#big fan of babying your drinks and eating all the ice before ordering another one

[rueclfer]

im going to the bars for the first time today what do i order? 😭😭 i turned 21 a month ago but i didn't end up going out but im so nervous about looking stupid

happy late birthday!!! all your bartender cares about is getting those tips so do not worry <3

vodka redbull/coke: classy. safe. straight to the point. no one will judge u for this drink.

long island iced tea: someone will probs think u have a drinking problem if u order more than one of these but it gets u fucked up so worth it for the price.

midori sour: def a college student drink lmao but it taste the best out of the 3.

i usually just rotate between these 3 whenever i go out but plssssss pregame bc shit is expensive ‼️‼️

[cloveroctobers]

TIGER EYE — JR [Summer Prompts]

A/N: Disappointed we won’t get to see this handsome face for at least another three seasons but I’m enjoying the time we do have! I know this will flop somewhat since I’ll say it again, this fandom is basically nowhere to be found up here but I’ll be doing a disservice if I didn’t do a little something for my man who’s aways going to be my man!

A PROMPT I THREW INTO THE MIX CAN BE FOUND HERE & I’m using: "no, i'm not going to give you a bite because i know you're not gonna like it. then you're going to ask me how the hell i like it, and i don't want to listen to that right now."

Synopsis: in which you’re JR’s long-time fling who’s always high and just here to have a good time but after his health scare and his new found friend in Gabby, tends to stick around more than ever now…you see that your season is almost up as well.

𓆉°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･𓆉°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･𓆉°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･𓆉°❀⋆.

“No, i'm not going to give you a bite because i know you're not gonna like it. then you're going to ask me how the hell i like it, and i don't want to listen to that right now." JR says across from you in the booth, fork pointed in your direction as you sent a lazy smile his way.

You were catfish’s bigger hater but yet here you were, ten minutes late after the scheduled meet up time after eight pm, taking forever and a day to decide what you wanted to eat. He already knew your ass was high once you set eyes on him but he didn’t pin it to your slight tardiness, you were never on time. Which is why he lied and said six-forty-five, knowing his ass wouldn’t be there either, getting his reps in at the gym before hitting the showers.

He got to your fav breakfast diner spot at seven-forty-five so it really wasn’t that big of deal to the athlete. It really became your place together because you were a sucker for breakfast for dinner and this place was near campus and what better place to get to your heart than through food?

JR being the gentleman he was, already ordered your favorite drink and waited on you before he got to ordering anything else. When you did show up, dressed in your earthy black girl glory, he couldn’t help but to be all grins at the sight of you.

Until it came to you slandering his food choices.

Pulling a mocking face at the beautiful brown skinned boy, you rested your cheek into your fist and sipped at your drink with a sigh. Of course JR found that cute, laughing at your still hungry behind as he took another bite from his sandwich.

“Where’d you get that necklace from?” He asks.

You peek down at the new gem around your neck, “why? Jealous I got more ice than you since you won’t let me wear your initials?”

JR snorts as he grabs his own necklace, “baby, I can give you more than my initials if you’re about it.”

Shaking your head, you fan your hand at the boy as the waiter comes back with your order of dessert. And of course you had no problem tearing that up, just hoping JR didn’t go into his whole disquisition about making things serious.

You already had a roommate who was in your ear about securing a husband but that wasn’t what you were here for or what your folks trained you to do. The only reason JR was brought to your attention was because your professor forced you all to do a partner project and he chose you while you made no effort to find a partner. JR even went as far as telling the girl that had her eye on him a few seats over that he already had one, being familiar with this professor’s game of spontaneous quizzes and projects.

JR never regretted choosing you, even until this day.

“Hey, JR! Didn’t know you came to this place.” A voice breaks you out of your staring contest, JR’s smirk turning to the curly haired girl that stood beside him outside of the booth.

JR sends a smile her way, “what’s going on Gabby? Yeah, y/n and hit this place up, what babe? At least three times a week?”

You nod as Gabby sets her eyes on you, “oh, hey y/n.”

Sending her a wave with your tatted and ring covered fingers; since your mouth was full and you still didn’t want to be to be impolite, that’s all you could do to acknowledge the girl. She started coming around a whole lot more after Cam first introduced the two, which was right around the time when you just started what some might call a situationship whereas you called it a partnership and even more once JR got sick—which was nice of Gabby but you could read between the lines.

Even brought it up one time when JR had you on all fours after that party one time, “are you serious right now?” His thick brows furrowed followed with a pant from behind you.

“What? I’m just saying, I know when a bad bitch is feeling you and I wouldn’t be mad if—

He gripped your hips, one hand pressing on your lower back arching your back even further to get you even closer to him, finding a more than acceptable way to shut you up then.

“You feeling alright though?” Gabby asked and you could sense the smidge of irritation radiating off JR although he still kept a smile on his face.

It was the way it faltered just a bit at the corners that you picked up on. It was cool that she cared but of course there was a thing called doing too much. First it was Keisha being overly encouraging, granted she contributed a lot to JR’s healing process, just because your head was often in the clouds didn’t mean you were stuck on stupid and now here was Gabby asking about his health every chance she got.

You hated to say it but you were different.

You didn’t let JR’s sickness define him or make it his focus and that’s all that he wanted. He didn’t want to be that vulnerable ever again especially when he lost baseball because of it. You loved seeing him play on the field and although your aim was trash, you didn’t mind being out on there with JR when he felt up for it. When he wanted to talk about that tough time, you would be right there listening. Everyone operates differently when it comes to caring but being in tuned, asking what JR needed instead of what everyone thought he needed was something he valued about you.

Never a competition but just a thought!

After all, you didn’t want to take college dating so seriously.

Life can be rough all on its own.

“Feel brand new. Refreshed even,” JR lifts his shoulders, still a smile on his face, “back to the old JR but better.”

Gabby nods her head, “Good to hear, but don’t overwork yourself now! And don’t hesitate to reach out if you ever need anything.”

“‘Ppreciate it, Gabs.”

“Y’all have a goodnight,” Gabby glances at you one last time with a warm smile that felt genuine before leaving you two be.

Watching as she left the diner, you lean back against the booth as her twist-out curls bounced in the night while she made her way over to the Uber.

When your eyes flick back to JR’s, his melted brown sugar eyes were still settled on your form, “Don’t start.”

“I didn’t say a thing.”

“I already know what you’re thinkin’ though.” JR rests his elbows on the table.

You lightly laugh, “okay Avant tease.”

JR playfully rolls his eyes, “I’m trying my best to give you that old school r&b love but you’re probably the most stubborn girl I’ve dated in my life.”

Sighing you didn’t bother correcting him. Was this dating? Technically but you put that fear to the side to spare him really. He knew where you stood and still thought he could change your mind.

Jessie Raymond Jr. was never a quitter.

“I like to say I’ve been pretty tame tonight, don’t you think?”

“Which only means I’m being set up for what’s to come, right?” He brings his clasped hands up to his lips as he peers over at you through his lengthy lashes.

He was just waiting on the day you tried to call it quits for real this time.

“Nah, I’ve got the tiger eye on.”

“Meaning what?” JR still wasn’t entirely sure what you were into but he knew you had a lot of damn rocks in your dorm that his grandmomma would probably call witchcraft.

You lay the palm of your hand flat side up on the table which he moves to place his own right on top, “All about courage and balance, baby cakes.”

“Well shit, let me get one so I can keep you a little longer then.” JR tells you while you softly smile at him.

You wink, “just gives you something else to focus on when it’s hanging in front of your face.”

JR can’t stop the wide grin that spreads around his gleaming teeth, “oh, don’t tempt me with a good time.”

“I knew it was working.” You squeeze his hand in yours, leaning across the table with your lips puckered.

JR doesn’t hesitate to cup your face, pecking your lips multiple times until you nipped his bottom lip. He sits back at the assault, touching his bottom lip to make sure you didn’t draw any blood and the way your low lidded eyes stayed on his lips, made him feel tingly inside.

“Excuse me, waiter!” JR broke the eye contact, because if he didn’t, he knew the younger relatives that ran the joint from eight pm to 1am would put the two of you on Twitter or worse.

For the night, you had no problem being in love as you took your long walk back to campus hand tight in JR’s larger but soft one, with the crickets chirping their approval as you carried on, bursting into old songs together in the warm but gentle summer night.

𓆉°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･𓆉°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･𓆉°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･𓆉°❀⋆.

Continue with my summer writings & prompts here.

[thatshithurted8]

jeff wittek imagine where the reader and jeff go on vacation together like to vegas or miami???

Holiday 

Summary: Throughout your mini holiday in Miami with your boyfriend Jeff, he realizes just how special you and your relationship are. 

Word Count: 2.3k

Warning: Tooth rotting fluff, mention of alcoholism and Jeff’s accident

A/N This is also inspired by KSI’s song Holiday! 

I wanna wake up every mornin', feelin' better 'Cause I know you're sleeping by my side And every moment we're together I remember just to keep it all for you and I

Jeff’s brown eyes slowly open, being awoken by a crying baby that was a few rows behind you two. He lets out a yawn before looking over at you who were fast asleep on his shoulder. 

Something that not a lot of people knew was that Jeff hated flying despite being a certified skydiver. Ever since he was younger he was never a fan of flying, only now he was a bit more comfortable with it due to his experience skydiving. Nevertheless his initial nerves after waking up quickly wash away just from being in your presence.

Wanting to capture this seemingly perfect moment, Jeff slowly grabs his phone out of his pocket without disturbing you and takes a quick picture. As he analyzes the picture his heart swells at how at peace and comfortable you looked sleeping on him and in one of his sweaters. The two of you were extremely tired from catching a red eye flight to Miami so no wonder why you both fell asleep. 

Saving the picture Jeff puts his phone away and slowly opens the blind of your window seat. The rising sun shines into your row, the rays illuminating your face making your features and long lashes more prominent. The purpose of the trip to Miami was to watch the Logan Paul vs Floyd Mayweather fight. In fact you were ecstatic when Jeff told you he got you guys tickets to the event since you grew up watching boxing with your family and you were a huge fan of Mayweather. With that being said you had no idea how close the tickets Jeff got were to the ring. 

Jeff’s breath hitches as he admires you. He was so in love with you and was so excited to see your reaction to being ringside. As Jeff softly moves some stray hairs out of your face he realizes everything he does is for the benefit for not only you, but your relationship as well. It was you two against the world. 

I see that body in the sunlight Feelin' the heat and it feels right I wanna do this for the rest of my life

“I know you guys are dating and all, but you seriously need to stop staring before you sink the boat with your drool.” Mike Maijlak says walking over to Jeff’s side and handing him a La Croix. 

Jeff booked your mini holiday to last a few days before and after the fight which gave you guys the opportunity to explore Miami and let lose. With that being said neither of you were going to turn down Mike’s invite to join him on a yacht to party. So there you were talking and dancing with some girls you knew from LA while sipping on a La Croix. 

Jeff lets out a laugh while opening one of his favourite drinks. “I can’t help it man, just look at her.” He says taking a sip of the bubbly liquid while continuing to admire you from afar. 

The Miami sun that shined onto your skin paired with your infectious laugh, seemingly gave you a golden glow that made you standout. Not only that, but the bikini that you were wearing flattered your body type so well. 

After feeling as if someone was staring at you for the past few minutes you finally turn and look around the boat to find the owner of the eyes that were on you. Quickly your eyes find Jeff’s brown ones and you realize it was just Jeff staring at you the whole time, causing heat to wash over your body at his gaze. 

You shoot him a smirk and wink in return before turning back around to continue your conversation. A smirk of his own falls upon Jeff’s face as you do so, along with a light shade of pink on his cheeks. 

“You’re so whipped.” Mike laughs shaking his head, finally speaking up after watching the whole interaction. 

“Well I wanna be whipped for her for the rest of my life then.” Jeff says without realizing how big of a statement that was while his eyes remained on your beautiful figure. 

Oh, I know, I know, you know the vibe I wanna stay with you every night You and me underneath the lights I'm always good when you're by my side I know, you know you're on my mind You really make me come alive I wanna be here for the rest of my life

“Jeff look at my hands I’m literally shaking I can’t believe we’re this close!” You exclaim while glancing between your boyfriend and the boxing ring in front of you. 

“Only the best for you doll.” He says sending you a wink while laughing. For the past hour and a half as you two watched the undercards you continued to gush about your seats making Jeff happy to see you happy. 

Without wasting another second you roughly grab Jeff by his green shirt and pull him in for a passionate kiss. Just before the brunette could immerse himself into it fully you pull away. Some of your lipstick was smudged and Jeff knew without a doubt he had some on his lips, but he didn’t care. In that moment it truly seemed as if you two were the only ones there under the rings bright lights and in an arena full of screaming fans while you two stared into each others eyes lovingly. 

Your attention on your boyfriend is torn away when the already loud arena becomes even louder as Mayweather starts to walk out. Quickly you start to cheer for your favourite boxer while jumping up and down and clapping excitedly. Jeff glances between you and the boxing legend before his gaze finally lands on you. 

You look over at your boyfriend with a smile that was from ear to ear. “It’s Floyd fucking Mayweather!” You exclaim pointing over to the undefeated boxer entering the ring. 

A smile washes over Jeff’s face as he laughs at your excitement. You truly resembled a child in a toy store. Seeing your excitement only made Jeff more excited, causing him to join in on cheering for Mayweather despite being friends with Logan. 

There was no one else Jeff would rather be with to witness the fight and this thought only made him realize he wants to be by your side for the rest of his life. 

Looking for sun rays, needin' them good days Fly me away-away, you're my holiday Cool like the ocean, lost in emotion Fly me away-away, you're my holiday Whenever you're here it's a good time Strawberry shirts in the sunshine Ice-cold drinks 'til the moonlight You're my holiday Whenever you're here it's a good time Strawberry shirts in the sunshine Ice-cold drinks 'til the moonlight You're my holiday

The next few days after the fight was a whirlwind, but in a good way. Despite having a good time underneath the Miami sun and it’s nightlife Jeff wouldn’t be having as good of a time if you weren’t there. You truly made the trip for him, making the sunny days that were good for his mental health even better and the dreary days full of life from your infectious positivity and smile.  

You let out a loud laugh as you and Jeff wrap your arms around each others, mimicking a toast before brining your drink to your lips while your boyfriend did the same. At the same time you two sip at your virgin drinks while maintaining eye contact with each other in the close position. You gulp down the rest of your cold drink despite it being alcohol free before untangling your arm with Jeff’s and ordering another at the outside bar. 

Over the past four years of knowing Jeff the two of you created a special connection that no one in your friend group had with each other. And that was being sober. Jeff turned to alcohol after his break up with his ex girlfriend while you on the other hand turned to it to deal with the death of your mom. To say you were there for each other was an understatement. When the temptation to drink was too much Jeff would call you up and the two of you would go on late night hikes and talk about everything and anything, and vice versa for you. There was always a mutual pining for one another, but neither of you acted on it due to how broken you both were at the time. However, as the years went by your feelings only intensified along with Jeff’s. Though it wasn’t until a few months after Jeff’s accident when he took a leap of faith and finally confessed his feelings to you after realizing how short life truly was.

Jeff places his glass on the bar as well, placing his hand on the small of your back while looking around the crowded club that was partly inside and partly outside. Once you get a refill of your drink you turn around sipping on the paper straw, your back leaning against the bar causing Jeff to redirect his attention back to you. 

“You look beautiful.” He says looking down at you in his arms. 

Heat washes over your face and Jeff’s smile widens at how flustered you still got after all this time together. He loved showering you in words of affirmation and he meant every thing he said to you. Although, you always look beautiful the way the moonlight reflected off of your skin made you look angelic. It was a great contrast to you earlier in the day at the beach wearing a strawberry printed bikini that made Jeff feel a certain way. 

“Thank you baby you don’t look too bad yourself.” You say placing a soft peck on Jeff’s lips before pulling him towards the dance floor. 

I wanna stay up 'til the mornin' with you talkin' Just to listen to the things you say And every time we're in the middle of the city I imagine us so far away

The two of you sat down in a booth with Mike Majilak and Logan Paul at a random Denny’s that was in between your hotel and the club you four were previously partying at. By now the jet lag and the numerous activities you and Jeff participated in was starting to catch up to you. However, that wasn’t apparent to anyone other than Jeff as you talked the boys ears off while eating. 

“We’ll see you guys later! And once again Y/N text me when you’re free to film an episode of ImPaulsive.” Logan says as him and Mike get out of the booth, placing money on the table and getting ready to leave the restaurant. 

“Of course!” You exclaim before picking up your lemonade and drinking what was left. Jeff bids his goodbyes to the two influencers and once they leave you quickly rest your head on his broad shoulder, letting out a loud sigh. 

“You okay doll?” Jeff asks placing his hand on your thigh. 

“Yea just tired.” You say kissing his neck and placing your hand on his cheek. Similar to Jeff you were able to pick up on the energy of situations and that affected how you acted. So once Mike and Logan left you felt as if you could finally wind down from their partying aura. 

A comforting silence falls upon you two and your eyes slowly flutter close as the rising sun shines in through the Denny’s windows. As cliche as it sounded Jeff felt as if it was only you two in the quiet breakfast place. The brunette rests his head against yours and his eyes follows your lead by shutting close. 

The two of you remain in this position for a few minutes, cherishing not only the first quiet moment of the trip, but also the little moments you two shared. 

Ooh, ooh Ooh, you're my holiday

Scratching at his eyes and stretching Jeff slowly and quietly gets out of bed, the sun filtering in through the hotels curtains and onto your sleeping body. You looked so peaceful and he didn’t want to disturb that. Once you guys returned to your hotel room from a night out partying and a very early breakfast at Denny’s the two of you instantly fell asleep. 

Jeff glances at the analogue clock on the bedside table which read 2:34pm before he slips on a pair of pants and a t-shirt. Making sure to not wake you Jeff grabs his phone, wallet and room key then quietly leaves your shared room. However, before he leaves he makes sure to place a gentle kiss on your forehead and whisper to you how much he loves you. 

Throughout the trip he was constantly reminded of how much he loved you. You helped him through some of the darkest times in his life and after all this time of knowing and being together Jeff finally knew what he had to do. 

Remembering a shop that was a few buildings away from your hotel, Jeff quickly walks over to it wanting to be back before you woke up. The Staten Island native hands become clammy as he approaches the store, his tough guy persona seemingly crashing down with every step he took. 

The bell above the shops door dings as Jeff walks in causing a sales representative to walk over to him with a welcoming smile. 

“Good afternoon how can I help you?” She asks. Jeff takes a look around the quaint shop and all of the glass casings before redirecting his attention back to the worker. 

“Hi uh yea, I was wondering if you guys have any engagement rings?” 

[foryoumyheroes]

Sharing is Caring

How [Midorya + Todoroki + Bakugou + Hawks] steal share food 

A/N: I miss eating out but what can you do? Please, if possible for you, continue to stay inside as much as you can! I’m saying this bc the actions in these headcanons are not pandemic-friendly LOL Also, crack-ish? 

Midoriya: 

Oh, what? This little angel can do no wrong, of course he would never take your food without asking and he rarely even asks for a bite of your food unless you offer it up. 

Always shares what his mom packed for the day as well as any other meal he has. 

Willingly eats the things you pick off your plate. You eat what he doesn’t like. A symbiotic relationship.  

Once you guys get to a comfortable part of your relationship he does do weird things in order to be closer to you. 

No matter what he uses the same soy sauce tray as you, even when there’s a perfectly good one right next to him. 

If you’re eating takeout and it’s a picnic or somewhere outside/inconvenient he will use the same chopstick as you. Just...you take a bite, pass the chopsticks, and go back and forth. 

Drinks from the same cup as you. Even if he’s pouring out a cup for everyone and pours a drink out for him too, he’ll drink from your cup and then once you guys are done with that you’ll both drink from his. 

He loves it whenever you guys do share food though!! It makes him [heart squeeze~] doing such a cutesy thing. He feels 100% more affectionate whenever this happens. 

He just likes being next to you. If you guys get street food and have to stab with the skewers into that tiny box or bag, it makes his day standing so close to you for a while. 

Of course, when he first did this he almost died every time because of the mental image of indirect kissing. 

Todoroki: 

It’s already canon that he offers up his precious soba whenever his close friends are feeling down. 

Honestly such a baby boy. 

This food sparks joy in me? It must do the same for them as well! 

But once you guys get into the extremely comfortable part of your relationship the words “my food” and “their food” get erased from his vocabulary and is now completely replaced with “our food.” 

When you guys go to a restaurant, you’re that couple that sits in the same booth seat, side-to-side, instead of across from each other. 

He only orders one dish. The waiter will just stand there until Todoroki will be like, “We’ll order another if we’re still hungry.” 

If you’re getting takeout, he’ll order two dishes but when you get home you’re still going to be sitting as close as ever eating from the same plate.

As a result every meal you have will always involve him sitting by your side. 

The kind of person that never orders the same dish as you if you’re eating together. 

It happens so frequently that Fuyumi bought this big old bowl for you two to eat from whenever you visit Endeavor’s house. 

You guys are so lovey-dovey and roman -- 🤮 romant -- 🤮🤮 I can’t even say it. 🤮🤮🤮🤮

I mean it’s kinda economical, saving all this money sharing a meal.  

Like a dog when they see you eat without them. 

If you guys are having lunch and he ends up sitting on the opposite end of the table from you, one sound of you cracking apart your chopsticks will have him noooming over to your side to eat some too. 

Quite honestly, if you try to eat without him he will physically fight you to take at least one bite too. He’s just jumping over you while you’re protecting your food from him like a football player with the ball. 

[Aizawa: so...do any of you want to tell me how [Name] gave Todoroki a black eye? 

Everyone starts talking over each other all at once while you’re saying, “I accidentally elbowed him in the face BUT that was my melonpan though!!” and Todoroki’s saying, “Our melonpan.”] 

Kinda cute though because it becomes something you kind of just expect. He’ll buy like a boba, take a sip, and then immediately give it to your awaiting hands so you could taste. 

Bakugou: 

The person you’re leeching food off of. 

He’s like, “FUCK off!” and “Get your own!” but we all know the truth 😊😊

Even tries to pass off his affections by saying that the portion you took from him doesn’t have the recommended nutritional balance so he gives you more meat/vegetables/rice to “even it out.” 

Sometimes he’ll even feed you straight from his chopsticks, just straight up shoving food in your mouth. He’ll be really aggressive and pushy but he’ll do it. 

If he wants your food, he’ll just gruffly say, “Give me that,” and snatch it. 

He anticipates you wanting to eat his food so even though he’s a spice fan he’ll tone it down for you when you steal some from him later in the day. 

[People will be like, “Wow he’s such a doting boyfriend.” 

And he’ll yell, “Mind your own shit! I don’t fucking feed [Name] all the time!” And then turn around to be like, “Here’s your napkin and I brought you utensils too.” sdfghkl] 

[He’ll refuse to give anyone else food, and he’ll say some BS like, “No one is eating this but me!” 

Kaminari is like, “but you’re sharing with [Name] right now!” 

Bakugou: what of it?] 

What if he lulls you into a false sense of security though. 

He’s been lowering the spice levels this entire time leading you to believe that you’re getting better at spice and your tolerance has gone up but one day he just suddenly spikes it with spice and nearly kills you. 

When you two cooked together you used to grab bites right in the middle of cooking and he told you off saying it was annoying but now he always calls you over to “taste test.” 

Hawks: 

This bastard. 

Obviously he steals food from you all the time. 

He even strategizes how to steal food from you in the most efficient way possible. 

In more casual restaurants he’ll guide you to the seat that’s closer to the counter/bathroom/water dispenser and constantly asks you to go pick stuff up for him. That’s when he strikes. 

Gets one of his feathers to tap you on the side/behind so when you turn your head he starts shoveling food when you aren’t looking. 

Doesn’t wait for you when you go to the bathroom. You know this. He knows this. It’s survival of the fittest here. 

You get so nervous whenever you get delivery food because if Keigo gets to it first he’s going to eat your fries. 

Once he dipped his bare ass hands into your noodle dish and took the egg on top before you could stop him. 

Every time he convinces you to rock-paper-scissors him for the last piece even if it’s your food. 

Do y’all know that scene from Kung Fu Panda or Power Rangers where they move the last piece around the bowl and maneuvers it with the utensils so the other person can’t get it? If you’re a Pro-Hero too he’ll pull that shit on you. 

LIKE JUST LET ME EATTT. 

This is gross but he doesn’t even care if you licked something or put it in your mouth to “assert dominance” over it. He’ll just get you to spit it out like a mom bird. 

One time he came home early from patrol and found out that you were eating fried chicken without him so the two of you just stood there on opposite ends of the apartment with you staring at him like 👁️👄👁️. 

[Hawks: I thought you were bae-- 

You: Keigo-- 

Hawks:...turns out you’re just fam. ] 

He turns and goes back outside and goes get his own fried chicken and even gets himself a treat ice cream. Takes a picture and sends it to you and everything to gloat. 

[firefly-in-darkness]

Honey

Pairing →  Steve Rogers x Reader

Characters →  Marvel Characters.

Summary → Y/N has her mind set on hooking up with Steve Rogers, the only problem is that they’re in the middle of an Awards Ceremony.

Word Count → 1.6k

Prompt → Don’t Marry Her by Beautiful South for @cockslut-padalecki‘s Not My Ninth Challenge. 

SSB2021 Square Fill → More than Meets the Eye - @star-spangled-bingo

Warnings → 18+. Implied Cheating, Angst, Smut. Swearing.

Betas → @daydream3r-xo & @kalesrebellion // all mistakes are my own.

Firefly’s Masterlist // Star Spangled Bingo 2021

Y/N’s plan was fool proof. Tonight was the night she’d bag Steve Rogers, Captain America, America’s Ass and Golden Boy. Throughout the awards ceremony, she gave him a subtle smile or a seductive drag of her necklace to focus his attention to her exposed decolletage. On occasion, she’d catch the lust-filled glances when she bit down her bottom lip, fingers skimming the plunging neckline of the designer gown.

The intermission between the awards gave her the perfect opportunity to pounce; Steve was standing alone at the bar, his hands in the black slacks as he spoke jovially with the bartender. Gosh, he’s so sweet, Y/N pondered as she circled the beautifully decorated tables full of beaming smiles and chattering guests.

Y/N was ready to strike, only a couple of tables away, when Natasha also joined them at the bar, a wave of guilt seeped into her bones as she watched the redhead fix Steve’s bowtie. It would have been cute if Y/N hadn’t already known about their shared history and battles. 

The fully stocked bar was now calling her name, like a bumblebee seeking out its nectar. Y/N threw all caution to the wind to get something to dull the ache and nerves that crept up her skin. As she ordered her drink, Y/N kept a close eye on the pair, through the mirror at the bar, they were only a few feet away and she didn’t want to bring too much attention to herself.

After a kiss to Steve’s cheek, Natasha left his side to join Clint and Tony at their table. That’s right, Y/N didn’t get to sit with the Avengers, she was just a SHIELD agent after all. She gulped back the fiery bourbon, an attempt to wash away the bitterness from the table arrangements and how the press only wanted to see the team. Not the background lackeys.

“Something on your mind Y/N?” Steve’s voice brought her out of the glare she was boring into the mirror.

“Oh, Captain, I’m sorry. I was a million miles away.” Y/N waved her hand and a coquettishly smile formed on her rouged lips.

“I’ve told you before, please call me Steve.” He gestured to the barstool and Y/N obliged, knees knocking together with his as she took the seat, “I’m not as much of the fuddy-duddy that the team makes me out to be.”

Y/N giggled behind her hand at his choice of words before she straightened up, she couldn’t embarrass herself, this was the perfect moment, “and why are you hiding out over here instead of with your teammates?”

Steve glanced over to the Avengers; hundreds of eyes trained on them, photographers flashing away at each moment and the fans asking for autographs, “Well, I’ll let you into a little secret.”

She bit her lip and leaned closer, her hand resting on his knee. The excitement of being this close and touching Steve almost bubbled over in another giggle.

“I’m not a big fan of all that, and I’m probably going to head out of here soon.” Steve winked at her.

Y/N’s cheeks tingled at his gaze and she couldn’t help the way hers became entranced at the way his tongue poked out and swiped across his bottom lip. Snapping out of the haze, Y/N took to the floor, grabbing her skirt in one hand and Steve’s in the other.

He didn’t stop her but followed her blindly through the doors that the catering staff had entered into the ballroom. Zig zagging through the back rooms before finding a secluded spot. Y/N’s heart hammered in her chest as she tried to regain her breath.

To her surprise, and a small yelp later, Steve pulled open a supply closet door and tugged her in after him, “god, I’ve wanted to do this all night. All week.”

Y/N’s mind raced while Steve pulled her body flush to his in the dark. His cologne took over all her senses and the soft strokes of his fingers against her neck made her preen into the touch. Steve’s mouth crashed down to hers, a heated fray of lips, tongue and teeth as the passion ignited in them both. A few moments later, he pulled away, the pair of them panting in the confined space.

“I think about you all the time,” Steve whispered and nibbled at Y/N’s earlobe.

“Even though you have a fiancé?” Y/N gripped onto his biceps while he ravished her neck, humming in response to her question.

“Especially when she’s just lying there in bed, watching television without any thought for my needs.” Steve peppered kisses against the swell of her breasts. “There’s always an ‘I told you so’ after I do something rash.”

 Y/N quivered under his touch, all excitement pooling at her core, “He never listens.”

“Don’t go back to him.” Steve demanded.

“Don’t marry her.” She countered.

In a swift motion, Steve had pulled up her skirt, and lifted Y/N, hooking her legs around his hips. Steve’s hardened length underneath the soft material of his slacks pressed to her core, moans dripped from the lips that had attached to his neck.

Y/N’s kisses led to a confession, “I can’t forget that night when we had that mission in San Francisco Bay. It was perfect.”

“Oh, honey, I’d never forget,” Steve growled against Y/N’s sternum. 

“That’s a new pet name, honey.” She whimpered.

Before Steve could unzip his pants, they heard a knock. Y/N and Steve instantly pulled away and looked at one another in the near darkness. Then a third knock followed by a continuous wrap of knuckles.

The door was yanked open wide to an exasperated Tony Stark and Sam Wilson glaring at them both before the door was slammed shut in shock by Tony. It didn’t close, only opened up again, showing their widened eyes at the compromising position they had caught Y/N and Steve in. 

The door finally pulled to a close, a line of light from the way it hadn’t clicked shut. The pair gave each other sheepish smiles but didn’t move. How were they going to explain what was going on? That they were making out, on the verge of having sex in a cupboard.

A light knock on the door was followed by Sam’s muffled voice, “I think you’d better come out now.”

A blush had formed on Steve’s cheeks, a red tinge crept its way down his neck and the space Y/N had created from yanking apart his tie and collar. Fear was evident in Steve’s eyes, but there was still a mischievous glint in the dilated blues.

Y/N’s eyes widened in panic, knowing that she would look as equally dishevelled, if not more. Lipstick was smeared around her mouth and her hair no longer neatly tucked into the intricately pinned updo. Teeth dug into her bottom lip as she straightened Steve’s tie and smoothed down the evening gown, luckily unwrinkled.

Tentatively, she pushed down the handle and opened the door to the cleaning supply cupboard and met the disappointed brown eyes and folded arms of Sam Wilson. Steve followed behind, his hands on her waist before dropping at the sight of Sam’s glare now directed at him. Both felt like naughty school children, and they should really because what they were doing was wrong and they’d been caught out. 

“You better start explaining what the hell is going on right now.” Sam scolded, his stare unwavering from the pair. “Steve, you’re engaged for Christ's sake.”

Y/N went to speak but clammed up, opening, and closing her mouth. Guilt at being caught gnawed away at her stomach, while she focused on the floor and not looking at Steve or her superiors.

“Well, are you going to explain yourselves?” Tony looked between them, disappointment evident in his tone. “Now that your scandal is out in the open, care to share with the class?” 

Y/N sighed and ran her fingers through her hair, knowing there was no way out of this, “So here’s the thing, we both realised that we find these events boring so we came up with a list of things to spice it up a bit.”

“Are you serious, kid?” Tony shook his head, turned to Steve, “And I expected better of your righteous ass.”

Y/N nodded meekly at Tony, no longer able to speak from the disappointment and guilt she felt for what they had done. This wasn’t Steve, or her, for that matter. They’d just gone with the moment, caught up in it all.

Tony looked at his watch, “You both have an award to present in, oh, two minutes. Get yourselves cleaned up. Move it.”

Both walked away from the scolding looks, feeling like a pair of kids caught eating ice cream before dinner. Except this was much worse. Y/N snuck a glance to Steve, who swaggered away from Tony and Sam, a smug grin plastered on his face. She pulled her lips in, trying to hide the smile that was creeping up.

Sam called, “Y/N, you’re forgetting something.”

Y/N turned around, her brow pulled together in confusion until Sam lifted his left hand and pointed at his ring finger. Realisation dawned on her and she scrambled into her purse to find the sparkling diamond.

“Let me,” Steve took the ring from her and held out her hand, gently putting it into its rightful place. “Now that we’ve crossed off roleplay. What’s next on our List of Rebellious Deeds?”

Y/N rolled her eyes, and looped her arm through his, “come on honey, we can get back to what we were about to do in the closet the second we are home. No rebellion required.”

Everything Tag List: @kitkatd7 / @fandomfic-galore / @writerwrites / @thefridgeismybestie / @wedonttalkaboutitenough / @courtneychicken

Marvel Tag List: @natasha-danvers / @little-baby-vixen / @stuckonjbbarnes / @starlightcrystalline / @nekoannie-chan / @hailhydra920 / @vollzeitliebe / @fitzsimmons-is-forever / @ladyacrasia / @emmabarnes

[oreomonsterhunter]

BFF Taemin

Hey look it’s your bestie, @tabsteen 🥰

So Taemin loves you, full stop

This man doesn’t do anything halfway, so when you’re in his heart, you’re there for life.  No going back now (not that you’d ever want to)

He texts you all the time and so randomly

It’ll be like 3 in the morning and he’ll somehow know you’re still awake and you’ll get a bunch of stabby emojis and a threat to “go to sleep or else”

“Taemin how did you even know I was awake?”

“lol you never turned off your instagram activity status”

Taemin must have some kind of best friend spider senses, because he always knows when you need a rescue

Ok maybe he doesn’t need spider senses because you’re happy to text rant him when you’re stuck on a project or the coffee line is too long

You message him late at night because you’re stumped on work, and suddenly you have a Taemin at your door at midnight.  “Ice cream will help”

And that’s how you and Taemin started your midnight ice cream runs

Now it’s a thing—you don’t even argue, you just slip on your biggest sweatshirt and slip out the door with him, giggling like fiends

When the weather is nice enough, you’ll talk and walk around the city eating your ice cream

Or even better, he takes to back to your apartment or his and you sit on the rooftop watching the stars and enjoying the melting ice cream

Taemin literally always drips some on his pants lol

And you always forget to grab extra napkins, so you just laugh at his suffering

“These are expensive :(”

“Omg just wear pajamas next time you dummy”

Sometimes you have your rescue ice cream really late and Taemin accidentally falls asleep on your shoulder, especially during comeback season when his schedule is insane

And if it’s cold you’ll slip out of your giant sweatshirt and share it with him like a blanket, because he’s a big boy and should’ve worn more clothes, you don’t have that much sympathy haha

You joke that you’re only friends with him for access to Kkoongie

This of course means that you have to fight to convince Taemin that she loves him more than you

He’s a big babie about it

You get back to the apartment and Kkoongie runs up to you first

Cue the Big Pout

“Taemin stop it omg she was sitting in your spot on the couch”

Suddenly he’s all smiles and cuddling Kkoongie “that’s right she likes me best”

The two of you stop to pet literally every dog you pass

It’s worse when you’re together, you’ll take twice as long to walk anywhere

And every single time, without fail, Taemin gives you the puppy dog eyes “can we adopt one?”

You have to remind him that no you can’t because you live in separate apartments and joint custody isn’t fair

“Besides Kkoongie would get jealous”

How to convince Taemin of anything—bring up Kkoongie

Or threaten to steal her

Your favorite friend dates are going to cafes, and you think you’ve visited every kind of cat/dog/lamb/whatever cafe in Seoul

You’ll sit in there for hours until you realize how many missed messages you have on your phones

Taemin knows your favorite coffee order by heart

Sometimes he orders your coffee by accident, even when you’re not with him, and then he has to drink it even though it’s not his favorite 😂

He’ll send you a pouty selfie with it, pretending he’s suffering

Taemin literally smiles soooooo much when he’s with you (I’m dying he’s adorable)

Has definitely gotten distracted smiling at you and walked into a pole before

You took pictures for evidence hehe

Literally everyone accuses you of some secret affair because you hang out all the time and get along like peanut butter and jelly

Ok but fr, if you have a significant other, they’re in love with Taemin, too

Who doesn’t love this man

And omg he really is just your biggest fan ever

Can and will hype you up at every opportunity

So of course you’re always begging him for front row tickets at his concerts so you can do the same

He’s a brat and says you have to pay (but you’ll get tickets in the mail every time)

Mr. Professional won’t even look at you during the concert, but you see him blushing under his makeup when you scream like a crazy person

You are absolutely the Proud Mom friend in the crowd lmao

And he loves you for it

Sometimes after the concert, he has you come over to his place for an ice cream rescue

The fans will annoy him since they’ve long since figured out that you’re besties, and at some point you all get so chill that his post-concert lives turn into chill sessions with the two of you chatting on the couch with your ice cream, and fans chiming in with music recommendations for you

The first time it happened you were So Uncomfortable

But Shawols are actually the sweetest humans alive ❤️ (you were one so obviously you knew this)

But still it’s one thing to know and another thing to have them asking you to join the live

Taemin’s always joking about that too “one day they’re gonna be your fans instead of mine”

You just smile “impossible, since I’m your biggest fan”

Masterlist

[kevindayisafrog]

Part 7 of the Kevaaron thing

TW - homophobic slur towards the end

Kevin’s days merged together in a slow downward slope of practice, sleep and lessons. His grades slipped slightly as he couldn’t procure enough energy to pick up a pen, let alone write thousand word essays and extra notes on top. At practice the Foxes resented him more as his fraying anger caused him to snap easier and cause more fights than usual. Wymack tried to bench him for a week but got tired of Kevin’s complaints and decided to let him back on court to annoy the Foxes instead. All he wanted to do was sit alone in his room so could process his thoughts, but Andrew kept a closer eye on him so he couldn’t even go to the bathroom without questions being asked. He couldn’t breathe in the suffocated dorm and the pounding noise of the court made it worse. And on top of all this the press and Raven fans dragged Kevin and Jean ruthlessly, blaming Riko’s death on them and calling them all the names under the sun. But he couldn’t complain, the Foxes’ sympathy could only stretch so far; and that ran out after one of last week’s practices ended with Kevin and Matt ripping each other into pieces.

Kevin looked out the window of the car as Andrew speeded towards Columbia with the sweet taste of Eden’s on his mind. The car radio hummed in the background as Nicky filled them all in on the latest campus gossip, but Kevin couldn’t care less. He tapped his fingers against his thighs as they turned off the highway and towards the exit for Columbia. Kevin itched to get out of the cramped car and drown himself in the strongest drink that Eden’s could provide. Andrew pulled up outside Sweetie’s and Kevin practically fell out of the car to escape the closeness of the others. “Embarrassed to be seen with us, Kev?” Nicky got out of the car and flung an arm around Kevin’s shoulders as they made their way into the ice cream bar. Kevin tried to shake Nicky’s arm off but couldn’t manage to stop Nicky’s iron grip from squeezing his arms. “Let’s get the table in the corner”, Andrew led the group to the table and shot Nicky a death glare until he dropped his arm from Kevin’s shoulder. “What? You’ve got Neil, you can’t be too greedy”, he winked at Kevin before sliding next to Aaron on the pink leather booth. Kevin looked from pair to pair and decided that sitting with Andrew and Neil might be more comfortable than having Nicky’s hands brushing his under the table. “Yay, I get to see your face better”, Nicky smiled at Kevin before grabbing napkins and idly spinning them in a lazy circle. “Hi, what can I get you today?” a short black haired waiter approached the table with menus but Andrew waved him off and ordered their ice cream without looking at the man. “You don’t have to always be a dick”, Aaron muttered as the waiter left the table to fetch their orders. “I’m not looking for charity points”, Andrew lifted one leg onto the seat and rested his chin on it as he watched the other diners. Kevin watched him for a while before reaching over and snatching the napkins from Nicky, “can you stop fucking doing that. It’s annoying”. Nicky rolled his eyes and turned to face deadpan Aaron with a smile. “Am i the only happy one here?” he looked around at the stone faced monsters and laughed as Kevin threw the napkins at him. “Behave”, Aaron growled as the waiter returned with three sundaes. “I’ll just get the other two for you”, he smiled at them before turning and leaving for the kitchen. “I’m not really hungry”, Kevin muttered as he stared down at his ice cream with a sick feeling slowly crawling up his throat. “You can’t get drunk on an empty stomach, so if you’re planning to drink away your sorrows I’d advise you to shut up and eat”, Andrew waved his spoon in Kevin’s face before turning back to his own sundae and taking small bites. “Here you go, enjoy”, the waiter slid the last two sundaes to Aaron and Nicky and quickly left the table again. Kevin watched the others eat and felt as if he would pass out from the sight of the sugary food. “I will fucking force feed you”, Andrew turned slightly in his seat and picked up Kevin’s spoon as a warning. “Fine”, he snatched the spoon back and swallowed down a lump in his throat as he scooped up the ice cream. They all ate in silence until the last person, Neil, finished eating before Andrew shoved Kevin off the seat to leave the diner. Kevin waited for Neil to slide out before following the two out into the dark street.

Aaron watched blearily as Kevin knocked back drink after drink without a thought. He never cared much for Kevin’s well-being before, but he felt somewhat responsible now that Kevin had no one else to lean on. “Heya, Kev”, he grabbed Kevin’s wrist before he could drink and pulled it away, “wanna dance?” Kevin looked at him blankly as Aaron slid off his seat with a stumble and smiled at him with a lopsided grin. “Come on, chicken”, he let Kevin set his drink down before pulling him towards the dance floor by the wrist. “I don’t dance”, Kevin stood in the middle of the dance floor blushing as people moved all around him. “Come on, let loose”, Aaron grabbed Kevin’s other wrist and pulled him closer. “Just let loose”, he repeated as Kevin stood stiffly with darting eyes. “I might go back up to Andrew”, Kevin made a move to leave but Aaron pulled him down to his level. “Don’t leave me, I’ll teach you”, he pushed Kevin back up straight and started to slowly dance with a pleased smile. “I don’t think so”, Kevin let a rare smile creep across his lips as the pint sized boy opposite seemed to ‘let loose’. Aaron rolled his eyes and placed his hands on Kevin’s hips to move them side to side. “Why not? It’s fun”, he blinked up at Kevin’s swaying frame. “People will laugh”, Kevin’s smile faded as he looked at the dancers around him. “Who will laugh?” Aaron watched as Nicky made his way down the steps. “Everyone, they’re staring”, Kevin took a step back and knocked into a drunk girl who wolf whistled at him. “Sorry”, he whispered and stepped towards Aaron again. “Everyone’s drunk, dipshit, they won’t remember. Live a little”, Aaron started swaying to the music and smiled as Kevin shifted on his feet and began to slowly sway with him. “There you go”, he laughed and standed on his toes to place his stretched arms on Kevin’s shoulders, “loosen them shoulders, you giant”. They both laughed as Kevin slowly caved in and went for it. “Nice hip movement”, Nicky stumbled over and slapped Kevin’s ass, “I like what I see”. Aaron rolled his eyes and pulled Kevin closer. “He’s mine for the night, go find someone else”, Nicky stared blankly between Kevin and Aaron before nodding with wide eyes and moving away. “Someone needs to teach him boundaries”, Kevin spoke quietly so Aaron had to ask him to repeat it. Kevin laughed and leant down to speak in Aaron’s ear, “someone needs to teach him boundaries”, Aaron nodded and blushed at Kevin’s body so close to his. He tried to step back without making it obvious and stood on a woman’s foot. “Watch it, schoolboy”, she shouted at him as her boyfriend stood between Aaron and her. “Get your own girl, dwarf”, he sneered down at Aaron how raised his fist. “Or fucking what?” Kevin grabbed Aaron’s fist and pushed him behind him. “Are you standing up for that child?” The man glared Kevin up and down before laughing in scorn. “Oh, I see, you’re fag-“, Kevin didn’t let the man finish before punching him square in the face. The girl shrieked and leapt down to aid her battered boyfriend as Kevin pulled Aaron away by the hand.

“I’m sorry”, he shouted over the music once they were back up with the others at the table. “Sorry for what?”, Andrew leaned over the table to inspect Kevin’s cut hand. “Oh, Kevvie, violence is never the answer”, he leaned back in his seat and shook his head sarcastically. “Piss off, hypocrite”, Aaron glared at Andrew before turning back to Kevin’s slumped demeanor. “I could’ve handled it myself, you didn’t need to do that”. Kevin nodded quietly before whispering. “I’m sorry”. Aaron rolled his eyes and left the table to get ice. When he reached the bar he stared at the mirror on the wall and watched Kevin reach for another drink. “For fuck’s sake”, he bit his lip as Roland walked over with a smile. “Just ice, thanks”, he watched as Roland scooped ice into a rag and tied it up. “Andrew got in another fight?” he handed the ice to Aaron with a worried expression. “No, Kevin this time”, Roland nodded quietly as Aaron left without another word. “Use this you big baby”, he pressed the ice onto Kevin’s knuckle and took the drink from his other hand. “I was drinking that”, Kevin scowled at Aaron who knocked back the drink himself and placed it back on the tray. “I don’t care, you’ve had enough to last a lifetime”, he looked at Kevin’s confused glare and pressed the ice harder to make him wince. “I’m not having this conversation, not now”, he looked away to watch Nicky make a fool of himself on the dance floor and Aaron felt a heavy pull in his chest. He knew too well about addiction denial and knew what Kevin was thinking. “Well, we’ll talk about it later”, he let go of the ice and looked down at his thighs as Kevin grunted in reply.

[zarcake-writes]

Joey

Happy Valentine’s Day! This was posted on my Patreon last year. If you want to read stories before anyone else, go check it out! Only costs $1. Enjoy!

Joey hates how crowded everything gets on Valentine’s Day. The crowds fill up every restaurant, all the parks, movie theaters, and even the ice cream shops. All those lovesick couples leave the air smelling sickeningly sweet, like a strange mixture of chocolate, perfume, and hormones. It makes his nose itch. And if he tries to breathe through his mouth, he can taste it. Makes him gag.

The forced romance is another aspect that makes Joey uncomfortable. Everyone acts extra sweet and mushy gushy during this day as if being romantic the rest of the year is impossible. All those jewelry commercials make him frown and those giant teddy bears are just ridiculous. He does like those fruit baskets though, they’re very delicious.

On the other side of the spectrum are those who vehemently hate the day. They sneer at couples, scoff at plans people make, and try to make everyone else feel terrible. Joey’s discovered that those people are usually alone on the holiday or just had their heartbroken, and seek to make everyone else miserable around them. Joey finds those people to be even more irritating, stinking up places with their bitter words and smell.

Joey is neither of those extremes. He does turn his nose up at the chocolate hearts, the stuffed bears, and those red balloons, but he is a sucker for love. A true romantic at heart, some might even say. Which explains his arrival to The Cupid’s Bow. Braving the crowds, the many couples stinking up the place with their love, and the sweet smell of chocolate, all for his pregnant fiancé who is currently curled up on their couch at home. No doubt playing on her phone while The Witcher is paused on the tv. Or even continuing the show without him.

As Joey steps into the crowded coffee shop, he thinks back to how he met his future wife and soon-to-be mother of his child. It was on Valentine’s Day three years ago. Joey was finally getting over a bad break up. He had stopped missing his ex-girlfriend months before, but that was the first Valentine’s Day he was spending alone in several years. It hurt being alone, especially with everyone around him rubbing their love in his face. He could smell the hormones and desire in the air, it was gross. Made him bitter, but it also hurt Joey.

He remembers there was a storm that day. It had been raining for three days straight, leaving the world dreary and wet. While the storm reflected Joey’s mood, it didn’t seem to bother anyone else in the coffee shop. Instead, it only added to the romantic tension in the shop. He had seen three different couples kiss in the rain like they were in some romantic movie, it was annoying.

As Joey sat in the coffee shop, wallowing in self-pity and hating the day, a woman came in. She was drenched from the storm outside and shivering, but there was a smile on her face. A beanie was on her head, she wore apple red lipstick, and her rain boots were a bright yellow. The boots were a nice contrast to the usual pink and reds in the shop.

Joey didn’t see her walk in. He was too busy looking down at his cup. He didn’t see her when she started to walk in his direction, her drink in hand. He was busy pulling on his jacket and making sure he had his wallet and phone. They might have never met, just completely walked past each other, if it wasn’t for a wet patch on the floor. She slipped, caught herself, but her coffee flew out of her hands and landed on Joey’s chest.

Looking back on that day, Joey is ashamed of how he acted. He snarled and jumped back; a whine of pain bubbled up in the back of his throat. He swallowed the pain down and looked up at the person, ready to tear into them for their clumsiness. He knew he was already starting to shift; he could feel the change under his skin and the dull pain in his jaw. But the growl died in his throat and the snarl fell from his face when he saw her.

She was beautiful. Her beanie was cute, those yellow rain boots, and her eyes. The red on her lips was beautiful, and Joey remembered wondering if they would leave stains on his skin. For a moment, he forgot how to breathe. Even as she began to frantically wipe his chest with the cheap napkins in her hands and apologizing profusely, Joey was lost under her spell. It took her a moment to realize that her hands were on his firm chest. And that he was wearing a white shirt that was now see-through. Joey thought she was going to pass out.

Aphrose, the shop owner, thought it was hilarious. He ushered the two to a different table and brought out fresh coffee for Joey and the woman. She apologized profusely, even bought Joey a couple of donuts from the shop as an apology. The two ended up talking for hours and even swapped numbers. They spent that first Valentine’s Day together and didn’t even realize. A few months later, Joey and she were dating.

After dating for two and a half years, she ended up pregnant. It wasn’t so much of a surprise, considering they weren’t being very careful. And Joey had popped his knot in her a month before while they were at his family’s cabin. Werewolf sperm is very potent. After finding out she was pregnant, Joey popped the question. And now, eight months later, Joey was happy with his very pregnant fiancé.

“Joey!”

Joey jumps and realizes he’s next in line. Aphrose is smiling behind the counter, a mischievous look in his eyes. While he looks human, Joey knows he’s not. His smell is off, but Joey isn’t sure what Aphrose is.

“Hey, Aphrose.”

“How are you? Where is your darling mate? Oh gosh, has she had the baby yet?”

Joey laughs and shakes his head. “Not yet, only a few more weeks though. She’s at home right now, curled up on the couch, probably watching The Witcher without me.”

“What are you doing here then?”

“She wanted one of those red velvet lattes.”

“Ahh, True Love’s Kiss. What about for you?”

Joey stops and stares at the menu. “Give me the same thing. She thinks it’s cute when our coffee orders match.”

“She will. Anything else?”

“Yeah, throw in four of those vegan berry donuts. She loves those.”

Joey pays and takes a seat while Aphrose is preparing the drinks and bagging the donuts. A buzz from his pocket gets Joey’s attention. He checks his phone and sees it’s from his fiancé.

Mama: Are you still at the shop?

Joey: Yes. Why?

Mama: Can you get me those vegan donuts? The berry ones? Please!

Joey laughs at the message. Before the pregnancy, she had a healthy and normal craving for sweets or anything sugary. But now she wants sweets and sugar so much more. And while caffeine isn’t recommended, she does indulge occasionally. Joey’s sure that Aphrose doesn’t even put coffee in her drinks though. Just sugar and milk.

Joey: Already on it, Mama. Be home soon. Love you.

The reply Joey gets is a string of happy faces and heart emojis. He can’t help the smile on his face.

His name is called, and he sees Aphrose behind the counter, smiling.

“Here you go, Joey.”

“Thanks, Aphrose.”

“So, I take it you and your lovely wife won’t be here this evening to celebrate this love-filled holiday?” Aphrose asked.

Joey laughs and shakes his head. “No, not this year. Unless she says she wants to go out, then we’ll be here. But she’s not a fan of waddling around in public.”

“Ah, I’m sure she has an adorable waddle.”

“She does. She really does.”

“Are you two doing anything fun tonight?”

“We are going to watch Netflix all night, eat dinner, and enjoy each other’s company. Didn’t even get each other gifts, the pup has been taking up all our time and they aren’t even here yet.”

Aphrose laughs and nods. “I understand. When she has the little pup, will you bring them by? Both of them?”

“Of course. Anyways, thanks Aphrose. See you later.”

“Goodbye, Joey! Have a nice night with your lady!”

Oh, Joey plans to. He plans to drink his overly sweet latte with his very pregnant fiancé, watch the show with her, and rub her ankles. He might drive a little faster than necessary, but he won’t admit that. It’s not like he ran a red light or a stop sign. But he definitely did speed through the yellow light though.

When Joey enters his house, it smells delicious and his stomach rumbles. She had thrown a chunk of meat in the slow cooker earlier this morning. Joey found her in the kitchen, seasoning the meat and cutting the potatoes, with a cup of hot chocolate beside her. She was dressed in his shirt and a pair of sleep shorts; her face was bare of any makeup and her hair tied up. She smiled when she saw him. While she looked tired, with the bags under her eyes, she looked genuinely happy.

Beneath the smell of food, Joey can smell her. Her usual soft vanilla and lavender smell has changed over the last few months. It’s grown spicier, like cinnamon and cloves. His smell is mixed in, but hers is so much stronger.

“Baby? I’m home.”

He hears a faint shout of excitement from the living room. When he enters the living room, she is laying on the couch, propped up against the armrest. The tv is still paused, Geralt of Rivia is making the same ugly face as when Joey left. The remote is still on the coffee table, which explains why she probably didn’t continue watching without him.

She smiles and makes grabby hands at Joey. “My big bad wolf.”

Joey snorts as he sets everything on the table. “I am not big or bad, but I am a wolf. So, you are partially correct.”

Joey reaches out and helps her sit up. Only when she’s sitting comfortably does Joey hand her one of the lattes and the bag of donuts. He takes his seat next to her and smiles when she sips the still hot drink.

“I know, but I like to call you that. Besides, your werewolf form is big. And you look like a bad boy.”

“And how do I look like a bad boy?”

“With your jacket and those boots you wear. And that scowl! I love it, but it does add to the whole dark and mysterious look you got going on. Not to mention your eyes. They’re beautiful, but clearly not human. Also, you assess everyone you meet, and it can unnerve people.”

Joey rolls his eyes as he takes a drink of the latter. It’s sweet, but not overly. He wonders if this is what red velvet is supposed to taste like.

“Don’t roll your eyes at me, it’s true.”

“It is not. I don’t assess people. And I don’t scowl.”

She gives him a look. “You do.”

“Ok, well, that’s just my face. Do you not like it?”

She smiles and cups his cheek. Her hands are warm and soft; they remind Joey of home. “I didn’t say that. I like your face, very much actually. It’s very handsome. And I hope our baby has your face.”

“I hope they have your eyes.”

She smiles and pulls her hand away. She settles against the couch and sighs. With the coffee in her hand and the bag of donuts resting on her stomach, she’s adorable.

“Enough of this talk. I want to finish this show with my white wolf before the baby gets here,” she said.

Joey snorts at her joke. He grabs the remote and gets comfortable beside her, careful not to jostle her too much. His arm settles on the back of the couch and she leans in against his side as much as she can. He hits play and the show continues.

Joey doesn’t find the show that interesting, he’s certain the books are better, but he won’t complain. She, however, loves it. She’s absorbed in the show, munching on her donuts and sipping her drink. She’s happy, and so is he.

The way some people celebrate this holiday bothers Joey. All the romance that’s shoved in everyone’s faces, it disgusts him. Or the people who feel the need to shit on everyone else’s romantic plans. They all bother him. But this, nestled against the couch with his pregnant fiancé, watching Henry Cavill scowl at everyone, and sipping coffee, is perfect.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, mama wolf,” Joey said.

She looks up at him and smiles. “Happy Valentine’s Day, papa wolf.”

[dreamescapeswriting]

BTS Reaction | You Share The Same Birthday [Request]

Seokjin:

Every year was the same, you would both want to throw each other a surprise birthday party but it would never work out that way because you had the same birthday so it was never a surprise unless it was early or really late but this year you'd decided to just not throw each other a party, pinky promising not to throw a party and just spend the day together instead.

"Jin! Mine next!" You said going over to the cupboard and bringing out the big blue box you'd wrapped up, the boys had all come around to see you both since you weren't doing anything for your birthday. You'd spent the morning with just you and Jin, having breakfast in bed, then slowly making your way down to the living room where you watched Disney movies together. Then it was time for the boys to come around but you refused to change out of your PJ's with consisted of one of Jin's shirts and some shorts from a PJ set you lost years ago.

"I thought you weren't doing gifts this year," Jimin said watching as you shot him a playful glare,

"The deal was no party, I still got him something." You giggled sitting across from Jin and watching him open it up, he unwrapped the wrapping paper and then took the folds of the box out. Balloons came flying out from inside and there was confetti inside, as well as tissue paper.

"It's not much." Inside was a photo frame of you both along with smaller gifts he'd been hinting at all year.

"Since it's almost Christmas I thought this should be small," He smiled bringing you into a hug and rubbing your back.

"Your turn!" Jimin screamed looking at Jin who glared at him as you had done when he questioned you.

"You didn't have to get me anything," He sprinted off upstairs and grabbed the present he'd been hiding and then came running back downstairs. It was in a small pink box with a bow on the top, you took it from him and slowly opened it up to reveal a locket with a photo of your both inside.

"Baby, it's gorgeous." You giggled looking at the small locket which was in the BTS logo shape with your birth stone on the front,

"It's from the new collection, not out yet but I saw it and thought it was perfect for you." He bent down to kiss you earning a fake gag to come from Jungkook who in return got the middle finger from you.

"You're an adult now Kookie," You giggled watching as he rolled his eyes at you, handing Jin his gifts and you all began exchanging gifts with each other. You giving them their Christmas presents and telling them not to open them until your fake Christmas you had every year. It had always been the same for the last four years of dating Jin.

"Happy Birthday baby." You whispered to Jin as he followed you into the kitchen, you were making coffee for everyone.

"Happy Birthday Jagiya." He whispered back to you, kissing the base of your neck and then your jawline.

"One more surprise when they're all gone." He whispered biting on your ear before disappearing into the living room to rejoin the boys to act as though nothing had happened in the kitchen.

Yoongi:

Yoongi wasn't one that liked to celebrate his birthday, he hated whenever the boys tried to surprise him because he would always know so instead of acting as though it was his birthday he would pretend it was just your day.

"Morning Birthday boy," You giggled straddling his lap that morning bending down to kiss him on the lips, his hands rested on your waist as he looked up at you.

"Hi Birthday girl," You smiled at him and looked over at the desk you had cleared off that morning,

"I made breakfast, we're going to have a chill day. No studio talk, understood?" He nodded and sat up in the bed with you,

"You made all that?" He asked looking over at the table full of food, there must have been enough to feed seven of you both,

"The others are here?" He questioned wondering why you'd made so much but you shook your head,

"We're not leaving this bedroom so I made food to last us all day." You giggled getting up from his lap and going to get you both a plate full of food, he admired you as you plated all his favourite foods onto one plate and brought it back over to him.

"We're not leaving the bedroom?" He questioned with a smirk on his lips, you giggled at where his mind had gone but you shook your head at him.

"That's later, right now I'm starving and I want to eat before I give you your presents." You told him biting down onto a pancake and moaning out at how good they taste, Yoongi's mouth fell open when he heard you and you stared at him.

"You're going to moan like that and expect me to just sit here and eat my breakfast." You swallowed the pancake that was in your mouth and he smirked at you moving the plate to the side table, bringing you closer to him with one arm and pinning your hips down with the other.

"You look so cute today," He whispered in your ear, kissing down your jawline until he got to your lips,

"Shut up, I'm another year older and I swear I have wrinkles." You grumbled trying to hide your face but he pulled your hands away and kissed you softly, you kissed him back your hands falling into his hair and tugging at the black tips smirking against his lips as he let out a low growl.

"You really want to eat first?" He questioned biting and sucking on your neck while you whimpered,

"N-No."

"Good, because I'm hungry for something else." He whispered against your skin ripping the buttons open at the front of your silk pyjamas and smirking as you let out a shriek about it.

Hoseok:

Before you started dating he would spend the day with Army but it changed when you got into a relationship, for the first four years of your relationship he would spend an hour with army and then the rest of the day with you. But now your relationship was out and people supported you, you decided to spend the day with Army again. Doing a VLive throughout the entire day, starting by waking Hoseok up in the way Army wanted and they choose blasting out the new album was the best way to do it so you took the phone with you and began jumping around and filming Hoseok's reaction.

"You're evil!" He groaned holding a pillow over his face,

"Say Hi to Army!" You screamed giving him the phone and getting into the bed beside him.

Then that was how you spent your day, setting up the camera so people could talk to you as though they were with you, opening gifts with Army and then baking a cake.

"He forgot to buy one." You said to the camera as you got the ice and fresh strawberries ready, Hoseok was making faces behind you and you stared at him in the phone screen.

"You know I can see you right?" He stopped and sat down beside you smirking at Army and answering questions while you put the icing into a bag and smirked to yourself.

"Hey Hobi, shall we start a new tradition for our birthdays?" You questioned walking over to him and trying not to look suspicious and you prayed Army wasn't going to give it away to him,

"What do you want to do?" He asked looking at his phone as he tried to find some music to decorate the cake to and you smirked squirting a bunch of the icing out on to the top of his hair and giggling as he groaned out.

"You're such a child!" He yelled scooping it off and throwing it in your direction, you let out a squeal before squirting more and throwing flour in his direction but it wasn't over, he began throwing some at you as well laughing whenever he hit you with flour or icing.

"ARMY SEND HELP!" You screamed pretending to die on the floor as he hit you with another scoop of the icing, since your eyes were closed he took advantage of it, he picked up the cake you'd been working very hard on and took the phone with him, placing the phone where army could see you. He straddled your lap and your eyes shot open,

"What are you doing?" You asked in a panicked tone when you saw the cake in his hands,

"Hobi...No...Down." You whispered but he smushed it against your face making you scream out his name and wiggle around to try and get away from him but it wasn't working.

"HOBI! ARMY! SOMEONE!" You screamed trying to move away but he pulled the remaining cake off and placed some into his mouth and nodded.

"Tastes good," You spat some out onto the floor next to you and glared at him,

"I hate you." You joked looking over at the phone and then back to Hobi.

"You love me."

Namjoon:

Since parties weren't your or Namjoon's thing you decided that it was best to do something else on your shared birthday. You weren't huge fans of going to clubs you would both rather stay home together and spend time alone than in some loud club where you could barely hear yourself think which is what happened the year before. Jimin and Jungkook dragged you both out for drinks and you ended up getting wasted and not being able to remember a thing. So this you year you both decided it was going to be different deciding to wake up early and go for a walk around the Han River before going into town and going to all your favourite book shops before heading home to your shared apartment and having a relaxing day inside together. Ordering food in because you didn't want to cook or have Namjoon, you quite liked not having food poisoning or having him hurt himself on your birthday.

"Joonie can we have pizza tonight?" You asked lifting your head from his chest, he was playing with your hair while reading to you from one of his favourite books.

"I can't see why not," He whispered not lifting his eyes from the page, he went back to reading it aloud to you. You smiled to yourself at the scene, it was something you could never have imagined happening before. You and Namjoon had been together for three years and it was the first time it was really hitting you that you were living this life with the perfect guy.

"Where's your mind?" He questioned noticing you weren't paying attention to what he was saying from the book, he closed it and watching as you turned to look up at him with a smile on your face.

"Just us, how we started dating and stuff." He chuckled at the thought, he was so awkward when he first met you and wouldn't ask you out resulting in Jin walking up to you and doing it for him.

"Do you remember how nervous you were on our first date?" You questioned looking at him and seeing him cringe at just the thought of it.

"I ended up sweating through three shirts, how could I forget." He groaned shifting you so you were sitting on his lap so he could stare up at you and admire how stunning you were to him.

"What are you thinking about?"

"How gorgeous you are." You scoffed getting off his lap and going to find the pizza menu but he rushed up behind you and grabbed your hips,

"Do I need to remind you how beautiful you are?" He whispered hungrily in your ear making you whimper,

"You already have six times today. I'm tired and sore baby." He kissed your cheek and told you what he wanted from the pizza place deciding to give you a break and then going to run himself a bath knowing you would go and join him once the pizzas were ordered and on their way.

Jimin:

"Do you know what today is baby?" Jimin asked wrapping his arms around you in the kitchen,

"Tuesday." You answered grabbing your coffee and looking at the time,

"I'm going to be late to work Jimin, tell the boys I say hi!" You yelled running out of the kitchen and out of the house.

"It's our birthday..." He said slowly going over to check the calendar that it wasn't your birthday and he wasn't being weird about dates. He frowned checking his phone and seeing messages from the boys, he found it a little odd that you'd forgotten your own birthday but he also knew how much stress you were under at work and understood that you were probably just tired.

"NAMJOON! Knife! Down now!" You yelled noticing him in the corner of your eye, you were at the dorms trying to make the place look perfect for Jimin to come around to. You felt terrible for rushing out on him that morning but it was only because you were such a terrible liar when he came to him.

"A little higher Tae." You giggled watching him struggle to hang the banner up but once it was perfect he came down and hugged you.

"Happy birthday by the way. Are you sure he has no idea?" You nodded looking over at the door, he was due around any minute and you were still in your work clothes.

"Positive, I have to change." You rushed up to Jimin's old room and got changed into a pink dress that you'd gotten weeks ago for the occasion and headed back downstairs when you heard Tae scream that he was on the driveway. You hid in the kitchen with the cake and Namjoon, as soon as the front door opened they began screaming out happy birthday to him and you walked out, being careful of where you walked.

"I knew you didn't forget your own birthday!" Jimin yelled coming over to you and blowing out the candles, Namjoon took the cake from you and Jimin bent down to pick you up swinging you around a little chuckling as you giggled in his ear.

"I didn't want to do nothing again, were you surprised?" You questioned as he put you back down on the floor,

"So surprised baby." He lied kissing your cheek and making you pout,

"Who gave it away?" Everyone fell silent and you looked around the living room to see everyone staring at Jungkook who was trying to avoid looking at you.

"Kookie! You promised." You sighed looking at him, he was staring back at you with a guilty look across his face.

"I didn't mean to, he saw me picking up the cake yesterday and I told him everything." You groaned hiding your head in Jimin's neck and thanking him for trying to act surprised when he happened and he chuckled kissing your lips.

"I'll get you one day and you will be surprised." You mumbled poking your tongue out at him and laughing as he kissed you again.

Taehyung:

Since your birthday was late in the year he was always busy with preparations for the Korean New Year Show and you were at home with family but you made sure to make time for one another. Having a skype session together on your birthday, each of you getting a cupcake each with a candle together so you could blow it out and make a wish together, always the same wish that you could spend at least one birthday together.

"Same wish?" Taehyung asked over the phone, you hummed lazily looking at your bedroom wall. He couldn't video call you yet because he wasn't back at his hotel room on time,

"I'm sorry baby." He said as he heard the hum, you didn't sound happy that it was your birthday and normally this wouldn't bother you. You got to see Tae a lot all of the time but spending one birthday together was something you wanted desperately.

"Don't be, I'm just being sappy because I'm old now." You giggled sitting up in the bed and listening to him talk about what the boys had done that day for his birthday, starting with the surprise birthday cake.

"There was one thing they did that made me the happiest guy on the planet though," You asked him what it was but your doorbell rang when you were talking,

"I better go get it, it's probably my food." You took the phone with you as you walked down the stairs opening the door to find Taehyung standing there and holding a giant stuffed animal.

"TAE?!" You screamed alerting the neighbours who were now peaking through the curtains, you jumped into Taehyung's arms making him drop the teddy bear he was carrying and you giggled kissing him repeatedly on the lips,

"When did you? How did-"

"The boys got me a ticket to come and see you." He carried you into the apartment and you began tearing up kissing him passionately as he wrapped his arms around you and pulling away,

"We don't have long, we have to get you packed and then go back to the airport."

"We?" You questioned looking at him as he dragged you up in the direction of the bedroom,

"You don't think I'd go back without my favourite girl now did you?" You giggled at him and went up to the bedroom to find your passport, suitcase and clothes. Taehyung had the weekend planned once the Korean New Year was over, you were going to sit in the hotel room and binge eat food, watching nothing but Korean Dramas and spending all your minutes together, having a birthday weekend instead of a birthday day.

Jungkook:

Usually, Jungkook would be spending his Birthday with the boys out of the country while they filmed for Bon Voyage but this year was different, he'd made plans with BigHit to postpone the filming of their show so he could spend time with you. You didn't mind him being away it was his job and you knew how much he loved his job but he wanted to surprise you. You shared a birthday and in the five years of dating, you'd always celebrated early or late, never together or on time. Which is why it was such a surprise to you when he showed up that morning and told you to pack warm clothes and you began a road trip where you didn't know the destination and he just told you it was a surprise.

"This place is insane Jungkook." You said as you walked through the log cabin, he'd taken you out to a snow cabin and you were spending a week together. Nothing but snow, fireplaces, and each other as well as activities to keep you entertained for the time you would be together.

"We have an entire week alone, no one knows where we are." He smirked kissing your lips softly and tilting your head up to look at him and you giggled.

"Snowboarding and then food?!" You asked looking out at the slopes, you'd passed them on your way up to your cabin and it was all you could think about doing it.

"We have plenty of time for that later," Jungkook said as his mind was somewhere else, he kissed down your neck making you giggle as he placed his hands on your waist pushing you over to the sofa and laying you down.

"I guess the snowboarding could wait." You whispered taking off his giant thick coat and letting it fall down on the floor beside the sofa,

"Ever wanted to do it in front of a fire like in the movies?" You giggled looking at the fireplace with a smirk on your face, it was always something you'd wanted to do and now you'd seen the smirk on Jungkook's face you knew it was on his mind do.

"Now I have." He smirked pulling you down to the floor and sitting you on his lap, his hands began exploring your body as you made out in front of the burning fireplace, all that was filling the air were sounds of kissing and the crackling firewood.

tagline: 

@yoongisdumplingcheeks @snowy-meowl @lynnthevirgo @jooniesdarlingdimples @kpopfanfictionhoes @lyoongx @callingmyangel @fan-ati--c @mitzwinchester @btsiguess-kpop @rjsmochii

[cruecifymesixx]

Love and Leather /part sixxty sixx/

Word Count: 7.7k

A/N: Enjoy! a soft and emotional chapter that is well needed in the saga of Van and Nikki!

Warnings: nothing. maybe a little smuttish?

Taglist: @brideofdraculana , @xstarryeyesx , @aryssav , @miserablecunt , @dangerous-like-a-loaded-pistol , @fandomshit6000, @anntheboneless@venus-calum​, @justjodeye,  @hi-my-name-is-riley​, @extremesadnerding, @thatbandchick39, @awkwrdcait, @countrygirlswonderland, @awesomealmostdopestudent @romanticvengeance , @tashy-bear, @krazykatkay456, @terror-triplet, @shouttatthedevill @beachystars, @rodriguez025, @kickstart-myheart-sixx, @s-outhie, @anxious-diabetic, @awkwardblackgirls, @rockersbox, @brooklyn-antiques, @shamelessobsessions, @jerseytaint, @lilytalebi, @criminalyetminimal, @motley-queen, @trapt-in-a-dream, @lunamadhatter99, @broke-n-bitchy @thanks2pete, @slowandangry, @lovesick-heart0, @keepcalm-and-beyou, @miriampraez, @teenwolflover28, @lilyhw1 @motherloovebone, @random-internet-user-4471, @falcon-arrows, @talranocchia2001, @wheresmyvodkabitch, @waywardprincess666, @iluvmesomemarvelndc, @zoenicoles, @vamprlestat, @supersoldierballerina, @primal-screamer @electradestiny, @marshbev, @n0-sh0rtage-0f-faults, @cruebaby, @ggorehorror, @valentines-in-london, @miss2001babe, @nassauartist , @cmft-jr-winchester, @bokkie92, @notworthyofyou1120 @xrosegoldwolfx, @lauravic, @mgkobsessed, @chaoticvybe @kellysimagines @thoughtsoftheantagonist @marvelismylifffe,  @sleepyjunhong @lovemythsworld @meetthesixxter @sparxx27 @gingerspicetalks @kaitieskidmore1 @unknownoblivion @siliwanoel @nevergoodenuffbutokaaayyy @sublimeprincesswasteland @kylieinwonderland @haileynicoleseavey17 @lavendersoundbarrier @ijustwanttokiss70srogertaylor, @duffshairdye, @xpoisonousrosesx, @m0rnlngstar, @cranberrirolls, @oskea93, @love-struck-aries, @idumpyourgrass, @minxtruck, @i-want-to-shoot-myself, @cruesixxlover1991​, @arianareirg,, @fentitrbl, @dogmom2014, @sinningsixx, @motleycrueprincess

-June 27th, 1995-

The sound of dings and pings of carnival games, the laughter from children and adults alike surrounded the dysfunctional family. The sweet delicious smells of freshly dipped caramel apples, kettle corn and cotton candy flew through the air. It was a whole other world that was found completely within the confines of the city that never sleeps.

The anti hero and sometimes hero of this story walked side by side of our princess. They watched as Arianna ran around in front of them, but she knew better and still stuck close to both of her parents. It was the last family outing for a few weeks while Nikki returned back home to California to tie up a few loose strings. He had suggested a day spent at Coney Island even if Arianna wasn’t tall enough to ride most of the rides. For the first time in a long time, the two actually agreed on something.

Nikki glanced over at Vanity, who had a smile on her face as Arianna dragged her over to every game stand in an attempt to win a giant stuffed animal. She seemed happy to him.

Of course, being the man he is, his eyes wandered down the contour of Vanity’s body. She was wearing a cute little red sun dress with yellow flowers on it, it hugged her so god damn well. He prayed that a gust of wind would just magically sweep through and cause the flowy fabric to lift up to see if she was wearing panties or not. His guess was that she wasn’t. He hoped that didn’t change. He laughed at himself silently with that thought in his mind. Her hair was in loose curls as it laid on her left shoulder naturally. Her eyes were covered by jet black sunglasses as she was wearing a tiny gold nose ring. Vanity turned to look at him, completely ripping him from his pleasant thoughts.

“We should grab something to eat before the fun starts. She’s yet to have lunch.” Vanity spoke, his eyes staying glued to her lips.

Nikki nodded, “Yeah, Maybe after we’ll start giving Ari a sugar rush.” He chuckled a little bit, as he knew She was rolling her eyes under those shades.

“You’ll be dealing with her when she doesn’t listen then.” Her lips pulled into a teasing smirk as she ran her black painted nails through her hair, “There’s a cafe over there.” She says, pointing to a carnival decorated shack as she glances over to him.

Vanity watched as Arianna went over to Nikki and held his hand before he scooped her up into his arms, making her erupt into a fit of giggles.

Vanity was happy this whole co-parenting thing was working in her favor. Because we know when it involves one Nikki Sixx and one Vanity Blackwood, it’s as if the universe has stacked the cards against them.

It was quite a site to see when it came to Arianna and Nikki. Arianna had Nikki wrapped around her little finger. Pig tails, a vibrant yellow shirt and light up shoes was a huge contrast compared to the silver chain hanging out of the pocket of his black jeans which was paired nicely with a half buttoned red and black plaid shirt. Vanity noticed he was wearing the same bulky chain and padlock necklace she had gifted him years ago for his birthday.

A young waitress guided them to a booth as Arianna and Nikki slid into one side while Vanity slid into the other. The waitress brings them water and menus to hold them over before rushing off to someone else.

Nikki looked down at Arianna, “You can get whatever you want Princess.” He spoke, kissing the top of her head.

Her eyes went wide as she stared up at Nikki, “Can I have a ice cream sundae!?” She was overly excited as Nikki mentally face palmed himself.

“Lunch first, then maybe you can have a sundae after.” Nikki attempted to bargain, but Arianna had perfected the pouty look that was a spitting image of Vanity, and boy, did he fucking hate it.

Arianna’s eyebrows scrunched together as she stared at him with her big brown eyes, “I want ice cream.” Vanity tsk’d, shaking her head as she looked over her own menu.

“Well-“ Nikki scratched the top of his head as he glanced over at Vanity for guidance. She in return, gave him a look, practically saying to figure it out yourself. He needed to learn when it was the right time to be the bad guy and when he could be the good guy.

It applied to both the relationship with his daughter and with Vanity.

“...Would auntie Clem let you? No. I doubt that.” Nikki quickly came up with a solution, knowing Arianna absolutely adored her aunt. Even if he despised her.

By the expression on her face, Nikki noticed she was attempting to think of how she could get what she wanted, “Daddy, Auntie Clem isn’t here and, and I think she would let me.” Vanity let out a laugh as she watched the two interact. It was amusing.

Nikki doesn’t budge, “Lunch first Princess, then you can rot your teeth with a sundae.” Arianna quickly became frustrated with him. So she went to the next best thing. Mom.

Vanity saw the tiny wheels turning inside of Ari’s head. She raises an eyebrow and gives her a stern look, “You pick something or I will pick it for you. And it might be one big bowl of peas.” Vanity said, showing her the kids menu. Arianna’s eyes wandered to the picture of a kid sized menu, pointing at it as she smiles at her mom.

“Arianna.” Vanity said her name sternly as she was finally defeated, slumping back into the booth as she picked up a crayon and started coloring in the little art book the waitress had gave her, “Chicken strips.”

Vanity looked over at Nikki, “And that’s how it’s done, Sixx. Take some lessons.”

Nikki pushed his sunglasses to the top of his head by using his middle finger. Vanity smiled at him before flicking the trash from the straw wrapper at him. Vanity continued glancing over the menu as Nikki picked up a crayon and started coloring with Arianna.

“No daddy, you’re making it ugly.” Ari spoke as she snatched the crayon out of his hand. Nikki rolled his eyes, “Well excuse me. Was just trying to help.” He chuckled a bit before he picked up the rolled up piece of paper Vanity had flicked at him prior, just for him to throw it down her cleavage.

“Goal!” He mimics a crowds cheers as Vanity glares at him and digs it out from between her tits. Vanity shook her head and picked at her nails before she decided to have some fun with him, for old times sake, or something like that.

She took off her sandal and propped her foot up between Nikki’s legs. She pretended to look at the menu that was just so interesting as she felt him glaring at her. She was humming along to Mariah Carey’s ‘Always Be My Baby’ as it played at a low level throughout the cafe. Vanity moved her foot long the inner seam line of his jeans, inching closer and closer until Nikki jumped in the booth and grasped her ankle tightly. She finally looked at him, a shit eating grin on her lips as Nikki warned her with a head shake.

He let go of her ankle as he tried to focus on finding himself something to eat. Vanity glanced around at the cafe, seeing guitars hanging on the wall with pink wallpaper laying behind them. She made a funny face towards Ari when she caught her looking at her. She looked over at Nikki, eyes narrowing when she felt his hand moving up her leg and then back down to her foot. She smirked, running her nails through her hair as she pressed down on the zipper of his jeans before running her sparkly pink toes down the outline of-

“Hi folks! Do we know what we’re having?” The over exuberant waitress questioned. Vanity nodded, smiling at her as she took her foot away from Nikki’s crotch.

“I think I’m going to have the chicken tacos with rice and extra guacamole please and she’s going to have the kids chicken strip meal.” Vanity handed over her menu. She looked at Nikki, who looked like he needed a cool rag over his head.

“Um, can I uh...Um. Just a turkey club with fries. Is it hot in here to you?” The waitress gave Nikki a strange look as she wrote down the orders before walking away.

“Are you okay Nikki?” Vanity asked, voice sickly sweet as she sipped on her drink.

“Never been better V, you okay?” Nikki choked out.

“I’m okay too.” Arianna butted in, giggling as Vanity reached across the table and colored on the page she was working on.

“Well, how come mom can help you color but I can’t?” Nikki questioned, trying to pick up another crayon but Arianna grabbed it again before moving all the crayons away from him, “Cause mommy knows how to color.”

“I was thinking we just let her pick the rides she wants to go on. Not force her on anything that might terrify her. I don’t need her having any nightmares.” Vanity suggested as Nikki agreed with a head nod. Wow. Two things they agree on in less than in an hour? Wow.

Nikki noticed as Vanity chomped on her gum and looked around the joint again. He also noticed how she watched some brown headed guy walk past them, giving him a smile when they made eye contact. Nikki had a sour look on his face before he smirked and kicked Vanity in the leg.

“Ow.” Vanity mumbled as she finally looked at Nikki, “Don’t kick me.”

“Sorry, long legs.” He smiled at her as she rolled her eyes and looked away from him. He sighed before he brushed his hand over Arianna’s braids.

Please just look at me for longer than two seconds. You use to spend all day and night looking at me.

Nikki tapped his fingers against the leather booth, his eyes falling on a middle aged dude wearing board shorts and a black wife beater.

“Oh no.” He mumbled as the guy had a disposable camera in hand as he came towards their booth. Vanity eyed the guy as he stood at the edge of the table.

“Dude! You’re Nikki Sixx! Can I get a picture?!”

Dude, I’m going to fucking rip you limb from limb if you don’t get away from me and my girls.

Nikki forced a smile, “Yeah man, not a problem. Van could you...” He glanced over at her, seeing she was visibly irritated with the fan.

Princess, you know this stuff happens. You know I can’t control it.

Vanity nodded, taking the guys camera with a smile, “I saw your show in New York last time the band was here. It was gnarly bro.”

Nikki nodded, “Thanks man. Glad you liked the show. Let’s uh, be quick. I’m here with my family.” Vanity raised an eyebrow as she looked through the camera and snapped a picture for the fan before handing it back to him. The fan thanked Nikki before he left to go back to his own table.

Family? Vanity tried wrapping her head around that simple little word. On one hand, it confused the ever living hell out of her. Were they a family? A weird, dysfunctional family? On the other hand, it made her heart skip a beat and made her insides turn to complete mush with the idea of the three of them being one little cute happy family.

See! And then you do stuff like this that confuses me! !Vanity huffed as she tapped her nails against the table. She noticed Arianna kept glancing at Nikki and then back over to that fan across the way.

“Daddy, you have a lot of friends.” She spoke softly.

Nikki laughed, “Well, your dad is important.” Vanity let out an amused grunt before rolling her eyes, Nikki glaring at her as she did so.

“Daddy just makes a lot of people happy with his music. That’s all babe.” Van explained softly as Arianna nodded and continued coloring for a moment before lunch was served to them.

“You’ll come to one of my concerts one day.” Nikki reassured as he stole one of Arianna’s french fries.

Vanity looked over at Nikki, “Don’t you think a Mötley Crüe concert is a little inappropriate for a small child?”

Confusion riddled Nikki’s expression, “I’ve seen fans bring their kids? Why couldn’t Arianna come? I think she’d enjoy it a lot.” Nikki mumbled before taking a bit of his food.

“Because she’s my kid. That’s too loud of music and too provocative.” Vanity expressed her concerns as Nikki glared.

“She’s our kid.” Vanity rolled her eyes, “Jeez, you sound like the same people who tried censoring us. Rock n Roll builds character. I want her growing up around the music and the band.”

“She’ll never have a normal life, Nikki.” Vanity mumbled but shook it off, “We’ll talk about it more when the concert thing comes.” Vanity continued eating her lunch, glancing over at Arianna who went back and forth between eating and coloring.

“Maybe you need a little Rock n Roll in you too, doll.” Nikki smirked, raising his eyebrows in a titillating manner. Vanity only smiled before stealing a piece of his steak.

After lunch, Arianna was already bouncing off the walls. She finally got that sundae she wanted and absolutely demolished it. Arianna was giggling and screaming as Nikki chased after her before scooping her up and putting her on his shoulders.

Vanity watches them as she tries to keep up with Nikki’s long strides as they head in the direction of the carousel, “Daddy I want the rainbow one!” Arianna yelled as Nikki handed over a few tickets and placed Arianna on top of the horse she pointed out.

Vanity held her sundress down while carefully trying to get on the one besides Arianna. What? It was laundry day and she didn’t put on any underwear and she was not about to put on a show for Nikki or any other guy for that matter. She watched as Nikki stepped off the ride, “What? Too heavy metal to ride a fake sparkly horse with your daughter?”

Nikki felt his face heat up, “No, it’s too small for me and I don’t want to squish her.”

She rolled her eyes and called him out, “Then ride your own horse or stand by her. Don’t be lame.”

“I’ll give you something to ride.” He mumbled under his breath before he opted for standing between the girls as they spun around.

After the ride, Arianna looked back and forth between all the games as Vanity and Nikki strolled behind her. Nikki quickly wrapped his arms around Vanity, resting his chin on her shoulder, “You know, I didn’t appreciate that little stunt back at the cafe.” He whispered in her ear as Vanity attempted to pry his arms off her body.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She smiled before giving up and resting her hands on top of his, “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

Nikki smirked, “Remember all the times you’d tease me and what I’d do about it? You know how I am with these stupid games you like to play with me.” He moved away but left one of his arms wrapped around her waist.

Vanity stopped walking and stood in front of him. She placed her hands on his hips before standing on her tip toes and whispering in his ear, “I don’t remember, would you like to remind me?”

“Maybe later. I think our daughter found a game.” Nikki pointed as Vanity looked over her shoulder and saw Arianna standing by a booth. Nikki propped Ari up on the barstool as Vanity sat beside them and handed the carny some cash.

It’s a moving target game that you have to shoot with an air rifle full of metal beads. Nikki crouches down behind Arianna to show her how to play and she quickly gets it down and hits all the targets. Vanity on the other hand, is having a bit difficulty as her targets are moving in a circular motion. She quickly drains the clip before shaking her head, “Stupid rigged game.” She mumbles under her breath as Arianna gets awarded a small little plush toy.

“Mom! Look!” Arianna cheered as she showed off her toy. Vanity forced a smile before getting off the barstool, “How about we go to the darts and balloon one?” She pointed across the walkway, “It’s easier...”

“No! I want the big bear!” Arianna points at the humongous white bear hanging from the top of the booth. Vanity groans before she sits back down on the barstool, she reaches to give the guy more money until Nikki hands over his own cash for all of them to play again.

Nikki leaned over her, putting his hands on hers and his mouth near her ear, “Just point and relax.” He speaks softly as Vanity stiffens up as he wraps his hand around her wrists and has her hold the toy gun.

“Ye-yeah, Okay..”

Nikki moved one of his hands down to her hip as he rested against her back more, “Don’t listen to the noises. Those are meant to distract you from aiming, just block everything out.” Vanity breathed out heavily, how could she focus when his cologne hit her like a brick wall and the feeling of his warm, minty breath invaded every pore in her body, “Find the center of the target and just pull the trigger.”

She nods, attempting to relax against his touch as she pretended to miss some more. Her lips pulled into a sly smirk, “Maybe I need more help, Nikki.”

He laughed in her ear before his lips pressed a gentle kiss to the side of her jaw, “You’re teasing me again.”

She leaned back into his chest, “And if I am?” She chuckled a bit before taking his hands away from her and sitting up straight. She glanced over to the guy running the game. She bats her eyelashes and gives him a sinful smile while reaching across and traces her nails over his hand, “Can I just buy the bear?”

“Watch it.” Nikki growled in her ear before stepping away from Vanity.

If she wanted to play this game, he could do it better, “Look man, I’ll give you an autograph plus some money for the bear.”

Vanity narrowed her eyes at Nikki, glaring before she turned to the guy again, “I’ll buy the bear for whatever amount, plus give you a couple hundred bucks. Name your price.” Vanity then leaned over a tad bit more, showing off her tits as Nikki let out a scoff, “And if you’re lucky, maybe I’ll even give you my number.” She eyes the guy, tilting her head to the side in an almost innocent way before sending him a wink.

He smiled at her, “Alright, the big bear goes to the lady.” Nikki groaned loudly as Vanity stuck her tongue out at him, rubbing it in even more. She handed over a hundred bucks to the guy before giving the bear to Arianna.

“You’re the best mommy!!” She chimed with glee as she attempted to drag it away.

“Nice try.” She smiled at at Nikki’s scowl, patting him on the face before getting off the chair.

“Hey! What about your number?”

Nikki turned back to the guy, “Not that lucky pal!” He laughed before he threw his arm over Vanity’s shoulders, pulling her to his side.

After a few more kiddie rides, more rigged games with countless amount of money spent between the two of them, Arianna was finally crashing out as the three of them sat on a bench overlooking the ocean sunset. Arianna sat between the two, giant cloud of pink cotton candy in her hand as she nodded off before waking up in a jolt to eat again. Vanity chuckled a bit as she took a bite of her own caramel apple covered in rainbow sprinkles.

“Thank you Nikki.”

Nikki glanced over and smiled at her, “Anything for you and Arianna, I think she’s out for the count..” He mumbled as Arianna was leaning on Vanity sound asleep but still holding on to the cotton candy with a death grip.

As the three of them arrived back to Vanity’s place, Nikki held Arianna in his arms as she slept soundly against his shoulder. Vanity unlocked the front door, letting them in first before she took her from him, “C’mon angel, we gotta wake up and get ready for bed.” She spoke softly as Arianna sleepily reached out for her mom. Vanity took her to her bedroom, quickly getting her pjs on and wiping off the remaining coating of cotton candy from her lips and cheeks. She kissed her forehead before tucking her in and turning on her little fairy lights. She closed her door as quietly as she could before walking to the living room, seeing Nikki sitting down with his black boots propped up on the coffee table.

“Did you still want to stay the night?” She questioned him since his bags were already packed and the rental car was ready to be returned to the airport come the next day.

He gave her a weak smile, “Yeah, I can sleep out here. Just give me a pillow and blanket.”

You dumb idiot. I ask you to spend the night, do you really think I want you to sleep on the couch?

Vanity forced a smile, “Yeah, I’ll get you some.” She quickly turned around, walking to her bedroom as she grabbed one of her own pillows and a blanket from the closet before heading back out to him. She stopped walking, staring at him throwing a black shirt over his head. He smiled at her and took the blanket and pillow from her hands.

“Thanks. The couch is pretty comfortable so I think I’ll be good.” He reassured as she nodded and looked away from him.

“I’m gonna take a quick shower.” She mumbled as Nikki nodded and sat down on the couch and flipped on the tv.

Nikki sighed heavily when she walked away from him. The thought alone of her in the shower made all of his fantasies he’s already acted out with her spur to life with in the confines of his jeans. Nikki would like to think today was successful in that department, there was plenty of flirting and teasing that came natural, just like it use to. He hated himself and Brandi for having to leave all of a sudden. He was ready to have his shit moved out here and buy a penthouse at the top of a sky riser, or so he thought. It was only going to be a few weeks away from the girls, but he’d already spent so much time away from them. Nikki didn’t want to miss a single second.

Maybe he could convince Vanity to move back to California. He enjoyed New York, but his home was in Los Angeles, that’s where his work was, the band, the music. He sighed as he got off the couch and raided her fridge and grabbed a bottle of whiskey. He unscrewed the cap and took a long swig of it before putting it back. He twiddled his thumbs, glancing down the hallway towards Vanity’s bedroom when he saw her sitting on her bed with wearing a shirt and her hair wrapped up in a towel.

Since when do you take that quick of a shower?

Nikki walked down the hallway with light footsteps. He tapped on her door quietly before going into her room. He looked around at the pictures on the wall, the black metal bed frame and the dark red sheets and Vanity, who was lathering up her legs with lotion.

“Still like to play dress up I see.” Nikki laughed as he motioned to the clothes thrown all over the floor. He checked out the matching dresser to the bed frame, Seeing hair ties, clips, jewelry and loose money. He smiled a bit when he saw a picture of the two. That same one he threw at her years ago...

“That’s my favorite picture of us.” Vanity told him as she sat criss cross on her bed and watched him hold the frame in his hands.

“I was higher then a kite and so were you.” Nikki retorted as he put the picture down and sat on the bed with her.

“Yes, but we were happy and we had so much fun together..”

He smiled, “Yeah, we did.” He yawned as he laid back on her bed, “Kids are exhausting. I give you props for doing this by yourself for so long.”

Vanity turned her cheek to look down at him, “Welcome to my life for the last five years. She’s a constant ball of energy and it’s always different with her everyday. It’s never the same thing.”

Nikki ran a hand over his face before sitting back up, “You’ve done a great job raising her, Vanity. I’m serious, I couldn’t have picked a better woman to be the mother of my kid.”

Vanity laughed as she playfully punched his shoulder, “You’re such a kiss ass. What time is your flight in the morning?”

Nikki frowned, “Seven.” He much would’ve rather picked a later flight, but he had a meeting with his lawyers in the early afternoon.

“Oh. That’s really early. Arianna doesn’t wake up till about nine.” Vanity explained as her bottom lip stuck out in a pout.

“I’ll sneak into her room in the morning and say bye to her.”

Vanity nodded as she let out a deep breath, “I’ve had fun with you the last few weeks or whatever.”

Nikki smiles and placed his hand on her bare thigh, giving it a slight squeeze “I’ve been the happiest in years being here with you and her. It’s like my life has a new purpose in being a good father and a better man to you, or for you, or whatever.” Nikki cleared his throat, cursing mentally at himself.

Vanity shook her head, putting some distance between them as she put her lotion back on the dresser, “You’ve been a great father and I know you’ll continue to do so even if you have to go back home for a little bit. Ive been trying to prepare her the last few days for it anyways.”

Preparing her. Preparing myself.

Nikki scratched the top of his head, looking over at the clock on her nightstand, “I guess I should get to bed. So I’m not grouchy with TSA and the flight attendants in the morning.”

Either one of two things was going to happen.

“Do you want to sleep in my bed? The couch might feel comfortable but I promise you it isn’t.”

And that was one of them.

“I think I’ll stick with the couch.”

And that was the other.

“O-oh Okay, well goodnight Sixx.” Vanity mumbled, avoiding eye contact at all cost as she pulled the blankets down. Nikki watches her a moment as he takes note of the cheeks reddened with embarrassment she was currently sporting.

“Goodnight doll.” He was quick to leave the bedroom, physically palming himself in the face as he walked back to the living room and plopped down face first into the pillow. It smelt like her light floral perfume mixed with laundry detergent.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid.” Vanity muttered to herself as she turned off the side lamp and got in bed. She couldn’t believe she put herself out there just for him to turn her down. She didn’t actually think he’d say no to sleeping in a bed with her, but yet here she was all alone in her king sized bed. She attempted to get comfortable, pulling the blankets over her head. She personally wasn’t ready for Nikki to leave. Vanity honestly had fun with him. She chalked it up to her getting comfortable again and now he’s off. She was sad about it but she knew from the get go he’d eventually have to go back to California. What more could she expect? He’s Nikki Sixx for Christ sake.

Vanity closed her eyes and tried falling asleep until she heard shuffling around her room, thinking Arianna had woken up and wanted to sleep in bed with her. She peeped her head out from under the blankets, “What are you doing?” She questioned, seeing the perfect smirk even in the dark with only city lights barely illuminating the room through her window.

Nikki slipped out of his pants and he got in bed beside her, “The couch is actually really uncomfortable.” He muttered as he fluffed up the pillows before laying on his back and staring up at the ceiling.

It was quiet for a few moments between them. It wasn’t awkward or anything, it was a peaceful type of quiet.

Vanity turned on her side to face him, thinking of something to say until he glanced over at her, “Yes?” He questioned, hands behind his head as the natural smirk never left his lips. Vanity took a leap of faith, scooting closer to him and resting her head against his chest while she forced his arm to wrap around her waist.

His laughter rumbled through his chest as he pulled her tighter against his body, “If you wanted me to hold you, you could’ve just asked.”

“Well, if you wanted to hold me, you could’ve just asked.” She copied, adding a laugh as his fingers pinched her hip lightly. Vanity sighed in contempt as she relaxed in his arms, tracing over the ink on his chest as she saw goosebumps rise.

“Thanks for letting meet my daughter.” He mumbled, putting his hand under her shirt and letting his knuckles run up and down her spine slowly.

Vanity breathed in the scent of a woodsy cologne and cigarette smoke, “Don’t mention it. I’m sorry I kept her from you, I was just angry.”

“Rightfully so, I do understand why you did it though. I just wish you told me. I wanted to be there for you regardless if we were together or not. But that’s all on me and my fault, I am sorry doll.” Nikkis voice was soft as he adjusted their position and turned on his side, smiling when she draped her leg over his thigh.

Vanity studied his face as there was only mere inches separating them. “You don’t know how sorry I am Vanity. I’ll do anything, whatever it takes to prove it. I want my girl back, I want both of my girls.” His voice was almost a whisper as he brushed his finger against her cheek. There was just enough light coming into the room for them to see one another.

”I was just, I don’t know. I don’t know why I cheated on you. You’re everything I didn’t know I wanted, Brandi isn’t. She’s just every groupie I’ve ever met rolled into one.” He continued his monologue, rough finger tips dancing along her back as he talked. It was the most comfortable Vanity felt in a very long time.

Vanity stared at him, mumbling “Do you love her?”

Nikki nodded, “In a way, yes I do or I did. It was a slow burn but I did fall for her. But I fell for her because I was scared, depressed and highly emotional. The love I felt for her is nothing like the love I feel for you. I will never love another woman the way I love you.”

Vanity shook her head, trying to pull away from their embrace but Nikki gripped her hips to keep her from moving. He was tired of her running from him.

“...And you can hate it all you want, hate that I’m making you listen to me for once. But I do love you, I still love you. I haven’t stopped loving you since the day you drove out of those fucking gates. But what’s funny is, I was doing fine. Yeah, you’d pop into my head sometimes and I’d think of you and us but then eventually it stopped. And the night I walked into that strip club you were all I could think of. All I could think about was what you were doing, if you were with someone else. If you still wear the same perfume, and you do.”

Vanity furrowed her eyebrows as she listened to him. This was the first time in a long time she had heard him express something so deep. She thinks the last time he was this vulnerable, expressing everything was the night of Tommy’s wedding and he was a strung out, crying mess as he listened to Deanna’s voicemail on a never ending loop.

“And, if you hair was the same…it s not, but it still smells the same. Like coconuts or some tropical shit. And if you had outgrown your temper, but you haven’t.” Nikki laughed as she tried pulling away from him again but he held her in place.

“And if you’d still look at me with pouty eyes and you do. Your lips still form into a smirk that drives me fuckin nuts. And if you still sleep on the left side of the bed. I thought about all of that, and there you were. Standing behind the bar, staring at me with those big golden pouty eyes of yours and that signature deep red lipstick you always wore and left prints on my skin with. It was like the universe was listening to me. I think it’s our second chance.”

Vanity shook her head, chewing on her bottom lip as she felt tears at the brim of her eyes the longer she looked at him, “We were suppose to end up together.” She cried as Nikki wrapped his arms around her, hand brushing over the loose braid she had done and kissed the top of her head.

“I know darling, I know. But look, we made a beautiful little girl and we’re here together now. That should count for something. I am so sorry for everything. I sound like a broken record at this point but Van, I am so fucking sorry for ruining our relationship.”

Vanity trembled in his embrace as the tears kept falling, only for him to hold her closer to his body, “Shhh, Princess please stop crying. Fuck. I’m so sorry Vanity.”

“I-I needed you Nikki. I wanted you. You fucking had me, you had every part of me and you still went out and cheated on me.” She choked out, moving away from his embrace finally as she covered her face with her hands, sobbing into them as she tried to catch her breath.

Nikki felt his heart lurch out of his chest as he watched her hyperventilate, “Vanity, look at me.” His voice was stern as he wrapped an arm around her waist, “No!” She shouted, pushing his hands off her body.

“After all we’ve been through, I forgave you for everything! I stayed and I was there for you and I loved you, even without knowing I loved you. I stayed when I shouldn’t have but I did because I wanted you!” Vanity croaked as she shoved blankets off of her and wiped her face, “We were going to get married. We had a life together. I went through every scenario in my head over and over again! Was she prettier than me? Was he bored of me? Was he having cold feet? Was I too much for him and he finally had enough of it?! All of that, Nikki! On top of being pregnant with our kid, giving birth and raising her while you were off marrying her because you loved her so much. That possibly, just maybe, you loved her more than you ever loved me.”

Nikki sighed, beating himself up as he rested his forehead against her shoulder, letting his lips brush over her skin. Vanity gasped for a sharp intake of breath, feeling everything hit her at once. There was no bottle of booze and no blow to block it out and it fucking hurt.

“Doll look at me, please look at me.” Nikki spoke in almost a whisper as he removed her hands from her face. Her eyes watered more as his thumb brushed across her cheek to wipe them away, “Just…just tell me you love me.”

Vanity closed her eyes, trying to turn her head to the side but Nikki caught her jaw and forced her to maintain eye contact, “Tell me you love me still-“ He cooed, “And if you do, great. If you don’t, that’s fine too. Just tell me.”

Vanity held his hand that cupped her jaw not to pull it away, but to keep it there “You’re leaving.”

Nikki smiled just a bit, “Yes, but I’ll be back. You know I’ll be back. I’ll be gone for maybe two or three weeks, that’s it. I’ll come straight here after my flight lands.”

Vanity still needed more, “And what if you don’t come back?” She felt like a fucking idiot for feeling this insecure around him, but in reality, it was all because of him.

“You worry too much princess. I will be back, I have a family now. I have you and Arianna. I know it might be hard for her to understand why I have to leave now and in the future when I leave to be on the road, but she will be fine.” Nikki reassured as Vanity reached up and ran her nails through his hair

“I just got you back.” Vanity whispered, almost incoherently but she knew he still heard her regardless.

His thumb brushed across her bottom lip, “And you’ll always have me from now on. I’m not going anywhere, Vanity. You’re my home.”

Vanity’s eyes fluttered closed when she felt his lips on hers. Feeling every rush he’s ever caused to run through her veins. Every memory, both good and bad played inside her head every single god damn emotion Nikki Sixx has ever made her feel: anger, happiness, sadness, lust, love, excitement. Just one simple little kiss brought everything back to the surface.

He deepens the kiss, forcing her mouth to open with his tongue as she tasted every ounce of love he has to for her. She wrapped her arm around his shoulder, bringing him closer and feeling his weight shift on top of her, but not all of it at the same time.

Vanity opened her legs up, to accompany the body between hers as she put her hands under his shirt, attempting to pull it off of him. Nikki took the hint and did it himself before quickly coming back to her lips, cupping her jaw as he did so.

“I love you.” She whispered against his lips, feeling them form into a smile, “I love you. I haven’t stopped.” She muttered as she felt a low, needy moan fall off of Nikki’s tongue and on to her own.

Nikki’s lips moved to her neck, letting his hands travel up and down her body. Fingertips running over every curve like he memorized them and never even forgot how her body felt underneath his. He forced a quiet moan to fall from her lips as his teeth dug into that little sweet spot that laid under her ear lobe. The arrogance that dripped from him showed in that natural smirk she felt across her skin.

One hand reached down between her legs but Vanity quickly grabbed his wrist and held his hand at her her side, “Nikki…” His name rolled off her tongue in a breathy, lustful moan as Nikki’s lips trailed down to meet her clavicle. Nikki adjusted his weight, now laying between her welcoming thighs as his hands entangled themselves in her hair. His growing desire pressing against her, letting her feel exactly what she’s been missing.

Nikki’s hand reached between her legs again, his fingers curling into the waist band of her panties as she reached for his hand again, only for him to intertwine their fingers together and pin her hand to the bed.

“N-no, Nikki. S-stop.” Vanity put up a weak protest the exact moment she felt his lips abuse the skin of her neck and leaving a deep red mark in their path.

“Baby, please. I need you.” Nikki whined, bunching her shirt up in his fist as he kissed her abdomen.

”I-I don’t want too.” Vanity declared, giving his chest a slight push away from her own. She stared at him, both of their chests heaving up and down as they stared at one another. Vanity moved pieces of hair from her face, licking her bruised and swollen lips as she pulled her shirt back down.

Nikki closed his eyes, trying to control his breathing as he nodded before moving from between her legs and taking the spot next to her on the bed, “I’m sorry…” Vanity mumbled as Nikki lazily slung his arm over her waist.

“Don’t apologize darling. It’s-it’s too early and I got caught up in the moment.” He exhaled deeply as Vanity pulled the blankets up over them. She relaxed into the bed, resting her hands on his arm.

“You’re my home too, Nikki.”

*Nikki’s POV*

I woke up to my phone buzzing by my ear, “Yeah?” I rubbed my face, glancing down as Vanity was laying on my chest with her arm wrapped around me.

“Mr. Sixx, I am downstairs waiting to take you to the airport.”

I sighed heavily, “I’ll be down shortly.”

I hung up as I closed my eyes and laid in her bed for a few more moments. I quietly got out of bed, leaving her in the middle as I sat on the edge and looked out the window, the sun was barely rising. A small smile formed on my face as I felt nails running down my bare back.

I stood up, joints cracking as I turned around and leaned over the bed, chuckling when Vanity sleepily ran her hand across my face, “It’s early.” She mumbled as I kissed her temple.

“Go back to sleep, Van. I’ll let you know when I’m leaving.” I whispered to her, running my knuckle over her cheekbone as she closed her eyes and relaxed into the bed.

I put my clothes back on before slipping out of Vans bedroom and going to Arianna’s. I slowly crept into her room, trying to avoid the toys that were scattered on her floor. She had kicked the blanket off of her as I put it back on her. I knelt down beside her bed, running my hand over her mess of brown hair as her nose scrunched up.

“Arianna…” I whispered quietly but she only pulled the blankets to her chin. I quietly laughed as my heart felt like it was breaking for leaving her, “I gotta go, but I’ll be back okay? I love you.” I mumbled before kissing the top of her forehead.

I headed to the bathroom to splash some water on my face, my teeth would just have to wait until I’m on the plane. I went back to Vanity’s room, seeing she was sitting up in the bed with the blankets wrapped around her, she frowned when I reached for my jacket and put it on.

“Time to go?” She muttered as I weakly nodded.

Vanity followed me throughout the house as my heart, again felt like it was breaking into pieces for leaving.

“Call me when your plane lands, okay?” She spoke softly, resting her head against the door as I nodded.

“Of course, doll.” I gave her a smile as I reached for her hand and pulled her towards me. I held her hand in mine, letting my thumb brush against the back of her palm.

“Do you really have to leave? Can’t you stay for a little bit longer?” Vanity’s voice was riddled into a begging tone as I tried forcing a smile.

“We both know I won’t ever leave if I don’t go now. I’ll be back, okay? I promise. I’ll call you every day and think of last night when I’m alone in the bed.” I chuckled as Vanity rolled her eyes and took her hand from mine.

“Tell me you love me.”

I quirked an eyebrow, “Tell me you love me.”

She smiled and shook her head, “I love you, rockstar.” Vanity took a step forward, closing the distance between us as she gave me a sweet parting kiss.

“I love you princess.” I whispered as I pulled away from her, seeing a single tear fall from the corner of her eye. I pressed my lips to the top of her head, eyes tightly screwing shut. Don’t start crying now, Sixx.

“I’ll be seeing you, sweets.”

[cartoonfangirl1218]

Snart Siblings Day Out

Another long forgotten Lisa Snart Appreciation Week fic.  (Takes place anytime before LOT, probably before Lewis' death). 

They had just succeeded in a successful raid of the bank yesterday afternoon. Fortunately the Scarlet Speedster was too late for once and they made off with ten thousand dollars, three diamonds necklaces and various other weaponry from the guards. It had been a good day.

Mick was sprawled out on the couch, nursing his hangover from their celebratory drinks at the club last night and using a bunch of stolen wallets and burned out cigarettes as a mashed up pillow.

Leonard decided he would take advantage of the day to go to the movies. Specifically a Star Wars Marathon.

Lisa had a feeling that her nerd of a brother would go to the Marathon after she had saw the ad on TV, some anniversary for the main character's birthday or something stupid like that. When she realized he planned the heist the day before, and the back up plan to go into motion the day after said marathon, she just knew it. Her brother had always been a Star Wars fan since he was 5 years old.

Even the-"oh so important, nothing else matters, Lisa, you can schedule your date for another time, no you can not make out with him while you're on watch" missions took a backseat where Star Wars was concerned.

Normally Lisa wouldn't have joined him, but all there was to do today was either watch Mick be a big baby about his hangover or laze around town until the clubs opened up. She chose the movies.

The marathon started at 9 in the morning so to kill time, Lisa bought tickets to a early Disney movie that was airing for the little kids.

"Really Lisa?" Leonard said when he saw the tickets she bought.  "Disney? I thought we had your 34 birthday two moths ago, not your 6th.” 

"Well do you wanna watch Disney or do you wanna watch something called Dams: A architectural documentary? Besides it would be something to sleep through." Lisa said, matter of factly. 

"I swear if anyone sees us watching this, I'm putting all of it on you." Leonard grimaced, pulling up the hood of his signature blue parka, hiding his face.

What she didn't mention was that it was Pinocchio. Lisa always had an attachment to the movie when she was younger. God how many times did she wear a blue dress to school and wave a wand around her room, singing?  And she would always look for the wishing star.

But Leonard had also become acquainted to the movie, whenever he would have taken of her when she was younger, she would make him watch it with her. And sometimes he would sing.

Not many people knew this secret talent. But he was a good singer. Not just good, but great. He had a deep baritone and steady voice that followed through the pitches, whenever he sang, she thought of the song like a warm barrier around her.

That usually had been because of circumstance though. She would make him sing it to her before she fell asleep, or when she had a nightmare or when Lewis had one of his lessons.

He would crawl into whatever nook she had burrowed herself into, and hug her and sing to her until she stopped crying or until she fell asleep. The song always gave her that stupid childish hope that maybe Lewis wasn't their real father, that he had just stolen them and their real parents, the perfect kind were looking for them.

She glanced at Lenny's direction to see if he noticed the choice of movie. If he had, he wasn't fazed. His posture didn't relax or tense and his face was shrouded by the furry hood.

After the whole "Once upon a dream" song, Lisa slow dropped off to sleep. Really besides the big song, the movie was a snoozer.  Leonard shook her awake, and they joined the long line of mega-nerds, some in costumes, awaiting to enter the theater.

When they entered, they were stuck in the front row, craning their heads back to see the screen, stuck between a blob creature and a guy with a tentacle shirt whose tentacles kept sneaking into her lap and popcorn.

Already refreshed from her other nap, she was agonizingly awake during the movie. It was a painful, slow moving torture that people called a "masterpiece of cinematic art" or at least people like her brother anyway. Really "cinematic art?"

She zoned out during the first half, so she was completely lost during the second half and second movie, and she couldn't go get a third popcorn refill because the aisle was crowded with legs and dorks that booed her every time she blocked their view of the screen.

Last ditch effort, she pulled out her phone and started playing Trivia Crack. She looked up to see Len glaring at her. "Turn it off.” he hissed "No one's paying attention. Not breaking the law here." "The light is distracting from the movie" he whispered "No it isn't. It's just a little thing compared to the huge 50 ft screen." "Yes but you keep clicking the keyboard, and some people are trying to listen to what they are saying." Leonard retorted "Oh you can't hear what they're saying? You really must be getting into your old age. The sound is giving me a..." She was cut off abruptly when Leonard grabbed her phone and firmly placed his other hand ontop of her mouth.

"This is my favorite part so shut it. He hissed. His hand wouldn't get off her mouth, no matter how many times she licked or bit it. He seemed to be lost in the world of the ugly green midget man.

Finally five and half hours later, they left the theater. Lisa practically ran out the door and kissed the sweet, fresh, cold ground.

Between the comfy woolen seats, and all the warm bodies, her leather outfit and his hand on her face, she was as sweaty as when Shawna dared Mick to spend the whole day in a incinerator.

They started to head for their parking space when she saw, faintly in the distance. A light blue café with a swirling ice cream cone. "Is that..." "Leo's Ice Cream" Leonard whispered.

Leo's Ice Cream was a place that their grandfather often took Leonard, saying it was his special place because of the coincidental name. Lisa barely remembered it, but when Leonard told stories, it sounded like he had just been there the day before. He had been very fond of their grandfather. Something about a greater father figure.

"Wanna go?" Lisa asked him.  Leonard seemed to be making choosing whether to treat himself to his childhood memory or keep on with his ice cold criminal facade, which he chose the latter.

"No. It's fine. Let's go home." he said stiffly. 

"But isn't the skating rink near by the café?" Lisa asked, innocently.  "Well, yes" Leonard conceded.  "Then let's go" Lisa dragged her brother by the arm as she raced down the streets to the round, grey building while Leonard stumbled to keep pace like an old man.

They entered the rink, and Lisa breathed in the cold, hair stinging smell of fresh ice. Another childhood memory of hers. She used to love to figure skate when she was younger. Other children wanted to be prima ballerinas. She wanted to be a prima ice skater ever since she had first visited the rink on a class field trip when she was 7.

Lewis, of course, had heartily disapproved. He needed her at home, to help with his jobs and be his punching bag and occasional cook. He didn't need his daughter to be trampling around the ice, looking like a sparkly, spandaxed idiot. Leonard was the one who supported her. He drove her to the rink, watched a few practices and when money got tight, flirted with her skating teacher to get free lessons.

As she grew older, and admittedly more cynical, she grew out of ice skating dreams, but continued to practice until she was in high school because Lenny seemed so happy to see her happy.

She laced up her rental skates and glided out to the ice. Muscle memory returning as she felt the slick floor beneath her blades.

Her muscles tensed as she returned to the familiar movement of glide-step-glide-step-turn. The wind sloshing past her ears, the world seemed to fade away, and dip and swirl as she did. She perform two triple lutz and five figure eights before returning to wear Leonard was by the plexiglass door.

"Are you gonna join me or what?" Lisa challenged, sharply turned with her time ick sending a shower of sparks. 

"Just wanted to watch you get the jumping out of your system. Don't need to get another head cut."

Lisa sheepishly grinned, that might have happened a few times. She could get really lost in the moment.

Leonard slowly walked out onto the ice. He was a decent skater, but he mostly kept to the side as she glided around performing for the awestruck toddlers and their parents.

She kept it up for a few more turns until she felt her muscles cry out for a break. Lisa walked back to the rental and slowly took off her skates. She forgot how much fun she had doing that, the utter freedom of movement around on the ice. "Nice going sis, haven't lost your touch" Leonard drawled, slowly clapping. Lisa smiled in turn.

They walked out of the rink, and Lisa announced she was choosing the place for dinner. She briskly walked him across the street, to the little blue café. "Lisa, I..you don't need.. I a-” Leonard stammered.

"I insist Lenny, it's my treat. We all need a nice ice cream" Lisa waved off his protests as she took out her credit card.

They settled to an outside table, silently people-watching and eating their order. He neatly devouring his banana split.  Lisa smiled as she watched him eat, taking note of his care-free face and his eyes that seemed to be thinking of some other time.

Contrary to what people may believe, but she wasn't so entirely self-absorbed. She knew how much Leonard loved her and how far he would go to protect her and make her happy. Honestly, it overwhelmed her sometimes. She felt she could never match up to his generosity and kindness to him. Never repay the fact that he had been her pillar of support, her biggest confidence, protector and cheerleader, and above all, someone who cared about her.

So sometimes, when she was able to make him smile like this with a small treat, she felt she was giving something back to the guy who practically was her father. Sure, it wasn't big or showy but she had a feeling he could get the meaning behind it. 

He didn't have many happy childhood memories to look back on, at least this was one she could remind him of. "Tell me about our grandfather" Lisa said, and Leonard launched into a vivid description of their grandfather's kind, blue eyes among other things.

"He was the one he always believed in my skills." Leonard sighed, looking uncharacteristically mournful, "He was the one who told me to do what I'm good at, and to think and to act with a brain."

"I mean I can't encourage you like he did. But I'm on your side. I always will be if you need me. Don't forget that, no matter how many times you get sent to jail, there's someone on your side. You're not gonna be alone as long as I'm around." You're not alone, Lenny" Lisa murmured softly,  Leonard gave a small smile.

They quickly moved on to less touchy subjects and started discussing any random thought that came to their head, from the Star Wars marathon to books to heists to the Scarlet Speedster.

"And what's up with his speeches? He sounds like some 50s superhero. I'm here in the name of justice, and to arrest you for robbery, grand theft auto and mercenary." Lisa crowed.

"Don't forget making him look bad." Leonard smirked.

"Oh yeah, we defiantly make him look bad."

Soon the sun started to set, and the afternoon lights turned to a light lilac. The walked silently back to the car with their own thoughts. Lisa felt a sense of stability and contentment she hadn't felt in a long time.

She wouldn't mind having more days like this. Just hanging out without doing any villainy or kidnapping. Sure, they would probably be back at it two days later but this was just as nice.

Leonard went into the driver's seat of their pick up and Lisa called dibs on shotgun out of habit from competing with Mick and sometimes Hartley when he joined the missions.

Lisa gazed out at Central City's skyline, and her ears perked up when she heard a familiar tune being hummed next to her. "Really Lenny?"

"Because of you whenever I hear that song it gets stuck in my head for the whole day" Leonard snarled, but Lisa could see his smirk behind the tone of voice, and started to sing along.

"When you wish upon a star, doesn't matter who you are..." Leonard's low alto joined in "Anything your heart's desire, your dreams come true."

It was so stupid how this song made her feel so freakin hopeful.

They stopped at the warehouse, and after Leonard locked the car doors, he gave her a quick, one sided hug and dis tangled himself from her.

"So that was nice." Leonard he muttered "Yeah" Lisa nodded.  They both could feel the unspoken thought between them. It had been nice, it was just a small reminder that they cared for each other.

Next time they should bike around town. Lisa remembered that motorcycles races against her brother was another memory that was fun to try.

Besides there was a cool jewelry store right by Leo's Ice Cream that had some great stuff to steal. You know, for family bonding days.

[luci-in-trenchcoats]

Save A Horse, Ride A Cowboy

Summary: After the reader’s date doesn’t show up at a bar one night, she gets to know the man sitting at the other end...

Pairing: Cowboy!Jensen x reader

Square: Clothes Sharing

Word Count: 4,000ish

Warnings: Mature (language, smut)

A/N: Written for @spnkinkbingo . I left this one a bit opened ended on purpose to possibly return to... 

“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” you groaned at the bar, your friend Julie giggling in her seat beside you. “Online dating. I’m meeting I guy I met on an online dating site. Oh my God.”

“Hey. I met Barry through that site! Now we got the whole white picket fence and kid at home thing going on,” she said.

“The guy was supposed to be here like two hours ago,” you groaned. “He ditched. I can’t even get a date online. I’m hopeless.”

“Uh, bartender? Another shot of whiskey for my girl,” she said. You held up two fingers, Julie laughing. She frowned when her phone lit up, tilting her head back. “And the baby just went full mess mode, both ends.”

“Go save your husband,” you said. “This guy’s not gonna show.”

“Don’t drive home if you keep knocking them back like that,” she said.

“I won’t. See you at work Monday,” you said, giving her a wave as she stood up. “I’ll take another beer with those shots.”

“Vodka straight,” said a guy, sitting down right next to you an hour later. You looked around the bar top, mostly empty except for a guy in a cowboy hat nursing a bourbon around the bend. “You the internet chick? Hallie?”

“And this is as far as this goes,” you said. “Go away.”

“Come on, Heather. It’s-”

“You’re drunk and smell like you’ve already been on a date so I’m passing. Now leave me alone,” you said.

“You were-”

“Pal,” said the guy in the cowboy hat, tilting his head up so you could see a pair of dark green eyes looking over in your direction. “Every hear of the term no means no? The lady said to get so I’d get gone.”

“Who the hell are you?”

“Sober enough to whoop your ass for starters,” he said. The internet guy stared for a moment before he waved off the bartender and left. You got a nod from the cowboy before he went back to his drink.

“I had it handled you know,” you said after a beat. He smiled and looked into his glass, sipping on it slowly.

“I’m sure you did,” he said. “Didn’t mean anything by it. Just trying to even out the douchebaggery of the world is all.”

“You talk weird,” you said. He chuckled, pointing for a refill.

“You talk weird. You got the accent around these parts, not me, honey,” he said. “That how they flirt wherever it is you’re from? Insult the man first?”

“I’m having a bad enough night without you getting on my back,” you said.

“Apologies,” he said as he got his drink. “I’ll take an order of your nacho fries for my friend here too. Put it on my tab.”

You raised an eyebrow at the guy, watching him give it right back.

“Well a thing like you need’s some food in there to soak up all those drinks before you head on back home for the night,” he said.

“I kind of want to be drunk right now, thanks,” you said.

“Great, you’re drunk. By the time you leave, you’ll be in a right state to now,” he said.

You blinked at him, opening your mouth to say more but nothing came out.

“Miss?”

“You know I’m not going home with you, don’t you?” you said.

“I’m not that kind of man. Not until the third date at least.”

Three Dates Later

“Fuck, Jensen,” you growled, ripping off his belt and feeling his hands all over your face as soft country rock played on the radio in his truck.

“Hey. I didn’t take you out for a picnic date under the stars for some front seat-” he said before you leaned back, blinking slowly at him. “It’s too small up here. Come on.”

He grabbed your hand and used one to hold his pants up, pulling you back outside and onto the blanket near the dwindling fire. You shoved off his flannel and Jensen lay back on the blanket, holding it up to you as you cocked your head.

“You got goosebumps, silly,” he said.

“Cowboys. You always gotta be so thoughtful,” you said, pulling it on before you resumed shoving off your shorts and underwear, climbing on top of his cock as Jensen sighed.

“You want to be cowgirl,” he teased.

“Oh my…” you groaned, Jensen chuckling as he rested his hands on your hips. “Isn’t it the cowboys that normally do the riding?”

“I much prefer this,” he said. “If only we had some Big & Rich on…”

“I bet you’ve never used that one before,” you said.

“Only on the girls I like,” he said, flashing you a wink. “Uh, Y/N?”

“This isn’t like your first time is it? That’s cool just...” you asked, Jensen shaking his head. “You don’t want to do this anymore?”

“No, I do. You look very beautiful right now is all,” he said. “Extremely beautiful.”

“You’re sweet,” you said, leaning down to kiss him, Jensen wrapping his arms around your back and slowly thrusting up into you. “You don’t do this often, do you.”

“Am I that bad?”

“No! No, you’re great. Please continue,” you said, Jensen rolling you to your back as he hovered over you, getting a better angle to pump his hips. “I meant...you’re a bit flirty and cocky but you’re a gentleman.”

“I’ve slept with a handful of women, all of them beautiful, all of them were my girlfriends when I did it too. Never had sex outside before though,” he chuckled. “You might be bringing out a side of me I didn’t know I had.”

“Anybody get your flannel?”

“Nope. Nobody got my flannel. That’s my favorite one too, you know,” he said.

“I must be special,” you said, fluttering your eyes closed when he fell into a nice deep rhythm. “Mmm.”

“Those little sounds are nice and all but no need to be shy. Where’s that girl that was in the truck tearing my clothes off?” he teased.

“She’s right here. We can do that on date four if you’d like,” you said.

“How do you know you’re getting another date, honey?” he asked, giving you a short kiss and his rocked his hips deep inside you.

“Just a feeling, cowboy,” you said, rolling your hips up to met his, his head dropping to your shoulder. “Don’t stop now. We’re just getting started.”

“Hey, honey,” said Jensen when you answered your phone the next day.

“Cowboy,” you said, smirking as you glanced at his flannel in your laundry basket.

“Listen. I apologize in advance but I’m gonna have to cancel our date tonight.”

“Oh,” you said. Shit, you’d probably been too forward the night before. He was a quieter guy and you’d probably scared him off.

“I know it’s last minute but could I take you out for lunch in about half an hour instead? We can postpone that other thing until another time,” he said. “If you’re busy that’s okay.”

“No. No. I just had chores planned. I’ll meet you there.”

“Hi, Jens,” you said, sliding into the chair across from him, Jensen leaning over to peck a kiss on your cheek. “Barbeque. You sure do know the way to a woman’s heart.”

“They got some tofu imitation stuff or something if you don’t eat meat,” he said. “You got the salad and pasta the other times we’ve got out so I wasn’t sure.”

“I like barbeque. But that’s very considerate of you,” you said, grabbing a menu.

“I’d much rather be going out tonight.”

“Jens, it’s cool, honestly. A lunch date is great.”

“We got a last minute rodeo tonight apparently,” he mumbled, eyes scanning over the plates on offer.

“A rodeo?” you asked. He smiled and nodded, returning his gaze to the laminated paper. “What kind of rodeo?”

“A few horses. That stuff is boring,” he said, taking off his sunglasses when the sun went behind some clouds. “You see anything that looks good?”

“I think I’ll get the number three platter,” you said.

“A woman after my own heart. I was thinking the same thing,” he said, putting the menu down.

A few minutes later your order was in and you were sharing a basket of fries, sipping on your iced tea.

“So you said you work on a ranch before. What’s that like?” you asked.

“Like you imagine I figure,” he said. “It ain’t all that interesting.”

“I work in an office. It’s way more interesting than what I do,” you said. He didn’t take the bite though and only hummed, munching on a fry. “So are you a ranch hand? That’s the right term, right?”

“Yeah. I’m not one of those though, not traditionally. The ranch I work on ain’t that large. I got my own house and all,” he said. “On the edge of town.”

“Nice. I’m still saving for one,” you said. “I’m not a huge fan of living in the city.”

“Really?” he asked. “You seem…”

“I seem what?”

“Like a city girl. Like you always get all prettied up for dates,” he said.

“...well it’s a date so I want to look nice,” you said, narrowing your eyes a split second.

“Sorry,” he mumbled.

Your food came out not too long after, the two of you making small talk for most of it, Jensen a bit stiff until you were heading out.

“Hey,” he said as you both paused to head back to your car. “I didn’t mean...we got two differents kinds of lives is all, Y/N.”

“If you want out, just say so,” you said.

“You’re kind of sensitive you know.”

“Back at ya,” you said, crossing your arms. “I didn’t realize you got a thing against someone putting on makeup and heels for a date.”

“I don’t.”

“Then what’s the problem.”

“I...don’t think we have that much in common,” he said.

“I’m starting to see how this works for you. After you get sex, you ditch the girl, hm?” you asked.

“I don’t think we’re compatible,” he said.

“Yeah. Me either. Thanks for lunch,” you said, taking off back to your car.

You finished up your chores when you got home and we’re just tossing the leftovers of a TV dinner in the trash when your phone rang.

You rolled your eyes but answered anyways.

“If you want your precious flannel back, text me an address and I’ll send it in the mail, okay?” you asked.

“I’m sorry for what I said earlier,” said Jensen. “I...there’s stuff you don’t know, stuff that’s too soon to bring up. I’m sorry for how I acted. I mean, you put away a half slab of ribs and a plate of brisket and pulled pork...that’s an attractive woman on it’s own. I just...I screwed up. I keep screwing it up. But you’re the first woman that’s ever tried to learn more about me. Like you were trying to ask stuff about what I do and I brushed you off cause I’m not like the guys in suits walking around your fancy office building. I know what I am. I got scared and I’m sorry.”

“...I wouldn’t date you if I had an issue with you. I don’t care that you wear plaid and cowboy boots on every date. I dress up because that’s what I was taught. You do what you do because of how you were raised. The only problem I have is when someone tries to judge me for it,” you said.

“I understand,” he said, the phone quiet for a few seconds. “You can keep the flannel. It’s okay.”

“You’re not going to ask me out again?” you asked.

“I’d rather spare myself the humiliation if that’s alright with you.”

“Jensen. Ask me out again,” you said.

“Why?”

“Just do it,” you said.

“Want to come to the rodeo tonight?” he asked. “I won’t be able to hang out much since I’m working it.”

“Yeah,” you said, smiling as you walked into your bedroom and to the closet. “Anything I should know in particular?”

“I’d use the staff entrance so you get in for free. Other than that, I suppose not,” he said.

“I’ll see you soon then, cowboy,” you said. “And Jensen? There’s nothing wrong with getting scared you know.”

“I’ll see you soon, honey.”

You found a parking spot with only a little bit of trouble, feeling a little out of place as most people headed for the main entrance. You skirted around to the side, the guy at the door letting you in once you gave him your name.

The smell hit you first as you walked around on the hay covered floor, someone walking by with a horse. You could see a bunch of stalls, some filled with them, some empty, some with people inside too.

After walking back through them and only getting lost about three different times, you felt a tap on your finger.

“Your Ackles’ new girl right? I’m Jared. I own a few of the horses at the ranch he works at and he asked I take care of you tonight,” he said.

“And I thought Jensen was tall,” you laughed. “Yeah, I’m Y/N.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot of each other,” said Jared with a big smile. “Come on. I’ll set you up.”

“Uh, not to show how little I know about this stuff but what is this exactly?” you asked.

“Tonight they’re doing an impromptu horse rodeo. It can differ depending on the animal and event but tonight it’s barrel racing up first, that’s what my horses are running in. That’s like young girls, normally teenagers, they got these barrels set up out in the arena and they have to get the horse out of the gate and then they sprint out around the barrels and come back in. Fastest wins. Then they got the classic saddle bronc event, you know, a horse with a saddle on and it tries to buck off the rider? They got that and then bareback which is the same thing mostly but no saddle. Jensen’s going to be helping with set up and the horses,” he said.

“So it’s like a sport kind of,” you said.

“Yeah. Not much different than a football game. Well, a little different but it’s the same idea,” said Jared. “Let’s go grab a snack, get into the fresh air for a minute.”

The fresh air smelled like dirt and beer to be honest but Jared got you each a beer and a box of popcorn for himself, nodding over to the bleachers. You followed him up, Jared settling down as he pointed across the way.

“There’s our boy,” he said as you spotted Jensen in his hat talking to a young girl. “That’s Zoe. She’s riding my biggest boy, Ape, tonight. First time in a competition. He’s probably giving her a pep talk.”

“So Jensen trains horses too?”

“No...sort of. He’s kind of...there when training happens. His job is to take care of the horses so wherever they go, he goes,” said Jared. “That’s only part of his job. He does other ends and ends. Most ranchers do.”

“He had a date tonight,” you said, Jared chuckling.

“Yeah. I found out after I told him about the rodeo. I told the dumbass to pick the girl over work next time,” said Jared. “Sorry about that.”

“No, it’s fine. I think some good came out of it. Cleared up some things,” you said.

“Good. I’m gonna go say hey to the riders. I’ll be back in a jiffy.”

The rodeo had turned out to be more fun than it had any right to be and Jared kept you entertained and explained a few of the rules or points when you didn’t quite understand. You were a little grateful when Jensen didn’t participate in the rancher’s competition for a bit of prize money, especially when one guy got tossed nearly ten feet.

“Alright,” said Jared when you were back near the staff entrance, his hands finding someone in a cowboy hat and spinning him around. “Ackles, go hang out with this sweet girl. I got the horses for the night.”

“You sure?” asked Jensen.

“I’m sure. Go get her a drink,” said Jared. Jensen nodded and gave you a shy smile, showing you out of the building and into the night air.

“Sorry I was so busy tonight,” he said. “Jared said you had a good time.”

“I did,” you said, Jensen’s smiling growing as he looked you up and down. “I wore jeans and sneakers. No make up either. Must be the end times.”

“I deserve that,” he said.

“I’m all for not wearing heels,” you said. “Just don’t assume things about the kind of person I am, okay?”

“I got the message,” he said. “So can I get you that drink?”

“Jensen,” you said when you got out of your car, parked behind him in his driveway. “This is your house? Your house?”

“Uh, yes?” he laughed. “Come on. Oh, I do have a dog just a heads up.”

“What the…” you said, following him to the front door and inside. Somehow the house looked even bigger once you were in the foyer area, Jensen pulling off his boots and tucking them into a mudroom. You kicked off your sneakers, a small dog running over, sniffing and wagging his tail.

“Hi baby boy,” said Jensen all high pitched, the dog jumping up and Jensen catching him in his arms. He was blushing a little when he carried him over to you, holding the dog up. “Harrison, this is Y/N. Y/N, Harrison.”

“He’s adorable,” you said, the dog licking your nose, tail going a mile a minute. “Hi buddy.”

“Alright bud, why don’t you go on back to bed. It’s past your bedtime,” said Jensen. The dog snorted and took off down a hall, Jensen chuckling as he poked his head in and saw him tucked away in a bed in the laundry room. “He’s a goof.”

“I wonder where he gets it from,” you said, following Jensen into a large open kitchen. You raised an eyebrow as you looked around, Jensen grabbing a bottle of bourbon from the countertop. “I may have to get into the ranch business myself.”

“I’m the exception, not the standard,” he said, sliding over a glass. “I appreciate you going tonight and all.”

“I liked going tonight and all. You’re a hard nut to crack, Ackles,” you said.

“Want to drink out back?” he said. You followed him outside to a screened in patio area. It was beautiful out there, Jensen smirking when you kept looking around. “It’s nice out here.”

“Yeah it is,” you said.

“Jared tell you how we met?” he asked. You shook your head, Jensen nodding.

“You guys go to school or something?”

“No. No. We met in LA,” he said.

“LA? That’s different.”

“I grew up with ranching. I knew the ins and outs of it by the time I was in high school. One day, a got spotted by one of those agent people when I was hanging with a few buddies at the mall. I was like no way but I talked to my parents about it and it was legit and everything so I got into modeling. That turned into more modeling which turned into more modeling and you get the picture.”

“So you haven’t always been a rancher,” you said.

“No. I stopped for a few years there while I was in LA. I made a stupid amount of money and hung out with people I really didn’t like. Except for Jared. He was cool. It’s where I had those other relationships I was talking about. Get told you’re a dumb hick enough, you start to believe it,” he said.

“Anybody smart enough to leave that kind of environment isn’t an idiot,” you said.

“I’ve been back a few years. I never make it past a first date nowadays,” he said as he turned his head. “I’m gonna make more mistakes like I did today. Assume things. I can guarantee it.”

“Well no relationship is perfect. When you’re ready to tell me the rest of that story, you will. Until then, I will be extremely jealous of this kickass house,” you said.

“It’s actually a rental,” he said. “I’m looking to get a house built.”

“Got a builder lined up?” you asked.

“I have a piece of land but not a builder. I need one of those designers everyone I talk to tells me. I’m complicated apparently.”

“Nothing wrong with getting what you want. That girl that was at the bar with me the night we met, her husband is one of those. A designer,” you said.

“A dude designer?”

“Mhm. I can give you his number. He can definitely make it the feel you want without being too man cave,” you said.

“Maybe I will. I’ve been looking for a house for years though so I wouldn’t want to get his hopes up.”

“Looking to get back into the modeling game?” you asked.

“Never. I don’t see the sense of spending all that money to build a house and then have a lady come in someday and hate everything about it is all,” he said.

“That’s why you get a designer to help. Plus you don’t want to be with a chick like that, trust me,” you said, sipping on your drink.

“You look real beautiful like that,” he said after a beat.

“Oh yeah, I’m so hot,” you laughed, fixing your zip up around yourself.

“See when I tell you you’re beautiful and you’re all dressed up and covered your face in creams and blush and all that, you believe me. When you’re just you though, you don’t seem to believe that,” he said. “That’s kind of a real shame since I think I like this look on you even more.”

“You got your secrets, I got mine,” you said.

“Very true. You are beautiful though, honey,” he said.

“Thank you, Jensen,” you said quietly. “So beside dealing with horses, what other kind of stuff do you do on the ranch?”

“I’m going up to my parents tomorrow to help out with a few things. They’re out of town so no need to worry about bumping into them if you’d like to hang out,” he said.

“I’d love to.”

[what-is-your-plan-today]

Stark Spangled Banner Ch9: You Just Keep On Giving

Summary: Katie and Coulson’s team head off in an attempt to track down the missing Asgardian staff whilst Steve confronts Fury about his actions. Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

Warnings: Smut (NSFW)  over 18s only thanks. LANGUAGE!!

Flashbacks depicted in italics.

November 2013

Steve was sat on his couch when Katie called. Smiling he accepted the face time and she beamed at him.

“Hey handsome.” she smiled “Am I glad to see your face.” “You’ve only been gone a few hours.” he chuckled.

“7, actually.” she pouted “Jerk.” He grinned “7 too long, love. How’s it going?” “Ok, we’re heading out tomorrow to speak to a professor I took some advice from when Thor was first on Earth. He’s based in Seville so not too far away.” “Tour of Europe, nice.” “Be nicer if you were here.” she sighed

“Wish I was. The team ok?” he asked, leaning back.

“Well I know all of them bar 1.” Katie said “And like all of them bar 1”

Steve laughed “They made a good first impression then?” “Oh, it’s not the one I don’t know that I don’t like.” she paused, before letting out a groan and wrinkling up her freckle spattered nose “Fucking Ward is here.” Steve frowned and sat up, swallowing the anger rising from his chest “What?” “Yeah, apparently his post was one with Coulson’s mobile team. Go figure.” “Son of a…” Steve was mad, really mad. First off Fury had sprung Coulson on his girl, and now this. He looked at her as she shook her head, shrugging “You could always come home.” he suggested, even though he knew she wouldn’t.

“I’m involved now.” she said, “might as well see it through. And as much of a dickhead he is, he’s a good agent so…” “I’m not sure I like you being cooped up in so close proximity to him.” Steve sighed, and as her eyes narrowed he knew he’d said the wrong thing.

Katie frowned “What’s that supposed to mean? Don’t you trust me?” “Of course I do.” he placated, cursing himself. And he did. He trusted her implicitly “I just know how much he upset you and I don’t like him.”

Katie laughed at his somewhat childish answer and he was pleased to see the anger in her face dissipating. “In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m over him now.” “I wish I was over you…” Steve said, smirking and she gave a shocked gasp.

“Captain Badass! How rude…” He laughed and then sighed “But I mean it. If he steps a toe outta line, I’ll be on a jet straight over to break his nose, again.”

Katie smirked “You didn’t break it last time, that was Tony remember?”

Remember? How could he forget?

They’d were at a bar, Tony was in town and Lawson’s band had been playing so they had gone out for a few beers. And then he’d shown up, again. Steve and Katie had spent most of the night trying to keep Tony calm and away from him, and now by some sick twist of fate Steve unfortunately, found himself next to Ward at the bar as he waited to get another round of drinks in whilst Tony and Natasha were at a table by the dance floor. Ward was watching Katie whilst she danced with Clint as the archer twirled her effortlessly round the floor as the post-band DJ continued to play. Steve didn’t miss the way her ex boy-friend’s eyes travelled down her body and backup again and he felt himself bristle as he watched the man, blatantly ogling his girl. It wasn’t alien, she turned heads wherever but the fact it was her ex riled him big time, especially as this man had treat her like shit, made her feel worthless… Steve hated him for that.

Ward looked up and at least had the grace to look a little sheepish at being caught.

“Sorry Captain…just, well, you have a hell of a woman there.”

Steve looked at the man, his voice low and emotionless “I know.”

“Biggest regret I have is how I treated her.” Ward sighed, taking a drink from his glass. “I was a jerk.”

“No arguments here.” Steve muttered, a bit louder than he had intended as the bar tender approached with his order. Steve paid and picked up his bottle to take a swig whilst waiting for his change, only to find Ward talking to him again.

“She was a demon in the sack too, as you’ll know…” Ward said, looking straight ahead, a smirk on his face. Steve paused, bottle raised to his mouth. Was this asshole actually going there?

“I’ve no idea why I went looking elsewhere.” Ward continued, before he turned to look at Steve, “The things she can do with her mouth and-“

“That’s enough.” Steve said, his voice was loaded with anger as he slammed the bottle down on the counter causing it to shatter, sending its contents flying over the surface along with shards of glass as he turned his head to look at Ward, ignoring the bar tenders squeak of shock. As Steve stood up straight and glared at the man, who was an inch or so shorter than he was, he knew he’d risen to the ridiculous goading and given Ward the reaction he wanted, but right now what he wanted was to smash the fucker’s face straight down into the pool of beer that was gathered on the surface below and watch as his nose broke.

But he didn’t get chance, as at that moment a whirl of grey blazer and dark jeans flew in between them both and suddenly Ward was on the floor. 

Tony had punched him straight in the face.

“Man I’ve been waiting to do that for years…” Tony said, shaking out his fist as he glanced down at Ward.

“You broke my nose…” Ward said as he stood up, shrugging off Rollins who had helped him to his feet. “Yeah well you broke my sister’s heart” Tony snarled back as Natasha stepped in front of him, both hands on her chest pushing him away. “Sue me.”

“What is going on?” a loud voice said to their side and all 3 men turned to see Katie stood there, Clint at her side, a blank expression on her face as her eyes locked onto Tony’s.

“Your brother just punched me.” Ward said, wiping at his bloodied face.

"yeah I saw that. " She said, eyes still on Tony "Why?”

“Because he’s a dick.” Tony said simply “And he was picking a fight with Spangles. Thought I’d get in there first…”

Katie looked at Steve who gave her a raise of his eyebrows in confirmation before she tuned to look at Tony again.

“You were protecting Captain America…” Katie said, her lips twitching slightly.

Tony shrugged “That and I just really wanted to hit him.” “Come on guys…” the bar tender said lightly “I don’t want to have to ask any of you to leave…”

“You never did like me, did you Tony?” Ward wiped again at his nose, spatters of blood landing all over his shirt.

“No.” Tony deadpanned simply, picking at something on his sleeve.

“Time to go Ward…” Rollins said, patting Ward’s chest. Ward shot one last look at the group before turning to go.

“Ok, nothing to see here…move it a long…” Clint said as the crowd that had gathered dissipated and the volume level of the club returned to normal.

Tony groaned, shaking out his right hand. “Jesus that hurt.” “Let me see…” Natasha said, turning to Tony as Clint announced that the fact Ward had his nose splattered across his face called for a celebratory round of chasers, turning to the bar.

Steve stepped towards his girl and gently placed a hand in the small of her back and she turned to look at him, breaking her gaze from the door Ward had left through.

“So what did he say to you to make you lose it?” She said gently.

“I didn’t lose it, Tony was the one that punched him” he said someone childishly.

Katie raised an eyebrow “Oh, and did Tony smash that bottle all over the bar?” “You saw that?” Steve wrinkled his nose, sheepishly.

She nodded. “What did he say?”

“It doesn’t matter” he said softly.

“Let me guess, ‘she was amazing in bed…’” she mimicked a deep voice “’she can do amazing things with her hands…mouth…pick a hole’” Steve flushed bright red, which was answer in itself as she shook her head. 

“So predictable.” Katie said, her eyes not once leaving Steve’s “You know he was doing it on purpose, to get a rise out of you. And it worked.”

“Yeah, I know.” Steve sighed, reaching out and gently grabbing her hips, pulling her to him. “I just…I didn’t like him talking about you like that, I wouldn’t like anyone talking about you like that.” He saw Katie’s mouth twitch at the side as her hands gently wrapped around his upper arms. ”My hero.”

He let out a huff of a laugh and was about to, once again, point out that it was Tony who had landed the blow when the Inventor reminded them himself.

“Jesus you are a sadist!” Tony was pulling his hand away from where Nat had pressed a towel wrapped around a load of ice to his knuckles.

“Quite being a baby.” she said airily as Tony glared at her, holding his hand to his chest.

“To be fair to Tony…” Steve said, grinning at the memory as he looked at the screen of his StarkPhone “It was a pretty good punch.” Katie sniggered and looked up as Steve heard a knock on her door. “Yeah?” A voice from off screen spoke. “Hey, we’re meeting for some food and a few beers if you wanna…” “Yeah I’ll be with you in a sec…” “Are you talking to him?” the voice gained pitch and Steve arched an eyebrow letting out a soft sigh.

Katie laughed “Yeah, hey Stevie…you got a fan.” she said looking at him before he turned the phone round and Steve saw a small woman, leaning in the doorway, long, dark hair tucked behind her ears. He rubbed his neck slightly embarrassed and waved.

“Hi…” “Skye, Steve, Steve, Skye…” “Nice to meet you Skye…well, talk to you…” “You too Cap.” she grinned as Katie turned the phone round. “I’ll see you down there.”

Katie nodded as she shut the door.

“That was the newbie.” she said to Steve who smiled at her. “She seems nice.” Steve nodded. “I’ll let you go get some food, I know how you get when you don’t eat.”

“Oh hello kettle, this is Steve Rogers here. You're black” she said sarcastically making him laugh loudly “You’re the king of hanger.” “And that makes you the queen of hanger by default so…”

“Smart ass.” she said after a pause, “I better go, I’ll message you later.”

“Love you.” he smiled at her. “Love you too.” she said, before adding with a sarcastic grin “My king…”

***** Katie had no idea where the food came from but she didn’t care. A big, greasy bacon cheeseburger with a side of loaded fries really hit the spot, especially alongside a large glass of Aviation gin.

As they ate they talked and Fitz, who was bouncing on his chair eventually lost his composure and leant forward.

“So…I’m sorry…and May told me not to ask but I have to… what’s it like dating Captain America?” Katie gave a huff as she swallowed down her food. “I wouldn’t know.” she said “I’m dating Steve Rogers.”

"I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to…”  Fitz stuttered as May threw him a filthy look whilst Simmons hit him on the arm.

“It’s fine, don’t worry.” she smiled “I just… well, there’s far more to him than the shield and the stars and stripes….he’s the kindest, gentlest, sweetest guy I’ve ever met.”

Ward shifted in his seat and whilst Katie didn’t look at him, the movement didn’t go unnoticed.

“But, isn’t he like, dead old fashioned?” Skye asked. “Being like nearly a hundred…” “Not really.” Katie said, shrugging “I mean he has a few little quirks, but he’s adapted quite well all things considered”

“How is he?” Coulson asked “I mean, I’ve not seen him since…well, I died.” “He’s good.” Katie smiled “He’s fit right in to SHIELD and…he’s happy, we’re happy.”

“Oh that’s so sweet!” Simmons gushed.

“An Avengers love story…” Fitz sighed. “Man, wish I could be an Avenger…”

"What would your super power be?” Ward snorted, knocking back his scotch “Boring everyone to death with algorithms?” “You do know that there’s only actually 3 out of the 7 of us that a super power of sorts.” Katie said simply, shooting Ward a glare before she turned to Fitz “Steve, Dr Banner and Thor. The rest of us rely on training or technology…” “So you’re saying I have a chance?” Fitz grinned causing the rest of the table to laugh or snort.

“Never give up on your dreams.”  May deadpanned, causing the table to laugh.  

They continued chatting and attacked their food before Skye continued questioning

“We’re all dying to know…” she looked at Katie “What was AC like as an SO?” Coulson groaned and Katie laughed, swallowing the rest of her burger “He was the best.” she smirked, “although to be fair, once I started training as a Field Op, my real SO was Hawkeye.” “Now HE is dreamy…” Simmons said “all dark and broody and…arrowy…” “Arrowy?” Skye snorted “that isn’t even a word…”

“He’ll love that!” Katie said, laughing “Arrowy...”

Coulson stood up, gesturing round the table as people had finished drinks and he headed to the bar to get more, Fitz and Ward following to help.

“So how did you end up joining SHIELD?” Katie looked at Skye.

“I hacked them.” She shrugged “I was trailing some guy who had taken some extremis serum and blew their cover.”

“You’d get on very well with my brother.” Katie snorted “He hacks SHIELD for fun.” “Still?” Coulson asked as he placed another drink down in front of her.

She nodded “Much to Fury’s annoyance...”

She trailed off slightly as she remembered the last time Tony had hacked SHIELD. He’d discovered something that she really wished he hadn’t. SHIELD were conducting experiments on the recovered Chitauri weapons. It had pissed her, Steve and Tony off no end and made her extremely glad the Tesseract had gone back to Asgard with Thor. Meddling with things they didn’t understand never did any good. But more so it was the fact that Fury had declared it was all being destroyed upon recovery. Another lie the Director had spun. And she was getting tired of them. Real tired.

Shaking the thought off she turned her attention to Coulson who was now talking about the task in hand tomorrow. The team came up with a plan about who was going where and when, and then Katie decided she’d had enough. She stood up, bidding the team goodnight.

***** The university was a short drive away from where they had set The Bus down. Coulson drove in his beloved red sports car, Lola. When they arrived they easily navigated their way through to Elliot’s office. As they reached his office door, it swung outwards and Coulson held it open. “I’ll see you later.” Elliot was saying to a dark haired, female student who exited the office with a pile of paper and books clutched in her arm. Elliot looked up, saw them standing there and let out a small exclamation of surprise.

“Oh…”

“Professor Randolph.” Coulson said, shaking his hand.

“Agent Coulson, Agent Stark”

“Good to see you again.” Katie shook his hand.

“Well I never, come in, come in.” “Waterfield 44” Phil said suddenly, and Katie looked at him frowning. It was only when Elliot looked down at the pen in his hand, holding it out for Coulson to take that she realised what he was talking about. “14-Karat gold nib with mother of pearl inlay.” Coulson turned the pen over in his hand before offering it back.

Katie bit back a snort, it sounded like something Tony would own. “That’s quite an eye you’ve got. I didn’t know you were a collector.” Professor Randalph laughed.

“On my wages?” Coulson snorted “I wish.” “Well…” Elliot took the pen back and tucked it in his pocket before looking at them. “I’m assuming you found something on the ground in London…”

“In a tree in Norway.” Coulson added, placing the case containing the printed rod that Fitz had made on the desk, opening it.  ”And unfortunately we weren’t the ones who found it.” Katie added “It’s a 3-D model” Couslon said, handing the item to Elliot who took it, examining it closely. “Oh, that is amazing”

He turned away from them and put the rods symbols under a light to look at them better. “Now, based on these runes,” he said, still looking at it “I’d say I’m looking at a piece of  Berserker Staff.”

Katie smiled as her and Coulson exchanged a look. Even if she said so herself, she was good at this.

“But I think you already know that…”  Elliot looked up as he set the rod down.

“Only suspected.” Katie smiled “My knowledge on it is sketchy, and there are many different theories about it so...”

The Professor stood up and walked over to pull a book off his shelf “Here.” He set the book on the desk and Katie and Coulson looked down at a drawing of a man holding the rod up high over his head, the rod in the book was considerably bigger than the one that was taken out of the tree.  Katie started to read the book as Elliot continued to explain. “The man in question was a solider in the Berserker Army” Professor Randalph spoke “Berserker Army?” Coulson asked “Oh, yeah. A powerful army. Fierce army” Elliot spoke “Berserkers battled like raging beasts, destroying everything in their path. A single Berserker had the strength of 20 warriors”. “So whoever wielded the staff got superhuman strength?” Coulson asked “Fighting with it put the warrior into a state of uncontrollable rage” he replied, picking up the rod and showing it to Coulson.  “The staff contained a very powerful magic”. “The warrior in the story?” Coulson pressed as Katie continued to read, frowning as she spotted something pretty interesting. “He came to Earth to fight,” Elliot said “But he ended up falling in love.”

“With whom?” Coulson asked “With life, on Earth. Humanity” Professor Randalph shrugged   “He fell so much in love that when his army returned to Asgard, he stayed behind.”

“And the staff? He broke it?”

Professor Randalph nodded “He didn’t want its dark magic falling into the wrong hands. So, according to legend he broke it into three pieces and hid each one in a different location.”  “That manuscript wouldn’t happen to say where he hid them, would it?” Coulson asked. “Actually, it does.” Katie spoke, and placed the book down on the desk, pointing at it, smiling. “In three verses.”

“Now, let’s all bear in mind these are poetic abstracts from long-lost ancient texts.”  Elliot said as Katie cleared her throat and began to read.

“So, there is one about a tree, which they’ve found it seems. Another is ‘East of the river, sun overhead, buried in Earth with the bones of the dead.”’

“That’s a bit macabre, isn’t it?” Randalph said, folding his arms as he smiled.

“There’s another one here.” she continued “Well, this one doesn’t even have a rhyme. But the gist of it is “close to God.” That could be anything, couldn’t it?” “Yeah, I was hoping for less metaphor, more longitude and latitude” Coulson sighed. “Well, maybe we should start looking at areas and places located near Viking raid routes” Katie said, an idea coming to her “Being Norse and all…”

“There have been some recent interesting findings of Norse relics on Baffin Island off the coast of Canada” Randalph shrugged “ Yeah, a virtual treasure trove of new artefacts.”

“Well, we’ll check it out. Thank you for your time Professor.” Coulson said, reaching out to shake his hand. Steve and I also did the same and followed him out of the university

“So AC, Baffin Island?” Katie said as they climbed back into Lola.

“Did you know there’s Mount Thor on Baffin Island?” Coulson said, starting up the car as Katie shut the passenger door.

“Really?” “Yeah, and do you know what’s not on Mount Thor?” Coulson asked “Anything Asgardian at all. Our agents on the ground combed over it when all these Norse relics turned up. Didn’t find a thing”

***** “So like you’re a Mission Analyst.” Skye looked at Katie, across the table of the Planning Room

“Yeah”

“And a sniper with STRIKE?”

“Yeah.”

“And you’re also an Avenger…”

“Yeah.” Katie muttered, not looking up from the screen she was studying, “Although what we’re avenging now that Coulson isn’t actually dead I don’t know…”

She peered closer at the screen and moved the map 180 degrees using her hand.

“Pretty intense.” Skye said.

“Yeah it can be.” Katie smiled, staring back at the map. She’d been running an analysis on the Viking Routes in Europe and she was missing something. But she couldn’t think what. And then one highlighted on the map in yellow caught her eye. She tapped in closer, and frowned. “Now that’s interesting…”

She thought for a moment, and then ran another quick search on something, her mind working ten to the dozen.

“What have we got?” Coulson asked as he walked into the room with Ward. Katie looked up and was about to speak but Skye beat her to it.

"Nystorm’s deep-web message boards are just abuzz with psychos”

She moved her hand over the screen so that it activated the hologram display functionality in the middle of the table, various messages scrolling across the bottom part. “They believe they’re gonna ascend to be the Gods of destruction and death. People suck, sir.” “That’s your progress, “people suck”?” Ward looked at her, his eyebrows raised slightly. Katie felt the corner of her mouth twitch up slightly. “These people do.” Skye insisted “And there’s also chatter about going underground.”

“Could be going incognito or – “ Ward started “ Or searching for the next piece.” Coulson said turning to Katie “You said about checking Viking routes. Find anything?” “Matter of fact I did.” She said, clicking on her mouse to send the map to the holoview.  “There are some sites along the Volga River in Russia, some in Kiev, and weirdly, here.” She hovered the curser over the map on her screen, zooming into show a map of Seville.

“In Seville, Spain?” Coulson said, frowning. “It’s a long shot, but Vikings ransacked Seville twice.” she said, “Or so the history books tell us.” At that point the search she was running stopped and something flashed up.

“There…” Katie said, “That’s a promising location. Viking Relics found at El Divino Nino, a church would you believe it. ”

“Built on the ruins of an 8th century crypt.” Agent May said as she walked into the room “It’s a tourist attraction” she explained as everyone turned to look at her.

“Which in turn was built on Roman ruins from 206 B.C.” Katie said, reading off the screen. “It’s East of a river.” Ward said, leaning on the back of her chair to look at the map over her shoulder. Katie rolled her eyes, he didn’t need to do that, he could have looked at the holodisplay.

“Crypt could be underground…” Sky offered.

“And lots of bones…” Katie shrugged.

Coulson nodded “Ok, Let’s see what we can dig up. See what I did there?”

“I’m glad dying and rising again didn’t change your sense of humour AC.” Katie said, grinning at him “It’s still crap.” *****

 “Must be nice, have a mandatory nap time” Fitz said, looking out of the van. Katie, Coulson and Fitz were providing support up top, whilst Skye and Ward investigated the crypts.  It was the middle of the day, there wasn’t a soul in sight.

“Siesta isn’t mandatory, just very pleasant” Coulson replied, before he spoke into the comms device. “How you doing, Agent Ward?”

“Wishing I was shorter.” His voice responded, “Nothing yet. All my readings are normal”

“What about you Skye? Any luck?

“I’m lucky Ward volunteered to take the super creepy hallways instead of the slightly less creepy dungeon room place” Sky responded.

At that point the tablet that Fitz was holding pinged and all 3 of them shifted to look at it.

“I got nothing. Sorry, nada.” Sky continued. “Ward,” Fitz’s said, looking down at the tablet. “Your spectrograph is reading something near you.” “ I don’t see anything”. Ward replied “Well, it’s right in front of you. Oh, wait. No. Uh, okay, hold on. It’s moving – northwest”

The three of them watched the dot on the screen.

There was a pause and then suddenly Ward responded, his voice now excited.

“Visual Contact…”

“Ward, turn left.” Fitz said, reading off the screen.

After a moment or so they heard another voice that wasn’t Ward, before he finally spoke again.

“Yeah, I just ran into some unexpected…”

But he trailed off. The three of them sat up straight as they heard some kind of strange, low rumbling noise and then there was a groan of pain, a grunt and silence.

“Ward, what’s happening?” Coulson asked as, Fitz let out a groan. “His device just went down” Fitz said, tilting the tablet so we could all see it.

“Skye can you get…” Coulson started to say but he was cut off by her reply “Already on it.”

There were a few moments of silence, where Katie nervously nibbled on her lip. She hated this, not knowing what was going on was always the shittest bit of not being in the middle of the action.

“Somethings wrong with Agent Ward.” Skye replied a few minutes later “The staff’s gone, someone took it.”

“Shit.” Katie said as Coulson looked at her, then to Fitz, before he stepped out of the SUV, Katie following.

“He can’t just disappear.” Coulson said, turning in the street “He’ll have to turn up some –“

Then they heard someone yelling from behind them and a loud whishing noise.

“Where…” Coulson finished as they both turned round to see a car being tossed into the street, landing on its roof.

“There we go. A block South of the Church.” Fitz spoke in their ears.

The pair of them started in that direction, running across the street. As they rounded the corner they spotted Professor Randalph who was picking books up and putting them inside his bag. Katie exchanged a glance with Coulson and he shrugged at her before the pair of them strode over to where the Professor was stooped. He glanced up at them and then sighed, sitting down hard on the pavement.

“Professor.” Coulson stated as Katie folded her arms

“I screwed up.” Professor Randalph said simply.

***** “One of my men is hurt, the staff is gone.” Coulson spoke, sitting at the table opposite Elliot as Katie and Agent May watched from Coulson’s office. “I didn’t want any of that to happen.” the professor sighed.

“What did you want?” Coulson asked “The staff’s power for yourself?”

“Nothing like that.” Elliot shook his head earnestly “You know, I just wanted to be the first to study it. To prove that the Berserkers were actually here, a part of history. You think about that.” “ Oh, I’m thinking about it.” Coulson replied. “How’d they find it?” “I have no idea.” Elliot laughed “They may have the original texts. I wasn’t involved. You know, it was just a chance to uncover something that the Gods brought down from the heavens. “Aliens brought it. From space” Coulson said. Katie smiled as she thought about how Thor would respond to being called an alien. “I’ve spent some one-on-one time with aliens before. Didn’t work out too well.”

“Understatement of the century…” Katie muttered, drawing a glimmer of a smirk from May.

“So cases like this are personal to me.” Coulson concluded. “That’s all I know” Elliot, placed his hands flat on the table and sighed. Coulson stood up and made his way to the door before paused and looked back. “Get comfortable.” and the door to the cell slammed shut.

“What you think?” Katie turned to May, who was stood her arms crossed. She pondered for a moment, opened her mouth but was cut off.

“Agent May…” Fitz appeared in the doorway “Ward’s… well he’s not well, he’s gone down to the cargo bay, won’t let me treat him.”

She nodded and looked back to Katie

.“Oh no.” Katie snorted “My days of dealing with his tantrums are over.”

“Thought I’d ask.” she said, smirking slightly. Katie waved her off and returned to looking at the screen. Elliot was sat still at the table, looking around the room in mild amusement, not the demeanour of a man who was concerned or phased in the slightest, which puzzled her slightly. In his shoes, she’d be extremely uncomfortable in a cell, being quizzed by a Government body on some kind of extra-terrestrial item.

She turned to face Coulson as he walked into the room.

“You don’t think he does want the power for himself, do you?” Katie looked at him. It was more a statement than a question.

“I don’t know… there’s something not quite right.” Phil said, sinking into the chair behind his desk.

“He’s too confident” Katie said, “Look at him. He’s not phased in the slightest."

They both glanced at the screen. Now their ‘prisoner’ was sat on his chair, tilting backwards so the front two legs were off the floor. A sudden wild theory sprang into Katie’s head and she turned to AC.

“You know, he didn’t even flinch when you said you’d spent time with Aliens, normally that would make someone kinda curious right?”

“Normally, yes” Phil said, leaning back in his chair.

“And how did he know how to get that second piece?” Katie said, “Do you think he figured it out as fast as we did or..."

“Did he know where to find it, because he hid it in the first place?”  Coulson finished her sentence. Katie shrugged, smiling. “See Nova, that is why I wanted you here."

“A moment, sir?”  they both looked up to see Ward stood in the doorway.

“Come on in”

“Are you alright?” Katie asked, despite herself. Ward looked pale and drawn.

“Yeah, thanks. I just need a word with Coulson.”

Katie nodded to show she understood and made to stand up but Ward shook his head.

"Stay.” Ward said “It concerns the team so…

Katie shrugged and sat up slightly in her chair.

“Alright Ward, what is it?” Coulson asked as he took a seat next to Katie on the other side of the desk.

“I don’t think back to childhood. Ever. As you know.” He looked at Katie and she looked down. He’d told her about his childhood, he’d had an older brother that had been abusive, as had his father. “There are things I put away a long time ago because I have to be focused, tactical. I can’t be distracted. Especially by things that happened a lifetime ago. But before, when I touched that thing… I did.”

“Touching the staff brought back memories?” Katie asked, curiously. Ward nodded and looked at her “My worst memory”. He paused for a moment and when he spoke again she was surprised to hear his voice was breaking slightly. “The first time I felt…hate. And it won’t go away.

The room fell silent and Katie looked at Coulson who took a deep breath and broke the silence.

“You’ve got some rage built up?” Coulson asked. Ward looked at him and nodded “Maybe it’s time to let it out.”

“Put our theory to the test.” Katie said, catching on.

Coulson nodded “I can run with that. ***** “You wanted to see me sir.” Steve stepped into the Directors office.

“Close the door Captain.” Fury said. Steve turned, did as he was told and then strode over to Fury’s desk.

“Have you spoken to Agent Stark today?”

Steve frowned “ Not today, no. I spoke to her last night.”

“What did she tell you about the mission?”

He was digging. Digging to see how much he knew and if Katie had kept her word. Swallowing down the annoyance he levelled the Director with a look that would have anyone else quaking in their boots.

“Nothing. All I know is she’s in Seville, and the team she’s working with contains Ward.” He drew himself a bit taller “Which for the record was a real shitty thing to do.” Fury looked at Steve “I’m not having the teams I organise dictated by personal issues, Captain. “I don’t expect them to be.” Steve bit back. “But not warning her before hand was out of order.” “Would she have gone if I’d have told her?” Steve hesitated, he didn’t actually know the answer to that. In actual fact she would have probably been torn, torn between wanting to take the mission, torn between not wanting to spend time in his vicinity. And knowing Katie as he did, the mission would have probably won.”

“I don’t know.” he said honestly. “I think she would have wanted to do the right thing,  just don’t think all the lies are fair, its manipulative...”

“All the lies, Captain?” Fury looked at him and Steve felt himself pale “What other lies has she told you about?" “Nothing.” “So she hasn’t told you Coulson’s still alive?”

Steve put on what he hoped was his best shocked face. “What?”

Fury laughed ”Your acting is as bad as your lying Captain."

Steve sighed before immediately going on the defensive “You gonna sack her? I mean that’s what you told her isn’t it? Her job was on the line unless she lied for you?" Fury sighed “I didn’t want to do that. In hindsight I realised it was unfair to ask her to keep it from you. But it’s imperative that no one else finds out about this.

“Secrets and lies huh?” Steve raised his eyebrows.

“We operate in the shadows Captain, it’s just how it needs to be.” Steve looked to the side, his hands dropping to the buckle of his belt in his usual Captain stance.

“Look, if you both wanna take a few days off when she’s back, it can be arranged.” Fury said, looking at him and Steve frowned at the man’s outward display of compassion.

“Feeling guilty?” Steve looked at him.

“Happens to the most cold hearted of us all.” Fury said , “And I figured you both might need it.” “Both of us?” Steve frowned, looking at him.

“Yeah, I didn’t just bring you up here to talk about Stark.” Fury said, picking up a remote and turning on the screen. A map flashed up and Steve took a deep breath. “Agent Romanoff has been undercover this last week tracking down more Chitauri weapons. This time to Yemen. I need you to organise an op."

Steve folded his arms and let out a deep breath.

“You just keep on giving, don’t you Nick?”

****

Their theory was right. Elliot Randalph was Asgardian, a fact he displayed by easily bending the blade of a knife that Ward threatened him with.

“I had no clue. Did you?” Fitz looked over at Simmons who shook her head. “Hidden in plain sight, an actual Asgardian. Brilliant.” Simmons said, staring at the screen. “ How long do you suppose he’s been on our planet?” Skye asked. “A thousand years, maybe more.” Katie said, turning her attention from the screen she’d been watching Elliot confess on to look at the team.

"If we could just cut him open a little..." Simmons mused

Katie and Skye both looked at her, Fitz was nodding his head in agreement. “…get some tissue samples, maybe some bodily fluids, we could find out.” She finished. “ Or we could just ask him, weirdo” Skye rolled her eyes. “This is way, way better than the History Channel. I mean this guy has lived through all the scary stuff, the Crusades, the Black Death, Disco.”

“It is pretty exciting.” Katie said, “I mean Coulson thought finding Steve was cool but, he’d just slept for 70 years…”

Sky grinned as Agent May entered the room, holding a tablet and hitting various buttons on it. “What are you doing?” she asked, curiously.

“Sealing the interrogation room door.” May replied. Katie looked at her, the confusion she was feeling clearly evident on her face as May shrugged “Coulson’s orders.” She said simply.

“Ah, locking me in.” Elliot said as Katie turned her attention back to the screen. “Well, I’ve been in tighter spots.” “This room is made of a silicon carbide-coated vibranium alloy.” Ward explained “Meant for prisoners like yourself.” “But you’re in here, too. And eventually somebody will open that door”. “ Not if I tell them not to.”  Coulson shrugged, sitting in the chair opposite Elliot “ So the myth is your autobiography.” “ I didn’t write it. I didn’t want anyone to know about me. Then I had to open my big mouth.” He sighed “Were you captured? Tortured?”

“Horny.” Elliot shrugged  “I met a French girl in 1546. Ah, she loved stories. So…I told her a great one. All about the peaceful Asgardian warrior who stayed. Now, how was I to know her brother, the priest, would write it all down and turn it into, I don’t know, a thing?”

“Do you know Thor?” Coulson continued the questions.

“Oh sure. I spent all my days palling around with the future King of Asgard” Elliot rolled his eyes “No, I don’t know Thor. I was a mason. I broke rocks. He chuckled. “For thousands of years. If you can imagine that. So when they came, asking for people to fight, yes, of course I signed up. I think, really, I just wanted to travel.” “ But you had the staff.” Ward stated. “ I hated that thing. Other guys loved all the power that comes with the rage. No, I didn’t like it at all.”

He cocked his head to Ward and leant in closer.

“And you don’t, either, it seems.” “ What did it do to me?” “ It shines a light into your dark places. Doesn’t matter if you’re human, Asgardian, the effect is the same. Unpleasant.” “Shines a light” Simmons scoffed “that’s no explanation”. “It was forged from a rare metal and reacts to whoever is holding it. Or interacts.” Elliot carried on. “I went to such great lengths to make sure that the staff wasn’t found. Unfortunately, since the myth was written down, people have been searching for it for centuries.” “I need your help to stop them before they get the last piece of your staff.” Coulson said, leaning on the table. “Oh, I’m a pacifist now.” Elliot said, leaning back. "And you don’t want to risk your identity being discovered.” Coulson carried on “Listen, I wouldn’t worry too much about these angry youths. They always clam down, and eventually, they die of old age. And that is one of the pleasant aspects of life here. Everything changes. “I’ll tell you what’s gonna change, your anonymity, unless you help us find the final piece of your staff.” Coulson sighed “You may not know Thor, but I do, and he’s very fond of Agent Stark so…”. Elliot slouched on the table in front of him glaring up at Coulson, before he shrugged and sat up a bit. 

“My first love on this planet was Ireland.” He said quietly “There was a monastery and the monks gave a nice, warm place to sleep, some soup and some mulled wine.” “Near God.” Katie muttered, looking at Sky who triumphantly slammed her hand on the desk.

“I’ll go set the course for Ireland.” May said, nodding.

“Make it fast.” Katie said, as the woman looked at her. “Let’s get the rest of that damned thing before it hurts anyone else.”

*****

It wasn’t a long flight over to Ireland from Spain, but Katie took the chance to nip back to her room with the intention of calling Steve. He didn’t answer, which wasn’t surprising as he’d messaged during the night to say he had an urgent mission. She left a message informing him that she thought they’d located what they’d come for in Ireland so with a bit of luck she would be home soon. She really was missing him, it was pathetic really, not even a full 48 hours apart and she was aching for him, in more ways than one. Groaning she dropped onto her bed, trying to understand how he’d managed to turn her into such a horny, dependent wreck. She’d gone over a year without a fuck after Grant and now going 2 days was killing her. In actuality it had been longer than that, the last time they’d done it was almost 4 days ago due to work stuff meaning they had a clash of schedules. Katie found herself sighing, and her hands wandering into the front of her cat suit as she thought about how delicious that particular time had been, it was the first time Steve had been really spontaneous, taking her slightly by surprise.

Katie was busy prepping their dinner when she felt 2 strong arms circle her hips. Soft lips trailed kisses down her neck and across her jaw and she sighed, putting down the knife.

“Stop it” she giggled, “I’m trying to make us something to eat.”

He didn’t speak, and her continued protests died in her throat as his hand made its way down the front of her jeans and she felt her knees going as his fingers started their assault. Slow, deliberate strokes and flicks against her spot, over and over until she let out a loud moan as he slipped 2 fingers inside, his lips leaving hot, wet kisses all down her neck and the back of her shoulders as he pressed into her back, his arousal evident against her spine.

“You still want me to stop…” he murmured. She shook her head, her breathing was rapid now as the familiar burning hit the pit of her stomach. Suddenly Steve removed his hands from her pants and spun her round, lips crashing onto hers, his hands now on her back pinning her to his front. She kissed him back smirking slightly as she undid his jeans. Flipping the waist band of his boxers down, she took him in her hand and felt his whole body shudder slightly.

“Fuck…” he said, and then before she knew it she was out of her jeans and in his arms, his hands on each of her thighs lifting her off the floor. She wrapped her legs around him her lips still not leaving his as he backed her against the wall in the kitchen, using it to support her back. Securing her to the wall with his body, he rest his hands either side of her shoulders and locked his gaze onto hers, a storm of blue as she searched for those small spots of green in his irises. And then his right hand slid downwards to move her underwear to the side and he guided himself into her. At the feel of him, Katie tipped her head back, both of them letting out a groan as he began to gently thrust, then again, getting harder. And faster. Katie moved with him, winding her hands through his hair, tipping his head back so she could meet his lips again, between their now ragged breathing. She had no idea what had gotten into him, but whatever it was, she like this. She liked it a lot. He slid one hand up her top and into her bra, gently teasing and tweaking at her nipple and that was it. The heat in her belly began to rise, and she knew it wouldn’t be long.

“Come on baby…” he whispered into her ear and she let out a small gasp as she felt the tightening between her legs and in her lower abdomen, the muscles involuntarily spasming.

“Fuck Stevie…” and with that she surrendered, tightening her legs as her whole body gave into the wave of pleasure. She let out a strangled cry, tipping her head backwards as she zoned out.

The sight was enough to tip Steve over. “You feel so good…sweetheart…” he managed to stutter and with a final rut upwards, he felt his release too, a surge from deep within as his legs trembled and his knees almost buckled. He managed to keep hold of Katie and the pair of them slid to the floor in a tangle of limbs and clothing.

Katie lay her head back against the pillow, gasping, moving her fingers away from her now sensitive clit, her insides clenching around nothing. It wasn’t Steve, but at least it was enough to keep her satisfied for now.

Yep, Steve Rogers had a hold on her, but she loved it.

Tags

@the-omni-princess​

@momobaby227​

[boymeetsweevil]

For Science 5/7

Grouping: Reader x Nerd!JK 

Word Count: 17.5k haha wtf (NSFW)

Warnings/Themes: omg okay swearing, Boobies, graphic-ish Cunnilingus, endangement of Hoseok’s chin, Spit :/, Masturbation, mentions of porn haha, Making out, (Hoseok’s) male gaze??? Idiot!Kook, Jealous!Kook, Violence? (lmao it was very mild violence and mention of blood but not graphic), gratuitous use of soap-opera level drama

Summary: Jungkook asks you to let him watch you get off. For science.

A/N: I’m tagging  @m-icdrop , @jiminslye , @ephemeral-mindset, @sugarandpoppy, @monstar95, @sweetestkth, @limitlesxxsxx, @simplyfinessin, @park-geemin to let you know that this is here! If any of you would like to stop being tagged with each FS update, let me know. And if anyone would like to be added to the tag list, also let me know :)

part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 6, part 7

Being a good friend, as you’re realizing now, is so terribly hard and you wish someone had told you earlier in life so you could make the informed choice of becoming a nun. Or maybe just a plain old hermit.

Either way, waking up in the middle of Yoori’s bedroom finds you feeling less rested than you would have liked. Probably because you dreamt that you had been transfigured into a dog by Hoseok wearing a witch’s costume and forced to be the family pet to Yoori and Jungkook’s 16 children. You end up waking with a jolt, still in Yoori’s bed and covered in cold sweat, wanting nothing more than to go home and leave everything at school behind. 

Still, you soldier through the rest of the night, staring at your laptop instead of doing work, only eating half of the pizza she ordered for you and numbly carrying a large Tupperware container that held the leftovers back to your apartment.

You end up eating the pizza for breakfast the following morning in some meagre effort to comfort yourself. Nothing helps, though. Not using the special body wash that you usually reserved for special occasions. Not putting on the velvet joggers you wore when you needed a pick-me-up. So, you try going in the opposite direction. Instead of putting in extra effort, you put in zero. You don’t bother stressing about putting your hair into an intricate style so you’ll look more put together. You don’t bother trying to buff your skin to a shining, baby glow. Instead you slather your face in moisturizer and throw your hair into a bun, which seems to do the trick. Giving up on some of the tinier details that would often gnaw at the edges of your collectedness improves your mood slightly. So does taking the rest of the pizza in with you for lunch.

The universe takes pity on you and the day goes by quickly. On Friday, It feels almost as though you only blinked but now the sun was setting around 4:30, as had become habit.

You wipe the drool that was pooling at the corner of your mouth while you tried some old number theory problem sets from a class you took freshman year. It had been difficult because you’d forgotten how shitty proofs can be, but it had also been just the time sink you needed.

Coming to the usual study spot you and Yoori established a few hours prior was bittersweet. Normally she would be there, perhaps with a steaming mug of something calming waiting for you, ready to work in companionable silence with gossip breaks sprinkled in between. Today, she wasn’t there, so you had the whole table to yourself. You sit in her chair to throw some novelty into the mix. And because you miss her. But now that your momentum is broken, you decide to turn to the window instead of people watching. Even though there’s none of the softly falling snow Yoori always raves about, the view is still nice.

The last few rays of the winter sun are stretching out, leaving the campus bathed in blood orange light and catching the reflective parts of the packed snow on the ground. There’s something picturesque about the way the campus pond, now frozen, sits in the center of the landscape and frames the sheet of mountains running in the distance. But it feels very lonely as well.  

You check your phone and find no text messages from Jungkook and only one from Yoori asking if you have plans for Saturday night. You tell her no and begin packing up.

Normally, you’re not a big going out person, but you find your lack of plans for this weekend a little bothersome. You know Jungkook and Yoori will obviously be busy that evening, and perhaps even the whole weekend. But that leaves you with Taehyung and Hoseok to have a good time and the prospects for that seem weak. You try sending a text to the two of them asking if a bar sounded like a fun idea but Hoseok messages back that he already bought drinks for tonight. You suppose you’ll have to try again next weekend.

Taehyung’s words of assurance about how Jungkook suddenly getting a girlfriend wouldn’t change the group dynamic float into you’re head. But you’re not so sure you believe them in this moment. Things don’t seem as fun and you’re not sure if it’s just because you’ve spent the whole day moping or if it’s because Jungkook has been carrying the group dynamic on his back the whole time and you never even noticed until now.

It’s a frightening thought and it’s also a little unfair to Hoseok and Taehyung. Although you’re not as close to them as you are to Jungkook, it’s not like they’re strangers. You’ve spent a great deal of time on your own with both of them, and even though you fight with Hoseok from time to time, you have made some nice memories with the both of them.

As you walk to Taehyung’s apartment for game night, you’re reminded of the times you’ve spent with the both of them. Like when you needed to fulfill your PE requirement for the year, so you and Hoseok took a snowboarding class together. You can admit, albeit reluctantly, that you bonded over many nights of numb toes and icing each other’s injuries. There’s also the time that you and Taehyung thought learning Russian would be a fun idea. You ended up leaving the Russian club after the first weekly meeting, but Taehyung still goes and is now the club Treasurer. It had been a fun hour of your life, though.

“Hey,” Taehyung chirps when you finally arrive at his apartment.

“Hey!” You fling yourself at him, full of emotion from the walk down memory lane you just took. He’s stiff in your arms for a moment, but settles into the hug after a beat.

“What’s this all about?” He chuckles, patting your back affectionately.

You extricate yourself from him and drop your things at the doorway before turning to Hoseok with a determined look. He snorts at you but doesn’t try to hide from your grabby hands, much to your surprise.

“I just wanted to let you guys know that I’m really glad we’re all friends. You mean a lot to me,” you mumble into the collar of Hoseok’s shirt as you press wrap him in a sincere hug.

“Are you not wearing a bra?”

“Except you,” you push him off you roughly. “Not you. I don’t like you.”

“Aw, come on!” He grins wryly at you from the floor. “You know you like me.”

You make a show of brushing the residue of your hug off the thin and oversized sweater you’re wearing. “No, sorry. I was a different person 20 seconds ago. I’ve changed. I’m better now.”

Hoseok hops up and chases you around Taehyung’s tiny dining room table until he manages to trap you in a corner by the kitchen entrance and wrangle you into a bear hug. You play dead to deter him, but instead he just laughs at the limp way your feet drag on the floor and waddles with you still in his grasp to the living room. Taehyung looks for the right game to play.

He chooses Wii Resort, which is not even remotely close to being your favorite, so you sit out and let the third controller lay unused on the ground. Instead you find yourself seated with your back against Hoseok’s chest in the La-Z boy, feet stretched out to rest in Taehyung’s lap as he sits on the matching ottoman.

“It’s fucking freezing in here,” you whine.

“I told you to wear layers. I’m trying to lower my utility bill,” is all Taehyung says as he moves his mii into yet another jungle setting for a mini game.

You pout. “This sucks.”

“It really doesn’t,” Hoseok interjects, “This is one of the better game nights we’ve had in a while.”

“You’re just saying that because this is the only time you’ve been able to win at a game.”

“Be nice to Hobi.” One of Taehyung’s hands drop down to dig into the arch of your foot as a warning. You squeal, knee kicking out wildly and without your permission, forcing your head to crack back against Hoseok’s chin.

“Ow! Fuck! What the hell is wrong with you, Tae?” Hoseok reaches up to clutch at his face, controller falling into your lap.

“Dude, I was defending you! How is this my fault?”

“You know it’s against the rules to tickle her when another person’s nearby unless it’s a tag-team.” He whines and taps you on the shoulder. You turn to face him sheepishly, knowing it’s partially your fault too. “Am I bleeding?”

“Thankfully, no,” you coo after a careful inspection. “But if that were any higher up on my leg, I don’t think you’d still have a face.”

“I know.” 

You pat his hair soothingly, but turn back around soon after Hoseok stops cradling his face. “Maybe we should call it a night.”

“We can’t! I’m not even buzzed yet. And we haven’t gone all the way around the board.”

“Tae, this game is trash. I don’t want to just sit and watch.”

He waves a hand dismissively, unpausing the game without even looking at you. “It’s not my fault you’re a fake Nintendo fan.”

“Ooh, are you gonna take that,” Hoseok’s eyes widen at Taehyung’s comment.

“I’m not even gonna dignify that with a response,” you sniff. Reaching out, you grab at the closest, non-empty beer bottle you can reach and take a swig. “But I am gonna get going so you can enjoy your shitty game by yourselves.”

“Come on!” Hoseok whines again from above you and from your vantage point it looks like his face is starting to swell. You silently hope that it doesn’t get bad until after you leave. “You can’t leave. Then it’ll just be two guys playing Wii resort.”

“Arriving in 13 minutes.” You burrow further into his chest to steal some warmth for a minute. You vow that the first thing you’re doing once you get home is taking a hot shower.

“Let her go, Hob. She’s not cool like us.”

Taehyung’s Mii reaches the top of the mountain at that moment. The victory cry he releases is entirely too loud and definitely not appropriate for someone only playing Wii Resort. He gets up from his chair and starts gyrating at the TV where Hoseok’s mii is crying large blue tears.

“Congrats on your victory. I’m out.”

The ride home turns out to be less relieving and more depressing as you get closer and closer to your apartment. Jungkook and Yoori are probably somewhere having an amazing date and will probably then go have amazing virginal sex in the backseat of Hoseok’s frat brothers’ car that Jungkook borrowed for the occasion. Taehyung and Hoseok actually like Wii Resort and will probably spend the rest of the night getting drunk off their asses playing that and having more fun than is objectively reasonable. Meanwhile you will probably stand naked and shivering in your bathroom for, like, 8 whole minutes waiting for hot water to make it through your plumbing.

Nothing like depressing thoughts to start your weekend off well.

Perhaps the universe decided to take pity on you once again because when you get home and disrobe, you only have to wait 6 minutes for the hot water. And it doesn’t run out after another 5. You also let yourself sing loudly to your Spotify ballad playlist titled ‘lady heartbreak’. Normally, you only cry to that playlist, so you think of it as personal growth.

Once you’re out the shower and your voice is hoarse from the ‘singing’, you change into light pajamas. Despite the fact that your heater is fixed, you still keep it firing at almost full blast because you prefer the heat to the cold.

Before you can flip back the covers on your bed when you hear a loud knock on your door. You figure its either Taehyung or Hoseok, or both of them, looking for something to do now that the game has lost its charm after a million rounds. But a quick glance at your phone shows no text messages from them saying that they’d be stopping by, which they usually do. The door thumps like someone’s body is slamming against it and you pray that its one of your stupid friends just being inconsiderate and disorderly.

You’re about to leave your room to see who’s at your door when another loud sound startles you. Its as if someone is carefully trying to rattle the window leading to your fire escape. All the while the loud knocking at your front door continues to ring through the apartment. Somewhere in the back of your mind, you’re certain you saw a news special about something like this. Pairs of burglars come to innocent women’s houses after they’ve stalked them long enough to learn their schedule and see if they live alone. Then they both show up to the house at different spots to distract the victim and break in more efficiently.

In this scenario, you’re certain they’re expecting you to go to the front door. But you’re smart, dammit. You decide to give them a surprise and approach the window first instead, phone clutched in your hand with the police a button-press away. You yank back the curtains and quickly activate your flashlight mode to see who is trying to break into your house. The pair of wide eyes that greet you back almost make your drop your phone.

“Jungkook,” you hiss incredulously.

Carefully, you unlock your window and slide it up so he can climb off the fire escape and collapse face first into your room. Clearly, he is slightly inebriated.

“What are you doing here?”

“Shh,” he sticks a finger into your face, “She’ll hear you.”

“Who’ll hear me?”

The apartment is eerily quiet when you realize that the loud knocking is replaced by jingling of keys and the sound of the front door being pushed open.

“Jeon Jungkook, who the hell is that in my house?”

“It’s Yoori,” he whispers with genuine fear in his eyes. “Crap!”

You can’t do much besides react on auto-pilot and pull back the many blankets and comforters lining your bed for him to dive under. The sound of Yoori’s slow, stumbling footsteps as they make their way into the heart of the apartment are better than any horror movie soundtrack. You find yourself diving into bed too, knees bent, hoping that you look casual and can hide Jungkook’s shape. He pokes his head out and grins at you from the shadows between your bare knees.

“Is anyone home,” Yoori calls from somewhere in the living room.

“I’m in my bedroom,” you respond. “It’s the last door on the right in the hallway.

A few moments later, Yoori is peering curiously from behind your door. You realize she still hasn’t seen your room despite the fact that she’s been to your apartment in passing a couple of times now.

“Hey, Yoori.”

“Hey. Wow,” she hiccups, “This is very you. I like the tapestries.” She turns in a circle to take in all of your room’s décor.

“Yep. So, uh, what brings you here?”

“I asked Jungkookie to drop me off here.”

“Oh, you did? Where is Jungkookie now,” you ask neutrally before casting a brief but discrete annoyed look down at Jungkook’s semi-visible face under the covers.

“I think he’s probably filling up the car’s tank. He has to return it to the fraternity before it gets too late.”

“He didn’t want to come in with you?”

“No. I told him I wanted to have some girl time with you to talk about the date. But then I got to your door and remembered that you don’t like to talk about romantic stuff like that.”

You shove your hands down into your lap and over his face so he can’t see the way yours heats up in embarrassment.

“W-well that’s just because he’s my good friend, you know. I didn’t mean much by that.”

“It’s okay, I understand.” She smiles down at you sleepily before walking over and moving like she’s going to sit with you in bed.

“Um, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” you shoot your hands out to keep her sitting.

“Why not?”

She pouts softly down at you. You wince knowing that her feet probably hurt from a night in heels and all she wants to do is sit to rest. But your loyalty lies elsewhere at the moment.

“Because…I have no pants on.”

“Really?” She grins and peeks down like she hopes to see through the blanket covering your lap. “That’s okay with me. You probably don’t have anything I haven’t seen before. And if you did, who cares?”

You decide that you won’t probe her about that and instead redirect the conversation.

“Yeah, but I’m kind of shy when it comes to that stuff.”

“That’s right. I forgot.” Yoori sighs sadly. “Maybe one day we’ll get there. That should be our next friendship goal. Getting you to feel less shy around me.”

“Y-yeah, okay.”

You watch as she swings her heels tiredly in her hand and searches for a nearby cab. She finds one relatively quickly and gives you a one-armed hug around your shoulders before scooping heading out. You wait a few more minutes, just in case she magically returns for something she left behind despite the fact that she left the spare key on your bedside desk and the front door locks from the inside automatically. Once you’re certain you won’t be found out, you rip the sheets back angrily.

“Explain yourself quickly, Jeon.”

Jungkook squints up at you now that the dark cover of your blankets isn’t shielding his eyes anymore. He’s lying on his stomach between your bent legs, propped up on his elbows. It’s a compromising position that you’re glad Yoori didn’t catch you in.

“I told her I needed to fill the tank, but I told her I was doing it at the gas station on 5th street instead of the one across the street from here.” He grins up at your cheekily like he’s done something extra clever.

“Yeah, I figured as much. But why did you do that? And then why did you risk falling 20 feet to climb up the fire escape and come in through the window.”

“I wanted to hang out. I feel like we haven’t seen each other in a while.” His hand reaches out to stroke at the expanse of your bare thigh.

“Jungkook, you’re dating Yoori,” you sigh and move your leg away. “The weekend stays are over now.”

“We’re taking it slow, though.”

“Not slow enough for this to still be a thing.”

“It is slow enough.” At your raised eyebrows, he stammers. “We-we haven’t even held hands yet.”

“Really,” you can’t help but ask. The pang of satisfaction you feel knowing that Jungkook still hasn’t taken things further with Yoori makes you feel a bit guilty. But you can’t help it.

“Really. So we can still do this, right?”

“I don’t know, Kook.” Your lip ends up tucked between your teeth in indecisiveness.

“Please? I missed you,” he whispers quietly. It’s all you’ve ever wanted to hear from him and you give a quick nod lest you start shrieking from joy if you open your mouth.

He shuffles until he can pull you closer by the hips. When you’re on a slight incline, your multiple pillows holding you up, Jungkook removes his glasses. You watch silently as he places them next to the spare keys before leaning into your space, eyes dropping closed.

You let your jaw relax in anticipation of his mouth. But you’re surprised when the first thing you feel is the dry press of his lips to your cheek. It’s sweeter than you were expecting, but you’re not complaining. Eventually he makes his way over to your mouth and begins kissing you in earnest. Small pecks transform into languid caresses of his lips over yours. Your tongue comes out to swipe at the seam of his lips and he immediately opens up to let you in, groaning at the feeling of you in his mouth.

He lets a sharp breath leave his nose and surges forward, pressing himself to you as close as he can after having shuffled you even closer so he could lean over you. When you suck on his bottom lip, he lets out a low snarling sound. His hands come down to clamp onto your waist like a warm vice. Carefully, you entangle the fingers of one hand in his hair, while the other smooths down the curve of his broad shoulders. The feeling of the muscles in his back flexing under your hand is a feeling you didn’t realize you could take for granted. But somehow you have because its amazing to have it back.

The two of you make out for a while. Jungkook tastes of dessert wine and cheesecake. Its not necessarily a combination that you find unpleasant, but it reminds you that he just came back from a date. And while he left that date and came straight to you, you still don’t like it. You kiss him harder with the hopes that it’ll take away the remnants of his time out with another girl. A girl who is your friend. He whines and lets you ravage his mouth. Little do you know that each swipe of your tongue against his own has his growing harder in his slacks.

“Wait a minute,” he gasps against your mouth before slowing down a bit by planting small kisses on the hinge of your jaw and the soft skin of your throat.

“Too fast?”

“Yeah.” He chuckles bashfully.

You’re content to let him come back down from his fast-approaching high by sucking lightly on the skin near the collar of your white tshirt. There will probably be some light bruising that you’ll have to cover up if you’re still going out with Yoori tomorrow, but you don’t care about that right now. Instead you’d rather revel in the sensation of Jungkook’s traveling kisses. Though they started at the hollow of your throat, they’ve collected on your clavicle and he’s now trailing them over the fabric of your shirt by your sternum. It’s sweet.

And then its suddenly not so sweet as you feel his heated breaths puff over your nipple.

Obviously, you’re turned on and you’re not wearing a bra because you thought you were going straight to sleep. So its completely understandable why your nipples would be hard, then. What you’re not certain of is what Jungkook is planning. He’s no longer continuously pressing kisses into the shirt and is now sporadically planting them around the stiff peak that is raising your shirt material slightly, just breathing heavily over it. The heat you feel doesn’t do anything to calm you down and instead it has you squirming in his hold.

One of his hands comes up to rest some of his weight on your shoulder, effectively keeping you flat to the bed. A quick glance at him has your breath hitching loudly in your throat. He’s staring intently down at your breast, like he’s trying to make a tough choice. The moment is so thick that you don’t dare move. Not to encourage him nor to inquire what he plans. Instead you lay with bated breath, watching him slowly descend the last few inches. You squeeze your eyes shut milliseconds before his mouth envelopes your covered nipple.

“Oh shit,” you curse quietly.

Despite the thin cotton barrier, you can feel very clearly the hot, wet pressure of his tongue swirling around your nipple. All of the movements so far are experimental, hesitant in their rhythm. He hollows his cheeks softly and sucks and all of the sudden a long, drawn out moan leaves you. It gives him the confidence he needs to take his free hand and pinch at the other side, fingers mimicking the rhythm his mouth is setting over you.

Quickly, though, the shirt becomes unbearable and you get annoyed at the thought that such a stupid barrier exists between you and Jungkook’s mouth. You wriggle resolutely under him until he huffs in annoyance and pulls away to see why you’re interrupting him. When he sees that you’re merely hiking the shirt’s hem up to your armpits and exposing your breasts to him, he hums contentedly. He swoops back in, this time to the other side, and begins laving at the tightened bud. Your hands scrabble for purchase and eventually make their way back to his neck again.

“Jungkook,” you breathe raggedly into the crown of his head.

“Hmm?”

“What’s the—mmh fuck—the occasion for all this?”

He comes up with a slick popping sound, looking up at you with dark and hooded eyes. The sight sends a bolt of arousal to your core.

“Just been wanting to.” With that, he returns to making a mess of your chest.

Somehow, in the series of achingly long minutes that follow, you manage to get his button down and undershirt off. The sight of the smooth planes of his skin make your hands itch to feel him. You try to pull him up so you can have better access, but he won’t budge as he begins to kiss lower once both of your breasts have been thoroughly marked. You give up and try to predict what he’ll do next as he digs his fingers into your waist appreciatively and kisses a ring around your belly button.

He proceeds lower, his destination becoming increasingly obvious as he playfully flicks at the tiny ribbon decorating the front of your panties before halting. Tentatively, he pushes an index finger underneath the elastic lining where your thigh meets groin. You can feel what you suppose is the puff of his breath across the crotch of your panties.

“Can I—”

“No,” you blurt, legs snapping closed. Jungkook scoots back just at the right time to save his head from being crushed. “S-sorry.”

“No, it’s fine.” He runs a hand through his hair nervously. “Do you just…not like it?”

“I’ve actually, uh, never…” you trail off until the words are lost in the mounds of pillows surrounding your head.

“What?”

“Nothing. It’s just that I’ve never really had anyone go down on me before.”

“Really?” His eyebrows shoot up behind his slightly damp bangs. “Not even with Yugyeom?”

You wince at the mention of your ex. Yugyeom had been your first and only boyfriend and you had a good run and even what most would call an amicable breakup. But one of the more bitter moments was the one time you’d attempted to get him to go down on you only for him to wrinkle his nose and tell you ‘he wasn’t into that sort of thing’.

“He just wasn’t interested.”

Jungkook nods understandingly for a minute before his gaze is drawn to the space at the apex of your clenched thighs again.

“Are you? Interested?” His tone is heavy with implication and the way he casually hovers over you while sitting back on his heels just makes you feel tiny.

“I-I mean, I guess I am,” you stutter.

“Okay.” He gets back onto his stomach, hands gently prying your knees apart until there’s enough room to accommodate his broad shoulders. “So can I?”

“Go for it.” Your words come out in a squeak.

“Thanks,” he smiles softly.

You can’t see anything because you’ve thrown an arm over your eyes self-consciously. Normally, these moments between the two of you have your stomach in knots for a different reason, but now you’re just plain nervous. You’re diligent about hygiene and you remind yourself that you just took a shower. But it had just been a normal shower and not a booty-call shower. What if he thought you smelled weird? Or that you tasted weird? For some reason, this felt more intimate than all the times before this where he was merely watching and you were the one doing the work down there.

Jungkook hooks his fingers into the waist band of your underwear, pulling it down with your help when you lift your butt. You bite your lip nervously and lift your arm slightly so you can watch his reaction.

He doesn’t have any sort of adverse reaction once you’re completely bare in front of him, though you suppose he’s familiar enough not to act surprised by anything. But you’re not expecting him to dive in suddenly until he’s less than an inch away from your sticky folds. You shouldn’t be embarrassed that you got turned on from making out, but it’s like everything has flipped and suddenly you know how he felt during those first few times together.

You can’t take the silence anymore. “What is it?”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re so quiet.”

“I’m just trying to decide what to do first.”

“Oh. Sorry I can’t be of service.”

He smiles at how awkward you’re being before moving a tiny bit closer and taking a large inhale. Your eyes widen and you move to clamp your legs closed to shut him out, but he’s ready this time. One hand presses down on your pelvis while the other one presses on your hip, effectively pinning you to the bed.

“Calm down. It’s just me,” he whispers before inhaling deeply once. Twice. Three times more. All the while you can’t help but squirm. But he only increases the pressure of his hands with each antsy wiggle of your hips.

As soon as you decide to be still again, he releases your hip to spread you open with two fingers and presses a gentle kiss to your clit. You nearly jump off the bed at the foreign sensation.

“Jungkook, wait, I—” but you don’t manage to get the words out before he kisses you again.

This time his tongue flicks out to collect some of arousal that’s been steadily collecting despite your nerves. As soon as the flavor spreads on his tongue, he freezes. You wonder for a moment if he’s going to pull back and say he’s made a mistake. But then he surges forward again and begins licking broad stripes across you, catching your clit every so often.

He watches you carefully to gauge your reactions to what he’s doing. Taking in your heated face and dewy skin, he deduces he’s going in the right direction. And when he drags the flat of his tongue over your entrance as if to drink from you, your lip automatically gets stuck between your teeth and your eyes flutter shut. It’s a good series of reactions, but he wants more from you. He wants to get you to do that thing where your back curves up off the mattress or get your hands to scrabble at his arms to ground you while you shake under him.

“Oh god. Right there,” you gasp when he wraps his lips around your clit randomly and sucks.

Jungkook nods resolutely before re-wetting his lips and repeating the action. You moan loudly when his tongue brushes against you in the midst of the suction. Your hand finds its way to the back of his head and presses until the lower half of his face is almost entirely flush with you. You remove your hand almost immediately once you realize what you’re doing.

“Sorry,” you mumble, “I got carried away.”

He pulls back with a wide grin and shining cheeks. “It’s okay. It’s good to know its going well.”

Your hand falls back down to rest tentatively near his head. You watch the shining brown mop of his hair return to bobbing between your legs and feel another rush of arousal gush forth. Even if you couldn’t feel it, Jungkook’s following groan of pleasant surprise and the wet sounds that follow have your eyes rolling to the ceiling partly out of acute pleasure and partly out of disbelief. Why couldn’t your life always be this nice and worry-free?

Jungkook’s gently circling fingers around your entrance have you snapping back to the present. You wonder if tonight is going to continue being a night of firsts when you remember that Jungkook probably hasn’t done much ‘internal’ work.

“Would it be too much?” Even though he doesn’t specify, you know what he’s asking.

“Just go slow.”

You’re already quickly approaching an orgasm, but hopefully this will get you there quicker. You feel almost sluggish with the fiery heat that’s seemingly been spreading from your core to the rest of your body in time with each pulse of his tongue. But when he inserts the first finger, you feel impossibly warmer.

His jaw drops open as your warm heat envelopes his digit immediately in a wet, vice-like grip. He can only imagine what it would feel like if he could be inside you the way he wanted to be, but even that pale phantom grip in the back of his mind is enough to have him bucking into the mattress. He leans in to press lingering kisses to your lower lips while twisting his wrist in matching time. Soon you’re clutching at his shoulders, gripping his hair, kicking your feet anxiously as your high approaches. You can almost taste it and stars are collecting in the corners of your vision as Jungkook continues to lap at your center messily. As if he can read your mind, he withdraws only to enter again with two fingers this time. It’s just enough thickness to stretch you the way you want, but the angle is off.

“Jungkook.”

“Hmm?”

“Bend your fingers back and press up.”

“Like this,” he asks while making some motion, concentration creasing his brows.

You quickly reach down and re-orient his wrist. With great care, he reproduces the motions at the new angle and delights in the fact that you’re now quaking above him. Broken variations of his name tumble from your lips as the waves of your orgasm take over. Your legs kicks out as they characteristically do and so he positions them to hang more safely over his shoulders, despite the fact that your ankles tickle at his sides. He presses a chaste kiss against the skin of your inner thigh and hopes you don’t notice the way he nuzzles into the skin to wipe his face off a bit.

When you’re limp and your breathing has returned back to normal, he crawls over your legs to lay beside you.

“Was that good?”

You turn to face him and take in his sweaty face and pleased expression. You roll your eyes and shove at his chest, but he just grabs your hand and squeezes it before releasing it.

“It was good. But don’t get a big head, you still have to climb back out the window later.”

“Am I banned from the door?”

“I’m still mad you decided it would be a good idea to climb the fire escape when you’d clearly been drinking.”

“Not a lot, though. I was still able to drive.”

“That’s not something you should advertise,” you laugh.

He shifts a little awkwardly next to you and you realize he might not have gotten the same thing you did from eating you out. He notices where your gaze travels and grins shyly, shoving a spare throw pillow over the tent in his slacks.

“Ah, sorry.”

“You don’t have to be sorry. I just wish I wasn’t so tired. Otherwise, I could—”

“Don’t feel like you have to. I was just gonna take care of it myself.”

“Oh. Like, right now?”

“Yeah? If that’s okay.”

“Okay.”

You sit back and watch as he slowly shirks off his dress pants and briefs in one go. His erection springs forward and from the almost angry red flush across the shaft, you figure he must have been pretty uncomfortable. He strokes it absent-mindedly and realizes that he doesn’t have any lube before turning to you.

“You wanna do the honors,” he asks with his palm out. It takes you a while to understand what he’s asking.

“Like, you want me to…?”

“Yeah.”

With all your remaining energy, you attempt to spit into his palm in an attractive manner. You’re not sure if you succeed, because as soon as you’re done he gets to business. The way he moves his hand over his length is rough and fast. Almost as if he’s trying to play catch up; not necessarily with you, but maybe with himself. With whatever thoughts had been plaguing him earlier while you came on his fingers and tongue. His breath leaves him in little punched gasps and the sounds are so pleasing that you lean forward and capture his lips with your own.

You wouldn’t quite call what you’re doing kissing. It’s more like a series of brushes of lips as his erratic hand movements cause him to move in and out of your space. Though he occasionally stops to steal a few kisses, they only seem to egg him on further until he can only touch his forehead to yours while he brings himself over the edge, spilling into his hand.

“Better?” You pull away to grab some wet wipes out of the side table drawer.

“Definitely,” he sighs. “I can put these sheets in the wash before I go, if you want.”

“Oh,” you blink up at him. “You’re leaving?”

“Yeah, I have to get some sleep. I promised Yoori I’d take her to breakfast at Dreamies.”

“Wow. You’re taking her to Dreamies? Are you sure you’re not more serious than you’ve been letting on?”

“It’s not like that,” he laughs stiffly as he tugs on his clothes. “We’re getting food to-go and then going to a butterfly garden.”

“Well, that sounds fun too.”

You can’t help but let out a sigh of relief. Dreamies is the diner you and the rest of the group frequent when you’ve all done too much drinking the night before and need good hangover food. It’s also open 24 hours, so sometimes it’s where you all go when you have nothing better to do or when you just want to have a wholesome time. A lot of good memories have been made in Dreamies, but its always been with the whole group. The idea of Jungkook bringing Yoori there for a private date doesn’t exactly sit well with you. Though it’s not like you can say anything because no one ever did establish that Dreamies was a group space exclusively. And even if someone had, who are you to make demands about where Jungkook and Yoori go out on dates?

Jungkook makes good on his promise and puts your sheets in the wash and even makes your bed while you wait for the washer to stop. He leaves when the dryer cycle finishes, pulling you in by the waist and kissing you deeply before strutting out the door with a flourish.

“I come bearing clothes,” you say as soon as Yoori opens the door.

She’d told you over the phone to bring some things to go out in after bugging you about firming up weekend plans. It still isn’t clear where you’re going, so you have brought a variety of outfits to cover the spectrum of possible events. You figured that you would get ready at her place as soon as you found out where you were going. But when she opens the door with makeup already done and her hair already curled, you’re a bit confused.

“Hello! How are you, my lovely?” She envelopes you tightly in a hug before taking the clothes out of your hands.

“I’m great. I got all excited on the way over because I thought we were gonna glam up together here, but it looks like you already did that.”

“I know,” she grimaces. “It’s just that Jungkook asked me if I wanted to go to the arcade out of the blue after we got brunch and I didn’t know what type of atmosphere that might be, so I just got as ready as possible. And then we went on a drive. We didn’t actually interact with any other humans. I could have worn my PJs.”

“That’s Jungkook for you,” you snort dryly. “So, uh, how was that drive?”

“You don’t have to ask me how our date went. I know it’s awkward to talk about dating your best friend. I’ll spare you.”

“Thank you.”

Yoori hands you a glass of your favorite wine, something she’s been keeping regularly stocked in her wine fridge since you became friends. You toe off your shoes before heading into the living room with her.

“Do you want tonight to be a surprise or do you want me to tell you where we’re going?” She reaches out to play with a loose string on the throw blanket adorning the couch, watching you with wide eyes as you drain your glass.

“Tell me. So I can pick out my outfit accordingly.”

“Okay. Just…promise me you won’t knock it before you try it.”

“I wouldn’t do that unless you said we were going somewhere ridiculous.” You tilt your head with a no nonsense stare. “And we wouldn’t do that, right? We’re not doing anything ridiculous?”

All she does is beam at you before pulling her phone out and scrolling through her photo album until she comes to the right image. She hands you the phone silently, lip bitten in anticipation.

“Hell no,” you say as soon as you see the flyer she’s taken a screenshot of. It’s advertising a Lady’s Night at a club with an open dance floor and drinks at a discounted rate. Immediately you hand the phone back and wish for more wine to magically appear in your glass.

“Please? I feel like it would be so fun, and it’s supposed to be a really great place. Pretty please?”

“Why can’t we just stay in and order Thai? I like your place, you don’t have to take me anywhere.”

“You make us sound like an old married couple. Besides, you never spend your weekends anywhere other than with those boys.” When you give her an unamused stare, she backpedals. “Charming as they are. Don’t get me wrong, I love them all. But don’t you think it would be fun to switch things up? Neither of us go out enough. We’re wasting our youth and beauty.”

“Excuse me. You’re dating my best friend, remember?”

“And by ‘we’, I meant not me.”

You roll your eyes and opt into searching for the wine bottle she used to pour your first drink. It catches your eye across the room where it sits at the long cherry dining table. You move to get up, but Yoori clamps down on your wrist with a pleading expression.

“Please?”

“I don’t want to spend the money.”

“I’ll pay for both our cover charges. Please?”

“The drinks will be shitty and I’ll need to be drunk to enjoy it.”

“We can drink here first and call a cab. Please?”

“I didn’t bring any makeup.”

“You left some over here from last time. Pleeease?”

“But the guys there will—“

“I’ll protect you,” you frown, unconvinced. “Please? I’ll even stay sober the whole night so nothing gets by me.”

“Fine. But only for an hour.”

“What? That’s too short, nothing good can happen in an hour. That’s too unrealistic. Two hours.”

“I’ll give you an hour and a half. After that, we’re coming back here and I’m sleeping over. Deal?”

She considers your conditions for a brief second before finally letting you get up. “You have to let me do your makeup and let me put pictures on my Instagram story.”

“Sure, but that will cost you another 15 minutes.”

Your back is turned to her as you fill up your glass, but you can practically see her writhing with indecision. Schooling your features into neutrality, you turn back to face her, and she straightens up.

“Deal.”

It takes much longer than it should have to get ready, but in the end, that’s a good thing because Yoori had originally wanted to show up to the event on time. Though you don’t get out much, even you know that arriving fashionably late means a better chance at getting there when everything is in full swing. Much better than getting there when there are 10 people in the whole club and no one is having any fun yet.

You let her apply your makeup, but you don’t let her pick your outfit much to Yoori’s chagrin. It doesn’t matter though because you’re no less miserable as she drags you into the bathroom to take a series of selfies.

That’s not to say that you hate selfies or that you never take them. You take them when you’re bored, when you’re texting the group chat, when you’re talking to your mom, when you’re home alone and feeling yourself. Next to Yoori, though, you can’t help but feel a little intimidated. Yoori doesn’t know your angles, Yoori doesn’t know your favorite filters and it’s not something you can just ask someone to change. Specific filters and angles are the bread and butter of anyone’s best selfies, and they’re not easily interchanged for someone else’s. As an engineering student, you can appreciate the complex science that is selfie-taking. And as much as you love Yoori, you don’t want to be the eyesore on her Instagram and cost her followers. Part of you hopes she gets drunk so you can take her phone and delete them later.

But she stays true to her word and doesn’t drink any more after leaving the apartment to go to the club. You stay true to your word as well and toss back another drink as soon as you get there, hoping that it will calm your nerves. In all honesty, you know there’s nothing to be nervous about, but you still order a second drink at the bar immediately after so you have something to do with your hands. You look good and you most likely won’t see any of the people at the club ever again, but you still feel out of place.

“You look terrified,” Yoori whispers in your ear. She’s been watching your expression carefully the whole time and has started to regret bugging you about coming.

“I am.”

“If you want, we can just go home now. I didn’t realize you hated going out this much.”

“It’s not that I hate going out,” you shout over the music. “It’s just that I can never let go off what other people might be thinking about me. And if I can’t do that, I can’t have fun.”

Yoori nods in sympathy. Although, she also doesn’t like the feeling of being scrutinized, she knows you’re coming from a different place. You’ve spoken candidly to her a few times about you feel like the two of you make an odd pairing. She remembers the way you spoke about her, all laudatory words, and then how you spoke about yourself. Yoori wants to compliment you the way you do her, but she knows that certain kind words only act as cold comfort for you.

“What can I do?”

You ponder the question for a bit. You figure, if you can manage to fake having the time of your life for 10 minutes, you can trick yourself into actually having fun for the rest of the night. With that thought, you finish your drink in a few large swallows before grabbing Yoori’s hand.

“Do you wanna dance with me?”

Yoori blinks down at you with wide eyes but nods somewhat shyly. You let her guide you into the throng of dancing bodies. As the song washes over you, you do a simple two-step while you decide what type of vibe to go for. Quickly the song grows on you, and you begin to put more energy into your dancing. At the sight of you enthusiastically swiveling your hips to the beat of the song with a smile on your face, Yoori beams.

The night unfolds like that. You manage to throw away your inhibitions in favor of dancing for hours. Yoori takes a couple videos of you when the right song comes on and puts you into a sexy musical trance. You take turns shooing random guys away who thinking they can casually fist pump their way into your sacred space. A few girls much drunker than you wander over to you and you welcome them with open arms and dance with them for a few songs, but they always float away after a while. Not without Yoori inquiring where their friends are and waiting until said friends come to collect them first, though. All in all, it’s more fun than almost all of your game nights combined. The thought makes you guilty for all of .3 seconds before you remember that none of the guys would ever go out dancing unless it was a means to an end of getting laid.

When the clock strikes 1:30—much later than you had originally promised to stay out—you collect your things and let Yoori guide you once more. This time she leads you outside to get a ride back to her place. She lays her pristine white leather jacket on your sweaty shoulders when she sees you shivering from the drastic temperature change that comes with leaving the balmy dance-floor.

“Tonight was so fun,” you drawl on the way over. Your head lolls onto her shoulder and she smooths the stray strands of hair off your forehead.

“It was. I was worried for a minute that you wouldn’t like it.”

“Mmm, me too. Yoori, this was great.”

“You never say my name.” She gets out of the car first before paying the driver and then goes back in to get you, slinging your arm over her slender shoulders.

“I know. Feels weird if I do.”

“I like it.”

“M’kay.”

As soon as the door opens, you race for the bathroom. One of the prices to pay for a good night out is dealing with a wine bladder and a hangover. The peeing, you could handle. The hangover, though, dwells in the back of your mind ominously as you brush your teeth and hastily remove your makeup. You’re pretty sure you haven’t taken all of it off when your face hits the cushion of the couch, but the couch is leather so you don’t care. Yoori, however, does care.

“Oh, no you don’t. Come here,” she grabs at you until she gets a hold and can walk you the remainder of the way to her room.

“I don’t wanna walk.”

“You don’t want to sleep on the couch either.”

“Where we goin’?”

“To bed, silly.”

You nod and let her escort you there. Immediately, you slide your skirt down and scramble to take off your crop top. As you fumble with your sleep shirt, Yoori respectfully turns away to change into her own pajamas, cheeks burning.

The covers feel pleasantly cool under your hands as you wait for her to finish changing. “Which side d’you want?”

“I usually sleep in the middle, actually. But I can sleep on whichever side you don’t pick tonight.”

“I sleep on this side.”

“Okay,” she nods agreeably.

“Tomorrow, do you wanna get Dream—oh wait. You went already. You probably don’t want it a second time. I’ll just go to Starbucks or something on my way back.”

“N-no! I’d love to go tomorrow. I was hoping to try their waffles at some point, anyway.”

“Okay, great. Goodnight, Yoori.”

“Goodnight,” she says quietly after the lights have been turned off.

Emotionally, the following week is fine, but it’s hard on your body. 

Your hangover takes over your whole Sunday, leaving you to slightly behind on work Monday. It creates a spiral of catching up on work that has you staying up further and further past your bedtime and unable to be as social as you’d like. Yoori lets you know via Snapchat that she misses you but that Jungkook has taken your spot at your usual study table. The two of them look adorable in the little puppy ear filter Yoori’s put over the short video. You watch with mixed feelings as Yoori blows a kiss and then remembers that Jungkook is there and ushers him into blowing a kiss as well. It’s not nearly as enthusiastic and stiffer than the one Yoori sent you but it still sends your heart into a fluttering tizzy.

Friday couldn’t come soon enough. But as soon as you wake up that morning, you feel jittery and off. All your warm clothes are in the hamper, none of them salvageable for one last wear. And all your motivation has been zapped after the week of constant working you just had. Classes prove to be no better despite the fact that they give you time to get out of your head. 

The rest of the day is syrupy, leaving you struggling through it even as you try to go with the flow of the sluggishly passing hours. Normally you aim for productivity, but as soon as your final lecture for the day ends, you find yourself unable to pass time with work. You take a walk through campus and even venture all the way over to the theatre department, on the other side of the common grounds. You try to sit on the frosted benches looking out over the man-made pond students often frequent, but your joggers aren’t prepared for the extreme cold and you realize maybe familiarity, instead of novelty, is what will make the time pass by quicker.

You decide to text Taehyung. His schedule is something that you’ve come to passively memorize after weeks of the information casually floating through past conversations.

You: Im bored

BigBoi: Where r u I’ll pick u up

You: @ Seemond’s pond…

BigBoi: ???

Taehyung arrives not ten minutes later, cheeks flushed with exertion from hustling over. He’s also not at all dressed for the weather, but doesn’t look bothered by it either in his university hoodie and thick knitted scarf. His beaten sneakers crunch loudly on the thin layer of white that’s collected since the last snowfall a few days ago.

“Oh my god, Tae, aren’t you freezing?”

Immediately you approach him and pull the hood laying limply along his shoulder blades over his colored hair. The roots have since started growing in and the color has faded enough to give him more of a coppery rose gold look. It’s a color so many Instagram influencers would have shit themselves over last summer trying to perfect at a professional salon, and here Taehyung stands with it after a bleach-happy accident in his dorm’s communal bathroom sink.

“Not really. I was actually nearby looking for a printer in BPD hall.”

“What for?”

“Financial aid forms,” he sighs. You grimace in sympathy before shirking your oversized black mittens.

“At least put these on if you’re not even going to pretend you checked the weather this morning.”

“What about you?” He gestures to the parts of your bare hands that he can see poking out from the sleeves of your own large puffy jacket.

“I’ll be fine. This has fleece-lined pockets. Meanwhile,” bending over, you peer into the front tummy pocket of his hoodie. “You only have a tootsie roll lining.” You dig your fist into the pocket and pull out the scraps of trash he’d been hiding in there with only mild disgust marring your features. “How do you live like that?”

“Dunno, just do. Maybe it’s because people like you can’t help but throw it out before I get the chance to get sick of it and do it myself.”

“Fair enough.”

“What should we do?”

“I don’t know. I’m cold and I don’t wanna do work.”

“How about a movie marathon?”

“Sure.”

* * *

“This isn’t what I thought you meant when you said movie,” you huff as the black opening credit scene dissolves and a French couple in a black and white colorscape whisper to one another in a moonlit alley.

“You said you didn’t care what we watched.”

“That was under the assumption that I would be able to understand it. There’s not even subtitles.”

“You don’t need them.”

“Yes, I do, because I don’t speak French. And neither do you.”

“That doesn’t really matter. You can read their body language and get all you need to from that.”

You try to fix your stare on the couple who is now running from the police with a pair of bloodied knives in their hands and smiles on their faces.

“This isn’t a horror movie, is it?”

“No,” he trails off suspiciously. When you whip your head to the side to glare at him, he cracks. “What? It’s not! It’s a thriller.”

“Anything that could give me nightmares is a horror movie, Taehyung.”

“It’s not even that scary,” he says right at the moment when the couple is seen carving into a police man’s face with the previously shown knives.

The cinematic effects are gross but clearly dated and if you were a reasonable person, you would find it laughable. But instead the dyed corn syrup dripping off the actor’s face just makes your stomach clench and you grab onto Taehyung’s arm out of disgust and anger.

“Why would you put me through this?”

“To get your mind off of Jungkook,” he says matter-of-factly.

Your mouth drops open when you realize partly that he’s right and partly you haven’t had a single moping thought about Jungkook and Yoori in the near hour it took to pick up snacks from the convenience store and walk over to Taehyung’s place from the pond while avoiding ice patches. It’s honestly a brilliant plan, but you hate him for it at the same time.

“You’re a dick.” You punctuate the statement with a sharp punch to the meat of his shoulder and revel in the bashful look he gives you while rubbing at the spot. “But thank you. If you wanted to get my mind off it, you didn’t have to use horror to do it.”

“True, but my options were limited since, one, I don’t have cable, and two, I don’t want to watch reality tv.”

“We could make fun of shitty rom-coms. That’s a good compromise.”

And that is how you end up watching a slightly watered down knock off of Fifty Shades with the TV remote in hand, rewinding, so you can point out where you can see the camera person’s reflection in the female lead’s pendant necklace.

“That’s a huge oversight. I can’t believe these people walk around like they’ve dedicated their lives to a certain level of craft only to do this”

“I mean, the fact that they used Papyrus font in their online movie poster should have clued you in,” you snort.

Both of you watch as the male lead swims up to his co-star where she stands at the foot of the pool he’s in. The grin he flashes her is blindingly white and his teeth resemble pearls in an unattractively artificial way.

“Why do people think veneers like that look good,” you sigh and shift so you can reach over and play with the faded pink strands of Taehyung’s hair. He leans in unconsciously and shrugs.

“I don’t know. Maybe they think people won’t be able to tell the difference.”

“I suppose that’s fair. But with everything being filmed in high definition these days, there’s less wiggle room for that sort of thing.”

Male lead reaches for the slender ankle of his co-star and tugs her into the pool, soaking her dainty white eyelet dress. When she comes up for air, she pouts for a second before swiping at him and missing. She nearly falls face first back into the water but he reaches out with a condescending laugh and catches her with ease despite what physics would predict to be possible. The moment turns serious quickly as the pair stare into each other’s eyes. You don’t understand how she’s supposed to be the homely girl next door when she’s got what you know are the most expensive mink lash extensions on the market and the most symmetrical, albeit oddly familiar, face you’ve ever seen.

“Wow,” Taehyung scoffs as the actor pulls her in for a heated kiss. “They really think that’s what buildup looks like. It’s fifteen minutes in and we still don’t know his name. And didn’t they just meet for the first time the day before this?”

“Keep up, Tae. Don’t you know all women want in life is to get rawed in the pool of the mystery guy who cut them off in the supermarket 24 hours prior?”

“Ah. That must be why my sex life is so grim.”

“Look at that,” you gesture to the couple that is now stumbling out of the pool and into the man’s perfectly lit mansion in a race to get to the bedroom. “That could be you if you had decided to take your dad’s car this year and cut some random girl off in the parking lot of the Price Chopper.”

“Damn. Would I have his mansion too?” You nod gravely.

“Probably.” You finish plaiting the hair of his sideburns and leave him with a little inflexible pink braid poking out from his temple.

“How’s it look?” He gestures to the side of his head with your handiwork on it.

“You look really great. You might not even need to break the rules of parking etiquette to snag a hot date.”

You both return your attention to the TV only to find the movie couple in a fairly compromising position. The lead actress is bent over the arm of a sofa as the camera ‘artistically’ captures the rapid way the actor drills into her from behind. It catches both of you off guard and a nervous laugh bubbles its way out of you.

“This is ridiculous.” Taehyung rolls his eyes and turns to laugh at the display with you.

“Yeah,” you say half-heartedly.

Even though the movie is horribly done and nothing in its execution per se turns you on, it is Friday. And your body has gotten pretty used to your weekend schedule. Which, up until recently, would have meant that at this hour Taehyung and Hoseok would be out somewhere looking for a place to vape while you helped Jungkook out of his pants at his apartment.

But that’s not what’s happening right now because Jungkook is probably on his way in a rental car to pick Yoori up for their third official date. To the movies. Still, that doesn’t stop your body from revving up more than it should after watching such a stupid romance movie. If you close your eyes, you’re sure you could remember with scary accuracy the feel of Jungkook’s hands on you.

“Hey.” At your awkward silence, Taehyung’s voice lowers and he leans in to tease you, “You’re not actually enjoying this, are you?”

“N-no, of course not.”

He lets out an incredulous laugh. “Holy crap, you are. You’re into this.”

“No, I’m not! Stop!”

“This is hilarious. I can’t believe you like this.” He stares at the screen with a baffled smile on his face, trying to see what could be so appealing about the affected look of arousal on the male lead’s face as he bites his lip with zero finesse. “Is it him?”

“It’s not him,” you scrabble for an answer, “I-it’s the actress.” At that his eyes widen and he looks at you like he’s seeing you for the first time. “I mean, I recognize her from a porno, that’s all.”

“No way,” he says before studying the woman’s face. When the actor pulls tightly on her ponytail and forces a whining moan out of her, his eyes light up with recognition. “Wait, yeah, you’re right.”

“Told you.”

“Hold on. You watch porn?” You roll your eyes.

“Yeah, I watch porn. Sometimes I need some visual stimuli too. And she’s been in a few of them.”

“Hmm,” he says finally, “Never would have thought you’d like her stuff.”

“You say that like you’ve thought about what I’d watch.”

“Well, you’re just so—“

A sharp sound comes from near the front door as Hoseok barges in hurriedly, nearly falling and spilling the grocery bags in his hands. He places them on the small table outside the entrance to the tiny kitchenette.

“Tae, I tried calling you like 5 different times about getting the door. Why didn’t you pick up your...phone,” Hoseok trails off as he takes in the fact that you’re in Taehyung’s apartment, very early to the Friday game night, seated very close to Taehyung with a flaming cheeks on the couch while what looks like soft-core porn plays in the background.

“My phone must have died from the cold. Bro, I’m really sor—“

“What the hell are you two doing,” he sneers.

“We were just watching a movie,” you pipe in when you sense a weird shift in the mood.

Obviously, you’re closer to Jungkook than you are to Taehyung or Hoseok, but you really don’t understand the strange energy in the room. Hoseok looks angrier than he should about Taehyung not helping him with carrying some snacks and Taehyung looks overly imploring. Perhaps this is just how they are when they’re annoyed, but it still strikes you as odd even from a slightly distant perspective. When no one says anything you get up slowly, like you would around wild animals in a territory death match, and move towards Hoseok to help him with the food.

“Here, I’ll help you put these away,” you say quietly with a soft hand on his back to get him to break his cold glare. “Don’t be mad at Tae, he didn’t do anything.”

The glare is only slightly softened as he turns to you, jaw clenched. “Well, what about you?”

“What are you talking about?”

The genuine confusion on your face seems to dissolve whatever’s left of the sudden rage that filled him, and he breaks down and lets you take the bags he’s still holding from him. While your back is turned, Hoseok looks suspiciously over at Taehyung, who is still staring back with large, nervous eyes.

“Sorry,” he says sheepishly when you finish unpacking the first bag of chips and come over to him to take the next one.

“Whatever,” you huff good-naturedly. “As long as you leave me out of your little lovers’ quarrel, I’m fine. Go make up, I’ll finish with these.”

You watch Hoseok amble over to Taehyung and begin whispering frantically before they finally come to some sort of agreement and hug it out.

When you come back to the couch, Hoseok has taken your spot next to Taehyung and has man-spread all over the rest of the free space. Even the back of the couch is claimed by his outstretched arms. Both of them stop their whispered conversation and turn to see why you’re hovering.

“What’s up,” Hoseok inquires suspiciously.

“Are we gonna do anything tonight? I could be in bed right now, but instead I’m here.”

“We have to pick the game first. My vote is for poker.”

“No poker. You still owe me like 80 bucks from last time you thought you could bluff,” Taehyung crosses his arms in a huff.

“That’s in the past, I’m a new man now. This Hoseok doesn’t owe you anything.”

“You’re an ass.” Taehyung springs to the side and quickly locks Hoseok in a sloppy headlock.

You watch them struggle on the couch in mild interest until Taehyung loses his footing and Hoseok’s wiggling underneath him pitches them both onto the floor. Someone’s head hits the coffee table on the way down, and you wince in sympathy, but they carry on like nothing happened.

The idea of letting them tire themselves out seems appealing at first but when Hoseok sinks his teeth into Taehyung’s hoodie-clad bicep and draws out a yelp, you intervene as neutrally as possible.

“Why don’t we just start with Gin Rummy?”

“Okay.” Hoseok drops Taehyung’s arm from his mouth, suddenly content.

You give him a wide berth and wait until after he goes into the kitchen to hunt for a deck of cards to offer Taehyung a helping hand up off the ground. He doesn’t make eye contact with you as you make your way over to the table, so you can’t silently grill him.

“How many is it? 5 per person,” Hoseok asks while shuffling the cards.

Small Styrofoam bowls are neatly laid out across the center of the table, each one filled with the chips from earlier. You perch in the chair next to Hoseok so you’re close to the Cheetos.

“It’s 7, I think.”

“Cool,” is all he says before handing you your cards.

You go around the table for a few rounds, placing cards down that you don’t need, picking up cards that you do and the occasional chip. Halfway through the first round, Taehyung gets up to turn off the fluorescents and turn on the fairy lights Hoseok won’t stop teasing him for having. You sync your phone up to his speaker and play music in the background and revel in the fact that you’re getting back into the swing of having fun with them. Without Jungkook.

“You still got beer, right?” Hoseok doesn’t look up from his cards since he’s very close to winning the round and he needs only 1 more card.

“Yeah,” you say, slapping down another card. “We picked some up at the convenience store. I’ll go get a pack for the table.”

“Thanks. I think I’m gonna call out for food too. What do you guys want?”

“I want pancakes,” Taehyung smiles brightly at the prospect of something other than the sad deli meats in his fridge.

Opening the door to his fridge leaves you confused. “You have stuff for pancakes.”

“Yeah, but I have to cook it,” he pouts at you through the window in the kitchen wall.

“It’s your turn,” Hosoek informs you.

You load up with supplies for making pancakes and head over to the table to distribute the ingredients amongst yourselves. Taehyung cracks eggs when it’s not his turn, Hoseok levels out the dry ingredients. You’re pouring milk into a bowl when one of your favorite songs from high school starts blaring through the speakers.

“Oh shit! Do you guys remember when this came out?”

“They played it at my homecoming dance,” Hoseok grimaces at the memory while you gyrate and mix the ingredients in a large bowl. “And then they played it on the radio for, like, 3 months straight afterwards. It was fucking annoying.”

“Yeah, but it’s been so long now. It’s good again. Come on, get up.” You pass Taehyung the bowl and creep towards Hoseok.

“What are you doing?” He smiles up at you like you’re crazy. You lace your fingers together and pull him out of his chair.

“What does it look like? I’m making you dance with me.”

“But you can’t dance, though.”

“Don’t ruin the fun,” you whine.

At first he doesn’t dance with you. He just continues to stand and lets you mouth the words at him and occasionally wave your hands in his face or pinch his cheeks when the lyrics get good. He even lets you bump hips with him and pretend to grind on him from behind.

Despite himself, your good mood is infectious and when you scamper back in front of him for the chorus, he surprises you by taking you into waltz position. It doesn’t fit the song, but it’s funny because you end up doing a bouncy-looking two step that resembles a sped-up prom dance. Taehyung hoots supportively from where he stands in the kitchen, melting butter on the stove.

Hoseok bends you over into a theatrical dip, causing you to let out a shrieking laugh and clutch at him so he doesn’t drop you. The song ends, but he jokingly holds the pose until your thighs are burning and you’re yelling for him to pull you back up. The front door clicks open while you bicker lightly.

“Look who decided to show up,” Hoseok drawls and finally brings you back up slowly, so you don’t get a head rush.

You blink away the stars that were starting to form in the corners of your eyes and realize Jungkook is, in fact, back from his date. At 9:43, no less. With Yoori in tow.

In your opinion, it’s much too early for someone to be back from date night with the long-time love of their life, but you can’t bring yourself to say anything. Instead you fiddle with the hem of your sweater nervously. Something about Yoori and Jungkook being present in the same room makes you a bit anxious. Perhaps its because it makes your policy about stopping your weekly rendezvous until things get physically serious between the two of them seem very flimsy.

Yoori and Jungkook are both clearly tipsy. You can tell from the way Jungkook hangs himself off her petite frame like he’s looking for support. You roll your eyes and go over to wrestle him from her and waddle him over to the dining room table where he can sit.

“How was your date,” you turn to Yoori who is hovering behind you with sleepy eyes.

“It was alright. The movie was a little boring,” she stage-whispers into your ear. “Don’t tell Kook.”

“You didn’t like the movie?” His head lolls back so he can look up at Yoori with doe eyes. Disappointment makes them look extra round and shiny.

She raises her brows guiltily. “I thought the new superhero movie would have been more your speed. I didn’t mind the idea of seeing it. I like action films.”

“Oh.”

You scamper out of the dining area as fast as you can to join Hoseok and Taehyung in the kitchen. The awkward couple moment they’re having isn’t something you think you should be privy to anyway.

Taehyung chuckles at the mortified expression on your face while Hoseok’s considers you stoically.

“Are they being too mushy in there?”

“No, not really.” You sigh. “It’s just weird realizing that I’ve never really been around them when they’re together. I don’t like the idea that I can’t get a read on the situation when they’re both good friends, you know?”

Hoseok snorts dryly. “Well, you know what they say. Dating changes people.”

“Yeah, but this is Kook we’re talking about,” Taehyung murmurs while stirring the hidden flour patches at the bottom of the bowl back into the batter. “Do you really think he’s changed that much?”

You shrug. “I don’t know.”

“Maybe you’ve changed,” Hoseok suggests.

And maybe you have. Not in the normal way, where you outgrow people. But maybe something about you has changed since you started being intimate with Jungkook in such a way where you can’t be just his gaming buddy or his companionable silence partner. Gone are the days where you could push down your infatuation long enough to sit pressed close to each other on the couch when the Iron Man movie series is marathoning on TV. You’re not sure if that’s made things easier or harder on you. Perhaps its been a little bit of both.

“What are you guys up to?”

Jungkook has managed to amble over to the kitchen while staying upright thanks to Yoori’s guiding hands. Now he’s peering into the entrance of the kitchen after the way you, Taehyung, and Hoseok whispering to one another piqued his interest. Yoori lays on the sofa, recovering from too many glasses of complimentary movie chardonnay.

You keep your head down and pretend watching Taehyung ladle batter onto the griddle is fascinating enough not to reply. Thoughts of whether or not something crucial has shifted occupy your mind too much for you to speak.

“Just playing cards and making pancakes,” Taehyung shouts over the crackling sound of the first pancake hitting the hot skillet.

“The usual,” Hoseok jokes before pitching his voice into a slyer register. “How was the date?”

“It was fine,” Jungkook answers shyly, eyes glued to your silent form. The button down he’s wearing suddenly feels too tight and he undoes the top button to give himself some air. “How was your night?”

“Here, I’ll take over,” you mumble.

You take the spatula from Taehyung’s hand and motion for the guys to leave  the kitchen while you flip the pancakes. It’ll give you something to do, and Taehyung’s thoughtful enough to go without asking questions. They don’t move far and instead Hosoek and Taehyung crowd Jungkook just outside the kitchen doorframe. Hopefully none of them notice how you turn the heat down so you can listen better. A masochistic part of you is curious to know how the date went even if you’re not sure if you can face him without combusting.

“Come on, tell us what happened. It’s just us guys,” Hoseok hisses before remembering that you’re you and you’re probably listening. Suddenly he feels like a douche. “We’re all friends,” he corrects himself. Jungkook, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to be aware of your eavesdropping and complies.

“I…what do you wanna know?”

“Where’d you go?”

“To the movies. To see Cloud Break.”

Taehyung whistles lowly. “That’s supposed to be the number one date movie of the year.”

“It was very romantic,” Jungkook cracks a small, shy smile. “But I don’t think she really liked it.”

“Stil. Sounds like our boy is a real Casanova, huh?” Hoseok pats him roughly on the back with a wide grin. “The movies, though. Did you make it to third base?”

“Jeez, don’t sound so excited when you ask that,” Taehyung says with a cringe.

“What? I just wanna know if he’s any closer to swiping that V card. So,” Hoseok turns to stare, “Did you?”

“We’re taking it slow,” is all Jungkook says, eyes shifting behind the guys, towards you.

“Pancakes are ready,” you call from the kitchen. You figure it’s safe for you go back out, so you load a plate up with a tall stack and turn the stove off. Yoori’s head pops up at the sound of fresh food and hops up to come join you.

After you put the plate down, you wait until everyone is seated. Oddly enough, Jungkook and Yoori both sit on either side of the head of the table, leaving you to sit in between them.

“Thanks for cooking,” Jungkook mutters as soon as you sit down.

“No need to thank me. I’m just doing my part to have a fun Friday,” you answer awkwardly.

“These look better than the ones at Dreamies,” Yoori beams over at you. She cuts her pancakes happily before shoving a large, syrup-laden bite in her mouth. She gives you a cute thumbs up that breaks your serious mood for a moment.

You give her a warm squeeze on the shoulder. “Thanks for the high praise.”

“So, uh, what else have you guys been doing,” Jungkook inquires politely.

“Well,” Hoseok mentions nonchalantly through a full mouth, gesturing towards you. “I caught these two watching porn earlier when I came in with groceries. And this one couldn’t keep her hands off me after that.”

“Oh.” Jungkook’s cheeks start to heat as he looks between you and Hoseok and then you and Taehyung.

You almost choke on your own food as Hoseok’s words register. “That is so inaccurate. How are you so comfortable lying like that?”

“Is it not the truth? Kook, you even saw her when you came in. Seems like she’s a real minx when she gets going. Who knew all it took was Fifty Shades.”

Taehyung tries to come to your rescue. “We weren’t even watching Fifty Shades—”

“So, it was actual porn,” Hoseok’s eyes narrow at him suspiciously.

“Oh my god,” you raise your hands in surrender and then push your plate back. “I can’t do this. I’m freezing and you’re annoying. Tae, I’m stealing some clothes. Yoori, you look cold. I’ll bring you something too.” You storm out of the dining room and make a beeline for Taehyung’s room. 

While you were used to Hoseok’s ribbing, today you were extra sensitive to it and you needed some air. But you are actually cold, so you do spend a few minutes rummaging through Taehyung’s immaculate wardrobe until you find a sweater that has you smiling widely at the memories it evokes.

“I can’t believe you still have this,” you remark with arms out to showcase the sweater when you come back. The four of them all turn to see the sweater you’re wearing.

It’s a run-of-the-mill sweater until you look at the picture that’s been screen-printed onto the front. It’s a picture of you and Taehyung in your freshman year that was taken minutes after the annual Mud Run. It had been a split-second decision the two of you made after a terrible set of midterms, but the smiles on both of your slightly rounder and muddied faces don’t indicate any inkling of regret. You give Yoori the only cashmere you could find that wasn’t on the floor.

“Of course he still has it,” Hoseok smiles proudly, “I put my blood, sweat, and tears into making it. And I was there to take the fricking picture at the end of the race at 9 am on a Saturday. Do you not still have yours?”

“Sadly no. I lost mine when I moved into the sophomore dorms.”

“I wish I had been there to watch the race. I should have stayed on campus,” Jungkook chimes in, cheeks full of pancake.

“Yeah,” Hoseok counters, “But if you had stayed, you wouldn’t have ever gotten Yoori’s number in the first place. So, it all worked out in the end, right?”

Suddenly, you’re not hungry and the lively mood that the night started with has disappeared. Taehyung must sense the subtle downward shift in your shoulders and runs to get the bottle of wine Hoseok bought for you that’s been chilling in the fridge.

“Why don’t we play another game,” he suggests once he’s back at the table and filling your glass.

Yoori perks up. “That’s a great idea! Let’s play something old-school. Do you have any board games?”

“I don’t think either of us has played a board game since before 2010. Much less owned one,” Jungkook winces.

“Really? Well, it doesn’t have to be a board game. Why don’t we do another old-fashioned one. Like Charades.”

Hoseok places his head in his hands elegantly, face the picture of innocence. But you know better.

“Yoori, how do you feel about Truth or Dare?” You squeeze your eyes shut and hope she says she’s never heard of it. Or that she hates it.

“I love Truth or Dare! Let’s play once everyone’s done eating.”

You curse under your breath, but return her excited smile when she turns to you and fills your cup once more. As a safety precaution, you finish the single pancake you’d served yourself earlier before taking another sip. Its not that you’re hungry, but you’d rather not be drinking on a completely empty stomach.

When everyone has had their fill of food, new bottles of booze get taken with you to the living room. There, you all rearrange the couch and the various upholstered chairs that Taehyung has collected until everyone is seated comfortably. Taehyung sits down last because he was in his room searching for his trusted 20 sided die.

“Okay, who’s who?”

“I call 3’s,” Hoseok calls with a hand raised straight in the air.

“No way,” you huff, “You’ll have way too many chances to be It. Pick multiples of at least four or I’m banning you from playing.”

“You can’t ban me from playing. Tae, can she ban me from playing?”

“I’m gonna go ahead and say yeah,” Taehyung says casually. You smile at Hosoek smugly.

“Fine. I pick 5’s.”

“I’ll take 3’s,” Yoori says once she understands the rules you all are operating under. No one goes to argue against her.

“I call even primes,” you say. You’re really not interested in playing this game.

Hoseok rolls his eyes at you. “Why even play if you’re gonna be like that?”

“You’re both wrong,” Taehyun grins. “Odd primes is where it’s at.”

“I guess I’ll take leftovers,” Jungkook sighs. He’s equally unenthused to be playing, but mainly because every previous time he’s played the game, Taehyung has dared him to smack Hoseok’s ass as hard as possible. It never ends well. “What is that? 3, 4, 5, 8 and what else?”

“14 through 16,” you supply automatically.

“Wow,” Yoori coos and latches onto your arm. “You’re so smart.”

“Alright! If everyone has a number, let’s play,” Hoseok shouts.

In the first few rolls, Taehyung and Yoori get the majority of the turns. Yoori is kind and sticks with truths for the most part, forcing Taehyung to bring up the strawberry shaped birthmark on his ass and Jungkook to talk about how he still doesn’t know how to ride a bike. Things pick up a bit when Hoseok manages a roll and Taehyung makes the mistake of choosing Dare. In response, Hoseok tells Taehyung to pull down his pants and show everyone the birthmark. You and Yoori exchange wide glances and giggle quietly as Taehyung downs the rest of his drink for some liquid courage.

“Taehyung,” Yoori giggles behind your hand as you attempt to cover her eyes. “You don’t have to do this if you don’t feel comfortable.”

“I don’t think I have much of a choice,” he grumbles before turning to face away from the group. He tugs his pants and boxers down a few inches before the pert curve of his butt. There, just south of the equator on the globe of his ass lies a very strawberry-shaped birthmark.

Immediately, Yoori chokes on her drink trying, and failing, to stifle her laughter at the pure ridiculousness of the mark. Meanwhile, you aren’t doing much better.

You pull your lip between your teeth as you hold back the cackle you desperately wish to let out. Instead, you opt for reaching out and pinching at the nearest cheek. The way he jumps slightly out of your reach while cupping his junk and glaring weakly at you sends you over the edge.

“Not bad,” Yoori snorts out between giggles.

“Yeah, wait a minute.” You gasp. “You have a cute little ass, Tae. I thought you said you didn’t have time for the gym.”

Taehyung’s face flushes, but he still smiles a self-depricating smile as he pulls up his pants finally. “I don’t. This baby is 100% homegrown.”

“I see. Must be all the tater tots,” you say with tears nearly rolling down your cheeks.

“And all the La-Z boy sitting.”

“Nice.”

Jungkook huffs audibly. He crosses his arms as he watches the game unfold, suddenly infinitely less interested in playing than he was a few minutes ago. “This is stupid.”

“Are you not having fun?”

He turns to Yoori quickly while remembering that he’s seated next to her. His own cheeks color with a bit of shame that he’d been caught being petulant.

“It’s not that. I mean…I just thought this would be a bit more mature.”

Yoori cocks her head to the side to appraise him and takes a sip of wine. “Is Truth or Dare known for its sophisticated gameplay?” A reserved and unreadable smile tugs at the corner of her lips.

“Not really,” he stammers. “I just figured you wouldn’t be interested in immature stuff like this.”

“Hmm. I’m actually having quite a lot of fun. Don’t worry about me and loosen up.”

Jungkook swallows roughly and mentally chides himself for being weird. Even he’s not sure where the pouting spell came from. Regardless, he smothers down the party pooper vibes and tries to enjoy the game as best he can.

Taehyung rolls a 10 and pouts at not be able to get back at Yoori. After all the laughter and the handful of swipes she’d made at his birthmark, he’s eager to pay her back somehow. But all he can do is turn to Hoseok with a bored expression.

“Truth or dare?”

“Dare. Do you worst!” Hoseok sits excitedly at the edge of his seat while waiting for Taehyung to come up with a juicy truth or dare.

“Uh, I don’t know, bro. I dare you to do, like, 30 pushups or something.”

“That’s such a shitty dare.”

“I couldn’t think of anything. I was hoping Yoori would roll so I could give her a taste of her own medicine,” he says while locking eyes with Yoori. The two engage in a semi-serious staring competition for a while before they break into laughter.

“This is bullshit,” Hoseok mumbles as he rises from his chair and gets into position to do the pushups.

The room is quiet while everyone waits for him to finish. Sound of his exertion floats over from his section of the circle and you swipe through your twitter feed in the meantime. But you become so engrossed in a recipe for spinach dip that you don’t realize Hoseok has rolled a 2 and is calling out to you.

“What,” you say, distracted by the amount of leafy greens going into the dip.

“Put your phone away,” Hoseok whines, “It’s game night rules.”

You don’t look up from your screen. “Doesn’t count when we’re not playing video games.”

“You suck.”

“So do you.”

“Truth or dare.”

“Dare,” you say on autopilot before realizing the mistake you’ve made.

You let your phone clatter to the ground and prepare to take back what you said, but you can see that its too late from the smirk Hoseok is wearing. It’s the worst kind, too. The smarmy one that lets you know he’s thinking about doing something greasy. You’re willing to bet all the money left in your student account balance that he’s going to dare you to show him your boobs.

“Dare you to kiss Yoori,” he says smugly, like he’s got you cornered.

You’re only slightly surprised and let out a breath of relief. The idea that he might dare you to shed your layers to sit in Taehyung’s freezing living room in just your bra and bottoms was really worrying you.

“Really, Hoseok? What are we, 13?”

Taehyung chimes in with concern. “Yeah. They might not be comfortable with that.”

“I’m fine with it,” Yoori perks up slightly in her seat.

“Okay,” Taehyung hesitates, “But Jungkook—”

“Might not approve of it? Why don’t we ask him,” she supplies before turning to Jungkook. “Kook, what do you think?”

“Well, I—”

“Why the hell would he care,” Hoseok cuts him off. “Dude, you don’t care, right? It’s harmless and its 2018.”

“Y-yeah, I guess.” He pushes his glasses up with his ring finger, a nervous tick you’re familiar with. Your first instinct is to go over and see what’s wrong, but you quell the urge. 

“Holy shit,” Hoseok mumbles to himself when he realizes this is really happening. You get up to join Yoori in the love seat she’s occupying. Before you can change your minds he speaks up. “No pecks. It has to be real.”

“Figured as much,” you roll your eyes and gesture for Yoori to scooch closer to you. She sends you a smile that’s hidden from the others by the shiny curtain of her hair. You mirror it back automatically.

“For 60 seconds,” Hoseok shouts. Yoori’s eyes widen at the time condition but she doesn’t say anything.

“That’s too much.”

“30 seconds, but you have to use tongue.”

“Hoseok!” You and Taehyung yell simultaneously.

“Fine,” he says before thinking for a beat. “45 seconds but no lame stuff. Final offer.”

You check in with Yoori to see if she objects, but she merely rests her cheek on your shoulder and gives you a thumbs up.

“Deal, you damn pervert.”

Hoseok scrambles to get his phone timer launched while you and Yoori arrange yourselves accordingly once and then a second time when Hoseok says he can’t see. You whisper an apology on his behalf, but Yoori waves it off and pulls you in with a gentle hand resting at the base of your neck. You can’t help but notice that even from a few inches away, her skin is flawless. Its almost unfair.

“Alright. Start.”

Yoori swoops in and immediately parts your lips with her own. They’re soft and taste like the moscato she’s been drinking, and it’s honestly a very tantalizing sensory experience. You let her take over, let her press you closer until her nose brushes your cheek and she sucks your lip into her mouth. It takes you by surprise and when you gasp softly, she teases the border of your lips with her tongue ever so lightly. You let out an appreciative hum, surprising yourself. She smiles, nearly breaking the kiss, before nipping at you once. Tentatively, you brush your tongue against hers. She surges forward and works over your mouth until the soft chiming of Hoseok’s alarm alerts you that the dare has been completed.

You pull away first with hot cheeks and a slightly swollen mouth. Yoori looks pleased with herself as she looks over your flustered state. Neither of you see any of the guys’ shocked, wistful expressions. Yoori moves to smooth down the flyaways she created when she pressed you into the seat’s upholstery.

“You kiss just like Jungkook,” she laughs before pulling away slightly. The others murmur in the background as they strain to listen in.

“Wait, what?” Her words are slow to register at first. “You guys have kissed?”

“Yeah. Loads of times,” she snickers, “On the way to the restaurant, in the parking lot of Dreamies, in the back of his car. My apartment. We’ve even—” She takes in the mortified look on your face and grimaces. “Oh gosh, I’m sorry. I know you don’t like to hear about this stuff. I’ll stop.”

You make mental note of all the occasions she’s mentioned. One of which was their first date. But just yesterday Jungkook had told you that they hadn’t even started holding hands as a couple. And while he hadn’t made a comment about anything else, the implication behind the statement was that they definitely hadn’t done anything more than that. Something about his more daring behavior struck you as unusual. But if he’d been getting other practice elsewhere, it wouldn’t be odd at all.

He had lied to you. And you wonder what else he’d been lying about.

When you turn around to face Jungkook, he looks pale and scared. You’ve only ever seen him look like that a handful of times and it was when he was in deep shit and it was his own fault. During those times, you’d somehow managed to show him why he was wrong while also making him feel supported. This time, though, there was no way you could do that. Not without throwing away what little dignity you have left from getting into this heinous arrangement in the first place.

Taehyung, Yoori, and Hoseok look on silently as you and Jungkook exchange the long look. Jungkook’s chest rises and falls rapidly as adrenaline runs through his system. When you stand up, he stands up at the same time, a hand instinctively reaching out.

You ignore him in favor of grabbing your things without a word and pulling up the bus schedule app on your phone. You’re not going to force yourself to wait around for an uber to pick you up, but you’re also not going to subject yourself to further torture by walking home in the middle of winter. Once you see that the next bus is coming in 20 minutes, you put on your jacket.

“I’m heading out. I’ll see you guys around.” You wince as your voice cracks a little bit, but don’t bother lingering to see if people noticed. You hurry out with the hopes that you can find a place to hide and wait for the bus before Jungkook can follow you out. He calls your name, softly at first, but you don’t acknowledge him.

But you don’t get any further than a few meters away down Taehyung’s hallway before Jungkook’s catching up after having sprinted out after you.

“Jungkook, stop,” is all you can trust yourself to say as you stare at your shoes.

“I can explain.”

“Fine.” You look up at him, gaze sharp. “Explain.”

He seems taken aback like he didn’t think you’d let him speak. His demeanor turns sheepish. “I didn’t mean to lie to you. It just...happened.”

“Do you think I’m stupid enough to believe that? You made a choice, Jungkook. It didn’t just happen. I want to know why you chose to lie.”

“I just…wasn’t ready for the weekends to stop.”

“Look, I get it. You got used to getting your rocks off. But we had a deal. It shouldn’t have mattered that you didn’t want it to end. As soon as you and Yoori got physical, we were supposed to go back to normal.”

“That’s not why I decided to lie,” he hisses.

“Then why did you?”

“Because!”

“Because?” You scoff. “That’s not an answer.”

“Because I,” he stammers, not sure of what to  to say. “I didn’t feel comfortable detailing mine and Yoori’s intimacy to you.”

“You didn’t feel comfortable?” Your voice is carefully low, but raises as you continue. “You didn’t feel comfortable telling me, the girl who has been your best friend since we were kids, about you and your new girlfriend? The girl who you had spit into your palm yesterday so you could jerk off in her bed yesterday? You didn’t feel fucking uncomfortable then, Jungkook!”

“Well, you’re always talking about my comfort. Shouldn’t it matter when I’m uncomfortable? Even if its at a weird time?”

“Fine. Let’s say you were uncomfortable. You still should have told me.”

“Why is it your business?”

Your jaw drops open. “Maybe because yours and Yoori’s relationship is the reason this whole thing started? And maybe because if you’re going to be running between the two of us and swapping bodily fluids, I should know? For my own fucking health?”

He stammers when he realizes that reason never came to mind once. Its a losing argument, he knows. As a last ditch effort, he turns things around.

“Is that the only reason why you’re mad? Because you think I would have given you an STD?”

“Are you serious,” your voice cracks again as tears take hold of you. “You think that’s all I care about?”

“You haven’t made any other points,” Jungkook sniffs like he’s indifferent to your shimmering eyes. “What else am I supposed to think? Is there something else?”

“I can’t believe someone so smart can be so stupid. You really don’t get it? I can’t keep sneaking around with you like this because you’re dating a girl who’s my friend now. But even if she weren’t, I can’t keep doing this because I have feelings—”

The front door opens and Hoseok slides through and closes it softly. He takes in your bowed shoulders, watery eyes, and shaking hands before pinning Jungkook with a glare that’s so potent he steps back a bit.

“You okay,” he nods his chin at you subtly.

“Y-yeah, Hobi. I’m fine. Me and Kook were just talking.”

“Just talking, huh?”

“Hoseok,” Jungkook grits through clenched teeth, anxious for you to continue what you were about to say. “Go back inside. This doesn’t concern you.”

“Oh, I think it does. I mean, she’s my friend and you’ve been screwing her over figuratively and literally for the past month now, haven’t you?”

Your eyes widen and tears of embarrassment slip over your waterline. “You knew?”

“Of fucking course, I knew. You were walking around like you were suddenly getting laid and Kook was showing up to TA sessions with hickies on his neck the week after we made a joke about you taking his V card off his hands. All at the same time that you magically have to start staying over after game night at his place for tutoring,” he spits the word out. “You’re the smartest girl I know. There’s no way you actually have that much to learn from Kook of all people.”

“Oh, come on,” Jungkook drawls and steps in between you and Hosoek. “Don’t pretend to care about her now.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“You’re always picking fights with her. You don’t care what’s going here, you’re just trying to feed the flames.”

“Kook, stop,” you rasp from behind him, but he ignores you and shoves a hand into the center of Hoseok’s chest.

“Say more,” Hoseok smiles darkly, egging him on. The two of them stand inches apart, each one poised to attack the other at a moment’s notice.

“You’ve been itching to see things fall apart for me because you can’t handle being the oldest and the least accomplished in the group.” You try not to gasp but it’s hard because you’ve never heard him say something so nasty to anyone, let alone to someone you would both call a friend. “You’re just mad that your…your indifferent stoner, beta cool guy act hasn’t paid off and you’re still alone with your hand on the weekends. I can tell when someone wants what I have. You’re like every other stupid bully from high school, but with none of the popularity.”

Your mouth drops open, but you can’t find any words to stop the situation from escalating any further. Jungkook smirks at his silence. But Hoseok merely raises a casual eyebrow before turning to look down at you from over Jungkook’s shoulder.

“If you wanted sex that badly, you could have just come to me, you know. Offer still stands now, too.”

Before you can counter anything either of them has said, Jungkook’s fist collides with Hoseok’s jaw. The sound resonates in the empty hallway with a loud crunching sound followed by Hoseok tumbling to the floor and Jungkook yowling in pain at his damaged knuckles. Jungkook automatically turns to you, grimacing and cradling his hand, but you swerve past him to check on Hoseok.

He’s still very much conscious, but the blow took him by surprise and he lost his balance. There’s a little bit of blood when Jungkook’s fist split the skin on the side of Hoseok’s jawline and you can tell already that there will be swelling and bruising. But he should be fine and he doesn’t show any of the signs of concussion that you remember reading about a while ago.

You pull him up by the hand and sling his arm over your shoulder when he stumbles once upright. Together you hobble back into the apartment. Taehyung and Yoori are sitting stiffly at the dining room table when you come in and both rush forward to help you. Jungkook shuffles in after, at a loss for what’s going on.

Wrapping a bag of frozen vegetables from Taehyung’s freezer in a dish towel, you tend to Hoseok’s minor wounds. Taehyung looks tired and frantic as he looks at his friend in pain.

“I don’t get it. What happened out there?”

You hang your head in shame and to avoid both Taehyung and Hoseok’s watchful gazes. Thankfully Hoseok doesn’t say anything, but you’re so embarrassed and disoriented that nothing satisfying comes out.

“They were fighting. And Jungkook punched him.”

“But why would he do that? Hoseok, did you say something?”

“Don’t blame Hobi, he was trying to help me,” you whisper so Yoori can’t hear. You’re not sure you can handle breaking the news to everyone just yet. “Tae, I haven’t been honest with you a while now. Things have been going on between me and Kook and it hasn’t been right. All I can say is that I’m sorry. I know it doesn’t fix anything, but its been eating me up.” 

Jungkook watches as Yoori stands off to the side, looking lost and a little out of place as she tries to parse out where the boundaries for her are. She looks between you and him with uncertainty in her eyes before she finally comes over to check in with him first. He waves her off and watches her naturally gravitate towards you.

When Yoori comes asking you what’s happened with worry in her eyes, you look back at Jungkook for a moment before bawling your eyes out in the middle of the kitchen. Yoori envelopes you in a hug immediately, and you let her comfort you despite the fact that you’ve been secretly highjacking her relationship. Sobs wrack your body for a moment before your phone chimes to let you know your bus is coming soon.

You whisper in her ear that you’re sorry and you’ll explain when it’s the right time. You squeeze her soft hands to your cheek and stutter out that you don’t deserve a friend like her, but that you hope you can remedy that sooner rather than later. With that, you whisper a goodbye and head out, giving Jungkook a wide berth.

He turns around just in time for him to catch one last glimpse of you before the door swings shut behind you.

[breanime]

Tiny Little Increments (Part Four)

Warning: some slight steam! And this one’s a little longer to make up for the shortness of Part Three. I hope you enjoy!

*gif by @bilyrusso* (I think? I had it saved in my computer for this chapter, I hope it’s yours!)

Your heart stopped. Logan got out of his car—a cherry red Ferrari that purred like a fucking kitten—wearing a white button-up and black slacks, hair impeccably styled, and a grin on his face. Frank’s back was to you as you stood behind him on the porch, but you could practically feel him pricing Logan up.

“Hey Y/N!” Logan greeted you cheerfully. “You look great!” He stopped when he approached the gate. “You must be…”

“Frank,” your father said, thrusting his hand out for Logan to shake, “Y/N’s father.”

“Barely,” you interjected drily. You turned away, partly to tell the kids you were leaving, and partly to avoid having to see Logan shake hands with your father. “Kids, I’m leaving!” You called out, slamming the door shut before any of them could rush out, though you did see Cam, Emma, and Ethan in the window watching you. “Come on,” you said, taking Logan’s arm and trying to lead him away.

“Well, hold on, now,” Frank said, coming to stand beside you and peering over at Logan. “Just what exactly are your intentions with my daughter?” He asked.

Logan opened his mouth to answer with what you could only assume was a colorful and fully uncensored response, but you spoke before he could. “I’ll be back in an hour,” you lied, “so go get drunk somewhere else, and don’t bother the kids.”

“They’re my kids,” Frank pouted.

 “Only by blood,” you muttered, “Just go, Frank, please.”

“Hold on a minute,” Frank said, coming to stand in front of you and sticking his finger in your face, “I think it’s my right, as your father, to make sure you’re safe and that this guy knows how to treat you. So,” he turned to Logan now, “Logan, that come with a last name?”

  “Frank…” you began.

  “Delos,” Logan answered, “Logan Delos.”

Frank’s red eyes widened, and you knew that meant he knew that name. “Of the Delos Corporation?” He asked, practically salivating. “The multi-millionaire company with all that stock in robots and A.I?”

 “That’s the one,” Logan nodded.

 Frank turned to you. “Do anything he wants, Y/N,” he ordered seriously.

You felt Logan stiffen beside you, and you felt a wave of mortification go through you. There was nothing, absolutely nothing, your father wouldn’t do for cash—for drugs, which included selling you out when the opportunity arose, apparently—and you wanted to sock him right in his wrinkled, greasy face, but that wasn’t a good way to start a date.

“You’re kind of a piece of shit, aren’t you?” Logan asked, breaking the silence. He didn’t seem offended or incensed; he was just stating a simple fact. He seemed curious, actually.

Frank only grinned. “Where do you think she gets it from?”

“Okay,” you said with yet another eyeroll “Come by tomorrow and I’ll think about letting you take a shower,” you compromised, putting your hand on Frank’s back to move him forward and out of the yard, “You smell like a brewery in a zoo.”

He muttered a few things as he walked away, turning back every few seconds to glance back at Logan and the car.

“I see where you get your looks from,” Logan joked, opening the car door for you.

You rolled your eyes, fighting back a laugh, “My looks, my pre-disposition to addiction, my general distrust of the human race,” you shrugged, “My genetics are the gift that keeps on givin’.”

“Hey, I’m a fan of your fucked-up genetics,” Logan said back, leaning over and kissing you.

“So,” you smiled, “Where are you taking me tonight?”

He revved the engine, and you felt the soft vibration underneath your thighs. “To Pound Town,” he answered, flashing you a pleased grin when you rolled your eyes at him. Laughing, he put a hand on your leg, and you felt your heart skip a beat at the simple gesture. “And also to a hotel suite where we can be as loud as we want. Oh—and they have room service, so we won’t even have to leave the room all night.” He glanced over at you; dark eyes gleaming. “You are staying the night, aren’t you?”

You leaned back, smiling. “I haven’t decided yet,” you teased, “I guess it kinds of depends on how many orgasms you give me.”

“That’s all I have to offer, sweetheart,” Logan said back, “Smiles and orgasms.”

You laughed—Logan was definitely a good time. You talked as he drove you; he asked you what the kids were up to tonight, and he told you about the guy he had to do business with the other day. Things were going well…

…and then you pulled up to the hotel.

It was easily the most expensive building in the city, and your jaw dropped at the sight of it. A valet opened your door for you, and Logan led you inside, grinning all the while. The lobby looked like something out of a dream, all bright lights and soft golden decorations. It was huge, full of people dressed to the nines, and you felt a little out of place.

Logan put his arm around your waist, leading you to the elevator. “I rented a suite on the top floor, we’ve got a private pool, twenty-four hour staff, and soundproof walls.” He leaned down, mouth on your ear as the elevator doors closed, “But I’m thinking it’d be wise for us to…” His arm slid down to your ass, “…test that.”

You turned to him, moving so that your mouth was on his. “Before or after dinner?” You asked. “Because I can wait on food if I get to eat you, first.”

Logan sighed before leaning over and kissing you. “Fuck,” he whispered, “I’m trying to wine and dine you, here. You’re making it hard for me.”

You pushed up against him, pressing your front against his growing hard-on. “That’s the point,” you grinned back. The elevator dinged, and you stepped back with a chuckle, hearing Logan’s soft “fuck” behind you as you stepped out. He took your hand—another soft gesture that you weren’t quite sure how you felt about—and led you down the hall to your room.

“Here we are,” he said, opening the door for you.

Once again, your jaw dropped. It wasn’t so much a room as much as a fucking apartment, fully furnished with a set table in the middle of the room, a bottle of champagne resting in a bucket of ice.

“Jesus,” you said, dropping your purse to the ground and walking around, “This place is ridiculous.” You went to the table and picked up a plate. “How much does this cost? It looks like it’s more than I spend on food in a month—and I have five kids to feed!”

Logan laughed, taking the plate and putting it back down. He pulled you back by the waist before pulling your chair out. “Have a seat,” he instructed you softly, kissing you on the top of the head, “Get whatever you want from the menu,” he said as he moved to sit across from you.

You looked down at the menu laid out in front of you. Several of the dishes sounded disgusting, another handful had names you couldn’t even pronounce, but some sounded delicious. “Can I take whatever I want from the hotel?” You blurted out.

Logan laughed again. “Or I could just buy you your own set of plates.”

“I don’t take charity,” you answered back easily, “Just plates. And silverware,” you looked around, “and maybe some of the glassware. Definitely the shampoo and soap and toilet paper.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “Now seems like a good time to ask you about your parents.”

“Pop the champagne,” you said, “and I will.”

Logan did, then he took your order, and put it in with the front desk. He sat down across from you once he got off of the phone and smiled. “So… Frank?”

You sipped your champagne, and it tasted expensive. “Frank’s an alcoholic, drug addict, compulsive liar, narcissist… The whole package.”

“How’d you end up taking care of the kids? And the house?”

You shrugged. “My mom was always in and out, she’d stick around long enough to get pregnant and have the babies, and when she left, it was up to me to take care of them.” You licked your lips; you usually didn’t talk about your family life with the guys you hook up with, but… Logan was genuinely asking, genuinely curious. “She’s an addict, too, so even when she was around…she wasn’t. And Frank,” you took another sip, “he’s always been in love with himself, the bottle, and the needle, and not exactly in that order. He used to go on these long drug binges with no warning, and me and Jeremy would have to watch over the house and kids.”

Logan leaned forward. “How’d you do it?” He asked.

“Do what?”

“Do…this.” He gestured over at you. “Raise five kids and take care of the house and manage your dad.”

“I dunno,” you put your glass down, “It had to be done. It’s no big deal.”

“But it is,” he said, “I don’t… I don’t get how you could do all of that. I mean… You’re smart, funny, gorgeous, resourceful—”

“—How do you know I’m smart?” You laughed. “We just met.”

“Well, you’d have to be to raise five kids on the budget that you have,” he answered, honest as ever, “But also… I looked you up.”

You shook your head, thrown off. “You—you looked me up? How? Like, you Googled me?”

“No,” he took another drink, smirking now, “My company has a new, more intricate search engine—it’s coming out next year, it’s gonna blow Google out of the water.” He put his glass down. “I found a bunch of articles about your grades and how smart you were and how everyone in your neighborhood was rooting for you. I also read you got a few scholarships to go to college…”  He went on, and you took a breath as you listened to him detail your life. “But you didn’t go.”

You took your drink and swallowed as much of it as you could. “Yeah,” you said simply.

“Why not?”

You shrugged one-shoulder. “No time.”

“Because of the kids?” He pressed. “Or your Dad?” He sat back. “Because if it were me, I’d take my chances at college.”

“Yeah,” you said back, “but it’s not you.” You put your hands on the table to keep from moving them too much as you spoke. “I couldn’t do college and take care of the kids, leave them to the dogs—to Frank. Liam’s only a baby, and Emma and Cam need someone stable. I would do anything for them,” you said, meaning it with every fiber of your being, “So the decision wasn’t hard. If I have to choose between me and them, I’d choose them every time.” You reached over and grabbed the bottle, pouring yourself another drink. “Those kids are my life, Logan.”

“See, I just don’t get that,” he said, “The way things work in my family, you’re on your own. You do what’s best for you—or at least what’s more fun for you, and that’s it.”

“Yeah? What’s your family like?” You raised an eyebrow when he made a face. “You told me you’d tell me about them.”

“Yeah,” he smiled, shaking his head, “I did… My Mom’s been on every prescription pill ever made—which I get, she’s married to my Dad and those opioids make you feel fucking fantastic. My Dad’s an ass; he’s hated me since the womb, I’m sure. He says I’m a perpetual fuck-up.” Logan shrugged. “He’s not exactly wrong.”

“It looks like you’re doing pretty well for yourself to me,” you said, looking around the hotel.

He laughed. “I’m good with people, what can I say?” He took another sip. “But the addict apple doesn’t fall far from the addict tree,” he confessed easily, “I’m two years sober—heroin was my drug of choice—but every time I speak to my father, he never misses a chance to tell me that it won’t last.”

You frowned. Here he was, in a posh ass hotel suite after spending at least three figures on groceries for a girl he’d just met, being casually open and honest, and his Dad treats him like that? That wasn’t right. “Your Dad sounds like a piece of shit.”

Logan’s eyes grew wide before he let out a laugh. He raised his glass. “I completely agree, and may I say… So is yours.”

You held up your glass. “To shitty fathers and absent mothers,” you toasted.

“Cheers,” Logan said, clinking his glass with yours. There was a knock on the door, and he got up to answer it. He led two waiters in, and you watched, mouthwatering, as they placed your food in front of you.

“Oh my God,” you said as the waiters walked out and Logan sat in front of you, “This smells amazing.”

“The head chef here is from France,” Logan said, leaning back with a smile, “He’s a much better cook than a lay.”

“The opposite of me,” you grinned, licking your lips. You looked up at Logan. “I’m warning you now, the way I’m about to eat this… I won’t look like a lady.”

He laughed, and gestured to your plate. “Have at it.”

You dug in, your mouth watering as the delicious mix of flavors and spices hit your tongue. You closed your eyes and moaned at the first swallow, and Logan was watching you when you opened them again.

“Shit,” he said, eyes burning your skin with how intensely he was watching you, “You’re so goddamn sexy.”

“If you think that was sexy,” you grinned, “Wait until you see me eat dessert.”

By the time you two had eaten, sent the dirty dishes to the kitchen, and had dessert, you were feeling buzzed and full and unexpectedly comfortable in a way that was simultaneously scary and intoxicating. You were sitting on the L-couch now, with your head on Logan’s shoulder and his arm around you. His other arm was on your thigh, fingers lazily caressing the exposed skin as the two of you talked.

“So,” you said, snuggling closer to him—a move that was foreign to you, but felt natural, “You saw Ethan at a gay club?”

He chuckled. “He said we had to keep that between us,” he answered, “but I guess he caved faster than I thought.”

You shrugged. “I cornered him. Ethan’s the easiest one to break, you want a challenge, try to get a secret out of Jeremy or Emma.”

“So you’re not mad?”

“Nah. I knew he was gay. I just didn’t know he was going to gay clubs,” you bit your lip as you looked up at Logan. “What are those places like?”

“The one Ethan was going to was way too old for him,” Logan said, “Cocktails are good, but it’s mostly older guys trying to trap a younger kid. The place I recommended for Ethan is mostly guys his age with fake IDs. It’s run by this old queen and his husband, and they don’t let older guys in at all. I used to go there whenever we were in Chicago when I was a teenager.”

Huh… “Thanks,” you said.

Now it was Logan who shrugged. “No problem. He’s a good kid. I don’t want him to have to go through what I had to go through when I was his age.” He looked down at you. “I meant what I said earlier: I like your siblings.”

There it was again, that spark of electricity in your spine that only happened when you were with Logan, or thinking about Logan, or around Logan… “And… You like me.” You said, voice a little unsure.

Logan pulled back, an eyebrow cocked. “I thought that was obvious.”

“Yeah, but…” You shook your head. “But you didn’t have to do all this,” you gestured around you, “And you didn’t have to get groceries for the house or let the kids take your car, or…”

“I did that stuff because I like you,” he answered easily, “I like the way being around you makes me feel,” he leaned down and pressed a kiss to your forehead, “I like how you don’t take shit from anyone,” he kissed your nose, “I like how you take care of your brothers and sister,” his mouth was hovering over yours now, “I like how your pussy curves around my dick…”

You didn’t need to hear anymore. You leaned forward and kissed him, hard. Logan kissed you back, wrapping you in his arms and flipping you so he was on top of you. Your hands went under his shirt, scratching at his bare back as his tongue slipped in and out of your mouth. Kissing Logan was unlike anything you’d known before; it was breathtaking and heart stopping and exhilarating all at once. He fit against you like a puzzle piece, he moved against you as if he’d been doing it his entire life, his body rolling and moving with yours as if you were in a dance. He was the perfect partner.

Wordlessly, because what else need to be said, Logan picked you up and carried you to the bed. You vaguely registered how soft it was; it was like lying on a cloud, but your mind couldn’t even spare more than a second to recognize its softness because Logan was kissing and caressing you and taking your clothes off and it was all too much. You closed your eyes and let yourself melt into Logan, because even if this couldn’t last—and it couldn’t—you could at least enjoy it in the moment, and deal with reality in the morning. Until then, you enjoyed the feel of Logan on top of you, his mouth on yours, the groans and sighs coming from his mouth as he pushed inside of you, the stretch of him, the way he filled you to the brim and had your toes curling. His mouth was against your ear now, and you could hear every moan and whimper that came from his sweet lips as he rocked against you. Your nails were digging into his skin; if this was your last hurrah with him, you were going to leave a mark.

“Fuck,” he groaned, hips slamming into yours with delicious fervor, “sweetheart, I… Jesus…”

“Don’t stop,” you panted, kissing the side of his face, “don’t stop, don’t stop…”

Logan growled in your ear, and the noise alone (and the rhythmic slamming of his hips) was enough to put you over the edge. You came with his names on your lips, and Logan followed closely behind you, spilling into you with a shout.

He kissed you, slowly, as he pulled out. “How are you real?” He whispered.

You grinned, one hand going into his hair, playing with the thick strands. “How are you?” You asked back. You giggled when he answered you with a kiss. You were still short of breath, but you weren’t ready to sleep yet. “So…” You said, smiling up at Logan, “You said something about a pool…?”

“Did you bring a bathing suit?” He asked.

Your smile only widened. “Nope.”

“Perfect,” he grinned back, jumping up and grabbing a blanket. “Let’s go.”

“What are you—” You laughed in the middle of your sentence as Logan wrapped you up in the blanket. What kind of man had that kind of energy after an orgasm? Your—this kind of man, apparently. You let Logan lead you out of the suite and down the hall to the pool, only stopping to giggle at each other, shush each other, and make out along the way. It was, as Logan had previously said, a private pool, so no one else was there. It was huge, and the sound of the moving water echoed in the large space.

Logan dropped the blanket that had been wrapped around the both of you, showing how hard and ready he was. “Can you swim, superstar?”

You answered by jumping into the pool. Of course you could swim; your father had thrown you into the lake when you were a kid to win a bet with some of his friends. You’d had to swim or drown, so… You came up and grinned at Logan. He was staring down at you like you hung the sun. “Come on in,” you said, waving him in, “The water’s fine.”

“Not finer than you,” he grinned back before jumping in after you.

You giggled as he swam to you, his perfect hair and toned body dripping with water. He lifted you up, and you wrapped your legs around his waist. You kissed him, your body molding against his, and you could feel his hands gripping your ass.

The two of you moved in tandem, hips rolling together in perfect sync as he carried you over to the wall of the pool. The brick felt warm against your back—or maybe that was just Logan. Your body felt hot and tingly every place he touched you, and you sighed, head leaned back as Logan kissed your neck. He was so close to you, but you wanted—needed—him closer. You didn’t say a word, but Logan heard you all the same. He slid into you, confident in the very correct fact that you were still wet from before, and you both moaned at the contact. Neither of you spoke, once again dissolving into sighs and moans as you moved together. Never had you had a lover like Logan, a man who could read you the way he did, who could make your toes curl with one thrust of his hips or flick of his wrists. He took his time with you, taking you to the heights of your pleasure before bringing you back down with kisses and soft touches along your body. The only thing you said were “yes” and “Logan”, and the only things he said were “so good”, “so perfect”, “baby, my baby”, and you closed your eyes, feeling Logan inside you and the water around you, and you, for a series of moments, forgot about all your problems: the bills, your shitty parents, the stress of running a household and raising five kids. You put all your focus on Logan, on making him feel as good as he made you feel, determined to show him how much his presence in your life meant to you—not just the suite and the cars and the nice food, but just… him.

You liked him.

And that was dangerous.

“Baby,” he whispered, voice echoing in the open pool, “I’m gonna cum, you feel so good…”

“Cum for me,” you growled, rocking your hips against his.

He dropped his head down, biting into your neck as he came, and you clenched around him, mouth open in a silent scream of pleasure as you came with him, eyes squeezed shut as the sensations hit you over and over again.

Logan sighed, putting his forehead on yours, and kissed you softly. He’d been kissing you like that for most of the night, soft and slow and careful and sweet. You liked it a lot, but you couldn’t let yourself get used to it. However, for one night, you could at least enjoy it. “Jesus, Y/N,” he said between kisses, “You keep doing shit like this, I might have to move you out to New York.”

You laughed. “My family in New York? Cameron would set the city on fire.”

“Hm…” Logan was staring at you now, dark eyes boring into yours with an intensity you hadn’t seen before. He looked like he wanted to say something, but instead, he leaned over and kissed you again. “Let’s go shower all this chlorine off,” he said, kissing your neck, “and then after I fuck you there, I can fuck you in the bed…” He pulled back, eyes twinkling. “…Cause you’re spending the night, right?”

You put a finger on your chin and pretended to think. Logan kissed up your neck and across your face, making you laugh. “Okay, okay,” you giggled, “Yes—I’m spending the night!”

“Yay!” Logan cheered, bouncing up and down with you still in his arms, splashing water everywhere. “I knew my amazing cock would convince you!”

You laughed all the way back to the suite.

After your joint-shower, you spent the night in Logan’s arms, kissing and fucking and whispering to each other. The bed was huge, with an unbelievably soft mattress, feather-stuffed pillows, and silky sheets.

“So,” Logan had one hand behind his head, and the other on your back, rubbing up and down as you laid half-on top of him, “You don’t ever want to leave Chicago?”

“Nah,” your eyes were closed, and you got closer to sleep as Logan’s warm fingers caressed you, “This is my home.”

“Yeah, but… You’ve lived here your whole life, right?” He asked. You nodded against him. “Don’t you want to try something new?”

You frowned. Honestly, you hadn’t thought about leaving the city since you were a kid, and even then, it wasn’t so much about Chicago as it was your parents—and getting the hell away from them. “I mean, I guess I wouldn’t mind trying something new…”

“When you were in high school,” Logan turned, one of his hands going to your waist to keep you close, “and you were getting all those scholarships and stuff and thinking about going to college, what did you want to study?”

You shrugged. “I knew I wasn’t going to be able to go…”

“Yeah, but if you had,” he prompted.

“I guess I would have studied business,” you answered, “I used to love my econ classes and business courses and stuff in high school…”

“New York has some of the best business programs in the world,” Logan said back.

“Mm hmm,” you snuggled closer to him, kissing his chest as he wrapped you up in his arms.

“You could still do it, y’know.”

“Do what?”

“Go to school, get a job in business…”

“And take care of the kids?” You would have rolled your eyes if they weren’t closed. “And the house? And Frank?”

“It’d be easier if you left Chicago…” Logan’s voice was starting to sound low and far away. “…There’s a lot more opportunities in New York, you could intern at Delos…”

You giggled. “Okay,” you said, “that’s nice, but I’m gonna pass out now, okay?” You felt Logan kiss the top of your head, and you sighed contently into his chest.

“Just think about it,” he said, rubbing your back again.

You wanted to ask ‘think about what’, but you were too tired and happily worn-out to speak anymore, so instead, you just let Logan’s soft touch lull you to sleep.

Tomorrow, you’d go back to reality, but tonight… You’d enjoy Logan and what you had with him while you had him. All this talk about families and jobs and New York made you realize something…

…Logan would only be in town for a few more weeks, what time you had left with him was already running out. He’d finish up his business in Chicago and then… He’d be gone.

*******************************************************************************************

Let me know what you guys think! I got a lot of inspiration for this one from Season 1 Fiona/Steve.... ah, the good ol days. Anyways, thanks for reading!

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[writingismyhappytime]

Marry Me

Ricky Horror x Reader

Warnings: Language

A/N: Okay, here’s the Ricky fic you’ve been waiting for and I’ve been teasing about! It’s gonna be a slowburn, longhaul kinda deal for this relationship, full of cutsey, squeezy, fluffy moments that’ll be so sweet you won’t be able to stand it! Well, hopefully. 

"This is gonna sound weird, but I need you to marry me."

You raise your head from the car you're working on, giving your best friend a startled look. Your eyes widen, and you blink a couple times, wondering if you heard him right. Did you hit your head on the hood or something?

"Uh, what?"

Ricky shifts uncomfortably, crossing his tattooed arms. He knows it's a weird question, but it's necessary. He's standing in the auto shop you own, the smell of tires and grease making his stomach churn a little. It's Sunday, so you're the only two there, and the garage doors are open to let the cool air in. Tools are on the ground, some boxes --- your shop looks no different from every other repair place in the world.

"We need to get married." Ricky says, the words leaving a bad taste in his mouth. This is the first time he's really said them out loud, not just in his head, and he doesn't like them. He promised himself he'd never get married, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

"Usually I prefer lots of alcohol before someone asks me to marry them." You say after a moment, leaning up from between the car hood and the motor, a tool Ricky has no idea the name for held in your hand. "Or, y'know, at least some dinner."

You take a step back, your hands flecked with black from where you've been working. You're a mechanic, you own your own shop, passed down from your father.It's an odd profession for a female, but you enjoy it, cars are your passion.

Honestly, it's how you met Ricky.

He has no idea how to even change a tire.

If it wasn't for you happening to stop and offer him help, he'd still be stuck on that back road trying to figure out how to use a jack.

"(Y/N), I'm serious. I need you to marry me." Ricky stares at you, tugging his lower lip between his teeth nervously. He didn't know how to broach the subject before, so he just decided blurting it out would be better. You're his best friend, he trusts you more then he does anyone else, you're the only person he could come too with such a ridiculous request and you not laugh quite as long in his face.

"Why would you need me to do that?" you ask, growing confused. You reach for a rag, hastily wiping the black off your fingers, your red nailpolish starting to gleam once more. You like Ricky, he's good looking, incredibly intelligent, and the way he plays his guitar is kind of sexy, if you're being honest. However, as attractive as he may be, you've never fantasized about a relationship with him, you're just friends. Hell, the two of you have never even flirted!

So what's this about marriage?

That's a rather big step, isn't it?

"Ricky, you better explain what's going on." You frown at him, your hands going to your hips. You're wearing a blue jumpsuit, the front open down to your waist, showing your tank top. It has a low neck, revealing just a hint of cleavage, black smeared across your sweaty skin; your shop is hot despite the fans, you can't help it. Working around cars creates a lot of heat, after all.

Ricky exhales heavily, nodding his head in resignation. He reaches for one of the rolly chairs you have, duct tape across the seat where it's been torn. He drags it to him before turning it backward and sitting down, resting his arms along the back of it while you sit on top of a stack of pallets, still frowning.

"My custody hearing is coming up soon," Ricky finally says, tapping his fingers nervously against the back of the chair. "I'm supposed to get joint custody of Chloe, where I get her one week and her mother gets her the next. But Claire is fighting for full, she doesn't want me to see the kid. She's gonna use the fact I'm a musician who travels a lot against me. I gotta show that I can provide a stable home life, somewhere Chloe can be with someone."

"And you think us getting married is that solution?" That's the dumbest fucking thing you've ever heard. Also, it's kind of endearing.

Ricky and Claire had dated for three years before she wound up pregnant with their daughter. You'd never liked her, she was kind of uppity, a groupie in your eyes. You always thought she only dated Ricky because he was in a popular band and so that got her a lot of the attention she always seems to be seeking. However, you never voiced your opinion, it wasn't your place, nor would Ricky have appreciated you meddling.

So, no surprise, when she had the child, a year later Ricky and her were splitting. Chloe is almost six now and Claire has drug Ricky to court so many times in the past few years, you're pretty sure that's the only time the child got to even see her father.

"Rick, I'm not sure us getting married is going to solve that for you," you say hesitantly, your hands resting in your lap. Honestly, it'll probably make more problems, right? The two of you aren't dating, everyone knows that, and a sudden marriage isn't going to make him have anymore credit.

"But I think it will," Ricky insists, pushing off with his feet, sending the chair rolling towards you. His knees bump yours, causing the chair to finally come to a stop. His baby blue eyes find your own, almost pleading. "I have to prove I can provide a stable home, (Y/N). You're the only shot I got. I live with another member of the band, so when we go on tour, Chloe can't be with me. If we get married, I could say she could always be here, with you. You own your own business, you're a successful woman --- it'll look good. It'll show I've settled down."

"Not when we've only been married a month! It'll look like a desperate last ditch effort!" You argue, shaking your head. "Ricky, we can't get married. Do you even know what that means? I'll have to switch my name, everything that's mine is yours, we'll share everything! What if one of us incurs intense medical bills? The other will be responsible for it! Ricky, we can't ---."

"I'll buy you a ring," he interrupts you, as if that's what'll make you change your mind. "A big one, really fancy. We'll have an extravagant, ridiculous wedding with flying pigeons ---."

"I think you mean doves."

"--- and a fucking, I don't know, mariachi band if that's what you want. Look, as soon as I get custody of Chloe, we can get it annulled, okay!?"

"You realize we can only get it annulled if we prove we were both incompetent to get married in the first place, or we never fuck, right?" You arch a brow at him. He pauses at the latter part, which you know is what gets his attention. This is a foolish idea and he has to realize that.

"Well, we don't have to fuck then," he says decisively, and you roll your eyes as you lean back. "I'm serious! Won't that be an easy out?"

"So, let me get this straight. You want to get married, which also entails us moving in together for aesthetic purposes, and then never have sex? So when you get your daughter, we're going to have to go to court and say we want our marriage annulled, and then explain we never consummated the marriage. They're going to want to know why. I mean, I guess I can say your dick doesn't work," you pretend to contemplate, seeing the horrified look on his face. "Say I didn't realize how much Viagra you needed just to get it up ---."

"So we'll figure something else out!" He huffs, glaring at you. "Look, I --- I don't know what else to do." He runs his fingers nervously through his hair. "She's gonna take my girl away from me, (Y/N). She's gonna make sure I never know my daughter."

You bite your lip, gazing at him. You understand, you really do. Ricky is a great dad, you've seen him with Chloe --- he adores that little girl, and she loves him to death. If his ex girlfriend wasn't such a vindictive bitch you'd like to hit with one of your cars, everyone's life would be so much easier.

"Is there nothing else you can do?" You finally sigh, your heart aching. You want to help Ricky, but you're not sure that getting married is the best route for the two of you to take. You're not even his girlfriend, the two of you have never done anything more then bump fists and share the occasional beer --- or in his case, coffee while you drink beer. "You can see if you can't prove she's an unfit mother."

"I've already tried. Apparently having a string of boyfriends one right after the other doesn't prove that fact. She has a job, she has an apartment, Chloe never misses school --- I can't prove anything without hiring someone to follow her around and analyze her every move. Chloe seems okay, she's not unhappy." Ricky shakes his head. "I'm out of options, I've tried everything. I can't keep paying for this lawyer either, he's already eating at my savings. At this rate, Claire is going to have me drained where I'm gonna have to play at fucking bars again just to pay my half of the rent."

Shit.

You didn't realize it was getting so bad for him.

You chew your lip, your brows furrowing. Conveniently you're not dating anyone, otherwise that would be a big complication. You've never been married, no one has ever been close to even proposing to you. Every relationship you've ever had has been a big failure, ending with you crying a little and ordering pizza to eat by yourself. The last guy you'd dated had turned out to be a big jerk and you'd punched him, breaking his nose and really messing up your hand. Ricky had been the one to hold the ice on your knuckles and clean away the blood, and you'd sworn then you wouldn't date again until you were sure you found someone who wasn't an asshole.

Ricky had just laughed at you.

You get his valiant cause, wanting to see his daughter, raise her. Claire is a total bitch, but so far she's been a good mother. You've never seen Chloe hungry, she's always wearing cutesy clothes and giggling, so she seems happy.

Really, Ricky just wants everything to be fair. If he's going to pay child support, he deserves to see his daughter, and maybe... well, really, it's not the worst idea you've ever heard. It's pretty high on the tier, but... this can help you too.

"So what happens, if --- and it's a big if --- I do agree?" You ask after a moment, pursing your lips. Ricky straightens a little, the miserable look on his face starting to dissipate. "What do we do?"

"We... get married, I guess. We tell our friends and family, we plan a hasty wedding, and get married." He makes it sound much too simple.

"Ricky," you're about to bust his bubble. "It's not that easy. We have to get a marriage license, find someone who can legally marry us. If you want a serious wedding where we even invite people, we need a venue. A time and place. Arrangements. I want fucking balloons flying over my head as I say I do."

"Are you serious?" Ricky frowns at you. "Balloons?"

"If I'm going to marry you for the sake of you getting your kid, you could at least give me the balloons." You huff, crossing your arms. "White balloons. Big balloons. And rice. I like the whole rice being tossed over the head thing."

Ricky actually rolls his eyes, and you kick his shin lightly, causing him to roll back across the concrete floor of your auto shop, an errant wrench finally stopping his departure. He has a half-smile on his stupid face.

"So... you agree then? You'll help me?" he asks after a moment, his eyes searching your face. "You'll marry me?"

"I haven't said yes," you say hastily, not wanting to get ahead of yourself. "You realize we'll have to live together. We can't get married and then you continue to live with Ryan, that'll look bad. You'll have to move in with me." Your brain is already three steps ahead. "I'll actually have to get my license and all that shit changed over to your stupid last name, too. Ugh, I'll be an Olson," You crinkle your nose."Plus, I mean, planning a wedding isn't super easy either. I want a white dress ---."

"I thought only virgins wore white for their wedding." Ricky quirks a brow at you, interrupting you.

"I want a white dress," you repeat, ignoring him. "With a train, and a veil, and lacy sleeves. The white balloons, maybe Devin can be my bridesmaid ----."

Ricky snorts.

"I foresee an arch, with white lilies woven into it." You spread your hands in front of you, like you're creating a rainbow. "I see water behind us, we're on a pier. It's dusk, someone is faintly playing 'here comes the bride' on piano --- Balz can do that for us. Ooo, we're cutting a triple decker cake with a guitar on top because I think those little topping things of the bride and groom are kind of tacky, and ---."

"Okay, you can stop bullshitting me already," Ricky groans, running his hands down his face as you begin to grin. "I get it, you're high maintenance, you have big dreams. Shouldn't we focus on the small details first?"

"Ricky, the small details to you are so small you completely miss the big picture. Don't focus on one tree, focus on the forest," You say,  shaking your head. "You know divorces aren't cheap. It's going to cost us a lot of money to end our marriage, one that isn't even going to be real. And hey, what if I meet the guy of my dreams?" you suddenly say, frowning. "What if I want to hook up with him and stuff?"

"Well, you better hope he's into married chicks, then. Maybe he'll have a hot girlfriend and we can say we're swingers."

You roll your eyes, swatting at him with your grease rag.

"Ricky, you're so full of shit!"

He grins, catching the rag and jerking. You don't let go, so he merely manages to roll his chair back to where you sit, his knees coming to rest beside yours.

"So, are we in this, then?" he asks, his voice growing serious. You're eye level with each other, and he reaches out, taking your hand in his. Your eyes flick nervously to his face, suddenly feeling your stomach tighten.

Are you in this?

Will you marry Ricky so he might be able to get custody of his daughter?

"There's no guarantee us being married will get Chloe for you, Ricky. This might just be a disaster, or make the situation worse." You worry, squeezing his hand. "Claire might have a mental breakdown and never let you see her."

"This is my one shot, it's all I got left in my arsenal against her." Ricky shakes his head, his black hair brushing his shoulders. "It's downhill from here anyway. If I lose Chloe, I don't want her to think it's because I don't care about her. I want her to know that I fought tooth and nail against her mother, and that I did absolutely everything I could."

"Include marrying a woman you don't even love."

Ricky hesitates at your words, and you swear there's guilt in his eyes.

"I don't... (Y/N) ---."

"No, Ricky, it's okay." You shake your head. "I get it. Your intentions are noble as shit. You're probably the only guy who's ever gonna want to marry me anyway, I should probably jump on this ship before it finds another harbor."

"Okay, you and your comparisons have got to stop." Ricky shakes his head. "First trees, now ships --- you're killing me."

You merely shrug your shoulders; you can't help it, you're quirky. No one so far has found it appealing, maybe that's why you still do it. You want someone to like you for you, for all your bad traits and all your good ones, and that includes your stupid expressions and smart ass comments; you were raised by your dad, he taught you well.

You're not going to give up who you are just to make someone else happy.

"You know one day, when all of this is over, you'll meet the right person," Ricky suddenly says, drawing your eyes back to his. "He'll ask you to marry him the right way, and you'll say yes. You'll get your fairy tale white wedding, with balloons, and pigeons ---."

"Doves."

"--- and all that stuff that you want." Ricky reaches forward, brushing a strand of hair behind your ear. "I can't give it all to you, except maybe the balloons. That I can do, although helium is pretty expensive ---."

"Ricky."

He chuckles, giving you that goofy grin of his. "What I'm saying is... well, no beach wedding, not this time. I have a couple thousand saved up that we can use, but it's not gonna be anything grand. Most of my cash is going for the court fees, and ---."

"Ricky, I was just bullshitting you, don't worry about it. Besides, typically the bride's family pays for the wedding anyway. Or at least I think." You shrug your shoulders, aware he's still holding your hand. "We can do it at the park or something. Sit on the swings, get married, it'll be simple."

"We'll have to invite people, we'll need a witness for the wedding." Ricky sounds a little nervous now, as if it's suddenly hitting him what he's asked you to do.

"I'll tell my one cousin to show up," you say dryly. Your mother passed away when you were young, and most of her family is gone now. Your dad passed away with a heart attack a few years ago, leaving you the shop, so you have some money put back. You have an aunt on his side who lives in town, and her kids, so you suppose if it's necessary, you could invite them to pose as your side of the family.

"Or we could just --- elope. Not even fool with any of that." Ricky hesitates. He knows what he's asking you is a big deal, but it's just fake. There's no point in putting a lot of effort into it, getting a bunch of commotion stirred up. He wants something simple, something quick, and then for it to be done. "Go to one of those quick chapels or something."

You frown, disliking the idea.

No, you don't want that at all.

If you're going to get married, and it's very possible it's the only time you ever get the option, you want it to be memorable. Just because it's not for love doesn't mean it can't be enjoyable. You want the dress, you want the photos, and the cake, and the memory of people throwing rice over your head as you and your husband race for your car with Just Married written on the back of it --- it's ridiculous, it's something you've seen in movies but always wanted.

So no.

No quick chapel.

"No." You shake your head, brushing your bangs out of your eyes; your hair is in a loose bun on the back of your head, you know you honestly look a mess right now, and you smell like grease. You doubt there's been a time Ricky hasn't seen you like you haven't just crawled out from under a car. "No, if we're doing this, we're going it the right way. I want a wedding."

Ricky hesitates, staring at you. "(Y/N)..."

"I know it's not real, but, well--- it's real for me." You withdraw your hand from his, hopping to your feet. You feel awkward, but Ricky just doesn't understand. "We might have our reasons for doing this, and it might not be because we love each other, but we're going to pretend we do. We're going to have to announce to our friends we want to get married, quick, and everyone is immediately going to assume I'm pregnant."

Ricky cringes at the word.

"Don't look like that, you know they will. Why else would we do something so stupid?" Your hands go to your hips as you stare down at him. "We're going to have to hold hands, put on a show --- if you're going to convince a court, first you have to convince the people around you. You know Claire will want to be at the wedding, she'll bring Chloe just to be a snob. Make her wish she wasn't such a bitch and hadn't dumped your scrawny ass. Show her the wedding that could have been hers."

Really, you just want the experience of a beautiful wedding, you don't care if it makes his ex feel jealous or not. But, you know what will convince Ricky, just how to pull his strings, and already he's nodding his head in agreement with you.

"I guess... I mean, that makes sense." he mutters, finally get to his feet, brushing at his pants. "You're right."

"Of course I am. So, pretty wedding is decided." You say, a tad gleeful. You can always rent a wedding dress, not buy one, so that'll save some cash. "And I'll need a ring. I wear a size seven, surprise me."

Ricky snorts, crossing his arms. He guesses by the way you're talking, since you've never actually said yes, is that you're in. The way your eyes light up though, just at the thought of planning something so redundant... it's cute.

You seem genuinely excited about this.

But what you said... do you really think you'll never have a chance at a wedding? Is that why you want to go all out now?

Is there even time for it?

"We should go to the courthouse tomorrow for the marriage license," Ricky says after a moment, a little relieved. He'd honestly expected to have to beg you for the next couple hours, to  get on his hands and knees in the grease and oil and bow his forehead to the floor. This is actually going better than expected. "We can go early, your guys can open the shop for you, right?"

"Yeah, shouldn't be a problem. So we get it, then what?" You want a solid plan, after all. "Should I start calling around? What date do we even want to set?"

"I don't care," Ricky shrugs his shoulders. "Just as soon as possible."

Right, that's completely helpful.

You sigh, crossing your arms. "Fine, I'll find us a place, and I'll take care of the judge who can marry us. You find me a pretty ring, I'll see if we can't find a place to rent a dress and tux --- no nose curling, you're wearing a tux!" You say firmly. "Plus, we'll need a cake! And someone to cater for the reception ---."

"Reception?"

"Of course! All weddings have receptions where everyone can mingle. Plus, we need music, we'll have to have a first dance. And one of your friends is going to have to give a speech saying how happy they are that we found each other and all that bullshit. Hmm, I'll need a bridesmaid." Maybe you can sacrifice your cousin to that spot. "You need a best man."

"Uh ---."

"And we'll have to start getting the decorations in order." You continue, ignoring Ricky's look of growing dismay --- you're suddenly making this complicated and he's going to panic. "Flowers, I still want an arch even if there's no beach --- do we want it outside or inside? Do you care if it's a church?"

Ricky leans his hip against the car, watching as you pace back and forth in front of the car you're working on. You're getting all excited and girly on him, and that's not something he's used too. You're so tough, always covered in grease or some other kind of car grime, he can't actually think of a moment where you haven't had something on your face or skin. He's having a hard time imagining you in a white wedding dress, or even with makeup on.

He figured you wouldn't be the type to want something like that.

Maybe he doesn't know you as well as he thinks he does.

"You get whatever you want," he says after a moment, seeing you turn to look at him over your shoulder. "You pick everything."

He owe's you that for doing this, doesn't he? He figures you can have your dream wedding, even if it's all just a show, and in return you can help him make sure his daughter grows up with a father. It's not a bad trade at all.

"Are you saying that to be nice or because you don't want to fool with any of it?" You question dryly, seeing him roll his eyes.

"A little of both, actually. I don't know the first thing that goes into a wedding and you already seem to have everything down."

You might have thought about it a lot. You like the pretty weddings in TV shows and movies, you always imagined something grandiose and over the top --- so although there's not going to be fireworks going off in the background, or a big church with a steeple and old ladies weeping with joy in the pews, you want something nice.

Something your dad would have wanted to come too.

"Are you sure about this?" You bite your lip as you turn to Ricky, finally facing him. He's only a little taller then you, so your eyes are almost level. You don't want to go through all of this and then he suddenly back out last minute. "I don't want to be that girl who gets left literally at the alter because you decide this is a bad idea."

"I would never do that," he shakes his head immediately. "I'm serious about all this. I need it for Chloe. You plan the wedding, get the balloons, the bird, the rice or whatever, and I'll take care of everything else."

"Everything else?"

"Uh, announcing it to people? Making it public where it's believable. I'll..." he grimaces. "Have to post something about it on Twitter, we'll need some photos together."

"We've had photos together before."

"Yeah, but... you know what I mean. And we'll have to kiss ---."

"You make it sound like kissing me will kill you." You frown sourly. "I'll have you know, I'm a fantastic kisser. You're the one who needs to work on your technique."

"What?" Ricky scowls at you. "What does that mean ---?"

"I've seen you kiss other women, Ricky. You're all tongue and no technique. You need to work on it." You shrug your shoulders. "I don't appreciate someone sticking their tongue down my throat and not knowing how to use it."

"I know how to use my tongue!"

"That remains to be seen." You gaze at him, trying not to smile at his irritated expression. "Now, I need to finish working on this car so it's ready tomorrow. You sit, and we'll start working over some of the details. Who we want to tell first, who we want to come, stuff like that. Think you can handle that much of the details with having a coronary?"

"Maybe." His answer is so sullen.

You chuckle as you turn away, tucking your hair behind your ears once more as you lift up your tool, gazing down at the car.

You're sure this is going to be interesting.

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