#bc i had an invite to some neighbors' dinner and i wanted to bring something

[sunflowerrboyy]

today i learned anxiety and allergy attack dont mix

[irisxstardust]

1 | Shut Up

SUMMARY: You and Ellie used to be friends until one day when she decided she was done. You hadn't spoken to her since and now, five years later, you are given the unfortunate task of going on patrol with the girl. A little argument and one stalker later, you're playing her hero. But is it enough to repair the damage made to your relationship all those years ago?

A/N: wowzers. ive spent like two weeks going back and forth on this piece bc UGH i want to get into the cutie stuff but i like want that angst and slow burn yk. and i also want it to be good like this is my first real tumblr post and yall are such good writers ive got a lotta standards to meet. ugh pls tell me its not boring i dont want it to be boring since its not fluff. anyway there will be more but im not sure how fast ill be able to write it. i like really dk how many more parts i could make of this ngl like i just wanna make a happy amazing pt 2 where reader and ellie just like live happily ever after. also this is my first time writing in second person so pls give me grace if its bad lmfao. love you🫶🏻

CW: cursing, angst?/slow burn, fem!reader (she/her), CAT (🤮🤧😵‍💫)

WC: 3,688

You didn’t hate Ellie Williams, not in the slightest.

In fact, when you first met the girl you were impressed by her nonchalant attitude and how quickly she adjusted to life in Jackson. You admired the bond she shared with her companion, Joel - the closeness they shared, the softness of his voice when he spoke to her, the glint in her eyes when she looked at him. That didn’t mean you missed the way she stared off distantly in her free time, or the way she would talk to others with a certain tiredness in her voice; but it wasn’t like you could talk to her about it.

You weren’t friends with her. Well, not anymore.

Ellie and you were friends when she first arrived, you made sure of it. You were always bringing her things to make the adjustment easier: blankets, sweaters, new socks, ammunition, and a new hairbrush, among other things. She was grateful for it at first, always thanking you, hunting you down for movie nights, and inviting you over for dinner with Joel. But at some point you messed up - you did something wrong.

She slowly began to ignore you, she started returning your home-baked goods and stopped inviting you to her house to watch movies. She started to talk to you just as cold as she talked to the others. She didn’t like you anymore.

Eventually, probably tired of your haphazard attempts to fix your friendship, she snapped. You left her house in tears that day with your head down, shoulders hunched and wobbly, trying to cover the tear streaks with your hair.

Ever since you’d tried to ignore her, her words, and the wounds they made. It was hard when she consumed your every waking thought. You thought about Ellie all the time - what you did wrong, the way her hair bounced as she walked, what you said to make her hate you, that one time at dinner she accidentally choked on water and spit it out her nose, the look in her eyes as she yelled in your face, all of the science stuff she had hidden away in every crevice of her room.

Every thought you had about Ellie contradicted the other and it was all so confusing that every time you thought too hard about it your head spun.

So you quickly found yourself doing simple, menial tasks to keep your thoughts at bay. You were picking up every patrol you were allowed, volunteering at the daycare to help your mom care for the kiddos, spending any and all free time at your friends houses instead of yours. You always finished your house chores early in the morning, always walked your neighbors dog once before noon and once after, always doing whatever you could to stay out of your own mind.

So you forgot about Ellie - as best as you could, at least.

It almost worked, too. Five years you got away with it, hiding from your mind and from Ellie. Until today, the one day you had been dreading for years. The day you knew was coming.

You were partnered with Ellie for patrol.

At first, you'd spent the first three hours complaining to your friends - Jesse mostly ignored you, only cracking jokes here or there, and Dina just didn't understand why you hated Ellie so bad. Eventually you just gave in and stopped complaining, finding some solace under the heavy duvet on your bed.

Before Dina left your home she gave you a warm smile and said, "You're gonna do great." And then left you to your own devices, not realizing she was leaving you to rot in your own brain.

When the time came to get up and get ready, you found yourself picking through your clothes, trying to find the cleanest shirt to wear and the pants that fit you the best. You wanted to look nice, most people would, but you weren't sure if it was for you or for her.

You walked nervously towards the stables, taking firm, heavy breaths as you shoved your hands into your jacket pockets.

"It'll be okay... It'll be okay," you chanted the words under your breath as you neared the stables, clenching and unclenching your sweaty fists.

When you arrived, Ellie was already leading Shimmer along to the exit, hardly glancing at you.

"You're late." She said, sucking on her teeth.

You nodded slowly, inhaling sharply, "I am aware..." speaking slowly and cautiously, trying not to poke the bear. "I kind of have my own stuff, though," the pitch of your voice raised slightly, as if you were unsure of your own words, "so I got here as fast as I could."

She scoffed, her head shaking slightly which sends her short strands of hair bouncing around her ears. "Just get the fucking horse."

You walked off hastily, unfurling Japan's reigns - when Dina didn't take him out, you did, because you both liked to make sure he had enough exercise everyday. You walked him down to meet Ellie at the gate.

Ellie was standing on one foot, shifting her weight every now and then and rubbing her palms down the length of her thighs; almost as if she was rubbing something off of them. She rubbed her thumbs on Shimmer's reigns nervously, head darting back and forth to see if you were close or not.

When you came into her line of sight, she hardened up and stood taller. Her face sharpened and her eyes filled with the same distance that kept you up at night, though today they also harbored another emotion, one you were no longer privy with.

It filled you with a sense of confusion and dread, causing you to mumble incoherently under your breath.

"Fucking Williams... cold as shit... pain in my ass..." you muttered as you mounted your horse.

Giving you one last weary look, Ellie also mounted her horse. She pulled her fingers through her hair, tucking it back behind her ear as the two of you left Jackson.

The horses trotted slowly, easily stepping over the tree roots in the ground as if they had the whole route memorized.

For you, this was one of the few routes you hardly visited. It wasn't too far from Jackson, but it was just far enough that you knew it'd take up the rest of your day.

As your eyes danced between the trail ahead of you and Ellie beside you, you didn't know what to think.

Sure, you'd thought of all the ways you would yell at her and all the things you'd say if you ever got the chance again; but you'd also thought of all the ways you'd make it up to her, all the things you wanted to say to let her know you weren't the same person you used to be.

What did it matter, anyway?

You were stuck here, letting your old wounds sit and fester in the bitterness of it all. You were stuck here, next to her but unable to fill the empty silence with words. You were stuck here, on patrol with the one person who hates your guts and you couldn't do anything about it.

"It's not polite to stare, you know."

Her voice echoed through the dense trees, bouncing off branches and leaves only to worm its way back into your brain.

"I'm sorry?" you hummed, caught off guard by the sound.

Her head slightly turned in your direction and Shimmer slowed down to a light trot, matching Japan's speed. "It's not polite to stare."

Her words were much sharper the second time around, with much more emphasis placed upon them.

She's angry. Amazing. You scoffed to yourself, trying to keep hold of your composure.

"I wasn't staring..." you paused. You almost said her name, but the word caught in your throat. "At you. I wasn't staring at you."

She glanced at you sideways before she continued, "you were."

"Was not!"

"Were too."

"I wasn't staring-!"

There it was again. You'd almost said her name, but it got caught in the back of your throat, which left you to haphazardly cut off your sentence and leave her hanging, waiting for it.

She scoffed. "Yes, you were."

You closed your mouth and pressed your lips into a line, "I wasn't fucking staring at you, Williams."

"So you stare at me, deny it when I tell you it's impolite, and then can't even use my name?" She stopped her horse, leaning back in the saddle as she spoke.

And the words get caught in your throat. Your mouth dried as you slowed your own horse.

"I used your name," you whispered, blinking away the wetness in your eyes.

She laughed sourly, pulled on Shimmer's reigns and began to trot ahead of you again.

You sighed at the bitterness brewing in the pit of your stomach. You certainly fucked that up - but was it entirely your fault? Surely some of that had to go to Ellie too - I mean she's the one who broke off your friendship... she's the one who yelled at you for "staring." You weren't staring in the first place... right?

You began to question yourself, yet again, as Ellie spoke up once more.

"You're still staring."

And suddenly it's almost as if you could hear the smirk she had on her face.

"Could you fucking not? Please? I'm just trying to get to the tower and go home alive. I don't want to deal with this bullshit too."

"Stop fucking staring then," she whipped around to face you. "I definitely didn't ask for this either, so stop being a baby and get over it."

You clenched your fists and brought one to your face, rubbing your eyes with your palm.

"I'm not staring at you, El-"

You stopped talking after you finally looked directly into her eyes, catching sight movement behind her.

She began to scoff but suddenly stopped as your face changed.

"What?"

"Shut up."

You tilted your head to the side, narrowing your eyes as you focused on a shadowy figure hidden in the trees.

The figure stilled under a long branch, the leaves creating long shadows which warped around the curves of the figure.

Slowly, you reached for the pistol strapped to your thigh. Ellie's face scrunched in a mix of confusion and worry.

"Don't," you breathed, "move."

At the sound of your sharp exhale the figure screeched and aimed for Ellie, its dark eyes fixated on her.

You brought the gun up, aiming and pulling the trigger as fast as you could, but the stalker was hardly affected by the single bullet.

Ellie whipped around, yelping once before the stalker jumped on her and yanked her off of Shimmer. The stalker pinned her to the ground, its teeth already bared and ready to bite.

You pulled the trigger again. And again. And again. Until eventually the stalker slumped down above Ellie.

She pushed it off and brought herself to her feet, head whipping around to look for others.

"Do you see any more?" you asked as you scanned the area.

She shook her head, "I don't think so... holy shit."

You both sat quietly for a moment as you tried to process what just happened.

"Thanks- thanks for uh, for that," she panted, mounting Shimmer again and looking around, "that was close."

For a moment you were rendered speechless, trying to piece the puzzle back together in your brain before responding. "Yeah... of course," you paused, adding lightly, "s'what friends do." It came out a little mumbled but you knew she heard it.

You didn't keep your eyes on hers long enough to gauge her reaction, but you figured it was one full of something negative. You looked up one last time and caught her eyes, the strangest look on her face, before turning back down and looking away.

"The tower's just up that way," you hesitated, waiting for her to say - or do - something. To do anything. But she didn't, so you continued, "there shouldn't be any more in the area, they just cleared it last week."

You shifted on the saddle, cringing slightly, urging Japan to move forward again.

The rest of your route went okay - you didn't encounter anymore infected and the area is mostly barren anyway so you didn't find anything worthwhile. The tower was cleared already, too, so you and Ellie mostly found solace in your own thoughts for the rest of the route.

She didn't mention the staring thing again, opting to keep quiet instead, but you could feel her eyes meeting the side of your head every now and then.

You didn't say anything to her as you re-entered Jackson, walking side by side to the stables to put the horses back.

Ellie was brushing out Shimmer's mane as she opened her mouth to speak, "hey, thanks for earlier. Seriously. It means a lot."

You nodded, "no worries," and you paused, unsure of what to say next. Before you could, Ellie spoke up again.

"And sorry, by the way," she said, eyes darting around the stables, "for being mean."

At that, you found yourself completely dumbfounded, eyes wide, staring across the stables at her. And before you had the chance to recover from the shock she was flying out of the stables, probably heading back to Joel's house.

Within the next four minutes you'd rushed to Dina's, tripping and stumbling over your own feet, heart pounding and mind racing.

"She apologized?" Dina asked incredulously, eyebrows raised and lips turned downward, "for real?"

You shrugged, "I guess. I can't believe it either."

"Yeah, dude, she hated you for years but you play hero once and now she likes you again?" Jesse laughed, shaking his head, "bullshit."

"I never said she liked me again, Jesse. I was just telling you what happened. She apologized. That's what happened."

"Maybe she realized you aren't that bad," Dina smiled.

"Oh thanks, Dee, I'm honored."

Dina chuckled, leaning towards you and smacking your shoulder playfully, "and it's about time."

You paused, chewing on your lip as you thought of the day's events over and over and over again.

"I hope this is a new beginning for you guys, you deserve it."

You stopped your thinking, pulling yourself out of your thoughts to respond with a smile, "thanks, Dee."

"So, now that that's out of the way," Dina smiled suggestively, narrowing her eyes and raising her eyebrows, "you want to come to the bar with us later? Everyone's gonna be there."

You couldn't miss the suggestive tone in her voice, the way it dropped a pitch and she gained a mischievous glint in her eyes.

You hummed, "are they? Good for them."

Dina sighed exhaustedly, "c'mon! You never come with us! It'll be so much fun, I promise!"

"I don't know, Dina. You know I'm not one for parties."

"Well, you are tonight," she tapped the palm of her hand against the table, "because you are coming with me and we are going to dance all night and have so much fun. So much so, in fact, that you're going to completely forget how much you hate parties!"

"Oh, is that right?" You smiled as you began to chuckle.

She hummed, a particularly big grin splattered on her face.

"Yeah, your new best friend might be there too," Jesse added, which earned a nasty look from you and a disapproving look from Dina.

"Shut up!" Dina shouted, turning her attention to Jesse - which only threw you right back into your own head.

After Dina snapped you out of it, and after a lot more begging and pleading on her part, you agreed. It couldn't be that bad - right?

The party was nothing short of what you'd expected.

It was loud, crammed, kind of smelly, and definitely not the place you wanted to be spending your time.

But every time you caught Dina's eyes or you looked over in her direction, the smile on her face was enough to make you feel so deeply guilty that you stayed put. You stayed with her if she brought you out to dance and you stayed with her if she brought you to the bar to get a new drink.

It wasn't a surprise when you noticed Ellie at the bar, nursing a cold cup, staring at you with a conflicting expression. It also wasn't a surprise when Dina grabbed your hand and started dragging you in her direction, giving you one last reassuring smile.

It was a surprise, however, when Ellie greeted Dina with a hug and you with a smile.

She smiled at you.

Completely unable to quickly recover, you let Dina do the talking, trying to calm your racing heart.

"Hey, El! How're you doing?" she had to shout over the music but you knew Ellie could hear her - everyone could hear Dina.

"Pretty good! You okay?"

They began to exchange pleasantries and all the usual small talk, so you spaced out for a moment, waiting for the moment Dina would pull you away again. That moment didn't come, however, because Dina ran off without you.

"Wait - where's she going?" you yelled, eyes finally meeting Ellie's.

"Said she was gonna grab Jesse," Ellie began, eyes scanning over your outfit. "You want a drink?"

You hesitated, thinking over what happened during patrol. You lost yourself, again, and began mulling over what you could say and how she would possibly respond.

But then you began speaking, your mind not caught up yet.

"Sure!"

Ellie's face relaxed a little, and she waved you over towards a quieter area of the bar. The flannel tucked up to her elbows showcased the way her muscles flexed as she signaled Seth over to your side of the bar.

"You doing okay?" You asked as Seth walked away. "It just... looked like that stalker shook you up a bit."

She nodded, "Yeah, yeah. It was a little," she shrugged and let out a mangled noise, "nerve wracking." You both laughed.

Seth dropped your drink in front of you, giving you a sideways glance before returning to the packed end of the bar.

"You know how it goes, though," she finished. "I'm good."

"Well, that is certainly a plus."

Her lips tugged into a small grin, making you mirror the expression.

"Thanks again, by the way."

"Hey, we were partners. It was my job to have your back."

You both laughed again.

And you fell back into it. Into that easy-going, comfortable rhythm you had with her so many years ago. It was like no time had passed at all; like you were fourteen again.

And even when Dina came back she didn't hide it. You were finally able to openly talk to your two friends together again. It was like a dream.

"Hey, Ellie!" No. "I haven't seen you in forever!" No. "You look so good!" No.

"Oh! Hey, Cat!"

No.

You could almost taste the tension that had suddenly built up around the three of you; the sudden change in the air sending your head reeling and heart pounding.

Ellie and Cat exchanged pleasantries (not like you were interested or anything) as you suddenly honed in on a weirdly shaped ice cube in your drink. Poking at it with your straw, you waited for Cat to leave, holding your breath.

And in less than five minutes, you fell out of it.

You fell out of your rhythm, Ellie already ten beats ahead of you while you seemed to have changed rhythms completely.

When Cat did (finally) leave you let out a shaky breath, watching as even Ellie noticed the shift in you.

"Sorry," she said sheepishly, mostly directing the apology to Dina. She turned to face Dina straight on now, no longer moving her eyes between the two of you.

"You're fine," Dina brushed it off quickly, seemingly unaware of the sudden awkwardness.

"I should uh... go anyway. Joel's waiting for me, so... you know."

"Oh, yeah, sure. We should go soon too," Dina draped an arm around your shoulders, "I have kept someone here for way too long. She's getting a little antsy." She gave you a pointed smile, a teasing tone lacing her voice.

Ellie gave Dina a half-hearted chuckle before standing and hugging her. She gave you a very awkward, sideways, one armed hug before turning around and almost running out of the building.

"You want to go now or wait a little-"

"Can we go, Dina?" you rushed, clenching your eyes shut as you rubbed the balls of your palms into your eyes. "I'm just... really tired."

Dina stared at your face, her eyes scanning yours, for an extra beat before nodding, "Yeah, of course."

At home you spent the rest of your night hiding under your duvet, pulling at large chunks of your hair with your fists, digging your heels into your bed; all the way until you finished the night tiredly blinking away tears and chewing at your lips.

It was all so confusing. One minute you're dreading even looking at her and the next you're talking and laughing with her like you're best friends - and then? Then you're sitting there like the two of you never started talking again at all, all because Ellie said hi to an old friend.

One minute she's talking to you, then the next she's talking to you through Dina.

You woke in the morning with blood dried on your lips and dark bags under your eyes. You found it hard to keep your eyes open as you brushed your teeth, and one look in the mirror showed that you were in no state to leave your home anytime soon.

Your parents left quickly for work, not giving you a second glance even as you asked them to clear your schedule for the day.

Around noon you received a familiar knock at the door, and when you opened it you saw a face that hadn't graced your porch in a few years.

"Hey, Ellie," you paused, panicking internally. "What's up?"

"Do you want to talk?"

[sungbeam]

SEONGHWA SAN JAEMIN

HI BUBS THANK U FOR PARTICIPATING ☺️🤧

let's play slow burn / fake date / e2l!

this one was tough, i think sofnksjd i had to ponder on it but 💀

SAN > SLOW BURN: i,,, , want to meet an uberly charming, utterly romantic choi san wherein you meet him in some kind of meet cute sort of fashion. nothing too special or out of the ordinary; something like maybe next door neighbors? AND YK IT PAYS TO HAVE A HOT NEIGHBOR—coughs anyways. he's prob super chivalrous and always helps u with carrying groceries in, and helping you fix any busted kitchen appliances, and u like invite him over for dinner and that's when the falling in love starts 🤧 until it's all too normal to give him a key, and he's bringing over wine, and ur dancing in the kitchen together practically a couple :') i've thought abt this for too long god help me

JAEMIN > FAKE DATE: okok this is probably an overused trope for this man, but WHO WOULDN'T WANT TO FAKE DATE NA JAEMIN??? like he feels like the kind of guy to swoop in when he sees someone in trouble, and maybe some ex friends of urs r being toxic bitches, so he basically comes into ur rescue and that somehow leads u two fake dating?? LMAO but like u obviously don't really wanna trouble him but the lies have run too deep by this point—or r they lies anymore...? 👀✨

SEONGHWA > E2L: ikkkkkk seonghwa is like really sweet but don't u just watch him on stage and see the hard gleam in his eyes? i think that's what being his so-called "enemy" is like, yk? like maybe he's just one of those guys who comes off as cold at first bc he's shy, so one meet ugly first impression of each other leads to both of u not liking the other, but somehow u keep bumping into each other?? like what kind of cosmos coincidence—ANYWAYS !!! suffice to say, that e2l w hwa would prob also end in a slow burn romance, but once the two of u see each other for who u really r, you'll begin to realize that ur more alike than u thought :')

[mntalbrakdown]

she’s mine - T. Engler

masterlist!

mentions of: slight You s3 spoilers, smut (MDNI), choking, unprotected sex, wine and beer, fluffy, tummy bulge

synopsis: in which you and Theo Engler have a flirty relationship and end up inviting him over for a dinner date, things quickly escalate and you basically fuck :O

a/n: so sorry I haven’t posted in a while bc of school yk…and well I won’t be writing about Sebastian Stan. I will be writing here and there, this isn’t saying I’m fully back, but I am also not dead

You were going to Love‘s bakery to pick up some dessert for yourself. You were probably the youngest woman in Madre Linda. You we’re pretty wealthy for your age, especially since you are still going to college. You didn’t have roommates because you don’t like other people around you at all time when it isn’t your family or how they probably never pick up after themselves so you live by yourself.

You were walking with your headphones on, you were known as the quiet girl who loved music. No one saw you with your headphones off, of course you took them off when you were talking to someone, but they were always in your hands. You were waiting for the red light to turn green so you can cross the road. You of course had a car, but you always liked walking around with headphones on, it was far superior than driving in a car.

“hey neighbor” you hear an unexpected voice and turn where it was coming from

”hey” you meet eyes with the voice

“I stalked your Spotify” Theo says

“I know it’s sexy” you say taking off your headphones

“I wouldn’t say that, mine are by far better” Theo says walking closer to you

“Says who? Daddy?” You say pouting your face to him as you see the light turn green. “Where are you going?”

”To Love’s” you say crossing the street, Theo following closely behind

“Hey guys” Love looks up due to the bell on top of the door

”Hey Love, can I get half a dozen cupcakes please” you say politely

“The usual?” She asks

“Si“ you say back

“Why half a dozen?” Theo asks

“So I can eat them…“ You look at Theo confused because you thought that was a dumb question

“May I join your dinner” Theo asks biting his knuckles hoping he didn’t do something wrong

“If you like sushi than yeah” you say looking to see his expression because he always expresses how much he hates sushi

“than I’ll meet you at 7” you look at Love with wide eyes because he was lying about liking sushi and she ends up laughing because she thinks your young love is the cutest thing. You pay for your food and say thank you while walking away and putting your headphones in, but you were stopped midway.

“y/n wait!” Theo says speed walking

“yes Engler?” You say as you continue to walk

“Can I make the food at your place?”

“You know how to cook?” You ask stunned

“ouch, you can eat that raw fish, but let me bring something, please” he begs with puppy dog eyes

“you really want this to be a date don’t you“ you say staring up at the sun since Theo is so fucking tall. “There is a possibility, yeah”

”Sure” you say smiling, you both weren’t a thing but you both were flirty.

You both walk in the same direction since you were neighbors. You shared your headphones with the tall brunette. He smiles at you from time to time, the way you tap your hand on your thigh with the beat of the song that plays. He almost wants to reach and grab your other arm but he’s to scared. As much as he likes to joke around about hating your playlists, he actually only listens to them because he wants to get close to you, he wants to talk about the music and see how your day reflects your music.

You reach your house and he hands back your headphone to you. He really wants to kiss you right now. he thinks it’s the perfect time, you do too. Yet, you guys are not together and scared if it will scare the other off. Joe can see it from the window, he can cut it with one of Love’s knives. Love and Joe have had dinner with you to try to get to know you, and so you don’t spend most of your time alone. They were very kind to you and protected you. When you got anxiety from the disappearance of Natalie, they were by your side.

“so 7.” Theo asks for a confirmation

”that’s correct“ and with that he leaves and you quickly get inside the house trying to find the perfect outfit. It was supposed to be cute but casual. You of course wore your favorite black jeans, with a light blue tank that showed some of your cleavage and an oversized varsity jacket because you were starting to get cold. You curled Your hair and did your makeup. Than you laid on your sofa while you were waiting for postmates. You had drinks ready of all sorts. Juice, soda, water, wine, and beer. You didn’t drink the last two but when you had guest you had options.

You hear a knock and open it up to see your sushi you already payed so you said thank you and waved them off. You laid back on your sofa and continued watching Sex Education. Two episodes went by and you hear another knock on the door, you checked your phone to see it was seven o’clock on the dot and turn the tv off. You jog to the door, but before you do you check how you look in your mirror. You fixed your hair quickly and reached your hand out to unlock the door. You meet eyes with Theo and you see the prettiest bouquet of flowers. In the other hand was a bag of Wing Stop and you smiled at him. He looked so stunned and you let him in, closing the door right behind him. He already has been in your house a hand full of time, so he knows where to go.

“so…what would you like to drink” you ask as you connect your phone to the bluetooth in your house to play your music

“umm, a soda, coke please” he answers as he sees your body sway to your kitchen to get his soda and he think he’s dreaming. Of course he always found you beautiful, but today was different, you guys were on a date. At least that’s what he thinks. With this he knows he has to play his cards right to make sure your his.

“this is a date correct?” He asks as you hand him his coke

“of course Engler” The way you say his name, the way it just rolls righ out of your mouth makes him so hard. He hopes he isn’t dreaming. He panics what if this is a dream? He would be so upset if he woke up right now.

You make your way to get your sushi and utensils with some napkins and your own beverage. You sit back down across from Theo and he has his own food set up.

“I’m kind of craving something else” he says meeting your eyes with something in his eyes

“why what’s wrong?” You furrow your eyebrows

”This doesn’t seem that appetizing when your sitting right there and you have something sweet” he says never breaking eye contact

“my sushi?” You look at him confused because your sushi isn’t sweet

“your pussy“ he says and you realize that his eyes with filled with lust

”oh” you say laughing,” well you can always change your mind and we can fix something out” you say

”is that so?” “yupp” you say with a loud pop at the end

He stands up and grabs your hand so you stand up, he than moves both his hands to your waist and brings you closer so you both can kiss. He leans down as you tiptoe to meet halfway. It gets heated and he just aimlessly walks you while he is kissing you. He accidentally bumps you to a wall. You laugh in between the kiss. He grabs on of your legs and brings it up, up to his waist. He starts to trail his kiss down your neck and sucks on it. You moan his name and grab his hair, pulling it when he sucked on your sweet spot so hard that it leaves a mark.

he then let’s go of your leg and walks you back down. You realize he took you to the kitchen but you didn’t mind. When you both pull away. He started to unbutton your pants, but stopped not wanting to make you feel forced and looked at your eyes. You nodded

“words, I need words beautiful“ and if words can make you cum on the spot, that just did.

”god yes Theo” and than he continued his task to make you nude. He unbuttoned your jeans while you did his.

“I’ll need to keep these” Theo says talking about your panties.

”Do whatever you want to me and my belongs, just give me you” With that he continued his task, taking your shirt and your bra off. With the annoying bulge growing in his boxers

When both of you were free of clothes. Theo positioned you on the cold marble counter, you slightly hissed. He brings one of his finger to your core as you moan and both of you look at how his finger disappears inside of you and you both moan, he jumps to add two more fingers and you immediately moan and lay your head against the cabinets above you.

Theo’s penis can’t take it, so while you’re moaning about how well his fingers feel he takes his boxers off, he grabs one of your hands with his free ones and makes you pump his penis up to be ready to take you. You moan even louder to see his size, the way he is still making you feel good, and how he looks moaning as you pump him. You accidentally cum on the spot.

“I am so sorry” you say trying to hide your face in his neck

“God that was so hot y/n” and you could feel him twitch as you pump him. He still has his fingers deep inside of you he adds a fourth finger and you roll your eyes back. He has you right where he wants you. He takes all his fingers out and while your about to complain he slams you deep with his penis and you make a loud pornagraphic moan. While he is slamming in you, with an unholy rhythm, he is sucking his finger dry one by one and is making eye contact with you. You both moan in union

“God you are so sweet, just what I was craving“ he continues slamming you into the cabinets. He loves the noise of your wet pussy with his dick and the slaps of the skin. Mixed with your gorgeous head hitting the cabinets lightly and your angelic moans. It’s times like these you have another reason why you don’t like roommates.

“god you are perfect, you were made just for me” he says as he sees how your boobs bounce up and down and both of you moan for different reasons

“you take me so well, look how my dick hides in your pretty pussy baby” both of you look down in between you and see how your previous cum drips out and how his dick hides and comes out of your pussy.

“choke me” you say

“what?” Theo needs to make sure he knows what you just said

“put your pretty hands around my neck and make me feel like a whore”

”god you make me so hard” he follows your instructions

“open your mouth” you do so and he spits in it . You roll your eyes and swallow it showing him. You could feel him twitch inside you

“I’m on the pill“ you say as you rub yourself to your orgasm. He brings your face to meet his for a long passionate kiss, while that same hand is gripping a cabinet for support to go deeper and harder into you. You moan so loud that you think the whole neighborhood heard. you pull on Theo’s hair as you come down loud and hard. Your furrowed eyebrows come to rest and Theo is close behind. His warm seed is covering your walls now. He leans down to kiss you again and you lightly trace his jawline. As you both pull away you both see him slowly pull out and as you feel the cold air hit and you feel empty you both know it’s not over. both your cum is mixed and spilling out. He gets some with his finger and licks it up.

“so fucking good”

“let me have a taste“ you say leaning in for a kiss

“god you made me hard again”

“round two?”

”god yes baby, let me take a picture of how pretty your pussy looks right how. Theo pulls his phone out and takes a few pictures, he puts his dick back in and takes more pictures. He carries you up the stairs to your room. you realize your room is a mess and see a black lingerie in the corner of your eye as Theo lays you down.

“what’s this hot stuff?” he says picking the black lingerie

“nothing, Theo give me it.” you demand begging

“no, only if you wear it and ride me in it.”

“fine” you grab it and wear it

“c’mere gorgeous” he says with two fingers motioning you to come. his dick looks painfully hard so you start to lick it and you opened your mouth to please him, he moans and grabs your hair as he pushes you down. you almost choke since he is so big.

“perfect, absolutely fucking perfect” Theo praises you. “baby, stop before I cum all in your mouth” so you do and than he guides you so your now on top of him. you align yourself up and sink in. you slowly move. you spell his name out with your hips and he didn’t realize but the motion made him moan. He looks at your lingerie covered stomach and sees his penis through your tummy. he absolutely fucking loses it and wants to to start moving more. You start to hop on him and he immediately shot to grab your ass. his eyes concentrate on your boobs jumping and he immediately threw his head back. you grabbed the roots of his curly hair. as you moan. he brings your face down to kiss it. he guides you and as it looks like you started to get tired, he flips you both.

“I’m close Theo” you say and he did what knows will push you over the edge. he grabs one of your legs and puts it over his shoulder to go deeper into you. He than chokes you just how you like it and with that pleasure all applied it makes you roll your eyes and moan loudly. he than leans into kiss you passionately. with a loud moan you come and he was right behind. You both try to catch air and lay looking up at the ceiling.

“That was amazing y/n” he says facing you and guiding your face to look at him.

“Can’t wait to do it again” you say with a grin

“so what does that mean between us?” Theo says with a completely innocent look as if he didn’t just ruin you

“you’re mine” you say and you slowly nuzzle your face into his chest.

“I’ve met my soulmate” he whispers and you both slowly drift off to sleep

[hesthermay]

𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐁𝐔𝐂𝐊𝐘 𝐇𝐂’𝐒

ʚϊɞ headcannons, word count? again i do not know

ʚϊɞ gn!reader, fluff, domestic!bucky, mechanic!bucky, extremely self indulgent, again i am not sober LOL

— first and foremost, i think there are two versions of bucky

— the one where he stays a city boy his whole life, brooklyn has his heart and always will. which is fine!! i love this bucky to the moon and back

— and the one where he leaves all the hustle and bustle behind to live a quiet life in literally the middle of nowhere. this is my favorite version of bucky to think about, bc my head is my head and i can do what i want

— i picture an old farm house on a plot of land surrounded by woods, nearest neighbor is at least a mile and a half down the road (an old woman who has ‘mama’ in front of her name. she lives on her own and invites the both of you over every sunday night)

— y’all’s driveway is gravel, and the road you turn off of is a dirt road. your mailbox is old and has your last name on it, with a very tiny ‘BARNES’ scribbled under it

— you guys have dogs, two specifically

— and a cat

— bucky is the best pet dad ever. he works at the mechanic shop in town and alpine, your always dirty white cat who’s stuck on him like glue, is his favorite coworker

— alpine rides in the passenger seat or on the dash of the old truck you gave bucky when y’all met. it belonged to your brother and had been in the shed in the backyard for a while, but he’d had that spark that made you want to bring back that part of your life

— the dogs always greet the both of you when you get home from work. they sit by the mailbox with tongues sticking out and tails wagging. they chase the trucks to the end of the driveway and expect their lovins right then and there

— bonfires in the backyard all the time. it’s something the two of you cherish, nights where you pile into one lawn chair with a blanket and talk the night away. it’s also something you share with your friends, music playing loud and beers and such in hand

— it took bucky a while to get acclimated to your friend group, but after a while he found his footing. his personality really comes out one summer, the first summer spent as your boyfriend, and everyone falls for him even more than they already had. they’d loved him from the beginning, but once he let his laugh get loud and true, rolled his sleeves up and took the glove off, they knew he could be their friend

— your group frequents your place; whether that be after work, on lunch break, when they need to be patched up a bit—your home is the Mom and Dad home

— you don’t mind it, it just means the house you worked hard for is creating a space for all the love you’d hoped for. bucky doesn’t mine it either, because it makes him feel so much like his regular self to stand by your side as you make a large dinner with the sounds of the screen door opening and closing ever so often in the background

— bucky talks to sam a lot. they may bicker, but a phone call is still a phone call

— sam also loves you. to death

— bucky snores in his sleep. some nights he’s able to sleep in the bed, other nights it’s the bedroom floor. he falls asleep on the couch a lot, or in the recliner (like an old man lololol) you don’t complain tho. wherever he gets his sleep, as least he’s getting it

— living with bucky is so fun. seeing him become himself is so great. watching him begin to love life again is the best thing ever

— you love bucky and he loves you. it’s evident in the little things that domestic life brings—washing the dishes together and his hand touches yours as the plate is passed along, one person getting home from work before the other and starting dinner for the night, dropping off lunch for him at the shop when you’re on your break, him following the dogs as they run out the door hollering “hey mom!” as your truck pulls into the driveway

— this is a constant daydream i live in goodbye

ʚϊɞ reblogs are always appreciated luvs ! ʚϊɞ

all works on this blog belong to hesthermay.tumblr.com: do not copy, repost onto other sites, or claim my content as your own. 

[peaceisadirtyword]

Don’t Play With Fire VI (Modern!Ivar/Reader)

A/N: HELLO🥺💜 I’m so happy and so excited to post something again! After months with a huge block, not being able to write more than 1000 words, I managed to finish something. It’s not perfect, but I'm quite happy with the result! And I really hope you like it too, and you forgive me for being such an horrible writer these months. I hope I can keep writing like this now🥰 I hope I can post something more this week, but I can’t promise you anything because I'm working, finishing my final project for uni and I have to study bc I have a Danish test next week, but I’m going to try!

I really hope you enjoy this, it was much longer, but I decided to crop it a bit because it was too long! And I hope you like this part enough to read the next part as soon as I can post it! Thank you and please enjoy💞

Warnings: violence, an abusive relationship, mentions of sex, mentions of death and Ivar might be a bit out of character! 

Words: 3967 (told you it was too long)

DPWF Masterlist

gif belongs to @justacripple 

A dog barking on the street startled you, and you nearly dropped your phone out of the window. You frowned and took a deep breath before turning around and entering your living room, letting yourself fall down on your couch, groaning. 

A soft meowing and small paws pressing against your head made you open your eyes. 

"What?" you glared at the intense green eyes fixed on you "Don't look at me like that, I really want to tell him, but he's not answering his phone" 

You looked at your phone again, biting your lip. You had sent like six messages to Erik, asking him to call you or come home. You hadn't heard of him in two days, since you arrived from Stockholm... And even if you wanted to be worried, you were more angry than anything. 

You had made your decision. After spending a whole night sleeping beside Ivar, with his arms around you and feeling safer and more relaxed than ever you decided to end everything. It was over for you. 

You weren't going to keep risking your own life for Erik, when he obviously didn't care about it. You were tired of his shit, and of dealing with things you shouldn't be dealing with and that affected you on many levels. And, at the same time, you were terrified of breaking up with him; even if you were ready to let Erik go, you were worried about him and what could happen to him. 

But you were being selfish for once and put yourself before everything. 

As usual, Erik didn't answer his phone, but appeared a couple of hours later without a warning. As always, drunk and hungry, barely looking at you as he opened your fridge and started taking your food, the food you had bought with the little money you had left from work and that was meant to be enough for two weeks until you got paid again. 

You just got back from Sweden, risking your life for him and he didn't even look at you. 

With tears of rage burning in your eyes, you stood just in front of him. He looked annoyed, but he frowned in confusion when he saw you glaring at him.

"I called you" 

"I know baby" he rubbed his eyes, leaving the food on the kitchen counter "I was busy"

"You were busy in your friend's house getting wasted" you scoffed "And I needed to talk to you" 

"You can talk now" he shrugged.

"Yes" you took the piece of bread from his hand "I'm going to talk"

Erik clenched his jaw. 

"What? Did something happen in Stockholm?"

Yes, you thought, a lot of things happened. 

"Erik, I'm done" 

"You're done with what?"

"With everything, with this stupid mission you gave to me, with you, with all this shit, Erik, I don't want to keep risking my own life so you can get your revenge, you care more about your revenge than about me, and I'm done with it" 

He looked confused. You saw him getting angry, but it was like he had a learned role, and immediately his face changed and he tried to look like a puppy, like he was sad. 

"Baby... What do you mean?"

"Don't call me baby" you rolled your eyes "Look, Erik, I care about you, but I'm not risking everything for someone who I know wouldn't risk a thing for me" you shook your head. 

"Don't do this to me" he muttered, and you felt like punching him when he let a couple of false tears roll down his cheeks. It was the same performance as always, trying to make you feel guilty and sad "I need you, I love you"

"No you don't" you looked away from him. For the first time, you didn't even feel bad for him "I'm tired, it's over" 

Immediately, his sadness turned into anger. You pressed your lips together as he glared at you. 

"You can't break up with me" 

"Well, I'm doing it right now, so I think I can" you shrugged, trying not to feel intimidated by the way he clenched his fists. 

"You're nothing without me" he spat, making you flinch softly "No one will ever love you, you're useless" 

You sighed, feeling too exhausted to go through this again. 

"Please, Erik, leave" you said softly, not really wanting to fight or anger him. You said what you had to say and it was over for you. 

He was trembling in rage, panting and looking around. For a moment, you thought he'd hit you, but instead he stood up and took your phone from the kitchen counter, slamming it on the floor before you could react. He continued walking around the living room and slamming everything he could take as you moved away from him. You were relieved to remember you had locked your cat on your bedroom, fearing something like this would happen. 

"Did you fuck him?" he raised his voice at you and you flinched again "Did you fuck him during your little holidays in Sweden?" He approached you and you pressed your back to the kitchen counter, grabbing the knife you had left on the sink after dinner to wash later. He wouldn't hit you, you were almost sure of that, but if he did, you'd defend yourself. 

"No" you answered, glaring at him "I wasn't on holidays, I was risking everything for you, and you didn't even care about how I was" 

"You're a whore" he growled, and you held yourself from rolling your eyes "I knew you would betray me, I knew I couldn't trust you" 

"Erik, please, leave" you muttered "Seriously"

"This is not over" he muttered, getting so close to you that you turned your head. He reeked of alcohol, and it made you nauseous "You'll hear from me again, you fucking bitch" 

And then he left. As quickly as he had entered, he left the house, leaving the door open and muttering different insults and threats that you couldn't hear. 

Immediately, you took your keys from your purse and locked the door leaving the keys on so no one could open it from outside. You took your phone from the floor, relieved to see it only had the screen broken, you were really thankful to that employee at the store that convinced you to buy a tempered glass and that big phone case. 

You weren't sure of how much time you spent in there, standing between the kitchen and the living room, not really sure of what you were feeling in that moment. Your eyes scanned the room, the tv was okay, Erik didn't have the strength in that moment to throw it to the floor, but some other things, like the beautiful crystal vase you had on the table, full of beautiful flowers that Mrs. Larsen, your neighbor, had brought for you when she went to her holiday cottage in Jutland, just before you went to Sweden. 

And then you heard it; a small meowing and a scratch on the wooden door that lead to your bedroom, and your eyes widened. 

Smaug seemed mad at you when you opened the door, hissing a bit when you kneeled on the floor to take him in your arms, hugging him tightly. He meowed again in protest, but you ignored him. 

"Are you okay? Did the noise scare you?" You pouted, tears already burning in your eyes. 

He licked your cheek softly, and you let out the first sob. 

____________________________

You woke up with your phone vibrating on the bed next to you. You needed a couple of seconds to realize you were in your bed, still wearing the same clothes you did the day before before taking the phone. 

"Hello?" You muttered, rubbing your eyes. 

"Y/N, were you sleeping?"

Ivar's voice woke you up completely. You widened your eyes and looked around, remembering everything that happened the night before and that made you cry until you fell asleep. 

"Yeah" you muttered, rubbing your face. Your voice was hoarse and weak, and the silence at the other side of the phone made you understand Ivar knew something had happened. 

You could nearly see him frowning and pressing his lips together. 

"It's lunchtime" 

"Really?" You looked at the clock next to your bed, biting your lip when you realized he was right "Well, I went to sleep really late, so I'm not surprised"

His sigh sounded like he wanted to ask you what happened, but at the same time he knew you wouldn't tell him. 

"Anyway, I called because I wanted to ask you something" 

"Okay, tell me" you shrugged. You realized that the only source of information about Aethelwulf you had was Erik, and he wouldn't tell you anything, of course. But telling Ivar the truth was even more frightening.

"I was wondering... If you'd like to come to my apartment to have dinner tonight" 

He spoke so fast that you barely understood him, but then you raised an eyebrow, smiling unconsciously as your fingers played with the edge of the blanket. 

"For what?" You asked, with your heart beating faster. 

"To... Have dinner" his confused tone made you laugh softly. 

"I mean, you know I don't have any information for you" you giggled "So, unless you want me to do something else I..."

"No, I just want to have dinner with you" Ivar sounded like he had his teeth pressed together, and you allowed yourself to imagine him blushing. 

"Oh, okay" you nodded, your smile getting bigger "That would be nice" 

"Yeah" he cleared his throat. 

"Should I bring something?" 

"No, it's okay, I already bought everything" 

"Why? You didn't know if I'd say yes" 

"If you said no, I'd invite Hvitserk" 

You bit your lip again to hold back a laugh, and you'd swear Ivar chuckled on the phone. 

"Well, then... See you at five?" 

"Half past five" you frowned, looking at your reflect on the mirror in front of your bed and realizing you'd need some time to look like a normal person. 

"Okay, half past five" he agreed, surprising you "I'll send a car to pick you up" 

"I can take the bus..."

"No" he scoffed "I'm not letting you go all alone, you're important" 

The both of you stood in silence, listening to each other's breathing until you parted your lips again. 

"Important for what?" You asked softly "For your business or for... you?" 

Ivar didn't answer. You kind of imagined he wouldn't, but it was still disappointing when he spoke again. 

"The car will pick you up at quarter past five" he said "Be ready"

"I will" you muttered "Bye" 

He hang up without a word, and you stayed there, looking at your phone for a few minutes before laying down on your bed again. As soon as you stopped talking to him, the pressure on your chest came back, as did the tears. You wished you could go back to Stockholm, to snuggle into Ivar's chest again and to sleep peacefully for hours. You remembered how warm he felt, how safe you were with him, and then felt like the worst person in the world. You had lied to both Erik and Ivar; you were still lying to Ivar, and wouldn't tell him not because you were scared of him, but because you knew he wouldn't ever forgive you. 

Taking a deep breath, you stood up, making Smaug hiss in annoyance, and walked into the bathroom, ready to have a nice and relaxing shower. 

__________________________________

Suddenly, any of the clothes you had were nice enough. You hated how you looked even with the new clothes you bought a few weeks ago, when the sales started. Smaug looked amused as you frowned in annoyance when you realized your favorite skirt was now too short. Had always been that short? 

You looked at the big mess of clothes that was your bed. You still had the Dior dress Ivar had gifted you, which was probably more expensive than the rest of your clothes all together, but it was too much, right? Besides, you had already worn it to go dinner with him. 

After deciding you didn't like how your ass looked in a skirt, you started trying on the jeans. Half an hour later, you were already dressed with skinny jeans and a white blouse with some cleavage -you were happy to see that blouse still made your chest look even better. 

You didn't put too much make up on, and left your hair loose. You put your favorite converse on before taking your purse with some money, your keys and your phone before taking Smaug into your arms, ignoring his protests and trying to keep him away from your clothes. 

You didn't want to leave your cat all alone in your apartment just after breaking up with Erik, afraid he'd try to hurt you by hurting Smaug, so you had called your lovely neighbor, Mrs. Larsen, and asked her if she could take care of him for one night. She agreed, and you felt much better leaving him safe with her.

After promising her you'd enjoy yourself and stop worrying about your cat, you left the building biting your lip nervously. 

The thought that Ivar might have discovered you had crossed your mind more than once that day, but for some reason you didn't think that was the reason for his invitation. In fact, you felt like it was a date. 

The car stopped in front of you. You blushed when the driver got out and opened the door for you so you could enter. Muttering a weak 'thank you', you sat down and licked your lips while looking around. It wasn't the same as when you went with Ivar; you felt awkward and, even if no one could see you through the tinted windows, you covered your face until the car stopped next to a huge building in the center of Copenhagen. 

You tried to pretend not to look too amazed by the luxury around you. It was hard to imagine Ivar, the dark and mysterious Ivar, living in that place. 

"Take the elevator to the attic" the driver opened the door for you "Mr. Lothbrok will be waiting for you in there" 

You nodded, smiling at him as you walked to the door. Suddenly, you regretted your election of clothes and realized you should have worn the Dior dress. 

Ivar was leaning on his crutch next to his door. You nearly forgot how beautiful he was, and you had to bit your lip again to hold back a smile. His lips were a bit curved, and his eyes didn't leave you until you arrived next to him. 

"Hi" 

"Hello" he nodded with a soft voice, so different from that Ivar you had met in the club "You look pretty" 

Was he blushing?

"Thanks" you allowed yourself to look at him; he wore a t-shirt and some jeans, really different from the suits he had worn in Stockholm "You look nice too" 

Ivar smiled, but hid it by looking away, moving to leave you enter the apartment... Well, to call that 'an apartment' would be a lie. It was bigger than probably all of the apartments on your building together, and had a huge window from which you could see the entire city. 

"Wow" you muttered, walking around the living room. You forgot your shyness and let yourself wander around, trying to imagine Ivar living there. Would he fall asleep in that huge couch while watching TV after midnight? How would he look having breakfast sitting on the kitchen counter, with sleepy eyes and yawning? The thought of him doing his normal life in that apartment made you smile softly as a warm feeling spread through your chest. 

Ivar closed the door. You turned to look at him, the smile still present on your lips. 

"I don't know how I imagined your house" you confessed "But it definitely wasn't like this" 

Ivar raised an eyebrow as he approached you leaning on his crutch. 

"How did you imagine it?" 

"Darker" you shrugged "Smaller... Full of smoke and with weapons" you giggled.

"Maybe you don't know me that well, then" 

Was he flirting? You had never realized when people flirted with you, and this time wasn't different. 

Blushing, you kept looking around, your eyes widened when you saw the mess on the kitchen. 

"Did you cook?" you forgot your embarrassment and approached the kitchen. Did Ivar the Boneless cook?

"Yes" he cleared his throat "Hvitserk helped me" 

You tried really hard to imagine the two brothers cooking together, and the thought made you smile. 

"Really?"

"Yeah, he's actually a good cook, my mother taught him" 

"So this is how the dangerous Lothbrok family spends their free days... Cooking... Lasagna?" your eyes lightened up when you saw one of your favorite foods in the oven. 

Ivar nodded slowly. 

"It's your favorite, isn't it?" 

"Yeah but... How do you know that?" 

"You mentioned it in Stockholm, while talking to Hvitserk" he blushed, but this time you didn't realize, as he pretended to be busy fiddling with one of the kitchen rags he had left on the counter "I heard you.. As you won't tell me anything about you, I have to eavesdrop" 

You bit your lip to hold back another smile and your eyes went to the wooden table in the living room, set with candles. Something told you Ivar hadn't been the one setting it. 

__________________________________

"You look tired" Ivar didn't stop looking at you as you tasted the first bite of the lasagna. You licked your lips and controlled yourself to avoid moaning at the taste of food. You had barely eaten that day.

"Yeah, I've had trouble to sleep these past days" 

"Can't sleep without me anymore?" He muttered, and you hid your face behind the glass of wine to hide your blush. 

"The lasagna is really good" you cleared your throat "Tell Hvitserk he's a really good cook" 

Ivar frowned and glared at you. 

"I did most of it" he scoffed "Hvitserk ate the ingredients" 

"Okay, then congratulations, Ivar, you're a good cook" 

Ivar smiled, looking down as he played with the food on his plate. 

"Thank you" 

After a couple minutes eating in silence, you raised your head and bit your lip. 

"Why did you invite me?" 

His eyes found yours and you felt thirsty again. 

"I... Wanted to see you" he shrugged "Outside of that club or without forcing you to go to a foreign country with me" 

"But why?" You insisted "You said you didn't have any other job for me or..."

"No, I just wanted to see you... Talk to you... Stop asking questions, woman" he rolled his eyes, making you smile "I'm the one who wants to ask questions" 

Your smile faded slowly. Even if he hadn't said anything, you were still terrified of him knowing the truth about Erik and your role in his revenge. You wanted to be the one telling him, but... How? 

"You're mysterious" he tilted his head "I'm not going to tell you you're different from other girls and all that bullshit, but I find you intriguing, I know everything about you, but I feel like I don't know you" his cheeks reddened as he spoke "And I want to change that" 

"So Ivar the Boneless went from wanting to kill me to inviting me to have dinner at his apartment, I'm flattered"

He smiled again, you didn't remember Ivar smiling so much. 

"I must admit you surprised me, going to meet me with that attitude... So brave" he winked at you "To be honest, I was sure you were lying to me"

You sighed, taking another sip from your glass of wine. Would this be the moment? 

"But you didn't" he smiled gently "And, believe it or not, you've showed more loyalty than people that I've been trusting for years... For me, loyalty is the most important thing" 

"Did anyone ever betray you?" you asked.

"A lot of people" he chuckled "More than I can count... My own half brother, for example" 

"Björn?" 

"Yeah, but he wasn't the worst. I kind of imagined we'd end up like this, we're just too different" he shrugged "But a woman betrayed me once" 

"A woman? Your girlfriend?" you forgot your food and abandoned your fork on the plate.

"My wife" he corrected you. Your eyes widened, Erik never mentioned him being married "I loved her with my whole heart, Y/N, she..." He sighed "She was my first love, but... She betrayed me, she went behind my back and lied to my face"

"Why?"

He raised an eyebrow. 

"Apparently someone who wanted me dead thought that would be a good way of fucking me up so I would be vulnerable and weak..."

"What happened to her?" 

"She died" you'd swear he had tears on his eyes "He killed her when she was useless to him... And when she was pregnant with my child" 

Your lips parted and you gasped in a mix between surprise and horror. 

"How..."

"A car accident" Ivar shook his head "I discovered everything when she was already dead... And I killed that bastard with my own hands" 

You didn't really know what to say. 

"I didn't know... I'm sorry" you moved your hand so caress his softly. He looked surprised by that, but his expression softened and stood in silence. 

It must have been awful... You scanned his beautiful face, and realized he had trusted you with something very private, something no one knew, and he told you... Suddenly, you felt like throwing up, feeling like the worst person in the world. 

"I already told you my big secret" he chuckled then "You can tell me yours now" 

You bit your lip, shaking your head. 

"I'm afraid we'd need more alcohol for that" you giggled nervously. 

Ivar stared at you intensely, but sighed and nodded slowly, taking his crutch to stand up again. 

"I'm not hungry anymore, do you want to see the rest of the apartment?" 

You nodded, standing up and following him through the living room. He opened one door, turning to look at you. 

"If you liked the window of the living room, you'll love this one" he winked at you before entering the room. 

The last thing you expected that night was to end up inside Ivar's bedroom. You stepped in with an eyebrow raised, and smiled in excitement when you saw the big window from which you could see the entire city. The bed was situated just in front of it, which was like your dream. 

"It must be amazing to wake up to that view" you muttered, approaching the window "I barely have sunlight in my bedroom" you sighed. 

"I bet you'd love to wake up in here, wouldn't you?" Ivar teased, and you blushed again, even if this time you were facing away from him. You weren't sure if he meant something else, but decided not to ask.

"It's even better than the suite of Stockholm" you admitted, ignoring his comment. Ivar chuckled and you heard him approaching you. When he spoke again, he did it closer to you, and your heart started beating faster and faster. 

"I think we could make it even better" 

His hand found your waist, and you stopped breathing, holding yourself back from leaning into him. You turned around slowly, and did what you had been dying to do since you did it for the last time. 

Ivar kissed you back, letting his hand grab your neck and sighing into the kiss. 

"How?" you asked softly, feeling braver than ever. 

"Spend the night" he replied, his lips still brushing yours "With me" 

___________________________________________

Tags: @mblaqgi @alicedopey @lol-haha-joke @hallowed-heathen @naaladareia @tephi101 @captstefanbrandt @love-hate-love @titty-teetee @readsalot73 @moondustmemories @thevikingsheaux @chimera4plums @therealcalicali @blushingskywalker @awkwardfangirl02 @gruffle1 @poisonous00 @thoughtsmeander2tumblingblindly @kalonthecat @nataliehasgrace @atlas-of-the-world @justrepostandlove @persephones-deadgirlwalking @justacripple @love-dria​ @heartbeats-wildly​ @sw-eat-ing​ @letsrunawaytotomorrow​ @inforapound​ @sallydelys​ @hellogabysblog​ @winchesterwife27​ @chinduda​ @tofadavidson​ @hecohansen31​ @youbloodymadgenius​ @xinyourdreamsx​ @funmadnessandbadassvikings​ @tgrrose​​ @eteramfools​ @flokidottirsstuff​ @lovessce​ @tootie-fruity​ @didiintheblog​ @alexhandersenx​ @belovedcherry​ @fantasydevil2002​ @laubluered​

[crimeshowtrash]

Second Chances

Chapter 3

Warnings: none

Words: 1.5k

Updates: every Tuesday

A/N: I have some blurbs about Hotch and Maya’s first impressions of the other. They’re going to be posted soon! Also yay for me bc I don’t have COVID! But I did catch a bug from one of the kids at work so that’s why this chapter is up later than normal.

Find out what happened in Chapter 2

“Knock Knock”, said Maya before entering Hotch’s office.

“Good morning Bose, what can I do for you?”, asked Hotch.

“You can accept these cookies and come over for dinner this weekend as an apology for my daughter's behavior”, said Maya.

“You don’t need to do that. Kids will be kids”, replied Hotch.

“I know, but Mira is a whole different breed this most”, said Maya.

“She’ll turn out great. Just look at who she has to look up to”, responded Aaron.

“Who? A deadbeat dad, a single mom who’s barely keeping it together, and grandparents who outwardly hate her mom. She won family of the year”, huffed out Maya.

Aaron’s eyes softened, looking at Maya with a warmheartedly. 

“Enough about me. We insist! And bring Jack. They’ll have loads of fun”, said Maya placing a fresh cup of coffee and the chocolate chip cookies that had been baked the night before.

“We’ll come but only if we can bring dessert”, replied Aaron. 

“Sounds like a plan. Saturday at 7:30 work for you?”, asked Maya.

“Sounds good. And thank you for the cookies”, said Hotch.

“No problem Hotch! And before I leave, any allergies or deep dislikes I need to know about?”, asked Maya.

“Nope, Any requests for dessert?”, questioned Aaron.

“How about ice cream? You can’t go wrong there”, said Maya.

Hotch smiled and said “got it” before Maya left the room.

***

Maya rushed around the townhouse, getting ready for the Hotchners who should be arriving any second now. The smell of freshly baked bread permeated throughout. The autumnal candles burning, and Mira watching Dragon Tales filled the small home the two had made for themselves. 

The doorbell rang, Maya took off her apron and quickly inspected her white sweater for any food stains before heading downstairs to get the door. “Come on in you two. It’s pretty chilly outside for early November”, said Maya, ushering the two in.

Aaron and Jack walked into the foyer, the nervous smile on Jack’s face melted her heart.

“And you must be the famous Jack Hotcher I’ve heard so much about”, said Maya crouching down to the small child tightly gripping his father's hand.

Jack nodded and said, “yes Ma’am”.

Smiling at the adorable kid Maya said, “you don’t need to call me Ma’am, just Maya will do. How about I show you to the living room where Mira is playing with Legos and watching tv?”.

Jack nodded his head eagerly before pausing to look up at his father.

“Go! You don’t need to ask me for permission here”, said Hotch with a nod of his head.

Jack ran up the stairs, heading for the television.

“You sure do make cute kids Hotch”, said Maya before blushing as she realized what she said.

“I mean...uhm. I didn’t mean that”, stuttered out Maya. 

A blushing Hotch said, “don’t worry about it”. 

After a very hearty meal of seafood bisque (with a tomato and basil option for the kids), freshly baked bread, and salad, the group made their way to the sofa.

“Ma, can we play Candyland?”, asked Mira.

“What do you say Jack, you wanna play Candyland?”, asked Maya looking towards the younger of the Hotchner men.

“Yes please!”, piped out the young boy.

“Okay, you all set it up while I go get dessert”, said Maya.

“Do you need any help?”, asked Aaron.

“Sure, let the kids set up the game. You can help me with the coffee.”, replied Maya.

The two walked into the kitchen where Maya took out the coffee mugs.

“Here you go. I’ll go get the ice cream for the kids” said Maya, handing Hotch the mugs.

“Thanks, and what water do you normally use?”, questioned Hotch.

“Filtered please!”, responded Maya, pointing to the Brita by the sink.

Hotch set to making the coffee as Maya waited for the ice cream to thaw and become more scoopable.

“So how have you been liking being on the team”, asked Hotch.

“In all honesty, It’s been an adjustment. Working with people who have created their own family while being an outsider is difficult. And not only that but you all are the most perceptive group of people I have ever worked with”, sighed out Maya.

Hotch’s face held a look of understanding.

“I remember what it was like when I first got here. I know it can be tough, especially for people who like keeping some semblance of privacy”, said Aaron.

“Exactly. I love being a part of the team. It’s been what I’ve wanted for years. But you all tell eachother everything. And while I am open with certain parts of my life, there are other parts of me that nobody outside of like 4 people know”, replied Maya fiddling with the ice cream scoop.

“They’re nosy. I’ll give you that. But they’re just trying to help. All the team wants is for everyone to feel like they can be open and talk about their life and any problems they may have”, said Aaron.

“I guess it’s just a personal thing. I never really had anyone these past 10 years or so that I felt I could truly confide in so I don’t feel comfortable opening up to people anymore. But I mean that’s how abusers want you to feel, right? That you’re all alone so that you don’t ever leave”.

A sorrow look appeared on Aaron’s face as he reached his hand out to hold Maya’s.

“Maya, if you ever need anything you know you can come to us, right?”

Maya’s heart fluttered as she said, “I know Hotch, but honestly he’s the reason Mira is in my life. So he did something good, right??”.

“Absolutely, Mira might be a handful just like her mother but we wouldn’t trade you for the world, just like you wouldn’t trade her”, said Aaron truthfully.

Maya smiled, a twinkle in her eye, as the oven beeped.

She opened the oven, the warmth of both the oven and smell of cinnamon permeated.

“Maya, we were in charge of dessert. What did you do?”, asked Hotch as he poured the prepared coffee into the 2 mugs.

“Calm down Hotch. Nothing goes better with ice cream than freshly baked apple pie”, said Maya with a smile.

“You keep feeding us like this and Jack will never want to leave”, replied Hotch.

“And what about you?”, asked Maya.

“What about me?”, questioned Hotch.

“Don’t play dumb with me Agent, it’s not very becoming. Would you want to leave?”, reiterated Maya.

Looking at Maya intently with his smoldering eyes, Hotch said, “No, I wouldn’t want to leave either”, before taking the cups of coffee to the living room. 

As he walked away, Maya couldn’t help but notice his back muscles rippling underneath his sweater as he took each step.

“Get yourself under control. His wife died mere months ago”, muttered Maya before she brought the dessert out to  everyone.

As the two Hotchner's left for the evening after a riveting game of Candyland, Maya couldn’t help but wonder whether her and Hotch’s flirty banter was just that or whether they meant he held actual feelings for her.

***

Maya was filling up yet another cup of coffee before she went back to her desk to finish up her last report from the case when Hotch walked in.

“Jack has been talking about how cool Maya is recently”, said Hotch.

“Well, I am cool. So you’ve got a smart kid there”, said Maya smiling as she took a sip.

“We want to have you over and return the favor. And the kids get along great. So come on over this Saturday”, replied Hotch.

“Will do, want me to bring anything?”, asked Maya.

“Just yourself and Mira. After last time, I don’t trust you”, said Hotch.

“You do realize that I’ll bring something anyways”, said Maya with a grin.

Hotch smiled as he shook his head and headed back to his office.

***

“So what’s this Saturday?”, asked Emily.

“I don’t know, your neighbor's dog's baptism?”, asked Maya. 

JJ snorted and Penelope was so very glad she had waited before taking a sip of her hot tea.

“No it’s your second date with Hotch!”, exclaimed Emily.

“No it’s not! We’re not dating!”, replied Maya loudly.

“But you want to be”, said Em.

Scoffing, Maya rolled her eyes.

“Wait, so what’s happening here?”, asked a confused Penny.

“Notching. I invited Jack and Hotch over as an apology dinner for the diarrheahead fiasco. And Jack and Mira seem to get along well so we’re having dinner at their place on Saturday”, replied Maya.

“And you’re not attracted to the man at all?”, questioned JJ.

“No! Absolutely not! And Hayley just died, what kind of monster do you take me for?”, asked Maya.

“It’s almost been a year Maya”, said JJ at the same time as Emily said, “a monster with eyes”.

“Okay, he might be nice to look at, but I am not into him at all”, stated Maya firmly.

“I don’t know about you guys but, methinks the lady doth protest too much”, said Penelope. 

Taglist: @kathleenjasmine​ @mickeysmentalhealth 

[notapaladin]

it’s love and it’s decisive pain

I wanted to write a) pining, b) acatl having a fun night with his family and c) acatl making the full and conscious choice that Yes This Is A Relationship He Wants with teomitl. (yes, also I wanted to use “sunlight” by hozier as a fic title bc it is the MOST teocatl song) 5k words later, this fell out.

Can also be read on AO3!

-

Family game night had been Mihmatini’s idea.

Or...well, originally, in much better times, it had been Neutemoc’s idea, but the reinstitution of the event had been all Mihmatini’s. “It’s been nearly three years,” she’d said. “Shouldn’t we try to get together as a family again?”

And Neutemoc had agreed.

Acatl was officially invited on a night when, for once, he had something resembling free time. He’d combed his hair and set out earlier than necessary, hoping to catch Teomitl and Mihmatini on their way. Acatl had thought he should probably warn the man—they could be both boisterous and vicious when all of them played patolli together, and he was sure Teomitl was accustomed to a good deal less graphic language and a great many more serious threats over the game board—but when he actually met him alone on the street near Neutemoc’s house, he found he had bigger problems.

Teomitl had dressed up. This is fine, Acatl told his heart sternly. You are not to escape my ribcage because Teomitl is a handsome young man. It had never worked. It certainly wasn’t working now. They were on a dark, quiet street where the neighbors kept themselves to themselves, and Acatl couldn’t stop staring at his brother-in-law.

There was gold at his wrists and on his fingers—he’d kept himself to a bracelet on each wrist and a minimum of rings, but they still gleamed in the sunlight. His cloak was the red afforded to him as the Master of the House of Darts, but the design had been woven in smaller seashells and arrow symbols instead of the huge ones that proclaimed his station to every passerby. He wore earflares Acatl hadn’t seen on him before, too, and from the way the light shimmered on them he was sure there was magical protection involved.

His sister was nowhere in sight. Before the silence could get too awkward—he was aware he’d been staring, aware he couldn’t stop himself—he asked, “Where’s Mihmatini?” Please be nearby. Surely I’d embarrass myself less with an audience. Unlikelier things had happened.

Teomitl glanced down the street, which didn’t help because even the curve of his neck was a distraction. “She ran on ahead; she said she had to help set up.” Judging by the expression on his face, this was a matter of some mild trepidation.

He couldn’t blame him. “Did she tell you what to expect?”

“...The phrase ‘pack of screaming howler monkeys’ was used.”

He winced, but he couldn’t honestly say it was incorrect. “...Rude, but essentially accurate. At least you’ll only have to deal with three of us; it is much more...vibrant when the rest of the family gathers.” There were four sisters between himself and Mihmatini, and though he rarely spent any time with them—they were all married with their own families and very little time for the older brother who’d so disappointed their parents by joining the priesthood—when they were all together they tended to feed off each other’s shared enthusiasm for patolli, and the end result usually included someone laughing until they cried.

Teomitl actually smiled a little at that. “Which is why I’m wearing things I don’t mind losing.”

His gaze fell to all that finery again. Teomitl’s lip plug was gold as well, a rounded disc with an eagle’s head carved on it. He tried not to focus on the shape of his mouth above it. “We...we play for tokens,” he began. “So you don’t have to worry.” It didn’t stop the sudden mental image of Teomitl throwing his gold and jewels atop his shed cloak, skin gleaming in torchlight. No. Enough of that. He swallowed. “Are those earflares new?”

Oh, no. Teomitl was still smiling, and now the curve of his lips was teasing. “Mm-hmm. Do you like them?”

And he drew closer and tilted his head, the better to show them off. They were also decorated with eagles, but with the whole body of the bird picked out in turquoise chips. Acatl exhaled at the sight. He’d been right about the magic; if he let his eyes drift out of focus, he could just about see the shape of Huitzilopochtli’s flames shimmering over the gold. The earflares’ rims were quite thick, the better to fit even more glyphs on them.

I want to see what they say, came his first conscious thought. He was far too aware of how close they were—too close—but he couldn’t make himself step back. Couldn’t make himself do anything, in fact, except reach up and slowly trace the rims with his thumb, turning them up for a better view. They’d been skillfully done, and he had to lean in close enough that a stray strand of Teomitl’s hair tickled his face. Whatever Teomitl used to keep it clean made him want to nuzzle it.

“Oh,” he breathed, “the carvings are…”

“Protective charms.” There was a faint tremor in Teomitl’s voice, which he might never have picked up normally—but their heads were nearly touching, and the only sounds on the street were their own. Everything was heightened, right down to the feeling of the warm metal against his skin.

It was dark where they stood, the walls of nearby buildings casting them both in shadow. He leaned in, heard Teomitl’s breath hitch, and stopped. We should go. My family is waiting. That would be the good decision, the logical decision.

Instead, his thumb slipped from its slow circling of Teomitl’s earrings to caress his earlobe instead, and it was his turn to feel his own breath catch in his throat. Soft—the skin was astonishingly soft here, marred only by the thin scab of that morning’s bloodletting. It was healing well, but when he drew his thumb over it Teomitl gasped. It didn’t sound pained.

His gaze dropped to his face anyway. Teomitl was staring at him wide-eyed, breathless, and gods, but he wanted to see that face again. So he repeated the motion, a little harder this time, and saw the man draw in a long, deep breath. Oh, you’re sensitive. The knowledge intoxicated him further. He curled his fingers, tracing the shell of Teomitl’s ear as lightly as he dared, and heard Teomitl make a soft noise. A wanting noise.

He could barely think past the pounding of his own blood in his veins. All considerations—they were on a public street, his family was waiting, this was his brother-in-law, the man who he’d told people was like a son to him—felt as far away and inconsequential as the rustling of ants through grass. His fingers trailed achingly slowly down the side of Teomitl’s neck, following the line of his jugular and feeling his pulse thump steadily against his fingertips. His thumb came to rest on the other side, such that he held Teomitl’s throat in the loosest of loose grips.

“Mmhm…” The sound that escaped Teomitl’s lips was barely even audible. He wasn’t pulling away. In fact, he was leaning into it, and Acatl felt himself caught as surely as a jaguar would take a deer.

He felt frozen. If he leaned in, spoke, lifted his other hand, the spell between them would be broken and whatever they were doing would end. Whatever they were—he didn’t think about that. He didn’t think about anything except the soft skin under his fingers, how they were so close that he could feel the warmth rolling off him, how much he wanted to be closer still.

He wasn’t looking at the earflares anymore. He didn’t even remember what they looked like. Teomitl’s eyes were dark and hazy, his lips slightly parted, and all he could think was Yes. Yes, please.

He wanted to taste those lips. It would be easy. It would be so easy.

A pink tongue darted out, and he made a noise of his own. “Gnh.”

“...Acatl.” His name on Teomitl’s tongue, said like that, sent a shiver through him. “...I…”

Approaching footsteps broke through the haze. Someone was coming.

Acatl jerked backwards, heart hammering so frantically in his chest that he wondered for a moment if he might faint. He felt the loss of Teomitl’s skin under his hand as keenly as he might feel the loss of the hand in question, but there was no time for that now. Nothing happened. Nothing happened. It’s fine, we’re fine, nothing happened. He closed his eyes; it was easier to regain his equilibrium if he couldn’t see whatever look of dismayed horror was surely on Teomitl’s face right now.

And of course it was Mihmatini doubling back to pick them up. Of course. Because his life was already going so well. Worse, she sounded so cheerful there was absolutely no way she even suspected what he’d been about to do. (With her husband. That fact bore repeating.) “There you are, Acatl! Come on, the first course will get cold.”

He made himself smile at her. “We’re coming.”

It was a short walk to Neutemoc’s house. He couldn’t bring himself to look at Teomitl until they arrived. No—it was more accurate to say that he didn’t look at him. Looking at him would have been easy; the man drew his eye like a single shaft of sunlight piercing the darkness, all easy, radiant warmth, and if he let himself he could stare for hours. So he very deliberately did not. He couldn’t help being attracted to him, but he could damn well help how he reacted to it.

Aside from that shameful display. He huffed out a breath as he walked, keeping his eyes on the canal flowing beside the street. He’d made his decision long ago, when he’d first realized that familial was absolutely not an appropriate way to describe his feelings towards Teomitl—the man had his own life, and Acatl had his, and he wouldn’t ruin either of them by forcing an unwanted connection. There were simply too many ways it could go wrong, too many reasons why it was a terrible idea. The risks far outweighed any brief benefits.

And then the lights of Neutemoc’s house spilled out into the street, and he had no more time for self-recrimination. Family dinner and game night had begun.

Dinner was, of course, delicious. A trifle awkward at first—it always was, because he could never really be sure of Neutemoc’s welcome truly extending to him as well—but then his brother clapped him on the shoulder and bade them all sit, and the awkwardness passed in time for him to enjoy the food. While Neutemoc still hadn’t remarried, his kitchen slaves were more than capable of putting out an excellent spread of fish, frogs, tamales, peppers, and all the tasty things that made life worth living.

It was not a silent affair; while he’d never been one for much conversation over a meal (he only had one mouth and he was busy putting food in it, thank you) his family had no such concerns. Particularly not the children; Necalli and Mazatl attached themselves to either side of Teomitl as soon as he sat down, ready to bombard him with questions. It was a wonder he even had time to eat, but eat he did—in between happily telling Necalli the less gory details of his last campaign and assuring Mazatl that yes, it was true that his sisters had different sets of jewelry for every day of the week, but she didn’t want to grow up to be like them because they were all very, very mean.

Acatl looked up from his plate at that to meet Mihmatini’s eyes, and they shuddered in unison. Chalchiuhnenetl.

It wasn’t a cloud that lingered for long; Neutemoc asked how things were going at their respective temples, and so of course they had to answer. There wasn’t much to tell; things had been blissfully boring lately, and Acatl would have been more than pleased by that if it hadn’t also left him with far too much free time to think. He’d not wanted to spend much time in his own head since…

His gaze drifted to where Teomitl sat. Well. Since I realized that.

He was suddenly very, very glad that Teomitl sat on the other side of the table between two small children. The man was chuckling fondly at whatever Necalli had just said, and the sight was so endearing it made his heart clench painfully in his chest. Damn you, he thought bitterly, unsure whether he meant the organ in his chest or the man that had caused it to beat so hard. I did not ask for this.

Then Mihmatini asked him how he’d met her predecessor, and he was sufficiently distracted not to think about Teomitl again until the meal was over and they hit a snag in their preparations for the night’s patolli games. Namely, bundling the children off to sleep.

Necalli went easily enough, but Neutemoc had to pause, sigh, and gesture for his daughter to follow when he realized she’d been left behind. “Off to bed with you, Mazatl.”

“I’m not tired,” she whined, and flopped bonelessly against Teomitl’s side.

Teomitl chuckled, patting her head. “Of course you aren’t. But it’s going to get very loud in here in a bit, and you don’t like loud noises, do you?”

She shook her head. “Nuh-uh.”

“Then go to your room.”

She heaved a sigh that came from the depths of her soul (and had definitely been inherited from her father), but obligingly sat up and let Neutemoc carry her to her mat. When they were gone, Teomitl was still looking after them a little wistfully. Finally, he announced, “She’s adorable. I want a dozen children just like her.”

Mihmatini looked up from her cup of maguey sap. “Find more wives to give them to you, then.”

Acatl had never actually seen someone choke on his own spit before. It was not an attractive look, and he wished heartily that it didn’t make him feel so terribly soft. Finally Teomitl spluttered, “Mihmatini!” and she only fixed him with a long and steady look that was slightly ruined by her repressed smile.

“You forget, I’ve spent a lot of time looking after my nieces and nephews. I think two or three little Mazatls are enough from me.”

Teomitl was blushing as he muttered, “Well. That’s...alright. I guess.”

Acatl had to look away, guilt twisting his stomach into a knot. Right. They are married. They love each other still, no matter how rocky things were for a while there.  They’ll have a home and children together, a life together. When Teomitl is Revered Speaker, he’ll take even more wives and have the dozens of children he wants from them. That’s how it should be. He’d never look twice at another man, even if...even if back there, I thought…

“I found the board and the pieces. Shall we?”

He’d never been so glad to see Neutemoc, and all but shot to his feet. “Yes, of course.”

They had to play patolli in the receiving room; there simply wasn’t enough floor space in the dining room, and the beans had a tendency to bounce under tables or rugs and be lost for weeks. One time one of them had actually sprouted. But this time the board was set up properly, and everyone had their own painted pieces, and the first throws of the beans to begin the game set the starting rounds firmly in Neutemoc’s favor.

Until, that was, Acatl’s luck turned. Neutemoc was getting cocky, always a mistake in games of chance, and so he didn’t notice when one of his pieces was removed from play until he looked down at the board again. Immediately his brother’s head snapped up, fixing him with a savage glare. “You.”

He felt a broad and—alright—mildly evil grin split his face. It had been far, far too long since he’d indulged in the no-holds-barred ruthlessness of games with family he was on good terms with. “Should have paid more attention to all your pieces.”

It was Mihmatini’s turn, but since she wasn’t in position to take their pieces yet Neutemoc snarled, “You’re a bastard.”

He huffed, “Are you insulting our parents?!”

“I’m not so sure you weren’t left on our doorstep!”

“Aunt Miyahuatl attended my birth!”

“Hmph—oh, look.” Neutemoc’s turn had come around again, and he turned a mirror of Acatl’s own grin back at him as the piece he’d just set down was plucked from the board.

Acatl blinked down at it. “How the hell—“

“You were distracted.” Neutemoc’s grin only widened, and he had to fight the desire to pick up the nearest cushion and beat him around the head with it. They’d done that plenty of times as children, but then it hadn’t been cushions. There’d been no chance of affording those.

“What’s it feel like to play?” Teomitl muttered. He’d gotten a few of his own pieces onto the mat earlier, but they hadn’t stayed there for long. While Acatl thought his siblings probably weren’t ganging up against him on purpose, the effect was the same. His luck had not improved at all since then.

Mihmatini nudged him. “Throw the beans again, maybe you’ll find out.”

He threw. He threw again. And then he was back in the game and he was laughing, and Acatl felt his heart skip several beats in a row. Gods, how he shone in the torchlight. How easy it would be to reach out, take his hand, pull him close—

No. He wrenched his gaze and his focus back to the mat. Not here. And besides...besides, I made my choice. I refuse to be selfish in this.

There was patolli to play.

In the end, each of them won a single game. This naturally necessitated a tiebreaker round, which was tense and hard-fought until Mihmatini, looking immensely pleased with herself, swept the board of all her opposition and sat back to gloat until Teomitl, highly disgruntled, threw a cushion at her. While he’d initially been surprised and more than a bit taken aback at how quickly the three of them degenerated into barely-serious insults and threats of murder, by the time the night wound down he was laughing with the rest of them even if he clearly didn’t dare join in. It warmed Acatl’s heart and fully made up for all the tokens he’d given away on his bets each time Teomitl’s face had lit up like that.

Since it was far, far too late for them to make their way home to the Sacred Precinct, Neutemoc insisted on them staying the night. Acatl turned down the offer of a room and bedded down in the courtyard instead; the air was warm, he was warmer, and he wanted the breeze. (Well, he wanted an ice bath. But he would settle for a breeze.)

He sprawled out on his back under one of the trees, staring at the stars through the thin canopy of leaves. Usually, counting them helped him sleep when he really couldn’t; this time, sleep wouldn’t come.

He couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened earlier. Not the flashes of emotion that had struck him during dinner, but what had happened before they arrived. What could have kept on happening, if Mihmatini hadn’t shown up.

I didn’t do anything wrong, Acatl told himself. He hadn’t. Teomitl had new earflares. Acatl had admired the earflares. He hadn’t broken his vows, hadn’t done anything that would cast shame upon Teomitl’s marriage. They’d only touched. That was all.

But the skin under his fingers had been so soft, and Teomitl had been melting into his touch and looking at him like...like…

Like he wanted me to kiss him. The thought felt like lightning striking the core of him, and he squeezed his eyes shut with an involuntary gasp. He’d seen a cunning version of that look before on women who were clearly hoping he’d make a move on them, priest or no; he’d never in his life seen it like that. Flushed and soft and spellbound, as though the only thing Teomitl had been dreaming of was the moment where their mouths would meet.

And he wanted it. Even now, in his brother’s courtyard, with Teomitl and Mihmatini no doubt wrapped in each other’s arms a few rooms away, he wanted it. He rolled over onto his side and dug his nails into his palms, hoping the pain would center him. It didn’t. The thoughts kept on coming, each one like a hammer blow, and all he could do was reel as they hit home.

I desire him.

I love him.

I can’t tell him.

Because that was the cold, hard truth of it all. He loved Teomitl, and letting him know that would destroy too much he held dear. The peace in his life he’d just started to find would vanish. Happy evenings with his family would turn cold and awkward. Mihmatini—gods, his sister would never forgive him. No, having him in his life like this would have to be enough. They’d meet for dinner, they’d be friends, but Teomitl would build his life as Master of the House of Darts—as Revered Speaker—with Mihmatini by his side, and Acatl would go to his mat alone and it would be fine. It had to be fine. Safety. Security. This is the choice I’m making.

Distant voices intruded, and he shuddered all over again as he heard Mihmatini’s wry, teasing comment of, “I love you, but you do snore.”

“I know.” That was Teomitl, sounding terribly fond. “I’ll go sleep in the courtyard with Acatl.”

“Please.” She said something else, then, but it was too soft for Acatl to catch. Whatever it was, it made Teomitl cough, and she giggled sweetly.

He barely dared to breathe. Even facing away from them, he was far too aware of Teomitl’s footsteps; the man was trying to be stealthy, but he’d always been terrible at that. He felt it, too, when those footsteps stopped near him and—quietly—rolled out a mat. Reeds crunched softly as Teomitl sat down—no, laid down, there was the rustle of cloth as his cloak spread out. They were so close that once again Acatl thought he could feel the warmth of his body.

Silence. Soft breathing. Another, extended rustle as Teomitl rolled over.

And then, so quietly he almost couldn’t hear it, “...Tonight was wonderful. I loved it. I love you.”

Adrenaline flooded his veins. He’d never been more awake in his life; it was only sheer force of will that kept his eyes from shooting open. His heart and his breath both caught, and for a long and irrational moment he wasn’t sure either of them was functioning. No—there was his heartbeat roaring back to life, pounding so fast and hard that his throat squeezed with the effort of it. His lungs were next, a hitched pause that felt so much more momentous than it sounded.

I love you.

He’d made his choice, but now he faced a new one. He could keep his eyes shut, force himself to relax, pretend he’d never heard that confession. In the morning, nothing would happen. Their lives would continue on as before. That would be the safe option.

Or he could turn over, look Teomitl in the eyes, and speak to him as one man to another.

Love meant pain. Loving a man like Teomitl...well. It probably meant even more pain. Teomitl wasn’t an easy man to love. He was stubborn, abrasive, proud, and tended not to listen to the people around him when he thought he knew best. But then, wasn’t Acatl the same? Less proud, he thought, but Acamapichtli called me self-righteous and gods, how I wish he’d been entirely wrong. Teomitl didn’t seem to mind, and he couldn’t possibly be unaware of Acatl’s flaws. No, he saw them. And he loved Acatl anyway. He loved him, flaws and all, risks and all. How could Acatl not do the same?

For once in his life—no. Even to think that would imply he saw an end to it, and Acatl would not back down from this. He would do this, and he would keep doing this, because the risks did not outweigh the benefits.

He took a long, slow breath, stretched out his limbs, and turned over to meet Teomitl’s gaze. For a moment Teomitl just looked stunned, but then the horror asserted itself—Acatl could see every shift of his expression as he registered that yes, he’d said that out loud and yes, Acatl had heard it.

Before he could run away, Acatl grabbed his hand hard enough to hurt.

Teomitl’s eyes went wide. “Acatl,” he began, “I…”

“I wanted to kiss you in the street today,” he blurted out, which was absolutely not what he’d planned to say. (Not that he’d had a plan at all, but I love you too seemed like a decent starting point.) “Tonight was—I lost so much on the games because I couldn’t stop staring at you, every time you laughed, you’re like sunlight—“

“Acatl.” Teomitl’s voice held more than a tinge of desperation. “Shut up.”

He shut up.

Teomitl’s gaze bored into his; as he leaned in, they drew so close that he could feel warm breath wafting across his own lips. His voice was low and serious as the grave. “If you keep talking, I am going to kiss you. Right here in the middle of your brother’s courtyard.”

It was dark. They were under a tree. They were perfectly capable of being quiet. He sucked in a hard breath, feeling his heart hammer frantically in his chest, and breathed, “What are you waiting for?”

Teomitl didn’t make him wait any longer. Their mouths finally met, and it was sweet and hot and something Acatl felt in his spine. Perfect, he thought, and then he wasn’t thinking anything, because he had a hand on Teomitl’s bare back and Teomitl had one buried in his hair and it didn’t matter that he’d never kissed anyone before, because Teomitl was more than skilled enough to make up for any deficiencies in his own technique. That pretty golden lip plug didn’t get in the way at all. More. I want more of this.

The position was awkward, both of them lying on their sides, but then he rolled away to free his trapped arm and Teomitl followed and oh, that was much better, with Teomitl half on top of him and the red of his cloak blending into the night. When they pulled away to breathe, he panted, “We should—“ Get inside, he meant to say. Find somewhere secluded. But it was difficult to get any of that out when Teomitl was kissing him midsentence, nipping at his bottom lip and sighing in pleasure when he slid his hands down his back. The skin was deliciously soft here too, and unscarred.

Teomitl’s fingers slid down his side to the curve of his hip, and even if he hadn’t been able to feel the evidence of his arousal he could pick it up just fine from the roughness in his voice. “Gods, I want you so much.”

“Not here,” he gasped. Even the thought sent a cold spike of fear through his chest. No—not entirely fear. Some part of him, even though he knew better, wanted to see how quiet they could really be.

Someone cleared their throat across the courtyard. They both froze.

It was Mihmatini, talking to a slave in a voice that carried. “No, the room’s wonderful. I’m just a bit warm, so I’m going to sleep in the courtyard. But you know I snore, so I can’t blame the men if they want to take my room instead.”

Teomitl slumped, his head tucking into the crook of Acatl’s neck as though it belonged there permanently. “She doesn’t snore,” he whispered.

He felt an absurd urge to laugh. “I know.”

“She talks in her sleep, which is worse.”

“I know.” But she was also heading their way, so he nudged Teomitl off him and rolled over so by the time she got there, it would look like they were simply dozing. I have the best sister in the world.

“I heard that.”

The best sister in the world was currently giving her husband a very unimpressed look. He was pushing himself upright, flushed with embarrassment—but not, Acatl realized, guilt. Nor the shifty eyes of one who was trying to keep a secret. “It is worse. You’ve said so yourself.”

“About you,” she said dryly. “Acatl, if you can put up with that without strangling him, I’d be very appreciative.”

Teomitl huffed, climbing to his feet and gathering his mat. “Lies and slander.”

And then she grinned at him, and winked. He felt his face go hot. It was one thing to know that she knew, and to have it be something they never spoke about. It was entirely different to do such things with her blessing. To kiss Teomitl, to hold him in his arms, and know that he wouldn’t break his sister’s heart in doing so—that he could have Teomitl, and his family, and not have to give up happiness with either.

Teomitl paused a few feet away, turning to look back over his shoulder. It was impossible to miss the hope in his voice. “Coming, Acatl?”

Another decision. Another chance to say no, he wouldn’t do this, there were lines he wouldn’t cross. He’d taken vows, hadn’t he? Vows of chastity, of celibacy. His virginity was something he’d managed to hold onto all his life, and if he and Teomitl had the privacy of a room with walls and a closed entrance-curtain, he’d fling it away in a heartbeat. There’d be no going back from that.

He rose, pulling a hand through his hair, and followed Teomitl inside.

[bubmyg]

let’s try again then!! can I pls request a college au where u had a tough week so u go to bed early but guk + the gang decide to hang in the dorm’s common area & be loud so u go yell at them to be quiet bc it’s 2am & ur PISSED & maybe guk has a lil crush on u and the boys are teasing him after u go like ‘ur gf just came out to yell at u! ur gf’s pjs are so cute ! what u gonna do jeon?’ & the next day he brings flowers to ur door to apologize and asks u to let him buy u dinner to make up for it

genre/warnings: college!au, this happened to me last night except my neighbor isn’t jeon jeongguk and i was too scared to go yell at him

word count: 957

You’re sure you’d managed to drag on a pair of leggings and stumble into some slippers before knocking on your neighbor’s door two Wednesday’s ago to the date because he’d, somehow, managed to fit six people on his futon and lawn chairs?— and thought yelling at his tiny television from ten onward was good enough for you not to lose your mind by hour four of his shrieking giggles so you were sure it wasn’t Jeon fucking Jeongguk’s voice that you could hear from the common room this time as you dragged on some flannel pajama pants and forgot the slippers in favor of your keys because you’d already lost your ID halfway to your three hour exam and getting locked out would do nothing for your splitting headache. 

His stupidly pink lips were curled over his stupidly endearing, crooked teeth and he had on a stupidly soft looking hoodie that looked inviting enough to cure your headache but it was definitely Jeon and he was sat nearly on top of his taller, broad shouldered friend that you recognized from somewhere on the other end of the floor as his shrieks seemed to mix and draw higher than any of the other six voices curled around him. 

Or maybe you just wanted to strangle him.

The smaller dark haired one saw you first, Yoongi, a senior you’d seen in one of your communications classes. He coughed once, then twice, wide and apologetic eyes only daring your glare for a half second before he was reaching across the couch to nudge at his younger friend. 

“Isn’t that your girlfriend?” A deep rasp came from the vibrant red haired one, Taehyung, a voice you’d heard over at Jeon’s one too many times not to recognize. 

All the noise ceased now, six amused gazes ducking into one another while the seventh was fully and widely displayed to you. Jeongguk’s wide saucer eyes couldn’t pull from yours, soft stars glittering in the corners of the doe brown, controller limp in his grasp as his cheeks puffed over fished, pink lips. 

“Just because you’re out here,” You lipped sweetly, casting a terrifying smile into your cheeks, “Doesn’t mean I can’t hear you when you scream.” 

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t—”

“You know our rooms are right there, right?” You nodded toward the hallway behind you, not fifty feet from where Jeongguk sat cross legged on a sofa. 

“I thought that—”

“You thought wrong,” Something in the faux menacing persona you tried to portray faltered, maybe the roar of blood in your ears or the pound on your headache at the forefront of your conscious, but a tear lipped at the corner of your eye, “So do me a favor, and be fucking quiet—” One of them, a couple of them, someone, snickered, and your cool gaze swept across the room, “—that goes for all of you.”

He’d only stared at your retreating figure, open mouthed and guilty, for thirty seconds before Hoseok broke the silence to tease, “Your girlfriend’s PJs are adorable.”

Jimin’s index finger prodded at his hip, “I bet you thought she looked absolutely beautiful, that’s why you’re blushing, huh?”

“You may have fucked up though.”

“You think?” Jeongguk hissed, addressing a wheezing Seokjin who was doubled over too much to even hear his youngest friend’s responsive threat.

“You probably need to apologize,” Namjoon conceded, “And we probably need to stop being loud. She’s right.”

So that’s how Jeongguk ended up researching soundproof panels and flower delivery services at four am while his head throbbed with wonder of if you’d finally been able to fall asleep or at least stopped crying. He was careful to make little noise as he moved about his room, holding his door when it shut, taking minutes to crawl from his bed so it didn’t creak, snatching a hoodie from his hamper so he didn’t have to open a drawer or take the chance of dropping a hanger against the tile.  

And that’s how he eventually ended up outside your door with a bursting bouquet in hand and more nerves than he’d had for his presentation on amoebas. He circled around himself three times, practicing a speech of some kind of fishing lips, almost tapped on your door twice (and accidentally clicked his fingernail against the wood once and half considered diving back into his room). 

He’d rutted a dull spot in the carpet by the time he worked up the nerve to set his shoulders and rap fully on your door. 

The door had barely cracked when Jeongguk was shoving the bouquet through the space, covering your swollen eyes and mess of hair and loose pajamas for the fraction of a second it took him to realize and oh boy, Jimin’s right, she does look beautiful. 

“I’m sorry,” He blurted. “For...yeah. I’m sorry.”

You didn’t speak and for a horrifying moment he thought you were going to yell at him again. But then your fingers were brushing against his and something short of a smile laced your lips as you pushed your nose into the sweet smelling flowers and inhaled. “Thank you,” Your voice was coated in hoarse gravel from a combination of things but it was sincere nonetheless, “for the flowers.”

“I, uhm—” Jeongguk rocked onto his heels, fingers fitting into the soft hairs at the nape of his neck, “—Icouldtakeyououttodinnersometimetoo...if you want. I really am sorry and I uh, would like to show you that.”

You squinted at him, leery but endeared (even if you still mildly wanted to strangle him). “Dinner sounds nice.”

“You don’t have to, obviously, it was just an offer, I mean—wait what?”

You giggled and he swore he melted into his flip flops, “Dinner sounds great, Jeon.”

[zarcake-writes]

Not Alone Together

I finally got around to finishing this part. I’m not gonna put links to part 1 or 2 bc then this probably won’t show up in the tags. Hope you all enjoy! Especially that little surprise at the end. 

Part 3 

Warnings: none, slight spoilers in the beginning (maybe?)

The morning air was cold, and the mountains were foggy. The few travelers Arthur met were bundled up, and clearly regretting their decision to travel. Arthur would greet them, and they could barely manage a nod in his direction. Some of the travelers made comments about the cold and wished they were somewhere warm or they had whiskey.

The cold didn't bother Arthur; it hasn’t bothered him for eight years. However, he can remember a time when the biting cold left him wondering if he would die. The mention of the abandoned mining town called Colter still sent a chill down his spine, and his heart aches at the memory of those he lost. Memories of a family he once had, the people he would have died for, and the betrayal.

For a moment, Arthur wonders if things could have been different. Maybe if he hadn’t been so blind, he could have stopped everything bad from happening. Maybe he could have convinced Dutch to see where the poison in their camp was. Maybe he could have saved more people. Maybe… He shook his head and those thoughts stop. There’s no way to change the past, can only keep moving forward.

He continues through the mountains until he arrives at O’Creaugh’s Run. By then, it was mid-morning; most of the fog is gone and the sun is shining. The world is finally coming to life. Birds were singing and flying above Arthur, small animals ran through the underbrush, and the mountain sheep were on the move.

As he passes his neighbor’s house, Arthur saw she was outside fishing. She stood knee deep in the lake, her pants cuffed, and her back was to him, but he could hear her muttering to herself. Berry was behind her on the shore; his tail thumped against the ground, and his mouth hung open like a smile.

It’s been two weeks since Arthur had coffee with her, and he couldn’t get her out of his mind. They’ve had dinner together twice, and shared supplies, along with laughs and shy looks. When she expressed an interest in building a chicken coop, Arthur offered to take her into Annesburg for the supplies. He then built the coop for her and took her to Emerald Ranch to buy some chickens. She insisted he didn’t need to, but he insisted he wanted to help her.

“There she is,” Arthur greeted. She jumped and turned to him, a smile on her face. Berry let out a bark and trotted towards Arthur. Mud coats his paws, chest, and probably his stomach.

“Morning Arthur. You have a nice ride?”

“We did. My girl here had a bunch of energy this morning. We rode down to the plains. Thought she would enjoy running on flat terrain.” Arthur patted his horses’ neck.

“She’s beautiful. What’s her name?”

“Pearl. She’s an Arabian. Found her up near the Grizzlies some years back.”

“Breaking wild horses something, you enjoy, Arthur?”

“On occasion, I'm known for that. But she was so beautiful, I couldn’t resist. How’s the fishing going?”

“Oh, it’s ok. I think all the bigger ones are out in the middle of the lake, but I can only throw so far. Plus, Berry gets excited when I get a fish and goes for it before I can get it off the line. It either gets away or he steals it.” She shot a look at the dog, who was busy chewing on his mud-covered foot.

“Well, I have a boat, so how about I can take you out onto the water. You can get some bigger fish, and Berry won’t be there to steal them.”

“I don’t want to bother you, Arthur.”

“You ain’t bothering me. I’m offering."

She thought for a moment, then broke out into a wide smile. “Alright, then let’s go on the lake.”  

“Great. Let me just tend to Pearl, and you get your supplies ready. Meet me by my dock.”

Arthur hurried to his side of the lake and hitched Pearl. He brushed and fed her, making sure to praise her. He grabbed his fishing pole and headed for his dock. She was already there, waiting for him, with that dazzling smile on her face. Berry sat at her feet, his tail wagging and his ears perked.

“Alright, ready to go?” Arthur asked.

“All ready. Berry, stay here.” The dog let out a huff but did what he was told.

Arthur smiled and got into his boat. He took her pole and placed it on the bottom with his, then reached out to help her in. When her small hand took, his Arthur didn't want to let her go.

She was shaky as she took a step into the boat, but Arthur held her steady. She gave him a nervous smile and sat down. When she was stable and comfortable, Arthur sat across from her and began rowing them out to the deeper part of the lake.

“A few years back, there was a huge Northern Pike out here. It was a struggle bringing that beast it.” Arthur brought the boat to a stop and put away the oars.  

“Really?” She took her pole and started to bait her hook.

“Yeah. The man I was fishing with called it the Great Tyrant. He got pulled in by that monster. Damn fish tried taking a chunk out of him."

“Goodness. Bet he was glad when you brought the fish in.”

“He was, but I think he wanted to bring the fish in himself.”

They both fell into a comfortable silence. Despite his claim that he is a poor fisherman, Arthur managed to catch a couple fish. He kept one and tossed the second one back into the water. The one he kept was big enough for himself and another person to share. Maybe he should invite her over for dinner tonight. He will be leaving tomorrow, and it would be nice dining with her before his trip.

He turned to her and was about to speak, but his words got caught in his throat. The look on her face, the pure concentration, made his heart skip a beat. Her brows were furrowed and she was biting her bottom lip. The sleeves of her shirt were rolled up to her elbows, revealing the tense muscles in her forearms. She was beautiful. The way the sun seemed to form a halo around her, he swore he was fishing with an angel.

The sudden pull on her line made Arthur jump, but she was ready and began to pull.

“Oh! Look at that! Pull the bastard in!” Arthur shouted.

“I’m gonna try. Fuck, this thing is huge.” She adjusted her stance and began to pull the opposite way the fish was swimming. When it would stop struggling, she began to reel him in.

“If you think you’re gonna get pulled in, tell me, and I’ll grab you.” Her response was a grunt.  

The fight went on for what seemed like forever. Arthur could see the sweat run down her face and the tremble in her arms. There were moments it looked like she was going to give up and cut the line, but Arthur was quick to jump in and cheer her on. He liked to think his encouraging words helped, but he knew this fight was all her.

When she finally brought the fish close enough to the boat, Arthur leaned over the edge and pulled the beast into the boat. It was huge, not as big as the one he and Hamish had caught all those years ago, but it was on its way to becoming a monster.  

“He’s huge,” she gasped. Her chest heaved and sweat ran down the side of her face.

“He is.”

“I feel bad that we're gonna kill him.”

“Well, if he stays in the lake, he’ll just get bigger and will start eating the smaller fish. Killing him will give them a chance to live.”

“True. Plus, that’s a lot of meat.”

“It is.”

“Alright, kill him. But make it quick.” Arthur nodded and finished the fish off. He wrapped it in paper and placed it on the bottom of the boat next to his.  

“Ready to head back?” he asked.

“Yeah. I’m tired and my hands hurt.” Blisters were forming on her palms, and one already popped. Blood ran down her hand and onto her pants.

“You should have stopped.” Arthur began rowing to his dock. The smell of her blood filled the air and made his hair stand on end. Blood usually unleashed a feral side of him, but her blood scared him.

“Oh, it’s just a few blisters Arthur, nothing too bad.”

“Doesn’t matter, you’re bleeding. When we dock, I’ll tend to your hands. I have a medical kit in my house.”

“You don’t need to, Arthur.”

“Sweetheart, I want to make sure you’re alright.” She gave him a shy smile and nodded her head.

Once Arthur docked, he helped her out of the boat and grabbed the fish. Berry was at her feet, his ears back and his eyes were wide. She spoke to the dog in a soft voice and followed Arthur into his house, Berry right behind them.

Inside his cabin, Arthur motioned for her to sit at his table. He set down the fish and cleaned his hands, then grabbed his medical kit.

He took her hands and examined the blisters. He was relieved when he saw only one of the blisters popped, but the smell of her blood made him uneasy. With a wet cloth, Arthur began wiping away the blood, making sure to be as gentle as he could. Every wince or hiss of pain from her, Arthur would apologize and whisper is a soft voice, “You’re doing great, girl. Almost done.”

When the blood was gone and her hand was clean, Arthur wrapped her hand. It was at this time Arthur realized how small her hands were compared to his. He knew her hands were smaller than his, but he now had the opportunity to study her hands. Her skin was rough and there were small scars on her knuckles, no doubt from gardening and hunting. Her nails were short but were cut neatly, and there was a bit of dirt beneath her nails.

When he was done wrapping her hands, he looked up at her and saw how close they were. There was a shy look on her face, and her face was flush. Her scent, a mixture of sweat and her usual sweet honeyed scent, made it hard to focus on anything else except her. There was a needy, hopeful look in her eyes that made his body hot. For a moment he was tempted to grab the back of her neck and pull her in for a kiss. But he didn't. He gave her a nod and released her hand, making a point to sit back in his chair.

“That should do it. Keep those hands clean so you don’t get an infection,” Arthur said. He stood up and put away his kit. He kept his back to her and made it look like he was busy. He hoped she couldn’t hear his pounding heart or see how red the back of his neck was.

“Course. Thank you, Arthur.”

“Not a problem. It’s my fault you got them anyways. Shouldn’t have pushed you to go fishing with me.”

“Oh Arthur, don’t say that.” Arthur heard her get up and walk towards him. Her fingers ran along his back, and a shiver shot through his body at the contact. “I enjoy spending time with you, whether we’re fishing or trying to build a chicken coop. Besides, blisters happen often.”

“I know.”

“Arthur?”

He glanced over his shoulder. “Yes?”

“Want to have dinner together? I did catch a monster of a fish and I can’t eat it all by myself.”

Arthur let out a laugh and turned to face her fully. “I was gonna ask you the same thing.”

“You were?” Her eyebrows shot up in surprise.

“Yes. Head on home and come back in a few hours. I’ll have dinner ready and everything.”

“I can help you cook.”

“You won’t be much help with your hands wrapped.” The way she looked down at her wrapped hands made him laugh. “Go on home, I’ll see you soon.”

“Alright, Arthur. Thank you.”

He walked her to the door and watched as she left with Berry at her side. She waved when she got home, he waved back and watched as she ducked into her house.

Several hours later, there was a knock-on Arthur’s door. He gave himself a look over before he got the door. The blue shirt he wore was new, she had helped him pick it out. He blushed when she said the color looked good on him and that it matched his eyes. His jeans were new as well; when she saw them on him, she blushed and squeaked that they looked on him. He smirked at her reaction and bought them. His boots and suspenders were old, but he only ever wore them a handful of times so they were still good condition. He had even cleaned his spurs for dinner.

When he opened the door, her smiling face was there to greet him. She wore a simple dress, something he’s only seen her in once before. There were flowers in her hair and a bottle of whiskey in her hands. Berry, who was now clean, sat next to her. His tail thumped against Arthur’s front porch and his mouth was open in a smile.

“Howdy. You look lovely,” Arthur said. He made a motion for her to enter and took the whiskey from her hands.

“Thank you, Arthur. I gotta say, you look very nice yourself. The blue looks good on you.” She gave him a soft pat his chest, and a sly wink. This woman is gonna be the death of him.

Dinner went exactly the way Arthur hoped it would. The food was good, her praise made Arthur warm inside. She laughed at the funny stories he told, making sure to leave out the gang-related parts. He listened when she told a story herself, whether it was funny or serious, he gave her his full attention. Berry sat in the corner, chewing on an old boot Arthur gave him or eating scraps of food.

When dinner was done, and the plates were cleaned, they sat in silence. Her eyes were heavy, but there was a content look on her face. Her yawn and the way she rubbed her eyes was the cutest thing Arthur's ever seen. He cleared his throat, getting her attention.

“Darlin, I’m gonna be leaving tomorrow morning.”

“Oh, where you going?” There was a sad tone in her voice that made Arthur's stomach twist.  

“I’m gonna be out near Strawberry. I’m only gonna be gone for three to five days. I’m meeting a friend out there. He needs help with something.”

“Oh, well, I hope you have a safe trip.”  

“I will. I’m leaving Buell behind. If you need to leave for any reason, take him. He knows you and will let you ride him.”

“I’m sure we’ll be fine Arthur. But, thank you. I’ll keep an eye on him for you.”

“I appreciate it. Now, why don’t we have some of that whiskey?”

“About time you suggest it.”

It was several hours later and Arthur was carrying her home. She drank too much and walking was impossible for her. The only thing that was possible for her at the moment, was sleeping in his arms. He thought of just letting her sleep in his home, but her smell was almost overpowering. And with the full moon being only a day away, he worried he might shift earlier than expected. He did not want her to see that part of him.

She shifted in his arms, her hand grasped the collar of his shirt. She let out a heavy sigh, snuggled into his chest, and was back to snoring softly. He smiled down at her. The way she looked in the moonlight left him breathless. She is, without a doubt, the most beautiful woman he’s ever met.  

He pushed her front door open, inhaling to make sure there were no trespassers, then went inside. Berry ran pass Arthur and led the way to her room.

Her room was simple. There was a small bed, a side table, and a chest at the foot of her bed. There were several heavy coats hanging on the wall, and her rifle was partially hidden beneath her bed. Arthur was careful as he put her on the bed. He laid a blanket over her, making sure no parts of her were uncovered. Berry got on the bed and took his place at her feet.  

Arthur sat on the edge of her bed and watched her. He knew he was being creepy, but he couldn’t resist. The flowers were gone from her hair; she had pulled them out earlier and given them to him. He reached out and, as careful as he could, brushed her hair out of her face.  

How he wished he could stay with her. He wanted to crawl into the bed beside her and breath in her scent. He wanted to leave his scent around her room, he wanted it to linger on her skin. He wanted their scents to mingle and become one. Oh, how he wanted that. But he knew it would never happen, he could only want.

Before Arthur left, he placed a soft kiss on her forehead and ran his hand over her messy hair, picking out a stray flower and placing it down on the bedside table. She let out a mumble but made no move to show that she was awake. He smiled down at her one last time, gave Berry a pat on the head, and left the room.  

As he shut her front door and headed home, he could feel something calling him back to her. The animalistic part of him was screaming to stay with her, to protect and love her. The human side of him, however, knew this was impossible. She wouldn't want to be with a monster, especially a monster like him. He did his best to ignore the pull and began his walk home.

[granpafrisbee]

Truth or Dare Part 1

Warnings: Cussing                    

Word Count: 3,752 (it’s gonna get longer tho)

Pairing: Bucky x OFC           

Masterlist

Summary: After going to Italy and avoiding any romantic relationships for pretty much all her life Joey comes back to the U.S. to move in with her life-long best friend, Sam Wilson, and his two closest friends from college. Joey’s met Steve but is apprehensive to meet the elusive Bucky, whom she’s always missed despite having visited Sam consistently throughout college. Once she meets him, however, she wonders how she’ll be able to run from love when they share a bathroom.

A/N: Hey, so I'll be updating this most Wednesdays. I'll try my hardest to stay regular. 

I wrote this using an OFC bc I cannot work my brain to replace my name with fucking Y/N and I know I'm not the only one. (I always end up reading it as fucking "yuuhnnumm"). I am fully in love with Zazie Beetz so our OFC is completely based on her except maybe a lil chubbier because why not. Really for the apartment just picture the layout of the New Girl loft.

I always have a confusing time picturing characters in fics so I'm gonna lay it out for y'all. Steve is full nomad, them honey brown locks and the full beard. Joey's hair is natural like Zazie so often wears it. Bucky is just Seb in fall/winter 2017 because I am weak for the I, Tonya press tour look. Sam is Mackie's classic look. The rest of the characters can be left to the imagination.

Also  I mention good music so listen to that if you want. Please let me know if you like this and follow my hot garbage tumblr.

Special thanks to @buckybarnesxoxo for asking to be tagged!

the AO3

Stay Sexy

It’s the bathroom that really impresses Joey. She believed Sam when he said the apartment was nice. On seeing it for the first time when moving in, she discovers that her best friend is distinctly incorrect. A working sink is nice. A proper heater is nice. A nearby laundromat is nice. This loft, this four-bedroomed palace, is exquisite in comparison to her previous abodes. The kitchen has all its necessary appliances. There are a washer and dryer in unit. The walls are thick enough that if Sam was stabbed in his neighboring room, she would maybe hear it. Four bedrooms with their very own closets. All of these have her speechless as she tours around. However, as stated above, it’s the bathroom that is killer. The idea of sharing said room with three men is maybe one of the more foreboding aspects of her new sweet digs, but once she sees the giant clawfoot shower and tub, she is sure the positives will heavily outweigh the negatives.

She immediately slides down into her new porcelain palace. She’s a medium height at 5’6”, and even she has to point her toes to touch the far end of the tub. She sighs comfortably and is already planning an essential oils combination for her first real bath when the door swings open and her fantasy is interrupted by one her new roommates. He’s the one she hasn’t met yet but Sam and Steve have shown her plenty of pictures. His hair looks soft and well-coiffed and he wears a tank top under an unbuttoned striped short sleeve button down. Rather than judgment appearing across his abnormally handsome face, he smiles like there was nothing else he could have expected when entering the bathroom.

“You see I specifically told Steve to get a bathtub that doesn’t come with a human.”

“Oh no, you got it all wrong. I’m actually a ghost here to haunt you but hygienically. Instead of boo, I say floss.” She says without a beat and he nods, very seriously, in response to this.

“You know I’m pretty sure I just carried in a bed to our fourth room that might be more comfortable than the tub, but who am I to judge one’s preferred sleeping arrangements.” His quip is followed by another fantastic smile, and based on the past ten seconds of her life Joey is absolutely sure that this is her kind of human.

She smiles back and extends her hand from the tub. “Joey.”

“Bucky,” He shakes her hand and nods again.

“You guys brought up my bed? I told Samuel to let me handle that shit.”

He laughs and scratches his beard, “Ah just gave me another opportunity to show Sam how much stronger I am than him. And Steve the chance to show up both of us.”

Joey chuckles and silently appreciates how Bucky balanced his dig on Sam with some light self-depreciation of himself. Although it would be unrealistic to pretend that anyone was stronger than Steve. The man is built. “Seriously though, I’ll come help y’all out. I’m not gonna be the useless roommate.” She gets out of the tub and starts out the door.

“Oh I wouldn’t worry about that, I think Sammy’s got that title covered, Darlin’.” He follows her out and therefore doesn’t see her face cringe at the pet name.

She considers calling him on it when Sam yells from the front door, “I know you’re not in there besmirching me to my very own best friend Barnes,” He enters view sweaty and smiling, “And I especially know she wasn’t participating, because she is my best friend and therefore automatically on my side.” He wraps his arm protectively around her shoulders causing her to shrug away from him with her nose scrunched.

“Consider our friendship on sabbatical until you take a shower, Wilson.” Joey continues backing away.

“Jesus I always knew your personality stank but I guess the inside always comes out huh.” Bucky mirrors Joey’s disgusted face as he walks towards the door.

Sam rolls his eyes, “Not funny.” Although the involuntary “Hah!” Joey lets out at Bucky’s comment seems to contradict his statement. Sam just flips her off.

“Thank you, Doll. You see Sammy, even your best friend thinks I’m right.” Bucky mocks as he heads back outside.

This time Sam sees her face twist in reaction to the nickname. Misinterpreting it he grumbles, “Oh come on there’s no way you can smell me from over there.” He starts to head to his room, presumably for deodorant.

Joey follows Bucky downstairs to help with some more furniture moving. Steve is outside their building, ass in the air, bent over picking something up. “Damn Rogers,” Joey calls out appreciatively, “If I knew I’d be getting a view like that I would have shacked up with you years ago.”

He stands up, holding up an entire bookshelf on his own, further challenging the poor under armor shirt that is being stretched to hell on his giant frame. “Hey killer, thanks for joining us.”

She picks up a lamp and smiles at him, “Well I figured you guys needed the extra muscle.”

His smile is bright against his beard as he walks into the house with the ease of a man who isn't carrying a bookshelf.

The four of them finish loading their sporadic furniture into the loft and the afternoon fades to early evening. An old but amazing and huge high-quality leather sectional provided by Steve’s mom. Sam’s flat screen, whom he’s named Esmeralda, and may or may not have a near sexual attraction to. Bucky’s records and a player that’s older than any of them, plus a big wooden dinner table his Dad handmade. Steve’s varied level of completed canvases and paint stuff. Joey’s shelves and chairs she found on the side of the road her senior year in college. A mix of plates, bowls, and utensils have been loaded into varying drawers and cabinets. As well as cooking instruments, although, beyond Joey’s waffle iron and an old cast iron from Steve, it’s all Sam’s. Everyone’s personal boxes and furniture is piled in their own rooms.

Joey sits on the kitchen island as the boys lean against it, all sipping the cheap beer Joey bought as penance for them carrying her bed in. She takes that moment to appreciate the weird chain of events that got her where she is now. She and Sam have been friends since grade school. They went to different colleges but remained good ol’ buddies throughout. When they graduated Joey traveled around and did an apprenticeship with an Italian glassblower. Sam went to Culinary school, and when he graduated the second time around Joey was offered a job with a world-renowned blower (god she will never get tired of calling her profession that) stateside. After little luck finding a two bedroom inexpensive enough for the two of them, Steve, one of Sam’s old college buddies Joey had met many a time during visits, mentioned his friend's dad owned a couple lofts in the neighborhood they were looking in. Sam toured with Steve and Bucky and the three of them signed the lease that day. Sam called Joey that night and announced he was so confident that he forged her signature. He was insistent that it was the best option they’d find, all Steve is a good guy and fellow artist, and even Bucky is sometimes bearable but don’t tell him that. Steve paints and sketches in his free time and works as a personal trainer to pay the bills. Joey knows he isn’t passionate about it, but with his perfect body and matching attitude, she is sure he is fantastic at his job. Sam is starting at a new restaurant with a name Joey can only pronounce thanks to high school French. A plus for living with Sam is that he brings work home with him. Although Joey had visited Sam plenty over the years and even struck up a solid friendship with Steve, she always seems to have missed Bucky. They had never met but she knew he was a language major with a focus in Eastern Europe and Russia. Sam had told her Bucky translated English books into Russian and vice versa and made more money than he should. Earlier Joey had heard him curse in some sort of Slavic tongue when Sam “accidentally” dropped his end of a coffee table on Bucky’s foot. She also had heard a few stories about Steve and Bucky’s childhood, the rambunctious troublemakers lived up to every tall tale. As the four nursed their beers she felt confident that this was going to be a very important group of people in her life.

“Joey?” Sam snapped her out of her thoughts.

“What?”

“Barnes suggested we get more beer and pizza and invite some friends over. Are you down?” The three men looked at her expectantly.

“I say hell yeah. Who are we calling?” She looked down at her watch and was surprised to see it was only 6:30.

“Well there are the couples, Nat and Wanda and Thor and Bruce,” Steve suggested.

“I told Shuri I’d pay her in alcohol if she set up all the tech shit,” Bucky adds.

Steve nods, “Now that you mention it, we should probably invite Tony, he’s the reason we got this place.”

“Tony means at least Rhodey and probably Pep, Clint is a must, and if we invite Wanda we should call Pietro too.” Sam finishes his beer and scrolls through his messages.

“Brunnhilde and Okoye are in town too.” Joey hops off the counter and recycles the empty bottles collecting on the island.

“Alright you guys decide who to invite, and I’ll go get libations and sustenance,” Bucky grabs his keys.

“With the list we’ve got you’ll need some help, I’ll come with,” Joey volunteers.

Bucky smiles vibrantly and nods towards to Steve, “You okay babysitting Rogers?”

“As long as Killer doesn’t mind your unreasonably picky ass,” Steve’s retort is so quick that Bucky and Sam raise their middle fingers simultaneously at their aggravator.

Joey and Bucky decide to start off to the pizzeria three blocks away and pick up the beer on the walk back. The walk begins in mildly uncomfortable silence.

“So… you’re picky?” Joey asks to spark some sort of conversation.

“Nooo..” Bucky’s defensiveness creates an endearing drawl, “Those two pompous asses just don’t understand that I like my pizza simple. Margherita pizza is a fucking gift. Who am I to screw it up with a bunch of American bullshit?” He gestures widely as he speaks.

“You’re kidding right?”

Bucky’s must have misinterpreted her smile as he quickly responds, “Alright I’ve been judged enough in my life, I know you lived in Italy and-”

“No, no, Bucky!” She grabs his forearm, “Margherita is my favorite! I ate it all the time in Italy, judgment-free.”

“Jesus Christ Doll, where have you been all my life?”

She smiles and they continue a brisk pace to the pizza place. “How did you know I lived in Italy?”

“Ah, I know plenty about you. Sammy talks about you non-stop, has since I met him. Steve even thought he was secretly in love with you until he hung out with you in person.”

This makes Joey raise her brows, “Really? Wow. What, if I may ask, ultimately caused him to accept our relationship as extraordinarily platonic? Was it the sibling-like side hugs? The lack of sexual tension in our banter? The fact that I knew him during his first mustache phase?”

“Are you telling me there was a skinnier mustache than the one we know and mildly tolerate?”

“I’m talking Prince but pubescent. It was so thin models asked his mustache for dieting tips. It was so thin his first girlfriend thought he had an eyelash over his top lip. I mean you would’ve thought he drew it on with a ballpoint pen. In fact, it’s very possible it was. Just because I never saw doesn’t mean he never-”

Bucky is laughing uproariously, “Please, please, you’re killing me. I’m gonna need pictures as soon as possible.”

“No can do. I will recite the epic of the mustache homer-style until the day I die, but any physical evidence shared will prompt an all-out war between Samuel and me. That is just something I can’t afford.”

“Oh now I have to see them. What’s your secret shame, sweetheart? Bangs? Braces? Please tell me it was an emo phase,” As he lists off he starts walking backward, the goofy smile didn't dim once.

“I’ll never share, but trust me when I say if you find something behind my back, I’m sure Steve will be more than willing to share some pictures of your past. Emo phase is a good guess, but if I didn’t know any better I’d say that was a projection, hmm?”

That does a good job of replacing his smile with pursed lips and a quirked eyebrow, contemplating his next move in this battle of embarrassing adolescence. “Steve would never betray me.”

“Don’t be so sure, all men have their weaknesses,” She smiles deviously.

“Oh yeah, you gonna seduce him for a picture of me in eyeliner?”

“First of all, I would seduce Steve for much less so thanks for confirming my emo theories. Secondly, I may not know Steve like you do, but I know him well enough to see that seduction would hardly prove fruitful.” She holds the door open for him and they both bask in the practically orgasmic scent of the pizzeria, “Steve is so suspicious of anyone who wants to sleep with him that he’d see through me. My method would be to trick him to do some sort of high school ‘Where are they now?’ portrait. He’d be so inspired he’d paint your lined eyes and black, I’m guessing, over parted hair in a second.” The line is moving slowly and he admires how she never lowers her volume or hides from strangers eyes.

“Damn, Doll, you’re good.”

“I minored in manipulation.” The store isn’t too packed for Saturday night and Sam Cooke is playing lightly in the background. She’s nodding her head and he’s mouthing along to words and when they both realize this they share a smile at the music.

“So Steve is a suspicious mind in your book?” She chuckles at his reference.

“I’m not the biggest drinker and neither is Steve, so when Sammy went hard when I visited, Steve was always good for a tipsy talk. The poor guy has the same self-esteem he must have had in high school. Unlike us three cool cats Steve will show me pictures of his past self. I know you were there through it all, but just because the outside changes doesn’t mean the inside follows suit. I have seen the most dedicated and gorgeous women throw themselves at him and yet he remains sure that she was ‘just being friendly’. It’s actually impressive.”

“I know what you mean. To be fair though a lot of that is just his college girlfriend. She really did a number on him.” He runs a hand through his hair but doesn’t hide his contempt for whoever she is.

Solemn surprise covers Joey’s features, “I never knew. Never met her on any visits.”

“She wasn’t big on him talking to other girls, probably hid him anytime you came around. Although that isn’t my story to tell, I’m sure the punk will tell you about it sometime.” She follows his eye line down to his shoes. He’s drawing stars with the tip of his shoe, a tic she’s just noticing.

“What about you? You have a girl hiding you away, distracting you during your collegiate years? She the reason our meeting was so unluckily delayed until today?”

He thinks about the answer for a second or two. “Nah, no anchor to this ship. At this point, I’m just convinced Wilson just didn’t tell me you were around because he knew you would like me more than him.”

“Well turns out I like Steve better than both of you.”

He puts his hands up and reassures her, “I don’t need to be first, Sweetheart, just as long as I’m on your radar.” As he lowers his hands the song changes and they simultaneously recognize the song, both begin humming the initial notes. “Penny & The Quarters fan huh?” He asks.

“Nobody, baby, but-” she sings before quickly turning her attention to the cashier, “We’ll have two large Everything Pizzas and one large Margherita.” Facing Bucky again she smiles and drops another line that makes his heart race, “Just for you and me, huh?”

The pizza is out quick, and a trip to the local gas station provides them with more than enough beer. They continue discussing music, Joey is surprised at their similarly irregular taste. He describes his favorite Etta James songs, but can’t forget the Simon and Garfunkel song that he thinks is his first love encapsulated. He lists his top three favorite rappers after ranking contemporary folk bands. She adds in her opinions sporadically, and he apologizes twice for dominating the conversation when they get in the elevator.

She is being honest when she says, “There’s nothing I want to hear more than whatever you’re going to say right this moment.” He thinks that every lyric in every song he’s just listed doesn’t have shit on that sentence.

He’s about to tell her so when an alarming large hand last minute catches the elevator as it closes. The doors open to the Thor and Bruce. The couple is the lynchpin of every good party, from rager to kickback. Thor is the greatest hype man in history but is never hammered, probably because it would take two handles of tequila to get him there. Bruce is much more chill but a secret god at beer pong, not to mention he always has weed. Bucky’s favorite part of their presence always happens when Bruce is particularly high and begins a lecture on some sort of subject no one else understands. He isn’t exactly captivating, especially not to anyone far from sober although his passion is palpable, but Thor will plop down on the couch next to him and watch him like he’s the only thing in the universe (while rubbing Bruce’s neck to keep him from getting too wound up). Bucky loves those guys.

“Looks like we arrived just in time, wouldn’t you say Thor?” Bruce shakes Bucky’s hand and smiles at Joey.

“Of course! I was worried we got too much pizza, but now that you’re here Thor I’m sure you’ll help us with any surplus.” Joey sets the pizzas down before Thor pulls her into a bear hug.

“Joey, you know I never leave a damsel in distress,” Thor agrees as he sets her back on her feet.

Joey’s eyebrow playfully shoots up, “Who are you calling damsel, Odinson?”

“In this case, definitely Sam. I’m surprised he even let you order out.” Bruce answers for his boyfriend.

“My love is right in my insinuation. Never ever have I seen you anywhere near damsel status Joe.” Bucky watches their interaction with curiosity.

The elevator dings and Bucky asks, “This may seem like a dumb question but how do you guys know each other? Just through Sam?”

Joey picks up the pizzas as Thor holds the door open, ”Thor’s siblings and I were all in a group home together as teens. I’ve known this big lug long before he was the Nordic party god we see before us.” Thor laughs and he and Bruce go to greet everyone inside.

“Are you telling me Thor hasn’t always been a blonde beefcake?” Bucky whispers in Joey’s ear as they set the pizza and beer on the counter.

“Sadly no, he’s looked like that since I met him. I just like making that joke because he’s too humble to care.” She makes note that he doesn’t question the foster home part of her story. She wonders just what Sam has told him about her past.

People start to crowd the food and drinks, so Joey and Bucky greet everyone who has arrived. Nat is there sans Wanda, who is at home sick. Bucky knows this means Nat will be leaving early. Pietro made it despite his ill sibling, but he still looks pretty sick of the conversation in front of him. Shuri and Clint are mid-argument about the chicken and the egg when Bucky thanks them for coming. Clint gives him a smile and points to a fake succulent on the table and mumbles, “Got you guys a housewarming present,” before returning his attention to telling Shuri that the Chicken is the obvious choice. Shuri tells Bucky she set up the wifi and the apple tv and Clint doesn’t even register that she’s talking over him. Bucky kisses her cheek and hands her a beer.

Steve is sitting with Bruce and Thor on the couch, all of them engrossed in conversation and pizza. Sam is chopping fresh onion for his pizza when Bucky asks, “These are the few you could bribe to get here?”

“These losers are the only ones without any plans on a Saturday night,” Sam says without looking up.

Clint and Pietro both look up and say a simultaneous, “Hey!” Before turning their attention back to their conversation.

“T’Challa and Nakia are in Paris. Brunnhilde has a gig tonight. Okoye hung up on me when I said pizza and beer. Parker has an exam. Tony named six events he was invited to tonight and would’ve kept going if Steve hadn’t hung up. Pepper and Rhodey are probably plus thing one and two wherever Tony ended up at. Thus, this motley crew is all we got.” Sam sprinkles his diced onion on top of his already spilling slice and when he bites into it his groan stops the conversations surrounding the apartment.

“Lame. Your intestines are not going to be thanking you for that monster you are devouring under the alias of pizza.” Joey makes a face as he continues to stuff his face.

“Like eating just mozzarella and basil is enjoyable at all,” Sam dismisses her and joins the rest of their crew.

“Heathens,” Bucky dramatically admonishes their friends, “You ready Doll?”

This time he catches the tightening of her expression at his comment, ”Born ready.” They both grab a piece of their untouched pizza and taps crusts in cheers.

Part 2

Part 3

Thanks for reading!

[1x1shawn]

It’s that time again. The time where I ask for more plots! As I distance myself more and more from group roleplaying, I’ve really been wanting more 1x1s. I’m very friendly and committed to my writing. Under the cut, I’ve put faceclaims I’d love to play and some plots I like, but I’m open to just about anything (other than smut). Please like this or sent me a message if you’re interested! And of course everything is also open to friends I already have plots with as well as new friends.

Faceclaims I’d love to play:

Charles Michael Davis

Chris Wood

Eddie Redmayne

Sinqua Walls 

Matthew Daddario

Harry Shum Jr

Jacob Artist 

Jeremy Allen White

Christopher Larkin

Nico Tortorella

Michael Socha

Taron Egerton

Beau Mirchoff

Matt Dallas 

Aaron Tveit

Conrad Ricamora

Carlos Valdes

Dave Franco

Richard Harmon

Candice Patton 

Skyler Samuels

Dove Cameron 

Kat Graham

Josefine Frida Pettersen

Dichen Lachman

Shantel Vansanten

Maggie Grace (bonus if it’s against Sebastian Stan)

Molly Quinn 

Allison Scagliotti 

Karla Souza

Wanted Plots:

“ i just want a plot where muse a has been in this friends with benefits thing with muse b bc they both just wanted to lose their virginity already (they’ve been neighbours and fwb since they were sixteen) and now he became a manwhore. they are completely different at school (i thought of a bad boy/”good” girl kinda thing) BUT when muse a says she wants it to stop bc she wants to try to have a realrelationship with someone else, muse b realises he doesn’t want it to end bc he rlly likes her ??? and hes still such a dick but he starts to give her more attention at school to try to manipulate her to stay bc she’s the realest thing he’s ever had and he just doesn’t know how to stop the whole bad boy persona !!GIVE IT TO ME PLS “

THIS

“MY DAD’S A POLICE OFFICER AND HE ALWAYS COMES HOME COMPLAINING ABOUT HIS DUMB NEW PARTNER WHO’S STRAIGHT OUT OF TRAINING AND WHEN THEY FINALLY HIT IT OFF HE COMES OVER FOR DINNER AND FUCK I DIDN’T KNOW HE WAS SO HOT AU”

“SOULMATE AU WHERE WHEN YOU WRITE SOMETHING ON YOUR SKIN WITH PEN/MARKER/WHATEVER THE HELL YOU WANT, IT WILL SHOW UP ON YOUR SOUL MATES SKIN AS WELL.IMAGINE HAVING A SUPER ARTISTIC SOULMATE WHO DRAWS FLOWERS AND DESIGNS AND REALLY BEAUTIFUL PATTERNS ALL OVER THEIR ARMS AND PERSON 2 JUST SITS THERE AND WATCHES THE LITTLE LINES APPEAR ON THEIR ARMS AND THEY CAN’T STOP SMILING AND IT’S THEIR FAVORITE PART OF THE DAYIMAGINE PERSON 1 BEING SUPER FORGETFUL SO THEY SCRIBBLE DOWN ALL THE PLACES THEIR APPOINTMENTS ARE AND PERSON 2 TRIES TO DECIPHER THEM AND FIGURE OUT WHERE THEY’RE AT AND THEY MEET AND THEY SEE THEIR WRITING ON THEIR HAND FROM ACROSS THE WAITING ROOM/ COFFEE SHOP/ ETC. AND THEY SCRAMBLE TO FIND A PEN AND WRITE ‘FOUND YOU’ ON THE BACK OF THEIR HAND AND PERSON 1 SEES IT AND THEY LOCK EYES ANDWOW I LIKE THIS AU”

“ going through a really bad break up and answering the door for your pizza in a baggy t-shirt and your underwear because you have nothing left to lose and the pizza boy is genuinely very concerned about you being okay so he assures you he’s not a serial killer and invites you to get dressed and ride shotgun in his shitty silver car while he delivers pizza for the rest of the night and he listens to you talk and tells you how much off an idiot your asshole ex was “

Something based on Greek myth characters?

“ a m/m plot where muse a and muse b are both students and neighbors at a boarding school. they’re also best friends. muse a knows that he is gay, but is only out to very few people - not muse b. because of this, muse a has been able to get away with a crush on muse b that is somewhat obvious to all of their friends. as senior year is winding down, muse a comes out to muse b; what muse a doesn’t know is that muse b has been struggling with feelings for muse a as of recently (potentially following an event that has muse a questioning his sexuality as a whole). as graduation inches closer, secrets are all coming out at once and with college on the horizon, is a relationship even in the cards for them? please like this post or message me if you’re interested !!”

Some kind of solider/long distance plot

Plot based off the TV show Zoo

“ how about a 1x1 where we each choose a birthday for our character. we then look up the various forms of zodiac and astrological signs and predictions for that character and make their personalities strictly in line with their sign. we can check their horoscopes every once in a while and make them act out whatever it says for that day. virgo will have a meaningful conversation with someone today? the virgo has to bring up a very serious topic that day. scorpio has energy and should use that to clean out their life? the scorpio suddenly decides to clean out their apartment and accidentally throws away the other character’s things. there would always be a way to mix up the plot by just checking that day’s horoscope, and their personalities would basically be written already. “

“ I want a plot of this girl that gets front row tickets to her favorite singer/bands concert. She expected it to be a cute date between her and the guy she’s seeing but he ends up ditching her for another girl. Still she goes to the concert determined to have fun. Everything is sort of depressing for her until her favorite band member/the singer notices a missing seat next to her. So he asks her about it and there’s this little exchange where she explains that she got ditched for another girl. It’s so completely unacceptable for such a pretty girl to be alone at a concert so he calls her on stage and tells her, “video me serenading you so the douche knows what he’s missing.” Except it doesn’t end in just a one time serenade. A cute friendship blossoms and they end up texting and calling each other all the time. Next thing they know he’s asking her on a date!! :)) “

“ The son of the President of the United States goes off to college after begging that he be given a little freedom and be able to enjoy his school years without the Secret Service following his every move. The government finally agrees to let him go but secretly assigns a young agent to go undercover as a student so that someone can keep an eye on him. The presidents son and the secret agent fall in love, but that’s all changed when the identity of the agent is revealed.”

OR BASICALLY A N Y T H I N G !