#and now breakfast is playing full blast in the kitchen

[itsalwaysforyou]

my dad is currently listening to dove cameron’s album

[steddieas-shegoes]

i'm onto you

It may be Halloween, but it's also...@simplebtromance's birthday!!! You've been here with me pretty much since the beginning, and you deserve so much more than this ficlet, but I hope you love this anyway! We've had many a discussion about queer Wayne, so this is just a little something for you to sip on as a birthday treat 💖

rated t | 1,605 words check ao3 for more tags

Wayne liked to think he couldn’t be rattled, not since Eddie “died” and showed up on his doorstep being held up by Steve Harrington and Dustin Henderson looking like he hadn’t slept in a week and hadn’t showered for even longer.

But walking into his trailer to see Steve Harrington wrapped up in Eddie’s arms on his couch did startle him a bit.

It’s not like Steve was a stranger, not since he’d explained some of what happened to Eddie with certain looks that told him he wasn’t able to say more, please don’t ask, please accept what I’m telling you as the full truth and nothing but the truth. But he’d only been over when the kids were over, hanging back and watching them have fun with Eddie with a soft smile on his face.

Wayne noticed, he always noticed. But he didn’t really think much of it until now.

Steve was lying on top of Eddie, head on his chest and hand gripping his shirt like a lifeline. His face was relaxed, though, lips parted as he breathed shallowly. Eddie’s arms were wrapped around his back, hands not quite gripping, but clearly holding him tight.

It could be nothing.

It could just be that both of these boys had seen things that most wouldn’t understand and found solace in each other.

It could be that they didn’t mean to fall asleep like this.

It could be that they were exploring something together.

Wayne smiled to himself when Steve’s hand loosened, falling away from Eddie’s shirt. Eddie’s arms tightened briefly, his head turning so that his face buried more into Steve’s hair.

He walked towards his bedroom with the same fond smile on his face.

– – – – – –

It wasn’t the first time Wayne was woken up by the sound of loud music playing, but it was definitely the first time that it was the sound of Blondie blasting through the speakers of Eddie’s boombox.

His alarm clock said that it was almost ten in the morning, so he couldn’t be too mad. Six hours of sleep was more than he got for years, and from the sounds of it, Steve was still here and probably making them breakfast.

He’d done that a lot when Eddie was healing, unable to do much other than walk to the bathroom when he needed to and eat in his bed. Wayne was grateful for it, for Steve.

When he walked into the kitchen, he froze.

Eddie was sitting on the counter, Steve standing between his legs.

Kissing.

He considered turning around and pretending he hadn’t seen it, figured they’d both come to him when they were ready to acknowledge whatever they were.

But when he heard a quiet moan, he had to let them know he was there.

“Mornin’ boys.”

They jumped apart quickly, Steve turning towards the pan on the stove full of bacon with an obvious flush covering the back of his neck.

Eddie jumped off of the counter and tried to hide Steve’s discomfort.

“Hey. Sorry, we didn’t mean to wake you up,” Eddie started tugging on the ends of his hair, his nervous habit from childhood, even before his hair was this long.

“Music’s kinda loud. It’s okay though. Whatcha makin’?” He asked, pretending everything was normal, not pointing out that he’d just walked in on them making out in the kitchen.

“Bacon,” Steve’s shaking voice came from behind Eddie. “Fried eggs. Toast with peanut butter or jelly.”

“Sounds great,” Wayne said, walking to the coffee pot to grab a cup of coffee, smiling to himself when he realized that one of them had started a fresh pot not too long ago.

He snuck a glance at Steve, who looked like he was going to start crying any moment.

And that just didn’t sit right.

He didn’t want Steve to ever feel uncomfortable here, whether he was here as a friend to Eddie or more.

He set his mug back down without taking a sip and gently pushed Eddie aside to tug Steve into a hug.

Steve tensed in his arms for a moment, then relaxed, a shaky breath leaving him as Wayne rubbed his back.

“You’re allowed to be happy here, Steve. You don’t gotta tell me anything you don’t wanna, but you’re safe in this house. You and Ed both,” he said softly against the top of Steve’s head.

He was reminded of a similar discussion he’d had with Eddie when he was 14, when he’d been caught kissing an older boy when Wayne came home early from a shift at the plant. The boy ran, and Eddie had locked himself in his room for 15 minutes, furiously packing. When he opened the door to see Wayne leaning against the wall next to the door, unimpressed look on his face, he froze.

“Goin’ somewhere?” he’d asked him.

“You won’t want me to stay now, right?” Eddie had tried to sound confident, emotionless, but he was failing.

“Be a bit hypocritical of me to kick ya out for kissin’ a boy when I’ve got a boyfriend, wouldn’t it?”

Eddie unpacked, and they talked for a bit about Wayne’s boyfriend, Eddie being gay, and how he’d always be safe in Wayne’s house.

Steve had clearly never been given that kind of comfort, maybe hadn’t even had the chance to find that comfort in his own home. Wayne could give that to him.

“You don’t care that I’m, that we-” Steve started, almost immediately getting shushed by Wayne.

“Son, I’ve known Ed’s gay for years and if you think I wasn’t onto you the day you brought him to me half dead, I dunno what to tell ya.”

Eddie was standing to the side, watching quietly. Wayne didn’t need to see his face to know he was grateful.

“Sorry we kinda defiled the kitchen,” Steve finally said as he pulled away.

“Kissin’ ain’t defiling anything.”

Steve blushed again, wiped his eyes as he turned back to where the bacon was probably about to burn.

“No it’s not.”

Wayne paused as he thought about the phrasing of Steve’s response.

He looked over at Eddie, who was conveniently pouring his own cup of coffee. He didn’t even like coffee.

“My one and only rule is that you clean up after…whatever it is you’ve done to defile the shared space,” Wayne smirked. “I’d prefer it stays in the bedroom, though, kay?”

“Yes, sir,” Steve agreed, not making eye contact.

“Got it,” Eddie replied.

Any leftover awkwardness disappeared when Wayne tried to reach directly into the still sizzling pan to grab a piece of bacon, only to be swatted away by Steve.

“You’ll burn yourself!” Steve shook his head. “Now I see where Eddie gets it.”

“Hey!” Eddie protested. “I do not reach into still cooking pans! I wait until the food is on a plate before I burn myself!”

“My apologies. You’re just an idiot later,” Steve rolled his eyes, but the fondness in his tone gave away how much he cared about Eddie.

– – – – – –

Wayne started seeing Steve more often, usually wrapped in Eddie’s arms or holding his hand, or watching him play guitar.

He spent the night more often than not, and Wayne sometimes overheard his yelling when he had a nightmare.

Eddie explained to him that they’d gotten better, but he’d probably always have nights where the monsters made an appearance, and unfortunately, getting him out of the nightmare was pretty difficult.

If Wayne was awake already, he usually brought a cup of tea to Eddie’s room and gave them both a quick kiss on the head.

He also made them breakfast most mornings, liked cooking for them, experimenting with new recipes and finding interesting flavor combinations.

After a few months of this, Wayne suggested he look into culinary school.

“There’s a place in Indy, I know one of the chefs there. He’d probably be able to help ya get started,” Wayne said around a bite of his peach pancakes with vanilla syrup.

“I dunno if I can do much besides breakfast and desserts,” Steve shrugged, looking down at his plate. “Plus, Indy’s too far to be driving back and forth every day. I still have to work.”

“Not if you live there. And you could probably work at a restaurant in the evenings.”

Eddie watched them both, unreadable expression on his face.

“Maybe.”

“You know, there’s a few bars there that I could play at. A record shop that probably would hire me,” Eddie chipped in casually, taking a bite of his pancake.

“What?” Steve asked.

“Yeah. I mean, we’d need to find somewhere cheap, but we could swing it. I’ve got some money still from the government.”

“Yeah, but-”

Eddie’s fork clinked against his plate when he set it down.

“Stevie. Do you want to try?”

Wayne watched them watch each other, small smile forming as he started to understand their silent conversation.

“Only if it’s with you, baby,” Steve finally said.

“Then we’ll go this weekend to check it out.”

– – – – – – – –

Wayne got to watch them choose each other.

He watched them choose a life outside of Hawkins.

He watched them choose a future where they could have a happiness he could only dream of.

They came to visit often, and invited Wayne to their apartment almost as often.

They even brought him to one of their favorite bars, known for being a safe place for queer people, where he struck up a conversation with one of the bartenders, Larry.

And then he got to choose a life outside of Hawkins too.

One that led to more happiness than he could have pictured for himself.

[janeyseymour]

Love Thy Neighbor- pt 10

Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4. Part 5. Part 6. Part 7. Part 8. Part 9.

Summary: With your ex-husband in town, this is sure to be interesting.

WC: ~2.4k

I’m in Philly this weekend. We should talk.

The good mood that you were in from waking up in your girlfriend’s arms sours at that text, and she notices.

“Hey,” she whispers as she kisses your temple, also rolling out of bed. “You’re upset.”

“I’m not,” you shrug. “I’m fine. Just… thinking.”

“About?”

“It doesn’t matter,” you sigh. “I should probably go check on El. You comin’?”

The redhead nods and follows you into Ellie’s room, where she’s playing on the floor with a few of her dolls.

“Momma! Mel!” she grins up at the two of you. Immediately, she’s launching herself at you, and if either her or Melissa notice the way that you cling to your daughter only a bit desperately they don’t say anything. You lift your little girl onto your hip and hold her close, smoothing down her wild locks and kissing her temple. Melissa follows suit, and she grins when Ellie kisses her cheek back.

“Breakfast?” your daughter looks to your girlfriend with those sweet eyes of hers.

“Obviously,” Melissa chuckles. “And what does the princess want?”

“Chocolate chip pancakes!” Ellie cheers. When you give her a look, she quickly adds on a, “Pretty please!”

The three of you head for the kitchen, and while your daughter and your girlfriend mix the batter together and start heating up the griddle, you stare at your phone contemplating what you should do.

“Penny for your thoughts, hun?” Melissa breaks your trance as she sets a plate full of the breakfast food in front of you. Ellie comes bouncing over with the butter and syrup a few short moments later.

“We can talk later,” you tell her softly. “When we take El to the park.”

Once you finally get Ellie ready for the park and get yourself ready, you head out. Melissa drives the two of you there, and as soon as she can, Ellie is running for the swings. You and your girlfriend walk hand in hand to find a park bench to sit on and keep an eye on your little girl.

“So, what has my girl down?” the redhead asks you once she’s sure your daughter can’t hear her.

“Jared texted me. Said he’s in Philly, and we should talk.”

Her face flickers through a few different emotions before settling on a neutral face. “And how do you feel about that?”

“Honestly? Like I never want to see him again, but I also have El to think about. He is still her father.”

“And he gave up his parental rights,” she reminds you. “Willingly, and without hesitation.”

“I know, I know,” you sigh as you set your head on her shoulder. “But if he wants to reach out in order to stay in Ellie’s life, I cannot deprive my child of her father.”

“You can,” she tells you.

“But it wouldn’t be right… especially because El… she loved her Daddy before everything got messy.”

“It’s up to you, hun,” your girlfriend says. “But I would be cautious.”

“I know, I know,” you mutter.

Ellie has a blast at the park like she always does, but after about an hour she’s running back to you with rosy cheeks and telling you she’s sleepy. Melissa carries her back to the car, and in the short ten minute drive back to the apartment complex, she falls asleep in her carseat clutching one of the stuffed animals Melissa keeps in her car now. You lift her out of her carseat and hold her tightly as you make your way up to your apartment. You settle on the couch with her, still in your arms while your girlfriend heads for the kitchen.

“Are you good if I make eggplant parm?” she calls softly.

“That sounds great,” you sigh out.

As she cooks dinner, humming quietly to herself, you continue to torture yourself with the pros and cons of texting Jared back. Ultimately, you tell him that if he’s serious, you can meet him for coffee tomorrow- preferably around the time when Melissa will be going to mass.

His response is almost an immediate one. So the two of you set a time and a place, and you know that come tomorrow morning, you’re going to have to make an excuse to your girlfriend as to why you can’t join her for the church service tomorrow.

Ellie stays asleep up until Melissa calls in that dinner is ready. She clings to the redhead through dinner, claiming that she’s warmer than you are. Despite Melissa trying to get her to stay with you (she knows you need Ellie to keep you grounded right now), your daughter insists on staying in her lap.

Your routine through the end of the night goes on as usual, and when you and Melissa finally lay down for bed, you have an awful pit in your stomach as you prepare to lie to her.

“I don’t know what’s happening,” you mumble with your head on her chest. “But I’m not feeling too great right now.”

“Oh?” Melissa looks at you. “What’s goin’ on?”

“Just… cramps. Probably PMS.”

She’s immediately out of bed and grabbing some ibuprofen and the heating pad, and you feel even more guilty at your lie. Melissa is so willing to take care of you and love you through everything.

You’re lulled to sleep with the extra warmth provided by the heat on your abdomen as well as your girlfriend gently combing her fingers through your hair and her soft humming.

The next morning, you wake up and you wish that you were lying to Melissa when you said that your cramps were awful- they really are. But you also know that this is going to be the perfect way to get out of going to the long church service with her, and you know she’ll take Ellie with her to let you ‘rest’.

She does, and you stay in bed until they both head out. And then you run around like a maniac trying to make yourself look presentable to meet your ex-husband. 

You arrive at the coffee shop you agreed to meet at, and he’s already sitting with two cups in front of him. You drop into the seat across from his, and he pushes one of the cups in your direction.

“Hey!” he smiles at you, and it’s that damned charming smile that made you fall for him in the first place. 

You stare at him for a few minutes in a steely silence. Why did you come here? “What do you want?” is all you ask him as you take a sip of the coffee in hopes of it soothing your nerves. You cradle your abdomen in hopes that your cramps begin to subside soon.

“Damn,” he chuckles. “I come all the way out here to meet you, and that’s the greeting I get?”

“I didn’t ask you to. What do you want?” you ask him again.

He looks a bit stunned that this is the approach you’ve decided to take with him. He’s so used to you being meek and mild, warm and gentle. “I just wanted to catch up.”

“I’m doing just fine out here, with my daughter,” you say shortly.

His eyes go soft. “How is Ellie?”

“She’s fine.”

“C’mon, Y/N,” your ex sighs. “Listen, I’m sorry about everything that happened.”

“You should be,” you laugh bitterly. “You broke apart our family, and for what? To go fuck someone newer and younger? Tighter?” you quote back one of his texts to Jen that you saw after you caught him in bed with her. 

“Y/N, I was an idiot,” he tells you. You nod with a smirk. “I came out here to tell you that I want us to get back together.”

“Not a chance in hell,” you snort.

“Then at least let me see Ellie,” he tries. “C’mon. You owe me that.”

“I don’t owe you shit,” you tell him. “You cheated on me, and then signed away your parental rights without hesitation. And I’m still waiting for all of your child support money. So, I see it that if I don’t have the money in my hand by the end of this meeting-”

“Where is Ellie?” he asks quietly. “I was hoping she would be with you.”

“With our neighbor,” you say. “Not that it’s any of your business.”

“You left her with your neighbor?” he asks you incredulously.

You nod. “I did. I trust Melissa- my girlfriend.”

He raises both of his eyebrows at that reveal. “Moved on so quick?”

“You moved on before you even took your ring off, so don’t give me any fucking shit, Jared,” you hiss out. “Babysitter fucker.”

“I didn’t realize you still swung that way. I thought I fucked the gay out of you,” he smirks.

“Oh, eat shit,” you stand from your place and throw your hot coffee in his face. “Don’t bother getting in touch unless it’s to fork over the child support. If I don’t have it by the end of the month, I will be getting a lawyer.”

You head out to leave the shop, and who do you run into on your way out the door but Melissa and Ellie. Your girlfriend gives you quite the questioning look, considering you were sick in bed an hour ago. 

“Momma!” your little girl shouts as she slams into your body to hug you.

You groan softly at the contact, but lift her into your arms and hold her tightly, praying she doesn’t see her father. Melissa kisses you at the same time that Ellie gasps, points, and shouts, “Daddy!”

You close your eyes and give a face of pure defeat. You were just caught.

“Ellie girl!” your ex-husband replies with the same amount of enthusiasm, and your daughter is wiggling her way out of your arms to run over to her father. He scoops her up into the biggest hug, despite the fact that he’s still covered in your beverage.

“You came here to meet Jared?” Melissa whispers as she eyes the man.

You nod sheepishly before attempting to make your way over to the two of them. You have to stop about halfway there, gasping in pain as your stomach twists in knots. Your girlfriend follows, an arm wrapped around you protectively.

“Daddy, you’re all wet!” Ellie giggles.

“You know Daddy,” he chuckles in the easy way that he used to with her. “Clumsy, clumsy.”

“Silly Daddy,” your little girl playfully rolls her eyes and sighs dramatically.

“How are you, little girl?”

Your daughter grins as she launches into her stories. “I love it here! I love school, and Momma and I go to the park all the time with Miss Mel like we are today!” she points to Melissa. “That’s Miss Mel, and I love her. She’s my favoritest person in the whole wide world!”

You have to bite back a snort when you see the hurt expression on his face, and you beam when you see your girlfriend’s proud look. You don’t even care that you aren’t your daughter’s favorite person right now because at least it isn’t him. 

“And Miss Ellie’s favorite person in the world brought her down here to pick up some coffee and doughnuts for being such a good little girl at church today,” Melissa cuts in. “Which I think we should do, what do you think El?”

The little girl absolutely beams as she remembers why they’re here, and she runs for the redhead. 

They head off towards the counter, and your eyes turn to stone again as you face your ex-husband. 

“I don’t know what kind of game you’re trying to play here, but quit it. You’re not getting her back,” you hiss. You turn on your heel and make your way up to where your girlfriend and daughter are ordering.

“I already ordered your coffee,” Melissa tells you with a kiss to the temple. She readjusts Ellie so she can grab her wallet from her pocket, but before she can insert the card, Jared is there handing over some money.

“I got this one,” he says cooly. “For my little girl, and my wife.”

There’s a fire in Melissa’s eyes, and before she can get anything out, Ellie pipes up. “You and Momma aren’t married anymore!”

Your mouth, along with Melissa’s and Jared’s, form into shocked faces. Your little girl is right.

“But thanks for breakfast anyway,” you laugh in his face. “Bye.”

You hope that he’ll just leave in anger, but he doesn’t. Instead, he turns his eyes even softer and his voice even smoother. “Well, I was hoping that I could maybe tag along to the park to spend some time with my little girl who I’ve missed so much.”

Fuck. Now he’s using Ellie against you, and you know your daughter will beg you to let him come.

“I missed you too, Daddy,” your daughter whispers softly, but she keeps her hold on Melissa.

“Not today, sweetheart,” the redhead says quietly as she runs a hand through your daughter’s hair. “Your momma isn’t feeling super well, so today is going to be an easy day.”

You nod along.

“Maybe another day this week then,” he shrugs. He isn’t giving up. “I’m here all week for a work conference.” With that, he kisses Ellie’s head, kisses your own, and then heads out.

A tense silence washes over Melissa and you as you wait for your coffees to finish being prepared. Ellie just hums to herself softly as she lays her head down on the redhead’s shoulder and fiddles with the ends of your girlfriend’s hair.

Your names are called, you grab the coffees, and make your way out to her car- you silently thank God that you won’t have to take the Septa now.

No words are spoken between you and your girlfriend for the entirety of the drive home, and when you make your way to your apartment, she turns for her own door.

“You aren’t coming in?” you ask quietly, and you hate the way that your voice breaks.

“I need ten minutes,” she says scarily calmly. “To change and collect myself.”

Fuck. She’s mad. Deciding that it’s best to give her the ten minutes she’s requested, you unlock your own front door and take Ellie to the kitchen table to enjoy her breakfast.

Tags (and let me know if you want to be included!): @schemmentis @thesapphictimelady @marvel210 @itisdoctortoyousir @morgana-larkin @thesamesweetie @doesthatsuggestanythingtoyou @marvels--slut @gwennybriggs @megamultifandomtrashposts @nothere1111 @lemz378 @http-sam @melissaschemmentisbranzino @imaginesmultifandoms @sexysapphicshopowner @lilfartbox1 @maybe-a-humanbean @imlike-so-gaydude

[princessbrunette]

babydaddy!jj still being hopelessly in love with reader. constantly finding reason to be at her place, fixing anything if it breaks, having play dates with your daughter that lead you him sleeping over and waking up to you making him breakfast while he feeds your daughter. all the emotions come running back and he just knows he wants to make you his wife. maybe he’d just blurt it out because he can’t help himself

this. he is relentless. constantly showing up unannounced just to ask you the most random question.

୨ৎ . ⸝⸝ ! 🌙 ꒱

when you open the door you look all stressed and tired and you have coffee down your top and he just wants to make your life easier and help you so bad! cocomelon is on full blast, your baby is loudly babbling and shouting and you’re just simultaneously relieved at his presence but also stubborn, shaking your head at him. “jj this could have been a text.” you respond briskly and his eyes dart between you and your hallway before wedging himself through your door slightly.

“yeah, no for sure uh— i was just in the area, y’know how it is and my phone died so… hold on a minute, what’s this?” he points to the small side table in your hallway and you furrow your brows, too exhausted for the conversation.

“a table.” you answer in deadpan.

“well, you’re damn right about that— but look, right here. this!” he points to the corner. “you know, soon enough our lil girl is gonna start crawlin’ and when she does things like this are gonna be a total danger to her and her squishy head. what if she falls, huh? rams right into it? did’ya consider that?” he’s being totally theatrical, nudging his foot against the low table on the ground.

“i’m sure we’ll manage, jay—”

“nope. you got tape? i’m baby proofin’ the shit outta this house.” he slides into your home, walking straight through to the living room where you hear him greet your baby. “theres my favourite little gremlin!”

you lean against the wall for a second, disorientated from lack of sleep before following him in and dropping down on the couch. “the tapes in the kitchen drawer. just watch her for a little would you? just gonna close my eyes for a second.” you hum, sinking into the couch. you feel the seat dip beside you, and a hand on your arm.

“hey, you been gettin’ any sleep?” his voice is gentler now, concerned.

“m’fine.” you rasp, half asleep already. he sighs out his nose.

“di’nt i tell you to call me if you needed me to take her? dont gotta do this all by yourself, mama.” he softly reprimands and you shrug, too sleepy to argue and he lets it go, watching you for a moment.

you wake up, in your bed at around 2AM — JJ clearly having taken over for the whole night, putting you and the baby to sleep. you shoot up, disorientated and concerned, going to sprint from your bed but accidentally stepping on the blonde sleeping on the floor beside it.

“ow, jeez woman!” he groans, sitting up.

“jay— you, where’s —”

“asleep. you’re meant to be sleepin’ too. you knocked the hell out, aaand… i didn’t wanna wake you n’stuff so…” he explains, running a hand through matted hair. you blink yourself more awake, looking around before back at him.

“why are you down there?” you exasperate and he blinks back at you.

“uh…”

“‘can sleep in here with me jj, it’s fine. you put a baby in me for gods sake you don’t have to act so repulsed.” you grumble before rolling over to face the other way, making room for him. at this, he shoots up, appearing directly behind you in bed.

“hey, woah — quite the accusation there. s’not true, alright? i was being…respectful. that’s my bad.” he holds his hands up and you unclench your muscles slightly, relaxing more into the bed.

“‘kay.” your tone softens and so does he, laying down and getting comfortable beside you, staring at the ceiling. after a moment he speaks again, quietly.

“repulsed… yeah right, dude. i’m like the freakin’ opposite. you have no clue.”

in the morning he’s not by your side, but when you pad out into the kitchen — you find your baby in her high-chair, being spoon fed by her blonde father.

“look who it is, say riiiise and shine, mama.” jj, cheerful as ever grins as he spoons more mush into the babies mouth. she babbles out spitty sounds in retaliation, equally thrilled to see you. “yeah, close enough.” he chuckles, wiping the mess on her chin.

“good morning baby!” you coo, leaning forward to kiss her soft head. “and good morning daddy.” you gently place your hand on his back as you pass him making his heart skip a beat, watching you rifle the cabinet for your mug to make some coffee.

“oo, i remember when you used t’call me that.” he smirks to himself, spooning up more baby food and you whip your head around to give him a look.

“jj! not infront of the baby.” you huff, light heartedly and he holds up a hand.

“my bad, my bad.”

his smile doesn’t fade, and when you turn you back to pick out a mug — you grow one of your own.

୨ৎ . ⸝⸝ ! 🌙 ꒱

[inthewychelm]

Steddie Week: Day seven - Free space/ I Want to Break Free by Queen @steddie-week

word count: 589

Steve woke to the sound of music filling the trailer and an empty bed. The walls were thin enough that he could hear the noise of someone moving around in the kitchen. He knew that Wayne was probably still not due back for a few more hours, and the old man didn’t really prefer to blast Queen in the morning…or early afternoon. 

He took a few moments to linger in bed--Eddie’s bed, before moving to join his boyfriend in the kitchen. Steve wasn’t typically a morning person, but the memory of last night was motivation enough. 

And even if it wasn’t, the sight of his boyfriend dancing along to Freddie’s lyrics while cooking them breakfast definitely was worth it. Eddie smiled up at him as Steve stumbled further into the room, hair wild from sleep and wearing Steve’s button down over boxers. He quickly set down the fork he was using to poke around at whatever was crackling in the pan and made his way to Steve. 

“Morning, sugar.” Eddie crooned, emphasized with a peck to his cheek and a mug of coffee pressed into his palm. Steve chased his lips for another kiss before Eddie moved out of range; which just earned him a delighted snort and a second kiss. 

Steve sipped on the coffee while Eddie went back to the stove. He was admiring the way his hair swayed as he moved out of rhythm to the beat.

“Didn’t think Queen was your thing.” Steve mused. 

“Oh, contraire, my dearest.” Eddie laughed, speaking over his shoulder. “I very much respect Queen and dig their music. But I’m not the one who picked the music playing.”

Steve hummed in confusion. Not about Eddie actually liking Queen. That was surprising, yes, but it made sense when he thought about it. In fact, he was kinda delighted he was still learning things about Eddie. 

As he was thinking about it, the song was starting to sound more familiar. Like, as in listening to it on repeat before and after putting it on a mixtape for Eddie familiar. It really could’ve been just a coincidence, but by the grin on Eddie’s face Steve didn’t think it was.

“Is this my tape?” Steve whined, he didn’t need Eddie to nod to confirm. “What happened to listening to it alone?”

“Ah, I believe I said, I want you to listen to my tape alone. ‘Sides, I was listening alone before you joined me.” 

Steve’s frown didn’t last long after Eddie sang along, shoulders jerking with the sudden beat. His dancing was more of a performance than what Steve was used to. Eddie quickly shut off the stove, finished with the food and his attention solely on Steve. He felt cornered by Eddie’s predatory grin as he shimmied closer. 

Eddie placed his hands on Steve’s hips, pulling them chest to chest. One hand curled around to the small of his back, the other holding his hand. Eddie began swaying along, slightly wild and offbeat. But Steve was enjoying the attention as Eddie crooned along with Freddie.

“It’s strange, but it’s true,” Eddie sang. Steve thinks to himself that Eddie’s twang becomes stronger in the morning and when he sings. “Can’t get over the way you love me like you do”

The grin on Eddie’s lips was so full of love that Steve couldn’t help but follow along. He was still sleepy, but for now he was content to sing and dance with his boyfriend. They could eat a cold breakfast wearing each other’s clothes after. 

[winterzxsoldierz]

Home Alone In The Avenger's Tower

Reader x Hydra agents

Authors Note: I was watching Home Alone earlier and wanted to make a one shot inspired off of it, Marvel style, in this you are Loki's kid, yes i said it, and the Avengers are not gonna be around for this one sadly, but hydra will and that meant fun for you, don't be too sad the avengers will come at the end. Warnings: Pranks, a lot of sadistic pranks, and blood, language Steve wouldn't approve of. Side note:I wanted to bring Christmas a bit early and add some glorious purpose to it. Reader is Female and around 17 & 18

The day started out normal, you waking up and doing anything a relatively normal person would do, brushing teeth and getting yourself together, the team had to go on a emergency mission on Christmas Eve, which had you a little bummed because you were actually starting to like them, your father said they weren't that bad and you agree.

Walking into the kitchen, you stop and smirk, and magically you conjure a full plate of breakfast out onto the table in front of you "Ha, beat that Sam." you murmur to yourself smugly. you take a seat down and begin to eat breakfast, you turn on the tv as well, watching the Grinch, Bucky's twin you called him. After breakfast you wander around the tower snooping around Tony's lab, touching things you have no business touching, you then find Tony's music playlist and grin, that's when you find it, the perfect song to blast around now that you're alone, Master Of Puppets by Metallica, and you ask his A.I F.R.I.D.A.Y to turn it on the common room loud speakers, and around the tower, you sing and dance without a care in the world, hell you even conjure your own electric guitar.

(Sun down) Hours had passed since the sun was up and there you sat on the couch with a tub of ice cream in your lap, with a spoon bigger than your mouth in your hands, "Merry Christmas you filthy animal." you imitate Kevin in the movie as you watch him quote the guy he's watching on his tv. (Meanwhile) Brock Rumlow creeps up the steps of the Avenger's level of the tower, and signals his buddy Grant Ward, to follow him, Rumlow felt a bit smug knowing that the Avengers were gone for the day and probably the night as well, he had it all figured out and Alexander Pierce would definitely be proud when he comes back with juicy information...But little did he know he was in for a rude awakening. A sudden crash awakens you from your power snooze and you look around noting the quiet, the television had cut off itself and the common room was only brightened by the Christmas lights and tree, your eyes narrow in suspension since you knew the team weren't home yet, and it definitely wasn't Peter because he would have texted you, you hear voices, whisper shouting to each other, it was definitely two men, none of who voices you knew, so activating your invisibility you began to your search.

Upon reaching Tony's lab next to the file room you see them, and your eyes widen, now you had two options call for help or handle things yourself, and you thought what the hell, 'I'm a god, i don't need it.'

Purposely you make yourself visible again and play scared child, both of the agents come up to you but you run and of course there's a little evil smirk on your lips. "Hey F.R.I.D.A.Y lock any source of exits in the tower for anyone who isn't me or the Avengers." you yell. and you slip into your fathers room.

(POV:Hydra's)

"What the fuck? Brock you said the place was empty! Grant exclaimed in annoyance, Brock shrugs and glares "How was i supposed to know there'd be a Teenager here?" Brock argues trying to defends himself, Grant rolls his eyes "For you to be the leader of the strike team you sure act like an obnoxious dick on a stick." Grant glowers. "Let's just find the girl." Brock grumbles and walks off "Besides, what can one girl do to us?" Brock yells cockily.

Running into the kitchen you go into the pantry and pull out some popcorn, you rip open the bag and lay out some kernels on the ground, you then grab a bottle of olive oil and pour it down on the ground of the kitchen and common room entrance, but you pour enough where it'll lead them into a large pool of green paint you conjured into the common room area. plan one was already in motion.

"Hey Brock i think i found- oh shit." Grant yelps as he trips forward on the kernels only to slip quicker on the oil, "Uh-oh" the words leave him as he tips over into the pool of green paint with a wet splash. All you do is smirk in the back ground and teleport to where Rumlow is heading.

"Where is that little bitch?" Brock growls and makes his way down the hall towards the file room and instead of meeting the room he falls, through a portal and he falls for about 30 minutes before you eventually let him fall into the paint pool next to his buddy.

Both Brock and Grant look at each other in confusion, before both of them get out the pool, but you have other plans for them. Teleporting the men into the training room, you have them held up against Clint arrow dart board and you speak into the intercom completely invisible to the men you speak "Ladies and Gentlemen, today we have two continents up on stage today to play a game of human darts, our weapon of choice, daggers!" you say excitedly, "But firstly let's give a boo for our gentlemen up on stage for being pussy's for making a move when my family aren't home. BOOO." you murmur dryly and in a wicked tone you speak. "Let's began."

With you still invisible you step into the room, handful of Bucky's daggers in hand, you watch in amusement as the men look around clearly worried about if you're around or not, but who cares.

You start by flipping the dagger in your hand and the swish the dagger fly's right by Grant's arm and plunges right into the board next to him, and then you throw another making a yelp leave him as it lands right by his head, you laugh. Then you turn to Brock, a look of distaste on your face, this guy creeped you out more than you like to admit, you throw not one but two daggers at him, one landing on each side of his arm almost hitting him but not quite. "I call this one, no kids in his sack." You quip and throw a dagger right between his legs, so close but not hitting him. but you laugh at his screams.

Three hours. it's been three hours, since Brock and Grant have been victims of your games, they can't find you anywhere but you have traps waiting for them every corner, Brock was covered in chocolate sauce and thumbtacks and Grant was still green from earlier but had burned shoes from stepping on metal steps you some how have heated up. Again the intercoms start up this time it plays Another one bites the dust by Queen, and the lights flicker off and on and both men walk on a trip wire and are immediately slapped with pans in the face and the fall back into yet another portal and falls into a pool full of flour, they don't get a chance before honey is falling down on them, but of course it wouldn't be funny without your laughter.

Once again, Brock Rumlow and Grant Ward split up, big mistake.

Brock walks down the hallway, his steps a bit squeaky from the mess that is him, he lost all his weapons, he leans up against the wall, and peaks around the corner seeing a round barstool with a metal bucket on it that says "Weapons." he walks towards it with fast big strides and reaches his hand in and hears a click his eyes widens and then Boom he's blown back into a wall rendering him unconscious and a bit bloody "Merry Christmas you filthy animal." You quote, with a satisfied smirk on your lips as the clock it's 12 on the dot. You follow Grant, you're invisible again, and watching him, the feeling he gets is uneasiness and he looks around, yet he keeps going forward, he walks into a room that looks Christmas gift wrapped, it's an empty circle looking room, the door shuts behind him immediately and with an illusion spell, you make him see spiders, that look like reindeer, and they start to chase him, he runs but runs into the glass walls repeatedly until you decided you were done with them, so you teleport in there and punch him in the face knocking him out. You drag Brock's unconscious form into the room with Grant, and tie their hands together with Christmas lights and then you add a Christmas bow on each of their heads. the room that the two men are in is Loki's old cell, you leave the cell locking it up and you put gift wrapping paper over the glass to keep any one from seeing in or out, you add a large golden bow on the door and a note that reads "To:Avengers, From:Y/N"

You cleaned the entire tower up with your powers and went to bed like nothing happened but only you'll know the real secret.

(Avengers Pov)

Everyone is tense and tired, the mission was a trap and bust but everyone is alive, and that's all that mattered, the jet lands on the helipad and the team gets off.

Upon getting into the tower the place smells of fresh chocolate and mint, they are first met with cookies and hot chocolate on the table in the common room, and they see the stockings filled with wrapped gifts, the anger and tension in the seems to leave as they see this and know your the cause, and then that's when they hear it, Jingle bell rock playing from a distance, they follow it until they reach the gift wrapped cell, each of them has their own look of confusion, before Tony steps forward and reads the card. "I'm assuming that the mission you went on was a trap, i hope you like the snacks and presents but i think you'll like this one more, i got em. from. Y/N Laufeyson-"

The rest of the team steps forward and starts to tear down the paper and there the two men lay fully conscious and tied up in a jolly way and all messed up. The team looks at each other before bursting out in laughter. "Well i'll be damned." Tony snickers "That's my darling little angel." Loki smirks, a proud look in his eyes. (The End)

Happy soon Thanksgiving and early Christmas, thanks for reading❤️💚

[hazza-bear-care]

Happy Birthday

It's your birthday, but everyone seems to be too busy to care.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x FemAvenger!Reader (Established relationship), Age gap if you squint, pet names (honey, baby, sweetheart), allusions to smut but still 18+

A/N: My birthday was on the 18 and I didn't really feel like celebrating, so this was inspired by how i felt. Let me know what you think!

~~~~~~~~

As you woke the morning of your birthday, a heavy, hollow feeling settled in your chest. After you turned 21, celebrating your birthdays began to feel trivial, like a chore. You always seemed to get a little depressed as your birthday drew nearer, never quite being able to pin the reason down. For the third year in a row, you had to plaster a sickeningly sweet smile to your face and deal with the near constant chorus of "Happy Birthday's" spilling from your friends as you passed them in the halls of the compound. You didn't doubt that Tony would bug you about throwing a lavish gala in your honor, something you'd decline relentlessly in exchange for a quiet night in with your friends.

However, when you'd made your way to the kitchen to join the others for breakfast, no one looked up from their plates. Brushing aside the feeling burying deeper into your chest, you sat in your spot across from Bucky, the handsome super-soldier hunched over a steaming bowl of oatmeal. The conversation flowing between Natasha and Thor continued, other members of the team chiming in with their own opinions, but no one seemed to notice that you had sat at the table. You silently poured yourself a cup of coffee, Bucky sending you a quick smile as he caught your movement, almost like he was happy to see that you had graced him with your presence. You returned his smile, gently placing the coffee pot back on the table. Just as you were reaching for the cream, a hand came out from behind you, snatching it up before you could grab it. Looking up, you saw Bruce Banner pouring an obscene amount of cream into his already full mug, nearly draining the carton before he put it back on the table.

You grabbed the remainder, barely having enough to cool your coffee before you stirred in your sugar, mentally swearing at Banner for being so inconsiderate. Finally turning your attention to the food laid out on the table, you notice that there's not a lot left for you to eat. That wasn't unusual for the Avenger's compound, the general consensus being "you snooze, you lose" when it comes to meals, yet you couldn't help but feel as if this was deliberate. As if he read your mind, Bucky cleared his throat, sliding his bowl of oatmeal across the table to you. The aroma of brown sugar, cinnamon, and maple syrup caused your mouth to water, mumbling a quick thank you to Bucky as you took a bite.

"Okay, well, nothing really going on today! Feel free to go about your day as you see fit, leave dinner ideas with FRIDAY." Tony said, sending your heart straight to your feet. You heard sighs of relief as the team mumbled about how awesome it was to not have any missions for once, which you were also relieved about, but as everyone shuffled out of the dining room, some waving their goodbyes as they noticed you, a wave of loneliness washed over you. The oatmeal in your mouth tasted like cinnamon glue, but you forced it down before also leaving the table, wandering aimlessly around the compound.

Your feet seemed to move on their own, leading you towards the lab to bug Tony. He was like the fun uncle you never had, so bothering him while he was trying to work was sure to lift your spirits.

The doors slid open and you immediately heard Metallica blasting through the speakers, Tony subtly nodding his head to the beat as he fluttered between multiple screens. You shook your head, walking up to his work bench and sitting down, your fingers itching to play with the hologram in Tony's hands in order to get his attention.

"What's up, Squirt?" Tony called over the music, the song now changed to Guns N Roses. You gnawed on your lip anxiously, popping your fingers as you focused on whatever he was fiddling with.

"Just wanted to see if there was anything planned for today. Anything you might have forgotten to mention to the group or to me." You responded, praying you sounded casual about it. Apparently, you didn't as Tony flicked away his hologram and turned down his music, planting both of his hands on his hips as he stared you down.

"The holidays are over, I didn't forget Valentine's Day, which reminds me I have to buy something for Pepper. Hey, FRIDAY, remind me to buy Ms. Potts a Valentine's gift." Tony rambled, the AI taking the note. "I'm fairly certain there's nothing to celebrate today. Why do you ask?"

You sucked in a breath and blinked away the tears building up, as you shook your head. "No reason. Sometimes you're forgetful. Sorry for bothering you."

"No problem. See you later, kiddo." Tony answered, turning his music back up as you made your way back upstairs to the living room. You stumbled through blurry vision and into an argument going on between Natasha and Sam. They were sitting with Clint, Thor, Peter, Wanda and Vision, everyone gathered to watch a movie, but they couldn't decide which one to start with.

"I think Back to the Future is an AWESOME choice, Nat!" Sam yelled from his horizontal position on one of the couches.

"Half the people in this room won't understand the references, Sam! Let's watch Indiana Jones instead!" Natasha yelled back, sending a pillow straight into Sam's face. You thankfully slipped past them without being pulled in as a tiebreaker, flitting up to your room to change into some workout gear. Maybe punching something would shrivel the dark feeling still threatening to swallow you whole.

You quickly changed into a pair of leggings and a sport's bra, tying your hair up with a black scrunchie and shoving a pair of headphones into your ears, grabbing a water bottle from the fridge as you once again avoided the movie argument that had now escalated to a pillow fight.

Stepping into the cool air of the basement gym, you were alone to do cardio while Steve and Bucky sparred on mats across the way. You blasted your favorite playlist as you settled into a decent pace on the treadmill, a sheen of sweat building across your chest and face. After your run, you did some lunges before cooling down with some water, someone tapping your shoulder during your break.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you! I was just wondering if you'd like to spar for a bit?" Steve had been down in the basement for at least an hour, yet it looked as if he'd just begun, a light layer of sweat dusting his cheekbones.

"Oh, sure." You responded, removing your headphones and walking over to where Bucky was still panting. You chuckled slightly at Bucky as you placed your belongings on a bench nearby before stepping in to face Steve on the mat.

"Bring it on, honey." Steve taunted, a small smirk on his face. You steeled yourself before throwing a punch which Steve caught, giving you enough time to sweep his legs out from under him, a thud echoing around the room as the super soldier fell to the floor. While he was down, he threw out his legs to trip you sending you sprawling on your back, the wind being sucked out of your lungs instantly. Steve kept his legs tangled with yours as he rolled you over and pinned your arms to your back all while you struggled to catch your breath.

"Okay, I give!" You cried from under Steve, the pressure on your shoulders beginning to get uncomfortable. Steve let go of you in a flash, standing up before offering you a hand and steadying you on your feet. You felt you didn't do as well as you should have, and as you caught your breath you pondered ways to try taking Steve down with the next time you sparred. The look on your face said enough because Bucky was suddenly snapping in your face to get your attention.

"Are you alright? You've been weird since breakfast." Bucky asked, commenting on when he'd seen you last. Anger poured through your veins like thick, hot lava as you glared at Bucky.

"I'M FINE!" You scream at the top of your lungs, running out of the gym and taking the elevator to your floor of the compound. You sprinted to your room, demanding that FRIDAY lock your door as you buried your face into your pillow, screaming once again as anger, frustration, and heartbreak burned you from inside out. You withdrew your face from your pillow and instead chose to punch it, picking it up and pounding it against your headboard, trying anything that would help transfer the emotions you were feeling away from your body.

After one more particularly intense scream, you wiped your eyes and decided to take a shower in hopes to try and refresh your day. You turned the water up as high as it could go and scrubbed every inch of your skin until you were bright red, leaving the scalding sanctuary in two plush towels. You then proceeded with your skin care routine, combing through your wet hair before putting it up in a bun, donning your most comfortable pair of sweatpants and a tank top. You shoved your feet into some fuzzy yet sturdy slippers and grabbed a book and a hoodie before making your way back to the elevator.

Instead of going downstairs for dinner, something someone else picked out on your birthday, you went upstairs to the roof. Over the years the roof had become a quiet place to read and get away from the business of your life. Saving the world doesn't have a schedule, yet somehow there's always time for you to sneak up to the roof. There was a little sitting area next to a rooftop garden filled with roses, and the sunset so beautifully over the city that it held your attention more than the book you brought.

As the sky grew darker and it got harder to read, you chose to watch the sun sink lower in the distance, the constellations coming out to dance above your head. The wind picked up a bit, but as you went to move you heard someone walk up behind you.

"It's me, don't be afraid." Bucky announced gruffly as he came to sit beside you,

"What do you want?" You asked quietly, turning your attention back to the glittering skyline of the city.

"You missed dinner. I figured you'd be up here though." He answered, He'd guessed correctly and found you in the one moment you had to be alone. "What's wrong?"

"What?"

"What's wrong? You've been weird today, not like yourself, so something's wrong. Tell me." Bucky explained, demanding an answer. He towered over you, instantly making you feel small as his stare pinned you to your seat. His baby blue eyes were full of desperation and care, causing you to tear up again.

"It's my birthday." You whimpered, burying your face in your hands as you tried to hold back your tears. Bucky's heart dropped as he watched you crumble into a bawling mess behind your hands. He wrapped his arm around you and pulled you in for a hug which you immediately returned, burying your face into his neck as you continued to cry.

"Oh honey. Sweetheart, I am so sorry! Why didn't you say something sooner?" Bucky apologized, his voice soft and comforting as you cried.

"I trusted my team to know. I know all of your birthdays." The explanation was a good start, but Bucky knew something else was bothering you.

"But everyone forgot, didn't they?" Bucky asked softly, rubbing your back as you wailed harder. Hearing it out loud was worse than you could have ever imagined, and you never wanted to hear it again. You simply nodded, clutching Bucky's shirt even tighter in your fists as he held you impossibly closer to him, helping you calm down with every breath he took. Once your crying had slowed, Bucky prompted you to look at him, letting him wipe away the stray tears that had fallen.

"I'm so sorry we forgot your birthday. I'm sorry I forgot. You mean so much to me, the least I can do is remember your damn birthday." You giggled a bit in Bucky's grasp.

"I even asked Tony if he was positive there was nothing going on today. He said he was certain there was nothing to celebrate." You commented bitterly, crossing your arms as you pulled yourself from Bucky's lap.

"I'm gonna beat the shit out of him, I promise. But for now, your birthday isn't over yet. What would you like to do?" Bucky asked, distracting you from the anger the was building inside you again. He grabbed your hand and swiped his thumb over your knuckles as you pondered his question.

"I don't know, Buck. I kind of stopped caring about my birthday when I was a teenager. It wasn't until I joined the team that I even got something I could call a birthday party. Hell, Natasha took me to Las Vegas when I turned 21, but now three years later they just stopped trying." Your voice cracked and your chin wobbled, but you were done crying. Bucky rubbed your knuckles again as you chewed on your bottom lip.

"Do you want to go back to Vegas? I'm sure Tony could arrange something in a heartbeat." Bucky offered, tucking a piece of hair behind your ear.

"No. I... I don't feel like doing anything, actually." You answered through gritted teeth.

"Oh, a lazy day can be great! You can watch movies or tv shows, listen to music. Does any of that sound good?" Bucky's eyes were full of hope as he offered up suggestions on how to spend the rest of your birthday, but he wasn't understanding what you meant.

"No, like I don't feel like doing anything. I just want the day to be over with and continue on with my life." You explained, bringing your fingers up to your mouth to chew at a rouge cuticle. Bucky seemed to understand as he froze in his seat, and he swore he could feel his heart break.

"Sweetheart, whether you believe it or not, today is special. Today is not just another day to mark off on the calendar. You graced the Earth on this day, and the world was forever changed because of it. If you weren't born today, I never would have fallen in love with you." Your heart melted and your eyes watered once again as Bucky pulled your hand away from your mouth. "I am so, so very sorry I forgot your birthday, honey. I promise I will make it up to you, alright?"

"Okay. I believe you, Bucky. Thank you." You said running your thumb over his as you sat in silence for a brief moment.

"Are you sure there's nothing you want to do?" Bucky asked, running his fingers through your hair.

"Yeah. Tell everyone they forgot my birthday and lock myself in my room for the rest of the night to watch them scramble." You replied, causing Bucky to throw his head back and laugh loudly.

"Anything else?" Bucky asked, wiping away a tear of his own.

"A movie and junk food night. Pizza, tacos, burgers and a list of movies you haven't seen yet." Bucky's smile grew wider as he agreed to the plan, escorting you back inside the compound and to your room.

As he went to retrieve his phone and wallet from his room, Bucky ran into Natasha. The red head looked bored with her day, but refreshed from the workout she was doing prior.

"Hey, where are you going?" Natasha called as Bucky passed.

"My girl and I are having a movie night and we're ordering food. No one is allowed to talk to her right now, she's a little upset." Bucky explained, tapping on his phone as he walked back to your room to get your food orders correct.

"Why is she upset?" Natasha asked, following him to your door.

"You forgot her birthday. It was today." Bucky said casually, turning away from Natasha who was busy trying to pick up her jaw from the floor as he entered your room once more. He confirmed the food and ordered whatever you wanted, throwing in as many birthday treats as he could find with every order. As he gathered whatever was in the kitchen for appetizers, Bucky couldn't help but laugh at the flurry of the Avengers as they scrambled to throw together a decent celebration.

"Barnes, why didn't you tell anyone it was her birthday?!" Sam yelled, his hands suddenly full of balloons, cornering Bucky against the kitchen counter.

"You guys were supposed to know." Bucky shrugged, burying his own guilt as he grabbed two cartons of ice cream and spoons before he shoved past Sam. The food he had ordered arrived, so he gathered that as well before he made his way back upstairs.

"Your birthday feast has arrived, my sweet!" He announced, piling the food onto your bed before turning and locking your door.

"You're forgetting something." You answered. Bucky frowned and scanned the bags laid out in front of him. He had your favorite barbacoa tacos and bacon cheeseburger balanced perfectly on top of the New York style pepperoni pizza he'd gotten to share. Along with the entree's, cheesecake and cookies and cinnamon bread doused the room in a sugary smell, your mouth watering in anticipation.

"I did? But I got the tacos, the pizza, and the burgers. I made sure there were extra French fries, and got you extra of everything. Are you sure I forgot something?" Bucky asked, disappointment lacing his voice as he continued to stare at the mountain of food on your bed.

"The movie list." You reminded him, smiling brightly when his face changed from confusion to relief, then to realization.

"Oh! I have it on my phone. Sam taught me how to do that. Apparently there's an app for that." Bucky answered, crawling into bed beside you and handing you his phone. You swiped it open, slightly shocked that he didn't have a password, and found his movie app. You scrolled for a bit, the list of titles expansive and riddled with multiple genres.

"Where do you want to start? A franchise, a romantic comedy, a classic?" You offered, ignoring the perpetual buzzing of your phone as it laid between you and your boyfriend. Bucky picked it up and turned it off, tossing in onto your bedside table as he pondered your question.

"It's your birthday, honey. What do you want to watch?" Bucky answered, unpacking the buffet of junk food and laying it out on the bed.

"Have you already seen Harry Potter?" You asked, fiddling with the ends of your hair.

"Not all of it. I think I've seen the first three?"

"If you don't remember, then we're watching Harry Potter. Fair warning though, I have most of them memorized. They're some of my favorite movies." You grabbed your remote and found where all eight of the wizarding movies were streaming, settling in for a long night of eating and binge-watching Harry Potter.

When you were stuffed with food and halfway through the fourth movie, someone knocked on your door.

"FRIDAY, who's at my door?" You ask, not tearing your eyes away from the tv.

"It's Mister Stark. Should I let him in?"

"No. Tell him and the others that I will not be talking to them." You answer quickly, smiling slightly as you heard Tony swear before he stomped away.

"I'm sorry again, honey." Bucky said, guilt filling his voice as he rubbed your arm, finally breaking your attention away from the movie still playing in the background. His brows were furrowed together as he stared down at you, confusion on his face as your calm gaze steadied on his.

"I forgive you. Thank you for this. It's exactly what I wanted." You commented, rubbing your thumb over his knuckles as a soft smile spread over your face.

"You're welcome. Happy Birthday, sweetheart." Bucky cooed, leaning in to capture your lips with his, pouring every ounce of love into you with each languid movement. You lost yourself in his touch, melting at how beautifully your lips fit with Bucky's, like two pieces of the same puzzle finally locking into place. The two of you pulled away breathless and panting, staring deeply into each other's eyes for a few moments more before Bucky cleared his throat and turned his attention back to the tv.

"Are you okay?" You asked, suddenly shy and a little angry. Why would he pull away like that? In the year that you had been dating he'd never pulled away from an intimate moment, so what changed?

"Yeah, I'm good. You're just... a really good kisser. I needed a second to compose myself." Bucky answered, his attention fully on the movie that was almost over yet sending quick glances your way every so often.

"Thank you. You're a good kisser too, Bucky. My birthday wish is to kiss you for the rest of the night." You admitted, turning his head to meet his eyeline. Bucky's eyes darkened and in a flash the food was quickly discarded, his lips meeting yours again. This kiss was heated as he pushed you to lay down against the pillows. You sighed under his touch and settled in for a long night as his tongue swiped through your mouth.

Yes, this is what you wanted, but you still couldn't wait to see what everyone else would pull off to make up for forgetting your birthday. They didn't matter though. All that mattered is that Bucky kept touching you, kissing you, and celebrating the day you chose to grace the planet; the best day of his life. He loved celebrating this day with you, and he couldn't wait for more in the future.

[sassydjbob]

Tennessee Orange - Part one

Lando's family owns a ranch in Tennessee and Martin is an aspiring singer/songwriter who wants to save money and needs a change of scenery.

Inspired by Cowboy Lando during the Austin GP week.

Songs I used as inspiration: You look like you love me - Ella Langley feat. Riley Green Love you for a long time - Maggie Rogers LEVII'S JEANS - Beyoncé feat. Post Malone All to myself - Dan + Shay

ao3: SassyDjBob

note: English is not my first language. I am not from Tennessee and I don't live on a ranch, so it's not meant to be realistic and just used for a work of fiction. Credits to the owners and songwriters of the song lyrics used in the fic.

YOU LOOK LIKE YOU LOVE ME

Mornings weren’t Lando’s favorite time of the day, if someone asked him, he would probably say it’s his least favorite time of the day. He valued his sleep, a lot. So the idea of having to wake up early almost every day for the next few months did not fill Lando with excitement. 

“Lando come on! He will arrive soon and I need you to pick him up from the train station in town!” were the first words Lando heard this summer morning and he groaned into his pillow. 

After refusing to leave his warm and comfortable bed for another two minutes he finally got up and ready for the day. When he entered the kitchen downstairs, he saw his parents having breakfast and sister having breakfast. 

“Why can’t Oli pick him up?” he asked while grabbing a toast and egg that his mom prepared for him. 

“Because Oli has his own family now. You know he is busy with Mila, I don’t want to bother him” Adam, his dad, replied while reading his daily newspaper. 

Lando rolls his eyes at that and scoffs “So I get stuck with these tasks now?”

Adam finally looks up from his newspaper to look at his son “Lando, don’t be like that. It won’t kill you to drive to the train station and pick up our new help for the summer. Please don’t make a big deal out of this.” he tells his son with a kind, but serious expression. 

“Who is this new guy anyways? I don’t know anything about him. Please don’t tell me it’s another one of these weirdos that play a harmonica every morning” Lando says with a slight whiny tone, not bearing the thought of being stuck with another Luke, like last years summer help, that woke him up every morning before sunrise to play his harmonica outside.

Adam laughs at his sons statement and shakes his head “His name is Martin. I think he is just a few years older than you. It will be nice to have someone close to your age here this summer, don’t you think so?”

“Yeah, maybe” Lando mumbles and thinks about the guy, Martin, a normal name. Would he get along with Martin? Will he be annoyed by him? He didn’t expect the guy to be close to his age, normally the summer helps were much older than him. Maybe he could befriend Martin and actually have a decent time during work this summer, the thought of that made him smile.

He suddenly realizes that he has no idea what Martin looks like “How am I meant to know who he is at the train station? And please don’t say I am meant to hold up a poster with his name on it, because there is no way in hell I will do that.”

Lando’s mom and sister, both called Cisca, chuckle at the thought of Lando holding up a sign like that waiting for Martin. “I told him you would wait at the bakery there, I’m sure it won’t be too crowded at this time” Adam tells him. 

“Ugh, he better show up on time. I won’t wait forever. If he doesn’t show up after 10 minutes I am driving back home.” Lando announces and leaves the kitchen. 

“Thank you!” his dad calls after him added by a “Be nice and polite!” from his mom.

-

The drive to the train station takes around 30 minutes and Lando jams to his favorite songs on full volume, like he always does when he drives his car. If there were two things in life he loved, among some other things, they were definitely driving cars, or cars in general, and music. He often just drives around with music blasting, to set his mind free and to relax.

The thirty minute drive went by quicker than expected and Lando finds himself at the train station, praying that he won’t stand around like an idiot waiting for someone that is late or, even worse, not showing up. After parking the car he walks to the bakery his dad told him to wait at, wondering if he should get himself a sweet treat. That bakery had really good croissants and now that he is thinking about them, he is craving one. 

Just when he decides to get one, his train of thought gets interrupted when he sees someone standing next to the entrance of the bakery. Lando feels his heart stop for a second when he looks at him. There was something about the guy that made Lando’s breath hitch, something that made him suddenly feel very warm, on this chill summer morning. 

He realizes that he stopped in the middle of the way when someone bumps into him and he curses under his breath. He was just about to continue walking to the bakery when it suddenly dawns on him why he is walking to that bakery, not to get a croissant, but to pick up the new help for the summer, Martin. When the realization hits him that that guy in front of the bakery could be Martin, he stops walking again. He suddenly panics, he doesn’t know why. The thought of that being Martin has him feeling nervous, but also excited.

His heartrate picks up again and his hands feel sweaty. How is he supposed to walk up to him now? Should he just say his name or wait for him to say something? What if that isn’t Martin and it’s just a random guy that he will never see again? Lando would be very disappointed if that wasn’t Martin. He suddenly feels extremely overwhelmed by the situation and doesn’t realize he is standing in the way, again, until someone bumps into him, again. This time though the automatic “sorry” doesn’t leave his lips, instead a loud and embarrassingly high pitched yelp does. 

At first he doesn’t even realize why he reacted like that until he suddenly feels something burning his skin and when he looks down at himself he can see hot coffee staining his left arm, the side of his shirt and jeans. He curses under his breath and looks to the woman who is now holding an empty cup of coffee “I am so sorry, I didn’t see you standing here” she says with an apologetic look on her face. 

Lando smiles weakly “Nah it’s okay I shouldn’t have stood there, it’s alright” he says with an awkward look, truly feeling stupid for getting so distracted. 

“Do you happen to have a tissue or something?” he asks and looks down at his arm and clothes that are soaked in coffee. 

“Let me check, I don’t know if I have any in my bag” the woman replies and starts looking around in her bag. 

He nods and waits, trying hard not to cringe at the feeling of the hot coffee now starting to dry onto his skin. 

“It seems I must have forgotten to pack any, I am so sorry” she apologizes. 

Lando was just about to reply that it’s fine when he gets interrupted “Here you can have these” a soft voice says. 

He looks to see where that voice is coming from when he sees the guy from the bakery standing next to him, holding tissues out to him. Lando’s heart stops, again, and he doesn’t know how long it takes him to process the guy’s words, but he knows it was too long because the guy holds his hand out closer to Lando, to offer again. 

“Oh, thank you” is all Lando manages to get out and grabs a tissue from the strangers hand. He slowly moves to wipe some of the, now almost completely dried, coffee off his arm and starts blushing when he feels the guy’s eyes on him. 

“I really have to leave to catch my train, again, I am so sorry about this” the woman says with a sorry look on her face. 

“It’s okay, have a good day!” Lando replies and waves goodbye to the woman. 

“Are you okay?” the stranger asks and looks at him with concern in his eyes. 

Lando stops waving and turns to look at him, to really look at him for the first time, up close. He can’t describe the feeling that washes over him. There is something about that guy, that just pulls him in, that is captivating. He realizes, he must be staring like an absolute creep and clears his throat before speaking. 

“Umm yeah, might suffer from severe fourth degree burns, but other than that I am fine” he manages to get out with an awkward chuckle. 

The stranger also chuckles and Lando notices how his eyes almost close and crinkle and the side, the sound is so heartful but soft and also silly, it’s like music to Lando’s ears. 

“I’m glad, that looks nasty. I hope the coffee won’t stain too much” the stranger says with a genuine and soft voice. 

“It’s okay. These aren’t my best clothes, so the loss wouldn’t be too bad” Lando smiles. 

The guy nods, looks around and then looks back to Lando “Do you happen to know if there is more than one bakery in this train station? I was meant to meet someone at a bakery, but I am not from here and have been waiting for quite a while, that I am now wondering if I got the wrong one” he says and scratches the back of his head while looking a bit confused and lost. 

Lando too mesmerized by the stranger’s face and voice, doesn’t immediately get what the guy is talking about “No there is only one. Wait a second! Are you Martin?” he asks and watches as the guy’s eyes widen.

“Yes! Are you Lando?” he asks with a wide smile on his face. 

Hearing his name coming from Martin’s lips, might be his favorite thing in the world right now and he wants to hear it again. 

“That would be me” Lando smiles back. 

Martin’s smile gets bigger if that’s even possible. “Nice! I am so glad I found you. I was getting a bit worried I got lost or that you wouldn’t show up” Martin laughs. 

“Did you have to wait long? I thought I was on time, my dad told me when to be here, maybe he messed up the times” Lando says with a worried look on his face, feeling bad for making Martin wait. 

“No, it’s okay. It wasn’t that long. I am glad we found each other. Thanks for picking me up” he says and all Lando can think of in the back of his mind is that he is also glad they found each other. 

They make their way to Lando’s car that’s parked outside and Lando feels almost giddy at the thought of Martin spending the entire summer with them. When they reach the car Lando turns to Martin to help him put his stuff in the back, when he notices a guitar case. 

“You play the guitar?” he asks curiously. 

“Yes! Been playing since I was a kid” Martin replies eagerly. 

“Oh sick! I always wanted to learn but never got the chance to” Lando sighs. 

“I could teach you. It’s not that difficult” Martin smiles at him and Lando feels excitement rushing through him at the thought of Martin teaching him to play the guitar. 

He nods eagerly “That would be mint! Thank you.”

After all of Martin’s stuff is loaded into the car they get in at the front and Lando starts the drive back home. He put his playlist from earlier back on but doesn’t turn the volume as high as if he was driving alone. 

“So… what brings you to a random ranch in Tennessee this summer?” he decides to ask Martin, curious to know why he is spending their summer with them. 

“I am trying so save up some money for my career in music and thought a change of scenery and nature would be nice” Martin replies while looking out the window to watch the scenery as they are leaving town. 

“Oh! So you don’t just play the guitar as a hobby? What kind of career are you set on?” Lando asks with curiosity, not expecting Martin to be a serious musician. 

“Singer/Songwriter, I guess. I write songs and come up with melodies all the time, mainly on the guitar, sometimes on the piano, but I obviously can’t take that one with me everywhere” Martin chuckles and drums his fingers against the side of the car, as if he already had a new melody in mind. Lando glances over briefly and feels amazed by Martin. 

“That’s so nice! Will we get to hear any of your stuff? Or are you gatekeeping that for a special time?” he asks. 

“I can play you some of my stuff. Back at home I did some shows or people’s weddings. I am happy about any audience” Martin smiles softly. 

Home, Lando realizes he has no idea where Martin’s home is “Where are you even from? I don’t think my dad mentioned” he asks. 

“I’m from New York City” Martin says casually. 

Lando almost slams the brakes, when he hears Martin say that and looks over at him with wide eyes “What?! You are from New York and want to spend your summer in freaking Tennessee?!” he says loudly. 

Martin chuckles at Lando’s outburst “Well technically me and my family from Amsterdam, but we moved to the States when I was little. And yes, I do want to spend my summer here in Tennessee” he smiles. 

“Wait wait wait, this is too much information at once. You’re dutch?” Lando asks, not being able to process everything Martin is telling him. 

“Yup” Martin says softly. 

“Okay but if you’re from New York City why the fuck would you spend your summer here?” Lando asks, honestly confused about what Martin wants here. 

Martin chuckles again, amused by Lando’s reactions “As I said, I wanted a change of scenery. New York can be a bit much and overwhelming at times. Don’t get me wrong, I love it there, but I’ve felt a desperate need to escape the big city and buildings to just be somewhere calm to clear my head. My family and I used to spend our summers on a ranch in Texas when I was younger and I remember these as my favorite summers. The freedom of not seeing a building, just nature and the horizon, feeling so free on a horse. I missed all of that” he explains softly.

Lando nods but stays silent for a short while thinking about Martin’s reasoning. He can’t relate to Martin at all. All his life Lando has wanted nothing more than to live in a big city, to see the world, so he can’t really understand that someone would willingly want to spend their summer on the countryside of Tennessee. 

“Can’t say I can understand, but everyone their own I guess” Lando says in a slightly teasing tone. 

“Have you ever been in New York?” Martin asks curiously. 

Lando lets out a laugh at that question but then sighs and shakes his head “Nope. Sadly not, it’s on my very long bucket list. I hope one day I can be there with my camera.” 

The sad and yearnful undertone is barely there but Marin catches it and looks at Lando with soft eyes “Camera? Are you into photography?” 

“Umm yeah. I am by far not a professional and don’t have the equipment for that either, but I love getting out and taking pics, capturing moments and spots others might ignore and walk past. One day I want to travel the world with my camera and capture every corner I can find” Lando says with yearning and hope in his voice, Martin smiles at that. 

“You should come visit me in New York one day, one of my best friends, is a photographer, I think you would like him” he offers Lando. 

“We haven’t known each other for an entire hour yet and you are already inviting me? What if I turn out to be a total weirdo or asshole? You can’t know if you will like me yet” Lando replies with a teasing look. 

Martin lets out a small laugh “Well then my first instinct and judgement would have to betray me, because I already like you and I don’t think that will change” he says seriously. 

Lando’s heart stops at Martin’s words and he looks over at him for a second too long, before looking back at the road and gripping the steering wheel a bit tighter than before. 

“I feel flattered, hopefully I don’t make you regret saying these words” he says, back to teasing Martin. 

“I hope so too” Martin replies and Lando smiles at him.

-

After a smooth ride to the Norris ranch and a warm welcome from the family, Lando shows Martin where he would stay for the next few weeks. The small cabin next to the main house is mainly used for the summer helps, no matter how many times Lando has begged his dad to let him move into the cabin. His brother recently moved into the bigger cabin, slightly further from the main house, with his wife and kids, while Lando was still stuck living in the main house with his parents and sisters. 

“So this is all yours for the summer. There is a bedroom, bathroom, living area and kitchen, though my mom will probably beg you to eat with us all the time anyways. Make yourself feel at home I guess” Lando says to Martin, who looks around with amazement. 

“I’ll have all of this to myself?” he asks looking at Lando in disbelief. 

“Yup” Lando pops the p at the end. 

“Wow, this is much more than I could have ever expected. Thank you” Martin says with a grateful smile. 

“Don’t thank me. It’s my dad’s decision” Lando shrugs his shoulders. 

“Where are you staying? Is there another one of these?” Martin asks him. 

“Yeah, there is another one that’s slightly bigger, my brother and his family live in it. I am still stuck with my parents. I thought I would get this one after returning from college, but my dad is set on keeping this one for the helps during summer” Lando explains. 

“College? What did you study?” Martin asks curiously.

“Business and Photography. Made a deal with my dad that he would support my photography hobby, if I also major in something useful and help run the ranch and family business later on with my brother” Lando replies. 

“Oh wow! And you said you weren’t a professional. But it’s very loyal of you to come back to your family, instead of pursuing your dreams” Martin says, truly admiring Lando for that. 

“Yeah, well… they sacrificed a lot for me, so I could study photography and I will forever be grateful for that. And I could never leave my family. My dreams will have to stay dreams” Lando smiles weakly.

“I get that and I am sure they respect you a lot for that. I am also a big family guy, but I also believe in following and chasing your dreams. I don’t want to be old and grey one day regretting not chasing my dreams and thinking about what could have been, the “what if”, you know?” Martin explains in a way that makes Lando almost nostalgic about something that isn’t even lost yet. 

It’s not like Lando has fully given up on his dreams, but since he finished college he never paid them much thought, not daring to be hopeful about fulfilling them one day, but now here is Martin, a guy he has known for two hours, reminding him of what he truly wants in life.

He clears his throat before answering “Yeah, I know… Maybe an opportunity will come up one day” he decides to shrug it off for the moment. 

Martin shows him a sympathetic and understanding smile. 

“Okay, you probably want to start unpacking and getting settled in, so I’ll leave you be. I will probably be outside at the stables, so you can just come find me whenever you’re done” Lando says and starts leaving. 

“Thank you!” Martin says and Lando stops to look back at Martin once again and sees him show a smile that is so warm that it makes Lando’s warm up as well.

-

Martin’s first weeks on the ranch pass by like a breeze. It’s spent with lots of giggles, especially when Martin manages to fall off a horse, even though he swears that he has never fallen off one before, but Lando teases him endlessly and Martin knows that he will never live this down. 

As quickly as the first weeks pass, it also feels like a lifetime to Lando and Martin, who fell into an easy rhythm. They could both swear they have known each other for much longer than just a few weeks. There hasn’t been one uncomfortable or awkward moment of silence between them. Lando’s parents watch with amazement as they see their son, form a pure and genuine connection with Martin. There is barely a moment these two don’t spend together, giggling and laughing at the smallest things. Martin fits into their family, as if he had always been a part of it, never skipping a breakfast or dinner with the entire Norris family. 

“Hey Marty! Watch this!” Lando yells over to Martin, who is currently saddling his horse, and tries, but fails miserably to get his water bottle with a lasso. Martin can’t stop laughing as he watches him try multiple times until he finally gives up with a sheepish smile on his face and just grabs the bottle from the ground. 

“A for effort!” he yells at him with a grin on his face. 

Lando grins back at him “Thank you! I think so as well. Next time I will get it!”

Martin laughs at that “You sure will!” 

“Okay boys! Let’s get ready!” Adam tells them and they finish saddling their horses. 

Lando swallows when he sees Martin put his cowboy hat on and getting on his horse. He can’t stop staring at Martin on that goddamn horse, he has seen Martin on a horse before, but there is something about him in this exact moment, that makes Lando’s throat extremely dry. Maybe it’s the way the sun is shining and how the light is falling perfectly on Martin, that it creates an almost unreal glow on his skin. All that Lando can think about is how he wishes he had his camera with him right now so he could capture this and it’s in that moment that he realizes that he wants nothing more than to take pictures of Martin, because nothing in the world has captivated him and stolen his breath like Martin. 

“Lando! You coming or what?” his dad interrupts his thoughts and he feels slightly embarrassed when he notices Martin, his dad and his brother staring at him with a questioning look. 

“Yeah, I’m coming” he says and quickly walks past Martin to get to his own horse. 

-

“You should come to this bar with me tonight!” Lando says as he walks into Martin’s cabin.

It didn’t take long for them both to feel comfortable enough to have Lando just barging in unannounced on a regular basis. Martin, who is currently sitting on the sofa with a bunch of notes spread out in front of him, looks up from the one he was currently scribbling on and smiles at Lando.

“Don’t we have to get up early tomorrow? I wouldn’t want to make a bad impression on your dad…” Martin voices his concern with crinkled eyebrows. 

“Nope” Lando pops the p at the end and smiles brightly.

“Dad told me we have tomorrow off and besides that I am sure you could never disappoint him, he loves you” Lando tells him. 

“Oh that’s nice, then yes of course!” Martin agrees happily. 

“Mint! Be ready in like an hour” Lando says and leaves as abruptly as he came, Martin smiles to himself watching as Lando skips out of the cabin.

-

Lando is leaning against his car when Martin steps out of his cabin an hour later. He is wearing blue jeans that perfectly hug his hips with a casual shirt tucked into them and a beige cowboy hat on his perfect curls. There is something about the way Lando is leaning against the car with his hips slightly popped to the side that makes Martins mouth dry. As much as he has grown to love Lando’s curls and often wonders what they feel like, if they are as soft as they look, he will never get over seeing him with the cowboy hat on and swears that it makes Lando’s face look even more perfect. He has to stop his train of thought, shows Lando a smile and finally makes his way over to him. 

Lando also shows him a cheeky smile “You ready?” he asks and moves off the car to open the door to the passenger side for Martin.

“Yes” Martin breathes out and has to stop himself from blushing. 

He gets into the car and tries to be chill about the fact that Lando opened the passenger door for him, Lando is a nice guy, a gentleman, he probably always does that for everyone and it doesn’t mean anything special. Lando hops onto the drivers seat and starts the car. 

“So where is this bar you are taking me?” Martin asks and watches Lando put his arm around his seat to look back as he reverses the car out of the driveway, he watches as Lando skillfully moves the steering wheel with one hand and Martin could swear he is about go insane, because this is another thing that has been driving him crazy lately: watching Lando drive, or more specifically watching him steer the car with one hand. 

“It’s in town, so like a thirty-minute drive. Near the train station where I picked you up” Lando replies before looking over with a cheeky grin and adding “It’s a karaoke bar and you are going to sing a song with me!” he says excitedly. 

Martin feels all color drain from his face “What?!” he exclaims and looks over at Lando who is giggling at his reaction. 

“Oh come on, you have been here for more than two weeks and still haven’t performed anything for me. And I get it if you want to keep your songs to yourself, so I thought karaoke would be perfect! You don’t have to perform something of your own. And I love karaoke! We can sing something together” Lando says with so much excitement that Martin has no other choice but to agree. 

“Yeah okay” he says and the smile on Lando’s face is totally worth it.

-

They arrive at the bar and Lando leads the way with an excited and determined look on his face that makes Martin chuckle. Lando orders them both a drink at the bar and turns to Martin “I already know which song we are going to sing” he says with a big grin on his face. 

“Oh, do you?” Martin asks. 

“Yup” Lando nods his head excitedly. 

“And which one would that be? Do I get a say in this?” Martin questions with raised eyebrows. 

“Nope” Lando shakes his head and takes a sip of his drink to stop his grin from showing. 

“Do I even know the song?” Martin asks with a bit of a panicked voice, scared that he will embarrass himself in front Lando and everyone else in this bar. 

“I am pretty sure you do I would be surprised if you didn’t” Lando tells him, but Martin doesn’t feel reassured and starts to pray that he knows the song. 

“I will go request it now because it always takes a while. Be right back” Lando says and walks to someone near the stage. 

When he gets back they find a table to sit at. “You do this regularly?” Martin asks curiously. 

“Not as often as I would like to. During college me and my friends would hit up a karaoke bar pretty often, but since I graduated and got back home I haven’t really been” Lando explains and Martin notices a nostalgic look on his face when he mentions college and his friends.  He wants to ask about it but decides a karaoke bar is probably not the best place to do that. 

“Then I feel honored to be here with you tonight” he smiles at Lando and watches as Lando’s face lights up again. 

“Cheers to that” Lando says and raises his glass. 

“Cheers” Martin clinks his glass with Lando’s and they both smile at each other as they take a sip. 

They watch other people sing karaoke and get amused when most of them completely miss the notes and Martin cringes when some even lack even any kind of rhythm. He smiles when he catches Lando quietly singing along to most songs. He almost forgot that Lando put them on then list as well until their names are suddenly being called “Next up are Lando and Martin!”

Lando looks at Martin with excitement and stands up immediately. “Come on!” he hurries Martin over to the stage.

Lando hands him a mic and that’s when he remembers that he still has no idea what song they are about to sing when the familiar sound of a guitar and piano start playing. He looks at Lando who is grinning widely and then to the screen in front of them to confirm if he recognized the song correctly. 

He looks back to Lando who starts talking the first part “I was all but 22, I think at the time. I’d been out on the road, lonely at night. And it’d been a while, so it was on my mind” he has to stop himself from laughing when Lando suddenly does a spot on country accent and starts singing directly to him. 

“Well I saw him walk in, with his cowboy hat and I thought to myself, I could use some of that. His boots like glass on a sawdust floor, huh. Had moves like nothing I’d ever seen before” Lando absolutely dramatizes every expression on his face and moves his body perfectly to emphasize every word. 

“So I walked right up and I pulled him to the side. I handed that man a beer and looked him in the eyes” Lando now stopped right in front of Martin to look him in the eyes and continues “And I said: Baby, I think you’re gonna wanna hear this. Then I told him” he then closes his eyes to give it his all and sings “Excuse me, you look like you love me. You look like you want me to want you to come on home. And baby I don’t blame you for looking me up and down across this room. I am drunk and I am ready to leave. And you look like you love me”. 

Martin watches with amazement as Lando moves so freely on the stage and does a little dance while singing, totally feeling himself. Lando then moves to stand more the side to give Martin the stage and Martin doesn’t have time to think, almost missing the start of his part. 

“Well I was down at the local beer joint with a few of the guys. When this cute little country boy caught my eye” Martin didn’t really plan that lyric change, it just slipped out, but he catches Lando stopping his little dance moves for a second when he glances over to him to see his reaction. 

“And boy let me you, he was the prettiest thing I’d ever seen in a pair of boots. Well he walked right up to me, handed me a beer. Gave me a look like lets get out of here and that’s when I realized that he was every cowboy’s dream come true” Martin glances back over to Lando and notices a new look in his eyes, an emotional one. 

“He told me this right here, he said” he finishes his solo and looks back to Lando to sing the chorus together. They sing together in harmony and the smiles couldn’t be bigger on both of their faces. Lando dances around Martin, moving his hips and shoulders in a way that makes it hard for Martin to focus. 

“So if you ever see a man in a cowboy hat and you think to yourself, I could use some of that. Don’t waste your time. Just give him this here line. Goes a little like this” Lando sings and puts his Cowboy hat on top of Martins head with a wide grin on his face. 

Martin looks at him caught off guard by his action, but quickly recovers when Lando winks at him before starting the chorus one last time. It’s like every other person in that bar doesn’t exist while they are singing to each other, in their own world, feeling weightless in time and space for the moment. 

“You look like you love me” they finish the song, not hearing the clapping from the crowd in front of the small stage, not caring that everyone is looking at them, they only have eyes for each other right now and while the last note of song plays they smile widely at each other before being snatched out of their moment “Thank you to Lando and Martin! What a performance that was!”

They share one last look and then leave the stage to go back to their table. “That was amazing! Your voice is amazing!” Lando beams at Martin and pulls him into a side hug. 

“Thank you, yours wasn’t too bad as well. Sure you don’t want to consider a career in singing?” he replies. 

Lando smiles brightly at him “Nah. I am not built for the life in public, on a stage” he shrugs. 

“I get that, but I think the world would love you” Martin says wholeheartedly. 

“Really?” Lando whispers and smiles shyly. 

“Yes. I think no matter what you end up doing, as long as you do what you are passionate about and stay true to yourself, the world won’t have a choice but to love you for being you” he says, meaning every single word. 

“Thank you” Lando whispers with a blush on his face, looking down at his hands. 

Martin takes one of Lando’s hands making him look at him again “I mean it. Every single word” and when says it he doesn’t just mean the conversation they just had and he hopes Lando knows that. 

“You do?” Lando breathes out. 

“I do” Martin replies, never having meant these two words more than in that moment. 

Lando looks at him with so much emotion in his eyes, Martin can feel himself getting lost in his ocean eyes that show so much depth, so many layers and he wants to discover them all. 

“Do you wanna go for a drive?” Lando suddenly asks him. 

“Yes” Martin replies. 

They both stand up and walk out of the bar. When they reach the car Martin remembers that he still has Lando’s hat on that he put there during the song. 

“Wait. I still have your hat. Here” he takes it off and wants to give it back, but Lando laughs and shakes his head. 

“Don’t you know the cowboy hat rule?” he asks. 

“The what rule?” Martin asks with a confused look on his face. 

“If you wear the hat, you have to ride the cowboy” Lando says and shows him a cheeky grin before getting into the car. 

Martin almost chokes when the words leave Lando’s lips, he stands there frozen “You coming or what?” Lando yells from inside the car with a laugh. 

Martin takes a deep breath to regain his composure and gets in the car. Lando starts the car and drives away from the bar, Martin actually has no idea where Lando planned on driving. Unlike the other times Martin has driven with Lando, there is no music playing this time, it’s completely silent in the car. The only sound that could be heard was the one the car made as it passed through the streets. Martin notices another abnormality, Lando keeping both hands on the steering wheel. Normally he would only use one hand and keep the other one resting, but this time it seems like he is gripping the steering wheel tightly with both hands. Martin can feel the tension in the car building up. Lando who seemed so confident and carefree when they left the bar is suddenly refusing to look at him, seeming tense. 

“Where are we driving to?” Martin asks after a while, deciding to break the tension. 

He sees Lando rearranging his hold on the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white from the tight grip “A spot I want to show you” he mumbles. 

“Okay” Martin replies with a soft voice. 

-

Their performance in the bar made Lando feel more alive than ever, the rush he got from singing to Martin, with Martin, was indescribable. And then Martin changed the lyrics, he sang boy instead of girl and he stared into Lando eyes while doing so and Lando swears he was about to faint on that stage. It sparked something in Lando, hope. The entire time, since Martin arrived, he didn’t dare to have hope. He didn’t dare to make himself believe that Martin might reciprocate his feelings. 

Lando could be honest with himself, he fell head over heels for Martin. From the moment he saw him at the train station, not knowing who he even was, he has been falling. Every moment he has spent with him since then made him fall even deeper. Every smile of Martin, every laugh, made Lando’s heart skip a beat. He suddenly loved waking up early, eager to start the day, to see Martin. When his dad wanted to give him days off, he made up excuses of wanting to help more. Every night he lay in bed, thinking about Martin, dreaming about Martin. But whenever he thought of Martin, he never let himself have hope, there was no way Martin liked him like that, so when Martin changed the lyric and looked at him like that it threw Lando off. For the first time he felt hope. Hope that Martin might like him back, that there was a chance.

When they went off the stage, he felt so much joy and happiness, he couldn’t believe what just happened and then Martin went even further and said the things he said. That the world would love him, just for being himself, that he meant every word. Lando couldn’t help himself, but to wonder if Martin not only meant the words, he said off stage, but also the ones on stage. He felt overwhelmed by all these new revelations and possibilities, so he suggested the one thing he always does when he gets overwhelmed: a drive to his favorite spot. 

He doesn’t know what confidence overtook him when he told Martin about the cowboy hat rule, maybe it was the adrenaline from performing on stage or the adrenaline Martin made him feel, but as soon as he started driving all the confidence left him again. He started doubting everything, maybe Martin didn’t mean anything like that and Lando just completely misinterpreted everything. He suddenly felt stupid for getting his hopes up, for misreading the situation. What if he embarrassed himself in front of Martin? He didn’t dare to look at him. So after parking the car Lando sits in his driver’s seat for a few moments when they arrived at their destination. He can feel Martin staring at him, probably confused by his behavior. 

“What is this place?” Martin speaks, breaking Lando’s spiraling thoughts. 

“It’s ummm, it’s my favorite spot to go to when I need to clear my head” he replies in a soft tone, still not daring to look at Martin. 

“Oh” Martin says. 

“It’s stupid. We can leave if you want to. I don’t know why I brought you here” Lando says, feeling even more stupid. 

“No! Please, I want to stay” Martin says immediately.

“Show me, please” he adds softly. 

Lando finally looks over to him “Okay” he whispers. 

They get out of the car and Lando takes the blanket he always keeps in there and moves towards the cargo bed. He spreads out the blanket “I like to sit here and watch the view, at day you can obviously see much more, we are on top of a small cliff, but at night it’s nice to watch the stars and just enjoy the calm” he explains to Martin, who is smiling at him and moves to make himself comfortable on the blanket. 

“It’s nice. Thank you for showing it to me” he says. 

Lando nods at him and then also sits down. The back of the car doesn’t leave them much room, so when Lando sits down next to him, their arms are pressed together. He can feel the heat radiating off of Martin’s body that always seems to be hot. They are quiet for a few minutes, enjoying the view and each other’s presence. After a while Lando can feel himself getting cold and silently curses himself for only wearing a shirt and not bringing a jacket, it might be summer, but the nights get cold. In an attempt to warm himself up he rubs his arms and curls forward a bit, making Martin look at him. 

“Are you alright?” he asks with a concerned look. 

“Yeah, just a bit cold. Forgot to bring a hoodie or jacket” Lando says with a slight shiver. 

“Come here” Martin says and without hesitating wraps an arm around Lando to pull him close and starts stroking his arm, feeling his cold skin. Lando’s heart skips a beat when Martin pulls him close and starts touching his skin. Martin’s warm hand almost burns his cold skin, but it’s a nice and comforting burn. He can immediately feel his body warming up and relaxing, leaning his head on Martin’s shoulder, embracing the warmth and closeness he has been craving. 

“Better?” Martin whispers after a few minutes, moving his head to look at Lando who smiles up at him with soft eyes. 

“Yes” Lando whispers back. 

“Thank you” he adds. 

Martin gives his arm a gentle squeeze. 

“In the bar, you said you meant every word. Is that true?” Lando finally gets the courage to ask. 

“Yes” Martin replies without hesitating. 

He moves his other arm that isn’t around Lando to gently grab his face and make him look at him. Lando feels frozen when Martins face is so close in front of him, when he feels him softly caressing his cheek and looking deeply into his eyes. 

“You drive me crazy Lando” Martin whispers and at the sound of his name Lando’s eyes flutter shut and he moves his face closer into the palm of Martin’s hand. 

“I thought I always knew what I wanted until you were right in front of me and since then there hasn’t been a second where you don’t consume every thought of mine. It’s been almost painful to be so close to you every day without having you. It’s been torture.” Martin continues to whisper.

They are so close now that Lando can feel Martin’s breath on his face. He doesn’t know if it’s even possible, but he pulls Martin’s head even closer by pulling on his neck, the tip of his fingers buried in Martin’s hair. 

“Please” Lando whimpers and moves even closer to rub his nose against Martin’s cheek. 

“Please what?” Martin asks and rubs his thumb over Lando’s lower lip, whose lips part the second he touches them. 

“Kiss me” Lando breathes out shakily and then it doesn’t take longer than a second and Martin’s lips are on his. They are softer than he could have ever imagined and the only thing allowing him to breathe again is the moan he lets out when Martin’s hand finds its way to his curls and gives them a pull that sends electric shocks through Lando’s body. He doesn’t know or care how much time passes as they kiss each other as if their lives depended on it, they actually might, or how they got into this position, but he suddenly finds himself straddling Martin’s hips being pulled in for another kiss.

“Mhhmm” he moans again and then forces himself to pull away so he can catch his breath and look at Martin. 

Martin who is laying beneath him with messy hair, swollen lips and a lazy smile on his face, Lando is sure he looks exactly the same. He rests his hands on top of Martin’s chest and smiles down at him “Hey” he says softly. 

“Hey” Martin breathes out and puts his hands on top of Lando’s to give them a gentle squeeze. 

“What took you so long? You muppet” Lando tries to say with an accusing tone but fails when he starts giggling, feeling high after the makeout. 

“What took me so long?! I had no idea if you wanted this!” Martin tries to defend himself and fakes an offended face. 

Lando lets out a scoff “You had no idea?! I could not have been more obvious Marty!”

“Obvious?! In what way?” Martin asks, confused by Lando’s revelation. 

“Marty… I started doing my brothers chores just so I could spend more time with you, I went with you to your cabin after dinner every night, I literally tried to spend every second of my day with you, trying to impress you in every possible way. You muppet!” Lando says, a bit frustrated that apparently, he wasn’t obvious enough. 

After a few seconds of the realization hitting him Martin giggles and moves his hands to rest on Lando’s hips. 

“What’s so funny” Lando whines at him. 

“I guess I really was a muppet” Martin smiles at him. 

“Yes you were!” Lando says. 

“I was doubting myself the entire time! I thought you weren’t into me” he adds with a pout. 

Martin squeezes his hips in an effort to reassure him “I’m sorry. I guess I didn’t want to overstep or make things weird between us or your family. I was an idiot for not realizing” Martin apologizes softly. 

“Forgive me?” he asks cheekily. 

“I guess there are ways you can make it up to me” Lando smirks at him and moves down again, his face inches in front of Martin’s.

“Oh really?” Martin breathes out heavily. 

“Mhmm” Lando hums, eyes fixated on Martin’s lips. 

“I’m all yours Cowboy” Martin whispers.

[dreamlessimp]

— breakfast

summary: isagi helps celebrate his birthday.

warnings: isagi yoichi x gn reader, established isagi yoichi x reader, pure fluff, sfw, inaccurate celebrations, cooking/ eating food, 0.9k wc

you silently lifted the thick layers of blankets off of your legs as you attempted to free yourself from their warm confines. once above the blankets, you got off of the bed and began to tip toe out.

you were stopped by the sight of your boyfriend, shivering on his side.

ah, so you’d stolen the blankets yet again. it was a special day after all, so you carefully pulled the blankets fully over him, which he happily made himself comfortable in.

leaning down, you placed a light kiss to his forehead, and a small smile rose on your face. “don’t wake up too soon yoichi.” you whispered while fully standing up.

with one more glance to confirm your sleeping boyfriend stayed sleeping, you began walking to your kitchen after slowly closing the door and grabbing your phone and headphones.

once there, you flipped the lights on low and swiftly connected your headphones to your phone and began playing the first playlist you found, which you had a feeling was based around your boyfriend.

you began the methodical routine you’d done so many times before, and began making breakfast. 

everything had been set up so that while the rice is cooked, you could begin making an omelet. your fingers tapped against the cooking iron skillet to the beat of the sound blasting through your headphones.

just as you began though, a certain raven-haired individual’s eyes fluttered open, happy to feel the blanket still over him, and disappointed to find you gone.

he remained still for a few minutes, simply taking in the morning and sunlight shining through the cracks in the blinds.

once his mind cleared up, he slowly got himself out of bed and began for the lit room, turning out to be the kitchen.

his heart swelled at the sight of you, so happy, dancing around the kitchen methodically checking on how everything was doing. you really had no reason to be doing so much for him, especially alone.

with your headphones still in, you failed to hear your boyfriend shuffling out of bed and into the same room as where you prepared his breakfast. 

you had just begun making tea, wanting it to be warm, when its intended recipient wrapped his arms around you. 

you gasped in surprise, and calmed once you saw him. this calm disappeared though, as you realized he was supposed to be asleep. 

“hi.” he said, drawing out the word, his smile obvious in his voice.

“hi, yoichi.” you awkwardly turned to face him, face slightly blushed from both the heat of the food, and the surprise. you considered yourself to be caught.

his eyes darted around the room, taking everything in. “is this for me?” he marveled quietly.

you laughed. “yeah. happy birthday.” you stole a kiss from him before taking a step back. “now, go back to bed.” 

he shook his head. “i should help you.”

you scoffed. “no way, this is my treat.”

“our treat.” he clarified.

with that, he’d hear no more and left smiling to check on the eggs.

while you began pulling out plates and silverware, you kept looking back at him. you weren’t exactly upset, but while you were happy at the help you weren’t pleased with him helping you prepare his own food.

your constant looking at him to make sure he was still happy was eventually met by his own gaze, still smiling contentedly.

“you’re almost done?” he asked, holding up the completed omelet you’d be sharing.

you nodded, turning around to observe the finished rice and green tea.

he walked over to you with his hands full of food. the two of you soon began plating.

“you’re a horrible person, you know.” you laughed while splitting up the meal evenly, still disappointed in yourself for probably being the one to wake him.

“why?” he asked, only partially joking. he may be the opposite on field, but off the football field he’ll avoid conflict like the plague.

“you woke up way too early. even after i told you not to.” you retorted.

you had both finished pouring the food onto the plates, and you held both plates while walking to another room. 

once there, isagi’s eyes lit up once again. you had placed a card (handwritten and lovey-dovey), and a small flaky pastry in the middle of your small table. 

you gave yourself an imaginary pat on the back for having it in another room, there was at least one aspect of surprise.

he turned back to you, probably to ask if it was for him. not letting him ask, you immediately answered his question for him. “yes, it’s for you. now go sit down.”

his smile tightened happily, and he quickly sat down. you soon followed, and carefully placed both plates of food in front of the two of you. after a thank you, the two of you happily began to eat.

you soon finished, and stood up to put the food away. your boyfriend quickly followed, having wanted to completely finish his plate.

once standing, he began stacking the plates to which you responded to with a hug from behind his back. your arms wrapped around his torso, and stayed like that for a minute before you leaned forward to whisper in his red-tinted ear, “happy birthday yoichi.” 

with that, you let go only to be caught by his arms, where he was in ample position to whisper in your ear “thank you, i love you.”

[babybratzmaraj]

Fairytale Part 2: unappreciated

Starring: Yourrage as Javion Davis

You as Yourself

Summary: After a week of being a assistant for Javion, you weren’t shit but exhausted, you just might’ve reached your breaking point. Until…

Warnings: contains foul language, dual povs, sexual content, drug and alcohol use (teehee) brief arguments (and by argument its just {REDACTED}

A/N: brainrot! im loving this series suarrr much, this is the chapter i said we will be whores on but IT WILL BURN SLOWLY AFTER THIS😭 my mind went other places, hope you enjoy this one, like comment n reblog fa mo!

Taglist: @megamindsecretlair

You had your AirPods on blasting your usual playlist, Slow Down by Bobby V. had your hips swaying like Ava from Abbott Elementary

💫Slow down, I just wanna get to know you. But don't turn around, 'Cause that pretty round thing looks good to me. Slow down, Never seen anything so lovely Now turn around And bless me with your beauty, cutie💫

You had Jay’s stream on your iPad while your music played off your phone, tapping on the right one in your ear to pause your music, you tuned in to hear his stream. He was reacting to Like That by Metro Boomin, Future, and Kendrick Lamar, and man did he love it, you heard his screams of excitement from the kitchen, you resumed your music, glad one of yall were having a good week.

It hasn’t been a full week and you were stressed the fuck out, and he did not make it better not one bit. Most days were sane and stable because Shanae was there, but on the days she had to go see her OB/GYN? felt like a badass kid in a store. The responses grew colder, he did not listen and he avoided you every chance he got, if it wasn't for the dispensary G hooked you up on, you would have been lost your shit.

You took a hit of your pen and tucked it back in your bra, washing the dishes that were left in the sink by the residents of the house.

Call it your inner mama, but cleaning with some nice music always destressed you, the dishes piled up more since you got here and it’s been bugging you every time you ask him to wash them and he completely ignores you. You reached your breaking point but you refuse to back down now, mama ain't raise no bitch!

You paused your music just in time to listen to Javion give his opinion on the song: “I fuck with all parties involved, but Drake ain’t gone do shit, Cole waiting to drop his response because we know that nigga strategic with his shit. Actually, My nigga Cole caught a stray if you think about it.”

“On god he did! My nigga Jermaine ain't do shit!” you yelled at the screen as if he could hear you, which he and his chat did.

“‘Who the fuck was that?’ Yo mama. I was banging her and she making me breakfast as we speak nigga.” He clapped back at a commenter, making you chuckle.

You felt somewhat happy that he took your defense in a way, even after all of these days he's been ignoring you, you take what you can get from the little shit.

You ignored the rest of the stream as you resumed your music again, returning your focus to the dishes still in the sink, putting some elbow grease into these dishes.

He put his stream on a commercial break to stretch his legs, thinking of a nice but not too-nice way to tell you to keep it down. Javion didn’t inform his followers that he would be having a new assistant/manager, so as of right now, you were a private residence.

He walked out of his room to hear pots and pans and plates clanging around, growing more concerned about what you were doing.

Jogging down the stairs, the closer he got, the more he realized you were doing the dishes, the smell of green apple dawn dish soap and bleach smacking his nostrils.

“Damn!” He shouted fanning his nose, “Smell like you down here cleaning a murder scene.” His comment fell on ghost’s ears as he couldn’t see your airpods.

He shook his head as he examined his newly washed dishes, he hadn’t seen any of these plates in weeks, so he picked up one to see his reflection with no problem.

“OH bashota,” he heard you breathe, turning his head to see you leaning forward clenching your heart. “Youn know how to make yourself known?” you questioned him while tapping your chest, “Giving a nigga heart palpitations.”

“I said some ‘bout a murder scene, you ain't hear that?” He sat the plate down on the sink, staring directly into your eyes.

You threw a face at him before removing an airpod, his eyebrows raising from realization. “My bad, didn’t know you was listening to something.”

“I’s forgives you massa, I’ll keeps it down.” you joked, making him smile a bit showing you his pearly whites.

“Thank you. save that pretty voice for the party tonight.” he softly hit your shoulder before turning around and walking back up the stairs.

Shit. With all the management shit and runarounds and cleaning you've been doing, you completely forgot about the party in a few hours for his 100k subscribers that he hit two days into your stay and he had to celebrate it, by throwing a house party.

You stared at the outfit you had on the bed, still trying to figure out if you were going to hide yourself in your room or force yourself to be the social butterfly you wished you were.

You bit the corner of your bottom lip, staring at your phone and then the fit. Sighing a big irked sigh, you facetimed your best friend, praying that she answered the phone.

The phone swooped and there was Megan, propping her phone on the counter chopping up onions, “What’s it to ya toots?”

“Fashion meeting pretty princess.” You propped your phone on the nightstand.

“At your service Bunny boo, what's the problem?”

“My outfit for this damn party tonight,” you rubbed your temple, “I’m afraid it's too boring.”

“Throw it on and let me decipher,” she asked politely.

You took off your hoodie and basketball shorts for the planned-out outfit, you tipped your glasses up the bridge of your nose and zipped up the jacket before stepping back into the frame.

She gave you a look before tossing the diced onions in a bowl, “Bitch don’t piss me off, I like this fit.”

“You do?” you gave yourself a once over, snapping your neck around to the mirror behind you.

“Yes, Plus who gives a fuck what the fuck you look like? It’s not they problem nor job to deal with it.” she said waving the knife around, “And if they gotta mu’fuckin problem widdit, tell 'em to give you some money!”

“Money makes the world go around.”

“All around town.” she finished, dragging all of her words making you both giggle.

“What are you even making? cutting up veggies n shit like you Gordan Ramsey.”

“I'm making me some breakfast.” she answered, pouring the egg mixture into the skillet.

“It’s 7:48 pm.” You reminded her, causing her head to jerk to the side.

“Mother if you don’t get off my phone! I is a grown-up!”

“A grown-up who probably left a piece of shell in the eggs.”

“Bye Felicia!” she hung up the phone, probably proving your point.

You chuckled and grabbed your phone, walking out of your room to hear Shanae and G having their usual bickering session, because, of course, he didn’t get the other chicken option.

You laughed to yourself, prepping your mind to tell your boss he needs to start getting ready and head downstairs. ‘Hey Jay, get ya clothes on, party starts in 10’. You rehearsed multiple times approaching his door.

You fuckin hated talking to him, not because he’s a bad person, he's great with others but shit with you, you just couldn’t understand why the fuck he resents you so much.

Kicking your nerves in the ass, you opened the door to him fully dressed and ready for the party, his room smelling like nothing but toothpaste and cologne fresh off of a Macy's commercial. “What?”

“I see you ready, so you gotta head downstairs in 5 minutes to help them with how you want everything.”

“They know how I like shit, they don’t need me or you,” He shot at you, your heart dropping into your stomach.

The way he spat his response just made you tear up, the coldness making you anxiously hot.

“Ok but still,”

“But still nothing, they don’t need me. You dismissed.” He waved you off, heating your face up to the point hell couldn’t even compete with you.

“You know the fuck what,” you finally snapped, having enough of his shit. “You wanna act like a fuckin’ female? Be my fuckin’ guest, but you ain't finna snap on me like I’m some fuckin pussy ass bitch.”

The weight that came off your shoulders was so relieving, but you weren’t done. “After this fuckin party? I QUIT! I won’t be your assistant, We both can enjoy this party, I’ll go home after. Everyone Wins! So fuck you, Jay.”

You slammed the door walking down the stairs to Shanae and Gerald's eyes bugged out like they just walked in on two people doing drugs. “Let’s go get that chicken G.” You insisted, after all, it was your last day being an assistant to this household.

You walked out of the house into the Dallas heat and it distracted you from the tears that came, your face becoming sticky and wet from the salty tears. “You Good?” G asked, placing his hand on your shoulder. “Just ready to enjoy my time.”

You stood in the corner with a red cup with your drink and a blunt intertwined with your fingers. You didn’t smoke anything besides a pen inside the house out of respect but that went out the window, plus other niggas were doing it too so boohoo.

You bopped your head to the music, You hired a DJ but you gave him some songs to play and you smiled when the song you chose played, happily sipping on your drink.

Shanae waved you over to the food table with two freshly manicured fingers mouthing something to you but you couldn’t make out what, you were a little crossfaded with the music blasting right in your ear.

After the blowup you had, You and G went shopping for drinks and you took it as a chance to buy some Russian Cream Backwoods, almost fighting G who battled with you to pay for your stuff, he won the battle when he sipped the cashier his card when you went to get other snacks.

You took one long last inhale before putting out your blunt, exhaling, you put your blunt behind your ear like a pencil.

She pulled you into a hug, rocking you both side to side, “I know he being an asshole love,” She said a little louder to compete with the music. “Do not let him fuck up your mood, enjoy this party and enjoy your time.” she broke the hug to rub your arms with her thumbs, “We will talk about this in the morning when we had enough rest and everyone is calmer.”

You smiled to hide the fact you were almost brought to tears. You had been brought to tears at the fact that someone didn’t see you as the villain, that you weren’t automatically the bad guy for standing up for yourself.

You mouthed her a sweet thank you and returned her hug with a sweeter one. “I have to use the bathroom, I’ll be back down in 10 minutes.”

She nodded and pointed to the one upstairs. The bottom one was for the guest and the residents used the upstairs one, you were glad she reminded you because you were crossfaded as fuck.

You sat down your cup and grooved up the stairs walking past your room which you locked. Glad you did, not because of people, just to keep you calm and not have one of those paranoid highs.

You finally reached the bathroom and closed the door behind you, staring at yourself in the mirror, you finally let everything out. The tears, the little curses turned into sounds of tiny wails of exhaustion, and your legs buckled but you found the support of the sink keeping you up and your feet grounded, everything you had kept from this week was coming out and it felt fuckin amazing.

You breathed short breaths until your breathing regulated, wishing you had your cup with you to drown out your sadness, you just had a blunt behind your ears which you forgot about till now.

The door opened and you quickly turned towards the wall that faced away from the door, not letting who even walked in see you weak, you hated that shit.

“You crying?” Javion asked, sounding genuinely concerned, which had you stuck. He never sounded like that towards you, which made you cry harder.

You yelped as you felt his hands pick you up as if you were as light as a baby and set you on the sink, his deep brown eyes searching for something in yours. You both were silent. No words, no movement, not even someone else to ruin the moment, just words being exchanged through eyes and all you could see were apologies and worriment.

He cupped your face in his big soft hands, rubbing away your tears with his thumb. “I’m sorry. I’m so fuckin’ sorry.” he repeated his apologies, resting his head on yours.

He wrapped his muscular arms around you as he sunk his head into the crook of your neck, rocking you both side to side, and you finally saw what you've been yearning for, been wanting to experience from him, been craving for him to be towards you, caring and loving.

“Please don’t leave, I didn’t mean it.” he begged

“You can just treat me like shit and just expect me to stay loving,” you managed to say through your tears, choking up on your words. “Breathe then speak.” He rubbed your back slowly, giving small pats in between.

You finally returned his hug, throwing your arms around his neck. You felt at ease, relieved that you two were not enemies anymore, happy that you two were having a moment, a moment you two can look back at and smile at.

He broke the hug and returned his gaze to yours, his eyes now not as heavy as before. You smiled at his face, feeling your face heated up. You felt like you were on a cloud, a goddess looking at her perfectly built god, his smile growing wider than yours, felt like you were dreaming this whole thing. “Am I dreaming?”

“This ain’t a mu’fuckin’ dream.” He smiled, locking the door beside him. You caught him looking at your lips while he licked his, “Do sum,” and he did, crashing his lips onto yours. You tasted his cherry chapstick on your mango lip gloss with a hint of Tequila. he removed your gray jacket and tossed it on the floor, returning his arms back around your body.

You didn’t know if it was the alcohol or the weed, but what you did know? you were kissing your boss and you didn’t give a fuck, guilt can settle in tomorrow morning.

The attraction you had for him before you took this position all came rushing back, the days you’d wish you can just see what he felt inside of you just made your pussy flutter, his voice was the cherry on top, you just knew he could talk you through it.

“Stay with me,” He spoke between kisses, picking you up off the sink making you tighten your grip around his neck.

“Jay!” You shrieked, grabbing onto him and he chuckled, pissing you off a little.

It ticked you but made you happier than a kid in a candy store that he was able to pick you up, you've been a big girl all your life and we’re jealous that you weren’t going able to experience shit skinny girls do, but Javion debunked your insecurities by carrying you to his room, closing the door with his foot and locking it.

He set you on the bed, standing back up to remove his beige satin pants while you removed yours, thanking god you didn’t wear granny panties tonight.

Smiling at each other with lust-filled glares, he returned on top of you, placing kisses on your neck while he slowly pressed his bulge against your wetness. “Don’t leave me,” He moaned onto your neck, hooking your legs on his shoulders as he dragged you to the edge of the bed, continuing his steady pace.

His gold chain dangled in your face as he rocked his hips into you, your moans filled the air and covered the room corner to corner, wall to wall, he just felt amazing, making you wonder what the real thing would be like.

“Fuck,” you moaned grabbing the back of your legs while he leaned in between your legs, giving you lazy sloppy kisses, his tongue desperately searching for yours.

Without breaking the kiss, he flipped you two over so that you were now on top, he laid his back down on the bed so that now you were in control, and that was all that you needed.

You rested your hands on his chest to steady yourself, breathing a shaky breath, you rocked your hips in a circle, feeling his member press into your wet entrance which boosted the little demon that sat on your right shoulder.

“Use me,” He growled, “Use me like the good little whore you are.” and you did, quickening your pace almost spelling words on his thick member.

“Fuckkk,” You both hissed in unison, his hand repeatedly smacking your ass leaving pleasurable stings of pain on each cheek when you felt something form in the pit of your stomach.

“I’m finna cum, baby girl.” He gripped your hips and moved your lower half with his to match his pace, your eyes rolled to the back of your head, “Use me,” you threw back at him.

He moaned lowly, searching for your hands as he intertwined his fingers with yours. You rested your head on his chest as your legs started to shake uncontrollably, moaning into each other's ears as he rutted into you through each other's orgasms.

“Ou, Fuck!” you shook for a few minutes until you went completely numb, twitching whenever you felt him twitch as well.

The room that was once filled with moans was silent, with nothing but asymmetrical breathing and the bass from the music down below, you giggled loosely as he rubbed your back to bring you back to reality.

You couldn’t lie, that was the best sex-but-not-actual-sex you had in a while, didn’t even think you could do all of that but you did, and it felt good as fuck, even if it was with your boss.

You two stayed in the same position for however many minutes passed by, his chest rising and falling underneath you.

“You good?” he asked, checking his Apple watch.

“I am now.”

“Good, because I was due for a speech 20 minutes ago.” he swiftly reminded you that there was a party going on downstairs.

“SHIT!” you jumped off him and scurred to find your pants, sobering up little by little. “Why didn’t you say shit?”

“They coulda waited, they waited this much.” he smirked, raising up to pull his pants to his knees.

“Besides the point! An assistant is supposed to keep you on trac- Where is my jacket?”

“In the bathroom.”

“See! This is why I need to get sat in a corner.” you sighed before rushing out of the room to the bathroom.

He calmly walked down the stairs, immediately getting dragged by Shanae to the party area, “I’m kick yo fuckin ass, you better give this speech and hope ion kick yo skinny scrawny ass into the next eclipse.” She threatened with a smile on her face like she did this shit one too many times, and she did, it’ll be your turn soon.

She scooted him into the living room and signaled to the DJ to tone down the music, as the DJ obliged, he passed off the microphone to Jay, his smile waved across his face as he tried to find some words.

“Ian gone lie, I don’t know what the fuck to say,” The room erupted in laughter, it was very on brand for him to just blurt shit, one of the things that made him relatable and loved.

“I do want to thank the folks who followed me, this whole shit wouldn’t have even been possible without y’all. My mama, for believing in a nigga, and not kickin’ my ass out.” he nervously chuckled. “Her brother, My uncle. He ain't a man of many words, just don’t give that nigga a Budweiser and we good!” He joked with scattered laughter as a reaction. “My best friend, who I owe my whole career to,”

He zoned out until he met with your eyes, fighting a smile which he ended up losing very badly while waving you over. “And to my new assistant, who I can’t wait to share many memories with and hopefully won’t leave my ass with the coyotes.” The room stared at you along with him and gave you an applause, mouthing the words ‘We forever.’ while nobody was looking at him.

He watched you slowly approach him, shyly waving at the applauding audience. As you reached the spot next to him, he threw his arm around you, scooting you closer to him you could almost taste the cologne he reapplied before walking back down into the party.

“Thank you all, please, enjoy yall selves for the rest of the party, and don't fuck up my shit.” he ended, setting the mic on the DJ booth, scooping you away from the people of the party, away from the attention that could be drawn to you two.

“You good?” He asked, facing you towards him with his back to the crowd.

“I’m horny, high, and ready to sleep, what do you think I am?”

“One of my elite employees!” he jokingly smiled making you burst out of laughter, not caring if anyone heard you at this point. “They still want this meeting tomorrow, do you still want to go through with it?” He checked in on you, reminding you of your blowup which you wish you didn’t have, but if you didn’t, none of this would be happening.

“Yes, we just have to set shit straight, no bullshit, just gonna get it over with, and man you look sexy in this lighting,” you confessed, a chuckle leaving both of yall’s lips. “Go enjoy yourself, you can have a piece of me in the morning.” he rubbed your back, smiling at you, closing your eyes while you licked your lips.

“I’ma go get some punch, I’ll see you around boss.” you tapped his chest as you walked away, not turning around as he stared holes in each spot of your body. He shook his head and smiled, he was ready for what adventure god would throw at him, as long as you were by his side.

[itjazzbicch]

New Sights

Pairing:  Roronoa Zora x Fem Reader 

First time writing for One Piece & Zoro, so I hope I did well! 

Summary: After recovering from a gunshot wound from their last battle, the reader wakes up full of energy, wanting to have a good day, later learning that she needs to show her close friend, Zoro, something new now that they have the time...

Warnings:  SMUT! (18+ ONLY! MINORS & AGELESS BLOGS DNI! YOU WILL BE BLOCKED!) (Swearing, foreplay, oral M receiving, masturbation, unprotected sex) (There are also some flashbacks! They are italicized!)

Word Count: 2.5k 

Waking up, arms opened and stretched, it was the first time in that past week or so that I woke up feeling brand new.

Considering all the bounties we had on our heads, and the number of enemies we had to face, I was bedridden after not only taking a gunshot wound but using the last bit of strength I had to save one of my crewmates and perform CPR.

Despite thinking about that nasty battle, I woke up with a smile on my face, able to feel the heat from outside, taking everyone by surprise as I blasted into the kitchen in just a bikini, smiling at everyone:

"Good morning!"

"Well good morning, mon amour!" There went Sanji already, heart eyes and all, usually, it'd get on my nerves, but today, it made me feel even better.

"Y/N! You're finally up and moving around!" Usopp smiled with Luffy, nodding to him as I sat at the table, smiling back:

"I feel like I can take on the world! I just feel so good and full of energy for some reason."

"Oh, my dear! That's wonderful! Here's your breakfast so that you can keep that energy going all day," Sanji was being extra sweet today, bringing my plate first and I thanked him with a side hug:

"I know you're good cooking will do just that!"

"HEY! WE'VE BEEN WAITING SANJI! WE WERE HERE FIRST!" Luffy never played around when it came to his food, and when Nami came in next, that only made him argue with Sanji more, but I just laughed at it and ate.

Breakfast was truly delicious. We all ended up smiling and enjoying the morning, except for Zoro who took a nap right after. We were still on the sea and when I headed up to the deck, all I could think about was jumping into that ocean and swimming.

Needing to do something to let this energy out, I saw Usopp and Luffy heading up to the deck too, running over and tagging Usopp:

"TAG! YOU'RE IT!"

"OH, WE'RE PLAYING TAG?!" Luffy started to run along, Usopp chasing us and swearing he'd get us and Luffy used me as a shield, about dying of laughter as I was the one chasing them, but an idea popped into my mind when I saw Zoro laid back with his eyes closed.

"TAG! GOTCHA, ZORO!"

"I'm not playing tag with you guys. Buzz off," He groaned with his eyes closed. He was such a party pooper and I was gonna change that, stealing his swords before I ran for my life:

"Okay then, but you won't get your swords back!"

"What the-?" Looking at his side, they were gone and I was running to the other side of the ship, "YOU GET BACK HERE, RIGHT NOW, Y/N!"

"GOTTA CATCH ME FIRST!" I cackled, getting Luffy and Usopp to join in so that we all had a sword.

The only problem was Zoro was fast, almost catching me, but I had different plans:

"LUFFY! CATCH!"

Launching the sword, I jumped off the ship, laughing as I landed in the calm ocean, Zoro still yelling at me:

"I'M STILL GOING TO GET YOU, Y/N!"

"Hope you're not afraid of the water then!" I giggled, relaxing back and swimming, still able to hear Zoro yelling at Luffy and Usopp since they still had Zoro's swords.

I needed a day like this. I swam alongside the ship for some time, tanned with Nami for a bit, and Sanji made us dinner. Even after the long, fun day we had, that bundle of energy kept me up.

After the sun went down and brought up all the stars, everyone went to their rooms and I stayed up on deck, laid back and picking out constellations that I could find. There were so many and I was in my own little world, till I heard:

"It's getting late, you know."

"Here to get your revenge?" I giggled at Zoro who sat next to me:

"I don't feel like it," He sighed as he sat back, looking up at the sky too, "Can't sleep?"

"Naw, I can't, but it's okay," I hummed, sitting up and shaking my arms, "I've just been so pumped up today. I thought I'd be stuck in bed feeling like a zombie for a while, so I guess I'm just super happy."

"Yeah, and super annoying," He whispered under his breath as a joke, laughing as I flexed my arm like I was going to punch him:

"Ooo Zoro, why I otta!"

"Like you'd stand a chance against me," He smirked cockily, shifting my hips so I could get in his face and tease:

"I'm no pushover. I'd like to test my luck."

Suddenly, he was so quiet, a cloud passing allowing the moonlight to show that his eyes were fixed on my chest, where my gunshot wound now left a scar.

-------

"Zoro! You better not die on me! I'm right here!"

During that last battle, even after being shot, I dove into the ocean to save Zoro who was down too, doing CPR, mouth to mouth, the whole nine yards to bring him back before I collapsed from my injuries that ended up being worse than anyones.

-------

"Zoro?" I could tell that he was lost in that memory and when he looked up at me, snapping out of it, he turned his head. Since he wouldn't talk, I teased him a bit more, "I know I'm still in my bikini and it's easy to get distracted, but I'm talking to you."

"Hey! I was not staring at your chest!" He snapped quickly, growing silent again as I took his hands and said softly:

"I know, and I know that you don't like to talk about your feelings much, but you can talk to me, Zoro."

"I just-," He sighed, crossing his arms and voice even lower, "Feel guilty, I guess."

All I could do was shake my head and giggle; it sparked a nerve in him at first, his eyes darting at me with a bit of anger till I said:

"I'd do it a million times over if I had to. Don't feel guilty. I'm sure, no matter how much I might annoy you, that you'd bail me out of any situation and save my ass. There's nothing to feel guilty about."

"Be grateful. Between you and the rest of the crew, I don't know who gets on my nerves most," Of course, he was trying to play it off again; that's when a thought popped into my head.

---------

Finally, he started coughing up some water, breathing again, meanwhile, I was barely hanging on. Woozy from blood loss, I was still straddling him, scarcely able to speak:

"Zoro? Talk to me. C-Can you breathe right?"

"Yeah," He coughed again, opening his eyes to find me falling over, "Y/N!"

--------

"I know what you're thinking about," I smirked at him, his silence showing that I read his mind.

He was thinking of the sight of me nearly dying and the last thing I did was save him.

"And I am going to make sure that you have better memories of us instead of that one," My heart was racing out of my chest, growing nervous, but not losing courage as I crawled over him carefully to sit on his lap.

"Y/N-"

With one big leap of faith, I kissed him using every ounce of passion in my heart. I just wanted him to know that he was special to me and I wanted to take away the pain he was hiding.

Sucking in a deep breath, his arms wrapped me into a tight embrace, making me moan at the way he nibbled on my lower lip. My hips couldn't help but grind down against his growing bulge, tongue working its way in to fight with mine.

"Think we should take this to one of our rooms?" He huffed out while catching a breath, my eyes circling to see that we were all alone, only able to hear some crash of the waves around us:

"Naw, I'm not patient enough," I snickered mischievously before going right back to kissing him:

"If someone walks up here and catches us-"

"Zoro," I sighed, hand palming his hard-on and silencing him, whispering in his ear as my hand slid up his abs, before slipping into his pants to feel his cock for myself, "How about you just sit back and relax, huh? Everyone's asleep. No one's gonna catch us."

Biting his earlobe softly, my hand started to pump around his cock, his eyes closing as he hummed and enjoyed my hand working him, opening one eye when he felt my body shifting, laying between his legs and fixing his pants some.

"What? Don't want these lips wrapped around you like a lollipop?"

"Like a lollipop, huh?" He smirked, one hand taking some of my hair, the other holding himself, slapping the tip of his cock against my tongue as I stuck it out, "I knew you weren't as innocent as you make yourself out to be."

"Far from innocent," I smiled while swirling my tongue around his tip, taking it into my mouth, his hand holding my head tighter and slouching back as my head started to bob, hand working his extra length, cheeks hollow and sucking him hard.

"Fuck," His chest was heaving above me, letting out slight groans, pushing my head down a little further every time I picked it up, going faster and I reached the point where I didn't care about gagging, downing his cock to the back of my throat, flexing around him with a sting in my eyes, "Get up here."

Picking my head up, I was wiping at the pre and saliva along my chin, fixing myself on top of him as he positioned himself, noticing quickly:

"Where did your bottoms go?"

"I may have had a little fun for myself while going down on you," I looked away and mumbled like I was clueless, but went back to smirking as he cocked his eyebrow:

"And you didn't let me watch?"

"Well, I didn't know how far you wanted to take things," I kept my innocent tone, keeping his eyes locked on my breasts as I let my top fall next, cooing while pressing them right up under his chin, "But I'll gladly make it up to you."

"Oh, you will," Pushing my hips down, I seized up at the stretch between my thighs from how thick he was, nearly whining as I took more of him, "Think you were having a little too much fun by yourself. You're fucking tight."

"But it feels good, right?" Rolling my tongue into a kiss, I swiveled my hips, adjusting bit by bit so that I could go faster.

"Yeahhh," He groaned out, having to watch how I was taking him, riding like a crusade, making up for earlier:

"And oh yeah, I forgot to let you watch."

Leaning back some, I placed two fingers on my clit, rubbing in a circle and it only took a little bit of speed and pressure to make my moans louder, jolting up at the soft bite I felt on my nipple:

"Zoro!"

"You just keep doing that, and don't wake anyone up," He commanded, sucking and biting on my nipples, one hand full of my ass, "Just keep riding me."

"I can't hang on much longer," I whined, hand falling away and gripping my thigh hard while I kept trying to go at the same speed.

"Guess I'll handle the rest of the work," Biting his lip to hide his panting, he fell back a little more so he could throw his hips up, leaving his thumb to torture my clit, nearly growling at how my walls began to clamp around his cock, "Better cum for me."

"I am, Zoro!" Voice so lewd and breaking up as I was running out of air, my chest started to fall to his, but I made sure to throw myself back a little to meet his hips, getting a big burst of energy when I felt the coil in my stomach leaking, shooting up straight and bouncing so his tip stayed at that good spot, rocking so hard, thighs wet and able to hear nothing but the gushing around his cock.

"Damn, that's it," I gasped, holding myself up while still rolling my hips, kissing and moaning against his lips, "You're so good. Feel so good inside me."

I was so high and couldn't get enough, so my whine was the loudest one yet when he grumbled out:

"Ugh! Y/N-"

My whole body felt so hollow, walls still clenching with nothing there, the sight of how hard his cock was throbbing when he picked me up was something I'd never forget, unloading onto his stomach while he fell flat on his back.

"Sorry," I breathed, "It just felt so good and I got a little carried away,"

"Why the hell are you apologizing? For riding the hell out of m-"

Words getting caught in his throat with a hiss, his body was sensitive too, tensing up at my tongue lapping his seed and cleaning him up.

"It was a lot," I looked up into his eyes, finishing with a kiss across his scar, "I can tell."

"And if it was?" He chuckled, shaking his head, but smiling softly, "I still got the better of you."

"I won't lie about that one," I chuckled along, resting against his chest and teasing with a whisper, "You and I are gonna have a whole lot of fun now that I know that I get you all fired up." 

2023 © itjazzbicch — do not repost or translate my work. Likes, reblogs, and comments are always welcome

[fandomsnstuff]

We're three weeks in team, the end is in sight! Have some blupjeans

Also vague mentions of sex but nothing explicit and barry gets playfully called a whore

@taznovembercelebration

Day 21: first/only

Barry has a work thing to go to and, as always, Lup's his first choice for a plus one.

Read it on AO3

When Barry comes home, Lup's dancing around the kitchen to her music nearly on full blast, and the house smells divine. She smiles when she notices him and turns the volume down before it gives him a headache. Excitedly, she says, “so?!”

“They gave me the award.”

She yells happily and hugs him and kisses his cheek. “Congratulations!”

He feels his insides gets all mushy, but from decades of practice, he's able to keep his cool. “Thanks. There's going to be a dinner next week, and they gave me a plus one, so…”

She goes back to stirring the pot she has on the stove, shaking her head. “Barry, Barry, Barry. Are you sure you want me to come with? I don't want to scare away all the corporate girls. I'm sure they'll be all over you, now that you're a big shot.”

“Oh, god,” he sits at the breakfast bar, “now I definitely want you to come with me.”

“What? You don't want the ladies fawning all over you?”

“I'm super good on that. I'd just not go if I could. They want me to make a speech. I need moral support.”

Lup laughs. “Then of course I'll go with you.”

She turns her music back up to an acceptable level for Barry's sensitive ears. He plays sous-chef as she cooks, chopping various vegetables and shredding cheese as he's told. They talk about their days, Barry's award, his speech, the upcoming dinner.

“Have you ever had a plus one that isn't me?”

Barry squints at the ceiling, “I think I went to something in college with that one girl.”

“The redhead?”

“No, it was…” he clicks his tongue, “god. What was her name? I don't even remember anymore. The one I, like, half dated for a few months.”

“You half dated a lot of people in college, you'll have to be more specific.”

“I did not see that many people.”

She points at him with her spoon, flinging some sauce in his direction, “you were a whore in college, Barry.”

“Maybe! But that's because I didn't date that much. I may have been a whore, but I was faithful.”

She rolls her eyes at him, but she's smiling. “Ethical sluttiness aside, I know you went to something with the redhead.”

He snaps his fingers, “it was the blonde who I broke up with because she talked shit about you, we went to an event with the science department. She had the bible verse tattoo.”

“Oh, yeah… wasn't that grad school?”

He shrugs. “Hell if I know. My time in academia's all just a haze of caffeine, homework, and sex.”

“I hear that.”

The dinner rolls around later that week. Barry's waiting at the front door when Lup comes down the stairs in all her glory. She's wearing a sparkling, floor length, fitted emerald green dress with off-the-shoulder straps, a sweetheart neckline, and an alluring slit up one of her legs. It goes with the dark green suit jacket she picked out for him. Her shoes and accessories are gold, matching his tie.

“Quit tugging at your collar,” she says, swatting his hand away. He hadn't even realised he was doing it. She does up the buttons he'd left undone and tightens his tie up to his neck. She adjusts his collar and lapels until she's satisfied and says, ���there. So handsome.”

“I don't want to do this. I'd rather stay here and watch movies with you.”

“Aw, Bear,” she cups his cheek, “I know. But I'm not letting you miss out on a dinner where you're the guest of honour. Even if it's dull.”

He groans. “Fine.”

He opens the door for her, then locks it behind him. The whole drive over, he's reciting his thank you speech in his head. It's a lot of filler nonsense thanking the company and the directors and whatever other higher-ups need their asses kissed.

When they pull up to the fancy hotel holding the banquet, Barry has to take a few deep breaths before turning the car off and getting out. Lup puts a hand on his shoulder. “You gonna be okay?”

“Yeah. Just. One second.”

She squeezes his shoulder. “If you genuinely feel like you're going to panic, tell me and we'll go. You know I'm good at excuses, and I have no problem being the bad guy.”

He looks over at her. “Really?”

“Of course. I care more about you not having a panic attack than I do about you making a dumb speech at a dinner. I'll pretend I'm sick all day long for you, babe. Remember the halloween party in middle school?”

He relaxes some, and laughs. “You pretended to have the stomach flu, and committed so hard you didn't come to school for a week.”

“Exactly. And I'd do it again.”

He takes a breath. “Okay. I'm ready.”

He always feels more confident walking into a room with Lup on his arm. Even if they are just long time childhood friends, she's stunning, and charming, and smart, and wonderful in every way. To think she's as committed to him and he is to her, to the point where they bought a house together (for logistical reasons, of course), it still blows his mind all these years later. He may be hopelessly in love with her, but he's long since been able to set that aside to preserve what they have.

They mingle and chat to all sorts of people that Barry kind of knows. Corporate life really is quite different than academic life. There's so many people on the outskirts that he knows of, but probably couldn't pick them out in a crowd.

One person he does know, however, is his supervisor, Craig. He's a burly guy, looks like he'd be an asshole, but is actually quite cool. When he sees Barry, he grins widely. “Barry!” He shakes his hand firmly, “congratulations! Well deserved.”

“Thank you. There was certainly a lot of work that went into getting here.”

He spots Lup at Barry's side and his eyebrows raise. “And this must be your lovely wife.”

Barry's whole body goes stiff. “Uh-”

But Craig's already reaching to shake Lup's hand, “it's a pleasure to finally meet you…”

She takes his hand. “Lup Taaco.”

“Lup, that's right.” He taps his temple, “I knew it started with an L, but this ol’ noggin lost the rest of it. I've heard so much about you.”

“Have you now?” She side-eyes Barry.

Sure, he's talked about her a lot. There's a lot to say about Lup. They've got over 30 years of friendship under their belts. He didn't know Craig assumed they were married.

“Oh, yes,” Craig says, “I've heard all about you two meeting as children and going through school, and college, and adult life.” He puts a hand to his chest. “Such a sweet love story.”

Lup links her arm with Barry's again. “I think so, too. Barry's truly my first and only love.”

“Why don't we go sit down!” Barry says, a little too loudly.

“Great idea, babe. I can't be standing around in these heels all night.”

Lup's called him babe before. That's normal. She calls everyone babe. He's totally not overthinking it after she called him her first and only love. He's especially not overthinking it because that's exactly how he feels about her.

He's all good.

Craig escorts them to their table, and Corporate Dinner Banquet drags on. Barry's able to get himself back to some semblance of a normal demeanor. Eventually, it comes time for the award presentation and his speech. Lup has a hand on his back for as long as she can as he stands and walks away. He makes his way on stage and takes the dumb little plaque with his name on it, and stands at the podium and makes his boring speech no one wants to hear. Near the end, the light bouncing off the sparkles of Lup's dress catch his eye.

“And… there's one more person I'd like to thank. Lup,” What's he doing? Is he dumb? Maybe, but this is the most genuine thing he'll say all night. He looks right at her, not caring about the rest of the room, “you're my best friend, have been for most of my life. You've been there for everything. My highest highs and lowest lows. I never would've gotten this far without you, and I hope we can spend the rest of our lives facing the world together.” He hesitates, but makes the leap, “I love you.”

She blows him a kiss as the room applauds. He gets off stage as fast as he can while still looking normal. When he sits down, she presses a kiss to his cheek. “That was so sweet, I didn't know you were going to do that.”

He laughs nervously. “Me neither.”

An hour later, they're in the car heading home. It's quiet, just the sounds of the road and the radio on low keeping them company. At a red light, Barry drums on the steering wheel. “Lup?”

“Mhm?”

“Why didn't you correct Craig when he called you my wife?”

He can see her look over at him in his periphery. “Why didn't you?”

“I froze up. I didn't realise he'd made that assumption. And then you played along, so then it'd be weird if I didn't.”

Lup hums. “Well, for one thing, we've been claiming each other as common law spouses ever since we'd been living together long enough to do so. It was easier to play along. Besides,” she reaches over and guides one of his hands off the wheel, linking their fingers together, “nothing I said was untrue.”

He takes a shaky breath and squeezes her hand, “even the part about… being your first and only love?”

“Especially that part,” she says softly.

He's silent as they drive down the darkened city streets. He can feel her eyes on him and her hand slots perfectly into his own. He wants to kiss her so badly. But. Driving. “God, I wish I'd waited until we got home to do this.”

Lup laughs and kisses his hand. “We're almost there, then I can kiss your brains out.”

[midnightnautilus]

hey so what's your pitch for the yellow jacket animatic to hit song "good life" by Schayfer James-

OK SO—

The beat of the song - that repeating rhythm we hear in the beginning - starts us off with a bunch of static sequential shots, starting off with Hannah getting the vision in wood shop class, getting her finger cut off, going to the hospital, Lex looking worried and pacing, the next day of Lex going off to work, Hannah and Ethan going to Pete’s, Eddie watching them and taking them in his limo. As the lyrics start, these sequential static shots stop as Eddie talks to Hannah in the limo.

“We’ve got a cabinet full of clowns, with panhandle haircuts,”

We see them taken inside the roller rink with the fighting going on and the teens in their colorful fighting costumes. Hannah’s eyes go wide.

“you’ll believe it when you see it for yourself,”

Match cut to Hannah now in the Yellow Jacket uniform. She is handed the Mind Milk by Eddie, who winks.

“There’s a lady in the lounge wearing technicolor makeup”

Hannah drinks it and we see her eyes go blue for a minute. Cut to the ring, where Spitfire is ready for action. Hannah gulps.

The chorus is where the action scene happens - “so come inside, come inside and get that good good life” is where Ethan is handed the check and Hannah is getting cheered on.

During the short instrumental break, we get another set of static shots on the rhythm as Ethan shows Lex their new house. As they cheer excitedly, we pan down through the house into a transition into the Black and White.

“It is an eagle in the attic with a semiautomatic”

A brief shot of John Macnamara in the void seemingly knowing the sisters’ fate fades into a morning at the Fosters’ new house.

“There’s a couple getting frisky in the hall”

Ethan and Lex hug and kiss in the bounce house. It’s very sweet.

“A television in the kitchen that’ll feed your children static”

Hannah eats breakfast while a TV plays an ad for the Sing Along Pokey doll

“If you’re lonely, there’s a number you can call”

As she walks away, Uncle Wiley’s eyes follow her.

The next chorus is a montage of fight scenes and other events in YJ. We see brief flashes of Webby, but Hannah keeps her out.

“Folks - pay no attention to those crooks behind the curtain”

We cut to a dark hallway in a building in CCRP. The door opens, and we see Charlie, Eddie, and Otho around a table. Charlie ruffles Otho’s hair condescendingly and Otho glowers.

“They will tell you your future is deadly and certain”

Worm’s eye view close up of Charlie’s hand which fingers the destruct button

“They will sell you a dream for a dollar ninety nine”

We cut to Lex stocking shelves, and we see her turn in shock at thd Pokey dolls lining the shelves.

“Then make you repay it or call it a crime”

The dolls leap on her, blue goo filling the screen as she falls into the Black.

“Folks, we are losing a war with the enemy within us”

Cut to Hanna arguing with Webby.

“The greed that we feed will devour and kill us”

Hannah pushes her out of her mind with a blast of light. Transitions to her in the ring, fearfully looking on as

“So come on up and come inside”

In the ring we see Otho and his puppets rise above Hannah, morphing into one giant figure that is Pokotho

“Cause there is nothing you can prove and there is nothing you can hide”

Hannahbraces herself before she realizes Lex is in front of her now in the ring. The chorus goes as the Fosters take down Otho and Charlie. We then transition to Ethan and Lex talking and fighting, and at last them settling in for the night. Day comes and Ethan is alone. The last set of instrumental static shots is Ethan reading the letter, the girls crossing the Nantucket bridge, Hannah looking out the window and seeing a view of Hatchetfield far away. The window looks like it cracking more and more as the last shot of the scene is Webby in the center of a spider web in the shape of the cracks.

[afterdarkprincess]

A Birthday Surprise

Rating: General

Pairing: Dean/OC

Word Count: 766

I’m a few days late but happy birthday to my amazing little sister @elementaldoughnut12 🎉🥳🎂

Love you so much!! I hope you enjoy this little surprise :)

“Wakey-wakey, love!”

Mackenzie hears her husband’s voice, rousing her awake as his hands gently shake her shoulders.

She opens her eyes to find Dean staring back, grinning like a child, his eyes like a clear lake in the light of the morning.

“Mmm-“ She grumbles out, not quite finding words yet in her half-awake state. “Wha- Dean?”

He interrupts her with a quick kiss. “Happy Birthday! C’mon, no time to sleep. We’ve got plans!”

She rolls her eyes fondly. “It’s a good thing I love you or I’d rip your guts out for waking me up on my birthday!”

Dean laughs, his strong arms scooping her up. “You’ll thank me later, I have surprises. Cause I’m the best.” He smirks, big and cheesy as he carries her towards the kitchen still in her pajamas.

As they get closer Mackenzie is hit with the most delicious smell drifting towards her. “Oh, you do have surprises!! What is it?? What is it?!”

“Patience,” Dean says, pressing a kiss to her nose. “We’re almost there.”

Then she begins to hear a deep and familiar voice singing.

_Fly me to the moon, let me play among the stars…._

They enter the kitchen and she sees Knight in an apron, singing absentmindedly as he pours batter into the waiting skillet. Their dogs linger around him, waiting for scraps.

_Let me see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars_

Dean finishes the line as he sets her down, alerting Knight to their presence.

He puts down the bowl he’s holding and crosses the kitchen, kissing Dean on the cheek before pulling her into a big warm hug.

“Hiya sweetheart, happy birthday!” Knight kisses her cheek too before letting her go. “Are you surprised?”

Mackenzie can barely contain her excitement. “Of course I’m surprised!! You and Randy weren’t supposed to be back from your honeymoon until August!”

“We changed plans, couldn’t miss our best girl’s birthday. Now sit your keister down, I got doughnuts to make!”

“Doughnuts? Tay gave you the recipe??” She could barely believe her sister would give out her secret recipe.

Dean pulls up a seat beside her at the kitchen bar. “Only because she threatened to sic Jey on him if he ever gives it to anyone else.”

Knight laughs. “Or worse, come after me herself!”

“Scary,” She says, knowing full well how terrifying her cute old sister can be when provoked. “So does that mean they’re not coming by today? If you’re making the doughnuts?”

“Nah, sugar.” Dean takes her hand in his. “We’re having everyone over later. Knight here was just trying to show off.”

Knight flexes his muscles as he gets back to work.

Neither of them let Mackenzie lift a finger that morning, taking care of everything. Dean even picked out her birthday outfit for her to change into after breakfast was ready.

Knight insists upon taking her out on a little joyride on his motorcycle and they spend an hour or so riding around, enjoying the wind in her hair and the classic rock Knight played.

By the time they get back to the house, there were several cars in the driveway and balloons at the front door.

Mackenzie turned to Knight, knowing now that the ride had been a distraction, even though it had been a blast.

“SUPRISE!!”

As they entered the house there was a loud cheer from the 20 or so people crammed into the living room.

All the people in the world she loves most in one room. Ludwig is there by the bookshelf with Sami, Knight squeezes himself between JD and Randy. Drew is there in a very pretty dress with Seth’s arm around his waist while Punk stares at him from across the room.

She sees her sister, despite her short stature compared to the others, holding a gigantic birthday cake. Jey at her side, looking anxious like it might topple over onto his wife at any moment.

Dean appears next to her, taking her hand to ground her in all the noise. “Happy Birthday Sweetheart.” He kisses her sweetly, not as crazy and passionate as she’d like, but enough for being in front of company.

They help Tay to get the cake somewhere sturdy before setting up the candles.

Mackenzie holds on to Dean’s hand the whole time as the party sings Happy Birthday, and she sees love on all the happy faces around her.

After she blows the candles out, Knight asks “Well did ya make a wish?”

She shakes her head. “I’ve already got everything I could wish for!”

[nellie-elizabeth]

Writing Patterns

Rules: Share the opening of your last ten published works or as many as you are able to see if there are any patterns!

I was tagged by @ajna-eye-cogitations, thank you!!

[A note that when I picked the last 10 published, I skipped over all my short one-shot collection fics that I've been posting for years now, since those are cases where each chapter is its own individual story. So I just stuck to stuff outside of that!]

where the real road lies

Grief doesn’t feel like anything. Or— well, it feels like a lot of things, but nothing you can pin down. Maybe it’s one of those human experiences that can only be talked about in metaphor. Like, it feels as if my heart’s being ripped out of my chest, or it feels as if someone’s scooped me out, left me hollow, plunged my very soul into darkness. It feels as if, as if, as if.

(can't) get back again

It’s not a decision either of them is actually making. That’s what Michael tells himself when it happens for the first time, that he didn’t decide and Alex didn’t decide and in fact fighting the inevitability of it would only be adding more pain into a world already saturated with suffering.

small town halloween night

Maria gets home before Rosa, on Halloween night. They’d both picked up shifts for their parents, Maria at the bar and Rosa at the diner. It’s not the worst shift Maria’s ever worked, but she can’t help but feel a little melancholy on her drive home. A whole night of watching people her age, people she went to school with, cluster together with their friends, doing cheap shots... A year ago, that had been her. A year ago, dressed up with her skin out, doing shots in her friends’ kitchen, laughing at the movies and getting rice in her hair.

tell me that we belong together

September 2011 Michael always gets a little nostalgic about Roswell right before leaving it behind for a while. School’s starting in just a couple days, and that means saying a temporary goodbye to mornings like this one, lounging in their favorite booth at the Crashdown, the sounds of Arturo making their breakfasts carrying through from the kitchen, jukebox playing some song Michael only recognizes because he’s heard it playing in this very diner countless times over the years. They have their local haunts in Albuquerque by now, but he’ll always be a hometown boy at heart, and for better or worse, this is his hometown.

a work of fine art

Quentin Coldwater has fuzzy arms. It’s one of the first things Eliot notices about him as his volunteer life model settles down on the couch, crossing said arms across his chest in a nervous, nearly defensive move. It’s like he’s trying to fold his body into an origami box so all the outside parts will be on the inside, safe from Eliot’s eyes. But looking at the man in front of him is rather the point, so Eliot looks his fill, careful to catalogue every detail, despite how he can practically feel the waves of energy coming off of Quentin’s body, the frozen full-body cringe as he attempts to deflect the attention. Eliot indulges in it, keeping his face carefully neutral instead of giving in to the smile building up inside of him at the rather lovely display. Squirmy, awkward, cute naked boy, and Eliot gets to stare at him for a full uninterrupted evening. It must be his birthday.

tales from a bookshop

The bookshop has always been something of a sacred space for Crowley. Scratch that— not sacred, certainly not sacred, who the hell said sacred, honestly. And no more is it Hell’s cosmic opposite, profane, it’s only that— well, blast it, it’s only that A.Z. Fell & Co. booksellers has always been an important place for Crowley. Significant. Precious, maybe, though even the taste of such a word makes him want to scream profanities at someone who doesn’t deserve it, just to get the tickle out the back of his throat.

Shelter

The first thing Quentin did most mornings was locate the most excitable, energy-filled dog he could find in the kennels, and take the little terror out for a brisk, damp jog. Damp, because the Seattle air always seemed to be damp no matter the temperature. Brisk, because Quentin was not a jogger and a solid twenty minutes was usually as much as the lucky canine in question was likely to get out of him. He did this because he was usually the first person to arrive at work and he didn’t feel like making awkward chit chat with the night shift people, and also because it seemed a kindness: by the time his bosses Margo and Fen had shown up after their leisurely morning coffee routine, the most excitable of their furry residents had already had some of their energy burned away by Quentin’s efforts.

under the desert sky

Beyond basic necessities, the items Alex brings with him on their trek to the Grand Canyon are a fully stocked iPod, car charger, and a stitch-bound notebook slipped into the front pocket of his backpack. Michael brings his restored Nikon FM 35mm and six rolls of film.

the lengths that i would go to

Summer 2010 It’s early, so early that the sun isn’t up, the air around him still and quiet. Alex is awake, and for a second he doesn’t quite know why. His body is conditioned to wake early each morning, but this is something different. There’s a strange awareness, where paranoia meets familiarity. Alex knows, as consciousness filters into his brain, that there’s someone else in the room with him. He also knows, without having to open his eyes, that there is no threat, because it’s Michael. The bed shifts, and Alex blinks into the dim light, looking down to see Michael crawling up the bed towards him.

it might change my memory

June 2022 It’s Bonnie, of all people, who calms everybody down. Not Isobel with her power to mentally soothe, or Dallas with his preacher training and inviting sensibility. Not Liz with her practical, scientific mindset, or Michael, the one person in this room who theoretically has all the pieces of the puzzle and actually has a chance of knowing what the fuck is going on. It’s Bonnie who cuts through the excited, confused, unintelligible babble and says, quite loudly for such a small woman: “Okay! Seems like we have a situation! Everyone should sit down. I’ll make tea.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wow, okay, this was really interesting to see! It looks like a very common approach for me is "short, catchy sentence" followed by longer paragraph expounding on it. Like -- "Grief doesn’t feel like anything." or "The bookshop has always been something of a sacred space for Crowley." or "Quentin Coldwater has fuzzy arms." This is true across all the fandoms I write in!

It's crazy that only one of these ten examples has any dialogue in it at all, because I tend to think my dialogue skills are really sharp! I should start more stories off with it lol.

Tagging whoever writes and wants to participate! @portraitofemmy, @prettyboysdontlookatexplosions, @awildwickedslip, @spiders-hth-is-an-outlier, @r-dtoblack

[colderdrafts]

4: The Race

The Great Assembly, gender neutral reader x monster (male naga). Sfw. Previous Next

The morning alarm hits you like a truck, and you moan in protest, pulling your pillow over your head.

"Nooo, on god," comes an equally unhappy groan from Irwin in the other bed. "Eugh, everything hurts. Why is the light so goddamn loud?" he whines, followed by the sound of ruffling fabric as he hides under the covers.

You can't help but snicker at him, your voice muffled through the fluff of your pillow. "Hungover, my weak-livered little friend?"

Irwin groans again and throws his pillow at you. "Boss man deliberately told you to keep an eye on me. It's your fault I got so drunk."

"You're a grown ass adult. Don't blame me for your own short comings,” you throw his pillow back at him.

Irwin whines.

“’Sides,” you continue, “I could have been glued to your side all evening and it wouldn't have made any difference. Would you honestly have listened to me if I'd told you to stop?"

He peeks out from under the covers and blows raspberries at you, but leans back, relenting. "Fair."

You both take a few seconds to adjust to the horrendous ordeal of being awake.

"Ugh. Okay. Yes, okay, obligations. Responsibility. Right. What time is it?" Irwin asks, sitting up and rubbing his eyes with the heel of his palms.

"7am," you reply grimly, rolling out of bed.

"Ew," Irwin says.

7am gives you plenty of time for a morning routine consisting of a shower, putting on some outdoor wear for today's activity, and drinking any caffeine you can come in contact with. Irwin pops a bunch of painkillers to nurse his tremendous headache, though it seems he's not alone. Most people seem either extremely tired or hungover, and the 8am sharp breakfast has done no one any favors.

Mrs. Hansen, in all her fae glory, seems nonetheless completely unaffected as she takes the stand in the common room to address her subordinates.

"Goood-absolutely great morning everyone! Thank you for last night, I had an absolute blast. And thank you all for being here bright and early and ready to tackle the day!"

She gets a few unhappy groans in response, and chuckles.

"Don't worry, some fresh mountain air and you'll all be better. Now, for the main event of today, it is time to figure out who your partner will be for the last and arduous journey on this conference. As such;"

Mrs. Hansen takes off her hat, and open a paper bag full of what looks like small crumpled pieces of paper. She dumps them into the hat.

"One person from each department will draw one name from my hat. Whoever they get will trade places with them, ensuring cross-department partners. If you draw your own name or someone from a department that has already been picked, you redraw. Capisce?"

An acknowledging murmur goes through the crowd, and Mrs. Hansen beams. "Very well. Let the drawing begin!"

A few people start lining up, one from each department. Irwin quickly volunteers to be the one to draw from your department, meaning he will trade places with whoever he gets.

"It's a workaround way to say that your fate lies in my hands," he grins. "Don't worry, I'll get you a good one," he winks, and goes to draw.

You look around again at the people already picked, and find Mira peeking from the kitchen door. You wave slightly, and she smiles. You feel kinda bad for her, she must be feeling left out at this point.

"Aah, my favorite master of poker is here!" Mrs. Hansen says, and Irwin looks at her puzzled.

"Poker?" he muses. "I have no idea how to play poker."

She laughs warmly. "Well you sure showed us last night! Now, go ahead and draw."

Irwin looks at her quizzically as it dawns on him he hasn’t the foggiest idea of what happened last night, but he reaches into her hat and fumbles around for a bit regardless. You're on the edge of your seat when he picks up a small crumpled piece of paper and unfolds it.

"Oh," he says, and smiles. "That's me. Whoops. Can't pick myself. Unless there's another one here with the extremely handsome name, Irwin?"

He earns some chuckles from the crowd, and Mrs. Hansen smiles. "I'm afraid you're our one and only."

"Good!" Irwin grins, and goes to draw again.

He picks out another piece, and unfolds it dramatically slowly. His smile, however, fades quickly as he reads, and his eyes promptly settles on you.

You feel a pit in your stomach.

"Irwin will be trading places with Amren, it seems!" Mrs. Hansen announces, reading over his shoulder. "Good on you for getting security on your team, eh?"

"Yeah, hah. Lucky us!" Irwin gives a strained smile.

You glance around and quickly spot Amren next to Elise, who looks back at you. His expression is completely unreadable. You try a small smile, which he slightly tilts his head at, but doesn't return.

You groan internally. Whoever writes your fate has a cliché sense of humor to pair you with the one guy here who actively dislikes you. Somehow, you feel like you should have seen it coming.

Irwin returns to his seat next to you, somewhat pensively. "Whoops. But, hey, no boarbeasts will come at you with Mr. Scary Naga around, right?"

He elbows you playfully.

You shrug at him. It’s most definitely not ideal, but who knows. You could choose to hold hope that maybe you just got off on the wrong foot with Amren. It has, after all, only been two days.

“It'll be fine. And Elise will most definitely enjoy having to keep an eye on your messy ass."

You haven't known Elise for long, but you figure anyone new to Irwin will clash dramatically with the never-ending tornado that makes up his personality.

He scoffs at you. "My ass is extremely well rounded and nice looking, and she should be grateful to look at it, thank you very much!"

After the division, everyone is herded to the front lawn, and given supplies for the trip. People are provided with a tent relative to their size, food, emergency kits and water. You clip your sleeping bag to the backpack, and haul it all up – though frown when you find your warm beanie is missing. Drat. You quickly duck back to your room to see if you can’t sniff it out, though to no avail. It’s gone. Guess you’ll have to make do with the hood on your jacket.

Returning to the front lawn, you see Mrs. Hansen has organized a makeshift starting line to really seal the deal it's a race. She’s been creative with a bunch of white and black plastic bags and a bunch of tape. How they’re not immediately being whisked away by the breeze is beyond you, but you cross it off as fae miracles.

‘Racing’, however, might be a bit generous. Looking at the still hungover and tired expressions of most people gathered here, your guess is 'running' is not first on their list of priorities.

Irwin and Elise has already met up and are ready at the starting line. Elise laughs at something Irwin said, so it seems he's already working his extravagant social magic.

You feel an immense amount of betrayal.

Turning around, you almost bump face-first into someone's buttoned up shirt, and look up to find that Amren has somehow managed to sneak up behind you. You take a step backwards.

"It would be a lot easier to watch where I'm going if you didn't sneak up on me like that," you deadpan at him.

He shrugs. “You should learn to watch your surroundings better.”

“Kinda difficult with you all the way up there.”

“Climb a tree, then. Make up for your short comings.”

“What an exceptionally wonderful idea, Amren.”

“You’re welcome, Tiny.”

You roll your eyes at obnoxious nickname he’s apparently given you, decide now’s not the time for his bull, and nod toward the starting line. You’ve got some clovers to win. “Let’s get going.”