#best 15 inch laptop

[lostcherise]

Sturdy

pairing: jesse pinkman x f!reader

summary: you bought a nightstand from whom you feared to be a serial killer online, but turns out he was the complete opposite. now you had to find a way to see him again.

warnings: smut, oral (f and m receiving), throat fucking, choking, hair pulling, unprotected sex, degrading names (he calls you a dirty slut)

word count: 3,037

a/n: not proof read, couldn't wait to post this lmao, also was listening to this when i was writing this

"Are you sure about this one?" your sister sighed with furrowed eyebrows. She peered over your shoulder from where you were sitting on your couch, legs crossed over one another; your laptop resting on your thighs.

"Yeah." you lied and waved her off without even turning to look at her. "What's there to be scared about? Lots of people sell and buy stuff online. It's no big deal." you said, this time you gave her a sideways glance over your shoulder. "Really." you added, trying to reassure her.

Your gaze followed your sister, as she made her way to the couch and planted herself right next to you with a sigh. Her head rolled over on her left shoulder, and she lifted her eyes to look at you disbelievingly.

"And lots of other people end up getting murdered." she countered, her eyebrows shooting up on her forehead as she tried to make her point. "Just order a brand new one from IKEA." she quipped, taking a sip from the coffee in her hands.

Disgusted and somewhat offended at her suggestion, you turned to fully look at her. "They don't make pieces like these! Plus, this one is an actual antique. Completey refurbished, too, might I add." you countered, to which your sister mock nodded in agreement, her eyes comically wide, as she looked back at you.

"Just know that I won't be crying at your funeral." and with that she dropped the subject.

────────────────────────────

Despite your sister's best efforts, you had pulled through with the online listing. So here you were, waiting inside your car at a Fred Meyer parking lot. You had arrived about 15 minutes early, as you usually did with all your appointments. Maybe that wasn't very wise, considering Alaskan winters were brutal. But, thank God for air conditioning. About 5 minutes before the arranged meeting time, you stepped out, remaining close to the door; in case it actually turned out to be a blood thirsty murderer and you had to make a quick escape.

Although you had set up a public place as a meeting place, it was still fairly quiet. There about 5 other cars parked at that moment, but it was just you out there. The rumbling sound of a large pick up rolling in from behind you caught your attention. However, you didn't get to see who was inside through the windshield, as they turned and parked at the empty parking spot directly opposite yours.

It was definitely them, that was for sure. The top of the nightstand that was just barely peeking through the truck bed of the black Ford F150 gave it away. Their truck was too polished and well kept to give off murderer vibes, you thought. Your heart thumped in your chest, as the stranger got out of their car.

Well, I'll be damned.

You now stood face to face with what could've been the hottest guy you had laid eyes on in a while. He stood just a couple inches taller than you, his eyes a striking blue. The deep, large scars adorning the right side of his face told a much darker story, but they added to the ruggedness of his looks, along with his short trimmed beard. That paired with his all black attire, screamed bad boy in your books. Which was conveniently your type; also the reason you had been painfully single for a while.

"Hey," his buttery smooth voice broke the silence. "I'm Jesse." he introduced himself with an outstretched hand.

Dumbfounded, you silently shook his hand back. Jesse gave you a funny look, and smiled at you slightly. "You wanna take a look?" he pointed his thumb towards the truck, where the nightstand was.

"Shit, yeah." you had completely forgotten about that. You observed, as he opened the truck bed, and reached for the nightstand to pull it closer.

"So, this is it. An antique, Gothic Revival handcarved, mahogany dresser, with a dark chocolate finish. A real beauty." Jesse spoke in his husky voice. To be frank, you didn't register anything of what he had just said, too busy imagining that voice saying other stuff to you. "Oh, and brand new brass handles too. Made sure the design fit the style though." he kept on rambling. It was kind of endearing how into this he was.

"I'll take it." you simply said, to which Jesse gratefully smiled.

You tried to help him carry it over to your car, but he adamantly refused. Jesse bid you goodbye, and moved to his car. Anxious, you tapped your foot against the concrete; tried to think of an excuse to get to see him again. You were far too horny and single to let on this chance pass.

"Hold up." you jogged up to him, catching him just before he was about to climb into his car. "I, uh," you paused. "I'm actually upgrading my bedroom furniture, so I'll definitely be needing more stuff." you smiled sheepishly.

Jesse simply nodded as an indication for you to keep going, his breath coming out hot and puffy against the nipping cold air. He looked at you with a faint knowing smile and waited for you to continue.

"So, I was thinking of getting your number, easier to contact." you gestured obviously. "You accept commissions, right?"

"Yeah, just text me the measurements, type of wood, color and design, and it'll be ready for you in a few weeks." Jesse informed you, his tone professional.

He was doing business, and all you could think of was ways you wanted him to fuck you.

"How 'bout you come and take the measurements now?

────────────────────────────

Okay, maybe inviting him over to your house was a bit too forward.

You stood awkwardly, and leaned against the doorframe of your bedroom, observing him as he took the measurements of your old bed.

"You want coffee?"

"Maybe next time?" he smiled and came up to stand next to you. "I'll be waiting for more details on the bed..." his voice trailed off expectantly.

It then hit you that you had never properly introduced yourself to him. A blush quickly crept its way onto your cheeks and you softly told him your name. Jesse repeated it, a soft smile dancing on his lips, as his eyes took you in. You swore your name had never sounded so beautiful and sensual coming out of someone's mouth before. To your dismay, he left your house much too soon.

It took Jesse about three weeks to complete your new bed frame. And you had to admit, that man sure did wonders with his hands. The bed frame looked stunning, and it emulated the Gothic style of your nightstand perfectly.

You silently wondered what else those hands were good for, while you helped him set up your bed. You also observed him silently; his buzzcut was slightly longer than what it was when you had first met him, and you liked it a little more. It still wasn't long enough to pull on, sadly. While Jesse was using your bathroom, you quickly put on some new sheets.

"So, whatcha think?" his voice sounded from behind you. He was leaning on the door frame, one outstretched hand resting on the door frame, while the other was in his back pocket.

"It's beautiful..." you complimented his work.

"But?" Jesse asked, sensing from your tone that you wanted to add something else. He walked up to stand behind you.

"I'm not sure if it's sturdy enough." you finally added, your voice now lower.

He looked at you with confusion painted all over his features. His frown deepened when you took one step closer to him; you could feel the warmth radiating from his body.

"Do you mind if we check?" you finally asked the burning question that was plaguing your mind ever since he had gotten there to set up the bed.

And that's when it clicked in Jesse's head. You observed as confusion slowly faded from his face. His icy blue eyes darkening, glinting with a sense of newfound lust and desire. This time, Jesse was the one to take a step forward, your bodies touching; his lips merely an inch away from yours.

"And how do you suppose we do that?" his voice was thick with need.

"I was hoping you'd show me." you almost whined.

A shocked gasp fell past your lips as Jesse harshly pushed you on the mattress. This aggressive side was unexpected, but you'd be lying to yourself if you didn't admit that it had gotten your panties soaked.

He grabbed both your ankles and pulled you closer to the edge of the bed, and pushed your legs back into a mating press position and stood in between your legs, grinding his hardening cock against your clothed pussy.

With a rough hand on your jaw, he pulled into a hungry kiss and you couldn't help but moan into his mouth; his tongue seizing this opportunity to explore your mouth. You whined into the kiss, and ground your hips harder against his, causing him to groan.

You had never been manhandled like this before, and you were almost sure his hand was going to bruise your jaw. But it would be a big, fat lie to say that you weren't extremely turned on right now. His hand moved further down at the base of your neck, just above your clavicle. Now, his lips found their way to where his hand once was on your jaw, leaving a trail of burning kisses as he made his way down on your neck. Jesse's teeth grazed your soft skin, making sure to leave angry red marks on you.

While his left hand remained enclosed around your neck, his right one traveled down and inside your panties, shoving a finger in without a warning.

An involutary gasp fell from your lips, not because it hurt - you were so wet, it slipped in with ease - it had just caught you of guard.

"Fuck." Jesse moaned into your neck, his finger moving in and out of you, and soon a second one followed suit. "Can't wait to stretch that pussy. But I need a taste first."

"Please." you begged, gripping his shoulders tightly with both hands, as he made his way down on you while simultaneously taking off your pants and underwear.

Jesse took a moment to take in the sight in front of him. You, laid up on the bed, legs folded over your stomach, and your glistening pussy perfectly open and ready for him. He wasted no moment, and swiftly began having his way with you. He took a long lick, from up to your clit and all the way down to your slit and right back up, the tip of his tongue just barely slipping in your entrance as he did so.

You raked your fingers through his short hair, when he repeated the same action two more times, and then he focused on your clit. His tongue circled around your bud and your hips bucked against his face, causing him to bury his nose into your pussy. Your eyes moved down, and you saw him looking directly at you as he lapped at your pussy, occasionally sucking your clit softly. He then inserted a finger into you, a gesture that made your thighs squeeze around his head.

He never did break eye contact, even as you squeezed your thighs so tightly around him, you almost suffocated him. A scream left your throat as an unexpected orgasm was ripped from you, his fingers curling up inside you as they fucked out your high.

You had never cummed so hard from getting head before. Hell, you weren't even sure if you had ever come before, just from someone eating you out.

Once your thighs fell limp on his shoulders, Jesse lifted himself up. "Stay on the bed, but get on your knees." he ordered and you complied without a sound. You knew what was coming next, and you couldn't wait to feel him heavy against your tongue.

"Atta girl." Jesse slapped your cheek softly in praise. You watched silently, as he moved to unbuckle his belt, then quickly undo his jeans. They fell on the floor with a soft thump, along with his underwear.

You swore your mouth was watering at the sight of Jesse's cock, and even if it was concealed by the cotton fabric of his boxer briefs; it was obvious he was well endowed. Without waiting another command from him, you moved to remove his underwear, and all you could do was moan at the sight of his cock springing free. His tip swollen and pink.

"Fuck." you moaned and opened your mouth to take him in. His hand messily grabbed your hair into a ponytail, and guided your head on his cock. Jesse groaned you took the tip in, a string of curses following suit. You looked up at him, moving your head to take him further into your mouth, your tongue laid out flat on the underside of his dick.

Jesse threw his head back, your mouth was so soft at warm, he wanted to fill you up to the point you would be choking around his dick. And so he pushed your head further down, his cock twitching the moment you gagged softly around him. He kept pushing your head, until your nose bumped against his pelvic bone. With a pull on your ponytail, he pushed your head back and watched as you gasped for air.

He let you take in three deep breaths before he pushed your head on his cock again and began pushing him self down your throat. Tears began to brim around your eyes as you choked and struggled for breath around his length, and Jesse smiled when your gazes locked.

"Love it when you choke on it, like a dirty slut." he spat, before pushing halfway through to let you take another deep breath, before he started picking up his pace. The tip of his cock was hitting the back of your throat and you couldn't help but moan, sending vibrations around his dick. Jesse couldn't also help but groan at the sensation, if he continued fucking your mouth like this, he was gonna let it all down your throat.

And although as much as he loved your mouth right now, he really wanted to see how you felt around him. Grabbing you again by your hair, he pulled you of his cock and ordered for you to turn around, and scoot up on the bed. You felt the mattress dip when he climbed up behind you.

Jesse grabbed the base of his cock, moving it to drag along your folds, gathering up all of your slick and coating his dick with it. He kept teasing your entrance with his tip, and you whined softly beneath him. With a wiggle of your hips, you pushed back, feeling the tip slip in.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. So," Jesse scolded softly, "fucking," he groaned when he pushed the entirety of his length into your wetness. "impatient." he finished his sentence once he bottomed out inside of you. His balls grazed your clit lightly, you were arched so perfectly for him, he was hitting all the right spots.

He moved to position himself, lifting one knee up, for better leverage and grabbed a fistful of your hair once more. His fingers curled tightly around the roots, sending a sweet and pleasurable wave of pain to your core, one that had you moaning.

That's all Jesse needed to hear and he began to mercilessly pound his hips into you. He pulled your head back by your hair, and you screamed as he had his way with you.

"You're so big." you moaned and his grip on your hair tightened.

"You take me so well." Jesse praised and moved his head down, his lips on level with your ear. "Taking my cock like a little slut." And with that he roughly let go of your head and you fell face first into the mattress.

In this position, your arch deepened causing him to fuck deeper into you. You felt the weight of his hand pressing down on your head and you screamed into the mattress when his pace grew quicker and harder.

In that moment, you were so thankful your house was a bit secluded; you wouldn't want to worry any neighbors with the way Jesse had you screaming. You felt the bed groan and creak and you thought it was going to give out beneath you.

Jesse abruptly pulled out of you and you whined at the loss of his dick, you felt so incredibly empty without him. With one swift movement, he flipped you over onto your back, his hand moving around your throat, just beneath your jawline.

"I want to look at your face when you cum." he said and squeezed your throat. He moved to push your legs above his shoulders, fucking into you so deep, it had you seeing stars.

His skin slapped agains yours, your wet pussy making lewd sounds around his cock. Jesse's hand squeezed your neck, pushing all the air out from your throat. His hips never once faltered, his pace steady against yours.

"Just like that." he cooed, watching your eyes roll back into your head at the lack of air, and just when you began clenching around him, he released his grip.

"Fuck!" you screamed, your head digging back into the mattress. The tight cord in your core snapped, and it had you clenching and gushing all over him.

Jesse smiled down at you, proud at how hard he had just made you cum. He kept fucking into you, prolonging your orgasm as he chased his own. His balls tightened while they slapped against your swollen cunt - he was close. He quickly pulled out and with two pumps, he came all over your stomach with a long throaty moan, painting you with his cum.

You were both heaving, now laying next to each other, not saying a word. It was Jesse who broke the silence, he turned to look at you with a wolfish grin.

"Seems pretty sturdy to me."

[whispering-ways]

•♡✧ movie cuddles ✧♡•

✯ summary: you and tamaki have your first date and watch a movie together

✯ pairing: tamaki amajiki x reader

✯ tags: no warnings, just fluff!

✯ notes: nothing really, hope you guys like the story :)

“Where did I put it?” you say, looking through your closet for your tote bag. It was the last thing you needed before you went to Tamaki’s dorm room for your movie date. Movie date. The words themselves made you blush.

You’d had a crush on him for a while now, since you first became friends really. I mean, you’d always had a thing for shy boys, so it didn’t surprise you but it was more than that. Although many people couldn’t look past his shyness and his introverted nature, you found it endearing.

He’d grown to have a little confidence though; it honestly made you proud to see him be able to speak up for himself and be more outgoing but at the same time keep that same old timid personality that you adored so much.

It surprised you when he texted you last week asking whether you’d like to go out on a date with him. At first, you two were going to the theaters, but Tamaki seemed a little apprehensive about the crowd given that it was a really popular movie.

Eventually, you’d both settled on just having a comfy movie night at his apartment so he wouldn’t have to worry about spiking his agoraphobia. After what seemed like ages, you finally found your bag. You put your share of the snacks that you were bringing to the date along with your water bottle and sent Tamaki a quick text telling him that you were on the way.

Tamaki was making his bed when he heard his phone chime from his desk. He reached over to see it was you texting to let him know you’d be over in 15 minutes and suddenly his nerves shot to 100. He wanted everything to be perfect. He’d set up his bed with the comfiest blankets he had and even got your favorite snack: Chocorooms. Although you both were originally going to see the new All Might movie coming out in theaters, you both agreed on just staying inside and watching an old Barbie movie.

Frankly, he had never watched any Barbie movie, but he knew you loved them since you were a little kid, so he suggested that you both watch Barbie of Swan Lake. He was so excited for this date; it’d taken him weeks to build up the courage to ask you out. When you said yes, he was on cloud nine for the entire day. He was lost in thought thinking of you and the soon-to-be date, when he heard you knock at the door. He tried his best to calm his nerves before heading over to the door to let you in.

“Hi Tamaki! Thanks for inviting me over!” you say, as cheery as ever. Tamaki thought you looked adorable; you had hoodie and sweatpants on, but somehow you made the simple outfit look so lovely. He gave you a shy wave and let you inside.

“H-hey, just uhh...make yourself..um...comfortable and you know what’s mine is yours. There’s a couple snacks on my desk if you maybe wanna eat,” said Tamaki in his soft voice as he went over to his TV to set up the movie. You went over to his desk to look at your snacks and to your surprise he had your favorite snack! You don’t even remember whether you told him or not.

“Aww Tamaki, how’d you know these were my favorite? Did you get these just for me?” you say holding up the bag of Chocorooms.

“Y-yeah, I think you mentioned it once when we...umm...went to the mall and I-I thought you’d like these for the movie,” he said still meddling around with some cables trying to hook up his laptop to the TV. Finally after couple moments, he had the movie up and loaded. He walked over to the light switch. After asking whether you'd like the lights on or off, and you saying you prefer them off, he switched the lights off. Then, he sat next to you on the bed, albeit a couple inches away from you, but you chocked that up to his shyness. In all honesty, you were a little glad. Maybe if he was closer he’d be able to see how much you nervous you were.

As the movie progressed, you both got more comfortable with each other. You’d point out small details in the movie and funny moments where the animation look a bit wonky and you’d both share a laugh. Tamaki slowly started inchin closer to you until eventually his shoulder was barey touching yours. Well, not quite touching your shoulder; you were both wrapped up in individual blankets and you couldn’t quite feel his shoulder anyhow. That didn’t stop the blush from creeping up your cheeks.

After a while, Tamaki looked over to you as if he wanted to say something, but chose to not to say anything.

“Did you want to ask something Tamaki?” you ask, feeling his eyes darting back and forth between you and his twiddling thumbs.

“Well...uhh...I was just wondering whether you’d maybe want to share a blanket? It’s okay if you don’t, but like...uhh... it’s winter so w-we’d be warmer if we shared a blanket, you know?” he said nervously.

“Of course that’s okay! Here, let me rearrange the blanket real quick,” you say, shifting the blanket so that it rested around you two, bringing you both closer than before. Tamaki was right, it definitely was warmer now. The warmth was making you a little sleepy, so you carefully laid your head on his shoulder to get more comfortable. Tamaki immediately froze up, unsure what to do and incredibly grateful that the darkness of the room hid how beet red he was. But after a while, he was able to ease into it and laid his own head against yours.

Slowly as you both got more and more relaxed, you both ended up cuddling. By the end of the movie, Tamaki had his arm wrapped around your shoulders pulling you in close and you were holding hands. You were more focused on being able to be so close to him than watching the movie at this point, so it surprised you to see the credits playing. It seemed like you’d just came to his room and now the movie was over and you’d have to head back to your room.

You’d gotten a bit accustomed to his warmth that you frankly felt a little sad when he had to get up to turn the TV off. He started cleaning up the snacks from the bed before turning towards you, a rosy pink blush dusting his cheeks.

“W-would you maybe wanna sleep over?” he asked hesitantly.

You’d never said yes quicker in your life.

[markie-baby]

If You Love Me | pt.1

🌹AngstFluff/Smut (18+ MA) Part II 🌹Black Female Reader x Mark Tuan 🌹shower sex 🌹Your boyfriend Mark has been away on his first solo tour for his album, The Other Side. You haven't seen him in months and something is...off. Now that he's back home, there are a few things you need to get off your chest.

You stared intently at the last text messages your boyfriend sent you.

(7:00 pm) Markie-moo💜: I just landed😁

(7:05 pm) YAYYYY💕 can't wait to see youuuuuuu

(7:05 pm) you sure you don't need me to pick you up?

Read 7:09 pm.

(7:10 pm) Markie-moo💜: I'm sure😊 I need to go by the studio real quick, then I'll be omw

(7:10 pm) Markie-moo💜: I can't wait to see you, beautiful🖤 I've missed you so much

(7:15 pm) Okay💕 Let me know when you're otw home... I've missed you more!

Read 8:30 pm.

You glanced up at the time on your screen...It's 11pm.

"Your father is very late." You sighed at Milo, who could only look up at you and tilt his head as if he understood the severity of you using the word 'Father' and not 'Daddy'.

The television screen shined through the tall bottle of red wine that sat on your living room table, which casted a shadow on an open bag of gummy bears. You already started snacking on them an hour into waiting for Mark to get to your apartment, and only just realized that you obliterated half the box already. You spent the past three days gearing up for Mark's arrival from his first album tour; aimlessly cleaning your place, cooking all of Mark's favorite foods, buying wine, and meticulously sprinkling rose petals all over the bedroom. You even got dressed up and wore that perfume he liked on you... only to find yourself feeling silly, scratching the belly of his furry baby, as your bones grew stiff waiting for him.

Regrettably, you couldn't deny that you weren't surprised he was a little late. The strongest part of your relationship with Mark was first and foremost, honesty. Mark hated lies and had never told you one himself. Which is why it was so obvious that he has been lying for the past few months. Badly. I was stuck at the studio and I lost track of time, being the most frequently used of the bunch. You'd find him speaking in a low tone for phone calls, rarely letting you use his phone or laptop, and getting absorbed into his phone screen. He started becoming distant... becoming someone completely different from the man you met. You started suspecting he was cheating.

You moved to LA six years ago to pursue owning a business and had no intentions of having a long-term relationship. Mark was a little timid towards you when you first met him through a mutual friend. He never said much outside of the realm of "Hi", "How are you", and "How are you doing?" But as you stuck around more and more, you couldn't help but be drawn to him. You felt connected talking to him about your aspirations, hopes, and fears, knowing that he was always there to listen and share some of those same feelings. It also helped that Mark was (and still is) the most beautiful man you've ever met in your life. Every time you met up with him, you found yourself drinking up all his features; from his pink, heart-shaped lips that opened to a breath-taking smile, to his deep, dark, entrancing eyes. The last time you got lost in Mark's eyes as his best friend, was when your business hit an all-time low.

~

"I just don't know, Mark..." you sobbed through clogged sinuses. "I don't think I can't still support myself if my business can't make more sales."

Mark was only inches away from you on your couch as you cried into your fetal position.

"Hey, hey..." Mark gently placed his warm hands on your shoulders. "Don't think like that. You've done amazing so far... There has to be something else you can do to get your sales up."

"Well..." You poked your head out briefly. "I could do more marketing... but I already spent so much money on marketing and-"

The tears started reforming in your sore eyes as you hid your head back into your knees. Silence hung in the air like a bad joke as the idea of complete failure circled in your head... You would have to leave the life you worked so hard to build in LA, only to return home to square one, with your tail between your legs. You weren't ready to leave your hard work, your home, your friends, or Mark...

"Y/N..." You felt Mark leaning closer to you with a rasp in his voice. "Look at me."

You reluctantly looked into the eyes of your friend, and suddenly, all the anxiety and fear that you felt only seconds ago, felt like forgotten emotions. His eyes seem to pull you into their calming, deep brown pools.

"Ever since I met you, I have seen you fight and work hard for this. I've admired your passion, and how dedicated you are to your dreams... It's one of my favorite things about you. You can't give up on this now. Not after you worked this hard. Not after you've built this life for yourself all on your own... Not to mention how hard it would be to say goodbye to you if you leave."

"Mark..." You felt your heartbeat in your throat.

"I care about you... and I hate seeing you struggling like this. If you need help, why didn't you ask me?"

"I just didn't want to inconvenience you... I know you've been busy in the studio and doing photoshoots I-... just figured that could do this on my own. Like I've always done everything on my own."

Mark's eyes trailed yours, slowly inching to your nose then your lips...

"You don't have to do this alone." You felt Mark snake his long fingers in between yours. "I'll be there for you... like always."

The bubble developing in your throat was an indication that the waterworks were rising again. Up to this point, Mark has been the most supportive, honest, sweetest, considerate, and the most chill person in your life. He's always been there to listen to whatever you had to tell him; what you see each other doing in the next few years, or a late-night drunken rant about pineapples on pizza. And whenever Mark called, you would drop everything just to hear how his day was. Whenever you hung out with him, you could be alone or in a group of other people, it was like it was just you two. Your soul mate...

You looked into Mark's eyes again, feeling your heart start to race... in your trance, your eyes wandered across his face, admiring how the low glow of the Livingroom television showed his soft textured skin. How his hair was poofy since he raced over to you from his nap. Sometimes you felt like you didn't deserve someone this amazing and supportive to be in your court. But Mark was just your cute little blessing on top of all the other ones. Overcome with emotion, you crash into Mark's arms and held him tight.

"Thank you so much, Mark. For everything." Your stress left your body in a big sigh. "I love you..."

You felt Mark's arms around your waist slowly pull you closer to his body and his face buried into the crook of your neck.

"I love you more..."

You replayed his response in your head as you held on to him.

"I love you more" Thump.

"I love you more" Thump-Thump.

"I love you more" Thump. Thump-Thump-Thump. Thump.

Your heart started to race. Goosebumps raised when Mark's breath lightly brushed your neck, and you felt his strong heartbeat thump against your chest. What was this feeling? You were scared to pull away, frightened of getting lost in his gaze again.

"Um, right s-so..." You cleared your throat. "Thanks again, Markie."

You tried pulling away... but found that Mark's grip was still tight around you.

"Wait..." He spoke in a low tone that made your spine shiver.

Your heart felt like it was going to climb out of your mouth. Of course, you've been this close to Mark plenty of times before, you guys have practically held hands before. But there has never been this type of tension hanging in the air. It was almost suffocating. You looked into Mark's eyes for some sort of sign... but damn, he was looking so gorgeous. Your eyes traced his whole face; every curve of his pink lips, every line in his jaw & every eyelash sitting upon his beautiful eyes. Oh, his eyes... they seemed to sparkle... and they were intently fixed on your mouth. Instinctively, your hands made their way up to his jawline, which produced a small sigh from Mark's parted lips.

He was slowly closing the space between your faces. The heat started to rise in between your ears, as you battled with the thought of kissing your best friend. If you did, you could be either making the best decision of your life... or ruining a friendship with a man you cared for deeply. But you couldn't deny... you wanted him. With every heavy breath that Mark breathed, with every second his hands tightened around your thighs, with every inch that his lips drew closer to yours... your desire for him grew. The realization that you loved him grew.

"Mark-"

With the most genuine softness, Mark closed the painful gap between both pairs of lips. Both of your bodies were lost in each other... neither of you realized just how steamy your little make-out session got. You became a couple shortly after, with this year being your third year together.

~

With each passing day, you felt more frustrated in your conflicted feelings. On one side, you were upset at him... but more at yourself for letting the situation grow. On the other hand, you felt the yearning for him grow hot and restless in your core, and eventually, you couldn't help but touch yourself out of the thought of him. The way his dark, loose curls flop over his forehead, the sparkle in his eyes, the sincerity of his smile, the sweetest of his cologne, the slight curve of his lips, the softness of his skin, the heat of his breath-

You snap out of your trance when you hear the jingle of keys at the door. You tap your screen back to life. It's 11:55 pm.

"I'm home!" Mark poked his head through the door at beamed at you on the couch.

"Mark..." You couldn't help but sigh.

"Babe!" Mark cheesed the brightest smile you've ever seen as his chest collided with yours.

His arms tightly squeezed around your waist as you heard him drink in your scent. Finally, your boyfriend was home, with a bouquet as bright as his smile. Almost instinctively, your nerves weakened in his warm embrace, and you melted around him. You forgot about everything you were ever upset about. With every bone in your aching body, you wanted to hold him... feel his skin gently graze yours, caress his adorable face, and shower him in kisses... but he still broke his promise. The one person in your life who was always truthful, real, and loyal... wasn't anymore.

"I missed you so, so much..." Mark whispered into your ear.

"Mark..." You pulled away from him. "What took you so long..."

"I'm sorry," He sighed. "I got tied up again-"

"Mark I..." You paused. "I've spent all of the past 3 days preparing all this stuff for you. And I have been... trying so hard to be so excited for you to come home. For you be in my arms again, to kiss you, to make absolute love to you..."

"What?" Mark's eyes widened.

"We need to talk about something."

Mark's smile slowly started to fade and the bouquet slowly lowered from his grasp.

"You've broken the one promise that we've had in this relationship... you lied to me, Mark. And you've been doing it over and over... And I'd hope that our bond was strong enough for you to realize that I would notice that."

"Hey-"

Mark gently placed the bouquet on the kitchen counter and held both of your hands in his.

"Do you truly think I'm cheating on you?"

You looked longingly into his eyes, only to be handed a cold, serious gaze in return.

"No," You bit your lip in hesitation. "You wouldn't do something like that. But I don't know what to think, Mark."

Mark sighed deeply...

"I leave for months and come back to a fight..." He scratched the back of his head in frustration. "You said that the one promise we made in this relationship was honesty, but you broke another one too. You don't trust me to be loyal to you?"

"I do trust you! But what am I supposed to make of this, Mark?" Your eyes stung.

Mark's cold gaze softened. "I have never had the thought of ever cheating on you and would never. I'm sorry that I was distant and made you feel that I wasn't being truthful."

"I'm sorry I didn't talk to you about it until now..."

"You have nothing to be sorry about. I've been waiting for forever just to get back home to you." You felt his warm hands caress your waist. "Can I please kiss my beautiful girlfriend now?"

"Yes." You breathed.

Mark snaked his hands further around your waist, and with a passionate firmness, pursed his lips between yours. You felt your body tingle with warmth and your heart beating heavily against your boyfriend's chest. A groan left Mark's lips as he left yours.

"Hey..." Mark's voice turned raspy as he eyed your body. "You deserve my honesty; The real reason I have been distant is because I was putting a lot of energy into planning something really important."

"Planning something...?" Your head cocked to one side. "For your album?"

"No, for you."

"For me..?"

Mark's lips cut your question short and derailed your train of thought.

"It's a surprise for later." You could feel a smirk developing on your boyfriend's soft lips. "Let me enjoy the surprise you have for me first."

Mark gazed over at the romantic display you made in the living room.

"Do you like it? I hope I didn't go overboard..."

"It's perfect." Mark looked into your eyes with the utmost sincerity. "And you even got me my favorite gummy bears? It's everything I could have wanted. And you being here with me makes it all better."

Mark infused passion into every aspect of his life, and his way with words was no exception. Surprisingly, conveying his feelings verbally wasn't always his forte in our relationship. However, he consciously broke free from the habit of murmuring, trailing off, and avoiding eye contact. Despite not being the most talkative when we initially met, the incomprehensible extent to which Mark went out of his way to express how much I meant to him was truly remarkable.

"I'm so glad you're home." You wrapped your arms around your boyfriend's torso and pulled him close.

"Me too." You felt a light peck on your forehead. "Why don't we get this night started?"

~

It was 2:45 am when the credits started to roll on the third horror movie that Mark insisted that you both watch. Unfortunately, he had been too invested to realize that you had fallen asleep since movie number two. You found the most heavenly spot on his chest to rest your head, and with his right arm snuggled gently around your torso and his left hand resting on your thigh, it was a guaranteed recipe for a great night's rest.

"The gore in that was something else-" Mark cut himself off when his eyes came to gaze on your sleeping figure.

Your face was adorably smushed up to Mark's chest, letting out soft breaths as you rested. All four of your limbs found themselves wrapped around his slim body, trapping him in your sloth-like embrace. Mark's eyes traveled and the bottom hem of your dress found itself dangerously hiked up to expose your smooth thighs.

Mark rubbed his hand against your thigh. "Wake up, babe."

You blinked your eyes awake and gazed upon the tired eyes of your boyfriend. "Oh shit, did I fall asleep?"

"Definitely. And I think you were snoring a bit, too." He joked.

"Oh stop." You rubbed your eyes to get a better view of the clock. "Oh shit, it's late..."

Mark's voice became hushed. "Maybe we should...continue this celebration upstairs?"

"You're ready for bed?"

"I am. But not necessarily sleep."

You smirked, picking up on his hint. "Oh, I see..."

Without saying another word, you took Mark's hand and guided him up the stairs, where you were greeted by the romantic glow of the moon.

"Oh..."

"You like it, right? I got rose petals, the candles are all lit..." You gestured towards the bathroom.

Mark pulled your hand back towards his body and planted a firm, hungry kiss on your lips.

"You are so sweet. This is amazing..." His warm hands caressed your cheeks. "How do I deserve someone as perfect as you?"

You could feel the heat of his breath on your lips. He was close, too close. The temptation to press your mouth to his was too much to handle. You could almost taste the mint of his toothpaste.

"I know I've been a little distant for these past few months." Mark started. "It's just... I've had a lot on my mind. There's something I've been meaning to talk to you about, but I didn't want to rush things."

"Yeah?"

"But now, I can't hold back." He cupped your cheek and brushed his thumb against it. You felt his gaze bore into yours, and he seemed to study every inch of your face.

"What is it, baby?" You pressed.

"I'm so in love with you. I love you so much that it hurts. I love how passionate you are, I love how you make me feel when we're together, and I love that you've been patient with me during this whole process. You're my rock. You make me want to be a better person. I want to be worthy of you."

"Mark, you already are." You gently held the sides of his face. "Don't say that. You are good enough, Mark. You have such a kind heart and a big soul. You're the most loving and caring person I know. Just don't get too caught up in your music, and start overworking yourself. You're not gonna find me there."

Mark let out a soft chuckle in response.

"You always know what to say," Mark breathed. "I need to ask you something."

"What is it?"

"I know that I was gone for a while, and I want to make it up to you. So, how would you feel about me taking you on a trip?"

"A trip?" You shot him a confused look. "Where would we go?"

"Oh, don't worry about that." Mark kissed the tip of your nose. "I'll take care of everything. Just be ready to leave for this weekend."

"Three days??" You giggled. "You really just planned a whole trip, huh?"

"Anything for you."

As Mark leaned in to kiss you again, you couldn't help but notice his scent. He smelled like the airport and the plane and everything else that was not his normal aroma.

"Speaking of jet setting, you smell weird," you chuckled.

"What do you mean?" he laughed back.

"I'm not sure, but you just smell different."

"Well, I should take a shower then," he suggested. "And maybe you can join me."

"Okay, but don't try any funny business." You smirked.

"What?" He feigned innocence.

"You heard me," you replied, wagging your finger at him.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see," he said, pulling you close.

"Wait and see, huh?" you repeated.

"Yeah, just wait and see."

You rolled your eyes and pulled away from him, making your way toward the bathroom. As you walked into the bathroom, you could hear Mark following closely behind. You pulled him toward the bathroom and turned on the shower, the sound of the water filling the small room. The sound of unzipping made your head turn to Mark, who was already undressing. You watched on in perverted wonderment at how his abdominal muscles flexed under his perfect skin as he moved to remove his underwear. He glanced over his broad, muscular shoulders, smirking while keeping eye contact as he bent down. You admired how his hair grew poofy from the steam beginning to form around him.

"Enjoying the view?" Mark's husky voice startled you, causing your eyes to snap to his face.

"Shut up," you said as you joined him, sliding the flimsy slip of material you wore onto the floor.

Mark's eyes burned with need as his gaze traveled up your legs, slowly drinking in the image before him.

"Damn..." he breathed as he raked his teeth across his bottom lip, his dark eyes meeting yours.

You smiled coyly at him as you stepped into the shower, closing the glass door behind you. Mark's eyes never left yours as he joined you in the warm spray of the water.

"Mmm," he hummed as he cupped your cheek and brought his lips to yours.

The kiss was soft and sweet at first but quickly turned passionate and needy. You ran your fingers through his damp curls as he pressed his hips into yours, his hardening length brushing against your stomach. His hands were everywhere, exploring every inch of your bare flesh as the water cascaded around you. You moaned softly as his lips found your pulse point, sucking the sensitive skin into his mouth.

"I love the sounds you make," he growled as he gently nipped the delicate skin.

"Hey, don't forget that you have to take a shower, stinky." You chuckled.

Mark grinned and rolled his eyes, grabbing the bottle of shampoo that rested next to the tap.

"Okay, okay."

You watched in anticipation as he squirted some of the soap into his hand, before applying it to his hair. His eyes stayed fixated on yours, which flickered down briefly to take in his naked, glistening body. You couldn't help but admire his perfection, even when doing the most mundane task. How his pectorals flexed with every movement, as he brushed and lathered the soapy bubbles throughout his coils of dark brown hair. How his veins tightened from his arms to his hands, and how each drop of water seemingly dripped at a pace slow enough for you to memorize. Your gaze traced down from his chest to his abs, and even further down past the borderline of pubic hair where-

"Babe."

"Sorry, what?" Your eyes shifted back to his face.

"Were you paying attention?" Mark smugly raised an eyebrow.

"I was definitely paying attention..." You trailed off.

"So what was I saying?"

"You were saying, that I was being the best girlfriend ever!"

"Mm-hm."

"By making us dinner tonight."

"Mm-hm."

"And how your favorite gummy bears are an ample reward for me having to put up with you-"

"Alright," Mark chuckled as he laid his index finger on the seam of your lips. "Point made. You got me."

"Duh." You nipped at his knuckle. "You're so easy. What did you say, anyway?"

"Something..." Mark teased as he dunked his head back under the water, washing the remaining shampoo down his torso. "About how much I really, really, missed touching you. All of you."

You snorted. "You mean our little quickie at LAX before you left didn't cut it?"

"Is that what you call what happened at LAX?" He asked, pulling you close and pressing his arousal against you.

"Yes," you giggled. "Because that is exactly what we did. You were the one trying to miss your flight."

"I couldn't help it." He groaned. "It was just so hot."

"Oh shut up." You laughed.

You grabbed the bottle of body wash, poured some on your towel, and rubbed the soap into the cloth.

"Are you gonna help me or what?" You asked playfully.

"What do you think?" He replied, grabbing the other end of the towel and helping you rub the wet cloth along your body.

Your breath hitched as his hand moved from your ribs down to your hips and your mouth dropped open when you felt his fingertips graze your behind. You groaned loudly as Mark continued to caress your ass, his other hand sliding around your waist and pulling you into his embrace. You shuddered as he pressed his lips against your neck, murmuring words of love and encouragement in between every kiss.

"Why didn't you come with me on tour, again?" Mark asked as he continued massaging your skin.

"We talked about this, Mark," you replied, lightly rolling your eyes. "I wanted to be here and continue working. And I don't think I'm cut out for road life."

"But I wanted you there..." he pouted, making your heart stop. "I missed you like crazy."

"I missed you, too..." You turned to face him, seeing him still with an upset frown. You reached for his hands and gently ran your thumb over his knuckles.

"But I don't think I can spend another tour without my Markie-Poo," you admitted with a soft smile.

You looked up to see your boyfriend with the brightest grin you've seen him with in a long while. Mark immediately took the back of your head and pulled your face towards his in a loving embrace, getting soap all over his arms and torso...

"So you're telling me that the next tour I have, you're coming with me?"

" I promise."

"I could get used to having you near me every day," Mark whispered into your ear, his low voice sending shivers down your spine.

"I'd hope so," You replied. "It would be pretty confusing to accommodate another presence in our bed, otherwise."

You could see a pout starting to form on your boyfriend's lips. You loved how Mark could make a face of indifference switch from a stone-cold wall into a begging, adorable, child. The pout quickly melted away, however, and you were only able to appreciate its short existence for a split second. His eyes shifted from your own to your neck, his pale and slender fingertips gliding gently against your exposed collarbone.

"Hey..." You whispered into his ear. "What are you thinking about?"

Mark didn't speak. Only paused for a moment, as if contemplating what he wanted to say, but only getting lost in your beauty. Your breath hitched. His eyes were focused on yours as he inched closer to you. He never broke your stare until his hand suddenly reached up and he placed it ever so carefully against your cheek, causing you to inhale deeply. His eyes flickered over your face, resting for a brief moment at your lips, then back up to meet yours once again. His hand traveled from your cheek and made its way down to your chin, tilting your head up slightly. His lips met yours, softly and gently. He didn't push or rush. He seemed to savor the moment, pulling away just enough to let out a small whimper.

"Did you just moan?" He asked.

"Mmmm, maybe," you replied teasingly.

"If we weren't in the shower right now..." he started.

"Then what would we be doing, Mark?" You asked, grinning at him.

"Then," he said, his low voice rumbling as his hand wrapped around your waist, gently moving his face close to yours. "I would be taking you against the glass."

Mark kissed your forehead tenderly and continued his gentle ministrations against your skin.

"We would start slow," he began. "My hands would travel all over you, starting at your hips. I'd go over them over and over until I could feel you shake."

You bit your lip as Mark's movements matched his words. You could feel your cheeks warm from the way he talked. He had never talked to you this way. Never with the confidence and sultry tone of voice. Mark was normally a gentle, passionate, yet quiet lover.

But this was different. It was sexy. You loved it.

A moan escaped from your lips, unable to suppress the shiver that ran throughout your entire body. The mere thought of having him inside you caused your muscles to twitch and spasm. Mark chuckled lightly as he leaned into you, his hands still exploring your curves. You loved it when he held you. His touch felt so warm and comforting. It made you feel safe and protected, but at the same time, you loved how strong his arms felt against your frame. He felt so large compared to your small size and it gave you the most pleasant butterflies.

"After that I would pick you up, your legs around my waist," he said softly, pulling back a bit to stare into your eyes. "And then, I'd drive you insane..."

He emphasized each word as if he were whispering them into your ear, and his words left you breathless and speechless. Mark's voice had a way of making you feel things you've never felt before.

"Sounds like you really want to have shower sex," you said with a slight giggle.

He kissed you passionately as his hands glided back to your ass once again, gripping you firmly as he slowly lifted you in the air. You wrapped your arms around his slender neck, and your legs around his waist. As your curves pressed against him, you could feel his excitement, causing your eyes to widen slightly. You hadn't even touched him yet, and he was extremely excited for you.

Mark placed one hand against the shower wall for support and you looked into his beautiful brown orbs once more.

"Have you been wanting me, like I have been needing you?" He asked in a low and husky voice that sent shivers through your body. You answered him by pressing your lips against his and kissing him passionately. After a few seconds, Mark moved his kisses across your neck and down to your collarbone. He sucked on it lightly, causing you to gasp as your nails dug into his shoulders. He let out a small groan, and you couldn't help but laugh slightly. The man was adorable.

For five agonizing minutes, he tortured you with his mouth, and slowly lifted you higher. Your heart started beating so fast, causing a mixture of nervousness and excitement that blended perfectly.

"Relax babe," Mark cooed.

You took a deep breath, the smile not leaving your face, and nodded at him.

Mark entered your slit slowly, his length engulfing your walls slowly. You sucked in a breath and shut your eyes tight, letting yourself enjoy this feeling of being filled so completely by your boyfriend. He went deep, his entire length inside you now. He let himself stay there for a second, giving you time to get used to this new feeling. Then he pulled out a few inches before sliding back into you. He continued this process, slowly getting a rhythm, his thrusts growing in power. You moaned each time his length penetrated you.

"Yes..." you breathed and heard Mark moan in response.

He increased his pace even more, driving his length into you and then withdrawing completely with each thrust. Soon, the sounds of water splashing off your wet skin filled the room. Mark became a mess of grunts and pants every time he penetrated you, audibly teasing you toward your climax.

"Babe, you feel so-" A deep moan escaped your boyfriend's parted lips.

His breath was hot on your neck as he worked you towards your release, and it felt like electricity every time his skin touched yours. You had forgotten where you were, who you were, and what was going on around you, it was only you and Mark.

"Mark..." you moaned.

You couldn't hold off your orgasm any longer as waves of pleasure washed over your body. He continued his ministrations as you rode your high, and you watched him as you came down. You looked in awe at this beautiful specimen of a man standing before you as he held you in his arms. He just smiled at you and placed a kiss on your forehead.

Then he exhaled and put you down, slumping against the cold tile wall. His wet hair dangled over his blushed face. You smiled and placed a hand against his cheek, stroking it gently as you gave him another kiss, he kissed you in return, and the soft brush of his lips lingered as you pulled away.

"I love you," he said, his gaze fixed on yours.

"I love you, too."

You say "You took the energy out of me."

Mark smiled and leaned back against the wall. "I guess you could say that," he smirked, raising an eyebrow. "Do you think you'll be able to get to the bedroom? Or do you need me to carry you?"

You slowly stood up, ceasing the sound of running water with your index finger. "Carry me, please!" You pouted and raised your arms.

Mark chuckled as he opened the shower door to retrieve your towels.

"Alright, alright, my queen," Mark threw your wet towel on your head, muffling your laugh. "I'll carry you to the bed."

You pushed the towel off of your face as Mark slipped his arms underneath your wet body and scooped you up into his arms.

"Mmm, you smell much better," you murmured as you nuzzled against his neck. Mark snorted and kissed the top of your head.

You were smitten by his scent and the way he handled you with such ease. He gently laid you on your bed, sinking in on top of you, like you had been daydreaming of for months.

"I've missed this," he whispered, "missed touching you, missed watching you sleep..." He brushed a strand of hair away from your face and gazed down at you like you were the only person in the world.

"I missed waking up next to you, seeing your face in the mornings, and hearing your voice at night."

He brought his lips to yours, softly and sweetly like he was afraid you would break. His lips tasted like the memories of stolen kisses in dark corners and glances behind closed doors. The more you tasted his lips, the more you craved, and you pressed into him, desperate for more.

"Baby, I've missed you so much," he mumbled against your lips, "and you don't understand how crazy it's been."

"No kidding," you replied, returning his kiss with equal vigor.

"Everywhere I went, fans were throwing themselves at me. All I could think about was you. All I'm ever gonna want is you."

Your heart skipped a beat at the confession. You pulled away to smile at him, taking in his beautiful face. It wasn't just his looks that captivated you; it was his mind and his heart. He was pure goodness through and through, and you knew you were the luckiest person in the world.

"And all I ever want is you," you replied. Mark cupped your face and stared into your eyes, his deep brown eyes pooling with emotion. "You okay, babe?"

"It's nothing...I just- I love you," he said, his voice cracking slightly, "so much."

You kissed him fiercely, overcome with emotion. "I love you a shit ton too."

Mark laughed, the corner of his eyes crinkling. "Well, you better. You won't be able to get rid of me that easily."

"Good."

Mark smirked and moved his head down, trailing kisses across your stomach and past your navel.

"What are you doing down there? Aren't you tired?"

Mark looked up, his eyes twinkling mischievously.

"It would be a waste not to take advantage of the candles and rose petals, don't you think?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

~

To Be Continued.

[drvmekoo]

regroup | jeon jungkook [part two]

summary: drifting away from your best friend is never an easy thing to deal with. its a good thing a very important project is forcing you both to regroup

➳ pairing: jungkook x reader (f)

➳ genre: college au, fluff, angst, smut (eventually)

➳ rating: 18+

➳ warnings: none! just a lot of fluff

➳ wc: 1.4k+

➳ author's notes: i hope you all enjoy part two! i'm sorry it took so long to get here. school and work have been kicking my ASS. but anyways! let me know what you think!

PROLOGUE | PART ONE | PART TWO

“Now who’s the late one, huh?” Jungkook raised his eyebrows as you plopped your bag down on the seat next to him. You rolled your eyes as he teased you, raising his eyebrows at your irritated expression. 

“Don’t start Jeon.” You opened up your laptop in a hurry, cringing as you read the time. You were only ten minutes late but in your eyes, it was wasted time. You two still had nothing to show for since you got paired together and the due date was creeping closer and closer. 

“I totally forgot that my building was doing a maintenance check today and so I had to stay there for hours while they checked doors and toilets and ugh…anyways.”

For a moment, it went quiet between you both. You looked up at the man sitting across from you as he scanned your face, brow furrowed. 

Your own eyebrows knitted together “What? Do I have something on my face?” You pulled your phone out to check your reflection. Nothing seemed out of place.

“No no, I’m just….did you get to eat?” he said lowly. 

You thought back to the manic morning, trying to wonder if you did eat that banana that was left on your side. Your tummy rumbled at the thought.

 I guess that was your answer.

“Uh no, not yet but, I’ll just get something later.” You opened up your notes “We need to get a move on.”

Jungkook shook his head “No, absolutely not. You need to eat. It’s already 3:15. You must be starving.” The scrape of his chair echoed across the library. “Give me 2 seconds.”

Before you could protest, Jungkook sprinted towards the cafeteria. ‘What a procrastinator.’ You thought to yourself, sighing as you were left sitting at the empty table. After you quickly skimmed through your unfinished plan, outlining the key ideas of your project, you felt your mind drift to yesterday's weird fiasco in your room. 

Jungkook seemed to change in your presence. Acted like nothing ever happened between you two. Acted like he never abandoned being your best friend. 

But why?

Before you could think any deeper, the man himself had arrived back. He placed a muffin and a coffee cup in front of you. 

“Oh, Jungkook thank you…but you know I don’t drink coffee so-” You began to say, inching the cup back towards him. He shushed you.

“Of course I know that dummy! Open the lid and smell it!” He took the liberty for you as he once again sent it back to you and opened the lid of your cup. Instantly the aroma of chai hit your senses. 

The smell of cinnamon and creamy milk right away puts you at ease. This was your favourite drink and you’d pick it every time without fail. 

And Jungkook had remembered. Not only that you didn’t drink coffee. But also that you’d only drink one other thing. 

Your heart squeezed at the thought. “Thank you, Kook.” you beamed lightly. 

He nodded, sweetly smirking. “No big deal. Now eat before you fade away!”

After taking a few bites of your muffin and drinking some more tea, you finally decided to get to it. Time is of the essence after all. 

A couple of hours went by. Finally, both of you had achieved a hard outline of what your assessment was focusing on. The stress that was once looming over you was somewhat gone as you scrolled through both your (and now Jungkook’s) notes

“This is great! With this, it’ll make our lives so much easier when writing up the paper!” 

The excited tone in your voice now echoed across the library. The time was 7 pm. Only a few students still worked silently at their desks, but it was nowhere near the mayhem it was earlier on.

You also hadn’t realised in the depths of your study that the sky outside had also gone dark. You sighed “Okay well, this seems like a good place to stop.”

“Oh thank god!” Jungkook groaned. You rolled your eyes as you packed up your stuff.

“Hey, don’t act like you weren’t enjoying it! You were really getting into it at the end.”

Jungkook laughed as he slid his jacket on “No, I was honestly just enjoying how focused your face gets.”

“What do you mean?”

He pointed to the gap between his eyebrows “Your eyebrows scrunch together right here, it's really cute.”

Your breath hitched again at the sudden compliment as you both walked out into the evening air. 

“Haha very funny.” you stopped, waiting to say goodbye before you can make your way home. “Well, I better get going-”

“Woah woah, what are you doing?” 

You paused “I’m…going home?”

Jungkook chuckled “You really think I’m gonna let you walk home by yourself? What kind of man do you think I am Y/n?”

“O-Oh Kook…I’m fine it’s just down the street-”

He shushed you once again, gently taking your hand and guiding you towards your dorm. The sudden touch of his skin against yours made your face heat up.

“You know, you shush me a lot.” You huffed as you walked alongside him, taking your hand out of his gentle grasp.

“Well, you talk a lot.” 

“Did that hurt?” you broke the silence as you both quietly walked along the street

“Did what hurt?”

You pointed to his big sleeve tattoo. While you were working earlier, you found yourself entranced and constantly looking at art that covered his entire arm. He himself caught you a few times, smirking and telling you to “take a picture, it should last longer..!”

“Ah, I was wondering when you were finally gonna bring this up.” He smirked now once again. 

You tutted “You know what? I’m sorry I asked, just forget about it.” You went to walk ahead in a strop, but he grabbed your arm and pulled you back 

“Hey no, I’m kidding.” he chuckled “It hurt a little, but the more times I went to get it finished, the more it was bearable you know?”

“You had to go back more than once?”

He nodded “Of course? You think this took only one sitting? I’d be there for hours!”

“I don’t know! I’m not a tattoo expert!” you shrugged “What did your mom think of it?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well the last time I saw her, she was ADAMANT that tattoos were a no-go.” You laughed lightly at the memory 

Jungkook laughed alongside you, hands in his pockets. “Ah that. Well, let’s just say she wasn't happy! And by ‘wasn’t happy’ I mean on the brink of fainting.”

You laughed harder “Oh my god! For real?”

“No joke, my dad was ready to catch her.” 

You both burst into another fit of laughter as Jungkook kept adding more to the story. 

“Wow, I miss your mom.” you sighed as you wiped a stray tear from your eye. “She’s great.”

“Yeah.” He chuckled “She misses you too.”

A wake of awkwardness swept over the two of you once again. You thanked the universe above that you were now coming up to your dorm. 

“Well.” You started, stopping at the entrance “Next time you speak to her, tell her I miss her cooking.”

He looked down at his feet “Will do. And hey, next time you speak to your mom tell her I miss her baking.”

“Whenever you need her cookies, be sure to get in touch.” You partly joked. He nodded lightly, leaving the two of you to glance at just each other for a split second

Before the silence could make its way into the conversation again you quickly broke out pf your trance “Thank you for walking me home.” 

He shrugged lightly “Ah no big deal, It’s the least I could do for standing you up yesterday.”

“Apology accepted.” You smiled

Jungkook lingered for a split second. “So…meet at the same time tomorrow?”

While your brain (and a little bit of your heart) was screaming at you to say yes, you had other priorities you had to attend to. 

“Oh, I can’t tomorrow. I have Joon’s birthday dinner tomorrow. He couldn't celebrate it on his actual birthday because of exams so he’s throwing it now.”

At the sudden mention of Namjoon, Jungkook’s jaw ticked “Ah, gotcha.” he mumbled dryly. 

Your brows furrowed “What’s up with you?”

“Uh, nothing. Thanks for today. Text me when you’re next free okay? At another dry response, he turned on his heels and walked away towards his own dorms, leaving you standing at your doorstep by yourself.

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[chaotic-super]

For Her Sake - Chapter 15

Read it on AO3 here!

Kara wakes up to the sound of panic and that makes her panic in turn because the voice of the person panicking is her little girl, the one person who she is totally willing to wake up for and fight to the death whilst still wearing her pyjamas.

She doesn’t need to fight anyone to the death today though and she is not wearing her pyjamas. It takes a second to realize that she can’t really see all that well and she is in an unfamiliar room, one that is almost completely dark because of the very expensive blackout curtains blocking the light from entering.

Lori is at her side, still shaking her despite her now being awake. “Mama? Mama, wake up.”

“What’s wrong, baby?” Kara murmurs, pulling her daughter closer to her side in the massive bed that makes her feel like she’s sleeping on a cloud and is actively reversing all of the damage she’s done to her back by sleeping on the couch for so long since she often gives Alex the bed with Lori because of her healing. It’s only been recently that she’s been taking turns with the bed because Alex has been getting so much better.

“Mommy, I have to go potty but I can’t see.”

Ah. That explains it. Kara reaches a clumsy hand out for the nightstand. She vaguely recalls there being a nightstand beside her with a lamp on it when Lena showed her in here before and finds it quickly, searching for the switch but jumping when she realizes that it’s touch-sensitive and switches on when the side of her hand presses against it.

It makes her squint, the bright light assaulting her eyes and near on blinding her. She looks down at Lori and can see her squirming. “Alright, baby, let’s take you to go pee.”

Kara begrudgingly gets out of bed, only moving because Lori needs to go to the bathroom. She wouldn’t mind peeing herself but that bed was far too comfortable for her to be willing to get up to go herself. Now that she’s up though, she’ll go too so she can get back to becoming one with that deliciously addicting mattress that can swallow her whole any day.

With Lori’s hand in hers, they head down the hallway towards the bathroom, the dim light telling Kara that it’s the early hours of the morning and they should still have plenty of time to sleep yet before they have to get up and head home.

Kara guides Lori into the right room and locks the door behind them. They both do their business and Kara takes the opportunity to wash her face free of the makeup from last night, she’s already regretting falling asleep before doing that because she’s probably going to break out now, or at the very least, she’s probably stained Lena’s pillowcase.

“All done?” Kara mumbles to Lori.

She gets a nod in return and she starts back towards the guest room which, Lena has so kindly allowed them to stay in, especially on such short notice but when she hears a noise from in the kitchen, Kara deems it best to go and investigate lest she be responsible for allowing a burglar traipse through Lena’s place because she couldn’t be bothered to go and check what the noise is.

“Hey, go and get back into bed, ok? I’ll go and get us some water, yeah?”

“Ok, mama.” Lori goes without question, her weariness returning now that she’s successfully emptied her bladder and Kara has no doubts that her daughter will be asleep before her head has even hit the pillow once again.

Kara closes the bedroom door behind herself after tucking Lori back in with rushed movements. She’d quite like to do this quickly so she can get back to being asleep and having the best rest of her natural life.

Her sock-clad feet help her to stay quiet as she inches closer and closer to the kitchen, the quiet clicking noise she can hear getting louder and louder the closer she gets.

Kara peeks her head around the corner and through the dim light, she can see a figure sitting at the kitchen counter, their face lit up by the screen of a laptop. Her shoulders instantly sink and all of her apprehension drains away in one swift move because she recognises that face.

It makes her feel kind of dumb that she didn’t stop to think that maybe the noise could have been made by the owner of the place she’s staying at.

“Hey, you ok?” Kara keeps her voice low so she doesn’t startle Lena but it only half works because Lena’s eyes fly up to meet hers in a rapid movement that almost scared Kara because it’s so sharp. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you, I could just hear a noise, were you typing?”

“Yeah, I was. I’m sorry I woke you. I didn’t think I was being all that loud.” Lena has a hand pressed against her chest and Kara can feel the frantic pulsing against her palm, the phantom pressure of Lena’s beating heart all the way from across the room.

Kara shakes her head, moving closer so she’s leaning on the counter on the opposite side to Lena. “You didn’t wake me, don’t worry. Lori just needed a bathroom break and I heard you while I was in the hallway. What are you doing up so early?”

Lena shrugs. “I have a terrible habit of waking up at five in the morning and I struggle to sleep in later than that so I figured I’d do some work. Feel free to head back to bed, I might be up but I don’t count it as morning until after eight, at least.”

“I will in just a minute. I just want to thank you for letting us stay, I know it wasn’t planned so it was really nice of you to let us. I know it’s not always nice to have unexpected guests so thanks for being chill about the whole thing.”

“Not at all. I don’t really share your aversion to guests, I love having a bit more life in the place. I actually find it to be a bit stale or suffocating in here when there aren’t people around, it’s why I like to go to L-Corp so early but you’ve given me a good excuse to just do my work here instead of there. Well, actually, I take it back, I don’t want any guests that are family. Friends are good, family guests suck and make me want to jump out of the window headfirst.”

Kara snorts at that last comment, the sound unattractive enough to bring a blush to her cheeks but Lena pays it no mind, a kind smile situated firmly across her face. “Why are you working on a Sunday anyway? Surely whatever you’re doing can wait another day?”

“It probably could but since I’m up and I have nothing better to do, I like to try and get ahead. Another couple of hours and then I’ll put it all away and forget about it until tomorrow but for now, I’ll just do it.” Lena says, her focus firmly on Kara and not the laptop screen in front of her, showing Kara that she really does mean what she’s saying, she’s just working to work, not because she needs to right now.

“Ok, I’ll let you off this time but I am taking you up on that offer and heading back to bed for a little while. Do you mind if I grab some water though?”

“Not at all, help yourself to anything in the fridge.” Lena nods towards her refrigerator.

Kara smiles and grabs a bottle of water, she’ll share it with Lori if she wants some but she really knows that Lori will be well and truly gone to the world by now, possibly already snoring too. “See you in a bit, Lena.”

“Goodnight, Kara.” Lena watches her go, her gaze only dipping once before a stern self-talking to gets her to face back towards her laptop screen. She’ll have to invite Kara to stay more often.

-

By the time Kara wakes up the second time, she’s the one panicking, not Lori. That’s because Lori isn’t next to her.

It’s a good job that she’s able to quickly calm her nerves and think clearly enough to recognise that she’s probably just gone exploring since she’s taken to Lena so easily that she’s comfortable with her and the space she’s in.

It’s actually pretty shocking because Lori is almost as shy as she was as a kid and that’s a hard line to reach. She usually takes weeks, if not months before she’s comfortable with people and the only reason she’s ok with most of her friends is because she’s known them all of her life, Uncle Winn being the prime example.

Nia is another story though; she might be a good friend of Kara’s and she might have spent a decent amount of time with Lori but she still has to spend the first ten minutes of any meet-up regaining her trust. After that, she’s all over her and ready to move out and live with Nia forever but she’s not the most trusting kid.

Kara moves a bit quicker than she usually would when she’s first waking up so she can make sure that Lori is alright and that if she is with Lena, she’s not interrupting her too much since she was working earlier.

She finds the pair of them at the counter, Lena still in the same spot she was in earlier but this time, her laptop is closed and buried beneath a pile of papers that Kara is sure must hold some kind of sensitive material or statistics she has no idea how to decipher.

“Uh…hi.” Kara stumbles over the words, her eyes fluttering between Lori, who is sitting with a bowl of what looks to be muesli of some kind, and Lena, who is nursing a cup of coffee.

“Good morning, did you sleep well?” Lena asks, getting up before Kara can stop her and filling another mug with coffee. “Sugar? Creamer?”

“Yes to both, please.” Kara takes up the same spot she had hours ago and leans over the counter, her arms resting heavily against it as she eyes up Lori’s bowl. The kid usually likes the sugariest cereal she can butter her mom or aunt up to buy so seeing her eat something with fruit in it, much less without complaining, is truly remarkable. “Morning, Lori.”

“Good mornin’,” Lori mumbles around her food, chewing away diligently.

Kara happily takes the offered mug from Lena and takes a good sip, ignoring the burning in her mouth in favour of savouring the sweetness of the caffeinated drink. “Thanks.” She sighs over the brim of the mug once she’s swallowed the deliciousness she just tasted. “How was work?”

Lena shrugs half-heartedly. “I got a bit done but then I got some good company that I just couldn’t turn down.”

Kara feels mortified. Not only did they infringe on Lena’s space but her morning was also ruined because she hadn’t heard Lori waking up so she’s been essentially babysitting her daughter for her while she sleeps in. “I’m sorry your morning got ruined.”

“It’s not ruined at all.” Lena announces, “In fact, eating muesli and talking about Alice In Wonderland is one of my favourite things to do. We’ve been having a very good conversation and I managed to convince little Lori here that fruit and cereal really do mix.”

“Yeah, how did you manage that?” Kara asks, genuinely baffled by Lena’s abilities.

Lena winks, “I have my ways.”

Kara stares at her dumbly for a moment before Lena giggles in the sweetest tone Kara has ever had the pleasure of hearing. It’s Lori who answers her question though. “Mama, Lena put nice stuff on the cereal to make it taste good.”

“Nice stuff?”

“Yoghurt.” Lena lets her into the secret. “I put yoghurt in it.”

Kara puffs out a laugh. “She always refuses to eat yoghurt unless it’s out of a tube at home. I swear you’re a witch of some kind. Did you put a spell on her?”

Lena looks mildly amused at Kara’s slightly annoyed expression and her faint confusion. “Oh yes, I always put yoghurt-eating spells on every child I meet. Really though, I just let her try a bite of mine and when she liked it, I managed to talk her into a small bowl, I figured you’d want me to give her something healthy.”

“Well, I really appreciate that and thanks for giving her breakfast, you didn’t have to do that. In all honesty though, breakfast is usually a sugary cereal so you’re doing me a favour by getting her to eat healthy because I don’t usually have the time to fight with her in the mornings to get her to have some kind of fruit.”

Lena waves off her thanks with a floppy hand. “Ah, don’t worry about it, really. I like hanging out with her and I don’t like eating alone so it’s a win-win for me. Maybe though, you might find yourself with more time once you’ve started at reign properly. How are you feeling about that? It’s your first day tomorrow.”

“I know. I’m kind of nervous but also excited. I have a good feeling about it and well, if it isn’t as good as I’m hyping it up to be in my head, well, Ms Grant tried to fight to keep me at the end, I can always grovel and go back to the hellhole that is CatCo.”

“Like I would let you do that. I would buy out that company before I let you work beside a woman that tried to blackmail you.”

Kara goes to laugh, her smile already forming and her chest shaking, but Lena’s not laughing too. She looks as serious as she did the first time they met and that’s a look she doesn’t know how to navigate. “Well, let’s both hope it doesn’t come to that. For me, I would like my new job to be great and for you, you better hope your bank account gets to stay wonderfully full.”

“I can toast to that,” Lena says after a slight gap in the conversation, a time in which Kara can tell she was thinking but of what, she doesn’t think she’ll ever know.

“Are we having toast too?” Lori’s cute voice rings through the air, the little girl was clearly listening in and trying to follow what they were saying but only half-paying attention and not really able to make sense of what the adults were saying when she was listening.

Kara and Lena both freeze, their brains both working quickly to run their prior conversation back in their heads to make sure they didn’t say anything inappropriate and once they know they are in the clear, Kara takes over and responds to Lori. “Baby, a toast is something different to—”

“I like toast, I wouldn’t actually mind having toast too.” Lena interrupts her. “Want some?”

“Yes!” Lori exclaims and Kara sighs. She can always explain what toasting is to her when she’s a bit older, maybe when she’s closer to the legal drinking age, or you know, way past it.

Kara shrugs it off, “You know what? I wouldn’t mind some toast either.”

“Awesome.” Lena mumbles, not really talking to them as much as she is to herself. She shoves four slices of bread in her toaster, glad she has a large one now that fits four slices despite the fact that this is the first time she’s ever completely filled it. The only reason she ever got such a big one is because it matches the rest of her appliances.

Kara smiles at Lena’s back and then at Lori, who is finishing up her bowl of muesli, yoghurt now dripping down from the corners of her mouth. “You’re cute.”

“Thanks,” Lena answers, throwing a playful grin over her shoulder.

Kara can’t keep the laugh that bubbles up in her chest and Lori joins in their laughter too even though she wasn’t really listening to the joke in the first place.

Their laughter subsides as the toast pops up and they end up toasting their toast, Lena then explains to Lori what a toast is, something Kara wasn’t expecting her to do but is surprised by the eloquent and not at all demeaning way she explains it to Lori. She doesn’t talk to her like she’s a child in need of babying, she talks to her like an equal and it’s clear that it could be a big part of the reason why Lori is so infatuated with her.

After breakfast, Lena offers to drive them home, an offer that is accepted with just a little bit of resistance because while Kara feels like she’s taking advantage of Lena by accepting so much from her, the only other option would be trying to figure out the bus route home and that would take longer than Lena driving them back to the apartment and then heading home.

The entire drive is filled with playful banter and Kara’s soft singing along to the radio, that is until Lori joins in too and then they are in an all-out karaoke session that even Lena gets dragged into although she doesn’t sing anywhere near as loudly as Kara does because even when she’s just messing around, she has a great voice, one that Lori has apparently inherited too. Lena can hold a tune but she’s not Broadway-ready like Kara apparently is.

Lena insists on walking them up to their door, something about a promise to get them home safe and that means taking them to their door. Lori is more than happy to have Lena walk her upstairs, her little hand encased by Lena’s as they head up.

Kara can’t help but watch the way they interact, the soft way Lena handles Lori and her never-ending patience for her millions of questions. To a degree, the thinks that Lena might actually like it, especially when she gets to try and explain science-y things to her. For Lori, Kara just loves how relaxed and at ease she is with Lena and she can’t help but be so grateful she got herself caught up in that horrid plot to kidnap Lena because it’s got her here. She’s just glad the plan failed epically.

Lena and Lori are a couple of paces ahead and so Kara is confused when Lena freezes at the door, staring right ahead at it like she’s got a gun pointed at her head.

Dear god, please say there’s not an actual gun pointed at her head.

There’s not. There is, however, something pinned to the door, something that makes Kara feel like her heart has been ripped right out of her chest.

Eviction Notice.

“What in the world?” Kara grabs the notice off the door, ripping the corners slightly where it was taped in the process and letting her eyes flick over each sentence, her face getting redder and redder as time goes by.

Her hand forces its way into her pocket for her keys and she unlocks the door, Lena following her inside with a worried expression coloured across her face. “Alex?”

“What?” Alex calls back from the couch, a crossword puzzle in hand.

“Have you seen this?” Kara’s eyes are wide and her steps long as she holds the paper out to Alex so she can take it.

Alex is noticeably furious by the time she has read through it. “I don’t understand. We have paid back all the rent owed and we’re up to date with everything. We’ve looked after the place and it’s not like we’re super noisy. I don’t get it. Thirty days is nothing. We need to start looking for a new place right away, we can’t wait.”

Lena isn’t sure if she should stay or go, or well, what to do at all, so she ends up just awkwardly lingering in the doorway, Lori’s hand still clasped in her own while she slowly clicks the door shut so their neighbours don’t overhear them.

“I don’t get it either. Mrs Stein always seemed really reasonable when I spoke to her about the rent. I don’t get why she would just kick us out all of a sudden.”

“Me neither.” Alex shakes her head. “Maybe I should call her.”

Kara shrugs. “I don’t know, Alex. Taping the notice on the door rather than knocking and handing it to you seems like a pretty good sign that she really didn’t want to have to speak to us. Maybe she’s selling the place and is upset about it. I don’t know.”

Lena clears her throat to get their attention, ready to just slowly back away and let them talk because she has a feeling they will want to figure this one out on her own and as much as she wants to help them out, outfight offering a place to live to people just because she’s lonely and likes having them around is something her non-existent yet well-needed therapist would tell her is a bad idea, no matter how many romance books tell her that it could make Kara fall madly in love with her.

Kara and Alex turn to her. “Sorry, Lena. You’re probably busy and need to get back home. Thank you for the ride and for letting us stay overnight. We had a really great time and would love to do it again sometime.”

“Do you want me to take Lori for the day so you can figure out what’s going on?” Lena asks. She has no idea where that came from but it’s out there now so she’s just got to stand by it.

Kara looks genuinely shocked that she asked. “What did you…you want to look after her?” She is actively doubting her own ears because the question is so out of left field.

Lena nods. “I mean, I can see that you have a lot to sort out and I have no issues looking after her. I was just going to take a book down to the park anyway so I could just take her to feed the ducks and she could have one of her books too.”

Alex doesn’t let Kara say no. “You just keep getting better and better, Lena Luthor. Kara, go and grab her a book.” Alex shoves Kara’s shoulder from behind to prompt her to move.

Lori is looking up at Lena excitedly, tugging at her arm because she’s so happy she gets to spend the day with her. “Can mommy come too?” She asks.

“Maybe next time,” Lena answers. “Mommy is kind of busy today so let’s get out of her hair and maybe we can get her some flowers on the way back to make her feel better,” Lena whispers the last part to Lori, leaving the little girl looking even more excited than she did before.

Lori is nodding her head rapidly at her and jumping up and down by the time Kara reappears with a couple of thin books in her hands. “These are the ones we’ve been working on. I don’t know if you’ll be able to get her to sit still long enough for her to read them but I wish you the best of luck.”

The books get tucked into Lena’s purse and without much prompting, Lori jumps up into Kara’s arms to press a sloppy kiss to her mom’s cheek. “Bye, Mama.”

“Bye, baby. Be safe and listen to Lena, ok?”

“Ok!” Lori starts pulling at Lena’s hand so they can get going but Lena doesn’t move for a second.

“I’ll call you if I need to get in touch about anything, just focus on what you need to do and let me know when you want me to bring her back, I’m free all day so take as long as you want.”

Kara’s expression is soft and it makes Lena want to just bundle her up into her arms and cuddle her. “Thank you, Lena. I really mean it, you’re the best.”

“I know.” Lena wiggles her eyebrows and backs out of the apartment, Lori leading the way.

Kara’s shoulders slump the second the apartment door closes and she lets her head slump into her hands. “God, Alex, this is a mess.”

“I know,” Alex replies, her face crestfallen. “We’ll just have to make it work though. Let’s start having a look at what places are open for rent right now and work from there.”

A nod and a deep breath later and they are on the couch together, searching for any apartments that look like they’ll fit with their budget in hand.

“Do you think we should get a short-term loan and just go for it with a nicer place since we know we’ll be able to pay it off this time?” Alex asks Kara. She might be the money-savvy one but Kara is the one that will worry the most about being in debt again.

 Kara doesn’t move her eyes away from the screen. “That depends on the size of the loan and how long it will take to pay off. We can’t risk falling behind on rent or anything again.”

“If we just take out one that will cover the money we would have saved if we could stay here another couple of months and exacerbate our original plans, we can get a decent place, nothing flashy but much nicer than here, and be stable enough to cover expenses as long as you are happy to stick out your job at Reign even if it ends up being shitty.”

“I don’t think I have to worry about it being shitty and even if it is, I worked with Cat Grant for years. Bring it on. Let’s do it.” Kara smiles, her finger pressing the down arrow repeatedly so she can see the new listings. “Oh, Alex, look at that one. Good neighbourhood. Two-bedroom apartment plus a small office. Slightly cheaper to rent because it’s a little outdated but doesn’t look too bad. What are the room sizes? Let’s see if we could use that small office as another bedroom.”

“Let me see.”

They go through all of the available pictures twice and Alex rifles through their junk drawer in search of a measuring tape so they can get an idea of the room sizes. The office will be a squeeze, only really big enough for a single bed, a chest of drawers and maybe a clothes rail but that will do Lori just fine because all of her toys can just stay in the living room or in Kara’s bedroom. Plus, she’s used to hanging out in the living room rather than the bedroom anyway.

“Alex, it looks good.”

“I’ll call now.”

Kara is on the edge of her seat while Alex’s monotone voice lingers in the air with each new word she shares with whom she presumes to be the building’s management.

The second the call is over and Alex’s smiling face greets her; she smiles back. “Good news?”

“Apparently, we’re in luck. The owner of the building is there today sorting an issue for another tenant and is happy to stick around if we can get there to view it today, preferably in the next hour. If we walk up the street to the taxi rank, we’ll make it in time.”

“What are we waiting for then, let’s go.”

Alex stands up but doesn’t head for the door immediately.

“Where are you going now?”

Alex goes into the bedroom and grabs their folder of important documents from under the bed. “I’m grabbing this.” She holds it up for Kara to see. “I have a good feeling about this and if they let us rent it, we’ll need this stuff. Put it in your bag.”

Kara wants to roll her eyes but honestly, seeing Alex optimistic is a nice change of pace from her usual glass-half-empty personality so she happily grabs her phone and wallet out of her purse and switches them into a tote bag so she can fit the folder in there too and flourishes an arm out towards the door to indicate to Alex that she can go first.

They rush across town, Kara warning Alex to slow down as often as she can because while her health has been steadily improving, she’s still not completely healed. In the end, she has to loop Alex’s arm around her shoulders to take some of her weight because Alex refuses to slow down at all, afraid the apartment will be gone by the time they get there because it’s a miracle they have been able to find one suitable in the first half-hour of looking and been able to get a same-day viewing. This is meant to be, she can feel it in her gut and she knows that they can’t linger and let destiny slip through their fingers. It’s not how she usually thinks but sometimes, it’s good to get a new perspective and well, if she can’t look forward, she’ll just get stuck in the past.

They press the buzzer and wait at the entrance of the apartment building, already evaluating the place and knowing already that it’s a hundred times better than the place they are currently staying. There’s even a little park just up the road from here that has some swings and a slide and Lori would absolutely love it.

A minute or so after they first oppressed the button, they are greeted at the door by an older gentleman with a big grin that is full of youth and sweetness. “Good morning, ladies. I’m Gus, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

They shake hands, Alex first and then Kara. “Hello, Gus. I’m Kara and this is my sister, Alex.”

“Sisters! How lovely, come in, come in. Let me show you around the place. I’m sure you will love it!” Gus leads them inside but doesn’t take them over to the elevator off to the side of the entryway. Instead, they are taken down a hallway and then to a door with a brass number seven attached to the wall beside it. “Here we are. First-floor apartment, number seven.”

“Oh, the ad didn’t say anything about it being on the first floor,” Alex says, worried they are in the wrong place or they are about to find out that the place is a lot more expensive than they had originally come to believe.

“It didn’t?” Gus questions but then shrugs it off. “I’m old and so is the building manager, Ruth, although don’t tell her I said that, we’re not too good at those internet things. I hope it’s not a problem for you.”

“Not at all. We’re just surprised, is all.” Kara jumps in quickly.

Gus smiles again and unlocks the door. “It’s partially furnished but as you can see, needs a good decorating job done to it, which is why I set the price a little lower than the market rate. With my age, my knees aren’t too good and I don’t want to go through the hassle of hiring someone so I was hoping for some spritely young tenants that could breathe some life into the place.”

“Well, I’m spritely and young, Alex here…” Kara trails off, a playful smile gracing her lips.

“Oh, I like you.” Gus wags his finger at her.

“I don’t.” Alex frowns but the corners of her lips betray her, lifting upwards ever so slightly.

Gus chuckles and continues showing them around. The bedrooms are both decent sizes, certainly big enough for them to get by with and have their own space and the office will be good enough for little Lori, although they will have to come up with another solution when she’s a bit older, if they stay long-term but by then, Alex might have a place of her own anyway. This could suit them for a few years if needed.

The bathroom is very dated and there are some minor plumbing issues but on the spot, Alex manages to diagnose an issue with the toilet just by taking a simple look. “That can be fixed really easily. Fifteen bucks and that will be good as new.”

“That tells me all I need to know about you. It’s yours if you want it.” Gus smiles for what feels like the hundredth time. He’s got the vibes of a friendly grandpa that sneaks you dollar bills when your parents aren’t looking. “Well, as long as you pass the background checks but I have a feeling that won’t be an issue.”

“It certainly won’t be. I actually had a feeling this would be a good fit so I brought our documents with us so we can go over it all now if you have the time.”

Gus nods eagerly, “That would be great! Let me see if Ruth has the time and then we can sort it out. If not, would you be able to come back in at some point this week?”

“Yeah, sure. I just might have to bring my daughter with me, if that’s ok?” Kara answers.

“Daughter? You don’t look old enough, there’s not a wrinkle on that face of yours.” Gus’ mouth gapes open in shock.

Kara giggles. “Thank you but yes, I have a daughter, she’s four and her name is Lori. A friend has taken her to the park today to feed the ducks.”

A strange look overtakes Gus’ face. “She would live here with you?”

“Where else would she live?” Kara retorts.

“Not with her father?”

It clicks for Kara. Gus is nice but old-fashioned. He’s probing because he must believe in old-fashioned values. A family must be made up of a parental unit and their child. “Lori’s father, my ex-partner, died in a car accident. It’s just me, Lori and Alex now.”

Gus’ face returns back to the kind look he had before. They will have to be careful what they share with him because while he seems nice enough, he clearly has some strong opinions they don’t want to delve into. Alex and Kara share a look as Gus formulates his next sentence. “My apologies. My son was recently left by his wife and she took their son with her. He hasn’t seen him in several months and the courts are dragging their feet. I may be a little biased.”

Or maybe Kara is judging Gus too fast. Either way, it’s best she doesn’t delve into her personal life with him too much. “That’s ok. I get it. How about that paperwork?”

“Let’s go.” Gus leads them out of the apartment and to the office, which is still on the first floor but on the opposite side of the building. Having the apartment here will be great because they will actually have a set of glass doors that lead right out onto the communal garden, which is just a stretch of lawn but will be perfect for them in the summer so they can sit out there with Lori. This is the perfect place and now, they are really grateful for the eviction. That’s something they were not expecting to be.

Kara can’t wait to see Lena to tell her all about it and she can’t wait to hear all about Lori’s time with her. If she is more excited to hear about Lena and Lori, well, that’s nobody’s business but her own. There are definitely no ulterior motives there. She totally doesn’t care about Lena being all soft and loving towards her daughter and she’s totally not thinking about anything other than friendship. Not at all.

Read the next few chapters early on Patreon here!

[mikkisworld]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: ACER 11.6" ULTRALIGHT CHROMEBOOK 311 HD DISPLAY MEDIATEK OCTA-CORE 4GB.

[marketkar]

mobile phone

NEW GENERATION 5G MOBILE PHONE WITH BEST DEALS

4 minutes, 10 seconds Read 

EASY WAY TO CHOOSE PHONE 

POCO has finally confirmed a date on screen for its new phone , it carries screen-to-body ratio of 93.3% at it as minimal possible art . It will carry a 7.69mm slim body. The company has confirmed LED screen for the PREMIUM ART . The TEAM confirms 108MP rear camera for the phone, blue and golden colours, but we can expect more colours possible and wish for our choice. Based on earlier news the phone will be renamed, the phone will be a rebranded version of the Redmi Note 13R Pro 5G which was launched in China last year, so we can expect a 6.67-inch FHD+ AMOLED screen, Dimensity 6080 SoC (Rebranded Dimensity 810) SoC, 108MP + 2MP rear cameras, 16MP front camera, Side-mounted fingerprint sensor, Infrared sensor, 3.5mm audio jack, and a 5000mAh (typical) battery with 33W fast charging. The phone will be sold on Flipkart, similar to other POCO phones. Since the phone will compete with realme 12, it is expected to be priced in Rs. 17,000 range. A Mobile Phone in this day and age of this running era are far more than just tools for communication on the move, not for only calling or messaging it contains our world in it The MARKETKAR.IN is just one click away from you table we take you to the new mono world of best category mobile phone timeline its where about issues relevant to you and your mobile.…let me take you to know whenever new launch with new camera features on any Web pages will get you notified on this website telling you about mobile relevant information and news some of which could save time and money. Ever wondered how the Apple name came to be and why? Well here is how it all began. Who new Jobs was on one of his “mid full days ” and had just come back from an apple farm and thought the name sounded fun, spirited and not intimidating in anyway. That’s how it work choice of your thought your choice matters . Chose it wisely from latest mobile series’s from MARKETAR.IN The very first iPhone was personally announced in early 2007 by Steve Jobs himself from the ground up suffice to say that they have not only led the whole SmartPhone industry but have also revolutionised the mobile phone into SmartPhones that we see today, to put it quite simply they more or less shrunk a Mac laptop computer to fit into the palm of your hand coupled with great aesthetics in terms of design, with their great desktop and laptop computers they produced. A natural transition for Apple

Apple’s latest iPhone 15 series is still fresh in the market, which means that the best Apple iPhone 15 prices far off the original retail price. We’ll likely see some worthy price cuts during this year’s Black Friday sale son but the more significant savings will be record-low iPhone 14 prices instead, as part of the early Apple Black Friday deals. The standard iPhone 15 has a starting price of 80k, with the iPhone 15 Plus sitting at 90 k and the iPhone 15 Pro at 99. Only the iPhone 15 Pro Max was given a higher starting price than the previous year , but it now has 256GB of storage at a minimum, instead of the original 128GB, making it more on par with the original iPhone 14 Pro Max price. The best iPhone 15 deals are usually found through new contract offers and by trading in your old handset. If you’re not on fussed choosing and owning the latest Apple smartphone, or one of the best iPhones for photography at all, then take a look at our guides to the best camera phones in 2023, as well as the best Samsung Galaxy S23 prices for Android fans

DEPENDING ON YOUR BRAND CHOICE AND PRICE RANGE AT LOW COST AND EMI OPTIONS ALSO AVAILABLE

Pre booking of upcoming variety of phone’s available at MARKETKAR.IN in today’s rapidly growing world in tech landscape staying updated is the most demanding thing today. Know your latest smart gadget at very cost friendly part With it’s essentials. The wide variety and range choices in latest mobile phone what set apart the competition in best price market with latest design at the effective cost with warranty Key features like 5g connectivity advance camera systems revolutiozing mobile photography with multiple mode added with advance technology.

[mybrainismelted]

part 4 of my little Office Au! Previous parts (part 1 , part 2, part 3) Or read it all on AO3 here

A few minutes later, they arrived at Mickey's building, and he headed up the stairs to his second floor apartment. His progress was somewhat hindered by the tall redhead behind him who couldn't seem to stop groping Mickey's ass…. but he wasn't really complaining.

They made it to the door of his apartment, and he found himself wrapped up from behind by a pair of long arms, hands wandering around his torso, and a pair of warm lips attaching themselves to the side of his neck. "Ian…." he practically whined. "I need to unlock the door. You gotta stop"

Ian let out a small huff, but did back off…. about an inch. Mickey fumbled a bit, but finally managed to get the door unlocked, and stumbled through with a human backpack still attached. As soon as the door closed behind them, he found himself spun around and pressed up against it, every overheated inch of his body being pressed into by the gorgeous man in front of him. "Fuck" was all he could get out as the sensations started to overwhelm him.

Suddenly, Ian stopped and pulled away, looking down at his feet. "Oh my god! Your cat is adorable!" he gushed. Apparently completely losing interest in Mickey, he turned all of his attention to Colt who was winding himself around their ankles. He sat down on the floor, petting the cat, and making goofy baby sounds at him. Mickey could only stare in disbelief. "cockblocked by my own cat" he thought.

"Uh… yeah." he muttered. "Ian, Colt, Colt, Ian. Guess he likes you." Ian scooped up the cat and wandered off towards the living room, muttering nonsense and rubbing his face all over Colt's fur.

Mickey shook his head, grumbled to himself, and kicked his shoes off, figuring he might as well get comfortable. He walked into the kitchen and grabbed a couple of beers from the fridge, still shaking his head and trying to get his brain working again. When he walked back into the living room, he found Ian sprawled out on his couch, with Colt on his chest, purring like a madcat. Ian had his eyes closed, a soft smile on his face, and was gently stroking the cat.

Mickey took a seat in the armchair after putting Ian's beer on the table beside him, and just sat watching the sweet but VERY frustrating situation playing out across from him. After about 15 minutes, he realized that Ian's hand had stopped moving, and his face had relaxed. Fucker fell asleep on his couch, with his cat, after getting him so worked up? "Fucking asshole." he muttered quietly. "Damn good thing you're so hot. And you…" turning his attention to Colt "better be glad you're adorable, 'cause I wouldn't put up with this from anyone else."

Getting up from the chair, he grabbed himself a snack, and wandered off to his bedroom to pull up a movie on his laptop. Let sleeping beauty get his rest. He'll make him pay for it tomorrow. When his movie ended and there was still no sign of the redhead, he sighed to himself, and grabbed an extra blanket. He quietly moved back out to the living room where he found Ian still sound asleep, now curled up on his side, with no sign of the cat. He gently covered him with the blanket, poured some food into Colt's bowl, and went about his own bedtime routine. "Night Gallager" he whispered just before turning out the lights.

When Mickey's alarm went off the next morning, he groaned, mumbled, and finally managed to turn it off. Cracking one eye open, he found Colt in his usual spot on the other pillow. "Guess you still like me at least a bit, huh?" he grouched, reaching out to pet his best friend.

Picking up his phone, he finally noticed the text notifications. He snorted, realizing that there were four messages from Ian.

Ian: OMG Mickey Ian: I am so, so sorry Ian: I can't believe I fell asleep on your couch. You must think I'm such an asshole Ian: I'm gonna go…. shit. I'll see you at work. Please don't hate me.

Mickey smiled to himself, imagining the panic when Ian woke up at…. apparently 2am and realized what had happened. He was going to have a LOT of fun with this.

[digindeals]

"ASUS VivoBook 15: Diwali Laptop Deal for Gaming?"

Diwali, the Festival of Lights, is a time of joy and celebration, and what better way to brighten your world than with a fantastic laptop deal? ASUS VivoBook 15, priced at ₹51,990 (a delightful 32% OFF), is here to light up your computing experience this Diwali. In this laptop reviews, we'll explore if the ASUS VivoBook 15 is not just a great Diwali laptop offer, but also a suitable choice for gaming.

ASUS VivoBook 15 – Your Diwali Laptop Offer:

Price: ₹51,990 (32% OFF)

Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 7520U Mobile Processor

Memory: 16GB LPDDR5 RAM

Storage: 512GB M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 SSD

Display: 15.6-inch FHD OLED, 60Hz refresh rate, 600 nits

Graphics: Integrated AMD Radeon Graphics

Operating System: Windows 11 Home

Special Feature: Backlit Keyboard

Gaming Performance:

One of the most pressing questions that often arise when considering a laptop purchase is, "Is ASUS VivoBook 15 good for gaming?" The answer is multifaceted. Powered by an AMD Ryzen 5 7520U processor and integrated AMD Radeon Graphics, this laptop can handle casual gaming and older titles with ease. If you're a gamer looking for a machine to play the latest AAA titles with all the bells and whistles turned on, you might find this laptop slightly lacking. However, for the average gamer, it offers a decent gaming experience.

Display:

One of the standout features of this laptop is its 15.6-inch FHD OLED display with a 60Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 600 nits. The OLED panel offers vibrant colors and deep blacks, making it an excellent choice for media consumption and casual gaming.

Portability:

The VivoBook Go 15 is a thin and light laptop, weighing just 1.63 kg. Its compact design and decent battery life of up to 6 hours make it suitable for on-the-go gaming and productivity tasks.

Diwali Laptop Offers:

Diwali is a season of incredible deals, and the ASUS VivoBook 15 doesn't disappoint. With a 32% discount, it's a steal for those looking to upgrade their laptops during the festive season. Don't miss out on this fantastic Deepawali offer laptop; it's a chance to get a laptop that's both affordable and versatile.

Laptop Reviews:

Our laptop blogs can help you understand the user experience better and get the best laptops options. Many ASUS VivoBook 15 owners have shared their insights and opinions, giving you a glimpse of what to expect when you make this laptop yours. Reading reviews from us can be a great way to find the best available offers and deals in the market.

Is ASUS VivoBook 15 good for gaming?

The answer depends on your gaming needs. If you're a casual gamer looking for a budget-friendly laptop that can handle older and less demanding games, the ASUS VivoBook 15 is a solid choice. Combine this gaming capability, and you're in for a sweet deal. While it may not cater to hardcore gamers, its beautiful display, portability, and affordability make it a desirable choice for many. So, this Diwali, consider brightening your world with the ASUS VivoBook 15 and enjoy the festivities with a new laptop in hand with best deals at Digindeals.

[13tinysocks]

i return with computers - aimed for 15.6in screens for your mole eyes. idk if you've ever used backmarket so just gonna say that I have and I'd say its pretty trustworthy. not sure if all of them are backlit but thats a pretty standard thing for a computer to have so I feel like they should be. good portion are refurbished

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Recertified-Dell-Precision-M7520-7520-15-6-FHD-Intel-Core-i7-6820HQ-2-7GHz-32GB-RAM-512GB-SSD-NVIDIA-Quadro-M2200-Windows-10-Pro/450982289?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=8537 ($299.99)

https://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-ThinkPad-Laptop-i5-6300U-Processor/dp/B08P8CN7RQ?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=A3P65HVUXSSTGQ ($198.00)

https://www.amazon.com/Dell-Latitude-i5-6300U-Certified-Refurbished/dp/B07GCRW5BM?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=ALMHD3AEFM8ST ($180.19)

https://www.backmarket.com/en-us/p/dell-precision-m7520-156-inch-intel-16-gb-ssd-512-gb/d7a604ac-87dc-4a54-8cfb-72b213214479#l=11 ($299.99)

https://www.backmarket.com/en-us/p/dell-latitude-e6540-156-inch-4600m-16-gb-ssd-512-gb/5921ead5-ab00-4b35-b120-9cdd47641f78#l=11 ($242.00)

https://www.backmarket.com/en-us/p/dell-latitude-5580-15-inch-7300u-16-gb-512-gb-ssd/32808f5d-e0ff-4dec-9622-ee2d8b885cef#l=11 ($219-$229, depending on quality chosen)

https://www.amazon.com/Dell-Latitude-i5-6300U-Windows-Renewed/dp/B0C5RFWJ32?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=ASGCWNDQR56IK ($199)

If you look through 'em and decide you don't like any, I personally recommend Google Shopping or Backmarket for searching since they have the best filtering imo, Amazon is mid but tolerable for filtering

-Nina simp

This is so helpful! Thank you!! Im gonna be doing research on these and backmarket over the next few days-- I can't buy anything rn bc my dog broke my debit card 🤭 I appreciate your help :33

[angelhelvin]

How to Choose the Right Laptop for you?

Buying a laptop takes some research. Before you know it, you will be inundated with all kinds of laptops, and making a choice is difficult. Buying a laptop is an investment that should be worth it. A good laptop will give you years of pleasure! Do you want to buy your first Laptop, or are you ready for a new one? We are happy to help you choose a nice laptop.

How do you choose the right new Laptop?

Buying a new laptop seems like it takes a lot of work. Still, the choice is pretty good when you know what you will use the Laptop for. For example, a passionate gamer has very different requirements for a laptop than a diligent student. See below which Laptop is best for your work.

What is a good laptop for home or business use?

You can use a new laptop in your spare time or tick off to-dos. A private or business laptop should be manageable but not too small. It is best to choose a 15 to 17-inch computer from Acer or HP for a good basic laptop.

Small school laptops for students

The portability of a laptop is important when it is used for studying. Carrying a laptop from lecture hall to lecture hall is no fun, so it must be as light as a feather. The Laptop must also be able to take a beating because it can sometimes be busy in the stairwell or the canteen. Therefore, opting for a sturdy yet lightweight Lenovo best laptop 2023.

Play games with a gaming laptop

When playing games, you should opt for the powerhouses of laptops. Gaming uses very heavy programs. You can play endless games with an Asus laptop. Then choose the models ASUS TUF or the Pro series. MSI laptops are also a very good choice. This popular game brand is best rated by gamers worldwide.

Want to compare more computers?

You may still need help to make a choice. Would you like to compare laptops even more extensively before taking the plunge? Then use our buying guide and discover which model suits you.

What are good laptops for a reasonable price?

Cheap laptops are less expensive for a reason. The price difference is often reflected in a quality difference. For an entry-level model suitable for basic use, such as emailing and surfing the internet, you can opt for a cheap laptop under $600. However, do you want a more powerful model with which you can watch razor-sharp movies, play games, or edit photos? Then the price will be higher.

What does a used laptop cost?

You can also opt for an almost new laptop. These laptops have been returned or exchanged by customers and then carefully checked by us. These laptops are in excellent condition, but you pay less than the new price. All these laptops also come with a 2-year warranty.

[yakesh]

Best Laptop under 35000 in India 2024 | All Rounder

Brands and Model Name: HP Laptop 15s, AMD Ryzen 3 5300U 15.6-inch (39.6 cm) FHD 8GB DDR4 512GB SSD AMD Radeon Graphics, Thin & Light Dual Speakers (Win 11, MSO, Silver colour 1.69 kg) eq2143AU

RAM: 8 GB ROM: 512 GB Processor: AMD Ryzen

Onsite Warranty: 1 Year

For coding - programming - students - Office use - Video Editing - Gaming

[govindhtech]

2024 IBC: ASUS Launches ProArt Displays, Laptops, and PCs

IBC 2024

ASUS will exhibit at 2024 IBC under the theme A Glimpse into Tomorrow’s Tech.The ASUS booth will host ProArt Masters’ Talks with industry experts from Adobe, NVIDIA, and Scan Computers, as well as professional filmmaker Bas Goossens, senior trainer Leon Barnard, and Redshark Media co-founder and CEO Matt Gregory.

ASUS will also showcase a variety of cutting-edge technology for professionals at 2024 IBC from September 13-16, 2024, including ProArt Display PA32KCX, the world’s first 8K Mini LED professional monitor; ProArt Display OLED PA32UCDM, which brings 4K QD-OLED to creators; ProArt Display 5K PA27JCV, which has a stunning 5120 x 2880 resolution for unparalleled clarity; and ProArt Display PA32UCE and PA27UCGE, the latest 4K monitors with built-in The latest ASUS AI-powered laptops and workstations will be displayed.

All attendees can experience the future of content creation through hands-on activities and innovative demonstrations.

IBC 2024 Release Date

Be inspired by ProArt at IBC 2024

ProArt Masters’ Talks will feature industry experts at 2024 IBC on September 14 and 15. Distinguished speakers and topics:

Leon Barnard, Team 2 Films senior trainer and workflow specialist, will discuss DaVinci Resolve HDR monitoring.

NVIDIA Enterprise Platform/Studio Tech Marketing Sabour Amirazodi will discuss ASUS ProArt and GeForce RTX GPU-accelerated AI video editing.

Adobe Product Ecosystem Manager Eliza Tan will discuss Adobe Video Ecosystem improvements.

Ministry of Frames director Bas Goossens will help you master 8K video capture and editing.

Generative AI hardware considerations will be discussed by SCAN Computers Director of Collaboration Daniel Parkinson.

RedShark Media Co-Founder and CEO Matt Gregory will discuss 3D volumetrics in virtual production market insights.

Innovation at its best

The new ASUS ProArt Display PA32UCE and PA27UCGE 4K displays feature professional-grade color accuracy. With 98% DCI-P3 color gamut coverage, these 32-inch and 27-inch 4K HDR monitors with 600 nits produce vibrant, true colors. Their factory calibration ensures an average ΔE value below one. These two monitors have ASUS LightSync ambient-light and backlight sensors. On starting, the backlight sensor illuminates the screen for bright images and accurate color. The ambient light sensor adjusts the monitor’s color gamut for accurate colors in any setting. Both monitors support HLG and HDR10. ProArt Display PA27UCGE also has a 160Hz refresh rate for pleasant viewing.

The built-in motorized flip colorimeter makes it easy to maintain the displays’ professional-level accuracy over time, and both models feature auto/self-calibration to prevent color variation from disrupting creative workflows. ASUS LuxPixel technology, which includes anti-glare and low-reflection (AGLR) technology, makes ProArt Display PA32UCE and PA27UCGE extremely comfortable to watch. LuxPixel technology lets creators follow their creativity and assure pixel-color fidelity and crisp details for long creative sessions.

Multiple connectivity choices, such as DisplayPort over USB-C with 96W power delivery, HDMI, and a USB hub, enable smooth workflow integration.

ProArt Display 8K PA32KCX, the first 8K HDR Mini LED monitor, is on display at the exhibit. This 32-inch wonder offers 8K resolution (7680 x 4320) and a Delta E value below one for unequaled color fidelity. Participants can color grade 8K material on DaVinci Resolve Panel and preview it on ProArt Display 8K PA32KCX. The creator-focused 4K QD-OLED monitor, ProArt Display OLED PA32UCDM, and ProArt Display 5K PA27JCV have a dazzling 5120 x 2880 resolution and 218 PPI display for unmatched clarity and color accuracy.

ProArt Display PA16USV adds SDI monitors. This 15.6-inch 4K monitor offers 282 PPI with 12G SDI. Real-time previews and playback are possible with its adjustable kickstand, two tripod holes, and VESA wall mount. The ASUS ProArt booth at 2024 IBC will feature a comprehensive on-set workflow demonstration featuring live footage from a RED V-RAPTOR 8K camera, video grading in DaVinci Resolve via NUC, and real-time previews on the ProArt Display PA24US and PA16USV.

ProArt X870E-Creator WiFi

AI-powered technologies aid engineers, designers, videographers, animators, and game developers. ProArt X870E-Creator WiFi may suit these people.This powerful motherboard has cutting-edge features for makers. With its huge bandwidth, lightning-fast speeds, and remarkable power efficiency, next-generation DDR5 RAM accelerates productivity. ProArt X870E-Creator WiFi supports the fastest next-gen SSDs and GPUs via PCIe5.0. This motherboard has two PCIe 5.0 x16 slots. They support x8/x8 configurations, letting users use two graphics cards. This board has four M.2 slots, two of which are wired for PCIe 5.0, so creative projects and AI-powered programs can use the quickest transfer speeds.Image credit to ASUS

ProArt X870E-Creator WiFi has many networking possibilities. Marvell AQtion 10G Ethernet ports allow ultra-high-bandwidth access to local network resources like NAS devices. Wi-Fi 7 and Intel 2.5G Ethernet are also supported by this board.

Creators use many workstation peripherals. For such a setup, ProArt X870E-Creator WiFi has two onboard USB4 ports, a wide range of high-speed USB ports, and a header for a front-panel USB 20G port with 30W Quick Charge 4+ and USB Power Delivery 3.0 capable.

Artists need their PC to appear professional to clients. Subdued colors and simple design give ProArt X870E-Creator WiFi a refined, attractive look. It works with all ProArt PC cases, AIO liquid coolers, graphics cards, and more.In addition, trusted partners of the Powered by ASUS program, such as Azerty, Alternate, and Scan, will demonstrate how their builds meet varied creative needs at the ASUS booth.

Attendees at the ASUS booth can view a static demo of the ProArt ecosystem design language, the latest ProArt X870E-Creator WiFi motherboard, and the compact ProArt GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER graphics card for AI content creation workflows.

Pro WS WRX90E-SAGE SE

The fast, compatible, and stable Pro WS WRX90E-SAGE SE motherboard is ideal for content creation, software development, machine learning, and more. AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 7000 WX-series processors, with up to 96 cores and 32+3+3+3 power stages, provide professionals with the performance they need for cutting-edge applications.Image credit to ASUS

Pro WS WRX90E-SAGE SE supports a variety of scenarios and industries with inbuilt PCIe power connectors for numerous graphics cards, active cooling on the VRM heatsinks, USB 40Gbps ports, SlimSAS, and BMC. Seven PCIe 5.0 x16 slots, dual 10G LAN ports, four M.2 slots, two rear USB4 40Gbps Type-C, and SlimSAS NVMe support fast communication.It supports up to 2TB ECC R-DIMM DDR5 memory modules (1DPC) and features a robust power and thermal design with power stages with two 8-pin CPU power connectors, large Chipset, M, VRM cooling.Two fan-driven heatsinks with M-2 thermal pad.

Advanced AI laptops for creativity

The 2024 ASUS ProArt AI laptop family empowers regular users, outdoor content makers, and professionals to turn life’s priceless moments into lasting memories. Users can create anywhere, faster, and smarter with the lightweight, sturdy, and powerful laptops.

Copilot+ PCs with ASUS-exclusive StoryCube and MuseTree apps provide smarter and more streamlined creative workflows with fully-local AI on the new ProArt laptops.

ProArt P16 laptop

A compact 14.9mm black chassis and 1.85 kilograms make the 16-inch ProArt P16 a powerhouse for mobile creative. A 50 TOPS NPU in the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU provide 321 TOPS for advanced AI workloads. The RTX 4070 GPU accelerates 2D, 3D, video editing, and streaming applications, including NVIDIA AI products like NVIDIA Broadcast, RTX Video, and ChatRTX.

ProArt PX13 convertible laptop

The 13-inch ProArt PX13 weighs 1.38kg and has a 360° hinge for laptop, tent, stand, or tablet modes. It performs similarly to the P16. Its 3K ASUS Lumina OLED display looks great. Wi-Fi 7, twin 40Gbps USB4 for charging and external displays, HDMI 2.1 FRL, and a UHS-II MicroSD card reader for action-cam transfers are among the I/O connections.

Laptop ProArt PZ13 detaches

The 0.85kg ProArt PZ13 is ultraportable and powerful. A Snapdragon X Plus processor, 3K ASUS Lumina OLED screen, and Copilot+ PC AI are included. Switching between tablet and laptop modes is easy with the detachable keyboard. This gadget is ideal for creative mobility because to its 70Wh battery, IP52 dust and water resistance, and SD slot with microSD adaptor.

Each of these laptops uses AI to deliver top-notch performance for creatives. At IBC 2024, ASUS booth visitors may sample the two new ASUS-exclusive AI apps StoryCube and MuseTree on ProArt notebooks powered by AI NPUs and GPUs. Innovative one-stop smart file management solution StoryCube. It supports importing, exporting, searching, filtering, and cataloging media. AI can distinguish scene types or faces, speeding up footage analysis or searches. Also, an AI-powered smart editing and generative feature can automatically produce engaging videos from files and trim and crop footage and photos in bulk.

Another useful creativity software is MuseTree. ASUS-exclusive generative AI tool can inspire, design, and store resources. It boosts creativity without a cloud connection by using the built-in AI processor to access generative AI.Image credit to ASUS

ExpertCenter Pro ET900A X9

Image credit to ASUS

ExpertCenter Pro ET900A X9 is a professional workstation with AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO 7000 WX-series processors, DDR5 ECC R-DIMM, twin 10G LAN, and up to four NVIDIA Quadro RTX graphics cards Up to four PCIe 5.0 M.2 slots, four SATA 6Gb/s connections, 40Gbps and 20Gbps USB Type-C, 2000W Titanium power supply, and ASUS Control Center Express are supported.

A small AI powerhouse: ASUS NUC 14 Pro AI

ASUS NUC 14 Pro AI revolutionizes AI NUC mini-PC technology. It achieves 120 total-platform TOPS using the latest Intel Core Ultra 9 processor (Series 2) and multi-architecture CPU, GPU, and NPU arrangement. Its strong NPU delivers up to 48 TOPS and triples AI performance for cutting-edge applications compared to earlier Intel processors.

The ASUS NUC 14 Pro AI, with a system height of 34mm and a sub-0.6L chassis, is ideal for business and edge computing applications because to its excellent performance and space-efficiency. Doubled graphics and revolutionary embedded LPDDR5x design deliver high-speed performance and stability in a variety of IoT applications.

Read more on Govindhtech.com

[reviewtablets]

MSLSTM Tablet Reviews 11-inch Tablet

MSLSTM Tablet Reviews 11-inch Tablet with Keyboard, Case, Pen, 2024 Latest Android 14 Tablet 18GB(6GB+12GB Extend) RAM 128GB ROM, 2K Display, 13MP+5MP Camera, 5G/2.4G WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth (Gray)

11-Inch In-cell 2K FHD Display: The MSLSTM 11-inch tablet has a 2K FHD full-fit screen. Resolution provides higher pixel density, allowing more detailed images and realistic color reproduction, making movies more stunning. A 16:10 screen ratio and wide color gamut provide a more realistic visual experience. High-Performance, High-Capacity Storage: This Android tablet includes a fast 18GB (6GB+12GB extend) RAM and 128GB Storage, which supports up to 1TB of TF card expansion. You can store many movies, music, e-books, etc. You are equipped with a Huben T616 2GHz Octa-Core processor. High-performance, high-frequency CPU, and manufactured using a 12-nanometer process. It can easily meet reading, gaming, work, and other needs.

Powerful Android 14, Octa-Core Processor: The newly released 11-inch Android tablet in 2024 comes with the new operating system Android 14, which works in conjunction with a highly powerful 2.0GHz Octa-Core Processor, giving a more personalized, secure, and easy-to-use system experience. Adopting the 802.11ac standard, it can simultaneously cover both 5GHz and 2.4GHz frequency bands, providing faster network and stability. Support split screen function, just like watching TV and reading at the same time. Supports Bluetooth 5.0 and GPS.

High-Performance Battery, Fast Charging: The MSLSTM tablet is equipped with a powerful 9000 mAh battery and fast-charging Type-C interface. The MSLSTM F11 can play video for up to 6 hours of maximum sound, use normally for 15 hours, and charge quickly when needed. The Type-C charging port did not distinguish between the front and back, making your charging easier. Whether you are on the go or at home, the MSLSTM F11 Tablet enables you to stay connected and work efficiently all day.

High-Definition Camera and Audio and Video Effects: This WiFi tablet is equipped with a 5MP front camera, and a 13MP rear camera, With an autofocus function that can take high-quality pictures and videos even in low-light conditions. The MSLSTM F11 tablet also comes with 4 dual magnetic BOX speakers with immersive audio to give your entertainment to life. 1-year limited warranty. Please contact us and we will do our best to make you satisfied. Multifunctional 11-inch tablet: This Android tablet comes with a Custom Case, Wireless Keyboard, and Stylus Pen. Foldable Protective Case, which can flexibly convert tablet to laptop mode or computer mode. Allow you to work and learn efficiently, and quickly handle daily tasks, giving you unlimited features and functions.

Technical Details: Brand: MSLSTM Series: F11 Operating System: Android 14 Standing Screen Display Size: 11 Inches Display: 2K FHD Display Screen Resolution: 2000 x 12000 pixels Max Screen Resolution: 2000 x 1200 Pixels

Processor: Unisoc T616 Octa-Core 2 GHz Card Description: Dedicated RAM: 18GB (6GB+12GB Extend) Storage: 128GB (up to 1TB of TF card expansion) Color: Gray Processor Brand: Unisoc 5MP front camera,13MP Rear Camera+5 MP Auxiliary camera

Wireless Type: 802.11ac, 5G/2.4G WiFi Bluetooth: 5.0 GPS: Yes Speakers: 4 dual magnetic BOX speakers AI Face Unlock: Yes Fast Charging Type-C: Yes Item Weight: 1.03 pounds Item Dimensions LxWxH: 10.01 x 6.62 x 0.3 inches

Battery: 1 Lithium Ion batteries required. (included) Battery Capacity: 9000 mAh Average Battery Life (in hours): 14.99 Hours Best Sellers Rank #40,040 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics) #843 in Computer Tablets Date First Available on Amazon.com: May 21, 2024 What's in the box: Android Tablet x 1, Power Adapter x 1, Type-C Cable x 1, Tablet Case x 1, Keyboard x 1, OTG x 1, Stylus x 1, Screen Protector x 1, Card needle x 1, User Manual x 1

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Laptops have become an essential part of our daily lives, whether for work, study, or entertainment. Protecting these valuable devices is crucial, and one of the best ways to do this is by using a laptop sleeve. However, finding a high-quality, budget-friendly laptop sleeve can be a challenge. At Laptoplelo, we understand the need for affordable protection without compromising on style or durability. Here’s a guide to help you find the perfect budget-friendly laptop sleeve.

Why You Need a Laptop Sleeve

A laptop sleeve is more than just an accessory. It provides several benefits:

Protection: Shields your laptop from scratches, dust, and minor impacts.

Portability: Makes it easier to carry your laptop, especially when traveling.

Style: Adds a personal touch to your device.

What to Look for in a Budget-Friendly Laptop Sleeve

When searching for a budget-friendly laptop sleeve on Laptoplelo, consider the following factors:

1. Material

The material of the laptop sleeve plays a significant role in its durability and protection level. Popular options include:

Neoprene: Known for its flexibility and water resistance.

Polyester: Lightweight and durable.

Felt: Soft and eco-friendly, providing a stylish look.

2. Size and Fit

Ensure the laptop sleeve fits your device snugly. A well-fitting sleeve offers better protection and is easier to carry. Laptoplelo offers a variety of sizes, including:

13-inch laptop sleeve

15-inch laptop sleeve

Custom fit options

3. Design and Features

While staying within your budget, you can still find laptop sleeves with additional features such as:

Padded protection: Extra cushioning to safeguard against bumps.

Pockets: Extra compartments for accessories like chargers, pens, and notebooks.

Handles: Making it easier to carry your laptop around.

Top Budget-Friendly Laptop Sleeves on Laptoplelo

Here are some of the best budget-friendly laptop sleeves available on Laptoplelo:

1. Neoprene Slim Fit Sleeve

Material: Neoprene

Features: Water-resistant, lightweight, and slim design.

Ideal For: Daily use and basic protection.

2. Polyester Padded Sleeve

Material: Polyester

Features: Padded interior, exterior pocket for accessories.

Ideal For: Extra protection and carrying accessories.

3. Felt Eco-Friendly Sleeve

Material: Felt

Features: Soft texture, eco-friendly, stylish design.

Ideal For: Environmentally conscious users looking for style.

Tips for Choosing the Right Sleeve

Measure Your Laptop: Before purchasing, measure your laptop to ensure a proper fit.

Check Reviews: Look at customer reviews on Laptoplelo for insights into the quality and durability of the sleeve.

Compare Options: Compare different sleeves based on material, features, and price to find the best value.

Conclusion

A budget-friendly laptop sleeve doesn't have to mean sacrificing quality or style. At Laptoplelo, we offer a wide range of affordable options that provide excellent protection and design. By considering the material, size, features, and customer reviews, you can find the perfect laptop sleeve to suit your needs and budget. Protect your device and express your style without breaking the bank with Laptoplelo's selection of budget-friendly laptop sleeves.

Laptops have become an essential part of our daily lives, whether for work, study, or entertainment. Protecting these valuable devices is crucial, and one of the best ways to do this is by using a laptop sleeve. However, finding a high-quality, budget-friendly laptop sleeve can be a challenge. At Laptoplelo, we understand the need for affordable protection without compromising on style or durability. Here’s a guide to help you find the perfect budget-friendly laptop sleeve.

Why You Need a Laptop Sleeve

A laptop sleeve is more than just an accessory. It provides several benefits:

Protection: Shields your laptop from scratches, dust, and minor impacts.

Portability: Makes it easier to carry your laptop, especially when traveling.

Style: Adds a personal touch to your device.

What to Look for in a Budget-Friendly Laptop Sleeve

When searching for a budget-friendly laptop sleeve on Laptoplelo, consider the following factors:

1. Material

The material of the laptop sleeve plays a significant role in its durability and protection level. Popular options include:

Neoprene: Known for its flexibility and water resistance.

Polyester: Lightweight and durable.

Felt: Soft and eco-friendly, providing a stylish look.

2. Size and Fit

Ensure the laptop sleeve fits your device snugly. A well-fitting sleeve offers better protection and is easier to carry. Laptoplelo offers a variety of sizes, including:

13-inch laptop sleeve

15-inch laptop sleeve

Custom fit options

3. Design and Features

While staying within your budget, you can still find laptop sleeves with additional features such as:

Padded protection: Extra cushioning to safeguard against bumps.

Pockets: Extra compartments for accessories like chargers, pens, and notebooks.

Handles: Making it easier to carry your laptop around.

Top Budget-Friendly Laptop Sleeves on Laptoplelo

Here are some of the best budget-friendly laptop sleeves available on Laptoplelo:

1. Neoprene Slim Fit Sleeve

Material: Neoprene

Features: Water-resistant, lightweight, and slim design.

Ideal For: Daily use and basic protection.

2. Polyester Padded Sleeve

Material: Polyester

Features: Padded interior, exterior pocket for accessories.

Ideal For: Extra protection and carrying accessories.

3. Felt Eco-Friendly Sleeve

Material: Felt

Features: Soft texture, eco-friendly, stylish design.

Ideal For: Environmentally conscious users looking for style.

Tips for Choosing the Right Sleeve

Measure Your Laptop: Before purchasing, measure your laptop to ensure a proper fit.

Check Reviews: Look at customer reviews on Laptoplelo for insights into the quality and durability of the sleeve.

Compare Options: Compare different sleeves based on material, features, and price to find the best value.

Conclusion

A budget-friendly laptop sleeve doesn't have to mean sacrificing quality or style. At Laptoplelo, we offer a wide range of affordable options that provide excellent protection and design. By considering the material, size, features, and customer reviews, you can find the perfect laptop sleeve to suit your needs and budget. Protect your device and express your style without breaking the bank with Laptoplelo's selection of budget-friendly laptop sleeves.