#and then every time I try to make friends I either don’t respond (anxiety. not feeling a vibe. whatever) or they stop responding when I

[milo-is-rambling]

Me when I want to be wanted more than anything else

[mightbeimpossiblenotto]

Feel - Oct 25 - @rosekillermicrofic - 974 words - Warnings: none I think

That’s just the way you make me feel

So real, so good, so fuckin real

Barty was getting those damn butterflies in his stomach again. Evan was sitting in front of him, as he did every single day in Transfiguration, but he was wearing his sky-blue sweater again. It looked lovely against Evan’s umber skin, and his blond curls sat so prettily against the nape of his neck. Barty couldn’t stop staring.

A balled-up piece of paper hit him directly in the nose. Barty startled, looking around wildly for the culprit, and catching Regulus, sitting directly to his right, smirking through a laugh. He glared at Reg, picking up the paper ball and tossing it back, only for Regulus to catch it. He spread the paper out, smoothing out some of the wrinkles, and then he took his quill and scribbled out a note. Barty waited patiently for Regulus to finish writing, fold up the message, and slip it to him between their desks.

The note said: You’re pathetic. Stop staring at him like a bloody creep.

Barty crumpled the paper back up, tossing it back to Reg without a response. He knew well enough how ridiculous he was being. Barty had gone and fallen in love with his best friend. It was very humbling.

Don’t you just want to lean forward and bite his neck, a gravelly voice in his head suggested.

Barty didn’t react outwardly, but he responded in his head. I can’t do that. I’m in class.

But he looks practically edible. Don’t you just want to eat him? The voice was very convincing, and Barty lost himself for a moment imagining marking Evan up with his mouth, but he shook it off.

Not now. He insisted, shoving the voice away.

You should ask to see him after school, a different, smoother voice suggested. Maybe you could go to his house. Go up to his room?

I’m not doing that either, Barty said, trying not to flush.

Perhaps you should pay attention to what Professor McGonagall is saying, a third, no-nonsense voice pointed out. Barty usually ignored that voice.

What if Evan knows you like him and he hasn’t told you? Barty’s least favorite voice was practically shrill, nearly screaming in his head. What if he HATES you?

He doesn’t hate me, Barty reassured, even as anxiety grew in his chest. He couldn’t hate me.

While Barty wasn’t paying attention, talking to the literal voices in his head, the class had ended, and Evan had spun around in his seat to look at Barty. He said something, but Barty was too focused on Evan’s shining eyes and bright smile.

Merlin, his eyes are gorgeous, the smooth voice spoke again. And his lips are so kissable.

That’s not all they are, the gravelly voice piped up. Imagine fucking his mouth.

I would settle for just a kiss, the smooth voice argued. We can’t move too fast, or he’ll think we aren’t serious about this.

I’m serious about wanting to fuck him stupid, the gravelly voice said with finality. Barty shook his head to clear it.

“Sorry,” he said to Evan, who was still waiting for a response. “What did you say?”

“I asked if you wanted to spend some time by the lake,” Evan repeated.

“Of course,” Barty agreed, following him out of the classroom into the courtyard.

Evan always looks so beautiful in the sun.

Maybe we can push him in the lake and see how he looks when his uniform gets wet.

Evan and Barty spread out on the grass by the lake. Evan took out his transfiguration textbook to get a head start on the assignment, lying on his stomach to look down at the book. Barty, meanwhile, reclined on his back, his arms pillowed under his head. He mostly watched Evan scratch down notes with his quill, occasionally biting the nib out of bad habit from when he was younger, ink spreading onto his lip and tongue. Barty’s heart started to pound.

Wipe the ink off. Shove your thumb between his lips. Let him suck on it.

Tell him you’re in love with him.

Barty was going crazy. Evan was making him feel wild and unhinged. He sat up dazedly, eyes locked on the spot of black staining Evan’s skin.

“Hey, Rosie?” Barty spoke, his voice sounding weird to his own ears. “Look up for a second.”

Evan tilted his head up, his lips pursing just a little, enough that Barty just had to lean forward and bring a hand up to thumb gently at the ink stain. Evan went cross-eyed trying to look at his own mouth, and then his eyes locked on Barty’s own. His light eyes were blown wide, his cheeks a little flushed, and Barty couldn’t help himself. He had to duck forward and let his lips replace his thumb, it was only natural.

Their mouths moved together fluidly, Evan scrambling up from his horizontal position for a better angle, his hands grabbing at Barty’s shoulders, and then his neck. Barty groaned against him, shuffling forward so that they were pressed together from knee to shoulder, two warm bodies seeking each other. Evan gasped, his mouth opening enough for Barty to gently slide his tongue in, and Evan responded in kind. It was hot and heady, and everything Barty had ever dreamed it would be.

When they pulled away from each other, Evan took one look at Barty and started laughing. Barty couldn’t even care that he was being laughed at, because Evan looked so beautiful. His smile was wide across his face as he giggled, the sun gleaming on his deep skin. His hair was even more ethereal in the sunlight, his eyes glowing.

“Your lips are black,” Evan said through laughter.

Barty lurched forward again, speaking against Evan’s mouth. “I don’t care.”

[thesugarclubs-blog]

Stargazing - Bucky Barnes x OC

warnings: brothers best friend, seven minutes in heaven, summer party, smut, 18+

word count: 10.5k

WP: https://www.wattpad.com/1452954096-stargazing-sterling

vibe: “Yeah. I was thinking we could sneak out tonight and watch the fireworks by the lake when everyone else is too drunk. You down?”

Bucky stroked her cheek with the back of his hand.

“I’d go anywhere with you.”

Masterlist

Sterling pulled on a black tank top over her light blue bikini top and stared at herself in the mirror. She ran her fingers into her blonde hair and flipped it to the side, her hazel eyes moving over herself as she twisted to look at her ass in the mirror. 

Her brother's annual "Kick off to Summer Party '' at their lakehouse was the biggest party the town had ever seen and it was the first where she and her friends had been invited officially. Every other year they had to crash, but this year Steve had just told her to come. 

"Okay, we get it, you're hot," Aria groaned and laughed from her bed, throwing a discarded tank top at her. "You know Bucky already knows that, right?"

Catching it with ease, Sterling hurled it back at her best friend, biting back a smile "Shut up," she replied, rolling her eyes, "Maybe I want to look hot for you, did you ever consider that?" 

"At least I'm already in your bed, now's your chance," the redhead winked, flopping over onto her back and opening her arms.

With a cackle, Sterling launched herself at her friend, wrapping them both in the sheets as they tussled. Aria’s cries of protest quickly turned into howls of laughter and she finally managed to push Sterling back off her, making her land on the floor with a thump. The air whooshed out of Sterling’s lungs and she pushed her now-tousled hair out of her face.

“One day you’ll give in and admit you want me,” Sterling grinned.

“What, and take Barnes’ place in your affections?” Aria snorted. “As if.”

“Give it upppp,” Sterling whined, rolling her eyes as she clambered to her feet and straightened her hair.

"You know it's not like that," she continued. "We're just friends, that's all." Sterling shrugged at her friend, who just raised her eyebrows in response. Sterling couldn't blame her though. She wouldn't believe herself either. 

"Just friends?" Aria responded, unconvinced. 

"Yeah, just friends." Sterling repeated, trying to sound somewhat believable. 

"So you don't mind me asking him out?" Aria asked teasingly, knowing she hit a nerve.

Sterling's whole body stiffened and she swallowed the irritation growing in the back of her throat. It was true, she and Bucky were just friends. But sometimes, it felt like the line blurred. They stared at each other for way too long sometimes. But that happens, right? He had become a fixture at her house over time. Whenever he wasn't there, things felt... empty.

"You can do whatever you want," Sterling replied, her tone clipped.

Aria narrowed her eyes, her mouth curling into a sly grin that made Sterling's stomach drop. She wasn't going to have this conversation right now. Or ever. Bucky was off limits.

"Wow, you are pissed at me!"

"Nope." Sterling shook her head.

"Yes you are!" Aria teased. "You know what I think?"

Sterling turned back to study herself in the mirror, trying to ignore the anxiety pooling in her stomach.

"I don't, actually," she laughed. "And we should get going."

Aria was still teasing Sterling playfully as they both left the bedroom and made their way to the great room. The music making the floor reverberate the closer they walked to it.

"Sterling," a voice called from the kitchen. "Come here and give me a hand."

"You do know I'm a guest, not the kitchen maid, Bucky. "

"I know that, I just don’t have enough hands," handing her a bowl of chips, and nudging her out of the kitchen in front of him.

He followed closely, Sterling could feel the heat of him always just one step behind her as they made their way across the living room to the table already laden with snacks and bottles of sweet premixed drinks in buckets of ice. 

Aria caught her eye as she hovered, wiggling her eyebrows and being as unsubtle as possible. Sterling shot her daggers and with a quick shake of her head shooed her friend away. It didn’t work. 

“…to see you at one of these things.” Bucky’s rumbling voice caught her attention. 

“Huh?” 

“I said it’s nice to finally see you at one of these things.”

“Um yeah, my brother is finally letting me be among the cool people.” Sterling set the plate and bowl down that she was holding, letting her eyes wander over the man next to her. His dark hair was tied into a small ponytail, his steel blue eyes trained on her. That’s where her eyes stopped wandering and she allowed herself to stare into them for a second. 

“I think you’re pretty cool, Sterling.” Bucky said more to himself than to her.

The blush that crept across her cheeks felt hot as he stared at her. Years of watching Bucky flirt with other girls Sterling always had this deep seeded jealously that he was giving all his attention to them. Just begging for him to take notice of his best friends silly little sister without anything ever changing but today he had noticed, today he was talking to her. 

"I'm just lucky Steve invited me," Sterling sighed. 

"I think he ranted for two hours last weekend about how we didn't need a repeat of last year when you showed up already drunk with..." He paused, his tongue darting out over his bottom lip, "Aria! And both of you needed puke buckets by the end of the night. " 

"The most embarrassing night of my life," I wanted to hide my face. 

"You and I remember that night differently," he smiled over at me and ran a hand over his head as the moment grew warm and tense. "Steve claims at least this way he can keep an eye on you."

"And still he sent his best friend to play bodyguard," Sterling shot back, ripping her eyes off him and watching the table with snacks again. 

"Who said that Steve sent me? Maybe it was me that wanted to make sure you're okay this time." 

She felt his eyes still on her and it was enough for a shiver to run down her spine. No matter how big the urge was to look at him now, she knew she couldn't give in, because something in the blue of his eyes made her feel things in her stomach, she didn't like to confess. 

He was her brother's best friend. That's all.

She wouldn't let Aria's words from earlier infest her mind.

Sterling let out laugh, doing her best to seem nonchalant about Bucky’s presence and the way butterflies were fluttering about her insides. 

“Much appreciated, Barnes.” She smiled, “I think I’ll be ok though, I know how to be a good girl.” 

Not a millisecond passed after the words slipped from her lips and her hand was flying to her mouth. The heat creeping up her neck unbearable from the embarrassment. 

“I- I didn’t, I mean,” She stammered, mentally cursing herself and her racing mouth. When she looked up, Bucky was biting back a smile, his soft pink lips curling slightly and she was just waiting for the comeback. 

“I’m sure you do,” he chuckled, “I just want you to have fun Star, if that ends with you and Aria puking  your guts out again I’ll be right there with the buckets.” His words every bit as genuine as they always were, left floating between them as he turned back to the kitchen. She could her heart lurching in her chest, the impossibility of them looming over it. 

“Could you gimme a hand again here?” Bucky called back. 

“Yeah, yeah.” She answered, shaking her head before whispering. “For fuck’s sake Rogers, get a hold of yourself.”

Sterling took the two bowls of dip he handed her and turned and walked them to the snack table. “Did you grab spoons for the dip?” She called. 

“Not yet,” Barnes answered.

She could still feel his lingering gaze as she turned and walked back into the kitchen to grab them. Keep your cool. He’s Steve’s best friend.

Letting out a short breath, Sterling shook her head once, and stood at the snack table, organizing the bowls and ignoring the heat radiating through her body. It was far to early in the night for soft glances and butterflies. 

As she reached her hand into a bucket of ice to retrieve a drink, a large hand clammed down on her wrist as an arm was slung over her shoulders, pulling her almost backwards off her feet. 

"What do you think you're doing kiddo?" Steve grinned, as he squished her cheeks together. 

"Ow, get off!" Sterling tried to stifle her laugh as she ducked out of his arm and pulled away from her, "God you're annoying when your friends are around," 

Steve gasped and his hand went to his chest, "I'm offended! I'm suppose to be annoying all the time, I really need to step my game up here" 

"Please don't," Sterling rolled her eyes with a smile, "and in answer to your question, I was getting a drink! Isn't that what you're supposed to do at a party?"

“Yeah and you remember what happened the last time, right?” Steve hooked his thumbs into his belt, his hip jutting out in the most accusatory stance Sterling had ever seen. “I’m not keeping your hair out of your face this time.”

Sterling opened her mouth to protest but she didn’t have time.

“Don’t worry, Star. I’ve got your back,” Bucky said, wrapping her hair around his hand and giving it a sharp tug. “I’ll hold your hair if you want me to.”

The interaction made her blush, whether it was from the embarrassment she felt or because Bucky's hands were merely inches away from her neck. 

"See? Bucky's got my back," she grinned at her brother, trying to play it cool as Bucky slowly let go of her hair,  "And besides, that was ages ago. I can handle what's in my cup." She winked at her brother, who didn't look amused as she got herself a cold drink out of the bucket. 

Just when Steve was about to comment on her behavior, Bucky interrupted him by pulling Steve close and putting an arm around his shoulder. "C'mon Stevie Wonder, I heard your girl is here," he said, patting his best friend's chest a few times. Sterling watched them walk through the door, as Bucky's head turned around slowly, leaving her with a wink.

Sterling blew out a breath.

"Be cool. It's Bucky."

Off-limits Bucky. Hot, blue-eyed, messy-haired Bucky in a baggy blue dress shirt and a tight white tank top that was incredibly slutty and transparent. Somehow, more slutty than the time he was wandering around in nothing but a pair of jean shorts.

Boisterous laughter and warm greetings filled the house as more guests started to arrive. Sterling took a big sip of her drink. She could still feel her hair wrapped around Bucky's knuckles, and his breath on the back of her neck. She gazed into her cup like the answer to her problem was written at the bottom in big, bold letters.

"Are you hiding in here?" Aria asked, bouncing into the room.

"No," Sterling scoffed. "I was getting a drink."

"Sure, and the blush on your face has nothing to do with Miami Vice out there?"

Sterling rolled her eyes.

"Are you capable of shutting up?"

"No," Aria replied, grabbing herself a drink. "I'm a professional yapper."

"So are we going to watch the dips all night or are we going to get this party started?" Sterling bumped her hip into her friend and knocked her off balance before skipping out onto the deck singing loudly and definitely slightly off key.

Aria stopped beside her, "Hey bitch," she laughed, "don't forget who your wingman is tonight."

Sterling grinned back, taking a drink from her cup as she looked around at the group of Steve's friends currently hanging out on the lakeside.

It was the perfect night for it, Sterling decided, as she and Aria wandered outside to join them. The sky was clear as anything, and she paused, tilting her head right back to see only black slowly begin to twinkle with a plethora of stars. More and more appeared the longer she stared and it was only when her neck began to ache that she let her gaze fall again, rolling her shoulders. 

She felt his eyes on her before she spotted him again, huddled in a semi circle with Steve and their friends Bruce and Natasha. Bucky brought his own bottle to his lips, blue eyes on Sterling even as the rest of them laughed at something Steve said, unbelievable on its own never mind with Bucky looking at her like— 

“We seem to be in the habit of moving then stopping and then… Sterling, babe, are we gonna mingle or what?” Aria whined. “I wore my itty bitty big titty dress and not a single person has laid eyes upon these bad boys yet.”

“Then they must be blind.” 

They walked into the crowd that was forming on the makeshift dance floor on the grass, music blasting from the speakers as they found a spot on the outskirts of the crowd. Sterling moved to the fast paced beat until she noticed a pair of blue eyes trained on her. There he was again. As if his only mission tonight is to remind her of how pathetically down bad she was for him.

"Blind cowards," Aria threw her hands in the air and yelled over the sound of bad 90's pop. 

Sterling stared at Bucky, tipping her head to side with a smile on her face as Aria danced sultry circles around her. She quietly hoped that they weren't all blind cowards and maybe she was worth the trouble that would come with flirting with her brother's best friend. Just for a second she had hope that Bucky felt the same. 

It was so hot that the more they danced and drank the faster the sweat pooled on their skin. They must have been on the dancefloor for an hour before her feet started to hurt and her head became dizzy. Sterling felt alive as she ran her hands over her body and threw her hair to let the breeze lick at her neck. 

"In a room full of cowards," Aria whispered in Sterling's ear and spun her around by her fingertips. Bucky hadn't taken his eyes off her, even as people held conversations around him, it was like they were the only two people at the party.

It was only in the moment his tongue darted out to lick the beer off his lips, that Sterling forced herself to look away. Heat pooling in her lower stomach that was very clearly not the result of the sweaty dancing session. 

“I- I need to grab another drink,” she slightly stuttered towards Aria, but the redhead only nodded at her, occupied with dancing to one of Steve‘s friends. If Sterling remembered correctly, his name was Scott. 

Her hurting feet carried her back inside the house and towards the large fridge. The cool air hit her like a rock but she kept standing for a little longer, trying to get rid of the unwanted heat she had just felt.

“Don’t you think you had enough alcohol already?” Bucky‘s voice echoed from behind her and Sterling was frozen on the spot, shoulders tensed and eyes closed to use this short moment to regain herself as best as possible.

“Barnes I don’t need you policing my drinks too,” Sterling answered, sharper than she had intended to. She whipped around a water bottle and a seltzer clutched in her hand. 

“Just a joke Sterling, relax.” Bucky declared, hands raised as a sign of peace. 

Sterling closed her eyes and took a deep breath, “sorry, I didn’t mean to bite back at you.” 

And it was true, she hadn’t. But the feel of his eyes on her had her on edge. The mixture of the heat and alcohol swimming through her was messing with her head and he was certainly not helping her case. 

“I just wanted to check on you, you left the floor pretty quick.” He confessed, a shy closed lip smile on his face, the icy-blue of his eyes almost eclipsed from the alcohol he’d had. 

“I’m fine… just hot,”

“Hot…” Bucky countered. “You do look a little… flushed.”

Sterling flushed brighter as she closed the fridge door. “It’s… it’s hot out.”

"It is." He agreed quietly with a nod.

Sterling was fighting to not fidget with the bottle label as they both faced each other in the kitchen, the silence only adding to her nerves.

She opened her bottle and took a long sip, careful of how Bucky's gaze was fixed on her. No doubt keeping count of how many she would drink tonight. The flush of embarrassment heated her cheeks as memories of that last party hit her again.

"I'm not–"

"Do you wanna–" 

They both smiled awkwardly, Sterling tipped her bottle in his direction as a sign for him to continue.

“Don’t worry about it,” Bucky smiled sheepishly, rubbing his hand across the back of his neck. 

Sterling stared at him for a moment, a little perplexed, and then laughed awkwardly.

“Ohhhhkay then, Barnes,” she chuckled, saluting him as she walked backwards for a few paces before turning and heading for the dance space.

Trying not to over-analyse the strange encounter, Sterling began to lose herself in the music again, her arms in the air as she swayed to the beat.

“Fuck it,” a low voice murmured close to her ear and she felt a scalding presence at her back.

One large hand rested on her waist and another wrapped around her middle, the fingers splayed out on her belly. Her head lolled back against Bucky’s broad chest and she let her arm curl around his neck as they swayed together, his hips matching every movement of hers.

Sterling’s stomach did backflips as she moved her body along with Bucky’s. She swore she could feel everyone staring at her. At them. But when her eyes scanned the party, everyone was either off in their own worlds while they danced, or fully engrossed in a conversation.

Even her brother.

Her breath hitched as she watched Steve howling with laughter while he took big sips from his red solo cup. Bucky pulled her closer, and she felt his lips brush against her ear.

“You seem tense, Star.”

His voice was a gentle purr that made the hair on the back of her neck and arms stand straight up. She felt like she was swallowing sand, and it was hard to get air into her lungs. 

Bucky hummed, his confidence growing… along with something else. 

Oh, God.

Sterling just kept moving with him as one of his hands slid down to grasp her hip. Her heart was pounding as she kept staring at her brother. Steve was now gesturing wildly, no doubt telling some dumbass story she’d probably heard a thousand times. 

Bucky’s soft laughter wasn’t doing anything to help her anxiety, or the heat pooling between her thighs.

“I think you’re drunk, Barnes.”

“I’ve barely had a drop,” he purred. “The room didn’t start spinning until you walked into it.”

"Smooth, real smooth Barnes," turning in his arms so that she was facing him, his arms remaining encircled around her but his hands were now on her ass and she was pressed firmly against him. 

Sterling slowly risked looking up, his eyes were fixed on her face, as if daring her to pull out of his embrace, as their hips continuing to move in unison.

She let her gaze flit over his features, closer than she'd ever been to the little dimple in his chin, hidden by dark stubble but still there and just asking for her thumb to be pressed to it as her nails scratched over his cheeks and the gap between them closed and— was it getting hotter out here or? 

"Looking a tad frazzled there, Little Rogers," Bucky chuckled lowly, fingertips pressing just a little firmer and making her gasp. 

"You know I don't like it when you call me that," she replied, swallowing thickly when Bucky's lips tugged up into a devilish little smirk, his cloudy-blue eyes crinkling at the corners. 

"I got plenty of other nicknames for you, maybe we could—" 

Bucky didn't get to finish because Sterling's idiot brother hollered over the music. "Buck! Beer pong! Get your ass over here, we need you to even out the teams!"

“Big Rogers out here ruining everything.” Bucky murmured before turning on his heel and leaving Sterling on the dance floor, his touch still imprinted on her skin, lingering like little flames.

Bucky stopped, turning back for a brief moment. "I'll make you a bet," he said over the music and Sterling rolled her eyes at him. "Oh come on," a playful smile spread across his handsome face, "are you scared, Star?" 

"No, but bet's never end well." She said, wrapping her arms around herself. 

"If I win at beer pong with your brother, you spend seven minutes with me in the hallway closet." He offered. 

"Do you even understand that you just mixed two games together?" She giggled, her heart racing. "And if you lose?"

Bucky stepped forward another inch even as Steve was hollering for him to hurry up.  "I spend seven minutes with you in whatever closet you want." 

Sterling swallowed roughly and ran her tongue along a few of her top teeth. "You're serious?" She asked and he nodded. "Sounds like you win either way."

Sterling watched as Bucky raised a brow at him. “Oh? Don’t think I don’t notice your little looks and lingering stares.”

He leaned closer, his lips just a hair’s-breadth from hers. 

“You ever catch me staring back, Star?” He grinned, a smile that sent thrills down her spine, and then his lips ghosted across hers as he laughed - low and rumbling in his chest -  before pulling away to join Steve.

Sterling remained frozen in place, her chest heaving and her thoughts reeling. Her hand flew up to press against the swell of her breasts in an effort to calm her pounding heart.

Bucky looked annoyingly triumphant as he made his way over to Steve.

“You feel like winnin’, Cap?” He asked.

“Hell yeah!” Steve replied, high fiving him. “We still need one more, though.”

Sterling sighed, running her hand through her hair as she approached the table. Steve quirked a brow as she joined the other team.

“Seriously?” He laughed.

“What’s so funny?” Sterling retorted. “Afraid you’re gonna lose?”

Bucky’s eyes burned into her, his lips curling into a devilish smirk as he slowly shed his dress shirt, revealing his toned arms. He said he’d been working out, and goddamn did it show. Sterling swallowed hard, wishing she’d had more alcohol so that she could process this a little easier.

“Not at all,” Steve replied, grabbing his sunglasses and sliding them onto his face dramatically. “But just so you know, Buck and I are on a hot streak.”

“Is it ever embarrassing being you, Steve?” Aria laughed as she sauntered past the table.

Steve turned to her, flipping her the bird as she settled into a chair and pulled out her phone. Sterling’s buzzed in her pocket and when she pulled it out, she found a text from Aria.

Ten bucks says you fuck Bucky by the end of the night.

Sterling shoved her phone into her pocket, casting Aria a dirty look. God, she was a pain in the ass. And what was worse? She was probably right.

"You with me, Angel?" Asked the guy standing next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder as Sterling took her position beside him.

"Hands off, Frank," Bucky growled, reacting before Steve could. Sterling was already shrugging his arm away.

"I'm just here to play," she rocked on her heels in place, looking Bucky straight in the eyes as she settled in her position. "And I intend to win."

"Not as much as we want to see you loose." Steve responded, getting the last cup filled with cheap beer. 

"Oh I bet Bucky wants to see me win," she smiled, "but I can see why he wants me to loose, too. I mean, I'm good a playing this game but I think there are other games I'm even better at." 

Bucky coughed, almost choking on air. He definitely didn't expect that, which made Sterling even prouder. 

"You good?" Steve asked him. 

"Yeah I'm fine," he coughed, "just a bug." He lied and glanced at Sterling who smiled at him teasingly. 

"Let's go then," Steve said and started to throw the first ball, landing it straight in on of the cups right in front of Sterling.

Sterling clicked her tongue while Steve flashed her a shit-eating grin.

“What was that about winning?” He asked. “Buck? Did you hear something about Sterling winning?”

“Nah, she said she likes to lose… that’s what you said, right?” Bucky teased, eyes shining with mischief. 

Laughter rippled through the small crowd that had now gathered to watch them, with Aria looking like the fucking Godfather sitting in her chair with her big sunglasses on. Sterling grabbed the ball out of the cup and set it down before throwing back the entire thing. The beer was cheap, causing her to pull a disgusted face. From across the table, she heard a shutter click and looked up to see Bucky snapping a photo of her.

“Nice face, Little Rogers. I think I’ll put your humiliation on a t-shirt.”

Oh, now you want to play?Sterling set the cup down and picked up the ball, aiming for the middle of the table. It bounced in a perfect arc, landing right into a cup that sat right in front of Barnes. Her teammates cheered, grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her gently.

“Fuck yeah!” 

Bucky frowned and Sterling flashed him a big, sunshiny smile.

“Drink up, Bucknasty.”

Bucky winced as he swallowed the warm liquid, and opened his eyes just in time for the flash from Aria's camera. The look on Sterling's face matched his previous expression.

Steve limbered up, before grinning across at them, rolling the ball in his hand before bouncing it once and landing it perfectly in the cup closest to Frank.

"Don't miss," It was Sterling's turn to threaten her partner.

“I won’t miss, I’m a pro at this.“ Frank slurred, clearly drunk already. This was all on her. No matter how this game ended, she would definitely end up with her tongue down Bucky‘s throat but her competitive streak got the best of her as Frank let the ball bounce off the table. She groaned, throwing her hands in the air. Alright, guess she’s winging this on her own.

"Frank, buddy... How many cups do you see right now?" Steve laughed. 

Frank hiccupped, "maybe thirty three?" 

"Good luck, Star." Bucky winked and lobbied his ball across the table, a clean drop into one of the front cups. "You're going to need it."  He said as Steve missed his throw and Bucky ate his words. 

Sterling surveyed the situation, there were four cups left on their side of the table and four on hers. It was even for now but if she had a chance of winning-which she did-she would need to stack the odds for her less than helpful partner. 

"I want a rearrange." She announced, and her brother started laughing. 

"So early?" Bucky cocked his head to the side and pretty smile formed as she nodded and swirled her hands around. "Alright, as you wish." He shook his head and rearranged the cups for her. "How's that? 

"Better," Sterling steadied her shoulders as the butterflies danced around in her chest, "Frank, aim short?" She instructed him, knowing that given his current depth perception, short was long. "Can you do that for me?"

"I can do anything for you," Frank smirked and leaned close to her but he was cut short by the sound of crushing plastic and they both turned to see Bucky leaned over the table. "Simmer down, Barnes."

Sterling caught Bucky’s eye, her eyebrows rising and teeth pressed into her bottom lip as she held back a little laugh. 

“I’ve got my eye on him,” Bucky mouthed with a quick cock of his head towards Frank. 

“He’s nothing to worry about,” Sterling mouthed back, just as Frank pressed all of his weight against the table to throw the ball, clumsy and with absolutely zero skill. It bounced off the nearest cup and skittered over the edge of the table just as Frank heaved and rushed off. 

“You puke anywhere but the toilet Frank and you’re a dead man!” Steve called after him. 

“Perfect,” Sterling grumbled, “and you can wipe that smirk off your face, Barnes.” 

Sterling grimaced slightly. “I refuse to clean anything up if he misses.” She eyed her shot and easily bounced the ping pong ball across the table. It bounced against the rim of one cup before landing in another.

"You think you can win all by yourself, Little Rogers?" Bucky quirked a brow, before downing the liquid in the cup. 

Letting out a breathy laugh, Sterling shook her head, "I was carrying this team anyway, if you think you can scare me now, you have something else coming"  She smirked, running her hands into her hair, pulling it up into a ponytail before stretching her head to the side, all while keeping her hazel eyes on his. 

Bucky's tongue darted out over his bottom lip as he watched her movements. She could see his jaw tick in the low light of the white fairy lights that hung around the porch. Butterflies took over her chest once more, but Sterling knew she'd gotten to him too. 

"Come on, man," Steve slapped his hand against Bucky's chest with a ball, "It's your ball"

Bucky puffed out his chest, making a not so subtle show of flexing his muscles as he lined up his shot. Sterling pretended to find the entire thing obnoxious, but she couldn’t get over just how beautiful his hand looked as he flexed his wrist. His fingers were…

Long

Heat pooled in her stomach as Bucky’s eyes twinkled. 

“You know, they call me the sniper,” he purred. 

Sterling put her hands on her hips, her mouth forming a thin line.

“Are you gonna throw that thing, or—“ 

With a flick of his wrist, the ball bounced on the center of the table before bouncing right into the cup in front of her. Steve thrust both arms into the air before wrapping them around Bucky and shaking him as Sterling’s team groaned.

“YEAAAAAHHHH!”

Bucky arched a brow as his team celebrated around him. He leaned up against the table, his eyes gliding up and down her body. Sterling retrieved the ball and as she choked down the disgusting, lukewarm beer that definitely had a few blades of grass in it, she felt someone pluck the ball from her fingers. When she looked up, Bucky was drying it on a towel, handing it to her.

“Looking forward to that seven minutes,” he purred, keeping his voice low.

Her gaze flitted to her brother, who was focused on trying to pry open a bottle cap with his teeth while everyone cheered him on. Sterling, feeling the alcohol starting to take hold, snatched the ball from Bucky's grasp and leaned forward. Electricity crackled between them and Bucky's eyes lit up like fireworks.

“Are you sure you can last seven minutes?”

He chuckled, his face bright red as he swiped a hand through his hair, some of the strands from his ponytail coming loose.

"I don't need seven minutes to make you come--"

Her heart raced, legs wobbling, and before she could utter another word, the sound of riotous applause erupted around them. Steve triumphantly spat a bottle cap onto the table. Bucky winked at her as he retreated.

"Gotcha, pretty girl."

"Girl. The tension. Fuck me." Aria appeared beside her, sunglasses pushed down to the tip of her nose as she peered at Stirling over the top of them. 

Sterling reached out, taking the drink from her best friend's hand and chugging back the last of it. She was gonna need it, or possibly something stronger. The pair of them stood there, gazes following Bucky until he disappeared inside with a Cheshire Cat smile and one last glance over his shoulder. His broad, muscled, shoulder. Sterling was screwed. Or she was gonna be if she could unstick her feet from the floor and follow him. 

"If you don't go after him, I will," Aria murmured, tapping Sterling on the ass. "Chop chop." 

"He can't be serious, right? Like I know we've been doing whatever this," she flaps her hands around, "is all night but—" 

"Go. After. Him." Aria urged. "No man looks at a woman the way Bucky's been looking at you if he isn't serious."

“Girl, if you don’t move your sweet ass inside, I’m never speaking to you again”. Aria gave her a playful shove in the direction of the door where Bucky was waiting for her. The man that she dreamed about but never thought would show any interest in her. Finally her legs started moving and with a slight wobble she stepped inside of the house where she passed a few people making out on the couch in the living room. Seemed like those two were having fun. The first door to her right was open and the blue dress shirt tied around the handle. It was like she was on a scavenger hunt and she just found the most precious treasure waiting for her.

The room was empty when she finally found the nerve to push inside. It was one of the empty guest rooms, with a big bed and standard set of suite furnishings. It was just as warm in the room as it had been at the party and Sterling was getting increasingly bored of Bucky's games but she wasn't ready to let the fuzzy feeling in her chest fade just because she was annoyed. 

For all she knew this was her last shot with Bucky and she wasn't going down without a fair fight. 

"Bucky," she called out to him but he didn't answer. "Come on, this is silly." 

"I'm cashing in my seven minutes, little Rogers." His voice was low and drifted from the open closet. 

"You can't be serious!" She laughed and wandered around to find him sitting on the floor, his arms angled back behind him to hold him upright as his chin titled to look at her. "It's hot out here, it's probably a sauna in there."

"Better lose some layers then," He smirked and sat up, extending his hand with a wiggle, "rules are rules, get that cute little butt in here."

He thinks I’m cute? 

Sterling took a breath before reaching out her hand, letting Bucky link their fingers together before pulling her into the closet with him. 

She laughed as her knees hit the carpet, quickly finding his eyes as they practically stared into her soul. “What now?”

"Now," his low voice sent shivers down her spine. His blue eyes turned a dark, stormy shade as they roamed over her face, the bop of his Adam's apple slow and nervous.

"Now you let me give you seven minutes of heaven," Bucky declared. 

Heat sang across Sterling's skin as his fingers grazed her cheeks, pulling her closer until they shared air. It was hot and tempting but she still held back, that last breath between them like a wall guarding her.

"Please Star.." he begged, voice a little hoarse and soft lips barely brushing her own. "Let me kiss you."

Her breath caught in her throat as almost every other thought in her head drifted away. All that was left was Bucky and flashings of their relationship leading up to this moment. The way his shoulders tensed every time she talked about another person that she was interested in. The way his gorgeous blue eyes seemed to follow her movements every time she danced around the kitchen when she cooked. The semi-unnoticeable protectiveness she'd always experienced from him. 

Despite her feelings, Sterling had always passed it off as him feeling like she was a sister to him because of Steve, but now, in this moment, the shake in his voice and the way he waited for her answer, it felt different. 

Before she realized what she was doing, the blonde nodded her head slowly as she pressed her body forward into him until the tips of their noses brushed lightly. 

With a soft shake of his head, Bucky tangled the ends of her ponytail into his fingers gently, "Words, sweet girl," he swallowed, "please, I need to hear you say it" 

Sterling let a smile grace her lips as she nudged her nose against his once more, "I want you to kiss me, Bucky," she whispered. 

With that, Bucky let out a breath and closed the gap between them, capturing her lips with his, softly but with as much passion as she needed. Sterling felt every nerve in her body fire as butterflies swarmed her belly. Her fingers curled into the fabric of his white shirt, pulling him impossibly close and needing to be closer, despite the heat of the cramped closet.

His hands cupped her face, thumb gliding over her cheekbone as he nipped and sucked on her bottom lip. She whimpered against him, fingers clawing at his tank top, desperate to feel the warmth of his skin underneath it. Bucky groaned as he broke the kiss, dipping his head to drag his teeth along the sensitive skin of her throat. She hissed and he pulled her closer.

“You have no idea how long I’ve been thinking about this.”

“Tell me,” she rasped.

“Last summer.” His voice is low and gravelly, sending shivers all the way down to the tips of her toes. “You were parading around in that little pink bikini. You know how hard it is for a man to concentrate when all he's looking at is your perfect little ass?” 

He sucked on her earlobe as she dragged her fingernails over his abs. Abs that he took so much pride in. She wanted to run her tongue along them. 

“You liked it?” She breathed.

Bucky let out an almost inhuman groan, grinding his hips against her thigh. 

“I took cold showers every day because of you and that goddamn bikini,” he confessed, pulling back. His lips were bitten red from kissing her and his eyes shimmering. “So yeah… I liked it.”

Sterling leaned forward, so that she could feel his breath quicken as her fingers roamed higher up his body, her lips brushed his again as his hand moved to the back of her neck and he pulled her closer, his tongue touching her lip, asking for permission to deepen the kiss.

Sterling dipped her chin, barely a nod, and Bucky huffed out a soft breath as if he couldn't quite believe they were doing this, hidden in a closet like a couple of teenagers. 

And then his mouth was on hers again, hot and slow, tongue slipping just between her lips and dragging along the sensitive skin until Sterling shivered, letting out a quiet gasp and giving Bucky the perfect in to lick into her mouth, curl his tongue around hers. 

He took his time, an indulgent exploration of her mouth and body. Sterling's heart hammered, bloody rushing in her ears as Bucky murmured something against her lips, incoherent babble that was so far away from his usual cool demeanor that she couldn't help but giggle.

"That sound," Bucky moaned as his body tensed and leaned into her excitingly. "That giggle drives me nuts," he whispered against her skin as he kissed a peppered line of fireworks across her jaw to her ear. 

"What else?" Sterling said opening her neck up to his lips as his fingers tangled into her long blonde hair. 

"You're going to think I'm ridiculous." He huffed as her lips found his again. 

"Tell me," she urged and squeezed her legs around him, "you've got time, at least five more minutes in heaven." 

Bucky laughed against her, "I use the bathroom on the main floor when I stay over because it's the one with your shampoo and I crave the smell of it when you aren't around." He whispered and pulled back to gauge her reaction. 

"God, that's adorable," Sterling smiled so wide her cheeks hurt. "So all this time?" She questioned.

“All this time,” he nodded. “I’ve been on eggshells around Steve but… I can’t hold back anymore.”

Sterling licked her bottom lip, staring into his ocean-like eyes. “Neither can I.”

"Thank god," Bucky groaned, pushing her body back against the wall and entrapping her there with his own as his lips found that sweet spot where her jaw met her neck once more. He licked a strip up her skin, setting it ablaze as her stomach did backflips. 

"Bucky," Sterling breathed, racking her hands into his hair as a small whine escaped her lips, "kiss me" 

Once more, he obliged the request, ghosting his lips over her jaw before capturing her own, sliding his tongue against her. His hands drifted over her body and slid up under her black tank top, curling into skin.

“Bucky,” Sterling whispered softly in between kisses. His fingertips felt hot on her skin, making her think about other places where she wants them to touch her. 

“Did I ever tell you how much I like you saying my name?” Bucky’s breath felt hot against her throat as his hands kept on exploring her body, stopping right beneath the clasps of her bra. “I could never get enough.” His lips found hers again, devouring the taste of them as Sterling pulled him closer to her, getting a stifled moan in response. 

She smiled at his reaction to her. 

“So you like that, huh?” He smiled against her lips. 

“Uh-huh.” She nodded, her eyes closed as she tried to catch her breath. “A lot, actually.”

“Tell me what else you like, princess,” he whispered.

“I liked you in nothing but those jean shorts you wore last summer,” Sterling rasped. “Was that to get me back for the bikini?”

She grew bolder, popping open the button on his jeans and dipping her fingers below his waistband. Bucky let out a whimper, his voice breaking as her mouth hovered over his. Every time he tried to kiss her again, she pulled back. His frustration was palpable and he pulled her closer, one hand reaching up to wrap around the back of her neck. Sterling smirked at him, licking her lips and watching his eyes focus on her mouth.

“You like to tease, don’t you?” Bucky asked.

“And you don’t?” Sterling countered. “You were eye fucking me at the beer pong table.”

Bucky’s fingers pulled open the strings of her bikini and he took her bottom lip between his teeth, tugging on it until a pathetic whimper spilled from her lips. His free hand dove between her thighs, teasing her pussy over her shorts.

“I do like to tease, but when it comes to you, I’m tired of playing games.”

Sterling gasped as Bucky increased the pressure on her pussy

"Oh, you like that, young Rogers," he teased, smirking as he leaned forward to return his lips to that spot below her ear that had already made her squirm.

She whimpered as his other hand sneaked under her top, his fingers tracing a trail up her rib cage, reaching her nipple and squeezing it gently between his forefinger and thumb.

Sterling’s breath caught in her throat, skin tingling as Bucky’s worked her nipple to a hard little peak. His fingers grazed over the swell of her breast, cupping her gently and bunching up the fabric of her top as he moved. 

“So soft, Star. I knew you would be but, fuck. Can’t believe I get to have you like this.” 

“Bucky,” Sterling breathed, head falling back as Bucky pressed the pads of his fingers firmer over the denim of her shorts, making her belly swoop with anticipation. “Please. Oh, God, please.” 

The roughness of his stubble on the sensitive skin of her neck mixed with the warmth of his mouth was driving her crazy, her whole body thrumming with it until Bucky drew his hand away. 

“You sure you want this?” He asked, voice low and soft as he pressed a sweet kiss to her lips. 

“It’s you,” Sterling murmured, “I’ve never been more sure of anything.”

The button on her shorts was the next to go. Bucky flicked it free with ease and pressed his hand down between her bikini bottoms, tickling his fingers deeper until he found the wetness that pooled between her thighs. 

"So wet for me," He cooed and nibbled on her jaw as he helped her open up just enough to dart his fingers across her clit.

"Bucky," she whined, arching into his languid touch as he began to massage small circles.

“I know I said we would stay in the closet,” he murmured, then licked up the side of her neck. “But we might need to… spread out…”

Sterling groaned, feeling pleasure spark through her body. “I don’t care where we are… I just want you.” 

Blindly she reached for his shorts once more, and was quickly rewarded when she heard him moan.

“Take me to your room,” Sterling whispered.

Bucky’s cheeks flushed and he groaned as she wrapped her fingers around his cock. He was thick, and throbbing in her hand. Sterling watched as his eyes fluttered closed, stroking him languidly, her thumb gliding over the tip of his cock.

“F— fuck!” He hissed. “Where’d you learn to do that?”

She giggled, nuzzling up against his cheek.

“I’ll give you more than my hand if you take me upstairs.”

She’d never seen Bucky move so fast, pulling her hand out and zipping up his jeans. He grabbed her hand and stuck his head out of the closet door, glancing around as a strand of dark hair fell into his face. Sterling could only stare at him as he listened hard. Outside, she could hear Steve’s boisterous laughter and Bucky nodded.

“Let’s go.”

With his fingers still wrapped around her wrist, he pulled her toward the stairs. Just as they were about to hit the landing, a door swung open and Sam Wilson stepped out of the bathroom, stopping dead in his tracks. 

Shit.

Sterling and Bucky froze and he dropped her hand as Sam grinned.

“What’s shakin’, Bucknasty?” When his eyes landed on Sterling, she held her breath, her fear written all over her face. Sam took a step forward. “Where are you two off to?"

"Sterling was just about to show me her impressive collection of Bratz dolls? Wanna come?" Bucky offered him a toothy grin and Sterling tried not to laugh. 

"Nah I think I'll pass," Sam looked between the two of them, his eyes moving sluggish. 

He was just as buzzed as everyone else at the party he would most likely forget the interaction but Sterling was nervous that he might notice the blush of cheeks and how messy Bucky's hair was, and shit Sterling looked down to the button popped on her jeans showing off the top of her bikini bottoms. 

"You sure?" Bucky pushed, his hand linking around his back to wiggle his fingers at Sterling who had stepped further behind him to hide her appearance. 

"Hanging out with Roger's baby sister is the last thing I wanna do, I'm going to go find Tony." Sam rolled his eyes and backed down the hallway. 

"What about you?" Sterling lifted to her toes and whispered in Bucky's ear as Sam disappeared. Her hand trailed around him, playing at the waist of his pants, "Am I the last thing you wanna do?"

"I'm fully prepared to do whatever you want, Star." He huffed as her fingers tickled his skin, "now get up those stairs." He said, slapping her ass playfully as she darted up the stairs away from him with a giggle.

Once they reached the hall, Sterling turned and looked down the hall. “Which one’s yours, handsome?” She teased. She fully knew which one, but she wanted him to lead her there.

A menacing smirk played at the corners of his lips as Bucky stepped into her, placing his hands on her hips, dipping his fingertips into the sliver of skin that teased his gaze between her tank top and her shorts. 

"This way, babygirl," he rasped in her ear, as he guided her backwards and pressed her body into his door. Bucky dipped his head, capturing her lips once more with his, keeping their bodies as close as he could. 

Sterling's mind was swimming with everything and nothing at the same time. She knew there was going to be conversations and situations they would have to deal with if this went as far as she'd hoped, but in the moment, right here with him, none of that mattered. 

Blindly, her one hand found the door knob as her other curling into the collar of his white tank top, pushing the door open gently so they didn't tumble in, she dragged him back with her, giggling as she did so. 

"I gotta say, " Bucky spoke, licking his bottom lip, "I do like being thrown around by you,"

"I'll keep that in mind." Sterling breathed against his lips as she shut the door closed with her foot. The second the door clicked, Bucky shoved his hands down beneath her shorts and grabbed her ass, pulling her towards him. Sterling gasped in surprise which made Bucky chuckle before he rested his lips on hers again. Sterlings hands found their way to his hair, tugging lightly as Bucky deepened the kiss, pressing her against his hardened cock. 

"God," she moaned as the movement made every cell in her body fill with butterflies.

"Fuck," Bucky breathed, "do that again." 

"Make me," she bit his bottom lip teasingly, looking straight into his blue eyes that just turned a shade darker at her words.

"Give me chance," Bucky chuckled and kneaded her ass under his palms as worked his mouth across her lips to her jaw, nipping and licking. 

She worked at the button of his pants and rolled them down over his hips. She walked them toward the bed, shoving him back against the mattress and following him on her knees as he backed into the center. 

Sterling sat on with her knees on either side of his thigh thighs and stared down at him as she carded her fingers through her hair and smiled at him. "Do you like this bikini?" She asked him. 

"I'd like it better on the floor, little Rogers." Bucky bucked his hips toward her as she teased the string behind her neck.

Sterling licked her lips as she slowly untied the string of her top but still kept her breasts from his view. “How long have you wanted to see me like this?”

Bucky only groaned. “Fuck… too long, baby girl. C’mon… let me see…”

Raising an eyebrow, Sterling cocked her head to the side. 

“What?” Bucky asked with a low chuckle, his body shaking beneath her. “C’mon, Sterling, stop being a tease,” he whined.

Sterling stared down at him; at the tendrils of soft chestnut hair fallen from his bun, kissing the sharp lines of his jaw, and the thinnest halo of blue around his pupils as he stared back. Awe and impatience glistening in his eyes in the low light of the room. 

Feeling for Bucky, and his erection tenting in his boxers and pressing firmly against the inside of her thigh, Sterling dropped her hands, her bikini top tumbling from her body like leaves from a tree. 

“Oh, sweetheart,” Bucky groaned. “Look at you pretty girl.” He reached for her, hot palms on her skin as he cupped her breasts.

Sterling slowly began to move her hips, needing the pressure on her clit while Bucky massaged her breast’s. 

“You’re fucking perfect, Star. You know that?” He looked at her while putting his lips on her nipple, licking and sucking while his other hand wandered down her stomach, stopping right at the rim of her bikini bottoms. 

Sterling threw her head back with a soft moan while she continued to slowly ride his thigh.

"Just like that," Bucky praised as her hips rolled, "feels so good," he mumbled through his teeth as he nipped at her sensitive skin. 

"I need more," she pleaded as his fingers dipped between her legs.

"Beg me for it," he teased her throbbing clit with the pad of his thumb and brushed his fingers through her wetness against her entrance. "Beg me for more, Sterling. I wanna hear you beg to ride my hand." 

"Please, Buck." She steadied her breathing and turned her chin toward him, "please let me ride your hand." 

"That's my girl," he cooed and pushed two fingers as deep as his angle would allow him. The sound that erupted from her was low and guttural.

“Ohmygod,” she breathed as she rocked back and forth. “Buck-y…”

“That’s it… god, you’re soaked…”

“I’ve thought about this… so much…”

“Me too, baby girl, me too,” he replied. Bucky slowly rubbed her clit with his thumb watching as Sterling shivered. “Talk to me… what do you need?”

She couldn't get the words out at first, dizzy with the sensation of Bucky's fingers sliding deeper, his palm pressed to her clit as he switched up the position of his hand. That was so close to what she needed, more. Her lips moved with the beginnings of the word, it was right on the tip of her tongue until Bucky kissed it from her pressed together lips and trailed his own down her neck to her collar bone. 

"B-Bucky," she stammered out, voice cracking. "Mor—" she managed before it became a soft whimper instead. 

"You need more, Star? Another finger? My mouth? You gotta tell me baby." 

"I don't know, I don't know," Sterling babbled. "Just more, just need you. Want you." She wanted him everywhere, wanted to be surrounded by everything he was. 

"Hold on," Bucky murmured, nipping at her skin before they were moving, tumbling over until he hovered above her, caging her against the sheets.

He stripped her from her clothes, not wasting his time but using every second to adore every inch of her. "You're beautiful," he kissed her ribcage, drawing a sweet, sticky line with his mouth to her belly button. He sat back on his heels, pulling off what clothing remained. He looked like a god, the lights from outside bathed him in a haze and made him look ethereal. Sweat clung to his abs and made the perfect tanned skin shimmer as he lowered himself back to her. 

He used his knees to spread her legs and rested behind her thighs as his mouth found hers again in a frenzy of teeth and tongue. 

Sterling wrapped her hands around his face and tangled her fingers back through his hair, needing more contact as he rocked against her but never entered. She ached for him, and he knew it in the way his hands teased her skin and his teeth sunk into her bottom lip.

“Please,” she whimpered, feeling as Bucky’s ponytail came undone, causing his hair to drop in a veil around their faces. “Please Bucky…”

“Are you sure?” He asked. As much as he wanted this. Wanted her. He needed to know.

“Only you… always you,” she breathed.

"You're killin' me here, sweetheart," Bucky huffed out softly, "didn't think I was ever gonna get this." 

"You're not gonna get anything if you don't hurry up," Sterling quipped, bringing her legs up around Bucky's hips, ankles crossed just above his ass as she hauled him impossibly closer until every firm, hot piece of him was pressed against her. It was everything. 

"Hi," Bucky whispered, lips ghosting over her own as he held himself up on his forearms. His fingers toyed with the loose strands of her hair splayed out over the pillow as he looked down at her with a soft little smile. 

"Hi," Sterling whispered back, kissing him quickly. "Are you gonna fuck me now?" 

"Have you always been this impatient?" 

"Buuuckyyy," she whined and Bucky's laugh rocked through them both; the rich, joyous sound filling the room. He brought his lips to hers again, nipping playfully at her with a soft growl as he reached between their bodies.

"Yes, Sterling. I'm gonna fuck you now."

"It's about time," she rolled back into the pillows and raised her hips as he pushed between her thighs and sunk deep within her throbbing walls. "Shit," Sterling gasped as he stretched her beyond the tipping point. She squeezed around him and rocked her hips up to meet his rhythm as he dragged himself completely from her and slammed back in again. 

His hand cupped her face, his thumb finding her bottom lip and brushing it down to widen her mouth as she moaned through the sensation. 

"Are you being soft on purpose?" She gasped with each, tiny delicious rock of his hips. Every time he rubbed his chest against her pebbled nipples he earned a new tiny whimper from her kiss bitten lips. 

"Maybe," Bucky whispered and pulled her bottom lip between his own. 

"You can't hurt me," She tangled her hand into his hair and tugged gently, "I know you won't, so stop treating me like a china doll and fuck me like you mean it, Bucky Barnes."

Bucky buried his head against her neck and groaned. Finally being engulfed in her felt like seeing the night sky and stars for the first time.

He angled his hips and began snapping his hips, listening to Sterlings resulting moan. “God, I’ll never get tired of that sound.”

Sterling gripped Bucky's shoulders, nails digging into the muscle as he drove himself deeper with each thrust. Her whole body shifted on the bed, steady thuds of the headboard in time with her hammering heart.

"Oh, fuck," she breathed and she felt Bucky's smile on her skin, that delicious scratch of his stubble as his lips curled followed by a hot, open-mouthed kiss. He sucked and licked at her neck, sure to leave a mark that Sterling really hoped her brother wouldn't notice. 

"Gotta let everyone know you're mine now, pretty girl," Bucky murmured between wet laves of his tongue, as if he could read her mind. "Fuck, you're perfect, Sterling." 

Sterling's soul was on it's way out, halfway to floating out of her body as Bucky fucked her harder; torturously slow drags of his cock until he was buried deep, grinding down as Sterling reached down to grab his ass, anchoring his body to hers.

When she clawed at his back, leaving deep red nail marks, he shivered, his eyes rolling back and his cock throbbing inside of her. His hips snapped harder, the sounds erupting from his throat made her flutter around him. 

“Jesus, Star.”

Sterling flashed him a wicked grin as music poured in from the open window that faced the backyard. 

And then she heard it.

“Hey, Sammy! Where’s Buck?”

“Steve’s gonna kill you, you know,” she murmured against Bucky’s mouth. 

He laughed, grabbing a pillow and sliding it under her lower back, only pulling away to watch her eyes widen as he drove himself deep enough to hit that spot. 

“Oh!”

“If being with you is heaven then I don’t give a shit what he does to me.” Bucky’s kiss was surprisingly tender, his thrusts slowing down as pleasure built in Sterling’s belly. “I’ve wanted you for so long, Star.”

Her hands found his hair once more as she tilted her head to capture his mouth. “I’ve wanted you too,” she answered as they pulled away for air.

“Fuck,” Bucky moaned, driving his cock slow and deep into her cunt. “You’re mine now…”

“Yours,” she agreed.

The sounds of Steve’s voice grew louder, tangling dangerously with the chorus of grunts and breathless moans. 

“I’m not done,” Buck warned as she tensed when Steve’s voice echoed closer to their door. 

“Did we lock that,” Sterling gasped as Bucky’s fingers dug roughly into her skin and his pace became sloppy. 

“Nope.” He kissed her hard, stealing the air from her lungs as his cock rubbed every wall in sweet slick roving movements. “Now, Star.” He demanded and the walls cracked beneath her. 

She plunged into what felt like endless pleasure as the stars danced across her eyes. Bucky pressed his hand over her mouth as she let out a long, loud moan. Not finished with her just yet, Bucky slammed into her and dragged every ounce of pleasure from her exhausted body as he dove over the edge after her. 

“Buck?” Steve banged on the door. 

“Your seven minutes in heaven is up,” Sterling stumbled through a gasp as Bucky slid from her raw pussy and spilled warm between her thighs.

“Are you jerking off in there?” Steve shouted. “Get out here! Sam’s kicking my ass at beer pong!” 

Bucky placed a chaste kiss on Sterling’s lips. She barely had time to come down from her high before panic settled into her bones.

“Hide," Bucky hissed. "Bathroom."

“Bucky! I’m covered in—“

“I’ll make it up to you, princess. I promise.”

She smiled and rolled off the bed, rushing for the ensuite bathroom and closing the door until it was just barely ajar. Through the crack, Bucky tugged his pants back over his hips, giving her a good look at his gorgeous ass. He tossed on a black t-shirt and opened the door while Sterling watched from the safety of the bathroom. Her brother was hammered, leaning up against the doorframe with a can of beer clutched in his fist.

“I was taking a power nap, dude," Bucky sighed.

"A power nap?" Steve scoffed.

"Yeah, puke and rally."

“Yeah, well, I’m getting my ass handed to me!" Steve whined. "Sam's a monster at beer pong."

“I’ll be down in a second.” There was a long pause before Bucky sighed again. Sterling could barely see through the crack. “What, Rogers?”

“It smells like sex in here.”

“Okay, get out!” Bucky bellowed.

Sterling laughed as she heard the two of them wrestling and then the door shut. In seconds, Bucky was ripping open the bathroom door and pressing her against the wall, his mouth soft against hers. When he pulled away, Sterling beamed, taking in his flushed cheeks and bright cerulean eyes. She couldn’t believe this was happening. No more daydreams, no more thinking about what his lips would feel like while she watched him nurse a beer as he sat with his long, tanned legs stretched out on the porch. This was real. 

Bucky’s brows furrowed.

“You okay, pretty girl?”

She nodded, pushing aside her growing feelings.

“Yeah. I was thinking we could sneak out tonight and watch the fireworks by the lake when everyone else is too drunk. You down?”

Bucky stroked her cheek with the back of his hand.

“I’d go anywhere with you.”

[ssunnysshin3]

Hummingbird(tmr Minho x reader)

Disclaimer: this is a version where both girls and boys live in the glades.It’s a lil bit lengthy sorry.

Authors note: I watched tmr for the first time 2 days ago and thought of this last night at 1am trying to fall asleep. Pls be nice it’s my first fanfic :)

Summary: you and your best friend Minho have a bit of a complicated relationship. However watching him get stuck in the maze overnight helps navigate your feelings

Tags: tmr Minho x reader, angst-ish, fluff

“Who’s that?” Thomas turns to Alby.

Alby turns towards the direction Thomas was previously looking. “Oh that’s hummingbird. She got here a month after Minho. They’ve been close ever sense. If you’re looking for one, the other knows where they are.

“Hummingbird? Is that her real name?”

Ably chuckles, ”No. No it’s not. Only me, Newt, and Minho know what it is. And she hates it so don’t ask.”

Thomas leaned his head to the side in confusion as he watched you talk to Minho, who he’d already met.“Are they together?”

Alby took a deep breath before turning his head towards the pair. Shaking his head he says “ Good question. I’m not even sure they know what they are yet.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You feel a hand on your shoulder gently shaking you as you open your eyes, the rising dawn slowly peeking through. You stretch and turn your head to Minho kneeling down to the side of your hammock.

“Hey” he says with a soft smile. The approaching sunlight casts a warm glow across his skin and in the light, his eyes are a beautiful amber color that only you would ever notice. It’s a nice contrast to the hard, worn look that normally resides on his face.

“Alby and I and headed into the maze. Are you sure you don’t want to run with us?” He says in a hushed tone so that the surrounding gladers don’t wake up.

Nodding you respond, ”Yeah I’m sure.” You reach up to move a hair sticking to his forehead away before resting your hand on his cheek. You look him in his eyes,“Run fast”.

He smiles, placing a kiss to your forehead before throwing a playful wink at you“I always do”.

A smile grows on your face as you watch him fade from your view, trying to ignore the creeping feeling of anxiety you get every time he enters the maze.

As you try to settle back into your hammock, you silently pray to, well you have no idea. It could be God or whoever sent you up in that box a three years ago, or truly to anyone that’s listening. “Please bring them back”

You close your eyes and attempt to catch whatever sleep you can before the glades awake for the day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It’s getting late. While you completed your list chores for the day, which consisted of: marking the trees that were to be cut, helping out in the garden, wrapping up wounds,etc, you always kept a conscious note of where the sun was in the sky. And it was telling you that Minho and Alby should’ve been back by now.

Now the sun was hidden behind grey clouds and the rain poured as the gladers restlessly waiting for their leaders to return.

“They should be back by now. What happens if they don’t make it?” Thomas asks nervously. “They’re gonna make it.” Newt says with a harden expression on his face.

Thomas stalks over “ And what happens if they don’t ?” You and Newt share a look. “They’re gonna make it” You respond, though you’re not sure if you’re saying it for Thomas or for yourself.

The rain had cleared and soon enough a crowd gathered around the entrance of the maze.

Thomas jumped around nervously, “Come on, can’t we send someone after them?”. “It’s against the rules. They either make it back or they don’t.” Gally responded from his seated position.

You’ve never been a huge fan of Gally, he’s bossy and stuck up. However you could respect his dedication to the rules, and nonetheless he was right. No one could go in to help them. You bit your bottom lip nervously before shaking your head, “We can’t risk losing someone else.”

The familiar gust of wind expelled from the maze as the walls started to close. Your heart rate picks up as you try not to let the panic set in.

“There!” Thomas points at two figures slowly approaching the group. “Wait something’s wrong.” Newt takes a step forward.

Your eyes widen when you realize that Minho looks to be carrying all of Albys weight. “COME ON MINHO YOU CAN DO THIS!!” Chuck yells into the closing maze. The crowd abrupt into cheers and words of encouragement.

“RUN MINHO RUN!! YOU GOT THIS!” You scream as you step in front of the group. Minho drops Alby and starts his attempt at dragging him towards the exit by his feet.

“MINHO YOU GOTTA LEAVE HIM!” Gally shouts. You look over to Newt who wears a devastated look, “He’s not gonna make it.” The realization that Minho could actually die in the maze starts to consume you. Your throat is sore from screaming “HES RIGHT MINHO YOU HAVE TO LEAVE HIM!”

Minho lets out a gut wrenching scream as the walls of the maze get closer and closer together. Suddenly, Thomas breaks out in a full sprint into the maze. Yells of “THOMAS!”, “STOP”, “NO” break from the crowd as all of you try to reach out and grab him. But it was too late.

When the doors of the maze finally close, there’s a silence that sweeps the glade. Some start to walk back to the village, some are frozen in their place, one of which is you.

Your eyes are wide in shock, trying to comprehend that you have to now cross three names off of the wall.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You and Chuck waited in the same spots you were in. You waited from when the sun went down, all the way until you could see day break. I mean how could you sleep when closest friend had just lowered his survival rate by 90%.

All night Minho consumed your thoughts. The first time you guys met, him picking you as a runner, every look you guys shared. You closed your eyes and pictured every line of his face. His eyes, his smile, the color of his hair.

You tried to remember the sound of his voice. How he’d laugh when he joked around and your most recent conversations (including everything you wished you said). How he’d speak so gently to you, almost as if he was afraid that you’d break if he spoke to loud.

You’d put your hands to the air and try to feel his skin on yours. The warmth of his hugs.

You’re positive that you must look insane to the others, but that didn’t matter. This was your attempt at engraving Minho into your heart. It was a feeling that was familiar to you.

After what felt like an eternity, the maze opened. You straightened your back and forced yourself to stand as a couple of others came to see it they’d made it.

“I told you Chuck, they’re not coming back” Newt said in a disappointed tone. As you turn around to walk back into the village, you hear a voice from behind. “ No way”.

You see the rest turn to look behind them, so you do the same. Your eyes almost bulge out of your head as you see three dark figures moving towards you. You thought that it was your imagination until you stumbled closer to the mouth of the maze.

The others helped Minho and Thomas lay an unconscious, probably dead Alby on the ground. They looked tired and like they had almost died, and you should’ve probably been thinking of ways to help Alby. But all you could do is stare in Minho in disbelief. Even when they were talking about how Thomas killed a griever, you stood there paralyzed. They had survived a night in the maze. No one had done that before.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There was a meeting later that night, of course led by Gally about how Thomas should be punished for breaking the rules. You’d been quietly leaning against a wall, just observing.

Newt interrupts the arguing that was taking place. “Minho you were there with him,what do you think?” Everyone’s head turn to Minho(except yours),who had been also leaning quietly on a wall towards the back of the hut.

He goes on to defend Thomas “Look I don’t know if he’s brave or stupid but whatever it is, we need more of it. I say we make him a runner.” You could almost see the steam coming out of Gallys ears. It made you laugh a little bit.

“Hummingbird, what do you think?” Frypan asks. You hadn’t spoken a word since Thomas ran into the maze.You clear your throat a bit and shift your footing. You never really have anything to say for meetings like these, and you prefer it that way. It makes moments like these very rare. “I think that even Alby wouldn’t dare do something like face a griever much less kill it. A feat like that shouldn’t be ignored. And we can all agree that the kids fast. I think he’s right, Thomas should be a runner ”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Your mind was going a mile a minute. You were worried about Alby, you hadn’t spoken to Minho yet, and a new girl popped up in the box.The only good thing was that whoever put her there also put in some kind of cure for Alby.

You’d had nightmares before about dying in the maze. Whether it was you or Newt or Chuck. At one point or another, you’ve dreamt of every glader in the village dying from the maze. Some came true and some didn’t. Through the ones you had of Minho were probably the most painful. So painful that when you woke up you would be biting back sobs, and tears would stream down your cheeks as you wished it was you in the maze instead of him.

It was all too much, so you decide to busy yourself with some chores. You grab a woven basket and decide to head into the forest to see what you can harvest from the trees.

You’re agile and quick, that what made you a good maze runner. It also makes you excellent for climbing trees. They call you hummingbird because the whole village can hear your song from the forest. It’s a comforting sound that lets them know you’re safe. There’s almost never a time where the glades doesn’t have a song in the air.

And you’re one of maybe four that have permission to do so. So when you hear a crunching of leaves approaching, you’re on high alert.

You maneuver in the tree to face the sound and find a certain maze runner walking your way. “Minho what are you doing out here? You can’t be here.”

“ Couldn’t hear a song from the village, wanted to make sure you’re alright.” Minho says leaning against the tree across from the one you’re in.

“ I’m fine now go back to the village it’s too dangerous for you out here.” You hoped he would take that answer and leave. But you should’ve known better than that.

“ If you’re fine then why no song?” He walks up to your tree and looks up at you.

Ignoring his question, turn your away from him and focus your attention back to the tree you were foraging from.

Minho runs and grab the basket at the base of the tree before you could drop the fruit in. “Hummer please talk to me. You haven’t said a word to me since I got back.”

Sighing deeply, ”Minho, please leave. You shouldn’t be out here.”

“ I’m not leaving until you tell me what’s wrong.” You jump down from the tree and walk ahead of him towards the village.

Silence.

“I don’t want to fight with you” he picks up his pace to follow you.

Silence.

“ y/n please!”

You stop in your tracks. “ I told you not call me that.”

“It was the only way to get you to stop.” Minho drops the basket of fruit and walks around in front of you, but is disappointed to find you won’t look at him.

He steps forward and reaches to touch you but you back away hesitantly. You’re afraid that if you touch him, he’ll disappear into dust.

You turn around to pick up the fallen basket and it’s contents. You really did not want to talk about this right now.

“ Come on just tell me what’s bothering you I don’t underst-“

“I THOUGHT YOU DIED MINHO!” You turn on your heels and scream at him. Closing your eyes, you move to rest your forehead against the nearest tree.

“ But I- *sigh* hummer you know the risk of being a runner.

“ Yes I do except this was the first time you didn’t make it back.”

Minho takes careful steps towards you.“I did make it-“

“But you almost didn’t.” All you could think about was what if Thomas hadn’t run in the maze. They wouldn’t have just lost their fastest runner, you would’ve lost you best friend too.

You open your eyes and turn around, back leaning against the tree now face-to-face with Minho.

Looking at the ground,“ When the maze closed,” you swallow, “I thought my heart stopped.” you say barely above a whisper, trying to keep your words from getting caught in your throat.

Feeling his hand rest against your cheek, the thought crosses that if you could bottle up this warmth and keep it in your pocket you would. ”Look at me.”

You can’t. You don’t know why you just…..can’t.

“Please baby just look at me.” he says in a desperate voice.

Finally finding the strength, you lift your eyes to meet his. They were sad, like he would do anything just to find out what’s making you feel like this. A pang of guilt went through your chest.

But then, he smiles. When he smiles it makes you feel like nothing mattered other than the two of you. Like the world around you dissolved into thin air. Like everything was gonna be okay.

“Hey, there’s my beautiful girl.” With his other hand, he laces his fingers with yours. Minho brings your interlocked hands to his lips giving it a gentle kiss before placing it above his heart. “I’m right here. This is real, I’m right here.”

“Minho I lov-“

“I know” he rushes to fill the space between the two of you, softly connecting his lips to yours.

The air stilled around you. Of course you always hoped this would happen but now it’s actually happening.

As the space between you and Minho got smaller, you squeezed your hand that was holding his and noticed that instead of being just against his heart, it was against yours as well. You hoped this moment would last forever.

Both of you breathlessly pull apart from each other. “I love you y/n. I love you more than anything.” He says with a breathless smile.

You scrunch your nose and playfully push him away. “If you love me just be faster next time”

He picks up the harvest basket.”Of course! Can’t have you not talking to me again now can we?”

You walked back to the village, both knowing this was a new era of you and Minho. And you hummed your song all the way there.

[foxyyaoguai]

The antis have been all over my posts in the last few days, so I wanted to share my experiences and write a guide on how to deal with them. 

First off: Our ships and character preferences are valid, no matter how hard some people try to demonize them. We are part of fandom and allowed to post about the things we enjoy, just like everyone else. Our fanfics, fanart, video edits, photo edits, etc. are all works of love and they deserve to exist and be explored by others. 

✨ Strategies for dealing with antis ✨

Don’t engage. I have checked the bios of all the antis that left comments under my posts, and the majority of them are minors. You don’t want to talk to minors in fandom spaces!! And a conversation based on logic or reason won’t be possible either. 

Delete their comments. Tumblr, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube allow you to delete comments, DO IT!! You created something with love and hateful comments have no place underneath it. Even if the comment just makes you uncomfortable and isn’t outright hateful, it is perfectly reasonable to delete it for your own sanity.

Block generously. Not only the people who target you specifically but also anyone who engages in character- or ship-bashing. People who do that for one ship will do it for other ships too and it’s extremely bad fandom etiquette. When you see a character or ship-bashing post, block everyone who liked it and then the poster.

Report people for harassment. The rules vary by site, but especially threats of violence should be reported. Also, if someone follows you to another social media site after you’ve blocked them, that is called block evading and you should report that too. 

When you see other people getting hateful comments underneath their posts, leave a nice comment to offset some of the negativity. Your being supportive can make the difference between this person never posting again and them being motivated to keep going. People are always welcome to send me links to a post that is getting targeted by antis and I’ll like it and leave a nice comment. 🥰

Don’t let the bad comments outshine the positive ones! Every time my post gets enough traction for antis to find it, it also gets lots of lovely reactions. Many people have told me that my content and recommendations made them ship my OTP, and that is the single thing that makes me happier than anything else. Take a screenshot and look at these kinds of comments when you feel down. This is the real reason you should keep posting. 

Most hate comments are exceptionally uncreative. It helps to laugh about it, preferably with a friend. ✨ Remember, you used your energy to create something and you should be proud of it!

When you see a creator you like, but they also display obnoxious behavior towards people who like other ships, characters, or dynamics, at the very least don’t give them a platform by sharing their posts. 

Stay safe. Don’t post personal information online. 

It’s completely valid to step away from social media for some time. Private your accounts, turn off notifications, do a canon reread, read some fanfics in peace. Whatever it takes to remind you why you love the things you love. 

Bonus Tip: Watch videos of cute animals to destress. Bunnies nose-booping each other can (and will) cure anti-induced anxiety. :)

✨ Platforms sorted by least to most toxic and my advice for using them ✨

1. Discord 

Discord is great because you can join servers specifically for your favorite characters and ships. If a server doesn’t already exist, consider setting one up! Pro tip: only invite people that have positively interacted with you in the past. A small server consisting of nice people is a lot more fun than a large server consisting of members that can’t get along or are only marginally interested in the topic. 

Fandom Discord servers have clear guidelines on what you can post. As long as you follow the rules, people have no grounds for calling you out. In my experience, moderators are quick to respond to harassment.  

When you join a server and you see they heavily restrict certain types of content, it is a red flag. Proceed with caution, even if you plan to only talk about “safe” characters and ships. 

2. Tumblr

I have rarely gotten hateful comments on Tumblr, and the few times I did they were easy to delete.  

A lot of the older fandom generations use Tumblr and they are more mature and accepting of all kinds of content.

3. Twitter

Twitter makes it easy to curate your own fandom experience. You can mute words you don’t like to see on your timeline, mute and block users, and most people have their ship preferences in their bio.

4. Instagram

My Instagram posts about Jadecest get a lot of positive interaction, even more than on Twitter. There are unpleasant comments once in a while, but they are easy to delete. 

Blocking a user will delete all their comments from your posts. 

5. YouTube

People who don’t like your ship will downvote your videos and downvotes lead to the algorithm not recommending your videos. 

I have gotten a few negative comments, but they are easy to delete. 

6. Reddit 

When you post in a fandom subreddit, everyone will see the post, independent of their ship preferences. 

There are a lot of minors on Reddit. 

You can’t delete comments.

Most fandom subreddits are poorly moderated. 

7. TikTok

I have gotten the most hate comments on TikTok. They can be filtered or deleted, but antis interacting with your video by leaving hate comments will lead to the algorithm recommending your content to even more antis. It can get very ugly. 

If you post on TikTok consider turning off comments, stitches, and video replies. You can also mark your content as 18+, so it won’t get recommended to minors. (Again, antis tend to be underage.)

Platforms are more toxic the more they show your content to people outside your bubble. Discord, Tumblr, and Twitter keep your content relatively well contained to your circle of friends. Reddit, TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram heavily promote your content outside your bubble, which is good, because more people are going to see it, but also bad, because it reaches more antis. 

~~~

Antis are loud and obnoxious, but it’s important to remember that they are a minority. Ship and let ship still exists, especially among the people who have been in fandom spaces for more than just a few years. Don’t be afraid to post your content and express your love for your favorite characters and ships! I, for one, would love to see your creations, and many other people would love to see them too. 

What are your experiences and strategies for dealing with antis?

[heyclickadee]

Saw another “why would Tech even be interested in Phee” take out in the wild, so here’s a partial list of Phee’s many attractive qualities, because the double standard of every other character vs Phee is exhausting:

(Quick disclaimer—this isn’t me saying anyone has to like the ship. You don’t. It’s fine. Don’t ship things you don’t want to ship. Dislike the way it’s been written in the show if you want. Ship these two with other people or with no one if you want. I don’t care. This is just me being tired of people being weird about Phee):

1. She’s smart. She can improv her way through dealing with death traps and she’s got an area (areas) of expertise that Tech knows relatively little about. That makes her interesting. Also hot.

2. She’s gorgeous. Look at her. She’s ridiculously pretty.

3. She’s a great storyteller. Yeah, she changes her stories every time, but that’s at least part of why Tech is paying attention, because he notices that.

4. She’s a stone cold badass. And she’s a FUN stone cold badass. Disarmingly charming stone cold badass.

5. She’s a remarkably good person. She steals artifacts so that refugees can hang on to a bit of their culture in diaspora. This seems to be what pushes Tech from, “Oh, she’s interesting,” to, “OH. SHE’S BRILLIANT AND I MIGHT BE IN LOVE.”

6. She’s not nice, but she is kind, and that’s honestly a quality that she and Tech share. Phee isn’t soft, she’s not going to talk in therapy speak, she’ll push a little hard sometimes, but gosh darnit if she isn’t the person who would always stop to help someone with a flat tire (or respond to finding out some friends are broke, jobless, and on the run by immediately taking them back to her secret refuge so they can rest and recoup).

7. She’s incredibly direct and unafraid to speak her mind and…okay. This is going to get long. And I know some people will disagree with this, and that’s fine because everyone is different, and wants different things. But. Speaking personally from my point of view. The fact that Phee gives as good as she gets would be a really reassuring quality to have in a partner. I see a lot of myself reflected in Tech, but one of the many, many ways in which we’re very different is that I’m a consummate people pleaser, and Tech is very much not. At all. I don’t think he has a people-pleasing bone in his body.

But, here’s the thing—about half of my people pleasing comes from being terrified that I’ll say or do something that inadvertently hurts someone, and that person won’t just tell me or give me the chance to explain or make things right. And for how that relates to dating, I had people—friends and family—keep trying to set me up with incredibly shy men through most of my early twenties, no matter how many times I objected, because they had this perception that I was soft, wishy-washy, and needed to be treated with kid gloves. And…no. I’m opinionated as hell. I’m relatively confident about certain things. I just shut down my ability to project any of that because I was terrified of running roughshod over people without meaning to. But when I’m around someone who I know is willing to disagree with me, who I know will explain why, and who I know will push back if I take something too far? About 90% percent of my people pleasing and social anxiety evaporates. I know I don’t have to walk on eggshells around them—and that they aren’t going to walk on eggshells around me, either. They’re going to be direct about their issues and treat me like a freaking adult.

And, honestly, the fact that Phee doesn’t walk on eggshells around Tech (who also gives as good as he gets—Tech isn’t soft, nice, or shy and retiring; he’s confident as hell and he should be, because hot damn)—is. I don’t know. I like that she’s direct, and that she will recognize and pull back if she’s gone too far. This is projecting a bit, but, speaking personally, I would rather be with someone who treats me like an adult and tells me what’s up even if it’s uncomfortable than someone who never, ever tells me when they’re upset because they’re afraid of hurting my feelings and just lets me stew in social confusion all the time.

8. She can more than hold her own in a fight and she carries a sword around. That’s hot, I’m sorry.

9. Phee’s fantastic with Omega. She talks to her like she’s a person, she doesn’t ever shut Omega down, she’ll tell her stories, she’ll joke around with her, and she’s generally very respectful while also not holding her to the same standard she would if Omega were an adult. She’s even a little protective of Omega, even though Omega isn’t at all her responsibility. I think the moment that took Phee from ‘cool’ to ‘fantastic’ for me was towards the end of ‘Entombed’ while the Deadly Giraffe of Death was collapsing; Phee’s right there trying to shield Omega alongside Hunter. And. Like. Omega is Tech’s baby sister, he’s probably going to notice that how Phee treats her. Massive points in her favor for this.

[specialinterestshows]

Get to know your hostess (pictured at the beginning of the last chapter) as you hide from the public eye in this latest chapter of my Rhea Ripley x lady!reader fic, Absolute Smokeshow.

Warnings for this section: Parasocial behavior mention, cannabis (weed), social anxiety, teasing, groping, tickling, praise, begging, embarrassment

-

Absolute Smokeshow (Part 78 of ?): And They Were Roommates

It seemed like every time you woke up, Mari was either asleep on the couch or had left you a note before leaving for work. The notes usually mentioned or accompanied food that she’d made while you were away or asleep, so you weren’t complaining; especially given that none of the strangers online seem to have caught onto your new living situation.

Still, it felt lonely sometimes. You tried to deal with this one night by staying on the phone with Rhea (and Dom, for about five minutes before he fell asleep.) The familiar cadence of your girlfriend’s voice lulled you until you drifted off, but the sound your phone made once she hung up woke you again.

After a few days of yours and Mari’s work schedules conflicting, you came home at the end of a particularly exhausting day to her sitting at the table, halfway through eating a dish she’d just made; the delicious smell filled the air.

“Mira, we’re finally awake at the same time!” Mari announced, smiling, “Want to share a bowl and have a bite?”

“Yes please,” you replied, removing one of the face masks you now wore most days to obscure your identity, “Lemme just freshen up a bit first.”

You slipped out of your work clothes, took a quick shower, and threw on something comfortable. When you walked out to the living room, Mari had a bowl packed and a plate of warm food ready for you.

“You sure know how to make a girl feel welcome,” you tell her, accepting the bong she held out to you once you sat down, “Home-cooked meals every day and an endless supply of weed?”

“Happy to do it,” she replied as you took a hit, “What’s the point of having nice stuff and not sharing any of it? I think the best things in life are meant to be enjoyed with other people.”

Thinking back to your nights with Rhea and Dom, you couldn’t help but agree, nodding.

Your conversation with Marisol continued while you finished smoking and she finished eating, and vice versa. Both of you talked about your past few days, sharing work stories and making each other laugh. After a particularly long rant of yours about your frustrations at your job, Mari asked what seemed like a non-sequitur:

“Pues, you like wrestling, right?”

“Well, I… yeah, actually,” you admitted, thinking of all the wrestling videos you’d been watching with fascination since Dom’s last match, “It wasn’t really my thing until I started, uh, seeing Rhea, so I’m still new to it, but… yeah.”

“Ever thought of doing it yourself?” she asked casually.

The question seemed ridiculous - you laughed.

“I have way too much anxiety for that,” you said, nervously playing with the leftover bits of food on your plate as you thought about it, “All those people, cameras, heckling - I’m not good with crowds.”

“What about indie stuff?” Mari questioned, “A friend of mine is part of the local scene and apparently they’re looking for some new talent. Small crowds, phone cameras at best, from what they tell me.”

“I… I don’t…” you were starting to feel overwhelmed just thinking about performing in front of people in any capacity.

“Ay, belleza, lo siento,” she apologized, noticing the sudden rise in your anxiety, “I’m not trying to pressure you - just letting you know there’s other jobs out there.”

“Thank you,” you responded, letting out a relieved sigh.

Mari stood, stretched, and yawned before taking both of your plates to the sink.

“I’ll have to set up the couch here in a minute,” she said as she rinsed the dishes.

“Actually, would you, um,” the words spilled out of your mouth, “Want to fall asleep with me tonight? In your bed?”

“As long as you’re okay with cuddling,” Mari said, loading the dishwasher, “I can try not to, but all bets are off once I’m asleep.”

“Cuddling would be perfect, actually,” you admitted, feeling touch-starved.

“Let me wash my hands and put on some pajamas,” she said with a smile, “I’ll be there in a minute.”

You quickly typed out a message to Rhea as you walked over to the bedroom:

“Hey, babe, just letting you know Mari and I are sleeping in the same bed tonight”

Heart pounding, you pressed “send” before trying to get comfortable on the mattress. Anxiety made you want to elaborate, but you reminded yourself that your girlfriend preferred if you avoided specifics. She would understand what you meant.

“Have fun!”

The reply came surprisingly quickly, though it lacked her usual little black heart. Rhea was clearly doing her best to be supportive, despite her jealous tendencies; you appreciated it more than you could put into words. You did your best not to worry too much as Marisol appeared in the doorframe wearing pot-leaf print sweatpants and a tank top, pillow in hand.

Even though you’d been sleeping there the past few nights, the room felt entirely different when Mari walked in; calming, inviting, not quite contained by its physical walls.

“Do you have a side of the bed you prefer?” she asked as you stood.

You shook your head, “I’m good wherever.”

Mari placed her pillow next to yours, pulled back the blanket, and invited you to get under the covers first with a flourish of her hand.

Laughing, you take her offer, moving into a good position before she turns off the light. The mattress shifts behind you before feel Mari’s warmth, her arm casually brushing against you before resting on your waist.

You waited.

Despite having her arm on you, Mari wasn’t as physically close to you as you would like. Maybe she felt like she had pressured you enough for one night, you thought as you recalled the way she looked when she realized she had made you anxious.

It looked like you might need to be the one to make the first move.

Scooting back, you stopped once Mari’s chest was pressed against your back, your legs flush with hers, and wiggled slightly to draw attention to your ass. Her breath hitched and you took it as a sign to move against her even more, taking her hand and sliding it underneath your shirt. The moment Mari’s fingers brushed against your nipple and you whimpered, you felt her getting hard through her sweatpants. She freezed almost immediately, pulling away and whispering an apology. You turned around quickly, pulling her close again by her hips and kissing her gently.

“There’s nothing to be sorry for,” you reassured her, looking into her eyes, “I want you. I want this. Do you?”

“I’ve wanted this since I first saw you,” Mari admitted, “I just don’t want you to feel like you have to, and I didn’t know if you knew-“

“Hey,” it was your turn to keep her from getting too overwhelmed, “I just want to make you feel good.”

Once you saw Mari begin to relax, you took in her soft smile for a moment before kissing her again. You felt her getting more and more comfortable, holding your face in one hand and placing the other on your hip. Her movements became more confident as her touch began to wander, making you gasp against her lips. As her hands worked on you, she trailed kisses across your cheek and down your neck.

Your hum of delight abruptly turned into a vicious giggle when Mari kissed you just softly enough to tickle you. She pulled away when you squirmed, a mischievous grin you’d never seen from her before tugging at the corners of her mouth. Before you knew it, fingers were tickling your neck and your sides relentlessly as you laughed without pause.

Then, just as quickly as she began, Mari stops. Her own giggles accompany yours as you happily lie next to each other.

“It all makes sense now,” you joke as you catch your breath, “You lure innocent women… with weed and food… so you can torture them.”

Still a bit giggly, you couldn’t help but laugh at your own joke.

“Tu risa es divina,” Mari said with sincerity, “I can’t help that I love your laugh.”

Holding your gaze, Mari slid out of her sweatpants, revealing her lack of underwear. You followed suit, removing your own clothes. Next to go was her tank top; you bit your lip at the sight of her tits and the smattering of tattoos her clothes had been hiding.

“Quieres?” she asked, cupping and bouncing her breasts.

“Yes please,” you breathed, about to move before Mari gently held your shoulder down and straddled you.

Her hips were just above yours and she was already dripping pre-cum onto your stomach when she brought one nipple down to your mouth.

“Mmm, que buena,” she praised when you wrapped your lips around it and started licking and sucking.

The more your tongue danced and your teeth gently grazed her breast, the more she rocked against you, hard against your stomach.

“Please,” you finally begged when your need was too much to ignore, “I want you inside of me so badly.”

Rather than saying anything, Mari’s weight shifted as she opened the drawer of her nightstand and took out a small bottle of lube. Squeezing some into her hand, she set it back down before reaching behind her.

Her hand lowered down between your spread legs and she gently worked the lubricant around and inside your entrance, teasing you with her fingers. The second she took her hand away, your hums of desire turned into frustrated whines.

“Paciencia, preciosa,” Mari moaned, lubricating herself now, “You’re being so good for me.”

She scooted down, raising one of your legs in the air with her unlubricated hand before using the other to slide her tip against the ache at your core. A moment before you were sure you’d have to start begging again, Mari slowly slid inside of you until she no longer needed to hold up your leg, resting it against her torso. With her entire length now buried inside of you, she leaned in, hands gripping your waist.

A seductive smirk is the only thing to alert you before she moves you back and forth. Mari praised you as you gasped, letting her set the pace as you were lost in how good you felt. A delighted chuckle soon crept into her moans, accompanying your pleasured cries as she sped up.

“Ma-“ you stop yourself, realizing what you were about to say:

Mami.

You panicked for a second before playing it off.

“Mari!”

Fuck, how did you fail to notice how similar the two titles were before? You couldn’t help but feel embarrassed.

You did add black and purple hearts around Rhea’s contact name in your phone; the way the address book on your phone sorted things, Marisol wasn’t even in the same section.

Thankfully, the feeling of embarrassment seemed to turn you on even more, enhancing your body’s reaction to every sensation: your warm face, the slick pleasure that filled you, the sight of the beautiful woman on top of you.

“‘M gonna-!“ you came before you could finish declaring it, reaching up and gripping Mari’s red curls as your body writhed underneath her.

All you could hear were your own unrestrained noises as you felt her hands moving to your tits, thrusting now as she chased her own release.

You were close to the end of your peak until Mari’s mouth ran into yours, her fervent moans making your lips buzz, sending a thrill through your body again. A second later, you felt her twitch inside you, moaning against you as you suddenly felt warmer and slicker.

“Fuck, you’re hot,” you muttered when she pulled her face away to look at you.

The lip-bite she gave in response made you involuntarily clench around her.

“You’re one to talk, belleza,” Mari sighed happily, giving you one last kiss before slowly sliding out and lying down next to you, “Did you enjoy everything?”

“Is that rhetorical?” you giggle blissfully.

“Just need to make sure,” she whispered, planting kisses on your cheek as she wrapped her arms around you.

“I definitely enjoyed myself,” you said sleepily, drifting off already. Then, after a beat:

“And you. I enjoy you a lot.”

[end part seventy-eight]

Part 79: “Monday Night Mami”

-

Tag list (thank you!)

@littlemiss-fanficlover , @babybatlover , @girlofpink , @kagome2909 , @domripley , @wiccanpriestess , @falloutboy-lover , @aut0luminescence , @riverina69 , @itsrheasgirl , @1-800-sinister , @ripleylove , @beeposts , @teganc

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for not responding to someone in rp?

📝 <- to recognize

Also disclaimer this is about to be a very low stakes problem about a very small rp server between friends. If you don’t care then don’t read it’s fine 😂 I just want opinions over something I have some anxiety about. Everyone is in the same age range of about 24-26

Ok, so: basically what it says on the tin, I’m in a small rp server that has nothing to do with fandoms it’s just OCs, mostly dnd stuff. It’s just between me and a couple friends, there has been no serious drama whatsoever and it’s very nice!

We recently added a new member (I’ll call him Blue) who doesn’t have a lot of characters yet, but the handful he does have are… well. Practically all the same character. They have different backstories but all the same personality, which is to say they have none.

Every character of his is entirely neutral all the time, but not as some sort of comedy bit, just as… they are all very Prim And Proper, very intelligent, very unwilling to react to anything at all. No strong emotions about anything even when faced with something extreme like a villain or even a non-evil crazy event. We like to have fun and throw wild dangerous or just funny circumstances at our characters, yet his characters essentially always go 😐 “Well. That happened. Anyways.” And brush it all off… unless Blue thinks he can be The Savior of the day. But if he can’t just shut down the whole event, then his characters go back to being totally checked out and uncaring about any of it. He explains this saying that they’re all used to this kind of thing (though their backstories do say otherwise) and one of them is a god so he especially doesn’t need to react to things.

None of this is really the end of the world, it just makes interacting with his characters very difficult for me and a few others. For instance if I throw a villain in for the day, it’s… kinda hard to actually pose a threat when you have a handful of characters just standing there reacting like they’re on The Office. Similarly it’s harder to form emotional connections between characters if one oc pours their heart out and the other says “Well I’m sorry for your experiences” and brings nothing else to the table. There have been a couple instances as well where my friends and I worry that we’ve upset Blue with how our characters react, but like, if one of ours is a naturally rude and antagonistic person, they are going to be rude and antagonistic. Nobody else has a problem with this bc we all do it for variety and sometimes it’s fun to have a little oc drama! But Blue will have his characters react in a slightly guilt trippy way and then just go silent, sometimes explaining or even complaining out of character that their oc was Just Joking or similar. He hasn’t expressed being upset to us and nobody has had an argument about any of this, but the vibes end up feeling… off.

All of this just makes it hard to interact with Blue’s characters. They’re all The Same, they don’t really involve themselves with the rp in a way that garners reaction, and personally I overthink and worry about possibly upsetting him since we’ve all seen how weird things feel after 1 Antagonist Character says 1 Antagonistic Thing. So if I respond to his characters, I tend to respond more blandly than I do with others. Similarly, he has taken to proposing hypothetical ideas about rp and character interaction and then when I don’t immediately have a good response, he tags me and asks how my characters would react to his. I try my best to respond, really, but because there’s nothing there to bounce off of… it’s hard to come up with a good response! And if the response isn’t good enough Blue seems disappointed with it and just drops the whole idea altogether. This is mainly what fuels my anxiety about it, thinking that I’m not doing good enough while also not being given anything good to work with either.

To be clear I do not think he is being an asshole, At least not on purpose. I think there’s a lot of factors that could explain this and it’s honestly not a crime to just not be “good” at rp. What I’m wanting opinions on is should I be trying harder?? I worry that my effort has been affected by a growing distaste for his characters. He’s a lovely person, I have no beef with him lol, but I think it’s gotten clear that I respond more enthusiastically to the others. It’s not intentional, but it’s what happens bc I feel bad ignoring him altogether especially when he tags me specifically for a reaction. I also don’t know if the classic “omfg just communicate” response is very applicable because honestly I think I WOULD be the asshole for messaging him and saying “hey it’s not that I don’t like you it’s just that your characters are not fun to interact with, fix that!” Even in nicer terms than that haha cause in general offering unsolicited constructive criticism even with the kindest intentions is seen as a bad move.

So… AITA for not responding to Blue as much or as enthusiastically as I do for my other friends? Should I be faking it til I make it or does it not need to be an issue until it becomes one?

TLDR: new member of a small rp server joined and all his characters seem to have no personality and are all the same Perfect Intellectual type. There hasn’t been any serious problem but it is hard to interact with them and I am tending to lean toward bland responses bc I don’t feel like I have anything to work with here. Should I be trying harder or is it not a problem until it’s brought up?

What are these acronyms?

[thatlovinfeelin]

Flightless Bird | ten | Bradley Rooster Bradshaw

Synopsis: Josephine Wilson Miller is alone for the first time in her life. She got married after her first year of college and became a housewife, but that life is gone now. So she runs to San Diego, to her childhood best friend Jake, where she meets the man who could very well be her salvation.

series warnings: unplanned pregnancy, just pregnancy in general, talks of infertility. past mental and emotional abuse. anxiety. talks of women's reproductive systems (idk)

“My client is not in agreement with these terms.”

Josephine clenched her fists. She’d been in this damn conference room for two hours while her lawyer argued with Michael’s. She just needed this to be over already. He was the one that kicked her out, so why the hell wouldn’t he just sign the damn papers and be done with it?

“I think you’ll find these conditions are more than favorable for your client,” Her lawyer responded calmly, “Mrs. Miller isn’t asking for any assets, in fact she wants nothing from your client. Mrs. Miller’s only request has been made very clear, we feel it’s quite simple.”

Jose could hear Michael mumble something on the other end of the phone. She knew he was there, of course, even if they hadn’t said a single word to one another. They’d been going back and forth through their lawyers for weeks now. But he kept dragging his feet at every turn, making every possible excuse as to why the divorce wasn’t fair.

“You and your client are asking my client, Mr. Miller, to sign away his rights. This is no simple matter.”

“I think you’ll find, given the situation that-”

“Michael, can you hear me?” Jose cut off her lawyer. 

“Mrs. Miller, please.”

“I’d like to speak with my husband, since legally, we’re still married. Michael?”

She could hear him clearing his throat, “I’m here.”

“Why are you being so stubborn? You’re the one that made this happen,” Jose reminded him softly, “I’m not asking for anything more than what you made clear you wanted.”

“Oh, that’s how you see it?” He scoffed. 

“You threw me out, in the cold. I had nowhere to go, because I didn’t have a life outside of you. All because I dared to say I wanted to keep the baby,” She reminded him, “You didn’t want anything to do with either of us, and you still don’t. Stop acting like you do.”

“No, no, you made that choice. You chose to leave.”

“You can keep everything, the apartment, the money, all of the investments we made. I don’t want any of it anymore,” She pleaded, “Just sign the papers, please Michael. Stop the cycle here, don’t be like your father. Don’t use this child…my child…as a bargaining chip.”

“Josephine, you just love to paint everyone else as the villain in your story. It’s always everyone else’s fault, never your own. You told me you weren’t able to conceive, so we made a different life for ourselves. Don’t blame me because you lied and changed your mind.”

Jose held onto her stomach, feeling his words hit her like knives, “You know I never lied about that. You were at so many of those appointments. Michael, please think about what you’re doing. You’re trying to use an innocent little baby girl as leverage. She hasn’t done anything yet, she didn’t choose to exist, but she does. It isn’t her fault.”

The silence seemed to be so loud it almost hurt. Her lawyer sat quietly next to her, waiting for the next move. Up until now, Michael and Jose hadn’t spoken to one another since she left New York. Aside from the text messages Michael sent to tell her to get Jake off of his back.

“It’s a girl?”

She wasn’t sure if she imagined the sound of his voice breaking or not, “I found out last week. She’s healthy, ten fingers and toes. Mi, our marriage was over a long time before she came about. You know it just as much as I do. Don’t punish her for our mistakes.”

“You want me to sign away all of my rights to her.”

“It’s just as much for her as it is for you. It’ll protect you, no one could ever claim you have to pay any type of support. Your name won’t go on her birth certificate, as far as anyone is concerned, I’m her only parent. Michael, you can continue to live your life with no strings. You can find someone who will actually be good at all of the games. I was never fit for that life, no matter how hard I tried.”

“Josephine, I-”

“We loved each other once, Michael. I know we did. But those kids that fell in love and got married have been gone for a long time now. We’ve been holding each other back and hurting each other at every turn. So please, do right by our daughter. The best thing you could ever do for her is give her up.”

“I-” He took a deep breath, “You’re right. The papers will be faxed to you no later than tomorrow evening.”

Josephine sunk back in her chair with tears swelling in her eyes, “Thank you.”

“Jose?”

“Yeah Mi?”

“You’re going to be an amazing mother,” He said softly, “Our daughter…your daughter is lucky.”

“I hope one day you get to see her, Michael, but it will always be her choice.”

“Goodbye, Jose.”

“Bye, Mi.”

When Jose came bursting through Jake’s front door three hours later with signed divorce papers in her hands, she didn’t expect to run right into Jake and Phoenix on the couch. They both jumped up, quickly moving away from one another. Which only seemed to make Jose laugh. 

“Sorry, don’t mind me,” Jose held her hands up, “Go back to whatever it was you were doing. I’ll just leave.”

“Hey wait!” The other woman yelled, “How did it go?”

“Well, the next item on the to-do list is to legally change my name back to Wilson,” She shrugged, “Michael agreed to sign the papers. The office sent them over an hour ago, I’m officially no longer married.”

Jake and Natasha were on Jose in an instant, both hugging her tightly. Jose laughed and hugged them back. Her baby might not legally have a father, but she already had some of the best family. In another world, Jose might be scared about doing this without a partner beside her, but she knew she wouldn’t be alone. She would always have Jake, and Phoenix, and Bradley and anyone else that came along with them. She was making her own little family. 

“How did you manage it?” Nat asked her once they all settled into the living room. 

“I think I appealed to the boy I fell in love with. There was still some humanity left in there somewhere.”

“Have you told Bradley?” Jake questioned. 

“No, I came straight home to tell you.”

Natasha pulled out her phone, “I’m telling him to get his ass over here.”

“What? Why? Nat stop!”

“Too late,” The woman grinned, “You probably have less than five minutes.”

“I say she has two,” Jake chimed in, “He’s pretty fast.”

“Why did you do that?” Jose questioned, standing up. 

“Because you like him,” Natasha shrugged, “And you’re single now.”

“I’m pregnant! It doesn’t matter who I like!” Jose argued, “Jake! Help me!”

“Sweetheart, we’ve had this conversation one too many times already,” Jake sighed, “And I’m tired of Bradshaw playing a one sided game of twenty questions about you while we’re on base.”

“He asks about me?” 

“Too much,” Jake rolled his eyes, “In any other situation I wouldn’t be supporting this. I know you’re scared, but I also know the two of you have some kind of bond that I don’t understand. I trust him. So, let your guard down for a minute.”

“You know why I can’t do that,” Jose argued. 

“Don’t use her as an excuse,” Jake was standing in front of Jose now with his hands on her shoulders, “It’s okay that you’re scared, but don’t use your daughter as an out, okay? Be a big girl and accept the fact that you have feelings.”

“Jake, I think it’s a good day to sit out on the back patio, don’t you?” Natasha questioned, wiggling her eyebrows. 

“Phoenix, I think that’s a great idea,” He smirked, leaning over to kiss Jose’s forehead, “Holler if you need us, Sweetheart. Play nice.”

“I hate you both so much right now.”

It took five minutes for the knock on Jake’s door. Josephine’s hands were all sweaty by the time she reached for the handle. She didn’t know what she was supposed to say, or what Natasha even said to get Bradley over here. 

It took her less than a second to realize just how nervous she was. Which seemed weird, she never really felt nervous around Bradley. Always an overwhelming sense of calm, yet not her heart was pounding like it might burst.

“Hey are you okay?” Bradley asked frantically the second Jose opened the door.

“I’m fine,” She said quickly, “I promise, everyone is okay.”

“Phoenix said I needed to get over here as-” Bradley stopped and looked at the woman in front of him, “Why are you smiling like that? What’s going on?”

Jose reached forward, pulling Bradley towards her. His eyebrows were pinched together as he put his arms around her. Despite everything, Jose couldn’t think about anything other than the man before her. 

“I’m free,” She told him softly, “He signed the papers today.”

“Jose, that’s amazing,” His voice was so tender it made her heart seem to jump. 

“I meant what I said,” She whispered, “I want you in my life.”

“I’m right here.”

She had to get on her toes, which in her current state was harder than it should have been. Bradley stayed still, not wanting to scare her. But he liked when she seemed braver, he liked when she was like this. Her eyes flicked back up to his for a moment before she leaned in the rest of the way. 

Then it was just them. Just Bradley and Jose, and the sparks that she wasn’t going to ignore anymore.

[joong-tori]

“jennie no! i’m not going to the after party with you and jessie. i already told you i’m spending the rest of the night with joongie,” yujin speaks into her phone, glancing over at hongjoong and sending him a sweet smile.

he returns it in kind, reaching over to grab her hand and stroke his thumb over the back of it.

the gesture is quickly shut down however, as yujin slowly retracts her hand. “your hands are cold,” she responds, giving him a lopsided smile before returning to her conversation with her friend. hongjoong only smiles awkwardly as he folds his hands and places them in his lap.

it had been like this all day, or more like the last week or so. yujin would turn down every show of affection from him not matter how small. he wasn’t sure if he had done anything— aside from trying to get her to talk to him about what was wrong— but he figures he could just give her some space.

that was until yesterday when she demanded that he didn’t call separate cars for them both.

her reasoning was… sound enough. for her at least. it would be devastating to her followers to know that their relationship was in an iffy place. but that wouldn’t really affect hongjoong. it would be a minor inconvenience at best and the new office gossip at worst— maybe even an article on a tea website would make some headlines— but that’s it.

and yet, he still decided to just keep them both in the same car.

maybe it was the hope that she would finally want to talk. that she would finally meet him in the middle to work out whatever it was that was upsetting her. instead, the whole car ride has been her talking to her friends, asking when they’d arrive to the gala, making plans for the next day, exchanging video ideas, or just plain chitchatting.

and it makes hongjoong feel like he’s intruding on her time, not like he’s spending time with his girlfriend in a private limo before going to the biggest event of his business career.

it makes him feel alone.

he digs in his pocket for his phone, fishing it from its fabric confinements. he unlocks it swiftly, going to the messages app and havering his thumb over the group chat with just him and his friends.

he hadn’t messaged them since he haphazardly kicked seonghwa and jongho out, a rushed and regretful decision made by a flurry of anxiety from his seemingly concerned girlfriend. he couldn’t risk her being right about hwa, couldn’t risk that possibility potentially destroying his relationship. while he would never leave yujin, as he see seonghwa as brother, it could only serve to make yujin uncomfortable. so, he’ll keep him at arms length, just for a little while.

just as he’s about to shut off his phone, a text message from you pops up on his screen.

he could feel your excitement through the text. he could only imagine that you’re probably grinning ear to ear as you stare at the fruits of your labor, elbowing mingi next to you as you practically vibrate with pride.

he admired how easily you’d wear your emotions for everyone to bare witness to. anyone could tell when you were happy or excited or upset and you never seemed to care just who saw. it was that raw show of emotion that initially drew him to you.

before he pulled away.

he smiles bitterly as he responds to to you.

he pauses after sending that last message. the lone acknowledgement feels too… intimate for a boss congratulating his employee.

his thumbs are quick to fly across the screen to type up another response.

he wonders if you’ve caught on to his desperate attempt at keeping things friendly and professional, but it seems you either don’t notice or care as you send him another sweet and encouraging message.

he blinks at the message. he’s never really felt that way about these kinds of events before. sure, he feels pride and satisfaction at everything finally coming together and running smoothly after working tirelessly for months to plan and put together. but he never really sought out enjoyment during the event.

he’d make conversation with some old rich entitled assholes who want to become a sponsor of treasure, he’d laugh off the offer, having already made a deal with a person of interest, hang out with his friends for bit to get away from all the noise of the event, and then try to soend some time with yujin before she’d be whisked away by her influencer friends that she begged him to put on the guest list.

all that to say he never truly enjoyed his events.

but reading your message about how he also deserved to have some fun, it lit a spark in him. maybe he could just leave his worries of securing another partner for treasure or his relationship problems with yujin, if only for tonight.

this was the fifth anniversary of the company he had been planning out since he was 15. he should enjoy himself, if only a little bit.

he lets a small smile crawly across his face as he types his response.

𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸??

thank you mr. l/n

m.list

aiiprn m.list

prev | next

a/n: sorry if this was long 😭😭 i felt like a written work would serve as a better catalyst for this chapter than an imessage chat 🤧🤧 but i do hope y’all enjoy the written chapters bc i like writing them :0

[carmenized-onions]

Oh gods, I apologize for the long long rambling, but here it goes:

First of all, you are a genius! I can’t believe the way your words were converting to an actual TV scene in my mind d, with cut and editions, the whole thing!

I could see Carmy finding the file with Mike's writing and the pictures and I could feel and see his distress with every picture he saw! My friend you are a genius 🙌🏽

Ok on to the theories:

After reading it again, because the first got me too angry to process anything, it is clear that Tony was pretty involved in Mike’s recovery program, but how much? I didn’t connect the nickname “Chip” until I read in one of the comments that it was because of the chips the program gives to the person once they get to a certain goal, so this makes me think that she was in the program (being a first respondent puts a lot of stress, anxiety and trauma on those poor people) and that is how they met.

And I think they were so close because either she was his sponsor, buuuut, those photos give me the tingles because if he was the one getting the goals then Chip would have made him carry the cupcake. After all, it’s his celebration, so maybe he was his sponsor? And she being in recovery could be the reason she is no longer a paramedic, maybe she got busted and could no longer be one? And would be also the reason she disappeared when Mickey died because she didn’t realize how bad was it for him because he focused on her recovery. Not to mention the hero complex Chip probably has, there is a reason Chip was a paramedic and now is a fix-it-all all 🤷🏽‍♀️

Oh god the next but is going to be so hard and painful… ok last comments:

-Love Richie and his “ I’m trying to be Zen, moment during the almost dinner with Fak”

-RIP the most delicious dish created-never tasted, and F that idiot ex-boss!

-Bless be the "Ratatouille moment”

-“Tina don’t shout at us because we cry 🙈”

-Tony screams at seeing Carmy's hair, we want those beautiful curls back!”

And so much more but this has been long enough, thank you for sharing your story!

And thank you for coming to this TEDTalk ❤️

You will literally never need to apologize for giving critical thought to a silly little thing i wrote and then TELLING IT TO ME THANK YOU MY LOVE!!!

I'm so so happy to hear that you see it as the show, it's exactly what I'm aimin for every time, and I think the stress of this chapter hit that head quite heavy this time.

Incredible line of thought, this ted talk. There's so many little caveats to it, which, I think Phoenix Wright taught me how to bury leads like this. THAT BEING HOW THEY MET WOULD BE WOWOJEFIwoo WOO! Pain. It's been a reoccurring query simply not trusting that Tony really did just quit being a paramedic for her dad and you know what-- good, i've sewed the seeds of mistrust in you all. And that's wonderful. But it would make sense! Can't always fix people, but you can always fix stuff.

oof.

Anyways, CLOSING COMMENTS!!

The amount of restraint it took Rich, you've gotta respect it

I'm almost certain I wrote that cherry lamb section while hungry and i do think that made me make it even more painful. FUCK THAT BOSS!!!

chip and carms first real date will be ratatouille. if they live through this next one.

It's important to be vulnerable with your kitchen and let them know if they raise their voices even slightly you will! have! a meltdown!

There's a reason Jeremy with the slick back is a meme. I know he's also standing like that but he also just looks insane. It's terrible.

NEXT CHIPPIE CHAP IS COMIN OUT AFTER MY LAST SYNTAX READ THANK YOU SO MUCH BABYYYY I LOVE TO GET THESE TREATS IN MY INBOX THANK YOU FOR THE TED TALK!!

[thecrystaldoll]

"In the Minds of Chaos"

It was one of those nights when the atmosphere at the Order of the Phoenix headquarters was heavy with tension and exhaustion. After a long day of planning and strategizing, Marlene McKinnon felt drained, her mind overwhelmed with responsibilities and the constant fear that seemed to lurk around every corner.

However, that night was different. Marlene had noticed that Dorcas Meadowes, one of her closest friends since their days at Hogwarts, was more distant than usual. They had spent too much time immersed in the war, with no room for the laughter and carefree conversations that used to bond them.

After the meeting, Marlene decided not to return home immediately. Instead, she sought out Dorcas's company, hoping to relieve some of the tension they both carried on their shoulders. She found her in the small kitchen at headquarters, making herself a cup of tea, her expression serious, though it softened when she saw Marlene enter.

"Do you have a minute?" Marlene asked, trying to sound casual.

Dorcas nodded, indicating that she should sit beside her at the table.

"Are you okay?" Marlene asked after a moment, watching her friend with concern.

Dorcas smiled, a tired smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

"Just a bit exhausted, I suppose," Dorcas replied, taking a sip of her tea. "Sometimes I wonder if this will ever end."

"It will," Marlene said with more conviction than she really felt. "And when it does, we'll be free again."

There was a moment of silence, comfortable but loaded with unspoken emotions. Marlene had never been good at keeping her thoughts to herself, and that night would be no exception.

"Do you remember our nights at Hogwarts?" she asked suddenly, looking at Dorcas with a mix of nostalgia and melancholy. "We used to talk about everything and nothing, as if the world was ours."

Dorcas smiled, this time with a glimmer of genuine recollection.

"Of course I remember. Those nights were the best part of our days at the castle. We were so... free."

The word resonated between them like a broken promise. Marlene felt a pang of pain remembering how distant that all seemed now. On an impulse, without thinking too much, she leaned forward, closing the distance between them. Dorcas’s eyes widened slightly, surprised, but she didn’t pull away.

Marlene didn’t know what had driven her to do it. Maybe it was the need to feel something different from the constant anxiety and fear that the war had brought into her life. Or maybe, it was simply something that had been simmering between them, waiting for the right moment to surface.

"Dorcas..." Marlene whispered, feeling her heart pounding.

Before she could think about what she was doing, Marlene closed her eyes and pressed her lips against Dorcas's. The kiss was soft, almost timid at first, but the initial surprise quickly faded as Dorcas responded, her lips moving in sync with Marlene’s, as if this had been inevitable.

The outside world faded away for Marlene. There was no war, no pain, just the warmth of Dorcas’s body close to hers, and the feeling that something deep, something that had been dormant for years, was finally being released.

When they finally pulled apart, they both looked at each other with a mix of astonishment and something else, something new and undefined. Marlene couldn’t help but smile, a hint of the mischievous girl she had been at Hogwarts showing in her expression.

"I didn’t know you felt the same way," Dorcas whispered, her eyes searching Marlene’s, trying to read what was going through her mind.

Marlene took a deep breath.

"I didn’t know either. Not until now."

Dorcas let out a small laugh, but the seriousness quickly returned to her eyes.

"This changes everything, doesn’t it?"

"Maybe," Marlene replied, not entirely sure. "But honestly, I don’t know if I want things to go back to the way they were."

Dorcas looked at her, weighing her words. Then, as if a silent decision had been made, she nodded.

"Neither do I."

The moment was fragile, and they both knew it. However, what had begun as simple curiosity, an impulse, now felt like something much bigger, more important.

The responsibilities of the war still awaited them, but that night, in that small kitchen, Marlene and Dorcas allowed themselves to be simply two girls who had found something unexpected and beautiful amid the chaos.

[cabatboy]

HELLO THERE •w•!!

INTRO

I am a guy who slowly over the past year or so realised xe is vampirekin,,,,, then a batkin,,,, then oh maybe xe goes by xe and is actually a full therian and gets shifts,,,, oh and nope xe’s also a cat and maybe wants to get into petre

So I’m here now! to look into petre on a blog where my friends and mutuals can’t see me working things out and/or getting into a kinda stigmatised practice, fr happy to be here though dw about it <3

NAME AND THERIOTYPES

Call me Magpie for now, I’m not settled on a ‘pet name’ yet but my cat self seems to respond happily to Magpie, I think it’s due to him being a black and white cat

my kin/theriotypes are vampirekin, bat therian and cat therian! with definitely more of an emphasis on the cat atm but it’s fluid! I am looking into cat regression and bat regression specifically and get phantom limb for basically pretty much every aspect of both animal.

GENDER AND PRONOUNS

I am ‘fully male’ as far as I know and also pansexual greyaroace, but I relish the chance to get funky with it, I’ve been incorporating more bat stuff into my gender recently and I’ve been really enjoying it! just no female terms or ‘uwu soft trans boy’ stuff please, at the end of the day I may be a soft little kitty catboy but I’m still a man.

xe/bat/vamp/meow are currently the preferred pronouns, but he and they work fine as well! it’s just I hear those more in my day to day life so using my ‘weirder’ pronouns is more appreciated <3

FURTHER INFO

I am in the 18-25 age range and do not regress down to any other age! although I’m not against agere I’m more interested in petre. I also swear a lot! If any of this makes you uncomfortable, I understand completely and genuinely no hard feelings! I also have not ‘properly’ regressed into a pet before either but am looking for tips on how to do so!

I have autism, adhd, bipolar, and anxiety, and am trying to still work out and unpack if I have trauma and what it is. feel free to ask me questions or request me to tag/tonetag anything. Do not worry about me, I like to think I can handle stuff like an adult even if this is my mentally ill kitty space haha so don’t feel scared to bring stuff up with me!

my fave regression stuff are 100% pokemon, adventure time and bluey please talk to me about pokemon, adventure time, or Bluey I LOVE them!! my favourite characters are Chilli and Marceline respectively! and my favourite Pokémon is Lycanroc :3

DNI

This blog is a safe space, and standard DNI’s are in place. I talk enough about politics and life and shit on my main blog, this is just a chill space. No NFSW or Kink blogs please, no discourse or syscourse, all systems are welcome here. no TERFs, Transmeds, anti-xenogender, etc. people, anyone who thinks agere or pet play are inherently sexual, no empty blogs, no proship people, also no hazbin hotel or spongebob or jjba stuff. There’s probably more but like you know standard agere blog DNI stuff, yeah that. just like,,, this is my weird space to be weird and cringe and free and safe; don’t like don’t read if you don’t fuck w/ that.

But yeah if you’re in sfw petre/sfw agere/therian tumblr please give me a follow :D!!!! I’d love to have you :D

[dotster001]

Hello I hope you’re doing good, may I have a regular matchup for Twisted Wonderland? I’d say that my personality fluctuates depending on who I’m with but for purposes of the matchup I’ll describe myself how I act around close friends and partner. So, I’d say that most of my friends would say I’m very energetic and clingy. That’s mostly due to how when I was younger I was used to getting brushed off by my parents and “friends.” So once I realize someone likes me enough to talk with me willingly I like being around them 24/7. Although I understand boundaries, and how people want their personal space. Although I’d say every night I tend to lock myself away from everyone and just take time to rewind. When I’m around others though I tend to be judgemental, and not in the negative way most would think it’s the way that I’m very cautious how I’m around others and what they want out of me. Finally I’d say I’m emotional and have mood swings often but I usually try to cover it up in interest for others around me since I don’t want them to bother me or see as if I’m looking for attention when I’m just having a moment. Most of these mood swings are when I’m anxious and I just snap either with anger for a moment or depression and self loathing. And I’ll just add some qualities in a person I can’t stand, but firstly if they act as if they are on a high horse and can’t be wrong pisses me right off as well when they can’t admit when they are wrong as well arrogant people. Thank you in advance ^^

Event Closed

(I love events like this, because I get to interact with a lot of names I see a lot. 😂 Like, I recognize your username, and it's like I'm meeting a pen pal. Anyway, I picked this boy for you right away, so I hope you enjoy it)

I match you with Deuce Spade.

He's perfectly fine with you being clingy. In fact it makes him feel better about his clinginess! When he starts dating you, and even before that, he wants to be near you all the time. He likes to be touching your arm, and talking to you, and hugging you, and having his arm around your waist…he'll only stop if you tell him to.

The first time you snap at him, he gets worried he fucked up, and that you want to leave him. But once you explain that a lot of times it's because you are anxious, he gets relieved, then Uber defensive of you. He'll keep the anxiety provoking things away from you! Never fear! He'll beat up anyone who…again, you're gonna have to stop him.

It's a good thing you aren't into arrogant people, because Deuce isn't at all. He's willing to admit when he's wrong, and often will apologize with a present if you're the one he wronged. He'll give you a single daffodil, then look at the ground like a sad puppy, before asking you not to be mad at him anymore. Then he'll invite you to a picnic in a meadow, where he handmade all the food (basic sandwiches and some brownies) and he'll get you there using the scenic route on his blastcycle.

He likes your "judgementalness" because he has one braincell he shares with Ace. You can use your skills to figure out how to behave around someone, then explain it to him.  It'll save him from a social mishap, and he's so grateful. 

He's fine that you like to lock yourself away at night to rewind. But….

Deuce nervously knocked on your room door.

"Yeah?" He heard your voice call from within.

"It's Deuce. Can…can I come in?" He stared at his feet as he shuffled a little bit with excess energy.

Before you could even have a chance to respond, he spoke up again.

"You know, Deuce Spade? I'm your boyfriend."

He heard you laugh as you opened the door.

"I know who you are, sweetie. What is it?"

"I…I know you like to rewind, but can I come in and cuddle? We don't have to talk or anything, I just want to be close to you," he said, his cheeks turning pink as he looked everywhere but you.

He perked up when he felt your lips on his cheek.

"Of course, love, you're always welcome. You don't have to ask every single night," you laughed.

He followed you back into your room, like an excited puppy, and cuddled up with you on your bed, resting his head on your shoulder, and giving a delighted, satisfied hum.

He watched you scroll through your phone for a couple moments, then kissed your cheek before snuggling deeper into you and falling asleep, much to your amusement.

You weren't even surprised anymore. He did this every night.

[malcolm-reeds-pineapple]

Okay so I hope you guys r ready for a long one because baby I’ve had an interesting week.

So on Monday I accidentally no-call no-showed to my second job. I only got the messages like an hour after my shift was supposed to end so like I really fucked up. The next day, I got an email asking me what happened and I was immediately overcome with anxiety and just didn’t respond. Then on Wednesday I was like okay I really need this extra income so I will deal with this. I’d had a great day sales wise at my Real Job (tm) so I was feeling jazzed enough to want to deal with it. I got home an immediately I was The Opposite Of Jazzed and send off my login information for my email to my best friend who dealt with it because she’s the best person on this fucking planet.

So then today, Thursday, I got into my Real Job and found out that my boss was recommending me for a full time leadership position. I was very pumped and still am. Then, after that shift, I hightailed it to my second job (the one I no-call no-showed at on Monday) and sat in absolute fucking agony for 30 minutes while I thought about what to say in the impending Corporate Meeting Regarding My Behaviour. I got in there and turns out I was going to be completely on my own for my first close and I was like cool great I don’t have to Have a Meeting.

Everything was going good for a while until I met my fucking supervisor: a middle aged man with a ponytail. Immediately the vibes were off but I was like Nah you’re just not used to working with men. My Real Job (tm) only has 12 men on the payroll company wide and my previous jobs have all been predominantly staffed by women/queer people so like I just don’t see many straight/cis men in the workplace.

Anyway I was right to have weird vibes about him because the ENTIRE NIGHT anytime we came face to face he was hitting on me. At one point I was trying to get him to come over without hollering over a customers head by making eye contact with him. He comes over and just said “oh sorry I didn’t think you wanted me to come over I just thought you were checking me out” and I just laughed uncomfortably because there was a customer right in front of us. He proceeded to get uncomfortably close to me and do the task I was trying to do completely wrong.

And then finally, it was time to close. This was my first time closing and I had no clue what the procedure was in the slightest. I get locked in a fucking cash office with him while he got uncomfortably close to me and we counted my till. At every other job I’ve ever had I’ve either counted my own till and had it verified by someone else the next day or just not had to deal with it. And normally I am not the type to feel anxious about being locked in a tiny room with someone because I know I’m fuckin safe but this dude?? Dog the only thing that brought me comfort was the fact that we both knew there were cameras in there. Like I know he was probably trying to be nice / funny and all but like he just gave me the creeps.

Anyway I’m counting down the days until I find out if I get that leadership position at my Real Job so I don’t have to go back to my second job ever again. A 30% discount on groceries is not worth it at this point what the fuck. Like I’d already lost patience with my second job pretty soon after I started but like this is just another nail in the coffin. I’m losing my mind because realistically I’m probably just missing a joke of some kind so I can’t really go to HR with anything cuz like he didn’t do anything but have pungent vibes and creep me out but also I don’t ever want to work with him again because I care about my own peace too much. I’ve got a light at the end of the tunnel so I’m just gonna avoid him until I can secure a full time gig at My Real Job

[leap-loves]

Sleep Mode - Cyborg 009 [ Alpha-Numeric ]

A little drabble I did with my Cyborg 009 OC, Ashley! I figure she ends up really fond of Ivan because baby!! So... here's a thing! And so far all of her relationships are platonic!

~

Ashley groaned, hearing the voices of her friends grow louder as they fussed with each other, even over her humming. Although she could just make out the voices, she couldn't figure out what was being said. So time to investigate! 

She opened the door to the room she'd claimed as hers, and the voices instantly became clearer. 

"-on Ivan! Stop being difficult!" Jet complained, the first voice she could make out clearly. 

She wasn't part of the conversation, so she's not sure what Ivan responded with, but she has a feeling that it wasn't relenting to whatever is being asked of him. 

"I still say we should try one of my-"

"No, G.B., we are not letting you put on a whole show to try and get him to sleep. Even if it’s good for boring someone to sleep." 

G.B. threw his hands up in frustration “None of you have any taste!” He grumbled, seeming to give up on the situation and storming out of the room, nearly running into Ashley on the way out. 

“Oh, Ashley! Perfect timing! Do you think you could help?” He pleaded, even taking her hands into his own with a firm squeeze and hopeful look. 

“What’s going on?” Ashley asked, peeking into the room finally to see Ivan now in Chang’s arms, being rocked to… less than successful results. 

“Ivan’s being fussy and even admitted he’s tired, but he’s fighting every attempt we make to get him to sleep. Chang’s already tried ensuring he’s well fed, his diaper is fine, and lullabies aren’t working! Francoise is resting after last mission, so we can’t ask her for help either…” 

Ashley gently freed her hands from G.B.’s grip to go over, gently offering to take Ivan from Chang, who passed over the fussy cyborg with ease and relief. 

“Why don’t you want to sleep?” She asked, settling Ivan against her chest so he’d be well supported. 

Ivan was quiet, as though not wanting to answer. Or perhaps trying to figure out how best to verbalize it? Who knows, with this group. Probability was high for either answer. 

So she waited, taking to swaying absently as the others watched her, G.B. even biting his nails anxiously. 

“I don’t want to be asleep if something happens.” Ivan eventually answered telepathically, Ashley finally being allowed into the entirety of the conversation. 

“Ahh that makes sense.” Ashley hummed. “Anxiety sucks like that. But you don’t need to worry.” She reassured, giving him a smile. 

“But-”

She cut the psychic off before he could continue. “No buts. You have nothing to worry about. The probability of anything happening right now is extremely low, less than a single percent. And even should something happen, do you anticipate this being one of your longer sleeps?”

Ivan still didn’t seem convinced, his cheeks puffed out uncertainly around his pacifier. 

“As much as we are recuperating, so is Black Ghost.” She reminded “They know we’re licking our metaphorical wounds, and are unlikely to attack. As a result, they aren’t likely to try and provoke us. And even if they should, we’re still good about keeping watch.” 

“Everyone needs rest, you’re all exhausted.” Ivan countered, at least not fussing as much as he had been with the others, much to their relief. At this point, they’re just watching this conversation unfold in awe, and a bit of jealousy. Of course he settles down for Ashley after pitching a fit for the three of them. 

Ashley just quirked a brow at Ivan, moving to sit down on the couch. “You’re exhausted too, Ivan.” She countered, her tone gentle but firm. She continued to sway slowly as she thought, absently patting his back as she thought. “How about this, I’ll take watch. I won’t be sleeping anyways, so it’s the most productive use of my time. And I can keep you with me, so you can be the first to know if something happens.” She offered. 

Ivan didn’t have any arguments to that, seeming to relent as he leaned into her chest more properly. 

“I thought so.” She laughed softly, switching to rubbing his back as she situated an extra blanket around him, turning her attention to the guys. “Do one of you mind giving me a lift to the roof in a bit?” She asked. “I’m going to go grab my music, then head outside”

G.B. gave her a playful salute. “But of course! Are you sure you’ll be okay up there?”

Ashley waved her hand slightly to dismiss the concern. “I’ll be fine.” She reassured “Like I said, I’m going to be awake anyways. You three go get some rest.” 

Jet and Chang both obediently went to get some rest, since Ivan was clearly handled. Ashley went up to her room and grabbed her music player and a light jacket, situating them around Ivan and his blanket. She went out to the front yard, where G.B. was waiting. 

Once he saw her, he transformed into a spring, anchored on the roof. She carefully grabbed onto him, allowing herself to be pulled up to the roof, only managing to land steadily through practice, and G.B. maneuvering himself juuuust to be careful. Ashley’s not the most cautious, after all. 

Once reaching the roof, she took her station at the top, ensuring that Ivan was secure and comfortable against her chest. She put on one half of the headphone, looking around to ensure she has a good view of everything. 

“Thank you for the lift, G.B.” She said, looking to him once she was sure that she was settled. “You go get some rest too, okay?” 

“Alright. But if you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask. We’re just a shout away.” G.B. reminded, getting ready to hop down once he got his acknowledgement that she did hear him. When she nodded and gave a playful two fingered salute, he nodded in return and hoped down from the roof to go inside. 

After hearing G.B. head inside, Ashley waited a few moments longer before speaking again. “You can relax now, Ivan.” She spoke softly, still looking around on alert. “Everyone is resting, and safe inside. I’m on watch, and you’re right here with me. Safe, but close enough that I can wake you first if something happens. You know as well as I that I won’t be sleeping at least until after breakfast anyways, so you don’t have to worry about me falling asleep on the job or anything either.” 

Ivan hummed and snuggled closer, letting himself relax more at her words. She’s not wrong after all. She’s no psychic, but he can’t deny that her analysis hit the nail on the head this time. 

She started to quietly hum along to her music, her arms wrapped securely around him with a light squish. Having him close, being able to feel him breathing under her arms and through the blankets, honestly helped her own anxiety. She’s not having to look around frantically, jumpy at every tiny noise. 

She’s not sure how long it takes for her to check on him again properly, but she’s relieved to see him sound asleep, and without fuss. Good. 

At least one of them will be well rested come morning. And she has a sneaking suspicion she’ll feel rather refreshed for once too.