#best places in athens

[isawken]

was going thru my camera roll looking for a very old meme and got caught up looking at some of my favorite pics from my travels

and, courtesy of the great state of Ohio:

[nonkul]

finally caught up with one night stand and its soosososo good but im trying to wrap my head around the fact (?) that this show has 13 eps because we're only at the halfway point and 80% of the mystery has already been revealed.... i don't see how this show can progress in the next 6 eps but let's see what they do maybe someone else will die

[junkissed]

ocean view

member — junhui x f reader genre — romance, smut, strangers to lovers, soulmate au word count — 8.8k synopsis — an all expenses paid trip to greece for your friend's wedding seems too good to be true, but it gets even better when you meet a handsome stranger on the beach. with the help of a mysterious old lady, her magic deck of tarot cards, and one too many coincidences, you're starting to believe things really do happen for a reason. warnings — descriptions of female anatomy, unprotected sex, fingering, marking, an oddly romantic one night stand, mentions of past hookups, reader wears dresses, way too much yearning, happy ending ! notes — my part for the @svthub world tour collab; check out the masterlist here! thanks to @multi-kpop-fanfics for answering all my questions and the biggest thanks ever to @onlymingyus for proofreading & helping me brainstorm throughout !! inspired mostly by the spell mv but also a little bit from nana tour and in the soop bc of the vacation vibes. disclaimer i know nothing about tarot but i did a ton of research so i hope that part makes sense anyway :) this fic was a huge challenge to write so please please reblog if you enjoyed reading, the feedback is super appreciated and it helps me keep writing!! read bonus material here!

they say time flies when you’re having fun.

it felt like just days ago when your best friend had announced she was flying everyone to athens for her destination wedding. between helping prepare for the wedding and getting yourself packed for the trip of a lifetime, a weekend on the beach sounded like exactly what you needed to unwind.

but now that you’re here, you’ve quickly realized that your dreams of lazy spa days, massages, and lounging on chairs in the sand with cocktails aren’t on your friend’s itinerary.

what is on her itinerary, however? clubs. lots of clubs, and bars, and raves.

the night before the wedding, you’d showed up at the place you had all planned to meet at for her bachelorette party, a popular bar right on the beach in the center of everything. you hadn’t been sure what to expect, so you’d worn your swimsuit underneath your sundress just in case. between wedding plans and jet lag, you hadn’t yet had the chance to explore the beaches, and you weren’t about to let your favorite white strappy one-piece go to waste without wearing it the whole trip; especially not when you’re surrounded by gorgeous clear waters you don’t get to see while you’re at home.

you tug at your dress a little awkwardly, a simple off-white piece with buttons all down the front. cute and casual, the perfect thing for an evening on the beach. except an evening on the beach is not what you’re getting.

“next round is on me!”

all the girls let out a cheer, clapping and whooping as they raise their glasses. you’re still not even halfway through your first drink; the night is young, but your friends are more enthusiastic partygoers than you are.

you lean away to check the time on your phone, trying not to feel defeated when you see how early it still is. you’ve been trying to hype yourself up for tonight all weekend, but it doesn’t help that your friends are bigger partiers than you. that isn’t to say that you dislike parties, or that you never go out; but parties like this, huge events with hundreds of people packed into a small space with loud music and flashing lights, aren’t really your ideal way to spend a saturday night. even for such a special, rare occasion like a bachelorette party in another country, you can’t bring yourself to get lost in the scene. you should’ve known how this would go, and yet here you are, standing at a cocktail table by yourself surrounded by drunk women.

you turn back around and suddenly the bar is a sea of unfamiliar faces, everyone around you lost in their own worlds jumping and dancing to the music that booms from the speakers. you stand up on your tiptoes to see above the crowd, trying to push your way through in search of someone you recognize, but it seems like they’ve all vanished.

the pounding of the music is starting to give you a headache, so you down the last of your drink and head away from the bar, pushing past people until the crowd eventually starts to thin and you break out into the open air.

it’s still light outside, but the contrast from the darkened bar makes it feel like stepping into another world. the noise gets quieter the farther away you move, and you find your feet carrying themselves down the beach. you walk backwards, turning to look over your shoulder one more time to see if you can spot your friends, but all you see is a crowd full of strangers.

it’s easier to breathe out here, feeling the freshness of the ocean breeze and the salty air in your lungs as you get further and further from the people and the businesses. you turn around again and almost run straight into a man walking from the opposite direction, and you stumble into his arms before you realize what’s happening. you let out a little squeak in surprise and jump backwards, almost tripping over your own feet but his hand instinctively shoots around your waist to help keep you upright.

your cheeks burn with embarrassment, an apology already ready on your lips, but he beats you to it. “sorry,” he says with a shy laugh, slowly letting go of you and offering his hand for balance as you slip your sandal back on that had come off. he steps back and gives you a polite smile, trying to move out of your way. “you look like you’ve got somewhere to be.”

“the opposite, actually. escaping my friend's bachelorette party," you explain. 

"we're in the same boat, then," he chuckles, tucking his hands into the pockets of his shorts. "trying to ditch the bachelor party. it’s a popular place for weddings, huh?”

“seems like it.” you hum, turning to look out over the water. the setting sun glints off the surface, a clear and bright sparkling blue, and you lift your hand to keep the glare out of your eyes. “i just didn’t think it’d be so…”

“…hectic?” he asks, and you laugh a little.

"yeah, you could say that.” a warm breeze ruffles through your sundress, and you cross your arms over your chest. “i guess all weddings are like that, though.”

he nods, following your gaze off into the horizon. you go quiet, listening to the music still loud in the distance and the sound of seagulls cawing above your heads. "i was hoping to get a chance to explore more of the beaches while i'm here. i don’t get to see it often."

"wanna go for a walk?” you ask suddenly, uncrossing your arms. maybe it’s the fresh air of a new place, maybe it’s the comfort of finding another person wanting to get away from it all, but some part of you wants to stay here and find out. you’d wanted to see more of the landscape anyway, and now seems like as good a time as any, especially now that you’ve got company.

he looks over at you, judging your expression before his face softens. “that sounds perfect.”

it’s still early enough that the beach is still mostly full of tourists, adults lounging on towels while reading books and kids splashing water at each other and playing in the sand. you walk further down the beach, passing in front of a grey haired old woman sitting cross-legged on a towel, shuffling a deck of cards in her wrinkled hands.

"always lovely to see couples enjoying the islands,” she calls out to you. there’s an almost rhythmic lilt to her voice, and it’s so sudden that it makes both of you pause and turn around, having paid her no mind as you walked past before. she gestures down at the deck and you finally notice that she’s holding a set of tarot cards, a deep matte black that seems to glitter and sparkle even while shadowed. “would you like a reading?”

your cheeks start to warm, and you push down the butterflies that flutter to life when she assumes you’re together. "oh, no, we're not—”

"sure," jun says over you, and you sneak a glance up at him when you think he's not looking. "how much?"

she clucks her teeth and shakes her head, staring directly at you although she’s answering his question. "no, no, no, my dear. just offering a bit of friendly advice. won’t cost you a thing."

jun nods, but she seems like she’s waiting for your answer so you quickly nod, too. “okay. what… do we have to do?”

she places her palms over the deck and closes her eyes, falling silent. you stand in front of her, feeling a little awkward to be hovering over her like this, but she it’s like she doesn’t even notice. you share a look with jun, but after a beat he grabs your hand and grins as if to say, just go along with it.

her eyes suddenly fly open and she seems pleased with whatever she was doing. “i knew i could feel it,” she says cryptically as she begins shuffling the cards. “but let’s just see what fate has to say about it.”

she stops and pulls the top two cards from the deck, placing them face down on the towel as she motions at them with her hand. at her signal, jun bends forward and turns over one of the cards, reading it aloud. “ace of cups.”

“ace of cups,” she repeats. “an invitation. the open, uninhibited flow of emotions, creativity, and love; the awakening of your spirit. this is a new beginning for you, the start of a new season. trust yourself and your feelings, and embrace the opportunity to grow with your emotions.”

jun nods seriously like he’s taking in her words, but you can see the hint of a smile at the corner of his lips that he’s trying to suppress.

she looks at you expectantly, and you hesitate before realizing she’s waiting for you to flip over the second card. you cheeks heat as you read it, but you try not to let it show. “the… lovers?”

she smiles, and although her face looks kind you have a sense that there’s something she’s not telling. “the lovers,” she says, almost solemnly. “many people think this card is strictly about romance. and in some ways it is, but what it really represents is a choice. two diverging paths, two responsibilities. will you choose with your head, or with your heart?”

she stares at you for another moment, then looks back at jun. you both stay quiet and still, subconsciously hanging on her every word as she pauses, clearly having more to say. “having these two cards come up together… now, that’s fascinating for you two, isn’t it?”

you find yourself nodding silently, although you have no idea why. you feel jun’s hand in yours, warm and soft and grounding, and the smallest shiver runs down your spine.

“the lovers and the ace of cups are the potential for new beginnings and the fulfillment that comes with following your heart,” she says, her eyes locked with yours. “this is a very powerful and meaningful connection, but only if you make the choice that is most heartfelt. you must be willing to be your most authentic self and hold nothing back. keep your eyes open, and you will be rewarded with profound joy and happiness.”

immediately you turn to look at jun to see his reaction. he looks just as confused—but is that a hint of excitement in his eyes?—as you do. the woman’s words are… cryptic, to say the least, but it stirs up a feeling of excitement in the back of your mind that you’re trying to ignore. it probably doesn’t mean what you think it does, right?

"hey, wait, so what does—”

you turn back to look at the woman for another explanation, but there's no one there. the beach is empty except for you and jun and the slowly setting sun, a few boats tied up at the dock. you’ve walked so far down the beach that even the distant music has faded into obscurity and you’re left standing alone together, surrounded by nothing but the sounds of the waves. even the wind has died down, and it feels eerily quiet but in an almost comforting sort of way, to be alone together in a place like this.

"you believe in that kind of stuff?" you ask curiously as jun starts to walk away.

"mm… not really. but she seemed like a lonely old lady. i thought it'd make her day." he looks down at your entwined hands and squeezes lightly, almost teasing as you look up and see the grin on his face. "why, do you?"

you can't help the butterflies that instantly flutter to life in your stomach when you feel his warm hand in yours, but you shrug. "why not?"

jun doesn't reply, just nodding thoughtfully as you continue to walk hand in hand. 

with the way the atmosphere has suddenly changed, it feels like time has stopped as you meander your way along the edge of the water. you chat off and on with jun, but there’s a hefty amount of silence that neither one of you feels obligated to fill. talking to jun feels like talking to an old friend, and maybe it’s the beautiful scenery or maybe it’s the way both of you had found yourselves here looking for company.

after a while you come to a stop just below the rocks where you’d started. your footprints from where you’d run into each other are still visible, little indents in the damp sand, and it reminds you of what you were running away from in the first place. maybe you don’t want to run anymore. 

"well…”  jun says, inhaling slowly. "we should get you back to your friends. i'm sure they're looking for you."

"would it be so bad if i said i didn't want to find them?"

he pauses to gauge your reaction, and you don’t miss the flicker in his eyes as he looks at you. after a moment nods and points up the shallow cliffs, towards a little stone staircase worn down from years of being travelled on. "my hotel is just up there. if… if you wanted to stay a little longer? with me?"

you pull your lip between your teeth, looking up at him and the way the fading sunlight shines through his soft brown waves, and it only takes a second to make your decision. “i’d really like that.” 

it turns out that missing out on your friend’s party for a few more hours is an easy price to pay for more time with jun.

the door of his hotel room barely has time to shut before your hands are on each other. you tug him closer by shirt with an eagerness you rarely allow yourself and he immediately reciprocates, pulling you by the waist until you’re pressed chest to chest.

his hand skims over your collarbone towards your neck, and you shiver at the warmth of his fingers caressing the side of your jaw. he angles your chin upwards and leans in as you meet him halfway and your lips finally touch, a low sound escaping from your throat as his nose brushes your cheek.

he makes a soft noise as he inhales, deepening the kiss until you feel your knees go weak. his hand cups your jaw harder, trying to draw you further into him, unwilling to break apart. he kisses you so softly yet you can still feel the intensity behind every movement of his lips, exploring your mouth with a gentleness that feels more natural than anyone you’ve ever kissed before.

jun curls his arm around you tighter, and you’re sure he can hear how fast your heart is beating as he kisses you again and again until you’re breathless. you slide your hands away from his chest and start to undo the buttons at the front of your dress, but he stops you. you look up and meet his gaze as his hand on your cheek moves to wrap around your waist, carefully walking you backwards until the backs of your knees hit the bed and you let yourself fall back onto it.

he lets out a quiet groan as you pull him down with you, landing on top of you and catching himself on his forearms beside your head. his face is inches away from yours, staring into your eyes for a beat before he presses down to capture your lips again.

his kisses feel like magic, and you almost forget exactly what you’re here to do. you’d be content to spend hours with his lips on yours and nothing else, but you’re quickly pulled away from it when he sits back and starts to slide his hands down your body, his nimble fingers skillfully undoing the buttons of your dress one by one.

he pulls the fabric away and lets it fall to the floor before leaning to kiss you again, and a grateful sigh slips from your lips at his touch. your fingers tug at his shirt and he breaks away once more to quickly pull it off over his head, tossing it behind him without a second thought.

your hands slide earnestly across his body, your fingertips trailing down his torso and the deep lines of his abs. his fingers brush over your swimsuit in tandem, tracing the cutouts of the fabric where your skin is visible and making you prickle with goosebumps at his touch.

he seems equally as content to just continue doing this, but eventually his hands make their way upwards and gently slip the straps off your shoulders. he doesn't move any further than that, waiting for you to move instead, his fingers resting at the base of your neck just beneath your chin. 

you follow his actions and shimmy the suit down, letting it bunch up at your hips. only then does he finally break apart from you, moving his mouth down to your exposed breast and letting his tongue glide over your peaked nipple. your skin tastes like salt and sweat, like sunny days and warm breezy nights, and he can't get enough of you.

the first moan you let out is like music to his ears, and immediately he craves more of them. he wraps his mouth around your other nipple while keeping his hands attached to your body like magnets, desperate to be the one to draw more of those pretty noises from your lips.

you lift your hips just a little and he quickly gets the hint, wordlessly pushing his fingers between your skin and the fabric of your swimsuit before tugging it all the way off. he pulls it down your legs and you help him kick it away, leaving you completely bare beneath him.

your hands slide across his shoulders and up the back of his neck, tangling in his hair with another moan that sends a shiver down his spine. you can’t help but roll your hips upwards against his body, squirming for more friction as your nails scratch at his scalp.

his face stays buried in your chest for a long time, moving between your breasts and planting wet kisses all along your skin. your head is spinning at the sight of this gorgeous man working his magic on your body, his hands wandering up and down with a tender purpose. you don't even know his name but you already know you're gonna be thinking about this night for months, probably even years. you're shocked at how good he is at this; there's a melancholy feeling looming in the back of your mind, knowing that this is probably the first and only night you’ll get to spend with him, but you don't have time to focus on that when you have the tingly feeling in your stomach to focus on instead.

despite not saying anything aloud you can tell exactly what he wants from you, and something about how easy this is sends a feeling of relief through you. all of the mistakes of your past hookups feel like a distant memory. there’s none of the empty conversations meant to do nothing more than fill the silence and the awkward, tentative movements that you’ve become accustomed to from strangers who aren’t familiar with your body. 

but something about the way jun touches you does feel familiar, like you’ve been waiting all your life for it, for him. his silence, something that most of your partners in the past had fought so hard to avoid, now only leaves more room for you to enjoy the sounds that often go overlooked: the wet hum as his lips connect with your skin, the distant crash of waves outside the window, the quiet whir of the ceiling fan.

jun leans down and kisses you again, shifting on top of you as his hand wanders down your hips. you pull him closer and let your hand travel a similar path, and you bite your lip in excitement when your fingers skim over the bulge straining against his shorts.

he lets out a strangled noise almost like a whimper at the contact but the sound only encourages you to add more pressure, soaking in his reactions. he whines again, pushing his hips into your hand and exhaling a shaky breath as you continue to palm him, feeling the hard outline of his cock as he struggles to keep his composure.

his knee is against your thigh and he repositions himself to press it higher between your legs, returning the favor and giving you something to grind on. instinctively your legs widen a little to give him easier access, and he rewards you with another hot, messy kiss.

you groan at the feeling, pushing your hips down towards him and rubbing yourself on him. it’s a little rough at first, but you’re already so wet that it doesn’t take long before his knee is coated in your arousal and you slide along him easily. 

after a minute he pulls back just an inch, giving you room to breathe, but one hand is still on your hip and the other curled behind you to support your neck. “good?” he asks breathlessly, and even though it’s clear as day that you’re enjoying this as much as he is, you still nod and give him an encouraging smile, and he returns it with a smile of his own. “just let me know,” he says, and the sultry yet sweet tone of his voice makes your heart skip a beat.

at your approval his hand begins to wander again, trailing over the top of your thigh. his finger slowly make their way down and you shiver, your hand stilled against his abdomen as you anticipate his next move.

you take this moment to get a good look at him; you’d been too shy to stare earlier on the beach, unsure how things were going to go. but now that he’s on top of you, shirtless and obviously just as eager as you are, you let your gaze roam unabashedly across his body. your eyes glide over his torso, the hollow slope of his collarbones and his hardened nipples, the deep-set grooves of his abs and the faint lines of his ribs beneath his skin. you want to reach out to touch him and run your hands over every inch of him, but you’re trying to be patient. and although you know your time here is limited, it seems like jun is only just getting started.

his fingers finally make it to your inner thighs, tracing the area around your pussy, but it’s still not close enough for your liking. you wiggle a little to try and encourage him, whining softly and letting out a little plea. his lips quirk up and he nods, his grip on the back of your neck tensing and tangling in your hair. 

his fingers finally brush against your entrance and you gasp, writhing at how gentle his touch is. he dips his middle finger into your heat before pulling it back out, trailing upwards to your clit to circle it for a moment before heading back down and repeating the process. it’s barely enough, yet it leaves you breathless almost instantly.

he’s staring down between your legs with an intense focus, spreading your arousal around before sinking back into you for more. and just when you think you can’t take it anymore, he pushes his finger in deeper, holding it still for a second even though you’ve already adjusted to it. he waits until you start moving, arching your back and trying to get him to go further, before he adds his ring finger and begins slowly thrusting both fingers in and out together.

you whimper and curse under your breath, trying to roll your hips to match his rhythm. he starts to curl his knuckles and you swear you see stars, despite the fact that he’s barely moving at all.

after a moment when you’ve regained the ability to breathe normally again you start to move your hand back against his bulge, shaky fingers dipping beneath the waistband of his shorts. you wrap your hand around him and your eyes widen at the thickness, the heavy weight of him in your hand and how you’re sure he must be aching by now. you feel the way his cock jerks when you squeeze ever so slightly, his fingers inside you freezing for a split second as his brain tries to process before he plunges them in even deeper, curling into you with even more fervor than before.

you hold him tighter and run your thumb over his tip, swollen and leaking with precum. he gets a little noisier with every move you make, unable to contain the pleasure he gets even from this. even the smallest touches from each other have both of you on edge in a way you’ve never felt before, drawn to each other like no one you’ve ever had before.

his clothes in the way are starting to frustrate you, so after another second you release his cock and move your hand up to the waistband of his shorts instead, trying to tug them down but it’s difficult from the position you’re both laying in.

“please,” you pant out desperately after having little success, and he obliges, pushing his shorts away as fast as possible before resuming his motions. he’s still almost completely ignoring himself as he continues to focus on you and only you, and his complete devotion gives you another boost of confidence.

now freed, his hard cock slaps against your thigh and you moan happily at finally being able to see all of him. it looks even better than it felt, thick veins bulging out across his length and his tip flushed a deep red. you wrap your hand around him once more, flicking your wrist as you start to jerk up and down.

his fingers curl upwards to massage the spot that makes your eyes roll back, and if you had any functioning thoughts left you would’ve marvelled at the fact that he was able to find it so easily, but you’re too busy arching your back against his pillow to think about that.

he can feel you starting to clench harder around him, making his fingers stutter inside you, so he pushes his other hand down on your hip to stop you from moving so much. he pulls his fingers out and your eyes dart back up to his face for an explanation, unable to stop the whimper that escapes from you at the loss, but the look in his eyes instantly puts you at ease. you can already tell he knows what he’s doing, and somehow he seems to know exactly what you need, so for once you don’t mind sitting back and letting someone else call the shots.

“can i fuck you now?” he murmurs, and it takes you a second to even hear what he said because you’re shocked at how low and rough his tone is since the last time you heard him speak. he wipes his fingers against the inside of your thigh as he waits for your reply, and you shiver at the cool wetness on your skin.

the best you can manage is a stuttered “yes”, and without a word of acknowledgement he pulls you off the bed, guiding you off your back and onto your hands and knees.

you let out a squeak at the sudden change but you let it happen, and a second later you hear his voice beside you, his breath warm against your ear. “still okay?” he asks, and despite the gruffness in his voice you can still hear the soft edge to his words.

“yeah,” you repeat, suddenly losing the ability to say anything else to express your pleasure, but somehow you know he understands. your stomach flutters at the low tone of his voice, steady and calm but so full of warmth and lust.

you feel the heat from his face move away from your skin, and you know he’s sitting up on his knees behind you. his hands slide down your sides, reaching under you to cup your boobs with both hands as he groans at the feeling. you let out a matching whine, pushing your hips back against him to feel his hard length against the soft flesh of your ass.

his hands still holding your breasts, he leans down over you to keep you flush to his body, your back pressed against his chest. he presses a kiss in between your shoulder blades, letting his tongue trace lightly over the ridges of your spine.

you grind backwards against him harder, your body on fire from his kisses as he starts to suck gently at the back of your shoulder. you’re not sure if it’s hard enough to leave marks, but you kind of hope they do, because then you’d be sure this encounter wasn’t a dream. what other explanation is there for the fact that you’ve not only met the most handsome man you’ve ever seen in your life, but that you’re currently on your hands and knees in his bed as he runs his lips over every single inch of you, waiting for him to fuck you? it’s too good to be true.

but it is true, and you know it when he pulls away to brush your hair to the side and expose more of your back for him. his fingers are still so gentle against your skin, his touch heavy but soft, and it makes you even more desperate for him.

after a while he lets go of you and leans back, taking his cock in his hand and gently tapping it against your ass. you groan and fall forward, pressing your face into the pillows and arching your hips up into the air. his hands slide down your sides, gripping your waist with a low groan as he leans forward to kiss the side of your neck again.

he finally pushes all the way into you, and it feels so good it takes your breath away for a second. you can feel your walls throbbing around him, struggling to adjust to the feeling of being so full in the best way, a way you haven’t felt this strongly in so long. it’s a feeling like no other, and it makes you wonder why you ever settled for anything else before this.

his hands are all over you like he can’t decide what to do first, but after a while they settle at your hips and give them an encouraging squeeze, waiting patiently for you to set the pace. finally you bring yourself to move, tipping forward to let him slide out of you just a bit before you lean back into him.

he adapts quickly to your rhythm, thrusting in and out and matching your pace, using his grip on your waist for leverage to push himself deep inside with every stroke.

“fuck,” he moans under his breath, finally breaking the silence, and with just that one sound you feel yourself starting to let go.

the words tumble out of your mouth and you ball your fists into his sheets, clinging to the bed to keep you grounded while your head is spinning. “please, please, yes—”

everything finally hits you all at once, like a tidal wave pouring over you as you fall forward and bury your face into the pillow with a broken whimper.

“don’t stop, please,” you whine breathlessly. your words are muffled by the pillow, but you can tell he’s heard them because his grip on your hips tightens even more, slamming into you with just as much force as before and carrying you through your orgasm.

jun has to bite his lip not to sail right over the edge with you, focusing all his energy on holding himself back until he feels your body go limp all at once, the waves finally subsiding and you let out a deep, pleasured exhale. he’s so close he can practically taste it, his skin flushed and damp with sweat and his abs burning with exertion. only once he’s absolutely sure that you’ve finished cumming does he let himself break, pulling out as fast as he can and wrapping his fist around his length with all the energy he has left.

he moans weakly at the loss of your tight, warm walls hugging him so perfectly, but the view as he jerks himself over you all but makes up for it. the sight of your ass pressed flush against his thighs, your lower back arched and on display like a gorgeous blank canvas, and it gives him such a rush until he can’t hold on anymore.

the warm, sticky liquid hits your back and you whimper into the pillow, instinctively lifting your hips even more towards him. his cum spurts out in thick ropes, painting your skin and pooling in the little divot at the base of your spine, running down your ass until it feels like you’re soaked in it.

he finally pulls back and lets out the breath he didn’t know he was holding in, groaning as he sees you sitting still on the bed with your hips in the air. you feel the bed shift with his weight as he gets up, but you don’t pay any attention to it as you focus on trying to steady your breathing instead. something in your gut tells you to stay put, and sure enough, a minute later you hear the sink running and then feel the cool fabric of a damp washcloth brushing over your back.

he lays his hand on your ass and gently gives it a little squeeze to signal that he’s finished, and you finally fall over onto your side. you’re coasting on cloud nine, and everything feels both dulled and hypersensitive at the same time. the whir of the overhead fan is a little more prominent now, and the quiet drone echoes around in your brain.

“do you need water? or do you want a snack, or something?” jun asks, and while his voice still has a touch of shakiness as he’s recovering himself, you can tell his tone is back to the gentle and polite sound you’ve become used to hearing from him.

you shake your head, and he hums softly in acknowledgement as he points to the nightstand on the side of the bed closest to you. “there’s an extra water bottle there, if you need it. i haven’t opened it.”

you nod against the sheets, suddenly too tired to even think about forming words. jun climbs back onto the bed next to you, stretching out his long limbs and leaning against the headboard with a satisfied sigh. 

you surprise yourself when your body automatically reaches out for him, curling into his body and laying your hand across his forearm like a weight keeping him close. but what surprises you even more is when he mirrors the action, scooting closer to you and letting your head rest against his stomach. your first thought is that he makes a very comfortable pillow, and you let your eyes fall shut for a moment as your breathing returns to normal, wanting to savor this moment as you collect yourself and prepare to leave.

you open your eyes what feels like minutes later, but when you reach over to check your phone you realize you’ve been asleep for more than an hour. you inhale slowly and swallow, blinking a few times as the sore feeling in your hips reminds you of where you are.

instinctively, you start to panic a little. your friends are probably looking for you. you disappeared without telling anyone, and now you have to get back to your hotel and make sure you have enough time to sleep properly and get ready for the wedding in the morning. never mind that it was probably the best night you’ve ever spent with another person, and never mind that your friends are probably still out partying and haven’t even noticed you missing yet.

you slide off of the bed as quietly as you can, stumbling a little when your feet hit the floor. you crouch down to pick up your swimsuit off the floor and put it on, hopping on one foot as you slip each leg through the holes. it's darker outside now, but the street lamps and the moonlight shining through the sliding glass door that leads to the balcony of his hotel room are bright enough that it still feels like day. you're so focused on getting dressed and mentally running over your to-do list that you completely forget there's another person in the room until you hear his voice cutting through the silence.

“you don’t have to do that, y’know.”

you freeze and look up, your half-buttoned dress hanging loosely from your shoulders, your cheeks burning at the realization you’ve been caught.

jun swings his legs off the bed, crossing the room in a couple of strides before he’s standing in front of you. he’s wearing nothing except for the boxer shorts he threw on right before you fell asleep, and your cheeks flush even harder at the sight, despite the fact that you’ve already seen much more of him than this.

it takes every ounce of restraint you have to keep your eyes from straying, locked on his face before your gaze falls quickly to the floor where your sandals are left in a heap.

you didn’t mean to sneak off. but what else were you supposed to do? you hadn’t meant to fall asleep and stay as long as you did, either, and now you were stuck with the awkward conversation that always comes afterwards. the inevitable hurried goodbyes and uncomfortable tension as you try to put yourself back together and leave as fast as possible.

jun takes a small step closer to you, and despite all the confidence you know he has, it feels almost… tentative. as if you’re meeting for the first time and he isn’t sure whether or not he’s allowed to touch you yet.

there's a lingering feeling that you can't quite put your finger on yet. it's conflicting, because you know you can't stay but everything in you is screaming not to leave. maybe there's something you can do, anything you can do. is it all worth it? to turn your life around in a complete 180 for someone you barely even know— and yet, the last few hours that you’ve spent with him have been incomparably the best of your life.

after a moment he reaches out and starts to finish buttoning your dress for you, his fingers working them back through the loops with just as much care as he did when he was taking them off earlier.

“sorry,” you manage quietly, though you’re not even really sure what you’re apologizing for. a lot of things: sorry for running away, sorry for having feelings you probably shouldn’t be feeling, sorry for knowing this won’t work out despite the way you really, really wish it could.

but he just shakes his head as he finishes buttoning the last button. ���i took it off. i can help you put it back on, too.” you can tell he knows what you had actually meant, but he’s ignoring it either for your sake or his. something about his words feels so easy, like all the problems in your head don’t mean anything anymore. here you are, an anxious and awkward and confused mess, and there he is, smoothing out the wrinkles in your dress like it’s something he’s been doing all his life.

he adjusts the strap on your shoulder with a gentle pat, but his hands linger for a few seconds longer than they should, and you lift your eyes to meet his. “can i kiss you again?” he asks quietly, and for some reason his choice of words sticks with you. not one final kiss, not a goodbye kiss, just again. like he’s refusing to admit this will probably be the last time you’ll ever see each other.

and you nod, and his hands slide up to cup your cheeks and pull you back into his lips, just as warm and just as soft and just as familiar as the first time. there’s something so innocent about kissing him, even in the midst of a complicated and confusing mess of emotions that makes you second guess everything. somewhere in the back of your mind you vaguely register that this is the last time you’ll ever kiss him, but as long as his lips are on yours it doesn’t matter. you’ll figure out how to deal with all that later; for now, the only thing you’re concerned about is the way he grips your chin and pulls you even closer.

it feels like hours later when you finally pull away, letting out a slow exhale as you try to blink yourself back to reality, and you know what has to happen now. “can you find your hotel on your own? do you want me to walk back with you?” jun asks, and you can feel the hesitancy in his voice.

“it’s not far,” you sigh quietly, turning away to slip your feet into your sandals that wait by the bed where you’d taken them off earlier. you should’ve said yes. “but… thank you.” your words hold a sincere weight to them, and it’s silent for a few seconds as you cross the room quicker than you want to.

“you could stay,” he says finally, but his hand is already on the doorknob and you both already know the answer. you hate that you have to be the one to tell him no, even though it’s been clear from the start what the outcome would be. you give him a small shake of your head, and he pulls on the knob. 

he stands and stares for a minute, watching you walk down the hallway and praying you’ll turn around. and then you do, glancing back at him over your shoulder, and he almost allows himself to have a little bit of hope that you might come back, even though you both know you can’t. when you find him still standing in the doorway your eyes light up just the slightest bit, and finally you disappear with a tiny little wave.

the door clicks shut again, and the silence that follows is louder than anything he’s heard all day.

“and you didn’t even get this guy’s number?!”

you wince at the tone in jeonghan’s voice, rubbing the back of your shoulder guiltily. “his name, either.”

“even after the magic old lady said all that shit about soulmates?”

“she didn’t say that!” you huff. your tone rises almost defensively, although it probably has no reason to. she didn’t say anything about being soulmates… right? “she said something like, ‘keep your eyes open for stuff around you’. but he said he didn’t even believe in it, anyway.”

a waiter carrying a tray of champagne glasses walks past, and he snags a couple of them, holding one out to you. “well, it doesn’t sound like you’re keeping your eyes open. it sounds more like your eyes are closed, actually. are you blind?”

you scowl and take the glass from him. “my flight home is tonight, hannie. i’m not gonna see him again.” you take a sip, letting it sit in your mouth for a second before you swallow. “and besides, he said he was here for a wedding, too. he could be from anywhere in the world. it would be impossible to find him.”

“doesn’t hurt to at least try.” you both stop in front of a circular table covered in flowers, with a little placard next to one of the plates with jeonghan’s name on it. “i guess this is my table. you want me to help you look for yours?”

you shake your head, pointing to a table a little ways away. “i saw mine on the way in, it’s over there.”

“whatever,” he hums at you, but you know he’s just teasing. “i still wouldn’t blame you if you ditched and ran off to try and find him.”

“not happening!” you call over your shoulder as you walk away, matching his playful tone. but you can’t help but feel like maybe he’s right.

jun taps his fingers against the table, staring mindlessly at the bubbles floating in his glass of champagne. he’s stuck in his head— no, that’s not right. that’s not the problem. you’re stuck in his head. it’s nearly a full day later and he hasn’t been able to stop thinking about you, the taste of your lips, the feel of your breasts in his hands, the scent of the shampoo in your hair. if that wasn’t the most perfect hookup in the history of hookups, then he doesn’t wanna know what is.

he still feels bad for not even paying attention during the ceremony, because he was too busy imagining you and him up there on the altar kissing instead. god, what he wouldn’t give for another kiss like that. but just like you, he knows it never would’ve worked out, and despite the what-ifs that are chewing him up inside and the fact that he definitely, absolutely, totally would’ve tried to make it work however large the distance was, he knows it’s probably for the better. even if it means he’s gonna spend the rest of his life pining after a girl he met on vacation for less than a single day, and he’ll never even know your name.

he takes a swig of his champagne and tries to put on a cheery face. this is a wedding, after all, and he can’t afford to spend all his time pouting when he’s in a beautiful city by the seaside enjoying delicious food and near perfect weather.

and then he sees you.

not really, of course, because it’s probably the champagne going to his head after chugging the majority of his glass like a frat boy at a college party. but then he blinks, and it really is you, wandering around for a second before you sit down at a table on the other side of the venue, wearing a soft blue dress that’s even prettier than the one he saw you in yesterday.

he blinks again, not fully believing that it’s you and not just the combined effect of the alcohol and his daydreams, but you’re still there when he opens his eyes again. and he knows it’s you, because he can see the faint hickies on your back and shoulders that you clearly tried to hide with makeup but couldn’t fully reach.

the chances that he’d see you again—not even that, but the chances that you’d be attending the very same wedding he was—must be one in a billion. maybe even more. yet there you are, picking at your nail and staring wistfully at your empty plate as you wait for the reception to start.

he stares for another minute, just to make sure you’re actually real, before he stands up and makes his way to the terrace at the back of the venue where the groom is standing next to a tower of cupcakes.

“gyu,” he greets him, “hey. are we allowed to switch tables?”

“i… don’t think so?” mingyu hums, a little off guard by the sudden question. “i made sure we put you next to hao, but—”

“if i give you twenty bucks, can you put me at table 8 instead?” jun’s eyes flicker with desperation, and he has to force himself not to look back over at you.

mingyu whines apologetically and hesitates, glancing at his bride a little ways away as she talks to a table full of guests. “she did all this planning, jun, i can’t just change everything now…”

“it’s not changing everything.” jun pulls his wallet out of his pants pocket, already rifling through the bills. “i’ll make it a hundred. mingyu, please, just switch me,” he says.

the whine in jun’s voice makes him pause, and he bites his lip as he considers it. on one hand, he could have his brand new wife a little bit mad at him for a while (who’ll probably forgive him the second she gets in bed with him tonight), plus get to help his friend and get an easy hundred dollars out of it. or, on the other hand… he could not help him, and his wife would never know, and jun would probably hate him for some unknown reason even though he doesn’t think jun has a single bone in his body capable of hating anybody. the decision is easy.

mingyu takes the bills from jun’s hand and stuffs them in his pocket before anyone can notice. “go ahead,” he says, tossing his head in the direction of the table. “i don’t know what it is you want, but don’t let anybody see you.”

“thanks! i owe you!” jun grins and hugs him, letting out a noise almost like a squeal before he turns and dashes away.

you’re barely paying attention to the reception anymore as you sit with your chin in your hands, again mentally running over all the things you need to pack and how on earth you’re going to be able to board your flight tonight and leave everything behind. the beaches, the city… and him. how are you supposed to just get on a plane and get on with your life, knowing that he’s out there somewhere in the world, and you’re never going to see him again. 

you’re trying not to sulk, but you can’t help the way your mood has been sour all morning, already filled with regrets and you haven’t even left yet. maybe you should’ve skipped the wedding altogether and spent another day in his bed, wrapped up between his sheets and lying in his arms. but then the rational part of your brain reminds you that he was also in town for a wedding, so even if he’d wanted to or even been okay with doing that, he probably had other plans anyway.

you’re still trying to figure out what to do about your hopeless situation when you hear a sound close behind you. it startles you into putting a smile on your face, preparing yourself to socialize although you really aren’t in the mood to.

“is this seat taken?” jun asks as he pulls out the chair to your left and sits down.

your brows furrow in confusion, trying to place the familiar voice, until you turn around and your jaw drops when you see who it belongs to.

you stare at him in shock, your eyes darting back and forth between his trying to figure out what to say. “you’re not joshua,” is the best you can come up with as your mouth hangs open and you whip your head around to check the list of names assigned to this table. you recognize them all, yet here he is: the nameless stranger you’ve fallen so helplessly in love with in so short an amount of time.

he smiles at your reaction, and it’s such a genuine smile that you know he’s feeling exactly the way you do right now. “i guess you’re right. i’m not.” he brushes the name card in front of him to the side and sets his own down in its place instead before he holds out his hand to shake. “it’s nice to meet you. i’m jun.”

you pause for a minute, staring at his hand. you can’t believe this is real, you can’t believe he’s real; you’d almost been able to convince yourself that the whole encounter last night was a fever dream, if you hadn’t woken up in the morning with a soreness between your legs that screamed that it definitely was not a dream.

finally you reach out and take his hand, and even in that little touch you can tell it really is him, from the way your heart picks up when you feel the familiar softness of his skin and the gentle squeeze that sends goosebumps down your arm.

“it’s nice to meet you, too.”

i hope you enjoyed this!! if you did, consider reblogging or leaving a comment or an ask :) it shows me this is something people want to see more of, and knowing people like this makes me want to write more of it! thanks for reading!!

if you want to be notified when i post a new fic, you can join my taglist here!

taglist — located in the replies

[finelythreadedsky]

6th century bce archaic greece dashboard simulator

📜 oracles-onomakritos Follow

guys you have GOT to stop sticking in extra aristeias for your faves, the iliad is getting TOO LONG

⚔️ argivehero1184 Follow

nope lmao check out my guy diomedes he stabbed aphrodite!!!

📜 oracles-onomakritos Follow

look do you want anyone to even be able to perform this whole thing bc i know rhapsodes are impressive but their memories can only go so far

#parahomerica #i spend so much time on this and is anyone remotely grateful?

76 notes

🌠 thalesmilesios Follow

it’s going to be so crazy next month when it gets dark in the middle of the day, the medes are going to have no idea what hit them

🏛️ anaxagoraintheagora Follow

lol like that would ever happen! you’d have to piss off apollo even more than agamemnon did

🏛️ anaxagoraintheagora Follow

i stand corrected.

#ok headed down to didyma to make some offerings now #ngl this has me pretty freaked out

7,264 notes

🌸 iokolpos Follow

poem for atthis 💔

like a hyacinth on the mountains the shepherds tread upon her underfoot and on the ground a purple flower

Keep reading

💐 poikilothronanaktoria Follow

sappho dm me please i won't leave you like she did

247,383 notes

💩 iambicpharmakos Follow

wealth is such a dick, he never comes to my place to go hey hipponax here’s thirty minas of silver, and some extra too! what, is he scared?

11 notes

🏺 exekias-epoiese Follow

sneak peek of my new work! process video will be up soon, and remember I am currently open for commissions!

#ajax 😭😭😭#wanted to challenge myself with the hands and i think they turned out ok #the armor was much more fun though #art tag

693,554 notes

👹 assemblerofchoruses Follow

when you think about it... maybe helen's right when she blames herself for the trojan war? she chose to run away with paris and then so many people died because of it, she even says herself that she was a shameless dog

👹 assemblerofchoruses Follow

helen if your reading this i didmt meanit im so sorry

#i cant see anythignwhat is going on

187 notes

🍃 nikostratethepythagorean Follow

that hippokleides guy is such an icon. siege of tyre? hippokleides don't care! persian invasion? hippokleides don't care! fall of babylon? hippokleides don't care! peisistratus back in athens? hippokleides don't care!

#trying to bring this energy to the new olympiad #niko speaks

326 notes

🫒 notthatmegacles Follow

and don't just automatically vote for your tribe!

💐 poikilothronanaktoria Follow

um who even are any of these guys

🫒 notthatmegacles Follow

dude they're the patron heroes for the ten new tribes, have you been living under a rock????

💐 poikilothronanaktoria Follow

believe it or not i’m one of the dozens of people worldwide that live in a polis that’s not athens

#smh #lesbian problems

28,724 notes

[aphrogeneia]

Altars in Ancient Greece

A disclaimer before we get into it: this is a brief explanation of how altars functioned in ancient Greece. I am not telling you how you should set up your own personal altar(s). Rather, I hope this can serve as foundational knowledge for you to consider while figuring out what works best for you and your practice.

Pentelic marble altar from the ancient agora of Athens. Dedicated by the Athenian Boule to Aphrodite and the Graces. c. 194-193 BCE.

The purpose of the altar is to receive offerings for the deity. It is the sacred place where worshipers pour their libations of wine, deposit their gifts of fruit, honey, or cakes, and burn a portion of the sacrificial animal. Offerings in ancient Greece were a key component of religious life; it is how mortals express their honor and build χάρις (kharis, favor). The altar is a highly important point of contact with the divine, and is an essential physical element for any cult to be established.

In fact, we can determine whether or not a deity was worshiped in ancient Greece based on if there were any altars dedicated to them. A god or daimon with no altars was very likely only part of the mythological or literary tradition and did not receive any sacrifices or worship. Altars were generally dedicated to one god or a group of related deities. In rarer cases, they may be dedicated to the whole pantheon (example: the Altar of the Twelve Gods in the Athenian Agora).

An altar for a heavenly (ouranic) god would be a raised surface or pedestal, and it would be oriented towards the East. The typical Greek altar consisted of bricks which were white-washed with lime, or it was carved from stone such as marble or limestone. They could be plain, or they could be decorated with volutes and narrative scenes. They often had the name of the deity inscribed into them. Altars could also come in a variety of shapes, the only real requirement being that the surface on top was flat so it could hold the offerings.

More prominent cult sanctuaries may feature a large, elevated altar with steps leading up to it. There were also natural rock altars, or in very rustic sanctuaries, a collection of stones was grouped to form an altar. If one was worshiping a khthonic god who dwells on or within the earth, they would provide sacrifices at a low-lying altar such as an eschara, or a simple open pit called a bothros.

Indoor altars were very uncommon. At sanctuaries, the altar would be outside of the gods temple, often in front of the entrance. Though a sanctuary could contain several altars and sacrificial sites. Households would have had one in their courtyard for private worship. Other altars were located outside of public buildings or in community gathering places like an agora.

The reason for being outdoors was so that the gods who reside in the sky could observe the sacrifices being made and enjoy the rising smoke of the incense. Meanwhile, a libation poured directly onto the bare earth would seep down below to the khthonic gods. Every altar was ceremonially sanctified when its first sacrifice was performed; from then on, it was considered part of the property of the deity.

Below are my sources. I'll likely make a part two of this post where I go over some ideas for how we can construct our modern altars. Thank you for reading!

Ancient Greek Religion, Jon D. Mikalson

Greek Religion, Walter Burkert

Ancient Greek Cults, Jennifer Larson

[groverapologist]

New Athens, a Percy Jackson HeadCanon:

Percy discussed with Annabeth how he wished New Rome was closer to Manhattan, or that Camp Halfblood had its own similar city so that he could be closer to his family and hometown. this sparked an idea for Annabeth.

after finishing her olympus project, she began to work on her pitch for New Athens, a safehaven for Greek and Roman demigods to grow old and live their lives in right next to Camp Halfblood. Though it was Percy who sparked the idea, the idea became so much larger and more significant than an offhand wish.

with the help of chiron and dionysus, annabeth gets her pitch approved, and work begins.

demigods of all godly parenthood have their chances to shine in the process;

Athena kids are mainly city planners, civil engineers, and architects.

Hephaestus kids are mechanics, constructors, and advisers for the civil engineers.

Demeter kids are mainly agricultural engineers, and alongside Persephone kids, also environmental engineers.

Hermes and Iris kids are transportation engineers, and Hermes kids also focus on hospitality of Roman demigods and hunters.

Apollo kids are healthcare executives and administrators, and together with Dionysus kids, they focus on entertainment.

Aphrodite kids focus on the sociological aspects of urban planning.

Ares kids focus on safety and protection.

There are much more jobs as well, some predominantly run by other demigods (Hypnos, Hecate, etc), and some run by a mixture.

While the jobs are predominantly separated by lineage, any demigod is allowed to work any job they desire.

Frank and Hazel also send in Roman volunteers to provide assistance in the development process. In their words, "You need as many hands as possible to build a city from scratch".

Leo worked considerably on this as this was his chance to be in a place where he felt he belonged. It also felt like a way to honour Jason's legacy as Jason lived in New Rome but chose Camp Halfblood. Leo wholeheartedly believes that had Jason been alive, he would want nothing more than for Camp Halfblood to be a liveable and lively place.

Leo builds a monument in Jason's memory. It is engraved with the words "Lover, Brother, Friend, Praetor, Hero. Symbol of Roman and Greek Unity. Lightning Boy." When it was first revealed, he and Piper sat there all day, holding each other.

while piper offers all the help she can, she never once seriously considers living in New Athens. while her demigod lineage is something so integral to who she is, she would rather live in the outside world. Leo and Annabeth understand.

clarisse works on a monument for all heroes lost in the battle of manhattan. even though it was her idea, it still hurts to see Silena's name engraved on the marble.

dionysus pretends to hate it, despite having played a huge role in convincing the gods (especially Zeus) that this was a great idea. he never takes credit for that. annabeth only ever finds out through chiron, months after they started work.

the project takes years to complete, but it makes annabeth's world. she considers it one of her greatest achievements, if not the greatest; she has helped her people and the future generations to come. this work cannot be forgotten. her love for demigods is written all over the city, and so many generations will see it.

percy opens a small candy shop the first moment he can. it mostly sells blue candy.

leo finally opens a garage, becoming the best mechanic of New Athens.

annabeth continues working on architecture, helping build any new buildings and working on any expansions.

grover and juniper build a family together there, their home near the woods. percy, annabeth, and grover stay close the entire time.

piper visits often. she and leo always visit Jason's monument when she does, and they leave flowers every time.

will and nico own an apartment. will's still a doctor. nico becomes a teacher. it's a surreal feeling to be able to help kids feel safe and happy, something he did not often get at their age. they've adopted two cats together.

when hazel and frank have the opportunity, they visit as well. they visit nico and will whenever they can, and percy and annabeth and leo and piper as much as possible too. despite being tied down to new rome, they still love New Athens.

reyna and thalia only visit with the hunters, but both go to jason's monument together. they don't have to talk to understand each other.

chiron is happy. in his thousands of years of working at camp, he had never had the ability to see his pupils live long lives. even if they'd lived to their 80s+, they never did so at camp. it's a new experience for him, and to all greek halfbloods who could now feel safe as they grew older in a place that accepted them with open arms.

[starry-bi-sky]

how do you clone a fey? that's trick question; and fey love those!

@the-navistar-carol (<333) brought up a good point while I was talking about my changeling danny au with her -- Dani! How would she exist in this au? Danny's a changeling - a fae. How would Dani, a clone of him, be created? How do you make a fey? Not through any means that Vlad is doing; you can't make a fey through unnatural means, considering the Fair Folk are nature. And Vlad's not a fey himself -- he's a halfa, even if he could make a fey, it's not in his best interest too. He's a powerful ghost, but even the weakest fae can overpower the strongest ghost. He won't want a clone of Daniel to be more powerful than him.

(In a three tier hierarchy it goes Ancients -> Fae/Mythos -> Ghosts. They all live in the Infinite Realms, but on different Planes. The fae live above the Ghost Zone in the Fey Wild, while the Mythos live beside the Wilds or down in the ghost zone depending on where they are. Places like the Frozone, the Athens Acropolis, and other such large islands climb throughout all three Planes.)

(While Ghosts can travel into the Fey Wild, its generally advised against as the ectoplasm tends to manifest differently there due to close contact magic. It can make it rather disorientating for a ghost, and as human spirits, the Fae living there would jump them faster than they could blink. So unless you're willing to play mind games with 'steal thy name eat thy face' fae, most ghosts keep out of the way of the Wilds. Fey can travel down into the Ghost Zone, they just don't bother.)

That's of course, not taking into account if Vlad even knows Danny's a fae himself. Vlad doesn't ring me as someone who really cares much about ghost culture or the going ons of the GZ. He might be aware that fae exist, but the moment he realizes he can't use them for personal gain he just doesn't bother with them. The risk is greater than the reward, and he'd rather not get eaten. But lets assume he's aware by now that Danny is fey, and has to take that into account while cloning him.

So, how does Dani exist? Good question! Honestly; i'm not sure. She might not exist at all, or if she does, she's more halfa than fey. Vlad would need a lot of human dna and ectoplasm to balance out all that fae magic. He manages to steal DNA from Jack and Maddie to do it, and since Jack's fey ancestry is very dormant its much easier to use alongside Danny's DNA.

In turn, it results in a little girl whose more human-ghost hybrid than clone. With that little extra boost in fey magic making her not a fey, but still relatively powerful. Dani is less of a clone and more of a lab-grown little sister. It's a rather tedious, complex process that has Vlad tearing his hair out trying to figure out. But he does eventually figure it out.

[dandelions-143]

Games

Part of the Bad Boy Series

Part 2

Pairing: Jeongin x f!reader

Genre: smut and angst

Wk: 3277k

Warnings: Very very very mild Agonophilia, mild Ravishment, tiny bit of blood, cussing. Let me know if I missed anything

A/N: I hope this ones enjoyable. Let me know what you think! Reblogs are highly appreciated. Also tag list is open for any and all of these! Just comment or message me!

A/n: There will be more parts to this.

Masterlist

Jeongin Masterlist

“Oh don’t be such a pussy, Y/n.” Your best friend, Seungmin said as you stood at the entrance of an empty hotel. Hotel Athens had been a very popular place for the towns affluent and rich to congregate throughout the 19th century. But as the 20th century approached those same very rich and powerful people began to spend more time in the city. So the once very prominent Hotel Athens was now only just an empty building, left to rot holding only the ghosts of its past with in it.

So to find yourself standing at the entrance of such a place, it’s large metal gates that had once been chained now standing wide open like a gaping mouth ready to devour you.. this was not the way you had planned on spending your Saturday night.

You sighed and took your steps forward to follow Seungmin closely, “I’m not a pussy, I just have some sense about me.” You lightly smacked his shoulder and fell into a cautious step beside him. You and Seungmin had been best friends since grade school. He the quiet type, preferring books and video games over people and you the feisty loner preferring anything else over people were a friendship made in heaven. That is until you went off to college in the city and he stayed within the confines of the small town you once called home.

Seungmin had conned you into a night out with him and his new found friends, promising a marathon of your favorite 80’s slasher movies if you would attend this very stupid game of hide and seek.

You had heard a great deal about these new people Seungmin was hanging out with and none of it was good. You even knew a few of them, only because they were in the same graduating class as you. They were all sons of the filthy rich in town. People you had no interest in whatsoever, just bored rich kids doing as they please.. no matter the consequences.

Seungmin handed you a small flashlight as he held open the heavy door that led into what used to be to be the lobby of this sprawling hotel. Time and neglect had obviously taken its toll on the place, dirt and grime covering the floor, spiderwebs hanging in various corners. Old furniture tattered and torn by animals you had assumed, and then there was the vandalism. Ugly words and pictures spray painted across the walls and windows.

“This place.. I’ve seen pictures of how it use to look when it was open and it use to be beautiful.. why would anyone want to mess that up?” You mumbled more to yourself than to your best friend who had his attention elsewhere. When he did not respond you cast your gaze in the direction he was suddenly headed.

In the middle of the lobby sat a very handsome man, a lit cigarette between his long slender fingers, a black hoodie covering him but you could make out a few small tattoos on his hand and fingers. You assumed that had to be one of Seungmins new friends. You were not enthused at all, so you stayed put by the entrance as you watched the two converse in a familiar way. As if they had known one another for ages.

Seungmin pointed in your direction and the man’s dark eyes shifted to you, they seemed to narrow even more as if he were assessing you. “Hey Y/n, come here!” Your best friend called and you huffed out an annoyed breath before slowly making your way over to them. “Jeongin, this is Y/n. My friend I told you about.” Jeongin let his eyes follow the lines of your body, as if he were a predator assessing his prey for the night.

Before another word could be said loud laughter, yells, and footsteps began to echo through the pitch black halls. The only lights in the place were the battery generated ones that sat in the main lobby and the flashlights people had. “The fun’s about to start.” Jeongin finally spoke, his eyes staying only on you. You suddenly felt uncomfortable, your hands becoming clammy and fidgety under his intense gaze.

You grabbed Seungmins hand and yanked him from the couch pulling him away from Jeongin and the seven other men that seemed to descend from the darkness to gather around him. All in black clothing, holding what seemed to be masks. Some were tattooed and some were not. You recognized some of them, Chris and Minho, as well as Changbin. The others you had seen but didn’t know who they were exactly.

“I want to go home.” You stated in a low mumble to Seungmin, tugging at his shirt sleeve. “Oh come on, it will be fun. They told me it’s harmless and anyone can leave whenever they want to.” He placed a hand on your shoulder to ease your worries but you could still feel Jeongins heated haze on you. You opened your mouth to protest further but just then a loud clap and then Chris stepped forward his voice booming through the open space.

He was good looking as well.. in fact all of them were very handsome. Chris had a sleeveless black shirt on making sure to show off his toned arms that were covered in tattoos. The last time you saw him he didn’t have as many of them and he now had a shiny little nose piercing. You couldn’t deny that he looked good but, from what you knew of his family and the way he acted in school.. you wanted no part of him or his friends.

“We have a good turn out tonight it seems, thanks for coming. Now i would explain the rules but there are none.” He chuckled softly and so did a couple of the guys behind him. He sounded polite enough, harmless even but you knew better. “It’s simple, you all hide and we..” he gestures to himself and the guys behind him. “Seek.” A girl with short bleach blond hair spoke up, “and what happens when you catch us?”

Your eyes locked with Jeongins this time, as if a magnetic force kept pulling you towards him. Your eyes grew wide with a mix of fear and excitement as he pointed towards you and mouthed the word “Mine”.

Chris’s steady voice replied with a simple, “we do whatever we want with you, babe.” A sly smirk spread across his full lips, transforming his very handsome features into something more devilish, sinister. “Don’t worry we’ll give you all a head start.” Then as abruptly as he had started Chris yelled, “Lights off!” Just then all the lights except the remaining flashlights shut off and Let The Bodies Hit the floor began to blare from speakers in the room.

You couldn’t see two feet in front of your face, playful screams and running footsteps could be heard around you, fading into the darkness. Your heart beat loudly in your ears, fear consuming you at first, making it difficult to move your feet. You reached out for Seungmin but only found cold air, “Seungmin! Fuck.. you idiot, where are you!” Your calls for your best friend were unanswered.

Realizing the only way out of this stupid game was to get yourself out you began to move, turning on your flashlight helped. The couch that the men had been sitting on was now empty.. the word “mine” echoed throughout your head. He was probably just trying to scare you. You pushed through your muddied thoughts of Jeongin and made your way in what you thought was the direction of the main door.

Within minutes you knew you were wrong. It seemed to get darker the deeper into the building you went. The music faded a bit as your feet carried you on, hoping to find another way out. As you turned a corner, the light from your flashlight caught something. A figure leaned up against the wall, lit cigarette in hand. The person turned their face to you but it was covered with a black mask.

When he dropped his half smoked cigarette on the floor you bolted in the opposite direction. Hoping to lose him in the darkness. You found an open door and fled inside, shutting off your flashlight and pressing yourself between a naked mattress and a dresser, hoping to not be caught. Your chest heaved with heavy breaths as you tried to control your nerves.

It was only made worse when you heard the door shut and heavy boot clad footsteps drew closer to you. “Y/n, come out. I won’t hurt you.. I only want to play.” That voice.. metallic and smooth, you knew it was Jeongin and you covered your mouth with your trembling hand.

It was so dark in that room it seemed black. You could see him, only hear him moving around. You were certain he couldn’t see you and he would eventually get bored and move on.. that’s not what happened. Jeongins footsteps stopped right at your own feet. You could smell his cologne, a mix of spices and musk. “There you are, gorgeous.” He spoke tenderly but there was something else in his voice.. something dark.

A strong hand wrapped around your wrist and yanked you into him. You began to fight with everything you had in you. Pushing and shoving against him as much as you could. It only made him laugh and hold onto you tighter. The lingering smell of cigarette smoke mixed with Jeongins cologne as he moved his face closer to yours. “You’re a feisty little one aren’t you?” He breathed against your lips, only a whisper away from kissing you.

Even though you were fighting him off a part of you didn’t want his warmth gone. You anticipated what would come next.. it was a scary thrill..

“That’s it.” He cooed softly and walked you back towards the wall until you were firmly pressed against it. Jeongin pulled off his mask throwing it to the floor. “Are you going to be like all the others and let this happen?” He questioned. You didn’t know if he was actually asking you but, your heart was pounding so hard in your chest you thought it would beat right out of it.

Jeongin then pressed his warm lips to yours, kissing you deeply, possessively as if he owned you. Your knees weakened just a little and when he pulled away you felt yourself wanting those soft lips back on yours again. “Just like all the others.” He muttered before taking your lips hungrily, kissing you in a way no one had ever kissed you before. Greedily taking what he wanted.

His words did not sit well with you, just like the others? You thought to yourself and that’s when the fog was lifted from your haze just a little and you began to fight him again. You shoved him hard catching him off guard and making him stumble back a bit. Your eyes had adjusted to the darkness well enough to make out a mischievous grin spread over his handsome features.

Jeongin seemed to enjoy the fact that you kept fighting him off. He came at you again, pressing his body into yours and gripping your wrists at your side so you couldn’t shove him anymore. His hungry lips found your neck, kissing and sucking at the tender skin there, even though the wetness between your thighs grew you kept trying your damndest to fight him off.

The odd thing was.. even though you kept fighting you never once used your voice to tell him to stop. At this point with his hard body pressed into yours. His hips now pressed into your spread legs.. did you even want him to stop?

The only sound that came from you was a gasp when you felt him bite down on your collarbone. It was a marvelous pain and you wanted more. Jeongin seemed to read your mind because he pulled you off the wall and shoved you hard onto the mattress. He stood over you for a moment, knowing he was the only one in control here no matter how hard you fought.

“Come here little one.. I’m not done playing yet.” His menacing voice lingered with your heavy breathing as he removed his belt fluidly with one hand before coming down on top of your body. You were covered in sweat and even though you wouldn’t admit it.. you craved to have your clothes off.. body pressed to his again. You wanted to see if he had more tattoos than just the ones on his hand.

Even though your body was reacting to him in the most feral way you kept moving, pushing him off, wiggling away from his grip. You were not going to make this easy for him. You turned your head to either side as he tried to kiss you again and when he did finally catch your lips you allowed him to kiss you. His hips bucking up into yours. Pressing his very prominent erection against your clothed cunt.

The friction was not enough, you wanted more. You seemed to be just a greedy as he was. Your lips kissing back furiously, wet tongues colliding with one another as you both wrestled for dominance. “Ahh, fuck!” Jeongin pulled back and you could taste a metallic tinge on your tongue.

You had bit him and you bit him hard, he hovered over you, out of breath and staring at you, taken back by your actions. “What, you can’t handle a little blood?” You asked, looking up at him defiantly.

That’s when something shifted in Jeongins eyes and he no longer held back. His large slender hands found the hem of your white T-shirt and ripped it off you exposing your heated skin to the cold, crisp air. You managed to tangle your fingers in his hair and you pulled hard making his head snap back before his lips could touch you.

The cruel bastard only smiled in the most sadistic manner before he forcefully pulled your hands back, caging you against the mattress and held you in place. He was no longer playing by the way he held you easily with one hand and the other yanked at your jeans, successfully pulling them down, leaving you in nothing but your bra and panties.

“Be a good slut and let me look at you, little one.” Jeongins eyes roamed over your body but, you were hell bent on defying him. He was not going to win. This seemed to only amuse him as you thrashed beneath him. You never screamed though, never told him to stop. It was a very dangerous push and pull between you two in this moment.

Jeongins heated lips found yours in a wet, sloppy kiss. You didn’t know when he had time to free his hard cock but, you could now feel it

slide up your inner thigh and your body responded with a slight thrust of your hips. You hated it and loved it at the same time. The feel of him on top of you, his heat between your legs starting a fire in you that you let burn freely.

You could still taste the salty blood on his lips as you kissed him as if your life depended on it. Jeongins hand tightened on your wrists so he could push your panties to the side with his free one. They were soaked with your juices and he smiled against your lips knowing he was the reason behind it. “So fucking sexy and all mine.”

That’s when you felt him push into you, fast and hard. Greedily taking exactly what he wanted. No condom, nothing between you two. For the first time you made a sound, crying out as his length stretched you, an exquisite pain as he pulled out and slammed back into you.

You bucked your hips not knowing if you were still fighting him or seeking more of that lovely pain. His eyes watched your face twist in beautiful agony, his breath fanning over your swollen lips as he fucked you hard.

“Let me hear you, little one. Scream for me.” He mumbled against your lips. Your mouth wide open and eyes closed as you arched your back, pressing your stomach against his… you trying to calm the burn inside your body, that string pulling tight in your lower abdomen.

You didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of making you cum.. or making you scream for him. His hands let go of your wrists only to hold your hips down in place on the mattress so he could fuck you as hard as he wanted. His balls slapping against you as he drove into you bottoming out over and over again.

Your juices making it so easy for him to slip into you, filling you up so well. You couldn’t help it , your body was reacting to his and the way he stared at you drove you insane, watching each expression move across your pretty face. “Fuck!.. Jeomgin!” you cried out as your legs began to shake and you gripped at his back pulling him closer to you. You tried so hard to hold on to your orgasm and not let him win. Within seconds you were moaning as that delicious feeling took over you, and your walls squeezed right around Jeongins thick cock. Orgasm was long and the best you had felt in so long.

His moans were just as loud as your cries and just when you thought he was about to explode Jeongin pulled out of you spurting his hot seed all over your lower stomach and red sensitive pussy.

You lay there trying to catch your breath and he sat back looking at you. Not a word being uttered between you two until he slowly stood and pulled his pants back up. Jeongin pulled off his shirt and dropped it on your chest. “Clean yourself.” He then leaned down, kissed your lips one last time, “Thanks little one.” He whispered before heading for the door.

You sat up instantly covering yourself, “That’s it?!” You asked incredulously. “You fuck me then bolt!” He stopped and stood in the doorway pulling out a cigarette and putting it between his swollen and bitten lips, “That’s it for now.. but don’t forget, little one. You’re mine.”

With a cocky grin that spread across his face making him look like a little boy he winked at you and was gone.

You got dressed and slowly stood on shaky legs all the whole cursing him and yourself for letting him do those things to you and knowing deep down you liked it. “Y/n! There you are.” Seungmins familiar voice filled the room making you jump a little. “What happened to you?” He stepped closer and pushed back a few strands of your hair that had fallen in your face.

“What do you mean? I’m fine.” You swatted his hands away and began to walk towards the door. “You have marks on your neck and face.” You touched your face only then noticing the marks on your wrists. “I’m fine, Jesus stop being so nosy. I’m ready to go home.” Your best friend gave a weary look. He obviously didn’t believe you but he didn’t question you anymore. He took you home and all the while you were seething with anger and hurt.

The only comforting thought.. you would probably never see Jeongin again.. or so you thought.

Tags: @moonndustx

[just-another-personal-side-blog]

Session 0 - Damian Priest x Tattoo Artist

Part 1 of 6

Rating: T

Beta Reader: @jstarr86

“Trust me Dam, she’s the best at what she does. It doesn’t hurt that I’d trust her with my life. You’ve been going on about finally getting that back piece, there’s no one better.” Rhea practically herded him towards what looked like an absolute hole in the wall, his nerves judged it based on first appearance.

“Most of my art was done by her, I’ve been meaning to introduce Dom as well. You got first dibs of course.” She paused at the door giving him a single raised brow, “You do trust me, don’t you Damian?”

Cornered he let out a sigh, it doesn’t hurt to at least take a look to appease her. 

“Fine, after you.” 

A bell above the door could just barely be heard over the heavy rock that beat like a pulse within the confines of the lobby. Framed detailed tattoo sketches hung upon the walls, behind the front desk were a collection of awards and licenses to prove this place was legit. Folders full of premade basic bitch designs sat on the coffee table by comfortable leather chairs, Rhea pressed a button at the front. No sound could be heard but in a span of seconds a young woman came out from the back.

“How can I- Oh! Shit! Rhea! Hey girl! Why didn’t you give me a heads up that you were coming?” Priest looked up from one of the framed pieces he was admiring. Apparently the new arrival hadn’t noticed him from the angle he was standing, not something he was used to given his size. He took a moment to admire the person before him…

Purple faux hawk with an under-fade, full tattoo sleeves on both arms, legs, and back, several piercings both visible and one not, brilliant blue eyes with some intense metallic goth eye makeup and a stunning smile. A pair of fake leather leggings with lace ups on the outside of the legs, a fishnet crop top under a Beetlejuice tank top, tying it all together was a basic durable black dog collar and a pair of Demonia knee length boots.Unlike the blonde Barbie she was finishing up, Rhea’s friend wasn’t stick skinny. She was probably a good size 9 or 10, there was some plump flesh but it appeared to have some sturdy muscle underneath. A full pair of breasts accentuated beautifully with the fishnet, and hips perfect to dig fingers into.

“I brought a friend that I thought you might like meeting, he’s been talking about wanting a new big tat for awhile now. So I told him there's only one person I’d trust with that.” After a moment the girl turned to look at him, there was immediate recognition as well as shock across her features. It was brief and fleeting before putting up a friendly facade.

It took Rhea slapping on the bicep to smack Damian back present, realizing he’d been staring at the artist long after the gal she’d been working on had left happily. Meaning he had given her an intense resting bitch for a good minute now. Incredibly embarrassed Priest offered a hand which she accepted with an impressive firm hand shake.

“You can call me Minnie, only people I like get to use that.” Rhea playful shoulder checked her with a warm smile,

“It’s short for Minerva, her parents were from Athens originally”

“So your namesake is a Goddess of War, seems fitting.” Bright sky blue eyes flicked up from the sketchbook she’d grabbed to start jotting ideas from him. And without pause blossomed like a Sunflower, taking note of the dimple on her right cheek. 

“Best make sure you never get on my bad side, Rhea has some great stories of me chasing off her exes prior to Wrestling. I’m only five years older than her, not to mention like 5 inches shorter even without those elevator shoes she stomps around in.”

“Wouldn’t have guessed that at all. Both of you still don’t have me beat.”

“Well you clearly discovered immortality in high school, because you haven't aged a bit.”

Rhea perched herself on the spare stool in the room, a mischievous sparkle in her eyes as she watched the two getting comfortable with their back and forth.

“What she neglected to mention is the three times she chased them off with a metal bat wrapped in barbed wire and nails welded to it.”

“Jokes on you, I still sleep with that bat beside my bed. Safety first and all that fun stuff. Safer than a machete, I’d rather not accidentally stab myself in my sleep.”

“That’s why we’re best friends.” The Aussie grins before giving Minnie a cheeky wink.

“Why do I feel like I got led into a trap?” She wrinkled her nose at Damian before opening the sketchbook before her.

“You have nothing to worry about Butterscotch, I take my art very seriously. Now let’s start discussing what you’re looking to get and where. I’ll let you know now, that while I’m sure you’re likely VERY blessed… I don’t do anything where I gotta see dick or vag.”

Priest momentarily choked on his saliva while Rhea guffawed in glee. A quick side eye glare at her smothered the sound to a quiet chuckle. Something about her felt like she was messing with the poor Puerto Rican man, akin to a cat staring directly at their owner while pushing a glass of water off the counter playfully.

“You’ve already got plenty of gorgeous pieces on that flawless flesh. What are you thinking of doing?”

No hesitation he pulled his t-shirt up and over while turning to show the empty expanse of his back. Her breath caught audibly, eyes briefly went wide glancing at Ripley wildly. The female wrestler grinned like the Cheshire Cat, watching each interaction with fascination. Plans coming to fruition.

The tattooer bit down hard on the inside of her cheek to focus on what he was actually saying. Once locked in, Minnie began to sketch up fluidly upon paper, at one point he was leaning over her shoulder admiring the work of a talented creative. Bringing his vision to life on the crisp white paper, each description rumbled like incoming thunder located in the man’s voice box. Thank god for hyperfocus cuz lord only knows this was gonna be a genuine challenge for her self-control. All she wanted to do was trace those tattoos on him with her tongue. She had to shake her head to focus back in again, hands working on autopilot, taking in his words with each glide of charcoal across parchment. 

When he finished describing it she looked back up at him with a friendly smile,

“How big are you thinking of making it? So I know what to prepare for, as well as how many sessions to schedule in advance.” He tilted his head in thought momentarily before answering,

“Ideally I’d like it to cover a majority of my back.” She nodded in agreement,

“Alright, I’ve got the sketch started. I'll email you three different versions and you let me know what you like and what you don’t. And if there's aspects you like in one and want to add it to another one, just let me know. This is your tattoo on your skin, I want you to love it decades from now. How’s that sound?”  Damian was genuinely impressed with her professionalism, even as he controls the strong desire to flirt with her. This was a time to behave, she was Rhea’s best friend, and thus not someone to attempt to make any moves towards. 

“That sounds great to me, thanks.” Her smile was so sweet it could have made him diabetic just looking at it. 

“Great. Oh and Rhea, let me know when you want to come in and do those matching ghost tattoos with Dom.” 

“No rush, he’s busy planning his wedding right now so it’s gonna be a bit.”

“Sounds good to me. Now unfortunately I do have another client coming in twenty minutes so I gotta start prepping.” She pulled a business card from her bra, handing it over to Damian,

“My email and personal number is on there in case you think of something you want to add to the tat.Sound good?” Minnie gave a bashful little smile, and it made something deep in his chest want to say something incredibly forward. Rhea snagged him by the elbow, grinning like a cat that caught the canary. 

A nod of thanks was all he got out before being ushered back out, quicker than able to verbalize his appreciation. Ripley called back loudly,

“Thanks love! I’ll make sure he remembers to check his email regularly.” As if he didn’t already do that for work contacts to begin with. Once back in the car Priest gave his companion a look of utter suspicion, he could tell that she had ulterior motives. Nothing vicious or cruel, but she’d tried to set him up on a couple dates in the past, none that worked out. He’s focused on work, most women didn’t appreciate not being number one in his life. It’s been a string of disappointments, to where he bluntly asked Rhea to stop playing cupid. 

“This better not be an attempt at matchmaking again-” She cut him off with a sigh,

“I’ve long accepted that the ball is in your court from now on. I really truly just wanted you to go to an artist I’d trust my life with. She’s a good one, professional, talented, she spent twenty years as an apprentice before taking on her own clients. To top it off, she’s loyal, fun, and could use more genuine friends other than me. Can you blame me for that?” Her tone of voice was honest, after how much time they’d spent together, he could easily tell when she was bullshitting. Damian nodded to her as a show of acceptance to what she was saying. Her attention locked on the drive back to her place, Buddy was gonna get some sparring practice in with the other man. 

His gaze trailed a spot in the distance, trying to keep that woman out of his thoughts… failing miserably. She had such a lovely face, and all the art on display was impressive to be sure. The name Minerva fit her perfectly, especially with how protective she was of the Australian wrestler. It was endearing how she was barely 5’3 and was ready to take on the world to keep her 5’7 well-muscled friend safe. He hadn’t noticed the small smile that spread across his features, but Ripley sure took note of it. Keeping her features stoic while internally she was so pleased with herself. 

She pulled into the driveway where her man was waiting, he waved as they got out of the car. Buddy smiled at them, 

“I’m guessing it went well? Minnie is great at what she does. Rhea doesn’t like to share her with people, so it’s a hell of a compliment she brought you.” She gave him a quick kiss before heading into the house calling back,

“Play nice boys don’t forget the Terror Twins have some matches coming up.”

Damian shook his head w a huff before following the ginger towards their personal gym. Somehow he still had a sneaking suspicion that Rhea was playing a long game now instead of all the quick fruitless dates in the past… The image of Minerva slid by again, and for once… he might be okay with that.

Tagged:

@superlove167 @midnightlycan @mooshroomii420 @hotwheels1108 @misslackey @gigisview @abadbitchblogs @sexyblacksimper @sweetmoonlove0214 @daithideolishmer118 @tomandbuckyfan1 @terrortwinunicorn @iy-16-18 @sluttysierraaa @jstarr86 @zombiedixon89 @horsekoala @fearlesschimera @eringobragh420 @elainneoneill570 @gretavanhockey @moonwolfdemonprincess21 @sad-dreamer93 @agustd202204 @nubian-queen22 @kaitlinlovetwister @bosslady3168 @gabberzzz1998 @mol2311

[hamletshoeratio]

I'm getting too emo over "What belongs to the sea can always return to the sea" because of fucking Theseus of all people.

Theseus is remembered as a hero mainly because he defeated the minotaur, but that isn't where his story ends. He abandons Ariadne, who is literally the only reason he made it through the labyrinth in the first place. He either is cursed to forget, or he himself forgets to raise white flags so his (mortal) father knows he survived, and said father throws himself into the sea in despair and dies thinking his son is dead. Becoming King of Athens as a result of that, he eventually becomes a tyrannical king after being led down a dark path by a toxic friend. Where once he was brave and cared for other people, only attacking after first being attacked, after meeting Pirithous, he began acting without thinking, doing dangerous and cruel things without thinking about the consequences of his actions. He becomes cruel and self-serving. He kidnaps a thirteen year old Helen of Sparta, intent on making her his wife (never mind the wife he already has). He tries to help his buddy kidnap a literal goddess so that they both can be married to daughters of Zeus (forgetting that said daughter of Zeus is freaking Persephone, who is already married to Hades, so not a smart plan at all). Hercules saves his ass from Hades' punishment, but even despite all of the above bullshit, the Gods still don't abandon him. Not until he murders his own son do they abandon him. He's old, and his own people despise him, so he decides to try and be a hero again. He fails. Eventually, he is either pushed or he himself jumps (depends on the retelling) into the sea and drowns.

Thesus represents the worst aspects of Poseidon. He's possessive, temperamental, violent, selfish, impulsive, and all-consuming. He doesn't take no for an answer. Percy, on the other hand, represents the opposite. He represents the best of Poseidon. He's powerful, but he's gentle too. They share a father, and they both killed the minotaur, but Percy is the one who remembers to send his mortal parent the signal that would tell them that he had survived. Theseus is reclaimed by the ocean, consumed by it, almost as if the waves are trying to cleanse away his sins. Poseidon lets Percy go to forge his own path, says that he deserves to rest (toa;ton). Percy may come and go to the sea as much or as little as he wishes.

What belongs to the sea can always return to the sea.

We do get to see Theseus once in the botl, when he's summoned by Nico. He seems to have learned from his mistakes, as he tries to persuade Nico not to go down the same path as he did (trust someone who would lead him down a dark path) and suffer the same fate as a result. I'm looking forward to the shows interpretation of this if we're lucky enough to get it.

[leclercsredhelmet]

So Highschool ✰ Joe Burrow

A/N: Hi hi! Haven’t posted in a while because I’ve been busy writing and editing, fellow Joe Burrow fans I come bearing gifts for everyone! So Highschool is one of my favorite Taylor songs and I had been waiting to write a Joe blurb based on this song so here you go! Hope you all enjoy it <3

“Tell me ‘bout the first time that you saw me”

The balcony doors were wide open and the summer breeze was felt inside the room. Joe had his head in your lap while a book was held in your hands as you read out loud. You had been reading quietly when he entered the room after he had finished watching some game tape. His glasses were on and you smiled, a twin smile spread across his face when he saw you wearing glasses as well. 

Wordlessly he lay on the bed and placed his head in your lap, your fingers weaved their way through his hair as you combed through it softly. “You’re reading The Alchemist again,” he observed. “Yeah, I am,” you replied softly. “Read it to me please,” he said. You chuckled, “I like hearing your voice when you read, it’s soothing,” he said. Placing a soft kiss on his forehead you began to read. 

Joe traced patterns on your bare legs as he listened to your voice. It was soft and you would take pauses whenever a comma came up. Just by your voice, he could tell if the texts had any commas or punctuation marks. “So, I love you because the entire universe conspired for me to find you,” you read and chuckled. Joe chuckled, “It sure did,” he stated and you hummed in agreement. Setting the book aside you leaned down to look at him, he smiled and kissed the tip of your nose. 

“Do you remember when we first met at school?” he asked. Laughing you nodded, “I do, we were nine and I had just moved to Cincinnati,” you said. “It was English class and the only free seat was next to me, your hair was up in two curly pigtails and your glasses were the same color as the Mystery Machine,” he said with a smile and you laughed. “Then you said, cool glasses, I’m Joe,” you said. Joe chuckled “And we sat together in every class, from fourth grade until senior year,” he recalled. Fondly you smiled and recalled your childhood with Joe. 

Flashback

At nine years old you didn’t think you would move to Ohio of all places but your father’s job had brought all of you here. He had accepted a teaching position in Athens, Ohio. The move was a little unexpected due to circumstances you really can’t remember but you arrived during the third week of classes. 

You didn’t know anyone at the school and that terrified you, following the principal he introduced you to your teacher and classmates. There was only one spot available at the front of the classroom next to a light-haired boy with baby-blue eyes.” Cool glasses, I’m Joe” he whispered. With a small stutter, you replied, “Thank you. I’m Y/N.” 

Later in the day, you found out you were neighbors and that was the start of your friendship with Joe. Your parents joked that you would forever be glued at the hip and wouldn’t be a surprise if you got married one day. Little did you both know that you would get married you were engaged as of this moment. 

Joe taught you about football and you in return introduced him to books, he was smart but always said you were the smartest out of the two. “When I make it into the NFL you’re going to be a college professor,” he said matter-of-factly one evening when you were studying. You chuckled, “What makes you so sure?” you countered. Joe shrugged, “I just have that feeling,” he replied. 

Growing up with Joe you never thought you would like him but one day you almost accidentally kissed in the library while he helped you reach for a book. From that day on you realized that you had a crush on your best friend but you never said anything because you were fearful of ruining things. Joe also had that lingering feeling but your eighth-grade selves were too scared to say anything and it wasn’t until high school when he finally decided to tell you. 

High school

Joe had a girlfriend in high school and it pained you a little to watch how happy he was. You were happy for him but couldn’t help your dislike towards the girl after she had cornered you to tell you she didn’t want you near Joe. Naturally, you didn’t listen and Joe noticed you were hiding some discomfort. Hiding your feelings from people came easy to you, but Joe knew you like the back of his hand. Reading you was just as easy as memorizing a playbook, it was second nature to him. One evening while you studied for a science test in his room he confronted you and you had no chance but to tell him. 

The next day he had talked with his girlfriend and she acted normal when he was around but you were aware she was talking about you in the halls. You didn’t find it in you to care but still, the lingering feeling that she truly did not like Joe loomed. No one knew him like you, and no one knew you like him. 

Senior year had come and you were both focused on what lay ahead, Joe was set on making it to college football and you were sure he was going to be there. You were putting in the work as well, your focus was set on Yale. He had been having some trouble with his girlfriend and you had done your best to help him through it. “I think I’m breaking up with her,” he said and your attention drifted from the math homework you were working on. “Are you sure about that?” you asked. “Yeah, I need to focus on finishing what’s left of the year and I don’t love her,” he said. “Oh,” was all you said and he raised an eyebrow. “No hey Joe think this through,” he said with a chuckle. You chuckled weakly. “Joe I’m sorry I can’t help with that, you know that I lack in that department,” you said. “You also don’t like her!” he said with a grin and poked your side. 

Playfully you rolled your eyes, “My dislike towards her is not the point, it’s your relationship anyways,” you said firmly and he knew that was you shutting the topic down. Joe broke up with her the next day and you expected to see him beat up but he was fine but her, well she had made a scene that day and stormed off the field. You watched her and fought back a snicker. 

It was Joe’s last practice before the Homecoming Game and since you were leaving with him you sat on the bleachers to wait for him. A book was perched on your lap and Joe looked at you while he stretched. “Has anyone asked her out to Prom?” one of his teammates asked. “Some but she’s turned them down,” he replied. “What if I ask her, do you think she’ll say yes?” he asked. Joe felt a sense of jealousy wash over him. “She’ll say no,” he snapped. “Damn Joe, chill. It was just a question,” his teammate said, “And that was just an answer,” he said before walking off. 

His mind was racing, the past few weeks he’d spent his spare time wrestling with asking you to prom until he eventually planned something. It was true that you had turned everyone down, and he knew why. You were still holding on to your end of the deal from seventh grade, and he was too. He had asked no girl out and turned down the flock of girls that asked him out to prom. 

Practice was almost done and he looked at you, breaking into a smile you waved and he waved back. The book had disappeared in your bag and he knew that you had most likely finished it halfway through practice. Being friends through the years meant that you’d developed an unspoken routine, you would read before his practice started and occasionally set the book down to observe him and sometimes go as far as to cheer for him. Seeing you clapping for him always brought a smile to his face and pushed him to score more during games. 

A sweaty Joe ran over to you, he set his helmet down and you looked at him with a grin. “Hey Joey,” you said. “Hey Belle,” he said using the nickname he had for you. In response, you giggled, “Are you done?” you asked. “Mhm, we can go soon,” he said while he dried his face with a towel. Wordlessly you handed him his water bottle and he smiled. “It was a good practice, you looked good out there,” You said. He cocked his eyebrow at you and your cheeks flushed, “Playing, I mean” you added clearing your throat. “Of course, nothing else,” he said standing up. You furrowed your brow, he was being a little fidgety but you ignored it. Slinging his bag over his shoulder he said goodbye to his teammates and you walked off the field and got into his car. 

“Do you want to come in?” you asked, “No I’m good, open your window after dinner,” he said. “Okay, is there a reason?” you asked confused “Just open the window Belle,” he said winking. “Don’t do anything stupid,” you said before kissing his cheek and walking inside. 

Joe’s leg was bouncing under the table, “Joe you nervous for the game?” Jimmy asked concerned, “No, it’s something else,” he said. “Is it Y/N?” his dad asked. “How’d you know?” he asked. His parents smiled, “It’s not that hard for us to see it, honey,” his mom said. “You like her,” Jimmy said nudging him. Joe chuckled, “Y-yeah I like her a lot,” he said. “She likes you too, but don’t tell her I said that,” Robin said with a wink. “Go,” Jimmy urged and he darted up the stairs, before opening his room door, he breathed in and out and fixed his hair. 

When he opened his door, his attention went next door. You were lying in bed with a new book held high above your head. Faintly he heard some music playing and took a breath before grabbing the box from under his bed. Your window was open and he walked towards him, he whistled and your head cocked to the side. Climbing out of bed you made it to your window. “You okay Joey?” you asked. “I’m gonna climb in!” he exclaimed. Your eyes went wide, “You’re crazy!” you called back. “Maybe!” he replied. “Use the front door dumbass you can hurt yourself,” you stated. 

Joe ignored you and grabbed the box as he climbed up, he could hear you muttering and he chuckled. Carefully he walked over to the edge of the roof and jumped. Your hand shot out and he grabbed it, you were hanging out the window. “You’re fucking crazy!” You said and he just laughed as he pulled himself up. With a yelp, you tumbled backward and fell on the floor. Joe’s arms were protectively around you, your noses were touching. Gulping you pulled apart and slapped his shoulder, he laughed and helped you both up. 

“Why in the heavens did you jump out the window? You could’ve hurt yourself, Joey,” you said. “Not the point, here. I got this for you,” he replied while handing you a black cardboard box. Smiling you grabbed his hand and you sat in your bed. The black box was between you and carefully you undid the blue ribbon. Opening the box you saw some pictures you’d both taken over the years. Your eyes watered a little and Joe wiped a stray tear from your face. A copy of your favorite book was in there and you grabbed it, “Was this the one I gave to you?” you inquired. Joe nodded, “Open it, there’s something in there,” he said. Opening the book your eyes scanned across the dedication page and saw a post-it with his handwriting. Will you be my prom date?

Laughing you looked at him, “Yes, I’ll be your prom date!” you said and hugged him. Joe pulled back and kissed you sweetly. The action shocked you but you kissed back, “This might be late because you already got into Yale and I’m going to Ohio State but, I love you, like actually love you,” he said looking at you. “And I know it’s crazy because Yale is nine hours and thirty-two minutes away but I want to date you, so will you be my girlfriend?” he asked. Chuckling you grabbed his hands, “I love you too and yes I’ll be your girlfriend,” you said with a laugh. 

“We’re really doing this huh,” he said while holding your hands. “Finally,” you said with a laugh. Joe laughed, “Would’ve been sooner if I had just asked you in freshman year,” he said. “Maybe it happened now because it was meant to be that way,” you said with a smile. “Since when did you know?” he asked. Reaching up you stroked his cheek, “It started in eighth grade, the day you reached up to get me the book and we almost kissed,” you said with a chuckle. “Me too,” he said with a laugh. 

“I was scared so I never said anything because I didn’t want to lose you,” you spoke. Joe pressed his forehead against yours, “Belle I don’t think nothing could’ve made you lose me,” he said. “You’re so cheesy, Joseph!” you exclaimed and he laughed. You stayed there for a few minutes, “You should go, you need to rest. Friday is a big day,” you said. Joe pecked your lips, “Wear my shirt, please” he said. You nodded, “Always, the back door is unlocked c’mon,” you said. 

Sneaking out of your room you led him outside through the backyard and crossed into his yard. His hand was on the door outside and as you turned to leave he grabbed your waist. Spinning you around he pressed a quick kiss to your lips and you smiled before kissing back and leaving him there to go inside. 

When he made it to his room he waved at you from the window and drew a heart in the air, you giggled and mimicked him. 

“Truth dare spin bottles, you know how to ball, l know Aristotle”

You had finished your degree and had come to Baton Rouge for Joe’s last game with LSU. They had won the NCAA and you smiled when you saw him hoist the trophy over his head. His teammates cheered and you laughed while wiping a tear from your face. Both of your parents were there along with Jimmy and Robin, you waited for him in the field and you grinned once he saw you. Last month he won the Heisman Trophy and you couldn’t have been prouder. Everything he had worked so hard for was falling into place, the next step was the NFL and you were certain he was going to get drafted. 

With a grin plastered on his face and backward cap, he ran over to you and picked you up. Spinning you around you giggled and held on to him, gently he set you down and dipped his head to kiss you. You smiled into the kiss and pulled apart, “I’m proud of you Joey,” you said holding onto his face. “Right back at ya Belle,” he said and you smiled. His parents hugged him and so did yours, his arm was around you and you looked up at him with a dopey grin and love-filled eyes.

You were with him at his parent's house when he got drafted first overall for the Cincinnati Bengals. When you got hired at the University of Cincinnati the next day he was by your side. Both of you had shared victories and defeats together, after all these years it was amazing to see that your support for each other never wavered. You had seen each other grow over the years, you’d supported each other through the ups and downs and when either of you needed an extra nudge you were there. 

End of Flashback

“Belle, you’re even better the Heisman and the Lombardi,” Joe said and you chuckled. “I love you too,” you replied. Joe kissed your forehead, “Hey you were right all those years ago,” you said. Joe chuckled knowing what you meant, “You’re a Literature professor in college and I’m in the NFL,” he said. Laughing you kissed him, “You know how to ball and I know Aristotle.” He looked at you and grinned, with every glance, laugh, kiss and touch you felt like it was high school all over again. 

(all photo credits go to the respective owners)

[betterthanburrow]

New Year’s Eve Reunion - Joe Burrow

Summary: As the end of the year is approaching, an email from an old friend from Athens High School has you considering to go back to the city that you haven’t had a reason to visit in over 8 years… but going back to the place you used to call home means being reunited with the boy who had been searching for the answer as to why you mysteriously left the city after your high school graduation without saying goodbye.

Genre: Fluff and Angst

There was no feeling that could compare to how you feel walking around the city you used to call home… The city that welcomed you with open arms when you were the new girl from out of state. The city where some of the best people and worse people that you’ve ever known lived that shaped you into the person that you are today. The city that changed you in more ways than you’ll ever realize.

It’s been almost 10 years since you’ve been in Athens, Ohio. It was a beautiful city that you had lived in after your mom married your step-mom right during the summer before High School… but there was never any reason for you to return back to the city of Athens after your mom had divorced your step-mom right after you moved out of the house to go to Stanford University.

After moving out of Athens, Ohio you had never thought there would be any reason for you to return… There was no family for you to come back to visit, or amazing job opportunity that you couldn’t pass up, and you had assumed that you didn’t have any best friends from high school that you would ever visit.

Which is why at the beginning of December, as you were working from home in your New York City Apartment… While checking your work emails on your computer, an old email account that you hadn’t seen in years showed up at the top of the screen with an interesting Subject Title.

To: yourfirstname.yourlastname@gmail.com

From: DakotaJohnson740@gmail.com

Subject: New Year’s Eve Reunion!

Hi Y/N! It’s Dakota Johnson from Athens High School.

I hope that you remember me, we had multiple classes through High School and became close friends from freshman year until the end of senior year. Unfortunately we never stayed in touch after our graduation but every once in a while for the past few years, you cross my mind and I always what you have been up too. The only thing that I know about you is that you left Athens to go to Stanford University and never came back home.

Hopefully you don’t find it to strange that I emailed you but I wouldn’t have any other way to send a message to you because I don’t have social media… and I found your email account from searching through thousands of old emails just to find your email address.

The reason why I’m messaging you is because I am planning a New Year’s Eve Reunion with a bunch of our old friends from Athens High School and I was wondering if there’s is any chance that you could come to the get-together?! … Over the past few years, many of our old friends and I have made plans with each other to spend time in Athens just like in High School but, there was always someone missing during those get-together plans and that person is you.

Please respond back to my email as soon as possible if you’re interested in coming to Athens for the New Year’s eve Reunion… So many of our old friends would love to see you again Autumn Reynolds, Eleanor Coleman, Charles Wood, and Joe Burrow because they miss you just as much as I miss you.

Sincerely,

Dakota Johnson.

You read the email that Dakota Johnson has sent to you multiple times, to make sure that it was a real email and not something that you were imagining in your head… It had been years since you’ve heard anything from any one of your old friends from Athens. You had assumed that they all forgot about the new girl in freshman year after you moved away from the city.

It made you emotional to think about how your old friends missed you… and for the first time ever, you hated yourself for never keeping contact with any of your old friends back in Athens.

You didn’t know much about what Dakota Johnson, Autumn Reynolds, Eleanor Coleman, Charles Wood were doing with their lives after graduating High School… but you did know what Joe Burrow has been doing the past couple of years, not because you’re a creepy stalker that keeps up with the boy you had a crush on from freshman year to senior year, but because his name is known across America.

The shy boy from your science class in freshman year has become one of the greatest Quarterbacks in the NFL right now… you have never been a fan of football; but the Cincinnati Bengals are the football team you’ll always root for to win, even if they’re against a NFL Team from New York.

You told yourself that after you finished your work for the day, that you would respond to the email from Dakota Johnson… but maybe that was a bad idea because for the rest of your work day, your mind was distracted by the email to the point where every couple of minutes you had to go back and check that the email was real.

Even after your work day was officially over, you still were sat at your desk staring at your computer screen that had a blank email page opened… not because you didn’t want to go back to Athens, but because you didn’t know what to say to your old friend.

What do you say to someone that you haven’t spoke to since High School Graduation?! You had assumed that all your old friends had forgotten about you, it was kinda hard for you to believe that they still think about you and miss you after being apart all of these years.

To: DakotaJohnson740@gmail.com

From: yourfirstname.yourlastname@gmail.com

Subject: New Year’s Eve Reunion

Hi Dakota Johnson!

Of course I remember you! how could I ever forget about the first friend that I made in the homeroom class during our freshman year of high school and stayed by my side all throughout high school!

I apologize for not staying in touch with you and our other friends after our high school graduation and I’m sorry for never visiting Athens, for the longest time I had just assumed that everyone that did know me at some point had just forgotten about my existence…

With that being said; I would love to come to the New Year’s Eve Reunion in Athens! I live in New York City now but, I’ve experienced the way that New Yorkers ring in the New Year so it’ll be nice to celebrate the New Year with old friends.

my phone number is (929) 101-0009 so you can message me all of the details about the New Year’s Eve Reunion!

i’m looking forwards to seeing you and all of our old friends in Athens for the first time in almost 10 years! There aren’t enough words for me to describe how excited i am for the NYE Reunion!

Sincerely,

YourFirstName YourLastName

For many weeks since you sent the email back to Dakota Johnson, the two of you had been messaging back and forth catching up on each other lives’ on what has been going on the past 8 years.

Other than Joe Burrow’s life, which was changing in front of everyone’s eyes, you didn’t realize how much your other old friends’ lives had changed since you left Athens… Autumn and Charles had gotten together during their freshman year of University and are planning on getting married next Summer, Eleanor had moved out of Ohio after college to California to work as a background dancer for music artists, and Dakota recently earned their Master of Science in Nursing and works at one of the best hospitals in Ohio.

You had told Dakota that after you graduated from Stanford University with your Master’s Degree in Creative Writing and Literature that you moved to New Yorks and are currently working on your first book that will be published next year in the Fall.

December felt like the slowest month of your life, you loved living in New York but you’ve never been so excited to get out of the state and go back to Ohio… You weren’t counting down to Christmas, you were counting down to your flight to Ohio.

As the days of December slowly went by, Christmas was here and you celebrated the Holiday in your apartment by yourself with a glass of red wine and watching all of your favorite classic Christmas movie.

But finally; it was the day before the New Year, it was the day before the New Year’s Eve Reunion, it was the day that you’ll be in Athens for the first time in 8 years… Dakota had offered to pick you up from the airport in Cincinnati so that you wouldn’t be lost in Ohio, which was such a thoughtful gesture from them.

You didn’t realize how emotional you would be returning to the state that you once called home until you heard your name being called by a voice you recognized after all of these years.

“Y/N! I’M OVER HERE!” the voice yelled over the loud noises throughout the airport. You turn your head looking around after you had grabbed your luggage and saw someone waving their hands in the air.

You’re searching for them through the crowd and when you see your old friend for the first time in almost 10 years… The tears from your eyes start to fall, and you don’t waste anymore time to run towards them and pull them into the tightest hug. You could just about imagine how emotional your reunion with your other old friends from Athens will be tomorrow after not seeing them since high school graduation.

“It’s so good to see you again after all of these years.” Dakota whispers. “I missed you so much.”

“I miss you too…” you say with your voice cracking.

“You’re never allowed to spend eight years away from Athens ever again!” Dakota says, causing you to laugh.

“I won’t spend 8 years away from Ohio ever again.” you promised.

After the reunion at the airport, the two of you walked to the front parking lot entrance where Dakota had parked their car and helped you put your luggage suitcases in their car... and it was finally time to start the drive from the airport in Cincinnati to Athens.

Dakota lives in an apartment in Cincinnati where the reunion will be hosted… but the two of you had planned to spend the day in Athens since it’s been 8 years since you’ve visited the beautiful city.

You were scared that things would’ve been awkward between the two of you, it had been so long since you’ve seen them in person… but the two of you conversed with each other as if you hadn’t been apart from each other for the past 8 years.

From talking about old high school gossip to singing along to the old cds’ in Dakota’s car that he had since high school… This is the happiest that you’ve felt all year after being feeling stuck in New York City.

It almost made you feel guilty that you left Athens, but you knew that you wouldn’t have been able to achieve your dreams if you just stayed in the small city in Ohio.

But, you should’ve kept in contact with your old friends… that was a mistake you made that you can’t go back in time to undo, maybe keeping in contact with your old friends would’ve give you a reason to come back to Athens or move back to the place you used to call home.

You were thankful that Dakota let you stay with them in his apartment, where the New Year’s eve Reunion would be hosted along with the rooftop of the apartment complex… but you had to promise them that you would help them decorate the apartment.

After arriving in Athens, Dakota took you all around the city to some of your old favorite places that you couldn’t believe that you had forgotten about… You never would’ve thought that after all those years away, that you would feel like you were home again.

The two of you were sat inside D.P Dough’s restaurant, it was busier than you expected it to be since it was the day before New Year’s Eve and you assumed that most people in Athens would’ve been out of town… You were so hungry after the long morning with the flight, that you didn’t wait a second longer to eat after ordering your food.

“So… Can I ask you question?” you say, after taking a sip of your drink and crossing your arms on the table.

“You just asked me a question.” Dakota sarcastically replied.

You rolled your eyes and chuckled before speaking again, “Who knows that I’m in Athens for the New Year’s Eve Reunion?!”

“Everyone that is invited knows.” Dakota answers, “I know we really only talked about our old mutuals friends these past few weeks… but other people from Athens High School are coming to the reunion too.”

“Oh really?!” you asked, you had just assumed this was a small get-together and not a small party.

“Yeah! Daniel says. “There’s like 30 of our old classmates coming to the New Year’s Eve Reunion!”

You respond, “It’s going to be so weird seeing everyone again after so long.”

“You’re not alone feeling that way.” Dakota states, which causing you to raise an eyebrow at them. “Other than Autumn and Charles who still live in Athens, I hadn’t seen much of anyone from Athens these past few years… The only time I see our old friends is when they come home to visit, so that’s why I wanted to plan this reunion because I know it’s been a long time since most people had seen each other.”

You nodded along to what they said, but didn’t have the courage to respond immediately… because while your old friends had came back to Athens after moving away from the city, you left and never came back.

“Thank you for going out of your way to reach out to me.” you say. “Honestly, I didn’t think anyone from Athens remembered me… so it really did surprise me to see that email from you inviting me to the reunion.”

“Trust me, no one in Athens has forgotten about you.” Dakota assured, “It was actually Joe that had asked me to try and reach out to you whenever I started planning the New Year’s Eve Reunion.”

To say you were surprised would be an understatement... Out of all the people from Athens you didn’t expect Joe Burrow to remember you and be the reason why Dakota had tried to reach out to you.

“Joe asked you to reach out to me?” you asked.

“Yeah… it’s that hard to believe?” They asked and you shrugged your shoulders. “Why is it hard to believe?”

“Because you know who Joe is now right?!” you exclaim. “He’s a quarterback in the NFL, I didn’t think that he would have time to remember some random girl that he used to know from Athens.”

“The Joe you remember from High School is the same Joe now… even with all his success and fame, he’s still the same Joe.” Dakota states. “And he’s had a lot of time to think since he’s not playing football right now.”

“He’s not playing football right now… Why?!” you curiously asked. You didn’t keep up with any sports news so you were surprised to hear this news.

“Joe injured his wrist over a month ago during a game, he’s out for the rest of the season.” Dakota responds. “So he’s had a lot of time to think about other things than football these past few weeks… and I guess you crossed his mind more than once.”

“That’s interesting to know.” you say under your breathe. “Out of all the people from Athens, I didn’t expect him to be the one to want to reach out to me.”

“He’s talked about you a lot throughout these past few months, even before I had emailed you.” Dakota says. “I don’t know why he’s been thinking so much about the people from Athens, but he was the one to give me the idea of hosting this New Year’s Eve Reunion.”

You chuckle, “Maybe it’s because of the new contract he signed with The Bengals… I heard about how he’s going to earn a lot of money over the next few years.”

“Yeah, he will be earning a lot of money but he deserves it after everything he’s been through over the past few years.” Dakota responds, “But even after all that he’s been through, he’s still the same Joe.”

“That’s good to hear… he didn’t let fame go straight to his head unlike some other football players.” you say.

“Same old Joe, just richer with a worse sense of style.” Dakota says which causes the two of you to laugh.

The two of you spend the rest of your time at D.P Dough eating the rest of the delicious food that you order as well as continuing to gossip about old friends… You thought you would’ve been more nervous to see people that you haven’t seen in 8 years again, but you couldn’t be more excited because of how much everyone’s lives have changed.

There was so much that you and Dakota would have to do to prepare for the reunion at his apartment tomorrow, including going last minute shopping for New Year’s Eve decorations and order enough catering to last throughout the entire night.

But just for right now, you were happier than you expected to be in Athens for the first time in 8 years… For the first time in years, you wouldn’t be spending New Year’s Eve by yourself in your apartment in New York, instead you will be home with your old friends.

—

Tonight will be a night that you’ll remember forever… As the clock is ticking closer to midnight and the countdown to the New Year begins, you couldn’t imagine celebrating the end of 2023 in any other way.

The apartment was decorated in Black, Silver, and Gold decorations from Party City that the two of you had picked up yesterday afternoon… You and Dakota had spent all morning decorating their apartment and getting everything prepared for when all of your old friends would arrive at the reunion.

As you finished setting up all the dishes of food that the two of you ordered from one of the most popular restaurants in Cincinnati, BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse, the kitchen counter and kitchen table… you watched as Dakota went through their check-list for the twentieth time in the past 30 minutes.

Dakota walked around the apartment, checking items off their list as they mumbled under their breathe. “We have the balloons set up over there and the banner set up as well as the the bucket of decorations for the photo booth…”

“Dakota, I think everything is ready!” you exclaim, interrupting them. “Everything is perfect, just the way that you planned!”

“Are you sure?” Dakota asked, “Or is it all just a bit too much to celebrate the New Year?!”

“No Dakota, it’s perfect!” you exclaim. “This will definitely be the best New Year’s Eve Reunion ever!”

They wanted this New Year’s Eve Reunion to be perfect. It was the first time in so long that many of their close friendds from Athens High School would be getting together since High School Graduation.

After convincing Dakota that everything for the New Year’s Eve Reunion was perfect, they explained to you that they told everyone to arrive at his apartment around 4pm… Which had you a little confused on why people would be arriving at the apartment so early?!

“It’s because of the football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Cincinnati Bengals. This is one of the most important games of the year because of the rivalry between the two teams for the past two years, everyone will be watching this game.” Dakota explains.

“Oh okay… but you said Joe was injured, so he’s not going to the football game?!” you asked.

“The football game is in Kansas City, and he’s been traveling with the football team to games even though he’s not playing on the field.” Dakota says.

“Joe is still going to be at the New Year’s Eve Reunion or will he not be able to make it because he’ll be stuck in Kansas City?!” you ask.

“If luck is on our side… Joe will be here before midnight.” Dakota answers. “I talked to him this morning and he’s going to do anything he can to make it here after the game.”

“That’s good to know, I’m excited to see him.” you say.

A cheeky smile appears on Dakota’s face, “Oh I know… and I promise that he’s excited to see you too!”

The time was going by fast and before you realized how fast the time was going by… The guests had finally started to arrive at Dakota’s apartment right before the football game between Kansas City vs Cincinnati.

This was Dakota’s New Year’s Eve Reunion that they had been planning for weeks, and you tried your hardest to remember that as guests walked through the door… You didn’t want to make this all just about you reuniting with your old friends that you hadn’t seen since High School Graduation, because most of these people were just seeing each for the first time in a long time as well. It was a reunion for everyone.

It was an emotional reunion seeing your old friends from Athens just like you had expected it to be. You didn’t realize how much you missed your old friends until now, and it made you feel guilty again for leaving Athens and not caring to continue communications.

Everyone had changed, everyone was all grown up. You don’t understand how you never realized that there had been so much change between those 8 years that you were gone from Athens… but while things changed, the love your old friends have for you never changed.

Even your old classmates that you weren’t really close to during High School but were still apart of the mutual friend group were excited to see you… Just like when you had moved to Athens when you were 14 years old, everyone had welcomed you with opens arms.

You learned so much about your old friends’ new lives since High School Graduation, it’s crazy to think that the old friends you used to sit next to at lunch and partner up with for projects are living their dreams.

The celebrations of the night began once the football game started, Dakota popped a bottle of champagne and filled everyone’s glasses to the top right at kick-off.

Some people were watching the game in the living room, while other people were in the kitchen but still paying attention every now and then. You assume that most people are huge fans of the Cincinnati Bengals or were just cheering for the team because of Joe… even though he was playing because every now and then the camera would pan over to Joe and show his reaction to whatever was happening in the game.

This was the first time you had seen Joe in a long time, there was so much about him that was different but at the same time he still looked like the young boy that you had a crush on during High School.

“Are you excited to see Joe later?” Eleanor asked as she sits right next to you on the sofa with a paper plate of food in her lap. “I haven’t seen Joe in over a year, I think the last time I saw him was when the Bengals played in the Super Bowl at Sofa Stadium… He invited me to the football game since I live in California.”

“I’m excited to see him.” you answer, “I haven’t seen him since our High School Graduation.”

“It’s been that long since you’ve seen Joe?!” Autumn asked, interrupting the conversation.

You nod your head, “Yeah… it’s been 8 long years.”

“I’m kinda surprised Joe never went to try and find you just because of how much he talks about you when we hang out.” Autumn stated, which causes you to raise an eyebrow at her. “I don’t know if Dakota told you, but Joe is the reason why they reached out to you.”

“Dakota told me, but I didn’t think it was a big deal.” you say. “Joe talks about me that much to where you thought he was going to try and find me in New York?”

“He talks about you in a ‘the girl that got away’ way” Charles answers. “Did something happen between the two of you in high school that we don’t know about.”

You shake your head, “No… Nothing happened between us. We were always just friends from freshman year to senior year.”

“And then you left Athens after graduation.” Eleanor says and you nod your head, because you couldn’t lie.

The conversation stopped as everyone went back to paying attention to the football game on TV, cheering when the Bengals team did something good and yelling at the team through the TV when they were not doing a good job as people expected from them.

For the past few weeks, you always had been the most excited to see Joe out of everyone that you knew would be coming to the reunion just because Joe and you were always close since freshman year of High School… and you feel the most guilty about never continuing to communicate with him after graduation not because of the fame and success he has now but because he was the definition of a true friend.

You’re not stupid, you realize that Joe must’ve said some things to your old friends over the past few years since you’ve been gone that has sparked curiosity into their minds that something had happened between the two of you during high school… but as far as you remember, nothing had ever happened.

But maybe that’s the reason why Joe talked about in the “girl that got away” way to your old friends, maybe because nothing had happened between the two of you is the reason why you’re still on his mind after all of these years… No matter how many girls he had been rumored to be hooking up with or dating and the many instagram models that slide into his Instagram Direct Messages with a terribly sexual pick-up line, the girl that he knew from Athens is the only girl on his mind.

It was hard for you to sit and watch the football game with all of these thoughts running through your mind. Once the game went to halftime, you got up from your spot next to Eleanor on the couch and used the excuse of “needing a drink refill” to go over to the kitchen.

You walked into the kitchen to see Dakota and a few other of your old classmates from Athens talking amongst each other while snacking on the appetizers.

“You got tired of watching the game already?!” Dakota asks as they walk over to you away from the group after noticing you in the kitchen.

You shake your head, “I needed a drink refill… I never imagine myself getting so stressed out over football.”

“Are you stressed about the football game… or are you stressed about seeing Joe later tonight?” Dakota whispers over your shoulder.

Your eyes go wide and turn around to face them, “What?! I’m not stressed about seeing Joe… Why would I get stressed about that?!”

“I would be stressed out to if I was seeing my high school crush for the first time in 8 years… especially if they’re as attractive as Joe.” Dakota states.

You roll your eyes as you take a sip of champagne, “A high school crush is just that… a high school crush.”

“You could say that if Joe grew up to be ugly and I was laughing at you for having a crush on a guy that turned out that way… but, you thought Joe was cute back then and I can tell just from the way your eyes light up when he shows up on TV that you find him hot now. You can’t lie to me, I know the only reason you’re paying attention to go the game is to watch for when Joe shows up on the TV.” Dakota defensively says.

A blush appears on your face as you take another sip of champagne, not knowing how to respond to Dakota… you’re not saying that they’re right, but they’re not wrong about observations because Joe was the only reason you were paying attention to the game.

After pouring another refill of champagne and conversing with some of your old classmates from high school for the rest of halftime… You walked back into the living room to sit back on the couch just as the 3rd quarter of the football game was about to start.

At first it was just a few people sitting around in the living room watching the game, but after a while everyone was sitting around in the living room paying close attention to what was happening on the TV.

Honestly, you didn’t know what was going on a majority of the time during the game but you acted like you knew what was happening when everyone around you would clap or shout at the TV.

If you thought the first half of the game was going by slow, then you weren’t prepared for how slow the second half of the game was going… Once the sun had set you could hear fireworks in the distance from people already starting to celebrate the New Year even though it was still a few hours from midnight.

You had learned through all of your old friends talking throughout the game that this was a very important game for The Bengals, not just because it was against one of their rival teams… but because if The Bengals lose the game, they’re out of the runnings for the playoffs and their last game of the season is next week.

Also, you learned how hard of a season it had been for The Bengals even before the season started. Joe had suffered a calf injury during the second day of training camp that affected The Bengals during their first 6 games, losing some of their best players from last season during the off-season, signing players that didn’t add anything special to the team, and other players had suffered injuries throughout the season… overall their had been this glooming cloud over their heads that just got darker after Joe suffered his wrist injury even with the small light that the back-up quarterback brought back for the team.

As the football game was coming to an end, the chances of The Bengals winning against The Chiefs was going down… you may have not understood everything that was happening, but from your friends’ reactions you could tell that something wasn’t going right whether it was the players not playing as well as expected or if it was referees doing their dirty work.

The final score of the game appeared on the screen as a signal that it was over. Not just that the game was over but that the season was over for The Bengals after next week’s game… Your heart broke for your friends who were sad about the end results of the seasons, but also you felt sad for Joe and his team that looked heartbroken at the end of the game.

“I hope Joe is still going to want to attend the reunion even after the end of the terrible game.” Eleanor says.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he goes home to his new house after they arrive home.” one of your old classmates, Cindy says. “We know what he can be like after The Bengals lose a game.”

“It’s a 2 hour flight from Kansas City to Cincinnati… so he’ll have plenty of time to think about whether or not he wants to hang out with his old friends from Athens.” Daniel, another one of your old classmates, states.

“I hope he doesn’t bail on us like last time a bunch of us tried to get together.” Charles says.

“Joe’s not going to bail on us… Y/N is here with us!” Dakota exclaims. “They’re the reason why this reunion is happening in the first place!”

As the pre-show for the Sunday Night Football game started… everyone split off into their own groups whether they were making their dinner plates to go out on the balcony watch the fireworks, starting to get the photo-booth set up for pictures to post on social media at Midnight, or staying in their spot on the couch with a new beer drink in their hand to watch the pre-show.

You had gotten up from your spot on the couch and walked around the apartment, trying to find your place amongst the people you used to know… You didn’t contribute much to their conversations, just listening to your old friends talk about their new lives whether they still live in Ohio or if they moved out of the state. But the difference is that they continued to keep in contact with people from Athens while you didn’t keep in contact at all.

In an apartment full of people that you used to know, you felt lonelier than you have ever felt before with the glass of champagne in your hand… and you are starting to wonder if the person you were most excited to see tonight was even going to show up at all.

—

The New Year’s Eve Reunion moved from Dakota’s apartment to the rooftop of his apartment complex. Everyone has a glass of champagne in their hands as they watched the fireworks from all around the city being exposed into the sky.

Everyone in the city of Cincinnati were counting down the minutes until Midnight, but you were wishing that time would slow down… not because you didn’t want to go into a new year, but because the one person that you wanted to celebrate the New Year with wasn’t here.

“Are you excited for 2024?” Dakota asked as the walked up to you. “I remember you mentioning yesterday you’ll be publishing your first book this year.”

“I am excited for the new year!” you answer, then taking a sip of your champagne. “Yeah, I hope that 2024 is going to be a memorable year.”

Dakota nodded their head, “You haven’t given up on Joe showing up yet right?! Everyone else is just assuming that he’s not showing up cause he should’ve been here by now.”

You shrug your shoulders, “Like you said… he should’ve been here by now, so who knows what’s going on. Maybe some people were right about him not wanting to come here after the terrible football game.”

“Remember what we were talking about yesterday. Joe will always be the same Joe that we knew from high school… There was only one time that he bailed on us to hang out as a group and it was for an important reason, he didn’t just bail on us because he doesn’t want to hang out with us anymore.” Dakota explains.

Their words about Joe makes you smile, it’s always good to hear that the boy you knew from Athens High School grew up into the nice man that his friends praise him to be.

You don’t have any doubts that Joe would be able to make it. You trust Dakota’s words more than anyone else who is doubting his arrival… and Dakota wouldn’t lie to you, so if they said that Joe is coming then he is.

There was still just about 20 minutes to midnight, but people around you were already getting a little too tipsy off the champagne as if the clock had already struck midnight. Another glass of champagne might help you get through the rest of the night if …

The man of the hour, the man that everyone from Athens High School had been looking forward to seeing again… Joe Burrow is standing right in front of everyone with his hand in the pockets of his long black coat and a beanie with his curls falling out.

“Hey everyone!” a voice exclaimed, that had everyone turning their heads towards the rooftop entrance.

There’s noise all around you but you felt frozen in place as you watched Joe and your old classmate greet each other with hugs, wishing everyone a Happy New Year.

“I told you he was going to be here.” Dakota whisper in your ear and patting your back before walking over to Joe to greet him for the first time in a few weeks.

You took a gulp of champagne as you continue to watch Joe, who is now talking to Dakota and another one of your old classmates that you didn’t recognize.

Joe leans closer to whisper something to Dakora before you seem them smile and point towards your direction… When Joe looks over to where Dakota was pointing, a smile appears on his face when he finally notices you standing across the rooftop from him.

You shyly wave towards them as you watch Dakota whisper something to Joe that causes him to laugh as he’s still looking at you… Your mind couldn’t help but wander off into trying to figure out what they could be laughing at.

Were they laughing at you… or laughing about you?!

Before your mind had any chance to theorize about what they could be laughing at, you saw Joe and Dakota walking towards your direction… After taking one last sip of champagne, you place your glass into the rooftop railing that is right next to you and try to act as natural as possible without giving any sign of you freaking out on the inside.

“Hello Y/N! Long time no see!” Joe exclaims right as he and Dakota are walking right in front of you.

“Hey Joe! It’s so good to see you again.” you say, when you see him open arms to give you a hug. You walk towards him to accept his hug.

Joe’s arms wrap around your waist as your arms wrap around his neck and the two of you sway for just a few seconds… When you glance over Joe’s shoulder, you can see Dakota standing a little farther back with a smile on his face.

The hug lasted only just a few seconds longer before the two of you pulled away from each other with matching smiles on your faces and putting your hands in your coat pockets as the breezes goes by.

“I can’t believe you’re here!” Joe exclaims. “It’s been 8 years since you’ve been in Ohio… That’s a long time.”

“Yeah it is has been that long… and I can’t believe you’re here too!” you say. “How have you been?”

“I’ve been… fine.” Joe answers. “Things haven’t gone the way I wished the last few weeks… but things will get better next year, that’s what we’re all wishing for.”

“Yeah I heard about some of those things… I’m sorry about your wrist injury, I can’t imagine what it’s like going through something like that.” you respond.

“It’s alright, I don’t need sympathy…” Joe says, “How have you been? Dakota told me you’re going to be publishing your first book in 2024?!”

You nod, “Yeah, I’ve been working on the book for almost two years so I’m ready for it to be publish.”

“I hope I get a signed copy from the author!” Joe cheekily says which causes you to laugh and agree to give him a signed copy when your book is published.

For a few seconds, Joe just stares at you which causes you to raise an eyebrow. “Do I have something on my face?” you ask as you start touching around your mouth to see if there was any crumbs from the food.

“No! No! There’s nothing on your face.” Joe exclaims as he shook his head. “I just… I just can’t believe you’re home for the first time in 8 years.”

“I can’t believe it either.” you say, as you reach for your empty glass from the rooftop railing just to have something to fidget with in your hands.

“I missed you.” Joe confessed, stepping closer to you.

“That’s what I’ve heard.” you say, with a smirk on your face as you make eye contact with Joe.

He furrows his brows, “What have you heard?”

“Nothing bad I promise!” you exclaim. “Dakota has just told me a few things. You know they love to gossip.”

Joe laughs, “Of course… So I’m assuming that you were told that I’m the reason Dakota reached out to you to invite you to this reunion.”

You nod your head as you lean back against the rooftop railing, “That’s one of the things I heard… who would’ve know the Cincinnati Quarterback thinks alot about a girl he used to know from Athens High School.”

Joe steps closer to you as he leans against the rooftop railing, resting his arm on top of the railing. “Why wouldn’t I think about the girl from Athens High School who just mysteriously left the state without saying good-bye and never returned until 8 years later… this is what the kids’ these days call ‘My Roman Empire’.”

You sighed and look to the ground as your crossed your arms over your chest… you knew Joe was just making a joke out of the situation but once again you couldn’t help but feel guilty at your past actions.

“I didn’t mean to be gone for so long…” you respond, “I just never felt like there was a good enough reason to come back until now.”

Once again Joe furrows his brows, but this time you didn’t notice, “What do you mean there wasn’t a good enough reason to come back?”

You didn’t verbally answer, you didn’t know how to verbally answer him… so you shrugged your shoulders.

“I know your mom and step-mom had divorced right after High School Graduation… but was your friends not a good enough reason to come back, was Dakota not a good enough reason? Was I not a good enough reason?” Joe frustratedly asked.

You look up at Joe and immediately start shaking your head, “That’s not… That’s not what I meant.”

“Then what do you mean when you said that there wasn’t a good enough reason to come back?” he asks.

“Athens was the closest thing to home that I ever experienced in my life… I hope you remember the many stories I had told you about how my mom and I moved around the country because my mom’s family didn’t accept her after she came out as a Lesbian and she was always scared that they would find her to try and take me away from her.” you stated. “And then my mom met my step-mom and they fell in love, so we moved to Athens. I finally had a place to call home and I didn’t have to worry about always keeping a suitcase full of clothes packed and wondering which city I would wake up in… but 4 years later right before high school graduation they told me that they were getting a divorce because my step-mom had an affair with my mom’s boss. I was planning on leaving Athens to go to Stanford University but also, I planned on coming home if my mom was living in the city but she moved far away from Ohio and I could never build up courage to visit the city because I left everything behind.”

It took a couple of seconds for Joe to respond, you could see the gears turning in his head as he processed all of the information that you had just given him.

The silence between the two of you was so loud that you could hear someone shout in the distance that it was 10 minutes until Midnight… which means that it’s so close to the start of the New Year, it was so close to celebrating with the people who are the closest thing that you ever had to a real family.

“I’m sorry you went through all of that…” Joe whispers. “I remember the stories that you had told me when we were younger, all of the struggled that you and your mom had faced for so many years… and that’s one of the reasons why I’ve always thought about you over the past few years.”

“You don’t need to apologize. I’m very thankful that you were there for me by my side and being a person that I could trust.” you say. “And I wish I would’ve trusted you enough to be a person to have been the person to keep me coming back to Athens.”

“I don’t blame you for leaving… you had to do what you needed to do after what your step-mom did to you and your mom.” Joe says. “I just wish we could’ve stayed in contract with each other, even if it was just to check up on each other every couple of days.”

You nod your head in agreement, “This visit to Athens has really made me feel guilty about keeping contact with the people that cared about me… Everyone else that moved away was able to do it, but I couldn’t.”

“Well it’s never too late to keep in contact with us now.” Joe says, reaching in the pocket of his coat and pulling out his phone. He quickly unlocks it before handing it to you. “Put your phone number in the phone, I’m taking you out tomorrow in Athens.”

You smile as you type your phone number into a brand new contact, and then you give him back his phone. “An area code from New York City?!” he asks.

“Yeah, I live in New York City!” you answer.

“Wow… Really?” he says and you nod your head. “Okay… you might think that I sound crazy but a few months ago, I was in New York for this Charity Partnership and I swear when I went to get lunch that I saw you but, I had thought that I was imagining but, I don’t think I was imagining anymore. The woman that I saw was you!”

“If you went get lunch at Cafe Manhattan then it was probably me because I go and eat there for lunch almost everyday when I’m in New York.” you respond.

“It was Cafe Manhattan!” Joe exclaims which causes you to laugh. “I swear I was going crazy for months thinking if I had seen you or not… I told Dakota about it which led to our conversation about doing this New Year’s Eve Reunion with a bunch of our old friends from Athens.”

“Yeah they had told me yesterday that this New Year’s Eve Reunion was your idea.” you say.

“We were just talking about how it had been so long since all our friends from Athens had got together to hang out like we did in high school… and most people are in their hometowns for the Holidsys, so Dakota just took the chance to plan the event and to invite people and now here we are on New Year’s Eve!” Joe stated.

“I can’t believe it’s almost the new year.” you say.

“I’m so ready for this year to be over…” Joe whispers as he looks at the ground.

“In less than 5 minutes it’s going to be a new year and you’ll never have to experience a day in 2023 ever again!” you exclaim, after checking your watch.

“Thank God… this was a rough year.” Joe states. “Everything that could’ve gone wrong, went wrong.”

You place a hand on his shoulder to give him some comfort. “Don’t think about the bad things that happened this year… Tell me one good thing that happened this year.”

Joe looked up from the ground to you and smiled, “The girl that mysteriously left Athens came home.”

Maybe the redness that appeared on your cheeks was because of the wind… or maybe the redness that appeared on your cheeks is because you’re blushing.

“I’m flattered… but there has to be some other good thing that had happened to you this year.” you say.

Joe shakes his head, “No… nothing is better than this.” he says as he wraps his arm around your shoulder to smoothly pull you close to him and you wrap your arms around his waist.

The two of you watch the fireworks explode in the night sky, as the clock was ticking closer to midnight more fireworks appeared across the sky… You’ve spent the past few years watching the New Years fireworks celebrations from your balcony in New York City, but the sight of fireworks have never been so beautiful.

From the corner of your eye, you can see Dakota watching you and Joe with a smile on their face as they raise their glass to “toast” towards the two of you when you make eye contact with them.

When you turn back to focus on the night sky full of fireworks, you had assumed that Joe was continuing to watch the fireworks show… but when you took a quick glance in his direction, he was staring at you.

“What’s on your mind?” you ask him.

Joe thinks for a few seconds then asks, “Can I ask you a question?”

“You just asked me a question.” you answer which caused Joe to laugh. “But yes, you can ask me a question.”

He takes a sip of champagne and places his glass on the rooftop railing before turning his attention back to you. “Will you be my New Year’s Kiss?”

You let out a laugh, “You didn’t want to ask any other of your old classmates from Athens High School to be your New Year’s Kiss?”

Joe makes a face and shakes his head, “There’s only one girl from Athens High School that I want to kiss.”

The people around you always started the countdown, there was just one minute until the New Year… but you and Joe were stuck a bubble in your own world.

“Can I ask you another question?” Joe asks, you laugh.

“You have alot of questions for me tonight!” you exclaim. “But yes you can ask me another question.”

“I don’t know when you’re leaving Ohio… but will you come back to Athens with me before you leave?” he asked. “I’m going visit my parents just for two days before having to go back to work, and I would love for you to join me.”

“I’m staying in Ohio until January 10th… so I definitely would love to spend a few days with you in Athens.” you answer.

“That good information to know…” Joe says with a smirk on his face that you just wanted to kiss so bad.

“I can tell by the look on your face that you’re already planning out what we’re going to do in Athens.” you say.

Joe nods his head, “I’m going back to Athens tomorrow and Tuesday, then I’ll be in Cincinnati until Sunday for The Bengals last game of the season… then I’ll be back in Athens for a couple of more days. So you’re going to be stuck with me the entire time!”

You laugh at the last part of Joe’s plans, “I guess it’s fair for me to be stuck with you for the next couple of days since I was gone for 8 years.”

“Let’s not talk about the past, let’s focus on the future.” Joe says. “The New Year is so close upon us.”

“TEN!”

The two of you look at the sky and see the fireworks…

“NINE!”

Joe lifts up his glass of champagne and takes a sip…

“EIGHT!”

He places his empty glass on the rooftop railing…

“SEVEN!”

Joe looks at you and smiles…

“SIX!”

You look at Joe and smiles…

“FIVE”

“Are you ready for 2024?” Joe asks in a whisper.

“FOUR!”

You nod your head, “I’m ready for 2024!”

“THREE!”

You lean closer to Joe…

“TWO!”

Joe places his left hand on your cheek…

“ONE!”

Joe leans closer to you…

“HAPPY NEW YEAR!”

And he kisses you…

There’s an explosion of fireworks in the night sky as people cheer on the beginning on the New Year. You didn’t want to pull away from Joe, you’ve waited much longer than 8 years for this first kiss with him.

The two of you had to pull away, not only just to breathe but so that people wouldn’t be staring at how of their old classmates making out in the corner of the rooftop.

He smiles as he leans his forehead against yours, “Happy New Year!” he whispers to you.

“Happy New Year!” you whisper back to him.

Joe leans back against the rooftop railing and pulls you closer to him as you rest your body against him. The two of you watched the fireworks in the sky and said “Happy New Year!” to your old friends that passed by.

For the rest of the night, you stayed by Joe’s side. After feeling a little bit lonely throughout the night, not being able to find your place amongst your old friends… You finally had someone to stay by your side for the night.

You grateful that your old friends from Athens High School never forgot about you and gave you a reason to visit Athens after being gone for years… You’re happy you accepted Dakota’s New Year’s Eve Reunion invitation, because otherwise you would’ve been stuck all by yourself in your apartment in New York City.

The future year looks to be so exciting; your first book was going to be published this year, you’re rebuilding friendships with your old friends, the boy from Athens High School that you had a crush on is now wrapped around your finger, and you’re already planning your next future visits to Athens, Ohio.

It felt so good to be back to the first place you called home. Surrounded by the people that welcomed you into the city with open arms, the people that were some of the best people in high school or the worse people in high school that shaped you into the person that you are today, and the people that changed you in more ways than you’ll ever realize.

Author’s Note:

Happy New Year! and Happy First Joe Burrow Fanfiction of 2024! I’m very excited for this year and I can’t wait to see what happens in the future!

thank you for all the love and support! 🤍

[joeys-babe]

Joey B Imagines: Call It What You Want

————————————————————————-

Summary: Joe makes your first anniversary something you'll never forget. After some bumps in the road, Joe shows you there can be smooth sailing ahead.

Warnings: None, fluff, barely mentions of sex

Pairing: Joe Burrow x reader

Imagine universe: Everlasting Love

————————————————————————-

December 20, 2023

(y/n’s pov)

Day two of staying with Joe in Cincinnati, and I couldn't be happier.

Today was extra special because it marked one year of Joe and I being a couple.

I woke up to tiny kisses being littered on my cheeks. A small smile spread across my lips without me even opening my eyes.

When I finally did, my eyes locked with those ocean-blue ones that I had fallen in love with the first time I saw them.

“G’morning, pretty girl.” - Joe

“Good morning, Joey.” - you grinned

Joe was leaning over top of me and gently lowered himself to place a huge kiss on my lips.

“Happy anniversary.” - Joe

“Happy anniversary, baby.” - you

“Can you believe it's been a year since I asked you to be my girlfriend?” - Joe

“It's felt way longer than that. Probably not seeing each other for two months made it feel like a longer amount of time.” - you

“I promise you’ll be here with me soon, full-time. That is… if you want to.” - Joe

I leaned up in bed and looked down at him, who was now lying on his back.

“Are you asking me to move in with you when I graduate?” - you

“Do you want to?” - Joe

“Yeah…” - you smiled

“Good. We can go back to Athens whenever because that's where both our parents are. If you want you can start slowly moving your stuff here every time you come over.” - Joe

“I would love that.” - you grinned and laid back down

Joe wrapped his arms tightly around my waist and held me against his chest.

“I can't wait to wake up to you every day.” - Joe

“Me too. Opening my eyes and seeing your gorgeous blues is something I'll never get over or take for granted.” - you

I ran one of my hands over Joe’s cheek and rubbed my thumb under his eye. That perfect smile found its way onto his lips.

“You’re so handsome, Joe.” - you

“Well, you are absolutely gorgeous and I can't wait for you to live here with me, it kinda gets lonely sometimes in a big house by myself.” - Joe

“Well trust me, you aren't gonna feel lonely with me here.” - you

“I know… fuck I’m so excited.” - Joe

“One more semester, Joey.” - you laid your head on his chest

I’d be finishing college this spring, and finally be done in May. My commencement ceremony wouldn't be till fall though.

——

After breakfast, Joe sent me upstairs to get ready and said I wasn't allowed to come downstairs till he said so.

Joe said I didn't have to put anything fancy on, and that comfy would be best, so I wore a pair of leggings and stole one of his sweatshirts.

After getting changed, I headed to the top of the stairs.

“Joe! Can I come down?” - you

“Almost! Give me like one more minute!” - Joe

I waited patiently, feeling a soreness between my legs as I stood there. Last night was so good, and Joe 100% made up for the two months without sex.

Before I could get lost in my thoughts over last night with Joe, the man himself snapped me out of them.

“Okay, you can come down, baby!” - Joe

I excitedly trotted down the stairs to find Joe waiting for me at the bottom of them.

“Should I be scared?” - you

“No.” - Joe laughed

When I got to the last step, Joe gently took one of my hands and led me to the living room.

A smile formed on my lips and I squeezed Joe’s hand when I saw what he had been doing.

There was a fort made out of a ton of blankets taking up the majority of the living room.

“Awe, babe. You made this?” - you

“Yup, after way too many, like an embarrassing number of instructional videos.” - Joe

Laughing as I faced him and got on my tiptoes, Joe and I both leaned in to kiss each other.

His arms wrapped around my waist as my hands found their place on Joe’s chest.

We stayed there for a second, intertwined.

In the end, Joe pulled away and started showing me more of his fort, which he was very proud of.

“I know we had breakfast a little bit ago, but there's a box of pizza in there for whenever we get hungry. Uhm… I have some movies picked out for us to watch. What else… oh and I have a gift for you.” - Joe smiled

“A gift? Joe, we exchanged our anniversary gifts a couple of days ago, remember? We couldn't wait to give them to each other.” - you

“I have another one for you.” - Joe

“You've already done so much though…” - you

Joe rubbed my back and pulled me back into his chest.

“And you deserve even more.” - Joe

“I love you.” - you mumbled into his built chest

“I love you too. Wanna get in the fort?” - Joe

“Yes!” - you

I excitedly broke away from him and knelt to get inside the fort.

When I was fully lying down, Joe followed behind me. His big 6’4 self barreling into the blanket fortress, causing me to bust out laughing.

“Shit, that wasn't the romantic entrance I was going for.” - Joe hid his face in a pillow

Running my fingers through his hair, I pulled on Joe’s blonde locks to pull his face away from the pillow.

“I love your silly self, now come up here and cuddle with me.” - you

“Yes ma'am.” - Joe smirked and crawled up the blankets

He cuddled into me, and I quickly became the little spoon to Joe.

“You comfy?” - Joe

“Mhm.” - you moved back against him

Joe abruptly grabbed my hip to stop my backing up and I flashed him a look over my shoulder.

“Just… don't do that. It'll end in this fort tumbling down.” - Joe

I giggled at the sexual tone behind his words before lacing my fingers with his. The hand of his was connected to the arm he had thrown over my waist. Joe’s arms were so long and thick, who wouldn't want to cuddle them?

——

A movie and a pizza later, Joe and I were feeling full and tired.

“It’s three o'clock but I want to go to bed. I don't know why I'm so tired.” - Joe

“I am too, baby. Wanna take a nap real quick? It's probably the comfort of this damn fort that's making us tired.” - you

“Aye! Don’t make fun of my fort!” - Joe

“Joseph, I’m not. I'm saying you made it too comfortable!” - you

Joe and I both drowsily laughed at each other before trying to find a comfortable cuddling position to get into for sleep.

Just as my eyes were drifting shut, Joe abruptly sat up behind me.

“Wait! I have to give you your gift.” - Joe

I watched him with a smile on my face as he wiggled himself out of the fort, coming back later with a gift bag.

Joe handed it to me, but I waited for him to get settled before I would even acknowledge the gift.

“Here, my love.” - Joe

“Should I be scared?” - you

“Babe, that's the second time you've asked me that today. I'm starting to think you don't trust me.” - Joe

“I do trust you! I'm teasing.” - you

A few seconds passed of us just smiling at each other till Joe spoke up.

“Open it.” - Joe

Opening the gift bag, there was a small box inside of it. Probably jewelry.

I looked up at Joe to see him smiling at me, I could sense nervousness behind his movements.

Pulling the box out and bag setting the bag to the side, I opened the box to find a gold chain necklace with a ‘J’ pendant.

“Awe, baby. I love it.” - you

“Here let me put it on you.” - Joe

Joe took the necklace out of the box after I handed it to him and maneuvered himself behind me.

He moved my hair to the side and placed a big kiss on the back of my neck, then put the necklace around my neck and clasped it.

When he sat back down in his spot and saw his initial resting on my chest, identifying me as his and his only, I saw the blush on his cheeks deepen to a rosy shade I’d never seen before.

“It looks great on you.” - Joe grinned

“Thank you, baby. I think J’s are a good fit for me.” - you

“I think so too.” - Joe leaned in and kissed you

There was no other boy’s initials that I'd rather wear than Joe’s. He showed me what true love is, and though we'd only been together for a year, I knew he was the one I’d be with for the rest of my life.

With all of the odds stacked against us and everyone saying it wouldn't work, Joe and I tuned out the noise. All because Joe showed me that all that mattered was the fact we were so in love.

All the drama queens taking swings, all the jokers dressing up as kings, they fade to nothing when I look at him.

So yeah, call it what you want.

————————————————————————-

Authors note: A fic not posted after 9 pm?!

Request for this fic;

Hope you enjoyed! 💕

[todayontumblr]

Friday, August 25.

A tribute to the state of Georgia, USA.

Georgia, Georgia, Georgia. And what a fine state it is. For reasons unbeknownst to us, we found ourselves compelled to celebrate every last one of its 59,425 square miles when we awoke from nourishing slumber this morning and pulled the duvet from over our faces. As we drew back our collective curtains, we found our faces struck by magnificent morning light; a light all too reminiscent of those rich hues you only find down in that most famous of American states.

It's a state as beautiful as the name suggests, and with an embarrassment of riches to explore and enjoy: Stone Mountain Park, the cities of Atlanta, Athens, and Savannah, wild horses roaming Cumberland Island, its famous southern hospitality, its iconic peaches, The Varsity—the world's largest drive-in restaurant, Anna Ruby Falls, having your fingerprints taken, the World of Coca-Cola museum, the Blue Ridge Mountains. Ah, #georgia. There really is no place quite like it—it's not so much a state as a state of mind. 

So if you find yourself in need of a holiday, whether a week's vacation, city break, or a few days hiking and camping in the best the natural world has to offer, you could do a lot worse than head down to the state of Georgia, USA. Don't forget to get a cute pic while you're there.

Say cheese x

[libraryofgage]

PJO Steddie Five

One | Two | Three | Four

Here it is! We learn El's parent in this one, and there's a wonderfully healthy dose of Steddie throughout the whole part.

There's a meme on this one, too lol

If you see any typos, no you didn't ^_^

-----

It should not have taken five days to drive from Athens, Tennessee, to Camp Half-Blood in Long Island. Eddie wouldn't be surprised if Chrissy and his bandmates thought he'd died some horrible death while on this retrieval. But Eddie would love to meet the person who can tell Steve and a gaggle of demigod children to hurry up and get to camp already. They spent two days at Hearth and Home just for the pool, and various stops along the way followed that same pattern.

It was, in all honesty, the most relaxed retrieval mission Eddie has ever fucking experienced. Only one monster ever gave them trouble (another harpy--go figure--that Steve dispatched with ease and no injury) while the rest would sniff around and eventually have their eyes glaze over like they'd lost interest or encountered something familiar. They'd then move on, leaving the group to continue their meal in relative peace.

But for as relaxed as Eddie and the kids are, Steve is ramped to the absolute limit. His shoulders remain tense, his leg bounces whenever he sits still too long, his eyes constantly survey their surroundings, and he seems to have placed a distance between himself and Eddie. It hurts to see, especially considering the literal spark between them, but Eddie tells himself it's just until they get to camp and Steve sees for himself that they're safe.

And that moment is getting closer as they hike up Half-Blood Hill, Steve's car left at the foot until Eddie can convince Chiron and Mr. D to let him park it in the camp itself. "That big tree there is where the protective barrier starts," Eddie explains, pointing at Thalia's tree. "It used to be a girl, but there was a whole thing with the Golden Fleece, and long story short, she's running around with Artemis now."

"Can I run around with Artemis?" Max asks, her voice eager as she falls back to keep pace with Steve and Eddie.

Steve snorts, and Eddie notices the way his hand tightens on his bat. His knuckles turn white and the muscles in his forearm straining slightly and Eddie has to look away before his mouth gets too dry. "Maybe when you're older," Steve says, "After you can beat me in a spar."

Max groans, stomping her way back to Lucas with hunched shoulders and a quiet mutter that she won't be winning anytime soon.

They reach the top of the hill then, and Eddie watches as the group slows down. El in particular falls back until she's next to Steve and can grip his hand tightly. Her beanie seems to be squirming, but the movement is so subtle that Eddie thinks he's probably seeing the air ripples from the heat. He hurries to the front of the group and grins at them. "Okay! You ready to enter Camp Half-Blood, AKA the best place ever?" he asks.

"Just get on with it already," Mike says, crossing his arms as Erica nods in agreement.

Eddie, in an incredibly mature move, sticks out his tongue, and he's rewarded with a quiet laugh from Steve. "As I was saying, once you pass by the tree, I'll introduce you to Chiron, the activities director here. After that, we'll get cabin arrangements, measure you for armor and swords, and give a full tour. Of course, I'll be the one showing you around, which means you'll be getting the best possible version of the tour."

He waits for applause, but it never comes, and Eddie pouts at them. "Can't you be more excited? This is, like, the first time I've managed to bring back kids who aren't terrified."

"Oh boy," Dustin says, his voice high and fake, "I can't wait for Eddie to show us around Camp Half-Blood."

"Joke all you like, Henderson, I'm taking it as a compliment," Eddie says, darting forward and pushing down the bill of Dustin's cap. He moves back easily and claps his hands. "Okay! Step on through, please."

The kids all glance back at Steve, and he smiles encouragingly. As a group, they move past the perimeter of the tree until only Steve and El are left standing on the edge. Eddie flashes a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, it's gonna be great. El and the kids can meet more demigods their age, and you, Stevie, can relax since you won't have any monsters coming after you."

Steve nods and looks at El. "You ready?" he asks. She holds his hand even tighter--and Eddie is starting to worry about Steve's bones here--but nods.

Together, they step over the threshold.

Or, well, Steve does. El is stuck on the other side, Steve's hand still in hers but unable to pull her through. Her shoulders drop, and despite Steve's best efforts, she can't get an inch over the barrier that ripples between them. Resigned, she looks down at their hands, her grip starting to loosen some.

Eddie stares at this scene with wide eyes, and a few things suddenly make sense. No wonder Steve wouldn't say who El's godly parent is. She technically doesn't have one. The odd protectiveness makes a lot of sense now, too. And so does the way monsters would apparently move on like the gaggle of demigods was uninteresting.

"Well," Steve says, breaking Eddie out of his epiphany, "we gave it a shot."

With that, he steps back through the barrier, the rest of the kids quickly follow suit, and Eddie can feel them slipping through his fingers. "Wait!" he shouts, relieved when Steve looks up at him.

He's about to give El permission, to say everything is gonna be fine, to beg on his fucking knees if that will keep Steve--and the kids, of course--from walking away.

This is, of course, when the fucking armored and armed barrier patrol (a tradition that never really faded despite the camp's renewed safety) decides to show up.

Eddie just can't get a fucking break, huh?

-------

The moment arrows, swords, and spears (among other weapons) are aimed at them, Steve shoves the kids behind him. El sticks the closest, practically hugging his back, but he knows she'll pull away if it comes down to a fight. Steve twirls his bat, his eyes narrowed as he takes stock of his potential opponents.

The barrier shimmers between the two groups, a slight haze in his vision, and Eddie stands in the middle, one foot on each side of the barrier, looking a little frazzled. That's when a girl comes forward, her blonde hair pulled in a ponytail, a bow in hand, and her quiver slung over her shoulder. She smiles at Eddie, bright like the sun, and Steve feels a familiar-but-not kind of buzzing under his skin.

"Eddie! You're okay!" she shouts, dashing forward and hugging him tightly.

Steve's throat feels tight as Eddie hugs her back, his grip on the bat straining until he hears the reinforced wood groan and forces himself to loosen up. "Eddie," he says, a huge part of him relieved when Eddie immediately looks at him.

The girl looks between the two of them, and her eyes widen, and she smiles excitedly, and Steve suddenly feels a little better.

"Hello, I'm Chrissy," she says, walking over to stand across the barrier from Steve. "We got an alert that a monster was trying to cross, so we came to offer help. Everything looks fine, though, so come on through."

Steve feels El tug on the back of his shirt as the kids shift nervously. "We're good, actually," Lucas blurts out, unable to handle the silence.

Chrissy blinks, her smile still present but her eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "You're...good?" she asks.

"Yeah," Steve says, licking his lips nervously, "I'm sure Camp Half-Blood is fun and all, but we can't stay."

"Why not? You'll be safer here."

Steve doesn't know how to answer that question, and El spares him the effort of trying to by saying, "I can't get through." He wants to spin around and grab her shoulders and ask what she's thinking, but it's El's choice to tell people, no matter how much Steve might disagree with her.

"Oh," Chrissy says, her smile dimming some before she brightens again. "Are you mortal? That's okay, we can just give you permission."

It's the perfect excuse, and Steve is ready to fucking run with it, but El shakes her head. "I'm not mortal," she says.

A heavy silence falls over the group on the other side of the barrier as the demigods understand what she means. "What kind of monster are you?" a boy asks, his hand twitching as though ready to reach for an arrow.

"Look, it doesn't matter," Steve says, a bad feeling forming in his gut. His nerves start buzzing on instinct, crackling and pulling at the clouds just a tiny bit. "We'll leave you alone and go our separate ways. You'll....you'll never see us again." And Steve can't help his voice softening, glancing at Eddie as he says that last part.

Because he wants to see Eddie again. He wants to learn about the literal spark they shared. He wants to know if Eddie's lips are soft or rough. But Steve always puts the kids first. Their safety comes before everything else, even himself.

"Wait! There's no need to go," Eddie says, holding his hands out to both sides but looking at Steve. "El isn't dangerous. We can still give her permission."

"Like Hades we are!" the same boy shouts.

"Jason!" Chrissy says, her tone hard as she whirls around.

Jason looks insulted and confused. "What are you yelling at me for? I'm not the one trying to bring a fucking monster into camp."

"She's not a monster! Stop saying that," Mike shouts, trying to push forward only for Steve to push him right back.

"Oh? Then what is she?" Jason asks.

"Her name is El," Steve says, his voice hard and unforgiving, "and she is my sister."

Several of the campers' eyes widen, and suddenly their bows are loaded and ready to shoot. "You brought two monsters to camp!" a girl shouts, glaring at Eddie.

Steve frowns, trying to control the building anger and wariness. Based on the slowly gathering clouds overhead, it's not working.

"Those things are dangerous," Jason says, his eyes narrowed. "I bet the rest are monsters in disguise, too."

"No!" Eddie shouts, "they got through the barrier."

"Oh? Prove it. Walk through right now."

The kids don't move an inch and neither does Steve. Chrissy turns back to them, an uncomfortable grimace tugging at her lips. "It would really help to diffuse things if you could just step over," she says softly.

"Not without El," Max says, glaring at the group.

"Or Steve," Lucas adds.

Despite everything, Steve can't help a wry smile and a joking, "Gee, thanks for thinking of me," thrown over his shoulder.

"Well, isn't that convenient," Jason sneers, "None of the monsters want to cross."

He pulls his bowstring back a little farther, and the clouds above them start to gather faster, tiny sparks jumping under Steve's hand on the bat. He grits his teeth, trying desperately to not get lost in anger, and takes a deep breath. "Listen, this obviously isn't going to work," he says, looking at Eddie. He smiles apologetically. "Thank you for trying, though. It was...a nice thought."

And then several things happen all at once.

Eddie's eyes widen, desperation seeps into them, and he shouts, "I give El permission to cross the barrier!"

El starts to move around Steve like she wants to talk to Chrissy herself, her beanie squirming obviously.

The rest of the kids behind Steve get caught up in El's movements and try to follow, pushing Steve forward a step and bumping El slightly to the side.

His annoyance flares, and dark clouds stretch above them with a quiet, nearly inaudible rumble of thunder.

Finally, an arrow is loosed from the group of demigods, and its path would have been true if not for the kids pushing Steve. Instead, it shoots El's beanie clear off her head and lands in the grass behind the kids, just barely missing Dustin and Will in the process.

Really, Steve can't be blamed for what happened next. Between El's snakes freaking out and the kids shouting and the arrow in the grass overpowering his vision, he really can't be blamed.

It's only understandable that he loses it, that his tenuous control fucking snaps.

A bellowing crack of thunder above them is the only warning the demigods get before a bolt of lightning strikes the ground right next to them. The sheer force of it creates a whole nearly two feet deep, knocking the demigods back a few feet as more bolts follow in its wake. Each one burns the ground where it strikes, and tiny fires feed on the grass.

Little arches of lightning jump across Steve's arms, his hair fluffing out slightly from the static. His chest is heaving from anger and electricity and the aftermath of so much tension finally breaking free as bolts corral the demigods into a tiny circle, striking all around them to prevent escape.

"Steve," El says, the sound of her grabbing his attention more than her words. But when Steve looks at her and sees the snakes on her head rubbing against each other and tasting the air and trying to stay as close to her scalp as possible, his anger flares again at the reminder of the arrow that could have killed his kids. Not only the arrow, but El's snakes could have hurt them, too. If not for the kids immediately squeezing their eyes shut, a few might be statues right now. Sure, it would wear off in a bit, and Steve is immune anyway since he's related to El, but it's fucking inconvenient and dangerous given the situation.

"Stay back," he growls, his words crackling with the lightning as he turns back to the demigods. They look scared shitless, and Steve hasn't even done anything yet. The only ones who haven't been corralled are Chrissy and Eddie, since neither of them actually did anything.

He steps forward, an arch of lightning stretching between his heel and the ground when he lifts his foot. The nails on his bat spark and glow red, looking nearly as angry as Steve feels. Steve crosses the barrier, feels it wash over him, and stops just on the other side. He smiles at the demigods, feral and unrestrained as a storm, and raises his hand to the sky.

Or he starts to only for his view to be blocked by brown hair in desperate need of a good shampoo and big brown eyes. Steve blinks, a tiny portion of his anger calming if only because he's looking at Eddie. "Move, Eds," he says.

"Stevie," Eddie whispers, his voice nearly drowned out by the rumbling thunder. So Steve pulls it back, forces it to quiet down so he can hear. "C’mon, sweetheart, there's no need to smite them. They've already peed themselves."

"They almost killed my kids," Steve says, his eyes narrowing slightly. "What would you do if you were me?"

"Well, I wouldn't look nearly as hot, for one," Eddie jokes, flashing a shaky smile.

"You're already plenty hot," Steve blurts, the shock of the words calming him down a tiny bit more. And, when he hears Lucas and Erica behind him complain as El thanks Will for retrieving her beanie, his anger finally soothes enough for lightning to stop striking the ground. The clouds are still hanging over them, though, and sparks still arch across his arms and through his hair.

Eddie's smile becomes a bit wider. "Seriously, sweetheart, there's no need," he promises. "I already gave El permission to enter. She can cross the barrier. Word will spread in camp that nobody can mess with her without getting their shit rocked by a very powerful son of Zeus. Don't you want to relax? Don't you want the kids to meet others like them? Don't you...don't you want to, you know, spend time together?"

Steve does want all of that. Especially that last one, because he's never been talked down from an unbridled, anger-fueled, lighting strike marathon this easily. Usually, the kids have to let him work through the anger and vent it all before he's back to normal.

He takes a deep breath, closing his eyes to focus on calming down. When Eddie hesitantly takes his hand, Steve calms down even faster, and the sparks that pass between their palms are harmless. "That's it, Stevie," Eddie whispers as Steve's shoulders relax. "Besides, you can always beat Jason's ass at capture the flag later."

Steve can't help laughing at that, and he opens his eyes to see Eddie's smile. "Looking forward to it," he says, squeezing Eddie's hand. Then he looks over his shoulder at the kids. "Is everyone okay?" he asks.

The kids are all gathered around El, who has secured her beanie over her head. Unfortunately, the arrow made a larger hole than expected, and two of her snakes are poking their heads out, tongues flicking as they taste the air. They aren't strong enough on their own to actually turn anyone to stone, so none of the kids avoid looking at them.

"We are fine," El says with a tiny smile as she steps forward. Steve is about to tell her to be careful when she walks through the barrier without a problem.

The other kids follow, sticking close to El and then orbiting toward Steve and Eddie. "That was awesome!" Dustin shouts, his eyes bright as he looks at the scorch marks that create a circle around the demigods that haven't moved an inch.

"Yes, it was awesome," a voice says, old and wise and belonging to a centaur that has trotted over from the camp gates and comes to a stop before them. "Though, probably not in the way you mean, young one."

"Chiron, hey, how's it going?" Eddie asks, rubbing the back of his neck as he shifts to stand in front of Steve. "This, uh, was all a misunderstanding, really."

Chiron raises an eyebrow at Eddie, but Steve can see the twinkle of amusement in his eyes. "I see. Is that so, Chrissy?" he asks.

"Yeah, it is," Chrissy says, nodding once as she glances at Jason, "because Jason was trigger-happy and wouldn't let anyone talk."

"I see," Chiron says again, looking back at Steve and the kids behind him. "Well, I look forward to hearing all about it and getting to know our potential campers at the Big House. Over some snacks, perhaps?"

He seems nice enough, and something about Chiron just makes Steve feel confident that nothing will happen to the kids. At least, not for the next hour or so, and that's good enough. Still, he can't help pushing just to see the extent of Chiron's patience. "Even if my sister's mother is a gorgon?" he asks, watching Chiron closely.

"Am I correct in assuming her mother is Medusa?" Chiron asks.

"Yes," El says, answering for Steve as the two snakes poking through rub their heads on Steve's arm. "She's very nice."

Chiron seems to be holding back an amused smile at that, and he nods. "I'm sure," he says, nodding once. "Yes, you are still welcome, my dear. After all, our very own Eddie Munson has vouched for you."

Steve can feel the kids behind him relaxing, and he glances at Eddie to see the relieved smile on his face. "Okay then," he says, looking back at Chiron, "lead the way."

----

Tag List

@mugloversonly, @mentallyundone, @hairdryerducks-blog, @carriethesaint, @lunabyrd, @weekend-dreamer7, @farfaras, @littlelady03, @my-tears-are-becoming-a-sea20, @mogami13, @a-little-unsteddie, @itsall-taken, @queenie-ofthe-void, @tinyplanet95, @littlebluejane, @hangoversandhandgrenades, @rabbitwhoeatsstars, @bisexualdisastersworld, @steddieinthesun,

@paintgonewrong, @sadcanadianwinter, @deehellcat, @blanketlicker, @angrydonutdestiny, @booksareportal, @fallingchemicaldiscos, @am-i-obssed-probably, @anne-bennett-cosplayer

@estrellami-1, @fandomcartographer, @steddie-as-they-go, @cris-wants-a-word, @potato-of-the-lord, @plasticcrotches, @enigmahaze, @melodymeddler

And now, the quality meme you've all been waiting for

[thesharkwhalewhoohooooo]

Bridget x fem! Oc

Knight! AU, in which Athene has been captivated by the princess.

"My princess, you know I'm assigned to keep you safe, I can't just-!" Athene tried, like every morning, to get the royal to allow her to keep her place at her side, a place she'd do anything to keep.

"But.. i'm just going out with Ella! Just take the day off!" Bridget, ever the sweetheart, really just wanted her to have -another- day off and just go off just Ella.

"Princess-!"

"Bridget."

"Princess Bridget, please, allow me to do my job for just one day, i'll be in your shadow for the whole day." Like every other day.

"... okay, but you have to help me carry these!" Bridget held up two trays of cupcakes, and Athene took them from her with a smile.

"Anything for my princess."

"Atheneeeeeee!"

-

"Go walk by the princess, i'll take that from you." Athene replaced Ella with pushing the cart, the girl shooting her a grateful look before speeding up a bit to match Bridget's pace as she walked with the new students.

"Soooo, who are you?" Chloe eventually asked, looking at Athene, who had noticed Red anxiously glancing at her.

"That's Athene! She's the head of my royal guard, my parents hired the best magic swordsman there was!" Bridget proudly introduced, Athene looked over at her as she spoke, her gaze softened significantly.

"She's the captain of my mom's guard, she's always at her side, it's the brunette that was standing next to us when we sat down." Red whispered to Chloe, who's eyes widened as they glanced between Athene and Bridget.

"I'm glas I at least add to your pride, else I would be here for nothing." Athene chuckled, handing her princess another tray of cupcakes to hand out.

"They're not...?" Chloe mumbled to Red, who shook her head.

"Together? Dating? No, I thought she was hooked back in our time but this is probably even worse, I mean i can just-." She waved her hand through the air in a cutting motion.

"Uliana." Athene stepped closer to Bridget, looming over her shoulder, a good head taller than her and taking full advantage.

"Bridget." Uliana hissed out, Red noticed how Athene almost lunged at her, but Bridget reached for her hand and intertwined their fingers, which was so out of character for her mom she almost fainted, but then again this was all very weird so why not.

"Why don't you put a leash on your guard dog, mh?" Morgie barked at her when Hook finished his sentence, Athene giving him a deadpanned stare.

"Uliana, I'm asking you to be mindful of the magical repercussions." Athene gave a second warning to the sea witch, who rolled her eyes and ate all of the feathers.

"My princess, if you'd allow me-." She was about to pick Bridget up to jump onto the balcony and get her to safety, but Ella had already rushed her away and was gesturing for the others to follow.

"Oh... right."

"Why does she look so sad, oh my god i'm gonna cry!" Chloe had tears in her eyes as she watched Athene swallow, probably extremely happy to finally get to show her loyalty.

"Oh this is perfect!" Red groaned, dragging Chloe with as she left the knight.

-

"Princess!" Athene rushed up to the huddle of girls, immediately kneeling before hers.

"Oh my gosh Athene! You don't have to kneel!" Bridget immediately crouched down, and Athene looked up at her.

"I failed at my duty to get you to safety, I should have acted faster and stopped it from happening completely." Ella sighed, she knew she should've let Athene handle it, the girl would be beating herself up about this for ages now.

"Oh no! No no no! It's not-! You did great Athene! You should take the rest of the day off to do your homework! Get ready for castlecoming... who're you going with by the way?" Athene swallowed at that, slowly standing up, holding her princess' hands in hers, softly cradling them.

"About that, would you do me the honour of g-?"

"My god, that was fucking amazing! You were amazing out there Ella, you too Bridget!" Charming appeared and ruined the moment that the two future kids were waiting for.

"The only time I don't like my father." Chloe whispered to Red under her breath, watching the dance her mom did around getting asked out directly.

"Yeah, that was pretty damn sad." Red answered, clearly not as pressed about this as Chloe, who wanted to see them get their true love.

"How about we go together? As friends, of course." Ella said the last part too late for Bridget, who was flushed red and trying not to faint at the idea of going with her crush.

"Oh that sounds amazing! We have to go dress shopping! We only have two days left!!" Ella looked over at Athene apologetically, who was clenching her jaw, and hands, her knuckles whiter than snow as she glared at Chloe's mom.

She was about to grit her teeth at the bluenette when Bridget turned around with a huge grin and a blush that could shame tomatoes, dragging Athene away to search for a dress.

"Ooh, you just fucked up Ella." Red hissed jokingly, Ella groaned.

"I know! Why did I do that?!" Chloe shrugged, but then her eyes widened and she looked at Ella, then at Red, before dragging the latter away.

"We're gonna go do homework now! Bye Ella!"

"Uh... bye?"

"Mom's going to not show up to her date with Bridget to try the most basic trick in the book!"

"And get my mom to become a monster?!" Red looked at her with a frown, and Chloe rolled her eyes.

"No! Silly... she's going to ditch her, and Athene is going to swoop in and dance with her! And done! They're in love!" Red's frown deepened.

"But they won't be, because if that's what happened, then they should be happy now, but they're not, so that couldn't be what happened! Or, maybe, Bridget's feeling for Ella are so strong that her ditching her might break it, but she won't go on to dance with Athene immediately after that! If that is what happened, which it isn't, she'll refuse to dance with Athene, then turn into a monster by whatever Uliana's gonna do." Red took a deep breath, looking at Chloe, who looked like she was in denial about it.

"She wouldn't do that, she's way too nice- she's gonna do that." Chloe grimaced.

"So we stop my mom from ditching her, we get her to fall in love with Athene in two days, or, we stop Uliana from turning her into whatever made her seen as a monster!" She concluded.

"Maybe, in two days? Yeah the last one is the most probable solution."

-

"You put even the finest silks to shame with your beauty, I don't see why you would dress up this much for some girl." That isn't me.

"She's not some girl Athene, it's Ella. Now, this one flatters me more doesn't it?" She came out from behind the curtain in their private room with a beautiful dark pink ball gown on, her hair up in a bun, to make sure it didn't get tangled in the fabric.

"Your mom won't allow you to be with a commoner, even you have boundaries, the lowest you could go is with a duchess." Like me. "You are the only child after all."

"Mh, well, i'm gonna be queen anyway, so it doesn't matter much." Bridget brushed off her comment with a bright smile, giving Athene a little twirl.

"I love y- it. But I think the light pink suits you way better, the one with the roses along the corset." Bridget sighed, sitting down on the edge of the platform she was standing on, looking at where Athene was sitting.

"It's so weird, like I don't even know what her favourite shade of pink on me is! How am I supposed to choose!" Athene sighed.

"Whatever you feel the prettiest in is the only thing i'll ever find beautiful." Bridget let out a giggle.

"You're only saying that! You big flirt." Athene clenched her hand, but stood up once more to sit down next to Bridget and undo the delicate lacing on the corset for her.

"I'm not, but I can tell you that you should never hold back on wearing any colour, the gods just decided to make you look like a goddess in whatever you choose to wear." Bridget hid her face in her hands, feeling Athene's hands trace something on her back.

"What're you writing?" She eventually asked.

"I'm making a heart, because you're the queen of mi- ahem. The queen of them, all of them, anyone that doesn't believe in that will have to face off with my sword. My princess." Bridget giggled again, allowing her knight to slowly push the dress off of her shoulders and help her out of it.

"You big goofball." Athene nearly grabbed her and shook her around to try get some sense into her.

"You can start with mine though, i'll watch as your collection grows." Athene pulled something out of her pocket, an amulet, which... didn't have anything in it yet.

"There's nothing in there?" Bridget asked, tilting her head as she took ahold of the oval shaped amulet, which looked more like a thorny cage than anything else.

"Yet, I want you to have this." Athene took off her breastplate, unbuttoning the blouse underneath, Bridget watching with intrigue.

"What?!" Bridget gasped as Athene reached inside her own chest, dark blue magic swirling around her  hand as it disappeared into her chest.

"No! Athene! Do not give me-!" She was too late, the brunette had already pulled out the dark red oval shaped crystal.

"I know you're not supposed to give your heart to anyone but-."

"To anyone but your bride! Do not give me this! What if I lose it?! Or break it?! Do you want me to get a heart attack?!" Bridget clasped onto the opened blouse, pulling Athene down and coming face to face with the girl.

"I... know, but I want you to have it, you'll always have me, every little part of me is yours, even when I'm not your knight, i'll always be yours in my heart, which i'm giving to you to symbolise that I'm not leaving. Ever." She opened the amulet, placing the crystal inside, which fit snugly, and used her magic to seal it shut.

"Don't lose it." Bridget had tears in her eyes, her mouth hung open in disbelieve.

"Why would you- i'm-." She stopped herself, falling into Athene's chest and sobbing into it as she wrapped her arms around her.

"I hate you so much!" She cried, her nails digging into her sides as if she didn't just give her her literal heart.

Athene let her cry, stroking her hair and holding her close.

"I know, I'm sorry."

"Why would you do this to yourself?!"

-

"Red, my little princess, you have to sleep now." Athene tried to get a little Red to stop jumping on the bed and settle down for story time.

"If you can get ready for bed in under five minutes i'll let you ride a horse with me tomorrow morning." She had never seen the princess run that fast before... well, maybe a few times, but not for bed.

"Done!"

"Brushed your teeth?"

"Check!"

"Well that settles it! We're going horse riding tomorrow!" Red cheered, quickly jumping under her sheets before Athene said anything.

"You're such a good kid, you know that right?" Red hesitated, but nodded.

"What do you want to hear about?"

"Can you tell me about my mom?" Athene's breath hitched, she looked at Red with wide eyes, the little Princess' eyes still so wide and innocent, even though she'd seen so much bloodshed.

"I-... sure. Settle in for the ride little one."

Red shot up in her bed, breathing loudly and clutching her chest, trying to calm down.

Luckily she hadn't woken Chloe, so she could wind down on her own.

"We have to stay for castlecoming."

-

"You guys need dresses?" Athene showed up to the new student's dorm the morning of castlecoming, two dresses in hand and with a smile on her face.

"I had to get out because Bridget wanted to bake something in peace, also, i'm being iced out because, well I gave her something she didn't really want and now she's terrified of losing it or breaking it, which it basically impossible." She let out a laugh, coming in past Red and handing the blue dress to Chloe.

"I'll help you guys get changed, well, i'll help Chloe with her make up, and i'll get any last changes on accessories you guys want, but that's considered helping, right?" Red nodded, holding her own red dress to her chest, happy that her parent figure did actually know what to do, like always.

"What'd you give her?" Red sent Chloe a glare, who simply shrugged.

"My heart."

"How?! What?!" Chloe freaked out, Red didn't.

"It's an old Wonderlandian tradition, give your heart to your bride and live a thousand years by her side. Essentially just becoming someone's property." Red explained, Athene shrugged.

"I see it as a deep pledge of my loyalty, also maybe a proposal, but with the way she reacted it definitely isn't something i'm going to be telling her." She awkwardly smiled, tying her hair up in a bun.

"If you need anything, call Bridget's room, i'm in there." She pointed at the landline on the table in a corner, and the two princesses shrugged.

"Sure."

-

"I'm back!" Athene smiled at Bridget, who glared at her, as best as she could.

"Princess- Bridget. You know that you're too adorable to be able to glare, please don't get early wrinkles because of me." She smoothed out her frown with her thumb, then stepped back to admire her dress.

"How do you feel in that?"

"Annoyed, disgruntled, mad."

"And if I asked how you feel with the dress being the source of the feelings?"

"Good." Athene kissed her forehead and went to sit on her bed, admiring the light pink ballgown.

"You look phenomenal, no wonder you feel good, if you didn't i'd have a few heads rolling." Bridget gasped.

"No! Don't kill people! That's bad Athene!" The knight merely smirked at her, and the princess held a hand up to cover her mouth, realising she had broken her promise of not speaking to her. -she had already broken it but this was in a bad way-

"Well, we can't have my princess in a bad mood for her first dance! I'll help with the corset, come here." Bridget stepped in between the girl's legs, lifting her dress to go over them so she was able to stand close enough.

"Why aren't you wearing my heart?" Athene eventually asked, once she was almost done lacing her up.

"Why aren't you wearing your dress?" She evaded the question, and she let her.

"I'm going to be wearing a suit, i'm still on duty and a dress would constrict my movement." Bridget hummed, turning around once she was done to face her.

"I'll wear your heart," Athene smiled up at her, and she leaned a bit closer. "-if you accept the night off to enjoy yourself with your date." She deflated.

"I don't have a date, I was't fast enough with asking her."

-

"Ella?" Bridget watched as the girl of her dreams danced with Charming, and Ella shot her a guilty look.

She stood there on the dance floor, staring at them as she betrayed her, when someone softly grabbed her hand and turned her around.

"Don't cry my princess, she's clearly not worth your tears." She glared at Ella for not only stealing her date but also ditching her.

Bridget looked up at her with a trembling bottom lip and teary eyes, trying to talk but nothing came out.

"Let's just dance."

Red watched as Bridget happily walked over to Ella, who went to dance with Charming, and then got intercepted by Athene, who was wearing a matching off white suit with light pink accessories.

"Oh my god this is so sad, why would- OH MY GOD!" Chloe gasped the last bit out when she saw Athene being pushed back by Bridget, who sped off, and now it was her turn to just stand there.

"I think we have a half half chance that this might stop my mom from being a maniac." Red piped up, trying to wave Athene over, who was staring blankly at the exit, arms limp by her torso.

"You think it's the good half?"

"Let's go see shall we?"

-

"Hey Uliana! Get the fuck away from Bridget!" Red yelled at the villain, who stepped back in shock from being caught, but soon resumed her actions of trying to give Bridget a cupcake.

When they arrived, they were just in time and slapped the cupcake out of Bridget's hands, the princess merely looking down at the mess.

"Get away from her." Red hissed out, pointing a dagger at the sea witch.

"Let's go wash your hands Bridget." Chloe coaxed her towards a fountain and washed her hands for the dazed girl.

-

"Let's go then...." Red spoke up once they were back in the stardust room, holding up the pocketwatch.

"Let's go!" Chloe grabbed it with her and they returned to their respective time, just to find that they were back to when Uma pointed out that Bridget was being disrespectful to her.

"I'm just trying to play my favourite game." She trialed off, standing up and being helped up by Athene, who stood besides her in a golden chrstplate??? Not black???

Red held her breath as her mom turned to her, then let it out with a confused sigh.

"Hearts!" She glanced at Athene, nothing changed with her except maybe she had less scarring on her body and her armour was golden.

"I'm just so happy that my daughter gets to attend Auradon prep with you all!" She smiled at her daughter, and Athene smiled at her too, the familiar, warm smile she used to give her when she still read her bedtime stories, until she was ripped away from her by her mother.

"Well, nothing I say can top that, so... happy schoolyear ya'll!" Everyone stood up, and Red and Bridget hugged.

"You've grown so much! Oh i'm going to miss you!" She pinched her daughter's cheeks, Red scrunching her nose.

"Mom!" She whined, Athene laughing at them.

"Don't be so rude! She's not going to see you for a few months!"

"Three months Athene! I've never not seen my baby for more than a week! Please be nice to everyone and remember! You get more with sugar than salt!" Red slowly nodded, glancing between Athene and Bridget, did the change also change their relationship?

"Soo, Athene, how's your girlfriend doing?" Athene frowned at her, shaking her head.

"Don't have one! Now stop asking me that you little brat!" She was about to jokingly put her in a headlock when Bridget stopped her.

"This is why I told you not to give me your heart! You're never going to find love that way." She shook her head with a sigh, not noticing how Athene looked at her.

"I've already found it."

"Mh?"

"Red's dorm of course! Let's go get you settled in!" Red arched an eyebrow at the slip up, but still followed the knight to her dorm, which she would be sharing with Chloe, again.

"Red! Oh my god it worked!" Chloe jumped into her arms, not noticing Athene behind her.

"As much as i'm confused by how you two know each other, i'm just going to set down your bags there." Chloe looked up at Athene with wide eyes, quickly scrambling off of Red, who rolled her eyes.

"Of course..." she glanced at Red with a questioning look, Red simply shook her head no.

"Really?! But didn't she show up to take Bridget back to her dorm?"

"Maybe they're destined to be like this."

-

"Oh! Remember when I had a crush on you when I was... 20? I think." Bridget laughed at the memory, not seeing Athene's face fall.

"Mom! Isn't this about me leaving? Not about you and your past romances!" Red saw the discomfort on Athene's face, it was hard to miss, even the Charmings saw it.

"Mhm, that was quite the phase." Athene simply replied, this mind blowing revelation nearly blew her apart, she could've had the woman of her dreams when she was 20, but she never asked her out and now she'll never have a chance again.

"If I ever get into a situation where i'm like her, please kill me." Chloe whispered to Red, who simply nodded in return, grabbing her hand and resting it on her thigh.

"Same goes for you." She whispered back to the flushed Charming girl.