#anyways i’m browsing for bedtime stories

[mars-ipan]

i love ao3 you’ll find the craziest shit there. from smut you never even thought possible to stories that will make you sob and stick in your head for months. and sometimes they’ll have really funny titles

[astaroth1357]

Demon Brothers being Soft for Their Daughters 

Might just be me but I think there's nothing cuter than a Dad who loves his daughter so I made a hc for our boys. Strap in, it’s a long one! 

IMPORTANT! Watch out for first half spoilers! Assumed that the child is a half human/half demon with the MC!

Lucifer

Tries to be really strict but ends up being kind of a pushover.

Oh there ARE rules that even his little girl can't break, but most of the time she can get away with almost anything if she's cute clever enough.

Pushes her to be the best at almost anything she tries, expectations be real high; gonna take the MC stepping in to remind him winning isn't everything and please cool it on the pressure.

Lowkey learned his lesson before and doesn't want to make another Satan situation so tries to take MC's advice to heart and not be quite so controlling.

Her favorite uncle is Mammon and he gets cold sweats about this every night.

Wasn't able to be there for a lot of her firsts due to work and gets real sulky when he misses out. Videos just don't offer the same experience...

Feels bad that work keeps him so busy so he tries to make up for it with toys, clothes, jewelry, pretty much whatever she likes at the time.

Would never admit it, but his black heart melts every time he comes home and sees she's excitedly waiting by the door.

One of those parents who will never stop bragging about how amazing their kid is to anyone who will listen, but never when she's in the same room.

100% that overprotective "I'm going to give you a brief tour of the torture chamber, then we’ll browse my whip collection. Oh, make sure she's home by 8" kind of dad if she were to ever bring home a date. They will know that his baby is not to be messed with (like anyone's crazy enough to try honestly).

Mammon

So over the goddamn moon that someone actually wanted to have a kid with him that he couldn't shut up about it for weeks.

Treasures his little girl more than anything he owns, even Goldie. When she's a baby the two of them are practically inseparable.

The biggest pushover to ever be pushed. She's about the only person he's ever unconditionally generous to and he really spoils her rotten.

She's just as materialistic as her father, honestly, but MC made sure their girl was raised with good morals. The first of which being no stealing. Ever. She works for every cent she spends.

On the one hand, he's actually pretty damn proud and relieved that she won't be called "scum" or anything like her father, but on the other hand like… Ew. Who raised you? (No one remind him it’s kind of his doing anyway).

For once in his greedy existence, he can tell a sob story about really needing that loan or those shoes for his beloved daughter and actually mean it… most of the time 😏

Even when she's young, though, she will ask him if a gift he's giving her was taken from someone else and, man, he cannot lie to her face. People shame him for stealing all the time but the little look of disappointment she gives him hurts WAY more than all of his brothers’ insults combined.

Probably one of the most supportive and involved dads in existence. He will be at every game, every recital, every meet. Even if he's complaining the whole time, if anyone so much as suggests that he just shouldn't go he'd be appalled.

…. He's perhaps a little too involved because he's also totally the kind of father who will lowkey stalk his daughter's dates to be sure nothing bad happens. MC, please step in. She needs privacy too.

Leviathan

Was incredibly worried about having a kid, he's not even had the best track record when it comes to pets and parenting is some high-level normie stuff. But his little girl's first smile absolutely melted his doubts away.

That being said… he's still not the greatest with little kids. For a long time if the baby so much as sneezed unexpectedly he'd start shouting for the MC and checking every website he can like??? My half demon baby won't stop sneezing, is it pneumonia???

Gets a lot less panicky as the child gets older, but in those early years he'd practically want to stick them in a bubble wrap suit.

He passed on his love of the ocean and underwater creatures pretty early on. The running joke is that his girl knew how to swim before she knew how to crawl.

Family aquarium trips are an absolute must.

The second they're old enough to understand plot he's introducing them to his favorite shows, but only the best (and most child-friendly) ones of course. He wants his daughter to grow into a woman of culture, damnit! Pop culture that is.

Sooo much text/chat lingo between these two. It's not her fault really. She was bound to pick it up but man can it sound like they're speaking tongues at times.

With practice she can and will beat her old man at most video games and, yes, it makes his cry tears of equal parts pride and aggravation.

Has a mini-panic attack every time she hits a new milestone, like, yes he's so fucking proud but also don't you think she's growing up too fast??? MY BABY GIRL!!! 😭😭😭

Cries like a baby to the MC when she goes out on her first date because he realized she's really, truly, growing up and he's afraid his little girl isn't going to want to spend time with her lame old dad anymore.

Satan

Tries to be strict and IS strict but mostly on schoolwork.

Her grades best not be slippin' or this Book Papa will take all her stuff away. End of discussion.

Otherwise, he's surprisingly chill being the Avatar of Wrath and all. He of all people understands the desire to just have your own life and do your own thing.

She'll inherit his temper though, that's a given, and if they both get going then watch out. Fights between them can get verbally explosive, but never physical. Even at his angriest Satan would never once lay a hand on his daughter.

Read to her every night when she was young: storybooks, novels, mythologies, didn't matter to him. Whatever she wanted to hear. Still, he was so proud the day she told him that she wanted to read on her own.

100% makes nearly everything in life a teachable lesson but also helps her when she needs it. He wants her to forge her own path but is still very supportive when the situation calls for it.

Would never EVER admit it, but he does just as many dad jokes as Lucifer.

Of all the brothers, he's probably the most typical father to have, there for his kid just enough while also making sure they're not getting away with murder.

Is totally chill with her dating because he knows he doesn’t have to be super protective of her. She can more than handle herself if something goes wrong, in fact, if he were to step in it would probably add insult to their already grievance injury.

That being said, he IS the Avatar of Wrath. If someone hurts his girl he’s going to have a turn one way or another.

Asmodeus

Oh YEEESSS, he's not normally the commitment kind of guy but he and MC raising a child? They'd be the most gorgeous thing in the universe!!! (Not counting himself of course)

Beautifying his baby since day one, but the MC keeps him from doing anything too extreme. A lot of baths, good moisturizer, hairstyling (when she grows enough of it), etc.

Soooo many outfits. She'll practically never wear the same thing twice and Asmo coordinates his own clothes to match hers all the time.

He actually goes out and parties LESS if you can believe it, especially when she's young and needs a lot of supervision. But he'll get pent up real quick so learning how to do a quiet quickie during naptime is a must.

His girl is all over his Devilgram, nearly every milestone is snapped up and recorded. He loves her more than anything and would just scream about his pride and joy from the rooftops if social media didn't provide him that outlet.

Makes sure his daughter knows that she is gorgeous, she is loved, and passes on every bit of self-confidence he has. Doesn't matter if she grows up a girly-girl, tomboy, or anything else under the sun. When you're feeling good just being you, heads will turn on their own accord!

Not the best at discipline and would only really step in if he thinks she's being a real jerk about something. Day to day attitude adjustments are totally up to the MC.

He is, however, the best sex-ed teacher one could ever ask for and makes sure his daughter knows there's no shame in what comes natural, just be sure you're respectful and responsible!

Completely unfazed when the suitors began lining up, I mean she is HIS daughter. It was inevitable. Offers tips and advice when he can but lets her go off and experiment naturally. Young love is a beautiful thing! (Just don't break his girl's heart though because he may lowkey curse your whole bloodline)

Beelzebub 

….. MC, you're going to be eaten out of house and home.

Though his daughter's appetite isn't AS bad as his, Beel could tell it's going to be an issue from day one but he's ready for it.

Dedicates his freaking life to being sure she never goes one night hungry. He'll cook, he'll shop, he'll even share from his own plate if he has to. The thought of her going through anywhere near the level of starvation he feels on a daily basis is enough to crush his soul (if he has one)

You better bet there will be eating competitions. She never wins, but the fact she can even get close will have him grinning anyway.

That being said, he will push for a healthy and active lifestyle for her too. 

Highkey wants her playing sports and doing team activities because he genuinely thinks it will help her stay healthy and make friends.

Just the right amount of discipline. Tries to be understanding but also knows when to call a spade, a spade and express his disapproval.

Very in-tune to her emotions and her needs even if he can’t quite grasp WHY she's feeling the way she is. Keeping up with teen drama is going to be the bane of his existence...

Uncle Belphie=That one cool uncle who lets you get away with anything and probably gives out sugar after bedtime.

One of the only brothers who makes a point of his daughter also seeing and exploring her human heritage too and not just treating her like a pseudo-demon… And it's totally not just for the added excuse of sampling human world cuisine, like, come on who do you take him for? 🤫

Somewhat cautious about her dating, but ultimately just wants her to be happy. He'll usually trust her judgment but he's pretty good at reading someone's character and if he gets real bad vibes from anyone he's not above telling her, "No. Not that one." Whether or not he's listened to depends on the situation.

Belphegor

Lol MC, you could have picked a much better choice. Borderline Deadbeat/Cool Dad here!

Kids… not his thing. He doesn't dislike them exactly, they're just a lot of work and he's sort of allergic to that. He's more of a semi-irresponsible babysitter type.

Case in point, "Belphie, watch the baby" becomes "Belphie, if you're going to take a nap at least hold onto her leg so she doesn't go anywhere."

Only saving grace is she takes after him so most days she's pretty dang sleepy too. Naptime is a good third of the daily routine (not that anyone is complaining).

Shit at discipline because, like, what leg does he have to stand on? If she wants to ditch class, why not let her? Once or twice ain't that bad.

Takes her on a lot of "field trips" to the human world like he would with Lilith. Genuinely wants her to experience both sides of her identity and encourages her to explore her human side just as much as her demon.

The kind of chill dad that you feel comfortable going to when you've got to talk out a problem or need life advice. He might not be able to offer many answers, but he tries in his own way.

Will prank his kid and will not feel sorry, but is never cruel about it. In fact, this will only spur on a mutual prank war between the two.

Uncle Beel=that genuinely nice uncle who tries to teach you life lessons and how to take care of yourself… while also eating a ton of food.

Would be super confused at first if she started dating like?? How? He kind of sees her like a mini-him at times and his human came to him. Since when did she stay awake long enough to leave the house?? But otherwise he goes with the flow. Whatever she wants, her life.

He might get a bit more agitated if she starts to date a human, like, lowkey bad flashbacks to the whole Lilith situation and the MC would probably have to cool his jets about it. Different circumstances after all.

[adventuresinwonderlust]

Title: Serious Inquiries Only: PART 1

Pairing: dom! yoongi x reader ft. Hobi

Warnings: Implied Masturbation, crack, humor, flirting

Rating: 18 and over

Y/N:

“Fuck, fuck, god yes!” You shake your head at the sounds of your roommate, jacking off for the fifth time in an hour. You press the volume up on the television trying to drown him out when suddenly he emerges from his room. He is completely out of breath, sweaty, and half naked. His sweats hang shamelessly off his hips. “Did you forget you don’t live alone Hobi? My god!” You sneer. “Sorry Y/N. That last one was for a customer that likes yelling. I’m done for the day. 500 dollars richer! We should grab dinner, on me!” He beams at you, yanking a Gatorade from the fridge and chugging it. “I still can’t believe you have one of those stupid pages.” You roll your eyes. He swallows hard, walking over and plopping down on the couch. “You know Y/N, you’re gorgeous. You’d make a killing on the site.” You cackle at his suggestion. “I would never.” “Never say never. Some of the most elite people at this school are on that site whether watching or streaming content.

Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.” Hobi leans back, closing his eyes. “I’ll get my porn for free thanks.” “Ah, but it's so much more than that. It's an experience and sometimes it's not even about sex. I have a customer who loves when I read to her. I mean when’s the last time you even, well you know.” He makes a lewd jerking move with his hand and you laugh out loud. He waves you off, continuing to speak. “True story Y/N. Bedtime stories, it’s the sweetest thing.” “And tell me Hobi, how much do bedtime stories run a person?” “That’s not how this works you know. If you would just look at the site. Anyway, It’s a monthly subscription. If you want specific things, that’s where extra funds come into play and it's all at the discretion of the content creator. I could say no to the sex stuff, but I like it and it makes the most money but it's not a requirement. I mean honestly, have you ever even been on the site?” “No. I haven't, and I have no interest. What would your parents say?” You ask with a raised brow. “Ah! You’re too stuffy. You should subscribe! I have the perfect person for you if you’re ever interested.” “You're out of your mind if you think I would ever pay for something like that.” Hobi laughs, getting up from the couch and heading over to his room. “When you’re ready to lighten up, let me know. Serious Inquiries Only Y/N. Until then I’m going to take a nap.” “Whatever.” You whisper, mulling over the idea in your head. Hobi wasn’t completely wrong. It had been forever since you’d been with someone. You were hyper focused on school and now in your final semester of college maybe it was time to lighten up. “Serious Inquires Only.” You whisper to yourself, grabbing your cell phone and typing that name into your browser. A little glance couldn’t hurt could it? The site pops up immediately but you can’t browse any particular pages without a subscription. The subscription offers pop up and you scoff at the prices:

*$24.99 for one month

*$49.99 for three months

*$149.99 for one year

All subscriptions come with a 14-day money back guarantee cancellation policy.

You roll your eyes and close the window. “Fuck that.” You say to yourself. “You know what I changed my mind about the nap. Let’s just go eat. I’m starved!” Hobi emerges again to grab another Gatorade and then heads back to his room to get ready.

You step out of your room and roll your eyes at Hobi who gives you a wolf’s whistle. “Ready?” You ask, pulling on a black leather jacket over your white crop top sweater, admiring how your black skinny jeans hugging your hips nicely in the mirror of your lobby. “I think we should get steaks tonight. I’m feeling fancy.” Hobi states as you exit the building. “Sounds good. I’ll eat whatever you’re buying.” You say with a laugh. “Ah, ok,” Hobi says to his phone, “Yoongi will join us.” He smirks suggestively, throwing his hand out to hail a cab. “What? Why?” You whine. “He is hungry and I invited him.” “Hoseok! You know how nervous he makes me.” “Still have a crush on him huh?” Hobi smiles, a cab arriving. “No! He’s just brooding, quiet, judging!” “Oh wow! You’re a terrible liar. You know, we are in our last year of University, you should just tell him about this freshman crush and move on already.” “I don’t know why I bother speaking to you. I swear if you’ve told him I have a crush on him, I’ll strangle you.” Hobi laughs, slapping your thigh, as he shakes his head. “You are too wound up. He’s a great guy and friend. You’re the judgmental one Y/N. He actually thinks you’re really nice and cute.” “He said that?” Hobi nods assuredly. You hum to yourself, wondering what other things the two boys have discussed.

Yoongi:

“You’re late.” Yoongi grumbles, not moving his eyes away from his phone. Another Serious Inquiries Only subscriber has come in for his hand kink section. He smirks to himself. Easy money. This one wants him to open a gift box containing lingerie. “I am only 10 minutes late. There was traffic. How long were you actually waiting?” Hobi asks. Yoongi shrugs, looking over Y/N’s exposed tummy and tight jeans. Was she always this curvy? He licks his lips, shoving his phone in his pocket. “Y/N, you look really nice. How are you? I feel like I haven’t seen you in a while.” Yoongi remarks. Her eyes widen and she tucks her hair behind her ear, fumbling over her words. “It hasn’t been that long. I’m good, you know. I mean, we’ve seen each other around or maybe you just don’t notice. I’m good anyway. How about you?” He smirks, enjoying her flushed face and nervous demeanor. He has always thought she was a gorgeous girl but tonight she looked different, tonight she looked like sin. What he wouldn’t give to grip her hips. “Uh, ok you two, pine over each other inside please. I’m starving.” Hobi cuts in, grabbing the door to the restaurant and entering. Yoongi catches the door to hold it open for Y/N.

At the table, Yoongi finds himself peaking over his menu at Y/N. She looks amazing, fresh faced, glowing even. “What are you getting?” Hobi nudges her with his elbow. “I’m thinking lamb.” “Good choice.” Yoongi states calmly. She looks over at him and gives a small smile. “What are you getting?” She asks Yoongi. “Surf and turf.” He drops his menu, feeling his phone vibrate. He maintains eye contact with Y/N, reveling in the flush of her cheeks. He swears she’s in heat, he can almost smell her. He winks to test this theory, releasing a small laugh as she clears her throat and rubs her thighs together under the table.

Looking over his phone, he smiles as he sees another subscriber join his Serious Inquiries Only page. This one joins his ASMR section, requesting he whisper sweet nothings to her. He chuckles, looking up at Y/N’s furrowed brows. He licks his lips, shoving his phone in his pocket again. “So, Hobi, what are we celebrating?” Yoongi leans back, looking at his best friend. “He made extra cash on that ridiculous website.” Y/N interjects. “She's a prude.” Hobi scoffs. “I'm not, I just feel like you can get porn for free.” “What's your favorite type of porn?” Yoongi can't help but ask. “Excuse me?” Her brows furrow. “Well, it seems like you’re yucking someone else's yum. So, I'm intrigued as to what you find acceptable.” “I'm not yucking anything, all I'm saying is it's not for me.” Hobi cuts in, “OK, ok, let's not get into a debate at the table.” “Not everyone seeks or sells sex on that site anyhow. You should educate yourself before you shoot it down.” “Wow, asshole much? I guess you're on that site seeing as how defensive you are. Sorry if I don't want to pay 150 dollars to watch some guy shoot his load on his chest.” “So, you have looked at the site?” Hobi gives a curt smile. Yoongi laughs as Y/N squirms. “And it seems as if she was in search of some guy shooting his load on his chest.” Yoongi adds, causing Hobi to laugh loudly. “Fuck you both.” “I'm sure as you know, that cost extra.” Yoongi says with ample sarcasm. Y/N sucks her teeth, huffing off to the bathroom.

Hobi laughs and laughs, releasing a sigh as he comes down. “Leave her alone Yoongi. She's just not getting any.” “Fuck Hoseok, why haven't you planned a dinner like this sooner? I'll give that girl anything she wants. She's a fucking Goddess.” Yoongi looks over towards the bathroom as he speaks. “Is that on the record or off?” Hobi asks, waving over a waiter. “Off, besides, she doesn't like me like that.” Hobi just smiles at Yoongi. “What?” Yoongi grumbles. “What can I get you gentlemen?” The waiter asks. “I will have the filet mignon, medium rare. My friend who is in the restroom will have the lamb chops, also medium rare, and surf and turf for the gentlemen to my left.” “Medium rare as well?” Yoongi nods at the waiter, handing over his menu. “Spill it Hobi.” “No can do.”

Y/N:

You take a few deep breaths at the sink, trying to calm yourself. You’re not a prude, granted it's been a while since you’ve been with someone and sure you were a bit of a homebody but that didn’t make you a prude…. did it? You splash cold water on your face, looking at yourself in the mirror. You should’ve put on some makeup. Yoongi was looking hot tonight and here you were looking drab and fresh faced. Why did he make you so nervous? He was always so confident and the way he kept looking at you had you hot to say the least. You needed to just get your head right. It was one dinner and you were home free, back to ignoring each other.

You emerge from the restroom and head back to the table. “I ordered your lamb chops.” Hobi informs you. “Thanks.” You say, resting your chin on your hand, trying desperately to avoid Yoongi’s demanding eye contact. “So, Hobi tells me that you and I will be taking a couple of courses together this semester.” Yoongi states. “Oh, I hadn’t realized.” You say, still avoiding eye contact. “I look forward to seeing you every day.” You laugh out loud at his confession. “Is that so?” “Yeah definitely. I love a woman in uniform.” He mumbles. Your head snaps almost on its own and you nearly melt away watching Yoongi lick his lips. Is he flirting or just messing with me? You weren’t sure but lord you felt it right in your pussy. “Ah, yes, food is here!” Hobi proclaims, the waiter placing plates in front of each of you.

You all begin to dig in, savoring your meals. “Mm, so good, Y/N, let me try the lamb.” Hobi says between chews. You nod, cutting him a slice of lamb. He grabs it with his fork and pops it in his mouth. He hums in delight. “Yoongi! You have to try it. Phenomenal.” Yoongi chuckles softly, chewing his food. “You want to.” You point at your lamb with your fork. He gives you a sly smile that causes you to swallow hard. He nods and you cut him a piece. You look up to find him leaning in with his mouth open. Your mouth falls open and you feel your face flush. “Ah.” Is all he says. You grab your fork, catching the cut piece of lamb and bring it to his mouth. He slowly brings his tongue out, touching the tip of the lamb with it, before wrapping his lips around your fork. You moan just a bit at the sight, feeling your slick move past your slit. “Amazing.” He whispers, never breaking eye contact with you. You nod. “Told you! So good. What a great idea to come here tonight. Go me!” Hobi praises himself while you and Yoongi maintain your locked eyes.

Hobi pays for dinner, refusing Yoongi and your advances to even leave the tip. “It's my treat you two besides, Yoongi’s got next.” He winks. You raise a brow but just shake your head. You all leave the place together. “Yoongi, you should come to our place for a night cap.” Hobi offers. “Ah, I would but I have a bunch of shit to do tonight. Maybe next time. Y/N, so good to see you. We’ll catch up in class yeah?” “Yeah.” You smile. He nods, giving Hobi a handshake and walking off. “Holy fuck! Was he flirting with me all night or was I going crazy?” You turn to Hobi, who sticks his hand out for a cab. Hobi shrugs. “I didn’t notice anything strange.” “Well did he say anything about me while I was in the bathroom?” Hobi smiles wide now. “So, is this an admission that you have a crush?” You suck your teeth. “Forget it Hobi.” “Forgotten Y/N.”

Yoongi:

Yoongi stretches his body wide at his computer, leaning in to review his newest member’s request. He had never wanted to get into the Serious Inquiries Only game but when he saw the extra money it made Hobi on the side he signed up with no complaints. He was very organized though and set very specific rules. First, he never offered sexual favors in exchange for money. It wasn’t that he was against it, he just didn’t have the time to delve into that line of work. He always saw how exhausted Hobi was after just one night of requests and with school and his part time job, he couldn’t commit. Second, he never used his real name nor showed his face. He wanted to keep his anonymity intact. Hobi was cool being recognized around campus, Yoongi wasn’t. He loved being an enigma or flat out ignored because people thought he was cold. He didn’t want that to change. Lastly, he was strict about what he provided. He only offered hand kink and ASMR on his page. At first, he was unsure of how people would respond to it, but it was an instant hit, his subscribers grew by the day. His videos ranged from gripping his bed sheets, to unwrapping silk ribbons, to whispering or scratching in his microphone. For Christmas this past year, he blessed his followers with an ASMR of him moaning. The video was such a hit, he gained 40 followers in an hour from word of mouth alone. After his first year with ‘SIO’, he began offering his yearly subscribers an exclusive gift, a personal video of their choice from either of his categories. He was a success to say the least, earning a sweet living off this side hustle. The only reason he didn’t leave his part time job was because he didn’t know how to explain the extra money to his mother when she visited him. Not to mention, he rather enjoyed teaching kids the piano.

So, here he was at his computer desk, after having gone out and buying black laced lingerie and making sure they wrapped it pretty. He began to set up his camera to shoot his new subscriber her personal hand kink video. He smirked to himself as he slowly undid the black ribbon from around the package, making sure to twirl the soft material around his long slender fingers. He let the ribbon fall to the sides of the package, running his now stretched fingers along the front of the package, smiling again at how his veins bulged out of his hands. He soon tucked his index finger under the lid of the box, sliding his hand down and lifting the lid up to reveal the red tissue paper inside. He gently rubbed the pads of his fingers atop the dressing before gripping it hard into his fist, curling the delicate paper into a ball, and discarding it to the side. He again rubs his fingertips over the contents in the box, this time it’s the Italian lace lingerie he purchased. He licked his lips, even though the camera couldn’t see him do it. He purchased it with Y/N in mind. Imagining how the gorgeous lace would hug her hips perfectly. He pulled out first the thong, allowing it to hang from his middle fingers, then stretching the fabric out to show the detail. He then grabs the bralette, twirling the straps around his index fingers and sliding his thumbs under the back straps to showcase its detailed hand stitching. He next pulls out the garter belt, resting it atop the bralette and thong, he holds it down with one hand, yanking at the clasp and releasing so it snaps back. He places the items back in the box, running both hands down the fabric again, before bringing his hand up and shutting the camera off. He releases a sigh, setting up his microphone now for his next subscribers request, when he decides to make a phone call. “Hey Hobi, what’s your address?” He chuckles at Hobi questioning him. “Just send it in a text. I want to send something to Y/N, anonymously of course.” He smirks at Hobi’s protest. “Just send the address Hoseok, I’ll address it from a secret admirer.” He hangs up without another word, clearing his throat before he begins to record, he always liked to deepen his voice when he records, always sure to keep things anonymous.

Y/N:

First day of classes consisted of nothing more than getting acquainted with classroom locations and professors. This semester you had opted to do more classes online only taking three courses in person. Psych, Critical Writing, and Literature because you felt like you needed a professor to really drill these lessons into your head. “Hobi, I’m leaving, I’ll see you later!” You shout before heading out. You didn’t wait for a reply, running out to catch a cab to campus, too lazy to walk. The school was strict about wearing their uniforms which you hated because they were still stuck in their old ways and you were stuck in a plaid skirt and knee highs. You got to campus with enough time to grab a coffee. “May I have an iced americano please?” You tell the cute barista behind the counter, digging for cash. “Make that two.” Yoongi appears from behind you, handing money to the barista before you can and looking you over. “Nice knee highs.” He smirks. You roll your eyes at him. “Thanks for the coffee.” “Sure. Where are you headed?” “Class.” “Obviously. Where?” “Main building. I’m only taking three on campus. You?” “Two in person. The rest online. I think I’m going to pick up some more shifts at my part time gig. I need to lighten the load you know?” You nod at him. “Wanna grab dinner with me sometime?” He asks next. Your eyes pop open. “Me?” “Uh, yeah, definitely not talking to the plant behind you.” “Um, I don’t know. What would we talk about?” Yoongi shrugs. “Life, school, kinks. Whatever you’re into.” He licks his lips. You feel your cheeks flush under his gaze. “Yeah, I um, don’t know about that. I mean what’s with the sudden interest in me?” “Who said it was sudden?” “ICED AMERICANOS UP.” The barista calls out. You move past Yoongi and grab your drink. “I have to go. Thanks for the coffee again. I’ll see you around.” “You sure will, maybe even sooner than you think.” You scoff, walking out of the café.

You hurry towards the main building and into your first class taking a seat quickly. “You’re really quick you know that.” You hear from behind you, turning to find Yoongi taking a seat next to you. “Why are you here?” Yoongi pulls out his phone, flashing you his schedule. “Psych and Critical Writing are my two in person classes.” He tucks his phone away, chuckling at your shocked expression. “I’m going to kill Hobi.” You say finally. “Aw, come on. Don’t blame Hobi. I’m hard to resist. You’ll find out soon enough.” You laugh out loud. “You must not hear this a lot but I am not interested in you.” Yoongi smiles, turning towards you and leaning in. He whispers closely, his breath causing your hair to tickle at your ear. “Oh, my sweet Goddess, it turns me on when you lie. I am just dying inside to find out all the secrets you keep locked away. Just know, you don’t have to hide anything from me. I’ll never judge you; I just want to make all your filthy dreams come true.” You shudder slightly, swallowing hard. “I, you.” “Shh, don’t say anything. I’m ok pretending we don’t like each other a little longer. I’m incredibly patient.” “Good morning class.” You professor walks in but you can’t break away from Yoongi’s stare. “I am putting out the itinerary for the class and on it is listed all of your due dates for assignments. You can email me any questions you have but we will meet here in person on due dates only. Welcome to big kid Psych. Enjoy your day.” Everyone, including the professor, begin to leave. You and Yoongi however are still seated, staring at each other. “I have to go.” You mutter. Yoongi smirks. “Want company? I mean we are headed the same way after all.” You shake your head at first but eventually start nodding. Yoongi nods, putting his hand out for you to take. You place your hand in his and practically melt as he runs his thumb over your knuckles.

Yoongi:

Yoongi watches as her hips sway side to side, biting his lip. He just can’t help himself; she really is a Goddess in his eyes. He had always had a crush on her but she was always so consumed by school work and the one time she was out and about she dated some piece of shit tattoo artist that dropped out in year 2. Y/N looks back at him suddenly and he quickly lifts his gaze to meet hers. “Why critical writing?” Y/N asks. “It’s a requirement for graduation.” “Not because Hobi gave you my schedule.” Yoongi smiles wide at her. “No. I mean it’s a plus but I really needed to fulfill the requirement to graduate, same as you.” Y/N nods at Yoongi. You both enter the classroom and take your seats. “Where do you work? You mentioned a part time gig.” “At the rec center. I teach kids piano.” “Really? That’s awesome. Not what I was expecting at all.” She laughs, causing Yoongi to smile also, basking in her beauty. “Sorry I’m not some jerk of a tattoo artist.” Yoongi scoffs, looking over at her, realizing he’s fucked up by the expression on her face. “Well, he may have been a jerk in the end but he wasn’t always that way and his work was great.” She huffs. “I didn’t mean to imply his job was…” “Forget it. What do you know anyhow Mr. Serious Inquiries Only?” She snaps. Yoongi sucks his teeth. “I deserve that but I don’t get the reference seeing as how I never said I was on that site. So, I don’t know why you give me shit about it.” She cackles. “Give me a break. Your fancy bracelet and earrings. How about your designer clothes? You mean to tell me that you get that on some shit part time piano gig? But hey what do I know right? Maybe mommy and daddy pay for it like everyone else at this school.” “You mean like you? What do you do for work again?” Yoongi snaps, tired of the uppity bullshit.

“None of your fucking business.” She huffs, standing and moving her seat to a row ahead of Yoongi. He rolls his eyes at her ridiculous behavior. “You’re lucky I don’t take you over my knee.” He whispers to himself with a deep sigh. “Good morning class. Please come up and grab your guide for your end of the semester assignment. You will need a partner so please choose wisely. In addition, I will be giving weekly prompts for you to complete and submit to me via email. Any questions? No? Great! Have a great day.” Yoongi moves forward to grab the assignment. “Wanna team up?” He asks Y/N. “I’d rather drink acid.” She turns and walks away. “Come on. You want an A or not?” Yoongi says. She growls a bit. “Fine.” “I need your number.” “Uh, no.” “How are we going to do this then?” “Call Hobi.” She shouts, leaving the classroom. “Fuck.” Yoongi whispers, fearing he’s ruined his shot with her.

Y/N:

You burst through your apartment, throwing your bag onto the couch. Hobi jumps up and looks at you in fear. “Bad day? How? It’s just day one Y/N.” “Yoongi is a complete asshole. First, he tries to flirt with me, then he insults my relationship with Trevor, then he forces me to be his partner in our Critical Writing class. I hate him Hobi. I fucking hate him! Not to mention all my in-person classes are basically online because the professors are all assholes as well!” You shout, popping open a beer from the fridge and chugging it. Looking down at the counter, you notice a package with your name on it. “What’s this?” You look at Hobi angrily. “Uh, a gift but you know maybe you shouldn’t open it now.” He stutters. You yank the card off of it and open it. ‘These were handpicked for the most gorgeous prude I ever laid eyes on. Xo Your Secret Admirer.’ “This is a joke, right? You’re not fucking funny Hobi.” You rip the box open and your mouth drops at the Italian Laced lingerie inside. “No, Y/N, I didn’t…. this wasn’t me.” “Oh, so who was it then?” He looks at you with sheer panic strewn across his face. “You and your friend are both on my shit list.” You point at him, snatching the box and walking over to your room. “Wait, Y/N, I really didn’t buy that. Please let me explain.” You slam the door in his face, not feeling in the mood to entertain this further.

You look over the items in the box one by one, thinking back to the last time you wore lingerie. You shrug and decide to try it on. You look at yourself in the mirror snapping at the strap of the garter belt, and sucking in a breath as it stings your skin. You glide your hands up your thighs, belly, and cup your full breast, admiring how your nipple rings glint in the light through the fabric. You think back on your relationship with Trevor, he was the one who pierced your nipples. You smile at all the crazy antics the two of you found yourselves in. He enjoyed your wild side but took advantage of it at the same time. It was something that you regretted allowing him the chance to do. After you found out he was sleeping with girls from the tattoo shop he worked in, you broke up with him immediately, throwing all your time and energy into school, forever packing away that side of yourself. It wasn’t until your feelings for Yoongi sprouted that those feelings began to stir again and your wild side came scratching to the surface for freedom. You were just too afraid to free that side of yourself, afraid of being hurt again, taken advantage of. In allowing that fear to take over you though, had you truly become a prude? Perhaps it was time to unleash that side of yourself once more, find a balance. You stood tall, proud, turning and walking into the living room. “Hoseok,” You say with confidence, watching his eyes scan your body wildly, “You said when I was interested in your little website that you had the perfect person for me. Well, I’m interested.” Hobi couldn’t speak, he just nodded slowly. “Great. Whenever you get the chance.” You nod, and turn back to your room, making sure to wiggle your exposed ass with enthusiasm for good measure.

[havvki-writes]

Momento Mori

I really just wanted to see the trio have this conversation...

Fandom: Jujutsu Kaisen Characters: Yuuji, Nobara, and Megumi Tags: wholesome, acceptance, late night chats Citrus Scale: N/A Spoilers: Up to the end of the anime! Word count: 1,171 AO3 Link: right here! Notes: I had planned for this to be really angsty, but instead it became wholesome lol parkour

---

Though he may have been upset about it at the time, Yuuji realized that Megumi and Nobara’s low-key reaction to his having been alive all along was probably for the best. Sure, the idea of his two classmates crying tears of joy over his revival was nothing short of entertaining—not to mention a wonderful ego-booster—however, it would only mean they had been distraught over his death to begin with, which was a cruel way to increase his confidence. As he lay awake staring at the ceiling of his dorm room, Yuuji decided he was glad his friends were so calm about it all.

Still... Had they even mourned him at all?

It was selfish, and he knew it, but the thought stung regardless.

Rolling onto his side, his eyes unfocused as he gazed at the moonbeams filtering through the open window. He didn’t need to look at the clock at his side to know it was far past his intended bedtime, but circadian rhythms are so easily disturbed these days. He sighed. The blankets were foreign to him after so long. How long will this last?

How long...

~ ~ ~

It was far too late in the night to be awake, but Nobara couldn’t fight the sinking in her breast the more she thought about that night. The night she and Yuuji had almost died. Of course, seeing as how Yuuji had died once, it probably hadn’t bothered him as much—

No.

Death bothers everyone, it must, and Yuuji is no exception.

Well, it hadn’t bothered her too much before that night, anyway. It’s not even like it was her first near-death experience either, so what made this event stand out in her mind? Was it the way she would have died: slowly and in excruciating pain? Was it dying alongside Yuuji?

She sat up, the blanket falling limply at her waist as she ran her fingers through her hair. Her expression shifted, twisting with the recollection of that night. Neither of them had been afraid, and yet... They had taken the lives of two humans, not curse-bearers. Humans with corpses that didn’t fade away.

Yes, that had to be it. It’s not the death, but the aftermath. If Yuuji had died, would his body disappear? Would Sukuna have been able to take control of his corpse? If Nobara had lived, would she mourn him again?

Squeezing her eyes shut, she grimaced at the barrage of unwelcome thoughts. This is why she needed to be asleep—if she was asleep, she wouldn’t be having these thoughts. Everything would be fine. But something was wrong, something that couldn’t be fixed by a good night’s rest.

Nobara threw the blanket off and swung her legs over the edge of the bed, sliding into her slippers to avoid the cold ground of the dormitory. She was dressed in an oversized t-shirt and shorts, but she didn’t care what the hell she looked like at this point. Hell, it was two in the morning, what else would she be wearing anyway?!

Without giving herself time to hesitate, she opened her door and crept down the hall past Megumi’s room, stopping at Yuuji’s door. Steeling her nerves, she knocked on the wood once, twice...

~ ~ ~

What happened at the bridge wouldn’t leave Megumi’s mind, no matter how many times he had tried to snuff it out. He had tried reading, cooking, reading again, but none of it helped. It was terrifying how close he’d come to death, how close they’d all come to death, over some stupid curse from a local ghost story. Not to mention that his sister had been dumb enough to cross the river herself...

Still, they were alive, and that’s all that mattered.

They lived to die another day.

As he lay in bed, trying his hardest to fall asleep, he was anything but comforted by that concept. Yuuji had already died once, did he have to again?

Right, Yuuji. “It’s your long dead friend, Yuuji!” That Yuuji. The one and only.

He furrowed his brows, images of Nobara on the steps below him filled his mind. They had been sitting together, and though he couldn’t see her face, the taught tone in which she spoke and the stiffness of her shoulders revealed her emotions well enough. They were both horrified over Yuuji’s death, however, as bad as it may sound, they truly didn’t know each other that well anyway.

Still... If either of them had died that night, Megumi couldn’t guarantee he could shrug it off.

A knock—no, two. Yuuji’s room?

Kicking off his blanket and stepping onto the cold flooring, Megumi crept to his own door and pressed an ear against the surface, taking care to be as silent as possible...

~ ~ ~

“H-Hey! I didn’t expect you to still be awake,” Nobara admitted, running her fingers along the back of her wrist as she looked askance.

“Ditto,” Yuuji said, the shock of hearing a knock on his door at this hour ringing in his bones.

“Look,” she began, “I know this is really random, but I just wanted to tell you that I’m glad you’re not dead.”

Yuuji’s browsed raised as he pursed his lips. His lips quirked into something of a smile. “Oh, thanks!”

“That’s it?!”

“Is that bad?”

“Keep it down!” Megumi shouted through his door, Nobara and Yuuji jumping at the interruption.

Clicking her tongue, Nobara stepped confidently to Megumi’s door and threw it open, only to see him scuttle quickly away from her. She gaped.

“Huh?! What the hell, Fushiguro!”

Appearing at her side, Yuuji looked into his counterpart’s conspicuously clean domain. He flashed him a toothy grin. “Yo! Looks like we’re having a sleepover!”

“I was trying to be heartfelt over here, why’d you have to yell at us?!” Nobara fumed, pointing an accusatory finger at the raven-haired boy at her feet.

“Kugisaki, it’s two in the morning...”

“So?!” Groaning, she lowered her head and pushed her anger aside with a shocking amount of difficulty. “Alright, it’s okay, I’m calm... Look,” she started, her shoulders dropping, “I’ll be the first to admit that I’m bothered by what happened at the bridge, but only because I want to tell you both that I’m glad you’re not dead.”

A silence filled the air among them, only to be broken by Megumi as he said, “Yeah, I’m still getting over it too. I’m glad you’re both not dead either.”

Looking between the two of them, a genuine smile spread over his face. “That makes three of us,” he said.

In the quiet that followed, the three of them merely exchanged glances before breaking into a fit of subdued laughter. As the sounds echoed in the hall of the near-empty dorm, the three of them felt a wave of understanding wash over. After all, now that they had admitted their honest feelings about that night, they were one step closer to overcoming it—and this time, they would do it together.

[notthatiwilleverwriteit]

What do you think of Hye Chen Do you have headcanons with him? If so what? I miss him so much .

Hello, dear anon!

I’m so sorry I’ve been keeping your ask waiting for so long. Thank you very much for your patience!

HC is one of my favorite characters, and I have talked about him quite a bit:

HC and Qiu headcanons

My thoughts on ch. 252

HC and the dog

About HC and HT (among other things)

More about the He brothers

My thoughts on ChengLi

My thoughts on ChengMo

Those should give you a pretty good picture of how I feel about him. Overall, I have loved his character ever since HT showed him the middle finger and called him “brother”. I remember not many people liked him until ch. 183 and HT thinking back to when HC saved him and the puppy from drowning. HC’s character brings a refreshing mature vibe to the story, and I think his relationship with HT is one of the most complex things in 19 Days.

“Do you have headcanons with him?”

I’m kind of bad at coming up with headcanons in all honesty. They pop up prompted by a moment, and I tend to forget them in a second. They’re also often a mixed breed with story ideas in my head, so it’s difficult to tell them apart. But here are something that came to mind as I browsed through the comic.

HC taught HT martial arts and how to fight. He didn’t want anyone else teaching him. Training and sparring sessions were their own moments when it was just the two of them. The longer they kept training together, the quieter the sessions were as they just concentrated. Sometimes all you could hear were their bodies moving, grunting, and labored breathing.

From the beginning, HC didn’t hold back much. He let HT come at him but easily twisted him around and locked his shoulder painfully. HT looked at him slightly taken aback and wide eyes teared up from the pain, rubbing his sore wrist where HC had squeezed. HC calmly returned the gaze and told him to get up, try again.

HT got better fast but he never won a single fight against HC. The first time he managed to land a good hook shot and HC spat blood on the floor, HC smiled in triumph while panting. The blood left a red smudge behind when HC wiped his split lip, and he noded at HT and said: “Again”.

HC wasn’t as close with their mother as HT was. He loved her, of course, but their father got to him early. It wasn’t a man’s place, especially the oldest son’s, to be clinging to his mother’s skirt hem. While HT was cooking with mother, HC watched their father work in his office. Sometimes he resented HT for his closeness with their mother. He felt like she never looked at him like she looked at little Tian. But he never noticed that she looked at him with deep worry and sadness as he kept soaking in what men were and weren’t supposed to be like according to his father.

HC didn’t cry at their mother’s funeral. He held it all in until he was alone.

HC knows HT is afraid of the dark(ness). When they were little, he read HT bedtimes stories until he fell asleep and he could turn off the nightlamp. It made him feel like a good brother when HT looked up to him for knowing how to read.

Deep inside, HC hopes HT won’t end up like him. He wants HT to fight for his freedom and rebel. If push came to shove, HC would even help HT to be free and leave himself behind if it meant his brother could live a happier life. It’s too late for him to be one of the good guys, anyway.

Not a hc per se, but I have a thing for the idea that maybe there was something going on between HC and Mrs. Jian at some point. Maybe HC had feelings for her and maybe she even had a little fling with him but she was always committed to her husband first. They weren’t only married, they were partners in everything. HC was jealous and had to bury his love for her.

HC knows how lonely HT is. The thing is, though, that sometimes when HC wants to see his brother and HT tells him not to come, he was feeling lonely, too.

I think that’s all I have in me at the moment. Most of my hcs for HC have to do with Qiucheng, and I already talked about them in my earlier pots.

Thank you for your question and most of all your patience, dear anon!

[deamstellarus]

A Touch of Ink (5)

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: Date Attempt #2

Word Count: 4604

Warnings: Uhm, fluff and some maybe intense-ish (not really) kissing?

A/N: I’m gonna be honest, I don’t know how I feel about this chapter. I rambled a bit and some parts aren’t really necessary but it is what it is I suppose. Next chapter will be super fluffy though!

Series Masterlist | Ch. 1 | Ch. 2 | Ch. 3 | Ch. 4

Chapter 5:

“I should probably get going soon,” you said, still straddling his lap with your head lying on his shoulder. “You probably have an early morning.”

He hugged you to him a little tighter then relaxed his hold on you. This close you could see the shades of blue that made up his eyes, the ring of navy that outline his irises, the flecks of grey with tiny specks of green. You could get lost in them. He leaned forward and kissed your cheek.

“Thank you, for going with the change of plans,” he smiled. “How about we try again next week? I mean, how quickly could Becs be sick again right?” He chuckled.

“That’s true. But really, it’s not a big deal, Buck.” You kiss him on the nose, then got off of him and the couch to stand. You adjusted your shirt while Bucky stood up. You grabbed your keys and phone off the counter before turning back to him. He stood by the door with his hands in his pockets, head down with a hint of a smile on his face. You walked back to him.

“I'll see you tomorrow, maybe?” you asked. His head popped up.

“Yeah, of course. I'll text you...or call you. Whichever you prefer.” You couldn't help but giggle at his nervousness.

“I'll see you tomorrow then.” He wrapped his arms around you for the second time that night, and pulled you into his embrace. A few moments later, he reluctantly released you and opened the door. You gave him one last smile before slipping through and heading for the stairwell, hearing the door close behind you.

As you walked down the hall, you ran into a wall of muscle. You looked up into the face of Steve, who seemed exhausted.

“Sorry, Steve. Didn't see you there. Long day?”

“Yeah, it’s been- wait, weren’t you supposed to have a date with Bucky tonight?” You couldn’t stop the smile on your face when you nodded. “Well, that’s great!”

Steve pulled you into a side hug before he yawned and practically unhinged his jaw. You laughed.

“Get some sleep Steve.” You gave him a little push toward his door. “Have a good night.”

You unlocked your own door, and once inside, leaned against it. Your mind ran through the “date” and you couldn’t help but smile. You loved everything about it. Unconventional first date, sure, but Bucky is wonderful and Noah is adorable and you honestly couldn’t wait for your next date.

You went to bed with a smile on your face.

“Y/N! I’m so sorry your date had to be cancelled the other day!” Becca caught you the moment you walked into the bookstore. “I was just so sick on Wednesday. It’s not his fault. You should give him another cha-”

“Becca, calm down,” you interrupted. “We still had our date. It was just a date for three instead of two.”

“Oh. Oh.” Becca’s eyes were wide. “Well that’s...that’s really great, Y/N. How was it?”

“It was really nice. Bucky cooked. We had lasagna, and afterward we played with Noah and watched a kids’ movie before Noah went to bed. It was all very sweet.”

“Aww! And after Noah went to bed?” Becca quirked an eyebrow at you.

“We talked. Mostly about our pasts. I learned about Dot? She seemed amazing.”

“She was.” Becca said, a distant look in her eye.

“He told me how she died… and how her family treats him and Noah.”

Since that night, you couldn't help but be heartbroken, not only for Bucky, but for Noah. He's so young, and to have a family that will not put aside differences to visit him is so sad. Luckily, he has a good family here, made up of members of this quiet little town.

“They're...something else.” Becca shook her head to clear it. “Well I'm glad you had a good time. Are you seeing each other again soon?”

“Yup! We talked about trying again next week? And meeting up when we can before that.”

“I knew you'd be perfect together!” Becca gushed.

“Slow down there. We’re not officially together or anything. I think we're taking it slow? Just dating for now.”

“But you like him?” she asked. The warmth had returned to your cheeks.

“Yeah, I like him. I really do.” Becca grinned at you.

“So are you in for coffee or books today?” You’d almost forgotten why you were at the Hideout in the first place.

“I’m actually here for a little research. I’m trying to find books about fantasy and myths?”

“Oh? What are you doing that requires that kind of research?”

“It’s for a project I’m working on. I could just as easily look up references and whatnot on the internet, but I like to find books on the topics sometimes. A bit of history to get a better understanding of the subject.”

“Huh. Whelp, the selection is kind of small, but it would be this way. Follow me.” Becca came around out from behind the counter and you followed her down one of the aisles. She stopped abruptly in the middle of a bookcase. “These top three rows are pretty much all we have on folklore and fantasy and myths, that aren’t exclusively in the children’s section.

“That’s alright. Thanks so much Becca!” She left and you browsed through the selection until you found a large book with a red spine. Fairy Tales, Folk Lores, and Myths: The Guide to Another Realm.  Huh. Pretty cheesy title, but as you flipped through the pages, there were visual references as well as elaborate stories and tales about magic, adventure, and love. You didn’t know how long you were sat on the floor thumbing through the pages until someone startled you. Becca giggled.  

“Sorry! I’m going to grab some lunch, so I’m going to close the store for a bit. Want to come with me?”

“Lunch?” You checked at your phone for the time and realized it was already past noon. “Oh wow, I didn’t think I’d been here that long. Sure, I probably should eat something before I starve.”

“Sam never said you were dramatic.”

“That’s because he’s always been the bigger drama queen and he knows it.” She held out a hand to help you off the floor, and your bones ached as you stood up. Your muscles were sore. “Wow, remind me not to do that again,” you laughed.

“Sure thing. Come on.”

The two of you went over to Tony’s, where Wanda was your waitress. She practically squealed when you came in.

“Oh! How was the date? Give me all the details! Don’t leave anything out! Please? Aren’t we friends, Y/N?” She pouted with the biggest green puppy eyes you’d ever seen.

“Yes, fine, sure.” You laughed at Wanda took a seat next to Becca in the booth. “Well, it was nice. Bucky cooked dinner, and it was delicious. Then we watched a kids’ movie and played with Noah until it was his bedtime. And then we talked. About our pasts and whatnot. And then we kissed.”

“What?” both exclaimed simultaneously.

“What do you mean you played with Noah until bedtime? I thought Becca was babysitting him?” Wanda said, leaning forward and pouting in frustration.

“She was really sick, and he couldn’t find another babysitter on such short notice.”

“And you were okay with that?”

“Honestly? Yeah. I like Noah a lot and he’s not rowdy or obnoxious. He’s sweet and loves his dad. It was a nice dinner.”

“You didn’t tell me you kissed, Y/N,” Becca said, her face unreadable.

“Sorry. Is that a problem?”

“Um, not really? It’s more surprising than anything else. Bucky hasn’t kissed anyone since Dot.” Your eyes went wide at that. “He’s been on dates before but they never went very far, and certainly didn’t generate enough chemistry to kiss.”

“Oh. Well, I don’t know. In the moment, it just felt right. I really like him, guys.” They had matching soft eyes and smiles on their faces.

“That’s great, Y/N. I think Bucky really likes you too,” Becca said as she reached across the tale and put a hand over yours.

“Yeah, it’s pretty obvious with the way he makes heart eyes at you,” Wanda giggled. Becca checked her watch.

“Hey, let’s order something. I have to get back to the shop soon.” You both ordered and soon your food arrived. Halfway through your meal, Becca placed a to-go order. You looked at her questioningly.

“This is for Bucky. I usually bring him lunch on Fridays and he brings me lunch on Mondays. We’ve done this since he started at Black Widow, when he forgot to bring food and he was super busy one Friday afternoon, so like the perfect sister I am,” you rolled your eyes at that, “I brought him lunch. The following Monday, I was really grumpy because it was raining and I had a headache and he saw me through the window looking otherwise... pathetic, I’ll admit it. I hate Mondays and the rain just messes with my mood. Anyway, he saw me and brought me lunch and it did cheer me up, and the habit kind of just stuck.”

“That’s really sweet, Becs.”

“Yeah, yeah. Well I love him. We were really close as kids, even when he started highschool and I was still in 4th grade. He never really excluded me and let me join him and his friends when they played football and stuff in the backyard, and let me come with them when they went out to get ice cream during the summer. We’ve always been close. Me and Steve too, to be honest. They’ve been best friends since they were in diapers, and I basically grew up with him too. It’s like I have a second brother.” She rolled her eyes at the grin on your face. “Anyway, let’s get going. He’s probably starving. It’s a tad later than I usually drop off his food.”

The two of you went to the counter and paid for your food, then headed across the street to the tattoo shop. On the way there though, an older woman stopped Becca, frantic about how some book on crocheting plush toys lied to her or something and she needed a new gift for her grandson. Becca tried to calm her down, but it wasn’t an easy feat.

“Hey Y/N, will you run this in to Buck? I gotta go help Mrs. Mugillicutty before she has a heart attack,” Becca said, handing you over the bag of food. Without waiting for a response, she left you to calm down the old women.

“Sure Becs, no problem,” you muttered under your breath. You stopped in front of the shop. You couldn’t see Bucky from the window. He must be in the back or something. There didn’t appear to be anyone else was there but Bucky would be expecting Becca to bring him lunch, right? You steeled your nerves that came out of nowhere and pushed open the shop door. A little bell overhead rang out as you entered.

“I’ll be with you in a minute!” A voice from the back called out.

You took the opportunity to wander around the tattoo parlor. There was a sitting area in the front that consisted of a couch and a couple chairs, and a coffee table with magazines. The front desk had a big binder flipped open to a couple elaborate tattoo designs. As you got closer, you heard...snoring? You peaked your head behind the desk and were greeted with the sleepy face of a yellow lab. He reminded you of your family dog back home. Ahead of your were two tattoo stations with chairs that reminded you of a dentist seat. At the station you saw Bucky at that first night, there were papers with hand-drawn designs on a corkboard on the wall. You took a step closer to the drawings when one caught your eye. It was one of the few that was drawn with ink instead of graphite. It was a mandala, but it was formed out of flower petals compared to the geometric shapes you’ve seen before.

“Hey, Becs. Sorry, I wa-.” Bucky stopped mid-sentence. The grin on his face when he saw you initiated the butterflies in your stomach. “Y/N! What are you doing here? Not that I’m not happy to see you.”

“Hi. I uhm… Becca! She sent me over with this.” You handed him the bag from Tony’s and watched as his eyes lit up.

“Oh my gosh. Thanks! I’m starving. Noah was slow getting up this morning and I barely got him out the door with breakfast, but I didn’t have any time to eat something myself..”

“Oh, well I’m happy I could bring it over.”

“I’m happy to see you again.” He set the bag down on the stool at his station, then turned back to you, reaching out to hold your hand. “I had a good time the other night.”

“Me too.” You couldn’t stop the smile on your face.

“Honestly, I don’t want to wait until Wednesday to see you again. How about tomorrow night? My parents could probably watch Noah. What do you say?” You were almost distracted by the twinkle in his eye.

“Tomorrow is perfect.”

“Great!” He pulled you into him and kissed your forehead, just as you heard the bell over the door ring.

“Hey! Get a room!” Clint said, walking in with Natasha. He went over to the dog you’d seen earlier, with a small to-go bag in his hand. The dog got up and his tail wagged like crazy. Clint pulled a slice of pizza out of the bag, holding in front of the dog’s face for a moment before it was snatched out of his hand. The dog went back to the dog bed and happily chewed on the pizza.

“Is that good for him?” you asked.

“Who, Lucky? Lucky loves pizza. It’s how I found him, by the harbour, eating pizza from an abandoned box behind the pizzeria.

“Huh. He’s cute,” you said, slightly concerned for his eating habits, but he seemed happy and content so who were you to judge.

“Oh he’s the best!”

“What brings you here?” Natasha said.

“Oh! Just brought him lunch, from Becca.” Natasha hummed in response then turned and headed to the back of the store..

“I don’t think she likes me very much,” you whispered to Bucky. He laughed in response.

“She’s like that to most people. She’s actually pretty nice, and fiercely loyal. She just comes off a bit rough. If she didn’t like you, you’d know it.”

Oh. “Okay, well I’ll let you get back to lunch and work!” You went on your tiptoes and kissed his cheek.

“See you tomorrow, Y/N.”

“Yeah, see you tomorrow!”

“So what do you think?”

“This place is beautiful in the moonlight.”

You and Bucky were walking hand in hand down the boardwalk. You’d just had dinner at a little restaurant by the harbour. The dinner was nice, but the company was better. Bucky’s hand found yours multiple times throughout the night and you couldn’t remember the last time you’d laughed so much. He insisted on paying the bill when it came, but when he suggested getting ice cream on the boardwalk afterward, you slipped the cashier the money before he could. “Fair is Fair,” you’d told him. With ice cream in hand, the two of you strolled by the boats in the harbour, looking out at the water. The waves were smaller than when you’d seen them in the daytime and the water seemed to be glittering.

“I can’t believe you grew up with this just outside your door. Well, essentially.” Bucky chuckled.

“Yeah, it was great. Becca and I rode out on my dad’s boat practically every other weekend.” His thumb drew circles on your hand as he held it. “I could take you out on the water sometime if you’d like.”

“Really? That’d be amazing!”

You stood at the end of the dock by the lighthouse for a while until a breeze blew by, causing a shiver to run up your spine. Bucky noticed and shrugged off his leather jacket, placing it on your shoulders. You slipped your arms into the sleeves and were instantly surrounded by the smell of leather, sandalwood, and… Bucky. You burrowed yourself into the jacket as much as you could, savoring the warmth. He wrapped his arm around your shoulder.

“Let’s get you back home. It’s pretty chilly out here.”

When you arrived back at your apartment building, you waited for the elevator to come down to the first floor.

“I’m not ready for the night to end just yet,” you said, gazing up into his eyes.

“Really?”

“Yeah. Uhm.. do you want to come back to my place? I have some wine and beer, or coffee and tea, if you’d like.” You hoped you didn’t sound too eager.

“Yes!” He blurted. He coughed, clearing his throat. “I mean, yeah, that’d be great.” Once inside your apartment, you told him to make himself at home. “What would you like to drink?”

“You don’t have to make anything special for me, just whatever you’re having.”

When you came back into the living room, Bucky was looking at the pictures on your wall. There was a photograph of you and Sam from when you were about four and Sam was seven, posing in your Halloween costumes. You’d gone as Minnie and Mickey that year for the annual Halloween party your mom throws. You handed him the bug of tea and he thanked you.

“You were adorable!”

“Were? Am I not adorable now?” You quipped back, quirking your eyebrow at him. Bucky’s eyes went wide, and his mouth opened and closed several times like a fish.

“I’m just kidding Bucky. I’ll admit, Sammy and I were pretty cute kids,” you said, taking a seat on the couch.

“I’d say you’re pretty cute now,” he said as he sat next to you. He put his mug on the coffee table and placed his arm on the back of the couch behind you. You took a tip of your tea, then set your mug on the coffee table.

“Well aren’t you sweet.”

He glanced at your lips before looking back into your eyes. Before you knew it, you were leaning into each other and your lips connected. His lips were warm, much like the first time you’d kissed a few days earlier. Unlike the first time though, this kiss was thorough and you melted into it. You cupped his face with your hands, fingers grazing the scruff on his face. His arms went around your waist, holding you to him. His strong hands lifted you from your position beside him to seat you on his lap, legs straddling his thighs. A position you noticed he prefered. His fingers gripped your hips, not too tight to leave a mark, but enough to let him feel in control. You pulled away for a second, gasping for breath as you remembered you had to breathe. You rested your forehead to his, peeking at his closed eyes. You held onto his shoulders as he let go of you and leaned forward to take off his button up and throw it over the arm of the couch, which left him in a dark t-shirt that showed off his tattoos. His eyes finally met yours again and you could see some hesitance of what you were doing. You ran a hand through his chestnut hair.

“We can just keep doing this, we don’t have to go any further. This is plenty for now, alright?” You kissed his cheek. “Is this okay?” you whispered, hoping that you hadn’t crossed some line or pushed him too far.

He nodded, grinning back at you. “More than okay.”

You bent your head down and he reached up, his lips captured your once again.

“Have you ever thought of getting one?”

You were lying together on your couch, your head on his chest. His arm was around you, his thumb drawing circles onto your side through your shirt.

“One what?” you asked, tilting your head up to see his face.

“A tattoo. When I found you in the shop yesterday, you were looking at some of the designs I’ve done for people. Have you ever thought of getting one yourself?

“To be honest, I have, once or twice. But I’m too scared. Not of needles or anything, just the pain. My tolerance is not the highest and I bruise easy.” Bucky hummed at your response. “But I have imagined getting something that was drawn for me, you know? Like a unique piece that had a meaning behind it or connected me to someone.” You shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe someday I’ll get something.”

“Well, when you do decide to get one, I’d be thrilled to do the honors.”

“I wouldn’t want anyone else to do it.” You pulled his arm around you a bit more to get a closer look at the images.

“If you wanted to see them, you could've just asked.” He laughed softly.

He turned in his spot, holding you by your arms to sit you up with him. He took off the t-shirt he was wearing and you gasped slightly at his bare skin. You reached out and lightly traced the edge of where the sleeve began at the top of his shoulder. A green and red dragon curled its way down half the length of Bucky’s arm, with its curved neck at his shoulder. The skin there was a little bumpy compared to the smoothness a couple inches underneath it.

“That's part of the scar. When I decided I wanted something to cover the scars, I told Stevie I wanted something that would cover a large majority in one go. He came back a couple days later with the dragon. He’d really gotten into art history in high school and drew in all different styles he read about on the internet. I guess the dragon was something that stuck in his mind because it ended up working perfectly and Nat did a great job.”

On the underside of his forearm, a set of three red roses bloomed on his skin, textured and made to appear real. You traced your fingertips around the green leaves filling out the empty spaces.

“Roses were Dot’s favorite. She used to say, ‘I know they’re overrated but they smell so nice.’ It seemed like a less cheesy way to remember her, you know?” You hummed in agreement.

On the inside of his bicep, just below the dragon’s head, was the phrase, “‘Till the end of the line,” written in a pretty script that contrasted with the other colorful designs on his skin.

“It's something Steve and I used to say to each other. It meant that we’d always have each others’ backs. You wouldn't believe me, looking at him now, but Steve was a tiny kid and got picked on a lot by the older kids, and stuck up for others who got bullied. They'd knock him down and he’d get right back up again with bruises already forming and a cut lip. So I'd jump in because he's my best friend and I can't let him get beat up alone. Then when we both joined the firehouse, it meant even more in the field. Steve has a matching one on his right bicep actually. It was one of the first tattoos I ever did, but it’s technically Steve’s handwriting.”

“‘Till the end of the line.’ I like that. Feels nostalgic somehow,” you said. “Can’t really imagine Steve as anything close to tiny though.”

You turned his arm over to look at the last tattoo that took up the majority of the front of his forearm. It was of ocean waves, rough and choppy with a lighthouse in the background.

“This one isn’t as sentimental as the others. I’ve always loved the water though, I grew up on it, so I like having it permanently a part of me. The lighthouse though is the same one down by the harbor. Lights the way home, my dad would say. Stevie drew something similar to this one day and I knew I wanted it on my arm.”

“Wow, it seems like Steve has drawn most of your tattoos.”

“Well he is the better artist. He’s been drawing as long as I could remember. There used to be a time where you couldn’t find him without his sketchbook nearby.”

“Well, I appreciate his artistic eye,” you said. You laid back down on the couch together, your body snuggled into his side. In the silence, with your head on his chest, you could hear his heart beating fast.

“Do they bother you? The tattoos, or even the scars?” When you glanced at him, you could tell he was nervous about your answer.

“I think they're all beautiful, James. I think anyone who thinks differently is wrong,” you whispered, not wanting to break the comfortable quiet you were in. You caressed his chest absent-mindedly.

“I haven’t really dated since the accident,” Bucky said. “Nat and Stevie have tried to set me up with people before. To “get back out there” they said, but it never worked out. I would go out on the date, usually meeting them at Tony’s but by halfway through dinner, I’d want to leave. I found myself comparing them to Dot, their personalities, how they laughed, what they looked like, what their interests were. Sometimes, they’d see the tattoos and would judge me, not openly talking about them, but they’d eye the bits of ink peeking out from my shirtsleeve and a look of disgust would flash across their face before they corrected it. And then there’s the fact that I have Noah, and what young person wants to be in a relationship with a man who already has a son? By the end of the night... I would feel awful. I would feel like I wasted their time, and mine…” He took a deep breath, but when he exhaled, it was shaky. “The worst part was that I felt like I was cheating on Dot. Like what I was doing, dating other people, was seen as trying to replace her.”

“Oh James…” You stroked the side of his neck.

“She was the love of my life, the mother of my son. I felt like I was...was disgracing her memory or something.”

His arms around your waist tensed for a moment before they loosened. You leaned back in his hold to look up at his face. His hand went to your cheek, thumb absently brushing your skin as he stared into your eyes.

“But then I met you. Well, heard about you first, briefly, from an energetic six year old.” He chuckled. “But when I first met you at the Hideout? I think I even surprised myself that day how at ease I  was and comfortable I felt around you.” He leaned forward and kissed your forehead. “I don’t want to scare you, or put too much on you...I know I have a lot of baggage...but I like you. And I think you like me too.” You rolled your eyes at that but smiled at him. “I don't want to rush into things, but I’d really like to see where this goes. I guess what I’m trying to say is, will you be my girl?”

[Chapter 6]

[maki-ryota]

Tease (MakiHaru Fanfic)

Title: Tease Pairing: Maki/Haruta Rating: Explicit Word Count: 3500+ Summary:Takes place after Bedtime Stories. Haruta realizes just how beautiful his boyfriend is and his thirst reaches a boiling point. AO3 LINK Not sure how proud I am of this or its pacing so I’m gonna go hide. Comments/reblogs/kudos are all appreciated.

After that fateful night him and Maki had spent together, Haruta's perception had began to change. Little by little, he started to realize just how attractive his boyfriend was. No, attractive wasn't the word he was looking for; beautiful was more accurate.

It started off small. While Maki looked down at his food during dinner, Haruta would steal glances at his long eyelashes. They were unreal, like none he had ever seen on a man. He couldn't look too long before he had to avert his gaze, cheeks burning up just slightly.

One night, after dinner, Maki went to have his usual shower, leaving Haruta alone on the sofa. He switched the TV on and lost himself in some mindless comedy show. Or, at least, that was the plan. Twenty-minutes later, Maki came waltzing in wearing nothing but pajama pants.

His hair was damp and hanging in front of his dark eyes, and drops of water fell from the strands every now and then. Haruta's eyes followed a single water drop as it hit his shoulder, then slid down his chest and torso. Quickly, he looked away, back to the television.

Had Maki always been in such good shape? He sure knew how to hide it, with all the sweaters he chose to wear. When Haruta looked up to catch another peek, he had disappeared for a moment into the kitchen. He could hear the sound of the fridge opening and closing, something being poured…and then he was back, sitting on a cushion next to the sofa. A glass of milk was in his hand.

"What are you watching?" He asked simply, before taking a sip of the milk.

Haruta gulped as he watched the way Maki's long neck craned ever so slightly, how his adam's apple bobbed as he drank.

"Just some stupid prank show!" Haruta answered, voice coming out as a squeak.

Maki raised an eyebrow and laughed before drinking more. As he tipped his head back, some of the milk spilled out the side of his mouth and dripped down his neck and chest. The sight made Haruta unconsciously bite his lip.

------- The next day was a Sunday, and the office was closed. Maki insisted that they go on another shopping date together. However, this time, he wanted to shop for himself. Summer was well on it's way, he had told him, and he couldn't wear his beloved sweaters forever.

Maki took his time looking through the clothes, pulling shirts and shorts out every now and then to ask Haruta's approval.

"Do you actually trust my fashion advice? You said my clothes were lame!"

"I did say that…but you're still my boyfriend. I care about your opinion." Maki answered, lips turned up in a soft smile. That shut Haruta up.

"Anyways, I'm gonna go try these on." He gestured down to the hangers that were hanging off of his slim wrist. "You should browse too, see if there's anything you like."

Haruta nodded and watched as Maki sauntered over to the fitting area. Though he had expected it, nothing in the store appealed to him. It was clear the clothes were designed for someone younger than himself.

His phone vibrated in his pocket, and he put the shirt in his hand back on the rack. Pulling his phone out, he was greeted with a message from Maki.

Tell me which ones you like best.

What followed was a series of photos. Maki in a pair of striped shorts. Then, him in tropical print. Finally, one of him in some sort of floral pattern shorts…with no shirt. The shorts hung ever so slightly off his hips, revealing the top of his underwear.

They didn't have this pair in my size….I like them though. What do you think?

Haruta nearly choked on his spit. Looking around to make sure no one was looking, he zoomed in on the picture. Maki had definitely been working out; the lines of his abs were nice and defined. Looking down from there, he caught sight of a small trail of hair leading into his underwear. Haruta's throat went dry at the sight, and he closed the photo. What had gotten into him lately?

"The last pair is nice!" He messaged back, not able to formulate any sentences aside from that. Surely….surely Maki wasn't doing this on purpose, right? He wasn't the type…right? There was no way! He had probably just got hot in the changing room and took off his shirt!

A few minutes later, Maki returned with all three pairs and a smile.

"I couldn't pick just one, after all. I'm getting all three."

Haruta nodded and averted his eyes, trying not to think about what was just underneath that shirt of his. While he had looked away for that short moment, Maki had suddenly run off to a clothes shelf on the other side of the store. Walking back to his side, his heart skipped a beat at what he saw.

Maki stood on his tiptoes, trying to reach a rack that was just barely out of his reach. His sweater lifted just slightly with each attempted reach, revealing a strip of stomach and the waistband of his underwear. Why did such a simple thing make his heart beat so fast?

"Haruta? Haruta!!" Maki called out impatiently.

"H-huh?"

"Jeez, I must've said your name 10 times! Can you help me reach this? It turns out they did have that pair in my size!"

-------

Monday came around, and they were back to business as usual. Maki had a home he had to showcase that day, much to Haruta's relief. He couldn't be distracted by him if he wasn't there, right? Or so he thought.

The morning went normally for the most part; Takegawa nitpicking, Utamaro making snide comments, and Maika asking Haruta about him and Maki.

"You must miss him when he has to go out!" She said, giggling.

"Oh yeah, of course!" Haruta said, grinning so hard it hurt his face. Did she really have to make her think about him right now? He had just got the image of his shirtless body out of his mind for a moment!

When she returned to her desk, Haruta took a deep breath and got back to the files he was going over. That was when his phone vibrated. Huh? His lockscreen notified him that Maki had sent him a message. Wasn't he at the house now? Though, the showcase wasn't for awhile. He opened the message.

"Isn't this place nice?" read the message. Seconds later, he sent a picture. Maki seemed to be in the bathroom, sitting on the edge of the bathtub. The picture only showed him from his chest down. His shirt was completely unbuttoned and his pants were down, revealing his underwear. Tight pastel blue boxer briefs. So tight, in fact, Haruta could clearly make out the outline of his cock beneath the fabric.

Haruta froze in place at the sight, eyes about to pop out of his head. The phone vibrated again. The picture was nearly identical, except Maki was touching himself through his underwear. There was a dark spot from where his pre-cum had soaked through the fabric.

He sent one more message immediately after. "Oops~"

Haruta made a pathetic squeaking noise as he shoved his phone beneath a stack of papers. His heart pounded hard in his chest, and all of the other's gave him strange looks. He bowed his head and attempted to calm himself down.

It was obvious now that Maki was doing this on purpose. Had he noticed Haruta's wandering eyes? What was he trying to accomplish?

Haruta jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder, and he shot his head around. It was Takegawa. Why did he always approach him at the worst time? Could he read his mind?

"Your lunch break started 3 minutes ago. Hurry up and go." He said, face as stoic as usual.

"O-oh. Right!" He stuttered, shakily getting up from his desk. "I'll be off! See you in an hour!" In record time, he ran off to the bathroom.

After pacing back and forth in front of the sinks, Haruta eventually locked himself in a stall and pulled out his phone.

"What are you doing?!" He texted Maki. No response. Looking back at the photos, he felt his blood pressure rise. He was at work, stuck in a bathroom stall with a raging hard-on. Great. With a sigh, he unzipped and pulled down his pants.

Phone in hand, he began to stroke himself as he looked at the photos. He thought of how Maki always smelled like fresh laundry and home cooking. How soft his hair and skin always looked. How he had touched him the other night. How lewd he was being in the pictures he had sent. Never in a million years did he think a perfectionist like Maki would do something like that during working hours.

His personality was revealing new and exciting sides that Haruta didn't quite know how to react to. He closed his eyes as his pace sped up, hissing softly. What would it be like to inside him, he wondered. The grip of his hand tightened. Haruta began to imagine that he had Maki there with him, that he was taking him up against the wall. He could almost feel him, warm and tight around him…greedily pulling him in with every thrust.

Before Haruta even knew what had hit him, he was blowing his load all over his hand and the wall in front of him. It took a moment to regain his bearings, and without thinking, he snapped a picture of the aftermath. He had re-opened the chat with Maki and was about to send the photo when he snapped out of the daze he was in.

"What am I doing?" He asked himself, realizing he had really just jacked off in a bathroom stall. At work, no less.

Haruta closed the chat window and cleaned himself up.

-------

The rest of the day drug on slowly, but eventually, Haruta logged out of his computer and said thanked his co-workers for their hard work that day. Rushing out onto the street, he rushed home. If he was lucky, he'd be there before Maki got back from his assignment.

Luck wasn't on his side. As he turned onto their street, he spotted the lit windows of the house. Grumbling to himself, Haruta nearly jogged up to the door and stamped his way inside.

"What was that about?" He yelled as he entered the kitchen.

Maki turned around, taking off his apron. "Hm?" His expression was neutral.

Haruta sputtered for a second when he saw a bead of sweat roll down Maki's neck from the heat.

"D-don't 'huh' me! You've been t-teasing me!" He nearly spat his words out, trying to keep his composure even as Maki looked so damn beautiful. "Walking around shirtless, sending shirtless pictures…s-sending pictures of you jacking off!"

Maki raised an eyebrow and placed the food he had cooked on the table, walking right past Haruta. "Just thought my boyfriend would want some naughty pictures, that's all. Wait, don't tell me. You didn't like them?" Those big eyes of his looked like they could see into his very soul.

"No, I loved them!" Haruta slapped his hand over his own mouth. "N-no, I mean…"

"Yeah, I was kidding. I know you did. Now, sit down and eat."

Haruta couldn't come up with a rebuttal, so he did as he was told with a huff.

Dinner was Maki's signature fried chicken, miso soup, and boiled vegetables. As soon as Haruta took his first bite, he could feel all of his other thoughts fade away. Truly nothing could compare to this taste. No matter how many times he tasted it, he was always left amazed.

"Mmm…this is the best!"

Maki looked up at him for a moment and smiled. The dinner continued without a hitch until Haruta reached for the soup and ended up knocking his glass of water off the table. The majority of it landed all over his lap.

"Shit, that's cold!" He yelled out.

In record time, Maki had a dish towel in his hand and was kneeling at Haruta's side. He gently wiped at the mess, looking oddly focused.

"Ah ha! See? You're doing this on purpose!"

"Doing what?" Maki asked as the cloth grazed over Haruta's crotch. "I'm cleaning you!"

Haruta bit his lip and looked away until Maki had finished. When dinner was over, Haruta helped dry the dishes in silence. Maybe he was just overreacting.

"I'm gonna go have a shower." Maki announced, turning off the sink. He made it all the way into the bathroom before Haruta ran after him.

"Wait."

And he did.

"Do you want to take our relationship to the next level? Is that what this is about?"

Maki slipped out of his shirt and set it on the counter. "What do you mean?"

His sudden shirtless didn't go unnoticed by Haruta, who gulped at the sight. "You want us to be more physical."

Maki's pants came off next, and he looked at Haruta expectantly.

"M-maybe you're worried that I'm wasn't physically attracted to you, because you're a man. That's it, isn't it? You wish I was more physically affectionate."

Maki laughed softly to himself and walked closer to him. "I thought you'd never get it."

"So, was I right?"

"That was part of it, yes. But I also didn't want to be the one taking the initiative all the time." He was so close to him now that he could nearly feel his body against his own. Maki reaching up and moved Haruta's hair out of his eyes. "So, I thought I'd try to get you so riled up that you couldn't resist anymore. Did it work?"

A pitiful sound left Haruta's lips. "Yes…"

As if his body was moving on his own, Haruta had Maki backed up against the wall in an instant, kissing him with need. One hand on his waist, the other cupping his face. The other man kissed back with just as much passion, pulling Haruta closer by the front of his shirt.

The couple awkwardly made their way up to Maki's room, still clinging to eachother, where Haruta was nearly thrown into the bed. Maki joined him, continuing the kisses as his hand sneaked up into Haruta's shirt. His fingers teased over his nipples and down along abdomen, which tensed from the soft touch.

Haruta slipped out of his shirt then, as Maki started to pepper his chest and stomach with kisses. Why did it make his heart beat so fast? His chest tightened in realization. Maki loved him, and he was his.

Soon his pants were discarded, and then his underwear. Haruta didn't know when, but sometime during their makeout session, Maki's underwear had ended up draped over a lamp. Breathing heavily, Haruta took a break from kissing. His face was red and his lips were swollen.

"How are we…gonna do this?"

Maki was already leaning down to take him into his mouth, when he stopped and looked up at him. "Don't worry, I wasn't going to make you bottom. I mean…not the first time. Don't wanna scare you."

Bottom? Him? The thought hadn't even crossed his mind that Maki wouldn't be the bottom. "You mean, you don't usually bottom?" Thoughts flashed in the back of his mind. "Wait, you mean…Takegawa was…"

That earned a genuine laugh from Maki. "Oh, you'd be very surprised."

Haruta didn't even have a moment to contemplate that information before Maki began to suck him off. He gripped at his hair immediately, feeling like the wind just out knocked out of him. With each pass of his lips, Maki took him in deeper. The display left Haruta both unbelievably aroused and impressed. He clearly knew what he was doing.

After a good moment, he pulled off with a gasp. His cheeks were tinged pink and his lips were wet. Haruta wasn't sure he'd ever been more turned on in his life. He couldn't take his eyes off of him.

"Maki.…you're so beautiful." He said, the words just falling from his lips naturally.

Maki looked up at him, eyes wide and unmoving.

"I mean that. Never think for a second that I'm not attracted to you. I'd be a fool not to be." It was like he had finally gotten a weight off his chest, saying something he had wanted to for a long time. Haruta sat up and carressed his cheek when he saw the other man was close to tears.

"I love you, Haruta. Even when you go and ruin the mood like this." Maki laughed out, seemingly trying his best to hold back his tears.

"I love you too, Maki. The mood hasn't been ruined at all. I want to have sex with you now more than ever."

Maki laughed and sniffled at that, retrieving some lube from his dresser drawer. When he got back to the bed, he straddled Haruta's. As Maki prepped himself, Haruta traced his fingers along his shoulders, his arms, his chest, his stomach….anywhere he could reach.

When he had finished, Maki took Haruta's member in his hand, shooting him up a glance to make sure. Haruta nodded enthusiastically, looking at him fondly. With one slow push, he was inside him. The feeling was even tighter than what Haruta had imagined, but indeed very warm.

"We're connected now…" Maki said softly, as if he couldn't quite believe it himself. He sat still for a moment, and Haruta softly stroked his thigh.

When he began to move, Maki braced his hands on Haruta's chest. Small soft moans fell from his lips with each roll of his hips. The sight was like nothing Haruta had seen before. The way Maki's stomach muscles were pulled taut as he rode him, the way the dim light illuminated his face, the way Maki squeezed his eyes shut in pleasure.

"Maki….you feel so good…" he moaned out, hands now gripping at the younger man's hips. Despite his attempts to hold back, he began to thrust up to meet the pace Maki had set. The feeling of being inside him was intoxicating.

Maki shifted so he was leaning back a bit, hands now gripping back at Haruta's thighs. He threw his head back, as if completely lost in what he was doing. His words came out incomprehensible. It was all too much for Haruta, and a sudden urge took over.

Holding tight onto Maki's hips, he lifted himself up quickly, causing Maki's back to hit the mattress. Now Haruta was above him. He gazed down at the other man, who looked up at him with wide eyes.

"You told me…to take initiative."

"I know I did! Now shut up and fuck me!"

Haruta didn't need to be told twice. As he felt Maki's leg hook itself around his lower back, he began to thrust into him at the pace he had set before. Maki's arms wrapped around his neck and pulled him down to kiss him messily, and he returned, breath getting more and labored.

By the way Maki began to tremble, he could tell he was aching for release. Reaching between them, he began to jerk him off in time, relishing in the way he moaned into his mouth. It didn't take long before the kiss was broken, Maki's head thrown back against the bedspread.

"Haruta, I-" The rest of the sentence was lost in a long moan as he spent himself between them. His body tightened around Haruta and with only a few more thrusts into his his tight heat, he came with a whimper. He rode out his orgasm before his thrusts slowed to a stop.

All but collapsing on top of him, Haruta breathed in raggedly as Maki stroked his hair. He whispered words of affection and devotion into Haruta's ear, looking down at him fondly.

After regaining his composure, Haruta looked up. His hair was a mess and his face was completely flushed. "Wow…that was…amazing." He flipped over onto his back so he wouldn't crush the other man, and stared at the ceiling in awe.

Maki laid his head on Haruta's chest and smiled sleepily. "I could get used to that..."

The couple lay in the afterglow for several minutes, just holding eachother. That was, until Haruta spoke up abruptly.

"…I jacked off to those photos you sent me earlier."

Maki looked up with a smirk. "Yeah, I know."

"Huh? How would you know that? I didn't send you the pict-" Haruta quickly clamped his mouth shut.

"First of all, now you have to show me the picture. Second of all, you had a cum stain on your pants when you got home."

Haruta let out a pathetic whine and buried his head in the pillow.

[chasingstorytelling]

A Letter to the Void

I speak to you, void. If you stay forever empty, I will be satisfied. However, you are powerful for having the potential of fullness. I speak to you in order to speak to myself, but you allow me to imagine an audience: since I speak to you, I must judge myself as I speak. My words hold more weight. I cannot make myself empty promises: you are listening, you are witnessing the words as they fall out of my mind.

So, void. Here we are. Here I am. I will be cagey about who I am—it’s not important anyway, since I already have a sense of the different identities that I let people see—so you’ll just have to know me as a hopeful storyteller, and know my project as The Project.

I will tell you how it began, and why.

Two things: a) I read a ton as a kid (and found writing very easy and natural in turn), and b) I was quite intellectually gifted in school subjects.

My society told me that becoming a scientist was the best way to help the world. I needed to put my gifts to use and be a good global citizen by donating my brain and creativity to science. I accepted this, and took writing classes before college only to make sure that I’d have good marks to show on my applications.

I went to college for physics and found it hard for all the wrong reasons. Rather than being an intellectual challenge, the difficulty was doing crushing amounts of homework and trying to keep up with the students who had cheated to get all the test answers ahead of time. I was discouraged and disillusioned.

This state of mind found me driving alone at night on the freeway, listening to my music. There was almost no traffic, and I sped along in my own space, not having to think about other people for once. A song came on, and in it was the start of this project.

“I’ve got nothing for ya. I’m no storyteller anymore,” he sang, and something in me vibrated with those notes.

Was he a storyteller once? What does it mean to be a storyteller in the modern age? Was I good at storytelling?

And I made a decision. I would become a storyteller. I started taking note of who around me told a good story. One friend could make the most mundane event into a thrilling epic: “Did I ever tell you about the time I killed a man?” and it would be a story about dropping his backpack in kindergarten (that is not my story to tell here, though it is brilliant and riveting). Another would have incredible stories—wandering in the sewers and emerging five cities away; having to use a broom to beat back a drug-addicted assailant from his bedroom window; exploding lightbulbs while trying to make magneto gloves—that would come out in really chilled-out tones, as though they were nothing remarkable. 

I started writing down what happened to me, sharing it with my friends. I’d try to frame it with an insane hook, then concisely and entertainingly lay out the important background to make the story stay interesting and funny. I’m still working on it, but I liked it. But does telling decent stories make me a storyteller?

So now we get to The Project. I want to—and have started to, for quite some months now—make something of epic scale. I want to build a world, and share it. What that means specifically I’ll share more of in future posts, but I’ve run into a problem.

I’m not doing it.

I’ve been planning this for ages, and

I’m not doing it.

It’s a simple problem, and a terrible one.

There are many “reasons:” I’m working two jobs while a full-time student; I need to practice drawing more; I don’t know how to write because I thought I didn’t need to figure out how to flourish creatively.

These are insufficient excuses.

Most of my free time is spent on the Internet—mindless, emotion-numbing browsing, replacing the feelings I used to have with utter numbness. It is, without a shadow of a doubt, an addiction. Impulses I do not have control over keep me from doing the things that I care about. I do not engage my brain nearly as much as I used to, and I’m failing to want to engage more.

However, I’ve gotten to a turning point. That’s why I’m talking to you, my dear void. I...I now want to want to engage myself again. It’s so minor, but it is the first step for me. I am so tired of being inactive, of having my mettle untested, of waiting for my life to present itself if I do all the “right things.” I want to want to throw myself into my passions, and fail, and continue throwing myself at them.

So what have I done to start?

I’ve started exercising. The mind and the body are so connected, and already I feel a change in my motivation.

I’ve entered a contest that forces me to produce something with a deadline. It makes me do something, and it’s something that I care about. It will be hard, and a lot of work, but I think it’s what I need right now: enough of regular bedtimes and a comfortable schedule. I want to strain and fight for what I care about.

I’ve started talking to you, precious anonymous void. In the past, I’ve made myself schedules and promises that go unfulfilled. I hope that I can talk to you about my struggles and personal journey and find you something that will compel me to hold myself accountable. I need to want this. This is my one life, and I’m letting it drain away in scrollbars and the ticking counters of youtube videos. It disturbs me that I don’t care, and so I throw myself to you. Maul me with significant silence, spit me out, and let me feel again.

What now?

I need to stop filling my time in with my addiction. It’s hard, so hard, to break. I feel exhausted and strung out when I don’t let myself use it, but I think I need to do it. I need to be able to tell myself, “No. Enough,” even when I can’t bring myself to think of any reason why not.

This is my reason. This is it.

The Project, my project. I will be a storyteller.

All that’s left is to start.

[the--blackdahlia]

Don’t Blink Chapter 12 (John x Reader)

Title: Don’t Blink Chapter 12

Summary:  When (Y/n) takes a simple haunting case on her own, she gets in way over her head. Being transported to the past, she falls in love with a young marine with a killer smile. The only problem is she knows his sons and his girlfriend wants to kill her, and probably knows about twenty ways to do so.

Warnings: Language

1983

 (Y/n) and Sammy stayed in the hospital a couple days. Afterwards, John loaded the small baby into his carrier and took him out to the Impala. Mary let (Y/n) ride with Sammy in the back while she set up front with John. Dean was waiting at the neighbors for them to come home. He got to see Sammy a couple times, but was so excited to see his little brother.

 (Y/n) stayed in the guest room for a couple days, much to John and Mary’s, well mainly John’s, delight. But soon, (Y/n) was starting to dread leaving the room. She dreaded leaving the bed. She couldn’t stand being in the same house as her son but not being able to tell him he was hers. So after about a week of the depression hitting her hard, she decided it was time to go back to her apartment.

 “Please don’t.” John begged as they set out on the back deck. Mary was inside with Dean and Sammy, giving them some time alone.

 “John…” (Y/n) sighed.

 “I like having you around.” John said. “You being here has made things much more bearable. I love you (Y/n).”

 “I know John, I know. But it’s just so hard for me right now. Mary has things under control. Plus Missouri needs help back at the bookstore. I won’t be that far away. You know where to find me.” John turned (Y/n) so she could look at him.

 “Run away with me.” John said.

 “W-what?” (Y/n) asked, a little confused.

 “Run away with me. We’ll take Sammy with us. I’ll fight to get Dean. I’ve wanted to divorce Mary and meeting you as gave me the strength to go with it.”

 “John…” He took her hands in his.

 “Please (Y/n). Mary wants to be with him. I want to be with you. It will make us all a lot happier.” (Y/n) watched him reach into his pocket. He placed something cold in her hand. “Take these. Consider it like my engagement ring.” (Y/n) opened her hand to see his dog tags laying there. She knew that Sam had buried them after John had died.

 “I can’t keep these.” (Y/n) whispered. John shook his head.

 “For me?” (Y/n) sighed and nodded.

 The next day, she headed back off to her apartment. She hadn’t been there since she was about four months along. Missouri had taken to keeping it clean for her. And when (Y/n) announced she was going back to the apartment, her friend made sure there was food.

 Things were going good for a while. John would stop by on his lunch break to see (Y/n) at the bookstore. If things were slow, they’d go up to her apartment. If not, he would just browse and flirt with her at the counter. They hadn’t talked anymore about running away together, but (Y/n) wore his dog tags proudly around her neck.

 It was all fine until about the 4th of July. That morning, John had spent time with Mary, Dean, and Sammy. They watched a parade and did some family things. That night, he was going to spend time with (Y/n). She was busy getting ready. She had bought a new set of lingerie just for that night. She was ready for him to come over.

 “My, you look exposed.” A voice said. (Y/n) jumped to see two people in her kitchen as she cleaned strawberries.

 “Who the hell are you?” (Y/n) asked. The man of the group stepped forward.

 “My name is Zachariah.” He said. (Y/n)’s eyes widened. “And I believe you know my assistant Castiel.” (Y/n) looked at Cas.

 “What are you two doing here?” (Y/n) asked. Zachariah stalked closer to her. He wasn’t even in the same vessel from her time and he was still walking like he knew it all.

 “You were never supposed to find John Winchester.” He explained. “At least, not after your little adventure in the ‘70’s. But Castiel here just couldn’t do a simple job. So now, we have to take you away.” (Y/n) backed up.

 “You can’t!” (Y/n) called out. “I have to make sure Sammy stays safe. I have to protect my son.” Zachariah started to laugh.

 “He’s not your son anymore, now is he?” He taunted. (Y/n) went for the knife she had been using to cut some of the strawberries, but Cas grabbed her hand.

 “(Y/n), please…” She pushed away from him and went to run, but Zachariah caught her by the dog tags. The chain snapped and (Y/n) fell with a scream, smacking her head on the small kitchen table and falling limp to the floor.

 “Damn it.” Zachariah growled. He looked at Castiel. “This is all your fault. Pick her up and let’s go.” Cas nodded and picked (Y/n) up before disappearing, leaving the dog tags on the ground.

 ****

 John had just left the Impala and went up the stairs to (Y/n)’s apartment when he heard her scream. Fearing the worst, he tried to open the door.

 “(Y/n)!” He called. After a moment, the door finally opened and John ran in. He saw the strawberries in the sink, the knife she was using on the floor, blood by the counter, and his broken dog tags not too far from that. “(Y/n)!” He ran around the apartment, trying to find her. But she was nowhere to be seen.

 He had lost her again.

 ****

 Present

 “That’s impossible.” Sam whispered. Dean ignored everything and went to John’s journal and started flipping through the entries. He started to notice more and more of the evidence in the page about Yellow Eyes was also pointing to John’s tracking of (Y/n).

 “This can’t be happening.” Dean whispered. He turned to glare at Cas. “Did you know about this?”

 “Yes.” Cas told him. “I was under orders to keep John and (Y/n) apart. So it was set up that she be born later in his life so he would never find her. But for some reason, she ended up back there anyway.”

 “The Weeping Angels.” The Doctor chimed in. Cas nodded.

 “Yes. The Weeping Angels.” Cas told them. “Sam and Dean were always going to be born, but heaven saw it important that John and Mary always end up together. Not John and (Y/n).”

 “But why?” Sam asked.

 “John and (Y/n) were soulmates. They share a heaven when they die, not John and Mary. John and Mary were never supposed to be together, but heaven needed Sam and Dean to be brothers. Dean would’ve been born to Mary and her husband, Sam to John and (Y/n). Now I understand why they made me do what I did. Especially when you were children.”

 “If she’s Sam’s mom, why don’t I remember her?” Dean asked. “Obviously dad knew Sam was his, or he wouldn’t be here right now.”

 “I’m so sorry.” Was all Cas could say before vanishing. He wasn’t ready to answer anymore of Dean’s questions. But Dean sure as hell was ready for answers.

Forever Tags: @petrovadixon @theas-bedtime-stories @aiaranradnay @jjbabygirl98 @policeofficerdean @dekahg @af112992 @crownedloki @cutie1365 @bandobsession98 @secretlyshycomputer @firstgal34

Don’t Blink Tags: @roxy-davenport @coyote-butterfly @alangel1895 @whatisauser

[jiveammunition]

Reaper76Week - Day 5 - Here Comes the Sun (G)

Title: Here Comes the Sun Pairing: Reaper76 Rating: General Tags: Fluff, Alternate Universe - Bakery, Alternate Universe - Police Summary:

Before he even has a moment to register what he's saying and put a stop to it, his mouth drops a bomb that takes the both of them by surprise.  

“I can play guitar. If you're okay with it, I can fill in. I'm off Tuesday.”

Day 5 of Reaper76Week - “Over the Airwaves”

Also on AO3 here: Here Comes the Sun

Gabriel catches Jack looking utterly despondent one morning, brows furrowed and a very uncharacteristic frown on his face. He's staring at his phone, and whatever seems to have upset him must be serious, given how Jack doesn't even seem to notice he had a new customer.

“Why the long face?” Gabriel asks as he lets the door swing quiet shut behind him.

“Oh!” Jack gasps, visibly startled by Gabriel's sudden presence in the store. He hastily straightens up off from where he's leaning over the counter and tries to put on a smile. “Good Morning, Gabriel.”

It's only been a few months, but it's long enough to know the differences in Jack's expressions. Jack is giving him a fake, customer service smile, and that doesn't sit well at all with him. Gabriel frowns.

“Did something happen?” he asks again. Daily routine moves his body to fetch a set of tongs and a tray, and Gabriel catches himself unconsciously browsing the shelves for his breakfast as he continues to talk with Jack.

“You could say that, yeah,” Jack sighs. The fake smile drops off his face and he looks down at his phone with a gloomy expression on his face before putting it away. He finishes organizing the tray of macarons that had previously sat temporarily forgotten in front of him and sets it in its proper place inside the refrigerated display case.

“Wanna tell me about it?” Gabriel goes with a western omelette breakfast quiche — which he convinced Jack to start making after being scolded for choosing a croissant for 4 days in a row just to spite Jack after he realized Jack was intentionally hiding his favorite sour cream and chives scones from him — this morning, and hands the tray and tongs over.

Jack shrugs noncommittally at first, as he pops the quiche into the small toaster oven beside the coffee machine, and it's only after he gets Gabriel's coffee that he actually answers.

“So you know how I have Family Fundays now?”

Gabriel nods, eyes briefly glancing over to the corner of the bakery near the cafe area where a low stage is located — made significantly less conspicuous by the standing baskets of baguettes and other easily-moved displays of baked goods — and recalling the chalkboard sign outside advertising story hours and other family-friendly entertainment on Tuesday nights at the bakery.

“Well, I originally had my buddy Lúcio scheduled to come in and do a puppet show, but-” Jack began, taking the now-warmed and toasted quiche from the oven.

“Wait,  the Lúcio? That really famous DJ?” Gabriel’s eyebrows shot up. The implication that Jack knows someone so famous — and had him do something so local and small, to boot — surprised him so much he had to stop and recount his coins before handing it over to Jack.

“Yeah, that Lúcio. He and I have been friends for almost 10 years now. We met on the internet,” Jack replied, tone nonchalant as if he were talking about something so mundane as the weather. “Anyway, he said he was gonna be in town Tuesday, offered to come visit me and do a puppet show for the kids. But something came up so now he can't make it, and I don't have anything lined up to replace him.”

A dispirited sigh falls from Jack's lips as he hands Gabriel back his change in bills and slides the tray of coffee, quiche, and the scone he didn't order but knows better than to protest about. And damn if the sadness on Jack's face didn't tug at Gabriel's heartstrings.

Before he even has a moment to register what he's saying and put a stop to it, his mouth drops a bomb that takes the both of them by surprise.

“I can play guitar. If you're okay with it, I can fill in. I'm off Tuesday.”

“Really?!” The way Jack's face lights up immediately drives the nail into the proverbial coffin. Even if there had been a chance for Gabriel to take his words back, there was no possible way on earth for him to do it now. He couldn't bear to make Jack upset again.

“Yeah, I mean, I'm a little rusty, but so long as you don't ask me to play something too difficult or something like  Wonderwall , it should be okay.”

“Oh man, that'd be great! You're a lifesaver, Gabriel! Thank you so much!” Jack's smile beams so brightly that Gabriel can feel his insides melting from how warm he feels.

“Yeah, no problem,” he replies coolly.

Except, there is a problem. Two problems. Two very big problems that come to mind the second he sits down in the cafe area. He tries not to scream when he bites into the quiche — partially from the realization, and partially from his own stupidity at not letting the very very hot pastry cool down a little first.

“Jesse, I'm gonna need my guitar back,” Gabriel says as he approaches Jesse’s desk.

“Huh?” Jesse looks up at him as if he'd grown two heads. “Boss, you sold it to me, remember? ‘Less you plan on giving my money back…”

“Okay, let me rephrase,” Gabriel sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Will you let me borrow my-  your  guitar? I need for about a week and I'll give it right back.”

Still looking at him with a raised eyebrow, Jesse replies, “Yeah, sure. I'll bring it in tomorrow.”

“Thanks. I owe you,” Gabriel replies. He tries to get away before Jesse decides to ask any questions, but only makes it two steps before Jesse speaks up again.

“Whacha needin’ it for anyway? Planning on serenading someone with it?” he laughs.

Gabriel frowns. “No. Jack's act for Tuesday night bailed on him, and I offered to help him out.”

"By playing guitar?” There's a beat of silence before the confused expression on Jesse's face changes to one of revelation. “Jack, as in the bakery owner, Jack? Boy howdy, boss, you really  are  planning on serenading him! How romanti-”

Before Jesse even has a chance to finish that word, Gabriel lifts the hat off of Jesse's head and jams it into his face. “I'm not serenading anyone. I'm just helping him out of a tight spot. Got it?”

Jesse nods his head in affirmation from beneath the hat, giving a thumbs up and a muffled, “Gotcha, boss.”

With that taken care of, Gabriel goes to Ana's office, taking a deep breath before stepping inside.

“Ana, I need Tuesday off,” Gabriel says, clasping his together in a way that can't be misinterpreted as anything but begging, “I'll take traffic duty for a week and babysit Fareeha for a weekend if you let me have it off.  Please .”

Ana raises an eyebrow, clearly curious as to why Gabriel would make such a sudden request. Rather than ask, however, she merely replies with, “Make it two weekends and you've got Tuesday off.”

“Yes! Thank you!” Gabriel fights the urge to pump his fist happily as he walks back out of the office.

He later realizes, when he looks at the calendar stuck to the front of his fridge at home, why exactly it was so easy to get Ana agree to let him have the day off.

...he was already scheduled to have off that day. He hadn't been lying when he told Jack he had the day off, but self-doubt and his own paranoia had landed him with traffic duty and two weekends of babysitting.

Oh well.

Sure enough, Jesse makes good on his word, and Gabriel spends the next several days practicing on his old acoustic guitar to prepare and reacquaint himself with the hobby he had dedicated so many years of his teenage life to.

The notes, the chords, hand positions and movements come back to him just as naturally as a duck takes to swimming. When he sits down in the chair on the tiny stage inside of Jack's Bakery, he finds his nerves as steady and as calm as ever. Countless eyes and smiling faces look up at him, waiting eagerly for his song to start, but only one pair of stormy blues really matter to Gabriel.

Briefly, he locks gazes with Jack, who’s watching him from behind the counter, smiling fondly at him, and he feels his heart skip a beat at the brief moment of eye contact. Jack gives an encouraging nod at him, and Gabriel takes a deep breath before smiling back at the children's faces in the front row and strums his first note.

“ Little darling, it's been a long, cold, lonely winter… ” he begins to sing.

For the next few hours, Gabriel sings a mix of oldies but goodies, and some of the newer songs that the children were familiar with and could sing along to. Inwardly, he thanked Fareeha for indirectly enlightening him on current music, as the smiles on the numerous faces in the bakery brought a happiness and excitement he hadn't felt in years since he stopped playing the guitar.

Occasionally, movement will catch the corner of his eye and he spots Jack going about his business in the bakery. Sometimes Jack moves to the beat of the music, sometimes he dances along with an over-excited child whose parents are too immersed in Gabriel’s song to help expend the extra energy, and sometimes — the thing Gabriel loves seeing him do the most — Jack will quietly sing along when he thinks everyone is too busy watching Gabriel to notice.

But Gabriel notices, perhaps a bit too much, and each and every time he spots Jack around the store, he feels the rhythm of his heart stutter just a little bit faster.

Gabriel's performance ends around 8 o’clock, when the families all start heading home for bedtime. Some of them stop by on their way out to chat and thank Gabriel for his wonderful performance, others express their gratitude for the things Gabriel has helped them with while on-duty. Nevertheless, the smiles on their faces speak well enough about Gabriel's performance that he almost feels like picking up the guitar again.

“That was really wonderful,” Jack comments as he tosses away a few lingering bits of trash from the floor and flips the sign on the door from Open to Closed. “Thank you again for helping me out, I really appreciate it.”

The warm smile on Jack's face sparks a heat in the tips of Gabriel's ears and he tries to keep his voice as level as possible when he replies with, “Ah, it was nothing. I had fun and I'm glad I could help.” He slings the guitar to his back and out of the way so he can help rearrange the chairs to how they should look, but only manages to orient two before Jack stops him.

“No, I really do mean it.  Thank you ,” he smiles as he fetches something from behind the register and walks back over to Gabriel. “Here, as thanks.”

Gabriel can already tell from sight alone what it is Jack plans on giving him, and he immediately holds up a hand to refuse the envelope and the check inside it. “Nope. You don't need to thank me.  Seriously ,” he he repeats, “I was happy to do it.”

“But I need to pay you back somehow. You did me a favor, and it wouldn't feel right paying you with stuff I sometimes give you for free anyway,” Jack protests, frowning.

“You don't have to pay me back anything, Jack.”

“But-!”

Knowing Jack isn't likely to give up, Gabriel thinks for a moment before he comes up with a solution.

“Okay, fine. I know how you can pay me back,” he says, smirking.

“How?”

‘ By going on a date with me ,’ his heart wants him to say.

“Sing along with me next time.”

[latestnews2018-blog]

Hands on with the Echo Dots Kids Edition

New Post has been published on https://latestnews2018.com/hands-on-with-the-echo-dots-kids-edition/

Hands on with the Echo Dots Kids Edition

Earlier this year, Amazon introduced an Echo Dot for kids, with its $80 Echo Dot Kids Edition device, which comes in your choice of a red, blue, or green protective case. The idea is to market a version of Amazon’s existing Dot hardware to families by bundling it with an existing subscription service, and by throwing in a few extra features – like having Alexa encourage kids to say “please” when making their demands, for example.

The device makes sense in a couple of scenarios – for helicopter parents who want to fully lock down an Echo device before putting it in a kid’s room, and for those who were in the market for a FreeTime Unlimited subscription anyway.

I’ve been testing out an Echo Dot Kids Edition, and ran into some challenges which I thought I’d share. This is not a hardware review – I’m sure you can find those elsewhere. 

Music Filtering

As a parent of an 8-year old myself, I’ve realized it’s too difficult to keep her from ever hearing bad words – especially in music, TV and movies – so I’ve just explained to her that while she will sometimes hear those words, that doesn’t mean it’s okay to say them. (We have a similar rule about art – sometimes people will be nude in paintings, but that doesn’t mean it’s okay to walk around naked all the time.)

Surprisingly, I’ve been able to establish a level of shame around adult and inappropriate content to the point that she will confess to me when she hears it on places like YouTube. She will even turn it off without my instruction! I have a good kid, I guess.

But I understand some parents will only want kids to access the sanitized version of songs – especially if their children are still in the preschool years, or have a tendency to seek out explicit content because they’re little monsters.

Amazon FreeTime would be a good option in that case, but there are some caveats.

For starters, if you plan on using the explicit language filter on songs the Echo Dot plays, then you’re stuck with Amazon Music. While the Echo Dot itself can play music from a variety of services, including on-demand offerings from Pandora and Spotify, you can’t use these services when the explicit filter is enabled as “music services that do not support this filter will be blocked,” Amazon explains.

We’re a Spotify household, so that means my child’s favorite bedtime music playlist became unavailable when we swapped out her existing Echo Dot for the Kids Edition which had the explicit filter enabled.

Above: Parent Dashboard? Where? Maybe a link would help?

You can disable the explicit filter from the Parent Dashboard, but this option is inconveniently available just via the web. When you dig around in the Alexa app – which is where you’d think these controls would be found, there’s only a FreeTime On/Off toggle switch and instructions to “Go to the Parent Dashboard to see activity, manage time limits, and add content.”

It’s not even hyperlinked!

You have to just know the dashboard’s URL is parents.amazon.com. (And not www.parents.amazon.com, by the way. That doesn’t work.)

Then to actually disable the filter, it’s several more steps.

You’ll click the gear icon next to the child’s name, click on “Echo Dot Kids Edition” under “Alexa Settings,” then click “Manage Music.” Here, you can turn the switch on or off.

If you don’t have a subscription music service, the Echo Dot Kids Edition also ships with access to ad-free kid-safe stations on iHeartRadio Family.

Whitelisting Alexa skills…well, some skills!

Another issue with the way FreeTime works with Alexa, is that it’s not clear that nearly everything your child accesses on the device has to be whitelisted.

This leads to a confusing first-time user workflow.

Likely, you’ll start by browsing in the Alexa app’s Skills section or the Skills Store on the web to find some appropriate kid-friendly skills for your child to try. For example, I found and enabled a skill called “Math Facts – Math Practice for Kids.”

But when I instructed “Alexa, open Math Facts,” she responded, “I can’t do that.”

She didn’t say why.

As I hadn’t used FreeTime in quite a while, it didn’t occur to me that each Alexa skill would have to be toggled on – just like the third-party apps, videos, books and audiobooks the child has access to that didn’t ship with FreeTime Unlimited itself.

Instead, I mistakenly assumed that skills from the “Kids” section of the Skills store would just work.

Again, you’ll have to know to go to parents.amazon.com to toggle things on.

And again, the process for doing so is too many clicks deep in the user interface to be immediately obvious to newcomers. (You click the gear by the kid’s name, then “Add Content” – not “Echo Dot Kids Edition” as you might think! Then, on the “Add Content” screen, click over to the “Alexa Skills” tab and toggle on the skills you want the child to use.)

The issue with this system is that it prevents Echo Dot Kids Edition users – kids and adults alike – from discovering and enabling skills by voice. And it adds an unnecessary step by forcing parents to toggle skills on.

After all, if the parents are the ones signing in when visiting the Skills store in-app or on the web, that means they’re the ones choosing to enable the Skills, too.

And if they’re enabling a skill from Kids section, one would assume it’s for their kids to use on their device!

The problem, largely, is that FreeTime isn’t really integrated with the Alexa app. All of this – from explicit content filters to whitelisting skills to turning on or off calling, messaging and drop-ins – should be managed from within the Alexa app, not from a separate website.

Amazon obviously did minimal integration work in order to sell parents a pricier Echo Dot.

To make matters more confusing is the fact that Amazon has partnered with some kids skill publishers, similar to how it partnered with other content providers for apps and movies. That means there’s a list of skills that don’t appear in your Parent Dashboard that also don’t require whitelisting.

This includes: Disney Stories, Loud House Challenge, No Way That’s True, Funny Fill In, Spongebob Challenge, Weird but True, Name that Animal, This or That, Word world, Ben ten, Classroom thirteen, Batman Adventures, and Climb the Beanstalk.

But it’s confusing that you can immediately use these skills, and not others clearly meant for kids. You end up feeling like you did something wrong when some skills don’t work, before you figure out this whole whitelisting system.

In addition, it’s not clear that these “Premium” skills come with the FreeTime subscription – most are not available in the Skills store. If your FreeTime subscription expires, it seems you’ll lose access to these, as well.

Overall, the FreeTime experience for Echo feels disjointed, and there’s a steep learning curve for new users.

Your FreeTime Unlimited 1-year Subscription

It’s also frustrating that there’s no information on the FreeTime Parents dashboard about the nature of your subscription.

You can’t confirm that you’re currently subscribed to the paid product known as FreeTime Unlimited. You can’t see when that subscription expires, or when your first free year is up. It’s unclear if you’ll just be charged, or when that will take place. And there’s no toggle to turn the subscription off if you decide you no longer need it.

Instead, you can only “modify” which credit card you use with Amazon’s 1-click. Seriously. That’s it.

Above: want to manage your subscription?

Below: hahaha, good luck with that!

I still don’t know where to turn this subscription off – I guess the option to disable it doesn’t even appear until your free year is up? (Even clicking on “FreeTime Unlimited” from Amazon.com’s subscription management page routes you back to this useless Parent dashboard page for managing your 1-Click settings.)

So, ask me in a year, maybe?

That said, if you are in the market for both a FreeTime Unlimited subscription and an Echo Dot, you may as well buy the Kids Edition.

FreeTime Unlimited works on Fire tablets, Android devices, Kindle, and as of this month, iOS devices, providing access to over 15,000 kid-safe apps, games, videos, books and educational content. On Amazon devices, parents can also set screen time limits and educational goals.

The service by itself is $2.99 per month for Prime members (for one profile) or $4.99 per month for non-members. It’s more if you buy the Family subscription. Meanwhile, the regular 2nd gen Echo Dot is currently $49.99. So you’re basically looking at $50 + $36/year for FreeTime Unlimited if you bought these things separately as a Prime member.

The Echo Dot Kids Edition comes with one year of FreeTime Unlimited and is $79.99. So you’re saving a tiny bit there. Plus, you can always turn FreeTime off on the device, if you’d rather just use the kids Echo Dot as a regular Echo Dot – while still getting a free year of FreeTime for another device, like the kid’s iPad.

Still, watch out because Echo Dot often goes on sale – and probably will be on sale again for Prime Day this summer. Depending on the price cut it gets, it may not be worth it to buy the bundle.

Other Perks

There are other perks that Amazon tries to use to sell the Echo Dot Kids Edition to families, but the most notable is “Magic Word.”

This feature turns on when FreeTime is enabled, and thanks kids for saying “please” when they speak to Alexa. Yes, that seems like a small thing but it was something that a lot of parents were upset about. They thought kids were learning bad manners by barking commands at Alexa.

I don’t know about that. My kid seems to understand that we say “please” and “thank you” to people, but Alexa doesn’t get her feelings hurt by being told to “play Taylor Swift.” But to each their own!

This feature will thrill some parents, I’m sure.

Parents can also use FreeTime to pause the device or configure a bedtime so kids don’t stay up talking to Alexa, but honestly, LET ‘EM.

It’s far better than when they stall bedtime by badgering you for that extra glass of water, one more blanket, turn on that light, now crack the door…a little more…a little less…Honestly, escaping the kid’s room at bedtime is an art form.

If Alexa can keep them busy and less afraid of the dark, I’m calling it a win.

FreeTime with the Echo Dot Kids Edition also lets you set up “Character Alarms” – meaning, kids can configure Alexa to wake them up with an alarm click featuring characters from brands like Disney and Nickelodeon.

This is hilarious to me.

Because if you have a kid in the preschool to tween age range who actually requires an alarm clock to wake up in the morning instead of getting up at the crack of dawn (or maybe one who has gone through years of training so they DON’T ALSO WAKE YOU UP AT THE CRACK OF DAWN OH MY GOD) – then, I guess, um, enjoy character alarms?

I’m sorry, let me stop laughing….Hold on.

I’m sure somebody needs this.

Sorry for laughing. But please explain how you’ve taught your children to sleep in? Do they go to bed at a decent hour too? No seriously, email me. I have no idea.

The Echo Dot Kids Edition can also work as a household intercom, but so do regular Echo devices.

You can turn off voice purchasing on the Kids Edition, but you can do that on regular devices, too (despite what Amazon’s comparison chart says.)

Plus, kids can now control smart home devices with the Echo Dot Kids Edition – a feature that shamefully wasn’t available at launch, but is now.

And that cute protective case? Well, a regular Echo Dot is actually pretty sturdy. We’ve dropped ours probably a dozen times from dresser to floor (uncarpeted!) with no issues.

I like how Amazon tries to sell the case, though:

I guess if your kid plans to do CHEMISTRY EXPERIMENTS by the Echo Dot, you may need this.

In reality, the case is just cute – and can help the Echo better match the kid’s room.

The Echo Kids Edition, overall, is not a must-have device. You’ll have more flexibility with a regular Echo and a little old-school parenting.

[theinvinciblenoob]

Earlier this year, Amazon introduced an Echo Dot for kids, with its $80 Echo Dot Kids Edition device, which comes in your choice of a red, blue, or green protective case. The idea is to market a version of Amazon’s existing Dot hardware to families by bundling it with an existing subscription service, and by throwing in a few extra features – like having Alexa encourage kids to say “please” when making their demands, for example.

The device makes sense in a couple of scenarios – for helicopter parents who want to fully lock down an Echo device before putting it in a kid’s room, and for those who were in the market for a FreeTime Unlimited subscription anyway.

I’ve been testing out an Echo Dot Kids Edition, and ran into some challenges which I thought I’d share. This is not a hardware review – I’m sure you can find those elsewhere. 

Music Filtering

As a parent of an 8-year old myself, I’ve realized it’s too difficult to keep her from ever hearing bad words – especially in music, TV and movies – so I’ve just explained to her that while she will sometimes hear those words, that doesn’t mean it’s okay to say them. (We have a similar rule about art – sometimes people will be nude in paintings, but that doesn’t mean it’s okay to walk around naked all the time.)

Surprisingly, I’ve been able to establish a level of shame around adult and inappropriate content to the point that she will confess to me when she hears it on places like YouTube. She will even turn it off without my instruction! I have a good kid, I guess.

But I understand some parents will only want kids to access the sanitized version of songs – especially if their children are still in the preschool years, or have a tendency to seek out explicit content because they’re little monsters.

Amazon FreeTime would be a good option in that case, but there are some caveats.

For starters, if you plan on using the explicit language filter on songs the Echo Dot plays, then you’re stuck with Amazon Music. While the Echo Dot itself can play music from a variety of services, including on-demand offerings from Pandora and Spotify, you can’t use these services when the explicit filter is enabled as “music services that do not support this filter will be blocked,” Amazon explains.

We’re a Spotify household, so that means my child’s favorite bedtime music playlist became unavailable when we swapped out her existing Echo Dot for the Kids Edition which had the explicit filter enabled.

Above: Parent Dashboard? Where? Maybe a link would help?

You can disable the explicit filter from the Parent Dashboard, but this option is inconveniently available just via the web. When you dig around in the Alexa app – which is where you’d think these controls would be found, there’s only a FreeTime On/Off toggle switch and instructions to “Go to the Parent Dashboard to see activity, manage time limits, and add content.”

It’s not even hyperlinked!

You have to just know the dashboard’s URL is parents.amazon.com. (And not www.parents.amazon.com, by the way. That doesn’t work.)

Then to actually disable the filter, it’s several more steps.

You’ll click the gear icon next to the child’s name, click on “Echo Dot Kids Edition” under “Alexa Settings,” then click “Manage Music.” Here, you can turn the switch on or off.

If you don’t have a subscription music service, the Echo Dot Kids Edition also ships with access to ad-free kid-safe stations on iHeartRadio Family.

Whitelisting Alexa skills…well, some skills!

Another issue with the way FreeTime works with Alexa, is that it’s not clear that nearly everything your child accesses on the device has to be whitelisted.

This leads to a confusing first-time user workflow.

Likely, you’ll start by browsing in the Alexa app’s Skills section or the Skills Store on the web to find some appropriate kid-friendly skills for your child to try. For example, I found and enabled a skill called “Math Facts – Math Practice for Kids.”

But when I instructed “Alexa, open Math Facts,” she responded, “I can’t do that.”

She didn’t say why.

As I hadn’t used FreeTime in quite a while, it didn’t occur to me that each Alexa skill would have to be toggled on – just like the third-party apps, videos, books and audiobooks the child has access to that didn’t ship with FreeTime Unlimited itself.

Instead, I mistakenly assumed that skills from the “Kids” section of the Skills store would just work.

Again, you’ll have to know to go to parents.amazon.com to toggle things on.

And again, the process for doing so is too many clicks deep in the user interface to be immediately obvious to newcomers. (You click the gear by the kid’s name, then “Add Content” – not “Echo Dot Kids Edition” as you might think! Then, on the “Add Content” screen, click over to the “Alexa Skills” tab and toggle on the skills you want the child to use.)

The issue with this system is that it prevents Echo Dot Kids Edition users – kids and adults alike – from discovering and enabling skills by voice. And it adds an unnecessary step by forcing parents to toggle skills on.

After all, if the parents are the ones signing in when visiting the Skills store in-app or on the web, that means they’re the ones choosing to enable the Skills, too.

And if they’re enabling a skill from Kids section, one would assume it’s for their kids to use on their device!

The problem, largely, is that FreeTime isn’t really integrated with the Alexa app. All of this – from explicit content filters to whitelisting skills to turning on or off calling, messaging and drop-ins – should be managed from within the Alexa app, not from a separate website.

Amazon obviously did minimal integration work in order to sell parents a pricier Echo Dot.

To make matters more confusing is the fact that Amazon has partnered with some kids skill publishers, similar to how it partnered with other content providers for apps and movies. That means there’s a list of skills that don’t appear in your Parent Dashboard that also don’t require whitelisting.

This includes: Disney Stories, Loud House Challenge, No Way That’s True, Funny Fill In, Spongebob Challenge, Weird but True, Name that Animal, This or That, Word world, Ben ten, Classroom thirteen, Batman Adventures, and Climb the Beanstalk.

But it’s confusing that you can immediately use these skills, and not others clearly meant for kids. You end up feeling like you did something wrong when some skills don’t work, before you figure out this whole whitelisting system.

In addition, it’s not clear that these “Premium” skills come with the FreeTime subscription – most are not available in the Skills store. If your FreeTime subscription expires, it seems you’ll lose access to these, as well.

Overall, the FreeTime experience for Echo feels disjointed, and there’s a steep learning curve for new users.

Your FreeTime Unlimited 1-year Subscription

It’s also frustrating that there’s no information on the FreeTime Parents dashboard about the nature of your subscription.

You can’t confirm that you’re currently subscribed to the paid product known as FreeTime Unlimited. You can’t see when that subscription expires, or when your first free year is up. It’s unclear if you’ll just be charged, or when that will take place. And there’s no toggle to turn the subscription off if you decide you no longer need it.

Instead, you can only “modify” which credit card you use with Amazon’s 1-click. Seriously. That’s it.

Above: want to manage your subscription?

Below: hahaha, good luck with that!

I still don’t know where to turn this subscription off – I guess the option to disable it doesn’t even appear until your free year is up? (Even clicking on “FreeTime Unlimited” from Amazon.com’s subscription management page routes you back to this useless Parent dashboard page for managing your 1-Click settings.)

So, ask me in a year, maybe?

That said, if you are in the market for both a FreeTime Unlimited subscription and an Echo Dot, you may as well buy the Kids Edition.

FreeTime Unlimited works on Fire tablets, Android devices, Kindle, and as of this month, iOS devices, providing access to over 15,000 kid-safe apps, games, videos, books and educational content. On Amazon devices, parents can also set screen time limits and educational goals.

The service by itself is $2.99 per month for Prime members (for one profile) or $4.99 per month for non-members. It’s more if you buy the Family subscription. Meanwhile, the regular 2nd gen Echo Dot is currently $49.99. So you’re basically looking at $50 + $36/year for FreeTime Unlimited if you bought these things separately as a Prime member.

The Echo Dot Kids Edition comes with one year of FreeTime Unlimited and is $79.99. So you’re saving a tiny bit there. Plus, you can always turn FreeTime off on the device, if you’d rather just use the kids Echo Dot as a regular Echo Dot – while still getting a free year of FreeTime for another device, like the kid’s iPad.

Still, watch out because Echo Dot often goes on sale – and probably will be on sale again for Prime Day this summer. Depending on the price cut it gets, it may not be worth it to buy the bundle.

Other Perks

There are other perks that Amazon tries to use to sell the Echo Dot Kids Edition to families, but the most notable is “Magic Word.”

This feature turns on when FreeTime is enabled, and thanks kids for saying “please” when they speak to Alexa. Yes, that seems like a small thing but it was something that a lot of parents were upset about. They thought kids were learning bad manners by barking commands at Alexa.

I don’t know about that. My kid seems to understand that we say “please” and “thank you” to people, but Alexa doesn’t get her feelings hurt by being told to “play Taylor Swift.” But to each their own!

This feature will thrill some parents, I’m sure.

Parents can also use FreeTime to pause the device or configure a bedtime so kids don’t stay up talking to Alexa, but honestly, LET ‘EM.

It’s far better than when they stall bedtime by badgering you for that extra glass of water, one more blanket, turn on that light, now crack the door…a little more…a little less…Honestly, escaping the kid’s room at bedtime is an art form.

If Alexa can keep them busy and less afraid of the dark, I’m calling it a win.

FreeTime with the Echo Dot Kids Edition also lets you set up “Character Alarms” – meaning, kids can configure Alexa to wake them up with an alarm click featuring characters from brands like Disney and Nickelodeon.

This is hilarious to me.

Because if you have a kid in the preschool to tween age range who actually requires an alarm clock to wake up in the morning instead of getting up at the crack of dawn (or maybe one who has gone through years of training so they DON’T ALSO WAKE YOU UP AT THE CRACK OF DAWN OH MY GOD) – then, I guess, um, enjoy character alarms?

I’m sorry, let me stop laughing….Hold on.

I’m sure somebody needs this.

Sorry for laughing. But please explain how you’ve taught your children to sleep in? Do they go to bed at a decent hour too? No seriously, email me. I have no idea.

The Echo Dot Kids Edition can also work as a household intercom, but so do regular Echo devices.

You can turn off voice purchasing on the Kids Edition, but you can do that on regular devices, too (despite what Amazon’s comparison chart says.)

Plus, kids can now control smart home devices with the Echo Dot Kids Edition – a feature that shamefully wasn’t available at launch, but is now.

And that cute protective case? Well, a regular Echo Dot is actually pretty sturdy. We’ve dropped ours probably a dozen times from dresser to floor (uncarpeted!) with no issues.

I like how Amazon tries to sell the case, though:

I guess if your kid plans to do CHEMISTRY EXPERIMENTS by the Echo Dot, you may need this.

In reality, the case is just cute – and can help the Echo better match the kid’s room.

The Echo Kids Edition, overall, is not a must-have device. You’ll have more flexibility with a regular Echo and a little old-school parenting.

via TechCrunch

[3one3]

The Sequel - 892

Is Bosz Fired?

André Schürrle, Juan Mata, other Chelsea/BVB players, and random awesome OC’s (okay they’re less random now but they’re still pretty awesome)

original epic tale

all chapters of The Sequel

Did she cut her hair? How does she have bangs? She didn’t have them this morning. Or is- Is that just the ends of her hair sticking out of the knot thing on the top of her head? Is it supposed to hang down like that? And why didn’t she eat her pie? What sort of pie is it, anyway? I didn’t know we had pie. Can I wake her? I want to wake her. It’s 3 in the afternoon. I’m gonna wake her. First I’m gonna kill this Sam Smith music. What kind of terrible mood was she in when she put it on? Oh it’s quiche, André realized disappointedly about the nearly untouched crusty wedge of food on the black plate next to Christina’s laptop. He reached over both to get her phone and turn off the music playing in the office. She was sound asleep in her desk chair, with a fork in her hand in her lap. The computer was asleep too, so she’d been out for at least 10 minutes.

“Chris. Time to wake up, Prinzessin.” Time to pay attention to André, the player added just to himself. “Chriiiis?” He patted her thigh and rubbed her shoulder until she stirred, and then bent down to kiss her head when her eyes slowly opened. “You didn’t eat your quiche. What kind is it?”

“Spinach, artichoke, and egg whites,” Christina replied, her little tiny voice very sleepy. Why is he waking me up to eat quiche? Go away. Tired, she thought. She didn’t even know the fork was still in her hand.

“No, no- don’t close your eyes,” her partner urged.

“Is Bosz fired?”

“No.”

“Then I’m sleeping.” She yawned and started trying to turn over onto her other side in her chair since she was fairly curled up in it. André interceded. He literally held her head up for her so that he could kiss her nose and try to wake her more fully. His girl stayed up late with him after Borussia Dortmund’s second consecutive embarrassing Champions League performance. They couldn’t beat lowly APOEL in their own once fortress-like stadium. It ended 1-1. Their performance wasn’t as tragic as Chelsea’s, and they were denied three pretty clear-cut handball penalties. They created plenty of chances and just couldn’t finish them. André played for about 10 minutes including stoppage time. His first involvement in play was a decent shot on goal. The ball flew just over. Nothing really came his way after that, so he had little impact. The heat of the entire world was on the manager. Christina’s scrutiny was perhaps the hottest. She wanted him gone. The player struggled for a believable defense. He wasn’t sure Bosz was the right man for the job anymore. That kind of feeling could be really destructive in a dressing room, and his wife usually would have tried to talk him down from there, and remind him of the positives, just to keep him from that mindset. The situation was so dire from her perspective that she didn’t bother. They bitched and moaned together about the tactics and his teammates half the night. Complaining made them both feel better, temporarily at least.

“Is this some new Disney princess story? The princess remains asleep until the trainer is sacked?” He smiled at the unenthused looking face between his hands while she tried to nod. “At least go nap in bed,” he relented, her sleepy eyes winning out. “Or the couch. Or something. I’ll lay with you.” Christina stuck her arms out. She was agreeing to continue her nap elsewhere, but she wanted to be carried. It was a textbook Lukas move. André frowned and pursed his lips at her, and then did in fact collect her in his arms. The sleepy girl hugged his neck and closed her legs around his middle, tight. He just stood there and received this very clingy hug instead of starting for the living room or stairs.

“There’s a couch in here you know,” she mumbled in his ear.

“It’s not good for napping.”

“K.” There was one more yawn, and then the squeezing lessened and the footballer felt a cheek arrive atop his shoulder. Off we go, he decided. I’ll take her to the living room. Mausi isn’t around to be a pest, and there are dogs there who probably want to nap with her too. No one told me that marrying a very small girl would mean having to carry her everywhere. I have to carry this whole family. Mausi is going to need to be carried until he’s like 10. The dogs need a ride when the walk is too long and they get tired. Was I supposed to carry the team last night too? How about giving me the chance, like letting me play more than- “I want the other side,” Christina requested, butting into his internal monologue when they got to the big U-shaped living room sofa. He was going to put her down in his corner, and lie next to her. She wanted to lay the other way, at the other corner. André shuffled over a few steps and set her down there. The rider immediately captured a pillow for her head and curled up into a tiny blob. Both Toy Fox Terriers showed up to greet her.

“Why are you so tired, pretty girl?” André questioned because her eyes immediately drooped shut. He tugged a Berkshire blanket from the back of the couch to cover her.

“I unno.”

“Do you feel all right?”

“Yeah. Don’t leave the quiche. Puppies will get it.” The puppies were busy sniffing around to see if they wanted to stay with her.

“When should I wake you?” I give up. She’s too tired to keep her up, and I’m not fitting there with her.

“Never. Watch TV. I won’t hear it.”

André went back for the neglected quiche and grabbed her glass of water from the desk too. One thing went to the kitchen and the other went to the coffee table. He was going to just sit in his usual spot and relax, rest his body after the rigors of training, with some TV. They were supposed to pick up Lukas from his playdate at 6, and he figured his wife would be awake long before that, but he set an alarm on his phone just in case he fell asleep too. He channel surfed for a while, checked the box for some saved or on-demand NBA games, picked one, and then spent some time browsing social media. Christina posted an Instagram story of Calvin literally snoring in a mound of shavings while he waited for his turn with the blacksmith. She also included a picture of the vomit puddle she made in a towel in the gym before heading out to the barn. It was largely obscured by three giant vomiting emojis, but there was no mistaking what it was, and in case one managed, the rider added “overdo it Thursdays” to the image. That partially explained why she was so tired, though getting sick during a workout wasn’t entirely rare for her and wasn’t always a result of pushing too hard. Sometimes she just got her timing wrong, or her menu wrong, and her tummy got upset about being asked to digest something while she was jostling it around or keeping her heart rate up. Her body chemistry never quite got back to normal after pregnancy, or age was just changing it and making her system’s responses less predictable. She also just never got enough sleep.

André recognized that as explicitly as she did because he found himself alone in bed more often. If they went out some night to have a good time together, and stayed up late after, then she made a point of waking up early to do the morning routine with Lukas because she missed the evening one before. If she spent the morning with Lukas, she rode later into the evening so as not to infringe on the horses’ turnout time, hurried home to do dinner and bedtime with the baby, and then had to shower and feed herself or do whatever personal things she wanted or needed to do, like reading or writing or watching her shows, which meant staying up late again. He wished he could turn down the knobs for her guilt reflexes once in a while. Then she wouldn’t feel bad for not spending enough time with their son, or for the horses missing out on standing around doing nothing outside, or for her commercial partners having to wait for things, or even for all the things he made her feel guilty about. Spending time with him was a priority for her too. She wanted to make him dinners, or prepare snacks for him to take with him, or go out and do things with him, and it wasn’t always because she actually wanted to. Sometimes it was just because she felt he deserved the face time with her, or was owed it.

Christina slept for about half an hour, and then stirred for a minute or so before sitting up and then crawling to the other end of the couch with her blanket, collapsing back down, and making herself comfortable with her head on his thigh. He asked her if she wanted to take Lukas out for dinner after they picked him up from the group playdate at Roman Weidenfeller’s place, which was much closer to Dortmund proper and tons of restaurants. It would be pretty early to eat, but he figured that might be a good thing. It would save her having to cook or clean, and would get them home in time to hang out and do nothing as a family before Lukas’ bedtime. She was also probably hungry anyway, he reasoned, since she’d recently endeavored to eat a piece of quiche and failed to actually ingest it.

“Mkay.”

“What were you doing in the office before when you fell asleep?” André inquired curiously.

“Nothing in particular,” Christina replied. Writing a love letter to Juanin, she clarified internally.

“Did you ride?”

“They all had their feet done. Stef and Kyle had lessons. I made quiche.”

“I saw,” the player chuckled.

“It’s for lunch at the barn.”

“I see.”

“It’s spinach and artichoke dip in quiche form.”

“Okay.”

“How’s your thigh?”

“Fine.”

“How’s the squad?”

“Stressed out. Are you sure you feel all right? Your head is warm.”

“I’m just hot. Sweatpants and blanky.”

“Okay.” André went back to playing with her hair instead of touching her forehead. The long ends sticking out of the elastic reminded him of a feather duster. “Are you happy it’s getting cold now? You’ve been saying for weeks that you couldn’t wait for sweatpants in the house, and heavy coats outside. It’s going to be cold and raining on Saturday. You can bundle up for the match.”

“I have to clear my outfit with Marco so we don’t end up in matching jackets like last night.”

“You looked like a pretty Eskimo last night. Your big furry hood made me smile when I first saw you, and it was weird because I was prepared to be grumpy.”

“You didn’t tell me that,” the rider pointed out with a questioning lilt.

“Well the game was crap, obviously, and when I was getting dressed and thinking about whether I wanted to eat there or have something at home, I remembered you spent the day with Juan, and how annoying I thought that was. So I was going to be grumpy so you knew I didn’t like it. But then you looked nice, and you were so full of rage about the match,” André laughed. “I wasn’t upset with you anymore.”

“I couldn’t not spend the day with him,” his wife argued defensively. “He just showed up! I told you I had no idea.” Not that I didn’t like it. Sigh.

“I know. It’s fine. It was just another thing for me to be heated about while the performance and the result had me so frustrated. I’ll admit, I was tempted to go back to being grumpy when I got home though,” he rued. “You changed the bed sheets. I could guess why.”

“Babe-“

“It’s fine. I said it’s fine. And I didn’t care anymore after we had our time in the sheets anyway. It’s more important to me that you want to stay up and listen to me, or complain with me. What you do with me matters more to me than anything you do with him. That’s how it should be, and how I want it to be, and how it is.”

“That’s good. Why is your beard so many different colors right now?” I can’t get into that stuff right now. I’m really glad that’s how boyfriend wants to think about our situation, but I don’t have a serious heart to heart in me right now. I’m tiiiiiired. I’m...blah. I’m not in an emotional state like that. I was before. I was going to write to Juan. But I was too tired for that too. I don’t want everything I do or think about to be about them, and the arrangement.

“It’s like the leaves. Transitioning from summer color to winter.” The footballer didn’t mind that she was punting. He just wanted to let her know that he was trying not to be aggravated by her and Juan.

“Does that mean you’re gonna shave when it’s winter and the leaves are gone?” she asked, hopeful and bright eyed even though he couldn’t see her face.

“No.”

“Darn.”

“I’m growing out my hair for the cold.”

“Noooooooo.”

“Yeeeeeeees.”

“I’m going to let my pubic hair get so long you can’t find the hole.”

“How’s your butt? Does it still hurt when you poop?”

“Yes.”

“Stool softeners, pretty girl. They work.”

“Ew.”

“Did you eat too much fiber to try to make it hurt less? Is that why you were sick this morning?” André teased. He poked at the side of Christina’s behind a couple of times and then patted it too.

“No.”

“Do you want me to put something on it?”

“No.” See, Schü understands marriage perfectly. He knows being married is offering to put wound-care ointment on your partner’s asshole. He’s well trained. “Thanks though.”

“Maybe soaking in the Jacuzzi would help it.”

“It doesn’t hurt that much. It’s getting better.”

“I decided what I want for my birthday.”

“Is it a Longines watch? I hope so. I need to get rid of some, still,” Christina yawned.

“I want to kidnap you Saturday night after Bayern and check into this 5-room hotel I found in Paris. It’s a little mansion, hidden in a garden near Sacré Coeur. It’s really romantic, Prinzessin.” Her partner laid on the persuasion straight away, for fear that he’d need to bargain or negotiate to get what he wanted. “We can go eat all the baguettes and extra-fattening French butter you want on Sunday, and do some shopping, or sight-seeing. I promise to roll up my sleeves and flirt with my eyes a lot. Then we come home after early dinner.”

“In,” his girl confidently, if unexpectedly, replied.

“Really?”

“Absolutely. You want to take me to Paris and be handsome and romantic and watch me eat all day and buy me stuff from Dior for your birthday? Why would I not be in?” She rolled over onto her back and looked up at him like he was crazy. Her nonchalance about the proposal was at least 35% put-on though, because a 24-hour field trip was totally not in her pre-Doha plans. But it did sound wonderful, and it was André’s birthday, and she had been fresh out of ideas for how to celebrate it anyway. It was easy to say yes. She was sure BVB was going to lose that match to Bayern, and that she’d need something really big or really clever to help pick him up after that- after watching his club’s clear lead at the top of the table shrink and revert to a major deficit in third place in just a few weeks. A romantic mini-getaway was perfect. Plus, his smile up above her head was awfully happy.

“Great. I’m going to call the hotel right now then.”

“Kiss me first, stupid boyfriend. You’re supposed to kiss on the deal.”

“Oh right,” he nodded, going along with this new made up rule. He also bent down to give her a quick smooch. “I’m going to need you to get up actually so that I can get my wallet.”

“Ugh. Fine. If I have to. It’s going to cost you a Lanvin cape though. I’m going to start dressing all Game of Thrones full time.”

“Yeah, we’ll see if I can pry you away from the good cheese long enough to go shopping.”

“Oh god, the cheese. I can’t wait for the cheese. Fuck, I love cheese.” Christina fanned herself once she sat up, and made an Agony and The Ecstasy type face to show her longing for the best French cows and farmers have to offer.

“If you’re going to orgasm, wait until I get off the phone, yeah?” André commented as he headed for the kitchen to get his wallet. He put it down with his keys by her bag on the counter when he relocated the quiche since he hadn’t been upstairs yet. He dressed for comfort that morning, in sweatpants. That was normal after a bad game, and it spared him having to change before transitioning into being lazy around the house.

“I’m too tired to have an orgasm. Maybe later though. Hey- can you get me a new vibrator for Christmas? And not give it to me in front of your entire family.”

“What happened to the one you have?” What was that hotel called, he asked himself once he had the American Express card out and his phone in his hand. What did I search for the other night? “Most romantic Paris hotels”? It was like Hotel Peculiar something.

“Nothing, I just miss the black one. I liked the texture. It was so sleek and like...like the silicone equivalent of microsuede. And it was way quieter. Do they have adult toy stores in Paris? That could be fun...” The rider’s remarks totally halted the hotel search.

“Who are you and where is Chris?” André asked the head sticking up from the back of the couch.

“I’m a grown up now. I can shop for vibrators in person instead of just on Amazon.”

“Now she wants expensive shoes, a cape, and a vibrator. I thought birthdays are for receiving gifts, not buying them for someone else,” he mumbled, eyes back on the iPhone. The search result he was looking for was in purple, so he knew it was the right one. The hotel he liked was Hotel Particulier Montmartre, a 19th century home set in a jungle in the hilly part of Paris, literally hidden from the street. A review called it something out of a Wes Anderson film, and he knew his girl loved the aesthetic of those movies. The chances of one of the 5 suites being available on no notice were slim, but it was sort of out of season and André was hopeful.

Meanwhile, Christina got up and went to get her phone so that she could let everyone at the barn know there would be a change to her schedule. Even if the ideal hotel wasn’t available, they could definitely find some acceptable room or suite in Paris. In truth, she didn’t see the point in staying anywhere special if it was just going to be for one night and they would check in very late anyway. Missing Sunday in the saddle wouldn’t be too much of an imposition. Stefanie was at a show in Lyon with Isandro, so Tom didn’t take the weekend off as he usually hoped to before traveling. He’d have to do a bit more work on Sunday if Kyle was going to ride some horses for Christina instead of doing hard labor all day. The boss decided she’d make it up to them by leaving a big container of fried chicken wings in the refrigerator for them. She already had the ingredients on hand with the intention of making them for herself and Lukas on Sunday anyway. Her recipe made for really delicious, crispy chicken.

“All right, pretty girl, we’re staying in the Tree With Ears suite, which sounds weird but isn’t. The manager said it’s inspired by an Asian legend about confiding secrets under a tree or something. Everything is gold, velvet, or Japanese silk, Baroque, and “fairy tale”,” André explained after a couple of “ciao’s” on the phone. “It has an antique library. The rate includes champagne and breakfast but we can find your fantasy cafe or whatever, or that can wait for lunch. The hotel restaurant is very popular so it might be good. I imagine the free breakfast is just pastries and coffee and the like though.”

“Good job, boyfriend.” Christina patted his hands when they arrived on her shoulders from behind the couch.

“You should bring the outfit Mausi’s dead fish ruined the other night,” he told her, kneading at her shoulders in a way that made her think of all inappropriately behaved men and boys she’d encountered who somehow thought they could unsolicited-massage their way into her pants, or at least to getting her number in their phone. Why that was such a seemingly universal medium of sexual harassment, she knew not. It was fine when it was André, of course, but because he was talking about lingerie, it rang that bell for her.

“Mkay but I was going to try to bring as little as possible since we’re going to have to carry our stuff with us on Sunday, no? Or do you think we can go back to the hotel to pick it up? It might be really out of the way. Where are we having dinner?”

“I don’t know. You can pick a place and book a table if you want, but I thought we’d just find something. We’ll explore. There might be some small place the websites don’t know about that has the best classic Parisian food,” the player shrugged. His girl squeezed his right hand once it stopped moving by her neck. It meant a lot to her that he decided, all on his own, that they should go explore a distant city together. That was the thing she most wanted to make time for after the Olympics. She envisioned doing her explorations with Juan, but not because the other midfielder was an undesirable partner for adventuring. He just usually had less appetite for the unknown and unremarkable. He was the guy who usually did like to look up the best place and make a reservation. That a short roam around Paris was what he wanted for his birthday meant something extra. It wasn’t as if he threw the surprise together for her, for a holiday, or to celebrate a result. It was for him, so it had to be what he really wanted.