#and this took place at the end of the day when we got back to the Winters' mansion and Sigmar was finally able to take Rook to a healer.

[melminli]

Ddakji Man

summery - you were always struggling to make ends meet, despite having three separate jobs and you doubted that that would ever change. it felt like you were working out of your own casket and it would probably be more sustainable to invest in one at this point.

pairing: (gong yoo/ji-cheol) the salesman x fem. reader

word count: 1,5k

contains: slight arguing, cursing but nothing too graphic tbh

"Are you sure that you don't want to come?" One of your friends asked you a little sadly since you were about to leave the group. They rarely got to see you anyway, did you have to leave so early? "You never come with us when we go out for a drink, we miss you there, you know?"

You smiled a little tiredly as you strolled casually through the streets. "I'm sorry guys, I just have to work tonight." you tried to explain. Besides, I'm fucking tired and just want to get some sleep before then. I miss my bed.

Your best friend pouted as she hugged you from the side and you welcomed it, even if it made walking a little more difficult. "It's always work this work that. Live a little for once, all this stress is not good for you. You need a break." she spoke up before a thought came into her mind that made her a little furious. "Don't tell me that you're using work as an excuse to cancel on us. We can do something else if you want to. I'll even invite you, come on!"

You took a tired breath. I don't have any energy for this. "Trust me, I'd love nothing more than to get drunk with you and I'm not being sarcastic or anything." you clarified. Besides, I wouldn't work this much if I didn't have to.

"All right." she gave in unhappy. "We'll catch you one of these days, I can feel it..."

You laughed softly. "Please do," you replied and stopped in front of the stairs that led to the subway. This was the place where you had to say goodbye to your friends and you did with a few more hugs. You enjoyed spending time with them and loved your friends with all your heart, but you were still happy to be a bit on your own now.

So you plugged in your cable headphones and played your current favorite song at the loudest volume before checking when the next train was going to arrive. Another twenty minutes? The last one must have just left. You decided to just sit down on a bench and wait while staring blankly around and quietly mumbling the lyrics to yourself.

A few minutes later, a person sat down next to you and you could see out of the corner of your eye that it was probably some kind of businessman or something. You didn't look closely out of politeness and turned your gaze somewhere else after checking the time on your phone.

"Excuse me." the unknown man tried to get your attention, but as expected, you could barely hear him over the booming music. He placed his briefcase in the space between you before leaning closer to your figure and looking towards you with a smile and finally, you seemed to notice his stare and turned in his direction. You took out one of your earbuds as you met his gaze. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

The man leaned back again. "I haven't said anything yet. I wanted to ask if I could talk to you, do you have a moment?"

You looked around a little uncomfortably as he maintained uninterrupted eye contact with you. "Ehm, well..." you stumbled slightly over your words. "I'm not religious or anything, sorry," you replied, having no patience for another discourse about Jesus and the church. This is the fourth time this week, lucky me. You thought to yourself as you were about to put your earplug back in.

The salesman held a hand in the air to stop you from doing that to keep your attention. You just looked at him uninterestedly and waited, it was going to be a while before your train arrived anyway. A smile graced his face after you were willing to listen to him again. "That's not what I wanted to talk about, I just want to offer you a chance."

Your face tightened a little in disgust and you were quite irritated by now. He seemed to be waiting for some kind of answer and didn't say anything else, so you had no choice but to interpret his words. He doesn't look like that kind of guy, but I guess it's always the ones who look the most decent. "Listen to me asshole," you said openly this time, all politeness gone as you pointed at his chest with your index finger. "I don't know you, maybe you're one of those men who try to talk in riddles to seem mysterious or something, but right now it just sounds like you're looking for someone cheap to fuck." you replied as you tapped his tie with each syllable and leaned a little closer to him as you whispered. "And I'm not cheap, so you might want to look elsewhere."

This time it was you who grinned as he looked at you in surprise and he let out a small grunt after you finished your sentence. The salesman straightened his tie while watching your figure before reaching for his briefcase and revealing its contents, "That's too bad, but also not what I was talking about," he replied as you looked at the money and colored paper in confusion. "Have you ever played Ddakji?" He asked you as he took out the red and blue paper. You just shook your head. "That's no problem at all, we can still play it if you're up for it." 

Your gaze alternated from his hand to his face. Oh, so he's crazy. You finally concluded. I guess he is too handsome to be just a normal guy, huh. You turned your head away from him, something about the whole thing just seemed perverse to you. "No thanks, I'll pass."

"You sure?" He asked again, knowing he'd convinced you as soon as he brought the money into it. These people are all the same, she'll snatch the paper right out of my hands after I start talking a language she understands. "Every time you win, you get 100,000 won from me." He began, watching the look on your face. "But if I win, you owe me 100,000 won and -"

You sighed and interrupted him. "Yes, I'm sure. I still don't want to play with you, okay?"

This time the man looked at you with a cold, icy stare. A few minutes passed like this and you just tried to ignore his gaze, but then he started talking again. "All right. 200,000 won." he finally said, but couldn't seem to get your attention back. He tried again. "Is it because you've never played the game before? We can have a practice round if that would make you feel more comfortable." he tried again and got irritated when you continued to ignore him. He looked around the area as he considered his next move. Is she waiting for me to increase the prize money further? These people usually jump up happily at the first amount since they're so desperate. He tried to collect himself again. "500,000 won." he finally said. "I've got the money right here, you just have to go for it."

When is this stupid train coming. "Look, I don't want your fucking money, understand? I'm not a gambling addict or -"

"You may not want it, but you need it," he said, annoyed. This has never happened before, is she stupid? He then spoke out your name and described your miserable living situation as if you didn't already know about it yourself. "You also have quite a lot of debt for someone who is still relatively young, are you seriously going to turn down the money I'm offering you? For what, to prove a point or something?"

You didn't know what this man's fucking problem was, he should be glad that you didn't want to take his money, and how did he even know all this? You got up from your seat next to him when the train finally arrived and turned to face him one last time. "Fuck you," you told him and then went to the doors. You even looked out of the window at him as soon as they closed before you, to show him your the middle finger.

The man in the suit watched your figure irritated until it was gone and then, took the little card out of the inside pocket of his suit, that was meant for you. He turned it over a few times in his hand before closing the open briefcase with his other one. He had already played and lost a few Ddakji games in his life, which was the point of the whole thing - to recruit players for the actual game. However, the thought of what awaited them there meant that he was still in control of the situation. He was always in control of the situation. "I didn't loose, we haven't even played." he tried to reassure himself.

And yet the whole conversation with you left him feeling like he was utterly defeated.

[777nicetits]

let’s make a video for our future selfs.

⋆౨ৎ˚⟡˖ ࣪ ❄︎ just pure fluff. talks of having kids. established relationship. not proof read. english is not my first language.

You were laying down on the bed, wire headphones plugged in on your phone as you listened to one of the hundreds of playlists you’ve created, mindlessly scrolling through pinterest when Schlatt walks in, camcorder in hand.

“And here- Oh look, it’s mommy!”

You frown, looking up from your phone immediately in pure confusion. “Mommy?”

He chuckles. “I’m recording a video for our future kids.”

Three days ago, on Christmas, you gifted Schlatt the exact same camcorder model his parents had when he was a child, and apparently the year ending nostalgia really got to him since he’s been recording little home videos for your future selfs basically every day.

You sat up on the bed to try and look a little more presentable for your imaginary kids. You wave at the camera, “Hey kids! Mommy loves you already, even though I’m still taking birth control!”

Schlatt snorts, the little wrinkles in his eyes making a sweet appearance as the corners of his mouth moved up.

“Show them what you’re listening to!”

You turn your phone screen to the camera, the song title and album cover showing up in your lock screen.

“See, kids? Ya mama’s music taste is trash,” he teased, moving the camera up to film your face. You roll your eyes at him, a big smile plastered on your face. “Don’t end up like this, I’ll kick y’all out!”

“Sorry guys, y’all are only allowed to listen to your father’s christmas album until you’re 18.” You teased back, earning an earnest laugh from Schlatt.

“That’d be a good way to punish them, tho.”

You just laugh at him, shaking your head as you took your headphones off, moving away from the center of the bed and a little over to the left, giving your boyfriend space to lay down with you, and he did. He laid down right next to you, using your chest as pillows, turning the camera around to get you both in frame.

“Look how cute we are,” You said, pointing over to the viewfinder. “We definitely should procreate. Our genes are too good to gatekeep like that.”

It was Schlatt’s turn to laugh and shake his head at your antics. “That’s a wrap. Bye kids, love ya!”

With that, he stopped recording, carefully placing the heavy camera on his nightstand before coming back to lay next to you, pulling you into his arms, both your bodies tangled together.

“Ya know toots, hate to say it but now we really have to get married and have kids, because if one day you ever break up with me, I’m gonna kill myself and leave that video as my suicide note.”

You threw your head back, loud laugh echoing through the apartment, quickly joined by Schlatt’s low, little giggles.

omg don’t look at me!! wrote this in one go because i have two other wips that have been a huge pain in the ass for me and wanted to post something before the year ends :( hope y’all had the best holidays ever, and an even better new years 🫶🫶🫶

[yoitsjay]

A Family

Summary: after reading some old letters, Jason feels it's time to make things really official.

Warnings: soft smut, protected sex, p in v, use of condoms, mentions of birth control and periods, mentions of babies, talk and agreeing on marriage.

Word count: 5543

A/n: this was a work in progress for a while, I'm glad I finished it tho-

He had been sitting, reading his father's letters for quite a while now. He was only a young kid, a teenager, at the time he didn't really understand what his father's letters meant, or what his dad was saying, but reading them now, again as an adult, it finally clicked... and he cried.

Jason, deep down, did miss his father. He loved Willis Todd, yeah his father was a goon for several villains in the city, but at the time that's what it took to survive. Jason's childhood might not have been grand, or rich or amazingly awesome but, he remembered the small things, the valley fair with his father...

He reads over his father's last letter. "*one day when you have a son, or daughter... you'll understand*" the letter read... Jason glanced up, and his gaze wandered over to the kitchen, where you, his girlfriend of 3 or so years, was cooking dinner and baking cookies, without a ring on your finger. You and Jason agreed that marriage was kind of far-fetched and expensive, and that just being there for each other, loving each other was good enough..

Now he was wondering if he shouldn't get down on one knee... and start a family... for Willis Todd.

You looked over at Jason when you had felt him staring for long enough. You slipped the cookies into the oven then shut the door before dusting your hands off on your pants, looking over at your boyfriend with a light smile, before making your way over, placing your hand on his shoulder, rubbing it gently. "Hey handsome, you alright? You look like you're thinking." You stated softly, moving your knee up on the couch beside his leg, lifting yourself up on top of his lap, arms loosely wrapped around his shoulders, fingers playing with the wisps if hair at the back of his neck

Jason looks up at you, his gaze a combination of both sadness and contemplation as he feels you move onto his lap. His hands moved to your hips to keep you steady there as he wrapped his arms around your waist and pulled you close so you couldn't squirm away.

"I'm... alright." He mumbled as you started to gently play with his hair, your touch eliciting a small rumble of contentment from his throat. "Just thinking... you ever considered marriage?" He inquired.

You looked down at him, raising an eyebrow at his question. "I thought we agreed marriage was for noobs." You replied playfully, continuing to play with the ends of his hair.

"Why?" You then asked softly, pulling one hand away as you tucked some of your hair behind your ear, staring into his eyes. "Changing your mind?" You asked, voice softer now as you glanced back to the letters Jason was reading.

Jason rolled his eyes at your playful reply, his hands giving your hips a gentle squeeze, his fingers tracing small circles against the hips that were now against his lap. "Yeah so? I'm allowed to change my mind..." He mumbled, his gaze watching you as your attention shifted back to the letters he held.

"I just..." He trailed off before groaning and giving his head a shake. "I was rereading these letters my father left for me after he died... I'm just... thinking about him a lot lately…”

You frowned slightly, though nodded in understanding, leaning forward as you gently pressed your lips to his forehead, before hugging him gently. "Your father might have been a criminal, but despite that he was an amazing man." You whispered, pulling back as you cupped his face in your hands. "Which letter got you thinking about marriage? Can I read it?" You asked softly.

A small hum escaped his throat as your lips gently pressed against his forehead, a warm and small gesture that gave him comfort. His hands continued to gently rub and grip your hips and held onto you , needing to feel you against him as he spoke up again.

"One that he wrote the night before his death..."

Jason reached out, grabbing the letter he was reading and slowly handed it over to you, his eyes watching you intensely, curious about your reaction.

You gently took the letter, leaning back but staying seated on his lap as you started reading it over. You frowned at certain points, the words clearly having an emotional effect on you.

You then smiled lightly, reading the last words. "His dying wish was for you to have a family you're proud of." You whispered, setting the letter down gently, looking back at your lover. "I'll marry you, put it on paper, if that makes you happy." You said softly, brushing some hair from his face. "It can be small, just us, our families.”

Jason's hands remained on your hips, though his fingers gently stroked your fabric covered skin in comforting and soothing motions. He couldn't help but watch you as you read over the letter, saw the expressions you made and the emotions and thoughts that went through your head as you did so.

You could clearly read between the lines, see what he wanted, what he needed. And hearing you agree made his heart jump. "Are you sure?" He asked, his hand moving up to gently cup your cheek.

"You know... this means forever…” you simply nodded your head.

"We agreed a year ago that you and I were forever Jason, at the time we just didn't care about it on paper. But if you want this, I do too." You stated, smiling down at him. "I can call my dad, arrange something. And hey- maybe you can finally meet my estranged sisters." You snickered, staring into his eyes.

"I love you Jason, I'd be happy to take your last name, honored, even.” You confirmed.

Hearing you say that, confirming how committed and dedicated you both were to each other made his heart soar, though the last part had him raise an eyebrow. He looked up at her with a raised eyebrow, a confused look strewn across his face.

"You... have sisters?" He inquired curiously, realizing he never had asked that or discussed it before. You nodded your head. " I have four of them, I'm the second oldest." You stated.

"They all live across Europe or the Mediterranean, living rich and loving every second." You then snickered. "I'm the only one who stayed in Gotham." You added on, and continued. "So you never got to meet them.”

The revelation that you had several sisters surprised Jason, though it also intrigued him. He knew his girlfriend/fiancé/whatever you call it was quite wealthy, your father owned the Gotham General, after all, but knowing you had four siblings who had all scattered across the world living the life of luxury was still a surprise to him.

"Damn..." He mumbled, the smile on his face growing. "You come from a pretty impressive family, don't you?”

"You do too." You replied with a smile. "Bruce may not be your bio dad, not like Willis Todd was, but he's still your family, still raised you. And let me tell you, Bruce Wayne is pretty impressive. I've known him my whole life." You giggled, staring into his eyes. "But even if your father was here, and you'd been raised by him... I have a feeling we would still be here, and I'd still be madly in love with you.”

He couldn't help but huff out a small chuckle from your giggly comment, rolling his eyes but still smiling at you.

He continued gently stroke your side with one hand while the other was on your hip, tracing small circles there.

"You're too soft for your own good," he teased, though his eyes gazing into yours were loving. "And here I was thinking you'd be swooning over Dick Grayson before me.”

"Ugh- dick might be my best friend but he's too- bubbly, for me." You groaned, then snickered, grinning at Jason.

"Trust me, I thought about it... then you came around, and I, the starstruck 17 year old I was... fell in love." You mused softly. Jason chuckled faintly at your description of Dick, unable to help it. He was close with him as well, but he knew how much of a flirt his older brother was, probably the only one in the bat family who loved having a casual and short-term relationship.

"And I, the broody 15 year old I was, fell at your feet." He replied in a joking manner, reaching out one of his hands and gently caressing your cheek, his gaze never leaving hers, watching as she winced at his words.

"Oof, don't remind me I'm older than you." You pleaded playfully, leaning into his touch before you leaned in and kissed him softly. "Loved making you wait until you were 18 though to let you take me on a date." You added teasingly, pulling back from the kiss. "It was cute, seeing you grovel.”Jason rolled his eyes once again, though a smile played on his lips.

He remembered all those years ago, when the two had made it official on his eighteenth birthday. "You just found it adorable that you had such a younger man pining for you." He replied with a smirk, enjoying the tease between them.

"Well it definitely made me amused." You giggled. "I won't lie, I had plenty of guys at my age, younger, and older all begging for my hand... but I knew I always wanted you... I just wanted to see you work for it." You snickered, kissing his nose. "I loved it when you'd sneak in through my window in my dad's mansion. God's it was like three stories up and I always freaked out when you climbed up, worried you'd fall.”

A small chuckle escaped from Jason's throat at your tease, remembering all those years ago when he was much smaller and a lot more reckless than he currently was. "I was... kind of an adrenaline junkie at that age." He admitted, his smile taking on a hint of fondness, recalling all those nights he snuck into your room and spent the night.

"Not much has changed, I suppose.” he added, and she snickered again, kissing his forehead before perking up as your cookie timer went off. You gently pulled his arms away, and you slid off his lap, ruffling his hair before walking into the kitchen, pulling out the tray of cookies, then shutting off the oven.

"Well, three years ago since that happened, two years since you died and came back." You mused, looking over at him with a warm smile. "I'll marry you Jason, whenever, wherever, however you want." You stated. "I'm just glad I'm marrying you, in the end. And not some rich asshole.” She added

Jason watched as you pulled yourself off his lap and moved into the kitchen, watching as you removed the cookies from the oven. He remains in his place on the couch, listening to her words, a hint of amusement appears on his features as you say you're glad you'd be marrying him instead of some rich jerk. "Well... you're still technically marrying someone rich." He teased, referring to the Wayne money that was attached to him.

You rolled your eyes. "Not your money, doesn't count" you replied playfully, bringing over a couple fresh cookies on a plate, perching right back in his lap, breaking a cookie in half sticking part of that half between your teeth.

Jason chuckled faintly, his hands moving back to her hips, gently holding her there as she perched back onto his lap. A small smirk appeared on his face as she broke the cookie in half.

He then leaned forward, and rather than taking his own cookie, he gently took a bite of the other half of the cookie that was between your teeth - keeping his gaze locked with yours.

You grinned a little bit, and leaned further in, biting into the cookie as you pressed your lips against his, your eyes fluttering closed as you wrapped your arms around his neck.

One of his hands gently came up and rested against the back of your head, holding you against him as your lips met and he leaned into the kiss, closing his eyes and wrapping his other arm around your waist to pull you closer to him.

His tongue ran over her bottom lip as he nipped it, silently asking for entrance.

You hummed softly, swallowing the food in your mouth before you parted your lips for him, tilting your head to the slide so your lips slotted together better, your hand sliding from his cheek, up to his hair, pressing your body up against his.

Jason gently pushed his tongue into your mouth, gently exploring and tasting you, relishing the small hum of contentment that escaped you as you pressed against him.

His hand that was on the back of your head moved down and gently gripped the back of your thighs as his other hand slid up to your ass.

He broke the kiss, trailing his lips down to your jaw and neck, gently nipping at her skin.

You let out a low hum against his lips as you felt his hands slide down to her ass and thigh, and as he started trailing his lips down your neck, you let your head fall back. You hummed, and let out short, soft breaths every time he nipped at your skin.

Jason continued to gently trail kisses and nips down your neck, enjoying the taste and the feel of your soft, bare skin against his lips and tongue. His hands roamed, slowly sliding further up your thighs until his fingers were under the hem of your shirt, tracing patterns against your skin as they slowly moved up higher, almost to the edge of the lacy red underwear you were wearing.

He gently tugged on your shirt, lifting it slightly, silently asking you to take it off

A cheshire like smile made its way onto your lips upon feeling his silent request. You pulled back, staring into his eyes before grabbing the hem of your shirt and pulling it up, tossing it over your head and somewhere on the ground, revealing the lacy red bra you almost always wore around him, it was his favorite color after all.

You leaned back into him, pressing your lips against his again, before you broke the kiss and started peppering his neck with kisses too. Jason groaned lowly as you pulled your shirt over your head and revealed yourself to him, his blue eyes immediately taking in your soft curves and skin before he felt you press your lips to his neck.

With one arm remaining on your hips, he used his other hand to gently comb his fingers through your hair, enjoying the feeling as your lips and teeth left marks on his skin.

His head tilted back, giving you more of his neck to mark, his fingers gently teasing the edge of your bra, slowly slipping under the lace.

Suddenly, you pulled away, letting his hands slip away from you as you flashed him a teasing grin. "Uh uh uh." You spoke up, waving your finger side to side as you got up and took a few steps back, gesturing for him to follow as you made your way towards your shared bedroom.

Jason huffed out a small laugh, the corners of his lips curving into a sly smirk as his eyes followed you, watching the way you moved and how the loose pants hugged your figure, particularly around your hips and legs.

He watched as you headed into the bedroom, and like always, he followed you, pushing himself up from the sofa before striding into the bedroom after you. "Tease." He muttered under his breath, his gaze fixed on you.

You entered the room and quickly unbuttoned your pants and slid them off before crawling onto the bed, looking back at him with a grin as you teasingly shook your hips at him.

"Want a show?" You cooed, "Have some fun?”

Jason felt his breath catch in his throat as you stripped out of your pants, the way your hips swayed and the fact that you were now only in a set of red, lacy underwear and nothing else was enough to have his blood rushing straight to his cock.

And he felt his smirk grow more wolfish as he approached the side of the bed and gave you a firm, but playful smack on the ass.

"You know me too well, darlin.”

You let out a soft squeal as he smacked your ass, you nudged him with her foot, sitting down on the bed as she grinned. "How do you want me? Yunno-, for optimal breeding." You spoke up playfully, remembering the part of the letter about children, but also joking somewhat. "Or should we wait until after marriage.”

Jason chuckled as you asked your question, his gaze running over your form on the bed while he considered that question. On the one hand, he wanted to take you like this, now, make no mistake about that.

On the other hand, he knew you had a point. You had made that agreement earlier, after all.

"Marriage." He replied simply, his voice coming out gruff and slightly breathless as he kept his gaze on you. "We agreed that marriage comes first.”

You looked up at him, and smiled. "If that's what you want, I'm all for anything." You stated, leaning back on her elbows as you studied him. "Are we good on condoms? Or do we need to buy some." You asked, looking into his soft blue eyes.

Jason's eyes roamed your body as you leaned back on your elbows, taking in your form and the way your chest was pushed forward. His gaze lingered a little on your lips before going back up to your eyes. He nodded a little as you asked your question, trying to remember if they had any condoms left.

"Maybe I have to pick up some more." He answered simply with a small shrug. "We almost out?” he asked.

"I think so." You mused, sitting up again as you opened up the bedside table closest to you, pulling out the box of condoms before emptying it out, watching as two packets fell out.

You hummed, and tossed the box into the corner of the room before tossing your boyfriend- fiancé, a condom packet. "Two will do for now." You mused.

Jason caught the packet of condoms before looking down at the small thing in his hand and letting out a quiet huff, a hint of irritation in his voice. "Damn, we're down to two." He grumbled, gently tossing it to the side for now, and moving back over to you.

He stood there for a moment, looking down at you on the bed where you sat, his gaze studying your form while he reached up and undid the button on his jeans. "This might be a problem.” he stated.

However you snickered. "What, you don't think using two condoms is enough? How many times do you plan on cumming tonight?" You asked teasingly, looking up at him with a smile, watching as he began unbuttoning his jeans.

"Either we use the condoms, and end it after the second one, or you just be really careful and remember to pull out. I'm not on the pill right now because it fucked with my period n' shit.” you explained bluntly.

Jason chuckled as you teased him, watching as you gave him that mischievous smile. He let a soft groan escape from the back of his throat as you spoke, his hands pausing on his jeans for a moment.

"Yeah, I think I might have some issues being careful with you." He admitted with a bit of ego surfacing in his words, remembering how he tended to get a bit carried away when he got inside of you and how you felt around him... "I think I could deal with two.” He stated.

you smiled lightly, nodding your head, sitting in the middle of the bed, legs crossed as you watched him, eyeing where his hand was paused on his jeans, silently waiting for him to continue. Jason studied you for a moment, standing there with unbuttoned jeans and a growing bulge in his boxers, his eyes taking in the way you were sitting on the bed and watching him, no hint of impatience on your face.

He had to admit, he loved just how patient you were, how eager you are to just go along with things.

"You're eager today, aren't you, doll?" He mused, his smirk growing as he finished unbuttoning his jeans and began pushing them down along his thighs. You looked up to his eyes, and smiled.

"I'm happy."

You replied softly, sucking your bottom lip between your teeth as he started pushing down his pants. "Happy to spend the rest of my life with you, excited for everything that comes with it... and- i know we have sex a lot, if the empty box of 200 2xl condoms has anything to say about it." You snickered. "But this feels different... I wanna take it slow.”

Jason felt himself flush faintly when you remarked about the box of condoms, fully knowing it'd be gone within the next three months, if not sooner. He pushed his jeans down and kicked them off, standing there in his boxers for a moment while he listened to you and watched you.

A small, tender smile appeared on his face as you said you wanted to take things slow for the night, his gaze softening. "Slow, hm?" He asked, a hint of playfulness in his voice. "How slow?”

You grinned up at him. "Slow enough to savor it." You replied, checking the time on the nightstand. "We have 3 hours until you leave for patrol." You added, looking back over at him. "You always love being fashionably late too, and I'd love to send you off with some lipstick stains on your helmet”

Jason raised an eyebrow as you looked over at the clock on the nightstand, the thought of how much time they had before he had to leave for patrol popping into his mind. A small, amused huff escaped his lips as you mentioned he liked being fashionably late and how you wanted to send him off with some lipstick stains on his helmet.

"Oh, I can definitely work with that." He replied, his smirk growing as he closed the gap between you and leaned down, crawling onto the bed over you.

You giggled softly, opening up your legs so he could slot in between them. Your arms immediately went to his shirt, and as he crawled over you, you swiftly pulled off the white T, and tossed it to the floor, running your hands up his scarred chest, before moving to cup his face as you leaned in and kissed him softly, slowly, lovingly, with just a bit of tongue, like how porn stars would make out- probably.

Jason hummed into the kiss, his lips pressing against yours in return, gently kissing and nipping at your lower lip as he felt your hands glide up his chest and rest on his face. He gently pushed his tongue into your mouth, exploring and tasting, his own hands slowly moving and running up and down your sides, enjoying the feel of your soft, smooth skin.

He gently pushed you down and laid you on your back, his body fully above yours as he continued to kiss you, slow and unhurried, as if he had all the time in the world.

And you would kiss him like this for hours if you could, smiling, thinking back to the times where you would sit on the couch with Jason, and you would just kiss for hours, sometimes it wouldn't lead to anything, most of the time it did, but you loved the feeling of his lips on yours.

You sighed happily against him, sliding your fingers up into his hair, gliding your tongue across his bottom lip as you continued to kiss him, unhurried.

You tasted like fruit, probably because of what you ate for lunch, strawberry banana protein smoothie. You always did taste sweet though.

Jason hummed and groaned against your lips, enjoying the sweet taste of you, enjoying the feeling of your hands in his hair and your tongue on his lip.

He slowly broke the kiss to lean up, taking a moment to look down at you, taking you in, she whined in response, looking and admiring as he did the same.

His eyes roamed over your half naked form, your soft curves and skin and how you looked laying on the bed beneath him.

"God, you're beautiful." He muttered after a moment, his voice coming out gruff and a bit of a low rumble.

You smiled at his words, scratching your nails along his scalp as you hummed softly.

"And I'm all yours." You replied, resting your head against the pillows, your hair spread out around your head. Jason leaned back down with a low hum, taking his time as he slowly peppered kisses and nips down your neck, his lips and tongue lingering on your skin and marking it, leaving little love bites for only you and him to see.

He knew the marks would disappear within the week, but he liked to leave them all the same, as a reminder of his presence, evidence of how he loved you.

His hands roamed your sides and continued to trail over your skin as his mouth reached your collarbone, gently nipping at the sensitive skin there. You hummed and sighed as he left kisses and marks along your neck, down to your collarbone.

Your leg twitched slightly when he nipped at it, and you smiled, wrapping your legs around his torso loosely, sitting up just enough for him to reach behind you and unclasp your bra.

Jason felt her leg twitch and smiled against your skin, his hands trailing up your sides and pausing at the straps of your bra, feeling for the clasp before he found it and popped it open with a careful flick of his fingers.

He pulled up for a moment to discard the bra, throwing it somewhere behind him, before he continued his trail of kisses down your neck and collarbone, moving down to her chest. You continued to sigh happily, laying back on the bed, in his arms, relaxed, happy. You let your eyes flutter closed, sliding your hand from his hair, down to his forearm, gripping it gently as if to reassure him that this was good, everything was perfect.

Jason continued his slow, unhurried trail down your body, his lips and tongue marking the spot he left with every kiss and nip, enjoying the sounds you were making and the way you responded to his touch.

He felt your hand slide down his arm and gently grip him, a small hum escaping his lips as he continued down your chest, eventually pausing to leave a bite between your breasts.

Upon feeling the bite, you let out a soft laugh, opening your eyes and looking down at him, raising an eyebrow. "I honestly thought you'd be lining up to me right now, who knew that Jason Todd knew what slow was." She teased softly, looking down at him with a loving expression.

Jason let out a snort that quickly turned into a soft laugh as he looked up at her, a smirk present on his lips. "Oh, trust me, darlin, it ain't easy for me." He replied, looking up at you as he slowly continued his trail down your body, placing kisses on her stomach as he went. "I'm only being patient 'cause of what you said, otherwise I'd just be-"

His words were interrupted by a bite on her hip, nipping at the skin.

You let out a squealish laugh as he bit your hip, leaving a mark behind on your skin. "You'd just be what Jason? Finish your sentence." You goaded softly, pushing up to lean back on your elbows so you could watch him.

Jason continued his trail of kisses and bites down your stomach and over your hip bone, marking your skin as he went, enjoying the sounds and little laugh you made when he nipped at your skin.

His hands gently gripped your hips, and he paused for a moment, looking up at you with a smirk. "Well, I'd just skip all the-" He paused and dipped his head, leaving a soft kiss on where your thigh met her hip. "-and get right to-" he continued, nipping at the skin there. "this part.”

You hummed softly, relishing in all the soft kisses he left behind on your skin as he moved his head lower, and lower.

"Which part?" You asked breathlessly, hooking one leg up on his shoulder, the other laying to the side, your lacy red panties still covering the real treasure.

"I want you to talk me through it.”

Jason hummed as he felt you hook your leg on his shoulder, his hands moving and gently gliding up your legs, moving up your inner thigh until they gently stopped at the edge of your lacy red panties, his fingers gently gripping at the edge.

He paused as she spoke, your words making a shiver run down his spine, and he slowly looked up at you, his gaze meeting yours. "You want me to talk you through it, doll?”

You nodded your head. "Yeah." You replied softly. "Adds to the intimacy, I think." You added, watching him with a genuine smile. "You look tense Jay." You started softly, running your fingers through his hair. "Maybe talking me through it, while you do it, will relax you, hm? And after this we can have a bath.” You mused.

He chuckled to your words, face heating up slightly as he thought ahead to how you'd react under him, as he narrated the way he'd be eating you out…

“I'm gonna spread your cunt open.” He started, and you bit your lip as he started going through the motions.

“M’ gonna devour this pretty pussy.” He whispered, his hot breath fanning across your exposed, glistening folds, making you shiver.

And he did just that, his tongue sliding up your folds, teasing your entrance, flicking against your clit, the sucking, slurping noises quickly filling the room as he sucked on your downstairs lips, then payed more attention to your clit, drawing out more moans from your lips.

He would stay between your thighs for hours if he wanted too… though he had other plans..

As soon as your orgasm was on the horizon, he suddenly stopped, and pulled his head back. You let out a gasp, sitting up as you looked at Jason with a desperate look in your eyes. You were about to speak up until he moved you onto your side, and laid down behind you, one hand holding up your leg, while the other quickly grabbed a condom. “Put this on for me baby?” Jason asked softly.

You smiled, taking the condom from his hand, tearing open the package before you stretched the condom slightly, then rolled it over his cock, pumping it a few times which caused him to groan.

He then nudged his tip to your entrance, and you let out a soft whine, your eyes falling shut as that familiar stretch began to occur, as he started sliding inside of you, inch by brutal inch until he was bottomed out inside you.

He was keeping things slow, though, for your sake, as he began thrusting inside of you, his hand still gripping your thigh, while the other slid underneath you, and wrapped around your waist, holding you close as he began to kiss and suck at your neck, while rocking your hips into you, groaning against your neck.

Gradually, he started picking up the pace, not going hard, like he could, but definitely faster… with this position, he was hitting spots inside you that were bringing you to the edge quickly, having been denied once, he wasn't going to deny you again.

As you came, he quickly pressed his lips to yours, swallowing up your sweet moans as he continued to thrust into you, now chasing his own orgasm.

One… two-

Three more thrusts before he goes as deep as he can inside you, and he releases, filling up the condom.

Once it finally subsided, he slowly pulled out, and grabbed the condom, tying it off before tossing it into the nearby trash bin, nuzzling his nose into the crook of your neck.

“I love you.” He whispered, holding you tightly in his arms.

“I can't wait until you're my wife… and you have my child in your belly.” He muttered, and you smiled.

“You won't have to wait long, baby. Promise.” You whispered in response, shifting so you were facing him now, pulling him into a soft kiss.

This…

This was something you could get used to.

And this was something he craved.

A family.

Tag list:

All: @francesfarhadi @only-my-unexistent-fiances

Batfam:

Jason Todd: @ilaiise

Jason Todd Smut: @ilaiise

[fluff-lover]

Healing Touch | Chapter 5: Return Home

Chapter summary: You and Logan travel to Alberta in search for some answers as he slowly regains his memory.

Masterlist

This chapter contains a lot of Logan’s origin story, but it’s more based on the comic than the movie X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

7K words… who am I?

It’s been a few busy weeks to say the least.

After you and Logan agreed on working on his trauma together, you started having small sessions at night where you would use your power on him. In each session you placed your hands on each side of his head while he laid down on the lab’s bed and started healing his amnesia. You worked slowly, not wanting to trigger any bad memory without warning. 

There was only so much you could do, and there was no guarantee any of it would work. Your powers only worked on a physical level, meaning you could heal parts of Logan’s brain that didn’t heal on their own, despite his enhanced healing. But Charles saw this as an opportunity to train and even expand your powers, hoping that in time you would be able to heal the emotional type of wounds, or be the one to caused them.

Fragments of Logan’s memories began to resurface, scattered and incomplete, like pieces of a puzzle he wasn’t sure how to assemble. He remembered his parents: his mother, Elizabeth, and the man he believed to be his father, John Howlett. He could recall the house he’d grown up in, the details hazy but still familiar. He even knew his name wasn’t really Logan. But that was where the trail ended.

What had happened to them? How had he discovered his mutation? The answers felt just out of reach, buried beneath layers of fog he couldn’t penetrate, no matter how hard you tried.

In search of more answers, you started planning your trip to his childhood home: Howlett Estate. You would take a flight to Lloydminster and then drive for two hours to Cold Lake. Originally you suggested taking a smaller plane from Lloydminster to Cold Lake’s regional airport, but took pity on Logan’s distaste for flying and decided to rent a car instead.

You knew this would be hard on Logan, facing his memories and old traumas wasn’t easy, so you wanted to make sure this was a pleasant trip.

Coincidently, the trip took place during Jean and Scott’s wedding, so Logan wouldn’t be in the mansion during that time. Hopefully this trip would also help you rebuild your trust in Logan. Despite reassuring him over and over again that you’d forgiven him already, your friendship changed and required a lot of care to go back to how it was before.

The day of the flight you had maps, flyers and all kinds of accessories for your trip, and you had a blast going from one place to the other in the airport, getting lots of snacks and things to pass the time. Logan was never too far behind, following you around and indulging on anything you wanted.

Despite his nervousness, Logan enjoyed seeing you so excited and bubbly, but most importantly, so relaxed around him. He worried your friendship was ruined when he first hurt you but you were slowly building the trust back up.

It was only after you landed at Lloydminster and got in the rental that the real fun started. 

“I booked the cutest, cosiest looking Bed & Breakfast I could find, it’s adorable.” You said as you entered the address to the GPS. Logan groaned from the driver’s seat.

“I’m regretting this already.” He joked. “You know what? I take that back, I regretted this the moment you gave me a plane ticket.”

You laughed. 

“Oh come on! It wasn’t so bad! I took your nausea away, didn’t I?” 

His frown deepened.

“I still don’t like flying. If men were meant to fly, we would be born with wings.”

“Good thing I’m not a man.” You joked. “Be glad I got us a car instead of another flight for this part. Just drive, old man.” You said before opening a bag of snacks.

“Old man? Fuck off.”

You giggled.

“Aren’t you like a thousand years?”

Logan scoffed.

“...No.” He said after an awkward silence. “Your math is off. Also, don’t eat in the car, you’ll leave crumbs all over.”

You giggled again, and despite his grumpiness, Logan smiled.

“Whatever you say, grandpa.”

“Fuck you!” He said, but there was no malice in his voice. You just looked at him and took another bite of your snack.

“I’m hungry!” You said as an excuse. “Do you want some?”

“Nah, I’m fine. I don’t like candy.” He said, throwing you a look.

“Who the hell doesn’t like candy?” You asked dramatically “I think I have some Sour Patch kids around here, you’ll like them.” You said as you looked through your back.

“What makes you say that?”

“Because… your face looks like you’re constantly sucking a lemon.” Logan turned his head to look at you in disbelief. “Hey! Eyes on the road!”

“What do you mean I look like I’m sucking a lemon?” He asked confused.

“You know…” You pursed your lips, frowned your brow and raised your shoulders, trying to give your best impression of Logan. “Like you’re sulking.”

“I don’t sulk.” He said.

“Right… And I don’t cry while watching The Notebook. Are we just telling lies now?”

“Just give me that.” He snatched the bag of sour candy from your hand. “You’re terrible, you know that?”

“Yes, but you love me anyway.” You smiled and Logan just shook his head in defeat before pouring some candy straight into his mouth.

The ride was filled with banter and jokes. Seeing Logan so relaxed and somewhat happy made your heart flutter. You had never seen him like this, and you hoped it would last.

Watching him drive with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a relaxed smile on his face also did things to you. He looked so handsome, you would try to steal glances every once in a while.

When you finally arrived at the B&B you squealed in delight and jumped out of the car. The building had a “cabin in the woods” feel to it, but much bigger in dimensions, and it was surrounded by a large garden.

“It’s perfect! Just like in the photos! Isn’t it lovely?”

“It looks like a flower shop threw up on it.”

“Ew.” Your face quickly dropped. “Just because of that, you’re carrying the suitcases while I check us in.” You said before stomping towards the door.

“I was carrying the suitcases anyway!” Logan grumbled.

He took the suitcases and quickly caught up with you as you made your way to the reception. There you were welcomed by a sweet looking old lady.

“Welcome! You must be the honeymooners, the Wyatts!” She greeted them.

You quickly shook your head, your belly filling with butterflies at the idea of the two of you looking like newlyweds.

“Oh no, we’re not together. I mean, we’re together, but not together-together… We’re not married!” You tried to explain awkwardly while Logan tried not to laugh. “We booked two bedrooms under the name Howlett.” You said, your face growing hot.

“Yeah, we book two rooms in case the first bed breaks.” Logan joked, making you open your eyes so widely he thought they would pop out of your head.

“Logan!” You hissed and slapped his chest. Logan simply smiled and winked at you. Any other time you would be giggling like crazy at the idea of Logan and you breaking a bed, but you weren’t alone. The lady looked back and forth between the two of you before handing you two keys.

“You have room 13 and 14, they’re down that hall, across from each other. Breakfast is served from 7 to 10 in the dining room.”

You took the keys and nodded your head.

“Thank you ma’am.” you said before walking away fast, your face warm.

Your room was beautiful. It was tastefully decorated, had flowers on pretty much every surface, and the bed looked very cozy. You jumped on the mattress while Logan put your suitcase down.

“Comfortable?” He asked.

“Mhmmm.” You were barely audible with your face squished against the covers. Logan chuckled.

You felt the bed dip and raised your head to see Logan sitting down on the foot of the bed. He looked like there was something he wanted to say, so you sat up on the bed to give him your full attention.

“So, um… Listen,” He cleared his throat. “I just wanted to say… I appreciate everything you’re doing for me. You didn’t have to do any of this, but you did, and I wanted to say thank you.” 

You smiled shyly. Logan wasn’t a man of many words, so when he opened up like this you made sure to appreciate it and soak into the moment.

“Nothing to thank me for. Helping people is what I do, it’s what I love. Maybe I never realized there are other ways I can help other than using my powers.” You shrugged. “I guess I never had a friend that mattered to me as much as you do.” You said with a certain vulnerability in your voice. Of course you left out the part of you being completely, utterly in love with him.

The admission took Logan by surprise. How could you, a sweet, selfless, beautiful woman not be surrounded by people you loved and loved you back.

“Why?” He asked. You tilted your head and frowned.

“Why, what?”

“Why me?” He shook his head, confused. “Not only I didn’t do anything to earn your friendship, but I also hurt you. You could have so many friends, so many people, why did you stick with me?”

You stared at him for a moment in shock.

“What do you mean you didn’t do anything to earn my friendship? You’re the first friend I made at the mansion.”

“That’s it?” Logan scoffed.

“For starters.” You placed your hand on top of his and gave him a reassuring squeeze. “Logan, you earned my friendship with respect and support. Most friendships don’t start with great gestures, they start with kind words, spending time together, showing kindness. My first morning there I was nervous but you told me I would be okay. Words matter, Logan. And I knew I wanted you officially in my life the day you took me to the hospital to help. Remember?”

Logan looked down at your hands together and nodded.

“I remember thinking I had never seen anything like it. Not only you healed those kids, but the relief their parents must’ve felt…” He said softly. “And you never cared about people giving you credit…”

You chuckled. 

“It’s better that way.” You shrugged. “I also knew we would be friends when you started training me. You didn’t think I would be useless on the battlefield just because I don’t have fighting skills. I appreciated that, I appreciated you having faith in me.”

Logan rolled his eyes.

“I couldn’t have you running around trying to save everyone but not knowing how to protect yourself.” He said teasingly.

“I would’ve been okay. I can heal, remember?”

“Just because you can heal doesn’t mean you should allow yourself to get hurt in the first place.” Logan whispered.

Those words touched you deeply. Without even thinking you leaned in and kissed his cheek. Logan blinked and looked anywhere but you, the tips of his ear turning red.

“I think that’s the sweetest thing you ever said to me. Thank you.” You whispered.

Logan cleared his throat and got up, dropping your hand in the process.

“Right. Of course. Anyway, we have a big day tomorrow, right?” He rubbed his palms on his jean-clad thighs, looking awkward as hell. You nodded your head. 

“Meet me at 9 for breakfast and we’ll head to the Howlett Estate afterwards.” you said. 

“Aye Captain!” He picked his suitcase on his way to the door and turned to look at you. He looked like he wanted to say something again, but this time he just pressed his lips into a thin line.

“Good night, Logan.” you said after a moment. 

“Good night, sweetheart. I’ll see you in the morning.” he winked at you and walked out.

-

Logan was used to sleepless nights, but tonight felt different. His mind kept drifting to you, no matter how hard he tried to push the thoughts away. At one point, he got up, rummaging through his jacket until he found his lighter. The one you’d given him. He turned it over in his hand, his thumb brushing over the engraving, something he often did when he thought of you.

Yet you managed to get him flustered all over again. The little kiss on the cheek you gave him earlier was driving him mad. It had been so long since he felt anything like this, so kind and gentle, so intimate without being sexual, he didn’t know how to act about it.

There was no way he could keep denying it: he had feelings for you. Could you possibly feel the same way? Your last conversation was about your friendship, how come all the sudden friendship wasn’t enough? Where did all these feelings fit in?

Logan raked a hand through his hair, frustration tugging at him. You were everything he wasn’t: beautiful, sweet, kind. The kind of person who made the world a little brighter just by existing. Surely you didn’t feel the same way about him... right? You were kind to everyone; that was just who you were. It didn’t mean you liked him.

Still, he couldn’t ignore how deeply these feelings had crept up on him. They hadn’t come all at once but had grown slowly, quietly, in the peaceful moments you’d shared: the late-night talks, the easy silences that somehow said more than words ever could. He hadn’t even realized how much you’d come to mean to him, until tonight. Until that kiss.

This would explain why he felt so jealous of Alex Summers, why he was so traumatized by the sight of your blood on his hands. Only you could get him to board a plane willingly, so what else would he do for you?

“Fuck…” he muttered under his breath, his voice heavy with frustration. Things were about to get a lot more complicated. There was no way he could tell you how he felt. You deserve the best: someone kind, someone who could give you everything you deserved. That wasn’t him. Not after everything he’d done. Especially not after that night…

The memory hit him like a punch to the gut. The night he attacked you. The guilt from that moment never left him, gnawing at the edges of his mind. You’d forgiven him, but he hadn’t forgiven himself. He didn’t deserve someone like you, not after that. Not ever.

Logan sat back on the edge of the bed, staring down at the lighter in his hand. His thoughts spiraled, a storm of self-loathing and regret. He convinced himself, as he always did, that he was destined to be alone. No good woman would ever settle for someone like him, let alone you.

-

The next morning arrived with an unexpected cold, so you threw on your warmest clothes and headed to the main hall for breakfast, excitement bubbling inside you at the idea of finding out more about Logan’s past. 

But the feeling wouldn’t last. When you got to the dining room you found Logan was already there, looking grumpier than usual. He had a deep frown on his face, and looked at his coffee cup as it had personally offended him.

“Hey, good morning.” You greeted him.

When he looked up at you, his face softened and his shoulders seemed to relax.

“Morning. Slept well?” He asked as you sat down across from him.

“Not really, I guess I was too excited about today to sleep. What about you?”

Logan mulled over it for a moment.

“Same.” He said simply.

“Are you okay?” You asked. “We don’t have to do it today if you’re not ready.” You reassured him. He quickly shook his head.

“No, there’s no point dragging this on any longer.” He ran a hand down his face. Your heart ached for him, he looked tired and angry.

“Logan…” You went to reach his hand, but he quickly pulled it away.

“You should go get some breakfast, we have a long day ahead.”

You got up and headed to the table where the food was served. If Logan wanted to be a grumpy cat, so be it.

He really did look like he was sucking a lemon.

The ride to the Estate was quiet, a big contrats from the ride the day before. There was no banter or jokes, just music playing softly on the radio.

When you finally reached the Estate, you let out a whistle. 

“Damn, Logan! I didn’t know you grew up filthy rich.” You joked. The main building, a manor that seemed frozen in time, stud tall and big at the top of a hill, surrounded by a vast land.

“Neither did I.” He said with a somber tone. Being back here after so long made Logan feel uneasy, like he was entering a sacred place that was prohibited to him, while at the same time walking into a dangerous place. Either way, he didn’t want to be there. You could tell this wasn’t easy for him and you wanted to make him feel at ease, but you could only help him as much as he would allow it. And right now he was being too stubborn for that.

When he parked the car you both got out, but as Logan headed to the door he noticed you weren’t following. Instead you stood by the car, arms crossed on your chest and a pout on your face.

“You coming or what?” He asked annoyed.

“No.” You stomped your foot like a child about to throw a tantrum. “Not until you tell me why you’re being such an ass this morning.” You pressed.

Logan glared at you.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Come on.” 

You shook your head.

“Nope. Something happened and I wanna know what.”

Logan groaned.

“Coming here was your idea, so come on, let’s get moving.”

But you didn’t budge, shaking your head.

“You’re doing it again!” You said.

“Doing what?” Logan asked confused.

“Pushing me away.” You replied, your voice shaking. It made Logan stop in his tracks. He had sworn he wouldn’t push you away again. With a defeated sigh he ran a hand down his face and walked back towards you.

“I’m sorry sweetheart, I didn’t mean to. I guess I’m really stressed right now, not knowing what we may find there.” He said pointing at the building with his thumb over his shoulder. “I barely got any sleep but I don’t mean to take it out on you.” He reassured you.

Damn, you really had him wrapped around your finger, didn’t you?

“Why didn't you just tell me? You know you can tell me anything.” The sad look on your face, with a little pout on your lips, made Logan’s defense crumble.

“I know, I’m sorry sweetheart. You already did so much for me I didn’t want to burden you with something else.”

You pouted even more.

“After all this time you still haven’t learned that you’re not a burden for me.” You shook your head and stepped closer. “I guess I’ll just have to keep reminding you.” You took his hand and walked towards the door. “Come on!”

Logan smiled softly. Of course you forgave him right away, you just couldn’t stay mad at him.

He was so screwed!

“Is it anything like you remember?” You asked him and he looked around the building.

“Somewhat, yeah. But mostly things look out of place.”

Several families lived there after the Howletts, and in the latest decades functioned as a museum, so changes were to be expected, but at least most of the structure was left the same since the last time Logan was there.

You were spotted by an employee behind a counter.

“Welcome to Howlett Estate! Would you like a guided tour?” He asked.

“No.” Logan said simply. You threw him a look.

“We would like to explore on our own, but we may have questions for later.” You added politely.

“Okie dokie! Here are some flyers and you can use your phones to download more information.” 

You took the flyers and smiled.

“Thank you!” You said before taking Logan by the arm and walking away. “I like him, he says okie dokie.” Logan simply rolled his eyes.

Stepping into the museum felt like traveling through a time machine. The furniture, the lamps, the carefully preserved clothes, all of it carried the weight of 200 years of history. You couldn’t help but wish these artifacts could speak, sharing the stories they had witnessed. How many footsteps had echoed through these halls? How many secrets were tucked away within these walls?

With your arm gently hooked around Logan's, you strolled at a leisurely pace, making sure he didn’t rush through the space. You wanted him to take it all in, to truly absorb every detail around him.

In the main room rested an imposing portrait of the Howlett family: John, Elizabeth and little James.

“Is that you?” You whispered pointing at the boy on the painting.

“I think so.”

“Awww you were so cute!” You gushed. Logan blinked and looked away, the tips of his ears turning pink. “Look at those little shorts!”

“I looked ridiculous in those clothes.” He deflected.

“Uh I’m sure they were very fashionable at the time.” You shrugged. “Your mom was very beautiful.”

Logan stared at the woman in the painting with a newfound pain in his chest: he craved for a motherly love he never felt. For someone who lived such a long life, he surely missed out on a lot of things.

“She really was.” He said softly.

You stayed quiet, knowing Logan needed a moment to process everything. There were signs of recognition in his eyes, but you didn’t dare to ask. If he wanted to share a memory with you, he would let you know.

You moved from one room to the other, until you reached a children’s bedroom and Logan stopped in his tracks.

“I remember this place…” He walked in slowly, taking everything in.

“Yeah?” You were curious. “Was this your bedroom?”

“I think so. It looked a bit different then, but yeah…”

“You had a big ass bed.” You pointed out the fancy mahogany bed. “I bet you were very spoiled.” You teased, but you dropped your playfulness when you saw the lost look on Logan’s face.

“I remember spending a lot of time in bed. I was a sickly kid.” He then walked to the bed and stared at it for a moment. You could almost see the wheels turning in his head. Suddenly Logan pushed the bed to the side, as if it weighed nothing.

“Logan!” You chastised. “We’re not supposed to touch anything!”

“Just keep watch.” Logan said before kneeling down and reaching behind the head of the bed.

“What are you doing?” You asked before leaning against the door, watching out for anyone coming your way.

“I left something in here…” he tapped around the wall until he heard a hollow sound. The room had clearly been reformed through the years, but to Logan’s surprise his little hidden spot was untouched. With one of his claws he managed to pull out a piece of skirting board and there it was: his little box of treasures.

He quickly put the board back in its place and then moved the bed.

“What is that?” You asked as you both sat on the bed. Logan opened the tin box, dust flying everywhere, and was met with little pieces of his childhood. There was an uncharacteristic tenderness in the way Logan picked the first item, his movements careful and deliberate, a stark contrast to his usual rough manner. 

It was a little lead soldier.

“I remember this, my grandfather got it for me during a business trip.” He said before going for another item, and then another, and another. “He wasn’t very nice, so little things like this meant a lot to me.”

In the box were all kinds of things a boy could treasure: a few colorful marbles, a feather, some coins…

“It’s like a time capsule.” You whispered before reaching in and taking a postcard from the box. It had a beautiful painting of a rose. You turned it around and read outloud “Love you forever, your little flower -Rose.” You smiled softly. “Mmmm who’s Rose?” 

Logan took a moment to think before picking the car.

“A childhood friend.” He said. It was a lie, or at least not the whole truth. Logan and Rose’s story was a long and messy one, one that ended in tragedy.

“A childhood friend.” You repeated with a scoff. “I didn’t know you called your friends “little flowers”.” you teased, elbowing him playfully.

Logan rolled his eyes.

“Shut up.” He said before snatching the card from your hand and placing it back in the box. If it wasn’t because of the shy smile on his face you would think he was actually mad.

Then something in the box caught his attention and his smile dropped. You watched as he carefully picked up an old pocket watch from the box.

“This was my father’s.” He said softly. “It was broken, so he didn’t use it anymore. He told me I could keep it and maybe one day I would figure out how to fix it.” He frowned, caressing the watch with his thumb, the same way he did with his lighter. “That day never came.” He said sadly.

You watched him quietly, before placing your hand on his back and rubbing soothing circles on it.

“You just got a piece of him back, that’s something…” You commented.

“Yeah, you’re right.”

“Excuse me?” A voice behind you said. You quickly threw your coat on Logan’s lap, hiding the box, before turning to see a tour guide standing by the door. “You’re not supposed to sit on the bed.” He said, a disapproving look on his face.

“Right! Of course! I’m sorry!” You jumped from the bed and walked towards him. “So, I have some questions, I saw there are a lot of portraits on the staircase, are they members of the Howlett family? Who are they?” You talked fast, pushing the guide out to the hall to give Logan a moment alone. You gave Logan a pointed look over your shoulder before stepping out of the room.

Logan kept looking into the box before finally closing it and putting it in your bag. He would look more into it later, for now he had to make sure you weren’t getting in trouble.

He found you asking all kinds of questions to the poor guide, who looked confused and flustered.

“... so if the mattresses were filled with feathers, how many geese or ducks would they need to fill in a king sized bed?” you asked.

“I wouldn’t know, ma’am.”

“I imagine it would be a lot!”

“Right.”

“And they made their own candles, right? Now, how do you make a candle?” You asked, playing dumb.

“I think that’s enough, sweetheart.” Logan said, stopping by your side. The guide sighed with relief.

“I have one more question!” You said before turning back to the poor guy. “What happened to the Howlett family? Are they still around?”

“I’m afraid the family’s history is a tragic one. For starters John and Elizabeth’s first son, John Jr. passed away when he was a baby. Years later they had their second son, James. There aren’t any actual records, given the time, but for what we could gather James was an illegitimate son Elizabeth had with the groundskeeper, Thomas Logan. Either way John raised James as his own. Not that he had much of a choice, at the time it would’ve been a massive scandal if people knew James was a bastard child.” while the guide talked and pointed out some portraits you glanced at Logan. There was a storm brewing behind his hazel eyes and you worried he would lash out any moment.

“Whether Mr. Howlett knew or not isn’t clear, but we do know he fired Logan. One evenight Thomas returned and the two men fought to death. It’s believed that he came back to take his son away and was killed in the process, not without mortally wounding John first. Still, someone must’ve taken little James, because he went missing after that. People in town searched for him, but he was never found.”

Slowly and very discreetly you stood by Logan and took his hand. With a squeeze to his fingers you told him you were there for him. This couldn’t be easy for him to hear. He squeezed your hand back, your touch grounding him.

“Feeling incapable of carrying on without her husband and her soon,Mrs. Elizabeth Howlett took her own life. The Howlett name remained, thanks to John’s father, who kept the place up and running until his death. He never stopped looking for James.” The guide concluded.

There was an extended silence, as everything seemed to sink in.

“That is very sad.” you said softly after a moment.

“Indeed.” the guide said. “Anything else you’d like to know?”

You looked at Logan and he shook his head.

“No, that would be all, thank you.” You replied.

“Of course, don’t forget to stop by the gift store!” the guide said before retreating away.

You turned to look at Logan fully.

“Are you okay?” 

Logan barely nodded his head.

“Enough for today.” He mumbled before walking away. 

It wasn’t long before you were both sitting at a table in the far corner of a bar. Logan knocked back drink after drink while you nursed a beer. The tin box laid open on the table while Logan inspected some of his old “treasures”. You were quiet for most of it, but you were worried about him and couldn’t keep silent much longer.

“Are you okay?” You asked. “I know today was intense and a lot happened, but did you at least get some answers? Any memories?”

Logan nodded before downing another drink.

“He was wrong.” He mumbled.

“Who?”

“The tour guide. He got most of the story right, but some details were wrong.” Logan took his father’s watch with a longing look. “My father didn’t kill Thomas Logan, I did.” He confessed. “That night I found out I was a mutant, I killed him with my claws… I was just a child.” He shook his head in shame.

“Oh Logan, I’m so sorry.” you said placing a hand on his arm.

“Thomas Logan was my biological father, but he didn’t mean anything to me. John Howlett didn’t raise me to avoid a scandal. He loved my mother and he loved me. In my heart he will always be my true father.”

“What happened after?” You asked.

“Rose and I ran away with help from my grandfather. The memories get hazy after that, but I do recall…” He took a deep breath. “I recall killing Rose by accident.” He said sadly.

“Oh, Logan…” You didn’t know what to say. 

“I hurt everyone I care about, even before I knew I was a mutant I hurt my family.”

“No, Logan, stop. The way you were conceived wasn’t your fault, you didn’t choose to be your father’s son. You didn’t kill your mother, that’s on her.” You shook your head.

“What about Rose, uh? Or the others that came after her? My life is an endless battle, one death after the other.” He shook his head in defeat. “You should go back to the Mansion without me.”

Your heart dropped.

“What?” the question came out in a shaky voice. “I’m not going anywhere without you.”

“Angel…” Logan sounded exhausted. “I’m a bad man. You don’t need a bad man in your life.”

You frowned and felt hot tears threatening to spill out. 

“Logan, I need you to listen to me.” You said while taking his hand over the table. “I know you say you’re a bad man because you feel guilty, because you have a conscience that weighs on you. But what if I told you that doesn’t make you a bad man. It does the opposite.” He looked at you confused. “A bad man doesn’t care if he hurts someone else, he only cares about himself. A bad man doesn’t have a conscience. And this, James Logan Howlett, is how I know you’re not a bad man. Because you care, I know you do, you care so much and behind this tough exterior there’s a good man craving forgiveness, companionship and even love.”

Logan looked at you for a moment, his eyes going from one side of your face to the other, as if he was memorizing your face.

“Sweetheart…” He breathed out.

“Please don’t leave me.” you begged, catching him by surprise. “You left once and it nearly killed me, please don’t do it again, don’t push me away.” Without realizing, tears started rolling down your cheeks. Logan reached up to touch your face and your eyelids dropped as he wiped your tears.

Your heart ached for him. You were convinced he would never love you back, not the way he loved Jean, but when he touched you like that you couldn’t help but feel a little bit of hope.

In the meantime Logan wondered how he got someone like you to care for him so much, to see the good in him when he couldn’t see it himself. You were so beautiful and if it was up to him you would never cry tears of sadness ever again.

“It’s been a long day, we both need some rest.” He said, both of you exhausted.

Once back at the B&B Logan walked you to your door.

“Will you be okay tonight?” You asked softly.

“Yeah.” Logan replied without thinking too much, before frowning and rubbing his neck. “I think so...” he added unsure. “...probably not.”

“We can stay up and talk a little bit more, if you want.” You offered.

Talking was the last thing Logan wanted to do.

“Angel…” He stepped closer, something shifting in his eyes. He lifted a hand to your face, so slowly it felt as if he was trying not to scare you, and placed it on your cheek. Your breath hitched and you tilted your head against his hand, seeking his touch. “I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done for me.” Logan whispered.

As if drawn together by an invisible force, you stepped closer until your chests were nearly brushing. Logan hesitated, his gaze searching yours for any sign to pull away, to stop. But all he found was an invitation: a soft, loving look that made him feel like the only person in the world. It was as if nothing else existed, no one else mattered, and you wanted him just as much as he wanted you.

“I would do anything for you, Logan.” you confessed. 

And that was all Logan needed to take the next step. He leaned in and pressed his lips against you in a chaste, tentative kiss. Your hands moved up his chest to rest on each side of his neck, pulling him closer, his free hand resting on your hip.

When Logan pulled back he didn’t go far, he rested his forehead against yours. You opened your eyes slowly and looked at him still trying to wrap your head around the fact that he had kissed you. You dreamed of this moment so many times, you weren’t ready to let go.

You tilted your head up and kissed him again, this time with more enthusiasm as the initial shock washed away.

Logan wrapped his arm around your waist while you ran your hands up his neck and your fingers through his hair. When your tongue slipped past his lips, Logan let out a low growl and pulled you closer.

“Fuck, sweetheart…” He hissed against your lips. “I should’ve kissed sooner.” He said before kissing you again.

“I wish you had.” You whispered. 

Logan pressed you against your door, wanting to feel you impossibly close.

“I don’t think I can stop.” Logan admitted. 

“I don’t want you to stop. I've wanted this for a long time.” You said, but before he could kiss you again you pulled your face away slightly. “But I need to know…”

Logan pulled back to look at you better and waited.

“Yes?”

Suddenly you felt like you couldn’t speak, no words would come out of your mouth. When Logan saw you struggle, he tilted your chin and made you look at him.

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m sorry if I pushed you too much.”

You quickly shook your head.

“No, it’s not that… It’s just that…” You took his hands, wanting to ground yourself. “If we’re going any further, I need to know it’s not because you can’t be with Jean.” You looked at him shyly. “I don’t want to be your second choice.”

Logan stared at you for a moment in shock. He knew you were aware of his feelings for Jean, you even held him when he cried over her engagement with Scott. So it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that you had your doubts. He wanted to shut those doubts down fast.

“You’re not.” He said. “I’m an idiot, this entire time I’ve been pinning after her yet you were here by my side, putting up with my crap.” He shook his head. “All those times I talked about her, did I hurt you?”

You chewed your lower lip as you tried to come up with an answer. But you didn’t need to, Logan saw right through you.

“Oh, sweetheart…” He pulled you closer and kissed your forehead. You instantly clinged onto him. “I’m so sorry.”

“You didn’t know.” you tried to comfort him. “I’m sorry I killed the mood.”

Logan chuckled lightly against your skin.

“You didn’t kill anything. I’m glad we talked about this.” He pulled back and cupped your face. “I don’t want Jean, not anymore. I want you, even though I’m convinced I don’t deserve you.”

You rolled your eyes and gave his shirt a little tug.

“You keep saying that, can I convince you otherwise?” You asked with a flirty tone as you played with his dog tags. Logan smirked.

“Perhaps I can be persuaded.” He flirted back.

You quickly opened your bedroom door and pulled him inside. You couldn’t help but giggle as you pushed his jacket off his shoulders and he kicked the door shut. This was everything you dreamed of! Logan easily picked you up by your thighs and you quickly wrapped your legs around his waist.

“You better not drop me!” You laughed.

“Never!” He chuckled and kissed you again.

Logan set you down carefully on the dresser where he took his time tasting your lips and exploring your mouth. Your hands wandered all over his chest, his broad shoulders, his biceps… you wanted to touch every inch of him. You couldn’t get enough of him.

At one point he pulled back and caressed your cheek.

"You're so beautiful," he murmured, his voice carrying an uncharacteristic softness. His eyes held a rare tenderness, mirrored in the gentle way his fingers brushed against you. It was a good thing you were sitting down because your knees were weak and you felt like melting inside. “My sweet little angel.” Logan added before kissing you again.

Your hands worked on unbuttoning his flannel and quickly pushed it off his shoulder, dropping it on the floor next to his jacket.

“Logan…” You whispered against his lips. “Take me to bed…”

He didn’t need to be told twice.

You spend the rest of the night in Logan’s arms, making love and having all kinds of conversations in between, from deep and revealing to fun and silly. But you only had so much energy, and after the fourth round your eyelids started to drop. Logan watched you as you curled up against him, his fingertips caressing your arm up and down. You were breathtaking and he kicked himself for not realizing sooner.

At one point you felt the sheets rustling and the bed moving. You turned to see Logan sitting on the bed, slowly dressing himself. With your eyes heavy with sleep, you tried to sit up, lifting yourself up with your elbow.

“What are you doing?” You asked softly.

Logan turned to look at you and smiled at the sight: you looked adorable, half asleep, your hair a mess, your lips bruised from all the kisses. and the sheets barely covering your naked body.

“Go back to sleep, baby.” He whispered.

Your heart dropped.

“You’re leaving? Why?”

The worry and sadness in your voice didn’t go unnoticed to Logan.

“It’s not what you think.” He shook his head and leaned to kiss your forehead. “I just can’t fall asleep next to you.”

“Why?” you pouted.

“I’m worried I may hurt you again.” He admitted.

You looked at him for a moment, giving him your best puppy dog eyes.

“I wish you didn’t leave.” You wanted nothing more but to sleep in his arms.

“I know, baby, I know.” He sighed. “I’ll keep working on it, I promise. I just don’t want to hurt you.”

You reached for his hand. What he didn’t know is that this was hurting you too.

“Will I see you in the morning?”

Logan smiled and lifted your hand to his lips, kissing your knuckles softly.

“Darling, after tonight, you won’t ever get rid of me.” He chuckled and leaned to kiss you. “Get some sleep, I’ll bring us breakfast in a few hours.” He promised.

“Mmmokay.” You sighed and nuzzled your pillow. “It better be a good breakfast, with lots of kisses.”

Logan chuckled and got up.

“All the kisses you want, my angel.”

--

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[psychoticallykind]

Share with me?

This was my first attempt at writing for day 20 (Baking) of Jegumas, but the story got away from me so I ended up doing something different. However, I actually really like it so I finished it today and thought I would share.

@noblehouseofgay because I think you'll like it.

2,209 words

Trigger Warning: Dysphoria, Dysphoric thoughts

--------------------------------------------------------------

Regulus forced himself to take a deep breath. “It’s fine,” he insisted to the empty bathroom. “I’m fine. It was a dumb comment. It doesn’t mean anything.”

His reflection blinked back tears, long black lashes and flushed skin. But not crying. Not quite, not over this. It wasn’t worth it. He was better than that.

“I don’t care.” Regulus took another deep breath. “I don’t. It doesn’t matter what they think. I don’t care, I’m fine, it’s fine.”

There was a light knock on the door, and panic spiked through his chest. “It’s occupied.”

“I know, love. Are you okay in there?”

Oh. Right.

Of course, James had found him.

Regulus swallowed, trying to sound as steady as possible. “I’m fine.”

“Okay,” James replied. “I was just checking, you’ve been missing for a while.”

The gentle tone threatened to undo all of his hard work - suppress, deny, refuse to feel it. Refuse to react.

James was making it very hard to not feel anything.

“I just said I’m fine,” Regulus snapped, and immediately regretted it. He softened his tone. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

One deep breath. Two.

“That’s okay, love. Take your time, I’m okay to wait.”

Take your time.

Regulus pressed his hands over his eyes. He was not going to cry. Not here, not at some stupid office party. He would not. It was simply not an option, no matter how irritatingly compassionate James sounded right now.

He could get through this. He would smile and talk and be what he needed to be. That was fine. He could do that.

One deep breath. Two. Three.

Four and five, for good measure.

Regulus checked his reflection. He looked - well, he still looked a little upset. But no one would be able to tell unless they knew him and were looking for it, which these people didn’t and wouldn’t.

James was standing against the opposite wall when Regulus opened the door. Dark curls and an emerald green that looked nice on his skin tone. Nothing compared to a deep red, but he’d wanted to match with Regulus tonight.

“Hey,” James greeted him, and Regulus was not going to cry.

“I’m not crying,” he informed his boyfriend.

James nodded, giving Regulus a gentle smile. “I see that.”

And Regulus thought he probably did. James always saw him better than he was supposed to - saw past glares and smiles and posture. Pandora had suggested he was an empath, and Regulus had been slightly inclined to agree.

“I just need to get through the next two hours,” Regulus said, locking everything inside of him into place. “And then we can go home.”

“We don’t need to stay if you don’t want to,” James said softly. Not implying, but not moving from his spot, either.

He was letting Regulus choose.

Regulus hesitated. “Are you sure? Won’t - don’t you have to stay? You own - it’s your company.”

“No one has to stay,” James denied, shaking his head. “It’s a party, Regulus, not a board meeting. Some people only came by for a few minutes. Some won’t come at all. We can leave whenever we want.”

Regulus took another deep breath to avoid feeling things.

James stepped forward, gently taking his hand. “What do you want to do?”

Well, he’d lasted a solid three minutes. Maybe.

“I want to go home,” Regulus admitted, squeezing James’s hand. “Please.”

“Do you want to go through the party to get our jackets or do you want to go the back way and sneak out?”

Regulus could look presentable in front of everyone. He could walk through the crowd and pretend to be okay.

But - well, he didn’t actually have to. Not with James. “I don’t want to go through the party.”

“Sounds great.” James pulled him into a tight hug, kissing the top of his head before letting go.

Regulus couldn’t really help smiling as they separated, following James down the abandoned hallways until they reached the front.

James waved goodbye to the person manning the desk, and then they were outside. Regulus took another deep breath, letting the frigid air clear his head a little more.

James opened his door for him, and Regulus couldn’t help smiling as he got in the car.

Then they started driving, and James was humming along to the music, and it was all so safe.

It was safe, he was safe, and then he was crying, one hand pressed against his mouth and his expression turned to the window so that James wouldn’t see.

“Regulus?”

Regulus bit down hard on his lip.

“Hey, what’s wrong? Will you look at me?”

He shook his head, which was probably dumb. It wasn’t like he’d succeeded - James knew he was upset now.

“Alright, love. Can I pull over? What can I do?”

“Ignore it,” Regulus managed. He closed his eyes. “Ignore me. Don’t act like - just ignore me.”

He knew James would be making that face - the one that meant he hated listening but would do it anyway. He knew it, but didn’t let himself look.

James hated it when Regulus didn’t let him help. Absolutely despised it. But sometimes Regulus couldn’t let him help. He couldn’t talk about it, couldn’t stand letting anyone see him when he was falling apart.

“For how long?”

Forever, Regulus wanted to say. Let me deal with it on my own. Let me drown in it.

But that would be cruel, and he didn’t want to do that to James. So he settled. “Until we get home.”

Then, as an afterthought, “No speeding.”

The quiet grumble that earned him almost made him smile.

It took twenty minutes for them to get home. Twenty minutes for Regulus to be self-destructive - to say to himself all of the things he’d heard before.

It’s your own fault you feel this way.

You know you deserve it.

That’s why you won’t let him help.

If you don’t want to be a girl, you shouldn’t act like one.

You can’t keep crying over something so stupid.

Now he wants to help.

You made him leave the party.

You ruined his night.

You ruin everything, don’t you?

You’re never quite right. Always a little messed up.

Always a bother, a nuisance.

Always upset over something.

“We’re home.”

The words jolted Regulus out of his head for a second, and then James was out of the car. Seconds later, Regulus’s door was open.

James unbuckled his seat belt and leaned forward to pick him up, holding him close to his chest. “I love you, and we’re home, so I’m allowed to tell you that now.”

And it felt so wrong. So wrong and jarring, because he didn’t deserve that. He was wrong, ruined, he was messed up, he messed everything up.

“I love you, you’re perfect.” James managed to close the car door and started walking, pressing a kiss to Regulus’s temple. “You make my life better just by being in it. My incredible boyfriend.”

Regulus flinched, hiding his expression against James’s chest. “I’m not.”

“Not what?” James asked, carrying him inside. “Not incredible? You’re definitely incredible. So smart and talented.”

Regulus shook his head, the words falling between them. “Not a real boy.”

James’s arms tightened around him for a moment, and then he set Regulus on the counter. “You’re wrong.”

Regulus looked down, his breath catching for a second. “I know.”

Wrong, wrong, all wrong.

“Not like that.” James tapped on his chin, gently urging him to look back up. “You’re perfect. The perfect boy, my perfect boyfriend. So handsome and clever and strong.”

Regulus shook his head. “I baked brownies.”

“I know.” James gently wiped at his cheeks, removing tears. “They were amazing, everyone loved them.”

“No, James,” Regulus insisted, stressing the words. “I baked brownies.” He squeezed his eyes shut. “Like a girl.”

“Oh, love.” James tugged him forward, wrapping him up. “Baking doesn’t make you less of a boy. Nothing can, it’s impossible. You could bake brownies in a pink dress and heels wearing a full face of makeup, and you would still be a boy. Nothing can change that.”

Regulus sobbed quietly, shaking his head.

“One day,” James told him. “I’m going to marry you, and you’ll be my husband. And I’ll be the second-happiest guy in the world, because you’ll have to be the happiest. I won’t be able to live with myself otherwise.”

Regulus sucked in a sharp breath. “What?”

“You heard me.” James massaged the back of his head. “No one will be surprised, really. I talk about you all the time - my incredible boyfriend. I have like seven pictures of you on my desk - you know that, though, you’ve seen them.”

Regulus’s breath stuttered, and he held James tighter. “You can’t marry me.”

“Well, not if you don’t say yes,” James replied. “Which would be okay. There’s no obligation, you know, and we can talk about it beforehand. But I would love to, one day. If you’re okay with that.”

Regulus’s voice was small. “What if I’m not?”

“Then we won’t get married.” James ran a hand down his back with a quiet hum. “And we can be happy as we are. I love you regardless, Regulus.”

Dark thoughts tumbled around in his head, but he couldn't voice them. It would invalidate James, he couldn’t do that.

“What are you thinking?” James murmured.

“Bad things,” Regulus admitted.

“Share with me?”

“They’re bad,” he repeated. “You won’t like it.”

“Probably not,” James said agreeably. “But I love you, and I want to know.”

It took a few minutes. A few minutes of back-and-forth, debating with himself. Honesty wasn’t easy or kind, and Regulus wasn’t generally a fan of it.

But James was. He really was - Regulus had never met a more honest person in his life.

“I’m thinking that you love me regardless because you love everyone.”

The words were small. They stung, because it was true. James wasn’t gay - he was pansexual. He loved Regulus.

Regardless of whether he was a real boy or not.

He felt James’s breath catch. “Oh.”

Regulus winced. Maybe honesty had been the wrong choice.

“Okay. I - I need to look at you, love, sorry.” James urged him back, separating them so that he could meet Regulus’s eyes. “You’re right about me. I can love anyone, and I’m not denying that.”

Oh, that hurt, too. Regulus held his breath, eyes darting away from James and to the microwave instead.

“Uh-uh, look at me.”

Regulus bit his lip as he followed the instruction. His lungs were starting to burn.

“Do you remember when we met?” James asked. His hands moved to Regulus’s shoulders, massaging.

Regulus nodded, not trusting his voice just now.

“I didn’t know you were trans,” James pointed out, earnest. “I didn’t know when we met. I didn’t know when we started dating. I fell in love with you before I knew, Reg, you know that.” He traced along Regulus’s collarbone. “Breathe, Regulus.”

His whole body relaxed a bit as he listened, taking in a few deep breaths.

“I have always known you as a boy,” James reminded him quietly. “And I’ve never seen you as anything else.”

Regulus swallowed hard. “Promise?”

“I promise.” James traced his cheekbones, gently swiping over the skin. “Believe me?”

He took a deep breath. “I believe you.”

“Perfect.” James kissed his forehead. “Want to tell me what happened?”

“It’s dumb,” Regulus mumbled, cheeks heating. “It was dumb.”

“Dumb or not, I need to know if I need to fire someone,” James replied.

“Don’t.” Regulus shook his head. “He didn’t know.”

James frowned a little. “Who?”

Regulus shrugged. “I don’t know. He had a bright green tie, looked terrible.”

“Oh, Timothy.” James’s frown grew. “What did he say?”

“He was eating a brownie,” Regulus explained. His voice faltered, but James was rubbing his shoulders again, and it helped. “And he said that when food tastes that good, you can tell a woman did the baking.”

It was a dumb comment. It wasn't targeted, or mean, or purposefully triggering.

But it so closely echoed the things Regulus had heard - had been forced to learn, to internalize. It was so close, and it had torn Regulus apart.

“That’s ridiculous,” James denied, adamant. “I’ll speak to him on Monday.”

“No, James -”

“I will, and I won’t bring up your name, but he needs to know he hurt someone with his thoughtless comments and he will know it,” James interrupted. “Okay?”

He could say no. Regulus knew that - he could say no, could ask James to drop it, and James would listen. He might not like it, but he’d listen.

But he kind of liked that James cared so much. He liked knowing James would defend him.

So Regulus nodded, pulling James forward into a brief kiss. It tasted like champagne and chocolate from earlier, and he was sure James could taste salt from all the crying. And then, when they separated, he whispered the word into James’s parted lips. “Okay.”

Three days later, Regulus received a handwritten apology letter and an apology basket from Timothy. It was addressed to ‘the guy who made the fantastic brownies’.

[just-dreaming-marvel]

Love That Burns ~ Ending 2 ~ 50

LOVE THAT BURNS MASTERLIST

< previous chapter

Word Count: 2,615ish

Summary: A Logan variant makes an appearance and shakes you to your core.

Notes: Welp, here we go! Please share your reactions. I'm worried that this was over hyped and will be a disappointment... Please remember to review the timeline posted here.

Reminder: I DO NOT do taglists. Please don’t ask. Please follow and interact! I appreciate any reblogs, likes, comments, and asks!

Laura’s nerves grew as she drove the Honda Odyssey back to the makeshift home. She had seen your grief first hand, even as you tried to shield the worst of it from her. She knew that you still cried in the shower. Laura heard you call out for ‘James’ at night in your sleep. She saw the bags under your eyes during the bad days and the way you would absentmindedly play with your ring when you were thinking about Logan. Laura knew that you had gotten better as the years went on, though there were still hard days. She also knew that seeing this Logan may through you back into the worst of it. But he could also be the way out of the Void. 

When she parked the van, Laura took a deep breath. She headed inside, trying to prepare herself for the turmoil that she may have just brought into your life. 

“Is my mom back yet?” She asked the others, unable to see you inside immediately.

“Not yet,” Blade responded.

Laura felt some relief. “Good. Can I get your help bringing some people inside? I found some newbies.”

Once Elektra, Blade, and Gambit helped Laura get the two unconscious men inside, Laura gathered the others outside.

“Looks like we got ourselves another Deadpool,” Blade noted.

“That—That man in the yellow and blue, he’s a variant of my father,” Laura explained. “A Wolverine.”

“Well, that’s good, ain’t it?” Gambit questioned.

Laura shook her head. “Not for my mom. It could… set her back. The two loved each other for fifty-seven years. It was a love for the ages… She’s still not over it and I don’t blame her.”

“What do you want us to do?” Elektra asked.

“I want us to find out what they are doing here and if they can help us return to our universes.”

“Can do,” Blade responded.

Elektra stepped up to Laura and placed her hand on the young woman’s shoulder. “Are you okay?” She asked.

“I’ll be fine. Just… give me a second. I’ll be in after you.”

“Alright. Let’s go.”

Laura watched as Blade, then Elektra, and then Gambit entered the makeshift house. She clenched and unclenched her fists as she began to pace a little. This was hard for her too, seeing her father’s face but knowing it’s not him. There was a lot of unsolved issues between the two of them. You had stepped in and mended a lot of those, but sometimes they still affected her. 

Then there was the worry about how you would react to seeing a variant of your dead husband. Did that Wolverine have an X-23 or an Ember? If so, would he be trying to rush back to them? Laura gave the surrounding area a glance, just to check if you were near, before heading inside to regroup with the others. 

“We’re not totally fucked at all,” Laura could tell that was the voice of the Deadpool. “So who brought us here?”

“That would be me,” Laura stated, coming down into the large room. “Don’t make me regret it.”

“Holy shit. Logan. That’s her. That’s X-23.” Laura glanced over to where Logan was standing in the back room, a bottle of alcohol in hand. “She’s the one I told you about.” Logan met the young woman’s gaze as he lifted the bottle back up to his mouth. “Hey, how did you all get stuck in The Void?”

“There was a knock at the door,” Blade explained. “The TVA sent me here.”

“Me, too,” Elektra said.

“Well, maybe I was born here,” said Gambit. “It’s… It’s hard to know for sure.

“The TVA decided our universes were dying,” Blade added. “And I never even got a chance to fight for it.”

Laura moved towards the back room, her and Logan keeping each other in their sights. Logan continued to drink. Wade had told him of X-23 and an Ember, whom the version of himself in Wade’s universe had saved. He didn’t know how he felt about it, but he did know that he wasn’t like that version of him.

“People like us don’t go quietly,” Elektra continued. “The TVA knows that, so they took us out.”

Deadpool made a smooching sound beneath his mask. “This answer is yes,” he said. “I’m in.”

~~~

You sighed as you arrived back to your makeshift home. Johnny had been no where to be find, leaving you to fear the worst. As you headed inside, you noticed the destroyed Honda Odyssey. You knew that couldn’t be a good thing. The further you entered the house, you heard a familiar voice. But it couldn’t be. Wade died more than fifty years ago when you lost Logan the first time. 

“—answer is yes,” Wade’s voice said. “I’m in.”

“In what?” You asked, making it to the bottom of the stairs.

“Holy fucking shit!” Deadpool gasped. “You—You’re Ember! Like the Ember! From my universe!”

“Uh, what?”

“I am your biggest fan!” He rushed forward and pulled you into an embrace. Laura stepped closer, but you put a hand out to stop her. Deadpool pulled back but kept his hands on your arms. “I seriously can’t believe I’m in front of you right now. No one back on all the fan sites are going to believe I even got close to you! Peanut, look who it is!”

Deadpool pulled you around him and pushed you forward. You stumbled to a stop as your eyes caught sight of the familiar face in front of you. A strangled breath got caught in your throat. Uncontrollable flames weaved through your fingers as you were frozen in place. It was a younger—bit beefier— version of your Logan and his eyes… there was a different story to tell there. But it was Logan.

Logan was frozen too. Your face was one that he didn’t ever think he’d see again. Especially after the last time… when it was cold and lifeless. Here you were. Alive and well, standing in front of him. It was everything he had ever wanted. Yet he knew that you weren’t his Ember… his Y/N. He had let her down.

“I sense something intense happening here,” Deadpool whispered. “Maybe we should let you two fuck it out—“

“Shut the fuck up, Wilson, for one damn second!” Logan roared. 

The sudden anger had you tripping backwards. Laura stepped forward to steady you but you flinched away, feeling your skin growing hotter.

“Mom,” Laura called calmly.

“I— I need a— a second,” you stammered.

“I can—“

“Alone.” 

Then you rushed back up the stairs. Your heart was hammering against your chest and you hadn’t even realized that your breathing had become uneven. Your shaky legs took you into the woods until you collapsed against one of the large trees. Tears began sizzling down your cheeks as a variety of emotions swirled inside. Grief. Longing. Confusion. Love. Anger. Every emotion that you had tried to push down or work through was suddenly right there, taking over your every being.

The ring that sat on your finger suddenly felt too heavy. You tore it off and held it against your chest as you sobbed. Curling in on yourself, you failed to notice that the dry ground around you began to catch fire.

~~~

Logan watched with regret filled eyes as you rushed out of the building. As soon as you were out of sight, he downed the rest of the bottle in his hand before tossing it aside and grabbing another one.

“Wow,” Deadpool exaggerated. “Hey, Peanut, are you not going to chase after the love of your life there?”

“Fuck off,” Logan muttered, before taking another swig of drink.

Laura’s eyes moved from the doorway over to Logan with a sigh. “Let’s just continue with a plan,” she said. “I’ll give my mom a few minutes to cool down.”

~~~

Everything hurt. Physically. Mentally. Emotionally. The flames around you had died down with your sobs. Leaving behind a whimpering, smoky mess.

“Mom! Mom!” You could hear Laura’s voice in the distance, or so your mind made it seem. “Mom!”

“Kick ass fire woman!” Wade’s voice joined. “Greatest mother of all time!”

“Shut up, Wade! This is serious. Mom—“ Laura cut herself off as you came into view. “Mom!” She raced over to you. “Mom…”

“Laura,” you rasped, looking at her through half closed eyes. 

Laura could tell that you were in pain, in every which way you could be. Wade suddenly appeared next to her, mask off. 

“Oh shit, fire starter,” he exclaimed, “you don’t look so hot.”

Laura growled and plunged her claws into Wade’s leg. He shouted out in pain before gripping his leg and hopping backwards.

“Fuck, little wolf! Just like your old man!” He complained. “I’m outta here. Need a moment to daydream for my next Emberine fic. My readers are gonna have a field day!” Then Wade skipped off.

Laura’s focus went back onto you. “Can you walk?” She wondered.

“No,” you whispered.

“I got it,” a rough voice sounded from behind. 

No one had noticed that Logan had followed. He hadn’t planned to but seeing you rush off and then Laura’s concern when you hadn’t returned after an hour, Logan felt the need to see what was up. Without truly looking at you, he crouched down beside you and slipped his arms underneath you. Your breath caught as your eyes closed and your body was moved up and against Logan’s. 

“Where to?” Logan’s voice was low and rough.

“This way,” Laura said, beginning to lead the way back to the building.

Logan kept his eyes forward despite the growing urge to look down at you. Especially as you began to tremble more with each step he took. You kept your eyes closed as Logan carried you, though tears slipped through and down your cheeks. Laura led Logan into one of the back rooms, where there was a bed.

“Here,” Laura motioned to the bed. “Lay her down.”

Logan tried to lay you down as carefully as he could. You immediately curled in on yourself further as he pulled away.

“Thanks,” Laura said as she sat down beside you.

Logan grunted in response before grabbing a few bottles of alcohol and heading back outside. Laura took her backpack off and dug inside of it for the cooling blanket she had in there. She placed it over you, making sure that everything was covered except your head. Your eyes were still clamped shut and tears were slipping through.

“Tell me this is a dream,” you begged quietly. 

“I’m sorry, mom,” Laura said, placing a hand on you, over the blanket.

“Not your fault.”

Laura sighed. “We came up with a plan though. A plan to defeat Cassandra. We leave in the morning.”

“I should be okay by then.”

“I don’t think you should come.”

“Laura—“

“No. You are not okay mentally or physically.”

“You’re crazy to think that I would let you go fight without me.”

“Mom—“

“No. I’ll be fine with some rest… Is… Is that Logan fighting too?”

Laura shook her head. “Says we’re all dead.”

You sighed. “Sounds about right… Thanks for taking care of me, kiddo.”

~~~

Night had fallen and Logan found himself in front of a fire with another bottle of alcohol. His eyes watched the flames as they flickered in front of him. It provided him no peace of mind: the silence, the fire, or the alcohol. All his thoughts drifted to you and how he had failed you, or well, his version of you.

Logan exhaled deeply as Laura came over. “Hey, hey,” he quickly said. “I’m not lookin’ for company. Get out of here.”

Laura didn’t deter, sitting down near him. “You remind me of him,” Laura stated with a found smile. “Angry. Drunk. Mean.”

“Sounds like a great guy—“

“Wasn’t finished…” Logan glanced over, an eyebrow raised curiously. “Showed up when it mattered the most. Couldn’t help it.” Logan sighed, staring at the fire. “You might not know it, but… you’re a good man, Logan.”

Logan chuckled. “You might not know it, but apparently I’m the worst Logan.”

“I got to have a life because of you… I got to grow up because of you… A lot of kids did… I have a mom because of you… Y/N survived because of you.”

“Yeah, well, a lot of kids didn’t grow up because of me… Y/N didn’t survive because of me… Trust me, kid, I’m no hero.”

“That suit says different.”

Logan grunted, glancing down at it. “Yeah. Do you like it?”

“Mhm.”

“Y/N used to beg me to wear it… So did Scott, Jean, Storm, Beast… All of them… They wanted me to be part of the team, but I wouldn’t. Told ‘em they all look fucking ridiculous. I mean… I couldn’t have ‘em thinkin’ I wanted to be there…” Logan shook his head, eyes staring at the flames in front of him as they grew glossy. “And then one day, while I was off on my own, the humans came… and went mutant hunting.”

“I can guess the rest.”

“No, no,” he shook his head, “let me… Let me say it.” He nodded, growing more emotional. “I… I need to say it… By the time I stumbled in shitfaced from the bar, it was too late… Her smoke and flames were everywhere. Like she had tried to protect everyone… They were dead. Every—“ Logan swallowed down the sob threatening to push its way of his throat. His bottom lip trembled as his mind replayed the horror. “She was dead… Beast had clearly tried to protect her… but they were all dead… This suit’s all I got to remind me of who they were. And what I did.” Logan sniffled before lifting up the bottom and taking another drink. “How’s… How’s your mother?”

“She’s fine. Resting.”

“Good. Uh, I’m sorry if I triggered anything.”

“I knew bringing you here was a risk. She’s tried so hard to heal and be strong for me… I’d never known that two people could love each other so unconditionally like the way you and her did.”

Logan scoffed. “Ain’t me, kid. I screwed up with my Y/N… was never enough for her.”

“Never enough for her, or never enough for you?” Logan’s eyes snapped to Laura. “My mom says that you were perfectly enough, you just got in your own way.” He looked back at the fire. “We’re headed to Cassandra’s at sunup.”

“Have fun. Not my fight.”

“We won’t pull this off without you.”

Logan glanced at Laura briefly before returning his focus to the fire. Laura clenched her jaw as she stood up and began walking away.

“Hey,” Logan called after her. “Whoever you think I am, you got the wrong guy.”

Laura paused and turned back to face him. “You were always the wrong guy,” she responded. “But never to her.”

Laura walked off, leaving Logan drinking by the fire. He took another swig of his drink, his mind reeling. You were not the same Y/N that he had lost in his universe. He had yet to let you down. So by not fighting, he couldn’t. Or was he letting another one of you down? Could he live with himself knowing that he could have saved another one of you, or at least tried? Logan sighed, tossing the bottle into the fire. Maybe this was a chance to save you in a way that he couldn’t before. Maybe this was a chance to change his Worst Wolverine status. Or maybe, this was all a cruel joke and Logan would never be able to redeem himself.

next chapter >

[ctrl-alt-bucky]

♡ Release ♡

Simon Riley x Female Reader [Requested prompt!]

The team finally has time to rest after months of hard work. Pent up, you and Ghost find a good outlet for release— each other.

Heed the warning below! There isn't much kink to this one tbh, just a mild hint of public play. If you want a spicier fic, check out the last one I wrote in this mini series. Ao3 and everything is in the notes at the end.

Enjoy! ;)

Word count: 3,479 | Chapters: 1 | Tags: Fempov, missionary, slow build, risky

Long, sleepless nights weren't an uncommon occurrence for you. It wasn't often you got respite during times of high tensions and potential war. Echoes of gunfire tarnished your dreams; stains of blood penetrating your body bone-deep, even when it's scrubbed clean of any signs; a reminder that you were forever marked by death.

As for Simon, he knew the experience all too well.

Words were hardly exchanged, just knowing looks and observations. You tightly wrapped in a blanket, sitting on the edge of a couch in the common room, the digital clock mocking you with the ungodly hour. Simon, his tired eyes and partially masked face, standing by the counter waiting for the coffee pot to start bubbling.

It started a few months after you got assigned to taskforce 141. You piece together from Ghost's slow acceptance of your presence that he's done this a while now— snuck out of the barracks in the middle of the night to make coffee or simply sit in the silent, empty room. But it wasn't empty for long. You'd make it to the room after him, often times. At first, you wouldn't acknowledge him, assuming Simon wanted it that way. But then that turned into small nods of greeting, then to sharing a pot of coffee while you two leaned with your backs to the counter, and then, somewhere in the mix, a bond grew.

It wasn't an every night occurrence. While deployed, your relationship with him was business as usual, and when you weren't shipped off to God knows where— well, it took days to recover. Days spent alone and half-asleep in a dark room with stashed weapons for all of the ‘what ifs’ your mind could conjure.

Dark circles sag under your eyes, matching Simon's. The team had been stationed here for a week now, and it was only just tonight that you decided it wasn't worth tossing and turning until daybreak.

A steaming mug of weak coffee sits on the counter. You greet Simon with a barely-there smile of appreciation and wrap your hand around the ceramic curve, your fingers curling over the handle. It has a marines logo on the front, faded and stained from time. Amusing, to say the least.

Simon is sitting down at the small fold-up table with his own mug, the liquid half gone. Something about him seems… off. He's more jittery than usual, and that's not the caffeine speaking. His eyes bore into the tabletop, his eyebrows pulling together; tense. The lower half of his face is covered by a black mask, missing its iconic skull design. It makes it hard to tell what he's thinking or feeling. You suppose that's the point.

“Price mentioned an intel mission earlier. Looks pretty secure, if we can get it in time.” You murmur quietly, breaking the tense silence.

Ghost nods his head, but doesn't look up from the table. He makes a small “mmn” noise in agreement and you figure he's not talkative tonight. No big deal. He usually isn't one for talking during these late nights anyway. You usually aren't either, but you're worried. You can't help it.

Sipping from your mug, you approach the small couch facing away from the table. There's a small, old tv in front of it, balanced on top of four crates with a board laid across them. There isn't enough funding distribution for a tv stand or good mattresses, but there's an endless shipment of coffee to keep your team functioning. Go figures. You're not one to complain though; You're lucky you even get entertainment in this place.

The tv is set to low, playing a random movie from the 80’s. You spot a VHS tape in one of the crates and wonder who the hell brought that along for a set up like this. While the intro to a murder mystery plays, you hear footsteps behind you, and Simon appears in the corner of your eye.

His gaze is on the tv, reading the title screen that flashes in bright colors and a font that’s distinctly from that era. You shuffle over to provide more room, and he hesitates before taking a seat, one arm staying propped on a small couch cushion wedged into the corner. He's man-spreading, but you don't mention it. The way your knees just barely brush against each other— it's the closest you've gotten to him outside of the occasional encouraging pat on the shoulder before a mission.

It's been ages since you've last felt someone's touch.

You curl your legs in so that they're tucked underneath you, your cold hands keeping the mug steady. Simon’s watching you from the corner of his eyes. It makes your heartbeat quicken.

Fifteen minutes go by. When you next bring the mug to your lips, you realize it's empty, having disappeared while you idly drank and stared in the general direction of the tv. You couldn't bother paying attention right now.

"Do you need help?" You ask quietly.

Ghost looks at you. He blinks.

“You look jittery.”

“I’m not jittery.” Ghost grumbles.

You raise a brow and he lets out a defeated sigh and looks up at the ceiling. After a few moments of silence, he puffs out a soft breath, calm and controlled, and shakes his head like he’s shaking himself free of the endless turmoil bubbling inside his head.

“Whaddya have in mind?”

✩⋆---⭑✧⭑---⋆✩

It starts out with cards.

Poker; Cribbage; Go Fish. Ghost has an unfair advantage with poker because of the mask, but he refuses to take it off when you point it out to him, so he ends up switching the game before you two even start.

Holding your set of cards like a fan, you peer over them as Ghost stares at the tabletop with an intense look of concentration.

Slowly, he reaches for a card in his own little pile (you expected him to be neat with his own cards, but he’s not. It’s chaotic. Nevertheless, it suits him)— and he glances up at you, his voice gruff when he asks, “Any queens?”

You pretend to study your deck. You know you have none, but you still take your time. Something in you doesn’t want this to end; To go back to your bunks, exhausted and alone, and wait until the next time the universe grants you both a respite.

Sighing, you can’t help but smile as you finally answer, “Go fish.”

Ghost draws from the deck, but you reach your hand out before it’s fully across the table. The touch is electric, and it causes Ghost’s eyes to flick up to meet yours. You realize just how brown they are. A deep brown, with hints of hazel. They stand out amongst the black of his mask— even more so when he’s got black paint smudged around his sockets out on the battlefield. You never really noticed it until now. Goosebumps rise on your arms, hidden beneath the sleeves of your sweater.

You were meant to say something, anything, but you can’t find the words.

Ghost finds them for you.

“You’re bored.” He says it like a statement, not a question.

You nod, slowly.

Ghost makes a humming noise of agreement and nods too. Then he brushes his thumb over the back of your hand, his gaze idly watching your fingers slightly twitch. The air feels charged and heavy and tinged with uncertainty. You find it difficult to properly breathe, your chest tight and body tense; your mind a race of he’s touching me, he’s touching me and I can’t handle it, he’s touching me and I can’t remember the last time I felt this— have I ever felt this?— would it even matter?—

You haven’t a clue what’s going through Ghost’s head, but you can see that something is affecting him. His chest rises and falls faster, those broad shoulders taught with a newfound tension you hardly recognize. Preparing himself. Ghost isn’t like this unless he’s looking down the sights of his rifle. All poise and concentration, he tightens his grasp like he’s pulling a trigger and he’s dragging you out of nowhere, guiding your upper half across the short table under you’re leaned over and inches away from his face.

You say nothing. Hell, what could you say? Stop? Don’t?

You want this.

Fuck, you need this.

You use your free hand to tug his mask under his chin and you kiss him.

It’s firm yet hesitant, and your mind races with all the ways this could backfire. But Ghost is warm and his stubble is rough, scratching against your chin and lips as he leans into it, pressing into you as though he’s giving himself permission to allow this.

The kiss breaks when you run out of breath. You pant as you try to catch up, your eyes blinking open to find Ghost’s half-lidded gaze searching your face with a sense of desperation. Realization has set in: the floodgates have opened, and there’s no going back now.

You lead this time around, scooting yourself out of the shitty metal chair and rounding the table to him. Ghost stands, his eyes never leaving you once, and he’s tall and broad, towering over you, even as he bends his head down to meet your lips with a feverish kiss. You taste the coffee on his breath and the warmth from his tongue as it glides against yours clumsily. His hands grip your hips and suddenly you’re pulled upward like you weigh nothing and set down onto the tabletop with your legs spread. Ghost fits himself between your knees, his hands trailing down to grip your thighs, squeezing the flesh.

A rush of heat fills your body. You can feel a blush on your cheeks, heat prickling the back of your neck. The space between you and his chest is hot as well, practically radiating off of his body— the body that keeps you trapped against it with your legs locked and hands scrabbling at its shoulders; the body that’s firm and muscular and alive under your touch, reacting to each grind of your hips as you desperately rock against him.

“Fuck.” Ghost murmurs against your lips, low and breathy.

You can’t help the chuckle that escapes. You’re giddy with the feelings knotted inside your chest. This is happening. Holy shit. And you can’t come to terms with this, that’s it’s taken so long to happen. The tension wasn’t not there. Subtle glances and lingering looks were just the start, not to mention the jokes Soap, Gaz, and even Price made about you two— about how similar you were; quiet and brutal and deadly, two lone wolves watching their pack’s back.

Even so, Ghost has more resilience than this. You thought you had more— hell, if your self control was hanging by a thread during the last mission, then it’s practically been snapped now, and by your own two hands.

You’re tired of feeling tired. And Ghost is more than eager to quell the chaotic energy inside of you both.

His teeth catch your bottom lip as you tilt your head and grasp for the back of his neck. You flinch, the pain incredibly brief, and he makes a low groaning noise that sends a bolt of heat straight between your legs. Your thighs clench around him, and he soothes the nip with his tongue as an apology, but all it does is make you whine with need.

Lips tingling, you break the kiss to the sound of a zipper. Ghost bites his bottom lip and follows your eyes down to where your hips lay flush together. His boxers are exposed, belt flayed open, and he’s hard and he’s big too. Bigger than you anticipated— and you haven’t even properly seen it yet.

You slide a hand down his chest and palm the bulge with deft fingers. Ghost groans again, and it’s right then that you decide you want to hear more of that noise.

It takes some maneuvering, but your cargos find the floor in no time. The tabletop is cold against the backs of your thighs, but Ghost's hands are burning hot against your skin. His eyes remain between you, looking down at the (frankly embarrassing) pink panties you're wearing. There's a hint of amusement in Ghost's gaze, like he's tempted to make a comment on it, but instead he just presses his thumb to the front of the fabric and rubs, slow and precise.

For all of the training you've had— the long night's waiting hours in the cold for the perfect moment to strike; the torture that you stayed resilient through; the second-hand nature of your brain thinking logically over what you actually wanted— seemed to be all in vain in this one moment.

Whether it was a long time coming or not, you struggle to even stay still as Ghost’s thumb presses harder, seeking out the shaky breaths leaving your parted lips. It sinks even lower, to a forming wet patch on the thin fabric, and Ghost practically rumbles when he sees the evidence of your desperation.

He wastes no time in pulling the fabric to the side and adjusting your position, pulling your thighs up until you're resting on your lower back with your legs bent and bowed out. Ghost murmurs something that sounds like praise, but you're too caught up in the sound of your heartbeat thumping away in your ears.

First, it's just a finger that enters you. Ghost’s hand trembles so slightly you almost miss it, and he pumps the digit in and out a few times before eagerly adding another. You aren't quite prepared for it. The burn of a stretch would otherwise deter you, but now— now, all it does is drive you up the fucking wall.

“Ghost.” You whine, voice warbly.

Ghost curls his fingers and your head tips back, eyes squeezing shut.

“Simon—”

Now that causes Ghost to falter.

You open your eyes and glance down your body to see his reaction, afraid you might've crossed a line. If his eyes were any indicator, you have a feeling you just skirted the line. You also realize he shed his own cargos at some point and pulled down the hem of his briefs to his mid-thigh, exposing the long, hard curve of his cock. It reaches his navel, the tip wet and catching the dim sterile light of the room.

“Simon.” You repeat carefully.

Ghost pulls his fingers out, grabs under your hips, and drags you even closer to the edge of the table. You yelp, but it's no deterrent. He's feral in a way you've never seen— desperation and nerves and frustration all coiled into his determined expression, truly like a wild animal. It isn't often you get to see under the mask. What doesn't make sense is why he's letting you while he's vulnerable like this.

Your eyes meet as he lines up and rubs the tip against you, hot and slick.

And then he pushes in, and your eyes close once more as every feeling in your body narrows down to just this. This stretch, this heat— everything. The way Ghost’s chest vibrates as he groans, how he feels inside, thick and real; it's so much to handle, all you can do is lay back and try to catch your breath until he reaches the hilt.

Buried deep inside, Ghost grinds his hips and grunts when you whimper in response. His hands are gripping under your thighs, right below the bend of your knees, and he's using the contact as an anchor to drive himself in and out like he has no time to waste. And with how you've been treated lately, there really is no time to waste. God knows how late into the night it's gotten, but the thrill of what if—

And oh god. What if.

*What if someone comes in?*

The windows are foggy with condensation, the frames coated with dust and grime and who knows what; But you can see the beginnings of a washed yellow peeking through the thick trees outside, right past Ghost's shoulder. You catch a subtle reflection from the overhead light bouncing off the glass pane, transfixed by his rippling muscles as they bunch and strain while he practically pounds into you with all his might.

Arching your back, you dig your heels into his lower back and shudder when the angle changes, his cock brushing past the sensitive bundle of nerves buried inside of you. Ghost notices that you're distracted, but it's clear he doesn't know why. You can't tell if he's irritated by it or curious, but the worry doesn't stick around very long— he presses his thumb to your clit before you have the chance to regroup yourself, and that's all the stimulation it takes to stoke the fire burning in your gut. It's all you need to stop caring about the risk of you two getting caught. You both deserve this�� surely, the team would understand.

You feel yourself pulse around Ghost's cock, an orgasm so treacherously close you can feel your thighs shaking with the force of its foundation.

They'd better understand.

You might die from this feeling. Forget the trenches, there's nothing that makes you shake, cry, and beg so easily.

“That's it,” Ghost grunts. The words, among the first he's spoken almost all night, prod at a part of your brain you thought was long shut down by now. And he keeps doing it, encouraging you with low, growly breaths and strained words; a mixture that makes your head spin— beyond the fact that you're nearly upside down with how high your back is arched, your temple nearly pressed to the tabletop.

Ghost bends over you to get a better hold, and then he's rapidly thrusting like a fucking rabbit, and oh God, you can feel it— it's too much, too quick and too overstimulating, but he doesn't stop, he doesn't slow down, and suddenly Ghost's hand is covering your mouth as you practically wail your release. It crashes over you like a tidal wave, all-encompassing and fueled by years of restraint.

Your pussy spasms around him, walls uncontrollably rippling, even fighting to push him back out. But Ghost only drives in deeper, and in one, two, three thrusts, he seats himself fully to the hilt and groans against the sweat-slick skin of your neck as a warm, dirty feeling floods your insides.

✩⋆---⭑✧⭑---⋆✩

It takes you a while to catch your breath. Ghost is right with you, propping himself up on his palms, hands on either side of your trembling body, as his cock pulses the last ropes of cum inside. He slowly pulls his hips back until there's a rush of hot liquid gushing out onto the tabletop.

Your thighs are a mess— hell, your whole body looks more run through than some of the exercise regimes you and the team are forced to do every couple of weeks. You definitely feel a lot sweatier, though the lack of mud, blood, and grime in general is a plus.

Your face burns with a sense of embarrassment as you look between your legs and notice the mess he left behind. Ghost's cock is still half-hard, but he carefully smears the tip along your inner thigh (and holy shit that imagery will never leave your mind from now on) and stuffs it back into his briefs, then zips up his jeans before adjusting the belt, each movement precise.

You half expect him to just leave you there, but Ghost's hands are gentle when they grab ahold of your arms and pull you up into a seated position. Knees bent, your legs hang off the table, feet a foot or so from the cold floor. Ghost says nothing as he quickly snags the blanket you dragged in from off the back of the couch and wraps it around your shoulders. He helps you shuffle side to side so you can adjust your panties until they're properly on again, and he even goes the full mile to help guide your feet into the pant legs of your cargos until they're on as well. Not like you can wear these again, considering how stained they'll be in the next few minutes.

“Feel better?”

It's the only thing you manage to come up with to break this weird, tense silence. Your voice is hoarse, but with a little more coffee, it'll repair itself in no time.

Ghost's eyes crinkle slightly, and something tells you that he's far more amused than the faux annoyed huff he gives to your little question. It eases the knot in your chest, and you can't help but smile as you help him adjust his face mask.

“Yes,” Ghost admits anyway, his fingers brushing yours gently, “Feelin’ better. Now come on, up you get. We've got some work to do.”

I'm so down bad chat. As soon as I finished writing this, I thought of a follow-up shower scene I might write next if y'all want it 🫣 Ao3 link is here! (I crosspost over there) Requests/prompts are currently: open! Thanks for reading :] And thank you Jax for the prompt!! ♡♡♡

[cumikering]

Gym bro Soap x reader

4k | fluff After a month away, Soap came back to a pleasant surprise

Your new building was a little far from everything. Sure, the walk to the bus stop was longer, but it meant fewer speeding cars or drunk people yelling in the wee hours of the night.

But it wasn’t what sold you on the studio flat. When the polite landlord took you there for a viewing, you passed the gym, tucked away at the end of the building. It wasn’t fancy – probably why it wasn’t advertised it in the first place, but it had all the necessities. You couldn’t ask for anything better for the price.

You weren’t into body building, but it was high time you made exercising a habit, especially now that you had no excuse to skip working out anymore.

In comfy shirts and leggings, you started going. Some days were easier, but you managed to visit the gym at least twice a week. You were proud of yourself for sticking to your commitment despite the circumstances.

See, you didn’t expect much, but the other gymgoers didn’t return your smile even when they would chat and giggle amongst each other. Needless to say, it wasn’t the most welcoming feeling. It didn’t take long for you to learn to keep your head down and stay out of everyone’s way. You started going in at odd hours for a little peace and quiet, so you didn’t feel judged and silly for even trying.

So one early Sunday when you pushed the door of the empty gym open, a relieved smile bloomed on your lips only to drop when grunts and heavy breathing greeted you. You paused in the doorway, spotting a man in a hoodie on the reclining bench.

Maybe another day.

You began your session: warming up on the elliptical before heading to the dumbbell rack. But oh, the only other man there, the same grunting one was there reracking his massive weights. Your steps slowed.

He was huge. He’d taken his hoodie off; his black undershirt didn’t leave much to the imagination. His shorts couldn’t hide his muscled thighs either. He had an interesting hairstyle - a mohawk, as if he didn’t command enough attention without it.

You spun on your heels; you could do something else meanwhile. You made your way to the pulldown machine only to realise the rope attachment was missing. You scanned the room, discovering that it was on the ground next to the cable machine… Which the man was now using.

Well, you certainly didn’t want to disturb. What if he was using it? You contemplated before he let out another strained grunt. That was a territorial display, wasn’t it? A stern warning for you to not bother him. You decided to use the bar already attached.

You’d never used this attachment - always in popular demand, but at least you’d seen people using it. You did your best; a set of 8 was a good start. As you shook off the strain in your arms between sets, you noticed the man walking over in your direction in the mirror.

Was he still using the machine? Or was your technique atrocious? It was a little heavy for you, but you controlled the negative, not letting the weights fall back and slam. Oh dear, you must have done something, judging by the frown on his face.

“How many sets left have you got on this?”

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to jump in,” you squeaked, jumping off the seat.

“No, no. If you’ve got sets left we could work in together.” He gestured for you to sit back down.

You didn’t know where to look. He had such clear blue eyes, trimmed dark stubble lining his shapely jaw. He was far more muscular up close; his wide shoulders only emphasised his tapered waist.

His hips canted as he casually shifted his weight. “And whilst I’m here, I can spot you too if ye’d like.”

With his frown gone, coupled with his Scottish accent, he appeared far more sociable.

“Oh…” You slid back into the seat.

He pulled the bar down for you. “I like a wider grip,” he said, pointing further down the curved bar. “But ye should see which grip is most comfortable. Lean back a bit. Keep yer chest up, and pull.”

You did as instructed.

“Nice an’ slow on the way back. There you go.”

You grinned. “Oh, that’s a lot easier now!”

“Let’s do a set of ten. That’s three… Four…”

After your last rep, he helped you with the bar again as you got off the seat. “Thanks so much!”

“Am Johnny by the way.” He full stacked the machine before grabbing the bar and taking the seat. “If you need help, feel free to ask.”

You would have loved to return the favour, but with the way he made his set of twelve look like nothing, he probably didn’t need the help.

You did two more sets after each other before you headed to the cable machine. He showed you his favourite exercises there, adjusting the height and weight for you. He didn’t make you feel small about making mistakes, instead encouraging you and helping you.

After your session, you thanked him again for his help.

“Don’t mention it. It was my pleasure,” he answered with a smile before taking a swig from his water bottle.

“See you around, Johnny!” You waved at him.

When you walked back to your flat, it dawned on you that it was the first time your workout didn’t feel like a chore. It was then you realised why people preferred having a workout buddy.

It was silly, but Johnny’s little crush on you made him feel like he was in primary school all over again. Because… Well, he wasn’t sure you were even aware of his existence before that Sunday morning.

He saw you first last month after he got back from a mission. It wasn’t often that he saw a fresh face in the gym so you didn’t go unnoticed, especially not when you looked like that. You always had your head down, as if you were trying to be invisible. You might have been to others, but not to him. Sometimes between sets, you’d smile at your phone, maybe even let out a small laugh. The little he saw intrigued him.

It was irrational - he was a grown man. He could just talk to you, but he didn’t, content with simply admiring you from afar. He wasn’t your type anyway. A sweet, quiet lady like you wouldn’t like a brash man like him. And so over the weeks, if he was lucky enough to encounter you, he’d steal glances.

Johnny always preferred his workouts at an idle gym, so when he went on an early Sunday, he didn’t expect anyone to walk in on him and his ratty hoodie. He was supposed to have a run after and didn’t bother wearing anything nicer than the hoodie he went to bed in. But when he realised it was you, he ripped it off immediately. He’d never let you catch him looking like he was allergic to the shower.

He didn’t know what came over him – maybe because he was feeling ballsy with his deployment coming up later that month. But before he realised what he was doing, he was walking over to you, armed with the absurd question of how many sets you had left. It was just as well no one else was there so there would be no witnesses to the devastation, but it wasn’t one. Far from it, in fact.

When you smiled, his stomach flipped – his first time seeing it up close, and directed at him. And that smile remained for the most part until you excused yourself back to your flat.

He swore to never leave his flat looking less than immaculate. It was a good decision, because two days later, he saw you again. He made a beeline to you at the pulldown machine as you finished your set.

“Hi,” he said, helping you with the bar.

“Hi, Johnny.” You smiled up at him. “Thanks.”

Catching you wasn’t hard after that. You told him your schedule and he tried his best to match it even when you didn’t always show. This went on for another week before he finally mustered enough courage to make his move.

“Want to grab dinner after this? Am leaving fer a trip tomorrow so I’ve got nothing in the fridge anymore.”

That wasn’t a lie, but why did he make it sound like he usually cooked his own food? He hated cooking.

“Oh, sure. I was planning on getting something too. What were you thinking?”

He made you choose the place and insisted on paying, mumbling something about you picking up the bill next time. While you appeared to be timid, it was evident it was only because you needed the right company. Over the meal, he enjoyed listening to you talk about your interests. You shared a similar taste in films and recommended each other a few titles.

When he revealed his hobby of sketching, you lit up. Upon your request, he showed you some of the drawings he’d made on his phone.

“Oh, these are wonderful!” you cooed, admiring them. “I used to draw when I was younger, nowhere near as well as you though.”

“Maybe we can sketch together.”

“I must be really rusty by now.” You let out a small laugh, handing his phone back to him. “Unless you want to teach me?”

His eyes sparkled. “Of course.”

The conversation drifted to the best restaurants in the area before he told you he was SAS. He vaguely mentioned that he dealt with demolitions, and that he’d be gone for about two weeks. You seemed impressed by this, and he found it adorable how you kept rewording your questions, as if they were going to offend him. He reassured you you could ask anything and he’d tell you what he could.

At the end of the night, he walked you to your door, and you wished him all the best for his mission with the kindest smile. He promised himself he’d be back soon to see it again.

As Johnny drove to base the next morning, still buzzing from the night before, he kicked himself for forgetting to get your number amidst his excitement.

But maybe it was just as well he forgot.

Countless times he’d been described as a mutt by people on base – too eager and impatient. Gaz had told him he pushed women away with his unfiltered enthusiasm. It was a concept he’d never been able to completely grasp: why would you want people to not show you how much they liked you? He knew he preferred that over someone who played games.

But over the years, he’d been rejected and left hanging. Perhaps there was some truth to what Gaz said. Surely, he was willing to accommodate you as to not put you off. He could be patient and match your pace.

So the morning after he came back, he trimmed his stubble to a presentable length (unfortunately he couldn’t do his own hair so the mohawk was still overgrown). He told himself to not look like he missed you too much as he entered the gym. Alas, he couldn’t hide his excitement from the sheer occurrence of seeing you.

“You’re back!“ You grinned before your gaze dropped to his neck.

The tan lines from his throat mic must have looked apparent. It was a recurring problem.

“I am. Hi,” he said, searching your face. He’d missed you.

After a warm up, he picked up a pair of dumbbells.

Next to him, you smiled. “Looking big, Johnny!”

He paused. Was he, even in his oversized shirt? Oh, you were going to make him blush.

“Ye got plans today?” he asked between sets.

“Just need to do my weekly shopping.”

“My mates told me about this place. S’not too far, think you might like it. Also I can give ye a lift. I need to do some shopping myself.”

“Oh, that would be nice. Thanks so much!”

“I feel I should have got yer number so I didn’t hav to ambush you like this.” He shrugged, pulling out his phone.

You laughed, typing your number in. “Don’t worry about it. I got no plans,” you said as you handed it back.

After his shower, Johnny flexed in the mirror. While he was away, more often than not, he would lose weight. Perhaps you meant to say he had more muscle definition, but it didn’t matter. You noticed. You shouldn’t have given him that compliment because he’d spend days thinking about it with a toothy grin.

You emerged out of your flat wearing a shirt, leggings and canvas shoes while he wore a sweater with jeans and boots. Okay, maybe he was a touch overdressed for a quick lunch and a shopping trip, but you looked so sweet in your casual attire, he couldn’t help but smile.

“I watched some of the films you recommended. You have good taste,” you quipped over lunch.

He grinned. “I’ll be sure to recommend more.”

“And I drew again last week. A castle – a bit ambitious, I admit.” You chuckled.

“How did it turn out?”

“Could have been better, but I enjoyed the process. I think it’d be nice if we could draw something together, and maybe you can give me a few pointers.”

You didn’t have to ask twice. “I’m free this afternoon.”

After the trip to the supermarket, Johnny invited you to his place to sketch. Accompanied by tea and biscuits (something he never ran out of due to his chronic sweet-tooth), the event stretched into hours as you chatted and laughed. You were a good student - following diligently and learning fast, but if he was honest, you weren’t half as bad as you said you were in the first place.

As the sky darkened, you excused yourself back home for dinner. He could have offered to cook, but he decided otherwise as he didn’t want to come off too strong (mostly because he wasn’t ready yet to reveal that he lacked the skills to).

Johnny didn’t mean to, but ever since, he made sure to go to the gym the same time you’d be there. You kept each other accountable with your workouts, reminding each other of the agreed schedule. Not like he needed the prodding - getting to see you was all the motivation he needed, but anything for an excuse to talk to you, right? Besides, it was nice when you texted him, letting him know you were heading to the gym. If he let himself fantasise, it was as if you missed him.

You’d workout together two to three times a week. You’d tell him about your day and he’d listen with a grin because why did it feel so good just to be around you? You’d ask about his day in return, and he’d talk about his mates, mostly the silly stories so he could watch you light up with that melodious laughter.

On the days in between if he couldn’t physically wait to see you again, he’d borrow some milk or eggs. If you didn’t have any either- well, I think were due for our weekly run to the supermarket anyway. Don’t worry, he’d help you carry all your shopping like always. What use were his muscles if they weren’t to help you?

Sometimes when the mood struck, you’d sketch together on Saturday afternoon after shopping. It also became a ritual to take you to dinner before his deployments. He didn’t like to show it, but he still had nerves to be calmed even after many years in the job.

When he came back – he didn’t realise it at first, but he hung around at yours as long as you allowed him to stay. Before you, he preferred to lock himself in his flat when things were fresh. It was then he noticed that he’d been falling asleep thinking of you, especially when he was away – his much needed tranquillity in the chaos. He found himself doodling you in his down time.

However, as well as things were going, it didn’t seem like they were progressing. Working out, shopping and the occasional takeout from down the street in hoodies and sweatpants seemed to be the most he could get.

Of course Johnny adored any minute he had with you, even if it was doing mundane activities. There was something weirdly intimate in seeing the everyday you, that you didn’t need anything grand to enjoy each other’s company. It made him warm and fuzzy inside, but he wanted more. You were more than a gym buddy, or someone who lived in his building. He didn’t want to imagine things with you – he wanted them to be real.

Was he not good enough for you? Was he not your type? Did he annoy you with his excuses to see you? He just wanted to feel useful.

“I can drive ye t’yer friend’s later,” he said as he helped to rerack your weights.

“I can’t let you do that.”

“I don’t mind. Will be on my way out fer lunch anyway.”

Later when you answered your door in a pretty dress, he tried to not gape. He’d never seen you dressed up as you were usually in your oversized shirt and leggings when you worked out, or anything comfortable for the shopping trips and humble meals. Still, in any state, you couldn’t get any cuter in his eyes.

When he pulled up at your friend’s, he turned to you. “Let me know if you want me to pick you up, and maybe we can grab dinner after? There’s a place I’ve been meaning to try nearby.”

“I appreciate it, really. But I don’t want to bother you, Johnny. You’ve been way too nice!”

“Is no bother. Got nothing to do today.”

It was his go-to excuse. Innocent, open-ended, welcoming. It served him well - you were always so grateful for any help from him.

He grinned when you nodded. He needed to show you off, especially when you were so cute that day. Later, you thanked him again for picking you up and insisted you pay for dinner, which he agreed to.

While the restaurant had lovely décor and beautiful, warm lighting, it was crowded that Saturday night which meant the service was slow. It didn’t matter though if he could sit there and watch you smile. Oh, you were so sweet in your outfit, your glossy lips pink and soft. If he asked nicely, would you let him hold your hand?

A voice calling for you interrupted his daydreams. You looked up at the figure approaching before a grin broke out on your face.

“Bella! Hi,” you squealed and jumped out your seat to giver her a hug.

He knew Bella. You’ve mentioned her over the months, one of your cousins. You were going to catch a film with her next week.

“What a lovely dress.” She gave you a once over, rubbing your arms before turning to him with a friendly smile. “And who’s this?”

“Oh, this is Johnny, my friend.”

He tried to hide his eye twitch as he forced a smile.

“Ah, nice to meet you.“ She clasped her hands in front of her. “Right, just wanted to say hi. We’re still on next week, yeah?”

“Yes, of course. See you soon!”

She wrapped an arm around you for another squeeze before heading back to her group of friends a few tables over.

With a giggle, you said something about Bella living nearby, but Johnny barely heard it. The fleeting exchange sent a twinge of irritation to his chest.

Friend? If he was fair, he shouldn’t have expected anything other than the generic introduction. Things had been respectful and platonic so far, which he was fine with, so why would you describe him as anything other than a mere friend?

Okay, so you took things slow, perhaps you were even a little oblivious. It was fine - it really was! It was just he wasn’t used to any of this. Much like fireworks, the crushes he’d had were usually explosive with him charging on and ending as fast as they started.

Not you though. You lingered, hiding and burrowing in the nooks and crannies of his chest like an infection. Not like he wanted you to leave, he wished you never would. Whatever this was, he’d been enjoying it, even if it was just the simple act of doing chores with you every Saturday. In fact, it was the highlight of his week. You had grown to be more than a muse, a constant company in his lonesomeness.

Sergeant John Mactavish, a sniper and demolitions expert, had an abundance of patience - usually. He thought he could play along, but perhaps he wasn’t as patient as he thought he was.

When the bill came, he swiftly sent the waiter away with a wad of cash.

“Johnny, you said you’d let me pay!”

“We’re friends. It doesn’t matter who pays,” he said, shoving his wallet back in his pocket. It was immature, but the sarcasm couldn’t help but bleed through.

He didn’t miss the way your gaze dropped. He walked you to your door, but you didn’t say much the rest of the night.

Johnny’s infuriation hadn’t dissipated by Monday morning. If any, it had thickened and hardened and stuck to his teeth.

He couldn’t believe it. Did you earnestly not realise how foul the F word you used was?

He headed to the gym on base the first chance he got – his sanctuary. The frustration that crawled under his skin was the infamous forbidden pre-workout.

“Gaz,” Johnny called as he laid on the bench, in position for a bench press. “Can ye give me a spot, mate?”

Kyle made his way over with an amused smile, standing over him by the heavily loaded bar. “Going for a PR, eh?”

“Aye,” he grunted, gripping the bar, his thumbs tucked back.

“Oi, oi! The fuck you doing, mate!” He smacked his hand.

“Need to feel something,” he said as he repositioned his grip, before puffing his chest up for the set.

Kyle pushed the bar down, preventing his teammate from lifting it off. “Not from the bar crushing your fucking windpipe though, is it?”

Johnny’s arms flailed to his sides. He sighed as he stared blandly at the ceiling. “I think my heart is broken.”

He grimaced. “Did you get dumped? I didn’t even know you were seeing someone.”

“Ah don’t think… she even sees me as a man.”

“Friendzoned then, innit?”

Johnny had never been friendzoned, because no such thing existed. The term was for cowards who couldn’t take rejections, and he was no chicken. A no was a no, and he never took it to heart.

“Ye know I hate that word.”

“No, no! It’s a good thing. It means there’s still hope.”

His blue eyes sparkled, the first since the dinner. “Wait, really?”

He nodded. “You just need to be clear with your intentions. Be physical, flirt, give her compliments.”

“I thought I’d been doing all that! Also, wasn’t it you who told me I was always too eager?”

“Sometimes when you’re too polite, birds think you’re just being friendly.” He shrugged. “You might need to be a bit bolder to get the point across.”

Was this his green light? He’d waited forever to finally wear his heart on his sleeve.

“If that doesn’t work either, then what’s left is to just be honest. But if she’s not interested, you have to be ready to walk away.”

Poor Kyle – his words fell on deaf ears. With the silly grin on his face, the Scot had stopped listening as he fantasised about shamelessly flirting with you. Oh, he was going to have a mighty good time.

Masterlist Possessive best friend Soap

@tiredmetalenthusiast @sofasoap @astraluminaaa

[witchygagirlwrites]

Broken Bonds-Part 19

Former(ish) Greg "Mouse" Gerwitz x Reader, Jay Halstead x Reader

You and Jay fall into a routine of being together. You celebrate the fourth of July with your extended family and then the reminder that the ticking clock is about to stop comes rolling in.

“Are you and Jay bringing her to the fourth of July community cookout fifty one is hosting?” Stella asked, turning her head to look at you. It was a rarity that both of you had a day off that synced up so you were enjoying it, pushing Addy through the mall in her stroller as you went from store to store. “Of course, I know you and Kelly wouldn’t want to miss the chance to show her off” you teased with a grin.

Addy was coming up on five months old, starting to sleep longer through the night and growing more daily it seemed at times. Your tiny little newborn was transforming into a baby instead. She grinned “Of course. Is the rest of the unit coming?” you nodded “As far as I know, Will and Nat are gonna try to make it too. Show of support and all that for the community, I may have to leave before the fireworks though. I don’t know how she may react to those, even if I get her the headphones”

She nodded “Yeah, I don’t want her freaking out. How’s things between you and Jay?” you took a deep breath, a smile slipping onto your face “It’s good?” she raised an eyebrow “Was that a question mark at the end of that?”

You laughed lightly “I don’t know Stel. I love him, I really do. I mean we have a beautiful little girl together and he is an absolutely amazing man but there’s times he pulls away from me and I’m not used to that..before we were whatever we are now he talked to me..I don’t know if it’s past demons popping up or future worries but I want to know what's going on inside his head so damn bad” She smiled softly “He just worries more about you now. He constantly has to consider Addy into the equation, same as you. I’m sure that’s an adjustment”

“Yeah, I guess” you agreed and she let a grin slip onto her face “C’mon lets get some lunch and we can go back to your place and let Addy take a nap” you nodded “I promised Will we’d drop by Med today too so he could see her. His schedule has been so insane it’s been like two weeks since he’s had a chance” she laughed “Oh that poor man. Two weeks without Adeline? Tsk tsk little sister, that’s just mean”

___________

You sat down next to Stella on your couch and cut your eyes at your tv to see what movie she’d picked. “Oh yay, I love this one” she laughed “I know, that’s why I picked it” you drew your legs up under you and focused your attention on the screen. You enjoyed days like this. It felt normal, your life didn’t feel anywhere as insane as it actually was just spending the day with your sister and daughter.

Stella scooted closer to you, laying her head over on your shoulder. You put your arm around her and leaned further back into the couch to get comfortable yourself. You hadn’t even felt yourself dozing off but the end credits of the movie was rolling when Jay gently shook your arm “Baby?”

You slowly opened your eyes and smiled when you saw him “Hey, when did you get back?” he laughed lightly, cutting his eyes at Stella who was still asleep on you “About ten minutes ago, I guess Addy wasn’t the only one that needed a nap?”

You rolled your eyes but laughed regardless “Hey, we had a full day and even took her to see her uncle Will at work. He got to show her off to everyone” he grinned “I know. He sent me half a dozen pictures while I was helping Kim and Adam move” 

He leaned closer to press a gentle kiss to your lips then nodded towards Stella “Kelly called me looking for her. We may wanna wake her up even if I sent him the picture of you two sleeping” your eyes widened “You did not!” he pulled his phone out of his pocket and clicked the screen a couple times before turning it around to indeed show you a photo of you and Stella curled up together “Oh I did. You two looked so sweet to be so damn mean when you’re awake”

You shook your head “Easy there Halstead, I am the mother of your child so she will have my attitude” he laughed “God help us all” 

_________

You laughed then gently shook Stella “Stel, wake up” she slowly stirred then looked from you to Jay who was squatting next to the couch “Woah, when did he get back?” you laughed “Apparently we fell asleep so Kelly enlisted his help in finding you”

She glanced at the clock and her eyes got wide. “Damn, we napped Addy’s entire nap time” you nodded “Well at least we’re well rested?” she laughed “True, I gotta get going baby girl. I’ll see you and my niece later. Jay, I guess I like you”

Jay shook his head “Love ya too Stel” she winked at you then stood up, gathering her keys, phone and jacket before heading out the door. You looked up at Jay and smiled “Addy should be waking up any time” “Then I have perfect timing” he teased before kissing your temple then stood to head into her room. 

You stretched as you stood off the couch then followed him, hearing Addy already babbling at him profusely after she heard his voice.

“Detective Kidd” you groaned inwardly, hearing the assistant district attorney's voice. You and Kevin had to testify today and it was not something you wanted to do. You hated dealing with lawyers. “Yes sir?” you asked with a forced smile.

“Can you run us through the series of events that took place the day you and Detective Atwater arrested the defendant” you took a deep breath, focusing on Kevin who was sitting across from the witness stand “My partner and I arrived to the Foster residence around Ten a.m. the morning of June thirtieth, responding to a complaint from a neighbor about what sounded like a domestic disturbance. Inside we found Mr Franklin Foster beating his wife Anita Foster. My partner and I  attempted to used the least amount of force possible to subdue Mr Foster but he was irate and violent. He punched me in the sternum and nearly broke my partners nose, after which we were forced to defend ourselves”

He nodded “Is it true Mr Foster received a fractured jaw and a shattered nose?” you nodded “Yes sir” he flipped through the file “And what injuries did you and your partner receive?” you took a deep breath “I had severe bruising on my chest and side, my partner had a swollen nose and two black eyes as a result of his attack” 

___________

When you and Kevin finally made it back to the district you walked in next to him, both of you heading for the stairs that led up to intelligence. You stopped at the palm scanner and he grabbed the door once it popped to hold it open for you. “I want out of this damn pantsuit” you groaned and he laughed “Don’t you got a change of clothes in your locker?” you nodded “Jeans and a shirt which I will never have been happier to see”

He shook his head “Go get changed, I’ll use the locker room after you” when the two of you made it to the top of the stair everyone was working at their desks but their heads turned up when they heard you. Hailey raised an eyebrow, a whistle falling from her lips “Damn Y/N..that pantsuit looks good”

You shot her a wink and did a little spin “Ya think? I didn’t think it was really flattering” she grinned “I think it hugs ya just right” Jay’s jaw practically hit his desk “I told you it looked good when we dropped Addy off at daycare this morning!”

You shrugged “I take her word on it more than yours, sorry. You may be Addy’s dad but she’s the wife” and Hailey blew you a kiss “Tell him” Jay shook his head “Unbelievable” 

Voight popped his head out of his office “Kidd, Atwater get changed. We just got a call. Roll out in five” you looked at Kevin and shrugged “The locker room is big enough we can both get changed”  his eyes flickered towards Jay slightly then he nodded.

____________

You and Kevin were interviewing witnesses to the bank robbery while Jay and Hailey went to Med to interview the injured. Looked like a four man crew. They came in early, hit it hard and didn’t mind getting violent.

“This is gonna be one of those cases,isn’t it?” you mumbled and he looked your way “Yup”

___________

You were going through surveillance footage down in the tech room, trying to find an angle that could possibly give you something that could help with an id. “Come on, turn and let me see that damn tattoo on your hand” you grumbled at the screen as if it could hear you. You cursed when the man on the screen simply would not turn to give you a clear shot at the tattoo. 

“Anything?” Jay asked, walking into the room behind you. You shook your head “Just four men between five ten and six feet. Average build” he walked over behind you, one hand resting on your shoulder “We’ll figure something out” you looked up at him “Before they hit another bank and someone else gets hurt?” he smiled slightly “Just keep looking, maybe you’ll find something” you nodded “I’ll keep at it” he leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to your lips and you knew the shock was plain on your face. He didn’t kiss you at work. 

“What was that about?” you asked and he shrugged “Just wanted to check on you” “Well damn, you are still capable of surprising me” you teased and he rolled his eyes before kissing you again “Get back to work and I’m gonna do the same, wifey” you smirked at him “Don’t be jealous that I love Hailey too” he shook his head “Too many people love you” before walking out of the room.

You were half asleep when you heard Jay’s phone vibrating on the table next to your bed. He groaned, nuzzling into your neck “Do I have to answer that damn thing?” you laughed lightly “Could be somebody with a break in the case” he huffed “You always make too much sense” and pressed a kiss to the back of your neck before reaching over you to grab his phone.

He squinted as he looked at the screen, then he cut his eyes at you before pulling the phone to his ear “Hello?” After a second you heard Mouse’s voice and felt your heart skip. You weren’t ashamed of loving Jay or being in bed with him but there was something about laying there, wearing Jay’s black henley and a pair of your panties with his arm around you while Mouse was on the phone that made you want to cover yourself more. As if Mouse could see your position through the phone.

Jay squeezed your hip gently then pulled his arm from around you and climbed out of bed, disappearing into the living room. Leaving you to just watch his broad back walk out of the bedroom door.

____________

You laid there, unsure if you should go out after Jay or attempt sleep even if you knew it was a futile effort. After about twenty minutes however Jay walked back into the room and slipped into bed behind you, curling around your body. “What was that about?” you asked and he shrugged “He just wanted to see if Voight still had his stuff in storage. He’s been looking at places in Georgia, D.C. and Chicago because it all depends where he’s sent after Glynco”

You nodded slowly, not wanting to think too hard about Mouse being stateside and living all the way in Georgia or D.C. 

“August is coming fast” you whispered, having just talked to Mouse a few days before. Jay knew you had. You didn’t hide it. He nodded “I’m still here baby and will still be here” you turned to face him and he smiled at you “I love you” “I love you Jay” you replied snuggling up to his chest. You just wanted to be as close to him as possible at that moment. The reality of what was to come was sitting in.

How the hell had you managed to be inside of a bank with a gun pointed at your head, trying to talk down the leader of this crew with Hailey at one side and Kim at the other? Oh yeah they liked female hostages so an even trade had gotten offered to get civilians out.

“You’ve got two choices. Lay down your gun and walk out of here in cuffs or not walk out of here at all” Hailey told him and you held her eyes. You still had your com in so you knew Jay was on the roof adjacent to the bank, he just needed Hailey to maneuver this asshole into position.

“And if I decide to pull the trigger on Detective” he paused to read the badge on your vest “Detective Kidd here?”  Kim shook her head “Then you walk out of here in pieces”

Hailey caught your eyes and she tapped two fingers onto her right thigh. You needed to get him two steps to the right. He was the ringleader. If he went down the other remaining two would surrender. You moved your foot to the right as if you lost your footing, forcing him to move with you “Last chance” Hailey offered and you heard Jay’s voice “I got the shot” right before a shot whistled right past your head,blood splattering the side of your face and the gun falling away from your head right along with the perp who crumbled like a puppet with the strings shot.

You tapped your com “Helluva shot Jay” as you wiped at the blood and heard SWAT breach.

____________

“Are you sure your ear is ok?” Jay asked across the bullpen and you replied “Huh? What ya say?” which made everyone crack up laughing before you grinned at him “I’m fine Jay. Doc said no damage was done. The forty five he had however may have damaged me”  he nodded “Ok, Just wanted to make sure”

The case was closed so all of you were finishing up paperwork to head out. You needed to scrub your body. This case had ran long enough Kelly had to leave the station house to pick up Addy from daycare but considering you hadn’t been able to do much but get Kim and Hailey’s help sponging off blood in the locker room you could only imagine what you’d look like to the people at the daycare regardless of them knowing what your job was.

“Don’t tease the man lil mama. He was stressing that shot” Kevin laughed and you grinned “Would you want to accidentally shoot your daughter’s mother Kev?”  He shook his head “Can’t say I would” 

You had just finished getting Addy dressed when Jay got to your place. He’d called when he was on the way so you reminded him he had a key. “Hey baby” he called out so you picked Addy up and walked into the living room. He turned towards the two of you when he heard her bedroom door open and a smile slipped onto his face “There’s my girls”

Addy was wearing a onesie that read “Little Firecracker” that Trudy had bought her because she said it reminded her of you along with the matching shorts. After some back and forth you’d decided on a pair of cutoff jeans and a navy blue v-cut tee with sneakers. It was simple but comfortable and from the way Jay was looking he didn’t mind the outfit choice one bit.

He walked across the room, pulling her into his arms and placing a kiss onto your lips “You both are absolutely beautiful” you shook your head “You always say that Jay” “Doesn’t mean it isn’t true” he teased with a laugh. He was wearing jeans,a white shirt with his pedant in place and looked delightfully sinful. Yeah, any single women were gonna be flirting with him even if he had Addy.

“What’s wrong?” he asked and you shook your head “No woman better flirt with you while you’re holding our baby or I’m throwing a punch” he grinned “Miss Kidd, that sounds like you like me a little bit” you pulled him down into a kiss “Just a little, don’t let it get to your head”

____________

You laughed watching Will and Stella “argue” over Addy. It was adorable really. Will’s argument was that Stella got her for overnights and he hardly got to see her while Stella’s argument was simply she only gave up Addy to you and Jay because she had to.

Kevin stepped between them and plucked Addy from your arms “How about this? I got her mom’s back in the field so uncle Kev gets her for a little while” Will and Stella glared at each other for a moment before shrugging “Fair enough” “Fair enough”

You loved seeing just how much Addy’s family loved her. Yours and Stella’s family had pretty much clocked out when you two hit about preteen/teen years. It was just the two of you for way too long. Seeing Addy with an entire squad of people who claimed her and loved her? You couldn’t ask for more.

Jay’s arms slipped around your waist and he whispered in your ear “What are you smiling so big about?” you nodded towards where Trudy and Mouch were talking to Addy “Look at her. She has so many people who love her. If something did happen to us she’d never be alone Jay” he pressed a kiss to your pulse point “I know baby. We built her a strong family” 

Without warning you were snatched out of Jay’s arms into Hailey’s. Her and Kim laughed at the put out look on his face. “We’re kidnapping her. You hog her all the time. She’s ours for the next hour” you grinned at Jay as they drug you away “I’ll see you in an hour”

____________

Jay was holding Addy, talking to Kelly and Cruz when you walked back up with Hailey’s arm around your waist and you both had your faces painted, her with stars and yours with a moon. He raised an eyebrow when he saw you now had a bracelet on your right wrist that matched the one on Hailey’s. “What is that?”

She grinned “Oh I marked her Halstead. They had a booth for permanent bracelets so I bought her one” his head whipped around towards you and you shrugged “What? It’s so pretty and we match!” he shook his head and looked back at Kelly for help but the other man just shook his head “Sorry but you’re on your own”

Hailey kissed your cheek and winked at him before walking off. You took Addy from his arms and just when he was certain his jaw was going to hit the dirt you started laughing “Kim got one too, along with Stella” “That was mean” Cruz laughed around the beer he’d just took a drink of.

You grinned up at him “It was too easy Jay” he shook his head “You’re horrible, you know that” you laughed and leaned up to whisper in his ear “And yet you love me” he nodded “Yes I do”

Addy was fast asleep in her crib so you walked into the bedroom behind Jay. He was already down to just jeans and it’d been a feat indeed to keep your hands off of him.

He cut his eyes at you when you began to strip out of your clothes. You slipped your shirt off and put it into the hamper then pushed your shorts off your hips. You saw his tongue flick out to wet his bottom lip when you reached for the clasp of your bra “What’s wrong Jay? Still mad about that prank with Hails?”

You dropped your bra into the hamper then reached to slip your panties off your legs. He rolled his bottom lip between his teeth once you were completely bared to him. “No baby, I’m not”

You grinned “In that case, you wanna take a shower with me?” That was all it took for him to be across the room, picking you up into his arms. You wrapped your legs around his waist as he crashed his lips against yours in a hungry kiss before walking towards the bathroom.

August 13th. How ironic that Mouse would get home the exact day Addy turned six months old? You stared at the email from him. I already told Jay but wanted to tell you. I’ll be back in Chicago August 13th. I’ll have 1 week before I have to report to Glynco.  I’m not looking to intrude on anyone’s life. I know I made choices that hurt you sweetheart and I’ll forever regret them. Regardless of what’s happened Adeline is a perfect little baby and deserves nothing but the best. I look forward to meeting her and seeing you more time. Love Always, Greg

What did he mean by one more time? Had he already chosen somewhere besides Chicago? Had you driven him away from his home? Had he decided that he truly didn’t want to be in your life in no capacity any more?  You felt tears spring to your eyes and for once was grateful you were down in the tech room where Jay couldn’t see you cry over Mouse. One week. You had one week until you would know.

@desimarie12

Part 20

@allisonargent144

@nevaehstreater18

[goosewriting]

do you suppose we could have a rise donnie x gn! (kinda ace coded) reader where they’re in a recently established relationship, and one day, out of nowhere, he just calmly kisses their cheek? And it leaves the reader stunned for a moment as it sinks in that he did that purely because he wanted to, and they tear up a little over it. (inspired by the song we’ll never have s3x)

please, and thank you 💜 I absolutely adore your writing

♫ You kissed me just to kiss me / Not to make me cry ♫

summary: Donnie’s kiss takes reader by surprise. (spotify link to the song: we'll never have sex - leith ross)

relationship: Rise!Donnie x gn!ace!reader

warnings: none

word count: ~600

A/N: i recently watched the rise movie again so i was in the mood for some turtle love, and i still have a bunch of requests for them, so here we are! i meant to keep this shorter so you could listen to the song while you read but, uh, guess you’ll have to listen to it twice lol sorry it took so very long to get to this one but i hope you like it :’) 

[all masterlists] 🪶 [rottmnt masterlist] 🪶 [ao3]

(english is not my first language. constructive criticism and grammar corrections are very appreciated!)

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Like many afternoons before, you spent this one at the lab with your favourite turtle. 

Donnie was fiddling with his newest invention at his console, but ended up moving his work to the table in the centre where you were sitting, taking a seat across from you.

You softly hummed a little tune to yourself as you watched him for a moment. It was with him that you discovered the concept of ‘parallel play’: existing within the same space but engaging in different activities. You came to realise soon that this was one of his favourite ways to spend time together. And you enjoyed it too, of course. Donnie met you half-way more than enough by making time to properly taking you out on dates, ranging from movie nights at home to visiting some event outside.

You came here to work on your own project, but quickly found your mind wandering, lulled by the soothing white noise of Donnie’s tinkering. Instead of properly writing down your notes, you flipped to the next page  on your notebook and started doodling. Your pen effortlessly glided over the page, forming different shapes and little creatures.

Several minutes went by, and you didn’t notice that Donnie stopped working, with a comfortable silence settling in. You didn’t look up when he excused himself from the room, saying he’ll be right back.

It was only when he came back and sat down next to you instead of where he’d been before that your daydreams came to a stop, and you straightened up in your seat. Donnie placed a steaming mug in front of you, and the smell of your favourite warm drink hit your nose. He was the only one who could get it perfectly, just the way you liked it. You smiled up at the turtle, picking up the mug to blow on it, and took a sip. Aah, just the perfect temperature. 

As you set it back down, you wanted to thank him, but the words got caught in your throat as your eyes met his. With his head leaning on his propped up elbow, Donnie studied your face intently, warmth held in his gaze.

“What’s on your mind?” you asked after a while of just looking at each other.

He didn’t reply, instead leaning in and placing a kiss only our lips. It caught you by surprise, but you only froze for a second, immediately melting into his touch as his hand came up to hold your face. You thought he was going to pull back, but he readjusted his angle and kissed you again on the cheek. Only then did he sit back, unable to hold your gaze, blush evident underneath the mask.

“You okay?” you asked softly, reaching out your hand over the table to graze your fingertips over his knuckles, giving him the chance to pull back. Donnie didn’t usually initiate kisses or touches, and you were okay with that. While you enjoyed the kiss, you were also surprised. “You know you don’t have to force–”

“I know,” he interrupted you, eyes daring up to meet yours. “I just… wanted to.”

The sudden gesture and his words hit you hard, for some reason. You could feel the sting of tears prickling behind your eyes, and a sniffle escaped your nose. Donnie’s face switched to concern.

“If I did something wrong, I’m sorry–”

“No, not all, Donnie,” you said, taking his hand in yours this time. “It just makes me… really happy to hear that. You make me happy.” 

The device Donnie was working on earlier beeped, and you both turned to look as a robotic voice coming from it announced, “Upload complete.”

Giving you one last smile and with a squeeze to your hand, Donnie stood up and walked back to his invention to continue working. You took another sip of your tea, and you weren’t sure if the warmth that spread in your chest came from the drink or from him.

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

🐥 taglist: [link to join in my pinned post!] @theoriginalmintyyyshake @dybynyght @lieutenantlashfaz @galaxtic-writings @mountain-wire @Lovestruckfictionadict @salty-s-r @sleebykei @miso-sopas @wings-of-sapphire @ashtheboookworm2 @xxnoxx @crystal-crax @lunaramune @luckynesser @rowaaaaan @strange_fella @thesafireartist @toelady @hardkiddonut @asras-sweetheart

[sunmoontruth-stiles]

I need a completely rewritten teen wolf series with Derek Hale as the main character. I think it would heal me.

[memento-morri-writes]

Once again, the only writing I have to offer is dnd-related, and once again, it's also both angsty and whump-y. This is expanding on a scene that got glossed over in a session MONTHS ago, but uh, anyways, here you go:

tw for references to serious physical injury

He felt rather than saw Sigmar shake his head. “I should never have left you. If I’d known she’d bring Deadringer into this… I shouldn’t have let you go off to fight someone like him without me.” Once again, Rook was surprised at the weight of the emotion in his mentor’s voice. He wanted to say It’s not your fault. Or maybe, I would have done it anyway, but his mouth wouldn’t cooperate. So instead he just rested his head on Sigmar’s shoulder. The damp chill that had come over him on the way here was getting stronger and he leaned into Sigmar’s warmth. “‘S cold,” he mumbled. Sigmar picked up the pace a bit, a worried edge creeping into his voice. “Come on, come on. Just a little further.” Rook’s eyes were heavy, and his awareness of the world was fading. He heard a door open, was dimly aware of a brightly lit, white-painted room, of being laid down on a bed. He could hear people talking urgently, unfamiliar voices joining Sigmar’s. His muddled mind only caught fragments of their words. “Concussion … Severe blood loss … Not enough…”  Multiple sets of hands touched his skin, and the familiar warmth of healing magic (when had being healed become familiar again?, he wondered dimly) flooded his body.

[cannot-copia]

this year so far

[my-thoughts-and-junk]

thinkibg. ...

[tojbnuy]

mini part 4 for gojo day 🧁 next part will probably be the finale. thank you for showing best friend toru so much love even tho he is fairly toxic. art by @ _3aem on twt!! part one part two part three

warnings: a very vague birthday bj, some feelings? MDNI

birthdayboybestfriend!satoru who waits with his phone in his hand ignoring all his other messages and skipping to your contact because he knows you’ll say it at bang on midnight. he is then smiling so hard at his phone suguru actually gets worried.

bestfriend!satoru who obviously has party of the century going on at his place. being the star boy he is, he is soaking up the attention. however he has been dyingggg for your arrival, he makes sure to tell every girl that approaches him that he is booked and busy for today.

bestfriend!satoru who tackles you into a massive hug when he sees you and picks you up just to make sure everyone else sees this. you’re wearing white (his favourite) and he knows for a fact you did that on purpose.

bestfriend!satoru who disregards everyone else’s presents for the time being so he can give you and your presents his full attention. unfortunately he is nosy and had scrolled through your google tab last week so he already knew what two of them were going to be.

bestfriend!satoru who (staying true to character) asks you for a birthday kiss. ‘can i have my last present now baby?’ and then he’s pressed up against you and his familiar taste is all you can take in. ‘toru people can see us’ ‘let them see baby’

bestfriend!satoru who wraps your ponytail around his fist whilst you’re talking. sometimes even pulling you back a bit so he can take a long inhale at your neck.

bestfriend!satoru who is actually very annoyed that he got a hot tub because now there were multiple gawking at you. suguru even wolf whistles at you at one point just to rile him up and he got a mouthful of tub water because of it.

bestfriend!satoru who catches you whispering to suguru and finds he definitely does not like the look of that. you had a worried expression which he made a mental note of to ask suguru about later.

bestfriend!satoru who casually gropes at your chest. (you allow him of course) (however you put an end to it when his fingers start to creep into the material of the lace covering your breasts.) (there were simply too many people present but satoru was content with just holding your tit) (stressball >__<)

bestfriend!satoru who makes his closest friends go round the tub and say what they like about him most. suguru is the only one who gives him a slightly heartfelt message, sukuna calls him ugly, toji calls him an airhead, nanami says he is ‘special’ (whatever that means?), shoko says he makes her want to smoke. and then it’s your turn and gojo actually tears up at your beautiful words. your voice and your eyes staring only ever at him saying that he is your person and you really do think he the strongest individual you know. (then he grabs your face and kisses you and the crowd boos until he stops)

bestfriend!satoru who is dead set on you staying with him for the night. ‘you’re not gonna cuddle your best friend on his birthday?’ and how could you everrrr say no to that.

bestfriend!satoru who has his head on your chest, you hands running through his hair and scratching at your scalp. his thighs are covering yours and he lazily kisses at your collarbone. the tension in the room is thick. you can both feel it. it was simply a game of who would move first. satoru knew you wouldn’t, always the more timid and shy one of the two so he took it upon himself to drag his fingers across the waistband of your shorts. ‘wait toru we can’t i’m, i’m your friend?’ god you were too sweet for this earth. ‘it’s okay baby. we don’t have to, but no one’s gonna know. just us.’ and he litters even more feather light kisses to the spot right below your ear until you were letting out soft little sighs. ‘then. then i want to do it, yk since it’s your birthday.’ he knew you weren’t the most conventional best friends but this, this was further than anything you’d ever done before. and he was on cloud nine.

bestfriend!satoru who was now realizing that he had never experienced true joy before this moment. before he had felt your velvet soft lips wrapped around his tip. your tongue licking at his crown so softly, so sweetly. he’s always been a moaner but now he had no shame in the sounds that were leaving him. ‘that’s it baby, just like that. that’s my girl’.

bestfriend!satoru who was a head pusher. he let you set the pace in the beginning but he was growing desperate, something he hadn’t experienced before. your little mewls as he holds you in place right at the base of his dick. your nose nestled against the faint hairs there, and your tears dropping directly into his skin. he had given you the chance to move but being the amazing best friend that you were you swallowed everything he gave you, even opened wide and let him take a look, that to make sure. ‘fuck baby that was the best gift ever’

bestfriend!satoru who snores like a truck directly into your ears and grinds his hips into your thighs whilst he sleeps.

taglist : @haruhatake @moncher-ire @startwithrecords @ranatherealestsigma @chjinua @sukuxna0 @suechii @whozeurdaddy @purp1eha1o @greensunflowerjuna @jjkysnk @tibibibi123 @missthatgirl @macchiatoast @adanfore @namjooningera @jaeminsmilk @tojicvmslut @hachichann

[ketchuppee]

During the 2008 recession, my aunt lost her job. Her, her partner, and my three cousins moved across the country to stay with us while they got back on their feet. My house turned from a family of four to a family of nine overnight, complete with three dogs and five cats between us.

It took a few years for them to get a place of their own, but after a few rentals and apartments, they now own a split level ranch in a town nearby. I’ve lost track of how many coworkers and friends have stayed with them when they were in a tight spot. A mother and son getting out of an abusive relationship, a divorcee trying to stay local for his kids while they work out a custody agreement, you name it. My aunt and uncle knew first hand what that kindness meant, and always find space for someone who needed it, the way my parents had for them.

That same aunt and uncle visited me in [redacted] city last year. They are prolific drinkers, so we spent most of the day bar hopping. As we wandered the city, any time we passed a homeless person, my uncle would pull out a fresh cigarette and ask them if they had a light. Regardless of if they had a lighter on hand or not, he offered them a few bucks in exchange, which he explained to me after was because he felt it would be easier for them to accept in exchange for a service, no matter how small.

I work for a company that produces a lot of fabric waste. Every few weeks, I bring two big black trash bags full of discarded material over to a woman who works down the hall. She distributes them to local churches, quilting clubs, and teachers who can use them for crafts. She’s currently in the process of working with our building to set up a recycling program for the smaller pieces of fabric that are harder to find use for.

One of my best friends gives monthly donations to four or five local organizations. She’s fortunate enough to have a tech job that gives her a good salary, and she knows that a recurring donation is more valuable to a non-profit because they can rely on that money month after month, and can plan ways to stretch that dollar for maximum impact. One of those organizations is a native plant trust, and once she’s out of her apartment complex and in a home with a yard, she has plans to convert it into a haven of local flora.

My partner works for a company that is working to help regulate crypto and hold the current bad actors in the space accountable for their actions. We unfortunately live in a time where technology develops far too fast for bureaucracy to keep up with, but just because people use a technology for ill gain doesn’t mean the technology itself is bad. The blockchain is something that she finds fascinating and powerful, and she is using her degree and her expertise to turn it into a tool for good.

I knew someone who always had a bag of treats in their purse, on the odd chance they came across a stray cat or dog, they had something to offer them.

I follow artists who post about every local election they know of, because they know their platform gives them more reach than the average person, and that they can leverage that platform to encourage people to vote in elections that get less attention, but in many ways have more impact on the direction our country is going to go.

All of this to say, there’s more than one way to do good in the world. Social media leads us to believe that the loudest, the most vocal, the most prolific poster is the most virtuous, but they are only a piece of the puzzle. (And if virtue for virtues sake is your end goal, you’ve already lost, but that’s a different post). Community is built of people leveraging their privileges to help those without them. We need people doing all of those things and more, because no individual can or should do all of it. You would be stretched too thin, your efforts valiant, but less effective in your ambition.

None of this is to encourage inaction. Identify your unique strengths, skills, and privileges, and put them to use. Determine what causes are important to you, and commit to doing what you can to help them. Collective action is how change is made, but don’t forget that we need diversity in actions taken.