth and painting her throat white. The noises he made drove her crazy and she had to clench her thighs hard, moaning in response to how vocal he was being. 

She worked him through it with her mouth, enjoying looking up at him through her lashes to witness his face crumble in overstimulation. A bit of cum spilling down the corner of her mouth once he finally pulled out of her. Alex tilted her head back, clutch still tight in her hair, and asked, “Let me see, darling.”

Ella opened her mouth, sticking her tongue out slightly for him to see his cum filling her mouth. He let go of her hair, hand coming down to cup her face, thumb wiping the bit of cum that had spilled out of her mouth and rubbing it on her bottom lip. He sucked in a breath before closing her mouth by pushing up on her chin and ordering her to, “Swallow.” 

She did so under his awaiting gaze, and noticed the way his pupils dilated impossibly more. Alex wrapped his hand around her throat, grip tightening and only making her smile wider as he pulled her up until she was fully standing in front of him. He pressed his lips against hers furiously, tasting himself on her tongue making him groan loudly. 

The kiss was bruising, marking their territory on each other, unwilling to pull back until their lungs burnt from lack of oxygen. They were heaving when they broke the kiss, and he pressed his forehead against hers, closing his eyes before saying, “I don’t think you understand how much I fucking love you.”

Of course Ella knew what she had just done, and she was happy that it got her the results she wanted. She pulled back and smirked brightly at him, so incredibly smug. Her voice sounded a little coarse, but no one could take away the sass in her tone as she replied, “Oh no, I think I do.”

“There's no one like you,” Alex promised, a love-sick puppy he was, “There’ll never be.”

The director grew even more smug at that, quipping back with a confident, “Yeah, you did say I have ruined you for everyone else.”

He hummed, giving her an elongated peck before confirming, “In the most incredible way.”

“Good to know,” she joked with a giggle, kissing him again for good measure. She looked down at her mud-caked knees and sighed, “Now, I actually gotta go to the bus and clean myself up.” She didn’t even want to look at how ruined her makeup was.

However, Alex didn’t take that literally. He followed after her and hugged her from behind, his mouth coming right to her ear to whisper, “Wanna go to my bunk?” in a seducing attempt.

The sun had almost disappeared on the horizon as they had gotten busy, so she pointed out while the sky darkened with each passing second,  “Don’t you have a set in less than two hours?”

He was dropping kisses on the side of her neck as they clumsily walked back to the bus, “Plenty of time.”

Her eyes fluttered closed for a second, “Sweetness…”

His teeth grazed her sensitive skin and he felt her shudder in his arms, “They won’t miss me.”

She laughed, stopping for a second to turn around in his grasp and look him in the eye to point out, “You forget you’re THE Alex Turner.”

He rolled his eyes, playing himself down, “Another boring ol’ bloke.”

“Oh you’re being humble now?” She jokingly asked, bringing her hand up to his forehead to continue her teasing, “Have you gotten a fever?”

He snorted, and told her, “Shut up.”

Only for her to give him whiplash as she replied, “Maybe if you’re good I can ride you out there tonight.” 

His eyes went wide and she cackled, “Don’t look at me like that. Think you quite enjoyed the fact that we could get caught, didn’t you?”

He stayed quiet for a bit, until she poked his side and he gave in with a shy, “Perhaps,” that made her smile.

“Filthy boy.” 

Though Ella would’ve loved to turn his back to the earth and show him his place by riding him and reminding him just how perfectly they fit together, the festival took up their time and they couldn’t find an appropriate moment to disappear like they had done earlier.

Reading and Leeds had been incredible though. Ella found herself having the most amazing time there with all her friends,finally understanding the magic of the festival that her boyfriend held so close to his heart. 

They had endless pictures to remember the weekend by, thankfully. And Ella had gone Instagram official with Alex to the entire world after Katie posted a picture of Ella on Alex’s shoulders in the crowd. 

She had been nervous at first, struggling to find the courage in her to see the comments after that stupid article that sent her spiraling back in June. But when she had gone through them as she cuddled Alex, she had found more love from fans than any negativity, and it had her so relieved.

Alex dropped a kiss atop of her head, “Told you no one can just not love you as soon as they meet you.”

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

Usually Ella really hated Mondays, just like anybody else, really. But the Monday after Reading and Leeds weekend sounded very promising as soon as Florence had vaguely proposed a gathering at her and Matty’s flat to celebrate.

Flo had mentioned drinks, music, and all their friends in one place. What else could Ella ask for? 

Ella had been buzzing with energy as she got ready, stealing kisses here and there from Alex’s lips, humming and singing along to the music she was playing as she chose what to wear and how to do her hair. 

It was the last few days she had over in England before going back home, so she was making sure to enjoy every second she had left with her friends being all walking distance from her. 

She had even surprised Alex when she dashed to knock on Alice’s door and invite her over to Flo’s so that she could introduce her to everyone there. Little did she know, the singer was well acquainted with everyone. But she would find out soon enough. 

“Hey beautiful,” greeted George as soon as Ella stepped into his arms to say hello.

She hummed in the embrace, George holding her a little tighter by the waist when noticing Alex’s intense stare on his every move. Ella was none-the-wiser as she pulled back and gleefully asked the drummer, “How are you? I haven’t seen you in ages.”

Of course George would want to make Alex squirm a little, so he made sure to put a little more suave into his voice to cheekily reply, “Alright now that I see you again.”

Nick, who had been the one to open the door for the lovebirds, walked past to get another beer just in time to hear George flirting with Ella, so he warned with humour dampening his words, “Back off mate, Turner will kick your teeth in.”

George let a cheeky smile tug at the corners of his mouth, turning to the singer to nonchalantly say, “Oh, I heard.” He had heard just enough about it to know that they made a great pair, and he could see it now, the way the joy shone on their faces when they walked in holding hands. It wasn’t hard for the drummer to sincerely add, “Congratulations, yous make a lovely couple.”

That made Ella coo loudly, wrapping her arms around George’s waist in a quick hug as she accepted the compliment, “Awh, thank you G.”

Alex nodded his head slightly, a winning smile on his face before patting the drummer’s shoulder and matching his girlfriend’s sentiment, “Ta, mate.”

The drummer squeezed Ella for a second before she let go, but couldn’t let the pair go before joking with Alex, “You alright? Bet she’s wearing you off.”

Alex caught the innuendo straight away, the reminder that George and Ella had shagged before making him curl his fingers into fists, but a smirk cracking on his face as he remembered he got Ella in the end, not the drummer. 

Proudly, he nodded and confirmed, “Nothing I will ever complain about.”

“Hmm, isn’t that right.” George replied, turning to Ella and looking her right in the eye as he added, “She does make it enjoyable to lose hours of sleep.”

Ella gasped and slapped his arm, before telling him to “Shush.”

George let out a loud cackle at her reaction, and watched as she grabbed Alex’s hand and dragged him further into the flat so that they could finish saying hello to everyone there.

It was impossible for her cheeks not to hurt while they were at the Healy’s place. Seeing all their friends in one place, sharing drinks, drowning the music playing through the speakers with chatter and laughter; simply just existing all together—it brought a massive smile to Ella’s face that she just couldn’t wipe off.

The drinks she had been nursing had started to translate into a nice buzz inside her. Her head felt lighter and laughter flowed out of her with ease. She kept clinging to her boyfriend when she sat right beside him in a loveseat in the living room, but she also found herself looking for physical contact with everyone. Subconsciously, she was making sure she hugged all her friends enough to not regret not doing it when she went back to LA alone.

That meant Alex was on edge when George would pull her in conversation, and his arm would confidently wrap around Ella’s waist while she clutched onto his arms, giving him all the attention in the world when the drummer spoke. 

There had been a moment, Matty had turned the speakers’ volume up as one of his favorite tunes came on, but that meant Ella struggled to have George listen to what she was saying. Alex’s heart dropped to his ass when he saw Ella wrapping an arm behind the drummer’s neck and pulled him in. The singer feared the worst, his blood running cold instantly, but there was a slight wave of relief when her mouth moved right next to his ear, instead of the drummer’s lips.

When Ella came back to the loveseat he was occupying, Alex sat her down on his lap, wrapping his arm around her waist. He happily accepted the kiss Ella gave him, elongating it as much as he could and silently hoping that George was watching.

Alex was jealous, and he would admit it. He had hope that, by then, George had caught the sign and he would turn it down a notch when it came to Ella. 

But Alex had been hopeful far too soon, for there was a knock at the door, and when Florence opened it, Alice walked right into the flat grabbing Ella’s attention instantly. 

“Hi Allie,” Ella said as she hugged the singer by the waist.

Alice smiled and dropped a kiss on Ella’s cheek, “Hey baby. Missed you.”

Ella giggled as she pulled back, “I know, those twenty four hours were unbearable.” Last they had seen each other had been the day before, when they said goodbye to each other as the bands finally left Leeds Fest and went back to London.

“Thanks for inviting me, by the way,” Alice said earnestly, she could see many familiar faces that she had missed, “It’s good to finally see old friends again.”

“Old friends?” Ella was slightly confused. She had been ready to go around introducing Alice to the Manc boys. “You know the 1975 guys?”

“Sure do,” Alice smirked as she reminisced, “Some better than others.” 

Ella understood the innuendo straight away, and her brain started working overtime to figure out who she could mean. Only the answer fell right onto her lap when none other than George walked up to them and a confident smile appeared on Alice’s face as she greeted him like they had history, “Well hello there, George Daniel. Long time no see.”

“Alice Gillespie,” the drummer replied with a sultry voice. If Ella wasn’t so shocked, she would have shivered at his tone. And the director’s jaw would only fall more when he went to hug Alice and noted, “It’s been a while since I’ve had you in my arms.”

Alice let out a hum of satisfaction, one so similar to the sounds Ella knew the singer made while in bed, “Oh I’ve missed the feeling.”

The tension that surrounded them was so heavy, Ella’s words came out of her in a hurry, “Wait– You two…?” 

Alice nodded, smirking at Ella’s surprised face, “Yeah. Ages ago, when we were just introducing our names in the music scene.”

“She’s grown,” George said, taking a step back to make a show of looking Alice up and down, “In all aspects of the word.”

“You too George,” Alice bit her bottom lip when noticing the way his arms flexed and tightened the fabric of his shirt, “I might just cling to these muscly arms all night if you let me.”

Ella knew the look on each other’s face, and her face went bright red as she knew they were undressing each other with their eyes. She felt like she was intruding in an intimate moment, but her body was going against her reason for she wanted to stay and watch if they let her. Fuck, her mind was flooded with dirty thoughts already, her skin heating as if molten lava was coursing through her veins at the thought of Alice and George together.

“Y’alright, Ella?” George’s voice got her out of her trance.

“Yeah, yes,” Ella replied, shaking her head, “I’m just a bit in shock.”

“You’re cute, baby,” Alice snorted, watching the way her flush reaching down her neck and up to the tips of her ears, “Your every filthy thought is written all over your face. S’a pity you’re taken now.”

Ella felt like a deer caught in headlights, her mouth opened and closed as she worked out an excuse in her head but nothing worked. Alice giggled loudly, dropping a quick kiss on her cheek before grabbing her hand in plans to get to the bar so they could get some drinks.

“We’ll see you around Georgie. Don’t get lost, I quite enjoy the view,” Alice winked at the drummer, and he smiled big and bright at her. 

He had missed her cheekiness a lot, a buzz of excitement brewing inside him. Winking back at her, he promised, “Won’t stray too far then, gorgeous.”

After some shots, Alice and Ella went around the party chatting with everyone, until Ella went back to Alex who had just welcomed Miles into the flat. Ella had fully forgotten about Alice and George’s situation until Miles mentioned how they looked like they were gonna take up the guest room at any second and just enjoy each other for days.

They looked fit together, and Ella had been first hand witness of the suffocating tension that enveloped those two. From then on, Ella would admit she had been a bit distracted watching them from afar, wondering what it was that they were whispering to each other, in awe of how they orbited back towards each other as time passed.

George and Alice had noticed her wandering gaze, and they had reached a moment in which they silently agreed they would give into Ella’s curiosity and let her be in the middle of the sandwich. 

Teases, the both of them were, for they were smooth with it and Ella was naive to their silent plan. They would individually come up to her, almost like taking turns, only for the other to join them and aim the flirting at each other. If Ella had pearls adorning her neck, she would’ve most likely been clutching them as Alice and George taunted the other; maybe even recalling aloud the times the two had shared before, leaving Ella jaw dropped and incredibly flustered.

Alex had been so relieved when Alice and George kept each other busy and left Ella alone to mingle around. And though he had wanted to smack the back of Miles’ head for bringing Ella’s attention back to the pair, he was glad they had stayed away from his girlfriend. 

The last he had seen of Ella, Bre had taken her away from him to catch up with Katie and Kelly, who had just had a doctor’s appointment that morning and had gotten some  great news about the baby. She was almost 34 weeks, and they were all expecting the baby’s arrival quite soon. Ella was quite gutted she was leaving before Kelly’s due date, but she was so happy that in no time, they would all have their little baby Monkey to spoil.

Alex had been chatting with Ross and Matt for a while in the kitchen. They had been nursing their drinks and getting refills as they stood right next to the selection of alcohol available to everyone, best seats in the house really, plus the music was not as loud there so the conversation flowed easily. 

However, when he came back out to the living room, he saw Katie, Bre, and Kelly chatting all alone, Ella seemingly gone from that group of people. He looked around the room, confused for he could not find her. He walked further down, decided to go to the bathroom and knock on the door, and then he saw her in the corner of the room with George and Alice.

He hadn’t noticed he was standing in the middle of the room, the grip on his beer bottle tightening, jaw clenching. Florence had noticed straight away, she had been watching the trio in the corner of the room very attentively for the past ten minutes, and then Alex walked into the scene. 

Flo couldn’t help but excuse herself and walk up to her best friend to take the piss out of him for a bit. 

She smirked as she walked up to him, coming to stand right in front of him to block his view, “You’re blowing steam out of your ears, Shakespeare. Pipe down.”

His eyes didn’t move from where Ella stood, but his view was slightly blocked by Flo’s smirking face. His jaw tensed when he watched Alice playing with Ella’s hair as they talked, “Tell them to back off and I will.”

Flo rolled her eyes, turning around to watch the show the singer was fuming over, “Oh please. They’re doing all that just to rile Ella up, she’s been bright red since she learned Alice and George used to be fuck buddies back in the day.”

That got Alex to drop his gaze from them and direct it at Florence, “They did?” 

She hummed in confirmation, but she couldn’t let the opportunity pass to torment Alex some more, “And if I don’t recall incorrectly, I reckon that was Ella’s dream threesome.”

Alex rolled his eyes and sighed exasperatedly, “I hate you, Florence. I sincerely do.”

“No you fucking don’t,” Flo mocked him with laughter, “Stop staring at them like a twat, go get your girl.”

Alex frowned, looking at Florence and using a stern tone to say, “She’s quite distracted by them. Even with me next to her.”

“Well, we all are, mate,” Flo replied with a roll of her eyes, “Those two look hot as fuck together. They did back then, but they look even hotter now. And I heard all the stories back then. They are filthy and I think Ella can tell.” It would have been a shame if she didn’t bring up Ella’s adventures the last time she was in the UK, “After all, she’s got them both multiple times before.”

Alex closed his eyes, letting his head drop and sighed almost like in pain. When he looked up at his best friend again, she could see the desperation in his eyes, “Angel. You are not helping. At all.”

“Sorry. It’s just funny seeing you all riled up,” Flo couldn’t help but laugh at him for a bit. She found his determent hilarious when Ella was already his entirely and loudly for everyone to know. The artist shook her head at him, taking the bottle from his hands, essentially dismissing him early from the gathering and giving her the blessing to leave, “Go get her and show her a good time. Might be able to wipe both their names off her head if you just play your cards well enough.”

When Alex looked at the trio again, Alice was leaning in too close for his liking. He set off instantly, and Florence had managed to move out of his way fast enough so he didn’t barge into her. 

“Mind if I steal her for a second?” He attempted a smile at George and Alice as he interrupted them, but he only managed a crooked grin that didn’t seem genuine at all.

Ella looked up at him for a quick second, a soft smile on her face, entirely ignorant to the jealousy that coursed through him which was only fueling his need to take her back home and fuck her dumb until the only thing she could remember was his name.

Alice nodding and George saying, “All yours,” brought a bright smile to Alex’s face.

He interlocked his fingers with Ella’s and took her with him. He wasn’t walking fast at all, for his Irish goodbye to not be noticed, but he muttered under his breath at her, “We’re leaving.”

Her brows furrowed, but she didn’t stop walking next to him, “It has barely been four hours.”

He wouldn’t give her an answer, just repeated, “We’re leaving.”

But she noticed the way his jaw clenched, and realised the silent hostility in his eyes when he had approached Alice, George, and herself then, the pieces coming together to complete the puzzle. 

Instead of finding it annoying, she found it adorable, “Awh, are you jealous?”

He turned to her when they reached the flat’s door, his eyes hard and his words stern, “Keep running that pretty little mouth and you’ll find out.”

“Don’t tempt me with a good time,” she joked, and the smirk she gave him made him want to push her against the door and take her right there and then. 

He groaned, opening the door and grabbing her by the waist to lead her out first, “Smartarse.”

There was no way he could endure walking back home then, he needed to get home as soon as possible so they took the first cab they saw outside. Ella’s mind was reeling, she was intrigued by what had set him off, but also excited by what awaited her once they crossed the threshold of Alex’s flat.

Turns out, she was promised some teasing and far too many orgasms. Her clothes had been shed as soon as Alex closed the door behind him. In between sloppy kisses, his hands worked to get her out of everything that covered her. 

His mouth distracted her as he kissed down her neck, never once stopping his walking until her back bumped into the settee. Her mouth fell open when Alex bit her neck, the pain morphing into pleasure, eyes rolling back into her skull when his tongue swiped over the damage. 

His hands groped at her tits, kneading harshly, while his mouth looked for her lips again. He swallowed every moan as he pinched her nipples, her legs wrapping around his waist and trembling with the overflow of sensations. 

One of his hands wrapped around her neck, choking her in the way he knew she liked. His other hand traveled down her body, until he could swipe his fingers up her cunt. She was already drenched for him, he groaned into her mouth. 

Alex pulled back harshly, strings of spit connecting their lips. Ella looked for his mouth again but he grabbed her by the waist and turned her around. With one hand on her back, the other still holding her tight by her waist, he bent her over the settee and he fell to his knees for her.

He kissed up the backs of her thighs, gasps falling from Ella’s lips as he sucked bruises into her sensitive skin. Alex repeated his process on her other thigh, until he got to her ass and bit into the soft flesh there. 

“Fuck! Alex!” She had never been one for biting, but her knees kept buckling every time his teeth would sink into her, and now she was growing obsessed with the feeling.

He hummed at the sound of his name falling from her lips, but he needed more. He had to hear Ella screaming his name for everyone to hear. 

Alex guided her feet further apart, so he could spread her open and comfortably find his home between her legs. His tongue came over her clit, circling it and then sucking mercilessly. Ella gripped onto the cushions, moaning loudly when he shook his head and hummed, the vibrations driving her crazy. 

He lapped at her with hunger. Her sopping hole puckered with every tease of his tongue, but he wouldn’t pay it no attention, not even when Ella pleaded, “Baby, your fingers, please. I need you.” 

But Alex wouldn’t relent. Not when he wanted her at his mercy. 

He kept on sucking and lapping at her clit, flicking it with the tip of his tongue. Ella was a mess of cries and moans, her legs growing weaker by the second. Since she was bent over and her head was down, all the blood rushing through her head made every sensation increase tenfold, so it wasn’t a surprise that her orgasm was approaching her rapidly. 

Despite them being freshly together, Alex knew her cues like the back of his hand, so he could tell that she was about to cum. And when her thoughts started leaving her without restraint, begging for him not to stop, saying over and over how much she loved his tongue on her, Alex stopped.

Ella cried loudly, “No! Bab– What are you doing? I was so close!”

Alex stood up, pressing his hips flush against her bare cunt so that she could feel how hard he was in his jeans. She moaned at the feeling, trying to roll her hips against him to look for friction but he tutted, “Stop that or you won’t cum at all tonight.”

Another cry left her again, but he ignored it. Instead, he leaned over her, grabbing a fistful of her hair and pulling on it harshly so that he could whisper in her ear, “We’re going to our room and I’m gonna show you how to behave.”

A whimper fell from her lips, she was dizzy from her stolen orgasm, the pent up pleasure that was begging to be released, the pain from her hair being pulled like that, and just how turned on she was by him taking control. 

Once they got to the room, he hovered over her and rewarded her with some kisses. But she was being greedy, wanting to keep his mouth on hers when he had other plans. So Alex kept tutting at her, having to flip her over again and ordering her to stay right where she was as he took his shirt and jeans off. 

She looked over her shoulder, staying in place but hungrily watching Alex shedding off his clothes. Her mouth watered at the sight of his hard cock straining his black boxers, she almost wanted to ask if she could suck him off first, but before she could even open her mouth, he came over her using one of his legs to push hers apart and admire his effect on her.

“So needy,” he deemed her, pressing a kiss on her shoulder. “Asking for my fingers like that. Maybe if you behaved I could give you what you want.” His proposal was followed by his fingers dragging up and down her folds, gathering her slick and bringing his fingers up to her mouth.

“Are you gonna do what I tell you?” 

Ella’s voice was a squeak, “Yes. Yes, I will.” 

That satisfied him. Nodding, he brushed his fingers against her lips, “Suck.”

Her lips wrapped around his slick-covered fingers, and without breaking eye contact she took them in all the way down to the knuckle. Her tongue worked to lap at it all as her head bobbed slightly. Alex watched her with his jaw clenched, heavy breaths leaving through his nose; Ella could feel him heavy in his boxers and throbbing for her. 

She pulled back once she was done, offering him a sweet and innocent smile that drove him to push his hard on against her, “Good girl,” he praised before bringing his fingers back down and finally filling her up.

“Oh, Alexxx,” she cried into the pillow her head was resting on, fingers clutching onto the duvet, “That feels so fucking good.”

He hummed, watching his fingers glide in and out of her with ease. He started curling them, and she trembled when he hit that spot that drove her crazy over and over again. 

“Shit! Right there, baby!” Her hips started moving, though they were constricted with his weight over her. But she was trying, and when Alex added a third finger, all Ella could think about was chasing her orgasm. 

Her toes curled and her walls clenched around Alex’s fingers the more he increased his speed. The sound of his fingers invading her wet cunt drowned her ears, and her senses were on overdrive from the combination of it all. His heavy breaths hit her hack in tickles, goosebumps breaking all over her skin as she felt herself nearing over the edge.

“Alex, please,” she begged. “I’m so close, baby, please let me cummmm.”

The ache he was feeling from how hard he was clouded his thoughts, that and the sight of it all. So he gave into her wishes, just with one condition, “You can cum, but only if you cum on my cock right after this, darling.”

She nodded enthusiastically, “Yes! Yes! I’ll drench your cock, baby, just keep– Fuck! Don’t stop!” 

Just the thought of having her wrapped around him pushed him to get that orgasm out of her, so he sped up, and Ella went right over the edge with a guttural moan that ripped through her throat almost as intensely as her orgasm shook her. 

Alex fingered her through it, until she whimpered, “No more, please.”

But she had forgotten what she had agreed to, and before she knew it, Alex flipped her over again so she was on her front, getting off the bed to shed off his boxers quickly and laying over her once more. 

Ella’s jaw dropped when she felt him brushing the tip of his cock up and down her cunt. Her legs shook as she was overstimulated, and her brain melted in her skull when he lined up and pushed in slowly inside her. 

Her nails dug into his back, a loud moan out in the air harmonizing with Alex’s deep groan as her walls squeezed Alex tightly. He had no idea how he was meant to last if she was this tight. 

He dragged his hips back slowly, coming back in faster and harder, setting an agonizing pace that had Ella holding onto him for dear life and almost sure that she was gonna squirt all over him any second. She had no time to recover from her past orgasm, so she felt like she was going to explode at any second. Her skin felt on fire, every cell of her body vibrating so much she could just combust. 

And with Alex nipping and biting at her skin, the slow drag out and hard push into her, Ella only had so little left in her before she came again. 

Alex seemed to have been in the same boat, with him having been so hard while he teased her, and with how she was squeezing him, the drag of her nails on his skin, and the delicious sounds of her moans and whimpers, Alex picked up the pace and soon the bed was creaking with every thrust. 

“Alex! Alex! Fuckkkkk—,” she cried aloud, her core tightened and she felt like she was losing control over her body entirely.

Panting, Alex tried to keep up his pace the best he could, while approving her cries for him, “That’s it, darling. The only name I want falling from your lips.” One of his hands came down, pressing atop her mound, wanting nothing more than for her to drench him and the sheets. 

A loud gasp left her when the pressure of his hand appeared, her body no longer fighting her, and she squirted all over him with a yell, “Shit! Alexxxx!”

He looked down at the show, everything was wet and slick, and she was spasming around him with every thrust. He grunted as he felt himself about to fall over the edge, that was when she brought her hands to his hair and pulled on it harshly to bring his gaze up to her face and say, “Cum inside me, Alex, please.”

Her swollen lips were glistening with spit, her face shining with sweat, and her hair all disheveled. She was a fucking work of art, just a look at her in this state and those words falling from her lips sent him right over the edge. 

His hips stuttered, as he came hard and her walls milked every drop of his cum. He ended up slumping right over her, hiding his face in the crook of his neck while they both gathered their bearings. 

The feeling of their erratic hearts, the fall and rise of their chests, Ella drawing circles on his back, Alex leaving feather-like kisses on her neck, it all had their eyes fluttering close. That was until Alex lifted his head up and caught the sight of Ella’s new polaroid resting atop of the nightstand. 

He had hated how much the sight of George’s face had reminded him of those pictures he and Ella had taken back then. And he wanted to erase any trace of that memory from his own mind but also Ella’s.

He pulled out and stood up quickly, leaving Ella pouting in bed while she watched where he was going. 

When she watched him grab the camera, she frowned in confusion, “Sweetness, what are you doing?”

Alex turned the camera on and checked the amount of film it had left just like Ella had taught him, he smiled seeing that there were 7 frames left for him to use. She looked stunning there, all worn out and flushed. Alex brought the camera up to his eye, ready to press the shutter, but he had to ask first, “I want to take you like this with me on tour, can I?”

Heat rushed up to her face, cheeks tinting red, but she smiled entirely pleased by his words, “‘Course you can.”

He walked up to her, getting back on the bed and watching her adjust herself for him. She rested more upright on the pillows, brushing her unruly hair and biting her bottom lip for him. He brought the camera to his eye again, watching her through the lens and pressing the shutter. 

Without even waiting for the picture to reveal itself, he tossed it to the side and continued to take some more. She brought her hands up to her tits for the next one, pinching her nipples, face contorting in pleasure that he captured just in time. He was gonna have such a good time looking back at them while on tour, he had to lean in and kiss her before continuing. 

It was then that Ella got friskier, opening her legs up and having completely forgotten that he had just cum inside her, his cum dripping out of her glistening cunt. 

“Shit, we made a mess,” not only was the mix of them dripping onto the duvet, it was also drenched from her squirt. 

Her fingers came down to her dripping hole, and as she was gathering some of it on the tips of her fingers, Alex pressed the shutter. 

Ella smirked, looking up at him and tutting, “You’re filthy.” 

“Push it back inside you, darling. Let me take a picture of that.”

Since she had promised she would be good and listen to him, Ella did just that. 

“Fucking hell,” Alex cursed under his breath, the shutter going off coming right after his gruff voice.

Ella got carried away fucking their cum inside her, legs trembling slightly as she was still so sensitive. Alex could only watch with his mouth open agape, throat going dry when she proceeded to pull her fingers out, and look at him directly in the eye before sucking them clean. 

He was so entranced by the view, that he forgot to take the picture, so she joked, “Want me to do that again so you can take the picture or would you rather just keep it in your memory?”

Alex snapped out of his thoughts, swallowing loudly before nodding, “Please indulge me, darling.”

So she went back in, whimpering softly as she pushed two fingers back inside her and fucking herself for a few seconds. She drew her fingers back and brought them up to her mouth, wrapping her lips around them and sucking eagerly. 

The shutter went off again, Alex felt himself twitching at the moans she let out at the taste. It made him crave it so he gently rested the camera next to him, so he could take some more pictures in case he managed to multitask, and hovered over her again. 

Slowly, he leant in until his lips brushed hers, “Let me taste us.”

Ella stuck her tongue out for him, letting him lick at it but it wasn’t long before he sucked it. He groaned, pushing his hips forward, and pulled back for a deep breath before pouncing on her lips. 

She moaned at the force of the kiss, her pebbled nipples rubbing on his chest, making her shiver in pleasure. His hold on her waist was tight, and he kept it there while he made his way down her body, leaving hot and messy kisses in his wake. 

“What do you think you’re doing?” Ella asked, her body unable to not shake with every brush of his lips closer and closer to her sensitive cunt.

He smiled up at her, mischievous and devilish, “Loving on you.” A soft kiss on her clit had her legs clamping close around his head. 

Alex laughed, using his hands to open her wide for him, pinning the thighs to the bed, but she trembled, as his breath fanned against her core, “Baby, I can’t.” 

“Yes you can.” It wasn’t an encouragement, but an affirmation. If she didn’t remember that she was at his mercy now, then his words would remind her, “You’ll take it.” 

She whimpered again when he flicked at her clit with his pointed tongue, pulling back to say, “I’m not moving. This is my favorite place.” He let his tongue run flat up her folds, drinking her in, “My favorite taste.” 

With a tight grip, he fought her instinct to close her legs again, “And I’m not moving until my jaw aches and locks, remember?” She remembered then, those promises through the phone that had pushed her towards the edge when she was lonely and craving his touch. 

He nosed at one of her thighs, bringing her back out from her head, “I want you to drench my face this time, so be a good girl and take it darling, yes?”

Ella could only nod, thinking that bearing the overstimulation would be far better than dealing with the need of him when he’s away from her. But what she didn’t account for was how eager he was to make her cum. 

By the first orgasm, she felt entirely spent. Her body was shaking, and she had no idea how he had the strength to hold her legs open like he was because she had lost absolutely all control over her body.

Alex used his fingers and mouth next, not letting her ride her previous orgasm and just building up from it. Ella was being incredibly loud then, louder than she had ever been, but she wasn’t in her right mind to even be embarrassed by it. 

He fucking adored how vocal she was being though, and he only grew more and more eager to get more and more out of her. With his fingers curling the right way, hitting that spongy spot inside her that had her seeing stars, Ella came once more. He pulled his fingers back, rubbing at her clit with quick circles that elicited the loudest calls of his name, ending with Ella drenching his face just like he had asked for. 

His plan was to keep going but Ella had tears streaming down her face, exhaustion weighing her down, and overstimulation making her mind go haywire. 

The ghostly touch of his tongue on her clit again made her loudly sob, her hands came down to his hair, clutching it and pulling him off her, and her broken voice managing a pathetic, “Can’t– Love, I can’t.” A sob racked through her, “No more, please.”

Alex’s mood entirely shifted, cooing at her as he crawled back up to lay next to her. He brushed her hair back and wiped the tears from her cheeks, “It’s okay, darling. I’ve got you, yeah?”

She nodded, tears still spilling for her eyes, chin wobbling as she tried to gather herself again. 

“Let’s clean up, yeah?”

The aftercare was lovely, with Alex running a warm bath for her that he joined once he was done changing the sheets and putting the old ones to wash. He washed her hair and massaged her scalp, then carefully soaping her skin and rinsing her off the suds. Ella was limp against him, and Alex could see that sleep was grasping her tighter in its clutches, but before she could fully surrender to it, he helped her out of the tub and dry herself up.

He brushed her hair and dried both his and her hair quickly before carrying her back to bed. There was no point in putting their pyjamas on, they could cuddle under the sheets and be just as cosy so that’s what he did. 

Ella woke up a little when they got under the covers, turning to look at Alex and run her fingers over his face. But what they hadn’t noticed with them being hidden away in his ensuite, was that the next door neighbor would be a little busy that night too.

Living next to her for far too long, Alex immediately recognized Alice’s moans. And Ella did too, after having elicited so many out of her with her tongue and fingers. 

Alex turned to Ella with wide eyes, clearly hearing a male’s voice with Alice, “Oh wow.”

Ella shushed him, trying to figure out who it was. The noises were slightly muffled, but when they got louder, you could hear them clearly, and that’s when Ella realized it was Alice and George on the other side of the wall. 

She couldn’t help but tease her boyfriend first though, “Bet you had the best jerk off session when Alice and I shagged. You’ve got some nice acoustics through the wall.”

Alex rolled his eyes, “Shut up,” pinching her waist and making her jump.

She giggled, “You’re not denying it though.”

The singer opted for staying silent and cuddling closer to her, he closed his eyes to try and fall asleep but it seemed like the night was still very young for the people on the flat nextdoor. 

About ten more minutes passed, of them moaning at the same rate, no signs of any of them having cum yet and that had Ella gasping again, “Fucking hell, they’ve got stamina.”

That got a snort out of Alex, who opened his eyes to tell her, “Stop snooping and go to sleep.”

He watched as she indulged in his wishes, and so he followed. Alex was doing a great job of ignoring the noises for a while, but there was a particular moment when George groaned incredibly loud at the same time as Alice moaned in a high pitch that could not be ignored. 

What Alex hadn’t been expecting was to feel Ella clenching her thighs which were wrapped around one of his legs. He opened his eyes just to find her wide awake and with her face all flushed, “You’re insatiable.”

“You are hearing the same as I am, tell me they don’t sound hot as fuck,” Ella defended herself quickly, but then she realized what she had said and scowled. She didn’t want to know if he found Alice’s moans hot when he had shagged her, “Actually, don’t answer.”

Alex scoffed at her words, “You’ve shagged both of them. If someone should be jealous, it’s me.” The worst part was that he could feel her against him, fighting the urge to roll her hips to rub her clit on his thigh, “You’re over here getting all wet over hearing them through the wall.”

She pouted, “Well then, maybe we should just go knock on the door.”

Decisively, Alex replied with a roll of his eyes, “We are not being part of a foursome.”

“But–,” she tried to reason but he didn’t let her.

“Eleanor Hayes,” he started and finished. She knew he meant that was it when he properly used her legal name. She felt scolded.

Against all odds, they heard the moans pick up again, making Ella let out a little cry of frustration. Ella was half joking by then, enjoying seeing Alex so aggravated by Alice and George’s history with her. But she wouldn’t change having Alex for the world, her heart did backflips in her chest every time she woke up next to him, whenever she felt his hold on her, every time she heard him call her darling; just existing with him made her heart leap in her chest. 

And she was glad that her boyfriend shared the sentiment, “You are all mine now. Don’t expect me to want to share you with anyone else.” Alex’s eyes darkened as he reminded her, but it was Ella who attacked his lips with a hungry kiss. 

She was exhausted, but she felt the need for him brewing in her lower belly. She sighed when she pulled back, deciding to satiate that hunger in the morning. 

But she was annoyed that Alex was listening to sounds that could make him reminisce, “We’re switching your bed to the other side of the room tomorrow.” She scoffed at the stupidity of her boyfriend, all this time complaining about hearing Alice through the wall when that could be easily solved, “Can’t believe you’ve never thought of doing that, you idiot.” 

When Alice moaned particularly loudly, and she felt Alex tense under her, Ella decided, “And I’m buying you earplugs.”

Alex grabbed a handful of Ella’s ass smirking against her mouth and letting her know, “I love it when you’re jealous,” before stealing another lustful kiss from her lips.

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Time was truly cruel. Careless with how the distance would spread the heartache all the way to the ends of their limbs like venom coursing through their veins. It was in a blink of an eye that they had ended up with just a singular full day together, the hours they had on their side had all slipped like water through their fingers.

After having such an eventful Monday, they had decided to spend the day at Alex’s apartment in London. Cuddling all day and ordering takeout was the best plan they had, relishing in the quiet and the comfort of each other’s hold. 

They wouldn’t even regret having spent the day like that, because it had been a day of just existing with the other. Laughing, eating, sleeping, fucking, hugging, talking about everything and anything, tenderly loving each other in the little things. 

Wednesday was a different story. Alex had woken up a little earlier than the day before and kissed her before leaving bed. In her hazy mind, still riddled with sleep, Ella had managed to make out Alex speaking with someone on the phone. 

She had thought she was dreaming for a second, until he walked back into the room and came to lie on top of her. She hummed in satisfaction at the feeling of his weight resting over her, something she just loved to be submitted to now. 

But before she could think much about what he would do next, he nosed at the skin of her neck and spoke in that deliciously deep morning voice of his, “Darling, they want us to go on a meeting at Domino later today.”

Her brows furrowed, eyes still closed but confusion took over her entire expression. She groaned, before questioning, “Domino? Your record label?”

Alex almost cooed at her groggy voice, smiling like a fool when she brought her hands to her face to childishly rub her eyes as she yawned. He dropped a kiss on her chest, feeling the soft beating of her heart beneath his lips. 

“Yes, baby. They want to chat with you, actually.”

If Ella had been more awake, she would have noticed that Alex wore a knowing look on his face. And if she had pushed hard enough, she would have found out what that was all about before even having to go to Domino headquarters all the way in Wandsworth.

On the way there, she was racking her brain trying to figure out why on earth her boyfriend’s label would even want to chat with her about. Was it the documentary? It couldn’t be, because that one had already been handed over to them, all set for release.

Alex squeezing her hand kept trying to get her out her head, but it was pointless. She’d had breakfast quietly next to him before getting ready, which she also did quietly. 

She was so lost in her head that she hadn't even thought of asking her boyfriend if he knew anything. Alex was silently grateful for that—he just knew that he would have ruined the surprise if she were to question him about it.

And he truly would have regretted it, because the shock on Ella’s face was priceless after she and Ben—who was on the big screen of a conference room through Skype—were proposed to go on the South American tour with the Monkeys.

“South America?! Us?!”

Alex had chuckled at the sheer disbelief on Ella’s face and voice, as if she didn’t understand how well they had done with the AM documentary to the point that Domino wanted more content, this time while on the road.

The singer saw Ella pinching herself before grabbing the pen someone was holding out for her. He rubbed right over the red spot she had left behind as the ink sealed the deal between Ben, Ella, and Domino.

“We shall see how this one goes,” they had told her and Ben. “If we manage valuable content to elongate AM’s release and marketing campaign, we shall be looking at a longer contract with you two in the near future. Perhaps for the next projects we have with the Monkeys.”

A jaw dropped Ella had turned to Alex at the sound of all that, utterly shocked at what was happening.

Once Ben had faxed his own signed contract, hands had been shook and promises of further information had been made. Ella was still buzzing with adrenaline as she and Alex walked out into the London streets hand in hand.

“You know what this means right?” Ella mysteriously started saying as they walked.

“Mile high club,” Alex replied quickly, making his girlfriend erupt in a loud string of cackles.

She shook her head no, trying to breathe a little before saying, “Won’t be getting rid of me now, sweetness,” with the biggest smile on her face. 

God did Alex love the sound of that. Her smile was contagious, spreading onto his face, but his toothy grin only got bigger when she added, “Though I wouldn’t be opposed to your idea at all.”

Surreal. That was how they would describe this domino effect that was turning their lives around in the best way. It meant that on that Wednesday, they wouldn’t only be celebrating the fact that they had already been dating for two months, but this new opportunity for her that kept her close to him.

After Ella left England, the Monkeys only had one more week of tour before a glorious almost two month break, one that Alex and Ella were incredibly excited about. They had so much time in their hands then, promised solely for them to enjoy each other. 

And after that break, the band would only be on tour by themselves for another week before Ella was now due to join them for their South American leg of tour.

A bottle of champagne was popped open during dinner in celebration, Ella squealing as she watched the bubbles overflowing from the bottle; an erupting mess atop of a table on a fancy restaurant Alex had taken her to. Alex had acquired a new background picture for his phone as he captured her smile in a picture before leaving the place.

Ella looked so beautiful under the moonlight, red lipstick on, her hair cascading down her back in soft waves that he had watched her carefully do. He had taken his sweet time loving her that night, hands carefully roaming her body to learn every crease and curve, as if he needed to draw her blindfolded anytime soon. He made sure to memorise every change in her expression as he did everything he knew to help her come undone, every noise she made replaying on a beautifully maddening loop in his head.

Melancholy had creeped in the next morning, when they saw the clock and realized they only had a few hours before leaving for the airport. Los Angeles called Ella’s name louder and louder, across oceans, while she tried to steal some more time with Alex. 

It was not much, but it would have to be enough. Enough for the next week before they could have each other back, their sweet traditions, and rid themselves of the burden distance was. 

They packed their last things at the same time, since Alex and the band’s flight was leaving about an hour or two after Ella’s. It was Alex’s turn now to watch her go; he would be a massive liar if he said his heart didn’t break as he watched her scan her ticket and start walking toward the bridge. 

His slipper-clad feet took a step, in his head a debate whether he should just dash it and make it behind the desk to give her one last kiss. But she stopped at the threshold of the bridge, a smile on her face riddled with sorrow, teary eyes, wobbly chin as she waved back.

He knew he would cause a ruckus if he were to do what was going through his head, so he did the next best thing. Blew her a kiss that was already hanging off his lips, her name written all over it. 

She made a show of catching it, a giggle escaping her as she smashed it on her lips. His chest rumbled with joy, a chuckle coming from him when feeling so oddly complete even when saying goodbye. 

Finally, she turned around and disappeared behind the open door to the bridge. And he hadn’t noticed he had been holding back tears until he tasted the salty trail reach the corner of his mouth. 

Love consumed him entirely, a rabble of butterflies swarming his stomach and tickling his insides to the point of silent giggles. He had lost it entirely, all the logic and sense left in him, but how could he not? And how could he not enjoy it? 

Everyone could see it, and he wore it loud and proud. Alex was an utter and complete fool for her. A mad man entirely drunk in love.

✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧✦✧

A/N: Once again, I wanted to thank you all for still reading. I'm eager to hear your thoughts. I missed you all loads and I hope you know that. After this one, we just have one more chapter and the epilogue left, and then we will have to say goodbye to Ella and Alex. I'm a bit depressed about it but I will definitely be putting out some extras eventually. You know, the typical cheesy stuff like them getting engaged, married, starting a family, all the good stuff. But let me not get ahead of myself, and let's enjoy the end of this ride. Take care you lot, I shall see you soon!

Taglist: @imagine-that-100 @kennedy-brooke @faveficz @indierockgirrl @ladydraculasthings @moonvr @unwantedlovergirl @eaglestar31 @nikisfwn @funniestpersoninnyc @andrearroe @justacaliforniandreamer @alexturnersgf69 @yourorganiccigarette @chickenxdrum

[fourorchid]

“Obedient Thing”

— Chapter 4 —

Description: The monotony of your day to day life as a lab assistant is suddenly interrupted upon meeting Viktor, a researcher at the academy, who has a gaze that pulls you apart and knows exactly how to piece you back together. His voice, his actions—they’re dizzying, frustrating—but madly addictive. Curiosity and happenstance seem to render you incapable of avoiding him as you come to terms with the newfound feelings he’s unintentionally (or maybe intentionally) stirred within you.

Chapter Index:

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4 (here)

— Viktor x fem!Reader | ~3.0k—

Content Warning: masturbation (fem!reader)

**If you are not 18+, please do not interact**

Disclaimer: Chapter four is out! I wasn’t sure how I felt about this chapter when I started but it grew on me hehe. And the next part is already in the works so stay tuned! As always, I appreciate any comments or feedback, Enjoy ~

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After the first instance of agreeing to work alongside Viktor, Jayce took it upon himself to send you off to Viktor whenever he felt necessary. His reasoning for doing so being a.) his research and Viktor’s research are of the same specialty and had a decent amount of overlap, b.) he knew Viktor had a tendency to overwork himself while also being resistant to asking for help, and c.) he loved to stir the pot. And this way you couldn’t get mad at him because the ball was technically in your court. No misleading or meddling here, just an opportunity and your choice to take it. Thankfully, it’s been a very rare occurrence as you both already have a lot on your own plate; but Jayce was still smug about it.

Meanwhile, you find the pull you wish you were strong enough to refuse becoming more tangible. Like there was an actual tether connecting you to Viktor—and it was only getting shorter. You just couldn’t get him out of your head. But then, the few times you found yourself in his presence, you were borderline incredulous. You couldn’t help it nor could you make any sense of it. You were hopeless.

As you pack up your belongings and wave goodbye to Jayce after a long Friday of test trials and data recording, you notice how hungry you are. Feeling particularly accomplished with the work you did this week, you decide to treat yourself to dinner at your favorite bistro in town.

Usually, you would order it to go but you figured it might be good to dine in today. Because sometimes you just need to take yourself out to dinner. Definitely not because you recently found out that Viktor also frequents this restaurant—of course not. Just some self-care in the form of french onion soup and a hot sandwich in nice dining ambience. Obviously.

You walk through the brisk evening air towards the restaurant with your mouth watering at the thought of the meal. As you enter, the cozy atmosphere wraps around you like a blanket, soothing the chill on your skin from outside. Thankfully, it’s not too busy despite it being a Friday evening and you are able to find a small empty table in the corner of the restaurant. You browse the menu, pretending you might try something new before settling on your usual paired with a glass of white wine. While you wait for your order to arrive, an equation from today’s testing was still nagging at your conscious. You move to take out your laptop to look over it again in the meantime when, suddenly, a familiar voice floats over the clatter of the restaurant.

“Hello, Miss y/n.” His demeanor is calm as he speaks. “May I?” Viktor asks to join you. As you look up at him to respond, you notice his eyes are almost mesmerizing in the dim, warm lighting of the restaurant.

You haven’t seen Viktor in a few weeks now and you naively assumed the break would help you be less affected by his sudden appearance—you were mistaken.

“Um, sure.” You nod, pausing after you speak. Viktor lowers himself into the seat across from you. “So are you following me around now?” You quip in feigned suspicion.

“No, not stalking—simply happenstance.” His tone is lighthearted as he leans his cane against the edge of the table. “Fate, perhaps.” He adds matter-a-factly. Something about his demeanor seems slightly more playful outside of the academy building.

“Right.” You let out a small unamused laugh at the notion.

You notice the waitress approaching your table as Viktor turns to provide his order. As he talks, you note how his side profile is especially sharp. You count the moles that are dotted across his face in such a delicate and almost precise way, a few more lead down his neck meeting his collar. Seemingly random, but such a perfect addition to his complexion that you start to believe every act in his creation must’ve been intentional by nature itself. And the way his voice resonated as he spoke was so deep and rich, alluring in a way that makes one too entranced to do anything besides listen. After a moment, the waitress whisks herself back to the kitchen and Viktor returns his attention to the conversation. You do your best to hide the fact that you had been blatantly staring.

“So—a skeptic, hm?” Viktor tsks. He looks at you giving way to that all-too-familiar inspecting gaze of his. “You don’t believe in fate then, Miss y/n?” He adds, amused.

“I don’t have enough evidence to come to a conclusion.” You explain flatly.

He raises an eyebrow at your response, clearly intrigued. "That is fair. I suppose nothing is really certain until you can prove it empirically, hm?" He leans back in his chair, his gaze stays on you as he continues. “Are you this analytical in all aspects of your life?” Viktor wears a nearly imperceptible grin as he points out your deflection.

You are caught off guard by Viktor’s ability to—once again—see right through you. “No, I just enjoy opposing you.” Your tone is sarcastic and almost childish as you respond.

“Do not threaten me with a good time, Miss y/n.” Despite his joking demeanor, his words have an edge that makes your stomach flip and your face become warmer. He gives you a knowing look.

After a pause, you cut through the tension as you begin to speak. “Why do you look at me like that?”

“And how is it that I look at you?” Viktor replies, unaware.

“Like you’ve got me all figured out.” You roll your eyes, acting as though frustration was to blame for your cheeks reddening.

“Well, that is because it’s not very difficult to decipher what you feel judging by how you look at me.” He speaks in a controlled manner, pretending to be indifferent to the fact that you are hanging on to his every word.

Intuition tells you it’s a trap. But it is a trap that is so incredibly tempting to fall into.

“And how do I look at you?” You take the bait.

Viktor breathes out a short hum before answering. "With curiosity—but there is something else there. Something deeper.” He pauses before deciding what word to choose.

“You look at me with a kind of...hunger."

His gaze becomes more intense as his words hang in the air between you. He leans forward on the table, his voice dropping to a low, rough cadence.

"It is okay to have an appetite, you know."

Before you can attempt to answer, the waitress returns with your orders in tow. The interruption is a welcome one, giving you a moment to compose yourself as the food is placed on the table.

Viktor pulls back a few inches, a small smirk forming on his face.

"It appears that fate is giving us a breather." He looks at you.

“It seems so.” You say, more tense than before.

The waitress leaves you both to your meal and you find yourself wishing she would come back, wanting any distraction that could act as a buffer between yourself and the man sat across from you.

You take a second to regroup, deciding to focus on the food in front of you instead. You want to deny Viktor’s observation but you are at a loss. As you both begin to eat, the clattering utensils and soft chatter of the restaurant around you fills the break in conversation. You find yourself staring mostly at your plate as you feel Viktor’s eyes trained on you. Observing. Calculating. You try to give him nothing to work with but as you are starting to gather, he is rather adept at reading between the lines. His voice drags your attention up from your meal as he speaks.

“You are awfully quiet, Miss y/n.” He notes.

You swallow as you take your napkin to your lips before speaking. “Would you prefer I talk with my mouth full?” You snip back.

Viktor nods. “A fair point.” He takes a second, looking up as he thinks before continuing his answer.

“I suppose I would rather your mouth be used differently, yes.”

His expression darkens ever so slightly as the words fall from his lips; coated in filthy insinuation but spoken so casually—almost unassuming if you weren’t paying attention. Every nerve in your body catches fire at his response. You clear your throat, hoping to collect yourself before you speak.

“You know—I don’t think I’m the only one with an appetite.” You mock Viktor’s choice word from earlier through clenched teeth. You try to pivot the spotlight onto him but the attempt was shaky at best.

He quirks an eyebrow at your statement. He sets his fork down to clasp his hands in front of himself on the table as though he were about to negotiate a deal.

"I never said you were." He concedes.

You take a sip from your wine glass, the dryness coats your throat as Viktor continues.

“Though, I am not sure you can keep up with mine." He purrs the taunt in a low rumble. You choke a bit at the implication.

“You seem to have a habit of assuming things about me.” Your tone is biting and sharp as you respond. You take another spoonful of your food to distract yourself from the feelings swirling in your stomach.

He chuckles, clearly enjoying this back-and-forth you two are having.

"Well, to my credit, I think I have hit the mark a few times."

His gaze locks on yours as he continues.

"But by all means—let's prove me wrong then."

His voice drops, his tone taking on a sinful quality.

Your confidence wavers at the challenge. Viktor is rather forward but the words he chooses leave too much—or perhaps too little—to the imagination. It’s arousing and frustrating all at the same time. You don’t back down, but your heart thumps in your ears as you counter.

“And how do you suppose we do that?” You hold eye contact as you provoke Viktor into actually admitting what he’s implying. To your surprise—he does exactly that.

“Simple.” He begins, leaning forward. His voice is barely above a whisper, sending a chill down your spine.

“I’d take you right here, on this table.”

He leans back, his eyes never leaving yours. His disposition is cool and composed despite the fever of his answer. You try not to let Viktor’s words have power over you but it’s too late. Heat concentrates in your abdomen at the explicit image he had painted. You glance around the restaurant, suddenly reminded of the public setting you were in.

“Oh really? In front of everyone here?” You choke out a half-baked objection, finding the notion entirely absurd.

His gaze is fixed on you as he listens, unfazed.

"You are right, that would be quite the public display." He admits. His eyes trace over the features of your face, ending on your lips before returning to meet your stare.

"But it still made you feel a certain way, did it not?" Viktor points out, saying what you had left unspoken.

Your body betrays you in its response, the muscles in your thighs flexing unconsciously, your breath hitching almost imperceptibly. His words swim through your head. He’s absolutely shameless, you think. A scoff flies from your throat as you shake your head in disbelief, trying to ignore the warmth spreading over every inch of your skin.

But Viktor catches it all, every micro-reaction, both conscious and subconscious. He takes your silence as your answer.

“Oh? tapping out already?” He taunts, his tone mocking concern. A soft smile perches on his face, in direct contrast to the lascivious things coming from his mouth.

You feel yourself reach a boiling point. “And, pray tell, what makes you so sure you can deliver? You spit out, your voice tight as you question Viktor’s abilities in a pitiful attempt to punch up.

A low chuckle escapes him, his confidence unshaken by your challenge. He leans forward a fraction more, the space between you becoming increasingly intimate.

"I do not make promises I can't keep, Miss y/n." He responds simply, his gaze never wavering from yours.

You aren’t sure if it’s the sirenesque nature of his voice or the sincerity held in his stare, but his statement rings entirely genuine to you—even in the heat of the current moment. You’re not sure if this quells the sensation pooling in your gut or feeds it.

Then, as if reprieve granted by the universe itself, the waitress returns to ask if you both had finished your meal. Suddenly, you remember that oxygen exists and that you should probably breathe some of it.

“Yes, thank you.” You move to fetch your wallet but Viktor beats you to it. Before you can object she flits away with his card to get the bill.

“I can pay for my own meal.” You say weakly. Your mind has reached its threshold for clever banter. And it’s not like Viktor seemed to follow typical social convention when he was talking to you either.

“I know you can.” Viktor replies, stern but theres a softness in it as he smiles gently. Like he was appreciating your determination in defying him but also not denying your autonomy. It had you entirely disarmed.

“I don’t intend on being indebted to you.” You hiss, the words come out as a slight insult to Viktor’s character—something you didn’t really believe but couldn’t help yourself from saying.

“I do not do debts, Miss y/n.” Viktor replies simply, his voice steady and firm. And you know it’s true. But at this point, you were so drunk off him, you might fall for anything.

You nod, accepting his answer without argument. Once the bill with Viktor’s card returned, you both stand up and begin pulling your coats on to leave. Viktor finishes himself and moves to help you, holding the coat open behind you as you push your arms through the sleeves. You don’t even object. The proximity has you so warm now, you find you might need to actually take the coat off instead. The smell of his cologne fills your senses, it’s clean but distinctly masculine. Before pulling away, he leans over your shoulder, his breath tickles your cheek as he speaks in a low, almost whisper.

“If you are still hungry, Miss y/n, you know where to find me.”

To punctuate his point, his hand grazes your waist with intention before pulling away. You shiver at his words and barely-there touch. Your entire being thrums with need like you’ve never known.

You both leave the restaurant, heading your separate ways. The friction from your legs as they rub together while you walk is torturous, even for the short distance it takes to get back to your apartment. You can feel how worked up he had gotten you from just his words alone.

You don’t know much about Viktor, but what you have learned so far are two things.

One, control comes naturally to him. It’s not a matter of force—it’s innate, effortless. A calm, calculated sort of power. Intimidating—teasing, even—but not unkind.

And two, you are in denial. The way it made you feel was exhilarating in the most unexpected but impossible-to-ignore way. So much so that you’ve been pushing back on it with all your might out of discomfort, possibly fear as well.

There was a point in your life up to now where you believed if you didn’t call something by name, it had no real power. A ridiculous notion—but it had gotten you this far.

But feelings—feelings like those you were experiencing right now—were real, named or not. Spoken or not. Understood or not. And what you felt was something that threatened to be acted upon or else it would become maddening.

And with each passing second, you start to care less about it making sense.

You close the door to your apartment behind you. Immediately, you take yourself to your bed, not even shedding your clothes to lay down as you reached lower beneath the hem of your skirt. With no abandon, you begin to satiate the burning inside of you.

Your fingers reach to the heat already pooled there, coating yourself in the evidence of what he could do to you. Your fingers trace the sensitive spot that sends a bolt of unrestrained pleasure through you. You repeat the motion, moving faster. You feel yourself get close already, but you pull back. You want to draw it out—like he would.

After a moment, you grow impatient, and you lead your hand to your entrance. You feel yourself buzzing with a new kind of need, plunging one finger in to start, then another. You draw them in out slowly at first, taking the time to savor the idea. But you crave more as the hunger inside you screams his name. You even let the word slip past your lips while you tremble in a desperate and pitiful attempt to feel the real thing as your fingers reach as deep as they can go. They move hard and fast in and out of you, almost as if you weren’t in control of it. You are so close—so close, the pace you keep yourself to is unbearable, overstimulating; but nowhere near enough. You whine and writhe as you keep yourself on the edge.

Eventually, you can’t take it anymore. The coil he had helped build inside you suddenly snaps of your own doing. You shake violently as your release ripples through you in hot, heavy waves. As small whimpers and moans escape you, his voice, his actions, that knowing gaze—they are all seared into your memory. And you have found yourself in complete and utter surrender.

What else was there to do besides submit?

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