#another version of this is saying ‘I’ll just do it for ten minutes’

[liones-s]

one of my favourite techniques (for studying or just for life) is to just start it with no expectations beyond that. read two pages of the reading, write a single paragraph. Heck, just open the document. The next time you come back to it, it’s already opened and you don’t have to go through all those little preparatory steps that can stand in the way. As someone who has struggled with a psychological block about beginning tasks, doing the beginning steps without expecting myself to complete the work has been a major shift. You also get the bonus of saying thank you to your past self when you return to the task, because past you gave future you a little boost to get through the door

[shockercoco]

That Damn Phone

Bucky Barnes x reader

Warnings - fluff, flirting, some swearing

Word count - 3020

a/n - I got this idea after seeing this video on tiktok, even though I know this has been done before on tumblr, and I wanted to write my own version. This was supposed to be posted a month ago, but I procrastinated and somehow ended up rewriting the whole thing💀. Also idk if I want to do a part 2 to this yet. Anyways, I hope you enjoy and thanks in advance for reading :)

Summary: After seeing a video of a couple do a certain trend on tiktok, you can't get it off your mind but decide not to bring it up to Bucky to avoid the embarrassment. Though, with Bucky being Bucky, he finds out anyways.

You sit on the couch waiting for Bucky to come home, passing the time by scrolling through Tiktok. You had planned on just being on the app for a little bit before opening your book currently sitting on your coffee table, but you keep getting absorbed in one video after another.

One video in particular catches your eye, so much so that you end up spending the next ten minutes reading comments and freaking out with everyone else. The video was of a girl asking her boyfriend to try a popular trend that all of the readers had brought to the internet.

You watch as the girl stands in the doorway and practically melts into the ground as her boyfriend towers over her, gently lifting up her chin to maintain eye contact. The girl’s face is covered in happiness and shock as she laughs and pulls away from the guy.

You can’t help but giggle along with her as butterflies fill your stomach, feeling the tension through the screen.

This would be fun to try with Bucky, but you don’t really want to ask him. It’s not like he would have a problem with fulfilling your wishes, but you know that he knows the effect he has on you, and this would just be added to the list of the things Bucky can purposefully do to make you flustered.

Bucky knows how you struggle to hold eye contact after a while of having his blue eyes stare back into yours when the two of you are having a conversation, and he has no problem with using it against you. He knows how flustered you get when he gets all up in your personal space, whispering teasing words into your ear to make you laugh and shy away.

He loves the fact that you still get nervous around him, even though the two of you have been dating for a while – long enough for those nerves to get thrown out of the window.

A memory suddenly enters your thoughts of Bucky being his usual flirty self before a night out:

You had just put on your new dress you had bought recently for tonight’s date. You look at yourself in the mirror, turning from side to side to make sure you’re satisfied with your appearance.

You see Bucky through the reflection in the mirror as he walks into the room, fixing the sleeves of his dress shirt. “Alright, doll, are you ready to head ou- woah,”Bucky begins to say, but cuts himself off when his eyes land on you. “Well what do we have here?”

You turn around to face him, giving him a bashful smile. “I just bought it last week. What do you think, do you like it?”

“I love it,” Bucky admits as he walks closer to you, taking his time on purpose as he lets his eyes run up and down your figure. He grabs your hand and makes you do a spin before facing the two of you towards the mirror. He pulls your back into his chest as he runs his hands up and down your sides. “You look so gorgeous, darling.  I don’t think I’ll ever get used to you.”

You let out a small laugh as you can’t help but roll your eyes at his compliment.

Bucky chuckles. “Don’t roll your eyes at me, I’m serious.” He moves his lips down to your ear to whisper, “you know, if you’re not feeling up for going out, we could skip the dinner and go straight for dessert.”

You give him a confused look, but it immediately goes away as he continues his statement, his voice dropping even lower. His eyes meet yours in the mirror as a smirk grows across his lips.

“...I’m suddenly in the mood for something sweet, and I’m pretty sure you could help me out with my craving.”

You gasp as you move out of his grasp, playfully pushing him away.

“Bucky!”

Bucky just laughs at your expression. “Eventually those nerves will be gone, doll, I don’t care how long I have to work on you.”

“Okay, stop!” you tell him with a smile as you turn and head into the bathroom to finish getting ready.

You suddenly hear a car door close, tearing you away from your thoughts. Your eyes widen as your heart picks up speed, only just now realizing how much time has passed when you glance at the time on your phone.

As soon as you hear Bucky’s keys jingle from the other side of the door, you quickly save the video and scroll past it, trying to act nonchalant as Bucky opens the front door. You greet him with a small smile as he walks over to you.

The smell of his cologne fills your nostrils, sending warmth through your body as he comes up behind you and leans over the couch to give you a kiss on the cheek.

“You’re in the exact same spot you were in when I left you,” Bucky chuckles as he rests his arms on the back of the couch, his eyes staring directly into yours. “What have you been doing this whole time?”

“Nothing really, just scrolling through random videos,” you shrug.

“Have you been on the same app?” he asks, his eyebrows furrowed as he glances down at the current video playing on your phone of a woman doing her makeup, before sending you a look.

“...maybe,” you shyly admit as you look away, causing Bucky to shake his head in fake disappointment. 

“You told me you were planning on finishing your book,” Bucky nods his head towards the now abandoned book on the table. 

“I was going to, but-,” you cut yourself off as Bucky gives you a teasing look. “It’s really addictive, okay! You would understand if you’d actually give it a chance.”

“If it’s going to take up my day like it does yours, I don’t want any part of it,” Bucky says, putting his hands up in surrender as he backs up and makes his way towards the stairs. “I would like to keep what’s left of my mind.”

You roll your eyes at his response. Your eyes flicker towards the book in front of you before trying to turn your attention back onto your phone, but the video from earlier keeps playing in your mind as you subconsciously scroll.

Should you really ask him to do this trend? Should you do it now? You could wait until he’s already standing next to you so it seems casual. Should you just scrap the idea and stick to daydreaming?

Your mind continues to turn, and after a while of not being able to come to a decision, you let out a groan and slump further into the couch.

“Everything okay over there?” you hear Bucky ask, making you jump a little as you turn your head.

You watch as he pulls a shirt over his head while coming down the stairs. He’s changed into comfortable clothes instead of his outfit he wore to hangout with Sam.

For a moment, you get distracted by the snug fit of Bucky’s shirt, specifically the way it clings to the top of his bionic arms and fits around his chest and-

What the hell is your problem?

Bucky gives you a confused look from your delayed response. 

You clear your throat. “Yeah, just…thinking,” you respond, shaking your head as if to try and shake the thoughts from your head.

Not completely believing you, but deciding to brush it off, Bucky gives you a look as he makes his way into the kitchen. You let out a breath at the tiny bullet you just dodged.

Maybe it would have been better to just read the damn book instead, that way you could just enter another world and fantasize all you want about a fictional man instead of creeping Bucky out.

“What do you want for dinner?” Bucky calls out from the inside of the kitchen. “Do you want to have something delivered or do you want to try that new recipe you found online?”

“We’ve been eating out all week, we should probably just try that recipe,” you call back. You stand up from your spot on the couch and stretch, before making your way to Bucky. “I can take care of everything since it was my idea after all.”

Bucky glances at you as you walk in. “Don’t worry about it, sweets, I don’t have a problem with making it for you,” he tells you, his voice clashing with the sound of him rummaging through cabinets for cookware and ingredients.

“Well at least let me help,” you say, tilting your head as you give Bucky one of your sweet smiles. 

He playfully scoffs at you, but gives in. “Alright, alright. If you insist,” he tells you as he leans in to place a quick kiss on your forehead.

“Let me just use the bathroom first. Oh, and I should probably go change in case things get messy,” you tell him, subconsciously placing your phone down on the counter before walking away.

Bucky gives you a nod, and continues to get everything ready. When he notices your unlocked phone on the counter a couple of feet away from him, his attention shifts.

He has a habit of looking through the TikTok videos you’ve watched to see what you enjoy and find funny, or to give him ideas for things he could do from you. You’ve caught him a couple of times, and each time you would playfully scold him and take back your phone, and Bucky would just laugh it off knowing that you were joking.

It’s the closest he will get to actually using the app and he would rather die before admitting that it has been helpful or that he too has stumbled across some interesting things.

Bucky stops shuffling through videos when he sees one that you’ve liked and added to your favorites — the video of the girl and her boyfriend.

His eyebrows raise as he watches the video play, an evil smirk developing on his lips once he realizes why you’ve added this certain video to your favorites.

As he hears your footsteps get closer, Bucky quickly scrolls back down to the video that was paused on your phone before you left and moves back to his previous position on the other side of the kitchen. He clears his throat as he busies his hands to prevent you from being suspicious,

“Okay, let’s get started,” you announce as you enter the kitchen, rolling up your sleeves in the process. “Oh! Let me pull the recipe video up, I have it saved.”

“Of course it’s on that damn app,” Bucky murmurs as he watches you find the video, causing you to quietly let out a giggle.

After giving the video another run through and looking through the comments, you feel confident in what has to be done. You turn on some background music before placing a pot of water onto the stove for it to boil. When you go over to Bucky to help him cut up the vegetables, he tells you that he’s got it.

“Come on, Bucky. Give me something to do,” you groan, hopping onto the counter to watch him work. 

“You could read your book. You know, the book you’ve been wanting to finish reading for a while, but you keep putting it off? That sounds like a good idea to me,” Bucky gives you a teasing look as he glances over at you, and you just glare at him in return. 

You pettily let out a loud huff and cross your arms across your chest. “Well, when you tell me to do it, I no longer want to.”

Bucky chuckles at your response as he continues slicing and dicing. 

Having nothing better to do at the moment, the tiktok video from earlier enters your mind, making you open up an app to read some fanfiction. After noticing a smile repeatedly make its way onto your face from the corner of his eye, Bucky steals a look at your screen. 

“Are you reading a book on your phone?” Bucky raises his eyebrows.

Well, reading fanfiction is technically like reading a book, so….

“Yeah, why?”

Bucky stops chopping altogether, turning his attention to you in disbelief. “So you’ll read on your phone, but not in real life?”

“Technically, this is still real life – the words are just on a screen instead of paper,” you give him an innocent smile before looking back down at your phone.

Bucky playfully rolls his eyes at you, before turning his attention to the vegetables. That's when he remembers something. Bucky turns back to you.

“Y’know, speaking of books, have you ever heard of this thing called booktok?” Bucky asks. There’s a teasing look on his face, but you don’t notice it yet.

Confused, but not giving it much thought, you direct your attention at Bucky. “Yeah, but why do you know about it?”

He gives you a shrug. “I just saw something about it, and it seemed like something you’d know about.”

Thinking that the conversation is over, you look back down at your phone.

But, it’s not.

“You know, I saw this interesting video recently and it had something to do with booktok also. Maybe you’ve seen it?” Bucky continues, trying to hide the smirk from growing on his face.

Once again, you look at Bucky. This time your eyebrows are furrowed, getting the feeling that he’s up to something.

“I don’t know, maybe. What was it about?”

Bucky turns back to the vegetables on the counter and continues to chop, but his focus is still mainly on you.

“It was a video of this girl and her boyfriend, and in the video she asks him to do this trend with her–”

He’s not talking about- No, there’s no way.

“--you can see her set the camera up and ask her boyfriend to stand in the doorway, and she joins him.”

You feel your heart drop as you finally notice the teasing tone in his voice as he talks and the hint of a smirk at the corner of his lips.

Oh. My. God.

Bucky looks back over at you. “Have you seen this trend?”

You’re speechless for a second, but you quickly find your words. You swallow. You’re looking back down at your phone when you respond. “Um, yeah I think so.”

“Apparently all the people involved in this booktok thing know about it. She asks him to recreate a scene in a book where the man towers over her and leans in, and apparently a lot of women seem to enjoy it,” Bucky continues to innocently ramble as if there’s no ulterior motive to this speech, but you know there is. Then Bucky asks, “Do you?”

You don’t know if you should strangle him or curl up in a ball and die of embarrassment.

“Do I what?” you ask, trying to seem as unaffected as possible.

“Do you enjoy things like that?” he simply asks as he stops chopping to wash his hands.

This smug piece of shit.

“Did you go through my saved videos?” you ask, deciding it’s time to drop the facade and let the shock show on your face.

Bucky chooses to do the same; letting the smirk fully emerge on his face, Bucky dries off his hands and leans on the counter with a hand on his hip, giving you his full attention.

He shrugs. “Maybe.” 

You let your jaw drop. “Why?”

He shrugs again. “Why not?”

“You know what? I think you should cook by yourself,” you huff. 

You’ve made up your mind – you’ll crawl up in a ball and die.

You hop off the counter and begin to make your way out of the kitchen, but bucky stops you.

“Oh, come on. Don’t be upset,” Bucky chuckles as he pulls you back and backs you into the kitchen counter, keeping his hands on your hips.

You really hate your body for enjoying the feeling of being trapped between him and the counter at a time like this.

“I’m not upset,” you lie, avoiding eye contact as you fold your arms across your chest.

“See, you're telling me one thing and your face is telling me something else, sweetheart. You’re not even looking at me,” Bucky smiles, and you roll your eyes.

“Don’t ‘sweetheart’ me,” you tell him, causing him to let out a laugh.

“Oh, you’re really upset,” Bucky says. When you don’t say anything, he adds. “Come on, doll, I’m sorry. How can I make it up to you?”

“Like I said earlier, you should cook by yourself,” you say. You make another move to leave, but Bucky just tightens his grip to golf you there. You let out a groan. “Let me go.”

“No can do, not until you're no longer mad at me.”

“We’re gonna be here for a while then,” you mumble.

Bucky moves his head to try to get you to look at him, but you just move too. Bucky breathes out a laugh. He steps away from you as he says, “I’ve got a better idea.”

You watch him go to the now boiling pot of water and move it, before reaching to turn off the stove. When he turns back to you, there’s a different look on his face.

Uh oh. 

“What are you doing?” you ask and slowly start making your way towards the kitchen entrance.

“I gotta cheer you up somehow,” he smirks, grabbing your phone out of your hand and stuffing it in his pocket.

“What the hell are y-,” you begin, but cut yourself off with a scream as your tossed upside down from Bucky throwing you over his shoulder, “Bucky!”

“Would you stop?” Buck laughs as his grip on you tightens from your squirming. “We have to recreate some scenes for booktok.”

“What about dinner? Everything is still out,” you say as he begins to make his way up the stairs.

“Don’t worry, we'll be back. Hopefully.”

Like what you see? check out my masterlist :)

[logoleptic-since-06]

Every Corner of This House is Haunted

Pairing: Kento Nanami x Fem!Reader Content: Fem!Reader, Angst, Profanity, Suggestive, Reader and Nanami are in their 30s, Cheating (but also not really), Not Proofread

Chapter VI -> Masterlist if this Series

A/N: Incredibly sorry for this one (I just lied, I'm not sorry at all).

Nanami POV:

The one month that flies by feels like an eternity to you. You have sent the divorce papers to your husband over two weeks ago, albeit there has been no response. Numbers have been blocked and as a result, you find emails from him on a daily basis, all of which end up in your spam folder. Your days are spent within the four walls of Shoko’s apartment, working online and looking for your own apartment. And buried deep inside your drawer remains the shining commitment that you wore around your finger with much pride and love for ten years.

“Do you wanna go out tonight?” Shoko asks out of nowhere, catching you off guard.

“Where?” your voice is barely audible as you hear yourself speak.

“Suguru is back in town, we’re meeting at a bar tonight.”

Oh? It’s been a while since you’ve heard from Suguru. He’s always been someone you could rely on. Perhaps meeting him could help. You don’t want to spend your life sulking over a man you had to beg for attention from. Hence, you agree to finally leave the house.

You and Shoko arrive at the place before anyone else does. The black satin dress uncomfortably hugs your body. Your left hand burns with the absence of your wedding ring, like being stripped bare of the item that meant the world to you.

“Hello Y/N,” rasps the voice that, if you’re being true to yourself, had enraptured you the first time you had heard it. Something about the seductive voice had always made you giddy. When you finally look at him, you find yourself in front of a better version of the man you had known years ago.

Suguru has aged beautifully.

His long hair grazes over his back, a sweet smile masking his perfectly structured face. You and Shoko stand up to greet him. When you reach out to hug him, you catch a whiff of his cologne– the kind that makes you want to bury your nose in the crook of his neck.

Snap out of it.

Everything about your thoughts is wrong. You aren’t even divorced yet, and here you are having unholy thoughts about another man. Shame digs an endless pit in your stomach, making you take a step back.

The ring of Shoko’s phone breaks you away from your thoughts. Her demeanour shifts when she picks it up. “There’s an emergency at the hospital, I’ll have to leave.”

Within minutes you find yourself drinking in a private cabin alone with Suguru.

“So,” he breaks the silence. “How are you holding up?”

You take a sip from your cocktail. “It’s hard,” the truth easily rolls out of your tongue. “I’ve lived with him for so long, you know?”

“Understandable,” he says as he sits up straight. Did he just get closer to you? “I’m glad you stood up for yourself. It was very brave of you.”

“Thanks, Suguru.” 

Your eyes meet his as you say that, your faces only inches away from one another. He tucks a strand of your hair behind your ears. “You deserve much better, Y/N.”

That little statement is all it takes for you to go against all your principles. You crash your lips into his and he responds with equal passion. The kiss is messy, hurried, like you’ve been starving for it– for anything that will validate you. He trails his kisses down to your jaw, making you arch your head backwards. Pleasure takes over you as a moan slips out of your mouth.

“Kento…”

If this moment was glass, you could hear it shatter from a million miles away. Suguru pulls away from you, his face still wearing a heartfelt smile and his eyes still holding an understanding glance. 

“Suguru, I–”

“It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not, I–”

“You don’t have to explain yourself, Y/N,” he says as he stands up.

“I’m sorry…” you look up at him, your eyes glistening with regret.

“It was nice meeting you again, Y/N.”

He leaves you in the cabin as you feel a daunting feeling of guilt churning like acid in your stomach, drowning yourself in an ocean of shame and turmoil.

Tags: @itsafairytalekay  @qualitygiantshoepsychic  @uzuimirika  @coffeeandcrimeshows  @lov3vivian  @lady-of-blossoms  @lavenderdaydream97  @gigiiiiislife  @yeehawbrothers  @heartsforkento  @loveliest-ghostwriter  @darkstudentsaladbakery    @for-hearthand-home  @creative1writings  @corvid007  @realesttruther  @jades-bullshit  @patpatspatz  @yunho-leeknow  @layuhsblog  @luringfantasy

(Hope I didn't miss any)

[translatemunson]

can i have a cuddle, please?

bradley "rooster" bradshaw x reader blurb cw: i believe it can be read as gn!reader, but it was written with a female reader in mind (since i mention reader being smaller than rooster and wearing his clothes); overall fluff, a bit of sadness (but nothing major); lmk if i forgot anything.

You’ve been quiet. Ever since you arrived from your job, you haven't said much. A “hello” when you walked in, a “sure” when Bradley asked if you wanted pizza for dinner, a “thank you” when he served you a slice, and a “be right back” when your best friend called you in the middle of your Footloose rewatch.

He made himself comfortable, because, by the tone of your voice, it was gonna take a while. And he wasn’t gonna finish Footloose without you. So he reached for his phone, laid on the couch — taking the whole thing for himself —, checked the group chat with the Daggers, and started scrolling on social media. Ten minutes went by before you said your goodbyes to your friend, but it took you longer to come back to the living room. He picked up the book he was reading for a few weeks now — something about productivity or whatever coaching talk was there.

At one point, you were back. You looked so small wearing sweatpants and a sweater that was definitely his. Your shoulders were slumped forward, and your face was so blank he was wondering if there was some kind of soulsucking monster wandering around in the dark. It wasn’t like you to be this quiet, this distant.

“Hi, there.” He set the book aside.

“Can I have a cuddle, please?”

“Sure. Let’s make sure you are comfortable,” he said as you reached for him, throwing your legs over his, and laying on top of him. There was enough space for the two of you on the couch, but you still found him more comfortable than any pillow.

Bradley made sure his arms held you steady, one hand resting on your lower back, another one caressing your face. He could hold your weight, your sadness, your silence, because for him, you were everything. His everything. You nestled your head on the curve of his neck, low enough to hear his heartbeat.

“Do you wanna watch something else?” He pulled you closer, adjusting himself under you. Every little movement, and you clinged to his side more and more. “We can play the version where you always say one of the actors looks like me. Hm?”

He tried to get a reply. He gently removed the hair from your face, but your position made it harder for him to see if you’re paying attention.

“Are you asleep, kid?” You hid deeper into his body. “How did you fall asleep so fast? I swear, the only time I pass out this quickly is when I come back from a deployment and all I wanna do is be with you.”

He checked the time, just a little past eight. You looked so comfortable he was afraid the simple motion to move you to the bed would disrupt your peace. “You’re really sleeping, aren’t you?”

Bradley stretched his arm and got hold of his phone. His right hand held you firmly by your waist, feeling you pushing your legs higher. “Wanna go to bed? Make any sound and I’ll take you there.”

You were silent as you’ve been since you got home. He kissed your forehead, and promised “Thirty minutes. After that, I’m waking you up and we are finishing the movie.” He proceeded to spend his time on his phone, texting Nat to check if she knew what caused your bad mood, and then having to deal with the group chat making plans for the weekend. If things stayed the same, he was definitely taking the rain check because you would require his full attention.

“Roo? Bradley?” The words were rolling out of your tongue just like you were leaving a deep state of sleep, slowly.

“Hey.” He pressed his lips on your temple. “Feeling better?”

“A little. What time is it?”

“Nine thirty.”

“Really?” You rubbed your eyes. “Did you—”

“Waiting for you, kid.” He didn’t want to let you go from his reach, but you seemed better after a power cuddle.

You stood up and stretched out your limbs, yawning loudly. Bradley sat down, putting his arms around your middle and resting his chin against you, looking up. “Wanna finish the movie?”

“Yeah, just gonna brush my teeth and get us some blankets.” You ran your fingers through his hair. “Need something?”

“Just for you to feel better.”

“I’ll tell you about it in the morning, ok?”

“Ok.”

Bradley had a feeling you weren’t gonna finish the movie. You came back from your room with blankets and pillows, and you snugged your way into his arms again, covering you both with the biggest blanket. Even if you knew Bradley ran hot, you wanted extra comfort. He pressed play, and while he ran his fingers through your hair, he could tell you were falling asleep again. Slowly rolling into the deep state of resting.

He held the promise you would tell him everything in the morning. He would do anything to make you feel better.

Not much later, he was also asleep on the couch. Footloose playing in the background until the end credits. Somewhere into the night, you woke up, but seeing Bradley peacefully sleeping, you just decided the couch and his body were more comfortable than the bed.

a/n: the people voted, and they shall recieve! small blurb inspired by a tiktok @live-love-be-unique sent me a few weeks ago. i have an ongoing bradley bradshaw x reader fic, it's called death defying acts and you can read it HERE. hope you liked this blurb! i'll post the other blurb/oneshot before the new year! see ya soon

[xaviesstarlight]

Get Out

Synopsis: You (MC) are trapped in Yandere!Caleb’s house in Skyhaven and call for help to escape. This is inspired by @syluriar ‘s fic linked here. It is amazing, so go read it. I was inspired to write a version with Xavier saving you instead of Sylus. I promise I’ll be nice to Caleb in the future. Inspiration struck, so I just had to get the idea written out. Warnings: Yandere!Caleb, mentions of abuse, bruises, being locked up

Caleb had changed. The man hovering over you is not the kind, warm-hearted Caleb you knew growing up. He is not the man who shared your childhood, played games with you, walked you to school, and bought you candy whenever you asked for it. You don’t recognize this Caleb, the new colonel of the Farspace Fleet whose treatment toward you is just as cold and hostile as the gun strapped to his waist. He says he locks you in the house for your protection. You are only safe by his side, and soon he will create a life for the two of you where it’s just the two of you. No one else.

That is why he forced you to go to bed early tonight. He wants to lock you up in the bedroom again while he leaves for a night mission and doesn’t want to risk you escaping while he’s gone. He learned from your previous attempts and arguments to lock both the bedroom and house door and take away your gun and phone. Little does he know, those attempts were just red herrings to throw Caleb off from your real plan, ways to gather intel on what he’s willing to do to prevent you from leaving. One thing Caleb doesn’t know is the relationship you built the past year during his “death.”

It takes all your self-control not to flinch as Caleb caresses your cheek. Just focus on your breathing, you tell yourself silently. In. Out. In. Out. You pretend to be asleep as he checks on you before leaving for the night.

“I’ll be back soon,” Caleb whispers. He moves the hair out of your face. Your blood chills at his touch. “I know you hate that I’m doing this, but it’s for your own good.”

As you hear the door softly shut and the click of the lock, his heavy footsteps grow fainter. You know better than to believe Caleb is truly gone, so you lie still for about ten minutes examining the bruises he left on your wrists the night before when he pinned you to the couch after another argument. The darkness in Caleb’s violet eyes sent a shiver down your spine. You tremble in bed just thinking about it. Another man had never frightened you as much as Caleb did during that moment, and that includes Sylus, the infamous leader of Onichynus in the N109 Zone. After judging that Caleb had left for the night, you activate your hunter’s watch. It’s time to escape.

Caleb did not take your hunter’s watch along with your other items, because you managed to convince him that it’s safer for you to continue wearing it. The Hunter’s Association keeps tabs on your heart rate and will deploy hunters to search for you if it suddenly stops. Also, the watch cannot communicate with other hunters. It only receives mission alerts. It cannot send messages. At least, that is what Caleb believes. You never once shared what the watch could truly do, what Xavier had taught you it could do with his high security clearance no one else but him has access to.

The blue light from the watch fills the room like a faux moonlight. Your first step is to wake up Xavier all the way in Linkon by sending an alert to his watch. You trick the watch into thinking your heart rate has stopped, sending an alert to your hunting partner. Once Xavier sees the alert, he can access your watch with a voice call. It takes less than a minute before you hear Xavier’s voice.

“MC? Are you there? Is everything okay?” A weight lifts from your shoulders. Xavier’s gentleness is conveyed through the call like sunshine breaking through this endless night.

“Xavier! I’m in Skyhaven, and I need you to come get me. I’m locked up and scared. Can you teleport here? Please!” Tears roll down your cheeks, and your voice cracks before you can finish speaking. You didn’t expect yourself to cry, but you feel safe enough with Xavier to be vulnerable. You need him, and you want him to know that.

“I can track your watch,” Xavier says, his voice lower than normal, almost a growl. “Are you alone right now?”

“Yes, he should be gone all night.”

“Good. I’m coming.”

I’m coming. Those two words give you the hope needed to hold on. Xavier is coming.

You pace the floor as you wait for Xavier, checking the time over and over again. It has only been an hour since Caleb left. He shouldn’t be back anytime soon. His other night missions usually lasted until 3-4 am. It’s only a little after 11 pm now. You couldn’t remember if Xavier has limitations to his teleportation. His evol is so unique and versatile that no one, not even the Hunter’s Association, understands its power. No one even understands how powerful Xavier is, not even you honestly. As you turn to walk across the room for the hundredth time, you slam right into someone’s chest.

The shock of no longer being alone in the room sends you reeling backward, a shriek escaping your lips. A hand reaches for your wrist to catch you, but the pain from the strong grip on your bruises causes you to thrash about, landing on the bed.

“MC, it’s okay. It’s just me, Xavier.” Xavier. You snap your head up to see tranquil pools of azure meeting your gaze. Xavier’s silvery hair reflects the warm specks of light slowly filling the room like fireflies. His palm holds an orb of light as a lamp so you can see it’s him. “Shhh, it’s okay now. I’m sorry I frightened you. Are you okay?”

The dam of tears bursts in that moment. You throw your arms around Xavier’s neck while crying and stuttering your way through a nearly unintelligible account of what transpired in Skyhaven. Xavier rubs his hand in circles on the small of your back as you cry. His grip around your torso tightens as you explain what all Caleb did to you and that you have to leave immediately.

“Don’t worry,” Xavier says, his usual soft voice deepens and has a hint of curtness, though not directed at you. “I’ll grab your stuff, and we’ll go home. Where’s your gun?” With a flick of his wrist, Xavier’s light blade appears. He seems to walk through the bedroom door like a ghost and appears again a moment later, brows furrowed, with your gun and phone. “I don’t like how there’s so many pictures of you here. Once you’re safe, I should come back and get rid of them.” Xavier is really thinking he should come back to get rid of Caleb, but he doesn’t say that out loud.

You poke Xavier’s cheek with your lips slightly curving for the first time in days. “Let’s focus on getting out of here first. We’ll worry about something as small as pictures later.”

Pouting, Xavier nods and picks you up bridal style. “Close your eyes.”

You willingly obey your boyfriend, and a moment later your eyes open to see your own living room in Linkon. Xavier kisses your temple. “You’re safe now. Caleb can’t hurt you anymore.”

“I know I’m always safe when I’m with you, Xavier. You’re my knight in shining armor. I… I don’t want to be alone tonight. Can I stay with you at your place?”

Xavier leans down, his lips softly brushing yours as if he’s afraid the slightest touch will trigger frightening memories of the past few days. “You can always stay with me if that’s what you want. You never even need to ask. Get your clothes, and we’ll go.”

You crawl into bed with Xavier past midnight. He holds you under the covers, his warm breath caressing your ear as he reassures you no one will harm you again. The rise and fall of his chest where you rest your head lulls you to sleep.

As you sleep safely in his arms, Xavier lies awake fuming about you being a prisoner in another man’s house, the bruises on your wrists, and the trauma scarring your mind. Caleb is possessive enough to not rest until he finds you again. Xavier understands that perfectly, because he too is possessive of you. For now, you are with Xavier, peacefully sleeping in his bed. Any win is still a win, but when the time comes, Xavier will be ready to take care of Caleb just like he did with every person who threatened your safety in the past. He is your loyal knight after all, and that fact will never change.

[cllightning81]

Set Up [CL16]

Summary: You meet Daniel Ricciardo at a Red Bull athlete sponsor event and become friends. When you finally accept his offer to go to a Grand Prix, he sets you up on a date with a fellow driver.

Pairing/s: Daniel Ricciardo x Australian!Red Bull Athlete!Reader (Platonic), Charles Leclerc x Australian!Red Bull Athlete! Reader

A/N: Had the idea that the reader is a speed skater because why not. However there's only one slight mention of that at the end so you can imagine the reader to be any athlete.

Word Count: 1.4k

Masterlist Charles Leclerc Masterlist Tag List Coming Soon

Public events were always the worst, but that came with being an athlete for Red Bull. It was yet another one of their sponsor events that all athletes had to attend so here you were in a fancy black tie dress surrounded by lots of sponsors and lots of other athletes that also probably didn’t want to be there. 

The dark blue dress hugged your figure in just all the places that it needed to. Accepting a flute of champagne from the server walking around the room, you settled down at your table in front of your name place. Looking at the names around the rest of the table ,you sighed as you didn’t recognise any of them. 

Ten minutes later, people started sitting around the table. The names on the table help you find out their names without having to have an awkward conversation. Scotty James was the first person to sit down. Now that you’d seen his face, you knew who he was. You’d spoken to him a few times at past events. 

“Oh hey Y/N” He smiled, and you looked over 

“Evening Scotty. No wife this time?” You asked, and he shook his head 

“No, she's at home. Wasn’t interested in another one of these events” You nodded while taking a drink of champagne. More people started to sit down, and throughout the night, you started hitting it off with Daniel Ricciardo.

~~~

A few months after the event, Daniel had invited you to watch a Grand Prix after staying in touch. Being a Red Bull athlete meant that cameras were on you from the second you walked into the paddock. Daniel is waiting at the side for you with his signature smile 

“Y/N L/N” He cheered, holding out the syllables as he walked over. You smiled, giving him a hug 

“Daniel Ricciardo” You laughed while walking with him. 

“So I’ve been thinking” Daniel hummed, and you turned your head to look at him 

“That’s not a good thing” You joked, and he rolled his eyes 

“You were complaining the other day that you saw some tyres getting more attention than you have recently, but I came up with a plan” You raised an eyebrow, looking at him

“That doesn’t sound like a good idea, and I don’t even know what it is” You muttered, and he laughed 

“I’ve got a friend. He’s also a driver, but he’s also very single, and I think you’d be a perfect match together” He explained 

“I am not going out with Lando Norris” You warned, and he laughed 

“No it’s not Lando” He shook his head

“You got Max and Kelly to break up?” You joked, and he rolled his eyes, walking into the garage with you 

“I did not. Do you trust me, though?” He asked, and you looked at him sceptically 

“Not really no” You shrugged 

“Never mind I’ll take my date back then” You rolled your eyes 

“Who’s this date with then?” You asked 

“You’ll see. You don’t happen to have that dress from the night we met, do you?” He asked 

“No, not in Monaco” You shook your head 

“Do you have any like that in Monaco?” He asked 

“Kinda? I’ve got a red version of it. Well it’s not similar in any way, but I’ve got a red long dress in my apartment. But the blue one’s back in Melbourne” You shrugged 

“Wear the red dress then. You’ll be picked up at seven tonight. That’s all I’m saying” 

“You don’t even know where I stay?” You frowned 

“I was hoping you’d tell me that detail” You laughed, shaking your head. 

And so at seven o’clock there was a knock on your apartment door. You grabbed your purse, walking over to the door and pulled it open to see the person you least expected standing at your door. Neither of you said anything as you just looked at each other. 

“Woah” He mumbled, causing you to smile slightly 

“Woah yourself” You hummed 

“You know, when Daniel said he was setting me up, I didn’t know what to expect, but it definitely wasn’t you” He smiled. 

“I could say the same thing Charles” You smiled, taking his hand as he held it out for you. You walked down to his Ferrari with him. Smiles covering your faces as he helped you into the car. 

“So where are we going tonight, Mr Leclerc?” You asked as he got into the car as well. 

“Well I obviously had to find somewhere for both our diets, but there’s a little restaurant that I quite like next to the harbour, so I figured we could go there?” He suggested, and you nodded 

“That sounds like a good plan” You smiled, looking over at him before turning to look out the window at the views that were passing. When arriving at the restaurant, Charles got out of the car first before rushing around to help you out. Passing the keys off to a member of staff that would park the car safely for him. 

Getting seated was easy. Charles had made reservations asking to be hidden in the back of the restaurant so that you could enjoy yourself without having to have fans asking either of you for autographs or pictures every couple of minutes. Or the worst thing. Fans taking pictures without you realising getting the worst angles. You both ordered your drinks and food, opting for non-alcoholic drinks not even because Charles was driving but because your diets didn’t really allow alcohol. 

“So why Monaco?” Charles asked 

“I’m actually only here on holiday. I live in the UK” You confessed, and he nodded 

“Why Monaco for a holiday then?” He chuckled, and you smiled 

“Daniel invited me to the Grand Prix and after meeting him at a Red Bull athlete event. I actually got into the sport, so when he offered, I couldn’t say no. I’d like to end up retiring in Monaco, though. Sell both of my houses and just live here” You explained and he nodded

“It’s lovely here. Although I may be a little biassed but oh well” You let out a laugh 

“So you’ve got a house in the UK, but where’s your other?” He asked, leaning back in the chair 

“Melbourne obviously” You laughed, and he nodded

“Should have seen that coming” You nodded 

“Let me guess. House in Monaco and house in Italy” You guessed 

“Spot on. Hotels everywhere else” He nodded, and you chuckled. The conversation flowed easily about your different training and different lifestyles but also things that you had in common. 

“I’ve always wanted a dog but with all these competitions and travelling it just never felt right but when I retire in Monaco the first thing I do except find a home is get a dog” You nodded and he chuckled 

“Just out of curiosity, what kind of age do people in your sport retire?” He asked, tilting his head a little 

“I’ve got about a year left realistically, but I’m aiming to reach the 2026 winter olympics before I retire” You sighed 

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to ask it like that” He winced a little, and you shook your head 

“No, it wasn’t you. Don’t worry. I just hate that I had to pick a sport that requires such early retirement. I love skating, and I think I’ll always skate, and obviously, going at speed is very enjoyable” You both laughed at the statement 

“Maybe we should sign you up for a hot lap. See how you enjoy our kind of fast” You smiled 

“I would very much enjoy that. I know for a fact you go about two hundred miles an hour faster than I do” You chuckled, and he frowned 

“How fast do you go?” He asked, and you shrugged

“About thirty-five miles an hour? Roughly. Give or take depends on the day, where I’m competing, and who I’m competing against” You shrugged as his eyes widened

“Seriously?” He asked, and you nodded 

“Deadly” You smiled 

“Maybe I’ll have to come watch you work one day” He smiled, and you tilted your head

“That would be so much fun getting you on the ice with me” 

And so you did. During the break between a couple of races, you got Charles onto an ice rink and skating with you. He wasn’t enjoying it as much as you were, but it made for a great second official date. Something you’d never tell Daniel just yet.

Tag List

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[saltwater-moon]

philtatos — a jegulus fic: 1,362 words.

James might be loud in group settings, but lately, he has found the beauty in silence because of one certain silver-eyed boy.

At first, Regulus thought they may never get along because of what James’ circle of friends is like. Loud conversations, loud parties, and loud laughter that can be heard through the hall.

After three years of being together, it’s how they spend most of their days. What was once the only way Regulus allowed him to be near has grown into a shared thing between them.

Just comfortable silence: cooking together while jazz plays, reading together and hearing the turning of pages, cuddling before succumbing to afternoon naps.

This is what he wants for the rest of his life.

They haven’t talked about it in detail: marriage. It’s not a topic they see most pressing, seeing as they’ve only been dating for a while. But James feels it, and he knows Regulus does too. This is it for them; there’s no one else.

James quite literally saw it in a dream five months into dating: him spending the rest of his life with Regulus. He cried his happy tears silently when he woke up, cuddling Regulus closer.

“Hey, baby?” He says while reading (see: staying on the same page for ten minutes) his book, just to see if Regulus isn’t too engrossed in his.

“Hmm?” He hums back.

“What do you think of marrying me?” He puts his book on the armchair, getting nervous now, and palms starting to sweat. He doesn’t know why when he’s confident in their love. Maybe it’s just the nature of the question itself.

He hears Regulus close his book and scoots closer beside him. Regulus holds James’ face to make their eyes meet. “Of course, my love.” And he smiles so warmly at him. Always so careful, always so loving.

“What brought this on? Are you okay?” Regulus asks slowly, already seeing through his boyfriend’s nerves. Regulus is only like this towards the people closest to him: his brother, his boyfriend, and his best friends. James loves it that he gets to have this side of him every time.

James holds the hand cradling his face, leaning towards the warmth. He puts another hand on Regulus’ waist, guiding him so he’s now on his lap.

“I’ve been thinking about it a lot more lately, so I wanted to see how you feel about it. It’s not like we have to do it immediately. I just wanted to know if you’re open to it. We don’t have to get married traditionally, you know, or at all, even! We can just be boyfriends for the rest of our lives and it will be okay with me. I’ll be the happiest as long as you’re with me…”

His voice trails when he sees Regulus looking at him adoringly. Regulus patiently waits for James to finish his train of thought. He says it’s better for James to get it all out of his system, and it will help him make more sense of things. He’s right, of course, always has been.

Regulus raises his eyebrows at him, silently asking ‘Is the train finished?’ James closes his eyes and nods slightly.

Regulus brushes his thumbs back and forth across his cheeks until he opens his eyes. “I love you so much, you know that?” James nods to the question.

“I didn’t really have a good example of marriage growing up,” Regulus says and James winces, remembering everything the brothers went through.

“So meeting your parents was a real pure shock to me, that two people can love each other so greatly it radiates to everyone around them. And that their love has created you, the most annoyingly kind-hearted man who never runs out of love and compassion to give.”

James rolls his eyes at being called annoying and pouts, but Regulus kisses it away. Now smiling so bright it’s blinding, his own sun.

“And since then, I’ve grown envious of it. Because I want that life. One where we go to bookshops and find new ones for our library, try new pastries and see which one we’ll get obsessed with for the next few weeks, and cook food even if we have to make two versions because I can’t eat spicy food for shit. I just want all of it with you, James.”

His eyes are getting glassier now, just imagining it all. It sends James into a panic. “Hey, hey, gorgeous, don’t cry,” he says as he wipes the tears away.

“So I take it that you want to marry me?” James chuckles when Regulus glares at him.

“I am literally crying in front of you about dreaming to, Potter,” he lightly pushes James’ shoulder. The other boy caught his hand and brought it to his lips to kiss his knuckles.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you cry,” James chuckles and hugs him closer, one hand rubbing the expanse of his back gently.

“It’s okay,” Regulus says as he brings his nose to his beck, breathing him all in. “You smell really nice.”

“Thank you, baby,” James says. It’s the one Regulus got him for Valentine’s Day that year, his new favourite, case in point is how his boyfriend is just sniffing the daylights out of him.

James slides his hand under a pillow to locate what he’s looking for. He got Sirius in on it a week ago, formally asking for his permission on what he’s about to do. Sirius, the protective big brother that he is, gave James another shovel talk like he did when they first started dating.

“That is my little brother, Prongs. You may be one of the most important people in my life, but it’s Reggie above everything. Always,” he says as he clamps James’ shoulder. Squeezing it a bit too hard.

“I know that. It will always be him above everything for me too, Pads. I won’t let you down,” he promises.

The tension vanishes almost immediately and Sirius hugs him so tight. “I can’t wait to hear the news from Reggie! Oh! I have to act all surprised!”

His hand finally found it and brought it from under the pillow. He nudges Regulus so they’re facing each other now. He tangles his hands together behind Regulus to hide the box.

“You’re my dream come true, Regulus Black,” he starts the speech he wrote months ago.

“I never said it out loud, but I believe you’re half of my soul. That even in a million different timelines, I know we will find our way to one another in each of them. My heart ached like a phantom limb and only settled when it started loving you. I don’t remember what life was before you, but I’m damn sure I never want to know what happens after you.”

James blinks and only then does he realise they’re both crying when Regulus tries to wipe them away.

He brings the box from behind Regulus and opens it.

“Will you please do me the honour of marrying me?”

Regulus’ breath hitches, more tears cascading down his beautiful face. He nods and nods until he realises he hasn’t said anything. “Yes. Yes, of course! I’ll marry you, Jamie.”

Beaming, James removes the ring from the box and was about to put it on Regulus when he notices that there’s nowhere to put it on because his fiancée has too many of them.

“You reckon you still need it?” James asks before chuckling.

“Of course, you goon,” Regulus rolls his eyes and removes the one sitting on his ring finger. “There.”

James puts it on him and they both admire the beauty of it. A silver wedding band with a trillion-cut moss agate centre stone with carvings of an antler pattern.

They cuddle after a heated kiss that renders them both lightheaded, Regulus taking a peek at his ring every two minutes, which makes James chuckle.

“Hey, Potter, do you mind paying attention to me instead of looking at your ring?” Regulus blushed immediately after being called that. It feels glorious, to be one step closer to not being associated with his family name.

[whatsjulietslastname]

Okay so this is me talking about everything that is wrong with Double Exposure because my first post about it was an angry reaction at the pricefield breaking up news and it wasn’t really diving into it. Obviously don’t read this if you haven’t played the game and do not want to get spoiled. Also, this is going to be long.

First of all, what I really want to speak about and what a lot of people are refusing to accept is how painfully out of character Max is throughout the whole game. “Yeah but she’s ten years older—” Don’t care. That doesn’t mean her entire personality has to change. I’ll say it over and over again, 2014 Max Caulfield would have absolutely despised her adult version. The thing that bugs me the most about 2024 Max Caulfield is how careless she is with her powers. She’s not asking herself where they came from, she doesn’t even freak out, or actually care. In the first game, right after she first rewinds, she constantly has to remind herself that she isn’t dreaming, and that this is real. In this game, she just accepts it, and goes on with her day, and uses her powers for the most useless reasons possible. What about the Max from her nightmare who represents the guilt she felt for using her powers wrong and putting all of those people in danger, you say? Absolutely forgotten. Max uses her powers so she can find items easier and so the people who rejected her in her main timeline want her in the other one. (Yes, after Chloe breaks up with her and expresses her worries about the fact that Max — apparently — uses her powers so things go her way — which is already incredibly out of character, because no, 2014 Max wouldn’t have used her powers on Chloe to avoid conflict, especially after what happened.) That is incredibly manipulative and shitty. SHE WOULDN’T FUCKING SAY THAT. And also, why on Earth would she try and use her powers to avoid her friend’s death when she KNOWS where this is leading. Did she not learn anything from the past? Apparently, she didn’t! And proceeded to completely forget about it all.

Something else that is incredibly annoying and gets tiring after like ten minutes is the amount of awkward sex-related jokes that Max (and every character, somehow) keeps making at any given moment. Pretty sure this was supposed to show us that Max is an adult now and that she hangs out with adults and knows what sex is but that is way too much. Nobody talks like that in real life (and if I ever meet someone who does I’m leaving the conversation). Max also makes cringey jokes all the time, because her dialogue (and hers only, which makes it sound even weirder) is the same as the 2014 one, except it was 2014 back then and it was acceptable. Now, if Max Caulfield says ‘let’s trash, shakabrah’, you’re only making it obvious how much fan-service you filled this game with. It would be funny if she said it to Chloe, because then it would have sounded like an inside joke, except she says it to her new lame love interest who has no idea what she’s talking about, and just. Why. Why would she, Deck Nine. The main problem about the fact that those jokes are thrown at us all the time is that Max’s inner dialogue is almost only focused on them. Something traumatic happens to her? Who cares. She’s gotta make a joke about the rock you pick up and then bring to another universe’s lame love interest who’s gonna reject her anyway and say ‘I’ll never apologize for my dad jokes’ because apparently, we’re never seeing the end of the fan-service in this game.

Chloe is out of character too the only few times we hear of her, but that’s only because Deck Nine makes it obvious how much they despise her. She leaves Max through a very underwhelming letter, which is already out of character enough. She then proceeds to never reach out for years (which is something Max has done to her and that has hurt her, so why the fuck would she do the same thing right after?) And apparently, she doesn’t care. She just moves on, and parties, and kind of starts flirting with Max’s high school bully, and makes cringey posts on the Internet that make her sound like an extremely corny player. That isn’t Chloe Price. That’s someone Chloe Price would make fun of, at most. I kept picturing 2014 Chloe reading the things her adult self apparently posts on social media and freeze in terror. Genuinely. Also, the whole ‘Joyce is dead and Chloe is angry at Max for it’. Sigh. Chloe gave Max the choice. She said ‘you’re the only one who can (make this choice)’. And then, when Max choses her, in front of her, and lets the town get blown away, Chloe says ‘I’ll always be with you’. Why the sudden switch up? Never explained. Chloe is just angry at Max for something she originally wasn’t angry at her for.

The writing in this game is super weak, too. There are a few cool scenes (I’m thinking the one where Safi tells Max to pulls the trigger in the middle of the storm, if you manage to make it past how boringly similar to LiS 1 it feels), but it’s mostly just…meh, at most. For instance, Safi asks Max about Chloe, we learn that Chloe and Max broke up, or that Chloe died, and then without giving us any time to process that, the game forces us to friendzone or flirt with some random girl that is apparently into Max. We don’t have any time to decide if we like her or not, you just take a look at her and decide if Max wants her. The dialogues are more often than not awful too. It sounds like something ChatGPT would write. Nearly every single interaction Max can have with basically anyone feels forced, and like people talk too much, or not enough, people say random thing that makes no sense and nobody cares, we suddenly hear Max’s thoughts in a middle of a conversation, there are awkward moments of silence. Painful to witness. Max has NO chemistry with either of her love interests (though the guy is somehow more interesting than the girl to interact with), and manages to have more romantic moments with her best friend who she’s not supposed to be into than with them. Both those love interests are useless and suck anyway, because they will both end up rejecting Max by the end anyway, and apparently won’t even return, which strikes the question of why the romantic plot lines were even involved. (Which also made me hate Amanda a lot. I guess she is somewhat likable at the beginning of the game, but she gradually becomes annoyingly pushy and ends up telling Max she’s too much to deal with at the end of the game anyway). Also, it’s annoying how obvious it is that the romantic plot line is way more explored with Amanda than it is with Vihn. Stop making Max look like she’s basically a lesbian but not completely because she hooks up with guys sometimes. Stop bisexual erasure, basically.

The game gives up on its own plot in the middle of it. It was promoted as a murder mystery but stop being one after a while to become a What The Hell Is Going On With Safi kind of thing. Also, there’s the whole thing with the detective. Why did they even create him only to treat him as a joke and never explain what happened with him. One of the most confusing thing about this game. What the hell was that for.

The nightmare sequence. God, how I hate it. If you want to deal with Max’s trauma, do it WELL. It’s a go big or go home thing, not a ‘let’s put some sort of references but never properly deal with anything’. IT WAS SO FRUSTRATING. There’s references about Chloe everywhere, and never Chloe. I get it, you don’t want her to be in this game. But if you do want to talk about Max’s trauma, you gotta swallow your pride and put her somewhere anyway. Max can’t have a nightmare about the things that traumatized her without Chloe being there. It just makes it even more obvious how much the studio avoided to put her in the game on purpose. The bathroom scene? God, please, what the fuck was that. Why would Max think of herself as some kind of Nathan Prescott parallel?? The only thing they had in common was pointing a gun at someone. That’s it. That was another poor attempt of the game to try and not put Chloe there but still say ‘look!! Max still thinks about her and is traumatized!! But she somehow dreams about it without seeing her face once!!’ like just stop. And the Dark Room part felt very underwhelming too. Kudos to Hannah Telle for the amazing voice acting on this, but the scene lasted ten seconds. Just don’t put it there, please.

The nightmare isn’t needed in every LiS game. So isn’t the Storm. So aren’t the nosebleed. Why does Diamond get nosebleed because of her powers? That was a Max thing. Daniel didn’t get nosebleed, Alex didn’t get nosebleed, Chris didn’t get nosebleed. (Rachel didn’t get nosebleed either). Why is this suddenly something everybody get because of their powers?? And why do every powers suddenly create Storms. It’s not a common Powers Problem, it was a Rewind Powers thing. God, this makes me mad.

And last but not least. The final choice. It felt so??? Underwhelming??? I use this word a lot, but it’s how the whole game feels for me. The LiS choices are hard to pick. There’s no morally wrong or right answer. It depends on who you are, what you stand for. The first game was about learning how to let go or refuse to let your friend get ruined by fate. The second game was about giving your life up for your brother to have a chance or refusing to give up on what you believe in and what makes you who you are, no matter what. Before the Storm was about protecting your loved ones from the truth or refusing to lie to them and let them hurt. True Colors was about forgive the unforgivable in the name of compassion or hold a grudge in the name of family.

And then there’s this game. ‘Do you wanna join the X-men me and my team of supervillains and take over the world lol’. Why would Max say yes to that. Just why. If you want to play the game in character, it’s obvious that you have to pick ‘refuse’. If you want to play an out of character evil Max just for the sake of it because it’s fun, alright! I don’t blame you. It’s fun. But why on Earth would Max Caulfield agree.

Also, they take you for an idiot with the cat content. Do NOT waste your money on it, you will regret it.

Anyway. This game would’ve been okay if it hadn’t been apart of the LiS franchise, and if it had starred a different main character. I still would’ve thought it was confusing and generally not great, but at least it wouldn’t have felt like such a let down. (Side note: everything I’ve said doesn’t include Moses and Gwen. I want to put them in my pocket and carry them around with me forever. Love them a lot.)

And congratulations if you’ve read this far. I probably would’ve gone ‘I ain’t reading allat’ and scrolled

[wheredafandomat]

Based on this ask that I accidentally lost 😭

@lulubelle814 I hope you enjoy it!!

Meant to be

Loki x female reader

18+ | TW: Infertility and problems associated with that including miscarriage, smut, use of drugs, alcohol

❤️❤️❤️❤️

“Loki, Loki” you shake him awake trying to stop the trembling as your vision blurred “wake up, I need-I need to go to a hospital” you stuttered, Loki’s eyes flying open as he heard you.

“Y/n?” He questioned, cupping your face as he searched your expression in the dark room “what’s the matter?” He began, eyes widening as he noticed the crimson soaking into the sheets.

“I feel faint and I’m not due on” you tried to rationalise, not wanting to alarm Loki and trying to calm yourself down too.

“I’ll drive” he quickly stood up, flinging the duvet off of himself.

Loki helped you into the car before you both rushed to the hospital. You had been feeling abdominal pain for the past couple of days and you felt incredibly ill but you put it down to stress. Only now as Loki held your hand, frantically driving that you realised this was actually a lot more serious. When you made it to the hosptial, you were seen quickly.

“I wish I had known” you sniffled “if only I had known, I could have pretended, just for a while that we—we were going to be parents” you continued to cry as Loki rubbed soothing circles on your back, placing a kiss on your forehead. “I was a mother Loki and now—now I—” you sobbed, wanting the day to end as Loki bit back his own mournful tears. And just like that, another getaway, another attempt at normalcy.

It had been just over a month since you were at the hospital and already, you and Loki had spent all your weekends abroad, trying to have sex in as many different European countries as you could. Each country offered its own culture, its own fond memories and its own way of spicing up your sex life whether that was with aphrodisiacs or guided meditations. This weekend, you found yourselves in Amsterdam, a hotel overlooking a nearby canal as you each held a mushroom in your hand. It was on your way to get food that you stopped at a shop and picked the mushrooms up after an elderly lady working in the shop said that the mushrooms cured all that ails you. Turning towards each other, you smiled before eating them.

“When do they kick in?” Loki asked, wriggling his fingers as he held his hand in front of his face.

“Considering the fact that you’ve been staring at your hand for the past ten minutes, I think they already have” you answered, looking at him.

“Oh” he voiced, looking up at you “do they work?”

“Is your hair getting longer?” You questioned, squinting as you looked at Loki.

“Is yours getting shorter?” He replied, pointing at your hair before you stood up, making your way to the mirror.

“Oh my god!” You shrieked, Loki following behind you as you looked at yourself in the mirror.

“Norns!” Loki gasped, his hair long as he took in his appearance.

“Is this—do I have stubble?” You panicked, touching your face only it didn’t seem like your face. “Oh my god!” You yelped again as you felt an unfamiliar weight between your legs. Running your hand down your body, you almost passed out as you realised “I—I’m a man! Look Loki, look, I’ve got a—” you began to laugh, pulling your trousers down.

“Y/n, I fear I may have lost my—” Loki began before you interrupted, thrusting your hips.

“It’s so heavy” you chuckled.

“What on Midgard did we take?” Loki asked, his voice high.

“Who cares, the effects will probably wear off as the mushrooms do” you shrugged.

“Sooo, are you saying we should enjoy them whilst they last?” Loki grinned.

“Yes, besides, you do look irresistible as a woman. Very sexy” you purred, causing Loki to smile. “Your hair, your skin, I’m going to enjoy this” you smirked, your hand moving between Loki’s legs.

“Is there something you want to tell me?” Loki giggled, seemingly uncomfortable by how much you were enjoying this more feminine version of himself.

“No” you answered with the same giggle.

Both sated, a thin sheen of sweat clinging to your bodies as well as the aroma of sex lingering around the room, you rested your head against Loki’s chest as you took a deep breath.

“Thank you for this Loki” you murmured, kissing his chest.

“For what?” He queried.

“Taking us away, making me feel better, I’ve enjoyed it” you smiled. Sitting up a little, Loki kissed the top of your head before noting your hair growing again.

“Your hair” he pointed as you sat up, touching it.

“Oh yeah” you grinned before pulling the sheet that was covering Loki’s lower half away. “Oh how I’ve missed you!” You exclaimed, looking down at all eight inches of him.

“Could’ve fooled me” Loki joked.

“You think you’re funny?” You teased, straddling him.

“No thought, simply fact” Loki retorted.

“Mm?” You hummed questioningly as you guided his thick cock inside of you.

“Mhmm” Loki nodded in response as you lowered yourself onto him, eyes closing as he filled you to the hilt.

“Fuckk Loki” you moaned, rocking your hips forwards and backwards as his hands found purchase on your breasts.

“Just like that” Loki groaned as you clenched your walls around him “you feel so good.”

“Ughh Lokii” you whimpered, grounding your hips down against him as his cock throbbed inside of you.

“Keep doing that baby, fuckk” Loki pleaded as you circled your hips. “Feels too good” he almost mewled, rolling you over and switching your positions so that you were against the bed before he fucked into you with ardour, hitting that perfect spot as you thrashed against the bed, his pelvis rubbing against your clit.

“Loki” you almost screamed, the headboard banging against the wall as he pounded you.

“D’you want my cum? Tell me you want it” Loki growled, still thrusting hard into you.

“I need it Loki, fuckk” you moaned loudly.

“Want me to cum inside this pretty pussy?”

“Pleaseee” you near begged.

“Tell me to cum” Loki implored as your legs began to shake.

“C—fuckk—cum with me Lokiii” you exclaimed before Loki came, shooting his load inside of you as your climax shook you.

Collapsing down next to you, Loki kissed your shoulder.

“What time does the bar close?” You broke the silence.

“Not until 2AM, why?” Loki answered as you smiled at him.

“I THOUGHT THAT I HEARD YOU LAUGHING, I THOUGHT THAT I HEARD YOU SINGGG” you sang, on stage with an actual microphone after spending the past hour at the bar with Loki.

“I THINK I THOUGHT I SAW YOU TRY” Loki sang with you, his own microphone in hand.

“BUT THAT WAS JUST A DREAM” you both sang together as the audience you had accumulated cheered you both on.

“We’re really good Loki” you spoke to him.

“So so good, the best” he agreed, turning to kiss you as the cheers grew louder.

“I love you” you spoke against his lips, hands roaming one another’s bodies as the kiss deepened.

“Alright alright, that’s enough” you were both escorted off of the stage.

“Pool?” You asked once your microphones were taken off of you and losing my religion stopped playing.

“Pool” Loki nodded.

Running towards it, you were thankful that it was empty once you arrived. You began taking your clothes off before jumping into the water, Loki not far behind you in his boxers as you kissed, the water pooling around your waist.

“I love you so much, do you know that?” Loki asked, looking into your eyes as you wrapped your legs around his waist.

“You, Loki Laufeyson, are the love of my life” you smiled against his lips as you kissed him “now, do you want to take some more mushrooms and try on my dresses?”

“Yes,” Loki nodded.

“Great” you kissed him again.

The warm glow of the sunlight streaming into the room is what stirred you from your slumber. Stretching, you opened your eyes to find yourself in Loki’s arms. The feeling of you moving woke Loki.

“What happened yesterday?” You asked groggily.

“Why am I wearing a dress?” Loki spoke, looking down at his attire.

“And you’ve got lipstick on” you pointed out, looking at him.

“Well at least it’s yours” he smiled.

“How do you know it’s—” you began before Loki wiped some off of your lips. “Loki, are you wearing mascara?”

“Maybe” he shrugged.

“What a crazy weekend” you sighed.

“Indeed” he agreed and that was the end of that weekend. You both checked out of the hotel, flew home and continued your lives. The weeks turning into months.

Despite never admitting it to anyone, your favorite pastime was going to the park and reading a book with the sound of children in the background. It comforted you. It let you pretend that you were a mother, just for a moment, taking your child to the park. You’d get lost in the sound.

“Which one is yours?”

Looking up from your book, you turned to the elderly lady that sat down next to you. You felt a little embarrassed.

“Oh I don’t have a child” you tried to say nonchalantly.

“Yet” she smiled at you.

“No I-I can’t” you paused, falling silent as the lady looked you up and down.

“I wouldn’t be so sure dear” she smiled almost knowingly at you, a smile that sent shivers down your spine. Gathering your things, you left the park and headed home.

When you arrived home, you were greeted by Loki who was cooking. He kissed you on the cheek as you entered the kitchen and made your way to the fridge before getting the ingredients for a sandwich out.

“What are you doing? You’ll spoil your appetite” Loki tried to deter you.

“I’m starving” you excused.

“Wait for dinner then”

“Sorry mum” you laughed as Loki put the bread away. “Is that my apron?”

“My one is currently in the washing machine” he answered, wrapping his arms around the apron defensively.

“Okay” you continued to laugh.

After dinner, you still couldn’t get the encounter you had with the lady earlier on out of your head. You thought about it as you ate, as you showered, as you brushed your teeth and as you got into bed. You even thought about it as Loki’s lips traveled across your chest and down your body. You couldn’t keep it in anymore.

“I spoke to a lady today, she said some strange things” you finally let out.

“Like?” Loki prompted you to continue as his kisses met the hem of your panties before he began tugging them down.

“That she wouldn’t be so sure that I can’t have children” you admitted.

“Y/n” Loki began sadly.

“No I know I can't, it's just she said it with so much conviction” you explained as Loki’s expression turned into one of pity “anyways it’s not important, will you continue” you tried to dismiss. It didn’t take long for you to cum before falling asleep, Loki’s head still between your thighs.

“Y/n? Y/n?” He called to no avail.

The following morning, it was nausea that woke you up as you jumped out of bed and sprinted towards the bathroom and rid yourself of yesterday's dinner.

“Y/n?” Loki knocked the door as you flushed the toilet.

“NO! Don’t come inside. I’m hideous and vomity and—” you listed as Loki opened the door.

“Y/n” Loki smiled, cupping your cheeks “you’re beau” he started before retching and throwing up too.

“Have we got food poisoning?”

“Impossible” he insisted.

“Maybe it’s just a bug then”

“We should rest” Loki suggested.

“I actually feel quite alright now” you countered, standing up.

“Strangely so do I, but I’d never say no to a lazy day with you” he grinned.

“I would kiss you but we should probably brush our teeth first” you giggled.

The following month, you and Loki were invited to a gala. You had picked out a dress to wear a few weeks ago only now, it wouldn’t zip up. Noticing your struggle, Loki came up behind you and began pulling the zip up before he too was met with resistance.

“I think I’m gaining weight Loki” you sighed as you slumped down.

“I’ve been thinking the same” he answered, causing you to gasp as you straighten yourself out again “about me!” He quickly added “I’ve been gaining weight too.”

“It’s all the carbs Loki, we can’t keep having pasta dishes”

“Apart from tonight, I’ve made your favorite, carbonara for when we get back” Loki smiled.

“Can I have some now, I’m feeling a little peckish?” You asked before Loki led you both to the kitchen. Digging your fork into your plate, you ate a little before rushing to the bathroom to puke which is something you had been doing a lot recently.

“What if something is seriously wrong?” You asked, swishing listerine around your mouth.

“We’ll book you an appointment with a doctor in the morning, okay darling” Loki suggested, you nodding in response.

A few days later, you and Loki found yourselves back in the doctor's office as she looked through her notes before looking up at you both as you sipped your water, your nerves consuming you.

“Well good news, you’re fine and so is the baby.”

Spitting out your water, you told her to repeat herself which she did.

“You’re pregnant” she informed you.

“I—no-I can’t be” you stuttered, Loki holding your hand.

“Yes, almost four months now but we can scan you—”

“MONTHS!” You exclaimed.

“Yes”

“I mean, are you sure?” Loki finally spoke.

“Positive. Haven’t you noticed any changes to your cycle or any symptoms?” The doctor asked.

“I thought I was just going through the change” you whisper shouted.

“Y/n, this is amazing!” Loki cheered, kissing you. “We’re going to be parents” he spoke against your lips.

“I-I’m going to be a mother” you began to cry.

“I’ll give you both some time” the doctor spoke before leaving.

“Loki, how did this—when did this?”

“If you’re four months now, this must’ve happened almost five months ago” he figured.

“What did we do five months ago?” You questioned.

“We were on holiday, that’s when I woke up in the dress” he remembered.

“Yesss, we must’ve been pretty wasted because I can barely remember it.”

“That’s when we conceived,” Loki smiled fondly.

“That explains all the vomiting and the hunger, not your vomiting though Loki” you narrowed your gaze.

“Who cares, this is a joyous occasion” Loki kissed you again before the doctor walked in and scanned you.

“Hello baby” you smiled at the screen, tears in your eyes. “I want to call it Hope, Hope Laufeyson”

From then on, Loki had been very careful with you and extremely accommodating to the point where whenever you’d touch your stomach, he’d do the same, whenever your ankles would swell, so would his and whenever you’d vomit, he’d vomit too. He was taking sympathy pains to a whole new level.

“Loki”

“Yes love”

“I think we’re spending too much time together” you answered quietly.

“As if that’s a thing” he laughed off.

“No seriously, we’re doing the same things”

“Many couples find themselves—”

“I’m pregnant Loki”

“Right”

“So we shouldn’t be acting the same way,” you explained.

“No we shouldn't,” he agreed.

“Loki!” You gasped, worrying him “come here” you called “I just felt a kick.”

Placing a hand on your stomach, Loki waited for another one before doubling over himself.

“Well this certainly shouldn’t be happening” he spoke.

“What?”

“It puts a whole new spin on sympathy pains” he continued.

“What?”

“I think—I think I just felt a kick too.”

“Impossible Loki, you have to actually be pregnant to—AHHHH!” You screamed.

“Whatt?” Loki yelped.

“I think I just saw the kick” you pointed to him.

“You don’t think I’m” Loki paused, stepping in front of a mirror and looking at his stomach.

“You can’t be, it’s not possible, is it?”

“What did we do on that weekend?” He worried.

“Well the best thing you can do is go to the doctors and get a scan just to check” you suggested.

“But I—I’m a-a man”

“Well, find a way of changing that”

“Like we did that weekend!” Loki gasped, remembering.

“What?”

“Don’t you remember? We took something and it altered our genders. That’s when I must’ve conceived” he figured.

“I got you pregnant?”

“We need to wait for a scan but it appears so” he agreed.

Using a lot of his Seiðr, Loki managed to switch sexes again, transforming into who you liked to call Lady Loki.

“You should really do this more often, I like it”

“Look at the mess it’s gotten us into already” Loki answered before you both headed to the clinic.

“Good news, you’re pregnant” the doctor smiled, looking at you both.

“Can we have a moment please” you asked.

“Sure”

“Loki, how is this even going to work?” You began to panic.

“I’ll have to stay like this until after the pregnancy” she decided.

“We’ve gone from no children to two” you breathed.

“Isn’t it magnificent?” Loki beamed.

“Yeah?” You questioned.

“Yes! A miracle” she clapped.

“You’re right. You’re right!” You smiled, kissing her “we're going to be parents!”

“The best!” Loki agreed.

Four months later, Loki gave birth to a boy and you a girl. After watching you breastfeed for the first time, Loki changed back into a male and insisted on just being a dad. You really were the best parents.

“You know, we could go on another holiday soon considering the children are growing up” Loki suggested a few years later.

“No!”

I’m so happy for them 🥺

Tags:

@lokisgoodgirl @thenotoriouserg @chantsdemarins @donaweasley @xorpsbane @mcufan72 @loz-3 @evelyn-kingsley @sailorholly @lovingchoices14 @lokiedokiee @noideakitten @mochie85 @mischief2sarawr @lokiprompts @lulubelle814 @fictive-sl0th @peaches1958 @gigglingtiggerv2 @tmilover1993 @lyds247 @dustychinchilla74 @lokis-dark-queen @november-rayne @12-pm-510 @vickie5546 @newtomofgods @eyesbluelikethetitanic @lokiestorch @somewhereinthegalaxi @beautyb1ade @angelilacsworld @lokidokieokie @mushypork @iamlokisgloriouspurpose @silver-tongue-taken-to-bed

[holdinbacksecrets]

smitten

college soccer player!jeonghan part 3

part 1 part 2

“hey, i haven’t seen you all day.”

your roommate stands in the doorway to your bedroom, finding you at your desk drowning in assignments and the final draft of your midterm.

“i was at the library all morning trying to get this paper done. is everything ok?”

she’s wearing a blue bow identical to the one left on your dresser that morning. her skirt matches its deep shade, and you realize it’s quickly approaching 7pm.

“of course! it’s game day. i wanted to tell you you don’t have to come tonight if you don’t want to. hana—i think you know her… choppy bangs, green eyes—apparently she’s smitten, so she wants to join me or us if you’re still interested.”

lia’s eyebrows raise, and you can tell she’s hoping you’re still interested, but she’s worried about dragging you along while on pursuit of a boy as if that would ever bother you, as if your own footsteps and love-covered fingertips haven’t submerged into your own version of a boy pursuit.

“i am. i was going to take a shower within the next ten minutes. we still have an hour right?”

she smiles, nodding excitedly. “i’ll leave you to it, then.”

“before you go, who does hana like?”

lia’s smile widens, and she runs her fingertip along the length of your door, swiping vibrant blue polish across a striking white. “jeonghan.”

your heart sinks and melts into the acidic jealousy existing in the pit of your stomach. jeonghan? jeonghan… of course.

you feel deflated as you approach the bathroom, reaching for your towel before switching the light on.

the last thing you want is for this to get complicated. if hana makes a move, what are you supposed to do? for all you know, you’ll be standing beside the girl for two hours, listening to whatever smitten sounds like and pretending you didn’t dream about the same man the previous night or stare at his message about bandaids and lollipops… smitten.

shampoo stings your eyes while you contemplate sharing your own feelings for jeonghan with lia. she’s pushed you a little bit, knowing your history of having interest in athletes, but the years of your friendship have taught her a few things. those things include only sharing what you want to and keeping things close to your chest. your heart is as far from your sleeve as it can get, tucked away safely in the dark warmth within your chest. of course jeonghan has started to shine rays of light, creating beautiful sunbeams and beginning to swell what’s been hibernating in its safety zone.

lia is perched at the bar stool eating a bowl of cereal when you leave your bedroom. she quickly takes a look at your outfit, happy to see a bow of your own pinned to your jacket. your denim shorts have blue ruffles stitched along the curve of each pocket, and you can feel the familiar rush of anticipation. nothing beats an october night, with its comforting chill and the scene of a game only a short walk away. you look forward to these evenings all year. jeonghan is the best part, unexpectedly so.

“i didn’t touch the honey bunches of oats. there’s only enough for one more bowl if you’re hungry.”

“thanks, lee.”

you top the cereal off with milk and eye your roommate nervously, hoping she’ll pick up on your desire to say something. you’ve never been good at sharing feelings, especially when you’re afraid of stepping on another’s toes.

“i can feel you staring me down. is there something on my face or on your mind?”

lia palms her bowl, bringing the ceramic to her lips to savor the perfectly sweetened milk before wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

“this season, i’ve never felt like your tag along. you like seokmin, but i’d still go even if you didn’t. even if i didn’t like someone else on the team, i would still go.” members of your family have played the sport for as long as you can remember. in your life, fall doesn’t exist without a soccer ball.

lia doesn’t jump in. you hoped she would push you just a little further, but this is all on you.

“yoon jeonghan is in my environmental ethics course, and we’ve established some kind of unexpected friendship, but my feelings are stronger than that. about hana… i don’t know if there’s anything going on between them. the last thing i want to do is make anyone uncomfortable or embarrass myself.”

lia smiles, but you miss the softness in her expression, watching your cereal float instead.

“you don’t need to worry about hana. she picks a new guy every week, and she’d certainly turn her focus to someone else tonight if you tell her about jeonghan.”

lia taps the counter, earning your gaze. “thank you for telling me. i’m trying to keep my composure, but please know i’m internally squealing and running around the counter to hug you. now, finish your cereal. i’m sure someone is excited to see you.”

the sun begins to set as you walk through campus. you can see the lights from the field come into view, and lia squeezes your hand. she’s always been a cherished friend and supporter, and relief has embraced you knowing the feelings you’ve kept quiet are now a secret shared.

hana is standing beside the ticket counter and waves when she notices the two of you. not a single speck of blue is found on her outfit, but lia quickly pulls a bow from her purse, securing it in her friend’s hair.

after the three of you have paid, hana asks where you two usually sit.

“this one likes to sit at the top so she can see the entire field.” guilty.

“the boys can see you better from the front.”

lia bites her lip but guides the three of you to the middle row, keeping the viewing peace.

both teams are warming up, and your eyes settle on the field while hana and lia chat beside you. you catch bits of the conversation, amused by your roommate’s monologue about how much seokmin’s hair has grown since their last home game.

then, you see him, and your lips part. you lean forward and zero in.

he’s mesmerizing. watching him feels like the sweetest treat.

his dribbling matches the rhythm of your heartbeat, and your lips spread into something consumed by pride, admiration, and hopeful desire.

his confidence has never gone unnoticed, even in its subtly, but it radiates when he’s wearing cleats, his uniform and is existing on the forest green turf.

you’re silent for the first quarter, clapping when it’s appropriate to do so, mouthing calls as the referees blow their whistles, nodding along to the ones you deem just.

the second quarter is smooth. your team is taking the lead: 1-0, and the reaction from lia at the sight of seokmin’s assist is something worth remembering.

she kissed your cheek, asking twice: “did you see that?!”, before heading down the stairs for popcorn.

hana slides across the bench to close the space between you as half time starts. her voice is just above a whisper, “lia told me about jeonghan, so any cheering i do tonight is for choi seungcheol.” she sends you a wink and you nod, feeling a weight leave your shoulders.

during the final quarter, the blue hawks are sailing, and you nearly miss it. your eyes were fixed on the bag of popcorn only seconds prior, but you see him when you’re pleased with the amount of the salty snack in your cupped palm.

it’s jeonghan’s corner kick, in the corner closest to you, and you see him search the stands before landing on your figure. he smiles, and brushes his fingers across his shirt, mirroring where your bow is clipped to your jacket. cute, he mouths before turning to face the field again.

“holy shit.”

“he’s all yours, babe.”

after the game has ended, students start to leave while others who know players stick around, creating small packs around the fence. the three of you stay in the stands until the team exits their huddle.

hana waves quickly, sending you a knowing wink before running down the bleachers. lia pats your knee. she practiced words of admiration for seokmin that morning in the bathroom mirror. you give her a final good luck before she sets off down the metal stairs.

time ticks by and it’s just you now. the soccer fans have left, and jeonghan is one of the last players on the field. you watched him take the bag of soccer balls to the shed behind the field, finding yourself admiring the stars while you waited.

the sound of your name shifts your stare, and you find him leaning against the railing.

“i should’ve given you my practice jersey.”

you stand and descend the bleachers, approaching the man with reddened cheeks and messy hair.

“what would that’ve made me?”

he smiles, and you want him to say it.

“i imagine you’re going to be much more than a good luck charm.”

“you don’t need one.”

“i have my superstitions.”

“oh really? do you have a couple marbles in your pockets?”

jeonghan’s cleats meet the pavement, and he waits for you before heading toward the main campus.

“i didn’t think about that.”

“i guess all the marbles are in your schedule…. probably wouldn’t do you any good to keep more in your pocket.”

“mmm, i think you’re on to something.”

“and i guess if i keep coming…”

“if you keep coming, we’ll keep winning, and eventually i’ll ask you to go on a date with me.”

“but you’re going to keep it open— unknown and leave me with anticipation.”

jeonghan laughs— no, it’s more like a giggle that penetrates your skin and finds the shelter where your heart lives, shining the most light it’s seen since you experienced the ocean three years ago.

“i’m not going to leave it open.”

he stops beneath the streetlamp. you’re in front of snow hall, where this all started.

“saturday night, can i take you on a date?”

his eyes are sparkling, and this man has far more than sunbeams. he has stars too.

“yes, of course you can.”

“as long as you’re alright with comedy shows.”

“i’ve never been.”

the look in his eyes is intriguing, and you have no doubt you’re about to be introduced to something magical.

“boo seungkwan knows how to put on a show, and i cannot wait to take you.”

his gaze shifts to the bow on your jacket, and you swear his expression melts. sore muscles are easy to ignore when you’re in front of him with exciting possibilities existing in your eyes and smile.

he’ll certainly fall in love with you.

[random-things-of-mine]

𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯

Rainbow Factory Wally x GN Reader

- - - - -

"Don't touch any of the machines, there are camera's everywhere. If you still do I will know about it."

Rainbow stated, already regretting to give his alternative versions a tour in his factory.

"And stop bothering my personal assistant, I need them to focus on their job."

Y/n turned to face him, trying to give him reassuring look.

"They aren't that distracting, I can multi task just just fine.”

"You don't look half bad in that labcoat, better than your boss over there." Opposite mumbled.

"Oh thank you-" Y/n heard him and tried be polite.

"I wasn't complimenting you, geez no need to smile."

"Hmm sure."

His face was slightly flushed as he acted all defensively while they just calmly stared at him.

"I think you would look even better without it~" Lovesick joined the conversation, the tone in his voice was very flirty.

"To bad, the labcoats are mandatory." Y/n laughed, seeing no harm in comment.

They where about to say something else but another one of the bunch was already trying to get their attention.

"Get your grabby hands away from that-"

"You are no fun!"

Rainbow was restraining Opposite from mixing different vials with colors together. Wasting the substances as he had no clue on how the techniques they normally used here.

"My sincere apologies but it seems like three members of our group have disappeared...." Royal said apologetically.

Mob had sneaked away to rob the factory cafeteria snacks. His presence intimidating the poor staff.

Actor went out of his way to give out authographs of himself. Also trying to demand- convince everyone to watch his show.

Original had accidentally gotten separated from the group and gotten lost. He was crying somewhere in random hallway.

"We have a sick patiënt here, we might need to head to the infirmary." Priest added, as he pointed at Lovesick who had black substance leaking from his mouth and eyes, leaving stains everywhere.

So all in all things wheren't going that smoothly.

Rainbow looked like he was about to snap, Y/n took his hand leading him away to empty room.

"I shall ban all of them permanently from setting foot again on my property."

"Boss, you are clearly stressed out, let me handle this."

He looked at them, the cold look in his eyes became a bit softer, a bit more caring.

"No, you shouldn't concern yourself with them. Those idiots are my responsibility, not yours."

"But I want to help you, now sit and relax. Imma bring those puppets in line."

He felt his lips slighty curl up into a amused smile.

He had seen them tackle down escaping test subjects and using the grinder to drain color from bodies. Now he thought about it, this might actually be to easy for them.

"You get twenty minutes to get them all in my office."

"I’ll do it in fifteen if you take me out on to a nice restaurant of my choice and you'll be paying for everything."

Rainbow knew they would purposely pick a really fancy and pricy place to drain his funds. He stared at his watch, contemplating. Y/n waited for his anwser, looking at him challenging him to agree or they would call him a scared chicken to his face.

"You get ten minutes, or else we are splitting the costs."

"Deal!"

"Ah free food~ Nothing I love more in this world." Y/n smiled, letting out a exaggerated sigh.

"I can't believe they charge such a ridiculous amount of money for a simple salad." Rainbow grumpily remarked as he stared at the menu card.

The assistant stared at their boss, happy he took the time to dress up for the occasion, it almost felt like a date.

"If you wanted to hold my hand you could've just asked." They giggled, feigning innocence as his prosthetic was placed on top of their hand (having moved it themselves as he wasn't paying attention).

"I don't recall leaving my hand in that position... someone is in a cheeky mood I see." He said, now putting pressure onto the weight of his arm, trapping their hand under his one.

"Hey! I still need that arm to eat."

"That's to bad, afterall I just wanted to hold your hand so badly." He said mockingly.

Y/n tried to get free but their attempts where in vain, now they couldn't properly eat as they had terrible coordination skills with their other hand.

Rainbow smiled maliciously as he held up a spoonfull of food for them. He used his own free hand to hold it out for them to eat from.

"You seem to be struggling, let me help you."

"I don't want to be spoonfed, I'm not a kid (you wheren't Ophelia 🥰) !"

"Should've thought about that earlier, I don't intend on letting go of your arm now. So accept my offer here or starve."

"Can you at least give me something tasty, I don't want your salad. Unlike you I'm not on a diet."

Rainbow shoved the spoonful of his healthy nutritious meal into Y/n's mouth, deaf to their protests and complaints.

- - - - -

[ysmtttty]

Red Ferrari

Chapter 14

Summary: Azris AU, where Azriel is a mechanic and has his own service station. One day, Eris comes there because something is wrong with his car

AO3 link Chapter 13 Chapter 15

"Az, we’re going to the bar," Cassian declared firmly as Azriel was changing after his shift. "And before you say that you and your lawyer have plans tonight, I’ve already called him and told him you’re busy."

Azriel stopped and looked at him as if he were an idiot. "You did what?"

Cassian, who never once thought he’d done anything wrong, just shrugged, as if to say he thought it was the most logical thing and had no intention of apologizing. And yes, now Azriel had no excuse to get out of it.

"I need a group chat with him and Feyre," he joked. "You and Rhys never cross paths."

"Eris would block you and the chat in a second," Azriel said, certain that this wasn’t an exaggeration. He was surprised that Eris even picked up Cassian’s call in the first place. Sometimes, he forgot those two even had each other’s numbers.

"I’m sure he likes me," Cassian waved it off, and Azriel just scoffed. "I’m your best friend, how could he not like me?"

Azriel almost said that Eris doesn’t like people in general but decided not to shatter his friend’s delusions. Instead, he finished changing, buttoning up the last buttons on his shirt, and tried to convince himself that one night at the bar wouldn’t kill him.

"Is Rhys going?" he asked, wanting to confirm his suspicion. Cassian just nodded with a clear "yep," not seeing any problem. Well, this would be an interesting evening.

Realizing he truly had no excuse this time—Cassian had genuinely surprised him by calling Eris—Azriel resigned himself to his fate. Ten minutes later, they were speeding down the road toward the bar, with Rhysand supposedly waiting for them there.

"Where are we even going?" Azriel asked, noticing that the route didn’t lead to their usual spots. The area was more like the kind where Eris would drink with business partners, clients, or other big shots.

"No idea," Cassian shrugged. "Rhys picked the place. He just sent me the address, so I’m driving there. But yeah, I’m a bit shocked too."

"Do you think the bill for drinks will be deducted from our bonus?" Azriel quipped

"If that’s his plan, I’m quitting," Cassian laughed, turning right.

While Cassian drove, Azriel managed to text Eris.

"Traitor." Short and to the point, and well-deserved.

Eris read the message immediately. Three dots appeared, indicating he was typing, and Azriel could already imagine what his bastard would say.

"Haven’t heard you being out with friends in a while," Eris wrote instead of his expected sarcastic comment. "Besides, I’m swamped with this case. I’m staying at the office anyway."

Azriel frowned at the message. "That bad?"

He could picture Eris sighing and rubbing his eyes. "Luckily, the hearing is tomorrow, and it’ll all be over," Eris replied.

After finishing their exchange by telling Eris to call anytime if he needed, to which Eris responded that Azriel would likely be too drunk to talk coherently within the next hour, Azriel put his phone away.

Cassian, meanwhile, was shifting his gaze between the phone’s GPS and the road, trying not to accidentally crash into one of the many expensive cars around them. And there were plenty of those here.

After five minutes of missed turns and another five minutes of fighting for a parking spot—Cassian had almost parked when some jerk in a Porsche beat him to it, prompting him to get out and start a pointless argument, which Azriel managed to talk him out of—they finally arrived at their destination.

The bar turned out to be some kind of upscale place. It could be already told by the cars in the parking lot what kind of crowd was inside, and clearly, they didn’t quite fit in with this atmosphere. Azriel was the first to figure out where to go, and soon they found Rhysand, who greeted them with a smile.

"If this is our version of a work party, I’ll take my share in cash," Azriel joked.

"It’s not a work party," Rhysand shook his head, leading them to their table. "Just decided to try a new place."

Cassian whistled, looking at the menu, but Rhysand reassured them that tonight’s outing was on him and no, he wouldn’t deduct anything from their paychecks or bonuses. Besides, if it were a work event, they’d have to bring Amren along. Despite her age, she would definitely mess with the accounting if they didn’t invite her, just to spite Rhysand.

"But what’s the occasion for this unexpected generosity?" Cassian asked as they ordered the first round of shots.

Rhysand shrugged again. "Just in a good mood."

"The occasion is either Feyre agreed to marry you, or you finally sealed that deal with the parts company," Azriel snorted, glancing toward the bar where the waitress was preparing their order.

"Proposing is still at least six months away," Rhysand rolled his eyes, "and no, those Chinese bastards still aren’t agreeing to our prices. But, maybe you’ll like this news—the shitshow with Mor is finally over."

While Cassian didn’t fully grasp the magnitude of what Rhysand had just said, Azriel stared at him, trying to understand what exactly he meant by those words. Because according to Eris, their divorce wasn’t final until next week, so either something else had happened today that he didn’t know about, or Rhysand had suddenly taken up celebrating prematurely, which was never his habit.

"What do you mean?" Azriel asked, trying not to frown.

Rhysand, either now realizing the seriousness of the topic or just out of tact, adopted a more solemn expression. "Her father was arrested. Mor’s leaving for Europe next week. A win if you ask me."

"And what does her father have to do with this?" Azriel raised an eyebrow. He didn’t want this to be a test, but it was. As much as he wanted to trust Rhysand, he needed to compare his version with what he already knew, just to be sure.

"Keir’s a piece of trash, that’s what," Rhysand muttered with a hint of irritation. Cassian, who had been trying to follow the conversation but had given up, was now fully immersed in texting someone—most likely someone named Nesta Archeron—but Azriel didn’t blame him. The situation with Mor was a tangled mess. And both of them still weren’t too thrilled with her company.

"That’s not an answer to my question," Azriel pointed out as the waitress arrived with a tray of six shots, setting them down on the table. After clinking glasses with the others and downing his drink, Azriel glanced at Rhysand, who seemed to be quickly thinking of an excuse.

"Let’s talk about it later," Rhysand suggested instead.

Cassian distracted them both by insisting on another round of shots, and Azriel allowed himself to get sidetracked.

As they drank and laughed, the tension between him and Rhysand seemed to ease with each shot. Maybe it was the alcohol. Cassian, on the other hand, was enthusiastically recounting how he and Nesta were planning to take a short trip and that he needed some time off.

Rhysand told him that if Amren approved his vacation request, he could go wherever he wanted. Azriel laughed, knowing how hard it was to get time off from Amren. He was lucky that when he took his vacation, he didn’t care if he got fired or not. Cassian didn’t seem too intimidated by the condition, apparently thinking that he’d just ask Nesta to come with him to the workshop. With all due respect to the elderly, Nesta Archeron could win any battle of wills, even against the stubborn Amren.

"So, everything’s good with you two?" Azriel smiled, listening to another of Cassian’s stories about how he and Nesta had signed up for dance lessons together.

"Better than ever," Cassian grinned widely. "By the way, the Valkyries have a concert next weekend. You guys should come."

Seeing that Rhysand was reluctantly eyeing them, clearly about to come up with some excuse not to go, Cassian added, "Feyre’s going, by the way."

"Well, who am I to not support her favorite band," Rhysand forced a smile, and Azriel and Cassian laughed at him.

Cassian’s car keys suddenly jingled, indicating that the alarm had been triggered.

"Great," Cassian grumbled, getting up from his seat.

"Sit down, Rhys and I will check it out," Azriel stopped him with a gesture, taking the car fob from his hands. "You’re three shots ahead and can’t control your temper. We’ll deal with it if some rich jerk hit your car."

Cassian grumbled something after them as Azriel and Rhysand left. On their way out, Azriel bumped into someone coming toward him, but the person didn’t say anything in response to his apology and just walked on. Some people were just jerks.

They made it to the parking lot and looked around. Sure enough, some young guy was standing there, assessing a dent. The damage to Cassian’s car was minor, just a bit of paint would cover it up. Of course, that’s not what two experienced mechanics told the rich kid.

After getting enough compensation from him and giving him a business card to help fix his own car, Azriel and Rhysand shared a quiet laugh as they walked away.

"Poor guy,” Azriel chuckled. "Of course," Rhysand snorted, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and lighting one up.

"What about Keir?" Azriel asked, deciding that the “later” in “we’ll talk later” had finally arrived.

Rhysand took a long drag, exhaled the smoke, and looked at him with visible weariness and regret. "I can tell you’re not thrilled with me. Helping Mor, of all people."

"I never said that."

"You didn’t need to," Rhysand smiled sadly. "I know I messed things up. I honestly hoped it would all blow over easily, but then you started seeing Vanserra. And as much as I dislike that bastard, I saw that you were happy with him. Hell, Az, you were finally thinking about how to plan a date. When was the last time Cass and I saw you like that?"

Azriel snorted, refusing to answer. Maybe things with Eris were more serious from the start than he had thought.

"And that's why you didn’t tell me about him and Mor, I’ve heard this already," he said, trying to speak without his previous irritation over the situation.

"I couldn’t abandon Mor, and I didn’t want to ruin your life because of my wretched family," Rhysand sighed, taking another drag.

"Why Mor?" Azriel asked bluntly. "Is the family bond really that strong?"

"Her father is a dangerous man, you probably know that yourself. Keir… found ways to persuade me to help his daughter. Initially, the goal was to prevent them from divorcing at all, but later, he just wanted to extract as much money as possible. Mor would have received only a small part, while her father would have paid off his debts."

"Mor doesn’t know about this, I assume?"

Rhysand shook his head. "I didn’t know what to do, Az."

"You could’ve told us, Rhys," Azriel raised his gaze, meeting Rhysand's genuinely confused eyes. "You have me, Cassian. We would’ve figured something out. You don’t always have to play the martyr."

"It was supposed to stay a family matter, something I didn’t want to drag you or Cassian into," Rhysand paused, stubbed out his cigarette on the wall, and tossed it into a nearby trash bin. "But now it’s over, Keir’s been arrested, and from what I hear, he’s facing a long sentence. Even his connections probably won’t help."

Azriel didn’t mention who was handling Keir's case. "And you and Mor aren’t dependent on him anymore," he said instead.

Rhysand finally smiled, relaxing as he nodded. "The old bastard’s getting what he deserves. Mor will get her money and leave, and I doubt she’ll ever decide to return. I’m sure Vanserra’s happy to know that too."

Azriel remained silent, unsure of what to say, but nodded. "Let’s go inside. Cass is probably freaking out about what happened to his car by now."

***

Eris visited the detention center once again, intending to make this his last trip. Not in some sinister, murderous way, but because he was tired and wouldn’t return before the trial.

With each visit, Keir looked worse. Perhaps Eris should’ve felt a little sympathy, but... nothing. No sympathy for this man, only the genuine amusement of seeing a once-powerful businessman getting used to life behind bars.

"Let’s try this again," Eris said, clasping his hands together. "Your alibi?"

Keir glared at him, ready to say for the third time that he couldn’t discuss his alibi. Whatever it was, it was likely either illegal, something he didn’t want to trust Eris with, or personal, but equally incriminating.

"Holding back information from your lawyer isn’t the best idea," Eris remarked dryly, looking at Keir with indifference. Just a few more days, and it would all be over, at least with him. Morrigan was about to divorce him, and Beron was supposed to return to his hometown. Everything seemed both too simple and desirable.

"An alibi won’t help," Keir said darkly instead of giving a real answer. So, illegal activity.

Rather than pushing further, Eris switched to another topic, flipping through the papers provided by the police. The file was now filled with various documents, from autopsy results to details about the jurors who would be present in court.

"Why am I getting information that you were at the victim’s house the day before the murder?" Eris raised an eyebrow.

"Me and Liam had something to discuss," Keir replied evasively. Better than nothing, but still not enough.

"And you were supposed to continue the conversation the next day," Eris finished for him. "His assistant mentioned that Liam had a meeting scheduled with you."

"It was a personal meeting."

"Personal enough for you to kill him?"

"We signed a contract that you would help me," Keir nearly growled. "So stop accusing me of something I didn’t do."

Eris, knowing that Keir was innocent, was just doing it to be petty. The poor guy had nowhere to go anyway, but until Eris’s tech team confirmed that all compromising material had been truly destroyed, Keir was still his problem. What better way to take revenge on his dear father-in-law for all the crap he had pulled over the years, especially in the last few months?

"We did, but that doesn’t mean I fully believe you," Eris smirked, pushing him even further, enjoying the pulsing vein on Keir’s forehead from frustration and helplessness. "Nevertheless, I’m doing everything to help you. All we need to do is convince the judge and jury that the police evidence isn’t strong enough to make any accusations."

"Or give them another scapegoat," Keir muttered thoughtfully. Eris didn’t bother telling him that, in this case, he was the scapegoat, letting Keir believe he had come up with a brilliant idea.

"You want to frame someone?" Eris asked dryly.

"I could find a suitable bum quickly if they let me make a call," the gears in Keir’s mind were visibly turning. Eris watched with amusement. "But they won’t allow me, so you’ll have to make the call."

Eris wasn’t surprised by the commanding tone, though a simple "please" would’ve been appropriate. Not that he particularly wanted to hear it, but still.

"Don’t act like you still need convincing," Keir grumbled, seeing Eris's reluctance to follow his plan. "Failure in this case will hurt your career, boy, you know that yourself. And with our contract, you can’t escape far, so let’s not pretend that pulling a few strings is beneath your principles."

"In this case, I have no principles," Eris smirked.

***

"You can’t just bail him out!" That painfully familiar, nasty female voice greeted him the moment Eris walked into his office. Mor was pacing in circles, glaring at him with a gaze as sharp as a knife.

"And good evening to you," he smirked crookedly, taking off his coat and hanging it on a hook. Mor was still pacing, clearly about to wear a hole in the carpet. "I thought you left the city."

"I did!" she confirmed indignantly and finally stopped, looking at him. Eris suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. "And I came back to finish the last bit of business. Besides, our divorce is coming soon, and I need my money."

"Which I’ll give you after I see that you’re officially no longer connected to me."

"And that’s why you can’t release my father," she said.

Eris quietly snorted at her certainty that her opinion mattered at all to him. He calmly walked to his safe, storing away the necessary files before locking it up, just in case Mor got the bright idea to break in and steal documents. Knowing her, he suspected such a dumb idea might cross her mind.

Mor crossed her arms and watched his every move. She looked anxious. Beneath her irritating, commanding nature, there was desperation, which Eris could see all too clearly. In terms of terrible fathers, they understood each other well enough, if that understanding could mean anything.

He understood how important it was for Mor that Keir remained behind bars and couldn’t interfere with her semi-romantic escape to Paris or wherever else she planned to go. But helping her now with empty promises wasn’t something he could do, nor should he have to.

"Postpone the hearing, at least for a week," she almost pleaded. Eris sighed, sitting down in his chair and looking at her. "We’re divorcing, I’m taking my money and leaving. You’ll never see me again, and I’ll never ruin your life."

"It’s funny you think you could’ve ruined my life," Eris smiled sardonically, crossing his legs. "You’re too late, Morrigan. The hearing is tomorrow, and it can’t be postponed," he held up a hand before she could protest, "I’m not pulling any strings for you. You don’t evoke any sympathy from me; quite the opposite, I have every reason to ignore your needs entirely and leave you without any money if I choose. Don’t think that what you’re getting comes from any sympathy for your situation, it’s simple human decency. And as much as I don’t believe it myself, you are human."

He paused, letting his words sink into Mor’s mind. He could see it in her darting eyes, actively trying to come up with something to say or do, calculating a new plan on how to act.

"My father could have killed that man," she said quietly. "Even if it wasn’t him, how many others died because of him?"

"If this is an appeal to my conscience, I’ve defended people worse than your father."

"Then to hatred, you don’t love him any more than I do."

"Your desperation is understandable, but I don’t care," Eris cut her off, watching as she pressed her lips into a thin line and clenched her jaw. Her long nails dug into her palms as she balled her hands into fists, and he simply nodded towards the door, indicating that their meeting was over. Otherwise, he’d have to call security, but either Morrigan found her reason or it was her pride because she left the room, leaving him alone.

Soon after came a message from Azriel calling him a traitor, and Eris smiled. He truly smiled, because in this endless day of madness, something normal had finally appeared. Someone worth enduring another day for.

As he had written to Azriel, Eris stayed the night at the office. He hadn’t spent money on a good fold-out bed for nothing, even though he didn’t use it often. In the morning, he stopped by his penthouse for another suit and took a shower before heading straight to court.

Keir was waiting there, handcuffed but surprisingly neat in appearance. Eris gestured for the officer to leave them alone for a while. After the officer left, Eris glanced at Keir.

"You have half an hour to hold up your end of the deal," he reminded him.

Keir only grimaced and nodded. "I instructed my people to delete all the files."

"And I’m supposed to take your word for it?" Eris scoffed.

"How do you suggest I prove I have nothing left?" Keir snapped indignantly.

Eris was about to reply when a message from the tech team came through, confirming that they had checked and all materials were successfully deleted, including from several backup servers and storage units.

"Luckily for you, there’s no need to prove anything," he said. "I think it’s time to introduce you to your lawyer."

Keir’s expression was indescribable. A man entered the room, and Eris handed him a briefcase full of papers. Keir’s face turned pale, and Eris could bet his blood froze in his veins.

"You–!"

"Before we start throwing around accusations about who screwed whom over," Eris smirked, "it’s worth asking: did you really think we could legally certify a contract on illegal activity? And even if so, I did my part. We never specified the duration of my work or my exact role. As a lawyer? I failed. But as an administrative assistant to Adrian, I helped as much as I could."

Patting Adrian—or maybe Andrew, Eris didn’t remember—on the shoulder, he walked out, leaving Keir shouting after him, calling him a bastard and all other sorts of names and threats.

Everything went just as he had promised Keir—without principles or morals, he just didn’t specify for whom those morals would be lacking.

After leaving the courthouse, Eris dialed his father’s number, informing him that he had dealt with Keir. Eris didn’t intend to go into details about what should happen next, but knowing his father, he understood that Beron wouldn’t stop at just what Eris had done.

And he was right because, three days later, Keir was killed in a "prison brawl." But that was no longer his problem.

***

Eris thought divorce would feel different. Maybe a sense of lightness, the absence of chains. But here they were, he and Morrigan, leaving the court after their long-awaited divorce, and he felt nothing. Except for the realization that he was about to lose a few more million dollars.

Despite his dislike for Morrigan’s company, Eris opened the car door for her to get in and then took the driver’s seat himself.

"Remind me why you couldn’t just bring the case with the money with you?" Morrigan asked sarcastically.

Eris adjusted the rearview mirror, turned the key in the ignition, and started the engine, glancing at her with a crooked smile.

"Probably because I don’t usually walk around the city with that kind of money," he replied just as sarcastically. "Or maybe I’m just scamming you."

Morrigan pressed her lips into a thin line, and Eris was glad for the ensuing silence in which they drove to his penthouse. He had no intention of cheating her out of the money. As it turned out, her bastard father left her almost nothing—except for debts from casinos, which quickly drove Morrigan’s family out of the city, leaving her alone.

With a family like that, who needs enemies, Eris thought. Out of safety concerns, he paid off a few of the more dangerous debts, knowing that Morrigan’s cousin would be at the top of their hit list. And despite his disdain for that smug idiot, Eris didn’t want Azriel attending funerals because of it.

Once they reached his penthouse and took the elevator up, Eris unlocked the door and let Morrigan inside. She settled on the couch while he opened the safe and pulled out the pre-prepared case.

"I assume you’re not staying for your father’s funeral?" he asked, handing her the case. Morrigan took it and scoffed, wrinkling her nose at the very thought of staying one more day.

"And make myself a target for collectors? No, thanks," she said, opening the case and counting the stacks of money. "You lied to me back then when I was begging you not to bail him out, didn’t you?"

Eris crossed his arms, watching as Morrigan methodically counted her money.

"I couldn’t take the risk of you knowing what my plan was," he said dryly. "Have you picked your destination?"

"I can’t risk telling you, but yes," she smiled, snapping the case shut. "I’m sure Emerie will like it."

"Don’t blow this money," he said sarcastically.

Morrigan rolled her eyes. "I solemnly swear not to blow Eris Vanserra’s money on drugs. Besides, with the move and job search, I doubt Em and I will have time for that."

Eris couldn’t help but notice that even through her disdain for him, there was joy in Morrigan’s voice. And damn him for the fact that, for the first time in a long time, it reminded him of the Morrigan who two years ago could share drinks with him in the evenings, and they were something like friends. The Morrigan who had once been a frightened girl in a messed-up world. Not the woman who tried to take his apartment, his car, and threatened to turn Azriel over to Beron.

"Then goodbye," he said simply.

Morrigan looked up at him, her gaze full of everything—from disdain and old anger to a certain regret. Or maybe he was just sleep-deprived and imagining things.

"Goodbye," she said, rising back onto her heels, and with the characteristic click of her shoes, she left his apartment, leaving Eris in silence.

Immediately after, his phone rang. Azriel called, just as Eris had expected, and he smiled at his name flashing on the screen.

"How does it feel to be divorced?" Azriel joked.

"I think that’s worth celebrating." Eris chuckled softly.

"Oh, how convenient that I’m already on my way to your place with food."

"And how convenient that I’ve already sent the housekeeper home and am about to find us some drinks for the evening."

"Very convenient," Azriel replied with amusement and hung up, appearing at his doorstep ten minutes later.

Greeting him with a kiss and setting the bags of Chinese food on the table, Azriel found glasses in his kitchen while Eris took out a bottle of wine from his collection. Now he felt all the benefits of divorce.

As they sat at the table and Eris diligently guarded his potstickers, which Azriel occasionally tried to steal from his plate, Azriel carelessly ate dumplings and talked about work in the workshop, mentioning which parts contracts should be renegotiated and which clients could be unbearable.

"I hope you told your... friend to skip the invitation to the funerals," Eris said, pausing before the word "friend," still not fully wanting to believe that jerk was Azriel’s best friend. Even if Azriel seemed much happier since Rhysand had finally explained things and now they were more open to reconnecting.

"Rhys isn’t an idiot," Azriel replied.

"Sure," Eris responded skeptically, earning a kick under the table. "I’m just worried about your boss. Who knows whose hands your little business will fall into if he kicks the bucket."

"Let’s not talk about the hypothetical death of my best friend on a night we’re supposed to be celebrating."

"Yes, less talk about the pleasant hypothetical things," Eris nodded, receiving another softer kick.

Azriel stole one of his potstickers, taking advantage of the moment, and Eris only rolled his eyes and placed two more on his plate. "Idiot, we could have just ordered more."

"It was more fun that way," Azriel responded with a glint in his eyes and a smirk, and Eris just kissed him, unable to resist the desire and not even pretending to be irritated.

That same week, Eris found himself driving up to the bar where he and Azriel had their second date. Not that he really liked the place. The date? It had gone great. The place itself? They could have picked better.

"Remind me why I agreed to this?" he huffed while Azriel drove his car, trying to find a parking spot.

"Because you're a good boyfriend?" Azriel teased. Eris rolled his eyes. "Or maybe because I'm persuasive."

"More like you convince me when I'm most vulnerable."

"I didn’t ask during sex."

"Of course, sex is your first thought."

"Try moving your hand off my thigh, and maybe I could think about something else."

They grumbled at each other for a few more minutes while Azriel parked the car, but eventually, they headed toward the bar. Eris tried not to wrinkle his nose at everything. The first time they had come here, he just wanted them to become a thing, but now, he didn’t need to worry about that anymore. So, his snobbish nature wasn’t going to stay hidden.

"It’s not that bad," Azriel smirked, nudging him in the ribs.

"I’ll pretend I’m fine with it and just take you to a charity gala next time," Eris grinned sarcastically, knowing that social events weren’t something Azriel found appealing.

They walked to their table, where Cassian and Rhysand were already seated. Nesta was standing over the table, chatting with Cassian, and her sharp features didn’t seem as harsh. Eris suspected it was because of that brainless mechanic, who for some reason, seemed charming to Nesta, the sister he thought was the most rational out of the Archeron siblings.

If you asked Eris, nothing was charming about Cassian, but the softness in Nesta's eyes was undeniable. He wondered if the same was happening to him, and how noticeable it was to others.

"Hey, buddy," Cassian greeted him warmly, catching him in a bear hug before Eris could dodge it.

"Hey," he replied, noticing out of the corner of his eye that Azriel was barely holding back his laughter.

Nesta greeted him as well, and he exchanged dry nods with Rhysand, though no one paid much attention to the tension. Azriel went off to fetch Gwyn, who had been eager to meet Eris in person, and Nesta and Cassian excused themselves too, claiming they were going to check the microphone on stage—which Eris seriously doubted was their true intention.

So, he was left sitting at the table with the smug jerk. Wonderful.

"You’re welcome, by the way," Eris said, pulling his phone from his jacket pocket, pretending to be indifferent.

"For what?" Rhysand asked.

"For fixing your problem with Keir."

"Then you know I have nothing personal against you."

Eris narrowed his eyes, studying Rhysand’s slippery nature. "I’ll need more proof of that. But for now, I’ll tolerate you. Only for Azriel’s sake."

"To Azriel, then," Rhysand smirked dryly, raising his glass. Eris didn’t argue and drank as well.

After that, both of them sat on their phones, not even bothering to pretend they enjoyed each other’s company. Thankfully, Azriel soon returned with Gwyn, who first looked Eris over and then smiled.

"Cool suit," she said.

"Cool guitar," he replied, nodding at the instrument slung over her shoulder.

"I like him," Gwyn said to Azriel with a grin, patting him on the shoulder. "I have to run, but we’ll chat later, pretty boys!"

She dashed toward the stage, and Azriel wished her good luck before sitting back down next to Eris. Rhysand finally put down his phone when Cassian returned, and the tension between him and Eris became almost unnoticeable.

A little later, Feyre joined them, with Rhysand going to greet her. Eris might have been surprised that the Archeron sisters hadn’t brought Elain along, but he knew Lucien had planned some weekend trip for the two of them. Judging by the amount of money Eris had lent him, they were definitely not at a cheap bar right now.

"Nice to meet you, Eris," Feyre smiled after introducing herself. Eris had only seen the youngest Archeron sister once in passing, but apparently, they hadn’t officially met.

"Likewise," he smiled back, deliberately holding her hand in the handshake a little longer, just to annoy Rhysand, who was glaring at him the entire time his precious girlfriend spoke to Eris.

Azriel chuckled softly at that, throwing an arm over Eris’s shoulder as he sat back down beside him. The five of them sat for a while, just talking. Mostly it was Feyre and Cassian keeping the conversation going, trying to engage everyone. It was a bit awkward at times, but the rest appreciated their efforts.

Eris wanted to ask if Nesta and Gwyn had found a new drummer, but he didn’t get the chance because the Valkyries took the stage in their full, unchanged lineup. He noticed that both Azriel and Rhysand were looking at the stage in surprise—there, behind the drum set, was Emerie.

"Do you think…?" Azriel leaned in to whisper in his ear, but Eris shook his head.

"She’s gone," he said. He had his people make sure of it, and Mor had indeed left the city last night. It was highly unlikely that Emerie had stayed another day just for the concert.

Azriel only nodded, squeezing his hand. Eris, however, tried to control his mind, reminding himself who Morrigan was and how much damage she had caused in his life. Yet, a foolishly sentimental part of him still felt a pang of sympathy.

Those thoughts quickly faded, though, as Cassian cheered for his girlfriend, loudly singing along as if he had the microphone, not Nesta.

"Is he always like this?" Eris grimaced, whispering to Azriel, who just laughed.

"You’d sing along for me too," he smiled.

"Would I? Please, I’d never embarrass myself like that," Eris scoffed.

Azriel only stole a kiss from his lips. "Maybe not as loudly, but we both know I’m right."

tag list: @sizzlingstarlightsky @isnotwhatyourethinking @molcat07 @chairofchaos @lilah-asteria @acourtofbatboydreams

[idontknowreallywhy]

Very veeeeeery remotely linked to Day 2’s prompt (blink and you’ll miss it) but here is a bit of a sequel to Inebriated Fishtank… in which they have not entirely ceased to be under the influence…

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An enthusiastic steel drum version of ‘Under the Sea’ blared out and Scott slammed his hand on to the comm, eyes still screwed shut… if he didn’t open them he wasn’t awake. And it could have been a butt-call…

He’d never prayed so hard for it to be a butt-call.

“Hey heeeeeeeey Scooooty-McNoodle!!!”

Scott pried an eye open to glare in the general direction of heaven…

“Hello Gordon. Which police station?”

“I am OFFENDEDED ancient brosicle! How could you pres… presufimicate such a thing?”

“You don’t need bail? Then why are you calling me? Go to bed you drunken fool.”

“Ah yea about that… “

‘What about it? Just sleep it off.”

“So… funny story! My fuzzy wuzzy beary pops actually did the whole arrangementing of beds thing.”

Wait.

Scott’s brain clicked up a gear from basic muscle memory to something resembling cognition.

“Gordon where is Virgil?!”

“He’s here!”

“Can I speak to him?”

“Um… noooooooooo”

There were several voices worth of giggling, none of which sounded like Virgil.

“Who’s with you? Where is Virgil?”

“Oh how rude of me over here we got…” There was a clatter and his brother’s voice faded out amongst some more distant giggling before Gordon returned, piercingly loudly:

“Stooopid floor. Anyways here we got Florrie, Alice and Alexi, say hi to Scooter ladies, he’s my biggest olderist bro and he’s even sexier than me and old dribbles here.”

A chorus of “Hi Scooter”

“Gordon! What’s wrong with Virgil?”

“You gotta say hi!”

“Gordon!!”

“You’re being rude! Say hi to the ladies!”

“Hi ladies” Scott muttered.

“NICELY!”

Scott knew an immovable squid wall when he heard it. Fine. He turned up the charm, and the volume, to max.

“Hello ladies!”

“Owie! Geez bro.”

“Virgil, Gordon?!”

“Yeah he’s pretty handsome. Look… see? He was on front’ve Vogue that one time. Still single too! Sure I can give you his number…”

“GORDON!!”

“Heeeeeeeeey bro. Love you bro. Love all the bros. Specially the grumpy turtle one.”

Scott tried another tack

“I love you too squid, but what happened to the grumpy turtle one?”

“Hezzzz a snooooozy liddle turtle.”

“So he’s in bed?”

“Nooo I toldja he’s here. Say hi Virgie.”

Silence.

“Awww he droolin’”

Scott was beginning to join the dots here.

“Gordon, please tell me Virgil wasn’t trying to match you?”

“I can one hunderb percival tell you that.”

“Would it be true?”

A pause and a definite snort in the background.

“Noooooooooooooooo”

Oh no.

If he’d consumed enough to make Gordon tipsy, there was no way Gordon and three women were going to be able to move the bear. He thought Virgil knew better.

Scott got up and put his trousers on. He could get to Brisbane in a few minutes in One…

There was more giggling and a deep bellowing laugh followed by a grunt.

“Omigosh I’m sorry I can help… gimme his arm… oopsy tha’s ‘is leg.”

More rustling noises.

“Oh I am sooooo bad manners! Scotty you gonna say hola to Juan too, he’s helping.”

“Hola Juan. Gordon, where are you? Do I need to come get you?”

“Naaaaw we goddim Scooteywoo”

“Then why are you calling Squid?”

“Need the bed place.”

“I don’t know where he booked Gords! Stay put I’ll come and get you.”

“Nawwwww I wanna take him to the art tom… tom… tomorning. Art ‘n waffles…. I pinky promised the Virg!”

Scott rested his head against the wall and counted to ten.

“What do you need Gordon?”

“T’get in his phone! I dunno his pass-thing! Need to find the resersermmmnn”

Scott did know it There were a million and one reasons why Gordon did not.

But he could either spill the beans now and take the consequences later, or head out to find them just in time for one or both of them to be sick on his shoes. Or in One. He shivered. No option really.

“Gordon you have to promise not to do anything bad with Virgil’s phone.”

“Yeah yeah I’m a good fishy”

“Gordon, pinky promise me.”

There was a tut and Scott could almost hear the eyeroll.

“I can’t reach your pinky to promise!”

“Fine. Pinky promise Juan then.”

Gordon did a stage whisper

“He doesn’ know a huge lodda English Scoobydoo.”

“Ok err” Scott racked his brains “could you put um, Alex was it? On the phone?”

Gordon huffed.

Rustling.

“Well hello there, handsome, this is Alexi.”

Pushing down the desire to bring about Gordon’s imminent demise, Scott had a sudden brainwave and put the charming voice on again. Yes, giving a total stranger access to his brother’s phone was a risk but less of one than allowing Gordon unfettered access without the security of a pinky promise - generally accepted to be the only law he considered himself bound by.

“Alexi listen carefully, I’m going to give you the passcode. Could you use it to find the reservation then lock the phone again please?”

“Sure, honey.” The reply was breathy. Intimidatingly breathy.

“Ok, you ready?”

“I’m all yours”

Shudder.

“Exclamation mark, eight, one, zero, zero, capital D, lower case Y, exclamation mark; capital F, one, five, lower case H, exclamation mark.”

“Ok honey that worked, I’m in. I’ll get your brothers to their hotel. I’ll leave my number on your brother’s phone just in case you need it later, ok?” She was essentially purring now.

“Oh that won’t be…” Scott paused. He needed all the allies he could get here.

He cleared his throat “That would be lovely, thank you for your help Alexi.”

There was a shriek and more unmistakable giggling as Scott hung up with a wry smile before collapsing back on to his bed and closing his eyes. Good luck Juan and co.

Aa he drifted off he considered how it was a shame Virgil would have to change that one tomorrow.

It was so apt.

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[marie-swriting]

A Respectable Man - Steve Rogers

Marvel Masterlist

Summary : You're currently walking home while you try to get rid of a man who has been pestering you for a few minutes, fortunately near you, there's another man who hates bullies.

Warnings : pre-serum Steve Rogers, set in the 40's, street harassement, fighting, police officer not listening to reader, fluffy end, maybe some grammatical mistakes as English is not my first language, tell me if you see some or if I missed any warnings !

Word count : 3.1k

French version

You’re currently walking home whilst you try not to show your annoyance to the man next to you. He hasn’t been leaving your side for the last ten minutes although you’re not showing any ounce of interest in what he’s saying. At first, you had replied to his “hello” out of courtesy, but you hadn’t planned on having a conversation with him, or anyone else for that matter. You just want to go home in peace. However, according to him, your mutism indicates you’re interested in his stories. Since he arrived, you try not to show you’re being uneasy, however if one paid attention to you, they could tell you’re wishing you were far away from him.

You don’t dare voicing he’s bothering you, worried about his potential reaction. Nonetheless, you change your mind once he sets his arm around your shoulders. At that point, your patience reaches its breaking point. You try to break the embrace, only causing him to tighten his grip on you.

“Pardon me, but could you let me go, please ? We don’t know each other.”

“We can rectify that, doll face.”, he affirms with a crooked grin, “Let’s get to know each other better, let’s go dancing tonight !”

“No thanks.” you refuse outright, hoping he’ll leave you alone.

“Why ?”

When you hear his protest, you prevent yourself from sighing in frustration. Why do you always have to justify your ‘no’ ? Can’t he see he’s bugging you ?

“I can’t.”

“Oh, playing hard to get, I see. Like it.”, he mutters with a cocky look on his face, “Come on, doll face, you aren’t gonna regret it. Take a chance on me, you’ll see, I’m the man of your dreams.”

This time, you lightly roll your eyes, visible enough to show your irritation, yet not enough for him to notice, apparently. Furthermore, his pet name, ‘doll face’, is slowly getting on your nerves. He doesn’t know you, yet he acts as if he could do everything he wants with you. Understanding he’s not about to give up, you think of a lie and pray it’ll work.

“Unfortunately for you, I already found the man of my dreams. I’m engaged.”

“Weird, I don’t see any rings on your finger.” the man retorts, pointing at your left hand.

“It’s,” you start while thinking, “it’s because the ring my fiancé offered me is not the right size. It’s a family heirloom and we need to bring it to the jeweller to alter it. Also, I’m currently on my way to meet my fiancé to do it. If you’ll excuse me.” you finish before trying to leave but he comes in front of you.

“Let me walk you, doll face. Like that, I’ll be able to check if he exists, ‘your fiancé’.”

“I’m telling the truth.” you snap.

“No need to get all angry, smile a little ! Come on, a dame like you needs a man, you can say it, you need to be protected.”

“I don’t need protection, thank you. Leave me alone, now.” you state and attempt to get away again when he grabs your arm.

“You, women, are all…”

“Hey ! She told you to leave her alone.”

After hearing a voice behind you, you and the man look above your shoulder and see Steve’s frail body, making you happy in an instant. You might not know Steve, but if he can help you get rid of the man in front of you, you’ll happily accept his help.

“Who the hell are you ? Don’t tell me that is your fiancé.” the man asks, showing Steve and offending you at the same time. 

“Actually, he is. Is that a problem with you ?”

“Doll face,” he scoffs, “your fiance is 147 pounds of pale skin and fragile bone. With one blow of wind, he’ll fly away as he doesn’t have any muscle in him. He’ll never be good enough for you, he's not a real man.”

“Physical strength doesn’t matter to me.”, you retort, completely angry, “I’m with my fiancé, who is real as you can see, so leave me alone now.”

“She told you several times to leave her be, so you should go.” Steve insists, standing next to you.

“Listen, shorty, this is a conversation between me and her. She’s attracted to me, she doesn’t want to admit it ‘cause she pities you.”

“Yet, I feel like she’s been trying to get rid of you for the past five minutes, if not more.”

“Women are all the same, they always pretend they don’t want you when they do.”, the man justifies as if it was obvious, “I mean, how could you know ? By just looking at you, I can tell women don't pay attention to you.”

“I forbid you from telling him this kind of thing !” you yell.

“I’m just stating a fact, doll face.”

“Stop calling her that, she’s not an object. You should leave.”

As he’s talking, Steve stands in front of the man, becoming some kind of your personal shield. Despite the height difference, Steve doesn’t show an ounce of hesitation in his body language. The man rolls his eyes before setting them back on Steve with an annoyed look on his face.

“I’m getting sick of you, shorty.”

Without having the time to react, the man hits Steve in the face. You scream when you see his body falling on the ground. With difficulty, Steve gets back on his feet and gets in position, ready to attack the man. He tries to punch him however the man grabs his collar and throws him on a shop wall nearby. Some people passing by stop in their tracks, watching the scene without doing anything. Panicked, you look around, searching for help when you see a police officer walking down the street oblivious to what’s happening a few feet away from him. You run to him and call him. The officer turns around and frowns as he hears the fear in your voice. You explain to him briefly there’s a fight and point to where it is. He doesn’t answer you and runs to Steve and the bully. He separates them by holding the man back whilst you crouch down in front of Steve. You put your hands on his wounded face. You look at the several cuts and nascent bruises. Steve tries to smile to reassure you but your eyes are still full of worry. You help Steve to stand up and apologise to him profusely at the same time.

“What is going on here ? Explain yourselves right now, sirs !” the policeman demands.

“It’s not his fault.”, you answer, pointing at Steve, “He came to help me because this man”, you add, showing the one he’s holding, “wouldn’t leave me alone, despite my complaints. He’s the one who hit first.”

“So, what has happened ?”

You’re astounded when you hear the police officer repeating the question, you just explained to him the situation.

“Like she said,” Steve starts, “she needed help so I intervened.” 

“There he goes with his fancy words, “she needed help”. She was flirting back ! He just ruined everything.”

“I don’t think her saying ‘no’ several times meant she was flirting back.”

“Enough !” the policeman interrupts, “Young man, you’re coming to the police station with me.”, he says, tightening his grip on the man, “As for you two, you are free to go. Show’s over.”

The improvised audience goes about their business again whilst watching the officer dragging the man behind him, this latter keeps unleashing his irritation toward you and Steve. You try to not pay attention to it, especially when you hear the various insults thrown both at you and Steve. You need a minute to regain your composure, still in shock the situation worsen this fast. Once you’re breathing normally again, you set your eyes on Steve and see him trying to wipe away some blood dripping off his nose. You take your handkerchief from your purse and give it to him. He accepts it and cleans it as best as he can.

“Is everything okay ?” Steve asks you and you look at him with your eyes wide open.

“I should be the one asking you that ! Your face is all wounded.”

“Don’t worry about me.”, he dismisses, “Do you feel like going home on your own or you wish I walk with you ?”

“I’ll be okay, thank you.”

“Very well, so I shouldn’t be bothering you much longer. Enjoy the rest of your day, miss.” he bids you goodbye before starting walking away.

“Wait ! You don’t think of walking home alone, do you ?”, you hold him back, going next to him, “God only knows how much this man hurt you, I wouldn’t want you to lose consciousness on your way. I’m walking with you.”

“You don’t have to.”

“I insist. After all, it’s my fault you got hurt. It’s the least I can do to thank you…”, you justify, leaving your sentence up in the air so he can tell you his name.

“Steve Rogers.”

“Y/N Y/L/N. Nice to meet you, despites the circumstances.”

At first, you start walking in silence. You don’t know how to start the conversation, embarrassed you’re the cause of Steve's wounds. As for him, he doesn’t know what to say, having little, to not say none, experience with women. He tries to put himself in Bucky’s shoes, hoping to find the right words while respecting your boundaries, wanting to avoid doing like the other man. Finally, you’re the one who breaks the silence a few minutes later.

“I apologise for the whole story of you being my fiancé and all. I just needed something to back up my lie.”

“It’s okay.”

“I hope you don’t give too much to what he told you, by the way.”

“You mean when he said I don’t have any muscle ? He was telling the truth.”

“When he said you weren’t a real man.”, you specify, “It’s this kind of man who isn’t a real one. They always act tough, act as if they knew better than us about what we want when they’re not even able to understand the meaning of ‘no’. Contrary to him, you understand it, it should be the bare minimum to do, but I don’t know a lot of men who pay attention to what we say. Besides, you came to help while others would have looked away.”

“I’m sure, if it wouldn’t have been me, someone else would have come.” Steve contradicts you.

“I doubt it. This kind of situation has happened to me several times already and every time, I have to handle it alone. And as you could see, some police officers don’t take us seriously before another man backs up our story. So, sincerely, thank you for coming, although I’m sure you’re regretting it now.”

“I would have come either way. I hate bullies. I couldn’t stay put without doing anything.” he affirms genuinely. 

“We’d need more men like you, Steve.”

Once you finish your sentence, you’re finally at his. You stay at his apartment block entrance, an awkward silence taking place again. Steve ignores if you want to come into his home with him or if you want to leave right away. As for you, you don’t know if you can leave him here or if you can accompany him to his door without having him think you’re a mother-hen. Observing Steve with attention, you realise you find him pretty cute. You wish you could get to know each other better. You’re about to say something when an unknown voice beats you to it.

“Hey, punk !”

Instantanely, you get tense, fearing the appearance of another man looking for trouble. Noticing the change in your posture, Steve reassures you.

“Don’t worry, it’s only my best friend.”

“Oh, okay.”

“What is it, jerk ?”

Bucky is about to retort something when he sees Steve’s face. He sighs in frustration and rolls his eyes.

“Don’t tell me you caused a fight.”

“It’s my fault, actually.”, you intervene, “A man didn’t want to leave me alone and Steve stepped in.”

As soon as he sees you, Bucky can’t help but do his best charming smile.

“For once, it was for a good reason, then. Bucky Barnes, miss.” he introduces himself and kisses the back of your hand.

“Y/N Y/L/N, nice to meet you. What do you mean by ‘for once’ ?” you question him, confused.

“Steve, over there, has the bad habit of always looking for fights.”

“You shouldn’t do it, Steve. You’re better than that.”

“Thank you !” Bucky exclaims with an insistent look in Steve’s way. “I hope he’ll finally listen to reason.”

“Do you need help to clean your wounds ?” you ask Steve with a worried look.

“No, thank you, I can do it. You should go home, you made a detour to bring me back home.”

“Very well, then. Again, thank you, Steve. If there’s anything I can do to pay you back, don’t hesitate.”, you announce with a smile, “Have a nice evening, take care.”

You nod in Bucky’s direction as a goodbye and leave the two men. Steve looks at you walking away whilst Bucky analyses his best friend’s face. A knowing smile takes place on his visage as he realises you caught his eyes. Once Steve can’t see you anymore, he turns his attention back to Bucky. He frowns when he sees his friend’s facial expression.

“What ?”

“You’re totally smitten by her.”

“Not at all.”, Steve contradicts, “I helped her like I would have done with everyone else.”

“That, I can believe, you’ll cause a fight just because someone would be breathing too loudly, but I had never seen you looking at a woman like that before.”

“She’s pretty, I can’t deny it, but that’s it. Besides, I could look at her like that, like you said, the fact is she probably wouldn’t do the same.” he affirms, the man’s words echoing in his mind, in spite of himself.

“You clearly didn’t pay attention to her eyes. I’m sure if I hadn’t come, you would have even gotten a kiss on your cheek before she goes. She almost didn’t pay attention to me.”

“Yeah, sure.”, Steve laughs, not believing it, “Anyway, let’s go home. I need to take care of this.” he finishes pointing at his face.

A week later, you’re in front of Steve’s door. You’re holding an apple pie you made earlier. You make sure your tart and outfit are perfect before knocking. You tighten your grip on your pie, worried about Steve’s reaction. When he appears in front of you, he’s surprised at first to see you, then he smiles fondly. As for you, you can’t help but look at the evolution of his wounds. His black eye is almost healed and his other cuts are more or less visible. You clear your throat before speaking.

“Hello, Steve,” you start, embarrassed, “Sorry to bother you, I just wanted to come and thank you properly, for last time, so I made you this.”, you inform, holding the tart to him, “I’m not an unparalleled baker but my pies are usually pretty good.”

“You didn’t have to do it, your ‘thank you’ was enough.”

“Maybe, but I wanted to. I hope you’ll like it.”

“I’m sure of it.” he assures you.

“I have to go. I hope I’ll see you around to have your opinion.” you smile.

“I hope, too.”

Without thinking, you take a step forward and press your lips against his left cheek. Taken aback, he doesn’t react. You smile at him one last time before leaving, waving at him whilst Steve stays on the doorstep. He doesn’t move for a minute until Bucky appears behind him with a taunting smile on his face.

“You had it, your perfect opportunity to ask her out on a date.”, he specifies, making a reference to an old conversation, “Well, while I wait for you to come back on Earth, I’m gonna take this,” Bucky adds, taking the pie from Steve’s hands, “and taste it.”

Surprisingly, Steve doesn’t react, still thinking of your lips on his cheek. Bucky has the time to go back to the kitchen and take a knife before Steve snaps out of it and forbids his friend to touch his pie.

You went to give your pie to Steve two weeks ago. Since then, you haven’t seen him again. You don’t delude yourself. You met Steve by accident for the first time and he doesn’t know your address so your only option to see him again would be to go back to his place although you don’t want to appear as the clingy girl. Therefore, you're pretty sure you’ll never get to know him properly.

You’re walking to the bookshop near your place when you hear someone trying to catch your attention. Guessing it must be some random man, you only roll your eyes and keep walking. However, when Steve is in front of you, panting, you stop in your tracks. Steve starts breathing normally slowly whereas you look at him, worried, and notice there are only one or two wounds on his face you can see at first sight. When you’re sure he’s okay, after he stands up straight again, your eyes are full of joy.

“Steve, I hadn’t noticed you over there !”

“It’s okay. I should have known you wouldn’t turn around when you’d hear my voice. I just wanted to tell you, your pie was delicious.”, he confesses and you smile. “I even had to hide it from my best friend to make sure I’ll eat it entirely.”

“If he wants to, I can bake him one. Glad to know you liked it.”

Looking at Steve more closely, you see he has something else in mind, but he doesn’t dare to tell you.

“Is this everything you wanted to tell me ?” you interrogate with a soft voice.

“No, actually.”, he answers before not saying anything for a second, “Listen, I know we don’t really know each other, but I wanted to ask you if you’d like to go to the movies with me someday. Obviously, you can decline ! You don’t have to say ‘yes’.”

“I’d be happy to.”, you state, making him smile, “There’s a screening tomorrow, in the evening, would you want to go to that one ?”

“Perfect.”

Quickly, you open your bag and take a pencil and a piece of paper. As soon as you finish writing, you give it to Steve.

“This is my address.”, you explain as he takes the paper, “You can come pick me up at six P.M. ? This way, we could go to a café before going to the movies.” you propose, hopeful.

“I’ll be there.”

You want to kiss his cheek again, yet you don’t do anything, the presence of the people walking by holding you back. You only smile at him warmly before walking away, your stomach filled with joy because, on top of seeing him again, you got a date with a respectable man.

Marvel Masterlist

{This is my side blog so I'll be answering comments under the username @marie-sworld}

[rainbowcaleb]

A Scaled Splendor

A MerMay story - read on ao3

“Okay Lebby, explain this again but this time make sense.” Veth pops her hip out and stares down at Caleb, her other hand shielding her eyes from the afternoon sun. The effect of the bright unclouded sky on the ocean is blinding, almost hiding any swimmers amidst the sliver glinting light.

“Ja, so there is a tale from my childhood, ah— no, I would be remiss to say it is a story only in the Empire when every culture with a body of water has–”

“Cay. Leb. What did I just say.” Veth kicks some water his way.

“Okay, okay. The mermaid. It is a story but a romantic one. Not every version, no, but fishes and princes and kisses–”

“And kisses?!”

“Well, ja, I have hopes. But I thought it would be a good surprise.”

Veth continues to stare for one, three, ten long beats. Then lets out a whoop of a laugh, grabbing her middle as the entirely unsuppressed mirth shakes her body.

“It was not a bad idea–” Caleb starts, a pout in his voice.

“No, it's,” Veth wipes tears from her eyes, voice still shaking from giggles. “It is a good idea, but that still doesn’t explain, you know.” She waves a hand up and down in his direction. The crystal clear waters of this shore do nothing to hide his form, and the high sun only touches him with extra sparkle. Glistening golden scales that flash to orange and umber as they shift with Caleb’s movement, like he has been dipped in molten gold and reforged in intricate, layered detail.

“This is my first time doing this particular spell modification.” He sounds petulant, even to his own ears.

“Caleb.”

“This is quite a hard spell, and the materials alone–”

“Lebby.”

“Ja, okay, I fucked up.” Caleb sighs, and it is quite an interesting sound and motion coming from a golden fish’s mouth.

Veth starts to laugh again, her noise another wave building upon Caleb’s rising feelings of woe-is-me.

“Do you think Essek likes fish, really likes them?” Veth doesn’t even bother to wipe her eyes this time. “Loves them so much he’ll kiss ‘em? Or maybe we should ask Yasha, she does have that fish market experience.”

Caleb sits down in the shallow water on the shore’s edge, able to cross his legs but not his arms, for indeed he has succeeded in his mermaid ambitions but unfortunately on the wrong half.

“I have an idea, I’ll run and get Fjord right now, you know that boy practiced his kissing skills on fish growing up, I’m sure he has some tips–”

“Veth, please.” Caleb flops sideways, re-dousing his upper half in the water, and feeling just as morose as a fish out of water could be.

“Sorry Lebby, but our years of friendship means I can make fun of you for another five minutes. And oh boy do I have some jokes on the tip of my tongue.”

“And then you’ll help me fix this?”

She crouches down and pets his scaly head, then draws her hand back to shake off the water. “Of course Caleb, what do you take me for? I wouldn’t use this as an oppor-tuna-ty to make fin of you, no of course not, I’d love you for a krill-ion years as a fish or a man!”

Caleb starfishes in the water, pushing the sand around with his little arm fins and his two human legs. This was his fate now.

“Aw, you don’t like my jokes? Yeah, I cod do betta than that, even though this is kraken me up–”

Caleb stares up at the crisp blue sky and closes his eyelids against the yellow sun. Everything was much too bright and much too colorful for his new eyes. Maybe he should just float here for a while, surely it’ll wear off in an hour, surely the spell will end faster than Veth’s jokes can last…

(Thank you for reading! 💙)

[sadhours]

just the two (ok maybe four) of us - part 3

by the lovely @buckysgrace and i :)

cw: 18+ minors dni, polyamory, threesome (fmm)

read on ao3

“Four shots of Jamo,” Matt, the bassist of Mount Ashtray, says to the bartender as he slides over the drink tokens.

“That cute redhead coming tonight?” Tommy asks Steve, eyebrows wagging.

Steve holds up his bottle of Pabst, looking to see if he should order another before he tells Tommy, “You mean Kim? Your sister's best friend? Yeah. Pretty sure she’s bringing her awful boyfriend too.”

They’d just finished their short sound check and Steve was feeling antsy. He should probably take a hit off of Tommy’s dab pen but he doesn’t want to let his guard down too much around Billy.

“Gina don’t let me around her enough,” Tommy’s face goes sour, before his lip curls up suspiciously, “Does he swing both ways? Maybe I can wrestle in a threesome.”

Steve winces, “Gross. I wonder why she doesn’t let you around much. But uh, he’s in a frat. So maybe?”

“A frat bro? Huh, doesn’t seem like her type,” Tommy replies, surprise written on his face.

“Yeah, well the fucking guy could be a model. I assume that’s why she’s with him because he’s pretty impossible to be around,” Steve explains, taking the shot Matt hands him

“To a good show,” Matt says as the four of them raise their glasses, they tap them on the bar top and down the hatch they go.

The whiskey burns his throat but warms his chest comfortably. He scans the bar, it’s pretty busy which is good. It’ll really piss Billy off if it seems like they actually have a following. Gina and Kim are always bugging him to start a TikTok for his band but it seems corny. Most videos are only like thirty seconds on there and the majority of their songs are close to ten minutes. Steve feels like the songs need to be listened to in their entirety, not just the chorus.

He gets wrapped up talking with the guys and doesn’t even notice Gina, Kim and Billy walk in. But Gina runs up and wraps her arms around his waist, squeezing him tightly while she squeals, “Stevie!!”

Steve turns around, wrapping his arms around Gina and leaning down to kiss her. He smiles wide as he pulls away, “Hey, babe.”

“I’m so excited,” Gina beams, running her fingers through Steve’s hair.

Steve smiles, nudging his nose against hers, “Yeah? Lemme get you a drink. What do you want?”

Gina thinks for a second, pursing her lips as she tilts her head and it’s the cutest thing Steve’s seen all day. Though, he saw a less attractive version in the form of her twin brother when Steve asked him a question earlier. Tommy wraps his arm around Gina’s shoulder and pokes her cheek, “Not even gonna say hi to me, sis?”

The freckled girl rolls her eyes, “Hi.” She looks a tad uncomfortable but Steve isn’t sure why. Probably because Tommy’s annoying, ‘cause he is and Steve’s pretty uncomfortable around him at times. “I’ll take a cider, I guess.”

Steve nods, walking up to the bar again when Billy is behind him. “Uh, can I get that hibiscus cider? And another Pabst,” he smiles at the bartender.

“Make that two Pabst and uh, something fruity. Tequila,” Billy adds, patting Steve’s back as he grins.

“Oh, I’m buying your drinks too?” Steve raises an eyebrow.

Billy nods, biting his lip, “Isn't that the deal we have going on, pretty boy?”

God, he’s such an asshole. Steve can’t wait to get on stage, show Billy he’s better than him at something. Another thing he can do that makes Gina scream and if he’s lucky, Kim’ll be screaming too.

“I guess,” Steve snorts, luckily Tommy walks up and distracts Billy.

“Hey, I’m Gina’s brother,” he says to Billy, “You must be Billy.”

“I didn’t know Gina had a brother,” Billy says, looking Tommy up and down.

“Twins,” Steve says. Billy looks at the freckled boy one more time, a little intrigued at how similar Gina and him look. Billy still thinks that Gina is prettier, hotter. She’s more feminine, has a certain wildness that she keeps hidden inside of her.

“You get a lot of bitches doing this?” He has enough sense to take his drinks away from Steve before he’s turning his full attention towards Tommy. He hears Steve scoff loudly, though he's sure it has nothing to do with his question. Tommy’s eyes are wide, a little taken aback.

“I guess,” Tommy glances back towards Steve and it’s all Billy can do to keep from snorting. He’s obviously a bit of a dweeb like Steve, though Billy kind of already figured that based on him being in the same band, “Not really.” He admitted a brief second later, mumbling as he spoke. Billy felt his lips curling into a smirk.

“Do you have a girl?” Billy asked, his eyes zeroing in on the way Tommy flicks his tongue across the corner of his lip and swallows hard. He looks nervous, intimidated even. Billy brings his drink up towards his lips, waiting for Tommy to reply.

“Not right now.” Tommy says at last, his eyes glancing over to his left before he’s turning towards Billy quickly again. Billy’s eyes follow Tommy’s trail, landing directly on his girlfriend. Her dress is simple, but she makes it look stunning. It’s white with delicate pink flowers, it ends in lace against her upper thighs to show off her long legs. Though he enjoys the small spaghetti straps and the deep way it plunges against her perky tits. He figures she’ll last about an hour before she’s whining for his jacket.

Kim waves towards him, her face brightening again as she notices him. She looks radiant, filling up the whole room and he knows that Tommy notices that as well. She turns her eyes away again, beginning to speak to Gina once again. He holds her eye contact for a moment before he’s turning back to the freckled boy, confirming that he had been watching.

“Such a shame,” Billy leans his elbow against the bar as he speaks and he doesn’t miss the way Steve’s elbow digs into his back, “You’re not bad looking.” He admits, having his own thing for brown eyes and freckles. Although, he knows that Tommy is really Kim’s type. She likes them with dark hair and dark eyes.

Tommy’s eyes widen three sizes, like he hadn’t been expecting Billy to say that at all. He grins, tracing his tongue across his teeth as he watches the flush slowly spread over his freckled cheeks. He thinks that Kim would like to play with him too.

“Just going through a dry spell,” Tommy shrugs his shoulders, looking like he still has no idea what to say as his eyes dart over towards Steve again. Billy grins, letting his arm press closer against Steve’s to annoy him, “Thanks though.” He looks awkward, like he’s never had a guy compliment him before.

“You know,” Billy leans towards Tommy this time, speaking a little raspier as the idea tickles into his mind, “I see the way you look at my girl.” He says slowly, drawing out the words as Tommy stiffens against him.

“Oh,” Tommy’s eyes are frightened this time, “No, no, Kim? She’s just you know, like a friend.” He tries to defend his actions, tries to play them off like Billy clearly couldn’t see him eyeing his girl.

“Mhm,” Billy draws out quietly, “Sucks you think of her like that. She’s a good little cock slut.” He teased Tommy slowly, tapping his fingers against his chin so the shorter boy was looking up towards him. Tommy looks like he’s unable to breathe, his dark eyes flickering as Billy releases him. He leaves the suggestion there as he takes the drinks, shooting a stunned Steve a wink before he’s sauntering away.

Billy heads back towards Kim, instantly greeted by her slender arms as she pulls him close. She presses a kiss against his lips but he deepens it, his tongue sliding inside of her mouth as he’s well aware of Tommy staring after the two of them.

“Slow down,” Kim giggles against his lips, pressing her hands softly on her chest as she looks towards him with her hazel eyes, “Were you bonding?” She teases as she takes her drink from his hand. He bites his lip as he looks at her again.

“Somewhat,” He leans in closer so he can speak a little more privately to her, “I think Gina’s brother wants you.” He tells her, leaning close enough to her features that he notices her own little blush forming. He smirks softly, knowing his suspicions were confirmed.

“He’s questioned about my dating life a time or two,” She says softly as she sips on her drink, “You weren’t mean, were you?” She asks pointedly. He shakes his head, knowing the exact event she was referencing. In his defense, Adrian had grown too attached to her.

“No,” Billy snorts out, “I told him he wasn’t a bad looking guy.” He says casually, watching the amused look that grows on Kim’s face. She’s moving closer towards him, looking at him curiously.

“Is that so?” She grins, her teeth shiny. He has a sudden urge to spit on them, to see how they really gleam with his saliva. He slides one hand down the curve of her back, stopping once he’s groping her ass.

“Yeah,” Billy rocks her back and forth to the beat of the cringy music playing through the speakers, “Figured it’d been a while.” He mumbled, watching the way her eyes flickered with lust. It quickly disappeared before she was looking at him a little shyly.

“I think they’re about to play,” She mumbled shyly as she tucked her hair behind her ears, “Should we head closer to the stage?” She asks, still clearly shy at the whole ordeal. He nods, knowing that her confidence isn’t fully there yet. He won’t press the subject again, but figures she’ll be asking by the time she’s had another handful of drinks.

Steve quickly hands Gina her cider, kissing her quickly before excusing himself backstage. Tommy is a bit of a mess. He keeps rubbing his hands against his jeans, “God. My hands are so sweaty. Hopefully my drum sticks don’t fly out of my hand.”

He can’t help but chuckle, “Weren’t you just telling me maybe you could swing a threesome? There ya go, buddy.”

Tommy swallowed hard, “You know how I am. I haven’t gotten laid in three months, man.”

Steve pats his shoulder, “We’re about to go on. Pull yourself together. Showtime.”

—

The setlist is something Steve’s rehearsed about a hundred times, but he still gets these live show jitters. Messes up during the first song, but bounces on his feet and makes a lame joke that has the crowd laughing back. Which eases his nerves a bit. He’s glad he didn’t get too smashed before like he usually does, because he’s sounding great. Can see Gina right in the front, hanging over the short barricade as she stares up at him with stars in her eyes. And then he turns a bit to see Kim next to Gina and Billy standing behind her.

Billy is bitterly nodding his head, biting back his own grumble as he admits that Steve really doesn’t sound that bad. He’s fairly talented with the guitar and does seem to have a nice voice. He traces his fingers against Kim’s spaghetti straps, his eyebrows raising as Steve glances towards him.

The brunette is quickly looking away but it leaves Billy curious. His thoughts are interrupted by Kim leaning over to take a large gulp from his beer. He’s grinning at this point, knowing that she’ll be growing frisky soon enough.

“You should flash him,” Kim leans forward to talk to Gina, bending down low so she can reach the shorter girl. Billy presses his fingers against her forehead, pushing her back a few centimeters as he’s sure it looks as if Kim is about to kiss Gina, “I bet he’d love that.” She’s giggling suddenly.

“He does like boobs,” Gina comments, speaking a little louder so Kim can hear her over the music, “I don’t want to mess up his flow.” She says at last, but holds a mischievous look in her eyes like she’s debating about it.

“Awe,” Kim is whining, her hands suddenly on Billy’s waist as she’s bumping into him, “What if I flashed you?” She asks, grinning widely. He looks towards her, noticing the drunken expression on her features. He’s certain by the look in her eyes that he’s getting laid tonight.

“That would be hot,” He commented, quickly moving his hands forward to push her spaghetti straps back over her shoulders. She looked at him, almost offended as her lips turned into a pout, “I’m sure Steve would like to see you when he finishes playing.” He reminds her softly, watching as her expression quickly changes to awe.

Mount Ashtray finishes the first song and transitions into the second. Matt leading them with the bass, Tommy holding strong in the drums and Steve seamlessly breezing through his guitar riffs. He tries to keep his eyes down but they keep wandering back to Billy and it’s confusing the hell out of him. It’s that fucking conversation he had to overhear. It sounded like Billy wanted to watch Tommy fuck Kim. Or join in. Or something and Steve was jealous? Why was he jealous? What the fuck is going on with him? He misses the first verse and bursts out laughing.

“I have no clue what’s wrong with me,” he mumbles into the mic, pushing his hair off his forehead, “How’s everyone doing tonight? Having a good time?”

Gina hoots and screams, smiling wide as she gazes up at Steve in absolute adoration. Something about the whole stage presence he had really made her fall that much more in love with him. It might’ve had something to do with how at this moment, everyone in the room was looking at her boyfriend and she was the lucky one that he was singing about.

“Me too, me too,” Steve says and laughs again, “Now I’m gonna try this song again but I’m not gonna forget to sing this time.”

Gina rolls her head towards Kim and gushes, “God, he’s so cute!”

Steve begins the song over again, brings his lips up flush against the mic when he starts singing and Gina feels goosebumps all over, a chill running up her spine. His voice is like honey being poured all over her skin. So smooth and lovely.

“Lately I feel like I been losing my mind, I’m acting funny I keep refilling my wine.”

Gina doesn’t know what exactly this song is about, Steve had written it before they started dating. Which fills her with jealousy because it’s clearly about a girl. She’d vented to Kim about it, who told her it was no big deal.

“She’s moving faster now, faster than sound itself.”

Billy presses against the small of Gina’s back, whispering in her ear, “You’re moving faster now?”

Gina turns around slightly, gets her lips close to Billy’s ear and says, “He didn’t know me when he wrote this.”

The blonde looks at her surprised, eyebrow cocked as she turns back in time to catch Steve’s guitar solo. She likes the song, even though it makes her wonder about his past. They haven’t ever really talked about Steve’s past partners. She’s told him all about hers. Except for the brief period before she met him where she was kind of a third for Kim and Billy. She didn’t want to make him worry or think they were a threat to their budding relationship. But she’s been incredibly terrified Steve will stumble upon the video proof on the couples OnlyFans.

They finish up the song, and Steve downs the rest of his beer. Gina snakes out of the crowd to the bar, wanting to get him another drink while he’s up on stage. She orders the PBR and gets herself a shot, wanting to calm her jealousy that follows every time he plays that song. Gina sneaks through the barricade as they finish the song and holds the beer up for Steve. He cautiously walks to the edge to grab it, squatting down to kiss her and say thanks. Knowing that the crowd is watching the interaction has her thighs heating up.

—

Gina helps them pack up, unaware of where Kim and Billy are but knows they’ll stay so they can all travel home together. Once Matt’s van is loaded up, she and Steve make their way back into the bar. They find the couple at the bar, faces attached.

“Don’t have too much fun without us,” Gina purrs, smoothing her hand over Kim’s waist.

Steve looks at her in shock, wondering how drunk the three of them are.

“We could make it a group activity,” Kim giggles in response, teetering back and forth against Billy, “Whaddya say, Stevie?” She falls back against Billy, laughing as his fingers tickle against her sides. She catches Gina’s intrigued eyes, sending her a sly wink in response.

“They can’t tonight,” He says softly, “Unless you’re planning on kicking Tommy to the curb.” Realization draws on Kim’s face, her eyes growing wide as she turns back to Gina.

“We’re taking your brother home tonight,” She says quickly, “So not tonight but like maybe some other time.” She’s rambling on, her eyes darting up and around like she’s making a mental list in her mind. Billy tugs on her waist.

“Ew, my brother?!” Gina gapes, eyes darting between the two. Her disgust goes ignores by Billy but Kim offers her a sympathetic look.

“I don’t think Stevie’s got it in him anyways,” Billy draws out slowly, liking the way Steve’s brown eyes are locked in on him, “Have you ever been with two girls?” He asks, tilting his head. Gina’s revelation about the song left him curious. He had been sure that Steve had been with no one else, a virgin before Gina.

“None of your business,” Steve snips back quietly as he links his fingers through Gina’s, “Are you ready?” Billy observes the way Steve is watching Gina, but also doesn’t miss how he keeps darting his eyes towards Billy.

“Ignore Billy,” Gina stands on her tippy toes to place a chaste kiss on Steve’s lips, “Can we crash at your place?”

“Absolutely,” Steve tells her, guiding her towards the door. Gina waves back at the couple as they leave.

On the way to his house, he can’t help but ask, “So uh… what was that about?”

“Huh?” Gina asks, seemingly distraught with how the night turned out.

“That whole thing. With them,” Steve can’t even say it, the whole situation makes him uncomfortable. Yet he’s jealous Tommy is going home with them.

Gina sighs as she shrugs, “Nothing. I don’t know. I was just teasing.”

Steve doesn’t believe her but doesn’t push, instead he says, “And like Tommy going home with them? Is Billy into, like being cucked? What was that?”

She lets out a big laugh, “Oh my god.”

“What?!” Steve asks, raising his palms as they get to a stop light. “That’s what it sounded like!”

Gina giggles again, covering her face as they bubble out of her, “Oh, Stevie… I can’t believe I’m the one telling you this.”

“Telling me what?”

“Billy is bi,” she responds, “Kim is too.”

“Oh.” Oh.

—-

“So what,” Tommy draws out slowly, “You just want to watch me fuck her?” Kim is giggling, covering her mouth with her hands as she’s leaning against Billy like it’s the funniest thing. He bites back his own grin.

“You’ll see,” He responds casually, trying to keep Tommy intrigued for as long as he can, “Why don’t you give her a kiss?” Tommy still looks unsure but Kim is stepping forward, placing her hands on the sides of Tommy’s cheeks. She stands at his same height as she brings his lips upon hers, her confidence flowing with the alcohol in her system.

He watches the way Tommy melts against Kim, his body loosening and his hands wandering like he’d been dreaming of this. Billy is fairly certain the poor bastard had spent more than one sleepless night thinking about Kim. Not that he can blame him.

Kim’s mouth is everywhere, sucking and licking at Tommy’s lips as his hands wander further and further down her body. Billy brings his over hands to her curves, squeezing softly before he’s beginning to tug on the lace part of her dress.

She breaks away quick enough to lean back against Billy, her arm wrapping around his shoulder as her mouth descends upon his lips. He groans, swirling his tongue inside of her mouth as he licks her tongue. He’s groaning, his dick throbbing from how tight his pants feel suddenly.

She pulls away again, mid kiss as she looks at him hungrily. She keeps her arm in place as she’s using the other one to tug Tommy forward. She’s pressing against the back of their heads, urging them forward without saying anything else.

Billy kisses Tommy first, knowing that the freckled boy is probably still too nervous to do anything. He tastes like the shots they’d been drinking away, a hint of strawberry on his tongue from the flavor of his vape. It takes Tommy a few seconds before he’s relaxing, kissing Billy back with just as much urgency.

Kim’s grip becomes looser as she moves her lips against the crook of Billy’s neck; licking and sucking as he begins to slide his tongue against Tommy’s. He’s not the worst kisser, but he’s not the best either. Tommy moves in closer, his hardened cock beginning to press against Billy’s hip as he swallows his groan around Billy’s tongue.

Kim is dropping to her knees, hastily undoing Billy’s belt and trying to tug his tight pants off as quickly and easily as possible without hurting him. She sighs in relief when his hard cock is released and feels as if she hasn’t had him for days when she knows that’s not true at all. She licks the base of his cock, flicking her tongue across his slit to earn a groan from him.

She moves onto Tommy next. His pants aren’t as tight, but he’s thick in a similar way to Billy. She rubs her fingertips across his thighs gently, noticing the differences between him and Gina. Gina is painted with freckles everywhere, much like Kim. Tommy’s seem to end at the base of his neck.

She pulls his boxers down, feeling a sense of joy spreading through her as she wraps her slender fingers around his cock. He jolts his hips forward, breaking away from Billy’s lips as he looks down at her with wide, dark eyes. She pumps him slowly, looking up at him innocently as she presses a kiss against his tip.

He’s a little bit smaller than Billy, not quite as thick either. Still, he has a nice cock and she hopes that he knows how to use it. She thinks of a confession Gina once told her as she’s wrapping her lips around his cock and slowly sliding him inside of her mouth. He sighs deeply and Billy is reaching behind her to tug her hair back.

She can feel herself moaning as she bobs her head up and down the length of his cock. Billy begins to tug on her hair that he’s gripping, moving her mouth back harder and faster as Tommy’s tip begins to press against the back of her neck harshly. Her eyes are watering but she’s looking up at Tommy, noticing how tightly shut his eyes are.

“Okay,” Billy pulls her away quickly, apparently not too patient tonight, “Come on.” He’s tugging on her hair, pressing his tip into her parted lips. She has to relax her jaw a little more to fit him inside as she begins to keep the same rhythm that she had with Tommy. Billy is sighing, lightly jerking his hips forward as he fully enjoys her mouth.

She alternates them in her mouth a few more times, before the pressure between her legs is growing too strong. She’s whimpering, feeling like she might explode if she doesn’t get some friction against her cunt. She gives Billy a knowing look as she jerks them both in her hands.

“Kiss,” She giggles, her eyes hazy as she presses their tips together. Billy isn’t ashamed to admit that he feels a chill rushing up his spine, “So pretty.” She whispered as she pumped both hands up the lengths of their cocks. Billy groaned in response, but Tommy was already rutting his hips forward into her hand. He didn’t look like he was going to last long, but Billy hoped that he would.

“C’mere,” He’s tugging Kim up off the floor like she weighs nothing before he’s roughly pulling her dress off over her head. He grins as he traces his fingertips across her pink thong and confirms that she wasn’t wearing a bra at all, “Isn’t she a beauty?” He asks Tommy, his eyelids heavy over his eyes as he begins to paint kisses along the side of Kim’s neck.

“Yeah,” Tommy breaths out harshly like he’s never seen a naked woman before, “She’s stunning.” Something in his words makes Billy’s eyes narrow but he quickly shrugs it off, reminding himself that this was his idea. Kim’s eyes never wandered. He was always the one to suggest their group activities.

He doesn’t give Kim the time to respond before he tosses her onto the bed, listening in glee while she giggles and her body bounces against the mattress. She looks over at him hotly, her lips parted as she brings her hands up over her thighs and up her curves. He glances towards Tommy.

He hands Tommy a condom before he’s motioning him onto the bed. Tommy scrambles, like he’s terrified Billy will kick him out any second now. He watches to make sure that Tommy actually slides the condom on before he’s looking towards Kim again.

“You want your pussy filled?” He teases her as he ghosts his fingers across the wet patch on her thong. She moans, rolling her hips forward as she’s looking at him pleadingly. He wraps his fingers around the band of her panties before he’s pulling them down her slender thighs, “What do you want?” She glances towards Tommy, rubbing her foot against his knee.

“I want him to fuck me,” She says slowly and Billy glances down, watching how Tommy’s cock jerks in response, “And I want you to fuck him.” She says even slower, softer as her eyes dart back up to Tommy’s features.

“What now?” Tommy’s eyes are wide, blown in disbelief as he looks between the two of them. Billy feels his tongue darting across his teeth.

“It’s not that bad,” Billy reassures him, “You’ve never had anything up there?” He asks, feeling like most guys are lying when they act like they’ve never experimented before. But to be fair, he only grew more experimental when he’d gotten with Kim.

“Finger,” Tommy is muttering under his breath, like he can’t believe what he’s saying, “Just once.” He looks away from Billy, like he’s suddenly intimidated again. Billy grins, liking the way Tommy is shivering underneath their gaze.

“Don’t worry big boy,” Billy says as he clasps him on the shoulder, “I’ll take good care of you.” He promises and he means it. He’s never rough on the first time and he knows Kim will think up some other outlandish position if Tommy says no.

“It won’t be that bad,” Kim reassures Tommy as she sits forward a bit, rubbing her hands across Tommy’s chest, “We’ll take care of you.”She promises him as her thumbs dart across his nipples. He breaths in deeply, staring ahead at her instead of Billy.

“Okay,” He says at last, “Yeah. Can’t be that bad.” He reasons with himself as he settles between Kim’s thighs. Billy grabs a bottle of lube, knowing that Tommy is getting a little ahead of himself.

It takes a little bit to get Tommy adjusted and comfortable around his fingers, far longer than what Billy was anticipating. The only reason his cock is still hard is the moans that Kim is releasing while she threads her fingers through Tommy’s dark hair. Billy can tell he’s not doing the best at eating her out by the way Kim is jerking her hips forward and moving against his face. She meets his eye for a moment, a look of irritation crossing her features before she’s finally moaning again. Billy feels himself pressing his tongue against his cheek, wondering if he should’ve let Tommy fuck him instead. At least then he’d ensure that Kim would cum.

“Okay,” Tommy sounds nervous as he’s crowding over Kim this time. Billy is working another glob of lube against his hole to make sure that it won’t sting for him. Kim is wiggling underneath Tommy restlessly, needily as she waits, “S’fine.” He breathed out, more to himself than anyone else.

“Don’t worry,” Kim tells him softly as she pumps him in her hand. She’s slowly pushing him into her drenched hole, whimpering as he begins to slide inside. A groan leaves Tommy’s mouth and Billy feels his own smirk forming, “S’nice.” She breathes out as she glances back towards Billy.

“Don’t stiffen,” Billy tells Tommy quickly, noticing how the freckled boy is jolting against his touch. He drags his cock between his flesh and despite being so tense, Tommy still moans, “Just focus on how good she feels.” He reassures Tommy gently as he’s sliding his tip inside.

Tommy’s moans are loud, possibly louder than Kim’s as he slowly slides inside of Tommy. He takes his time, allowing for Tommy to adjust and become accustomed. Kim is sitting up on her elbows, her eyes curious as if she could somehow see what was happening. Billy finds himself grabbing her pretty neck as he yanks over up closer, kissing her over Tommy’s body.

“Fuck,” Tommy seethes, drawing their lips apart. His eyebrows are knitted tightly together and he looks like he’s seconds away from crying, “You can move.” He says urgently, his voice cracking from pleasure.

Billy shares a look with Kim and he can tell she’s just as desperate to get Billy to move as well. She settles back down, holding her knees up towards her chest as Tommy’s head dangles limply in the crook of her neck. She giggles softly, drawing her nails up as back as Billy slowly jerks his cock out and then pushes back inside hard.

Kim and Tommy share the same moan and Billy can barely keep his own groans at bay from how good it all feels too. He likes the intense way Kim is watching him, how wide and lustful her eyes are. He repeats the same actions, building up a slow rhythm as they continue to moan from underneath them.

“Hey,” He tugs Tommy up by his hair, grinning at the lust filled expressions over his features, “Don’t forget about her pretty pussy. She likes when you play with her clit.” He whispers hotly against Tommy’s neck, groaning as Tommy shivers from the sensation.

Billy is gripping his hips tightly, dragging the boy up and down his cock. He keeps him at an angle to ensure that Kim is getting the same amount of pleasure that he is. She whines as her fingertips brush against Billy’s gripping Tommy’s hips in the same manner as she rolls her hips up against his thick cock.

Tommy groans are loud and thick as they fill the room, his eyes hazy as he roughly begins to rub at Kim’s pussy. Billy is rolling his eyes as he grips Tommy’s fingers until they’re rubbing her bundle of nerves. She lets out a shrill moan and Billy takes an extra second to make sure that Tommy is rubbing her in the right way.

“She’s so tight,” Tommy spits out at last, like he’s finally found his words, “Fuck, fuck you feel so good.” His eyes are shut tightly and Billy really isn’t sure who he’s talking to as he grinds his cock deeper inside of Tommy’s hole.

“Feels so good,” Kim is whimpering from underneath, her legs shaking as Billy continues to rock into the both of them. Tommy feels limp again as Billy begins to fuck into the both of them, taking joy in how easily the both of them melt against him, “Oh my god.” She cries out, her features contorted in pleasure.

“Gonna cum on her okay?” Billy is gripping Tommy’s hair again, jerking him back to get a loud cry from the boy. His lips are parted and his face is all flushed and Billy can tell that he won’t last much longer. He reaches down to play with Tommy’s balls, smirking at how easily Tommy melts against him.

“Yeah, yeah, fuck,” He feels Tommy’s muscles clenching together as Billy ruts his cock deep inside of him, groaning at how tightly Tommy is squeezing him, “S’close.” He spits out, looking like he can’t decipher any of his own thoughts.

“Right there,” Kim is crying out in bliss, urging for Tommy to keep moving. She gasps in protest, her eyes wide and filled with betrayal as Tommy is quickly pulling out. Billy watches as Tommy quickly rips the condom off and it’s not much longer under his cum is coating Kim’s upper abdomen and tits, “Fuck.” She whines in protest, as Tommy heaves out a loud groan.

Billy removes his cock from Tommy before he’s letting the freckled boy fall to the side of the bed. He rips his own condom off as he spreads Kim’s legs even wider, needing to feel how wet and slick her cunt is. She leans up on her elbows, nodding her head quickly as Billy is filling her tight cunt.

“Oh fuck,” She mewls, her fingertips digging into the mattress as Tommy pants next to her on the side of the bed. Billy groans as he lightly drags his cock in and out of her, before he’s building the same rough rhythm again. She falls apart underneath him quickly, gripping his forearms as they chase their own high, “Yes, yes, right there! Billy!” She’s whimpering, drool sliding from her lips as she cums with a loud cry.

He groans at the way her cunt clamps down around him, feels like he’s losing his mind as she comes down around him. He seethes harshly, keeping the same rough movements before he can’t take it any longer. He pulls out harshly, already cumming in thick globs as he paints her pretty pussy.

He sat with her for a moment, groaning as he begins to come down from his own high. He gently released her knees, watching the way the pleasure is still laced on her features. He feels a bit cocky in knowing that no one can get her off the same way he can.

“Hand me my phone,” Billy jerks his hand towards Tommy, noticing how he’s still partially out of it, “My phone.” He repeats a little stern this time. Tommy’s eyes widen and he’s quickly moving to pull it off of the dresser. He looks at Kim unsure before he’s tossing it to Billy.

“S’alright,” Kim is basically purring, acting like she has enough in her to go another round. Billy is sure that she does. She stretches her arms out over her head, a giggle bubbling forth as she looks up at Billy. His and Tommy’s cum is painted across her stomach, across her chest and cunt as she spreads her legs just enough, “Billy likes to take pictures.” She draws out slowly, her hazel eyes flashing.

“Someone gets off on me recording her,” He reminds her gently, leaning over her so he can get the best view of her. He snaps the picture then scoots in a little closer, bringing his hand around her neck and pressing his thumb against her pouty lips. He spreads her mouth open just a bit as he takes the picture, liking this one a lot better, “Sexy.” He grins, leaning forward to press a kiss against her lips.

“Should I-?” The question is open and Tommy is staring like he has no idea what he should do. Billy chuckles, raising his eyebrows a bit as he searches in the dark for the tissues.

“You can take the couch or the floor,” He speaks towards Tommy, knowing there’s no way the three of them would fit in the bed. Not to mention that Billy had already gotten what he wanted, he had no desire to do anything that seemed the least bit romantic afterwards.

“Right,” Tommy is nodding as he’s pulling his boxers up over his legs, “I’ll see you in the morning then?” He’s speaking, his features contorting a bit like he’s too sore to move. Kim doesn’t miss it as she’s giggling again.

“See you in the morning, Tommy,” She draws out as Billy is wiping her clean. He has an idea to push the cum inside of her mouth, but then he’s noticing the way Tommy is watching her and he doesn’t want him to get the wrong idea. This was a one time thing, never to happen again, “Sleep tight.”

Billy tosses the tissues away as he’s clambering back into bed with her. She shuffles closer to him, her eyes full of awe and admiration as she’s watching him. He grins as he presses his lips against hers.

“Have you ever thought about posting our stuff on Reddit?”