#because they spend more time to establish the bond between a guy and a girl

[starburstgalexies]

You know, I was almost convinced Yanqing and Yunli were gonna be just any other dull teenage hetero ship written as love interests and I was ready to hate it for that, but they have great chemistry and a trope-y but interesting back and forth (you can say it's a good trope).

It might be too early to say these I am entirely judging this based on their first (technically first two) meeting in the beginning of the new Trailblaze Mission and they have plenty of time to disappoint me, but so far so good.

[multifandomimagines]

All I Want for Christmas - A Steve Harrington Imagine

Characters: Steve Harrington x Reader

Word Count: 3410

Summary: The annual Christmas-themed Hawkins Middle School dance is fast approaching, but while they should be volunteering, Steve and the Reader spend their time with each other instead.

Warnings: Slight swearing, suggestive ending + angst - topics surrounding a previous breakup, as well as a mention of a bad relationship with parents.

Written by: Jasper

A/N: we’re back!!! we missed you guys SO much. i absolutely LOVED writing for steve and stranger things! our requests are always open, so if you love this as much as i loved writing it (as well as any of our other posts), please please please check out our requests post and send over your requests! merry christmas and happy holidays! <3

p.s. peep our new feature that we’ll sometimes be adding to our works! listen after or while you’re reading for the full experience 👀 ⤵️

Soundtrack: ‘Snow On The Beach’ by Taylor Swift ft. Lana Del Rey 🌨️

Disclaimer: GIF isn’t ours - credit to whoever it belongs to.

Snow Ball, 1984.

Given everything that happened a month ago, Y/N should have felt elated to go and help out at the school dance; to act like everything was okay just for a night, to feel normal again, but she surprisingly felt quite the opposite. She begged and pleaded, more than she ever had in her whole life, to just stay home, but her mother refused with a swift, “You’ll regret it when you’re older.”

“She’s making me go,” Y/N whispered over the phone, peering around the corner to make sure her mother wasn’t eavesdropping from the living room.

“I don’t know, Y/N,” Steve Harrington’s voice came through the ear speaker. Her and the once snobby rich boy formed an unusual bond after last month’s troubling events. Going through something as traumatic as that certainly ties you to someone for life, and she guessed that was what ultimately made them become the best of friends so quickly. They came to each other for everything since then, and she would be lying if she said that she hadn’t formed a crush on him that first night… But he was just out of a heart-wrenching breakup, so she (as hard as it may be) kept quiet as to not make him feel uncomfortable or ruin their budding friendship, which meant so much to her already. “I guess it could be kind of nice for you…”

“Jesus Christ, not you too—” she rolled her eyes, aggressively leaning into the wall.

“I’m just saying,” his voice was muffled through the phone, seemingly because he put it between his ear and shoulder. “you haven’t been the same since… everything…”

“Of course I haven’t, Steve… Who would?” Y/N answered, frustration and impatience apparent in her voice. He stayed quiet, prompting her to remember all the times he has acted as if nothing had ever even happened, “Well, not everyone can be Mr. Perfect Steve Harrington who-ignores-all-his-problems.”

“I think we’ve established that no one thinks I’m Mr. Perfect,” he chuckled insincerely, hinting at what had happened between him and Nancy Wheeler a month prior. The two had gone through a rather nasty breakup— the boy was devastated, seemingly never quite moving on. The girl, however, moving on not even a couple days later, contributing greatly to Steve’s heartbreak.

I do, Y/N so desperately wanted to say, but instead she kept quiet, an awkward silence falling over the two them.

“Okay, I’ll tell you what,” Steve said, cutting through the quiet tension. “I’m taking Dustin to the dance— why don’t I come around, pick you up too, you can make yourself look all pretty or whatever, and then you can sorta lie to your mom; act like you’re going to the dance, but in reality, you’re just hanging out with me.”

“Are you asking me to the dance, Harrington?” Y/N laughed, trying to make Steve flustered. “And did you just call me pretty?”

“Technically, I’m asking you to ditch the dance and hangout with me instead,” he replied, making no mention of the pretty comment.

After a moment of thinking, “Fine. But you have to stay in the car, I don’t need my parents asking you any weird questions— we all know you’re awful at lying.”

“Deal.”

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ

The night of the Snow Ball fast approached, and before Y/N knew it, the night had arrived. For hours beforehand, she had hastily gotten ready, trying to make herself look absolutely perfect. She wasn’t exactly certain why— sure, she had a crush on Steve and she would have made herself look nice for him anyways, but she wasn’t attending the dance, so was it really necessary to make herself so dance-ready? Picking out shoes that would be perfect for dancing, even picking out a flowy dress perfect for dancing?

“Y/N! Your date is here!” the girl’s mother called from the living room. “Is that really what he’s wearing to the dance?!”

“For the last time, Mom, he’s not technically my date…” Y/N answered, hurriedly rushing past her unbothered father sitting in his recliner, grabbing her bag off the coat hanger and opening the door. “Also it’s 1984, don’t judge other people’s attire. Bye, love you!”

“Is he not coming to meet us?—” was the last thing she heard before abruptly closing the door behind her, practically running to Steve’s car in the process.

She jumped in the backseat, “Step on it— Oh, hey, Dustin! I almost didn’t recognize you.”

The younger boy sat in the passenger, looking small in comparison to the older boy in the driver’s seat. His outfit was the epitome of the 1980s, puffy hair, bow tie and all. She wondered briefly if Steve had helped him get ready or if Dustin had done this all on his own. She looked over to Steve as Dustin greeted her, her attentiveness dying out instantly, no longer hearing a word the younger boy was saying.

Steve’s eyes were on her, and by the looks of it, they seemed to have been on her. The air between them suddenly felt on edge like never before— the way he looked at her made her heart hammer faster and faster against her ribcage; so loud that there was surely no way the other two couldn’t have heard it. His eyes sparkled in the dimming light as he took deep breaths, clearly mesmerized— well, until Dustin’s growing voice and finger snapping cut through the tension, “HELLO?! You two are going to make me late! Stare at each other later, it’s already getting dark!”

Steve pulled himself together first, slapping Dustin playfully on the arm, “We weren’t staring, smartass. OKAY, OKAY! I’m driving! Jesus Christ, you’re such a—”

But Y/N never really pulled herself together. The whole car ride to the dance was a blur, she didn’t even truly hear what the other two were saying. All she could focus on was the memory of his eyes on her, the look on his face, and the way she absolutely melted underneath his gaze. She was oddly quiet the rest of the ride, and Steve noticed— his eyes frequently shifting to the rearview mirror above him to glimpse back at her.

Quickly, she realized that the Hawkins Middle School building was emerging ahead of them; street lights and traffic finally snapping her out of her trance. Sitting up straight and leaning forward, she rested her forearms on the center console as Steve pulled the car around front, directly adjacent of the entrance doors. People streamed into the building in mostly pairs, all dressed head to toe in formal attire.

“All right, buddy, here we are…” Steve’s voice cut through the silence. Both him and Dustin looked to the doors, Dustin’s lingering on them a bit longer than Steve’s. “So, remember, once you get in there…”

Dustin looked back to Steve, nervousness somewhat apparent on his face. “Pretend like I don’t care.”

“You don’t care,”

“I don’t care.”

“There you go. You’re learning, my friend. You’re learning.”

“Oh, Jesus Christ— are you actually teaching him that?!” Y/N scoffed in disbelief, interrupting the other two’s somewhat heartfelt conversation, laughter choking out from her throat.

“What do you know?” Steve replied, turning around in his seat to directly look at her for the first time since the start of the journey. His brazen gaze softened the moment his eyes landed on hers.

“I know that acting like you don’t care makes you look like an asshole—”

Dustin reached for the rearview mirror as the older two playfully argued (which was such a common occurrence at this point, to which everyone else just simply ignored) and snapping it rather hastily in his direction.

Steve looked back at the sudden noise, “Hey—”

“What?” Dustin replied, still glancing anxiously at himself in the mirror above him.

Steve grabbed the mirror from Dustin, pulling it back into his direction, “Come on, you look great, okay? You look— you look great.”

Dustin assured Steve that he was hearing what he was saying, but it seemed more like assurance to himself than anyone else. He more or less looked like he was about to cry— he looked frightened, almost as if he wished he could just stay in the car forever and never have to step foot through those daunting doors.

“Dustin, take it from a girl, okay?” Y/N said, reassuring the terrified younger boy. Steve smiled to himself. “You genuinely look amazing. How about you save me a dance for when we pick you up later, yeah?”

Dustin nodded, signifying he was listening despite him looking to the floor.

“Okay, you’re gonna go in there…” Steve said.

“Yeah…”

“Look like a million bucks—”

“Yeah,”

“And you’re gonna slay ‘em dead.”

“Like a lion,” Dustin replied, a newfound confidence in his voice. Suddenly, his mouth opened and a purring noise came out, issuing both Y/N and Steve to nervously glance at each other.

“Yeah… don’t do that, okay?” Steve said as Dustin stared back at him, doe-eyed.

“Okay,”

Steve reached out a loving hand to him, “Good luck.”

Dustin took it, a slight smile on his face. He nodded, turned, then exited the car. Both Steve and Y/N watched as Dustin walked into the building hesitantly, but more confidently as he started to speak to someone that Y/N couldn’t see. Then, awkward silence washed over them as they both watched through the doors, neither of them saying a single word to another.

She looked to Steve out of her peripheral, realizing that he had spotted something, a relatively distressed look apparent on his face, unalike the smile he had merely moments before.

“Steve?” she said gently, worrying what she would see if she put herself at his level. “You okay?”

After he didn’t answer, she leaned forward, eyes instantly falling on Nancy Wheeler. She looked absolutely beautiful, talking and laughing with attendees as they came to her for a cup of punch. Steve visibly didn’t know that Nancy was volunteering tonight— the thought of going from knowing everything about someone, to knowing nothing, appeared to hurt him greatly. She was happy, which must have pained Steve even more— he hadn’t seemed genuinely happy himself in so long. But knowing Steve, Y/N knew that it was bittersweet to him— he was happy that Nancy was happy, and to him, that’s all that really, truly mattered.

Turning away, hiding the pang of jealousy and hurt that she felt by this, Y/N acted as if she hadn’t seen what he was looking at. Instead, she hopped up into the passenger seat next to him, minding her dress, and looked over at him. She was now unknowingly blocking his view of Nancy, yet he didn’t really mind it. Honestly… he grew to like it better this way.

Y/N was always there for him; she was there through the thick of last month, saving his ass that night more than he cared to admit. She was there through the aftermath of the breakup; all the times he tried to hide his tears from her in fear that she would make fun of him, yet she never did. She’d even let him stay over on nights that his parents made him so furious he couldn’t even be in the same house as them. She was there through it all, yet Nancy hardly did the same. Y/N was better for him, and he was finally starting to realize it.

“You okay?” the girl asked again sincerely, her eyes glistening in the low light as she watched him closely.

The boy exhaled and looked away, shook his head, more so to himself than her, and shifted his gear from parked to driving, “For the first time in awhile, I’m okay.”

He drove around the side of the school and parked. The parking lot was now deserted of other people despite the amount of vehicles that resided in spots, their owners clearly dancing the night away inside the building, abandoned until hours later.

The two of them exited the car, walking around and taking a seat on the back. That seemed to be one of the things they did these days; parking off somewhere and sitting on the hood or trunk and having deep conversations. Y/N cherished those perfect moments, she was sure she cherished them a bit more than Steve did considering her feelings, but nonetheless, she was sure he adored them too, even if not the same way she did.

“You sure you’re okay? You looked pretty… blindsided back there—” Y/N hesitantly said, shifting her position to look at him. She feared he would be upset with her for bringing it up again. She braced for a sarcastic remark… but none ever came.

He looked back up, his dark hair falling over his forehead in pieces. He looked so innocently back at her, no sign of hurt or annoyance at her question. His voice was gentle, “More than okay.”

She chuckled, “Well, that’s a start. Why the change of heart?”

“You, actually.” He replied, his voice soft, unlike she’s ever heard it before. “It’s always been you.”

Her breathing shallowed, her heart beginning to palpitate. Was he meaning what she thought he was? Or was she simply looking too far into it? “I don’t understand—”

“You know,” he begin. “I can’t remember the last time Nancy asked me if I was okay, or simply cared if I was, if I’m being honest.”

Y/N simply sat and listened, not daring to say a single word or make him lose his train of thought.

“It was always me asking her if she was okay, always only caring about her and her well-being. I lost sight of myself and how I was doing, all just to make her happy… but I never got it in return.” he continued, looking out at the empty parking lot, remembering memories that he was trying so hard the past few weeks to forget. “I mean, I don’t blame her. She’s always had her own shit going on. I don’t know— I guess what I’m trying to say is… it’s been nice having someone care about me for once. You know, ask how I’m doing and all that shit. Maybe all this time I’ve just been focusing on someone who never really wanted me in the first place, while someone who’s been there for me since day one was getting the short end of the stick.”

“Steve—” Y/N began to say, the words dying out in her throat. Her comforting hand came to rest atop his beside them, their fingers slightly intertwining. Her eyes scanned his face, looking for any sign of hesitation or regret. Yet, there was none…

“You’re beautiful,” Steve spoke delicately, looking up from their embracing hands to meet her gaze. “I’m sorry it took me so long to realize it.”

“We still have time.” she smiled, squeezing his hand a bit tighter. She dreamt of this moment for so long, yet when it finally came, she felt as if she couldn’t speak properly; all the words she imagined saying to him died out in her throat the moment it was finally happening. It wasn’t just a dream this time— it was real life.

“I’m sorry— Jesus Christ, I haven’t even asked how you feel—” he backtracked, shaking his head, frustrated with himself. “I just assumed—”

“Are you kidding, Steve?” Y/N replied as he looked to her nervously. “It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

He smiled, relief washing over his face in waves. This was atypical for Steve Harrington— not only the anxiousness he exuded in those few moments, but also the way he poured his entire heart out. Y/N was sure he must have done it with Nancy; he’d even done it with other topics to Y/N, but never in this way. Never so vulnerable— she figured that was the perfect word to describe it: Vulnerable.

Steve had changed so much over the past month. He was broken and bruised (even quite literally at one point), so much that it changed him. He was worried that Y/N didn’t feel the same— he had always just assumed Nancy did, but that didn’t turn out well for him now, did it? No, he needed to be absolutely sure this time.

“Y/N, are you sure?” Steve asked, glancing back at her hand atop his. “I can’t go through it again…”

Her lips met his, gently but urgently, washing away all of the doubts and insecurities swirling around in his head. In that moment, he forgot about Nancy wholeheartedly, forgot about every bad thing that had ever happened to him, even forgetting how him and Y/N got to this point. The only thing that mattered was the destination; her lips were soft moving against his, her hands caressing his skin in innocent places that she’d never touched him before.

Steve’s fingers came up to lace through her hair delicately, pulling her closer than ever. He ached to feel her nearer to him, to embrace her wholly, after so long of not knowing what that felt like.

He pulled away first, cold air replacing the heat of where his lips were mere seconds previously. Her senses on high alert, Y/N realized the music from inside the building could be faintly heard, interrupting the quiet of the dark, abandoned lot. Every Breath You Take was vaguely audible, the vibe of the dance changing drastically. She imagined the dance attendees slow dancing with another, taking the opportunity to kiss and be close to each other.

Steve jumped off the back of the car, held out a hand to her and said, “You didn’t think I’d let you come to a dance without making you dance with me, did you?”

She chuckled, smiling to herself, happiness overtaking her for the first time in awhile, “Not letting Dustin get the first dance with me, huh?”

“Never in a million years,” Steve joked. “you’re mine now.”

“I could get used to that…” Y/N flirted, taking his outstretched hand in hers.

The two found themselves embracing, slow dancing, spinning, playfully joking, until it got comfortably quiet between them. They basked in each other’s presence, feeling happier than they’ve felt in a long while. It was hard to imagine this any other way— it felt as if it had been this way between them forever.

She rested her head atop his shoulder, pulling him close and wrapping her arms around him. They both shut their eyes, the comfortable silence giving way to the song faintly coming to an end inside of the school. The moment felt bittersweet— both of them wishing it could last forever.

After a long pause, Y/N opened her eyes first, noticing that the scenery had slightly changed around them. A thin white sheet covered the ground and the cars residing in their respective spots, white flakes falling gently out of the sky.

“Steve—” she spoke, lightly backing out from his embrace. She glanced around them, “It’s snowing.”

He opened his eyes, both of them immediately landing on her, not bothering to even look out at the snow. As cheesy as it sounded in his head, she was more beautiful than anything nature could possibly do, and he didn’t want to miss her most of all.

He tucked a snow covered strand of hair out of her face, making her look to him. A smile formed on her mouth as his lips met hers for a second time, snow falling all around them like minuscule, twinkling stars.

“Hey…” Steve whispered, lips resting against Y/N’s. “How about we go back to my place? Pick Dustin up in a couple hours, yeah?”

“Mhm,” she replied, grinning, finally opening her eyes to meet his once again. “hey, wait— what happened to acting like you don’t care?”

Steve, remembering the advice he had just given Dustin less than a half an hour before, snickered, “Yeah, well, that was minutes ago— I’m a changed man now.”

She laughed, making a face at him as they got back into his car. They drove off to his house as Christmas music played vaguely over the radio, hands tenderly held near the stick shift, stealing glances at each other on well-lit streets.

As it turned out, her mother had been right in someway all along; Y/N would have regretted this night for the rest of her life if she hadn’t gone. As much as she hated to admit it, school dances, or lack thereof, turned out to not be so bad after all.

[no-reply95]

Jealous Guys

Something I’ve been thinking about for a while now is the different ways jealousy manifested for John and Paul over the course of their friendship.

I’m going to look at John and Paul in turn and have a look at some of the key ways jealousy appeared, before, during and after the Beatles period. This will be a looooong post so if you want to go on deep dive keep reading below.

John

Jealousy was something that John acknowledged as a big part of his personality, as far as I’m aware, he only acknowledged his jealousy publicly in terms of his relationship with Yoko but I believe jealousy was a feature of all of John’s major relationships. John’s first real partnership was with Pete Shotton, his childhood best friend, and Pete has outlined how John’s jealousy and possessiveness was a feature in their friendship with them falling out when Pete first started showing interest in girls and with John acting out when Pete started to spend more time with other friends, instead of him, here Pete recounts John’s reflection on this period of their friendship:

“Years later John confessed to having felt acutely jealous throughout that interlude: “I was scared shitless I’d lost you after our fight in science class, when you starting playing with David Jones. I really thought I’d gone too far with you that time.“

Pete Shotton, John Lennon: In My Life , 1983

Pete’s recollections establish a pattern in John’s life of acting out due to a fear of abandonment and losing those who are closest to him so it’s not surprising that once John had formed a strong bond with Paul that would stir similar fears in him. 

Below I’ve categorised the groups of people that were the focus of John’s jealousy and have picked one person from each group as an example:

Family - Jim McCartney

Paul’s family was and continues to be a big part of his life. From the outset of their friendship, John was made aware of how important Jim was to Paul and vice versa. John and Paul had to skip school to hang out together because Jim wouldn’t have John in their house initially and John confessed his resentment of Jim’s influence over Paul’s life. It appears that after some time John grew tired of having to contend with Jim for the position of the most important person in Paul’s life, and this culminated in John giving Paul a pseudo ultimatum as John discussed in 1971:

“But Paul would always give in to his dad. His dad told him to get a job, he fucking dropped the group and started working on the fucking lorries, saying, "I need a steady career." We couldn't believe it… “So I told him on the phone, "Either come or you're out." So he had to make a decision between me and his dad then, and in the end he chose me”

St. Regis Hotel interview, Sept. 5, 1971

Friends - Mal Evans

Throughout the active years of the band it was typical of them to refer to each other as their best friends and, given the lives they led, I think the simple fact that no one else could understand what it was like to be a Beatle would have meant they all shared a special bond. However, they all had friendships outside of the band and this was something that could cause issues for John when it came to Paul.

According to Tune In, Mal initially became friends with Paul during the band's initial shows at the Cavern Club then, after a suggestion from George, Mal became a part of the Beatles entourage thereafter. Mal had friendships with all the Beatles, as part of their inner circle, but from his comments it appears John took umbrage with the closeness of Mal’s friendship with Paul:

“Paul would suddenly come in with this circle saying, “This is Magical Mystery Tour, will you write that bit?” And I was choked that he’d arranged it all with Mal anyway, for a kickoff, and had all this idea going”

St. Regis Hotel interview, Sept. 5, 1971

Mal also comes up when John discusses his recollections of the writing of Eleanor Rigby:

“So rather than ask me, “John, do these lyrics—” Because by that period, he didn’t want to say that – to me. Okay? So what he would say was, “Hey, you guys, finish off the lyrics,”... “ Now, I sat there with Mal Evans, a road manager who was a telephone installer, and Neil Aspinall, who was a not-completed student accountant who became our road manager. And I was insulted and hurt that he’d thrown it out in the air”...” There might be a version that they contributed, but there isn’t a line in there that they put in.“

Playboy interview, David Sheff 1980

John’s discomfort with the closeness of Paul’s relationship with Mal was something that wasn’t lost on Mal’s wife Lil:

“He was always at their beck and call. He was a nice fella to have around, so much so that it could provoke little jealousies within the band. When I met Yoko years after Mal died, she said John had told her he’d been very jealous at one point of Mal’s relationship with Paul.”

Lil Evans interview with Ray Connolly, 2005

Love interests - Linda McCartney

Throughout their friendship both John and Paul had quite a few love interests, which (to varying degrees) prompted jealousy between them.

Although John displayed jealousy of a few of Paul’s love interests this was no more apparent than with Paul’s first wife Linda McCartney, which is confirmed by both John’s words and actions regarding Linda and her partnership with Paul:

“"Then Klein informed Lennon that McCartney had secretly been increasing his stake in Northern Songs. ‘John flew into a rage,’ recalled Apple executive Peter Brown. ‘At one point I thought he was really going to hit Paul, but he managed to calm himself down.’ One unconfirmed report of this meeting had Lennon leaping towards Linda McCartney, his fists raised in her face"

Peter Doggett, You Never Give Me Your Money

"Int: When did you first meet her [Linda]? John: The first time I saw her was after that press conference to announce Apple in America. We were just going back to the airport and she was in the car with us. I didn't think she was particularly attractive, I wondered what he was bothering having her in the car for. A bit too tweedy, you know. But she sat in the car and took photographs and that was it. And the next minute she's married him."

St. Regis Hotel interview, Sept. 5, 1971

“I was reading your letter and wondering what middle aged cranky Beatle fan wrote it... "What the hell—it’s Linda! . . . Linda— if you don’t care what I say—shut up!—let Paul write—or whatever.”

"Of course, the money angle is important—to all of us—especially after all the petty shit that came from your insane family/in laws—and GOD HELP YOU OUT, PAUL—see you in two years—I reckon you’ll be out then"

Draft letter from John Lennon to Linda McCartney, circa 1971

"The presumption is a) the Beatles would get together again or are even thinking about it and b) if they got together, John and Yoko split, Paul and Linda split"

John (with Yoko) talks to John Fielding on Weekend World, 1973

"John often speculated on why Paul and Linda remained married while, at the same time, resenting their evident happiness, to the extent that he had Green do a tarot reading to ensure him that Paul and Linda were really secretly miserable and were going to divorce within a year"

According to Fred Seaman and John Green, source

Paul

Of course jealousy wasn't a one-way street in the Lennon-McCartney relationship. Unlike with John, for Paul I'm focusing more on the key people I believe his jealousy, regarding John, was directed to:

Stuart Sutcliffe

John met Stu at Art College and struck up a really close friendship with him. At the point that John met Stu, John had already become friends with Paul so Paul felt threatened when Stu entered the picture:

"When he [Stu] came into the band, around Christmas of 1959, we were a little jealous of him; it was something I didn’t deal with very well. We were always slightly jealous of John’s other friendships.

When Stuart came in, it felt as if he was taking the position away from George and me. We had to take a bit of a back seat."

Paul McCartney, Anthology 2000

"Paul was saying something about Stu’s girl – he was jealous because she was a great girl, and Stu hit him, on stage. And Stu wasn’t a violent guy at all."

John Lennon, 1967 Anthology 2000

"I looked up to Stu. I depended on him to tell me the truth. Stu would tell me if something was good and I’d believe him. We were awful to him sometimes. Especially Paul, always picking on him. I used to explain afterwards that we didn’t dislike him, really."

John Lennon, The Beatles Hunter Davies 1968

Yoko Ono

Of all the relationships I've already discussed, the relationship and jealousy displayed from Paul towards Yoko is probably the most widely discussed in Beatles historiography and general discourse. From the official start of Yoko's relationship with John in 1968 it was clear that Paul resented her presence in John's life and her proximity to the band:

"He even sent them [John and Yoko] a hate letter once, unsigned, typed. I brought it in with the morning mail. Paul put most of his fan mail in a big basket and let it sit for weeks, but John and Yoko opened every piece. When they got to the anonymous note, they looked puzzled, looking at each other with genuine pain in their eyes. ‘You and your Jap tart think you’re hot shit’, it said."

Francie Schwartz, Body Count 1972

"Cause she’s [Yoko] very much to do with it from John’s angle, that’s the thing, you know. And I – the thing is that I – there’s— Again, like, there’s always only two answers. One is to fight it, and fight her, and try and get The Beatles back to four people without Yoko, and sort of ask her to sit down at the board meetings. Or else, the other thing is to just realize that she’s there, you know. And he’s not gonna sort of – split with her, just for our sakes."

Paul McCartney, Let It Be Sessions, 1969

"I told John on the phone the other day that at the beginning of last year I was annoyed with him. I was jealous because of Yoko, and afraid about the break-up of a great musical partnership. It’s taken me a year to realise that they were in love. Just like Linda and me."

Paul McCartney, interview with Ray Connolly, 1970

What are the similarities and differences in the way jealousy manifested for John and Paul?

I think it's obvious but bears repeating that both John and Paul displayed jealousy towards other people who they felt would threaten their relationship so that's central to all the instances I have flagged, Jim, Mal, Linda, Stu, Yoko all posed real or imagined threats to John and Paul's partnership.

However, you'll note that I included more sources to display John's jealousy regarding Paul and that I categorised John's jealousy targets whereas I only pulled out two key individuals for Paul, this isn't to say that John was more jealous than Paul was, as jealousy isn't something you can quantify, but to highlight my opinion that Paul's jealousy regarding John was more targeted than John's jealousy regarding Paul. I think what stands out to me is that, I think generally Stu and Yoko are held up as the prime examples of Paul's jealousy of other people getting close to John, as far as we know, Paul never had significant issues with other people who formed close relationships with John like Pete Shotton, Cynthia Lennon, Magic Alex etc., why was that? I think that Paul was more threatened when he felt that John was replacing him so by bringing Stu into the band (even though he wasn't a musician) and Yoko into the studio (one instance where Paul was especially hurt was when John gave Paul's line in The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill to Yoko to sing), Paul perhaps felt that his place as John's primary collaborator was in jeopardy and that he could lose a partnership that had become central to his self-worth as a person - that, I believe, was when his jealousy was most likely to rise to the fore. John, on the other hand, had a much wider range of targets when it came to jealousy regarding Paul, why was John jealous of Linda? Linda wasn't trying to replace John as Paul's collaborator, if anything she wanted the Lennon-McCartney partnership to be stronger. Why was John jealous of Mal? Mal wasn't a musician, Mal was a huge fan of the band and constantly worked to fulfil their requests, so why was John so threatened by his friendship with Paul? For me, John's jealousy regarding Paul was more than just a fear of directly being replaced, I believe John's jealousy was fundamentally triggered by a fear of abandonment. I think the childhood trauma John experienced, of being left by both his parents, meant that whenever any of his close friendships and relationships were threatened, or he felt that someone close to him may leave him, he would act out. John fell out with his childhood best friend Pete when he got a girlfriend, John hit Cynthia when he saw her dancing with Stu, John was rude to several of Paul's love interests and ultimately John never fully accepted Paul's relationship with Linda because, although he could see that she could offer Paul the family life he always wanted, John didn't want Linda to take Paul away and give him a family that meant that Paul would no longer be able to prioritise John in his life as he had in the past.

Ultimately, we'll never know all the ways that jealousy factored into John and Paul's relationship with each other and those around them, as I'm sure it impacted several relationships in more complex ways than I can articulate (i.e. I suspect jealousy played a part in Paul's initial resentment of Brian but they grew closer over time so maybe Paul's jealousy lessened over time or Brian became less of a threat?). I do think it's important to consider that jealousy was present on both sides and was likely a factor in the breakdown of John and Paul's relationship, the breakdown of the Beatles and was a continued factor in disrupting reconciliations between John and Paul into the 70s and 1980.

[oioinanami]

glimpses. (bokuto koutarou x f. reader)

word count: 2.9k

synopsis: small glimpses into your life with bokuto.

contains: fluff, everything from strangers to lovers to established relationship to married life to parents + pregnancy au

i.

Bokuto doesn’t notice you at first. You’re just one face among many in the crowd of people watching the volleyball game. But once the match is over and he sees you running towards the other team, apparently being friends with one of their setters, your hair flying behind you, eyes bright and smile even brighter, he can’t help the way his heart stumbles and his eyes widen. To him, you’re the most beautiful girl he’s ever seen, your face open and inviting, smile warm and lively. For him, it’s love at first sight - so not even Akaashi can hold him back when Bokuto asks the other team to join them for their celebratory dinner. It was just a friendly match after all, nothing more - no need for the others to be upset over having lost. To everyone’s surprise, the other team agrees, and Bokuto gets to spend the evening in your presence, somehow managing to sit beside you during dinner. You click immediately, his open and fun persona matching your own energy, even though you’re more reserved, a bit softer. That night, Bokuto makes you laugh uncontrollably for the first time, and he swears his heartbeat just flatlines. The sound is so precious he wants to bottle it up and keep it treasure for the rest of his life. By the end of the evening, he has your number saved in his phone, knowing that this night has been the beginning of something wonderful.

ii.

For your first date, you and Bokuto decide to go play laser tag. You’re on the same team, but being overexcited, Bokuto accidentally shoots you not even five minutes into the game. He apologizes over and over again, clearly mortified, but you just burst out laughing and stand on your tiptoes to brush a soft kiss against his cheek, making his heart burst and his face split into a huge smile. After that incident, he takes over the role as your personal bodyguard, dramatically sacrificing himself three times just so you don’t get shot. Thanks to his efforts, you get one of the highest rankings once the game ends, and Bokuto proudly kisses the crown of your head when he sees you placed second, yelling a “That’s my girl!” and making you blush madly.

You decide to buy some ice cream afterwards, Bokuto insisting you get all your favorite flavors because “you earned it” - his words, not yours. You shyly take his hand once you leave the store again, holding your ridiculously large ice cream cone in your other one. He gives you a soft smile, and immediately interlaces his fingers with yours before tugging you with him towards a park nearby. You lazily stroll around, quietly observing the ducks floating on the pond and dogs running around as well as the other people walking past you. Once you’ve both finished your ice cream, you decide to sit down on a bench and enjoy the last rays of sunshine, Bokuto excitedly telling you about his last volleyball match. “And you should have seen my last spike, Y/N, it was so good - Akaashi orchestrated it perfectly and-” You can’t help the soft smile spreading over your entire face, amazed at his seemingly never-ending enthusiasm and just overall cuteness. Bokuto stops mid-sentence, eyebrows lifting in slight surprise when he sees your expression.

“What-”, he asks, but then you have already leaned towards him, covering his mouth with yours. He immediately wraps both arms around you to pull you even closer to his warm body, his lips practically melting against yours. A few seconds later, his tongue pokes at your bottom lip to demand entrance, sliding into your mouth once you grant it. You only break apart when your heads begin to spin from the lack of oxygen, Bokuto pressing his forehead against yours, eyes still closed. “Please be my girlfriend, Y/N.”, he finally mumbles before opening his eyes again; they look like liquid gold in the light of the slowly setting sun, and your heart skips a beat. He’s truly just so beautiful, looking at him almost hurts. You smile and just nod once, making him exhale in obvious relief. Bokuto quickly captures your lips in yet another kiss, and you melt further into his embrace.

iii.

“Where do you want me to put this, babe?”, Bokuto huffs out, holding a giant cardboard box in his arms, the veins on his hands even more prominent than usual. You lift one eyebrow, about to reply, but Akaashi beats you to it: “Y/N literally wrote ‘kitchen’ on the box, Bokuto.” With that, he turns to you, “Honestly, sometimes I wonder how you deal with him - he can be such an airhead.” You grin and lean against the doorframe, continuing to watch Bokuto who’s just placing the last of your many, many boxes onto the kitchen counter before wiping his sweaty forehead with the back of his hand. “Yeah, but he makes up for it by being hot.”, you reply and shoot your boyfriend a playful wink. Bokuto just rolls his eyes at you and begins to pout while Akaashi makes a gagging sound. Kuroo, who’s lazing on your brand new couch, chuckles. “Leave the two lovebirds alone, Akaashi. I think it’s cute they’re still so in love.”, he says and yawns, eyes half-lidded and expression relaxed.

“Why are you even here? You didn’t even lift one finger.”, Akaashi complains and kicks Kuroo’s feet from the small coffee table. “Someone has to provide the good looks.”, the black haired man answers smoothly before giving Akaashi a feline smile. “I’m already taking care of that.”, you reply, and stick out your tongue at Kuroo when he bursts out laughing. “How about we order some food now?”, Bokuto asks before draping one arm over your shoulder, brushing his lips against your temple, “Anyone hungry?” “Ew, ’Kou, you’re sweaty.”, you immediately squeal and try to free yourself from your boyfriend’s embrace, but he just grins and hugs you even tighter. “Yes, but I’m your sweaty.”, he answers smugly, and you scrunch up your nose, letting him kiss the tip of it. “And we can always take a shower together later.”, he mumbles before giving you a quick kiss, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. “Other people can hear you, you know.”, Akaashi groans, and you blush, shooting Bokuto a playful dark glare. He just winks at you, and your stomach jolts, heart skipping a beat - even after years of dating, your boyfriend still has this effect on you. “I’m very hungry after slaving away all day.”, Kuroo answers, ignoring your snort, and stands up, “And I vote for pizza.” Akaashi grumbles something about ‘wanting sushi instead’ while Bokuto scrolls through the delivery app on his phone. You just smile and lean your head against his broad shoulders, still not quite believing that this is the apartment you and him get to call your home from now on. Your boyfriend gives you a small smile, and gently tucks some of your hair behind your ear before murmuring a soft “Welcome home, babe” under his breath, his golden eyes darting from yours to your hand resting on his broad chest just above his heart and back again.

He knows that someday soon, your finger will have a ring on it.

iv.

Bokuto can’t help but cry when he sees you walking down the aisle and towards him, dressed in all white, a happy and soft smile on your face, hands nervously clutching a small bouquet of different colored roses. Somehow, he manages to say his vows even though he’s pretty much sobbing by now, and you can’t help but giggle at your fiancé - no, husband now -, gently clutching his damp cheeks between your hands when you are finally allowed to kiss and seal the vow that will keep you bonded forever. “Be glad I’m the one wearing mascara or else you’d look like a panda right now.”, you mumble against his lips when you break apart again, your friends and families cheering loudly, and your husband breaks into a bright grin. “I’d be the cutest panda ever though.”, he replies smugly, and you laugh, before letting him literally sweep you off your feet and carry you towards the reception hall, the cheers around you still not dying down and making you both laugh in glee.

You’re ready to burst with happiness when Bokuto’s beautiful golden eyes lock with yours, his smile just genuinely proud and happy. “I love you so much, my lovely and wonderful wife. Thank you for making me the happiest man by marrying me today.”, he whispers against your lips before kissing you deeply. You smile into the kiss, and tangle your fingers in his dark hair, its tips that beautiful silvery color you adore so much. “I love you too, my handsome and amazing husband.”, you reply in a hushed voice once you break apart, and Bokuto smiles, eyes beginning to water again.

“LET’S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!”, Kuroo yells loudly when he enters the hall behind you, and claps Bokuto on his back before sweeping you up into a warm embrace, “I’m so happy for you guys! Who would have thought that you’d be the first one to tie the knot, ‘Kou? Out of all of us, I was totally betting on Akaashi to marry first.” Akaashi just playfully punches Kuroo’s arm before hugging both you and Bokuto, congratulating you quietly. His eyes are slightly red, but you decide to let it slide for now and to just tease him about it later. Your husband just laughs and ruffles his best friend’s hair before happily accepting the good wishes and hugs from the rest of your friends and families.

During your first dance, everyone can clearly see just how happy you two are, your eyes never leaving the other’s face, smiles soft and content; you‘re both just radiating pure bliss.

“Wanna bet who’ll end up the drunkest tonight? I’m saying it’ll be Hinata.”, you murmur shortly before the song ends, and Bokuto huffs out a laugh, “Nah, it’ll be Kageyama, for sure.” You grin, eyes twinkling mischievously. “Loser has to write all the thank you cards?“ “Bet.”, your husband just answers, and nuzzles your nose, his heart almost bursting with happiness.

v.

“Shhh, Daaaaddy, wake up!”

Bokuto groans and tiredly rubs his face, yelping when he sees the face of his four year old hover directly above him, wide eyes glinting in the dimly lit room. “What?”, he murmurs, mind still groggy, and his son bounces on his chest, making Bokuto groan again. “Little owl, you should be asleep! It’s still very early.”, he mumbles as quietly as possible, voice heavy with sleep. His eyes slide to your still sleeping figure beside him before hugging his son close, nuzzling his nose. “Just because you were named after the sunlight doesn’t mean you have to be awake as soon as it creeps over the horizon.” Haru gives him a mischievous yet sweet grin, looking very much like you in that second even though he has his father’s dark hair and golden eyes, before clutching Bokuto’s face between his chubby hands. “I’m hungry!”, he then whines, bottom lip wobbling dangerously, and Bokuto quickly sweeps the boy up into his arms, tiptoeing out of the dark bedroom.

“Then let’s go make some breakfast without waking mommy, okay?”, he murmurs in a hushed voice after having closed the bedroom door behind him, and Haru nuzzles closer to his father’s chest, seeking more warmth. “Okay.”, his son answers, voice sleepy all of the sudden. Bokuto just chuckles, quickly grabbing a blanket from Haru’s room and wrapping it around his son’s tiny body. After entering the kitchen, he gently places Haru on a chair before beginning to shuffle through the kitchen cabinets. “Waffles sound good?”, Bokuto asks after having found all the necessary ingredients, looking over his shoulder and at his son who just nods excitedly, suddenly much more awake after having heard the word ‘waffles’.

You find yourself alone in bed, fingers searching for your husband’s warm body that should rest beside you. Surprised to find his side of the bed empty, you open your eyes and blink a few times, the sleep tugging at your lashes making them unbelievably heavy. You sigh, and carefully roll over to get up, your steadily growing belly making it harder by the day. You shiver when your bare feet touch the cold floor, and quickly grab one of Bokuto’s hoodies, carelessly discarded on top of the rocking chair in the corner of the room. You inhale deeply while slipping it over your head, Bokuto’s scent still clinging to the fabric and filling your nose. He always smells like home, and you can’t help but smile before opening the door, being greeted by your husband’s low voice and your son’s much higher one. Your heart swells while you listen to their conversation for a few seconds; Haru is apparently in the middle of explaining why waffles are superior to pancakes, Bokuto just making soft “Oohs” and “Ahhs” in between while shuffling around the kitchen. You creep closer, and lean against the doorframe, taking in the scene in front of you. Haru is sitting at the table, a glass of juice in front of him while he bounces his favorite plushie, an owl and a gift from Akaashi, on his lap, still babbling about the superiority of waffles. Your husband is standing in front of the stove, his hair sticking up in different directions, only clad in soft pyjama pants, the muscles on his broad back rippling while he mixes the batter. You sigh softly, and gently cup the swell of your belly while smiling at your little family, soon to be four.

As soon as he hears you behind him, your son’s head snaps around and he squeals a happy “Mommy!” before jumping down from his chair and running to you for a hug. You laugh and bend down to ruffle his soft hair, silky like his father’s. “Good morning, my darling. Did you wake your daddy again?”, you ask, voice gentle but slightly reprimanding. Haru looks up, guilt written all over his face, his bottom lip protruding a bit. He truly just looks like an exact copy of his father, and you can’t help but smile even wider. “No, he was already awake.”, your son tries to lie, but the second you lift one eyebrow, he scrambles to add “After I bounced on his chest.” You grin. “That’s what I thought.” You crouch down low and give Haru a semi stern look. “You know that your daddy needs his sleep, right? He goes to bed much later than you, so he needs to sleep longer.” Haru nods, golden eyes filled with a silent apology, and you quickly clutch his small face between your hands to pepper kisses all over his cheeks, forehead and nose, making him giggle and squirm in your embrace. Once you’re done, you try to stand up again, groaning while doing so. Lately, your back has begun to hurt slightly, all thanks to your growing belly. Bokuto is quick to help you up, his large, warm hands cupping your elbows while he gives you a silent look of disapproval, worry dancing in his golden eyes. “You need to be more careful, babe.”, he murmurs, but you just give him a dismissive wave of your hand. “This is the second child I’m bearing, ace, so I think I know what I’m doing.”, you reply, and your husband can’t help but smile a bit bashfully at your nickname for him - he just loves when you call him your ace. “I guess that’s true. You’re truly my Wonder Woman.”, he says proudly before leaning down for his good morning kiss. You quickly melt your lips against his, and he sighs happily, wrapping both arms around you. “Eww.”, your son screams before making a gagging sound, and you pull back from your husband to press one hand over your mouth, trying to stifle your laughter.

“I feel like we shouldn’t allow Akaashi to babysit him anymore.”, you fake-whisper to your husband, “He’s becoming too much like him.” Bokuto just nods before giving his son a playful look of displeasure. “Noooo, I LOVE UNCLE SHI THE MOSTEST!”, Haru immediately whines, hitting his tiny fists against his father’s thick thigh, “Please, daddy! I want uncle Shi!” Bokuto just huffs out a laugh and lifts Haru up into his arms, tickling his sides. “Of course, you know we love Uncle Shi the mostest too. Don’t tell Uncle Kuroo though.”, he whispers and kisses Haru’s cheeks, loud mwah noise included. That seems to calm your son immediately, and he finally relaxes into his father’s embrace, his tiny head now resting on Bokuto’s broad shoulders. You lean against your husband as well, and nuzzle your face in the crook of his neck, sighing contently. “But I love Uncle Kuroo too. He says I’m going to be the best volleyball player one day, just like daddy is!”, Haru mumbles sleepily, and you smile softly, brushing his dark hair out of his sweet face. “Of course, you can be anything you want, my darling boy.”, you reply softly, and lift your head to smile at your husband. Bokuto returns it quietly before capturing your lips in a gentle kiss. “I love you both so much.”, he murmurs when you break apart again, and you nuzzle his nose. “Me too.”, you answer before looking back at your son who has fallen asleep again, “Let’s go back to bed. We can have waffles later.” Bokuto just nods, and clutches his tiny boy a bit tighter in his arms before intertwining his fingers with yours, pulling you back towards the bedroom for some family cuddles.

© oioinanami 2021 | masterlist

[robert-de-niro-only-fans]

"You're All Wet"

Sam "Ace" Rothstein x Reader

Um, I made the decision to call him Ace in this fic, not entirely sure why! Reader and Ace knew each other before he went to Las Vegas and Reader stops in to visit, enjoy!!!

TW: implied smut, cheating, mentions of gang activity

Word Count: 1.7k

Just like any other night at The Tangiers, Ace Rothstein stalks the casino floor, like a predator waiting to pounce at the sight of a cheater in his beloved establishment. As his eyes scan the crowd, carefully watching everyone's body language for anything odd, there's a hitch when he swears he sees someone familiar. His eyes quickly double back and they land on you. In that moment, he feels like he's travelled back to the past and in another world simultaneously.

"(Y/N)?" he blinks in disbelief, "(Y/N), is that you?" He hasn't seen you in years! That face is all too familiar to him, but that body? Well... Let's just say you've grown up a bit.

"I gotta say, you're not looking so sharp right now, Ace, not with that dumbfounded look on your face," you giggle, holding your arms out for a hug, "You look like you've seen a ghost or something!"

He holds you tightly to him, nuzzling into the crook of your neck for a moment before pulling back and getting a better look at your face, "God... I feel like I have! Fuck, where are my manners, how have you been, darlin'?"

As you catch up, wandering away from the pits to somewhere more private, Ace finds his mind wandering back to old times in the Midwest, to when he knew you best. You're Remo Gaggi's only niece; you grew up with nothing but guys around you, guys who are all involved in the family business, so it only made sense that you were so interested in it too. But it was different with you, Gaggi wanted you to wait until you were an adult before getting into anything, so by the time you were allowed to know anything, you took it seriously because you knew you had something to prove being the only girl in the business.

Ace always admired how you came out swinging the minute you turned 18, ready to prove all your cousins and uncles wrong about you. But he really didn't get to see too much of it, before him and Nicky got sent to Las Vegas.

He even remembers their going away party, everyone getting together one last time before moving to the desert to make the bosses more cash than they could dream of. He remembers how you started to tear-up telling him goodbye, but you had a lot of pride and didn't want any of the guys to see you cry. However, you did cry when you finally got a moment alone with him, and Ace wiped your tears, promising you'd see each other again. And now, here you are in, halfway across the country, making sure that promise is kept.

"Where are ya stayin' tonight, doll?"

"Oh, just at some plaza hotel or something," you shrug.

"By yourself?" Sam inquires.

"Yeah, I'm grown now, ya know!"

"Oh no, no, that won't do. A girl like you shouldn't stay by herself in a city like this," he takes your hand across the table your both seated at, "Come stay with me."

"Ace, I don't wanna be a burden..."

"You're not a burden. I'm so happy to see you, it'd be an honor to have you in my home." His grip on your hand tightens reassuringly.

"You sure your wife will be okay with it?" It was the only defense you have left.

"My wife, eh?" He looks left then right slyly, "You know who pays for the place, right? I'll have a guest over if I like."

• • •

The next few days felt like old times but in a whole new place, a much richer and more luxurious place. Your first morning at Sam's house, you woke up early from jet lag, so you took the liberty of making breakfast for everyone. To which you were met with a "You didnt have to do that," when Ace caught you, but it was followed up by him hugging you from behind and laying his head on you, practically sleeping while standing up.

Of course, you hung out with Nicky too! They showed you all around their new stomping grounds out west. However, you can tell that Ace is making an effort to get alone time with you; you'd always had a special bond back home. Hell, you cried over the man when he left! You'd be lying if you said you didn't miss that closeness.

One night, as you're having a relaxing bubble bath in Ace's luxurious guest bathroom, you ponder on how much longer you should stay in Vegas. You bought a one way ticket because you weren't sure how things would go and you didn't want to be stuck here if things got hairy, but now... You feel like you want to stay for a while, but you don't want to take advantage of your friend's kindness either.

Your thoughts are interrupted by the sound of the doorknob wiggling before Ace lets himself in. "What? So you just walk in on girls in the bathroom now? I guess with all these Vegas dancers throwin' themselves at you, you must think you're hot shit or something."

"Oh, hush," he cracks a smile, strolling across the tiled floor before sitting down on the toilet lid.

As he sits back and looks you over, your head and bare shoulders being the only thing exposed, you taunt, "Like the view?"

He lightly snorts and shakes his head at you, "You look good, but I just wanted to spend some time with you before the wife gets home. God knows when that'll be." He rolls his eyes at the thought of his wife.

"You don't think it'll look suspicious, uh, hanging out with me while I'm in the bath?"

His eyes wander as if he's deep in thought, then he shrugs and returns his attention to you. "What did you do today?"

"Nothing too crazy. You and Nicky have had me so busy that I just went out for a mani-pedi," you relax back against the wall of the tub.

"Ooh, let me see," he says, leaning forward towards you. You slide a hand and a foot out from under the mountain of bubbles and hook them on the edge of the tub.

He inspects them before taking his hand in yours and holding it closer to him, "Very pretty, I like the color," he says quietly, then he presses a soft kiss to your knuckles.

"Thank you," you giggle at him.

He returns your chuckle and places a few more kisses to the back of your hand and wrist.

"Ace, what are you doing?!" You squeal!

He simply let's out a hum and continues kissing up your arm, his kisses slowly turning from funny to passionate as he passes your elbow. Ace scoots away from his seat on the toilet and kneels beside your bath, lips never leaving your arm.

You feel that fire creeping up in your belly as he rounds your shoulder, lips and tongue working the soft skin of your clavicle. Your other hand rises up out of the bath water, and you cup the back of the man's head.

Feeling a bit of hesitation, Ace slowly moves his lips towards your neck, receiving a small but pleased exhale from you. As your eyes flutter closed, you tilt your head back, giving him access to your sensitive skin. He suckles and nibbles there for what feels like eternity but also only a second, eliciting a series of breathy moans from your lips.

After placing a few kisses to the spot, he pulls away from you slightly, just enough to see your face. You stare at each other in a haze, familiar eyes locked onto yours, and his better judgement leaves him as he graces his lips across yours. Your lips dance with one another's, eyelashes brushing the other's face, in such a soft gentle moment, before he claims your mouth with his. Your emotions are on high from the passionate kiss, until you remember this isn't old times and this man before you is no longer yours to take.

Your lips part from his, "Sam..." It's just above a whisper.

The use of his first name makes the severity of the situation hang in the air like wind chimes waiting for a breeze, the sound of silence deafening to your ear drums. You'd only ever called him that once before, also in a serious moment: a moment when your confession of your feelings for him hung on the tip of your tongue, but you didn't want him to carry that weight to Vegas with him.

His eyes glance over your visage, that beautiful face filled with worry. You should never feel anything but happiness, Ace thinks to himself. The rough pad of his thumb gently strokes your cheek, while the rest of his fingers nestle just behind your ear. Your eyes are cast down, trying not to look at him, so you don't see it coming when he leans forward and kisses you again.

Your lips move together once again, and your hands find his shoulders, gripping onto him as if he might slip away. You sit up on your knees in the bathtub, and immediately Ace's arms are around your waist, pulling your soaking wet body close to his. His hands tangle in your damp locks, and he fumbles around before throwing a leg over the wall of the bath tub and sliding into the water with you. He settles down onto his knees and pulls you across his lap, never breaking your kiss.

Your fingertips comb through his hair, as your making out slows to a halt. Gently cupping his cheek, you take a look at him, "You're all wet," you state quietly.

Slowly, this elicits laughter from both of you. You both stay like that for a moment before he takes you in his arms and lifts you from your bath, carefully stepping out and leaving a hefty trail of water leading right to the guest bedroom where you've been staying.

That night as he makes love to you with his clothes piled in a wet heap on the floor all around the bed, the only thing on his mind is you. He's waited what feels like a lifetime to have you, so nothing would keep him from you, not even the sound of his wife coming home somewhere between rounds 3 and 4.

[kitsu-katsu]

On kiribaku becoming canon and their evidence:

So I posted this on reddit earlier, but wanted to have it here where more KRBK shippers are, since I just ended up compiling a lot more than I thought I would.

Fair warning: A pretty big text with a compilation of kiribaku moments ahead.

We would all love kiribaku being canon, and I think it's not as much of a longshot as some may lead you to believe.

Honestly, if one of them was a girl, this would most certainly be canon, like, just in the anime we have:

Them becoming friends slowly in the background, leaving us with good development between them that is so seamless it can hit you hard once you notice how close they've become if you hadn't noticed before.

Them arriving and leaving the pool together while walking in the sunset.

They support and compliment each other (both on personality and quirks, like come on).

Kirishima can just lean on Bakugou or side hug him all the time and Bakugou lets him with no problem, which considering who we're talking about is a pretty big thing.

Kirishima can seem even more agitated than Deku about Bakugou being taken, and Deku is the one who idolized him since childhood.

The whole "It has to be you" thing and the precious hand holding (including that little scene after the rescue, where Kiri tries to grab Baku's hand again).

Kirishima bought expensive night vision googles in case they were useful for the rescue even though they had Yaomomo with them (this boy goes through extremes just to ensure his boyfriend's best friend's safety)

Kirishima is officially the one Bakugou considers an equal, and considering his conflicting inferiority and superiority complexes (making him perpetually place people as above him or beneath him) is vital information.

Kirishima is esentially Bakugou's first real friend (as Deku was considered more of an incomprehensible nuisance and his childhood troop seemed more like his followers who just put him up on a pedestal and followed what he did).

Kirishima has jumped in front of danger for Bakugou's sake quite a bit of times (including a time in the movie).

Kirishima is a central piece in Bakugou's character development.

Bakugou was the one who told Kirishima he was strong and gave him his confidence back, reminding him of what he said at the start of their friendship.

Kirishima unlocked fucking UNBREAKABLE because of Bakugou's encouragement.

Going to extra stuff:

Bakugou's favourite hobbie is hiking, and we're shown he takes Kirishima with him sometimes, thing he doesn't seem to do with other characters.

The whole festival thing, with the narrator outright assuming Bakugou must have given his coat to a pretty girl who was cold, only for it to be revealed in another picture that he gave it to Kirishima because as usual, he didn't have a shirt on.

On the movie Bakugou could have taken anyone to I-Island and took Kirishima as his plus one. They share a room. Kirishima bought suits for both of them, with the most detailed one with white roses being for Bakugou, and they decide to go to the party together.

In a BNHA Smash connected directly to the movie, Midoriya notices the white roses in Bakugou's suit and notes that they mean deep respect and "I'm the one for you", which prompts Bakugou to send an explosion his way (not to Kirishima who gave him the suit, mind you), which makes the flowers turn red (from blood), after which Mineta appears to say that red roses mean "beautiful and passionate love".

They are usually seen together in merch stuff.

There's this tumblr post talking about japanese fan's reactions to one of Horikoshi's drawings which I find at least hilarious:

https://exbrodokills.tumblr.com/post/187710597637/here-it-is

There are discussions regarding Kirishima's character sheet and the translation of him liking "tough guys" (here's a podt by aitaikimochi explaining the meaning of the translation: https://www.google.com/amp/s/aitaikimochi.tumblr.com/post/171127708911/amp) where even translator such as aitaikimochi have gotten into, and they have mentioned that there's a japanese stereotype of a type of gay guy who is obsessed with "manly behaviour" and usually stay away from women, prefering tough guys instead, which is interesting to say the least.

Some of the light novel episodes which show more slice of life moment feature some good kiribaku moments, with a prominent one being this one wich details their study date (it seriously seems like fan fiction, not even kidding, and this is supposed to be sort of canon):

https://www.google.com/amp/s/aitaikimochi.tumblr.com/post/171236111166/amp

Also there's a chapter where Kirishima tells Fatgum about Bakugou being extremely happy, and another one where they are arm wrestling between classes and they cheer for one another heavily.

(Honesly, just go through aitaikimochi's whole kiribaku tag, there are some pretty interesting things there)

Here are some analysis on their possible coding, if you guys are interested:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1dxO6Y0yK_wxOJDmRsBYvsVWKwsH7tKc92skxJ--R1m4/edit?usp=drivesdk

(Bakugou's one link can be found at the end of that one)

And in BNHA Smash, there are quite a lot of things, and we must not forget that the whole thing still gets approved by Horikoshi before being published, some of my favourite things are:

Kirishima inviting Bakugou to spend christmas together, with the translators noting christmas in Japan to be a romantic holiday in the same panel.

In one issue, Jirou falls for Kiri and him being oblivious just leaves her for Bakugou.

Once Bakugou becomes a shoujo boy after being his with a quirk and just involuntarily talks in flirt, and in one moment Kirishima outright flirts back.

Bakugou works his ass off to repay Kirishima for the night vision googles they used in the rescue.

Kirishima is literally described as the chicken soup for Bakugou's soul!

An interesting thing I found out is that in the chapter where all of 1A minus Bakugou turn into animals, one scene originally had Kirishima (as a dog) getting jealous of Kaminari and Midoriya petting Tsuyu (as a cat - yes I know, a cat) and giving all their attention to her, however, Horikoshi himself changed that scene, noting he didn't think their character relations worked well in that scene, and made it so that the one that ended up in smash contains Kirishima (as a dog) getting jealous because Todoroki (as a koala) has climbed up Bakugou's torso and won't let go. I saw this all in a tumblr post a few months ago, which showed the original scene in a book (I think it was in italian and was translates below) but I can't currently find the link, sorry, if someone finds it, It'd be appreciated if you could reblog with said link.

And in regards to meta stuff, the show already has some LGBT characters in it, with Magne and Tiger being trans and Toga being bisexual, so it's not as much of a lost cause to hope for this as it would initially seem.

(Please kirimina shippers, don't take offence because of this, it isn't my intention to insult your ship, I simply want to analize what has been given to us, so please try to take this lightly):

We should also take into consideration Krishima's first version in the sort of "beta" for the manga (where Midoriya was Yamikumo).

His character sheet mentions he's quite the delinquent and entered UA to impress a girl. Obviously his character evolved tremendously since then, but the girl was most probably intended to be Mina's equivalent. This was later changed to him liking "tough guys"/"hard liners" and his thing with Mina became more of an "I admired your bravery and heroic spirit when in middle school even if I hardly knew you", later seeing each other and establishing more of a little friendship. However, it hasn't really moved further from there, and Kirishima has already established much stronger bonds with our favourite exploding boy. All changes in characters are made for a reason, and Horikoshi clearly changed his mind on Kirishima's motives for wanting to be a hero and his relationship with Mina.

So yeah, all in all, this ship is great, it's precious, adorable, helps both characters grow, is balanced and has good chemistry. So even if after all these things they don't become officially canon, we still have so much canon material for them in the present I'd honestly still be happy, these dorks make me smile and melt my heart, so I hope they both have good endings.

[asher-in-the-south]

Some Songs of War (KoA) HC’s absolutely nobody asked for:

Ria: Surprisingly creative. She likes to do art, write, and generally make a lot of stuff. Senn taught her how to forge tools and weapons after the Second Great War ended, and she often uses them to help young ones train, much like she and Senn used to. Occasionally has breakdowns (sometimes over the loss of Osivian, Hubris, Galleous, etc), but Senn and her other loved ones are always there to comfort her.

Senn: Likes to read and write. He picked up these hobbies to remember Igneous. Also frequently visits Mount Igneous in K’arthen, normally with Borgen. Still unsure about his heritage, and mourns his brothers Almrak and Deltheus. He made sure two brothers could be reunited once more, and saw to it that Ingressus was buried with Achillean (a new grave was lit for Achillean because he was originally buried in the cold of Northwind. His grave is now in a traditional Ardoni cemetery next to Ingressus’). Sorely misses Ingressus and visits his and Achillean’s graves daily.

Hubris: Trans guy! :D He had a hard time bonding with people and opening up about his thoughts and feelings. Also, a really bad liar. Tripped over all his words and quite obviously panicked when he lied. This made it difficult for him to sneak away with Grek to the Redstone Academy. Seemed to spend a lot of time with Val and enjoyed her company. Bonded with her quicker than he did with others.

Grek: He swears a lot. It’s a habit that also rubbed off on Hubris during the time they spent together. The Knights have often considered starting a swear jar because of this habit. He was given Hubris’ sword and Song after he returned with the slaves from the Nether, and spent a long time mourning his best friend. Hubris’ body was cremated and the ashes were made into a diamond, which was given to Grek who proudly put it on Soulseeker :’)

Val: She enjoyed Hubris’ company and was particularly saddened by his death. Often visits his grave with Grek, Senn and Ria. She sort of distanced herself from the Knights after the war ended to go and train students of her own, to keep Galleous’ teachings alive in memory of him. She is still in touch with the Knights and occasionally Senn travels from New Voltaria to Mendoria/Ataraxia to help her train her students.

Onyx: He was kind of separated from the rest of the Knights of Ardonia, he didn't enjoy being around others too much. Like Masani, he was very antisocial and strongly disliked people in general. The first he warmed up to in the Knights were Masani and Hubris, who all stayed on great terms with each other throughout their time together in the resistance group.

Masani: Exiled from Felden - long before the Knights were formed - for thievery, when the laws were very strict (the laws are still strict, particularly after the death of Kiyoshi & Alec, but you can’t get exiled for thievery anymore, the penalty will be a prison sentence). Her girlfriend Lira wanted to leave Felden to stay with her but Masani wouldn't let her. Travelled around Ardonia for a bit before bumping into Hubris, who, after a while, convinced her to join the Knights of Ardonia. Trans bigender girl :D 🏳��🌈

Achillean: He was friends with Thalleous and Galleous for a while before the tournament during the Nether invasion. He had a tendency to forget things easily. Achillean was also quite frail and skinny due to the wartime rations of food, so when he came to the present timeline, he had a huge appetite and ate a lot of Galleous’ stock when he visited Ataraxia, and the same happened when the Knights returned to their base with him.

Galleous: After seeing Val and Senn’s training and his talk with Achillean when he first visited Ataraxia, Galleous decided he wanted to start training new Knights of Ardonia recruits. He still refused to teach them Songs, but perhaps he would have changed his mind (or had the others change his mind) if he had been given more time 💔

Borgen: Became K’arthen’s official and made sure an alliance between K’arthen and Cydonia was established. A trading scheme was also established under his command - food from the Cydonian farms for precious metals and other mineral supplies from K’arthen. Misses Igneous awfully with every day that passes; he and Senn got to publish some of Igneous’ books together, which are well-loved around Ardonia.

Yujuki: Childhood friend of Kiyoshi and misses him sorely. Not much changed for her, she is still the proud Hydraphel army captain, but mourns the death of each of her soldiers who gave their lives during the war. A stronger alliance with the Felden army was established by her, and she has become quite friendly with the new Felden captain. She also met Lucan, Niika and Nitsuke, and personally commended them for their war efforts.

Grim: After the Second Great War ended, he left the Knights of Ardonia in search of a new quest. The remaining Knights think he left to fight criminals (like himself prior to joining the group), either that or went to Etherea where they think he got his electric scythe, to see if he could find something to do there. Nothing was said by Trevor about seeing Grim in Etherea, so they think it’s unlikely he went there.

Abbigail: She frequently visits Denny’s grave (sometimes with Saxon and Trevor) to talk to him and make sure the roses on his headstone are thriving. She also returns to Underwood every week to keep Mr Finch company for a bit and help around the farms.

Saxon: Kingdom officials attempted to arrest him multiple times after seeing he made and distributed potions, but Abbigail and Trevor made sure he was left alone since he is an Enderknight. He built a potion laboratory in the End Castle where Abbigail, Trevor and he now reside. A dragon hatched for him not long after the war ended. Abbigail and Trevor are helping him train it.

Trevor: He returned to Etherea for a little while after the war ended and his family helped Abbigail, Saxon and him to distribute the dragon eggs. He became the proud owner of Thunderdome after Denny died. He continues to learn how to enchant items and gets better as each day passes. His skills have come in handy time and time again when it comes to helping Saxon brew potions; the latter has gotten rather clumsy while handling potions and has knocked several bottles down. Saxon nicknamed him his “lab assistant”.

[softyoongiionly]

Portraits of a Tiger || 02

Legends of a great and equally terrifying warrior nicknamed the Tiger have been emerging from your fellow villagers for quite sometime. Stories of his skill, his stealth and his supposed wickedness have been passed around to the point where he is more prophecy than person. You have lived your life with a strong sense of conviction, rarely letting gossip influence your opinion. However, you would be lying if you said that his legacy didn’t intrigue you. When the Tiger and his infamous army arrive in your village to refuel, you come face to face with the man behind the myth.

And no amount of marketplace gossip would ever be enough to capture the true complexity of his nature.

Pairing: Merchant! Reader x Warrior! Yoongi

Genre: Adventure, Romance, Smut (later), Fluff, Angst

Word Count: 7.1k

Warnings: language, depictions of violence both verbal and physical however they are fairly mild, mentions of war and power dynamics, there will be smut in future parts so, (18+ only please).

Current Tag List (let me know if you want to be tagged!): @gldnrecs​ @naajix​ @bluewhale52​ @nikkikenji​ @lustedkisses​ @loveyoongles​ @hear-me-growl​ 

A/N: oh hiiii. I’m a little obsessed with this universe so, I hope you guys are enjoying all the Warrior! Yoongi content. Love you!

Once again, I want to shout out @bulletproofbirdy​ for everything she has done to make this fic possible. I love you so much! 

“I’m just saying, some of the women in this village should at least attempt it. Wedding a solider is an honor, not to mention the fact that it sets you up for life.”  

Jane’s voice sounds beside you and it causes you to smile to yourself; she’s always coming up with plans for other people, attempting to live vicariously through them.  

“Like Y/N- you’re young-” She tilts her head, her frizzy red hair almost twirling above her scalp, “-ish. You would probably be able to convince one of them to take you for a bride.”  

You scoff, “Thank you for having so much faith in me Jane, I’ll keep that in mind.”  

Jane quickly moves on to another girl in the market, throwing the same amount of enthusiasm her way.  

You know she means well, even if she is a little brash at times.  

It’s been two days since the market place was riddled with thieves and soldiers. Things have mostly gone back to normal apart from the same armored men loitering about your village.  

Over the time that’s past, you’ve been able to meet or at least learn more about Yoongi’s fleet.  

Seven men, each of them possessing an incredible amount of skill, made up the group behind the gossip.  

Seokjin was indeed in charge of community outreach (and the cooking) but, he was also an incredible marksmen; his aim was unlike anything you’ve ever witnessed. Whilst you were cleaning up yesterday evening, you saw a few of them practicing and Seokjin through a dagger from nearly 200 feet away only for it to land directly in the center of the target.  

Namjoon, you met in the library whilst you were reading more about a new remedy you were planning to try. He was extremely brawny but very mild mannered. He introduced himself and thanked you for the bread you had delivered and upon speaking to him, you learned of his position in the fleet; psychological warfare. According to Namjoon, he was in charge of depleting the moral of their enemies by various means that he didn’t specify.  His gentle demeanor made it very difficult for you to believe that he was apart of such a dangerous team but you realized that, that was the very reason he was so successful.  

Jungkook, according to Seokjin, was the fleet’s first responder: The first man on the ground during a battle and usually the last one to leave. He had two things on his side: speed and strength. The fleet calls him the Terror Cub which is supposed to be a play on Yoongi’s nickname. You’ve also learned that Jungkook is Yoongi’s younger brother and upon minimal observation, you can tell they have a very close bond.  

Jimin, you met at the tavern during an evening out with Rachel. He was incredibly kind and his beauty was nothing short of offensive. His position in the army made sense; he was known as a Red Herring or in civilian terms: the distraction. Jimin’s beauty and charm was the fleet’s secret weapon and after spending a bit of time with him that night, you could definitely see why. Without a uniform, Jimin looks like a soft and unassuming man. A target would never suspect his true intentions.

Taehyung and you had a lot in common as he too was an Apothecary only- he didn’t specialize in the same type of medicine you did. Taehyung was the fleet’s resident poison expert. You met him at the tavern as well as he was the man Jimin hung off of the entire night. You learned of their romance throughout the evening and, couldn’t help but admire the sheer power between them. The Herring and the Poison Expert, what a duo.

Hoseok was still a bit of a mystery to you as he rarely ventured into the village. According to Seokjin, Yoongi placed him charge of training the new recruits specifically in the art Hoseok was most familiar with: archery. Upon the introduction of his position, you quickly recalled a story regarding the legendary archer.  Hoseok’s expertise had made it into the discourse in your village roughly a year ago when the Royal Army took down invaders in the snowy mountains just west of your home. In accordance with the story, Hoseok defeated their front line from the treetops before they were able to reach the rest of his fleet. You hadn’t had a chance to speak with him much but, he did introduce himself when you brought a second basket of bread to the camp.  

Aside from being their general, their leader and, the most expert swordsman in all of the land, Yoongi was also the fleet’s strategist. He mapped their every move, their every course, their objectives and several precautionary measures should things go sour. He was essentially the brains behind everything but of course, you didn’t learn this from him. The rest of his men had revealed bits and pieces about him throughout your interactions with each of them.  

In addition, you also learned that Yoongi’s army was a defensive force. They were established as a means of protection by the Queens which would mean that the stories of them ruthlessly invading territories around the region were null and void. The seven of them preceded over a much larger fleet; 22,000 men who follow closely behind them but never fight unless Yoongi calls in for backup.

The Tiger’s fleet was the frontline, the brain, heart and soul of the royal army.  

You feel a bit of sadness for them. They have done so much to protect this land and although they are revered and admired, they are also unnecessarily feared.  

The morning passes easily and it’s one of those days where you actually enjoy being out in the plaza.

The weather was nice, temperate and cool just as you like it.  

Clouds encase the otherwise sunny sky which keeps it from growing too warm in the marketplace and, with the slight breeze wafting throughout the atmosphere, you feel content.

A minimal afternoon crowd makes it easy for you to provide accurate and lengthy consultations to your patrons.

“Yes- just apply this three times a day and you should notice a significant reduction in the inflammation.” You smile sweetly, passing a lot the salve to your customer before you notice a familiar color making its way through the crowd.

It’s platinum and the curve of the ponytail its attached to belongs to someone you hadn’t anticipated on seeing.

It causes your heartrate to go a little wonky whilst you attempt to look away.

The salve Yoongi purchased from you days earlier prove to be very popular amongst his crew and now his tin that was supposed to last him three months is nearly gone.  

He may have other reasons for returning to the market as well but, his story was air-tight and would need no further explanation.

He would know, he checked.

“Good morning,” You smile at him and Jane’s train of thought is derailed the moment she sees your next customer. “How can I help you?”

He raises his hand, a large metal tin between his fingers, “Do you have any more of this? I woke up this morning to find that my men have ransacked it. If you have the stock, I’d like to buy 7 more tins so I can have one of my own.”  

You can’t help it but allow your eyes to widen at his request; the profits from 7 more tins would be enough to feed your family for the next month.

But you compose yourself quickly and nod, “I have more than enough- you said 7 right? Did you want the big tins again?”

He lowers his hand and sighs, his eyes flitting back towards his tent, “Please. I don’t trust the younger ones to use it as you instructed so, I want to make sure it lasts as long as it can.”

Snickering, you bend down and grab the requested amount of tins for him and nod in understanding, “Makes total sense. I’m guessing one of the main culprits was Jungkook? I saw him rubbing his hands together for a really long time and, now everything makes sense.”  

Yoongi smirks, his teeth peeking out between his lips, “Aish that kid- he's gonna give me a heart attack one of these days.”

“He’s younger brother right? I can see the resemblance...” You tease, wrapping the tins in paper,  spending a little too much time on each one and, no it’s totally not because you’re trying to prolong your interaction with Yoongi.

“Adopted brother yes- my parents took him in when he was 7. It’s interesting you think we look alike though, you’re not the first person to say that.” Yoongi’s hands have found their way to his uniform, smoothing it out subconsciously.

“Oh really? Yeah I wouldn’t have suspected that, you guys have the same mouth-” His brows raise at your comment and the glint in his eye makes you backtrack, “his lips are a little bigger I guess though so- uh not that I’m looking closely at your mouth or anything but-”

Yoongi starts chuckling then, the shakiness in your tone amusing him “I understand what you mean don’t worry. What’s my total?” He nods to the tins, which you’ve finally finished wrapping.

“Oh! Right, I’m sorry- your total is 24.50...” You slide the tins towards him carefully before Jane’s shrill voice sounds from beside you.

“Give the man a discount Y/N, he’s practically buying out your entire stock!” She urges, gesturing wildly towards your cart.

Your mouth opens as your eyes move quickly between her and Yoongi “O-”

Yoongi raises his hand, “Nonsense. Ms. Y/L/N’s products are some of the finest I’ve come across and are certainly worth the full price-  24.50 you said?” His brows raise again, looking directly into your eyes, not even bothering to turn to Jane’s direction.

The direct way in which he addresses her sends a bit of heat to your cheeks. Jane is someone you have mutual respect for but, her attitude isn’t your favorite nor is her incessant need to put her nose in everyone’s business.  

“Yes, thank you.” You smile sheepishly, bending down once more to grab a paper bag from beneath your counter, “I’ll put in a few bags of rose hip and peppermint tea free of charge; they help with inflammation. I know you all will be training over the next few weeks so, you should get some use out of it.”

He offers a small smile and bows his head, “Thank you. Uh-” Yoongi turns once again back towards his camp, “Seokjin hasn’t stopped talking about your bread, has he arranged for you to bring more?”

Giggling, you accept his payment, tucking it away beneath the counter and nodding, “Yes. I’ll be by this evening with a new batch.”

“Has he offered any payment? We appreciate the hospitality of course but, I do hope he plans on compensating you for your trouble.”

Waving him off, you shake your head and slide the bag his way, “It’s no trouble at all honestly, I’ve been wanting to hone my baking skills for quite some time so, this just gives me an excuse to do so.”  

He grimaces, “Still, you should be-”

“I really don’t mind Yoongi, I promise. This transaction is going to take care of my family and I for quite some time. Not to mention the fact that you all saved my village A LOT of trouble. Take the free bread.” You insist, smirking slightly and if you aren’t mistaken, you notice a light blush come across his cheeks.

Clearing his throat, he steps back away from your cart, moving the smile off of his lips as best as he can.

He likes the sound of his name on your lips a little more than he cares to admit.  

He needs to get out of this plaza before he smiles at you one more time.  

It’s getting a little out of hand.

“Appreciate it.” He mutters before bowing his head once more, “I suppose I’ll see you this evening then?”

Something flutters around in your stomach, “You will. Thank you again for coming by.”

His mouth fixes over a tight smile as he fashions the bag around his wrist, which is quite delicate for a man of his nature.  

When Yoongi is fully out of earshot, you take a deep breath and begin straightening up your cart, trying to distract your mind from his presence

Jane however, has been foaming at the mouth ever since he shot down her suggestion of a discount and quickly rushes over to you, smacking her hand across your arm.

“Ow! Ok- listen we have got to find another way to greet each other because, you’re going to leave some permanent damage on me one of these days.” You admonish, your brow furrowing as you rub your arm.

She ignores you and leans down, her eyes wide with curiosity, “You ARE going to pursue him aren’t you? He’s clearly interested, did you see the way he smiled?! He was quite literally hanging on every word you said!” She whisper yells, her eyes darting around  

This conversation is giving you deja vu and given your flustered state you don’t necessarily have the capacity to argue with her.

“Maybe he’s just kinder than you all gave him credit for.” You answer coolly, giggling as she tugs frantically at your dress.

“He’s kinder to YOU. He barely gave me a second look.” She insists, sound slightly bitter

You quickly move on, waving over another customer, a smile still on your lips, “Aren’t you happily married Jane? I’m sure your husband looks at you plenty...”

She kisses her teeth and rolls her eyes, “Happily is a loaded word dear. Regardless, my point stays the same. You said you were bringing bread over to him didn’t you? Are you planning on using that chance to further this little bond you two have?”

Its your turn to roll your eyes now, “I plan on using that chance to deliver bread.”

With a grumble, Jane reluctantly returns to her cart as she too has a customer heading her way.

The rest of the day passes easily, which you are quite thankful for given that you’re evening plans are a little out of the ordinary.  

It’s hard to get Yoongi out of your mind but, you really do try, he is just a man after all.

Just an interesting, intelligent, handsome-

“Y/N...” Rachel’s voice drags you out of your train of thought and causes you to quickly shift on the stool towards her.

You went to her house after you day had ended because:

She’s the absolute best

and

She has the better oven

“What? Sorry I was-”

She smirks knowingly, sprinkling flour over the dough on the cutting board, “Just thinking about how you plan on charming the Tiger tonight?”

You’d like to deny it but, she isn’t entirely wrong.

Instead, you just go back to wrapping the current loaf of fresh bread in the same paper you use to wrap you wares back at the market.

The cheese in this batch makes the outside of the bread a little greasy so, you always gift it with some wrapping; it also keeps the bugs away.

“You know- you should come with me. It's your one-way ticket to Jungkook, you only have a few weeks to gain his hand in marriage.” You point out, smirking.

Rachel blushes profusely, “I- well- you know?!?! He really is something.” She stutters, swallowing back a bit of her nerves before continuing, “I don’t know if I can do that. You've seen me in social settings...”

You snort and point in her direction, “I have. You’re great in social settings. We panic- in private- together remember? That’s how we bond.” Clenching your fist to your chest dramatically, you continue with the rest of her concern, “Honestly he’s not that intimidating face to face. He was practically hiding behind in his friend when I was there...”

Jungkook had stood out to you for that specific reason; his demeanor at the plaza would have never lead you to suspect his shy and rather docile nature.  

He certainly was perplexing.

Rachel smiles whimsically, staring off at nothing while she half-heartedly kneads the dough. She then lets out a sigh before giggling at the end of your sentence, “I suppose you’re right. He seems gentle underneath that brawny exterior. He’s so handsome too- and such a high rank for being so young. I’m just a village teacher...”

You smirk again, “Gentle is one way of putting it.” Then you scoff, feeling actual offense at her comment regarding herself. To express your distaste, you throw a piece of dough her way, “Stop that. You are literally the most eligible woman in this entire village. You are an artist, an educator and-” You take a bite out of a spare loaf of bread and shove it in your mouth, relishing in it’s doughy, cheesy texture. “- a damn good baker. Don’t sell yourself short.”

She rolls her eyes playfully, “Oh alright...you’re quite eligible yourself you know! How does it feel to have caught the eye of the Tiger himself, hm????”  

“So you’re coming?” You ask excitedly, bouncing on your stool before promptly looking away in denial, “I have done no such thing. He’s just being friendly to me because I cured his dry skin. Soft hands will change a man let me tell you...”  

“Ohhhh I suppose I will.” She sighs with a shrug to her shoulders, “My curiosity will always get the best of me, for better or worse.” She leans closer to her friend, conspiratorially “we can’t have that Tigers paws TOO soft—don’t do your job TOO well, oh esteemed herbalist.”

“In sickness and in health til death do you part...” You finish with raised brows, before giggling “esteemed and eligible? Now you’re just flattering me. I don’t think he’ll need to come back to my cart at least, I gave him enough salve to last the winter.”

Rachel shoves rounds the counter suddenly, heat blooming on her cheeks as she tries to shove you off the stool, “Oh YOUUUUU!!” She rolls her eyes again, looking at you pointedly, “Regardless of salve, you don’t give yourself enough credit. All jokes aside, Y/N, from what you have told me about your run ins with the general, he seems to appreciate your conversation. I don’t imagine people treat him with such frankness.”

Your laughter increases as you hold onto the counter for dear life, “Hey easy!” Biting your lip, you try to think of the right words to say without giving yourself away, “He’s very interesting. I am- you know, very intrigued by him that’s for sure.”

She lets you off the hook, her own laughter dying down as she returns to her place, “He is fascinating...I am a bit surprised at how different he seems to be from the stories...it raises so many questions like- how did he end up where he is?”

“I don’t know honestly. I kind of feel bad that so many people had him wrong- Seokjin said they don’t get a lot of hospitality due to the rumors about Yoongi.”

Rachel pouts before turning to pull one of the last batches of bread out of the oven. As she tugs the tray out of it’s warm resting place her lips tug up into a smirk “Oh it’s Yoongi now? On a first name basis with the nation’s greatest general I see- that was quick.”  

It’s your eyes that roll this time, heat rushing to the tip of your nose, “That IS his name... I can’t keep calling him Tiger now can I? That would be weird...”

She continues smirking but, her eyes hold a bit of sympathy as she addresses the rest of your sentence, “Seriously though, that breaks my heart for them...he handled that raider with more kindness than he deserved. It makes me wonder how many other rumors are unfounded.”

“Yeah it really surprised me- I was expecting there to be bloodshed...I still can’t believe he just let most of them go. I’ve seen soldiers administer worse punishments for lesser offenses.  

“I suppose you are right. Yoongi seems to be shrouded in mystery, but perhaps you will have a chance to learn more about the man behind the myth?” She suggests, brows rising with her inquiry.

“Typical teacher- rooting for me and all my hopes and dreams.” You tease as the two of you load up the bread into the basket, “Perhaps YOU will have a chance to learn more about the man behind the chest plate hm? Are you all ready to go?”

She smiles, “I will ALWAYS root for you!” And as the two of you begin packing everything up she huffs, blushing once again, “You really won’t stop teasing me, will you?”

“Nope.” You smile cheekily, dodging as she tries to wack you, “I can see it now- you, educating the youth and him- protecting the innocent. It’s a match made in heaven.”  

Rachel offers a shy grin as the two of you head out the door, “A girl can daydream...”

The walk to the camp doesn’t take long but within the short period of time you spend walking, your stomach manages to work itself up into a frenzy.

“Ok- the main tent is the one with the flag on the-” You begin, pointing it out to Rachel but your voice is quickly swallowed as you spot him:

The Tiger aka Yoongi, strolls through the courtyard of their camp towards a group of awaiting recruits in the distance.

He’s wearing crème colored linen pants and a matching peasant blouse, his long white tendrils wrapped up into a bun atop his head. He strides through the grass with confidence, his dark eyes observing his surroundings.

“You were saying?” Rachel eyes you curiously before following your line of sight.

Before she can say anything, you rush to return to your explanation, “Seokjin is the one that I made the arrangements with so, we can deliver these in there.” You gesture to the main tent, swallowing back a bit of nerves.

You don’t see many of Yoongi’s men out in the yard with the exception of Namjoon. He’s sitting on a bench, dressed entirely in red, sketching on a piece of parchment.  

As you ring the bell of the tent, Rachel subconsciously shifts behind you.

“Is that my bread?!” Seokjin yells from inside the tent and after a bit of shuffling, he pushes aside the entrance, a bright smile on his face, “Ugh it is. You are a godsent Y/N...” His head cocks as he sees Rachel standing beside you, “Oh hello, you must be Y/N’s friend. Kim Seokjin, did you assist with this delivery?”

He extends a hand to her warmly and Rachel graciously takes it, smiling softly.

“I did. It’s very nice to meet you. You can call me Rachel...”

He returns her smile, bowing his head, “Rachel- that’s a beautiful name. Thank you for doing this, I haven’t seen these men so energized in quite some time.” Seokjin smirks fondly before his teeth tug at his bottom lip, “Would you two mind joining me in here for a moment? I have a question I’d like to ask you.”

You nod despite your confusion, still in disbelief that you’ve made contact with the nation’s most infamous men.

“Of course.”

Rachel nods politely, following behind you as Seokjin holds the entrance open.  

Your hit with the smell of wood as you enter their tent along with a hint of musk. It’s genuinely surprising that the odor isn’t stronger given that multiple men likely share these quarters. There’s several cots on the floor and mini lanterns adorning the ropes holding the tent together. Supplies, personal belongings and various weapons litter the floor and tabletops and, in one of the cots you spot Jungkook, laying down, shirtless.  

In front of his face sits a book that needs no introduction; a famous military strategy guide written by an ancient legend. Befitting, you think, of course they would have their men brushing up on military technique.  

Your brain also hones in on the man holding the book:

Jungkook is truly beautiful. His chocolate locks reach the base of his neck, disheveled but luxurious whilst his tan and soft features are screwed up in concentration. He doesn’t notice your presence at first but, Rachel certainly notices him.

You can hear her swallow beside you, her face turning bright red as her body subconsciously shifts closer to you.  

Her lips part silently and she tries her best to tear her eyes away from his body. The broadness of his chest and the smooth curves of his stomach is enough to capture your attention as well despite the fact that muscle doesn’t normally warrant a reaction from you.

As you the two of you grow closer to him, his eyes finally flit in your direction and, they grow wide like saucers. Hastily, he throws his book to the side before ripping his blanket off the end of his cot and wrapping it around himself.

“Jungkook-ah, make yourself decent. We have guests. I believe you’ve met Y/N already but, this is her friend Rachel...” Seokjin gestures elegantly to both of you, unbothered and unaware of the lingering tension in the air.

“Yes Hyung-” He mutters and grabs his brown linen shirt off the floor and tugs it over his head. He stands, almost robotically and extends his hand towards her, “Nice to meet you.”

Rachel moves in a similar way, her eyes still widened slightly whilst she takes his hand.

“Hi.” She responds, her voice smaller than usual and it causes Seokjin to quirk his brow at the two of them.

Jungkook visibly swallows, his prominent Adams apple bouncing in his throat as his hand sort of lingers against hers.

“I like your- “ His eyes flit to the top of her head, “ribbon. It’s blue.”

Seokjin smirks knowingly at the two of them now and he opens his mouth to break the tension before Rachel speaks up.

“Thanks!” She says a bit too loudly before swallowing the volume a bit, “I like your shirt. It’s very brown- a nice brown.”

Jungkook offers a tiny smile, dropping her hand reluctantly and before their encounter can continue, Seokjin speaks up.

“Uh ok, hooray for first meetings hm?” He nods to the exit of the tent, “Jungkook, I believe Yoongi was looking for you. He needs an assistant for today’s training session.”

Jungkook immediately perks up, nodding in excitement, “Yes hyung.” He pivots towards his cot to collect his armor but turns around once more to glance at Rachel, “Nice meeting you.”

“You too.” She practically squeaks, raising a hand in farewell.

Jungkook’s teeth peek out as he grins before he grabs his armor and practically sprints out of the tent.

Seokjin chuckles warmly and shakes his head before gesturing to the wooden table towards the back of the tent, “You are welcome to have a seat here, this should only take a moment.”

You each take your places at the table, illuminated by the lantern hanging above you.

Seokjin rounds the corner to sit across from you, his prince-like features tightening with a bit seriousness.

“As I said- this will be quick.” He assures you, licking his lips and lowering his voice a bit, “I was speaking with Yoongi earlier today and, he mentioned something that made me quite curious. He relayed a bit of your conversation with him-” He looks at you, “-he said that you told him that raiders were a common occurrence in your region, is that correct?”

You take his lead and lower your voice as well, glancing at Rachel before answering, “Yes. The number of raids has been increasing recently over the last few months actually.”

“I see. Do you have any idea as to why that may be?”

“I mean- our village is known for negotiating with raider clans.” You offer,” Our leaders feel as though it prevents violence.”

His brows quirk, hands clasping on the top of the table, “Has that method been effective so far?”

You look to Rachel for her insight and she tilts her head, considering the question, before she nods in approval which causes you to follow suit.

“I guess so. We have a specific strategy but, we are equipped with defenses as well.”  

Seokjin nods, his brows knitting together in thought. His plush lips part for a moment as he contemplates his next response, uncertainty written all over his face.

“Have either of you noticed any similarities between the clans? Anything at all- clothing, weaponry, language?”  

Your immediate response is to shake your head.

When a raid is occurring, you don’t necessarily have time to observe your intruders; safety is the only thing on your mind.

Rachel however, has noticed a similarity.

“There is one thing I’ve started to notice actually-” She begins, “They all seem to have a similar strategy. When they arrive, they encircle the town first before working their way inwards. It takes them a very long time to reach the center of the village, which is where we wait for them. It’s very strange actually, the center plaza contains most of our valuables- it's almost as if they are trying to take over in a way. However, they always end up leaving after negotiations and, I’ve never seen the same faces twice.”

Now that she mentions it, you recall that similarity as well.  

They do deploy the same tactic but, you just assumed that it’s the most effective way to get the most out of their raid.

Perhaps that isn’t their only intention.

Your stomach shrinks at the thought as you try to push it out of your head.

Seokjin’s features twitch with a bit of unease but, he composes himself quickly and smiles.

“Thank you. I’ll pass that along to Yoongi and see what he thinks of it.” He takes a deep breath, “We really appreciate your cooperation. As I mentioned to you the other day, it’s not very often that we are able to communicate with civilians and it makes our job a lot easier if we have insight from people who actually live in the territories we try to protect.” He eyes you both with a bit of hesitation then, as if he’s contemplating something, “If you wouldn't mind spreading the word that we aren’t a group of vicious demi-gods that would be great. As fun as the legends are, they can be a hinderance to our work...”  

You and Rachel nod in understanding, chuckling lightly at his word usage as the three of you stand.

“I’ll pass along the information. Thank you for having us.” You smile, bowing your head.

Rachel follows suit and, subconsciously her eyes drift to Jungkook’s cot, something that doesn’t go unnoticed by Seokjin.

“We appreciate having you very much.” He smirks as his eyes flit to Rachel, “Both of you. I think you should come along with Y/N for future deliveries Rachel, I’m sure Jungkook would enjoy that.”

Comically, Rachel’s eyes widen a bit as she aggressively clears her throat, frantically looking away from Jungkook’s cot.

“What? Why would he? Wh-What do you mean?” She stutters which causes you to giggle fondly at your friend.

Taking her hand, you squeeze it gently and address Seokjin’s request, “Oh she’ll be back, don’t you worry.”

He chuckles and gestures to the door, “I look forward to it. I’ll walk you two out, I hope you have a good rest of your day.”

Rachel mutters something inaudible by your side, towing behind you reluctantly.

After your departure from the tent and a bit of friendly verbal sparring between you and Rachel, you separate to finish the remainder of your day.

That evening, you decide to go against your parent’s judgements and journey to the river once again.

As beautiful as it is in the daylight, the moon provides a rendition unlike any other. She casts her glow on the water like the mother of all spotlights, dancing across the surface with ease.  

The truth is, you often sneak out after your parent’s have fallen asleep to find solace in the atmosphere of there. It’s almost magical and you feel as though you can think clearly here.  

You always bring your wicker basket along as well so you can collect any herbs or ingredients you may need.

It’s a necessity to switch off between plants though and ensure that you aren’t depleting the rivers natural resources too much; a practice you are continuously getting better at.  

The river carries it’s usual orchestra of sounds along with a bit more whistling in the trees.

It’s mating season for the birds here and they are singing to one another in hopes of finding a lover.

You giggle to yourself and think of what the world would be like if humans implied a similar method of finding a partner.

“Should I be concerned that you’re out here alone, laughing to yourself?”

The voice instantly sends energy up your back and you whip your head around to find Yoongi standing a few yards behind you.

He looks a bit worn out, likely from all the work he’s been doing with the new recruits but, his beauty overwhelms you regardless.

The moonlight casts shadows on his face, his mouth pulled up in a smirk, his hair tied back once again into a ponytail.

He’s wearing a set of clean clothes, a white linen top with brown pants, his sword strapped loyally to his hip.

You imagine he never travels without it.

“Should I be concerned that you’re stalking me?” You retort trying to control the smile that crosses over your face.

He smirks, his hand coming up to rub behind his neck, “I’m not stalking you. I’m patrolling the perimeter, common military practice. You just so happen to be along the perimeter.”

“The perimeter is one the other side of the river, there is a path just through those trees over there-” You point to a group of trees to the left of you, “So technically, you’re not walking the ENTIRE perimeter.”

Yoongi smirks broadens enough for his teeth to peak out as he nods, impressed by your knowledge, “Fair enough.” He nods to the river behind you, “I like walking through here, it’s peaceful.”

You can’t help but return a smile of your own as you nod, “It is. I don’t blame you for taking a detour, even if it was to scare the lights out of me again.”

He chuckles, “Are you out here often?”

“Very.” You nod, “This place serves multiple purposes.”

“Oh does it? What purposes are those?”

“Well, I get most of my ingredients from the river or the surrounding forest so, it’s vital to my work and,” You gesture to the space around your head, “It’s the perfect location to contemplate my existence, the meaning of life, the secrets of the universe- you know, stuff like that.”

Yoongi’s expression grows very amused then, his tongue poking out between his lips before he laughs again, “Ah yes- that stuff. Has the river provided you with any answers?”

“Oh yeah- plenty but you know, the answers only lead to more questions. It’s a vicious cycle.” You quip, giggling a bit and feeling very comfortable in his presence.

There is magnetism between the two of you.

It’s something you’ve never felt before.

And deep down within your heart, you hope he feels it too.

He steps towards you subconsciously, glancing towards the moon and then back at you, “I know that cycle very well. Have you found anything worth sharing? My job doesn’t exactly allow me to indulge in philosophy very often, I’d welcome any of your insight.”

It’s perplexing that a famous General would care to know your thoughts regarding the best eateries in your village let alone, for him to care about your philosophy.

It’s incredibly odd.  

You've always been a fan of oddities though so, you don’t think as much of it as you should.

“You’d have to be a little more specific, I don’t think you’d want to sit here whilst I prattle on about the complexities of the universe.” You laugh

He bites his lip in contemplation, his gaze on you softening significantly, “I wouldn’t be so sure...” Yoongi murmurs and the way he looks at you sends your heart on a marathon, “But I see your point; what do you think of the war?”

Taking a deep breath, you attempt to compose yourself and your thoughts in order to accurately address his question.

“I understand it to a certain extent. Historically speaking, humans have consistently risen in opposition of one another for whatever reason. Peace seems impossible at times. With so many selfish people rising to power, it almost incentivizes that kind of behavior. It’s rewarded. Peace is only possible when you restrict the empowerment of those who act within their own self-interest. The cycle always continues though so, war is inevitable.” You speak softly, taking your eyes off of Yoongi for a moment to focus on your choice of words.  

His dark eyes seem to glimmer with fascination as he nods along to your response, the two of you shifting closer to one another.

Unintentionally, of course.

“How should we restrict the empowerment of those individuals?” He licks his lips as his eyes narrow in curiosity, “Do you think there is a way to do that?”

Chewing on your cheek, you consider his question before letting out a sigh, “The power would have to return to the masses. I think the idea that humanity needs finite leadership isn’t completely accurate. Snuffing out corruption is difficult though, especially since it’s already been let loose. I guess there isn’t a linear path but, I’d like to believe it’s possible.”

He smiles, “So would I. My profession wouldn’t really imply that though would it?”

Your hands play with the fabric of your dress to distract from how close the two of you are as you swallow back the instability of your breath.

“I think it does actually. You aren’t tasked with the corrupt objectives; your job is to defend against it.”  

A grimace comes over his face, “I still engage in violence.”

“You do.” You agree, your hands lowering to clasp in front of you, “There is a difference between you and your enemy though isn’t there?”

Yoongi is truly hanging on every word you say, eager to hear the soft twinkle of your voice, eager to understand your mind.

“There is.” He answers tightly, glancing down your hands, “Violence isn’t our objective.”

You notice his gaze on your hands and it causes you to look at his own; they look softer than you remember, which you hope you can take partial credit for.

Amused, you watch as he clasps and unclasps them unknowingly, his nerves starting to creep up inside his head.

“What is your objective?” You ask, smiling softly at him

He bites his bottom lip, nodding as he understands where you’re headed, “Defending the innocent.”

“In times of war, peace also requires an army...” You conclude, hoping to comfort him in some way.

He smiles again but, he doesn’t look up at you, his gaze transfixed upon your fingers, “You should consider becoming an advisor of some sort.”

Your head tilts, your heart rate going crazy in your chest but, your curiosity and it’s need to be sated override your need to be proper.

“Why do you keep looking at my hands?”

He still doesn’t look up but he does blush, nervous laughter emanating from his lips, “Because I want to hold them...”

At his confession, he looks up at you longing, his throat bobbing as he swallows and tries to discern your reaction.

Without thinking you unfurl your fingers and turn your palms so they are facing towards the sky, slightly embarrassed by the way that they shake.

“Then hold them.”

Yoongi’s eyes widen momentarily, shooting down at your upturned palms before he slowly, almost agonizingly places his own shaking hands atop yours.

Simultaneously, the two of you intertwine your fingers, feeling the erratic pulse of one another.

“It’s good to know that my heart isn't the only one that’s pounding.”

Nervously, you giggle and nod rapidly, “Definitely. I thought I was the only one...”

He chuckles in response, stepping towards you a little more so you can feel the heat coming off of his body.

The two of you stand there in silence, enjoying the feeling of one another and the simplicity of the act you’re performing.

Words fall short on your tongue because, you are truly in awe of the way you feel and, part of you worries that you’re actually dreaming.  

A shout nearby, coming from one of your fellow villagers rips the two of you out of your moment as Yoongi suddenly remembers why he came this way in the first place.  

He drops your hands and steps back, feeling slightly regretful that he let go of you so abruptly.

“I’m sorry.” He clears his throat, looking back towards the voice before gesturing to the forest, “I should go- my men will come looking for me if I’m gone too long.”

Quickly, you nod in understanding, stepping a few inches back, “Of course. Thank you for the talk- it was-”

“I’d like to come by the river more often while I’m here- if that’s alright with you.” He interrupts you, his voice a little shaky as he clears his throat again.

Knowingly, you grin, “I don’t own the river Yoongi...”

Your quip breaks the bit of tension between you and he chuckles, his hands adjusting his clothes unnecessarily.

“I’m aware, Ms. Apothecary. I was just implying that-”

You interrupt him now with a smirk rushing to your lips, “You were implying that we should cross paths again.”

Yoongi bites his lip, cheeks the color of summer roses, “Yes.”

“I think we should too.”

This makes him smile and for a moment, he looks like a young man, completely rid of any burdens.

It’s a good look.

“Are you ok to walk back on your own?”  

You want to tell him no but, the light from the main street is yards away and after that, your home is only 5 minutes by foot.

“Yes.” You nod to the forest behind him, “Are you ok to walk on your own?”

He rolls his eyes before chuckling, patting the sword at his hip, “I’ll manage.”

With one last parting smile, the two of you begin to go your separate ways.

Tonight, each of your minds would be filled thoughts of one another and if you were lucky, you’d cross each others path while you sleep.

One could only hope.

“Goodnight Y/N.”

“Goodnight General Min.”

[maoam]

I just saw someone shipping InoSaku while shitting on SNS, which I find hilarious, considering InoSaku is just a bootleg SNS with way less development and Sakura being overall very terrible and dismissive to Ino. OP was also saying Sakura and Ino were apparently queer coded (😂😂) and had an amazing queer dynamic (lol) but Kishimoto didn't make it canon because he or/and the fanbase is homophobe. They may be right about the fanbase being homophobic, but like... InoSaku had no interactions in Shippuden (except for when Sakura wanted Sai to call Ino ugly)??? They barely interacted in part 1 too. And they are both so painfully straight it hurts to see it. InoSaku will literally watch some fillers, use some shitty novels and argue that it should've been canon lol, while having the guts to shit on SNS, that has way more canonical development. WTF.

People can ship what they want and I used to not care about this ship but since half of their fandom rides on sns and acts like they are the same because of the rival tropes (that aren't exclusive to these two relationships) and the other half bashes sns while acting their ship is "better" I have started to dislike it a lot. Ino also deserves to be in a ship that's not one-sided on her part. Sorry for upcoming long post.

Since I focus on canon (manga) their first interaction is in the chunin exams. It's about Sasuke of course and establishes their main conflict.

Their next interactions are Ino stepping in to save Sakura in the Forest of Death, which is a nice friendship moment. It's not romantically coded whatsoever, Ino is hesitating but realizes she can’t let someone she cares about die even if she feels she’s possibly not strong enough to beat the sound trio. Then we get a flashback on how Sakura ended their friendship over Sasuke, because they liked the same boy.

But then, they go back to the Sasuke rivalry.

Then we get to the match which has the most “moments” between the two of them, and includes a longer flashback of their childhood friendship. After this they barely interact and Sakura’s entire character revolves around men as well as Ino’s.

Sidenote, but Kakashi again showing how he doesn’t know Sakura at all. She has shown to be cruel multiple times, she literally bullied Naruto. But this is the guy who spends his time reading porn and thought pushing SS was a good idea.

Rivalry. But it lacks the depth and complexity of Naruto and Sasuke’s bond, and most of all it lacks the longing and the passion. It revolves around a boy. Naruto and Sasuke have the entire manga, while Ino and Sakura have even less interaction than Naruto and Hinata but sure they were "queercoded". Their entire relationship revolves around Sasuke unlike with Naruto and Sasuke, where Sakura is a third-wheel. I have also seen people compare this ribbon to Sasuke’s headband and I find it insulting to be honest. Valley of the End is longer by itself than all of Ino and Sakura’s interactions and it’s so complicated and heart-wrenching, while this is ultimately about Sakura’s insecurities and petty rivalry over a boy.

Even after their most important moment, all of the tiny moments they get are about Sasuke and how Sakura is thinking about Sasuke. Since when do lesbians think about men when they’re with their crush?

And you’re right, their only moment in part 2 is Sakura wanting Sai to call Ino ugly.

Seriously, look at these girls, they are genuinely attracted to Sasuke.

These are the least “queercoded” girls I have seen.

[woah-were-halfway-there]

Island In The Sun

A/N: Finally the highly requested little (very long) vacation one shotttttttt, enjoy :)

Word Count: 7.8k

To you, summer was the best time of the year.

The weather was beautiful, the days were long, and the best part, Auston was off. Although you had nothing against hockey, you always loved the offseason because it allowed the two of you to relax and be together without worrying about being separated. As a parent, you loved it even more. 

One of your favourite things ever was seeing Auston and Mia interact together, and the summertime allowed you to witness that all the time. Whether it be them cuddled up on the couch watching a movie together, splashing around in the pool as Auston tried to teach your one and a half-year-old to swim, or even just the two of them walking ahead while you and Frank trailed right behind; you loved watching their bond grow. And there wasn't much more you appreciated than those special moments you got to share with your little family.  

However, since Mia was born, it had been a bit harder to find time for yourself. Not that you cared, though, because you loved your daughter more than anything in the world, but compared to before, it was much more complicated to do things and not have to worry about Mia's wellbeing as you did them.

It was even more challenging whenever you and Auston tried to have some alone time together. Sure, the two of you would cuddle up on the couch and watch Netflix every once in a while after putting Mia to bed, but going out or doing anything that was just the two of you for more than a couple of hours, simply had not been doable. 

Hockey season didn't help with that either. 

With Auston consistently coming and going for roughly six months of the year, the two of you struggled even more with getting some alone time. When Auston was home, of course, he'd want to spend time with you, but he also would be determined not to miss any time he could get with Mia. Therefore, making that much-needed husband and wife time more challenging to achieve. Sure, the two of you always took what you could get, but leading up to the end of the season, your friends and family would always go off on both you and Auston how a night to yourselves was necessary. 

Still, nothing extravagant happened. In complete honesty, the two of you were content with nights in that consisted of cuddling on the couch while Mia was asleep upstairs. It was simple. To you and Auston, it was perfect. Neither of you needed anything more than that, but then the opportunity to go on vacation with Auston's family came up.  

The Matthews family had plans to go to Cabo San Lucas in Mexico for a week-long trip at the end of July. They had vacationed in the same area a few years prior, back while you and Auston were still dating and long before Mia arrived, but you couldn't tag along for the trip because of things going on at home. That was fine, though, you still loved seeing the pictures and hearing all the stories, but this time around, you were very excited to join. 

Seeing as Mia was almost a year and a half old, it was the first time you and Auston were travelling outside of the US or Canada with her. You knew the flight from Phoenix to Cabo wouldn't be an issue seeing as she was ok on the much longer trip to Toronto, but you were still very interested to see how she was with being in a completely new setting. 

You were most excited to see how she'd like the Beach, and luckily for you, she loved it. 

The first half of your week-long trip flew by. The day everyone arrived mainly consisted of getting settled into accommodations and relaxing a bit before the fun actually started during the following days. 

Speaking of accommodations, they were unreal and so lovely.

Along with some family friends, the entire family was set up in three different places within walking distance of each other along the Beach. The first house was a little bungalow where Brian and Ema stayed, giving them their own relaxing space to go back to after a long day with the fam. The next one was a much larger house that was able to accommodate more people. It had a pool, games and all different types of activities just there and ready to use. That was where Alex, Bre, as well as the friends that tagged along stayed. It was also where everyone spent the most time as a group unless you were all out doing other things.

The last house was a kind of villa type thing. It was a bit larger than where Brian and Ema stayed, but nowhere near as big as the house between the two, and was the perfect size for your little family. The villa had two bedrooms, one smaller one that wasn't even used but was stunning, and a huge master bedroom with a large ensuite and walk-in closet. It had a little kitchen and living room with massive floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the Beach and was the perfect little oasis for you, Auston and Mia. Sure, it felt a little empty without Frank roaming around, but you knew he was living it up back in Scottsdale while being watched by a close friend of Auston's.

Your first full day in Cabo was nothing short of amazing. 

You started the morning off by meeting up with the rest of the group for breakfast at a restaurant nearby. Everyone discussed how things were as they settled in the night before, then moved on to talk about what the day's events would consist of. It was established that after breakfast, the guys and Bre were going to do a round of golf. As they did that, you and Mia decided to spend some time on the Beach with Ema and Alex. 

It was super peaceful.

You spent a fair bit of time in the water, gently pushing around a standup paddleboard while Mia sat on it with her little lifejacket, smiling widely and giggling as you moved her around. After doing that for a little while, Alex said she'd watch Mia so that you and Ema could explore a little bit. That went on for a couple of hours before eventually being joined by everyone else. 

"Hello, Miss Mia," Bre chimed as she sat down next to you on the beach blanket later that afternoon, immediately earning a response from your daughter from where she sat between your legs playing with a shovel. 

"Look who's back, Mia! Is that your Auntie Bre?" You asked your daughter as she held onto your hands to pull herself into a standing position before wobbling towards Bre. 

"Tee!"

"Hi, sweet girl," Bre responded with outstretched arms so that she could pull Mia in for a hug once she was close enough. Mia hugged her tightly and let out a happy squeal before Bre set her down in her lap and looked back to you. "How's it going? What have you guys been up to all day?"

"Good, we've just been hanging around here," you told her with a smile. "I explored with your mom for a bit, then Alex and I got smoothies a little while ago, now they're out on the jet skis. Mia has been absolutely loving the Beach, but I haven't taken her swimming just yet. How was golf? Did you kick their butts?"

"You know it," she said matter of factly, making you chuckle. "Auston was a little cheesed."

"Of course, he was. Sore loser."

"Always!"  

She then explained how Brian had plans to surprise Ema with a little dinner that night, so he was back at their bungalow, setting up a reservation for just the two of them. She also mentioned how Auston had gone back to your villa to shower and should be joining any minute. 

As the two of you chatted, neither of you noticed Ema and Alex as they docked their jet skis and began walking towards you until Mia got all smiley again.  

"What's got you all excited, huh?" Bre asked as Mia started reaching towards something behind her aunt, making you glance in the same direction to see who it was approaching. 

"She sees your mom," you replied while smiling and waving to the two women approaching. 

"Ah, no wonder," she chuckled and stood up from her spot to go greet them with Mia. 

"Oh, hello there," Ema said as Mia tackled her in a hug, indicating that she now wanted to be held by her grandmother. 

"Wow, Mia, nice to know who your favourite relative is," Alex joked as she sat down next to you, nudging you with her shoulder. "You ready to go shopping?"

"Yeah, whenever you guys are ready!"

"Is Mia coming?" Bre asked as she, Mia and Ema joined you and Alex again.

"I don't think so," you replied. "Auston wants to take her for a bit to hang around the pool before she needs a nap, I believe."

"Fair enough," Alex nodded and watched as Ema walked with Mia to where the tide flowed onto the shore. "We probably have a few minutes before he gets here, do you mind if I take Mia in the water as we wait?"

"Not at all, I'll have her towel ready."

"Wait, I'm coming!" Bre called after her sister as the two walked towards the water. 

You sat back and watched as your mother and sisters-in-law took turns wading into the water while holding onto Mia until a small waved formed and brushed passed them. It was so simple, but Mia loved every second of it. Each time she touched the water, Mia would let out a squeal of delight and laugh before splashing around a bit, earning some dramatic gasps from Alex and Bre.

As you watched, you couldn't help but smile as your heart swelled with so much love. These three women had become such important people in your life throughout your relationship with Auston. They always loved and supported you, welcomed you as one of their own, and built a significant and lasting relationship with you. That love was shared with your daughter from the moment she was born and had only grown ever since. You were well aware of how much Mia adored her aunts and grandparents, and it just made you so happy that she was going to grow up with these amazing people always watching out for her. 

After a few minutes went by, there was a sudden presence of a person sitting on the sand behind you and pulling you close to them. You didn't need to turn around to tell that it was Auston with the way his arms instantly wrapped around you protectively, and his facial scruff brushed against your skin as he leaned his chin onto your shoulder, quietly observing his mom and sisters play with Mia as well. 

"Hey, you," you said after a moment of just sitting there in comfortable silence, before looking at your husband and smiling. "How was golf?"

"Oh, I'm sure you already know how golf was," he responded with an eye roll.

"You lost that bad, huh?"

"Don't wanna talk about it."

You couldn't help but chuckle at the way he was acting, as he let out a huff and looked at you with a pointed glance. "Well, if it's any compensation, I'm glad that you're back even if you did lose to your little sister. Can't be better than everyone at everything, babe."

"Yeah, whatever, I'll take it," he replied with a grin. "Besides, I've got my prize right here, anyways."

He then leaned towards you, and you closed the remaining space between the two of you by meeting his lips with yours in a soft, sweet kiss. You could feel him smirk against you and had no intention to break away from him either until a voice interrupted. 

"Geez, get a room," Bre spoke up from where she stood in the water, sticking her tongue out jokingly once you looked at her. 

"Leave them be," Ema scolded her daughter before smiling at you and Auston. 

"Way to ruin the moment, Bre," Alex scoffed and stepped out of the water with your daughter. "But, I do think someone's excited to see you, Auston."

"Daddy!" Mia exclaimed and reached towards you and Auston as she and Alex approached. 

"Hi, baby," Auston grinned widely and reached up to take Mia from his sister's hold, not waiting any longer to snuggle her into his chest. "Did you have fun in the water?"

"Uh-huh," she replied as she leaned back to look at him and smile.

The two then started chatting, and you subtly moved from your spot between Auston's legs to grab Mia's towel so she wouldn't get cold. 

"Are you ready to hang out with me while your mom leaves us to go shopping with your aunts?" Auston asked Mia, making you roll your eyes as you stood up. Alex gave you a knowing look as the two of you just shook your heads.

"Yeah!" Mia said and cuddled closer to you as you took her from her dad and wrapped her in the towel.

"Mia, tell your dad that he's a drama queen," you spoke up and pecked her on the cheek.

"'Rama, daddy."

"Yes, drama!."

Alex started chuckling from where she stood beside you, while Auston huffed and looked at you with a pout. "You make it seem like Bre, and I are stealing her from you."

"Uh, have you seen the way the three of you shop? You guys won't be back for hours."

"Like you're any better," Bre deadpanned and gave her brother a look as she and Ema approached. "We'll be back before dinner. You'll be fine."

"Whatever," he said with a sigh before standing up and walking towards Ema. "At least mom wants to hang out with me."

Ema chuckled and shook her head. 

"I'm going with them. What do you mean?"

The look of absolute betrayal that washed over Auston's face as she said that was comedic and made everyone laugh but him. "Wow."

"Oh, babe, I promise next time you can come with us," you stated and walked towards your husband. Once you were close enough, Auston wrapped an arm around your waist, holding you close as he took Mia in his other arm. "We'll be back soon."

"Yeah, yeah," he replied and winked at you before glancing at Mia. "Looks like it's just me and you, baby girl. Is that alright with you?"

She didn't respond, just nodded before leaning against Auston's shoulder and knuckling at her eyes tiredly. You and Auston looked at each other knowingly after that. 

"I think I'm just going to take her back to the villa, cause someone needs a nap," your husband stated and brushed a little curl away from Mia's face. "You tired, mini?"

Whenever he called her that, you couldn't help but smile because of how true it was. Mia really was Auston's mini-me, and you loved it so freaking much. 

"Mhm," Mia replied before letting out a loud yawn. "Nemo, daddy?"

"Yes, sweets, we'll watch Nemo together," he said and leaned down to kiss her cheek before looking back to you. 

"We'll be back soon," you assured both Mia and Auston, but earned yourself an odd glance from your daughter.

"Mommy, come."

"No, baby," you responded quietly, your heart breaking a bit thanks to how she looked at you with her tired eyes expectantly. "Mommy will be back in a little bit, ok? I promise."

"Ok," she repeated before cuddling closer to Auston, showing just how exhausted she was. 

You then looked to Auston, who didn't miss a beat as he leaned down to peck your lips again. "Call me if you need anything, ok?"

"You know, I will. I'll see you soon," Auston said before giving you another quick kiss and then looking at his mom and sisters. "Have fun, ladies."

"Bye," the three of them said as you stood and watched him walk away with your baby. 

A moment later, someone nudged you with their shoulder to get your attention. 

"Ready to go?" Alex asked, already holding her folded up beach-blanket and other items. 

"Oh, yeah," you stated and moved to pick up your things before heading back to the house she and Bre were staying in. "Lead the way."

It didn't take long for the four of you to get where all the little shops and stores were, and it took even less time for the actual shopping to begin. You found a couple of cute clothes for yourself and even more adorable things for Mia, thanks to Bre and Alex's help. After that, you and Auston's sisters helped pick out a new outfit for Ema and somehow convinced her that she should wear it to dinner that night, although she was still unaware of her little date night with Brian. 

Once you finished shopping, the four of you returned to the Beach to get ready for the night ahead. Ema went back to the bungalow, while Bre and Alex helped you with the stuff you bought back to your villa. You were all excited to be back and see Mia again, but the house was empty when you entered. 

"Where do you think they went?" Bre asked as each of you set down the bags you were holding and looked around. 

"No clue," Alex replied and glanced at you. "Has Auston messaged you?"

"No, he hasn't," you told her and pulled out your cell phone to see that Ema had texted you instead. "But your mom did. She says to go over to your guys' place."

"That's where they must be," Bre said and started walking towards the door again. "Let's go. I wanna see my niece."

"I'm sure she wants to see you too," you chuckled as you followed after her and Alex back outside. 

The three of you walked down the Beach to the two-storey house you assumed everyone else was. It was early evening, so the sun was still up and would be for a few more hours, and you couldn't help but wonder what Auston and Mia had gotten up to while you were away. 

As soon as you stepped foot into the house, you got your answer.

"Y/N, go take a look by the pool," Ema said as she greeted you, Bre and Alex again. "I think there's something you might want to see."

Confused, you looked at Bre and Alex unsurely before walking by them and towards the back of the house. You could hear them and Ema following behind you and didn't know what to expect when you went outside, but your heart melted once you did. 

Brian waded in the pool with the other guys, while to the left of the door, Auston was passed right out on one of the lounge chairs, with Mia asleep on his chest. 

Mia was still wrapped in a towel, which made you think she mustn't have gone to sleep right away, so Auston brought her to the pool in an attempt to wear her out even more, but ended up making himself tired during the process as well.    

"They've been like that for an hour and a half now," Brian chuckled as he climbed onto a pool floaty. "Didn't even make it inside the house, they were both so exhausted."

"Please, I love them so much," you replied and couldn't keep yourself from awing at how cute the two of them were.

"They are pretty freaking adorable. I must admit," Bre spoke up as she placed her elbow on your shoulder and leaned against you as she observed the two sleeping beauties as well. 

"My favourite pair," Alex chimed in as she stood beside you and smiled. 

"Mine, too," you stated. "I don't want to wake them up."

But just as you said that Mia began stirring awake and started looking around as if trying to remember where she was. 

"Mama," she said with a yawn once her eyes landed on you, and Bre wasn't long in taking her arm off your shoulder so that you could go over to your little girl. 

"Hi, baby," you responded as you ducked under the broad umbrella and sat down on the edge of the lounge chair beside them, making sure to gently brush away some of the curls that fell in your daughter's face and smile at her. "Did you have a good nap with daddy?"

"Mhm," she nodded while still leaning against Auston's chest, which gradually woke him up as well. 

He stretched and groaned while wrapping his arm protectively around Mia before even opening his eyes, but when he finally did and saw you, he immediately grinned widely. 

"Hey, you're back," he said and sat up straight, his voice husky as he spoke. "Did you have fun?"

"We did," you replied, smiling as well before looking to Bre and Alex and winking at them. "Looks like you and Mia had some fun too."

"I don't even remember falling asleep," he admitted before looking down at Mia. "I guess we were both tired, huh, little miss?" 

"Yeah," Mia smiled before reaching towards you so that you'd hold her. 

"I bet," you stated while hugging your daughter close and looking back at your husband. "What do you say we head back to the villa and get changed for dinner?"

"Tee!" Mia called once she noticed Bre and Alex standing nearby, no longer paying any attention to you. 

"Well, I think that's a solid plan, but we may have trouble separating Mia from those two," Auston said as he stood up and glanced towards his sisters.

"Hi, baby girl," Alex spoke softly and crouched with her arms open as you set Mia down and watched as she wobbled to her aunt. 

"You know, you could always leave her with us as you went and got ready," Bre suggested as Alex stood back up, holding your daughter, and gave her arm a little squeeze. 

"Please, you'd never give her back," Auston scoffed, making you chuckle as you stood next to him and wrapped an arm around his waist. 

"And what about it?" Alex challenged while moving so that Bre could hold Mia. "I swear, you two never take any time to yourselves. This vacation is for the both of you too, you know?"

"Yes, and we love it," you answered honestly. "But, it's a different type of vacation now with Mia here, which is fine. Wouldn't have it any other way."

Bre and Alex both sent you soft smiles after that, before glancing at each other as if they were silently planning something. Auston seemed to notice their plotting too and glanced down at you before looking back at them suspiciously, but Bre spoke up again before either of you could say anything.   

"Fair," she shrugged and looked back to you and Auston. "But go get changed, we can watch her for twenty minutes. I'm sure you'll both be fine."

"But-," Auston started, but cut himself off as his sisters both turned around and headed back into the house with your daughter without saying another word, his eyebrows furrowing as he watched them go. "Did they just steal our daughter from us?"

"Looks like it," you giggled and turned around so that you'd be facing your husband. "C'mon, let's go get changed, and we'll have her back before you know it."

And so you did. The two of you headed back to your villa, telling Auston's family that you'd both be back in a few minutes. But what neither of you noticed was that both Bre and Alex came back outside with Mia and looked at their mom expectantly as soon as you and Auston were gone. 

"How are we supposed to get them to have a whole night that's just the two of them with Auston being so stubborn?" Bre asked as she sat at the edge of the pool, still carefully holding onto Mia.

"I definitely think Y/N will be easier to convince that it's a good idea for us to watch Mia for a night than Auston will be," Alex stated from where she stood before looking at Ema. "But we need to. Those two haven't had a date night in who knows how long, and what better time to do it than on vacation?"

"Exactly," Ema agreed as she walked into the pool and waded over to where Bre sat with Mia. "We're going to have to just bombard them with the fact that they're going to be alone for a night. Don't give them a chance to argue. They'll be fine if they keep busy, and besides, it's their anniversary soon. They deserve some alone time."

Bre and Alex nodded in agreement, and both began thinking of ways to make their plan work, while Brian continued floating around and became curious about how their plan would work out.

~*~ 

The evening was relatively lowkey after that. You and Auston returned to the house after getting changed, and everyone headed out to dinner. Once you all at the restaurant, Brain and Ema went their separate way away from everyone else for their little date night. While they were gone, the rest of the group ate a massive meal before eventually calling it a night and heading back home with plans to meet at the big house the following morning. 

The next day, everyone met up and went boating. Some snorkelled, some went tubing, and others just chilled on the boat and made the most of it before going back on land and doing other activities. 

That was what each day consisted of. 

There was always so much to do, as a whole or split up in groups, and being with Auston's family made it extremely enjoyable. Each busy day ended with everyone grabbing dinner together before going back to their respective homes to unwind and go to bed. But on one particular night later in the week, that changed. 

Everyone had finished eating and was just getting ready to start walking back to the houses when Ema picked Mia up from her chair and started walking away. 

"Are you going to stay with me tonight?" She asked your daughter as everyone started following after them, you and Auston being the last ones to trail behind.

"Yeah," Mia replied as she hugged her grandmother, making you and Auston come to a complete halt.

"Wait. What?" the two of you asked in unison, not noticing how Bre and Alex covered their mouths, attempting not to burst out laughing.

"What's going on?" Auston questioned, still obviously very confused. 

"Mia is going to stay with your dad and me tonight," Ema said as a matter of factly while she glanced at the two of you over her shoulder, making sure to send you a wink before looking at her son. "You and Y/N can have a night to yourselves tonight. Mia will be fine with us. We'll keep her busy and then tomorrow after dinner; I'll bring her back to the villa." 

"I think they planned this," you whispered as you leaned against your husband's shoulder while he stared back at his family completely dumbfounded. 

"Exactly," Bre stated. "You two have barely had any time that was just the two of you since Mia was born. Go, have a date night. Be a little reckless. We've got Mia."

"But not too reckless," Brian chimed in, making everyone but Auston chuckle. "Have some fun. The two of you are on vacation, one night away from your daughter won't kill you. Relax a little bit."

"But-," Auston started until you cut him off. 

"It's just a night, Aus," you told him, noticing how both Bre and Alex let out sighs of relief. "She's in safe hands. If anything happens, we're not very far away. I think a night to ourselves would be… nice."

"You should listen to your wife," Alex said while smiling at you and Auston. "We'll follow you back to the villa to get Mia's things, then let the two of you be."

"I-," he was ready to argue, but when he looked down at you and started thinking of how one night with you away from Mia wouldn't be too bad, he sighed in defeat before looking back at his family. "Ok, fine."

"Perfect, let's get going," Ema said and started leading the way back to the villa. 

"They definitely planned this," Auston grumbled as he wrapped a hand around your waist and continued walking next to you. 

"I know," you replied and shook your head while laughing. "Everyone has been trying to get us to have a date night, didn't know it was so bad that we'd have to be forced to do it."

"A date night with you isn't something I need to be forced to do. I'll take that any day."

"Good answer."

"Yeah," he chuckled too. "I've just gotten so used to being around Mia and not having to leave. This feels kind of weird, her leaving me for once."

"Oh, how the tables have turned," you teased and gave him a squeeze, to which he responded by leaning down and kissing the top of your head. 

"It'll be nice getting you alone," he said huskily, not noticing that it was loud enough for others to hear.

"Ok, at least keep it PG until we get Mia's things and leave," Bre groaned.

"Hey, you can blame yourself for this," Auston replied before reaching down to squeeze your butt, trying to get a rise from his sister. 

"Auston!" You scolded and stepped away from him. "God, you're such a pest."

"You love it," he responded cheekily as you let him pull you close again. 

"Debatable," you told him with a wink, before standing on your toes and pecking his lips before linking your hand with his and pulling him after everyone else. "C'mon, it's getting late, and Mia is going to need to go to bed soon."

"Yes, dear," he said and followed behind you all the wat back to the villa. 

Bre and Alex came over to help Ema gather Mia's things, but they didn't stay long. Before you knew it, they were all heading towards the door; getting Mia to blow kisses at you and Auston as they went.  

"Bye, mommy. Bye, daddy," she said while waving goodbye.

"Bye, baby," you replied while leaning against Auston, suddenly feeling emotional over the thought of your little girl leaving. 

"We'll see you tomorrow, princess," Auston said and held you a little tighter as you both said goodbye to his mom and sisters, and they eventually disappeared out the door. Once they were gone, you looked up at Auston curiously. "Guess it's just us now."

"What do you propose that we do?" You asked. 

"Well, there's that jacuzzi tub in the washroom that hasn't been used yet. What do you say I pour us some wine, and we relax in there a little?"

"Sounds like a plan to me."

And that was how the two of you spent the night together. You relaxed in the tub, chatted, and just enjoyed each other's company before eventually getting out to shower off. However, neither of you made it to the shower because soon after wrapping yourself up in a towel, Auston was behind you, placing kisses along your exposed collarbone and holding you close. It didn't take long for things to get heated after that, and the night soon faded around the both of you as you made your way back into the bedroom. 

~*~

When you woke up the next morning, the space on the bed beside you was empty. A few beams of light peaked through the drawn blinds and danced across the room, illuminating the area just enough for you to take in the clothes strewn all over the place, and the thin bedsheet that clung to your body. 

The half-empty glasses of wine still sat on the bedside table, and your bra hung across the lamp on the other side of the room, but you didn't care. You were at peace as you snuggled into the pillows a little more and listened to the sound of waves as they crashed against the shore outside.

The waves soon faded into the sound of running water coming from the ensuite, and it was then you realized where Auston had gone off to so early on this day that was meant for the two of you to relax.

Wasting no time, you scrambled off the bed and wrapped the sheet around your body so you'd at least be a little covered as you greeted your husband and quickly made your way to the ensuite.

Once you entered the room, Auston immediately made eye contact with you in the mirror and smirked. His mouth was full of toothpaste as he finished brushing his teeth, and his eyes were very sleepy, indicating how much the activities from the night before seemingly wore him out. However, he still looked ridiculously hot to you as he stood there in nothing but a pair of basketball shorts.   

Without breaking eye contact, you walked up behind him and placed some soft kisses on the back of his shoulder before stepping beside him and beginning to brush your teeth as well. 

You kept sending each other glances as he moved on to shaving around his moustache a little, and once you both finished what you were doing, you were all over each other again. 

The next thing you knew, you were sitting on the vanity with your back pressed gently against the mirror and hands tangled in Auston's hair as he kissed you hungrily. You could feel the sheet slipping off with each movement you made and were quick in pulling it back up before too much could get shown off, making Auston chuckle as he continued kissing you shamelessly. 

A moment later, you both pulled away to catch your breath and look at each other knowingly. 

"Good morning," you were the first to speak as you leaned up to peck his lips once again, noting how swollen your's were already beginning to feel. 

"Good morning to you, too," he responded and gently tucked a stray piece of hair behind your ear as a smug grin danced across his lips. "Did you have a good night last night?"

"Cheeky," you responded while rolling your eyes at how he referred to what the two of you did once you got back to the villa. "But, yes, I did, and I think today will be even better."

"I don't know. Last night was pretty great. Pretty sure I'm going to have to wear a T-shirt all day to cover the scratches on my back."

"Auston!"

"I'm just messing with you," he laughed and leaned down to catch your lips in another sweet kiss, before moving away and walking towards the shower. "Well, we better start getting ready. We've got a busy day ahead of us."

"Busy?" You asked as you hopped off the counter and followed after him. "I thought we were supposed to, and I quote, relax. I mean, I'm down for anything. But I am missing Mia, though."

"Me too, which is why I think my family booked a bunch of things for us to do today. They want to keep us busy until we get her back tonight."

"What did they plan?"

"I honestly don't know," he shrugged and turned back around to face you. "I just woke up to a text from Alex saying we have to be down at the marina in an hour and a half, that's all I know. So I'm going to shower and get ready. Something is waiting for you in the kitchen if you want to check it out. Or you could join me in the shower, wouldn't be opposed to that either."

"Get in the shower, Matthews," you replied and rolled your eyes at his cheekiness again. "I'll make us some breakfast, then wash my hair."

You didn't leave much room for argument, because after that you were striding out of the washroom and back through the bedroom, not caring that you were still wearing a bedsheet dress. 

As you walked into the hallway, you wondered what the hell could be waiting for you in the kitchen, and was unable to keep yourself from gasping as you rounded the corner and saw a huge bouquet of flowers sitting on the counter. It wasn't hard to spot the little card resting in the flowers that had your name written on it, but before you could walk over and read it, a pair of hands gripped your waist and spun you back around. 

Auston's lips immediately crashed to yours, and you let out a surprised squeak, but quickly returned the kiss before pulling away slightly. 

"Happy anniversary," he mumbled against your lips before stepping back and smiling. 

But you were beyond confused and looked at him weirdly.

Anniversary? Anniversary of what? You raked your mind for ideas of what it was he talked about until something clicked, and your eyes went wide.

"Holy shit," was all you said before bolting back down the hallway towards the bedroom. 

You could hear Auston following behind you, but he was quiet as he watched you walk over to where your cell phone was sitting on the table and check the date. Sure enough, the date was exactly what you thought. 

July 30th, otherwise known as yours and Auston's first wedding anniversary, which you completely forgot about up until that moment.

Not a moment later, your phone chimed with a text from Steph wishing you and Auston a happy anniversary. Then came one from Mitch, then Alex, then Bre, then even more friends and family from home, which did not make you feel any better about the situation. 

"Oh, my God," you groaned and ran a hand down your face before eventually glancing back at your husband, who was looking at you with pure amusement. 

"You forgot our anniversary, didn't you?" He asked and stepped towards you. 

"No," you lied.

"Yes, you did, or else you wouldn't be so flustered."

"Ok fine, I forgot," you whined and flopped onto the bed, completely ashamed. Auston chuckled as he sat on the bed next to you and watched you sulk for a minute before finally looking back to him. "I'm sorry. We've just been having so much fun during this trip. I knew it was coming up, but I completely lost track of the days and didn't realize that it was today. Wow, I'm a terrible wife."

"No, you're not," Auston stated while shaking his head at your dramatics. 

"Yes, I am! Who forgets their first freaking wedding anniversary? Also, how are you so calm about this?"

"Because I'm not mad, Y/N."

"You're not?" You asked and lifted your head from the pillow to look at him better. "How? I mean, I would be. I suck."

"Because, babe, I get it," he told you seriously. "And no, you don't suck. Life gets crazy sometimes, and it's hard to keep track of things. Remember when I forgot Valentine's Day that one year?"

"Valentine's Day is not as important as our anniversary."

"Doesn't matter, I'm trying to prove that it's ok you forgot. I'm not going to hold a grudge against you over it."

It was impossible for you not to melt a little bit as he said that.

"Why are you so good to me?" You asked as he reached a hand towards you, and gently linked your fingers with his. 

"Because I love you," he replied. "Simple as that. How do you like the flowers, though?"

"I love them," you stated as you sat back up and quit your sulking. "They're beautiful, Auston. Thank you. Are you sure you're not mad?"

"Yes, I'm sure," he chuckled and shook his head before standing up. "I may never let you live it down, but no, I'm not mad."

"God, I think that might be worse than you just being pissed off at me."

"Not my fault you forgot our anniversary, now is it?"

"Auston!" You groaned and leaned back against the headboard, knowing that he most definitely would never let you live this down. 

"Love you," he singsonged as he leaned down to kiss you once more. 

"Love you too, even though you're a pain in my ass," you pouted before returning the kiss. 

"Your favourite pain," Auston stated as he moved back towards the ensuite. "But we really do need to get going, or Alex is going to be pissed that we missed whatever reservation she made."

Once the two of you were showered and dressed, you both made your way to the marina to see what the day had in store, but not without glancing at Ema and Brian's bungalow to see if you could see Mia as you went. 

When Auston gave the man who was waiting on the docks his name, the two of you were told that he was taking you both on a boat tour to see The Arch Of Cabo San Lucas and other tourist attractions such as the infamous Lovers Beach. 

"Fitting name," Auston said to you quietly as the two of you boarded the boat. 

"This kind of thing has Alex written all over it."  

"You think that's bad, Bre just texted me saying she booked us an hour at the driving range after this."

"Oh, god," you replied dramatically, but had to smile at how thoughtful and considerate it was of Auston's family to set everything up for the two of you. "As long as there's some type of alcohol, I'm game."

"Perfect," he responded as he sat next to you and the boat set sail. "Anything else you want to do before dinner?"

"I think I'll book us something at the spa," you told him with a smirk. "My treat."

"Sounds good to me."

The day couldn't have gone more perfect, and the fact that you and Auston spent it entirely together made it even more special. When evening came, you went to a dinner reservation for two, which was so lovely, but you were both a little antsy by the end of it.

"Think they'll let us take our daughter back now?" You asked your husband as you sipped on the last little bit of wine you had with dinner.

"God, I hope so," Auston said dramatically. "Not that I didn't love this time with you or anything, but I really miss her."

"I do too. This was needed, but I'm ready for us to get our little girl back."

"Couldn't agree more."

After you finished your drink, you and Auston walked hand in hand to Bre and Alex's house and couldn't wait to see everyone, especially Mia. Once the two of you arrived, it wasn't long before Ema opened the front door and pulled you both in for a hug.

"Happy anniversary!" 

"Thank you," both you and Auston replied while returning the hug.

"Did you two have a good day?" She asked and stepped back to let you enter the house.

"It was amazing," you told her honestly. "Thank you for doing this, Ema."

"Oh, don't thank just me. There was no way I would've been able to do it alone. Now, come."

You looked at Auston suspiciously as Ema began leading the two of you down the hallway, but he just shrugged. 

"Don't look at me," he started with a laugh. "They're up to something else, though. I feel it."

"Let's go you two," Ema's voice called from down the hall, not giving you a chance to respond.

"Guess we'll find out," you told your husband before making way down the hallway after your mother-in-law. 

But neither of you were prepared for what you saw once you entered the living room.

"Happy anniversary!" Everyone who came on vacation exclaimed. 

"'Versary!" Yelled Mia from where she stood between Bre and Brian.

It was then you were able to take in your surroundings finally. The room was decorated with balloons and banners all with 'Happy Anniversary' written across them.  There was also a cake resting on the table in the corner with a framed photo of you and Auston from your wedding day standing next to it. 

"You guys," you started as you covered your mouth and looked around at everyone with teary eyes. "Thank you."

"Yes, thank you," Auston said, and just couldn't stop smiling. He then looked down at you and pulled you in for a sweet kiss. "Happy anniversary, babe."

"Happy anniversary," you repeated before softly kissing him again, then pulling him in for a hug.

"Maybe I won't tell them that you forgot."

"Matthews, I swear to-." 

You were ready to ream him out but were interrupted by a small force tackling yours and Auston's legs. Immediately, you moved away from your husband and looked down to see Mia hugging you both tightly. 

"There's my girl!" Auston exclaimed as he bent down to pick up your daughter and hug her tightly, to which she returned. 

"Hi, sweet girl," you greeted as Mia looked your way and was soon tackling you in a hug as well. "Your daddy and I missed you today."

"'Versary!" She replied excitedly. 

"Yes, it's mommy and I's anniversary, princess," your husband said before leaning down to kiss her head. "Man, a lot has happened in a year. I just keep thinking of how small she was the day we got married."

"I know," you responded with wide eyes as you thought back to a year prior. "But, you know, although this past year was pretty amazing, I still think the best has yet to come."

"I think you're right," Auston agreed. "Can't wait to see what the next year brings us, and all the years after that."

"Me neither."

Both you and Auston were soon surrounded by everyone in his family, hugging and congratulating the both of you. They then went on to ask how yours and Auston's day went and had the biggest smile on your face as you relived it all. That smile remained for the rest of the evening as you mingled with Auston's, no, your family, and got even more excited with what the future was going to hold because you knew that with all of these amazing people in it, it was bound to be special.

// please let me know what you think! <3 //

[kjack89]

there are so many good ones on that list but UHHHHH... 24 or 31? (or 36. or 37 👀)

Every now and then I like to take a prompt that is clearly intended to be angsty and instead make it...not so.

This is one of those times.

ExR, Modern AU, established relationship. Brief misunderstandings, healthy(ish) communication, and lots o’ fluff.

31. “I can’t keep kissing strangers and pretending that they’re you.”

“Are you shitting me?” 

Grantaire stared down at the brightly colored flyer in apparent disgust, and Bossuet bent over to pry it from him. “What could possibly…” he started, trailing off as he saw what had caught Grantaire’s ire. “Ah. I’ll take it he didn’t, uh, clear it with you first?”

“It’s not about clearing it with me,” Grantaire snapped, snatching the flyer back. “I’m not his keeper. But I would think it would get at least a cursory mention.”

“What’s going on?” Joly asked from across the table, using Bossuet’s preoccupation to snag a bite of hashbrowns from his plate. Grantaire just thrust the flyer at Joly, who took it from him, raising both eyebrows as he read out loud, “‘Pucker Up for Change – A Kissing Booth to Fight to Legitimize Sex Work’?” He glanced up at Grantaire, who was scowling. “But what does this…”

It was his turn to trail off as he spotted the name listed among the other participants at the bottom of the flyer: Enjolras. Joly switched his glance to Bossuet. “What do you think?” he murmured out of the corner of his mouth. “Do you think Courfeyrac blackmailed him into it?”

“Either that or Combeferre’s getting revenge for something,” Bossuet muttered back.

Grantaire cleared his throat. “I don’t think the why really matters,” he said, his tone clipped. “When the more important thing is that my boyfriend is participating in a kissing booth and, y’know, neglected to tell me about it.”

“I’m sure it just slipped his mind,” Bossuet said bracingly. “You know that Enjolras has been so focused on the cash bail reform bill that’s in the House at the moment that he probably completely forgot he even agreed to participate.”

“Or,” Joly added, in what he clearly thought was a helpful way, “maybe Courfeyrac signed him up as a joke, and Enjolras doesn’t even know about it!”

“Or, maybe Enjolras forgot that he had a boyfriend who wouldn’t be super thrilled about him macking on a bunch of randos for ten bucks a pop,” Grantaire said sourly.

Joly and Bossuet both stared at him for a moment before Bossuet bit his lip, and Joly elbowed him. “Not the time,” he hissed, and Bossuet shook his head rapidly, clearly trying to stop himself from laughing.

Grantaire sighed. “What?”

“Just…’macking’?” Bossuet repeated with a snigger.

The corners of Joly’s mouth twitched. “I thought you were going to point out the use of the word ‘randos’,” he said, the pitch of his voice rising as he tried not to giggle.

Grantaire sighed again. “You two are the worst friends,” he grumbled, picking up his phone and texting Enjolras the four most ominous words in the English language: We need to talk.

----------

They didn’t talk.

Enjolras texted Grantaire back that he was in and out of meetings between the community bond fund and various state legislators, and asked if it could wait until that night. Considering that the damned kissing booth was scheduled for that afternoon, that didn’t exactly give Grantaire any opportunity to bring up the fact that Enjolras was planning on spending his afternoon locking lips with random passersby.

He texted Jehan. Pretty fucked up that passersby is the plural of passerby, and not passerbys.

I’ll take it you’re freaking out about the kissing booth thing? Jehan responded not even a minute later.

Grantaire didn’t bother asking Jehan how he knew about the kissing booth, or how he knew that Grantaire was upset about it – he had learned a long time ago not to question Jehan’s borderline omniscient ways. Don’t you think he should’ve at least told me about it??

I think that you’re interpreting the fact that he didn’t as evidence that he doesn’t care about you, Jehan replied. Which is crap. Enjolras loves you. 

Loves me enough to make out with strangers without telling me about it?

Jehan’s response took longer this time. I highly doubt there will be any making out. And have you considered that the reason he didn’t tell you is precisely because he didn’t want you to feel this way?

The thought had occurred to Grantaire, who scowled down at his phone. Doesn’t change the fact that he should’ve told me, he texted stubbornly.

Maybe not. But maybe you should give him a chance to explain tonight.

Grantaire’s scowl deepened and he shoved his phone back in his pocket. He figured he could be magnanimous enough to allow Enjolras a chance to explain.

But he sure as hell wasn’t going to wait for that night.

----------

“Next,” called the bored-looking guy who was managing the short line waiting for the kissing booth, and Grantaire took a deep breath and stepped forward. “Boy, girl, or nonbinary?”

“Sorry?” Grantaire said, blinking at him in confusion.

“Would you prefer to kiss a boy, a girl, or a nonbinary person?” the guy clarified.

Grantaire knew he should be impressed that something as asinine as a kissing booth was inclusive, but he couldn’t quite bring himself to be. “Boy,” he said, and the guy gestured for him to head over to the right side of the booth.

Taking a deep breath, Grantaire squared his shoulders and stalked over, plunking a ten dollar bill down in front of where Enjolras was sitting. “I believe this is the going rate,” he said stiffly.

The look on Enjolras’s face was everything that Grantaire had hoped it would be, a mix of horror, regret, and a particularly Enjolras-like defiance. “I suppose I owe you an explanation,” Enjolras started, but Grantaire held up a hand.

“First things first,” he said. “I paid, so I should get what I’m owed.” Enjolras rolled his eyes but nonetheless leaned in obliging and gave Grantaire a swift peck on the lips. “Not sure that was ten dollars worth…” Grantaire said, before continuing, “Now, about that explanation—”

It was Enjolras’s turn to hold up a finger, and he leaned back in his seat to talk to someone on the other side of the booth. “Hey, I’m tapping out for the moment.” Whatever response he got was apparently enough, as he stood, reaching out automatically for Grantaire’s hand.

For a brief moment, Grantaire thought about yanking his hand away, but even as ticked off as he was, he couldn’t do that.

Instead, he let Enjolras take his hand, lacing their fingers together as they walked away from the kissing booth . Enjolras glanced over at Grantaire and opened his mouth to say something, but Grantaire shook his head. “Not here,” he said tersely.

Instead, they headed to a nearby Starbucks, though Enjolras made a face when he realized where they were going. “Starbucks, really?” he asked.

“You spent an afternoon kissing people who are not me,” Grantaire said. “The least you can do is buy me an overpriced coffee.”

Enjolras didn’t argue any further, and they both got their coffees and made their way over to stand against the bar, their shoulders brushing against each other as they drank their coffee in silence.

“So,” Grantaire started eventually, and Enjolras sighed, draining his coffee.

“So I gather you’re upset,” he hedged, and Grantaire looked flatly at him.

“No shit, Sherlock.”

A small smile crossed Enjolras’s face. “Am I at least allowed to make my defense?”

Grantaire arched an eyebrow. “If you think there’s anything you can say in your defense that will make even a remote bit of difference.”

“How about this: I agreed to the kissing booth before you and I started officially dating,” Enjolras said calmly. “And you know that I honor my commitments.”

“Just not the commitment you made to me.”

It was unfair of Grantaire to say, and he knew it, but Enjolras just sighed and shook his head. “I’m not going to pretend that I owe you every part of my life,” he said. “And I’m not going to pretend that I didn’t decide that asking forgiveness was easier than asking permission.”

Grantaire frowned. “You don’t need my permission,” he said.

Enjolras arched an eyebrow. “Isn’t that what this is about?”

“No, this is about you deciding that it was easier for us to not at least have a conversation about it,” Grantaire said evenly. “I know damn well that you don’t need my permission for anything, and vice-versa. But you still should’ve at least given me a head’s up about it so that I wasn’t completely blindsided.”

For a moment, Enjolras looked like he wanted to argue, but instead he ducked his head and nodded. “You’re right.”

Grantaire blinked. “I’m sorry?”

“I said, you’re right,” Enjolras repeated, a little louder.

Grantaire smirked at him. “Oh I heard you, I just wanted to make you say it again.”

Enjolras rolled his eyes. “Hilarious,” he said dryly.

“Yeah, but my superb wit is one of the things you love about me,” Grantaire said, still grinning.

“You are unfortunately correct,” Enjolras said with a light laugh, pulling Grantaire in and kissing him. “So does that mean that I’m forgiven?”

Grantaire’s eyes narrowed. “That depends. You got any other makeout sessions for charity planned?”

Enjolras rolled his eyes. “There was no making out,” he said, a little impatiently. “It was just kissing.”

“Tomato, to-mah-to,” Grantaire muttered under his breath. 

“And it wasn’t technically for charity. It was in protest of how things like kissing booths are completely normalized and accepted, but sex work is marginalized and—” Grantaire yawned exaggeratedly and Enjolras rolled his eyes again, but it was with obvious affection. “It wouldn’t kill you to pretend to care.”

Grantaire arched an eyebrow. “Pot, meet kettle.”

Enjolras’s expression softened. “I do care,” he said. “And I’m sorry for making you doubt it.”

Grantaire softened as well, not at all surprisingly. He knew he wasn’t going to be able to stay mad at Enjolras for long. “Well, for that at least, I am more than willing to forgive you.”

“And for the rest?”

But that also didn’t mean that Grantaire was completely willing to just roll over. “Answer my previous question.”

“No, I have absolutely no future plans for any kind of kissing booth or anything like that,” Enjolras said firmly. “Besides, I don’t know if I could bring myself to do it again.”

Grantaire cocked his head slightly. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, I can’t keep kissing strangers and pretending that they’re you.”

The breath seemed to catch in Grantaire’s throat, and a slow grin spread across his face. “Good answer,” he managed, before tugging Enjolras to him and kissing him.

When they broke apart, both men were grinning. “That’ll be ten dollars,” Enjolras said, a little breathlessly.

“Shut up,” Grantaire said, laughing.

“So am I definitely forgiven now?” Enjolras asked.

Grantaire just kissed him again, curling his fist in Enjolras’s shirt, knowing full well that the kiss would say far more than words ever could, and content in the knowledge that from here on out, the only person that would be kissing Enjolras was him.

And he wouldn’t even have to pay $10 to do so.

[kindahoping4forever]

Take Me Home For Christmas // Ashton Irwin

Thank you to everyone for the incredible feedback about yesterday’s fic! I can’t believe we’re nearing the end of Hoe For The Hoe-lidays - Cass and I hope you’ve enjoyed our holiday stories and that you’ll continue to enjoy them even once the holiday season is over. 

Be on the lookout for today’s Cal blurb to be posted to @cal-puddies​​ and absolutely, 1000% like set a reminder on your phone if you have to, do not forget to come back here to my blog tomorrow for the closing ceremony of The Hoe-lidays: the latest galaxybrain co-write from me and Cass. No spoilers but it might be my fav collab of ours to date.

Warnings: Banter, bonding and boning with stranger in a bar!Ash (the fic is much sweeter than that but I couldn’t resist the alliteration), casual protected sex, female masturbation, use of a vibrator  

Word Count: 3000

Hoe For The Hoe-lidays Masterlist

Masterlist // Taglist and Ko-Fi linked above

Let  me  know  what  you  think!

“Two years! Love of my life, best thing that ever happened!” Ashton raises his glass in an exaggerated toast and the inquiring stranger smiles kindly, taking their own drink and walking away.

You don’t know how you managed to wait until the coast was clear before you burst out laughing. He glances behind him to make sure the curious patron is gone before he turns to you, grinning. “Should I have said three or four years, was that too much for two? My relationships typically don’t last even that long,” he admits, shaking his head.

“Listen, if I were well-adjusted enough to know what it’s like for someone to call me ‘the best thing that ever happened’ to them, I probably wouldn’t be spending Christmas Eve alone in a bar,” you point out with a laugh.

“But you’re not alone,” he leans in, nudging you a bit. “You’re out with your boyfriend of two years, celebrating his return home from an extensive and wildly successful world tour with his band.”

You cackle, “OK, that part was definitely a flourish too far, I don’t think anybody bought that.”

He smiles slyly. “You’re probably right,” he lilts, taking a sip, giving you a look over his glass that makes you grateful your holiday had turned out the way it did.

You’d made the tough call not to fly home for Christmas this year; you couldn't afford it and you didn't feel right taking your parents up on their offer to pay. Unfortunately, literally everyone you knew did get out of town for the holidays, leaving you with nowhere to go and no one to see.

On Christmas Eve, you ended up at the corner bar, which was nowhere near as lively as you'd hoped: save for what appears to be an older ladies' night out and a few stragglers, it was deserted. After exhausting your conversation options with the bartender, you ended up chatting with the man a couple stools over from you. He was handsome, charming and seemed to have an opinion or anecdote about any topic you raised. Looking for companionship, or at least some entertainment, you asked him to join you.

His name was Ash and he was in a similar predicament as you this Christmas. You didn't get a chance to get more in depth personally; maybe it's the ease you have with each other, maybe it's the way your outfits happen to complement each other but one by one, the women from the back of the bar approach you to kindly tell you what a nice couple you make and make small talk about your relationship. Rather than embarrass them - and again, for some entertainment - you both silently agree to humor them and answer as if you are together and before long, you've established an elaborate narrative for your romance.

“So where’d you take me for our anniversary this year, babe?” You grin, enjoying this game.

“Surprised you with Disney World,” he says confidently, gesturing towards the Stitch keychain decorating your car keys sitting on the bar. “Hid the plane tickets in your work bag, you found them at the office and called me to scream about it but I was already in the lobby to surprise you for lunch.”

You giggle, “Wow, not to brag about your boyfriend-ing skills or anything.”

Ashton shrugs and clinks your glass. “Nothing but the best for my girl.” You feel yourself flush and know it had to have been from his words, you both switched from booze to water quite some time ago.

“What about my birthday?” He asks, eyes playfully challenging you. “It’s in July, if that makes a difference.”

Out of the corner of your eye, you see one of the ladies you talked to earlier and you lean in, resting your hand on his, continuing to sell your story. “Intimate backyard barbeque with friends, bonfire at night. I saved up and bought that acoustic guitar you’d been eyeing online but I waited to give it to you until everyone left because I wanted it to be a special moment between us,” you say quietly, pleased with your answer.

He smiles brightly and you feel yourself actively suppressing the urge to kiss over the dimples that form on his face. “A guitar, huh? I’m actually a drummer,” he teases.

“When you tipped the bartender, there was a guitar pick mixed in with your cash,” you point out smugly.

“Oh,” he giggles, clearly a little flustered. “Didn’t realize you were payin’ such close attention to me,” he flirts.

“Gotta make sure my man gets what he wants,” you cheekily reply.

He moves in closer and you’re pretty sure he’s about to kiss you when another inquisitive customer interrupts to tipsily assert that Ash is a fool if he doesn’t “put a ring on it” this holiday season. You both take the comment in stride and laugh together when the encounter is over. The heat from your near-kiss is still there but the moment has decidedly passed.

After a few more entries into your pretend love story and a few more close encounters, the bar starts clearing out. You can’t believe you spent the whole evening talking with Ashton but you also don’t want it to end; you haven’t felt chemistry like this with someone in a long time. You walk to the door with him and you’re not surprised when you hear yourself say, “My place or yours, babe?”

He turns to you with a wide smile, amusement and what you’re hoping is lust in his eyes. “I was hoping you might say that,” he admits.

“Can’t let my travel-weary boyfriend wake up alone on Christmas morning,” you chirp, stepping out into the cool night air.

“That part of the story was actually true,” he chuckles. “I did just get home from touring with my band.”

You raise your eyebrows, interested. “Well, the part about me living just down the street was also true, so let’s start walking,” you wink, starting to lead the way. 

He laughs loudly and reaches out for your arm, smoothly pulling you into his arms for a charged kiss, the tension that’s been building all evening finally boiling over. His lips are softer than you imagined but his technique is as fevered and demanding as you’d hoped; your tongue makes its way into his mouth and you murmur when his strokes it in turn.

It’s hard to say if it’s the chilly weather or your desire but you make it back to your apartment in record time. It’s not often you bring home guys you just met but as you lead him to your bedroom, you realize how he doesn’t feel like that at all, almost as if your fictitious history together has bled into reality.

Ash shuts your bedroom door behind him and you waste no time pressing yourself into him, making out and undressing each other until you’re both down to your underwear. He lifts you up by your thighs, wrapping them around his waist; he tries to get fancy and kiss you while he carries you over to the bed, hitting his leg on the edge of the frame and almost sending you both flying.

The two of you break into laughter as he safely drops you on the bed. “Did some rearranging since last time I was over, huh, baby?” He jokes, sitting up against the headboard to rub the knot on his shin.

“Vibes were off without you here, had to get some feng shui happening,” you reply, trying to catch your breath after your giggle fit. You let your eyes roam over his near naked body. He’s fit, almost ridiculously muscular and judging by his biceps, you decide he must’ve been telling the truth about being a drummer. You didn’t expect all the tattoos you’re seeing but you definitely approve and the amused look on his face tells you he’s noticed.

“Like the new ink, babe? Wanted to surprise you,” he grins, drawing your attention to a large, dark coin decorating the left side of his ribcage. 

You crawl over to him and let your fingertips dance over the tattoo. “Very nice,” you murmur before mouthing over it. He groans when your tongue pokes out at it and you shudder at the sound, continuing to move around his chest, hoping to hear it again.

He lets you play and then flips you over so he can show you some appreciation as well. He nips and nibbles around your neck and chest, doubling back when you breathe a particularly enthusiastic sigh of approval. 

“Love this underwear, by the way,” he comments as he removes your bra. “Just like you wore on our first date. Took you home from a bar that night too”

You giggle at his addition to your story. “Oh did you? I thought earlier we said our first date was at an Italian restaurant.” You gasp as his mouth encases your nipple.

“Well… dinner then drinks, obviously,” he retorts, snickering against you. He pulls back to discard your panties and you swear you can almost feel his eyes devouring you. “Holy shit, you’re gorgeous.”

You beam and beckon him closer; before you can kiss him like you planned, his mouth is back on your neck, trying to relocate that spot under your jaw that caused you to moan so boldly, he felt his cock twitch. His hand is busy between your legs, tracing lightly around your lips before dipping into your folds to see what makes you tick.

You feel him hard against your thigh as he plays with you so you reach down to return the favor; you do your best to maintain a poker face when you feel the size of him through his boxers but Ashton’s fingers inside you undoubtedly feel the surge of wetness your realization brings. 

You eagerly slip your hand inside his underwear and you both groan when you wrap your hand around him. His cock couldn’t be more ready for you, head dripping with precum; you spread it liberally as you touch him, thoughts racing as your hand seems to keep going and going down his length before you reach the base. You give him a squeeze, biting your lip at the feel of his weight and girth in your hand.

He quietly curses as your strokes become more confident; together you get rid of his boxers and as his cock springs free, he teases you with a smile. “Think you can take it, baby?”

“It has been a while,” you admit, slyly adding, “I mean… with you on tour and everything.” He chuckles and gives you a swat as you sit up to dig through your nightstand.

You shoot him a glance over your shoulder and he breaks character for a second, rushing out, “I… did that without even thinking, I’m sorry. Was that OK?”

You toss the condoms and lube on the bed and give his cock a few more tugs as you shrug, “Do it harder next time.”

Ash smirks as he gets situated, rolling on a condom and lubing up his length before tossing you the bottle; when you’re ready, you get up on all fours, flashing him a dazzling smile over your shoulder. “Just like our first date, right?”

He grins, kneeling behind you, large hands covering your ass, squeezing and giving it a couple firm spanks as requested. You gasp as his cock taps against your clit before pushing into you, paying close attention to your breathing to see if you need him to slow down. You hear his breath heavy as well and you know you must feel tight around him, no one has ever filled you like this before; it’s overwhelming but you’re aching with anticipation so you rock back against him, letting out a breathy “Please” for good measure.

The soft way he runs his hands over your back is a fascinating contrast to the rough snap of his hips against your ass as he drives his cock into you. You fuck with a familiarity you didn’t expect, listening to each other’s sounds to tell you what the other needs.

You stretch on the bed more, popping your ass out further, inviting him to really let you have it; the sound of a loud smack on your ass fills the room and his thrusts increase in both speed and impact. You want to think of something clever to say, to let him know how good he’s making you feel and to continue the intimacy of your fictional romance but all you can think about is how full his cock makes you feel.

You hear his breath speed up but feel his hips slowing and you deduce he’s trying to stave off his orgasm; you’re nowhere near close so you decide to improve the situation for you both. “Babe, can we try something else?” You look over your shoulder winningly. “Feels good but I need more.”

Ashton pulls out, taking a few deep breaths while you turn onto your back; he sits upright on his knees in front of you and after some brief negotiations with your flexibility, you swing your legs up on his shoulder before he slips himself back in.

This new position is quickly much more intense than either of you anticipated. He’s hitting deeper than before and you’re in heaven with his hands roving over your stomach and chest; having your legs close together like this makes you seem even tighter and you hear him breathing even faster than before.

He fucks you hard and the combination of hearing your desperate sounds, seeing your tits bounce and feeling your pussy grip his cock so tightly is too much. “Fuck… ‘s too fuckin’ good, baby… fuck,” he groans and within seconds he’s filling the condom with cum.

You moan watching as he loses himself in the feeling, slowing his hips gradually until he’s spent. He carefully slides your legs off his shoulder, offering you a peck and a quiet apology as he gets up to throw away the condom.

Maybe it’s out of habit, maybe you are just that comfortable with this stranger for some reason,  but without hesitation you reach back into your nightstand and retrieve your favorite vibrator. 

You feel Ash get back into bed and you turn to see him propped up on his side, watching you intently as you slick the vibe through your wetness. “No offense...” you start.

“None taken,” he smiles, studying your toy. “I was gonna offer you my mouth, but…”

“This’ll be a lot quicker,” you insist, teasing the tip of the toy at your entrance. “You relax, enjoy the afterglow. I’ll join you in literally like three minutes.” You push it in and click the button to start it vibrating inside you.

He scoots closer, pressing a kiss to your shoulder. “Two years in and the romance is already dead,” he jokingly laments.

You cackle loudly, clenching around your vibe and your laughs turn into a moan. “Goddammit, Ash, you wanna crack jokes or help your ol’ girl out?”

He smiles and pulls you into a sleepy kiss while his other hand grips and massages your breast. His tongue lazily dances with yours and his hands travel over your skin, caressing, teasing, igniting all while you work the vibe between your thighs.

You pull away from his mouth to pant, “Check this shit out.” You click a second button on the toy and the clitoral vibrator whirs to life. Ashton can almost immediately detect the difference in your breathing.

He rolls your nipple between his fingers, watching as your back arches and your hips swirl. “Just like that, baby, come on. Let me see you cum,” he murmurs.

You’re surprised to hear yourself call out his name when you begin clenching around your toy and you especially don’t expect to tug on his hair, silently pleading for him to kiss you while the waves of pleasure overtake your body.

You whimper and pant against his lips until you have to pull away to frantically turn the vibrator off, nearing overstimulation. You close your eyes and catch your breath, waiting for the aftershocks to stop, your legs to stop shaking. 

You finally open your eyes to see him offering you a handful of tissues he thoughtfully snagged off the bedside table; you graciously accept, wrapping them around your toy so you can set it on the nightstand. You look over at him again, gazing at each other for a beat before bursting into euphoric giggles. 

You return to the bedroom after cleaning up to find Ash laying in his boxers, messing with his phone. You don’t know if you should say it out loud but you really hope he’s not ordering a car to take him home.

“Well, I can only speak for myself but I’d call that a decidedly Merry Christmas,” you sigh exhaustedly, flopping onto the bed.

He sets his phone aside and looks you over as you stretch out beside him. “This is cute,” he smiles, pinching at the Christmas cookie themed nightshirt you threw on in the bathroom. “Would you say that was more or less fun than our first Christmas together?”

You grin at him as you try to remember what tale you’d spun back at the bar. “Oh god… car broke down on the way to my parents’ house… seasonally appropriate ‘no room at the inn’ joke… fashioned a Christmas dinner out of motel vending machine snacks?”

“That’s the one,” he cackles. A mischievous look crosses his features and he leans in to you. “You know, we haven’t reminisced about what else went on in that motel room...” He trails off, suggestively wiggling his eyebrows.

You bite your lip, pulling him closer by the chain around his neck. “Hmm... I’m actually having trouble remembering that part,” you flirt, nibbling at his bottom lip. “Maybe you could remind me, babe? And please, take your time.”

————-

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[polystyrenequeen]

Alright, I am curious. Why is Jonny Cade queercoded and what queer subtext was there in their relationship with Ponyboys? 👀

TW: mentions of abuse, violence, death, murder

also spoilers for the outsiders!! (i mean it is a 60 year old book, but still)

-------

OOH OKAY OKAY

(In all honesty, I could probably do a whole essay on this, but I'll keep it brief-ish.)

Bit of background on The Outsiders: It's a book written in the early 60s that focuses on the class divide between the rich Socs (Socials) and the working-class greasers (like, "hoods", criminals), or rather the people within each of those groups who don't feel like they fit into the binary.

Ponyboy is the protagonist of the novel. He and Johnny are both greasers and part of a gang with a few others, including Ponyboy's two older brothers and three other boys.

Let's start with Johnny. Johnny is extremely queer-coded in his own right. He's described early on as timid, shy, weak and maybe a little feminine. He's seen as the gang's "pet" and the youngest, despite being sixteen to Ponyboy's fourteen. His friends are very fond and protective of him. A lot of this behaviour comes from his trauma, being abused by his parents as well as beaten nearly to death by a Soc named Bob. However, it also falls into an archetype of stereotypical queer characters. Writing male characters in this way is a way of subtly telling an audience that they are queer. This probably wasn't done intentionally, but should be kept in mind.

Johnny's character development involves him becoming more masculine, almost. The final important act he does in the book is save children from a burning building. Ponyboy comments on the fact that he seemed braver, louder etc in that moment, all traits associated with masculinity, which is 1) a strange reaction to the situation, especially for Johnny, and 2) exactly the kind of narrative standpoint one would take to show that femininity (or queerness) is bad.

Now for Ponyboy - his queer-coding is more subtle at times, and a little different. He isn't timid or shy or scared or feminine like Johnny. (However, he does once say that he "didn't care too much for girls yet", but that his brother said he would grow out of it. This is particularly strange, considering he is fourteen already.) Early on, it's established that he feels like an outsider within his own group. He doesn't really feel like a greaser, or act like one. He likes things that greasers don't like. He watches movies, he reads, he likes to see the sunset. He considers himself different, or "other", and he feels as if he can't talk about it. His friends just wouldn't get it.

A large part of the book, in my opinion, is Ponyboy finding other "outsiders", like Cherry and Johnny. (Cherry being a Soc while Johnny is another greaser.) All three of them talked once, while at a drive-in, Ponyboy finding a particular connection with Cherry despite her not being the only girl there. They all have the same sense of feeling “other”, and not being able to talk about it for fear of being judged.

Now for Johnny and Ponyboy’s relationship, which...oh boy. Some of it is just scenes like this, which feel very queer, outright:

“‘Guess I look okay now, huh, Johnny?’

He was studying me. ‘You know, you look an awful lot like Sodapop, the way you’ve got your hair and everything. I mean, except your eyes are green.’

‘They ain’t green, they’re gray,’ I said, reddening. ‘And I look about as much like Soda as you do.’ I got to my feet. ‘He’s good-looking.’

‘Shoot,’ Johnny said with a grin, ‘you are, too.’”

Not to mention the whole chapter they spend literally just acting like a domestic gay couple while they’re on the run, just the two of them, from the police. There’s also this conversation they have while watching the sunrise in this chapter (which I’ll talk more about later once I get to the symbolism), in which they talk about being outsiders. Here are a few quotes from that:

“‘You know,’ Johnny said slowly, ‘I never noticed colors and clouds and stuff until you kept reminding me about them. It seems like they were never there before.’”

“‘Well, Soda kinda looks like your mother did, but he acts just exactly like your father. And Darry is the spittin' image of your father, but he ain't wild and laughing all the time like he was. He acts like your mother. And you [Ponyboy] don't act like either one.’”

“‘You [Johnny] ain't like any of the gang. I mean, I couldn't tell Two-Bit or Steve or even Darry about the sunrise and clouds and stuff. I couldn't even remember that poem around them. I mean, they just don't dig. Just you and Sodapop. And maybe Cherry Valance.’

Johnny shrugged. ‘Yeah,’ he said with a sigh. ‘I guess we're different.’

‘Shoot,’ I said, blowing a perfect smoke ring, ‘maybe they are.’”

(Honestly, can my whole argument just be that one quote? “I guess we’re different.” // “Shoot. Maybe they are.” Queer stuff, huh?)

Later in the book, when Johnny is in the hospital, Ponyboy stresses again and again that he can’t think about him dying, that he can’t fathom a life without him. Everyone in the group is fond of Johnny, but Ponyboy acts like Johnny’s death would destroy him.

When Johnny is dying, he asks to see Ponyboy. His last words are to Ponyboy, despite Dally also being in the room. One of the other last things he does is write a letter to Ponyboy.

Johnny is also the first person Ponyboy runs to when his older brother hits him early in the book.

When Johnny dies, Ponyboy falls into denial, pretending and convincing himself that Johnny isn’t dead, because he couldn’t handle the grief. He says the reason that he doesn’t go insane with it, like Dally does, is because Johnny isn’t the only thing he loves.

This isn’t nearly all of it, but this post is already long as fuck, and I want to talk about some of the metaphors and symbols too.

Symbol #1: The hair

The is a more obvious one, as the author clearly intended it to be a metaphor, although probably not for something queer. When Johnny and Ponyboy go on the run after Johnny killed a Soc in self-defence, the two of them have to cut off their hair. This is obviously a big deal to them, especially Ponyboy, because they’re proud of their hair - it’s a symbol of the greasers, of rebellion, and it’s one of the last things they have that tie them with their gang back in the city. However, having Johnny and Ponyboy specifically cut off their hair feels like more of a symbol of them severing their ties to the greasers. They feel like outsiders within their own group already, and this is a way of showing that they’re leaving it behind, or starting to. (Shedding symbols of comphet, you know.)

Symbol #2: Sunrises and sunsets

Johnny, Cherry and Ponyboy, three characters who are outsiders within their own community, all spend time watching sunrises or sunsets. It’s one of the things that Ponyboy and Cherry bond over and talk about. Johnny and Ponyboy also watch a sunrise while they’re on the run. It’s a small thing that unites the three of them and becomes almost a symbol of their “otherness”, and thus, queercoding enters the chat. Also, the sunrise that Ponyboy and Johnny watch can symbolise the “beginning” of their relationship, as they start to see each other in a different light. 

Symbol #3: Gone with the Wind

When Johnny and Ponyboy are on the run, Ponyboy buys the book Gone with the Wind from a corner store. They read it together. The book is an idealised story of the southern, free, country life. Johnny makes comments about how the men in the book are charming and gallant and he admires them. The book symbolises both what Ponyboy and Johnny wish they could be, like happy and free and rich (and straight and masculine), and what they are, or what they’re starting to find with each other while in the countryside. When Johnny is in the hospital, he asks for a copy of the book to read. It’s one of his last requests. In my opinion, he asked for it both to remember Ponyboy and to escape to a reality where he wasn’t young and dying, to one where he was still with Ponyboy on the run, or one like in the book where none of this happened at all. The book is integral to their relationship.

Symbol #4: The poem

When Ponyboy and Johnny are watching the sunrise in the church, Ponyboy recites a poem by Robert Frost:

Nature’s first green is gold,

Her hardest hue to hold,

Her early leaf’s a flower,

But only so an hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf,

And Eden sank to grief.

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay.

At the time, the two of them both say that they don’t understand the poem. When Johnny dies later in the book, his last words to Ponyboy are to “stay gold”. In the letter he wrote for Ponyboy, which Ponyboy reads later, he says that he now understands the poem.

“I’ve been thinking about it, and that poem, that guy that wrote it, he meant you’re gold when you’re a kid, like green. When you’re a kid, everything’s new, dawn. It’s just when you get used to everything that it’s day. Like the way you dig sunsets, Pony. That’s gold. Keep that way, it’s a good way to be.”

Oh boy, there’s a lot to say about this poem.

First of all, the poem symbolises what Ponyboy gave Johnny - a new outlook on life. A lens with which to see more beautiful things. Johnny said that he hadn’t really appreciated sunsets or clouds before Ponyboy pointed them out to him.

Secondly, the meaning of the poem. When you consider Johnny’s interpretation, also taking into account what sunsets and sunrises etc. mean in this book, it’s possible that the “gold” phase is Ponyboy’s acceptance of himself. Ponyboy loves Johnny. He knows he’s different, and while he doesn’t shout it from the rooftops, he’s happy with it in his own way. He finds other people like him, queer, like Cherry and Johnny.

However, the poem’s whole meaning is that nothing gold can stay. That’s the message we’re left with, even with Johnny’s insistence of “staying gold”. It could honestly be referring to an array of things - perhaps Johnny himself, or life in general (given the amount of death in this book), or youth. Obviously, this whole post is about the queer undertones in the outsiders, so one could argue that it’s about a queer youth experience, especially in the past - finding someone like you, someone you love, but it not lasting forever, and it being especially difficult to find again, given the circumstances.

In the end, Johnny dies, but he leaves Ponyboy with all the things that remind him of him - sunsets, sunrises, Gone with the Wind, stargazing. And ultimately, I think that’s the “gold” that the book is referring to.

[trainsinanime]

Random notes about No Time To Die

Spoilers. Sorted roughly chronologically and probably the basis for a longer text post about the movie if I can be bothered. I probably forgot some things because I’m tired.

I’ll never be able to look at blood on the snow in a normal way again. You know, because of color theory.

I know that blonde woman was in the previous movie. I do not know anything else about her.

We’ve got all the time in the world? I would have missed that, but I’ve been listening to the Kill James Bond podcast lately, so I do actually remember that this is from the George Lazenby one. Is she going to die?

Love me an old Biturbo. Just the right car for this setting. But between this old Maserati, the Psi symbol for Bond, and the trident in the opening, there’s a lot of trident iconography here that doesn’t connect to anything.

I used to be a 00 agent like you, but then I took a bullet to…

The new 007 is fun, but I wish she got stuff to do.

Paloma is awesome and fun and I want to see more of her. She feels like she wandered over from a different movie. Not quite sure which one; Marvel seems to fit, except for the dress, but there are also vibes of sillier Moore-era Bond girls.

Oh no the white pretty boy whose only characteristic was “annoying” turned out to be a bad guy who could have seen that coming

I’m assuming the dress was sponsored by someone making double-sided sticky tape.

Love the V8 Vantage! Yes, the DB 5 is iconic and all, but at this point I’ve kind of seen it often enough.

Did they canonically make Q gay? Yes, it is just a throw-away line that I may have misheard, but still, more than what Disney does.

Either way, Q, Bond and Moneypenny are great together. Of course there’s still the old problem where Bond is easily among the weakest characters in a James Bond movie, even in this one that tries to make it more of a character piece, but it’s better than average.

Have you heard the concept of “bottom storage” that’s been making its rounds on Tumblr recently?

I do not get why this movie insists on reminding us that Spectre was a movie that happened. The sooner we can all forget that, the better.

Giving Bond a daughter is corny and cliché, but it kind of works for this movie. Like, it’s the kind of corny and cliché I’d expect given everything that led up to this.

The profound awkwardness in the breakfast scene is just delightful.

Did you know that they reshot some scenes to make sure Bond uses the newest product placement cell phone instead of the two year old one that was supposed to be in the movie? Well, you will, because the new shots are painfully obvious.

Synchronised Defender jumping, the new Olympic sport!

Very disappointed that he didn’t find a way to make the helicopter fly into a ramp and turn over.

What would Dame Judi Dench do? Don’t we all wonder that?

Okay, but is he going to find the bunny? Okay, he did, but he didn’t bring it home to his daughter? That’s the real tragedy here.

Maddie’s agency in this movie is largely limited to lying to Bond. She doesn’t tell him her traumatic past, or that this traumatic past has come back to haunt her, or that he has a daughter, and the movie gives us no reason for any of this lying. Does she not trust him? Is this too hard for her to talk about? Those are things I’d get, but it’s certainly not established. 

Wasn’t that bad guy in the last Brosnan movie as well? The North Korean one? He looks just the same from what I remember, which is not much.

People want Oblivion, and we will give it to them. Or another edition of Skyrim.

This was the least specific and imminent plan ever. Was that bad guy even planning to use this poison on anyone? Did he have a reason for taking Maddy and her daughter? 

Oh, so if he goes to his family, he kills them, because he brings death wherever he goes. Get it? It’s a metaphor! It’s easy to miss because it doesn’t work at all in the movie, though: The bad guy only cares about Maddie, Bond just happens to be there. But still, you know, metaphor.

That fight up to the blast door felt like a video game. Between this and Black Widow I feel like I’ve played way more Tomb Raider reboot games than I actually did.

Ah, so here’s the „All the time in the world“ callback, but this time he’s going to die. Okay, I get it.

Bold choice to spend the entire movie establishing that Bond is 100% blast proof, and then kill him in an explosion.

Ending on „All the time in the world“ makes a lot of sense.

I did not wait to see whether there’s a post-credit scene because it’s Bond, the entire movie is technically post-credit scenes.

I feel like this movie rates about medium on smarm, low on cultural insensitivity, middling on unprovoked violence, and low but not as low as it thinks of itself on misogyny. 

[damerondala]

🍒 Okay tub time with Kix? 😗👌🏻 Exquisite. So good. Where do i find such a caring man ugh and a clean bathtub chores suck

New Cherry Thot of the Week… This one’s hella self-indulgent but don’t worry bestie, i’m dragging you along for the ride too… Picture it: The Marauder, 19 BBY (did i spend 3 minutes looking that up for this dumb joke? yeah…) Somehow, you and I have joined up with the Bad Batch on some kind of mission. Details don’t matter because the important thing is we’re sharing a tiny spaceship with 5 hunks. 🥰 But obvs we have our favorites… I’m going with Wrecker for you (i know you love Hunter too, but just hear me out, this thot has a purpose) and Crosshair for me.

But here’s the thing. We somehow figure out they like us back (maybe Tech spills the beans), AND they have a bet going… Who can win us over first? Because these 2 are always competing over something with each other right?

And like hot damn, but also ohh there’s so much we can do with this info 😈 We both start teasing our respective guys, leading them on a little, not giving in to their flirting or anything so they can’t say they’ve won the bet for a while. They get more frustrated. More… pent up… And… well… so do we…

Uh oh. Maybe we can’t play this much longer. Maybe one day it’s too much, and one of us races to our crush prepared to just kiss them silly, only to find they had the same idea. And then afterward we try to find the other, and discover they couldn’t hold out with their guy either 🙈 And maybe it’s awkward, maybe Wrecker and Crosshair argue over who actually won forever, but it was kinda weirdly fun anyway. We’re happy, and happy for each other. /EndofSappyStory 🍒

cherry. my love. my life.

this might be the best thing that you have ever gifted me holy fuck the way i BLUSHED while reading this??? whooooooo jesus i love this so much!!! 😭 okay lots to unpack here:

1. excellent golden girls reference again. made me giggle and i appreciate the research tech would be proud of u hehe

2. you and i being bffs in this thot made me so happy aw

3. EXCELLENT CHARACTER CHOICE FOR US OMFG i couldn't stop thinking about the "don't worry wrecker you'll top him next time" "no he wOnT" while reading bc omfg those lines applied to this kind of bet????? AAAAHHHHH IM HAVING A CRISIS

i'm gonna write this in sections, actual encounters with the boys happen in sections 3 and 4 with our sexy murder toothpick man being up first! also this is gonna be pre-omega but post-echo joining the batch 

self indulgent filth and fluff in the form of some reader insert thots below ;) 

18+ as always kiddies. i really hope you enjoy! this was so fun to write 

section 1: the bet 

so i imagine this happening right after you guys joined the squad

and it certainly didn't take long for crosshair and wrecker to realize their feelings for you two beautiful women, although one was more brazen about his feelings than the other

one day when hunter had sent you and your friend into a market to pick up a short list of supplies, they got to talking 

crosshair made an offhand remark about his girls’ ass which made wrecker fidget, he never was very composed when it came to pretty girls and this caused all the other members of the batch share knowing looks and smirks

“wrecker if you’re trying to be discreet about your feelings for ___ you’re going to have to do stop fidgeting.” tech noted, rolling his eyes when wrecker started stuttering out excuses but he was cut off by echo

“give ‘im a break. at least he isn't as vulgar as crosshair” 

“you’re just jealous she doesn't flirt with you, mir'osik” (i had to search up insults in mando’a and this one means shit for brains and when i tell you i died laughing okay anyways sorry)

this made echo roll his eyes, deciding it wasn't worth it to fight over whatever stupid insult the sniper threw at him

wanting to stir the pot juuust a bit, hunter proposed a challenge for his vod. he should be the good influence on his brothers, but he couldn't help but want to see where these crushes would take them

he could hear the girls’ heartbeats intensify around their respective crushes anyways, so he had a pretty good feeling that they felt the same about his batch mates

“don’t know about the rest of you, but i want to see who can win his girl over first” this was met with a smirk from crosshair, a blush from wrecker, and side glances shared between echo and tech

“easy.” crosshair drawled, he knew he had this in the bag

he may be quieter than the others but boy was he was observant, taking note of the way her words had a hard time flowing out of her pretty mouth when he was in close proximity of his girl

wrecker on the other hand didn’t want to make her uncomfortable, in his eyes she was just so sweet. innocent, really. she wouldn’t want the same treatment he knew crosshair had in mind for his girl

the peering eyes of his squad made the large man cave with a sigh, “fine.”

section 2: the slip up

weeks had gone by since the boys established their little competition and you, your friend, and tech were working on some small repairs around the ship

you and your friend had noticed some increased...flirting from your respective guys

crosshair paid more compliments and lingering touches that seemed genuine

and wrecker flirted the best way he knew how; lifting too heavy objects and reaching for items in the tall cargo holds, handing them down with a gentle smile

tech, being the most blunt member of the squad, commented on the whispers you exchanged, dropping a surprising truth on both of your ears:

“well of course they are trying to flatter you. how else do you settle a bet to win each of you over the fastest?” 

tech watched the two women freeze before him, sharing shocked looks before turning their attention to him, realization hit his gut like a crate of durasteel, and he swallowed under your stern gazes

“what do you mean, goggles?” 

“they...like us?”

tech’s cheeks burned red hot, was his brow beginning to sweat? maker, it felt like it 

this was the one time he didn’t feel like explaining himself, instead choosing to coyly excuse himself from the two pairs of watchful eyes

he left you and your friend to stare at each other before both rolling your eyes, “well now we know who spills secrets the easiest” your friend chuckled, shaking her head 

after a few moments of silence you both spoke up, deciding there wasn’t that much harm in playing along with the two members of the batch. you were fond of them, after all

you both continued chuckling about the situation, mostly out of disbelief that the flirting and teasing wasn’t just a hopeful facade your minds made up

once the repairs were completed, you both retired to opposite ends of the ship, minds full of deliberation of how you would handle this new information 

section 3: the gunport 

you were sat in the gunport, musing the situation you found yourself in, hands picking at your fingernails in an effort to curb your nerves 

on one hand you didn’t want to ruin the bond you had with the marksman

what if he was just flirting out of pure boredom? there isn’t much to do in a confined ship like this anyways, he might as well pass the time flirting with a woman in his general vicinity 

but it just had to mean something

no way the whispered compliments - most of them accompanied with a wink, no less - meant absolutely nothing to him 

you decided that you had enough, this was going to eat you alive if you didn't get to the bottom of what was going on in that head of his

with a huff, you stood straight and turned around to exit the space

but you were met with a silver haired man climbing up the ladder

you both froze, both internally freaking out at the basically forced confrontation

oh gods what is he doing up here? did he read my mind??

...shit what do i do i forgot everything i was going to say to her 

you nervously chuckled, figuring that you were going to go talk to him anyways so might as well get this over with

“crosshair... um i need to ask you something”

“no, i need to tell you something cyar’ika. i’m tired of sitting here and watching you walk around all day, not being able to show you how i feel.”

now that left you speechless, mouth slightly hanging open in shock to which he deeply chuckled at, “hope this isn't the first time i leave you speechless.” 

there it was, that smug attitude that made you roll your eyes but also ignited a heat in your lower abdomen

with a smirk, you decided to play it back to him. two can play at this game, lanky

“well it’d be pretty rude to not demonstrate what you had in mind, trooper”

this was the green light crosshair needed, quickly heaving himself up the last few rungs of the ladder, his hands immediately finding your waist and snatching you close, pressing a firm kiss to your lips

your hands flung up to catch the sides of his sharp cheeks, humming at the feel of his scruff under your palms as you coyly push your tongue through his lips, hoping he’ll welcome your tongue into his mouth

he does, and you are exploring each other in the most delicious way, causing soft moans and sighs to leave both of you

while you were entranced by crosshair’s mouth on yours, you didn't realize he was pushing you back onto the chair of the gunport until you were sat down and he was kneeling in between your legs, his nimble fingers clutching your thighs and hips

in a matter of minutes crosshair had managed to get your bottoms completely off, your slick panties hooked on one ankle, and your thighs over his shoulders

for a man who could run his mouth, he sure proved it 

expert fingers entered your weeping cunt while his tongue prodded your bundle of nerves with sharp, quick strokes

he’s beaming at the way you’re trying to support yourself on shaky arms and trapping his head to your cunt with the backs of your calves, the sight of your head thrown back and the whimpers coming out of your mouth making him harder than he had been in a looong time

his fingers and mouth brought to your orgasm quick and hard, nearly screaming his name as your toes curled in bliss 

he took his time in working you through it, making sure he could draw it out. he could get used to this.

when you can finally open your eyes and look him in the eye, you’re kissing him again, enjoying the moan he lets out at the feel of your tongue tasting yourself on him 

you decide it’s his turn, and you’re pushing him into your previous spot, smiling at the way his eyes slightly widen at the way you took charge 

crosshair wants to say some sexy remark, something that he knows will get you to sheepishly smile and look away but he can’t, not with the sight of you sinking down to your knees and slowly pulling down his blacks, keeping eye contact and granting him a playful glint in your eye

you can't help but want to tease him just a bit, running your tongue over the bulge in his blacks

he tries his hardest to not be loud but maker, is he loud when you finally take him into your mouth and down your throat 

you’ve quickly found that he enjoys eye contact while in this vulnerable state, nearly shaking when he sees your eyes brimming with tears trying not to choke on his length 

one hand sneaking down to alternate cupping his balls is what pulls him over the edge, crying out with your name living on his tongue 

you swallow his release, again utilizing eye contact to your benefit and drawing out another prolonged moan from him 

it makes you smile in pride, loving how this hard, unyielding man turned into such a mess while you had your way with him 

crosshair pats his lap and expectantly looks at you, waiting for you to perch up onto his lap, straddling him 

despite being a skinnier guy, crosshair wraps you up in the warmest, most secure-feeling snuggle you have honestly ever experienced 

after sharing such an intimate moment with you, he began whispering sweet nothings into your ear, about how gorgeous he thinks you are, how much he cares for you 

it’s honestly kind of shocking but welcome nonetheless, cross can be kind when he wants to and you are very glad that this was the outcome of your dancing around each other for months 

section 4: the interruption 

you retreated back to your room, honestly just wanting to sleep and get your mind off the day

it was becoming harder and harder to not just pounce on wrecker, but you didn't want to just give it up so quickly 

and to be honest, you had a bad feeling that tech was full of it

you struggled with self esteem issues for as long as you could remember, so it was difficult to believe the 'genious’ of the batch when he said that wrecker had feelings for you 

despite your trepidations, your mind couldn't stop thinking about him, his broad shoulders, toned arms, huge thighs...

your hand slithered down your torso, slipping underneath the waist band of your bottoms and slowly circling your clit as images of wrecker effortlessly lifting anything that crossed his path filled your mind, honestly wishing it was you he was lifting

perhaps lifting you to brush your pussy on his nose, his tongue exploring your womanhood enough to make you shout his name

but apparently that last part was not all in your head

although you didn't shout it, wrecker definitely heard the way you whispered out his name in a moan in the dark room

he really hadn’t meant to barge in, but after a few knocks with no answer  he began to worry

he came by to tell you how he felt with absolutely no expectation of sleeping with you. truthfully, he gave up on trying to get into your pants, he was willing to lose the bet with crosshair, he knew he wasn’t as smooth as his brother anyways 

while he obviously would never be opposed to making love with you, he figured that you deserved to be courted beforehand, and he thought there was no way you’d want to share your body in such an intimate way with somebody like him 

but the sight he was greeted with was enough to prove himself wrong

you, spread out on your bed with your hand moving diligently under your thin lounge shorts and you moaning his name made him subconsciously let out a loud gasp 

that you absolutely heard, eyes snapping open and hand coming to an abrupt halt, ripping out from under your bottoms

“wr-wrecker! what are you doing here?!”

“i- uhhh- i didn’t see anything! erm, i'm sorry, mesh’la”

by now you had your blankets covering you, despite being fully clothed, and were looking at him with mortified eyes

wrecker still stood in the doorway, unsure if he should let this opportunity pass him by

if you had told him to leave he would, he’d do anything you said, but the fact that you made no move to force him into leaving made him linger

“i'm...sorry if im overstepping mesh’la but i just- i can't stop thinking about you. and well,” he gestured to your form, still cradling the blankets to your heaving chest, “i think you think about me too”

of course you couldn't deny it, he had just seen you pleasuring yourself and moaning his name, what the hell kind of excuse could you come up with? none, that's what 

his sheepishness made your heart soar, realizing he probably was just as nervous as you

deciding to cut him some slack, you slowly rose up, blanket falling to the ground as you sauntered over to his frozen frame

whispering, “you're right. do- do you want to stay?” 

you had the poor man at a loss for words, eagerly nodding at your proposition and allowing you to take his hand and lead him to your bed, pushing him down so you could straddle his lap

his large cock bulging through the thin fabric of his blacks and pushing against your already hot cunt made you cry out

pure adrenaline coursed through both of you, hushed moans leaving your mouths as you steadily ground down onto him, his hand tangled in your hair and the other kneading your breast

your lips broke away from his mouth and you smirked at the look on his face, absolutely fucking giddy that this was finally happening, he had been dreaming about this moment since he first saw you

the sounds he made while you sucked on the sensitive skin of his neck encouraged you to slip a small hand down the front of his blacks and pull his thick cock out, heat flooding your body at the hiss he let out when you started slowly jacking him off 

your legs were in the perfect position for him to push your shorts down and over your ass, fingers picking up where you left off and circling your clit, working you open to take one of his massive fingers

the more you squeezed his throbbing shaft, the louder wrecker became 

and not wanting anybody to hear you two fooling around, you glued your mouth to his, tongues mingling in heat

the excitement of the entire situation made it not last very long overall, but you both had intense orgasms regardless

wrecker curled his - now two - fingers inside you just right, and your continued squeezes and strokes of his cock made him finish, his cum coating your palm 

both of you were shaking, muffled groans and gasps filled the room until you were coming down from your simultaneous orgasms

after coming back down to the moment, wrecker chuckled and flopped down on his back, bringing you with him to crash onto his chest

you both giggled like a couple of smitten teenagers who were experiencing their first love, relishing in the butterflies in your stomachs, we just did that

“been waiting a long time to do that, doll” wrecker’s big hands rubbed up and down your curves, closing his eyes and smiling at your laugh, “i know”

his head shot up at that, “you know?” the way his eyebrows furrowed up made your chest tighten with admiration, smiling cheekily down at him, “of course i do. tech told us gals.” you leaned down to place a peck on his chin, “you think you won the bet?”

“dunno. but I feel like i just won the entire galaxy.” 

it honestly didn't make much sense in your post-orgasm daze, but the endearing tone made you smile and kiss him once again

section 5: the hallway 

after your respective encounters with your boys, you ran to your friend, bumping into her in the hallway, the tight space echoing your giggles and shrieks of excitement throughout the entire ship

you both were so flustered and giddy that you were talking over each other, just needing to tell her about what just happened 

“i just sucked-”

“you will not believe-” 

you both stopped and laughed even harder, holding onto each other for support, then your friend took a deep breath and smiled, “you first.”

the sounds emitted from you two not only made your boys smile and their chests swell with pride but also coerced some chuckles from the other members of the batch 

they all knew how long these...events were in the making and how eager cross and wrecker were becoming 

and in all honesty they were glad their brothers had found happiness in two girls like yourselves 

nice, funny, and obviously in love with their brothers

they really could’t have asked for better women to take care of their family 

~

taglist! (fill out this if you’d like to be added): 

@djarrex, @pastelpanda19, @rebelpitstop, @sageislostinspring, @shiny-mando

[marvelfansince08love]

Three’s company

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff, Natasha Romanoff x female!Reader 

Word count: God knows like 4000

Warning: NSFW 18+ lots of smut, read at your own risk. Really bad smut writing. 

Prompt 14, 30:  “If this is your attempt at pushing me away, it won’t work” “Come on now dear, Let’s not torture her any longer” - Poly 

A/N: For Vee, I love you and I hope you enjoy! I’ve scrapped this about six times and I still have a love/hate relationship with it. Also feel honoured because this is my first smut fic ever never mind Poly, please be gentle with me lmao. 😂

Thank you @lesbian-deadpool for reading over this and giving me your seal of approval, you the best sister in law ever. What would my gal do without you @missmonsters2 lol 😂x

Tags: @imnotasuperhero @j-does-life @the-enamorando-deity​ 

I do not own these gifs!🖤

Prompts 14, 30 

Have you ever been in love?

 Have you ever been in love with two people at once? Or better yet, in love with two people who are also in an established relationship.

 Because I have.

 I continue to you scribble my thoughts onto the blank page of my diary needing to express my thoughts and feelings somewhere, like a dirty little secret.

 A loud knock at my bedroom door interrupts my train of thought as I quickly close my secrets away and scramble to hide it in my desk draw. I turn around to see blonde hair and blue eyes peeking through the gap of the door.

 "Hey Y/N just letting you know movie night is starting in half an hour and I don't want another excuse as to why you can't come. You've been locked up in your room almost the entire week. We're worried." Steve asks warmly, ever the mother hen of the group.

 "I'm fine Steve I've just been busy with mission reports and making sure the new shield recruits are settling in. You know how daunting it can be, especially when Sam, Clint and Bucky think it's funny to mess with them on their first week. I promise I'll come down" I reassure him, and he almost believes me.

 "Okay I'll bite but just know I'm here if you wanna talk about it. I haven't mentioned it to them that I saw you sneaking out of their room last week" he says sympathetically.

 That's when this whole thing started. Once I became a regular member of the Avengers initiative, it meant spending a lot of time with the team. Nat and Wanda had welcomed me with open arms being the only two regular females of the group. It started off with small subtle brushes of their fingers against my hand when they walked pass or passing things to each other in the kitchen, their fingertips just lingering a little longer. Of course, every time this would happen I would be a blundering mess but they seemed unfazed by the waves of electricity between us every time, until those subtle hints turned a little more bolder.

 Three weeks ago

 Walking through the private area of the compound, I rub my tried eyes and roll my shoulders trying to ease the tension in my muscles. I shuffle towards the living room area hoping to catch up on some reading needing some peace. The open windows and the dark grey Italia corner sofa that faces it gives a lovely view of the trees and forest life that surrounds the hidden compound. In my dazed, tired state I failed to notice the fiery red head sitting lazily on the sofa a Russian novel in hand with a devilish smirk.

 "Hey Y/N how was training the newbies?"

 I gasp lightly and quickly turn around to face her, my hand hovering over my chest as I clutch my favourite book in the other.

 "Jeez Nat, you could warn a woman!"

She laughs quietly.

 "You're an avenger Myshka, your eyes should always be open to any possible thing" the words slow and clear, her voice deep laced with flirtation.

 I gulp slightly, blushing at the Russian term that I’m always referred to as but never know what it means. I drop my gaze no longer able to look into those green eyes that hold such heat.

 "Yeah well I've just spent the last five hours training dumbass's who can't tell the difference between a Fixation Bowie and a SoG Seal Knife, so give me a break" I grumbled, feeling slightly irritated suddenly.

 Maybe because she keeps flirting with you and she has a girlfriend.

 Nat frowns lightly before sitting up her legs tucked underneath her making available space on the sofa next to her, she pats the space indicating for me to sit with her. I pause for a minute debating whether that would be safe for me to do so, I scan her face and land my eyes onto her perfect full lips stained with red lipstick.

 Maybe this isn't such a good idea, I could always read in my room.

 But she looks so good sitting there and she smells divine.

 The latter thought wins as I tentatively make my way over to her and take a seat, leaving a good gap between us. Nat smiles softly before turning back to her book, making me relax a little.

 After a few minutes of us both reading in silence, I feel Nat shift slightly trying to get comfortable. Unfolding her legs from under her she slowly stretches them out over my lap and sighs content with her new position. I tense and look over to her waiting for her to say something, but her head is buried back into her book.

 It's okay, you guys are friends. This is what friends do.

 Nat shuffles around again before huffing, clearly not comfortable. I can feel her gaze on me from the corner of my eye.

 "Myshka, can I lean against you? The corner of this sofa is killing my back and you seem far too comfy" she whines lightly, pouting those cherry red lips. My eyes instantly fall to them again before quickly looking back to her eyes, a glint of knowing lingers slightly in those pretty greens.

 She caught you.

 "Oh..um yeah sure Natasha" she moves like lightening and curls up into my side, her head leaning against my shoulder, legs draped over me. My eyes widen in fear at the sudden closeness between us and the creaking sound of the floorboards by the doorway announcing another presence.

 "Well don't my two favourite girls look comfortable hmm? Mind if I join?" I continue to tense up, eyes moving back and forth between the two of them trying to gauge their reaction, but Nat seems indifferent as she continues to stay close to me still emerged in her book. Wanda makes her way around the room, I'm shocked to see that instead of sitting next to Natasha she stands closely behind us, her hands rest on either side of my shoulders, her thumbs move back and forth along my exposed shoulders as she leans in and whispers "you seem tense fényem (my light), you need to relax. Is Steve giving you a hard time with the new recruits? I'll have a word" her breath softly brushing against my sensitive skin making me shiver.

 I shake my head unable to find the words to speak. Wanda hums quietly before releasing her hold on me and moving towards Natasha before letting her lips meet hers in a heated kiss. I try to avert my eyes but it's too late, Nat looks straight at me and winks subtly before going back to her book as Wanda walks away asking if we would like a drink. I shake my head in decline before making up an excuse and sprinting out of there.

 Whatever game their playing, I don't want any part of it...

 Or maybe I do.

 End of flashback

 A week later the flirting and teasing had gotten more bolder as the days passed. I found myself being left alone with one of them or both way too often for it to be a convenience. At the end of that week, it was team bonding night in the games room, drinks were poured and before I had time to blink, I could feel soft warm skin against my lips while two pairs of red lips and hands trail along my naked back and shoulders, limbs tangled up in silk sheets.

 I woke up in a haze just as the sun met the earth in the distant horizon and vanished out of their room. Leaving an empty gap between them, making my heart shatter. The knocking on my door and the empty threats to come into my room if I didn't speak to them became less and less as the week went on, as if giving up on any attempts to see me.

 I'm shaken out of my thoughts by two large gentle hands cupping my shoulders; Steve stares at me with concern.

 "Come on let's just go down and get the food ready for the movie, okay? You can sit with me if you like, you don't have to talk to them" I nod my head in agreement to his proposition.

 "Is there any specific snacks you would like?"

 I smirk at that slightly before replying:

 "Do we have the big bag of Doritos, Dorito?" Steve rolls his eyes and groans in annoyance.

 "Can you and Tony stop it with the Dorito thing? it was one commercial and the money went to a good cause" he moans grumpily before leaving the room and heading back towards the kitchen for the movie night snacks.

 I chuckle softly before gathering my thoughts.

 Maybe I could make another excuse up for not going.

 Knowing I don’t stand a chance against a stubborn Super Soldier I make my way out off my safe space and into the unknown.

  Upon arriving in the dimly lit room I scan for a vacant double seat to settle into for the evening, my eyes fall upon the very two people who have been taken over my thoughts and the pages in my diary for last two months; Natasha Romanoff and Wanda Maximoff.

 Wanda sits comfortably on Natasha's lap her head tilted upward as Nat whispers softly to her while brushing her thumb over Wanda's bare calf making her giggle quietly.

 My thoughts overtake me as I think about her thumb brushing against my bare thigh while Wanda whispers sweet nothings into my ear, just like that night...

 As if sensing my presence, they both turn and face me, a soft smile playing on both of their lips.

 "Hey kotenok, where have you been all week? We've missed you" Nat speaks quietly laced with worry. Wanda's furrowed brow also indicating her agreement.

 I blush slightly and clear my dry throat suddenly aware of my daydreaming.

 "Sorry...I.. um I had a few mission reports that needed finishing and didn't realise the time. I could do without Steve chewing my ass about neglecting my responsibilities outside of missions" I say impersonating my best Steve Rogers voice, which causing Nat to smirk slightly; amusement in her eyes while Wanda giggles her eyes looking over my shoulder.

 "You know Y/N if you actually did do the reports on time, I wouldn't have to keep lecturing you" a deep authority voice says behind me while dangling a bag of Doritos in front of my face. I roll my eyes in good nature before grabbing the offered snack and moving to sit in the empty loveseat by the two women.

 "You know there is space on this love machi- I mean love-seat Y/N, all you gotta do is ask" Sam teases a few rows down and winking cheekily, a pillow hits him around the back of the head by Bucky who's sat beside him.

 "Please she's way out of your league, fake bird" they both continue to bicker back and forth as I settle onto my own love-seat, wrapping the blanket around me and sighing at the warm feeling surrounding me as I sink into it further.

 "Sam's right though Y/N, you don't have to sit by yourself. Come sit with me and Nat there's plenty of room here" Wanda whispers leaning over towards me so no one else can hear, her eyes filled with attentiveness. I gulp and avert my eyes away from her emerald gaze as I pull slightly at the blanket as if trying to form a protective barrier around myself, away from her gaze and the heat behind them.

 "Oh um I'm okay I'll stay here. Thank you though" I stutter over my words while trying to build up enough courage to look into her eyes, to show her I'm not affected by the idea of being so close to them both.

 "Oh okay.. well if you do get a bit lonely over here, just know the offer is there Myshka" her eyes filled with slight disappointment but doesn't push the offer further and settles back into Natasha. I feel Nat's heated gaze upon me as I try and stay focused on the starting credits of Clint's choice of film.

 Halfway through the movie, I can feel my eyelids growing heavy and my vision blurring. Unable to fight the dreamworld any longer I slowly let myself fall into a deep slumber.

 "She's so cute when she sleeps, so peaceful"

 "Can you imagine how good she would be for us Wanda, how amazing all three of us could be?"

 "Nat! This isn't the time; you know the last time we did that with her she pushed us away. Why won't she just talk to us? If she had just stuck around long enou-"

 The voices in the room suddenly stop as I feel myself awakening from my deep slumber, I tense slightly suddenly aware that I'm not alone in the room and not in the comfort of the cinema loveseat but in a soft bed that smells just like...

 "Hey sleepyhead, look who's finally decided to join the land of the living" Nat murmurs while brushing a stray piece of hair out of my face and behind my ear, I shiver slightly at her touch before scurrying into an upright position, aware that I'm currently not in my own bedroom but in theirs.

 "How long was I sleeping for?"

 "Only about two hours, we thought it would be best to bring you in here since we need to talk"

I gulp slightly at that.

 "Um.. to talk? Could we do this another time? I'm pretty beat from all that writing and working with the recruits, I just want my bed" I try to reason with them but they both fix me with a "don't even try it" look before sitting on either side of me. Wanda grabs hold of my hand and turns my palm upward, she traces her finger around my palm and slowly lifts her eyes to look at me.

 "Please Y/N, talk to us. We've been trying to see you all week, but you seem to be avoiding us and Nat doesn't take to well to being ignored" she smirks mischievously at mentioning her girlfriend, who seems to be remaining quiet throughout the exchange.

 I look over towards Nat only now taking in how quiet she's been throughout this whole exchange even in the cinema room she spoke less to me than ever before. Her eyes drop down, looking at the silk sheet as her hand brushes softly against along it, her head tilted slightly as if reminiscing.

 "We may have gone about it the wrong way myshka, but we care about you.. a lot actually and more than just friends. We can't stop thinking about you but avoiding us after leaving like that... if this is your attempt at pushing us away, it won't work. We...I felt it that night, the way you clung to me as I brought you close to the edge, the softness in your eyes when Wanda held you close afterwards... tell me you don't feel the same way"

  I sit gaping at her, lost for words. I feel Wanda's hand squeeze mine gently, comforting me and encouraging me to respond. She leans forward and brushing my hair behind me ear before cupping my face with her hand, her thumb brushing away at the absent small tear on my cheek.

 "Shhh lyubov moya, we know, or did you forget that I can read minds" she teases gently trying to ease the tension. She brings her lips to the side of my head and lets them brush gently against my temple before trailing them down to my cheek, leaving small trails of soft kisses. Her lips reach near my mouth before pulling away slightly:

 "If you don't want this Y/N we completely understand, just say the words and we'll leave you alone and let you move on-" before she could finish, I lean forward and capture her lips with mine.

 "I want this, I've wanted this for a while" before continuing to peck her lips repeatedly. I see Nat from the corner of my eye stand quietly before moving to sit in the armchair opposite the bed watching intently as Wanda pushes me gently so I'm lying flat on my back.

 She continues to straddle my waist and slowly unbuttoned my shirt before pulling it apart exposing my bare chest, the cool air hitting my breast making them harden instantly. Wanda hums in delight at the sight, her eyes darkening with a glint of red spiralling underneath her natural colour. She leans her head down towards my neck letting her nose brush lightly down the valley on my breasts barely touching my skin, her eyes lock with mine before looking over her shoulder at Nat who is now undressed from the waist down with the smallest pair of white panties on that barely cover her assets; a dark wet spot appearing indicating to her arousal, as she keeps her legs spread for us to see her hand trails slowly south towards her heat.

 "Mmm someone seems to be enjoying our performance, little one. Shall we give her more?" Her hands grip my shorts before pulling them down and letting them drop to the floor before leaving wet kisses from my ankle to inner thigh, tongue swirling and nibbling softly right near my core. I shiver and arch my back basking in the overwhelming feeling of her. She continues to tease me, brushing her nose against my panties before pulling away. I hear the floorboards creak quietly making Nat's movements known, I watch her as she stalks over towards us like a predator after its prey. She squats down so she's eye level with me her fingers grip my chin, making me turn my head to the side: facing her.

 "Such a pretty little thing, it would be a shame to put those luscious lips to waste, don't you agree Wanda?" She mocks, her question for the woman between my legs but her eyes stay locked with mine, darker with a glint of mischief.

 She moves forward and presses her lips to mine, trailing her tongue along my bottom lip making me gasp. Her tongue battles with my own before I take a hold of her bottom lip between my teeth and tug at it making her moan deep. I shiver slightly and turn my eyes downward towards Wanda who now has my panties in between her teeth as she drags them down slowly almost agonisingly slow her eyes locking with mine. Nat's attention now on my neck sucking gently.

 "Oh god"

 As soon as she's disposed of my panties her mouth is on me instantly, lapping her tongue over and over again, swirling around my folds before taking my clit into her mouth and sucking hard, making me moan out load.

 "She's so wet for us Nat, god I almost forgot how good she tasted"

 Nat chuckles softly before removing her panties giving me a great view of her pussy. I lick my lips in anticipation, excited at the thought of having Nat above me with my tongue inside of her. She smirks knowingly before slowly removing her tank top, showing her full breasts and climbing expertly above me so she's facing Wanda her pussy directly in view, dripping wet. I tilt my chin up trying to take a taste, but she hovers higher up away from me making me whine. I'm stopped from reaching any further by Wanda's hand grasping my breast her fingers twisting my nipple slightly as her tongue enters me, making me cry out.

 My cries are quickly stop by Nat, who lowers herself enough to let me taste her. I moan at how wet she is...how wet she is for us. The room is filled with low moans and desperate cries of passion as I continue to swirl my tongue around her entrance, Wanda brings her thumb up to my clit and rubs hard circles around the sensitive area making me pull away from Nat slightly, hips bucking wanting more of her.

 "Please Wanda, I need you inside me" I say desperately. She chuckles quietly before leaving my heated area and making her way up to my chest taking a nipple into her mouth and releasing it with a soft pop.

 “Come on now, dear. Let’s not torture her any longer” Nat teases from above me her voice breathless.

 "I got something much more pleasurable" she smiles wickedly, I watch in astonishment as her eyes turn a blood red but before I could question, I feel a strong wave of pleasure hit my core, Nat and I moaning out in unison.

 "Y/N if you don't put that fucking tongue back where it belongs, I'm gonna fuck you so hard you won’t be able to walk for a week" Nat grumbles through her moans caused by Wanda's magic. I quickly tilt my chin up and plunge my tongue deep into her entrance. My hand desperately reaching for Wanda's pulling her closer. The waves of sensation hitting one after the other, faint sparks of red surrounds us. I feel Nat tense above me, bringing my hand up I gently rub at her clit, bringing her close to orgasm. She cries out before relaxing above me; I lap her up, taking every last drop of her orgasm.

 "Wanda you still have too many clothes on" I whine trying to blindly remove her clothes. I feel Nat move from above me and towards Wanda while she continues to tease up and down my body.

 "Y/N is right malen'kaya ved'ma (little witch), you are wearing far too many clothes" she says before gliding Wanda's long skirt and panties over her ass and dropping them in a heap on the floor, while she continues to kneel between my legs. I feel Wanda's hot breath hit my core as she gasps at the cool air hitting her warm skin. Her eyes glow a brighter red as Nat traces her finger up and down her folds before finding her entrance and quickening her pace, she leans her body over Wanda, so her lips are close to her ear as they both stare at me.

 "Hasn't she been good for us Wanda? I think she deserves an award" Nat whispers voice laced with lust slightly breathless.

 That familiar wave of electricity hits through my body to my core making me gasp as Wanda projects her pleasure to me. Being able to be in sync with her body and its reactions to pleasure, mixed with my own need for release, throws me over the edge as I feel the knot in my core relax making me slump against the pillow, Wanda not far behind. She collapses gently on top of me, her head resting against my chest listening to my rapid heartbeat start to slow. Nat moves around the side of the bed grabbing a throw over from the back of the armchair and covering us all up before curling into my side, kissing the top of Wanda's head and my cheek.

 "Does this mean you'll consider being with us Y/N, not just the sex but everything else that comes with it" Nat asks almost tentatively, scared of what I might say.

 "You guys had me the moment I laid eyes on you"