#and now I'm sitting here collecting hearts and whatever while their numbers are so high the win is guaranteed

[aphrodite-would-be-proud]

I blame you sunshine anon for this sin I'm committing.

Armin having a crush on you while you're with Eren hc

{ Armin x reader, implied Eren x reader | tw:possessive tw:unhealthy-friendships, tw:lowkey-toxic tw:jealousy | pinning, angst, drama, thirst | modern }

{ "The pool by the garden gate" by Thomas Edwin Mostyn 1864-1930 }

You met outside the library, he's was looking forward to relaxing after a long day with his new stack of books he just checked out, too lost in his own daydreams that he didn't see where he was going when bumping into you.

Quick to apologise, he helped you up. Instead of getting mad you chuckled at his clumsiness after he explained what caused him to not pay attention, and for some reason the sound of your laughter made his heart just beat a bit faster.

Summoning all the courage he's been building up, he invited you to the nearby cafe, his treat.

Armin doesn't do well with strangers nor small talk but by whatever miracle, talking to you at that cafe didn't feel uncomfortable at all. Listening to you talk about the weather while sipping on his strawberry milkshake was actually quiet nice, your voice was quiet nice.

He thought you were quiet nice and lovely.

The two of you ended up exchanging numbers after that, he went home that day with a little more bounce to his steps and a little more curl to his smile.

You ended up texting all night. And by the end of the week, you've managed to keep a streak of daily texts and calls despite your busy schedule. He listened to every voice message, he reread every sweet text, he admired every picture you sent.

And by the second week, the two of you agreed to meet again. So he took you to the nearby beach, you had a nice walk, collected some really pretty seashells and shared an ice cream and he was enjoying every second of it.

By the third week, you called him at 3am for a really important reason. He listened to you despite how tempting sleep was, he was understanding and compassionate, he managed to relate to your worries and calm them at the same time.

Despite it being around 5am when the call ended, he found himself not really minding it or even bothered by it, because it was you.

And by the end of the month, when the two of you drove to a farm to pick up fruits together, he realised how deeply in love with you he has fallen.

You couldn't look more perfect under the sun with a basket full of strawberries if you tried. You looked like an angel in his mind.

He was in love, and every thing you did together just made him fall more and more for you.

You went on walks together, he got you into playing chess and you introduced him to your hobbies.

Hanging out with him was the most comfortable, you'd listen to music while each of you did their own thing. Maybe even watch a murder mystery movie or two after and trying to guess who the killer is together.

Day by day it only got better, it was going good..no scratch that, it was going great actually. He's never felt so in rhythm with someone before, so comfortable to be his true self while still trusting you wouldn't judge him.

So he decided to push things to the next level, he wanted you in his life and to tell you how he felt. It's been three months since you've met and so far you've showed nothing but green flags.

That's when he decided to confess, but before that he had to introduce you to his friends, the most people he cares about in one room! What could possibly go wrong?

Everything, apparently.

More specifically, introducing you to Eren, the biggest mistake of his life.

Because instead of the usual teasing Armin would get for being late to his friend's house or texting them less frequently, It was Eren getting the teasing.

The only difference is, Eren had no shame, he didn't feel a need to justify himself for hogging all your time, for ditching the plans he makes with Mikasa and Armin just because you called.

If anything Eren had all the audacity to pull you to sit beside him whenever they hang in a group, or to just casually wrap his hand around your shoulder, even interrupting your conversations with Armin just so he can tell a joke to make you laugh.

And that turned into Eren being the one driving you back home despite Armin bringing you here.

Somehow and for whatever reason, Eren seemed to latch on to you. Taking you to movies, late night drives with him, even introducing you to his mom.

Armin likes to think the best of his friends, and Eren is his childhood friend, even his first ever friend. So you can't blame him for hoping Eren would read between the lines and take a fucking hint.

Eren had to know, he had to. But he's a good friend, he wouldn't steal someone Armin made it clear he's interested in right.

....right?

1am, Armin has been sitting up in bed for a while, he can't sleep. The project he's been working on is doesn't want to work out right and Armin is slowly losing patience with the deadline creeping over.

He doesn't even realise how long he's been lost over-thinking in his head till the laptop's screen turns black and goes into sleep mode, he stares at his tired reflection.

He feels lost and stuck at the same time, he closes his eyes and tries to clear his mind.

You pop into his mind, he glances at the phone for a good minute before dialling your number.

It rings, and rings, he's getting anxious.

It's alright, he tells himself, this isn't the first time he called you late at night, you actually called him at really late times too so what is he stressing about.

Why is there a feeling of dread in his chest.

The ringing stops, you pick up and for a second he seems to light up a bit.

except it wasn't you who picked up the phone.

It was Eren, answering him from your phone, sounding like he just woke up.

At 1am.

And it was Eren walking around with hickies on his neck the next day.

Armin felt emotions he never thought he'd ever feel towards his best friend when he got out of the shower that day, marks and hickies littering his skin.

Very, very ugly emotions.

Mikasa asks what is Eren getting ready for when he begins dressing up fancier than usual. "Date with y/n" was all he said before leaving

Armin still swears Eren looked at him with a knowing look just before he left.

He tried to reason with himself that it probably wouldn't last long, Eren is either messing with him intentionally or it's just a fling that's taking too long right?

...right?

It's been 6 fucking months, Armin has been counting.

And you're still with Eren, and he's still just as clingy and possessive as when you first met. Apparently the honeymoon phase wasn't a phase because he still insists you only sit near him, he still acts like you're the only two in the room with little regard to what's socially appropriate.

Armin internally cringes whenever Eren wraps his arm around your waist, or puts his hand on your thigh.

His stomach turns whenever Eren whispers something in your ear, his fingers dig in his palm whenever you look away flustered and slighly red after that.

He's not jealous, he tells himself while scrolling through the third picture Eren posted of you on his story, you're laying on his bed, his head on your thighs as he looks at the camera with smug eyes.

Armin almost cracks his phone screen.

"It was supposed to be me" he thinks each time Eren pulls you for a kiss simply because he felt like it.

It was supposed to be him surprising you with a gift on valentine's day, it was supposed to be him kissing your neck after getting a little too drunk, and now it's Eren doing it instead.

It was supposed to be him...it was never supposed to be Eren, it's not fair, he knew you first.

It was supposed to be beach trips and funfair dates, it was supposed to be reading books together and watching mystery movies, just you and Armin.

Not fucking Eren.

why, why would this happen to him? He was going to confess to you, he even prepared a letter and date plans and everything.

It's not fair how much it hurts, how much he misses you.

He knew you first, he wanted you and goddammit he still does even with you dating his bestfriend, he still wants you with every part of his body and mind.

And it eats him up at night, the guilt and bad thoughts of knowing just how wrong it is to wish Eren and you would just break up already, to wish he could just swoop in and take you from his arms.

It's a constant cycle of feeling high on love, feeling anger and then feeling the crushing guilt.

[katsukikitten]

WARNINGS Adult themes and hinted at sexual assault. This is an 18+ AU  @bakugotrashpanda I finished

Your vision blurs from both the side effects of a quirk and the dam of tears threatening to burst. You throw your black hood up over your head, huffing as you rush to an apartment complex. 

"Fifth floor. Fifth floor room 5C, right?" You mumble to distract yourself from the pain coursing through your body as you force yourself up the stairs, looking over your shoulder out of paranoia. 

Finally you reach your destination but suddenly the urgency in you dies out. Fizzling away in your veins as you stand frozen wondering just why you were here? 

Standing in front of the door of the very hero who has almost caught you time and time again. Having only narrowly escaped with a quick witted quip and a trick that barely worked. 

Just as you're about to turn to leave, a hot head yanks open the door. His garnet eyes are sharp before widening in surprise. He takes you in with a slight horror as he takes in what he can in seconds. Your eyes are blown wide, dilated so unnaturally large that only a drug or quirk could induce a pupil of that size. The veins in your left eye are ruptured while a faint purple hue blooms on your lid. Your plush bottom lip is split down the middle, swollen even and the blood is barely dried. Your hoodie is torn down the middle as shaking hands clutch it closed while your tights and skirt are tattered beyond repair, your outfit threatening to fall away from your body from a small gust of the cold winter wind. 

The last thing those molten eyes notice is the faint bruising around your tender throat and with the angle of your hood he can just barely make out the shape of fingers. Something hot forms in his chest and seeps out into his fingers causing them to twitch. 

You answer the question he left unspoken.

"I didn't know where else to go." 

He watches you sway on unsteady feet as you speak, eyes fluttering as you fight off losing consciousness. He grabs onto you, causing you to flinch even as you're half out of it. That odd burning sensation blooms beneath his ribs again, he grits his teeth. Voice low, hushed even; missing the normal gruff venom. 

"Let's get you inside." 

After that your memories are a blur of warmth and a soft crimson gaze that holds with it malice towards someone unknown.  

As you lie on his couch flickering in and out like a dying flame he debates with himself. Wondering if he should take you out of those clothes, well what is left or them, that are covered in blood and possibly vomit.

But what he cannot fathom is how you a high ranking villain, probably the top female villain who has eluded him for months could end up like this. 

He has seen your power, the grace in which you hold yourself and the feats you have done. And he's been dying to turn you in since the first time you punched him in the solar plexus. 

As he crimson eyes linger over your frame he feels that way now, as you had delivered a well placed blow as he studies the bruises in the low light.  

He decides he should at least rinse you off. You're awake enough to cling to him as he gently guides you to theshower, cranking it high enough it could scald but he knows you need it. Still you sway on your feet, shaking as he slowly removes your ripped hoodie leaving your breasts exposed to the steamy air and your worst enemy Bakugou. 

But he hardly notices the way your tits sit or the color of your nipples, all he can see are the scratches and bruising. Unzipping your skirt with care you didn't know he possessed to reveal a pair of ragged tights with a hole ripped between your legs. Disgust fights to rise up his throat with a shout that he swallows down as he slowly removes them and your torn pair of underwear. You're shaking harder now as he pauses to collect himself, getting his teeth as he stares down black bruises on your inner thighs. He lets out a rush of air through his nose before he gently guides your bare feet to the cool tiled floor. He gestures to the shower trying to give you some privacy but suddenly you cling to him.  

"Fifth floor. 5c. Fifth floor. 5C." You murmur fisting his shirt as you look up at him. He can tell that you're frustrated, fighting through the haze of whatever has you under the influence but all you can force Your or remember is his apartment number. Your broken voice echoes through his head as he stares down at you.  

"I didn't know where else to go."

So you, a highly wanted criminal, showed up at the doorstep of the number one hero, or at least one of the men who owned the title. And the least compassionate one at that. His chest feels odd, as if one of his explosions ruptured a lung or worse as he realizes what that means for you. Usually when someone found themselves at rock bottom they went to someone they knew they could truly trust but you, you had no one to turn to? 

Just someone you avoided, half attempted to kill and vice versa. He was your last stitch effort.

"P...please���."A tremor runs through you before he quickly scoops you up to set you on the counter of the vanity. He removes his shirt with a grimace before shoving himself free of his shorts and boxers. Gently guiding you to your feet as his callused hands held onto yours. He hadn't realized that how much he dwarfed you until now. Especially now, his stomach churning as he realizes just how fragile people can be. 

He hates seeing fragility on you. He places you beneath the stream, grabbing onto something hidden beneath the vanity. The small set of women's toiletries his mother had given him for "just in case", silently and reluctantly he thanked that stubborn hag. 

He offers you a bottle and when it is evident that your mind is lightyears away he sighs deeply, lathering his hands in flowery body wash. He holds his broad hand out to you and you grant him silent permission as you offer him your wrist. Hands sweeping up your arms, over your shoulders and pausing for a moment, unsure if he should touch your chest although you desperately needed it. Another tremor moves through you as you guide his hand down, resting it over your heart. His jaw tics as he feels how rapidly it is beating, a combination of substance abuse and whatever the hell just happened to you.  Still your eyes linger on his body wash and your mind wanders aloud. 

"I thought you smelt like caramel because of your body wash." Voice barely there when you were normally boisterous. Instead you notice that the spicy smell comes from his soap, the burning sugar was all him. You had smelt it moments after entering his home. He says nothing, not that you wanted him to reply. You move his hands to give him permission to care for you before going numb. 

Totally numb to the water and his touch, although it is much more comforting than the last set of hands that touched you. 

Your vision blurs, the tears fall silently and he allows you to grieve before your mind goes numb again. 

"Fifth floor." You whisper, voice breaking as if you bore bad news. He washes your hair and conditions it as best he can as he watches your mind begin to slip. A surprisingly plush towel caresses over your skin as Bakugou pats you down gently. Making sure you are dry before he moves to your hair,  squeezing the water from it softly. Finally he is done, scooping you to him, princess style, before he decides you're going to stay here tonight. 

He takes you to his room, setting you on the edge of his bed, forcing you to sit for now. He throws on a pair of boxers before he rummages through his closet to find an old pair of basketball shorts and a long sleeved shirt.

"Arms up." A gruff voice pulls you closer to the living and you obey. Arms burning as you lift them into the air only for comfort to envelop you. 

"Step into these." Bakugou growls as he is bent over with the shorts held firmly in his hands. You nod furiously, sliding off the side of the bed to allow your feet to fall into the holes. One hand steadying yourself on a broad back. 

"Strong." You whisper, patting him gently before he comes up, he hates how your breathing hitches, coming in short bursts now that he is full height. You even push away from him a bit before your glazed over eyes register that it is only him. 

"5C." You mumble, touching his chest and he nods, fingers gripping onto yours. Katsuki eases you into the bed and wrapes you in his comforter. It's large and warm, reminding you of strong arms eveloping you. You deeply inhale the dark fabric and it smells godly. Like caramel, a burning sparkler and a spice you can't place, your eyelids become heavier. Just as he is about to walk away your eyes snap open, chest heaving as the night tries to return. 

"FIFTH FUCKING FLOOR!" You shout, grabbing onto that callused hand that soothed the rage, the raw fear and the utter self loathing from something you couldn't control. Could never dream that it could have happened to you.

But it did.

The same fucking hand that kept you from shattering, at least for the time being. 

"I'm here. I'm right here." He coos in a husky tone, hand smoothing down your damp hair. He squeezes your hand tightly and like a switch you go limp, all but your death grip on him as you fall into a deep sleep.

He stands there until your breathing is even, turning the lights down low but not completely off as he leaves the door to his bedroom ajar. 

Angrily he searches for his phone with an idea in mind. A threat turned promise, that he repeats to himself over and over again.

When he finds out who did this to you, he was going to kill them. No questions asked, no second thoughts. Wholeheartedly he was going to commit murder for what they had done to you and what will continue to haunt you for years to come. 

Finally he finds his phone and dials one of the few numbers he knows by heart. The recipient answers after the third ring. 

"Oi, Deku, remember that favor you owe me? I think it's time I fucking cashed it in." 

[topsytervy]

Good Night ~ Rafe Cameron

Ahaha I did a Part 3 to goodbye. It kind of got a little dicey at the end but it’s chill. You can read Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

Blurb: You and Rafe go out for some drinks and I don’t know what else to say.

Word Count: 3,323

Warnings: swearing, mentions of drinking, grammar/spelling mistakes, I think that’s it

~~~~~~

Rafe smiled as he unlocked the door to his apartment and walked in, closing the door behind him as he placed his keys in the little dish on the counter.

He walked further into his apartment, taking off his coat and placing it on the back of a chair before walking down the hall to his bedroom to change into pajamas. He flopped down on his bed and stared at the ceiling as a smile crept onto his face. 

He let out a breathy laugh as he ran his hands over his face as he thought about his day with you in the car. It was a dream come true to have alone time with you after all these years. All he wanted was 5 minutes with you and he got 8 hours instead.

His phone vibrated on his nightstand and he reached over, grabbing it and unlocking it before his grin grew.

My plans for tomorrow fell through and I don't work the day after, so drinks tomorrow night?

Rafe looked up towards his ceiling. "I'm starting to think you exist, big guy." 

Yeah. I'll pick you up at 7?

I'll see you then.

Rafe set his phone back on the nightstand and positioned himself under the covers, closing his eyes as he thought about your conversation when he dropped you off.

Rafe held open the door to your apartment complex for you before walking in behind you.

"Thank you," you smiled as you began your journey up the stairs to your apartment.

Rafe stood at the bottom of the steps and pointed to the elevator. "Why are we not using the elevator?" He asked.

"I got stuck in one a few years back and I decided that I'm staying far away from those things for the rest of my life." You shrugged. Rafe chuckled lightly and took his first step up. You looked back at him with a grin. "Hope you plan on skipping leg day cause I'm up on floor six."

Rafe waved his hand, dismissing your sentence. "Please, this will be a cinch."

Halfway up, Rafe looked over at you as he heard the slight panting coming from you. His lips formed into a smirk as he spoke. "Are you okay over there?"

You nodded. "Peachy."

"Mhm,"

"What?"

"Oh, nothing." He shrugged.

You rolled your eyes as you two continued up the stairs, Rafe offering to carry you the rest of the way but you denied his offer. 

Rafe watched as you brought your tired feet up the last step, opening the door that separated the stairwell from the hallway of apartment doors.

You led the way to your apartment door and pulled out your key, shoving it into the lock. "Thanks for letting me ride with you. It was way better than the ride with Kie, JJ, and Pope." You glanced at him as you turned the key.

"It's no problem. I enjoyed the company." Rafe leaned against the wall, praying his voice wouldn't waver at his next sentence. "So, you wanna go out tomorrow night? Hit the town or whatever?"

Even though he knew that you two were on alright terms now, after all the car ride was filled with catching up and bad karaoke, there was still a part of his mind that was nervous. 

Nervous that you would tell him that, as fun as the last two days were, you couldn't see yourselves being more than civil acquaintances. Nervous that you'd say, 'yes, as long as the guy I've been seeing in secret for the past month can join us'. Nervous that you'd say 'let me check my schedule and I'll let you know’, but then ghost him.

Nervous that he would have to watch you walk out of his life again.

"I kind of already have a prior commitment to tomorrow," You told him before reaching into your bag and pulling out your phone, "but I'll let you know when I can squeeze in some time for you when I check my work schedule." You smiled as you extended your unlocked phone to Rafe.

"You promise?" Rafe asked as he hesitantly took your phone. 

This was the beginning of one of his scenarios he created in his mind and not one of the ones that ended with you two saying 'I do'.

You shot Rafe a look. "Rafe, you and I both know that I wouldn't be looking this calm and collected if I was lying to you. I'd be a stuttering, panicking mess."

Rafe chuckled lightly at the truthful statement of your terrible lying as he began putting in his number under his name before texting himself a ‘hi��� so he'd have your number. 

He handed your phone back to you with a grin. "To be fair, you were a stuttering, panicking mess when we first met, Y/N/N, and all you were saying was hello."

You blushed profusely at the memory of you being nervous as hell when you met Rafe for the first time and Rafe wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around you and tease you about the sudden redness on your cheeks like he used to do whenever you blushed.

But instead, he just added, "Don't worry. You were a cute stuttering, panicking mess," before he walked back towards the stairwell.

As Rafe slipped off into dreamland, you stayed awake, waiting for your kettle to go off so you could make your tea.

You grabbed your phone and unlocked it, Rafe’s contact staring back at you. You clicked edit and erased his name before typing out his new name.

Bub

You smiled slightly at the familiar nickname from years ago and hit save before opening Spotify. You went to click on your liked songs before remembering something from the car ride with Rafe and went to the search bar, typing in Rafe’s Spotify name that you still had memorized.

"You're music is so fucking basic, Rafe." You laughed as you once again listened to some random pop song that you had already heard way too many times on the radio.

Rafe shook his head. “My music is not basic. I just have different playlists with different genres. It’s called being organized Y/L/N.” He answered with a grin.

“Really?” You raised an eyebrow,

Rafe nodded. “Mhm. If I’m in the mood for rap, I have my rap playlist. If I want alternative, I have my alternative playlist. And so on.”

“Mind if I look through and choose one?” You asked. 

Rafe grabbed his phone from his hoodie pocket and unlocked it with his fingerprint before handing it over to you. You found Spotify and clicked it open, going to his playlists. You were going to click on his alternative playlist but another one caught your eye.

My Girl’s Favorites.

You glanced over at Rafe. 

“My girl’s favorites?” 

“Hmm?” He glanced over at you and you turned the screen to him. “Oh. Guess I never deleted that one.”

“Oh. You want me to delete it for you so you don’t have to remember her?” You clicked on the playlist and went to click on the three dots but Rafe spoke up.

“No!” His hand reached out and he placed a hand on your forearm to stop you. You turned to look at him and moved your finger away from the dots. “That’s… that’s your playlist. It’s probably a little outdated considering it’s been five years but… yeah. That should be all your favorites from when you were 16.” He admitted, glancing out his window before turning his attention back to the road ahead of him.

You bit your lip before clicking play on the playlist, gasping when Mr.Brightside came on first.

Rafe looked over at you and smiled as you immediately went to turn up the volume before beginning to yell the lyrics as you scrolled through all the songs that were apparently your favorites back in high school.

“This is going to be one hell of a trip down memory lane.” You commented as your eyes widened at some of the songs that you had forgotten about.

Rafe nodded. “Oh yeah. You’re in for a treat.” You glanced at him and you saw his cheeks redden slightly. “I have, on occasion, listened to it.”

You smiled and thought about Rafe listening to all of your old favorites while he was alone. If you were being honest, you still had a playlist of Rafe’s favorites that you found yourself putting on from time to time. 

You smiled as you found the playlist of your high school favorites and clicked on it, playing the music that brought back so many memories. The kettle began to whistle and you quickly turned off the heat and removed it from the burner, pouring the water into your mug that already had a teabag in it.

You grabbed your phone and your tea, heading off into your bedroom so you could begin your nightly hour of coloring to help you unwind before bed.

******

When you and Rafe pulled up at the club at 8 the next night, you got out of the car, shivering slightly in the cold breeze s you waited for Rafe. Once out, he held out his fist. 

“Rack, paper, scissors for designated driver?” 

You waved him off. “I’ll be DD.” You told him and Rafe had a look of confusion on his face. 

“Really? That easy?” 

You shrugged. “I’m used to being DD. I almost always am with the pogues.” You went to grab his keys but he pulled them away.

“Y/N, when’s the last time you got shit-faced?” He asked.

When you didn’t answer, Rafe pocketed his keys. "I’ll be DD tonight. You, my dear, are going to drink to your heart’s content.” 

You ignored the slight flutter your heart did at my dear and went for his pocket to grab his keys. “Seriously, Rafe. It’s not that big of a deal. I don’t want to ruin your fun of getting wasted.”

Rafe grabbed your wrists gently and pushed you away from his body with a small laugh. “I find the thought of you getting wasted way more entertaining.” You shot him a look and he turned you around, pushing you to the back of the small line. “Think of this as your opportunity to let loose and have some fun.”

You rolled your eyes before walking to the back of the line with Rafe behind you.

Two hours had passed since you two entered the club, sitting next to Rafe in a booth in the corner after you two had spent the last twenty minutes dancing. Rafe had two beers the whole night and you… well, Rafe would say you were closer to the shit-faced side of the scale from what he could tell. 

Rafe looked over at you and saw you yawn before picking up your drink and placing the straw in your mouth. Well, attempt to. You missed your mouth a couple of times.

"Alright, sweetheart. I think that is our cue to get you home." He told you, finishing off the beer he'd been nursing for the past 45 minutes.

You whined and grabbed his bicep with your hands. "Rafe, I'm not tired." You finally managed to get the straw into your mouth.

"Oh yeah? That yawn says otherwise. Stay here while I close the tab." He slipped out of the booth and walked over to the bar. 

After getting the bartender's attention and letting him know he was closing the tab, he glanced over at you, smiling as he watched you finish off your drink. He narrowed his eyes as he saw a dude slide into the booth next to you, a smile on his face as he reached over and touched your hand, saying something. Rafe watched you take the straw out of your mouth and respond with a shake of your head as you slowly slid out of your seat, placing your glass on the table as you said something back to him.

Rafe looked back at the bartender who tapped his shoulder and took his card back with a thanks before making his way back to you quickly.

"Rafe!" You cheered, throwing your arms around his neck. 

Throughout the night, he noticed how with each drink you got touchier and more affectionate. Not that he minded, of course, but the sudden movement took him off guard for a second before he slid his arms around your waist to keep you from tipping over.

Okay, half to keep you from tipping over, half because he wanted to.

But, you know, tomato, tomato.

"Hey, Ready to go?" He grinned, his eyes shifting from you to the guy who was now standing behind you. 

You nodded your head and you took your arms from his neck, heading towards the door as Rafe’s hand found its home on the small of your back. Rafe led you outside and to his car, opening the passenger door for you. The sleepiness seemed to finally be hitting you now that you were away from the crowd and loud music, the quiet night taking over instead as you yawned once more. Rafe opened the door for you and you whispered a quick thanks before climbing in.

“Can you buckle yourself in?” 

You nodded as you reached for the seatbelt. "Tonight was fun Rafe." You told him quietly as he watched you struggle to grab it.

Rafe smiled. "Yeah, it was." He grabbed the seatbelt and handed it to you, causing you to smile back and click it into place as he shut your door.

He walked over to the driver’s side and slid into the seat, shoving the key into the ignition before turning it and starting the car.

The ride was quiet except for the radio and when Rafe glanced over at you about halfway to your place, you were fast asleep, head resting against the window. 

When he pulled up to your apartment building, he decided against waking you up, cause what kind of a gentleman would he be if he woke a princess from her slumber just so she had to walk up six flights of stairs while drunk to her apartment, and got out of the car.

He opened your door just enough to slip his hand inside and place his hand between your head and the window before opening the door all the way. He reached over your body and clicked the button to unlatch the seatbelt. 

You stirred slightly as you groaned and Rafe looked at you the seatbelt retracted.

“It’s just me, Y/N.” He whispered, grabbing your wrists and throwing your arms around his neck.

You tightened your grip around his neck as you wrapped your legs around his waist, his hands going to the bottom of your thighs. 

“Watch your head,” He told you as he pulled you out of the car.

You tucked your face into the crook of his neck as he shut the door, beginning the journey to your apartment.

You sniffed as Rafe started up the first flight of stairs, causing one of Rafe’s hands to go to your back, rubbing your back softly.

“You okay?” 

“No.”

Rafe’s face fell at your answer. “Why?”

“Because I lied to you.” You murmured into his neck.

“Oh?”

“I never got stuck in the elevator. I made that up so I could spend a few more minutes with you.” You murmured into his neck.

Rafe felt a smile creep onto his face. “Yeah?”

He felt you nod and he chuckled. “You could’ve just invited me in for tea or something, you know?”

“My plans didn’t fall through either. I canceled them. It was a tinder date but you’re way more interesting than that guy.”

“Oh really?" He smirked, his ego slightly boosted over the fact that you chose him over some random guy.

"Mhm. I blocked him too."

"That’s nice, Y/N/N." His smirk turning into a grin. "Are you gonna delete the app entirely?"

You shrugged. "Maybe." You sighed, one of your hands beginning to play with his hair. 

The rest of the trip upstairs was quiet, Rafe hoping you didn’t fall back asleep when he came face to face with your door.

"Where are your keys?" He whispered, just in case you had actually fallen asleep.

You dug into your bag and grabbed the keys, handing them to the man without taking your face from his neck.

You kissed his cheek as he unlocked your door and opened it before setting you down.

"Do you wanna stay? It's late and I don't think you should drive anymore." You stared at him.

Rafe shoved his hands into the pockets. "Uh...yeah. Sure. Someone's gotta take care of you, right?"

You smiled as you grabbed his arm and dragged him inside, closing the door behind him. You lead him into your room and handed him a sweatshirt and a pair of sweatpants you never got around to returning to him before directing him to the bathroom.

You climbed into bed after getting dressed and Rafe came back into your bedroom, placing a bucket on your side of the bed. 

"Just in case you have to throw up during the night." He told you, knowing you rarely ever made it to the bathroom.

You once threw up in an empty cooler once cause you couldn't make it to the trash can that was 5 feet away but that’s a different story.

You smiled and he turned to walk away but you grabbed his wrist. He turned to look at you and you opened your arms. "Come cuddle with me?" 

Rafe smiled. "Are you sure?"

You pouted at him and patted the spot next to you. Rafe climbed into your bed, opening his arms and you rolled into his side, your head resting on his chest.

"I missed this a lot." You sighed, inhaling his scent.

"Me too, Y/N. Me too." Rafe kissed the top of your head.

You looked up at him before placing your lips on his softly. Rafe smiled as he kissed you back before pulling away after a couple of seconds.

"Go to sleep now. We'll talk in the morning." He whispered, his thumb rubbing circles on your side.

"Okay, but Rafe, you should know something else I lied about." Rafe looked down at you, waiting for what you were about to say. "I'm not that drunk." You shrugged, a small smile on your face.

Rafe stared at you.  "I carried you up the stairs for no reason? Six fights of stairs when I could've taken the elevator or you could've walked them yourself?" Rafe shook his head. “Did you use the five years to work on your lying?”

You let out a small laugh at his words. "You should've known I'm not a lightweight. I mean, JJ is one of my best friends. We didn’t even have that many drinks tonight."

Rafe shook his head at you again with a tsk. "I know your mom didn't raise you as a liar. I'm going to have to call her and tell her her daughter has been lying to me."

"But it was to spend more time with you." You grinned as you took your finger and booped his nose.

He took an arm from your waist and grabbed your wrist gently, kissing your hand. "I mean, I guess I can forgive you if that’s your reason." He smiled. 

"That is my reason." You giggled.

Rafe squeezed your side. "Then I guess you're forgiven then, sweetheart."

You threw your leg over his and closed your eyes, your arm resting across his abdomen. "That’s good to know. I can go to sleep now without worrying about you being mad at me." You hummed. "Goodnight, bubs."

Rafe grinned, kissing the top of your head once more before closing his own eyes. "Goodnight, baby."

~~~~~~~

[qianoir]

After Midnight 3 - Stars

𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: college dropout!Ten (WayV) x fem!reader

𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: non-idol au, angst with fluff on top

𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 13+

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: cursing (censored), lying, family problems, mentions death of reader's father, romance

♡ 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 1.9K

𝐓𝐚𝐠 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐭: @staysstrays

Preview < 1 < 2 < 3

Your head was pounding from your ears drinking in the tantrum of a 3 year old boy, the cries diving straight into your ringing eardrums. A young couple showed up with their child who started offing himself about your café not having some made up hybrid cake he wanted for the last 10 minutes.

The boy started flailing around and knocked his mother's iced Americano out of her hand in the process, landing the freezing and pungent liquid all over you.

The LED clock above you flickered with a new hour, freeing you from the café’s dark roasted chains. You ripped the soaked apron over your head and stuffed it into the back room’s washing machine before taking hold of your belongings and rushing out of the building after saying a quick “good-bye” to your mother- who was not about to deal with the coddled boy and you leaving all at once, so she kicked the spoiled family out, them following your irritated trail on the way through the doors.

You were walking fast to have a little costume change before meeting up with Ten and his friends, 5 o’clock coming within the next 20 minutes.

Y/N

Heyyo I had a little accident at work so I'm going to stop by my place to clean up before heading over to yours.

Once you were in your own space, you peeled the rest of the coffee soaked clothing off of your body, sticking the wet collection into the washer to cold soak after dressing up nicely.

TEN

d.amn it y/n you are too old to be soiling yourself

???

Y/N

That’s not what I meant!

TEN

Whatever ;p

Stepping out into the bright evening air, you realized you don't even know where the hell to go. The napkin with the address was in the pocket of your apron washing back at the café.

You recognized the street that leads to Décalcomanie, the street that leads to Myeongdong, and one leading to a duck shop.

Admitting defeat, you texted Ten.

Y/N

hey so I left the napkin with your address in my apron.. which I don't have would you mind sending it to me?

TEN

such a handful~

You followed the GPS to his address. His apartment building was on the other side of your school you usually metro to, so it was a pretty tiring walk. Arriving fashionably late, you knocked on door number 117.

There was a lot of commotion and screaming, as you were previously informed. Finally, Ten opened the door and waved for you to come in.

Taking your shoes off at the entrance, you saw three guys tackling each other, two others playing video games, and one really fine looking man behind an island in the kitchen.

"Hello!!" One of the guys being tackled shouted and waved at you which got him punched in the back by the guy orchestrating the tackling. You hesitantly waved back "Hi Y/N!!" The boy in the kitchen said with a charming smile.

"Lovely place." You said to Ten with a giggle as he closed the door with an annoyed look on his face. "Y/N, these are my friends,"

He took you over to the couch where the two players were. "This is Sicheng and Xuxi," The two boys playing Mario Kart threw a glance your way and waved with a smile. "these fools are Hendery, Xiaojun, and Yangyang.."

Hendery strained to wave again under the two boys with a big smile on his face, as did the two others. Ten swayed you into the kitchen and introduced you to the last man. This guy was so handsome, like the Asian bachelor. "I'm Kun." The man greeted, kindly.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Y/N. Our Ten always talks about you." Yangyang says walking towards you two. Ten sent him a glare. "Is that so?"

"At least I'm not blind from having my head up my ass all day, Yangyang shut up!" His voice cracked, making you and Yangyang erupt in laughter.

"Anyways, if you'll excuse us- I invited Y/N here for us to be alone." He took your wrist in his grasp and led you to a room.

Ten pet a space on the bed for you to sit down while he leaned over his desk, searching on his laptop. A slow beat filled the room. You recognized this song- the song your dad would play for your mom in the car on long road trips: Something by The Beatles.

Something in the way she moves

attracts me like no other lover

Something in her style that shows me

I don’t want to leave her now

you know I believe and how.

Your parents were so in love. When your father first heard this song, he had made it their special theme to portray their love. They had both become big fans of The Beatles and always had this song pop up at least once in every holiday or event playlist or could be caught quoting it occasionally when the timing was right. Your heart sank in your chest at the memory.

You hadn't realized that the song had ended or that Ten was at your side watching you intently. You looked up at him and he offered a small smile.

"My parents used to listen to this song all the time."

"Really? Are you guys close?"

Your mouth felt sour hearing the inevitable question. “My dad died from pneumonia when I was younger. My mom tries to be present for me, but I know she misses him.” Tears puddled at your waterline as you forced yourself not to cry. “Sometimes I think she only keeps trying because she thinks I’m studying premed when I really hide pointe shoes in my closet. I don’t have the heart to tell her what I’m really majoring in.. because I’m terrified of us losing each other completely and frankly, she would never forgive me of my dishonesty if she would stay.”

"It's not wrong.. following your passion" Ten announced after a whole note of silence, "I'm sorry for making you bring up such a past, but I’m happy I can at least sympathize with you..” He looked away from you to recall his memories clearly.

“My parents didn't agree with me wanting to study dance either. And they certainly did not agree with me leaving my hometown in Thailand and dropping out of college to come here for the best art opportunities. Mine and the rest of the guys outside; all of us are a little more distant from our family than usual just because we are passionate." Ten confessed.

"I'm sorry." You weakly rasped.

"I'm not." Ten smiled at you.

"My friends and I are doing what we love without anyone holding us back and one day it's going to all pay off.. I know it will.. If it wouldn't I would have never dropped out."

You could understand where he was coming from. He is really passionate and faithful to his dreams, it is a little inspiring.

"And you seem to be doing good on your own, too. You're studying dance, which I'm sure you're amazing at, and working at the café to help your mom, letting people make a mess of you that you always undoubtedly pick yourself up from." You laughed, the sad tears rolling down your cheeks and turning to bittersweet tears of joy.

"Thank you, Ten."

"Anytime, Y/N." He handed you a napkin for your eyes.

A cough was heard outside the closed door, along with faint whispers.

"Lucas, shut the HELL up!"

Ten got up and opened the door, making four boys come tumbling inside the room.

All rushing to get up, Lucas stayed laying on the floor, "Uh, hi guys." he offered a charming smile. "We were just coming to tell you that dinner is ready?" Yangyang shrugged obviously.

Ten snickered.

"Nice try, guys-"

"Dinner is ready!" Kun yelled from the kitchen.

"What did I tell you?" Yangyang stuck out his tongue, cockily. Ten rolled his eyes and looked over at you,

"Would you like to stay for dinner?"

"Uhm-"

"She is staying, I already made her a plate!" Kun yelled once again from the kitchen. The other boys ran out of the doorway to the kitchen.

"I guess it's settled then..." Ten sighed and reached his hand out to you, which you took. You were led into the dining room where the other boys sat. Ten placed you in a chair next to his and Kun’s.

Kun had made zhajiangmian, a Chinese traditional celebration/comfort food aka Chinese spaghetti. It tasted so much better than the bread pastries and milk teas you had been living off of in the past year.

Everyone was very talkative during dinner, you even found out that Ten choreographs his own dances for himself and the others to perform and learned that Kun has a degree in music from a prestigious university in Beijing. The boys you had dinner with were really fun to be around and gave you lots of energy after the intricate start to the new semester.

You didn't realize how lonely your little apartment was until now, even when sharing it with your mother most nights. They made you feel so comfortable and content after lacking companionship since your high school days. Also the food was really good, thanks to Kun.

Everybody finished their food but still continued the little chat at the dinner table "And this one time, Ten ate butter thinking it was ice cream! Who does that!?" Yangyang finished off his story punching the table with laughter.

You glanced at the time on your phone. It was almost 10 o'clock and you had to get to sleep early for your new 8 AM class.

Ten turned to you when he felt short tugs at his hoodie. "Cinderella has to get home?"

The room got quiet with Ten’s words, but quickly exploded in a swarm of whines and begs for you to stay. You gave them an apologetic smile.

Ten stood up, pulling me with him, "I'll walk you home." He was already at the door, kicking on his shoes. Everyone bid you good-bye as you waved to all of them before you and Ten were out the door.

"It's this way." You motioned in the direction of your apartments. Ten nodded and followed your path. It was silent the whole way, but it was a nice silence. It was peaceful with just you two. Arriving soon, you  stopped in front of the entrance and turned around to look at Ten.

"Thank you for having me over, I really enjoyed it. Your friends are really nice."

"Of course. I’m really glad you came. I like spending time with you and I think my friends do as well."

Smiles were exchanged and hearts skipped, both of your breathing patterns were evident in each other’s dialogue. "Do you have any last lyrics before we end the night?"

Your building never shines like the others in its distance. The only light around you is the one that blooms in space and allows the stars to twinkle down to where you stand. Ten took your chin is his hand and created perfect eye contact:

"Look at the stars. Look how they shine for you. And all the things that you do.”

He tossed your chin up before walking off into the night.

To Be Continued…

Something by The Beatles

Yellow by Coldplay

𝘲𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘪𝘳

[karasunology]

❝ WHY ARE YOU SO JEALOUS?❞ with BOKUTO KOUTARO !

✎ . . . could i request from the prompt list no. 8 ("why are you so jealous?) with bokuto. where bokuto (your best friend for years now) is bothered by you showing interest in akaashi (you like akaashi basically).

❝ ― submitted by @momoinot <33 ❞

-ˏˋ ➶ character(s) ━ akaashi keiji & bokuto koutaro <3

-ˏˋ ✉️ REQUESTS ARE ALWAYS OPEN.

⇣ please read the RULES before requesting.

✎ . . . PROMPT LIST YOU COULD REQUEST FROM. PROMPT LIST O1 | PROMPT LIST O2 | PROMPT LIST O3

[ BEFORE REQUESTING, PLEASE SPECIFY WHAT PROMPT LIST YOU REQUESTED FROM. ]

[ ♡ ] THIS WAS A LONG ONE, wrote this a few days ago so i think it's time for it to shine as a little 500 followers special, thank you all once again for all the congratulations !! <33

BOKUTO KOUTARO.

➜ you first met bokuto under the gym lights; it was when he was about to practice his spikes for a bit more but the boys' gym was closed earlier than he expected, so he decided to use the other gym where the girls' gym resided ─ finding himself staring at you trying to get the ball up with your fingers

➜ accidentally setting the ball with a slippy swerve, it's direction did a 180° as it heads to a different direction where you were supposed to send to, his direction actually.

➜ quick to noticed the ball coming to him, he received it with ease as he sends it back to you, expecting you to stop it with your hands, but instead you continued to pass the ball back to him.

“ isn't it too late for you to still be at school? ” he questioned, as he received the ball, sending it your way as you did the same.

“ well look who's talking, ” you playfully scoffed, your eyes never leaving the ball.

“ you're right, i'm bokuto by the way! future ace of fukurodani. ” you rose an eyebrow at him, amused by his honestly. wasn't fukurodani a powerhouse? you wondered.

“ really? good for you i guess, i haven't even though of a high school yet. ” you continued to pass it to him, but you decided to test his speed as you directed it to a different direction from where he was.

“ y/n, by the way. ” you spoke once again when he sucessfully received it but with the side of his head, laughing while you tried to get it up back for him.

“ huh, maybe you should join me in fukurodani! they also have a volleyball club for girls too. ” he grinned, as he managed to send the ball flying off a different direction with his unexpected spike, with you failing to get it up ─ falling down to the ground while scratching your knee simultaneously.

“ hey, hey, he ─ aGH are YOU ALRIGHT ??” he interrupted himself as he saw the small wound in your knee.

➜ he was shockingly fast to understand the situation, running out the gym doors, leaving you to wonder where tf this boy went.

➜ but your question was soon answered when a sweaty bokuto came back with an emergency kit for injuries.

➜ kneeling down to your level, he examined the wound as he first disinfected it.

“ i'm so sorry, i never meant to make you fall and scrape your knee. ” he profously apologized as he didn't realized how kinda rough he was with disinfecting your wound, bringing him back to reality when you hissed in pain.

“ oH NO I'M SO SORRY PLEASE DON'T DIE ─ ”

➜ your weird tight-knit friendship started off with that, and before you even knew it you guys were inseperable, with you also coming along with him to fukurodani.

➜ he was a good best friend, would always but if not, every other day, have lunch with you. visits your house every week, with both your parents already adoring him their heart was filled to the brim with their love for him. always somehow, and surprisingly good at advices and would always help you out with personal problems.

➜ though he had other best friends, you were the only female best friend he has, sometimes rubbing the people the wrong way as most initially got the impression of you guys being a thing.

➜ if i said that you didn't develope a small crush on him before, i would have been lying.

➜ it first appeared in your first year of high school, with your hormones rising ─ you dismissed it as a small crush, thinking that it was the hormones acting up because he was your only close guy best friend.

➜ and just like you expected, it went away after a few months and by second year you decided to start dating and seeing other people ─ sadly making you drift away a bit from bokuto as both of you were busy with other things.

➜ but what you didn't expect was to have it reappear on your third year of high school, but maybe this time you didn't want it to go away.

➜ the pounding in your heart, it's lovesick rhythm remained echoing through the most unfortunate times where you didn't want them to appear.

➜ like that one time where you were eating lunch with him and akaashi & he just fucking  l i c k s  his lips

➜ you're like : OH I'LL GIVE YOU A REASON TO LICK YOUR LIPS

➜ um ,, chile😳

➜ speaking of akaashi, you were actually interested in him the first time bokuto has mentioned him, saying how he was a pretty boy and how good he was at remaining calm and collected ─ needless to say, you were quite interested in him.

➜ and you even asked bokuto for his number, unaware of his change in demeanor, flicking his gaze away from yours as he merely just nodded at your request.

➜ but despite how small that reaction was, it impacted his whole behaviour towards you; the way he would always try and leave the both of you together, saying that he forgot his lunch and he wasn't hungry etc. but it just felt forced, forced in a way that while pushing both you and akaashi together ─ it was as if bokuto was pushing away his feelings for you along with it.

➜ you and akaashi went on a small date of sort, suggested by bokuto once again. but after getting to knew each other a bit more, he seemed more like a little brother to you at most.

➜ you guys quit attempting to see each other because it just felt too unnatural for the both of you, but your friendship with him grew. though, it left a different impression on bokuto.

➜ in the middle of whatever was going on with the three of you, you once again drifited away from him. but this time, it was intentional.

➜ akaashi noticed how the both of you would often try and avoid topics about each other ans would now barely be seen with each other; unlike before, when you were always seen together ─ and it felt weird, and once again unnatural. for everyone, and not just for the three of you.

➜ akaashi, being so tired of seeing the both of you being dumb and in despair and actually being practical, he decided to talk to bokuto about it.

➜ and by the time he got bokuto to listen to him, the ace was already a pouty mess knowing fully well that akaashi wasn't lying.

“ okay, okay, fine; i'll go talk to her. ” bokuto grumbled as he finally complied.

“ promise? ” akaashi narrowed his eyes at his captain.

“ prom, ” bokuto replied.

“ prom . . ? ” he jerked his eyebrow up, trying to prepare himself on what bokuto was going to say.

“ half a promise ─ ”

“ ─ bokuto-san. ” the authoritive and premonition in the usual calm setter's voice sent shivers crawl up the third year's spine.

“ alright, ” bokuto's hair deflaited

“ i saw her in the girls' volleyball club gym by the way. ” and before the second year could give his goodluck to him, the captain was already heading to where the other gym was located

➜ it was getting late already, since both teams were practicing later than usual for the upcoming nationals; and bokuto once again saw you under the gym lights.

➜ as he found himself staring at you trying to get the ball up with your fingers as you played alone in the squeaking gym floors.

➜ and just like before, you set a 180° from where it was supposed to go ─ swerving it to his direction as he got it up easily back to you.

➜ expecting you to spike it back at him for avoiding you; you instead sent it back towards him.

➜ a weird sense of deja vu overwhelming him

“ you're still bad at setting i see. ”

“ isn't it too late for you to be here, bokuto? ” you asked, as you received the ball he returned back to you.

“ we're practicing for nationals. ” he answered

“ oh, right. ” the awkward tension settled down between the two of you.

➜ and before you knew it, you set a ball away from where he was located as he chased back the ball before accidentally and unconciously spiking at you which hit you hard.

➜ acting from his instincts, he went to get packed ice from the nurse's office near the gym. before settling down in the ground as he kneeled to your body sitting down on the floor.

“ tell me where does it hurt? ” you pointed at the obvious growing bump in your head.

“ ah, shit ─ i'm so sorry. ” he said as he cooled your bump.

“ for avoiding me or for accidentally hitting me . . ? ” you joked, laughing before wincing at the pain from your head.

➜ bokuto blinked his eyes trying to process what you just said as he once again, turned ito a flustered apologizing mess and awfully guilty.

“ both, ” he squinted his eyes, glaring at the swelling bump in your head.

“ it's just that, you were hanging around akaashi too much and i guess ─ ”

“ ─ excuse me? but you were the one that keeps setting us up and leaving us alone ! ” you nearly shouted at him

“ w ─ well, you did say you were interested in him. ”

➜ BB BOY WAS LIKE : i'm sowrry 🥺👉👈😔

“ why are you so jealous anyway? you're still my best friend and nothing could change that. ” as much as it hurts you.

“ but that's why! i don't wanna remain as just a best friend of yours i ─ ” he stopped himself, “ nevermind, i'm sorry i just ─ god i can't do anything right ─ ”

➜ you've gotten too annoyed with him, and just wanted to shut him tf up because now your thoughts are all jumbled up. but what better way to shut him up other than interrupting him with a kiss??

➜ the kiss was long, burning and too slow ─ conveying the mutual longing of each other through desperate lips, molding together. heated; in terms of pent up feelings and flustrations and getting too caught up for the moment.

➜ it was a breathtaking kiss, one that bokuto didn't wanna pull away from. but despite of his whiney, needy and desperate moans ─ you pulled away, panting.

“ you're . . . ” you started off, seeing how eager he was to go back to the kiss with a pout resting on his lips.

“ annoying. ” you went to get up from the floor, with bokuto standing as well; but your legs were jelly & along with the throbbing pain in the back of your head, made you fall right back into his arms.

“ am i really though? ”

[lyssismagical]

Boy, I'm so happy, we have been heaven-blessed

Parkner Week Day Eight: “Get some rest tall child” / cuddling / movie nights

 “Babe, babe, babe, babe-”

“Oh my god, what do you want?” Peter says. He sounds annoyed, but Harley knows better. “I’m trying to work, believe it or not.”

“I believe it. You don’t have to convince me on that.” Harley sits up on Peter’s bed, rolling his eyes for the thousandth time since he’d gotten to Peter’s dorm room. “Why am I here when you’re not even paying attention to me? You’re not even looking at me.”

“I don’t have to see you to know you’re pouting like a baby,” Peter mutters, scribbling some more words down into his notebook with his pen. He shoves the pen between his teeth so he could flip through his heavy textbook and try to find a page in the stack next to him.

Harley sighs dramatically. “But I’m your baby, aren’t I? Doesn’t that mean I’m allowed to pout?”

“Stop pouting and stop whining. I’m trying to work, Harls.”

“How do you know I’m pouting if you won’t even look at me?” Harley exclaims, throwing his arms up in frustration. It started out as a game, but now he’s starting to feel a little bit cast aside.

“Are you pouting?”

“…Maybe.”

Peter finally sets down his pen and turns to Harley from his desk, a smile gracing his lips. He looks pretty as always, but Harley can’t help but notice how tired he looks.

“Ned said he was going to move out if he found us in the same bed again,” Peter says instead of acknowledging their entire conversation. “I think he was serious. MJ’s roommate doesn’t live with her anymore.”

Harley rolls his eyes and dramatically flops back onto the bed. “When was the last time we went on an actual date?”

“We went out last weekend, Harley.” Peter’s still smiling, but there’s insecurity shining in his eyes, eyebrows creasing a little more than Harley would like.

“I just miss you.”

“You miss me?” Peter repeats. “Yet you’ve been literally lying a few feet away from me for the past two hours. I’m right here, Harley.”

Harley tips his head to the side, breathing in the soft scent of Peter on the pillow. “But I should be your number one priority.”

“Number one?”

“Mmhm, you’ll never get a catch like me ever again. I’m one of a kind, baby.”

Peter finally gives in and crawls into the bed beside Harley, unceremoniously dropping half onto Harley’s chest. Harley immediately wraps his arms around Peter’s waist, making sure Peter couldn’t leave even if he wanted to. Harley’s getting cuddles for as long as he wants them.

“You have no idea,” Peter mumbles, words muffled by Harley’s sweater.

Harley grins and presses a kiss to Peter’s hair. “I love you.”

“Love you too. Now, get some rest, tall child.”

*

“You know, I thought you were going to murder me when we first met,” Harley says, out of the blue on the next morning. They’re still in bed despite it being way past the appropriate time for sleeping in, even for a weekend. “I literally thought you were going to poison my food or something.”

“What?” Peter says, stifling his laughter. “Why?”

“I don’t know. I thought you’d be as jealous as I was, I just figured you’d act on that jealousy and murder me so you’d be Tony’s only intern.”

This time, Peter does laugh, hiding his flushed face in Harley’s shoulder. “You thought I would get so jealous, I would poison your food? You know how crazy that sounds, right?”

“I thought about killing you. I just knew it was an irrational idea, I didn’t know if you’d think it was irrational too.”

Peter bites on his bottom lip, trying to quiet his laughter. It makes his cheeks puff up a little bit like chipmunks, face rosy and eyes sparkling.

“I can’t believe you thought, even for a moment, that killing me was the appropriate reaction to being jealous.”

“I’m from Tennessee, Peter. Anything goes.”

Peter ducks his head again, muffling his laughter in Harley’s sweater. “That’s- I can’t believe you.”

“Tony thought so too!” Harley exclaims. Peter doesn’t have to see to know Harley’s rolling his eyes. “Maybe not that we’d kill each other, but he thought we’d hate each other.”

“No,” Peter says, voice dropping to a little more serious. “I knew from that first moment I saw you that this was going to be something special.”

Harley smiles, going all soft and mushy in a heartbeat. “I love you like an insane amount. Like I don’t think there’s anything I wouldn’t do if you asked. I’ve never felt like this before, and if I’m being honest, it really scares me sometimes.”

The younger of the two leans up to press a kiss to the older’s jaw. “You don’t have to be scared. I feel the same way, there’s no way I’m breaking your heart. It’s safe with me.”

“I know. Your heart’s safe with me too.”

“Good. Now that we’ve napped and talked, do you think you could let me get back to my homework now? I never got to finish it yesterday thanks to you.”

Harley laughs, relinquishing his grip on his boyfriend’s waist. “I should probably get going anyways. I’ve got a study group in a bit and then I’ve got a few errands to run in the city. Oh, and I think my sister’s calling to make spring break plans this afternoon.”

“You’re spending spring break with your sister?”

“I don’t know if you’ve forgotten but Abbie’s going to UCLA. Her roommate’s boyfriend’s parents are super rich salespeople who are taking the roommate and boyfriend to Europe with them while they’re there for business. Abbie volunteered to housesit and pet-sit. Meaning…”

“Meaning she’s got a huge house to herself in California all week?”

Harley grins. “Precisely. If you want, I was thinking the two of us could crash with her all week. Morgan’s on her break too, and she’s offered to pay to fly us all out.”

“Morgan and Abbie in the same house for a whole week?” Peter repeats, rolling his eyes but the smile doesn’t even falter.

Laughing, Harley finally pulls away from Peter, stretching his arms. “Yeah, it’ll be interesting, for sure… I’ll let you get back to your homework. You want me to swing by again tonight?”

“Please?”

The one thing that’s been weird since they started school is that they have separate rooms. Harley lives on the other side of campus, closer to his own classes, so it’s normally easier for them to spend nights in their own rooms, despite being used to the opposite. Back in high school, May’s apartment was closer to Midtown than the Tower, so Harley would stay with Peter for conveniences sake, and weekends they spent together at the Tower.

Today’s a Saturday, though, so neither of them have obligations tomorrow.

Harley grins, leaning back to press a kiss to Peter’s forehead before he’s tugging on his shoes.

“I’ll stop at mine and grab some clothes and things, and I’ll be over this evening. Six?”

“Sounds good. Movie night?”

Opening up the door, Harley shoots a final smile over his shoulder. “I’ll bring snacks! I love you. See you tonight.”

“I love you too.”

The door shuts behind Harley and Peter falls back into his bed, breathing in the soft smell of Harley, boyish with a hint of the Tennessee smoke that he carries with him, and a bit of the cinnamon body wash he uses. He smiles up at the ceiling, feeling so warm with love and happiness.

* Late that evening, after Peter’s finished his homework from the week and cleaned his room and finished some laundry, after Harley showed up in a flurry of excitement and lit up joy, carrying a shopping bag of snacks for the night along with a few selections from his DVD collection, after they’ve made it through way too many snacks and a few movies, they’re curled up, trying not to fall asleep.

“I wanna marry you one day,” Harley blurts and then he laughs, no awkwardness or worry to it.

“Really?”

“Yeah. I wanna do one of those fancy weddings with all the components like the big, tiered cake, and the expensive suits, and the cute RSVP cards in the mail. Abbie and Morgan could be the flower girls or the ring bearers. Ned and Harry could be our best men and Cassie, MJ, and Gwen could all be our bridesmaids or whatever they’d be. We’d do one of those over-the-top bachelor parties, except we’d do it together because it wouldn’t be as fun to party without you. Tony would have to walk one of us down the aisle because May and Mom would want to do it. Or maybe Tony could officiate. And then we’d get on a plane the next morning for a crazy honeymoon.”

Peter smiles fondly, snuggling closer to his boyfriend and nearly knocking the laptop off their legs. “You’ve really thought about this, huh? Is this your way of proposing?”

“No,” Harley laughs. “I don’t have a ring and I’m going to do it right, when I do. The whole shebang. The expensive dinner, the dramatic speech, maybe I’ll do the stupid ring in the wine or something.”

He shakes his head against Harley’s chest. “I’d accidentally drink it. Don’t do that.”

Harley laughs again, peppering kisses over Peter’s face. “I just really want you to know that this is a forever thing, for me, you know? I want us to be forever. I want us to get engaged, to move in together, to get married, maybe we could think about kids. I’d even go for the white picket fence future if that’s what you wanted.”

“You’re such a sap,” Peter teases before he kisses Harley. “I want that too. Trust me, that’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

Taglist: @littlemissagrafina  @spidey-reids-2003 @romeoandjulietyouwish @c-artara @shadedrose01 @likeaphoenix13 @pj-hermes-tonystark-obsessed  @you-get-killed-walk-it-off @kitkatwinchester  @emo-girl10 @justme--emily  @hold-our-destiny @imalivebecauseirondad @spiderman-peterman @dykeragee @maryserrao @heeeyitskay @parknerandirondad @lilacsandlilies4 {Let me know if you wanna be added or removed}

[iiitsnotbase]

Day 20! Secret Crush!! (And my Birthday!)

[----------------------------------------------------------------------------]

Ship: Benedict x Erica

Prompt: Secret Crush.

Dynamic: Morons in love, secret crush, co workers.

Benedict hurts his ankle.

[----------------------------------------------------------------------------]

Benedict arrived back at the company from his rounds and tripped over the doorstep, just as Erica came in the room with a tray of tea. Upon seeing his stumbling, fumbling mess, she put the tea down and ran to help him. "Here, put your arm around me." She said, and so he did, and they moved, guiding him to a chair and letting him sit for a little bit. "I'll get the first aid kit." She said, but Benedict raised a hand to stop her. "Are you sure?"

"I-I am." He said, wincing as he did it, though it wasn't very convincing. "Come on, Erica, I've been in the army. I've been shot. This is alright. Mild, even. It doesn't hurt." He lied, the pain was there and he knew he had been in more pain but he couldn't- he refused- to remember it. Besides, wearing a few inch high heels was common place for him, and met Erica's eyes. They were so beautiful, like someone had taken the prettiest fire agate in the world and place them there for the view pleasure of everyone. Her hair always looked so soft and whenever she smiled, she always did so softly, like she thought nobody would see her.

When she read a book, she sometimes took a pen and scratched it against the paper, making several notes on it for later, and she'd stick her tongue out as she did it, like if she didn't things wouldn't be able to go the way she wanted. "How's it coming?" She asked him. "The treatment. We're together we might as well talk." She referenced the anti-amnesia (whatever that meant, anyway,) and physical therapy Benedict was going through. One was to get his memories back and the other was because he got shot while defending Violet.

"They keep giving me images of old houses that got bombed out, trying to trigger my memory's back or something. But I don't think I lived in Liden, Erica. I lived somewhere else." He groaned and put his head in his hands, and Erica patted him gently on the head. "Huh?"

"I know that it might be scary and confusing now, and it might be scary and confusing for a while." She began, and took a deep breath in, "I don't know who my family are either. So I understand." Benedict looked up.

"I had no idea." He said, and she shrugged.

"Well, I never speak that much so you wouldn't know. How's your ankle?" She asked, and Benedict took off both his shoes, so he didn't run the risk of falling over and killing his ankles even more than he did already. The ankle he'd gone over on was a little bruised, but he felt fine.

"I'll walk the rest of the way home."

"You live 20 minutes away." Erica protested. "I'll see you to the tram."

"I can't afford it." Benedict protested back. "It cost's far too much, I'll just walk it I was in the army." He finished, and then, for the first time since he'd known her, Erica yelled.

"But you aren't anymore!" And then she collected herself. "But you aren't anymore. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell. Just. I'll see you tomorrow, alright?"

[----------------------------------------------------------------------------]

Benedict took Erica's advice and got the tram back to his house, using the last of his wages to pay for it. He entered his dorms, passed the guys boozing and sharing stories in the common area and up to the bedrooms, dumping his shoes at the door and sitting at his desk. He pulled open the desk draw and began to work on his letterings again, doing the same shapes and numbers he had been doing for a while. Slowly, very slowly, he wrote out the secret he would only share with his diary, and the secret that he had held close to his heart for all the years he had known her.

"I like Erica. Like like Erica."

[----------------------------------------------------------------------------]

If you do not wish me a happy birthday I will cry on you. Violently. Anyway! @flufftober2021

[jk9bangtan]

Title: Jealousy or Hate

Characters: Jungkook x Y/n (reader)

Teaser:

Jk: "You see those lips " he said as he caressed his thumb on my lower lip. "These are mine to kiss mine to taste mine to tear."

Warning: Jealousy, +17, You might cry......

Part 1 , part 2

Sorry about grammar mistakes 🙃

Enjoy!!!!

It was Saturday evening and I was watching some Kdrama on TV. It is really hard to explain how lonely I feel right now. Jungkook is at the gym working out with his friends. I used to go with him but he doesn't want me to go anymore. It's been like that since the last week he keeps going to the gym everyday. I just don't understand why.

My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the main door opening. I saw him enter the living room with his gym bag hanging on one of his shoulders. He was wearing a black short with a black armhole tank top. He looked so hot with his curly wet hair which was sticking on his forehead.

Can someone look this handsome after going to gym. It feels hot over here.

I stood up walking my way towards him to greet him. I squeezed  his cheeks and said: " Is my baby tiered?"

Jk: "hmm" he replayed without even making an eye contact with me.

Y/N: " Are you hungry?" I asked still caressing his cheeks.

Jk: " Oh god why are you so clingy. Just let me go up stairs to take a shower. And no I am not hungry."

Y/N: " But I missed you babe! " I said in a high pitched voice ignoring whatever he said to me and placing a fake smile on my face.

Jk: " Why are you yelling!"

Y/N: "I am not"

Jk: "just stop it Y/N, I am really tired. The sweat is dripping of my face and in top of that you are clinging your self on me. I don't like it."

Y/N: " O-ok,I -I'm sorry."

Jk: " Whatever, just let go of me already. You know what? If Lisa was my girlfriend she wouldn't be like this at all she would have understood me"

Y/N: " W-who??" Am I hearing things wrong did he just say Lisa??

Jk:" Lisa, my friend did you become deaf now." He replayed with a harsh tone.

I didn't say anything else, I just let go of his cheeks, left the living room and went straight to our shared bedroom. I understand now he wasn't with the boys he was with her. It's been more than a week since Jungkook met Lisa. they first met in the gym when she was working out near us. And guess what?! she approached him and asked for his number as if I was invisible and he gave it to her without any hesitation. God I feel so disappointed. I guess this is why he changed. All because of her.

It's been two days and Jungkook keeps telling me that I am clingy and comparing me to Lisa. If I eat he says that the way she eats is better than mine. If I wear something he would say that if Lisa wears that it would look better on her. I just don't understand how did they become this close. What did she do to him to make him interested in her this much. I am not the type of being jealous. I didn't even think of being jealous over him in my whole life. And if I become jealous I would convince myself that he is my boyfriend and that he is only mine. But this Lisa girl just gives me bad feelings about her relationship with Jungkook I am tired already I  think if he compares me once more to her I will burst out.

I went straight to the shower after I took some of my clothes so I could wear them in the bathroom instead of coming out with a towel. I bet that Jungkook will call me a slut when I come out like that.

When I come out of the shower Jungkook was sitting on the edge of the bed. And as I moved away from the bathroom door I saw him enter quickly inside so that he could take a shower as well.

I laid down on the bed thinking about our relationship. I was thinking that it's not working out anymore, when Jungkook suddenly came out of the bathroom and laid down on the bed after drying his wet hair. I pretended to be asleep cause I didn't want to see him in front of me, I feel so hurt. My thoughts were cut of when I heard him say

Jk: "Y/N??" I didn't reply

Jk:" Y/N goodnight"

I still didn't respond to him. Believe me I want to but nothing is coming out of my mouth.

Jk:"Why aren't you talking to me like before?!"

Y/N: " What do you mean ? I am still the way I used to be with you" I said as I moved my body so that I am facing him.

Jk:" no you are not. You are not greeting me anymore and you are not talking to me you are not even being clingy to me like before."

Y/N:" I just got tired you know"

Jk:" WOW just like that"

Y/N:" Why do you even care? You were the one who told me to stop being clingy and all touchy touchy."

Jk: " I just-I just wanted some space."

Y/N: " that's good and I am giving you space  right now." I said while going back to my previous position with my back facing him.

I felt his arms caressing my waist and then slowly moving to me belly. His face went deep into my neck sniffing my sent. I froze in my place. My mind blocked. I missed him. I missed his touches. I came back to reality when. He hovered over me sucking on my neck. I tried to push him but he was strong. He didn't even move an inch.

Y/N: "Jungkook"

Jk: " Hmmm" he hummed in respond.

Y/N: " please s-stop"

Jk: "Why?"

Y/N: " I am not in the mood" I lied to him I was in the mood but thinking of how he is been acting towards me makes me feel that he is doing this just for fun and for his horny ass. Not because he missed me and not because he wants me.

Jk: " No I am not going to move" he said

Y/N: "Just move. I don't want it" I said pushing him with both of my hands.

Jk: " Ok, ok - fine. I am gonna move." He said laying down on the bed. The silence took over us, but not for too long because he broke it with his words. Not only the silence he broke my heart with them as well.

Jk: "If Lisa was my girlfriend she would of have let me do her right now." My head turned towards him so fast that it felt like it broke. My eyes widened. I was on the verge of crying but I don't want him to see me all broken.

Jk: "I bet she would feel better in my arms. she is experienced a lot more than you." He said with a smirk on his face

Y/N: "That's it!!! I am done with this bullshit. If you want her that much why do you keep coming home everyday. Just break up with me. I am not forcing you to stay with me. You want someone experienced?! Fine go to her and I will go do that thing with every single guy I meet so that I will be more 'experienced' Mr. Jeon. And I am going to do it right now. I am gonna go to clubs and fuck whomever I meet." I fired back at him. I am not gonna stay calm this time I am not an idiot that he can play with.

I stood up quickly making my way to my closet to collect my clothes and search for something to wear tonight because I am really serious this time.

I was about to grab the door handle when I heard him say, "What did you just say?" He get of the bed, walking strait towards me.

Y/N: "I said I will sleep with other guys so that I will become experienced in those thin-" my words were cut by him grabbing my wrist. He slammed my body hard to the wall and punched the area beside my head.

Jk: "If you ever talk about these stuff again I am gonna make you regret the day you were born. You can't sleep with anyone other than me. You are mine. Every inch of you is mine. Do you hear that?" He said in a high pitched voice. He seemed so mad. But why?? he doesn't have the right to be mad. He is the one who said that I am not experienced and yet he doesn't want me to sleep with anyone.

Y/N: "I am not yours anymore. And I will never be. If you keep comparing me to other girls and  keep telling me that they might feel even better, that means that I will find someone better than you. Someone who will make me feel every single feeling of pleasure. I can do that as well."

I yelled as tears streamed down my face from my eyes to my flushed cheeks. Jk: " No fucking way I will let somebody touch you. Even lay a finger on you." Jungkook said as he closed the gap between us even more. Our foreheads were touching. His breath was gaming on my lips. I didn't look at him. My gaze was on the ground.

Jk: " I will break their hands if they touch you. I will take of their eye balls if they even look at you. I am gonna cut their noses if they even try to smell your sent. Everything in you is mine. It is not even yours to decide what to do with it. If  it's about making you feel pleasure I am gonna make sure that you won't leave your bed for ages just to show you how good I can make you feel." He said caressing my cheeks with his hand.

Jk: " Don't say that ever again. You don't know how terrible it makes me feel."

Y/N: "Will I am sure it wouldn't feel the same as I have been feeling for the whole month. I feel like I want to end everything with you. I don't want anything to do with you anymore." I said harshly moving his hand off my face.

Jk: " In your dreams I will never leave."

Y/N: " Like hell you will." I said as I moved away from him almost running towards my closet. He grabbed my wrist and slammed my body to the wall once more but this time even harsher.

Jk: "You see those lips "

he said as he caressed his thumb on my lower lip.

Jk: "These are mine to kiss mine to taste mine to tear."

My breath hitches. It felt like there is something blocking my throat.

Jk: " Those eyes are mine to look at. mine to be lost in. Mine to admire."

He said looking at my eyes. It felt like he was looking into my soul not my eyes. He nuzzled his face deep into my neck.

Jk: "This scent is mine to sniff. Your skin is Mine to suck. Mine to lick. Mine to mark. No ones mark can be on it other than mine."

He said every single word as he does the action of it afterwords. My legs felt so numb that I couldn't stand anymore. His hands were touching all around my body I couldn't push him a way.

Y/N: "Jungkook sto- Ah" a whimper escape my mouth when he suddenly grabbed my lower part.

Jk: " This is mine too...... Do you think I will let anybody see this expression of your after I touched you. Do you think I will let a bastard touch you here." He said as he tightened his grip on my region

Jk: "Never. No one is allowed to hear those moans of yours. Literally no one can touch you. You are mine."

I don't know why but I felt the urge to cry. My tears slowly fall off my eyes. Why am I this pathetic why can't I say something? Why am I letting him touch me?

Y/N: "I can't stay with somebody who always thinks about other girls while he is with me. That doesn't makes things equal. You keep talking about Lisa so please just leave. Go to her" I said as I looked at his eyes. He moved his hand away from my lower part. A small smile was placed on his face. He is not taking me serious.

Jk: " I am sorry, I did wrong. I really didn't mean anything of it. It was just a test." He said dropping his head on my shoulders.

Y/N: "W-what test?"I asked confused.

Jk: " I wanted to make sure that you really love me. You are not the type of becoming jealous. Whenever a girl talks to me, whenever they touch me. You won't even bother. I thought that you don't really love me that's why. When I first met with Lisa I saw that look on your face for the first time. I wanted you to be jealous over me. All of my hyungs keep telling me stories about there wife's being jealous. They told that women are very jealous, so I wanted to see if you will be jealous. I know you are thinking that I am weird and all of that. But I really wanted to make you jealous I really wanted to feel how much do you consider me as yours. I did all of this just to make you jealous for once. I really wanted to see if you could become as crazy as me when I am jealous. I am sorry. I really am. She really doesn't mean anything to me. I haven't even met her since then." He was crying his heart out. I felt his tears wetting my shirt and seeking down through it. Hitting my shoulders. It really itched my heart. I don't like seeing him cry.

Jk: "Please don't leave me. I will never do something like that again." He said lifting his head of my shoulders and looking straight to my eyes.

Y/N: "....... Stupid. You are really stupid. If I don't do anything it doesn't mean that I am happy with it or that I am not jealous. It is just that I know you are mine and no one can take you from me." I said as I hold both of his cheeks between my palms.

Y/N: " I love you, I really do. But please don't do that ever again. You really broke my heart. I will leave you for real the next time." I continue hugging him tightly. He was shaking. I knew that he is honest. I just believed him. He is my everything.

Jk: "That means that you won't leave me. Wait! You will not even think of leaving. I won't let you go. You're mine. Forever and ever."

Y/N: "Hmmmm" I hummed in respond

Jk: "Then that means that I can do what ever I want to you. I am forgiven " He said as he carried me on his shoulders and dropped me on the bed.

Jk: "I am gonna make you regret even thinking about sleeping with other guys. It turned out that I am not making you feel pleasure." He hovered over me and brought his face near mine as he whispered.

Jk: "I am gonna make you mine once more." And he devoured my lips in a kiss as if there is no tomorrow.

[lordofthebigtimesupernatural]

I'm so in love with your Single Dad!Shiro AU I am beyond saving bless your soul thank you for this AU. I have a couple of suggestions 1) everyone has fallen down the stairs once in their lives. Imagine Shiro's reaction to Keith's first trip (you can choose whether it's on a scale of I, who only fell about 5 to the bottom, or my sister, who jumped from the top stair because she thought her fairy wings were real). Also please consider: Keith going to his first Teenage Party(TM) ((y'know)).

Hello! Aw thank you so much for such a sweet ask, you’re making me blush! This is so great. Both of your asks are terrific and great. We all have had our moments down the stairs, some better and some worse (but omg your poor sister!). I hope you like this and the second one was also great but I only had time to write out one oneshot :’(. I still hope you like it! But as for Keith’s first Teenage Party, here’s some HCs:

-Keith went to his first ever party when he was 15, and it was a homecoming celebration of all things.

-Honestly he didn’t even want to go but Lance, Hunk and even Pidge were excited about it bc they knew the guy hosting the party.

-Red wound up coming with Keith bc of all the noises and the crowds and just from the outside, Keith knew this night was going to be a disaster.

-He found a small dark corner where he huddled up with Red standing guard at his side, growling at anyone that tried to get near him.

-Eventually Keith couldn’t handle all of the noises or the strange people or the alcohol and Red is getting antsy too, trying to keep everyone away until finally the kid who threw the party notices and pulls Keith aside (after Red almost tries to bite him) upstairs in his parent’s bedroom where it is much quieter and there are no people

-Red relaxes and the kid allows Keith to call his dad and keeps him calm before Hunk, Lance and Pidge can reach them, and the kid seems to know all the tricks to help Keith calm down until his dad and friends can come get him.

-When Keith finally asks how the kid knows all that, he tells him that his younger brother and sister were both Autistic and Keith reminded him so much of them and who they could be.

But anyway, here is the actual one shot about Keith V. Stairs. Enjoy!

x.V.x

              Keithwas bored.

              And whenhe was bored, things never seemed to end smoothly. After all, Keith was anadventurous four-year-old. He did not always like to sit around and color.Especially when the washing machine andthe dryer were both being obnoxiously loud today. No, Keith was an adventureror an explorer, which meant that Keith could not just sit around all day.

              Especiallynot when daddy was too busy doing taxes. Whatever those were.

              AllKeith knew was that his daddy had lots of ‘mportant papers all over the kitchentable and he has his reading glasseson, which typically was a sign for Keith not to bother his daddy.

              To befair, Keith hadn’t bothered his daddy for a super, duper long time. Consideringthat his daddy had first started working when the big hand was on the 12 andthe little hand was on the ten, on the clock. Now the big hand was almost onthe 11 and the little hand was in between the ten and 11. That must have been such a long time. At least 11 whole numbers!

              “Daddy,is your taxes done? No more?” Keith sauntered up to the kitchen table where hisdaddy was sitting. He had to stand on his tip toes in order to just see overthe table. His fingers began tapping against the old wood out of habit andShiro looked over at his son. Taxes weren’t hard for Shiro but that didn’t meanthat they never took forever to getdone, and with Keith’s adoption completely finalized after so long he had a lotmore work this year than usual.

              Shirohad to give Keith credit. The toddler had lasted nearly an hour of silencebefore bothering him. That was quite impressive considering Keith hadn’t hadhis snuggle time yet today. Carefully, Shiro pulled Keith up on to his lip andrubbed his eyes tiredly. Keith looked all over at the scattered papers,frowning heavily at them before rubbing Shiro’s cheek.

              “Alldone.” Keith announced, causing Shiro to chuckle.

              “I’msorry baby, but no I’m not done with the taxes.” Shiro apologized when he sawKeith’s expression fall.  He hated notbeing able to spend time with Keith (once Keith actually started Kindergarten,who knew how much time he and Keith would have together?), but unfortunately,Shiro had been putting this off for far too long and they needed to get done.“These take a while and Daddy is only about halfway done.”

              “But,I’m hungry.” Keith stated as if that would suddenly make Shiro drop everythingand the taxes would magically be finished. Well, it did work for the latter ofthose two things. Shiro had gotten up and decided that they could both use asnack break and went into the kitchen to make Keith and him a bowl of mac ‘ncheese.

              “Alright.I’m hungry too. How about we get a snack?” Shiro smiled when Keith noddedquietly but the smile on his face melted Shiro’s heart. Stay this way forever.

x.V.x

              Keithsighed dramatically.

              Hewasn’t hungry anymore and his daddy had made sure to make him an extra big andextra delicious bowl of food. He’d even made his own food and sat with Keith onthe bar stools to eat. Unfortunately, after some time when both were finished,his daddy had let Keith go and told him that he needed to finish with thestupid taxes. He promised Keith that he was almost done, but to Keith, that wassooooo long ago.

              Keithwas having trouble keeping occupied while his daddy worked. He colored all thepages in his coloring book (neatly and inside the lines). He’d organized hiscollection of rubber dinosaurs. He’d tossed a ball along the wall until hisdaddy had suggested he go play outside.

              Whichwas why Keith was standing on the outside porch looking down the stairs. Hecould play on the swings? Or he could pick dandelions and make a hat? He couldsit in the grass? Though, none of that sounded fun to the toddler as he stared at the stairs and hand rail of theporch steps. Keith eyed the stairs, debating if he even wanted to go down themand into the yard or stay on the porch. Besidesit takes a while to get down and then back up all those stairs.

              Keithsighed when he looked to the handrail before frowning. He remembered Lance oncetelling him about getting down the stairs faster and with a “funner way” evenif “funner” wasn’t a real word. Lance had bragged at school about the band aidon his elbow from sliding down the handrail at his house. While Keith didn’tcare so much about the band aid or the story, he did remember Lance telling himthat it was much faster than just walking down the stairs.

              PlusLance had only gotten a teeny little cut and that must be because he was superclumsy. Keith was much safer so that must mean he wouldn’t get hurt like Lancedid, right? And it was faster and fun.

              Climbingup the bars on the porch proved to be difficult for Keith and he almost slippeda couple of times, but his determination and motivation won out until he waseventually sitting on top of the handrail. Keith eyes widened when he lookedout into their backyard; he’d rarely ever been this high up before unless hisdaddy was carrying him.

              Was this how daddy felt every day? This wasamazing.

              Keithhad hoped that one day he too could be this tall, so that he may also see whathis daddy sees. Because it was a lot better than barely being able to see overthe kitchen table.

              Keitheyed the downward ramp of the handrail, remembering Lance’s words in the backof his mind. Surely Lance couldn’t be a liar? If he said that this was aneasier way and a faster way to get down, then he must be on to something. Keithwiggled himself along the edge of the handrail before turning his body aroundto get a better grip and begin sliding down.

              However,Keith only managed to travel down about a foot before he suddenly felt himselftumbling off the edge of thehandrail. The ground suddenly was coming up to Keith faster than he everanticipated.

              Therewas a harsh crack and a hard impact when Keith hit the ground.

              Then hescreamed.

x.V.x

              Shirowas so tired.

              But hewas just about done. He had one last page to do and he could call it quits forthis year’s taxes. Luckily, Keith had been fairly quiet since going outside andhe hadn’t bothered Shiro anymore since lunch. Giving Shiro plenty of time tohurry and finish with the taxes.

              However,Shiro nearly jolted out of his chair and almost spilt his coffee all over thetable when he heard a sudden, loud and shrill scream coming from outside.

              Keith!

              Heartthumping in his chest, Shiro left his coffee on the counter and scrambled outthe backdoor where he could not find Keith. But he could hear him (It was hard to not hear the pained screams). Shiro froze,eyes darting around the backyard when he couldn’t spot Keith. He was prettyclose to snapping until he saw a dark blur on the ground beside the porch.

              Quickly,Shiro raced down the stairs where he was horrified to find Keith rolling on theground, clutching one of his arms. When Shiro knelt beside the screaming androlling toddler, it was then that he saw the absurd angle of which Keith’s armwas at and Shiro’s heart sunk. There wasno way that his arm wasn’t broken. It had to be.

              “Keith,Keith, baby what happened?” Shiro gently put his hands down on Keith to keepthe boy from rolling on his arm. Keith wiggled and squirmed and continued toscream as if he were dying. He tried to wiggle free of Shiro’s grip and despitethe tears on his face, and the spottiness of his cheeks and the pain in hisscreams, Shiro did not budge. He knew moving Keith’s arm right now would onlymake matters worse.

              “Hey,hey now, it’s okay sweetheart.” Shiro cooed softly, trying to gather Keith upinto his arms without jostling the broken arm. Keith continued to scream for afew more minutes (breaking Shiro’s heart repeatedly over again) before finallycalming down to loud, wet sobs. It was then that Keith seemed to notice Shirohad arrived.

              “D-Daddyhurts! M-Make stop!” Keith sobbed loudly, unable to curl into his dad due thepain in his arm and the fact that Shiro was holding him rather tightly. “P-Pleasedaddy! Hurts!”

              “I knowsweetheart. I know.” Shiro whispered softly, before standing up. A lump formedin his throat when he moved too quickly and Keith screamed again through histears. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m going to help make it all better. I’msorry you’re hurting baby, I know.”

              “D-Daddy.”Keith moaned and hiccupped a sob. Shiro swallowed and ushered back the tearsthat were threatening to fall. In his mad scramble to get Keith help, he’dnearly forgotten to grab his phone or his keys in order to take Keith to thehospital nearby.

              “It’sokay sweetheart, you’re going to be okay.”

x.V.x

              “Whatdid we learn today?” Shiro found himself gently stroking back the hair offKeith’s pale face. The little boy looked at Shiro with glazed eyes and a loopygrin, from where he lay on the hospital bed.

              After anhour of excruciating pain, setting Keith’s arm and getting a cast on the boy,the doctor’s had confirmed that Keith had broken his arm in two differentplaces. He was finally all settled in a hospital bed, which was much too bigfor him, with child-friendly pain medications running through his veins. Shirofinally felt like he could take a breath again and even he had to admit that itwas a bit funny seeing Keith on pain medication for the first time.

              At least he isn’t screaming anymore.

              “Ilearned that daddy is super fast.” Keith grinned wobbily and Shiro held back asnicker. “Daddy why is your hair white? Are you an alien?”

              Thistime Shiro did laugh, which caused Keith to frown. “No sweetheart, I’m not analien. I promise you.” Keith frowned and eyed Shiro as if he didn’t believe himbefore nodding stubbornly. Until his eyes suddenly widened and he gasped.

              “Daddy!Your arm is gone!” Keith cried out, looking far more devastated than he should be.“Where did you put it?”

              Shiro swallowedback his laughter before flexing the metal fingers of his prosthetic. “Daddy’s armis right here see. It’s just a little bit different.” Keith’s eyes were almostbugging out of his head as he stared at Shiro’s prosthetic as if he had neverseen it before. Shiro almost wanted to take out his phone and film the littleboy.

              “Youmeant a lot different.” Keith gaspedquietly. “That is so much cooler than my arm. Can I have it?”

              Shirobarked out a sudden laugh before ticking Keith’s cheek. Instantly, the toddlergiggled and squirmed away, careful of his cast. “No, I’m sorry sweetheart butyour two arms are just perfect just the way they are.” Shiro gently kissed bothof Keith’s hands, causing him to giggle, and had to maneuver around Keith’scast. “Except, now you gotta be careful with this arm now.”

              Keithfrowned tiredly. “How come?”

              “Well,you accidentally broke the bones and that means –”

              “They’rebroken?! Did you have to glue them back together?!” Keith cried out in completedespair and Shiro continuously had to remind himself of being an awful father if he laughed at Keith now.“Am I gonna lose my arm too?”

              “Nosweetheart. Your arm will be just fine.” Shiro gently ran his fingers throughKeith’s hair which calmed the boy down slowly. Keith leaned back against thepillow, eyes drooping before he let out a mighty yawn. “Your arm will getbetter, but let’s not try to slide down anymore handrails okay?”

              Keithyawned again and smiled. “’Kay daddy. But next time, can you not write yourname on my arm?”

              “Keiththat’s a cast. You’re supposed to do that.”

              “’S notmy name.”

[westakoasta]

Joe Dub - WCI, 2005

Alright, tell us about your childhood in SF, the records that had an impact on you..

Growin up in "the city" was cool... It's one of the most diverse and open minded cities in the States. A lot of pride... Not just for the city itself but for culture as well. Music and art is not only embraced, it's encouraged. I started off singin in a choir and playin the trumpet. Plus my Mom would paint so I'd get in home art lessons. But I was hella into sports also. I played baseball from like 5 or 6 years old through high school. I was a raw ass in fielder... But couldn't really hit too well though... Haha! But yeah I had a typical childhood I guess. Gettin into trouble... Girls... Yunno that kinda shit. It wasn't really until like 85 that I started rhymin. It was more some fuck around shit we'd do in the schoolyard at lunchtime. Just freestyle shit.. Braggin and baggin.. Recorded some shit just for fun... I still got those tapes.. Fucking funny stuff man.

Around 86 or so I remember listening to KPOO (local hip-hop radio station in the bay) when they had dj's like... KK... Marcus Clemens and Dan the Automator. One night I remember they played Eric B and Rakim "Check out my Melody," Mixmaster Gee "The Manipulator" (check artist), BDP "My 9mm Goes Bang" and Just Ice "Latoya" in succession. I recorded that show still have that tape in fact. Anyways, once the show ended at that moment I knew I wanted to do this shit seriously. The beats moved me but I was more trying to rap then. It wasn't till 90 or 91 when I into making beats.

As far as records that inspired me rapwise? I was a fan of all of the old stuff. Flash, Kurtis Blow, Spoonie G, but it was the progressive shit that had me buggin. Anything that Kurtis Mantronik did... Just Ice (dopest mc of all time imo)... T LA Rock... All that... Schooly D was like a surrogate father to me as a child. Quite the role model!!!  Hahahahah!

Let's talk about the Westcoast Workforce. How did y'all came along together, the records/ tracks you did collectively... Everything. I once read about a reformation with you, Sub, Radioinactive, Xinxo, Liferex and Omid.. Is that true?

Well the Workforce was around before I was put on. It was Xinxo, Sub, AntiMC, Radio, Premonition, Memorex, Rhetoric and some other folks. It wasn't until 99 when I was at the B-boy Summit that I met Sub and AntiMC. We traded tapes and that was that. That was like February or March. Then in July of 99 P-minus hits me up and is like "Radio and Antimc are in town and trying to get at you" gave me the number. I called em... Chopped it up for a good second but we never got a chance to hang out then. In September, Deeskee, Maleko and I rolled down to LA to kick it at the Shapeshifter house in Westwood where Rob One (RIP), Exist, Bleek and Dr. Lewd lived. We left SF at about 5 AM and got in at 10 PM. Pull up to the house and Rob is sitting outside car full of records, sayin "cool you guys are here... Let's go." He had a gig and was waitin on us. So we go to the show... And i'm outside smokin and sub walks up and he's like what's up, you wanna be down with the Workforce? That was pretty much it. Megabusive, Liferexall and them got down right after that. As for getting back together, me, Xinxo, Radio, Subtitle, and Rexall, got together and talked about it when I was in LA in 2004. Some of the old names came up, but due to differences and conflictin schedules we left it at that. Omid and Premonition were included as well. But with everyone doing solo shit right now, it's just a name we claim, no albums or tours will be coming anytime soon. Me and Xinxo joke that we are the Workforce. But all of us still work together... Still hang out and what not... The timing is just off right now. I'm trying to get a Workforce song on my album... We'll see!

You probably have one of the most prolific discography in the bay, tones of collaborations and obscure groups... What were the most important ones  to you? Also there's this one called The Citadel, which was supposed to be you, Sub, Liferexall and Megabusive.. Does this one only ever existed?

I've been blessed to work with the people I have! My favorite one would have to be with the folks I know the most. Friends... Not just MC's doin songs together... People. Cuz there's no chemistry there. It's not just like "Hey let's do a song to do a song". It's because you know the person and you know they'd fit the mood of the song, whatever it may be. Some shit is fuck around and some is serious with money involved, but either way if it's the homies... It's fun! The folks I like workin with are like... All the Workforce, Deeskee, the Shapes, Khule, Topic, Tommy V, and the list goes on. It's laid back and relaxed when we work. Bustin jokes... Talkin story... That's what I like. Like me and 2Mex did this song when he was in Hawaii... Some quick shit... He's talking about his trip to Hawaii... I was talking about mine to LA. It's probably won't ever come out... But those are the best collabs when you do it for fun.

Citadel? HAHAHA. How'd you hear about that? Yeah we did that at Sub's mom's house in Mid City. Me, Megabusive, Subtitle, and Life were kickin it hard. We all made beats and rapped so Sub had the idea let's each make a 2 beats and do songs in like a week. But the only way Sub would let me rap on it was if I styled hard....HAHAHA! See he saw me freestyle once and I was stylin it up... Haha... Blowed style. But that's another story... So yeah we did that shit... Came out tight. But it was just for fun... Wait so you have a copy? Cuz I don't. I think Sub is the only one with it.

You moved recently to Hawaï... Tell us about it, how's life out there, differences with California, the hip hop scene, if it's a good place for cratedigging... Anything.

Life in Hawaii is slow. A far cry from the pace of the rest of the States. Everybody out here does things at their own speed. Where as in Cali everythings done on a schedule. I pretty much work between the two... Though it's tough sometimes. It's a small island so the scene is smaller than I'm used to. There's some good talent and the fans support. I don't get out that much though so I can't speak on it too much. Yeah man there's a few dope spots for diggin out here. I left a lot of my records back in Cali and I have like 5,000 here in Hawaii. Most of which I got here, some common shit, some rare shit, but theres a lot of come ups, not many people out here are lookin for the kind of stuff I am. So I always find something worth while. Plus, the prices are cheap... No record is ever over $20... Almost everything is under $5... I'm kind of spoiled with that!

Do you have a job besides hip hop?

Nah, I haven't had a 9 to 5 in about 3 or 4 years. Music hasn't been great to be but it's been good enough. I just sell beats and work on music all day. Hit the beach and drink myself to sleep.

You got an album with Ellay Khule called In A World Of My Own that will be released soon... Can you tell us about it? And also, what about this 8′’ vinyl released by Anti-Party? I'm curious to see what a 8" looks like?

It's actually called "In My Own World". The album came about through a mutual friend of Khule and I. He told Khule to check out my beats and I've always been a fan of Khule since I can remember so I was obviously down. At first I'd send him beats in the mail... Then he wrote the songs... Then I flew out to LA to lay the beats and vocals down.... I prefer doing music in person not long distance. It helps the chemistry. But yeah, I didn't want to give him elaborate beats... I wanted his vocals to be the focus... There's something for every Khule fan on the album... There's some hard Rifleman shit... Some Ellay Khule aggressive styling... And some real heart felt personal shit... This album is probably the most complete project i've worked on to date... Me and Khule have talked about doin another project together so this definately won't a one shot deal... As for the 8′’... It's a collection of about 5 or 6 songs off my old "Noise Pollution" tape... Yeah DJ Plankton from Anti-Party really wanted to release the whole album on vinyl but... I'm about moving forward... Plus the sound quality on that tape really wouldn't cut in on vinyl... So we agreed to bust a limited run of 8"'s with some of the songs off Noise Pollution instead... It should be coming out in july... Very limited though... I heard something like under 100 are being pressed...

What's your opinion on the evolution of the underground scene?

Umm I mean... Damn... Haha... It's weird... I'm kinda removed from the Cali scene being out here in Hawaii... But... I’ll say this... The way the scene used to be... Everyone knew their place... You had the MCs/ DJs/ producers/ B-Boys... The vendors... Promoters... And the fans. And who you were was cool. Everyone respected it... Now with all the advancements with technology and free programs for computers... I'd have to honestly say that 70-75% of the people in the scene are MC's or producers now... Now i'm not saying that people shouldn't be allowed their voice... But... Go through the proper channels... Pay dues... Hustle... No one has to hustle anymore... We used to take the last 100 bucks we had... Go get tapes made... Have about 20 bucks left... Spend that on gas and roll to LA... Just to slang tapes at shows...n Ad to tap into a different region... Get our shit out there... Sleep in cars... On couches whatever... We'd sell about 50 tapes or so in a weekend for 5 bones... And come back home broke... But to us the trips were always a success... Now... Everyones got a website with a store... It's so easy now... You don't have to leave your house and you can move 1000 units no sweat... I'd have to sum it up by saying that there's less passion nowadays... I really don't want to go any deeper into this.... Haha.

How do you see yourself at 50? And do you project yourself in the future as a rapper, I mean, do you have plans of doing something else?

At 50?.... If i make it that far... I'll still be making music....if i'm rappin still it'll probably just be for myself....but i'll still be producing...i'm a proud drop out...so....i don't think i'll ever rock a career or a 9 to 5 for that matter again....but if my life changes drastically by then....i can say i'll always have music....

What are you listening to right now... and your all time 5 favorite lps..?

Right now....i'm listening to ellay khule-califormula...alot of mandrill.....gong....totally insane....young ed....alot of my beats(not because i'm an ego maniac...but because i'm kinda forced to listen to them as i make them)....and all the myspace mc's who want me to "check out their tracks".......all time 5?......shit.....here i mean.....i'll just give you 5 incredible albums i'm listening to now.....utfo-lethal earth wind and fire-greatest hits...sade-love deluxe......cid-harder they come.....just ice-back to the old school

What about your future releases? do you plan to have some other artists on Asita?

For me i got my new album "pooretry" almost completed...that should be coming out in like sept/oct of this year....the pain killers album...which is me and my homegirl topic...that's gonna be out on beyond space ent....not really sure of the date there....but that one's bangin....we got beats from...sach...deeskee...liferexall...matth...meaty ogre...alex75 and many many more.....like i said before....the khule album is pretty much done...we're just waiting for califormula to drop....before we release it.....yeah there's gonna be alot of other folks comin out on asita....once i finish my album...i'm going to start a project with nocando....he's a younger cat coming out of blowed and his crew customer service...he's got some specific shit he wants to do so i'm making sure i'm free of all commitments before i start on that....plus an asita/la2thebay beat series....the first installment i believe will be myself...deeskee...liferexall and sach....just all instrumentals...some old some new....we'll be puttin out new ones like twice a year...featuring all the producers in the family....and i'm currently trying to do a couple projects with some other folks but so far it's just talk.....

Thanks a lot for the interview.. any last words?

I guess just thanks to all the supporters world wide....from hawaii to europe....and of course one love to all my family....blood/friends/musicians.....the people i do this for... be easy.

Interview conducted by Pseudzero for West Coast Indies, 2005.