#and then bode kisses him and nothing bad happens :)

[devonrubinart]

You know me too well, scrapper.

[small-sinclair]

Hiii🌙🌙Wanted to ask if you can write headcanons of Johnny Slaughter😖 🙏 of course you don't have to do it🤗⭐ it was just a question.. ☺️😶

I can do that. I don't mind!

Headcanons of Johnny Slaughter

tw: mentions of killings, blood

He is the biggest goofball you'll meet if he doesn't want to kill you. He has a lot of bad puns and jokes.

Just for the heck of it, he says something so out there and watches his family argue/fight. He'll stay quite for a moment with a shit eating grin and leave the madness.

Banned from touching the radio.

Banned from Cook's kitchen.

Banned from Sissy's room (don't ask what happened).

VERY knowledgeable about flowers and butterflies. He has a lot of books over butterflies.

Johnny does like to go to a certain house in town to visit an old woman that reminds him of his grandmother when she was alive. He'll sit with her on the front porch in the summers and listen to her stories even if she already told it. She lives by herself and her family doesn't visit her often, which makes both her and Johnny a bit sad.

I have an hc of him having a long scar on his back that stretches from his upper back and curves to the left side of his bode like a 'J'. He got it when he fell out of a tree.

This man knows how to play the fiddle.

Ask him about his bottle cap collection.

h

I think he is a bit overprotective of Bubba. If a victim is making fun of him or taunting him, Johnny would not show mercy as they kill them.

HATES milk. He will never drink it.

He enjoys reading (tell no one).

Can't cook, but knows how to bake! Loves making muffins and cookies!

Johnny has a soft spot for dogs and cats. There's an orange cat that lives in the barn named Froggie; she's Johnny's cat.

He has another cat named Lucky; she's a turtle cat.

Johnny has a dog, too. A German Shepard named Cain.

I actually think he was once in love, but not with the girl he kidnapped (can't remember her name for the life of me). She and Johnny used to play by the watering hole before it dried out. When she got older, she had to move away. Before she did, she kissed Johnny goodbye, giving him his first kiss. He thinks about her from time to time, but shakes it away. If she really loved him, she would've came back and visited, but she hasn't.

Has kissed a guy before when he was drunk. May or may not had a make-out session behind the bar. (He enjoyed it?)

When he's not killing, he's working part time at the town's car shop. He's really good at it, too!

He actually loves kids and wants kids of his own one day, but he won't be able to stay around because of his way of life.

There's a family photo folded in his back pocket he keeps.

Whenever he as a dumb idea, he says it out loud, gets a look from Sissy and Nubbins, and they do it. All three of them share 1 brain cell when it comes to doing something dumb together.

He knows he's adopted, but he's okay with it... sometimes. He does think about what could've been from time to time, but he shakes it off. Nothing tastes sweeter than blood on his lips and Nancy's apple pie.

Johnny is touch starved.

There was this one kill that he remembers and thinks about a lot. It was with a girl about his age. Instead of running with her friends, she went to Johnny. He knew it was an easy kill, but he didn't expect that her last moments was giving him a hug and promising that everything will be okay. He didn't know why he held her close for a while and stayed with her until her last breath. His family ended up having her for dinner, but Johnny made sure he took her bones and charm necklace. He put her bones in a shoe box and buried her in the family grave. Sometimes, he wears the charm necklace and thinks of her, remembering her promise that everything was going to be okay.

[im-yn-suckers]

midnight rain

ok, ok i had no idea Taylor Swift had a song named 'Midnight Rain' so do not come at me lol

pairing-bf niki x fem reader(jays younger sister)

warnings-kissing, dancing in the rain, emotional jay, kinda long ngl hehe, theres a shower at the end so thats up to you to decide if theyre separate or not:) not proofread

song- A Thousand Years by Christina Perri

11:59 pm. it was pouring outside and you two were watching it. you watched the way it hit the ground. he watched the way you adored the rain. he knew you wanted to go play in it because you kept looking at him every now and then.

-"let me guess, you want to go play in it?"- he asked already knowing your answer. you nodded excitedly in response.

-"lets go then"- he said putting on his hoodie and tossing you his extra that was lying on the windowsill. you two left towels for when you returned

once you got outside, he was a little hesitant but you reassured him nothing bad was going to happen

-"what if the guys find out?"- he asked because jay was always worried that youd get sick. he wasn't too much of a protective brother. he knew you like niki and that niki liked you. he saw how happy you two were together so he decided he was the perfect one for you and you were the perfect one for him.

-"well then. come what may. hurry it might stop soon"- you grabbed his wrist and he followed you into the rain.

after a few minutes, you were being spun around. entering the soft embrace of niki, then leaving. niki looked ethereal with his hair dripping. the way his hair dipped into his eyes gave you butterflies. his face was beautifully lit up by the moon. his boxy smile and the way he looked at you was enough to know you love him and he love you.

the moon highlighted his straight white teeth. the crease around his mouth when he smiled. his sharp cat like eyes. his plump lips. his sharp jawline. the wrinkles around his eyes.

he pulled you into his embrace. he held you by your waist. you put your arms around his neck, playing with his hair. he pressed his forehead against yours, smiling, looking into your beautiful eyes.

he loved the way his hands fit on your waist perfectly. the way your eyes sparkled in the moonlight. the way you looked with raindrops in you hair and on your eyelashes. how celestial you looked. not just celestial, more like ethereal, exquisite, airy, divine.

he loved the way your bodes fit together like pieces of a puzzle. the way you two could stay like this forever, with your foreheads pressed together, noses touching, eyes shut, swaying from side to side, you in his embrace, him holding you close to him.

he pressed his plump, pink lips against yours. he kept them there for a little while. you pressed your against his. you kissed him back and didn't want to stop. he pulled away and smiled at you. you smiled at him. and before you knew it his beautiful lips were on yours again.

that was until jay opened the door and saw you two kissing, soaking wet, in the rain, under the beautiful moon. he was going to say something but you two started to dance again. looking at you two waltzing in the rain made his heart melt.

he felt a tear slip down his cheek. he wiped it, decided to go inside and just watch through the window. the way he looked at you showed he was proud of both of you. his little sister, all grown up, waltzing with his younger best friend. his not so little sister, words couldn't express how he felt right now.

his not so little sister, finally found someone who loves her more than anything. his not so little sister, who loves someone more than anything. why did you two have to be so cute together? hi face was wet from watching you two dance the night away

-"i love you more than anything, y/n"- he said pulling you into a hug

-"i love you too, niki"- you said burying your head into his chest.

-"now, may i have this last dance, princess?"- he asked, bowing like and elegant prince as he held out his hand.

-"why of course you may, prince."- you answered taking his hand

you waltzed for another 10 minutes, all while jay and the rest of enhypen watched you two be a fluff, cliché couple. jay, wiping his face and washing it in order to hide the fact that he was crying. he pulled you into his embrace one last time.

all the enhypen members watched as niki kissed his favorite person in the world. the kiss was filled with all sorts of emotions but mostly, love, happiness, joy, excitement, innocence and passion. you kissed him back, arms around his neck. one of his hands on your waist, the other holding the back of your head. he pulled away and left one last soft peck on your lips.

1:19 am, jay had been watching for half an hour, enhypen had only been watching for ten minutes. you two made your way back inside, hand in hand. only to find enhypen sitting on the couch with crossed arms.

-"ok we weren't out there for long"- niki said in attempt to save you two.

-"i was watching for half an hour"- jay said

-"we're really sorry"-you apologized

-"we're not mad, we're proud"- jay said and all the members agreed

-"proud of what?"- you asked

-''you two. for finding the ones you truly love. just please don't do this again. or at least let us know''- jay said

-''ok''- you two murmured in agreement.

long story short, these were the moments that would last a lifetime. they were the moments that proved you would be together forever. the night ended with a warm shower and cuddles.

-''i love you, so, so much''- niki reminded you

-''i love you too my love''- you answered

an: i dont know anything abt dancing soooo. did yall see his weverse update????????? im not ok. i might write a fic abt paragraphs 8-11. should i??? js explaining everything he loves and everything you love. i got a lil carried away eh heh not me crying while writing this

[outermaybanks]

Out of the Woods - ch 9

a/n: made this part longer only bc it's mostly dialogue BUTTTTT things... things are happening

prev ☆ next

We got John B to the hospital, and they said they’d stabilize him, he’d be okay. When he got released, we all met up at the Wreck. John B told us Ward Cameron had agreed to be his legal guardian, which meant he was safe from DCS, but it also meant he was living in Tannyhill, with Sarah Cameron, which didn’t bode well for his excuse of nothing going on between them.

I sat across from JJ, and I could feel his eyes burning a hole into my head. I couldn’t look at him. We never finished our conversation from the other night. “So, you’re living with Sarah Cameron,” Kie pointed out. “Look, the only reason I’m living there is because her dad bailed me out, alright? And it’s way better than foster care, which by the way, is where I was about to go if Ward didn’t-” “So do you have a membership to the clubs now?” Pope asked. “What about those golf carts they drive around, you get one of them?” “Does it come with a sweater vest or do you have to bring your own?” I asked, teasing him, which actually made him smile. It was the most I had given him since he spilled my secret to JJ.

“You promised. You said you weren’t with her.” “Just own it, man. She got you,” JJ spoke up. “Look if you want to hang out with her, that’s fine, but I’m letting you know right now that I’m not doing anything with Sarah.” “I’m on Kie’s side. Her brother is a psychopath,” I added. “Do you guys see her here? No, right, a little focus would be fantastic.”

We looked at the map, Kie pointed out the coast has changed, so we tried to find landmarks, and settled on a war fort, Battery Jasper. Once we got an overhead look, we got back in the van to try and find a stone wall, which we did, and of course it was behind the old Crain house, an old scary story from when we were kids. The woman who lived here murdered her husband.

JJ said Hollis Crain had been his babysitter, so he knew for a fact it was all true. “Maybe he deserved it,” I mumbled.  “Nah, no one deserves what she did-” JJ said before going into the story Hollis supposedly told him, ending with her pissing on her father’s severed head in the outhouse. But John B wouldn’t be deterred.

“Do you think JJ’s telling the truth?” Pope whispered to me, making me giggle.  “Yeah, Pope, I think Hollis Crain pissed on her dad’s severed head and never called the police on her mom. C’mon.” I grabbed his arm, pulling him along. John B found the entrance to the basement, and we all followed him in. It was full of random household objects that Mrs. Crain no longer had use for. JJ had a flashlight, so I followed behind him.

“Down came Mrs. Crain and cut off all our heads, up came the sun and dried up all the blood,” JJ sang like a lullaby. I smacked his arm, “Dude, could you knock it off? Pope’s about to piss himself.”

We couldn’t find any water, not even on the pipes. “Know why we didn’t find it?” Kie posed. “Bad karma.” “Oh god, here we go,” John B sighed. “You know, we had a good thing going. And then you decided to rope in Barbie, and now the trail’s gone dry. Coincidence? Probably not.” “This is exactly why I didn’t wanna tell you about Sarah. What the hell’s the deal with you two?" “Nothing.” “Nothing? Is it because I kissed you? Is that the problem?” The sound of a slap echoed through the basement. “Oh shit!” JJ reacted to Kie slapping John B. “Stop treating me like I’m some girl that’s obsessed with you instead of your best friend who’s actually trying to look out for you.” Kie stated. “Did you, uh, hit me?” John B questioned. “Skeeter,” Kie replied, holding up her hand. “Oh, okay-” John B said before slapping her back. “Where’s your proof?” Kie questioned, and John B held up his hand, with a dead mosquito on it, then the two starting playfully smacking each other, dropping the problem. 

Then, Pope realized the mosquitos were attracted to water, and pulled up some floorboards, revealing a well. “Well, well, well,” Pope joked. “4/10,” I replied. “Seriously?” “I thought it was a good dad joke,” John B spoke up. “They built this house right over it,” Kie said. “This is where she hid the bodies,” JJ whispered. “Dude, seriously? We’re about to go down there,” I said. “Not yet. We need a big rope,” John B spoke up. 

We quickly snuck out the way we came, and John B dropped us off at the Chateau before saying he had an errand to run. That errand ended up being picking up Sarah Cameron.

“No effing way,” Kie said, standing up. “You brought her here? So what? She’s in on this now?”  “Look, all I care about is her cut comes out of your share,” JJ said, pointing to John B. “You know, I don’t remember taking a vote,” Kie pointed out. “This is our thing, a Pogue thing.” Pope agreed with Kie, saying this made him a bit uncomfortable.

“You know we were all extremely comfortable until you brought her,” Kie said. “Speak for yourself, I’m still mad at John B," I spoke up. “Seriously Junie?” John B asked, and I turned to look at him.  “Look, all I’m saying is, you lied. You keep lying to us. Pogues don’t lie to each other. You shouldn’t have lied about what was going on, and you shouldn’t have said she wasn’t involved just to ambush us like this,” I argued. “What does she mean?” Sarah asked, turning to look at John B. “Uh-oh,” I heard JJ say. “Are you serious Junie?” John B raised his voice at me. “Yes, John B, I’m serious. Is she why you’ve been a shitty friend?!” I raised my voice. “Excuse me? What’s that supposed to mean?” Sarah asked, scrunching her face up a bit.  “John B knows exactly what I mean,” I replied. “No I’d love to know,” “Maybe it doesn’t involve you, because none of this involves you!” “I found the map, what exactly have you done, Juniper?”  “Hey!” JJ shouted. “Don’t talk to her like that, John B get your girl.” “JJ shut up,” John B replied. “She’s already causing problems between us,” Kie spoke up. “Stop talking about me like I’m not here!” Sarah shouted. “Then leave!” Sarah looked to John B. “I told you.” “Told him what, exactly? That you’re a liar?” Kie questioned. “No, that you’re a shit talking bitch.” “Oh hell no-” I said, standing up. “The fuck did you just say?”

Then the three of us were shouting at each other, until John B yelled at all of us to shut up. “Kie, you are my best friend, right? And-And so are you, Junie, and I’m really sorry about what I said about JJ, but Sarah, she’s…She’s my…” “Say it,” Sarah said softly. “She’s my girlfriend.” “Oh, that’s new,” Pope spoke up. “She’s your girlfriend now? What was all that talk about just using her for information, get a map, cut her loose,” Kie questioned. “Did you say that, John B?” Sarah asked. “No.” “Oh my god, stop lying!” I shouted in annoyance. “You did,” Pope added. “Look, love just walked in, okay?” John B defended. “Gross,” I said while Kie said “Vomit.” “I didn’t expect it, it just- it kind of happened. And I’m not gonna deny it.” “Look, cut the bullshit, John B. If she’s in, I’m out,” Kie said. “I’m not doing this.” “You are gonna decide.” “I can’t!” “I’m very interested actually, me or her?” “Both,” John B said with a shrug. “Ohhh,” Pope grimaced. “He went for the Hail Mary,” JJ said.

Kie just shook her head and walked out. I kept my eyes on the door. “Junie…” John B said, making me turn to look at him. “C’mon… I thought if anyone understood not having control over who you get feelings for, it’d be you. I thought you’d have my back.” I was stunned into silence. “What the hell- Junie? What does he mean by that?” JJ questioned. I couldn’t look at him. “Are you fucking serious? How can you say you’re sorry and then do it again? I’m not only out, I’m done,” I walked over to grab my backpack out of the corner of the mudroom, and put it on over my knapsack. “Junie-” John B said, getting up and walking over to me. “What do you mean? What do you mean you’re done?” “Junie, what's he talkin' 'bout?” JJ and John B started talking over each other, both of them trying to get my attention, but I just grabbed my skateboard and practically threw myself out the door. I needed to be alone. I needed to cry, to scream. So I went to an isolated dock, staring out into the water always made me feel better. I wanted to run away. I wonder how far Yucatan is from here.

Once I finally calmed down, I went through my bag, sure enough, the envelopes of cash were still laying on top. I started walking back towards the Cut to find the motel, it wasn’t great, but it beat sleeping outside.

-

I used the motel’s laundry room to wash my clothes, then went outside. I’d get a cheaper price for the room if I spent the day gone, and came back at night. I considered going to Heyward’s to see if Pope’s dad had any jobs for me, but I really, really, couldn’t see JJ or John B right now. But, turns out fate had other plans. I went to the nearby skatepark, just to waste some time, but it wasn’t long before I saw the Twinkie pull up.

“Oh hell no…” I said to myself. Pope, JJ and John B all got out of the van, and all of them were staring right at me. “No fucking way.” “Grab ‘er!” JJ shouted, and then the three of them were chasing me. I dropped my skateboard to run faster, and looked behind me to see JJ had stopped to grab it, slowing him down, but I still had John B and Pope on my tail. I found a public bench and went to one side of it, John B was the closest, so me and him began the dance. He came one way I went the other.

“Junie- please- just talk to me.” “No!” “You’re being-” I went the other way. “Really immature right now.” “Me? You’re the one who tells all my secrets the second you’re in hot water!” John B came at me from one side, so I went the other way, but this time I collided with a body, one that wrapped their arms around me. “I got her!” Pope shouted.

“Pope, let me go, right now!” I screamed as he started to pick me up. “No can do, Junie.” “Get her in the van!” JJ called as he ran over.  “John B, get her legs.” “If you touch me, John B, I swear I’ll kick you in the face.” “Please don’t kick me, this is for your own good- ow!” John B held each of my legs so if I kicked he could avoid it, while Pope put his arms under mine to carry me like a heavy piece of furniture.

“Help!” I screamed. “Dude!” John B scolded. “I’m sorry, Junie,” Pope said before covering my mouth with his hand. JJ opened the door to the van, and John B and Pope carried me in. JJ hopped in behind them and slammed the door shut behind him, and Pope finally took his hand off my mouth.

“Seriously? Kidnapping? That’s what we’ve resorted to?” I questioned. “Oh yeah, you’re not even our first victim,” JJ said. “Way to make a girl feel special. Now let me out.” “No, you need to listen,” John B said. I clenched my jaw, and looked around me, almost all of my friends staring back at me.  “Where’s Kie?” “Victim numero dos,” JJ answered. “What?” “She’s working her problems out with Sarah, and now you need to work out your problem with me,” John B explained. I scoffed. “My problem? My problem is I thought I could trust you.” “Bugs-” “I really do not want to hear it from you right now,” I cut off JJ, and he held his hands up in surrender. “Then hear it from me. I’m sorry, okay. I’m sorry that I tried to get the heat off of me by throwing you under the bus. That was shitty of me. Pogues don’t do that, Kooks do that. I never wanted to be someone who hurts my friends-” “You just kidnapped me,” I interjected. “To be fair bug, you got quite a temper on you,” JJ spoke up. “I thought I said I didn’t want to hear from you.” “Case in point,” JJ mumbled, and I shot him a glare. “Love ya, bugs.” “And-” John B said, getting our attention back on him. “I already told JJ that I was lying the other day in the marsh, so no worries, nothing’s weird.” 

I turned to look at JJ, who gave me a small smile.  “No…” I said. “What?” John B asked, worriedly. “I can’t be a hypocrite, John B. I was mad at you for lying, but I’ve been lying to JJ for 4 years. It’s time to man up,” I said, then looked to JJ. I couldn’t read his face, but he looked just as nervous as I felt. I took a deep breath. “John B was telling the truth. I’ve had a dumb little crush on you since we were like, 12, and everyone else noticed, and maybe you did too but you didn’t want to... I just didn’t want things to change between us. I didn’t want you to treat me differently for liking you, so I kept it a secret, and made everyone else keep it a secret. But last night I realized it got way out of hand, and now it’s ruining my friendship with John B when I should’ve just told you. So… now you know, J.” 

Silence.

“Wow,” Pope said. "That was… intense.” “Yeah…” I said awkwardly, avoiding JJ’s gaze. “But now, instead of us keeping it from JJ, we can all forget this ever happened. So, John B, back to your apology,” I turned and crossed my arms as I looked at him. “I’m sorry, Junie, I really am. I don’t know what came over me yesterday- and the other day. I’ve just been- so absorbed in my own shit, that I’ve been a shitty friend. And I don’t want to be. I want to be a good friend, I want you to trust me. So, Junie, what do I need to do to get you to forgive me.” “I want to see a backflip,” I said, very seriously. “What?” “First week of summer you promised me a backflip and never delivered.” “C’mon JB, you know the woman loves a good backflip,” JJ said. John B laughed, “Deal.” 

Pope quickly drove us back to the Chateau, and once we were there, John B got to work building a fire. I went to check the fridge for beer, but we had finished it off the other night.

“I’m gonna do a beer run!” I called as I closed the front door behind me. “Need some company?” JJ asked, coming closer. I felt it bubbling up, the embarrassment, the awkwardness. This is what I had been trying to avoid. “I can handle it.” “I’m the only one with a fake ID,” JJ said. “Yeah, and I got these” I said, gesturing to my breasts. “I’ll be fine.” “Don’t be weird, bug.” JJ said. “C’mon, we can take my bike.”

Keeping it a secret from JJ had built up this suspense, this fear that if he knew, the world would end. But now he did, and it didn’t, and I had to live in a world where my best friend knew I was in love with him.

“Safety first.” JJ said, handing me his helmet. I rolled my eyes as I put it on, sitting behind him and wrapping my arms around him. “Now, Junie, feel free to cop a feel-” “Shut your mouth or I’ll kill you.” “Okay, noted.” JJ replied before starting his bike and taking off. 

I was relieved, yes I had given JJ ammunition to tease me with, but at least that was normal. At least nothing changed. The drive to the liquor store was short, I let JJ pick out the case of beer, and I grabbed a bottle of Malibu and a bottle of coke.  “Hey, hey, can I get this?” JJ asked, holding up a bag of skittles. “Oooh yeah, find me some Nerds Gummy Clusters.” “Got it!” He called from the next aisle over. We walked over to the cashier, JJ handed them his fake, and I handed him the cash. “Thanks, sugar mama,” JJ said, kissing my head. There it was again. The awkward feeling. But it seemed to only be affecting me, and then I wondered if he was doing it on purpose. 

When we got back, the sun was starting to go down, John B had successfully started a fire, and Pope and him were sitting around the fire pit. “Oh thank god, we thought Junie killed you,” Pope spoke up as we came into side. “Excuse me? I buy you beer and you accuse me of homie-cide?” I joked, holding up the bag in my hand. “Good dad joke,” John B interjected. “I just figured JJ would tease you, or make inappropriate comments and you’d kill him.” “Okay that’s fair,” I replied, sitting down by the fire pit. 

JJ sat across from me. “Beer me,” He said, holding his hands up. I grabbed a beer from the case and threw it, but John B intercepted it, making me laugh before I grabbed another and threw it to JJ, then handed one to Pope. 

“I still can’t believe you trapped Kie on a boat with Sarah Cameron- actually- John B, I can’t believe you’re dating Sarah Cameron. Kook Princess.” I said before pouring some Malibu in my mouth, then washing it down with Coke.

“What can I say? Love doesn’t care about status,” John B replied, and I faked gagging, making Pope laugh. “John B, I thought you were gonna give my girl a backflip.” JJ spoke up, opening his beer. “Oh you wanna see a backflip, Junie? I’ll show you a backflip,” John B said, handing JJ his beer before standing up. I giggled when I watched JJ sneak a drink, despite having his own. “Woo! Go Jeeb!” I cheered as he walked to a clearing.  “Yeah! Go John B!” Pope joined in. 

John B put his hands behind him before he bent his knees, and jumped, flipping his body backwards. He fumbled the landing a bit, but to be fair, he usually did this into water.

“Yeah!” I shouted, clapping and cheering for him. “I still can’t believe that’s all you wanted,” JJ said as John B returned and took his beer back. “I mean, you could have asked John B to do anything, and all you wanted was to see a backflip?”  “He’s the only one who can do one,” I argued, grabbing the bottle of Malibu to take another drink, coke in hand. “I can’t watch your barbaric habits, I’m getting you a cup,” Pope said, getting up and heading into the Chateau. “Aww! Pope, you’re the sweetest!” I called, but he just flipped me off.  “Well? Was it everything you hoped it would be?” John B asked before taking a drink of his beer. “All that and more.” I replied sarcastically. “Thank you for your apology, Jeeb. Hopefully your plan for Kie and Sarah works, I don’t think she’ll settle for a backflip.” “Oh, it’ll work. I left them some primo bud, hydroponic,” JJ explained. “Damn I should’ve said I wanted that.”  “Your wish is my command,” JJ replied with a smirk, reaching behind him to grab his bag. 

I heard the door open and shut and turned around to see Pope returning with a red solo cup for me. “My hero!” I cheered. Pope rolled his eyes and held the cup out for me, when he reached me I pulled him down to kiss his cheek before taking the cup from him.

I poured some Malibu into the cup, then coke before taking a drink. “Careful, bugs, y’know what happens when you drink too much of that stuff.” I turned to see JJ lighting a blunt in the fire. “I think I deserve it after being chased and kidnapped. How’d you guys even know how to find me?” “We checked the beach, the abandoned house, Heyward’s, even the Wreck, JJ’s the one that thought to check the skatepark,” Pope answered.

I looked back over to JJ, now with a successfully lit blunt between his lips. JJ held my eye contact as he inhaled. Then he nodded his head and held the blunt up, so I stood and walked over to him, taking it from him. I took a couple hits, walking around the fire before handing it back to JJ, and taking another drink.

“Junie, truth or dare?” John B asked. “I’m not drunk enough for a dare… yet,” I replied, taking another drink. “Would you ever… date a Kook?” John B asked. “Hell no.” I answered. “No offense, John B, I just don’t think I could. Too different. Completely different views on the world.” “Sarah isn’t like that.” “Then I guess Sarah isn’t really a Kook,” I replied, which made JB smile. “Pope, truth or dare?” I asked, before taking the blunt back from JJ. “Truth,” Pope answered predictably. “When… was the last time you scored with a girl?” I asked before taking a hit. “Did Pope score with a girl and I missed it?” JJ asked, Pope smacked his arm in retaliation. “Last summer, bonfire party. Touron,” Pope answered proudly, JJ clapped with pride. “JJ, truth or dare?”

JJ had been in the middle of trying to take the blunt from me. “Tr- Dare.” JJ answered, before resuming his grabbing. I rolled my eyes and surrendered it to him. “I dare you to… kiss John B.” “What?” John B asked. “Pucker up sweetheart-” JJ said, getting up from his chair. He handed me back the blunt, then grabbed John B’s face before pulling him close, dramatically smashing his lips to his, making me and Pope damn near die of laughter when we saw John B’s face after.

“Bugs… truth or dare?” JJ asked. I don’t think I was ready for a truth from JJ. “Dare.” “I dare you to skinny dip.” “Pervert,” I replied with a smirk. “Fine. But you all watch from right here- no closer.” “You’re killing me here, Junie, really,” JJ said, and I smacked his arm before beginning the walk to the dock. Once I got there, I turned back, it was dark, even with the fire by them I could barely make out their faces. I quickly took off my clothes, and put them in a pile before I jumped into the water. I could hear claps and cheering when I emerged, I quickly pulled myself back onto the dock and did a bow before pulling my shirt on, my clothes stuck to my wet body, but honestly, the cold water kind of felt nice.

I quickly ran back to get warmed up by the fire. “John B… truth or dare.” “Well after that I’m gonna have to go with truth.”  “How in the hell did you and Sarah Cameron get close all of a sudden?” I asked, and John B told us about their ‘spy adventure’ in Chapel Hill.

“Ohhh, that explains why the note was signed from Vlad,” JJ spoke up. “Is that why you guys were at Midsummers?” I asked, and John B nodded. “I was helping my dad with oysters.” Pope added. “What were you doing at Midsummers?”  “Kie brought me because I was upset. John B.” “I did the backflip!” John B argued, making me giggle. “Ohhh is that why you were talking to that Kook?” “What’s this now?” JJ asked. “Junie was with a dude like the whole night,” Pope explained. “Only because he wouldn’t stop talking about himself,” I defended myself. “And he didn’t know I was a Pogue so-” “They always know. Kooks just- do you know what Rafe did?” “Besides jump Pope?” “They tried to jump me, 5 on 1, the only thing that saved my ass was that security guard coming in. Last thing Rafe said to me? ‘Tell Looney Junie she looks hot for a pogue’. So maybe don’t let your guard down just yet,” JJ said, putting the blunt back between his lips.

I grabbed it back. “I have no intentions of letting my guard down around Kooks. You don’t have to be jealous,” I teased before putting the blunt between my lips, John B and Pope letting out respective “ooohhhhs”. 

It was getting late, and I was desperate to change my clothes, so we all retired to the Chateau, it was my turn with the spare bed. “ Goodnight guys.” I said as I grabbed my bag off the table and headed towards the room.

“Yeah goodnight guys!” JJ called, and I turned to see him following, he shut the door behind him. “Uh- hi?” “Hey bug… I was hoping we could talk… didn’t exactly give me time to respond earlier,” JJ said. I forced myself to swallow the lump in my throat. “JJ, I’m sorry that I kept it from you, and made our friends keep it from you. But like I said, I’m cool, I’m so cool, y’know, it’s not gonna be weird, I’m not gonna like… get jealous or anything, we can just forget about it, and-”

It took one step for JJ to reach me, his hands instantly coming up to cups my cheeks before pulling me into him, pressing our lips together. If I was smarter, I would have pulled away, preserved a line of boundary to save our friendship, but I had spent too many nights wondering what it would be like to kiss JJ, and this was better than anything I ever imagined. His lips were soft, despite the cut on them, and I could taste salt, but it was the sweetest thing I’d ever tasted, and I wanted more. But… then I remembered. This was JJ, my best friend, whom I tortured myself over to keep our friendship, I couldn’t give it up for a kiss.

So I forced myself to pull away. “JJ-” “Not yet-” He breathed out before crashing his lips back to mine, this time sliding his tongue in my mouth. It was even harder to pull myself away the second time. “JJ we- “I don’t want to forget.”  “What?” “I’ve been throwing myself at you since middle school, and now you tell me you like me back? I don’t want to forget that, I want to do the opposite- I want everyone to know.” My eyebrows screwed together, as I tried to take in what he was saying. “I don’t- I don’t understand-” “Yes you do, Junie. You know me, bugs. Why do you think I insist on us always sleeping together, why would I be willing to kill a man for putting his hands on you-” “Because we’re friends!” “Because I’m in love with you!” JJ countered, he was starting to get worked up, but I was too shocked by his words to be shocked by his volume.

“You don’t mean that, JJ. You love me the way you love Kie, we’re friends. I mean, you’re always hooking up with randoms-” “Random girls with blonde hair and green eyes and I give them your clothes, yeah that’s so normal.” It felt like a punch to the stomach. All the things I dismissed as closeness, were JJ’s attempts at something more. “J… We- we can’t. “Why the hell not?!” “Because! We’re in the middle of a treasure hunt to change our lives forever, we’ve been best friends since we were 8, you are one of the only good things I have and if something happens-” “Like what?” “Like if we dated and broke up. What would I have then, JJ? Nothing.” JJ’s jaw clenched and he turned away from me.

“JJ… I can’t lose you.” He turned back to look at me.  “So don’t. We’ve been through so much shit together, Junie, what could happen to tear us apart?” “So… what? We date, get married? Have 2.5 kids and live on Figure 8?” “Well… I have been told I resemble Harry Styles…” JJ said softly, making me chuckle sadly.  “I wish it were that easy. We’re 16, J… and y’know you think you want that now, fuck, I think I want that now-" "Fuck 16, I've known what I wanted since the day I met you."

How could words that give you butterflies also make you sick to your stomach? I bit my lip and looked down. "You could change your mind, and then we’d be left with nothing.” “Why? Why are those the only two options, get married or never speak to each other again?” He sounded desperate, and I hated myself for doing this to him. But I couldn't lose him, not JJ. “I haven’t seen any of your other hookups hanging around.” “You’re not just a hookup though, Junie… You’re my girl.” “So you’re telling me you think that we could date, have something so bad happen that we break up, and we could still be friends?” “Yes! Because there is nothing in this world you could do that would make me be okay with losing you..”

I didn’t know what to say to that. I was scared that if I said it back to him, I would end up finding out something so bad it could make me be okay with losing him, and that was the scariest thought of all.

“Say something,” JJ begged softly. “I don’t know what to say…”

JJ looked hurt, but he looked down to hide it, and bit his lip before turning back for the door, opening it and leaving without another word. The silence that followed the loud slamming of the door was deafening. The bed felt too big, lonely and cold without him suffocating me.

©outermaybanks 2024 taglist: @lilliebellee

[beewithknee]

of feelings and memories

day 4 of redactober 2023 !

(genderbent) sam/darlin'

For the first time in years, Darlin’ smiled as they woke up. Burying their nose in the sheets, they smiled at the bittersweet scent of coffee and peaches. Something so uniquely her.

Their sheets smelt like Samantha. Like comfort. Like home.

They rolled over, smile immediately dropping at the cold sheets they were met with. Where was the warm body they’d gotten so used to waking up next to?

“Sam?” They called out, hoping she’d come reclaim her rightful spot. The empty silence they were greeted with sent warning bells through their whole body. Their mate always let them know when she was leaving. A text, a note, anything.

“Samantha? You home?” They called once more, feet swinging over to hit the carpeted floor with a soft thud.

They shrugged on a hoodie, trudging the long hallways of Samantha’s house.

The open back door that greeted them didn’t bode well. The sun was up. Sam was nowhere to be found. Fuck.

“Samantha?!” They yelled desperately. Hoping for any sign of life from their missing mate. “Where the fuck are you? This isn’t funny. Please.” They barely breathed the last word out, heart thundering with anxiety.

They scoured every inch of her large backyard, finding no trace of her. They shifted, senses far more enhanced in that form. The scent of peaches was faint. Present but likely hours old, back when it was still dark out.

Thank god.

In the depths of the house, they heard a door click. The front door. 

Sam.

Their nails clicked loudly against the wooden floors as they scrambled through the house. Paintings shook as they bounded down the corridor.

There she stood, arms raised as she took her large sun hat off. She was wearing their flannel.

In the recesses of their mind, they registered that that was something she only did when truly upset and needing comfort.

They didn’t bother shifting back as they reached her, nose immediately pushing all over her body. Desperate to find any wounds she may have hidden away by the jeans and flannel.

“Wow dog-breath. Calm down. Hey, Darlin, what’s wrong?” She stopped, voice tired but a light smile on her lips. Her deep blue eyes shone with worry. Crouching, she cupped their face between her hands and pressed their foreheads together.

The immediate release of tension had them shifting back. She let it happen, staying at her spot by their side. “I woke up and you were gone. The back door was open. I thought-“ They shuddered at their mental patterns.

“Oh Darlin’ I’m sorry. No, it just wasn’t a good morning so I went for a drive. I was hoping I’d be back by the time you were up.” She explained gently. They rose, picking her up and trudging back into the bedroom. She laughed as they flung her down on the bed before scooting in on top of her.

“You only love me for my boobs, huh?” She teased, scratching gently at their back. “Oh duh, look at them.” They poked gently, watching as the flesh moved.

Odd but alright.

She smiled, kissing their head. “Why was your morning bad?” “Oh. It was nothing.”

“Sam, you only drive when your head won’t quit. Talk to me, c’mon.” They coaxed, squeezing her sides in a loving reminder.

“Ugh, it was just… the inversion. It’s all it ever is these days. Even after Quinn coming back, I thought they’d be more about him and everything but it’s not. It’s them. It’s Vincent. It’s his partner. It’s Shaw and Talbot. It’s everyone I didn’t save.” She sighed heavily, eyes dark. Haunted by memories she longed to forget.

“I just wish I hadn’t been turned. Maybe then I could’ve kept being a healer. I could’ve stuck it out. I could’ve been useful.” She bit her lip, turning away from her Mate’s knowing look. She didn’t wanna think about it.

“Samantha, you know what I’m gonna say. You were useful. You saved so many lives, and did everything you could. You can’t get caught in the ‘what ifs’ because it will kill you. And plus, you getting turned meant that we met. We get to have this.” Darlin’ gestured at their bodies, tangled up and peaceful.

Sam leaned forward and kissed them sweetly, lips tasting like her black coffee. “I know. And please don’t think I’m not so goddamn happy I met you. And that you love me, and that we get to be this. But, I can’t help it, I just wish I could’ve been better.” Tears lined her waterlines, dancing across her eyes. Her distorted vision let her hide from their gaze for a while.

She closed her eyes, burying her face in their hair. Her arms tightened around their back, bringing their bodies flat against one another; barely an inch of room between them.

“I’m so glad you weren’t in there. I wouldn’t have coped.” She admitted.

They smiled into her chest, “Trust me Fangs, it was good I wasn’t. I wouldn’t have let you out of my arms.” They laughed. “Plus, being a vampire allowed you to help Vincent, and save his partner. It’s not all bad, you know.” They gently reminded her.

She huffed under them, belly clenching from the movements. They found an odd comfort in the way she moved under them, so warm and alive.

It soothed a part of their hindbrain.

“That is true I suppose. God I’m-“ They tsked lightly, “No ‘sorry’s’ you know this. We’re okay. You’re alright.” They swore, tilting up and kissing her once again. She hated that they read her so well. Hated that they could predict what she was saying.

“I love you cowboy.” They breathed against her lips, heart stuttering with gratitude at her existence.

She sniffed, choking back her rising emotions, “I love you too.”

[dotster001]

Enemies to Lovers part Nine, can't even say out of how many it takes for my coworker to Love Vil cause we're almost done

Summary: All hope seems lost with Vil being in the hospital wing.

Part: One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Ten Epilogue

Epel and you were running to the mirror chamber faster than you'd ever run before. Epel was trying to get a hold of Rook, and finally got him to pick up  as you ran down the final hallway.

"Where are ya guys? We're coming!" He listened for a moment. "Geeze! Ya shoulda said that the first time!" He hung up and skidded to a halt.

"They're in the NRC hospital wing, since Vil's still a student," Epel said breathlessly. Both of you changed direction and began sprinting there.

When you arrived you were met with a small crowd that included Rook, Crowley, Crewel, and…Malleus? That caused your heart to stall for a second. Considering he was also supposed to be at an internship, this boded ill.

You could see Crewel and Malleus hovered around a hospital bed, as Rook attempted to calm a sobbing Crowley.

"Why do bad things happen to good headmasters? Do you know what'll happen if this gets out to the public? I'll…." 

Rook cut him off when he noticed you and Epel.

"You've arrived!" He ran to both of you and greeted each with a peck on the cheek. Then he made grim eye contact with both of you.

"Roi de Dragon is looking over him right now. But when he is finished we can…"

"There's nothing I can do," Malleus boomed out with a heavy sigh. He noticed you and gave a sad smile. "It's unfortunate we had to meet under these circumstances, my child of man. I've missed our walks dearly."

"Malleus, what's wrong with 'im?" Epel burst out finally.

"Schoenheit has been placed under a sleeping curse," Malleus said. "A powerful one at that. Nowadays, there is many a loophole you can take advantage of, but this one…he can only be awoken with true love's kiss."

"What loopholes?" You spoke up.

"Loopholes like familial love, friendly love, even fanatic love," Crewel said. "But it appears we are unlucky. This curse requires mutual true love. And Vil isn't in love with anyone, nor is anyone in love with him the way we need."

"Can we see him?" You whispered.

Crewel gave a nod and stepped aside, revealing Vil lying peacefully in the hospital bed. If you didn't know better, you'd have believed he was only sleeping, his chest slowly rising and falling, his breath blowing a strand of hair out of his face, a slight peaceful smile. Even now, you felt yourself struck with how beautiful he was, and how much of a crime it was now that the world was robbed of his visage, his laugh, his smile, his kindness his…

You realized you'd been reaching out to touch his hair and pulled away, crossing your arms so the instinct would be suppressed. 

….

Claudia. The woman from the awards ceremony. She'd snapped, and given him a cursed slice of apple pie while he was at his internship. She'd been taken into custody almost immediately as Vil was rushed to NRC to hopefully avoid the paparazzi. 

Rook explained that she had hoped to prove something to Vil, but had overplayed her hand. After that, she'd doubled down, insisting if she couldn't have him, no one could.

You felt your stomach churn just thinking about it.

….

You'd thrown yourself into your managerial duties the next several weeks. You hadn't visited Vil since that first day. It was too much to see him lying there knowing he'd never open his eyes again. 

There was talk of building a "tomb" of sorts where they could let him rest. He wasn't dead, but he wasn't alive. And the hospital wing couldn't protect him forever.

The second branch of the Mostro lounge was having a very busy night. Well, every night was busy here, which was why you were able to not think about your problems, but tonight even you had had to help wait tables, do after cleaning, and after all the rest of the staff, remained behind to finish closing paperwork and inventory.

When you thought everyone had left, you heard someone give a light knock on your office door.

"Yeah?" You called, not looking up from your calculator.

"Hey Shrimpy," you looked up and Floyd was leaning against the door, grinning.

You smiled back. Floyd was the consistent calm helper in your life right now, believe it or not. It was like he'd noticed how down you'd been and put in the extra effort to make things better.

"Saw you were working late, thought I'd help ya out. Cause otherwise, Jade's gonna make me help clean his terrariums," he said with a grimace, making you laugh.

"I'd appreciate that," you said. "Can you look at this last bit of paperwork, while I finish with the deposit?"

He nodded, and pulled up a chair next to you, both of them working in silence. After a while, you felt a soft caress on your cheek.

You looked up, and felt your face warm as you realized Floyd was staring at you, with his head resting on his hand.

"You look really cute when you're all focused like that, Shrimpy," he said softly. 

He moved in slowly, and soon his lips were on yours. He nibbled your bottom lip, making you gasp so he could deepen the kiss. Your eyes fluttered closed, as he threaded his hand through your hair, and your first thought was….

"I wonder if Vil would kiss like this"

With that thought, it was like a dam had been destroyed, and you couldn't stop thinking about Vil. How beautiful he was. How intelligent he was. How deeply he cared for his loved ones. How deeply he cared for you. How he'd do anything for those he loved. How he'd do so little for himself. How his eyes lit up when you spent time together. How his laugh could light up a room.

As Floyd pulled away, searching your face, you whispered, "Floyd, I think I…"

"Don't say it," he said with a sad smile. "I already know."

He gently caressed your face one more time, before pulling back.

"Go save Betta fish, Shrimpy. I'll finish things off here."

You hugged him tightly, breathing, "thank you" and ran off to the NRC hospital wing, hoping that Vil had retained his feelings for you after all this time.

A/N: I feel a little mean putting this out on Floyd's birthday, so I'll probably write him something after this 😂 (I'm sorry baby please don't leave me)

.....

Tag list- @stygianoir @da-disappointment @shytastemakerthing @iruiji

[kanerallels]

No no please I desperately want to hear your Bode opinions, I crave to know if anyone else has the same geek kind I do

Oh my stars Anon I got this ask and I am VERY pleased by it but also like. prepare for me to have an objectively wrong opinion here. It's not the, generally speaking, correct one, but it's just the one I have

Anyways I'm gonna put this under the cut because it's gonna get long and spoiler-ful but! Here are two posts that I think have amazing takes on the situation as well!

Post one

Post two

Let's start at the very beginning. It took me forever to actually get this game, and due to that fact and my lack of self control, I found out quite a few spoilers about the game. (not everything, but a lot of stuff.) This included Bode's betrayal

At first I was like, oh this random guy is gonna betray me! Guess I gotta prepare to be super ticked off for a little while since I always handle betrayal arcs in fiction like an adult (that's a lie. I do not handle betrayals in fiction well At All. Still getting over the Billy Russo situation in The Punisher and don't even get me started on season one of AOS-- both of which I also saw coming. I digress, but that was relevant)

But then. I started playing Coruscant. And Bode showed up

Logically, I was like "oh random dude who's gonna betray me-- better not get attached."

About ten or fifteen minutes later he was my (or Cal's, technically) new best friend. As you can see, it went really well (he was befriending BD too, okay???)

Okay rabbit trails aside-- I really, really liked Bode as a character. So much so that I kept forgetting that he was going to betray me, and that I shouldn't get too attached. I liked his ridiculous quips and his loyalty to Cal and the fact he kept calling him "brother" and his obvious and fierce love for his daughter and how much he shipped Merrical

So when he did turn evil... it hurt. A lot

Like I said, I don't handle these things well. And in a video game-- where I tend to project onto/pretend that I am the character-- it was just as bad, if not worse

And yet, despite all of that, despite everything he did to Cal and the crew, despite him killing Master Cordova and causing so many terrible things to happen. I couldn't really bring myself to hate him

For two reasons. Number one, if I let myself go down the road of actively hating a character like that, it will not go well. I speak from experience

And number two, Bode seemed to regret what he did. That scene right before the second Merrical kiss, on Jedha? He looked like he wanted to tell Cal, but (in his mind) knew he couldn't because he had to protect Kata above all else

On Nova Garon he called Cal his best friend, and he sounded so sad, like he knew he'd destroyed the relationship beyond repair

(we ain't touching on Bode on Tanalorr. Everything he did there was objectively terrible)

The point is... I get that Bode is supposed to be a bad guy, but I'm never gonna see him that way. I'm gonna see him as consumed by his own fear, so terrified at the idea of losing his family again (after all, the Jedi Order was his family first. Losing them, and then his wife? That's just trauma on top of trauma) that he will do LITERALLY anything and justify it with the fact that he's doing it for Kata

He's just so AFRAID. And fear leads to anger (which is a secondary emotion, as my mom likes to say. Anger never comes from nothing), which leads to the Dark side

And while there's part of me that still thinks that he was being an idiot about this whole situation (sir Tanalorr is a whole hecking planet?? Guarded by a freaking impassable nebula?? That's why you're here in the first place) the other part of me knows that when you're guided by that much fear, you're not thinking clearly

So yes, Bode did terrible things-- he killed Master Cordova. Indirectly, he caused Cere's death (which, unless I'm remembering wrong, which is totally possible, I don't think Cal blamed him for that? He seemed to blame Denvik-- but again, I could be wrong). He manipulated Cal and endangered his daughter with his rage on Tanalorr and nearly killed both Merrin and Cal and KRIFFING HIT MY BELOVED BD 1

But when I look at his motives? At first, I forgive him, because that's what I'm called to do. And at the point where he reaches no return, I just pity him

And honestly I think in the end that's where Cal ended up too? Like, he was obviously angry and hurt and going through a lot, but he did want to give him a second chance. And I think if Bode hadn't be so focused on what could happen and how he could possibly lose more family, he could have accepted that

But he didn't. Instead, he committed atrocities, and I do condemn what he did and how he handled the situation. It was wrong. But I'll always be more inclined to imagine the world where he did trust Cal, and got a second chance

But yeah, there are some of my extensive thoughts on Bode Akuna! There are a few more small things, that I may post about in the future-- but I'd LOVE to hear what your take on him is, Anon! Even if we disagree, I'm still very curious. Thank you very much for the ask, if you got this far, I appreciate you reading!

(TL;DR-- Bode Akuna did so many bad things but I do think he regretted them, no matter how much he justified them in his mind and to others. And I personally am forgiving him and imagining worlds where he made the right choice)

[suna-reversed]

“honey, we broke the bed!”

characters- Ushijima, Bokuto, Iwaizumi, Daichi

nsfw!!

Daichi

- headboard grabber !!

- like you know you’re done for as soon as his muscular arms move up above your head and Daichi uses his core strength to rut into you wildly

- but then you’d abruptly find yourself at a new angle which makes Daichi’s thrusts go so much more deeper when suddenly,

*creak*

- Daichi’s first instinct would be to protect you, his hands immediately moving to support the back of your head as he tries to not let his body weight onto you

- “fuck, are you okay, baby?”

- as soon as he’s made sure that you’re fine, you’ll be getting picked up and being pressed against the nearest wall, his lips against yours once more

- “Dai! The bed-”

- “I’ll take care of it later.”

Ushijima

- Ushijima knows his strength when it comes to volleyball,,,but when it comes to other things, not so much

- he’d have been taking you from behind, his body leaning over yours while he grunts and groans into your ear

- you’ll get hit with the panic of a sudden downwards drop, not even having enough time to brace yourself as you wait to fall face first onto the floor

- only to realise that Ushijima’s arm had slid across your waist, holding you up to him. You’d look back at him with wide eyes

- he’d just be staring back at you like 😐

- “y/n, should we move to the couch?”

Iwaizumi

- definitely happens during angry sex

- apparently saying “oh you wanna kiss me so bad”🙄 in the middle of an argument does not bode well-

- and that is how you find yourself being fucked into another dimension while Iwa holds your legs up to your chest

- safe to say you’re stuck in quite an awkward position once the bed gives out, and it’s definitely caused a harsh jerk in your neck

- Iwa, on the other hand, did not only just lose an argument, get cockblocked by a wooden slab, but now also has to feel terrible because his baby is in pain

- At this point, mans would just carry you into the bathroom while cursing the ‘stupid bed’ and the ‘stupid argument’ and ‘stupid gravity’ (and somehow ‘stupid Oikawa’??)

- he’ll cuddle with you in the warm water, his hands massaging the areas on your neck and shoulders that hurt.

- would basically go into complete manbaby mode and take a nap with for the rest of the day, before takes the two of your for bed shopping in the evening

Bokuto

- Another one who really doesn’t realise the extent of his own strength, which is increased tenfold by his excitement around you

- You would’ve been on top riding him, but honestly, he would’ve been doing most of the work with his hips thrusting up into you and his hands fondling your boobs.

- He would literally not care that he just crashed down onto his ass.

- would simply stare at you with wide eyes for a second before continuing like nothing happened-

- fuck you’d be too far gone to care either because like...really? how are you gonna say no to his thick cock that’s hitting the sensitive spot inside you even better because of the new positioning

- he’d most likely click pictures of the broken bed later to send them to Akaashi with a “:)” for some reason

- and then to Kuroo with a “your weak kitty ass could never” 😏

*cue Kuroo dragging his s/o into their bedroom*

[barbiewritesstuff]

Bad Day

-- Thank you guys for all your requests. I want to apologise for any inaccuracies, I asked my ex-aircadet fiancé about some stuff but I will shamelessly admit that I bent his answers a little to fit my idea… 

Request: "Bob gets hurt ( pretty bad ) and rooster has to tell the reader and what not" by 

@happyblogsstuff

Tw. For brief mention of pregnancy and and being pregnant, and for main character injuries--

Bob had had a good day.

Or a good start anyway, it wasn't going so well now. 

He'd woken up early, spent time having breakfast and coffee before climbing back into bed with you to cuddle. You had snuggled into his chest adorably, eventually gracing Bob with the sight of your beautiful eyes and a sleepy smile. He had kissed you, you'd pulled him over on top of you and things had gone from there. 

The day had continued to be good when he arrived on base to find chocolate chip muffins (courtesy of a bet lost by Hangman) in the recreation room and Phoenix, his best friend, guarding one from chocolate-addicted Fanboy to give to him. They had laughed and joked and eventually left for Hangar six for briefing. 

He was even looking forward to dinner at your mothers, aka, the best cook in the world. He hoped she'd make her lasagna.

The sky had been blue and void of clouds, the perfect day for flying and Phoenix, Bob, Hangman, Maverick and Payback had all gone up without a worry. 

Maverick had waged a tough war against their guns and managed to pick them out of the sky one by one.

Slowly, the sky had turned darker and more ominous but nothing to raise alarm bells.

"Fuck!" Phoenix had shouted when their plane buzzed and initiated landing procedures.  

And then the comms died. It took a second for it to sink in that the rest of the plane did too and there was no turning it back on. The plane veered on its side, Phoenix tried to turn it back but to no avail. They were going to crash and there was nothing they could do about it. They couldn't even ask to evacuate the tarmac.

The tip of their left wing hit the landing strip with a nauseating 'CLANG' and their day went from bad to worse. The speed of their aircraft sent it ricocheting into the air spinning madly. Bob could feel a second of weightlessness and then searing pain in his neck at the impact. The plane bounced like a ball six times before landing on its head, effectively trapping them in.

Bob had lost consciousness on the third bounce. He woke up a few minutes later to a suspiciously quiet and confusing world. It took him a moment to realise that the plane was on fire and another moment to realise he couldn't move.

He wanted so desperately to touch Phoenix and check she was alive because the way she was sitting there with her limp arms over her head and resting on the burning canopy didn't bode well.

He lost consciousness again.

----

The rec room had accidentally given them a first row seat to their worst nightmare as pilots.

Rooster had just gotten up for a cup of coffee and a snickers bar from the vending machine when thunder roared. He looked over at Hangman to tell him something and saw lightning strike his teammates' plane straight on the canopy. Whatever Phoenix had been saying through the radio was cut short with jarring suddenness.

He watched it all happen in slow motion. The wingtip clipping the tarmac, sending the million dollar aircraft spiraling into the air and bouncing six times before getting overturned by momentum and hitting the canopy with astounding force.

Everyone in the room was holding their breath, holding hope that at any second one or both would crawl out of there alive. No one did. The plane caught fire, the medics and the extraction team came and Rooster felt nauseous. 

He locked eyes with Hangman and both sprinted out of the room and into the tarmac in time for the firemen's arrival. The extraction team worked hard, but cutting scolding metal wasn't an easy time. Rooster could see the medical team getting worried. 

Maverick caught up to him, everyone so occupied by the scene in front of them that they hadn't noticed he had even landed. Admiral Simpson joined them a few minutes later, right as the extraction team pulled someone out. It was impossible to figure out which one, as the green flight suits didn't really give much indication and Rooster presumed they had kept on the helmet to keep things in place should something have happened. 

Then, they pulled out the second one and they all watched as the medic pulling his guerney draped a white sheets over their legs, scared he was just leaving the job unfinished and that their friend was actually dead.

----

Phoenix had lost consciousness almost immediately. She had felt the lightning strike hit her right above the head and the plane veering on its side and when they clipped the strip, she hit her head and she passed out. The fact that this was a good thing had only crossed her mind later, way after she had woken up.

The fact that she had practically been a ragdoll had made the impact much easier on her body, as her muscles didn't tense up and absorbed shock surprisingly well. But, the nurse had said, she would walk out of here with both legs, both arms and a head, she wouldn't be able to fly again for a while if ever, but right now Phoenix never wanted to see a plane again. 

When she had asked about Bob, the nurse didn't sound so sure. 

Phoenix had volunteered to call but Rooster thought he'd do it. He was the only one who had met you and he was certain you'd want to hear it from someone you knew. He was pacing the floor of the recreation room trying to find the words when it occurred to him that he never would. So he unlocked Bob's phone and called.

---

You were at your mom's when your phone rang. It was unusually early for him to call. He wouldn't be on lunch for a while yet so it could only mean two things. Either his training had been cancelled due to the weather, or he had had an accident.

You prayed it was the former.

When you picked up the phone, your heart sank, your knees buckled and tears started streaming down your cheeks. 

"Y/n, this is Rooster -- err, Bradley Bradshaw -- I fly with Bob. There's been an crash." 

Lieutenant Bradshaw had kept on talking but you had stopped listening. 

"The doctors aren't sure he'll survive the night" was the only other thing you caught. 

You looked around at the room. Your mother and you had been setting up for tonight's dinner. It was a special occasion, you had a surprise. 

In a daze, you stepped out of the corridor you had taken the call in and walked towards the open box on the table. Inside was a little onesie saying "Future pilot" and an ultrasound picture.

[fruitcoops]

Could we please have a prequel to the praise kink fic? Because i really want to know why were Sirius and Remus not together and what did Remus send him. I really need context

I was hoping somebody would ask for this!! The aforementioned fic is here for any curious souls (18+ please) and SW credit goes to @lumosinlove!

TW for spicy texts (not exactly nudes), and smutty feelings with nothing explicit

The bus went over a bump and Sirius winced as his shins knocked against the back of the seat in front of him, connecting with the metal brace inside. “Fuck.”

“You sure you don’t want to switch?” James asked next to him. Sirius glanced down at the veritable wall of gear and empty snack bags between them, then back to James in disbelief. He shrugged, then set his headphones back over his ears. “Worth a shot.”

“Merde,” Sirius hissed as a pothole nearly took off his kneecap. He gritted his teeth and readjusted, drawing his legs closer to his chest. I want to be home, he thought, allowing himself an internal moment to whine.

He checked his phone—not even ten in the morning. It was a Saturday, so Remus would probably just be rolling out of bed, still sleepy and soft with his hair sticking up like a disgruntled cat’s. Sirius sighed heavily and stared out the window at the small town rolling past in the distance; there was little he wouldn’t give to be back with him instead of on the way to a full week of conferences.

“Why did we have to win the Cup?” he grumbled.

James lifted one side of his headphones. “What?”

“Nothing.”

It wasn’t like they had had much time to themselves before that, either—Sirius’ schedule was packed with interviews that felt more like interrogations, and Remus had been running the PT department mostly by himself while Moody took a well-deserved vacation. They were dead on their feet every night, worked to the bone with little energy left to do more than cuddle and fall asleep. Still, Sirius was grateful for every second of it.

He waited ten more minutes before giving in.

New Message To: Re

Bonjour mon loup <3

There was no immediate response, which made sense, though he was a little bit disappointed. Sirius closed his eyes and tried to make himself relax; it would be at least another six hours before they arrived at their destination, and the bad weather gathering overhead didn’t bode well for quick travel.

His phone buzzed gently and he scrambled to answer. Don’t be Reg, don’t be Reg, don’t be Reg—

New Message From: Re

Morning love!

Thanks for the bagels <3

“Fuck yes,” Sirius said under his breath. The bagels had been a last-minute decision as he crept through the house in the early hours of the morning after carefully detaching himself from Remus with a final half-asleep farewell kiss. There was no guarantee he would remember breakfast with everything going on, so Sirius figured it was a safe bet to toast them and leave them on the countertop before heading out.

Message To: Re

Pas de problem

Sleep well?

Message From: Re

Decent

Missed you :(

Sirius rested his temple against the cold window with a soft sound. He hated leaving at different times, but that was just how their life worked at the moment.

Message To: Re

Missed you too <3

Three small dots appeared for a long moment before vanishing without a trace just as his heart rate began picking up. Where’d you go? he almost wondered aloud. Something bumped his arm and James raised a quizzical brow. “Loops,” Sirius said by way of explanation.

“I figured. He okay?”

“I think so? He just…disappeared on me.” Sirius was well-aware of how plaintive he sounded—James’ teasing smile was completely unnecessary.

“Aw, Cap,” he laughed, reaching over to mess with his beanie until Sirius slapped his hand away. “It’s alright, buddy, it’s just a couple days.”

Sirius jammed his hat back on his head and flicked James on the unprotected bit of his ear, making him yelp. “Fuck off, I know you’ll be a mess as soon as Lily FaceTimes with my godson.”

“He has a name, you know.”

“Sorry. You’ll be a mess as soon as she FaceTimes with Pocket Pots, who happens to be my godson.”

James rolled his eyes. “I regret giving you that title.”

“Nah, you don’t.”

As if on cue, his phone lit up again; Sirius ignored James’ snickering as he quickly unlocked it.

New Message From: Re

When will you be at the hotel?

“That’s it?” he muttered.

Message To: Re

That was a lot of typing for one sentence

6-7 hrs, if the weather holds

Why?

Message From: Re

Sorry lmao Reg came in for a bit

Just curious :) Keep me updated?

Message To: Re

Will do <3

Tell Reg he needs to wash his sheets. It’s been over a month.

A small thumbs-up emoji was his only answer, and he tried not to be too bummed. Remus liked having things to do; sitting there and texting Sirius while he slowly got further and further away was probably not his preferred way to spend a morning. With a sigh that was likely a bit too dramatic for the situation he was in, Sirius faced the window once more and buckled in for a long ride.

He chatted off and on with the others when they stopped for lunch, but everyone was exhausted from the combination of a packed week and an early morning. Even Talker stayed fairly quiet, and James kept his headphones on for most of the trip.

Sirius finally succumbed to his tiredness and put some music on, then dozed for an hour or three while they traveled through yet another field. A few halfhearted calls of “cows” made their way around the bus, though nobody seemed particularly enthused about being packed in with double the gear due to a broken storage compartment. Donuts and gas station coffee could only do so much.

“Just crossed the state border,” Arthur called from the front of the bus as Sirius tried to ignore the cramping in his thighs. Three hours. Just three more.

His music was interrupted by a soft jingle alert and he pulled his phone out, hoping against hope that Regulus hadn’t caused a fire anywhere. It was unlikely given the…well, everything about him, but with Sirius’ luck it could happen.

New Message From: Re

How far?

Message To: Re

About 3 hrs. Ran into some detours

Good day?

Remus remained silent on the other end and Sirius frowned. That was rather rude, and highly unusual. Between the two of them, Remus was the one who kept conversations going past the initial question to be answered.

Message From: Re

Attachment: 1 Image

Love you! Call me when you get there : )

Sirius opened the attachment and almost threw his phone in utter shock. Skin. Bare skin everywhere, its smooth edges broken up only by tight black fabric that may as well have been painted onto the curve of Remus’ ass. “Oh my god,” he whimpered, voice barely audible even to his own ears. It had been taken in their bedroom mirror; Remus looked over his shoulder, and Sirius caught the corner of a devious smirk on his lips. “Oh, you fucker.”

Message From: Re

Thoughts? They’re cozy

Message To: Re

Did you miss the part where I said three (3) hours

Message From: Re

Nope

Second one is a guessing game and u get a prize if u get it right : )

The second photograph was more zoomed-in than the first and Sirius wracked his brain, running through his mental catalogue of Remus’ body to figure out the answer. It did absolutely nothing to calm the situation in his pants.

He had no idea what the promised prize was, but anticipation made his hands shake slightly as he carefully scanned the picture. The shadows caught it at an odd angle—it wasn’t the steady slopes of his face or neck, nor was it the strong curve of a shoulder. Not enough freckles, either, he thought.

A lightbulb lit in the back of his mind.

Message To: Re

Right hip

Another thought connected half a second later.

Holy fuck you took them off

Is that my prize?

Re?

Remus Lupin I swear to god

TEXT ME BACK

Message From: Re

Bingo!

Christ you’re impatient, I was gone for like 2 mins

He chanced a look toward Pots, whose head lolled to the side as he snored.

Message To: Re

Hey quick question why are you like this

It’s a good thing Pots is out cold bc this bus is too small to hide anything

Message From: Re

Haha sux to be you

Sirius’ cheeks heated with a whole cocktail of different emotions as he furiously typed a response.

Message To: Re

‘Sux to be you’???

Are you 13 yrs old????

Message From: Re

Do you want your prize or not u horndog

Message To: Re

YOU MADE ME THIS WAY

He took a deep breath through his nose and flexed his fingers.

Yes please

A simple smiley face—Sirius would never see those things the same—popped up, followed by an audio file. He triple-checked that his headphones were plugged in before tapping ‘play’ with an unsteady thumb.

His face went very, very hot before all the blood went straight to his groin and he closed his eyes, covering his mouth with his hand. Breathy sounds came through the heavy earphones, a little more crackly than they would be in-person; he heard Remus’ gasp catch in his throat and crossed his legs as best he could in the too-small seat, torn between thanking and cursing any higher power. He could practically see Remus’ face in his mind’s eye as the noises continued, intermixed with fragments of desperate words.

The file came to an end after what felt like the blink of an eye and a hundred years, and Sirius did not look away from the violently red seat cushion in front of him for a long moment as his brain came back online. He couldn’t remember the last time he was so turned on.

He took a few deep breaths, though it did nothing to erase the poorly-muffled whines that still rang between his ears like church bells. Sirius huffed and turned to grab his waterbottle out of his duffel, only to make direct eye contact with Finn across the aisle.

Sirius froze.

Finn grinned.

“Don’t you fucking dare,” he hissed, too low to wake James but just loud enough to carry over the four feet separating them. Finn’s smile widened. “Stop it. Stop it right now.”

“How’s Loops?”

“Shut the fuck up.”

“That good, huh?”

“O’Hara, I swear to god—”

“Oh, is Cap spilling secrets?” Kasey asked, poking his head over the back of the seat.

Finn opened his mouth, but the force of Sirius’ glare must have been enough to at least intimidate him a little, because he shook his head. The smug Cheshire grin remained. “Nah, just having a chat about our plans when we get home.”

Kasey groaned. “You’re a lucky man, O’Hara. Both your people get to come with you. Nat sent me a promise, like, twenty minutes ago and I can’t stop thinking about it. I won’t be available tonight from six to eight if anyone was wondering.”

“Did she really?” Finn looked back to Sirius, who bit the inside of his cheek and tried to keep his cool. Two and a half hours, and then he would be safe. Just two and a half more hours.

[deannaroxannewrites]

Tropetember Day 7 - Mutual Pining / Requited/Unrequited Love / Angst with a happy ending

My boys

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x GN!Reader

Fandom: Criminal Minds

Rating: Teen and up

TW: Angst (all of the angst), Angst with a happy ending, Witness Protection

AN: Day 7 of @tropetember. Another Hotch story that could be expanded into a small series. Enjoy the angst (and fluff because I CANNOT HELP MYSELF)

You've been looking to spending a quiet day with your boys, until a phone call turns your world upside down.

Find this story on Ao3 here.

Word Count: 1.6k

You were in the middle of pottering around the kitchen putting your groceries away when the phone rang.

Glancing at it, you realise it’s Aaron. Why would he be ringing you right now? Jack’s soccer game wouldn’t have been finished for very long and they usually got a treat before coming to visit you.

You answer with a smile, you were looking forward to spending the day with your boys.

“Hi sweetie, what can I do for you?” You ask.

Aaron says your name and his voice shakes. You instantly stop what you’re doing. Something is wrong. Something really bad is happening. You can tell.

“Scratch.” He takes a shuddering breath. “Scratch was at Jack’s game.”

You gasp and panic floods through you.

“Is he ok? Are you both ok? He didn’t get to either of you did he?”

"No, he didn't."

There's a pause and you feel your heart start to calm. At least they're OK, although you can't figure out what's happening. Unfortunately, your relief at them both being unharmed is immediately destroyed.

"Jack and I are being put into witness protection."

You hear the glass you were holding smash as it connects with the marble floor of the kitchen. It's funny, you feel like a spectator in your own body. The only other thing you're aware of is that you feel like you can't breathe.

Aaron calls your name a few times but you're hyper fixated on one thing he says. 'Jack and I.' Not we. Why hadn't he said we?

"Can I not come too?" Your voice is small. Lost. "If this madman is following Jack, he'll know who I am, Aaron."

You hear him exhale.

"I know. I tried to get the Marshals to offer you the choice of coming with us." You imagine he's scrubbing his hand down his face in frustration. "They said that, since Scratch's focus is the team, and I will no longer be around or know what's happening, you will no longer be at risk." He lets out a scoff.

Tears silently trace down your face. Your world was ending but, no matter how much you wanted to beg and scream and demand they stay, this was already a done deal. Jack's safety was the most important thing in the world and you wouldn't dare risk it for your selfish desires.

"OK." You take a moment to breathe and clear your throat. "Can you do something for me?"

"Of course."

"Tell Jack I love him? Give him a big hug and kiss and tell him that I'll see him when this is over?"

That breaks him, and he quietly sobs out your name.

"You're going to be OK. Both of you. And I'll be here waiting." You take a shaky breath. "Is there anything I can do?"

"I'm putting everything into your name. I don't mind if you move into the apartment or if you rent it out and put everything in storage. Just try to hold onto the keepsakes and Jack's stuff."

"I've got it. Don't worry. It's in good hands."

"The very best." He gives a shaky laugh. "I love you so much. I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault Aaron. God, I love you so much."

You both go quiet, knowing you don't have long until the Marshals disconnect his number.

"I can't ask you to wait for me." He tells you. It makes a sob break through your restraint. "That would be selfish of me. Just know that I love you. And, once this is over, we'll see you again."

"I know, it's OK. I love you."

"I…."

The line goes dead and, like the glass spread across the floor, you break.

---------

The weeks following are hazy in your memory. You imagine it's not totally dissimilar to a bereavement. After all, you'd discussed seeing each other again, but you both knew that there was a chance it may not happen. Scratch had been evading law enforcement for months with ease. He was watching Jack and no-one even knew. It didn't bode well.

Time continued to pass. Eventually, from around the 6th month mark, people started offering to set you up with friends/relatives/colleagues. You weren't getting any younger they kept saying. You can't miss out on the rest of your life.

It was something you were well aware of. You were only a couple of years younger than Aaron so you were moving past your prime, particularly if you wanted to have kids of your own. You couldn't do it though. It just felt wrong when Aaron was out there alone somewhere with a new name and identity. How could you move on? Instead, you focussed on work, even getting a promotion for your efforts.

You didn't move into the apartment, you couldn't bring yourself to. You and Aaron had been discussing moving, and potentially purchasing a proper house with a garden Jack play soccer in in the future, mere days before everything happened. It was just another thing that didn't feel right. Instead, you moved the important things out to Dave's basement. He had the space and it would be much safer than a storage locker. It also helped sooth his guilt over the fact that none of the team were supposed to have much contact with you to try and keep you off Scratch's hotlist.

Since you didn't need the income from the apartment, you instead approached a charity who worked with women and families escaping domestic violence. You'd offered them the apartment at a reduced rate for short term lets that rolled month by month, with potential to go up to a year. The plan was to give people time to get back on their feet and regain their independence in a safe and secure environment.

You'd had two small families in so far. Both had moved on after securing jobs with good salaries and new full time accommodation. They were both keeping you updated about how they and their kids were doing, and you were happy that you were able to help them even just a little. It was empty at the moment and you were busy organising some basic maintenance and were going to repaint some of the rooms to freshen it up.

You'd just been on the phone with Derek, who'd offered to do the small repair jobs you needed doing, when someone knocked at the door.

Glancing at the clock and seeing it was nearly 9pm, you paused and texted Derek as a safety precaution. It was probably nothing, but better safe than sorry.

The knock sounded again, a little more urgent this time, and you hustled to the door to open it.

When you realised who was on the other side, your knees gave way.

There in front of you, looking almost exactly the same as when he left, was Aaron with Jack peeking out from behind him.

Realising what was happening, he reached out to steady you and you threw yourself into his arms, sobbing as if your life depended on it.

He held you just tightly, rocking from side to side until you pulled back. You lower yourself into a crouch and hold your arms out to Jack, who collides with you with enough force to knock you on your behind.

You both laugh as you land on the floor, a light, carefree combination of sounds that tinkles around the room as you press kisses all over his face. Aaron bobs down to join the hug before helping you both to your feet and guiding you all to your sofa.

"I'm so glad you're both back" you tell them. Jack is snuggled into your lap and you're snuggled into Aaron. Declarations of love pass easily and frequently between the three of you and it fills you with warmth.

You spend the evening catching up with them. Apparently Scratch had been caught at the end of last week but it had taken this long for word to get through to the Marshals and for them to organise transferring them home.

Jack tells you over dinner (pizza, Jack picked) about his school and all the things he's learnt since the last time he saw you. Aaron tells you about his cover job as a law clerk in the backwater town of Nowhere, Iowa. In return, you tell them about how you got promoted at work and what you've done with the apartment in their absence. Aaron's eyes shine with pride as you explain the cause and you know it's one that's close to his heart.

Before you know it, it's almost midnight and Aaron is suggesting they go back to the hotel that they've been set up in for the next few days. You won't allow that though. They'll be lucky if they're allowed to leave your sight ever again.

You all brush your teeth together in the bathroom while joking around before getting sorted and all clambering into your bed together.

Wrapped in Aaron's arms, with Jack tucked up against your side, you finally feel whole for the first time since that dreaded phone call.

"My boys," you gently sigh. "I love you both".

Aaron presses a soft kiss to your forehead, and you let the sound of their breathing calm you as you fall into the deepest nights sleep you've had in forever.

Even better, they're still there when you wake up.

[haloshornsinkstains]

Kisses Under the Mistletoe:   (Formerly) Undateables Edition

I’m enjoying these mistletoe kisses headcanons too much, I should have started earlier. I’m trying to get a few more festive pieces written before Christmas, and hopefully some for New Years (intermittent inernet problems permitting). And make this place a bit prettier.

Diavolo

When Diavolo called for you to visit his office you thought you were prepared for just about anything, after all you’d had plenty of experience of his eccentricities and whims at this point.

So when he started grilling you on festive traditions in the human world while you sat beside him at his desk you weren’t exactly surprised, although the breadth of the information he’d gathered to grill you on was a little overwhelming.

You almost felt bad admitting you weren’t particularly familiar with the festival of Saturnalia, partly because of the way Diavolo’s face fell and partly because it sounded wild. 

As you progressed through various traditions you grew more and more comfortable, shedding the usual layer of formality that being in Diavolo’s presence seemed to make you grow, adding your own anecdotes about traditions you followed personally.

He’s writing things down, and you assume, making plans for some kind of festive celebration in the Devildom. It’s all so normal you let your guards down, and as such, get blindsided by his next question.

“What about mistletoe? What is the importance of mistletoe?”

You blink a few times, trying to get the cogs in your brain to function properly. “Oh, um, it’s become tradition to kiss under mistletoe. I think it’s supposed to bring luck…”

Diavolo frowns, retrieving something from his drawer and holding it out to you to inspect. “Then perhaps I should ask Asmodeus why he gifted me this?”

You’re staring at the mistletoe like it’s going to jump out and bite you. (Stranger things have happened in the Devildom, even if this particular plant looks pretty harmless).

“Oh!” Diavolo beams in a way that worries you. “I suppose we should kiss now!”

y/n.exe has stopped working

“I… I can’t! Lucifer would kill me! I mean, you’re the Future King and I’m just… me?”

Diavolo frowns and for a moment you see your life flash before your eyes. If for no other reason than Lucifer is probably going to murder you for upsetting his Lord. 

“But, y/n, I would like to kiss you if you would let me.” He’s still grinning mischievously but his eyes are soft with affection. “You’re special y/n. And if Lucifer shouts we can just tell him it was my idea, he rarely shouts at me.”

Your cheeks are on fire but you nod, letting Diavolo cup your face between two large hands and press his lips to yours. The kiss is warm and gentle, almost chaste. He kisses you like he’s afraid he’ll break you, and to be fair he probably could, but it leaves you heart racing and lips tingling when he pulls away.

Barbatos

It’s only been two days and Barbatos would very much like to find out who exactly told his Lord all about human festive traditions, in particular who gave him a record of ‘festive’ music. He just wants to talk. (Not that he would ever say this to Diavolo, he is an impeccable butler after all).

You had been roped in to coming to the castle to help with the decorations, but as you wandered past the kitchen with a box of tinsel and baubles you heard a tired sigh that sounded awfully familiar.

Popping your head through the door you spot Barbatos frowning at a mixing bowl.

“Everything alright in here?”

Barbatos never jumps at anything, but his eyes do look a fraction wider than usual when he turns to look at you.

“Perhaps you could assist me? Lord Diavolo asked me to make a ‘Christmas Cake’, if you’re familiar I could use your expertise. I’m not as experienced with baking human world delicacies.”

 You grin, stepping inside and settling your box down on an unused counter and heading to his side to help. “There are some things even you don’t know?” You laugh softly, looking down at the mixing bowl. “It’s been a while since I made one, but I can try to help? The secret to my grandma’s recipe was usually a lot of alcohol though, she’d bake it months in advance and keep topping it up...”

The two of you bake together, and if Barbatos notices the pink flush on your cheeks whenever your body bruises against his, or when he wipes flour from your cheek, he is polite enough not to mention it.

You’ve just put the cake in the oven when Barbatos moves over to the forgotten box of decorations, rifling through curiously before pulling something out.

“Y/N, are there supposed to be plants in here?”

You walk over to see what he’s talking about just as Lord Diavolo walks in with a beaming smile.

“Y/N! Here you are! Oh, I know what that is!” He’s gesturing to what you now realise is mistletoe dangling between Barbatos’ gloved fingers. “That’s mistletoe, Asmodoeus and Solomon were telling me all about it. You’re supposed to kiss under it for luck!”

You’re making up a plan to murder your friends for teaching Diavolo about this while Barbatos studies you thoughtfully.

“If you’ll allow me?”

His voice startles you and you look back up at him for a moment before the words register. You just managed to squeak out a yes before he kisses you and you almost feel your soul ascend out of your body. Barbatos’ kiss is precise and practiced in a way that reminds you just how many more centuries of experience he has on you.

There’s nothing obscene or improper about the kiss, but when you pull away you’re feeling lightheaded and a little weak in the knees. Barbatos smiles just a little before turning back to Diavolo.

“Now, about the cake my lord.”

Simeon

Simeon, unlike the demons, seems to be at least somewhat aware of human world festive celebrations. Some of his knowledge is a bit out of date, but he’s better at this than you expected.

By the time you get to Purgatory hall the place is already pretty well decorated, the decorations lean more towards the religious but you still find tinsel and even a few paper snowflakes dotted here and there.

Simeon greets you as you enter their main common area with a beatific smile and an excited wave. “Oh Y/N, Solomon said there was something I should show you.”

You follow him, only a little wary, Solomon might cause trouble on occasion but Simeon is usually not involved. Usually.

He stops in one of the doorways that you’re pretty sure you’ve never been near before. In fact the corridor behind it looks pretty much unused. It doesn’t bode well for this being entirely innocent, though at least with Simeon involved it’s probably safe.

Coming to a halt he gestures up and you look up towards a sprig of mistletoe hanging in the doorway. Which would explain why it was so far from the frequently used areas of the halls. You smile softly, shifting your gaze from the mistletoe to Simeon.

“Solomon told you to show me this hmm?” You grin, noting the way Simeon’s eyes flick away from yours. “Did he tell you why?”

“Maybe he mentioned it, maybe he didn’t.”

You laugh, looping your arms around his neck and pulling him in for a kiss that leaves you both breathless and flustered. For all he is an angel, Simeone seems to know an awful lot about kissing and how to do it so you’re weak in the knees.

“You know, if you wanted to kiss me you only had to ask.”

“But this seemed seasonally appropriate.” He hums, gently stroking your hair.

“Very seasonally appropriate. And I guess we don’t need to worry about Luke wandering up here and scolding us.” You laugh, kissing his cheek softly.

“Ah yes, that too.”

Solomon

Any mistletoe shenanigans are entirely Solomon’s own doing and he knows exactly what he’s up to.

He’s been helping you with your magical studies recently, much to Satan’s chagrin, and this evening you decided to study in the House of Lamentation in front of the warmth of the fire.

The night starts wearing on and after a few hours of study you’re getting restless. Solomon pauses to glance over at you and sighs. He knows as well as you do that you’re no longer taking this in.

“Shall we take a break?”

You sigh in relief. “Please? I can make us some tea.”

He nods and follows you to the kitchen where Asmo, Mammon and Belphie were sat in the middle of a discussion. You greeted them happily, laughing as Asmo flirted happily with Solomon. You keep up idle conversation while you make tea, missing the small gesture Solomon makes with a free hand and the ripple of magic in the air.

“Hmm, Y/N, what’s that above your head?”

You pause, glancing up as Solomon sidles over with a smile. You were sure you hadn’t noticed the mistletoe hanging there before, and it was a strange place to put mistletoe, but then again you were busy chatting so maybe it had just slipped your mind.

“You’re familiar with the tradition right?”

Solomon holds your chin between two fingers, suddenly very close, his eyes studying your face questioningly. Somewhere in the background you can hear Mammon exploding and Asmo talking about romance but it’s all lost on you with Solomon’s lips hovering so close to your own. 

You don’t trust your voice to answer him, but you do just about manage to nod. You catch the expression of triumph for a brief second before he kisses you. You expected something quick and chaste, but those expectations were swiftly dashed when you felt his tongue brush against your lower lip. Any other day you know you’d have given in, but the clamour of voices behind you are a stark reminder of where you are and who your audience is so you press gently against his chest.

“Oi! Whaddya think you’re doin’ kissing my human like that?!”

“Oh hush Mammon, I think it’s very sweet.”

Embarrassed, you grab the tea and Solomon’s arm, practically dragging him out of the kitchen with Belphie’s eyes burning holes in your back.

“You did that on purpose!”

Solomon shrugged. “Perhaps I just saw an excuse to kiss that gorgeous face of yours and took it?”

“No one hangs mistletoe above a teapot! You did that to annoy them… wait, did you just call me gorgeous?”

“Perhaps. Now, shall we get back to studying?”

You were going to murder him one day. Maybe after another kiss though.

[marshmallowprotection]

How do you think Ray would have reacted if Rika took MC in Ray's route the way she does in V's route? Would he still have just let her take you away and not let you and him see each other, do you think?

Ray would have no choice but to allow Rika to take you away. That’s his Savior and what she says goes. If he dares to argue with her, then he’s going to go into the basement and he may never see the light of day again. It’s a fear of his, and even if he thinks that she helped him... it’s obvious that he has an awareness to what she does to him. He’s too scared to voice it. 

But, he knows that she’s going to use him like a puppet. He’s been conditioned to never question it. Because if he questions it, he’s going to spin himself into a frenzy of fear that puts him back in his place. He has to be dedicated. 

Rika controls his thoughts to “protect” him, and he has to believe it. Or, he’ll be forced to drink the elixir until he’s blitzed out of his mind and there is nothing left for him but darkness. He’s got no choice in the matter if Rika decides to take you away from him.

He’s going to be upset, sure, but do you really think that Ray is going to be able to look Rika in the eyes and say “no”? He can’t do that. If he even gets close, he starts to apologize over and over, bowing his head and claiming that he’s out of turn with what he’s saying or doing. He’s so afraid of disappointing Rika because of what he knows will happen if he does. He idolizes her, fears her, and knows it is true that she won’t hesitate to bend him to her whim. Be it for a good reason or a bad one. 

Rika would take away MC... hm. I imagine the most reasonable moment for her to take away MC would be right after the kiss. Instead of punishing Ray down in the basement for hours on end, she could take this chance to further bring out submission in Ray. She knows about the kiss. It’s quite literally why Ray winds up being taken away... well, in my theory anyway. 

She knows that love is what will forsake her entire paradise. So, she needs to smother it at the source and make it a worm on a hook, right? If she wants to stop it, she needs to use it for her own desires. 

So, taking MC here should be done as a means of control. “Do what I tell you and then I’ll let you have time with MC.” In the midst of this, Rika can threaten elixir and more to make Ray listen. It would prove to be the most useful means of destroying Ray’s belief in himself. He would bow his head, doing whatever his Savior asks of him. He can’t fight it. He can’t fight the Savior. 

Rika can either care for MC and keep them oblivious in the dark, or she can manipulate them alongside the elixir while telling Ray that she’s not doing it. There’s no way to know what she might do. Rika can make a choice on the flip of a dime and there’s no way to know if it’s good or bad or worse. 

How could he know, anyway? 

He’s got to work himself into the ground if he wants to be good enough to see MC... who is shiny and too good for him. There’s many things that Rika could do in this circumstance. Whether she bends MC at the wrist or not, she would hold all the cards. Nobody would be able to stop her... and even if V tried to save MC again, Rika could capture him and take care of that problem immediately. It’s not something that would bode well. 

It’s unlikely that V would be able to reason with Ray here, either. I can see V trying to reason with him but Ray slapping V’s hand away. He would insist that he’s got to do something to prove himself. The only way to prove that he’s good enough to do everything for Mint Eye. Then he’ll be good enough for them... but at the same time, if this has been happening for months... and V presses him... it’s likely that Ray might break down in front of him. Tears in his eyes as he’s fully aware that he’ll never be good enough. 

He won’t ever give up on you, but Ray just might very well give up on himself if you’re not there to cheer him on. He’ll be crushed. So, yes, he will let Rika take you away. He can’t stop it from happening. 

[raleighcarrera]

saved by the bell

foreign affairs | m!blaine hayes x mc (kennedy monroe)

blaine springs kennedy from her date in chapter 10.

catch up: knockout (E) / on the ropes (T) / outpoint (T) / parry (E) / pulling punches (T) / ringside (T)

tagging: @pixeljazzy ; @zigtheeortega ; @pixelsandkink ; @writinghereandthere ; @choicesarehard ; @dakotawinchester ; @flyawayboo ; @withbeautyandrage ; @blainehellyes ; @levineseth ; @gryffindordaughterofathena ; @thefirstcourtesan ; @josieplayschoices 

~3.5k words | T

he’s not going to look.

no matter how much his phone lights up with incoming notification after incoming notification, he’s not going to look. blaine refuses to torture himself by checking for photos of kennedy’s date, though his curiosity is eating him alive.

it’s a nice reprieve from worrying about her, at any rate, even if it is maddening.

lately it feels like all he’s done is worry about her, though that’s mostly because kennedy looks to be about an inch away from tears every time she’s around -- not that it’s often, anymore. there’s absolutely nothing worse than seeing her suffer from the sidelines; he still feels just as helpless as he did when he watched her give that first disastrous press conference in his dorm, the day after the pictures hit voyeur. 

it’s unbelievably frustrating, being forced to sit on his hands and watch everyone else try to control her life. kennedy’s under a microscope like neither of them have ever been before, and for the first time in his life, he’s in the uncomfortable position of having to be careful -- not because he gives a shit about himself or his own reputation, but because of her, and what it might do to her if he was reckless.

he’s bitten his tongue more times in the last week than he has in his entire life. it’d taken every last ounce of his self control not to snap and defend kennedy at the pet store, not to panic when she’d clued him in on her mom’s newest pr strategy, not to keep her locked in the teacher’s lounge with him for the rest of the semester and refuse to let her go when she snuck out to meet him.

already he knows he’ll never forget the names and faces of the classmates of theirs that’d picked on her. if he ever really does wind up in charge in ardona, one day, he’ll come to power with a ready-made list of enemies, all because of the way they’d made her look when she sunk down low into her seat in class, her shoulders hunched in shame.

he’s laying in bed, moping miserably, thinking over it all when peter pokes his head in with a hesitant knock. “how’re you holding up?” he asks, tactfully, given that blaine’s pretty sure he looks utterly awful. “those daily post photos were... rough.”

blaine groans, burying his face in his hands. “i’m not looking at them. i don’t want to know.”

“that’s probably for the best,” peter says sympathetically, and that does it -- seals the deal completely. he reaches for his phone, snatching it off the nightstand.

dionne’s also texted him, which means the photos are as bad as he’s hoping they won’t be. his stomach twists into knots as he navigates to his favorite gossip site, certain the pictures he’s looking for will be plastered all over the homepage.

sure enough -- there they are: kennedy and alexei, huddled together outside of some swanky restaurant, hand-in-hand. she’s all dressed up for the occasion, because with alexei she’s allowed to be; she doesn’t have to sneak out to see him, hidden under a baseball hat in some far away place where no one will recognize either of them. the point of this date is to be seen, and judging by the crowd of flashing lights surrounding them, they’ve done a perfect job selling their relationship to the press.

so the second picture accompanying the story is an unnecessary twist of the knife -- complete overkill. they’re kissing, in this one, lips pressed together chastely just outside the limo. he feels nauseous.

“they’re probably having a terrible time,” peter says, though blaine’s still staring at his phone, eyes fixed on the photo in his hands. “i heard that restaurant is horrible.”

“it’s fine,” blaine says hollowly, tapping back to his texts to answer dionne. she wants to know how he is, too, and he gives her the same answer: fine. everything is fine.

“you’re so full of shit,” dionne says, when she shows up at his dorm twenty minutes later, her arms folded across her chest and her expression unimpressed.

yeah. he forgot she knows him so well. “well -- whatever,” blaine sighs, dragging a hand down his face. it doesn’t matter. it has to not matter, for kennedy’s sake. “it’s not like i can do anything about it. this is the way it has to be.”

the look in dionne’s eyes grows distant, and he sits up slowly as a smile starts to overtake her face, cautiously optimistic while what’s obviously an evil plan begins to unfurl. “no,” dionne says, “it’s not. i think i have an idea.”

so -- that’s how he finds himself sweating through his jacket, overthinking this whole stupid plan while he waits for kennedy to slip out the back of the stupid opera house and meet him and his stupid rental car in the alley. he thinks back over all the ways they’d had to cover his tracks to get him here: how peter’d had to call in the car, how dionne’d had to threaten and sweet talk alexei at the same time, how there isn’t a single hurdle he wouldn’t leap or hoop he wouldn’t jump through for even just half an evening alone with her.

this is probably a terrible idea. at the very least, it’s dangerous, and sure to get them fucking caught again, no matter how careful they all were in making it happen.

maybe he should call the whole thing off. call dionne and get her to tell kennedy to forget it -- to go back to her date and take the easy way out, because who is he kidding, anyway?

the sound of heels on the cobblestones takes the decision swiftly out of his hands. blaine looks up to see kennedy standing in front of him, admiring the rental with a gentle smirk on her beautiful face. she looks even more ridiculously gorgeous than she had in the daily post pictures, as annoying as that is. 

she’s alone.

“no limo? that’s not very romantic, mr. hayes,” she teases playfully, mouth stretched wide with a smile.

he leans over to pop the door open for her, grinning to cover up his nerves. just having kennedy around is going a long way towards keeping him calm -- he feels undeniably more sane out here with her than he had in his room, pouting with fruitless jealousy. “take it up with dionne,” he shrugs, eyes raking up and down her outfit. she really does look nice. “now hop in.”

“we have three hours and forty-five minutes,” kennedy says helpfully, as soon as they’ve slipped out of town unseen and headed to the highway, “i have to be back by curtain.”

“i know,” blaine hums, sighing with relief as soon as he glances in the rearview mirror and sees they aren’t being followed, “dionne briefed me. she figured out a whole plan.”

“oh,” kennedy says. she sounds... happy. “that was really nice of her.” there’s a pause, and he fidgets with the steering wheel for a moment before shifting his left hand up to the top to steer so his right arm is free to drape across the back of kennedy’s seat. she leans in closer to the center console and continues, “i really wish it was you in there with me.”

he exhales heavily. more relieving than not being followed, than being with her at all is hearing that -- that he’s not alone in his insanity. lately he feels like a completely different person, and he has no idea what’s come over him, so it’s comforting to know that it’s all for something, beyond just making kennedy smile. evidently, she wants to be his stupid girlfriend just as badly as he wants her to. “me, too. you have no idea. i’ve really missed you, these past few days.”

“i know. it’s weird,” kennedy agrees, “hardly seeing you. not being able to text you, and tell you about my day... i mean -- i barely even get to talk to you, outside of class.”

yeah. he knows. and when there’s other people around he has to watch what he fucking says, too. it’s far from ideal, and he knows he’s gotten sloppy, but...

part of him almost wants someone to catch them. blaine knows it’s selfish and stupid, but he wants it all the same. because if someone found out the truth and spilled the beans... they’d be free, and the impossible decision of what to do next would be out of their hands.

he could never ask kennedy to go public on her own. he would never ask her for that, no matter how badly he wants it. but a slip-up... that would be beyond their control.

blaine shakes his head. “it’s fine,” he says again, clearing his throat, “i’ll plan some secret meet up for us every night, if you want. even if it only buys us a few minutes.”

he glances to the side just in time to catch the look that crosses her face. kennedy’s quite obviously touched by his offer, her teeth digging into her bottom lip as she stares down at her hands. forcefully, he drags his eyes back to the road. “i’d really like that,” she murmurs, so quietly he almost misses it. when he only nods, she raises her voice and asks, “so, where are we going?”

“you’ll see,” he directs, taking the exit that’ll bring them to the drive-in, mentally cataloging the travel time it’d taken to get up here and making a note of the minutes he’ll need to account for to get kennedy back, especially if he has to circle the block until the street is empty before he drops her off. 

her eyes light up when he pulls into the parking lot. “a drive-in theater, seriously? i used to love going to the drive-in back home. i didn’t know they had them near vancross.” her nose is practically pressed against the window as she looks around excitedly while he idles.

“this is my first time,” blaine admits, though how eager kennedy is definitely bodes well for the experience. even if it completely sucked, he’d still bring her back every weekend, just to see her smile like that. “we don’t really have these in ardona, but dionne talked it up.”

kennedy finally peels her eyes away from the window to smile playfully at him again, her eyes sparkling. “so you’re a drive-in virgin? interesting.”

his face feels hot, suddenly. blaine rolls his eyes at her, gesturing at the map of the venue in front of them. they’re kind of holding up the line. “yeah, yeah. pick your movie, rutherland. it’s just background noise for the real show, anyway.”

if he’s being honest, he barely hears her make her choice, the instructions on where to go flying in one ear and out the other. all he cares about for where he parks the car is that it’s secluded, and dark, away from prying eyes and any other people in the lot.

fortunately, blaine finds them the perfect spot, and he doesn’t even waste a second pretending like he gives a single shit about the movie at all, his eyes on her just as soon as the gear shift’s out of his hand.

kennedy’s turned in her seat and already looking back at him. she smiles and says, “thanks for doing this. it’s nice to have a normal date. i never pegged you as the type of guy who was all about carnivals and drive-ins and making these fun experiences for us.”

he shrugs, more nonchalantly than he feels. “probably ‘cause i’m not,” blaine answers honestly, “but everything’s different, with you.”

kennedy makes a soft sound of disbelief, lifting her hands to cover her face. when she peeks out from between her fingers, he sees that she’s smiling widely again. “you keep saying stuff like that. it’s so charming.”

blaine laughs, reaching out to tug her hands off her face. “that’s kind of the point.” he clears his throat, then continues more seriously, “but... i want you to know how i feel, you know? you shouldn’t have to guess. the truth is... i’ve been all-in for awhile, now, and -- those pictures were just a shitty setback. they don’t change the way i feel about you at all.”

she reaches out for his hand, and he lets her lace their fingers together, squeezing affectionately. “you have no idea how nice it feels to hear that,” kennedy sighs. “honestly...” the hesitation in her voice makes it clear she’s unsure of whatever she’s about to say, but she continues, “it kind of just felt like i ruined everything. things were actually going pretty well, for once, but now it’s like there’s this... dark cloud hanging over everything i do. i can’t even hang out with you without worrying we’re going to get caught again.”

his expression softens. he’s not usually one for optimism, but for her, and in the interest of getting some of that thick sadness out of her voice, he’ll try. “well, we’ve done a pretty good job avoiding that so far.”

“that’s true.” kennedy’s head tips back agains the carseat, and she smiles at him again. “i guess we’re making it work, in our own way. i love that i can always count on you to be real with me. it’s so -- refreshing, after all the fake posturing we deal with.”

well -- that’s probably as good an opening as he’s ever going to get. he spares a moment to silently thank whatever god is listening for the chance to ask the question that’s been eating at him for hours, the one thing he’s most desperate to know, beyond even the other stuff that usually keeps him up at night, everything from the simple inner workings of kennedy’s mind to why he’s so tripped up over a girl he’s only spent a few short months with. “speaking of fake...” blaine pointedly looks somewhere beyond her, staring out at the parking lot, “how’d your date go?”

kennedy’s quiet for long enough that he has to look back at her. there’s a knowing little glint in her eyes that he decidedly does not like. “are you jealous?”

“what?” he scoffs, “of course not. you left alexei to go out with me.”

“right,” she laughs, one small word injected with endless disbelief. “well, we had a good time. alexei’s not so bad.”

he’s an egomaniac and a self-centered prick, actually, blaine thinks. out loud, he says, “oh. cool. glad it worked out. cool, cool, cool...”

he fidgets restlessly. kennedy’s visible amusement only grows. “you know it was still a fake date, right? neither of us have any interest in the other.”

“i know,” blaine insists defensively. kennedy only arches an eyebrow at him. with a groan, he slumps back in his seat, a hand rubbing at his jaw. “fine, maybe i am a little jealous. give me a break, okay? this is kind of a unique situation for me.”

“if it helps, i think you’re doing a pretty great job.” she’s still smiling at him, but less like she thinks he’s being funny and more like she thinks he’s being sweet. she leans in a little closer, and -- it actually does help. the knots in his stomach that’d been coiled there since she first said her mom’s team was planning a pr relationship for her are finally starting to unwind.

“yeah?” he asks, gratified by the immediate nod she gives. “that’s good. i don’t wanna half-ass this boyfriend stuff just because it’s new to me.”

there’s a long stretch of silence. he realizes what he’s said all at once and starts to feel nauseous all over again, staring silently back at kennedy while he waits for her to say something -- anything.

“boyfriend stuff?” 

“ah.” his hand slips around to rub at the back of his neck sheepishly. “sorry. slipped out.” he should probably just cut his losses now -- bring her back early to be on the safe side and go back to his dorm and drown himself in the shower, because he is an idiot and that’s what an idiot deserves. “i know you kind of already have a boyfriend.”

kennedy huffs out a quiet laugh. “i kind of do.” she tilts her head to meet his eyes, forcing him to look at her again. his heart stutters painfully in his chest, picking up into a pace that’s almost frantic. “but... that’s not a ‘no.’”

their hands are still linked together. he looks down at where their fingers are interlaced, hoping his palms aren’t as sweaty as they feel. blaine disentangles his hand to lift it instead to kennedy’s face, pushing a lock of hair out of her eyes with a hesitant smile she immediately returns tenfold. 

it’s also not a ‘yes,’ but he’ll take what he can get. 

as it turns out, three hours and forty-five minutes is kind of not actually a long time at all.

or maybe it would be, for some people, but with kennedy in his lap, squished between him and the steering wheel so she can kiss him senseless, the time flies by. they watch what’s probably ten minutes total of the movie, they’re so busy kissing and talking, his hands wandering along her new outfit to show his appreciation for it the only way he knows how.

for her part, kennedy gives as good as she gets, tugging his hair out of place and messing up his jacket and making him forget his own name, with the way her hips are pushing into his lap and all the sweet little sounds she makes when he whispers something dirty in her ear and presses her in closer against him.

no amount of agonizing over her fake dates and not being able to kiss her in public is ever going to drive the way she shivers with her whole body when he says something she likes from his mind.

still, the drive back is somber. it’s time to bring kennedy -- kiss-swollen lips and raised hemlines and all -- back to the opera house before he knows it, and he’s really not looking forward to everyone who sees her thinking she spent four hours fooling around in the private box with alexei, of all people. he’s looking forward to driving home alone and going to bed by himself even less.

tomorrow he’ll have to sit by her in class again and pretend like everything’s fine.

because they had tonight, and he knows he should be content with that. the problem is -- he’s not. 

“you okay?” kennedy asks, checking the time on the watch on his wrist with a frown. she’s holding his hand in both of hers. “and don’t say you’re ‘fine.’”

“i am fine,” blaine insists, running his thumb across her wrist. “this sucks, but it’s what we have to do. if you’re good, then i’m good.”

she studies his expression for a minute, then sighs. “i’m as good as i can be,” she murmurs, “but things will get better.”

he knows that, too. even if no one ever finds out it’s him in the photos, even if they have to spend the rest of their lives sneaking out and ditching their bodyguards so they can find a few hours alone together -- things are good. the alternative -- winning the fight with his parents to keep him away from vancross, never getting the chance to know kennedy as well as he does... that’s a future that seems bleak, now that he’s seen the alternative.

“it’s really alright,” blaine assures her. “i’ll miss you, but... do what you gotta do.”

something about the way he says the words seems to instill new confidence in kennedy. she straightens her shoulders and glances back at the opera house door with determination. “thanks,” kennedy sighs, squeezing his hand one last time before slowly pulling away. she probably has only seconds until the finale starts up, though he’s desperate for a way to make them stretch longer. an eternity would be a nice place to start.

“will you... text dionne goodnight before you go to bed?” she asks, looking so hopeful he finds it’s impossible to do anything other than nod.

he grins widely at kennedy, leaning in to steal one last kiss. “dream about me, will ya?”

“every night,” she promises, and blaine lowers the window to get a better view of her and the sway of her hips when she slips out of the car and back inside, sighing heavily once she’s gone and he’s alone again, whacking his head against the carseat.

this is some mess they’ve gotten themselves into.

but, he figures, as he pulls away from the curb and starts back towards campus, the image of kennedy walking away in the heels and skirt she’d been wearing playing over and over again in his mind like a highlight reel, it’s definitely not without its perks.

[chaoticpuff17]

Something Wicked

part 10

masterlist

Jin had become a little less volatile in the following days, but he had become almost unbearably smothering when he wasn’t disappearing into his office to take mysterious phone calls. He always seemed to be touching her, kissing her. The man was practically glowing with excitement, and his excitement never boded well for her. She tried at least to enjoy the relative peace while it lasted. He hadn’t tried to initiate anything either. It was a relief for her. There was a lot she could put up with, mostly because she had to, but that was not something she wanted to give to Jin.

She had never like Kim Seokjin. He was not a good man, even before this, but now, she firmly believed that he was the devil. What else could he be? He was the subject of nightmares, the creature that mothers warn their children about. He was the monster her parents had warned her about. She should have gotten away when she’d had the chance. She should have quit all those years ago when she first realized how horrible he was to work with. None of this ever would have happened if she’d taken the job in the first place.

Her father had always taught her to try to find the good in any situation, but she couldn’t find any here. There was no good to be found in Kim Seokjin. In a way she was glad that her father was dead. She would have hated for him to see how far she had fallen. He’d always wanted a good life for her. Maybe if Jin wasn’t psychotic, and they had met in a different life one where Jin had wooed her like a normal man, he could have provided that for her. There was no chance of that now though. Jin had taken everything from her. He’d taken her freedom, her dignity. She had a sneaking suspicion that he had been behind Minseok’s demise. And now, he was going to permanently tie them together.

Jin had presented her with a ring as gaudy as he was, happily slipping it onto her finger gripping her hand a little too tightly for the gesture to be sweet. The large diamond was prominently sat in the middle of a platinum band with two smaller baguette diamonds on either side of the central emerald cut stone. It was a hard piece of jewelry to ignore. Every time she moved it caught the light drawing her eye down to the horrid thing. Jin was so proud of it. He declared it worthy of the future Mrs. Kim, but she detested it. Every time she looked at it, it made her stomach turn. She wanted to chuck it over the balcony and down to the busy streets below, but she refrained too frightened of what Jin would do to her if she did so.

He’d brought in a team of ladies to primp and poke her into the image of Kim Seokjin’s wife, as well as a team to groom poor Jinnie, but not before thoroughly threatening her. Jin couldn’t risk her asking for help. He couldn’t risk his image as Seoul’s golden boy. He was perfect, and his future wife had to be too.

Every time she thought of his dead eyed smile as he’d spoken to her, as he’d threated to kill Jinnie, to hurt her, a shudder went down her spine. It had been a struggle for her to keep quiet when the ladies had been there fixing her hair and doing her nails. Even if she had wanted to speak up, Jin was always there leisurely seated a few feet away giving instructions to the ladies. He wanted her to be perfect, his version of perfect. Her hair was styled to his specifications. Her nails were shaped and painted in a demure neutral color, because the wife of Kim Seokjin was to be a perfectly demure lady, and she hated it. She had never been a very vibrant woman. She’d always been a little softer, a little more neutral, but something about that fact that it was now being dictated to her made her hate it.

She was filled with the urge to take a pair of kitchen scissors and cut off all of her hair. She wanted to paint her nails a violent shade of pink just to spite him, but how could she? He was always there, always hovering over her shoulder. He was so thrilled with the idea of their wedding, and she had never dreaded anything more.

He was almost manic in his excitement. He was constantly bringing her wedding magazines forcing her to choose between preapproved flowers, colors, food. There was nothing that wasn’t already Jin’s choice, not that she really wanted to be involved in wedding planning. She knew what would happen once the wedding took place. She’d be legally tied to Jin in the eyes of the law and the eyes of the public. There would be no escape for her, not that there was much chance now.

She’d learned a lot about Jin during her captivity. She’d always known him to be meticulous, a perfectionist, but there was something about seeing him in all his psychotic glory that stripped her of all hope. He was almost obsessive, no, he was obsessive. Every detail of her captivity was planned just as every detail of their wedding was planned. There was nothing she could do to fight against him, not when he held all the cards.

“Hello, my darling.” Jin greeted her placing a kiss to her forehead. She was getting better at accepting his displays of affection, or she was had been well trained. Any rejection of Jin was met with violence so she kept herself calm. She kept herself gentle and passive just as Jin wanted her.

“How has your day been?” He asked sinking down to sit next to her.

“It’s been fine.” She smiled setting her book aside. She wasn’t allowed to do other things when Jin wanted her attention. Her focus was always to be on him. He was a narcissist at heart. Everything had to be about Jin. “Do you have anything you want me to look over?” She asked. Jin wanted her active and excited in the wedding planning, so she pasted on a smile and pretended as best she could if only to keep him calm.

“No, darling.” He cooed smiling gently as he played with her hair. “Not right now, we have almost everything decided. It won’t be long now.”

A thought she dreaded.  Marriage to Jin was the last thing she wanted, but it wasn’t as though he was giving her a choice.

“What’s that?” She asked looking at the file resting on his other side. If he’d brought it instead of taking it directly to the office, it had to have something to do with her.

He smiled picking up the file and opening it up. “This? This is your medical file, darling.”

She froze dread filling her. What could he possibly want with her medical records? How had he even gotten them? She wasn’t sure who to be more upset with, Jin or her doctor, but the likelihood of her ever seeing the doctor of her choice again was slim. It would probably be Jin’s choice from now on. He was an overbearing bastard.

“We’ll have to get your IUD removed.” He mused flipping through the pages. “We’ll be needing an heir, and that pesky little thing will get in the way.” He looked back at her gently brushing a stray strand of hair out of her face. “But we can take care of that after the wedding. I want to enjoy you before we have a son.” He leaned in nipping at her ear.

“A baby?” She whimpered doing her best not to flinch away from him.

“Of course, darling.” He chuckled trailing light kisses down her neck. “Mother and father are anxious for grandchildren as well. Seokjung won’t be much help to them in that regard.”

She stiffened even more at the mention of his brother. It was rare for Jin to bring him up. Not many people even knew the fate of the older Kim brother, but she had been working with Seokjin for years. She’d even met the man a few times, quite the feat considering how the family kept him away from the eyes of the public. The poor man wasn’t even mentioned with the rest of the family, not since the accident.

Kim Seokjung was set to inherit the company until there was a skiing accident when the brothers were in high school. Seokjung had ended up paralyzed from the waist down and had become effectively useless in the eyes of his upper crust family. He received the best of care, but his life was essentially over. Seokjin had risen as the only son and heir of the Kim family.

Of the two, Seokjung was definitely her favorite. He was a pleasant man, far more pleasant than the rest of his family and surprisingly optimistic considering the life he’s been thrust into. Assistants had no place in private family matters, but Jin had insisted on bringing her to the family home on more than one occasion, and that was where she had met Seokjung.

She first encountered him in the kitchen in the family home. To say that both of them had been surprised would have been an understatement. She had only been working for Seokjin for a year, and she had never heard mention of a brother, but they’d quickly settled into conversation seated at the little breakfast nook in the vast kitchen with a cup of tea that Seokjung had made for them himself. There wasn’t much for him to keep himself occupied now that he was effectively under house arrest by his own family, but he was excellent at making tea. He was also an amateur chef. She loved talking to him. The few times she had met him were the highlight of her time working with Jin.

One thing that never made sense to her was the accident. Both Seokjin and Seokjung were very athletic back in the day. Seokjin was still athletic. One of the things that the Kim family excelled at was winter sports. Seokjin preferred to snow board, but from what she had heard, Seokjung was quite the accomplished skier. They’d been to that resort hundreds of times. He’d skied those hills all his life. The conditions hadn’t even been bad on that fateful day, but something had gone wrong, so wrong that Seokjung no longer had the use of his legs. Now knowing Jin more, she now had to wonder if he had had something to do with the accident. She wouldn’t put it past him, not now.

“Wouldn’t that be nice, darling?” Jin cooed bringing her back to the present as he nuzzled into her neck. “A little son.”

“I don’t… I’m not…” He breath hitched as Jin nipped at her neck more harshly.

“You’re not what, darling?”

“I’m not ready for children.” She whispered trembling as she waited for Jin’s reaction.

Jin pulled away staring her down before a grin stretched across his features. “Not to worry, darling. We can wait a little before we start our family. I want to enjoy you first.” He purred nipping her neck again.

“No, Jin.” She whispered pushing him away gently. “I don’t want children.”

She had always been on the fence about kids. It was the biggest fight that she and Minseok had ever had. He’d wanted a houseful of them. She wasn’t even sure she wanted them. She’d never had siblings, and she’d cared for two ailing parents in her life. Kids had never really crossed her mind, but she knew she definitely didn’t want them with Jin. She doubted she had much choice on that either, but she had to try.

Jin frowned before pasting on an indulgent smile. “Two I think. Two boys. Doesn’t that sound nice, darling?”

“I don’t…”

Jin cut her off his smile becoming more strained, his eyes darkening. “You don’t know what you want, darling. That’s why you have me.” He pet her hair his tone taking on a condescending air.

“Jin…”

“My poor stupid darling.” He cooed pulling her up onto his lap, wrapping his arms around her tightly. “How did you ever survive without me?” She grit her teeth restraining herself from snipping at him. She’d gain nothing from upsetting him even more than she already had. “Don’t worry, darling. By this time next week, we’ll be married, and you’ll never have to worry again. Daddy will take care of you.”

Yes, that was exactly what she was afraid of.

part 11

[writefasttalkevenfaster]

Aaron Hotchner / Reminders and Reunions

Request: You and Hotch attend his high military school reunion together

Warnings: fluff, some angst, mentions of hotch’s dad, brief mention of what happens in “100,” some harassment by a dude, hotch saving the day, a little possessiveness from reader, 

Word Count: 3.155

“Are you ready yet?” You called from the bedroom, slinging your laptop bag over your shoulder, as you glanced back at the closed bathroom door, "Aaron, just because you stop replying doesn't mean you can trick me into forgetting about the reunion." 

"Are you sure?" You chuckle, turning as the door opened. You raised your eyebrows, watching him adjust his black suit coat, a crisp white button down underneath with a red tie — and you didn't miss the engraved silver tie clip you had bought him on your first anniversary, "because I have other ways of making you forget." He adds, raising an eyebrow at your gaping mouth and lingering stare. 

And yet he can still make your cheeks burn, rolling your eyes, as he faces the mirror giving you a very nice view of his ass, “Nothing could make me forget this — not even your cute ass.” 

He came close enough though. 

He sighs, adjusting his tie in the mirror before you rise, walking around him and taking the tie from his fingers. You make quick work of fixing the knot yourself, a tired habit at this point because even though he was fully capable of doing it himself, he loved to have you do it. His eyes softened as he watched you, his fingers brushing down the length of your sides, pausing at your hips, “Do we have to go? More importantly, do I have to go without you? Can’t I just wait for you?” 

“When you’re being honored at your high school for your service in the FBI? I don’t think so,” you smile up at him, your fingers finding his cheek. He leaned into your touch, despite his growing frown. 

“It’s military school,” he corrected you, lips a thin line now. 

“Yes, because you were a troublemaker — how could I forget?” He covers your hand with his own with a sigh, the corners of his mouths twitching, but still very much in a frown, “come on, I’ll be there soon enough. I just to—” 

“Drop something off to the office, I know,” he finished. You hum, as your arms wrap around his neck, his large palms grasping at your waist, slipping to your lower back. His lips are only a breath away, his lips nearly ghosting your own, your fingers toying with the hair that rested on his neck. 

“Tell me again how you know me so well,” he leans down, pressing a kiss to your now thrumming pulsepoint and he chuckles, the vibration sending a shiver down your neck. Another kiss pressed now to your collarbone, his fingers tug the collar of your shirt back, and he smiles against your skin. 

“Might be the profiling,” he hums, as you tilt his head back up to look at you again, “might be the holy matrimony.” and you don’t miss the way the metal band of his ring grazes your cheek as he cups it. 

“I knew I married you for a reason,” you smile against his lips as he kisses you, lips sliding together, parting as you giggled, “profiling makes being passive-aggressive so much easier.” 

He scoffs, slowly walking you backwards towards the bed, the bag slipping from your shoulder, “And here I thought you married me for my good looks,” 

“That too,” you murmur, as he presses you against the foot of the bed, “you’re doing a good job at that distracting thing,” and his lips find yours again, noses bumping, and your hands find his shoulders, finding it hard to say the next words that reluctantly leave your lips, “but you still have to go.” 

“But we could have our own fun here,” his voice is husky, and you know he’s right — you can think of several examples from this morning alone of ways you two could have fun, several of which involve the very tie around his neck, but— 

“Is there a reason you are so insistent on not going?”  you tilt your head, as his gaze drops, “because we really don’t have to if you don’t want to. I just thought it would be a nice way to reflect on how far you’ve come.” 

“I’ve come far?” and you roll your eyes, before pulling him onto the bed, your leg over his. You only wished you could really articulate how far he’s really come, how far you’ve seen him grow, how far you know he will grow in the future — but you can’t. Not really. You could list the things he’s done, the things he’s accomplished, the things he’s gained, the things he’s lived through — but nothing would do it service, nothing at all. Because words were incomparable to Aaron Hotchner, and you supposed, your fingers tracing his jaw, that’s why you married him. 

“I know you have — I’ve seen it,” your thumb brushes his chin, brushing his bottom lip and he kisses the pad, “and I can’t wait to see where else you go. But the reunion doesn’t have to be one of them, if you don’t want to. I just thought it might be a good reminder.” 

He sighs, “I haven’t been there since my graduation — did you know that was one of the last time I ever spoke to him?” 

And you purse your lips, watching the muscle in his jaw clenching, his fingers digging into his knee, “I didn’t know that — I knew you hadn’t spoken to him since military school but—”

He gives a bitter chuckle, “I didn’t even invite him — the school did,” he leans over, elbow propped against his knee, “It was the first time in my life I felt like I didn’t have to answer to him. It was the first time I was able to walk away from him and choose something for myself. And I chose to cut him out,” he rubbed at his chin, as your arms winded around his, one arm around his back and the other around his arm, “It wasn’t until he was sick, dying in the hospital that I ever saw him again, and by then...it was too late for words.” The weight of the words pressed against his chest still, a weight that would never ease from him, but your fingers intertwined with his, but one you hoped you could help bear. 

“Aaron—” 

“I don’t regret what I did, to him, at least,” he shook his head, eyes glassy,  “do I regret leaving Sean there? Yes. Do I wish I could have seen my mom more? Of course. But,” his eyes flicker to the dresser, lined with photos of your family — of him, Jack, Haley, you, and the team, and then back to you, “it’s what got me here,” he presses his forehead to yours, “it's what got me to you.” 

“If I have to thank that man for anything, and it’s very, very little,” he chuckles, as your fingers find his cheek again, “I would thank him for you existing, and for whatever he did or didn’t do, because you’re Aaron Hotchner because of it,” and then you shrug before adding, “and then I’d punch him in the face, but that’s besides the point.” 

He laughs, leaning forward to kiss you, pressing both of you into the soft mattress, his lips tasting of the bitter dark roast he preferred dancing in contrast to the sweet taste of something unmistakably him, “I love you,” 

“Right back at you,” you murmur, pulling him to you again. 

~~

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” you curse under your breath, a colorful string of expletives that you hope no one caught wind of as you bustled down the street, only two minutes away from the venue, according to your phone. You promised to be there half an hour ago, but of course, someone had to screw up your paperwork, and it took five times longer to fix then it did to actually submit it. 

Lovely. 

And now you were late to the event that you had convinced Aaron to attend. His short, terse text message didn’t bode well of his time there without you, but you would be sure to make it up to him tonight. Trying to even your breath, you found the building, adjusting your hair and your clothes — you barely had enough time to change at the office. You were sure you terrified half the people in that office tonight, but you would apologize tomorrow — it was the only way you could get here on time tonight. 

And you did, pushing the front door open. 

Barely. 

You found your way to the room where the alumni were dining. No signs present — didn’t think that would be helpful would they? 

“Are you looking for the reunion?” a voice asked. You snapped your head to find a man standing beside you, a little too close for comfort. His snarmy voice matched his blonde slicked back hairdo, and his sleazy smile had you w “I couldn’t help but notice you looking utterly lost.” 

“I am,” you take a step back, shoving your disgust away, “can you point me in the right direction?” 

“I can, but I don’t believe I recognize you,” the man’s hands slips into his pockets, tongue darting out to lick his lips. You barely can hide your disgust, “You’re not crashing the party are you? It would very bad of you,” his teeth graze his bottom lip, his fingers running through his slicked back hair, “But I would be willing to teach you a lesson.” 

“I’ll pass on the lesson,” you keep your voice tight, knowing you would catch more flies with sugar then you would with vinegar and right now, you needed this fucking fly to tell you where the reunion was, “I’m not crashing, I just need to know where—” he tilts his head, jerking it towards two double doors down the hall. 

“It’s right through there,” and you head towards the doors, “I’ll see you in there.” he calls after you, and you shudder, right before you push through the double doors. A few eyes flicker to you as the door shuts softly behind you, but none of them Aaron’s. 

You bit your lip, scanning the crowd for him. You hoped you didn’t miss it — not after you had persuaded him to come, not after how hard it was for him to be here. But you didn’t, you know you didn’t when you find him on the stairs to the stage, his presence and posture undeniably too Aaron to miss. 

There’s a tapping on the microphone as the feedback reverberates through the room, “We wanted to honor a certain alumnus tonight,” a man’s voice booms over the microphone, “From here, he went onto George Washington University and then graduated law school summa cum laude. He eventually became one of the finest prosecutors in D.C. before joining the F.B.I.’s behavioral analysis unit, where he catches serial killers for a living. He is upstanding, true to his convictions, and represents the morals we wish our alumni to embody — Aaron Hotchner.” 

He steps onto stage, and you catch his eye despite the flashing cameras and roar of the crowd — he had plenty of practice after all. His lips curl into a small smile when he sees you, a nod, as he steps beside the announcer. 

“We would like to present to you with our distinguished alumni award,” he places the glass award in Aaron’s hand, shaking his hand with the other, as the room erupts into applause, “please, say a few words.” 

He blinks, stepping in front of the podium, clearing his throat before he speaks, “The last time I was here was our graduation. Like many of you, I had been sent here — for one reason or another we all ended up here. And I have a lot of bad memories associated with this place, as do we all. But it was a jumping off point — it took us places, it helped us find the right people,” his eyes find yours again, “and it helped us become the people we are today. It’s a good reminder, a needed one,” he holds the award up again, “Thank you.” 

The applause explodes around you, seats scraping against the floor as several rose to their feet, as he left the stage, walking over to shake his hand. You hang back, smiling as you watched him greet familiar faces. And you knew it was good for him to come here. 

“Still here, huh?” an unwelcome presence finds you again, slicked back hair and all  — he did promise that he would see you again. Persistent, like a rash. But now this rash has turned into a full blown infection, with drink in hand, the aroma of beer wafting with every word he spoke at you, “I still can’t place you.” 

“That’s because you don’t,” you cross your arms, “I didn’t go here.” 

“Oh I can place you,” you could hear the smirk in his voice, “how about in my bed tonight?”

You laugh, “I think you’re hallucinating,” still craning your neck to only find Aaron had disappeared into the throng of people by the stage. 

Irritation begins to creep into his voice, “I think you’d ought to have a little more respect for the alumni here, if there’s one thing they teach you here is to have respect for everyone.” 

“Well I didn’t go here, and the one thing I’ve learned is that people like you don’t deserve an ounce of respect,” you cross your arms, not bothering to look at him, “or acknowledgement. So why don’t you fuck off and leave me alone?” 

A tension began to ebb at your nerves. Logically, you knew you were okay — a crowded room, full of other people, your husband included who was a federal agent and had his gun on him — but still. Still — he was still physically larger than you, and possibly stronger. And if you weren’t in this room full of people, it could be a much different story. 

But I am in this room, you reminded yourself. You are. 

“Come on, who could you have more fun going home with tonight? 

“I have a few ideas,” Aaron slides beside you, his arm curling around your waist, FBI agent voice fully in action, his head ducking to press a kiss to your shoulder, “myself namely, but also every other person on the planet. 

“Hotchner,” the man scoffs, “Hotchner, congrats on the award,” his lips are a thin line, “you gonna put that up on your mantle with all your report cards? I thought you were much too busy to grace me with your presence.” 

“Never too busy for my spouse,” and you lean into Aaron’s touch, “something you should know well, Mason. Aren’t you still married?” as he tilts his head at the now dubbed Mason, who gapes at the two of you, as you grin brightly at him. 

“Nice to meet you, Mason,” you hold out your hand, savoring the slack jawed expression on his face, “You’re married that’s nice. I see it isn’t going too well, and I wonder why that could be.”

“I didn’t know you got married again, Hotchner,” he crosses his arms, “try not to get this one killed—” 

You surge forward, but Aaron holds you back, as you glare daggers at the fucking prick. You clench your jaw, your fingers fisting in the sleeves of his jacket. You needed to let him fight his own battles, and you knew he could — didn’t mean you wanted to punch him any less. 

“You know I’ve dealt with worse bullies than you, Mason, before and after you started shoving my head in a locker, and I’m not scared of you anymore,” you squeezed his hand, and he intertwined his fingers with yours, as he slid beside you, Actually, it’s nice to see some things haven’t changed around here.” 

The man surges forward, red in the face, but Aaron stops him with a firm hand on his shoulder. The room grows silent, and you feel the eyes of at least fifty alums dig into your sides, “Stop clinging to the past, and grow up,” Mason jerks his hand away, heading towards the exit, “I suggest you leave now. Unless you want to leave here in—” 

“Fuck you, Hotchner,” he says as the door slams behind him, and the chatter creeps back into the room. 

You scoff, swallowing the anger sitting on your throat, “Couldn’t even say it to your face,” you face him, his expression inscrutable as ever. Your fingers find his cheek, and he basks in your touch, a sigh on his lips, “you know you need a horse and a cape when you do that.” 

He chuckles, and relief floods you at the small smile on his lips, “I’ll come more prepared next time,” he glances at the door that Mason had just left through, and your fingers find his, squeezing his hand. 

“Are you okay?” 

His eyes flicker back to you, “I should be asking you that.” 

“He didn’t do anything besides make my ears bleed,” you huff, pulling him closer, his face in your hands, his eyes nearly glassy, “Now you didn’t answer my question — are you okay?” 

“I’m fine,” he shakes his head, rubbing his thumb across your cheek, “I finally have some good memories here, and I feel like I actually shut this chapter of my life closed after all this time. And this place doesn’t seem so scary now — it’s smaller than I remember. And so are the people.” 

“Should we find Mason and see if we can prove that theory?” he snorts, pressing a kiss to the top of your head, lips lingering for a moment, before he presses his forehead to yours. 

“I love you.” 

“I love you too,” you smile, leaning up to press a kiss to his lips, “do you want to stay a little longer or go? If we’re staying, I’m going to need you to say I love you a little louder in front of the group of women currently ogling you.” 

“Jealous?” he laughs, kissing your forehead, tilting your chin up, as your hands slide around his neck. 

“Possessive,” you kiss him, his lips smiling against yours, his fingers twisted in your hair to pull you closer, and your hand drifted to his chest, feeling his heartbeat thud under your touch, “Mine.” 

“I think we’ve made that clear enough now,” he murmurs, leaning down to press a kiss to your pulse, “Now, I think we should leave because I believe I was promised some fun after this.” 

“Really?” you scrunch your nose, “I don’t recall.” 

And he pulls you through the double doors and out towards the deserted parking lot, pressing you against the car with a kiss, towering over you, as you tugged him closer by his lapels, his teeth grazing your bottom lip, “Let me remind you.”